Using available documentary resources, you are required to write a Essay

Using available documentary resources, you are required to write a proposal for a research topic of your choice - Essay Example Many theories have been propounded by experts in the field of investment to help making investment decisions rationally. These rational investment decision theories stem from standard finance/ neoclassical economics. However, investment decisions by individuals are influenced not only by rational theories but irrational/behavioral theories as well. This acknowledgement develops a new branch of knowledge-behavioral finance- which deals with how investment decisions are taken in line with behavioral aspects of individuals. Behavioral finance has become one of the disciplines of great interest to investment firms and wealth management professionals. It is commonly understood as the application of psychological aspects of investors to financial planning and decision making. With the growth and development of UK economy, the need for planned investment among common investors has become a necessity and as a result the demand for wealth management has become phenomenal. Wealth management is the process of channelizing the funds of clients by professional wealth managers in conformity to the formers’ financial requirements and choice. The insights of personal financial planning and theories of rational finance are extensively used to make planned personal investment decisions. The rational finance which stems from neoclassical economics postulates that the economic decisions of investors are determined by the principles of perfect self-interest, perfect rationality, and perfect information. This is not going to be a logical view point as described by behavioral finance. Behavioral finance states that people are neither perfectly rational nor perfectly irrational: they possess diverse combinations of rational and irrational characteristics that govern their decisions on investment. This behaviour has been experienced and documented from the practical experience of wealth management professionals and investors. Thus,

Performance of ITV1 Through the Firms Strategic Analysis Research Paper

Performance of ITV1 Through the Firms Strategic Analysis - Research Paper Example A SWOT analysis is commonly used for the evaluation of a firm’s strategic decisions, both in regard to its internal and external environment. In the context of the SWOT analysis, four different aspects of the organization’s environment are explored: ‘a) strengths, b) weaknesses, c) opportunities and d) threats’. The first two categories refer to the internal organizational environment, while the last two are related to the firm’s external environment (Griffin 2011, p.68). Similar approaches have been used in order to explain the necessity of SWOT analysis as a tool for the strategic analysis of modern firms. According to Griffin (2011), the SWOT analysis is a valuable theoretical framework at the level that it emphasizes on both the firm’s internal and external environment, offering a clear view of the firm’s capabilities and challenges. Moreover, Hill and Jones (2009) note that the SWOT analysis proposes specific actions that a firm sh ould take in order to improve its performance: ‘to identify opportunities, to evaluate the threats, to emphasize on its strengths and to eliminate, as possible, its weaknesses’. In regard to the value of SWOT analysis, Henry (2008) notes that the particular framework can be more effective ‘in the context of a competitive environment than in a general environment’ (Henry 2008, p.61). It is implied that in non-competitive business environments the SWOT analysis could not be easily developed since no market pressures would exist, a fact that would minimize the value of certain of the elements of SWOT analysis.

The Errors Vs Mistakes English Language Essay

The Errors Vs Mistakes English Language Essay According to Brown in order to analyze a learner language, it is important to understand the distinction between errors and mistakes. A mistake refers to a performance error that is either a random guess or a slip, seeing as a failure to use a known system correctly. Mistakes can happen in both native and second language are the result of some sort of temporary breakdown, hesitations, slip of the tongue, random ungrammaticalities, or imperfection in the process of producing speech and can be recognized and corrected by native speakers. However errors are idiosyncrasies in the language of the learner. They are actually deviation from adult grammar of a native speaker. It shows the competence of the learner. Then mistakes are referred to performance errors in which the learner knows the system but fails to use it while errors are the result of ones systematic competence. It means that the learners system is incorrect. According to James cited by Brown (2007) the learner is not able to self correct the errors while mistakes if called, can be corrected by the learner. Then error correction can be used as a means for identification of errors and mistakes. However, Brown noted that making a distinction between errors and mistakes is difficult because if no such error correction occurs, we are not able to distinguish those (2007). Keshavarz (2008, p.49) also noted that there is a distinction between errors and mistakes. Errors are rule governed, systematic in nature, internally principled and free from arbitrariness. They show learners underlying knowledge of the target language that is his transitional competence. In contrast to errors, mistakes are random deviations and unrelated to any system. They are related to performance of the learner and might occur in the speech and writing like slip of the tongue, slip of the ear, slip of the pen, and false start. According to Keshavarz (2008) mistakes are due to non-linguistic factors such as fatigue, strong feeling, memory limitations, and lack of concentration and so on. These kinds of mistakes can be corrected by the learner if brought to his attention. He considered that distinguishing between learners errors and mistakes has always been problematic for teachers and researchers as Corder (1967) and Brown (1987) cited in keshavarz (2008) maintained this problem too. Nevertheless most error analyst use a general criterion for distinguishing between errors and mistakes the frequency of occurrence that is: errors which are low frequent are considered as mistakes or performance errors and those which are high frequent are systematic errors. However this criterion alone is not enough for distinguishing between errors and mistakes because low frequency of certain error may due to the low frequency of grammatical patterns or avoidance strategy that a learner uses. Then error analyst should consider casual factors of learners deviant