Bingo: Marketing Mix

Marketing Mix Product Strategy †¢ Bingo positioned itself as chips with an Indian twist. The 16 flavours introduced at launch were carefully developed through R&D †¢ The initial offerings were a mix of potato chips and finger snacks †¢ The potato chips segment includes variants like masala, salted, tomato inspired by snacking habits of Indian consumers †¢ The offerings under finger snacks include Pakoda (Live Wires) and Khakra (Mad Angles) †¢ These offerings were further differentiated by providing SKU’s at Rs. , Rs. 10 and Rs. 20 Marketing Mix Pricing Strategy †¢ The main objective for ITC was to compete effectively with the existing players. Hence, ITC launched a direct frontal attack by introducing similar priced SKU’s †¢ ITC already enjoyed cost advantage over competitors through its eChoupal initiative. This also facilitated timely supply of raw materials †¢ ITC’s printing and packaging business also lead to high quali ty, cost effective and innovative packaging Marketing Mix Promotional Strategy Bingo was strategically launched at the time of world cup to cash in on the popularity of snacks among the cricket lovers of the country †¢ The advertising strategy revolved around slapstick humour and irrelevant themes to hold eyeballs, garner attention and interest, and stand out from the clutter †¢ ITC booked 10 to 15 spots per channel per day, 20 spots on radio stations supported by thousands of hoardings advertising the product.According to industry estimates, the total advertising spent in the initial 6 months were roughly 100 crores While its competitor Frito-Lay focussed on celebrity endorsements, Bingo chose a different route †¢ Since the product is aimed towards the young population, digital media was heavily used. For instance, the Bingo National Gaming Championship across 4 cities with more than 25000 participants †¢ Bingeonbingo. com and Mad Angles Twister application (Fac ebook) were other initiatives in online media Marketing Mix Distribution Strategy †¢ ITC already had a well-established distribution network through its cigarette and tobacco related offerings which were leveraged for Bingo Further, the company distributed around 4 lakh racks across all retailers to display the brand at all Points-of-scale †¢ Within 6 months Bingo was available across 250000 retailers in the country †¢ A crucial alliance with Future Group led to all future group retail outlets like Big Bazar, Food Bazar stocking only ITC’s Bingo †¢ HORECA (Hotels, Restaurants and Catering Sector), Local betel shops are all being used to distribute Bingo to a wide range of audiencesValue Proposition †¢ Variety and innovation in a largely undifferentiated market †¢ Foray into the â€Å"Health Snacks† segment by introducing Bingo as Baked Chips †¢ ITC launched Bingo in 16 flavours to cater to the tastes of the country †¢ Leveraged t he retail and marketing expertise of ITC Foods Market Share before Bingo 25% 10% 65% Lays Haldirams Others Market Share after Bingo Lays 12% 27% 45% Bingo Haldirams 16% Others

Quantitative and Qualitative Research Questions and Hypothesis Essay

Jung (2007) found that general education teacher’s attitudes toward the integration of students with disabilities reflect a lack of confidence both in their own instructional skills and in the quality of support personnel currently provides. General and special education teachers are placed in inclusive classroom settings for the betterment of the student; however, planning is not as effective when general education teachers are not properly trained on or comfortable with the technology. Thousand and Villa (2000) in McLaren, Bausch, & Ault (2007), found that providing training for all teachers will result in improved academic and social outcomes for students with disabilities, plus their teachers will become empowered . The problem is the need for more collaborative training for inclusion teachers in an effort to effectively plan curriculum and increase their levels of confidence with the use of AT devices. The specific problem is the need to develop a program to train inclusion teachers on the use of AT devices needed to effectively plan for students with disabilities. This study will use a quantitative method and a Participatory Action Research (PAR) methodology. The PAR will be conducted by dividing the study into two sequence phases. The first phase will include developing the training program, introducing basic AT devices that can be used for all students, and reflection of the first training. Phase two will include training for advanced AT devices that are developed for specific student needs, developing a lesson with the use of one general and one advanced AT device, and the opportunity to teach the lesson. The results should interest school districts that service students with disabilities in an effort to improve effective collaboration for inclusion teachers, thus promoting a sense of teamwork to improve student achievement through the use of technology. Revised Purpose Statement- Quantitative Study The purpose of this quantitative research study is to develop a training program for special and general education inclusion teachers that will focus on strategies for educational development, effective academic structuring, and increased teacher support systems with the use of Assistive Technology. The data collection design will include surveys before, during, and after  each phase, trainings to implement the program, and field opportunities to identify the areas of improvement and to test the validity of the program. The population will be composed of elementary school teachers who are placed in inclusion settings without prior training. The sample and sample set will include three novice and three veteran elementary inclusion teachers selected from grades 3-5 based on survey results. The geographical area will include three local elementary feeder schools that house special education programs in the South Fulton County area of Georgia. Quantitative Research Questions and Hypoth esis RQ: To what degree, if at all, will training in Assistive Technology promote effective academic structuring and teacher collaboration in inclusive classroom settings?  HO: The degree of training in Assistive Technology will not promote effective academic structuring and teacher collaboration in inclusive classroom settings.  HA: The degree of training in Assistive Technology will positively promote effective academic structuring and teacher collaboration in inclusive classroom settings. Revised Problem Statement – Qualitative Study Al-Shammari and Yawkey (2008) believe that special education students require the involvement of parents to be successful for overall development and in their education programs. Parents are encouraged to participate by offering physical and psychological assistance to the special education teachers in an effort to monitor and manage student progress. However, the lack of support, knowledge, time, and resources result in the unwillingness to participate. Bird (2006) found that increasing parental involvement through technology may have a positive effect on the development of special education students and parents. The problem is the need for technological resources that promote parental involvement for improving the educational development of special education students. The specific problem is identifying the technology that most effectively increases parental involvement in special education. This study will use a qualitative method and case study similar to Hartas’ (2008) st udy of the effects of parental  involvement on students with Autism. Parents will participate in semi-structured interviews, questionnaires, and classroom observations to determine what motivates them to be involved. The results should interest special education teachers who require assistance from parents in order for students to attend school daily, participate in instruction, and continue to exhibit progression in all areas of development. Revised Purpose Statement- Qualitative Study The purpose of this qualitative case study is to identify the technological resources that are most effective in encouraging parents of special education students to be involved in the student’s education. The data collection design will include questionnaires, observations, schedule restructuring, community involvement, and semi-structured interviews to identify the areas of improvement. The population will be composed of parents who have elementary-aged special needs children. The sample and sample set will include ten parents; five from two-parent working class homes and five from single-parent working class homes. The geographical area will include two (of the three) selected elementary feeder schools, based on survey results, that service special education students in the South Fulton County area of Georgia who are most in need of an intervention. Qualitative Research Question What are the most effective technological resources that assist in encouraging parents of students with special needs to be involved in their child’s education? References Al-Shammari, Z., & Yawkey, T. (2008). Extent of parental involvement in improving the students’ levels in special education programs in Kuwait. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 35(2), 140-150. Bird, K. (2006). How do you spell parental involvement? S-I-S. The Journal, 33(7), 38. Hartas, D. (2008). Practices of parental participation: A case study. Educational Psychology in Practice, 24(2), 139-153. Jung, W. (2007). Preservice teacher training for successful inclusion. Education, 128(1), 106-113. McLaren, E. M., Bausch, M. E., & Ault, M. (2007). Collaboration strategies reported  by teachers providing assistive technology services. Journal of Special Education Technology, 22(4), 16-29. Week 5 Review Components2 points| Expected elements are included.| Articulation5 points | As noted, there are shortcomings regarding population and sample. * 1 point| Presentation2 points | Writing and formatting are well done.| Total9 points| A good start toward purpose statements aligned with problem.|

The global tourism industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

The global tourism industry - Essay Example However, it is debatably the speedy and long-term growth and spread of global tourism, mainly since the 1950s, that has been the most an important factor in driving the surfacing of sustainable tourism as a move toward tourism development (Sharpley, 3). Ever since the early 1900s when tourism was mostly limited the privileged, the prospect to partake in tourism has become progressively extensive. There is also the assertion that tourism has gradually become more democratized. Furthermore, it currently accounts for the single major nonviolent movement of individuals across cultural boundaries in the world history. Consequently, this increased worldwide movement of people amounted to over 662 million arrivals in 1999. This movement across cultural boundaries yielded the interaction and integration of diverse cultures of the world (Hotelmule.com, 1). The collection of global travellers is growing in terms of the quantity of tourists and the gaining of revenues and it has included visitors from a broader range of countries due to the mounting prosperity in rising economies. Growing cross-cultural interactions and greater access to information about tourism attractions in previously lesser-known regions of the world, increasing attraction with the rising and developing economies, new types of tourism activity, and growing investment in infrastructure further widen the destinations of tourists. Simultaneously, due to the shifting business setting and developing technological and logistical changes, the tourism industry is experiencing major structural transformations (Bardhan, et al, 1). Leksakundilok cites World Trade Organization’s estimates that the number of global tourists was 650.4 million in 1999 and by the year 2000, it had reached 698.8 million. Further, from 1995, the global tourism increased at an average of 4.5% per year.

