Children learn Essay Example for Free

Children learn Essay The Guidance for the Foundation Stage Curriculum (2001) suggests that an appropriate curriculum for young children is a play-based curriculum, offering children a choice of play based activities and experiences. Siraj-Blatchford and Clarke (2000) agree that play has been well documented as a means by which young children learn.  Play is highly valued in the Early Years for its ability to stimulate and integrate a wide range of childrens intellectual, physical, cultural, social and creative abilities. (Siraj-Blatchford and Clarke 2000, p.76) However, unstructured play, in its purest sense, may cause a number of problems when providing suitable provision for children demonstrating hyperactive, impulsive or inattentive behaviour due to lack of structure and continual distraction. Kewley (1999,p.151) would agree when stating,   Unstructured situations such as playtime often cause problems for children with ADHDbecause of the over-reaction to the stimulus and their impulsive behaviour. Ballard (1997) defines an inclusive setting as one where differentness is an ordinary part of human experience. Indeed, differentiation is the key to effective teaching and learning. However, problems arise when the whole structure of the curriculum is inappropriate for the needs of a particular child. Cooper (1999) would agree that it is invaluable for the practitioner to be aware of the specific circumstances in which individual children perform best in order to plan for the learning needs of these children and suggests that some aspects of an Early Years curriculum may aggravate symptoms of ADHD when stating, Children with ADHD can become overwhelmed by the massive over stimulation they experience in a group situation and through free-play activity. (Cooper 1999, p.144)  In addition,  Barrow (in: Merton 1998) and Toothhill and Spalding (in: Sefton 2000) also found that children with ADHD responded better in highly structured lessons than less organised ones.  Children with ADHD are often hypersensitive to distraction. It is important, therefore, to ensure that they are seated in a place that is relatively free from distraction. (Cooper 1999, p.146) Thus, making the task of suitable inclusive provision difficult for practitioners in Early Years settings. However, many opportunities for structured, adult-directed play do exist within the Early Years. (Siraj-Blatchford and Clarke 2000) Games such as those with rules, card games, matching games, and outdoor games with balls all provide opportunities for adult-directed play and provide the child with instructions and guidance for playing the game, rules of turn taking and developing new information. In addition a play-based curriculum offers opportunities for high levels of adult support and encouragement and a kinaesthetic based approach to learning, which is a preferred style of learning for many children with ADHD. Kewley (1999,p.146) concurs, stating, Children with ADHD tend to be intuitive and need a practical approach to learning rather than a highly theoretical approach.  Research suggests however, that a high number of children with ADHD are not acknowledged as having SEN and instead their inappropriate behaviour highlighted as unsuitable candidates for mainstream settings. Hayden (1997) suggests that this attitude does not improve as the children enter formal education. Hayden researched children who had been excluded from primary school and found that children with ADHD are more likely that most to be excluded from school for behavioural reasons. This does appear at first glance to be surprising, when considering the evidence to suggest that a structured environment is more appropriate for a child with ADHD. Cooper (2005) offers an explanation for this however, and suggests that when considering the constructions of ADHD that, it is influenced by both biology and the social environment. Cooper infers that school plays a major part in the process of social constructions and indicates that children with ADHD are expected to conform to an unsuitable and ridged social framework and inappropriate curriculum when stating, Pupils from an early age are expected to internalise and behave in accordance with a set of rules that derive from constraints imposed by a teacher-centred, curriculum-focused method of teaching pupils in age related groups. (Cooper 2005,p.128)  Cooper also suggests that inappropriate teacher/child ratios may create social disorder problems that are met by a set of lineal rules, designed to regulate peer interaction and movement around school. Concluding that the majority of problems arise from an externally imposed age determined curricula as apposed to a negotiated curriculum. These findings are alarming when considering recent developments, legislation and guidance relating to children with SEN and may indicate that the behaviour aspect of children with ADHD is being used as a scapegoat strategy for settings who are not meeting the needs of these children.  When examining the issues surrounding ADHD it is clear that successful inclusion both in the Early Years and Primary school settings is problematic. On the one hand a play-based curriculum is the most suitable form of learning for the majority of young children and is endorsed in Early Years Settings, whilst on the other the symptoms that children with ADHD display suggest that such a curriculum would exasperate these symptoms. However, as previously discussed, some aspects of a play-based curriculum are preferable to the more formal approach of primary school. The PLA (2001) suggest once children have been admitted to the setting, an environment that is created should be one that encourages all children to flourish. Furthermore, Kewley (2001, p6) states the inclusion of children with ADHD is a moral imperative, however, Farrell and Polat (2003) argue that the inclusion of children with EBD has the potential to cause barriers to the government implementation of their policy of social inclusion. This would suggest that although differing levels of ability can be quiet easily catered for, behavioural and emotional differences are not as easily accommodated in educational settings. Visser and Stokes (2003) found that many people agreed with the inclusion of children with SEN, however when it came to children with EBD they were often denied inclusion due to their SEN. This supports the research undertaken by Hayden (mentioned previously) that children with ADHD are excluded from primary school due to behavioural reasons. The DfES (2006, p.1) suggest that