Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks Essay

Response to Prompt 1 In the novel Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, Henrietta had cells removed from a tumor on her cervix without her knowledge or consent. Henrietta’s family also had no idea that the cells were being removed or the advances they would soon make in medical research. What the doctors and researchers did not realize is that in taking the cells from Henrietta, they were degrading the family and violating her dignity. By definition, dignity is â€Å"nobility or elevation of character; worthiness†. (â€Å"Dignity†) When George Grey took the cells from Henrietta, he was not considering her dignity or her worthiness. He was considering the benefits for himself and for medical research. At the end of chapter eight, we learn that Grey had never visited Henrietta while she was sick. Grey would receive the cells from an assistant and keep doing his research, almost as if the cells did not come from a living, breathing human being. â€Å"There is no record that George Grey ever visited Henrietta in the hospital, or said anything to her about her cells. And everyone I talked to who might know said that Grey and Henrietta never met. Everyone, that is, except Laure Aurelian, a microbiologist who was Grey’s colleague at Hopkins.† (page 66) By Grey never visiting Henrietta, he violated her dignity. As a patient, white or black, she deserved to meet the man that was taking her DNA and sending it to other laboratories for more research. Today, that would be illegal. But back in 1950, it was acceptable. Additionally, the doctors and researchers at John Hopkins violated Henrietta’s dignity by keeping critical information from her and the family about her cancer and the removal of her cells. If Henrietta had been given the right to know her diagnosis and treatment options, she could have made a more informed decision, thereby maintaining her dignity. â€Å"There’s no indication that Henrietta questioned him; like most patients in the 1950s, she deferred to anything doctors said. This was a time when â€Å"benevolent deception† was a common practice – doctors often withheld even the most  fundamental information from their patients, sometimes not giving them a diagnosis at all.† (page 63) Black people were given less opportunities to demand their dignity, and Henrietta was no exception. And when it came to white doctor’s treatment of black patients, the same rules applied. â€Å"This was 1951 in Baltimore, segregation was law, and it was understood that black people didn’t question white people’s professional judgement† (page 63)

Civil War and Reconstruction

The America we know today is a very different place than the America this country once knew during the Reconstruction period. In today’s society everybody has equal rights and opportunities to do as they please. People today have a right to do basically anything there heart desires, but years ago it was a different story. African Americans didn’t have many rights at all. The people and groups involved in Reconstruction had many different ideas for freedom and equality. In 1861 the Civil War broke out and became and on going battle for the next four years. At the end of the war 600,000 people were dead and four million slaves were freed. After the war Abraham Lincoln’s plan for Reconstruction began. With this plan Lincoln’s main goal was to bring the North and South together and bring the South back into the Union. The Civil War ended in 1865 and that same year on April 15th Lincoln was assassinated. After Lincoln’s death the 13th amendment was ratified on December 6th 1865. This amendment abolished slavery in the United States, but at the same time it still didn’t make it easy for African Americans to succeed in America. This struggle for African Americans was told in an interview of Felix Haywood a former slave from San Antonio, Texas. The slaves at that time believed that when they became free that they would become wealthier than the white people and all their worries would disappear. â€Å"We thought we was going to be richer than the white folks, ‘cause we was stronger and knowed how to work, and the whites didn’t, and they didn’t have us to work with them anymore. But it didn’t turn out that way. We soon found out that freedom could make folks proud, but it didn’t make ‘em rich. 1 Another interview with Warren McKinney a former slave from Hazen, Arkansas McKinney explains how tough it was for his people to cope with freedom. â€Å"The government gave out rations there. My ma washed and ironed. People died in piles. I don’t know till yet what was the matter. They said it was the change of living. †2 African Americans were now free from slave ry, but in a sense it was even tougher for them to survive because they were on there own. They had no money for food or a house, no education, and there were many restrictions on what African Americans could do. Many White people during Reconstruction had intentions of controlling and restricting African Americans. In many southern states â€Å"black codes† were enforced. These codes did just that. The Louisiana black codes Section 8 â€Å"No freedman shall sell, barter, or exchange any articles of merchandise or traffic within the limits of Opelousas without special permission of his employer, in writing, and approved by the mayor or president of the board. †3 It was almost like Louisiana and several other southern states with black codes treated African American people like children. Another example of a black code, Section 3 â€Å"No negro or freedman shall be permitted to rent or keep a house within the limits of the town under any circumstances, and any one thus offending shall be ejected and compelled to find an employer or leave the town within twenty four hours. †4 Anytime African Americans wanted to do something they always needed permission from the mayor or president of the board. The White people wanted to seclude them from white society, but at the same time still wanted to control there every move. Whether it was the location of where they wanted to buy a house, or the time and reason in which they were in the local town, there were always restrictions and severe punishments. After Lincoln’s assassination Andrew Johnson was appointed president. Johnson was a former democrat turned republican. He was born in the northern part of Tennessee. Growing up he was poor and didn’t get a great education so he could barley read or write. He was a racist tailor who hated rich people. While in office Johnson’s main intention was to keep black people oppressed. His Restoration plan pardons restored property, granted pardons to rich and confederate officials, gave no provisions or protections for freedmen, and the southern whites started voting again and gained control of local governments. Johnson would do anything to keep the blacks down, he vetoed the Civil Rights Act which gave African Americans citizenship and guarantee of equal rights. He then vetoed the Freemen’s Bureau which wanted to provide aid to African Americans who needed medicine, food, housing, and a right to an education. At this time the Radical Republicans had enough and in 1866 became the majority in Congress. The Congress eventually overrides Johnson’s vetos. The Radicals wanted equality for the black people and in 1867 Radical Reconstruction began. Congressman Thaddeus Stevens states â€Å"everyman, no matter what his race or color; every earthly being who has an immortal soul, has an equal right to justice, honesty, and fair play with every other man; and the law should secure him those rights. †1 Stevens is basically saying all men are created equally, but at the same time he also suggests that it is up to the white man to decide for himself whether or not to associate himself with African Americans and it isn’t in the hands of the law. After Steven’s doctrine in 1867 the Radicals had control of Congress and they were soon able to impeach President Johnson. Being that Johnson was impeached and the Radical Republicans were the majority in Congress it still didn’t seem like the future was any brighter for African Americans. Wide spread Anti-Black violence began. Groups like the Ku Klux Klan formed. They began lynching blacks, raping their women, burning down there schools and churches. Elias Hill, an African American man, recounts a nighttime visit from the Ku Klux Klan in 1871. â€Å"He had a horsewhip, and he told me to pull up my shirt, and he hit me. He told me at every lick, â€Å"Hold up your shirt. † I made a moan every time he cut with the horsewhip. I reckon he struck me eight cuts right on the hip bone. †1 For Elias the KKK was always a threat to him and his family, just as they were to all African Americans. The people and groups involved in Reconstruction had many different ideas for freedom and equality. There were presidents like Lincoln who wanted to help African Americans and on the other hand there was Johnson who wanted nothing more then to keep them as slaves and did everything in his power to keep it that way. Then there were political parties like the Radical Republicans who also wanted to see threw with slavery and lend aid to African Americans and then you had organizations like the KKK causing extreme violent acts towards African Americans. There is no question that the Reconstruction period was a chaotic time where people had to struggle with freedom and equality and today in the United States of America people might be free, but I still think that there are some forms of inequality.

