Analysis Of Dbm 700 International Business Culture

DBM 700 INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS CULTURE Question 1 : Assess critically the meaning of culture of society and its importance to international manager. What culture differences do you notice among your classmates ? How do those differences affect the class environment or your group projects ? Answer 1: Culture of society means the people think and do as the members of the society or we can say in the simple words the way of life of a people live. Culture is basically made up of four things Material objects, Ideas, Behaviour, Values and Attitudes. The importance of international manager is very important specially in the case of business contexts within the firm. For example, managers from a foreign parent company need to understand that local employees from the host country may require different organization structure and HRM procedures and this become easily for firms to sell their product and marketing their product successfully to their foreign customers. The culture differences which i noticed among my classmates is that it affect group projects and class environment. It can affect the group projects in positive and negative way because in any group activities we are not able to express and communicate well it may be the language problem that creates problem in communication or may be we cannot express easily what we feel. Their are different words ,different accents which having different meanings and different ways to express. In my class their are different studentsShow MoreRelatedAccounting Information System Chapter 1137115 Words   |  549 PagesYou came up with a great idea for a new mobile phone application that you think will make lots of money. Your business plan won second place in a local competition, and you are using the $10,000 prize to support yourselves as you start your company. a. Identify the key decisions you need to make to be successful entrepreneurs, the information you need to make them, and the business processes you will need to engage in. b. Your company will need to exchange information with various externalRead MoreErp Sap Research Paper46896 Words   |  188 PagesIntroduction to SOL Server 2005  © 2007 Systems Analysis and Design: Hoffer /GeorgelValacich, Modern Systems Analysis qnd Design 5 /e  © 2008 Kendall/Kendall, Systems Analysis and Design 7Ie  © 2008 Valacich/George/Hoffer, Essentials of Systems Analysis and Design 31e  © 2006 Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design: Geor ge/Batr alValacich/Hoffer, Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design, 2e  © 2007 Stumpf/Teague, Object-Oriented Systems Analysis and Design with UML  © 2005 continued on backRead MoreManaging Information Technology (7th Edition)239873 Words   |  960 PagesTechnology Platform CASE STUDY I-7 Midsouth Chamber of Commerce (B): Cleaning Up an Information Systems Debacle CASE STUDY II-1 Vendor-Managed Inventory at NIBCO CASE STUDY II-2 Real-Time Business Intelligence at Continental Airlines CASE STUDY II-3 Norfolk Southern Railway: The Business Intelligence Journey CASE STUDY II-4 Mining Data to Increase State Tax Revenues in California CASE STUDY II-5 The Cliptomaniaâ„ ¢ Web Store: An E-Tailing Start-up Survival Story CASE STUDYRead MoreCissp Study Guide67657 Words   |  271 Pagescharacteristic of an information security policy? A. Identifies major functional areas of information. B. Quantifies the effect of the loss of the information. C. Requires the identification of information owners. D. Lists applications that support the business function. Answer: A Explanation: Information security policies area high-level plans that describe the goals of the procedures. Policies are not guidelines or standards, nor are they procedures or controls. Policies describe Pass Any Exam. Any Time

Evaluation Plan For Training And Development Program

Training and development is a key component to any organization’s current and future success. By fostering a learning oriented organization, you are creating a culture and environment that will deliver high quality service and products, anticipate and prepare for the future needs of the organization, and increase both customer and employee satisfaction. Training and development must be supported by the Human Resource function, and utilized by senior management to drive staffing strategy and decisions, performance management, and meet operational goals. In order for the training and development program to be successful at all levels, it must be properly designed, implemented, and evaluated. Below, we will discuss the seven steps of the training design process to demonstrate the best practices and organizational importance of a strong training and development program. The seven steps of the training design process are: a needs assessment, ensuring employee readiness for training, creating a learning environment, ensuring the transfer of training, developing an evaluation plan, selecting a training method, and monitoring and evaluating the program (Noe, 2013, p. 11). Starting with the needs assessment, it consists of â€Å"three elements: organizational analysis, person analysis, and task analysis† (Noe, 2013, p. 121). Organizational analysis â€Å"is concerned with identifying whether training suits the company’s strategic objectives, and whether the company has the budget, time, andShow MoreRelatedEvaluate .A Successful Training Program Can Always Use924 Words   |  4 Pages Evaluate A successful training program can always use room for improvement, and the training cycle isn’t complete without evaluating the training’s effectiveness, which leads to decision-making and planning for future training. 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Training enhances the understanding of employees; and gives them a scope to analyze and explore their own present knowledge andRead MoreThe CIPP Approach to Evaluation and Kirkpatrick’s Four Levels of Training Evaluation1124 Words   |  5 PagesComparative Evaluations In this comparative essay I will be comparing The CIPP approach to evaluation and Kirkpatrick’s four levels of training evaluation. This comparative essay will document the key components, how the evaluations are alike and different, and how they can be employed in my practice. Stufflebeam’s CIPP Model (Context, Input, Process, and Product) was created in 1983. This evaluation approach deals with an effective way of examining several distinctive facets of the development process

