Stage of LIfe

Erik Erikson was a psychoanalytic theorist, who believed that all humans go through eight stages of development throughout their lifetime. The first stage is called Trust vs. Mistrust. The second stage is called Autonomy vs. Shame and Doubt. Third stage is Initiative vs. Guilt. The fourth stage is Industry vs. Inferiority. Fifth stage is Identity vs. Confusion. Sixth stage is Intimacy vs. Isolation. Seventh stage is Generativity vs. Stagnation. The eighth and final stage is Integrity vs. Despair (Berger, 17).Each stage occurs at a specific time frame and requires achievement to obtain successful completion. The first stage occurs between birth and one year of age. During this stage, if one’s parents provide familiarity, consistency, and continuity, a feeling that the world is a safe place and people are reliable and loving will develop (Berger, 129). Also, the child learns to trust their body and biological urges that go with it. If the parents are inadequate and unreliable, o r the child is harmed or rejected, then mistrust is developed.This mistrust will result in fear and a belief that the world is inconsistent and unpredictable. If this stage is achieved successfully, children acquire hope, the belief that even when things aren’t going well they will work out well in the end. The second stage occurs in early childhood. The goal of this stage is to achieve autonomy while minimizing shame and doubt. If a toddler is allowed to explore and manipulate their environment they will develop a sense of independence. The child develops self-esteem and self-control (Berger, 129).If parents or caregivers come down hard on toddlers’ attempts to explore and be independent the toddler will give up and assume that they cannot and should not act on their own. Also, giving children no sense of limits, unrestricted freedom, and doing for children what they should do for themselves will lead them to conclude that they are not good for much and shouldnâ€℠¢t do for themselves. A little shame and doubt is beneficial because without it, one will develop a shameless willfulness that leads one to jump into things without proper consideration of one’s abilities.Too much shame and doubt leads to compulsiveness. If the proper balance at this stage is achieved the virtue of willpower is developed. The third stage occurs during preschool years. Goal is to learn initiative without too much guilt. Initiative means a positive response to the world’s challenges, taking on responsibilities, learning new skills, and feeling purposeful (Berger, 198). If parents encourage children to try out their ideas and accept and encourage fantasy, curiosity, and imagination. Capacity of moral judgment has begun.Parents have the responsibility to encourage the child to â€Å"grow up. † If this process is done too harshly or too abruptly, the child learns to feel guilty about their feelings. Too much initiative and too little guilt leads to r uthlessness, taking initiative and doing whatever it takes to achieve the goals. Extreme form of ruthlessness is sociopathy. On the other hand, too much guilt leads to inhibition. This person will not try things because not trying means nothing to feel guilty about. If a good balance is achieved during this stage a sense of purpose is developed.The fourth stage occurs approximately 5-11 years of age. During this stage parents must encourage, teachers must care, peers must accept. Children must learn that there is pleasure in conceiving a plan and carrying it out (Berger, 272). They must learn the feeling of success. If a child is allowed too little success they will develop a sense of inferiority or incompetence. They may never develop social skills. If this stage is achieved children will develop the virtue of competence and the belief in our own abilities to handle the tasks set before them. Stage five occurs in adolescence.The task is to achieve ego identity and to avoid role con fusion. They learn who they are and how they fit into the rest of society (Berger, 348). Through receiving proper encouragement and reinforcement through personal exploration adolescents emerge with a strong sense of self and a feeling of independence and control. Those who are unsure of their beliefs and desires will feel insecure and confused about themselves and their future. Completing this stage successfully leads to fidelity, the ability to live by society’s standards and expectations. Stage six occurs during early adulthood.Erikson believed that a strong sense of personal identity was important for developing intimate relationships (Berger, 456). Those with a poor sense of self tend to have less committed relationships and are more likely to suffer emotional isolation, loneliness, and depression. Successful resolution of this stage results in the virtue known as love, marked by the ability to form lasting, meaningful relationships with other people. Stage seven occurs in adulthood. The focus is on career and family. Success in this stage leads to a feeling of contributing to the world by being active in the home and community (Berger, 473).Failure to attain this skill leads to feelings of unproductivity and non-involvement in the world. Successful handling of this stage leads to the virtue of care, being proud of one’s accomplishments, watching children grow into adults, develop a sense of unity with your life partner are important accomplishments. Stage eight occurs in old age. Those unsuccessful in this stage feel that their life has been wasted and will experience many regrets. They are left with feelings of bitterness and despair (Berger, 530). Those who are successful feel proud of their accomplishments and a sense of integrity.Successful completion means looking back with few regrets, a general feeling of satisfaction, and attaining wisdom even when confronting death. My most favorite stage I have experienced so far is stage seven, G eneratively vs. stagnation. This is true because I feel that I have found a job that allows me to contribute to my society and the world in a positive, helpful way. I am able to watch my children grow into wonderful adults. I am proud of all my accomplishments in school, work, and raising my children. I feel a strong sense of productivity that I have not had before. My least favorite stage was adolescence.It was tough having to discover who I was and what I wanted to be. Peers were very important and it was tough trying to fit in and be a part of a group. I would change my stage six, Intimacy vs. Isolation. My father passed away during this time and I was very close to him. So much of me and my sense of self was related to my father and when he died it was like I lost a big part of me as well. It was a very difficult time for me and I felt a great sense of loss. I believe that it has had an impact on my ability to form close, secure, committed relationships with other people.I am mo st looking forward to continuing in stage seven, Generatively vs, Stagnation. I am enjoying all of my accomplishments and watching my children grow so much that I am looking forward to continuing in this stage. I am dreading stage eight, Integrity vs. Despair because I know there are things and decisions that I will regret as I reflect back on my life. I have learned much and am happy with the majority of my life. Also, during this stage is usually when death occurs and I am not ready to give up my life just yet, I still have some things I would like to accomplish and I want to be around for my children and grandchildren.

The Ethics of Accounting and Finance: Trust, Responsibility, and Control Essay

The stakeholders in this case are Juliette, Katrina, Richard, James Hubert and Greg and all board members of both companies. The expectations they should have in this case are to ensure good accounting practices where reclassification of marketable securities should be done with every stakeholder’s knowledge failure to which it would be unethical. The stakeholders expect that the companies with which they do business are ethically oriented and ensure that their efforts and decisions meet the needs and wants of suppliers, consumers and business partners CITATION Jef12 l 1033 (Jeffery, 2012). The ethical obligations of Positive Accounting Solutions and its CPAs to the stakeholders are responsibility, transparency, honesty, fairness and respect. Transparency is a key component of good accounting in Australia. It involves building reliable relationships with stakeholders and giving them relevant information that they can use CITATION Hof04 l 1033 (Hoffman, 2004). Responsibility in accounting is concerned with building trust between an organization, its stakeholders, customers and the general public. The ethical attribute of responsibility ensures that companies in Australia take into consideration what is in the best interest of all stakeholders both in the short and long term. It is unethical to be profit driven in their ventures. Several ethical issues exist for Juliette, Katrina, Richard and Greg, and Positive Accounting Solutions. Legal and ethical issues are important elements of the general framework and well-being of the accounting industry. They are values and principles that govern an organization and the decisions and actions of individuals within the organization. They give a general guideline on how an organization and its employees should act in the event of a moral dilemma CITATION Hof04 l 1033 (Hoffman, 2004). In this case there was the ethical issue if transparency where Global contractors failed to inform Juliet Forbs and her company of the intended reclassification. This selective reclassification may affect vulnerable audiences in the emerging markets of developing regions of Australia. Such situations occur because the public does not have sufficient information about securities assets ploys. The action by Global contractors is unethical and may lead to a serious breach of ethical guidelines as the perpetrators step on safeguards in the disguise of making more money. It is essential that Hubert follows the ethical guidelines of financial reporting and not let acquiring more possession get in the way of their financial obligations. Hubert, who is more concerned with his company’s financial welfare compared to that of Positive Accounting Solutions and its CPAs is more likely to cause real accounting violations and become a liability to the business partnership CITATION Jef12 l 1033 (Jeffery, 2012). Accounting questions the incorrectness of financial statements through the use of features and indicators that show the degree of openness to risk. It also considers whether the sources of risk reside in corporate areas of accounting estimates and organizational culture. This places an accountant in an ethical dilemma where one wonders whether or not to report accounting violations to the authorities. Although it is the ethical duty of the accountant to report such fraudulent activities, the ethical dilemma lies in the ramifications of the reporting. Corporate officers and senior managers may face criminal prosecution that may lead to imprisonment and fines while the company may receive bad publicity and laying off of workers when the government reviews financial records CITATION Hof04 l 1033 (Hoffman, 2004). It is the responsibility of accountants to serve the best interests of the company that they are providing auditing and accounting services for, investors and society as a whole. This can be done by providing truthful and accurate financial records. Ethical guidelines require that accountants should be honest, concise, accurate and complete while recording financial data to ensure ethics are held to the highest degree. It is also the duty of an accountant to make wise, informed decisions about the future of a company. These decisions gave notable impacts on the companies as demonstrated by Enron. Auditor virtue plays an important role in determining what to do in this case. Auditor virtue bears the responsibility of preventing, detecting and investigating fraud through as system of internal auditing and internal control. Through this, auditors can perform a retrospective control on financial data with an aim of detecting any frauds or omissions and securing the credibility and reliability of financial statements. In this case, auditing is used to show the real picture that is obtained on the securities assets CITATION Jef12 l 1033 (Jeffery, 2012). Auditors have to provide expert evidence at the eventual trial. They utilize an understanding of auditing and accounting standards and procedures, financial reporting systems and business information, litigation processes and investigative and evidence gathering and investigative techniques to perform their work.The accounting rules for valuing so-called securitised assets that were designed using a package of outstanding mortgages came under attack in 2008- 2009 because their operation developed out of their internal dynamics instead of the context from which the public shared its perceptions CITATION Jef12 l 1033 (Jeffery, 2012). Thus, the so called securitized assets became socially irresponsible and their contributions to the market rose from their personal definitions rather than from a reciprocal engagement with the stakeholders. Accounting rules for investments in securities changed following criticisms that the accounting rules were, at least in part, responsible for the financial crisis. Current accounting techniques are run by computers and therefore do not have any inner sense of normality. Scripts and queries in financial statements do exactly what they have been programmed to do and as a result a fraud hypothesis testing approach has been proposed to accommodate this limitation. This approach is a proactive or deductive approach used by accountants in fraud investigations. Accountants obtain a concise understanding of the business processes, environment and controls CITATION Hof04 l 1033 (Hoffman, 2004). This understanding helps them to have a proactive picture and predict the possibility of any frauds occurring. The team of forensic accountants brainstorms the possible frauds that may exist in the business environment that they are investigating and this may result in fifty potential schemes. Once the re has been the identification of possible schemes, the team of forensic accountants outlines how these schemes would show up in the available data. These indicators, often referred to as red flags, are the major indicators of the occurrence of fraud in an enterprise. Given each indicator, the team of forensic accountants looks for corporate databases through the use of queries and scripts by applying accounting principles. Any anomalous transactions are set aside for further investigations and this often perceived as a sample that is to be looked into closely. Accountants analyze the results of the query in order to determine potential explanations for the anomalies which may possibly be weak controls or fraud among other reasons. Once the team has established the potential explanations to be fraud, they follow up on them and conduct further investigations by employing additional queries in order to determine the cause of the anomalies. This hypothesis testing approach has been suc cessfully in quite a number of case studies including university environments, alcohol sales and healthcare in Australia. Once the financial statements have been analyzed, continuous investigation is possible. Unlike the normal testing on historical data, the tests are then programmed into live corporate systems so as to provide progressive monitoring of transactions. This progressive monitoring uses information technology which has been successfully used in several companies. Accounting rules should not be influenced by Political pressure, as was the case with the changes in accounting for investments. It is ethical to maintain the right to the truth while practicing accounting and financial reporting. Those who use financial statements have the right to accurate and truthful information when engaging in investment strategies. Clients have a legal right to receive competent and professional services from accountants who have a legal obligation to perform their responsibilities within the constraints of their skills CITATION Hof04 l 1033 (Hoffman, 2004). It is often argued that most accountants lack ethical ability to recognize and solve ethical dilemmas. This has necessitated the need to include ethics education as a major component of the accounting profession. The development of professional ethics and values should be initiated early in the accounting profession and be emphasized throughout the career. Teamwork and leadership are two important componen ts that must be in alignment so as to provide effective high quality and efficient accounting services. A strategic human resource management model provides guidance to accounting teams and leaders to deliver high-quality services in a timely manner. Accounting operates within a performance measurement that tolerates no errors. Therefore, a state-of-the-art investigation requires scientific leadership working with major stakeholders as a team to provide the best accounting services to a fraud investigation CITATION Hof04 l 1033 (Hoffman, 2004). The new techniques of accounting are significant steps in the right direction and they require leaders with skills and business tools to apply concepts such as efficiency, cost benefit analysis, economies of scale and cost-effectiveness analysis that will measure continuous improvement on a regular basis. Effective leadership is needed to develop, design and implement a solution that would resolve the core competency of an organization. Strat egic leadership in fraud investigations provides quality and timely accounting services to a company. Such leadership brings together a fragmented system consisting of thousands of accountants working within a fragmented system of organizations. Effective teamwork and leadership in accounting shows the way through the development of new innovative fraud investigations for the future CITATION Jef12 l 1033 (Jeffery, 2012). References BIBLIOGRAPHY Hoffman, W. M. (2004). The Ethics of Accounting and Finance: Trust, Responsibility, and Control. New York: Greenwood Publishing Group. Jeffery, C. (2012). Research on Professional Responsibility and Ethics in Accounting. New York: Emerald Group Publishing. Source document

