Student Athletes

Nicholas Cubillas Jillian Swisher English102- #37 November 12th, 2012 Keeping College Sports In Line Should college athletes really be labeled as ‘employees’ eligible to be paid by the universities they attend? Or should the laws enacted by the National College Athletic Association (NCAA) remain unchanged leaving players unpaid? Whether or not college athletes should be paid has always been a relevant and controversial topic in the sports world. As a student at a Division 1 sports school and an avid college sports fan this topic interests me.Students need to realize that paying of college athletes would possibly affect the budgets of their schools, possibly taking away academic money towards athletics, and college sports fans also need to realize that the whole integrity of college sports is at stake if athletes begin to get paid. These athletes should realize they are students at their respective universities just as much as they are athletes, and should be satisfied wi th the many benefits they gain from joining Division 1 sports teams.College athletes should remain unpaid because they already reap great benefits from their schools like scholarships, it would be difficult to enact a fair way to pay off all athletes leading to corruption in the system, and some athletic programs do not even generate enough revenue to pay off athletes. College athletes do work hard in their respective sports; there is no doubt about that, which is why some believe they should be a put on a salary.Others believe the schools should not be able to pay students athletes, for a variety of reasons. Those who do side with the debate of paying college athletes believe that playing a sport at a Division 1 school is a full-time job, and college athletes should be compensated for the work they put in. They agree that Division 1 schools as well as the NCAA as a whole generate enough revenue that would allow student athletes to be paid. This money would be able to help students with some basic college expenses (Steve Spurrier Wants Players Paid).The other side of the debate, however, pushes that college athletes reap so many benefits already, the biggest one being a virtually free education, and it would not be fair to pay them. Those advocating for not paying college athletes believe they already get enough compensation from their universities, and they should be content with that. The paying of college athletes, however, brings about many problems like the distribution of money between players, what sports teams should be paid and how much, and the ability of some teams to gather enough revenue to pay their athletes.Both sides bring about their respective arguments, which strongly oppose of the others side’s views, which is why the paying of college athletes is an important issue to debate in the sports world. Ever since I was young I have always been an avid sports fan, which is why I have a strong stance on this issue. My father loved college fo otball, and I grew up watching it with him. I also go to a school where most of the athletic programs are Division 1, and these programs are likely to be effected if college athletes began getting paid.Personally, I would hate to watch college athletes become all about the money, which in my opinion, would most likely happen if college athletes were to get paid. Recruits would purely base their choice of school on how much they would be getting paid, not whether they want to play there or if they see themselves doing well with that program. That isn’t how college athletics should be, that’s what the NFL is for. Teams with the most revenue would get the best recruits, leading to them becoming powerhouse teams solely because their program generates large revenue than others.As a lifelong college sports fan, I would hate to see what I grew up watching become a money centered, corrupt sport that focuses more on revenue than the actual game itself. College athletes reap man y benefits that do not even compare to other students at the university. They are given scholarships, some to prestigious and expensive schools, and basically are getting a free education. These athletes need to realize they are students just as much as they are athletes, and that they were given the opportunity to perform well in their sports and get a free education as well.These students should in no means be labeled as employees under federal law, and the NCAA agrees with this. The Vice President of Legal Affairs for the NCAA, Donald Remy, addressed the issue in saying, â€Å"The NCAA, in accordance with courts that have addressed the issue, believes that student-athletes are not employees, under the law, and that they should not be treated as employees either by the law or by the schools they attend. † (Cooper).On the other side of the debate many student athletes believe they should be getting paid for their contributions beyond just the benefits they obtain like their free education, free apparel, and inside connections. In the article â€Å"Should College Athletes Be Paid? † former NCAA basketball player Jalen Rose states, â€Å"Collegiate athletes should be paid a stipend of $2,000 per semester† (48). Players of course advocate for them being paid, but are greedy in the fact that they do not realize that the benefits they obtain sum up to a large amount of money and are beneficial to them.These athletes have the opportunity to get a free education, gain national televised attention for their sports talent, possibly attend a bowl game visiting new stadiums and getting apparel for free, as well as being able to build connections in the sports world which they can use when they leave college. These student athletes need to open their eyes and realize that their education is just as important as the sport they play, and with the many benefits given to student athletes, that they can succeed and leave college with a good education allo wing them to get good jobs if they do not make it to the professional level.For these reasons college athletes should be content with and appreciate the free benefits they are getting from their universities. If college athletes were to be paid a salary, where would that money come from? In the survey taken by Schneider he found that, â€Å"If the NCAA were to allow payment, college students' most frequently believed the additional money should come from the athletics department (56%) and additional revenue generating contracts such a shoe and television contracts† (Schneider).It is a common misconception, however, by those who think student athletes should get paid that all Division 1 teams generate large revenues. In fact, an article published by NBC sports stated, â€Å"A recent NCAA report done by professor Dan Fulks of Transylvania University in Kentucky shows that only 14 of the 120 FBS schools profited from campus athletics during the 2009 fiscal year† (NCAA rep ort shows many college programs in the red). How will the other 106 teams that did not profit from campus athletics pay off their student athletes?It would not be fair for only profitable teams to pay their players and exclude the teams that lost money for their programs in a given year. As for the distribution amongst Division 1 teams the NCAA states, â€Å"Some of the distribution is earmarked for particular uses, such as funds that directly support academics† (Where Does the Money Go? ). This means that the schools that generate low revenues in their athletic programs would have to use the little money they do have to pay athletes, instead of putting forth academic improvements on the school.Is it really worth it to pay college athletes at the cost of taking away money from universities academic programs? Those who advocate for the paying of student athletes need to realize that from an economic standpoint, it does not make sense to pay these athletes. Another issue arisin g from the paying of college athletes is whether or not an equal amount of payment from program to program is fair for athletes.Andrew Geisler, a columnist, states that the first issue in paying college athletes is that, â€Å"it is inherently unfair to pay certain athletes and members of teams more than others† (Why paying college athletes is a bad idea). This view proposes that if college athletes were to be paid, they would all have to be paid fairly with the same amount of money. But would only the profitable programs like football and basketball pay off their athletes? Or would every Division 1 program at the school, like hockey and soccer, have to pay of their athletes?With this comes another issue, the corruption of the NCAA system that would occur if college athletes were to get paid. Since it would be unfair to pay one team in the same sports Division and not the other, or pay the athletes on a low budget team much less than those on a profitable team, if college ath letes were to get paid it would be based on the schools revenue. This would be unfair for other Division 1 schools because only profitable schools would pick up good recruits, and these athletic programs would be able to pay large sums of money for star players.This would make the NCAA corrupt and all about money, and college sports should not be like that. In Schneider’s investigation, â€Å"Examination of the results found that the primary reason advanced by students for supporting payment of athletes was that cheating, in the form of illegal payments, would decline† (Schneider). Contrary to this belief, however, allowing payment of student athletes will actually make matters worse and illegal payment will still happen regardless. Those ho believe the paying of college athletes would decrease corruption do not realize that this would allow college coaches to bargain with star recruits about money and it would become a battle of which team puts up the most money. Thes e coaches may even throw in some other benefits on top of the money to make them join the team, and if paying college athletes were legal, it would be easier for these coaches to sneak in other offers for them to join the team. Illegal payment will happen regardless, but if student athletes were to get paid it would be much easier for coaches to sneak under the radar in giving their athletes special benefits.College athletes really need to take a deeper look into all of the aspects before they believe they should be compensated. Not all college programs have the funds to be paying their athletes, and if multiple teams in the Division 1 programs are unable to pay their athletes, than all teams in that Division should be unable as well. College athletes gain a free education through scholarships along with many other benefits that will help them in the future. Paying off these athletes would ruin the game and make the sport all about money.The NCAA should maintain the same rules and c ontinue to not pay athletes, because if they do, college sports will never be the same again. Works Cited Aschoff, Edward. â€Å"Steve Spurrier Wants Players Paid. † ESPN. 01 2012: n. page. Web. 6 Dec. 2012. Cooper, Kenneth J. â€Å"Should College Athletes Be Paid To Play?. † Diverse: Issues In Higher Education 28. 10 (2011): 12-13. ERIC. Web. 24 Oct. 2012 Geisler, Andrew. â€Å"Why paying college athletes is a bad idea. † miamistudent. net. The Miami Student, 20 2011.Web. 11 Nov 2012. â€Å"NCAA report shows many college programs in the red. † nbcsports. com. NBC, 25 Aug. 2010. Web. 11 Nov 2012. Rose, Jalen. â€Å"Should College Athletes Be Paid?. † Jet 119. 11 (2011): 48. MasterFILE Premier. Web. 11 Nov. 2012. Schneider, R. G. â€Å"Payment Of College Athletes: Student-Athletes' And Administrators' Perceptions. † International Sports Journal 4. 2 (2000): 44-55. SPORTDiscus with Full Text. Web. 25 Oct. 2012. â€Å"Where Does the Money Go?. † NCAA. org. NCAA, 08 2008. Web. 11 Nov 2012.

