Discussion Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 80

Discussion - Assignment Example The problem with municipal bonds are predictable as they pay twice in a year, and a sale of the bonds virtually guarantees the present market price for the bond, which may be less or more than the first release price, obviously without the additional penalties. However; they carry comparatively low interest rate relative to the other types of securities. High yield low quality bonds are very risky on the long haul compared to the higher quality bonds. Their vulnerability to economic and credit risk is obvious, as they are unrated from agencies such as Standard & Poor’s or Moody. In securities investment, it is always advisable to diversify one’s investment in different classes and categories of investment, and pooling of resources in one investment bag can be counterproductive especially in high risk bonds such as the lower quality bonds. Instead of investing in five of the 15-year corporate bonds; he should have appropriated in different bond classes. Investing in different bonds ensures that a fall in price as a result of low high interest in one class of bond is compensated with a high price as a result of low interest in another class of

Eriksons Theories Personal Portrait Essay Example for Free

Eriksons Theories Personal Portrait Essay Erik Erikson’s and Lawrence Kohlberg developed several different theories that demonstrated each phase of our lives. Their theories demonstrated how each stage developed and how the stages help to make us who we are today. We develop, learn, and revolutionize through developmental and moral developments. This paper will illustrate how each developmental and moral development represents each stage of life. Erik Erikson’s stages of developmental theory consist of eight stages of development versus Lawrence Kohlberg’s six stages of moral developmental theory. Both of these theorists beliefs were different when it came to the breakdown of each stage. Erikson’s infant stage which consisted of trust vs. mistrust which is â€Å"the need for maximum comfort with minimal uncertainty to trust himself/herself, others, and the environment( Patient Teaching, 1990).† This is a stage that I cannot relate to because I do not have any memories from infancy. Kohlberg’s first stage is â€Å"obedience and punishment† which relates that a â€Å"child assumes that powerful authorities hand down a fixed set of rules which he or she must unquestioningly obey (Kohlberg, 1958b). For example, your principle in your elementary school down to your teacher is an authority figure. I relate to Kohlberg’s stage because I can remember growing up and knew that my parents, teachers, and principles were my authority figures. I knew that I must obey them and if I did not that it would result in severe punishments and sometimes multiple punishments from each individual. Being a female, a felt that I feared authority figures more than my brothers or other boys in my class. Second stage of Erickson’s was the â€Å"toddler† stage â€Å"autonomy vs shame and doubt-works to master physical environment while maintaining self esteem â€Å"The second stage occurs between 18 months and 3 years. At this point, the child has an opportunity to build self-esteem and autonomy as he or she learns new skills and right from wrong. The well-cared for child is sure of himself, carrying him or herself with pride rather than shame. During this time of the â€Å"terrible twos†, defiance, temper tantrums, and stubbornness can also appear. Children tend to be vulnerable during this stage, sometimes feeling shame and low self-esteem during an inability to learn certain skills (Erikson, 1968).† Kolberg’s second stage â€Å"Individualism and Exchange† â€Å"At this stage children recognize that there is not just one right view that is handed down by the authorities. Different individuals have different viewpoints (Kohlberg, 1963, p. 24).† Both Erikson’s and Kohlberg’s theory can be a demonstrated at an early childhood stage. One learned that they were an individual and that one had to respect authority figures. I can remember a time that I was in preschool and I was asked why I took another child’s crayon. I remember stating to the teacher that I wanted my crayons to remain new. I was already developing a sense of being selfish and using others. That was not the route to take which was expressed to me by both my teacher and my parents. The third stage is â€Å"Initiative vs. Guilt† which demonstrates â€Å"purpose† â€Å"During this period we experience a desire to copy the adults around us and take initiative in creating play situations. We make up stories with Barbie’s and Ken’s, toy phones and miniature cars, playing out roles in a trial universe, experimenting with the blueprint for what we believe it means to be an adult. We also begin to use that wonderful word for exploring the world—†WHY?†(Erikson, 1968)† Whereas Kolhberg’s stage result in â€Å"good interpersonal relationships† At this stage childrenwho are by now usually entering their teenssee morality as more than simple deals. They believe that people should live up to the expectations of the family and community and behave in good ways. Good behavior means having good motives and interpersonal feelings such as love, empathy, trust, and concern for others. Heinz, they typically argue, was right to steal the drug because He was a good man for wanting to save her, and His intentions were good, that of saving the life of someone he loves. Even if Heinz doesnt love his wife, these subjects often say, he should steal the drug because I dont think any husband should sit back and watch his wife die (Gibbs et al., 1983, pp. 36-42; Kohlberg, 1958b). These two stages are somewhat different in comparison. Erikson’s theory is basically demonstrates how a child mimics what he or she see by using inanimate objects. I believed every little girl played house with Barbie and little boys played cowboys and Indians. I loved to play in my doll house at the age of 4 and older. I also was starting to demonstrate what was right or wrong. Erikson’s fourth stage â€Å"School-Age Child (Competence) – Industry vs. Inferiority† â€Å"the Latency, we are capable of learning, creating and accomplishing numerous new skills and knowledge, thus developing a sense of industry (Erikson, 1968).† Kohlberg fourth stage is â€Å"Maintaining the Social Order reasoning works best in two-person relationships with family members or close friends, where one can make a real effort to get to know the others feelings and needs and try to help (Crain, 1985, p 124).† These two stages exemplify several social skills. There are alike in detail. The age range from 6 to 12 is a very adequate age. I can recall being in the 4th and 5th grade and starting to have friends. I was a cheerleader and was learning that you have to be social in order to develop friendships. I was also taught by parents that little boys teased and picked on me because they liked you. I did not understand this but as I got older I slowly started to understand the concept of relationships. Next, the fifth stage of Erikson is â€Å"Identity vs. Role Confusion – Fidelity† â€Å". At this point, development now depends primarily upon what a person does. An adolescent must struggle to discover and find his or her own identity, while negotiating and struggling with social interactions and â€Å"fitting in†, and developing a sense of morality and right from wrong (Erikson, 1968)† Thus, Kohlberg’s fifth stage is â€Å"social contract and individual rights respondents basically believe that a good society is best conceived as a social contract into which people freely enter to work toward the benefit of all. They recognize that different social groups within a society will have different values, but they believe that all rational people would agree on two points. First they would all want certain basic rights, such as liberty and life, to be protected (Crain, 1985, p.125).† I feel that both of these stages are very similar. We want society to help us while giving back to society. It shows a sense of being part of something big. For example, I like the fact that I am able to vote. I believe that voting is a huge part of being part of society. It is important to know and feel that importance. The sixth stage of Erikson is â€Å"Intimacy and Solidarity vs. Isolation – Love† â€Å"the age is from 18-35, at the young adult stage, people tend to seek companions hip and love. Some also begin to â€Å"settle down† and start families, although seems to have been pushed back farther in recent years (Erikson, 1968).† Final stage of Kolhberg is â€Å"universal principles which believes that there must be a higher stagestage 6which defines the principles by which we achieve justice (Crain, 1985, p132).† These two stages are very different. Erikson is speaking about finding love which is considered your soul mate. Ages 18 through 35 is the common age that people start settling down and having children. I was 21 when I gave birth to my daughter. I tried to stay with her father which was 7 years older than me. He had not matured and did not want to step up to his responsibilities, even though he was much older than me. Kohlberg felt that stage 6 which resulted in the final decision of respecting each other’s beliefs. I find myself using an open mind and not judging anyone for their differences. I can relate to both of these stages. Erikson’s last two stages are â€Å"Middle-aged Adult: age ranges from 35 to 55 or 65 and the stage is Generativity vs. Self absorption or Stagnation which is defined as Care â€Å"Career and work are the most important things at this stage, along with family. Middle adulthood is also the time when people can take on greater responsibilities and control (Erikson, 1968).† Next, â€Å"Late Adult: age ranges from 55 or 65 to Death and the stage Integrity vs. Despair defined as wisdom As older adults, some can look back with a feeling of integrity — that is, contentment and fulfillment, having led a meaningful life and valuable contribution to society. Others may have a sense of despair during this stage, reflecting upon their experiences and failures( Erikson, 1968).† I am not at either stage of my life. I am very close to middle age. I actually consider myself to be a middle aged adult now. I am focused on furthering my career and supporting my family. I feel that this stage should be very important to both males and females. I have learned from working in the criminal justice field that this stage is not very important to males in society. There are more men in prison and jail than there are females. These men do not put the proper priorities in order to stay stable and have legitimate career. I am destine to reach far beyond 65 and live my life prosperous. In Closing, these two theorists had the same theories in mind. They described each stage of development differently. There concepts both compared and contrast with each other’s stages. I related to both theorists. I consider my life as a mirror of both Erikson’s and Kohlberg’s stages. Their phases exemplify positive and refined steps of everyone’s life. References Crain, W.C. (1985). Theories of Development. Prentice-Hall. pp. 118-136. Erikson, E. H. (1968). Identity: Youth and crisis. New York: Norton.

Black Boy by Richard Wright and A Brief Introduction To The History Of The Deep South :: Black Boy A Brief Introduction To The History Of

Compare the two texts an extract from Black Boy by Richard Wright and A Brief Introduction To The History Of The Deep South for: 1) Tone 2) Use of Language (Style) 3) Register (Degree of Formality or Informality) Black Boy by Richard Wright is a personal recountive piece while A Brief Introduction To The History Of The Deep South a piece of expository writing. In Black Boy, the narrator recalls and describes 2 incidents that occurred on the same day which impacted his life and let him better understand the Whites’ thoughts and how to react to them. The purpose of the author is to let the reader understand situations that went on at that time from the first-person point of view such that the reader can comprehend the severity of the problem, and gives a few insights. On the other hand, A Brief Introduction To The History Of The Deep South illustrates briefly how Black slavery began and progressed in the South. The purpose of the author is probably to inform the reader on how racism progressed on a whole as a whole area, the south, rather than to show real life situations that went on within the community. In Black Boy, the tone is rather dissatisfied and has hints of complaints, such as in â€Å"My face must have reflected my silent anger, for the boss slapped me reassuringly on the back.† In this passage some disgust of the narrator is also shown through even the eclipses right after ‘ â€Å"Here have a cigarette,† he said.’ However, in A Brief Introduction To The History Of The Deep South, the tone is a-matter-of-factly as the narrator is merely presenting a set of historical facts, with little bias or emotion, such as in â€Å"The Southerners got very rich from these plantation farms making lots of money.† In a way it becomes a more reciting tone as the history of the Deep South is reported. In Black Boy, words, especially adjectives and adverbs are used to colour the writing, such as in â€Å"every fleeting expression† and â€Å"hot, dusty road†. However, in A Brief Introduction To The History Of The Deep South, adjectives and adverbs are used for precision of information, as shown in â€Å"ruined plantation† and â€Å"brutal system†. Another case would be â€Å"The Yankie Northerners beat the Southerners and burnt and destroyed many of their beautiful big plantation houses†, where â€Å"beautiful† is used not so much to colour the writing but to show the massive contrast of before and after. Black Boy is rather informal, as the narrator tells you the events of a day in his life.

