Death Penalty Research Paper Essay

I. Introduction The death penalty in the United States is a constant source of controversy. Efforts to abolish capital punishment in America date back to over 100 years and continue to expand in present-day. In addition, all 50 states vary in their retention and application of the death penalty. Currently, the death penalty is legal in 32 states, the distribution of the actual executions however, is quite wide. The five states with the highest number of executions performed account for approximately 65% of the total executions in the country since the US Supreme Court re-affirmed and reinstated the death penalty in 1976. The state of Texas alone is responsible for almost 37% of the country’s executions. In contrast, 14 states have executed five or fewer prisoners since 1976. II. History Since the earliest societies, capital punishment has been used as a method of crime deterrence. Historical archives show that the even the most primitives tribes utilized methods of punishing culprits that often included taking their lives in order to pay for the crimes they committed. Murder most often warranted this ultimate form of punishment. As tribal societies formed social classes and man-kind developed its own self-governed republics, capital punishment became a usual response to a variety of crimes, such as sexual assault, military offenses and treason. Written rules were created to alert the people of the penalties that could face them should they participate in any wrongdoing. One of the earliest written documents observed that supported the death penalty was the Code of Hammurabi, written on stone tablets around 1760 BC. The code contained approximately 282 laws that were proposed by the Babylonian King Hammurabi and included the theory of an â€Å"eye for an eye.† Several other ancient documents were also supportive of the death penalty; these included the Christian Old Testament, the Jewish Torah, and the writing of Athenian legislator Draco, who was a proponent of capital punishment for a large number of offenses in Ancient Greece. The earliest forms of the death penalty were intended to be painful, slow and torturous. Some ancient cultures employed methods of crucifixion, stoning, and being burned at the stake among others. Later civilizations found these methods to be cruel, unusual forms of punishment and thus opted for more humane practices. During the 18th and 19th centuries, legislators found less painful and faster  approaches to execution, which included beheading by the guillotine and hanging. These practices were typically large public spectacles and were not any less bloody or violent but death was almost always instantaneous, so they were perceived as being more compassionate. III. In the United States Capital Punishment in the United States dates back to the founding of the original colonies, and was used for a variety of crimes such as burglary, treason, counterfeiting and murder. During the American Revolution, legislators in the United States began to examine and revise policies behind the death penalty. In 1971, the constitution was amended to prohibit any form of punishment deemed â€Å"cruel and unusual.† Although the amendment did not intend to ban capital punishment, it did start a movement towards performing more human executions. Currently, 32 states in the US allow the death penalty, although the greatest number of death row inmates and actual executions occur in only a few of those. California is the state with the largest death row population of 625 inmates, but they do not perform executions frequently. In fact, in the last three years, only two people have been put to death. In contrast is Texas, while also having a large number of offenders on death row (453 ), Texas follows through with executions, executing more people each year than any other state. Their executions constitute 46% of all executions performed in the year 2002. IV. Eligibility Eligibility for the death penalty and determining what criteria qualifies a crime for the death penalty varies by jurisdictions. No† automatic† sentence exists for any crime. The death penalty is assigned to crimes that contain aggravating factors, and are â€Å"monstrous or horrific† in nature. Examples of aggravating factors include intentional, premeditated murder, and murder that results from the commission of certain violent felonies such as robbery, rape, kidnapping, burglary and arson, even if the death results as an accident. These vary by state and in some the list of aggravating factors is lengthy and not well defined which can mean a lot of crimes can potentially be classified as â€Å"capital.† Prosecutors of the jurisdiction in which the crime has occurred make the decision of whether to seek the death penalty in each case. Critics allege that prosecutors are influenced to  consider factors when seeking the death penalty that should not be rel evant, such as the race of the victim and offender, for example. Community and public outrage as well as media attention can also impact the process of seeking the death penalty. (Marcus, 2007) V. Trials Trials for death penalty cases differ from other trials in that they are more intensive, expensive and much more complicated, after all, the outcome could end or spare someone’s life. They attract wide-spread and sometimes sensational media attention that can become distracting and unfavorable for the defendant as well as the other parties involved in the case. Political and public pressure is placed on the judge and prosecutors to secure a conviction and death sentence. Defense lawyers too face a great deal of pressure to save their client’s lives. Another aspect of capital case trials that sets them apart from regular cases is the selection of the jury. Potential jurors in capital cases must undergo a somewhat extensive process before being qualified to participate. The most important criteria they must meet however revolve around the individuals personal views on the death penalty. Qualified jurors must be in support of capital punishment and willing to impose it, th ose that cannot abide by that requirement are excused from jury service. Capital trials are separated into two sections, in the first only evidence and defenses are heard, this is referred to as the guilt phase. At the close of the guilt phase while the jury does not yet deliberate about a sentence, they do however decide to convict or acquit the defendant. Should the defendant be convicted, the penalty phase of the trial begins, during this phase the jury hears arguments and evidence concerning sentencing options. At this time, prosecutors will argue for a death sentence and must present aggravating factors associated with the crime. They will also attempt to stir the jury away from feelings of sympathy for the defendant, by stating past criminal charges or lack of remorse about the crime. In contrast, defense lawyers will argue against the death penalty, trying to persuade the jury to sentence their clients to life imprisonment instead. To do this, defense attorneys introduce mitigating factors such as the defendant’s age, absence of a criminal record, relationships with family members, and  character. In some cases, they may use evidence that could facilitate understanding of why the defendant committed the crime, some examples being mental illness, abuse or neglect as a child, etc. Sometimes family and friends of the defendant can testify for them, this is also permitted for families of the victim, which often take this time to speak about their loss and state their preference for a life or death sentence. After all evidence has been presented and following any testimonies, the jury is excused to deliberate once more, this time deciding on a sentence. VI. Appeals The idea of â€Å"swift justice† is thought to be lost in capital punishment cases. Usually, it takes several years from the time a person is convicted of a crime to the actual execution. One of the aspects of death penalty cases that make them so extensive is the appeals process. Generally, following conviction, a defendant has the right to an automatic or â€Å"direct† appeal to the state appellate court. Courts are required by law to look at these cases. Evidence presented in a direct appeal is very limited, typically dealing with whether objections were sustained or overruled correctly. Within a year of the direct appeal, death row inmates must file again in order to secure their rights, failure to do so would mean the defendant has chosen to waive their appeals. Incompetency on the part of an attorney or lack of one has resulted in many death row defendants missing appeal deadlines, while some may not even be aware of this procedural right. There is no second oppor tunity to file for an appeal once the deadline has been missed, regardless of the circumstances. The next step in the appeals process is referred to as state post-conviction. The defendant will use this appeal to present any state constitutional claims and any evidence to challenge their conviction. Some of the more prevalent claims made in post-conviction appeals include improper and unprofessional conduct on behalf of the police or prosecution, race discrimination, mishandling or inconsideration of pertinent evidence and inadequate representation on behalf of the defense attorney. Evidence that has been newly discovered or was not available at the time of trial is admissible during this phase of the appeals process. Post-conviction relief is not easy to obtain, an in-depth investigation of the case and all  evidence from the trial must be conducted by the defense lawyers. This can be expensive, time consuming and for the many inexperienced and poorly-resourced lawyers that represent these types of inmates, it becomes a challenging task. The inability of the defense counsel to provide sufficient mitigating factors and thoroughly investigate a case is the most prevailing failure observed in capital punishment cases. While it is true that many defendants receive inadequate representation, it is very difficult to obtain relief based on ineffective legal assistance. If the court determines that the defendant would have been convicted and sentenced to death regardless of poor legal representation, then there is no entitlement to relief. Should a death row inmate be denied relief in post-state conviction, he can proceed with a final appeal which is now handled by Federal courts, this is referred to as federal habeas. When a defendant has exhausted all appeals, the last option is to ask for clemency from the governor or President, depending on if it is a state or federal death penalty case. Clemency has been known to only be granted in extraordinary cases and is becoming more and more uncommon. (capitalpunishmentincontext.o rg) VII. Methods 1. Lethal Injection Today, all of the states that have the death penalty employ the lethal-injection. Oklahoma became the first state to adopt this method of execution in 1977, with the first person being executed by lethal injection being Charles Brooks 5 years later in 1977. (deathpenaltyinfo.org) In preparation, the inmate to be executed is permitted a shower, a change of clothing and a final meal of their choice. At the time of the execution, the prisoner is taken to the execution room and where two IV tubes are inserted into his arms, following, a harmless saline solution is started immediately. Then, when the prison warden gives signal, a curtain is raised exposing the inmate to witnesses in an adjoining room. At this time the prison is allowed his final statement. At the conclusion of the inmate’s last words, the execution begins with the drugs being administered as follows: Sodium thiopental: This drug, also known as Pentathol is a barbiturate used as a surgical anesthetic. In surgery, a dose of up to 150mg is used. In execution, up to 5,000 mg are used. This is a lethal dose. From this point on if the prisoner is still alive, he should feel nothing. Pancuronium bromide: Also known as Pavulon, this is a muscle relaxant given in a strong  enough dose to paralyse the diaphragm and lungs. This drug takes effect in 1-3 minutes. A normal medical dose is 40 – 100mcg per kilogram; the dose delivered in an execution is up to 100mg. Potassium chloride: This is a toxic agent which induces cardiac arrest. Not all states use this as the first two drugs are sufficient to bring about death. Saline solution is used to flush the IV between each dose. A minute or two after the final dose is administered, a doctor declares the prisoner dead. The body is then sent to the coroner for verification, an autopsy is sometimes performed. Finally, the body is released to family for burial. 2. Electric Chair The electric chair was an invention by Harold P. Brown who was an employee of Thomas Edison, the sole purpose was to investigate the uses of electricity in executions. The chair was first adopted in 1889 and the first execution took place in 1890 in New York. In execution by electric chair, the prisoner is strapped to the chair with metal straps and a wet sponge is placed in his head to aid conductivity. Electrodes are placed on the head and legs to create a closed circuit. Depending on the physical state of the prisoner, two currents of varying level and duration are applied. This is generally 2,000 volts for 15 seconds for the first current to cause unconsciousness and to stop the heart. The second current is usually lowered to 8 amps. The current will normally cause severe damage to internal organs and the body can heat up to 138  °F While unconsciousness should occur within the first second or two, there have been occasions where it has taken much longer, leading people to highly oppose this method of execution. Clean up post-execution is unpleasant, skin has been found melted on the electrodes and the person can lose control of bodily functions, burning of the skin occurs often. 3. Firing Squad Many consider the firing squad to be the most honorable method of execution. The carrying out of firing squad executions can vary, but generally the inmate is blindfolded and restrained. A group of men then fire a single  bullet into the heart of the condemned. In some cases, one of the shooters is given a blank in order to feel less guilt afterwards. However, none of the shooters know who holds the blank, or if any of them do. Currently in the US, only two states are permitted performing of executions using this method: Idaho and Oklahoma. 4. Gas Chamber The gas chamber as a method of execution has been used in a considerable number of cases. It was first made popular from its use in German prison camps during World War II where it was used to execute millions in one of the worst genocide cases of the 20th century. Although five states in the US still allow its use, death row inmates in all of those states are given the option to choose the lethal injection instead. In gas chamber executions, the executioner prepares the chamber by placing potassium cyanide pellets into a small compartment beneath the execution chair. The prisoner is then brought in and secured to the chair. The chamber is sealed and the executioner pours a quantity of concentrated sulfuric acid (H2SO4) through a tube which leads to a holding compartment in the chair. The curtains are drawn back for witnesses to see the execution and the prisoner is asked to make his last statement. After the last statement, a level is thrown by the executioner and the acid mixes with the cyanide pellets generating lethal hydrogen cyanide (HCN) gas. The prisoners will generally have been told to take deep breaths in order to speed up unconsciousness, but in most cases they hold their breath. Death from hydrogen cyanide is painful and unpleasant. (aclu.org); (clarkprosecutor.org) VIII. Deterrence In American society, deterrence has always served as a justification for support of the death penalty. Numerous studies conducted have failed to indicate a conclusive deterrence effect. For ex, if the death penalty was truly a crime deterrent, then the states that do not have the death penalty would be expected to have higher murder rates. However, it is just the opposite, states that do not employ the death penalty show consistently lower murder rates. In addition, the United States significantly higher murder rates than European countries who do not allow the death penalty. (Fagan) IX. Conclusion Overpowering evidence leads to the conclusion that the death penalty system in the United States is broken and undeniably flawed. Incompetency in representation, racial prejudice, inadequate funding and human mistake all contribute to a dark reality of the death penalty that is wrongful convictions and inequity. In a system teeming with error, the risk of executing the innocent is authentic. Reform in our death penalty process and procedures is necessary and urgent. It is our provocation to work towards a systematic change that will guarantee fairness and equal access to justice, due process for all persons facing the death penalty. References 1. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/ 2. https://www.aclu.org/capital-punishment/execution-methods 3. Paul Marcus, 2007. William & Mary Law School. Capital Punishment in the United States, and Beyond. http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1068&context=facpubs 4. http://www.capitalpunishmentincontext.org/resources/dpappealsprocess 5. Jeffrey A. Fagan. Columbia Law School. Capital Punishment: Deterrence Effects and Capital Costs. http://www.law.columbia.edu/law_school/communications/reports/summer06/capitalpunish

