Performance Appraisal Essay

â€Å"Performance appraisal is the process through which employee performance is assessed, feedback is provided to the employee, and corrective action plans are designed† (Youssef, 2012). So basically, a performance appraisal is the process of evaluation workers’ performance in correlation with previously determined standards of the organization. Performance appraisals are one way of giving employees feedback about their performance at work; they record the employee’s performance to date, their potential and what they could work on to further benefit them. These appraisals do not only help them employee but they could benefit the organization as well in that it reflects on if the employee is right for the position (currently or in the future) and if the training the organization gives is sufficient for the employee. There are many advantages to performing appraisals. The records of these performance appraisals are kept for a period of time, they can be referenced and used to evaluate how an employee has improved over time, or if they have yet to improve or began to slack off. This gives an opportunity for a manager to pull an employee aside and praise them for their accomplishments or inform them what it is they need to improve on, managers can also determine whether or not an employee could benefit from further training. Employees can be given feedback while learning if their goals within the company have been fulfilled while setting up new goals for them to accomplish in the next year. Sometimes, expectations and policies can be difficult to understand; during feedback, one can take that opportunity to have clarity on policies and expectations and discuss matters that they want to discuss in private, such as ideas for improvement or issues they’ve had within the company or with fellow employees. Knowing that your performance will be appraised can serve as motivation to gain a reward for their hard work. There is potential for biases that need to be worked through to make sure everyone is given a fair opportunity. While it’s easy to compare one another, it’s imperative and difficult to resist comparing skills of one employee to another; if employees were compared to one another, it creates an unfair assessment of the employees. It’s crucial to set a standard to evaluate performance. Personality conflicts can influence judgment when assessing performance; this would cause an inaccurate assessment which would be unfair to the employee. Just because an employee is good at one thing, does not make them good at everything, and vice versa. One ruined project or miscommunication in direction does not mean the same thing will occur every time, or again even. There needs to be a minimum time-frame in which an employee’s performance should be assessed; it’s not fair for a manager that’s worked with an employee a time or two to fairly appraise them, a first impression can distort one’s image in either a positive or negative manner. It’s also necessary to appraise one on their entire performance, not just the most recent occurrences. Lifestyle choices should be left out of the appraisal process and should not be used for or against an employee. The primary objectives of an appraisal are – to assess past performance, to identify training needs, to set and agree on future objectives and standards, and to facilitate the achievement of these goals† (Youssef, 2012). Management by objectives includes an agreement between managers and their employees on the employee’s performance objectives for periodic review for the employee accomplishes said objectives. The effectiveness of a performance appraisal can be judged by its objectives. Understanding the strategic objectives can help one adjust to meet the needs of an organization. A timeline allows a manager and employee to make a plan for goals to be met, there must be deadlines and time periods assigned to each goal to ensure that they are met. An employee needs to show improvement, one that is not very productive and having issues with the company’s values and policies will not be around for a long period of time. Employees that are productive and possess talent that are imperative for the position will help with the company’s success and ensure they are able to withstand growth. Strategic planning is needed to determine the budget for current employees as well as future employees. Appraisal results reflect one’s character, development, how well one performs to the organization’s standards, as well as other strengths or weaknesses. In some organizations, these results may be used to determine if/which employees deserve recognition as well as awards such as a merit pay raise, a bonus and/or a promotion. These results can also determine which employees do not mesh with the organization and need to be let go, require counseling or further training or a demotion/decrease in pay. Performance appraisals can be a motivation to excel.

Jaws

The film ‘Jaws’, was made in 1975 and is a thriller set on a small American town called Amityville. The film is about a man-eating great white shark that terrorises the seas of Amityville and it’s public who swim in it. Steven Spielberg directs this nail-biting thriller. ‘Jaws’ is set on the 4th of July, which is an American Independence day. This film will keep you on the edge of your seats. This essay will show how Spielberg creates tension and suspense throughout the film. One of the most famous techniques used in the film ‘Jaws’ was the music. At the start of the film the screen is dark and the music begins. The pitch is low and the tempo is slow, as the sequence goes on the tempo starts to speed up and the pitch gets higher. When the tempo of the music speeds up it is like the heartbeat of the shark, which is getting faster because the shark is getting excited about something. At the same time the audience get nervous about what the shark is preparing to do. This sequence is used throughout the film to make the audience aware that the shark is about to attack. Before the first attack is about to happen there is a lot of chatter, firelight and mouth organs being played. This makes it a good contrast to the scary scene that is about to happen. When the girl runs off with the drunken boy the scene starts to get darker and quieter as they go further and further away from where all the people are. The girl runs into the water and the drunken boy lies down on the beach. The camera then points at the girl who is all alone in the water and there is no sound or light at all which makes the audience think that something bad is about to happen. This is really helpful to build tension and to begin putting fear in the mind’s of the audience, through the contrasts in the setting and in the changes in the music. As well as the use of music in this film Spielberg similarly uses camera techniques to scare the audience. Before the second attack the camera shows a mid shot at the boy and the women who are close together which makes the audience think that the relationship between these two people is like mother and child. While Brody watches the sea Spielberg uses mid shots, medium close ups and close up shots to show that Brody is getting more anxious. Then there is a point of view shot which is shot under water were the audience can see everyone’s legs. This creates a sense of dramatic irony where the audience know that something is underneath their feet but the people in the water don’t. As the second attack starts Brody realises suddenly what is happening and the camera zooms into his face. The camera also starts to show lots of flashing images of people panicking and the boy being eaten. This scares the audience because they have just witnessed an innocent child being eaten. This keeps the tension up in the film which makes the audience think that if it can kill an innocent child, how much further will it go. Another way Spielberg builds up tension is by how he portrays the shark. In the first attack he doesn’t show the shark; this makes the audience think and imagine what is lurking under the waters. He also shows how strong this shark is when in the first attack the creature attacks the girl and swings her from side to side and eventually pulls her into the water. Also into the second attack the creature eats the little boy and rips his Lillo to shreds. Throughout the film Spielberg reveals the shark bit by bit. Spielberg also shows real shark footage (when he films the attack in the cage) to make it look real and scare the audience, the audience is eager to see the shark which is another reason why he filmed it using a real shark. On the last attack the shark jumps onto the boat, the audience find it amusing because throughout the film they’ve been getting scared of a model shark. When the shark bites the girl you can from her face immediately that she is in pain she also shows this because she screams hysterically which makes the audience think what is happening to her. Spielberg avoids the shark at this point because it’s so early in the film and if he shows it at this stage then the audience will realise that it’s only a model shark and there would be no point watching the film. Another reason why he didn’t show the shark at this stage is because he wouldn’t have caught the audience out at the nd. So instead he used the characters’ reaction to show the power and the strength of the shark. Finally the way the story progresses will add to the tension of the film. Spielberg films the first two attacks together so throughout the film the audience will except an attack at any time which will make them always feel tense. The 4th of July is an American Independence Day which is a public holiday for everyone. It is summer and all the people are at the seaside having a good time. Spielberg chose this scene because there are more people in danger which leads to a dramatic affect. This attack also involves Brody’s son, which keeps the audience tense because we know who Brody’s son is. The more you know about a character the more the more tense you will feel about them when they are being attacked. For example the last section of the film when all the main characters are under attack in this scene, the fact that we know more about the characters makes every moment tense when the shark circles around them. Overall, the most tense moment in the film is the scene when the shark is attacking the cage. This scene is particularly scary because Spielberg used a real shark to film this scene which looks bigger and scarier, and the way it bent the cage bars really showed how strong the shark is. This is what I think is the most tense scene and is the scene that made most of the audience tense. These are the most important techniques that Steven Spielberg used to build tension and suspense in the audience’s minds.

Crusades

Crusades refers to a series of religious-based wars among the Jews, European Christians, and the Muslims, primarily initiated to exercise full control over certain places which were considered sacred by both religious groups. It is mostly held in places regarded as holy such as the Mecca, Churches and the Erected tents in the streets (Hindley 81). Basically, the major concerns of crusades were to promote the culture of peace, love and unity among the people, respect for one's life, transformation and shaping of the people's moral way of life and to preach salvation to both Christians and Non-Christians. It is organized and presided over by Bishops, Prophets, Priests, and Clerics etc. It involved shouting of certain spiritual messages along the corridors and preaching of the coming of the Messiah. Through crusades, Christians were urged to change their ways of life, repent their sins and turn away from their wrong deeds. However, the crusade aspect has been covered broadly by various historical writers. This paper, therefore, seeks to examine the various significant approaches employed by different writers on the subject matter, the difference in their points of views as well as the factors that might have led to their different thoughts. The origin of crusade can be traced far back in the year 1095 during the Urban II's preaching. Frank the Monk, a French writer, attended the council of Clermont and witnessed the first crusade which occurred in 1107 titled â€Å"The Deeds of the Franks† (Riley-Smith 82). The council was presided over by Pope Urban II and other Bishops in an open field due to a large number of people who could hardly fit in any of the buildings. Most approaches used by the writers include converging the people and encouraging them to fasten their spirits and have faith in God. They condemned the inhuman and hostility of landowners who killed innocent Christian lives and held some in captives (Rubenstein 109). Guibert of Nogent, on the other hand, argued that not unless the time of the nation is fulfilled, the city of Jerusalem will be destroyed by the people. He clarified further that, according to the Lord's gospel, only those who will carry their cross and follow Jesus will remain to be worthy. On the other hand, Albert of Aache, Rosenfeld, among others disagrees with their French counterparts over the preaching aspect of the crusade. Instead, they strongly advocated for Peter the Hermit, who was believed to be the inventor of the crusades. Peter the Hermit, was not pleased with the criminal acts and wicked deeds of the Christians in church. He knew it was wrong to still church offerings (Rubin 98). He knew such acts were filthy before the lord and was against all other immoral deeds. He was then sent on a mission by God to preach repentance message to the people before the coming of the lord. However, it is evident that the writers used different approaches in developing their crusade chronicles. Some of the factors that contributed to their difference in approaches include the background, scramble for holy land and other socio-cultural factors such as their religions. In conclusion, the use of crusades has become more common in the recent past. It has provided a platform through which the word of God can be preached to many in an open place with an aim of transforming people spiritually and building their faith in God. In the ancient past, various historical writers have channeled their significant approaches on crusades in which they have also differed in their thoughts on some points. Factors behind their disagreement include the religious issues, their backgrounds, and acquisition of certain portions of land regarded as holy.

