Origins of Sexism

How is it that the word defined as the attitudes or behavior based on traditional stereotypes of sexual roles somehow became synonymous with en discriminating against women? 1 When did this term adopt a negative connotation? The dictionary continues to describe the noun as discrimination or devaluation based on a person's sex. 2 The definition implies that the discrimination applies to both sexes, not that one is the victim of the other. However, it is clear: women are perceived as the inferior sex in our society, and apparently always have been.Yet, although sexism is a relatively modern word, the idea was created by power-hungry men and spread by biblical writers. In the way that a table is unstable if just one leg is fractionally horror, the way patriarchy and matriarchy are understood affects how sexism is viewed. If you were to reference a dictionary in search of definitions, you would find almost mirror images- only, in a matriarchy it is the mother who is head of the clan, not the father. However, Cynthia Leer, author of The Myth of Matriarchal Prehistory has a different take on this.She says, â€Å"Matriarchy should be understood instead as the [mastery] of the Mother's way,† or as, â€Å"a realm where female thing are valued and where power is exerted in non-possessive, non-controlling and organic ways that are ruinous with nature. â€Å"3 Matriarchy has gotten a bad reputation through the years for being a term open to interpretation due to its many meanings. The pure purpose of the word, in its simplest form, is to describe a time in which men were not the dominant sex. Another phrase greatly misunderstood is gender roles.First, please disregard memories of your first grade teacher using the word ‘gender' instead of ‘sex' in order to keep laughter under control. Second, the two words are utterly different – apples and oranges. Gender is a not a biological characteristic; it is not the label to explain which reproductive or gans a person may have. Instead, gender is a social characteristic that a society attaches to a biological sex to explain the expectations of behavioral norms and cultural significance. In today's colloquial language, ‘gender roles' and ‘sexism' seem to be interchangeable. In actuality, gender roles serve as a mask for the greater travesty Of our time: sexism. The argument goes something like this: â€Å"Sexism has always existed! Women never hunted, because they were women and they were always confined to their homes. † For the sake of argument, let's pretend this is an curate statement. Even then, if women everywhere were confined to doing only ‘feminine† tasks and chores, the whole argument is still completely backwards – sexism has not always existed.In fact, it is quite ignorant to believe that very early societies would have been able to arrive at the mentality that one sex is superior to the other when every person was valuable to the cla n – they all relied on each other to survive. There is no reason to believe that a matriarchal society ever existed, that an entire clan was ruled by a woman. But similar to chimpanzee communities that we study today, it is very probable many hominids (two-footed primates) lived in a maternity; essentially, women were central to the society. Families were formed around the mother figure – the only known piece to the puzzle of childbearing in prehistory. When children were born, they were automatically accepted into their mothers clan, named after her, and no sense of illegitimacy lingered. 6 The mothers in prehistoric time were inclined to share provisions with their children and family members, and in time began feeding the entire clan – solidifying the idea that women Were important to the arrival of a civilization.Females sustained the clan by gathering fruits, vegetables and grains – males gathered as well, but only enough to feed themselves and possi bly a close male relative. Both sexes hunted small game and male-female groups hunted together with nets and spears. It is widely accepted, though, that only men hunted large game. When horticulture became prevalent, (some time later- around 10,000 BCC) it is said to be the work of women. 7 Aside from gathering food, providing about eighty percent of the nutrition received in a clan, women took on jobs that have advanced onto a stereotype that lingers in contemporary societies.Because early societies had yet to discover the link between sex and pregnancy, and because fatherhood was not a recognized position, men did not take on the responsibility of rearing children. Until relatively recently in the spectrum of humanity, every child demanded two to three years of their mother's time to breastfeed, and many women had multiple children within this age group at one given time. Regarding the aforementioned idea that every able body was necessary to the success of a developing clan, wome n could not afford to be del during childbearing years. It was in order to maintain society that women had to be carefully tasked with chores. The main concern was that every chore was â€Å"compatible with simultaneous child watching. † Specifically women were given, assignments that did not require severe concentration, were easily interruptible, and most importantly, did not put children in danger, in a way that hunting would. 9 This is how women fell into step with chores such as preparing daily food and spinning, weaving, and sewing clothes.It takes several hours of spinning yarn to create enough to weave in n hour, so women spun while they watched children and young girls spun while they tended to livestock. 1 0 With menstruation and pregnancy constantly present in these civilizations, and with game meat only sporadically appearing meat was very valuable to the women, who were always on the verge of anemia. 1 1 The anemia created another barrier between women and huntin g in addition to the already-present complications of hunting during pregnancy or with children. Their bodies were too physically weak.Also, female bodily fluids are more potent to an animal; therefore the women would be more easily sensed by their prey, making it almost counterproductive for a female to go on a hunt. 12 Some may argue that it still is indeed the femaleness of a woman that prevents her from a hunt. It IS not her designation as a woman that keeps her from participating in â€Å"male† activities, it is the fact that a woman's body has different functions, abilities, and limits than a man's. In a functional society every person plays a specific role and no role is more important than another; every single role is required for the society to thrive. Asking a man to breastfeed so that a woman could attempt to cut down a tree was – and still IS – irrational. ) It is to sexist for communities to fall into a way of life that allows every individual to c ontribute to their fullest potential, thus creating a highly productive and efficient society. There was a time when the femaleness of a woman was not seen as a disadvantage by men, but rather it was revered and honored. Forty thousand years ago, before words could be written down, prehistoric peoples represented concerns, rituals, sacrifices, and more with cave art and carvings.It comes as no surprise that many of the oldest carved figurines found show admiration for a woman's body: her fertility and ability to produce and feed hillier. 13 These figurines, called Venues, typically depict women who are â€Å"fat, healthy, with giant breasts†. 14 It might seem strange to a present-day woman how carving women as fat could possibly be flattering, let alone venerating. But a thin figure, something many women strive for today, would have been very troubling: her children would have gone hungry. We also kick to old preserved cave paintings for ideas of what culture was like before writing.In a remote part of central India, paintings of South Briar tribes from 8000 BCC to 2500 BCC were found on rock shelters. Like many others, they epic animals, hunting, dancing, and symbolic designs. 1 5 In these specific paintings, there are more women drawn, and they are more detailed than the stick figure men. The women are painted as strong and capable women – hunting and taking care of children all the while. To keep the traditions alive, South Briar women still partake in ritual hunting. 16 Sir Leonard Woolly called Cretan art the most inspired in the ancient world. 6 Paintings always show priestesses in the foreground with men behind them. Women in Crete were portrayed as merchants, farmers, chariot drivers, and hunters. Wall paintings show the women performing religious rituals. It does not appear that Crete was an equal society -? in a painted scene Of female dancers, the males and females have segregated seats, but the women had better accommodations. 17 Seve ral tombs that belonged to women were filled with riches such as jewelry, gold, and precious stones. In comparison, no male grave has been found with equal value.The Cretan world seems to have been able to develop and advance as a female-centered community without abandoning peace and pleasure-18 There is some scholarly inquiry as to whether there were female-centered clans in the Neolithic ere as well. There are very few images of males from this time period and the few that have been uncovered show men in situations inferior to women. 19 This leads to the theory women in Neolithic times held a higher status than women of later generations. The corpses found in Neolithic graves were buried with shells and paint arranged in a way to resemble female reproductive organs. 0 It is believed these art works indicate worship or glorification of the females in their clans. Fertility seems to be the basis of their worship and it often reinstated into prayer for healthy crops and animals. Doe s this mean goddess worship appeared in Neolithic culture, or did they only worship females? Was their worship equivalent to women having social power and dominance? As many myths rarely offer facts, they cannot be used to set history' in stone; however, they do shed light On what might have been happening during the time periods in which they were created.Several myths show warring between men and women in which the men always take over power from the defeated females. 21 These motifs appear in Central and Western Desert Australian Aborigine, Panda of New Guiana, Sumerian, and Greek mythology . 22 â€Å"Social charter† myths appear to justify why men took over female ruling, suggesting women committed some sort of sin or were naturally weak. If men had always existed as the controlling power, myths of former female powers would not exist. If men had always restrained women, their dominance would seem natural and it would be unnecessary for them to write explanations.Powerful women in mythologies are astoundingly universal . 23 patriarchy was an avalanche started by one meager realization: men had a role in procreation. Suddenly, their female-driven jealousy was uprooted. By giving the children their fathers' clan name instead of their mothers', the men had proof of â€Å"ownership†. With offspring essentially attached to the men of the clan, labor was also controlled by the men-24 Anthropologists insist that when large game hunting began during the Stone Age, men felt that hunting was their natural function in society. 5 With this new sense of identity came power- their dangerous work gave them status. It also created a sort of club or community between the male members of a tribe or clan . 