Examine Sheriff’s presentation of Stanhope in Act One in Journey’s End

In Act One of Sheriff’s ‘Journey’s End’ we see Captain Stanhope presented as a highly respected individual by all members of the rank, who has been affected immensely psychologically by the war.We see Stanhope being respected throughout Act One, which can be seen in the beginning of the play where we see Osborne reacting in a defensive and protective way of Stanhope, saying that â€Å"He’s a long way the best company commander we’ve got† to Hardy on page 4 where we learn of Stanhope’s excessive drinking which makes the audience unsure of Stanhope as a character as Sheriff introduces us to this problem before we have met him, which instantly gives us a poor first impression of Stanhope.Sheriff then builds Stanhope’s character and the audience begin to realise that the effect of war has taken its toll on Stanhope, who we learn is a hardworking, young commander who is struggling with the pressures of the war and uses whiskey to help him get through. It is evident that Stanhope is good at commanding the company, as Osborne states â€Å"You’ve done longer than any man in the battalion. It’s time you went away for a rest.It’s due to you† on page 27, depicting that Stanhope has worked extremely hard in the last three years and should be proud with his achievements instead of being ashamed of himself because of what he has turned into. Osborne is a trustworthy character who Stanhope relies on and is a true friend. We also see Stanhope respected by Raleigh, a young boy who knew Stanhope personally before the war. Stanhope was Raleigh’s inspiration to join the army, saying that he was â€Å"frightfully keen to get into Dennis’s regiment† to Osborne on page 12.He also describes his friend as â€Å"splendid† and describes them as â€Å"terrific pals. † Stanhope had such an effect on Raleigh when they were at school together, and Stanhope even admits that he is Raleigh’s â€Å"hero† to Osborne on page 26. We also see in this scene that Stanhope has realised even more so with Raleigh’s arrival his change and deterioration with his personality in the last three years since the war began, saying â€Å"as long as the hero’s a hero† which he no longer thinks of himself as due to this drastic change.We also see in this scene Stanhope confide in Osborne, explaining that Raleigh’s sister â€Å"doesn’t know. She thinks I’m a wonderful chap – commanding a company† portraying his disappointment in himself and how he feels as if he would let down his love if she knew the truth. He seems extremely passionate towards Raleigh’s sister as he explains that he â€Å"couldn’t bear to meet her, in case she realised† the person he has become and becomes annoyed with Raleigh as he calls him a â€Å"little prig† when he believes he will no longer be able to return to Raleigh’s sister once the war is over.Here we see a vulnerable and ashamed character, which is portrayed by Sheriff as he says â€Å"if I went up those steps into the front line – without being doped with whiskey – I’d go mad with fright. † This conveys the necessity for Stanhope to drink and that he would not be able to command the company as successfully as he does without having had whiskey.Osborne warns Raleigh on page 13, explaining to him â€Å"you mustn’t expect to find him – quite the same† and how the war â€Å"tells on a man – rather badly† portraying the psychological effects of war and how there has been a complete change in Stanhope since joining the war. Raleigh remembers his hero as someone who was anti-alcohol, which he was before the war saying â€Å"the roof nearly blew off† when he caught some boys at school with a bottle of whiskey.This shows the desperation on Stanhope†™s behalf to cope with the war and has turned to alcohol for comfort, something that appears he was against three years earlier. Sheriff presents Stanhope as an individual trying to cope with the pressure of the war in Act One, who appears to have changed drastically since the war began, helping the audience understand the psychological effects soldiers due to the war; an issue to which they could possibly relate to as the war was a big part of their lives. Examine Sheriff’s presentation of Stanhope in Act One in Journey’s End In Act One of Sheriff’s ‘Journey’s End’ we see Captain Stanhope presented as a highly respected individual by all members of the rank, who has been affected immensely psychologically by the war.We see Stanhope being respected throughout Act One, which can be seen in the beginning of the play where we see Osborne reacting in a defensive and protective way of Stanhope, saying that â€Å"He’s a long way the best company commander we’ve got† to Hardy on page 4 where we learn of Stanhope’s excessive drinking which makes the audience unsure of Stanhope as a character as Sheriff introduces us to this problem before we have met him, which instantly gives us a poor first impression of Stanhope.Sheriff then builds Stanhope’s character and the audience begin to realise that the effect of war has taken its toll on Stanhope, who we learn is a hardworking, young commander who is struggling with the pressures of the war and uses whiskey to help him get through. It is evident that Stanhope is good at commanding the company, as Osborne states â€Å"You’ve done longer than any man in the battalion. It’s time you went away for a rest.It’s due to you† on page 27, depicting that Stanhope has worked extremely hard in the last three years and should be proud with his achievements instead of being ashamed of himself because of what he has turned into. Osborne is a trustworthy character who Stanhope relies on and is a true friend. We also see Stanhope respected by Raleigh, a young boy who knew Stanhope personally before the war. Stanhope was Raleigh’s inspiration to join the army, saying that he was â€Å"frightfully keen to get into Dennis’s regiment† to Osborne on page 12.He also describes his friend as â€Å"splendid† and describes them as â€Å"terrific pals. † Stanhope had such an effect on Raleigh when they were at school together, and Stanhope even admits that he is Raleigh’s â€Å"hero† to Osborne on page 26. We also see in this scene that Stanhope has realised even more so with Raleigh’s arrival his change and deterioration with his personality in the last three years since the war began, saying â€Å"as long as the hero’s a hero† which he no longer thinks of himself as due to this drastic change.We also see in this scene Stanhope confide in Osborne, explaining that Raleigh’s sister â€Å"doesn’t know. She thinks I’m a wonderful chap – commanding a company† portraying his disappointment in himself and how he feels as if he would let down his love if she knew the truth. He seems extremely passionate towards Raleigh’s sister as he explains that he â€Å"couldn’t bear to meet her, in case she realised† the person he has become and becomes annoyed with Raleigh as he calls him a â€Å"little prig† when he believes he will no longer be able to return to Raleigh’s sister once the war is over.Here we see a vulnerable and ashamed character, which is portrayed by Sheriff as he says â€Å"if I went up those steps into the front line – without being doped with whiskey – I’d go mad with fright. † This conveys the necessity for Stanhope to drink and that he would not be able to command the company as successfully as he does without having had whiskey.Osborne warns Raleigh on page 13, explaining to him â€Å"you mustn’t expect to find him – quite the same† and how the war â€Å"tells on a man – rather badly† portraying the psychological effects of war and how there has been a complete change in Stanhope since joining the war. Raleigh remembers his hero as someone who was anti-alcohol, which he was before the war saying â€Å"the roof nearly blew off† when he caught some boys at school with a bottle of whiskey.This shows the desperation on Stanhope†™s behalf to cope with the war and has turned to alcohol for comfort, something that appears he was against three years earlier. Sheriff presents Stanhope as an individual trying to cope with the pressure of the war in Act One, who appears to have changed drastically since the war began, helping the audience understand the psychological effects soldiers due to the war; an issue to which they could possibly relate to as the war was a big part of their lives.

