Communication Opinion Essay

Effective communication plays a significant role in providing proper care for patients. According to Cheesebro, O’Connor, and Rios (2010) â€Å"Communication is sometimes defined as the process of sending and receiving messages† (para. 14). For the communication to be effective both the sender, and the receiver must understand the message. The way individuals communicate is altered according to their audience or environment. For example if an instructor is communicating through small talk his or her tone and vocabulary would differ from communicating through informational talk. The same goes for when an individual communicates with children or adults. Even though the tone and style of communication may be altered to fit the audience, the process of communication has to stay the same to be effective. Effective communication allows health care professionals to gain trust in a reluctant consumer and handle cultural differences among patients. The four basic elements of the communication process include a sender, message, receiver, and feedback. In effective communication the sender constructs a message that is appropriate for the receiver(s). According to Haycock (2003) there are three elements called the ‘3Ts’ that the sender should consider when constructing an effective message. The ‘3Ts’ are tone, tools (computer, video, note, etc. ), and tactics. It is important to think the message through before sending it to be sure it is as clear and concise as possible. In effective communication the receiver should be able to understand the message completely. The receiver may have to decode the message to gain full understanding. If he or she still does not understand the message, the receiver should use feedback to ask the sender for clarification. Feedback is an important part of effective communication because the sender learns if the receiver understood the message or not. If the receiver did not understand the message feedback allows the sender the opportunity to elucidate the message. â€Å"In short, feedback is the primary means of increasing personal awareness and establishing a shared understanding. You should give and get as much feedback as possible† (Cheesebro, et. al. , 2010, para. 23). Health care communication encompasses the four basic elements of communication. However, the basic rules of health care communication are a little more complex. According to du Pre (2005) â€Å"People are actively involved in health communication. They are not passive recipients of information† (pg. 9). Providers specifically focus on the tone and presentation of the message to ensure patients’ satisfaction. The ultimate goal in health care communication is to develop and maintain a shared understanding between health care professionals and patients. Physicians may use the biomedical or biopsychosocial model when communicating with patients. With the biomedical model, physicians use short and to-the-point questions or statements. This limits the patient input, which can cause the patient to feel dissatisfied with the care or diagnosis. The advantage of using the biomedical model is that it will save time. Although the biopsychosocial model does not save time, it is more effective when communicating in the health care setting because it focuses more on patient’s feelings. This reduces the risk of malpractice lawsuits, therefore saving money in the end. Whether health care professionals use the biomedical or biopsychosocial model, they will still encounter reluctant consumers. A provider may encourage a reluctant consumer to communicate candidly by validating the patient’s concerns, uphold complete honesty, and share plenty of ideas or information. When a consumer is reluctant, he or she can have a bad attitude and less willingness to listen. To encourage the reluctant consumer to communicate candidly it is extremely important that the provider maintains patience yet remain slightly persistent. The tone and presentation delivered by the provider makes a significant difference when persuading consumers to communicate openly. A patient may be reluctant to share open communication with a provider because of cultural differences. Some individuals feel extremely strong about their cultural beliefs, which can make it difficult for physicians to discuss cultural differences with patients. Providers generally share the same main goal, which is to help improve patient’s health. When the patient’s cultural beliefs go against certain tests and treatments it can sometimes prevent providers from doing reaching this goal. When providers cannot help improve patient’s health it an be very difficult. However, providers must respect patient’s wishes. â€Å"To be effective, health communicators must be concerned enough to pay close attention to people’s behavior and knowledgeable enough to recognize cultural and personal preferences that make people different† (du Pre, 2005, pg. 8). Barriers can arise in health care because of reluctant consumers or patients with strong cultural beliefs. Effective communication through the sender, message, receiver, and feedback can aid in breaking down these barriers. Once patients and providers can break down barriers it permits more open discussions and proper health care. Communication, especially in health care should be thought out, sensitive to feeling, clear, concise, and appropriate. According to du Pre (2005) â€Å"Communication, then, is an ongoing process of sharing and creating meaning. The challenge is not merely to put thoughts into words, but to cooperate with others in developing a shared understanding of what is happening and what it means† (pg. 10).

