The Nature of the Beast: An Analysis of the Genre of Science Fiction

All modes of inquiry correlate with each other due to their tendency to coalesce in their emphasis on questions, which raise issues on autonomy, justice, and politics. The differences of literary theories, for example, merely spring from their construal of the relationship between the exercise of power and the text. Structuralism views the relation in terms of the relationship of the formal elements in a linguistic system. Marxism assesses the relationship in terms of the role of such relations in the existence of social structures.The same method is used by Psychoanalysis, with the emphasis on the conscious and unconscious mind. Deconstruction, on the other hand, perceives the texts’ role in destabilizing oppositional modes of power. Despite of these differences amongst discursive procedures, it does not overshadow the fact that these theories give emphasis on their analysis of the political and institutional structures within society. A concrete example of this can be seen i n the opposing theories of constructivism and essentialism.Despite their adherence to competing narratives of oppression and resistance [constructivism places emphasis on multiple identities thereby opposing essentialism’s stance on singular categorization] both theories show interest on the subject’s position within society and how this position can affect the development of his identity. In fact, if one isolates the discussion of identity and narratives of oppression in both discourses, one will notice that the ultimate commitment of the theories they adhere to gives emphasis on the idea of political justice.Politics within these discourses is seen as a collective action of resistance, which aims for change in the hopes of attending to the problems evident in the formation of identity and agency. It is important to note that literature as a repository of human experience has always been influenced by politics. Exercise of power within society is associated with and d ependent on the mass production of certain kinds of literature, which allows the cultural qualification of ideas.The relation between literature and politics can also be seen in literary theory’s assessment of the formation of consciousness and unconsciousness, which is related to the maintenance, and transformation of the predominant modes of power made possible by literary output (Eagleton 210). It is also dependent upon the ahistorical positioning of the literary text, since this allows the continuous creation of meaning for a particular text. This mode of relationship invokes the aesthetic character of literature. Literature as a form of discourse enables the perception of aesthetics as a process of communicating while remaking a work.The aesthetic act becomes the incarnation of meaning rather than a demonstration of truth. This is possible since in the process of reading a text, the subject -which can be both the reader and the author- produces another text which is the same as the earlier text yet entirely different from it. Perceived within the dialogic process, the interconnectedness of completion and fragmentation can be understood by recognizing that it is in fact the fragmentation of the text, which allows the completion of the text itself.Within this perspective, the aesthetic act becomes political through the social interaction necessitated by the creation and continual recreation of an artistic work. Literature, in this sense, becomes the locus of a condensed and social evaluation. Intersubjectivity precedes subjectivity wherein the production and repression of meaning is seen as a socio-ideological process rather than an individual process. In this scheme, the text is allowed the character of fluidity. No permanent theoretical stipulation and ethical meaning can be attached to it since to do so is tantamount to denying the ahistorical character of the text.This character is invoked since in the end when one considers a text, what is given importance is not necessarily the historical reading of the text but the various readings made available by the literary theories and ethical standpoints that one may attach to the text. Within this process, there is an emphasis on the reassessment and creation of new standpoints since the interpretation of the text involves the consideration of both the act of writing and reading the text.The re-conceptualization of a literary text through reading enables the individual to undergo a process of analyzing the truth connected with the discourse in which the text is situated, while at the same time reassessing its connection to his self. Due to this, assessing a text becomes a personal and political act wherein the common adage â€Å"the personal is political† can be phrased into an equally influential counter notion that â€Å"the political is personal†. It is important to note that there is a big difference between these two adages.To say that the â€Å"personal is po litical† is only tantamount to equating political importance to personal experiences whereas to say that the â€Å"political is personal† involves following an ideology and political theory in making decisions in everyday life. The function of the verb† is† in both adages is not that of identification. This process, wherein the reading of a text becomes a vehicle for self-realization and self-transformation is emphasized within the literary genre of science fiction. The Genre of Science FictionGenres, as systems of classification, are means of strategic control. Within the field of literature, it is believed that the continuous division of literary works into different genres leads not only to the classification of the work and the text but also to the imposition of values and ideals to those people who read the works belonging to a specific genre. Through genre categories like ‘Romance’, ‘Horror’, or ‘Mystery’, those i n control of the modes of production control both the reader and the author of the work.By promising the readers a familiar set of meanings and controlling the demand for the production and formation of those meanings, those who are in control of the modes of production direct the construction of narratives. Within this context, it is possible for the stories that are produced within society to be a part of a broader form of social classification. Due to this, there is the construction of a particular set of meanings, which can only be understood within specific systems of classification. Genres in this sense become instruments of control.This is evident if one considers that genres â€Å"encode rules that constrain the†¦production and reception of meanings†¦communicated through a large number of meta-texts† (Hodge 27). These meta-texts become the basis for the production of knowledge. All knowledge is positioned as knowledge in itself and knowledge produced from an d within body. As soon as both forms of knowledge are connected to a knowing subject, the subject becomes ensnared to the poststructuralist dictum of the unity and independence of the self, which leads to the formation of the narratives of the self.Narratives then display the imprint of culture and its institutions on the individual’s sense of identity. Since self and language are mutually implicated in an interdependent system of symbolic behavior, the language that one uses for the creation of literary narratives dictates the creation of identities. The modern era thereby places the individual in a kind of political double bind as it coerces the individual to conform to normalizing and disciplinary forms of narrative construction evident in the â€Å"domestication of literature† (Suvin 373). Science fiction, however, as a genre eludes the monopolizing character of other genres.As a genre, it is at the intersection of various fields. It draws on the elements of popula r culture, science, and all types of social relations (James and Mendlesohn 1). This is evident if one considers that it employs a methodology and an approach, which enables the specification of a new set of values through the depiction of a radical form of reality. In this sense, science fiction is less of a genre if one is to conceive of a genre as specifying a particular text’s subject matter and approach to themes. As opposed to the other literary genres, science fiction cannot be expected to employ a specific set of elements and tropes.It may however be depicted as a form of ongoing discussion since the texts within the genre may be perceived as mutually referential due to their characteristic opposition towards a naturalistic and empiricistic conception of reality. Science fiction as a genre is thereby defined by its critical stance towards the normative depictions of reality. However, to state that this is the defining characteristic of the genre provides problems for the genre itself. This is evident if one considers that it leaves the genre open to other forms of literary texts with the aforementioned characteristics such as fantasy and myth.Contrary to this, science fiction stands in opposition to the aforementioned forms of literature. Science fiction is neither totalizing nor deterministic as it presents a predetermined conception of the conception and end of reality [myth]. Furthermore, it is neither based upon a conceptual scheme that posits the impossible as ordinary [fantasy]. James and Mendlesohn state, â€Å"the sense of wonder is the emotional heart of science fiction† (3). David Nye refers to this as the appreciation of the sublime evident in science fiction texts.Such a description further echoes Frederick Pohl’s description of science fiction as â€Å"a way of thinking about things† (qtd in Malzberg 38). Generally, this â€Å"way of thinking about things† may be†¦ All of these will show that the spo ntaneous and habitual orientation of attention is inimical to the maintenance of reality. Therefore, scientific fiction provides a reorientation of attention and a kind of ontological conversion, which affects the aesthetic, ethical, and political perceptions of the reality. This reorientation also affects the ontology of the world.

Muet

Extracurricular activities are a good chance for every student to improve himself/herself in many different ways. These activities are offered by educational establishments, but they are far more interesting than common lessons. In SMKPJ, the MUET drama festival had became one of the compulsory activities for all the Lower Six students. As one of the participants in MUET drama festival, I strongly agree that the MUET drama festival should be made as a yearly event for the Lower Six students. The MUET drama competition had contributed many benefits to the students. Drama competition is a tremendous way to build confidence.By overcoming innate fear of speaking in front of others, they are stepping outside of your comfort zone in a very healthy way. The skills you acquire translate to increased confidence in the their life as well as improved communication skills with others. If the ‘old one' suffered from doubt and anxiety, they will find it gradually replaced by a new self image . In this one they will see themselves standing tall, talking easily and communicating well. Besides that, the involvement in the group activity and interaction with other people develops students' socializing skills and they become more open with people.Putting themselves forward makes it easier for you to meet others. The increase in sociability which is a crucial ability for personal development and an important criteria for job interviews in their future. People's ability to make friends or to become a part of a group promotes self-confidence and creates a better atmosphere of liability among people. Moreover, the drama competition requires students to embody various characters with situations, personalities and life style which vastly different from the student's own.In order to portray the character realistically, students have to find ways to relate themselves with the character. This practice of putting themselves in someone else's shoes enhances students' ability to empathi ze with people in their personal lives and promotes compassion and tolerance for others. Furthermore, participating in drama competitions requires great reserves of imagination. The drama requires students to make creative choice, think of new ideas, and interpret familiar materials in new ways . It is a fun way of challenging students to think quickly, to act on impulse and to react to their surroundings.The consistent practice of using their imagination can translate into success at other art forms as well as creative problem solving skills. As Albert Einstein said,† imagination is more important than knowledge. † Last but not least, through drama, students learn different forms of communication which help in developing language and communication skill. They are encouraged to express themselves both verbally and through facial expressions and body language. It improves the voice projection, articulation of words, fluency with language and persuasive speech which is key to making them better and more effective communicators.Subsequently, the listening and observation skills are developed through the process of rehearsing, performing and even being an audience which other groups were performing. In conclusion, it is important that the MUET drama festival should be continued organized and make it as one of the traditions of SMKPJ. I hopes that not only the Form Six students but the whole school includes all the students and teachers should give their supports to the drama festival. Thus, the MUET drama festival can be held successfully every year.

