Child Development Article Review Essay

This article is about studying children’s sleep patterns to see if sleep disorders may be a direct correlation to behavior problems within children. Could sleep issues be the cause for such issues like ADHD and other behavior related illnesses including psychiatric disorders? According to John Bates, Richard Viken, Douglas Alexander, Jennifer Beyers, and Lesley Stockton, there are many behavior related disorders that could be related to how much sleep a child receives, along with the age and quality of sleep. Many parents who have children with behavior related issues are realizing that the quality of sleep may be directly related. There may be many factors that can be discussed and taken into consideration, including environmental factors, developmental factors, income of families, and genetic inheritance as well. There are many types of sleep disturbances that need to be looked at since many young children experience different forms of sleep disturbances such as, night waking, sleep walking, resistance to bed time routine, delay, and trouble falling asleep. Survey showed that 42% of 12 -35 month olds had problematic bedtime resistance, and 35% of all others have night waking issues. (Bates, E. Bates et all p.62) Sleeping disorders in the young child can have a negative impact on the brain, inadequate amounts of sleep can cause a child not to perform up to their potential, resulting with stress. Stress causes a number of issues within the child, such as overworking brain functions, misfiring of neurons, and stress hormones being over produced. Then the effects of daily day to day functions are disrupted within the child causing poor concentration and incapability’s in daily routines. Three main issues to think about when understanding child sleep disorders is that 1. Insomnia in the young child may forecast psychological disorders. 2. Sleep is not well understood in the young child but can be thought of as social and biological. 3. Relations to environment, genetic inheritance, developmental factors all need to be considered. 4. Sleep issues in the young child can have a negative impact on social, emotional, cognitive and physical development. 5. Age and quality amounts of sleep are factors that need to be considered when studying sleep disturbances in young children. This article touches on many different aspects on how sleep issues can develop into very serious conditions in children. Good healthy sleep patterns are key to a healthy child and if the child is experience irregularities in sleep then the parents or care giver should look into what maybe causing the disturbances. If that child experiences this continuously then that caregiver should really look more into the underlying issues with a medical professional. Sleep disturbances can be related to a multitude of developmental problems. Parents, teachers and caregivers should be aware of signs and symptoms of lack of sleep and try to monitor or regulate good sleep habits. Good sleep habits in a child can be so positive and so beneficial. It’s important for parents and caregivers to know they are not alone when trying to combat sleep issues in the young child, many children go through stages of mild sleep disturbances.