Discussion Topics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 9

Discussion Topics - Essay Example If not, there will be a total disaster. For instance, last summer, I volunteered in a health organization. Things there were not smooth because of the lack of communication between the manager and supervisor. The power games in the sector, according to Metoyer (2009), are based on resource and technical skill. The political roles displayed by Metoyer (2009) are sub-divided into three parts; firstly, decisional, which relies heavily on information; secondly, interpersonal, which ensures that information is well conveyed and; lastly, informational, which is the back-bone of all these roles and managerial tasks. All these need to be harmonized in the best way possible to have an effective team and ensure no conflicts occur (Johnson, 2008). In case of a conflict, it needs to be effectively resolved to avoid future reoccurrences. Conflicts are solved depending on the nature of the problem (Metoyer, 2009). The manager plays an important role to harmonize the two parties in conflict. A good manager resolves conflicts when perceived in the early stages to avoid the situation to escalate further (Johnson, 2008). The manager should resolve the conflict, appoint a unit to address employee issues and develop a system of encouragement by offering rewards to individuals who do an outstanding job. This, in turn, will initiate team building, as well as create healthy competition among the

Read-Aloud Project Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Read-Aloud Project - Coursework Example I know this because I have observed how they read when we read in dyads before. I chose to read Peggy Parish’s (1971) Come Back, Amelia Bedelia. I selected to read only one book because it is long enough for the reading session to last for fifteen to thirty minutes, depending on the questions and comments of the kids on it. From this read-aloud experience, I learned that selecting stories is not easy because of their different interests, communication styles, and literacy skills, but some generalizations can be made through using age-appropriate criteria. I also understood that children like humorous characters and plots; they want a reader who knows how to change voices, facial expressions, and gestures; they respond openly to the reader and their peers when encouraged; and they also want characters with gender and races/ethnicities that they can relate to. In choosing the text, I used common criteria to text selection that include reader and audience characteristics. This approach considers the interests and needs of both readers and the audience in the book. The criteria are the following: (1) I chose a book that I enjoy reading; (2) The book is something that the children have not read yet to increase their interest in it; (3) The book has a large text font that children can read even when they are a foot or two from me; (4) The book has pictures where characters have perceptible facial expressions and do a wide range of actions, and the settings have details and things that can be sources of discussions too; (5) The language is simple enough for kids to understand, while there are some challenging words that will help them learn new ones; (6) The plot can be something that these children can relate to; and (7) The story has lessons on work ethics, family bonding, and differences between idioms and literal

The role of retailer branding strategies within retail stores Essay

The role of retailer branding strategies within retail stores - Essay Example Talking in a more elaborate manner, it can be said that the high-level communication technologies have helped in the process of diffusing the globalization trends around the world. As a result of the fast spreading of trends of globalization in various markets, it can be said that the consumers located in various regions, countries and continents around the world have started demanding a more enhanced category of products and services, which should necessarily follow the standards of global quality. As a result, this has led to the process of creating a significant pressure on the economies and markets around the world with regard to the demand for globally popular brands of products and services. Moreover, besides the growing demand for various kinds of globally popular products and services in various markets, the governments of countries around the world have realised the fact that, for the purpose of promoting significant amount of growth and development in their individual natio ns, opening up of the economy is very important. The governments of many countries have now realized that by opening up their previously closed economies, the markets of their respective countries will immediately start developing and growing because of considerable amounts of investments made by various business organizations around the world. It is relevant, in this particular context, to state the fact that many companies, which are present in various markets around the world, will look forward to entering the newly emerged markets of the growing and developing economies for the purpose of consolidating their growth prospects. Talking on this note, it can be said that the international, transnational and multinational companies will focus on the process of making a considerable amount of investment in the new markets in the form of foreign direct investments (FDIs) and foreign institutional investments (FIIs). Talking on the same lines, it can be said that the companies in the in ternational arena will be making significant amounts of large scale investments in terms of FIIs and FDIs for the main purpose of developing the market as well as the business infrastructure in the new markets. This will automatically lead to the emergence of new and large scale job opportunities, which will contribute towards creating a high rate of growth for the emerging economies. Now, with the development of the economies around the world in both the developed as well as the developing markets, it can be said that a significant amount of development will happen in the society and lifestyle of the masses living in those countries. The accumulation and growth of wealth complemented by the factor of an evolving lifestyle of the masses will contribute towards opening of new kinds of services. It is important to quote in the same context that the evolution of new lifestyle trends in the society of the developing economies will lead to a significant change in the consumer behaviour o f the masses. This will also present a significant amount of opportunity with regard to the evolution of new shopping trends of the masses and, as a result, will require significant amoun

Why was King Leopold so Successful in suppressing information about Essay

Why was King Leopold so Successful in suppressing information about his congo ventures - Essay Example Today, the whole rubber terror created by King Leopold has been forgotten altogether, and is not discussed at all. In the book, King Leopold’s Ghost, the author Adam Hochschild refers to this fact as â€Å"the great forgetting.† The book sufficiently offers a well researched account of the brutality, greed and exploitation that Africans were offered by the King Leopold. Through this book, the author has made an attempt to revive all events of primary importance that speak of the long forgotten brutality that King Leopold displayed in Congo. Throughout the book, the concept of Leopold has been shown as larger than life. Paradoxically, the title of the book refers to the ghost of King Leopold, and not his physical being which raises many questions in the mind of the reader. The last chapter of the book named the â€Å"great forgetting† answers all of these questions and also talks about the biggest tragedy among all that have been talked about in the preceding chap ters. King Leopold made a lot of wealth from Congo and his operation made the Congolese incur a lot of cost in all respects. However, all of it suddenly came to an end after the independence of Congo in 1971. Belgium became a part of the European Union.

Types of Variables Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Types of Variables - Research Paper Example This would help render better educational support and employment in the regions that lag in those. Insurance rate can be calculated from the type of job and income. It can either be high insurance for people in private jobs with high income and low insurance for those in private jobs with low income or those in government jobs with a high profile gets highly insured than those with a low profile government job. These probabilities can be calculated from the table. In the perspective of health care and medicine, we can also derive the possible percentage effects of blood pressure on hypertension. Way in which weight is related to body temperature and hypertension can also be obtained by queries. And research on the high probability of non-smokers getting cancer and smokers getting cancer can be made very simple with the operational table that is categorized well. Under the cancer categorization, one can determine curability of the disease that depends on the stages of cancer. If the c ase is in pathological stage, he/she is in the critical zone and is totally helpless. If a non-smoker categorized under clinical stage, there is a high possibility that he can undergo medication for a certain period of time to recover from the disease. It helps the case study for medical researchers easier. The measure of blood pressure can be referred for other medical factors such as diabetes, premature ventricular contractions, etc. The region categorization in a way provides ordinals of people suffering from cancer or high blood pressure in that particular zone which might be due to the environmental effects of that region. Each variable used above is dependent on the remaining variables. Constructing an abstract operational table with these variables helps us predict how certain factors affect the outcome. It makes hypothesis and fuzzy concepts that seem to appear difficult easier.

European Coal and Steel Community Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

European Coal and Steel Community - Essay Example There was a dire need to build what was ruined and Europe has the choice whether to pursue this as an integrated region or as individual countries. As to the integration, there were two political and economic models invented at that time - the long history of nation building wherein economic integration follows political unification and the model of Zolverrein where political unification follows economic integration (Lecture, Topic 2: From Post War Reconstruction to the European Coal and Steel Community) One of the aftermath of World War II is the European Coal and Steel Community, a moved that strengthened both the economic and political ties of the surviving European countries. "The European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) Treaty was signed in Paris in 1951" (Europa.eu). It involved the Benelux countries of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands together with West Germany, France and Italy. Its goal was to "organize a free movement of coal and free access to sources of production" (Europa.eu). One of the unique aspect of the integration was the establishment of a common High Authority which supervised the market including the competition rules and price transparency. The ECSC Treaty became the "origin of the institutions as we know them today" (Europa.eu). The ECSC was the first community organization that was created as an aftermath of the 2nd World War. The devastation brought by the war needed economic reconstruction of the European continent and attaint lasting peace. Since coal and steel were the basic industry of the two countries France and Germany, "the idea of pooling Franco-German coal and steel production came about" (Europa.eu). Thus the the European Coal and Steel Community was formed. Obviously, the war has made both countries realized that a truce between them would help establish both their political and economic health. Thus the strong necessity for a truce led to the acceptance of a the necessity to submit some elements of their sovereignty to a Higher Authority. "The underlying political objective was to strengthen Franco-German solidarity, banish the spectre of war and open the way to European integration" (Europa.eu). The Creation of the European Coal and Steel Community The idea of an integrated coal and steel industry was first toyed by Jean Monnet, the head of the French Commissariat du Plan for the reconstruction of the French economy, and the French foreign minister, Robert Schuman. On May 1950, Monnet and Schuman "published a declaration calling for a new structure to control the resurgent heavy industries in France and Germany" (Renner). The idea that Monnet and Schuman conveyed in the declaration necessitated a new institution that "have a political life independent of the existing governments - at least for the range of powers which a capitalist state at that time exercised over its coal and steel industry" (Renner). The idea developed by Monnet and Schuman envisioned new institutions that should The Schuman Plan was not aloof of power politics, as observers at the time noted (Parker 1952). Their proposal was not a conventional international organization which are usually led by committees of ministers. According to Jean Monnet in his Mmoirs, it was the second-best indirect solution after the attempt to promote direct routes aimed to eliminate risk of

Obesity as a Social and Medical Problem Essay Example for Free

Obesity as a Social and Medical Problem Essay Obesity has become an epidemic in our over indulgent North American society. In addition to body image issues, obesity causes significant health issues. Society often views the word obesity to be a disease when it is actually a sign of a disorder; genetic or environmental. The percentage of our population that is growing overweight is increasing every year, and can become a very serious issue if it is not dealt with more urgently. Problems relating to self-confidence, self-consciousness, and isolation can occur as a result. An enduring problem in today’s society, especially with children, has to deal with sociality. Public appearance is very important to us and when we don’t look good, or have a low self-esteem, it can lead to further issues; possibly fatal. Those with the â€Å"obese† label have to deal with social problems every single day. The fact they don’t look â€Å"normal† causes them to not fit in with the â€Å"regular crowd† and can lead to isolation issues. Being isolated from the majority of the population can lead to problems such as depression and later on, suicide. Another big influence on social problems relating to obesity is the media. Every day at some time, somewhere, we are watching TV, reading the newspaper, or searching the web. The media tends to give labels and meaning to words in which we get influenced on. The view that the media portrays to us is that if you are a certain weight, you are obese; and vice-versa. Another problem with the media is the amount of time our society spends on it. Time consumed on useless media takes away from time spent doing productive activities such as exercising. However, the corruption in social patterns relating to obesity isn’t the only problem. Another big factor stands on the medical side. Obesity is a risk in a number of prolonged diseases. Maintaining a healthy weight is critical in order to reduce the risk of those diseases and additionally, improve your overall health. Many children and youth have fewer opportunities to be physically active at school as physical education classes and time spent being physically active at school have been reduced. Being overweight or obese has many risks involved. Serious conditions such as a stroke, high blood pressure, and Type 2 diabetes, can occur as a result; just to name a few. Linked with health problems is a poor diet. Variations in our food environment have made it challenging to maintain a healthy weight. Society tends to want to eat more fast-food rather than cooking at home because it is cheaper and less time-consuming. We have become lazy when it comes to our diets. We don’t take into consideration the Food Guide and basically eat what we want, when we want. Obesity is also a major drain on the economy. The amount of money being spent on health care because of obesity-related diseases is astronomical. The Globe and Mail had an article headlined, â€Å"Obesity costs economy up to $7-billion a year†. By eating right and maintaining a healthy lifestyle, our society can cut down economic costs drastically. All we need to have is some discipline, the proper diet, and exercise. Numerous children today are spending less time exercising and more time in front of the TV, computer, or video-game console. Even worse, some schools have banned the use of balls used at recess. An article in the Toronto Star explained why such a peculiar ban took place at Earl Beatty Public School, â€Å"The letter stated that there have been a â€Å"few serious incidents† in which staff and students have been hit, or come close to being struck, by flying balls. Not only are we lacking in exercise, the catalyst for running around at recess has now been taken away for some. This issue is going to further decrease the amount of physical activity kids partake in, and increase the possibilities of obesity. Commuting to and from work also contributes to obesity when you consider that in order to get by, mo st families need to have at least two incomes. People often have to commute long distances to jobs, and with the minimal time for meal preparation, fast foods become a number one option. Furthermore, having supermarkets, as well as other grocery stores open all night, more money is being spent on expensive, half-prepared meals. Children need to have a healthy example with their parents being physically active and eating healthy. Preventing children from becoming overweight means adapting to the way your family eats and exercises. Many believe that it is the parents fault when it comes to child obesity, and they’re correct. Children don’t have the discipline to eat â€Å"healthy† foods and aren’t capable of preparing home-made meals. It is the parent’s job to influence and lead the way for our youth. If parents set a better example health-wise for their children, it is highly doubtful that the percentage of obesity would be even remotely close to where it is now. Managing and preventing obesity can lead to many societal benefits. Having healthy, positive-minded people in our cities is always encouraging. Managing obesity can lessen the stress that occurs at work, as well as create a friendlier environment. Having a good work environment has shown to raise productivity, therefore creating better capital. Another optimistic result from obesity management in society is the discipline factor. If those that are overweight can overcome a huge default in their life, by working hard and staying focused, it will then translate into other aspects of their day-to-day lives. Our society will become that of a disciplined one, therefore work will become more productive because there is better focus on the tasks at hand; furthermore, children in school will become more confident because of how hard they worked as well as their new self-image. Overall, if our world can manage and prevent obesity, living can ultimately consist more of positive vibes and less of anxiety. In conclusion, it is clear we have a serious issue with obesity that impacts many aspects of people’s lives. It is an austere condition that doesn’t get monitored with enough concern. Possibilities such as Type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure are the two leading causes from being overweight. Medical, as well as social research can help people further comprehend that weight and obesity issues are vastly social, not individual. We have to start working together on fighting obesity. We are a lazy society and we tend to make things harder than they really are. If society works together to help those in need by giving them the courage and confidence needed to make a personal change, this unnecessary burden called obesity can be upheld. It all starts with the right diet as well as exercise and a strong commitment. As little as ten minutes a day on the bike can improve one’s health. The ball is in our court, and stronger action needs to be taken. We need to start now because the benefits to individuals as well as society are well worth the effort.