Dumbest Generation

Mark Bauerlein seems to believe that is the dumbest generation because research has shown that knowledge skills and intellectual habits have gone down, and although some people agree with him, others don’t. I believe this generation isn’t the dumbest because there are other things that need to be considered when calling someone, a group of people, or even an entire generation stupid or dumb, rather than just knowledge skills and intellectual habits. Knowledge isn’t all about what people know or how well they are in school. IQ tests test the intelligence of the person; however they test the pure thinking capacity rather than what people know.This means that intelligence comes from the entire cognitive thinking ability and not what they know. IQ tests have also been rising since the 1930’s (Source B). Furthermore, just because this doesn’t know things that people knew two generations before us did, doesn’t make us dumb. This generation is learn ing about things that people didn’t even know about two or even one generation ago. Also, most students in college don’t think that what was important back then is relevant today, so they don’t see the point in remembering or learning about it. That isn’t stupidity, that’s just choice in the information that they wish to hold.Plus, some people are more intelligent about certain things about other people, but that doesn’t make them dumb or stupid about that subject. They just don’t understand it as much as other people. If you look at other subjects for that person, I’m sure you’ll find their strong spot, and what they’re good at. It all depends on what their brain can understand and comprehend. Moreover, students and even adults are coming together. They create groups and social activities that allow people with similar interests and intelligence to get together and help and teach what they know about that particu lar subject.They come to these people for their knowledge to improve their craft, gain reputation, and expanding their intelligence and interest in their craft (Source C). Although most people may disagree, the new media and social advances help with this. It allows students to reach people around the globe and get other information so they get direct information. According to Mizuko (Source C), â€Å"Youth respect one another’s authority online and are more often motivated to learn from peers than adults. † So by this meaning, the social media allows students to learn in a more advanced way to where they don’t feel like they are being condescending.This also allows the students to learn more of on their own and exploring, rather than knowing the goals and going by a direct lesson plan. Given the fact that most students use Google instead of a library might make people think that we are being derived of learning how to do research on our own. Although most peopl e are right, Google does have benefits. If someone just needs a quick way to get information, Google is good place to get started. Most people know to make sure things are doubled in places rather than just in one place though, so they know what to do about how to research.Additionally, having social media and the internet, texting, email etc. , also creates more chances of writing. Most parents and teachers think that this is causing a downfall in school and literacy capabilities but in reality its actually helping. According to Thompson (Source G), she believes we are in the middle of a literacy revolution. This generation writes more than any other generation before. Most peoples’ writing happens outside the classroom. It may not be very advanced writing, but it is writing. It works the writing and literacy capabilities because it is still writing. They have to read, comprehend, understand, and respond.All of which includes using the abilities that they already had. Also, almost thirty-eight percent of writing happens outside of the classroom. Everything that people write, including texting and email etc. , add up and help with their brain which expands their learning and thinking capacity. Along with social media, there are video games. The people who play video games say that they help with hand-eye coordination, and those who don’t say that the video games make the brains weak. But in all actuality, video games help expand the thinking capacity and help the thinking and learning capabilities.They figure out how to get through things in the game and don’t just cheat by using a manual. They have to think about what could happen next or look at how things happen so they know how to act, react, and do (Source F). Furthermore, every generation has their â€Å"dumb spots†. That doesn’t make each generation the dumbest generation though. One person can’t say that this is the dumbest generation when every generation is d umb at some point or with some group of people. In 1962, according to Simpson, (Source E), he did a documentary about a group of people who didn’t even know what most people did know at their age.They barely knew anything at all and they weren’t able to spend all day texting or playing video games. Each generation has their problems, so one cannot pinpoint what generation is the dumbest generation. So, although some people believe different, I believe this generation is not the dumbest generation because knowledge is not all about the amount of information a person holds. It’s about the thinking capacity and other things can interrupt that thinking process, and also, each generation has their â€Å"dumb† faults. This generation may be more evident, but it is not the dumbest generation.

Comprehending As Well As Critiquing and Valuing Evidence Article

Comprehending As Well As Critiquing and Valuing Evidence - Article Example For proper creation of digital stories, Choi indicates some principles that should be followed. These includes thinking about the purpose of using digital storytelling, analyzing the reading content, making a storyboard, and finding the best image to provide visual background information (Choi, 2012). Key problems of digital story telling includes lack of assessing the computers, lack of technical expertise for teachers and students, and long time spent in creating stories. Choi concludes that ESL/EFL teachers who want to incorporate digital storytelling in classrooms should have the ability to develop appropriate and context digital stories. One of the positive aspects of this article is that Dongseok Choi clearly describes the importance of using the latest technology in storytelling. The author uses literature from other sources such as Jessica, Beatham, and Roney among other to show comparison. However, the comparison among the major contributors could be done in a better way by use of graphs which lacks in the article. This article provides clear picture of how teachers should be computer literate for them to be productive especially when dealing with students. In order for teachers to prepare their ESL/EFL students to appropriately communicate, it is vital to be prepared just as the way the teachers require the scheme of work for any other lesson. The article Web 2.0-Assisted Language Learning: Using Technology to Enhance Reading Comprehension, by Fatemeh Behjat, Mohammad Sadegh Bagheri, Mortaza Yamini was written in Islamic Azad University. The article that involved 113 male and female participants majoring in English in Islamic Azad University, indicates the extent to which web 2.0 is useful to improve EFL students’ reading comprehension (Fatemeh, Mohammad and Mortaza, 2012). The article research question was which of the web2.0 tools, weblogs or wikis

Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Law - Essay Example When conducting internet transactions, be careful to read the user agreements prior to reading them. Otherwise, one may find that they have granted fraudsters access to their personal information (Queensland Law essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words Law - Essay Example Although the Board of Directors has powers over the affairs of the corporation, these powers are not absolute. To protect the company and the shareholder, the Companies Act 2006 included several provisions that limit the powers of the Board of Directors. These limitations are not in anyway meant to curtail the ability of the Directors to respond to matters involving the affairs of the company but rather, these limitations are meant to focus the attention of the Directors on the things that are beneficial to the company. Aside from the limitations set forth in the Companies Act 2006, common law also limit the powers of the Board of Directors. There are several cases decided by the House of Lords regarding the scope and limitations of the powers of the Directors. To give us a clear picture of the limitations of the powers of the company Board of Directors under English law, let us look into the provisions of the Companies Act 2006 and review some of the leading cases decided by the courts regarding the extent of limitations of powers of the Board of Directors. Section 170 paragraph 3 of the Act states that â€Å"The general duties are based on certain common law rules and equitable principles as they apply in relation to directors and have effect in place of those rules and principles as regards the duties owed to a company by a director†¦Ã¢â‚¬  The duties of directors are covered under Chapter II section 171 to 177. According to section 171 of the Companies Act 2006, â€Å"A director of a company must (a) act in accordance with the company’s constitution, and (b) only exercise powers for the purposes for which they are conferred.† In other words, the Board of Directors may only exercise its powers for a proper purpose at all times. According to the court in the case of Harlowe’s Mominees Pty v Woodside2, proper purpose in this case means legal and moral intentions that are beneficial

The Religious Life of Scientology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Religious Life of Scientology - Essay Example Most societies in Earth have religion as a very important aspect of their life. Religion always figures in culture, as it is part of the culture as well. But religion always figures in literature, art, music, dance, etc. Because of this â€Å"specialty†, most religions choose a special person that serves as a link to the believers and the deities. This person is usually called the priest, and the priest acts a mediator between the people and the deities by performing sacrifices and other rituals that are deemed to be communication tools to the deities. In this paper, we should note that sects and cults are different than religion. Sects are small, less organized religious groups formed by members that are usually in protest with a larger denomination. They are convinced that they have the real meaning of religion or cosmos (they have â€Å"the truth†) and they actively protest the dominant religion. Typically, these sects grow and become a dominant religion as well, through the years. Unlike dominations, sects are not seen as a legitimate religious group. Cults, on the other hand, are different although they may resemble cults. Cults are transient and informal and they usually provide a haven for those who are rejected by society. Cults usually center on a leader who focuses on bringing the people (the believers) with the same frame of mind, and these are not necessarily deemed as something that invokes sanctity. Scientology is special because it’s considered as a religion for some places, and otherwise in some places.

Kant's Response to Hume's Skepticism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Kant's Response to Hume's Skepticism - Essay Example Hence, even though reasoning and experience designate that objects function in a predictable way, this somehow fails to necessarily provide evidence how objects will behave in the near future depending on their former interactions. To ascertain his claims, Hume puts forth the concept that causal affairs belong to two types of knowledge: matters of fact and relations of ideas. In order for anything to bring out idea relations, its divergent must be ludicrous. Hume argues that since relations of thoughts are known via rationale alone, they are vacuous in the sense that they do not declare anything about the planet. On the other hand, every effect is different from its origin; every origin is different from its result. For that reason, an effect cannot be revealed in a casual event or object purely by prior reasoning. It is evidential that Hume was so skeptical in such a way that it is very difficult to understand how objects conduct themselves. You cannot be able to predict a future be havior based on the former. Minds are not like software where you can install a program and run it in a predefined way. Consequently, the strength of this theory is based upon the fact that experience cannot take hold of the casual bond between two objects. It is not a guarantee that one can establish events that will take place in the future. The weakness is in the issue that one cannot dwell in skepticism, as most claims lies on experience, inductive reasoning and probabilistic claims. Moreover, Hume becomes dogmatic in this approach by claiming that we cannot tell casual relationships, and so we should adopt a skeptical stance. Kant responds to Hume's skepticism using various theories, some of which include the moral and ethical theory. In hunt for the essential â€Å"good†, Kant did not accept as a true fact that anything that was inherently happiness, good or pleasure could result out of evil deeds. He did not believe that good character traits as courage, intelligence, ingenuity among others, could all be a medium through which bad deeds were implemented. Thus, he used the word â€Å"good† to mean a resolution to act purely according to one’s duty. Alternatively, Kant argues that if we have pre-determined actions, they cannot be described as gratis and morality doesn’t concern us. According to Kant, it is not possible to determine an objects behavior based on their looks or former behavior. There is a very big difference between appearance and reality. What appears to be good could actually be a result of an evil thought. It is at this point where Kant differs a bit with Hume’s skeptics in the sense that not every idea would result in a bad outcome. On the other hand, living a predetermined way of life would make life lose its moral value. It is evidential that objects behave solely in agreement with their duty. Thus, using an explanation, Kant believed that a person could concentrate only upon his/her duties. Divine pr e-formation theory According to this theory, objects came into being in a very divine manner. Initially, there was nothing in the universe, but eventually, there came to be. Kant's argument that evil mind could as well as bear good results is the statement that needs to be contrasted with this theory. Heaven and earth were made without witnesses; we cannot necessary conclude that the maker had another motive which was not positive. Whoever created the world might have had good reason of utilizing the empty space that was initially in place. Kant argues that good character doesn’t automatically mean that one is good. Further, bad actions in the past do not proof that the

Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Writing - Essay Example Therefore, there are several characteristics that compare the monopoly and the perfect market. First, in the perfect market, there are many small firms which are more or less the same size competing to sell in the available market (Colander, 18). This is similar to the monopoly market, where there are many small firms that are operating in the market, but there is one big firm that controls a large share of the market. The second comparison between the perfect market and the monopoly market is that; the firms in the market are dealing in identical products, such that the basis of the competition in this market is not on the branding and differentiation of the products, but on the basis of commodity prices (Colander, 22). The third aspect that compares the monopoly and the perfect market is that there is free entry and free exit into the market, such that both the firms operating in the perfect market and those operating in the monopoly market are not restricted to enter and compete with the firms already existing in the market (Colander, 35). Additionally, the cost of leaving the market for the firms is lower, since the competition in the market is high, allowing the firms to be pushed out of the market easily. Finally, the perfect and the monopoly markets compare in the sense that there is perfect knowledge in both markets, although not in equal measures (Colander, 51). This simply means that the sellers and the buyers in the market have access to full information regarding how the market operates, and thus they are able to make purchase or selling decisions based on this full knowledge. The contrast between the perfect market and the monopoly market is based on the fact that; in the perfect market, resource mobility is high, but the resource mobility is low in the monopoly market (Colander, 84). Another contrast between the monopoly and the perfect market is that in the perfect market, all the

Change and Development in the English Language22 Essay

Change and Development in the English Language22 - Essay Example However, later this practice was reversed. At the end of Late West Saxon era there were again changes made to the vowels structure. Vowels were usually lengthened in open syllables (13th century), except when trisyllabic laxing would apply. Remaining unstressed vowels merged into //. (IPA transcription text of text 174-Late Saxon english , Last line last word). Similary in the S. Midland era, further changes to the vowels were made. The changes in vowels in this era is known as "Great Vowel Shift. The changes in Great Vowel Shift were that all long vowels raised or diphthongized. /a/, //, /e/ become //, /e/, /i/, respectively. (IPA Transcription text 174-S.Midland English, 1st line second word) ,//, /o/ become /o/, /u/, respectively. (IPA Transcription text 174-S.Midland English,5th line 1st word), and also /i/, /u/ become /i/ and /u/, later /ai/. Apart from changes in vowel, the other main change was Changes in Diphthong. Inherited height-harmonic diphthongs were monophthongized by the loss of the second component, with the length remaining the same. // and // became // and //. (as appeared throughtout in IPA transcription text of text 174-Late Saxon english for e-g in the first line second word second alphabet). In S. Midlands Loss of most remaining diphthongs. Like /ou/ (and former /u/, merged into /ou/ in Early Middle English) became /o/ and /ei/ became /e/ after the shift causing the long mid mergers. (as appeared in IPA transcription Text 174 S Midlands, 4th line 8 word) There were also changes made in Syllables which was first step of transition towards the development of modern English. In Late-West Saxon era, there was Middle English open syllable lengthening: Vowels were usually lengthened in open syllables (13th century), except when trisyllabic laxing would apply (as discussed in the vowels part. In S.Midlands there was a Loss of // in final syllables. How many different dialects of english and prnounciation do we hear nowadays. All these were part of development of English from Late West Saxon Era and S.Midland's era. The major pronounciation that took place in Late West Saxon era was Voiced fricatives became independent phonemes through borrowing and other sound changes and /sw/ before back vowel becomes /s/; /mb/ becomes /m/. (as in Sword and lamb became sord and lam in pronounciation). In the S.Midland era, there were some pronounciation changes as well. This era is marked by the development of some the common accents including some in Northern England, East Anglia, South Wales. Thus, the development of English has a history to tell. It has seen thousand of years of development before it has come in its modern form. It has become a common language because it is a mixture of many languages particulary German and who knows how many other languages had played their part in its development. English, at first was difficult but it was more towards the German. But as the times passed various changes like Changes in Vowels , Diaphtongs, and Syllables made it easy to read, write and speak. Thus, due to this progress, changes and development of English, we see it today as a language of common-culture and people from different parts of the World use it as their means of communication. References : Wikipedia.com

Decision Making Stages Essay Example for Free

Decision Making Stages Essay Decision making (decision from Latin decidere to decide, determine, literally to cut off, from de- off and caedere to cut) can be regarded as the mental processes (cognitive process) resulting in the selection of a course of action among several alternative scenarios. Every decision making process produces a final choice.[1] The output can be an action or an opinion of choice. * | Decision making stages Developed by B. Aubrey Fisher, there are four stages that should be involved in all group decision making. These stages, or sometimes called phases, are important for the decision making process to begin Orientation stage – This phase is where members meet for the first time and start to get to know each other. Conflict stage – Once group members become familiar with each other, disputes, little fights and arguments occur. Group members eventually work it out. Emergence stage – The group begins to clear up vague opinions by talking about them. Reinforcement stage – Members finally make a decision, while justifying themselves that it was the right decision. It is said that critical norms in a group improves the quality of decisions, while the majority of opinions (called consensus norms) do not. This is due to collaboration between one another, and when group members get used to, and familiar with, each other, they will tend to argue and create more of a dispute to agree upon one decision. This does not mean that all group members fully agree — they may not want argue further just to be liked by other group members or to fit in.[12] Q2 A management information system (MIS) is a system that provides information needed to manage organizations effectively. Management information systems are regarded to be a subset of the overall internal controls procedures in a business, which cover the application of people, documents, technologies, and procedures used by management accountants to solve business problems such as costing a product, service or a business-wide strategy. Applications of MIS With computers being as ubiquitous as they are today, theres hardly any large business that does not rely extensively on their IT systems. However, there are several specific fields in which MIS has become invaluable. Strategy Support While computers cannot create business strategies by themselves they can assist management in understanding the effects of their strategies, and help enable effective decision-making. ï  ¶ MIS systems can be used to transform data into information useful for decision making. Computers can provide fina ncial statements and performance reports to assist in the planning, monitoring and implementation of strategy. MIS systems provide a valuable function in that they can collate into coherent reports unmanageable volumes of data that would otherwise be broadly useless to decision makers. By studying these reports decision-makers can identify patterns and trends that would have remained unseen if the raw data were consulted manually. ï  ¶ MIS systems can also use these raw data to run simulations hypothetical scenarios that answer a range of ‘what if’ questions regarding alterations in strategy. For instance, MIS systems can provide predictions about the effect on sales that an alteration in price would have on a product. These Decision Support Systems (DSS) enable more informed decision making within an enterprise than would be possible without MIS systems. Q3 Information Resources Management (IRM) is an emerging discipline that helps managers assess and exploit their information assets for business development. It draws on the techniques of information science (libraries) and information systems (IT related). It an important foundation for knowledge management, in that deals systematically with explicit knowledge. Knowledge centres often play an important part in introducing IRM into an organization. Identification:- * Identifies gaps and duplication of information * Clarifies roles and responsibilities of owners and users of information * Provide costs saving in the procurement and handling of information * Identifies cost/benefits of different information resources * Actively supports management decision processes with quality information Development :- 1. Understand the role of Information. Information can add value to your products and services. Improved information flows can improve the quality of decision making and internal operations. Yet many managers do not fully understand the real impact of information the cost of a lost opportunity, of a poor product, of a strategic mistake all risks that can be reduced by using the appropriate information. 2. Assign Responsibility for Leading your IRM Initiative. Developing value from information resources is often a responsibility that falls between the cracks of several departments the user departments in different business units, and corporate planning, MIS units or librarians.. 3. Develop Clear Policies on Information Resources Policies for ascertaining information needs, acquiring and managing information throughout its life cycle. Pay particular attention to ownership, information integrity and sharing. Make the policies consistent with your organisational culture. 