structures as a means of distinguishing between errors and mistakes. According to Corder (1997) cited in Park (2010) errors refer to learners underlying knowledge of the language and mistakes refer to incorrect forms caused by memory lapses, slips of the tongue and other instances of performance errors. Corder considered that learners can correct their own mistakes but they cannot correct their errors because they do not have enough knowledge to distinguish their own utterance and that of the native speaker. He also pointed out two explanations with regard to learner errors. First, the occurrence of errors is merely a sign of the present inadequacy of the teaching techniques (p. 163). That is, if it were possible for teachers to achieve a perfect teaching method, there would be no occurrence of student errors in the target language. The second explanation is that despite teachers best efforts, the occurrence of errors is inevitable because errors occur for many reasons. The reasons can be: interference from L1, overgeneralization, an incomplete knowle dge of the target language, the complexity of the target language, and fossilization. Therefore, teachers should be more concerned with how to deal with students errors than the simple identification of them. For this study, I will use the terms errors and mistakes interchangeably because sometimes it is difficult to distinguish students errors from mistakes. Identification of Errors: (Categories of Error) Corder (1971) cited by Brown (2007) provided a model for identification of errors. Based on his model any sentences uttered by the learner can be analyzed for idiosyncrasies. According to his model there are two types of error: overt and covert errors. Overtly incorrect utterances are ungrammatical at the sentence level and covertly incorrect utterances are grammatically correct at the sentence level but are not interpretable within the context of communication. Then overt errors are sentence level and covert errors are discourse level errors. Burt (1975) cited in Park (2010) categorized errors as global and local ones. Global errors are errors that hinder communication and affect the overall organization of the sentence such as wrong word order, missing, wrong or misplaced sentence connectors however local errors do not usually hinder communication and affect single elements in a sentence such as error in noun and verb inflections, articles, and auxiliaries. He mentioned that the correction of global error clarifies the intended message more than the correction of several local errors. Moreover he argued that teachers should correct high frequent errors first. From another perspective Chaudron (1977, p.32) cited by Park (2010) classified the range of errors from linguistic (phonological, morphological, syntactic) to subject matter content (factual and conceptual knowledge) and lexical items. Valdman( 1975) cited in (salim shahin) provided the same division as Burt and said that in the case of global error the communicatio n between the student and teacher will be blocked and the student requires correction but in the case of local error, communication between the teacher and the student will not be blocked and it is up to the teacher to require the correction of the error, or let the error passes. Hammerley( 1991) cited in (Salim Shahin, 2003) classified errors into surface and deep. According to him surface errors need minor corrections and explanations while deep errors require explanation of why the error was made and what the correct form is. Hendrickson (1978) cited in (Salim Shahin, 2003) divided errors into three main types. 1) errors that hinders communication; 2) errors that have highly stigmatizing effect on the listener or reader but do not hinder communication; 3) errors that can be described as lapses that students usually have in their utterances. These errors are quite common in the speakers utterances yet they hardly block communication between the speaker and his interlocutor. Mackey et al. (2000) cited by Park (2010) categorized four types of errors in their analysis of L2 interactional data as phonological, morphosyntactic, lexical, and semantic ones.1) Phonological errors were non-target like pronunciation; 2) morphosyntactic errors were omitted plural-s and the preposition in; 3) lexical errors were inappropriate lexical items; 4) semantic errors were incorrect meaning or expression. Prabhu (1987) cited in (Salim shahin, 2003) divides errors on the basis of their treatment rather than their nature. According to his division there are two kinds of error: systematic and incidental errors. Systematic errors are those that deviate from the native speakers form and the teacher uses linguistic explanation, long interruptions, and exemplification to help and correct learners error. But Incidental errors do not require linguistic explanation or exemplification from the teacher, such as when the teacher corrects a pronunciation error or when he raises his eyebrows to draw the students attention to the error. Moreover Lennon (1991) cited by Brown (2007) identified different categories for description of errors: Errors of addition, omission, substitution, ordering Level of errors: phonology or orthography, lexicon, grammar and discourse Global and local errors: an error that hinders communication or prevents hearer or reader from understanding some aspect of a message is global and an error that does not prevent a message from being understood, usually due to a minor violation of one segment of a sentence, allowing a hearer or a reader to make an accurate guess about the intended meaning is a local error. (burtkiparsky, 1972 cited by Brown, 2007) Domain and extent error: domain error is the rank of linguistic unit from phoneme to discourse that must be taken as context in order for the error to become apparent. Extent error is the rank of linguistic unit that would have to be deleted, replaced, supplied, or recorded in order to repair the sentence. Other educators like Allwright (1975) cited in (Salim Shahin, 2003) believed that errors should be treated on the basis of their frequency, rather than on their classification. Then errors of high frequency should be given more attention and emphasis than errors of low frequency. Some Definitions in Error Correction: There are different terms when providing feedback in response to learner error in second language acquisition. These are repair, treatment, feedback, negative evidence and correction. Brown (2007, p.388) defined repair as correction by the learner of an ill-formed utterance, either through self-initiated repair or in response to feedback. Chaudron (1988) cited in Dabaghi (2006) defined treatment as any teacher behavior that follows error and shows the error to the learner. Ellis (1994a) cited by (Dabaghi, 2006) also identified feedback