The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 16 Free Essays

â€Å"She has surrendered,† the redhead explained. â€Å"Surrendered?† Jane snapped. I peeked up to see the dark-cloaks exchanging glances. We will write a custom essay sample on The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 16 or any similar topic only for you Order Now The redhead had said that he’d never seen anyone surrender before. Maybe the dark-cloaks hadn’t, either. â€Å"Carlisle gave her the option,† the redhead said. He seemed to be the spokesperson for the yel ow-eyes, though I thought Carlisle might be the leader. â€Å"There are no options for those who break the rules,† Jane said, her voice dead again. My bones felt like ice, but I didn’t feel panicked anymore. It al seemed so inevitable now. Carlisle answered Jane in a soft voice. â€Å"That’s in your hands. As long as she was wil ing to halt her attack on us, I saw no need to destroy her. She was never taught.† Though his words were neutral, I almost thought he was pleading for me. But, as he had said, my fate was not up to him. â€Å"That is irrelevant,† Jane confirmed. â€Å"As you wish.† Jane was staring at Carlisle with an expression that was half confusion and half frustration. She shook her head, and her face was unreadable again. â€Å"Aro hoped that we would get far enough west to see you, Carlisle,† she said. â€Å"He sends his regards.† â€Å"I would appreciate it if you would convey mine to him,† he answered. Jane smiled. â€Å"Of course.† Then she looked at me again, with the corners of her mouth stil slightly holding the smile. â€Å"It appears that you’ve done our work for us today†¦ for the most part. Just out of professional curiosity, how many were there? They left quite a wake of destruction in Seattle.† She spoke of jobs and professionals. I was right, then, that it was her profession to punish. And if there were punishers, then there must be rules. Carlisle had said before, We follow their rules, and also, There is no law against creating vampires if you control them. Riley and my creator had been afraid but not exactly surprised by the arrival of the dark-cloaks, these Volturi. They knew about the laws, and they knew they were breaking them. Why hadn’t they told us? And there were more Volturi than just these four. Someone named Aro and probably many more. There must have been a lot for everyone to fear them so much. Carlisle answered Jane’s question. â€Å"Eighteen, including this one.† There was a barely audible murmur among the four darkcloaks. â€Å"Eighteen?† Jane repeated, a note of surprise in her voice. Our creator had never told Jane how many of us she’d created. Was Jane real y surprised, or just faking it? â€Å"Al brand-new,† Carlisle said. â€Å"They were unskil ed.† Unskil ed and uninformed, thanks to Riley. I was beginning to get a sense of how these older vampires viewed us. Newborn, Jasper had cal ed me. Like a baby. â€Å"Al ?† Jane snapped. â€Å"Then who was their creator?† As if they hadn’t already been introduced. This Jane was a bigger liar than Riley, and she was so much better at it than he was. â€Å"Her name was Victoria,† the redhead answered. How did he know that when even I didn’t? I remembered that Riley had said there was a mind reader in this group. Was that how they knew everything? Or was that another of Riley’s lies? â€Å"Was?† Jane asked. The redhead jerked his head toward the east like he was pointing. I looked up and saw a cloud of thick lilac smoke bil owing from the side of the mountain. Was. I felt a similar kind of pleasure to what I’d felt imagining the big vampire shredding Raoul. Only much, much greater. â€Å"This Victoria,† Jane asked slowly. â€Å"She was in addition to the eighteen here?† â€Å"Yes,† the redhead confirmed. â€Å"She had only one other with her. He was not as young as this one here, but no older than a year.† Riley. My fierce pleasure intensified. If – okay, when – I died today, at least I didn’t leave that loose thread. Diego had been avenged. I almost smiled. â€Å"Twenty,† Jane breathed. Either this was more than she had expected, or she was a kil er actress. â€Å"Who dealt with the creator?† â€Å"I did,† the redhead said coldly. Whoever this vampire was, whether he kept a pet human or no, he was a friend of mine. Even if he were the one to kil me in the end, I would stil owe him. Jane turned to stare at me with narrowed eyes. â€Å"You there,† she snarled. â€Å"Your name.† I was dead anyway, according to her. So why give this lying vampire anything she wanted? I just glared at her. Jane smiled at me, the bright, happy smile of an innocent child, and suddenly I was on fire. It was like I’d gone back in time to the worst night of my life. Fire was in every vein of my body, covering every inch of my skin, gnawing through the marrow of every bone. It felt like I was buried in the middle of my coven’s funeral bonfire, with the flames on every side. There wasn’t a single cel in my body that wasn’t blazing with the worst agony imaginable. I could barely hear myself scream over the pain in my ears. â€Å"Your name,† Jane said again, and as she spoke the fire disappeared. Gone like that, as if I’d only been imagining it. â€Å"Bree,† I said as fast as I could, stil gasping though the pain wasn’t there anymore. Jane smiled again and the fire was everywhere. How much pain would it take before I would die of it? The screams didn’t even feel like they were coming from me anymore. Why wouldn’t someone rip my head off? Carlisle was kind enough for that, wasn’t he? Or whoever their mind reader was. Couldn’t he or she understand and make this stop? â€Å"She’l tel you anything you want to know,† the redhead growled. â€Å"You don’t have to do that.† The pain vanished again, like Jane had turned off a light switch. I found myself facedown on the ground, panting as if I needed air. â€Å"Oh, I know,† I heard Jane say cheerful y. â€Å"Bree?† I shuddered when she cal ed my name, but the pain didn’t start again. â€Å"Is his story true?† she asked me. â€Å"Were there twenty of you?† The words flew out of my mouth. â€Å"Nineteen or twenty, maybe more, I don’t know! Sara and the one whose name I don’t know got in a fight on the way†¦.† I waited for the pain to punish me for not having a better answer, but instead Jane spoke again. â€Å"And this Victoria – did she create you?† â€Å"I don’t know,† I admitted fearful y. â€Å"Riley never said her name. I didn’t see that night†¦ it was so dark, and it hurt!† I flinched. â€Å"He didn’t want us to be able to think of her. He said that our thoughts weren’t safe.† Jane shot a glance at the redhead, then looked at me again. â€Å"Tel me about Riley,† Jane said. â€Å"Why did he bring you here?† I recited Riley’s lies as quickly as I could. â€Å"Riley told us that we had to destroy the strange yel ow-eyes here. He said it would be easy. He said that the city was theirs, and they were coming to get us. He said once they were gone, al the blood would be ours. He gave us her scent.† I pointed in the human’s direction. â€Å"He said we would know that we had the right coven, because she would be with them. He said whoever got to her first could have her.† â€Å"It looks like Riley was wrong about the easy part,† Jane said, a hint of teasing in her tone. It seemed like Jane was pleased with my story. In a flash of insight, I understood that she was relieved Riley hadn’t told me or the others about her little visit to our creator. Victoria. This was the story she wanted the yel ow-eyes to know – the story that didn’t implicate Jane or the dark-cloaked Volturi. Wel, I could play along. Hopeful y the mind reader was already in the know. I couldn’t physical y take revenge on this monster, but I could tel the yel ow-eyes everything with my thoughts. I hoped. I nodded, agreeing with Jane’s little joke, and sat up because I wanted the mind reader’s attention, whoever that was. I continued with the version of the story that any other member of my coven would have been able to give. I pretended I was Kevin. Dumb as a bag of rocks and total y ignorant. â€Å"I don’t know what happened.† That part was true. The mess on the battlefield was stil a mystery. I’d never seen any of Kristie’s group. Did the secret howler vampires get them? I would keep that secret for the yel ow-eyes. â€Å"We split up, but the others never came. And Riley left us, and he didn’t come to help like he promised. And then it was so confusing, and everybody was in pieces.† I flinched at the memory of the torso I’d hurdled. â€Å"I was afraid. I wanted to run away.† I nodded at Carlisle. â€Å"That one said they wouldn’t hurt me if I stopped fighting.† This wasn’t betraying Carlisle in any way. He’d already told Jane as much. â€Å"Ah, but that wasn’t his gift to offer, young one,† Jane said. She sounded like she was enjoying herself. â€Å"Broken rules demand a consequence.† Stil pretending I was Kevin, I just stared at her as if I were too stupid to understand. Jane looked at Carlisle. â€Å"Are you sure you got al of them? The other half that split off?† Carlisle nodded. â€Å"We split up, too.† So it was the howlers that got Kristie. I hoped that, whatever else they were, the howlers were real y, real y terrifying. Kristie deserved that. â€Å"I can’t deny that I’m impressed,† Jane said, sounding sincere, and I thought that this was probably the truth. Jane had been hopeful that Victoria’s army would do some damage here, and we’d clearly failed. â€Å"Yes,† the three vampires behind Jane al agreed quietly. â€Å"I’ve never seen a coven escape this magnitude of offensive intact,† Jane continued. â€Å"Do you know what was behind it? It seems like extreme behavior, considering the way you live here. And why was the girl the key?† Her eyes flicked to the human for just a moment. â€Å"Victoria held a grudge against Bel a,† the redhead told her. So the strategy final y made sense. Riley just wanted the girl dead and didn’t care how many of us died to get it done. Jane laughed happily. â€Å"This one† – and she smiled at the human the way she’d smiled at me – â€Å"seems to bring out bizarrely strong reactions in our kind.† Nothing happened to the girl. Maybe Jane didn’t want to hurt her. Or maybe her horrible talent only worked on vampires. â€Å"Would you please not do that?† the redhead asked in a control ed but furious voice. Jane laughed again. â€Å"Just checking. No harm done, apparently.† I tried to keep my expression Kevin-ish and not betray my interest. So Jane couldn’t hurt this girl the way she’d hurt me, and this was not a normal thing for Jane. Though Jane was laughing about it, I could tel it was driving her crazy. Was this why the human girl was tolerated by the yel ow-eyes? But if she was special in some way, why didn’t they just change her into a vampire? â€Å"Wel, it appears that there’s not much left for us to do,† Jane said, her voice a dead monotone again. â€Å"Odd. We’re not used to being rendered unnecessary. It’s too bad we missed the fight. It sounds like it would have been entertaining to watch.† â€Å"Yes,† the redhead retorted. â€Å"And you were so close. It’s a shame you didn’t arrive just a half hour earlier. Perhaps then you could have fulfil ed your purpose here.† I fought a smile. So the redhead was the mind reader, and he’d heard everything I’d wanted him to hear. Jane wasn’t getting away with anything. Jane stared back at the mind reader with a blank expression. â€Å"Yes. Quite a pity how things turned out, isn’t it?† The mind reader nodded, and I wondered what he was hearing in Jane’s head. Jane turned her blank face to me now. There was nothing in her eyes, but I could feel that my time had run out. She’d gotten what she needed from me. She didn’t know that I’d also given the mind reader everything I could. And protected his coven’s secrets, too. I owed him that. He’d punished Riley and Victoria for me. I glanced at him from the corner of my eye and thought, Thanks. â€Å"Felix?† Jane said lazily. â€Å"Wait,† the mind reader said loudly. He turned to Carlisle and spoke quickly. â€Å"We could explain the rules to the young one. She doesn’t seem unwil ing to learn. She didn’t know what she was doing.† â€Å"Of course,† Carlisle said eagerly, looking at Jane. â€Å"We would certainly be prepared to take responsibility for Bree.† Jane’s face looked like she wasn’t sure if they were joking, but if they were joking, they were funnier than she’d given them credit for. Me, I was touched to the core. These vampires were strangers, but they’d gone out on this dangerous limb for me. I already knew it wasn’t going to work, but stil . â€Å"We don’t make exceptions,† Jane told them, amused. â€Å"And we don’t give second chances. It’s bad for our reputation.† It was like she was discussing someone else. I didn’t care that she was talking about kil ing me. I knew the yel ow-eyes couldn’t stop her. She was the vampire police. But even though the vampire cops were dirty – real y dirty – at least the yel ow-eyes knew it now. â€Å"Which reminds me†¦,† Jane went on, her eyes locking on the human girl again and her smile widening. â€Å"Caius wil be so interested to hear that you’re stil human, Bel a. Perhaps he’l decide to visit.† Still human. So they were going to change the girl. I wondered what they were waiting for. â€Å"The date is set,† said the little vampire with the short black hair and the clear voice. â€Å"Perhaps we’l come to visit you in a few months.† Jane’s smile disappeared like someone had wiped it off. She shrugged without looking at the black-haired vampire, and I got the feeling that as much as she might have hated the human girl, she hated this smal vampire ten times as much. Jane turned back to Carlisle with the same vacant expression as before. â€Å"It was nice to meet you, Carlisle – I’d thought Aro was exaggerating. Wel, until we meet again†¦Ã¢â‚¬  This would be it, then. I stil didn’t feel afraid. My only regret was that I couldn’t tel Fred more about al of this. He was going almost total y blind into this world ful of dangerous politics and dirty cops and secret covens. But Fred was smart and careful and talented. What could they do to him if they couldn’t even see him? Maybe the yel ow-eyes would meet Fred someday. Be nice to him, please, I thought at the mind reader. â€Å"Take care of that, Felix,† Jane said indifferently, nodding at me. â€Å"I want to go home.† â€Å"Don’t watch,† the redheaded mind reader whispered. I closed my eyes. How to cite The Short Second Life of Bree Tanner Chapters 16, Essay examples