Case study WRATD (Werribee Residents Against Toxic Dumps) Essay

Case study WRATD (Werribee Residents Against Toxic Dumps) - Essay Example It was further argued that the development planning of the facility had met all the guidelines and regulations of EPA. Thus, CSR believed that the development was legal and met all the stipulated regulations. However, the local residents were of the opinion that the project would be detrimental to the area’s economy. The region had also been previously compelled to accommodate unwanted developments such as Melbourne’s major sewerage treatment works. The residents formed Werribee Residents Against Toxic Dump (WRATD) in order to fight the proposal by CSR. The group was a grassroots organization with representation from various disparate parts of the community. One of the key issues that hindered the implementation of development of the waste facility was due to ineffective involvement of the local community. There was inadequate publicity about the proposal and the local residents were not properly appraised concerning the project. The process was highly secretive. In a nutshell, there was minimal community involvement in regards the proposal by CSR. The reservations of the local community, whether real or perceived, need to be addressed in order for a project to be accepted. This paper analyzes the role of community engagement to the society and its social impacts. The paper also discusses the pertinent issue of ethics in relation to the society and the role that community engagement can play in order to tackle the ethical problems associated with communications from organizations. The case study of Werribee Residents Against Toxic Dump (WRATD) is critically analyzed in order to assess the proper methodology of public involvement in proj ects and the approaches that should be used in handling publicity for contentious projects. According to Freeman and Harrison (2001), stakeholders comprise of the entire ecosystem that support an organization. From a business perspective

Chronic Disease Paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Chronic Disease Paper - Essay Example According to Andrew Prentice, professor of international nutrition at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK, he finds developing countries facing a â€Å"double burden of disease†. Nutrition and life styles play a major role where chronic diseases are concerned. Cancer occurs or develops when the abnormal cells in ones body grow rapidly out of control. Normally, the cells in our body grow, divide and die in a systematic fashion. When the person is young, the cells grow rapidly until the person reaches adulthood after which the cells in the body mostly divide to repair any injury or to replace the dead or worn – out cells. In the case of Cancer, the cells are much different than normal cells. They keep on growing and dividing replacing the normal cells with abnormal ones. Cancer occurs because of the damage caused to the DNA which is present in every cell and conducts all our activities. Usually, when the DNA becomes damaged, the body is in a position to repair it. But in case the cells are cancerous, the DNA is not repaired. Damaged DNA can also be inherited and therefore can get cancer later on in life. Substances in the environment can damage the DNA, such as smoke from tobacco. Cancer cells often travel to different parts of the body where they take root and grow and multiply while replacing normal tissue. The process by which this takes place is called â€Å"Metastasis†. Most of the Cancers form tumors but in the case of leukemia no tumor is formed but instead these cells flow with the blood and circulate through the blood forming organs. Different types of cancer react differently to different types of treatment. All cancers are not life threatening. The tumors may be benign or non-cancerous and do not spread or metastasize to the various parts of the body. They multiply at a different pace and needs a

Forensics- Narcotic Drugs Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Forensics- Narcotic Drugs - Research Paper Example In addition, the paper will examine the process of presentation of exhibit in a law court, especially in cases that involve drug abuse. Further, the paper will analyze the use of evidence to facilitate prosecution or acquittal of individuals with criminal charges. The detection of drug abuse in body fluids, blood, tissues, and corpses is a common procedure done in forensic laboratories. Agencies that perform forensic examination of evidences in law enforcement include the FBI, the NIDA, and the DEA and Justice departments (Lowney, 1994). These agencies control, regulate and classify drugs that are commonly abused and investigate cases that relate to drug abuse. Narcotics are drugs that occur naturally in poppy seeds or opioid substances that are semi-synthetic; the medical purpose of these drugs is to relieve pain in patients  suffering from terminal ailments like cancer (Lowney, 1994). The concept narcotic means a state of sluggishness or lethargy and these drugs are significantly essential in the medical field when used as per the physician’s directions. However, these drugs may find their way into the black market where they mix with a wide range of drugs, which could be poisonous (Lowney, 1994). The ills associated with drug use make the concept of narcotics lose social acceptability. As a result, the legislature has criminalized the use of narcotic drugs. Drug users experience confrontations from various laws and law enforcement agencies, which strive to stop the use of drugs and avoid the criminal cases associated with drugs use and abuse (Brickey, 1995). Drugs and crime share an intimate relationship, as most criminals are drug dealers while others use drugs for courage that helps to commit crimes comfortably. Drug addicts can kill people and rob them off their money to buy drugs. Therefore, crime results from drugs and crime causes drugs use while both crime and drugs have strong connections to social forces. Drugs are classified into three

Corporations and a Sustainable World Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Corporations and a Sustainable World - Essay Example It began during the Industrial Age when the machines increased the productivity of manufacturers. Before, they were a group of people who were hired by the government to perform particular functions, like building bridges for the public. It was supposed to be a subordinate entity a gift given by the people to serve the public good. But somewhere along history, corporate lawyers cited the Fourteenth Amendment (not to deprive any person of life, liberty or property). This made the corporation protection because it can now own, buy and sell things, borrow money, sue and be sued and can carry a business. Corporation starts when the government gives a charter to a group of people who want a limited liability when it comes to business. Because of the charter, incorporations are taken by the law as individuals. The movie analyzed the character of this â€Å"individual† and made the audience realize how the corporations that the majority knows, is not what it is, but rather an ideal c onstruct of the corporation so that the public would like them, thus would let them produce more money. As said before, the corporation is made up of various people. They are formed to protect the corporation itself, which means generating money for the corporation. Doing this job causes harm to workers, like: low salaries, lay-offs, union bustings, etc. These decisions are made so that the company can cut the cost of their operations yet deliver the same quality of goods to the consumers. The film put a spotlight on the sweatshops. The products sold in the department stores that are sold for $ 31 are actually being made at factories in Third World countries for 3 cents per hour. The discrepancy is obvious. But according to Michael Walker, this is a good thing, because they give opportunity to people who have â€Å"nothing to offer but their low cost labor†. Basically, they use the people’s need for employment as a resource to outsource their need for low cost labor. H owever, these people who make decisions for the corporation, which is a legal structure, just the same as a building, are moral people with moral responsibilities. Sam Gibara, a former CEO of Goodyear, Inc. states that his personality as a person is different than that of his personality as a CEO. The priorities shift when he is on the job because of the demands of the job that requires him to make certain touchy decisions, like laying off people. Even the former chairman of the Royal Dutch Shell, Sir Mark Moody Stuart stated that they have the same concerns as with the activists, as he interviewed public demonstrators who tried to rally in their house. These ideas of inequality reflect the conflict approach in sociology, specifically the conflict of class approach. Karl Marx presented this idea, which is appropriate since he also introduced the idea of capitalism, which is basically the spirit of the corporation. The conflict approach originated from Marx’s ideas and writing s on class struggles. This theory focuses on the negative aspects of the society, making a way for improvements to happen, because of shortcomings (Schaefer, 423). This film presents the shortcomings of the corporation, along with the opinions of the people who defend it. The movie pokes the sensibilities of the audience who may or may not act on the situation that demands change for the improvement of the way the corporations are being run. This is a perfect example of the

Prophecy in Eveline by James Joyce Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Prophecy in Eveline by James Joyce - Essay Example This may be a prophetic utterance that signals the inability that Eveline displays in following her decision through to its very end. She is unable to take a strong and firm decision as to whether she wants to leave with Frank or stay on with her family. This inability to take a firm decision is then indicative of the modernist inertia that anticipates a painful end to any enterprise that would provide one with happiness. Happiness is then looked upon as a manifestation of meaning that would not be possible according to the modernist ethos. This would be an expression of the ultimate fate that befalls Eveline. Happiness for her is only something that lies in the anticipation. Even this is tinged with pain and the completion of pain is what eventually results. This impossibility of happiness is what the author is highlighting through the prophetic nature of the dialogue that Eveline’s mother utters. The nature of the dialogue also then needs to be analyzed and looked into. The dialogue has been a source of constant bafflement to critics through the ages. The language, which is most probably Irish, is one that Joyce frequently refers to. This is because of the fact that Ireland at this point of time was colonized by England and its language had, as a result, suffered a great deal. Joyce’s articulation is pessimistic in anticipating and conflating the fates of both the language and the protagonist of the story, Eveline. The language and the fact that many would not be able to understand its literal meaning, let alone the connotations of it, also points to the fact that the end the story would not offer an easy resolution. The resolution then is something that is foretold and in this prophecy of doom, there is a great deal of pessimism that Joyce is trying to articulate. This articulation then becomes one that indicates the modernist predicament- one that recognizes the inad equacy of language but still attempts to convey meaning through it. The story â€Å"Eveline† is a part of the collection Dubliners.

Article Report 2 Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Report 2 - Article Example the individual is the only one who can be responsible for their future and that if someone gets their high school education, works full time, and waits until after they are 21, they are more likely to end up in the middle class. While I do not disagree with this assessment, I also believe that this formula only represent a small part of what it takes to end up in the middle class. The fact is that there are not enough jobs in the United States for the number of workers. Unemployment can only be increased by increasing opportunities, which means that government should be creating jobs. Government does create jobs by doing public builds, creating public services that require people to work in those departments, and through incentives to businesses targeting the increase in jobs. This means giving work to businesses so that they will need more employees. A company will only hire when there is a demand for products and there is a need for builders and creators to support building those p roducts. There are some people who do not want to work, but the majority would rather have meaning in their lives through jobs that provide them with more than just food and shelter. Increasing employment increases spending, which increases wealth on all levels. I do not think increasing the minimum wage is the answer, but I do not agree that private industry will create the answer to the lack of equality in wealth within the United States. The government needs to stop focusing on corporate bail outs and pandering to the corporations as ‘entities’. Providing jobs through government programs will help to solve the problems that the United States is experiencing through increasing the spending of middle and lower classes, raising their standards of living through income, and providing for a more expanded population with means that are higher than currently experienced. CERTIFICATION OF AUTHORSHIP: I certify that I am the author of this paper, that it is written in my own words except

