Thursday, October 31, 2019

Research Final Project Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Research Final Project - Essay Example The sampling technique used in this research is simple sampling. This helps in random collection of samples leading to impartial conclusion as it is easy. On the other hand, the research design used various data techniques such interviews, tape recording and internet sources to determine a number of issues. For instance, the citizens affected by crimes perpetrated by the immigrants and the number of illegal immigrants in the country. Illegal Immigrants and Crime Introduction The problem of illegal immigrants in the US has continued to pose a threat to its citizens in terms of many factors. These include scrambling for scarce resources and engaging in various crimes. For instance, these immigrants engage in murderous activities, robberies, burglaries, and even rape cases. These people who do not have adequate protection of the American law also scramble for the limited hospital services, public schools and the strained local budget. For instance, during the 2007 findings involving the crime rate of the illegal immigrants, it was found that out of 100 cases, 73 illegal immigrants had a chance of repeating a crime. Different reports also say that illegal immigrants who had been previously jailed can easily get back to jail (Pollock, 2011). Hypothesis H1: Illegal immigrants are the main cause of rising crime in most states of America. H2: The law is to wholly blame for the influx of illegal immigrants in America who compete for the limited resources in the US and resort to crime. Core objective The core objective of this research will be to determine if there is a link between rising crimes in most American neighborhoods with the increase of illegal immigrants. Specific Objectives 1. To determine the presence of crimes in different neighborhoods in America. 2. To determine the rate of these crimes. 3. To evaluate the number of illegal immigrants infiltrating into the country. 4. To determine the link between a relaxed police system at the border and the rise of ill egal immigrants who commit crimes. Limitations To accurately measure the rate of crimes among illegal immigrants is a challenging due to their secretive identities. This is because most of these immigrants do not report anything to the police. Another problem is the integrity of the officers at the border system. Some of them illegally smuggle immigrants into the country hence complicating the real number of illegal immigrants. Independent and dependent variables The independent variable in this paper is the rise of illegal immigrants in the US. Alternatively, the dependent variable is the rate of hate crimes among these illegal immigrants in the US. Background and Literature Review Crime experts and sociologists define hate crime as a felony that has a motivation from racial, prejudice or sexual drives and it is associated with acts of violence. These crimes have been mostly perpetrated by illegal immigrants who enter into the country through various borders in Texas, Mexico, Calif ornia and other porous border points (Maxfield, Michael & Earl 2006). These people are known to bully, harass, intimidate and apply other forms of hate crimes that have adverse effects on their victims. These include physical and psychological pains that interfere with the basic rights of the victim. According to Rivera, the existence of illegal immigr

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Efficiency of the market Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Efficiency of the market - Essay Example At the same time, perfect indiscriminate price monopoly not only leads to the optimal benefit to the firm but also maximizes market efficiency. In monopolistic market, single-priced monopoly adversely impacts the market mainly because it does not reflect the real human cost of producing goods which result in market anomalies and inefficient market. But when perfect indiscriminate price monopoly is applied on goods, the market response is more positive. Different price strategy in segmented market helps the firm to sell all the goods that are produced. In imperfect indiscriminate pricing, inefficient allocation of resources adversely influences the market efficiency and consequently, both the firm and the consumer become losers. Moreover, perfect indiscriminate price monopoly also encourages innovative inputs and highly creative ideas that facilitate production of goods which can provide the firms with competitive advantage vis-Ã  -vis market monopoly. Patents law, intellectual rights and copyrights are prime examples of government aided monopoly that promotes creative inputs and widens the scope of market driven goals and

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Diverse Features Of Classroom Discourse

The Diverse Features Of Classroom Discourse English textbooks and English classroom interaction are important aspects of English teaching and learning. The aim of this study is to draw out the diverse features of classroom discourse or interaction with a focus on the spoken discourse consisting of different linguistic materials in relation to the textbook. The analysis of classroom discourse is a very important form which classroom process research has taken. The present study focuses on secondary (9 and 10) English Textbook (EFT) and English Classroom Discourse. English is increasingly becoming the dominant factor for the development of a country as the choices and opportunities in education, technology and global trades and business are being dominated by it. Nurturing a nations socio-economic development badly requires creative and adaptive workforce with English language proficiency. However, achieving the control and mastery in English