Least squares

The backbone of analytical methods consists of various mathematical and procedural concepts to represent relations between points in the object, their corresponding images and operational procedures to solve specific problems. Analytical photogrammetric procedures may be considered along three operational stages, each invol ving specific instruments (Fig. 6. 1), viz. , those used for acquisition of image data (mensural), those used for data-processing and analyses (computational) and those used for display or presentation of the results.In view of the above, we would study the historical developments firstly with regard to the concepts and next with regard to the instruments and their potentials for the future. A mathematical model, in expressing the relevant concept, provides insight into the underlying chain of events. There is no mystery about the way in which this insight is achieved. The mathematical models have no scientific value unless they have been validated adequately thro ugh experience and research. Scientific validation is an openended process. As a mathematical model is successfully tested and used, it becomes established.Otherwise it stands to be changed, modified or simply dropped. We have witnessed this through the historical development of analytical photogrammetry. Furthermore, photogrammetry being an applied science, it is the content and not the form of the mathematical statement (language) that matters most. Thus we have noticed that mathematical and operational concepts have been adapted to circumstances without really changing the basic contents. The following sections would highlight the conceptual developments without going into personal . details.Hauck (1883) established the relationship between projective geometry and photogrammetry_ This should be considered to be the most fundamental geometric concept and the basis of most classic analytical photogrammetric developments. Ernst Abbe, the cofounder of the German Zeiss Works in 1871 s tarted intense studies and tests for optical elements on the basis of rigorous mathematical analyses. F. Stolze discovered the principle of the floating mark in 1892 while Carl Pulfrich also of the Zeiss group developed a practicable method of measuring and deriving spatial dimensions from stereo-pholographic images with floating marks.He presented in 1901 the ZeissPulfrich Stereocomparator by supplementing Eduard von Orel's (1877-1941) first prototype Stereoautograph at the 73 rd Conference of Natural Scientists and Physicians held at Hamburg. Separately, a ssimilar stereocomparator was invented in 1901 by Henry G. Fourcade (1865-1948) of South Africa. He presented this at the Philosophical Society of Cape Town. Sebastian Finsterwalder (1862-1951) in a series of publications during 1899 to 1937 established a very sthrong foundation for analytical photogrammetry.In these he brought about the geometric relations which govern resection and intersection as well as relative and absolute orientations. He predicted the future possibility of nadir point triangulation 311 and the applicatian af phatagrammetry to. astrageadetic measurements. He also. farmulated the basic laws af errar prapagatian in lang strip triangulatians. He was prabably the first persan to. use vectar terminalagy in phatagrammetry literature (Finsterwalder 1899, 1932). Eduard Dalezal 1862-1955) af Vienna, Austria pravided great internatianal driving spirit as he became the faunding President af the Internatianal Saciety far Phatagrammetry in 1909. He also. created the Internatianal Archives af phatagrammetry. viz. , the usefulness af auxiliary data and instruments in order to. avoid propagation of systematic errors in strip triangulation and the practical advantage of using wide-angle cameras. Heinrich Wild (1877-1951) presented in 1926 at the Second International Congress at Berlin his modified plotter prototype known as Police Autograph.

A Marketing Opportunity for Powerbike in Thailand Assignment - 5

A Marketing Opportunity for Powerbike in Thailand - Assignment Example In this report, we find that there are on-going developments that are supporting the bicycle sale business. The major one is the will by the government to support plans leading to use of bikes for short trips within towns and also by students to go to school. This is meant to promote a healthy lifestyle among the citizenry. The residents have also accepted the bikes as they are flexible and can be used to go to other areas that cannot be accessed by vehicles. In Powerbike’s move to change its production base to Bangkok, the company is faced with stiff competition from other well-established industry players, for instance, K.C.I Bicycle & Part Company. However, by focusing on customer needs and developing on its strengths, our company will manage to stay ahead of the competition and remain profitable in this urban market. Thailand is one of the rising Asian countries experiencing rapid economic expansion because of improved governance and high rates of foreign direct investment (FDI). This expansion brings with it pressures on social amenities as more people move from the rural areas to look for gainful employment in towns. The boom years made Bangkok one of the most active and heavily congested cities. The major pressure exerted by this population explosion is on public transport as the locals have to commute daily from residential areas to their places of work. This then necessitates adoption of other modes of transport to ease pressure on vehicular transport. This report focuses on the Thai bicycle market taking a deeper analysis of the consumer behaviour, demographics and psychographics. It gives advice on appropriate ways to maintain market share and weighs the likelihood of entry to the Bangkok market which is characterised by dense population and chaotic public transport. This is done by analysing both external and internal business environment on factors supporting or discouraging expansion programs, for instance, competitive forces analysis. Market segmentation, targeting and positioning are used to give a picture of the specific products Bangkok consumer market demand from bike manufactures.

Constitutional Law of the EU Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Constitutional Law of the EU - Essay Example In this particular instance, Antonie has to prefer a claim under the law of Tort and /or other applicable law for redressal of his claim. The facts of this case pertain to losses accruing to the appellant due to misrepresentation and there is a question of compensatory damages, which would put Antonie in the same financial position as if the loss did not take place. Antonie needs to prefer an application for compensatory damages sustained on non-contractual liability. It would have to be done in the Court of the First instance, and this court would have to give its ruling based on its findings and the losses suffered by a EU citizen which were caused by the UK teaching Institute, Easytalk â€Å"The Court of first instance has jurisdiction to hear †¦ actions seeking compensation for damages caused by the Community institutions or their staff† 3 The relief measures adopted by Antonie should be, initially, to prefer an application to the Registrar for initiation of proceedings. The salient features of the action are to be reflected in a Notice, a copy of which would also be sent to the defendants for defense claims to be filed within a stipulated time. There are two aspects to the submission of appeal by the appellant- verbal and written. In a verbal part, a public hearing of the case is made. â€Å"The judges deliberate on the basis of a draft judgment drawn up by the Judge-Rapporteur.† trial is conducted and the judgment is delivered on public hearing. Although the court proceedings are free of court fees, the costs of the lawyers are to be borne by the litigants, with legal aid, if necessary.4 The International Court of Justice of the European Community is the premier legal institution of the community. It comprises of the following three Institutions: (1) The Court of Justice (2) The Court of the First Instance (for cases pertaining to the rights of the individuals) and (3)

Exploring the use of outdoor play to support children's development in Essay

Exploring the use of outdoor play to support children's development in a nursery in Beckton - Essay Example One strategy seen as such is outdoor play. How useful, beneficial and challenging it is are the issues this study seeks to answer. 2.2. Significance This study can be significant in varied ways: It can be an impetus for the development of outdoor play as a vital strategy in providing meaningful early learning experiences to children; It can provide useful insights for policy making and curriculum development in nursery and pre-elementary education; and It can provide useful information for education stakeholders (school, family, community) in making use of outdoor play to promote the child’s total development. 2.3. Motivation Providing children with the best possible learning experiences that would make them enjoy schooling is what motivated the researcher to work on this topic. Knowing that children love to play, the researcher finds it interestingly relevant to explore the use of outdoor play to support children’s development, especially so that outdoor play had tradi tionally been the main strategy of nursery education (Lindon 2001, p. 125). As such underlying this study is the belief that a well-planned and well-supervised outdoor play would spell a big difference in children’s early development. 2.4. ... Introduction Learning should bring out the best in every individual. It should be enjoying and desirable especially learning in early years – the child’s formative years. Thus nursery schools must provide young children with meaningful learning experiences that would exploit their very nature – love for play. Play is inherent to a child’s growing-up. It helps develop the child physically, socially, psychologically, mentally and emotionally. This long-held belief has been affirmed consistently for years, showing how outdoor play supports the children’s development and what beneficial effects and challenges it entails. 3.2. Outdoor Play: Looking Back The central role of outdoor play in developing life skills in children may be traced back to Plato and Aristotle, with Plato defining the nursery stage (3 to 6 years) as the child’s period for playing and hearing children’s story and fairy tales; whereas Aristotle cited the need for children to be active and energetic as best acquired through outdoor play. (Frost 2010, pp. 10, 12) This antiquated view is consistently confirmed by later scholars essentially implying outdoor play as the best humane way of seeking one’s self-identity, worth and friendship. Since 19th century when childhood has been established as a distinct period of human life, the value of outdoor play to the child’s total development has been furthered. Noteworthy are the works of â€Å"Jean Jacques Rosseau, Johann Heinrich Pestalozzi, Friedrich Froebel, Patty Smith Hill, Rachel McMillan and Margaret McMillan† (Wellhousen 2002, p. x). Their recognition of the educational importance of outdoor play – pioneered by Froebel and continued by Margaret McMillan (Thomas & Harding 2011, p. 13) – have made outdoor play together with