Todays Highly Competitive Business Environment Commerce Essay

In todays extremely competitory concern environment, there are a batch of companies that are viing with each other for concern and besides these companies have to be cognizant every now and so of a new market participant emerging with new thoughts, technological inventions and techniques that can hinder those bing market participant ‘s concern aspirations. The key to success for concerns is to be able to place that competition and to react to it, be able to invariably develop, get and accommodate, i.e evolve harmonizing to the market demand. This has bought frontward the construct of corporate entrepreneurship. The civilization of corporate entrepreneurship has to come from within the direction of administrations. With the intense competition among concerns, the modern-day manner of direction has given to strategic leading. Corporate Entrepreneurship is the civilization of advanced thought from within people in the administration that ensures sustained growing of companies ( Ra y & A ; Ramachandran 1996 ) . The motivation for entrepreneurship comes from the impulse to heighten client satisfaction ( Ramachandran 2003 ) and besides plan better for the hereafter. The motivation for entrepreneurship can besides be a response to the altering market scenarios that concerns face, whether it is from competition from challengers or in the chase of new concern chances. This sort of entrepreneurship was foremost started at Continental AG by Dr Von Grunberg, who fostered the thought of advanced thought among all staff at Continental when he started as the Chairman of the executive board in 1991. This corporate invention bought frontward the thought of profitableness among each concern unit of Continental AG. The company moved from a scheme of enlargement by acquisition to a growing scheme by profitableness. For this sort of advanced thought ( corporate entrepreneurship ) companies need leaders who are able to anticipate alterations, predict and program for the hereafter. This is what is known as strategic leading. Strategic leaders have multiple accomplishments but most of import among them are the interpersonal, conceptual and proficient accomplishments. They are besides adept at pull offing alterations. Under Dr Von Grunberg ‘s strategic leading, the company â€Å" put about implementing a re-orientation of the company ‘s concern † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . He encouraged the thought of entrepreneurship among all concern units of Continental AG and urged the company to â€Å" endeavor for the prima place in engineering † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) as his sharp vision envisaged the spread and chance for the future technological market. He felt that the Sur market was saturated and Continental could hold non survived merely by being a Sur provider entirely. He put frontward a program for future merchandise and procedure inventions towards being a systems supplier by re-structuring the Research and Development division ( R & A ; D ) at Continental AG, it started to demo consequences, Continental AG moved in front from its dark yearss at the beginning of the 1990 ‘s and re-invented itself in the market. Corporate scheme must be in the custodies of strong leaders in the company and their strategic thought drives a company frontward. Strategic leading is non merely concerned with giving way to present schemes but besides future schemes for the company and programs in topographic point for those schemes. Strategic leading besides motivates employees by giving them the right way in front and fixing them better for the hereafter. 1b ) The 1990 ‘s saw a serious recession in Europe and the universe tyre industry was besides hit by this recession. Vehicle enrollment declined and the market shrunk. Continental was faced with bead in net incomes, units running on losingss and the coup d'etat command of Pirelli. This prompted a strategic alteration in its external and internal policies. Before looking into Continental ‘s strategic alteration, the factors responsible for those strategic alterations in Continental ‘s policy demand to be looked at and is discussed in the nest paragraph. In malice of the hard times talked about in the earlier paragraph, Continental pursued growing scheme and as a consequence suffered immense losingss ( 65 million euro in 1991 ) ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . Pirelli, a rival of Continental at that clip wanted to try a coup d'etat of Continental which was non successful and at the terminal it was settled with Pirelli controlled block of portions being transferred to a bank pool and the going of Executive board president Horst W. Urban on May 10, 1991. Continental was besides confronting troubles incorporating the companies/tire trade names like Uniroyal, Semperit, General Tire etc acquired as portion of its growing scheme. â€Å" There were besides hapless net incomes in a figure of corporate divisions † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001, p740 ) . The company construction of Continental was bureaucratic and centralistic ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . The corporate construction was managing â€Å" functional duties † alternatively of being market and client oriented. Most of the direction were involved largely in transporting out administrative responsibilities and lacked entrepreneurial skills/energy and strategic leading and that besides came down to the employees. To prolong in the extremely competitory market, Continental needed strategic alteration and those strategic alterations implemented by Continental are discussed in the following paragraph. More importance to profitableness and invention Continental shifted its focal point from being growing by acquisitions to more on stabilising the company ‘s profitableness and invention and no farther acquisitions. The inventions, Continental stressed would be achieved by the company through its ain entrepreneurial forces ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . Dr Von Grunberg presented a 10 point plan which was designed to put more accent on company directors holding a clear net income orientation and besides be a leader in inventions and engineering. Restructuring the functional orientation in the tyre country Functional restructuring for the tyre country in 1992 saw the old â€Å" board countries of ‘Tire production ‘ and ‘Marketing/Sales ‘ responsible for auto and truck tyres † being dissolved and replaced by merchandise driven â€Å" board degree divisions of ‘Passenger Tires ‘ and ‘Commercial Vehicle Tires/Environment/Research ‘ . Net income orientation of service maps The demand for profitableness besides applied to serve maps like Information engineering. Continental AG outsourced its IT functions to another company which was jointly run by IBM and Continental. Marketing administration of auto tyre division Continental AG acquired a figure of trade names in the 1980 ‘s like Uniroyal, Semperit, General Tire, Viking etc. Their profitableness was looked after by a separate direction squad. One of the major jobs these trade names were confronting was that they were seemingly aiming the same clients and in fact seemed like each other ‘s rivals. Continental AG realised that and adopted a stance of market orientation, a displacement from trade name orientation at the terminal of 1993. Managers were given much more authorization in their parts and they were made â€Å" accountable for the consequences † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . They were besides given clip and infinite in covering with clients and understanding their demands. Cardinal coordination of decentral activities Even though decentralization of the assorted units/activities were pursued, cardinal functional countries like control, finance, engineering, buying â€Å" were retained as cardinal units † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . Dr new wave Grunberg â€Å" continued to exercise direct influence † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) peculiarly in affairs of investing.2a ) How Continental fostered strategic invention ( use Porter ‘s value concatenation understanding )Any company who is looking to last in the long tally in the market must be able to rethink and reinvent its planning procedure in order to keep sustainable competitory advantage in the market. Whether it be through distributing the civilization of corporate entrepreneurship among direction and staff, through advancing strategic leading or through furthering strategic inventions. Inventions are portion of nucleus competences of houses and are indispensable for competitory advantage ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . A careful analysis of Porter ‘s value concatenation ( a utile tool to analyze a house ‘s nucleus competences ) would uncover two really of import facts. The activities in which a house can prosecute competitory advantage can be either by making a superior cost advantage by which it offers the market and its clients a existent value for money or by distinguishing its constituents, merchandises and services from its rivals. Continental was faced with tough times at the beginning of the 1990 ‘s with the economic recession and its failure to react to altering times by redesigning its schemes and policies. However with Dr. Von Grunberg as the president of the executive board it identified the countries to turn to as respects to company schemes and focussed on furthering strategic invention civilization in the company with respects to core competences of distinguishing its constituents, merchandises and services from its rivals. Initial scheme of Continental after the assignment of Dr Von Grunberg in early 1991 ( as the Chairman of the Executive Board ) was to concentrate on the entrepreneurial strength and invention potency of its staff and directors. However that scheme changed with clip, â€Å" following the acquisition of Teves, ITT industries brake and chassis operations in 1998 † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) when Continental went â€Å" beyond its ain operations into the value ironss of providers † ( Kotler 2003 ) in chase of systems supplier position ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . Through endeavoring for technological promotion Continental was looking to distinguish itself from its rivals and one facet which Dr Von Grunberg felt that the company could do a difference is in the promotion on the technological forepart. He urged for invention from single employees from every individual section of the company. The attempts bore fruit and resulted in a new tyre line, Eco-contact in 1992 and development of a one phase Sur edifice machine in 1994 ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . Continental invested to a great extent in Research and Development ( R & A ; D ) even during the crisis ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) and focussed on merchandise and procedure inventions ( instance analyze 7 ) within the tyre industry. A new engineering Centre was built up in Hannover, Germany. â€Å" The R & A ; D resources from Semperit and Uniroyal were all brought together in Hannover † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001, p744 ) . Therefore more than 1000 applied scientists and technicians were working together in presenting â€Å" market orientated inventions for car/truck tyres and automotive systems † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001, p744 ) . There were besides â€Å" research-development-engineering ( RDE ) meetings † where the research workers were confronted â€Å" with the demands of directors from market and client units to further new concern thoughts † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . Towards a systems provider for automotive industry Continental AG and its direction under the leading of Dr Von Grunberg in the 1990 ‘s realised that providers of complete systems ( alternatively of tyres or constituents merely ) will play the dominant function in the automotive industry of the hereafter ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . The provider market of constituents and tyres was shriveling at that clip. It was at that clip that Continental realised that it could long longer remain as a direct provider of production of tyres merely. It needed to â€Å" integrate proficient human body constituents to organize complete systems to provide to the automotive industry † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001, p745 ) and the acquisition of Teves â€Å" to make a superior value