The Validity of Knowledge

Lia Thompson Mr. Faria HZT 4U1 Wednesday January 18, 2012 The Validity of Knowledge This paper will explain the validity of John Locke’s Theory of Knowledge. Epistemology has been the topic of discussion for many philosophers over the centuries. The study of knowledge is important because as humans, it is necessary to understand where the basis for our knowledge originates. Locke, like many philosophers believed that all knowledge about the world is derived from sensory perceptions.Empiricists such as Locke believe this â€Å"posteriori† view of knowledge. He explains in his theory that we are born with â€Å"blank slates† or Tabula Rasa, the term used in Locke’s theory in his writing, â€Å"An Essay Concerning Human Understanding† (Locke 163). Philosophical arguments are as varied as the philosophers who construct them. For each theory, there is an opposing view. Rationalists, such as Rene Descartes would argue against Locke and his empiricist view of knowledge, believing knowledge to be innate.Descartes believed that all humans are innately born with these truths without the aid of our senses as argued in his first, second and third Meditations (Descartes 3). Locke’s theory goes against not only Descartes views but Plato’s as well. But Despite the arguments against Locke’s empiricist view, he is most reasonable. I agree with John Locke’s theory of sensory perception because we would not be able to survive without our senses. John Locke was born on August 29, 1632 in a village in Somerset, England (John Locke-Biography).He wrote several major works that have made a big impact on today’s view of the world, but his major theory on knowledge was in his book, â€Å"An Essay Concerning Human Understanding†, where he outlined his views as well as argued against rationalist’s view on innate knowledge. He wrote his book based on his belief that true knowledge is gained through experien ce, â€Å"a posteriori† (Velasquez 330). â€Å"Locke holds that the mind is a tabula rasa or blank sheet until experience in the form of sensation and reflection provide the basic materials — simple ideas — out of which most of our more complex knowledge is constructed† (Uzgalis).Reflection and sensory experiences go hand in hand because in order for our senses to be used, we must experience the world around us. Once we have experienced, for example the sweet taste of an apple, from eating it, we are able to reflect on what our senses were able to establish about it and gain truths about what we experienced. â€Å"Reason is our intellect, our power to think and make judgments based on our sensory experience† (Locke 59). Locke does agree that we as humans have reason but our senses are paired up with reason, as we are to reason what our senses are experiencing.Locke created the theory of â€Å"Primary and Secondary Qualities† to explain his i deas about the differences between our perception of the world and what the world really is. Based on scientific research, humans are aware that not everything we perceive is the same as how other living creatures perceive it. Animals in comparison to humans may experience the same things as humans do, but the way they are perceived can be totally different. For example, it is scientifically proven that dogs cannot see in colour, so to them everything is in black and white.Dogs still use their sight, but are unable to see the same colour humans can. Primary Qualities are measurable qualities by size, weight, shape etc. and will stay the same regardless of our perception. Secondary Qualities are the hidden powers an object has that can produce in us a sensory experience such as the colour we see in the sky. (Velasquez 333) We can understand his theory on Primary and Secondary Qualities because scientists are able through research to study other living things and their perceptions of senses.Locke’s theories are a clear explanation to the many things we experience as human beings. Descartes was born on March 31st, 1596 in Touraine. After finishing school in 1612, it left him feeling unsettled and dissatisfied. He felt the need to travel, so he could discover new surroundings and he joined the army at the age of seventeen. He was in search of discovering more truth than he had found at school. Descartes lived in a time of great uncertainty as to what truth was, and what it wasn’t.There were new scientific discoveries being made which were unheard of at that time, as well as the new protestant branch of Christianity that went against the old traditional religious beliefs. With everything around Descartes changing, he began to doubt all his prior knowledge (Velasquez 320). Descartes began to search for true knowledge, which was the beginning of Descartes’ first meditation on Doubt. He questioned the idea that we may all be unaware of our state o f mind; are we dreaming, or are we awake?Descartes concluded that there are no ways to tell whether or not we are awake or dreaming. So where did this idea come from? He went on to say that there must be something of a higher power deceiving him, an â€Å"evil genius† of deceiving nature creating this illusion for all to get caught up in. Descartes reasoned that, if this were the case, we couldn’t trust our senses at all because our senses are illusions. With this mindset, Descartes believed that the only basic truths are those that cannot be doubted. The undeniable truth he discovered was â€Å"I think, therefore I am† which he reasoned that even if he was being deceived about everything else, he could not be deceived that he was thinking he was deceived, therefore he exists† (Velasquez 321). In order for Descartes to rule out sensory perceptions, he would need to rely on another basis for our knowledge. Based on his inner reflection, he believed that kno wledge is not learned, ideas are present in the mind at birth. â€Å"We have a priori knowledge – we are born with knowledge and truths without the aid of sense perceptions†¦Ã¢â‚¬ (Velasquez 324).Descartes would argue against Locke’s sensory perceptions theory because to Descartes, our senses are invalid. In Descartes† second meditation, he uses an example of a piece of wax to prove our senses wrong. â€Å"Let us take, for example this piece of wax: it has been taken quite freshly from the hive, and it has not yet lost its sweetness of the honey which it contains; it still retains somewhat of the odor of the flowers from which it has been culled; its colour, its figure, its size are apparent; it is hard, cold, easily handled, and if you strike it with a finger, it will emit a sound† (Descartes 190-191).Here Descartes explains, in every respect all physical aspects of the wax that is experienced with our senses. â€Å"But notice that while I speak a nd approach the fire what remained of the taste is exhaled, the smell evaporated, the colour alters, the figure is destroyed, the size increases, it becomes liquid, it heats, scarcely one can handle it, and when one strikes it, no sound is emitted†¦What then did I know so distinctly of this piece of wax? It could certainly be nothing of all that the senses brought to my notice, since all hese things which fall under taste, smell, sight, touch, and hearing, are found to be changed, and yet the same wax remains†¦ it is mind alone which perceives†¦this piece of wax† (Descartes 190-191). Descartes explains that because the wax can transform, leaving us with different sense perceptions than before, it cannot be trusted as knowledge. Descartes was unable to grasp Locke’s concepts of sensory experiences and therefore rejects everything but the knowledge we are innately born with.Although Descartes gives an adequate theory, his views do not stand up to Locke and other philosopher’s criticisms. To Locke, Descartes’ whole argument on innate knowledge and the ideas behind his meditations are weak, not only invalid because of their opposing views on how humans attain knowledge, but invalid in regards to his reasoning behind his theories. There are many things to point out about Descartes, based on Locke’s ideas. Locke understood the ideas of innate knowledge, but disagreed because he believes we are too much a part of this world to doubt its existence.If innate knowledge were the only true way to have knowledge, people would not be having arguments of what is right and what is wrong. â€Å"[Descartes ideas of doubt are invalid] because there are none to which all mankind give a universal assent† (Uzgalis). Descartes’ explanation of existence of things states that because Descartes can think, and because thinking things exist, Descartes therefore exists. But this argument is invalid because this is the same as saying, â€Å"I am walking, hence I am the walking. The author, William Benton in the book, â€Å"Descartes/Spinoza† objected to Descartes’ second meditation on doubt by saying, â€Å"this is an assumption on Descartes part to say that which one understands is the same exercise of understanding†¦for the entity of understanding itself, is one thing and the essence is another† (Benton 135). This relates back to Descartes invalid argument because Descartes defense can be restated as a claim that he is thought.One may think, but can never be the â€Å"entity† or the actual action of thinking. All of Descartes meditations on knowledge surround the main idea of innate knowledge and thought, â€Å"but whence comes our knowledge of this proposition, I think? †¦ we cannot think of leaping, apart from that which leaps, of knowing apart from a knower, of thinking without a thinker† (Benton 135). Descartes has no explanations of how we are able to c ome to thoughts on actions.Actions can relate to the idea of innate knowledge because they both are thought, but are unseen to the senses, at least until the thought or action is indeed physically done. â€Å"But for example, willing fearing and denying always go hand in hand with something physical as the subject of those thoughts, you cannot have the knowledge of what scares you without experiencing it in some way† (Hutchins 138). Locke also expresses his opinion not on emotions that derive from experiences but with the nature of this world. For I imagine any one will easily grant that it would be impertinent to suppose the ideas of colours innate in a creature to whom God hath given sight, and a power to receive them by the eyes from external objects: and no less unreasonable would it be to attribute several truths to the impressions of nature, and innate characters† (Uzgalis). If we know what the term â€Å"colour† means, that is some sort of knowledge, and s o we are unable to identify colour unless we use our senses. We cannot believe we know the term colour, without actually experiencing it.Just as the author in the book â€Å"Descartes/Spinoza† explains that one is unable to know what an actual angel looks like, but from our experiences through visual senses, we are able to construct ideas of what one might look like based on our visual surroundings. (Hutchins 136) Now this goes against Descartes ideas of thought and innate knowledge because, â€Å"Notice that in order for Descartes to doubt his beliefs, he needs a language in which to express his doubt. But then, if Descartes were to doubt his beliefs about what words mean, then he could not formulate any doubts at all.He would be totally incapable to express his doubts. Thus the attempt to doubt anything would be necessarily self defeating† (Albert). Descartes’ arguments on doubt are self-defeating because Descartes does not believe anything exists but his mind , ruling out all language and terms used and formulated in this world. The example of wax used by Descartes to validate his view that sensory knowledge is the only knowledge, can be looked at differently to validate sensory experiences.From an empiricist’s point of view, one would indeed gain knowledge by putting the wax near the fire because in doing so, one would understand what happens to wax when it is being scorched. By using the senses to experience the wax in a different form, one is able to reflect and learn from the experiment. Descartes theories have many flaws, therefore making his arguments invalid. Although there are many other rationalists that oppose the views of empiricism, Plato was another great philosopher who developed the very foundations of innate knowledge based on Socrates dialogue with the slave boy.Socrates, being one of the significant founders of western philosophy, along with his student Plato was famous for imposing difficult thought-provoking in quiries to the fellow Athenian citizens. Although Socrates did not record any of his philosophical discussions or inquiries, his student Plato explains to us the works of Socrates. Plato, like Descartes believed that there was only one way to have knowledge. He believed knowledge was not acquired through the use of our senses, but merely obtained before we were born.Plato went farther than Descartes by believing that our souls must have lived in another universe before being born in this one. This other universe would have been perfect where we would have been able to experience perfect objects and were able to experience all that was perfect in the prior universe. The reason we would have innate knowledge would be because when we were born into this imperfect world, according to Plato, all the perfect concepts of the previous world would still be within our souls. â€Å"Most rationalist philosophers have rejected Plato’s claim that before we were born we existed in another perfect universe.But many rationalists have accepted Plato’s more basic insight: we do not acquire the basic truths of math and science by observing the world around us†(Velasquez 326). Although his beliefs about how we attained innate knowledge were not much accepted, he uses a dialogue between Socrates and Meno, the slave boy’s master to explain his beliefs on innate knowledge. â€Å"In Meno, Plato tells us how Socrates once made a slave boy â€Å"remember† his knowledge of geometry by showing him some imperfect figures drawn on the ground.Socrates shows the slave boy a square that is supposed to be two feet by two feet in size. Socrates asks the boy to draw a second square that is exactly twice the size of the first square†¦the boy initially realizes that his first answer is wrong. If you double the length of each side of the square, you will get a new square that is exactly four times as big as the first square. Yet the boy knows this without mak ing exact measurements†¦ and even if the boy had measured the squares, they would probably not have turned out to be exactly the right sizes. So where did this boy’s knowledge come from? (Velasquez 324) In this summary of the dialogue, Plato argues that the boy’s knowledge of the Pythagorean theorem could not have come from observing the imperfect figures drawn on the ground. This proves that it must be knowledge that is already in our minds then, because Plato explains that the knowledge of mathematical theorems are not obtained through sensory experiences. It is impossible to rely on our senses to give us knowledge of math because there is no physical experience to go hand in hand them. This belief is the total opposite of Locke’s views because Plato denies any thing that relies on the senses.In Plato’s dialogue involving the slave boy, there is some questionable material that can relate back to Locke’s beliefs of relying on our senses. Even though the slave boy was able to answer Socrates’ geometrical question, the dialogue stated that the boy hesitated and also made a mistake before arriving at the correct answer. â€Å"At first the boy says that if you double the length of each side of the first square, you will get a second square that is exactly twice the size of the first square†¦the boy quickly realizes that his first answer is wrong. (Velasquez 324) His knowledge was based on observation not innate knowledge. The boy was able to use his visual perception to determine the measurements of the squares. As Locke would say, â€Å"Reason is our intellect, our power to think and make judgments based on our sensory experience† (Locke 59). It merely takes reason and reflection to first observe the dimensions of square and then come to a realization about how to double the square. Although he was answering a question, Socrates used an example of an imperfect square and then asked him to solve the ques tion.The answer was discovered through trial and error. It was clearly not based on innate knowledge but visual senses. I agree with Locke’s theory because it is the most reasonable approach to the idea of gaining knowledge. With out sensory perception feeding us, we have nothing to base our knowledge on. We have been born with blank slate, but are still equipped with reason as human beings. One can relate scientific discoveries to sensory perceptions because all scientific knowledge comes from observations.One cannot call something a scientific discovery if it does not have evidence to back up their hypotheses. The evidence used does not come from innate knowledge, but from observation, touching, hearing, smelling, tasting. If, according to Plato and Descartes, basic science and math were innately known, then science would not improve. If science were innate, scientists would not have a job, and everyone wouldn’t be arguing about their beliefs. Science is constantly d iscovering something new, constantly realizing that something once thought as true, turned out to be false.For example, Einstein’s Theory of Relativity is based on mathematical structures and therefore is valid in the eyes of a rationalist. But if this knowledge were innate it would automatically have to be true. Scientists just recently have discovered subatomic particles that defy the theory of relativity, as these particles move faster than the speed of light. If this is the case, it is impossible to say that innate knowledge is the only truth. The whole world would have to be in agreement and collectively accept things as they are, and the world is nothing like that.We can all agree to this because we have all gained knowledge through the use of our senses. Knowledge itself is something that we as humans are still discovering, questioning and experiencing in our own way. John Locke helps us to see that knowledge is something gained individually, in our own ways, in our ow n time. We all have something in common and that is our ability to use our senses in such ways that we have been able to create magnificent pieces of art, unravel the mysteries of the universe, invent new and convenient strategies for the human race and so on.All this made possible by the pursuit of knowledge. Works cited Books Hutchins, Robert Maynard// Rene Descartes// Baruch Spinoza. Great Books of the Western World: Descartes Spinoza. Chicago: Encyclopedia Britannica, 1952. Print. Locke, John. An Essay Concerning Human Understanding. Ed. Kenneth Winkler. Hackett Publishing Company, 1996. Velasquez, Manuel. â€Å"Chapter 5: The Source of Knowledge. † Philosophy. 10th ed. Belmont: Thomas Wadsworth, 2008. 320-33. Print. Websites Albert. â€Å"Criticisms to Descartes’ Cogito  « Albert’s PHI101/103 Weblog. Albert’s PHI101/103 Weblog. 1 Apr. 2008. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. . â€Å"John Locke – Philosopher – Biography. † The European Graduat e School – Media and Communication – Graduate & Postgraduate Studies Program. 2010. Web. 20 Jan. 2012. . Uzgalis, William, â€Å"John Locke†, The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (Winter 2010 Edition), Edward N. Zalta  (ed. ), URL = .