Junction Desing Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Junction Desing - Term Paper Example Scenario 2: moderate accompanying refurbishments (low cost) Modifying the immediate major feeder roads to match the expectations of the ideal design for the junction. Scenario 2: Extensive work (high cost) Modifying all the minor and major feeder roads as well as the immediate link areas to major roads to be fed by the junction. Just as the level of work dictates, the three scenarios are more capital intensive as the work increase. However, with more work employed, so is the nearness towards creation of an ideal connection route and hence more effective in meeting public needs. Extensive work is also expected to create additional disturbances and challenges and hence there is a need to create a balance. The main environmental aspects considered in this report include: geology and soils, surface and groundwater conditions, air quality issues, generated noise, flora and fauna, landscaping and visual impact, cultural heritage, as well the population and general economy (O'Flaherty, 2002 , p. 123). This basically involves identification of the environmentally sensitive aspect along the connection route. It should be noted that no biodiversity areas under national or international legislation protection have been identified as lying along the area of construction. However, usage of natural resources including water resources, agriculturally viable land as well as forests is reviewed in the report. Improvements proposed Design standards for Junction Improvements. Design elements: Channelization: The movement of traffic flow at intersections to specified lanes and paths, by way of traffic marks is referred to as channelization. Channelization works for segregation of conflicts, regulation of conflict angles, regulation of speed, securing of automotive leaving or crossing the major traffic streams, securing of pedestrians, getting rid of excessive intersectional areas, blocking of prohibited movements as well as positioning of traffic regulation devices (Silver & Corbin , 2008). Design speed: The design speed at the intersection will help in governing multiple elements including entry – exit radius as well as the inscribed diameter. The design speed at the intersections in this case will vary from 20kmph to 25 kmph. Radius at entry: The radius at entry is defined by the design speed adopted, super elevation as well as the coefficient of friction. The radius should amount to drivers reducing their speeds to the design speed limit of the rotary. A range lying between 15 and 25 m is considered appropriate for the junction in question. Radius at exit: The exit radii should exceed the entry radii in order to enable the vehicles to increase speed while getting off the intersection. A range lying between 20 and 35 m is to be adopted in the remodeled design. A reduced radius may be chosen if the design speed at the point of exit calls for low speed due to high pedestrian flows as well as the site conditions. Width of carriageway at entry and exit: T he carriageway width with regard to the intersection legs is regulated by the design year traffic getting into and leaving the junction. The width at point of entry and point of exit depends on the carriageway width of the approaching road. The carriageway width with respect to the approaching road is dependent on the number of lanes that needs to be accommodated in each and every direction which largely depends on the volume of traffic entering and leaving the

Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 26

Case Study Example It comprises a list of codes set, with each code associated with a particular term, result or product. Understanding this standard with its associated codes is vital in appreciating their use in conveying of information electronically. This refers to a way of packaging data in such a way that the receiving computer understands precisely the nature of data that is coming in especially where data elements are received in an electronic file. It is normally used in a wide range of demographic data that may need to be exchanged or transferred across health care institutions. The use of this standard makes the transfer of information easy, fast and secure. It ensures that healthcare information, which is being transferred from one person to another, is utilized by the targeted person. This is supported by the 4A principle namely Authorization, Authentication, Access Control and Audits. This is functionality, process and workflow standard that define how results and orders are processed. It is vital for me to comprehend these standards so that I may be able to appreciate the need to adhere to these guidelines. The goal of the database is to track and monitor whether the institutions patients are getting the service they deserve in the most efficient way. As such, reports from properly designed and installed database should illuminate the guidelines and physician practices that result to a better outcome (Zeng, Reynolds & Sharp, 2009). In addition, they should identify physicians who require additional guidance and training in how to take care of their patients. As such, HIM professionals in the organizations should be trained thoroughly in areas such as; Skills on end user analysis, that is, they should be able to ascertain how the database meets the needs of the end users. For instance, administrators may need to track the performance of the doctors while the doctors may want to track some vital signs from their patients. HIM professionals

Music in The Heart is a lonely hunter Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Music in The Heart is a lonely hunter - Essay Example Virginia (2005) rightly enlists the character of Mick Kelly when she remarks â€Å"Mick Kelly, a tomboyish adolescent who shuts out the real world with music and dreams of fame and distant lands† (Virginia Spencer Carr, 2005). Reading through the novel, one can realize that McCuller has portrayed her characters as appealing sympathy of the readers and they are really the prototype figures representing the author herself. Especially, the character of Mick has a clear connotation with the author’ personal life where she herself was much interested and wished to be proficient in playing piano. To an extent, one can infer that Mick is the true representative of McCuller who had to leave the greatest desire of her life half way. As McCuller started her musical lessons at the age of six, she makes her character Mick also to begin her musical lessons at an early stage of life. While analyzing the personal life of the author, it is understandable that some fatal diseases drove her away from fulfilling her driving passion to become a concert pianist. But regarding Mick, it is the poor state of her family that stands on her way from leading her to the vast and impassioned realms of music. Being haunted with diseases, McCuller was forced to seek other fields, such as writing dramas, casting, directing and producing them. Actually, it was a submission to her fate and the same submissive nature is expressive in Mick’s character and she could not really bear up the prospect of losing her musical lessons.