4. Conduct an Information Audit (Knowledge Inventory). Identify current knowledge and information resources (or entities), their users, usage and importance. Identify sources, cost and value. Classify information and knowledge by its key attributes. Develop knowledge maps. As knowledge management gains prominence, this is sometimes called a knowledge inventory knowing what you know. 5. Link to Management Processes. Make sure that key decision and business process are supported with high leverage information. Assess each process for its information needs. 6. Systematic scanning. Systematically scan your business environment. This includes the wider environment legal and regulatory, political, social, economic and technological as well as the inner environment of your industry, markets, customers and competitors. Provide selective and tailored dissemination of vital signs to key executives. This goes beyond the daily abstracting service provided by many suppliers. 7. Mix hard/soft, internal/external. True patterns and insights emerge when internal and external data is juxtaposed, when hard data is evaluated against qualitative analysis. Tweak your MkIS system to do these comparisons. 7. Optimize your information purchases. You dont have to control purchasing, but most organisations do not know how much they are really spending on external information. By treating consultancy, market research, library expenses, report and databases as separate categories, many organisations are confusing media with content. 8. Introduce mining and refining processes. Good information management involves data mining, information refining and knowledge editing. You can use technology such as intelligent agents, to help, but ultimately subject matter experts are needed to repackage relevant material in a user friendly format. One useful technique is content analysis, whose methods have been developed by Trend Monitor International in their Information Refinery, and are used in our analysis services. The classifying, synthesising and refining of information combines the crafts of the information scientist, librarian, business analyst and market researcher/analyst. Yet many organisations do not integrate these disciplines. 9. Develop Appropriate Technological Systems Continual advances in technology increase the opportunities available for competitive advantage through effective information management. In particular, intranets, groupware and other collaborative technologies make it possible for more widespread sharing and collaborative use of information. Advances in text retrieval, document management and a host of other trends in knowledge management technologies have all created new opportunities for providers and users alike. 10. Exploit technology convergence. Telecommunications, office systems, publishing, documentation are converging. Exploit this convergence through open networking, using facilities such as the World Wide Web, not just for external information dissemination but for sharing information internally. 11. Encourage a Sharing Culture Information acquires value when turned into intelligence. Market Intelligence Systems (MkIS) are human expert-centred. Raw information needs interpretation, discussing and analysing teams of experts, offering different perspectives. This know-how sharing is a hall-mark of successful organisations. Q4 Mis use in financial management: Management Information Systems (MIS) in Finance have been widely adopted both by corporations as well as governments. They are information systems with capacity to maintain large data bases enabling organizations to store, organize and access financial information easily. 1. General Ledger * The main use of a management information System (MIS) in finance is that it automatically updates all the transactions in the General Ledger. The General Ledger is the core component of all financial information systems. Financial transactions are simultaneously posted on the various accounts that comprise the organizations Chart of Accounts. Simultaneous updating of accounts such as sales, inventory and accounts receivable, reduces errors. It also provides an accurate and permanent record of all historical transactions. Cash Management * Cash flow management is an important use of MIS in Finance. Cash Management refers to the control, monitoring and forecasting of cash for financing needs. Use of MIS in Finance helps companies track the flow of cash through accounts receivable and accounts payable accurately. Accurate records also help in monitoring cost of goods sold. This can help pin point areas that eat up cash flow such as inventory costs, high raw material costs or unreliable sales. * Sponsored Links * CFP Certification course ICICIdirect experts help you become a Certified Financial Planner.Apply www.icicidirect.com/CFP Budget Planning * Financial budget planning uses proforma or projected financial statements that serve as as formal documents of managements expectations regarding sales, expenses and other financial transactions. Thus financial budgets are tools used both for planning as well as control. MIS in finance helps organizations evaluate what if scenarios. By modifying the financial ratios, management can foresee the effects of various scenarios on the financial statements. MIS thus serves as a decision making tool, helping in choosing appropriate financial goals. Financial Reporting * The use of MIS systems in Finance enables companies to generate multiple financial reports accurately and consistently. Generation of financial statements both for internal reports as well as for shareholder information takes less effort because of the automatic updating of the General Ledger. Compliance with Government regulations as well as auditing requirements is also easier because the records are accurate and provide a permanent historical map of transactions that can be verified. Financial Modeling * A financial model is a system that incorporates mathematics, logic and data in the form of a large database. The model is used to manipulate the financial variables that affect earnings thus enabling planners to view the implications of their planning decisions. MIS in Finance enables organizations to store a large amount of data. This helps managers develop accurate models of the external environment and thus incorporate realistic what if scenarios into their long-range planning goal. PRODUCTION MANAGEMENT: Production means transformation of Raw materials into finished products for sale. According to E. L. Brech, â€Å" Production Management is the process of effective planning and regulating the operations of that section of an enterprise which is responsible for the actual transformation of materials into finished products†. 1.Statergic planning 2 tactical planning 3 operational procedure. Q5 computer programs that are derived from a branch of computer science research called Artificial Intelligence (AI). AIs scientific goal is to understand intelligence by building computer programs that exhibit intelligent behavior. It is concerned with the concepts and methods of symbolic inference, or reasoning, by a computer, and how the knowledge used to make those inferences will be represented inside the machine. Of course, the term intelligence covers many cognitive skills, including the ability to solve problems, learn, and understand language; AI addresses all of those. The Building Blocks of Expert Systems Every expert system consists of two principal parts: the knowledge base; and the reasoning, or inference, engine. The knowledge base of expert systems contains both factual and heuristic knowledge. Factual knowledge is that knowledge of the task domain that is widely shared, typically found in textbooks or journals, and commonly agreed upon by those knowledgeable in the particular field. Heuristic knowledge is the less rigorous, more experiential, more judgmental knowledge of performance. In contrast to factual knowledge, heuristic knowledge is rarely discussed, and is largely individualistic. It is the knowledge of good practice, good judgment, and plausible reasoning in the field. It is the knowledge that underlies the art of good guessing. Knowledge representation formalizes and organizes the knowledge. One widely used representation is the production rule, or simply rule. A rule consists of an IF part and a THEN part (also called a condition and an action). Example: Robotics Use of robots: for example, in industry, health, warfare, airlines, space, underwater exploration Q6 An integral part of any eBusiness system is its database. However, an advanced study of implementing databases is beyond the scope of this course. Here, for now, we are concerned with understanding the role that a database plays in an ebusiness system and in gaining an appreciation for the relational approach to managing data. A relational database turns raw data into persistent structured collections of information. In addition to managing information a database defines the relationships within an ebusiness system. The MIS is supported by database in its endeavor to support the management in decision making. The database models be it the NDBM, the HDBM or the RDBM, play the same role in the MIS. With the latest computer hardware and software capabilities the RDBMS have become popular. The concept of the end user computing can be implemented easily with the database approach to the information system. With the database approach, considerable data processing efforts, which were spent in the approach of the conventional system, are saved. The data is made independent of its application. The MIS designs have become more dependable due to the database and the SQL. The rigidity of the design is replaced by the flexibility of the design. It is now possible to review the applications more frequently from the point of view of utility and have them modified, if necessary. The database has strengthened the foundations of the MIS due to the following: * The database can be evolved to the new needs of the MIS. * The multiple needs can be met with easily. * The data design and the output design is flexible * Open system design of the MIS is possible. * The query handling becomes easier due to the Standard SQL. * User-friendly end user computing is possible. * The data is freed from its ownership and its use has become universal. * The Information Technology provides tools to handle distributed multiple databases making the MIS richer.