Learning Support System Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Learning Support System - Assignment Example 3. Pay for goods f. Sell Learning Package 1. Book appointment with parent 2. Assess child's needs 3. Work out starting level on the learning program 4. Fill order form with parent g. Order Learning Material 1. Receive information about LSS services 2. Send interest form to LSS branch office 3. Book appointment with consultant 4. Fill order form 5. Pay for learning package 6. Receive learning package h. Administer Stage Test 1. Send assessment request to LSS 2. Receive stage test 3. Supervise stage test 4. Send test for marking i. Study 1. Study video and workbook 2. Do stage exam 3. Advance to next stage on passing Alternative: Last stage of level 3a. Advance to the next level if current stage is the last stage in the current level Alternative: Last stage of last level 3a. Finish learning program j. Manage Sales and Stock 1. Record customer details, where leads come from, consultant who made the sale and child's progress 2. Update stock level 3. Re-order automatically if reorder level is reached iii) For Process Assessment the primary scenario would be 1. Receive request for assessment by phone or by Assessment Request Form from parents 2. Send stage test 3. Receive and mark test 4. Send letter of congratulations and stage certificate The secondary scenario would be: 1. Receive request for assessment by phone or by Assessment Request Form from parents 2. Send stage test 3. Receive and mark test 4. Send letter of congratulations and stage certificate Also send level certificate along with a request for consultant to visit family if this is the last stage of a level. 1. A use case enables a systems developer to capture the functional requirements of systems. It does this by providing one of more scenarios that map to how the users interact with...It provides a divide-and-conquer approach to requirements analysis since the developer can focus on one part of a system at a time. A use case meets a specific business goal and thus the use case allows the developer to analyze requirement, one business goal at a time. An example is the use case "Buy Learning Materials". This use case spells out clearly the steps a Parent role takes to acquire learning materials for a Child role. Therefore, a use case provides a clear direction to a system developer. A use case is reusable because of the rich view it provides. A use case will therefore help systems developer not only during requirements gathering but also as a guideline during development. It can also form the basis of systems documentation much latter. The use case diagram for LSS above reveals the different components of the system under development allowing the systems developer to develop the system in a modular manner. He can start with the use cases that are considered more urgent/important by the users. Use cases provide alternative scenarios thus enabling a systems developer to accommodate many behaviors of a system.

China Trade from Early 17th Century to Mid 19th Century Essay Example for Free

China Trade from Early 17th Century to Mid 19th Century Essay Around 17th and 18th century, Western countries were extremely eager to reach the profitable Chinese market due to its privileged geological location. Although China had traded their riches with Europe along the Silk Road for centuries, Chinese government were afraid that the sea trade to the south would potentially corrupt their â€Å"imperial kingdom† and further try to conquer the country. From 1700 onwards, the government established a set of rigid restrictions imposing the practice of Co-hong to confine foreign trades and merchants in Canton. However, by late 18 century, the trading system seemed to change. The British commenced the opium trade, which created a steady demand among Chinese addicts and further solved the chronic imbalanced trade. As the Opium War broke out with Britain, China was no longer on the top of the world. The Celestial Empire not only was forced to be subservient to British trading regulations, but also somewhat became a semi-colonial country. The East India Company founded in 1600 that held a monopoly in east India by the British government was rapidly enlarging its global trading influence in China. By sending a company trader to address their concern regarding to the unreasonable restrictions on trade in Canton, the representative James Flint was arrested and imprisoned for being breaking the â€Å"Canton trading law†. This incident showed China’s superior attitude toward Westerners and how they manipulated the trade irrationally in their best interest disregarding the concerns of foreign traders. The growing number of foreign traders in the late eighteenth century strongly threatened the Qing. They feared that the trade with foreign merchants would give the opportunity for Westerners to corrupt China; therefore, a set of laws that was so called â€Å"Canton system† was established. The system restricted all European trades to only one port Canton and foreign merchants were forbidden to abode in the city except trading season. Moreover, the Europeans had to obey the licensed Co-Hong merchants, of who were responsible for controlling the trading behavior in Canton. As a result, these complex and irksome rules created a tension between foreigners and Chinese merchants, British traders especially. In 1792, a British ambassador Lord George Macartney set sail to China hoping to seek the approval of the Qing Emperor to loosen some of the trading restrictions to the British traders. Yet, the letters to the Emperor was unreservedly rejected; the response was fairly disappointing. Emperor Qianlong’s edicts to George III in response to McCartney’s demands on English traders showed his arrogant and condescending attitude toward the British. â€Å"As your Ambassador can see for himself, we possess all things. I set no value on objects strange or ingenious, and have no use for you country’s manufacturers. (105 Cheng and Letz with Spence) Furthermore, in his second edict, he stated, â€Å" But your Ambassador has now put forward new requests which completely fail to recognize the Throne’s principle to â€Å"treat strangers from afar with indulgence† and to exercise a pacifying control over barbarian tribes, the world over. † (106 Cheng and Letz with Spence) He describes foreigners as â€Å"barbarians, which showed how he disrespected all Westerners and measured China as the most superior in the world; other countries would have obey Chinese â€Å"law†. British viewed Qing’s legal code as unreasonable and perceived the Chinese officials as obstinate governance, which further exasperated the existed tension between the two nations. Meanwhile, a network of opium was widely distributed throughout China. In order to pay for the tremendous demand of Chinese tea, silk and porcelain pottery in Europe, Britain and other European nations determined to import the one product which became the factor that corrupted the Imperial Empire: opium. Opium addiction level arose in a short period of time, which affected not only the imperial troop but also the governmental officials. Thus, Emperor Daoguang appointed Commissioner Lin to confiscate opium from English ships and refused to pay indemnity to the British traders. The efforts of the Qing dynasty to coerce the opium restraints resulted in the trading conflict, which had already existed for decades between Britain and China triggered the Opium War in 1840. Lord Palmerston’s dispatch to the Emperor of China was a message to inform the Qing that Great Britain would no longer be submissive. The British government therefore has determined at once to send out a Naval and Military Force to the Coast of China to act in support of these demands, and in order to convince the Imperial Government that the British Government attaches the upmost importance to his matter, and that the affair is one which will not admit of delay. † (125 Cheng and Letz with Spence) The dispatc h simply showed the Britain’s intentions to use force to protect its subjects in China, Canton in particular. After the damaging defeats in the war, the first unequal treaty, Treaty of Nanjing was signed after the War, which awakened China from its fantasy of superiority. In the Treaty, China opened several ports and exposed its markets to Western merchants, which turned the central kingdom into a semi-colonial country. Consequently, the role in the national economy had reversed. China was now forced to obey all the demands in the Treaty of Nanjing signed with the British. China was no longer the â€Å"Celestial Empire†; inversely, it was slowly sliding down from the top of the world.

Is Immortality Desirable?

