Police Misconduct Response Essay

I would define police brutality as something that occurs when a police officer acts with excessive force by using the amount of force with regards to a subject that is more than necessary. By excessive force, I mean that the officer use more than the amount of force to get the subject under control. I feel that police brutality happens when an officer has the subject under control and then might hit the subject with a black stick, or use the taser gun on the subject. When trying to get a suspect to comply with orders given by an officer, the amount of force should be used in only the minimum amount needed to gain control of a situation. Police brutality is a direct violation of the laws within the police force. This is a form of police misconduct. The relationship between police brutality, police corruption, and other police misconduct falls all together. By this, I mean that they are all in direct violation of the laws. The relationship between the three is that they are abuses of police authority. Police corruption is the abuse of police authority for personal gain. Corruption might involve any type of material benefit gained illegally by an officer because of his authority. Forms of corruption could include anything form bribery, extortion, selling drugs and many other things. This is also considered a form of misconduct. I would recommend that the police officers who are found guilty or involved in any of these type of actions be handled with the highest actions necessary to assure that it does not continue to happen. By this I mean, strengthening police leadership, develop clear written debt policies and procedures so that it is known by all officers that this type of behavior are not acceptable.

Firoozeh Dumas Essay

â€Å"To deny someone and education is not just a crime but a sin, because you are denying that person the opportunity to realize who he or she is meant to be. † This quote represents Firoozeh Dumas’s view on learning and becoming the person that she is today. Through her hardships, struggles, good times and the bad times, she has matured and learned a great deal. In the autobiography Funny in Farsi by Firoozeh Dumas, the themes or clashing cultures, new environments, and learning through experience comes into play. The story begins as Firoozeh moves with her family to the United States in 1972, as a seven-year-old. From the moment her airplane lands, she starts to see differences; not only in the geography of the land and the appearance of the people, but the look of the whole place. She is used to bustling cities in Iran, crowded with enthusiastic workers, shoppers, and people socializing. In contrast, her new neighborhood in America seemed fairly unexciting; she describes it as uniformed houses, all the lawns in perfect order, as if everything was constantly being maintained to achieve the ideal look. But little did she know that this was only the beginning of differences. Entering a new school would open a whole other orbit of biculturalism. As she enters school, she sees everyone; completely different looking from her, and all of them fluent in English. Curious classmates peered around her desk, examining her from head to toe trying to figure out who she is; what type of creature she is and where she comes from. To make things even worse, Firoozeh’s mother decides to attend school with her, to learn proper English. This leads to ultimate humiliation for Firoozeh. Not only is she an immigrant student, but an immigrant student with her mother in elementary school with her. Students constantly ask her where she comes from, as if she’s an alien of some sort. She slowly learns to respond by saying â€Å"You know, the country where Persian cats come from. † She hopes to one day learn English properly so she can fit in and communicate with her fellow students. Her first day is completely confusing as she tries to embrace all that is happening around her. On the way home, the bus driver drops Firoozeh and her mother a few blocks away from their house. Not so familiar with the location, they get further confused and can’t recognize their own home. To them, the homes all look alike, and can’t distinguish their own from the rest. These incidents represent the difficulties that Firoozeh goes through in her first couple of months in America. However, after a couple of months time, she learns more and more about the American culture and believes she is on her way to â€Å"Americanization. † During summer vacation, the family celebrates their first year completed in America by voyaging to Disneyland. Being a child, Firoozeh is completely star-struck and amazed by the tiny world created for the sole purpose of entertaining people. All her favorite Disney characters that she had only heard the names of in Iran were now walking amongst her in real life! Firoozeh wasn’t the only one who enjoyed herself. Her father Kauzem described Walt Disney as a â€Å"†¦ genius, a man whose vision allowed everyone, regardless of age, to relive the wonderment of childhood. † (p. 17) Their lives in America seemed to be improving, until the Iranian Revolution ten years later. Firoozeh, now a seventeen year old, was again suffering from racism everywhere she went. People were now staring at her again, questioning her and calling her a terrorist, just because of what was happening in her country. The pain of not fitting in was now something she became accustomed to, and she decided to overcome it by further educating herself. She was thankful to have the opportunity to be educated, and she wanted to take advantage of her chance. Firoozeh spent high school learning French, until she got fluent in it. She was offered an opportunity to travel to Paris for two months because of her immense skill and fluency at the language. There, she again faces racism, where she is interviewed and labeled as a seventeen-year-old spy. She begins to ignore the racism around her, and advances in her studies. From education, she learns who she really is. The strength is now ingrained in her and she knows who she is: a young Iranian woman who has succeeded through many hardships. Nothing can stop her from learning, the main factor that helped her develop her personality. The main conflict she faces over and over again throughout the story is intense racism and not being able to fit in with every other American. By end, she realizes that by using education she can overcome all her struggles. Firoozeh Dumas ends up marrying a Frenchman who she meets in college, and they both live happily together. She realizes that her own encouragement and drive to study has brought her all the way to college, and finds her a perfect partner. As she said before, education is what helps a person realize what they are meant to be. In my opinion, the character goes through many hardships; and just as things begin to turn up, she again falls into another political conflict because of the Iranian Revolution. With these multiple problems she has to face, she realizes that one key factor can help her survive through it all: education. She knew that as long as she kept studying and taking advantage of the right of education, she will succeed; and she did. I think she dealt with her hardships perfectly and came out extremely strong at the end. This book is an ideal representation of an immigrant girl coming from Iran. It shows the perfect perspective of what someone like Firoozeh might think, and the problems they will face. It gives an opportunity for the reader to advance their knowledge on a new culture, to see an Iranian immigrant’s point of view. By adding some humor in the story, it becomes even more entertaining and interesting to learn about Firoozeh’s struggles. This book has given me an increased amount of respect for people who come from a different country. Firoozeh’s education helped her go extremely far and be successful in life, and I hope the same will happen to me because I’m blessed with the right of education that Firoozeh describes.

Are humans becoming too dependent on technology

What happen if any of your devices crashed? Nowadays people becoming too dependent of technologic they cannot imagine their live without technology. We losing the ability or willingness to thing and memorize, we cannot work or do something if we have not internet or study, calculate or solve problem without computer or other devices. With the rapid growth of technology, there has been a debate on how we are using technology in our life. Many people think that we are now abusing modern devices to support for our own life; while others reckon that using technology brings us just good things and make our life easier. According to what I have observed and experienced, I believe that people, nowadays, have been overly dependent on technology What about if you lost any of your devices? If just thinking about these scenarios give you anxiety, you’re not alone. Most of us rely so much on technology these days that losing it, even for a day, would be extremely inconvenient, and for some, life-altering. As a society, we have become much more dependent on the technology at our disposal. For instance, many people no longer memorize phone numbers because their cell phones have a wonderful contact list which makes that memorization unnecessary. If these people didn’t have their cell phones in an emergency, they would not be able to contact the people they would need. It’s very possible that you have your husband’s number memorized. It’s also very possible that he’s listed by name on your phone and you haven’t the faintest idea what his number is. If you lost your cellphone and all of your contacts, it’s very possible you’d have no idea how to get in contact with anyone, let alone someone important to you. And you can’t even look it up since cellphone numbers are unlisted. If the internet is down we cannot work because many job in our days depend of internet. I don’t know about you, but I’ve been at jobs where if the Internet isn’t working, then work comes to a standstill. How can you work if you can’t send an email, right? Seriously, I was sent home one day at my last job because the Internet was down. Sure, I stopped to chat with a co-worker on the way out. And during that conversation, we came up with a way to effectively tackle a work-related problem. But otherwise, work was over for the day. The dependence on the technology is too much that people are losing their ability to think and even read as people have all the  information they need on the internet. Their ability to think has been lost due to the use of computers as they always give us all the information we need and also our spelling mistakes can be corrected by the computers. We also don’t produce our own foods as productions of packaged foods have been mechanized People are slowly losing those abilities and letting machines or computers do the work for them. People are no longer required to think. If posed with a difficult or even simple problem people will simply Google it on an iPhone and the answer is found within seconds. Students are also becoming too dependent on calculators. Instead of using a graphing calculator to solve complex mathematical formulas, students turn to calculators for even simple calculations. Though calculators are important in an evolving world, it is still important for teachers to teach students how to do mental math and reasoning (Metz). While it is true that technology can largely dominate our lives and it is not uncommon to walk into the average family’s house and see each sitting in front of a blaring television but on separate electronic devices it cannot be said that we would not survive without it. The technology we supposedly depend on today is all relatively new. Technology is definitely useful, and without it the world would probably not be what it is today. From computers the size of a fingernail to medical advancements, cancer deaths for example have decreased by 20% in the last 20 years due to developments in technology. Technology in general progressed at an accelerated rate in the twentieth century, an era that began with the invention of airplanes and cars and ended with space shuttles, mobile phones and wireless internet. Saying that we are overly dependent on technology is too vague a statement. It does not specify whether it refers to humans as a whole or specifically to western culture. Regardless of this, a mere 4-5% of the world’s population owns a computer. Taken out of context this figure seems pathetically small and it is important to note that only 30% of the world’s population are wealthy enough to have a bank account however it still means that about 95% of people get by just fine with no kind of computers whatsoever. Many of us regularly express a wish to escape from all of the technology we encounter on a daily basis, wealthy celebrities like Johnny Deep going so far as to buy an island with no phones or internet. Surely this is not the mark of a race that depends completely on this same technology for life? It is true that we depend on it, how many of us are ever without some sort of electronic device in our pocket, the fact that I’ve typed this on a computer is testament to that fact, but I don’t think we will ever reach a point where we cannot survive without it. Homo sapiens have been around with in or around 250,000 years and we’ve had the internet since the late twentieth century. If there was a massive solar flare in the morning and you lost everything in your life that ran on a microchip how you would survive? Pretty easily I expect. People use technology for performing their household chores as well as for solving even the simplest mathematics. The traditional way of writing and sending letters is now being replaced with communication by the mobiles, emails, SMS, etc. Not too long ago, our previous generations got the latest news of their time through newspapers. Nowadays, we watch television or browse the Internet for the latest news. We also cannot travel on foot for only 50 meters. We need to travel on cars because technology makes us too lazy to walk for even a short distance. With every new invention, people become more dependent on technology to think for them. It would be impossible to view the world without the ubiquitous cell phone, laptop, and mp3 player. And, it would be impossible completely do away with these gadgets. The problem is people are letting their gadgets take over their lives and they are not giving an effort anymore. Maybe John Lennons lyrics should read strive for fewer possessions, its easier than you think†. How we use technology that is the key Technology was created to improve our lives. Today everything is possible just because of technology. Today we are modern people and we know more about technology. The point is that we, as a society, must be able to operate on a basic level without technology. Yes, technology makes our lives easier and quicker, but this needs to be taken with a grain of salt. We should live our lives with the aid of technology because we want to, not because we have to.