Impact of oil exploration, extraction and transport 2 Essay

Impact of oil exploration, extraction and transport 2 - Essay Example Because of these, several legislations were enacted and promulgated, with worthwhile efforts being put up to control pollution and its related consequences. The responsibility of ensuring that these legislations and other recommendations were followed to the later became the mandate of the municipalities and oil exploration companies. After implementation of these structures, a remarkable reduction in the environmental problems that had earlier been common was experienced. The process of making decisions over perceived impacts of risks in the environmental situation involves coming up with various management decisions that rely on the proper assessment of probable risks that would arise from various environmental practices (Trefry 2003 150). In the U.S, the government has established a general structure to be used in making such decisions basing on the considerations for human health. These guidelines are useful in the process of determining the health and environmental impacts that certain economic activities can have on the people and the environmental in general. These guidelines have been used in various places with much success in the exploration industry for oil, gas and other petroleum products. Constant power supply is essential in the process of power generation; this is because, constant power supply facilitates the process of exploration. It facilitates the machines involved in the process thereby enhancing a smooth exploration and success in the process. The idea of installing a generator in the exploration site was informed by the need for having persistence in the exploration process and enhancing the safety of the people in the exercise. The chief engineer at the plant, John Akosa, ought to have established clear steps in the process of installing the generator so that there would not have been any loss of resource

Marketing Strategy Degree Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing Strategy Degree - Essay Example Coca-cola, Kellogg's, McDonald's, Kodak, Marlboro, IBM, American Express, Sony, Mercedes-Benz and Nescafe are generally in the world's top ten brand in the market , and they have reached and retained in such position mainly because of the efforts of marketing and advertising departments ( Stanley, 2003). So exactly what is an advertisement or what can we understand by the term advertisement. Their have been different views regarding the concept of advertisement. According to John Burnett, "Advertisement is a non-personal communication of marketing related information to a target audience, usually paid by the advertiser and delivered through mass media in order to reach specific objective of sponsor". However according to the critic of advertising, Judith Williamson (1978, p.57) states that it's "the most ubiquitous form in which we encounter commercial photography" which means advertising is the 'official art' of the advanced industrial nation of the west. It occupies the newspapers and is covered all over with urban environment, it is highly systematize organization involving many artist, writer and film directors, and consist of a large amount of output of the mass media. Advertisements promote and affect the idea and value which are crucial to a particular economy system. Thus a good advertisement is that, which we should not lose interest in their ideological functions, which is connected to their economic functions (Dyer, 1995 p.2). Another definition by (Longman, 1971) 'Advertising attempts to inform and persuade a large number of people with a single communication'. Therefore in its simple sense the word 'advertising' means capturing the attention to something or telling or advising somebody of something. (Dyer, 1995 p.2). Thus advertising can be seen as a medium for communicating or

Digital Marketing Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Digital Marketing - Coursework Example In email digital marketing, the organization in question reaches out to the target market through email communication which are meant to provide particulars of the product and the benefits to the consumers. In video marketing such as YouTube, a video description of the product just like in traditional marketing is uploaded for the entire online users. Social media marketing involves the use of Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn to reach out to the digital population and introduce the products to them. LinkedIn acts as a professional networking site that not only provides an opportunity for employer and employee to interact but also to the buyers and sellers. Search engine optimization is a marketing approach adopted by organizations with online presence to improve their rating within different search engines. Properly optimized sites are highly visible in the internet and this makes it easy for visitors to access such sites and acquire the information intended by the organization (Changhyun 265). A site that is ranked highly based on the search engine results is frequently visited and this influenced by the level of the contents in the site and the stream of visitors. With the development of internet marketing, the adoption of SEO as a technique has allowed marketers to act based on the behavior of internet users and designing their information in line with such behaviors. As a result, the keywords that are regularly typed into the search engines by internet users are optimized in the information presented on the website and this increases the rating of the same (Panda 60). Different approaches exist that have been adopted for the process of optimizing websites and this influences the success of the site and the frequency of the visitors. For example, most SEO professionals edit the content of the website by adding keyword and catchy phrases that are frequently searched by internet users. Other sites can

The Impact of British Airways' Corporate Brand Name Essay

The Impact of British Airways' Corporate Brand Name - Essay Example From assets to job opportunities to complete consumer satisfaction Van Riel and Van den Ban (2001) have stated that coming up with corporate brands is a long and challenging process which entails the preservation of a company’s name and reputation along with other important factors. This process is generally accomplished through the stakeholders making use of the particular corporate brand. A company can come up with their own brand by using a sign, character, figure, image or any representation of a concept that will recognize and distinguish their products and service when compared with other companies. To simply put it, the brand will put the company forward and allow the public to recognize them. Findings have confirmed that a potential customer will pay a large amount of money for a good, satisfactory brand while staying loyal to such brand (Shih 2009). Because of these actions, it is necessary most especially for companies and organizations to fully understand the role of brands as well as the consumers’ thoughts, feelings and behaviors toward it. Brand names along with the manners on how consumers act toward it have received a small deal of attention in previous studies. Identifying and implementing brand names play a very important role in any kind of business as companies, despite any challenges from competitors, can gain advantages in just by using the appropriate branding strategy. To avoid committing marketing and branding mistakes, a company along with its customers must be able to understand how important a brand name is and how it can positively or negatively affect consumer behavior. In previous studies, researchers only highlighted the significance of a company brand; however, over the recent years, the concept of a â€Å"corporate brand† was introduced to the business sector and studying such type of brands has revealed very important aspects in branding.

Language Death Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Language Death - Essay Example The endangered languages badly need to be protected from being eroded and should be treated as a living heritage. In the globalized world of today, the endangerment of languages has presented them as anthropomorphic organisms, with lives independent of their speakers. Throughout the world; the emergence of regional and international economic networks have, blurred the national boundaries. The highly industrialized countries have exercised their economic monopoly and have thus, led certain world languages to compete as imperial or hegemonic while jeopardizing many others. Languages are capable of negotiating their coexistence on their own terms and it seems quite surprising at times that languages; which are reliably passed down through generations; still become extinct. Languages are parasitic species whose vitality depends on the communicative behaviors of their speakers, who in turn respond adaptively to changes in their socio-economic ecologies (Mufwene, 2002). These adaptations have resulted in language shifts, endangerment and destruction and it's not at all surprising when we come across or read about killer languages. The death of a language occurs when it's speakers decrease in number and gradually diminish, an is taken over by a killer or a leading language. A language killer is a dominant language which is learned at the cost of the mother tongue rather than in addition to it. Though the essential characteristic of a killer language in not to eradicate a language, but most major languages can be identified as killers and this process is sometimes called linguistic cannibalism, glottophagy or language cannibalism (Tove, 2000). English today is considered to be the primary killer language of the world as compared to other popular languages like Chinese, Russian and French, etc. and sign; or other less powerful smaller cultural languages. When the speakers of a language shift to another language, their native language is neglected and the new language takes over. When a language dies, it does not just disappear naturally, but the speakers leave them voluntarily either for their own good reasons o r for instrumental purposes. Globalization and Language Extinction The death of languages has usually been summoned by power as an important factor, which favored the language of the powerful over the less powerful nations and populations. During the past four centuries, this has been made more obvious by the European Colonization of the world, at least until the independence of the Asian countries and Africa, in the mid twentieth century. The economic relations of countries less industrialized, with their former colonial rulers, have been subject to the terms and language of their former rulers for economic exchange. The European languages have not only endangered the other languages but have been depicted as killer languages, about to replace all other languages (Crystal, 2000). In addition to this, a language is also endangered because it plays a vital role in the cost and benefit consideration; where the speakers need a particular language for socio-economic ecology. The survival of a language in the globalized economy can result in the giving up of a language for survival. A language can thus be doomed and eventually become extinct for the socio-economic benefits. For example, many African languages have recently lost not to political

Genetic Information Essay Example for Free

Genetic Information Essay The goal of this essay is to determine whether the information presented within it could be considered a violation or a non-violation of the GINA of 2008. A case study has been determined to be a method to learn about a complex instance. This information is based on understanding the detailed instance and analyzing the context as a whole. I will be briefly discussing this case study. The GINA legislation had unanimous support when it was signed into law by President Bush. This case study is broken down into many different stories that focus on GINA. The Act was voted into Congress in 2008 (Hudson, Holohan, Collins, 2014). Case studies also describes an analyses of persons, events, decisions, periods, projects, policies, institutions, or other systems that are studied. GINA is being described as promoting genetic research and preventive screening, safeguard medical privacy, and prevent unfair treatment of individuals based on traits that are linked to diseases (Hudson, Holohan, Collins, 2014). There was talk about the threat that arises from the Supreme Court’s federalism revolution of 1995-2001. Chief Justice Rehnquist took greater strides in placing a limit on the power of Congress. These rules affected the Tenth, Eleventh, and Fourteenth Amendments along with the Commerce Clause that would balance the power of the state and federal (Tobin, 2008). It is stated in the fact sheet that â€Å"GINA expands the genetic information protections included in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA). HIPAA prevents a plan or issuer from imposing a preexisting condition exclusion provision based solely on genetic information, and prohibits discrimination in individual eligibility, benefits, or premiums based on any health factor (including genetic information)† (United States Department of Labor, 2009). Surveys was taken from 50 states that relied on the Bureau of Labor Statistics. These surveys showed disparities in private sector leave and  gender differences. Arguments are made over the distinction based on the level of scrutiny (Tobin, 2008). GINA was first introduced in 1995 in response to concerns about the misuse of information regarding genetic predispositions to various diseases. The bill sought to help those that was applying for insurance to keep them from being denied. According to GINA the analysis went wrong in some aspect of employment. The Supreme Court’s Section 5 jurisprudence insofar as they provide remedies for state employees (Tobin, 2008). It is also unlawful for a covered entity to disclose genetic information about applicants, employees or members. Covered entities must keep genetic information confidential and in a separate medical file (Tobin, 2008). There are limited exceptions to this non-disclosure rule, such as exceptions that provide for the disclosure of relevant genetic information to government officials investigating compliance with Title II of GINA and for disclosures made pursuant to a court order (Tobin, 2008). When it comes down to any type of employment the law forbids discrimination on the basis of genetic information which include hiring, firing, pay, job assignments, promotions, layoffs, training, fringe benefits, or any other type of employment. An employer should never use genetic information to make an employment decision because genetic information is not relevant to an individuals ability to work at any time (Tobin, 2008). A goal of the policy is to protect equality and privacy of an employer that lose their jobs as a result to genetic testing. According to Kimel and Garrett evidence that Congress collected is of no concern because it’s only in the private sector and not by state. Some states argued that being flexible to GINA is not consistent with the Court’s (Tobin, 2008). Instances in these cases shows the analysis of the areas that are considered too went wrong with GINA. For instance, courts need to apply heightened constitutional scrutiny to genetic discrimination. This will keep states from arguing against them and win stating its insufficient data. Another examples is there is a strong case for abrogating sovereign immunity in those cases where employers rely on the information that is took from genetic testing that has been linked to racial or ethnic backgrounds. The last reason is the provisions that uphold GINA’S privacy in 5 legislations has an uncertainty about it not being strong enough to work against state  employment. The Voting Rights Act Reauthorization Act was created in 2006 to place jurisdictions on the voting history of racial discrimination. The research from this act allowed congress to take action towards making decisions on these issues. Approval would have to come from the attorney General or a federal court. This pro vision help minority voters the ability to vote and make their voice heard through the election process (Tobin, 2008). Another concern was about racial profiling policies and procedures that needed to be changed to prohibit police from unjustly stereotyping individuals (Tobin, 2008). This bill called End Racial Profiling Act was entered into the legislations by Rep. John Conyers and Sen. Russ Feingold in 2001. The courts shouldn’t have invalidated the civil rights as it did because it didn’t put enough force on change for minorities. It has hesitantly enforced the rights of persecuted minorities and in many ways it has changed the face of the United States law and politics. I determined that GINA has been cited as a strong step forward, but I believe that the legislation does not go far enough in enabling personal control over genetic testing results. In conclusion, these cases have changed the livelihood of many people but more need to be done for better congressional. Some Courts have supported equal right while other decisions have hindered them. References Tobin, H. (2008). The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008: A Case Study of the Need For Better Congressional Responses to Federalism Jurisprudence. Retrieved from Ashford University. Hudson, K., Holohan, M. K., Collins, F. (2014). Keeping Pace with the Times – The Genetic Information Nondiscrimination Act of 2008. Retrieved from http://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp0803964 United States Department of Labor (2009). Fact Sheet. Retrieved from http://www.dol.gov/ebsa/newsroom/fsGINA.html