Is Immortality Desirable? Abstract In this paper I discuss whether immortality in the physical form is desirable. In accordance with the deprivation account I seek to defend the commonsense view that death is a bad thing for the individual but will argue that consistency and logic does not require me to believe that an immortal existence is to be desired. I defend Bernard Williams claim that with an immortal life we are doomed to an eternity of never ending repetition, boredom and indifference and that death is a necessary evil if we are to avoid a life devoid of freshness. I will also argue that death and the very limitation that its sets down gives life meaning. In support of Victor Fankl I will defend the claim that it is time pressure that shapes our lives. In developing my argument I will oppose the counter argument that it is death that makes life meaningless not meaningful. Is Immortality desirable? Is it simply a design fault that we age and die? Are we living in a culture of death whereby we die simply because we accept it as an inevitability? â€Å"All men are mortal† said Socrates, however, a lifetime spent on in-depth research has led pioneering scientists to deem aging not as an inevitable consequence of the human condition but as a preventative disease. Perhaps these scientists are far too optimistic in their search for a virtual fountain of youth, or is it simply the case that death – the end of the physical being, is accepted by the mind and embraced through reinforced teachings and observation. Whether you believe that a quest for immortality will or will never be achieved is irrelevant to the question at hand. The focus will be on whether immortality is desirable, assuming something can be desired yet impossible. Clarification of what I mean by immortality is essential; I will focus on what can be described as physical immortality- by this I mean that on e can live for eternity as a human physical being on earth (where everyone is immortal). In my interpretation, I will also assume that there is no get out clause, take for example one is offered an elixir of immortal life, once taken a person cannot change their mind opting for death- immortality is forever. My definition will also incorporate a block on aging; eternity will be lived through a perfectly healthy functioning body. Accidents will be possible but can be fixed with ease. Intentionally, I have painted a picture of immortality which may at first glance seem desirable, as one may be quick to argue that an immortal life where a person is forever aging to the point of an eternity of pain and discomfort and where accidents occurred and could not be fixed is simply not one to be desired. However, throughout this essay I will put forward the argument that those who believe immortality to be desirable have made an irrational choice, it would be a mistake to crave an immortal life and take the elixir of eternal existence. I will approach this issue by initially examining Nagels (1970) question of whether it is a terrible thing to go out of existence, I will agree and defend the deprivation account of the evil and badness of death claiming it is possible to do so while maintaining immor tality would be a bad thing. The idea that boredom will develop if there was no end to human life will be explored, assessing much of the support from Bernard Williams (1973) as well as opposing and tackling one of John Martin Fischers (1994) criticisms of the above view. The second argument that I will present (which overlaps with my first) will be based on the meaning of life, I will argue that death and the very limitations that it sets down gives life meaning and this will be explored by assessing the views of Victor Frankl (1957) as well as counterarguments by Robert Nozicks (1981). Firstly, to determine whether immortality is a good thing, I pose the question of whether death is a bad thing. Death is an ambiguous term so let me be clear of the definition it will take in my essay. I will take death to mean the end of the physical being, the cessation of life. I am aware that defining death in this way is problematic but let us assume for the sake of simplicity that this is correct. My concern at this point is whether death is a bad thing for the person who dies, referring to the state of non existence (at least in the physical form), not the process of dying. For many, a rational response in life is to fear death- after all, it is our most personal and valuable asset, but is it really, as Nagel stated, a terrible thing to go out of existence? There has been extensive philosophical discussion and disagreement regarding this matter, with philosophers such as Bernard Williams (1973), who argue death has its rightful place; a point to which I will later return, and there are those such as Thomas Nagel (1970) who speak of its badness. Lucretius, however, argue that something can only be good or bad for a person if that person exists at the time the event takes place and is experienced, if we take death to mean non-existence where non-existence is nothingness then death cannot be said to be good or bad as only something can be interpreted in this way. I, however, believe that death is bad, agreeing with Nagel in most parts but at the same time believe that immortality, never dying is also bad, this is not a contradiction. I disagree with the Lucretius argument for the very same reason Nagel rejected their reasoning, Nagel presents an example of an individual betrayed unknowingly behind his back, although the person never becomes aware of this, it seems fair to say that the betrayal was a bad thing for the person involved, in this way the Lucretius connection between badness and experience does not hold true (Nagel, 1970:76). It may be the case that something can be intrinsically bad, bad in itself or in its own right, for example, pain is avoided for its own sake. It may also be the case that something can be comparatively bad, bad by virtue of what youre not getting while this other thing is present. I take the latter point to be the case for the badness of death. It seems to me that something can be bad even if you dont exist, e xistence is not a requirement, in fact it is the very fact that you dont exist that makes death bad. The central bad about death, about non existence, is that it deprives you of the goods of life you might otherwise be getting, I couldnt fall in love, enjoy a sunset or master philosophy.From this, it should follow that life is good because if I wasnt dead I wouldnt be deprived; more of a good thing is always better than less of a good thing; therefore more life is better than less life; it should follow therefore that eternal life never dying is exceptionally good. However, the rules of logic and reason do not require somebody who accepts the deprivation account to believe that immortality is to be desired. Looking closely at the deprivation account, what it claims is that death is bad insofar as it deprives us of the good things we could have otherwise experienced, but we shouldnt assume that life is good or always good (maybe Nagel does or often seems to assume this) what if it turned out that what you would have hereafter would be in fact a life full of bad things. It would there fore be a bad thing that you would go through the rest of your life which in this case would be an eternity with negative experiences. I will now go on to explain that it is an inevitability that an eternal life will somewhere down the line cease to be good, transforming into an eternity of badness in which case still in accordance with the deprivation account death will no longer be bad. I agree that at first thought immortality may be tempting the argument that life is too short will no longer exist. Think of all the things you could get done, you could devout years to writing great philosophy, you could take pleasure in countless sunsets and sunrises, you could enjoy things endlessly having more time to see and achieve things that you would have otherwise not had time to. Here is my argument, too much of a good thing can become a bad thing, medicine for example is something which is instrumentally good, however, although it is good in small doses in that it cures a disease for example if I take more than the prescribed amount it becomes harmful to my body. In this same way extending human life by 50 or even a 100 years can be good but what if someone added a thousand, a million, an eternity to your life? Having done and seen everything you could possible have imagined everything will start to feel the same, having experienced love and the sunset millions of times t hey would no longer excite you. Eternity is a very long time, forever goes on forever and boredom will eventually set in leaving you existing as oppose to living. It seems that I am in agreement with Bernard Williams, in his essay â€Å"The Makropulos Case:Reflections on the Tedium of Immortality† (1973) who also argues that an eternal existence would be intolerable, claiming that as human beings it is inevitable that by our very nature we will get bored we would be doomed to never ending repetition and boredom, life would simply be devoid of interest or freshness. He supports his view by discussing a play by Karel Capek which tells of a woman named Elina Makropulos, who at the age of 42 was given an elixir of eternal life by her father. The play is set 300 years on and Elina is now aged 342, Williams states that â€Å"Her unending life has come to a state of boredom, indifference, and coldness. Everything is joyless: â€Å"in the end it is the same,† she says, â€Å"singing and silence.† She refuses to take the elixir again; she dies; and the formula is deliberately destroyed by a young woman among the protest of some older men† (Williams,1973:82). EM has lived her life at the age of 42 for 300 years and it seems that everything that could happen to a woman of 42 has already happened to her. John Martin Fischer in an article titled Why immortality is not so bad criticizes Williams argument; Fischer asserts that if there was a sufficiently diverse package of experiences we would not get bored (Fischer 1994). He acknowledges that there are those pleasures that would be self exhausting, those which we would not want to repeat more than once or a few times as we would inevitably get bored. His examples of these self exhausting pleasures include pleasures that are disappointing which one would not want to repeat for that very reason and those non-disappointing pleasures which you do to fulfil a goal to prove something to yourself, for example, to overcome your phobia of heights you climb Mount Whitney but this is an experience you do not want to repeat. He acknowledges that there are those pleasures that are self exhausting but ther e are many repeatable pleasures that we would never get bored of like listening to beautiful music or seeing great art and we would therefore never fall victim to Williams boredom account. I disagree with Fischer, firstly it seems to me his examples of self exhausting pleasures present a distorted view of what pleasure really is. I agree that disappointing pleasures may appear to be pleasurable before the act but after we experience the disappointment they cease to fall into this category. It appears that these disappointing pleasures are not pleasures at all and should not fall into the category of self exhausting pleasures. It is a similar case for his example of non disappointing self exhausting pleasures like climbing a mountain to overcome a phobia, climbing this mountain is not done for sheer pleasure, we may experience pride and we may experience some pleasure from this pride but the very act is done reluctantly and is not pleasurable within itself. To claim that he partly agrees with Williams that there are those