Competition in video game consoles Essay

Competition in Video Game Consoles: The State of the Battle for Supremacy in 2008 1. What are the strategy-shaping business and economic characteristics of the console segment of the video game industry? What is the industry like? 1-1 Segmentation: The industry was segmented into console hardware, console software (both sales and rentals), handheld hardware, handheld software (both sales and rentals), PC software (both sales and rentals), broadband, interactive TV, and mobile phones. 1-2 Market Size: Table 1: Size of the Global Video Games Markets, by Sector, 2000, 2003, and 2005, with Projections for 2010 ($ in millions) | 2000| 2003| 2005| 2010| Console hardware| $ 4,791| $6,047| $3,894| $5,771| Console Software (both sales and rentals)| 9,451| 16,449| 13,055| 17,164| Handheld hardware| 1,945| 1,501| 3,855| 1,715| Handheld software(both sales and rentals)| 2,872| 2,238| 4,829| 3,113| PC software (both sales and rentals)| 5,077| 3,806| 4,313| 2,955| Broadband| 70| 497| 1,944| 6,352| Interactive TV| 81| 249| 786| 3,037| Mobile phones| 65| 587| 2,572| 11,186| | 24,352| 31,370| 35,248| 51,292|. Source: Informa Telecoms & Media, â€Å"Games Market to Score Big in 2007,† press release, October 24, 2005, and â€Å"Games Industry Boom Continues,† press release July 24, 2003, both at www. informamedia. com (accessed September 8, 2006). As we can see the table above, the market size has grown from $24. 352 billion in 2000 to $51. 292 billion in 2010. In other words, the video game market becomes bigger and bigger. 1-3 Market growth rate Table 2 Compounded Annual Growth Rates For the Video Game Industry 2000 – 2005 and 2005 – 2010 (projected) | CAGR (2000-2005)| CAGR (2005-2010)| Console Hardware| -4. 1%| 8. 2%|. Console Software (both sales & rentals)| 6. 7%| 5. 6%| Handheld hardware| 14. 7%| -14. 96%| Handheld software (both sales & rentals)| 10. 95%| -8. 4%| PC software (both sales & rentals)| -3. 2%| -7. 3%| Broadband| 94. 4%| 26. 7%| Interactive TV| 57. 5%| 31. 04%| Mobile Phone| 108. 7%| 34. 2%| Total| 7. 7%| 7. 8%| CAGR is compound annual growth rate. The formula is(VtnVt0)1tn-t0-1. V (t0): start value, V (tn): finish value, tn ? t0: number of years. The numbers above are calculated from table 1. 1-4 Entry/Exit barriers The three existing companies are one of the entry barriers of other potential companies that would like to enter this market. Video game industry needs huge capital to invest on research and development department. Also, the entrants need to recruit skillful engineers and other talent staff to develop the products and make efficient marketing strategies. Combinations of all the entry elements, the entry barriers level is high for the perspective entrants. However, the software development is easier to enter this market than the hardware part. Potential entrants only need to focus on the software for the existing companies’ hardware products. This will have less cost than develop entire hardware and software. 1-5 Scope of rivalry. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft are the three main companies in the video game industry. Before 2001, there was one more competitor, Sega, in the market. It tried to compete with Nintendo and Sony but it finally was out of the industry in 2001. After 2001, video game industry has entered new war. Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft compete with each other by gaining sales and increasing installed base. Play Station 2 from Sony has significant unit sold in $299 each; however, its newest generation, Play Station 3 has not successful result in the market. Play Station 3 was beaten by Xbox and Wii which are from Microsoft and Nintendo respectively. As the result, Nintendo and Microsoft were substitute Sony to compete the leadership position in recent year. In addition, the retails which those three main companies sold their products in are in the price competition. Furthermore, console technology, online gaming, and mobile gaming has gradually changed the competitive situation. The impressive technologies become important for the competitive companies to develop new generation console. Also, game software enter new world which the internet is common, so the online game is on the trend that is expected to continue to increase in market. According to the mobile phone using population increasing, the games are installed in the mobile phone are in the increasing trend also. In short, the video game industry rivalry has become fierce. 1-6 Scale economies According to produce the entire console hardware, a company cannot manufacture all components by itself. Therefore, Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo would like to produce large amount of console hardware to reduce the costs. They choose to ally with IBM, maker of GPUs or Intel to get components to assemble their console. Because those ally companies need to offer not only one buyer, they can produce large volume for the buyers. Thus, the price would be reduced by huge amount of production. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo can through this way to reduce the production cost and reach the economy scale. 1-7 Consumer characteristic. There are 300 million population played video games which include console system, handheld devices, and mobile phone all over the world in 2008. Most of them are preteens, teenagers, and young adult who are between 20 and 40 year-old. In 2005, the average age of players is 33 in US and there are 25% of gamers who were over 50. In addition, there are 31% of all gamers are under 18 and there are 44% of players were 1 to 49 year-old in 2005. Moreover, there is 62% of players are males. 2. What is competition like in the video game system industry? Which of the five competitive forces is strongest? Which is weakest? What competitive forces seem to have the greatest effect on industry attractiveness and the potential profitability of new entrants? 2-1 * The bargaining power and leverage of buyers—a __weak_______ competitive force First of all, retailers almost do not have bargain power because they only can buy the products in those three companies. A retailer cannot buy the product from other companies and they may need to sell more than one brand to attract different customers taste. Therefore, they only have low bargain power. * The bargaining power and leverage of suppliers—a ____moderate_____ competitive force Although it is easy for video game companies, such as Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo, to switch the suppliers, the large suppler still contain bargain power. The bargain powers come from special technology, unique parts, and risk of quality control. The small suppliers cannot guarantee the quality of products. Moreover, if those video game companies require unique components, then the suppliers may have bigger power to bargain. In short, the hardware component suppliers have bargain power but the video game companies have ability to change suppliers also although it is not very easy. In addition, video game software suppliers are in the different situation which compares with hardware suppliers. Software suppliers may have bargain power if they make a very wonderful game or they can bargain for the sales of hardware volume. If the sales of hardware console are not good, the software companies may not be willing to produce the software games. However, those video game companies have abilities to produce the software. They can publish their own game software. Therefore, software suppliers may not have bargain power as strong as hardware suppliers. In short, integrate hardware and software suppliers’ competitive forces. Suppliers have moderate bargaining power. * Competition from substitutes—a __weak to moderate______ competitive force Video game is for people to spend their leisure time. Except video games, people can do outdoor activities, board games, watching TV, seeing movies†¦etc. for their free time. Those activities may not instead of the feeling of playing video games but this depends on how video game players like to play video game. According to the data, video game enthusiasts can spend 6 hours per week to play video games. Therefore, those people usually do not do other activities in their free time. In short, there is no activities totally the same with video game but there are still other things that players can do to instead video game. Thus, the substitute force is low to moderate. * Threat of entry—a __weak_______ competitive force. Due to the entry barriers, it is not easy to enter this industry. The requirements of entry are high. In order to enter video game industry, entrants need to invest large capital and possess enough technologic skills to compete with the existing companies. Furthermore, the existing companies have higher ability to stay in the industry and have strong competitive products to threaten new entrants. Consequently, the threat of new entry has weak competitive force. * Rivalry among competing video game console producers—a __Strong_______ competitive force There is strong rivalry within the industry. As we can see, Sega was forced to withdraw from the industry in 2001. The existing three companies have started competing with each other keenly. They continue to develop their products, to compete sales volumes and price. As long as one of them does not pay attention to each other action, they may lose a lot. Therefore, the competing within video game console producers is strong. 2-2 The strongest competitive force is rivalry among competing video game console producers. The weakest competitive force is threat of entry. The competition from substitute is the greatest effect on industry. Because there are no substitutes which can provide totally the same experience for consumers, this is the greatest attractiveness and the potential profitability of new entrants. 3. How is the video game system industry changing? What are the underlying drivers of change and how might those driving forces individually or collectively change competition in the industry? Driving forces will include: * Product innovation The development of software and hardware of console is an important driver to push the industry to change. New technologies can attract individual buyers to purchase. The enthusiastic consumers may want to obtain newest games, so they may be easy to change their favorites. Also, new development can force other producers to improve their products. A new innovation product can be success in the industry. Then, it may give pressure to other competitors to improve their products. Therefore, product innovation is a driver of change. * Emergence of new video game devices The new video game devices are a driver to let the producers to change their products because new devices may improve the products and may be a trigger of consumers’ willing to buy. When a new device comes out, a producer does not catch up the trend and then it may be kicked out the market. Moreover, a new device may become a trend in the industry and may trigger a new competition war. * Emergence of internet-based video games Internet-based video games allow multiplayers at the same time. Also, the players may change their purchasing pattern. Internet is convenience for the consumers to purchase new games and has accompanies to play games device so it will enhance the products become more vivid and convenience to possess. Therefore, internet-bas video games become a trend in the industry. The major players of industry have started to develop their products to allow users to player through wireless networking. Therefore, the producers are making change to fit the consumers’ new using and purchasing pattern. * The buyer characteristics The players characteristics are gradually change. There are more young adults and female to become players. This trend attracts the producers to consider the buyers age and gender. They have started to design the console and games to match those buyer segment needs. For example, the goal of Wii is even mom can know how to play it. Therefore, the consumers’ segment change can impact the industry trend and push the major industry players to change the design to feed the different segment of players. * The aspect of society The aspect of society is change in this decade. Parents are willing to accompany their kids to play video games. They think some video games can let people to use their brains to think and some video games can help people to do exercises. For example, some games may use particular barriers that push players to figure out what element they need for enter the other stages. Moreover, many sport games of Wii are required users to move their body. Thus, many people think that video games do not only require users to stick in front of the screens and just move the fingers but also require users to operate their brains and move their bodies. Therefore, many video game console producers have started to change their design to fit more potential customers’ needs. 4. What does your strategic group map of the video game industry (all segments) look like? Which strategic groups do you think are in the best positions? The worst positions? Types of Video Game Suppliers/Distribution Channels. Strategic Group Map of the Video Game Industry Arcades Machine Arcade operators Home PC game suppliers Sony, Microsoft, Nintendo Home PCs Video Game Consoles Several online game site: MSN game zone†¦etc. Online Video Game Sites Low Medium High Cost to Players of Video Games Arcade operators can distribute for the arcade machine and little part for home PC use. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo produce games that can be use on home PC, video game consoles and online games. The online video game supplier may distribute the games to online use and may have little part for video game console use. Arcade game costs players very little. Sometimes it just cost few coins to play and players do not need to buy the machine back to homes. Home PC game players have to buy PC and they just can play the games or they may need to go to some Internet bars. Therefore, the cost is highest. Video game console cost players around $100 to $400 to purchase a hardware console. For the online video game sites, they may just cost few dollars from players to download the games. 5. What key factors determine the success for video game console producers? Factors that are necessary for competitive success in the console segment of the video game industry include: * Large installed base While the installed base is getting more and more, the producer company could be profit from the increasing installed base if the producer develops its internal game capabilities. Nintendo and Microsoft have this strategy. Nintendo has published many popular games and those software operating profit margins contribute around 35% to 40 % of Nintendo’s profitability. Also, independent game publishers also benefit from the large installed base because they can have increasing continuous sales. * Technological capabilities According to the improvement of technologies, every industry players are eager to develop the new products that the new technologies ameliorate them. This is because consumers have required more and more functions and quality of the products. They want high definition, easy to use†¦ etc from the products; therefore, every producer is entering the technological capabilities war. The technological abilities can help producers offer better products to attract customers to purchase. * Partnerships with independent software developers. Those software developers are important for the hardware game console producers because there is no fun without game software. Many players have â€Å"must have list. † This is just like the fashion world. People who pay attention on fashion trend know what should be had. Thus, â€Å"must have list† is the fashion trend in the video game industry. Therefore, partnerships with independent software developers are one of key factor that can push the video game console producer to succeed. Those partners can develop the popular software to urge the sales of video game console producers. * Acceptable development and production costs The price of the console should be reasonable for consumers. If the price is too high, the product may be like PS3 to fail in the market. Because Sony spent a lot on developing the better technologic component for PS3, it priced PS3 in $499 and $599 each to charge customers. However, the new design of PS3 did not completion yet at the launched time because PS3 had only 24 PS3 game title can backward compatible with PlayStation and PS2. The development of PS3 is not acceptable and blue-ray technology was too expensive. Therefore, the incompletion development and high production costs are transferred to consumers. The result is PS3 fail. In short, acceptable development and production costs are one of the factors can determine video game console producer will succeed or not. * Access to distribution Retailer distribution: this is the common distribution channel of hardware and software console. Those retail stores, such as Wal-Mart, Target, Best-Buy, Flyer’s and Amazon, have high consumers’ density. Due to the development of internet use, online retailers become popular and contain powerful sales. Online download: Because of internet-base becomes a trend, many console producers have developed the online gaming. Hence, internet becomes a potential way to distribute the online game products. Product variety: Some video game producers have variety products. For example: Nintendo produces hardware console and software console game. The software console game cannot only use in Wii but also can use in PC, PS2, or other hardware console. Thus, as a software game publisher, Nintendo access to more than one distribution for its software game. In short, how to access to more distribution is also one successful factor of video game console producers. 6. Which console makers seem to be best able to perform the industry’s key success factors and other measures of competitive strength? What ratings do Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo merit in a competitive strength assessment? | ImportanceWeight| SonyStrengthRating| SonyStrengthScore| MicrosoftStrength Rating| Microsoft StrengthScore| NintendoStrengthRating| NintendoStrengthScore| Large installed base| 0. 25| 7| 1. 75| 6| 1. 50| 9| 2. 25|. Technologicalcapabilities| 0 . 15| 9| 1. 35| 9| 1. 35| 7| 1.05| Partnership with independent software developer| 0. 15| 8| 1. 20| 8| 1. 20| 8| 1. 20| Acceptable development and production costs| 0. 25| 6| 1. 50| 7| 1. 75| 8| 2. 00| Access to distribution| 0. 20| 8| 1. 60| 8| 1. 60| 9| 1. 80| Sum| 1. 00| | 7. 4| | 7. 4| | 8. 3| (Rating Scale: 1=very weak; 10=very strong) General speaking, Sony with PS2 has performance very well in the industry. However, Xbox had beaten Sony’s PS3. Then Nintendo’s Wii has very strong performance to become industry leader. Thus, Nintendo seems to have best performance in the industry. The table above shows the ratings and scores of Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo. Sony and Microsoft have the same score, 7. 4 and Nintendo has higher score, 8. 3. Although Nintendo do not have strong technological capabilities, it has powerful marketing strategic and variety products to access more distribution. Its product can reach more population to use and weaker technological capabilities become its strength to increase the sales volume. Therefore, I gave rating 8 for the acceptable development and production costs which is higher than Sony and Microsoft. Therefore, the overall rating of Nintendo shows that it has best performance in the industry. 7. What recommendations would you make to Microsoft to win the next generation battle in the video game console industry? to Sony? to Nintendo? Microsoft According to the revenue data, we can see Microsoft has less revenue than Sony and Nintendo. Also the sale unit of Microsoft products are not as mane as Sony and Nintendo. Therefore, I recommend that Microsoft should increase sale volume of its products. Xbox may be popular in America but how about Asia? Asia is a potential place to increase the sale. Therefore, Microsoft may need to create the new generation product can fit more population taste. Sony Sony should remember the lesson of launching PS3. Although it had pressure to launch PS3 earlier, the product was not ready yet to public. This situation can drag more profit down than launching PS3 later. Therefore, I recommend that Sony should make the marketing plan well and prepare more than one back up plan to face the rivals’ new products. Sony should have ability to predict or estimate actions of competitors. Nintendo Nintendo has strong performance of its Wii. Wii is design to reach more population so the key features of Wii are not as strong as Sony Play Station and Microsoft Xbox. Now, Wii has been successful to reach more population, and then I will recommend that Nintendo should figure out how to improve its technological abilities. The consumers cannot be always satisfied with the simple designs. Moreover, Nintendo has famous software game such as Mario Brothers. The game is many people childhood memories. Nintendo could make serial products for the special anniversary of Mario Brothers. Many people would like to collect the serial products, such as the first generation Mario Brother game. This is Nintendo’s strength and Nintendo should use it.