Discussion for online Healthcare HRM Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Discussion for online Healthcare HRM - Essay Example 2) Although these EQ tests are designed to test the personality traits of the incumbent with accuracy but there are always chances of error and misstatement, how do you deal with situations when an employee (who previously appeared a team player) turns out to be a difficult person to handle and holds the whole team back? Ans: In situations where an employee becomes difficult to deal with, the role of manager/ supervisor as a team lead is very important. It’s mainly dependent on the manager’s leadership style and also the personality of that particular employee which helps in deciding the way forward. But in case, where an employee turns out to be a lone player, managers/ supervisors conduct meetings with them and make them aware of their lacking and also the desired behavior. Secondly, we also have a mechanism of appraisals every second month, which also helps us in analyzing the overall behavior of the employee and views of team members about them. Peer evaluations highlight different attributes of the employees and incase of a need counseling sessions are conducted. Where an employee appears to create problem time and again, issuing, letter of displeasure, warning and show causes notices are the primary steps of severe nature that we take after frequent communication of displeasure by the supervisors and managers or department heads. In case, where we receive constant negative feedback, we put such personnel under probation restricting his ability to see patients or play a role in hospital operations. HR department and the department head looks into the subject matter and then decide if the employee can be retained or not. In case of termination, all the hospital policies and state regulations are followed during separation phase. Ans: We encourage and hold teamwork activities every week, these activities not only include outbreaks such

Fredrickson's Various Models Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Fredrickson's Various Models - Essay Example Sherman Alexie’s assimilation story revolves around an Indian woman named Mary Lynn. She is married to a white man, Jeremiah, and they are blessed with three children. Due to conflicting cultures, she finds herself at a cross-road since she cannot find her own identity (McClinton-Temple & Velie 44). Her husband is such a racist man who even extends his hatred of other ethnic groups onto his own sons. He only loves his daughter who looks more like him. In addition, he does not just associate with all the whites, but with a subset of people, most of them being educated and affluent whites. He, however, successfully manages to get rid of some social burdens in one way or the other. Lynn spent most of her free time listening to Indian songs. This means that she could not let her culture go off her. Jeremiah believes that his wife can be fully assimilated into the white culture, if only she changes her behaviors and attitudes (McClinton-Temple & Velie 44). Ethnic Hierarchy  The a ncient American society categorized ethnic groups into different levels and classes. There was the predominant group, the whites, who are perceived as superior to other ethnic groups. The whites claimed that other ethnic groups were unfit and unready to acquire equal rights and full citizenship (Frederickson 633). Frederick’s hierarchical model can be traced back to the colonial period when blacks were enslaved and Indians were conquered. From Alexie’s assimilation story, it is obvious that all the problems that existed.... Lynn spent most of her free time listening to Indian songs. This means that she could not let her culture go off her. Jeremiah believes that his wife can be fully assimilated into the white culture, if only she changes her behaviors and attitudes (McClinton-Temple & Velie 44). Ethnic Hierarchy The ancient American society categorized ethnic groups into different levels and classes. There was the predominant group, the whites, who are perceived as superior to other ethnic groups. The whites claimed that other ethnic groups were unfit and unready to acquire equal rights and full citizenship (Frederickson 633). Frederick’s hierarchical model can be traced back to the colonial period when blacks were enslaved and Indians were conquered. From Alexie’s assimilation story, it is obvious that all the problems that existed between Jeremiah and Lynn were triggered by their cultural and religious differences. None of them was willing to abandon his or her culture and adopt other p eople’s culture. This is the reason why Lynn cheated on her husband with a fellow Indian man (McClinton-Temple & Velie 44). In the early 20th century, Americans of English ancestry, the dominant group, were not simply whites but Anglo-Saxon White Protestants. Mary Lynn found it difficult to accept and adopt Anglo-Saxon’s culture her husband belongs to; because she believes she does not qualify to join the dominant group. Jeremiah, on the other hand, believes that her wife can get fully assimilated into their culture if she changes her behaviors (McClinton-Temple & Velie 44). In the contemporary American society, the presence of socially deprived, physically unsafe and improvised barrios, ghettos and Indian reservations, indicate that

Starting with approximately 1900 and going to the present, how has Essay

Starting with approximately 1900 and going to the present, how has international relations changed over this period Identify th - Essay Example (Devetak, Burke and George) The era starting from the 1900 till present witnessed a systematic change in the international relations and the overall role of states within the overall global scene. From the rise of the nation-state to the emergence of sole superpower of the world, international relations drastically changed. The advancement in the technology and improvement in the military power coupled with global power of large corporations, international relations are not what they used to be in the 19th century. There has been a gradual shift towards redefining the roles and responsibilities of major nations along with that of the other nations. This paper will discuss and explore as to what changed in international relations since 1900. This paper will explore as to what were the major changes and the causes of such changes taking place at the global stage of international relations. International Relations since 1900 Starting with 1900, Germany started to emerge as one of the le ading players in the world stage. With increasing military power, it started to engage with Britain and France, two of the other most important players in the international arena. ... The rise of Germany resulted into the wars between the European superpowers which also resulted into the weakening of the power of the European States. The Balkan Wars, the Bosnian crisis, the outbreak of first and Second World War has created significant change in the international relations. The period after 1919 is considered as an important period in which the World actually made a transition into a new era owing to the efforts of Woodrow Wilson. The creation of League of Nation is considered as one of the most important change in the international relations as it signaled a systematic introduction of the role of global institutions in the overall domain of international relations. The League of Nations started a new direction in the international relations wherein institutions like League of Nations and subsequently United Nations become significant influencing authorities in international relations. (Lawson) It is also important to note that with the weakening of the European P owers due to World War II has resulted into creation and independence of new countries in the world. This has further increase the number of regional players to dominate the regional politics as well as influence the international politics. Countries like India emerged in the mid of the 1900 and quickly became the regional powers with the ability to withstand the pressure from the bigger superpowers of the world. The increase in the number of independent countries has also resulted into further conflicts at the regional level. The issue of Middle East and Palestine emerged as one of the important issues involving many regional as well as global players. Besides, the conflict between India and Pakistan and subsequently between India and China also

Journal Entry #1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Journal Entry #1 - Essay Example This being said, there is one aspect of culture that is particularly contentious even in our multicultural setting, and that is religion. This should not be surprising, since even within a single culture the topic of religion is a sensitive one. There was a time when the American forefathers did not find any unusual issue with the phrase â€Å"In God We Trust† so as to embellish it in the nation’s currency. Recently, however, even the invocation of God in inter-denominational prayer and the singing of Christmas carols in public places have come under attack – because it seems that the disbelief in God itself has become a religion to be respected. Religion is so ingrained in the very core of people’s beliefs and aspirations that an attack upon it is taken as an affront against the Supreme Being (or non-being, in the case of atheists) that demands defense and, at times, militant vindication. The workplace is a particularly delicate place to have problems of religious intolerance. This is because we most likely spend more time at work than at home – at least the greater part of our waking hours. Work demands of us our skills, concentration, creativity, and dedication to the organization’s goal, which is why any irritant to disturb the peace in the workplace will tend to be counterproductive for both the individual and the firm. The situation becomes complicated when individuals in the workplace would be followers of mainstream or radical religious teachings which draw an opposition to other religions, the followers of which may be their co-workers in the firm. Or, it may also be that actions that appear perfunctory to some may, without their knowledge, be offensive to others or denigrate what they conceive to be sacred and holy. Furthermore, the fact that religious teachings have been imparted by the family to the individual at a tender age may have also impressed upon him the

Benefits of Hodges University Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Benefits of Hodges University - Essay Example Communication can be defined as the process of transmitting ideas verbally, nonverbally, and through the use of technology. Communication is very important, particularly for those who are aspiring to build a career in the field of education. In the course of my studies at the University, I learned the ways and significance of organizing thoughts. Communication must involve description, examples, reasons, and/or research to support assertions. Otherwise, the audience may be misled, which can be extremely dangerous in the teaching profession. Appropriate sentence structure and word selection are crucial since these linguistic skills would ultimately help me to express my ideas and interpretations. Also, the training imparted on using the software tools, electronic media, etc. would help me to increase interactivity during communication, especially while delivering a speech or writing an essay.Critical thinking involves thoughtful judgment, reflective decision making, application of rea sons, and drawing conclusions. Analysis and logic are the pillars of critical thinking. The University curriculum provided me with crucial articulation skills and knowledge in search strategies. It also helped me to learn how to interpret and analyze relationships, concepts, and facts on the basis of evidence and data. I learned how to clarify that whether I support, oppose, or remain neutral regarding a topic or belief. Also, I learned how to consider different viewpoints in the course of eliminating contradictions.

Peter singer and john arthur Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Peter singer and john arthur - Essay Example This may result in getting muddy and the clothes wet, but the fact that it has saved a life is justification enough.. Singer uses the argument that mass starvation and deaths due to hunger and suffering is preventable only if the affluent governments and the well off citizens donated more. Currently, rich governments and rich citizens are not under any moral obligation to help starving people and this is not ethically justified. Singer says that our morality needs to change along with our lifestyle and only then can we become more ethical people. People tend to look after their family and dear ones since they are bound by blood ties an they help someone nearby since the victims are within reach. According to Singer, one must be rid of this fallacy and be ready to help other, irrespective of the distances. Singer (1972) believes that the affluent and people should contribute to help the poor and the starving. According to Singer, the rich and affluent do not respond to famine situations in countries such as Bangladesh where over nine million people were starving because of a failing government, cyclone and failing harvests. According to the author, people do not donate liberally to such causes nor do they take any extra efforts to increase the awareness in their government to take any action. As per the argument that Singer uses, countries continue to fritter away their money on useless expenses such as the Concorde project that would cost 440 million GBP. Even individuals do not care to donate any sizeable amount to help the starving for whom the donation is a difference between life and death. Singer points out that every day, hundreds of people die of starvation in the world and people and governments of affluent nations do not care to help the people and stop people from being kil led. He relates this apathy to a type of murder and that people have come to take human life for granted. Singer

FIAT's public relations Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

FIAT's public relations - Essay Example This essay examines Fiat’s public relations strategy and effectiveness. This investigation includes analysis from television and print media, the company website, reflective investigations on the organization’s sales and public relations measures, as well as customer and employee perspectives. The overarching understanding is that Fiat has worked to present an image of European sophistication and newfound reliability. It’s revealed that a great amount of cynicism and resistance have emerged in response to these measures. Ultimately, one considers that perhaps a general sociological shift of perspective has emerged in conjunction with the European Sovereign Debt Crisis and Italy’s economic collapse, wherein European sophistication as increasingly come to be viewed as unsustainable decadence. Some of the most interesting considerations within perceptions of FIAT’s public relations outreach are media sources that consider such presentations from a self -reflexive perspective. In these regards, a number of news stories have directly considered FIAT’s public relations strategy for 2011. One notable element in this context of understanding is considerations related to FIAT’s reentrance into the American market. FIAT’s car commercials add great insight into the organization’s goals in terms of market positioning. A general perusal of recent FIAT commercials reveals a number of notable elements. One of the most pervasive is the latent connection between the FIAT care and femininity.