pleasure that are self exhausting is somewhat misleading what he presents in the above case are not pleasures at all. What Williams said, is to think of the most perfect immortality that you can imagine and imagine doing this forever, the above so called pleasures do not fall into this; it seems obvious they would not want to be repeated. Fischer also goes on to explain a second category of pleasures which he called repeatable pleasures which include listening to music and enjoying art, Fischer believed that if these pleasures were appropriately distributed (not too closely to each other ) they could be repeated countless times. I disagree; although in this case they could be classed as pleasure, it seems we would still inevitably get bored maybe not after 100 or even two hundred years but somewhere down the line of a never ending life we would get bored. I can only enjoy a piece of music a limited number of times before it no longer brings me pleasure. However at this point an objection may arise; some may argue that human potential is endless reducing the likelihood of boredom. There are millions of songs to be heard and millions more that will emerge, there is a countless number of things that can be enjoyed that will never run out so you are not doomed to be repeating the same things over and over, and maybe when things start to get tedious new things will be invented to occupy our minds. The response to this is that having heard a thousand, a million, two million, songs they will all eventually take the same shape, nothing new can be invented that would be so drastically different from all previous inventions. Another point to be made is that Elina Makropulos maintains the same character throughout her life changing only to adapt to her surroundings it could therefore be suggested that the boredom she experienced was a result of her unchanging character not the fact that she lived for such a long period of time. Williams addresses this throughout his article, he argues that as human beings we aim to be, and usually succeed, in becoming a certain type of person, we develop a certain set of interests, a certain way of acting and we become settled as that type of person. His thought is that those who can avoid boredom and continue to find things interesting are not sufficiently mature there seems to be something wrong with them as such immortality is not a life for a hu man being (Williams 1973) . Let us now introduce a way boredom can be avoided in accordance with his argument, a possibility Williams considers is rejuvenation; by this he means you remain a human being in that you maintain the same body but every so often you are rejuvenated, a certain part of your history disappears and is replaced by a new start. Although this seems to deal with the boredom issue Williams does questions whether this is in fact you? Every time I am rejuvenated I have no recollection of my prior self and build a whole new character based on different memories and experiences. It seems wrong to say that I am the same person after being rejuvenated for the hundredth time as I was prior to my first rejuvenation (Williams,1973:92). Even if we are persuaded that you are the same person Williams would argue that it is not giving you anything that you could be interested in, the absence of a continuity of consciousness is a serious problem. Even if it is not death it is as bad as death to be rejuvenated in this way. Another possibility to consider is the gradual deterioration of memory where we forget things as time goes on for example every 200 years. However I believe this raises the same question as above are we really the same person if we live in a 200 year envelope? Williams concludes that death is a necessary e vil; we should hope to die if we are to avoid the alternative of immortality. My second argument to why immortality is not desirable is based on the meaning of life. I believe that death and the very limitations that it sets down gives life meaning. My second argument overlaps with my first but what I wish to specifically argue here is that it is the very fact that we are here for what is comparatively a short time that makes our lives meaningful, in the way we act and behave, this is the idea that it is time pressure that shapes our lives. It is irrelevant whether one believes or does not believe in god or any form of creator or greater being, they will still find life meaningless without death, even if you merely carry on living out of the fear of dying. I believe that all good things have to have a beginning, middle and an end and each is necessary and is enjoyed accordingly. Victor Frankl argues that death itself is what makes life meaningful, his reasoning is as follows: â€Å"What would our lives be like if they were not finite in time, but infinite? If we were immortal, we would legitimately postpone every action forever. It would be of no consequence whether or not we did a thing now; every act might just as well be done tomorrow or the day after or a year from now or ten years hence. But in the face of death as absolute finis to our future boundary to our possibilities, we are under the imperative of utilizing our lifetimes to utmost, not letting the singular opportunities- whose finite sum constitutes the whole of life-pass by unused† (Frankl,1957:73). Nozick , however, has a problem with this argument, in his book â€Å"Philosophical explanation† he wonders whether death in fact makes life meaningless not meaningful, he argues that â€Å"Frankl assumes our only desire is to have done certain things, to put certain things somewhere on our record†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.However, we may desire to do things; our desire need not be merely to have done them. Moreover, if we had an infinite life, we might view it as a whole, as something to organize, shape and do something with† (Nozick,1981:579-580) I disagree, firstly it was not assumed by Frankl that we merely do things to put them on record, what was being said is that we have a limited amount of time to do things but we do not merely do them just to tick a box but to grow and evolve as human beings because pursuing our goals enriches our lives. It is the very fact that we have a finite time that motivates us to make those decisions and do those things that enhance our lives, which would only be forever delayed with an infinite existence. For example why should I go to school if I dont like it? The simple answer is to learn to acquire skills that would help me to achieve and make something of my self before I die and cease to exist. If I was immortal, learning trigonometry would seem less attractive than watching TV or playing computer games all day. I get more pleasure from such things (in the short term at least) and watching TV is certainly easier than studying and Ill get round to learning trigonometry sometime.Time press ure is what makes us set goals, with an immortal life tasks would forever be extended and a consequence would emerge whereby we would be less likely to do things of value, we would become a stagnant society where simple pleasures rule. Even if we are partly motivated by the desire to do things not only to have done things they would still be postponed and contrary to what Nozick claims this would matter as the desire alone to do things does not make ones life meaningful it may contribute to some poor will to carry on living (to do that specific thing) but will not give satisfaction to ones life. Nozick also questions whether death in fact makes life meaningless? Many argue that death renders life futile because we will all eventually die and so there is no point in developing character or studying calculus if our progress is ultimately going to be permanently interrupted and it will all go to waste. It seems to me that to argue that death makes life meaningless is to argue that something can only be meaningful if it lasts forever. The truth is that many things we value and find worthwhile do not last forever. I affirm that most if not all actions other than pleasures within themselves are predominantly motivated by the desire to get things done and enrich our lives from them before we die. Death is a deadline, a necessary evil; we know every day that passes we will never get back and this gives meaning and shapes how we live and thus an immortal life is not one to be desired. So far a strong argument has been provided for the undesirability of an immortal life but is there any situation in which immortality can be desired? In setting out what I meant by immortality I disallowed a get out clause, let us now suppose you would be able to live as long as you wanted and when you eventually had enough it would be possible to take your own life, is the elixir of eternal existence now more attractive? Surely it is, however, this is not all together straight forward. Take for example a mortal who chooses to commit suicide, in taking their own life he/she is giving up for example another 30 years, however, in the case of an immortal he/she is giving up what is essentially an eternity. They may be unhappy now but they could not possibly know that this would be the case in a million or a billion years time, choosing to take an immortal life is of greater consequence. In allowing a get out clause we would also become a very unadventurous and risk- averse society, who would take the risk of bungee jumping, paragliding and so forth if what they are risking is an infinite lifespan? Although this may seem a more attractive model of immortality it is complicated and can it really be called immortality if we allow this get out clause? It seems to me the very fact that we would choose this model supports my argument, that immortality would cease to be good and we would all sooner or later opt to take our own lives. In conclusion immortality in the physical human sense is never a good thing. It should not be desired; whatever perfect life you imagine to want to experience forever it will soon become tedious and boredom will eventually set in. Death is therefore necessary, even in accordance with the deprivation account, as further existence would become a bad thing sooner or later and it will no longer be the case whereby death deprives you of the good things life has to offer but where death provides an end to all that is bad with an eternal existence. It is also the inevitability of death that gives life reason and shape, the very fact that we have a limited lifespan motivates people through a sense of urgency to spend their time doing those things that contribute meaning and enrich their lives which would forever be delayed with inevitable consequences with an immortal life. Without death there would be no such thing as sacrifice, putting a lifes work into something, heroism and courage, we w ould lack appreciation for our existence, life would not be as serious or meaningful. I believe there to be an artistic necessity about dying- in the same way a picture has a frame, one cannot imagine an infinite painting, or a play has a shape and a final curtain, one cant imagine a play going on forever. Why grope for some mysterious realm for which we are not properly equipped to function in? Although I have argued that immortality is bad, this is not to say that it is a good thing that we die when we do, in accordance with all above arguments one can still think that we die too soon. Bibliography Fischer, M. (1994). Why Immortality is Not So Bad. International Journal of Philosophical Studies. 2, 257-270. Frankl, V (1957). The Doctor and the Soul. Alfred Knopf. New York Nagel, T (1970). Death. Nous. 4, 73-80 Nozick, R (1981). Philosophical Explanations. Oxford.  Clarendon Press Williams, B (1973). Problems of the Self: Philosophical Papers 1956-1972. New York: Cambridge University Press.