as a general cover term in which listeners provide information on the reception and the comprehension of the messages. Lightbown and Spadal (1999) cited in Dabaghi (2006) defined corrective feedback as an indication to the learners that they use target language incorrectly. According to Ellis (1994a) cited by Dabaghi (2006) correction has a narrower meaning than these terms. It is any attempt to provide negative evidence in the form of feedback that draw learners attention to the errors they have made. As Schachter (1991) cited by Dabaghi (2006) said corrective feedback, negative evidence and negative feedback are terms that are respectively used in the field of language teaching, language acquisition, and cognitive psychology. Most of the researchers use these terms interchangeably. In the present research we use error correction and corrective feedback interchangeably whenever the general sense of feedback provision was involve. Types of spoken error correction: According to Lyster Rantas model (1997) cited by Coskum (2010) the types of spoken error correction are as follows: Explicit correction: clearly indicating that the students utterance was incorrect, the teacher provides the correct form. S: there is a little milk in fridge. T: + in the fridge Recast: the teacher implicitly reformulates the students error, or provides the correction without directly pointing out that the students utterance was incorrect. In other words it is the teachers reformulation of all or part of a students utterance, minus the error. S: he like pop-music. T: yes, he likes pop-music Clarification request: the teacher indicates that the message has not been understood or that the students utterance included some kind of mistake and that a repetition or a reformulation is required by using phrases like Excuse me? S: there arent many /hotÄ ±ls/ in this town. T: again? à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Metalinguistic clues: the teacher poses questions like Do we say it like that? or provides comments or information related to the formation of the students utterance without providing the correct form. Metalinguistic clues contain comments, information or questions related to the well formedness of the students utterance, without explicitly providing the correct form. Metalinguistic comments generally indicate that there is an error somewhere. Metalinguistic information generally provides either some grammatical metalanguage that refers to the nature of the error or a word definition in the case of lexical errors. Metalinguistic questions also point to the nature of the error but attempt to elicit the information from the student. S: there isnt any books. T: + there isnt gà ¶rà ¼nce uncountable, yani sayÄ ±lamayan bir Ã…Å ¸ey kullanmamÄ ±z gerekiyormuÃ…Å ¸. Ds: there isnt any money Elicitation: the teacher directly elicits the correct form from the student by asking questions (e.g. How do I ask somebody to clean the board?), by pausing to allow the student to complete the teachers utterance (e.g. He is a good à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..) or by asking students to reformulate the utterance (e.g. Can you say that again?). Elicitation questions differ from questions that are defined as metalinguistic clues in that they require more than yes/no response. It refers to at least techniques that teachers use to directly elicit the correct form from the students. First teachers elicit completion of their own utterance by strategically pausing to allow students to fill in the blank as it were. Second, teachers use questions to elicit correct forms. Such questions exclude the use of yes/no questions. The question likes Do we say that in English is metalinguistic feedback, not elicitation. Third teachers occasionally ask students to reformulate their utterance. S: there are a few books in my /lÄ ±brari/ T: in myà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦? à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ Repetition: the teacher repeats the students error and changes intonation to draw students attention to it. S: How much money do you have in your /pakÄ ±t/? T: /pakÄ ±t/? à ´Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã¢â‚¬Ëœ DS: /pokÄ ±t/ T: yes Sources of Error: According to Brown (2007, p.263) there are four sources of error: 1) Interlingual transfer: it is a significant source of error for all learners. It is the effect of one language (usually the first) on another (usually the second). At early stages of learning a second language, the linguistic system of the native language is the only system that a learner is familiar with. Then the native linguistic system can interfere or transfer and cause some errors in second language. 2) Intralingual transfer: Another source of error which goes beyond the interlingual transfer is intralingual transfer. It is the effect of forms of one language (usually the target language) on other forms within the same language. According to Odlin (2003), Jaszczolt (1995) and Taylor (1975) cited by Brown (2007) once learners have begun to learn the system of second language, it is the system of second language that cause error. In fact intralingual transfer that is generalization within the target language occurs. 3) Context of learning: The third source of error is context of learning which is called false concept by Richard (1971) and induced error by Stenson (1979) cited by Brown (2007). It overlaps two types of transfer and refers to classroom, materials and social situation that can lead learners to make faulty hypotheses about the language. 4) Communication strategies: The forth source of error is communication strategies. They are production strategies that learners use to enhance getting their message across, but these strategies can become a source of error. Moreover Corder (1975) cited by Keshavarz (2008, p101) distinguished three types of sources of errors: Inter lingual errors which are caused by first language interference Intralingual errors that are caused by the learners generalizing and over generalizing particular rules. Errors caused by faulty teaching techniques. Another classification was considered by Dualy and Burt cited by Keshavarz (2008, p. 101) for second language learners error which are called goofs: Interference-like goofs: errors which show native language structure and are not found in first language acquisition data of the target language. L1-developmental goofs: errors that do not reflect native language structure but are found in L1 acquisition data of the target language Ambiguous goofs: those errors that can be as either interference-like goofs or L1 developmental goof. Unique goofs: errors that do not reflect L1 structure and also not found in L1 acquisition data of the target language. Significance of errors: Many scholars in the field of error