Why was the Supreme Court built in 2010 and how effective has it been at upholding civil liberties?

The Supreme Court was introduced in 2010 as a replacement for the House of Lords as the top law court of justice in the UK, Wales and Northern Ireland. This court has cost approximately 59 million pounds to build and was officially open on 1st October 2009. The enactment of the Supreme Court came about under the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 (The Supreme Court [Online], 2010) and currently stands as the chief justice in the UK. The main focus of this essay is to examine how The Supreme Court prioritises in the development of the United Kingdom Law thus playing an important task at maintaining fundamental individual rights. Being the most prominent judiciary in the UK, it is also vital to see the difference between The Supreme Court and the previous House of Lords Committee in which The Supreme Court has replaced. The major differences are visible in terms of power and the impact it has on the British Constitution. The main reason The Supreme Court was built is due to the Government’s decision on separating the judicial making functions and the legislative duty of the House of Lords, making this the last step in separation of powers. Lord Philip, 2009) stated that it has come to a situation where the adjudicator are absolutely separated from the Legislature and Parliament. (Raynsford, 2010) claimed that it was right for the Prime Minister, prior consultation from the Parliament, to relocate the Ultimate Court of Appeal (The Supreme Court) from the House of Lords as to avoid confusion between the role of the House of Lords and the role of the Court of Appeal. In addition, this separation of power avoids the judiciary from holding absolute power, thus discouraging corruption and bias from the judiciary through politics and media. (Casciani, 2010) stated that after the running of the Supreme Court, 12 Law chancellor from the House of Lords who were hearing appeals in the Parliament is now the Justices of the Supreme Court and are no more partaking in the House of Lord’s affair. Before the enactment of the Supreme Court, senior judges that are currently in the House of Lords were nlightened to apprehend cases that are of great significant to the public and constitution inside the House of Lords itself (The Supreme Court [Online], 2010). They were eligible to vote for the outcome of the cases and sometimes, if any, would have a major relation to personal political interest. However, with a new key reform in place, Parliament will be responsible for making law on favour of the electorate whilst the judges from the Supreme Court focus on the fairness of the new law when applied to cases (BBC News, 2010). Lord Falconer, 2009) suggested that this new reform would strengthen the judiciary, making it possible for the judiciary to go against the executive’s decisions (Prime Minister and his Cabinet) Moreover, a leading judge has told BBC that Britain’s Supreme Court could be more authoritative than the House of Lords department and Lord Neuberger anticipate that the new court of appeal could hold more power than the government (Rozenberg, 2009). It is believed that the judgment of the justices from the Supreme Court will affect the decisions in the lower courts which, in this case, apply to all the courts in the UK (BBC News, 2010). The Supreme Court also emphasise on corruption issues involving governing authorities in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland, making sure that they abide and commit within the powers granted to them or whether they successfully complete the duty given to the authoritative government in each state. Lord Neuberger argued that there is a real danger that judges will seize more power than what they currently have (Rozenberg, 2009). Therefore, it is likely that the Supreme Court operates the way the United State’s Supreme Court functions which, upon the Court’s decisions, bind every local law in individual states. For instance, if The Supreme Court decides to change the laws in London (the Capital city), other cities have to follow. (Lord Philips, 2009) stated that such situation is ‘possible’ but is ‘not probable’. However, although the Supreme Court has shown many advantages so far in America, criticisms have arisen on the decisions made by the Supreme Court claiming that it weakens the Court as an institution where the institution is the ultimate guardian under the Constitution of the rights and liberties (Fraenkel, 1960). Lord Phillips who has commented on various contentious subjects in the past states that there was no reason to why Sharia law could not be used to resolve disputes amongst Muslims provided that the sanctions complied with the laws of England and Wales. Furthermore, he openly defended the Human Rights Act, calling it â€Å"a crucial constituent of the basic of our fight against terrorism† and was responsible for handing down the judgement requiring the Director of Public Prosecutions to clarify with certainty the law on assisted suicide (Mitchell, 2011). Lord Phillips added that the decree of the Human Rights Act by the previous administration was an absolute contribution to the maintenance of the rule of law in this country and one for which it deserves great credit (Rothwell, 2010). The Human Rights Act 1998 has played its part since the World War on protecting civil rights and allowing immigrants into the UK where Human Rights are not considered vital in their own country. (Lord Philips, 2009) emphasised on the importance of Human Rights, claiming that the rise and support of terrorism lies in the feelings of discrimination in individuals. Therefore, the need to protect every individual’s family members from discrimination in their foster country is vital. However, Charles Clarke criticised the Supreme Court, claiming that the judiciary do not hold inconsiderable accountability for defending the public and occasionally ignorant about their decisions on how it would affect the public society (Rothwell, 2010). Lord Philips defended the liberty of The Supreme Court stating that the judiciary is only responsible for applying the laws that have been constitute by Parliament, not creating it (Rothwell, 2010). Another case reported in BBC news where the Supreme Court is proven to be effective in its duty to defend individual rights is shown when two homosexual men who said they faced persecution in their homeland have the right to asylum in the UK as ruled by the Supreme Court. According to the judgment made by Lord Hope in the case, to restrain a homosexual person to act that his state does not suppress the attitude by which to distinct itself is to deny his domestic right to be who he is hence homosexuals are as much entitled to the freedom which are given to the people who are traight (BBC, 2010). Ultimately, this essay has thoroughly examined the historic foundation of The Supreme Court, its motive to why the government took a stand on separating the Court of Appeal (The Supreme Court) from the House of Lords as well as the colossal impact it has ranging from the public society to the British Constitution. Even though the advantages outweigh the disadvantages, some disadvantages should be considered such as one stated by Charles Clarke, the previous Lord Chancellor in the House of Lords, claiming that the judiciary does not consider the public’s well being. I am very conscious that I have failed to spot on a few vital and intriguing points and other matters on this subject. The Supreme Court is credibly to be not perfect and widely opens itself to criticism, Although the Supreme Court is new (2010) it may seem to remain as the highest court of appeal for all UK’s domestic cases and criminal cases from Wales, Northern Ireland and England, flourishing as the top court in the UK and uphold its liberty as the forefront in the case law world (The Supreme Court, 2010).Biblography * Casciani, D., 2010. Supreme Court quashes Treasury terror assets order. [Online] Available at: < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8482630.stm> Assessed on May 1st 2011 * Fraenkel, O.S., 1960. The Supreme Court and Civil Liberties: How the Court has protected the Bill of Rights. p.4. * Mitchell, N., 2011. Pen Portraits – Lord Phillips. UKSC Blog. [Online] Available at: < http://ukscblog.com/pen-portraits-lord-phillips> Assessed on May 1st 2011 * Raynsford, N, 2009. Creation of the Supreme Court [Online] Available at: < http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9ojsQA2W81I> Assessed on May 2nd 2011 * Rothwell, R., 2010. Lord Phillips defends Human Rights Act. Law SocietyGazette. [Online] Available at: < http://www.lawgazette.co.uk/news/lord-phillips-defends-human-rights-act> Assessed on April 25th 2011 * Rozenberg, J., 2009. Fear over Supreme Court impact. BBC News UK. [Online] Available at: < http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/8237855.stm> Assessed on May 2nd 2011 * Supreme Court, 2010. Gay asylum seekers from Iran and Cameroon win appeal. BBC News UK. [Online] Available at: Assessed on May 4th 2011 * Supreme Court, 2010. Role of the Supreme Court, [Online] Available at: < http://www.supremecourt.gov.uk/about/role-of-the-supreme-court.html> Assessed on May 4th 2011

ITStrategy and Positioning for Volkswagen Financial Services (UK)