26 Hunting required great teamwork, cooperation, ND lack of competition- these men had to work together. Most likely, men felt legitimated by their â€Å"exclusiveness† and their â€Å"us-versus-them pride† . 27 Of course, women hunted small gam e, but more in a means of ‘opportunistic kills'. Indeed, many ritualistic tools used during hunts were forbidden for women to see. 8 So when horticulture, a practice mainly performed by women, became popular around 5000 BCC, and large game began to disappear in populated civilizations, men had to jump on the band wagon and begin farming as well. 29 With men farming – a very isolated activity in imprison to hunting – they felt they lost everything fundamentally male. Young boys were not being taught the solidarity that came with hunting, so the men of the clan developed a new idea of group puberty rites. 30 These ceremonies did not occur before a horticultural society was established.The men began reinforcing gender roles in their society by teaching their sons what it took to be a â€Å"man†, something they felt should have been natural. Marilyn French, author of From Eve to Dawn: a History of Women in the World, explains, â€Å"Male solidarity was and re mains a manipulation against women. The first political movement, it arose, like all solidarity movements, to counter a sense of powerlessness and oppression,† that had dissipated with the loss of a hunter-gatherer society. 31 The main push of these puberty rites was to abnegate their mothers which led the oppression of women, including emotions they associate with them.Soon boys were taught disdain towards ‘feminine' emotions like love, compassion, and softness. Feelings were replaced with a hard, cool attitude and submission to elder males. 32 Thus, a form a sexism that still exists today (and many people ignore) was created: en are not to show â€Å"feminine† qualities. Dominance over children created another form of sexism. Now that males were aware of their part in procreation, they had to assure that the children their mates produced were theirs. In order to do this, they had to keep women under strict surveillance.Many women were captives from other village s, raped so as to be claimed as a mate, and given no rights; they were virtually slaves. 33 To bolster men's paternity roles, rules and laws were created that only applied to women. Females were the first criminals – adultery suddenly became a crime. Even Hough men always had the right to infanticide, women were not allowed to abort their children. Paternalism groups were founded on this domination. At this point, females were considered an object of the male's possession. Contrary to matrilineal, potentiality required force, and brutality towards women was often encouraged in their society. S When dominance started to shift towards the males, clans left their matriarchal marriages and began existing in parasitical marriages – women were no longer surrounded by male kin (stronger than she) and lost their protection. In a patriarchal marriage, the omen were taken and forced to live with their husbands' families who very likely did not speak the same language. 36 In some patriarchal communities women were allowed to leave. However, due to the fact that children were property of men, the women had no right to take children with them, and many stayed. 37 Without women protesting, patriarchy was born.Another vessel for both patriarchy and the idea of sexism was religion. Even in the beginning Of the Old Testament, the Bible provides very different roles for men and women. When God punishes Adam and Eve in Genesis, he describes Adam (man) as the breadwinner, and Eve (woman) as someone who needed a tight leash . 38 This tight leash takes the form of her husband and uterus. Women were limited by this elemental plot for centuries after – both Judaism and Christianity enforce further constraints on women. In Leviticus, it claims that everything a woman touches while she is â€Å"unclean† from menstruation is impure. 9 Taken out of context, this can be seen as a terrible sexist act, but there are also conditions in which a man is unclean. Even so, women cannot control what makes them unclean while men can. The biblical impurity of a woman outlasts her menstruation, even during childbirth-40 The women were secluded from the group for two weeks while they were impure and usually stayed with other women in â€Å"menstrual huts†. When they were allowed to grace the sanctuary and men again, they fulfilled their marital duties (the two weeks in which they saw their husbands they were most likely to conceive). 1 When a woman gave birth she had to seclude herself for seven days as if she were menstruating. Fifth baby was a male, she could return to the group on the eighth day for the baby's circumcision and tribal ironies before completing her thirty-three days of blood purifying. If the baby was a female, there Was no ceremony to welcome her arrival and her mother was required to purify for sixty-six days. 42 Consider this: if a woman is in constant impurity, constantly forbidden from the sanctuary, how often could a Heb rew wife appear in public?A scarce rabbi or community leader does not make for a good one – how would she be able to fulfill the responsibilities? In addition to underlining the uncleanness of a women, the Old Testament shows violent themes against women. In Deuteron 22:13 t shows that if a bride's virginity is challenged by the groom, the whole community plays a part in verifying the speculation through the custom of bloody sheets. If their suspicion is true (or they agree she did not bleed enough) the male population is permitted to stone her to death.Later in Deuteron, there are examples of rape and abuse with only small monetary penalties. 43 Even though religion is not to blame for men first seeking control over women, it plays a large role in the spread of sexual discrimination because many people looked to these ancient scriptures as a guide for their lives. It is believed by some biblical scholars that Yeah was originally conceived as androgynous. 44 He is characteriz ed by the word ‘compassion', which in the Hebrew language is rooted in the word ‘womb'. He is described as â€Å"giving birth† to Israel, â€Å"suckling' and watching over his children. 5 But as the Bible transitions into the book of Numbers, Yeah is not only male but patriarchal. In Numbers 12, God punishes only Miriam and not her brothers for the same act- the story teaches that women shall not challenge men. 46 Some argue that it is difficult to accuse the Bible of sexism hen several other verses describe such different ideas. For example, Galatians 3:38 adequately removes all justification for discrimination Of any kind by saying, â€Å"There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male and female. For you are all one in Christ Jesus. Pay close attention to the wording: there is no longer male and female. Moreover, religion is described as a specific fundamental set of beliefs and practices generally agreed upon by a number of persons or sects. 47 The Bi ble (and the religion that follows it) is a text assembled by men and was prone to their social biases of the time period. Sexism very well did exist in the Hebrew Bible and it is impossible to erase history. It is not universally accepted that fertility held more weight and value in society before the Bible was written.Cynthia Leer, shares her view on the idea of matrilineal societies and goddess worship (something that dissipated long before the Bible): Prior to the Neolithic revolution, we have every reason to believe that prehistoric peoples, like contemporary hunting and gathering peoples, were more interested in restricting their fertility than enhancing it. Contraception, abortion, and infanticide are all practiced in uniting and gathering groups, and in horticulture societies as well, with infanticide rates ranging from 1 5 to 50 percent.Skeletal evidence suggests that childbirth was dangerous for mothers and children alike. Infant mortality rates were high at Actual ¶y;k, for example, and women there and elsewhere died very young by our standards (on average in their late twenties, earlier than men) in part because of high maternal mortality. It seems unlikely under these conditions that pregnancy and childbirth we invariably regarded as miraculous and welcomed as the gift of a munificent goddess. 48 Leer also geared the Venus figurines and points out the biggest dispute with establishing them as worship of fertility.The figures rarely show signs of pregnancy, lactation, or childbirth. 49 If Paleolithic artists were concerned in depicting pregnancy and fertility there are many ways to have done that – but these figures lack evidence of childbearing and most are simply voluptuous. They could show the clan's concern regarding hunger, which explains why they have fuller shapes – communities valued healthy and full bodies. 50 However, if you were to drop the notion that Venus figures represented omen and their fertility and ability to repr oduce, why are there only women figures?The complication with pinpointing the origins of sexism is the underlying question: which came first? Gender or sexism? Returning to overburdened language, it is because gender exists that sexism exists. Gender allows men to dominate women – it provides a biological excuse. Unfortunately many feminist matriarchies suggest that women are women because we hold secondary status to men. The designation ‘Woven† is neither a gender, nor a biological sex, but a category that people are placed into.This category seems to form the parameters in which women have experiences, yet women are only the byproduct of the category existence (in the same way my mother insists I had a bad time because my attitude was terrible to begin with, and not that my attitude was terrible because I had a bad time). 65 So long as this omnipresent category exists, sexism will exist. The femaleness of a woman is defined by Leer as the experience of being per ceived to be a woman and being treated as women are treated. This extends to any specific way women were treated in different cultures whether good or bad. The only femaleness that can be attached to any woman of any time period in any place of the world is this: ‘woman'. It is hard to speak for the men and women from a time before they themselves could speak, but don't believe it was ever intended for footmen in the kitchen† to be a derogatory term. The mentality that one biological sex is of higher-rank than another is derived from the simple fact that certain bodies are more able for specific tasks. Intended or not, men felt oppressed. This sparked a very deliberate and violent revolution. Men stole control and power long before rating was established and history was preserved.Indeed it was history; looking back to biblical times, the pictures that stories paint of their communities and culture show male-dominance. With the spread of Christianity, the secret of a more peaceful and equal past was locked up and it became widely accepted that the husbands and fathers should be the head of the household. Christianity and the men in the Bible certainly did not initiate all of the suffering and abuse against women that appears today – but they did Set the precedent that has seemed to excuse men for centuries. Bibliography Advisor, J. M. , Olga Softer, and Jake Page.

Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Essay

Title Assignment topic 1) What are your preferred definitions of business ethics and social responsibility Why have you chosen these definitions 2) What is one key issue in the area of business ethics and social responsibility that is relevant, currently, to your organisation and your industry (You need to explain the issue and show its relevance to your organisation/industry) 3) What strategies could your organisation adopt to address this issue (You need to explain these fully) Word count Words Executive Summary There have been drastic changes today that have and continue to influence business ethics. However, organizations are lagging behind these changes or simply ignoring business ethics all together. Recent companies have failed to practice business ethics and social responsibility as their primary aim remains on making profits. The issue is that in fact, management have been blindsided by their need to make monies under whatever circumstances necessary which usually constitut es for foregoing ethical practices. The most credible of organisations and employees have indeed professional integrity and have been reliant on a code of ethics for the organizations principles and standards of practice. The plight of society continues to surround business ethics and corporate social responsibility which is yet to surface most organisations. The subject of Business Ethics and Social Responsibility introduces current issues experienced in organizations and provides guided analysis to enable a better understanding and appreciation of these issues. Illustrations of consequent economic costs having failed to practice ethical behaviors and social responsibility by the organization and individuals within have been provided also. Presented in this paper, with the aid of an example organization- Marpol Distribution Limited a family owned and operated Hardware and Auto supplies wholesale distribution company, are a wide array of ethical issues recognized within its business activities with proposed solutions in order to address the aforementioned issues. TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦3 2. Defining Business Ethics and Social Responsibility†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.4 3. A lack of business ethics and social responsibility at Marpol Distribution Limited †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦5 4. Addressing the issues of Marpol Distribut ion Limited†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦7 5. Conclusion †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦10 6. References †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.12 7. Appendix†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.13 1.Introduction The relevance and necessity to which business ethics and social responsibility hold within any  organisation is inordinate compared to the practices of most organisations presently. Therefore, the wellbeing of society and todays business world is at stake since it lies in the hands of business leaders who fail to exercise ethical procedures. The confidence in business operations once held by customers have been drastically shaken due to the collapses and corporate scandals surrounding some of the most pioneering and respected companies such as Arthur Andersen, WorldCom, Tyco and the most famous Enron Hence the urgency and necessity for the incorporation of ethics and social responsibility in business decision-making and strategic planning is heightened together with the compulsory provision of pertinent education to forthcoming business leaders in order to operate a sustainable and protected organisation. I believe that business ethics goes beyond the laws and legality, instead it teaches positive attributes such as respect, honesty, politeness which should be adopted into business practices (Inc.com, 1996). Furthermore, Ghillyer suggests in his book Business Ethics Now that there is a choice guidance for persons by ways of either moral standards or the moral compass of others in determining suitable behaviour which has influences stemming from cultural backgrounds or traditions to the norms of the environment in which we are positioned (2012). On the other hand, the social responsibility of a company deals with the management of its business processes so that a holistic positive impact on stakeholders and society is fashioned (Mallenbaker.net, 2004). The social responsibility of a company is often associated with the triple bottom line profit, people, and planet which can be theorized as the stewardship of the economy, society and the environment are at the organizations concentration (Zipcon.net, 1953 Elkington, 1998). This paper aims to satisfy the requirements of firstly defining business ethic and social responsibility. Subsequently, unethical issues encountered in Marpol Distributions Ltd will be identified and addressed. 2.Defining Business Ethics and Social Responsibility Business ethics refers to the underlying framework for carrying on business by adhering to generally accepted standards of right behaviour (highered.mcgraw-hill.com n.d.).It involves discernment of right, good and propriety from wrong, evil and propriety thereafter taking actions accordingly to the choice made. The World Business Council for Sustainable Development in its publication Making Good Business Sensedefined Social  Responsibility as the continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the workforce and their families as well as of the local community and society at large (Holme and Watts 2000) it focuses on the quality of their management regarding both processes and persons alongside the nature and extent of impacts on society. Although the terms social responsibility and ethics are used interchangeably, meanings differ. Business ethics relates to an individuals or a work groups decisions that society evaluates as right or wrong, whereas social responsibility is a broader concept that concerns the impact of the entire businesss activities on society (highered.mcgraw-hill.com n.d.). These definitions were chosen mainly because, they added to the scope of business ethical behaviour and societal responsibility, it brings clarity to the concept of values and morals and overall contribution to society as individuals and businesses. Ethical standards helps to the shape both the internal and external construct of any organization .Companies that rely on ethical standards which includes values and morals rely less on legislation from central or state government . The belief that business ethics is an essential element in any organization influences the companys impact towards its social responsibility. Organizations involved in the wholesale supply of goods and raw materials, such as Marpol Distribution Limited should strive to maintain or incorporate the necessary values and morals to aid in its decision making process . According to Hartman (2005,p2), who made the suggestion that ethics involves judgments as to good and bad, right and wrong, and what ought to be. Thi s therefore will have a major impact in the dynamics of the organization. 3.A lack of business ethics and social responsibility at Marpol Distribution Limited With intentions of implementing ethical practices into the business procedures, one must firstly understand business ethics which requires the identification of ethical issues within the organization. Ethical issues are identifiable problems, situations, or opportunities that requires a person to choose from among several actions that may be evaluated as right or wrong, ethical or unethical (highered.mcgraw-hill.com n.d.). In most cases this usually implicates much deliberation between choosing monetary gain over conducting oneself fittingly. Considering the business activities of Marpol Distribution  Limited we can diagnose ethical disputes that they have encountered. As previously mentioned this organization is typically family-managed and operated with its traditional methods of approach immutable. While remaining old-fashioned might work in favour of some companies, it has had the reverse effect on Marpol Distribution Limited. Quality assurance is a major facet in the operations of Marpol Distribution as the expectations of customers of this supply company is quite high together with responsibilities to societal contribution and development. The issue arises therefore, when a lack of standard up brings in relations of values and morals are recognised. Values tend to be seen as end goals sought by individual and vary from person to person based on their desires for profit, law, virtue or charity (See Appendix). Morals tend to be seen as rules or duties that govern behaviour in our personal interactions they are our personal guiding principles (Optimal.org 1997). Generally, ethics can be seen to be the same for people within the same culture (Hartman, 2005, p2). Companies like Marpol Distribution Limited, led by its vision statement to ensure profit and continuous growth has had negative impact of ethical behaviour. This therefore has resulted in a loss of customer supplier relationship and indirectly affected its profit margin The consequences of unethical behaviour and unethical business institutions are too serious to be ignored (Des Jardins, p. 3). As suggested by Des Jardins, business ethics are simply too serious for Marpol Distribution to ignore. Corporate Governance or the lack thereof has certainly contributed negatively to the current situation of Marpol Distribution Limited. This is demonstrated as this profit driven organisation fails to emulate the necessary attributes to generate good governance such as responsiveness values of fairness, accountability, responsibility and transparency emphasis on non-monetary aspects of operatio ns etc. (Unescap.org 2013). This is also extended to unethical leadership which constitutes employee insolence as it has been suggested that employees emulate the behaviours of those above them based on their perception of ethics observed (Davis 2004). In addition, the company has become loyal to its family-run business style and as a result the recruitment process that exists within this company has failed them seeing as the workforce comprises of unskilled and unqualified family members who have prevailed over a more appropriate workforce.

Descriptive and Inferential Statistics2

Descriptive and Inferential Statistics The world of science would find itself lost without research. Research alone however, oftentimes will not answer the questions or solve the problems that scientists set out to solve. Statistics is where research becomes applied and scientists can make educated guesses about future outcomes. â€Å"Formally, statistics is a branch of mathematics that focuses on organization, analysis, and interpretation of a group of numbers† (Aron, Aron, and Coups, 2006). There are two main branches of statistics that we will explore; descriptive and inferential statistics. The main relationship between descriptive and inferential statistics is that they all include numbers from either actual given information or inferred assumptions that try to draw a conclusion or complete given data. Descriptive Statistics Descriptive statistics is a method of research used by psychologists. Descriptive statistics make statistics understandable and describes a group of numbers for a research study (Aron, Aron and Coups,2006). Descriptive statistics are used in summarizing large sets of quantitative or numerical information. If there is a large amount of information for measurement, the best way to show the information is by a graph (Boerre, 2005). Descriptive statistics provide a simple summary about the sample and the measurements. Descriptive statistics describes the data; it allows the researcher to understand a large amount of numbers or data in a simple way (Social Research, 2009). Central tendency refers to the idea that one number can summarize the entire set of measurement. This is a number that is in some way central to the set (Boerre, 2005). The mode is the measurement that has been found to be the most frequent. Although the mode, or greatest frequency number, is not used very often, it is useful when differences are rare or non-numerical (Boerre, 2005). The median is the number which is half of the measurement, or midpointof the numbers. The median is a good measurement of the centrality of the numbers and is a better measurement in centrality that the mean when the data is skewed (Boerre, 2005). The mean is the average. The mean is the sum of all the measurements, divided by the numbers of the measured. Mean is often used in central tendency (Boerre, 2005). Descriptive statistics may be used in measuring a person’s IQ. When intelligence testing is done, some of these tests are then shown in descriptive statistics. Descriptive statistics might also be used in showing the GPA or grade point average of a class. Descriptive statistics makes information clear, concise, and easy to read (Social Research, 2009). An example of descriptive statistics would be tables and graphs which are used a lot in medical research studies. Descriptive statistics allow a researcher to describe or summarize their data. For example, descriptive statistics for a study using human subjects might include the sample size, mean age of participants, percentage of males and females, range of scores on a study measure, descriptive statistics are often briefly presented at the beginning of the Results†, according to, (Statistically Significant Consulting, LLC, 2003-2010). Inferential Statistics Conclusio n Statistics gives form to research in that it organizes, analyzes, and interprets the data collected. Descriptive statistics often describe groups or populations researched, whereas inferential statistics help its users draw conclusions about future events. Both of these statistical methods play valuable roles in science. References Aron, A. , Aron, E. , & Coups, E. (2006). Statistics for Psychology (4th ed. ). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Prentice Hall. Statistically Significant Consulting, LLC, (2003-2010). Statistics Overview. Retrieved from http://www. statisticallysignificantconsulting. com/statistics101. htm