Lossless predictive coding

Lossless predictive coding Objective of the project Generating Huffman codeword using Huffman Coding to be transmitted to the decoder. Compare and analyze quality of 7 linear, fixed different Differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) predictors to find out which one achieves the best compression ratio. Compare and derive the compressed image against the original image to ensure our result has lossless compression. Introduction As we know, there is strong correlation or connection between spatially adjacent pixels. The aim of the predictive coding is to remove redundancy between consecutive pixels to facilitate the encoding of only the residual portion between actual and predicated (only new information). In other way, a pixel is coded as the difference between its actual value and a predicted value, which was computed from previously decoded values. As a result of that, compression ratio depends on the variance of the image, level of quantization of the difference values and quality of the prediction. After predictive coding, we can start to compress the original file size by using Differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) encoding and make a Huffman entropy codebook before transmitting the image. The decoder uses the Huffman codebook to first decode the Huffman entropy and followed by decoding Differential pulse code modulation (DPCM) to derive the constructed image.. Experimental result Differential Pulse Code Modulation (DPCM) Encoding Encode original Lena512.pgm image to DPCM values using 7 linear and fixed different Predictor methods: A (A + C)/2 (A + B + C)/3 A+B-C A+(B-C)/2 B+(A-C)/2 (A+B)/2 According to 7 above formulas, we can compute the difference between the previous pixel and current one. The predictor code table result will be sent to the next step, entropy encoder. The results show that the DPCM predictor B + (A -C)/2 achieves the best compression Ratio Entropy encoder (Huffman coding): Below part shows how the approach of Huffman coding is generated: Step 1: Retrieve the output of DPCM encoding. Step 2: Each value from DPCM encoding will be generated according to each occurrence probability in descending order. Step 3: Assign the Huffman codeword for each computed probability value For example: Each child probabilities is added to create the parent. The adding of probabilities continues until the root with final probability 1.0 as shown above. Hence, the Huffman Coding Table is formed. A bit is assigned to every node. The 0 bit is assigned to every left sub-tree of every node and the 1 bit is assigned to every right sub-tree of every node. Average length per symbol = 10.6+20.2+30.1+30.1= 1.6 bits/symbol In our experiment, since the optimal predictor is B + (A -C)/2, the codebook is generated according to this predictor. The DPCM values ranges from [-75, 87]. The table below shows the first 8 values among 162 DPCM values in Huffman codebook. RESULT DISCUSSIONS: (Optimal Predictor B + (A -C)/2, Encoding Part) Average bit/pixel=Compressed Size (Bits) / (columns x rows) =Compressed Size/ (512 x 512) After generating 162 codewords we are able to achieve 902428 bits. The derived average bit/pixel is approximately 3.442 bits/pixel. Compression Ratio= Original image size / Compressed image size Compression Ratio= 8 bits / (Average bit/pixel) (image resolution: 8 bits per pixel) The original image (Lena512.pgm picture) is a fixed 8 bits/pixel. Therefore, the compression ratio is 8/3.442=2.3239 by using Huffman codes. In order to write a file into binary bit format, the 8 binary adjacent bits is read and converted an integer. For Huffman decoding, the integers are written into a file. Entropy decoder (Huffman Decoding): The Huffman decoder uses the compressed image to regenerate the DPCM table. The compressed file integers are read and converted into a set of binary bits. If the binary code is not a prefix of any code, read each and every bit in the codebook to find a match. If no match is found, continue the search till a match is found in the codebook. Retreive the corresponding DPCM value for the binary code set. Step 2 is repeated until the binary set is exhausted. A DPCM table is generated and this is called the DPCM decoding process. For example: After converting integers into a set of binary bits, we have encoded bit stream of the first few pixels: 110111001101110011011101 According to Huffman lookup table, the corresponding DPCM values are: 87 87 86 DPCM Decoding: After decoding DPCM, the reconstructed image is retrieved. According to the above images, it can be concluded that the compression is a lossless one. There is no difference between original image and compressed one, as above images shown in reality or DPCM values encoded and decoded in theory. Project Discussion Analyzing Different Predictors for Lena.pgm Through above diagram, we can see the compression ratio of using one neighboring pixel (Predictor 1: A) for prediction is lower than using two or three neighboring pixels. And predictors which use 2 neighboring pixels have lower compression ratio than ones with 3 neighboring pixels Analyzing Different Predictors for other images: To further evaluate performance of the predictors, 4 different images were chosen to compute the effects the performance of the predictors. From the above diagrams, compression ratio of methods from 3 to 6 (They are: (A + B + C)/3, A+B-C, A+ (B-C)/2, B+ (A-C)/2 ) is higher than the rest. As there is strong connection between adjacent pixels, any predictor which can utilize connection between adjacent pixels produces good compression ratio As a result of that, the methods which use 1 or 2 neighboring pixels can not utilize this connection well. For example: Predictor A is used (only 1 pixel is used) for the first method. The encoded values are dependent on the previous value of the same row. Thus, the first columns values cannot be predicted or this predictor does not use connection between neighboring pixels appropriately. On the other hand, the images that fall at the center region have a lower compression ratio than ones which spreads over the entire white-grey-black scale.. Since the conducted experiments pertain only on .pgm format images (Black-And-White image), it is unable to determine compression ratio of colored images (RGB, YCbCr, HSV color bases) Conclusion According to all above experiments and diagrams, we can assert that there is no one definite predictor for every image to achieve best compression ratio because different images need different predictors to achieve better compression results. In general, since there is strong correlation between spatially adjacent pixels, any predictor which can utilize connection between adjacent pixels produces good compression ratio. In our experiment compression method from 3 to 6 will produce better compression than the rest. In reality, Static Huffman Coding is popular and easy to implement but does not obtain theoretically optimum number of bits to encode symbols because of condition: Huffman codeword must be an integer number of bits long, e.g. if probability of 1 symbol is 0.9, the optimum code word size should be 0.15 bits but in Huffman Coding, it is 1 bit. Moreover, if symbol probabilities are unknown or not stable (source changes), Dynamic Huffman coding should be chosen but the implementation is very complicated. On the other hand, so as to achieve non-integer length coding and probability derived in real-time, Arithmetic coding is a good alternative. However, the implementation of Arithmetic coding is slow due to many multiplications (in some cases, divisions).

Journey Motif Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In literature, the Journey is often a metaphor for discovery. The journey motif is used in Coleridge’s â€Å"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner.† It is also shown in Hawthorne’s â€Å"My Kinsman, Major Molineux† and â€Å"Young Goodman Brown.† In these stories, each main character changes sometime between the beginning and the end of the story. In addition, religion plays a part in each of these stories. Typically, in journey literature the hero encounters several obstacles that he or she must overcome. In Coleridge’s â€Å"The Rime of the Ancient Mariner,† the Mariner shows negativity. The Mariners moral vision is so impaired that his comparisons are persistently pessimistic. This pessimism is seen repeatedly in the similes that he uses. He describes life-in-death whose skin is â€Å"...

Euthanasia Essay -- mercy killing physician assisted suicide

Euthanasia The right to die with dignity, euthanasia and physician assisted suicide is a very sensitive issue debated in this country today. Euthanasia is the act of painlessly ending the life of a person for the reason of mercy. It is sometimes referred to as mercy killing. Americans are hearing more and more horror stories of the elderly tragically killing his or her spouse in order to avoid painful and horrible deaths. It is sad and amazing the extreme measure one had to go through to accomplish his or her death. More and more Americans are speaking out and fighting for the right to die. This however goes against all morals and ethical codes, for a physician’s role to sustain life, not take it away. Although euthanasia and assisted suicide is not morally and ethically accepted, it should be an individual issue for those who face imminent death because death should be a personal choice, because death should be without unnecessary pain and suffering, and because most importantly death should be peaceful. Granted, euthanasia and physician suicide assisted seem to threaten the traditional medical values. All physicians take the Hippocratic Oath upon receiving their degree. This oath states those physicians are to prolong life and minimize suffering. In an article written by John Glasson he argues: Physician assisted suicide presents one of the greatest contemporary challenges to the medical profession’s ethical responsibilities. Proposed as a means toward more humane care of the dying, assisted suicide threatens the very core of the medical profession’s ethical integrity (Glasson 91). Physicians have a moral and ethical responsibility to sustain life. They are in no position to render aid in a person’s death... ... die with dignity. Works Cited Dority, Barbara. â€Å"The Ultimate Civil Liberty.† Humanist. July/Aug. 1998: 16-20. Sirs Researcher. CD-ROM. SIRS Mandrin Spring 1999. Sirs 1998 Death and Dying, volume 5, article 14. Glasson, John. â€Å"Report of the Council on Ethical and Judicial Affairs of the American Medical Association.† Issues in Law & Medicine. Summer 1994: 91-97. Sirs Researcher. CD-ROM. SIRS Mandrin Springs 1999. Sirs 1994 Death and Dying, volume 4, article 50. Kamisar, Yale. â€Å"The Future of Physician-Assisted Suicide.† Minnesota Law Review. July 1998: 48-53. Sirs Researcher. CD-ROM. SIRS Mandrin Springs 1999. Puchalski, Christina M. â€Å"Life Before Death: Facing Death with True Dignity.† World & I. July 1998: 34-39. Strasburg, Jenny. â€Å"Last Rights: Speaking the Language of Death.† Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN). Scipps-Howard News Service.