Introduction This assignment is constructed to consider a case study of an existing business and analyse its IT strategy and positioning for competitive advantage. A few hours were spent researching ideals into companies of interest to which I had to make sure it fitted in line with the assignment objective. The organisation that sparked my interest was Volkswagen Financial Services (UK). This was because they are a large organisation which is vastly growing year by year and have a major influence in them motor industry. I also got the privilege of working within their customer experience department as a customer service advisor. Background Volkswagen Financial Services is a financial services provider in the Volkswagen Group. The company deals in a broad spectrum of automotive products including financing dealers and customers through leasing, corporate financing, vehicle fleet management to banking and insurance products. According to the 2013 report, the company has experienced a rise in the number of contracts in their portfolio from just under-8 million to over 8.8 million, a 10.9 percent rise. The Management Board Chairman Frank Witter attributes this growth to a 5 percent increase in number of vehicles delivered to more than 9.7 million. The company was also able to attract more customers with their financial services. As a leading financial provider for all things automotive sales within the umbrella of Volkswagen Financial Services AG, the company has developed key strategies to ensure they achieve their mission, which is â€Å"to support the sales of all Volkswagen Group brands worldwide and increase customer loyalty in a sustainable manner along the entire automotive value chain† (VW FS Annual Report, 2013). Volkswagen strategy statement is based on â€Å"customer-focus†, â€Å"pioneering† and â€Å"getting things done†. To ensure sustainable growth, the company pursues its strategy in three fronts: brands, markets and products. That is, developing new brands for Volkswagen Group, establishing new markets, and developing new products in existing markets. Volkswagen Financial Services continue to adopt a consistent customer relationship management (CRM) strategy in its customer care. As such, structures of the company and its processes have been aligned with customer groups and their unique requirements (VW FS Annual Report, 2013). Johnson et al (2013, p.69) describes strategy as the â€Å"long-term direction of an organisation.† A leading strategy theorist Michael Porter would refer to this as a competitive strategy that seeks to be different from comp etition, by â€Å"deliberately choosing a different set of activities to deliver a unique mix of value† to the intended consumers (Porter, 1996, p.31). The Volkswagen Financial Services strategy can be considered to be based on what Porter (1996) describes as variety-based and needs-based positioning. However, Volkswagen Financial Services continual pursuance of consistent CRM strategy in customer care led the company to rethink its organisation structure and customer groups as aligned by the customer requirements. In attempt to support this organisational restructuring, the organisation required an IT structure to allow the company have a standard of customer data, standard and continuous process support right from customer support to subsequent processing and transaction execution, integrating existing transaction-related banking system without any additional extensive conversions. In order to meet these requirements, a product and division-oriented IT environment was imple mented. Core applications and systems related to transaction-related banking systems where clients’ accounts and contracts could be managed were implemented. The implementations of these applications and systems isolated the various specific client data from each other making an integral view much more complicated and cumbersome. But the company solved this problem when they installed customer-oriented IT architecture in SAP CRM for a standard customer care and SAP NetWeaverTM as a system integration platform. Although Volkswagen Financial Services may have considered this a triumph in its efforts to strengthen their CRM-oriented strategy in customer service, it’s not a unique strategy that can strengthen their competitive advantage given its ease of adoption by competitors or new entrants. Le Pest C for Volkswagen Financials Services In order to comprehensively understand Volkswagen Financial Services strategic capabilities, it is significant to use the Le Pest C model (Brooks and Weatherston, 2002): LePestC Possible Issues at VW FS (UK) Legal Data security and privacy legislations and legal challenges Economic Low profitability due to decreased consumer spending power and inability to expand to emerging markets Political VW Financial Services AG, which inevitable controls its strategic decisions making process Environment/Ecologic Environmental pressure from regulatory authorities Social Change of consumer preferences, e.g. study shows that more consumers in Europe prefer to travel via train rather than personal cars Technological New technology that are likely to render the current ones obsolete and requires upgrade regularly Competitiveness Competition from financial companies and other auto dealers Legal: Data security and privacy have become serious challenges to many businesses, raising concerns with rise in big data and cloud computing initiatives. Auto suppliers like Volkswagen Financial Services Company collect and store highly confidential and sensitive customer data that may be at risk from data breaches. It must be noted that the company is networked not only internally but also externally through internet or other telecommunication connectivity. As such, the company needs to have a robust information security practices not only well documented in the form of information security policies but also ensure strict adherence to ethical standards to avoid legal suits. Moreover, the company needs to develop internal ethical standards in line with their business principles and treat it as part and parcel of the CRM strategies (Barreto, 2010). In case the company wants to use big data, it must strive to develop policy that informs the clients in advance to agree or disagree wit h such plans. Failure to develop such policies may attract legal suits from clients disputing the use of their personal data. The outcome of legal suits may be extremely costly to the company in terms of legal fees, unfavourable strict government regulations and reputation damage. Economic: Volkswagen Financial Services Company has experience the challenges associated with the economic financial crisis that started at the onset of 2008. Although the company considers rise in sales and number of client subscribed in the latest reports, the reduced disposable income is likely to affect the company negatively in the long run, given financial challenges affecting its major European market. Environmental/ Ecological: Auto suppliers like Volkswagen Financial Services face various challenges in maintaining extra-regulatory compliance with contractual clauses. Some of these clauses often require them to certify that the car parts of sale are free of asbestos, lead paint, chromium, and blood minerals among other banned elements (Mintzberg, et al., 2002). These regulatory compliance requirements are meant to ensure sustainability and protection of environment. Issues such as greenhouse gases that cause global warming, and waste management increases cost of production. Socio-cultural: Studies have shown that public transport in Europe is becoming more popular than passenger cars (Tyrinopoulos and Antoniou, 2013). This kind of finding may suggest that the change in trend is more associated with change in social preference. More significantly, the company has not managed to break into Chinese among other emerging markets with its financial services considering that Chinese consumers are cash-buyers rather than credit buyers, as noted by the company’s 2013 Annual Report. This cultural barrier has affected the company’s financial front in terms of sales return. Technological: there are technological challenges associated with auto and financial industries. The challenge with technology is that it changes every day, with new ideas propping up that may provide fast-moving competitors with better competitive advantage (Maritan and Brush, 2003). VW FS (UK) is one of the companies in this sector that suffers from the technological challenges. Competitive: competition from other auto suppliers is real. Although the company has gained competitive advantage with multi-brand CRM, there is likelihood that their major competitors will do the same. Strategic Capabilities of Volkswagen Financial Services (UK) Strategic capabilities of a firm are those capabilities that lead to a competitive advantage. Mintzberg, et al. (2002) defines strategic Resources and competencies as the two components that define resource capability. Further, resources are those assets that an organisation own or can call upon to aid their progress. Competencies are the ability to deploy those resources effectively or to make use of the available resources to achieve a certain goal (Teece, 2007). In others words, resources are what is available and competencies are the ability to use these resources. Table: Representation of strategic capability of Volkswagen Financial Services Resources Competencies Machines, raw materials, products, patents, database, computer systems Physical The company has the means to achieve utilisation of plant, efficiency, productivity, flexibility, marketing Balance sheet, cash flow, revenue Financial That company has the means to raise funds and manage cash flow, debtors, creditors, etc. Managers, employees, partners, suppliers, customers Human The company has experience, skills, knowledge, and ability to build relationships, motivate others and innovate. However, it’s yet to exploit this ability to the maximum. (Brooks and Weatherston, 2002). If fully used, the above representation would lead to long term survival of VW FS, and subsequently strengthen their competitive advantage. Although the strategic capabilities should be dynamic enough, there is a clear indication that Volkswagen Financial Services’ is not as dynamic as required. The company should be able to recreate and renew its strategic capabilities according to the changing business environment. For example, while tangible assets, cost control, and quality maintenance are important capabilities that the company has embraced, there are more long term capabilities such as sensing, seizing and reconfiguring that are significant Using innovation to spur entrepreneurship Innovation and entrepreneurship is about creating the new- both new products and services and new business models and organisations (Johnson, et al., 2013). Creating value for firms and customers, innovation and entrepreneurship are fundamental to today’s highly competitive economies. But the decision to innovate and pursue new market leads through innovation can be a hard choice for organisations as has been demonstrated by Volkswagen Financial Services’ attempts to enter Chinese market. The company ought to have asked various fundamental questions such as: Will it be appropriate if they too pioneer in new technologies or rather be a fast follower (timing and relationship)innovation dilemma How should they react to radical innovations that threaten to destroy its existing revenues? In such a highly competitive industry, entrepreneurship is a significant aspect of any business. In other words, entrepreneurship is fundamental aspect of any business that wants to keep up with the changing business environment. It’s entrepreneurship that drives innovation. Innovation dilemma However there are innovation dilemmas that may affect a firm’s decision-making process. Many corporations face strategic dilemma on whether to innovate or note. Johnson et al. (2013,p. 239) describes innovation as the process of converting new knowledge into a new product, process or service and the putting of this new product, process or service into actual use. Another aspect of innovation dilemma facing VW FS is whether to adopt open or closed innovation. Porter (1996) describes open innovation as the process of deliberate importation and exportation of knowledge by a firm in their attempt to speed up and intensify innovation. Open innovation advocates for open exchange of ideas for quick better products to keep ahead of competition. Closed innovation is based on a firms insistence on making every innovative ideas internal, keeping everything secret from outside people. Volkswagen Financial Services Company seems to focus on closed innovation, which inevitably limits their ability to source for ideas. There is likelihood that this limits their ability to attract external skills or innovative ideas. Technological or business model innovation Most successful and progressive innovative activities do not necessarily rely on the latest or new science or technology, but involve reorganizing into new business by combining every aspect of a business (Johnson et al., 2013). A business model describes how an organisation manages incomes and costs through the structural arrangements of its activities. For example, when Ryanair decided to adopt the ultra cheap airline tickets, its business model innovation involved the generation of revenues via direct sales through the internet, thereby cutting out intermediary travel agents, while also using cheap secondary airports. Cheap airports and internet sales proved more significant than technological innovation. There are various ways of analysing a business model innovation, including the use of value chain, value net or activity network frameworks (Johnson et al., 2013). Typically, these frameworks are meant to direct managers and entrepreneurs to two primary frameworks for potential i nnovations: The product – a new business model may redefine what the product or service is and how it is produced. This concerns technology in relation to the value chain. The selling – a new business model may change how an organisation generates its revenue, with implications for selling and distribution. In the perspective of Volkswagen FS, the company’s value chain in terms of emerging markets has not picked up as anticipated. The emerging markets, unlike the developed markets are generally cash buyers. The company may consider using instalments payment model to establish its value chain within the emerging markets like China and India, with attractive product packages targeting the growing middle class consumers in these countries. Innovators and followers There are those who choose to lead innovations and those who follow. Barreto (2010) argue that first-movers often start from a positive note where because they get easy and quick sales early, experience f ast growth and have the ability to establish the dominant positions. Examples of first-movers who have succeeded in this line are Coca Cola in soft drinks and Hoover in vacuum cleaners. However, there are many first-movers that have failed such as the powerful Microsoft which failed with its tablet computer launch in 2001. Nine years later, Apple swept the market with its iPad tablet computer. First-mover advantages and disadvantages First-movers are generally temporary monopolies. Their advantage exists where they appear better off than their competitors as a result of being first to market with a new product, process or service (Teece, 2009; Teece, 2007). There are five potentially more robust first-movers advantage: They can build on experience in a market and benefit from the accrued market knowledge and skills; They can scale faster and enjoy the early benefits; They have the opportunity for pre-emption of scarce resources; They can build early reputation, particularly because consumers have little ‘mind-space’ to recognise new brands that follows; They can exploit the buyer switching costs, by ensuring that their customers are locked with privileged or sticky relationships that later challengers may find too costly to adopt (Teece, 2009) However, Mintzberg (2002) observe that there are disadvantages for being first-movers as seen with Microsoft’s earlier failure with tablets. First is th e free-riding factor. Late movers may find it easy to imitate first mover’s technology and other innovations at less expense than originally incurred by pioneers. Research indicates that the costs of imitation are only 65% of the cost of innovation (Teece, 2009). In addition, late-movers have the ability to learn from the errors made by first-movers, picking on what worked well and avoiding what did not work for their pioneer competitor. In other words, they may not make so many mistakes and be able to get it right first time unlike their pioneer competitor. Should Volkswagen Financial Services be a first or second? Managers and entrepreneurs often find it hard to choose either to be a first-mover or a follower. However, London Business School’s Costas Markides and Paul Geroski argue that the most appropriate response to innovation, especially radical innovation, is often not to be a first mover but to be a ‘fast second’ (Mintzberg, 2002). A first second strategy involves being one of the first to imitate the original innovator. According to Porter (1996) there are three contextual factors to consider in choosing between innovating and imitating: Capacity for profit capture. If a follower can imitate faster and efficiently, it can capture good profits. It’s more effective where the pioneer is not able to define the boundaries for intellectual property; Complementary assets. An organisation in possession of the assets or resources have the ability to scale up the production and marketing of the innovation; Fast-moving arenas. In situations where markets or technologies are moving very fast, and especially where both are highly dynamic, first-movers are unlikely to establish a durable advantage. The incumbent can respond to new entrants into the market by adopting disruptive innovation. As has been shown earlier, disruptive innovation can create substantial growth by offering a new performance trajectory that, even if â€Å"initially inferior to the performance of existing technologies, has the potential to become markedly superior† Winter, 2003). Incumbents can follow two policies to help keep them responsive to potentially disruptive innovation: Develop a portfolio of real options and new venture units. References Barreto, I. (2010). Dynamic capabilities: a review of past research and an agenda for the future. Journal of Management, 36 (1): 256-80. Brooks, I. and Weatherston, J. (2002). The Business Environment: Challenges and Changes. NJ: Prentice Hall. Johnson, G., Whittington, R., Scholes, K., Angwin, D., and Regner, P. (2013). Exploring Strategy Text & Cases. NJ: Pearson Education. Maritan, C.A and Brush, T.H. (2003). Heterogeneity and transferring practices: implementing flow practices in multiple plants. Strategic Management Journal, 24 (10): 945-60. Mintzberg, H., Ghoshal, S., Lampel, J., and Quinn, J.B. (2002) â€Å"The Strategy Process: Concepts, Context, Cases†,4th Edition, Prentice Hall. Porter, M. (1996) â€Å"What is Strategy?†, Harvard Business Review, November- December: 61-78. Tyrinopoulos, Y. and Antoniou, C. (2013) Factors affecting modal choice in urban mobility. European Transport Research Review. 5 (1). pp. 27-39. Teece, D.J. (2009). Dynamic Capabilities and Strategic management- organising for innovation and growth, Oxford: Oxford University Press. Teece, D.J. (2007). Explicating dynamic capabilities: the nature and microfoundations of sustainable enterprise performance. Strategic Management Journal, 28 (1): 1319-50. VW FS Annual Report (2013). Volkswagen Financial Services AG: The key to mobility. Winter, S.G. (2003). Understanding dynamic capabilities. Strategic Management Journal, 24 (10): 991-5.