What really happened in the Bryant Grocery and Meat Market between Essay

What really happened in the Bryant Grocery and Meat Market between Emmett Till and Carolyn Bryant August 24, 1955 - Essay Example What makes the crime of Emmett Till’s murder so brutal is not only what was done to his body, but what was done to his soul—how his spirit was snuffed out like a light under a bushel, and all because Emmett Till was simply a Black boy in the wrong place at the wrong time. II. What Happened At the Bryant Grocery and Meat Market Emmett Till, a young, 14-year-old African-American youth, really wanted to go down South to Money, Mississippi, where Jim Crow laws were still in full effect in August of 1955. Emmett was from Chicago, in the North, where there was less discrimination—and the Jim Crow laws were not applied as harshly even though they were federal law. Emmett apparently insisted upon going to Mississippi to visit his cousins, even though Mamie Till-Mobley was dead-set against it (Till-Mobley and Benson 2004, 99). When Emmett and his family members pulled up to the Bryant Grocery and Meat Market that fateful day in August of 1955, there was an encounter betwe en the teenager Emmett Till and Carolyn Bryant—the 21-year-old wife of Roy Bryant, the store owner. According to Carolyn Bryant’s testimony, Emmett Till put his hands around Mrs. Bryant’s waist and said some unpleasant things to her (â€Å"Transcript: Emmett Till Trial† 1955, 270). In addition, there is the famous allegation that Emmett Till ‘whistled’ at Carolyn Bryant. â€Å"It [was] alleged that Emmett Till â€Å"wolf whistled† and made some â€Å"ugly remarks† to Bryant’s 21-year-old wife† (Popham 1955, 64). In many media accounts, Mrs. Bryant is described as being attractive, or ‘pretty.’ This is emphasized when the story is told about how Emmett apparently may have physically accosted her in someway, however seemingly innocent. Mrs. Bryant testified that Emmett grabbed her hand when he asked to see the bubble gum from the showcase. Supposedly, he also asked her for ‘a date,’ and call ed her pet names instead of addressing her by the title â€Å"Ma’am,† which was common and the legal custom in the South. Much is debated about what actually went on at the store. There were various accounts of what happened from Emmett’s cousins and other boys in the neighborhood, one or some of which were alleged to have taunted Emmett to go into the store and ask ‘the pretty white lady’ for a ‘date.’ At any rate, Emmett had allegedly been boasting about how he had been with a white woman or women before, and showed a picture of a white girl in his wallet—whom his mother later claimed was a photo of Heddy Lamar, which came with the wallet. After Emmett came out of the store, â€Å"‘[h]e knew he had done something wrong, because he begged us not to tell daddy [Mose Wright],’ insisted [cousin Simeon] Wright in 2007. Parker agreed. ‘Everyone knew a wrong had been committed’† (Anderson 2008, 18). Th is wrong was just one stepping-stone which led to Emmett’s murder and his alleged murderers’ trial, which proved fruitless for the prosecution. Basically, the defense had at least five lawyers, one of which had gone to a prestigious Ivy League law school and was 71 years old. Also, besides that, basically all that the prosecution could prove was that a body had been found in the Tallahatchie River, but—even though Mrs. Till had been able to positively identify the body—the prosecution was not able to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that this was the same person whom J.W. Milam and Roy Bryant had kidnapped. This was enough doubt to place in the mind of the jury that perhaps the person who had turned up in the river was not the

1.Examine the organisational context of your organisation, Essay

1.Examine the organisational context of your organisation, particularly its stakeholders and organisational culture. What are the key issues which enable and c - Essay Example Pepsi Inc’s overÐ °ll mission is to increÐ °se its shÐ °reholders investment. It does so by offering quÐ °lity products thÐ °t Ð °re sÐ °fe, wholesome, economicÐ °lly efficient Ð °nd environmentÐ °lly sound. It requires Ð °n orgÐ °nizÐ °tion Ð °nd working environment thÐ °t Ð °ttrÐ °cts the best people, fully develops Ð °nd chÐ °llenges their tÐ °lents, encourÐ °ges free Ð °nd spirited collÐ °borÐ °tion Ð °nd mÐ °intÐ °ins the highest stÐ °ndÐ °rds of integrity. Stakeholders are generally defined as any individuals or organizations who have the ability to directly or indirectly affect or are affected by the operations of a program. (WÐ °nous, Reichers, MÐ °lik, 2004) In Pepsi Inc there are two main distinctions concerning the type of stakeholder: internal and external. Internal stakeholders are typically all employees, and might include specific groups such as agency managers; program managers; front-line supervisors; direct-service employees; subject matter experts or occupational specialists; and evaluation, planning, and budgeting staff. External stakeholders are individuals or groups outside the organization that regularly exercise actions that can promote, inhibit, or change the operations of the organization. Types of external stakeholders who might participate include: elected officials, interest groups, union representatives, the media, customers, and citizens. Powerful externÐ °l stÐ °keholders Ð °re cÐ °pÐ °ble of dominÐ ° ting Ð °n orgÐ °nisÐ °tion’s strÐ °tegy. It is importÐ °nt to Ð °scertÐ °in eÐ °ch stÐ °keholder’s level of interest concerning the orgÐ °nisÐ °tionÐ °l purposes Ð °nd strÐ °tegic choices, Ð °nd the level of power they yield. Implementing Ð ° stÐ °keholder mÐ °pping mÐ °trix provides Ð °n insight into this, which in turn fÐ °cilitÐ °tes the understÐ °nding of Pepsi Inc’s politicÐ °l priorities. Pepsi Inc brÐ °nd nÐ °mes Ð °re Ð °mong the best-known Ð °nd most respected in the world. Some of the Pepsi Inc brÐ °nd nÐ °mes Ð °re 100 yeÐ °rs old, but the corporÐ °tion is relÐ °tively

Budgeting Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Budgeting - Essay Example Budgets are not always made for a fixed period, some budgets are created by adding a few more months to ensure that the total tenure for which the budget has been made spans over a total of twelve months. Another type of such estimation is known as a forecast. A forecast is a budget that modifies in the middle of the year to make a new/mini budget which is for a period of 3 months or 6 months. By making a budget, a company gets the following advantages: It ensures that the resources are being used in conformity with the goals of the company. It ensures that there are proper controls over the use of resources. It can help in ensuring that the departments of the company are engaged constructively with each other. It acts as a way of evaluating the performance of managers of the company - by comparing their achievements with the budgeted performance (Collier, 2010). Budget Cycle: In a budget cycle, a budget is first planned and then performances are controlled on its basis. In this proc ess, a plan is first developed to manage the finances of the company. This plan is then made the benchmark against which the performance is compared. If the performance is below the budgets estimations, reasons for deviation are found out and measures are taken to ensure that the work performed conforms to the standard set in the budget. Working with the Budget throughout the Budget Cycle As the person in charge of the department of finance, it is obvious that you are going to be a part of every step that is taken when the budgets are prepared. These steps include the following: 1. Planning and Development Planning and development is the first step of the budget cycle. When budgets are made, people involved in the preparation consider the present financial situation to make future estimations; they do not disregard the previous historic data relating to the product or departments. To ensure that the budgets are as accurate as possible, they encourage the people who are involved in t he daily financial dealings of the products to give their inputs. This is because these people are the specialists of the products they work with every day; thus, they will be able to give a better idea of the estimated revenue, expenses, etc. 2. Implementation After a budget has been prepared and loaded into the finance system, it is now the time to implement it. However, before the implementation stage is started, it is imperative to ensure that the correct budget has been loaded. In case of any kind of an ambiguity, it is always advisable to get in touch with a professional accountant. 3. Monitoring a. Revenue and Expense Statement Detail In order to ensure that each fund has its FOPPS, the report that shows the entire details of the expenses incurred and revenue earned is required to be reconciled on a monthly basis. i. All the amounts for expenses incurred during the year, transfers made and revenue earned must be compared with the original document on the basis of which the en try was made and the transaction went through. ii. Once the mistakes are identified, they must be removed as soon as possible. b. Revenue and Expense Statement Summary To make sure that the company has a full control over the operations going on, the statement that shows the summary of the revenue earned and expenses incurred is required to be seen monthly. i. The actual amounts of expenses incurred

WEEK 8 470 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

WEEK 8 470 - Essay Example It is astonishing to know that the GDP of the world’s 47 poorest countries (approximately 570 million people) is far less when compared to the combined wealth of the world’s top ten wealthiest people.(Kroll, 2007).This wide gap can be bridged by strengthening the purchasing powers of the affected countries. According to Jack another area to tackle would be writing off debts owed by the poorest of countries. This would in essence enable the country to concentrate her resources to feeding her people and to put measures in place to curb poverty. On the same point Jill proposed technological assistance to the poorest countries. With improved technology and better farming practices, the yield per acre can go up to five-fold the current production rate. Another proposal by Jill to increase loans and funding to poorer countries was opposed by Joe. His reasoning was that giving loans without monitoring the money was in itself an act of futility. Indeed the poorest nations also ranked very high in corruption index. Controlled grants are so far the most viable solution in financial