Politics of Backstabbing Essay Example for Free

Politics of Backstabbing Essay Due to the result of such illegitimate political approach, Mr. Rosen was demoted while his colleague was promoted. Shortly after the incident, Mr. Rosen resigned with many questions unanswered (Robbins and Judge, 2007, p. 497). Warning These types of incidents are very common in the workplace as some people would use political games to move ahead. In my opinion Mr. Rosen needs to communicate ith his colleague and solve this issue in a friendly kind of way, to avoid any complication in the future. Be straight forward about his concern and bring up the comments and the abnormal behavior that affecting him. During the conversation Mr. Rosen should offer his assistant if ever needed as a reminder of working as a team. Anyone should feel at peace and concentrate on doing their Job without feeling like being watched or being stabbed in the back. Be sure to keep a written record, dated, time, and every event for future need. Manager or criticize the view. If there was no improvement, Mr. Rosen should take the next step by talking to his manager about his concern and ask for his manager advice to appropriately approach the issue. To avoid the negative repercussions that can come from backstabbing and other illegitimate behavior, manager should research and verify the incident. Never by pass your manager by going straight to the next level, because this can be much more complicated. Present your manager, the fact with any supportive written records you might have and pressing on the fact that this causing your Jobs performance and stress, and would lead to health issues. Backstabbers often claim to be a friend with their victims and act, as if they are hesitant about sharing negative information due to the friendship. Backstabbers arent our friend and we should be cautious and prepared of their existent. H. R. Dept. and the Chain of Command The next level can be accelerated to the human resource department if there is no improvement after reporting to the manager. Explain the fact that he had already taken all the necessary actions before proceeding to the H. R. Department. Again, Mr. Rosen will need to press firmly that this dilemma is causing his Jobs performance nd stress that will hurt not only him individually, but this will also impact the company performance as a whole. At this point, human resource should gather any necessary information and take appropriate actions. Hopefully, this is your last stop and be prepared if this doesnt work, then elevate to the chain of command. There is a reason to every problem, and every problem needs to be res olved. Be sure to keep a written record of all time during this dilemma, since it will be needed to go to the chain of command. Write a complain letter with supportive documents include ritten records and present it to the chain of command and explain that this behavior is causing a hostile work environment. Conclusion One of the most political actions in organizations has consistently found to be promotion decisions. The opportunity for promotions or advancement encourages people to compete for limited resources and positively influence the decisions outcome. Threatened with the loss of resources people may engage in political actions to safeguard what they have. Certain personality traits, needs, and other factors have been found by some researcher that is likely to be related to political behavior. However, any changes, especially those that imply significant reallocation of resources within the organization are likely to stimulate conflict and increase politicking. Many researches focuses on backstabbing aimed at organizations, but most sabotage is intended to harm a colleague, and generally benefits the perpetrator. Its not easy to identify back stabbers motivation. Backstabbers are jealous and generally insecure in themselves. They are very cruel and enjoy hurting others. It is never Justifiable to partake in backstabbing or any other illegitimate political behavior as soon, or later theyll be caught and suffer the consequences.

Relationship influence relationships Essay Example for Free

Relationship influence relationships Essay Physical attraction is based on peoples appearances. Often a caring, kind, and affectionate person will go unrecognized among others. Mostly such people find their partners due to physical proximity, ones actual physical nearness to others, in terms of housing, work, school, and so forth. On the other hand, an attractive person usually would have far more attention from others. Mills had an experiment which showed that most important determinant of desire to continue relationship was physical attractiveness. (1982) However, in Todays Magazine, the article read : according to a new study, [men are] willing to overlook a womans body shape and weight if shes friendly and likeable. But, consider that the article, if you read it, doesnt present other important information, such the percentage of people who are in the category, and to what extreme were those studies true: its likely that men can overlook minor unattractive traits, but it doesnt totally disprove the study mentioned above. Even though the point if this study may have changed slightly, it is not a secret that attractive people seem to be more of everything, since with beauty, person seems happy, healthy, successful, interesting, even if it isnt necessarily so, which is called the halo effect. Another kind of attraction is romantic attraction. It is love that is associated with high levels of interpersonal attraction, heightened arousal, mutual absorption (with regard to romantic love, the nearly exclusive attention lovers give one another.), and sexual desire. Romantic attraction has a like scale and a love scale, that Zick Rubin brought up to measure the attitude towards friends and love partners. In result, love usually included passion and commitment, whereas liking lacked those things. Estimated by these scales, type of attraction can be described by the chosen attitude towards each other, as to what the two people think of each other, and whether they are intimate or not, and so on. Just as there are different reasons for forming our personalities, there are different causes which bring people together. The reason some people choose to date who they date is partially due to homogamy -the attraction of people who are alike and heterogamy the attraction of opposites. A person may seek to find someone with similar qualities or with the opposite ones to balance out. To some degrees, love may be just a mere excitement. This love (which is also something like secret love) is determined by different situations, such parents disapproval, or when fleeing the country with someone. Just as in secret love, those events may lead to feel even stronger attraction. But even if such situations can be an attribute to the relationship, it can also bring conflict. Those relationships can be affected by uncertainty of whether there is any kind of attraction between the two people. (As Kenrick wrote, it is sometimes hard to tell the difference among sex, love, and infatuation (1989). There are also two problems: excitement that adds to attraction and boredom that decreases it; the influenced behavior may not be the cause of attraction. (Homans 1961) Similarly, I am sure there have been times when youve known or heard of someone who, for example, embraced everyone he or she was friends with. His or her behavior doesnt necessarily mean deep attraction, but it may just be a way in culture, personal way of showing friendship, or a habit, or may be the fact that he or she misses his/her girlfriend/boyfriend. Any of those reasons may be the factor, why due to body language, a woman may take such action for affection, or, from another point, a man can misunderstand womans warning signals. References Homans, G.C. (1961) Social Behaviour: Its Elementary Forms, New York, Harcourt, Brace and World. Kenrick, D.T. and Trost, M.R. (1989) ‘A reproductive exchange model of heterosexual relationships’ in Hendrick, C. (ed) Close Relationships (Review of Personality and Social Psychology 10) Newbury Park, CA, Sage. Miell, D. Croghan, R. (1996) ‘Examining the wider context of social relationships’ in Dallos, R. Miell, D. (eds) Social Interaction and Personal Relationships, Milton Keynes, Open University. Mills, J. and Clark, M.S. (1982). ‘Communal and exchange relationships’ in Wheeler, L (ed.) Review of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol 3), Beverley Hills, CA, Sage