A Background on Emotional Intelligence and IQ

A Background on Emotional Intelligence and IQ For many years lots of emphasis has been put on certain aspects of intelligence such as spatial skills, math skills, logical reasoning, verbal skills understanding analogies etc. Researchers were complicated by the fact that while IQ was able to predict academic performance to a significant degree and, in some way, personal and professional success, there was still something missing in the equation. Some of those people that they had fabulous IQ test results they did in life in a poor wayand someone is able to say that they were wasting their potential by thinking, communicating and behaving in a way that hindered their chances to succeed in their life later. Emotional intelligence (EI) in the other hand is the capacity, skill, ability or in the case of the trait emotional inteligence model it is a self-perceived ability which helps in order to control, access and identify the emotions of himself/herself, of others and of different groups. Many different structured models have been proposed to the scientific community but there is a great disagreement on how this term should be used. Despite these disagreements, which most of the times end to be technical, the trait emotional inteligence and ability emotional inteligence models, but not the mixed models, enjoy support in the literature and have successful applications in a variety of domains. The first roots of emotional intelligence we can say that it is Darwin’s work on the importance of second adaptation and the expression of the emotion for survival. Around the 20th century, although most of the traditional definitions of inteligence emphasized problem-solving and memory and generaly cognitive aspects, many influential researches in the intelligence field had shown how important are the non-cognitive aspects in the field of intelligence. In 1920 for example, E.L. Thorndike in order to describe the skill of understanding and managing other people he used the term social intelligence. In the same mann er, David Wechsler in 1940, described on intelligent behavior the influence that non-intellective factors have, and furthermore he argued that we should adequately describe these factors in order the models of intelligence to be complete. In the same manner Howard Gardner in 1983in his book Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences he was the first that introduced the idea of multiple intelligences which included both intrapersonal intelligence which isthe capacity to appreciate one’s feelings, motivations and fears and to understand oneself and interpersonal intelligence which is the capacity to perceive the motivations, desires and intentions of other people. On the other hand Gardner’s opinion was that IQ scores only are not able to explain one’s cognitive ability. Thus, although the names given to the concept had a wide variety, there was a common belief that traditional definitions of intelligence and IQ scores only were lacking in ability to ful ly explain the cognitive performance outcomes of a person. The first one who used the term â€Å"emotional intelligence† is usually attributed to the doctoral thesis of Wayne Payne, A Study of Emotion: Developing Emotional Intelligence which was made in 1985. However, prior to this, the term â€Å"emotional intelligence† had appeared in Greenspan in1989 and in Leuner in 1966 also put forward an EI model, followed by Mayer and Goleman, and Salovey.The distinction between ability emotional intelligence and trait emotional intelligence was introduced in the start of the 21st century.

I have detailed requirements on the photo Essay - 2

I have detailed requirements on the photo - Essay Example GMO’s have been in existence for a long time. GMO technology has been incorporated in both plants and animals. GMO is an organism that the genetic material has been changed by means of genetic engineering (GÃ ¶tz 1961). The technology helps in incorporating new trait to the living organism. Such traits may be resistance to herbicides, droughts, weeds, and some predators. The traits are derived from other organisms mostly bacteria. The technology has been dominant in plant. Plants have been produced that makes their chemicals for fighting insects as well as produce modified starch (GÃ ¶tz 1961). The technology is also in the advanced stage to produce food with high levels of vitamins as well as the antibiotics. The current trend in this technology employs incorporation of several traits to plants genome. GMO has been on the rise in the world. The major GM crop includes soy, maize, cotton, and rapseed. In fact, in 2008, there were over 100 billion hectares of cultivated GM crops (GÃ ¶tz 1961). Moreover, the number of countries practicing this technology has been on the rise. The technology has been prevalent in countries such as America, India, and China. However, it has received little acceptance in parts of Asia, Europe and Africa (GÃ ¶tz 1962). GMOs are considered beneficial in various ways. First, the technology has been shown to help in reducing agricultural costs (Lanton 2). Such costs are related to weeds, pests and crop diseases. This occurs through production of plants that are resistant to weeds, pest, and crop diseases. Moreover, the technology is seen as a way of achieving human needs of more food. This has been due to the burgeoning human population in the world. Consumers have questioned whether technology presents long-term health risks. A recent survey done in United States by New York Times found that three-quarters of the American population raised issues about health by having GMOs in their food

Human Resources Cross Cultural Differences and Leadership with respect Essay

Human Resources Cross Cultural Differences and Leadership with respect to Motivation - Essay Example The study only endorsed prevailing scholarly position by the remarkable success stories of the case studies. So the present study concludes that training in cultural diversity can be incorporated in the development of global managerial skills. The face of workforce in the globalized setting is divergent. This can be area for conflict or an opportunity for growth. "Society today is a global ambiance where national cultures inevitably mingle together. The world of technological innovation, multinational organizations, international trade, and diplomatic conflict resolution creates a necessity for nations to come into contact with each other, to learn, work, and create together, as well as to exchange ideas and resources (human resources included). Organizations function because of people gathered together around a common goal. However, before an organization is formed, people belong to other settings and perform other roles that precede their organizational roles. Various disciplines differentiate culture based on numerous criteria born by the different scientific worldviews they hold." (Dimitrov 2005, p. 22) One definition of culture states that, "Culture is the collective programming of the mind which distinguishes the me mbers of one group or category of people from another" (Hofstede, 1997, p. 5). Adler (1997) defined culture as the "complex whole that includes knowledge, beliefs, art, law, morals, customs, capabilities and habits acquired by a man as a member of society" (p.14). This makes it a challenge for the global manager to motivate their employees from different cultural back rounds. Basically, ever since Psychology became an independent branch of enquiry, motivation came under the microscope of scientists and can be viewed as "the willingness to exert high levels of effort to reach goals, conditioned by the efforts' ability to satisfy individual needs." (Dimitrov 2005, p.38). However, the study of motivation in the cultural context is new, early theories form a good beginning. "People are by nature ethnocentric and believe that the way things are done in their culture is the best way" (Mendenhall, Punnett, & Ricks, 1995). Therefore this literature review focuses on the theory of motivation concerning the two topics cross-cultural differences and leadership from an international perspective. Purpose and Scope of the study General perception of the academia in the available literature across the world is in favour of the advantage of assimilation of cultural diversity as tool for the global managers. In order to ascertain the veracity of this position after identifying the key theoretical foundation establishing the efficacy of cultural diversity, an investigation was undertaken of five cases to find out whether cultural diversity really helped them to progress or some other factors were behind their success. The companies examined were IBM, McDonald, IKEA and Reebok. UAE, though not a company, as a unique case of cultural diversity was also studied. In all the case studies the advanatage

Critical Journalism Studies Textual Analysis Assignment

Critical Journalism Studies Textual Analysis - Assignment Example Various journalism films often investigate specific features of the profession such as the ethical conduct of journalists, modern trends of the media and the history of the media. In doing this, either the films often portray journalists as heroes or villain depending on the angle of criticism a film adopts as portrayed in the discussion below. Media is one of the most powerful arms of the society. Also referred to as the fourth estate, the media informs, influences opinion and protects the vulnerable in the society. Such vital functions require the journalist to undertake their functions with fidelity both to the profession and to the society. Journalists have often behaved in ways that justify their portrayal either as heroes or as ant-heroes in the various journalism films. The role of the radio in the Rwandan genocide for example are some of the occurrences that validates the portrayal of journalists as anti-heroes thereby validating the themes some of the journalism films. The case of Rwanda is an example of the situations in which journalists act unethically and without objectivity. Additionally, journalists engage in various under dealings in their attempt to scoop new stories. Among the common types of unethical conduct, include bribing news sources and offering sexual favors especially by female journalists. In ot her cases, journalists are proactive and inquisitive individual who unearth numerous scandals in the society thus protecting the interest of the weak and vulnerable in the society. Journalism films often capture both sides depending on the plot of a story in a film (McNair, 2010). Films are cultural products that just as any other type of art always represent the prevailing social features. Developers of films observe the prevailing cultural and social features, which they represent artistically in films. On doing this, the developers enjoy the freedom and ability to criticize the society using fictional characters.