College Stress Essay

Recently, many first-year college students face to stress. Stress is come from different ways. From The Associated Press and MTV conducted a survey of college students , 74% of students feel stress about grades,67% of students feel stress about financial worries, 54% of students feel stress about their families and 53% of students feel stress about relationships(The Associated Press and MTV,2009). In the following, I would like to discuss what cause, effect and prevention of college stress. The cause of stress is divided to three parts. They are academic performance pressure, financial problem and family. The most important cause is academic performance pressure. In your college life, you have many works, such as attending classes, completing the readings, writing papers, managing projects and preparing for exam. For freshman, it may constitute stress. In addition, some freshman don’t know what happen when starting college, some students don’t know how to distribute their time to finish their project or assignment. Moreover, so many test and exam need to do revision, students who study all through the night because they worry they can’t get a content marks. Also, students who want get higher score and GPA to get scholarship, so the competition for earning top marks can be very fierce (White, 2010). â€Å"College life has become a lot more competitive, it’s much harder to get into schools, it is gotten a lot more expensive. † Say Elizabeth Scott, stress management expert. If you are college graduated, you can find a great job easily that you can have a good future. Owing to society is overvalue to college graduate, because it can prove your educational background to show your boss you can handle this job. Base on upward academic performance reason, it may bring out stress. Secondly, financial problem may comprise stress too. Because you need to pay fee about your room and board also your tuition. The high cost of tuition also adds extra stress to student’s live. Some students cannot pay fully tuition, so they choose borrow student loans. But students loans will make tuition cost be higher, because students need to pay interest, so some students worry that they cannot pay off the tuition after they graduated. Thirdly, family will bring stress to college students. Because many students feel obligate to please their parents, they study the subject maybe is not they feel interest, just satisfied their family. If they fail the subject or not get higher marks, their parents will be disappointed. Also, parents maybe a bit over protect and care student because this is student first time leave home for a long time to study, they live in college dorm. All of this added pressure can put a great weight on the student’s shoulders (Rodriguez, 2008). If you are the first person from your family to attend college, the stress is even greater (Hansen, 2009). Next, I will discuss the prevention of college stress. In fact, we can prevent this stress. First, you must have a good time management, for example create a schedule, be sure you allow yourself the time you need to study and get work done. Also, you may stay connect to home, because being away from home can be difficult at times, so if you feel unhappy or difficulties, you can use phone or email to chat with your family or best friend. Then, do more exercise when your free is one of the reduce college stress’s method, you can try yoga it providing excellent relaxation and total health benefits (Scott, 2009). Also, you can do exercise with your friends, it can keep your relationship and reduce your stress, it is one of social activity. â€Å"The effects of socializing and exercise may be important† says to Alexander S. Strauss, MD, a spokesperson for the American Psychiatric Association and a psychiatrist in private practice in Marlton, NJ. (Strauss, 2013) . Finally, get enough sleep also can reduce stress too, because sleep can replenish your energy to study and keep your mind clearly. Gave enough time to your brain get rest it can reduce stress. Furthermore, it can keep your health. Because insufficient sleep can put you at risk for serious illnesses, such as diabetes, obesity and depression (Forbes, 2010). About finance stress, you must stay away from credit cards, because there are always situations when they will get carried away and they will feel the necessity to pay for the dinner, new clothes or some other non-emergency purchase which will be paid from nowhere else than our credit card limit (Malgi,2009). Also, design a budget plan and hold on to it, don’t buy luxury product. In addition, start thinking and spending rationally, you can use all the discounts available, start buying more carefully and compare the prices, because it can reduce your budget, can save more money. In conclusion, college stress is come from academic performance pressure, financial problem and family. So students should learn how to reduce stress. Too much stress is affect students health. Therefore students can create a schedule to handle your study and rest time. Also, do more exercise will friends is a reduce pressure method. But student get enough sleep also important, because sleep can reduce stress and keep your health. In addition, keep contact to home if you meet difficulty because your family will listen to you. Furthermore, design a budget plan allot to your money and stay away from credit cards to prevent college stress and enjoy college life. Reference Alexander S. Strauss, MD, (September 4, 2013). Exercising with others helps students. Retrieved December 12, 2013 fromhttp://medicalxpress. com/news/2013-09-college-students-stress. html Elizabeth Scott, M. S. (April 20, 2009). College Life – How to reduce stress in college life. Retrieved December 10, 2013 fromhttp://stress. about. com/od/studentstress/ss/college_stress_2. htm J. David Forbes, MD, (March17, 2010) College life: 10 ways to reduce stress Retrieved December 10, 2013 fromhttp://www. everydayhealth. com/college-health/college-life-10-ways-to-reduce-stress. aspx Mary Gormandy White. (2010). Stress causes of college students Retrieved December 11, 2013 fromhttp://stress. lovetoknow. com/Stress_Causes_of_College_Students Misty Rodriguez. (2008). What are the causes of college stress? Retrieved December 12, 2013 fromhttp://www. ehow. com/about_5385329_causes-college-stress. html#ixzz2nHQZDvNR Randall S. Hansen,Ph. D. , (2009). Top college stressors that affect academic performance Retrieved December 12, 2013 fromhttp://www. mycollegesuccessstory. com/academic-success-tools/top-college-s.

Gender politics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Gender politics - Essay Example Early societies used to value and respect physical strength only because it was the characteristics that were necessary for them to survive. Thus the early warrior society underscored physical strength where brawn mattered because it was perceived to be necessary for survival. This emphasis on physical superiority relegated women to domesticated duties that made her look weak and inferior. They were boxed and stereotype as mothers and wives whose use was only limited to attending the home, taking care of children and husbands and not making any significant impact in society. The advent of universal education and along with it is the maturing society has changed this perception and attitude towards women albeit slower. When schools and universities were opened to women, it was found that they are as capable as men. They have also proven that they are more than capable to handle responsibilities beyond the confined of their homes. Slowly, the perception about women transformed especial ly when society no longer put so much emphasis on brawn and physical strength to survive and prosper. And while many women today may still prefer the comfort of their homes, they now have the option to pursue professional endeavors outside of their homes. Today, women can be found in almost any endeavor contributing and making significant impact in our society just like men. ... Had this been the old age, it would have been tantamount to having women as warriors, leaders, artisans and entrepreneurs which used to be unthinkable. Women’s positions in their respective endeavors were not merely given for the sake of accommodation. Women occupy what they are doing now because it had been proven that they could be as effective as men and they can contribute significantly as much as men could do. The proof can be seen in the list of the world’s most powerful people where Angela Merkel, the Chancellor of Germany and considered as the most powerful person in EU is placed at number five (Forbes, 2013). Her case is not isolated. There are other women who also occupied positions of power who are making significant impact not only in their respective countries but also in the world. Amongst are Dilma Rouseff who is now the President of Brazil and Geun-hye Park the President of South Korea. In business and technology, one of the most prominent technology mak er IBM also has a woman as its Chief Executive Officer in the person of Virginia Rometty. The list can go on and this extends to other endeavors as well. The maturing society has discovered that women have distinct strength that is not apparent to men. Old societies found them to be weak but with proper understanding, they were after all as strong as men. For example, women’s predisposition to be emotional was used to perceived as a weakness that they could not be trusted to a position of responsibility because their being â€Å"emotional† would make them easily panic. Experience and study found this not to be true. This higher emotional sensibility is in fact a strength especially in 20th century where people needs

Airflow in Ducts Research Paper Lab Report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Airflow in Ducts Research Paper - Lab Report Example Experiment 2 There is a slight fall in pressure in the approach section and the static pressure is at a minimum about one pipe diameter before the orifice plate. The pressure of the fluid then rises near the face of the orifice. There is then a sudden fall of pressure as the fluid passes through the orifice, but the minimum pressure is not attained until the vena contracta is reached. Beyond the vena contracta, there is a rapid recovery in the static pressure. Owing to friction and dissipation of energy in turbulence, the maximum downstream pressure is always lesser than the upstream pressure. The pressure loss so caused depends upon the differential pressure and increases as the orifice ratio decreases for a given rate of flow. Contents Introduction†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..4 Lit erature review†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.4 Theory†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..6 Methodology†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.7 Results†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.9 Discussion of Results†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.11 Conclusions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦13 References†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦..15 Introduction Experiment 1 The main intention of this experiment is to explore the relationship between fluids and the media through which they travel by exploring the events that occur in the movement of a fluid from one point to another and the characteristics of the fluid itself. These ma y include may include pressure, momentum, viscosity, turbulence, velocity of the fluid and friction. It also considers the impact of foreign bodies and flow equipment along the path of the fluid This experiment will allow students to learn the method of measuring air flow velocity using Pitot tube. The student will understand the working principle of Pitot tube as well as the importance of Bernoulli equation in deriving and calculating the velocity by exploring the developing boundary layer in the entry length of a pipe. Experiment 2 The main objective of this was to determine the vital discharge coefficient for an orifice plate meter installed within an air flow pipe and using the static pressure tapping’s provided, to investigate the pressure distribution along the pipe downstream of the orifice plate. Literature review Essentially fluid dynamics in physics is considered as a sub-discipline of fluid mechanics, and deals with the relations between velocities and acceleration s and forces exerted by or upon fluids in motion. This field encompasses aerodynamics, (the study of air and other gases in motion) and hydrodynamics (the study of liquids in motion). Fluids are either liquids or gases A liquid is a state of matter in which the molecules are relatively but still are on average close enough together to interact continuously with nearest neighbors so as to maintain a relatively fixed volume. In contrast, a gas exists as a state of matte

The Two Parties, Schwazzeneggar and Gay Marriage Essay

The Two Parties, Schwazzeneggar and Gay Marriage - Essay Example As the paper declares federalism is the system whereby certain portfolios are designated under State authority while others such as defense are under the Federal Government’s control. The FEMA has been subject to sharp criticism on account of its bungling and mismanagement of the Katrina disaster which struck on August 29th, highlighted especially in the incident at the Convention Center in New Orleans where 25,000 people remained stranded for four days before they were rescued. This essay explores that the State of California was the first to propose legalizing gay marriage. People were up in arms immediately, with church leaders and fundamentalist Christians opposing the move as being unnatural and demonic, etc. But this act is only the natural extension of the right to freedom which is granted to all America’s citizens under the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States. The right of the individual is being reinforced through the issue of gay marriage, wherein an individual may choose to love whom he wants and marry whomsoever he pleases. The bottom line is the individual freedom of choice. One of the first arguments we hear from those oppose gay marriage is that it is unnatural. To that, we might retort, unnatural from whose point of view? Marriage essentially involves the two people concerned, are they not the best persons to judge whom they want to live with, even if it happens to be a person of the same sex?