Correlation analysis, linear regression (Quantitative Methods in Essay

Correlation analysis, linear regression (Quantitative Methods in Political Science) - Essay Example The value of Pearson correlation coefficient equal to 0.838 (near +1) indicates that there is a strong positive Relationship between variables Total Conflict Management Efforts and Number Mediation Efforts. The p-value equal to 0.000 indicates that correlation is significant at the 0.01 significance level. Assuming Total Conflict Management Efforts as dependent variable and Number Mediation Efforts as independent variable, a hypothesis can be formulated. If variable Total Conflict Management Efforts predicated using variable Number Mediation Efforts than the slope of the regression model will be different from zero (Doane & Seward, 2007). The null and alternate hypothesis can be written as: The high t-statistic (87.085) for Number Mediation Efforts indicates that the slope of the regression model is different from zero. This is also confirmed by p-value (0.000) of slope. Therefore, the decision is to reject the null hypothesis and accept alternate hypothesis. The high value of F-statistic (7583.83) indicates that the overall regression model is significant. It is also indicated by the p-value (0.000) of regression model. The value of coefficient of determination is equal to 0.703; this indicates that variable Number Mediation Efforts explains 70.30 percent of the variation in variable Total Conflict Management Efforts. On the other hand, Number Mediation Efforts do not explain 29.70 percent of the variation in Total Conflict Management Efforts. Total Conflict Management Efforts can be predicted using predictors (independent variables) Arbitrations in Dispute, Negotiations in Dispute, Mediators in Dispute, and Number Mediation Efforts. This can be seen by scatter plot and trend line of response variable and predictor variables (figure 2, 3, 4, and 5). The scatter plot and trend line shows that all predictor variables have positive effect on response variable, so a right-tailed test might be used. However, the default choice is a two-tailed

Film Close Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Film Close Analysis - Essay Example The next clip is also edited. 4 seconds Camera closeup of Douzi’s mother, Douzi is standing in the frame too but his image is blurred. His mother refuses to raise him at the brothel. She is crying and making sniffing sounds. Then she smiles and tried to cajole him. 5 seconds Long-shot of all three characters, Douzi’s mother sits down on her knees. Guan is seated far right of the frame across the table. He rises so his back is to the camera and asks her to leave. 2 seconds. Camera takes a close-up of Douzi and his mother. There is a loud clicking sound of the sharpening blades in the background. She covers his face with a scarf. Douzi tells her he can’t feel his hands they are so cold. 4 seconds Camera shows a medium shot of Douzi bent on a bench with this mother on the opposite side holding a knife. There is a loud clicking sound of a butcher’s knife. Douzi shivers several times and then removes the scarf. He looks at his decapitated hand. 5 seconds Medium shot of doors bursting open as Douzi’s mother rushes in carrying him. She has blood on her face, both are screaming and crying as she carries him. The camera stays focus on them as they move across the school. Other students rush after her. 3 seconds Next is a clip from the same room where they were holding a meeting with Guan. Douzi has escaped his mother’s grasp and is hiding under the table. He runs when she tries to reach for him. The camera shows a long shot of Douzi jumping across stairs and running into the veranda of the school. Other boys follow him. Boys try to grab him as Douzi runs. The finally catch him. Loud music plays. In this scene the character Douzi is introduced in the film, previously he was a by-stander to a street performance. From this point forward Douzi’s take up the main role in the film. In this scene, Xiao Douzi is taken to an Opera school by his mother. The teacher Master Guan spots his superfluous finger and refuses to admit him as his student. His

Research Paper Why Gay Marriage should be banned Moral Argument Essay

Research Paper Why Gay Marriage should be banned Moral Argument - Essay Example sary in this conflict is a new arsenal of weaponry: one which neither relies upon the rejection of natural law nor upon steadfast religious conservatism. The problem regarding the latter is that it cannot provide the justification needed, in argument, to prove the incorrectness of the opposite side’s view. That is, religious arguments against same-sex marriage are mere opinion, or, as Plato called it: doxa (Bourdieu). The problem regarding the former—a rejection of natural law—will be dealt with later on. So, instead of relying on old and tried arguments, this discussion will hope to achieve consensus with a new account of why such marriage rites are morally reprehensible—an account which does not rely on any theological groundwork. The hope will be to use a theory of natural law, one which dates back over two millennia, to prove that there is no â€Å"natural goodness† inherent in same-sex marriage. This entails a detailed examination of reality to determine the metaphysical truth on which we will ground moral claims and establish them as irrefutable. In the end, it shall be proven beyond a reasonable doubt that same-sex marriage violates natural law—a moral theory based on the dictates of reality—and must not be allowed. Firstly, however, an account of the natural law tradition is necessary. â€Å"Natural law theory†, indeed, has been labeled on a variety of theories of civil law, theories of ethics (both religious and secular), and theories of politics. The focus here, of course, will be on natural law theories of secular ethics, and although the discussion will involve St. Thomas Aquinas, none of Aquinas’ metaphysical (or theological) views shall be considered. Knowing this, the thesis of natural law theory in ethics is that natural law makes the foundational principles of practical rationality for mankind, and it possesses such status by nature. The thought that natural law creates the foundational principles of practical rationality implies that

How the cultures of Norway, United Kingdom and Greece differ and how Essay

How the cultures of Norway, United Kingdom and Greece differ and how it affects the way the countries are run - Essay Example Situated away from the cultural centres, Norway has a strong culture flourishing from the ninth century. The unique Norwegian Farm Culture, sustained to this day is closely related to the country’s history and geography, due to the scarce resources, harsh climate and the ancient property law. Romanticism has a great influence on Norwegian language and media. With the continued support of government for various activities like exhibitions, cultural projects etc, Norwegian culture flourished in areas of art, literature and music. Present Norwegian culture is a melting pot of various backgrounds and cultures. Norwegians are mainly egalitarian people who mainly focus on fairness, equal rights and open-mindedness. They like people for their nature and not what they do or how much money they have. They are honest and sincere in their relationship and have a simple way of living. Norwegian food has diversified in recent years and all types of food is available along with sea food. Ev ery year Norwegian food festival is celebrated in late august to celebrate different kinds of food. Music has an important role to play in Norwegian history. It has been passed down the generation and mainly includes instrumental and vocal music. The traditional musical instrument includes Hardingfele followed by Harp. The traditional dress is Bunad, an elaborate dress with lot of embroidery and jewellery. From Business perspective there are certain attributes in culture of Norway like informal style, individual interests, Transactional relationship and direct communication. History defined United Kingdom as a developed power, a major power and comprising of four major countries-England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales, each of which has retained its distinct culture. But with cultural influence of west, there were changes in United Kingdom’s culture. Humanism, Protestantism and representative democracy developed .With the evolution of industrial revolution in UK, there were major changes in field of agriculture, manufacturing and transportation which impacted socio- economic culture. Formerly a homogeneous society, Britain has become more diverse with people from different part of world living there. British are known for their stiff upper lip and blitz spirit. They still live up to grin and bear attitude in situations of embarrassment. They are reserved and private people and are sticklers for adherence to protocols. British cuisine follows a specific set of traditions and customs of cooking. However British has absorbed the cultural influence of those who settled in Britain. British cuisine’s international significance is limited to full breakfast and Christmas dinner. Britain has made a lot of progress in field of music with British invasion and British-pop evolving. The traditional music is centuries old and has contributed to a lot of genres. It supports major orchestras and was among the two main countries in development of rock music . UK has been in forefront in development of theatre, movies, radio and television. UK has played a major role in scientific developments from the times of scientific revolution. The Royal society serves as a centre for science and is the oldest society developed. From the prospective of business British are formal and look for long-term relationship in Business. The culture of Greece has developed over a thousand of years with influence of Roman Empire, British Empire but according to historians the credit for