How might an organization create and sustain competitive advantage Essay

How might an organization create and sustain competitive advantage through the strategic use of design thinking Your task for t - Essay Example 2). Design thinking has been shown to be the process through which individuals within organizations identify particular issues and through strategic thinking develop viable solutions, which are mainly focused on improving future results to the organization. It is therefore a process whereby the innovation starts from the goal or purpose intended to be achieved as against from the problems to be solved (Wattanasupachoke, 2012, p. 1; Kevin and Ron, 2008, p. 8-10). Through critical analysis of issues in current as well as future perspectives, design thinking explores the parameters of the issues and then resolutions are explored simultaneously. This system is therefore uniquely applied within trading organizations as against scientific methods, which are adopted for solving problems. Design thinking is therefore an emerging trend that trading organizations are adopting in order to create as well as sustain competitive advantage in business environment against other competing organizatio ns. It is a popular notion among business organizations that yesterday’s innovation can never guarantee tomorrows competence hence the need to encourage the innovation spirit (Maier and Zenovia, 2011, p. 975). Manufacturing and technical organizations are basic examples, which adopt effectively the design-thinking framework. In such an example to an organization, which bears the traits of manufacturing and technical attributes, we consider the Volkswagen automotives company. This project therefore has the main objective as being the analysis of design thinking as an effective tool to be adopted within the locomotive industry with a special attention to Volkswagen. The Volkswagen is a brand name for a group of entrepreneurs; companies whose main area of operation is within the automotive industry. They are well known for the manufacture and sale of the Volkswagen, Audi, Skoda, SEAT, Bentley, Lamborghini, Bugatti, and Porsch

The great gatsby Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The great gatsby - Movie Review Example The important credits of the American Dream as presented in the novel are hope and perseverance and aspiration for success facing all difficult challenges. To be ambitious and work hard with an unquenchable thirst about adventurous life! Jay Gatsby is supposed to pursue all these qualities and he is the main character in the novel representing American Dream. He is fired by the everlasting hope and craves to win Daisy’s love in tandem with the spirit of the American Dream. A pre-decided goal and the relentless pursuit of that goal! His introduction in the novel is dramatic and the author describes it thus: "†¦[with] his hands in his pockets†¦ out to determine what share was his of our local heavens †¦.he [Gatsby] stretched out his arms toward the dark water in a curious way,†¦ he was trembling. Involuntarily I glanced seaward-and distinguished nothing except a single green light, minute and far away, that might have been the end of a dock" (Fitzgerald 21). The restless spirit of Gatsby is evident in this description. The green light is the symbol for his intense desire to possess Daisy, craze for money and he is not satisfied with his present possessions; he craves to achieve and accumulate more. But what is the reality? Nick describes it and argues that the green light is the symbol for success that he is anticipating in the future, by further accelerating the efforts. Undoubtedly, Gatsby’s goal provides him with a direction in life, but in his aggression to move forward he has no time to pause, review or look backward. He chases his dream of securing eternal company with Daisy and, subsequently, he waits patiently for a long time near her house but she has abandoned him. In his effort to emulate the modern face of the American Dream, he has lost touch with the pure, original American Dream. Loss of ethical values is the cause for the shattering of the

Business Law Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Business Law - Coursework Example A contract is defined as an agreement made with an intention to create legal relationship between two parties in order to exchange some form of consideration (Uher & Davenport, 2009). Basically, in English Law for a contract to be initiated, there should be an offer and an acceptance. Both the offer and acceptable must give rise to the exchange of consideration under terms that are clearly spelt out in clear terms (Young, 2010). Also, both parties must have the legal capacity to contract (be over 18 years old and be of a sound and uninfluenced mind). And the consideration to be exchanged should be legal in the law. Additionally, there should be an intention to create a legal relationship. In Smith V Hughes [1871] 40 LJQB J221 it was seen that the intention to create legal relationship can either be expressed or implied when one partie conducts himself in a way that the other might reasonably imply to mean an intention to create a legal relationship hence a contract. Consideration is an important requirement in English Law. A consideration is at thing of value, that a person exchanges for another thing of value in a contract. Treitel, (1988) bases on this and states that a contract gives rise to rights and responsibilities for each party in a contract. ... Breach of Contracts â€Å"A contract is breached if one party introduces a fundamental change which is unacceptable to the other party.† Morris et al (2007). In practice, when a person fails to do as promised in a term of a given contract, there is a breach of contract. In Johnson V Agnew [1980], there was the failure of one party to discharge what was promised in the contract. This led to a breach of contract which was due to the failure of one party to discharge his responsibility as promised and according to the terms of the contract. In effect, the other party’s rights accrued under the contract were limited because after discharging his responsibility, the other party failed to give him the consideration due to him. Obviously, this led the aggrieved party to suffer several hardships which would not have occurred if the other party had discharged his duty as promised. In such a case, the aggrieved party can go to court and seek some kind of restitution. In such a si tuation, the court will decide on a remedy for the aggrieved party based on the facts of the case and pass a judgement on the case (Morris et al, 2007) Damages for the Breach of Contract The usual remedy under English commercial law for a breach of commercial contract is an award of damages (Whincup, 2006). This therefore means that in most cases, where some kind of damages can be awarded to an aggrieved party in a contract to restore him to his former position, the court will normally grant that. In Robinson V Harman 1848 Ex Rep 850, the landmark ruling was that â€Å"where a party sustains a loss by reason of a breach of contract, he is so far as money can do it, to be placed in the same situation ...as if the contract had been performed†. This

Business Opportunities in Brunei Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Opportunities in Brunei - Essay Example Brunei is a members of ASEAN, United Nations Organization and the Organization of Islamic Conference. In spite of great political changes, Brunei is still a sultanate headed by Hassanal Bolkiah. The official language is Malay but business companies and organization understand English and Chinese. The currency of the country is Brunei dollar (Brunei. Brunei Country Reports 2008). The uniqueness of Brunei business culture is that it is influenced by Hinduism and Islam. Similar to other Asian coulters, Brunei culture has no clearly defined division between religion, philosophy and business. Faith and philosophy are lived every day as a way of life. To understand the Brunei businessmen, for example in the context of business leadership, it is important to understand the principles by which they live and to what extent the teachings of their philosophers are still applicable today (Brunei. The World Factbook 2008). They are extremely good at exploiting opportunities and at deal-making; they are masters of financial, in particular cash, management; in short, they are a result of a long series of opportunistic tactical moves. They are persistent, enduring and may survive in business for a long time by simply accumulating slim short-term gains. Historically, one characteristic of the Brunei business leaders is that their power rests on high flexibility, adaptabilit y and political pragmatism.

Effective Assessment Practices Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Effective Assessment Practices - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the definition of assessment as the process that is employed to identify gather and interpreted information related to a student’s learning. The core purpose of learning is to provide true indicative information on the student’s progress and achievement and enable the setting of appropriate direction for the ongoing learning and teaching. Assessment and grading practices based on the classroom environment have a greater potential to measure, report and promote learning. Research on the effective assessment has documented the possible benefits that accrue to regular users of diagnostic and formative forms of assessment as a learning feedback The following examples are among the specific assessment practices that have been effectively used to enhance teaching and learning. Rubrics are the multipurpose scoring tool guide that describes the best criteria for performance to learners at various levels. It is employed mainly to assess a studentâ⠂¬â„¢s product and performance. For the effective development of a rubric to optimize workability, The Journal for Effective Teaching provides three main rubric designing steps. Identifying performance criteria requires that the instructor determine the quality of the work prior to giving an assignment. The performance criteria require that the assessed performance should be observable and measurable. Setting performance level -the assessor needs to decide on the number of appropriate performance levels of assessment.  

Agency Protest to a General Accounting Office (GAO) Research Paper

Agency Protest to a General Accounting Office (GAO) - Research Paper Example One of the major initiatives that have been put in place by developed countries is procurement reform. This included the establishment of mechanisms through which offerors can question the officials in charge of the procurement procedures in the government departments. In case the procuring agencies are not compliant with the law and regulations governing the procurement process, the aggrieved parties undertake the bid protest. The major forms of federal bid protest include an agency-level protest, protest through the Government Accountability Office (GAO) and the jurisdiction through United States Court of Federal Claims (COFC) (GAO-03-673G Government Auditing Standards, 2012).   Important aspects of Agency Protests Federal Acquisition Regulations (FAR) 33.103 gives the guidelines that must be followed by the agencies in addressing of the protests generated by the offerors. Having being established by the Executive Order 12979, agency protest stipulates that all the concerned part ies must take all the necessary steps to ensure that the conflict is solved in an amicable way. Even though the government has clearly outlined the regulations that control the agency protests, most of the agencies complement the FAR provisions by initiating their own regulations that are not favorable to the offerors. A protest is initiated by an interested party. An interested party is an individual whose economic interest would be adversely affected by the failure to win a contractor through the award of the contact (Robert, 2012). This is one of the major aspects that are common both to agency and GAO protests. There is no jurisdiction on the protests that an agency can handle since it has the authority to deal with all the protests that are related to its contracts. However, according to Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act, a protest that is related to delivery order contracts or issuance of the task that can be given to various contractors when an agency is in need of particu lar services or goods cannot be considered by an agency. In such cases, the aggrieved individuals institute a complaint to the delivery order ombudsman as provided by the FAR 16.505 (Federal Acquisition Regulations).  Ã‚  

Management plan Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Management plan - Essay Example Quitting is never a good decision pertaining to this case; rather she can opt for a better opportunity. A winner never quits and he or she has to march towards their goal facing all the hurdles in life. Not all the organizations will have the same problem. But at this time she should develop an attitude to manage with the difficulties in the institution created by the higher officials. Since her educational status is primary requirement, she should enquire about different schools which can provide distance learning programs or evening colleges which will offer her the required degree. So that she does not loose the experience in the work and also completes her course in the ordained time. In this present case she has to learn to cope up with the present situation of the organization. Parallel to this she should make every effort to look for an alternate; she should be prepared in mind not to look for rewards or recognition since she cannot get what she expects in this organization. The time taken for accomplishing things for the decision she made will includes time taken to shift to a new job (Full time or part-time) and as well as to complete her degree. a. The decision made will be evaluated on the outcomes of the decision. With reference to her situation it is obvious that she should make a decision with minimal risk or no risk.