Errors and strategies in language acquisition

Errors and strategies in language acquisition Error Correction Why Correction is Necessary Correction is necessary. The argument that students just need to use the language and the rest will come by itself seems rather weak. Students come to us to teach them. If they want only conversation, they will probably inform us or, they might just go to a chat room on the Internet. Obviously students need to be corrected as part of the learning experience. However, students also need to be encouraged to use the language. It is true that correcting students while they are trying their best to use the language can often discourage them. The most satisfactory solution of all is make correction an activity. Correction can be used as a follow-up to any given class activity. However, correction sessions can be used as a valid activity in and of themselves. In other words, teachers can set up an activity during which each mistake (or a specific type of mistake) will be corrected. Students know that the activity is going to focus on correction, and accept that fact. However, these activit ies should be kept in balance with other, more free-form, activities which give students the opportunity to express themselves without having to worry about being corrected every other word. It is to S.P. Corder that Error Analysis owes its place as a scientific method in linguistics. As Rod Ellis cites (p. 48), it was not until the 1970s that EA became a recognized part of applied linguistics, a development that owed much to the work of Corder. Before Corder, linguists observed learners errors, divided them into categories, tried to see which ones were common and which were not, but not much attention was drawn to their role in second language acquisition. It was Corder who showed to whom information about errors would be helpful (teachers, researchers, and students) and how. There are many major concepts introduced by S. P. Corder in his article The significance of learners errors, among which we encounter the following: It is the learner who determines what the input is. The teacher can present a linguistic form, but this is not necessarily the input, but simply what is available to be learned. Keeping the above point in mind, learners needs should be considered when teachers/linguists plan their syllabuses. Before Corders work, syllabuses were based on theories and not so much on learners needs. Mager (1962) points out that the learners built-in syllabus is more efficient than the teachers syllabus. Corder adds that if such a built-in syllabus exists, then learners errors would confirm its existence and would be systematic. Corder introduced the distinction between systematic and non-systematic errors. Unsystematic errors occur in ones native language; Corder calls these mistakes and states that they are not significant to the process of language learning. He keeps the term errors for the systematic ones, which occur in a second language. Errors are significant in three ways: to the teacher: they show a students progress to the researcher: they show how a language is acquired, what strategies the learner uses. to the learner: he can learn from these errors. When a learner has made an error, the most efficient way to teach him the correct form is not by simply giving it to him, but by letting him discover it and test different hypotheses. (This is derived from Carrolls proposal (Carroll 1955, cited in Corder), who suggested that the learner should find the correct linguistic form by searching for it. Many errors are due to that the learner uses structures from his native language. Corder claims that possession of ones native language is facilitative. Errors in this case are not inhibitory, but rather evidence of ones learning strategies. The above insights played a significant role in linguistic research, and in particular in the approach linguists took towards errors. Here are some of the areas that were influenced by Corders work: STUDIES OF LEARNER ERRORS Corder introduced the distinction between errors (in competence) and mistakes (in performance). This distinction directed the attention of researchers of SLA to competence errors and provided for a more concentrated framework. Thus, in the 1970s researchers started examining learners competence errors and tried to explain them. We find studies such as Richardss A non-contrastive approach to error analysis (1971), where he identifies sources of competence errors; L1 transfer results in interference errors; incorrect (incomplete or over-generalized) application of language rules results in intralingual errors; construction of faulty hypotheses in L2 results in developmental errors. Not all researchers have agreed with the above distinction, such as Dulay and Burt (1974) who proposed the following three categories of errors: developmental, interference and unique. Stenson (1974) proposed another category, that of induced errors, which result from incorrect instruction of the language. As most research methods, error analysis has weaknesses (such as in methodology), but these do not diminish its importance in SLA research; this is why linguists such as Taylor (1986) reminded researchers of its importance and suggested ways to overcome these weaknesses. As mentioned previously, Corder noted to whom (or in which areas) the study of errors would be significant: to teachers, to researchers and to learners. In addition to studies concentrating on error categorization and analysis, various studies concentrated on these three different areas. In other words, research was conducted not only in order to understand errors per se, but also in order to use what is learned from error analysis and apply it to improve language competence. Such studies include Kroll and Schafers Error-Analysis and the Teaching of Composition, where the authors demonstrate how error analysis can be used to improve writing skills. They analyze possible sources of error in non-native-English writers, and attempt to provide a process approach to writing where the error analysis can help achieve better writing skills. These studies, among many others, show that thanks to Corders work, researchers recognized the importance of errors in SLA and started to examine them in order to achieve a better understanding of SLA processes, i.e. of how learners acquire an L2. STUDIES OF L1 INFLUENCE ON SLA Various researchers have concentrated on those errors which demonstrate the influence of ones native language to second language acquisition. Before Corders work, interference errors were regarded as inhibitory; it was Corder who pointed out that they can be facilitative and provide information about ones learning strategies (point 7, listed above). Claude Hagà ¨ge (1999) is a supporter of this concept and he mentions it in his book The child between two languages, dedicated to childrens language education. According to Hagà ¨ge, interference between L1 and L2 is observed in children as well as in adults. In adults it is more obvious and increases continuously, as a monolingual person gets older and the structures of his first language get stronger and impose themselves more and more on any other language the adult wishes to learn. In contrast, as regards children, interference features will not become permanent unless the child does not have sufficient exposure to L2. If there is sufficient exposure, then instead of reaching a point where they can no longer be corrected (as often happens with phonetics features), interference features can be easily eliminated. Hagà ¨ge stresses that there is no reason for worry if interference persists more than expected. The teacher should know that a child that is in the process of acquiring a second language will subconsciously invent structures influenced by knowledge he already possesses. These hypotheses he forms may constitute errors. These errors, though, are completely natural; we should not expect the child to acquire L2 structures immediately (p. 81). In addition to studies of L1 transfer in general, there have been numerous studies for specific language pairs. Thanh Ha Nguyen (1995) conducted a case study to demonstrate first language transfer in Vietnamese learners of English. He examined a particular language form, namely oral competence in English past tense making. He tried to determine the role of L1 transfer in the acquisition of this English linguistic feature as a function of age, time of exposure to English, and place and purpose of learning English. The influence of L1 on L2 was also examined by Lakkis and Malak (2000) who concentrated on the transfer of Arabic prepositional knowledge to English (by Arab students). Both positive and negative transfer were examined in order to help teachers identify problematic areas for Arab students and help them understand where transfer should be encouraged or avoided. In particular, they concluded that an instructor of English, whose native language is Arabic, can use the students L1 for structures that use equivalent prepositions in both languages. On the other hand, whenever there are verbs or expressions in the L1 and L2 that have different structures, that take prepositions, or that have no equivalent in one of the languages, instructors should point out these differences to their students. Not only was L1 influence examined according to language pair, but according to the type of speech produced (written vs. oral). Hagà ¨ge (p. 33) discusses the influence of L1 on accent; he notes that the ear acts like a filter, and after a critical age (which Hagà ¨ge claims is 11 years), it only accepts sounds that belong to ones native language. Hagà ¨ge discusses L1 transfer in order to convince readers that there is indeed a critical age for language acquisition, and in particular the acquisition of a native-like accent. He uses the example of the French language, which includes complex vowel sounds, to demonstrate that after a critical age, the acquisition of these sounds is not possible; thus, learners of a foreign language will only use the sounds existing in their native language when producing L2 sounds, which may often obstruct communication. STUDIES OF CORRECTIVE FEEDBACK Corder elaborated on Carrolls work to show that the most efficient way to teach a student the correct linguistic form is to let him test various hypotheses and eventually find the right form (point 6, listed above). In these steps, Hagà ¨ge points out the importance of self correction (p. 82-83). According to Hagà ¨ge, it is useful to always perform an error analysis based on written tests administered by the teacher, but without informing the student of the purpose of the test. On that basis, self-correction is preferable to correction by the teacher, especially if the latter is done in a severe or intimidating way. Self correction is even more efficient when it is done with the help of childrens classmates. According to teachers, the younger the children, the greater the cooperation among them and the less aggressive or intimidating the corrections. Hagà ¨ge dedicates a section in his book to the importance of treating errors in a positive way. In this section, titled The teache r as a good listener, he notes that it is useless, if not harmful, to treat errors as if they were diseases or pathological situations which must be eliminated, especially if this treatment becomes discouraging, as occurs when teachers lose their patience because of childrens numerous errors. This, of course, does not mean that corrections should be avoided; after all it is the teachers duty to teach the rules of the L2. But the correction of every error as soon as it occurs is not recommended. The justification that Hagà ¨ge offers is the following: the linguistic message that the child tries to produce is a sequence of elements which are interdependent; immediate corrections which interrupt this message tend to produce negative consequences, even to the less sensitive children; such consequences include anxiety, fear of making an error, the development of avoidance strategies, reduced motivation for participation in the classroom, lack of interest for learning, reduced will for s elf correction, and lack of trust towards the teacher. Esser (1984, cited in Hagà ¨ge) also made a similar point: repetitive and immediate corrections, he noted, may cause sensitive children to develop aggressive behavior towards their classmates or teacher. Thus, Hagà ¨ge concludes, correction must not be applied by the teacher unless errors obstruct communication. This is the main criterion for error correction (i.e. obstruction of communication) presented by Hagà ¨ge; however there have been studies which examined such criteria in greater detail, such as Freiermuths L2 Error Correction: Criteria and Techniques (1997). Freiermuth accepts Corders view (point 6) and proposes criteria for error correction in the classroom. These criteria are: exposure, seriousness, and students needs. In the case of exposure, Freiermuth claims that when a child creates language (for example, when he tries to express an idea by using a linguistic form he has not yet acquired), he will most likely make errors; correcting these errors will be ineffective because the learner is not aware of them. Thus, error correction would result in the acquisition of the correct form only if the learner has been previously exposed to that particular language form. As regards the seriousness criterion, Freiermuth claims that the teacher must determine the gravity of an error before deciding whether he should correct it or not. Here Freiermuth sets a criterion which agrees with that of Hagà ¨ges: the error, he states, must impede communication before it should be considered an error that necessitates correction. But what constitutes a serious error? Which errors are those which should not be corrected? As an examples of non-serious errors, Freiermuth mentions those errors which occur due to learners nervousness in the classroom, due to their stress or the pressure of having to produce accurately a linguistic form in the L2. These errors can occur even with familiar structures; in that case, they are not of serious nature and are similar to what Corder called mistakes. Here again we see Corders influence in error analysis, and in particular in the distinction between errors and mistakes. Freiermuth goes on to suggest a hierarchy of errors (accor ding to seriousness) to help teachers decide which errors should be corrected: Errors that significantly impair communication [are] at the top of the list, followed by errors that occur frequently, errors that reflect misunderstanding or incomplete acquisition of the current classroom focus, and errors that have a highly stigmatizing effect on the listeners. He also clarifies what can cause stigmatization: profound pronunciation errors, or errors of familiar forms. Another important criterion that must be considered by the teacher is individual students needs. The importance of this factor is mentioned in Corder, who in turn notes that this idea had been suggested previously by Carroll (1955, cited in Corder 1967) and Ferguson (1966, cited in Corder 1967). Each student is different and thus may react differently to error correction. We infer from Freiermuths claim that the teacher must perform two main tasks: first, assess some specific character traits of students, such as self-confidence and language acquisition capability. Freiermuth agrees with Walz (1982, cited in Freiermuth) that self-confident, capable students can profit from even minor corrections, while struggling students should receive correction only on major errors. This claim agrees with Esser and Hagà ¨ges claim that repetitive corrections are likely to decrease motivation; it is reasonable to accept that students who lack self-confidence will be stigmatized to a greater degree than confident students. The teachers second task, according to Freiermuth, is to listen to learners L2 utterances in order to determine where errors occur (i.e. which linguistic forms cause students difficulties), their frequency, and their gravity (according to the severity criteria mentioned above). Then the teacher can combine the outcome of these tasks and decide on correction techniques for individual students. A different approach to error correction was suggested by Porte (1993), who stressed the importance of self-correction. Porte refers to Corders distinction of errors and mistakes and points out that many students do not know the difference. It is important, Porte notes, that students know how to identify an error in order to avoid it in the future. She agrees with Corder that it is more efficient for learners to correct themselves than be corrected by the teacher, and goes on to suggest a four-step approach for self-correction. This approach consists of questions that the teacher provides to students. After writing an essay, students should read it four times, each time trying to answer the questions included in each of the four steps. Thus, in each re-reading task (each step) they concentrate on a different aspect of their essay. In brief, the first task asks them to highlight the verbs and check the tenses; in the second task students concentrate on prepositions; the third task req uires them to concentrate on nouns (spelling, agreement between subject and verb); finally in the fourth task students should try to correct potential personal mistakes. Porte also offers some clarification of what is meant by personal mistakes, in order to help the students identify them. The studies mentioned above are only a few examples that demonstrate how S. Pit Corders work influenced the area of error analysis in linguistics. The concepts that Corder introduced directed researchers attention to specific areas of error analysis; they helped linguists realize that although errors sometimes obstruct communication, they can often facilitate second language acquisition; also they played a significant role in training teachers and helping them identify and classify students errors, as well as helping them construct correction techniques. REFERENCES Corder, S. P. 1967. The significance of learners errors. International Review of Applied Linguistics 5: 161-9. Dulay, H., and Burt, M., Errors and strategies in child second language acquisition, TESOL Quarterly 8: 129-136, 1974. Ellis, R., The Study of Second Language Acquisition, Oxford University Press, 1994. Esser, U., Fremdsprachenpsychologische Betrachtungen zur Fehlerproblematic im Fremdsprachenunterricht, Deutsch als Fremdsprache, 4:151-159, 1984, (cited in Hagà ¨ge 1999). Freiermuth, M. R., L2 Error Correction: Criteria and Techniques, The Language Teacher Online 22.06, http://langue.hyper.chubu.ac.jp/jalt/pub/tlt/97/sep/freiermuth.html, 1997. Hagà ¨ge, C. Lenfant aux deux langues (The child between two languages), Greek translation, Polis editions, Athens 1999. (Original publication: Editions Odile Jacob, 1996). Kroll, Barry, and John C. Schafer. Error-Analysis and the Teaching of Composition, College Composition and Communication 29: 242-248, 1978 Lakkis, K. and Malak, M. A.. Understanding the Transfer of Prepositions. FORUM, Vol 38, No 3, July-September 2000. (Online edition: http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol38/no3/p26.htm) Mager, R.F. Preparing Instructional Objectives, Fearon Publishers, Palo Alto, CA 1962. Nguyen, Thanh Ha. First Language Transfer and Vietnamese Learners Oral Competence in English Past Tense Marking: A Case Study., Master of Education (TESOL) Research Essay, La Trobe University, Victoria, Australia1995. Porte, G. K., Mistakes, Errors, and Blank Checks, FORUM, Vol 31, No 2, p. 42, January-March 1993. (Online edition: http://exchanges.state.gov/forum/vols/vol31/no1/p42.htm) Richards, J., A non-contrastive approach to error analysis, English Language Teaching 25: 204-219, 1971. Stenson, N. Induced errors in Shumann and Stenson (eds.), 1974, cited in Ellis (p. 60). Taylor G., Errors and explanations, Applied Linguistics 7: 144-166, 1986.

