Gender Equality Essay

Irrespective of the country and the cultures people live in, it is next to impossible to keep the question of gender equality hidden in the modern society. When the word gender equality was voiced in the 19th century what was been sought was political rights. Not only then but also today inequality between men and women has been evident in our society. Discrimination against women is an act that has had a lot of negative impact in our society and to the women themselves. This has been demonstrated through gender violence, economic discrimination, reproductive health inequalities and harmful traditional practices. It is a concern to the whole world to a point of making the affirmative action to fix this problem. Gender equality first and foremost is a human right; women are entitled to live in dignity and in freedom from fear and want (Tomasevski, 1993). Should men and women be equal in the modern society? Men and women are equal; only that women are victims of pervert social progress. Gender discrimination between men and women leads to unequal access to the resources and benefits of development. see more:gender discrimination short essay Gender inequality affects all people; sustainable gains in development and poverty reduction are only possible when men and women are full and equal participants in society. Men and women are different but they are equal in that whatever men can do their women counter parts can do it well. Men and women are equal what brings the discrimination is the socialization that men and women get. The notion that women are weak has denied many women with the ability to exploit the abilities they have (Tierney, 2007). Men and women are equal in so many aspects and should be equal. Politically, financially and academically no much difference that can be noted, it is insignificant. In the political realms there are women who are doing extemporal well. Taking the example of the just concluded US election Hillary Clinton had good support and motions that would be bought by the rest of the candidates. In the world of business we have Oprah Winfrey; an indicator of what women can do. She is competing among the men in that field and still her success is a threat to many. In the modern society women have been known to take responsibilities of raising the families. Women have come up so well in that their dependency level is going down even though they are discriminated in salaries. This is a proof enough that if women are given equal opportunity with men they can do much well. In the employment sector women are taking those opportunities which were thought to be for men (Kramarae & Spender, 2000). Women are managers of big companies and also owners just as men. They are also well represented in the government sectors and in the government. They have become career makers. Men have the initiative of sharing the household responsibilities. It is a common occurrence that couples can choose whether it is the woman or the man who will get a leave to take care of their new borne baby. Men and women are equal in the eyes of the law; they are subjected under the same law. Women are equal to men in all aspects hence in the modern society they should get the right to basic needs, education, job training and employment as men do. Empowering women is a great tool for reducing poverty and advancing development. Empowered women contribute to productivity and health in the families and communities and hence improved prospects for the next generation (Cross, 2001). The idea that men are stronger physically is just a preference of a few. If women are given similar opportunities as men they can perform equally well. Denial of opportunity has contributed to decreased performance of women in various areas. On the other hand both women and men should not forget their roles though sharing of responsibilities is taking root in the modern society. References: Cross, P. L. (2001): Women’s Rights are Human Rights; Human Rights are Women’s Rights. Retrieved on 29th Dec, 2008 from: http://www. pinn. net/~sunshine/essays/w_rights. html Kramarae, C. , Spender D, (2000): Routledge International Encyclopaedia of Women: Global Women’s Issues and Knowledge. ISBN 0415920906, 9780415920902, Routledge Tierney, J. (2007): Men and Women, Different but Equal: What’s the Problem? Retrieved on 29th Dec, 2008 from: http://tierneylab. blogs. nytimes. com/2007/09/09/men-and-women-different-but-equal-whats-the-problem/ Tomasevski, K. , (1993). Women and Human Rights. ISBN 185649120X, 9781856491204, Zed Books

BLENZ Coffee case study Essay

BLENZ Company Profile BLENZ Coffee is a Canadian concatenation of franchise java stores. BLENZ was founded in Vancouver in 1992. and has grown to over 82 franchises in six states. Soon the bulk of locations are located in British Columbia. with 35 international shops in the United Arab Emirates. Kuwait. the Philippines. China and Japan. BLENZ is chiefly a java store. but besides serves a assortment of hot and cold drinks. sweets. and assorted nutrient points such as wraps and sandwiches. BLENZ SWOT Analysis Strengths: Extensive drink bill of fareLarge nutrient and sweet choice compared to competitionFree Internet at 41 java house locationsTalented baristas ( coffee-maker. servers )Quality java bean and teasCanadian-ownershipAdvanced drink developmentLarge java housesAlternate to trade name leaderConsistency Failings: No clear trade name wayNo clear values or missionAssorted messaging. excessively many claimsContradictory aspirationsNo consistent communicating tone. linguistic communication. modeNo consistent communicating imagination. typography. designLess consistence across mercantile establishments compared to rivalsLess focused on experienceUnknown company history and backgroundFranchisee-operated Opportunities: Showcase largest bill of fare of most java housesIncrease consciousness of frequent advanced drinksEmphasize talented and award-winning baristasCanadian owned and operated ( started in Vancouver )Alternate to planetary java house ironss. something different Consistent experience of a concatenation. with the ambiance of a local coffeehouse A batch of action at java houses Menaces Competition from better-known java housesCoffee houses with better locationsCompeting java houses companies with higher quality merchandises Competing java houses companies with higher sensed quality Competing java house companies with higher sensed position Independent java houses Chain java housesCheap java housesInstantaneous java or complimentary java at work or concerns Cafes with larger bill of fare choiceStatus in in-between land between trade name leader and independent coffeehouse Peoples doing java and drinks at place There are many grounds for BLENZ Coffee’s success so far ; and this comes from their will to hold convenient locations for the Customer. Furthermore. their merchandises are of the highest quality and their service continues to convey people back. BLENZ’s HistoryBLENZ COFFEE opened its first shop in February 1992 on the corner of Robson and Bute Street in Vancouver. British Columbia. The first BLENZ shop was to be a proving land to guarantee that the construct and systems were strong plenty to turn and vie with other international ironss. The laminitiss of BLENZ COFFEE are Brian Noble. Sarah Moen and Geoffrey Hair. each conveying his ain personal strengths and combined conveying a wealth of concern experience to BLENZ COFFEE. The success of BLENZ COFFEE’S foremost shop and the founders’ committedness to instruction and criterions made franchising a natural pick. Today BLENZ now has 61 shops in British Columbia and besides operates internationally in Japan and the Philippines. BLENZ’s PhilosophyBLENZ COFFEE is a premium retail merchant of handmade javas. whole foliage teas. Belgian hot cocoa and other advanced and delightful forte drinks. From the start. the laminitiss of BLENZ COFFEE have ever had a passion for quality. This passion is reflected in our committedness to utilizing merely reliable. premium ingredients in their drinks. All BLENZ drinks are made in-store from merely the highest quality ingredients available. It is this committedness to functioning quality drinks. prepared with attention and attending by their extremely trained baristas. in a warm and modern-day environment that has fuelled BLENZ COFFEE’S growing from its origin. BLENZ’s MerchandisesBLENZ COFFEE are retail merchants of high quality whole bean javas. beautiful whole foliage organic teas and premium Belgian cocoa drinks to call but merely a few of their merchandise offerings. They are known as experts at reliable readying methods and handmade drinks. They are non merely purveyors of exciting and advanced drinks ; they besides offer a fabulous choice of adust goods. breakfast. tiffin and bites. among other delightful dainties to allure Customers. BLENZ: How to experience concerned by future They are cognizant of this fact which is that today’s universe could non be more unsure. Unemployment continues to lift ; the stock market continues to fall. BLENZ take control of the hereafter of unemployed valuable people. with their calling chances. BLENZ: How to experience concerned by Canadian’s life styleEven in the face of economic uncertainness. consumers still demand their favorite low-cost luxuries like premium java and tea. Canada’s java market is a $ 3 Billion Dollar industry. Coffee is still the most popular drink in Canada – and 2nd merely to H2O. of all drinks consumed among grownups 25 and older. And choice teas. are besides quickly deriving in popularity. BLENZ premium javas and teas are 2nd to none. They give people their opportunity to prehend the chance to bask their life style and net incomes with a successful BLENZ COFFEE franchise. BLENZ: How to unite Career Opportunities and Safety Fulfil your long held dream to have your ain concern. and truly be the Boss – without all the test and mistake that goes into a new concern venture. BLENZ helps you pull off the hazards and go a leader in your local concern community. BLENZ COFFEE stores are known as merriment. and fast paced societal environments. They’re besides a unafraid preparation land for kids to derive autonomy and pride as immature enterprisers. BLENZ: The will of being everywhereBLENZ has chances in both established and new markets they are doing available for the first clip. You can develop one shop. Or you may wish to be considered for an Area Development chance to open several shops in a Territory. Typical shops costs range from $ 225. 000 to $ 400. 000. depending on shop size. BLENZ: Festival & A ; Events spouse Vancouver FilmFestival Fringe Festival BLENZ & A ; Harbour Cruises BLENZ & A ; The Beat 94. 5FM Matcha PhotoContest