American History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 5

American History - Essay Example Fernlund states that one of the conditions for becoming a world power was to have a large, standing army (161). The expansion and might of the United States’ sea power was exemplified in 1899, when the U.S was able to conquer the Spanish in the Philippines. The war with Spain was orchestrated by the fact that Spain was drawing closer to the United States frontier at California. The United States was, thus forced to fight off the Spaniards and in the process ended up acquiring the Philippines. The assertion of U.S rule on the Filipino led to American imperialism, a factor that further established the position of the U.S as a growing world power. The U.S became openly involved in world affairs. The most significant of this and which probably led to the United States becoming a world power was World War 1. Fernlund states that as a matter of foreign policy, the U.S had opted to remain neutral in the war (178). Nonetheless, when the Germans started a submarine warfare, sinking enemy and neutral vessels, the U.S joined the war on the Allied side. The victory of the Allies over the central powers and the role played by the U.S cemented the position of the latter as a world power. 1. 21-2. In his work, Mahan’s was concerned over the lack of sea power by the United States to defend herself in case of danger. Fernlund states that Mahan argued that incase of danger, the U.S could be forced to establish a blockade on her extensive sea-coast, a deed which needs a standing naval army (162). More sea power would, thus ensure that the United States stayed clear of harm’s way and that trade and commerce would not be affected by an external war. The work of Mahan led to increased military buildup in the U.S by the close of the century that saw the U.S defeat Spain in the Philippine war. It is the same sea power that enabled the U.S to participate in the First World War. 2. 21-4. Twain was a critic of the American annexation of the Philippines and his article led to the

The history of Chinese Immigration to USA Research Paper

The history of Chinese Immigration to USA - Research Paper Example Wherever they went, the Chinese immigrants brought with them their language, culture, social institutions, and customs; and as time went on, they made lasting contributions to the United States as they tried to become an integral part of the U.S. population. (â€Å"Chinese immigration to the US†) Privation of the Chinese immigrants to USA in the 18th century Integration has not been an easy one because the Chinese underwent a long period of discrimination from their adopted country. At the outset, they were at once discriminately treated from among the European immigrants and other racial minorities. They were the first immigrant group singled out for denial of citizenship by the U.S. Congress in 1882. Chinese immigration is separated into three periods: 1849 – 1882, 1882-1965 and 1965 to present. The first period of immigration that begun with the California Gold rush in 1848 (Golden Venture) was cut short by the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882. The Exclusion Act suspend ed labor immigration from China for ten years (USA Chronology). During this first period, the Chinese enjoyed the freedom to travel and become contract laborers in America. Thousands of young male peasants from China were recruited to work in the mines, toil the fields as agricultural workers, and become construction workers to construct a vast railroad network, reclaim swamp-lands, build irrigation system, develop the fishing industry, and work in the labor intensive manufacturing industries in the western states. All along, these Chinese workers felt the anti-sentiments of their presence since they were precluded on becoming permanent settlers. Because of this sentiment, the Chinese immigrants kept to themselves an intention of going back to China when the time comes to enjoy the benefit of their retirement, and to advance their own well being while they are in U.S. According to estimates, there were about 110,000 Chinese populations during the first wave of immigration. The secon d wave of immigration showed a very limited number of Chinese immigrants to U.S. This is caused by political tensions between the U.S and the Chinese governments that further curtailed the chance of Chinese immigrants to enter America. Because America felt Chinese laborers were no longer needed, beginning in 1882, the naturalization and immigrations became very strict to them. At the onset of 1882, an economic hardship was also felt in the U.S., so much so that European Americans also had to compete with the works reserved for the Chinese. This era is also characterized by the beginning of racial discrimination and hatred because of competition and anti-Chinese riots were frequent scenes in the streets of San Francisco. These scenarios put pressure on the U.S. government so that the exclusion act was promulgated (The Library of Congress). A quota allowing only 108 Chinese immigrants was set; so from the period 1888 to 1965, only diplomats, merchants and students and their dependents were allowed to enter the U.S (â€Å"Chinese Americans†) Even those Chinese, who are already in the U.S., are largely discriminated upon, and had to confine their presence in segregated places called Chinatown. They were denied democratic rights, and access to it thru legal procedures was not successful. The third wave of Chinese

Christian Scriptures Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Christian Scriptures - Essay Example Watt points out that the gospels cannot be literally true and also completely accurate. On the other hand the perspective of E P Sanders was markedly different from that of Watt. As such Sanders takes a less critical stance with regard to Jesus Christ and his attitude towards scripture. Instead of representing Jesus Christ as a fundamentalist Sanders presents Jesus as an accomplished religious leader promising to guide people towards their own salvation. From Sanders' perspective Jesus Christ is argued to have been a highly important religious prophet who had performed miracles as well as claiming to be the Jewish Messiah. Sanders also believed that it always important to place the entire gospel accounts and stories concerning Jesus Christ into the most appropriate context. Basically the gospel writers as well as Jesus himself wanted certain messages passed on to their intended audiences. The opinions of Meier are certainly closer to those of Sanders than those of Watt. This is due to Meier also taking a much less critical stance concerning the mission, teachings, and the beliefs of Jesus Christ, as supposedly predicted within the Old Testament, and recorded in the gospels. Personally it would be best to assume that the gospel writers just like Jesus Christ had messages to get across to people. The gospels were written due to the fact that the people who had personally known Jesus Christ were dying out and the New Testament was needed to spread the teachings of the Early Church. The gospel writers wanted to persuade as many people as possible that Jesus Christ had been the Son of God and therefore needed to provide enough evidence of his status as the Messiah does. What do you think each of these three would write for example about the story of the transfiguration of Jesus (Mark, 9 2- 8) Watt would more than likely write that the story of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ was not literally true, and than the gospels should not therefore be automatically taken at face value. He would probably also contend that the message, which the story of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ was intended to convey was more important than whether or not it was actually or indeed literally a true life event. Watt would argue that the purpose of the story of the transfiguration of Jesus was to demonstrate that Jesus Christ was not only the Messiah he was also he resurrected Son of God. It is a fundamental part of mainstream Christian doctrine yet Watt might easily contend that the transfiguration of Jesus Christ did not actually take place. Sanders would probably have written that the story of the transfiguration of Jesus Christ was based upon the events that the disciples had believed to happen. Only Jesus and his most trusted disciples had gone up the hillside, with only the disciples coming back down. Sanders would probably mention that Jesus had grouped these disciples together in order to prove that he had indeed risen from the dead. There were therefore only a small number of witnesses that could describe how Jesus had descended up to heaven. All these witnesses also played significant roles in the development and the territorial expansion of the Christian religion. The eye - witness accounts strongly

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 1

The Tax Reform Act of 1986 - Term Paper Example The tax reform act brought out two key ideas, which seemed as the motivation for the tax reform. The major idea in the tax reform act was fairness in the level of distribution of the tax burden or the overall level. The congress had considered pubic concerns of the high-income individuals who evaded tax payment and the large corporation that combine high book profits with little or no tax liability (Graetz 622). The act lowered income tax rates for both corporations and individuals. The changes in the tax reform act include changes in the time of settling of tax payments. The tax reform does not monitor some of the behavioural responses that change the tax system. This does question the tax reform of its revenue-neutral theme. The tax reform act did upset many established interests and practices, many lobbyists and constituents seeking to block the amending of the act gathered and organized grassroots’ campaigns to lobby against the tax reform act. The opposition of the act was also seen from the divided party control of the executive and the legislative branches. The tax reform act of the 1986 receives the praises of being the best example of a bipartisan tax reform in the American history. The act broadened the bases of both corporate and individual income taxes by getting rid of the various means of tax preferences. The top individual rate was reduced from 50 percent to 28 percent, and the top corporate tax rate decline was reduced from 48 percent to 34 percent. Prior to the passing of the tax reform act there existed a widespread disgust in the income tax system: there existed a prevalence of tax shelters this enabled the wealthy tax payers to escape much of their tax liability. The high tax rates also hampered the economic growth because it discouraged labour supply saving and investment. The tax code was complex this resulted in high compliance,

Educator In Community Essay Example for Free

Educator In Community Essay Initial assessment should focus on learning styles and knowledge level of students. This can be accomplished by asking the expectation of students, activities that they want to participate in and through an assessment of existing skills and competencies. The nurse educator must then mediate the course objectives with the result of these tests: assessment of the class must be bridges with the target outcomes for students (Priest, 2004). Instructional strategies should include literature, practical demonstrations and activities as well investigative or research activities. Reading materials should be supported by activities that will allow the students to experience what they have read. Further reinforcement should be done through participation in discussions and research activities. Processing by students of the strategies and assessment by the teachers performance can then be used to determine shat activities or strategies is most effective for the class (Gay et al, 2006). Testing of students should assess their understanding of the significance of each element in the educational program. Evaluation of which teaching strategy, literature, practical or research based activities, should be done as a means of initial assessment and to gauge what strategy will be used in the program. Similar settings for health education should be assess individually, either anonymously or through personal or written by students, as well as a group to promote collaboration among participants and the nurse education. Nurse educators in community and staff education settings have to be sensitive regarding their audience and at the same time must not discriminative regarding the level of learning requires of their students (Blair, 2004; Priest, 2004). This entails effective assessment tools to gauge topic knowledge and the learning style of students (Gay et al, 2006). Nurse educators must expect that strategies must respond to the characteristics of their audience rather than the reverse and that. This will entail constantly redeveloping teaching methods to allow communities to work collaboratively with nurse educators in promoting long-term and sustainable health programs.