The Truth is in the Details :: Comparative, The Naturalist

When I received the assignment of comparing and contrasting the â€Å"Naturalist† to that of â€Å"Landscape and Narrative†, admittedly I was a bit dismayed at the idea of analyzing two writings I seemed to comprehend very little of. Upon reading them over and over, jotting down idea after idea, and crumpling up paper after paper, I came to the conclusion that I may or may not be over-thinking the assignment. My interpretation, though a bit underdeveloped, is this: Barry Lopez, in â€Å"The Naturalist† explains what it means to be a naturalist, the expectations a naturalist, and the modern naturalist’s ideology. He speaks of how knowledge is best gained, which he believes is through â€Å"enormously time-consuming† (â€Å"The Naturalist† 122) firsthand experience; by â€Å"immersing yourself in its milieu† (â€Å"The Naturalist† 116), or environment. He uses the example of the caracara, in the â€Å"Naturalist.† He says, â€Å"if you wish to understand the caracara, you need to know a great deal about exactly where the caracara lives; and what the caracara’s relationships are with each of the many components of that place, including its elevations, its seasonal light.† (â€Å"The Naturalist 116). This fits in nicely with the point he makes in â€Å": Landscape and Narrative†. He defines two landscapes: external, â€Å"the one we see†¦the land†¦its plants and animals†¦its weather, its geology, the record of its climate and evolution.† (â€Å"Landscape and Narrative† 5). The other is the internal one, which Lopez describes as â€Å"a kind of projection within a part of the exterior landscape.† (â€Å"Landscape and Narrative† 7). More or less, I think he’s saying that one’s mindset, feelings, and purpose are determined by nature; the world around us. Lopez mentions that â€Å"those fresh to a task†¦are the ones most likely to give themselves a deadline†¦which will challenge themselves to know all there is to know† (â€Å"The Naturalist† 122) about a particular thing. But, as he points out, â€Å"lack of end points† (â€Å"The Naturalist† 122) conflict with â€Å"the short-term demands of modern life.† (â€Å"The Naturalist† 122). He refers to the fact that he still goes down to the river and always feels like something new will reveal itself. Putting oneself on a deadline never works. Those opposed to, or believing differently than naturalists, or â€Å"tyrants† (â€Å"The Naturalist† 122), â€Å"aim to silence the naturalists† (â€Å"The Naturalist† 122), to avoid having their beliefs called into question or contradicted. Lopez fears those people; some in a position of political power, and with an abundance of confidence are â€Å"ready to tell the county commissioners what the river is† (â€Å"The Naturalist† 122).

Music in Twelfth Night Essay -- Literary Analysis, Shakespeare

Critics call Twelfth Night one of William Shakespeare’s most poetic and musical plays. Shakespeare writes poetic lines for the major characters, Viola, Orsino, and Olivia, and gives the Fool, and other minor characters, songs to sing throughout the play. The particularly romantic lines of the play make it seem as if the characters are professional poets themselves. Shakespeare also uses the music and poetry in Twelfth Night to foreshadow what is going to happen for the rest of the performance and to reveal major themes in the play. Music and poetry become major characters in the play themselves. The opening soliloquy of Act I Scene I, given by Duke Orsino, is another perfect example of Shakespeare using music to show the upcoming storyline of the play. At first, Orsino is using music as a metaphor that feeds the appetite of love. He speaks for a minute about his love for the music playing, and then changes abruptly by saying, â€Å"Enough; no more† (7). Already Shakespeare is foreshadowing Orsino’s fickleness when it comes to music which in turn stands for love. Of course, further into the play, it is shown that Orsino truly is fickle when it comes to love. As soon as he finds out that Cesario is in fact the woman Viola, he instantly forgets all the passion he had for Olivia and marries Viola. Another part of Orsino’s opening speech that shows a piece of the future plot is the part where he talks about love being â€Å"receiveth as the sea† (11). This can be taken to show that love will come by the sea. In the very next scene, Viola appears in Illyria from a shipwreck. Sebastian, although Shakespeare does not say so at the time, also comes onto the scene because of the same shipwreck. Shakespeare forecasts, very subtly, that these are t... ...one of the antics at the start play to woo Olivia succeed for Orsino and Viola’s initial plan in the beginning does not blossom. This line concludes the part of Feste’s song in which he is giving a synopsis of the play. The last two stanzas are addressed to the audience and Feste thanks them. Shakespeare craftily uses music and poetry to guide the audience through the play and give them an inkling of what is to come, if the audience chooses to play close attention. However, it is not always clear what the song means and, depending on the character delivering the song or poem, comes off as more comedic than meaningful to the performance. By the end of the play, the audience has accepted that music and poetry are just as much themes in the play as disguise and love, but are blended so painstakingly that neither poetry or love overshadow anything in the performance.

Vann Woodwards The Strange Career of Jim Crow Essays -- Book Reviews

Vann Woodward's The Strange Career of Jim Crow Martin Luther King Jr. believed that The Strange Career of Jim Crow was, 'The historical bible of the civil rights movement.' Any book that graces a quote, of such intense backing etched across the cover has much to live up to. If an author can get the support of such a predominant figure in American society, like Martin Luther King Jr., the message behind the book will reach an ever growing population. When Martin Luther King Jr. put his stamp of approval on the book written by C. Vann Woodward, he provided a base for the book to reach people that may have never picked up and read the words that Woodward put out. Woodward himself was born in the south just after the start of the 1900?s and his inquisitive nature brought about the research that went into his book, The Strange Career of Jim Crow. Every person struggles to find out where he or she comes from and what the history of that area is. Woodward was no different, he was born in the south and immediately found out that there was a deep history rooted in prejudices and fighting. Although he wrote many other works, it wasn?t until his research during his stay with the NAACP, as a part of the controversial Supreme Court trial, Brown verses The Board of Education, that he himself made his mark in history. He based his whole book on the Jim Crow laws and their relationship with segregation. His direct contact with these unjust laws and how they were affecting the population of his home, created the setting for what some would consider his greatest work. His view that segregation started after the Civil War and that it began in the North, help ed to open reader?s eyes to what really might have occurred. The Strange Career of... ...ble make a change. Woodward marks a new philosophy in American history with his book and for that reason it will remain a must read. By writing, The Strange Career of Jim Crow, Woodward put himself, his family, and his career on the line to make a statement. It is easy for others to see how an idea is received and then decide whether they then want to show support for it or not. It is, however, enormously different to be the first person to put a controversial idea out to the public. In a sense Woodward threw himself to the wolves, but this time instead of being eaten alive, he changed the way in which the wolves lived. He took a chance by thinking differently and used his abilities as a historian to change the way people were thinking on the Jim Crow Laws. Works Cited: Woodward, Vann C. The Strange Career of Jim Crow. Oxford University Press:New York, 1966.