Ethic Reflection Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Ethic Reflection - Essay Example do not directly contribute to the bottom line, they contribute towards social responsibility and develop relationships with the neighboring communities. Therefore, when organizations are confronted with hard decisions, they need to know that coming up with decisions will not only affect the employees and the corporation, but it has an impact on the stakeholders of the company and the public communities. Moreover, making the wrong or right decisions will affect many individuals, which is why ethics is so significant (Fassin, 2012). Stakeholders are those individuals that have a stake in the company. Stakeholders should be convinced that the resources spent on making the business a success are used well. It also assists the organizations to center on performance as passionate stakeholders still judge organizations primarily on their ability to deliver and the customer experience (Fassin, 2009). Ethics and social responsibility facilitates the organization to realize less wasteful and i nnovative methods to clarify to the stakeholders how good their business is and makes sure corporate citizenship and good business are practiced and understood all over the organization. This ensures that the stakeholders and other individuals involved in the organization to adjust to any changes in the company progressively and this prevents hostility and anger toward the organization (Elms, Brammer, Harris, & Phillips, 2010). My ethical perception has taken a complete new viewpoint throughout this program. I feel that my personal view of ethics is progressing, bearing in mind the information and knowledge I am gaining through this program and the personal experiences. At first, I used to love working on assignments on my own, and not asking for assistance since I feared something would not be done correctly. However, that has changed, and now I tend to work well with co-workers and I am patient. I discovered that I work well in groups, and my communication with co-workers is good.

UK Commercial law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

UK Commercial law - Essay Example This essay will primarily cover the niceties of agency law governing the relationship between Iffy and Victor. It will also touch upon the sales law, both international and domestic, relating to the relationship between Iffy and the Chinese automotive seller and also with the UK car dealers. Because of the handicap of Iffy, having neither experience of dealing with the Chinese automotive industry nor any contacts therein, it will be necessary for them to hire the services of Victor by appointing him as their agent to deal with the Chinese in their stead for the delivery of a certain number of utility vehicles, spare parts and accessories. Indeed, this is so because a limited company can only act through its human agents,1 whether through its own directors, employees or through independent agents. I would prepare for Iffy the agency2 agreement, through which Victor will deal with the Chinese automotive executives, empowering him to negotiate and constitute a contract or contracts between Iffy and chosen Chinese auto manufacturing or dealer company or companies, as agent3 in the name of Iffy, together with the necessary instructions and document forms needed for the transactions. In the present case, I will be preparing the necessary documents to be signed by the proper company officers with the agent's conformity. The provisions of the agency agreement shall task Victor with negotiating and executing the necessary contracts for the importation of the chosen automobiles and effecting the proper secure means of delivery of the same vehicles to UK for distribution to sellers. In the present case, the agency agreement would oblige Victor to expressly name his principal, considering that there are no facts in the case that would tend to obstruct the consummation of the contract or contracts should the Chinese know of Iffy's identity. The agreement would also contain provisions on the required methods of shipping the vehicles and the means of payment. It is very crucial considering that the business transaction will be made outside of UK that the terms and conditions of the agency be expressly laid out in black and white. It is necessary for Iffy as principal to lay down the terms and conditions of the employment or to employ the agent in a specific position in the company in order for the tasks to be deducible from the very position itself. I would advise Iffy that the agency agreement between them and Victor binds both of them to the following consequences, in terms of rights and duties expressly imposed by law, jurisprudence and regulations: Iffy must remember that Victor has the following rights against them, which rights Victor can enforce in the proper judicial forum. 1. Right to remuneration4 - Victor will be entitled to the consideration based on the contract or in quantum meruit according to the extent of his performance of its terms. Furthermore, Victor as agent will be entitled to retainer or commission or royalty from Iffy for every vehicle imported even after the termination of the agency pursuant to common law rules and the Reg. 8, 1993 Commercial Agents (Council Directive).5 2. Right to indemnity - He will also be entitled to indemnity or restitution and refund

Strategy of Samsung Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4750 words

Strategy of Samsung - Essay Example The ultimate aim was to make Samsung a premium brand - one that, like Sony, would not have to compete on price. Steadily, it started building initiatives for transforming itself into a global brand and consolidates its presence in global markets. Samsung Company was established in 1969 as the flagship company of Samsung Corporation. After LG (Lucky Goldstar) and Daewoo, it was ranked the third largest player in the Korean electronics market. The Samsung Group comprises of The six elements of Samsung organization (Strategy, policies, structure, systems Climate, and culture) dynamically affect one another. Each element interacts with the environment as a business strives towards its goals. The problem definition/action planning process requires that a manager look at all six elements of the organizational model to determine which action levels will exist to implement positive change. If he environment changes, the organizational elements must adapt No organization exists in isolation. Every organization exists in an environment where it interacts with, and is influenced by, the general public, specific groups (whether they be customers, clients, suppliers, pressure groups, etc) and/or various government bodies. The organization is also affected by the economic, political, legal, social, technological and international variables of the times. All managers, whether they work in the public or private sector, operate in the same external environment. They face common pressures that the environment exerts on them. However, the nature of their work and the type of organization they work for will determine how these common environmental factors are perceived - whether they are seen as positive or negative, threats or opportunities. (Yvonne 15) Strategy is the most exciting part of manager's work in an organization because it gives the chance to put all his new skills to work. Strategic thinking involves a comprehensive analysis of a business in relation to its industry, its competitors, and the business environment in both the short- and the long-term. Ultimately, strategy is a company's plan to achieve its goals. Corporate managements often do not know clearly what they want or how they'll get there. Corporations need well thought-out strategic plans or inevitably they will become victims of the marketplace instead of being the victors who shape it. As well as being aware of the influence of the external

Pathologies of Rational Choice by Green and Shapiro Research Paper

Pathologies of Rational Choice by Green and Shapiro - Research Paper Example When these methods are corrected most of the empirical outcomes no longer hold true. Green and Shapiro claim that rational choice theory provides little understanding of overall political interactions . The writers claim that there are methodological defects in the rational choice 2) According to Green and Shapiro (reading #7) how scientific is rational choice theory?   Green and Shapiro have stated that rational choice theory is theory-driven rather than problem driven. There is a discrepancy between the faith placed in the rational choice theory by its practitioners and the failure of the theory to deliver empirical results. This raises questions on the rational choice theory as a scientific enterprise. The weakness of the rational choice theory has been an attempt by the theorists to come up with universal theories of politics. There is little attention paid to the fact as to how these theories may be put into operation. This is the reason that Green and Shapiro have declared it as an unscientific theory in which no empirical proof is available and only theoretical statements have been provided. 3) What conclusions do Green and Shapiro (reading #7) drawn regarding the value of   rational choice theory? Although Green and Shapiro have been extremely critical of the rational choice theory but in their book they have found limited faults with the theory itself. They have mainly criticized the theorists who have been associated with the theory. The book says that rational choice theory can be extremely useful if further work is done on it. They have also accepted the theoretical frameworks which have been provided by the rational choice theory. The only problem lies in putting to practice of these theoretical frameworks. 4) In his discussion of Anthony Downs’ An Economic Theory of Democracy what does   Bryan Jones (reading #10) regard as â€Å"a major addition to our understanding of rational   Choice†?   The major contribution of Anthony Down’s â€Å"An economic theory of democracy† has been to introduce the notion that search behavior is subject to a rational calculus. The more valuable is the outcome of a decision; the more search is one likely to perform. In case o flow information; a rational person will use shortcuts such as ideology or party identification. The addition of cost of search function along with understanding the role of risk and uncertainty are the major additions to the understanding of rational choice theory. 5) In your reading #11 on incrementalism, describe how Lindblom-Wildavsky’s model   of incrementalism has succeeded and how in the eyes of some theorists it has failed.   The theory of incrementalism has been declared by many critics in the sense that most policy decisions are incremental. These decisions are not re-examined every year against all the possible alternatives. More importantly even the critics of incremental theory have not represented a model of retu rn to rational, comprehensive decision making which was strongly rejected by Lindblom and Wildavsky. The theory also received a huge amount of criticism. John Wanat (1974) has argued that budget result could be accounted for by mandatory budget increases and there was no need to refer to constraints on individual decision making for this purpose. The theory of incrementalism was characterized by considerable rift as the concept was put into operation in different ways by different authors.  

