Situated Ethos in Rhetoric

Situated Ethos in Rhetoric In classical rhetoric, situated ethos is a type of  proof that  relies primarily on a speakers reputation within his or her community. Also called prior or  acquired ethos. In contrast to invented ethos  (which is projected by the rhetor during the course of the  speech  itself), situated ethos is based on the rhetors public image, social status, and perceived moral character. An unfavorable [situated] ethos will hamper the effectiveness of a speaker, notes James Andrews, whereas a favorable ethos may well be the single most potent force in promoting successful persuasion (A Choice of Worlds). Examples and Observations Situated ethos is  a function of a speakers reputation or standing in a specific community or context. For example, a physician will have a certain credibility not only in a professional setting, such as a hospital but also in the community at large because of the social standing of medical doctors.(Robert P. Yagelski,  Writing: Ten Core Concepts. Cengage, 2015)Situated ethos can be enhanced over time  by building up a reputation that is tied to a particular discourse community; as Halloran (1982) explained its use in the classical tradition, to have ethos is to manifest the virtues most valued by the culture to and for which one speaks (p. 60).(Wendi Sierra and Doug Eyman, I Rolled the Dice With Trade Chat  and This Is What I Got.  Online Credibility and Digital Ethos, ed. by Moe Folk and Shawn Apostel. IGI Global, 2013)Richard Nixons depreciated ethos- For a public figure like [Richard] Nixon, the task of the artful persuader is not to contradict the impressions people al ready have of him but to supplement these impressions with other, favorable ones.(Michael S. Kochin,  Five Chapters on Rhetoric: Character, Action, Things, Nothing, and Art. Penn State Press, 2009)- In rhetorical interaction, no particular is more consequential than  ethos. Depreciated  ethos, for instance, can be disastrous. A prompt and forthright response by Richard Nixon  to facts of the Watergate incident might have saved his presidency. His evasions and other defensive acts only weakened his position. . . . Behavior that is perceptively  evasive, uncaring, self-abasing, spiteful, envious, abusive, and tyrannical, etc, contributes to tarnished credibility; with mature audiences, it returns only rhetorical loss. (Harold Barrett,  Rhetoric and Civility: Human Development, Narcissism, and the Good Audience. State University of New York Press, 1991) Situated ethos in Roman rhetoric- Aristotles conception of an [invented] ethos portrayed only through the medium of a speech was, for the Roman orator, neither acceptable nor adequate. [The Romans believed that character was] bestowed or inherited by nature, [and that] in most cases character remains constant from generation to generation of the same family.(James M. May, Trials of Character: The Eloquence of Ciceronian Ethos, 1988)- According to Quintilian, Roman rhetoricians who relied on Greek rhetorical theory sometimes confused ethos with pathosappeals to the emotionsbecause there was no satisfactory term for ethos in Latin. Cicero occasionally used the Latin term persona), and Quintilian simply borrowed the Greek term. This lack of a technical term is not surprising, because the requirement of having a respectable character was built into the very fabric of Roman oratory. Early Roman society was governed by means of family authority, and so a persons lineage had everything to d o with what sort of ethos he could command when he took part in public affairs. The older and more respected the family, the more discursive authority its members enjoyed.(Sharon Crowley and Debra Hawhee, Ancient Rhetorics for Contemporary Students, 3rd edition, Pearson, 2004) Kenneth Burke on ethos and identificationYou persuade a man only insofar as you can talk his language by speech, gesture, tonality, order, image, attitude, idea, identifying your ways with his. Persuasion by flattery is but a special case of persuasion in general. But flattery can safely serve as our paradigm if we systematically widen its meaning, to see behind it the conditions of identification or consubstantiality in general.(Kenneth Burke, The Rhetoric of Motives, 1950)

Essay Sample on Happiness What Does It Mean for You

Essay Sample on Happiness What Does It Mean for You Have you ever questioned yourself whether you are happy of not? What does it mean to you? Happiness is a state of inside being of each person and comes from different sources depending on the desires and kind of personality. The scientists all over the world have done good deal of research, philosophers and writers have written thousands of books on this topic in order to describe this state. But the topic is still open to questions and discussions. This fact means that happiness is important and integral part of out life. During our existence, we as humankind created plenty of origins of happiness such as class, wealth, social position, family, level of intelligence and race. We also cherish and adore a huge variety of things and conditions that permanently bring happiness to us. Such as money, feelings, physical pleasures, relationships with others, sports, music, art cause happiness. The list is as endless as the list of our unpredicted and odd desires, as the list of personalities that exist in our modern globalized society. Imagine just one day from your life. How many bagatelles make you feel happy and vice versa? The felling of happiness is built on little things that are taken from our surrounding world, from our everyday life. And this condition greatly depends on a personality, his or her needs, wants, worldview and imagination. Each person is unique, what makes one happy may be absolutely hated by another. But as a rule we all strive to be happy. Ruut Veenhoven first conclusion is that happiness is not relative or dependent on a purely subjective outlook, as some theories posit. Indeed, happiness can be rather accurately predicted on the basis of the objective liveability of the society in which the individual lives, and on the basis of his or her personal profile.(Veenhoven 34) In general, happiness is an emotional state that people try to reach through the life. We study, look for a good and interesting job, marry, have kids to achieve needed state. But it is exceedingly important to know what makes us happy and what we need in this colorful and bright life. So to decide what to do and how to live is much easier. People are happy when they are in control, that is, when they feel competent to satisfy their needs and reach their goals (F. Heylighen) Sometimes people have to even struggle a lot in order to understand what happiness is like. And only through suffering and physiological pain they can realize what kind of feeling happiness is. â€Å"Pain now is part of the happiness later†. (Shadowlands)

Assess the arguments for and against the claim the American news media Essay

Assess the arguments for and against the claim the American news media is inherently biased in favour of liberalism - Essay Example On the other side of the coin, it is possible that the media may have a liberal bias and since liberals get what they want to see that is why liberals are least likely to raise their voice against media bias in United States. This paper is an attempt to explore the same by assessing the arguments presented by critics, which are both for and against a liberal bias in the American news media (Anderson, pp. 62-68, 2005). Media bias refers to â€Å"perceived attribute of a news source whereby the individual news source, or the group the news source represents, has a clear ‘vested interest’ in a cause or action relative to maintaining or changing the status quo? (And) a biased journalistic perspective, then, would mean only one side, not two or more sides, of an issue is presented† (Alterman, pp. 210-212, 2004). Critics favoring the existence of a liberal bias present many studies which reveal that there are far more democrat journalists as compared to republican journalists. For example, a study conducted in 1999 by the American Society of Newspaper editors revealed that 61 percent of the newsroom respondents identified themselves as democrats or their thoughts bear the most resemblance to that of democrats. However, only a mere 10 percent of newsroom respondents identified that they either are republicans or believe that their thoughts are represented by the republican ideals. Furthermore, these percentages change when one considers the small newspapers. The number of democratic supporters’ drops down to 48 percent and the number for republicans rise to 21 percent. This debate received more heat when the figures of the amounts donated to democratic and republican party from the employees of NBC, CBS and ABC came on to the scene. The Democratic Party received the donations of over 1 million US dollars from approximately 1160