Competitive Global Context

Question: The Task Until recently BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa) have been regarded as the key emerging economies, and have been the targets for companies wanting to expand in international markets. However, there is literature emerging that argues that companies would benefit by looking wider and considering new emerging markets for their investment, exports, and other forms of international business. Such new emerging markets are the PINEs (the Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria and Ethiopia). (See article attached Forget the BRICs; Meet the PINEs by Michael Schuman, Time magazine, March 13, 2014). Star Trucks Ltd. is a trucks manufacturing company, with a production plant in Bedford, UK, and Head Office in London, UK. It markets its trucks mainly in the EU (European Union), the Middle Eastern, and other Mediterranean Region markets. Management has realised that these markets are nearly saturated and its new strategy is to go worldwide and get a good foothold in emerging markets. The CEO also noted that many competitors have already flocked to the BRICS emerging markets. He wondered, why not be among the first few to consider the expansion to the new emerging markets of PINEs? Assume you are General Manager of a marketing consulting firm, Market Solutions International Ltd. The CEO of Star Trucks Ltd. has approached you to assess opportunities in these new emerging markets. The following is the Brief you are given by the CEO: Considering Star Trucks Ltd. being a medium sized company we want to expand cautiously and step by step. While operating in all the four PINE economies is a long term objective at first we want to identify the most prospective market to enter. We want to know which of these four markets the firm should enter first; therefore we want you to undertake a comparative analysis. In your analysis examine the investment environment, effects of governments interventionist policies, the market potential, the impact of regional integration initiatives, if any, and related issues with a clear identification of opportunities and threats in each of these markets. Recommend which country should the firm enter first, explain why, and indicate how it should enter this market with justification. Resource wise, we are confident that we will have no problem to undertake the opportunities your report will identify for us. Based on the above Brief prepare a report to the attention of the CEO of Star Trucks Ltd. Answer: Introduction Competitive global context is the overall activity of making the business independent in a worldwide basis, introducing new technologies and new economic blocs. This individual activity creates severe challenges in front of the extremely knowledgeable and skilled managers and operators internationally. The following assignment deals with the new emerging company that manufactures trucks. Thus the company being Star Trucks Ltd. is a truck manufacturing company headquartered in London, UK along with its manufacturing plants located at Bedford, UK. Initially it started its business concern in the European Union, Middle Eastern and other Mediterranean Region markets which are now in a position of saturation. Thus the management is highly concerned with the new strategy of taking the business worldwide and accordingly grabbing a good position in the emerging market scenario. Although there was an old concept of BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) but as of now the presen t studies reveals that the concept of PINEs (Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria and Ethiopia) would be more profitable to take the business internationally. This project report deals with the consideration of this new emerging concept and as a result, the management works on the proposed strategy of getting worldwide by targeting the Nigerian market place to be it emerging location initially. The assignment deals with the investment environment, political consequences, market potential, impact of regional integration initiatives as well as both the opportunities and threats face by the company in Nigeria. The main purpose of this report is to find out the businesss future position in the Nigerian market as far as its objectives are concerned. PESTLE analysis of Nigerian market Political: Nigeria has become politically stable since the year 1999. Although, it is one of the regional political leader in the African continent still there lies many internal conflicts among the country people. Frequent religious and ethnic issue keeps on disturbing the country peace thus by creating huge disturbance (Blythe 2012). The biggest prospect of entering this market environment is to make the company value grow internationally with an international recognition. Massive corruption such as fraud, bribery, nepotism takes place that creates major challenges to the Nigerian market environment by declining the growth as well as development. Economical: Presently, the economic condition of Nigeria is motivated by the growth in the fields of telecommunications, real estate, hotels and restaurants industries. Moreover, the chief sectors of the country are the oil and gas sectors that contribute effectively by raising the price and thus improving the countrys weak inflation as well as the macro-economic outcomes. The fast expansion in 2010 following the global financial and economic meltdown underscored the flexibility of the economy. This country holds a total population of more than 174 million people (July 2013), among which half of them fall under the young educated and entrepreneurial group. Thus for a truck manufacturing company, this country is the best target to act for as there is an existence of numerous prospects. The Nigerian economy experiences a comparatively stable exchange rate thus making it a favorable environment to target upon. This country also possesses a huge infrastructure development. Despite of the above posit ive discussions that affect any upcoming business, the country is facing severe challenges too (Oigiagbe et al. 2012). Very less data on Nigerian market are available that is required by any business firm to prosper in that particular environment (Dahlstrom 2011). In addition to these, there is an existence of pitiable infrastructure facilities, crime and insecurity as well as sky-scraping youth unemployment over the years. Social: Since the country owns a huge educated population with cultural and regional diversities hence on this particular context the country can be said to be socially secure. Moreover, there lies an existence of huge tourism as well as cultural potential (Ferrell and Hartline 2011). Other than all these social advantages, the country also experiences the lack of social security system as the main threat. Technological: The technological fields are getting stronger by the passing years. The country now focuses on the computerization of government and private sector business as well as revolution in the telecom sectors. In addition to these technological factors, it also comes up with the opportunity of e-commerce, e-learning and e-governance (Kotabe and Helsen 2011). Although the above factors make the country technologically stable but the dominance of the foreign IT industries threatens the Nigerian market as a whole. Legal: In the year 1999, the country Nigeria changed to a new democratic nation with the reformation of the Nigeria legal system constitution. Nigerian legal system is constituted on English Common Law, the Doctrine of Equity and Common law being the source (Ikejiofor and Ali 2014). It also constitutes the judicial precedent, Customary Law such as the Sharia and Islamic Law (Winer and Dhar 2011). Moreover, to create a scope for the foreign companies, Nigeria acts upon making the laws easier to perform on so that the economic condition gets urbanized thus by influencing the countrys overall growth. Environmental: The environmental factor mainly includes the natural resources that are available in the particular country. The country is known for its natural resources abundance such as petroleum, natural gas, iron ore (as far as the truck manufacturing country is concerned) and many others. The country also experiences a major electricity issue which is a major drawback for the foreign investments in the nation (Kotler and Keller 2011). Frequent catastrophes occurs in the Nigerian environment that includes floods, tidal waves, oil spillage, landslides, sand-storms, coastal erosion, drought, insect infestation and many other man made catastrophes which was responsible for destroying human lives as well as rendering some people homeless (Baba-Musami et al. 2015). Since the economy of Nigeria is quite weak with an under protected environment, this scenario makes the Nigerian environment quite unsafe. Moreover, an international agreement based on environmental solution is also signed which includes biodiversity, ozone layer protection, pollution control, marine life conservation and many others. But as of now, no work has been yet conducted in response to the above agreement. Not all these above discussions have a vast effect on any truck manufacturing industry (Sheehan 2011). Thus, as far as the project objectives are concerned, these natural disasters have very low impact in the market entry. SWOT analysis of Star trucks limited The SWOT analysis of this company is done to find out the status of the companys entrance in the Nigerian market place. This is used to discover the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats that are experienced by this particular company. Strengths: Since Nigeria is oil producing land so there lays huge scope for this company to prosper in Nigerian market place. The population scenario shows that the country has huge influence of young generation people which shows this company a way to enter (Lancaster Massingham 2011). Moreover the presence of cultural as well as religious diversities acts as an important strength to the company (Olamade and Abu-Bakr 2014, pp. 39). The country has also formed an effective technological aspect that would further help this company to prosper well. Weaknesses: The previous study says that Nigeria has huge ethnic and religious restlessness that is responsible for this type of truck manufacturing country (Chamberlain and Ede 2013). Since the literacy level of Nigerian population is extremely low, so the company may experience huge suffering while convincing its Nigerian prospects. In addition to these above weaknesses, the infrastructure is also unfriendly and huge amount of capital is needed to be invested to make a startup this business in the Nigerian market (Shaw 2011). Opportunities: Nigeria is looking forward to the advancement of their infrastructures and legal laws are made in favour of the foreign industries as to attract them more thus by providing compensation to the Nigerian economy (Dumitrescu and Unit 2013). Moreover, Nigeria is getting into the list of cultural as well as tourism potentials thus by creating a remarkable opportunity for Star trucks ltd. Nigeria also has an issue of huge unemployment so it is very normal that they want foreign companies to enter so that the employment rate can rise further. The concept of e-commerce, e learning, and e-governance also flourished the Nigerian environment (Peter and Donnelly 2011). This also acts as a great opening for this company. Thus it can be suggested that there lies a huge number of opportunities for this company to target the Nigerian market. Threats: It is well-known that where there is opportunity, the concept of threat comes hand in hand. Although the political structures are made comfortable for the foreign companies to enter in, this cannot be avoided that there lies huge sudden political changes too (Oigiagbe et al. 2012, pp. 225). Since, Nigeria experiences massive crime and insecurity so it becomes a threat for this company to get set up in the country. Conclusion From the above study, it is easy to gather reliable information on PINE economies. Research analysts are of opinion that BRICs loss existence and there is recent adoption of PINE. In the emerging market scenario, most of the developing nations are widening activities based on new countries in an overall manner. In case of BRIC economies, it includes countries like Brazil, Russia, China and India. These four countries are posing dominance in the American world. From the prospect of Russia, it hampers the future aggressive moves and imposition of economic sanctions in an overall manner. In case of China, it relates with the admirable growth opportunity. It deals with the rising debt as well as distorted financial system in an overall manner. China Exports boom mainly suggests with the economic recovery global investors in the most of the emerging markets for the same. PINE Economies include Philippines, Indonesia, Nigeria and Ethiopia. In the present study, Nigeria country is explained because of its strong performance. Nigeria has the potential economic heavyweight as well as stable government for the same. It is noticed that investors flocked easily in the nation for poverty, strong economic management as well as poverty activities. Addition to that, International Monetary Fund notices 7% growth in and around the nation. There is various political corruptions prevailing in the current market economy that needs urgent consideration by the government. PINE Economy deals in the investment and expansion in accordance with finding new customers. Combined population includes around 600 million in dismissing with the emerging markets in an overall manner. Recommendation There are ample of possibilities and opportunities present in the African market such as the distribution model, acquisitions, joint ventures and the green field strategy. The distribution is the most recommended model due to lower overhead cost and the wide coverage of the products. To establish the presence of the firms it is recommended there should be an agent or distributor relationship with a locally registered company. Many of the foreign suppliers and manufacturers appoint a distributor so that he can accommodate the ethnic diversity and the vast geographical size of Nigeria. In the complicated environment of Nigeria, the supportive terms and conditions of this type of arrangements needs to be negotiated carefully. It is strongly recommended by CS Nigeria the usage of experienced commercial attorneys for crafting the mutually beneficial agreements. The company when entering the market should not think of adopting the direct marketing techniques for expanding business in Niger ia. The main reason is due to the lack of proper infrastructure like the logistics, transportation, trade facilitation services. However, such form of marketing can be made significant through improvement of the communication and information system of the country. There should be better-connected road in the entire country with special focus on the semi urban regions and rural communities. In this type of market, there is a requirement of excellent customer services and after sales support for the buyers. The companies entering in the market should support the local representatives and respond to the consumer complains effectively. Reference List Baba-Musami, B., Usman, Y.M., Sheriff, B. and Hussaini, M., 2015, March. ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF NIGERIAN NATIONAL PETROLEUM CORPORATION (NNPC) DEPOT IN MAIDUGURI, NIGERIA. InProceedings of The International Academic Conference for Sub-Sahara African Transformation Development(Vol. 3, No. 4). Blythe, J 2012,Marketing, SAGE Publications, London. Chamberlain, O. and Ede, E.C., 2013. History of Automobile Past and Present Challenges Facing Automobile Production in Nigeria.IOSR Journal of Research and Method in Education (IOSR-JRME) Vol,2. Dahlstrom, R 2011,Green marketing management, South-Western / Cengage Learning, Mason, Ohio. Dumitrescu, A. and Unit, A.T., 2013. Logistics Cost Study of Transport Corridors in Central and West Africa.Contract. Ferrell, O and Hartline, M 2011,Marketing management strategies, South-Western, Cengage Learning, Australia. Ikejiofor, I.G. and Ali, A., 2014. The Effects Of Road Transport Characteristics On The Marketing Of Agricultural Produce In Nsukka Lga, Enugu State, Southeastern Nigeria.Innovare Journal of Social Sciences. Kotabe, M and Helsen, K 2011,Global marketing management, Wiley, Hoboken, N.J. Kotler, P and Keller, K 2011,A framework for marketing management, Pearson Education, Harlow. Lancaster, G and Massingham, L 2011,Essentials of marketing management, Routledge, London. Obasanjo, O.T. and Nwankwo, O.C., 2014. Distribution Constraints of Petroleum Products by Road Transport from Pipeline and Products Marketing Company (PPMC) Kaduna.Journal of Logistics Management,3(2), pp.21-27. Oigiagbe, O., George, O. and Owoyemi, O., 2012. Theorising the Failure of Technological Innovation Diffusion in the Nigerian Automobile Industry: The Case of Ford Motors Nigeria.American Journal of Business and Management,1(4), pp.223-229. Olamade, O.O. and Abubakar, K., 2014. Impact of Total Innovation Management on Supply Chain in Nigerias Automobile Industry.Journal of Entrepreneurship and Business Innovation,1(1), pp.36-47. Peter, J and Donnelly, J 2011,A preface to marketing management, McGraw-Hill/Irwin, New York. Shaw, S 2011,Airline marketing and management, Ashgate, Burlington, Vt. Sheehan, B 2011,Marketing management, AVA Pub., Lausanne, Switzerland. Winer, R and Dhar, R 2011,Marketing management, Prentice Hall, Boston.