Faculty of Business Environment and Society Essay - 8

Faculty of Business Environment and Society - Essay Example They need to meet and satisfy certain conditions, capabilities and qualities sufficiently in order to effectively manage culturally diverse human resources and agreeably, the international managers must be adaptable, open-minded, flexible and able to speak foreign languages. However, there are other critical strategies to consider and with acknowledgement that culture considerably impacts on organisations and employees, this paper will critically discuss the validity of the statement regarding international managers’ adaptability, flexibility, open-mindedness and proficiency in foreign languages. International assignments serve several purposes and the most significant ones include overseas business expansion, knowledge transfer and career development (Paauwe and Boselie 2010). International managers or expatriates are utilised by multinational corporations because of their expertise in critical areas of interest in global markets and corporate organisation as well as to oversee the entry process into new markets. While on international assignment, the international managers will be in charge of strategically significant tasks and act as the link between the subsidiary and headquarters. They will be involved in recruitment and selection; development and training; performance evaluation, remuneration and benefits; labour relations; developing competitive advantages; and, equally important, self-development (Montana and Bruce 2008). Although the roles of international managers can be generalised, different types of international managers can also be identified. One type will t ypically serve control and coordination roles and give less significance to issues related to personnel development. Another type will complement the coordination and control role by concentrating on the goals of personnel development, which usually include developing leadership competency, acquiring intercultural skills and building social

Public Sector vs. Private Sector Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Public Sector vs. Private Sector - Essay Example As a result, they have a vested interest in seeing salaries rise for all employees. Another essential difference in collective bargaining between private and public sectors is related to location and labor value. Unlike private sector companies, public sector institutions are not capable of threatening to relocate for lower-wage costs (Guyton 213). This is evident in education where in response to union strikes, schools cannot possibly outsource employment overseas, as companies like Nike and have done. However, unions are able to use statistics from surrounding areas to pressure public sector companies to raise wages. Indeed union negotiations are one of the major distinguishing characteristics in private and public sector collective bargaining. Private salary disputes are restricted by the knowledge that customers are able to obtain products elsewhere, whereas in the public realm it is often difficult or impossible for patrons to go to the closet competitor (Boggs 9). Libraries are an example of this situation. The union representatives are often long-term officials who have experience in negotiations, whereas the officials they are dealing with are appointed or elected officials who often only spend short amounts of time in their positions. As a result, negotiations are somewhat slanted in favor of the public union representatives. While labor relations in the United States used to be more highly shifted toward private sector employee union membership, major changes have occurred in the intervening fifty-years. For instance, in 1956 American private sector union membership was 34.7%, more than three times as much as the public sector rate of 11.1%. In 2006, public and private sectors were seen to undergo and drastic change as union membership had shifted from 36.2% in the public sector to 7.4%. for the private sector (Guyton 210). When distinguishing public and private