Succubus Heat CHAPTER 24

Once I'd assured Evan I wasn't calling him a son of a bitch, I got off the phone and turned to Roman. â€Å"The vessel's not anywhere around here. It's up in BC.† Roman's eyes had followed my finger to White Rock on the map. â€Å"Okay, you get points for the compelling name, but that doesn't necessarily mean anything.† â€Å"Yes! It means everything. The Army's been a distraction from the beginning, when the seal was created, when Ephraim talked to Cedric†¦and when Jerome was summoned. They staged their event on the Space Needle- here , but they didn't actually do anything until Jerome was taken. As soon as he was, they acted out to draw Cedric's attention here, away from his own territory.† Realization lit Roman's features. Sociopath or not, he'd always been smart. â€Å"Because Grace then hid the vessel in Cedric's territory.† I nodded. â€Å"That's where it's at. She needed Cedric gone, in case he noticed its presence before it was hidden. I think he's down here for the thing with Ephraim, but if I call now and tell him-â€Å" â€Å"No,† said Roman quickly. â€Å"We can't tell anyone.† â€Å"What is up with you?† I exclaimed, standing up. â€Å"The clock's ticking. We may not have time for a leisurely drive before the stasis ends.† â€Å"Chance we've gotta take, love.† He rose as well. â€Å"Grab your keys. Let's go.† I started heading toward my bedroom, then hesitated. â€Å"Damn. I told Seth I'd consider taking him with me. Too late now.† Roman considered. â€Å"No, do it.† â€Å"Why?† I asked in surprise. â€Å"I'll go invisibly. I don't know if anyone'll notice you leaving, but if they're tracking you, better they think you're on a romantic getaway. Even masked, I don't want anyone in power seeing my face yet.† That put me in a weird situation. Roman's entire reasoning throughout all of this was increasingly bizarre. There was also the debate I'd had last night, about whether I should let the balcony date shine on us as my last beautiful moment with Seth or if I should eke out a few more seconds. Letting it end at last night would have been the poetic thing to do†¦but I was made of baser stuff. I called him as soon as I was on the road and picked him up shortly thereafter. He rode in the front with me while Roman lounged invisibly in the back, which was creepy, to say the least. Fortunately, none of my talk with Seth was sappy or romantic. He sensed the urgency crackling around me and asked questions about my reasoning for the trip. I answered as thoroughly as I could, all the while trying to drive the speed limit. I couldn't risk the delay of a ticket-or count on supernatural charms to get me off. It took a little less than two hours to get there. We'd accidentally left the atlas at home but had all but memorized the directions anyway, which were straightforward. When we'd almost reach the park where the aforementioned rock was, I had the sense to call Peter and tell him not to go outside. â€Å"You think I'm stupid?† he asked. â€Å"I know as well as you the stasis is about to end.† â€Å"Yeah,† I agreed. â€Å"But it might not end like you're thinking.† We disconnected. â€Å"This is it, isn't it?† asked Seth. A sign directed us to the beach's parking lot, and I turned toward it. â€Å"Yeah, I think so.† I could feel myself starting to panic. â€Å"God, I'm afraid†¦I don't know what'll happen†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Seth reached over and patted my shoulder. â€Å"Easy, Thetis. This'll end the way it's supposed to. Do what you have to do, and we'll manage the best we can.† I parked the car and looked over at him. So much burned between us, it was a wonder it didn't suffocate Roman. Seth was right. This was the end, and we would face it and do what needed to be done, no matter how hard. That was one of the wonderful things about Seth. He knew what the right thing was. We got out of the car. Seth and I headed off down the beach, hand in hand. It was low tide, and the receding waters had revealed a landscape that had almost as much gravel as sand. Once you moved farther inland, though, the terrain turned green and grassy-probably the result of park maintenance crews. Semiahmoo Bay itself stretched off into a dark, choppy vastness that would have probably been blue and beautiful on a nicer day. Heavy gray clouds obscured most of the land surrounding the far sides of the bay, and I thought I heard a rumble of thunder, something that wasn't so common in the mild Pacific Northwest. I hoped we'd find what we needed soon because it looked like a storm was about to break out. Ah, metaphor. Seth interrupted my ponderings. â€Å"That,† he said, â€Å"is a white rock.† I came to a halt, turning my attention from the larger panorama to the path in front of me. There, about eighty feed ahead of us, was a white rock-a huge, white rock. And from the looks of it, Evan hadn't been exaggerating when he'd said it was about five hundred tons. â€Å"I kind of feel stupid wasting my time with scraps of white gravel,† I mused, brushing hair out of my eyes. The wind promptly whipped it back. â€Å"It was so obvious†¦and yet not. Shall we?† I nodded, and we approached the rock, our steps filled with both eagerness and apprehension. After all this time and all the failed efforts, it didn't seem possible that we'd really done it. Something was going to happen. Something had to happen. â€Å"Whoa,† I breathed, staring up at the rock's top when we reached it. It was so massive that it covered us in shadows. â€Å"I can see why people thought this came from the gods.† Seth was looking down. â€Å"Unfortunately, we've got to direct our attention to less lofty places. How are we supposed to find this? Just dig at random?† If Seth and I were alone, that would have been the method. Now, I was hoping Roman would reveal some insight about where the vessel was-if it was even here. A small part of me panicked that us ending up here might have been the biggest misdirection of all. I scanned the ground around the rock, but there was nothing indicative of a recent digging. On a beach like this, all of the ground was uneven. â€Å"Something like that,† I said, needing Roman to pick up on his cue. Seth had let go of my hand when we reached the rock, but now he caught hold of it again and pulled me to him. â€Å"Georgina†¦Ã¢â‚¬  I dragged my eyes from the ground and met his. My adrenaline was up, ready for the conclusion to this adventure†¦and yet, my heart was heavy, knowing what the consequences of this would be. I squeezed Seth's hands and stepped closer, resting my head against his chest. His heart beat heavy within. No doubt his emotions were tangled up as well. â€Å"I know,† I said softly. â€Å"I feel the same way.† He held me tight and kissed my forehead. â€Å"When we find Jerome†¦when you free him†¦it'll go quickly, won't it?† â€Å"Yeah. I don't know how long it'll take, but†¦well, I think it'll be pretty fast. That's how it was when he was taken.† â€Å"And that's it.† â€Å"I guess.† We stood there, both of us hurting and confused. I didn't think anything could be worse than when Seth had forcibly ended things back in December. I understood now that he'd done it because he thought it would be for the greater good, but it still smarted. And this†¦this was a pain of a different type. When Seth and I first kissed back at my apartment, I thought this could all be a vacation for me, just as it was for the vampires. Seth would be my sunshine, something I could have a brief fling with before returning to my dreary immortality. I could take the memories with me, and that would be enough. Only now, standing with him, I realized it wouldn't be enough. It would only hurt more now, knowing exactly what I could never have again. I would never make love with Seth again, never have these intimate moments of comfort and rapport. He wasn't mine anymore. He never could be again. â€Å"I don't know what to do,† Seth said, kissing my forehead. â€Å"What do you mean? We don't have a choice.† â€Å"We always have a choice, Thetis. After this, even when you're a succubus again†¦I don't know. I wanted so badly to protect you from all the world's hurts. I still do. But after being with you this last week, I'm starting to wonder if-â€Å" â€Å"You have got to be fucking kidding me.† Seth and I looked up in surprise. I would have expected Roman to come bust up our romantic interlude or maybe even Grace, in defense of her prize. What I was not expecting, however, was Dante. I didn't know where he'd come from. He stepped around the side of the rock like he'd been lurking behind it, but I suspected he'd just walked up to us unnoticed in our moment of lovers' angst. Anger radiated off him, and his eyes were as dark and stormy as the sea beyond us. And as soon as I saw him, I needed no drawn-out questioning, no build-up to a revelation. I didn't need to ask what he was doing there because I suddenly knew. â€Å"You're the summoner,† I said. â€Å"Of course.† There was a dismissive tone to his voice as he said that, like it was an insult that anyone else could have played that role. â€Å"Who else? I wasn't kidding when I told you I was the best in the area. I can't honestly believe you never even considered me. No, scratch that. Of course I can believe that. No matter how jaded or sorrowful you get, there's still that Pollyanna piece of you that wants to believe the best in those you care about.† â€Å"You say that like it's a bad thing,† I said, feeling my own anger grow. Being played this whole time was bad enough. But being played by my own boyfriend? Unacceptable. And yet†¦he was right. It had been stupid of me not to consider him, yet I couldn't believe he would have subjected me to all this torment. â€Å"It is a bad thing. I was hoping I could break you of it, but I guess not.† His eyes flicked to Seth's face and then back to mine. â€Å"Of course, I can't really talk about naà ¯vet? ¦ since you were screwing me over this whole time. Or, well, screwing him.† There wasn't really anything I could respond with. I could hardly say, â€Å"It's not what you think,† because†¦well, it was exactly what he thought. Regardless of his role in Jerome's summoning, the fact remained that I had cheated on Dante, and I'd been caught. â€Å"I'm sorry,† I said lamely, my hand still clutching Seth's tightly. He'd taken a step forward. He wasn't blocking me from Dante, but there was definitely a protective stance going on. â€Å"Yes, yes, I know.† Dante gave an exasperated sigh. â€Å"Damn it, Georgina. What does it take with you? I never gave you shit about your job. I was trying to make a good life for us. And yet†¦you still went back to him . As soon as you could fuck him without hurting him, you jumped right on it.† â€Å"Trying to make a good life†¦is that why you did all this?† I remembered Greg's comments about how anyone assisting a demon in this affair would be getting paid in concubines and TVs. In Dante's case, it had been much more basic. He'd simply been paid in money, enough to buy me jewelry and flowers and start talking about sharing a home with me. â€Å"Succubus, what else was I supposed to do?† He was still speaking to me in a mocking tone, but I could see the raw anguish on his features. It tore at my heart. â€Å"You can enslave kings and rock stars. There was no way you were going to stick with me forever, not where I was going. The palms barely pay the bills, and the window for when my spells could really pay off has passed.† â€Å"None of that mattered,† I said resolutely. â€Å"I would have stayed†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Yet, even as I spoke, I recognized the contradiction. So did Dante, as he gestured at a thus-far silent Seth. Seth seemed very intent on something. Dante rolled his eyes. â€Å"Yes. Clearly.† â€Å"I never wanted this†¦never wanted you to literally make deals with the devil.† â€Å"What did you expect from me? You know what I am. You got involved with me because you wanted to walk on the dark side. This deal was my biggest chance-the biggest payoff I was going to get for my power. She needed the best, and she could pay for my services.† â€Å"She†¦Grace.† Dante gave me a twisted smile. â€Å"I should have known you'd figured that part out too and had been sitting on it. Even when you trusted me†¦you still didn't really trust me. Maybe you aren't as oblivious as I thought. And when I got to your place and saw the atlas-well, that's when I knew I'd underestimated you. You're lucky Grace just sent me up here and didn't come herself. We might get you out of here alive after all.† Seth and I still stood close, close enough that when he spoke into my ear, he barely had to raise his voice at all. â€Å"The watch,† he breathed. â€Å"It's in the watch.† I had no time to process that further because suddenly, Seth broke from me and advanced on Dante. â€Å"Look, just leave her alone, okay? You caught her. She caught you. Call it even, and let us go.† I stared. It was uncharacteristically aggressive for him. â€Å"Even?† exclaimed Dante. â€Å"It is not even. I did what I did because I love her.† Seth's voice was level yet hard. â€Å"Love her? You got her caught up in that cult mess. You nearly got her killed by a demon.† Dante glowered and took a step toward Seth. â€Å"That wasn't supposed to happen. Jerome came up with the Canada thing on the fly. She wasn't supposed to be caught in the middle of this. The plan was for her to wait out the stasis like everyone else, and then return to normal once Grace was in power. Grace messed up when she told Nanette about her meddling, but then Grace made sure Nanette wouldn't fuck with her again. I worked to keep Georgina safe.† Cedric had told the truth. He really hadn't told Nanette about my theories; Grace had. â€Å"Yeah, you did a great job.† â€Å"It's not my fault!