Tourism in Canada Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Tourism in Canada - Research Paper Example HISTORY & CHARACTERISTICS - WEM Located at Alberta, Canada the concept of WEM had begun in 1981 prior to which the Ghermezian family who had left New York went to Montreal and then later on settled in Edmonton during 1960’s and 1970’s. Till that time they were involved in their family business of selling Persian rugs. In the late 70’s the idea of Edmonton Mall hatched in their minds and in September 1981 Phase-1 was completed with 1.1 million square feet space facilitating 220 stores. In September 1983, Phase-2 got completed by adding another 1.12 sq ft area accommodating 240 more shops. Phase 3 was completed in 1985 with a total of 5.2 million sq ft occupying 120 acres of land. The property can accommodate over 800 stores, 20,000 vehicles and staffs around 23,000 people. TOURISM HISTORY EDMONTON Edmonton being the capital city of Alberta is known for its scenic river valley and wide varieties of art and music forms. Edmonton has a unique history of architecture which has been portrayed through its Muttart Conservatory – a horticultural spectacle and the Alberta Legislature building. Fort Edmonton Park which is one of the largest living museums in Canada portraying the life, culture and arts of periods in history of Alberta right from the Fur trade Era (1846) , The settlement era (1885) and the Metropolitan Era of 1905. The Park is open each year starting with the beginning of May through the end of Labour Day. Edmonton is also famous for its humid continental climate with extreme seasonal temperatures and is considered as Canada’s one of the sunniest cities. MAJOR ATTRACTIONS Galaxyland – indoor amusement park located in the north side of the mall considered as second largest in the world with 24 rides of attraction. World Waterpark – world’s largest water park covering approximately 4.9 acres of land including wave pools, sky screamer, twisters and many other water sports. Sea life cavern – an ind oor lake with salt water habitat with a sea lion which is placed beneath the main floor of the mall with submarine facility. Ice palace – located in the centre of the mall, this ring is currently used for other sports like hockey and others. Other attractions include a Professor’s WEM Golf Course, Movie house ( originally with 4 of them, currently running only one) , Ed’s recreation centre housed with bowling alleys, music stage, arcade and restaurant, Fantasyland hotel, Petting Zoo, Gold’s Gym, Nightclub ( Whiskey Jack’s and Empire Ballroom) , four radio stations, theme areas like – Bourbon Street featuring clubs and restaurants according to New Orleans style Europa Boulevard consisting of Eclectic shops, Chinatown catering to Asian population. Alberta Aviation Museum, Telus World of Science, Art Gallery of Alberta, and City Arts Centre are some other important range of tourist spots which can accommodate people of all ages. Downtown Edmont on, the neighbourhood of Edmonton town is a commercial centre housed with Arts and Warehouse District, Rice Howard Way – the CBD of Edmonton and Art gallery of Alberta. The Royal Alberta Museum is located at Glenora which is home for Scottish inspired mansions TOURIST ACCOMODATION WEM consists of some of the most famous hotels in house to accommodate tourists from various destinations. Fantasyland Hotel –

Same sex marriage shoul not be allowed Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Same sex marriage shoul not be allowed - Essay Example ive demographic change, it is quite twisted and bizarre to claim that it is the role of married couples to procreate just to keep the stability of the western civilization. Plus, its much exaggerated. The main area in the article that is quite vague is that which speaks about the role of married heterosexual couples in driving and maintaining the western stability by procreating and having more children. The author refers to it as a role for them to carry out and fulfill, and this perception seems quite distorted and untrue. Moreover, it is stated that an acceptance of homosexuality will bring about the decline of western civilization, as the denouncement of it enabled the creation and continuance of this civilization. Although having a wrong perception of the situation, the source does seem credible. It does not only present facts meant to convince and persuade readers to agree with it, but also presents some opposite opinions and fact, such as the one about the MCCs acceptance of gay marriages. The main fallacy presented by the author once again has to do with the role of the heterosexual and married couples in maintaining the stability of the western civilization by their procreating and delivering more children. The author claims that that is what has kept the western civilization throughout the centuries, and this is clearly false and exaggerated. One argument the author makes is that men and women are uniquely biologically compatible, and explains his claim by saying that the human body can identify the intrusion of any unknown or alien matter into it and destroys it. However, the mans semen contains something that enables it not to be destroyed by the womans body, hence bringing forth the possibility of creating a baby. The conclusion of the author in the article is that marriage is a tool which leads to having children, and since the bond of "two become one" exists biologically and historically only between men and women, marriage of homosexual couples

Public Relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Public Relations - Essay Example The importance of public relations is necessary in all kinds of organizations as mainly synergy between organizational goals with employees performance is important. Organizations that spend time and money on public relations are deemed to be more successful in the industry (Travis, 2012). There are two mainstream dimensions of public relations; organizational functions and societal functions. The organizational function basically discusses the relationships of employees and stakeholder within the firm. The establishment of systems and frameworks that would assist in the communication of employees and would allow them to bond vividly in the organizational tasks is organizational functions. The societal functions basically discusses that what organization is giving to the society and how is it responding to them. Use of media or any other channel that would address masses is the societal dimension of public relations (Stacks, 2010). The purpose of this paper is to exemplify about public relations and its components. Present precise picture about the proceedings of public relations and how it is benefiting the organizations. Organizational Function The main purpose of organizational functions of public relations remains to enhance the profitability of the organization. The escalation in conventional practices rampant in the organization may affect business negatively therefore improvements in the organizational cultures is of great virtue and magnitude. It is important that there would be no disputes and quarrels among the employees and everybody would work for the enhancement of organizational goals and objectives. ... The organizational function signifies that paramount revenues can be made if there is internal rest in the organization. Multinational organizations tend to work immensely on the organizational functions of public relations as ensuring all employees are on the same page to work is imperative (Smith, 2012). The functions of public relations in the organizations include better communication channel between employees, engaging them in different activities, launching training and development sessions, improve feedback system and gauge leadership too. In Coca cola international, public relations within the organization are taken very seriously. The management has ensured that employees working in different capacities would maintain good public relations. The maintenance of good public relations within and outside organization brings good name for the company and for the person himself. The organizational function of public relations enhances motivation of employees too, if it is implement ed in delegate manner. The feeling of getting importance by the organization is one of the most inspirational feelings that an employee gets. The maintaining of relationships with external bodies by formulating strategic plans is a part of public relations. For instance sustaining and attaining relations with government institutes (Rainey, 2009). Societal Functions The networking and bonding of the organization publically is the societal functions of public relations. Organizations tend to work vigorously on the societal function of public relations to make good name in the general public. Image of the organization contains sheer value and magnitude which cannot be neglected. People tend to talk and converse about the organizations who have poor relations with the general

Academic Honesty Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Academic Honesty - Essay Example Dishonesty among students can be suppressed to ease implementation of academic policy program me. It is the mandate of one who receives a scholarship to out-source information and seek for guidance in all his undertakings. It is through this that he will get adequate knowledge on the ongoing programmed policies. Honesty adherence reflects one’s commitment to willingly and readily work under any management. Ignorance of the outlaid policies is not in any way a defense mechanism to evade punishment. Lecturers expect students to produce their own assignments and highly avoid duplication of their colleagues’ work (Kirkland, 2009). A well formulated honesty policy depicts a fine image of the institution to the external human race. The school managerial team would come up with several guidelines to emerge to an academic honesty policy statement. It should be strictly adhered to and its violation be considered un- invulnerable. The motive behind the formulation of an academic honesty policy would vastly be to eliminate the negative students’ behaviors in which failure to instantly deal with them lead to adverse results. This eventually portrays a dull picture of the institution to the outsiders. The criteria used in its formulation has to side with both the institution as well as the students. (That is, it favors all the parties assisting in its formulation). This is through ensuring that the organization of an Academic Honesty Committee involves both the students’ council and the institute’s legitimate decipherable team. The standards of this honesty policy should not limit the students to receiving of the assistance they seek. It should subject students to discipline as soon as they violate the set standards. In it, lecturers outline procedures, which the students follow and avoid being dishonest (Choong & Brown, 2007). There are also the measures to be taken and applied as one must face the consequences of his mistake. However, students should anticipate for a better follow up of the policy and ensure they operate within its basics as they look forward to both positive and negative reinforcement. Instructors assertively apply disciplinary measures on the policy breakers and hence help to bring down resistance to the policy. It is worth noting that, the st udents are ready and satisfied when a certain set sequence of dealing with policy violators is administered on them (Choong & Brown, 2007). This is due to the reason that the students’ council is involved in the giving out of ideas in the formulation of this policy. This then makes them not to resist to any action their instructors administer on them. Punishment should be applied to the violators and is done best by reporting to the body chosen to give authorization to the policy. The committee looks forward to a positive adherence of students presumed to be alluding to the so-called policy. The disciplinary measures to be applied must be made known to them and it is the obligation of the council to substantiate the norms required of students. They edify them through various ways such as prevention, confrontation and lastly by reporting. In prevention, there is prior knowledge of the honesty policy, which the lecturers partially give to the students during their admissions to the various campuses. Such information gives the scholar a hint on the institution’s programs (Kirkland, 2009). The three are also ways of evading academic dishonesty. Academic wise, the instructors set assignments, which first oblige an open discussion and later assign them some exceptional responsibilities to partake. When student get involved in