The role of social media in tourism marketing

The role of social media in tourism marketing Managing and Marketing Tourism 1. Discuss the role and significance of social media in tourism marketing. You must consider the broader context of ICTs, new channels including smartphones, and the implications for the tourism industry and consumer experience. â€Å"Innovation needs to be part of your culture. Consumers are transforming faster than we are, and if we don’t catch up, we’re in trouble.† –Ian Schafer. The whole world is totally dependent on novelties, and in modern world it is necessary always to be up-to-date. However just the awareness of the new trends on its own is not enough. Apart from it, it is essential to be able to get adjusted to them in an appropriate way. That is exactly what is happening in the tourism industry: there has been a comparatively recent breakthrough in technologies, and while the service providers seek to find best solutions of restructuring their marketing strategies and destination management systems, consumers are trying to gain more monetary and experiential benefits. The technologies that are tremendously important for tourism industry in this particular case gave a rise to social media. Social media comprises of a huge variety of tools that make it possible for Inter net users to share, exchange or post media files and other types of information using various channels onto web. Basically, the growth in ICTs has already resulted into vast shifts from in consumer and provider sides. Consumers became more sophisticated in terms of searching for the most rational options in accommodation, flights and other issues. With the use of new ICTs (SM platforms such as TripAdvisor, social networks like YouTube and web blogs like Twitter) customers are able to share feedbacks, photos and videos, find what millions of other Internet users’ opinions are. All of the users have an easy access to ratings on the places they are interested in. According to Zhou (2004), travelers prefer to rely on their peers’ feedback rather than on advertisements or opinions of experts. They stick to the belief that their peers have no incentives to be dishonest. The decision making process of customers has become more complicated, and their travel can be split into t hree phases, with an intensive contribution of social media in each phase. Due to the enlarged ICT use, service providers are forced to offer more elastic and personalised deals to tourists. Tourism industry has become very information-rich, therefore it is a big challenge for destinations to create or maintain their brand. However, with the suitable marketing strategy, social media can turn into an advantage. The significance of social media in modern tourism industry is very hard to overestimate. Social media are shaping the whole way companies and governments manage their products and services in tourism. First of all, social media open numerous opportunities to service providers. Through social media it became possible to contact a huge audience, which can exchange information with each other. It means that with the right use of social media the message can be spread very quickly and widely. Good associations with the brand can create added PR and extremely wide brand recognition. These methods of advertising are much cheaper than traditional ones. Another positive feature of social media for tourism is that it makes easier for both supply and demand sides to communicate with each other in order to build strong relationships, enhance cooperation and create efficient integrated marketing strategy. It also helps to avoid unnecessary payments to intermediaries in many cases. Apparently, t ravel agents are still demanded in the market; however the need of them is decreasing constantly. The survey shows that just 48 per cent of people stick on their initial plan after searching for some details concerning their trip using SM (WTM, 2014). As demonstrated before, social media in recent decades has gained a huge influence on tourists’ decision-making process and the tourism industry as a whole. Therefore the development of new, efficient Information and Communication Technologies and applications for social media is seemed as a necessity. New technologies allow users to have wide range of opportunities necessary to organize their trips. With the use of User Generated Content (UCG) and Web 2.0 there was created an application TripAdvisor which has been downloaded by different users worldwide on various devices more than 82 million times. It has 69 mil attendances every month; the number of trip reviews and feedback exceeds sixty million; less than 10 per cent of issues placed online are not responded in first 24 hours. Applications such as TripAdvisor make the pr ocess of planning the travel more conscious, convenient and rational for customers. In terms of the suppliers, they are also able to get benefits of ICTs: social media applications allow service providers to collect data about the customers. It becomes easier to find the target audience and make appropriate offers according to their preferences and expectations. The new technologies even offer virtual travels to some destinations. Usually such trips are free and their purpose is to show the clients a piece of emotions they can experience during the real trip. Moreover, the emergence of new technologies has created a possibility for tourists not only to visit very common places of interest, but also quite special destinations, which they would never be aware of without ICTs (Giaoutzi and Nijkamp,2006). Buhalis, D. and Law, R. (2008) suggest that there are three phases of travel, and during each of them tourism used to intensively communicate through social media. During pre-travel phase the consumer is being relatively passive while looking for some information rather than posting anything. However, it is not a rare case when people post several specified questions concerning their further trip in order to receive a respond from other users who might probably have a bigger experience or knowledge in the questioned area. Before the travel users commonly review accommodation opportunities, flight options and other less important details such as climate and culture. As mentioned earlier, the opinion of other users plays a vital role in decision making at the first phase. The majority of travelers strongly rely on the recommendations of their peers even if they did not know them before. The second phase happening during the trip is called travel phase. Social media are still extremely useful when the trip has already started. Travelers typically use social media at this phase to find some very specific information on the destination they stay at. Such information includes the materials about upcoming events, places of sightseeing, restaurants, clubs, bars, most visited places and so on. TripAdvisor has numerous advices of where to go in every part of the world; therefore it is possible to be aware of all the trends in the destination without any preparation. In order to improve travelers’ experience, they can also find the e-guide applications which will show them the directions to chosen places. While enjoying the travel most of the tourists tend to share some media files and instant feedback about the place they are visiting. 40 per cent of tourists post reviews on catering places, while 55 per cent ‘like’ posts on Facebook concerning travelling (WTM, 2014). Before the era of social media, travelers used to share their experiences only to a limited group of people. However, now it became possible to post everything online. As soon as the information posted in the web, there is no control over it, so it can be discovered by millions of other users. People when coming after vacations post taken photos, videos, feedback and other information which can influence the view of millions of other people. According to The World Travel Market (2014), 76 per cent of people post vacation photos in the Internet, while 46 per cent post feedback on their accommodation. Social media has a tremendous effect on the tourism industry, and in some cases in may seem to be contradictory. Along with new opportunities the development of ICTs forced the supply side of tourism to adapt for the changes. Therefore Destination Management Organisations have become very important determinants of success of the strategies. One of the main functions of DMOs is to maintain the sustainability of destinations with a special reference to SMTEs (Sigala, 2009). DMOs have created numerous Internet portals in order to provide tourists with pursued data. Consumers are offered to use the dynamic packaging, which is the mixture of various tourism modules, put together and priced online, as a respond to travelers’ application (Cardoso, 2005). Malta is a great example of a destination which has developed an extremely successful Destination Management System (www.visitmalta.com) that allows tourists to book flights and buy tickets in the Internet. There is also an applicati on for Apple devices that comprises of electronic guide system around Malta, including data, specific details, roads, virtual trips and so on. With the growing opportunities, the number of players in tourism industry has increased as well. The entry barriers have become much weaker, whereas the volume of the market has grown. Consequently, the emergence of a highly competitive environment seems very logical. In such conditions, the sustainability has become a very significant aspect, which cannot be ignored. The existing business environment implied that in order to be successful it is necessary to maintain brand identity (Vatanasombut, B., Stylianou, A. Igbaria, M., 2004). Competitive advantage that is one of the objectives for all destinations could be reached by creating and maintaining customer loyalty (Gurau, C., Ranchhod, A. Hackney, R., 2003). However, self-service environment is contradicting with being loyal to one brand. Hence the autonomy of consumers is both a requirement and a threat. Social media’s effect on the consumers’ experience and decision-making is astonishing imagination. Its influence even though is complicated, it can be obviously demonstrated. As The World Travel Market (2014) investigations show, 33 per cent of the travelers altered their accommodation due to the use of social media, 10 per cent changed resorts, 10 per cent switched the intermediary, 7 per cent decided to spend the vacations in another country, 5 per sent changed airlines. This numerical data shows that customers’ decisions are very elastic and their experience can be shaped easily. A huge advantage for the service providers is that nowadays they have the possibility to manage consumer expectations and their experience. Joseph Pine IIandJames Gilmore claim that experience economy is the new stage of economy following the service economy. They argue that organizations have to create extraordinary, memorable experiences for consumers to be satisfied. In this sense, it become easier for destinations to prepare some personalized plan for each customer, or at least each type of customer. They now can anticipate the expectations of their clients and try to exceed their expectations what will eventually lead to exciting experience and satisfaction of consumer. 