† yelled Dante. â€Å"Say what you want about me, my reasons were noble. Whereas hers†-he pointed at me-â€Å"were in keeping with the selfish little whore she's been her entire life.† And then†¦the unexpected truly happened. Seth sprang forward and punched Dante. I didn't know what was more surprising, that Seth would be so aggressive or that he could throw such a clean punch. He'd thrown himself at a mugger once, and while it had been wonderfully brave, it hadn't been nearly as precise or coordinated. I had no idea where he'd learned that. Dante appeared as startled as me. He staggered back from the blow and took a moment to recover. Then, with a snarl, he leapt toward Seth. Seth only partially dodged the blow-on purpose, it seemed-and fell back with the impact, causing both men to collapse to the ground. They grappled around a bit, trying to get leverage and blows in, and for a moment, I was too stunned by it all to react. Then, finally, Seth's words hit me. The watch . I hurried over to them, careful not to get hit by a flailing limb. Seth caught a glimpse of me and did his best to grab a hold of Dante's wrist and thrust it toward me. Dante kept squirming, however-I had a feeling he'd been in a few more fights in his life than Seth had-and increased his struggles once he realized what was happening. The watch. It made sense, really. Grace wore her part of the seal around her neck. Dante would want to keep his safe as well, and why not hidden in the only accessory that he-by his own admission-ever wore? At last, Seth managed to immobilize Dante's wrist just long enough for me to get my fingers under the watch's straps. I gave a hard jerk, using more strength than I thought possible, and the strap broke. The watch came away in my hand, and I scurried back as Dante yelled in rage. Seth eased up on restraining Dante, now that our goal was achieved. As soon as he was free, however, Dante came after me, and Seth shot up to catch a hold of him. I continued backing up, the watch clutched in my hand, until I hit something-or rather, someone. I turned and found myself staring into Grace's cold, hard eyes. Whereas Dante had seemed to appear out of nowhere, I knew Grace actually had. I froze, and behind me, the sounds of fighting stopped. I think the guys were just as surprised as me to see her-or maybe not. Dante had all but said he'd told Grace we were here. â€Å"Georgina,† she said. â€Å"You are such a good employee†¦and yet, you're also a bad one.† Her voice was as flat and emotionless as ever, except unlike in the past, I had a feeling she was actually planning to kill me now. â€Å"Why?† I asked, playing for time. â€Å"You had a good job under Jerome.† â€Å"Under being the operative word. I wasn't going to spend the rest of my existence as someone's second-in-command and certainly not their co-second-in-command.† â€Å"She has the seal,† I heard Dante say behind me. â€Å"I know she does,† Grace replied. â€Å"You gave it to her.† â€Å"Hey, I-â€Å" She raised her hand, and Dante screamed. Jerking my head around, I saw him writhing in pain, like he was suspended by strings that she controlled. After enduring Nanette's wrath, I knew how truly excruciating demonic torture was, and I couldn't stand to see anyone else go through that. Seth looked from me to Dante, clearly unsure what to do. Fistfights might be out of his comfort zone, though they were something he could do. But this? Totally different. â€Å"Let him go!† I said. As stupid as it was, I reached out and tried to shake her, but I would have had as much luck budging the huge glacial rock beside her. â€Å"I should never have relied on someone who was close to-â€Å" Her words were cut off when she suddenly went flying through the air, slamming into the rock. The impact seemed to surprise more than it hurt her, and mercifully, her torture of Dante stopped. She looked around, eyes wide and confused. â€Å"What the-â€Å" Roman materialized out of the air and strode toward her, fierce and frightening. Finally, I thought. Without my immortal senses, I couldn't feel his aura or signature, but something told me he was wielding a considerable chunk of his power as he advanced. Doing so was risky. It would make his identity known to any greater immortals nearby, though with all the drama in Seattle, there probably weren't any in the area to sense him. Cedric certainly wasn't around. Grace gave a sharp intake of breath. â€Å"You†¦I remember your signature.† That was all the warning she gave before fire streaked from her hands toward Roman. He didn't move or bat an eyelid, but the fire hit an invisible wall. It arced around him, leaving him unscathed. â€Å"Georgina,† he said, not taking his eyes off Grace. â€Å"The vessel's over by the north side of the stone's base.† I wasted no time in hurrying over to the spot he'd indicated. I heard Grace's outrage and caught her moving toward me in my periphery. But then, her anger turned to pain. Roman had blasted her with something, and her attention returned to him. My own attention was on the rocky ground as I began digging with my bare hands. In my zeal, I'd once again forgotten a spade. Seth was by my side in an instant, clawing at the sandy surface with me. Large, fat drops of rain began falling on us, but I didn't have time to care. â€Å"Who's stronger?† he asked as the sounds of fighting raged behind us. If Roman's appearance startled him, he was ignoring it for now. â€Å"I don't know,† I said. The ground was getting harder to dig in. It was damp and caked together from a recent rain, and I could feel it building up under my nails. â€Å"Roman can theoretically be as strong as Jerome, and I'm guessing she's less powerful than Jerome. I don't know for sure, and he might be holding back. The more power he uses, the more he alerts others that he's here.† My fingers hit something hard, and Seth and I both worked to pry it out. It was a wooden box, an old cigar case from the looks of it. I managed a good hold on it, and it began lifting out. â€Å"Here,† I said, pausing. I tossed him my purse and then immediately returned to my digging. â€Å"Get my phone. Look in the numbers, and you'll find Mei. Call her. Tell her where we're at.† The cigar box came up out of the earth. â€Å"You want me to call a demon?† he asked in shock. â€Å"We need her. Tell her where we're at. Then get away from here. Get in my car and go.† â€Å"Georgina-â€Å" â€Å"Go!† I shouted. Seth hesitated for the space of a heartbeat, then got up and ran with my purse, keeping well away from the combatants. I didn't know if Mei would react to a call from a mortal. I didn't even know if she'd answer, nor did I know if she could be trusted. I was relying on instinct-and that na;ve hope about everyone's good side-that she and Grace weren't collaborating. Roman's scream caused me to look up sharply. He was on his back, Grace advancing. What looked like lightning crackled toward him, though just with the fire, it split away. Only, it got a lot closer to him than before. He was weakening. Frantically, I scraped sand off the cigar box. It looked deceptively easy to open, but when I attempted to pry the lid up, nothing happened. It wouldn't budge, and I knew no efforts of mine would make it happen. Turning to the watch I'd taken from Dante, I peered at it. The face was a pale brown marbleized pattern-one that easily blended in with the seal. It was an ingenious hiding spot. I smashed the watch against the cigar case, and on the third try, the glass cracked. I plucked away the pieces and tried to pull up the face. It was embedded firmly. Taking a small shard of the watch's surface, I slipped it under the seal's edge, and after a few moment's pressure, everything fell apart, and†¦there was no seal. I stared. Gears, watch hands, pieces of glass, and the face†¦but no seal. Seth had been certain. I had been certain. Dante had no other place on him that he would keep it. Carter had said it was possible that the summoner might hide the seal elsewhere, and if Dante had done that, we were screwed. â€Å"Fuc-â€Å" I cut my own profanity off and stared at my wrist, at the glittering watch winking up at me. No. Surely it wasn't this obvious. Dante had given me the watch before Jerome had been summoned, and then I'd lost it right around the time of the summoning. I'd blamed it on myself, but was it possible that Dante had actually briefly taken it back†¦? Jerking the watch off my wrist, I didn't hesitate to give it the same treatment as Dante's watch. It killed me to shatter that beautiful gold-and-glass piece of work, but when the filigree face popped out, I found a piece of smoky quartz that complemented Grace's. Dante needed more credit. He'd kept the seal close to him and hidden it where no one who was looking for it-i.e., me-would ever think to search. The seal was useless, though, without the other half. Looking up, I saw that Grace had her hand around Roman's neck and was lifting him off the ground. He was completely limp. I didn't quite understand, but something told me he'd completely shut off all his power. Why? It was suicide. I wanted to scream, to run over and save him, but there was nothing I could do. Her back was to me, but I could imagine the gleam in her eyes. â€Å"When I kill you,† she hissed, â€Å"my position will be secured.† Suddenly, she jerked her head back toward me. For a moment, I thought I'd attracted her attention, but she wasn't looking at me. She was looking beside me, having sensed what I no longer could: the signature of another greater immortal. Mei stood there, hard and grim. I'd always considered her stone-faced, but the look she wore was truly terrifying, and I cringed. She and Grace locked gazes, and then a few seconds later, Grace flung Roman away. He landed with a hard thud and lay still for a moment. Then, he lifted his head and slowly began crawling across the sand toward me, every movement seeming to cause him agony. â€Å"You have seriously screwed things up,† said Mei. â€Å"I have improved my situation,† said Grace evenly. â€Å"And I can improve yours.† â€Å"I don't need your help-especially when I reveal that you were behind all this. The others will reward me. Jerome will reward me.† â€Å"You're an idiot! Do you want to spend the rest of eternity working for someone else?† â€Å"My time will come,† Mei returned smoothly. â€Å"And I'd rather work for him than you.† And without any more banter, they lunged at each other. It was a bizarre fight. Half of it seemed very human, complete with physical blows and grappling. At the same time, there was definitely a supernatural element to it, as they wielded the same kind of elements and invisible blows Grace and Roman had. The rain was pouring down, drenching both of them. With their abilities, they could have remained impervious, but they were too distracted by each other. Roman was still crawling toward me. Holding onto the seal and the box, I hesitantly moved to meet him half-way. â€Å"Can you open it?† I asked, handing him the box. His breathing was heavy and pained, but he gripped the box like I had and tried to pry the lid open. His fingers clenched the wood, and I saw exertion on his face, both of a physical and magical level. At last, he grimaced. â€Å"No. Not a greater immortal power I inherited.† I looked up at the demonesses. There was a slight shimmer around both of them. As the battle intensified, they were in danger of shifting to their true immortal forms, which would be bad for me to see. â€Å"Who's stronger?† I asked. â€Å"They're evenly matched,† said Roman, following my gaze. â€Å"Grace is a little worn down, though.† I hoped it would be enough. Hugging the box to my chest, I watched them fight, ready to look away if they totally shifted form. I'd always thought they had a hard sort of beauty, but now, it was all hardness and no beauty, and it wasn't difficult to see that under their human facades, they were truly demons of hell. I could also see what Roman meant about them being evenly matched. Each time one gained an advantage, the other took it back. Until, just when it seemed Grace might be getting the better of Mei, Mei suddenly came on full force with an attack of unseen blasts that caught Grace off-guard and made her stumble back. With inhuman speed, Mei reached forward and ripped the choker from Grace's neck. Equally fast, she threw it toward me and then turned back to block Grace, who seemed to realize the end was near. I grabbed hold of the necklace with trembling fingers and pulled off the crescent-shaped piece of the seal. I placed it next to Dante's half, unsure what to do, but as soon as they were close enough, they merged together into one whole disc. â€Å"Put it on the box,† said Roman. â€Å"Hurry.† I pressed the seal onto the box's top, and again, it seemed to know what to do, embedding itself in the wood's surface, almost like it melted. And with that, there seemed to be no other option. I opened the lid. The power that blasted out of it knocked both Roman and me backward, and at the same time, I felt a different sort of power snap into my body. The strings that bound my soul to Hell reattached. My immortal essence coursed through me, and with it, I felt all the other abilities Hell had granted me return. I felt strong. Charged. Invincible. My senses tuned back in to the unseen world, and the blast of powerful immortal auras filled the air. And there, in the rain, light and color slowly coalesced out of the box and into a man-shaped form. A few minutes later, it took on a completely human appearance. One that looked like John Cusack. Grace and Mei halted their attack, both staring. Carefully, hesitantly, Mei then took a few steps back. Jerome paid her no attention. He was focused on Grace. â€Å"Oh man,† I said softly. â€Å"You are so fucked.†