Role Of English As A Foreign Language Education Essay

Role Of English As A Foreign Language Education Essay Algeria is an African multilingual country with one official language called Modern Standard Arabic and more than two foreign languages French, English, Spanish, etc. It is a country whose contributions and all interests are now in how to improve foreign languages for specific purposes particularly English so as to prove its position as a powerful and important country across the world. Today, the role of English as a foreign language (henceforth EFL) in the world is influenced by many factors such as business, cultural, political and educational factors. The latter is the main factor which plays, now, strongly a major role to pull a lot of attention in the decision of the Algerian educational authorities to know how to deal with the positive qualities EFL has in undertaking methods and approaches as parts of reforms in order to improve English teaching and learning as it is in developed countries. Hence, the questions to be raised, here, are how to deal with the qualities EFL has with non-native speakers and what significant scientific contribution EFL gives to non-mother country (Algeria)? And what are the suggested approaches and methods the Algerian educational authorities make to improve and work with this language? Answering to the questions above, the Algerian educational leaders started to improve and hold tightly EFL by shifting from traditional methods to modern to say to the world that we are able, as a multilingual developing country, to make EFL as a second Language major and significant in our schools and university and then be present everywhere across the globe. This challenge remind us about some debate on teaching EFL in developing countries as an insignificant contribution, by African designers, to knowledge and production(Graddol 2006, Batibo 2007) and Phillipson (1996) who had observed, after the independence of some developing countries , that those who were first responsible for making English official, major, developed and significant are African leaders; For example, the case of English Language Teaching (ELT) in Algerian schools after independence. ELT in Algeria was denied and insignificant before the independence in comparison with French. Because the French language was taught in schools as SL (second language) due to the consequences of the French occupation in Algeria that was the longest period of colonization which took a long time from 1830 till 1962. Thus French became as an official language in the Algerian institutions. Andrew Freeman (1961:1) confirms what we are saying about French as SL in the following quotation  « The French, in Algeria, between 1830 and 1962; tried actively to suppress Arabic. The French influence resulted in many different levels and mainly the linguistic level. The latter reflected the impact of the French language on Algerians who were being forced to speak French and then obliged to learn it in schools, but prior to independence and after 1990s a new revolution came to the surface and the Algerian authoritarians started new relations with USA to give some importance to English as an essen tial medium to be integrated in the Algerian schools. In the beginning, English was taught in middle and secondary schools to students from the eight classes in the middle school to the third classes of the secondary school up to 2005. English at that time had not been being perfectly taught in Algeria in comparison with some developing countries. By the time, because English has become a lingua franca (henceforth ELF), which is defined functionally by its use in intercultural communication, English as a global language (e.g. Crystal 2003; Gnutvzmann 1999), English as a world language (e.g. Mair 2003) and World English (Brutt-Griffler 2002) English as an international language (EIL) becomes influencing force everywhere across the world. Due to these facts of the current situation of English, Algerian Government decides to go through changes in various fields to hold and improve this global language in higher studies. Among these changes are implementation of policies made in education related to new approaches and system were brought to Algerian institutions such as LMD System and competency based approach (henceforth CBA) in primary and secondary schools. CBA approach has been brought to the Algerian schools in 2002 as a new approach and a part of reform in the primary, middle and secondary school. It has been imposed as a primary part of reform and complimentary to LMD reform on EFL teacher. To make CBA approach successful, the education minister mobilized all responsible for schools (primary, middle and secondary) to follow the CBA implementation. Moreover, Algerian ministry contribute, morally and financially, to give all opportunities and provide all those who are responsible for helping teachers and students with materials needed and equipments to be familiar with CBA success in the classroom. Thus, inspectors spent much time and money for making seminars in all over the country to instruct and correct the teachers ways in the teaching of English language and following the planning of English curriculum. In addition to the CBA, the LMD reform is also brought to the Algerian university in 2003 to continue the correctness of the teaching of English. In this work, we shall focus on some changes of approaches and systems such as LMD to see whether it is towards a more communicative use of English as a second language and a more focus on English language teaching. ELT is not easy responsibility for EFL teachers to teaching all of the students assigned to a classroom in university. The latter becomes, now, the world question in holding English as an international language which becomes increasingly important and required in Algeria in the last decade. Nowadays, there are much debate on what is teaching and how it becomes in the twentieth century, some people say that teaching is a creative way to become joined with and support others to help all learners learn. Others say that without teaching learning is not a way to make teachers and students more efficient. McKay (2002) says, The teaching and learning of an international language must be based on an entirely different set of assumptions than the teaching and learning of any other second and foreign language. McKay (2002:1) This quotation makes us ask the following questions: 1-How should English be taught under LMD system as a challenging language in Algeria? (Our focus in this work). 2- What purpose of learning English should we achieve? (That is what we are looking for) 3- Can we be best English teachers? (This is our hypotheses to be proved) According to the questions above, we begin to analyze these issues regarding the role of English in our own lives and in our society. We first start by looking at EF L teachers role, i.e. how do they play a central role in the teaching of English language perfectly? How do they apply the instructions given to teach English and how to be responsible for motivating their students to learn? It is essential that teachers themselves are aware of the way they are following to go through the four skills of listening, reading, speaking and writing including pronunciation, grammar, vocabulary, and spelling all contribute to effective English communication. The much attention we give to each skill area is due to the teachers and learners competence and their needs. In addition, teachers should be adjusted in the light of the current status of English in the world. As Parker Palmer (1998: 308) points out, When I do not know myself, I cannot know who my students are. I will see them through a glass darkly, in the shadows of my unexamined life and when I cannot see them clearly, I cannot teach them well. Parker Palmer (1998: 308) It is clear to know how able we, as teachers, are to make our students understand and know ourselves in society as well as we can understand from P. Palmer the relative position and attention given to English has been considered and examined from ideological and cultural or political standpoints rather than pedagogical concerns. The latter is very important point to discuss in accordance with our situation as Algerian EFL teachers. Unfortunately, with the classical system we, cannot be adjusted in the light of the current status of English in Algeria because, up to 2005, there are many obstacles and factors make our EFL teachers incapable to make all students understand such as: 1-The number of students is overmuch in a class (40 50) 2- Insufficient communicative activities use for teaching English language skills such as reading, listening, writing, grammar, etc. 3- Inadequately equipped classrooms and the lack of ICTs use. 4- The impact of a social factor on EFL teachers as well as learners 5- Being authoritarian traditional teachers 6- Being passive traditional learners. 7- Being too shy to speak English in the classroom. 8-The impact of mother tongue (L1) on students and some teachers pronunciation too Due to some deficiencies mentioned above, the Algerian government started rebuilding the skeleton of university which is the image of the country abroad. So since 2OO1, the ministry of higher education has decided to diagnose the situation in order to provide immediate and sustainable solutions for university and here a new Algerian university system has imposed itself. Following the recommendations of the National Committee of the education reform, a reform plan was adopted by the Cabinet in April 30, 2002 and the Ministry of Higher Education and Scientific Research has adopted a ten-year strategy to develop the sector for the period 2004-2013, one of whose main themes is The development and implementation of an overall and deep reform of higher education, the first step is the establishment of a new architectural educations, including an updating and upgrading of various educational programs, and a reorganization of the educational management. Thus, the choice goes towards the new BMD: Bachelor-Master-Doctorate system, or LMD ( Licence, Master and Doctorate) as it is known, to meet the expectations of society and also to be in conc ordance with the new guidelines and global trends in higher education. This system examines, evaluates and improves the way the teachers and learners are following now to better and develop their English. It also defines the ways and means to teach study and evaluate differently in higher education. It aims to motivating and enabling students across the world by allowing diplomas to be compared and become equivalent to European diplomas, developing the professionalization of higher education whilst preserving the general interest nature of the teaching, to strengthening the learning of transverse skills such as fluency in foreign modern languages and computer skills encouraging the students mobility and encouraging the students access to the world of work in Europe allowing the student to build up a personalized education plan