Nonaligned Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words

Nonaligned Movement - Essay Example As the world continues to trail towards policies that aim to resolve the problems of capitalist overproduction, there is a growing propensity to establish avenues that will resolve it. These avenues are neo-colonialism, liberalization, trade multi-lateral agreements (i.e. GATT-WTO), and securing the cooperation of third world nations in order for their smooth operation. However, the current global order is also characterized by hard-core terrorism, of which the Muslim fundamentalists are culprits, socialist-led movements that rattle the global system, global poverty, and third world underdevelopment. All of these characterize the politics of the 21st century and NAM's relevance vis--vis all these is the concern of this paper. Today's world politics may be described as turbulent. Turbulent in a sense that problems besetting world imperialism have driven the first world nations to modify certain imperialistic tactics out of a pursuit to dispose effectively their problems of overproduction. The world hegemony has transformed itself into a new pattern, in which although the Cold War has ended for more than fifteen years now, imperialist tactics want to maintain their domination in the world. This is due to the inherent character of the capitalist system in which these states are founded, and the likewise inherent character of the imperialist order to dominate the world economy in the epoch of neo-colonialism. Laying down this position, it is important to link the political schemes of imperialist states with their economic activities since there is a great connection between the two as exemplified by the construct of political economy (Gilpin, 1987). The political pursuits of states in the 21st century are geared towards improving the capitalist market and disentangling themselves from a boom-bust market existence like what Japan has experienced with its Bubble economy during the 90's (Brenner, 2003). This is caused by the very capitalistic character of the system, both locally and globally. The 21st century laissez faire allows industrialized nations to thrive for more lucrative outcomes of globalization, in which all nations, including poor ones, are participants (Bonner, 2004). It may be pointed out that newer and more effective political trends are introduced by the economically leading nations in addressing the boundless problem of economic surpluses, the natural outcomes of unplanned and massive production in the capitalist structure. In resolving this problem, the presence of regional organizations preempts leading nations ion performing unlikely conducts like direct domination, which were the thriving occurrences of the world history in the past (Keohane and Nye, 2004). Regional organization, thus, act like 'world police' that check on the conduct of nations whose 'proper behavior' exemplify their being carriers of democracy. Democracy, being the leading political ideology, has beset a new trend in dealing with world conflicts. Alongside the presence of international organizations that allow nations to become members of the international community, the thriving presence of democracy allows them to bid adieu to the conduct of direct domination prevalent during bygone eras. However, it needs a thorough scrutiny to say that with the new trend of 'world pacification,' only mutual friendship and cooperation exist among states