analysis have stressed the significance of second language learners error. For example Corder (1967) cited by Keshavarz (2008) remarked that errors are significant in three ways: First errors are significant to the teacher in that they help him to understand how much the learner has progressed and what remains for him to learn. Second errors provide evidence for the learner to recognize how language is learnt or acquired and what strategies and procedures are used by the learner to discover the language. Third errors are important to the learner himself in which they are a device the learner uses in order to learn. Moreover Richard (1971) cited by Keshavarz (2008, p.45) noted that errors are significant and of interest to: 1) Linguistics, because according to Chomsky the study of human language is the best way of understanding the human intelligence; 2) Psychologists, because by comparing childrens and adults speech, they can examine the nature of the mental processes that seem to be involved in language; 3) Teachers, because by analyzing learners errors, they would be able to discover their difficulties and devise a method for comparing them. Besides, Jain (1974) cited by Keshavarz (2008) maintained 2 reasons for the significance of error: Understanding the process of second language acquisition Planning courses incorporating the psychology of second language learning. Other researchers like Dulay and Burt (1975) cited by Dabaghi (2006) stressed the significance of error by indicating two major reasons: 1) error provides data from which interferences about the nature of the language learning processes can be made, and 2) it shows to the teachers and curriculum developers in which part of the language, learners have difficulty with and which error types detract most from the learners ability to communicate effectively. Historical perspectives of error correction: Russel (2009) noted that error correction is a controversial issue in the field of second language education (SLE) and second language teacher education (SLTE). How to correct errors depends on the methodological perspectives of teachers. In behaviorist teaching models such as audio lingual method that was popular in 1950s and 1960s, error correction was stressed at all cost. Behaviorists believed that errors were inevitable but they tried to provide the correct form immediately. Brooks (1960, p.56) cited by Russull (2009) considered that like sin, error is to be avoided and its influence overcomesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the best way to overcoming errors is to shorten the time lapse between the incorrect response and a presentation of correct form. However in 1970s the value of grammar instruction and error correction in behaviorist model was questioned. Russull (2009) considered that in 1970s and 1980s some scholars claimed that error correction was not only unnecessary but also harmful to second language acquisition. The most well known model which was against error correction was Stephan Krashens monitor model which has five hypotheses about language learning. Rashtchi keshavarz (2007) noted that the learners affective an d emotional status can act as filters which do not allow easy absorption of input. It means that affective filter will hinder the process of learning (p.76). Moreover they noted that according to natural order hypothesis all linguistic elements and skills are learned in a predictable order and this order is not influenced by the native language of the learners. Russell (2009) mentioned that Terrell created the natural approach which is a method that emphasizes the development of communicative competence. According to his approach affective rather than cognitive factors are primary concern in the language classroom and correction of learners error is negative in terms of motivation, attitude and embarrassment. In this approach teacher never correct the learner oral errors. Then learners themselves should study grammatical structures in order to correct their mistakes. Communicative language teaching approach became popular in 1980s and like natural approach focuses on communicative competence and notional functional concepts over the instruction of grammatical structures. (Richards Rogers (1986) cited by Russell (2009). The objective in CLT is the development of fluency and acceptable language use and since emphasize is on meaning over form, error correction is not of primary importance. However when learners accuracy is assessed, it is always done in context. (Omaggio Hadley, 2001 cited by Russell), and in 1990s some researchers assert that explicit grammar instruction, error correction and focus on form could promote SLA. (Aljaafreh Lantolf, 1994; Doughy Varela, 1993; Ellis, 1993, 1994; Fotos, 1994; Long 1996; Schmidt, 1990, 1993, 1995; Sharwood Smith, 1993). Error correction and second language acquisition: According to Dabaghi (2006, p. 25) there are different views and opinions about language teaching and learning in which the changes in methodologies, materials and attitudes toward second language learning have always been important to language experts. Since error correction cannot be separated from these views and opinions, it must be discussed in terms of its relation to the theories of second language acquisition. In the following sections, we can see a number of second language acquisition theories and models that in some way affect our understanding of error correction. Contrastive analysis model: In the era of contrastive analysis and audiolingualism, there was a negative approach towards errors. According to Stern (1983) cited in Dabaghi (2006, p.25) some of the scholars during 1950s and 1960s had a puritanical perspective about errors committed by second language learners and as Brooks (1960) cited by (Dabaghi, 2006, p.25) said like sin, error is to avoid and its influence overcome but its presence is to be expected. According to Dulay, Burt, and Krashen (1982) cited by Dabaghi (2006), in contrastive analysis, there is a comparison between learners native and target language and these differences cause the majority of an second language learners errors. Based on behaviorist view which was prevalent at that time, learning is a process of habit formation and errors from first language habits interfere with the learners attempt to learn new linguistic behaviors. Then to avoid errors, teachers should prevent and correct errors and shorten the time lapse between the incorrect response and the correct model. But as Dabaghi (2006, p.26) said, paying too much attention to prevention of errors and teaching learners to use language creatively in response to expected and unexpected stimuli in the environment are the drawback of contrastive analysis model and structural approach and caused the very foundation of contrastive analysis as a result