Great Expectations and April Raintree Essay Example for Free

Great Expectations and April Raintree Essay A key theme in Great Expectations and April Raintree is the growth and change of the characters towards their acceptance of social class. This will be proven by Pip not accepting himself in the lower class and April not accepting herself in the native class. Then, there will be proof of how Pip and April attempted to change their social class. Finally the proof of how Pip accepted himself in the social class he was in and how April accepted herself as a Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. Pip did not accept himself in the lower class. He wanted to be in the upper class just like Miss Havisham is. Pip was ashamed of his family and its lower class status. How he wasnt as fortunate as Estella who is a member of the higher class, especially when Estella insulted Pip saying that he is common and how he has coarse hands. He did not have a reason to think about his class status before this, and now that he does, hes disturbed to think he might be just common. This ensured Pip to not accept himself in the lower class. He didnt see any good from it. Pip felt he needed to impress Estella. She was the one who changed Pips perspective in everything. Before meeting Estella, Pip really looked up to Joe, blacksmith or a gentleman, Joes class status makes no difference. It is not until later, when he learns that the world cares about class, thats when Joes status mattered to Pip. After seeing Estellas house and everything she had, he wanted more to look forward to. Pip did not accept his life in the lower class. April is a young woman who has so many issues with her family and the people in her life. April always hid her feelings of shame from her sister Cheryl. April did not accept herself in the native class. Although she did not look native, she was sometimes ashamed that her sister Cheryl looked more native than she did. There were two different groups of children that went to the park. One group was brown-skinned children who looked like Cheryl in most ways. They were dirty-looking and they dressed in real raggedy cloths. I didnt care to play with them at all. The other group was fair-skinned and I envied them especially the girls with blonde hair and blue eyes. They seemed so clean and fresh. Some of them were freckled but they didnt seem to mind. To me, I imagined they were very rich and lived in big, beautiful houses. I wondered what their lives were like and I wished we could play with them. But they didnt care to play with Cheryl and me. They just called us names and bullied us. (Pg. 6) Since April was young, she always wanted to be with the people who were fair-skinned. She didnt like seeing her sister being called names especially, when they had to live with the DeRosiers. Half breeds were all that was said in that house. I heard you half breeds were dirty but now I can see that its true. (Unknown :() At one point, April hated being Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. She felt that being Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis changed her life because when you think of Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis, you think of living off the streets and bums on Main Street. She wasnt any of these and she didnt want to be labelled as them. She was not happy being the person she knew she was. April did not accept her life in the native class. Pip changed his social class by going off to school to become a gentleman. He was lucky to have a benefactor. Ive put away money, only for you to spend. When I was a hired-out shepherd in a solitary hut, not seeing no faces but faces of sheep till I half-forgot wot mens and womens faces wos like, I see yourn. . . . I see you there a many times plain as ever I see you on them misty marshes. Lord strike me dead! I says each time-and I goes out in the open air to say it under the open heavens-but wot, if I gets liberty and money, Ill make that boy a gentleman! And I done it. (pg. 340) Magwitch reveals himself as Pips secret benefactor and how he got all his wealth. This quote changed Pips idealistic view of wealth and social class by forcing him to realize that his own status as a gentleman is owed to the loyalty of a lower-class criminal. Year after year, he moved further away from Joe and his lower class. Pip, dear old chap, life is made of ever so many partings welded together, as I may say, and one mans a blacksmith, and ones a whitesmith, and ones a goldsmith, and ones a coppersmith. Divisions among such must come, and must be met as they come. (pg. 236) Joe comes with a smart and content attitude toward the changes in Pips social class that have driven them apart, and he shows his goodness and loyalty by blaming the division not on Pip but on the unchangeable nature of the human condition. Pip as a gentleman makes a lot of money and as he gets wealthy, he forgets his family and the people that are important to him. In other words, he worries about trying to impress people, rather than being moral. April Raintree changed her identity of a native by marrying a rich white man named Bob Radcliff. She always wanted to be rich and forget about her heritage. She moved away from Winnipeg to Toronto. She tried running away from the life she did not want, to try to live a life she wanted. You think I dont know why you married Bob? It was to get away from me, thats why. Ill be you wished you were an only child. I bet you wished I was dead. (pg. 155) It was almost like she did not want Cheryl in her life at all. You never loved that man. You loved his money. You figured you were going to be Miss High Society. (pg. 158) April did not love Bob Radcliff; she only married him for his money. Pip learns from his mistakes growing up. After realizing what kind of person he has become, and how he has treated his loved ones, he felt he was better off being in the lower class. Pip realized that wealth and class are less important than affection, loyalty, and inner worth. When he is finally able to understand that, besides the esteem in which he holds Estella, someones social status is not what so ever connected to that someones character. Bentley Drummle is a symbol to this because even though he is a minor character, he gave an important message. Drummle is an upper class member. He gave Pip proof that social class has no connection to attitude, personality or moral worth. Drummles negative example helps Pip to see the inner worth of characters such as Magwitch and Joe, and Pip eventually scraped his immature fantasies about wealth and class. Everything changes for Pip after he learns the class status of his benefactor because he realized that Magwitch, a kind-hearted man who was never able to come out of the status into which he was born but in the end he was able to get wealthy. April realized that she wasnt happy with Bob, so they got a divorce. From that divorce, she received a good amount of money. She immediately went back home to her sister, but things were not good between Cheryl and April. After Cheryl committed suicide, April found her diaries and read them. She finally realized what Cheryl has gone through while April wasnt in her life and what she thought of everything especially what she thought of April. April accepted being Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis then and there. Like her sister, she is proud to be Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. Since she loved Cheryl, she was glad that a part of Cheryl was alive in her son, Henry Liberty. All life dies to give new life. (pg. 184) It was tragic that it had taken Cheryls death to bring April to accept her identity but she would strive for a better tomorrow now. For her sister and her son, her parents and her people. In conclusion, Pip accepted himself in the social class that he used to be in. Even though he remained in the higher class, Pip realized that he still cared for his loved ones in the lower class. For April, she accepted herself in the social class she was born in. Even though Cheryls life had to be taken away before April realized how important her heritage was. Pip carried a snobby attitude for a great portion of his life. He treated the people he loved without realization of how he wasnt respectful towards them. April had tried hiding, she had attempted to be someone shes not, she had tried being with someone she didnt love, and she had also undertook to blocking her own sister out of her life. No matter what April did, she couldnt get away from what she really was inside. She was born Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. She just didnt feel proud of it nor did she want to be Mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½tis. Pip and April both had issues with the people in their lives and they both found their true identities from being ashamed of their social class to peace with their lives.