Comparitive politics Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparitive politics - Article Example Since North Korea has involved itself openly with the induction of nuclear weapons within its arsenal, the people living within the country are thought to be of evil nature and thus a sense of ethnic nationalism has come about with the passage of time as far as North Korea and North Koreans is concerned. Now the same could be avoided if the country faces these kinds of challenges in a head on manner and look to satisfy the world demands in a much more proactive manner than it is carrying out at the present. What this will do is to give a positive image to the world that North Korea is ready and geared up for the challenges ahead and there are not any ethnic nationalistic issues attached with the country in the long run. The challenges that globalization brings with it is that the localized flavor of the country or region is starting to get marred as more and more foreign outlets of expression, work and ethical values are initiating. What this is in essence doing is to pose a marked difference in the thinking mindsets of the people who are related with the globalization regimes as well as the ones who are being brought under the hold of the great globalization debate. China is one such example that has experienced the direct results of globalization since Chinese products have invaded the world markets by storm. They have targeted the South Asian countries in a very attacking manner and the result is that the Chinese authorities the reaping the rich dividends by going global rather than manufacturing for the local Chinese markets. This has opened up their revenue quarters and now the Chinese are thinking global more than ever before. (Kohler, 2003) They have nearly captured all the market domains wi thin South Asia through their strategic planning and it would not be wrong before they make their mark on the global front in a very attacking way. In the coming decades, globalization will shrink the world even further and there would be more opportunities to grow and explore what is on offer or sale for the different markets of the world. This is a fact that the new world order has brought with it and it is here to stay. Similarly, there has been a general perception that globalization means taking jobs away from a region. This is indeed true from a rational standpoint as when company shifts around 100 jobs to Indians, the same number of natives lose their jobs. The offshore movement of jobs has become an issue not only in travel but also in other industries. Two such nations which stand out in this scenario are India and the Philippines that appear to be the most popular locations for setting up call centers as these countries bid a lagoon of cultivated, scholarly English-speaking personnel who will do the same amount of work for much less money. References KOHLER, Horst. (2003). The Challenges of Globalization and the Role of the IMF. International Monetary Fund Word Count:

Comment of the effectiveness to the novel Essay Example for Free

Comment of the effectiveness to the novel Essay There are many stories conveyed in chapter 3, some stories are more prominent than others. The most obvious story is that of Joes, as he is the narrator of the novel. Joes story follows one that is direct to his perception. This presents the reader with a biased account of what happened, and each characters behaviour as it is based primarily on Joes interpretation. Following on from this idea , there is a sense of scepticism introduced into the readers mind, it casts seeds of doubt on the story Joe is telling, it makes it seem distorted through Joe. In chapter 3 the reader is introduced to a primitive, or selfish aspect to Joes nature, this is presented through the referral to Joes needs, not Clarissas or anyone elses but simply Joes, I couldnt yet bear to talk about it. Through Joes story many others are told, those of his past and the present and these stories engulf the reader into how McEwan incorporates characters, informs of their life and background, while doing this creatively, subtly. Joe tells a story of his past, a story of humiliation and nervousness, this story is full of emotions, it re-emphasises the detachment Joe has made from his emotions over the years, or rather that if an event occurs at the present, emotions are stripped away from it, until it becomes bearable, and therefore in the past. Clarissa has been in the background of the story, only becoming important through Joes thoughts, now however she becomes a focal point in chapter 3. This is captured in the commentary or Joe and Clarissa throughout the duration of the chapter, Joe is the narrator, therefore the other crux of the chapter is clearly Clarissa. Clarissa is described to be doing the necessary practical things at the beginning of this chapter, as is Joe, such as they are doing jobs that must be done when returning home, Clarissa carried her luggage into the bedroom . Joe initially separates his story from Clarissas, giving her more focus and also detachment from him, his guilt and therefore emotions. Clarissa is portrayed from the opening of the novel to be a character able to feel and understand her emotions, contrastingly to Joes nature. Clarissa is a character who forms attachments, due to her emotional and caring attributes, that exist as part of her. Clarissa is haunted by the tragedy that she cannot have children, this provides the reader with a sense of sympathy for Clarissa, it also uncovers another element of Clarissas background. This can be transferred to the way in which Clarissa focuses on the death of Logan, and his children being left alone. This element of the novel creates scepticism for both Joe and Clarissa, The reader doubts Joes ability to be unbiased, while the reader is sceptical of Clarissas ability to control and segment her emotions, what is extended in this idea is that Clarissa blames Joe for her inability to have children, she resents him for not giving her the one thing that lingers in her mind, the one thing the two of them together cannot overcome. This is depicted in the novel through the repetition and reference to Logan being a good man, He had children of his own, He wouldnt let go. This phrase used by McEwan can infer that Clarissa thinks Joe is not a good man because he let go of the rope, and this is due to him not having an emotional attachment to children, as they cannot have any together. Within the two main stories, that are Joe and Clarissas there come sub-stories, tales that reiterate and construct experiences for the characters. Within Joes story we receive Clarissas but also Jeds. Jed is depicted as that of a manipulative yet religious man, although in chapter 3 the reader is only building knowledge of him, it is clear that Jed ultimately indulges a new story. Cotrastingly Clarissa brings in the story of a friend, someone she knows and trusts, Majorie becomes introduced to the story as a friend of Clarissas who lost a young baby through a bacterial infection, while this increases the wealther of knowledge of Clarissa, it also provides the information of Majorie. The combination of Joe and clarissas stories result in background tales of Logan, and his family. While they also divulege into their past, their experiences, Joes interlude of playing a trumpet on stage, a story of humiliation and embarrassment. Clarissas story of conern, anticipation and childhood naivety developed through the channel of a girl going missing whilst on holiday.