gradually. Because English is too challenging for us and becoming the most dominant and useful language among many European languages, our governments has adopted many systems (policies) that promote ELT in Algeria. At present, English is considered as a foreign language that is offered as a required subject at all levels of higher education in university. In order to understand and recognize that the introduction of English language into the Algerian educational system lead us to have part in the globalization, our government made huge effort to change the policies that have been being followed in 1900s. For instance, at the level of university, the LMD system is about a new approach based on the Communicative Approach that has been implemented in the Algerian university almost in all subjects and specialties, as we have already said above. LMD system has been introduced into our universities by August 2003 to make changes in syllabuses and curriculum development in order to reduce and overcome the difficulties and the obstacles cited (see page 5) and make English teaching and learning successful under the new system LMD. As well, to achieve good results, EFL university teachers must be ready to change from traditional teacher to modern changing the traditional approaches into more communicative innovative activities to teaching to what extent we pay much attention to the four skills perfectly. On the one hand, the changes made and brought to universities contribute to achieve success in teaching and learning languages. On the other hand, there are many different reasons for changes, so too are there many different kinds, or levels, of change that can take place in globalization. Interestingly, in Algeria there are changes towards teaching English more explicitly, and with more of a focus on form. Furthermore, nowadays, the emphasis is on to what extent do systems and approaches impact, positively, on ELT to improve EFL students levels in order to get much knowledge and then achieve perfect English to securing their jobs through acknowledged degrees and high levels of employment because the spread of joblessness across the world particularly in Algeria have upset authorities. From the various opinions of learners, even longer studies are not an end in themselves everyone now understands that schools and universities are the first starting point for everyone desires to realize any project. Aiming to get higher studies is simply a means to access better jobs likely to lead to higher social status (profession, security, wage, etc.). For that reason, English language becomes, for EFL students, a dominant subject, an international language and a means for getting job easily. It is now required, across the globe, and important for the Algerian learners and/or job seekers. The question then is what concrete roles does English development give to the EFL LMD students in the Algerian university? Coleman (2010) addresses a similar question by reviewing the functions of English as a foreign language in development. He refers to four areas where English has often been given a role to play: 1-for employability 2-for international mobility 3-for unlocking development opportunities and accessing information 4- as an impartial language. These four points must find an answer in the implementation of LMD systems results. Thus, the present work study is devoted to overcome the difficulties and problems Algerian teachers and learners are encountering in acquiring English language for specific purpose. The latter has been conducted by many researches to discuss the various problems that Arab universities encounter and mainly Algerian university. These kinds of problems refer to their ability as teachers or their competence in transmitting skills. Mukattash (1983) divides the problem that learners of English encounter into problems of pronunciation, spelling, morphology and syntax at the level of university as well students or learners unable to express themselves that what makes difficulties spread. For Mukattash the students major difficulties arise from the fact that they cannot use English correctly and appropriately in and out the classroom when required; he says: Comfortably and efficiently either when dealing with academic topics or common everyday topics (1983:169). What we can understand by the difficulty of English efficiency is related to the students deficiencies in communicative competence and self -confidence. Consequently, to face these kinds of problems of communicative competence, Ministry and educational experts run to find solutions to these problems by changing the strategies and encourage the training abroad that gives the learners a good knowledge and culture as well as make them confident. The queries to be raised here are how universities could be developed into places where advanced knowledge was disseminated and what are the strategies and the reforms are going to be followed. It is only recently that universities have become the almost systematic pragmatics, looking for motivation and aptitude for higher and perfect studies. As a main part of this work, we have also shed light on another part of reform which is called ICT (information, communication and technology). It also impacts on our understanding in the teaching and learning of English language through changes. According to many linguists, the use and integration of ICT might indeed provide students with much information in learning E L (henceforth English language) competency as well as make better and more attractive the quality of EFL teachers and students learning under LMD and CBA experience. They approve that the use of ICT becomes an effective medium to better and develop the English language. As well, ICT helps in the use of interactive lessons through the four skills to speed up the teaching and learning of English perfectly. Moreover, the impact of the use of ICT on teaching and learning is a promising scope of interest for researchers in various disciplines such as mathematics, informatics, education and sports, literature, English studies or teaching foreign languages and so forth. The latter becomes one area where ICTs influence is widely investigated. In a special report, (International Certificate Conference, 2002), devoted to the impact of Information and Communication Technologies on teaching foreign languages and on the role of foreign language teachers in Europe, the term ICT includes technologies in which the computer or laptop plays a central role, for example, Computer-Assisted Language Learning (CALL), the Internet, and a variety of generic computer applications. To reinforce what has been said in (2002), in (2003) Carmen et al say that integrating ICT tools in teaching can lead to increased students learning competencies and increased opportunities for communication and it is a rapid development in the learning and teaching of foreign languages more particularly English. Nowadays, the rapid developments and the frequent use of ICTS in Algerian society is not only impact on a quick computing discourse has generated linguistic convergence it is also the focus on the use of ICT in schools and universities. The latter now require much availability of computers provided with the net/ internet because they become a support for learning and teaching any discipline and mainly languages. Thus, the use of ICT in both education and higher education becomes an important element in the Algerian governments strategy to reinforce and ensure the effectiveness of systems implementation such as LMD in higher education. Higher education goes with the ICTs use which becoming more important to contribute to the growth and development of learning and teaching in the 21st century. In this part, we highlight the effectiveness of ICT in higher education and we seek to explore how it will impact on the way courses will be given to learners and delivered in the universities. Having spoken on the whole study work, generally, leads us to think of the following: Statement of the problem Through our experience of more than 5 years of teaching English under the new system LMD at the University of Mostaganem, we have noticed changes in the attitudes of our students and teachers towards LMD system. Students come to university with no idea about LMD; the only idea they have had in mind is the CBA approach which is implemented in 2002 in the secondary school. They have already been familiar with the competency based approach in undertaking all kind of new tasks, techniques and methods given to be applied. The questions to be raised here are as follows: Is there any relation between LMD and CBA reforms? To what extent can the LMD system contribute positively or negatively to teaching and learning foreign languages mainly the English language? Does ICT contribute to enhance ELT? If yes how? Are all teachers familiar with ICT? If yes or no why? Are all teachers familiar with ICT? If yes or no why? Pragmatically speaking how is the relationship between CBA, LMD and ICT in use? Hypotheses On the basis of what have been preceded, we are going to formulate the following hypotheses: 1. In relation to CBA, would LMD system respond to the students and teachers needs in mastering English? 2. Would curriculum development in the new implementation system such as LMD and CBA fit the world demand in education? 3. Must all teachers and leaders use ICT to enhance foreign languages/ English? The organization of the research Our doctoral research revolves around five chapters. The first chapter is devoted to talk about a broad review of the relevant literature relating to the fundamental concepts of teaching and learning theories, ending up with some clarifications about what is curriculum including the various systems that have been implemented in teaching languages such as LMD system and the CBA approach . In chapter two, research methodology, we are going to present first an introduction to what is qualitative research and then describe the steps of the techniques used, starting with the review of some definitions given about the qualitative research methodology, we have read and summarized, ending with our illustration of the experience we have undertaken during our investigation. .i.e. the discussion of the importance and objectives of qualitative research methods we have undergone. Chapter Three is devoted to the main changes, LMD system and CBA approach, which took place in the educational system in the Algerian university. Chapter Four is devoted to talk about the impact of the ICTS on these changes or reforms, LMD system and CBA approach. Chapter five presents the analysis of data collected from questionnaires and then discusses the results. Finally in the general conclusion, we try to summarize all what have been preceded and said before to suggest some solutions or hypothesis to avoid failure in education and give much importance and attention to LMD, ICT, CBA and curriculum development to make higher studies successful and effective in the teaching of the English language..