International Legal English Certificate Test Of Writing English Language Essay

International Legal English Certificate Test Of Writing English Language Essay 1. Introduction This assignment evaluates the Test of Writing of the International Legal English Certificate (ILEC). ILEC is an examination produced by Cambridge ESOL (English for Speakers of Other Languages) in collaboration with Translegal, a firm of lawyer-linguists. The target candidature for ILEC is legal professionals and law students, operating in the area of international commercial law, who need to demonstrate proof of their language proficiency in English. The assignment will first consider relevant issues for the development of tests for specific purposes and then examine validity aspects of the ILEC Writing paper in detail. (1) 1.1 Tests in Language for Specific Purposes Testing Language for Specific Purposes (LSP), such as a Test of English for the legal profession refers to language assessment in which the test content arises from an analysis of specific target language use situations: these often (but not always) correspond to the language needs of a particular occupational group. Devising LSP tests presents test developers with a number of issues, including the relationship of test specificity to test generalisability; the importance of ensuring authenticity of test content; the interaction between background content knowledge and language knowledge, and for some domains, the difficulty in gaining access to relevant information on the nature of language use in that domain. (2) 1.2 Specificity vs Generalisability LSP tests have often been directly contrasted with general purpose tests. This is now, however, generally acknowledged to be an oversimplification of the issue and there is growing consensus that tests do not fall into one grouping (specific purpose) or the other (general purpose), but that, in the words of Douglas (2000:1), there is a continuum of specificity from the very general to the very specific: all tests are devised for some purpose and fall at some point along the specificity spectrum. The concept of a spectrum or continuum of specificity raises the question of where on the continuum a test should be placed and the related issue of how generalisable the LSP test is intended to be. Generalisability is often held to decrease in proportion to the specificity of the test: the more specific a test (such as English for Air Traffic Controllers), the less possible to generalise from that to other language use situations. This is accepted as a fundamental issue in LSP, to which the re are no straightforward answers. (3) 1.3 Background content knowledge In general purpose language testing, background knowledge of topic or cultural content is viewed as a confounding variable, which should be minimised as it has the potential to lead to measurement error. For LSP tests, however, subject specific content is arguably a defining feature of the test. Nonetheless, the question of separability, that is, how to distinguish between language knowledge and specific background knowledge in analysing candidates results on a specific purpose language test, has been a recurring concern. Bachman and Palmer (1996) argued in relation to a test for trainee doctors, that it should be possible to control for background medical knowledge in interpretation of performance on a language test, by, for example, the administration of knowledge tests alongside the LSP test. The difficulty in assessing the extent of the test takers background knowledge and its interaction with language proficiency has been addressed by Clapham (1996) who concluded that background knowledge was undoubtedly a significant factor in the process of testing reading, but the extent varied with the specificity of the test and the language proficiency of the candidate. There has more recently been an acceptance that until more is known about how the mind deals cognitively with ability and knowledge, specific background knowledge and language performance need to be treated as being inextricably linked (Douglas 2000:39). (4) 1.4 Access to information on language use within the domain With an increase, in the second part of the 20th century, in the number of people needing to learn English for education, technology and commerce, the main drive behind the development of LSP was practical rather than theoretical. As a result, LSP itself may be said to have suffered from a lack of theoretical underpinning. A key analytical tool has been the use of Needs Analysis to assess the linguistic requirements of a particular target group. Some analyses resulted in long detailed lists of needs for which empirical verification was held to be lacking. Widdowson, for example, described many LSP Needs Analyses as being made up of observational lists with no basis in theory (Widdowson 1983:8). Alderson, Davies and others have raised similar concerns (Alderson 1988, Davies 1990, Skehan 1984). A further criticism of some needs analyses was that they lacked objectivity, were influenced by the ideological perceptions of the analysts (Robinson 1991:7) and took insufficient account of the students themselves. Nonetheless, assessment of language needs can still inform LSP course and test design. As Clapham has said, We now know that such analyses can become too detailed, and also paradoxically, too limited in scope. However, this does not mean that they areunnecessary (Clapham 1996:5). Analysis of texts and spoken discourse from particular target language use situations is important in revealing how the target language use (TLU) community communicates and disseminates information. The growth of corpus linguistics and the corresponding development of electronic databases of texts can help in enabling the identification of specific syntactic patterns and use of specific lexis among particular occupational groups or discourse communities. At present, however, there is a limited number of such corpora available and genre analysis plays an important role when considering communication between members of the occupational group or discourse community in question. According to Swales (1990), texts belonging to a particular genre share common features with regard to the organisation of information, rhetorical conventions and lexico-grammatical patterns which practitioners within that discourse community need to access and use in order to operate with any degree of effectiveness. Bhatia (1993) developed earlier work by Swales and has extensively researched language use in professional contexts, particularly discourse within business settings. Nonetheless, due to the confidential nature of the work done by some occupational groups (such as lawyers), access to texts from those domains may not be easily acquired. Swales (1996 cited in Flowerdew and Wan 2006) refers to such texts as occluded, genres to which access is normally denied to those outside the participating discourse community. One task for the test developer in such circumstances therefore lies in obtaining subject-specific assistance and advice. Bhatia (1993) reports on how the subject specialis t or specialist informant has played a role within LSP genre analysis. (5) 2. The ILEC Writing Test: considering the validity issues A copy of the ILEC Writing Test is attached in Appendix 1. The test will be evaluated according to its context, theory-based, scoring and consequential validity. (6) 2.1 Context Validity The term Content Validity was traditionally used to refer to the authenticity and content coverage of the task. Context Validity is now a more widely used term as it also takes into account the discoursal, social and cultural contexts as well as the linguistic content. Context validity in the case of writing tasks also relates to the particular performance conditions under which the operations required for task fulfilment are performed such as purpose of task, time available, length, specified addresses. (7) 2.1.1 Authenticity of task and content coverage Authenticity of task means that à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the LSP test tasks should share critical features of tasks in the target language use situation of interest to the test takers (Douglas 2000:2). Bachman and Palmer (1996:23) describe a task as being relatively authentic à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ whose characteristics correspond to those of the Target Language Use (TLU) domain tasks and define authenticity as the degree of correspondence of the characteristics of a given language test task to the features of a TLU task (1996:23). In terms of the TLU situation, ILEC is a test of English in an international, commercial law context, the design of which is based on the following characteristics of the language environment of the target candidates: Areas of the law: law of associations; contract law; sale of goods; debtor-creditor law; commercial paper; employment law; intellectual property law; property law; remedies; civil procedure; administrative law; public international law; family law. Types of lawyer: lawyers practising (and law students who intend to practise) in a commercial law context with elements of international commercial business dealings. Types of environments that target lawyers work in: business law firms and other law firms with international dealings; in-house corporate counsel; governmental organisations; international organisations. Types of people that target lawyers must communicate with in English: other international lawyers; members of the international business community; governmental representatives; client form other countries. The choice of materials in the Writing Test is based on an analysis of the kinds of tasks that the target lawyers are likely to encounter in their working environment. (8) In a legal context, for example, a legal writing test must engage the test taker in writing tasks which are authentically representative of the situations they might plausibly encounter. The technical characteristics of language employed in a legal professional context has very specific features that lawyers operating in the field of law must control: There are lexical, semantic, syntactic, and even phonological characteristics of language peculiar to any field, and these characteristics allow for people in that field to speak and write more precisely about aspects of the field that outsiders sometimes find impenetrable (Douglas 2000:7). Interestingly, Douglas goes on to provide an example of legalise characterised by à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ the arcane lexis, the convoluted syntax, the use of Latin terminology, and the interminable cross-references to previous laws and cases in legal texts (2000:8) as an example of the requirement for precise, specific purpose language. Clearly, such language has consciously evolved, developed by the legal fraternity enabling its members to dynamically engage with each other in an attempt to communicate effectively the exact meaning of the law. (9) A legal test also needs to identify and cover its relevant content domain. Coverage of the appropriate domains of language use is attained through the employment of relevant topics, tasks, text types and contexts. The domains, therefore, need to be specified with reference to the characteristics of the test taker, and to the characteristics of the relevant language use contexts. This is the case with the ILEC Writing paper. (10) 2.1.2 Interactional and Situational Authenticity As a general principle it is now argued that language tests should as far as is practicable place the same requirements on test takers as involved in writers responses to communicative settings in non-test real-life situations. The purpose for writing in this paradigm is essentially about communication rather than accuracy (Hyland 2002:8) emphasising validity, particularly the psychological reality of the task, rather than statistical reliability (ibid:230). These views on writing reflect a concern with authenticity which has been a dominant theme in recent years for adherents of a communicative testing approach as they attempt to develop tests that approximate to the reality of non-test language use (real life performance) (see Hawkey 2004, Morrow 1979, Weir 1993 and Weir 2003).The Real-Life (RL) approach (Bachman 1990:41) has proved useful as a means of guiding practical test development. It is most useful in situations in which the domain of language use is relatively homogeneous and identifiable (see OSullivan 2006 on the development of Cambridge Business English examinations). Its primary limitation, however, is that it cannot provide very much information about language ability and hence cannot demonstrate validity in the broadest sense. The RL approach has been regarded as encapsulating the notion of communicative testing as it seeks to develop tests that mirror the reality of non-test language use (real life performance). Its prime concerns are : the appearance or perception of the test and how this may effect test performance and test use (face validity) and; the accuracy with which test performance predicts non-test performance (predictive validity). A number of various attempts have been made to characterise communicative tests (Morrow 1979, Alderson 1981, Porter 1983). Weir (1988), however, points out, there are inherent problems involved in basing test specifications on empirical research and observes that: the more specific the tasks one identifies the less one can generalise from performance on its realisation in a test. The concern with situational authenticity requires writers to make use of texts, situational contexts, and tasks which simulate real-life without trying to replicate it exactly. The interactional authenticity (IA) approach is concerned with the extent to which test performance reflects language abilities. In other words, the concern is with construct validity. Bachman (1989) summarises the IA approach arguing that it encapsulates the essential characteristics of communicative language use by reflecting the interactive relationship that exists between the language user, the context and the discourse. The major consideration shifts from that of attempting to sample actual instances of non-test language use, to that of determining the most appropriate combination of test method characteristics. For Bachman, an interactionally authentic test involves the following: some language function in addition to that of demonstrating the test takers language knowledge; the test takers language knowledge; the test takers language schemata; the test takers meta-cognitive strategies. (11) 2.1.3 Purpose of task Task setting (such as Purpose, Response Format, Weighting, Known Criteria, Order of Items, Time Constraints) and Linguistic Demands (such as Channel, Discourse Mode, Text length, Writer-reader Relationship, etc.) are normally conveyed through the rubric/instructions supplied to the candidates. It is generally accepted that the presentation of information in the task rubric should be made as explicit as possible in terms of the production demands required of the test taker. (12) The writing task rubric must present candidates with clear, precise and unequivocal information regarding the purpose for completing the writing task and the target audience for it. This purpose should provide a reason for completing the task that goes beyond a ritual display of knowledge for assessment. It may well involve suspension of disbelief but having a clear and acceptable communicative purpose in mind is thought to enhance performance. The way the prompt is worded has been shown to affect what the candidate sees as the purpose of the task (Hamp Lyons 1991 and Moore and Morton 1999). For example a term like discuss is open to different interpretations unless further specified (see Evans 1988). (13) The ILEC Writing test gives a clear role to the candidate in each task (eg You are a lawyer representing Ms Sandra Meyer.) and a clear purpose and target audience for the task (eg Write a letter to Robert Woodly on behalf of your client, Ms Meyer. Write a memorandum to your colleague to brief him on the case.) (14) 2.1.4 Time Constraints In writing we are concerned with the time available for task completion: speed at which processing must take place; length of time available to write; whether it is an exam or hand in assignment, and the number of revisions/drafts allowed (process element). Outside of examination essays, in the real world, writing tasks would not necessarily be timed (although there is a case for speed writing in a working context on occasions especially in a legal or professional setting where deadlines must be met). Where time in the workplace is not of the essence, students would be allowed maximum opportunity and access to resources for demonstrating their writing abilities. However considerations such as time constraints and reliability issues make longer, processà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœoriented tests impractical in most situations. (15) Weir (2004) points out that the texts we get candidates to produce obviously have to be long enough for them to be scored in a valid manner. If we want to establish whether a student can organize a written product into a coherent whole, length is obviously a key factor. He notes that as regards an appropriate time for completion of productà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã¢â‚¬Ëœoriented writing tasks in an actual examination setting, Jacobs et al. (1981:19), in their research on the Michigan Composition Test, found that a time allowance of thirty minutes probably gave most students enough time to produce an adequate sample of their writing ability for the purpose of assessment. (16) One might reasonably expect that time-restricted test tasks cannot represent what writers are capable of in normal written discourse where time constraints may be less limited. Kroll (1990:140-154) reports on research comparing timed classroom essays and essays written at home over a 10-14 day period. Contrary to what one might have expected the study indicated that, in general, time does not buy very much for students in either their control over syntax the distribution of specific language errors being remarkably similar in both or in their organisational skills. (17) In the case of ILEC, common tasks are presented to a candidature comprising both B2 and C1 candidates who must complete the test in 1 hour and 15 minutes. (18) 2.1.5 Text Length Text length potentially has an important effect in terms of what Weir (2005) calls the executive resources that will be called into play in cognitive processing. These resources are both linguistic and experiential and need to be as similar as possible to those made by equivalent tasks in real life language use for use to generalise from test performance to language use in the domain of interest. ILEC Writing comprises two tasks, one of between 120 and 180 words and one of between 200 and 250 words. (19) 2.2 Theory-based validity Theory-based validity involves collecting evidence through the piloting and trialling of a test before it is made available to candidates on the cognitive processing activated by the test tasks. (20) Theory-based validity of a test of writing is a function of how closely it represents the cognitive processing involved in performing the construct in real life. Weir (2005) details how establishing theory-based validity for a writing task involves producing evidence on the nature of the executive resources and executive processing activated by the task. Executive resources involve linguistic resources and content knowledge. Content knowledge may already be possessed by the candidate or might be available in information supplied through task input. The Executive process refers to cognitive processing and includes the procedures of goal setting, topic genre modifying, generating, organizing, translating and reviewing. (21) Planning relates to a number of stages in the writing process: macro-planning; organisation; micro planning (Field 2004). Macro-planning entails assembling a set of ideas and drawing upon world knowledge. The writer initially establishes what the goal of the piece of writing is to be. This includes consideration of the target readership, of the genre of the text (earlier experience as a reader may assist) and of style (level of formality). Grabe and Kaplan (1996) refer to this stage as Goal Setting. Goal setting involves setting goals and purposes, offering an initial draft of task representation and connecting context with verbal working memory (1996: 226). During the Organisation stage the writer provisionally organises the ideas, still in abstract form, a) in relation to the text as a whole and b) in relation to each other. The ideas are evaluated in terms of their relative importance, and decisions made as to their relative prominence in the text. The outcome may be a set of roug h notes. Grabe and Kaplan (1996:226) describe Organizing as grouping, categorizing ideas, establishing new concepts and putting ideas in suitable order. At the micro-planning level, the writer shifts to a different level and begins to plan conceptually at sentence and paragraph level. Throughout this stage, constant reference back to two sets of criteria is made: to decisions taken at earlier stages and to the manner in which the text has progressed so far. Account is taken of the overall goals of the text; of the organisational plan and the direction in which the text is currently tending; and of the content of the immediately preceding sentence or paragraph. At this stage, the writer needs to give consideration to whether an individual piece of information is or is not shared with the reader a) by virtue of shared world knowledge or b) as a result of earlier mention in the text. These processing procedures are described in detail by Hayes and Flower (1980), Bereiter Scardamalia ( 1987), and Grabe Kaplan (1996). (22) ILEC Writing tasks require candidates to undertake writing tasks which engage these processing abilities. The Needs Analysis revealed that correspondence between legal firms and and clients is a written form of communication frequently needed by professionals. Furthermore, correspondence is often in the form of a response to an earlier letter and includes reference both to this text and to other documents or texts, such as tax statements, procedural documents, company accounts. This reflects the concept of intertextuality as identified by Kristeva (1980:69); research by others (Flowerdew and Wan 2006) has confirmed the prevalence of the interaction between texts in the corporate world. To reflect the findings of the ILEC Needs Analysis 9see Appendix 2), one task on the Test of Writing requires candidates to draw on a previous text and compose a response to it with the use of notes. Composing the response requires the candidate to use a range of functions including clarifying, refutin g, requesting information, referring the target reader to other documentation. (23) 2.3 Scoring Validity Scoring Validity is linked directly to both context and theory-based validity and accounts for the extent to which test scores are based on appropriate criteria, exhibit consensual greement in their marking, are as free as possible from measurement error, stable over time, consistent in terms of their content sampling and engender confidence as reliable decision making indicators. (24) The assessment criteria for ILEC Writing (see Appendix 3 ) are based on those of a General English test at the same levels related to the CEFR. As Douglas points out: contrary to the cases of LSP test content and method, LSP assessment criteria have not usually been derived from an analysis of the TLU situation (Douglas 2001:174). In the same article, he goes on to make a case for basing LSP assessment criteria on an empirical analysis of the TLU situation. It is also the case with ILEC, that examiners for both the ILEC Writing and Speaking papers, are not required to have a background in Legal English*. It may be argued that this is a weakness in the underpinning scoring validity of the ILEC Writing paper as assessment by a subject specialist may differ from that of the layperson (ie general marker). (25) Jacobs et al. (1981:3) identify aspects of this relating to cognitive process and social interaction: The direct testing of writing emphasizes the communicative purpose of writing à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (it) utilizes the important intuitive, albeit subjective, resources of other participants in the communicative process the readers of written discourse, who must be the ultimate judges of the success or failure of the writers communicative efforts. If candidates self-assessments of their language abilities, or ratings of the candidate by teachers, subject specialists, or other informants (Alderson et al 1995) differs from that of the non-specialist Examiner, predictive validity may be compromised. (26) 2.4 Consequential Validity Messick (1989:18) argues that For a fully unified view of validity, it must à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ be recognised that the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of score- based inferences depend * personal information from ILEC Writing subject staff as well on the social consequences of the testing. Therefore social values and social consequences cannot be ignored in considerations of validity. Consequential Validity relates to the way in which the implementation of a test can affect the interpretability of test scores; the practical consequences of the introduction of a test (McNamara 2000). Shohamy (1993:37) argues that Testers must begin to examine the consequences of the tests they develop à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ often à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ they do not find it necessary to observe the actual use of the test. Weir (2005) provides a comprehensive treatment of these key elements within the Socio-Cognitive Validation framework. (27) ILEC has achieved recognition by a number of different legal entities, including universities and law practices in 36 countries (see Appendix 4). Furthermore, the initial market research and viability study was administered to a number of stakeholders in the field including international and local law firms, large companies with their own legal departments; university law faculties and legal training providers and language schools. Although the exam fee may be considered to be costly which is arguably an implication of the social consequences of testing, it may be argued that within the domain of corporate/commercial law, the consequential validity in this respect is not unsound. (28) 3. Conclusion This assignment has examined the ILEC Test of Writing. The development of ILEC saw collaboration between assessment specialist and legal content specialists, with each bringing expertise to the process. This has arguably resulted in a test which authentically simulates the TLU situation and as a result, it may be concluded that the test is sound in terms of Context, Theory-based and Consequential validity. Where the test is arguably less strong is in the area of Scoring Validity (and the resulting impact the issue may be said to have on Consequential Validity), in the use of assessment criteria and examining personnel unrelated to the TLU and specific LSP domain. (29) Word Count: 4, 125