Menstual Cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Menstual Cycle - Essay Example Ovarian cycle is dependent on two of the three gonadotropic hormones that are produced by the anterior pituitary gland. These hormones include follicle stimulating hormone (FSH) and luteinizing hormone (LH). The follicular phase is controlled by the FSH, which includes days 1 to 14, and the luteal phase is controlled by LH, which includes days 15 to 28 of a 28 day (normal) cycle. At the commencement of each menstrual cycle, FSH stimulates follicle development. This result to estrogen production, causing maturation of the ovum contained within the follicle. Oestrogen levels increase as the follicle grows; this high level of oestrogen triggers the pituitary gland to release a surge of LH. This is a positive feedback effect as the levels of oestrogen will be high; causing the muscle and uterine lining layers to be thicker in anticipation of an embryo. This abrupt increase of LH results to the follicle bursting open. This act releases the mature ovum into the abdominal cavity. This proce ss (ovulation) takes place on day 14; the floating ovum is then drawn towards the fallopian tube and travels to the uterus (Ricci & Kyle, 2009). After ovulation, LH levels remain increased and cause the fragments of the follicle to develop into the corpus luteum. Corpus luteum secretes progesterone hormone. The work of progesterone is to maintain the uterus lining. If fertilization fails to take place, then, the corpus luteum disintegrates and the levels of oestrogen and progesterone drop. This drop is triggered by a negative feedback effect on the pituitary due to the combination of oestrogen and progesterone; causing the uterine lining to shrink menstruation commences. This marks the start of another of the follicular phase; which is again day one of the cycle (Rosdahl & Kowalski, 2008). In conclusion, if fertilization occurs, then the negative feedback effect on the pituitary will not be experienced as progesterone level will be produced

Make solar energy economical Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Make solar energy economical - Essay Example Solar energy technology is faced with engineering challenges however there follow ways of making it more efficient in its production, storage, and use. For example, most of solar cells today that is used for commercial purposes are highly made of silicon that converts electricity from sunlight, with less percentage of efficiency due to high manufacturing costs. Due to use of silicon material the cost of electricity production is three times higher which makes the engineering pauses need for cost-effective cells with low manufacturing costs (Simon, 2007). The current standard cells provide thirty-one percent efficiency due to use of silicon materials. Use of new materials for production by multilayer cells can increase the efficiency. There are also other ways of enhancing the efficiency of solar energy which includes the development of nanotechnology. This is the development of engineering structures which are effective compared to the use of molecules and atoms. This makes them effe ctive because one nanometer is equal to a billionth of one meter. Use of other materials like lead and selenium elements in the making of the cells which make a nanocrystal which is more cost effective and more efficient. With the use of standard cells, there is the production of excess heat when a photon releases an electron to carry the electric charge which makes it ineffective and inefficient enough. On the other hand use of nanocrystals made of selenium and lead elements produces extra electrons instead of heat.

Poll 211 research paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Poll 211 - Research Paper Example The war affected virtually every nation of the world as each moved to align themselves with either the U.S. or the Soviet Union. This paper examines how the Cold War affected the U.S. foreign policy then and now. In terms of its organization, a proxy of the Cold War is discussed. Next, the author explains the factors that led to the collapse of the Soviet Union and the resultant chaos. Next, the author discusses the impact of the collapse of the Soviet Union at three levels: the impact on scholars of international relations at the time and the impact on the U.S. foreign policy then and now. Finally, the author draws conclusions about international relations based on the findings of the research. A proxy war is fought alongside a major full-scale conflict(Leffler & Painter, 2005). Usually, a major power will instigate a proxy war without directly involving itself. Many proxy wars were fought during the Cold War. The wars provided opportunities for the United States and the Soviet Union to stage armed conflict â€Å"behind† the Cold War. The Greek Civil War was one of such proxy wars. The Greek civil war pitted the Democratic Army of Greece (DSE), supported by the U.S. against the Communist Party of Greece (KKE), whom Russia backed(Nachmani, 1990).The DSE wanted to gain control of the country from the KKE. Backed by and Britain and the U.S., the DSE were initially successful. Besides the backing by the two powers, the DSE had superior maneuvers in the battlefield. Meanwhile, the KKE made many political errors and Yugoslavia withdrew their support for them. Yugoslavia’s withdrawal marked the beginning of the fall of the KKE. In the end, DSE won the war. Greece largely abandoned Communism and the sphere of influence of democratic/capitalist ideals increased as did tensions between the two powers. In December 1991, Americas rival, the

Reflection essay Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Reflection essay - Case Study Example In many instances, organizations are not able to cater to the social responsibilities because of the huge pressure in corporate sector by the shareholders (Mickels, 2009). By registering as a Benefit corporation, an organization can project them as a business which also has the aim of developing a better society, such as the Good Capital LLC mentioned in the case, where investment is also carried out to provide solutions to some of the challenging problems faced by the society. Therefore, the biggest advantage is that both the society as well as the organization benefits. It also provides encouragement to a generation of entrepreneur who can share benefits with the society, without having to fear about the lawsuits or lack of support from the shareholders (Reiser, 2012). However, there are certain disadvantages also; where by Benefit corporates can get sued by if it fails to take the steps for the benefit of the society as per the state laws (Reiser, 2012). If the status of Benefit corporations is given to organizations, it is mandated that they take solid steps towards the social cause they are committed to (Reiser, 2012). Additionally, it also has a high risk of abuse as powerful leaders may use it to mask their follies (Katz and Page, 2010). Hence, it is appropriate only for those businesses that are fully committed to both social causes as well as to their shareholders. The issue of abuse also leads to the question of ethics in Benefit corporations. As the potential of misusing is high, because the losses can be easily masked out as investment for fulfilling the social causes, it is necessary to have rigorous testing standards so that organizations cannot take undue advantage in the pretext of being a Benefit organization (Reiser, 2012). In addition, an organization should give equal priority to its organizational mission as well as the social cause undertaken, so that it can commit fully to

Mobil IP Essay Example for Free

Mobil IP Essay â€Å"A Mobile IP address allows users to connect to the Internet without a normal static or dynamic IP address through the use of a unique mobile IP address. This unique address lets the computer connect through a network to a home IP address but still utilize and communicate with the networks protocol.† What are the advantages and disadvantages of Mobile IP? Advantages: 1) Portability—virtually anywhere there is access 2) Convenience sustained connection while traveling between access points 3) Scalability built for large, expansive networks so it is always easy to expand it 4) Consistency a user can maintain the same IP address across all of the subnets they travel between while the router on their home subnet intercepts and forwards all incoming information to them across the network via a network tunnel 5) Integration Mobil IP solutions do not require an additional network, but rather integrate with a current network schematic and because of the standard it has set many of the appliances have networking abilities now Disadvantages: 1) Security Data must be transformed so that authorized parties only decode it Authentication, or approving or disproving someone’s identity Ensuring that data cannot be changed without having that change be detectable Proving a source sent data and the possibility of that data being denied 2) Triangle Routing   The delivering of packets as directly as possible from sending node to mobile node without passing through a home agent, this is obviously a problem since route from sender to mobile node by way of the home agent takes two sides of the triangle, rather than the third side, which is the direct path. 3) Perception of reliability  refers to the premise of Mobile IP connections are based on TCP surviving cell changes What are the typical installations of Mobile IP? Typical installations where you find mobile IP is for laptop or phone use though tablets and other systems are catching up. Do you think Mobile IP will increase in popularity? Why or why not? With the struggle to stay up to date and to have access to files for company use at meetings, I think it is a real deal to say that popularity will continue to rise. There are issues with the technology but look how many bugs were in Windows 95 when it hit the market and people still ate it up. â€Å"A leading and award-winning developer of desktop, tablet and mobile VoIP software products and solutions, today announced that its industry-leading Bria softphone is powering Network Norways all-new Mobil IP service. As part of the Tele2 Group, Network Norway is an innovative service provider focused on enabling leading edge business solutions such as their new Mobil IP offering. Mobil IP is an SMB and enterprise focused offering that extends a customers mobile number to all devices including iOS and Android smartphones, tablets, PCs and Macs.†