Demand Elasticity of Luxury Automobiles Essay Example for Free

Demand Elasticity of Luxury Automobiles Essay 1. Introduction â€Å"As long as there is a society, there will always be fashion†. It was not surprised a fashion brands, especially a luxury fashion brands became a national treasure which effect the issues in business, political and social area in European countries. Since the Hermas established in 1837, a special development strategy model has formed and matured in European luxury group. Daniele de winter, the CEO of Daniele de Winter Cosmetics state that â€Å"the secret of successful fashion management is a complete blend of creative genius and business management acumen, skill and resourcefulness†. The develop strategy is the key issue for a successful luxury fashion company. With the development of economy and the increase of income, more and more luxury fashion companies expand their business into Asia- Pacific region, especially the Hong Kong and mainland China market. According to the annual report of Richemont, The Pinault-Printemps-Redoute (PPR), Hemes, Bulberry and other luxury fashion companies, the sale revenue of Asia- Pacific region accounts for more than 30% of the Group total revenue. The Change of Global Luxury Fashion Market The word â€Å"luxury† origin from Latin word â€Å"luxuria†, which means an item that â€Å"is expensive and enjoyable but no essential (Waite, 2012)†. In 186 BCE, the victory of army of Gnaeus Manlius Vulso brought such overseas luxury as bronze couches, and costly cloth spreads into Rome. For some Roman historians, the triumph of Vulso marked as the beginning of luxury industry in Europe. With the development of centres, modern luxury fashion industry has become a cross-sectors industry which offers high price goods and service for target consumers. However, in the space of two decades, the modern luxury market has changed beyond recognition. The narrow range of need and demand of target consumers and the exclusive- distribution channels, represented by French Fashion, have been replaced by a mass industry, accompanied by expansion brands with an affordable price by a wider range of consumers. Since the beginning of 1990s, the luxury industry has been recognised and restructured by designers and the fashion designers become the creator of art. According to the statistics from France Economic and Social Council in 2008 (France Economic and Social Council, 2008), with the strategy of â€Å"physical shop/ store† and expansion brands benefit seven million euros. Depending on the diversion and internationalisation, the luxury industry becomes an industry with wider consumers. For example, Hemes, managed by Jean-Louis Dumas, diversities their goods and creates new products. The French luxury manufacture gets a successful on brand art by purchasing crystal brand Saint Louis and Silversmith Puiforcat. Similarly, Richemont Family, the main competitor of French brand, also control numbers of brands, such as Carites, Baume Mercier and Van Cleef Arpells. The second change of luxury industry is the transformation from the handmade custom to industrial standardisation. Taking LVMH as example, there are three cores of product, as wines and spirit, luggage and leather, and fashion and perfume industry. The famous brands in luxury world, like as Moet Chandon, Loewe, Vuitton, Givenchy, Kenzo, Dior and Guerlain, standardise the products like other heavy industries. Along with the profit-seeking financial logic, the marketing and the product standardisation become the major notion with the concept of large-scale product. In the new centre, the concept of luxury industry and the demand of consumers are changing all the time. â€Å"Heritage and Prestige† is the landmark of lots of luxury brands and the enduring value of numbers of particular brands. Comparing with the old style luxury brand â€Å"which used to be a heritage brand† (Coste-Maniere, et al. , 2012), the new concept of luxury, developed by Louis Vuitton and Burberry, means accepted by more consumers. For the occasional customers, they just enjoy the â€Å"right of luxury† in physical store against with the traditional customer-exclusive. In the new era, increasing the number of customers buy the fashion product they could afford, rather than become the royal consumer due to the high price. Consequently, emphasis of consumer need and the competitive advantage means centralising the core value and expending brand boundary simultaneously. 2. 2 The Development Strategy Model of Luxury Fashion Brand The luxury fashion brand originate in European countries which have plentiful historical and cultural background. With the development of servial centres, the luxury fashion industry in European, American and Japanese have become mature and standarlisation. Under this circumstance, the strategy of luxury development in western countries centralize on the brand expansion, striving for the core products and development of brand reputation. 2. 2. 1 Brand Expansion: the Foundational Strategy Under the press of financial-seeking strategy and the changeable of luxury market, the old style luxury fashion brand faces the challenge of development in the mature market in traditional European, American and Japanese region. Under this circumstance, the expansion of brands has become the foundational strategy for a large number of luxury fashion corporates, which offer a new opportunity to stress the brand image, the most significant assets for a luxury fashion company. (Albrecht, et al. , 2013; Uggla Lashgari, 2012; Hoffmann Coste-Maniere, 2012)Many luxury companies breakthrough the traditional product boundary and expensed their business into new market segmentations. For instance, Louis Vuitton, beginning with luggage, invested in other creative spheres: ready-to-wear industry as well as jewellery market (LVMH, 2012), and Gucci, beginning with leather goods, developed all sets of fashion products including leather goods, shoes, ready-to-wear, watches, jewellery and other products. (PPR, 2012). Meanwhile, there are some companies expensed segments into non-traditional area. For example, the luxury jewellery manufacture Bulgari and Italian brand Versace started to offer hotel under their brand (LVMH, 2012) and Armani provide different products from books, furniture and chocolates to restaurants, bars and spas. The another Italian luxury brand, Roberro Cavalli, famous for its fashion apparel for young generation, offer wine and vodka as well as run coffee bar (The Cavalli Caffe) and club (The Cavalli Club). 2. 2. 2 Striving for the Core: The Product Strategy For a global corporate, it is common rules of development depend on the core production or service and then diversification. However, even as diversification, the excellence core production and the strongest sectors within the luxury brands continued to earn the majority of its profits from the traditional products. (Ahrendts, 2013; Beverland, 2005; Miller Mills, 2012). For luxury consumer, they expect to acquire a honorable brands and product so that they emphase on the value of core heritage. The leather goods, the core of Gucci Group, earn 59% of its revenue in 2012 (PPR, 2012). The iconic luggage is the tradition from the time corporate was founded and become the brand image of the LVMH Group. (LVMH, 2011) The turning of Burberry from a ageing British brand to a global luxury brand is a successful product strategy transition. Before 2006, through in a burgeoning global market. Burberry faced a low growth at a rate of 2 percentage every year and two competitors – LVMH and PPR had more than 12 times and 16 times Burberry’s sale revenue. By surving the sectors among Burberry products all over the world, the results indicate the outerwear, as the core, only accourted of 20% of Burberry’s global brand business. Figure 1: the Facts and Financial Statistics of Burberry (Resource from: Burberry, Yahoo Finance) [pic] After brainstorming and formalizing from the administrative board, the New Jersey factore which is making polo shirts was closed and invested in the Casteford factory in Yorkshire which make the heritage trech coat included traditional rainwear and exclusive waterproof gabardine. Burberry also hire Christopher Bailey as the global designer for innovation of core products. The facts and financial statistic of Burberry from 2006 to 2012 in Figure 1 showed that the decision to focus on the heritage opened up a wealth of creativity. By the end of 2012, the sale revenues and operating income had doubled than previous 5 years, achieving $3 billion and $600 billion respectively. (Burberry, 2007; Burberry, 2012) 2. 2. 3 The Brand Reputation: The Brand Strategy The brand is the most valuable part of luxury goods and the motivity of luxury consumption. Once separating from the luxury brand, the goods is the ordinary one. Every successful company sees the brand as the most valuable fortune. they use the advanced marketing logic and marketing operation to motivate the development, explore approaches to express the value and connotation of brands to luxury consumers and attract the royality of customers. As a tool of art, a carrier of history, and a spirit of classic, building-up a high quiality reputation is brand strategy for luxury companies. Since founded in 1847, Cartier, as one of the most established name in the jewellay market, is the reference of ture and timeless luxury. Designing by Cartier, the product distinguishes itself by the unique skills and excellence in design and execution. Nearly in 30 years, the extensive art activities are not competitive without the support by the Foundation Crtier pour l’Art Contemporain (Richemont, 2013). With the development of brand reputation, Cartier is the synonym of modern art and a pioneering approach. Meanwhile, most of luxury brands come from the centre of Renaissance 2. 3 The Features of Chinese Luxury Market Chinese market places the second place in the world of luxury consumption, surpassing the United States since 2008. Along with Japan, China is the strongest market with the increasing demand of 20 percentages. The consulting report from Glob Advantage estimate there are 18 thousand billionaires, 440 thousand multimillionaires and increasing the number of middle class achieving 250 million in 2015 in today’s China (Degen, 2009), which have the strong purchase power and need of luxury fashion industry. Even with the influence of the financial crisis, the sale revenue of luxury fashion in the mainland China rose by 16 percent, reaching about 64 billion RMB. The market research about Chinese market laid a foundation for the development and expansion strategy of luxury brands. The shifting attitudes to luxury brands, the greater sophistication of Chinese consumers and the new geographic markets have become the main features of Chinese luxury market. The three characteristics drive the global strategy of development for luxury brands. Figure 2. According to the survey of McKinsey Company (KPMG, 2013), with the rapidly increase of income, more and more Chinese consumers shifts the attitude to luxury and feel comfortable to purchasing luxury products. The rich consumers which income over 300,000 RMB continued occupy the majority of the luxury purchase. Meanwhile, the statistics show that, the upper middle class (between 100,000 RMB and 200,000 RMB), which account for 22% of luxury goods purchase by the end of 2015, as the Figure 2 suggested, offers the biggest new growth opportunity. 2. 3. 1 The increasing number of overseas travel. In the information era, Chinese consumers have become more sophisticated than before. With the surge in the number of luxury stores, fashion magazine, the Web official site and the use of social media, Chinese consumers familiar with the luxury brands with the help of Internet, overseas travel, and the first-hand experience. For example, the research result indicated that in the last 12 months, the Hong Kong, Taiwan, Macro and Europe become the main destinations of overseas luxury purchase. Figure 3: Where did you purchase your cosmetics in the last 12 months? (Resource from: Global Reach of China Luxury of KPMG) [pic] 2. 3. 2 The increase of new market segmentation The rapidly growth of urbanisation and individual wealth emerge large quantity of geographic markets with sizable pools of luxury-goods consumptions. The luxury purchase and sale revenue of some medium and small cities, such as Qingdao in Shandong province and Wuxi in Zhejiang province, tripled than the previous 5 years. In the following years, the luxury consumption in these medium and small cities will achieve the same level with Hangzhou and Nanjing, the most developed market in mainland China, the sale of which will arrive at RMB 500 million yuan and account for 76% of whole market. 2. 3. 3 The increasing of Counterfeit goods Love for luxury, preference for counterfeit is a unique phenomenon in luxury consumption in Chinese luxury market. According to a report entitled â€Å"Transnational Organized Crime in East Asia and the Pacific† from Office on Drugs and Crime, almost 70% of global counterfeits luxury goods come from China and the value of counterfeit luxury goods imported into traditional luxury market on the order of $25 billion annually. In a confusion society , the luxury consumption of Chinese consumers become more irrationally than western consumer, which depended on the extenral need rather internal need (Zhang Kim, 2013). For Chinese consumers, luxury brands are somethings â€Å"must to have† for them to reinforce their social status. however, the wealth gap between the rich and the poor in China is the largest all over the world, which offer the passion for consumption of luxury counterfeits. The young generation, aged 25 to 34 with limited budget for genuine luxury fashion goods, racked up nearly a quarter fo fake fanciers. 2. 4 The Passion for Luxury Consumption of Chinese consumers China is the second largest luxury market all over the world and attracting the attention of consumption of Chinese consumers. Under the influence of unique economic situation, cultural background and social factor, the behaviour of Chinese consumers in luxury fashion market have the distinctive characteristics. The bling factor influenced by economic situation, the saving face affected by the Confucianism and group orientation as the social factor drive the luxury consumption in Chinese fashion market. 2. 4. 