Incorporating Farmers Knowledge in International Rice Research Essay

Incorporating Farmers' Knowledge in International Rice Research The longevity of many cultures can be attributed to their adherence to tradition, specifically subsistence practices. More likely than not, trying to push modern technology into these cultures will only result in disaster. Such is the case with the Green Revolution and the rice situation Stephen Lansing covered in The Balinese. It simply does not seem logical to disrupt traditional practices that have supported a culture for so long. There is a reason certain practices have been around for so long and that is because they work the best for certain people in certain locations. Sam Fujisaka supports this notion which is the basis for his article "Incorporating Farmers' Knowledge in International Rice Research." Fujiska's article describes his research done examining traditional farming techniques of the Claveria people of the Southern Philippines, so that their methods of rice farming may be used to improve research of agriculture. This article sets a good example for researchers of more developed countries who study such indigenous cultures. Rather than trying to see which modern technology from the "outside world" will best help these cultures, Fujisaka attempts to learn from these cultures' traditional methods to help improve the farming industry. Fujisaka's study of rice farming in the Philippines is much like Lansing's study in Bali, in that both cultures rely heavily on rice farming and both cultures suffered much the same from the effects of the Green Revolution. Thus, finding what improvements need to be made and how, is an important task that could help many people. Fujisaka began exploring these improvements by interviewing local Clave... ...ys best for everyone. This is a point that is necessary for people (specifically anthropologists) to bring into the light when dealing with other cultures. Understanding as much as possible about a culture is essential before attempting to get involved with their lives and, as Fujisaka shows, before getting their lives involved in others. He concludes "that the knowledge of farmers can be used first to identify and prioritise research issues" (139), and considering the respect for these cultures with which he conducted his research, Fujisaka's study can be considered more sound than most. References Fujisaka, Sam. "Incorporating Farmers' Knowledge in International Rice Research." The Cultural Dimension of Development: IndigenousKnowledge Systems. Ed. Warren, D. Michael et al. 1995 124-139. Lansing, J. Stephen. The Balinese Fort Worth: Harcourt, 1995.