Manifestations of Sexism Across Languages

Manifestations of Sexism Across Languages Social Sexism Language Abstract There is no denying that communication is one of the keys to success for individuals in a rapidly changing world. Why do mere words carry too much power? First of all, language can develop one’s consciousness from infancy. Children learning the language are likely to absorb the cultural assumptions, myths and prejudice underlying language use. Social inequity reflected in language, thus, can powerfully shapes children’s later behaviors and attitudes. In this way, language affects socialization of the community where it belongs. The aim of this paper is to develop human perspectives on sexism in language, its manifestations and its negative impacts on women. From theory to practice, the paper, furthermore, equips its readers with relevant guidelines to stay away from unwittingly using sexist language and apply the gender-neutral language. Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. Discrimination against women Sexism or gender discrimination means treating people differently on the grounds of their genders, which they were born to be. In a popular old feminist slogan, which goes â€Å"You start by sinking into his arms and end up with your arms in his sink†, the prevalence of sexism is beyond question. For years, men have held the dominant position of power and ruled the world while women have been considered inferior and useless. Even in our modern times, millions of women across the world are living in inequality, in injustice: their basic human rights are severely infringed due to no other reasons than their gender. Discrimination against women is manifested in numerous aspects of life such as education, work, enjoyment of benefits, freedom, power, etc. Take education as an example. Women, who make up 66% of the world’s illiterate adults, may account for 55% of college students but even after they successfully completed the same course of education or training, their equal work opportunities, and equal treatment in their career life are not guaranteed. Sex Discrimination in the Workplace According to Women’s World Summit Foundation, globally, women perform 66% of the world’s work, but receive only 11% of the world’s income, and own only 1% of the world’s land. Also, a report released in August 2007 by the US Census Statistics showed that womens earnings in 2006 were 76.9% of mens,  leaving the wage gap statistically  unchanged from  last year Unequal payment against women The manifestation of sexism can be found almost everywhere on earth, from most developed countries to developing countries and under-developed ones in Asia and Africa. In parts of the world, like China, India and Vietnam, parents may terminate the foetus or put the baby up to adoption on the basis that it is a girl. Abuses against women are social epidemics throughout the world. More often than not, men in Pakistan, Uzbekistan, South Africa, and Peru, etc. beat their wives and daughters at home at an astounding rate. In Ukraine, Nigeria, and Thailand, women are bought and sold, trafficked and forced to work as prostitutes. In the meantime, women in Morocco, Jordan, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia tackle with discrimination that renders them unequal before the law. Even in the US, where freedom is believed to reach the extreme, breaking news and articles on polygamy keep showing up frequently in daily newspaper, radio and television. Recently, a huge scandal over a polygamist broke on the front page of all the papers. Warren Jeffs, head of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints in Texas, was convicted after he forced a 14-year-old girl to marry her cousin. That unfortunate girl is not the only case. Hundreds of other girls and women there suffer from the same ill-treatment. Members in the sect led by Jeffs believe that a man must marry at least three wives in order to ascend to heaven. Women are meanwhile taught that their path to heaven depends on being subservient to their husbands. 1.2. Gender Equality Thanks to the dawn of civilization, the vital roles of women have been recognized and gender equality has received major attention. Since the 1960s, feminism movements began and have blossomed all over the world. People’s attitude and ways of thinking toward women have been changing positively. In many countries, girls have the opportunity to go to school and enjoy the same rights as their male classmates. The number of female employees in the workplace has risen up dramatically. A peak in social changes is the adoption of Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women by the United Nations General Assembly on December, 18th, 1979. It came into full force as an international treaty after the twentieth country ratified it on September, 3rd, 1981. In its approach, the Convention covers three dimensions of the situation of women. Civil rights and the legal status of women are dealt with in great detail. In addition, the Convention, unlike other human rights treaties, is also concerned with the dimension of human reproduction as well as with the impact of cultural factors on gender relations. The implementation of the Convention is monitored by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The Committees mandate and the administration of the treaty are defined in the Articles 17 to 30 of the Convention. The Committee is composed of 23 experts nominated by their Governments and elected by the States parties as individuals of high moral standing and competence in the field covered by the Convention. At least every four years, the States parties are expected to submit a national report to the Committee, indicating the measures they have adopted to give effect to the provisions of the Convention. During its annual session, the Committee members discuss these reports with the Government representatives and explore with them areas for further action by the specific country. The Committee also makes general recommendations to the States parties on matters concerning the elimination of discrimination against women. 1.3. Language as the reflector of society Language is not merely a means of communication; rather, it connects people to each other in social relationships and allows them to participate in a variety of activities in daily life. There is a reciprocal relationship between language and the society in which the society dominates the kind of language spoken in its community. And in return, people’s thought is strongly affected by their languages. Every little change in the thought takes language’s influence to the extreme, transcending the whole society. Consequently, under the canopy of sexism world, language in general or English in particular is greatly influenced and turns out to be sexist, creating Sexism in Language. For example, in the Western countries, the manifestation of sexist language emerged on the very early days in the Bible. This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day when God created man, he made him in the likeness of God. He created them male and female, and he blessed them and he named them Man in the day when they were created. (Genesis 5:1, 2) When Neil Armstrong, the legendary American astronaut, made his very first step on the moon, he uttered a memorable sentence: Thats one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind. If he had landed on the moon in the mid-90s, he would definitely have said a much more politically correct sentence: Thats one small step for a person, one giant leap for humankind.† which is less poetic but certainly more literally representative of the whole of the human race. In the progressive, civilized world today, women and men are to be recognized equal. In the same vein, sexist language should not be welcomed and that is the reason why neutral-gender language is preferred to the sexist one by many people. 1.4. Aims and objectives There is a long way to go until the deep-rooted concept of sexism vanishes completely though a lot of changes have come in subtle ways through our actions, our movements, our laws,. As one more step towards this end, important things like the usage of words should be taken into consideration. If children are exposed to sexist words used by their parents, relatives since their childhood, they will take it for granted that sexism is not a matter, that language is language and that we just swim with the tide. Clearly, language may shape human thought. Therefore, in this paper, my overall aim and objectives are: To raise public awareness in using language. To help English learners to improve their understanding in sexist language. To provide information that, to some extent, shows English learners to the right track of language usage so as not to unwittingly offend or hurt anyone. To describe how discrimination against women appears in spoken and written language and explain what sexist language is and what meaning lies behind it. To manifest sexism in Vietnamese roughly and sexism in English in more details. Last but not least, to provide English users with some practical tips to avoid sexist language. Chapter 2 Review Of The Related Literature The relationship between language and gender has long been of interest within sociolinguistics and related disciplines. The possibility of eliminating sexism from language originally stems from the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which states that language is not only shaped by society, but society by its language. Since the early 1900s, Edward Sapir first identified a new concept, which is language determinism. In his perspectives, language defines the way a person behaves and thinks. He believed that language and the thoughts that we have are somehow interwoven, and that all people are equally being affected by the confines of their language. Later, Benjamin Whorf, Sapir’s student, picked up on the idea of linguistic determinism and really made it his own. Whorf coined the so-called the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, which is more properly referred to as the Whorf hypothesis. Under this hypothesis, language is believed to be more than a way of voicing ideas, but the element which shapes those ideas. One cannot think outside the confines of their language. Whorf put his whole trust in linguistic determinism; that what one thinks is fully determined by its language. He also supported linguistic relativity, which means that the differences in language reflect the different views of different people. For example, Whorf conducted a study on the Hopi language. He did research on a Hopi speaker who lived in New York City near the place he lived. He concluded that Hopi speakers do not include tense in their sentences, and therefore must have a different sense of time than other groups of people. On a parting note, the strong form of the hypothesis is not now widely believed. After all, speakers of one language can explain and understand the conceptual systems of another language. And grammatical categories do not thoroughly explain cultural systems. Indo-European languages put gender into a grammatical category, and their speakers may be sexist but speakers of Turkish or Chinese, languages without grammatical gender, are not notably less sexist. A weak form of the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, that language influences without determining our categories of thought still seems justifiable, and is even backed up by some psychological experiments like the finding of Kay Kempton which depicts, in distinguishing colour triads, a pair distinguished by colour names can seem more distinct than a pair with the same name which are actually more divergent optically. As a field, prompted by the blossoming Western Women’s Movement, language and gender really took off in the 1970s with particular interest from feminist researchers, in the potential for male dominance of mixed-gender talk such as men interrupting women more often than the reverse case or in the clarification of distinction between female and male speaking styles and in sexism, or sexist bias, in language. The year 1975 can be regarded as a milestone in the study of language and gender in the West. In that year three important books were published. They are Robin Lakoff’s work Language and Women’s Place, Thorne and Henley’s co-edited collection named Language and Sex: Difference and Dominance, and Key’s book about Male /Female Language. With a closer look at Lakoff’s book, he focuses especially on female use of woman talk in society and the problems women must overcome to be seen as effective, strong thinkers and speakers. The author uses classroom observations and examples to convey the idea that children are taught to speak politely and to accept peoples ideas. Ridicule from older boys causes boys around the age of five to stop using woman talk and adopt a masculine language. Girls sustain their old language and are discouraged from using masculine language. As for adults, a problem arises when women has to handle both business and personal relationships. They use neutral language for business but mostly feminine language when talking to friends. If they refuse to talk like ladies, they are ridiculed for being masculine, but they are also ridiculed when they use feminine language because they are seen as unable to speak forcefully. Basically, women are damned if they do and damned if they dont. Men, from childhood on, have taken control over the society and speech by using strong expressions while women have had to adapt their language to variations, no matter business or personal. For instance, a woman may say an idea is terrific in a board meeting, but when she is talking to her female friend she may utter that the idea is divine. The adjectives used vary with a womans environment. Because women have to make adjustments in their speech, Lakoff observes, most women never really master either language or feel comfortable using both. Therefore, the overall effect of womans talk is to engage a womans personal identity and her ideas, erasing the chance to take power. Thanks to observations, the author notes that women outnumbered men in utilizing more tag questions (questions that dont commit the speaker to an idea either way) because they want reassurance that their statement is correct. Lakoff concludes that womens speech is devised by society and taught to girls through socialization to prevent the expression of ideas that may increase womens status. A writer and administrator at Arizona State University, Nelsin P.A (1977) carried out a study of the dictionary prescribing sexism in English. Using richly detailed historical evidence, she disclosed how often English expresses sexist assumptions among males and females. In her study, she read a desk dictionary and jotted down note cards on every entry that seemed to refer to male and female. Her collection of note cards brought to her mind the association of English with the society. As for her, â€Å"Language and society are intertwined as a chicken and an egg†. The values and beliefs of a culture can be revealed through its language. A language may change fast as new words can be easily introduced but it also takes a whale of time for old words and usages to disappear. Based on Nilsen’s note cards, she found out three main points about the comparison between men and women: â€Å"Women are sexy and Men are successful†, â€Å"Women are passive and Men are active† and â€Å"Women are connected with Negative Connotations; Men with Positive Connotations.