is quite a challenging task particularly in Bangladesh, a developing country. After four decades of independence, Bangladesh is yet to formulate a clear policy for the status, uses and teaching of English at both academic and real life contexts. The country is struggling to produce a generation posing high level of skill and proficiency in English. Such situation necessitates reorganizing the existing textbook, curriculum, teaching methods and all other consideration of English. English needs to be recognized as an essential work-oriented skill that is needed if the employment, development and educational needs of the country are to be met successfully. English should, therefore, be taught as something to be used, rather than as something to be talked about. (NCTB, 1996: 135-136) The best way to study the English textbook and the classroom interaction is Discourse Analysis. Bringing discourse analysis into the language classroom cannot be reduced exclusively to the adoption of a series of new categories and analytical techniques. It requires the teacher, in the first place, and the students, subsequently to look at their teaching and learning task in a very different way: the main focus of study is not language but communication. (Cots, Joseph Maria, 1995). There is increasing awareness among linguists that discourse analysis inevitably involves analyses of meanings arising from the combination of multiple modes of communication. The evolving multimodal pedagogic environment for teaching English as a foreign language (TEFL), among other communicative contexts, calls for a social, semiotic, and linguistic explanation. Discourse is, in very much simple words, defined as the language in use (Cook, 1989:6) where discourse analysis is concerned with the the analysis of language in use (Brown and Yule, 1983:1). A discourse is a set of meanings through which a group of people communicate about a particular topic (merriam-webster). There is no agreement among linguists as to the use of the term discourse in that some use it in reference to texts, while others claim it denotes speech which is for instance illustrated by the following definition:Discourse: a continuous stretch of (especially spoken) language larger than a sentence, often constituting a coherent unit such as a sermon, argument, joke, or narrative (Crystal 1992:25). The relationship between language and the contexts in which it is used is referred by discourse analysis. Language form as well as language functions are studied by it with a close view towards both spoken course and written text. It brings out the linguistic aspects that identify different genres as well as social and cultural factors that assist in our interpretation and understanding of different texts and types of speech or conversation (Weihua Yu). Both language and education have interest in discourse analysis. Especially when the aim of the study is to analyze the discourse of secondary English textbook that is written discourse, and classroom interaction that is spoken discourse. There have been only a few attempts towards discourse analysis of either textbook or classroom interaction or of both. In Bangladesh there is no such attempt to be noted with a view towards the key items. Though there are some influential works in the field of discourse analysis, they hardly contribu te in the direction and development of Secondary English Textbook and Classroom Interaction. 1.2 Why Discourse Analysis of Textbook Many researchers have compared EFL textbook description of a certain target language structure with the language occurring in authentic, everyday situations (Gilmore 2004; Biber and Reppen 2002; Barbieri and Eckhardt 2007). Perhaps not surprisingly, these studies showed that textbook descriptions of target language structures in many ways do not correspond to the realization of these structures in the naturally-occurring written and spoken discourse. (Ã…Â  egedin, 2007) Textbooks comprise a fundamental component in the educational process; providing the basic sources of information to learners, especially at elementary school. Textbooks teach the subject content and other issues such as social and cultural topics as well as the values and beliefs of society (Hasan, 2008). Textbooks, to some extent, are written in accordance with the policy of the educational system in the country concerned. Accordingly the dominance of the textbook seems to be associated with the educational policy of a certain society, especially when classroom practice is determined by a national curriculum. Textbooks govern almost all classroom practice. They are useful educational tools for both learners and teachers as they have been designed along the lines of current research and approaches (Hasan, 2008). Textbook is used by the learners to organize their learning process by a variety of methods and strategies in order to perform tasks and activities in terms of lexical, grammatical and cultural progression. It is the communicative approach which continues to advocate the use of tasks based on spoken and written material. By providing an affirmative structure, the textbook gives pupils instructions, guides their practice and facilitates their learning and consequently ensures a meaningful and reliable environment. On the other hand, according to Hasan teachers depend on the textbook as they do not have time to collect and adapt material for their classes. And again, they find it extremely difficult to develop new material and they might face external pressure which may restrict them from doing so (Hasan, 2008). Therefore, teachers have a propensity to use a textbook as a main source of information and assistance. They move through it lesson by lesson leaving, however, enough scope for supplementary material (Hasan, 2008). It is discourse that