Langston Hughes Essay Example for Free

Langston Hughes Essay Of the major black writers who first made their appearance during the exciting period of the 1920s commonly referred to as â€Å"the Harlem Renaissance,† Langston Hughes was the most prolific and the most successful. As the Harlem Renaissance gave way to the Depression, Hughes determined to sustain his career as a poet by bringing his poetry to the people. At the suggestion of Mary McLeod Bethune, he launched his career as a public speaker by embarking on an extensive lecture tour of the South. As he wrote in his autobiography: â€Å"Propelled by the backwash of the â€Å"Harlem Renaissance† of the early twenties, I had been drifting along pleasantly on the delightful rewards of my poems which seemed to please the fancy of kindhearted New York ladies with money to help young writers. . . . There was one other dilemmahow to make a living from the kind of writing I wanted to do. . . . I wanted to write seriously and as well as I knew how about the Negro people, and make that kind of writing earn me a livin† (Hughes, 1964:31). Alain Locke, the leading exponent of â€Å"The New Negro,† announced that the black masses had found their voice: A true peoples poet has their balladry in his veins; and to me many of these poems seem based on rhythms as seasoned as folksongs and on moods as deep-seated as folk-ballads. Dunbar is supposed to have expressed the peasant heart of the people. But Dunbar was the showman of the Negro masses; here is their spokesman (Killens ed. 1960:41). Though much of the poetry Hughes was to write in the thirties and afterward was to differ markedly in terms of social content from the poetry he was producing in the twenties, a careful examination of his early work will reveal, in germinal form, the basic themes which were to preoccupy him throughout his career. Hughes’s evolution as a poet cannot be seen apart from the circumstances of his life which thrust him into the role of poet. Indeed, it was Hughes’s awareness of what he personally regarded as a rather unique childhood which determined him in his drive to express, through poetry, the feelings of the black masses and their questions of identity. In â€Å"The Weary Blues†, Hughes presented the problem of dual consciousness quite cleverly by placing two parenthetical statements of identity as the opening and closing poems, and titling them Proem and Epilogue. Their opening lines suggest the polarities of consciousness between which the poet located his own persona: â€Å"I Am a Negro† and â€Å"I, Too, Sing America. † Within each of these poems, Hughes suggests the interrelatedness of the two identities: the line â€Å"I am a Negro† is echoed as â€Å"I am the darker brother† in the closing poem. Between the American and the Negro, a third identity is suggested: that of the poet or â€Å"singer. † It is this latter persona which Hughes had assumed for himself in his attempt to resolve the dilemma of divided consciousness. Thus, within the confines of these two poems revolving around identity, Hughes is presenting his poetry as a kind of salvation. If one looks more closely at Hughes’s organization of poems in the book, one finds that his true opening and closing poems are concerned not with identity but with patterns of cyclical time. The Weary Blues (the first poem) is about a black piano man who plays deep into the night until at last he falls into sleep like a rock or a man thats dead. The last poem, on the other hand, suggests a rebirth, an awakening, after the long night of weary blues: â€Å"We have tomorrow/ Bright before us/Like a flame† (Hughes 1926:109). Hughes viewed the poet’s role as one of responsibility: the poet must strive to maintain his objectivity and artistic distance, while at the same time speaking with passion through the medium he has selected for himself. In a speech given before the American Society of African Culture in 1960, Hughes urged his fellow black writers to cultivate objectivity in dealing with blackness: â€Å"Advice to Negro writers: Step outside yourself, then look back and you will see how human, yet how beautiful and black you are. How very black even when you’re integrated† (Killens ed. 1960:44). In another part of the speech, Hughes stressed art over race: â€Å"In the great sense of the word, anytime, any place, good art transcends land, race, or nationality, and color drops away. If you are a good writer, in the end neither blackness nor whiteness makes a difference to readers† (Killens ed. 1960:47). This philosophy of artistic distance was integral to Hughes’s argument in the much earlier essay The Negro Artist and the Racial Mountain, which became a rallying call to young black writers of the twenties concerned with reconciling artistic freedom with racial expression: â€Å"It is the duty of the younger Negro artist if he accepts any duties at all from outsiders, to change through the force of his art that old whispering I want to be white hidden in the aspirations of his people, to Why should I want to be white? I am a Negro and beautiful! ’† In this greatly thought-out manifesto, Hughes attempted to integrate the two facets of double consciousness (the American and the Negro) into a single vision-that of the poet. His poetry had reflected this idea from the beginning, when he published The Negro Speaks of Rivers at the age of nineteen. Arna Bontemps, in a retrospective glance at the Harlem Renaissance from the distance of almost fifty years, was referring to The Negro Speaks of Rivers when he commented: â€Å"And almost the first utterance of the revival struck a note that disturbed poetic tradition. † (Addison ed. 1988:83). In Hughes’s poetry, the central element of importance is the affirmation of blackness. Everything that distinguished Hughes’s poetry from the white poets of the twenties revolved around this important affirmation. Musical idioms, jazz rhythms, Hughes’s special brand of â€Å"black-white† irony, and dialect were all dependent on the priority of black selfhood: â€Å"I am a Negro/Black as the night is black/Black like the depths of my Africa† (Hughes 1926:108). Hughes wrote in his autobiography: My best poems were all written when I felt the worst. When I was happy, I didnt write anything (Hughes 1991:54). When he first began writing poetry, he felt his lyrics were too personal to reveal to others: Poems came to me now spontaneously, from somewhere inside. . . . I put the poems down quickly on anything I had a hand when they came into my head, and later I copied them into a notebook. But I began to be afraid to show my poems to anybody, because they had become very serious and very much a part of me. And I was afraid other people might not like them or understand them (Hughes: 34). These two statements regarding his poetry suggest deep underlying emotional tensions as being the source of his creativity. And yet the personal element in Hughes’s poetry is almost entirely submerged beneath the persona of the Negro Poet Laureate. If, as Hughes suggested, personal unhappiness was the cornerstone of his best work, it then follows that, in order to maintain the singleness of purpose and devotion to his art, he would be required to sacrifice some degree of emotional stability. The persona of the poet was the role Hughes adopted in his very first published poem, as the Negro in The Negro Speaks of Rivers. It was a persona to which he would remain faithful throughout his lengthy career. The link between his personal experiences and his poetry has been always evident. References Addison Gayle, Jr. , ed. (1988). â€Å"Negro Poets, Then and Now,† in Black Expression: Essays by and About Black Americans in the Creative Arts, New York: Weybright Talley Langston Hughes (1964). I Wonder As I Wander, New York: Hill Wang Langston Hughes (1926). The Weary Blues, New York: Alfred A. Knopf Publishing, reprinted, 1982 Langston Hughes (1991). The Big Sea: An Autobiography. 1940. New York: Hill Wang Killens, John O. ,ed. (1960). â€Å"Writers: Black and White†, The American Negro Writer and His Roots: Selected Papers from the First Conference of Negro Writers, March. New York: American Society of African Culture