† More recently, Marlis Hellinger and Madumod Bussman (2002) (as cited in Ansary and Babaii 2005), two German linguists published their work â€Å"Gender across Languages – Linguistic representation of women and men†. They have managed a long time of intensive preparation to create an outstanding project gathering linguists to present research on gender representation across 30 countries, namely China, Norway, Spain, Finland, Holland, Vietnam, etc. The project provides an incredible huge amount of new insights into the topic of linguistic representation of gender in different languages. Various pieces of linguistic research from different countries have been collected in three volumes. Each of the three volumes is introduced by an identical article of the editors giving some general information about the project, the topics to be discussed for the different languages in the volumes and the terminology used. Take Vietnamese research as an example. Ms. Hoa Pham manages to show in her very informative article in Vietnamese the role, social status and traditional values play for person reference forms. She focuses in her study on terms women and men use in various relationships in urban settings among young and/or educated people. Her study therefore emphasizes the role concrete communicational situations play in person reference. Vietnamese as a classifier language expresses gender mainly by special morphemes used as modifiers. The role gender specific reference takes and the way it is expressed is dependent on the communicational context including the relative status and age of the people addressed, speaking and referred to. Nevertheless, social changes play an important role here as well. Terms of address, self-reference and reference have changed in the last few decades with the change of womens roles in society. Chapter 3 Sexist Language 3.1 Background Definition Research on sex roles conducted by Swim, Mallett and Stangor (2004) indicates that sexism comes out in many forms, which are blatant, covert and subtle sexism. Both blatant sexism and covert sexism are defined as intended but differ from each other in the visibility. Blatant sexism which means unjust and discriminatory treatment of women relative to men is showed up obviously while covert sexism inclines to invisible ill-treatment of women. Compared to those two kinds, subtle sexism represents unfair treatment to women, which is hardly recognized for it is perceived as normative and conventional. Similar to covert sexism, subtle sexism is hidden away but it is not unintentionally harmful. In fact, subtle sexism is of particular interest of researchers due to its wide prevalence and adverse impacts on its victims. Sexist language is part and parcel of subtle sexism. It is the â€Å"language which devalues members of one sex, almost invariably women, and thus foster gender inequality†. In other words, sexist language consists of speeches and utterances that strengthens, perpetuates gender stereotypes and status differences between women and men. In a human life chart, sexist language may appear in the very first lines. Kids learn it from their parents, siblings, neighbors and as time passes by, it mutates and evolves into a linguistic habit. People may use sexist language for a handful of reasons. It may be owing to the tradition, the norm ingrained in current written and spoken language and hard to change. Some people lack the knowledge about what makes up sexist language. Some do not believe that such language is sexist. Others may attempt to uphold the hierarchism in their societies. 3.2 Sexism in English Is English sexist? There is nothing denying it. English, one of the world’s most spoken languages indeed proves to be sexist through its historical and current use. It has been a norm in the past to refer to individuals in general terms as being male as in the sentence: â€Å"When an average British goes out in the rain, he takes an umbrella with him.† To the ear of most of English speakers, the use of â€Å"she† and â€Å"her† in that context would sound a little strange. In deed, the word â€Å"woman† in English is defined in terms of â€Å"man†. From the Old English, the word â€Å"man† means â€Å"person† while â€Å"woman† clings to the view of â€Å"wife of a person†. In his translation of the Book of Genesis, which explained Eva was formed by a â€Å"spare rib† of Adam and Adam made his declaration: â€Å"This is now bone of my bone, and flesh of my flesh: she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.† And the fact remains till today that â€Å"woman† derives from â€Å"man† as Winston Churchill put it: â€Å"In grammar, as in love, the male embraces the female† when he was asked by a feminist on this point. Ambiguities may occur when using only one word â€Å"man† for both sexes like in the following examples: Eg 1: Like other animals, man nourishes his baby with milk. Hearing such sentence could make people roll on the floor laugh because it sounds contradictory to the common sense. Eg 2: The Company only employs experienced men with good English command. The sentence could make listeners confused since they do not know what the exact sex that the Company wants to employ. Can experienced women with good English command or with much better qualities get a job in the Company? â€Å" 3.3 Sexism in Vietnamese Under a thousands-of-years feudal regime, especially the prolonged domination of China, patriarchal ideology was adopted, nurtured and practiced by the whole Vietnamese society. Such ideology dominated the Vietnamese culture for quite a long time, breeding malicious disregard and contempt of women. Though Vietnam has endeavored to develop a country of gender equality, sexism still exists in many parts of the country, especially in rural areas. This is, to some extent, reflected through the society’s conceptions of women in general and the sexist language people used when it comes to women in particular. â€Å"Nhà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥t nam vià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t hà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯u, thà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­p nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¯ vià ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿t và ´Ã¢â‚¬  The above sentence can be read literally â€Å"One boy child, write â€Å"yes†, ten girl children, write â€Å"no†. Right at birth, a gender discrimination barrier was set up between a male and a female. The saying affirms the dominant role of the male the family clan and yet if the baby turns out to be a daughter, her existence would mean nothing: her name will not be registered in the family tree. This perspective of the Vietnamese older generations, unfortunately lingers on. In reality, it is common in Vietnam that a poor couple may already have a dozen of daughters but still wish for more until they have a son who will be considered the only heir to the family’s property and tradition. The concept of â€Å"Tam tà ²ng† adopted from Confucius philosophy has been spread out widely from generation to generation in Vietnamese families. Tà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡i gia tà ²ng phà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥, xuà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥t già ¡ tà ²ng phu, phu tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ­ tà ²ng tà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ­ means a girl, since her birth, is a belonging of her father; after she gets married, she becomes a property of her husband and even when her husband passes away, she belongs to their son. In all the stages of her life, the woman has never lived, even for a minute, as an independent human being but an item passed over from one man to another. She cannot make a decision for her own life. Vietnamese literature contains a staggering amount of sexist proverbs and folk- songs where men are deemed to be superior to women. Phà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­n gà ¡i cà ³ hai bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿n sà ´ng, Bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿n Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ¥c thà ¬ chà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¹u, bà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿n trong thà ¬ nhà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚  . The two sentences in the folk-song describe the unpredictable fate of women. They have to accept and unconditionally obey the decision made by her parents whether it is right or wrong one. If , for example, a woman was fortunate enough to marry a good man, she could live a happy life. Otherwise, she would have to endure all the hardships, misery or even sufferings for the rest of her life. The unpredictability of a woman’s life in the past can be found in many other folk-songs and old poems such as: â€Å"Thà ¢n em nhÆ ° hà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡t mÆ °a xa Hà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡t rÆ ¡i xuà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Ëœng già ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ng hà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¡t và  o vÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ n hoa.† Thà ¢n em trà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯ng phà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ­n em trà ²n Bay nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¢i ba chà ¬m và ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºi nÆ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ºc non Rà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯n nà ¡t mà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·c Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ ºu tay kà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ » nà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·n.. Not only Vietnamese women lost their freedom, did they also suffer from the disrespect for their intelligence and education. â€Å"Ä Ãƒ  n à ´ng nà ´ng nà ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬ ¢i già ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¿ng khÆ ¡i. Ä Ãƒ  n bà   sà ¢u sà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¯c nhÆ ° cÆ ¡i Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ ±ng trà ¡Ã‚ ºu.† Literally translated, a man may act hastily but his thought is likened to a deep well whereas a woman may think deeply but her thought is just as narrow as the platter of betel. These two sentences implied a gross underestimate of women’s mind in comparison with men. In the old days, women had almost no access to education and very few opportunities to communicate with the outside world. For this reason, women at that time were not as knowledgeable as men who were granted a preference to pursue their study. Women can also mean misfortune or bad luck, which is clearly expressed in the following tip-of-the-tongue saying: â€Å"Ra ngà µ gà ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ·p gà ¡i.† This expression says when you go out in the morning, if the first person you meet is a female, you are deemed to fail to gain what you planned to do or you may face with some trouble or even with an accident. A lot of Vietnamese, especially old and rural people, remain sexist in their language usage. They now often say, for example, â€Å"Ä Ãƒ  n bà   thà ¬ là  m Ä‘Æ °Ãƒ ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ £c gà ¬!†, which covers the idea that women are worthless and women are never able to do anything serious or important. The word â€Å"gà ¡i† which used to refer to the prime time of a female now comes to be used in many contexts as a derogatory term, for example: gà ¡i Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥y (that’s a whore.), gà ¡i gà ¡Ã‚ »Ã‚ i Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ ºÃ‚ ¥y (that’s a call girl), Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å" gà ¡i gà ³a (that’s a stuff of widow), Ä‘Ã ¡Ã‚ »Ã¢â‚¬Å" gà ¡i Ä‘Ä © (that’s a promiscuous stuff), etc. Those judgements, nevertheless, no longer holds water in the 21st century Vietnam society, in which women enjoy the same right to go to school and interact socially with others. It is a society where men and women are equal in all aspects: a great number of women are now members of Parliament, senior officials in the government, leaders in a number of industries, honoured professors and doctors. Chapter 4 Sexist English Its Manifestations Language can be likened to a social phenomenon, closely related to social attitudes. What happens in our daily life is partly reflected in our language. The existence of sexist language depicts in the pervasion of sexism in our day-by-day conversations, in our messages, and in our thoughts. In the past, women were supposed to stay at home, remaining powerless and generally subordinates to men whereas men were the focus, the centre of the family and even the whole society. Women have been looked down on as â€Å"the weaker sex† and should be dependent on men. Language simply reflects social facts. 4.1. Ways of addressing Addressing practices for men and women are asymmetric. Inequality is implied when different endearments â€Å"Mrs.† and â€Å"Miss† are used for women in different situations while men are associated with only one endearment â€Å"Mr.† Choosing a title for women depends on their marital status. If a woman is still single, she will be called â€Å"Miss† but after she gets married (or was married as with widow), the title will be changed into â€Å"Mrs.† Thereby, when noticing how a woman is addressed, people can tell that woman has made a wedding vow or not. Using title â€Å"Mr.† before the name of a person, on the other hand, merely shows that the person is a male adult. The term â€Å"Mr.†, used for both single and married men, has perfectly masked the marital status of a man. This linguistic distinction implies that it is more important for woman than man to show whether one is married. However, in a modern and civilized society, a woman’s avowed commitment to another human being which characterizes a marriage is a personal and private matter that bears no relevance in the public sphere. Hence, women should be able to enjoy the same status with the male counterparts who do not need to define themselves in terms of marriage. 4.2. Terms ending in â€Å"man† refer to functions performed by both sexes In English, there is a huge amount of male-oriented words (those contain the element â€Å"–man†) that can in fact apply to both sexes. In deed, when referring to students newly joined a university, the word â€Å"freshmen† is used as if all new students were male. For example:chairman  congressman  councilman newsman  foreman  freshman policeman  salesman  mailman Occupational nouns and job titles ending in -man obscure the presence of women in such professions and positions. For a long period of time, women are deserted from power and the right to voice their opinion in such fields as politics. Hence, it is common sense to view jobs like â€Å"congressman† as for male only, discounting the fact that the number of women making contribution to the political arena is skyrocketing. 4.3. Sex-linked modifiers While male-oriented words are used for both sexes, some other words, especially name of some professions which can be applied for both sexes, are habitually associated with male only. In order to refer to female of those professions, we have to add a modifier such as â€Å"woman†, â€Å"lady† or â€Å"girl† before each name of profession albeit those names of common gender. Common Gender Female Doctor  Woman doctor Professor  Woman professor Engineer  Woman engineer Lawyer  Lady lawyer Reporter  Girl reporter The addition of modifier is a piece of evidence for discrimination against women as it reflects the perspective that women are appendages of men. 4.4. Bound morpheme used for a feminine form of a noun Gender discrimination in language also shows in the fact that a feminine noun of some words can only be obtained by adding a bound morpheme. For example: MALE  FEMALE  MALE  FEMALE Man  Woman  Manager  Manageress Prince  Princess  God  Goddess Author  Authoress  Mayor  Mayoress Count  Countess  Shepherd  Shepherdess Host  Hostess  Steward  Stewardess Poet  Poetess  Usher  Usherette Heir  Heiress  Sailor  Sailorette Hero  Heroine  Conductor  Conductette 4.5. Words that point to Marriage issue In a wedding ceremony, after the couple exchange their rings, the priest will utter his last words: â€Å"I pronounce you man and wife† to officially recognise the connection between two human beings. In the priest’s sentence, there is a lack of parallelism in â€Å"man and wife†. After marriage, the man remains the status of a â€Å"man† while the woman shifts her status into the â€Å"wife of a man†. In a traditional Christian wedding, the official asked â€Å"Who gives the bride away†. And the father would reply â€Å"I do† or â€Å"Her mother and I do† but there in the question lied an inherent problem. The idea that the bride is something to be handed over from one man to another conjures up images of the day when wife and children of a man were considered his properties and establishes the woman in the subservient role of wife. More interestingly, there is much linguistic evidence depicting that weddings are more important to women than to men. A woman cherishes the wedding and is considered a bride for a whole year, but a man is referred to as a groom only on the wedding day. The word â€Å"bride† appears in â€Å"bridal attendant†, â€Å"bridal gown†, â€Å"bridesmaid†, â€Å"bridal shower†, and even â€Å"bridegroom†. The word â€Å"groom† comes from the Middle English word â€Å"grom†, meaning â€Å"man† and in the sense is seldom used outside of the wedding. With most pairs of male/female words, people habitually put the masculine word first, Mr. and Mrs., his and hers, boys and girls, men and women, kings  and queens, brothers and sisters, guys and dolls, and host and hostess, but it is the â€Å"bride and groom† who are talked about, not the â€Å"groom and bride†. The importance of marriage to a woman is also shown by the fact that when a  marriage ends in death, the woman gets the title of â€Å"widow†. A man gets the derived  title of â€Å"widower†, which is not used in other phrases or contexts, but widow is seen  in â€Å"widowhood†, â€Å"widows peak†, and â€Å"widows walk†. A â€Å"widow† in a card game is an