1- organic thin film transistor, 2- field-effect mobility for organic Essay

1- organic thin film transistor, 2- field-effect mobility for organic transistor.3- leakage current in transistors - Essay Example Digital radiography has seen drastic improvement since the adoption of TFTs in general radiography. This technology has also been used in the Active Matrix OLED (ALOMED) screens. Klauk, (2006, pp41-47) states that organic transistors are transistors that are made using thin films from an organic semiconductor instead of inorganic semiconductors in their channel. Small organic molecules may be evaporated in a vacuum to make the organic transistor. Alternatively, organic transistors are prepared by solution casting and transfer of organic single crystalline layers on a suitable substrate. The principal idea is the use of an organic material as the active semiconductor, to replace the initially used macromolecular organic materials (polymers) to increase efficiency. Electropolymerisation may still be used in case of unavailability of suitable and commonly used organic semiconductors (Brazis, Gamota, Kalyanasundaram & Zhang, 2004, p9). Optimization of structural design and devise interfaces led to several construction designs formulations but the most widely used are top and bottom contact Organic Thin Film Transistors (OTFTs). The terms top and bottom refer to the position of the two electrodes in relation to the position of the semiconductor. Top-contact OTFTs have their thin semiconductor film layer deposited first, then followed by the source and drain electrodes contacts onto the gate dielectric. A considerable reduction in contact resistance at the two electrodes; therefore they have little structural disorder at the interface. Bottom contact OTFTs have their source and drain electrode contacts first deposited first onto the gate dielectric supporter then the organic semiconductor crystal structure deposited directly on top. Molecular layers in the crystal structure are laid in a less ordered manner during the deposition onto the source and drain electrodes. While top contact OTFTs have reduced contact resistance and

'My ideal Classroom within my ideal School Essay

'My ideal Classroom within my ideal School - Essay Example Many of the more pragmatic suggestions for creating an ideal classroom in research literature related to secondary education, but interestingly the two projects currently attempting to construct an ideal classroom are focussing on the primary age range. With the practicalities of constructing an ideal classroom at an early stage in academic literature, a more philosophical approach is taken in this essay. From this perspective, practical ideas are discussed in terms of why they are thought to be ideal. As the notion of an ideal classroom is as much theoretical as a practical concern, I do not judge the existing literature to be lacking as empirical research into an ideal classroom would be heavily dependent upon its culture and context, arguably suffering from a lack of generalisability from its very nature.The role of education and educatorsThe broader role of education discussed by Wragg in Moon et al. (2002) includes flexibility, that the aim is simply to meet students’ nee ds. While this slightly dodges a question by posing another question (e.g. who determines and limits the needs), the intent suggests that the concept of ‘ideal’ has to be a fluid one. An ideal classroom now may not be one in 20 years, nor is the ideal classroom for a London school necessarily ideal for a similar school in Hull. The concept of an ideal classroom and school may be culture-bound as much as it is resource-driven, so it is necessary to strictly define for what purpose the classroom is ‘ideal'.

Topic to be selected from a list Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Topic to be selected from a list - Essay Example The government of United Kingdom introduced a scheme known as Sure Start in 1989 to ensure that children receive the best possible start in life (Thompson, 2010). This initiative was led by Gordon Brown, who was the chancellor of Exchequer during that time (Thompson, 2010). The goal of this program was to provide a good start to the children, so that they can build upon it in the future. The support is provided in terms of ensuring good education beginning from the early years; providing facilities for childcare; ensuring good health care and ensuring family support for children’s well-being (Roberts, 2000). Additionally, the project also has the larger goal of community development so that children can have a head start to in their adult life as a result of spending their childhood with a robust and healthy community (Roberts, 2000). This study takes a closer look at the contribution of Sure Start to the lives of children and families in the UK. It also attempts to assess the impact, the challenges and the future outlook related to this program. The study starts by documenting the origins and functioning of this scheme and then moves on the various contributions that it has made to the lives of children and families. Then, it also takes a look at both the local and national assessment of the scheme, the view of researchers and its future outlook. The performance of Sure Start has been under the scrutiny in recent times and scholars as well as the media have been debating on the effectiveness of this program. Hence, it is necessary to understand the ways in which this program may have had an impact on both The research is undertaken through a literature survey and review of available research and literature on the topic of project Sure Start. As such, numerous journal articles, books, newspaper articles, and authentic websites were perused and

The Development of the Post-Painterly Paradigm Research Paper

The Development of the Post-Painterly Paradigm - Research Paper Example In the Autumn Rhythm, the effects of the utilization of state ks and other materials are evident. Additionally, inflexion is perceptible, owing to the use of dissimilar colour paints that include black and white. Inflexion is also visible in the force of pouring and dripping on the canvas, thereby producing a significant piece of artwork. Besides, the web-like curves within the artwork critically depict a key inflexion in the Autumn Rhythm. Another significant work is the artwork of Robert Rauschenberg, Dirt Painting in 1953. The object, (dirt on the mould), portrayed was dirt and the d mould embedded in the wooden frame measuring 39 by 41 by 6 cm in dimension (Halasz, 309). The work comprised of dirt placed on a wooden frame and dirt growing on it. Another work is the Automobile Tire Paint, by the same artist, Robert Rauschenberg. The work consisted of twenty sheets of drawing paper. He then inked the rear tire of a car driven by the cage, thereby making the e imprints on the papers . The Automobile Tire Paint depicted significant inflexions in the line thicknesses of the imprints that formed on the paper sheets. Besides, owing to the weight of the automobile, the paints on the paper sheets were heavily imprinted on the sheets, thereby highlighting the zigzag markings. Additionally, the works showed a critical inflexion, owing to the faint imprint from the front tire of the wheel, and the rear tire deposited a succulent black tread blot that extends in a retreating procession, the length of the laid-down paper sheets.

The dimensions that determine the quality of services Term Paper

The dimensions that determine the quality of services - Term Paper Example There are three dimensions that determine the quality of services which are: responsiveness, empathy and assurance. This paper will describe the dimensions. To avoid confrontations, most clients do not make direct complaints to businesses when not satisfied with their services. A more significant reason is that they are not accorded a convenient channel to complain and believe a complaint will not yield effective results in terms of a solution (Goetsch, 2010). To improve service quality and retain clients, attract new ones, and generate more business with the existing ones, service managers should encourage them to complain when things go wrong. This will clear the clients’ perception that organizations do not care to correct mistakes while demonstrating the willingness of the service providers to be helpful (Goetsch, 2010). Many organizations rely on the traditional, reactive recovery problem solving methods, where the process is initiated by the clients. However, the proactive methods where the organization initiates the process are more effective. Clients should be asked questions on how services may be improved and encouraged to use suggestion boxes and comment cards. With this approach and attitude from the providers, clients will have the comfort of knowing they are dealing with an organization that is willing to be helpful and responsive towards meeting their expectations (Goetsch, 2010). Organizations that do not display a willingness to help through effectively responding to complaints add to their service failures by failing the clients repetitively. Business organizations need to respond to clients’ requests and complaints by providing prompt and efficient services (Bhat, 2010). Timely deliveries convey a sense of responsibility and urgency and help build a client’s confidence and encourage repeat orders. Punctual responses also demonstrate to clients that their concerns are also the organizations concerns and they are given priority