helps us in understanding how real people use real language in real life situation, as opposed to studying artificially created sentences (Weihua Yu). It is therefore of immediate interest to language teachers because we need to consider how people use language when we design teaching materials, or when we engage learners in exercises and activities aimed at making them proficient users of their target language, or when we evaluate a piece of commercially published material before deciding to use it (Michael McCarthy, 2002). It is, therefore very important to analyze the discourse of the textbooks to draw out the exposed and hidden elements existing in it. It helps understand how much does the written elements worth serve the needed requirement. Again the discourse of the textbook of English, with a focus on secondary level, should be analyzed very sensitively to view whether these are quite good to supply needed materials to our education, necessary communication skill development and later to bring about necessary changes. English is a foreign language in Bangladesh and some cultural and social diversity and obviously difference from our mother tongue have always impeded the development of good communication skill though given enough effort. So it is very important to review the entire process and product whereby discourse analysis may play a great role. 1.3 Why Discourse Analysis of Classroom Interaction Classroom interaction analysis involves the use of an observation scheme consisting of a finite set of preselected and predetermined categories for describing certain verbal behaviors of teachers and students as they interact in the classroom (B. Kumaravadivelu, 1999). The first language classroom research of Bellack et al (1966) is traditionally considered as a pioneering study within this tradition. The study offered a simple description of classroom discourse involving a four-part framework: 1) structure, 2) solicit, 3) respond, 4) react (Dick Allwright Kathleen M.Bailey, 1991: 98). Through a detailed description and analysis of the collected data by referring to Sinclair and Coulthards classroom discourse analysis model, the problem of patterns of the classroom discourse is made clear and on the basis of which a few strategies for secondary English teachers are put forward by the author in order to improve secondary English teaching and learning. Spoken language is the most vital form of language as well as speaking -the key skill of communication. Since spoken language is the medium by which much teaching takes place and in which students demonstrate to teachers much of what they have learned (Cazden, 1987, cited from Wittrock, 1988), the application of discourse analysis to classroom interaction may contribute a lot in the second language teaching and learning by ensuring teachers close view toward the real life language using capability of the students, to develop them and development of the exposures. Nunan remarked that If we want to enrich our understanding of language learning and teaching, we need to spend time looking in classroom (Nunan, 1989:76). Development of both quantity and quality matters of the students are possible by the application of Discourse analysis in the textbook and classroom interaction. Meaning making of classroom interaction has been attempted by different scholars from diverse point of view. The discursive turn provided these scholars with theoretical and methodological frameworks that enabled them to examine the collaborative construction of meaning closely (ADGER, 2001; ANWARD, 1997; BLOOME et al., 2005; CAZDEN, 1988; EDWARDS; WESTGATE, 1994; MEHAN, 1979; PELEDELHANAN; BLUM-KULKA, 2006; THOLANDER; ARONSSON, 2003; VARDI-RATH, 2002; YOUNG, 1999; WELLS, 1999) in multicultural educational settings (EDWARDS, 1999; HYMES, 1997) (Irit Kupferberg, Sarah Shimoni and Esther Vardi-Rath, 2009). Meaning making of classroom interaction requires the discourse analysis of classroom interaction as well as of the textbook. Failed communication is a joint responsibility and not the fault of speaker or listeners says researchers of communicative teaching the way successful communication is an accomplishment jointly achieved and acknowledged (Jack C. Richards and Theodore S.Rodgers, 2000: 77); It is the teachers responsibility to organize the classroom as a setting for communication and communicative activities (Jack C. Richards and Theodore S.Rodgers, 2000:78). In recent years, turn-taking, questioning and answering, negotiation of meaning, and feedback are considered are important aspects of classroom interaction (Chaudron, 1988:10). Because second language learning is a highly interactive process (Richard and Lockhart, 1996:138) and the quality of this interaction is thought to have a considerable influence on learning (Ellis, 1985, cited from Richard and Lockhart, 1996:138). In second language classrooms, learners often do not have a great number of toolsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, teachers questions provide nec essary stepping stones to communication (Brown, 1994a: 165). Questioning is reported as one of the commonly used strategies, as the success of a class largely depends on questioning and feedback. One reason, as Mercer (Candlin Mercer, 2001:245) states, is that they form the most frequent model of teacher-student talk in the classroom, in terms of the model described by Sinclair and Coulthard as Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) exchanges. 