Plagiarism in Higher Education Essay

Al Ain Women’s College, Higher Colleges of Technology, Al Ain, United Arab Emirates Abstract Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to investigate the impact of the modern information society on attitudes and approaches to the prevention of plagiarism and to examine a less punitive, more educative model. Design/methodology/approach – The approach taken is a literature review of plagiarism in contemporary society followed by a case study of the education department of a tertiary-level college in the United Arab Emirates. Findings – The authors advocate a move towards a less punitive, more educative approach which takes into account all the relevant contextual factors. A call is made for a truly institutional response to a shared concern, with comprehensive and appropriate policies and guidelines which focus on prevention, the development of student skills, and the proactive involvement of all relevant stakeholders. Practical implications – This approach could inform the policies and practices of institutions who wish to systematically deal with plagiarism in other contemporary contexts. Originality/value – This paper could be of value to policy makers and administrators in tertiary institutions, particularly in English as a second language contexts, who recognise the limitations of traditional approaches to plagiarism and wish to establish more effective practices. Keywords Copyright law, Information society, Dishonesty, United Arab Emirates Paper type Literature review Plagiarism in political discourse Politicians, more than anyone else, need to portray an image of integrity, honesty, and independent thought. Their election, their livelihood, and the fate of their constituents would seem to depend on it. Yet politicians commonly use speechwriters who have the speci? c task of conveying their thoughts, personality, and personal sincerity (see for example, Philp, 2009). It may be argued that although politicians do not necessarily write the words themselves, they endorse the words they use. But what if the words themselves are not original? In one instance, the presidential candidate Barack Obama was confronted by the fact that some of his speeches had taken material from Deval Patrick, the Massachusetts Governor. Obama admitted he should have acknowledged his source: Education, Business and Society: Contemporary Middle Eastern Issues Vol. 3 No. 3, 2010 pp. 166-177 q Emerald Group Publishing Limited 1753-7983 DOI 10. 1108/17537981011070082 I was on the stump. [Deval] had suggested that we use these lines and I thought they were good lines [. . . ] I’m sure I should have – didn’t this time [. . . ] I really don’t think this is too big of a deal (Obama cited in Whitesides, 2008). Published by kind permission of HCT Press. Plagiarism has been de? ned as â€Å"the unacknowledged use of someone else’s work [. . . ] and passing it off as if it were one’s own† (Park, 2004, p.292) and it is interesting to speculate whether such an excuse would be accepted from a student by an educational institution’s plagiarism committee. Accusations of plagiarism in politics have been made before, of course, though the outcomes were often different, suggesting that a shift may be taking place in attitudes towards plagiarism in politics. In 1987, another presidential hopeful was forced to abandon his ambitions for high of? ce largely because he had plagiarised a speech by the British politician Neil Kinnock and because of â€Å"a serious plagiarism incident† in his law school years (Sabato, 1998). Ironically, the candidate was none other than Joe Biden, the man chosen by Obama to be his Vice President. In politics today, it seems as though plagiarism no longer signals the end of a career. In contrast, students who are caught cheating or plagiarising can be subject to sanctions and consequences that are severely life impacting, which in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) can include permanent exclusion from all tertiary education (see for example, Higher Colleges of Technology (HCT), 2008). One question of fundamental concern that we must ask ourselves as tertiary-level educators is why college students, who have much less at stake, considerably less experience and knowledge and who do not use English as their ? rst language, should be held to higher standards of responsibility in communication than those in the highest political of? ces? Yet, if we make allowances for students who are still learning to orientate themselves in academic discourse, what standards should be applied? Plagiarism in a complex information society The concept of plagiarism is a relatively new cultural phenomenon. Greek philosophers regularly appropriated material from earlier works without compunction, and originality was considered less important than imitating, often orally, the great works of their predecessors (Lackie and D’Angelo-Long, 2004, p. 37). All the way through the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the study of rhetoric rather than written language was often the norm, with students required to give public speeches to assembled faculty. Only the subsequent move towards written assignments brought with it new perceptions of student plagiarism (Simmons, 1999, p. 41). Around the same time, in the earlier part of the twentieth century, the formalization of citation styles from organizations such as the American Psychological Association marked a desire to standardise academic writing and provide a model for ethically quoting the work of others (Simmons, 1999, p. 42). With the rise of the information society and electronic media, another cultural shift seems to be underway. There have been recent suggestions that plagiarism is becoming more prevalent, and much of the blame has been placed on â€Å"nearly universal access to the Internet† (Scanlon and Neumann, 2002, p. 374). Park (2004, p. 293) refers to the ease of â€Å"copying [. . . ] in a digital world of computers, word processing, electronic sources and the Internet. † However, the explosion of electronic sources of information has not just made copying easier, it has also made it much more central to our students’ cultural and social experiences. Students going into tertiary education have grown up with the internet and are at home with downloading â€Å"free† ? lms, sharing music and modifying and emailing all kinds of material taken from the web. They have developed highly skilled ways of conducting non-academic research using  services such as search engines, social networking sites, podcasts, RSS feeds, discussion boards, etc. with Dealing with plagiarism 167 EBS 3,3 168 hyperlinks allowing them to jump from site to site as though the internet were a single-uni? ed source, and with copying and pasting a mainstay of interaction. They take it for granted that a pop star such as will. i. am can pick up and rework virtually the entire content of a political speech, and turn it into the award winning song and music video Yes we can, apparently without Obama’s knowledge or consent ((The) ABC News, 2008). They are not surprised when this video is then embedded in countless webpages, with the lyrics of the song posted on music sites without any attribution of the original source (see for example, LyricsReg, n. d). This intertextuality is a perfect example of the â€Å"postmodern, self-cannibalizing popular culture† (Bowman, 2004, p. 8) that our students now engage with on a daily basis. Students may well bring to the classroom very different ideas from their teachers about what constitutes fair use. Indeed, one study of 2,600 tertiary-level students in the UAE found that just over 40 percent considered cutting and pasting from the internet as either trivial cheating or not cheating at all. The attitudes of UAE students are similar to those of other students around the world (Croucher, 2009). Some theorists have gone a step further and argue that as the new media become more interactive and collaborative, it calls into question the whole idea of a â€Å"creative, original, individual who, as an autonomous scholar, presents his/her work to the public in his/her own name† (Scollon, 1995, p.1). The multiple contributors to Wikipedia pages is a clear example of how a collaborative process undermines our sense of authorship. In addition, the notion of what constitutes â€Å"fair use† is changing quickly. This is exempli? ed by the open source movement where material can be downloaded, modi? ed, and shared with minimal and strictly controlled author’s rights (See for example, Open Source Initiative, n. d). As Blum (2009) notes, the â€Å"rules about intellectual property are in ? ux. † Where does this leave educators? Has plagiarism become an irrelevant concept, too outdated in its de? nition to be of use in the production of educated professionals ready to take their place in our post-modern society? Do we have to accept Johnson’s (2007) argument that in the digital age, writing an original essay outside of class for assessment purposes is no longer viable in its current form because of the ease of copying from the internet? Do we have to agree with him when he says such tasks are no longer even relevant because they fail to re? ect the modern workplace? As Johnson argues: My transfer from education to the world of business has reminded me just how important it is to be able to synthesize content from multiple sources, put structure around it and edit it into a coherent, single-voiced whole. Students who are able to create convincing amalgamations have gained a valuable business skill. Unfortunately, most schools fail to recognize that any skills have been used at all, and an entire paper can be discarded because of a few lines repeated from another source without quotation marks. Plagiarism in education Plagiarism in education seems to operate under a very different set of rules from the pragmatic ? elds of politics or business and can create emotional responses that deploy highly charged metaphors such as The Plagiarism Plague (Bowman, 2004) or â€Å"Winning hearts and minds in war on plagiarism† (Jaschik, 2008). In education, plagiarism is â€Å"seen as a transgression against our common intellectual values, carrying justi? ably bad consequences for those guilty of the practice† (Isserman, 2003). Why is it generally accepted that politicians can use ghostwriters, but that students cannot, even if the stakes for the students are much lower? The critical issue for education is that plagiarism â€Å"circumvents the learning process† (Spencer, 2004, p. 16). The process of analysing and synthesizing ideas, and reformulating them in writing, is seen as central to learning. Only by ensuring that students struggle to assimilate material and develop their own voice do students go beyond surface information and develop higher order thinking skills. As Isserman (2003) notes: [.. . ] ownership over the words you use [. . . ] is really at the heart of the learning process. You can read a dozen books about the cold war, but if you can’t explain what you have learned to someone else in your own words, no real learning has taken place [. . . ] and you will have made no progress whatsoever toward realizing the central goal of a liberal-arts education: the ability to think for yourself. Dealing with plagiarism 169 This struggle for intellectual development is not easy, which is precisely the reason that makes plagiarism attractive for some students. In most cases teachers are not concerned about literary theft, but that their students are missing out on opportunities for learning because they are failing to engage with the material in a meaningful way. Plagiarism is therefore â€Å"denying them the opportunity to learn lessons, improve their study skills, and improve their knowledge and understanding† (Lancaster University, 2009, p. 3). If plagiarism is especially serious in education because it is an obstacle to learning, then we should deal with instances of plagiarism primarily from an educational perspective rather than the punitive one. Students need to learn the importance of academic integrity and understand that it is not just a hoop to be jumped through, but is integral to intellectual and personal growth. Clearly this learning process cannot be instantaneous, and allowances should be made as students develop. However, this does not mean that severe penalties should be removed from the process entirely as there will always be students who refuse or are unable to meet appropriate standards. Factors in? uencing the incidence of plagiarism Individual, pedagogical, and institutional factors can all in? uence the incidence of plagiarism. Students themselves can be impacted by a wide range of factors including their educational conditioning, cultural background, motivation, language skill, peer pressure, gender, issues with time management, ability, and even the subject being studied (Roig, 1997). If the tertiary experience is vastly different to students’ previous educational experience, the motivation for plagiarism again increases. In the UAE, it is likely, for example, that the students’ primary and secondary schooling was characterised by rote learning and the quest for a single correct answer, non-transparent and poorly conceived assessment practices, and vast social inequities within the student base, and between students and their often socially and economically disadvantaged teachers. Norms, expectations, and demands learned in this context can be dif? cult to dislodge in subsequent institutions which place a premium on the exploration of problems and solutions, independent and critical thinking skills, and academic integrity. If plagiarism is not de? ned or academic processes made explicit, then such students will ? nd it impossible to reach the standards that are suddenly and (to them) inexplicably imposed on them. Pedagogical approaches may also contribute to the prevalence of plagiarism. Current methodologies place much more emphasis on collaboration and group work, with a greater weight given to out-of-class projects and portfolios at the expense of formal exams. The result is that the line between collaboration and cheating during assessed tasks is blurred, and if this is not explicitly dealt with by assessors, it will inevitably EBS 3,3 170 result in misunderstandings as to what is acceptable. Also, students are more likely to justify cheating if the coursework or assignments they were given were too hard, poorly scaffolded, or based on unreasonable expectations of their abilities (Naidoo, 2008), and plagiarism will be made easier if the assignments are not constructed carefully so that stock answers cannot be copied from the internet (Wood, 2004). However, the institutional context plays perhaps the most critical role. For example, unclear and uncommunicated institutional policies with vague de?  nitions of plagiarism can affect the incidence of plagiarism, as can the application of those policies (McCabe et al. , 2002). Some aspects of an organization may unwittingly encourage plagiarism. For example, in contrast to schools, tertiary education institutions in the UAE do not typically award top grades to large numbers of students, and there is evidence to suggest that students justify using ghostwriters in such an environment because they believe they deserve better grades (Croucher, 2009). An often overlooked but crucial aspect of deterring and detecting plagiarism is the application of institutional policies by teachers. One survey of 800 American academics at 16 institutions found that 40 percent never reported incidents of plagiarism while a further 54 percent did so only seldomly, even though the evidence suggested they must have received plagiarised work (McCabe, 1993 cited in Schneider, 1999). There are many reasons why teachers may be reluctant to report plagiarism. Teachers may feel the potential penalties for students are too high (Auer and Krupar, 2001). They may also be wary of making false accusations which potentially undermine their own professional status. Some teachers object to taking on the role of detective or enforcer as it undermines the mentor-student relationship (Schneider, 1999; Park, 2004) while others may not have the time to make an extra effort to uncover plagiarism and follow it up (Park, 2004). It may also be that some teachers, especially teachers of content subjects where the focus is less on form and more on ideas, may not have suf? ciently developed skills to detect plagiarism. Hyland (2001) found that even teachers who detect plagiarism may use indirect feedback when dealing with plagiarism (for example, comments in the margins such as â€Å"Are these your own words?