Human Gene Therapy Essay -- Genetics Science Biology Essays

Human Gene Therapy Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was discovered in 1944 by Avery and colleagues. Avery identified DNA as the primary genetic material. Watson and Crick later discovered the double helix structure of DNA. Leder and co-workers deciphered the triple nucleotide code that designated the amino acids from which proteins were built. The science of molecular biology was born (Sokol, Gewirtz, 1996). In 1990 a four year old girl who was suffering from severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) was the first to undergo gene therapy. White blood cells were removed from the girl and the cells were inserted with normal copies of the defective gene and returned into the girls circulation. Her condition improved with four treatments and follow-up treatments (Anderson, 1995). Cystic fibrosis (CF), the most common fatal genetic disease among Caucasians in the United States, afflicts about 30,000 people worldwide. The faulty gene, CFTR, transfers salts across cell membranes, which causes mucus buildup in many t issues, particularly in the lungs. Infections lead to early death, usually by age 30. Cystic fibrosis currently has no effective treatment. Since the cystic fibrosis gene was cloned in 1989 this has led researchers to look for treatments through gene therapy ( Stanford, 1996). CF appears to be suitable for treatment by gene therapy: It is a monogenic, recessive disorder; The function of the CFTR gene product is known, facilitating measurement of gene transfer; The principal target cells, the airway epithelia, are accessible by minimally invasive procedures; Several transgenic mouse models for developing and testing procedures prior to clinical evaluation are available; here is a relatively large cohort of patients wil... ...l. Nichols, E. K. Human Gene Therapy. 162-164. (Harvard University Press, 1988). Schmeck, H. 1991. The future of genetic research. Howard Hughes Medical Institute. http://www.mit.edu:8001/afs/athena/course/other/esgbio/www/mg/future.html. Sokol, D. L., A. M. Gewirtz. 1996. Gen therapy: basic concepts and recent advances. Critical Reviews in Eukaryotic Gene Expression, 6(1):29-57. Walters, L. 1996. The Ethics of Human Gene Therapy. Nature 225-227. Gene Therapy for Human patients Information for the General Public. 1990 Department of Health and Human Services. Public health Service National Institutes of Health. Genzyme, http://www.genzyme.com/company/lines/rdgt/welcome.htm. Spector, R.; M. A. Malone. 1996. Stanford University Medical Center Office of communications. http://www.med.stanford.edu/center/Communications/Pressrel/October96/cfgene.html.

Shopaholic: Addiction and Shopping

A shopaholic is a person considered to be addicted to shopping. a person who can't stop spending money at the mall. A shopaholic is a person that loves shopping, and might even be addicted to it. Some warning signs of shopping addiction include:spending a significant amount of time shopping and spending;having an excuse for each shopping excursion and every purchase item;feeling on top of the world after a purchase only to sink into guilt and shame when the high wears off;being unable to stop shopping even though it is hurting loved ones;not being able to limit purchases to specific items but having the compulsion to buy more;owning a closet-full of never-worn items with the price tags still intact;shopping whenever you need a pick-me-up or when you're down, angry, or afraid;keeping purchases and shopping a secret from your parents or your spouse;spending more and more time thinking about shopping and acting on it;going into debt because of shopping and not being able to stop;having shopkeepers ask that you no longer shop at their stores.Why do you keep doing what you don't want to do? The exact cause of an addiction is not clear, but the contributions of years of studies have helped researchers identify its link to other addictive behaviours, such as alcohol, drugs, sex, and smoking.And shopaholism (also known as oniomania or compulsive buying) is considered an addiction by some because it has many similarities to these other well-established addictions, where many of the same parts of the brain are activated and a similar experience of euphoria is felt. Just as alcohol is the abused substance in alcoholism, money is the abused substance in a shopping addiction. Research tells us that people who suffer from addiction get a rush of dopamine (a chemical in the brain that is associated with pleasure and reward) when they are able to satisfy a craving such as going on a shopping binge. With time, they become dependent on the â€Å"rush. But inevitably after the i mmediate gratification of a great purchase comes the pangs of guilt, shame, and disappointment.This becomes an ongoing cycle that makes you feel powerless and out of control. But shopaholism is more than the loss of willpower or self control – it is also a behavioural problem that can be traced back to your upbringing. Studies show that shopaholics may have learned such behaviours at home or may have experienced abuse in their early years, such as sexual abuse. And more often than not, a shopping addiction has a greater likelihood of being accompanied by at least one other addiction (e. g. , substance use) or disorder (i. e. anxiety, obsessive-compulsive, impulse, mood (e. g. , depression)).An addiction to shopping can also be traced to the impact of your environment. Studies found that this phenomenon is rarely seen in poverty-stricken countries except among the affluent. But in developed countries, a market-based economy, the availability of lots of consumer goods, disposab le income, and leisure time seem to play a role as to who is affected with a shopping addiction. North Americans are overexposed to marketing and advertising gimmicks that encourage and promote a shopping and materialistic lifestyle, and shopping has become a major pastime and way of life.It is reported that people start developing an unhealthy habit of excessive shopping in their late teens and early 20s, when they move away from home and experience freedom and get their own credit cards, generating large debts at a young age. And with the widespread use of the internet, people of all ages – especially the internet-savvy generation – are getting online to satisfy their shopping fix. Personal blogs are not just an online journal but personal e-boutiques. Teenagers buy and sell their stash through Facebook, often meeting their prospective buyers at specified subway stops after school or on weekends. The internet has also made it easier to shop.While these do not necessa rily lead to or cause a shopping addiction, they do make it harder for someone with a penchant for shopping to kick the habit or to rein in their spending. Changing your shopping habits Admitting that you have a shopping addiction is the first step towards healing, which is why Confessions of a Shopaholic is such an apt title for the movie. And Rebecca, the central character in Sophie Kinsella's runaway bestseller, doesn't admit she has a shopping problem until everything that could go wrong has gone wrong. But once she confesses her addiction, it is a freeing experience that allows her to be open and honest with herself and loved ones around her. Oftentimes, the secrets you have to carry are actually a heavier burden than the problem itself.While there may be a lot of temptation around you that feeds your need to shop excessively, you ultimately have to take action and take control of your spending habits. Just like going to the gym, changing to a healthier diet, or anything that t akes discipline or getting used to, the reward after the hard work will be worth it. And shopping shouldn't have to be banned completely or forever!It is called â€Å"retail therapy† for a reason – a way to relax, to enjoy the fruits of your hard-earned dollar, to express your creative outlet, and all that shopping jazz. The road to rediscovering the joy of healthy shopping requires that you have a plan in motion that can help you get back control, and it may require learning some new shopping habits to replace bad shopping habits of the past.Each time you replace an old habit with a new and healthier routine, it will only help you get stronger to face down the next shopping urge. Here are some tips on how to curb a shopping temptation:Window shop only after hours so that you are not tempted to walk into the store.Use the internet only for work purposes or to complete errands – do not surf online.Go shopping with a friend, who can help keep tabs on how much you are buying – avoid shopping alone.Get rid of your credit cards or leave them at home when you go shopping to avoid the temptation to spend.Find other routine activities to replace the times you used to spend shopping.Enlist a buddy or two who are willing to be on call whenever you feel the urge to shop. Getting help and treatment for your shopping addiction A review article published in World Psychiatry in 2007 estimated that approximately 6% of Americans are faced with a compulsive shopping problem at some point in their lives. Other studies report a higher percentage, depending on the method of study. Just like any other addiction, people with a shopping addiction go to great lengths to hide their shopping activities and purchases. Many people often do not face their shopping problems until they run up a substantial credit card debt and reach a â€Å"dead end,† finding themselves liable to serious financial consequences.This can lead to other damaging personal setbacks, such as losing the trust of loved ones when they find out or even losing a job or a home. The first step to getting help is to acknowledge that you have a shopping problem. Once you've taken this giant step, you will have the motivation to look for help. While there is no standardized method for treating shopping addiction, the two main forms of therapy are medication and cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). Various clinical studies have taken place to evaluate the effectiveness of medication therapy normally used to treat anxiety an d depression. The results of medication as treatment for shopping addiction, however, are mixed.A common method of treatment is cognitive-behavioural therapy (CBT). CBT is a general term that describes the process of identifying and correcting problems associated with the way you think, behave, and feel, all of which may be contributing to your addictive or compulsive behaviours. The focus of CBT is on issues that stem from within you rather than external influences. Taking quality time with professional help, self-help, loved ones, or those in similar situations to sort out your feelings, emotions, and history can get you started on the road to healing.Therapy programs may be guided by an appropriate professional (such as a psychologist, therapist, or counsellor), self-help efforts (i. e. self-help books, keeping a shopping diary), or volunteer or charity programs that offer support and provide realistic steps on how to curb the compulsion to shop (i. e. , Debtors Anonymous, Credit Canada). Effective CBT would ideally include a tailored combination of all these programs that best fit your needs. It will also include addressing areas of your life that have been affected by a shopping addiction, such as considering marriage counselling and financial counselling.http://bodyandhealth.canada.com/channel_health_features_details.asp health_feature_id=394&article_id=1248&channel_id=1004&relation_id=59344 Compulsive Shopping Addiction What Compulsive Shopping and Spending Means? The phrase ‘shop till you drop’ aptly describes people who are shopaholic. They purchase anything out of whim and will do this to such an extent that they run their credit cards up to the limit. Almost all shopaholics feel that shopping will make them feel better, but in reality they end up feeling more frustrated because of the tension of surmounting bills. Compulsive shopping addiction is quite similar to other addictive behaviors like drinking, gambling, overeating, etc and is known to affect more women than men. The tendency to shop to one’s heart content increases in the shopaholic people under certain conditions like holiday /festive seasons, when they are depressed or feeling lonely or simply irked up.Excessive overspending by a person frequently is actually a lapse in personality and they need to understand that shopping or spending will not guarantee more love, boost self-respect, nurse old hurts and regrets, solve everyday problems, etc. A compulsive sho pper usually is seen to have strained relations with family and friends because of their behavior. How to Recognize a Compulsive Shopper?Whenever the shopaholics feel low, they are goaded to buy the knick-knack ‘pick-me-up’ kind of articles. They just go out and purchase stuff to experience a high or a rush, just like alcohol or drug addicts.Shopaholics will normally buy things that they do not really require. Festive seasons tend to encourage the shopping habits because of the various fetching offers like discounts and bonanzas.While few shopping addicts go on binging the year round and may be obsessive about getting specific articles like shoes, kitchen items or clothing, others will purchase just anything.Women who are compulsive shoppers often have stacks of unused clothes and other items with the price tags still attached. Normally they will go shopping to get a couple of items, but return home with bags and bags of purchases.Shopaholics have also been known to suf fer from psychological ‘black out’ and do not remember even purchasing the stuff. And when friends and family begin to question them, they will hide the stuff they have purchased.Treatment for Shopaholic People / Compulsive Buyers If you yourself or someone around shows such traits as mentioned above, then the person is a compulsive buyer in all probability. Though a chronic problem, it is possible to treat shopaholic people provided they themselves are willing to cooperate. It is normally advised that compulsive buyers take help of professional counseling or a self-help group to get rid of their psychological problem. Compulsive Buyers / Shopaholics – How do you Shun Shopping Binges?Always try to pay your shopping bills by cash, check, debit card.Shop as per ingeniously prepared scripted shopping list, which will include only the must-have items. Destroy or keep away all credit cards, except one to be used during emergency.Stay away from discount stores. Even if your do visit, keep aside only a fixed amount of cash for spending.Window shop after the stores has shut down or you will be tempted to buy.Avoid phoning in catalog orders and viewing TV shopping channels.Go for a stroll or exercise whenever you feel the urge to shop.If nothing seems to work, then seek professional help.Keep accurate records of your spending as it will help you understand your splurging habits better. You will then know where not to spend.You can also do well by inculcating an interest for a new hobby like painting, trekking, etc.The Shopaholic’s Guide to Getting your Expenses under Control Ever noticed that there seems to be a whole lot of things to buy these days? Shops are bursting at the seams with goods and objects of all sizes, shapes and prices. There seems to be a plethora of options that tempt you to splurge and empty your pockets — sale, discount, bargain price, buy one get one free, offer ends soon — they’re all different tact ics used to get you to loosen your purse strings. There’s just one thing that’s short in stock. The thing you need to buy all the goodies on display — MONEY. It sure doesn’t grow on trees, folks, but that doesn’t seem to be stopping too many people.They don’t have the money but they want the stuff and credit cards are helping them out. Or so they think! Compulsive shopping with funds that do not exist is the worst debt trap you can fall into. You wake up one day to a house full of stuff and a credit balance deep in the red. It’s time to make a few resolutions if you want to get back on the road to a healthy financial life, and we’re showing you how. Temptation is the devil in disguise? The first and most important step to getting your expenses under control is to exert a little self control. This is the hardest part of the process, but if you master your urges, there’s no way you’ll slip back into your old ways.If you feel temptation beckoning, eliminate the things that will allow you to shop, starting with these: Credit cards: Chop them up, freeze them, lock them up and throw away the key — they’re the reason you shop irresponsibly in the first place. Without your credit cards, even if you walk into a store and are tempted to buy something, you’re limited by the amount of cash you have on you. Internet connection:It’s easy to get carried away when you’re shopping online. If you need to stay connected, use your willpower and stay away from online shopping sites. Cable television: Those great deals and must-have gadgets are not for you. Stay away from the channels that try to sell you anything under the sun.Malls and department stores: Stay away when they advertise sales and bargains. You may go in with the best of intentions, wanting to buy only what you need, but the urge to buy will creep up and overpower you when you see those signs beckoning.Debit cards : Easy access to cold cash leads to the temptation to spend. That money in the bank may be a nest egg that your family members or you have saved for a rainy day. Cash in hand: It’s not practical to be stuck without emergency money, but a shopaholic is better off with an empty wallet/purse. It prevents them from buying, period. Surround yourself with support? Compulsive shopping is an addiction that can be as bad as alcohol, drugs or tobacco.It helps if you have friends and family who are there to lend you support as you try to kick the habit. Never shop alone: Unlike other addictions, shopping is not something that you can quit cold turkey. You have to step into a mall or store at sometime or another, if only to buy necessities.Take someone along when you do, preferably someone who knows you’re trying to get rid of the tag â€Å"shopaholic† and who can exert some sort of control over you. Seek professional help: If your problem is deep and you’re unable t o do things on your own, it’s not a sin to get a professional to help you out. Comforting alternatives help? You shop till you drop, but your emotions run high — that’s the life of a shopaholic.The continuous shopping makes you feel good, like you’re running on energy boosters. But only until the bills start pouring in. That’s when the guilt starts to kick in — for a while at least. Then the next big sale comes around, and you have to be a part of it.To help cure yourself, find alternative sources of comfort, like: Time with people you love: Spend time with your family, children, friends — anyone who makes you feel happy when you’re with them. Seek them out especially when you feel the urge to hit the stores. A new hobby: Get a life besides shopping. Discover new things about yourself. Find a hobby and fill your spare time (or time you would have spent shopping) doing something useful and fulfilling.Making more money: Turn the tables on your addiction and get a twofold advantage out of the situation by taking an additional job that will help you forget the urge to shop. It’s two birds with one stone — you don’t spend any money while you are working, you make it instead.Shopaholics usually face an uphill climb when they’re trying to kick the habit. Not only do they have to devote all of their energy to avoiding the shopping sprees, they’re stuck with a mountain of bills as a result of their reckless spending days. Setting up a budget for necessities and negotiating with creditors for lenient deals will ease some of that burden as they try to begin a new life.