1.4 The Relationship of Textbook and Classroom Discourse: In view of the arguments stated above, textbooks continue to play a major role in classroom interaction despite the controversial debate on their significance. Hutchinson and Torres (1994), for example, consider the role of the textbook in teaching and learning and in the process of change. They challenge the anti-textbook view and argue that the textbook has a vital and positive part to play in the everyday job of teaching and learning English (especially at elementary level) and that the textbook becomes even more important in periods of change. They call for a closer link between textbook creation and professional teacher training (hasan, 2008). FL textbooks in use today reflect significant changes in design and content with the advent of the language program (Bragger Rice, 2000, p. 110) in contrast with those in use just forty years ago that were dominated by vocabulary lists, seemingly random grammatical topics, and controlled exercises (Heather Willis Allen,2008). More fundamentally, however, it is because they are a teachers best instruments to regulate the quantity and quality of language used in the classroom. The problems which are going to be mainly investigated here are the discourse of second language that is English textbook and patterns of classroom discourse at secondary level in Bangladesh. Because two of the most common ways in which L2 teachers engage in interaction with learners is by way of asking questions and providing feedback, and these deserve some consideration (Holland and Shortall, 1997:104), with a in depth view to in these it can be expected to have an improved L2 teaching-learning in our country . Textbook and classroom interaction have a significant influence on each other. According to the textbook the classroom interaction is generally originated, flowed and ended. On the other hand classroom interaction has good motivation toward ensuring the good execution of the skills and others necessary elements of textbook. Secondary education is a very significant level of formal education because it is the level whereby either the preparation for the next stage is governed or the necessary vocational or technical ability is developed in a profound manner. The context specified here is secondary English classroom. English is not our second language rather it is our foreign language and it is of a great importance here. In Bangladesh, with the development of society and international communication, more and more importance has been attached to English teaching and learning. Secondary education graduates with good command of English language knowledge and competence are needed in our country to attain the aim of our education. As the fundamental aim of secondary English education is to foster communication skills and international understanding, it is of great interest to analyze their English classroom and textbook discourse in order to improve teaching and to make learners proficient users of English. The need to attain the curriculum determined aims and objectives it is required to be skilled in the four communicative expertises with good proficiency in the textbook which includes perfection in classroom interaction. 1.5 Objectives of the study: 1.5.1 General Objectives: To analyze the discourse of English textbook of secondary (9, 10) level. To analyze the discourse of Classroom interaction. To compare among the classroom interaction To compare the conversation of the textbook and real classroom interaction. 1.5.2 Specific Objectives: To analyze the conversation of the textbook English For Today(9-10) by drawing out the- Initiation-Response- Feedback/Follow-up of the conversations Turn-taking Cohesion and coherence To analyze the discourse of Classroom interaction to draw out the- The teacher initiated interaction. The student initiated interaction. Initiation-Response-Evaluation/Feedback/Follow-up of the conversations initiated by the teacher. Students Initiation (Non-Verbal)- Teachers Response-Students Initiation (Verbal) of the conversations initiated by the students. To compare the ratio of teacher initiated and student initiated interaction. To compare among the classroom interaction of the -Grade-1, Grade-2 and Grade-3 Schools. To compare the IRF and Turn-Taking of conversation of the textbook and real classroom interaction. 1.6 Some important key terms From the works of Cameron, Working with Spoken Discourse (2001, pp.87-98), Pridham, The Language of Conversation, (2001, pp.23-32), Brown and Yule, Discourse Analysis, (1983), Yule The Study of Language: 4th Edition (2010, p.124.127), Brown Yule, (1983, p.191-199) (cohesion and coherence), Prof. Hugo Bowles, (2008-09) and Sinclair and Coulthard (1975) the following terms and their definitions have been cited. 1.6.1. I-R-E/F Model: This is the modification or details of the IRF model of Sinclair and Coultherd. Sinclair and Coulthard (1975) developed a model for the description of teacher-pupil talk based on a hierarchy of discourse units. The language of the classroom differs from many forms of spoken discourse in that it is formally structured and controlled by one dominant party, i.e. the teacher. The Sinclair and Coulthards model was devised in 1975 and slightly revised in 1992. The classroom turn sequences typically have three parts rather than two. Namely: Teacher initiation (I), Student response (R), followed by Teacher evaluation (E) of the response. Through understanding the I-R-E structures of whole-class lessons, Researchers have come to important insights about teachers and students · social roles and relationships inside classrooms. In particular, the teacher, by evaluating what students say, assumes the right to control the talk. Also as initiator of the sequence, the teacher maintains the right to call on students and allocate turns in essence organizing and orchestrating the discussions. Within this teacher controlled turn-taking, participation structure, students must have certain discourse strategies and skills to perform well (Cazden. 1983; Griffin Humphrey. 1978: Mehan. 1979: Sinclair Coulthard. 