†) which can lead to miscommunication with the student about what is acceptable. With so many factors at play, the responsibilities of teachers must be clearly codi? ed if any institutional initiative is to have any success. Plagiarism and ESOL/EFL English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) and English as a foreign language (EFL) contexts may be more prone to infringements of academic integrity because students lack the English skills to understand the coursework and so may feel that plagiarism offers the only solution (Hyland, 2001; Liu, 2005). Moreover, the cultural conditioning of English as a second language (ESL) and EFL students has been cited as another contributing factor. Moder (1995 cited in Lackie and D’Angelo-Long, 2004, p. 38) suggests that some societies, including those in the Middle East, â€Å"value memorization and imitation as the mark of an educated person† which may mean that plagiarism is viewed as being less signi? cant. Liu (2005, p. 239) disagrees with the notion of cultural conditioning, however, claiming that â€Å"it is  based on incorrect information and is presented often via unwarranted jumps in reasoning and con? ation of separate issues. † More pertinently, perhaps, she goes on to argue that: [. . . ] even if we concede that such cultural conditioning indeed exists to some extent, we still cannot say for sure that it is the main reason that ESOL students plagiarize. There are many other factors that may motivate ESOL students from many L1 backgrounds to plagiarize, including a lack of adequate pro? ciency, lack of task speci?c writing skills, and of course, the urge to cheat (p. 239). Dealing with plagiarism ESOL students, then, whether or not cultural conditioning is accepted as an underlying factor in plagiarism, may still have greater motivation than their ? rst language counterparts to take and use the ideas and words of others in their own assignments. Ironically, plagiarism by ESOL students is also far more likely to be detected because of more prominent differences in language level and tone between copied and original work. Degrees of plagiarism Intuitively, plagiarism varies in its severity in a way that cheating (e. g. using crib sheets or having someone else take a test for you) does not. It can consist of minor lapses, for example, when original material is poorly paraphrased but the source is acknowledged, through deliberately copying parts of a text without citing the source, to submitting work from an online paper mill (Roig, 1997). Critical factors in determining the severity of the plagiarism include the intention behind the plagiarism (was it deliberate or accidental? ), the amount of material that has been plagiarised, the inclusion of the source in the list of references, the degree to which the plagiarised material differs from the source (an indication at an attempt to paraphrase), the time the student has spent in tertiary education, and whether it is the ? rst, second, or subsequent occurrence. Given the wide variation in the seriousness of plagiarism and the developmental process students must undergo to assimilate the norms of academic writing, it is clear that the appearance of plagiarised material is not always a deliberate attempt to cheat. For example, students are often poor at paraphrasing and may not be fully aware that this could be construed as plagiarism. Roig (1999) gave English-speaking undergraduate students a two-sentence paragraph to paraphrase and found that between 41 and 68 percent of the responses contained strings of at least ? ve words or more copied from the original. These results clearly back up the claim that plagiarism may indicate a de? cit in appropriate skills and not intentional academic dishonesty. Towards an institutional response to plagiarism In many educational institutions, plagiarism is seen largely as a teacher/student problem. If plagiarism is detected, then the teacher makes a decision as to whether to escalate the case for possible punitive action. The plagiarism is seen either as morally wrong or as a â€Å"crime† – the breaking of a rule that has inevitable consequences (Blum, 2009). Unfortunately, dealing with plagiarism in this way can result in decisions which are reactive, emotive, and which are made informally on an ad hoc basis, thus inviting inequity and inconsistency. When the focus is directed towards punishment, there may be little maturation in terms of academic integrity for the student concerned, or for those who watch their classmate’s fate from the sidelines. Academic endeavour must take place within an institutional culture that routinely recognises and reinforces the value of academic integrity so that all stakeholders are obliged to proactively follow and uphold best practice in order to reduce the impact of the contributing factors discussed above. This requires the establishment of an institutional response to plagiarism that is comprehensive, appropriate, fair, developmental, transparent, and educative. 171 EBS 3,3 Park (2004, p. 294) describes such an institutional framework for dealing with plagiarism that was developed by a working party at Lancaster University in consultation with staff and with reference to experience and the literature: The working party sought to move the plagiarism discourse beyond just detection and punishment and to situate and embed it in a cohesive framework that tackles the root causes as well as the symptoms of plagiarism as a family of behaviours. 172 The key elements underpinning this framework were consistency and transparency. These were ensured by the explicit codi? cation of stakeholder responsibilities, procedures, and penalties. In order for such a framework to be implemented effectively, Park (2004, p. 296) noted that â€Å"all stakeholders within the institution must understand and appreciate why the framework is necessary and how it protects their own interests. † A case study Park (2004, pp. 295-9) nominated a number of central pillars that lend validity and effectiveness to any such institutional framework. These included transparency, ownership by stakeholders, student engagement, academic integrity, framing the initiative to ensure compatibility with the culture of the institution, focus on prevention and deterrence, and the supportive and developmental nature of the framework. These pillars provide excellent reference points for the approach taken in one department in a college in the UAE and allow us to examine the viability and ef? cacy of such a framework for the local context. The Education Department at Abu Dhabi Women’s College (ADWC) has addressed its concerns with academic honesty in a concerted, collaborative, and multi-faceted fashion. As teacher educators, the faculty in this department are intent on producing future academics. Much like politicians, words, information, and the generation of ideas are the very foundation of our professional lives, so we regard it as essential that the â€Å"rules† of using these appropriately are disseminated, understood, and followed at all times by all of our students. To this end, we have established and adhere to a set of policies and practices at all levels that support and facilitate academic honesty. Institutional/departmental level The HCT, of which ADWC is only one of 16, institutionally mandates the prevention and sanctioning of plagiarism and related offences. Consequences of infringements of these rules are outlined in of?cial policies, Student Handbooks (see for example, HCT, 2008), contracts signed by students at the commencement of their studies, and reinforced by administrative staff and faculty at every student meeting and examination session held throughout the student’s academic career at HCT. From these guidelines, the Education Division throughout the colleges has documented standards and procedures that address academic honesty in its assessment handbooks – one that is distributed to all education students and the other, more comprehensive and speci?c, that is used by all education faculty. This shared written documentation enables best practice in assessment to be disseminated and followed, provides the underlying philosophy and approach for the division as a whole, and addresses academic honesty both directly and indirectly to better support student writing and make plagiarism a less viable or attractive option. The assessment handbooks re? ect the developmental curricular approach of the division as a whole, and so specify the type, nature, and expectations for assessments at each level to scaffold the students’ ability to produce increasingly sophisticated and original work. Ensuring that requirements are reasonable and documented minimises the students’ need to seek help through illegitimate means. These handbooks are the basis of communication within the ADWC Education Department on all matters regarding assessment and have served to ensure a common approach and understanding. Insights gained by instructors in their daily interactions with students and their submissions inevitably reveal general dif?culties facing students, which are then examined in regular formal and informal meetings to brainstorm and implement further strategies that may be useful. The ongoing concern at faculty level with issues of academic honesty is mirrored in the systematic recycling of warnings, information, and explicit instructions to students. As a department, the theft or misappropriation of ideas and words has been, and continues to be, addressed as professionally offensive and inappropriate. Initiatives suggested by Education Department faculty as well as colleagues in other departments and colleges are pursued vigorously. One recent example has been the provision of workshops by library staff on research skills and academic procedures. The plagiarism detection software, Turnitin, was originally adopted by the department as both a defence against plagiarism and a tool to help students protect themselves against accidental plagiarism. This proved to be very effective, but unfortunately access to this subsequently became unavailable. Now, suspicious text samples are input into search engines and all assignments are run through SafeAssign, a plagiarism checker in Blackboard (the online course management system). These have proved to be acceptable alternatives. As Braumoeller and Gaines (2001) found in their study, â€Å"the deterrent effects of actually checking for plagiarism are quite impressive (p. 836). † The departmental approach has included a series of mandatory workshops and masterclasses on academic writing and plagiarism for all students in slightly altered learning contexts designed to motivate, encourage participation, and focus attention. It should be noted that the relatively small size of the department (one chair, six faculty, and fewer than 80 students) makes shared understandings, uniform dissemination of information, and infraction detection much easier and more likely than in a bigger department where students are not familiar to every teacher. Course level Academic writing skills are an important component of all education courses. Referencing skills are taught explicitly in a speci? c course during the students’ ? rst semester, and then constantly reinforced and recycled throughout the programme. The education programmes at the HCT are based on re?  ective practice. This means that assignments are contextualised and require the application rather than the regurgitation of theory, so copying from previously submitted work or in any way buying or commissioning a paper cannot be so easily accomplished as theory has to ? t the student’s individual circumstances. In addition, the student’s right to submit and receive feedback on a ? rst draft of every paper (Assessment Handbook, 2009, p. 7) allows plagiarism, deliberate, or accidental; to be detected and remediated at an earlier stage before punishment becomes the only option. The feedback and scaffolding policy (pp.53-5), which outlines the form and scope of feedback to be given, draws instructor attention to both macro and micro features of the submission, so any attempt to use words or ideas from an external source should be revealed at least a week before ? nal submission. Dealing with plagiarism 173 EBS 3,3 All students submitting assignments in the Education Division are required to sign a declaration on their cover page that the work is entirely their own and all sources have been acknowledged (Assessment Handbook, 2009, p. 47). This provides a ? nal reminder that academic honesty is expected and will be monitored. Faculty responsibilities and input All faculty in the Education Department, regardless of their course allocation, consider themselves teachers of English. This is not only because we each have ESL teaching quali? cations and experience (obviously an advantage), but also because we recognise the importance of language as the vehicle for idea generation and transmission. Language is inseparable from the content area in which those ideas are conceived and manipulated. This can be a very different orientation to that of colleagues in other departments whose subject area specialisation takes precedence. Our more holistic approach means that we explicitly teach both content and the language elements with which to express that content to students who may be struggling with the unfamiliarity of both. It also means that we take our role as defenders of academic integrity very seriously and vigilantly monitor and check student output. As professional ESL teacher educators, we strive to be models of effective language use as well as successful proponents of academic scholarship, so ongoing instruction in both is a routine aspect of teaching and learning in the department. This increased student awareness of appropriate academic writing processes reduces their motivation to misappropriate text written by others. The cultural and social aspects of plagiarism are also given attention by faculty. In a society that places less value on individuality than it does on cooperation and social cohesion, it is important for students to understand that they have not only the right, but the responsibility, to turn down requests for assistance from peers. Faculty not only explain this, but also explain to students how to respond assertively with friends or relatives asking for inappropriate help. Without this, no amount of education or punishment can ever be successful. Student involvement Education students are required to be active participants in their own learning. Because all assessment processes are documented and transparent, they have the ability to question and ask for clari? cation on any aspect that they do not understand. All expectations or consequences are addressed in multiple ways, so ignorance is no defence for malpractice. Submissions of ? rst drafts are perhaps the most critical aspect for students. Although these are universally permitted and scheduled, they are never awarded a mark and are not always actually demanded, so it is up to the student to take advantage of their right to pre-submission feedback. An appropriate framework? The Education Department at ADWC values academic honesty very highly and has organized its procedures and practices accordingly. The very infrequent occurrence of plagiarism is testimony to the effectiveness of: . proactive strategizing; . clear documentation; . reasonable and appropriate expectations; 174 . . . . . awareness raising; sustained faculty vigilance and involvement; support for the development of student skills and cognitive growth; decreased student opportunity and motivation to cheat; and the pervasive sense of professional identity and responsibility that characterise departmental efforts on this issue at all levels. Dealing with plagiarism 175 The work done in this department is thus an arguably successful attempt to â€Å"devise a student plagiarism framework that best suits [our] own culture and circumstances†.