Dealing with Diabetes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Dealing with Diabetes - Essay Example In the case of diabetes, your body is unable to keep blood sugar within those levels. Instead, your blood sugar consistently runs higher than normal. In Type 2 diabetes, your bodys insulin is unable to lower blood sugar because the fat cells in your body are immune to the effects of the insulin. Theres plenty of insulin in the body but your body isnt responding to it by absorbing the glucose out of your bloodstream. Type 2 diabetics often dont require insulin injections; instead, it may be controllable with diet, weight loss, and exercise. The symptoms of Type 2 diabetes can often be controlled by reaching your â€Å"ideal body weight† and by following a low-carbohydrate and low-fat diet. Cortisol is a stress hormone that is produced by your body. It lowers your bodys ability to metabolize sugars, while increasing the metabolism of fats. This means that your blood sugar will rise faster, reach higher levels, and stay at those higher levels longer. With higher levels of cortisol, insulin will no longer have an effect on blood sugar levels. If you have a condition that causes chronic stress, then, managing your diabetes becomes much more difficult. You should have regular medical checkups to ensure that you do not have other conditions besides the

Our Teacher, Our Hero Essay Example for Free

Our Teacher, Our Hero Essay â€Å"You’ve better changed being naughty playful†¦or else you’ll hurt not just me Carl! â€Å"Now, start cleaning our room†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"You do you work properly then you may go now, okay? That’s a very normal incident in a Freshmen’s atmosphere. We can’t deny the reality that 1st year level is under adjustment period to the new world they have just taken in†¦Thank you so much for all the very patient kind teachers†¦They perform their being 2nd parent to us†¦I love my Teachers as they love us,They take their livesto their duties roles†¦ They are very noble†¦ One of our favourite Teacher that inspires us is Miss Kendall†¦Her life story is so sad. Her father left her when her mother got sick. She is still single at the age of 32. She must work hard for her sick mother. She also helped her brothers sister in their schooling. She told us that she has many dreams for her family for her career as a teacher that’s why she is not yet ready to get married to her boyfriend. She told us that she’s not yet ready to balance teaching having family of her own. â€Å"Uuuuuyyy, uuuuyyyyyy†¦Ma’am ha†¦We saw your bf this morning Ma’am Kendall†¦Uuuyyyy†¦You’re a good match Ma’am†¦Your pretty hi’s handsome†¦he-he-he†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Sssshhh, sssshhh†¦stop teasing me girls†¦We’re still under knowing each other†¦he-he-he† â€Å"But Ma’am really you’re a good match†¦please don’t forget to invite us Ma’am on your wedding, okay?†¦He-he-he! Pretty sure, we will all be there Ma’am†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Sssshhhaaa, sssshhhaaa†¦That’s enough now. Let’s have your practice for your LitMus Pieces now†¦Please call the other candicates Chris†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Okay Ma’am, I’ll call them outside†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Susan, Alfred†¦pls. get inside now†¦we’re getting ready for our practice now†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Now, let’s start with Alfred for his vocal sol o†¦Ready now Alfred†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Alfred singing his contest song†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..) (Ma’am Kendall applause Alfred for his performance†¦) â€Å"Alfred you’re getting better now†¦but you still need to practice more, Okay†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Thank you so much Ma’am for your great support†¦I promise to do it better†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"It’s my great pleasure supporting you in times like this†¦be the best you can,okay?†¦Next, let’s have Susan for her Filipino Declamation†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Basilio? Crispin? Mgaanakko? Nasaanna kayo?Nandito n siNanay†¦.Mgaanakko? Nasaan kayo?Basilio? Crispin?Basiliooooooooooo†¦Crispiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiinnnn†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Bravo, bravo, Susan†¦You’re getting better everyday†¦It’s another great performance†¦I know, you can be everybody’s beat†¦ha-ha-ha!† â€Å"Thank you so much Ma’am†¦I’m getting better every day because of your great help Ma’am Kendall†¦I’m good because you’re also good Ma’am†¦ â€Å"I agree with you Susan†¦You, Ma’am Kendall all teachers are our happiness inspiration in school†¦ â€Å"Thank you also Susan for your kind words†¦It adds joy to my heart as you say it†¦You’re all the reason why I am here†¦he-he-he†¦Chris it’s your turn now†¦Ready?† â€Å"Yes Ma’am†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ballooooooot, Ballooooooooot†¦For sale†¦for sale Nutritious Ballooooot†¦For sale delicious Ballooooot†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Hey, girl! Come here!I’ll your ballot! (Drunk man)†¦How much is ten pieces?†Ã¢ € ¦ †Thirteen each Sir130 all in all Sir†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†What?!?your over-pricing young girl†¦That’s so expensive†¦here’s what is good to your Ballot†¦Uuummm†¦Uuummm†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Oh no!!! No!!!Pls stop it!huhuhu†¦pls stop it Sir†¦pls†¦What have you than to my Ballot†¦huhuhu†¦what have you done? You have no pity, drunkard†¦huhuhu†¦You’ll be paying for this†¦huhuhu†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Wooowww!!! Amazing performance Chris†¦you did a great job! Your really getting better in your piece Chris†¦Congratulations! I am so happy that you really are practicing so well†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"Thank you so much Ma’am†¦we are so happy doing this for all of us Ma’am†¦We will try to win in our contest.† In a surprise, Rommel rushed hurriedly inside our classroom and telling something bad news to Ma’am and his catching his breath†¦Rommel is Ma’am Kendall’s nephew†¦ â€Å"Tita Ram†¦please, pls†¦be in a hurry†¦Lola was brought to the hospital†¦she was again attacked of her Asthma†¦she seemed not to look good this time Tita†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"What?My goodness†¦oh my, oh my Good Lord, pls help my mother†¦ Please†¦Lord God please help her again this time†¦Okay†¦let’s go†¦Excuse me class†¦I should attend my mother in the hospital†¦Take good care of yourself†¦Be home early Okay?Don’t go anywhere†¦Go home early okay?† â€Å"Okay, Ma’am†¦don’t worry about us Ma’am†¦please take care also Ma’am†¦Please be calm relax Ma’am†¦we will help pray to God, that your mother will get better Ma’am†¦Ã¢â‚¬  We were speechless while following Ma’am Kendall on her way to the hospital†¦we just stared to each other without any sound from ourselves†¦I just realized we are all shocked†¦after a while, I asked my classmates to follow me in my prayers for Ma’am Kendall’s mother†¦We prayed not just for that moment but every moment we pray to God, we include our teachers in our prayers†¦Let us all pray for our Heroes, our Teachers†¦