Being a Change Agent: Managing Social Change

We believe that the job of being a change agent should start with two kinds of question. First, is a structural question: How do you identify persons and subgroups that are the â€Å"strategic levers† of change in any particular public? This means identifying the opinion leaders and community influential who can influence others in the system to adopt change. Second, is a social-psychological or an interactional question: How do you change the behaviors or the minds of the people in question? The different strategies discussed earlier represent alternative ways of going about change agents can do to reduce resistance to change. What are some of these changes? On can reduce resistance to the adoption of a change by attempting to make the particular innovation (1) simple and easy to communicate, (2) divisible, and (3) maximally compatible with the status quo values and needs (Harper & Leicht). Is it possible that a change agent is for the good, not purely destructive change? In my mind, change is agent is to make people better. Which is something we should all strive for? In addition, cans someone starting being a change agent, can a person successful in being a change agent? In this paper you learn about what is a change agent and who can be a Change Agent, How to create change, The ethics of Inducing change, What makes a good change agent, Define change leaders on five levels of leadership skills, and Five most important competencies of change agents. In addition, I will imagine myself as a change agent trying to change my neighborhood or community for the better. What is a Change Agent? A change agent is a catalyst and when added to the mix, changes everything. It can be a process, an element, a thought, or a person. A social change agent is an individual working to bring about a more life-affirming society. This is a person whose presence or thought processes cause a change from the traditional way of handling or thinking about a problem. They know how to get people involved in solving their own problems. A change agent lives in the future, not the present. Regardless of what is going on today, a change agent has a vision of what could or should be and uses that as the governing sense of action. To a certain extent, a change agent is dissatisfied with what they see around them, in favor of a much better vision of the future. A change agent has a strong ability to self-motivate. A change agent is fueled by passion, and inspires passion in others. Moreover, at the end of the day, change is about people (Stevenson 2012). Who can be a Change Agent? A Persons with Innovative Ideas, Calculated Risk Takers, Person coming with different Industry or sector even from different department, That's why reshuffling is done within an organization, External consultants, Trackers who are tracking market ,competitors ,technology etc secretly, Persons ingrained with sharp business knowledge and skills, Team leader who are having a quality to integrate, People possessing qualities like need achievement, positive attitude, ethical behavior, One who think big and realistic, and Who knows more about your company policy and people. There is no cookbook for creating change. Why? As anyone who has attempted to cook a complex meal knows, exact specifications are always missing and recipes contain many vague instructions: â€Å"Add salt to taste†. How much is that? â€Å"Cook until vegetables are crisp, but do not over cook. † What does that mean? Like cooking, social change requires experience, making do with imperfect ingredients, and often mudding through. There are some issues that a change agents need to consider. Plans for social change involve a number of issues: The first task is to good plan is to define the goals of the desired change. Second task, is that a good plan needs to specify as precisely as possible the target or reference public: Who is to change? Third task is to have a good plan will identify situation or times when the target population is most receptive to change. Fourth task is to have a good plan will develop an inventory resource available. Fifth task is that a good plan should consider appropriate strategies (for example, facilitation, reeducation, persuasion, or power/coercion), how they might be combined, and how their contradictions might be addressed. Finally, a good plan should include mechanisms for the ongoing monitoring of change so that it can be modified, fine tuned, or abandoned (Harper & Leicht). There are various strategies along a continuum in term of the extent to which we believe that they involve ethical problems, as follows: facilitation, reeducation, persuasion, or power/coercion. In the terms of these criteria, facilitation and reeducation (to the extent that the latter can be honestly practiced) do respect the autonomy, rationality, and dignity of person who are the targets of change. Persuasion, in comparison, respects the voluntary choice to adopt change but may overwhelm the person with distorted (or false) information, withheld information, and non-rational appeals to emotion. Power and coercive strategies carry the greatest number of ethical problems because they deny voluntary adoption and rejection and maximally violate people's autonomy and dignity. There is a bottom line here. Granted that creating social change is often costly and demanding to. Granted that success, even partial success, is always uncertain as well. Granted that long-term systemic consequences may be well counter productive to one's original intent. Even so, should one refuse to make efforts to change things if the issues are important? The civil rights movement of the 1950s and 1960s was long, costly, and difficult effort that only partly succeeded. Being aware of its high costs and limited successes, should its organizers have given up? We do not think so. The lives of millions of minority Americans that are better today for those efforts even thought the goal of complete racial justice remains elusive (Harper & Leicht). Due to the dynamics in the external environment, many organizations find themselves in nearly continuous change. The scope reaches from smaller change projects in particular sub business units up to corporation-wide transformation processes. Unfortunately, not every change process leads to the expected results. There are multiple reasons for potential failure: Typical barriers to change are unexpected changes in the external conditions, a lack of commitment in implementation, resistance of people involved, or a lack of resources. The implications of failed change projects go beyond missed objectives. More important is the negative symbolism and the de-motivation of people involved. People within the change team may become dissatisfied with their own performance or the lack of support they received. In the result, some of them will probably never again be willing to commit themselves to change initiatives. Similarly, people affected by the (failed) change effort will develop growing skepticism. They might perceive future change projects as â€Å"another fancy dea from management†, which brings a lot of work and few benefits. In the light of the many problems and risks associated with change projects, the change agent has a very important function. The change agent’s or change leader’s capabilities have a major impact on success or failure of the project, and on the extent of potential unwanted side effects. The following article describes required capabilities of good change agents. Readers should keep in mind, however, that there is no ‘ideal’ change agent. Particular requirements normally relate to the actual situation in the organization (e. . corporate culture, strategic relevance of the project, acceptance of the project among management and staff, timeframe, resources etc). Depending on these factors, either change agents may need good project management capabilities in order to guarantee timely progress, or they should be good leaders with the ability to motivate people (Recklies 2001). Jim Canterucci defines change leaders on five levels of leadership ski lls. Although he mainly focuses on leadership capabilities and qualifications, his system can easily be transferred to change projects with varying importance. The leader of an organization-wide restructuring project will need different capabilities than the one who is responsible for clearly defined project on departmental level. Levels of Change Leadership Skills, derived from Canterucci: is Level I is to Accepts the need for change, communicates and defends the need for change throughout the organization, creates an open and receptive environment. Small change initiatives with clear direction. Level II Defines and initiates change, identifies advantage points for change in processes and work habits. A change projects at local level. Level III is to leads change, translate the vision of the organization into the context of a specific change initiative and bring this message to the entire organization, redirects approaches in the face of new opportunities. A transformation of a central vision into change initiatives and organization-wide communication. Level IV is to manage complex change, understands the cultural dynamics of the current state of an organization, and creates a strategic practical course, balancing the current reality with the need for rapid adoption of the desired future reality. A generates change with a high degree of transformation. Level V is that champions makes change, challenges the status quo by comparing it to an ideal or a vision of change, causes crisis in order to support dramatic actions and change efforts, transforms the organization. An ability to revolutionize organizations (Canterucci 2008). Buchanan and Bobby have carried out a study on the perceived effectiveness of change agents. On that basis, they compiled the five most important competencies of change agents. These, too, are evidence for the importance of the soft factors. The five most important competencies of change agents are Objectives, Roles, Communication, Negotiation, Managing up. Each of these five most important competencies of change agents has descriptive of how to implement change. The first most important competencies of change agents are objectives. The descriptive of how to implement change of objectives are: Sensitivity to changes in key personnel, top management perceptions and market conditions, and to the way in which these impact the goals of the project. , Setting of clearly defined realistic goals, and Flexibility in responding to changes without the control of the project manager, perhaps requiring major shifts in project goals and management style. The second most important competencies of change agents are roles. The descriptive of how to implement change of roles are: Team-building abilities, to bring together key stakeholders and establish effective working groups, and to define and delegate respective responsibilities clearly, Networking skills in establishing and maintaining appropriate contacts within and outside the organization, and Tolerance of ambiguity, to be able to function comfortably, patiently and effectively in an uncertain environment. The third most important competencies of change agents are communication. The descriptive of how to implement change of communication are: Communication skills to transmit effectively to colleagues and subordinates the need for changes in the project goals and in individual tasks and responsibilities, Interpersonal skills, across the range, including selection, listening, collecting appropriate information, identifying the concerns of others, and managing meetings, Personal enthusiasm in expressing plans and ideas, and Stimulating motivation and commitment in others involved. The fourth important competencies of change agents are negotiation. The descriptive of how to implement change of negotiation are selling plans and ideas to others by creating a desirable and challenging vision of the future, and Negotiating with key players for resources, for changes in procedures, and to resolve conflict. The fifth important competencies of change agents are managing up. The descriptive of how to implement change of negotiation are political awareness in identifying potential coalitions, and in balancing conflicting goals and perceptions, Influencing skills, to gain commitment to project plans and ideas form potential skeptics and resisters, and to have Helicopter perspectives, to stand back from the immediate project and take a broader view of priorities. According to Rosabeth Moss Kanter mentions many emotional components among the most important characteristics of change agents. In addition to the factors described above, she stresses the need to question the knowledge of the organization. According to Moss Kanter, existing patterns of thinking and existing assumptions about the organization, its markets, customers, and relationships have to be challenged. Thus, change agents should realize that there is more than one right solution. The change agent has to be able to evaluate facts from different points of view, e. g. from the customer’s or competitor’s perspective. Furthermore, Moss Kanter stresses the importance of coalition building, which she describes as an often-ignored step in change processes. Change agents should identify and involve opinion leaders, decision makers on resources, functional experts and other important persons as early as possible in the project-planning phase. The importance of the factor motivation is well described with the phrases transferring ownership to a working team and making everyone a hero. In my opinion, Moss Kanter gives the most important preconditions for successful change management – the involvement of the people – with these two phrases. Members of the change team and other employees affected by the change initiative must not feel like as if they are just the tools for change or the subject of change. In my experience, it is not enough to have a convincing vision. Real commitment can only be gained by giving people the chance to become actively involved, to contribute their own experiences. Every employee needs to know that his contribution to the project is important and is valued. Thus, people will develop a sense of ownership for the project, which, in turn may serve as a major source of motivation when it comes to the inevitable problems and barriers. Kanter 1999) provides a great summary of the characteristics of good change agents when she writes that the most important things a leader can bring to a changing organization are passion, conviction, and confidence in others. Imagine myself as a change agent trying to change my neighborhood or community for the better. What are some issues that I would consider to change in my neighborhood or community? Assume that I have some, but not having unlimited resources and money to use. How would I go about it? What things would you consider in order to change that particular issue? As I sit here and imagine myself as a change agent, a few things come to my mind that I want to change in my neighborhood or community. I would consider changing in my neighborhood or community is they way we go about our health on a daily basis. Having limit to the resources and money it can consume. If that limit is a problem, then the project may really end up being a waste of time. With limited resource, I would go about it by make a plan to pull out of the project or at least good backup plans for handling failures. At worst, make sure to minimize any risks. Get more resources. Sometimes this is hard work, but it may pay off. Get help. Sometimes someone with more experience may know of resources or can spot misuse of resources in a project. Just be willing to accept criticism. Cut out any parts of the project those are unnecessary. However, one part of a project it be well liked, it may not be truly important. Plan, study, research, prepare. There is a saying that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Good preparation can eliminate the need for many resources (wikihow). With limited money, I would need to raise some extra capital; there are a number of different ways that I can raise money. The good thing about this strategy is that they cost little, if anything, to use. After all, the last thing you want is to spend a lot of money to raise the cash you need. How I would raise, money is to have an online auction. By cleaning out my closets and I can make some extra money at the same time by posting unwanted belongings on online auction sites. Pay a small listing fee when I post each item, then another commission based on the final selling price. To start me need a free online auction account as well as having a good digital camera for taking photographs. Then I can make even more money by offering to sell unwanted items on commission for family members, friends, and co-workers (ehow. com). I can bring in to friends that I would help my neighborhood and community on dieting and fitness tips. They will explain the ten essential elements of good health. If you take all of the actions listed below, you will be much healthier. Eat a Healthy Breakfast, Drink at Least 8 Glasses of Water, Take a Good Quality Multiple Vitamin/Mineral, Connect with Other People, express Your Emotions Appropriately, Eat Fruits and Vegetables, Spend at Least 30 Minutes Outdoors Active, Take Some Quiet Time for Yourself Keep Regular Sleep Hours, and Establish a Relationship with a Doctor You Can Trust (Bauer 2009). In conclusion, a change agent has a strong ability to self-motivate. There will be many days where everyone around does not understand and will not offer props. The change agent needs to find it within themselves to get up every day and come to work and risk being misunderstood and miss-appreciated, knowing that the real validation may be far in the future and may be claimed by someone else. A change agent must understand people. At the end of the day, change is about people. If you change everything but the people, I doubt you will be effective as a change agent. Change will really â€Å"stick† when people embrace it. Therefore, change is part sales, part counseling, and part encouragement. It is all about people, at the end of the day. Reference Bauer, Carl H: (2009); Ten Simple Things You Can Do to Get Healthy and Stay Healthy. http://www.somaacupuncture.com/healthy.html Buchanan D. & Bobby D. (1992);  The Expertise of the Change Agent: Public Performance and Backstage Activity  . Prentice Hall. Canterucci, Jim: (2008); are You a Change Leader?http://www.corpchange.com/Resources/Articles/Areyouachangeleaderarticle.asp Recklies, Dagmar: (2001); What Makes a Good Change Agent? http://www.themanager.org/Strategy/change_agent.htm#_ftnref2 Haper, Charles L. and Leicht, Kevin T. (2010); † Exploring Social Change: America and the World, 6nd ed.† Upper Saddle River, NJ; Prentice Hall. Moss, Rosabeth K. (1999):  The Enduring Skills of Change Leaders. In Leader to Leader; Nr. 13. Recklies, Dagmar: (2001); What Makes a Good Change Agent? http://www.themanager.org/Strategy/change_agent.htm#_ftnref2 　Stevenson, Dennis: (2012); What is a Change Agent? Http://www.thechangeagents.net/what-is-a-change-agent.html htt p://www.ehow.com/info_8026713_ways-money-quickly-limited-funds.htmlhttp:// http://www.wikihow.com/Work-With-Limited-Resources-on-a-Project