1 The â€Å"Bling† Factor With the emerging of Internet, fashion magazines and social media, more and more Chinese consumers know the brands of luxury brands. However, the cultural concept and history of the luxury fashion brands are far away from numbers of Chinese luxury consumers. For many luxury fashion firms, there is not one typical luxury customer in China due to the different habits, different tastes and different income levels. The â€Å"bling† factor or following the whole market trend remains an important factor for the Chinese consumer in luxury fashion market. For example, according to luxury consumer report of Chinese market, almost 60 percent of the respondents in Tier 1 cities including Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Beijing, Shanghai and other Tier 2 cities, stated that the key drivers for luxury consumption is the willingness to pay a product that just is popular or fashionable goods. Exclusivity or unique is an important understanding of luxury brand for Chinese consumption. There are about one fifth of customers consider that they will pay the luxury goods that are known and appreciated by the minority rather than the famous one. In terms of China’s unique cultural background, the Chinese consumers consider luxury brand value influenced by Confucianism. In the concept of Confucian, the notion of â€Å"mianzi† is defined as a reputation â€Å"achieved through getting on in through success and ostentation†. (Hu, 1944; Dong Lee, 2007) The traditional cultural understanding and effecting about the face saving becomes the strongest and most conspicuous passion for luxury consumption, which means concerning about the impress to other and the visual display than the level of income. The Chinese consumer in luxury world trend to pay a premium product on the luxury brand rather than essential goods in daily life, due to strong desire and pressure of maintaining face. Taking the finding of KPMG as the example, comparing with the apparel, the stronger growth of market for fashion accessories is considerable. Nearly 40% of luxury consumers enjoy the luxury experiences and â€Å"the right of luxury† in a physical store/shop over purchases of luxury items. Overall, the face saving (saving mianzi) relates to the individual image of worth and reputation within a collectivism society. As the result, Chinese consumers are often careful not to lose face by standing out from the crowed when consuming luxury goods. The general strategy Although the market has its particular features, the development of luxury fashion strategy in Chinese luxury market is followed the general rules of luxury firms in global market. As the foundation strategy, the brand extension and production diversification also provide the base of the development in Chinese luxury market. The apparel, handbag, jewellery, fashion accessories and luxury servicers are offered in mainland China, especially in Tier 1 cities like Beijing, Shanghai, and Guangzhou. Promoting the sale revenue of the core products in mainland China, as the product strategy, enhances the brand awareness in Chinese market. Expanding the influence, luxury fashion firms invest large amount of money to popularize the brand reputation as a simple of elegance and grandeur as well as the means of fashion and art. The marketing strategy: raising brand awareness. Due to the lower brand awareness and lack of knowledge of brand value, the royalty of brand in Chinese market is lower than its in traditional European market. The special situation provides a strong externally powerful tool, which means not only expand the value of the luxury brand into a regular group of consumers, but also sway them making a purchase. In recent year, luxury fashion firm invest increasing the number of budget into Chinese market not only promote the brand awareness, but also help the consumers inform a notion about †luxury goods and luxury lifestyle† and why they should purchase luxury goods and luxury services. The brand building-up develop based not only the advertising on hard paper and television, also included the display on luxury goods exhibition and the customised publications. Nowadays, more and more luxury fashion goods exhibition held in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities, which offer a good opportunity for Chinese consumers to visit the luxury goods frequently displayed in store. Meanwhile, more and more consumers visiting the exhibition are not an onlooker. The localisation strategy The luxury fashion brand with high brand awareness contain the European and American culture and value which is living standard of high level, the product and design of high quality. Those values accepted by and attract young generation who trend to, however, it is not accepted by all Chinese consumers who have their own value. Respecting to Chinese traditional culture and integrated it into the product value is the essential of luxury fashion business in China. For example, Louis Vuitton setting Du Juan, the one of top Chinese model all over the world, and advertising as the Chinese image step one right place on direction and help western luxury fashion companies overcome the cultural barriers. This kind of strategy could build up strong attachments among Chinese consumers and help them accepted the unique characteristic of luxury fashion brands. The pricing strategy Price is one of the most significant signals in Chinese business world. For most Chinese consumers, price represented the value of luxury fashion goods. As a result, the luxury fashion products should not go on discount, no matter what the consumer is. The pricing strategy about goods, especially about core products, could bolster a brand’s prestige. For other items, companies could adjust the price according to the market condition and the inventory in order to long-term brand building. The retailing strategy A stupendous store belongs to the luxury fashion company located in the luxury area build up a sense of important and identified by the market. The luxury fashion positioning enhanced if the boutiques are visible to a lot of consumer in major fashion cities. The landmark stores opened in Chinese Tier 1 cities, such as Beijing, Hangzhou and Guangzhou, are the best locations to building the brand image and attracting the target customer groups. The commercial centres and shopping malls in luxury area are welcomed by most of fashion lovers, luxury followers and luxury intellectuals. Meanwhile, the investment on the landmark store is the best and effective way to generate profits and build-up brand royalty. In an Internet era, shopping online has become the major shopping way, especially for the young people. Although most luxury fashion companies have shied away from online channels due to the fearing that e-commerce might reduce the value of the luxury brand. However, for a long-term return and brand building, online platform provides not only a purchase channel, but also an information exchange channel between luxury fashion brand and Chinese consumers. With the developing of GDP and individual income of consumers, the global luxury fashion market and such the emerging market as China, have become the strategic focus of luxury market researcher and the consult company. This report attempts to identify development strategy of the luxury fashion brand, especially in mainland China market through the analysis of the change of global luxury fashion brand, overview of Chinese luxury market and the passion for luxury consumption. All those factors were identified depend on a comprehensive review of luxury fashion goods related researches and market consulting reports. The findings of this study provide a new insight of global and Chinese luxury fashion market for the consumers who interests the luxury fashion brand and a clear strategy guide for market managers of the luxury fashion firms, particular in the time of the company expand their business in mainland China. In addition, the study helps reduce the risks and costs of market research and helps the company overcome the huge gap in a multicultural business environment. First, the findings about the global luxury fashion market and the general development strategy in luxury fashion market all over the world indicated that the achieving the growth while remaining exclusive positioning, and attracting more consumers without losing cachet of brand value is the core strategy for every luxury corporates. The more loyal consumers may weaken due to the popular brands launched in the market because they choose pay a premium goods that majority and identified by small group. Consequently, the balance between growth and unique, the price and quality may be tougher in China than in any other market. However, customization develops quickly as the new trend of luxury fashion industry. The customizing activities have launched in different business sectors, but which is yet adopted by the luxury industry on a board. At presents, the customization just limited on the area of fashion accessories, apparel, handbags, and jewellery, and emphasising on customizing standard products, point of delivery customization and service and producing bespoke goods. Secondly, the increasing the number of consumers, overseas traveller, new market segments and the counterfeits goods have become the main features in the Chinese luxury fashion market in recent years. The features are important of stress the benefits of investment in mainland China. Based on the research findings, International marketers should setting extension strategy that is coherent with branding, merchandising and global image by serving China’s globetrotting shoppers, striking the balance between store numbers and quality and focusing anti-counterfeit goods. For Chinese globetrotting shoppers, the customer relationship management should emphasis global view rather than on mainland China. In the view of higher management board, the corporate organisational structure of the luxury fashion company should reflect the significant of Chinese market by sorting up the processes for generating direct communication between Chinese luxury consumers and the home headquarter. Based on the new market segmentation, the luxury company should upgrade current stores and outlets in order to keep consistent with the global image and emphasis on the business in Tier 1 cities. As the market statistics indicated that the luxury counterfeit goods have become the barriers for development in China, including seizing sale revenue and weakening brand value. Luxury fashion companies should co-operate with customs officials to seize fake goods at ports. Working with international national organisation or international associations should be the third path for anti-counterfeit activities. The co-operation should ranges from such international associations as World Intellectual Property to regional groups like US-focused International Anti-Counterfeits Coalition. Thirdly, the research findings about the passions for Chinese luxury fashion consumption indicated that the â€Å"bling† customers who lack of knowledge about luxury fashion goods or just following the trend account of a part of Chinese luxury consumers. Besides that, Chinese luxury consumption deeply influenced by saving faces and group orientation, which are the part of traditional Confusion value. Targeting different drivers of luxury consumption, managers should have different strategies. For the bling customers, the global luxury firms should invest in improving the brand awareness and expanding the brand value, which could offer a global opportunity to attracting potential customers and building loyalty and repeat customer groups. For the consumers who care about saving face, International luxury fashion markers should draw the outline of visual and outward appearance of rank and status when unfolding their marketing activities. Meanwhile, the companies should emphasise the brand’s country of origin, so the Chinese consumers have the confident to identified and distinguished with other mass products. In addition, the package of luxury goods also need to be recognisable in order to fit the moderate and lifestyle associated with Chinese consumers. Furthermore, in light of the results about group orientation, the management board company should stress the profit of luxury fashion goods as a symbol of social marker and the sale assistants inspire consumer purchases because of the goods could generate a sense of group belonging and conformity of the elite. Due to the group belonging, a special attention should be given to the layout of the physical store and the luxury service of sale staff. No matter who is the consumer, friends will be involved during the decision making process and become potential consumers in the future. Proving high-quality services and creating luxury experience for non-buyers also benefit for making sure that the brand accepted by group and that the consumer does not stand out from others. Finally, about the current expansion strategy in mainland China market, most of luxury fashion companies emphasis the strategy on marking, localization, pricing and retailing coherent with the global business aims. Raising brand awareness and expressing the luxury lifestyle lay the foundation of marketing strategy. In order to respect to Chinese traditional culture, luxury brands should integrate Chinese culture and art into design, package, and store layout of products, which accepted easily by Chinese consumers in different social class. Meanwhile, the research findings indicated that the price is the most important factor which influenced Chinese luxury consumption. Luxury marketers should balance the price between Chinese market and overseas. As for the retailing strategy, the luxury brand stresses the developing of boutiques store and the setting up online distribution channels. However, there are several special attention should be given to price gap between China and overseas, and the online distribution channels. On one hand, comparing with that rarely go on discount in mainland China, the luxury fashion goods is often at a discount at overseas, especially for the non-core products and in the time of Christmas or Summer Sale. On the other hand, the high rate of tax and fees raise up the price of luxury fashion goods in mainland China. According to the law and regulations in China, a luxury fashion goods, such as the eye cream of Estee Lauder native to the UK, is imported into Chinese market with 10% import tariff, 30% consumption tax, 5% sales tax and 17% value-add tax. Including the managing fees, advertising costs and other issues, the price of the eye cream is double in the UK. In the respect of the luxury company, the appreciate discount in Chinese market could promote the desire of consumption and boost the sale revenue; in the respect of tax policy makers in mainland China, reducing the rate of import tariff and consumption tax of international luxury fashion goods could Finally, luxury fashion goods, as a subject of nature, play different or scenarios, different income level, education background, and social – economic factors, as well as exam the type of relationship that seek from luxury fashion brands. On the view of passions for luxury consumption, there are many other drivers, such as collection, appreciation, should take the consideration into further research.