bringing web † ( Kotler book, p71 ) Formation of a separate board country Automotive systems The board of Continental AG founded a separate board country in 1994 called the ‘Automotive Systems ‘ headed by Albert Beller, a former director at ITT Industries who had extended experience in the human body concern ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . From production of 10000 tyres in 1994 in a affair of two old ages production increased to three million tyres ( 3 million ) . There were besides developments of series of advanced merchandise thoughts for the human body that came along during this clip, viz. TPMS, CECC, CASS, SWT merely to call a few ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . These developments of advanced merchandise thoughts formed the footing for future value add-on and growing2b ) Compare and contrast Corporate administration and corporate societal duty patterns at Continental AG and Goodyear tyreCorporate administration at Continental AGCorporate administration is the manner a corporate is governed, the set of regulations, policies and processes that dictate the manner a comp any is administered or run ( University of Sunderland Handbook 2004 ) . Continental AG follows certain corporate guidelines, administration and codification of behavior which make up the Corporate administration patterns at Continental AG in conformity with subdivision 161 of the German Stock Corporation Act ( AktG ) . The Continental AG Executive board is in duty for the direction of the company as a whole. The executive board is formed of members who portion the assorted duties. The caput of the executive board is the Chairman of the Executive board and is responsible for giving the company the way it needs, including concern policy and overall direction ( www.conti-online.com ) . The Supervisory board is responsible for naming the Executive board and besides supervises and advises the Executive board. The supervisory board is besides represented by a Chairman who along with the president of the executive board discusses the company ‘s scheme and growing. The corporate administration patterns since 1990 ‘s under the able stewardship of Dr Von Grunberg disintegrated the centralized construction of operation of Continental AG and made concern units and concern directors more accountable to the net incomes and losingss sing their units. This developed more transparence in operation at Co ntinental AG. The Corporate Guidelines of Continental AG was reflected in the new Continental policy, the BASICS, the Continental AG corporate guidelines. It has reflected the vision, overall focal point by value creative activity ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) , concentrate on stakeholders, merchandises and services, corporate spirit, values and self-image of the Corporation since 1989. Code of Conduct of Continental AG Continental AG introduced a Worldwide Code of Conduct in 1996 that describes the basic values and rules which are adhering for all Continental employees during their mundane work and when covering with co-workers, clients and other company stakeholders ( www.continental-corporation.com ) . This was to further a long term successful relation with company stakeholders and clients.Corporate Social Responsibility patterns at Continental AGContinental AG understands the fact that a company ‘s success is non merely defined by its growing and profitableness but it besides defined by its societal duty, its lovingness for the society and the universe in general. Continental AG is committed towards sustained societal duty, called the Corporate Social Responsibility ( CSR ) ( www.cont-online.com ) . Continental takes into history environmental and societal facets into history in planing its merchandises and makes certain that its merchandises guarantee safety and convenience in route traf fic ( www.continental-corporation.com ) . The company is committed towards handling its staff in a responsible mode, guaranting they are happy, in good wellness and can keep a balance between personal and professional life. The company besides offers farther making and preparation and development chances for its staff. Continental AG besides supports and promotes resource salvaging merchandises to do certain that the environment is looked after.Continental AG works with the wider societal community in back uping programmes and undertakings on instruction, public assistance and athleticss ( www.cont-online.com ) . Continental AG follows the model of International Global Reporting Initiative ( GRI ) guideline in pulling up its Corporate Social Responsibility Report.Goodyear Corporate administration patternsGoodyear has a corporate administration commission to supervise all corporate administration activities. The commission consist of three or more managers appointed by the Board of Directors ( www.goodyear.com/corporate ) . The commission listens to stockholders suggestions for board members and besides reappraisals and assesses the corporate administration guidelines to do recommendations to the Board. Goodyear ‘s corporate administration patterns has led to innovative thought, merchandise optimisation and optimisation of client satisfaction and is apparent in its new policy of seven strategic drivers ( leading, concentrate on hard currency, low cost construction, leveraged distribution, constructing trade name strength, merchandise leading and advantage supply concatenation ) to better integrate and organize the concern activities so that they are more net income oriented, concentrate more on presenting client satisfaction, focal point on clients appeal on Goodyear ‘s cardinal trade names and better co-ordination with the supply concatenation for streamlined telling procedure concentrating on client and low operating cost ( www.goodyear.com/corporate ) ..Corporate Social Responsibility patterns at GoodyearGoodyear tyre is committed towards the society at big and besides the environment. Goodyear realises that to be a universe participant it must pay same attending to the environment as it pays to success and net incomes. Goodyear follows all relevant environmental wellness and safety guidelines non merely in relation to its workers but besides maintaining in head the planetary society and community in the topographic point in which it operates. The committedness to zero waste landfill in 2006 all was implemented to extinguish all waste from landfills ( www. goodyear.com/corporate ) . Initiative was besides taken for the decrease in the the usage of dissolvers, advancing energy efficiency and commanding wastage of H2O. Goodyear undergoes legion plants all over the universe affecting immature kids, adult females, backward communities to aware them of the dangers in route traffic and the safety measures that will do this universe a better and healthier topographic point to populate in. Some of the enterprises are adult females with thrust, trial coin kits, Nelson Mandela Business alliance to back up the HIV/AIDS people in Africa, kid safety place programme. In decision the corporate societal duty patterns at Continental are more concentrated towards safety and good being of its employees and the society at big, while the corporate societal activities of Goodyear tyres are more focused on the wellness and safety policy and advancing safety to the society at big. 3a ) The construction at Continental AG was extremely centralized and bureaucratic before 1992. This sort of stiff construction made Continental AG concentrate more on functional duties and as a consequence distanced itself from the market and its clients. This sort of construction did non let the chance to look into the wellness of the single units in the company and as a consequence it was hard to happen out or track the beginnings and grounds behind losingss and besides to keep person accountable for the losingss. However the restructuring of the functional construction in 1992 saw the board countries of ‘Production Tires ‘ and ‘Marketing Gross saless ‘ existent in the functional construction in 1991 being dissolved into ‘Passenger Tires ‘ and ‘Commercial Vehicle Tires/Environment/Research ‘ . Alternatively of giving separate duty to a selling team/department/unit, the new construction allowed both divisions to look into their produc tion and besides selling duties. The directors were responsible for reasonably much everything for their divisions and they were given far more freedom and liberty to show them and were responsible for the profit/losses. This fostered the civilization of invention and new thoughts non merely among directors, but besides the directors and the board encouraged entrepreneurial energy among staff. The concatenation of bid was much clearer ( organizational construction ) and this transparence made it possible to put targets/profit demands on top direction in those divisions. In 1996 â€Å" the organisational split up of the rider tyre division into the extremely profitable replacing concern unit and loss devising original equipment concern † made it possible to place the loss doing country from the net income devising country. The loss doing original equipment concern was brought back to gain doing under the leading of Dr. Kessel, who besides promoted the entrepreneurship among al l degrees of the company. But this organizational shingle up was of import as the company was able to work individually on that peculiar country and by 1997 it paid dividends. From 1992 onwards the direction at Continental AG felt that with the shrinkage of provider market in tyres and constituents, it could long longer remain as a direct provider of production of tyres merely, the automotive industry market was traveling more towards â€Å" providers of complete systems † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . It needed to â€Å" integrate proficient human body constituents to organize complete systems to provide to the automotive industry † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001, p745 ) and the acquisition of Teves â€Å" to make a superior value bringing web † ( Kotler book, p71 ) . The board of Continental AG founded a separate board country in 1994 called the ‘Automotive Systems ‘ headed by Albert Beller, a former director at ITT Industries who had extended experience in the human body concern ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . The formation of a separate section ‘Continental Automotive systems ‘ in the corporate construction put greater acce nt on supply of complete systems and led to the development of advanced thoughts and entrepreneurial accomplishments for merchandises like TMPS, CECC, CASS, SWT etc. 3b ) Dr Stephen Kessel assumed the board chairmanship on June 1, 1999. He knew that it was a difficult occupation following in the footfalls of Dr. Von Grunberg, who was enormously successful in maneuvering Continental from its dip in the early 1990 ‘s and turn it into a net income devising company with an entrepreneurial mentality ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . The major challenge for Dr. Kessel was keeping the corporate place of Continental and besides to keep the entrepreneurial energy among employees at Continental. He introduced a new policy known as BASICS which is creative activity of value that benefits all stakeholders with a clear vision and overall focal point ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . Dr Kessel initiated a â€Å" company-wide balanced scorecard procedure for the intent of set uping certain guidelines within Continental † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001, p752 ) . In this he involved every individual section and devised a balanced scorecard for every individual concern uni t, which was to be reviewed yearly. â€Å" This provided a better handling of the corporate divisions utilizing fewer public presentation figures † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001 ) . Dr Kessel besides played a important function in procuring Continental AG ‘s technological border on competition and taking place in footings of technological invention with the â€Å" freshly founded Strategic Technology unit join forcesing tyres, human body, brakes and proficient merchandises determining company ‘s re-orientation to a systems provider † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001, p752 ) . He was besides instrumental in acquiring the â€Å" original equipment concern unit † back to gain doing with entrepreneurial activities and â€Å" acceptance of a strategic policy † of non clasping under the â€Å" automotive industry ‘s pricing policy † ( Bruch and Vogel 2001, p753 ) .