Washing Machine Embedded System Analysis

Washing Machine Embedded System Analysis In this following assignment we are going to see about the Embedded system and how it is implemented in home application and there is few reference about the language used in the embedded system and there few application of the embedded system. Embedded systems are basic electronic devices used to control, monitor or assist the operation of equipment, machinery or a plant. The choice of word embedded reflects the fact that these are integral part of the system. Uses of embedded system in our real life are increasing day by day. Children need such systems to play video games and to operate chocolate vending machine; Housewives need embedded systems for microwave, TV, music system, and other system appliances. ABOUT EMBEDDED SYSTEM: An embedded device can range from a relatively simple product for ex. a toaster to complex mission critical applications such as those used in avionics. A typical embedded device will have both hardware and software components. The hardware could be micro components such as embedded microprocessor or microcontroller. Microcontroller is relatively small, has an on chip memory, an I/O controller and other supported modules to do processing and controlling tasks. The software consists of applications that perform dedicated tasks and may run on Real time operating system which will be explained later in this unit. Embedded System may be either an independent system or a part of a large system. It is specialized computer system but not a general purpose workstation like a desktop or a computer. Such kind of systems is housed on a single microprocessor board with programs which are stored in ROM (Read Only Memory). Embedded system is usually a compact, portable and mass produced electronic devices. In the early days, embedded systems were designed using microprocessors like 8085. But nowadays, we are using a wide range of processors from other manufacturers. Before we want to the basic of an embedded system, we should see a wide range of its applications. In fact, almost all modern electronic devices use some sort of embedded system technology inside them and we always come across such devices: DVD players, air conditioners, printers, attendance machines, hand phone, digital camera, ATM machines, we will see some examples of embedded system in section 1. Now it is time to give a proper definition. Definition: Embedded Systems are devices which are used to control, monitor or assist the operation of an equipment, machinery or plant. The term control defines the main function of Embedded System because their purpose is to control an aspect of a physical system such as pressure, temperature and so on. Also the term monitor defines the progress of activities. Embedded Systems are extremely common in the home, vehicle and the workplace.  · At Home: Washing Machines, dishwashers, ovens, central heating system, burglars alarms, etc.  · Motor Vehicle: Engine management, security (locking or antitheft devices), air conditioning, brakes, radio etc.  · In Industry Commerce: Machine control, factory automation, robotics, electronic commerce office equipments. IMPLEMENTATION OF EMBEDDED SYSTEM IN WASHING MACHINE: Washing machine supports three functional modes: i) Fully Automatic Mode: In fully automatic mode, once the system is started it perform independently without user interference and after the completion of work it should notify the user about the completion of work. This mode instantaneously sense cloth quality and requirement of water, water temperature, detergent, load, wash cycle time and perform operation accordingly. ii) Semi-Automatic Mode: In this semiautomatic mode in which washing conditions are predefined. Once the predefined mode is started the system perform its job and after completion it inform the user about the completion of work. iii) Manual Mode: In this mode, user has to specify which operation he wants to do and has to provide related information to the control system. For example, if user wants to wash clothes only, he has to choose wash option manually. Then the system ask the user to enter the wash time, amount of water and the load. After these data are entered, the user should start the machine. When the specified operation is completed system should inform the user. Remember that Modes should be a selectable by a keypad. A washing machine may have a System Controller (Brain of the System) which provides the power control for various monitors and pumps and even controls the display that tells us how the wash cycles are proceeding. Driving Motor Water pump System Controller Display Panel Sensor Inverter Unit The working of these components is as follows: i) Display Panel: It is a touch panel screen to control all the operations of a machine ii) Sensor: It measures the water level and appropriate amount of soap. Input devices for automatic washing machine are sensors for water flow, water level and temperature; door switch; selector knob or buttons for settings such as spin speed, temperature, load size and types of wash cycle required. iii)Water Level Sensor: It indicates beep sound when water level is low in washing tub. Door Sensor: It indicates beep sound when all clothes are washed that means now you can open the maching door and also you can move to your next phase. Next phase will be dry Phase. This phase also follows same concept for drying the clothes. iv) Driving Motor: Motor can rotate in two directions either reverse or forward. The forward direction drives the current in forward direction and motor rotates forward. The reverse direction driver does the opposite of it. A washing machine can maintain single motor in fully automatic or double motor in semi-automatic washing machine. Sequence of washing the clothes with this can be explained in few steps as follows: 1) Put on your dirty clothes on to the wash tub for washing 2) Put the detergent Soap (of your choice like Surf n Excel etc.) 3) Put ON the tap, water rushes inside the tub. Embedded Systems 4) If its electronic control , then by the press of the keys ,you could program , if its mechanical it shall something like an mechanical switches wherein you are allowed to operate for setting the wash time. 5) Now the wash motor rotates and washes the clothes and gives you a beep sound 6) Now your clothes are washed à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦remove it from the wash tub and put it on the spin tub and program it accordinglyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦after spinning clothes are dried and you are allowed to hang it for proper drying in sunlight. The fully automatic also comes in two category front loading as well as top loading. i) Front loading is the one wherein you are given an opening to put clothes in on the front side. ii) Top loading is on the top. iii) System Controller: Such Component is used to control the motor speed. Motor can move in forward direction as well as reverse direction. System Controller reads the speed of motor and controls the speed of motor in different phases such as in Washing, Cleaning Drying etc. All kinds of Sensors such as Door Sensor, Pressure Sensor and Keypad, Speed sensor are also maintained by this. iv) Water Pump: The water pump is used to recirculate water and drain out the dirty water. This pump actually contains two separate pumps inside one: The bottom half of the pump is hooked up to the drain line, while the top half recirculates the wash water. The motor that drives the pump can reverse direction. It spins one way when the washer is running a wash cycle and recirculates the water; and it spins the other way when the washer is doing a spin cycle and draining the water. PROGRAMMING LANGUANGE USED IN EMBEDDED SYSTEM: Embedded systems are application specific computers that interact with the physical world. Each has a diverse set of tasks to perform, and although a very flexible language might be able to handle all of them, instead a variety of problem domain specific languages have evolved that are easier to write, analyze, and compile. The choice of programming language is very important for real time embedded software. The following factors influence the choice of languages: A language compiler should be available for the chosen RTOS (Real Time Operating System) and hardware architecture of the embedded system.  · Compilers should be available on multiple OSs and microprocessors. This is particularly important if the processor or the RTOS needs to be changed in future. The language should allow direct hardware control without sacrificing the advantages of a high level language. The language should provide memory management control such as dynamic and static memory allocation. So, we can categorize embedded programming languages in to two parts such as hardware language and software language. Hardware language: A hardware description language can be used to describe the logic gates, the sequential machines, and the functional modules, along with their interconnection and their control, in a embedded system. There are various languages used for this purpose as follows: VHDL VHDL is the Very High Speed Integrated Circuit Hardware Description Language. It can describe the behavior and structure of electronic systems, but is particularly suited as a language to describe the structure and behavior of digital electronic hardware designs; VHDL is an international standard, regulated by the international languages. VHDL is suitable for use today in the digital hardware design process, from specification through high level functional simulation, manual design and logic synthesis down to gate level simulation. VERILOG Verilog HDL is one of the two most common Hardware Description Languages (HDL) used by integrated circuit (IC) designers. The other one is VHDL. HDL allows the design to be simulated earlier in the design cycle in order to correct errors or experiment with different architectures. Designs described in HDL are technology independent, easy to design and debug, and are usually more readable than schematics, particularly for large circuits. Verilog can be used to describe designs at four levels of abstraction: Algorithmic level (much like, C language code with if, case and loop statements). ii) Register transfer level (RTL uses registers connected by Boolean equations). Gate level (interconnected AND, NOR etc.) Switch level (the switches are MOS transistors inside gates). The language also defines constructs that can be used to control the input and output of simulation. Software language: Java and C++ are other programming languages which are used extensively for embedded system design. APPLICATION OF EMBEDDED SYSTEM: We can categorize applications of Embedded System into various categories as mentioned in Table: Area Applications Aerospace Navigation Systems, Automatic landing systems, Flight altitude controls, engine controls, space exploration Automotive Fuel Injection Control, Passenger environmental controls, antilock braking systems, air bag controls, GPS mapping Communications Switches, Hubs Computer Peripherals Printers, scanners, keyboards, displays, modems, Hard Disk Drives, CDROM drives Home Ovens, Washing Machine, Digital Watch, Security Alarm, Sound Recorder Industrial Elevator Controls, Robots, Engine Control Instrumentation Data Collection, power supplies Medical Imaging Systems, Patient monitors, Heart pacers Office Automation FAX machines, Telephones, Cash Registers CONCLUSION: An embedded system is a single purpose computer built into a larger system for the purposes of controlling and monitoring the system. These are also known as special purpose computer system. In this assignment we came to know how the embedded system is implemented in the home applications and how it is useful for the human beings in a very good manner.