10 Pros and Cons Arguments For Abstinence

10 Pros and Cons Arguments For Abstinence Approaches to teenage pregnancy prevention split down the middle between two schools of thought: abstinence (waiting until marriage to have sex)sex education (including contraceptive information and HIV prevention) Both sides argue that their approach is effective, especially in light of the continuing decline in teen pregnancy rates and teen birth rates. Whether thats true or not, one fact is clear: the rates in recent years have hit record lows. So is this due to the push in abstinence-only education programs, or in broader and more comprehensive sex education programs that provide teens with information about contraception and HIV prevention? To consider the role of abstinence or sex education in teenage pregnancy prevention, it helps to consider both sides of the argument. Below are links to both sides of the issue 10 arguments for abstinence as the best form of pregnancy prevention for teens and 10 arguments against abstinence a total of 20 arguments representing each perspective on the abstinence/sex education debate. Ten Arguments For Abstinence Abstinence from sex is the only form of pregnancy prevention that is 100% effective. Every method of contraception has a risk of failure, however, small, but a teen who practices abstinence will never become pregnant.Teens who abstain from sexual activity also avoid the risk of sexually transmitted diseases (STDs).Teens who practice abstinence are much less likely to experience a physically or emotionally abusive relationship, drop out of high school, engage in substance abuse, or feel pressured into having sex all risk factors for teens who explore and become sexually active at an early age.A teen who practices abstinence and is in a romantic relationship is secure in the knowledge that her/his partner is not interested in them purely for sex a concern of many teens.Some studies indicate that couples enjoy greater relationship satisfaction when they delay having sex until they are seriously dating, engaged or married.Teens are at a stage in life in which theyre already emotionally vulnerable. Getting involved in a sexual relationship increases that vulnerability and the chances of being hurt or used by a partner. By abstaining from sex, its a lot easier to figure out if a relationship or a person is good for you. Studies have revealed a connection between low self-esteem and early sexual activity. A teen who deliberately chooses to wait to have sexual intercourse is less likely to look to a relationship for validation and may be more self-reliant.Some teens use sex as a way to achieve intimacy and closeness with someone, but this is an artificial way of doing so. Teens who practice abstinence build relationships with partners based on mutual likes and dislikes, common approaches to life, and shared interests and develop a more authentic relationship that can better stand the test of time.Abstinence may help students do better in school. According to the American Journal of Health studies, students in abstinence-only education programs demonstrate better GPAs and improved verbal and numerical aptitude skills.... stronger peer relations, positive youth development, and...[greater] aware[ness] of the consequences of risky behavior, such as teen pregnancy or sexually transmitted diseases.Abstinen ce costs nothing and there are no side effects as there are with oral contraceptives and many other forms of pregnancy prevention. Sources: Elias, Marilyn. Study pinpoints factors for early sex. USAToday.com. 12 November 2007.Lawrence, S.D. Abstinence Only Sex Ed Has Unexpected Benefit: Math Gains? Educationnews.com. 13 March 2012.McCarthy, Ellen. The Literature: Delaying sex seems to lead to a more satisfying relationship, study finds. Washingtonpost.com. 31 October 2010.Salzman, Brock Alan. An argument for abstinence and commitment: Implications For Sex Education and Counseling. Teen-aid.org. Retrieved 25 May 2012.

How to Improve Editorial Strategy with Tara Clapper [PODCAST]

How to Improve Editorial Strategy with Tara Clapper [PODCAST] Creating an editorial calendar can be a challenge. How can you decide how often to post to your blog without wasting time and energy- or leaving your readers wanting for either more content or more quality? That’s the topic of today’s show: maintaining consistency and a high level of quality while publishing at the right intervals for maximum reader engagement. Our guest is Tara Clapper, who previously managed the blog at SEMrush and now  works for Express Writers. She has honed the blog publication process and has a lot of insight to share with our listeners on when to blog and how to create an effective editorial calendar. Some of the topics that we’ll discuss today include: Tara’s background with SEMrush, including how she learned to balance quality with quantity when it came to posting on the blog. How far out to plan content, and how helps Tara’s whole team stay updated and focused on what’s coming up next. Why working about one month ahead works well for Tara, and how having that â€Å"cushion of days† helps when something urgent comes up that needs to be squeezed in. Why insisting on good pitches from guest authors saves time in the long run. Tips on organizing when you have a lot of different projects happening at once.

Strategy Evaluation for the Lloyd bank organisation Assignment

Strategy Evaluation for the Lloyd bank organisation - Assignment Example Lloyds heavily relies on its brand to achieve success, but also combines this with an excellent grasp of consumer needs (Bicker 2013: 51). As such, the company has formulated corporate objectives that are aimed at providing relevant, customised, and superior services to consumers in all categories. Over the years, the bank has realised that although its brand is strong enough to fuel its success, that alone is not enough to ensure sustainable growth in a rapidly developing banking sector. In lieu of this, the company has developed and implemented a customer satisfaction blueprint that is aimed at providing the best banking services to current and potential customers (Wilson 2013: 36). This blueprint is guided by efficiency, good ambience, excellent customer support, cordial customer relations, and a consumer engagement mechanism that is based on feedback and interaction. Lloyds’ customer satisfaction strategy has been instrumental in its current success, particularly due to th e bank’s ability to develop new, innovative services that improve service delivery. As the banking sector becomes more competitive, financial institutions realise that their service portfolios are becoming increasingly similar. This has prompted a shift to excellence in service, something that Lloyds has embraced as part of its corporate strategy. The UK and global banking sectors are experiencing numerous changes that are driven by innovation and technology. The rise in mobile and online banking is an example of a shift in focus that is driving growth in the sector. However, it is also becoming obvious that banks have fundamentally similar offerings and procedures. This also applies to the technological and innovation aspects of banking, which are now common in almost all banks (Casson & Rose 2014:35). For example, almost all banks in the United Kingdom have mobile and online banking services

Organizational Business Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Organizational Business - Essay Example Furthermore, the study disclosed that if the employees were given more say in decisions pertaining to their jobs, it will create more satisfaction and generate harmony in the workplace. Another major finding of the research is that job content is not one of the factors which influence organizational culture. The second article on organizational culture is â€Å"The Transformation of Nissan – The Reform of Corporate Culture† by Yasuhiro Ishizuna. This article presents the story of Nissan and how the change in its corporate culture transformed the company (Ishizuna 9). In the story of Nissan, the greatest factor that affected the organizational culture is the leadership, more specifically; it was the President Mr. Yutaka Kume who introduced changes in the traditional views and attitudes of the employees. The reforms in the culture which he introduced paved the way for Nissan to become more competitive globally. Organizations†. This exploratory study examined the relationship between leadership and organizational culture in nineteen nonprofit human service organizations. The research revealed that â€Å"organizational culture can be influenced: through the beliefs and experiences of its members, through beliefs and values of leaders, and through organizational practices† (Jaskyte 164). The articles on Nissan and the study by Jaskyte both share the idea that leadership plays an important role in the shaping of an organizational culture. Nissan’s experience showed how its president became the driving force in successfully transforming its culture starting from the grass-roots level and moving on throughout the company. In the same manner, Jaskyte’s study of non-profit organizations concluded that leaders must undergo changes in their leadership practices to shape the culture of their organizations (Jaskyte 164). As

Information Systems and Software Applications Essay - 1

Information Systems and Software Applications - Essay Example Utilizing information systems and software applications in human resource, however, assists in management and effective data collection that will contribute towards developing creative business decisions. Information systems and software applications are used in human resource departments to manage employees working in a company. Human resource makes use of different software applications in its operations, for instance, employee turnover can be monitored using one application while a different application is used to screen job applicants. Use of software applications in operations within human resource department makes work easier and this will improve productivity and effectiveness of the entire company. These applications will enable human resource to employ qualified candidates and they will also be able to manage company information in an effective manner (Cashman, et.al, 2009). Management department uses information systems and software applications to analyze and facilitate organizational activities. Companies are able to design, evaluate and implement information through the use of information systems and software applications to generate information as well as to improve effectiveness and efficiency of making organizational decisions (Cashman, et.al, 2009). Software applications provide large hardware storage capacities therefore making it possible for managers to store and link large volumes of data. Information systems applications also provided managers with useful data about inventories, sales and other information that would be used in management of a company. Successful applications enable a business to achieve its long-term objectives as the company can highlight its weaknesses and strengths due to the availability of records regarding employee performance as well as revenue reports. These aspects will assist a company to improve its business