Human Rights Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Human Rights - Research Paper Example orts and medical personals who attended to these patients, the symptoms were largely internal including breathlessness, foaming from the nose and mouth, dizziness, running nose, irritation and constriction of the eye pupils, blurredness, nausea, vomiting, general body weakness and loss of consciousness. These symptoms were consistent with exposure to neurotoxic substances The US assessment confirmed the death of more than 1400 people including many children (The White house, 2013; Syria chemical attack, 2013). Experts believe that this attack by the Syrian government aimed to eradicated opposition forces in the Damascus regions. In its previous attacks using most of its conventional weaponry the regime has been unable to clear the region of the opposition elements and hence has resorted to chemical warfare. The Syrian government has loads of chemicals in stock including sarin, mustard, VX, and munitions to deliver these agents to the target locations. The Syrian military is believed to possess thousands of tons of chemicals and its precursors including huge quantities of sarin along with the required knowledge and expertise on the use of chemical warfare (The White house, 2013; Syria chemical attack, 2013). The final call for carrying out a chemical attack rests with the Syrian President, Bashar al-Azad, who had initiated a similar chemical attack, but on a smaller scale last year in the Damascus region. Further reports have also confirmed that personal from the Syrian Scientific Studies and Research Center (SSRC) were involved in the preparation of the chemical weapons before the attack. The chemicals used for the attack were mixed in a nearby region and the regimen employed surface to surface rockets and artilleries to carry out the attack. Within three hours following the attacks, many hospitals in the Damascus region received thousands of people displaying symptoms of neurotoxin exposure. The role of the regimen in the attack was further confirmed through

Outline some of the difficulties for learners of english posed by the Essay

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Freuds Ideas Remain Influential Even When They Seem Implausible Essay

Freuds Ideas Remain Influential Even When They Seem Implausible - Essay Example According to Freud, the ego comes about during the infancy stage of human development and the goal of this aspect of mental development is to find satisfaction for the desires of the id but in a manner which is safe (Freud, 2010). While the id is mostly dominated by the instincts of the individual, the ego is dominated by reality and despite the fact that it works towards the fulfilment of the desires of the id, the ego can be said to be based on the control of these desires so that they do not get out of hand. The ego, therefore, functions not only in the unconscious level but also in the conscious level and this ensures that there is a balance between the two. The superego, on the other hand, develops during early childhood when the child comes to identify with the parent of the same sex, and this parent becomes the compass for the child’s moral development. It is the superego which is responsible for the development and upholding of moral values among individuals as a means of ensuring that they behave in a manner which is in accordance with the values and norms of the society. Moreover, it is responsible for the feelings of guilt which afflict individuals when they commit acts which go against the values of the society (Freud, 2013), and this enables them to correct their mistakes. According to Freud, there comes a time when there are conflicts between the id and the superego and when this occurs, it is normally the role of the ego to act as a mediator and to decide the best course of action that can be undertaken to solve the conflict. It is because of this that in some cases, the ego puts in place defence mechanisms which are designed to ensure that it is not overwhelmed by anxiety and this enables it to make the right decision about what to do.  It has been declared that the theories brought forth by Freud, while very good at providing explanations for behaviour, are not quite good at making predictions for the possible occurrence of such behavi our. It is for this reason that there has arisen a belief that Freud’s theories are not scientific because they can neither be proven false nor true. An example of such a scenario is the determination of what takes place in the unconscious mind because of the fact that this is something which cannot be tested or measured in an objective manner (Levin, 2010). It is because of this that it is believed that the theories propagated by Freud are neither scientific nor do they have objectivity. Because of the relatively few samples that he used, it has been declared that Freud’s studies and results were unrepresentative of the general population since he mainly made studies of himself, his patients and only one child. Since most of the studies consisted of his patients, mostly women of middle age.  

Fruit Fly Genetics lab report Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Fruit Fly Genetics - Lab Report Example About 10-14 days after the eggs are laid by the females, the adult flies emerge from their pupal cases. In this lab, we performed a dihybrid cross for dumpy wing/normal eye color and normal wing/sepia eye color. In a dihybrid cross, two different mutants are crossed to each other and a sibling cross is performed with the progeny from the F1 generation. The dihybrid cross is performed to determine if two genes assort independently or if they are genetically linked. If the two genes assort independently, the expected phenotypic ratio is 9:3:3:1. If the two genes are on the same chromosome and linked, there will be fewer recombinants that have a phenotype different from either parent in the P generation. Since dumpy and sepia are both recessive traits, the F1 generation will be phenotypically wild-type. The dependent variable is the number of each class of flies in the F2 generation (wild-type, dumpy, sepia, and dumpy/sepia). The controlled variables are the genotypes of the P1 and F1 generations. The P1 generation will be either red eyed, dumpy or sepia, normal wing. The F1 generation will all be heterozygous for both mutations. This is verified by making sure that the F1 flies used for the cross all have the wild-type phenotype for both wings and eyes. Flies were sorted by genital morphology and the presence/absence of sex combs under a dissecting microscope following anesthetization with FlyNap. Flies were cultured and allowed to develop in vials with water added to dry media and supplemental yeast. Progeny from each cross were allowed to develop in the vials and emerging adults were collected. The P and F1 generations were sorted and 10 males and 10 females were placed in new culture vials with food to set up both crosses. The F2 progeny were counted by phenotype and the data was recorded. The phenotypes were scored as either dumpy or normal wings and red or sepia eyes. ÃŽ §2 statistical analysis

New Media in Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4500 words

New Media in Art - Essay Example The merger of the digital and physical space alters not only our perception of space but also the sense of reality... (Space and Perception). Over the years, artists, scientists, media researchers and technology experts have shared their creative discoveries, theories and researches that have taken place in the fields related to space and perception. Identifying the common in these different views on realities and perception of space has lead to contextualizing and setting up the conceptual background for the development of emerging field of Mixed Reality. This has also activated the collaborative potential of art, and its relation to sciences, technology and other creative fields of present day society. In an attempt to root the theory of aesthetic experience of new media art, experiments to identify a "new philosophy" in a process to understand the new space have surfaced. The digital manipulation of space and time is indeed a revolutionary moment for philosophy (of art). Hansen has made his observations on the nature of embodied experience of new media (art) more precise in terms of philosophical aesthetics. (Hansen chapter 3-4) New media art is a genre that encompasses artworks created with new media technologies, including computer graphics, computer animation, the Internet, interactive technologies, robotics, and biotechnologies. The term differentiates itself by its resulting cultural objects, which can be seen in opposition to those deriving from old media arts, the traditional painting, sculpture, etc. New Media concerns are often derived from the telecommunications, mass media including the digital modes of delivery involving the artworks, with practices ranging from conceptual to virtual art, performance to installation. New Media generally applies to disciplines such as Digital art, Generative art, Hacktivism, Information art, Interactive art, Internet art, Performance art, Robotic art, Software art, Sound art, Video art, Virtual architecture and Video Game Art in the virtual space of the electronic media. (Wikipedia) Tracing the evolution of the concept of time in psychology from ancient to modern periods, a current and comprehensive review can be had on various physical, philosophical, and psychological theories and definitions of time, focusing on the methodological concerns of psychologists regarding the scientific investigation of time. Recalling the digital image, Hansen says : The image in a digital era is no more a cut into the flux of the real. It rather consists of processural realization of information in time where bodily intervention plays the constitutive, productive role of rendering of data. This fundamental reconfiguration of the image goes beyond many "interface" metaphors that have accompanied theories of new media claiming for "interactive access" to information. "In sum, the image can no longer be restricted to the level of surface appearance, but must be extended to encompass the entire process by which information is made perceivable through embodied experience." (Hansen 10) Following a notion of embodied perception, it is the human body that not only selectively filters images (Henri Bergson) but does create them in a process of enframing the digital information. Even though technical frames often appear to be primary they are rendered here secondary as a matter of principle. New media

A Economics Commentary on Protectionism Assignment

A Economics Commentary on Protectionism - Assignment Example Increase in tariffs increase the revenue for government as it serves as a tax which is imposed whereas quotas may or may not increase the revenue for the government. However, there are also welfare impacts of the quota and tariffs also on the domestic economy which can indicate that the protectionism may not be good for the economy. The above diagram shows the impact of having quotas on the supply level and the prices and how the imposition of quotas will create welfare loss for the consumers. The above graph indicates that the world supply is elastic in nature and is indicated by a horizontal line showing SH+Q. The line DH indicates the overall demand in the market and the interaction of supply and demand indicates the market clearing conditions at different price and quantity levels. Recently, US has imposed higher tariff on the import of tires from China in a bid to protect the ailing tire industry of the country which resulted into the job losses for last five years. (Whoriskey and Kornblut). Now that tariff is imposed on the import of Chinese so that the production is reduced. As a result of this, the price level will move to Pw’ from Pw in local market for locally manufactured tires. As a result of the tariff imposition, the supply will reduce and the aggregate supply curve will shift leftward to SH. This reduction in the supply and the increase in prices will therefore result into the decrease in the supply and the increase in prices therefore will not only result into the reduction of consumer surplus but will also result into the welfare loss. This is because the imposition of the tariff increases the domestic prices over and above the world prices thus making the domestic consumers more worse off owing to the increase in the prices. The imposition of tariffs on the import of Chinese tires will first disrupt the equation of trade balance between both the countries as US’s import of tires from China will reduce as the imported