Bold Flash Case Essay

BoldDisk, currently known as Boldflash, was founded in 1982 in Waltham Massachussets. Originally manufacturing computer storage medias like floppy disks for original equipment manufacturers and consumer markets, BoldFlash’s product mix has evolved in due course of time. In 2012, the company began offering customers contemporary solutions in flash memory for products such as digital cameras, mp3s and most importantly smartphones, the latter accounting for 40% of the overall market . However, the inability of the company to keep up to date with the dynamic nature of this 20 billion dollar market has led to the decline of the company in regards to product innovation and customer satisfaction. Even though there are macroeconomic factors that brought about this predicament, the effect of managerial inefficiency also has to be taken into account. This essay will do as such by critically viewing the top-down management approach this company has used from both the human relations and power perspectives. The situation that the company currently finds itself in can be attributed to several factors. When looking at Boldflash’s management from a human relations perspective, the issue of bad management becomes more apparent. The previous vice presidents decision of tackling issues through a top down approach can be one cause to the company’s failure in creating value for customers. One problem with this autocratic approach in an innovation company is that it leads to the breakdown of communication and teamwork. The numerous conflicts between manufacturing and sales can be attributed to the simple fact that the culture of the company was not based on communication between the two parties, it was based on following orders from corporate. This lack of vertical loading, or dispersal of authority, has on one hand an effect of inefficiency in trying to create value for the company and its customers, but it also causes the employees to feel neglected. This apparent disconnect between management and workers can and has caused conflicts within the organization that when not addressed can become, according to Herzberg, hygiene factors that inhibit motivation and therefore innovation in the company. Another problem with this management approach is that it acts as hindrance to the development of new products.  The ramifications of taking this McGregor’s Theory x approach, neglects non economic factors such as performance appraisal and participation which are considered as key motivators. Moreover, Maslow’s theory supports the argument that autonomy and room for personal growth are the key motivators for employees to add value to their company through the process of satisfying their own need for self actualization. When looking at this company from a political perspective, the question of how Harrison’s style of management had an effect on the company’s structure is relatively obvious. It is more important to emphasize that the crux of the matter was the major deficits in product development (2nd paragraph; further examined pp.2). According to the present paper, former vice president Jim Harrison commanded a rather strictregiment and had a management style that can be described as autocratic. That suggests the assumption that he made use of Luke’s first dimension of power, namely orders. A clearly visible way of solving conflicts with the results he was in favour of. It’s hardly surprising that this proceeding didn’t lead to a multifarious company culture, or a structure which encourages employees to bring in their ideas. in fact, it shows a second possible reason for BoldFlash’s failure in the tablet-chip market: the market’s potential was not r ecognized to its full extent and was therefore the opportunity was underplayed by management. Another side of BoldFlash’s structural problems are highlighted by the fact that the actual product development group was being led by the marketing department. Disregarded by Harrison ,Cahill notices a loose form of leadership, which – in his view – does not succeed in integrating the talents of the employees. Contrarily to the general culture of strict orders, power is not used much in this group – leaving Cahill with the impression that there were neither clear achievements nor direction in which to move the company. However. the structure of the company is changing as a result of the new vice president. under the structure of a divisionalized form, Robert Cahill leaves to its managers of divisions (Sales, Marketing etc.) the freedom of  decision and then controls the results. This enterprise makes sure that the standardization of outputs are respected through an important performance control. (meetings: definitions of targets, objectives and strategies for each division that decisions makers must keep in mind as they make specific decisions in the front). One can now notice that a formal communication exists -limited to transmission of results- between Cahill and the supervisors of each department. Nevertheless we can focus on what create a discord between all workers. It is mainly due to the division’s culture. We notice that even if all the members work at the same final goals, they all have a different vision of how to perform. Thus their main goal becomes to keep it like a â€Å"treasure† and make sure that nobody will treat it; they are on guard and make their best to keep their â€Å"territory† safe, acting without considering the others. In conclusion, the top down model used by the late Jim Harrison and its autocratic nature hinders organizational performance in respect to understanding the market as well as having a cooperative and innovative environment. this approach neglects the inputs of employees and affects their performance as well as their ability to stay motivated, ultimatly affecting the company’s overall success and profitability, as is the case with BoldFlash.Considering that Fiona Wilson wrote a whole book questioning the totalitarian ambition of management theories, it is not surprising that a vice president with an ambition like that analogically narrows the view of the whole organization.