Grammatical constraints on code-switching

Grammatical constraints on code-switching Grammatical constraints on code-switching The behaviour of bilingual and multilingual speakers in a wide variety of speech communities and a broad range of social contexts has been the subject of research since the 1970s. Specific attention has been paid in the literature on bilingualism/multilingualism to the phenomenon of code-switching, one of the results of which has been the proposal of and subsequent debate surrounding a number of different grammatical approaches to it. This essay will attempt to examine and discuss some of the main grammatical approaches to code-switching, and go on to look at the arguments advanced to support (and undermine) these. As Poplack (1980) mentions, authors of the early literature when not focusing on the sociolinguistic and discourse elements relating to code-switching concluded that code-switching was a phenomenon that occurred at random. Subsequent research has shown that there are code-switching patterns and that switching is, in fact, subject to grammatical rules; the debate now is centred on what, exactly, those rules are. The various theories put forward by scholars in this field of research seek to elaborate universally-applicable rules that account for all instances of code-switching in all language pairs. As will be seen in this essay, and as is claimed by Gardner-Chloros and Edwards (2004) and Alvarez-Cà ¡ccamo (1998), none of these theories achieves its aim. It is worth bearing in mind that, broadly speaking, there are two main â€Å"types† of code-switching: intersentential and intrasentential. The latter is arguably of greater interest to researchers as â€Å"it is only there that the two grammars are in contact† (Myers-Scotton and Jake (1995)). There are several main grammatical approaches to code-switching which fall into a number of broad categories, each of which will be discussed in turn. Gardner-Chloros and Edwards (2004: 3-4) argue that any given grammatical approach to code-switching depends on the sense of the word â€Å"grammar†. They claim that at least five senses of the term can be identified and, of those five senses, grammatical approaches to code-switching have focused (explicitly or otherwise) on the following two: Formal grammar; and Chomskyan/Universalist grammar Poplacks study of code-switching amongst a sample of bilingual Puerto-Ricans in New York City (1980) is an empirical test of two simple constraints that, she claims, are universally applicable: the Equivalence Constraint and the Free Morpheme Constraint. The Equivalence Constraint dictates that intrasentential switches will only be made by any bilingual speaker (regardless of the speakers proficiency in his or her L2) â€Å"at points in discourse where juxtaposition of L1 and L2 elements does not violate a syntactic rule of either language, i.e. at points around which the surface structures of the two languages map onto each other†. So a bilingual speaker implicitly obeys the syntactic rules imposed by the respective grammars (which, in this model, are deemed to share rules that apply to the use of particular lexical items or language constituents) and will only make a switch from one code to the other at points where that switch will not violate the rules of either grammar. Indeed, the title of Poplacks paper is a case in point: (1) Sometimes I start a sentence in Spanish y termino en espanol(â€Å"and finish in Spanish†) Here, the switch is made at a point in the sentence where the Spanish subordinate clause â€Å"y termino en espanol† does not violate the grammatical rules of English (which are deemed to set the framework for the sentence): the verb â€Å"terminar† is correctly inflected (â€Å"termino† first person singular, present indicative) as the English verb â€Å"to finish† would be (i.e. â€Å"I finish†) had the clause been uttered in the latter language and indeed, the grammar of the subordinate clause does not violate any grammatical rules of Spanish, were the entire sentence to be uttered solely in Spanish. The Free Morpheme Constraint states that an intrasentential switch may be made by any bilingual speaker â€Å"provided [a] constituent is not a bound morpheme†. Thus a sentence such as: (2) And what a tertuliait was, Dios mio! (And what a gathering it was, my God!) is acceptable under the Free Morpheme constraint (note that idiomatic expressions such as Dios mio above are â€Å"considered to behave like bound morphemes in that they show a strong tendency to be uttered monolingually†), unlike a sentence such as: (3) *Estaba type-ando su ensayo (She was type-ing her essay) Subsequent discussion and research have shown that Poplacks Constraints theory is not universally applicable to all language pairs or all instances of code-switching. It would appear that the Constraints model sits perfectly with Poplacks own data set drawn from her sample Puerto-Rican speech community, and may be appropriate for language pairs which share particular grammatical, syntactic or lexical features, such that these facilitate switches that indeed do not violate any grammatical rules of either of the languages in contact. Nevertheless, Poplack has continued to defend and refine the model, arguing that instances of code-switching that violates either or both of the constraints are not code-switches at all, but rather what are termed by Poplack â€Å"nonce borrowings† (a term first coined by Weinreich (1953)). These, it is argued, are tantamount to single-word code-switches: words from the L2 are used in an L1-dominant utterance but have yet to become an established pa rt thereof. Poplack argues that the Free Morpheme constraint is â€Å"a consequence of the nonce borrowing hypothesis (Sankoff et al, 1990)†. However, further research has yet fully to substantiate the claim of universal applicability of the Constraints model to all language pairs and all instances of code-switching. Other constraints models have also been put forward, amongst others, by Pfaff (1979) in her study of Spanish-English code-switching and borrowing. She argues that there are four main types of constraints on constraints: functional, structural, semantic and discourse-related.   Further constraints have also been formulated by Woolford (1983) in her generative model of code-switching (again based on data from Spanish-English bilinguals). Such constraints models can be contrasted with the far more elaborate Matrix Language Frame model developed and advocated by Myers-Scotton and her collaborators (1993 and subsequently refined: 1995, 2000), in which sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics are combined within a grammatical approach to code-switching. The notion of a base or matrix language was not new when the MLF model was initially published by Myers-Scotton. Work by Klavans (1985), Joshi (1985) and others had already posited a â€Å"frame† or â€Å"matrix† into which elements of the other language could be embedded. The broad lines of the MLF are as follows. Myers-Scotton makes the case for code-switching to involve a base or matrix language (ML), into which pockets of embedded language are inserted. The ML, then, is the â€Å"unmarked† language choice that provides the grammatical structure for the utterance or discourse, with â€Å"islands† of EL inserted at grammatically acceptable points of that utterance. She distinguishes between different types of morphemes and the role they play in code-switching: the ML supplies the system morphemes (closed-class items) in the sentence, while the EL supplies a proportion of the content morphemes (open-class items). There is also a psycholinguistic dimension to the MLF model, in that the ML is deemed to be more â€Å"activated† than the EL; it therefore lends itself more readily to providing the frame for code-switching between a bilingual speakers two (or more) languages. In seeking to define â€Å"matrix language† Myers-Scotton argues that the decision made on the part of bilingual speakers to make intrasentential switches is â€Å"based on social, psychological and structural factors†. It is these factors that essentially form the basis of a definition of the ML. There are two structural criteria involved:  § The ML is the language that projects the morphosyntactic frame for the CP that shows intrasentential CS. This is operationalised by two principles: the morpheme order principle, which states that the â€Å"surface morpheme order (reflecting surface syntactic relations) will be that of the ML†; and the system morpheme principle, which states that â€Å"all system morphemes that have grammatical relations external to their head constituent (i.e. participate in the sentences thematic role grid) will come from the ML†.  § The ML generally supplies the greater number of morphemes in intrasentential code-switching. The sociolinguistic aspects of the MLF model underpin the psycholinguistic ones: as stated above, the ML is the â€Å"unmarked† or expected language choice for the exchange between code-switching speakers. It is pointed out, however, that this is not always the case, for instance when the speakers do not share the same first language. It is also argued that the ML can change over the course of an exchange, in relation to situational changes for example. The distinction between content and system morphemes is central to the MLF model, in that they help to identify the ML and EL. Under the MLF model, content morphemes come mainly from the EL, with system morphemes coming principally from the ML to form the frame in which code-switching can occur. There are, however, difficulties in using morphemes to identify the ML, particularly when a speakers bilingualism is quite balanced. The quantitative criterion states that the majority of the morphemes in a code-switched utterance will come from the ML. However, this raises the issue of sample size which Myers-Scotton herself concedes is difficult to determine and comes up against instances of code-switching by balanced bilingual speakers who use both of their languages more or less equally; the number of morphemes from each language will, therefore, be more or less equal, thus undermining the applicability of the quantitative criterion posited in the MLF model in identifying the ML. . Like the Constraints model, subsequent research and commentary have led to the MLF model being refined into its current form, the 4-M Model. In this theory, further distinctions are drawn between categories of system morpheme. Attempts are also made to resolve issues in the original MLF model, such as double morphology. An interesting aspect of the MLF model is that it does not adopt the â€Å"sentence† as an appropriate unit for the grammatical analysis of code-switching. Myers-Scotton instead uses the CP (complement phrase) as an analytical unit, which she defines as a syntactic structure expressing the predicate-argument structure of a clause, plus the additional syntactic structures needed to encode discourse-relevant structure and the logical form of that clause. Because CP explicitly assumes that the unit of structure includes COMP (complementizer) position, it is a more precise term than either clause or sentence. For all of its innovation and complexity which sets it in stark contrast with the simplicity of the Constraints model discussed above the MLF model does not account for all instances of code-switching in all language pairs, fitting only with certain language pairs, and particularly with Myers-Scottons data set drawn from East African languages and dialects; as well as â€Å"cases of very asymmetric bilingualism† where the speakers proficiency in one or other of the languages in contact is weaker. So neither the Constraints model nor the MFL model gives a complete grammatical description of code-switching; instead, they each describe a particular form or class of code-switching into which particular language pairs or forms of bilingualism fit. A more complete view is therefore required. Muysken (2000) proposes a typology of code-mixing (a term that he favours over â€Å"code-switching†, which he reserves for referring to instances of rapid interchange between languages in the same discourse) that attempts to encompass both of the models discussed above, with an additional component that he terms â€Å"congruent lexicalization†. He argues that there are three main types of CS: Alternation: this is a form of code-switching in which bilingual speakers alternate between their two (or more) languages. An example of alternational code-mixing is Poplacks Constraints model. Insertion: in this form of CS, speakers insert chunks of switched constituents from the L2 into discourse framed in L1. Muysken argues that the MLF model is an illustration of insertional code-mixing. Congruent lexicalization: this is code-mixing between language pairs that share close morphological and phonological ties. An example of one such language