Role of the First Amendment in Freedom of Speech and Social Media

Role of the First Amendment in Freedom of Speech and Social Media Freedom Speech in The Age of Social Media Summary: This paper discusses the First Amendment and its role and relevance in the Internet and Social Media. It touches base on violation of First Amendment Rights through censorship, and libel cases that were not protected by the First Amendment on Social Media. The First Amendment of the Constitution can be found in the First section, which is called the Bill of Rights, which are known to be the most significant part of the US Constitution. The First Amendment entitles US citizens the vital freedoms of speech, religion and expression. Not all countries give these rights to their citizens and this is why US citizens are so fortunate because they have the freedom to express themselves and to stand up for what they believe in or what they don’t. The Founding Fathers ‘Framers’ of the US Constitution had a vision for the United States and for its citizens to have these vital freedoms, the problem is that these amendments were written centuries ago, and with time and new technologies come many changes and the interpretation of these rights has changes because of these technologies, especially now in the age of Social Media. Most of modern interaction and conversation is now done on Social Media platforms with the help of the Internet and a problem with this is that there are very few laws that regulate what happens online. Thanks to the internet and the new technologies, most people have access to social media platforms, therefore people have access to information and opinions in the palm of their hands. The internet has proven that speech is easy on these Social Media Platforms, because most people can access the internet and basically write or speak their minds through videos or blogs. An amazing example of this can be sites like Yelp, where people are able to give restaurants and hotels ratings and they can say whatever they want and it is not considered libel. Many people take it online to rant about things that happen to them, other like to speak their mind, but recently many Social Media platforms have been banning certain words that might be offensive to others and deleting this that might affect others, this is a violation of freedom a speech. Pages such as Facebook will not let you type in certain words that other’s might find offensive, or they will directly delete a comment or photograph that is inappropriate or that might hurt somebody else. Although these censorships help save people’s lives from cyberbullying or prevent people from using strong words, it is censorship nonetheless. Social Media and the Internet has altered the way that people communicate and as new technologies emerge people have to learn to adapt to them. Thanks to the usage of chat forms, instant messaging, picture & video sharing, social networking, blogs, image collecting boards among many other things, people are adapting more than ever. Throughout out the last 20 years, the Internet has quickly expanded and matured as new technologies are being developed. With the invention of social media platforms, the way that people network and communicate has completely changed, even the way that they read and consumer the news. Social media platforms have given individuals a freedom that they never thought was possible, they feel free to access whatever they want and to express however they want to express themselves, they even have the protection of speaking and posting anomalously, and many people hide behind their computers.   The majority of US citizens take the privilege of living in the United States, and what that the country allows them for granted. They have the privilege to go online and rant about their jobs and horrible bosses, give opinions about political candidates, and read what other people have to say about things. The reality is that the Internet allows people to express themselves, whether it is on a blog, social media platforms, or even their work email and people are constantly expressing themselves freely. This is a privilege that people in other countries do not necessarily have, countries like China, where it is prohibited to access any type of social media platform (Ferguson), or where speaking their minds could land them in jail. Although the Internet is moderately new, it has long become a part of people’s daily lives, especially those people living in the United States. The Internet has alleviated all the communication tensions people had, since it allows people to communication easily with one another and also mass communication like articles, videos, and blogs. One of the reason why the internet has become such a powerful communication tools is because it integrates several types of communication like Articles, podcasts, broadcasts, videos, letter communication among many other things (Ferguson).   Now a day most places have Wi-Fi and internet has become such an inexpensive thing to access, people can even connect to the internet in airplanes and during bus rides, mainly because â€Å"the Internet has the potential to be a tremendous force for development by providing quick and inexpensive information† (Sorensen). One problem with the Internet is that it has no country boundaries so measuring and enforcing US laws is very hard to do, since the US cannot control what other countries do or say, consequently the Internet cannot be virtually controlled by one country. What many countries do to have control over the internet is implementing thing such as filters on a server, which in the end limit people’s freedom of expression and is nonetheless censorship. Because the Internet is really a mass medium, because it can reach virtually anybody, it possesses a big threat to many governments, because anybody with internet can communicate to the mass audience. Censorship of information is in direct violation of the first amendment because it takes away people’s right to express themselves freely. There are many types of censorship over the internet, sometimes people do not even realize that content is being censored when infact it is. Many governments believe that censorship helps avoid unsafe or threatening information from spreading and that it keeps children safe from retrieving inappropriate content.   Some of these materials can be for example web-sites that promote eating disorders such as anorexia, or websites that tell people how to commit suicides or how to build home-made bombs and such things. Although many of these things are extremely controversial and may be offensive to some, in the end they are violating First Amendment, and these sites should be shielded by the freedom of speech. Some of the reasons why filter on servers are imposed make a lot a sense when it is for protection of minors, since most children know how to use a computer more than most adults, but when adult’s information is being filtered this is denying people a right they are entitled to. The United States has unsuccessfully made efforts at censoring offensive and/or inappropriate information and content on the internet. Firstly, was the Communication Decency Act (CDA), this act forbid people from using material online that was offensive to minors (Sorensen). The CDA directly violated the First Amendment and this why the Supreme Court overruled the act.   Their second attempt was the Child Pornography Prevention Act (CPPA) which stated the pornography, whether a video or an image on the internet of a child/minor acting in an explicit or sexual behavior. Again, the CPPA was also directly violating the First Amendment, and it was overruled by the Supreme Court. Then came the Child Online Protection Act (COPA), which is theoretically obligates Web-Site owners and publishers to guarantee that minors will not access material and content that is harmful to them on their designated websites (Sorensen). Copa was also in violation of First Amendment rights, therefore overrul ed.   As of today, there are no Internet Censorship Laws in the US in action, but nevertheless censorships still happen. Just as there are people who think censoring the internet is the correct thing to do, many people oppose it because they are firm believers of the vitality of First Amendment rights of free speech and expression. It is the first amendment that permits people to openly and freely discuss ideas and thoughts to other people and to society itself. It is unethical and unconstitutional for the government to take this vital right away from people, as they should feel free to express themselves in any way that they please. Along with the Internet come new ways of communication such a Social Media Platforms, which have rapidly landed in the hands of millions world-wide, these new evolutions in technology drastically change the definition of free speech, for example before nobody would knock on anybody’s door to tell them their opinions, now it is on all of people’s devices from their smart phones to their computers. People are being constantly hit by others opinions and beliefs, for example that person who always share their political affiliation and beliefs on their Facebook status, it is starting to become unavoidable. One of the first cases regarding freedom of speech was in July of 1995, Stratton Oakmont vs. Prodigy. Prodigy was a type of social media platform that had a board with a chat forum, one of the users left a chat/comment saying that the CEO of Stratton Oakmont committed fraudulent acts. As a result, Stratton Oakmont sued Prodigy for online libel, the case was ruled in favor of Prodigy since it was protected by the First Amendment and the comment was left by an anonymous internet user not Prodigy itself. These things are very hard to control, because for example that anonymous person who commented might be in another country and therefore they do not fall under US jurisdiction, this is why it is so hard to control the internet as a whole. After some of these chat forums began to pop up across the web, this was the birth of social media platforms. Rapidly many websites started to launch and their focus was the public, they wanted individuals to have their profiles and for them to express themselves and engage in communication with other members. Facebook and Twitter have been the long lasting two as they both have been around for over a decade (Somerson), and they revolve around people who express themselves freely. Four months after the launch of Facebook, the company integrated a new feature in their social media platform and this was called a ‘status’. Facebook was asking its users ‘what was on their mind’ and allowed people to speak their minds in a maximum of 356 characters, which is now unlimited on Facebook. Twitter quickly incorporated the same feature and allowed its users to speak their minds in 140 characters, which will probably soon increase. Many people engage in ranting on socia l media, and once something goes up on the internet it is there forever, even if deleted, with ranting many people can take it as defamation or libel, but in the end, it is people exercising their free speech. In 2009, there was a town re-election for Sheriff BJ Roberts in Hampton, Virginia and six deputies were not reinstated after it. These deputies stated that they were wrongfully terminated because they supported Jim Adams that was Sheriffs Roberts’ rival.   They had stated that they had shown support for Jim Adams by ‘liking’ his Facebook campaign and sharing his page on their profiles. As a result, Sheriff Roberts threatened the deputies and consequently did not reinstate them. Consequently, the deputies filed a lawsuit against Roberts, claiming that they were wrongfully terminated because of their behavior on social media. In an appeals court, it was agreed that the deputies should have been terminated because they should not partake on law-enforcement politics and siding with candidates and this is violation of First Amendment rights. When this case was taken to the Fourth Circuit, it was recognized that Sheriff Roberts was entitled immunity and that he had th e right to not reinstate them (Vogel). The First Amendment does not protect all speech and expression and this was a perfect example were people were not protected by their First Amendment Rights. Another famous case that was not protected under the first amendment is Elonis vs. Unites States. In 2010 Anthony Elonis was abandoned by his wife and he quickly took the matter to Facebook and started ranting through rap lyrics, most of these sounded like threats, with everything he posted he gave a disclaimer saying that they were just lyrics and nothing real (Liptak). Elonis rapped about things like having his ex’s head paraded like Marie Antoinette, among other horrible things. Ms. Elonis was afraid of all of his commentaries and lyrics and quickly took information to authorities. This was an extremely difficult case because Elonis argued that they were just lyrics and nothing more, that it was just a form of art and expression and that he did not intent to do anything that he rapped about. The Supreme Court stated that the First Amendment did not protect all speech and did not protect threats whether real or not, they were still treats (Liptak).   Elonis was found guilt y of violating the Anti-Threat stature and was convicted for 44 months in prison and three years of supervised release (Liptak). Many of these chat forums online like Twitter and Facebook are allowing people virtually everywhere to speak their minds and for them to express themselves in ways that they see fit. The problem is that many people are not aware of all of the consequences that their online ranting can have on their lives. Most people follow their favorite celebrities and athletes on Social Media, since this is how the engage with their fans, even President Trump engages in Social Media by his infamous ‘tweets’ on Twitter. Many brands and companies take advantage of the presence that celebrities have on social media platforms and they begin to endorse them so that the public sees them wearing their products or talking about their brands on the ‘tweets’ or ‘status’. In 2010 Rashard Mendenhall an NFL player of the Pittsburgh Steelers who was endorsed by brands like Champion made a series of tweets after Osama Bin Ladin’s death that tarnished his online prese nce and reputation. Mendenhall tweeted that â€Å"what kind of person celebrates death? Its amazing how people can HATE a man they have never even heard speak. Weve only heard one side(Mendenhall). He then continued by saying â€Å"well never know what really happened. I just have a hard time believing a plane could take a skyscraper down demolition style†. Mendenhall was consequently dropped as a Champion Celebrity and he lost his endorsement deal, Mendenhall quickly deleted his tweets and said that he was just expressing his thoughts and that they were just mere opinions. Although he was protected by First Amendment and he was in all of his right to share his opinions and many conspiracy theorist do, he lost many fans in the process. Lawsuits that come from social media are most commonly those of claims of libel or defamation. Libel is a written or published untruthful statement that directly hurts the individual’s reputation (MacHenry). Because many people have dedicated themselves to ranting on social media, there are typically libel. In 2015, came another quite interesting libel case in social media, known as Desert Palm Surgical Group v. Petta. Sherry Petta underwent cosmetic surgery, a rhinoplasty to be exact at the Desert Palm Surgical Group. To give Petta a little background she was a big fan of cosmetic procedures and surgeries and had underwent several in the past. After her rhinoplasty Petta claimed that she was not healing properly and that the nose did not look as the doctors told her it would, she then took all of this ranting online on Myspace and created a website just to rant about her experience. On her site and her social media page Petta ranted that â€Å"the surgeons intentionally shor tened and curved her nose upward against her wishes† (MacHenry) and she uploaded images of her rhinoplasty. Consequently, Desert Palm Surgical Group started to lose a lot of business and sued Petta for libel and defamation along with 11 million dollars in damages caused by her pages. Petta pleaded that she was protected by the First Amendment right and that she was only speaking the truth about her experience with her surgery. The only thing that could have saved her from this defamation case was if what she said had been true, and it wasn’t most of the complications she had was because she did not take care of herself after her surgery and most things she had underwent in the past cosmetic surgeries and procedures. Petta was not protected under the First Amendment and consequently had to take down all of her post and her website and had to pay 12 million to the Desert Palm Surgical Group for all of the damages (MacHenry). Many of these libel cases that involve the use of social media as the source are repeatedly occurring and becoming extremely common and popular. The problem is that freedom of speech is not protected if there is a false statement involved, and it is no longer an opinion or a type of expression, it is a lie. Opinion in the end is not fully protected by First Amendment rights if there is a false or an untruthful statement involved, because it can have adverse effects on an individual’s image and reputation and it can even cost somebody money. Social media is a type of mass communications and people can easily reach mases of people, therefore when they decide to rant or to post their opinions there may be consequences since they have such a big audience. Many companies know that it is very hard to regulate was is being posted online, many companies are even going as far as creating departments to monitor their online presence (Liptak), the intent of this is for these departments to take care of things like that before they get out of hand. Many of these cases should be more known to the public, this way they can prevent something like this happening to them, being media literate and educated about how social media works and the laws of the country can prevent them from falling into trouble. In conclusion, new technologies such as the Internet and Social Media has integrated into individual’s daily lives. People cannot live a day without checking their social media platforms or reading the news online, people are communicating now more than ever, and many people have become reliant on it because it is so accessible. The problem is that Social Media and the Internet are still undiscovered territory when it comes to developing laws to regulate content, and a new definition for the First Amendment in regards to these new technologies should be made. The First Amendment is a grey area, because there is no right answer when it comes to how to define it, but it is very important to protect speech. Sources Chander, A., & Là ª, U.,P. (2015). Free speech.  Iowa Law Review,  100(2), 501-549.   Hardenbrook, J. A. (2013). First amendment rights: An encyclopedia: V.1: Traditional issues on the first amendment; v.2: Contemporary challenges to the first amendment.  Choice,  50(9), 1606-1606,1608. Holden, J. (2017).  Steelers react to Mendenhalls bin Laden tweets.  ESPN.com.   Liptak, A. (2017).  On the Next Docket: How the First Amendment Applies to Social Media.  Nytimes.com.   MacHenry, K. (2015).  The Top 10 Arizona verdicts.  Docplayer.net.   McChesney, R. W. (1998). The new theology of the first amendment: Class privilege over democracy.  Monthly Review,  49(10), 17-34. Sorensen, K. (1996), Human Rights Watch, â€Å"Silencing the Net: The Threat to Freedom of Expression On-Line,†. Electronic Privacy Information Center Vogel, P. (2017).  Using Facebook like is Free Speech | Internet, Information Technology & e-Discovery Blog.  Internet, Information Technology & e-Discovery Blog.