1975). Mehan (1979) notes that being right in the classroom requires a student to respond (R) to a teachers initiation (I) not only with the correct content but also with the correct interactional timing and communicative conventions: otherwise the students response may be ignored, discounted, or not heard. There are eleven subcategories of teaching exchanges, one of which is eliciting exchange. To put it in detail, that is, the teacher raises a question, then the students answer it, and the teacher gives an evaluative follow-up before raising another question. The three moves that constitute an eliciting exchange are referred to as Initiation, Response and Follow-up. The three-move structure of an exchange (IRF) is commonly cited, and will also be the basis of data analysis. When a student replies the teachers question, the other students may not hear clearly sometimes. So the teacher needs to repeat the students words so as to make it clear to all the students. Whats more important is that the teacher should give feedback to the students answer, to show whether the answer is right or whether it is the answer expected by the teacher. 1.6.2 Conversation Analysis Conversation proceeds on the basis of one turn after another. Turn belongs to a single speaker. But how do we know when it is our turn to talk. Turns are negotiated and renegotiated by participants during conversation. Continual negotiation is a general feature of conversational organization. Turn-taking and turn constructional units (TCUs) TCUs are units of speech. The boundaries of these units are called turn transition relevance points (TTRPS). These are points at which intervention from another speaker is syntactically or semantically possible. At a TTRP: The current speaker selects the next speaker, or (if this does not operate) The next speaker self-selects The current speaker may continue Repair (simultaneous speech and silence) Participants will not usually talk at the same time. Simultaneous speech and silence are problems which need to be repaired. In simultaneous speech, one person usually wins the right to speak and be attended to by the other participants. When the turn taking rules (above) fail to operate, there is silence. Silence is a problem which needs to be repaired. Adjacency pairs Spoken interaction is often structured around pairs of adjacent utterances (utterances which occur one after the other) in which the second utterance is functionally dependent on the first. Question-answer: how are you? fine Greetings: good morning good morning In these sequences we expect the first part to be followed by the second part. If it is not there, we interpret it as rude, unfriendly or socially inept. Different types of questions produce different types of response. For example, a tag-question organizes a response better than an open question. Insertion sequences These sequences can be inserted between adjacency pairs. The topic of the insertion sequence is related to that of the main sequence in which it occurs and the main sequence continues after the insertion. Preferred and Dispreferred responses The preferred response to a proposal is acceptance, which can be performed without hesitation or elaboration. Agreement is a preferred response. The dispreferred response is refusal. It tends to be hesitant and elaborate (we often give reasons for a refusal). Disagreement is also and example of a dispreferred response. Discourse markers (markers of interaction) These have the general function of moving the conversation on but they may have specific functions, depending on the conversation: to signal to the listener that the speaker wishes to continue speaking (a filler) to signal where the conversation is going For example, well may be used to indicate a) the opening of a conversation, b) that the speaker is about to say something which is in conflict with what has been said earlier. 1.6.3 Cohesion and coherence A sequence of sentences is a text when there is some kind of dependence between the sentences. The task of textual analysis is to identify the elements that cause this dependence. These elements are elements of cohesion (cohesive elements) and elements of coherence. A. Cohesion There are a number of categories of cohesive elements: Conjunctive relations What is about to be said is explicitly related to what has been said before, through such notions as contrast (but, however, nonetheless), result (so, therefore, nevertheless etc.) and time (when after, before etc.). Coreference These are features which cannot be semantically interpreted except by reference to some other feature in the text. They can be of two types anaphoric relations, which look backwards for their interpretation and cataphoric relations, which look forwards. References to assumed, shared worlds outside of the text are Exophoric References. Because they are not text internal, they are not truely cohesive, but because they are an equally important part of the reader/ listeners active role in creating coherence, they should be included in the analysis. Substitution Substitution is when a cohesive element replaces a previous word or expression. Pronouns (I, me etc.) and words of personal reference (myself, yourself etc.) are examples of cohesion by substitution. Ellipsis Ellipsis occurs when a structure is omitted and can only be recovered from previous discourse. Repetition Repetition is when an expression or part of an expression is repeated. This is very common in speech (see lesson on characteristics of speech). The repetition of tense and other syntactic patterns is very important for cohesion. Comparison In comparative cohesion something is always compared with something else in the discourse. Words of identity (e.g. same as), similarity (e.g. very like), difference (e.g. unlike); distinctness (e.g. totally different) are important for comparative cohesion. Something is always compared with something else in the discourse B. Coherence The textual world (what the text is about) is made up of concepts and relations. Coherence concerns the way in which concepts and relations are mutually accessible and relevant. In other words, a coherent text is one which is easy for us to understand because it is easy for us to make a mental representation of it. Remember that it is possible for a text to be cohesive but not coherent. The Faulkner text is full of cohesive elements but it is not easy to understand. 