Intro to Linguistics Essay Example for Free

Intro to Linguistics Essay The study of human languages; including the influence of one language on another; how language and words are formed and change within time; the rules of the language- how words are formed, the structure of sentences and words; relationship between culture and language; how language is acquired- the process of language acquisition (foreigner verses mother tongue language). There are two approaches/types of linguistics: 1. Traditional Linguistics- the only field that ruled until the 20 century. 2. Modern Linguistics Traditional Linguistics. Characteristics: 1. Proscriptive approach- according to this approach, linguists tell native speakers how to use their own mother tongue- what are the rules: set norms of/ dictating the right use of the language, the rules and the right use of the language- educating the native speakers. The goal is to tell the speakers what is considered right or wrong language. 2. Focus on the written language- Most of the focus is on the written text, which is considered superior to the spoken language; the base of the rules. 3. Diachronic Research (etymology) Historical research- the study of the origins of words and languages, which reveals many connections between different languages. Due to technological developments, the influence of one language on another is even higher these days. Modern Linguistics At the beginning of the 20 century, there was a shift of interest to the following: The human languages are more complex and highly different than animal communication systems- due to amazing cognitive human communication ability (the language faculty). A known Swiss linguist, Ferdinand de Sassure- the first linguist to pose the following question: what do we know when we know a language (mother tongue)? By asking this question the focus of linguistics was shifted from grammar to the study of human language as a cognitive ability (cognitive science). The focus shifted to Language faculty ( ) and what it consists of. Characteristics: 1. Descriptive approach- we observe native speakers use the language, both in writing and in speaking, and try to draw conclusions out of it- learn about the changes that the language undergoes through time. Not interested in what should be, but rather in what IS. There is no judgment of the use, just observation and description of the current use, in order to analyze and find correlations. 2. Focus is on the spoken language- point of departure is that the spoken language is more important to the research because of the following: * It is less conscious, more natural, spontaneous and dynamic and therefore it reflects better the current use of the language. * Not all languages have a written system, but everyone has at least one mother tongue language. * The written language is less natural- one needs to study it in a very logical way; whereas the spoken language –mother tongue is acquired in a natural process, common to everyone (normally in the early years of 3-4). 3. Synchronic Research (current) the focus is not on the origin/History of the words; but on the current use of the words today. We are less interested in what happened; but rather in what is happening today. Knowing The whereas knowing about! 07/11/11 Linguistic Fields 1. Phonetics- the study of linguistic sounds (also called phones) which are consisted of consonants and vowels. The focus is on the articulation and pronunciation of sounds (independent of the letters/ graphics). How the sound is produced. It is independent of the letters (which is just the graphics). How we produce and perceive sounds. 2. Phonology- deals with sounds in interaction, and when they are brought together into words- they usually affect each other. Cats(s), dogs(z)- something very systematic- ( )) 3. Morphology- examines words structure, and the ways words are added into our vocabulary, i. e. how we form new words. Ex- dis/content/ed/ness (the parts are also called Morphemes- small units of words) 4. Syntax- deals with sentence structure and the meaning of sentences. We also examine differences between languages- the order of verb and its subject, adj, nouns etc. In addition, we examine Syntaxic Processing , for example: Without her contributions/ are hard to find. At first glance- it looks like something is missing in the sentence, when actually we did not process it in the right way- we can look at the sentence as: without her, contributions are hard to find. 5. Semantics- the study of meaning- both of words and sentences, and the logic behind them. 6. Pragmatics –deals with meaning in context- how we understand one another beyond what is actually said (the use of the language). For example: do you have the time? – One wont answer: yes; but rather tell the person what time it is. Not like the dry literate meaning, Pragmatics deal with the actual use of language – meaning in context- beyond the literate words that were actually said. 2 - : * 6 ( = 6 ) * 6 ( = ! ) 7. Discourse Analysis- Like Pragmatics, this also examines the use of language, but the focus is on the text. Written vs. spoken text; Narratives vs. expository text; the use of conjunctions; types of text; different tenses; complex vs. simple sentences; the length of sentences; vocabulary etc. 8. Language acquisition- we examine the process of acquiring a language- mother tongue and then foreign languages. How children acquire their mother tongue so quickly? How does the process happen? Which words are produced first etc. It is related to all the other fields mentioned above. 9. Neuro Linguistic- examines how linguistic knowledge is represented in the brain. For example: aphasia- brain injury that affects the part of the brain that understands linguistics. 10. Psycho Linguistic- a very big field that examines the correlation between language and psychological cognitive processes (for example: lexical retrieval). Sometimes one meaning of a word is more prominent than the other, depending on the context. For example: bug- insect/ computer related problem. The field also examines what happens when there is no context- how we associate between words and its meanings. For example: word priming- Duck-(goose/ book)- the word duck primes with goose, faster than with the word book. 11. Historical Linguistics- examines the evolution of languages, the origin of words, and the relation between languages- how they genetically related to one another (Etymology). 12. Computational Linguistics-deals with building artificial intelligence, creating models that try to imitate how language works and use it in different applications. Related to the implementation of linguistics. Information extraction, more practical. (for example: Google translate). 13. Clinical linguistics ( )- the use of linguistic tools for speech therapy, for people who have language disorders (both kids and adults). 14. Social Linguistics- the field that examines the interaction between language and society (socio economic and cultural factors). Socio-linguistics We distinguish between dialects- different varieties of the same language, as a result of many factors. Types of Dialects- 1. Geographic Dialect-changes according to region (city, country). In the states there are so many different dialects, depending on the area one grew up in. 2. Sociolect-typical for a certain group in the society, which has its own social, economic and cultural characteristics. 3. Idiolect-dialect that is typical to an individual. It is sometimes gradual, and we dont always notice it. Usually bases on imitation. Each of us speaks a little bit differently (intonation, pronunciation, vocabulary etc). 21/11/11 Linguistic knowledge- every 4-5 year old can speak the mother tongue language. Where does the ability to understand and speak a language comes from? The 2 opposed approaches argue on the source of that ability/knowledge Is it innate (genes) or acquired (comes from the environment, stimulates, feedback)? Two opposed currents in science, which have great debate on the nature of human knowledge in general. They argue on the source of the human knowledge: 1. Empiricism (John lock; Hume) -every person comes to the world, as a clean slate- have no knowledge, which means that human knowledge equals the sum of experiences. Nothing is innate, we are only equipped with the ability to respond. Everyone are born equal- with nothing innate. This means humans can be shaped- their thought can be manipulated using feedback and exposure. 2. Rationalism (Decardes)-claim that human knowledge does not equal the sum of experiences: we are born with some innate material- we are equipped with some ability, to which experience is added. Experience is not the only thing! All people are equal, but this equality is based on richness- we all share something very basic and innate, to which environment is added. At the beginning of the second half of the 20 century, the argument of human knowledge continued with regards to the human language – mother tongue (different theories): Behaviorism- As continuance of Empiricism- there was a current called Behaviorism (BF Skinner, wrote the Verbal Behavior, 1957). B. F. Skinner claimed, based on Empiricism, that Linguistic knowledge is based solely on exposure and the ability to react- to learn from experience. That means everything is acquired, nothing is in the Genes. Skinner also claimed we expand our sets of sentences, by analogy (differ in only one thing- thus it is able to expand ones use with the other). For example: a kid only heard John ate an apple- but he will be able to create the following sentence: John ate an Orange; using Analogy. This means, we learn and use language, by: exposure +analogy. - In the following sentences, configuration of who does what changes (relationships between the entities) when changing the word told to promise and still, it is automatically understood by a child in his mother tongue: John told bill to clean the room; John promised Bill to clean the room. How? -analogy is not enough to explain the above. - Noam Chomsky (Influenced from Rationalism; wrote the Syntactic Structures, 1957) -a linguistic who argued against Skinners observations, claiming Analogy is not enough; and we have to assume inborn/innate linguistic knowledge, common to all human beings (regardless of their language or culture), which is also known as the Hypothesis of innateness. The experience and the feedback are mapped on to these language biological properties (encoded in our genes). The experience and feedback are not enough to explain mother tongue knowledge! We have to add it to something