75 % of companies consider that customer relationship management applications they have chosen to be fiascos since the issues they focused on do not improve consumer satisfaction rate or influence adequately the sales (Feinberg, R. and Kadam, R., 2002). The experience shows that developing Destination Management Systems is not always an easy task to perform. There are numerous cases when the DMOs seem to be useless in terms of improvement of customer satisfaction. One of the good examples is the case of India. Tourism there is currently at the development phase, and it has huge opportunities due to the plenty of tourist attractions, cheap flight tickets and large numbers of travelers arriving from all around the world. Nowadays, India is ranked as 61st most attractive destination in the world (UNWTO, 2015), and it is ready to become more and more competitive. However, India is experiencing problems with tourists’ dissatisfaction of ICTs development across the country. The majo r complaint include: no access to mobile versions of online portals, employees are not trained to offer ICT services, too much reliance on traditional methods, many companies cannot be reviewed through the Internet, the Internet access is in a huge deficit and others. Although there are several problems in implementing certain strategies such as the openness of information (competitors can easily access and copy each other’s strategies), it is still possible to find effective ways to gain and maintain customer loyalty. One of excellent scenarios is presented by Australian GMO and is based on inspiration of discussions around Australia using a variety of websites and applications such as Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and Google. The Facebook account is constantly posting information about new trends and the photos of the most picturesque views in Australia. They differentiate themselves by taking into consideration the content send privately by visitors and posting the best of it on the Facebook page. Every Friday there are posted best pictures of the week and also added to the guest album. The ongoing conversation is constantly maintained and apparently most of the issues discussed are positive. The Instagram account of Tourism Australia has over 1 million followers and it is also posting the visitors’ experiences which are later being commented on. Accounts on Twitter and Google post more information rather than media content; however they are also very popular since they include unique facts and news about Australia. Other, more individual methods to gain consumer loyalty include emotional influence, sustainable tourism and philanthropic concerns. First of all, the emotional connection of customers sometimes can be manipulated to become very strong. For example, there is a real life story about a young boy who was strolling next to the barber shop every day for several weeks. After a while, the owner of the barber shop noticed the child and invited him to his shop with the words: â€Å"there will be more benefit from you inside than outside†. Few years later the boy grown up, he learned everything about barber shop and became one of the leading hairdressers. Every time he met a new client he was telling him his story, and people experienced extremely strong emotional connection to that barber shop. Moreover, they were spreading the voice about that boy’s story, what consequently brought the barber shop a huge popularity and success. Secondly, it is important for most of the customer s to be sure that their service provider is ethical. Therefore, it is important to keep the business â€Å"green†, promote charity and other vastly important concerns. ‘‘Product Red’’ (2008) is a good example of a campaign of selling goods colored in red and donate part of the profits to the fond. Dedicated money goes for AIDS treatment development, illnesses in African countries and diseases counted as epidemic. The discussions around SM are widely spread, however not many organizations can exploit all the offered opportunities. In the real life, the way normal people use social media use quite simple and clear: we exchange information, we often ask for advices to improve something we are not satisfied with. That is what organizations should pay attention to. They should ask questions from users in order to keep improving in the right directions. It is vital not only to ask for people’s recommendations but also to make sure that their ideas if suitable are implemented in reality. The potential of such cooperation supply side with demand side is very big. It is also important for consumers to express themselves; it brings them the sense of belonging. Their ideas might be unique and very useful. When companies receive exceptionally good feedback, they can be lost in their development strategies. Constructive critics of different aspects can become a very valuable piece of recommendation s. The emergence of ICTs and social media has dramatically reformed the organization and priorities distribution in tourism industry. Customers are the ones to gain more than other players of the industry because their bargaining power has become much higher. Nowadays it is dependent on the opportunities that consumers have to go to web and get all the necessary information or discuss anything with service providers, at the same time gaining advantage from saving money. Social media has led to fierce competition between service providers and presented many improvements to the industry. The constant connection of travelers to Internet made it possible to exchange information in the real time and resulted into introduction of new channels of communication which make the processes of distribution more convenient. Internet portals and websites have a bigger and bigger influence on travels. The improvements in social media will be sustained by the launching of fresh ICTs. The existence of ne w effective technologies will encourage service providers to increase their rationality and take a full advantage of ICTs by restructuring their Destination Management Systems. Although the cases of unsuccessful DMS implementation are happening worldwide, they can be avoided by creating appropriate strategies for dealing with online customers and bloggers. It is essential to gain benefits from the cooperation with the demand side and taking some of the proposed ideas into consideration. Reference list: ABTA, 2004. ABTA Travel Statistics and Trends.Association of British Travel Agents. Available at: http://www.abtamembers.org/research/abtastatstrends2004.pdf> [Accessed: April 25, 2015]. Bramwell, B. Lane, B., 2009.Economic cycles, times of change and sustainable tourism,Journal of Sustainable Tourism, 17(1), 1-4 Buhalis, D. and Law, R.,2008.Progress in information technology and tourism management: 20 years on and 10 years after the Internet – The state of eTourism research,Tourism Management, 29. pp. 609-623. 2008. Cardoso, J., 2005.E-Tourism: Creating Dynamic Packages Using Semantic Web Processes Feinberg, R. and Kadam, R., 2002.ECRM Web Service Attributes as Determinants of Customer Satisfaction with Retail Websites,International Journal of Service Industry Management 13(5): 432–51. Giaoutzi, M. Nijkamp, P., 2006.Tourism and Regional Development: New Pathways,: Ashgate, Aldershot. Grau, J., 2005. Bargain Hunters Want Service Too.iMedia Connection. Available at: http://imedia.com/content5338.asp> [Accessed: April 25, 2015]. Gurau, C., Ranchhod, A. Hackney, R., 2003.Customer-centric Strategic Planning: Integrating CRM in Online Business Systems, Information Technology and Management 4(2–3): 199–214, 200. Mangold, W. G., Miller, F. Brockway, G. R., 1999.Word-ofmouth communication in the service marketplace,Journal of Services Marketing 13(1), 73—89. Sigala, M. , 2009.Destination Management Systems (DMS): A Reality Check in the Greek Tourism Industry,: Amsterdam, The Netherlands. UNWTO, 2015.Compendium of Tourism Statistics,World Tourism Organization: Madrid, Spain. Vatanasombut, B., Stylianou, A. Igbaria, M., 2004.How to Retain Online Customers,Communications of the ACM 47(6): 65–9. WTM, 2014.The World Travel Market (WTM) Industry and Global Trends Report. Available at: http://blogs.wtmlondon.com/reports/social-media-reports/> [Accessed: April 24, 2015]. ZHOU, Z., 2004.E-commerceandInformationTechnologyinHospitality and Tourism: Delmar Learning, Canada