Personal Reflections on the Self Essay

I  certify that  the attached  paper is my original work and has not previously been submitted by me or anyone else for any class. I further declare I have cited all sources from which I used  language, ideas, and information,  whether quoted  verbatim or paraphrased, and that any assistance of any kind, which I received while producing this paper, has been acknowledged in the References section. I have obtained written permission from the copyright holder for any trademarked material, logos, or images from the Internet or other sources. I further agree that my name typed  on the line below is intended to have, and shall have, the same validity as my handwritten signature. Student’s  signature (name typed here is equivalent to a signature):   Marjorie Neal When we talk about self, it is generally meant to be a reflection of an individual’s identity and separate from others and the environment (Huitt, 2009). The most widely used concepts when it comes to self are the self-concept and self-esteem. Self-esteem is the sense of self worth and dictates how we feel about ourselves where self-concept is dictated by how an individual answers the question â€Å"who am I? †(Myers, 2008). Research has shown that self-concept is the basis for all motivated behavior because self-concept that provides individuals with possible selves and those possible selves create the motivation for behavior (Huitt, 2009). Self-concept is built through the process of taking action and reflecting on the action one has taken as well as what others tell him about what he has done (Huitt, 2009). We are not born with a self-concept. Self-concept is developed through interaction with the environment and one’s reflection of that interaction. Self-concept has four parts: self-image, self-esteem, ideal-self and self-efficacy My sister had all the friends that my parents approved of, she got the good grades, she was not in special education classes and at home report cards and progress reports were constantly compared. I never heard that I was doing a great job or that I had improved on this subject or that it was always how wonderful my sisters grades were compared to my C’s that I worked very hard for in the early years. By the third grade I was behind in reading and math so I had to go to special classes to get help on those subjects. I not only felt inadequate at home but the other students in school made me feel very stupid and not good enough. I was picked on at school and called all sorts of names from stupid to Margarine to Rhino. Looking back it was kids being kids and picking on me because they could see that it bothered me. I used to come home in tears and all my parents said was to ignore them and they would stop but they did not stop. I was in the â€Å"loser† group and there was no getting out of it. By third grade I believed them. When I entered Junior High School, I started off in the lowest group for my classes, the one that all the troublemakers were in and all the â€Å"stupid† kids. I got tired of being lumped with those kids and decided I could do better so I decided I was going to work hard and talk to my teachers about moving up a group. In sixth grade I went from group four to group three at the half way point in the year. This gave me a bit of a boost but I still was not happy. I wanted to be one of the smart kids like my sister was so that my parents would be proud. So in seventh grade I worked harder and talk to my teachers and I was moved from group three into group two. I was feeling better about myself and continued to push harder until I was finally in group one by the end of the eighth grade. Being in group one meant I could take the college level classes I wanted to take in High School, it also meant that I was just as good as my sister was but that did nothing for me at home because I was struggling to pull C’s and my sister was still pulling A’s. Nonetheless, I was proud of my accomplishment and myself so I tried college level classes in High School. I did fine in college English but not so good in Math. I found that high school was very difficult for me and after all those years of trying to be as good as my sister I still could not pull the same grades no matter how hard I worked at it. I gave up and stopped taking college level classes with the hope that the other classes would be easier for me and I could pull the A’s and B’s that my parents were so proud of my sister for getting. When I continued to struggle my freshman and sophomore year I gave up and decided that I was going to do what it took to get those C’s and nothing more. I became very discouraged. Then my parents separated and we moved from my hometown to the Cape with my aunt so I had to change schools half way through my sophomore year. I was happy with that, a new group of kids to meet and different expectations by the kids I already knew in that school so this was going to be easy and that was my easiest semester ever. I finally got the good grades that I was looking for and my mother stopped criticizing me for my choice in friends. She actually approved of most of my friends. My sister at that point became the problem child. Then it all fell apart. My mother decided that she was going to take a job in Boise, Idaho and my sister and I had to move with her across the country. I had finally adjusted to the idea of my parents getting a divorce and now she was going to take me away from all of my life long friends and everything I knew. My attitude, self-esteem and everything went right down the toilet. When we got to Idaho I didn’t care anymore. I was going to do what I had to do to graduate and get out of my mother’s house so I could go back to Massachusetts where I knew people and I was home. I made poor choices in friends, poor choices in behavior, and poor choices in my schoolwork all because the only thing I could see was anger. I was so angry with both of my parents, my mother for making me move to Idaho and my father for not fighting to keep us in Massachusetts. It was like my opinion did not matter and once again my sister was the queen. All the good I had done in junior high and down the Cape did not matter anymore. I graduated from high school, turned down a military career and moved back to Massachusetts where I met my first husband. It was a marriage destined to fail. My first husband was very abusive verbally and emotionally. He constantly made me feel like I was not worth the dirt I walked on. I was diagnosed bipolar two years after we got married and he never took the time to learn about it, said he didn’t believe in mental illness and did not help me find the help I needed so it was a very rocky ten-year marriage. I did get two wonderful children out of the marriage though, of that I was thankful and challenged. After my first husband and I divorced, I met my current husband. He is the exact opposite of my first husband. We have a very good relationship. It was the relationship with my first husband and all the abuse that I went through in the ten years we were married and my childhood experiences that made me who I am today.