children with ADHD can have an overwhelming affect in the setting when stating, pupils with ADHD present challenges for teachers, both in effective behaviour management and in keeping them focused on the task in hand. [online]  Teachers may feel threatened by having to deal with a child with ADHD, particularly if they have no training in the area and lack confidence, in addition to having to give instruction to a further 30 children or more. The parents of other children may feel that the attention has been drawn away from their children as more time needs to be spent dealing with disruptive outbursts and one to one tuition. All these factors effect the successful inclusion of children with ADHD. Swinson, Wolf and Meling however, disagree that these childrens needs would be addressed more effectively in special schools and conclude that there is much evidence of mainstream schools successfully including children with EBD and there was no evidence to suggest children with EBD benefit from special school. Rose (2002) found that teachers felt they could successfully include children with EBD, but only with additional classroom support. This may suggest a lack of confidence in their ability to meet the needs of children with ADHD in their care. Swinson, Wolf and Meling (2002) suggest that this view is not uncommon, they found that many teachers felt they were not sufficiently trained to meet the needs of inclusion. Another reason that teachers insist on additional classroom support may be due to the time and attention children with ADHD need. Newelle (2001) agree that children with EBD take up a lot of time and resources. All of the barriers above are not isolated to ADHD or indeed EBD they are general inclusion issues that have been successfully addressed throughout a majority of mainstream settings, particularly Early years settings. Albeit ADHD may manifest itself in differing ways and appear to centre around continuous, disruptive behaviour, for some leading to exclusion, however, all children with SEN should have their needs met and advice given by the DfES (2000) should apply to all children when stating,  Children with special educational needs all have learning difficulties that make it harder for them to learn than most children at the same age. These children may need extra or different help from that given to children of the same age [online] According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) [online], ADHD can have long term effects on the childs ability to make friends and over time these children may develop emotional problems such as poor self-esteem and depression if the childs needs are not met. McEwan (1998) identifies emotional reactivity and conduct problems, which include symptoms such as a shot fuse due to getting easily frustrated, overreacting to things that happen, defiant behaviour, verbal hostility and angry outbursts. Fletcher-Campbell (2001) looks at the problems of children with EBD and suggests that these children alienate themselves from their peers, due to their behaviour. Thus, Some manifestations of the disorder tend to isolate children with ADHD from their peers, who will sometimes react with hostility to impulsive and hyperactive behaviour. This can result in long term difficulties in relation to other individuals and developing and sustaining relationships and the emotional problems that follow often exacerbate the struggle to learn. (Question Publishing 2003) [online] Effects of inattention and impulsivity causes children problems with turn taking and this suggests they often interrupt when others are talking or playing. (Cooper and ORegan (2001) In addition McEwan (1998) argues that children with ADHD can often be selfish and self-centred, which means they are likely to find it hard to make friends and build relationships. They are often unaware of social cues and do not worry about the consequences of their behaviour.

Rear Window Music Analysis

Rear Window Music Analysis Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 29 April 1980), was one of the greatest English filmmakers and producers who not only pioneered many techniques in the psychological thriller genre but also employed more musical styles and techniques than any other directors in history. Rear Window was his boldest experiment in popular music. Just like many of Hitchcocks films, the music is a crucial part of the narrative and one of the many keys of a Hitchcocks mystery thriller. But it was the unique way that he put the street sounds into the soundtrack and made it in and out of windows and the heros dream because of this, it is believed that he found a new role for music in a post-modernistic film set in a post-war era. In every one Hitchcocks films, song is intrinsic in opening Hitchcocks little black humour of human relationship. The song of Lisa is the heart of the musical narrative in the Rear Window. People can see the process of metamorphosis of Lisa by the nameless composer through the film. From tentative piano to gradual instrumentation, voice-piano tryouts, improvisation, gradual instrumentation and voice-piano improvisation the metamorphosis. Lisa often played against the emotion of the scene highlighting the progress of Lisas relationship with Jeff. In Rear Window, the window of the nameless composer is in the centre. It created an interesting contrast in the film between the romanticized figure of the tireless composer and the cold but intellectual Jeff. The music drift progressed through the windows, and became an alternate language, sounding the main characters unconscious thoughts, contradicting them and moving them forward and finally saving Miss Lonely hearts and Lisa from fear of losing love of living. The first time the composer played, Lisa was in a skeletal form as single piano note with Hitchcock when Lisa and Jeff had their first conflict. Lisa comments on the music claiming it was enchanting and seems written especially for them. The conversation was shut immediately by Jeffs crucial comments thats no wonder hes having so much trouble with love. It seems like composers creative block applied to Jeffs difficulties in love with Lisa. Because Lisa often played against the emotion of the scene, the second time Lisa was played out again is when Jeff took out his telephoto-lens to watch Thorwalds unpacking of knives and saws and empties jewelry from his wifes handbag. But at this time, the music style changes to Lisztian Cadenzas and it continues in a tentative orchestration where Lisa and Stella dig in the courtyard garden for evidence and Lisa bravely breaks into