How Computer Mediated Communication Affect Students English Language Essay

How Computer Mediated Communication Affect Students English Language Essay There are many genres in computer-mediated communication which are e-mails, chat-groups and the World Wide Web, etc. CMC is one of the popular forms of written language nowadays. CMC also changes peoples way of thinking. The CMC discourse affects students writing competence in a certain extent. This research discovers the occurrence of CMC discourse in students writing and how CMC affects their writing competence. Chapter 1 Introduction Since the rapid development of Internet and mass media, people are more rely on using Internet and mass media to obtain information. (Flanagin and Metzger, 2000) Internet covers almost all the topic that people know that is an ocean of information. It is much more quickly searching information though the Internet than reading entire books or collections. People exchange data and communicate thought different genres of Internet devices. Internet seems become an inevitable part in education and communication. Many new formats of media appear, like online forum, instant message program, short message service (SMS), etc. Language maintains social relationship between people, which is a sub-filed of linguistics called sociolinguistics. When new formats of communication appear, language patterns also change to distinguish whether people belongs to the group or not. The wording students use in the Internet will be different from the formal ones. Scholars like Crystal (2001) called the use of computer for communication computer mediated communication (CMC). There are asynchronous (delay) communication tools and synchronous (real-time) communication tools in CMC. Electronic mail systems (e-mail), newsgroups and bulletin board system (BBS) are the examples of asynchronous communication tools; instant messaging systems, like MSN Messenger and QQ, are the example of synchronous communication tool. One of the major advantages of such synchronous CMC is to bring together geographically dispersed students, and add immediacy and increase motivation. Teachers are encouraged to use CMC in their teaching, but the impact of CMC which is affect students writing competence negatively, especially second language (L2) learners. Computer equipments are essential in L2 classroom, no matter which level the students are. Writing competence shows students comprehensive language ability. Most importantly, students use the computer as a learning tool and entertainment in their leisure time. Teachers cannot measure the negative effect that CMC language brings. As students may think that using CMC language is trendy and more fashionable, they tend to use the wording in the Internet and this writing style may affect their formal writing unconsciously. This research paper investigates how computer-mediated communication affects students writing competence at Beijing Normal University- Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (UIC). UIC is the first university that cooperated by Mainland China and Hong Kong. It is a new liberal arts college to serve China and the world. Chapter 2 Literature Review The previous chapter has a brief introduction on this research paper. According to Qin (2010), CMC is multi-dimensional and takes many forms synchronous (participants are on-line at the same time and interactions occur at the same time) or asynchronous (participants need not to be on-line at the same time). CMC can be one-to-one or many-to-many communication. Consider the following figure: Figure 1 CMC features From the Figure 1, there are main types of CMC. The forms of CMC may then be classified depending on they are synchronous or not and on the number of participants who are involved in the interactions. The full name of IRC is internet relay chat. According to Jarkko and Darren (1993) it is a protocol for real-time Internet text messaging (chat) or synchronous conferencing. It is mainly designed for group communication in discussion forums, called channels, but also allows one-to-one communication via private message as well as chat and data transfer. A MOO is a text-based online virtual reality system to which multiple users (players) are connected at the same time. (Rawn, James, 1995) CMC also characterized of the structures of interaction: one-to-one interaction, one-to-many interaction, and many-to-many interaction. (Qin, 2010) For example, Lee (2002) suggested that a mailing list like the Linguist List would be and example of one-to-many CMC system, where a message is oftern sent to an unknown group of recipients. According to Beauvois Eledge (1996), CMC is a channel for synchronous or asynchronous written exchanges which is an excellent facilitator of communication. Swaffar (1998) also said that CMC engages learner more frequently, students have greater confidence and enthusiasm in communicative process. December (1996) suggested a more comprehensive definition of CMC: Internet based, computer-mediated communication involves information exchange that takes place on the global, cooperative collection of networks using the TCP/ IP protocol suite and the client-server model for the data communication. Messages may undergo a range of time and distribution manipulations and encode a variety of media types. The resulting information content exchanged can involve a wide range of symbols people use for communication. Language in Computer-mediated Communication (CMC) mentioned that CMC means communication between humans using the medium of the computer like e-mail, World-Wide Web, chat rooms (Crystal, 2001). Mobile phone text messaging can also be seen as a variety of CMC, although it does not use a computer as such. CMC also claimed that there are several notable linguistic features of CMC, such as orthography, vocabulary, grammar, discourse and text, paralinguistics and graphics. CMC demonstrates a mixture of features drawn from prototypically spoken and prototypically written media. Since CMC text-type is more informal, spoken style of writing, students may get used to write the informal forms in their assignments. There is a relationship between CMC and writing competence. According to Wang, CMC has played its irreplaceable role in language teaching classroom especially in collaborative writing. It also brings new challenges on language teaching. Beauvois (1997) found that LAN (local area network) does not only improve the students writing but also their confidence and general ability to express them. However, LAN is based on the synchronously interaction, it is thus basically a type of oral language rather than formal writing, which according to Beauvois, may also result in better spoken language. The discourse characteristics that commonly use in CMC language are orthography, vocabulary, grammar, discourse and text and paralinguistics and graphics (Crystal,2001; Ooi, 2002). Orthography means the informal (phonetic) spelling, speed-writing (especially with mobile phones) and absence of capitalization (even with pronoun I and proper names). For example, do wot I did; thx 4 ur txt; ill be over later on in the day. (Crystal,2001; Ooi, 2002) Vocabulary means informal wording, use of injections and use of in-terms and abbreviations, like ROFL (rolling on the floor laughing), IMHO (in my humble opinion and LOL (laugh out loud). There are also formal abbreviations, for instances DNS (domain name system), BBS (bulletin board system and BBC (blind carbon copy). (Crystal,2001; Ooi, 2002) Grammar means telegraphic language and multiple coordination/ subordination in sequence. For example, Have forwarded the N e-mail. (Crystal,2001; Ooi, 2002) Discourse and text mean the use of interaction features (e.g. questions), stream of consciousness writing, message-comment structures in e-mail and hypertext. (Crystal,2001; Ooi, 2002) Paralinguistics and graphics mean spaced letters. Multiple letters, alternative markers for emphasis (!!!!!, $%^%$#), capitalization, little or excessive punctuation, emoticons (WOOOOOW, hahahaha). (Crystal,2001; Ooi, 2002) Research Question: How CMC language affects students writing competence? The next chapter outlines the methodology of data collection and analysis this research. Chapter 3 Methodology In the previous chapter, the literature review stated that there are different characters of computer mediated communication discourse, like lexicon, graphology and orthography. In this research, a quasi-experiment was used to investigate the possible characteristics of CMC in students writing. Achen (1986) stated that Quasi-experiments are something other than a random sample of the relevant population with random assignment to treatment and control groups. Although quasi-experiment is not a real experiment that can show the accurate result from control group and experimental group, it still has its necessity in this research. Achen (1986) pointed out that sue to randomization may be physically, economically or politically impossible and controlled field trials may be impossible, quasi-experiment is necessary used in research. Firstly, people sometimes cannot fully measure all the factors causing a result, so it is necessary to based on quasi-experimental evidence. Secondly, the assignment to experimental and control groups must be taken as fixed, and all hope of randomization abandoned. (Achen, 1986) Pretest and posttest are another methodology that used in this research, showing the relationship between students writing competence and computer-mediated communication discourse. Group TimeÆ’Â   Exp O X O Cnt O N O (O= observation or measure; X= treatment; N= no treatment) Firgure2: Pretest and Postest From Figure2 (Yan, 2012), if change from pre- to post-test for treatment group and not for control group (or not as much), change can be attributed to the treatment) assuming proper experimental controls) Teachers face difficulties in enhancing students writing competence, especially the vocabulary and grammar rules. New mass media, like mobile phones and the Internet, are used in communicate the messages through network and those media change the language style a lot for people to fit in the Internet needs. (Bennett, 2003) The Internet brings a huge freedom on writing for students (Liu, n.d.), students not only using CMC discourse in daily communication, but also in their works. Teachers take writing competence as the most seriously compare to other competence, however CMC discourse brings certain negative effect on students. (Liu, n.d.) According to Liu (n.d.), the Internet is a double edge sword. It brings a lot of convenience, but also traps those immature students. If students addicted on surfing the Net and chatting through different synchronic response tools (like ICQ, MSN), they neglect the classic readings since these readings are not as interesting as CMC discourse. Writing competence is not only including using correct grammar, right word choice, but also including the correct and healthy values that students express. It is an influential way to promote negative values through Internet. Students writing competence can not be improved if they keep influenced by CMC discourse. In the chapter of literature review, lexicon, graphology and orthography are the three main characters of CMC discourse. The research is based on these characters to analysis students writing competence when they start engaging with English CMC discourse. This research may help teacher to find out the relationship between writing and help them to figure out a balance between CMC discourse and writing competence. Some teachers may overuse the Internet in their teaching, and bring negative effects to their students. The findings of my study may also contribute to raising both teachers and students awareness of using computer mediated communication. 3.1 Background information of the targets There are eight targets in this research, who are all Year 1 students come from the major of Teaching English as a Second Language (TESL) in Beijing Normal University- Hong Kong Baptist University United International College (UIC). As the entrance requirements of English score is higher than other major in UIC, which requires 110 out of 150 in Chinas college entrance examination (Gaokao). All the targets scored the minimum marks in their English Gaokao, which illustrated their original English competence better than some other students in UIC. The researcher gives the subjects a list of selected CMC discourse that is commonly used in chat rooms, texting and BBS. (Appendix1) After they know CMC, they need to write a 100-word essay every week. There is not limitation on their writing topics. The whole experiment lasts about a month. This research also aims at helping them adapt a totally new learning environment which is using English as the medium of instruction. UIC is a liberal arts school and uses English as the medium of instruction. It is much difficult for TESL Year 1 students to adapt; due to there are many linguistics terms and higher requirements on writing competence. 3.2 Data collection The subjects were TESL Year 1 students who have little influence by the Internet, so the research finding will be more accurate. It is because the enclosed education system in China, students are not allowed to leave high schools except weekends. As the new and released, teacher is responsible for not only teaching but also for students personal safety. One of the researches said that the most effective ways to ensure students safety is not allowed them leave the campus without permission and abandon other extra curriculum activities. The only thing students can do in the campus is study hard so many of them do not have chance to surf the Net in Chinese, let alone English. There are eight participants joint this experiment. Both data from pre test and post test are also needed in the research. According to Dimitrov, and Rumrill (2003), pretest-posttest are widely used in behavioral research, which aim to comparing groups and/ or measuring changes from the experimental treatments. A quasi-experiment will be conducted because it is difficult to do a full experiment, since we cannot find a group of people who have never touch the Internet to be the control group. Also there are some other reasons that can affect students writing competence. Organize pretest-posttest control group design which allows researcher to control the variable of time and maturation. In most schools and classrooms, random selection is not possible. The groups of participants are nonequivalent, so their characteristics are different too. It is better to do quasi-experiment to avoid threat validity. Johnson (2008) mentioned that validity is the degree to which a thing measures what it reports to measure. 