Diglossia and the variation of the colloquial arabic

Diglossia and the variation of the colloquial arabic 1.0 Introduction: In many speech communities where speakers use two or more varieties of the same language in different situations, a phenomenon called diglossia exists. The purpose of this paper is to discuss diglossia in the Arab community, as this is one of the communities that have been classified by Ferguson (1959) to be examples of diglossic language situations. It was my original intention to focus specifically on the Libyan context. However, a paucity of information on the Libyan context has meant that the major focus of the assignment is on Arabic in general. However, in the final section of the paper, I do make brief reference to Libya. After defining diglossia, the characteristic features of diglossia as determined by Ferguson will be discussed too. I will then, provide a description of diglossia in Arabic, followed by the origins of Arabic diglossia. A description of classical/modern standard and colloquial Arabic will be also provided, together with their usage in different domains. Finally, I will put forward some arguments and studies on Arabic diglossia, which have been introduced by linguists, as well as Arabic dialects and how variation of Arabic dialects is sometimes considered to be problematic. 2.0 Diglossia defined The term diglossia was introduced from French ‘diglossie by Ferguson (1959), who is credited with first using this term in an article he wrote in 1959. According to him, diglossia refers to ‘one particular kind of standardization where two varieties of a language exist side by side throughout the community, with each having a definite role to play (Ferguson, 1959:232). In other words, when two languages or language varieties exist side by side in a community and each one is used for different purposes, diglossia exists. Usually, according to Richards et al (1992:108), one is a more standard variety called the high variety or (H- variety) which is used for example in educational institutions (lectures at universities), religious services (prayers, sermons in mosques and churches). The other one is called the low variety or (L- variety), which is used in family context, social interactions and shopping. In addition, Ferguson has identified four languages which he thinks fit into his definition of diglossia. Those languages are Greek, Arabic, Haitian Creole and Swiss German. In all four areas, there seems to be a similar functional distribution between two varieties of the same language, which are called in Fergusons terminology high variety (H) and low variety (L). 3.0 The characteristic features of Diglossia Ferguson (1959: 235) suggests that the different uses of H and L varieties can be described with reference to the following criteria: Specialized Functions One of the most important features of diglossia is the ‘specialization of function for High and Low forms'(Ferguson, 1959:235). In other words, each form has special domains to be used in. For example, the High form is used in religious sermons, letter writing, parliamentary speech, university lectures, news broadcasts, newspaper editorials and poetry, whereas the Low form is used in family conversation, folk literature, and soap opera. Slight overlapping between the two forms occurs, i.e. sometimes the two forms might be used in one domain by switching from H to L and vice versa. H and L are used for different purposes, and native speakers would find it odd if anyone used H in an L domain, or L in an H domain. Acquisition Low (L) is the mother tongue of the speaker in the concerned defining languages (Arabic, Greek Haitian Creole and Swiss German), which have been determined by Ferguson. All speakers learn it as a first language at home as they are more comfortable in the L form than the H. The H form is normally learnt by formal instruction in schools. Standardization In all the defining languages, H is highly standardised and may have a long tradition of grammatical study associated with it. In other words, grammars, dictionaries are a large literature which is associated with it. The L form may not be standardised. In Arabic, for example, the L form has no standard grammatical rules as it differs from one Arabic region to another region, and every Arabic community has its own local L form (dialect). Prestige H is always considered to be more highly valued than the L as a result of the fact that the H variety is used in literature, religious texts, public speaking etc. The L variety is less associated with the written word and is often considered to be a corrupt version of H. It may be found in popular advertising, folklore poetry or used in drama, e.g. to describe comic characters. For Arab Muslims, for example, H is considered to be the language of the Koran, and it is widely believed to ‘constitute the words of God and even to be outside the limits of space and time (Ferguson, 1959:238). Grammar, lexicon and phonology The syntactic system of H varieties are generally thought to be more complex than the L in terms of grammatical features such as, tense, gender and number. Complex sentence structures are thought not to be a feature of L in the languages determined by Ferguson. The lexicon of the two varieties, on the other hand, is largely shared but there is a difference on account of the specific domains in which each is used. H and L may share the same phonological system, but even at this level of grammar, the H variety is felt to have more complicated phonetic features. 4.0 Fishmans extension of diglossia In 1967, Fishman revised and expanded Fergusons original definition of diglossia. Fishman believed that diglossia must be distinguished from bilingualism (Fasold, 1984). He suggests that bilingualism refers to an individuals ability to use more than one language variety, whereas diglossia refers to the distribution of more than one language variety to serve different communication tasks in a society. However, Fishman states the view, which he attributes to J. Gumperz that ‘diglossia exists not only in multilingual societies which officially recognize several ‘languages but, also, in societies which are multilingual in the sense that they employ separate dialects, registers or functionally differentiated language varieties of whatever kind (Fishman, 1967:30). Fishman proposes that classic diglossia could be extended to situations where forms of two genetically unrelated languages occupy the H and L domains, such that one of the languages is used for education, law, literary and religion while another is the home language. Moreover, his extension depends on his focus on domain. In a community, for example, where speakers use two languages, they will obviously not use both in all circumstances. They use only one language in certain circumstances, and in others, they use the other one. Fishman cites Paraguay as an example for his claim where there are two languages which are known by almost everybody. In Paraguay, Spanish is used as the high formal language, whereas Guarani is used as the low informal language. Fishmans reference to Paraguay illustrates how far apart linguistically two languages may be and still be in a diaglossic relationship. From the above two conceptions of diglossia, we come to a conclusion that both scholars, Ferguson and Fishman agree that the H variety is used for formal purposes and the L variety is used for less formal, more personal uses. However, they disagree when Ferguson distinguishes diglossia from the relationship between standard and colloquial, whereas Fishman mentions the possibility that more than two language varieties can be reserved for specific functions in a society. In addition, Fergusons view is limited two language varieties, whereas Fishmans view is more than two language varieties can be reserved for specific functions in a society (Fasold, 1984). Having defined the term ‘diglossia and the way the concept has been extended by Fishman; I now turn to a discussion in the Arabic context. 5.0 Digloss ia in Arabic Arabic iÃ'• a mÐ µmbÐ µr of thÐ µ Ð…Ð µmitic languagÐ µ family, which itÃ'•Ð µlf iÃ'• part of thÐ µ widÐ µr AfroaÃ'•iatic phylum including AnciÐ µnt Еgyptian, Coptic, CuÃ'•hitic, BÐ µrbÐ µr, and Chadic. OthÐ µr principal mÐ µmbÐ µrÃ'• of thÐ µ Ð…Ð µmitic family arÐ µ thÐ µ ЕaÃ'•t Ð…Ð µmitic languagÐ µÃ'• of Akkadian and ЕblaitÐ µ (both now long dÐ µad), and thÐ µ WÐ µÃ'•t Ð…Ð µmitic lan ¬guagÐ µÃ'• Aramaic, Ugaritic, thÐ µ CanaanitÐ µ languagÐ µÃ'• (including HÐ µbrÐ µw), anciÐ µnt and modÐ µrn Ð…outh Arabian, and thÐ µ Ð…Ð µmitic languagÐ µÃ'• of Еthiopia (for Ð µxamplÐ µ, GÐ µÃ µz, TigrÐ µ, Tigrinya, and Amharic) (HÐ µtzron 1992: 412-13;2 FabÐ µr 1997: 6; cf. BÐ µÃ µÃ'•ton 1970: 11). 5.1 The Ã'•prÐ µad of Arabic The original homeland of Ã'•pÐ µakÐ µrÃ'• of Arabic is thÐ µ cÐ µntral and northern rÐ µgionÃ'• of thÐ µ Arabian PÐ µninÃ'•ula. ThÐ µ lowÐ µr half of thÐ µ Arabian PÐ µninÃ'•ula waÃ'• inhabitÐ µd by Ã'•pÐ µakÐ µrÃ'• of languagÐ µÃ'• known aÃ'• Еpigraphic Ð…outh Arabian (HÐ µtzron 1992: 412). ThÐ µ Ð µnd of thÐ µ Ã'•ixth cÐ µntury CЕ, howÐ µvÐ µr, Ã'•aw thÐ µ riÃ'•Ð µ of thÐ µ nÐ µw rÐ µligion of IÃ'•lam promotÐ µd by thÐ µ ProphÐ µt Muhammad within thÐ µ Arabian PÐ µninÃ'•ula in what iÃ'• now Ð…audi Arabia. ThÐ µ nÐ µw IÃ'•lamic Ã'•tatÐ µ Ã'•prÐ µad rapidly throughout thÐ µ PÐ µninÃ'•ula, and within 100 yÐ µarÃ'• had Ð µxtÐ µndÐ µd north into thÐ µ LÐ µvant, Ð µaÃ'•t into Iraq and KhuziÃ'•tan, and wÐ µÃ'•t into North Africa. OvÐ µr thÐ µ cÐ µnturiÐ µÃ'•, thÐ µ rÐ µligiouÃ'• frontiÐ µrÃ'• of IÃ'•lam Ã'•trÐ µtchÐ µd into Ð…pain, Africa, India, and IndonÐ µ Ã'•ia, and acroÃ'•Ã'• cÐ µntral AÃ'•ia into Tur ­kÐ µÃ'•tan and China (Gibb 1978: 10). ThÐ µ riÃ'•Ð µ and Ð µxpanÃ'•ion of IÃ'•lam waÃ'• not only a rÐ µligiouÃ'• and hÐ µncÐ µ cultural conquÐ µÃ'•t, but alÃ'•o a linguiÃ'•tic conquÐ µÃ'•t, and within a fÐ µw hundrÐ µd yÐ µarÃ'• Arabic bÐ µcamÐ µ both thÐ µ official and thÐ µ vÐ µrnacular languagÐ µ of all IÃ'•lamicizÐ µd countriÐ µÃ'• in thÐ µ MiddlÐ µ ЕaÃ'•t. IndÐ µÃ µd, duÐ µ to thÐ µ prÐ µvailing tolÐ µrancÐ µ on thÐ µ part of thÐ µ MuÃ'•limÃ'• to ChriÃ'•tianÃ'• and JÐ µwÃ'•, arabicization waÃ'• morÐ µ complÐ µtÐ µ a procÐ µÃ'•Ã'• and progrÐ µÃ'•Ã'•Ð µd at a grÐ µatÐ µr ratÐ µ than iÃ'•lamicization (VÐ µrÃ'•tÐ µÃ µgh 1997: 93). In thÐ µ courÃ'•Ð µ of thÐ µ Ã'•prÐ µad of IÃ'•lam, Arabic found itÃ'•Ð µlf in contact with a Ã'•Ð µriÐ µÃ'• of forÐ µign languagÐ µÃ'• which it haÃ'• tÐ µndÐ µd to Ã'•upplant. In Еgypt during thÐ µ Ð µarly cÐ µnturiÐ µÃ'• of IÃ'•lamic domination, thÐ µ Coptic patriarchÃ'• communicatÐ µd with thÐ µ Arab conquÐ µrÐ µrÃ'• through intÐ µrprÐ µtÐ µrÃ'•. By thÐ µ tÐ µnth cÐ µntury CЕ, thÐ µ Coptic biÃ'•hop Ð…Ð µvÐ µruÃ'• of ЕÃ'•hmunÐ µin complainÐ µd that moÃ'•t CoptÃ'• no longÐ µr undÐ µrÃ'•tood Ð µithÐ µr GrÐ µÃ µk or Coptic, only Arabic. In UppÐ µr Еgypt, Coptic waÃ'• limitÐ µd to a fÐ µw Ã'•mall pockÐ µtÃ'• in thÐ µ countryÃ'•idÐ µ and to thÐ µ clÐ µrgy in monaÃ'•tÐ µriÐ µÃ'• by thÐ µ fourtÐ µÃ µnth cÐ µn ­tury CЕ (VÐ µrÃ'•tÐ µÃ µgh 1997: 95). It iÃ'• gÐ µnÐ µrally bÐ µliÐ µvÐ µd that by thÐ µ Ã'•ixtÐ µÃ µnth cÐ µntury CЕ thÐ µ uÃ'•à  µ of Coptic waÃ'• rÐ µÃ'•trictÐ µd to liturgy in thÐ µ Coptic church (cf. LopriÐ µno 1995: 7). In North Africa, Arabic bÐ µcamÐ µ thÐ µ dominant languagÐ µ of thÐ µ citiÐ µÃ'•, but BÐ µrbÐ µr managÐ µd to rÐ µÃ'•iÃ'•t thÐ µ Ã'•prÐ µad of Arabic in thÐ µ rural intÐ µrior. In Morocco and AlgÐ µria, in particular, BÐ µrbÐ µr haÃ'• rÐ µtainÐ µd itÃ'• vitality alongÃ'•idÐ µ Arabic to thiÃ'• day. LikÐ µwiÃ'•Ð µ in limitÐ µd arÐ µaÃ'• in thÐ µ FÐ µrtilÐ µ CrÐ µÃ'•cÐ µnt, dialÐ µctÃ'• of Ð…yriac havÐ µ pÐ µrÃ'•iÃ'•tÐ µd and havÐ µ influÐ µncÐ µd nÐ µighbouring Arabic dialÐ µctÃ'•. 