Employee Turnover Types, Theories and Effects

Employee Turnover Types, Theories and Effects In this chapter, the literature review is aimed to present the concept, models, theories and previous research to the causes and correlation of employee turnover. The contents focus on employee turnover, the factors that influence the employee turnover: personal characteristics, job satisfaction, organisational commitment and perceived alternative job opportunities. Employee turnover has been defined by Price (1977) as the movement of members across the boundary of an organisation. As Mobley (1982) defined that turnover is the voluntary cessation of membership in an organisation by an individual who receives monetary compensation for participating in that organisation. This definition emphasises voluntary behavior because primary turnover model seek to explain what motivates employees to withdraw from the workplace. Furthermore, this concept focuses on separation from an organisation and not includes accession, transfer, or other internal movements through an organisation. Moreover, there are many definitions in same perspective from many authors as Van der Merwe and Miller (1996) stated that employee turnover is a permanent withdrawal and also function of the person-work relationship. The authors emphasise that there should be a fit between the worker, the agency and the environment. If this fit is not present or available, turnover is likely to occur. This relationship is considered pervasive. It can be affected by any or all aspects of the job situation, both inside and outside the employing organisation. Lane (2001) described employee turnover as the result of both quits and layoffs and further states that some turnover is a result of jobs in one firm being destroyed and jobs in another firm being created and hence due to the reallocation of jobs across the economy in response to changes in product demand. From the descriptions above, the researcher could conclude that job turnover is when employees leave their employment permanently and the entrance of new employees to the organisation. That employee turnover can either be positive or negative, but all have a significant impact on productivity (Boxall and Baldwin, 2002) Types of employee turnover There are two different types of employee turnover in an organisation that many authors have identified the following types of employee turnover: Voluntary turnover Gomez-Mejia et al (1997) defined voluntary turnover as a separation that occurs when an employee decides for personal reasons to end the relationship with the employer. The decision could be based on the employee obtaining a better job, changing career, or wanting more time for family or the present job is unattractive because of poor working conditions, low pay or benefits, and bad relationship with supervisor. In most cases the decision to leave is a combination of having attractive alternative opportunities and being unhappy with aspects of the current job. Sims (2007) conceded that voluntary turnover occurs when an employee initiates the termination of their employment of their own free will. Quits is one type of voluntary turnover. Grobler et al (2002) defined quits as occurring when an employee leaves the organisation without giving the normal period of notice (e.g. one month). It is usually a sudden decision by the employee. Thus, it should be noted that quits can occur at any time and mostly when the organisation least expects it. This can be serious impact on the organisations total performance and productivity. Although organisation can not do much about employee quitting, they can try to determine the possible reason for leaving or for making that decision. Involuntary turnover Gomea-Mejia et al (1997) defined that involuntary turnover occurs when management decides to terminate its relationship with an employee due to economic necessity or a poor fit. The organisation or the employee cannot control this type of turnover. It is further stressed by the authors that involuntary turnover results in very serious and painful decisions that can have a profound impact on the entire organisation, espacially the employee who loses his or her job. Mkhize (1998) concedes involuntary turnover as when an employee is asked by the organisation to leave. Involuntary turnover represents employer-initiated job separations over which employee have little or no personal say, such as dismissal or layoffs. Sims (2007) also concedes that involuntary turnover arises when employment is terminated against the wishes of employees. Those authors from their definitions stress the fact that with this type of turnover is result from the employers decision rather than the employee. It mig ht be employers would not want to keep poor performers or excess manpower. The costs of employee turnover Kelly (2001) stated that employee turnover costs are the problem that most executives are aware of but do not acknowledge as a potential loss of revenue. A lot of disadvantages that are brought up by employee turnover are clearly evident in cost benefit analyses. Human resource mangers know that employee turnover is a major cost and significantly impacts an organisation (Irvancewich, 1994). Many managers refuse to face up to these costs, but they might be forced to do so when considering the various factors necessary to calculate the cost of employee wastage (Stewart,1998) According to Mitchell et al (2001), employee turnover imposes extensive cost both the individual and the organisation level. At individual level, it does not matter if the person leaves voluntarily to another job or is forced to leave and take a personal toll. For organisation level, the problem arises when leaving employees take their valuable knowledge and expertise gained through experience with them. This turnover leads to numerous costs for the organisation, such as: Exist interview time and administrative requirement Payout of unused vacation time Cost of temporary workers Overtime for co-workers Training costs Replacement costs, include advertising, processing of candidates, interviewing, selecting. Potter (2002) postulated that employee turnover is a critical cost driver for American business. The cost of retaining and filling vacancies, lost productivity from vacant jobs and cost of training new employees increase operational costs. Elements of the cost of job turnover very widely and depend on whether all cost elements are recognised. The author further identifies three primary elements of employee turnover costs that include the following; Staffing Costs Sometimes are referred to as cost per hire. These include the costs of recruiting job applicants (such as advertising or job board posting, screening applicants, personal search, service brokerage fees, relocation expenses and signing bonuses). Vacancies cost While a position is vacant the productivity of the former employee is lost and the productivity of the overall organisation is reduced as the remaining workers cope with being shorthanded. Jay (1998) referred to these as the temporary replacement costs of getting the work done while the post is vacant and can include overtime, temps and many others. -Training cost The replacement employees time, other employees time and valuable resources must be expanded to train each employee and to facilitate the transition because no new employee starts working at 100% efficiency. Jay (1998) added the induction costs to the training and refers to this as direct costs and pay during unproductive early stages. Stone (2002) maintained that this phase is the non-productive time because it is characterised by dislocation of the other employees work as the new employee tries to settle down and incurs the same view on the lost productivity. Thus, training costs includes an organisations expenditure to orientate and train replacements and opportunity costs caused by inefficient production. The further statement identified an extension of those elements as follows: Redeployment Redeployment of an existing labour force as a result of labour turnover involves extra costs as this creates vacancies in the system. Assimilation and efficiency lost cost incurred before the new employee is fully proficient. Relocation Costs These costs include hotel charges, direct disturbances allowance, for example legal fees, removal fees, house purchase assistance and temporal travel subsidy of the new employee. Leaving costs These costs are associated with creating the vacancy, the closing of the previous appointment, for example refunding, superannuation payments, etc. Ham Griffeth (1995) refered to the leaving costs as the separation costs and describe them as those that quitting produces directly. A good example is exit interviews that are conducted when the employee leaves the employer to determine the reason for leaving. The researcher conceded that high employee turnover in an organisation means increased recruitment, selection and training costs. It can also mean a disruption in the efficient running of an organisation when knowledge, experienced personnel leave and replacements use be found and prepared to assume a position of responsibility. Theories related to employee turnover Expectancy theory holds that people are motivated to behave in ways that produce desired combinations of expected outcomes. Generally, expectancy theory can be used to predict behavior in any situation in which a choice between two or more alternatives must be made. For example, it can be used to predict whether to leave or stay at a job and whether to try substantial or minimal effort at task (kreitner and Kinicki, 2001). Vrooms expectancy theory (1964) According to Vroom (1964), the strength of tendency to act in a certain way depends on the strength of expectancy that the act will be followed by a given outcome and on the value or attractiveness of that outcome to the actor. Motivation, according to Vroom, boils down to decision of how much effort to put in specific task situation. This choice is based on a two-stage sequence of expectations that are effort-to-performance and performance-to-outcome. First, motivation is affected by an individuals expectation that a certain level of effort will produce the intended performance goal. Motivation also is influenced by the employees perceived chances of getting various outcomes as a result of accomplishing his or her performance goal. Individuals are motivated to the extent that they value the outcomes received. There are three key concepts within Vrooms model, which are expectancy, instrumentality, and valence. Expectancy According to Vrooms expectancy theory, expectancy represents an individuals belief that a particular degree of effort will be follow by a particular level of performance. In other words, it is an effort-to-performance expectation which refers to a degree of effort to which individual feels that it will lead to achievement of desired goal (kreitner and Kinicki, 2001) Instrumentality Instrumentality is a performance to outcome perception. It represents a persons belief that a particular outcome is contingent on accomplishing a specific level of performance (kreitner and Kinicki, 2001) Valence Valence refers to the positive or negative values people place on outcomes. For example, most employees have a positive valence for receiving additional money or recognition. In contrast, job stress and being laid off would likely be negatively valence for most individuals. In Vrooms expectancy theory, outcomes refer to different consequences that are contingent on performance, such as pay, promotion, or recognition. An outcomes valence depends on a individuals need (kreitner and Kinicki, 2001) Peter and Edward Lawlers Expectancy Theory (1969) Lyman Porter and Edward Lawler III developed an expectancy theory of motivation that extended Vrooms expectancy theory. This theory attempted to identifies the source of peoples valences and expectancies and link effort with performance and job satisfaction. There are three key variables which are predictors of effort, predictors of performance and predictors of reward and satisfaction (kreitner and Kinicki, 2001). Predictors of effort Effort is a function of perceived value of reward which represents the rewards valence and the perceived effort to reward probability. Employees will exhibit more effort when they believe they will receive values rewards for task accomplishment. Predictors of performance Performance determined by more than effort. The relationship between effort and performance is contingent on an employees abilities and traits and role perceptions. That is, employees with higher abilities attain higher performance for a given level of effort than employees with less ability. Similarly, effort results in higher performance when employees clearly understand and are comfortable with their roles. This occurs because effort is channels into the most important job activities or tasks. Predictors of rewards and satisfaction Employees receive both intrinsic and extrinsic rewards for performance. Intrinsic rewards are self- granted and consist of intangible such as a sense of accomplishment and achievement. Extrinsic rewards are tangible outcomes such as pay and public recognition. In turn, job satisfaction is determined by employees perceptions of the equity of the rewards received. Employees are more satisfied when they feel equitably rewards. Finally, employees future effort to reward probabilities is influenced by past experience with performance and rewards. Models of employee turnover To reinforce the previous definitions of employee turnover Man Sararat (1984) stated that a labour force movement was a process whereby labourers would make decision in regard to where and when they would work. It means the labourers choose their own employers and locations where they will work, and may change their jobs and companies as many times as the wish. Personal characteristics The concept of personal characteristic The personal factors include individual qualities that can be viewed as personal traits the employee possesses and which are distinctive to the individual (Harmse, 1999). The author further asserted that it has to do with what and who the individual is within his total being and which guide his behavior or functioning. According to the researcher, the employees general outlook on life is one of the major factors that influence employee turnover. An employee with a high self-esteem, confidence in his or her abilities and with a positive outlook on life is more likely to stay than the one with a negative attitude. Thus, these factors are inherent in human behavior. The following are the personal factors that influences employee turnover as identified by different authors. Relationship between personal characteristics and employee turnover A large number of research studies have identified the importance of individual or personal characteristic factors as predictors of employee turnover (Arnold Feldman, 1982; Cotton Tuttle, 1986; Lee Mowday, (1987). Among the characteristics most commonly examined are age, education, and tenure (length of time a person has worked in an organisation) (McBey Karakowsky, 2000; Mowday, 1982) The personal characteristic differences had been identified as potentially important correlates of turnover. This was because gender and age may be important negative correlates of turnover intention and turnover (Thatcher et al., 2003). Various studies had attempted to look beyond the traditional relationship theorised between job satisfaction and voluntary turnover. Gleser (1990) states that sex, race and age variables should be considered since minority