pair (and the corresponding code-switching) is provided by Clynes study of Dutch-English code-switching in Australia (1987). Muysken argues that different language pairs will fit into one or other of those types. So, rather than proposing a â€Å"one size fits all† grammatical approach to code-switching/code-mixing, he acknowledges that code-mixing/code-switching between different languages pairs will display different characteristics, rather than claiming that all instances of code-mixing/code-switching will fit into a single immutable model or theory. It is interesting to note that Muysken is also a proponent of the Chomskyan Government model of code-switching. In a paper co-authored with Di Sciullo and Singh (1986), it is argued that the government constraint, whereby there can be no switch in codes between a governor constituent and its corresponding governed item, will serve to predict which switches will and will not be acceptable, regardless of the languages in contact in a bilingual persons lexicon. The model, however, does not account for or predict all instances of code-switching; indeed, bilingual speakers will code-switch at any point in any given utterance, Government or no. Even when the scope of the model is restricted to lexical government by non-function words (Muysken 1990), it remains an overstatement. It must also be borne in mind that this model will change as many times as Chomskys theory of Universal Grammar goes through its various transformations; in its current incarnation of the Minimalist Program, the not ion of Government has been cast aside altogether owing to definitional difficulties Another take on the generativist approach to code-switching is the â€Å"null theory† of code-switching. A number have been put forward (Mahootian (1993), Chan (1999), MacSwan (1999, 2000), Woolford (1983)). The basic premise of the â€Å"null theory† approach whether it is couched in terms of Tree Adjoining Grammar (Joshi 1985) or the Minimalist Program/Principles and Parameters is that code-switching can be described in terms of grammatical principles relevant to monolingual grammars, without postulating additional devices or constraints that are specific to code-switching itself. This is an attractive argument, but far from compelling. Generativist models are highly abstract, to the point where they are too far removed from the realities of bilingual speech. The underlying premise of Chomskys notion of the monolingual â€Å"ideal speaker† is not helpful here, as it leads to generalisations about bilingual speakers that are simply not accurate, as they are not a reflection of how bilinguals combine their languages in speech. Additionally, the â€Å"ungrammatical† nature of speech weakens any grammatical model of code-switching (see below). There are a number of reasons why none of these models (perhaps with the exception of Muyskens proposed typology of code-mixing) can account for all instances of CS. 1. Variability: As Gardner-Chloros and Edwards rightly point out, this variability is found between communities, within a single community, right down to the speech of individuals and even within the speech of a single individual within the same conversation (2004: 4). This may be the end result of and, at the very least, related to the idiolectal competence of individual speakers. 2. Nature of bilingual speech: Bilingual speakers are known to employ all kinds of devices and â€Å"tricks† to avoid being constricted by the dictates of grammatical rules. Speakers use pauses, interruptions and other means to neutralize any grammatical awkwardness resulting from switching at a particular point in the sentence.These devices serve a functional purpose in allowing speakers to make full use of both of their languages, and legitimising combinations from languages that are typologically different (e.g. word order). 3. Abstract nature of the notion of â€Å"grammar† and â€Å"sentence†: These are abstractions used by linguists to conceptualise language behaviour, in this instance amongst bilingual speakers. The issue here is whether such abstractions are relevant to the analysis of CS as seen in bilingual speech. The concept of the â€Å"sentence† may not be appropriate to the analysis of code-switching in any event: speakers rarely utter fully-rounded, grammatical sentences in everyday discourse and code-switch at will with seemingly little concern for the grammaticality of the (intersentential or intrasentential) switches that they make so effortlessly. Furthermore, from a grammatical analysis perspective, Gardner-Chloros and Edwards argue that even if the sentence were to be accepted as the â€Å"upper limit of grammar† and a meaningful unit in the context of code-switching, this would mean that grammatical approaches would only seek to explain intrasentential swit ches whilst omitting intersentential switches and conversational â€Å"moves† (2004: 5). The fundamental question at issue is whether or not a grammatical approach to code-switching is even appropriate. Given the variability of code-switching and the nature of speech in general and bilingual speech more specifically it seems particularly difficult to formulate any kind of universally applicable principle or constraint that accurately predicts how, where and when a bilingual speaker will switch codes, let alone whether that switch will â€Å"grammatical†. Variability lays at the very heart of code-switching; it is a reflection of a human ability to handle and manipulate language in any way that serves the speakers purpose in any given situation and with any given interlocutor(s). Another salient point that emerges is whether code-switching is even an observable fact. Gardner-Chloros (1995) argues that CS is an â€Å"analyst construct†, a product of linguists conceptualisations of language contact and language mixing and, as such, not separable from borrowing, interference or pidginisation (1995: 86), be it in ideological or practical terms. She also argues that the abstract concept currently accepted in bilingualism research is â€Å"fuzzy† and should in fact be used as a much broader term for a range of interlingual phenomena in which strict alternation between two discrete systems is the exception rather than the rule (1995: 68). If that is indeed the case, is it possible to begin to formulate a â€Å"grammar of code-switching† when there is still uncertainty as to what code-switching actually is? The arguments put forward by Alvarez-Cà ¡ccamo (1998) are also related to the points raised by Gardner-Chloros. In tracing the development of code-switching as a field of bilingualism research and of applied linguistics as a whole, he distinguishes between linguistic varieties and communicative codes, arguing that code-switching pertains to the former category and, as such, suggests that â€Å"code-switching† is perhaps a misnomer. He proposes that the concept of CS in its current form be both narrowed to exclude unrelated phenomena that have come under the banner of â€Å"code-switching†, and broadened to include those elements that have been excluded (including aspects of monolingual speech). It is difficult to see how an all-encompassing approach to code-switching can be put forward until the phenomenon of code-switching has been properly identified (and presumably labelled: â€Å"In order to argue convincingly for or against the existence of â€Å"code-switching constraints† and â€Å"code-switching grammars† () research should first convincingly prove that (a) speakers who code-switch possess two (or more) identifiable systems or languages, each with its identifiable grammatical rules and lexicon; and (b) â€Å"code-switched† speech results from the predictable interaction between lexical elements and grammatical rules from these languages.† (Alvarez-Cà ¡ccamo (1998: 36)) However, the issue here again lays in the conceptualisation of bilingual speech. Abstractions used by linguists in examining language phenomena such as code-switching remove the â€Å"human† element reflected in discourse strategies employed by bilingual speakers (discussed above; see below). A further aspect of code-switching, while not strictly grammatical, is discussed by Bentahila and Davies (1995):   the variables related to language contact situations, and how those change depending on developments in the contact situations. In a study of different generations of Moroccan Arabic-French bilinguals, they examine the relationship between patterns of code-switching and patterns of language contact and the influence of extraneous factors on those patterns. They point out that code-switching is affected by the nature of the contact between a particular pair of languages: duration of contact, for instance, and the impact of governmental language planning policies. They found that while all the bilingual speakers in their sample speech community used the same languages, their use of those same languages depended on their proficiency in both, which in turn depended on their age and the effects of governmental language planning and nationalist policies pursued in the post-c olonial continuum. It could be argued that evolving patterns of code-switching contribute to the variability of code-switching practices amongst bilingual speakers and, therefore, constitute another (indirect) reason why grammatical approaches to code-switching so often fall short. In summary, then, a number of grammatical models of intrasentential code-switching, with each claiming to predict where in the sentence a bilingual person will switch languages and that such switches will be made in such a way as not to violate any of the grammatical rules of either of the languages in contact. It is contended that, rather than achieving that aim, each model is specific to the data sets on which they are based, and can only really apply to similar language pairs. They therefore only describe an aspect of a phenomenon that is far more complex than the models would suggest. Furthermore, the applicability of the various models also depends on the â€Å"kind† of bilingual concerned and their proficiency in their respective language pairs: the Constraints model appears to be more relevant to more balanced bilinguals, for instance, while the MLF model seems to be more appropriate to more asymmetric bilinguals. It must be remembered that the models are not in stasis but rather continually refined and amended in relation to developments in their particular theoretical backdrop: the Government model of code-switching, for instance, is based on a theory of Universal Grammar that is itself evolving over time. Muyskens typology of bilingual speech (2000), which draws on the leading models of code-switching/code-mixing and seeks to account for all instances of code-switching by taking into account the various aspects involved therein, appears to be the most rounded of the grammatical approaches to the phenomenon, in that it encompasses the disparate aspects that have formed the focus of individual models. There is also the issue of whether code-switching is a phenomenon in its own right and, if not, what linguistic phenomena the concept of code-switching can be deemed to cover. Has the concept become an umbrella term used to describe a number of different linguistic devices employed by bilingual speakers? Or are these elements that are indistinguisha ble from a wider phenomenon? To conclude, it would appear that research into and grammatical approaches to code-switching have lost sight of the fact that code-switching is an abstraction used by linguists to conceptualise an aspect of the behaviour of bilingual speakers. After all, â€Å"languages do not do things; people do things, languages are abstractions from what people do† . Such a conceptualisation has led to researchers attempting to fit bilingual speech behaviour to a particular model rather than the other way around, discounting aspects such as variability, bilingual discourse strategies and the fact that code-switching is a creative, innovative process designed, it would appear, almost to avoid grammatical constraints altogether. Abstract grammatical models cannot reflect the realities of language contact and use. Not only that, but code-switching is also a gauge of language change and shift; this being the case, it is plausible that a grammatical shift would ensue, thus undermining a given m odel. Factors such as those mentioned by Bentahila and Davies (1995) must also have some kind of impact on grammatical models when these are based on a language contact situation which is shifting and evolving. A step back towards the realities of bilingual communication and speech acts, combined with an acceptance of the variability that they necessarily entail as reflected in the typology proposed by Muysken (2000) would constitute a more appropriate starting point for any grammatical approach to code-switching that sets out to be all things to all bilingual speakers.