3.3 Data Coding Scheme and Instrumentation A coding scheme was created from the literature review of CMC language characteristics, which stating the categories of CMC. The scheme included three different levels; they are lexicon level, graphology level and orthography level. On the lexicon level, there are neologisms (new words), abbreviations (short forms), acronyms (formal short forms) and rebuses (combination with numbers and letters). (Crytal, 2001) On the graphology level, there are change words to numbers (use 1 instead of one) and punctuation (use more than one punctuation marks to express emotions). On the orthography level, there are paralinguistics cues (for example hahaha) The research is based on these characters to analysis students writing. There is a evaluate sheet (Appendix 3) that used to count how many times does these properties appear in students writings. Marking the maximum frequency of each properties exit in the writings, finding out the mean and standard deviation of the frequency are the ways to show the data. Mean has three related meanings in statistics, the arithmetic means of a sample, the expected value of a random variable and the mean of a probability distribution. (Feller, 1950) The mean on the evaluation sheet is the arithmetic mean, which is equal to the sum of the values divided by the number of values. (Feller, 1950) Standard deviation shows how much variation exists from the mean. A high standard deviation illustrates the data points spreading out over a large range of values; a low standard deviation illustrates the data points are very close to the mean. In other words, higher standard deviation the category has the more effect on that category from CMC discourse. 3.4 Data Analysis The research question explored how CMC discourse affected students writing competence. The subjects should write one free writing a week, and last a month (they should write four writings in total). There are no topic restricts, they can write any topic they like. The first step is to find out the actual CMC discourse occurrence in their first writing. Then giving subjects some selected CMC discourse, those words are commonly use in chat room, texting and BBS. Asking subjects to write a 100-word essay in the following four weeks, aim at observe how CMC affect writing competence. The aim of the writing is looking into are there any CMC discourse occur in their writing after the researcher give the material to them. Find out the relationship between CMC and students writing competence. Some of the subjects were interviewed in an informal way, like chatting through QQ (a famous synchronic chatting tool in China). The first step was reading and rereading students writings. During the reading and revising the metacommunicative vocabulary should be paid attention to, which indicated how CMC discourse affects their writing competence. According to Xia (2006), the metacommunicative vocabulary is the language that subjects used to talk about their language use in communication. For example, subjects used different short forms in their writing that stated out the importance of shorten their writing time. In their point of view, short forms are their metacommunication vocabulary. 3.5 Result After coding, all occurrences of CMC discourse have been calculated according to subjects writings. Each subject included one pretest writing and three posttest writings, in total was four. Due to it took time to wait for the effect; the quasi-experiment lasted about a month. Table 1 is the summary of frequencies of CMC discourse in subjects writings in week 1, which is the pretest. CMC Discourse Maximum Frequency Mean Standard Deviation Lexicon Level Neologisms 0 0 Abbreviations 6 0.75 2.12 Acronyms 1 0.125 0.35 Rebuses 0 0 Graphology Level Change words to numbers 0 0 Punctuation 0 0 Orthography Level Paralinguistic cues 1 0.125 0.35 Table 1: CMC Discourse in Subjects Writings in Week 1 (N=8) From Table 1, the highest maximum frequency was using abbreviations in one subjects writing. Neologisms, rebuses, change words to numbers and punctuation were not found in subjects writing. It was the subjects writing from Week 1. The result was not out of exception, since the eight subjects have no understanding about CMC discourse. In most of the writings from Week 1, there was no CMC discourse. Correspond with their past lifestyle that they said in informal interview through QQ that lived in an enclosed education system. CMC Discourse Maximum Frequency Mean Standard Deviation Lexicon Level Neologisms 0 0 Abbreviations 5 2.5 1.92 Acronyms 0 0 Rebuses 0 0 Graphology Level Change words to numbers 1 0.125 0.35 Punctuation 4 1 1.41 Orthography Level Paralinguistic cues 0 0 Table 2: CMC Discourse in Subjects Writings in Week 2 (N=8) From Table 2, the highest maximum frequency was using abbreviations in one subjects writing. Neologisms, acronyms, rebuses, punctuation and paralinguistic cues were not found in subjects writing. For the subjects, abbreviation is the easiest category to handle and reduce their time on dropping notes during the class. Therefore, the category of abbreviation has the maximum frequency in Week 2. CMC Discourse Maximum Frequency Mean Standard Deviation Lexicon Level Neologisms 0 0 Abbreviations 7 2.63 2.97 Acronyms 1 0.25 0.46 Rebuses 0 0 Graphology Level Change words to numbers 8 1 2.83 Punctuation 6 1.75 2.55 Orthography Level Paralinguistic cues 0 0 Table 3: CMC Discourse in Subjects Writings in Week 3 (N=8) From Table 3, the highest maximum frequency was changing words to numbers in one subjects writing. Neologisms, rebuses and paralinguistic cues were not found in subjects writing. In Week 3, the data has a little bit different with Week 2. The maximum frequency in subjects writings still was abbreviations. As mentioned in the literature review, abbreviations mean the informal short form, like BTW (by the way). Since using abbreviations can shorten their time in writing, the subjects preferred abbreviations. Some of the abbreviations are not on the list; they searched for extra abbreviations on themselves. CMC discourse was a totally new issue for the Year 1 students in TESL. CMC Discourse Maximum Frequency Mean Standard Deviation Lexicon Level Neologisms 0 0 Abbreviations 10 3.63 3.07 Acronyms 2 0.25 0.71 Rebuses 0 0 Graphology Level Change words to numbers 2 0.25 0.71 Punctuation 3 1.25 1.49 Orthography Level Paralinguistic cues 0 0 Table 4: CMC Discourse in Subjects Writings in Week 4 (N=8) From Table 4, the highest maximum frequency was using abbreviations in one subjects writing. Neologisms, rebuses and paralinguistic cues were not found in subjects writing. This was the last posttest writing for the subjects. The subjects adapted the formal writing style in their English class, so their writing became more academic than the first week. Some of them would create their own CMC discourses, which was not on the list that the researcher gave them. The subjects started to handle the rules of CMC discourse. The research question explored how CMC discourse affected students writing competence. This question is related to whether CMC discourse occurred in their writings. Analysis of the informal interview data discovered different ways that CMC discourse affected students writing competence, such as use abbreviation of everything in writing and peer pressure. Use abbreviation of everything in writing. Most of the subjects said that the most direct effect on CMC discourse was started to use abbreviation. Since when they were in high school, their English teacher told them to remember as much vocabulary as they can. If they recite more vocabulary than others, they had the advantage to enter university. Therefore, they had never experienced using abbreviation before, and surely did not understand the situation in UICspelling is not the most important issue in study. In UIC, students who could handle the academic knowledge and express their own constructive opinion would be success. Note dropping is one of the key elements to absorb academic knowledge through the lectures, so the category of abbreviation has been used at maximum frequency in three weeks out of four. There is a Chinese saying Once you form a habit, it becomes natural to you. All subjects realized the difference between CMC discourse and academic, however they cannot avoid of u sing CMC discourse when they write. They write their heart by their hands directly, without the second thought and double check before handed the writing in. One of the subjects explained the situation that using abbreviation in the writing, It seems that using abbreviation become my habit, no matter on writing drafts or drop notes. The short form of the words comes out naturally. Peer pressure is another reason cause CMC discourse affects students writing competence. The eight subjects in this research paper would communicate with each other, and discuss how much CMC discourse they used in the writing. They take this research as a competition in a certain extend. As the researcher interviewed them in informal way, the subjects showed a sense of competitiveness toward others. They thought that the one who could utilize CMC discourse well would be the winner in the competition they have imagine. One of the subjects said that I can lose my face on using CMC discourse. I can defeat the others, as my English is better than others. The data indicated that the effect of CMC discourse nearly became their writing habit. The data also figured out that peer pressure also affect the frequency of using CMC discourse. The most directly effect of CMC discourse in students writing competence was abbreviations, for instance using informal short forms, like govt. (government) and edu. (education). The next chapter will discuss some limitations of this research and suggest some ways to improve this research. Chapter 4 Discussion The research explored how CMC discourse affects students writing competence. According to the informal interview, CMC discourse had a big impact on their writings. The language transforms with the technology development and ways of thinking in different cultural stages. (Ong, 1967, 1982) According to Ong (1967), there are three stages in the development of cultures: oral-aural, script and electronic stage. All these stages showed the transformation of language. Ong noticed that when language transforms, it will change the way of thinking. Therefore, the ways of thinking changed were reflected in the use of language when people communicate to each other. CMC discourse, as a new format of communication, changes the way of thinking and traditional communication. Form the result of this research, the frequency of using abbreviation affects the subjects writing competence. Due the existence of CMC discourse brought a great impact in their thinking ways, which is a totally new concept to t he subjects. There are two controversial arguments in CMC; (i) CMC has brought negative effects and challenges to standard of language, which affect students writing competence indirectly; (ii) CMC existed as a new form of language and literacy. (Crystal, 2001) If one can handle both languages which use in daily life and standard language, this would be the best situation. No one would worry about how CMC affect students writing competence, but it is impossible for the one unacted on CMC. The problem is the gap between standard language and language change. New form of a language would be standardizing if most people evolving and changing the usage in this way. Due to the limitation of time and resources, this research may not reflect the true effect that CMC language brings to students writing. In their work, it was hard to examine precisely the effect of CMC language. Their original writing competence and English ability may also affect the performance in the writing. Different subjects have vary ability of absorb information, so some subjects may not accept new knowledge in a short period of time. As mentioned in the previous chapter, the English ability of the eight subjects is quite good when they enter UIC. Before they enter the university, they would have a three-month-holiday; most of them would not pay attention to the academic knowledge. Especially, languages, like English, Chinese, need an environment and time to improve. They need time to catch up the language skills and adapt to a difference learning environment. Using students writings may not get the precise result on how CMC affect their writing competence. The result would be more persuasive if comparing their free-style writing than academic writing, sees how much CMC exists in their works. Since the subjects know the researcher expect from them, they would pretend they have influenced by CMC. In the future research, students free writing would have more significant results on the research question. On the other hand, this research just focused on linguistics aspects. If it is possible, the research could include different aspects, like the level of meaning and social interaction. The research would be more all-rounded if there are different aspects. The research lasted about a month, which was too short for getting a persuasive result. If the research could last longer, maybe last for a semester, the result would be more convictive. In future study, the experiment should last longer to show more accurate result. The next chapter summaries findings reported in the thesis and discuss possible implications of this research. Chapter 5 Conclusion The previous chapter has discussed some limitations of this research and suggested some ways to improve this research. This section summarized the findings of this research. The research question is How CMC affect students writing competence in UIC. The tables in Chapter 3 shows the changes of use CMC before and after the subjects receive the list of CMC. The frequency of using CMC has increased obviously, especially in using abbreviations. Since using abbreviations in their note could shorten their time and easier for them to catch up what the teachers talking about during the lectures. There is a negative effect on students writing competence after they engage to CMC language. They can use those selected CMC to drop notes in the future. The ability of drop notes has enhanced. The research also found out that students English competence also affect their writing competence. Chapter 6 Reference Achen, C.H. (1986). The Statistical Analysis of Quasi-Experiments. London, England: University of California Press, Ltd. Beauvois MH. (1997). Technology-enhanced Language Learning. Lincoinwood, IL: National Textbook. Beauvois, M. Eledge, J. (1996). Personality types and megabytes: Student attitudes toward Computer -Mediated Communication (CMC) in the language classroom [J]. CALICO Journal, Vol.13(2-3) Bennett, W. L. (2003). New Media Power: The Internet and Global Activism. University of Washingto