Asian Currency Crisis Causes and Effects

Asian Currency Crisis Causes and Effects Introduction One of the key characteristics of money is stability, however a currency crisis is said to occur when the value of a countrys currency becomes unstable and changes rapidly thereby undermining its ability to effectively serve as a medium of exchange. The Asian currency crisis was a period of financial meltdown which began in July 1997 and gripped the major proportion of East Asia. It remains one of the most talked about region-wide crisis in the 1990s, the sharpest to hit the developing countries, which resulted in a massive downward spiral of Asian economies hitherto seen as miracle economies and prompted the largest financial bailouts in history.(Radelet and Sachs 1998) This paper will examine the origin of the crisis, its impact on the economies of the countries involved and the measures that have been adopted to avoid a recurrence of a similar crisis. ORIGIN OF THE CRISIS Upon mutual agreement, based on the plaza accord (1985) between the US, Germany and Japan, the US dollar was devalued by about 60% to the Yen in real terms in order to alleviate the increasing US current account deficit. Japanese firms facing export competitiveness due to the appreciation of the Yen began to move production to south East Asian countries whose currencies were pegged to the dollar. This provided an ideal location for the Japanese firms in terms of international price competiveness. This inflow of investment from Japan to the South East Asian countries accelerated a pattern that led to large inflow of capital from other Asian and foreign countries into the East Asian countries. The fixed exchange rate system gave the south East Asian economies strong exports, low import prices and expected financial stability. For years, East Asian Countries were held up as economic icons. Their typical blend of high savings and investment rates, autocratic political systems, export-oriented businesses, restricted domestic markets, government capital allocation, and controlled financial systems were hailed as the ideal recipe for strong economic growth of developing countries (Shapiro 1999). Asian economies like Taiwan, Hong Kong, Korea, Singapore and Thailand enjoyed overall average growth rates of 5.6 percent, 6.6 percent, 7 percent, 6.9 percent and 4.6 percent respectively for several decades. Indonesia and Malaysia too enjoyed good economic performance during most of the 1970s and 1980s. (Rao, 1998) However, these miracle economies were brought down in July 1997 when a brewing currency crisis started from Thailand. This seed of the Asian currency crisis of 1997 were actually sown during the previous decades when these countries were experiencing unprecedented economic growth. For long, exports had long been the engine of economic growth in these countries and as such many Asian states were regarded as Export Power Houses. The increased foreign capital inflow into these economies also propelled capital expenditure which led to an investment boom in commercial and residential properties, industrial assets and infrastructure. These capital expenditures were financed by heavy borrowings from banks which had excess liquidity but no strong regulatory frameworks. Thus, by the mid 1990s, South East Asia was experiencing an unprecedented investment boom, much of it financed with foreign investments and borrowings. The case was made worse as much of the foreign borrowings had been in US d ollars as opposed to local currencies. At the time, this had seemed like a smart move (i.e. regional local currencies were pegged to the dollar and interest rates on dollar borrowings were generally lower than rates on borrowings in domestic currency, and it made economic sense to borrow in dollars if the option was available); but, many of the investments made with these funds were on the basis of projections about future demand conditions that were unrealistic. Soon, there were indications of macroeconomic imbalances in the Thai economy; the real exchange rate had risen to an apparently unsustainable level and the current account was also in constant huge deficit. Rao (1998). Also, Asian Countries started to see their ballooned volume of investments during the 1990s declining significantly. Paul krugman (1999) stated the Asian countries attracted so much foreign capital that their economic growth was fuelled more by sheer volume of investment rather than by the productivity of those individual investments. Therefore the governments in the region could not maintain their dollar peg and their currencies started to depreciate against the dollar, this increased the size of the debt burden that needed to be serviced when measured in local currency. This started the debt boom. A final complicating factor was that by 1996, there became a slackening of export growth which was much noticeable in Korea, Malaysia, Singapore and Taiwan, while in Thailand there became a decline in the dollar value of exports. This decline in export did not stop growing import and this disparity saw many south Asian countries shifting strongly into the red during the mid 1990s. By 1995, Indonesia was running a current account deficit that was equivalent to 3.5% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Malaysias was 5.9% and Thailands was 8.1%. With deficits like these starting to pile up, it was becoming increasingly difficult for the governments of these countries to maintain the peg of their currencies against the U.S dollar. Thus by 1997, the first obvious indication of the crisis started with the Thai economy. Thailand could no longer defend their currency and therefore floated the baht on the 2nd of July 1997. (Rao, 1998). Prompted by these developments in Thailand, investors saw basically the same issues facing Thailand surfacing in other neighbouring countries. As a result, investors panicked; their fears were not allayed especially because of lack of transparency regarding issues such as the extent of government and private debt, the health of the financial sectors and no trust in the government to take pre-emptive corrective actions. This led to massive capital flight. The withdrawal of foreign currency led to dramatic depreciation in exchange rate and higher interest rates. This led to an increase in the number of non-performing loans, causing an erosion of the market value capital of most of the countries. Thus, the scene was now set for a potential rapid economic breakdown. There is no consensus on the exact origin of the currency crisis in East Asia; while some schools of thought believe that the crisis was caused by the initial financial turmoil in some Asian countries, followed by regional contagion (Radelet and Sachs, 1998; Marshall, 1998; and Chang and Velasco, 1999), others believe it occurred as a result of policy and structural distortions (Corsetti, Pensetti and Roubini; 1998). However, most of the East Asian economies were interdependent, hence it was only logical that a crisis in one would have a domino-effect and inadvertently cause a crisis in other East Asian Economies that were linked to it. Warning Signals during the 24 Months prior to the 1997 Asian Financial Crisis, Months of Lead Time, and Performance Measures. Number of Warning Signals and Months of Lead Time (in parenthesis) Optimal threshold percentile Indonesia Korea Malaysia Philippine Thailand Singapore Noise to signal ratio Conditional crisis probability (%) Share of crisis predicted (%) Overall Composite Index 88 7(11) 9(10) 13(13) 10(11) 10(10) 0(10) 0.137 77 83 Current Account 90 7(11) 11(16 13(13) 11(11) 16(16) 0(0) 0.136 77 83 Capital Account 90 1(23) 0(0) 2(3) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0.288 62 63 Financial Sector 90 0(0) 0(0) 2(3) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0.313 60 67 Real Sector 90 2(2) 9(14) 0(0) 2(10) 4(13) 0(0) 0.322 53 31 Global Economy 80 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0.540 46 75 Fiscal Sector 87 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0(0) 0.540 46 46 Source: ERD Working Paper No.26 Using a Signalling approach based EWS model, it shows that persistent warning signals prior to the 1997 crisis was not just in a few but all of the five countries most affected by the crisis. The findings of this model supports the fact weaknesses in economic and financial fundamentals in these countries triggered the crisis. The Impact of the crisis on the Economics of the countries involved. As Thailand floated the baht on July 2 and allowed the currency to fall, wave after wave of speculation hit other Asian currencies, a de-facto devaluation of the Philippine Peso followed on July 11. Korean Won too lost. Malaysia let its currency, the ringgit float on July 14th 1997, as foreign exchange reserves had gone down to $ 28 billion. Singapore followed on July 17th and the Singapore dollar (S $) quickly dropped in value from $1 = S $ 1.495 prior to the devaluation to $1 = 2.68 a few days later. A month later on August 14, Indonesia floated the rupiah. This was the beginning of a precipitous decline in the value of the Indonesian currency as a fall was seen from $1 = 2,400 Rupiah in August 1997 to $1 = 10,000 Rupiah on January 6th, 1998, a loss of 75% (Rao, 1998). Source: DataStream The Chart (above) shows the monthly evolution of the currencies of the eight South-East Asian countries during the crisis from July 1997 to April 1998. The Five countries where the crisis where particularly serious (Figure 1A) saw more decline in their currencies than countries in Figure 1B even though all countries shown were affected.ÂÂ   The economy of Thailand where the crisis started from suffered a real sharp decline. Total export earnings declined and a trade deficit rose to $ 16 billion. With the deficit standing at over 8 percent of GDP and its financing largely coming from short term funds; the external debt of Thailand rose to $68.1 billion. The non-performing loans of banks and finance companies in Thailand were estimated to be around 12 percent of total loans in mid 1997. The Thailand economy was also plagued by a deteriorating external sector, a stock market decline (the stock market index fell from 1683 in 1993 to below 500 in1997) and most importantly dwindling forex reserves. A decline in investment saw the closure of investment houses which resulted in immediate unemployment rates of between 6 and 10 percent (Rao, 1998). The Indonesian economy also suffered a set-back which included growing current account deficits due to lack-luster export growth and mounting debt service. Loss of confidence in Indonesia led to a series of attacks on the currency. In the second half of 1997, the rupiah fell by 72 percent against the dollar which had an adverse effect on the Japanese, European and US banks that lent billions of dollars to Indonesian companies. According to Witcher (1998), the Indonesias financial system started to stagger under escalating bad loans. Indonesia sought help from the IMF, they agreed to provide them with loans estimated at $40billion and in return demanded that Indonesia keeps interest rates high and immediately close 16 banks. The news of bank closures led to panicked withdrawals by depositors and investors. As Stiglitz(1998) and Yellen(1998) discussed; due to limited information, investors were unable to distinguish which banks were healthy or not so they shied away from them all; this caused more havoc to the economy. The crisis quickly spread to the real sector. The real gross domestic product (GDP) contracted by 13% in 1998 and remained stagnant in 1999. Real output declined by approximately 14% in 1998. The Indonesian economy thus went into a recession with falling GDP in 1998. It also had a weak economy that was composed of falling domestic demand and company closures which meant rising poverty and unemployment. . Unemployment which was historically no more than 3 to 4 percent hit a 10 percent level in 1998 with around 8.7 million people jobless. The impact of the crisis on welfare and the economy as a whole was mostly reflected in the poverty rate which rose from 15% in 1997 to 33% in 1998. The contagion effect soon caught up with South Korea, a country whose economic performance was spectacular compared to other Asian countries. However, the won began to depreciate from late August 1997 and gathered momentum by October. From about 900 won to the dollar in early August, the exchange rate plummeted to about 1200 by the end of November. The ratio of debt reserves rose during 1992 1997 (Rao, 1998). In January 1997, Hanbo Steel collapsed under a $6 billion debt. This was the first Korean Chaebol to go bankrupt in 10 years (Chang,1998). In the wake of this, the Korean shares declined in value by 25.2% at the end of 1997. Balance in trade declined from a surplus of $7.6billion in 1987 to a deficit of $20.6billion in 1998. GDP per capita fell and Unemployment rate naturally rose to 5.9 percent in February 1998 and started to climb up from there (Rao, 1998). The Philippines Economy faced a significant currency crisis, the peso fell significantly from 26/US $ to even 55/US $. The GDP growth rate dropped from 5.1% in 1997 to -0.5% in 1998. GNP hovered at 0.1% in 1998 compared to 7.2% in 1996 and by the fourth quarter of 1998, growth of investments had declined to -23.9%. In Hong Kong, the economy saw the collapse of the Hong Kongs stock market (with a 40 percent loss in October). On October 27 1997, the market rout on Wall Street was preceded by a 5.8 percent plunge in the Hong Kong stock market which snowballed through the worlds developed and emerging stock markets. Most markets in the Asia-Pacific region tumbled in sympathy, with Australia down 3.4 percent and Tokyo down 1.9 percent. Below is a graph showing the evolution of the Asian stock markets during the financial crisis of 1997- 1998. Source: Morgan Stanley International Capital (MSCI). Figures 2A and 2B (above) show the monthly evolution of national stock price indices (expressed in US dollars) for these same eight countries and during the same period of time. The finding shows a consistent close relationship between exchange rate depreciations and stock returns during the crisis. (Bailey, Chan and Chung (2001).) Japan was also affected because its economy is prominent in the region. Asian countries usually run a trade deficit with Japan because the latters economy was more than twice the size of the rest of Asia together; about 40 percent of Japans export go to Asia. However, even with this, the Japanese was finally shaken as their yen fell to 147 when mass selling began; Also, with the collapse in the value of the Japanese stock market, the value of assets also plummeted, leaving the institutions with a diminished asset base and an increased portfolio of non-performing loans. The GDP real growth rate slowed dramatically in 1997, from 5% to 1.6% and even sank into recession in 1998. In a relatively short period of time, the crisis currency crisis shock was spread even beyond Asia. The USA market (the Dow Jones industrial) plunged 554 points or 7.2%. The New York Stock Exchange briefly suspended trading; this was accompanied by plunges of 15 percent in Brazil, 13.7 percent in Argentina and 13.3 percent in Mexico. Europe also had the impact of contagion effects, Markets like London fell 2.6 percent, while Germany, France and Italy all shed 2.8 percent. Smaller markets like Finland plunged 5.7 percent, while Spain skidded 4.1 percent. Russia became the major non-Asian victim of the financial contagion. By mid 1998, investors began to perceive systematic weaknesses of the Russian economy which was similar to Asia; therefore they began a steady withdrawal of their capital from the economy. By midsummer 1998, it became apparent that Russia was struggling to maintain an exchange of roughly 6 rubles to 1 dollar at the time. Their central bank reserves began to dwindle. Despite the loan package and the pro-market administration, the international investment community lost faith in Russia and rushed for the exits. On August 15th 1998, the rubble was allowed to float and the Russian stock market lost 25% of its value. The Measures that have since been adopted to avoid recurrence of a similar crisis. After the slow down of the Asian Currency Crisis of 1997, the regions former economic tigers had to mete out some conditions and policies towards a sustainable Asian economy that would be able to withstand any financial turmoil and consequently avoid the recurrence of a similar crisis. These regionss heavy weight also had to accept the International Monetary Fund (IMF) conditions in order to stay afloat although the IMF had never dealt with a crisis of this magnitude and was met with stiff hostilities; the IMF prescribed tough conditions and measures that contributed immensely to considerable long term gains for the Asian Economics (Lakhan, 2007) One of these conditions were policies involving the Macro-economy. The tightening of monetary policy (at different stages in different countries) was necessary to stem exchange fluctuation, to prevent currency depreciation from leading into a spiral of inflation and into the eventual collapse of the exchange rate. Some countries like Thailand, South Korea, Philippines and Indonesia switched to improved credible policies that involved their exchange rate system. These countries adopted the inflation targeting policy which implied greater transparency and accountability instead of exchange rate as an anchor for monetary policy. Inflation targeting also allowed for the attainment of stable development of their economy through the establishment of credible and reputable central bank; as these central banks set inflation targets and implemented monetary policies committed to the achievement of targets. They also made monetary policy decisions based on overall judgement of the economy by k eeping constant watch not only on immediate price movements but also on trends of demand and supply factors in the domestic economy, exchange rate movements and overall movement of the international economy. The effects from this policy adopted inflation targeting contributed largely to stabilizing the monetary and economic environment after the currency crisis (Tomoko, 2002). A typical example could be seen in South Korea. After the Crisis, South Korea revised the Bank of Korea act to introduce inflation targeting in 1998. Since its introduction, South Koreas inflation targeting has played an appreciable role in stabilizing the countrys economy. In particular, the introduction of inflation targeting has secured the independence of the Bank of Korea in monetary policy and drastically enhanced the transparency of monetary policy. Affected countries of the crisis also embarked on their financial system stabilization to avoid any similar recurrence of the debilitating financial crisis. These measures ventured into the areas of liquidity support for troubled banks in question, deposit protection measures through a deposit insurance co-operation to prevent systemic risk arising from the spread of credit uneasiness, boosting capital base through capital injections from public funds and prompt disposal of non-performing loans by a third party organization (Resolution and Collection Company in the case of Japan and asset management companies (AMC) in the case of Asian countries). The four countries where the financial crisis was particularly serious (Thailand, South Korea, Malaysia and Indonesia) injected public funds into financial institutions often with government assistance. They also went into the act of promoting the consolidation of financial institutions by closing or suspending operations of banks with do ubtful chances of survival, temporarily nationalizing them or merging them. They established an asset management company to purchase non-performing loans Thai Asset Management Corporation (TAMC) in Thailand, Danaharta in Malaysia, Korea Asset Management Company (KAMCO) in South Korea, and Indonesian Bank Restructuring Agency (IBRA) in Indonesia (Lindgren et al, 2000) Although the system of the companies or organizations varied from one country to another, they all similarly purchased non-performing loans at about market prices and disposed the assets selling by tender or by means of securitization. At present, they have disposed of about 50~70% of the assets. Thailand for example, had finance companies (non-banks) that had been suffering from business difficulties even before the currency crisis and the Thai government had been providing liquidity support to them. After the crisis, the government improved its classification standard for non-performing loans to conform to the international standard and strengthened write-off standards. It also nationalized commercial banks, injected capital and reorganized them. As a result, the number of commercial banks decreased. Thai commercial banks non-performing loan also later decreased dramatically due to agreements on debt restructuring as well as transfer of non-performing loans to the TAMC and write-of fs. As a result, the non-performing loan ratio dropped to 19.2% as of the end of March 2001 and capital adequacy ratio stood at 12.01% as of December 2000 (A ratio higher than the BIS standard) (Montes, 1998). Structural reforms were also adopted in the areas of banking supervision and regulation in order to forestall the kind of financial system instability caused by the crisis and to minimize the effect. These reforms were also necessary to address the weaknesses in the financial and corporate sector as these features had become impediments to growth such as monopolies, trade barriers and non transparent corporate practices. Based on this recognition, the IMF and the World Bank jointly began monitoring the international standardization and observance of standards to maintain the soundness of financial systems by introducing the Financial Sector Assessment Program (FSAP) in 1999. Under FSAP, the IMF and the World Bank assess the observance of banking supervision and regulations implemented by each countrys financial supervisory authorities, promote observance of international standards, and recommend the best practices. These acts which have been entrenched in continue to globalize the A sian economy (Lindgren et al, 2000). Rehabilitative measures were also extended to private corporations and financial institutions in the Asian countries as these institutions were also hit by the currency crisis largely because they had a superficial understanding of the need for exchange risk hedge, as their currencies were virtually pegged to the dollar. It was for this reason that the debt burdens caused by the mismatch of currencies increased during the crisis, bringing a serious impact on the economy as a whole. Thus after the currency crisis, there was a shift to a floating exchange rate system and this pushed private corporations into recognizing the importance of hedging against exchange risks. In South Korea, the government conducted a campaign appealing for the need for exchange risk hedges. Some other countries established a financial supervision system to check if foreign currency-denominated debts are hedged against exchange risks. Thanks to these policy efforts, the number of private corporations hedging against exchange risks increased drastically and the response capabilities of the economy as a whole to exchange fluctuations have been strengthened (Lindgren et al, 2000). A stronger and unified Regional Financial and Multilateral Co-operation in East Asia was also adopted and this has proven to be an effective buffering against the occurrence of future crisis Although regional financial cooperation in East Asia did exist even before the crisis, such as Executives Meeting of East-Asia Pacific Central Banks(EMEAP), a forum of central banks and monetary authorities in the East Asia and Pacific region established in 1991; the event of the Asian currency crisis proved more glaring that the countries in East Asia had a much more economic interdependency than was previously realized. This forced a fostering of a much stronger regional financial and multilateral cooperation. This co-operation in Asia was promoted in various forms, such as the New Miyazawa Initiative incorporating a comprehensive support measures, including a 30 billion dollar financial support scheme, announced in October 1998; the Chiang Mai Initiative (CMI), a swap arrangement mechanism to support those countries in potential danger of a currency crisis and the Asian Bond Market Initiative (ABMI) to avoid high dependence on the external financial market and use regional resources more efficiently (Naoyuki Yoshino et al, 2000) In addition to the development of a regional crisis-prevention mechanism, Asian countries started to co-operate especially in trade relations. This inadvertently resulted in a much more stable policy for exchange rates between the Asian currencies. With the increased unification that came as a result of the push for a stronger and unified regional financial and multilateral co-operation in East Asia, there became a rising sense of Asian identity culminating into the speculation of an introduction of a regional common currency in the future (Naoyuki Yoshino et al, 2000). The finance ministers of China, Japan, and Korea agreed at the ASEAN+3 Finance Ministers Meeting in 2006 to conduct joint research on monetary integration in East Asia. The motion put forward in 2006 helped to create grounds for the much talked about Chinas global strategy approach which started making head way in 2010. Now, China is beginning to emerge as the new and dominant world power, buttressing this, is the recent widespread awareness and circulation of the Chinese currency (renminbi). These co-operation measures adopted in Asia also extended as a forum for economic co-operation (such economic co-operation was seen to be displayed in the widely acceptance of the Chinese currency renminbi by the other Asian countries). This economic co-operation by these Asian countries arguably challenges the American hegemony. It also proves a strong force towards the elimination of any future financial crisis that might occur as the initiatives and discussions on intensifying monetary and fi nancial cooperation has reached a far end spectrum (Naoyuki Yoshino et al, 2000). From 1996 2000, there have been a resurgence of economic growth across the Asian region. Countries like Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea and the Philippines have averaged almost 5%. CHARTS SHOWING THE EFFECT ON THE AFFECTED COUNTRIES AFTER THE MEASURES HAVE BEEN ADOPTED. From the chart above, it can been seen that after the rehabilitative measures were meted out, corporate balance sheets in Asia improved as debt-to-equity ratios have been reduced sharply and foreign currency borrowing is no longer a large component of the corporate sources of funding. From the chart above, it can be seen that low loan-to-deposit ratios together with little off-balance-sheet financing, have helped banks avoid liquidity and funding stress in the current credit turmoil. Thus, Banks are stronger with current account surpluses and large foreign reserves. Compared to United States and many European countries, Asian economies have relative modest property price appreciation (see Chart 5). Asian countries have taken measures to cool property markets in recent years whenever prices threatened to become a bubble. As a result, property price crashes in the wake of slowing economic growth and financial market turmoil have been less of a risk. Conclusion: Although, the Asian currency crisis was fuelled by sheer weak economic and financial fundamentals including macro- economic imbalances, which created a contagion effect for the other countries involved. However, with the measures now adopted, it is obvious that the Asian economies have now been strengthened and would continue on that path.