Thorwalds apartment. As the musician performed Lisa with his musician friends confidently in jazz-combo version, Lisa cried out Jeff! but Stella and Jeff could only watch helplessly as Thorwald attacked her in the dark. Till Lisa nearly finished in suavely orchestrated, camera leaved Thorwalds window, moved down and stocked into miss lonely hearts apartment. This is the most remarkable scene involving the courtyard digging, Jeff and Stella tensely watch her put down the suicide pill and stared upward thoughtfully, searching for the sources of the music. At the end of the film, the Lisa theme song begins to overpower the Rear Window finale; this popular song is triumphantly played through all of the windows; everyone had all kinds of reunions and romances. Miss Lonely Hearts is re-united with her life saving composer. Lisa and Jeff figure their situation out; even the heartbroken dog lovers had a new pet It is believed that what Miss Lonely Heart did emphasised the relationship between people and music. Although music did not have a source, it did have the first and only instant of an invisible score for life. None of us can adequately explain how strong the influence of music could do to us. Although music as a camera, can allow people to distrust language and to convey a meaning beyond words. As people could see Hitchcocks characters, like all of us cannot help using some language ,as Lisa said there is that song again. The song Lisa was more complex in structure and functioned differently when it was played in a different style and lyrics, it also offered more detail in Hitchcocks storytelling. Music is a force that keeps the films heroes and heroines in the present; Lisa is empowered by her song in progress. The music performance in this film is profoundly modern; each song is played out of the windows of people who need them to maintain their connection with life. The structure of Lisas work is fine as many other songs in Hitchcocks films, however Hitchcock did not appropriate. It may be because Hitchcock was a grudging romantic with the method of painstaking classicist and the Lisa was hard to show the audience the dramatized ambivalence in the conflict between main characters. Hence Hitchcock later argued Rear Windows the matic experiment of Lisa is a failure. In his letter to Truffaut, he explains what he thought of Waxmans composition , that he had a motion picture songwriter when he should have had a popular songwriter. This highlights that as passive viewers, Hitchcock seeking manipulation and needing the song strings pulled at just the right moments for maximum impact. According to Robin Wood, in Rear Window, every character is isolated. But music provides a mysterious connection with the relationship between people, especially for Lisa and Jeff. Rear Window has been referred to be Hitchcocks most intellectual film. It is a hard hitting, creative work of social comment which Hitchcock and many of his peers considered to be true horror. The music gained the film a great influence on mass culture on the post-war American society. Its an ode to the idea of the musical composer (and in turn the film director), especially when compared to Jeff, the embodiment of an increasingly wealthy and an indefinitely distracted society.

Social Interaction In Acquisition Of Second Languages English Language Essay

Social Interaction In Acquisition Of Second Languages English Language Essay Ever since the basic assumption endorsed in the seminal work of Hatch in the late 1970s that learners learn the structure of a language through interaction rather than learning grammar in order to interact (Gass, 2003: 224-255). The relationship between interaction and acquisition has been one of the core issues in second language acquisition (SLA) research. The reviewed done by Young (1999) has shown that interactional competence is clearly most applicable to explaining cross-cultural communication. It also provides a convenient framework for integrating studies of conversational phenomena within a broader context of interaction. As language usually related two four main domains: reading, writing, oral and listening. In order to practice the oral and listening, interaction is important. At the same time interaction can also assist the development of the second language acquisition. Second Language Acquisition (SLA) is the process by which people learn a second language in addition to their native language(s). Linguists have many different approaches towards the acquisition of the second language. In the past few decades, linguists were more focus on the cognitive aspects also known as the psycholinguistic which studies the internal factors of second language acquisition. However, more recent studies have redirected their attention to the external factors which refers to the sociolinguistic. Social interaction is one of the main focuses in the study of the sociolinguistic. Unlike second language acquisition, there are specific brain parts located in the left hemisphere take care of the first language acquisition. If we consider first language acquisition as a natural cognitive development, then second language acquisition will be more like a process of nurture. Since it is more a process of nurture than a natural cognitive development, the social factors will be the vital attribution in the acquisition. Importance of social interaction On the basis of extensive research, there was considerable agreement that the learning environment must include opportunities for learners to engage in meaningful social interaction with users of the second language if they are to discover the linguistic and sociolinguistic rules necessary for second-language comprehension and production (Pica, 1987). And this agreement is still applicable for todays second language learning. A very good example is that students who study abroad are usually more fluent and accurate in the second language they are using, as compare to their classmates in their own country. In fact, there are many examples of the learners who are able to communicate and use the language efficiently without any formal instructions. For example the Bangladeshi workers in Malaysia do not have formal instruction in Bahasa Malaysia but are able to function well in their workplace and the community. Their second language is acquired through the unsystematic social interaction with the broader society. The learner has access to the target language in the course of everyday communication or interaction with the environment. The sounds of the language are embedded in a relevant situational context