The Debate of Human Cloning Essay -- Cloning Clones Science Genetics E

Missing Appendix The Debate of Human Cloning Human cloning has become a hot topic for debate. As we progressed one step closer to successfully cloning and developing a human being, legislators and the general public have become more concerned about the ethical and moral implications of this procedure. The federal government has been unsuccessful in reaching an agreement as to what policy to pass and enact. Thus, any current legislation on human cloning has been developed and enforced by individual states. The state of California is one of the few states in the United States that has a policy on human cloning. Human cloning is banned in the state of California. Because current policy does not allow for any human cloning to take place, many research projects have come to a standstill. Scientists have still been able to carry out certain cloning procedures that may not be viewed as ethical by the general public as a result of loopholes in current legislation. It is recommended that the current policy in place be revised to eliminate these loopholes and rewritten to permit human cloning to take place to generate the tissue and cells needed for therapeutic development and research to take place. The ban on human cloning should only apply when the procedure is used for reproductive purposes because current research has shown that it is not safe to use in humans at this time(Appendix A.1). With proper restrictions and guidelines in place, society stands to gain many benefits through permitting human cloning for the purpose of research. DRAFT April 17, 1999 M E M O R A N D U M TO: California State Legislators and Governor Gray Davis DATE: April 17, 1999 SUBJECT: Recommendation that the state of California continues its ban on human cloning but revise the current policy to permit human cloning for research. BACKGROUND On July 5, 1996, researchers in Scotland made history when they announced the birth of Dolly, the world’s first successful cloning of a sheep (Appendix A.1). The world was shocked. The ability to reproduce human beings without sexual reproduction was no longer only an idea to be explored in sci-fi movies and books. After over forty years of research and development, human cloning is quickly becoming a reality. The basic technique used to clone humans and animals, somatic-cell nuclear transfer, involves the insertion of DNA from a soma... ...MA. 1997;278: 13-14. 11) http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html 12) Wise, Jacqui. â€Å"Bills on Human Cloning Are Full of Loopholes.† British Medical Journal. 1998;316: 573. 13) http://www.usfca.edu/cloning/ 14) http://www.humancloning.org/ 15) Mayor, Susan. â€Å"UK Authorities Recommend Human Cloning for Therapeutic Research.† British Medical Journal. 1998;317: 1613. 16) Furrow, Barry, et al. Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. St. Paul: West Group, 1997, p.894. 17) Bower, Hilary. â€Å"Public Consultation on Human Cloning Launched.† British Medical Journal. 1998;316: 411. 18) http://www.seattletimes.com/health-science/html98/clon_012098.html 19) Benatar, D. â€Å"Cloning and Ethics.† QJM. 1998;91: 165-166. 20) Josefson, Deborah. â€Å"US Scientist Plans Human Cloning Clinic.† British Medical Journal. 1998;316: 167. 21) Furrow, Barry, et al. Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. St. Paul: West Group, 1997, p. 415. 22) Furrow, Barry, et al. Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. St. Paul: West Group, 1997, p. 248. 23) http://www.ebglaw.com/newsstand/cloning.html 24) Furrow, Barry, et al. Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. St. Paul: West Group, 1997, p.435. The Debate of Human Cloning Essay -- Cloning Clones Science Genetics E Missing Appendix The Debate of Human Cloning Human cloning has become a hot topic for debate. As we progressed one step closer to successfully cloning and developing a human being, legislators and the general public have become more concerned about the ethical and moral implications of this procedure. The federal government has been unsuccessful in reaching an agreement as to what policy to pass and enact. Thus, any current legislation on human cloning has been developed and enforced by individual states. The state of California is one of the few states in the United States that has a policy on human cloning. Human cloning is banned in the state of California. Because current policy does not allow for any human cloning to take place, many research projects have come to a standstill. Scientists have still been able to carry out certain cloning procedures that may not be viewed as ethical by the general public as a result of loopholes in current legislation. It is recommended that the current policy in place be revised to eliminate these loopholes and rewritten to permit human cloning to take place to generate the tissue and cells needed for therapeutic development and research to take place. The ban on human cloning should only apply when the procedure is used for reproductive purposes because current research has shown that it is not safe to use in humans at this time(Appendix A.1). With proper restrictions and guidelines in place, society stands to gain many benefits through permitting human cloning for the purpose of research. DRAFT April 17, 1999 M E M O R A N D U M TO: California State Legislators and Governor Gray Davis DATE: April 17, 1999 SUBJECT: Recommendation that the state of California continues its ban on human cloning but revise the current policy to permit human cloning for research. BACKGROUND On July 5, 1996, researchers in Scotland made history when they announced the birth of Dolly, the world’s first successful cloning of a sheep (Appendix A.1). The world was shocked. The ability to reproduce human beings without sexual reproduction was no longer only an idea to be explored in sci-fi movies and books. After over forty years of research and development, human cloning is quickly becoming a reality. The basic technique used to clone humans and animals, somatic-cell nuclear transfer, involves the insertion of DNA from a soma... ...MA. 1997;278: 13-14. 11) http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html 12) Wise, Jacqui. â€Å"Bills on Human Cloning Are Full of Loopholes.† British Medical Journal. 1998;316: 573. 13) http://www.usfca.edu/cloning/ 14) http://www.humancloning.org/ 15) Mayor, Susan. â€Å"UK Authorities Recommend Human Cloning for Therapeutic Research.† British Medical Journal. 1998;317: 1613. 16) Furrow, Barry, et al. Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. St. Paul: West Group, 1997, p.894. 17) Bower, Hilary. â€Å"Public Consultation on Human Cloning Launched.† British Medical Journal. 1998;316: 411. 18) http://www.seattletimes.com/health-science/html98/clon_012098.html 19) Benatar, D. â€Å"Cloning and Ethics.† QJM. 1998;91: 165-166. 20) Josefson, Deborah. â€Å"US Scientist Plans Human Cloning Clinic.† British Medical Journal. 1998;316: 167. 21) Furrow, Barry, et al. Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. St. Paul: West Group, 1997, p. 415. 22) Furrow, Barry, et al. Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. St. Paul: West Group, 1997, p. 248. 23) http://www.ebglaw.com/newsstand/cloning.html 24) Furrow, Barry, et al. Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. St. Paul: West Group, 1997, p.435. The Debate of Human Cloning Essay -- Cloning Clones Science Genetics E Missing Appendix The Debate of Human Cloning Human cloning has become a hot topic for debate. As we progressed one step closer to successfully cloning and developing a human being, legislators and the general public have become more concerned about the ethical and moral implications of this procedure. The federal government has been unsuccessful in reaching an agreement as to what policy to pass and enact. Thus, any current legislation on human cloning has been developed and enforced by individual states. The state of California is one of the few states in the United States that has a policy on human cloning. Human cloning is banned in the state of California. Because current policy does not allow for any human cloning to take place, many research projects have come to a standstill. Scientists have still been able to carry out certain cloning procedures that may not be viewed as ethical by the general public as a result of loopholes in current legislation. It is recommended that the current policy in place be revised to eliminate these loopholes and rewritten to permit human cloning to take place to generate the tissue and cells needed for therapeutic development and research to take place. The ban on human cloning should only apply when the procedure is used for reproductive purposes because current research has shown that it is not safe to use in humans at this time(Appendix A.1). With proper restrictions and guidelines in place, society stands to gain many benefits through permitting human cloning for the purpose of research. DRAFT April 17, 1999 M E M O R A N D U M TO: California State Legislators and Governor Gray Davis DATE: April 17, 1999 SUBJECT: Recommendation that the state of California continues its ban on human cloning but revise the current policy to permit human cloning for research. BACKGROUND On July 5, 1996, researchers in Scotland made history when they announced the birth of Dolly, the world’s first successful cloning of a sheep (Appendix A.1). The world was shocked. The ability to reproduce human beings without sexual reproduction was no longer only an idea to be explored in sci-fi movies and books. After over forty years of research and development, human cloning is quickly becoming a reality. The basic technique used to clone humans and animals, somatic-cell nuclear transfer, involves the insertion of DNA from a soma... ...MA. 1997;278: 13-14. 11) http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/calaw.html 12) Wise, Jacqui. â€Å"Bills on Human Cloning Are Full of Loopholes.† British Medical Journal. 1998;316: 573. 13) http://www.usfca.edu/cloning/ 14) http://www.humancloning.org/ 15) Mayor, Susan. â€Å"UK Authorities Recommend Human Cloning for Therapeutic Research.† British Medical Journal. 1998;317: 1613. 16) Furrow, Barry, et al. Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. St. Paul: West Group, 1997, p.894. 17) Bower, Hilary. â€Å"Public Consultation on Human Cloning Launched.† British Medical Journal. 1998;316: 411. 18) http://www.seattletimes.com/health-science/html98/clon_012098.html 19) Benatar, D. â€Å"Cloning and Ethics.† QJM. 1998;91: 165-166. 20) Josefson, Deborah. â€Å"US Scientist Plans Human Cloning Clinic.† British Medical Journal. 1998;316: 167. 21) Furrow, Barry, et al. Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. St. Paul: West Group, 1997, p. 415. 22) Furrow, Barry, et al. Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. St. Paul: West Group, 1997, p. 248. 23) http://www.ebglaw.com/newsstand/cloning.html 24) Furrow, Barry, et al. Health Law: Cases, Materials and Problems. St. Paul: West Group, 1997, p.435.