A Rhetorical Examination of The Homeless and Their Children Essay

In â€Å"The Homeless and Their Children†, author Jonathon Kozol explains how poverty and homelessness can go hand in hand, but he also shows his readers that the government in New York City during the 1980’s did not really attempt to assist those in need. The author shows us how the homeless and illiterate struggled by sharing with us an interview with a young woman called Laura who resided in a massive welfare hotel. Kozol did not find it necessary to write this piece in a persuasive tone, or a compassionate tone, or even an angry tone to get his message across. He did not need to include a multitude of statistics to convince his readers that homelessness, illiteracy, and governmental apathy were issues. As stated in the introductory paragraph that precedes Kozol’s excerpt, â€Å"Instead of arguing indignantly for literacy programs to save the lives of the poor and illiterate, Kozol simply reports the case of a single illiterate woman trying to raise her f our children† (Kozol 304). When the different aspects of this wring are studied, it can be found that Kozol successfully utilized subtlety and refinement, along with vivid imagery, to address this issue in order to inform and motivate his readers to take a stand against homelessness and illiteracy. As this was mostly an emotional piece, there are very little references to logos. However, Kozol begins with a very important statistic at the beginning: â€Å"Nearly four hundred homeless families, including some twelve hundred children, were lodged in the hotel, by arrangement with the city’s Human resource Administration† (Kozol 304). This statistic is significant because it builds the author’s credibility by providing tangible facts from the author’s research, and it also exercises our... ...his intentions well. He utilized each piece of the rhetorical triangle to build a story that was easy to read, informative, and emotive. By using the methods he did, such as staying refined and unemotional, he allows his readers to feel their own emotions and fuel their own motivation. Sometimes, this approach can be stronger than when someone tells you what you should do. Kozol has indeed created a very moving story, which no doubt has motivated, informed, and maybe even changed some minds on this topic since its publication. Works Cited Kozol, Jonathon. â€Å"The Homeless and Their Children.† The Prentice Hall Guide for College Writers. Ed. Stephen Reid. 8th ed. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Pearson, 2008. Print. Weathers, Barbara. "Rachel and Her Children (Book Review)." School Library Journal 34.7 (1988): 226. MasterFILE Premier. EBSCO. Web. 11 Feb. 2011.

Dr. Jonas Salk :: Biographies Medicine Papers

Dr. Jonas Salk An American hero once said, "Many wise individuals have had no formal education.... They possess a powerful intuitive faculty and are able to learn from experience, from what they observe" (Pamplin, Jr. and Eisler 127). Although not entirely indicative of his own past, this American hero was Dr. Jonas Salk and he believed that education was not always the key to success. The great innovator believed that the answers to life are often found in an individual's experiences rather than buried among the pages of a textbook. Indeed, the ideas that formed the foundation of Salk's greatest accomplishment–the first effective polio vaccine–were not found in any fancy college textbook, but came to light because he did not believe that some established scientific theories were the only way that problems could be solved. More specifically, as a young medical student in 1936 sitting in a lecture for a course entitled Bacteriology and Immunology, Salk recalls an experience that altere d the course of his life (Sherrow 31): I remember very vividly all the details about where I was sitting and what was happening, almost as if the light was turned on and everything became clear....We were told that one could immunize against diphtheria and tetanus. In the next lecture, we were told it was not possible to immunize with a chemically treated or noninfectious (killed) virus vaccine, so that struck me as rather odd. How could both statements be true? And I remember the answer we were given was that the cells of the inoculated individual that were involved in a virus infection had to go through the experience of the infection itself. Why should that be, when the cells going through that experience were thus destroyed? How could that immunize cells that did not experience infection? Something's wrong here, I thought. For me, what came together was the question: Is it true you need a live virus for a safe, effective vaccine? And if it's not true, then what can be done with viruses, as can be done with a toxin, to render them harmless while retaining their effectiveness for immunization? This encounter stayed with Salk throughout his life and helped to determine the path along which he would conduct his life's work. As stated in the opening quote, this intuitive ability that he possessed did not come from spending hours learning from his textbooks, but simply came from the ordinary experience of attending a lecture for class.

Dworkins Wishful-Thinkers Constitution Essay -- Argumentative Persuas

Dworkin's Wishful-Thinkers Constitution ABSTRACT: Developing ideas first put forth in my Abortion Rights as Religious Freedom, I argue against Ronald Dworkin's liberal view of constitutional interpretation while rejecting the originalism of Justices Scalia and Bork. I champion the view that Justice Black presents in his dissent in Griswold v. Connecticut. INTRODUCTION In Life's Dominion Ronald Dworkin uses a liberal interpretation of the Constitution to defend constitutional rights to abortion and euthanasia. (1) According to Dworkin, the Constitution "lays down general, comprehensive moral standards that government must respect but ... leaves it to ... judges to decide what these standards mean in concrete circumstances" (p. 119). Any right can become constitutionally protected if five Supreme Court justices declare it so. As with Peter Pan, so with rights protected by the Constitution, believing makes it so. In this paper I explain and reject Dworkin's arguments for his view of constitutional interpretation. But with Dworkin, I reject the "originalism" of Justice Scalia and Robert Bork. I champion, instead, the moderate view that Justice Hugo Black presents in his dissent in Griswold v. Connecticut. (2) DWORKIN'S ARGUMENTS Dworkin notes that the Constitution's language, especially in several clauses of the Bill of Rights, is very abstract. The First Amendment says that Congress shall not infringe freedom of speech, shall not restrict freedom of religion, and shall not establish any religion. But it says nothing to help judges decide whether specific laws against pornography or flag burning offend freedom of speech [or] whether laws that ... forbid Native Americans to ingest peyote ... invade freedom of re... ...381 U.S. 479 (1965). (3) Lochner v. New York 198 U.S. 45 (1905). (4) Pierce v. Society of Sisters 268 U.S. 510 (1925). (5) Griswold v. Connecticut 381 U.S. 479, Harlan's concurring opinion at 500. (6) Casey v. Planned Parenthood 60 LW 4795 (June 30, 1992). (7) Griswold, at 522. (notes omitted) (8) Griswold, at 513. (9) Griswold, footnote 6 at 514. (10) Griswold, at 519. (11) Adamson v. California, 332 U.S. 46, 90-92 (1947)(Black dissenting). The inserted quote is from Federal Power Commission v Pipeline Co., 315 U. S. 575, 599, 601, n. 4. The entire passage is quoted in Griswold, at 525. (12) Peter S. Wenz, Abortion Rights as Religious Freedom (Philadelphia: Temple University Press, 1992). (13) See Wenz, pp. 163-167. (14) Calder v. Bull, 3 Dal. 386, 399; quoted in Griswold, at 525. (15) Griswold, at 519. (16) Griswold, at 501.