Mother of 1084

The play Mother of 1084 (1997) is the original translation of Mahasweta Devi’s Bengali playHajar Churashir Ma that has the best illustrations for the marginalized category. The neglected and suppressed plight of the woman is represented by Sujata Chatterjee, mother of the protagonist of the play Brati Chatterjee whose ideology i. e. , commitment to the revolutionary and Communist Naxalite movement has labeled him as a rebel, and led to his ruthless killing by the police in an ‘encounter’.In the play Mother of 1084 Sujata Chatterjee, a traditional apolitical upper middle class lady, an employee who awakens one early morning to the shattering news that her youngest and favourite son, Brati, is lying dead in the police morgue bearing the corpse no. 1084. Her efforts to understand her son’s revolutionary activism lead her to reflect on her own alienation from the complacent, hypocritical, bourgeois society against which he had rebelled. The play moves around Su jata, a middle-aged woman belonging to a ‘bhadralok’, bourgeoisie Calcutta family.Born into a conservative, affluent family, Sujata is advised to pursue her B. A. so that it helps her marriage prospects, but is ultimately married off to Dibyanath Chatterjee, a chartered accountant, despite his unsound financial situation. In thirty-four years of their married life, Sujata gives birth to four children, two sons (Jyoti and Brati) and two daughters (Nipa and Tuli). When the novel opens, two of her children are already married, Jyoti to Bina and Nipa to Amrit.In the eyes of the world, all of them are leading perfectly happy and settled lives, but as Sujata goes on to discover later, that this happiness is only superficial. Significantly, Sujata makes several other discoveries, only after the sudden and mysterious death of Brati, her younger son, with whom she had always shared a very special relationship. For instance, she discovers that all her thirty-four years of her mar ried life, she has been living a lie, as her husband, being an incorrigible philanderer, always cheated her with his mother’s and children’s tacit approval.He fixed up a petty bank job for her, when Brati was barely three years old, not out of any consideration for her economic independence, but essentially to help the family tide over a temporary financial crisis. And, as soon as the tide is over, he wants her to give up the job, which Sujata simply refuses. Later, she also discovers that her children, too, are leading lives very similar to her own. If there is someone who has dared to be different, it’s Brati. Sullenly rebellious, right from his childhood, Brati has made no secret of his disregard, even contempt, for his familial code and value-system.Turning his back upon this decadent and defunct code, Brati decides to join the Naxalite movement sweeping through the State of West Bengal in late 1960’s and early 1970’s. Unaware of his secret mis sion, Sujata is not able to dissuade her son from joining this movement. During his period of struggle, he comes into contact with a young girl, Nandini, who is also a member of the underground movement and with whom he shares his vision of a new world order. On being betrayed by one of his comrades, Brati and three of his close associates, Somu, Parth and Laltu, are brutally murdered by the assassin of the police.Later, the police call up his father, asking him to come and identify the dead body of his son, who, has in the meantime been divested of his identity as a person, and given another ‘dehumanized identity’ as corpse number 1084. Not only does the father refuse to go, but he also forbids other family members from doing so. Outraged at the manner in which his associates, his immediate family and the state have abandoned the dead Brati, his mother, Sujata decides to go, throwing all pretensions to false social respectability and the fear of public censure, to wind s.Dibyanath Chatterjee, father of Brati Chatterjee is represented, as an honest representative of the male dominated society. As soon as he comes to know about the news of his son, instead of rushing to the police station he tries to hush up the matter. Sujata is aghast to see the indifferent behaviour of her husband. He was least bothered to talk about this matter to his wife Sujata. The following sentences reveal very clearly how much she was neglected by him: Sujata : (uncomprehending, in a panic). What will you hush up? What are you talking about? Dibyanath: Jyoti, there is no time to waste.He goes out. Sujata : Jyoti! (Jyoti busy in dialing a number. He does not reply) Jyoti! (Reproving). Jyoti! What’s Happened? (04) From the above lines one can easily conclude that Sujata was neglected though she was the second important member of the family. Dibyanath Chatterjee bothered to consult his son Jyoti rather than his wife, Sujata. Sujata felt shocked when Dibyanath Chatterje e refuses to go to the police station with the fear of stigma in the society for his son’s involvement in anti – government affairs. In the words of Sujata: But that soon? Even before the body’s been identified?A father gets the news on the telephone and does not even think of rushing to have a look? All he can think of is that he’d be comprised if his car went to Kantakapukur? (09) The four chapters in the play mark a new stage in the evolution of Sujata’s consciousness, as it enables her to re-order her fragmented and chaotic life in search of a cohesive identity. Every time she visits her own past or that of Brati, Somu’s mother or Nandini, her long-suppressed personal loss is slowly released into the ever-widening, spirals of betrayal, guilt and suffering.From a weak-willed, hopelessly dependent and a non-assertive moral coward, Sujata is transformed into a morally assertive, politically enlightened and a socially defiant individual. In the first chapter, significantly titled ‘Dawn’, Sujata primarily returns to her interior, private world of personal suffering, torture, betrayal and loneliness. Negotiating the inner time in relation to her immediate familial situation, she becomes aware of how she and Brati were not just fellow sufferers but also soul mates.In the second chapter, ‘Afternoon’, Sujata’s visit to the bank to get jewellery from the locker is only a pretext for her to visit the house of Somu’s mother. A close associate of Brati, Somu had been killed in the same encounter. More significantly, Brati had spent his night in Somu’s house before his mysterious disappearance and death. While Sujata goes to Somu’s mother with the specific aim of retrieving the memories of Brati’s last few hours, it turns out to be her entry and initiation into another world altogether.It is the world of primitive squalor, filth, poverty, degradation and subhuman exist ence that only hovers tentatively on the margins of ‘bhadraloks’ consciousness. She enters into the little known world of slum dwellers. The sight of Somu’s ageing mother, her disgruntled daughter and that of their ramshackle tenement with a straw roof is enough to complete the rituals of initiation. In the third chapter, titled ‘Evening’, she visits Nandini, who apart from being Brati’s comrade-in-arms was also his beloved.It is Nandini who reconstructs for Sujata all the events leading up to Brati’s betrayal and murder. In the process, she also initiates Sujata into the little known world of the underground movement, explaining to her the logic for an organized rebellion, giving her first hand account of state repression and its multiple failures. It’s through Nandini that Sujata is finally able to understand the reasons for Brati’s political convictions and his rejection of the bourgeoisie code.All this leaves her so co mpletely bewildered that she openly admits to Nandini, â€Å"I didn’t really know Brati. † (87). In the last chapter of the novel titled ‘Night’, we meet a transformed Sujata, one who is more self-assured, morally confident and politically sensitive. She decides to leave the house in which Brati never felt at home, where he wasn’t valued while he was alive, nor his memory respected after his death. Having found a soul mate in Brati, she turns her back on Dibyanath and his decadent value-system.Bound by a sense of moral responsibility, she does go through all the rituals and ceremonies connected with Tuli’s engagement, but during the party, she maintains stiff, studied silence. Her insistence on wearing a plain, white sari for the party is also a significant gesture. The feelings of Sujata were not respected but misinterpreted by the members of the family. The given conversation between Sujata (Tuli, the second daughter of Sujata) and Tuli rep resents this thought: Tuli : Didn’t Brati laugh at other people’s beliefs?Sujata: Brati’s belief was so different from your belief in the Swami, or Bina’s in her prayer room, that it sounds utterly absurd when you drag his name into the same context. Tuli : The same thing again! You will react every time we mention Brati. Sujata : Yes. Tuli : Are we not worthy enough to pronounce his name? Sujata: The way you pronounce it! To hurt me! (08) On one occasion Dibyanath Chatterjee accused Sujata for misleading their son which has led him to become a rebel. The egoistic nature of the father is understood in his words, â€Å"Bad company, bad friends, the mother’s influence† (29).It is a well known fact in the society that father and mother play an important role in bringing up the children. But it is ridiculous to notice that when the children get spoiled, complete blame is thrown on mother. Being physically weak and fragile, (for a few years, she had been living with a rotten appendix inside her system), and traumatized by her younger son’s death and subsequent repression of grief, she simply gives up on life. When she screams and collapses into a heap, her husband is quick to react that her â€Å"appendix† has burst.Whatever the symbolic overtones of his statement, she certainly succumbs to the slow process of inner-outer rot and decay. Finally, as she herself says, â€Å"Now that Brati is dead, I, too, wouldn’t like to go on living. † She discovers her inner self but on the whole loses her will to live and survive. Time constantly swings back and forth, and so does the pendulum of two interconnected, intertwined lives, that of Sujata and her son, Brati. Interestingly, it is death that unites them both, irrevocably asserting the authenticity of their lives, too.Mahasweta Devi’s predominant concerns are the tribal backwaters, the â€Å"exploitations of the Adivasis by the landed rich or th e urban-administrative machinery callously perpetuating a legacy of complicity with the colonizers, bonded labour and prostitution, the destitution and misery of city dwellers who are condemned to live at the fringes and eke-out a meager livelihood, the plight of woman who are breadwinners and victims of male sexual violence, dependent widows, ill-treated wives, and unwanted daughters whose bodies can fetch a price – are adequately represented†. Sen). From the above situations, one can infer the insignificant role of Sujata in the play Mother of 1084, as a woman who has been relegated to the position of a neglected, suppressed, ill-treated, mechanical and marginalized in all forms in the male dominated society who consider woman as an object of sex, only to reproduce, bring money when needed and does not possess even a voice to express her own concerns.

My Life as a Carbon Atom In The Bush essays

My Life as a Carbon Atom In The Bush essays My name is Bon, and I am a carbon atom. I am a non-metal element, living in the north eastern region of the periodic table, in Period 2, Group IV, which means I have two occupied shells and contain 4 electrons in my valance shell. I am universally renowned from my chemical symbol of C, and distinguished by my atomic number 6, and the atomic mass 12.01. Without me, life as we know it would not exist. Out of the other109 elements in the periodic table, I am the only one that has the properties that make it possible for living systems to develop, due to my unique ability to form a wide range of compounds. This is on account of the fact that I have four electrons available for bonding with other atoms. I can also share my electrons with other carbon atoms, like myself, in a form called covalent bonding. A compound that I am most commonly found in is oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, chlorine, and hydrogen. Last year I bonded with 11 carbons and 26 hydrogens and formed a large molecule. We were great together, and we had lots in common, with our similar electronegativites, which allowed us to form a non-polar compound, decane. Decane is a hydrocarbon, a type of organic compound. Along with other chemical compounds, but mainly with hydrocarbons, we formed a fossil fuel, crude oil. Fossil fuels are formed when some dead organisms are compressed under land, or water for long periods, and undergo chemical changes. It wasnt until one day; we were mined and sent to a power plant station. There, we were subjected to high temperatures in the presence of a catalyst. This process we underwent, was called Catalytic Cracking. The high temperatures caused us to break down into smaller, and more useful molecules, but the temperatures also caused us to decompose. The catalyst was used to lower the temperature at which we would crack, and prevented us from decomposing. The catalyst also had an advant age of producing the industrially important hydrocarb...