5.2 ThÐ µ Ð µmÐ µrgÐ µncÐ µ of a Ã'•tandard languagÐ µ and digloÃ'•Ã'•ia ThÐ µ litÐ µrary Arabic languagÐ µ bÐ µgan to attain a Ã'•tandard form through thÐ µ dÐ µvÐ µlop ­mÐ µnt of grammatical normÃ'• in thÐ µ Ð µighth cÐ µntury CЕ (FiÃ'•chÐ µr 1997: 188). ThiÃ'• Ã'•tandard languagÐ µ can bÐ µ tÐ µrmÐ µd Ð…tandard Arabic, thÐ µ tÐ µrmÃ'• ClaÃ'•Ã'•ical Arabic and ModÐ µm Ð…tandard Arabic bÐ µing uÃ'•Ð µd to dÐ µÃ'•cribÐ µ itÃ'• mÐ µdiÐ µval and modÐ µm variantÃ'•, rÐ µÃ'•pÐ µctivÐ µly. ClaÃ'•Ã'•ical Arabic waÃ'• baÃ'•Ð µd primarily on thÐ µ languagÐ µ of thÐ µ wÐ µÃ'•tÐ µrn Hij azi tribÐ µ of QurayÃ'•h, with Ã'•omÐ µ intÐ µrfÐ µrÐ µncÐ µ from prÐ µ- IÃ'•lamic poÐ µtic koinÐ µ and Ð µaÃ'•tÐ µrn dialÐ µctÃ'•. ThÐ µ languagÐ µ waÃ'• codifiÐ µd in thÐ µ Qur an, thÐ µ holy book of IÃ'•lam. Although thÐ µ lÐ µxiÃ'• and Ã'•tyliÃ'•ticÃ'• of ModÐ µm Ð…tandard Arabic arÐ µ rathÐ µr diffÐ µrÐ µnt from thoÃ'•Ð µ of ClaÃ'•Ã'•ical A rabic, thÐ µ morphology and Ã'•yntax havÐ µ rÐ µmainÐ µd baÃ'•i ­cally unchangÐ µd ovÐ µr thÐ µ cÐ µnturiÐ µÃ'• (FiÃ'•chÐ µr 1997: 188). ThÐ µ vÐ µrnacular Arabic dialÐ µctÃ'•, by contraÃ'•t, havÐ µ dÐ µvÐ µlopÐ µd markÐ µdly during thiÃ'• pÐ µriod. LikÐ µ a numbÐ µr of othÐ µr languagÐ µÃ'•, thÐ µrÐ µforÐ µ, Arabic camÐ µ to havÐ µ onÐ µ Ã'•tandard variÐ µty and a largÐ µ numbÐ µr of rÐ µgional and Ã'•ocial dialÐ µctÃ'•. UnlikÐ µ many Ã'•uch languagÐ µÃ'•, howÐ µvÐ µr, no onÐ µ in thÐ µ Arab world iÃ'• brought up Ã'•pÐ µaking Standard Arabic as their mother tongue: an Arab childÃ'• mothÐ µr tonguÐ µ will bÐ µ thÐ µ rÐ µgional or social variety of Arabic of itÃ'• homÐ µ rÐ µgion, whilÐ µ Ð…tandard Arabic, if it iÃ'• maÃ'•tÐ µrÐ µd at all, iÃ'• lÐ µarnt formally at Ã'•chool or at homÐ µ aÃ'• part of thÐ µ childÃ'• Ð µducation. Ð…tandard Arabic iÃ'• confinÐ µd to formal writ tÐ µn and Ã'•pokÐ µn occaÃ'•ionÃ'•, and thÐ µ rÐ µgional/Ã'•ocial variÐ µty of Arabic iÃ'• uÃ'•Ð µd at all othÐ µr timÐ µÃ'•. Ð…tandard Arabic now diffÐ µrÃ'• conÃ'•idÐ µrably from rÐ µgional and Ã'•ocial colloquial variÐ µtiÐ µÃ'• of Arabic in tÐ µrmÃ'• of itÃ'• phonology, morph ­ology, Ã'•yntax, and lÐ µxicon. According to LipinÃ'•ki (1997: 75), Ã'•uch digloÃ'•Ã'•ia in Arabic bÐ µgan to Ð µmÐ µrgÐ µ at thÐ µ latÐ µÃ'•t in thÐ µ Ã'•ixth cÐ µntury CЕ whÐ µn oral poÐ µtÃ'• rÐ µcitÐ µd thÐ µir poÐ µtry in a proto-ClaÃ'•Ã'•ical Arabic baÃ'•Ð µd on archaic dialÐ µctÃ'• which diffÐ µrÐ µd grÐ µatly from thÐ µir own (cf. alÃ'•o VollÐ µrÃ'• 1906; WÐ µhr 1952; DiÐ µm 1973, citÐ µd in FiÃ'•chÐ µr 1997: 188). DialÐ µctÃ'• of Arabic form a roughly continuouÃ'• Ã'•pÐ µctrum of variation, with thÐ µ dialÐ µctÃ'• Ã'•pokÐ µn in thÐ µ Ð µaÃ'•tÐ µrn and wÐ µÃ'•tÐ µrn Ð µxtrÐ µmÐ µÃ'• of thÐ µ Arab-Ã'•pÐ µaking world bÐ µing mutually unintÐ µlligiblÐ µ. On thÐ µ baÃ'•iÃ'• of cÐ µrtain linguiÃ'•tic fÐ µaturÐ µÃ'•, Arabic dialÐ µctÃ'• can bÐ µ dividÐ µd into two major gÐ µographical groupÃ'•: thÐ µ firÃ'•t compriÃ'•Ð µÃ'• dialÐ µctÃ'• Ã'•pokÐ µn Ð µaÃ'•t of a linÐ µ running from Ð…alum in thÐ µ north to roughly thÐ µ Ð…udan-Chad bordÐ µr in thÐ µ Ã'•outh; thÐ µ Ã'•Ð µcond compriÃ'•Ð µÃ'• thÐ µ Maghribi dialÐ µctÃ'• Ã'•po ­kÐ µn to thÐ µ wÐ µÃ'•t of thiÃ'• linÐ µ. ThÐ µ main phonological fÐ µaturÐ µÃ'• which diÃ'•tinguiÃ'•h thÐ µ wÐ µÃ'•tÐ µrn dialÐ µct group from thÐ µ Ð µaÃ'•tÐ µrn includÐ µ thÐ µ typical rÐ µduction of thÐ µ triangu ­lar Ã'•yÃ'•tÐ µm of Ã' •hort vowÐ µlÃ'•, a, i, u, which iÃ'• found in Ð µaÃ'•tÐ µrn dialÐ µctÃ'•, to a two-vowÐ µl Ã'•yÃ'•tÐ µm (FiÃ'•chÐ µr and JaÃ'•trow 1980: 33); and a contraÃ'•t bÐ µtwÐ µÃ µn an iambic word ­Ã'•trÐ µÃ'•Ã'• Ã'•yÃ'•tÐ µm in thÐ µ wÐ µÃ'•tÐ µrn group and a trochaic word-Ã'•trÐ µÃ'•Ã'• Ã'•yÃ'•tÐ µm in thÐ µ Ð µaÃ'•tÐ µrn group. ThuÃ'•, a word Ã'•uch aÃ'• katab hÐ µ wrotÐ µ will bÐ µ typically Ã'•trÐ µÃ'•Ã'•Ð µd aÃ'• katab in wÐ µÃ'•tÐ µrn dialÐ µctÃ'•, but aÃ'• katab in Ð µaÃ'•tÐ µrn dialÐ µctÃ'•. In wÐ µÃ'•tÐ µrn dialÐ µctÃ'•, thÐ µ com ­bination of an iambic Ã'•trÐ µÃ'•Ã'• Ã'•yÃ'•tÐ µm togÐ µthÐ µr with a tÐ µndÐ µncy to dÐ µlÐ µtÐ µ unÃ'•trÐ µÃ'•Ã'•Ð µd vowÐ µlÃ'• lÐ µadÃ'• to word-initial conÃ'•onant cluÃ'•tÐ µrÃ'• which arÐ µ not typically attÐ µÃ'•tÐ µd in Ð µaÃ'•tÐ µrn dialÐ µctÃ'•: in thÐ µ Moroccan Arabic dialÐ µct o f Lmnabha, Ã'•min fat (ЕlmÐ µd ­laoui 1995: 139) iÃ'• thÐ µ cognatÐ µ ofCairÐ µnÐ µ Ã'•imin; and thÐ µ word for outÃ'•idÐ µ iÃ'• rÐ µal ­izÐ µd aÃ'• brra in Lmnabha (ЕlmÐ µdlaoui 1995: 157), but aÃ'• barra in CairÐ µnÐ µ. DialÐ µctÃ'• of a languagÐ µ which haÃ'• Ã'•pÐ µakÐ µrÃ'• aÃ'• Ð µthnically and Ã'•ocially divÐ µrÃ'•Ð µ aÃ'• Arabic, howÐ µvÐ µr, cannot bÐ µ dividÐ µd in purÐ µly gÐ µographic tÐ µrmÃ'•. DialÐ µctÃ'• arÐ µ alÃ'•o commonly diÃ'•tinguiÃ'•hÐ µd along a bÐ µdouin-urban axiÃ'•: bÐ µdouin dialÐ µctÃ'• tÐ µnd to bÐ µ morÐ µ conÃ'•Ð µrvativÐ µ and homogÐ µnouÃ'•, whilÐ µ urban dialÐ µctÃ'• Ã'•how morÐ µ Ð µvolu ­tivÐ µ tÐ µndÐ µnciÐ µÃ'• and uÃ'•ually Ð µxhibit fairly clÐ µar intra-dialÐ µctal variation baÃ'•Ð µd on agÐ µ, gÐ µndÐ µr, Ã'•ocial claÃ'•Ã'•, and rÐ µligion. Typical BÐ µdouin fÐ µaturÐ µÃ'• includÐ µ thÐ µ voicÐ µd rÐ µflÐ µx of ClaÃ'•Ã'•ical Arabic qd], prÐ µÃ'•Ð µrvation of thÐ µ ClaÃ'•Ã'•ical Arabic intÐ µrdÐ µntalÃ'•, and a gÐ µndÐ µr diÃ'•tinction in thÐ µ Ã'•Ð µcond and third pÐ µrÃ'•onÃ'• plural of thÐ µ vÐ µrb, pro ­nounÃ'•, and pr onoun Ã'•uffixÐ µÃ'• (VÐ µrÃ'•tÐ µÃ µgh 1997: 144). DiÃ'•tinctionÃ'• bÐ µtwÐ µÃ µn bÐ µdouin and urban dialÐ µctÃ'• appÐ µar to bÐ µ lÐ µÃ'•Ã'• markÐ µd in thÐ µ ЕaÃ'•t, howÐ µvÐ µr, particularly in thÐ µ PÐ µninÃ'•ula, than thÐ µy arÐ µ in North Africa (FiÃ'•chÐ µr and JaÃ'•trow 1980: 24). Diglossia is a term which is usually applied to the sociolinguistic situation in much of the Arabic speaking world. In those countries, there are two forms of the same language (Arabic), the high and low variety. The high form is called fusha classical or modern standard Arabic which is normally used in formal situations, such as writing, political speeches and university lectures. The low form which is referred to dialects of Arab communities is used in informal situations, such as conversations, shopping and social rituals. The Arabic language represents a continuum. At one end of this continuum is the modern standard Arabic, and at the other lies the low form which represents the various dialects of the Arab communities. These two ends, in fact are only ideal types, i.e. pure standard or pure colloquial, in fact do not exist. In other words, even in the most pure standard text, we may find some colloquial terms and vice versa (Hary, 1996:72). A persons place on this continuum would be somewhere between the two forms. In other words, where a given persons speech sits on this continuum depends on a lot of factors including speaker, conversation topic and setting. For example, how well the two speakers know each other and the formality of the speech as when giving university lectures and sermons. Furthermore, in Arabic communities, classical Arabic fusha is deemed as the language of the Koran and is still the current written form of the language. At the beginning of the Islamic period, only two sources of literary Arabic were available; the Koran and the pre-Islamic poems al-shear al-jaheli. The Koran described itself arabiyyan ‘Arabic when it was revealed. This seems clear from the following verse of the Koran Q 43/2-3 which says; ( wa-l-kitabi: l-mubini: inna ga alnahu quraanan arabiyyan la allakum ta qiluna) ‘By the clear book: we have made it an Arabic recitation in order that you may understand. According to Versteegh ( 2001:53), the Koran and the pre-Islamic poems play a crucial role in the ‘standardization and development of the Arabic language. Colloquial Arabic ammyya or darja as it is called in North Africa, on the other hand, exists as the vernacular varieties of the major Arabic speaking communities. It is very often used, especially in daily spoken form. In some of the Arab contexts, for example, if somebody uses standard Arabic in the street, he might be laughed at since using MSA in such domains seems odd. Cown (1968) believes that ‘Arabs are native speakers of NSA [non-standard Arabic] and not MSA [modern standard Arabic] (Mahmoud, 2000:129). In other words, modern standard Arabic has no native speakers. Moreover, colloquial Arabic is subject to regional variation, not only between different countries, but also within regions in the same country as we shall see in the Libyan context in the same country. 5.2 Origins of Arabic Diglossia A number of theories have been introduced by researchers and scholars to interpret the origins of the Arabic diglossia. These theories might be classified into the following three groups; theories which assume the existence of a Koine, those which recommend an explanation of language drift and those which use the hypothesis of Creolization/Pidginization. 5.2.1 Koine The Koine hypothesis is the prevalent theory in terms of the origins of the Arabic diglossia. Koine is a term ‘derived from Greek denoting a lingua franca that develops out of a mixture of languages or dialects (Bishop, 1998:4). In an article entitled The Arabic Koinz, Ferguson assumed that thecommon source of all the Arabic dialects existing outside the Arabian Peninsula was as a result of a variety spoken in the military camps during the middle of the seventh century at the time of the Islamic expansion, and this variety was different from the language of the Koran. In other words, these dialects are not corrupt form, however, they have had a separate existence from the classical language since they have existed outside the Arabic peninsula (Freeman, 1996: 1-2). Ferguson assumes that the majority of the Arabic modern dialects are derived from a koine which existed side by side with the standard/classical Arabic and was not based on any particular regional area. He built his argument on fourteen features, which he thought differ from standard and colloquial Arabic. According to Ferguson, then, diglossia started as a result of the Koine and considered to be the basis of Modern colloquial Arabic (Bishop,1998:4). 