of Chomskys transformational generative grammar, which emphasize d the active participation of the learners mind in processing data. In short, according to CA, learning is a process of habit formation and interfering language habits with learners attempts to learn new linguistic behaviors cause errors. Then the audio lingual approaches to teaching aimed to prevent learners from committing errors and believed that errors should be corrected immediately. Inter language model: In inter language era the second language learner was considered to be an autonomous creator of a language system who has a built-in-syllabus (Corder (1981) cited by Dabaghi (2006, p. 26)). It means that a learner is equipped with an internally programmed sequence which is sometimes in accordance with what teacher teaches and sometimes contradictory and learner follows his/her own build in syllabus. According to this view errors are the evidence of the learners present transitional competence and manifest the way the learner processes the input in her linguistic environment. Dabaghi (2006, p.27) mentioned that the inter language view of language acquisition believed on the whole role of language learning to the language learner and weaken the impact of negative evidence in second language development. According to this view, if negative evidence is provided within the syllabus predetermined in the mind of language learners, it can be effective otherwise it causes frustration and confusion for the learner and teachers. This view was strengthened by non-interventionist view taken by Dulay and Burt (1973), Krashen (1983) and Prabhu(1987) cited by Dabaghi (2006) who argued that grammar instruction should be abandoned in order to let the learner acquire the language from untutored language setting. The teacher should only provide the learner with opportunities for natural use of language. To sum up, the inter language model considered second language learners as self governing creator of a language system who follow their own built in learning program which c an sometimes benefit from error correction and sometimes not. Krashens Input Hypotheses: it is commonly known that for the acquisition of a second language, input that is provided either by a teacher or by another learner is essential. Corder (1967) cited by (Faqeih, 2012) distinguished input from intake. According to him, what is available to the learner is called input and what is actually internalized is called intake. According to Faqeih (2012) Krashen proposed the most influential theory of the role of input in second language acquisition in 1980. He noted that for the acquisition of second language, learners must be exposed to comprehensible meaningful input which contains linguistic data that are a little beyond learners knowledge (i+1) where i is the second language learners current linguistic competence and (i+1) is the next level of that competence achieved with comprehensible input ( Krashen, 1985 cited by Faqeih, 2012). He also suggested that production of the target does not directly aid acquisition. Krashen considered that learners can make use of three kin ds of contextual information: extra-linguistic information that is learners knowledge of the world and previously acquired linguistic competence; the input that can be available via interaction; and interaction in which meaning has to be negotiated e.g. when there is a communication problem. Krashen (1985) cited by (Faqeih, 2012) also distinguished learning and acquisition. He considered that acquisition uses unconscious processes and those grammatical rules are not helpful. In other words, second language is acquired more like first language and parents focus on communication and meaning instead of focusing on explicit instruction of the language. He also implied that if input is understood and there is enough of it, the necessary grammar is automatically learnt. He also argued that error correction (= negative evidence) do not improve second language performance. On the other hand learning is the conscious process that involves the memorization of many formal grammatical rules and error correction can have a role in this. According to him learning leads to grammatical and mechanical knowledge of the language, but it does not lead to fluency. Note that although Krashen distinguished between learning and acquisition, but this thesis uses them interchangeably. According to Faqeih (2012) Krashens input hypothesis is supported by some scholar such as Shwartz (1993) and Truscott (1996). They noted that for learners to acquire second language, only positive evidence that is a model from the target language is sufficient and negative feedback such as implicit and explicit feedback to any non target like feature in learners speech does not help learning and that structures learned through error correction cannot become part of internal grammar. They also proposed the negative effects of error correction such as confusing the learners, causing over use of a particular form or interfering with natural language acquisition processes. Others like Lightbown Spada 1993 cited by Faqeih (2012) said that excessive use of error correction lead to lower motivation. According to Krashens affective filter, classroom teachers should not focus intentionally or explicitly on errors of language from during class but should instead provide comprehensible input t o learners. Other scholars such as Mitchell Myles (2004) cited by Faqeih (2012) criticized this hypothesis because of lacking in empirical evidence and untreatable owing to its vagueness. Moreover White (1987) criticized Krashens input hypothesis for not considering the possible benefits of providing rules, said that certain types of errors may need rules instruction. Others like Ellis, Tanaka, Yamazaki (1994) cited by Faqeih 2012 considered that although interaction can solve communication problems through negotiation and increased comprehension, it does not mean that increased comprehension automatically leads to L2 acquisition; that is, learners may not necessarily retain the comprehended target language. Longs Interaction Hypothesis: Based on Krashens input Hypothesis in which input is important for acquisition to take place, Long suggested his own interaction hypothesis (Long, 1996, 2007 cited by Faqeih (2012)). He considered that input is not sufficient on its own for language learning to occur and some type of negative evidence may be beneficial role in acquisition and more attention should be given to the interaction that learners are engaged in. In 1996 he updated his hypothesis and mentioned that some controversial strategies such as repetitions, confirmation checks, comprehension checks, clarification request or recasts can solve communication problems. This kind of interaction involved components like negotiation, recasts, and