and the learners job is to extract from this material the rules for the use of the language. This interaction allows him to start learning and learning in turn allows him to make progress in communication (Albakri, 2006). The question might be asked, why interaction is important to the second language acquisition. In order to answer that question we need to look at what is required to second language learning. First of all, we need to have input, with the input we will able to produce a response which also known as the output, feedback will be given according to the output. These three major components made up an interaction. The interaction approach attempts to account for learning through the learners exposure to language, production of language, and feedback on that production. A central claim resulting from a past research is that, though interaction may not be strictly necessary, it nevertheless constitutes the primary means by which language learners obtain data for language learning, not only because interaction is how most learners receive input, but also because the input obtained through interaction is more pragmatic and conducive to acquisition than input received in other ways (Gass Macke y 2007: 175-199). Interlanguage An important term used in the interaction approach of second language acquisition is interlanguage. Interlanguage is a emerging linguistic system that has been developed by a learner of a second language who has not become fully proficient yet but is approximating the target language. It often preserving some features of their first language, or over-generalizing target language rules in speaking or writing the target language and creating innovations. An interlanguage is basically a set of language created by the learner to engage the first language and the second language and it is usually based on the learners experiences with the second language. At a more theoretical level, there are also well-argued claims that the social interaction most relevant to interlanguage development is that in which learners and their correspondents share a need and desire to understand each other (Pica, 1987). There is also recent empirical evidence that such mutual understanding can be reached when the learner and interlocutor modify and restructure their interaction as a result of their requests for clarification or confirmation of each others input and checks on the comprehensibility of their own productions, this will be discussed more in the feedback section. When learners need to understand unfamiliar linguistic input or when required to produce a comprehensible message are opportunities to modify and restructure their interaction with their respondents until mutual comprehension is reached. That process enables learners to move beyond their current interlanguage receptive and expressive capacities and yet improve their second language. Another research investigates the type of interaction and the effects on the development of the interlanguage. It shows that certain kinds of interaction that the child engages in encourage faster and more complete development of features of his interlanguage than other kinds of interaction. A similar finding is reported by Shea (2003), who compares interactions between Japanese students studying at an American university and four different teachers. Shea reports that the Japanese students appear more proficient in English in conversations where they have equal access to the floor and take perspectives that are congruent with those taken by their teachers (Watanabe 2008). Input Input refers to the language that a learner is exposed to. In all approaches to second language acquisition, input is a vital component for learning in that it provides the evidence from which learners can form linguistic hypotheses. On the other hand, the information provided by the input illustrates what is possible within a language. Interaction makes learner see the differences between them and native speakers. Interaction itself also directs learners attention to something new, such as a new lexical item or grammatical construction, thus promoting the development of the L2. Input obtained via interaction has been conceptualized and researched in terms of comprehensible input, negotiation of meaning and comprehensible output by Krashen, Long and Swain (Gass, 2003: 224-255, Krashen, 1981). The interrelatedness of these three notions is concisely articulated in Longs revised version of the Interaction Hypothesis: the negotiation for meaning, and especially negotiation work that tri ggers interactional adjustments by the NS or more competent interlocutor, facilitates acquisition because it connects input, internal learner capacities, particularly selective attention, and output in productive ways (Tarone, 2009: 41-57). The process of turning input into intake has been described by Krashen as follows: First, learners understand a message using the not yet acquired L2 structure and somehow connect the form with its meaning. Second, learners must notice a difference between their current interlanguage competence and the second language form (Xu, 2010). As input of an interaction is just like the listening, it is important for learners to familiar with the phonetic of the second language. Language like French, which does not pronounce the why it looks like. Native speakers usually speak much faster than a learner can understand. It means that it is understandable if the sentence was written or spoken word by word. As many French learners have experienced, it is important for the learner to have more social interactions with the native speakers to get their ears used to the speed and dialect (for some language) of the second language. Output Swain observed the children in Canada which showed less native-like language. Swain hypothesized that what was lacking was sufficient opportunities for language use. She claimed that language production forces learners to move form comprehension to syntactic use of language. As many learners maybe experienced, there is a stage where the learner is too shy to produce an output. It may due to the afraid of making a wrong statement or convey a wrong message. The less the learner talk in the target language, the more shyness the will feel. That is why many Chinese students who take English as second language is excellent in the grammar and lexicon but can hardly talk to a native speaker fluently. Feedback There are two types of feedbacks: implicit and explicit. Explicit refers to correction and metalinguisitic explanations. Implicit feedback refers to confirmation