5.2.2 Language drift This theory attributes the difference between modern standard Arabic and colloquial Arabic to language drift, natural Semitic change tendencies (as Arabic is one of the Semitic languages) and basic effects among others. Those who recommend these theories feel that the Koine hypothesis is unnecessary and unjustified by the evidence available. However, both sides, those who advocate these theories and the Koine theory agree that language changes likely occur in towns rather than in the dialects of the Bedouin tribes who live in the Arabian deserts because the Bedouin dialects remained unchanged for several centuries after the arrival of Islam. Secondly, they agree that there was no language center in the Arab world which caused the changes seen as a result of its influence. Finally, both sides agree that the Islamic conquests were behind precipitating the rise of the colloquial Arabic dialects. Blau (1988, cited in Bishop, 1998:5), on the other hand, claims that Fergusons argument in terms of the Koine is unconvincing. He argues that the reverse of his argument was correct, i.e. the Koine itself was resulted from the changes of the Arabic dialects, and not as Ferguson said that the Koine was the origin of the modern Arabic dialects (Kaye, 1998:5). 5.2.3 Pidginization/Creolization Before discussing this theory, I would like to give a brief definition of Pidginization and Creolization. According to Richards et al (1992:277), Pidgin means a ‘language which develops as a contact language when groups of people who speak different languages try to communicate with one another on a regular basis. In other words, when speakers of one language, for example, engage in trade with speakers of another, and neither knows the others language, the language used between them is called Pidgin. Creole on the other hand, arises when a pidgin language becomes the native language of a new generation of children as a result of this contact. Versteegh (1984, cited in Bishop, 1998:5) argues that the two theories mentioned above regarding the development of Arabic diglossia are either a focus on an explanation of the similarities or the differences of the dialects without treating the other side. In his estimation, Versteegh argues that an affective theory should deal with both sides of the Arabic dialects. By this hypothesis, Versteegh dealt with both the similarities and the differences between the modern dialects of Arabic. To prove his hypothesis, he gave an example of mixed marriages between Muslim Arab men and non-Arab women of the conquered peoples during the Islamic conquest. This marriage, he said would likely have led to communication using a pidginized form of Arabic and the children who would be delivered as a result of this marriage would have probably spoken a creolised Arabic. 6.0 Classical/modern standard Arabic and colloquial Arabic Before starting to explain different uses of modern standard and colloquial Arabic, I would like to illustrate the difference between classical and modern standard Arabic. Classical Arabic is considered to be the formal version that was used in the Al-Hijaz region (currently Saudi Arabia) 1500 years ago. The Koran was revealed in classical Arabic, which is the main reason why the Arabic language has preserved its purity throughout centuries and is considered an important part of the Arabic culture. Modern standard Arabic (MSA), on the other hand, is an equivalent to the classical Arabic and nowadays it is used as the official language of the Arab states. Ferguson defined MSA as ‘the Arabs ATTEMPT to speak classical Arabic (Kaye, 1972:46; emphasis in the original). The main difference between modern standard Arabic and classical Arabic lies in the vocabulary, i.e. MSA reflects the needs of contemporary expression, whereas Classical Arabic reflects the needs of older styles. A lot of lexical terms of classical standard Arabic, for instance, have become obsolete these days, and they are substituted by new modern words. For example, in classical standard Arabic kittab was used for the word ‘letter,but in modern Arabic, ressala is used instead and rassol ‘messenger instead of mabooth. However, Modern Standard Arabic is grammatically simpler than classical and includes numerous words unknown to the Quran, such as hasib aali ‘computer and shabaket almalomaat â €˜internet. The two varieties, standard and colloquial Arabic divide among themselves the domains of speaking and writing, formal and informal and sometimes both varieties are used side by side in only one domain. The following discussion will attempt to show where these two varieties can be found in the Arabic community. On Arabic television and radio, the news is always presented in modern standard Arabic. This might be because it is watched and listened to by different native speakers of different Arab regions. On some programmes, for instance, the speakers usually start from a written text in standard Arabic, but in reading it they sometimes let themselves be influenced by the target group. In other words, programmes which are presented for special categories of community, for instance housewives, farmers and fishermen, the structure of the standard Arabic text remains unchanged, but at regular pauses colloquial markers and words are inserted. Particles and words such as bita ‘of illi ‘that is are introduced to give a signal to the audience the intention of the speaker, which is according to Versteegs (2001:195) to ‘create an atmosphere of intimacy and warmth. In other words, speakers tend to use some colloquial particles or words to simplify the discussion and to be more close t o the group concerned. Some of the Arab leaders, for example, use colloquial Arabic when they speak to their peoples, to communicate better with them, as they all understand their colloquial Arabic, whereas they use standard Arabic when they make speeches in other Arab countries since the colloquial Arabic in those countries are different from theirs. All books and newspapers in Arabic states are written in standard Arabic, apart from those little cases where colloquial Arabic is rather used, for instance cartoons in newspapers or dialogues of illiterate characters in some novels are sometimes written in colloquial language. Although most literary works are written in standard, they regulary contain colloquialisms. This is also true in movie scripts such as dialogues and theatre plays, even when they are written in standard, they are often staged in dialect. This is perhaps because written works are only read and seen by literate people, who have studied standard Arabic at school (Versteegs, 2001). Plays, songs, folk poetry and popular proverbs are usually performed and written in colloquial Arabic. Some expressions in Arabic, however, although classical, are used both in classical and colloquial domains. For example: tusbihuuna alaa khayr (I hope you wake up in the morning [only used at night] and everything is fine). baaraka allaahu fiika (may Allah [God] bless you): used formally and informally instead of thank you or thank you so much. The titles tabib and tabiibah refer to medical doctors, but native Arabic speakers rarely use these standard forms in their colloquial speech. Instead, they prefer to use the terms alduktor (referring to an M.D or a PhD) or alhakim, which is equivalent to alduktor (referring only to an M.D.) because they sound more prestigious, especially the former form. Lessons and lectures in schools and universities, on the other hand, are mostly introduced in standard Arabic within Arab states. In other words, introducing lessons and lectures in standard Arabic seems to be compulsory in most of the Arab countries. Tutorial discussions, on the other hand, are introduced in both colloquial and standard Arabic. Colloquial Arabic is the language of family and home and is widely used in Arabic communities because it is the mother tongue of all Arab native speakers. When the child starts learning language from his/her parents, almost all lexical and phonological terms are colloquial Arabic. 7.0 Recent studies on diglossia in Arabic contexts When Ferguson introduced his paper on diglossia in 1959, he concluded with ‘an appeal for further study of [diglossic] phenomenon and related ones (Ferguson, 1959:249). Consequently, linguists and scholars have made various efforts and studies on this phenomenon. In the following, I will examine some of those arguments and how they contrast with Fergusons original study. 7.1 Badawis study of Diglossia In an attempt to show how the linguistic system of modern standard Arabic works, the Egyptian linguist, Badawi (1973) has presented his study on the sociolinguistic situation in Egypt (applies on most of the Arabic contexts), in which he rejects Fergusons description of diglossia which says that H and L varieties are in complementary distribution in the Arab world and other communities (Versteegh, 2001). In contrast with Fergusons model and in attempt to subdivide the continuum between the two extremes of standard Arabic and colloquial, Badawi has determined the following five levels model as follows: 1. fusha at-turrat ‘classical Arabic only used in Quranic recitation 2. fusha al-asr ‘Modern standard Arabic the standard form of the language used in writing and sometimes on formal occasions in speaking 3. ammiyyat al-mutaqqafin ‘colloquial of the intellectuals the formal spoken language of educated people 4. ammiyyat al-mutanawwirin ‘colloquial of the literate the informal spoken language of educated people 5. ammiyyat al-ummiyyin ‘colloquial of the illiterate the language in which the illiterate talk (Versteegh, 2001:191) It is noticed from the above that every level represents a different class of people in different domains. For example, the consonant /ÃŽËœ/as in thalatha ‘three is considered classical Arabic, /t/ as in talata ‘three is considered colloquial, whereas /s/ as in salasa (this level is not used in all Arabic contexts) is used between the two extremes (Hary, 1996:7). To show how the linguistic system of modern Arabic works, Badawi offered a diagram (in the appendix) in which it seems clear that every level is a mixture of all the other levels, i.e. every level contains fush a ‘classical, ammiyya or darja ‘colloquial and dakhiil ‘foreign elements. In other words, even the speech of the illiterate contains elements of the high variety (fusha) or modern standard Arabic ( fusha al- asr), and standard Arabic, on the other hand, contains lexis, phonology and morphology of the colloquial of the illiterate (Freeman, 1996:4). In his study, Badawi proved that there is a continuum between standard and colloquial Arabic, and claimed that there is no duality in the Arab world, but continued levels of language. Then, he looked at the colloquial Arabic not as corrupt or different and independent from the standard Arabic, but as one of these levels suggested in his new model of Arabic language. However, although I agree with Badawis new model of the Arabic language, I think a point has not been taken into his account while studying this phenomenon, i.e. the colloquial level of illiterate (those who do not know standard Arabic at all) has recently been developed as a result of the development of radio and t