Benefits of Learning in a Diverse Environment in Toronto Essay Example for Free

Benefits of Learning in a Diverse Environment in Toronto Essay Toronto,Canada has been one of the most multicultural cities in the world and has attracted thousands of immigrants and foreign students each year mostly from Asian and European countries (Toronto, 2007) Due to the popularity of the city to foreigners as well as the prestigious schools it has such as the University of Toronto and the York University, students from different parts of the world have been attracted to study in the city. Universities have been offering a diverse learning environment, offering curriculum, facilities, and learning resources including professors and instructors that address the needs of and accommodate the growing number of foreign students and immigrants in Toronto. A diverse learning environment offers various benefits to students regardless of culture and nationality. First, it introduces me to different cultures and race, making students like me become aware of various cultures and beliefs. Having the awareness of different cultures of people in Toronto can improve my interpersonal and communication skills. â€Å"Hanging around people of different culture develop the students ability to understand the ideas and feelings of others, which in later life makes them, more likely to live in racially diverse communities, maintain friendships with people of different races and able to function more effectively in an increasingly diverse workplace† (Haas, 1999). From this view, a diverse learning environment therefore can eliminate or reduce racism and racist attitudes towards the minority groups. It also can also prepare me to adapt to a diverse environment in case I have to work or migrate to other country particularly in Asian and European countries especially now that the level of globalisation is increasing. A diverse learning environment can also improve my ability of working in a team since in universities, there are particular activities that needed group efforts and diverse ideas that can result to a more comprehensive outcome, providing me various ideas that could have never been available if not because of my foreign classmates and friends and even professors. On the other hand, there are still some people who are not open-minded and are not interested in learning about other cultures due to their very racist attitudes. A diverse learning environment with students or professors like these people can negatively affect some foreign students and students from minority groups, making them feel discriminated and unwelcome to such learning environment that may lessen their interest in studying or acquainting with students of different nationalities. However, in Toronto, it seems not much of a problem because foreigners and immigrants have long been welcomed in the city. Reference: Haas, Mark (1999) Research shows diverse environment has educational benefits, retrieved on-line on February 13, 2007 http://www. umich. edu/~urecord/9899/Mar22_99/10. htm Toronto website retrieved on February 14, 2007 http://www. toronto. ca/quality_of_life/diversity. htm

Personality In International Relations

Personality In International Relations This essay will explore the extent to which the personality traits of a decision maker impact upon his foreign policies. It will not argue that such idiosyncratic variables alone are the exclusive determinants, but that they have a significant role to play. As political scientist James Barber remarked, Every story of decision making is really two stories: an outer one in which a rational man calculates and an inner one in which an emotional man feels. The two are forever connected (quoted in Brewer, 1992, p.149). Foreign policy decision making is an outcome of how individuals with power perceive and analyse events. Political leaders are not beyond the reach of the human traits of assumptions, subjectivity, prejudices and biases. Their underlying beliefs and motivations will have a bearing upon the conclusions they reach. Culture, geography, history, ideology, and self-conceptions shape the thought process of a decision maker, forming what has been referred to as the psycho-socio mili eu of decision-making (Sprouts, 1965). The foreign policy decisions of Harry Truman, Saddam Hussein and Charles de Gaulle will be used as case studies to demonstrate how personality can affect the formulation and implementation of foreign policy, whilst also providing the opportunity to show the differing extents to which such traits have occasion to make an impact, due to situational factors such as in a crisis or in non-democratic regimes. This essay will conclude that the influence of individual personality traits is most evident in the foreign policies of persons in unrestricted positions of authority, and in crisis situations. In democracies, during non-critical times, the extent to which the leaders personality influences decision making varies according to his relative passive/aggressive nature. Dominant leaders will seek to reshape the international political system in accordance with their own personal vision, resulting in tenacious foreign policies through which they attem pt to advance a central idea, whilst maintenance of the status quo can be attributed more to low-dominance, introvert individuals, seeking to power-share and delegate decision making (Etheredge, 1978). The effects of personality on decision making are difficult to quantify. Interpersonal generalisation theory suggests that behavioural differences in interpersonal situations have some correlation to behavioural differences in international situations, for example, a relationship between self-assertiveness/dominance, and willingness to resort to military action (Etheredge, 1978). However, it would be naive and over-simplified to state that certain personality traits of a decision maker lead a country to war; instead they can be seen as tipping the balance towards or against a certain policy, because, put succinctly, some leaders are willing to gamble the destiny of their people in a war; others are not (Ali Musallam, 1996, p.5) It is also important to take into consideration the extent to which individual traits can be separated from role-playing. Decision makers may act how they perceive a leader in their society is expected to act, taking role-appropriate decisions which are not ne cessarily in line with their personal nature. No individual can know all the relevant factors when making a decision, thus each individuals perception of reality will be different from reality. This incongruence between the psychological and operational environments permits filters, such as the past experiences of leaders, to shape decision making. It has been argued that there is strong, robust evidence that most human choice is preconscious and strongly and quickly influenced by emotiondespite their expertise, foreign policy makers are no less biased than other people (Gross Stein, 2008, p.113). Core beliefs are held to be true even if they cannot be verified, providing the foundation of myths and ideologies; efforts to challenge them are met with hostility. The phenomenon of cognitive dissonance enables even the most intelligent of human minds to resist and deny important, uncomfortable aspects of reality. Human psychological make-up limits rationality, having a need for simplicity. In the processing and analysing of complex information, we break down information and choose how we want to interpret it. When analysing the influence of personality upon foreign policy, it is important to emphasise that the differing political environments surrounding leaders will naturally create highly variable boundaries within which they have the freedom to operate. It is a given that a dictator in an authoritarian regime has much greater, unconditional, unaccountable power to create policies suiting his personal interests, than the leader of a democracy. Within a democracy, the head of government is obliged, to some extent, to take into consideration the opinions of other authorities and experts, and must especially consult the Foreign Minister with regard to foreign policy. However, ultimately, the final decision does lie with the leader, and he does possess the power to override other opinion if he wishes. Leaders of governments can also have the advantage of hand-selecting those who they put into positions of power. A leader is likely to choose key advisors who share his core beliefs and he con siders to be generally cooperative, creating an environment in which groupthink has the potential to flourish. Political leaders in democracies should, theoretically, and sometimes in practise, reflect the attitudes and core values of their citizens. Having been through the same socialisation process and sharing the same core cultural values as his citizens, the democratic leader can be seen as an embodiment of societal character. Decision making is an institutionalised process, in which personality factors merge with cultural background factors and can often be explained in more generalisable group terms (Cerny, 1980, p.13). The mood of society sets broad boundaries around the theoretical foreign policy alternatives of decision makers. However, it has been alleged that, beyond academic elites in foreign affairs, there exists a lack of public interest in foreign policy; seemly too distant and irrelevant compared to domestic issues. It is argued that the general public is ill-informed and unstable, prone to changes in opinionat worst [they] possess non-attitudes with respect to international p olitics (Robinson, 2008, p.139). This gives the government greater freedom of movement than in formation and implementation of domestic policies, and hence greater scope for domination by significant personalities and ideologies. Nonetheless, it could also be argued that this apparent apathy is now declining due technological, transportation and communications revolutions which enable foreign affairs to be brought much closer to the daily lives of ordinary people. Personality can impact to differing extents on the formulation and implementation of foreign policy. Whilst a policy can be formulated, within the relative situational and bureaucratic restraints, to the particular personal liking of a leader and his colleagues, the implementation stage, translating foreign policy objectives into practise and desired outcomes, is more complex. Attempts to implement a policy can come into conflict with the objectives of other actors and the environment, as the boundary between decision makers and the outside world is crossed. It is true that orders may be easily issued, but that is only the beginning of the process of attempting to achieve ones goalsfor all kinds of statesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [because] leaders rely on sub-contracting to bureaucratic agents, some of whom may take the opportunity to slow down or undermine the policy, or even to run their own policies in competition (BrighiHill, 2008, pp.130-4). Foreign policy is not self-executing, and requi res resources, support or mobilisation of the public, and some political consensus, particularly in a democracy. The more charismatic, persuasive and motivational the leader, the greater his chances of overcoming such opposition. This task is made particularly easy in authoritarian regimes such as North Korea, where the media is subject to state control. A leader can gain public support for his policy through the strategic use of propaganda, promoting both his greatness as a decision maker, and that of the policy. President Truman provides an interesting example of a decision maker in a democracy acting under crisis conditions. In the turbulent international conditions of the closure of WWII, he was thrust into power, following the sudden death of President Roosevelt. It was President Truman who took the historical, controversial decision to drop the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. It would be difficult to argue that, under the power of a different presidential personality, the US would definitely not have taken this dramatic course of action. However, a number of factors related to Trumans personality and previous experiences can be linked to his ultimate decision to drop the bomb. The first Truman had heard of the atomic bomb came after his inauguration. This bomb changed the nature of warfare to a degree that is difficult to comprehend. With such little time to absorb such information, having fought as an artillery officer in WWI, it is possible that Truman may have thought about the atomic bomb as [simply] a largerà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦explosive than the ones he fired in Europe (Strong, 2005, p.15). Its radical scale of destruction was close to incomprehensible. A self-confessed amateur in foreign policy, in the shadow of Roosevelt, he wanted to establish himself. He was an active decision maker, preferring to do something rather than nothing, who enjoyed his presidential powers, and preferred not to delegate authority, believing that the President makes foreign policy (Frankel, 1963, p.21). A direct, pragmatic character, he was willing to be accountable for his decisions, proud of the signà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦on his desk announcing that the buck stops here' (Strong, 2005, p.18). Truman continued his presidency from the aftermath of WWII into the beginnings of the Cold War. Under the heightened tension of possibly imminent nuclear war, presidential power and responsibility was great; the presidents finger was, indeed, on the nuclear trigger (Fraser Murray, 2002, p.5). His conviction in the superiority of capitalism, the benefits to be gained from its adoption in other parts of the world, and the dangers outlined by Domino Theory, lead him to take a foreign policy of containment with regards to communism. In line with his military background, Truman adopted a confrontational attitude to USSR, what came to be known as the Iron Fist approach, partly in reaction to the previous Western failure of appeasement to stop Nazi expansionism. He was sceptical of all totalitarian states, claiming I dont care what you call them Nazi, Communist or Fascist-à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦they are all alike (Gaddis, 1982, p.66). To follow through with the Truman Doctrine and Marshall Plan, Truman needed the support of Congress and the public, which he won using his popular, persuasive, extroverted personality. A supporter of the UN, Truman was a convinced internationalist, conscious that the United States should not repeat the isolationist errors of the 1920s (Fraser Murray, 2002, p.9). This helps explain why he followed such an interventionist foreign policy during his presidency. He was willing to place himself as leader of the free world, protecting and expanding his core beliefs in democracy and capitalism. In a dictatorship, foreign policy decisions lie almost solely in the hands of the leader; his decisions can be made without the accountability, checks and balances which exist in a democracy. In 1990, Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein took the decision to invade neighbouring Kuwait. Arguably, the whole war [is] to be found in his psyche [and] insecurity (Hughes-Wilson, 1999, p.350). In the aftermath of the Iran-Iraq, the country was financially destitute. Recent acrimonious encounters with the West added to Husseins growing feeling of paranoia and desperation. Having bludgeoned his way to the top, Hussein was prepared to use any means possible to stay there (Ali Musallam, 1996, p.45). He had a need to live up to his own hard-line rhetoric, to avoid meeting the fate he had recently seen Romanian dictator Nicolae fall to. Saddam was devious, untrustworthy, greedy, ambitious[and] brokehis own people did have about three goes at assassinating him in the seven months before he invaded Kuwait, s o his paranoias of public rioting and coups were not unfounded (Hughes-Wilson, 1999, p.341). Saddam took Kuwaits refusal of a moratorium on its wartime loans, and refusal of other financial aid to Iraq, as a personal affront. Kuwait was incredibly rich in oil, and virtually defenceless, so to a personality like Saddam Hussein the temptation to solve his economic problems at a stroke must have been irresistible (Hughes-Wilson, 1999, p. 322). The invasion was symptomatic of the stereotypical qualities of a dictator. Aggressive, egotistical and unwilling to compromise, Hussein simply decided he would take what he wanted. His bloodthirsty, ruthless nature and readiness to resort to violence can be traced back to his childhood socialisation. Suffering the physical and psychological abuse of his stepfather, Hussein was raised in the hard world of the mountains, and mafia-like warlords and family clans that control them. Guns [were seen] as essential to a manit is alleged that Saddam had shot and killed his first man by the age of eleven (Hughes-Wilson, 1999, p. 314). This culture of casual violence influenced his beliefs in the harsh realities of the survival of the fittest. As a child, he would be sent to work in the fields whilst his stepbrothers would be allowed to go to school, aiding the development of his intense inferiority complex which would lead to his hunger for power and glory in later life (Ali Musallam, 1996). The former French President Charles de Gaulle was highly driven by his ideology and patriotism. He took a keen interest in foreign policy, and had the ultimate goal of restoring French historic cultural greatness on the international stage. De Gaulle came to power as a highly respected, charismatic military leader with great moral authority, often playing up to this image by making public appearances in military uniform. He obsessed over his legacy, wanting to be an inspiration for the generations of French citizens that would come after him; becoming a symbolic embodiment of how he perceived France. He was well aware of his own great personality and prestige, conscious of living his own biography, and often spoke of himself in the third person (Grosser, 1967, p.26). He assumed the role he believed a leader should take whilst in public, conforming to the perceived requirements of the title, whilst keeping his private life as detatched as possible. De Gaulles father, passionate about politics and history, was a professor who instilled his pride of France and her past into his son (de Gaulle, 1998). He considered all the actions he made by how they would mark history; less concerned with the criticisms made by those at the time of his action, and more by their judgement by future historians. Despite being a strong advocate of democracy, de Gaulle grew up in a royalist environment, and carried with him to adulthood its goals of continuity, leadership and an embodiment of the state, which were reflected in his politics. De Gaulles first Prime Minister was Michel Debrà ©, a devoted Gaullistà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ [who] could not refuse to do what his hero asked him to do (Thody, 1998, p.23). There was a certain unwillingness amongst de Gaulles advisors to disagree with their charismatic leader; he encouraged an environment of groupthink by surrounding himself with people of a similar view point. This was the perfect occasion for his perso nality to strongly influence the direction of French foreign policy. Possessing a certain distrust of diplomatic personnel, there is no doubt that it is General de Gaulle himself who makes the decisions on foreign policy issues (Grosser, 1967, p.13). A strong believer in intuition, if he felt a decision was right for France, he would take it. De Gaulles foreign policy was farsighted in that it was based upon his image of a post cold-war world, in which the mature nations of the old world and the newly independent states of the Third World would act to counterbalance theà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦hegemony ofà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the US and the Soviet Union (Cerny, 1980, p.1). A born maverick, de Gaulle was not afraid to make his foreign policy disruptive of the world order. His self-perception was that of a guardian of national interest; he wanted to develop autonomy for his people by resisting the strength of the superpowers and exercising power inconsistent with his relatively limited resource capabilities, through manipulation of the international system; it would be fair to say that he had a taste for the impossible (Grosser, 1967, p.65). His policy of boycotting NATO and UN conferences was to oblige others to take greater account of France through absence than they do when she is obliged to join in decisions over which she can exert no decisive influence (Grosser, 1967, p.132). His doubts over the support of the US against Soviet invasion lead to his decision to develop a French nuclear deterrent, and to withdraw troops from NATO in 1966. He refused to accept that the two superpowers should be the sole possessors of nuclear power. De Gaulle strongly linked the notion of national security to independence, the intertwining of diplomatic and military strength, which can be explained by his military background. It would appear that the personal style of the General gives its special shape to a policy whichà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦corresponds to French desiresà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦it is a policy that dares to take risks, to gamble for high stakes, to court failure rather than resigning itself to mediocrity and timidity (Grosser, 1967, p.xi). De Gaulle symbolically rejected Britains entry into the ECC, fearing it would upset the Franco-German leadership. He saw Britain as a Trojan Horse for America to gain greater influence in Europe, a nd was so strong in his beliefs he dared to take a stance against the other five ECC members; it isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦unlikely that any French politician other than de Gaulle would have vetoed Great Britains attempt to join the ECC (Thody, 1998, p.29). This essay has shown that the role of personality in the formulation and implementation is variable. The more critical a situation is perceived to be, the fewer people will be directly involved in its management, and so there is a greater likeliness that their conclusions and actions will reflect their own personal beliefs, attitudes and interests. Despite institutional constraints, the political leader has a significant influence over decision making, particularly when national security is seen to be at stake, or when policy can be formed relatively secretly. Even in non-crisis situations, a political leader has the potential to exercise power and thereby impose his preferences on policy. The extent to which he does so depend[s] on his own values, beliefs, background and personality (Brewer, 1992, p.160). Every person in a position of power brings personal experiences, values, preconceptions and emotions to their decision making, although some will allow bureaucracy and the power-sh aring nature of democracy to counter and balance these idiosyncrasies. Ultimately, the personality of a leader has the most influence in unaccountable, dictatorial regimes, often due to the climate of fear surrounding their unlimited powers. However, even a dictator cannot continuously take whichever foreign policy actions he pleases without some eventual restraints posed by resources, the international community, uprising of his own people or a coup.