Retention of Novice Teachers who Migrate to Arizona to Begin their Dissertation

Retention of Novice Teachers who Migrate to Arizona to Begin their Teaching Careers - Dissertation Example Induction programs, which typically have several goals, are the most common support structure for new teachers (Killeavy, 2006). Among those goals are to instruct new teachers in the methods, culture, and background of the school or district; to increase student achievement, and; to help new teachers experience success in their first year (Breaux & Wong, 2003). Success of a first year teacher is commonly measured by both student academic success as well as the novice teacher’s desire to continue in the teaching profession (Strong, 2005). Unfortunately, attrition rates for teachers new to the profession continue to be high with as many as half of all new teachers leaving the profession within their first three years of teaching (Ingersoll & Smith, 2011; Greiner & Smith, 2006; Darling-Hammond, 2004). According to Rosenow (2005) as many as 10% of novice teachers in high-poverty schools fail to finish their first full year of teaching. While these numbers are alarming, alone they do not provide adequate insight into the factors that influence a novice teacher’s intent to stay or leave the profession. Factors influencing a teacher’s decision to leave the profession range from job stress to low pay to inadequate support (Reiman & Corbell, 2007). However, induction programs with strong support elements have shown promise in increasing retention rates of novice teachers (Corbell, Osborne, & Reiman, 2010; Hammer, 2005). American public schools are at a critical crossroads. In the next decade, it is estimated that an additional 200,000 teachers will be needed as a result of teacher retirements, increasing birthrates, and immigration, and the popularity of class-size reduction initiatives (Zumwalt & Craig, 2009; Graue & Rauscher, 2009). Compounding the problem is the fact that some states, like Arizona, fail to produce enough college graduates to fill the demand for new teachers (Berry, Fuller, & Williams, 2007). This has resulted in some school distr icts, particularly rural ones, recruiting and hiring teachers from other states resulting in novice teachers who migrate across state lines to begin their careers (Allen, 2005). Little is currently known about the factors that influence the intent to stay for the sub-population of novice teachers who migrate across state lines to begin their teaching careers. However, current research on new teacher retention suggest that induction programs with strong mentor, colleague, and administration support help to increase retention of novice teachers (Corbell, 2008). Statement of Problem Despite the efforts by administrators and policy makers to increase the retention of novice teachers, research consistently shows that between 30-50% of teachers leave the profession within their first three years (Ingersoll & Smith, 2011; Greiner & Smith, 2006; Darling-Hammond, 2004) Furthermore, Merkel (2004) describes the problem of new teacher attrition in Arizona as â€Å"chronic†. Many Arizona districts, particularly rural ones, experience the â€Å"revolving door† described by Ingersoll (2003) in which new teachers are hired, trained, and supported but not retained beyond their first few years. Therefore, the purpose of this quantitative study will be to examine the factors that influence retention rates of novice teachers who migrate to Arizona from out of state to begin their careers. Significance of Study It is not known if novice teachers w

Structural Functionalism and Conflict Theory Essay Example for Free

Structural Functionalism and Conflict Theory Essay Karl Marx and Max Weber were the first conflict theorists in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Following Marx and Weber were three mid-20th century conflict theorists: Lewis Coser, Ralf Dahrendorf, and Randall Collins. Coser draws his theoretical ideas from Simmel. Like Simmel, Coser maintains that conflict is healthy for society. In contrast, Dahrendorf combines theoretical ideas from Marx and Weber. Dahrendorf sees power as the main feature in all social relationships. However, Collins incorporates Weber, Durkheim, and Goffman’s theories to provide a micro-level orientation to conflict theory. Collins also used geopolitics at a global level to examine political conflicts historically and geographically. According to Marx and Weber, the root of most social conflict comes from an unequal distribution of class, status, and power, as well as a group’s sense of deprivation caused by class (Allan, 2007). Coser, Dahrendorf, and Collins added to Marx and Weber’s theories. These conflict theorists assert that the degree of deprivation is essential in creating class consciousness and critical awareness. In particular, Coser discusses the consequences of inter and intra group conflict. Internal conflict can build up over time between groups and become explosive. Internal groups have a psychological need to be in conflict with each other. Modes of releasing hostility and developing authority with a corresponding justice system are necessary for healthy internal conflict. Further, external conflicts between groups create well defined and guarded boundaries to distinguish membership. Group membership becomes exclusive, which is necessary for group survival. â€Å"Conflict sets boundaries between groups within a social system by strengthening group consciousness and awareness of separateness, thus establishing the identity of groups within the system† (Coser, as quoted in Allan, p. 219, 2007). Coser maintains that conflict can have functional consequences. Some functional consequences of conflict are: social change, innovation, and increased centralized power. Structural Functionalism was the dominant theoretical approach in the United States from the 1930s through the 1970s. Structural Functionalism asserts that the various parts of society are interrelated and form a complete  system. â€Å"Just as the body is a system with specific parts (e.g., arms, legs, liver) that ensure its overall functioning, so, too, society is a system with specific parts (family, government, economy, religion, etc.) necessary for its very survival† (Appelrouth and Edles, 2008, p. 349). Two key structural functionalism theorists are Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton. Parsons theories were highly abstract. Parsons developed a social action theory to explain why people behave the way they do. He explained human actions as a result of three systems: social systems, personality systems, and cultural, and behavioral systems (Appelrouth and Edles, 2008). These systems are not separate entities; rather together they form a simplified model of society. â€Å"Social systems, personality systems, and cultural systems undergird all action and all social life† (Appelrouth and Edles, 2008, p. 352). Parsons applied his theory to the American family in Sex Roles in the American Kinship System (1943). Parsons proclaimed that â€Å"many women succumb to their dependency cravings through such channels as neurotic illness or compulsive domesticity and thereby abdicate both their responsibilities and their opportunities for genuine independence† (Parsons, 1943 as quoted by Appelrouth and Edles, 2008, p. 382). Sex Roles in the American Kinship System (1943) incited criticisms as Parson endorsed traditional gender roles, and asserted that dire consequences would occur if these roles were breached. Robert Merton’s theoretical influences were broad. He read extensively, and there are elements of Durkheim, Weber, Simmel, and Marx in his theories. In contrast to Parson’s abstract theories, Merton was a middle-range theorist. Middle range theories â€Å"lie between the minor but necessary working hypotheses that evolve in abundance during day-to-day research and the all-inclusive systematic efforts to develop a unified theory that will explain all the observed uniformities of social behavior, social organization, and social change† (Merton, as quoted by Appelrouth and Edles, p. 383). Merton was best known for his distinction between manifest and latent functions. Whereas manifest functions are the conscious intentions of the actor, latent functions are the unintended consequences of the action. Merton used the example of the Hopi rain dance to illustrate manifest and latent functions. The manifest function of the rain dance often does not  produce rain, and is called superstitious by some. However, the rain dance continues to be performed for a function that the actor is unaware of, which is the latent function (Appelrouth and Edles, 2008). â€Å"†¦This behavior may perform a function for the group, although this function may be quite remote from the avowed purpose of the behavior† (Merton, 1949 as quoted by Appelrouth and Edles, 2008, p. 391). Even though the Hopi rain ceremony does not produce the manifest function of producing rain, the ceremony does bear latent functions that sociologists and anthropologists can study. Parsons Sex Roles in the American Kinship System (1943) received a lot of criticism in the 20th century. This 20th century criticism stems from Parsons endorsement of traditional gender roles, and the dire consequences that would occur should these roles be breached. Interestingly, the 21st century critiqued the 20th century critiques. The 21st century does not claim that Parsons assertions were not sexist, rather that the 20th century critiques were sexist (Appelrouth and Edles, 2008). As Appelrouth and Edles (2008) note, Parson’s pivotal premise was not sexist at all. Parsons believed that changes that are functional for one part of the system will produce changes that are not necessarily functional for other parts of the system. Appelrouth and Edles (2008) further noted the sexism in the 20th century in the premise that women could enter the workforce without significant changes being made to other social structures and systems, and without a major increase in quality dayca re and childcare facilities. How would Parsons view 21st century families? I maintain that Parsons might find 21st century families dysfunctional. Twenty-first century families do not have the rigid structure that Parsons describes. Parsons wrote from a 1940s, 1950s white male middle class perspective, and could not picture the perspective of other social classes. However, families today are socially and racially diverse, especially in the US, and even the white middle class family does not fit Parsons proscribed role definitions. In the 21st century, there is substantial role confusion in families. Gay and lesbian couples adopt children and raise them with same sex parents. More fathers stay at home to take care of their children while the mother is the primary breadwinner. Increased educational opportunities for women have produced a professional class of women who sometimes earn substantially more than their  husbands. Families in the 21st century are also deciding to have fewer children, and are marrying at a later age (and sometimes not at all). In short, the 21st century has produced more: women in the workforce, single parent households, stay-at-home dads, same sex parents, and racially blended families. It is arguable whether families in the 21st century are dysfunctional. Certainly there are dysfunctional families; yet, many families perform well in the new social order. Would Parsons view the 21st century change in sex roles as negatively affecting the family? Indeed, some would argue that changed sex role definitions create confusion, and affect the family and the socialization of children negatively. However, sex role changes in the 21st century are logical when one looks at the situation using Parson’s AGIL scheme. The 21st century has produced rapid changes, and as a result, family roles have had to change in order to adapt to the new environment. Social changes and changes in the job market have forced people to conform. Therefore, families have had to adapt to the new economic system (A), and therefore have new goals (G), which create changes in the social system with norms and interactions (I), and thus cultural systemic change occurs to adapt to the new order (L) (Appelrouth and Edles, 2008). Hence, the new social order is more functional for the 21st century. Therefore, it can be concluded that Parsons fixed and inflexible role structure is only one depiction of a functional family, as portrayed by 21st century families. Merton’s manifest and latent functions are applicable as a functional analysis tool for social organizations. In evaluating social programs, assessors may tend to just investigate manifest functions. When querying a social organization as to whether they achieved their program goals or intended purpose, the answer received in the manifest function gives little depth of information. Granted, this type of manifest inquiry is important, as it reveals whether programs have achieved their stated goals. Nevertheless, this manifest inquiry can be achieved simply by questioning agency personnel. On the other hand, utilizing latent inquiry, the assessor can discover deeper theoretical problems. By simply examining manifest functions, the evaluator becomes merely a recorder and transcriber of  behavior and actions. In contrast, latent inquiry provides more depth to an assessment. Latent inquiry discovers unrecognized information that cannot be obtained by a manifest inquiry. Latent inquiry discovers consequences, motivations, and paradoxes, which provide useful assessment information. Therefore, when used together, both manifest and latent functions are a valuable functional analysis tool for sociological inquiry. Resources Allan, K. (2007). The Social Lens: An Invitation to Social and Sociological Theory. California: Pine Forge Press. Appelrouth, S., and Edles, L. (2008). Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory. California: Pine Forge Press.