How Emily Brontë Fulfills the Expectations of the Gothic Genre Essay

How Emily Brontà « Fulfills the Expectations of the Gothic Genre Within this essay I will examine the social and historical background of Emily Brontà «'s upbringing, and the way her only novel, wuthering height, is related to the gothic genre. Emily Brontà « was brought up in a time very different from our own; she lived on secluded moors and without many of our modern day privileges, and became very close to her family. Many of her close family members died within her lifetime, affecting her deeply and leaving her emotionally scarred. The tragedy and misfortune of Emily Brontà «'s life is shown through her novel 'Wuthering Heights'. The many dark, sad and misfortunate parts of this novel which represent Emily Brontà «'s life are the same parts which can be categorised it in to the gothic genre. Cathy represents Emily Brontà «; they both suffered the loss of a parent and lived on secluded moors. The semi-autobiographical nature is also shown through Hindely, Cathy's brother, and his similarities to Emily Brontà «'s brother, both go through a spiral downfall into alcoholism and drink themselves into early graves. Emily Brontà « lived in a male dominated Georgian society. It was this male dominance and the idea of female inadequacy that forced her to publish her only novel Wuthering Heights under the male pseudonym Ellis Bell. Brontà «'s novel contains many of the elements that can be seen in the gothic genre. The setting is true to the gothic style; it is in a secluded place that often represents something that happened there. 'On that bleak hill top the earth was hard with a black frost.' In my opinion it represents the dark and gloomy past of Wuthering Heights, the death of Cathy and the tormented life of Heat... ... of a higher class. This shows the shallowness of society at the time and that society was male dominated. Women were forced to be dependent on men and had to marry men they didn't love to secure them a financial future and to gain a better social status. The novel raises issues that can been seen in societies of all times, including the modern society in which we live. It shows how people are judge on material things, most commonly in this novel it shows how people are judged on social status. The novel is told through two narrations, Nelly Dean and Lockwood. The parts of the novel that Nelly Dean narrates are informal, This shows Nelly is a servant, and is considered to be lower class in society. However when Lockwood narrates, the language is more formal, and like that of a highly educated person showing he is of higher class than Nelly Dean is.

Going to Sell Your Websites? - What are they Really Worth? :: Sell Websites Buy Websites

Going to Sell Your Websites? - What are they Really Worth? Reprinted with permission of VotanWeb.com There may be no topic more controversial or misunderstood as the website valuation, also known as a website appraisal. Although they're especially useful for website owners contemplating the sale of their websites, valuations are seldom commissioned by sellers at all--since most are convinced that nobody knows their website’s value better than they do. And while valuations can also have an enormous impact on strategic planning, they're typically overlooked there, too. Most website owners choose to pay for a formal valuation only when they absolutely must--usually when a financing or other kind of transaction requires one. Pricey though they may be, website valuations can and should be used at key stages in any website's development. The thing to keep in mind is that when you own a private website, no one can look up its value in a newspaper. So when circumstances require that kind of information about a private website, its owner must hire someone to perform a study of its value that is logical and defensible. The determination of a website’s value will be based on an analysis of all kinds of information, such as historical profits, other financial records, the customer base, security controls, competitive details, and much more. The results can be well worth the costs. Just consider the financial risks entrepreneurs run, for example, if they give a website to their children as part of a long-term estate-planning strategy--only to have the IRS step in years later and challenge the claimed taxable value of the gifts. The IRS will always start out from the premise that your website is worth the highest possible number. Unless you've got a good, defensible valuation to back up your claim of a lower value, you can face real difficulties. Don't expect the IRS to accept a defense based only on the so-called valuation rules of thumb, the industry guidelines that sometimes appear in textbooks or websites. Rules of thumb are nothing more than the roughest of starting points.

Troubled Youth :: Essays Papers

Troubled Youth Despite many obstacles in my life, my experience performing community service stands out as the most memorable. I was sixteen at the time, and just beginning my first job at a fast food restaurant. I had to learn how to balance between community service in the morning and my employment at the local Wendy’s. It was very stressful and influential at the same time. I performed my community service at a local elementary school. I chose this place because of its relative ease, and it was also an area I could easily get to and from. I started my first day very confused and out of character. The school was very bland, and it brought back memories of the time that I had attended elementary school. Upon first arrival I met the principal of the school. He was my superior and his first impression explained to me what he was all about. He was a fairly easy going man, and was straightforward. I found these qualities to be true with many people that I have met who are of his same stature. He was about the size of the students attending. The irony of this anomaly was the vehicle he drove, a station wagon raised with massive tires and exemplified even more by large round lights placed in between the headlights. I would see the principal’s machine on a regular basis and always think, â€Å"How in the hell does he get in?† After meeting the principal I was taken to meet my fellow co-workers. I met first the head janitor, named Jim. He was very tall, and not very muscular. He was an amazingly friendly man, and I could tell he was passionate about his job, but was very restrained socially because of the people he was forced to communicate with on a daily basis. There were two other janitors who were followers of the head janitor. One was a short black man, named Carl. He had been originally from Kenya, his English was horrible but he was a very life loving man. When he would sporadically speak, it was mainly just to mock his associate janitor. The associate janitor was very enthralling person, his name was Rick. Everybody around me poked fun at at him, sometimes to his face and other times behind his back. This really didn’t matter to him due to the fact that he was mentally unstable. Troubled Youth :: Essays Papers Troubled Youth Despite many obstacles in my life, my experience performing community service stands out as the most memorable. I was sixteen at the time, and just beginning my first job at a fast food restaurant. I had to learn how to balance between community service in the morning and my employment at the local Wendy’s. It was very stressful and influential at the same time. I performed my community service at a local elementary school. I chose this place because of its relative ease, and it was also an area I could easily get to and from. I started my first day very confused and out of character. The school was very bland, and it brought back memories of the time that I had attended elementary school. Upon first arrival I met the principal of the school. He was my superior and his first impression explained to me what he was all about. He was a fairly easy going man, and was straightforward. I found these qualities to be true with many people that I have met who are of his same stature. He was about the size of the students attending. The irony of this anomaly was the vehicle he drove, a station wagon raised with massive tires and exemplified even more by large round lights placed in between the headlights. I would see the principal’s machine on a regular basis and always think, â€Å"How in the hell does he get in?† After meeting the principal I was taken to meet my fellow co-workers. I met first the head janitor, named Jim. He was very tall, and not very muscular. He was an amazingly friendly man, and I could tell he was passionate about his job, but was very restrained socially because of the people he was forced to communicate with on a daily basis. There were two other janitors who were followers of the head janitor. One was a short black man, named Carl. He had been originally from Kenya, his English was horrible but he was a very life loving man. When he would sporadically speak, it was mainly just to mock his associate janitor. The associate janitor was very enthralling person, his name was Rick. Everybody around me poked fun at at him, sometimes to his face and other times behind his back. This really didn’t matter to him due to the fact that he was mentally unstable.

Macduff vs. Macbeth: a True Case of Good vs. Evil?

Macduff vs. Macbeth: A True Instance of Good vs. Evil? At the end of the play Macbeth, Macduff kills Macbeth in a scene easily read as the victory of good over evil, but is this accurate? Is Macbeth completely evil? Is Macduff completely good? Or is there an in between? I believe that Macduff is good, but there is definitely an in-between with Macbeth. I see Macduff as being a good person. He does everything he can to improve the state that Scotland is in. When he flees to England and leaves his family behind, some people may interpret it as him doing bad since his family is slaughtered in his absence.I do not see it this way. I believe Macduff is doing what he thinks is best for Scotland when he flees to England. That is to get Malcolm to come back and take his rightful place as king of Scotland. This is evident when Macduff is in England talking to Malcolm. Malcolm says â€Å"let us seek out some desolate shade, and there/weep our sad bosoms empty† (4. 3:1-2, Page 70). Basic ally, he is feels sorry for the state into which Scotland has fallen since Macbeth has become king. To this Macduff replies â€Å"Let us rather hold fast the mortal sword, and like good men bestride our down-fall’n birthdom† (4. :3-4, Page 71). This translates to â€Å"let us rather hold fast the deadly sword, and like good men protectively stand over our native land. † Basically what Macduff is trying to say is that instead of crying for Scotland, they should fight for their land to bring her back to the state they knew and loved. Further on into this same conversation, there is further proof that Macduff was seen as good. He tells Malcolm â€Å"I am not treacherous† to which Malcolm replies â€Å"but Macbeth is† 4. 3:18-19, Page 71).This also goes toward the argument of Macbeth being evil. He is seen as treacherous and a tyrant. He brings sadness to Scotland. Macduff says that â€Å"each new morn/New widows howl, new orphans cry, new sorrow/Stri ke heaven on the face† (4. 3: 4-6, Page 71). This is just a hint of how bad the state of Scotland has gotten. Macbeth is also evil in that he murdered and framed people to become king of Scotland. He murdered the current king, Duncan, and made it appear that the guards in his chambers of the crime.He was told by the Weird Sisters that he would be king. He was just too impatient to wait his turn and turned to murder instead. Although he did do a lot of things that could be considered evil, I do not believe that Macbeth was wholly evil. He was brave and seen as a hero in the war against Norway. This heroism even got him the title of Thane of Cawdor. Banquo didn’t seem displeased at the prophecies of Macbeth becoming Thane of Cawdor and King. If Macbeth was evil, Banquo would have been displeased with this.He can also be seen as not wholly evil because he is hesitant in his plot to kill the king. Lady Macbeth has to help to convince him to do it. If he was wholly evil, he would have had no hesitation in murdering someone for his own gain. Due to the mix of good and evil in the character of Macbeth, there is definitely some gray area to the play. I think this gray area adds depth to the play. Not everyone is interested in straight good and evil. Some prefer a round, conflicted character such as provided by the character of Macbeth.