checks (i.e. the sentence or specific word has been correctly heard), clarification requests (i.e. a request for clarify or repeat), and comprehension checks (i.e. an expression used to check the listener is understand or not). Explicit feedback often occurs during negotiation for meaning. Pica (1989) describes how negotiation contributes to the language learning process, suggesting that negotiation facilitates comprehension of L2 input and servers to draw learners attention to form-meaning relationships through processes of repetition, segmentation, and rewording. The research also claims that negotiation can draw learners attention to linguistic problems and proposes that initial steps in interlanguage development occur when learners notice mismatches between the input and their own organization of the target language (Gas s Mackey, 2007: 175-199). With feedbacks, both the native speakers and non-native speakers can adjust their language to a level where they can communicate efficiently. Other research have found that native speaker modifications are more frequent in two-way communication because conversation provides the native speaker with feedback from the learner and thus enables him to estimate the amount of adjustment required (Albakri, 2006). Social context and culture Learning a second language can be said of learning about another society and their culture. Language has been proven that has a great relationship with the society, culture and even history. In order to improve the second language proficiency, social context and culture have to be taken into the consideration. The best way of doing this is to interact with the native speakers. It was shown that speakers of any target language use different varieties of that language in the different social contexts in which it is spoken; a formal variety is appropriate in business meetings, while a vernacular variety is used with friends in a bar. So social context affects the social variety of the second language learners are exposed to. If learners are restricted to only one social context and need to learn varieties of second language that are spoken in other social context and need to learn varieties of second language that are spoken in other social contexts, their overall SLA can be affected. (Tarone, 2007). Culture is difficult to define, but it does not mean that the issue is not important in relation to the acquisition of a second language. Through interaction, learners are able to understand certain usage of the language. For example, in Japanese, you need to use a respectful way or tone and choice of words to talk to a senior or anyone who is socially above your status. It is different in some western countries and the language they used. We may not be sure what culture the learner acquires, but it is certainly different from the learners own culture and this difference is an important part of the learning experience (Regan 1998). Conclusion Social interaction, without any doubt, is important in second language acquisition. The learner receives input from his/her respondent and that input becomes intake when the learner processes the information internally. The learner than produces the output which in turn becomes the input for the respondent and he/she provides feedback to that input. And this process continues as conversation or communication and therefore enhances second language learning (Albakri, 2006). It is also important that, the interaction provide the chance of knowing the culture of the target language and raise the awareness of the social context of the target language, which will indeed promotes the development of the second language. On the other hand, social interaction encourages learners to use the language in a more pragmatic way, which is one of the main reason we learn a second language at first place. Word Count: 2188

Anton Chekhov’s Use of Grief in Misery and Vengeance Essay -- Misery, V

Anton Chekhov’s Use of Grief in â€Å"Misery† and â€Å"Vengeance.† What is the fascination with grief and suffering that caused Anton Chekhov to entwine these two sad emotional states into everything he wrote? â€Å"Reading Anton Chekhov’s stories, one feels oneself in a melancholy state. Everything is strange, sharp, lonely, motionless, helpless† (Nebraska 1). Further, according to William Gerharde, Chekhov answered this very question with the following: â€Å"When you depict sad or unlucky people, and want to touch the reader’s heart, one should try to be cold— it gives their grief, as it were, a background, against which it stands out in greater relief† (Gerharde 110). While Chekhov uses pain and suffering in all his stories, he does an especially effective job with two short stories â€Å"Misery† and â€Å"Vengeance.† In both, Chekhov introduces a similar theme, although it is first suggested in â€Å"Misery†: â€Å"The theme of the individual isolation is suggested in many of Chekhov’s early stories, but it is first fully developed in the brief sketch ‘Misery’,† (Winner 137). While reading â€Å"Misery,† the reader can absorb Chekhov through the twined themes of loneliness and isolationism. This enables characters to become so real that each reader can relate through the characters and the situation. One reason â€Å"Misery† is so well thought of by critics is that â€Å"the story takes a powerful look at the lack of human involvement and compassion towards one man’s grief† (Guevara 2). Of course, almost all who read the story have felt such loneliness or grief at one ti me or other in their lives and can, therefore, relate to the protagonist’s pain and isolation. In addition, the atmosphere in â€Å"Misery,† suggest grayness and depression, a setting that immediately conveys ... ... is factually correct, a trivial kind of truth, though a kind central to works of verisimilitude; saying that which, by virtue of tone and coherence, does not feel like lying, a more important kind of truth; and discovering and affirming moral truth about human existence— the highest truth of art† (Creighton, 1). Chekhov is able to contribute to all three of the ways there is to â€Å"tell it like it is† when writing fiction. Not only does he tell the truth in his writing, he does so in a down to earth and straightforward way. Reading Chekhov, is like reading someone’s daily journal. It is real, it is intense, and it makes the reader deeply feel for the characters involved in each individual story. Pain and suffering are commonly used emotions, so people can relate easily to the characters. This is what makes Chekhov such a successful writer, and why he was adored by all.