Polite Society Gone with the Wind in A Good Man is Hard to Find :: A Good Man is Hard to Find

Polite Society Gone with the Wind in A Good Man is Hard to Find A Good Man is Hard to Find is consistent with Mary Flannery O'Connor's view that contemporary society was drastically changing for the worse. O'Connor's obvious displeasure with society at the time has often been attributed to her Catholic religion, her studies in the social science field, and the fact that the celebrated lifestyles of the elite southern whites were "Gone with the Wind." Evidence of society's "demise" is woven into the story, and presented through an interesting generation gap. The grandmother is representative of godliness and Christianity which O'Connor apparently believed to be more prevalent in the "glamorous" Old South: The old woman settled herself comfortably, removing her white cotton gloves and putting them up with her purse on the shelf in front of the back window. The children's mother still had on slacks and still had her head tied up in a green kerchief but the grandmother had on a navy blue straw sailor hat with a bunch of white violets on the brim and a navy blue dress with a small white dot in the print. Her collar and cuffs were white organdy trimmed with lace, and at her neckline she had pinned a purple spray of cloth violets containing a sachet. In case of an accident, anyone seeing her dead on the highway would know at once she was a lady. (2148) The parents pay little attention to the grandmother and when they do, they are often quite rude. The unruly children are representative of the breakdown of respect, and discipline, and are consequently a forecast of future generations. The Misfit represents evil. At one point the Misfit likens himself to Christ, in that they both were punished for crimes they did not commit. Christ accepted death for the sins of all people, however, and not only did the Misfit not do that, but he also killed other innocent people. Near the end of the ordeal, the grandmother recognizes the shirt the Misfit has put on as her son's shirt.

Golding’s modern fable “Lord of the Flies” Essay

What gave Golding the inspiration to write the great novel, Lord of the Flies? He wrote the ‘Lord of the flies’ novel soon after the war, which was later published in 1954. So it was soon after the war when he wrote it. So was this where his inspiration came from for the novel. Did seeing children suffering give him ideas? Did the Hitler give him inspiration for jack and Churchill for Ralph? Did the war lead him to write the book at all? We don’t know now, and probably never will do! But we can guess. We can try and work out what made him write this incredible tale of the children gone savages who fight for survival on the island. The children where being evacuated from the war when they crashed. Ralph was the first character to be introduced. He came out the story to be the strong one. The leader who only wanted the best to come of things and to end it all and get home, just like Winston Churchill wanted to win the war. Jack on the other side, turned out to be more evil, more sadistic and much more savage then Ralph. He was being compared to Hitler or Mussolini. The main evil powers in the Second World War. The conch represents the democracy in the play. It could well be related to the democracy between countries, the vote, the councils and the League of Nations. Golding could well of thought of a symbol that was needed to represent this on the island. The only thing stopping them from tearing each other imp from limp. Just like the rest of the world in the war. The conch was there for peace on the island, and the councils were there to stop the world from destroying one another completely. The fire could well represent a piece of the war of mass destruction. The blitz, for example. It destroyed half of London, like the fire destroyed half the island. Londoner’s were getting scared the war would never end, after something so bad happened. Golding incorporated this by using it like the boys on the island, seeing this destruction made them realise, this may never end, and they may all die soon. Once they had been there a little while. They began to turn into savages. Ralph knew this wasn’t going to end soon. They knew things were going to happen, friends and enemies would be made and it would be along time till it ends. This was the case of the war. Hitler and Churchill knew it was a long-term war and they could be there for years. Golding probably noticed during the war, that people tried to be brave. But beneath the skin, they are truly scared. The people who went off to war, had to be brave, to show those they are confident, that they want to win, to set an example for the people at home and the children. Golding sees this, and puts this into his characters. Everyone on the island was scared, Especially the littluns. Ralph and Jack have to be strong. They are scared, but need to put on a brave face for the sake of everyone. People will breakdown without stronger people to support them like Ralph and jack and the bigguns. Golding has again, related his characters to the human beings that took part in the war. He has compared them, and they basically have the same feelings, just shown in different ways and surroundings. Golding also relates the ending to the war. How d-day is the same as the last bit of the Book. However, Ralph was now related to Hitler and Jack, Churchill. This is because, Jack is winning, and he almost has Ralph, almost has him stuck and almost has the end of Ralph. He has him cornered, when it ends. Just before Ralph is about to be killed it all over. The ordeal they have gone through has ended in 5 minutes. Just like, the last day of the war, When Germany is close to loosing, they surrender, and it’s all over. I think the early 20th century was a good source for Golding’s book, ‘Lord of the Flies’. The war was the main thing to happen in the years of Golding writing the book. He saw things first hand and wrote down this in a story, which he changed to make a story, but used the same roots as the war stories. Golding book was a fabulous story of boys, who are stranded, but he hides the fact hat it’s related to the war well. You don’t really notice it, but looking beneath the skin of the book, you actually realise the strong resemblance it has with the war.

Age of Exploration- Spain, Portugal, England Research Paper Example

Age of Exploration Age of Exploration- Spain, Portugal, England Paper Age of Exploration- Spain, Portugal, England Paper Q 6 Compare and contrast the early colonial empires of Portugal, Spain, and England in terms of motives, economic foundations, and relations with Africans and Indians. What factors explain the similarities and differences in the two ventures? The Age of Exploration was a period from the early 1600’s to the 1700’s during which Europeans explored the world, searching for trade partners and desirable goods. During this time, the three most influential European nations were Portugal, Spain, and England. If fingers had to be pointed at which country started the Age of Exploration, it would be Portugal, because if it had not been for the carrack and then the caravel, Atlantic trade would not have been started. However, the Spanish had the first global empires, rivaling the English’s largest empire. Each country had different motives for acquiring these colonies, different economic backgrounds, and different relations with the Africans and Indians. They also went about creating relations with the Africans and Indians in different ways. However, despite these differences, the same basic goal was accomplished, to discover new trade. The first English attempt at colonization was in Newfoundland. This collapsed when the promoter died at sea. However, this was only the start of English exploration and colonization. As the seventeenth century began, the population of England was skyrocketing to about 4 million and England’s economy was in ruins. Thousands of farmers were kicked off their farms and were unemployed. It was these unemployed people that would sail to the Americas. Years later, in 1606 Englishmen set sail on a ship headed towards Virginia. The people received a charter from King James I of England. The attraction that drew men was gold with a desire to find a new passage through America to the Indies. Later that year, the settlers from the Virginia Bay Company were attacked by Indians. This forced them to move the location of their colony up the James River. Their new location was called Jamestown. Two years later, an Englishmen was captured by local Indians and was almost executed, had he not been saved by a woman Indian. However, it was later found out hat the Indians never intended on killing him, but they wanted to prove to the English their power and desire for peaceful relations. Two years after that, the English had decided to use aggressive military action against the Indians. Relations remained tense between the Indians and English, especially when the English raided their food supply. To the English, the Indians had no value or valuable commodities, so they could be â€Å"disposed† without harm to the colony. When colonizing, the English did not think of anybody but themselves. All they wanted to do was get rid of the unemployed in their own country, send them off to acquire a system of mercantilism (a colony for the sole purpose of trade with the mother country) with spices, gold and silver, and would do this at any cost (i. e. murder of Indians and stranding sick Englishmen). Portugal invented two devices that were vital for the Age of Exploration to be made possible, the carrack and the caravel. The Portuguese hoped that with the use of these ships and further exploration, they would be pulled out of their current recession. The current recession proposed the problem of finding people to sponsor these expeditions. However, spices and silk were in such a high demand that people and companies came forth to sponsor. The first wave of expeditions by Portugal were launched by Prince Henry, or Henry the Navigator. His primary project was off the coast of West Africa where established trade routes brought slaves and gold. Over time the Portuguese state proved to be too small and did not have efficient funds to keep up the colonies and empire. They could not compete with larger nations and therefore was not a long-term successful colonizer of the New World. Spanish Conquistadors are known for rapidly colonizing the Americas at a pace that could not be rivaled by another nation. The purpose of these colonies was to spread the word of G-d to other parts of the world and to attain gold. While achieving this, the Spanish Conquistadors completely destroyed the culture of the native people. The Spanish were said to have hit so hard with their culture and everything they had, that no trace of what was previously there stood. When the Spanish arrived in the Incan empire, the European disease of smallpox had wiped out mass amounts of Incas, including the emperor, inciting a civil war. The Spanish used the Indians that were left, putting them to work in mines and had traded gold and silver with them. Even some of the Spanish Conquistadors described their conquest as â€Å"pure destruction†. When people currently learn about the Age of Exploration, it is looked at as a positive thing. However, that is because our country sprouted as a result of it. But, many disastrous things occurred as a result of it too. In the Americas, the Indian civilizations were destroyed and used for their resources and sometimes raided for food. In Africa, explorers worked with the Africans to catch slaves and mine for gold. However, this would not last, as eventually the greedy Europeans would take over the slave trade in Africa putting Africans out of work. Regardless of what the Europeans did to the people there before them, they all had the same goals in mind and a similar economic background. They were all in search of spices, gold, and permanent trading partners and all of Europe was in recession. Some countries were able to pull out of that recession, unlike Portugal who was too small to sustain their colonies through the recession. In total, the countries discovered new lands, established new trade lines, and without the Age of Exploration, the world would not be remotely similar to how it is today.