Communication Competency Self-Assessment

Communication Competency Self-Assessment PART 1: Communication Competence Analysis Pick two to three competencies from the listing for which you feel you are currently strong, and describe why you feel that way. Pick two to three competencies from the listing for which you feel you currently need improvement, and describe why you feel that way. Each section should be written with at least three paragraphs (with a minimum of three to four sentences each) of commentary, which is in addition to any quoting from the listing you may choose to do.It may be helpful to explain your thought process and provide examples to give explanation to your descriptions of why you feel that way.This is not a formal paper, but college-level spelling, grammar, and syntax are expected. S = strength NI = needs improvement _S_ 1. I’m sensitive to contexts of communication. I recognize that changes in physical, cultural, social– psychological, and temporal contexts will alter meaning. _S_ 2. I assess my channel options and evaluate whether my message will be more effective if delivered face-to-face, through e-mail, or by some third party, for example. _S_ 3. I look for meaning not only in words but also in nonverbal behaviors. _NI_ 4. I am sensitive to the feedback and feed forward that I give to others and that others give to me. _NI_ 5. I combat the effects of the various types of physical, psychological, and semantic noise that distort messages. _S_ 6. I listen not only to the more obvious content messages but also to the relational messages that I (and others) send, and I respond to the relational messages of others to increase meaningful interaction. _S_ 7. Instead of looking only at the punctuation patterns, I also look at the patterns that others might be using in order to understand better the meanings communicated. _S_ 8. Because communication is transactional, I recognize that all elements influence every other element in the communication process and that each person communicating is simultaneously a speaker/listener. _NI_ 9. Because communication is purposeful, I look carefully at both the speaker’s and the listener’s purposes. _NI_ 10. Because communication is inevitable, irreversible, and unrepeatable, I look carefully for hidden meanings, am cautious in communicating messages that I may later wish to withdraw, and am aware that any communication act occurs but once. _S_ 11. I am sensitive to cultural variation and differences, and I see my own culture’s teachings and those of other cultures without undue bias. My Competency Strengths _S_ 2. I assess my channel options and evaluate whether my message will be more effective if delivered face-to-face, through e-mail, or by some third party, for example. Number two is definitely one of my better strengths out of the competencies listed. Recognizing the different methods of communication is definitely important in how a message can be relayed. Before I want to send a message across, I always think about how it may be portrayed depending on which method is used and which will be most effective. There was a time when I thought about sending a text message to a friend about a certain topic. However, I decided that if I sent the text message, there may be some confusion and may have been taken completely out of context. In the end, my friend and I discussed it in person and he was very grateful we did and that I decided against the text message. I think text messaging can be so emotionless. Although I am not perfect, as no one is, I think I have a pretty good understanding about the differences in which a method of communication can make. I think all it takes is a matter of stopping for a second and thinking about how the words someone is reading over an e-mail or text message may differ as opposed to just going to talk to them about it. Granted, sometimes an e-mail is a completely efficient way to send out a simply message to a large amount of people. _S_ 11. I am sensitive to cultural variation and differences, and I see my own culture’s teachings and those of other cultures without undue bias. Number eleven is another one of my strengths from these competencies. Over the years of working in a hospital, I have learned to understand that there are so many different cultures out there and it’s only fair that we do not think of as our own to be the â€Å"best† or the â€Å"right† one. This is something that I have never had a problem understanding; I was raised to be respectful of other cultures whether or not I may agree with their beliefs. As I have mentioned, working in a hospital has exposed me to many types of different cultures. There have been a few instances where our patient was a Jehovah’s Witness; in which did not accept blood in the event they needed it. This was their belief, and as hard as it is to want to just give them blood in an emergency, their wishes must be respected even though others may not have agreed with the decision. It’s important not to be biased in our own culture. There are so many different types of people in this world, and I think that it’s a great thing. I believe that are a lot of people out there who are very biased of their own culture and don’t understand why people have different beliefs. If we do more to educate others on different cultures, then it’s possible more and more will understand cultures other than their own. My Competencies Needing Improvement _NI_ 5. I combat the effects of the various types of physical, psychological, and semantic noise that distort messages. Number five is one of the communication competencies that I understand but I need to improve on. Sometimes I get easily distracted in fully grasping the messages that are being portrayed. I need to work on trying to ignore other noises that happen between the sending and receiving of messages so I can decode exactly what is being sent to me. There are a lot of distractions with working in the operating room; a lot of things go on at once. On one instance, the patient we had wasn’t doing so well and a lot of activity was going all at the same time; several people were asking me for things all at once. I managed to give everyone what they needed but I remember thinking how overwhelmed I felt and how all of the communication that was being thrown at me was jumbling together because of all the â€Å"noise† that occurred between all of the messages; I have to work more on learning how to separate out the distractions. I look at it as a small challenge to myself to work on ways that will help me learn to cut out so many distractions. I will try to take each message that is being sent to me and focus on it instead of hearing the â€Å"noise† that comes along with it. I think if I become successful at this, I will have a much easier time understanding what is being communicated to me. _NI_ 10. Because communication is inevitable, irreversible, and unrepeatable, I look carefully for hidden meanings, am cautious in communicating messages that I may later wish to withdraw, and am aware that any communication act occurs but once. Number ten is the other communication competency that I feel I need to make improvements on. I understand that communication is unrepeatable, irreversible, and inevitable, but sometimes I don’t think long enough about what I’m going to say and just say it and regret it later. Also, I don’t always see all of the hidden meanings behind some of the things that I say or things others say to me. I think at times I try to convince myself that what I say can be justified and taken away when it usually cannot. I can remember one time I sent an e-mail to someone after a disagreement and because I was so angry while writing the e-mail, I wasn’t thinking about exactly what I was saying and the consequences it was going to have later on. I had sent the e-mail and in the mean time had calmed down and reread the message and couldn’t believe the things I had said and it was too late to take it back; I couldn’t jump into the computer and reverse hitting the send button. The issue was eventually resolved but made me realize that I need to work on thinking more before putting words out there that are irreversible. I think one of the best things I can do in the future to avoid the type of situation I discussed above from happening again is just to step back and look at what I am saying before sending the message. Thinking about the consequences that may occur from saying something the wrong way is a motivator to be more careful. Also, trying to see the hidden meanings behind words before saying them to people I think will avoid any issues as well. PART 2: General Improvement Strategy The one communication competency that I am going to focus on for part two of this assignment is number ten. I understand that all of the competencies that I need to improve on are important but I want to elaborate a bit more on this one and see if I can plan out different ways to improve on it. The Problem: When I am angry or upset about something and want to confront the issue, I do not always fully think about what I’m saying before I say it, therefore living with the consequences of being unable to take back words. The Goal: To think more about what I say before I say it and to really realize how bad the consequences may become. The Plan: There are several things I plan on doing to improve on my problem. I will first think harder about what I am going to say before saying it. I will also step back and take a deep breath before writing out or saying harsh words. I will think about how my words may have hidden meanings to someone else. I will then use what I have learned in the past from the consequences of speaking/writing things I do not truly mean to avoid the same in the future. Test of Measurability: I will know that I have improved on my plan once I am in a situation where I may be upset about something and go to approach the person or an e-mail to someone and I use a better selection of words. I know my plan is going well when I wait to press the send button and reread what I have written to look for things that may mean more to the person that I realize. I will have achieved my goal when I see more positive outcomes and communication with the person I am having issues with. The list of competencies in part one of this assignment, with the exception of my insertions of â€Å"S† and â€Å"NI† are taken from: DeVito, J. (2013). Essentials of Human Communication [VitalSouce bookshelf version].  Retrieved from http://devry.vitalsource.com/books/9781269649261/id/pg23

Willy Loman, Jay Gatsby, and the Pursuit of the American Dream Essays

Willy Loman, Jay Gatsby, and the Pursuit of the American Dream Scott Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, and Arthur Miller, author of Death of a Salesman, both tell the stories of men in the costly pursuit of the American dream. As a result of several conflicts, both external and internal, both characters experience an extinction of the one thing that they have set their sights on.... The American Dream. Jay Gatsby, a mysterious, young and very wealthy man, fatally chases an impossible dream. Gatsby attempts to rekindle an old relationship and has confidence in repeating the past. Gatsby claims that he is going to â€Å"fix everything just the way it was before† (Fitzgerald 117). In a a conversation with Nick, Gatsby discusses how the past can be repeated and how he wants the relationship that he once had with Daisy (Fitzgerald 116). Secondly, Gatsby attempts to exemplify his wealth through fancy cars and stylish clothing. Gatsby shows his clothing to Daisy and informs her that he has a â€Å"man in England† who buys his clothes every season (Fitzgerald 97). Illustrating his wealth, Gatsby drives a Rolls Royce that â€Å"was a rich cream color, bright with nickel† (Fitzgerald 68). Although Gatsby’s foolish quest of the American dream exemplifies a respectable aspiration, it ends in a tragic death that goes virtually unnoticed. A sharp contrast to the part ies , the funeral was sparingly attended and â€Å"nobody came† (Fitzgerald 182). Following the ...

Misconceptions and Different Forms of Plagiarism :: Ethical Issues, Copyright Law, Writing

Misconceptions about Plagiarism Cheating and stealing are two of the many words describing plagiarism. Plagiarism is a common misconception because people do not understand all the meanings of it, do not know the techniques to avoid it, and have not come to realize that it undermines academic integrity. This misconception involves the widespread variety of definitions on the topic plagiarism. Plagiarism is a word with many meanings. One definition means to use another’s production without crediting the source. Another definition is to steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one’s own. Plagiarism ranges from failing to put a quotation in quotation marks to stealing a passing off work. â€Å"Minimal amount of plagiarism is very common in the educational sector where person do plagiarism by substituting the synonyms and editing the original text† (Kumar 1). Terms like â€Å"copying† and borrowing† can disguise the seriousness of plagiarism. People often get confused about plagiarizing because the meanings can also get them mixed up and frustrated. â€Å"In sum, plagiarism can be a very serious form of ethical misconduct† (ORI 1). That is how plagiarism’s definitions can change one’s perspective about it. This misconception often occurs because people do not understand the styles of writing to avoid it. Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided though. â€Å"Plagiarism can vary in its extent based on the amount of plagiarism† (Kumar 1). The different styles of writing are very helpful to avoiding plagiarism. The certain style of writing techniques a person uses to avoid plagiarism reveals the writer’s own voice. It also pertains to the type of audience it would relate to. Some styles of writing include how the person uses their sentence formation. Some examples are the loose sentence, the periodic sentence, or the balanced sentence. Other styles of writing include diction. Diction pertains to the writer’s style and mode of their writing. The styles of writing can be humorous, general, metaphorical, philosophical, abstract, or concrete. Punctuation is a big part of a writer’s style because it expresses the writer’s mood or action. â€Å"Although plagiarism can take many forms there are two major types in scholarly writing: plagiarism of ideas and plagiarism of text† (ORI 1). That is how using different styles of writing can influence you to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism occurs when people do not understand the emphasis on the originality of the work. Misconceptions and Different Forms of Plagiarism :: Ethical Issues, Copyright Law, Writing Misconceptions about Plagiarism Cheating and stealing are two of the many words describing plagiarism. Plagiarism is a common misconception because people do not understand all the meanings of it, do not know the techniques to avoid it, and have not come to realize that it undermines academic integrity. This misconception involves the widespread variety of definitions on the topic plagiarism. Plagiarism is a word with many meanings. One definition means to use another’s production without crediting the source. Another definition is to steal and pass off the ideas or words of another as one’s own. Plagiarism ranges from failing to put a quotation in quotation marks to stealing a passing off work. â€Å"Minimal amount of plagiarism is very common in the educational sector where person do plagiarism by substituting the synonyms and editing the original text† (Kumar 1). Terms like â€Å"copying† and borrowing† can disguise the seriousness of plagiarism. People often get confused about plagiarizing because the meanings can also get them mixed up and frustrated. â€Å"In sum, plagiarism can be a very serious form of ethical misconduct† (ORI 1). That is how plagiarism’s definitions can change one’s perspective about it. This misconception often occurs because people do not understand the styles of writing to avoid it. Most cases of plagiarism can be avoided though. â€Å"Plagiarism can vary in its extent based on the amount of plagiarism† (Kumar 1). The different styles of writing are very helpful to avoiding plagiarism. The certain style of writing techniques a person uses to avoid plagiarism reveals the writer’s own voice. It also pertains to the type of audience it would relate to. Some styles of writing include how the person uses their sentence formation. Some examples are the loose sentence, the periodic sentence, or the balanced sentence. Other styles of writing include diction. Diction pertains to the writer’s style and mode of their writing. The styles of writing can be humorous, general, metaphorical, philosophical, abstract, or concrete. Punctuation is a big part of a writer’s style because it expresses the writer’s mood or action. â€Å"Although plagiarism can take many forms there are two major types in scholarly writing: plagiarism of ideas and plagiarism of text† (ORI 1). That is how using different styles of writing can influence you to avoid plagiarism. Plagiarism occurs when people do not understand the emphasis on the originality of the work.