Defintition of History :: Expository Essays Research Papers

Defintition of History The statement " History is nothing more than a collection of the static facts of the past; people who say history changes are terribly misguided" is incorrect. History is more than just static facts when ideas and concepts involved in history are understood and applied in life. Also, history changes when new applications of ideas found in past history are put to use and when new facts about happenings in the past are discovered. The statement is only taking into account the basic facts of history, which are definite things that occurred in the past and is not looking beyond the facts. Beyond just static facts is where true history lies. History is tale of mistakes and successes made by man that all people can learn from, it retells stories of human kind's past and why things are the way they are today. To understand a concept in history such as World War II a person just can not know the name Hitler or the place Pearl Harbor, they must understand the motivations behind Hitler's moves, where he came from, and why countries reacted the way they did. Every person that learns the facts that occurred in history makes choices in their minds on how they compare the things that happened in the past to things that happen in their lives and their time. History does change. It changes for everyone that learns about it. History changes every time a new comparison is made or another lesson is learned. These lessons are constantly being learned in every situation a person is met with. For instance, a young child could touch a flame and be burned, the next time they see the flame they would remember the burn and relate the flame to the last situation and thus make the choice of whether to touch it again.

Product life-cycle theory Essay

The product life-cycle theory is an economic theory that was developed by Raymond Vernon in response to the failure of theHeckscher-Ohlin model to explain the observed pattern of international trade. The theory suggests that early in a product’s life-cycle all the parts and labor associated with that product come from the area in which it was invented. After the product becomes adopted and used in the world markets, production gradually moves away from the point of origin. In some situations, the product becomes an item that is imported by its original country of invention.[1] A commonly used example of this is the invention, growth and production of thepersonal computer with respect to the United States. The model applies to labor-saving and capital-using products that (at least at first) cater to high-income groups. In the new product stage, the product is produced and consumed in the US; no export trade occurs. In the maturing product stage, mass-production techniques are developed and foreign demand (in developed countries) expands; the US now exports the product to other developed countries. In the standardized product stage, production moves to developing countries, which then export the product to developed countries. The model demonstrates dynamic comparative advantage. The country that has the comparative advantage in the production of the product changes from the innovating (developed) country to the developing countries. Product life-cycle There are five stages in a product’s life cycle: Introduction Growths Maturity Saturation Decline The location of production depends on the stage of the cycle. Introduction New products are introduced to meet local (i.e., national) needs, and new products are first exported to similar countries, countries with similar needs, preferences, and incomes. If we also presume similar evolutionary patterns for all countries, then products are introduced in the most advanced nations. (E.g., the IBM PCs were produced in the US and spread quickly throughout the industrialized countries.) A copy product is produced elsewhere and introduced in the home country (and elsewhere) to capture growth in the home market. This moves production to other countries, usually on the basis of cost of production. (E.g., the clones of the early IBM PCs were not produced in the US.) The Period till the Maturity Stage is known as the Saturation Period. The industry contracts and concentrates—the lowest cost producer wins here. (E.g., the many clones of the PC are made almost entirely in lowest cost locations.) This is a period of stability. The sales of the product reach the peak and there is no further possibility to increase it. this stage is characterised by: Saturation of sales (at the early part of this stage sales remain stable then it starts falling). It continues till substitutes enter into the market. Marketer must try to develop new and alternative uses of product. Poor countries constitute the only markets for the product. Therefore almost all declining products are produced in developing countries. (E.g., PCs are a very poor example here, mainly because there is weak demand for computers in developing countries. A better example is textiles.) Note that a particular firm or industry (in a country) stays in a market by adapting what they make and sell, i.e., by riding the waves. For example, approximately 80% of the revenues of H-P are from products they did not sell five years ago. the profits go back to the host old country. Product Life Cycle Theory Raymond Vernon developed the international product life cycle theory in the 1960s. The international product life cycle theory stresses that a company will begin to export its product and later take on foreign direct investment as the product moves through its life cycle. Eventually a country’s export becomes its import. Although the model is developed around the U.S, it can be generalised and applied to any of the developed and innovative markets of the world. The product life cycle theory was developed during the 1960s and focused on the U.S since most innovations came from that market. This was an applicable theory at that time since the U.S dominated the world trade. Today, the U.S is no longer the only innovator of products in the world. Today companies design new products and modify them much quicker than before. Companies are forced to introduce the products in many different markets at the same time to