innate. Language is partially innate! Evidence Chomsky proposed to enforce his theory: 1. Properties of human languages (natural languages, animals communication systems are excluded)- * Homogeneity- except for pathological cases, all human beings acquire at least one mother tongue; more or less at the same time; regardless of their region, culture, socio-economical condition etc. This implies there is something biological in the acquiring of a mother tongue language- we are all the same. * Infiniteness- language is infinite- we have the ability to produce and understand an endless number of sentences, including sentences that we have never heard before. We have the ability to expand the language (for example- we never count to 1,000,000 but we can). * Identical properties across languages- there are some properties that all languages share (therefore- it has to be in the genes, otherwise – how can it be explained? ). For example: * All languages have nouns and verbs –thus, it has to be some inborn categories. * Universal grammer rules/structures, that all languages share: * John said that Mary bought a car. What did John say Mary bought? * Bill said that John said that Mary bought a car. What did Bill say that John said that Mary bought? * John spread the rumor that Mary bought a car. What did John spread the rumor that Mary bought? Ungrammatical sentence- any speaker will know this sentence is ungrammatical- impossible in English. What prevents speakers of using the above structure intuitively (in other languages as well)? Chomsky claimed that there are universal constraints (in all grammer of all languages) that prevent it. 28/11/11 2. Properties of the process of language acquisition (mother tongue) * Process is quick and efficient- child has to acquire a very complex system of rules, and he does it by the age of 4-5. By the age of 5 he already masters the language (in comparison to the long and complex process of learning a foreigner language). It shows that there is something innate behind it, otherwise- it would have been a quick process also when learning foreigner language. * Critical period/age- there is a certain age in which the child must be exposed to a language (the innate system has to be stimulated, activated), in order to acquire it- the age is usually around 6-8, and in some extreme cases it can go until adolescence (16). If it was not activated during the critical period, the child will have no mother tongue- he will have no grammer. He will be able to communicate in a basic function, but without the richness and infinity of the mother tongue acquisition, since the brain is no longer elastic enough to acquire a mother tongue. The issue of critical period provides support for the importance of both exposer and innate theories. Chomsky agrees that exposer is crucial, but it is crucial to activate innate abilities. If it was only exposer – it would have been possible to acquire a mother tongue at any age. * Process is spontaneous/ immune against external interference- the process happens by itself and the teacher/ parent cannot manipulate it. MCNeal (1964)-research that shows you cannot manipulate childs grammer, it will eventually change by itself with exposer. * Identical stages across languages- children acquire their mother tongue in parallel stages across linguistics, more or less at the same time, regardless of the language. This shows that there is some biological aspect to the process of mother tongue acquisition we have to assume something innate in order for the process to be so universal. (First they babble, then acquire first words, combining 2 words together, then start using sentences). * Poverty of stimuli- stimuli(the input) is poor- it is not enough to explain completely how a child acquires and masters his mother tongue: a. The stimuli is partial and consists of errors- the child can never be exposed to everything, still he makes up sentences he has never heard before. What he is exposed to is limited, yet what he can produce is endless. In addition, the stimuli consist of errors- he child doesnt always listen to complete/ grammatical correct sentences: the input he hears consists of partial sentences and grammatical errors; yet the children know how to filter the errors and eventually acquire a perfect grammer. b. There is no teaching- the process of acquiring a mother tongue involves no methodological and pedagogical process (in regard to grammer). c. No negative evidence- there are mistakes that no child will ever make, even though he is not told ahead not to make them. For example: John thinks he is smart (he can be either John or somebody else) VS. He thinks John is smart (he can never refer to John). When examining language acquisition, we see children making many mistakes, but no child will ever use the second sentence when he wants to refer to John. No child will make such mistakes to begin with- they just know, without being told ahead. De Sassure was the first one to ask what do we know when we know a language? What does it mean to know a language? He distinguished between the following terms: * Langue-the rules of the language, that are agreed upon by some society. The rules of a language, but from a social point of view (a social term). * Parole-everything we use or say- the way we actually use the language (What we actually do, language wise). Linguists are generally more interested in the Langue (the knowledge). De Sassure didnt relate to the question of innateness- what abilities, if any, we have in our minds†¦ 12/12/11 Noam Chomsky used 2 other terms: Competence vs. Performance. 1. Performance: the same as Parole: performance is how we actually use the language: what we actually write or say. 2. Competence: is not exactly the same as Langue. Both relate to the rules of the language, but Langue is about the society, the community (grammer is something social, that we all agree on- social interaction creating social agreement) and Competence is about the individual (the system one has in his mind: some of it comes from the genes and some from the environment). Competence is the ability that each of us has to produce and understand an endless number of sentences. Every speaker of every language, has the ability (whether it is innate or not). The point of view of Chomsky and De Sassure is different when relating to the rules of the language. In modern linguistics- the focus is on the Langue- competence and not directly what we say/do with the language (the main goal is to crack the black box and understand how the system works). The performance is the mean to learn about the competence, not the direct end. It teaches us/indicates about the competence: the way we speak or write tells us about how the knowledge is organized in ones mind. The main question that linguists ask is: what does competence consist of? Chomskys Model: UG+EXPOSER= G. Chomsky assumes innateness and that language faculty is to some extent universal (some things are common to all languages). He Offers a SPECIFIC model for this question: When a child is born he is in the initial state. In this state, he has some specific knowledge, shared by all languages: Universal Grammer (UG) it is the grammer that is common to all languages. In addition to the difference in vocabulary, there are grammatical differences between languages: by the end of the critical period, he has more than the UG, he ends up with Particular Grammer (PG, G)- specific grammer of a specific language. There are many Gs, as many as the number of languages in the world. A child is equipped with universal grammer, common to all languages, and during the first years he is exposed to his mother tongue and how it takes place (feedback, corrections, mistakes etc)- and acquires particular/specific grammer. UG+EXPOSER= G. The G is a combination of something innate and something that comes from the environment. What does the UG consist of? According to Chomskys model, UG consists of two things: 1. Principles- rules that are innate and that are common to all languages (things that dont change at all from one language to another, such as: the existence of nasal consonants). 2. Parameters- those are also rules that are innate, and are also part of universal grammer; but in contrast to principals, these are open rules, whose values (fillings) are acquired during the exposer. The values are not common to different languages, Thus they have to be acquired via exposer. For example: in all language there is a subject in every sentence; but in some languages the subject must be a separate entity- which means the subject position is always occupied vs. in some languages the subject can be dropped (English does not allow the dropping of a subject: cant say ate an apple. We must add a subject; vs. Hebrew- represents the subject. In the French language, we are not allowed to drop the subject, even when it is known who did the action: Jai mange la pomme- the French ai is like the Hebrew , yet we still cannot drop the J: we have to have a separate entity for the subject). This parameter is called the Null subject parameter ( )- The Parameter: the subject must be pronounced separately; The Values of the Parameter: (that has to be filled- determined through the acquisition process) Yes or No. In Hebrew and Italian the value is no (in some cases, we can have a sentence without a subject), in English and French the value is Yes. During the critical period, the child is exposed to the data in his mother tongue and they acquire the values to the fixed parameters (the parameter is innate, its values though are not innate- they change from language to language and acquired in the childs critical period). Another Parameter is: * It is hot outside- * It seems that Marry is late- * There is a cat in the room- In English the occurrence of the pronouns (functioning as the sentences subject) it and there is a must: they cannot be dropped (it is not grammatical, although one will be perfectly understood if hell say it); in Hebrew, we can drop them. Even though semantically we dont need the subject, in English it must be filled. These pronouns are called: Expletive / Pleonastic Pronouns- pronouns that do not refer to an entity, but theyre only function is to fill the subject position. They HAVE NO SEMANTIC ROLE, THEY ARE ONLY THERE TO FILL THE POSTION OF THE SUBJECT. We distinguish between pleonastic pronouns and referential pronouns, which refer to some kind of entity (he, she, w, they etc). It and There are not always expletive pronouns- they can also function as referential pronouns: It is hot outside (expletive) vs. I cant eat the soup, (referential); the cat is there (referential) vs. there is a cat in the room (expletive). We can relate to it as two parameters: 1. Parameter: an expletive pronoun exists; values: yes/no. (In English- yes, in Hebrew- no). 