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What Conrad & Poole (1998) refer to as a â€Å"relational strategy of organizing† is more commonly called the â€Å"human relations approach† or â€Å"human relations school† of management by organizational theorists. This human relations approach can be seen as being almost entirely antithetical to the principles of classical management theory. Where classical management focused on the rationalization of work routines, human relations approaches stressed the accommodation of work routines and individual motional and relational needs as a means of increasing productivity.To a great extent, the human relations approach can be seen as a response to classical management an attempt to move away from the inflexibility of classical management approaches. The human relations approach can also be seen as a response to a highly charged and polarized social climate in which labor and management were viewed as fundamentally opposed to one another, and communism was seen as a very real and immediate danger to the social order the otion of class struggle propounded by Marxist theorists was taken very seriously.By focusing on the extent to which workers and managers shared economic interests in the success of the organization, the human relations approach can be seen as an attempt to move beyond the class struggle idea. Of course, the human relations approach (which really emerged in the late 1930s) was made possible by the fairly coercive suppression of the most radical organized labor movements.The sidebar describes one such movement, and is provided in order to indicate the social climate extant in the period immediately preceding the emergence of the human relations approach. In essence, the human relations approach sees the organization as a cooperative enterprise wherein worker morale is a primary contributor to productivity, and so seeks to improve productivity by modifying the work environment to increase morale and develop a more skilled and cap able worker.