Heritage of Blue Highways Essay -- Blue Highways

Heritage of Blue Highways In the country travelers' Bible, Blue Highways, William Least Heat Moon takes a journey into his Native American heritage as well as into the heart of American culture. As a person of mixed ancestry, Least Heat Moon wishes to seek the history and experiences of his past in his travels. He is especially interested in the Native American element of his heritage because he had no knowledge of his ancestry as he was growing up. At the point at which he begins his journey, after being a student and scholar of Renaissance literature, Least Heat Moon is able to identify more freely with his past ("Whispers..." 58-60). After completing his exploration, Least Heat Moon rewrote the manuscript of his book six times and struggled to find literary agents and publishers. Eventually Least Heat Moon changed the title of the book to Blue Highways, and his luck began to change. Throughout several stops within the book, Least Heat Moon relates episodes in the history of his Native American ancestors' lives and experiences. He even changed his name from William Trogdon to his Native American title: William Least Heat Moon. The author explains, "My father calls himself Heat-Moon, my elder brother Little Heat-Moon. I, coming last, am therefore Least" (4). He took the name in order to identify with his ancestry and to honor his Native American kinsmen. However, one critic thought the changing of his name to be less than genuine saying, "It does not come from Osage country but from Boy Scout make-believe" ("Whispers..." 58-59). Even though William Least Heat Moon knew very little about his Native American past, he was able to recall a long-forgotten family story about one o... ...er the Nez Perce were forced out of here in the eighteen seventies and the Army sold off their horses" (250). Least Heat Moon often tells how the Native American way of living was not harmful to the land and how their ways were quickly overtaken by the dominating white ways of today. Throughout Blue Highways, William Least Heat Moon identifies many Native American traditions as well as his own Native American ancestry. Even though Least Heat Moon changed his name to clearly identify with his Native American ancestry, he didn't choose it in order to forget about his other lineage. He explains, "I will choose for heart, for spirit, but never will I choose for blood" (5). The main goal of his trip was to head for undiscovered parts of America, but it also provided the chance for Least Heat Moon to connect with his Native American past.

Theme of Hardship in The Grapes of Wrath Essay -- essays research pape

The Grapes of Wrath 'In the souls of the people, the grapes of wrath are filling and growing heavy, growing heavy for the vintage.' This quote explains the whole book. It shows the people fighting for their lives from the many hardships they face. Also, it shows that there is ups and downs in life and sometimes facing the wrath that life gives us. The first hardship in the book is when the Joads are forced off their land. They have to overcome losing their home and basically their life. Also, the Joads can relate to many people because the bank took over their life. ?The bank is something more than,it?s the monster.? (33) This passage is very right because the bank takes over everything in everyone?s life. Next, the Joads had to become bigger than themselves. They had to drop their life and move to a different state. When they arrived in California they were not accepted for who they are. To them California is a whole new universe. They were taunted and called ?Okies.? But, even before that Grandma Joad died, leaving Mama Joad very depressed. Then being to poor to afford a funeral they had to just bury grandma in a random spot. The setting and time period would change the factor of the Joads life. First, if the Joads lived in this time period many of their hardships would be different. They wouldn?t have to live in a camp and the government would support them. When the Joads live in the camp they experience the better part of their journey, While at Camp Weedpatch they receive shelter and the essentials for every... ...he question of the book is when life gets hard stick through it and live as the best you can. The Joads answered the question. Life became hard for them and they stuck through it. At the very beginning they could have gave up but they didn?t. They had a plan and went through with it. That?s why the Joads are ro-models for the families struggling. Steinbeck?s quote ?My whole work drive has been aimed at making people understand each other.? This is also what the book is about. Understanding each other is the key to surviving. In conclusion, this book explains life itself. It shows life is not perfect and sometimes giving up everything is the way to survive. There is going to be hardships in life and there?s not. In the end, understand each other and never give up.

criminal justice Essay examples -- essays research papers

Tushnet's A Court Divided By R. Anastasia Tremaine - February, 2005 Tushnet's A Court Divided Tushnet (2005) takes an insightful look into the current Supreme Court and what it means for the future in his work entitled A Court Divided. Much has been discussed about the Court, particularly since the 2000 election ended up being referred to the judicial branch of government. Constitutional law has always been fascinating subject, as it broaches the areas of guaranteed legal protections. Landmark decisions change the course of history and determine which rights the people have and have not.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The book addresses the obvious problems. First, the author identifies the division between liberal and conservative judges. These two divisions have played a huge role not only in the court systems, but in the political arena as well. Because the president is able to appoint judges, many people believe that he will appoint someone like himself. A Republican president will appoint a conservative and a Democrat will appoint a liberal. Although this is largely the case, all too often surprises emerge. It should really not be a surprise at all that judges have their own minds and are not stereotypical. Brilliant men seldom have one mindset, even though they may lean one way or another. Still, the idea that the president may appoint chief justices does suggest that, like a game of chess, the future of Constitutional law is to some extent contingent on who is president. Depending upon the makeup of the court at the time, one appointment can change a great deal and shift the court either to the right or to the left.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The author does admit that the court is divided by party or ideology, but he does contest the argument that a particular type of judge will always go a particular way. Rather, he looks at each individually and notes each of their distinct prejudices. The idea that the conservatives and liberals are at odds is not necessarily true and instead the author vies for a theory that shows divisions in certain subject areas. It is not necessarily the case that conservatives will side one way or another. For example, the author points out that many social issues are not ruled conservatively and this is because some of the fiscal conservatives on board are really just fiscal conservatives.   Ã‚  ... ...in accordance with a party platform. That said, whatever happens in the future, it seems that the Court is in good hands. By the time a judge is appointed, he or she will have been scrutinized and again, there is little in terms of predictability on which one can rely.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Will the future of the court be more conservative if a Republican president must select a new candidate? It does not matter. Again, Tushnet's (2005) premise is that the court is divided by Conservatives. Bush is a quasi-conservative president as he does support many liberal views. Immigration is one example and the topic is tied to Constitutional law to an extent. In conclusion, Tushnet writes an excellent review of the Court, and one that helps the reader understand the decisions that were handed down in recent years, and why they were made. His easy writing style and attention to detail makes for a marvelous read for any law student or layman who wants to understand what makes the Supreme Court justices tick. Reference Tushnet, M. (2005). A Court Divided: The Rehnquist Court and the Future of Constitutional Law. New York: Norton, W.W. & Company, Inc.

Effects of gambling on the society Essay

* For most people, gambling is a form of entertainment that is enjoyed responsibly. * Many Australians gamble in some form at least once a year, whether it’s an occasional flutter at the races, buying a lottery ticket, playing the pokies or a night out at the casino. * In 2009, 70 per cent of Australians participated in some form of gambling. * Australians spent more than $19 billion on gambling in 2008-09; around $12 billion of which was spent playing the pokies. PROBLEM GAMBLING * Some people can experience significant harm from gambling. Up to 500,000 Australians are at risk of becoming, or are, problem gamblers. * The social cost to the community of problem gambling is estimated to be at least $4. 7 billion a year. * The actions of one problem gambler negatively impacts the lives of between five and 10 others. This means there are up to five million Australians who could be affected by problem gambling each year, including friends, family and employers of people with a gambling problem. * Only around 15 per cent of problem gamblers seek help. PROBLEM GAMBLERS AND POKER MACHINES * One in six people who play the pokies regularly has a serious addiction. * Problem gamblers lose around $21,000 each year. That’s one third of the average Australian salary. * Some poker machines can be played at extremely high intensity – a gambler could lose more than $1,500 in just one hour. * Young people (18-24 year olds) spend more on poker machines than any other age group. Many adult problem gamblers report having developed gambling problems during their teenage years (source: Delfabbro, P, Gambling Research Australia, A review of Australian Gambling Research, August 2008, p61). * Three-quarters of problem gamblers have problems with poker machines. It’s even higher for women – in 9 out of 10 cases poker machines are identified as the cause of problems for women (source: Delfabbro, P, August 2008, p67). IMPACT OF PROBLEM GAMBLING * Problem gamblers are six times more likely to be divorced than non problem gamblers (source: Thomas, S, and Jackson, A, Report to beyondblue, Risk and Protective Factors: Depression and comorbidities in problem gambling, 2008). * Problem gamblers are four times more likely to have problems with alcohol and four times as likely to smoke daily than non problem gamblers (source: Thomas, S, and Jackson, A, 2008). * Children with parents who are problem gamblers are up to 10 times more likely to become problem gamblers themselves than children with non gambling parents (source: The Problem Gambling Treatment and Research Centre, Children at risk of developing problem gambling, May 2010). FACTS & MYTHS ABOUT PROBLEM GAMBLING IN AUSTRALIA * PDF [266KB] | DOC [66KB] References on this website are from the following publications: Productivity Commission 2010,Gambling, Report no. 50, Canberra; and Productivity Commission 1999, Australia’s Gambling Industries, Report no. 10, AusInfo, Canberra, unless otherwise identified.