Object Oriented Development Technology

Object Oriented Development Technology In view of Johnson (2014) information as the word suggests is a collection of data which has different meaning in different contexts. When information is said to be good is when it adheres to certain qualities and it is relevant. There are certain characteristics associated to information which makes it good. Some of the important ones being that the information has to be complete, relevant, understandable and timely provided in detail. In the context of Holipets Pet Care Service the main characteristics of good information would be that the information has to be Accurate, Complete and Timely. According to Watsell (2014) the information provided should be accurate to both the context and to the subject. In context of Holipets Pet Care service which is a small pet care service for cats and dogs, the information collected from the customers and also information provided to them should be accurate. It should not have any kind of errors regarding the pet details, customer details, pet medication details etc. The service firm also offers different kinds of services like boarding of pets, medication, home visits, collect pets from home and on time delivery requests. Information based on these services also should be accurate and clear (Blair, 2003). Lets try to explain how accurate information would benefit the business in view of the different services Holipets pet care provides Accurate information about the medicines and care that need to be administered for a pet. It should be clear and free from bias. Clear information regarding the background checks for the staff would ens ure that they could be trusted with the customers and their pets. Keeping accurate records regarding the availability of kennels and cattery would ensure that they should not take commitments that cannot be fulfilled. This also would help them in making sure that they are not under booked or over booked. When the information provided to the customers is not accurate, it would lose the confidence of customers about the organization and thus negatively affect the business. According to Brooks (2008) complete and detailed information ensures that the customer queries are well explained. Information is considered to be complete if it is based on a complete data. The facts and figures of information should not be concealed. Detailed information about the pet feeding time, prescribed medicines etc would ensure that pets are taken care without any issues. A detailed log about the staff availability, booking details, cancellation etc would help us in providing better service to our customers. When providing information to the customers the service center employee should be able to explain in detail so that the customer understands and they process the data themselves which might end up in taking assumptions. This would adversely affect the business. According to Checkland Hotwell (2005) Information that is from a correct period is known as timely information. It is vital to effective decision making for customers. In context of Holipets pet care service, they record all the details manually in a diary. Daily or weekly status reports have to send to customers explaining feeding time, medication and other activities. If there is any delay occurred in any customized report requested by the customer, it will create a bad impression about the firm. The service also have to maintain all the activities like pet information, day to day activities, banking details, list of unpaid customers, booking details everything in a timely manner. Because there is a chance to occur the change in date of booking, cancellation of booking, customer needs more than one kennel or cattery, change in home visit etc. All the information should be recorded well and ready to produce data on time so that it is as up to date as required, provided when require d and provided as often required. According to Sanders (2010) Object Oriented Development Technology offers a better way for developing software systems. Compared to other non-OO programming languages analysis and design methods like Procedural Programming or functional programming, Object oriented development easily develop a software using self contained modules. According to Welie, (2009) in object oriented development we identify objects as things, properties of things and actions they perform. We build models based on this abstraction and these models are used to represent the real world objects. The Real World aspect of OO is often over-stated and over-simplified. OO programmers build software using these abstract objects. It help them to design their software from more complete OO specifications and the object thinking enables these system specifications to be expressed in terms of objects. Traditional approaches for developing software are more difficult in many cases, so to support these needs we use object oriented (OO) approaches. The underlying concepts of object orientation give it a distinct advantage in managing complexity, promoting reuse, and reducing the effort required for maintenance. In the case of Holipet pet care service, object oriented approach make the system more reliable, relevant and accurate. Object oriented approach supports abstraction at the object level. Since objects encapsulate both data (attributes) functions (methods), they work at a higher level of abstraction. This makes designing, coding, testing maintaining the system much simpler. According to Henninger (2000) Object oriented systems development is a way to develop software by building self contained modules or objects that can be easily replaced, modified and reused. In Holipets pet care service, the cat and dog are considered as objects. Their name, breed, height etc. are the attributes and the actions like feeding, medication, activities are the functions. If we approach in this way, the designing of the software system will be simpler and more robust. In an object-oriented environment, software is a collection of discrete objects (dogs, cats, staff, and customer) that encapsulate their data as well as the functionality of model real world events. In object oriented development, a class is collection of objects which has attributes and functions. It defines what a class can do and how it does. Here cat and dog object comes under the class pet which is having some common attributes like name, breed, height and weight which is common to both of the objects. T he functions of class include feeding, medication, activities etc. Some of the advantages given for the use of object oriented development are: Re-use of existing designs and code, Faster development and More Robustness Holipets pet care service currently doing all the works manually like booking, accounting, staff management etc. As per object technology if we automate the firm, we consider everything as objects. So the development of the system software will be faster and easier. We can reuse the same code for future development. The system will be faster and robust. Chance of getting error is very less compared to manual system. Maintenance of the system also will be easy. According to Veerman (2009) OO analysis must decide how the objects might relate to each other and what role each object play. The objects role defines it responsibilities what it must do and what it must know in order to achieve its responsibilities. In object-oriented analysis, we must decide: What each kind of object must do, What each kind of object must know and How each kind of object relates to other kinds of objects. Object-oriented design takes the analysis models and looks more closely at how the objects and their relationships might be re-shaped and extended to make them better suited to implementation. In Holipet pet care service, the designer will also try to make objects as reusable as possible on future developments. While designing the software maximum reusability of the modules also considered for example designing a common class pet that we can use for both dog and cat. Same way the class cage can use for both kennel and cattery. According to Harrison et al., (2007) OO uses the models emerging from analysis as the basis for creating the detailed system design. Before designing a system, a detailed analysis of all the requirements can be done. The analysis models provide the ideal, logical view of the system, taking account of the constraints imposed by the technology. In Holipet pet care service, a detailed analysis is needed to identify the work flow of the current system. This close relationship between analysis and design brings several benefits, the maintenance will be easier and there will be a close relationship between design architecture and domain requirements. Objects and Classes are the basic building blocks of object oriented design. Objects are instance of a class. Objects can be any kind of things during system development. It may be physical or tangible thing found in real world domain. Objects share common features. In Holipets system object can be dog, cat, customer, staff etc. Collection of objects is known as class with similar properties (attributes) and common behavior (function). Class pet in Holipets pet care service contains dog and cat as objects. They share some common properties like name, breed, height, weight and common operations like feeding, activities, medications etc. According to Wright (2001) Iterative development is a method of breaking down the software development of a large application into smaller parts. In iterative development feature code is designed, developed and tested in repeated cycles. As iterations are completed the team can review the product with different stakeholders like the customers and the management to get early feedbacks. This would help the team to test their product for customer acceptance very early in the development cycle. This will also ensure that the developed product is what the customer actually needs. Figure Iterative Model Source: (Granard, 2011) Â   Â   According to Johnson (2016) Iterative development is best defined in terms of its processes that allows for dynamic development rather than any single defined method or approach. Some of the commonly used iterative methodologies are Agile, Dynamic system development method (DSDM), Extreme programming (eXtreme) and scrum. Common features of these iterative methods are: Development is done incrementally over multiple iterations, Iterations include some component of planning, requirement analysis, design, development, testing, documentation and implementation, Software that works is the primary measure of the progress and success and Iterations build upon lessons learned in prior iterations. Among the different iterative development approaches, the one that would be a best fit for Holipets Pet Care Service would be the SCRUM. According to Shoan (2009) Scrum is a framework for iterative product development where the main focus is on teamwork and accountability. The scrum team would work together to achieve a well defined goal. As the scrum teams would be smaller in size and also would be cross functional and preferably in the same office location helps the team to perform better. The team takes wiser decisions on software features as it is a cross functional team. The duration of iterations in scrum is called as the sprint. The ideal sprint duration is of 2 weeks. The team can resolve impediments early on in the process with the help of daily scrum meetings and sprint retrospective meetings. In the context of Holipets pet care service, SCRUM would be the ideal way to implement iterative development. In SCRUM a small set of requirements would be developed by the scrum team in each iteration. Towards the end of sprint, the shippable product is released and the product is also reviewed with different stakeholders which involve the actual end users of the software. The feedbacks obtained from such review meeting would be provide vital information about what the customers, end users feel about the product and also what extra features do they require. These feedbacks are then converted into tasks for the next iterations depending on their priorities. In addition to Scrum process the team would also implement continuous integration builds, unit tests and automated tests which would ensure that the current sprint output integrates well with the past releases thus reducing the time taken for releasing the product to the customer. Source: (Robinson, 2015)Â   According to Robinson (2015) Agile development methodology is a conceptual framework for undertaking any software engineering projects. In general agile methods attempt to minimize risk and maximize productivity by developing software in short iterations and deemphasizing work on interim work artifacts and it is people oriented. There are a number of agile software development methods but the most popular agile methods are Extreme Programming (XP) and Scrum. Scrum process is distinguished from other agile process by specific concepts and practices, divided in to three categories of Roles, Artifacts and Time boxes. Scrum is most often used to manage complex software and product development. Scrum significantly increases productivity and reduces time to benefit relative to classic waterfall models. Scrum prices enable organizations to adjust smoothly to rapid changing requirements and produce a product that meets evolving business goals. An agile scrum process benefits the organization by helping it to Increase the quality of the deliverables, Provide better estimate while spending less time creating them and Be more control of the project schedule and state (Sikander, 2013) In the context of Holipets Pet Care System, SCRUM would be an effective methodology for developing the software. As per scrum only tasks of the highest priority is considered for development. These tasks should also qualify the INVEST criterias. i.e. they should be Independent, Negotiable, Valuable, Estimable , Small and Testable. The tasks are developed, tested and integrated in the sprint cycle itself. For the first sprint of Holipets Pet Care System, they should consider tasks which could be developed and tested with 2 weeks of time. These tasks should also be ready for implementation by the end of the 2 week sprint. The tasks should also provide value for their customers and for them. In my opinion such a initial task for Holipets would be to implement a SMS service for booking. Once this is implemented the scrum team can then take input from customers as well as in house staff to identify the next high priority item that would add value to them. The team should also take time to setup continuous integration builds, unit testing and automation testing and should not rely too much on traditional black box testing. This would ensure that the time taken to integrate in production would be less and thus getting early feedbacks from users. The quality of software design might be improved by designers adopting and maintaining a professional attitude to their work. We will explore what characterizes a professional and a community of professionals and whether systems design can fit this model. As per UMKC (2015) if we are to consider software designers as professionals we need to know what characterizes more commonly accepted professionals and their communities. Common characteristics of a professional community are: self-regulatory, shared goals, specific methods for achieving goals, and work to accepted standards. Systems development does not display the same characteristics as these long-established professionals like doctors, lawyers etc. Although it has voluntary codes of conduct and practice managed by its various professional organizations (e.g. British Computing Society) the IT industry is not self regulatory, nor is it extensively regulated by government or statute. Designers face significant challenges in pursuit of professionalism (Greenwood, 2001). Their industry is constantly undergoing growth and change, which is not conducive to close reflection on the ways in which designers carry out their work and to the creation of common standards and a broadly accepted community of practice. For example in Holipets pet care service there are many security concerns in online payment or maintenance of the system as per customer request. However, although the IT industry may not resemble the better understood professions, it has, in its various disciplines and practice areas, begun to define and agree on common methods of working and appropriate standards to achieve and maintain. In this scenario we are using UML. UML is a standard language for specifying, visualizing, constructing, and documenting the artifacts of software systems. It is a pictorial language used to make software blue prints (UMK, 2015). According to ESRD (2011) a good software design seeks to provide the best fit of the domain model into clients physical context. The best fit requires finding a balance between the demands of the specified functional requirements of the software, the constraints imposed by the non functional requirements and the overall cost. The outcome from the process is a design specification which allows efficient and cost effective deployment of the software. The key responsibilities of a professional software designer are Produce a design model from the domain model, Consider non functional requirements, Consider physical aspects of the design and Provide design specification for the programmers. In context of Holipets pet care service, the designer produces a specification model from the given requirements. A detailed requirement analysis is needed before making the design model like what services the customer wants from the firm. The firm also needs to consider the non functional requirements. Non functional requirements are comes under quality attributes like quality of service or quality constraints. The designer has to provide all the specification to programmers to develop the software in an effective manner. One of the most critical aspects of this role is working closely with the user community which directly and indirectly affected by the software under development to ensure the software will be usable in a safe, effective manner. The system has to be user-friendly and easy to operate because a surprising number of software applications are not, or only partially, used because users find them impossible or difficult to operate. If we applied the features and characte ristics of widely understood professional communities to software development, we would expect the professional designer, in seeking to achieve a good design, to behave as follows: Take responsibility for the design process, Act with integrity with users and with colleagues in the development team, Be truthful and act with appropriate gratitude to others and Develop professional relationships and use professional codes. 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