feedback. According to Long (2007) cited by Faqeih (2012) interactional feedback is very important aspect for language development because it helps learners become aware of their error, and notice the mismatches between their inter language and the target language. It also encourage s learners to hypothesize the correct form and test them and modify their inter language. Long (2007) cited by Faqeih (2012, p.29) claimed that for error correction to be affective, simultaneous focus on form and meaning should be provided in a classroom context and the best strategy for the negotiation for meaning is recast, Because it is implicit and does not interrupt the flow of interaction. Dabaghi ( 2006, p.28) mentioned that according to Long, when there is a conversation between two interlocutors ( native speakers and non native speaker) there are both similarities and differences in the form of grammatical complexity between them. They use some conversational tactics such as clarification request, repetition or comprehension checks. It shows that the non native speaker or less component interlocutor is experiencing comprehension problems and using these tactics is very useful in language learning. In the process of interactional adjustments, both interlocutors make effort to understand each other. It means that they adjust their input to make it more comprehensible that is i+1 in Krashens term. However this hypothesis was criticized by Braidi (1995

Nazi Use of Darwinism Essay -- History, Politics, The Treaty of Versa

After the Great War in the nineteenth century, European nations had a difficult time finding economic stability. Germany took full responsibility for starting World War I and by signing the Treaty of Versailles, Germany agreed to give up huge portions of territory and pay reparation to victorious allies. The harsh principles which were outlined by the Treaty of Versailles made economic stability in Germany difficult to achieve and caused Germany to suffer from inflation and the Great Depression. Unemployment and the fear of communism allowed Adolf Hitler to rise to power in 1933. Before Hitler came to power, he spent nine months in jail where he wrote his autobiography Mein Kampf (My Struggle), where he mentions how Darwin’s theory of evolution was the only basis for a successful Germany. He sets forth a number of evolutionary ideas such as; struggle, survival of the fittest, and extermination of the weak to create a better society (Bergman.) Unable to accept Germanys defeat i n the Great War, Adolf Hitler convinced the German people they had been defeated from within-or stabbed in the back by Communist, Socialists, liberals, and the Jews. These â€Å"races† became scapegoats in Germany, and that is how they were constructed as the â€Å"inferior race.† These groups of people, especially the Jews, were not even considered human. With the belief of an inferior race, came the belief of a superior race, which were the self-proclaimed Germans. Concentration camps were created in Germany to separate the inferior race, or the non-Germans from the Germans. It was believed that the inferior race was contaminating the German gene pool. Social Darwinism is a term used to describe ideologies which compare Darwin’s ideas of evolution to social scienc... ...lf was an atheist, although Bergman cannot speak for a group of people who believed what Hitler said to be true. If Hitler was an atheist it further validates the point I am trying to make, Hitler indeed used Darwin’s ideas to justify his actions along with creationist ideas. Bergman unable to acknowledge the fact Hitler used manipulation and propaganda to encourage Nazism, was quick to attack the ideas of evolution. Now I shall ask, is it fair to say Hitler was a creationists because he used god in his speech, thus creationism is equivalent to Nazism? Better yet, if the Nazis did not believe in a god, would the holocaust have occurred? Now, do not be fooled by my last statement, I do not believe creationism is the cause of the holocaust. However, I am trying to prove that Bergman’s argument about Darwinism is just as foolish as my previous statement. Nazi Use of Darwinism Essay -- History, Politics, The Treaty of Versa After the Great War in the nineteenth century, European nations had a difficult time finding economic stability. Germany took full responsibility for starting World War I and by signing the Treaty of Versailles, Germany agreed to give up huge portions of territory and pay reparation to victorious allies. The harsh principles which were outlined by the Treaty of Versailles made economic stability in Germany difficult to achieve and caused Germany to suffer from inflation and the Great Depression. Unemployment and the fear of communism allowed Adolf Hitler to rise to power in 1933. Before Hitler came to power, he spent nine months in jail where he wrote his autobiography Mein Kampf (My Struggle), where he mentions how Darwin’s theory of evolution was the only basis for a successful Germany. He sets forth a number of evolutionary ideas such as; struggle, survival of the fittest, and extermination of the weak to create a better society (Bergman.) Unable to accept Germanys defeat i n the Great War, Adolf Hitler convinced the German people they had been defeated from within-or stabbed in the back by Communist, Socialists, liberals, and the Jews. These â€Å"races† became scapegoats in Germany, and that is how they were constructed as the â€Å"inferior race.† These groups of people, especially the Jews, were not even considered human. With the belief of an inferior race, came the belief of a superior race, which were the self-proclaimed Germans. Concentration camps were created in Germany to separate the inferior race, or the non-Germans from the Germans. It was believed that the inferior race was contaminating the German gene pool. Social Darwinism is a term used to describe ideologies which compare Darwin’s ideas of evolution to social scienc... ...lf was an atheist, although Bergman cannot speak for a group of people who believed what Hitler said to be true. If Hitler was an atheist it further validates the point I am trying to make, Hitler indeed used Darwin’s ideas to justify his actions along with creationist ideas. Bergman unable to acknowledge the fact Hitler used manipulation and propaganda to encourage Nazism, was quick to attack the ideas of evolution. Now I shall ask, is it fair to say Hitler was a creationists because he used god in his speech, thus creationism is equivalent to Nazism? Better yet, if the Nazis did not believe in a god, would the holocaust have occurred? Now, do not be fooled by my last statement, I do not believe creationism is the cause of the holocaust. However, I am trying to prove that Bergman’s argument about Darwinism is just as foolish as my previous statement.