Greek Art and Architecture Essays -- essays research papers

Essay #1   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Palace of Knossos, a Minoan mud brick and timber structure on a shallow stone foundation, featuring a central courtyard, was constructed on an acropolis. It was a place for rulers to reside, shrines for religious ceremonies to be worshipped, the industrial production of objects, and administrative duties. Ample hallways, stairways, chambers, and light wells supplemented the ambitiously built structure. There were plenty of columns to mark he four awe inspiring entrance passages.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Four wings, oriented in a north-south direction, surrounded the central courtyard. The east wing featured the residential spaces, a workshop, and a shrine, while the west wing was complete with more shrines, a throne room, storerooms, and a banquet hall. The north wing included a theater area. The south wing featured a separate paved courtyard west of the palace. Inside the Palace of Knossos, plastered walls were painted with color washes. The walls were also decorated with frescos, many of which depicted religious ceremonies.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Minoans were a people who enjoyed life. Many wine jars were found and it can be noted that women commonly bore their breasts. Long hair and makeup were popular and many festivals and events were held at the 1400 room palace. Nothing was fortified. These people had a love of art, color, and leisure, as depicted in many of the frescos at Knossos.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Minoan art occasionally featured geometric and repetitive forms on walls, floors, and ceilings, but more common were figurative and landscape elements. Often seen were both local and foreign flowers and plants. It is important to mention that no narrative style has been noted and there are no hieroglyphics to decipher the images at Knossos.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An example of a Minoan fresco at Knossos is the Bull Jumping mural, about 24 1.2† in height. One person holds the horns of a bull while another jumps over the animal. This may have been a sporting event, as bulls were an important image, ad may have been sacrificed. Figures in these Minoan works are much more animated than typical Egyptian examples.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A face of a bull with guilded horns, about 12† tall, was found at Knossos. Created from steatite with shell, rock crystal, and red jasper, a wh... ...igures stands in Athena’s outstretched hand. The shield rests at her side, a sign that war is over, but Athena is still prepared and protective of her city. Athena was the goddess of Athens, but it is still unsure which came first. This statue of the greatly revered Athena stood in her temple to be both revered and to protect her city and its people.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The shield that rests by Athena is highly decorated and given its immense size, the work that went into this project is unimaginable. The inside part shows the gods against the giants, depicted the giants storming Mount Olympus. The amazons are sculpted on the outside of the shield. Even Athena’s sandals have figurative sculpture, this time of Lapiths and Centaurs fighting. Along the base of the statue, golden images of Pandora and witnesses to her birth contrast strongly against a white background.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There is so much information available architecturally and symbolically on the Parthenon that it is hard to form a concise short description of important points, however, it is because of this knowledge, that scholars have been able to really understand Greek art and architecture.

Additional Aircraft Feasibility Study :: Essays Papers

Additional Aircraft Feasibility Study Preface I have been the head aviation department manager of First North Bank since 1985. This bank has branches in Waterloo, IA; Springfield, MO; Fayetteville, AK; and Colorado Springs, CO. For the past 12 years the company has been operating an eight passenger King Air B-200 that currently has 2500 flying hours on the frame. First North Bank has recently acquired Banks R Us (probably because of the horrible name) and will be expanding their operations considerably. They will be changing the name of Banks R Us to the First North Bank name at the following locations: Madison, WI; Wilmington, NC; Lakeland, FL; Amarillo, TX; and Medford, OR. I have now been assigned by my CEO to do a feasibility study to determine if the addition of an aircraft will benefit the company. Introduction The purpose of this study is to determine the feasibility of adding additional aircraft to the corporations aviation department. This study will introduce what aircraft the company is currently using, how it is being used, and the current structure of the aviation department. A detailed analysis will be presented on the prices and costs of each aircraft as well as a recommendation of what aircraft should be purchased or leased. A newly developed structure of the aviation department will be presented along with a new recommended plan for the usage of the aircraft. The study will then conclude with a sum up of all the recommendations. Current Aircraft The company is currently operating a 1985 Beechcraft King Air B-200. This aircraft is a propeller jet aircraft. The definition of a propeller jet aircraft is that the engine is a jet that drives a propeller. The propellers spin at a constant rate and speed changes are made by adjusting the angle of the propeller. The aircraft seats eight passengers to include the pilot’s seat. The entire aircraft is in very good condition with only 2500 flight hours on it and has the potential of supplying many more years of trouble free service with proper maintainace. The performance charteristiccs of this aircraft is as follows: Beech King Air B200 Characteristics PERFORMANCE U.S. METRIC Max Cruise Speed (336 mph) 292 kt 541 kph Certified Ceiling 35,000 ft 10,668 m

Confucianism and Taoism :: Chinese China History

Confucianism and Taoism The Chinese people have three main traditions in their history- Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism. I am going to be talking about Confucianism and Taoism. Both of these date back to the Sixth Century B.C. The traditional founder of Taoism is Confucius and Laozi. On top of many other things Confucius was a very influential speaker. Throughout time, his teachings, and preaching developed into a religion. He spoke to a wide variety of people. Daoist tend to look back to Laozi as their founder. Over centuries, Taoism was transformed from a small religion, very conservative, into a loosely organized religion. During the Second Century B.C., a ruler named Han had the most part in it. A large number of religious groups rose from this because of the social and political disorder. One of these groups named the Yellow Turbans in eastern China., fought Han in 184 B.C. This led to a civil war. Han lost authority and power, and his generals became warlords. Then, in Western China, a group known as the Way of the Celestial Masters came into power. From the Second Century B.C., Taoists and others believed it was possible to find an elixir which would make them immortal. An elixir is a sweetened alcoholic medicinal preparation, but back in ancient philosophy it was thought to be for changing base metals into gold, or for prolonging life. Research flourished because of this belief. But the chief ingredient, cinnabar, was found to be poisonous. Many imperial deaths ensued from this. But this was not the only way to achieve immortality back in ancient times. Another belief said that a man would have to acquire 108 women to get granted 10,000 years of life. For more than 2,000 years ,Chinese, Japananese, and Korean people have lived in cultures that were greatly influenced by the thoughts of Confucius. Confucius saw himself as an ordinary man doing a good deed for a diverse group of cultures. He taught his fellow human beings moral behavior and good family relationships. He thought that they are the key to a well ordered society. People valued his opinions and teachings very much and followed them in every day life. Confucius himself avoided talking about religion, but at the same time recognized the importance of worshipping his ancestors. He believed that he was not guided by religion, but by a higher power called heaven. Confucius lived at a time when China was changing.