Philosophy of language Speech act theory

Philosophy of language Speech act theory Abstract Speech acts are the basis on which day to day communications amongst humans is founded. It was however not until the mid 20th century that proper studies were carried out on this topic (Sosa Villanueva 2006). Over the years there have been heated debates and discussions on the topic particularly under the influence of the works philosophers such as J.L Austin and John Searle. The theory of speech acts has since then come to achieve importance in other fields aside from philosophy (Platts 1989).Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Philosophy of language: Speech act theory specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The speech act theory has come to be recognized as very important in everyday life and particularly after the revelation by scholars that these speech acts do much more than describing reality. Studies that have taken place over the years since the speech act theory was proposed have come to distinguish the philo sophy of language as an entity different from other philosophies (Platts 1989). An understanding of the speech act theory has also come to establish some basic structuring for the field of linguistics. This structure includes some various aspects used to describe reality. This essay seeks to elaborate on the concept of the speech act theory. To this end, an analysis of the works of the original proponents of the theory shall be provided. This shall basically summarize the works of John Searle and J.L. Austin. A further analysis of the theory shall be presented under the guide of the works of modern day philosophers. Introduction Speech acts are a set of actions that are performed through uttering of sounds with an aim of conveying a particular meaning; meanings which are characteristically linked to that combination of sounds. It is a well known fact that when an individual speaks, he/se wants to pass across a particular meaning and that whatever that individual says, or the set of sounds that come from his/her mouth already have an associated meaning. According to proponents of this theory, in order for one to have an understanding of a particular language, he/she must first comprehend the intention of the speakers of the said language when they use a particular combination of sounds. This theory is based on the simple premise that speech is an act in itself. The various combinations of sounds (speech) used to convey a particular meaning are not merely used to designate but they are self standing actions. J.L Austin’s study on speech acts J.L. Austin is one of the key proponents of the speech act theory and most of his work on the topic was published in 1978 after his death by his students in a book known as how to do things with words. Though this publication cannot be fully taken as Austin’s work it is a general representation of his views and there is a chance that his opinions would not have differed much had he published the book himself. A ccording to Austin utterance was an act in itself. According to Austin (1978) there are two major distinctions of speech acts viz: constatives and perfomatives.Advertising Looking for essay on linguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Constatives are those utterances that tend to present reality as it is and can therefore be described as either true or false. Perfomatives on the other hand are described as either felicitous or infelicitous. Austin however comes to the agreement that a majority of statements are basically perfomative. This basically means that most people when speaking they are participating in one form of action or other. According to Austin, â€Å"Performing a locutionary act is roughly equivalent to uttering a certain sentence with a certain sense and reference, which is again equivalent to meaning in the traditional sense. Second, we said that we also perform illocutionary acts such as inform ing, ordering, warning, undertaking, etc., i.e. utterances which have a certain conventional force. Thirdly, we may also perform perlocutionary acts: what we bring about or achieve by saying something, such as convincing, persuading, deterring and even, say, surprising or misleading† (1978). According to Austin, the action that the speaker is involved is in essence, forming some realities that can only make sense when placed within the context of a particular society. For example, when one uses a definite perfomative sentence such as â€Å"I declare him the president† in the case of an election vote tallying in which the individual is confirming which contestant won the seat, he/she is in essence modeling an instance of social reality. That is, in this particular context, a leadership figure. J.L. Austin came up with three major characteristics or features of utterances which start with the basic structuring or words and conclude with the impact of those words on the au dience being targeted. These were locutionary acts, illocutionanary acts and perlocutionary acts. Locutionary acts are basically normal sentences that are aimed at conveying a particular meaning while illocutionary acts are those statements that carry some characteristic of force (such as warning and ordering). Perlocutionary acts are the end results of utterances i.e what is achieved as a consequence of saying something. These perlocutionary acts include persuasion and surprising. The major focus of Austin’s study was on illocutionary acts. This is because statements in this category clearly explaining the concept of performance as an aspect of speech. For instance a statement like â€Å"Don’t drink and drive† possesses the forceful nature of a warning. The same statement can be framed in such a way that it is a definite perfomative act, for example â€Å"The president is warning you, don’t drink and drive.† The person being addressed may hear the utterance and receive it as a warning, then the person can be said to have been warned. This does not however mean that the person will behave in a way that will correspond to the warning. This therefore means that illocutionary acts such as the statement shown above can not be classified on a true/false basis. Austin in his studies insisted that individuals should understand that while analyzing a sentence, the focus should not be on the sentence itself but rather on how it is uttered.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Philosophy of language: Speech act theory specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More His maintenance that any utterance should be considered a performance act basically depended on the premise that analyzing a sentence or its constitutent words (locutionary acts) without placing them in the proper social context ended up explaining the net effect of the communication (illocutionary act) insufficiently (Sosa Vil lanueva 2006). This disregard of social context also greatly compromises the explanation of the effect of the utterance on the target audience (perlocutionary acts) Austin and other scholars of the speech-act theory have always strived to explain their ideas by use of what can be described as imaginary examples. In their arguments the social context of a statement is ignored in order to make literal point. Later, the same social context is added to the utterance in a way basic statements appear very complicated. In order to illustrate how utterances (perfomances) operate Austin summarized the illocutionary act as F(p). In this particular expression, F is the force behind the illocutionary act and p is proposition that the utterance is making John Searle and speech acts John Searle is one of the major philosophers who did an extensive study the speech act theory following its inception by J.L. Austin. He majorly focused his work around studies on illocutionary, locutionary and perloc utionary acts. His findings suggested that an illocutionary act is said to have happened whenever someone talks or writes to another person (Searle, 1989). According to him illuctionary acts form the basis of all linguistic communication. He also agreed that an illocutionary act has to be intentional in its underlying nature. This basically means that a person has to have a reason for speaking and would not make an utterance if he/she did not intend to achieve something out of the action (Tsohatazidis 2007). The person being addressed also has a major part to play if the illocutionary act is said to have achieved its purpose. This hearer should be able to understand the intention of the speaker’s utterance by picking meaning from an already established way of decoding utterances (Searle, 1989). This is what is referred to as a perlocutionary effect. For example, an individual may say something like â€Å"Drive the car† with the intention that the hearer will receive th is communication as a command and also that t hearer will respond by driving the car. However, according to Searle’s findings a speech act may end up affecting the hearer in a different way from the initial intention of the speaker. For instance, the speaker may say â€Å"Drive the car,† and the hearer may choose not to perform the action commanded and instead make his/her response by saying â€Å"I don’t feel like driving, you drive it yourself.†Advertising Looking for essay on linguistics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This according to Searle reveals that illocutionary acts are inherently intentional and is the basis on which meaning is founded. Perlocutionary depending on the circumstances in which they present may either be intentional or unintentional. This stand by Searle has in recent times been the subjects of debate. Individuals who do not support this stand have argued that it is the perlocutionary act that actually defines the intentions of the speaker. Though language can be used in uncountable ways, Searle in his literature proposes that there just a few things that can be accomplished by use of language. In the F(p) basic structuring of illocutionary acts, the propositional aspect of an utterance can take very many forms (Searle, 1989).. However Searle’s contention comes in the number of forces behind an illocutionary act. Searle suggests that the number of verbs that describe the eventual effect of the illocutionary act on the hearer limits the number of forces behind illocuti onary acts (McDowell 1980). In order to ensure that the argument on the forces behind the illocutionary acts is not merely based on the verbs associated with the act, Searle brings about the concept of the illocutionary point. The illocutionary point according to Searle is what the speaker when he/she performs an illocutionary act. This presents in the form of a verb aimed at describing the action that the sentence is involved in. this is basically the same as a schema that had been set earlier by Searle’s predecessor, J.L Austin (Tsohatazidis 2007). Searle in his studies on speech acts proposed the classification of illutionary points into five different categories, Viz.: Assertives, Directives, Commissives, Expressives and Declaratives (Searle, 1989). Assertives. These are the kind of utterances that can either be judged as true or false. This because statements in such categories are mainly intendended to describe how things are in the physical world. Directives. These ar e utterances that intended at making the hearer respond in the same way that the particular statements are proposing. Commissives. These are utterances that demand that the hearer makes a commitment to the action being proposed by the speaker. Expressives. These are utterances that basically define how sincere the illocutionary act is. Declaratives: These are utterances that are intended at making changes to the world. They achieve this by defining the world as having undergone some changes. From the above classifications, Searle concluded that when an individual is speaking or writing, he/she can be said to be doing one or a number of the following actions: â€Å"Asserting, directing, commiserating, expressing or declaring† (McDowell 1980). Searle also declared that the force behind an illocutionary act comes about as a result of the speaker’s intentions. It is only when the hearer derives meaning from the illocutionary point/force that communication can be said to h ave taken place. Foundation of the speech act theory The best way to analyze the features that form the foundation of the speech act theory is to make a comparison between it and other theories that are presented in the philosophy of language. This part of the essays shall take into consideration the relations between speech acts and aspects like semantics, grammar and meaning. Any act that is presented by observable behavior takes place with an underlying intention. When a speaker says â€Å"you will go to school next week†, generally leaves the person being addressed wondering whether the utterance should be regarded as an order or as a prediction. This statement does not clearly describe the force behind it and hence the unexplained questions. There may be many theories may strive to explain the meaning behind the statement above, it is clear that the speakers intention was to state that the addressee will go to school in the following week (McDowell 1980). If someone asks what the force of the wording in sentence will essentially be seeking to know whether the statement should be received as an order or as a prediction (Michael 2007). He/She (addressee) would therefore not be particularly asking the speaker to add more explanations to the content of the statement. However whether the statement intended to issue an order or make a prediction will only be determined by some details within the statement that were not elaborated. From this proposal, the speaker may have meant either of these two things: 1) â€Å"I predict that you will go to school next week† or 2) I command you to go to school next week. In order to avoid contradictions arising as a result of an individual saying one thing while in essence he/she means another would require the understanding that for a single speech act to occur, a number of different utterances have to be made. Force and content as independent aspects Generally, a proposition on its own is not enough to elicit a particular response from the addressee. For example, by just suggesting that coal is black cannot be regarded as a comprehensive speech act. This is because for a speech act to be seen to have occurred, an illocutionary force has to be included alongside the proposition. This illocutionary force may present in the form of a command, an inquiry, an assertion, and so on (Kriptke 1980). It is by the nature or this illocutionary force that individuals can point out the unifying element in the following three statements, â€Å"You are driving the car†, â€Å"Are you driving the car?†, and â€Å"Drive the car!† The common factor amongst all the three sentences is the fact that the car is being to driven, with the first statement being an assertion, the second being an inquiry and the third being a command. It can also be said that the components of a communicative act will basically dictate the force of the particular act. That is why when someone says â€Å"you wi ll go to school nest week† it is impossible to find out the force behind the statement. However, the relationship between force and the components of a statement can be seen to be symbiotic in the sense that the force of an utterance can also determine the content of the statement (McDowell 1980). The is the basic distinguishing factor between speech act theory and other theories is that speech act theory analyzes statements in terms of two constituent components, viz., content and force. Speech acts and the existence of things/ideas Speech acts have to be distinguished from acts of speech. This is because an individual can perform a speech act such as making an inquiry without necessarily having to make an utterance (Michael 2007). For instance, a shrugging of shoulders can easily be used to mean that the individual is not aware of what is being asked. In the same way, one can make an utterance without it being a considered a speech act. For example, when one is testing a mic rophone, he/she can speak into the equipment without intending for anyone to respond to the message. In general, it is agreeable that in some instances, things can be made to be by simply saying that they should be (Michael 2007). It is physically impossible to say that a person can lose weight by simply saying it. However an individual can promise to buy someone a present by simply making the statement, â€Å"I promise to buy you a present.† The same can be used when religious leaders consolidate marriages, where it is common to here pastors and church ministers say, â€Å"I hereby declare you man and wife.† Such types of speech acts can actually happen without the speaker saying that he/she is performing the act. Components of illocutionary force Searle and Vanderveken (1985) strived to clearly distinguish between illocutionary forces that are used by the speakers of a particular language from all the illocutionary forces possible. In their publication, Searle and Va nderveken identified seven features that can be used to differentiate illocutionary forces. These are explained below: Illocutionary point. This is the basic intention of the speaker by the performance of a particular speech act. For example, the basic intention of a question is to invoke a person to respond in a suitable way. Strength of the illocutionary point. Two illocutionary acts may basically be trying to make the same point (Warnock 1989). However, the strength of the illocutionary force behind the two statements is what will be used to set the two apart. For example when someone requests an explanation and when he/she insists that an explanation be given, both statements will be aimed at getting the person being addressed to offer the explanation. However, insisting is stronger than requesting. Achievement mode. Various illocutionary points of a speech act have different special ways in which they are achieved. For instance, when one testifies that a certain service is the best and when he/she asserts the same, both utterances will be aimed at making a description of the service (Warnock 1989). However, testifying asserts the speaker has been a witness to the quality of service, while asserting does not necessarily require that he/she be a witness. The same can be said of ordering and requesting in the sense that both are intended at getting the person being addressed to do something only that when making an order the speaker has to be in an authoritative position (Kriptke 1980). Contents of the proposition. In some instances, illocutionary statements can only make sense provided the propositional composition of the statement is well accounted for (Recanati 1987). For example an individual can make a promise about something provided it happens in the future and it is within his/her control (Michael 2007). This essentially means that the person cannot promise something that has already happened. Preparatory conditions. This is the sum total of all the factors that must be taken into consideration for the speech act to be seen to have effectively taken place (Recanati 1987). These conditions however mostly depend on the social status of all the parties involved in the performance of the interlocution act. For instance, an individual cannot appoint a person unless he/she already has been given the power to do so by the institution in which he/she is in (Kriptke 1980). Conditions of sincerity. A majority of speech acts are a mainly performed with intention of expressing a particular chain of events in the psychology of the speakers. For instance, a question will express inquiry and an apology illustrates regret (Recanati 1987). A speech act is said to be sincere only if the speaker and his/her speech act are in the same level of psychological conditions. Strength of the conditions of sincerity. When analyzed from a certain viewpoint, two speech acts may be seen to be exactly the same (Recanati 1987). However, they may be seen to be different when viewed in terms of their psychological states. When a person makes a request and when he/she implores, both actions can be said to illustrate some element of desire (Warnock 1989). However, imploring tends to suggest a stronger level of desire for the particular need than a request. According to Searle and Vanderveken, all illocutionary forces can be analyzed based on the above seven aspects. Two illocutionary forces will be seen to be identical if they have the same levels of the seven values discussed above. Grammatical mood and force The relationship between the content of a speech act and the force behind the illocution can be described as symbiotic in the sense that one influences the other. However, some extraneous factors such as the grammatical mood can also be seen to influence the force of the utterance (Michael 2007). The statement â€Å"you will go to school tomorrow† is at basic level in the indicative mood grammatically. However, this grammatical mood cannot determine the force of the statement. This also applies to other moods. If someone hears another person say â€Å"drive the car†, he/she cannot immediately tell whether the person is issuing a command or just making an assertion. If the statement happens to be an assertion, then the speaker will have used the imperative mood. The same relationship can be seen with the interrogative mood. For instance, when a person hears another say â€Å"which visitors are coming†, he/she cannot immediately know whether the speaker has asked a question or whether it is just a statement. The speaker may have been saying â€Å"Patricia is wondering which visitors are coming.† Force conventionalism According to studies conducted by some philosophers in order for a speech act to happen, some form of convention will have to be applied (Warnock 1989). For instance for the statement â€Å"I promise to take you out for lunch† to regarded as a promise, all the words u sed in the statement must be in tandem with their conventional implications. There should also be an already established convention that establishes that when used in a particular way this set of words constitutes a promise (Warnock 1989). Conclusion Since J.L Austin did studies on the speech act theory in 1962, various philosophers have followed on his findings and even gone ahead to broaden the discussions on the subject. Most of the professionals in this school of thought have unanimously support the original findings by Austin that all forms of utterances are essentially independent actions in themselves. Another conclusion that has been agreed upon by a majority of modern day philosophers is that communication cannot occur if all the components of a speech act are not availed which implies that the speech act itself does not take place. In conclusion, it is worth noting that since the inclusion of the speech act theory in the field of philosophy has come to over the years chang e the definition of communicative practices as were hitherto known. The inclusion of propositional content and illocutionary forces into the study has served to not only enable sentences bear meaning but also provide explanations as to why statements that seem inherently alike may be defined as different. This essay has analyzed the speech act theory in detail. A summary of the work of J.L Austin has been provided followed by a summary of the work of his successor John Searle. A further review of the major concepts of the speech act theory has been presented based around literature by later-day philosophy scholars. The theory of speech acts is in itself a wide field of study in itself and could only be briefly detailed in this essay. Reference List Austin, J.L. 1978. Logic and language. Oxford: Blackwell Kriptke, A.S. 1980. Naming and necessity. Cambridge: Harvard University Press McDowell, J. 1980. Meaning, communication, and knowledge. Cambridge: Harvard University Press. Michael, M. 2007. An Introduction to the Philosophy of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Platts, M. 1979. Ways of Meaning: an introduction to a philosophy of language. London: Routledge and Kegan Paul. Recanati, F. 1987. Meaning and Force: The Pragmatics of Performative Utterances. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Searle, R.J. 1969. Speech Acts: An Essay in the Philosophy of Language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Searle, R.J. Vanderveken. 1985. Foundations of Illocutionary Logic. CUP Archive. Sosa, E. Villanueva, E. 2006. Philosophy of Language. Boston MA: Blackwell Tsohatazidis, S. 2007. John Searle’s philosophy of language. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Warnock, G.J. 1989. J.L. Austin: Arguments of the philosophers history workshop  series. United Kingdom: Taylor Francis