Noah and Utnapishtim’s Wild Ride Essay

Almost every religion in the world has a story about the â€Å"Great Flood† which destroys the earth, and each teaches its followers a different story about this disaster. While the Babylonians have the story of Utnapishtim from the Epic of Gilgamesh, the Judeo Christians have Noah from the Bible. Both men save a few people and many animals. In these stories, Noah and Utnapishtim seem to have similar situations, but a further analysis shows how truly different the two stories are. The boats in each story are exceptionally different. In the Epic of Gilgamesh, Utnapishtim’s boat was six stories high, had nine apartments in each story, had a flat bottom, and was one hundred and twenty cubits high as well as wide (par 5-6). Utnapishtim covered the inside of his boat with bitumen, and covered the outside of it with pitch (par 6). Noah’s ark was made of cypress wood, and was coated in pitch on the inside and out (6:14). It was three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide, and thirty cubits high (6:15). It had three decks, a door, and a roof (6:16). The Lord shut Noah in the ark with his family and the animals, and Utnapishtim shut himself in when the flood waters came (7:16; par 9). Each story tells of a storm, but there are conflicting differences in each one. The storm in Utnapishtim’s story lasted for six days and six nights (par 14). On the seventh day, the rain stopped and the waters receded (par 14). They stayed in the boat for at least another week before they decided the land had dried enough (par 16). The storm in Noah’s story lasted for forty days and forty nights (7:17). The floods were on the earth for a hundred and fifty days (7:24). Noah, his family, and the animals stayed on the ark for three hundred and ninety two days (7:6, 8:14). Utnapishtim stayed on the boat until the raven did not come back, and Noah stayed on the ark until God told him to come out (par 16; 8:15-16). Noah and Utnapishtim each sent out birds to let them know when they could leave the boat, but sent out different ones in different parts of their stories. When the waters started to recede, Utnapishtim sent out a dove first, and she came back finding no place to rest (par 16). He then sent out a swallow, which also returned (par 16). The third bird he sent out was a raven, and she did not return, for she had found a place to rest (par 16). The first bird Noah sent out was a raven (8:7). He sent out the dove next, but she returned with no place to rest (8:8-9). He waited for a week and sent the dove out again, and she brought back an olive branch (8:10-11). He waited yet another week and sent her out again, but this time, she did not return (8:12). In each story, the birds that let them know the water is gone are different. Noah and Utnapishtim seem to survive similar situations in each story, but they are a far cry from each other. Each of their boats is built in different dimensions, are made from varied kinds of materials, and structured differently. The storms in each story lasted for assorted periods of time, and they were inside the boats for different lengths of time as well. They both sent out different birds for various reasons in their stories. Each story clashes with the other in numerous distinctive ways.