Parents Should Have a License to Have Children

Question of Policy: 13. Parents should have a license for having children. I think so. It's pretty ridiculous that anyone can procreate and keep the kids, but you have go to through red tape, often for years! , to adopt. Everyone should be required to take parenting classes through an unbiased (aka non-religious) source, like a hospital. I say non-religious because the discussions will undoubtedly change to moral rearing, when the biggest problems are with physical and logical raising. I have no problem with kids being raised with religion, of course.Now, we can't control people getting pregnant unless we have mandatory sterilization of some people–but, we really couldn't do that with our rules on medicine (and people change as they age). However, the moment you go to your doctor for your first appointment, you should have to sign up for those parenting classes. If you really want the kids, you will make time for the classes. I don't really care how busy you are. I'm in class or working for about 12 hours per day, and if I got pregnant, I would make the damn time because it would be for the well-being of my children. Pro- 1.Less accidents (parents are informed of different precautions with children). 2. Precursor for disease prevention (blood tests could determine diseases) 3. Will baby be raised in a psychologically stable environment? (If one of the parents is a sexual offender, parental rights will not be allowed). 4. May lead to less crime (Offenders are often known to be raised in a deviant environment). Con- 1. The population-replacement level is already low. 2. It interferes with our right to reproduce. 3. It is costly (doctors will have to operate on every woman, and be able to reverse the process). . How are you going to control sexual behavior? * 5 years ago * * * No. * 5 years ago * Report Abuse 0%Â  0Â  Votes * Verity No, and here's why: 1. While it feels logical on some level, the administrative challenge of determining fit parents is mind -boggling. Does it require a financial means test? A psychological evaluation? A visit to a marital counselor to ensure a stable marriage? Even the lowest bar – say, attending a few hours of parenting clases, which most hosptials encourage and offer at low or no cost – requires making judgements about culture and values that are dicey. . The absolute truth is that parents can look good on paper and fail in practice, and vice versa. One of the best moms I know was 20, unmarried and employed as a cashier when her daughter was born. Nothing in her history suggests she'd be so competent and loving, but there it is. And plenty of well-heeled, highly educated men and women – myself included – struggle with the transition. Parenting licenses would likely be tainted by the same accusations facing our legal system – do the affluent have an advantage? Is that just? 3.Since the act of conceiving a child occurs far outside the reach of the law, how would we re gulate it? Would women be forced to take pregnancy tests? That's a funny twist in the abortion debate, actually. Is there a right to choose to become a parent, and if so, can the state stop you? Would men and women who fail a licensing test be obligated to take birth control? What if they're morally opposed? (After all, you may opt out of military service for religious and moral objections, if they can be confirmed by church membership or a similar proof. ) 4. What happens to the kids born to unlicensed parents?Are they forcibly taken away from their parents? Who gets them? Again, there's a potentially ugly social justice issue there – poor children, possibly of color, being given to affluent parents, possibly white, because we define adequate parenting by a standard that doesn't apply universally. (When a friend adopted a second child, she learned that each child had to have his own bedroom. In a pricey city, if we have a second kid, there's no way they'll both have their ow n rooms – but if the state is imposing rules, they may well favor the affluent in ways that are unjust – or bizarre. 5. Assuming unlicensed parents have children, how will the state pay for costs associated with those children's care? Most states' youth and family services offices are already woefully underfunded and many are tragically ineffective. 6. It will become a pricey and chaotic legal battleground. Some will want same-sex couples to be refused parenting licenses; others will argue that unwed parents are undeserving. The court battles will cost millions, and will probably not result in substantially better parenting.In the end, I think that's really the challenge – will the licensing process create better parents? Licensing is a one-time act, and an all or nothing proposal. You get the license or you don't. But parenting doesn't work like that. It's a gradual process, with days where we get it right and days when we just plain screw up. You can license a driver because there are, in general, a finite set of circumstances you must be prepared for behind the wheel. Parenting licensure could never be that simple, and so it is doomed. Good luck!

Tesol – Observation Journal 1

Observation Journal 1 Date: 13/09/2012 Duration: 1 hour Location: International House London Level: Upper Intermediate Teaching Aim: Past Subjunctive (structure lesson) Use of â€Å"I wish† for regrets and criticism Lesson Pace During the first half of the lesson the teacher moved at a particularly fast pace. Whilst understandably a swift pace is required in order to fit the breath of information into the lesson I feel this was to the detriment of student learning in some instances. For example when asking questions of students it was common for the teacher to answer before providing sufficient time for students to answer.This had the consequence of stopping all but the quickest students a chance to be involved with the lesson. Again this was also seen when individual students were picked out by name to repeat a phrase paying specific attention to their intonation; on numerous occasions at the start of the lesson upon speaking the requested phrase the teacher was very quick to repeat the same phrase using the correct intonation. This style of teaching limits student talking time which is a key aspect when trying to engage the active memory of the students in order to promote retention of the material being taught.A better structure would have been to elicit the correct repetition of the request phrase from another student and then returning to the initially asked student to repeat the phrase once more. Using this suggested structure would promote student talking time and allow all students more time to hear the correct intonation of the phrase. The benefits of the fast pace were that all students stayed engaged for the duration of the lesson however I believe a lesson can move at a swift pace whilst still allowing sufficient time for students to repeat phrases and answer questions.I have learnt that a quick pace is generally beneficial when all students are able to keep up however my opinion is that allowing students the time to answer questions and not always giving the correct answer to quickly is paramount to student learning. By permitting this additional time to elicit answers from students you will more readily be able to establish whether or not the class is in fact following the lesson as expected and therefore be able to continue or adjust the pace accordingly. Teachers MannerOverall I felt the teacher was engaging and authoritative whilst also being able to display humorous traits which worked well to keep the class involved for the duration of the lesson. For the majority of correct answers the teacher would affirm the answer given by saying â€Å"good†. This was a positive aspect of the teacher’s manner as she used this phrase repeatedly as opposed to varying this affirmation with phrases such as â€Å"excellent† or â€Å"very good† which may have led to a degree of favouritism within the class. On one occasion however the teacher, in accompaniment to the introduction of a new concept, asks a particular student â€Å"is it clear? . In a typical classroom setting I find it unlikely that any student would want to profess to a lack of understanding and thus the lesson moves on without really knowing whether or not the concept was correctly understood. In this situation a more appropriate tactic would have been to request the student provide an alternate example of the concept being taught. This would allow any lack of understanding to be identified whilst also presenting an opportunity for the teacher to involve the rest of the class when eliciting a correct response.Oftentimes the teacher would call students by name and with the exception of one instance where the teacher got the students name wrong this worked well to firstly engage the class throughout the lesson and secondly concept check important lesson points. The teacher also made an effort to select students at random when eliciting answers; something which I believe is key to keeping students focused, as it is a ll too easy for students to switch off if they know they are fifth or sixth in line to answer a question.A couple of times the teacher admitted to making mistakes on the hand-outs, which is an aspect of the lesson that could easily have been corrected by proofreading all materials beforehand. This didn’t appear to be a problem for the class as they looked comfortable with the teacher whom they have likely worked with before. Although for students with which the teacher had not worked with before this could have been a problem because students wouldn’t necessarily have the same confidence levels in a teacher they are unfamiliar with. Classroom ManagementStudents were arranged in a semi-circle formation facing the teacher. My belief was that this particular arrangement benefited the students, as it allowed all students to face each other and thus lower any barriers to peer-group interaction which may have existed with some students sitting behind others. This structure a lso helped when students were asked to talk in pairs and allowed the teacher to easily monitor each conversation without being disruptive. For my own lessons I aim to use this same layout where possible as it would appear to be the best way to involve all students to interact within the lesson.Towards the end of the lesson the students were instructed to form new pairs for the free stage. This worked by splitting the class into â€Å"husband† and â€Å"wife† pairings which also had the added impact of adding some fun to the exercise. This use of stereotypes for the â€Å"husband† and â€Å"wife† was an effective way to set context for the exercise. The benefit of which was that the students were quickly able to get into the role playing game, which would likely not have been so enjoyable for the students if the class had not been segmented in such a way.Teaching Point Ultimately the teacher achieved her aim and had the students using â€Å"I wish† in the correct manner for the most part. The free stage was the most successful contributor towards the students achieving the aim and the teacher did well to leave the correction of the free stage to after it had finished. The free stage was corrected at the end via a board review and the students appeared to have a strong grasp on the past subjunctive.Whilst adjacent to the stated teaching aim of the lesson it was also identifiable that the teacher was incorporating aspects of past lessons into her teaching. In particular requesting that students state the tense of a sentence proved effective in eliciting what would be passive memory from previous lessons. This naturally also underlined the primary aim of the lesson and at one point the teacher highlighted the point, after eliciting the correct tenses form the students, by stating that â€Å"the only difference is in the subjunctive of to be†.I felt this gave clarity to the students as they progressed through the lesson wit h a core concise definition of what they were learning as referenced by this example. Focus was sustained throughout the lesson on a couple of occasions and this allowed the teacher to continue with the lesson whilst wasting little time discussing points that were outside the scope of the initial objectives. An example was when the teacher asked the students to identify the difference in tense between two sentences where one student identified the difference in meaning rather than tense.On this occasion it could have been easy for the teacher to become side tracked whilst discussing the meaning of the sentences however she simply dismissed the answer in a polite fashion and brought focus back to the topic at hand. With respect to the teaching aim of this lesson my main takeaway was the importance of sustaining focus on the stated objectives. When teaching myself I imagine students will be eager to explore different aspects of the English language, which if indulged could lead to the primary focus not being reached within the time frame. [1,332 words]