group may face discriminatory practices and may approach job satisfaction differently than more normative groups. Age and employee turnover Drafke and Kossen (2002) maintained that employee turnover typically increases with age. Older employees have more work experience. They have a better understanding of what work needs can satisfy and overall they have a more realistic view of work and life. Young employees have comparatively little or no job experience with which to compare their current jobs and because of this they are more likely to substitute the opinions of other people, their own beliefs about other peoples jobs and their own idealistic views of what should be their lack of experience. In another way, Younger employees had more entry-level job opportunities and few family responsibilities, thus making job mobility easier. They may also have inaccurate expectation regarding working, which are not fulfilled in their early jobs (Porter Steers, 1973; Wanous, 1980). Therefore, younger employees are more likely to terminate their employment than older employees. Furthermore, Mc McCullough (2002) who stressed that age is a widely known factor that influences employee turnover. The author further states that the younger employee, the stronger likelihood of employee quit. The longer that employee stays, the more turnover risk goes down. Similarly older employees are less likely to quit than younger ones, as younger ones are more likely to take employment risks and hop to other jobs. The author still concedes that research has confirmed that the older employee, the lower likelihood of quitting. Education and employee turnover Neither a strong nor a consistent relationship between education and turnover is evident in the literature (Mobley, 1979; Price, 1977). Since many turnover studies are based on individuals with similar educations, a relation between turnover and education is difficult to establish. However, Arnold and Feldman (1982) and Brief and Aldag (1980) stated that education is positively related to employee turnover. Wong et al. (1999) found that individuals with higher education levels are better informed of the alternative opportunities available in the external labour market. Managers with high educational qualifications, by virtue of their high employability, they are greater discretion in their choice to turnover. If mangers perceive that reward levels are not commensurate with education or human capital value and performance levels, it is likely that they will report a greater number of turnover cognitions (Trevor et al., 2007) Tenure and employee turnover According to streers (1997) and Mobley (1982), there are many research studies which suggest that a negative relationship exists between tenure and turnover. The research has indicated that relatively high turnover occurs among new employees (Mobley, 1982). It should be noted that tenure has been considered as a covariant of age (Bedeian et al., 1992; Kacmar Ferris, 1989), and consequently its influence is similar to that of age. As an employees tenure increases, the formal benefits (e.g. compensation and promotions) and informal benefits (e.g. status) also increase. Given these issues, employees with higher tenure are less likely to leave their organisation for fear of losing these benefits upon entry into a new organisation (Hellman, 1997). Job satisfaction The description of job satisfaction There are many authors define job satisfaction in the literature. Job satisfaction is influenced by economic factors such as pay, benefit and rewords as well as structural and procedural factors reflecting autonomy or fairness. Hersey and Blanchard (1993) defined the job satisfaction is a consequence of the past which refer to employees feeling about the reward they have received when comparison with work role input and its outcome. Robbins (1996) conceded that job satisfaction refer to a collecting attitude toward ones job which is different between the amount of rewards workers receive and the amount that they should receive. Mitchell et al (2001) stated that employees who feel satisfied with their jobs have a positive experience of their pay, supervision, chances for promotion, work environment, clear roles and met expectations. Furthermore, Weiss and Cropanzano (1998) stated that job satisfaction represents a persons evaluation of his or her job and work context. It is an appraisal of the perceive job characteristics and emotional experiences at work. Satisfied employees have a favorable evaluation of their job based on their observation and emotional experiences. In the same way, Schermerhorn et al (2000) define job satisfaction as the degree to which individuals feel positively or negatively about their jobs. It is an attitude or emotional response to ones tasks as well as to the physical and social conditions of workplace. According to Locke (1976), job satisfaction is really a collection of attitudes about specific facets of the job. Employees can satisfy with some elements of the job while simultaneously dissatisfy with others. Different type of satisfaction will lend to different intention and behavior (McShane and Glinow, 2002). To access ones job satisfaction, five facets of job satisfaction should be measured following (Kreitner and Kinicki, (2001) : Work- itself (job) Harmse (1999) described a job as a position within an organisation depending on the scope of the organisation, which can be as small as one. The author still mension that it can also be viewed as a group of positions that are nearly as identical with respect to primary duties and tasks that are sufficiently similar to be included in less than one title. Kolen (1997) argued that a job is fully specified. Kolen (1997) defined the job as the kind and amount of work to be performed by a person or a piece of equipment within a given time period. The author still maintains that every well-conceived job definition should always consist of two parts namely: Job description- This is a detailed statement of the content of the job in terms of major tasks the sequence of those tasks and the conditions under which they will be performed. Mondy Premeaux (1994) described job description as a document that describes the tasks and responsibilities of a job and its relationships to other jobs. According to Harmse (1999), the job descriptions are beneficial for both the individual employee and the organisation. . According to Harmse (1999), the job descriptions are beneficial for both the individual employee and the organisation. The author further identifies the following advantages: The employee has a concise picture of why he or she is employed, The employee can easily identify how he or she will be assessed, The parameters of authority and accountability are clear, Given the big picture, i.e. the mission statements, the value of this specific position for the organisation can be identified, It assists in placing the right person in the right position, There is more efficiency and effectiveness throughout the organisation as tasks and responsibilities are identified. Job specification- This states the qualification an individual must posses to perform the job. Mondy Premeaus (1994) viewed a job specification as the minimum acceptable qualifications a person possess to perform a particular job. Luthans (1992) mention that work-itself is one of the major source of satisfaction. In additional, some of the most important ingredients of satisfying job included interesting and challenge work, work that not boring and a job that provided status. Van Dyk (2001) stressed that any job should have key characteristics that directly affect employee performance and satisfaction and thus in turn influences job turnover. The authors further identify the following three job characteristics; Variety-refers to the number of different tasks and activities included in the job. Challenge- is the level of difficulty of job tasks and activities. Autonomy-refers to the extent to which an employee can carry out his/her tasks independently on the job. The job that does not consist of the above job characteristics will not seem to have any meaning. Employees would what to do the job that is exciting and be able to use their abilities in doing it. Without these, chances of employees leaving their employers are accelerated. Pay Perceived competitiveness of pay refers to employees perceptions that salaries are Promotion Luthans (1995) described promotional opportunities as advancement in the hierarchy. Nel (2001) ascertained that a promotion occurs when an employee is moved from one job to another that is higher in pay, responsibility or organisation seniority. Various approaches can be used to promote employees and this can be based on the persons promotion potential, development needs and talent shortages in the organisation. Skidmore (1995) stated that promotions are important in the functioning of the organization. Nearly every employee wants to move ahead, both in position and in salary. The procedures and standards for promotion should be clearly defined through sound administration. Co-worker According to Robbins (2001), human need social interaction from their workplace in supporting, cooperate, comfort, advice, and assistance to the individual work. Therefore, to have friendly and supportive co-workers could lead to increase job satisfaction. Lance (2007) concedes that perception of co-worker integration and cohesiveness among peers directly affects job satisfaction. In the opposite way, turnover tends to increase for employees who are dissatisfied with their co-workers (Watt and White, 1988). Supervisor Lewis Souflee (1994) described that supervision is process that involves helping a less experienced person increase his or her effectiveness in service delivery. Through the vehicle of supervisory relationship, the supervisor provides support and encouragement, helps build skills and competences and oversees the supervisees work. According to Luthans (1992), supervisor is another moderately important source of job satisfaction. To the extent that supervisor provides technical assistance and behavioral support such as treated employees fairly, offers praise for good performance, listens to employees Kadushin (1992) stressed that supervision in an organisation is important because it enhances the morale of the staff while maintaining the system; meaning supervisee are supervised according to their different levels. For example, the less experienced tend to be supervised according to tutorial model, whereas those with more experience achieve similar purpose through case consultation, peer group consultations, peer group interaction, staff development programs and work teams. Skidmore, Thackery Farley (1997) shared this view by mentioning that supervision is a major part of work because it is concerned with helping the staff to use their knowledge and skills in getting the job done efficiently and well. Theories related to job satisfaction Luthans (1995) conceded that Herzbergs two factor motivational theories cast a new life on the content of work motivation. The theory offers an explanation specifically to the work place and job design (Grobler et al 2002). Robbins (1993) stated that Herzberg believed an individuals relation to his or her work is a basic one and that his or her attitude towards his work can very well determine the individual success or failure, and referred to this as motivation-hygiene theory. Herzberg concluded that there is a relation between job satisfiers and job content; job dissatisfiers are allied to hob on text. The author named the motivation factors satisfiers and called dissatisfiers hygiene factors. The hygiene factors are preventative because they can prevent dissatisfaction and are environmental in nature, and therefore are roughly equivalent to Maslows lower level needs (Luthans 1995). The motivators are intrinsic and related to job satisfaction for example achievement, recognition, and the work-itself, responsibility, advancement, and growth. The hygiene factors are extrinsic and comprise company policy, administration supervision, salary, interpersonal relations and working conditions. Robbins (2001) postulated that according to Herzberg, the factors that lead to job satisfaction are separate and distinct from those that lead to job dissatisfaction. Therefore managers who seek to eliminate factors that create job dissatisfaction can bring about peace, but not necessarily motivation. Thus, managers who hire wages will be placating their workforce rather than motivating them. It is evidenct that the Herzberg two factor motivational theories indicate that the more resources are poured down the hygiene drain for example increasing fringe benefits, the more resources will be needed in future. This is because with hygiene factors, ever-increasing amounts are needed to produce the same effect. A classic example is the issue of salary that never seems to be resolved; employees will still be discontent over wages even after concluding salary negotiations. As indicated earlier, motivators are intrinsic in nature and reflect the work content of the job. The supervisor cannot disperse them to the employees but they are controlled by employees and are administered personally. It is evident that no one can give another person the satisfaction that comes from accomplishing a particularly challenging job. According to the researcher, the need to motivate workers is a very crucial one. Motivation is required if the workers are to make a significant impact on their work given the limited budgets they operate on and the very difficult circumstances. In any situation, every employer would like to have employees who are motivated to do their work efficiently and effectively. This bears fruitful results and enhances organisational productivity and a lot of problems associated with de-motivation like absenteeism and late coming can be avoided. Relationship between job satisfaction and employee turnover During the past century, a variety of conceptual models for the turnover process have been developed (Lambert et al., 2001). It has been extensively studied, both as a dependent and independent variable. In 1976, Locke estimated the number or articles and dissertations dealing in some manner with the subject of job satisfaction to be over 3,300. By 1996, Spector estimated that the number of studies that have incorporated job satisfaction in some manner to be over 12,000. While these models have diverse origins from a wide array of disciplines, many researchers have theorized that job satisfaction is a key antecedent of worker turnover (Mobley et al., 1979; Price Mueller, 1986; Williams Hazer, 1986). Roznowski and Hulin (1992) contended that overall job satisfaction measures are the most informative data a manager or researcher can have for predicting employee behavior. Further, it has been theorised that high levels of job dissatisfaction lead to employee withdrawal, particularly in terms of voluntary turnover. According to Danserau et al. (1974), Mitchell (1981), Porter and Steers (1973), job satisfaction has been related to turnover. Muchinsky and Tuttle (1979) analysed nineteen articles dealing with job satisfaction and turnover. Overall, there was a negative relationship between job satisfaction and turnover although the strength of the relationship varied form study to study. In general, satisfied workers are less likely to leave their jobs than those with high job satisfaction quotients. The review noted that the relationship remained constant over different types of samples, organisations, and measures of job satisfaction (Birdseye Hill, 1995). Organisationa