Comcast Business Report Essay

Abstract The purpose of this report is to dissect and learn about the strategies, management team, external environment and industry analysis that Comcast has put in place to become a booming and profitable corporation. Comcast, which is headquartered in Philadelphia and is a well-liked service provider for television, phone, and internet, has been around for many years with a positive reputation. Comcast is known for using the acquisition entry strategy by purchasing numerous TV networks, such as NBC Universal, and the cable company, Time Warner Cable. General Why did you choose this company? As a group, we decided to do Comcast for a variety of reasons. One being that the television, internet, and phone service provider is popular in the Hampton Roads area. It’s competitor for television and Internet service is Verizon. As a Fortune 50 leader, Comcast sets the pace in a variety of innovative and fascinating businesses and create career opportunities across a wide range of locations and disciplines. What Comcast does? Comcast is the largest cable and home Internet service provider in the United States and is ranked third for the largest telephone service provider. Comcast provides services for residents and commercial offices in 40 states and the District of Columbia. Additional, Comcast is a producer of film and television contents, operates cable channels including E! Entertainment Television, the Golf Channel, and national channels such as Telemundo. In February 2014, the company agreed to merge with Time Warner Cable in an equity swap deal worth $45.2 billion. Where/When it was established? In 1963, Comcast was found in 1963 (previously known as American Cable Systems) and is currently headquartered in Philadelphia, PA. Comcast has come a long way since its beginnings as a single-system cable operator in Tupelo, Mississippi in 1963. Today, Comcast is a leader in the worlds of media, entertainment and technology and our story has unfolded due to an entrepreneurial spirit that is the foundation of everything we do. Company goals Comcast has many goals, but since 1963, Comcast continues to fulfill Ralph Roberts’ goal of building an organization with a close-knit, family feel. Comcast’s strategic objective is to gain long-term market share and dominance. The company is striving to become the most desired high-volume and low-cost service provider in the market Company Mission Statement â€Å"Comcast brings together the best in media and technology. We drive innovation to create the world’s best entertainment and online experiences.† (Comcast) Company Vision & Values In Comcast’s Corporate Social Responsibility Report, the company has a range of different values that the company as a whole would like to uphold. These values would be: Connect media, technology, and people Create media that matters Reduce environmental impact Operate responsible Deepening trust through stewardship Develop and engage employees Promote diversity and inclusion Bring the best out of people Number of Retail Units Although there is not an exact number for retail units throughout the United States, there is information about the number of customers for television, internet and phone services provider for residential and commercial. As of December 31, 2013, there are a total of 53.8 million customers receiving service from Comcast. Television service is provided to 21.7 million customers, high-speed Internet is provided to 20.7 million customers and phone service is provided to 10.7 million customers. Majority of these customers can be found in Maryland, New York, Massachusetts and Miami. Number of Employees Comcast has nearly 130,000 employees that help make the company successful. Comcast employees pride themselves with ingenuity and passion with everything that they do. The employees provide excellent service and have ideas for innovative products to create insightful and entertaining content. Comcast tries to create an attractive work environment and rewards their employees because of their dedication. Employees are rewarded with competitive pay, benefits, professional training and opportunities to build exceptional leadership skills Revenue Comcast is the largest mass media and communications company in the world in revenue. As of March 31, 2014, according to Yahoo! Finance, Comcast has earned $17.4 million revenue, which is a $1.5 million increase since December 31, 2013. Net Income Comcast’s net income last record on March 31, 2014 by Yahoo! Finance is $1.8 billion, which is a decrease since December 31, 2013. In December it was recorded that the net income of the popular service provider was $1.9 billion. According to ycharts.com, the net income (quarterly) range from $866 million being the minimum income in March 2010 to $2.113 billion being the maximum in September 2012. (See Fig NI for a line chart of net income since 2010) Number of Shareholders There are a total of 539,000 shareholders that hold a share in the company in either a direct or indirect form of share. Direct shareholder is if you hold a physical stock certificate, while an indirect shareholder is if you hold your stock through a broker. Top Management Team In today’s workforce, diversity is extremely important to equal opportunity employment. Women make up about 40% of the American workforce. Comcast believes in cultivating an inclusive and diverse workforce in an effort to leverage perspectives and remain on the cutting edge of innovation. Comcast believes strongly in diversity and the total team concept. According to the Comcast website (2014) Women roughly occupy eight positions on the top management team at Comcast. These women are known as â€Å"the women of Comcast and NBCUniversal†. D’Arcy F. Rudnay is the Chief Communications Officer for the Comcast Corporation. According to the website for corporate Comcast (2014) Rudnay serves as the communications counsel to the Chairman and CEO as well as other members of the executive branch. She leads the management of the company’s brand, reputation and strategic communications activities across the Comcast organization. Rudnay has years of experience in both the public  and private sector. Before joining Comcast, Rudnay worked at the Lincoln Financial Group where she served as Vice President of Corporate Communications and Media Relations. She also served as Vice President of Lincoln Financial Group Foundation. Rudnay has a long list of awards to her credit to include induction into the Public Relations Hall of Fame as one of the Nation’s top 25 communications executives. Her experience and skills has been a valuable addition to Comcast team. Amy Banse serves as the Managing Director and Head of Funds for Comcast Ventures. Banse has critical role in strategic planning for funds throughout the Comcast spectrum. According to the website for corporate Comcast (2014) Banse has accumulated over 20 years of experience in investing at Comcast. She began her career at Comcast in 1991 as an attorney responsible for investing, starting and building companies throughout Comcast. Banse became a central figure in the development of the TV Everywhere strategy. She founded Comcast Interactive Media and led the charge in overseeing multiple acquisitions to include Xfinity.com, Xfinitytv.com, and Fancast. These acquisitions led to the development of the TV Everywhere strategy. The experiences of Rudnay and Banse have been vital to the success of Comcast. Any organization that resembles Comcast must have some form of legal counsel who is responsible for the companies’ legalities and business ventures. Business ventures are critically important to growing and expanding the businesses to the Comcast level. Banse is an experienced team lead who is responsible for founding the Comcast Interactive Media. This venture led to the development of the TV Everywhere strategy. Her experience and expertise keeps the company moving forward and leading the charge in the digital age. Rudnay brings a wealth of experience from the communications side of the business. Rudnay has been elected to the Public Relations Hall of Fame for her diligent efforts. Together Rudnay and Banse provide the necessary tools and experience to keep Comcast at the tip of the spear in the digital world. My impression of the top management team is two-fold. Women are well  represented at the executive levels holding eight offices spanning from chairman to vice president. The positions held by these women represent a breakthrough for women as minorities. On the other hand, minority women such as African Americans and Hispanics were not represented. However the door to diversity remains open for minority women. In my opinion, the cast of executive women may be too small given the size and scope of the Comcast Company. According to the website for Comcast Executive Biographies (2014) Brian L. Roberts serves as the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Comcast corporation. Roberts took the helm as President of Comcast Corporation in 1990. Under his leadership at Comcast, the company’s annual revenue has grown to over $64 billion Comcast has grown into a global Fortune 50 corporation under the leadership of Roberts. Roberts has numerous awards for his leadership and recognized by Fortune magazine as a â€Å"Business Person of the Year.† Duality does exist for Roberts who has served as chairman for three consecutive terms. Board of Directors The Board of Directors is a diversified group of professions. The Board of Directors is represented by a diverse group of men and women. The Comcast Board of Directors is comprised of 61 professionals and out of the compliment of 61 personnel, 16 are professional women. This group of professional women is represented by minority women as well. The Comcast Corporation has many moving parts. Considering the size and scope of the Comcast Corporation, in my opinion, the 61 members who make-up the Board of Directors, is the right number of personnel to oversee each aspect of the Comcast corporation. Most small businesses and large corporations have an obligation to shareholders to disclose what they do with the profits and how they obtain their profits. It is also a means to manage the corporations’ impact on the economy, society, and the environment. Comcast has a corporate social responsibility aimed at giving back and supporting the communities they serve. According to the website for Comcast (2014) the Comcast Corporation  seeks to empower local partners with the required resources to improve neighborhoods and create opportunities to change lives. Comcast also provides resources and funding for local supporting nonprofit organizations. Comcast hosts annual events to support different groups and organizations within the community. Comcast Career Day is an annual event that focuses on community service. The goal of Comcast Career Day is to send a goodwill message from the Comcast’s employees, families, and friends and to leave an indelible mark on the communities they serve. According to the website for Comcast (2014) â€Å"In 2012, approximately 75,000 employees of Comcast and NBCUniversal and family members volunteered in local community service projects. This effort spanned across 665 different locations logging more than 454,000 labor hours and awarded more than $1.5 million in Comcast Foundation matching grants in 2012†. In a continued effort of corporation social responsibility, Comcast also supports and works with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. The website for Comcast (2014) reports Comcast partnered with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America to connect Comcast employees with students in need. Comcast launched a program called Beyond School Walls. This program paired local student’s up with Comcast employees to serve as mentors. The Beyond School Walls program reported greater work satisfaction and the students showed improved grades which encouraged an expansion of the program. In recognition of Comcast’s support of the Big Brother Big Sister of America program, Comcast was honored with its President’s Award. Comcast: Business Level Strategy Comcast has been making significant investments to enhance their products, while improving the service and support being delivered to consumers. Comcast’s strategy is to mainly focus on providing consumers with the best and most content across all available platforms. Comcast’s vision is to give customers more content choices – all of which are available to consumers at the click of the remote, without having to buy any additional equipment. One huge business level strategy that Comcast has implemented is a new  brand. In 2010, Comcast began promoting â€Å"Xfinity†, the company’s rebranding trademark for the services provided. With this brand, Comcast is looking to improve customer perception and reputation with this new brand. Comcast’s networks and products now offer 100+ HD channels, 50 to 70 foreign language channels, incredibly fast Internet speeds and thousands of TV shows and movies online for a variety of customers of all ages to enjoy whenever and wherever they would like. With the â€Å"Xfinity† brand in full effect, â€Å"Xfinity Signature Support† is a new service for personal computers, home networking equipment and many other devices that customers connect to Comcast services 24/7. With Signature Support, Comcast customers have access to knowledgeable and experienced IT professionals who can provide support, troubleshooting and online technical support, either over the phone or in the home. This type of assistances is available either as part of a monthly subscription plan or for a stand-alone basis for those one-time fixes, such as virus removal or connecting printers or game consoles wirelessly. Customers are given the opportunity to choose an equipment protection plan that provides extended warranties for computers and televisions. Comcast will not have to change its strategy to continue to operate after the merger with Time Warner Cable. Comcast uses a focused differentiation strategy, since the company looks for innovations that television, high-speed internet and phone service subscribers will be interested in using. General Environment Demographics: In regards to demographics, the cable industries top 10 competing TV subscriptions are Netflix, Comcast, Direct TV, Dish, The Warner Cable, Hulu, AT & T, Verizon Fios, Charter and Cox. Video subscriber Netflix is the leading company with 36.2 million subscribers. Within the cable industry the subscribers between the ages of forty and sixty purchase the most subscriptions. As a result, certain channels are included on these cable networks in order to appeal to subscribers that purchase most of their service. Along with the aging population, many different nationalities & ethnicities make up the demographic market. Therefore within the cable industry, different channels are included in order to provide entertainment services to viewers of all cultural backgrounds. For instance, Comcast offers American Spanish language television and Telemundo in order to make their company more marketable to different cultures in the cable industry environment. Telecommunications and the development of broadband internet services are the rising affluence within the cable industry. Telecommunications have become very popular within the industry serving 26 million customers (NCTA, 1). Broadband Internet services within the industry make up five of the top ten residential phone companies in the country servicing 50 million customers (NCTA, 1). Socio/Cultural: From a socio cultural standpoint, society places a lot of emphasis on a diverse non-discriminating work environment where women and men are treated equally. Within the cable industry there has been emphasis on women employment due to pre-recession levels. However, Comcast is working with these socio cultural expectations by creating a diversified non-discriminating workforce for women with interest pertaining to their cable industry by hiring more women to be a part of their team. Along, with hiring women within the cable industry the pressure to accommodate older worker plays a major role in the socio cultural environment. According to the government data, â€Å"40 percent of workers older than 55 were in the workforce as of February 2012 up from just 29 percent in 1993. The number is expected to increase to 43.5 percent by 2018. This trend reflects the need for many older workers either to stay in or rejoin the workforce to beef up their retirement income by temping† (Greenberg 1). Temping plays a major role in society because it opens up the option for older men and women to work. However, the cable industry accommodates these workers by offering part-time positions and retirement plans with good pay. Comcast helps to accommodate older workers by providing retirement plans, salaries, and bonuses. Technology/Global: The cable industry delivers through broadband providing service to over 50 million customers as of year ending 2012(NCTA 2). Some trends that consumers are looking for in cable companies are fast broadband speeds and standard cable broadband speeds ranging from 10 mps to 20 mps. Comcast is  keeping up with this trend by creating innovative services in their technologies including online streaming of their cable channels and faster Internet services (Comcast 1). In regards to global, poverty can increase the amount of viewers that purchase TV subscriptions since; this can be used as an alternative to going to the movie theaters or purchasing movies. Also, poverty can decrease the amount of viewers that purchase TV subscriptions due to their lack of income. Economic/Political: There are a lot of factors that contribute to the economics of cable networks. The pay TV ecosystem in the United States has set the platform of growth for cable networks. In today’s society approximately 100 million US homes and business pay an average of $68 per month to a cable or satellite operator for 19 channels of video programming (Grimes 1). â€Å"They pay TV providers, in turn; pay some $20 per subscriber per month to the cable networks in carriage fees that aggregate to roughly $24 billion per year. Add U.S. advertising sales of $25 billion in 2011, another billion or so for the sale of content to alternate distribution outlets and a $50 billion annual revenue industry with 40+% cash flow margins comes into focus. And that excludes the contribution from international networks that is especially significant for ESPN, CNN, MTV and the Discovery network†(Grimes, 2). Therefore, it is evident that cable networks make a lot of profit in today’s economy as a result of subscribers. In the economy, more people are willing to pay a subscription for a small monthly fee and as a result this has fueled new growth in their revenues as an industry. The good news for cable networks is that advertising sales trends remain strong on a demand and cost per thousand (CPM) basis such that the industry’s ad revenue growth rate of 11%(Grimes 3). This just continues to add to the revenue of cable networks as a whole to continue to make their industry worth more profit. Events such as the London Olympics and U.S elections contributed a lot to their exceeding revenues. Along with cable networks with international broadcast, has increased the growth rates of non-U.S business which is the first time in years that this has exceeded domestic business. The less good news is that while cable and satellite carriage fees are expected to rise at the healthy, but lower, rate of 7% this year on a per-subscriber basis, the days of U.S. pay TV subscriber growth are over, probably forever (Grimes 4).  The year 2012 will be the first years in 33-year history of pay TV in the U.S. As a result subscribers will decline from the previous year. Younger people are paying for TV at lower rates than people of older generations. The downward slope of TV subscriptions will begin, however investors will be forced to think about a world in which cable networks are finally maturing assets (Grimes 5). Industry Analysis When looking at the Industry Environment of Comcast, The Five Forces of Competition Model, created by Michael Porter, can break it down. Rivalry among competing firms When looking at the different products and services that Comcast offers, their competitors come from several different markets. For their most known service as cable television provider, Comcast is the top cable provider, having a reported 21,690,000 subscribers in the fourth quarter of 2013, which is sustainably more than the rest of the top 10 cable providers in the United States. The most known competitors in this market include Times Warner Cable, AT&T U-verse, and Verizon FIOS, all of which having 10,493,000 less subscribers in the country or more, making the current competition level in this area a low threat. With same companies as competitors in cable Internet services, AT&T is their highest competitor. Both companies with recorded 17 million customers and AT&T offer slightly better services compared to their prices. Even though this is the case, customers still have resided with Comcast, as they are known as the largest Internet cable provider as well. After gaining ownership of NBCUniversal, Comcast also has competition in the area of major film studios. NBCUniversal is the third largest film studio behind Warner Bros Entertainment, which is owned by their new business partner, Times Warner Cable, and The Walt Disney Studios. Respectively the firm’s own 17.1%, 15.9%, and 13.9% of the U.S. and Canadian market share in 2013, and have been in similar position since 2005. As Comcast begins to develop new online streaming services of its cable channels and other networking systems, it will meet other competitors as well. Threat of new entrants Because of the amount of time that is spent behind entering and becoming a competitor in these industries, and the fact that Comcast is the leader of them as well, the threat of new entrants that would affect the firm’s market share is very low. The difficulty behind making a successful worldwide cable provider is a high level barrier to entry and the current cable providers have been in existence for decades. Comcast’s threat of new entrants would not occur unless a firm was created that provided more innovating technology at a greater and widespread form. Threat of Substitute Products Due to the fact that new technology is being created constantly, Comcast has met new threats of substitutes in the recent years. Firms like Netflix and Hulu, which offer customers on-demand Internet streaming media, usually shows and movies that are offered on their cable channels, for low monthly rates, are substitutes that have been encountered within the past decade. This has lead to some consumers to use this service rather than paying heftier cable bills every month. This substitute threat is the reason why they are currently producing their own online streaming of their cable channels to compete with these companies, which is predicted to launch later this year. Bargaining Power of Suppliers Because Comcast is always searching for innovating technology and software to provide their customers with new services; Information technology suppliers have high bargaining power against the firm. These suppliers understand that they are necessary for Comcast to continue success so they will always be at high demand, and able to charge a heavy amount as well. Bargaining Power of Buyers Because there is a limited amount of communication and cable companies in the United States, the bargaining power of buyers of Comcast’s services are limited. At the same time, in order to compete with their competition in the industry, they also have to make sure that the services and the prices of those services are at levels that their customers are willing to pay. If customers believe they are not reasonable, they will convert to another  firm’s cable services. So, by voicing their opinion on Comcast’s services, customers are able to bargain for what they want from the firm. Recommendations The long term sustainability for Comcast will be based on their ability to streamline movies and sitcoms. This will allow them to maintain their market share from competitors like Netflix, Hulu TV, Livestream and other startup companies. In order for Comcast to attain long-term sustainability, the company will have to improve the reputation that they have when it comes to their customer service. Comcast has the lowest customer-service rating of any Internet service provider. (Berr, 2014) Comcast customers are not happy with the type of service they receive and that affects the company if they would like to have a future in the television, internet, and phone service industry. Although Comcast has stated that a goal of the company is to improve the customer service, the company is just not there yet. Improving the customer service will help the company tremendously for the present and for the future. Works Cited â€Å"Amy Banse.† Amy Banse. N.p., n.d. Web. 20 June 2014. . â€Å"Brian L. Roberts.† Brian L. Roberts. N.p., n.d. Web. 19 June 2014. . 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