Factors For The Rise Of English Neologisms English Language Essay

Factors For The Rise Of English Neologisms English Language Essay Languages are changing as the world is constantly changing. After the Second World War, English neologisms emerged in a remarkable way. New vocabulary came into existence due to new technologies and new discoveries such as ; computing, internet , cell phones and the like. Peoples daily activities like dancing, looking and many others, renewed their popularity giving birth to new lexicon. In deed, new words are invented rapidly and are developed quickly thanks to mass communication. They appear and fall into disuse when they have served their momentary purpose ( Bernhart 54).Only a few of them will get recorded in glossaries of neologisms of general dictionaries. The matter of neologism becomes a new hot spot of research owing to its practical and prevailing use in reality. The study of neologisms evoked a whole cluster of questions: -What are the reasons beyond the rise of new lexicon? -Why are some new words just a flash in a pan? -Why are other words successful? -What are the qualities that make a word successful? -Are Neologisms markers of changes in societies? Part 01: Literature Review 1.Definition of a Neologism The term neologism originates from Greek: neos means new, logos means word, i. e. a neologism is literally a new word. Neologism is the creation of a new lexical item as a response to changed circumstances in the external world, which achieves some currency within a speech community(qtd. in Chrystal 1992: 264) at a particular time. In linguistics, a neologism is a newly invented word or phrase. It can be an old word or phrase used with a new meaning. The word neologism is a neologism itself, it was coined in 1800. l. 2. Background of English Neologisms The collection of dictionaries that contain neologisms started in 1604.The early Neologisms dictionarieswere: Table Alphabeticall (1604, Robert Cawdrey), English Expositor (1616, John Bullokar), and The English Dictionarie (1623, Henry Cockeram).Those dictionaries had some features of neologisms dictionaries but the true study of neologisms began in the 20 century, some 200 years later. The first neologisms book is Word-Coinage, being an Inquiry Into Recent Neologisms, also a Brief Study of Literary Style, Slang, and Provincialisms by Leon Mead in 1902.It was not a real dictionaries, it contained a set of articles about new words. In 1920, there was a remarkable progress in the research of new words with the book of C.Alphonso Smith entitled New Words Self-defined.it included 420 new words with examples.He wrote some articles entitled Words and Meanings, New. . From 1937 to 1940, Dwight Bolinger ( Famous American Scholar) invented a column ,The Living Language, in the newspaper, Words.Later, it was changed into Among the New Words.In 1944, Professor I. Willis Russell became the editor of this column . World War II was a major reason of the birth of new words .In 1944, Majorie Taylor collected the new words created during the War in a word-list entitled The Language of World War II: Abbreviation, captions, Quotations, Slogans, Titles and Other Terms and Phrases.At the same time, Clarence Barnhart printed his Dictionary of U.S. Army Terms. After the World War II, science and technology development had greatly effected the society. A lot of scientific and technical words were brought into language. A lot of neologism dictionaries about words in those fields were published. Two of them are mostly welcomed: An Explaining and Pronouncing Dictionary of Scientific and Technical Words by W. E. Flood Michael West and Words of Sciences and the History Blind Them by Isaac Asimov. From 1970s on, the study of English neologism drew great attention from western scholars, many of them established special column to introduce new words in English, such as William Safire who was well known for his On Language in New York Times weekly and Anne H. Soukhanow who was the chief-editor of Word Watch. In Safires column, he provided a considerably clear explanation of new words by citing typical examples, exploring their origins and performing their current usage. The digital revolution in 1990s is the radical reshaping and restructuring of social patterns. Because of the wild spread of internet, America is speaking a whole new language, said Shawn Holley in his The New Word Revolution. Lots of neologisms that have a historical significance by reason of the influence they exerted on the language field are brought into existence. According to the statistics, more than 20 neologism dictionaries have been compiled, among which some put emphasis on the academic field and some are distinctive by their popularity. Oxford English Dictionary, Websters Third New International Dictionary and Barhart Dictionary of New English are the ones with the highest academic value. New words are numerous. Sometimes it seems as if a new word has about as much chance of developing into a permanent addition to our vocabulary. Only few of them will remain as serious candidates for the dictionary. Books especially about new words are abundant. However, only a few scholars have ventured to propose factors that make for the success of new words. One is Goran Kjellmer, whose article Potential Words in the journal Word for August 2000 also reviews previous proposals. The other is the executive secretary of American Dialect Society, Allan Metcalf who proposed the FUDGE scale. The two reached different conclusions. Along with books and periodicals, there is the Internet. In particular, it makes my extensive searches for examples of how words are actually used today possible. Here the author has searched thousands of pages indexed by Google.com countless times to find current uses of words under discussion. A jump of several decades has showed us more researches on the neologisms. Language reflects our life, and the research on the neologisms has never been stopped. By collecting new words or phrases occurring in languages, the previous researches have provided precious materials for the further exploration in this field. Therefore, a careful look at the research background of neologisms carries an essential academic significance. In china, the study of neologism began from 1980s. Most of the specific works and papers are mere introduction of theories from abroad lacking of much original study. To keep up with the latest English vocabulary is really difficult, thus a thorough and systematic analysis about English new words is of practical significance both in learning and teaching of English as a foreign language. Part 02: Factors for the Rise of English Neologisms The resaons beyond the rise of new words are numouroes, some are internal causes or linguistic (phonological, morpho-syntactic, lexical or semantic) , others are external which , we will see in this part. Mcmahon M.S (1994: 179-182) discusses causes of semantic change and describes the following: Linguistic causes Historical causes (subdivided into ideas and scientific concepts) Social causes Psychological causes (subdivided into emotive factors and taboo) Foreign influence The need for a new name 2.1. Sociolcultural Changes: 2.1.1. New ideas in Society and Culture. Changes in social outlook and manners of behavior call for new terms such as beatnik, peacenik, and hippie. Even new culinary arrangements demand new labels and in English they have some forth in the form of cheeseburger, chiliburger, mushroomburger, etc. (Anderson, 1973) Brian Foster presents us a striking example of how fast English vocabulary changes. In the year 1914, a young girl named Monica Baldwin entered a convent, remaining secluded there until 1941. When she returned to the outer world, she found herself in a totally different world: the conditions of everyday life altered by technical developments and social changes were beyond recognition. Whats more puzzling to her was the language people speaking. During a railway journey, the term luggage in advance meant nothing to her. Reading the daily newspapers made her feel idiotic in the extreme, because words like jazz, Gin, Hollywood, Cool, noshing and Isolationism were completely incomprehensible to her. Not to mention how bewildered she was at hearing friends say, Its your funeral or believe it or not. (Brian Foster, 1981) 2.1.2. Disguising Language, Misnomers Misnomers are words that replace taboo words or banned words.In order not to deceive the hearer, the taboo words are replaced to disguise their unpleaseant meaning.Examples: E. friendly fire instead of bombardment by own troops. 2.1.3.Prestige, Fashion The superiority of a group or politics leads people to use some linguistic elements (words, morphemes, morphs, sounds) from the prestigious group. Example: English, for instance, borrowed from French during the ME. period because the upper social classes were made up of French people:e.g. garment, flower, rose, face, prince, hour, question, dance, fork, royal, loyal, fine, zero are all Gallicisms. An other vivid example is English which is now the most prestigious language in many parts of the world. 2.1.4.Social, or Demographic, Reasons Here, it means the contact between different social groups. As a result of this contact, new lexical items appear. In the history of the English language, the two prominent instances of exchanges between two social groups were the one with the Vikings in the 8th to 11th centuries and the one with the French in the 11th to 15th centuries.Examples: The inherited ey is replaced by Scandinavian egg, the inherited nimen is replaced by Scandinavian taken except for theform benumb, throwen is supplemented by Scandinavian casten; early French loans are army, carpenter, catch. 2.1.5.Culture-Induced Salience of a Concept (Cultural Salience) The salience or the importance of concepts change with change of culture. Example: In the US, a lot of metaphors in general language have been taken from the field of baseball, e.g. to be off base to be completely wrong, to hit a home run to be highly successful and from the field of entrepreneurship. 2.1.6.Word-Play The category of word play includes humor, irony and puns. Although word-play often goes hand in hand with other factors (such as taboo, prestige or anthropological salience), it can also trigger lexical change on its own. Example: to take French leave to leave secretly (without paying), to cool look ( 2.2 Technological Changes New science leads to new words. Aristotle and Newton were neologists.They used new lexicon and new defintions to explain the theory of dynamics Thus, there is no new knowledge without new terms or concepts.Generally a new invention or discovery holds the name of the inventor. Sometimes some technical new words can be found in linguistics such as hypercorrection, allomorph, etc. The word software for example, that computer term was invented by John W. Tukey, a statistician at Princeton University. As long ago as 1958, he used the word in the American Mathematical Monthly. Today the software comprising the carefully planned interpretive routines, compilers, and other aspects of automotive programming are at least as important to the modern electronic calculator as its hardware of tubes, transistors, wires, tapes and the like. Tukey was already known for inventing another now- famous computer term. 2.3 Economic Changes Economic field has a great impact on language.We are in a competition age.This leads to new brand names that want to find a place in the economy market.The success of the product causes the suceesss of its name.The owner of the product has to spend too much money to make the prdut well-known.This is done via advertisemnts to convice peole tp but it and name it as it was advertised.Its name will be a new word in the society. The example of Coca-Cola Company is a good example.due to the geat success of Coke, people can ask for a coke yet they will be satisfied if they are given pepsi , i.e. the word Coke nowadays refers to a soft drink like a coke. Some technical and medical brands find their way in general vocabulary. Examples: à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Aspirin: a name for acetylsalicylic acid, trademarked by the Bayer Company of Germany at the start of the twentieth century. à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Elevator and escalator: both originally trademarks of the Otis Elevator Company. à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Zipper: a name given to a separable fastener by the B.F. Goodrich Company many years after it was invented. The new name helped the zipper attain popularity in the 1930s. à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Loafer: for a moccasin-like shoe. à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Cellophane: for a transparent wrap made of cellulose. à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Granola: a trademark registered in 1886 by W K. Kellogg, now used for a natural kind of breakfast cereal. à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Ping-pong: for table tennis, a trademark registered by Parker Brothers in 1901. à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Xerox: for photocopier. à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Kleenex: for facial tissue. à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Band-Aid: for adhesive bandage. à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Tupperware: for storage container. à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Scotch tape: for transparent adhesive tape. à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ Ã‚ ºÃ¢â€š ¬Ã‚  Jazzercise: for exercise to jazz music. 2.4. Political Changes. Some important political changes infulence vocabulary and give birth to new words and concepts. For instance, when Mr. Bill Clinton was elected as the president of the US. His name has been associated with many political words. His policy is Clintonian, he is carrying out the Clintionism, his economics policy is Clintonomics, and his supporters were called Clintonites, he ultimately wanted to realize his Clintonization. Another recent political event that took place on Septembet the eleventh has brought a neologism in the American society.Because of the striking coincidence that 911 is the telephone number to call for help in an emergency, that numerical designation of this event has been a success. The events of that day have resulted in a new term: ground zero, for the place of impact, the center of destruction in New York City where the World Trade Towers once stood. That phrase has succeeded because it is not really new; its an old term for the location on the ground directly under a vast atomic explosion, corresponding to air zero, the location in the air above the ground where the bomb goes off. No one knows who first said ground zero in reference to the site where the World Trade Towers were attacked and collapsed, but the term immediately caught on because of its familiarity and emotional power. Part 03: Success of English Neologisms In the previous section, we have seen the reasons of the rise of the new words and how they become part of language.In this part; we will tackle the reasons that make a word successful or the reasons that make a word part of general language dictionary. 3.1 The occurrences The frequency of the new word in a society makes it successful.If the neologisms appears in many various sources such newspapers, magazines and books, it will be included in general dictionaries and becomes a familiar word and no more neologism.This mean the the word becomes popular if it is cited in many sources 3.2 Variety among sources A neologism in its first appearance is common for only a special field .Thus, it is found in technical dictionaries .Consequently , general dictioanries exclude technical terms .But there are some exceptions and some technical words find their place in general dictionaries due to their range in many sources.Example , the phrase intellectual property was limited to some branches .Nowadays, it is widely spead thanks to the new technologies and inventions in each field . 3.3 Cruciality in a given field Sheidlower defines cruciality as the need for a word to exist (35). Lets take the example of the acronym AIDS invented in 1982.This acronym is still the given name to this killing disease.It will hold the same name even if a cure is invented for this disease because of the importance and cruciality of this sickness, its referent is a crucial matter in society (qtd. in Sheidlower 35). The word whirlpooling, though it is the only word used to describe such a behaviour, it is not included in a general dictionary because the phenomenon is rare and unusual , rare and unusual phenomenon (qtd. in Sheidlower 36). 3.4 Durability or Endurance ( Existance) Each new word appears in a specific period of time.But if it has suffiecient evidence such as frequency of occurrences, range among sources, cruciality in a given field, it may be included in a general dictionary. New Deal is a good example here.So some neologisms refer to their time period, culture, policies and the like. Conclusion If a word wants to stay alive, it has to be admitted widely in public speech and used by mass media, and/or personalities, such as politicians, authors etc. (Barnhart 56). Depending on the editor and on what kind of dictionary a coinage should enter, one factor might be more of a value than another. Of the many thousands new words created each year, about 200 new words fulfill the above-mentioned conditions and make their way into a standard dictionary. Authors, TV, radio and news reporters use these new terms on a large scale, and thus they become vogue words for a certain period of time or even forever (Barnhart 56). But then the struggle of a new word is not over yet. If it is not used anymore or lost its importance, it will be deleted in the end (Sheidlower 38). Practical considerations play their part in the march of a word into a dictionary. Chief among these is the scope of the dictionary and its physical limitations. Because general lexicography is a commercial art form, dictionaries reflect the judgment of their makers and the needs of their publishers. Consequently, no dictionary is complete. There is a considerable difference between general dictionaries and Among the New Words. The dictionaries aim is to supplement the existing English vocabulary, whereas Among the New Words aims to chronicle the development of the English language (Barnhart 59). For this reason, these criteria stated above (2.4.1 to 2.4.4) hardly apply to Among the New Words.