2. Parameter: a subject is a must; values: yes/no. (We can say that if a language must have a subject, it will necessary have Expletive pronouns; and vice versa: If the subject is not a must- there are no expletive pronouns. there might be, but they will not be a must). The two things come together- * Cluster of properties- The Parameters come in clusters- one affects/ can teach about the other. The existence of Principles and Parameters strengthens the hypothesis of innateness, because it shows the occurrence of certain grammer structures is not random- there is something consistent across different languages, which therefore must be predetermined, innate. 19/12/11 Some languages require an independent subject and in addition- they have expletive pronouns (it seems that the quiz will be difficult- expletive; this soup is not tasty because it is cold. The it is referential- points to an entity). Proposition Stranding and Pied Piping Who did you speak to? can also be asked as followed: To whom did you speak? - These are two possible grammatical structures that manifest the same idea. It is not possible in Hebrew: : : This construction is called- Preposition Stranding- you desert the proposition by itself: leaving the proposition by itself at the end of the sentence. It can be viewed as a parameter, differentiating languages. Another construction/parameter is: Pied Piping- locating the proposition at the beginning of the sentence. This parameter is valued yes in both English and Hebrew (allowed in both languages). Material for the quiz is up to here! - Phonetics and Phonology- These are both fields that deal with sound and specifically linguistic sounds (phones- ) sounds that are parts of a language. Phones are divided into: consonants (b, l, r, m†¦) and vowels (e, a, i ). The differentiation doesnt refer to the letters, but to the sounds that are used naturally/ automatically. (Since the same sound can be expressed/ represented by different symbols/letters, for example: the sound K- is represented by 4 letters: k, c, q, ch. We will refer to all 4 as K). In Phonetics- Different sounds are examined in different languages: how they are produced and how they are perceived- it is a technical field regarding how pronunciation works. One sound can be expressed/ represented by different symbols/letters or one letter u represents many sounds: university, fur, put, cut etc. Conclusion: there is no correspondence between sound and symbol. Phonetic systems (systems of symbols- used for transcription- write exactly as you here it- distinguish between spelling and pronunciation) 1. International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) – a system of symbols, used mainly by linguists, in which every sound corresponds to one symbol and vice versa. 2. American Phonetic Alphabet (APA) similar, yet competing system to the IPA. These are two similar, yet competing, artificial languages/ systems, dealing with the ambiguity of the languages/ with the lack of correspondence between sound and symbol. Both systems are based on English letters, other than special sounds/exceptions (that have no one specific letter in English that prescribe them) such as: * in order to indicate/transcribe sh we use: stretched big s (IPA) or s^(APA)- (the ^ should be upside down) * ch= t+stretched big S with a bow on top of them (IPA) or c^ (APA) * for th (such as in thin) = 0 with a line across it (APA+IPA) 26/12/11 A minimal pair- * big- pig * sing- sang. * dean- teen (The only difference is the phone- t vs d. The spelling is irrelevant) * knight- light These words are different in meaning, yet they are different in only one sound. The switch of the consonant g/ p changes the meaning of the word. This kind of word pairs are called minimal pair-a pair of words that differ from one another in meaning and in one phone (sound) only. (Only one difference in pronunciation- the spelling is irrelevant) * night- knight : are not a minimal pair, because there is no difference in pronunciation. Phoneme- Phoneme- a minimal linguistic unit that can change the meaning. One of the goals of recognizing minimal pairs is to recognize the basic sounds in a language, that can cause a change of meaning. We use the tool of minimal pairs to identify and distinguish between the Phonemes of a language. Aspirated consonant ( ) * Spy vs. pie- when we pronounce pie, there is a greater puff of air when pronounced. This is also the case in: stole vs. tall (in tall we puff much more air). These are aspirated consonants, which are marked with a little h on top of the consonant. They are two types for the same consonant- the regular and the aspirated one, where we puff a greater amount of air (pie; tall). Are the aspirated consonants phonemes? (Can they distinguish between a minimal pair? -can we find a pair of words that the only difference between them is aspirated consonant vs. non-aspirated). In English, there is no such pair; yet in the Hindi language we can find several examples. Conclusions: 1. In English, they are not phonemes (vs. Hindi), because they can never occur in the same environment/location of the word, which means they are 2 manifestations/versions of the same thing. We can predict in which environment/ when the aspirated consonant will occur. 2. Minimal pairs are used to distinguish between phonemes and also to determine which consonants and vowel are not phonemes. 2/1/2012 Pig – big (minimal pair) vs. Pie, spy (not a minimal pair since there are 2 differences in pound). In English, aspirated and regular – Complementary Distribution- these two sounds never occur at the same environment/ same location of the words, which means they are two manifestations of the same thing – of the phone p. This means P is the phoneme which has two manifestations: aspirated and regular (non-aspirated). This means that this phone has two allophones. Two ways of language representation- 1. Phonemes- the general term for linguistics sounds. These are the basic sounds of a language, and are language specific (are not the same in different languages). They are part of the Underlying Representation (UR): the way and the place words and sounds in specific, are represented in our mind- in the backstage- abstract representation. The phoneme has two manifestations: one is the actual p and the other is the aspirated one. 2. What we actually say are allophones. Allophones are in the Phonetic/ Representation (PR) what comes out of our mouths (articulation). Every phoneme is also an allophone, but not the other way around! Thus, there are some things that are represented in the PR, yet are not represented in the UR (like the aspirated p). In the Ur we have the regular P phoneme, which has two manifestations in the PR: In English, the only case we see an aspirated P is in the beginning of a word and before a vowel (both must occur together). In all other case the P will not be aspirated. For example: Possible, put, pink, pan, etc. vs. apply, spring, play etc. This means the aspirated P has no independence existence- we can predict its occurrence. The default is the regular P and only in a specific environment will have an aspirated P. The aspirated P doesnt exist in the UR! Another example is: regular N vs. the back N: They cannot distinguish between minimal pairs in English- will never occur in the same environment. We will find the back n only before the sounds k and g- in specific environment, which is predictable. For ex: bank, Bangkok, rank, chunk, rang, ring, thanks, bring. The normal N is the default – will occur everywhere else, except for before the sounds: g and k sounds. These two allophones are two versions of the same thing (of the one phoneme) that never occur in the same environment- complementary distribution. N is the phoneme, which has two allophones: n and back n. We can predict exactly where each of the manifestations will occur. * The phoneme is in the UR and the allophones are in the PR. * The default is always in the UR! – The phoneme. * The allophones are always in complementary distribution- meaning they never occur in the same environment and will never distinguish between minimal pairs. You can nver find in English 2 words where the only difference between them will be n and back n. * Minimal pairs are the tools to identify phonemes. Distinctive Features 1. Aspiration The pair pal- pal (with aspirated p) in Hindi – these two words are different in meaning and in one phone only. In specific, they are different in one feature only: aspirated vs. non-aspirated. This means, they constitute a minimal pair (In Hindi). Aspiration – this feature in Hindi unlike the English, we have both – because they have independent existence- each of them is a phoneme on its own. Aspiration – this feature in Hindi, unlike English, is a Distinctive Feature- a feature that distinguishes between 2 phonemes in the same language and as a result it can create a difference between minimal pairs. Aspiration is not a distinctive feature in Hebrew and English. It is a distinctive feature in Hindi language. 2. Voicing ( )- Dean – Teen: d- Is a voice (+voice) consonant ( ) and t is voiceless (- voice). This feature, called voicing, creates different meaning in both words. Thus, it is a distinctive feature in English, because it can distinguish between minimal pairs. Minimal pair- a minimal pair is a pair of words that differ from one another in one meaning, 1 phone (sound) only, and the 2 phones must be different in one feature! 9/1/2012 Phonetic features of consonants- What makes sound/phones different from one another? Linguistic sounds are called phones, and are divided into: consonants and vowels. The difference between the two: in the production of vowels the air flows freely, however in the production of consonants the air is blocked to some extent. The speech organs- body organs that are involved in the production of phones (Lips, tongue, nose, teeth, and palate). Generally, the following are involved: the oral cavity and the nasal cavity ( ). The consonants differ from one another according to 3 criteria: 1. Place of articulation- the location in which the air is blocked and the consonant is produced (B- in the lips; T- in the tongue; P-in the lips and teeth) 2. Manner of articulation ( ) relates to the manner of the air flow and the degree of blocking. For example: n- blocked in the nose. 3. Voicing- relates to the vibration/ the lack of vibrat.