How Empress Agrippina the Younger Scandalized Rome

How Empress Agrippina the Younger Scandalized Rome Roman Empress Julia Agrippina, also known as Agrippina the Younger, lived from A.D. 15 to 59. The daughter of Germanicus Caesar and Vipsania Agrippina, Julia Agrippina was the sister of Emperor Caligula or Gaius. Her influential family members made Agrippina the Younger a force to be reckoned with, but her life was plagued by controversy and she would die in a scandalous manner as well. Marriage Woes In A.D. 28, Agrippina married Gnaeus Domitius Ahenobarbus. He died in A.D. 40, but before his death, Agrippina bore him a son, the now notorious Emperor Nero. After a short time as a widow, she married her second husband, Gaius Sallustius Crispus Passienus, in A.D. 41, only to be accused of fatally poisoning him eight years later. That same year, A.D. 49, Julia Agrippina married her uncle, Emperor Claudius. The union may not have been the first time Agrippina was involved in an incestuous relationship. She is also rumored to have had sexual relations with Caligula when he served as emperor. Historical sources on Agrippina the Younger include Tacitus, Suetonius, and  Dio Cassius. Historians indicated that Agrippina and Caligula might have been lovers as well as enemies, with Caligula exiling his sister from Rome for allegedly conspiring against him. She wasn’t banished forever but returned to Rome two years later. Thirst for Power It’s unlikely that Julia Agrippina, described as power hungry, married Claudius for love.  A year after they wed, she persuaded Claudius to adopt her son, Nero, as his heir. He agreed, but that proved to be a fatal move. Early historians argued that Agrippina poisoned Claudius. She certainly profited after his death, as it led to Nero, then roughly 16 or 17 years old, assuming power, with Julia Agrippina as regent and Augusta, an honorary title given to women in imperial families to highlight their status and influence. Unexpected Turn of Events Under Nero’s reign, Agrippina did not end up exerting more influence over the Roman Empire. Instead, her power waned. Because of her son’s young age, Agrippina tried to rule on his behalf, but events did not turn out as she’d planned. Nero eventually exiled Agrippina. He is said to have considered his mother overbearing and wanted to distance himself from her. Their relationship grew especially strained when she objected to his romance with his friend’s wife, Poppaea Sabina. His mother also challenged his right to rule, arguing that her stepson Brittanicus was the real heir to the throne, the History Channel notes. Brittanicus later died in mysterious circumstances likely orchestrated by Nero. The young emperor also plotted to kill his mother by arranging for her to board a boat designed to sink, but that ploy failed when Agrippina swam safely back to shore. Still determined to commit matricide, Nero later ordered his mother to be assassinated in her home. Nero would rule Rome until his suicide in A.D. 68. Debauchery and religious persecution characterized his reign.   Sources https://www.britannica.com/biography/Julia-Agrippina history.com/topics/ancient-history/nero

Summary of Recent Research 8 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Summary of Recent Research 8 - Assignment Example history, ulcer history, physical activities, the nutritional preventive measures and the psychosocial measures applied during their illness was collected. The findings indicated that preventive activities coupled with social support prevented the recurrence of the leg ulcer (Finlayson, Edwards & Courtney, 2011). Multiple regression models were applied, where the survival analysis technique was applied to elicit the relationship between the preventive activities and the social support offered, to the survival and non-recurrence of the leg ulcer in the individuals. This was followed by the application of the Cox proportional-hazards regression model, which evaluated the influence of preventive activities and the psychosocial factors on time lapse before the recurrence (Berger, Shuster & Roenn, 2006). The findings of the study is statistically significant, since they indicated the out of the 80 individuals who participated, 35 of them had an ulcer recurrence, with 22 of them being those who lacked adequate preventive practices and social support (Alexander & Matthews, 2010). Finlayson, K., Edwards, H. & Courtney, M. (2011) Relationships between preventive activities, psychosocial factors and recurrence of venous leg ulcers: a prospective study. Journal of Advanced Nursing 67(10),

Insanity Defense Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Insanity Defense - Essay Example Following a brief comparative definition and discussion of each, this essay will argue in favour of ALI as the better of the three models. The M'Naughten standard came into being in 1843 and derives from the case of Daniel M'Naughten. M'Naughten, in a failed attempt to assassinate the British Prime Minister, killed his secretary (Huckabee, 2000). His reason for doing so was his belief that the Prime Minister was responsible for all of his personal misfortunes. Several witnesses testified to M'Naughten's apparent insanity and a jury found him not guilty by reason of insanity. In their review of the verdict, the House of Lords reversed it and established the M'Naughten standard which specified that a person was not guilty by reason of insanity if he/she could not distinguish between right and wrong. This rule was subsequently adopted in the United States, in some states without modification and others with modification. It is important to note that one of the primary weaknesses with the M'Naughten standard lies in its failure to account for control. Some may know that their actions are wrong but, nevertheless, are unable to control themselves. As such, some states added an "irresistible impulse" modification to the M'Naughten standard (Huckabee, 2000). The Durham test was adopted as a direct outcome of