Development Stages: Adolescence

Development refers to growth, adaptation and change that occur over the course of a lifetime (Papalia, et. al, 2007). The human being is never static, from conception to death, physical and psychological change is constantly taking place in all of us. The process of development has been thought of in terms of stages that each of us must go through. These stages are characterized by certain behavioral or developmental characteristics that each of us goes through at different rates and even at different ages.Among the stages of development, no other aspect of the life cycle has commanded as much attention as adolescence. Adolescence can easily be described as the best of times and the worst of times. This stage is affected by the structure of the society in which the individual is raised. Hence, different cultures may have different conceptions of adolescence. Many cultures have rites of passage when the child enters adolescence or adulthood.While in Western cultures, it is a gradual t ransition from childhood to adulthood. Adolescence is marked by changes in the physical, emotional, social and cognitive aspects of the individual. The rapid physical changes occur at the onset of puberty; during adolescence the bodily changes often occur at a slower rate. In this stage, due to increased activity of the gonads at puberty, sex glands develop rapidly and become functional, the sex organs mature and the major secondary sex characteristics are more defined.The skeleton stops growing, hence the adolescent reaches his/her mature height in this stage and the various parts of the body gradually come into proportion (Steinberg, 2002). The physical changes that adolescents experience causes their preoccupation with their physical appearance and of what may be considered as â€Å"normal† Developmental Stages Page #2 development. Few adolescents are content with their bodies, and this discontent can lead to lowered self-esteems and insecurity. Moreover, adolescence disco vers their sexuality in this stage and tends to act on it.Adolescents also experience heightened emotional tensions, which may result from the hormonal and physical changes they are going through, it can also be brought about by the social pressures they must face and of which they have not been prepared. Adolescents experience emotional instability from time to time, which results from their adjustments to changes in their lives. Like when they are angered by the thought that they are being treated like a child or treated unfairly. However, they express their anger by sulking, refusing to speak our loudly criticizing those who angered them.While adolescent emotions are often intense, uncontrolled and seemingly irrational, it improves with age (Geselle, et. al, 1956). Adolescent’s emotions also impact the way they relate with other people and how they view their social sphere. Adolescent’s thought patterns are generally egocentric. Elkind (1967) proposed that adolescen ts assume that everyone else in the world views the world as they do. Adolescent egocentrism has two facets, the personal fable and the imaginary audience. The personal fable is a romanticized self-generated story of one’s personal destiny.Like when the adolescent believes that shoplifting is bad and there is a possibility of being caught by the police, but feels that it will not happen to him/her. The imaginary audience refers to the adolescent’s belief that other people are scrutinizing him/her because he/she is the most important concern of other people. The concept of the imaginary audience may help explain why students are not comfortable in giving reports or presentations in class, as they believe that they are under scrutiny when they do so.This feeling is very real for the adolescent and may impair his/her Developmental Stages Page #3 learning in the classroom. Teachers can help by being sensitive to this issue and thus provide encouragement and positive feedba ck on improvements made by students, or to assign presentations in groups of two, where the team presents it to the class to diffuse the feeling of being scrutinized. According to Piaget (1972) by the time a person reaches adolescence, he/she begins the final phase of intellectual development, which is called formal operation.This stage is characterized by the ability to solve abstract problems. The formal operational thinker is not bound by content and available experience, rather he/she can hypothesize and deal with the â€Å"what ifs†. The adolescent therefore is able to think of concepts and ideas well beyond his/her knowledge and experience, to look for answers in a systematic way and to use logical reasoning. Considering the cognitive stage of adolescents, teachers can challenge students to think beyond the common and simple responses to questions put to them.The teacher can also encourage students to make use of their cognitive skills by analyzing, predicting, justifyi ng, and defending their ideas in class. The teacher however, has to recognize that student’s conception of their ideas and abstract thoughts are products of their social and cultural backgrounds, thus students may give different explanations to a particular question or hypothesis. Like when students are asked to analyze the reasons why societies celebrate events, the teacher must allow for other cultural celebrations and not limit it to American celebrations. References Elkind, D. (1967). Egocentrism and Adolescence Child Development, 38, 1025-1034 Gesell, A., Ilg, F., & Ames, L. (1956). Youth: The years from ten to sixteen. New York Harper  and Row Papalia, D., Olds, S., & Feldman, R. (2007). Human Development, 10th ed.   McGraw Hill Piaget, J. (1972). Intellectual evolution from adolescence to adulthood. Human Development 15:  1-12. Steinberg, L. (2002). Adolescence 6th ed. McGraw Hill

Basque Conflict Essay