Examining The Automotive Industry In Malaysia Economics Essay

Examining The Automotive Industry In Malaysia Economics Essay The industry I have chosen is the automotive Industry in Asean in particular Malaysia and to go more indepth I took proton as a good case study what is happening to the Malaysian automotive industry. Why Malaysia? Malaysia has a strong driving culture and one of the highest penetration rates of cars per capita in the world (Bonami, 2005, p. S3), as well as the growing clout of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) markets, Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional Berhad (PROTON) as an appropriate sample available at (http://www.proton.com) Brief introduction about proton The first national car project by Malaysia was undertaken with the establishment of Perusahaan Otomobil Nasional (PROTON) in 1983. The Proton Saga was produces 1985. Proton nowadays produces a number of car models and variants, including the Iswara, Perdana,Wira, Satria, Putra,Waja and most recently, the GEN-2 and Satria Neo. The latest 104 M. Rosli F. Kari models, as reported, use Malaysian developed engines through collaboration between Proton and its subsidiary, Lotus (United Kingdom) . . Political and economic structures, including cultural attitudes relevant to the business; According to ( Rasiah, 2005) Malaysia continues to protect its automobile industry against the conditions in the Trade related Investment Measures (TRIMs) agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO), the inclusion of automotives under the common effective preferential tariffs (CEPT) under the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area (AFTA) process has brought increasing pressure for the removal of localization-based tariff protection of automotives and parts production in the country Stimulatory and Protective Measures set by the Malaysian government The development of the Malaysian automotive industry is heavily depending upon the undivided support of the government. Various stimulatory and protective measures, such as investment incentives, a local content policy, and tariff and nontariff barriers were implemented to stimulate the development of both local automotive and parts production. Proton in particular is a unique case because of its status as the first national project. To date, the largest shareholders in Proton are still government-controlled agencies, namely Khazanah Nasional Berhad (42.7 per cent), the Employees Provident Fund (12.6 per cent), and Petronas (9.8 per cent). Temasek Holdings Pte. Ltd, a Singapore investment merged as a new shareholder with a 5 per cent Holding ( Rosli.M KariF 2008). The government has also provided many incentives under the 1986 Promotion of Investment Act. In particular the Pioneer Status and Investment Tax Allowance are the two most lucrative tax incentives granted to companies involved in promoted activities or products that are, from time to time, determined by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). In order to help to develop national capabilities in the automobile Industry in a sustainable but competitive way, the Malaysian government initially provided protection, allowing Proton( and other Malaysian car manufacturers) to withstand some early environmental downturns (Todd, 1986). For example, import duties were set at roughly 21% on domestic components, as compared to 40% on the equivalent foreign parts. This implies that there was a substantial difference in price between foreign imported cars and proton cars. Moreover, PROTON cars required excise duties of only 11%, while foreign branded automobiles were taxed up to 25%. Further, the authorities demanded car assemblers charge a profit margin of 16 to 17% to avoid price wars (Zafar A. Humpreys J. 2008). This all resulted into that Proton was totally protected in any kind of way of the way to potential success was predetermined in Malaysia. Economic structure Cultural attitudes In Malaysia there is general consensus that the automobile industry is one of the drivers of world economic growth and has the potential to shape how we make things . . . , how we work . . . , what we buy, how we think and the way we live(Womack, Jones, Roos, 1990, p. 11). Therefore the Malaysian economy has always been heavily depending upon the automobile industry or product which are complementary to that, such as petrol in which Malaysia has one of the biggest oil( Petronas) producing companies in Asia.As mentioned earlier a strong driving culture exists in Malaysia and owing a car is culturally considered as a status symbol of wealth and prosperity. Moreover, the plan has been since the 1970s to turn Malaysia into the League of Developed Nations under the visionary leadership of Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, and was introduced in a national development policy document entitled Vision 2020(Zafar A. Humpreys J. 2008) This is important, from a economical points of view as Malaysia has not gone through the usual industrial stages, which implies highly skilled, labor-intensive to mass production (semi skilled, limited products) to multi skilled, mass customization (Simpson, Sykes, Abdullah, 1998). . Nature of international trade in ASEAN, now and historically (say ten years ago); Currently, Asean is near to create an integrated economic community that will free movements of goods, services, investment, capital and skilled labor within the 10 Asean countries. An AEC characterized by a single market and production base allows for economies of scale, investment flows and building business linkages and network to promote further commerce. The future looks bright for Asean due to fully rebound of the economic crisis. It is expected that Asean private demand picks up, export will increase and social safety will be more enhanced. However, the Economic Community pillar has introduced at AEC scorecard, which list down the measures to be undertaken and the achievements to date. Thus, far Asean only has a 75.5% achievement rate for the 2008/2009 measures. Asean has to do a number of things if it is to achieve its goal of building an AEC by 2015. This current year exports of Asean are expecting to rise between 4.9% and 5.6 % after a 1.5% growth in 2009. In the area of services Asean members are close to completing the 7th AFAS package of service commitments covering varying levels of commitments in 65 services Hub sectors. The service sector of Asean received the highest amount of FDI, accounting for more than 50% of total Aseans FDI. The sign are good and Asean will see a further increasing growth this year and currently capital flows are increasing, inflation remains low and manageable and Asean currencies appreciate slightly versus the Euro and US$. History Since the adoption of the AEC blueprint in 2007, significant progress has been made towards achieving the AEC in 2015. In Janaury 2010, The Asean-6 achieved zero tariffs covering 99 and for the CLMV 98% and at 0.5 % tariff rates of the total tariff covering under the common effective preferential tariffs for asean free trade area(CEPT-AFTA). Also in the same month Asean saw the realization of Asean-China and Asean-Korea free trade agreements and the commencement of the implementation of the Asean- Australia-New Zealand free trade agreements and Asean India free trade agreement. Since 2000 Asean exports rose from US$68 billion to US$162.5 billion in 2009. Asean imports of services from the world market has also expanded markedly, of similar trend and magnitutude as exports, increasing two-fold from US$ 86.6 to US$ 180.4 billion in 2009 In investment, Asean has witnessed a steady increase in intra-Asean FDI flows accouting for 18.2% ( US$ 10.8 billion) of total Asean FDI ( US$ 59.7 billion) inflows in 2008, compared with a share of 13.82% in 2006. For the same period, total FDI inflows increased by 8.59%. Source: Asean Roundtable 2010. Achieving the asean economic growth 2015: Challenges for Member countries 29th April 2010. Aseans Readinesss in achieving the Asean economic community 2015. Pushpanathan Sundram Regional governments attitude towards international trade and investments, both outward and inward; The ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) is a regional free trade agreement among Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand,the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam, Cambodia,Laos, and Myanmar. The ten participating countries agreed to develop a free trade area that would become a single market with more than 550 million potential consumers (Bonami, 2005). An integrated ASEAN would be the eighth-largest automobile market, with 1 million new car sales each year. With projected growth trends, it has the potential to actually become the fourth largest auto market, with as many as 2.2 million new autosales annually (Seeking for Bigger Share, 2002). The creation of the free trade zone in Southeast Asia allowed PROTON greater access to its neighboring countries. While good news from the marketing front, AFTA would also set the stage for greater future competition for which PROTON was inadequately prepared. (Zafar A. Humpreys J. 2008) The protective tariff regime, which imposed rates of up to 300% on imported cars and helped PROTON to gain dominate market share has been phased out. In line with AFTA, all but a few import tariffs will be reduced to between 0 and 5% by 2008 (Shameen,2005). The increasing level of international competition puts the Malaysian firm in a very vulnerable position (Savage, 2005, p. 20). With plants, contract assembly, and/or joint ventures in Britain, Italy, Iran, Indonesia, Vietnam, and China (Bonami, 2005), . Although Malaysias overall automobile sales increased dramatically in 2005, the escalating competition saw PROTON continue its domestic decline (Edwin, 2005). Even with limited protective barriers still in place, the firms Malaysian market share had declined from roughly 70% to 45% in the previous five-year period (Burton, 2005). In response, PROTON is looking to expand its export efforts within the ASEAN region, the Mediterranean countries . . . , the Middle East, China, as well as India and Russia to a lesser extent (Bonami, 2005, p. S5). While this is clearly a reasonable course of action, as exports account for less than 5% for Malaysian automakers versus the roughly 60% in Japan (Bonami, 2005), production capacity is still comparatively very small. PROTON, notwithstanding its earlier intentions of a large-scale strategy, is simply not big enough to gain economies of scale to compete effectively in the export market against giant global competitors (Shameen, 2005). The company has also been slow to market itself effectively around the world. Recent years have seen the organization neglect its prior efforts at branding, which has led to a cheap car image, even in the domestic market (Savage, 2005, p. 20). According to Rajeev Lochan, general manager, Asia-Pacific, TNS Automotive, While the short-term challenge is to provide a promotional thrust to models in its current line-up, the long-term requires PROTON to invest in revamping its aging product portfolio and reposition its brand to