1.7 Rationale: Discourse analysis has been used to understand a wide range of texts including natural speech, professional documentation, political rhetoric, interview or focus group material, internet communication, newspapers and magazines and broadcast media. There are many different types of discourse analysis such as conversation analysis, discursive psychology, critical discourse analysis and Foucauldian discourse analysis. Each of these has its own assumptions, emphasis and methods but the key overlapping interest is in the way meaning is constructed in communication. The motivation to this work was to compile a set of useful approaches to analyze the communication processes of textbook to draw out the materials and again the classroom conversation which means a lot to the teaching-leaning of ESL. Another very significant reason working as a catalyst for the study is that there is hardly any work done in this area and this study, without any doubt can provide with legendary achievement for t he stakeholders if done properly. It will facilitate the Language education of Bangladesh by providing with an example of applied discourse analysis. On the other hand this work will provide with a good document for further study regarding discourse analysis. As many classroom-oriented researchers have pointed out, it is only through a better understanding of classroom interaction processes that teachers can render their teaching more profitable for learners (Jamila Boulima, 1999:15). This study is significant in that it studies the textbook with a view to discourse analysis and also attempted to reveal the characteristics of classroom interaction that is most favorable for promoting learners English and has insightful implications for English teaching and learning. The aim of the present study is to develop the textbook writers and teachers reflective thinking about what goes on in the text and their own classrooms and to provide information for improving teaching and learning in secondary English classrooms. There are a number of approaches to discourse analysis, some of which are: speech act theory, interactional sociolinguistics, ethnography, pragmatics and conversation analysis are the most important ones. (Brown Yule, 1983) This qualitative study examines spoken communication (talk/speech/spoken texts/spoken messages) between speaker (teacher/ student) and listener (teacher/ student) and written communication (conversation of the textbook) between the textual character. It stresses the need to see language as a dynamic, social interactive phenomenon. Meaning is conveyed not by single sentences but by more complex exchanges, in which the participants beliefs and expectations, the knowledge they share about each other and about the world, and the situation in which they interact, play a crucial part (Bowels, 2008-09).

Friday, October 25, 2019

Covers of the High and Low: Attractions and Reflections Essay -- Book

Covers of the High and Low: Attractions and Reflections When preparing a book for publishing, companies surely convene to agree upon a suitable cover - its design, size, color, texture, print size and design, and so on. Not one of these ingredients would be arbitrary, but each seems to perform two functions - attracting the appropriate reading audience, and reflecting the text's content in an intriguing manner. In short, the bestseller cover seems to work to create a certain "aura" which acts as a stylized extension, and/or abbreviated summary of the atmosphere produced by the words within. Often a picture appears centralized on the cover - an image to catch the eye more quickly than mere printed words would. At a moment's glance, the passer-by has already noticed an image, and then continues to process its meaning, aided by the ensuing title and perhaps author's name. Certain expectations and questions are inspired, as techniques of the cover take effect in the mind of the potential reader. The meaning derived from the cover's collaborat ing external signifiers is often fulfilled within the internal text. Because the cover is reflective of the novel's internal workings, and often its "high/low" cultural classification, the first reader/cover encounter could both determine a reader's initial acceptance or rejection of the book, and be somewhat prophetic of his/her subsequent reading experience. In this way, the bestseller cover is effective in reflecting the inner substance of the writing (including "high" or "low" cultural quality) in an intriguing manner which attracts appropriate readers. Danielle Steele's Vanished portrays a small picture - an almost outlined (rather iconic) suggestion really - of a young boy in what ... ...s traits of the "low cultural" bestseller converge together in the compact, physical realm of the cover to reflect the content's most "popular" strengths in a way that is provoking, and often enigmatic. The use of image and other signifiers of the cover is handled differently by "high cultural" bestsellers, as their literary self-perceptions are different. Hence, although both "high" and "low cultural" bestsellers use similar methods of content reflection, their covers are remarkably dissimilar, owing to 1.The difference in the publishers' perception of the book's strengths (such as "art", or "entertainment"), and 2.The target audience the publisher wishes to attract, based upon these perceptions. All bestsellers are popular, and their charismatic covers, when channeled to the appropriate audience, must be imperative in their achievement of such immense popularity.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Kraft Food Company