A Historical Sketch Of ELT In India English Language Essay

A Historical Sketch Of ELT In India English Language Essay Introduction This study aims at studying the language needs of under graduates students, revealing the discrepancies of different participants with respect to actual English language skills and target language skills and then suggest corrections in curriculum, wherever required. The study is conducted at Sant Gadge Baba University; Amravati, on students studying in under-graduate courses.This chapter presents information on the background and purpose of the study. Next, research questions are presented. Finally, definitions of some basic terms used in this study are presented. Background to the Study Global English World English is broadly categorised into three varieties: English as a Native Language (ENL), English as a Second Language (ESL) and English as a Foreign Language (EFL). Accordingly, there are three geographical divisions of English speaking nations viz., ENL territories, ESL territories and EFL territories (Braj B. Kachru in Koul N. Omkar (eds.) 1992: 2 -3, cited in Hasan Kamrul Md,2004).1 ENL territories In countries like the UK, the USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, English is the first or often the only language of communication among the people. In ENL territories people use the mother tongue variety of English. ESL territories- In ESL situations English plays a vital role and is used to perform a variety of official, educational, and other roles. For ESL speakers, although English is not their native language but it is an important language in their professional and social lives. Like India, English is used as a second language in almost all the former British colonies (Singapore, Nigeria, South Africa etc.) Often the persons second language becomes the first functional language in adulthood in such cases. In ESL countries English is generally given importance in the educational framework of the nation and taught in schools and colleges. EFL territories In some countries English neither enjoys the status of native language nor second language. It is treated as foreign language and its use is restricted to occupational and educational purposes. In countries like China and Japan, English is taught and learnt mainly for reasons of trade and business and it does not play any role in social interactions. A historical sketch of ELT in India: Pre-colonial period Vasco da Gamas discovery of the sea route to India also paved way for the introduction of English in the sub-continent in 1498.However, it was only in the 18th century, when the Mughal Empire was on the decline and the English East India Company had secured a foothold in India that Indias tryst with the English language began. During this period, English was the language of communication of the elite people and was not the lingua franca of the people. Colonial period With the consolidation of the activities of the East India Company in eighteenth century, began the efforts of teaching English in the South Asian subcontinent. As far back as 1759, Christian missionaries entered India and the 1787 despatch welcomed the efforts of Rev. Swartz to establish schools for the teaching of English. Another significant effort was the publication of the first book, The Tutor, to teach English to the non-Europeans by author John Miller in 1797. This book was published in Serampore in Bengal. Thus the socio- historical stage for the role of English in education was set by the end of the 18th century. T.B. Macaulay, in the Minutes of 1835, for the first time, formally introduced the teaching of English in the South Asian subcontinent. In his Minutes he mentioned the importance and usefulness of the education that would be given to the natives through the medium of English. There were primarily two objectives of such education. The first was to create through this education a class of natives who, despite their blood and colour, would be English in culture and be able to interpret between the rulers and the subjects:à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦a class who may be interpreters between us and the millions whom we govern a class of persons, Indians in blood and colour, but English in taste, in opinion, in morals and in intellect (quoted in Macaulay 1835, quoted in Thirumalai, 2003)2. The second was to create a demand for the European institutions. Although both the objectives were designed to serve the interest of the Masters, not of the subjects, but it provided the framework of formal English ed ucation to India which to a large extent is followed even today.. Thus by the middle of the nineteenth century the aims and objectives of teaching English were very clearly laid out For the remaining period of colonial rule there were a few landmarks in the development of English such as: The establishment of universities in Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai in 1857 and in Dhaka in 1920 Selective education and training in administration, imparted through English, the Indian University Act (1904) The Resolution on Educational Policy (1913). For the entire period of British rule four broad developments with regard to English education took place: 1600 -1800: During the early years the variety of English used was imitative and formal. It was the language of the rulers and the elite class. 1850 -1947: During the later years more varieties (from very high to very low) appeared. Indian intellectuals and freedom fighters effectively used English as tool to for political awakening and resurgence. Interaction with vernacular languages: As the use of English penetrated the different sections of the educated Indians, a new variety of English emerged. This variety of English had a very distinct Indian flavour and a number of words of vernacular origin were absorbed in English, e.g., Brahmin. Coolie, jungle, and so on. Methodology: Language studies were based on literature and grammar and the means of studies was the grammar-translation method. The spoken component of the language was not practised. The emphasis was given on correctness and complete sentence construction. English also played a critical role in Indias struggle for independence as it became the language of political awakening and resurgence. Even Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948), although a strong advocator of use of national language, used English language effectively to put forth his message to the British Government . Post colonial period Post independence, the perception of English as having an alien power base changed. Kachru notes that English now has national and international functions that are both distinct and complementary. English has thus acquired a new power base and a new elitism (Kachru 1986, p. 12 as cited in Baldridge, 2002).3 For most part of the twentieth century, it remained a language used by a select few. English primarily remained the language of law and administration. The Present State Twentieth century witnessed great advancements in science and technology and this enabled many new ways of sharing information and doing business. Indias international commercial activities led to the need for acquiring proficiency in English as an international language. Now, English was not just the language of the administrators and policy makers but also became the language of the business and professional class. In India, the English speaking population is only about 3-4%, but with Indias massive population, India is among the top three countries in the world with the highest number of English speakers. In terms of numbers of English speakers, the Indian subcontinent ranks third in the world, after the USA and UK. Most English speakers in India are second language speakers, in 1971, it was estimated that the rate of bilingualism in India was 13% and 99% of English speakers are second-language speakers (Mahapatra 1990: 7 cited in Hohenthal , 2003).4 Spolsky points out that English is the most widely spoken second language, followed by Hindi. English is more useful as a lingua franca; the usefulness of Hindi as a lingua franca is regionally limited (Spolsky 1978: 42 cited in Hohenthal , 2003)5. The small segment of the English speaking population controls domains that have professional prestige (Kachru 1986a: 8 cited in Hohenthal , 2003)). It is this small segment of Indian population that hea ds Indias economic, industrial, professional, political, and social progress. Most interactions in the above spheres of life take place in English. In the linguistically plural settings of India, English often acts as the link -language among people of different dialect. For many educated Indians English is virtually the first language. Thus in the present context English is playing a vital role in bringing together people from different regional languages for a closer exchange of social, educational and administrative network of India . It provides a linguistic tool for the administrative cohesiveness of a country (Kachru 1986a: 8). English is used in both public and personal domains and its functions extend far beyond those normally associated with an outside language, including the instrumental, the regulative, the interpersonal and the innovative, self-expressive function (Hohenthal citing Kachru 1986a: 37, 2003))6. As pointed out before, the role of English is not replacive: it overlaps with local languages in certain domains (Kandiah citing Sridhar, 1985;Shridhar and Shridhar, 1986; 1991: 273)7. English language in Indian Education System English is taught as a second language at every stage of education in all states of India and has been accepted as the main medium of instruction in higher education. English is also the state language of two states in eastern India, Meghalaya and Nagaland. In India, English has become an integral part of the curriculum almost at all levels of education. However there are various social, political and cultural factors that affect the position of English in different boards, universities and other institutions. Even the curriculum offered and evaluation tools employed are very diverse across the country. The model of English offered to the learners lacks uniformity and it is this question that continues to challenge the policy makers and education planners. While most States accord English the position of second language, some others treat is as the third language; the regional language and the national language getting precedence. as in other linguistically and culturally pluralistic societies, the position of English is determined by various political, cultural and social considerations. Kachru (1986b:20 cited in Hohenthal , 2003)8 sees primarily three questions which continue to be discussed. The first question concerns the position of English in early and in higher education. The second question is concerned with the roles of the regional language, Hindi and English. The third question deals with the model of English presented to Indian learners, and how that presentation can be made uniformly and effectively. The Government of India has primarily been concerned with the first two questions, which are directly related to language planning at both the national and state levels. There are, as yet, no acceptable answers to any of these questions (Kachru 1986b:20 cited in Hohenthal , 2003).9 1.2 Language Teaching Context at Amravati University Established on 1st May, 1983, this University geographically covers the western Vidarbha belt (i.e., five districts Amravati, Akola, Yavatmal, Buldhana and Washim) of Maharashtra State. The University, in its small span of two and a half decades, has contributed in many ways for economic, social and cultural upliftment of the society by offering quality education. The Motto of this University is Education for Salvation of Soul The University is recognised under Section 12(B) of UGC   Act. The University is also an associate member of Association of Commonwealth Universities, London (U.K.) The University has 10 faculties which includes Arts, Commerce, Sciences, Medicine, Ayurved, Education, Social Science, Law, Home Science, Engineering Technology. The University has facilities to offer post-graduate advanced education in Computer, Biotechnology, Business Management, Law degree courses in Chemical-Technology. SGB,Amravati University University has been one of the foundation universities undergoing expansion and developments in the recent years. Although the University does not have an English Department to date, English courses are offered both at undergraduate and postgraduate levels in colleges affiliated to the University. Evaluation tools used in order to assess the students performance are generally written exams stated to cover the course objectives moderately rather than fully. That is because listening and speaking skills are not evaluated although practiced during the classes. The exam is generally conducted once, at the end of the academic session. The nature of the written examination paper is largely theoretical. Thus, the results of this study will be an aid to the Curriculum Development Unit of English Board of Studiesof Amravati University (SGBAU)in deciding on the needs of the students and improving the already existing program to better meet the needs of those students. 1.3 Purpose of the Study? English has penetrated all functions and all sections of society. It is a universally accepted tool for communication. It is no longer restricted to the English or Americans as a means for communication. Even within India, with its diversity of languages, English has emerged as the accepted language of communication cross culturally. It has even overtaken Hindi, which is officially the national language, as far communication among people of different native languages is concerned. Although, from time to time, various political lobbies have raised the issue of prohibiting the use of English language, however, they have so far been unsuccessful. This is primarily the result of the accommodating quality of English . Moreover, most of the world communicates in English and if India has to be a part of the Global scenario, English language can be a major bridge. Looking at English language courses in sub metroplises, the fact that glaringly stands out is that little has been done to understand the special learning needs of students here and even lesser attention has been paid to prepare them to function effectively in their workplaces and academic environment. Students hailing from townships and rural areas suffer from geographic as well as cultural disadvantages. Their distance from the metros does not bring the exposure and environment which is naturally a part of the cosmopolitan work culture. Culturally as well, most students belong to families where native language is the means of communication and even in academic institutions the medium of instruction is primarily the local dialect. The prime purpose of this study was to understand the special needs of students who belong to non-metropolitan areas and then attempt to suggest how they can be optimally trained to perform academic and professional functions efficiently. Each of the skills which may be required, reading, writing, listening and speaking may be of different value in terms of their use in a specific field. This study has been able to assess the students only in reading, writing, grammar and vocabulary. Due to a large and scattered sample, the researcher was constrained not to test the listening and speaking skills of the respondents. This study aims at collecting data about the ESP needs of undergraduate students in 2008-2009 Academic Year. By comparing the results of students in each skill and the desired competence level of the items, this study, also aims at examining whether or not there is a need for improvement in those skills. Rodgers (1969 as cited in Hutchinson and Waters,1987) in Nese Ekici,2003 expresses that developments in educational psychology has contributed to the rise of ESP by emphasising the central importance of the learners and their attitudes to learning. Learners have different needs and interests, which has an important influence on their motivation to learn and therefore on the effectiveness of their learning. To get an idea about students English language skills and to see whether there was any discrepancy between their actual language skills and desired skills constituted an important dimension of the study. The foci of this study were both the target needs and learning needs for the English curriculum which is implemented during the undergraduate program. This needs assessment study will be useful in improving the already existing curriculum or designing a new needs-based curriculum and choosing more appropriate curricular elements for the undergraduate students at Amravati University Necessity for syllabus development A planned approach to the teaching-learning process can go a long way it making a course effective and relevant. However, as it is seen as something very complicated , many a times the content of the text books available for the course take the place of the syllabus. There are very strong grounds to support the need for a systematic syllabus development process, the most important of them are: First, right from the onset of the course the teacher understands the ultimate objective of the course as a result of the planned process. This gives an opportunity to the teacher to interrelate and integrate all the elements. This in turn ensures better chances for the syllabus meeting its learning objectives. Secondly, a planned approach enables better selection of teaching materials and aids. The class delivery is better planned and oriented towards the end result. Finally, this syllabus development process leads to improvement of language education. The teacher plans, structures, selects, organises the teaching content in accordance with the learning objectives. Both the learner and the teacher are well aware of the outcome desired and both work in coordination to achieve the common goal. The syllabus theory has not found wide application in ELT practice yet and has often been ignored by applied linguists. However, the application of this theory could be very beneficial for the whole ELT process improvement. This research is an attempt to bring in the application of syllabus development process for SGBAUs language courses.

Billy Budd :: essays papers

Billy Budd Today’s society as well as the majority of our schools can definitely improve on how it encourages creativity and individuality in today’s youth. A lot of the time, it’s hard to do this, but with smaller classrooms, more qualified and devoted teachers, and more cooperation from the students, everyone’s needs could be met, and students would receive a better education. Many of today’s schools have no tolerance for anything that may go against the â€Å"norm.† Schools today can allow for individuality and differences in students, but they either choose not to or are not aware that anything is wrong with the way they do things. In Melville’s, Billy Budd, there are examples of this stifling of individuality. The crew members on board the â€Å"Avenger† are made to all conform and follow orders without question. Through Claggart, the men’s individuality and rights as people are taken away through fear. No matter what anyo ne is trying to accomplish, satisfying everyone is almost always impossible. It is no different in today’s school system, satisfying everyone is difficult. Students are not allowed to express themselves as freely as they should. This is not the case in all schools, but it is Especially since incidents like those at Columbine High School, schools now view acts of individuality and creativeness as those of malicious intent. There is a kind of intolerance for those who act differently from the majority. Ever since the two boys from Columbine murdered their classmates, everyone has been extremely cautious about everything from actual death threats, to mere heated discussion between classmates. It is almost to a point of overkill. How much regulation is too much regulation? In order for schools to be able to accommodate for everyone and their individual needs, they must first not punish students for being different from the majority. After there is an acknowledgment of the individuality of students, then you can start to help them learn better and on their own levels. If a student has no aspirations whatsoever to go to college, then after some persuasion for them to reconsider, they should not be expected to complete and be graded on the same set of requirements as other students. If a person is not as â€Å"capable†, or rather does not choose to use their abilities to their fullest, then they should be graded on what they are able to do, not what other people are capable of and what they are expected to be capable of.