gain cost benefits before its sales declines. The theory does not e xplain trade patterns of today. New trade theory New trade theory (NTT) is a collection of economic models in international trade which focuses on the role of increasing returns to scale and network effects, which were developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s. New trade theorists relaxed the assumption of constant returns to scale, and some argue that using protectionist measures to build up a huge industrial base in certain industries will then allow those sectors to dominate the world market. Less quantitative forms of a similar â€Å"infant industry† argument against totally free trade have been advanced by trade theorists since at least 1848 (see: History of free trade). Contents †¢1 The theory’s impact †¢2 Econometric testing †¢3 History of the theory’s development o3.1 â€Å"New† new trade theory †¢4 Theoretical foundations o4.1 See also o4.2 References o4.3 External links The theory’s impact Although there was nothing particularly ‘new’ about the idea of protecting ‘infant industries’ (an idea offered in theory since the 18th century, and in trade policy since the 1880s) what was new in â€Å"new trade theory† was the rigour of the mathematical economics used to model the increasing returns to scale, and especially the use of the network effect to argue that the formation of important industries was path dependent in a way which industrial planning and judicious tariffs might control. The models developed were highly technical, and predicted the possibilities of national specialization-by-industry observed in the industrial world (movies in Hollywood, watches in Switzerland, etc.). The story of path-dependent industrial concentrations can sometime lead to monopolistic competition or even situations of oligopoly. Some economists, such as Ha-Joon Chang, had argued that free trade would have prevented the development of the Japanese auto industries in the 1950s, when quotas and regulations prevented import competition. Japanese companies were encouraged to import foreign production technology but were required to produce 90% of parts domestically within five years. It is said[who?] that the short-term hardship of Japanese consumers (who were unable to buy the superior vehicles produced by the world market) was more than compensated for by the long-term benefits to producers, who gained time to out-compete their international rivals.[1] Econometric testing The econometric evidence for NTT was mixed, and highly technical. Due to the timescales required, and the particular nature of production in each ‘monopolizable’ sector, statistical judgements were hard to make. In many ways, the available data have been too limited to produce a reliable test of the hypothesis, which doesn’t require arbitrary judgements from the researchers. Japan is cited as evidence of the benefits of â€Å"intelligent† protectionism, but critics[who?] of NTT have argued that the empirical support post-war Japan offers for beneficial protectionism is unusual, and that the NTT argument is based on a selective sample of historical cases. Although many examples (like Japanese cars) can be cited where a ‘protected’ industry subsequently grew to world status, regressions on the outcomes of such â€Å"industrial policies† (which include failures) have been less  conclusive; some findings suggest that sectors targeted by Ja panese industrial policy had decreasing returns to scale and did not experience productivity gains.[2] History of the theory’s development The theory was initially associated with Paul Krugman in the late 1970s; Krugman claims that he heard about monopolistic competition from Robert Solow. Looking back in 1996 Krugman wrote that International economics a generation earlier had completely ignored returns to scale. â€Å"The idea that trade might reflect an overlay of increasing-returns specialization on comparative advantage was not there at all: instead, the ruling idea was that increasing returns would simply alter the pattern of comparative advantage.† In 1976, however, MIT-trained economist Victor Norman had worked out the central elements of what came to be known as the Helpman-Krugman theory. He wrote it up and showed it to Avinash Dixit. However, they both agreed the results were not very significant. Indeed Norman never had the paper typed up, much less published. Norman’s formal stake in the race comes from the final chapters of the famous Dixit-Norman book.[3] James Brander, a PhD student at Stanford at the time, was undertaking similarly innovative work using models from industrial organisation theory—cross-hauling—to explain two-way trade in similar products.[citation needed] â€Å"New† new trade theory Marc Melitz and Pol Antrà  s stated a new trend in the study of international trade. While new trade theory put emphasis on the growing trend of intermediate goods, this new trend emphasizes firm level differences in the same industry of the same country and this new trend is frequently called ‘new’ new trade theory (NNTT).[4][5] NNTT stresses the importance of firms rather than sectors in understanding the challenges and the opportunities countries face in the age of globalization.[6] As international trade is increasingly liberalized, industries of comparative advantage are expected to expand, while those of comparative disadvantage are expected to shrink, leading to an uneven spatial distribution of the corresponding economic activities. Within the very same industry, some firms are not able to cope with international competition while others thrive. The resulting intra-industry reallocations of market shares and productive resources are  much more pronounced than inter-industry reallocations driven by comparative advantage. Theoretical foundations New trade theory and â€Å"new† new trade theory (NNTT) need their own trade theory. New trade theories are often based on assumptions such as monopolistic competition and increasing returns to scale. One of the typical explanation, given by P. Krugman, depends on the assumption that all firms are symmetrical, meaning that they all have the same production coefficients. This is too strict as an assumption and deprived general applicability of Krugman’s explanation. Shiozawa, based on much more general model, succeeded in giving a new explanation on why the traded volume increases for intermediates goods when the transport cost decreases.