Bermuda Triangle Research Paper Essay

Lying behind a shroud of mystery deep in its misty waters lies a secret yet to be discovered, a secret harboring lost planes and artifacts from history’s darkest disappearances. This unexplored â€Å"Devil’s Sea† is more commonly known to many as the illusive Bermuda Triangle. This very interesting area has gone unexplored for centuries, even with the mysterious absences of air and sea vessels attributed to this very spot. Although unexplored, it is not left well alone in the minds of many, rather, it has been observed through technology such as satellites and radar; as well as mechanical ships controlled from land. It has also peaked the interest of those more interested in giving the Triangle a more, â€Å"dark† personality. These many observers have attributed the events and tragic catastrophes of the Bermuda to the occult, any other-worldly object, person, or thing that could in theory cause these strange occurrences. More over, the government and scientists more than often attribute the mystery of this unknown terrain to be, not a mystery, but a natural geographic phenomenon. A disaster due to possible magnetic disturbance, or natural weather happenings, etc. Believe what theorists will about the Bermuda Triangle, but to really understand any logic behind the science of the Bermuda, we must go back to the very first act of this mysterious region, to the beginning of a legend’s birth. The region described as the Bermuda Triangle was set in the location of an invisible ‘triangle’;which is connected at Miami, Florida; San Juan, Puerto Rico; and the Bermuda. Its official title as the ‘Bermuda’ Triangle was decided because it had been at first thought that the disappearances that occurred were restricted to the area of that around just the Bermuda. The Bermuda Triangle received its name as the result of the disappearance of six Navy planes and their crew on December 5, 1945 (Berlitz 21). This flight is commonly known to the public as Flight 19. This specific group of planes left Fort Lauderdale that morning with no difficulties, that is, until they flew over what is now the Bermuda Triangle. They reported being lost and disoriented, and could not determine exactly where they were. The flight leader, Lieutenant Charles Taylor even stated when asked to assume bearing west, â€Å"We don’t know which way is west. Everything is wrong†¦ Strange†¦ We can’t be sure of any direction-even the ocean doesn’t look as it should†¦ â€Å". It had eventually become to difficult to hear messages from Flight 19 due to static. Shortly after receiving their last message from Flight 19, the search units received a message stating that six planes (the five Navy planes and the rescue plane) were missing (Berlitz 24). This caused many to give an official name to said region, as though society was putting up a wall as some sort of recognition and respect to the Bermuda Triangle’s strange,yet very real,danger. This very disappearance also sparked curiosity about the Triangle in the minds of both scientists and theorists. These theorists and common people began to create their own explanations for these strange disappearances. Explanations that ranged from worm holes to aliens, depending on the person. More than often did these theories possess to a relation with the occult, often referring to alien intelligence or paranormal phenomena. The truth behind these ‘theories’ ranges from believable to unbelievable just as easy as one may guess. What may help to understand these strange and various ideas, would be to begin with one of the most popular; human error. Otherwise known as pilot disorientation, it is less of a theory and more of a common idea. Based upon thinking that the pilots in the Bermuda Triangle would often get lost due to turbulent weather patterns, popular tourist traffic, swift currents and an indeterminable landscape. Theorists say that these factorial characteristics could make it easy to lose one’s way, and that once you’re a little bit off, it is only a few more turns until you are lost. This would mean being rendered unable to fuel up or avoid rough weather in the case of emergency (Science Channel 1) This could be a logical explanation , it is true that human misconception can be at fault for many of the mistakes of mankind. Although some theorists have it well endowed in their brains that mother nature itself is the main culprit at fault. This next theory is created due to the disastrous weather patterns found in the tropical region of the Bermuda Triangle. Prone to intense and sever torms, and the fact it is literally right in the middle of hurricane valley, gives many theorists enough to infer that this region is nothing more than a dangerous sea. Not only that, but along with the swift-moving Gulf Stream that cuts into the triangle, this becomes a very unnavigable terrain for above land vessels. Add to that the underwater geography of the deep and rugged Puerto Rico trench (the deepest point in the Atlantic Ocean) and this area becomes a literal death zone (Science Channel 1). Also based on a naturally occurring phenomenon, is the theory of unstable magnetic fields. Often attributed to the well-known myths about askew compasses and the legend that the Bermuda is one of the only two places on the planet that points true north. This is true,but only to some sense. There was only one time, during the 19th century, that the Bermuda was a place where a compass could point true north without having to calibrate or calculate the variation in Earth’s natural magnetic field. Although, because the Earth’s magnetic fields are always changing, so does the variations accounted for by compasses. In modern day, the Bermuda Triangle does not sit in any form of abnormal magnetic area, and pilots and sailors know now to adjust compasses to magnetic and true north (Science Channel 1-2). Even as far-fetched as magnetic field abnormalities may seem to some scientists, it is no where near the as illogical as the next theory will appear. The first of are more supernatural theories, is none other than the fabled, lost civilization of Atlantis. For those who believe in the legendary aquatic city of Atlantis, there could raise an argument. Theorists say that remnants of intense energy crystals once used to fuel the city were now residing in the Bermuda Triangle interfering with airplane and ships electronics. This proof is based off of a mirrored pyramid like structure said to be founded by a scuba diving Atlantis proponent in 1970. Although, there is no proof of this find. Others base this off of the Bimini road; a strange rock formation composed of uniform, seemingly sculpted towers of rock just of the coast of the Bahamian island of Bimini. Most geologists say it’s a work of natural forces, whereas Atlantis proponents state it was once a dock (Science Channel 2). Considering the subject of foreign civilizations, comes the next theory on the list. Here begins the start of the more â€Å"occult-based† theorems existing in society, is the ever-famous UFO/alien theory. The most common association with extra terrestrial forces is the acclamation that a downed space ship, or dangerous alien mechanics of some sort, is residing in or below the region of the Bermuda Triangle. The same theory is often attributed with a similar triangular-like region of the coast of Japan in the Pacific Ocean. This particular myth states that human ships and planes get caught in the portal at the wrong time, ultimately ending up trapped in between dimensions (Science Channel 2). Up next is yet another theory associated with extra terrestrial intelligence. Contrary to the idea of actual alien population in the Bermuda Triangle, is the theory of government testing. Rather than the rumored ‘Area 51†², this theory points us to a base that is known as AUTEC (for Atlantic undersea test and evaluation center) It is located on the Bahamas’ Andros Island, right in the middle of the Bermuda Triangle. It is used to test navy subs, weapons, and sonar. Although this theory claims that it isn’t all they test. Theorists insist that the government is working with alien or extra terrestrial intelligence and that the AUTEC is actually reverse-engineering alien technology (Science Channel 3). Although the government has its own input on the Bermuda Triangle, so none of this is directly proven. As well as the fact that there are currently no US Government-issued maps that delineate the boundaries of the Bermuda Triangle (Rosenberg 1) (Navy 2). This is surprisingly the only well-known government based theory on the Bermuda Triangle. Of course,this is a quite accusative view of the government; but it is at least based off of more than one person’s idea rather then the next theory on the list. One of the more popular theories associated with the Bermuda Triangle, but not the most common, is the time vortex or ‘electronic fog’ theory. This theory came into existence from a single incident. In 1970, Floridian pilot Bruce Gernon and his father were a route from Andros Island to Bimini Island in the Bahamas when they came across a strange cloud that they say grew xponentially before morphing into a tunnel. He apparently flew into the vortex, and as Gernon claims, â€Å"emerge in a thick electronic fog with a white haze surrounding the plane†. Apparently his compass spun wildly and electrical sparks surrounded him. He said once the fog parted he found himself miles from where he was, and because he was farther away from his original location than he could have ever possibly traveled in that time; he concluded himself he must have traveled through a time travel tunnel (Science Channel 3). This theory, although based on one man, is still more commonly known to the public than the next two, even though they consist of more logic than many other theories. This theory is one more based of a chemistry based outtake, and is more likely to explain the nautical disappearances rather than the aircraft phenomena. The non-circulated theory of methane hydrates. Beneath the deep under the surface, lie pockets of trapped methane gas. Ready to be released by seismic activity or underwater landslides. This gas reaching surface is said to reduce the density of water. Any ship in that area of water would supposedly lose buoyancy a sink. In another theory,if enough of the flammable gas reached surface and went high into the air, it could be ignited by an engine’s spark. Although, the Bermuda Triangle is far from the one area methane hydrates exist-it isn’t even an area of high concentration. It is possible these could pose a threat though, but whether the explosion from these hydrates is powerful enough to sink a vessel is unknown (Science Channel 3-4). This is not a very famous theory, although it is still more well-known than the next theory, even though it is not as well-supported or as logical. This theory includes some of the sea-faring villains we have heard about in history books; pirates. Although one of the most childish of theories,it has been a consistent problem near the triangle region for hundreds of years. This theory is based on the fact that because of the circulation of other myths, a ship or vessel committing piracy could get away with a simple â€Å"it wasn’t me blame it on the ghosts/aliens/storms/and etc. † While this theory wouldn’t cover aircraft disappearances, it could explain some of the missing ships in the area (Science Channel 4). Even though there isn’t much, if any, proof of this last theory; it still holds its place as well-proven compared to the next theory. The most far-fetched (and least popular) of our theories is that of an 11,000-year-old comet. According to these theorists, a comet that may or may not have crashed to earth 11,000 years ago could have landed on the ocean floor right beneath the Bermuda Triangle. Theorists speculate that this specific comet could have abnormal electromagnetic properties that interrupt with navigational tools and engines of aircrafts and ships. This comet has not been found, or at least not yet. Due to the possibility of trenches that can be tens of thousands of feet deep, proof may never be found of the existence or falsehood of such a comet (Science Channel 4). Any theories besides these last few are not very well-known, but we can be sure there are plenty more. The Bermuda Triangle is yet another mystery still waiting to be solved, even with its own vast collection of rumors. The Bermuda Triangle is a region full of mystery, and one of the world’s greatest fabled myths. Beginning as a simple assumption, and growing into a legend of high stature; this region is famous whether real or rumor. The mystery of the Bermuda is in itself a unique feat, and exploring its origins is just one step above. Although we can not prove the authenticity of any of these theories, the very thought can send one towards a realm of their own creation; pondering over what may or may not be. A devil of the sea, a curse to the air, and a marvel to the land; the Bermuda Triangle is just one mysterious legend that may never quite be conquered.