Semantics Essay -- Communication, Language

Language is the primary source of communication for humans and is used to convey thoughts, feelings, intentions, and desires to others (Bonvillain 2008:1). Many rules are taken into account when forming a language. According to Bolton, language is arbitrary and is unrepresentative of the objects they represent (Bolton 1996: 63). The study of Semantics allows us to identify the meaning of words and phrases in their literal sense, and helps us to make meaning out of arbitrary sounds and phrases. It has been contributed to by both linguists and philosophers. Linguists used lexical decomposition to understand the features that comprise words and the categories in which the words fit. Philosophers dealt more with the meanings of sentences and truth condition and reference (Parker and Riley 2010: 28).Semantics is still not a completely understood field, and as a result it is not easy to study (Parker and Riley 2010:26-27).Semantics is split into three different sections: sense, reference, and truth conditions. Thanks to semantics, we gain an understanding of what words mean when they are said to us. Without semantics, we would not be able to understand each other. Semantics take into account cultural, situational and environmental constructs to develop meaning in different areas of the United States and throughout the world (Bonvillain 2008: 27). With that being said, there are several things that semantics brings to the English language that allows us to communicate on a deeper level and makes our language more complex. Sense is the study of the literal and intentional meaning of words and phrases. Part of this section is lexical ambiguity. This occurs when one word has more than one meaning. Parker and Riley use the example of the wo... ...nd not in the other (Parker and Riley 2010: 40). Presuppositions are phrases that have to be considered true in order to evaluate the validity of another phrase. For example if I said â€Å"Judy Genshaft is the president of USF† and â€Å"Judy Genshaft is a good president,† you would have to accept the idea that she is the president in order to understand whether she was a good or bad president. In conclusion, semantics is what we use to make sense of our language. It takes into account the cultural references, environmental sayings, and situation events. Maybe the reason that semantics is so hard to understand is because it tries to make sense of something that has no meaning and things that change from place to place. Without it, our language would be much more primitive than it is now, but because of it we can make sense of things, make references, and understand truth.

Evolution From A Molecular Perspective Essay -- essays research papers

Evolution From A Molecular Perspective Introduction: Why globular evolution? Evolution has been a heavily debated issue since Charles Darwin first documented the theory in 1859. However, until just recently, adaptation at a molecular level has been overlooked except by the scientific world. Now with the help of modern technology, the protein sequences of nearly every known living thing have either been established or are in the process of establishment, and are widely accessible via the internet. With the knowledge of these sequences, one can actually look at several organisms genetic codes and point out the similarities. Entire genomes of creatures have been sequenced, and the human genome project is well underway and ahead of schedule. With this new knowledge comes worries, for humans, however. What if the information stored in our genes was available to the public? Would insurance companies and employers base their selections on these traits? Also, with the total knowledge of every sequence of every amino acid chain in a person's genome, couldn't a laboratory perceivably reconstruct an exact copy of, or clone, that person? These are all issues that will have to be dealt with in the near future, but for now we need only concern ourselves with the objective observation of these proteins in our attempt to explain our ever mysterious origin. As humans, we are the first creatures to question exactly where we came from and how we got here. Some cling to religious creationism as a means, while others embrace the evolutionary theory. As of now, and possibly forever, neither can be proven to be absolute truth with hard facts, and both have their opposing arguments. The point of this paper being composed is not to attempt to abolish the creationist view, a feat that at this point seems impossible, but merely to educate those seeking to unravel the mystery of our forthcoming by pointing out facts that exist in the modern world and that can be quite easily and independently researched. It is conceivable that the two ideas, creationism and evolutionism, can exist symbiotica lly due to the fact that both views have very good points. Hemoglobin: Comparisons between species Of all the proteins in living things, hemoglobin is "the second most interesting substance in the world," as American bioche... ...FHDHPETLDRFDKFKGLK--TEPDMKGSEDLKKHGQTVLTALGAQ--LKKKG 6. ---- TEWEHVNKVWAVVEPDIPAVG--LAILLRLFKEHKETKDLFPKFKEI---PVQQLGNNEDLRKHGVTVLRALGNI-- LKQKG 1. Human Man 2. Cow 3. Sperm Whale 4. Platypus 5. Chicken 6. Shark Table 1.3 Sequence comparisons of globin (information gathered from Hemoglobin and from "Genbank") 1 25 50 75 80 MYOGLOBIN (part two) 1. HHEAEIKPLAQSHATKHKIP--VKYLEFISECIIQVLQSKHPGDFGA--DAQGAMNKALELFRKDMASNYKELG-- FQG 2. HHEAEVKHLAESHANKHKVP--IKYLEFISDAIIHVLHAKHPSNFAA-- DAQGAMNKALELFRKDMASNYKELG--FQG 3. HHEAELKPLAQSHATKHKIP-- IKYLEFISEAIIKVLHSRHPGDFGA--DAQGAMNKALELFRKDIAAKYKELG--YQG 4. QHEAELKPLAQSHATKHKIS--IKFLEYISEAIIHVLQSKHSADFGA--DAQAAMGKALELFRNDMAAKYKEFG--FQG 5. HHEADLKPLAQTHATKHKIP--VKYLEFISEVIIKVIAEKHAADFGA--DSQAAMKKALELFRDDMASKYKEFG-- FQG 6. KHSTNVKELADTHINKHKIP--PKNFVLITNIAVKVLTEMYPSDMIG-- PMQESFSKVFTVICSDLETLYKEAD--FQG 1. Human Man 2. Cow 3. Sperm Whale 4. Platypus 5. Chicken 6. Shark