Bullying Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 2

Bullying - Essay Example Bullying is still widely prevalent across many schools in the US according to recent statistics. This form of behavior has a negative impact on those who are being victimized and also promotes aggressive and violent behavior among those who take on the role of a bully. Bullying can have several physical, social, emotional and psychological consequences on those who are being victimized (Bullying Overview, 2014). Bullying which was thought to have originated in Scandinavia is now widespread in many countries around the world including the United States, Australia, Canada, Japan and the United Kingdom (Olweus, 2001). In the United States, several policies and laws are being implemented in schools across the country to prevent and protect children from the effects of bullying (Analysis of State Bullying Laws and Policies, 2011). School authorities play a major role in implementing and coordinating the various anti-bullying policies and laws along with the support of teachers, parents an d support staff such as practicing school psychologists. The main objectives of the anti-bullying policies in schools involve establishment of a school mission statement, code of conduct and a student bill of rights. Any updates on the policies need to be incorporated in the school rules and passed on to the staff, students and parents. These policies provide a means of early intervention in preventing bullying and they do not propose any kind of harsh punishments to those who involve in bullying their peers. Instead it recommends using a restorative justice approach in correcting the behavior of the perpetrators and offers suitable counseling to them as well as to those who have been victimized (Bullying, n.d; Sherer & Nickerson, 2010) 5. Analysis of these policies has revealed that they have been effective in reducing the rate of bullying in schools (Effective Evidence -based Practices, n.d). Bullying, which is defined as repeated exposure to

The importance of Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The importance of Auditing - Essay Example The research paper is specifically meant to explore the reasons why developing countries in particular often fail to meet their expectations in terms of economic development. As such, the hypothesis for the research is: "Implementing better regulated auditing systems with severe consequences for not passing the audit will help developing countries to improve their economic development and avoid widespread corruption." Along with this hypothesis, the methods for data collection that will be mainly used include qualitative research. This will be mainly comprised of secondary data obtained from published literature such as journals as well as other official documents in the same area of study. The main advantage of using secondary research for this particular research is that the data going to be used is authentic. This data would have been validated in other previous studies. One of the reasons for the financial success of developed countries is their reliance on strict auditing practices. However, one of the reasons for the financial problems of many developing countries is lack of regulation of auditing system. Developing countries fail to apply the right plans for developing because they depend on accounting and neglect the auditing systems. By not involving auditing systems in the process, the range of corruption will increase. Unfortunately, accounting and auditing systems or procedures of developing countries are currently struggling to keep pace with those of the developed nations because they were specifically designed to meet the needs of centrally planned economy and not globalized economies (Prather-Kinsey, 2006). Therefore, the accounting systems lack uniformity as well as accounting standards because they are applied differently across industries and sectors. The auditing and accounting systems normally set clear objectives of providing accounting information related to tax, statistics, and financial

Analytic and Creative thinking Assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Analytic and Creative thinking Assignment - Essay Example Data analyzed revealed that young people emulate the language, dressing and way of living viewed in several programs aired on the television. Although more than ninety percent of the questionnaires distributed were valid for analysis, it was evident that researchers were unable to probe respondent responses. There was also little flexibility in response as respondents were limited to answer the questions asked or tick appropriately and thus leading to minimal gathering of information and a low response rate (Bryman, 2012). While the use of questionnaires was not expensive and easy to administer, the tool was prone to biases from respondents who were either unable to understand the question being asked due to literacy limitations, or guided by second and third parties as not all people indeed answer questionnaires administered to them, but may seek help (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2009). Questionnaires also limit researchers to written information as gestures, and other visual cues cannot be documented during the period of research. Despite the numerous challenges, the ability to administer questionnaires to specific populations under minimal costs makes the tool speedy way of information gathering. Thus, if the mentioned challenges are addressed, the tool could be more

The importance of Auditing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The importance of Auditing - Essay Example The research paper is specifically meant to explore the reasons why developing countries in particular often fail to meet their expectations in terms of economic development. As such, the hypothesis for the research is: "Implementing better regulated auditing systems with severe consequences for not passing the audit will help developing countries to improve their economic development and avoid widespread corruption." Along with this hypothesis, the methods for data collection that will be mainly used include qualitative research. This will be mainly comprised of secondary data obtained from published literature such as journals as well as other official documents in the same area of study. The main advantage of using secondary research for this particular research is that the data going to be used is authentic. This data would have been validated in other previous studies. One of the reasons for the financial success of developed countries is their reliance on strict auditing practices. However, one of the reasons for the financial problems of many developing countries is lack of regulation of auditing system. Developing countries fail to apply the right plans for developing because they depend on accounting and neglect the auditing systems. By not involving auditing systems in the process, the range of corruption will increase. Unfortunately, accounting and auditing systems or procedures of developing countries are currently struggling to keep pace with those of the developed nations because they were specifically designed to meet the needs of centrally planned economy and not globalized economies (Prather-Kinsey, 2006). Therefore, the accounting systems lack uniformity as well as accounting standards because they are applied differently across industries and sectors. The auditing and accounting systems normally set clear objectives of providing accounting information related to tax, statistics, and financial

The impact of the current economy on educational funding Research Paper

The impact of the current economy on educational funding - Research Paper Example , if such problems are not addressed as soon as possible, the labor force of the country would be affected as well, which simply contributes towards poor economic growth for the country once more (Hanushek & Kimko, 2000). According to Murnane et al. (2000), what is also disturbing is that there is a trend of poor performance levels churned out by students who are African-American or of Latino descent- both of whom make up a relatively large portion of the population in the United States. Smollin (2010) reveals that across the United States, several school districts are already preparing themselves for the drastic budget cuts implemented by the government. Recent periods have shown that the budget cuts have increased drastically, mimicking the case 50 years ago. The recession has indeed had direct effects on the local property taxes, as well as the levels of state funds. This has lead several school districts to resort to desperate means to save money. Examples include reducing programs that are garnered towards enriching the students’ extracurricular affairs as well as any other programs that cultivate their skills and knowledge outside the realm of the academy. Other measures include reducing class hours and also reducing the academic year. There are also some schools that have decided to close down. For several faculty members, eliminating certain school programs and even closing down schools have proved to be a difficult decision, but the most difficult de cision being brought about by insufficient funding would be the option of schools to lay off teachers. In an article released by the New York Times, Lewin & Dillon (2010) have written that school districts that resort to such a measure are those that have no choice. Most schools receive their source of income via local property taxes and the money from the state, both of which have been severely affected by the global recession. In California alone, school districts have actually issued pink slips to at

The Ten Commandments Review Essay Example for Free

The Ten Commandments Review Essay Historically, even the ancient civilization flourished under the guidance of an established code of laws called the Code of Hammurabi, During Hammurabi’s rule, back in the time of Abraham of the Bible, he ruled in peace for fifty-five years, and had brilliant achievements, high civilization and extensive literature. But Hammurabi’s Code law was mainly from polytheistic people and purely secular documents erected at a certain place for everyone to see and obey. The Ten Commandments was handed down to Moses direct from the hands of God and it did not only cater to the ethical and moral conduct of the society but it taught them that these moral conduct was based on recognizing that there is God whom they were all accountable to of their conduct towards fellowmen, the society, and to the established institution of humankind. People flourished because of respecting and obeying the Code of Laws which were mainly formulated by same created beings. The Ten Commandments were made by the hands of the Creator Himself. If Moses was alive today, he would surely appear in court with his stuff in his hands and would say â€Å"Thus says the Lord, respect and obey His laws and allow it to be displayed anywhere it could be necessary.† The question about what is threatening about the Ten Commandments should be answered in court too. Today’s generation should not forget that the American nation was founded by people who had deep faith in God; the heritage of American people was rooted in the Christian traditional of the Puritans who maintained their integrity and uprightness in the face of society seemingly loosing its morality during the colonial era. In the article of Warren Richey, clarifying the issue on the case regarding Ten Commandments whether the public display of religious symbol ideas on government property endorses religion may not be appropriated enough to cause alarm on anyone. I would agree with Richey that the issue is actually a â€Å"culture war† between religious conservatives and secular humanists. Richey pointed out that â€Å"conservatives believe the government should be active in promoting morality through promoting religious ideas and themes (Richey on The Christian Monitor). On the other hand, secular humanists are attempting to erase all matters of religion and God from public life. In fact, there was even an attempt recently to remove the maxim inscribed on dollar bills â€Å"In God We Trust.† Taking the issue of separation of powers between church and state, I would agree that at many points, the church should not interfere in the affairs of the state and vice versa. Displaying the Ten Commandments in government and public places is not interfering on government affairs. Anywhere in the world, you will find symbols, themes and ideas displayed in public places in memory of the great things done that merit public display of that particular object. No one questions this display because everyone understood its significance. In this context, everyone should know the heritage of American nation and answer why in the American Constitution and on dollar bills there is an inscription of â€Å"In God We Trust.† Mary Williams stated that Article III of the Constitution declares that â€Å"education and religion shall forever be encouraged.† She further stated that â€Å"the founders saw no conflict in Article one which says, â€Å"No person demeaning himself in a peaceable and orderly manner shall ever be molested in account of his mode of worship.† It was quite clear as Williams had emphasized that â€Å"Supreme Court radically departed from the founders’ religious policy by erecting a â€Å"Wall of Separation† between religion and public orders (Williams). The issue now is no longer on the Constitutionality of displaying the Ten Commandments in the public places nor on the issue of the separation of powers of church and state, but on the humanistic atheistic preferences of the Court system. As Williams stated, even school prayers, Bible readings and other clergy, lead invocations are all forbidden in public places. It means that though displays of Ten Commandments on government and public places was not basically not seen by the founders as unconstitutional but it seems its fate lies in the hands of those who hands judgments, whether we favor it or not. We cannot deny therefore that some aspect had gone wrong. The American society is fast losing the values of which the founders laid down as different movements rise up and gone. It shaped a new American values and culture. That is a liberal culture and consumerist society, placing the good on material things rather than on the blessings of the Almighty God. The flame of the values and religious devotions of the founders was no longer shining as the American society is heading towards the path of being an atheistic country as the article entitled ‘Religion is not Essential to America,’ the US Constitution is a secular document; it begins with â€Å"we the people† and contains no mention of God or Christianity which eliminate concept of religion and faith in God. As we had seen in recent developments, though we may be in favor of the display of the Ten Commandments and other religious symbols and beliefs, but the only that we can do is to express ideas and religious beliefs. Work Cited Williams, Mary.†The Ten Commandments Should Be Publicly Displayed.† Opposing Viewpoints Resource Center San Diego: Greenhaven Press, 2005. (22 July 2007) http://find.galegroup.com/ovrc/infomark.do?contentSet=GSRCtype=retrievetabID=T010prodId=OVRCdocId=EJ3010110254source=galesrcprod=OVRCuserGroupName=lincclin_fccjversion=1.0. Richey, Warren. â€Å"Dispute over Public Display of the Ten Commandments.† Christian Science Monitor (March 2, 2005, n.p.)  © Copyright 2005, The Christian Science Monitor. All rights reserved. â€Å"Religion is Not Essential to America.† Nontract No. 6. Copyright  © by the Freedom from Religion Foundation, Inc. Reproduced by permission