Introduction I. Conflicts are not entities in themselves. They have to be viewed and analyzed within the context of various factors; those that lead to conflict in the first place and also those that keep them fuelled. II. The Basque conflict in Spain is a result of cultural repression and intolerance. III. We propose to examine the Basque conflict with a particular focus on the Spanish interests in the matter and intent to present the historical context of the conflict in a socio-political manner, then move to the cultural implications of the issue, then analyze the cultural conflict that has both been born of and furthered Basque nationalism. I. Causes of Basque conflict A. Ideology B. Culture II. Consequences of Basque conflict A. Kidnappings-for-ransom B. Extortion C. Terrorist acts II. Solutions A. Refusing to negotiate with who it refers to as terrorists B. A propaganda war C. Increase anti-terrorist activities D. Grant full independence to the Basques subject to a plebiscite within the Basque country .Conclusion I. The government has to show it is ready to concede some more autonomy to the Basques. II. Peace is not possible in the years to come in Spain without a radical reconsideration of the government as well as the unilateral support from both Spaniards and Basques of the dismantling of the Euskadi Ta Askatasuna. Script Conflicts are not entities in themselves. They have to be viewed and analyzed within the context of various factors; those that lead to conflict in the first place and also those that keep them fuelled. The Basque conflict in Spain is a result of cultural repression and intolerance. The Comunidad Autonoma Vasca, or Basque region in the South of France and the northeastern edge of Spain is currently riddled with violent conflict. In this presentation we propose to examine the Basque conflict with a particular focus on the Spanish interests in the matter. We intent to present the historical context of the conflict in a socio-political manner, then move to the cultural implications of the issue. The Basque Independence Party (Batasuna) with its military wing Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) has employed military means to achieve its goal of Basque self-determination. The Basque organization Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) was formed in 1959 and began waging a small scale war against the Spanish government. The causes for conflict lie in ideology and culture according to Fukuyama and Huntington respectively. The arguments of Friedlander and Cohen do not agree with these two theorists as they both posit that individuals do much less to influence history than the overarching powers of collective peoples. The argument that Fukuyama brings forth in his work; â€Å"The End of History†, conjectures that history is composed of a string of ideological shifts brought about by conflict in an evolutionary manner. He argues that history is the cyclical build-up of new competing ideologies which escalated into a military conflict which leads to a victorious ideology and then the arrival of new competitors. In order to finance its operations, ETA has used kidnappings-for-ransom, extortion, and (less frequently) robberies. The main targets of such money-rising activities have been Basque entrepreneurs, who have since begun to abandon the Basque Country in large numbers in order to escape extortion or abduction by the terrorist group. In addition, the terrorist conflict has been frequently cited as deterrence for domestic and foreign direct investment in the Basque Country. Finally, although terrorist attacks have occurred in almost all Spanish regions, most of ETA’s violent activity has been concentrated in the Basque Country. Almost 70% of the deaths caused by ETA in Spain during 1968-1997 occurred in the Basque Country. During the period 1968-1997, ETA’s activity measured as number of deaths per inhabitant was 37 times larger in the Basque Country than in the rest of Spain. Now let’s look at the options open to the Spanish Government because it is obvious that ETA will not just go away. Firstly, refusing to negotiate with who it refers to as terrorists. This is the course of action presently taken by the government in Spain at the moment. It does not however mean that the Basque conflict will disappear. By ignoring the problem it won’t go away. People in Spain are getting fed up living in continual fear of a bomb attack. Secondly, a propaganda war. This could have the scope of showing Basques that their lot is better by remaining Spanish, and also isolate the more militant nationalists from the bulk which are wary of the conflict. Thirdly, increase anti-terrorist activities. This has been done in the past and it does not seem to have worked except to drive ETA even more underground. Anti-terrorist groups are too much of a liability as has been shown by the â€Å"dirty war†. Everything has to be done within the law something favoring the separatists. The state could attempt to eliminate all the separatists but it is hardly possible, whilst eliminating them of their leadership has not worked due to the separatists’ system of having autonomous branches all capable of committing anti-state activities. Then, grant full independence to the Basques subject to a plebiscite within the Basque country:- This is a â€Å"hard to swallow† option for any Spanish Government. Firstly a plebiscite in the Basque country would most probably (although not certain) result in favor of independence, secondly it would mean an electoral defeat for the party putting it in action in Spain itself. The Basque country is too important both for economic and industrial reasons and also for the ethnically Spanish people living there. The government has to show it is ready to concede some more autonomy to the Basques .It is our belief that peace is not possible in the years to come in Spain without a radical reconsideration of the government as well as the unilateral support from both Spaniards and Basques of the dismantling of the Euskadi Ta Askatasuna. We believe that in some cases this unilateral front will need to engage in military action. The terrorist leaders of ETA are identifiable and can be eliminated publicly and legally Reference List Flash Points/World Conflict Basque-Spain Conflict http://www.flashpoints.info/countries-conflicts/Spain-Basque-web/Spain-Basque_briefing.html United States institute of Peace The Basque Conflict: New Ideas and Prospects for Peace http://www.usip.org/resources/basque-conflict-new-ideas-and-prospects-peace The Economic Costs of Conflict: A Case Study of the Basque Country Author(s): Alberto Abadie and Javier Gardeazabal Source: The American Economic Review, Vol. 93, No. 1 (Mar., 2003), pp. 113-132 Published by: American Economic Association Stable a