Kraft Food Company was founded by James Kraft in 1903. Kraft started off by selling wholesale cheese in Chicago, they later expanded, distributing to over 30 specialty cheeses under the name Kraft and Elkhorn. By 1920 Kraft began to mass produce specialty cheeses which were then exported to Canada and Europe. They later established plants in England and Germany. James Kraft’s development to new products and the use of innovative advertising methods led Kraft to be an early user of all communications media and as early as 1911 they were advertising on Chicago elevated trains, using outdoor billboards and mailing circulars to retail grocers. Kraft was also the first to use colored advertisement in national magazines. By 1933 Kraft began using radio for advertising as well. Kraft’s innovation is also witnessed by the introduction of products such as; Velveeta in 1928, Miracle Whip salad dressing in 1933, Kraft macaroni and cheese dinner in 1936, Parkay margarine in 1940, sliced processed cheese in 1951, and Cheez Whiz in 1952. Kraft is primarily operated as a subsidiary to other larger corporations, the first being National Dairy Company in 1930. Kraft was later purchased by Philip Morris in 1988 for twelve million, nine hundred thousand dollars. Morris then merged Kraft with General Foods unit in 1989, creating one entity known as Kraft General Foods Inc. , making it the largest food company in the United States and the second largest in the world. Philip Morris then acquired Nabisco in December 2000 and immediately began to integrate it into the operations of Kraft Foods and Kraft Foods International. In 2001 Philip Morris created a new holding company for the combined operations know as Kraft Food Inc.. Kraft Food then had two main units, Kraft Food North America and Kraft Foods International with 2 chief executive officers (CEOs) Betsy D. Holden and Roger K. Deromedi respectively were name co-CEOs of Kraft Foods Inc.. In June of 2001 Philip Morris sold 16. 1 percent stake to the public, making it the second largest initial public offering in United States history.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Innate vs Learnt Behaviour

In your own words, detail for' and ‘against' arguments with regard to innate and learned behavior. Feel free to include your own opinion, but be sure to Justify It. Try to Include equal amount of Information for both sides. Use at least 500 words for your answer. Answer: The innate verses learnt or nature verses nurture argument is a subject that has been theorized and debated by scientists, psychologists and philosophers for hundreds of years. It Is a question that can be dated back as early as 350 BC where philosophers Plato and Aristotle had different views on whether it was nature or nurture which shaped individual behaviors.Plato believed knowledge and behavior to be innate. He theorized that all knowledge was present at birth and the environment played a unique part in shaping us. In his opinion the environment did not teach us anything we weren't born with and that Its purpose was merely to remind us of Information we already knew. Aristotle on the other hand theorized t hat behavior and knowledge had to be learnt and that we were born as tabular Rasa' or blank slate and our behavior, thoughts and actions were learnt and acquired through experiences.Although nether Plato or Aristotle theories are supported today It Is still debated hat shapes us In the people we become. Is nature or is it nurture? What is innate behavior or viewed as nature? Innate behavior is a fixed, unchangeable, untaught-of, natural behavior, which is instinctive and are born with. Behavior that is inherited or passed on through genes. Things such as reflexes are Innate behavior; a reflex Is an involuntary automatic response to a certain stimulus.Those who believe we are shaped by nature are known as nativities. Examples of innate behavior are the moor or falling reflex, the moor reflex is any sudden movement that affect the baby's neck, giving them the feeling of falling or Ewing dropped. The baby's innate reaction to this is to open their arms out wide, opening up their hands before bringing them back In to their chest almost as if to catch an object. The grasp reflex, whenever an object or fingers touches the palm of a baby's hand they will automatically grasp or grab It.The swallowing and sucking reflex, if you place something, even a finger in to the baby's mouth they will automatically suck and swallow, babies are also known to sometimes suck their fingers or thumbs whilst still in the womb, this is an instinctive reflex, something needed to survive. There are many other reflexes including blinking, breathing, sneezing and coughing. With the ability to instinctively know how to make nests, what is needed to do this and to carry the materials required to do this in their beaks.Sea turtles despite hatching on land instinctively know to head straight for the water and have the ability to swim. A very complex innate behavior can be seen in chickens. Having kept chickens since a child myself vast differences can be seen in battery hens and free range hens . Imagine this battery hens never get the opportunity to see daylight, stretch their inns, take a dust bath or forage in the dirt for worms and bugs, unlike free range hens. Yet on removing hens from the battery and giving them the gift and opportunity of a free