Problems Faced by Asian Students in English Pronunciation

Problems Faced by Asian Students in English Pronunciation Introduction Speaking regarded as the most important and difficult micro-skill of the four skills in foreign language learning. Most adult non-native students of English in the UK particularly Asian students face a lot of difficulties when they speak English and they sometimes get frustrated when they could not understand or be understand by native speakers of English. Therefore, they encounter the same problems that confront any students studying in a foreign culture, such as grammar, pronunciation, listening comprehension and different cultures. Also, it is difficult for them to adjust to the English language especially when they speak it. They may have difficulty understanding class lecture, making them feel reluctant to participate in class discussion, seminars and tutorials. This essay will first explain and evaluate only one issue that face adult Asian students in UK when they speak English which is English pronunciation. Therefore, pronunciation is a difficult aspect in language learning f or adult Asian students which lead to real barriers to communication and can contribute to motivation with native English speakers. This essay also will examine what are the most frequent difficulties encountered them in English pronunciation, the factors that affecting the pronunciation of non native students of English , some solutions to surmount the difficulties of mispronunciation among Asian adult students and finally it will throw some light on the implications of language teaching. Literature review: Teachers of English as a FL or a L2 know so well how important pronunciation is. Nevertheless, sometimes it has been obvious that a teacher has been paid little attention to the students pronunciation in the process of second language learning and teaching. Celce Goodain(1991) states that over the past years, there have been different views about the value of teaching pronunciation in language teaching and they reported that the cognitive approach and grammar translation reading based method which used by teachers attach no importance to pronunciation. However, in the direct approach, pronunciation is considered important. In addition, Jack and William (2002) reported that pronunciation is no longer considered as an indispensable aspect in a foreign language teaching. According to Beebe (1984,51), `Most current textbooks in English as a second language either ignore the teaching of pronunciation or rely primarily on old stand-bys-to teach non-native learners to pronounce English accurately. Trammell (1993) also indicates that instruction in pronunciation has been deemphasised due to the new teaching methods like the Communicative Approach. Communication is an important need of in daily life and it should be the primary purpose of language learning and teaching . Therefore, teaching English speaking to non-native students of English how to speak English accurately and fluently with native speakers of English is one of the general objectives of the foreign language teaching. According to Yule (2006: 33), language is primarily speech and it is more basic to language than the written form. Knowles (1987) argue that written language is permanent and looks imperfect version of the spoken language whereas spoken Language is more elusive. It is clear that we all speak and hear the sounds spoken in our environment first before we write or read. For instance, child before goes to school, he will speak before write because he will acquire his first Language from his family when he imitates what they said. It is seem that as long as one can communicate with others in the second language, everything is fine but the questions is ,how can communicate with people fluently if your pronunciation is incorrect? Beebe (1984) insists that pronunciation always affect what we communicate and how well we communicate it, and therefore it should be take seriously. Weeren Theunissen(1987: 109) pointed out: Firstly, good pronunciation allows one to be better understood. It gives the speakers oral production a certain redundancy. And this can help to get a message across more effectively as a learning objective because of it is high pay off. The number of sound, sound clusters and intonation pattern in a Language is finite, as is the alphabet. Once the system has been mastered, it can be used, thus giving it fundamentally an infinite scope. Thirdly, a deviant pronunciation means that one is immediately marked as non-native abroad. Harmer (2007) suggests that if students want to be able to speak fluently in English, they need to be able pronounce phonemes correctly and appropriate stress and intonation. Pronunciations of students need to be good enough to communicate the message so that it is understood by other speakers of English. Therefore, most Asian adult students have difficulties to pronounce words or sentences correctly which can be a major cause of misunderstandings. They have difficulties in recognize sound of English, word stress( which part of a word are more heavily stressed that is spoken louder and longer), sentence stress( which part of a sentence can be more heavily stressed), sounds in connected speech( how to link the sounds together in a sentence),and finally in intonation(how our voice rises and falls at a certain point of the sentence).From my own experience as a teacher in a secondary school, most students have potential pronunciation problems when they speak English. They have problem wi th stress and intonation that they unable to put the right emphasis on the right part of the word. Also they have problems with vowels bends and consonants blends as well. For example, sounds likeea and ou can be confusing them because when they listen to the audio recordings, it can be very difficult for them to pick up the subtle blends of two or more vowels. Additionally, In consonants blends, they have problem with th sound because they are not accustomed to putting t and h together to form th sound to reproduce. It is clear that pronunciation is so difficult to learn. The first language of most overseas students effect on learning the second language. Problems that face Asian students in English pronunciation: Most Asian adult students work and study hard to become very fluent in English. However, there are many different varieties of spoken English and non-native students may have achieved fluency such as knowing correct grammar and knowing a large numbers of vocabulary especially when they have been taught by non-native speakers but they have a non-standard accent which make the use of English difficult for native speakers of English to understand. Vowels Celce-Murcia, Brinton and Goodwin (1996) states there are different types of vowel sounds in English pronunciation. Firstly, received pronunciation. It has twelve monophthongs (single or pure vowels).Secondly, eight diphthongs (double vowels) and two thriphthongs (triple vowels).therefore, some of in Asian students like Arabices , Japanese and Chinese have fewer vowels in their first Language which lead to have problems with hearing and pronouncing these distinctions of vowel sounds. For example, Japanese language has only 5 vowels /i/,/e/,/a/,/É‘/,/o/. According to, Kenworthy(1987) there are five vowels letters which are (a, e, i, o, u) .They map to 13 different sounds. For instance, the letter is pronounced differently in the words: boat, boot, out and hot. This is one of the problems that encountered by Asian adult students in pronunciation subject. They have problem with the /a/ sound (e.g. at) because it is not easy for them to hear and pronounce this sound. Also, they could not differentiate between the long sound/a/ and the sound/e/ (e.g. paper-pepper).They also have problems in differentiating between the long/e/ and the short /i/ (e.g. eat-it). Furthermore, diphthongs in English are difficult to learn and definitely tribal markers in English. .They are also very easy for native speakers of English to identify but not easy for non-native speakers of English. So, speech sounds which involve a slide from one vowel to another is the biggest problem which face Asian adult students when they speak English. For example, theou sound in the word out is a blend of /ah/ and /oo/. Several of diphthongs are quiet subtle .For instant the long /ee/ sound in the words feel and fear is a blend of /ee/ and /ah/ as (fee-ah). Celce-Murcia , Brinton and Goodwin ( 1996 ) Consonants Kota(2006) stats that English consonants are less difficult than vowels. Most languages have the sounds which are represented by the letters d, t, s, and z .Nevertheless, some languages do not use certain consonants which can be difficult for non-native speakers of English. For examples, the r and l sounds are not used by Japanese and Korean native speakers. Then, the so- called ra-la distinction is especially difficult for them. They have also difficulty to distinguish between /b/ and /v/ sounds. The /th/ sound is not simply to use it in the naÃÆ' ¯ve language. It can be difficult for Vietnamese students. Therefore, they substitue a /zh/ instead of /th/ as in: /zh/ese problems may be caused by pollution. Also, he adds that there are more consonants in English than in Japanese language .Therefore, the /f/, /v/ /o/, A/, /s/,/3/,/ts/,/d3/ do not exist in the Japanese consonantal system. In addition, Munro((1993) states that some Arabic language do not make use of separate sounds for /b/ and/p/.then, they have difficulty to distinguishing and pronouncing b and p sounds as in : do not bark while I park the van. The difference is quite subtle. They may confuse z withj .These problems cause misunderstanding by native English speakers when they communicate with each other From my own experience as a Libyan student at Leicester University in the UK, I had a car accident in university road because the weather was slippery and snowing which cause that the brake of my car was out of the control. After that the police came to me and asked me some questions about the accident. I said to him I feel slippery. The problem here, the police wrote in the report driver feel asleep but he did not write what I said I feel slippery .I think that was a misunderstanding between the police and me because of my language. He misunderstand me because of his linguistic constraints particularly his heavily -accented English. Other problems which face Asian adult students, is dropping medical stopped consonants. Some of them tend o drop stopped consonants such as, sounds /p/ and /k/ from the middle of poly syllabic words. For example, Chinese students tend to drop the difficult c from the word of success. They say/ suhsess/.Also, some native speaker of English pronounce the word accessory as/ assess or ee/ instead of / ack-sess-or-ee/.(Dalton,1994) Syllable structure: According to Joanna Heather (2003), English allows for in syllable structure a cluster of up to three consonants before the vowel and four consonants after the vowel as in the words straw and glimpsed. Therefore, the structure of syllabus cause issues for speakers of many languages. For instance, Japanese students usually try to in between the consonants (e.g. desk-/desks/) becomes desukusu or in the word milk shake / mIlk ʃeIk/ becomes mirukushȆ¡ku.Kota(2006) there are two types of syllable in English which are open syllables( CV) and closed syllables( CCCVCC).On the other hand, Japanese only permit one type of syllable which is open syllable. For example, Word meaning syllable Ke hair CV Kare boyfriend CVCV So, Words in Japanese do not end with consonants and it Japanese does not allow both initial and final consonants. Knowles (1987) maintains that some Asian students who first languages end in vowels, they often tend to make all English words end in vowels. For example, they pronounce the word make as /meIkÉâ„ ¢ / instead of/ meIk/. Also, they sometimes find it is so complicated when native speakers of English may drop consonants in the more complex blends (e.g. the word months, they say /mɆ¦nÉ µs/ instead of / mɆ¦nos/. Rhythm and Cadence: Brown (2001: 121) pointed out that cadence is the pattern of stresses within a sentence and rhythm refers to the beat syllabus. If each one were marked by tapping fingers on a desk: rat a-tat-tat-tat TAT of this. He adds that the main issue that trips up Asian adult students that British English are stress timed whereas most Asian languages are syllable timed. Stressed syllables are roughly equidistant in time and they like the sound of the mechanical tat-tat-tat-tat of gun machine with equal length to each syllable. However, native English speakers stretch syllables at the same time like putting emphasis on some syllables and not others. For instance,hi. Wonderful to see u again .They say this sentence like this hiiiii woooood fl to seeeeeee yu agaiaiainn. This mean, won- see- gain is both emphasized and lengthened but other syllabuses in the sentence are so lightly and shortened spoken. According to Kota (2006), stress time in English is one of the problem that encounter Asian students particularly for Singaporeans students. They speak in the way which is very difficult for English speakers to understand. Intonation Roach, (2002: 50) defines intonation as the rising or falling pitch of the voice while pronouncing words or syllables. He believes that intonation enables speakers to express their emotions and attitudes when they speak. The most problematic area of pronunciation for most Asian students is intonation. They find it extremely difficult to hear tunes or identify the different patterns of rising and falling tones. Therefore, some Asian languages have less pitch variation than English especially Japanese language.They use pith changes to mark stress on the word level which result the so-called monotonous intonation. Wong(1987) suggests that English as a tonal language(not using tones).We can understand the words in isolation but if we put them together in sentences, the meaning of the sentence may change by a shift in tone. For example, Are you going to the library?