reach a wider base of prospective car buyers (Savage, 2005, p. 20). The stakes are very high, as approximately 100,000 jobs are on the line when considering PROTON and its component supply chain (Burton, 2005). By signing the AFTA agreement by the Malaysian government PROTON has to find alternative ways how to compete successfully with all its foreign competitors. Specify potential areas of intra-regional conflicts (if any) and synergies; As mentioned before Proton is a classic case of a long-protected national champion that is struggling as the market opens up and a perfect example of intra-regional conflict with its neighboring countries such as Thailand and Indonesia where the car market is liberalised. In 2002 its domestic market share was more than 60%. That has now fallen to 44% after Malaysia reluctantly agreed with its partners in the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) to drop import barriers on ASEAN cars to around 20%, from up to 300% previously. And the process is just beginning: Malaysia actually fudged the market opening by simultaneously hiking excise taxes on the imported cars. But by 2008 the country has to do away with such sophistry and cut import duties to 5% The trouble is that Malaysias politicians and managers have failed to realise how vulnerable Proton is, says Graeme Maxton, director of automotive research group Autopolis. The Malaysians see it as a world-class carmaker with great export potential; the reality is that it is too small to survive in a global market dominated by just a dozen huge carmakers. Proton is off the scale in terms of economies of scale, says Mr Maxton, and it will slowly die once the market opens up. Hence, I argue that it is that it is undesirable to pursue such a strategy because on the long term this expensive project( proton and the automotive industry in Malaysia) will impose heavy costs on the government. The establishment of PROTON has to be attributed to the vision of the Malaysian government. The firm successfully positioned itself as the national car and pride of Malaysia, a symbol of its countrys accomplishment on the global stage. I agree that government initiation of a national champion (Donnelly et al., 2002) is certainly a powerful force for the vision and subsequent emergence of a developing country. The conflict which might arise is that Malaysia still is not willing to open up its car market completely to protect its own interest. This might result into intra-regional conflicts between Asean members. Especially between its neighboring countries because there is sufficient expertise available and this can be applied and used at the Malaysian carmarket (Zafar A. Humpreys J. 2008). This is the key problem that has prevented the government of Malaysia from signing ant bilateral Free Trade Agreements despite several attemps. For example the partnership with Japan in 2006, is called Economic Partnership Agreement is not compared to a fully eligible fta. Currently in Malaysia the call for liberalization and subsidies faced by industries (automotive) has remained an obstancle to greater integration in AEC. Synergies regarding the automotive in Malaysia are not available, futher it is difficult to determine the synergies between other automotive industries such as Thailand and Indonesia because the Malaysian automotive industry is a unique example compared to relative liberased automotive markets( Thailan Indonesia). Asean Roundtable 2010. Achieving the Asean Economic Community 2015:Challenges for Member countries. 29 April 2010, Singapore. Towards an Integrated Asian Economic Community. Where is Malaysia? Rajah Rasiah Application of suitable management model(s) to analyze findings According to the literature both models of porter can be applied to the Malaysian Automotive industry, however, Porters diamond also acknowledges the role the governmental forces and luck can play in national competitive advantage in which the 5 competitive forces is lacking. (Sledge, 2005) Demand conditions Demand conditions describe the level of domestic demand that Proton faces. Demand conditions depend both on the quantity of demand as well as the sophistication level of consumers in a home market. In Malaysia, the demand for cars has been risen steadily due to increasing living standards and consumer expenditure. However, the difference between supply in terms of Malaysian cars and foreign cars is substantial ( Due to tariff barriers and special incentives dedicated to Malaysian car manufactures which results in significant higher prices for foreign cars). In fact the Malaysian government can largely influence the demand since most of the Malaysian lack the purchasing power to buy foreign manufactured cars. Generally, demand conditions are associated with a countrys level of economic development. Malaysia is has been having a sustainable economic growth of an average of 5% per year since the 1980s. The company has also been slow to market itself effectively around the world. Recent years have seen the organization neglect its prior efforts at branding, which has led to a cheap car image, even in the domestic market (Savage, 2005, p. 20). Thus, the general consensus is Malaysia is that Proton/Malaysian cars are perceived as one of the cheapest car in their segment and this can result that very demanding consumers create an awareness in firms that causes them to focus on the needs and preferences of the consumer. Also, quantities of demand drive firms to higher levels of efficiency and productivity. Thus, high levels of demand in a nation would drive the firms in that industry to become globally competitive (Sledge, 2005), however this is not applicable yet because Malaysia is still a developing country. Factors conditions According to Porter, factor conditions include any factors of production that a firm uses in its businesses. These include the traditional factors of production, this includes manmade structures that facilitate commerce, Still other factors would be educational and legal systems. Porter classifies these factors into five major categories: Human resources, physical resources, knowledge resources, capital resources and infrastructure. The more advanced these factors are the more they will enhance the success of businesses located in the country. These factors provide needed inputs and systems that businesses use to gain competitive advantages over their rivals. Without them, firms would have to expend their own resources to provide such structures for commerce and transactions. (Sledge, 2005) Many of these important factors are still not completely utilized and developed to a certain level. Malaysia automotive industry is lacking most of the important factors such as human resources, knowledge resources many skilled Malaysian labors went abroad due to better labor conditions and highly skilled foreign labor has been brought into the Malaysian automotive industry. In order to expedite the transfer of technology to Malaysia, PROTON was proactive in initiating programs between local vendors and numerous established overseas technical collaborators. By 2002, some 222 collaborative arrangements were in place representing specialized assistance from various regional neighbors (primarily Japan, South Korea, and Chinese Taiwan), as well as Western Europe (Ahmed Humphreys, 2008) The Malaysian governments still plays a large role in their own industrial global competitiveness. It has been the initiative of the Malaysian government to set up its own automotive industry and therewith complementary industries will arise( such as car part suppliers). The aimed result was to create an advanced business infrastructure and an emphasis on innovation, however this is still not the case in the Malaysian automotive industry . Related and supporting industries This aspect of the model includes the importance of enterprises that indirectly or directly affect the automotive industry. Porter describes these ancillary businesses needed by firms as related and supporting industries. These most often encompass suppliers or distributors that serve the industry at hand. The model proposes that the stronger these industries are the stronger the local industry will be. The underlying assumption is that highly competitive supporting industries will drive the focal industry to be more competitive (Sledge, 2005). Hypothesis 3: Strong and dynamic related and supporting industries in a firm s home market will positively impact the firm s global competitiveness. PROTON, notwithstandingits earlier intentions of a large-scale strategy, is simply not big enough to gain economies of scale to compete effectively in the export market against giant global competitors (Ahmed Humphreys, 2008) And according to (ROSLI KARI, 2008)a research shows that foreign suppliers performed better than local suppliers. Interviews suggest that access to superior technology from abroad is the prime determinant of the inferior performance of local suppliers compared to foreign suppliers. Local firms lack firm-specific advantages that foreign multinational suppliers enjoy It points to the need for companies and governments to encourage and support ancillary industries to enhance global competitiveness. In both models, this parameter estimate was the second largest and the most statistically significant. This underscores the importance of related and supporting industries in the context of global competitiveness. Without a network, firms can not hope to be worldwide leaders. Firm strategy, structure and rivalry is the fourth clement in the model. This point on the diamond refers to several key strategic factors that characterize a firm. Strategy describes the types of actions firms utilize to achieve both long-range and short-range goals. These are often either low-cost, differentiation, focus strategies or some combination thereof Other common strategies include growth, maintenance or restructuring activities. Growth strategies would be associated with higher competitiveness because the ability to pursue growth intemally or extemally would be indicative of overall business health, Stmcture refers to the industry composition. This describes the degree to which an industry is concentrated or dispersed, competitive or monopolistic, or global or domestic. A more crowded structure would indicate multilevel competition and therefore greater competitiveness. Rivalry indicates both the number of players and the level of competition among firms in an industry. This could be heated, mid-range, non-rivalries or somewhere in between. Greater rivalry in an industry would lead a firm to higher levels of competitiveness vis a vis its rivals. Rivalry is thought to be the most comprehensive of the three factors, as it often indicates the underlying strategy and structure of the competitors Thus, a greater number of firm actions as well as a greater number of competitor responses in the focal industry lead to greater competitiveness of the firm. Hypothesis 4: Greater rivalry within a firm s home market will positively impact the firms global competitiveness Make and justify recommendations for possible business strategies to exploit the benefits in this region