Miscommunication: Phonology and Message

Sometimes it is not easy to transmit the intended meaning to a person during a communication process. Miscommunication is a phenomenon that people experience almost every day. It is even used for marketing or present in comedy shows. Miscommunication can arise through various incidences, for example in an intercultural communication, where people have different conventions, or when a word is ambiguous and the context unclear. Sometimes people also do not listen because they think the aspect is not relevant to them.One of the most frequent types of miscommunication are those based on slips of the tongue or slips of the ear. When people do not understand words, sentences or whole passages, the brain tries to fill the gap with known structures. Consequently, misunderstandings arise. In the following we want to concentrate on miscommunication that emerges through the transmission of the message in the auditory channel. There are various aspects that can lead to miscommunication through m istakes in the transmission of a message.These aspects, like the difference of hearing and listening, the exchange of letters or problems with the intonation etc. , are going to be dealt with in this paper. First of all we are going to present how a message is transmitted in communication and which phonological aspects play a role. Then miscommunication is going to be treated. We want to show how miscommunication can arise and afterwards analyse some misunderstandings and show how they could have come up. 2. Phonetics and phonology – the transmission of a message Communication always takes place between two or more people who are trying to get a message across.During this communication process, different aspects are important. As we talk about oral communication, which is about the transmission of sounds, phonetics and phonology play a role. They are a main aspect in the transmission of a message. Phonology means †die Entstehung, Ubertragung und Wahrnehmung, also die ma terielle Seite der Sprachlauteâ€Å" (Grasegger 2004: 7) whereas phonetics â€Å"untersucht die Funktion und die Eigenschaft von Sprachlauten als Elemente eines Sprachsystems, also die funktionelle Seite† (Grasegger 2004: 7).In the following we want to concentrate on the transmission of the sounds or the message. We want to have a look at the phonological aspects and prosodic aspects that play a role in the transmission process. But first of all, we are going to present Shannon and Weavers communication model. 2. 1. A communication model The process of communication can be presented as a model. One, the prototypical model, was developed by Shannon and Weaver in 1949. They reduce communication simply to the process of transmitting information (Chandler o.A. : 1). This model consists of five elements, an information source producing a message, a transmitter encoding the message into signals, a channel, a receiver decoding the message and a destination where the message arrives (Chandler o. A. : 2). Thus, a sender and a receiver always exist in a communication process. The sender is the information source who intends to transmit the message by his mouth (transmitter) through a channel. Here the message is transmitted through sound waves and maybe also body language.The ear receives the sound waves (receiver) and the listener decodes the message by interpreting verbal and non-verbal information and constructing a reality of what the meaning could be (www. worldtrans. org : 1). As sender and receiver do not share the same feelings, experiences, perceptions and ideas, the message can be interpreted differently by the receiver (ebd. ). Consequently, miscommunication can arise. Regarding the Shannon and Weaver model, some possibilities where miscommunication might emerge are in the channel, where noise is a dysfunctional factor (Chandler o. A. 2), on the listener’s side or during the process of encoding a message on the speaker’s side. However, t here are other aspects that have to be considered in communication. We also need to know how the speaker succeeds in producing a sound and how the listener reconstructs the message. At this point phones and suprasegmental features play a role. When the speaker wants to encode a message, he takes a phoneme as a basis and produces a phone that is transmitted through the channel. According to Grasegger 2004 the speaker disposes of a creative function, a sending and listening function in his brain.The sending function in the brain thinks of a message that reaches the speech-organs through nerves. There the sound is produced by tongue, breath, palate etc. (Grasegger 2004: 17-31). The sound passes the channel through sound waves and reaches the ear of the listener. The task of the listener is now to reconstruct the message, which means recognizing the individual words, extracting their syntactic relationships, determining the semantic structure of the utterance and its relation to the dis course context as well as recognizing emotions (Cuttler/Dahan/Donselaar 1997: 142).However, few cues are available to signal where one word ends and the next one begins. To understand the message, the listener has to find the individual word boundaries (Cuttler/Dahan/Donselaar 1997: 143). The brain decodes and reconstructs the message. The sounds, the â€Å"Signifikat† (Grasegger 2004: 11), stand for a special concept, the significant (Grasegger 2004: 11). In the following we are going to concentrate on this phonological and prosodic part the of communication process. 2. 2. Phonological elements of communicationAs already mentioned, phonological elements are important in the transmission of a message since phonemes are a unit of linguistic and perceptual processing (Clark/Yallop 1996: 318). During a communication process, the speaker produces sounds. These sounds are not transmitted individually but in bigger units. The smallest and primary unit of production and perception i s the syllable. It can be described as â€Å"symbiosis of consonant and vowel which acts as the effective vehicle for the transmission of linguistic information† (Clark/Yallop 1996: 318).Phonemes never have a meaning themselves. Their primary function is their distinctive function, the differentiation of meanings of speech units like words. If a sound has a distinctive function can be proved by replacing it by another sound. That means that a sound has a distinctive function when you take the example ‘Kanne’ and replace the [k] by a [t] so that the meaning changes (Grasegger 2004: 81). The articulation is not important when it does not have a distinctive function. Such words that differ only in one phoneme are called minimal pairs.By changing this phoneme, the word gets a different meaning (Grasegger 2004: 83). Thus, miscommunication can easily arise at this point since if the listener does not hear a part of a word or sentence, his brain replaces this gap (Clark /Yallop 1996: 318). Another aspect that is important during the transmission of sounds is that two words with two different meanings can sound similar and have to be understood in the context (Bu? mann 2002: 284). Thus, the role of sound in communication is the transmission of a meaning. However, a single sound does not convey a meaning, but a combination of sounds.The sounds (signifikat) stand for a meaning or concept (significant) that the listener has to decode. But if some sounds are replaced during processing in the brain and these sounds form a minimal pair the meaning can be changed. Later on we want to deal with some examples how miscommunication can arise because some sounds are replaces or their position in a word is changed. 2. 3. Prosodic elements of communication As we have seen, not only phones, the smallest segments of sounds, are important for the transmission or reconstruction of a message, but also uprasegmental features, phonetic expressions that include more than one segment. These are pitch, volume and duration which are linked to bigger units like syllables, words, phrases and sentences (Grasegger 2004: 63). However, prosody is normally used as a synonym for suprasegmental features such as pitch, tempo, loudness and pause (Cuttler/Dahan/Donselaar 1997: 143), although Grasegger defines prosody as the linguistic function of suprasegmental features which is to differentiate meaning on the level of words, phrases or sentences, or to structure an utterance rhythmically (Grasegger 2004: 63).So it is rhythm and intonation what helps differentiating meaning (Clark/Yallop 1996: 322). According to Cuttler/Dahan/Donselaar 1997, â€Å"the prosodic structure of an utterance exercises effects on the timing, amplitude and frequency spectrum of the utterance and these are dimensions of sound itself; any utterance, indeed any part of an utterance corresponding to any linguistic component to a phonetic segment even must have a certain duration, a certain amplitude and a certain fundamental frequency† (Cutler/Dahan/Donselaar 1997: 142).Consequently, if a speaker intends to emphasize a segment, frequency, pitch, intensity and duration, or one of these parameters, have to differ from the accentuation of other segments so that the listener is able to understand the difference in meaning or rhythm, since languages like English are â€Å"perceived in the durational interplay of prominent (or ‘stressed’) syllables and weaker or less prominent ones† (Clark/Yallop 1996: 323). However, few cues are available to signal where one word ends and the next begins. Elements that structure sentences etc. hythmically and determine their meaning are for example quality and accentuation. The speaker could change the meaning of an element by changing the duration, called quantity. That means, that for instance long vocals convey a different meaning than short vocals (Staat; Stadt) (Grasegger 2004: 72). The accentuation helps def ining word boundaries. An accent is the stress or emphasize of a syllable, a word or a sentence to emphasize it (Grasegger 2004: 73). Stressed syllables normally have a higher frequency, a higher volume and a longer duration than non-stressed syllables (ebd. . Its function is to structure an utterance so that the listener has the possibility to differentiate meaning by distinguishing different positions of stress like ancora and ankora in the Italian language (vgl. Grasegger 2004: 74). A â€Å"Satzakzent† (Grasegger 2004: 75) emphasizes words in a sentence and thus has a contrasting function. In the sentence ‘Peter searches a book’ , for example, the speaker can emphasize different units such as the book, Peter, or searches to make clear who he is talking about, what Peter does or what he is searching for.This kind of stress in a sentence is related to intonation. Intonation is another prosodic element that can be defined as â€Å"Verlauf der Sprechmelodie inner halb einer lautsprachlichen Au? erung† (Grasegger 2004: 76). It is the „Form der Tonhohenbewegungen im Verhaltnis zur mittleren Sprechstimmlage eines Sprechersâ€Å" (ebd. ). During a unit of intonation, the pitch rises or falls. The boundaries of a unit are defined by different phonetic elements like the distension of a syllable at the end of a unit or a linguistic pause, an interruption that has a structuring function (Grasegger 2004: 76).Thus, the characteristic of intonation is structuring an utterance as well as its distinctive function since the difference in pitch conveys meaning. A rising intonation at the end of a sentence normally is a question whereas falling intonation a statement. A demand or an order is expressed by â€Å"steil abfallender Intonation† (Grasegger 2004: 77). So the content and meaning of a sentence depends on the position of the accent and the rise or fall of pitch. Moreover, syntax and prosody are closely related so that the supraseg mental features may be influenced by the position in the syntactic structure.So we have, for instance, longer pauses before major syntactic boundaries (Cutler/Dahan/Donselaar 1997: 162). Furthermore, intonation (pitch, volume etc. ) show the emotional condition of the speaker and thus have an expressive function. A question, for example, can also indicate doubts or surprise of a speaker. (Grasegger 2004: 77). So prosodic elements that are important for the differentiation of meaning or structure the sentence through a certain rhythm so that they influence the accentuation of a message and the understanding of the listener are pitch, volume, duration and pauses.They help identifying words (Cutler/Dahan/Donselaar 1997: 148). Prosodic problems can lead to serious reductions of the understanding, what is going to be treated later on. 3. Miscommunication – Problems in the auditory channel After looking at the communication process and the transmission of a message through the audi tory channel, we now want to have a look at the emergence of miscommunication. In the following we are going to treat some aspects that can influence the transmission of sounds in a negative way so that the message is not transmitted correctly.Miscommunication can be caused either by the speaker or by the listener. That means by slips of the tongue or slips of the ear, because the receiver did not listen or on account of channel problems. However, we first want to deal with the difference of hearing and listening. 3. 1. Hearing and Listening One aspect through which miscommunication can arise is the difference between listening and hearing. People hear or perceive sounds the sender is trying to transmit. However, we have to listen and reflect to understand the message.Hearing can be defined as attending to the sounds which come to the receiver at certain frequencies and intensities. Thus, the receiver cannot influence hearing but avoid listening since this is a higher cognitive proc ess under the receiver’s control (Truax 2000: 20). There are three levels of listening attention. One of them is ‘listening in search’ which is listening at its most active. It involves a conscious search of the environment for cues. Detail is of the greatest importance for this kind of listening.The listener needs the ability to focus on one sound to the exclusion. That means that in a noisy environment, the listener has to focus on the sound the speaker is producing and not on the background noises. The second level is ‘listening in readiness’. This depends on associations being built up over time so that the sounds are familiar to the listener. Consequently, they can be identified even by background processing in the brain. So, for example a mother does not wake up when trains are passing by but when she hears her baby crying.The last form of listening attention is ‘background listening’. That means that people are aware of sounds tha t are not important for getting the message so that they do not listen. One reason for this is that they are usual occurrences and therefore expected and predictable so that people do not listen to them actively (Truax 2000: 19-22). The more of these sounds are perceived, the more miscommunication is possible since an increase in the noise level means more psychological tress, greater fatigue and consequently an increase in performance errors on account of the extra load of information processing when the brain has to shut out noise (Truax 2000: 19). Thus, miscommunication can arise involuntarily when people do not distinguish between hearing and listening or lack the skill of listening in readiness, for example. If somebody lacks that skill, he cannot distinguish between important or less important sounds so that an overload of sounds is possible. So people maybe do not hear a letter, a word or a sentence. Slips of the ear can also happen when you lack concentration.However, it is also possible to tune somebody out because you do not like the person or since you are bored or tired (Myres/Myres 1992: 139). Another problem that can arise in communication is that immediately after people have listened to a person talking, they tend to remember only about half of what they heard, no matter how hard they thought they were listening (Myres/Myres 1992: 138). Furthermore, the association one has to a sound can differ. That means that the listener does not associate the same meaning to a sound as the speaker does.So a reason for the loss of information or the understanding of wrong information are for instance highly redundant and basically uninteresting sounds that are perceived and do not encourage sensitive listening since they seem irrelevant for the listener. This can described as a listener- based and interactional- related problem. Consequently, problems can arise when the listener concentrates on background noises, when he thinks sounds are redundant or when h e lacks concentration or listening skills. There are also problems on the phonological and prosodic level that lead to miscommunication with which we want to deal later.The problems or types of miscommunication mentioned above are listener based, the last one is based on an interactional and a listener problem. However, miscommunication can also emerge through problems in the channel, during the interaction or on the sender’s side at which we want to have a look now. 3. 