range lifestyle, all of the natural instincts return immediately.They have always been there Just merely suppressed. Other more complex innate or instinctive behavior in animals can include hibernation and migration. Learnt behavior on the other hand or nurture is something we are not born with but which we are taught by parents, peers, teachers and can be influenced by social and environmental factors we are exposed to. These behaviors unlike innate behavior are not fixed, but flexible and can be changed at any time. Those who believe it is learnt behavior that shapes us are known as empiricists.Learnt behavior is very complex and can display itself in so many guises and can also vary diversely from one culture to another. Take for example the Europeans and the primitive mammas tribes of Africa. In Europe hunting is considered a sport whereas to the mammas tribes hunting is a necessity and way of life. Without hunting they would not be able to feed, clothe or provide for their families. To them hunting s learnt at a very young age unlike the Europeans who have the convenience of shops and no longer require learning this skill.Learnt behavior can be both good and bad, in the respect that with children a lot of learning is through copying, what they see and listen to and what they are being told about what is going on in their environment surrounding them. The good thing with learnt behavior that if it is bad such as swearing or answering back it can be rectified and changed unlike innate behavior. The body and brain combined are an amazing combination as to how it co-ordinates s, and throughout our lives we will never stop learning. Examples of learnt behavior in children include, walking, talking, lis tening, potty training to mention just a few.Babies usually makes attempts to walk from around 12 – 14 months although prior to this they have already mastered the art to get from one place to another or where they want to be. From 6 months babies may start to shuffle across the room on their bums, or lay on their front with their legs in the air trying to work out how to crawl. From 9 months babies are able to wriggle along the floor on their tummies or even rail, and by 12 months they are making attempts to walk and may even be able to when holding someone's hand. Rods are said and pronounced around them. The path to talking begins as early as 2 – 4 months when babies start to make ooh and ah sounds of pleasure. Between months 4 and 9 babies start cooing and babbling, then from 9 months they begin to point to things and vocalism with some meaning although the pronunciations is not quite there yet, by 12 – 18 months single words begin to emerge with some clarit y words such as mama or dada. Then from 18 – 24 months basic phrases and ententes start to develop with sayings like teddy gone'?From 24 months sentences begin to emerge with real meaning instead of teddy gone' it becomes Where's teddy gone'. Finally from 4 years onwards children have the same language comprehension as an adult although with basic and limited vocabulary. Some children by this age are also bilingual having parents of a different nationality are able to speak English and a foreign language having been used t hearing it during the formative years. Hearing is developmental milestone that begins whilst babies are still in the womb.From around 24 weeks gestation babies have the ability to hear sounds in the outside world, by 32 weeks they will have the ability to recognize a piece of music and move around to the beat, they are also likely to recognize the piece of music after birth. This is how we learn to listen by hearing things over and over again and through li stening to noises and people talking. Many learnt skills as a child are achieved by repetition. Although this all looks quite simple and clear cut there are problems with viewing behavior as either innate or learnt.It is relatively easy to view a singular aspect of a arson's behavior as either innate or learnt for example, hearing is innate and listening is learnt, but it would be impossible to categories a person as a whole as either innate or learnt. The main problem with trying to view behavior as either one or the other is that there are no specific scientific tests which can be carried out, and it would be practically impossible to set up such tests as people's perceptions of things are different.This would create different test results with one person viewing one thing and in the others professional opinion it could be completely different. There is also he fact that it would be seen as unethical to test such things. It has in previous years been attempted to research identica l twins, although being identical and having the same upbringing, they are unable to account for environmental and social factors, as these may be different for both of them. One spending time with one group of people going to one set of places and areas.Whilst the other twin who has a completely different group of friends, going to other places. You would also have to bear in mind the media factors the people are exposed to such as television, radio, gaming stations, the internet. It would therefore make it ritually impossible to agree whether it was nature or nurture that shaped them as individuals. Shapes us in our development from infant t o adulthood along with environmental and social factors all playing a part.Social factors may include one parent families, adopters, or where you are brought up. It is also my belief that many media factors also have a hand in what we learn things as mentioned earlier like television, internet, gaming machines, mobile phones, music, and mobile phones. I also think the social dynamics of the family also play a part too depending on what sort of upbringing you have, and who or what you learning from.