High Speed Trains

Rail Vehicle Systems H i g h – S p e e d Tra i n s Source: Siemens High-Speed Trains Air Supply | Brake Control | Bogie Equipment | Rail-Services | On-Board Source: Bombardier 2 Why do more and more high-speed train manufacturers and operators put their faith in Knorr-Bremse systems ? Rail Vehicle Systems Knorr-Bremse systems are impressive even at extremely high speeds At speeds of up to 400 km/h, enormous forces are generated. Trains that regularly travel long distances at high speeds require braking systems that can keep these forces under control – both safely and economically.As well as lightweight, compact systems that can be used worldwide, there is a need for intelligent control systems. Knorr-Bremse is regarded as an international pioneer in this field. On the basis of tried-and-tested technologies, we develop innovative solutions offering top levels of safety, reliability, and economy. The systems we have developed are so efficient that they also score top mar ks in terms of environmental friendliness. Customers enjoy full support from a single source – from the initial planning stage and commissioning right down to aftermarket services.Worldwide operator and customer audits regularly single out the consistent quality of our products and services for praise – and this is confirmed by our EN 50126 (RAMS and LCC) certification. 3 High-Speed Trains Systems Solutions For Every Market On-BOard S yS t e m S BOgie equipment a i r S u p p ly What is Knorr-Bremse’s complete â€Å"one-stop solution† for high-speed trains 4 ? Rail Vehicle Systems Air Supply Combined compressor and air treatment system Knorr-Bremse’s ready-to-install air supply equipment has been adapted in line with the trend towards increasingly compact, lightweight systems.Our product portfolio includes low-vibration and low-noise screw compressors with an output of between 600 and 2,500 l/min. as well as air dryers and condensate collectors. A p articularly economic solution is the first ever oil-free compressor, with life-cycle costs that are up to 50% lower than those of conventional compressors. B o gie Equipment Innovative design minimizes assembly and maintenance requirements Knorr-Bremse offers a wide range of compact, lightweight bogie equipment including low-maintenance compact brake calipers, low-wear brake discs, and innovative high-performance brake pads.Sinter pads reduce the life-cycle costs of electromagnetic track brakes by up to 40%. The eddy current brake is completely free of wear components. Brake Control Ensuring the intelligent interaction of all brake functions With brake control systems, Knorr-Bremse ensures optimum functioning of all systems involved in the braking process and allow reliable stopping of the train in all operating conditions.The highly flexible and configurable brake control system EP Compact, together with the modular electronic platform ESRA, manages the pressure control, anti-skid, wheel-slide monitoring and diagnostics, as well as further highly complex brake control functions. BraKe cO n t r O l O n-B oard Systems Doors, air-conditioning units, and more It is not just Knorr-Bremse braking systems that ensure greater safety and comfort in rail vehicles. Our on-board product portfolio covers a wide range of innovative products and solutions including vehicle and platform doors and air-conditioning units.We also produce state-of-the-art electronic diagnostic systems and windscreen wiper and wash systems. R ail-S er vices A partner for all requirements throughout the entire product life-cycle Knorr-Bremse offers a wide range of rail-services ranging from individual consultancy and collaborative product development to homologation, commissioning, training, maintenance, repair, upgrading, and overhaul of all components – as well as a reliable supply of OEM parts. Whether you opt for individual services or the full package, everything is provided locally, e ither on-site or in one of our global service centers.Testing Test benches for all products – worldwide Knorr-Bremse supplies test benches for all products and systems, customized and tailored to the customer’s requirements, to supplement longterm overhaul services with tools and products for daily maintenance. Several hundreds of test benches and test installations are in operational service with our customers worldwide – for example, as train brake tests, test benches for brake control products, compressors, air dryers, tread brakes, brake calipers, and more.A perfect balance of high-quality systems and services Knorr-Bremse’s expertise in the field has gone into every single component and system. Top-quality components operate smoothly together to guarantee optimum functionality, high reliability, and maximum safety. Complex electronic control systems such as blending and brake management reduce wear to a minimum by ensuring balanced operation of all s ystems. The system can be configured either to use the vehicle bus system or a separate bus exclusive to the braking system. For each project, customers are closely consulted at the design stage.It goes without saying that Knorr-Bremse offers support during the homologation process as well as all the necessary on-site services across the entire product life-cycle. 5 High-Speed Trains C u t t i n g – E d g e Te c h n o l o g i e s Compressors Oil-free compressor Compact Brake Calipers Easy to install, maintenance-free, unusually lightweight The compact brake caliper unit has a completely redesigned mechanism for applying braking force that allows for considerable transverse axle movement and tilt without generating any internal stresses.Requiring only a standard interface, it is easy to install, and sealed joints mean low maintenance. Its weight has also been reduced by up to an impressive 100 kg per bogie. Modular Brake Control EP Compact and ESRA – modular brake contr ol With EP Compact, Knorr-Bremse has developed a flexible and powerful brake control system with central and distributed control coming from one family. Core functions can be expanded by adding a wide range of options offered by various modules of the EP Compact product family.Especially for high-speed trains, Knorr-Bremse has developed innovative ESRA modules for new functions as defined in the TSI. Knorr-Bremse is the only brake supplier to offer an integrated solution for bogie monitoring and diagnostics comprising detection of non-rotating axles, derailment detection and additional diagnostic functions to improve service and maintenance. Knorr-Bremse was the first company in the rail vehicle industry to develop a compressor that operates without any oil. Lubrication is replaced by a special coating, and the unit is cooled by air taken in via the crankcase.This innovative product is a winner in both environmental and economic terms. Expenses for oil changes, oil separation, and c ondensate disposal are avoided, and energy consumption, weight, and installation space are significantly reduced. Innovations that pay their way Reducing wear and tear and maintenance costs is a good way of saving money. More than any other manufacturer, Knorr-Bremse has succeeded in finely coordinating the complex interplay of different braking systems. Brake components that are prone to wear are only used when the wear-free electro-dynamic braking cannot cope on its own.Even then, patented ISOBAR brake pads have proven longevity against conventional materials. Brake pads and discs require replacement less frequently, and their design enables them to be serviced rapidly. The brake calipers themselves are low maintenance. These examples demonstrate that if all the relevant factors are included in the calculation, the bottom line is savings for the customer. Customized service packages ensure that all Knorr-Bremse systems function smoothly for up to 30 years – anywhere in the world.The secret is our combination of OEM expertise and a highly efficient service infrastructure. 6 Rail Vehicle Systems Brake Management Intelligent braking Stefan Aurich Team Leader, System Engineering High-Speed Trains â€Å"We produce utterly reliable systems for rail vehicles that are subject to heavy use. Our products offer everything: easy handling, low-cost, and uncompromising levels of safety. † Economical braking is all about reducing the stress on wear components to a minimum. Knorr-Bremse ensures that friction brakes only come into operation when wear-free dynamic brakes are not enough.A brake management system for the entire train calculates brake force distribution based on different data: available brake effort of the individual brake systems, vehicle weights and adhesion limits, and thermal limits of the friction brake are taken into account to blend the different systems and achieve a balanced braking. is it true that Knorr-Bremse’s high-speed soluti ons are also the best in the world in terms of economy ? 7 High-Speed Trains Satisfied Customers †¦ 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 Wherever top quality is crucial for competitiveness Knorr-Bremse’s rail vehicle systems are not only cutting-edge technology – they are also market leaders.All over the world, when manufacturers and operators make purchasing decisions, they take a wide range of factors relating to safety and economics into consideration. They find that the best results are offered by Knorr-Bremse’s unique combination of experience and innovation. Many customers opt for the full range of Knorr-Bremse systems and components for their high-speed trains. Examples for equipped high-speed trains worldwide: 1 BR 407 2 AVE S 103 3 AGV Pegase 4 CRH3 5 AVE S 102 6 KTX Korea 8 †¦ Supplied With Excellent Products Air SupplyOil-free compressor Oil-free air (environmentally friendly, no downstream contamination) Less complex system / fewer interfaces (no oil filter, no c ondensate collector) Almost maintenance-free, very low LCC Screw compressor Special design, related to tough railway operation conditions Low compressor noise level Virtually pulsation-free, delivery of compressed air Brake Control EP Compact Flexible brake control platform Central and distributed control Compact design Continuous pneumatic load correction Full set of auxiliary functions CENELEC- and TSI-compliantModular ESRA Intelligent combination of pneumatic and electronic control Intelligent blending and brake management Modular and suitable to the various customer requirements CENELEC- and TSI-compliant Bogie Equipment Wheel- and axle-mounted brake disc Standardized interface and fixation on wheel Resistant against thermal cracks due to movable friction disc Robust design with high safety against external shock and vibration Compact brake caliper Only one interface to bogie Highly modular design Optimized design regarding weight, assembly, and costs Reduced maintenance 9 Rail Vehicle SystemsCompact units Compact, light, reliable Protected: developed especially for installation beneath the frame All components to be maintained can be reached through a maintenance port Air dryer Dual-chamber regeneration dryer Lightweight aluminum design Integrated pre-filtration elements COMORAN – Condition Monitoring for Railway Applications Condition monitoring and diagnosis Derailment detection Reducing life-cycle costs Fulfillment of TSI requirements Modular motion controller kit Brake, traction, and master controller Compatible with UIC standard Small, flexible installation space Robust design, proven applicationIsobar sinter brake pad Flexible sinter brake pad with highest brake performance Temperature resistant with constant friction behavior Long disc and pad life due to even temperature distribution on brake disc For overhaul, only replacement of friction elements necessary Eddy current brake No mechanical contact between brake and rail No wear and tear an d low maintenance Noiseless braking Brake force does not depend on friction coefficient Constant brake force even at high-speed applications 10 Rail Vehicle Systems Where have Knorr-Bremse solutions already been tried and tested ? 11 High-Speed Trains T h e F u t u r eWhat prospects for the future can Knorr-Bremse offer in the high-speed segment 12 ? Rail Vehicle Systems Secure Operation | Secure Investment | Secure Future The future belongs to technology leaders The extreme stress to which high-speed trains are subjected call for unusually high-performance, top-quality, and safe braking technologies. We offer to adapt every system to the specific operating conditions involved, thereby minimizing wear and tear and achieving top levels of economy and vehicle availability. As a manufacturer of braking systems with more than 100 years‘ experience, Knorr-Bremse has the necessary expertise to achieve this.High levels of R & D investment ensure that our systems remain cutting-edge a round the world. With railservices Knorr-Bremse offers a high-quality portfolio of maintenance and aftermarket services ranging from original spare parts and maintenance agreements right down to responsibility for complete systems during the entire life-cycle. Customers also benefit from a comprehensive network of service centers for all braking and on-board systems. 13 Rail Vehicle Systems Knorr-Bremse Systeme fur Schienenfahrzeuge GmbH Moosacher Stra? e 80 80809 Munich Germany Tel: +49 89 3547 0 Fax: +49 89 3547 2767 www. knorr-bremse. om Europe – Africa Austria – Modling Dr. techn. J. ZELISKO GmbH Tel: +43 2236 409 0 Knorr-Bremse GmbH Tel: +43 2236 409 0 Austria – Kematen/Ybbs Knorr-Bremse GmbH Division IFE Tel: +43 7448 9000 Czech Republic – Brno IFE-CR, a. s. Tel: +42 0532 159 111 IGE-CZ s. r. o. Tel: +42 0548 424 050 France – Reims Freinrail Systemes Ferroviaires S. A. Tel: +33 3 2679 7200 Germany – Berlin Knorr-Bremse Systeme fur Schi enenfahrzeuge GmbH Zweigniederlassung Berlin Tel: +49 30 9392 0 Hungary – Budapest Knorr-Bremse Vasuti Jarmu Rendszerek Hungaria Kft. Tel: +36 1421 1100 Italy – Florence Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems Italia S. r. l.Tel: +39 055 3020 1 Italy – Rozzano Microelettrica Scientifica SpA Tel: +39 02 575 731 Netherlands – Leeuwarden IFE Tebel Technologies B. V. Tel: +31 58 297 3333 Poland – Krakow Knorr-Bremse Systemy dla Kolejowych Srodkow Lokomocji PL Sp. z o. o. Tel: +48 12 260 96 10 Romania – Bucharest Knorr-Bremse SRL Tel: +40 37 400 5155 Russia – Moscow Knorr-Bremse Systeme fur Schienenfahrzeuge GmbH Tel: +7 495 739 01 13 South Africa – Spartan Knorr-Bremse (SA) (Pty) Ltd. Tel: +27 11 961 7800 South Africa – Johannesburg Microelettrica Scientifica (PTY) Ltd Tel: +27 11 794 3330 Spain – Madrid Merak Sistemas Integrados de Climatizacion, S.A. Tel: +34 91 495 90 00 Sociedad Espanola de Frenos Calefaccion y Senales, S. A. T el: +34 91 145 9400 Sweden – Lund Knorr-Bremse Nordic Rail Services AB Tel: +46 46 3293 50 Switzerland – Niederhasli Oerlikon-Knorr Eisenbahntechnik AG Tel:+41 44 852 31 11 United Kingdom – Melksham Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems (UK) Ltd. Tel: +44 1225 898 700 United Kingdom – Derby Sydac Ldt Derwent Business Centre Tel: +44 1332 299 600 United Kingdom – Donchaster Techtrain Associates Ltd Tel: +44 1302 360043 Americ a Brazil – Sao Paulo Knorr-Bremse Sistemas para Veiculos Ferroviarios Ltda. Tel: +55 11 5681 1129 Canada – Kingston Knorr Brake Ltd.Tel: +1 613 389 46 60 USA – Randolph Microelettrica USA LLC Tel: +1 973 598 0806 USA – Watertown New York Air Brake Corporation Tel: +1 315 786 52 00 USA – West Chicago Anchor Brake Shoe Company Tel: +1 630 293 1110 USA – Westminster IFE North America Tel: +1 410 875 1468 Knorr Brake Corporation Tel: +1 410 875 09 00 Merak North America LLC Tel: +1 410 875 09 00 A sia – Australia Australia – Granville NSW Knorr-Bremse Australia Pty. Ltd. Tel: +61 2 8863 6500 Australia – Adelaide Sydac Pty Ldt Tel: +61 8239 3600 China – Beijing Knorr-Bremse CARS LD Vehicle Brake Disc Manufacturing (Beijing) Co. Ltd. Tel: +86 10 5101 0999 Knorr-Bremse Nankou Air Supply Unit (Beijing) Co. Ltd. Tel: +86 10 5164 2640 Knorr-Bremse Systems for Rail Vehicles (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. Beijing Office Tel: +86 10 6802 9088 China – Guangzhou Westinghouse Platform Screen Doors (Guangzhou) Ltd. Tel: +86 20 8770 8700 China – Hong Kong Knorr-Bremse Asia Pacific (Holding) Limited Tel: +852 3657 9800 China – Qingdao IFE-Victall Railway Vehicle Door Systems (Qingdao) Co. , Ltd. Tel: +86 532 8793 8512 China – Shanghai Merak Railways Technologies (Shanghai) Co. , Ltd.Tel: +86 21 5192 5800 China – Suzhou New District Knorr-Bremse Systems for Rail Vehicles (Suzhou) Co. Ltd. Tel: +86 512 6616 5666 This publication may be subject to alteration without prior notice. A printed copy of this document may not be the latest revision. Please contact your local Knorr-Bremse representative or check our website www. knorr-bremse. com for the latest update. The figurative mark â€Å"K† and the trademarks KNORR and KNORRBREMSE are registered in the name of Knorr-Bremse AG. Copyright 2007  © Knorr-Bremse AG – All rights reserved.Including industrial property rights applications. Knorr-Bremse AG retains any power of disposal, such as for copying and transferring. China – Wuxi Merak Jinxin Air Conditioning Systems (Wuxi) Co. , Ltd. Tel: +86 510 8558 3133 India – Faridabad Knorr-Bremse India Private Ltd. Tel: +91 129 227 64 09 Japan – Tokyo Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems Japan Ltd. Tel: +81 3 53 91 10 13 Korea – Seoul Knorr-Bremse Rail Systems Korea Ltd. Tel: +82 2 22 80 55 55 Singapore – Singapore Knorr-Bremse Asia Pacific (Holding) Limited Tel: +65 6555 0105 P-1203-EN-03 09. 2010