2. Channel- based and interactional- related miscommunication The main channel- based problem that influences the communication process negatively is noise. If there is too much noise in the background, the listener often perceives only bits of what the sender is talking about.Consequently, the brain tries to restore the missing segments by top-down contextual prediction (Clark/Yallop 1996: 318). What kind of misunderstanding arises, that means if it is based on prosodic or phonological aspects, depends on the missing segments. Another problem that may arise, is the overlap of turns meaning that for example two people are talking at the same time caused by problems in turn taking. Thus, the speaker A cannot concentrate on the sounds the other speaker (speaker B) is producing and does not understand passages of his speech. This can be categorized as channel and interactional-related miscommunication.To avoid misunderstandings or miscommunication it is necessary that sender and receiver establish a common ground. The speaker wants to know if he has succeeded in transmitting the message and waits for evidence that the listener has to give by asking a question or using continuing contributions like ‘yes’, ‘uhuh’ or ‘I see’. If miscommunication arises at this point, it can be categorized as an interactional problem. 3. 3. Sender and receiver related miscommunication Miscommunication is always a problem that arises either on the speaker’s side or o n the listener’s side.If there are channel problems, the misunderstanding comes up at the listener’s side. However, the sender’s pronunciation can also be a reason for miscommunication, for example when he stutters, does not pronounce the word correctly or clearly and does not stress correctly etc. Regarding these kind of problems, we distinguish between two categories of problems, prosodic and phonological ones. 3. 3. 1 Prosodic problems Prosodic problems are â€Å"Abweichungen in der Realisierung segmentubergreifender bzw. suprasegmentaler Eigenschaften lautsprachlicher Au? erungenâ€Å" (Grasegger 2004: 78).That includes problems or dysfunctions of pitch, volume and intonation that influence the intonation of a sentence and consequently its meaning. Prosodic problems influence the perception negatively and lead to incomprehensibility. Problems that can lead to misunderstandings are stuttering and variations in pitch and accentuation (Grasegger 2004: 78-79). Miscommunication can arise when people do not detect the right word boundary. For example, when a word is spread over a strong and a following weak syllable, listeners tend to divide the former syllable at the onset of the second strong syllable.Englishmen often tend to insert boundaries before strong syllables or leave boundaries between weak syllables out (Cutler/Dahan/Donselaar 1997:146). The reason why such miscommunication emerges is that strong syllables often signal the onset of lexical words (ebd. ). But the â€Å"strong weak distinction is primarily based on a segmental property, vowel quality, rather than on a stress distinction (Cutler/Dahan/Donselaar 1997: 148). However, not every language makes the same distinctions between strong and weak syllables (ebd. ). Whereas the rhythm of English sentences in stress-timed, French sentences are syllable-timed.As the segmentation procedures are part of the â€Å"processing repertoire† (Cutler/Dahan/Donselaar 1997: 148) of the listener, an Englishman and a Frenchman talking can produce miscommunication by applying their strategies to detect word boundaries (vgl. Cutler/Dahan/Donselaar 1997: 148). Furthermore, miscommunication can arise when a listener does not perceive the stress of some words, it is possible that he does not interpret the meaning correctly, for example in the vocal quality distinction (Cutler/Dahan/Donselaar 1997: 155).If the receiver does not get the sentence accents or the intonation, he probably does not know if it was a question or an order or, taking the sentence ’Er ist nicht einmal gekommen’ (vgl Grasegger 2004: 78), if he did not come or if he came several times. A misunderstanding can also come up when the speaker does not stress correctly. Usually, the listener who does not get the right words does not ask but adds the rest of the sentence so that a misunderstanding can arise. 3. 3. 2 Phonological problems Phonological problems are phonetic deviations on the word level.That does not include the pronunciations, the phonetics, but the wrong choice and order of elements a word, for example. We distinguish between paradigmatic problems and syntagmatic problems. Paradigmatic problems include the choice of the wrong elements, syntagmatic ones the wrong sequence or order of elements. The latter could be that people understand ‘papel’ instead of ‘apple’. An example for a paradigmatic problem understanding the word ‘Jacoc’ instead of ‘Jacob’ (Grasegger 2004: 123). Additionally, there are four different types of phonological problems: elision, addition, metathesis, substitution.Elision means that the speaker leaves out segments of a word or a whole syllable. In general one omits syllables that are not stressed. An example for an elision is saying and/or understanding nana instead of banana. Normally consonants are left out, in general the last consonant of a word like street which becomes stree. Addition means that the speaker or listener adds a consonant or a vocal so that apple becomes papple, zebra zebera or Tablett Tablette (Fromkin 1980: 35-36). It is also possible that you have an elision and an addition in a word or that you double a syllable.A metathesis is a problem in sequencing so that the speaker exchanges syllables or puts them the other way round. So Blatt is Balt or ‘fork’ ‘frok’. The last type of phonological problems, the substitution, means that the speaker has the same number of syllables but replaces one syllable by a different one. It is often replaced by another syllable that sounds similar like ‘Jacoc’ and ‘Jacob’. It is also possible to leave something out and replace a syllable or a letter (Grasegger 2004: 123-127; Fromkin 1980: 47).The first segments in a word and the first syllables are more likely to be affected by speech errors since they are more focused on during speech production (Fromkin 1 980: 48). According to Clark/ Yallop 1996, errors on the level of a syllable are detected far more readily than segment errors (Clark/Yallop 1996: 319). When the listener does not perceive one syllable, the brain tries to replace the missing syllable by a segment that could fit (vgl. Clark/Yallop 1996: 318). However, these processing in the brain might fail, especially when the words sound similar.Another aspect that can lead to miscommunication are these homophones. They are a type of lexical ambiguity, â€Å"homonyme Ausdrucke verfugen uber identische Aussprache bei unterschiedlicher Orthographie und Bedeutung† (Bu? mann 2002: 284) like ‚their’ and ‚they’re’. Consequently, misunderstandings can easily come up when for example the context is unclear and the word the speaker used sound similar but has a different meaning. This kind of miscommunication can also be categorized as message-related miscommunication.These problems can be listener-ba sed so that not the speaker changes elements of a word but the listener understands the wrong elements, for example because there were also channel problems or he did not listen or sender-based because of slips of the tongue, for example. 4. Analysis of miscommunication In the following chapter we are going to analyse some misunderstandings according to the features we have listed above. For the collection of data I used the diary method and searched in the internet. One example is taken from the internet, another one is a situation I experienced during the last weeks.The last example was originally broadcast on television some years ago that I remembered and wrote down. By analysing the examples of miscommunication, we want to come up with some possibilities how the misunderstanding could have emerged. 4. 1. A phonological problem The first misunderstanding is a situation I experienced some weeks ago. It took place on the dance floor during a training unit so that there was much ba ckground noise (people talking and music). The sender arrives and tells that he never wants to do it again with Korten, which is the last name of an absent person.M: Das mache ich nie wieder mit dem Korten! A: Was machst du nicht mehr mit dem Korken? This misunderstanding can be categorized as a phonetical miscommunication. The words Korten and Korken, that means [t] and [k], are a minimal pair since they have a distinctive function and change the meaning of the word. The misunderstanding is based on a paradigmatic problem, the choice of the wrong element, sound, in the word. The listener substituted the letter [t] by the letter[k]. One possibility how the misunderstanding could have arisen is in the channel.On account of music and loud voices in the background, the receiver had to listen in search but could not understand the whole sentence because of the extra load of processing in the brain or a lack of concentration. Probably she only got the first passage of the word and the la st syllable was added through brain processing as Korten and Korken only differ in one sound. Furthermore, the context was missing. M arrived and started the sentence with the word â€Å"das† which normally refers to something that had been said before. In this example a reference was missing because this word was used at the beginning of the communication.Additionally, the person â€Å"Korten† M was talking about was absent so that the listener did not expect M to talk about him in this context. M also used an article to refer to a person what you normally do not do in the German language unless you are speaking a dialect. So we can categorize this miscommunication mainly as acoustic misunderstanding which is based on substitution of a consonant and probably came up on account of a channel problem. 4. 2. Hearing and Listening This example was taken from the internet. It is a telephone call an old woman made to the police because she wanted to know if there was a thund erstorm in Neuss. 1)P (police): Hallo? (2)W(woman): hallo? (3)P: Hallo, hier ist die Polizei (4)W: Hallo, ich kann gar nichts verstehen! (5)P: Ne? Dann mussen Sie mal richtig zuhoren! (6)W: Ich wollte fragen, aah, wo die Nacht das Gewitter war. (7)P: Das†¦war uber Bochum. (8)W: Was?! (9)P: Uber Bochum? (10)W: Saarbrucken? (11)P: Auch (speaks up) (12)W: Wo denn? (13)P: Wo solls denn hin? (14)W: Was? (15)P: Wo das Gewitter denn hin soll? (16)W: Wo das gewesen ist? (17)P: In Deutschland (18)W: Ich hab’ Sie jetzt aber nich verstanden, wirklich nich, sind Sie mir nich bose! (19)P: Ne, bin ich nicht (20)W: Wo war das denn? 21)P: Uberall! (22)W: Uberall? (23)P: Ja, †¦ und das war nass. (24)W: bass (25)P: Nass! (26)W: †¦. Ist denn viel passiert? (27)P: Nein. (28)W: Viel passiert? (29)P: Nein! (30)W: Nein? (31)P: Nein. (32)W: Nein,†¦ Ja, entschuldigen Sie bitte, ich bin 99 Jahre alt und ich hab’ eine Tochter in Dusseldorf, in Neuss wohnen und ich hab’ noch nix gehort. (33)P: Da war nichts. (34)W: Was? (35)P: In Neuss war nichts! (36)W: Da was es? (37)P: Nein! (38)W: Nein? (39)P: Nein, in Neuss kein Gewitter. (40)W: Gewitter? (41)P: Nein! (42)W: War da das Gewitter? (43)P: Nein! (44)W: Nein? Ich hab’ kein Wort verstanden!Ich habe extra an die Polizei gewandt, dass ich Antwort krieg! (45)P (schreit): Ja, da war kein Gewitter! (46)W: Was? Bitter? (47)P: Da war kein Gewitter (48)W: Gewitter? Wo? (49)P (lacht) (50)W: Hier? (51)P: Nein! W legt auf. (source: www. radiopannen. de) In general, this miscommunication seems to be listener and channel- based. However, there are several factors that lead to this miscommunication. Concerning the channel, the woman probably does not hear very well because she is already old. We can suppose this because she always asks ‘was? ’ and says ‘ Ich hab’ kein Wort verstanden’.She was also nervous, because she had not heard of her daughter, what could influence the listening process. In addition to this fact, the telephone connection was bad and crackling in the wire could be heard. Perhaps the woman also lacked the skill or concentration for listening in search. In line 47 and 48 the woman did not listen to the beginning of the sentence and just paid attention when the man was talking about the thunderstorm where she was interested in. Obviously, she applied the wrong strategy, listening in readiness so that she heard what he was saying but only recognized the word ‘Gewitter’.The same can also be supposed for line 35 and 36. Moreover, we also have some misunderstandings that are based on prosodic and phonological problems as in line 39 and 40. Here we have a prosodic problem. The woman did not get that the police officer stressed the word ‘kein’, so that she thought there was a thunderstorm. In line 24 the woman understands ‘bass’ instead of ‘nass’. This is a paradigmatic problem that is ba sed on the substitution of [n] by [b] because they are minimal pairs and the words sound similar.In line 45 and 46 she understands ‘bitter’ instead of Gewitter. Here she is not able to define the right boundary because the stress of ‘bitter’ and ‘Gewitter’ is on the last syllable. Furthermore, we have an elision of the letters [g] and [e] and a substitution. [w] is replaced by [b]. Concerning the misunderstanding in line 9 and 10 where the woman understands Saarbrucken instead of Bochum, we have to guess that this arose because she could not understand the word on account of channel problems and ‘Bochum’ was replaced by another town in brain processing.So we can conclude that this miscommunication is based on various kinds of misunderstandings that are probably mainly influenced by channel problems such as a bad connection and an old person who is hard of hearing and maybe also lacks listening skills. 4. 3. Prosody and homophones T he following example for miscommunication was broadcast on television in 1959. A reporter called Heinz Maegerlein talking about sports pronounced the sentence: Maegerlein: Tausende standen an den Hangen und Pisten which was interpreted by the spectators as: Tausende standen an den Hangen und pissten. vgl. http://de. wikipedia. org/wiki/Heinz_Maegerlein) This misunderstanding can be interpreted as a message-related, listener or speaker-based miscommunication. It is a prosodic and phonological problem. As the words ‘Pisten’ and ‘pissten’ are homophones, the spectators added an ‘s’ to the word so that it also becomes a paradigmatic problem. On account of the words being homophones, the misunderstanding is message- related. That is why the speaker has to put the emphasize on the right syllables and the pauses in the right position. Therefore, we also have a prosodic problem here.Either the speaker must have put a wrong stress on the words or the sp ectators did not get the right intonation. To get the message across correctly, the speaker is not allowed to make a pause after ‘Hangen’ (Tausende standen an den Hangen [†¦] und Pisten) since it would emphasize ‘und Pisten’. Thus, as the words are homophones and therefore intonation very important, it seems that the problem is primarily a prosodic one, since the speaker has to try to get the right meaning across. 5. Conclusion Thus, we can conclude that most of the miscommunication happens on account of problems in the auditory channel.According to Fromkin 1980 about 60% of all misunderstandings are based on slips of the ear and 60% result in nonwords (Fromkin 1980: 6). These misunderstandings can come up on the listener’s side as slip of the ear because he does not listen, he lacks listening skills, does not concentrate, or on account of a mistake in brain processing. As the listener did not get an aspect of the communication, the brain search es words that sound similar. Miscommunication can also arise on account of channel problems like noise, interactional problems or message- related problems like homophones.Furthermore, the communication can be influenced negatively through slips of the tongue produced by the speaker. Consequently, the listener replaces the target segment by other segments of the same level of description so that other words with different meanings or nonwords come up. Parts of words, sentences or syllables can also be left out or the place can be changed. Additionally, problems in prosody can influence the meaning of the sentence as wrong intonation makes the definition of word boundaries more difficult to the listener. .Bibliography Bu? mann, Hadumod (2002): Lexikon der Sprachwissenschaft. Stuttgart: Kroner Verlag. Chandler, Daniel (o. A. ): The Transmission Model of Communication. http://www. aber. ac. uk/media/Documents/short/trans. html. Abgefragt am 25. 10. 2006. 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