Realism and Non-governmental organizations essays

Realism and Non-governmental organizations essays The contemporary political world has existed relatively unchanged since the ratification of the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Under this system, states and their leaders became the ultimate decision-makers in the world. For hundreds of years, this system has provided a guideline for the behavior of states. The need for a more formal state system came as the world became more closely linked. Even if the system has not changed, the world in which exists has transformed since 1648. One of the major forces working and creating pressure to change the system is globalization and the interdependency. The purpose of regimes and international organizations is to supplement governmental power to provide additional support and stability. A non-governmental organization is any group of people relating to each other regularly in some formal manner and engaging in collective action, provided that the activities are non-commercial, non-violent and are not on behalf of a government (Baylis hierarchical dualism of the Westphalian system because it was an empirical reality, reinforced by the absence of any significant international actors capable of autonomous action (Falk, 138). Nevertheless, according to Hobbes, a covenant without swords are but mere words, and thus any decisions made without the force to back them are nothing more than writing on paper. States are the only significant actors in the system; in spite of that, non-government organizations attempt to create change within the system. Most of the times, NGOs seek a role in order to alleviate some of the negative features that results when governments make decisions, but globalization-from-above has strong positive consequences and potentialities (Falk, 139). It is impossible to make every person happy. The best that can be done is to try to create a favor...

The Battle of the Java Sea in World War II

The Battle of the Java Sea in World War II The Battle of the Java Sea occurred on February 27, 1942, and was an early naval engagement of World War II (1939-1945) in the Pacific. With the beginning of fighting in the Dutch East Indies, Allied forces attempted to unite to slow the Japanese advance south towards Australia. This saw a combined American, British, Dutch, and Australian fleet formed to protect Java. In late February, this fleets Eastern Strike Force, led by Rear Admiral Karel Doorman, engaged the approaching Japanese in the Java Sea. In the resulting engagement, Doorman doggedly attacked the Japanese but proved unable to halt their advance. The battle concluded with the loss of the light cruisers HNLMS De Ruyter and Java as well as Doormans death. In the wake of the fighting, the remaining Allied ships fled though most were destroyed in separate actions a short time later. Background In early 1942, with the Japanese rapidly advancing south through the Dutch East Indies, the Allies attempted to mount a defense of Java in an effort to hold the Malay Barrier. Concentrating under the unified command known as American-British-Dutch-Australian (ABDA) Command, Allied naval units were divided between bases at Tandjong Priok (Batavia) in the west and Surabaya in the east. Overseen by Dutch Vice Admiral Conrad Helfrich, ABDA forces were badly outnumbered and in poor condition for the approaching fight. To take the island, the Japanese formed two major invasion fleets. Japanese Attacks Along the Malay Barrier. US Army Center for Military History Japanese Sighted Sailing from Jolo in the Philippines, the Japanese Eastern Invasion Fleet was spotted by ABDA aircraft on February 25. This led Helfrich to reinforce Rear Admiral Karel Doormans Eastern Strike Force at Surabaya the next day with several ships from the Royal Navy. Upon their arrival, Doorman held a meeting with his captains to discuss the upcoming campaign. Departing that evening, Doormans force consisted of two heavy cruisers (USS Houston HMS Exeter), three light cruisers (HNLMS De Ruyter, HNLMS Java, HMAS Perth), as well as three British, two Dutch, and four American (Destroyer Division 58) destroyers. Sweeping the north coast of Java and Madura, Doormans ships failed to locate the Japanese and turned for Surabaya. A short distance to the north, the Japanese invasion force, protected by two heavy cruisers (Nachi Haguro), two light cruisers (Naka Jintsu), and fourteen destroyers, under Rear Admiral Takeo Takagi, slowly moved towards Surabaya. At 1:57 PM on February 27, a Dutch scout plane located the Japanese approximately 50 miles north of the port. Receiving this report, the Dutch admiral, whose ships were beginning to enter the harbor, reversed course to seek battle. ABDA Commander Rear Admiral Karel Doorman2 heavy cruisers, 3 light cruisers, nine destroyers Japanese Commanders Rear Admiral  Takeo TakagiRear Admiral Shoji Nishimura2 heavy cruisers, 2 light cruisers, fourteen destroyers The Battle Begins Sailing north, Doormans exhausted crews prepared to meet the Japanese. Flying his flag from De Ruyter, Doorman deployed his ships in three columns with his destroyers flanking the cruisers. At 3:30 PM, a Japanese air raid forced the ABDA fleet to disperse. Around 4:00 PM, Jintsu spotted the re-formed ABDA ships to the south. Turning with four destroyers to engage, Jintsus column opened the battle at 4:16 PM as the Japanese heavy cruisers and additional destroyers came up in support. As both sides exchanged fire, Rear Admiral Shoji Nishimuras Destroyer Division 4 closed and launched a torpedo attack. Exeter Disabled Around 5:00 PM, Allied aircraft struck the Japanese transports but scored no hits. At the same time, Takagi, feeling the battle was drifting too close to the transports, ordered his ships to close with the enemy. Doorman issued a similar order and the range between the fleets narrowed. As the fighting intensified, Nachi struck Exeter with an 8 shell that disabled most of the ships boilers and created confusion in the ABDA line. Badly damaged, Doorman ordered Exeter to return to Surabaya with the destroyer HNLMS Witte de With as an escort. The Sides Close Shortly thereafter, the destroyer HNLMS Kortenaer was sunk by a Japanese Type 93 Long Lance torpedo. His fleet in disarray, Doorman broke off the battle to reorganize. Takagi, believing the battle was won, ordered his transports to turn south towards Surabaya. Around 5:45 PM, the action was renewed as Doormans fleet turned back towards the Japanese. Finding that Takagi was crossing his T, Doorman ordered his destroyers forward to attack the approaching Japanese light cruisers and destroyers. In the resulting action, the destroyer Asagumo was crippled and HMS Electra sunk. Repeated Attacks At 5:50, Doorman swung his column around to a southeast heading and ordered the American destroyers to cover his withdrawal. In response to this attack and concerns about mines, Takagi turned his force north shortly before sunset. Unwilling to give in, Doorman steamed away into the darkness before planning another strike on the Japanese. Turning northeast then northwest, Doorman hoped to swing around Takagis ships to reach the transports. Anticipating this, and confirmed by sightings from spotter planes, the Japanese were in position to meet the ABDA ships when they reappeared at 7:20 PM. After a brief exchange of fire and torpedoes, the two fleets separated again, with Doorman taking his ships inshore along the Java coast in another attempt to circle around the Japanese. At approximately 9:00 PM, the four American destroyers, out of torpedoes and low on fuel, detached and returned to Surabaya. Over the next hour, Doorman lost his last two destroyers when HMS Jupiter was sunk by a Dutch mine and HMS Encounter was detached to pick up survivors from Kortenaer. A Final Clash Sailing on with his four remaining cruisers, Doorman moved north and was spotted by lookouts aboard Nachi at 11:02 PM. As the ships began to exchange fire, Nachi and Haguro fired spreads of torpedoes. One from Haguro fatally struck De Ruyter at 11:32 PM exploding one of its magazines and killing Doorman. Java was hit by one of Nachis torpedoes two minutes later and sank. Obeying Doormans final orders, Houston and Perth fled the scene without stopping to pick up survivors. Aftermath The Battle of the Java Sea was a resounding victory for the Japanese and effectively ended meaningful naval resistance by ABDA forces. On February 28, Takagis invasion force began landing troops forty miles to the west of Surabaya at Kragan. In the fighting, Doorman lost two light cruisers and three destroyers, as well as one heavy cruiser badly damaged and around 2,300 killed. Japanese losses numbered one destroyer badly damaged and another with moderate damage. HMS Exeter sinks during the Second Battle of the Java Sea, March 1, 1942. US Naval History Heritage Command Though soundly defeated, that the Battle of the Java Sea lasted seven hours is a testament to Doormans determination to defend the island at all costs. Many of the remaining units of his fleet were subsequently destroyed at the Battle of the Sunda Strait (February 28/March 1) and the Second Battle of the Java Sea (March 1). Many of the wrecks of those ships lost at the Battle of the Java Sea and the subsequent actions have been destroyed by illegal salvage operations.