Sir Wilfrid Laurier :: essays research papers

Sir Wilfrid Laurier The first French Canadian to become prime minister of Canada was Wilfrid Laurier. Although French was his native tongue, he became a master of the English language. This and his picturesque personality made him popular throughout Canada, and he led the young country in a 15-year period of great development. Wilfrid Laurier was born in St-Lin, Quebec, and studied law at McGill University. After three years in the Quebec legislature, he was elected to the Canadian House of Commons in 1874. There he rose rapidly to leadership. Although he was a French Canadian and a Roman Catholic, he was chosen leader of the Liberal party in 1887. Nine years later he became prime minister. He was knighted in 1897. "Build up Canada" were the watchwords of Laurier's government. Laurier was loyal to Great Britain, sent Canadian volunteers to help in the Boer War, established a tariff favorable to British goods, and worked to strengthen the ties between the two countries. But he saw the British Empire as a worldwide alliance of free and equal nations, and he opposed every attempt to limit Canada's freedom. Laurier's liberal immigration policy brought hundreds of thousands of settlers to the western provinces. He reduced postal rates, promoted the building of railroads needed for national expansion, and appointed a commission to regulate railroad rates. After 15 years in office his government was defeated, presumably on the issue of reciprocal trade with the United States. Laurier believed, however, that his political defeat was caused primarily by opponents in Ontario who considered him too partial to Roman Catholic interests in Quebec. Prior to World War I, Laurier tried forcefully to support the formation of a Canadian navy. His own Liberal party defeated this measure, however, and Canada entered the war without a fleet of its own. During the early years of World War I, Laurier supported the war policy of Sir Robert Borden's Conservative government. In 1917 he refused to join a coalition government that was formed to uphold conscription. Laurier felt that he could not back a measure so unpopular in the province of Quebec. Wilfrid Laurier's regime lasted 15 years. It was one of renewed growth and prosperity. The Manitoba School Question was promptly hushed up by new legislation enacted by the province in accordance with a compromise worked out with Ottawa. To his Cabinet Laurier drew some of the most capable leaders from every part of Canada. Business throughout the world was on an upswing, and the Laurier government was determined to get in on the action. The demand for Canadian wheat abroad encouraged immigration, and immigration in turn

HGH: Fountain of Youth? Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers

HGH: Fountain of Youth? What is aging? It is a question that has been puzzling doctors for centuries. In a culture so obsessed with youth, it is not surprising that science asks this question often. It is also not surprising that the anti-aging product market is a booming multi-million dollar phenomenon. We will pay thousands for procedures that make us thinner, stronger, more full of energy and less wrinkled. The new emphasis of the advertising world is not just looking young, but feeling young too. A large importance is placed on energy, vitality and mental awareness. In a time in our society where the 'baby boomer' generation is approaching their mid 50's, and the number of elderly Americans is substantially increasing, we begin to ask ourselves if growing old has to mean being frail, confused, weak, fatigued and depressed. In many elderly people, the neuronal changes of aging are some of the hardest to deal with. Loss of mental acuity, confusion, forgetfulness and depression are some of the most common complaints about the aging process. Is there a way to avoid these neuronal changes, or at least to slow them down? If there is a 'fountain of youth' that medicine can provide then many Americans will be lining up to get a first try at its effects. The nervous system is classically one of the most misunderstood systems in relation to normal aging. In the normal aging process of the nervous system significant nerve cell mass is lost. This loss of mass causes atrophy of the brain and spinal cord. The number of neurons in a aging person, as well as the number of dendritic connections, is markedly decreased from that of a young adult (1). Neurons also begin to demyelinate within the aging process. These changes in the nervo... ... people it's a question of how much you are willing to risk to look and feel young again. At a cost at about 1000 dollars a month for HGH replacement therapy many are risking financial well being to have a chance to drink out of the proverbial 'fountain of youth.' But, with so many flocking to get a hold of HGH and it's anti-aging effects the question of whether or not it's worth it seems to be answered. WWW Sources 1)Oso.com , Aging Changes in the Nervous System http://rhodeisland.cox.net/ 2)HGH Reports , Website to learn about and purchase HGH http://www.csmngt.com/HGH%20Reports.htm 3)International Anti-aging Systems, Article by James South http://www.smart-drugs.net/ias-hgh.htm 4)usdoctor.com, Doctor on the Internet http://www.usdoctor.com/gh.htm 5)ABCNews, Transcript of ABC News 20/20 report on HGH http://www.worldwidescam.com/abc.htm HGH: Fountain of Youth? Essay -- Biology Essays Research Papers HGH: Fountain of Youth? What is aging? It is a question that has been puzzling doctors for centuries. In a culture so obsessed with youth, it is not surprising that science asks this question often. It is also not surprising that the anti-aging product market is a booming multi-million dollar phenomenon. We will pay thousands for procedures that make us thinner, stronger, more full of energy and less wrinkled. The new emphasis of the advertising world is not just looking young, but feeling young too. A large importance is placed on energy, vitality and mental awareness. In a time in our society where the 'baby boomer' generation is approaching their mid 50's, and the number of elderly Americans is substantially increasing, we begin to ask ourselves if growing old has to mean being frail, confused, weak, fatigued and depressed. In many elderly people, the neuronal changes of aging are some of the hardest to deal with. Loss of mental acuity, confusion, forgetfulness and depression are some of the most common complaints about the aging process. Is there a way to avoid these neuronal changes, or at least to slow them down? If there is a 'fountain of youth' that medicine can provide then many Americans will be lining up to get a first try at its effects. The nervous system is classically one of the most misunderstood systems in relation to normal aging. In the normal aging process of the nervous system significant nerve cell mass is lost. This loss of mass causes atrophy of the brain and spinal cord. The number of neurons in a aging person, as well as the number of dendritic connections, is markedly decreased from that of a young adult (1). Neurons also begin to demyelinate within the aging process. These changes in the nervo... ... people it's a question of how much you are willing to risk to look and feel young again. At a cost at about 1000 dollars a month for HGH replacement therapy many are risking financial well being to have a chance to drink out of the proverbial 'fountain of youth.' But, with so many flocking to get a hold of HGH and it's anti-aging effects the question of whether or not it's worth it seems to be answered. WWW Sources 1)Oso.com , Aging Changes in the Nervous System http://rhodeisland.cox.net/ 2)HGH Reports , Website to learn about and purchase HGH http://www.csmngt.com/HGH%20Reports.htm 3)International Anti-aging Systems, Article by James South http://www.smart-drugs.net/ias-hgh.htm 4)usdoctor.com, Doctor on the Internet http://www.usdoctor.com/gh.htm 5)ABCNews, Transcript of ABC News 20/20 report on HGH http://www.worldwidescam.com/abc.htm

Diversity Within English Essay -- essays research papers

Diversity Within English   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In order to understand how language variation descriptors are used, we first must understand what language variation is. We can say that the U.S. is linguistically diverse because of the multitude of languages spoken here, but we can also find diversity within these languages. All languages have both dialectical variations and registral variations. These variations, or dialects, can differ in lexicon, phonology, and/or syntax from the Standard Language that we often think of as Å’correct' Language, although they are not necessarily less proper than, say, Standard English. It depends on where, by whom, and in what situation the dialect is used as to whether or not it is appropriate.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Most people are familiar with regional dialects, such as Boston, Brooklyn, or Southern. These types of variations usually occur because of immigration and settlement patterns. People tend to seek out others like themselves. Regional variations tend to become more pronounced as the speech community is more isolated by physical geography, i.e. mountain ranges, rivers. Linguists have done extensive studies on regional dialects, producing detailed Linguistic Atlases. Many linguists can tell where a person is from just by knowing whether a person carries groceries home from the supermarket in a paper bag or from the grocery store in a paper sack (Yule 184). And the person who comes home from the supermarket with a paper sack serves to remind us that language variation is not a discrete, but rather a continuous variable. Characteristics of the dialect are more pronounced in the center of the speech community and tend to be less discernible at the outer boundaries, where they often overlap other regional dialects.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Within, and between, these regional variations we find the social dialects. The primary social factors that influence dialects are class, education, occupation, ethnicity, sex, and age (Ferguson 52, Yule 191). And social dialects can vary on any or all three descriptor levels; syntax or grammar, lexicon or vocabulary, and phonetics or pronunciation. Social dialects are also where the described differences are often defined as stigmatized or nonstigmatized (Ferguson 52). Stigmatized items include use of the double negative (grammar), substituting the d sound for t... ...frequency. Using in' for ing, as in goin' is universal across status groups, but it is found almost twice as often in the lower working class than in the lower middle class, and almost four times more than in the upper middle class (Ferguson 61).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With all these different variables that intersect and overlap with the different dialect variations is is a wonder that any sense can be made of American English at all. But there two other important point to remember. Language universals such as displacement, arbitrariness, productivity, cultural transmission, discreteness and duality are unique to human language (Yule 22) and provides a base or norm for measuring variations. Implicational relationships provide a way of measuring relative distance between the different variations and also serve as a means to predict changes in individual dialects (Ferguson 66). Works Consulted Ferguson, Charles A., and Shirley Brice Heath, eds. Language in the USA. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1981. Piatt, Bill. Only English? Law and Language Policy in the United States. Albuquerque: U of New Mexico P, 1990. Yule, George. The Study of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1985.