Suggestions for Beautifying the Pronunciation of Efl Learners

Suggestions for Beautifying the Pronunciation of EFL Learners in Higher Education Hasan Zainnuri, S. Pd. [email  protected] com English Education Department of Postgraduate Sebelas Maret University, Surakarta Abstract This paper firstly stresses that the importance of the spoken form of the language and for that reason foreign language learners should have correct and accurate pronunciation. It summarizes the background of pronunciation teaching, emphasizes the need for incorporating pronunciation into foreign language classes owing to regarding pronunciation as a key to gaining full communicative competence.Most of the people learning a foreign language encounter some problems of pronunciation of the new language, owing to some contributory factors. This paper consists of the presentation of the factors affecting the pronunciation of EFL learners in Indonesia in language learning and teaching process and also it suggests some necessary techniques for the solution of these factors. Some suggestions are also given for how these techniques should be applied for. Key words: foreign language, accurate pronunciation, EFL, higher education A.Introduction One of the general objectives in the foreign language teaching, maybe the most important one, is to teach the learners to speak the target language accurately and intelligibly since to learn a language also means to produce the sounds, utterances, and the words properly and correctly rather than being able to communicate with the people in the target language community. To reach this goal, speaking activities should be done at every stage of the foreign language teaching process.It must be borne in mind that listening and speaking go hand-in-hand in foreign language teaching because speech is very important medium through which communication is achieved. That’s to say, language is primarily speech and it is more basic to language than the written form (Larsen-Freeman, 2000: 44). According to Knowles (1987: 1 ) written language has the advantage that it is permanent so that it can be studied conveniently and at leisure, but spoken language is more ‘elusive’. In other words, written language looks like an imperfect version of the poken language. As individuals, we all learn to speak before we learn to read and write; that is to say, people learn the language by hearing the sounds spoken in their environment. Unlimited numbers of sounds, especially speech sounds, in the language help the learner to understand and to produce the language. In addition, in the world there are still languages which have never been written down and also societies have had speech before written forms of their languages. Needless to say, human talk is the oldest form all of the societies.It should be noted here that language learners always encounter some difficulties and problems while learning a foreign language. One of the most significant difficulties seen in this process happens to be in the pro nunciation of the foreign language vocabulary. So, foreign language learners have lots of problems with pronunciation because of some factors such as native language factor (mother tongue interference), age, environment, personality, etc. affect their motivation in learning.Rivers (1986: 125) urges that all persons had experience when listening to a foreigners’ speaking language, of having great difficulty in understanding what they are trying to say, not because of their lack of knowledge of 1 vocabulary and language structure, but because the sounds they produce seemed strange and the voice rose and fell in unexpected places. This sentence emphasizes a well-known fact that most of the people learning a foreign language encounter some problems of pronunciation of the new language, owing to some contributory factors.Therefore, they fail in oral communication although they are sufficient enough in other skills of the language. B. Factors Affecting the Pronunciation of EFL Lear ners 1. The Native Language Factor Needless to say, learners of a language speak the target language in a different way: sometimes slightly different and sometimes highly different than the native speakers’ do, which we call â€Å"foreign accent†, the nature of which is determined to a large extend by a learner’s native language (Avery and Ehrlich, 1987: 9).This is known as mother tongue interference. That is to say, every language in the world has different 112 varieties and different accents. Therefore, the way we speak is a part of our identity, that is, phonemic differences between languages causes a target language which will be spoken with a foreign accent. As a result, there may not be any difference in the pronunciation of [? ] and [i], and then a foreign accent carries the sound characteristics of the learners’ native language.As known, a language is a part of a culture, thus it is unavoidable that there must be mother tongue interference, which is native language influence, in the pronunciation of the target language. This view had been recognized by Whorfian Hypothesis. According to Sapir and Whorf, peoples’ view of world influences their language and also people adopt the view of the world around them through the experience and categories of their language.As a user of Indonesian language, we have difficulty in some English words and sounds which are not found in our native language. For example, /? /, /? /, /? /, /? / sounds do not exist in Indonesian and that is why Indonesian learners encounter pronunciation difficulties with the words that include those sounds and thus never obtain a native-like accent, so they produce those sound under the influence of their mother tongue.Since English is not a tonic language, Indonesian students have also some problems with stress, intonation, and rhythm which determine the overall rhythm and melody of a language can be transferred from the native language into the target la nguage (Avery and Ehrlich, 1987: 10) because Indonesian learners think that if they speak or pronounce the words with a strong stress, they will be better understood. The other problem occurs when the rules for combining the sounds in forms of syllables are different in two languages.In foreign language learning, the influence of the native language is unavoidable; this happens to be problem of language teachers. A welltrained English teacher in phonetics and phonology can diminish the negative transfers of sounds to a greater extent. So, he should use specially prepared pronunciation teaching techniques. Then, the non-native English teachers are struggling with the negative interference from the mother tongue of the students in all their teaching lives, and they should do so for a decent teaching practice. 2. The Age Factor This is one of the most important factors in the learning of the ronunciation of a foreign language. We can say that if someone pronounces a second language wit h a nativelike accent, s/he must have probably started to learn it during their childhood. For instance, children of immigrants may be given as an example. Since these children start their second language learning process in target language speaking people environment, they have more advantages than the children who try to learn the target language in their motherlands because there are indispensable differences between the language a group uses and the language of mainstream classrooms and workplaces.At the same time, if young children are exposed to 2 more than one language before the age of puberty, they seem to acquire all languages equally well since it has been claimed that children are better at learning than adults. As Krashen (1988: 43) mentioned acquirers who begin to exposure to a second language during childhood generally achieve higher second language proficiency than those beginning as adults. He also stated that lateralization may even be complete by age 4, not by pub erty. Some researchers and neurolinguists have claimed that there is a strong connection between language learning and lateralization.Lenneberg hypothesized that lateralization is a slow process that begins around the age of 2 and is completed around puberty. He had also added that right hemisphere in children is more active in the language function but as child develops the two sides of the brain become specialized for different functions and thus lateralization takes place. The critical age hypothesis claims that there is such a biological timetable (Brown, 1987: 42). It has been claimed that there is a critical age period for language learning, but it is widely discussed whether there is a critical period for language or not.Evidently, foreign language teaching researchers have outlined many views about the critical age hypothesis. Generally speaking, it coincides with the period when lateralization is taking place and ends when it is complete. This was hypothesized by Lenneberg who was one of the wholehearted supporters of critical age hypothesis. In sum, since children are better in learning the language in short run, teaching pronunciation process should be started in puberty because it has been claimed that beyond puberty it is quite difficult to teach the learners to acquire a native-speakers like language accent.As a result, the age of the learner is highly important in the pronunciation learning of a foreign language due to the factors mentioned above. The aged learners pick up the correct pronunciation a little bit late, so the foreign language teachers must be very patient in this sense, and must prepare special pronunciation drills and have the students repeat. They will obtain an acceptable level of good articulation in the long term. 3. The Amount of Exposure Another factor is the amount of exposure to the practice of English. English is not only used in the classroom environment.We can handle this subject from the point of view whether the lear ner has been living in a country where English has been spoken or not. If the learners have been living in an English-speaking country or community, or a country where English is the second language, then the learners will have many opportunities to listen to and to use the target language; that is they will be surrounded by the target language. But, on the contrary, if the learners have been living in a non-English speaking country, like Indonesia, there will be no advantage for them.So these learners will only be exposed to focusedlistening, so they will have no chance or opportunity to use the target language in a real environment. This means that there will be no communication and if there is no communication, there won’t be language learning. Since those learners won’t have any English-speaking environment except their classrooms, they will have to be satisfied with listening, but it is clear that you cannot teach correct and accurate pronunciation by just asking students to listen to artificial listening courses carried out in the classrooms.Krashen in Celce-Murcia (1996: 16-17) states that learners acquire language primarily from the input they receive, and they must receive large amounts of comprrehensible input before they are required to speak. It must not be forgotten that there are many people who live in an English speaking country, but spend much of their time in a non-English speaking environment, maybe any other language is spoken at home or outside. For this reason, it is not merely exposure that matters, but how the learners respond to the opportunities.Briefly, Kenworthy (1987: 6) mentions that exposure can be a contributory factor, but it cannot be a whole and necessary factor for the development of pronunciation. If a learner is aware of the necessity of being exposed to the target language, s/he should make use of its opportunities. 3 If the learner does that, s/he will be more successful in case of improving his/her pronunc iation. The best ways of being exposed would be native speakers, videos shows, films, cds, radio or TV programs, computer assisted language teaching programs, and etc.Also, the amount of exposure is crucial and it must make the students creative and active, not passive and dull. Therefore, the quantity of exposure must be adjusted with caution. 4. Phonetic Ability There is a common view that some people have a better ear capacity for foreign language than some other people. So, they are able to discriminate between the two sounds more accurately than the others and able to imitate sounds better. We can accept these people as those with phonetic abilities.Also, this phonetic ability of the learner affects the development of his/her pronunciation. But it does not mean that people who have a better phonetic ability will be successful but the others won’t be successful. Accordingly language aptitude ability exists in many people, but its degree is variable, therefore some people have more ability but some have less. Besides the factors mentioned above, the influence of age must be stated as an efficient factor for phonetic ability because the beginners start to learn a language, the more they become successful.It is clear that learners may lose some of their abilities when they become older, so it can be difficult for them to pronounce the target language with a native or near native-like accent. At the same time, immigrants, especially their children, have more chance in learning the target language since they have started to their learning process in a target language speaking environment. The poor phonetic ability can be cured again by the foreign language teachers’ patient attempts. There are several devices to motivate the poor pronunciation of the learners such as the phonetic labs and remedial pronunciation teaching techniques.Those learners must not be discoursed but must be treated meticulously. 5. Personality and Attitude This is also anoth er important factor affects the pronunciation of EFL learners in a bad way if the learners have negative attitudes for the target language community or they are introvert learners. For instance, shy or introvert students do not want to take part in classroom activities, so they cannot find any opportunities to make practice and to make use of phonological and/or phonetic activities.Besides, courageous or extrovert students have more chance to improve their pronunciation. On the other hand, attitude of the learners toward the new language has an effective role in pronunciation learning. If the learner has good attitudes for the target culture, s/he can easily develop more accurate, native-like accents. If the learners have some prejudices on the target language and its society, this event will influence his/her approach to the language.For example, some people do not believe in the necessity of learning a second language, and they think that foreign language will influence the learne rs’ cultural development in a negative way, that is to say, their culture will be imposed on the target language community. In this case, it will not be reasonable to teach or try to teach these learners a foreign language. Thus, personal features and attitudes of the learners are also decisive in the learning of pronunciation. The educational pedagogues may be of great help on this issue.They could give some guidelines to the foreign language teachers. 6. Motivation If the learners are highly motivated to have a better pronunciation, they can develop a concern for pronunciation, and become more eager to take part in the activities and pay more attention to discriminate the sounds of the target language, and they try to produce better utterances. Motivation can be the key to learn the target language, and they try to produce 4 better sounds. Here it must be pointed out what the motivation is and how the learners will be motivated.According to Brown (1997: 114-115) the motivat ion is thought of as an inner drive, impulse, emotion, or desire that moves one to a particular action. He also stated that learning a foreign language requires some of all three levels of motivation which can be global, situational, or task-oriented. For example, a learner may possess high global motivation but low task motivation on the written mode of the language. On the one hand, some factors such as intelligence, aptitude, and self-confidence have much contribution to the formation of motivation.For example, to motivate the less intelligent people will be more difficult than the intelligent ones because these people cannot appeal to their needs. Motivation, of course, is a number of different kinds of attitudes and can be divided into two basic types: instrumental and integrative motivation (Brown, 1997: 115-117). First one refers to the instrumental goals such as furthering a career, reading some kinds of materials, translation, etc. An integrative motivation is the one which is employed when the learners want themselves to be in the culture of the second language group, to identify themselves with and become part of the society.Needless to say, teachers may need to discern the source of a student motivation in order to meet particular needs. That is, pronunciation teaching must be directed according to the needs, expectations, attitudes, intelligence, etc. of the learners. If the learners’ main goals are to make translation from the native language to the target language, less time may be needed for pronunciation activities, and therefore teachers will spend less time for motivating them.If the learners are highly motivated to have a better pronunciation, they can develop a concern for pronunciation, and become more eager to take part in the activities, and pay more attention to discriminate the sounds of the target language, so they try to produce better sounds and utterances. At the same time, motivation can be achieved by paying attention to the learners’ concern for pronunciation because learners generally are not aware of that the way they speech is full of irritation and misunderstanding for the hearer. Consequently, some factors that are effective in pronunciation accuracy are examined here.All of these factors exert much influence on the learners. We cannot change and affect some of these factors, for example, it is impossible for us to change the age and phonetic ability of the