Argumentative Synthesis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Argumentative Synthesis - Essay Example The income inequality has widened tremendously, dependency ratio has increased, and access to basic needs are becoming an issue for quite a number of people from the lower class. On the other hand, America stills remains the world’s superpower boasting of the largest economy, unparalleled democracy and prosperity of its citizens. Considering America is experiencing an equal share of troubles on one hand and prosperity on the other hand, is America actually living the American dream? The idea of the living the American dream is a fallacy considering the ever-widening income gap between the rich and the poor, the burgeoning budget deficit, and the increasingly over-dependent youthful population. Unfortunately, the present situation in America have left so many questioning if at all these dream is still valid. Cal Thomas, a panellist at Fox News Watch, argues that unless radical changes are made, the American Dream is long over. Thomas supports Bob Herbert, a columnist at New York Times, who writes that the sad state of the economy, jobs, budget deficits, and constant war fares are all a pointer of the fact that there is nothing much left of the American Dream. The fundamental argument expressed by Thomas is that the American government has become so dysfunctional creating an over-dependency and cant-do attitude among its citizens. This behaviour does not reflect the American Dream at all. The same sentiments are echoed by Robert Frank, an economic columnist of the New York Times, who feels that it is impossible to live this dream with such a widening income inequality. Brandon King holds however holds a contrary view. He claims that the ideal and values of the American Drea m are still alive based on America’s ability to come out of hardships such as the Great Depression. Certainly, there exists a very thin line between defining success and failure in American dream. As Thomas sees it there are far more problem in

Discussion Questions and Participation Questions Essay

Discussion Questions and Participation Questions - Essay Example Opportunities to expand your services 7. Better flexibility 8. Increased risk assessment 9. Improve quality 10. Increases in quantity (Brighthub, 2011). In the past I have used project management as a guide to help me complete projects. I have used project management to develop schedules, in order to optimize time, and to become more efficient at tasks. Project management skills can be improved by participation in continued education seminars on the subject, by reading peer review journal articles, and through practice among other methods. Brighthub.com (2011). The Top Ten Benefits of Project Management. Retrieved February 3, 2011 from http://www.brighthub.com/office/project-management/articles/2350.aspx Chase, R. B., Jacobs, F.R., & Aquilano, N.J. (2006) Operations management for competitive advantage (11th ed). New York: McGraw Hill/Irwin. 2. Safety stock is additional inventory that is held in order to mitigate the risk of a stockout. The safety stock is a considered a buffer mana gement uses to create a comfort level in which to operate. The safety stock should only be used after regular inventory runs out and if the company is unable to replenish its inventory. The safety stock should be used as a last resort in order to keep the operations going. A few years ago I worked a part-time in a warehouse for a company that manufactured paper. There were different rolls of paper that would be used as raw material for the different paper products sold by the company. The buffer or safety stock was managed by the warehouse crew. We would deliver the safety stock to the manufacturing line whenever the company ran out of its regular inventory of paper. 3. Out of the factors you mentioned about project management which I believe people can work on in order to improve their utilization of the factor is time. Time is a crucial element in project management. Projects involve the use of different deadlines for the delivery of project deliverables. In a project when one per son is late with their part of the project it creates a chain reaction which affects the work of the other members. The project manager has to provide follow up on the work of team members in order to ensure everyone is on the same page. 4. One of the first project management teams I was involved in occurred a few years back. I was a freshman in college back them and I had been assigned to my first team project as a college student. It was an intimidating experience for me because I did not know what to expect. I was very lucky to have worked with a great team of players. One of the guys was a senior business student; he served the role of project leader. He was a very outgoing person that knew how to lead others. I learn from this first experience that interpersonal relationships are a critical success factor for project management teams. 5. Engineers are very talented professionals that can add a lot of value to a project. Due to their ability to apply innovation engineers are oft en involved in project management. It would be a wise career move for an engineer to purse an MBA degree. The knowledge gained through a master’s degree program in business can be extremely beneficial for an engineer among other professionals. Professionals with a background in business are better suited to handle the pressures associated with the work of a project manager. 6. Sometimes people utilized project management skills without even knowing they are using them. No project is too small for