[7] â€Å"New† new trade theory (NNTT) also needs new theorectical foundation. Melitz and his followers concentrate on empirical aspects and pay little interest on theoretical aspects of NNTT. Shiozawa’s new construction, or Ricardo-Sraffa trade theory, enables Ricardian trade theory to include choice of techniques. Thus the theory can treat a situation where there are many firms with different production processes. Based on this new theory, Fujimoto and Shiozawa[8] analyze how different production sites, either of competing firms or of the same firms locating in the different countries, compete. Porter’s Theory of Competitive Advantage of Nations of International Trade NIRAV S Micheal Porter’s Theory of Competitive Advantage of Nations against the Theory of Competitive advantage sought to examine the issue of why some nation’s business firms succeeded high in international/global competition. The theory of competitive advantage probes into three major aspects of trade phenomenon: i. Why does a nation succeed international in a particular industry? ii. What influence does a nation carry on competition in specific industries and their segments? iii. Why do a nation’s firms choose particular strategies of business? Porter’s analysis begins with following premises: 1. The nature of competition and the sources of competitive advantage differentials in the industries. 2. Successful global enterprises draw  competitive advantages through their value chain of worldwide network. 3. Innovation is the pillion of gaining/sustaining competitive advantage. 4. Pioneering and aggressive competitors in exploiting new market/technology are most successful. Porter undertook intensive research of 100 industries in ten countries. On the basis of empirical investigation, Porter identified for attributes of nation which determine (promote, impede) its competitive advantage referred to as Porter’s Diamond in. The Porter’s Diamond narrates for major attributes: Factor Conditions A country’s factor endowments or supply of factors of production such as human resources, physical resources, knowledge resources, location, capital resources and infrastructure play a significant role in determining its national competitive advantage. Besides basic factors (e.g., natural resources, climate, etc.,) advanced factors (e.g., skilled labour, communications infrastructure, technology) are the crucial determinants of the capabilities and competitiveness of a nation. Advanced factors are declined by the efforts of the individuals, firms, institution and government in a country. Japan’s success may largely be attributed to its advanced factors creation rather than basic factors arability. A nation can overcome its deficiency or comparative disadvantage of basic factors endowment by focusing on creation of advanced factors to improve its competitive advantage. Demand Conditions The demand conditions in home market is important in stimulating domestic firms to undertake innovation and improve quality of products. When domestic buyers are sophisticated, a pressure in the market is created for the domestic firms to meet high standards of quality demanded. For example, Japanese knowledge buyers have induced the Japanese camera manufacturers to produce innovative models first in the home market and then for the exports. Similarly, local customers in Sweden have stimulated Ericsson to invest in cellular phone equipment industry much before the rising global demand. A nations demand conditions, thus, refer to: i. The nature of home buyers needs – their sophistication and fastidiousness ii. The size and pattern of growth of home market iii. The timing of development of demands relative to buyer in foreign markets iv. The knowledge presence of domestic buyers in foreign markets and their preferences. v. The timing of market saturation and challenges at home market provide a strong reason to acquire global competitive position to a business firm. Suppliers and Related Industries National advantage in an industry is also conditioned by the preserve of vigorous home-based suppliers of cost-effective and quality inputs or related supporting industries. For example, the US success in several electronic goods including personal computers is attributed to the growth of semiconductor industry in the country. Same is the case with Malaysia to some extent. Likewise, Sweden steel industry has contributed much to the success of Sweden’s output in ball bearings and cutting tools. Successful industrial growth in the exporting country may emerge on quantum of the growing clusters of related/supervising industries. German textile and approach sector is a chronic case in this regard – (textile machinery, sewing machine needles, textile clothes forming the cluster of textile exporting industry of the country). Ongoing coordination and just-in-time strategy is easy when such cluster industrial growth occurs in a nation.

Satire, humor and irony

In the Atwood’s short story, there are two speakers. One is trying to write a story while the other gives his opinion or views on the words that the former is using for his story. Their conversation centers on the mistakes or errors in the writer’s choice of words. The poems in the readings show that irony and satire need to be humorous at all times. Shakespeare’s poems did not contain humor. He only made use of irony in writing his pieces most particularly the poem, â€Å"My mistress’ eyes are nothing like the son. ’ On the other hand, Kennedy’s poem, â€Å"A Visit from St. Sigmund Freud,† is satirical but not entirely humorous for it talks about a very serious matter. In talking about Freud and Santa Claus, Kennedy did not utilize humor. His writing took on a serious tone just like Shakespeare did for his poem. The plays of Seinfeld and Leguizamo are very appropriate as readings for humor, irony, and satire for the writers of the said plays wrote them for the purpose of entertaining the readers. The goal of the said plays was to invoke laughter. They were meant to be humorous. They are clear examples of how humor is taken as the theme of literature.