learners. It is clear that the influence of age is undeniable in language learning process. Children are more successful than the adults. When we take into consideration the children of immigrants, we see the difference between their counterparts. Since they start their learning process in their early ages in the target language spoken country, they can be able to speak the target language with a native like accent. So, f a learner starts his/her foreign language learning period abroad, in other words, in a place where the target lan guage has been spoken, s/he will get a better pronunciation because there are differences between the language learning environments, that is to say, to learn a foreign language in classrooms is different than to learn it abroad. So, if we don’t have any chance to change the conditions mentioned above, cannot we do anything to train our learners with a near-native like pronunciation? Is it impossible to help them to well-trained learners having good pronunciation? Of course the answers of these questions are â€Å"No†.For that reason, here we will state some useful techniques to eliminate these negative factors over the pronunciation of EFL learners in our country and suggest some possible solutions. C. Techniques for Eliminating Pronunciation Problems of EFL Learners It is important for the learners to acquire an accurate pronunciation. According to Baker and Sharon (1990), pronunciation is very important and learners should pay close attention to pronunciation as ear ly as possible. Scarcella and Oxford (1994) similarly assume that pronunciation should be taught in all second/foreign language classes through a variety of activities.The obvious argument in favor of pronunciation teaching branches from the 5 techniques adopted by linguists in making a phonological analysis. When we look at the contrast between a minimal pair like bit and beat, we can see that mastery of the difference between the phonemes /? / and /i/ is necessary if the two words are to be adequately differentiated. Thus, the learner must learn the differences in the pronunciation of these two sounds because if he does not learn, he will be misunderstood. For example, ‘Hit the ball! ’ or ‘Heat the ball! ’. We can increase the number of this type of example.Teaching of pronunciation should be an integral part of an English teaching program from the early stages, and it must not be a luxury to be left to the advanced level studies of the language. It must be borne in mind that during pronunciation teaching, some certain methods or techniques should be applied because teaching of pronunciation is not a simple task, on the contrary it must be the essential part of language teaching program. Here, some methods and types of teaching pronunciation will be handled to determine its importance in language teaching process. 1.Initial Teaching Technique This technique focuses on areas which are the essential to basic communications such as introducing stress and intonation, the fall or rise as the difference between spoken questions and answers, the development of a polite and interested way of speaking. Hubbard et al. (1983: 209) explain this: ‘It is a PEN’ always precedes ‘It is a BLUE PEN’ and initial presentation of the present continuous tense is often with intransitive verbs, therefore, there is no object, which would mean a second stress (i. e. He’s running / She’s sleeping, etc. ).This example sh ows this method fits well with a structural syllabus (Demirezen, 1986: 108-125) symbolizes the sustained, rising, and falling intonation with the following signs: > , ^ , v, and give some examples and activities for classroom application. He uses [>] for incomplete sentences and statements wherein the speaker intends to say something. [^] is used for yes/no questions in statement forms, yes/no questions in interrogative forms, when phrases or clauses precede the main clause as a breath-group often heard in lectures and speeches, special calls for children, and stressed word, phrase or clause in a series.Lastly [v] is used for questions with ‘or’, asking questions with question words, declarative statements, in giving commands, and some emphatic statements. Here are some examples and activities. > In sum Since 1999 If you wait She is a nice girl It is doubtful ^ v What I am trying to say I don’t understand you Mary Who is it? Are you interested in Do you want an a pple or music? orange? Do you love her? He looked under the desk in the kitchen and in the closet I am crazy She fell into the lake 2. Remedial Teaching Technique This is a systematic approach and deals with the problems of individual sounds (Hubbard et al. 1983: 209-210). It can be considered as consisting of two separate approaches – Instant Remedial and Planned Remedial. For Instant Remedial, the strategy will divide into four parts: (1) imitation, (2) demonstration, (3) association, and (4) explanation. For example, teacher first of all draws attention to the ‘offending’ sound and pronounces it in isolation to be imitated by the learners. If this becomes inefficient, then teacher shows the students how the sound is formed by putting his tongue between his teeth to produce /? / or /d/ by using demonstration part.However, certain sounds are not easily made visible, so the 6 teacher may adopt the process of association. In this process, sounds must be isolated a nd attention must be drawn to the similarities between two sounds in terms of whether they are voiced, lateral, and dental, etc. Finally, explanation may help as the teacher explains in the mother tongue if necessary, how the sound is formed and gives instruction to the students to move their tongue forward, round their lips, etc. If, despite instant remedial works, the ‘offending’ sound still causes problems for the learners, then Planned Remedial work is needed.In this section, teacher should not insist, but make a note of the problem and plan a short remedial drill for the lesson. (Some of these drills will be explained in the following sections). Remedial teaching can easily be applied to individual sounds by using a similar technique used by the TPR Method. Teacher may use a board and colored board-marker to indicate a sound which is represented by different spelling. For example, the three possible pronunciation of the regular [-ed] ending /t/ and /d/ and /? / can be represented by different colorful board-marker, and words can be written in three columns on the white board: blue is for /-t/, red is for /-d/, and green is for /-id/. The [-ed] ending is the item written in the appropriate color while everything else is written in normal black. For example, BLUE RED GREEN jumped saved waited washed begged folded That is to say, the color coding can be used over and over as the teacher can indicate the pronunciation of the [-ed] ending by writing it in appropriate color. 3. Drilling TechniqueFor drilling technique there are many useful drills for purifying and teaching the correct and accurate pronunciation of the utterances and words. Here we will handle some of the common ones. a. Word – association Drill This is one of the easiest ways to give the students practice on specific problem sounds while the manifest purpose of the drill appears to be vocabulary study. Concentrating on the phonemes /? / and /e/, teacher may ask the students for antonyms of the following words: sick, sit, thin, and more. The students would respons with well, stand, fat, and less.In this type of drill it is useful to call the students’ attention to the fact that the words they will select all contain /? / or /e/. For example, 1. In which of the following word, do we have /? / sound? a. bed b. bad c. but d. bear e. beer 2. In which of the following word, do we have /e/ sound? a. bag b. mail c. get d. lake e. feet 3. In of the following words do we have two /? / sounds? a. handicap b. butterfly c. breakfast d. bankrupt e. walkman b. Saturation Drill This type of drill is suitable for all positions of the problematic sound. For example, let’s take / s / sound as a problem sound.It can be drilled in its three positions by means of saturation drill. Initial see seep seem seed Medial leasing pistol classic faucet 7 Final peace niece purse curse c. Illustrating A Learned Sound In this type of drill, students give examples of the s ound being studied. For example, to practice the diphthong /? / first, students listen to the sound pronounced by the therapist. Then, they are challenged to listen discriminatingly by indicating whether the sound pronounced by the therapist as ‘ right ’ or ‘ wrong ’ in a series of correct and incorrect pronunciations such as /a? , /a? / , /o? / , /e? / , etc. When the sound has been set, the first student starts a chain with a phrase ‘I try ’. The second student repeats the phrase, and adds his own, ‘I try but I cry’. The third one picks up the last part and says ‘I cry but I sigh ’, and goes on. d. Mobility Drill As Rochmis and Doob mentioned (1970: 29), achieving lightness of utterance and mobility of the tongue at conversational speech is a very important aspect of drilling. It is often neglected on the general belief that a student can make and hear the sound at the conversational speech.The following drill is an example for flexibility of the /? / sound. Step 1: Ask your students to suggest 5 simple words beginning with /b/ such as: bat – boat – bike – ball – boy Step 2: Encourage them to pronounce these words with a strong emphasis, and then add the word ‘the’, maintaining the pattern of stress. the bat – the boat – the bike – the ball – the boy Step 3: Substitute the words ‘to the †¦. ’ maintaining the pattern. to the bat†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ , to the boat†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. , etc. Step 4: Continue to amplify the phrase, holding the pattern, but changing its drill. rom the†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ there is the†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. with and without the†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. because of the†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ e. Comparative Drill In this type of drill, words almost similar in every respect except the one el ement to be drilled are placed in juxtaposition. Since we tend to confuse sounds that are similar these drills with stimulate accuracy in hearing, performance, and judgment. Most standard texts in voice and diction are excellent sources of such drill material. For example, this drill may be effective if two sounds are confused such as /f-v/, /p-b/, /? ? /, /? -e/, etc. For example, 1 . A sample comparative drill for /f-v/ and /p-b/ sounds fee – bee feat – peat freeze – visa – pisa breeze freed – breed fly – ply fled – bled fact – pact 2. A sample comparative drill for /? -e/ sounds sat – set band – bend sand – send bad – bed fig – pig fester – pester pan – pen It will readily be seen that above drills have certain fringe benefits in that the words are arranged according to the vowel scale. Vowels that are commonly confused are best drilled in this type of drill.The studentsâ€⠄¢ own participation in composing such drills is worth the time it takes because he will drill more intelligently and therefore establish new patterns more firmly and quickly. At the same time, it will give him/her a technique to apply to other areas where drill may be needed (Rochmis and Doob, 1970: 27-28). 8 f. Substitution Drill This type of drilling may be applied by substituting any sound instead of the other sound. For example, /t/ instead of /? / or /d/ instead of /? /, etc. Here are some exercises for classroom application. 1. This is thin / tin. . Did you see her lunge / lunch? 3. Was it a brand / bland reporting? 4. He is our king / kin. 5. It is cheap / chip. 6. Don’t tape / tap. Number of these activities may be increased and it is also possible to apply ‘practicesounds’ and ‘contrast-sounds’ exercises such as, 1. Exercises to practice / / sound a. The dog gave a sharp bark. b. The argument started when the guard refused them entrance c. The yard was so dark. 2. Exercise to contrast / / and /? / sounds. a. That hut was certainly hot. b. Did he rub or rob? c. Hand this cup to the cop. . Tongue Twisters This type of activity is known as a word or phrase which is difficult to say quickly. In the literature there are different ideas about the applicability and the usability of this activity. Celce-Murcia (1996: 5) states that there is a little transfer from practice to natural communication. But, if it is needed and necessary, they can be used. Here are some sample of tongue twisters taken from Dalton and Seidlhofer (1994: 132-133). 1. Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled peppers. 2. Did peter Piper pick a peck of pickled peppers? . If Peter picked a peck of pickled peppers 4. Where’s the peck of pickled peppers Peter Piper picked? 4. Computer Aided Pronunciation Teaching (CAPT) As stated by Park in Hasan (2011: 45), that the extreme assumptions embedded in Computer Aided Pronunciation Teaching (CAPT): â€Å"tec hnology can solve the educational problems†, speech technology brings forward to EFL. With proper adaptation, speech technology allows beginning language students to practice speaking the langu age outside the classroom. TELL ME MORE Communication ® byAuralog is one of the speech recognition software, which uses speech recognition to provide conversational practice, visual feedback on prosody, and scoring of pronunciation. It contains dialogue-based software using fixedresponse Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR) which lets learners have a simulated conversation with a computer. Practicing with such programs should help students improve fluency and confidence in pronouncing English words. Using phonetic exercise, included in the TELL ME MORE Communication ®, is a great way to learn how to pronounce words.Furthermore, the software can provide individual feedback on pronunciation, which is something that is often lacking in the language classroom. Related to the statement abo ve, learning pronunciation using TELL ME MORE Communication ® offers some advantages compared with conventional media being used nowadays. It also offers interesting activities when learning process as follows: (1) role play, (2) dialogue, (3) video and questions, (4) sentence pronunciation, (5) word pronunciation, (6) phonetics exercise, (7) picture/word association, (8) word searches, (9) crossword puzzles, 9 10) word order, and (11) dictation. Hasan (2011: 50-52) states that tips for improving learner’s pronunciation offered by TELL ME MORE Communication ® are as follows: 1) Imitation of teacher or recorded model of sounds, words, and sentences 2) Recording of learner speech, contrasted with native model 3) Systematic explanation and instruction (including details of the structure and movement of parts of the mouth) 4) Immitation drills: repetition of sounds, words, and sentences 5) Varied repetition of drills (varied speed, volume, mood) ) Learning and performing dial ogues (as with drills, using choral work, and varied speed, volume, mood) 7) Self-correction through listening to recordings of own speech. D. Conclusion and Suggestions We can say that the techniques mentioned above may be used to ensure that the EFL learners in higher education will be able to pronounce the target language accurately. As mentioned before, teaching pronunciation is one of the significant aspects of foreign language teaching and at the same it is a very serious task.Therefore, it should be studied in the early stages of the language teaching program in order to eliminate the factors affecting the pronunciation of the learners in a negative way and also to overcome the negative influence of mother tongue interference, fear, making mistakes, etc. While doing this, the techniques mentioned above may be applied to language teaching program in higher education during the teaching process. As a result, language teachers must be aware of these techniques or methods and sho uld apply any of them while teaching pronunciation.It must be borne in mind that teachers are the models for their learners, so first of all they should have good pronunciation; otherwise, they can harm their students. References Avery, P. and Susan Ehrlich. 1987. Preliminary Considerations in the Teaching of Pronunciation. London: TESL Center. Avery, P. and Susan Ehrlich. 1992. The Teaching American English Pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Baker, Ann and Goldstein, Sharon. 1990. Pronunciation Pairs. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Brown, D. H. 997. Principles of Language Learning and Teaching. (3rd ed. ) New Jersey: Prentice Hall Regents. Celce-Murcia, Donald M. Brinton & Janet M. Goodwin. 1996. Teaching Pronunciation: A Reference for Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages. New York: Cambridge University Press. Dalton, C. and Barbara Seidlhofer. 1994. Pronunciation. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Demirezen, M. 1986. Phonemics and Phonology. Ankar a: Bizim Buro. Hubbard et al. 1983. A Training Course for TEFL. Oxford: Oxford University Press.Krashen, S. D. 1988. Second Language Acquisition and Second Language Learning. New York: Prentice Hall Regents. Krashen, S. D. 1988. Principles and Practice in Second Language Acquisition. New York: Prentice Hall Regents. Kenworthy, J. 1987. Teaching English Pronunciation. London: Longman. Knowles, G. 1987. Patterns of Spoken English: An Introduction to English Phonetics. London: Longman. Larsen-Freeman, D. 2000. Techniques and Principles in Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. 10 Rivers, W. M. 1968.Teaching Foreign Language Skills. (2nd ed. ) Chicago: Chicago University Press. Rochmis, L. and D. Doob. 1970. Speech Therapy. New York: The John Day Company. Scarcella, R. & Oxford, R. L. 1994. Second Language Pronunciation: State of the Art in Instruction. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Zainnuri, Hasan. 2011. A Thesis: The Effectiveness of Using TELL ME MORE Communication ® to Improve Students’ Pronunciation Skill (An Experimental Study on The Tenth Grade Students at SMA Negeri 7 Surakarta in The Academic Year of 20102011). 11