(low-then-high on word library) but if u wondered which of two persons agreed to get the list of books, the same words would have a different emphasis Are you going to the library?, and the tone for you would be rather deep which is different from the first question. Jack and Willy (2002) introduce other problems in English pronunciation .Firstly, difference between spelling and sounds. There are lots of words in English language which have silent letters. Therefore, most Asian students specifically Pakistani students pronounce these silent letters unknowingly which make them mispronounce the words. For example, knowledge, kneel .These two word have k silent letter which they should not pronounce it at all. Secondly, multiple sounds of the same letters are also one of the issues that encounter Asian adult students. This mean there are many letters and combinations of letters which produce numerous sounds at different place. For instance, the letter c produces two sounds like s and k (e.g. circle, car) and also ch letter produce three sounds as ch,k andsh. Factors affecting the English pronunciation of Asian students: The effect of native language: Every language in the world has different accent and varsities is true that non native speakers speak the target language in a different way. Sometimes, they speak highly different than native speakers of English do. Avery Ehrlich (1987:9) calls the foreign accent the nature of which is determined to a large extended by a learners native language. Then, native language of speaker may influence on the pronunciation of the target language. Jack and Willy(2002: 184) states that the way we speak is a part of our identity ,that is, phonemic differences between language cause, a target language which will be spoken with a foreign language. Some Asian students specifically Turkish adult students have difficulty in some English sounds or words that are not exist in their first language. For example, the sounds/ÃÆ' °/ and / ÆÅ ¸/ are not exist in Turkish language which lead Turkish students to face difficulty to pronounce these sounds when they speak English. So they produce these sou nds under the influence of their first language. Then, the influence of native language is inevitable. The factor of age: This is the most important factor in learning English pronunciation. If someone wants to pronounce a foreign language with a native like accent, he/she should start to learn it during his/her childhood. For example, children who start learn English language in foreign language speaking people environment. As a result, they have more advantage than the children who learn the second language in their motherlands. Krashen (1988) mentions that people who expose their second language during childhood, they achieve higher foreign language proficiency than those who beginning as adults. It seems that age is the main factor which effect on adults English pronunciation. They are difficult for them to learn English language after puberty. Therefore, it is better to learning it in short run and should be started in puberty. Phonetic Ability: According to Jack and Willy (2002) pointed out that some people who have a good ear, they have the ability to discriminate between the two sounds accurately. So, learners phonetics ability affects the development of their pronunciation. Kenworthy(1987) believes that the influence of age is an efficient factor for phonetics ability. Because it is so difficult for adult students to have more ability in pronunciation than immigrants children who start their learning process in a second language speaking environment. The Amount Exposure: Many non native speakers have not opportunity to practice the English language in their motherlands. English also do not only used in the classroom. If the learners live in an English- speaking country, the learners will have opportunities to listen and speak with native speakers of English. Conversely, there will no advantage for learners if they live in a non English speaking country. Kenworthy (1987) insists that exposure can be a contributory factor but it is not necessary factor for developing adult learners pronunciation. Learners should make use of it is opportunities, if they are aware of the necessity of being exposed to the second language. If the learners do that, they will be more successful in case of improving their pronunciation. Personality and Attitude This factor affect the pronunciation of most Asian adult students in a bad way if the learners have negative attitudes for the English environment .learners or they are introverted students. From my own experience as a student in the UK, I am one of the students who are introverted or shy. Therefore, I usually do not take part in classroom activities; seminars and tutorials .Whereas extrovert students have more chance to improve their pronunciation. Brown (2001) states attitude of the students toward the new language have an effective role in pronunciation learning. Also, if the learners have a good attitude for the target culture, they can develop their pronunciation accurately. If the learners have some prejudices on the second language and its society, this event will influence their approach to the language. It is clear that these above factors are effective in the learners pronunciation and also exert much influence on the adult learners. So, teachers play a significant role for helping adult learners to develop their English pronunciation. Also, they should pay attention to the students concern for pronunciation because they are not aware of the way that they speech. Therefore there are lots of methods and types of teaching English pronunciation which help Asian adult students to overcome the difficulties of it. They will also help them to acquire an accurate pronunciation and improve their speech. Solutions to surmount the difficulties of mispronunciation among Asian adult students:- Teaching pronunciation:- Jigsaw: Pennington (1996) maintains that jigsaw is a form of information gap. Students work in pairs or small group to exchange their information. They try to combine words with each other to create sentences. These sentences consist of words that the learners have difficulty to pronounce these words. For example, in the word rise which has the letters s that they must pronounce it as z and producing /raIz/ e.g. I was surprised that the raisings rise! B-Tongue Twister: This kind of activity helps adult Asian students to say difficult words and phrases so quickly. Celce-Murcia (1987:55) stress that there is a little transfer from practice to natural information. But, if it is needed and necessary, they can be used. Example: Paul piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. 2-Drilling Techniques There are lots of drills which helps adult Asian students to improve their English pronunciation. They are very useful for teaching the correct pronunciation of the words and sentences. A- Saturation drill Wong (1987) proposed it is vey suitable for all position of the problematic sound. For instance, the sound /s/ as a problem sound. It can be drilled in its three positions Initial media final See leasing peace Seem clinic purse Substitution drill Dalton (1994) says that this drill can be applied by substituting any sound instead of other sound. For instance,/t/ sound instead of /ÃŽÂ ¸/ and /d/ in place of /ÃÆ' °/( e.g. this is thin/tin.) It is clear that there are other ways helps learners to overcome difficulties of pronunciation .First, media which give to the students positive advantage especially when they watch standard English news channel like BBC. Second, is practice. Students should practise English with native speaker or non native speakers of English to improve their English speaking Conclusion: To sum up, teaching pronunciation is one of the important areas of foreign language teaching. Most overseas students especially Asian adult students encounter troubles when they try to communicate with native speakers of English. Then, communication should be the primary purpose of language learning and teaching. One crucial part of effective communication for Asian adult students to grasp is: comfortably intelligible pronunciation. They have certain difficulties such as produce correct sound and recognition of English sounds, understanding of stress and intonation, difference between spelling and sounds and other problems. Therefore, it should be studied in the early age (from puberty) to eliminate these problems and also to overcome the negative influence from the first language interference. Teachers must be a ware of the techniques which help students improve their pronunciation according to their age, ability, needs, attitudes and expectations. Count words (3200) Classroom Implications: Appendix I: Generally, pronunciation is really complicated process in foreign language teaching. There are some of sounds which have similar sounds but have different meanings. This can be causing much confusion to the learners. Therefore, most ESL students have problem with English pronunciation when they speak English. From my own experience as a teacher in Libyan secondary school, I used several ways to teach pronunciation which can be benefit all learners. Firstly, introducing phonemes .because the biggest problem that faces them is the distinguage between sounds. For example, in the words fat, mat, cat, sat, the letters /f/, /m/, /c/, /s/ are the phonemes which are the beginning letters of these words. Phoneme makes the distinct difference between similar words. After that, students listen and repeat these different sounds and then identify them. For the best result, I introduce phoneme in pairs. (e.g. the /f/ and/v/ sounds).They listen and speak them and also repeat simple words like( fat- vat)Secondly, practicing phonemes for making the sound accurately. I drew pronunciation diagrams on the blackboard because they help them to know how to hold the tongue and lips. For example, the sound /th/ in #the word this and thank. Anxiety is usually common among students when they lean pronunciation. Then, I usually use some verbal games such as, handclap rhythms and jazz charts which can help them to improve their speaking and relieve much of pressure. Appendix II: Students listen to audio recordings and they practice what they hear because recordings get them attuned to stress, intonation, pitch and phonological distinctions. For example: Listen and say what word you hear: is it from column (a) or column (b)? Some words are unusual. Appendix III Word stress and intonation Listen and mark the stressed syllable. Daughter- orbit-planet- computer- meaning- handle-homework- hospital derision. 2-Read these sentences and mark the pauses with / and mark the intonation pattern with à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ and à ¢Ã¢â‚¬  Ã¢â‚¬Å". People who look different from others in some way are interesting. The one who looks bored is my sister. The latest design, with CD player is very expensive. A tidy, conventionally decorated room with everything in its place is boring.