Merger Of Kingfisher Plc Business Essay

Merger Of Kingfisher Plc Business Essay Kingfisher Plc is one of the major retailers in UK managing over 600 stores and handling over seventy-five thousand employees. At present, the company is the leading provider of womens wear and lingerie in the United Kingdom. In the area of other apparel, these have incurred a considerable amount of growth. The company also provides for food retail. The company sells a wide array of food products from groceries to ready-to-cook meals. Nowadays, there have been a considerable amount of changes in the overall strategy of the company. Nonetheless, it still holds true to the basic principles of the company. Such principles include the offering of the wide selection of high-quality products which are considered chic and classic with the most reasonable prices in the market. Merger of Kingfisher Plc with DIY Supermarket:- To competerivals and to respond to the changes in the external environment of the organizations the management of the KINGFISHER LTD and the DIY Supermarket are planning to merge into a signal entity. Under the plans, KINGFISHER LTD would be re branded Kings and DIY Supermarket plc. KingsDIY Supermarkets and consist of two operating subsidiaries, Kingfisher PlcandDIY Supermarkets. Sava Centre Limited will be owned by Kingfisher Ltd., and DIY Supermarkets Supermarkets Limited will be re branded KIngfisher Ltd, being owned by DIY Supermarkets (HIGHSON, 2008) The Combined Group will have 1,300 stores, although they should be prepared to sell 300 so as to not refer the deal to the Competition Commission. It will be the UKs second largest retailer (behind Tesco), the UKs largest clothing retailer, and the second largest supermarket chain, with a market share of over 20%.(HIGHSON, 2008) The report will analyse the merger process and the change management process and as a change manager I will develop the change strategy for the KINGFISHER LTD to manage the changes in the organization as a result of the merger between the both organisations. I will analyse different models of change to implement the changes effectively in the KINGFISHER LTD and also develop the strategy to involve stakeholders in the change process to make change more effective and access the causes of resistant to change and develop the processes which can be implemented to reduce resistant to change being implemented. Models of change management: There are various models of the change developed by the researchers to develop and implement effective changes in the organization to compete in the external environment of the organization. There are following models of the change which can be used to implement changes in the given case of KINGFISHER LTD. in the current economic environment the organisation is facing strong competition from the rivals. There are the following models which I will be using to implement the change in the KINGFISHER LTD. THE THREE-STEP MODEL OF CHANGE In developing this model, Lewin (1947a:p. 228-9) noted that: A change towards a higher level of group performance is frequently short lived; after a short in an arm group life soon return to the previous level. It indicates that it does not suffice to define the object of planned change in-group performance as the reaching of different levels. For Lewins therefore, successful change involves three steps: Unfreezing the present level; Moving to the new level; Refreezing the new level; Figure: 1.1 Kurt Lewis model of changeSource: Online (accessed on 11/08/2012). John P Kotters eight steps to successful change: American John P Kotter (b 1947) is a Harvard Business School professor and leading thinker and author on organizational change management. Kotters highly regarded books Leading Change (1995) and the follow-up The Heart Of Change (2002) describe a helpful model for understanding and managing change. Each stage acknowledges a key principle identified by Kotter relating to peoples response and approach to change, in which people see, feel and then change. Kotters eight step change model can be summarised as: Increase urgency inspire people to move, make objectives real and relevant. Build the guiding team get the right people in place with the right emotional commitment, and the right mix of skills and levels. Get the vision right get the team to establish a simple vision and strategy, focus on emotional and creative aspects necessary to drive service and efficiency. Communicate for buy-in Involve as many people as possible, communicate the essentials, simply, and to appeal and respond to peoples needs. De-clutter communications make technology work for you rather than against. Empower action Remove obstacles, enable constructive feedback and lots of support from leaders reward and recognise progress and achievements. Create short-term wins Set aims that are easy to achieve in bite-size chunks. Manageable numbers of initiatives. Finish current stages before starting new ones. Dont let up Foster and encourage determination and persistence on-going change encourage on-going progress reporting highlight achieved and future milestones. Make change stick- Reinforce the value of successful change via recruitment, promotion, and new change leaders. Weave change into culture. Relevance of the selected models of change to the Kingfisher Plc: The above given models are very important for the implementation of the change in the organization as the KINGFISHER LTD and the DIY Supermarket are different organizations and while combining the both organizations will face several problems regarding the implementation of the changes in the organization.Like it or not, the changing economy will necessitate drastic reorganization possibly due to downturns in the economy. Lewins model could be used by managers of the Kingfisher Plc to more efficiently implement any organizational changes. For example, suppose that a firm is facing the prospect of downsizing due to a slow market. In the first step, unfreezing, senior management could inform all employees via the company intranet as well as through informal Townhall style meetings of the serious economic challenges facing the organization. Input gathered from employees as well as from internal audits would then be made available to all employees. The second step, change, would then be implemented, most likely in the form of reorganization involving the elimination of some positions. In the final step, refreezing, intra-organizational adjustments would be made to accommodate the new organizational work flow. Any employees who have been terminated could be offered post-employment retraining or vocational assistance. Most importantly, senior management ofKingfisher Plcwould need to demonstrate to the remai ning employees the efficiency  and necessity of the new reorganization.   Selection of Model to be used to implement change in KINGFISHER LTD: Lewins three step model of change involves developing a model for the driving change andlearning to either manipulate the process or enhance its effect.   According to Levin the first step in the process of changing behaviour is to unfreeze the existing situation or status quo.   The second stage is to move the target system to a new level of equilibrium.   Some assistance to this stage can be assisting stakeholders with seeing the benefit of interrupting the status quo.   In addition, the negative effects of remaining the same level can be driven by influential leaders.   The third step of Lewins model is to freeze thought after the change takes place at a new level. As a change manager of the Kingfisher PlcI can use this model in relation to the changing economy by melding their workforce to expect change and embrace its value.   There are few aspects of life that are totally negative and people must be educated to see this.   By looking at Lewins force field analysis I can use this information to help myself and my employees embrace change.   As for the aspect of coping with uncertainty, the anxiety a person experiences with the current economy hit people on many levels.   The goal is to fragment the anxiety into workable situations for people to deal with. Monitoring tools to monitor change: To monitor the effectiveness of the implementation of the change in the organization I will use different monitoring tools. I will develop the small targets and the goals to be achieved to monitor the performance by analysing the completion of these goals and compering the actual performance with the targets. The financial performance will also be analysed to access the effectiveness of the change process and it will be compared with the previous performance of the organization. Strategic intervention strategies in Kingfisher Plc: An intervention is a set of sequenced and planned actions or events and planned actions or events intended to help the organization intended to help the organization increase its effectiveness (Cummings, Christopher G. Worley, 2008)The strategic intervention is the set of the planned steps to be taken by the organization to develop effective strategies for the organization to be more competent and effective in the market. There are different types and levels of the strategic intervention being implemented in the organizations. There are various types of the interventions which can be implemented on the KINGFISHER LTD to make the organization more effective and competitive in the market. Theses interventions are as given below, Human process intervention Techno structural interventions Human resource management interventions Strategic interventions The human resource process intervention includes the developing processes for the coaching, training and development, team building process consultation, conflict resolution, intergroup relationships and large group interventions. The techno interventions include implementation of the technologies in the organization and these also include the downsizing, structural design development, reengineering, employee involvement, and developing effective work design. There are different steps which can be taken by the Kingfisher Plc for the growth and improvement of the human resources of the organization like setting goals, performance appraisal, rewards system development based on the performance appraisal, career planning and development, managing workforce diversity and employee welfare. The structural intervention include the following steps à ¢- ºIntegrated Strategic Change Integrated Strategic Change à ¢- ºMergers and Acquisitions Mergers and Acquisitions à ¢- ºAlliances and Networks Alliances and Networks à ¢- ºCulture Change Culture Change à ¢- ºSelf-designing Organizations Self-designing Organizations à ¢- ºOrganization Learning and Knowledge Organization Learning and Knowledge Management Which change interventions to use is an important consideration. Change ultimately entails the deployment of a range of levers covering all the organisational subsystems shown in the above change models appropriate for managing change in Kingfisher Plc. Given the interdependency of these subsystems, it is difficult to change one part in isolation. Transformational change initiatives in particular, which require a change in the shared assumptions and beliefs of an organisation, are more likely to fail if those leading change focus on changing just structures and systems, paying little attention to softer levers and mechanisms such as symbols, rituals and routines. The strategic intervention can be used to identify which change levers to use. Interventions need to be designed to remove the barriers to change in the existing state of the organization, and to create the new structures, systems, routines, rituals, symbols, and stories to effectively implement change in the organization. Communication, education, training and personal development initiatives will also be required to help individuals undertake the changes required of them. The greater the extent of change, the more such initiatives will be required. Realignments may still require a change in the nature of the work that people do and the outcomes they achieve, such as levels of productivity and sales or customer response of the Kingfisher Plc. THE TRIGGERS TO ORGANIZATIONAL CHANGE Mainly organizations have learned to make minor, day-by-day changes to adjust to unplanned or anticipated events and it is changes of some magnitudes, particularly where they are undertaken quickly, that trend to be the most problematic. These are also called as the factors leading to the change implementation in the organization. These factors determine the need for changeq. These can be internal and external triggers or factors of change management to implement the change. There are following factors affecting the strategy of the Kingfisher Plc leading to the change management in the organization. EXTERNAL TRIGGERS TO CHANGE It is important to stress that environment is not just everything out there. to distinguished between those parts that are usually considered more important by organizations and those that are not, the terms task environment and wide environment are borrowed from a classic study by Dill (1958). Wide environment is one step removed from the organization, whereas task environment is that Part of the total environmental that is most relevant to organization in terms of achieving its goals or objectives. Because its impact is experienced as direct and pressing, this is where firms tend to concentrate most of their attention (Dill 1958). There are different types of the factors which affected the Kingfisher Plc and leads the organization towards implementation of the change in the origination, like the macro-economic factors such as political, legal, environmental and social factors and the competitive environmental factors as described by Porters five forces, competitors, threat from su bstitute, supplier or customers and the competition environment of the Kingfisher Plc. INTERNAL TRIGGERS FOR CHANGE Change to process factor often occurs because of the impact of triggers in the task environment. Some however can arise internally and act as spur for change in their own right. Example of those can require internal change are innovations that improve the way that something is manufactured, or allow a service to be delivered at a low cost, or the development of new products that enable the firm to diversity. There are following internal factors which are deriving the Kingfisher Plc for implementing change in the organization, Profitability Development of new products or processes Job redesign These all above determined Internal and external factors causes the Kingfisher Plc to implement change in the organization to achieve the goals and objectives of the firm in the long run. Resource implication: There are different resources which are required by the Kingfisher Plc to develop and implement effective change strategy in the organization. These factors include the Human resources like the workforce and the managers required to effectively manage the changed structure and business processes of the Kingfisher Plc. This also includes the hiring, training and development, rewarding, motivating and retaining the human resources of the organization. Other resources required to effectively implement change are physical resources e.g. equipment, vehicles, buildings; financial resources e.g. costs of training, redundancy costs, relocation costs; new building, refurbishment of existing buildings. The Kingfisher Plc has to consider the effectiveness and availability of these all above given factors to effectively and efficiently implement change in the organization. The inability of the management to effectively manage the resource implication while managing change can lead the organisation towards the failure instead of success. Because the resources play a vital role in the development of the organization for example without the effective human resources the organization will not be able to carry on the organizational functions or the quality of these actions will be very poor leading to the failure of the process. Similarly the financial resources are also very important for implementation of the change in the organisation because the finance is the soul of the organisation and organization can survive without profitability but it cannot survive without effective finances. Systems and strategies to involve stakeholders: The Kingfisher Plc must develop appropriate systems and the strategies to involve the shareholders of the organization in the process of implementation of change in the organization. These systems have different processes through which the management can effectively involve the stakeholders of the organization in the process of the change to make the implementation more successful. There are following stakeholders of the Kingfisher Plc who can influence the strategies of the organization and have important effect on the performance of the origination, Shareholders Customers Suppliers Employees Community Government Competitors I will analyse the importance and the power of all the stakeholders and these will be prioritised based on their influencing power to affect the change management process of the organization. As a change manager I will use the sic steps model to involve the stakeholders in the change process of the Kingfisher Plc. These steps include the identification of the stakeholders, prioritising stakeholders, mapping the profile of the stakeholders, develop communication and engagement strategy to involve stakeholders in the process of change, optimising their support by effective leadership skills and the last one is the monitoring change. Change Management Strategy: To effectively implement the changes and to make the change management more productive, I have developed the change strategy which consists of different steps or systems to involve the stakeholders effectively in the change process to make the change process quick, efficient and productive. These steps include, Preparation of change: the first step is the preparation for the change to be implemented and this will include the analysis of the internal and external forces effecting the change and then using the effective communication to communicate the need for change with the stakeholders of the organization. Building vision for change: the next step is the development of the vision to motivate the stakeholders of the organization towards the change process. The clear vision can develop the change more effectively and easily because it motivates the involved individuals towards achievement of the stated goals. Path of change: the change strategy will be developed and all the stakeholders will be involved in the decision making criteria so that they can understand the importance of change and they can play their role as participants in the change process. RESISTANCE TO CHANGE Woodrow Wilson If you want to make enemies, try to change something, advised. When seeking to Change an organization, it is strategy or processes, leaders run into Newtons law that a body at rest tends to stay at rest, advocates for change is greeted with suspicion, anger, resistance, and even sabotage.4 (www.1000ventures.com). But, Richard Branson has been exceptionally competent in handling corporate transformation and change (Manfred, 1998). He is able to achieve this because he envisions, empowers and energizes his employees. Secondly, the structure and design of his companies helps him to institute effective control and reward systems. An organization is able to create an effective environment, both internally and throughout its supply chain, which encourages an opportunistic position to be adapted. On the other hand, despite how friendly an organization is to change it will still face a degree of employee, supplier, distributor, stakeholder and consumer resistance to change it may manage to reduce the frequency and potency of such resistance but it will never eradicate the fear of unknown. There are different reasons due to which the employees and the customers of the Kingfisher Plc resisted to the change being implemented by the management of the Kingfisher Plc in all the levels of the organization these factors which causes the resistance to change. These factors can be summarised as follows, Lack of confidence Lack of trust Lack of the competencies Fear of loss of something of value Ineffective communication by the management Lack of clarity of the change being implemented by the organization Strategies to reduce resistance to change:- The Kingfisher Plc must develop effective communication strategies and the processes to implement the change and reduce resistance regarding the change being implemented in the organization. These strategies include the involvement of the different stakeholders in the process of the change management to make them motivated and focused towards the change being implemented. There are different steps which Kingfisher Plc should take while developing change strategies in the organization, Development of the effective mission and Vision regarding change Development of the communication strategies to communicate mission and vision of the organization Involve all the stakeholders through the six steps defined above Reducing the concerns of the staff and people by providing them training and effective skills to tackle with the change and making them more competent

Adidas and Reebok Marketing Communication Strategies

Adidas and Reebok Marketing Communication Strategies Introduction: This reported is presented with intent to draw would the comparison in the marketing communication strategies and mix adopted by the shoes brands Adidas and Reebok. The dual brands are functioning in a non-monopolistic global market environment which imposes the need to be market savvy and creative on the part of the business houses such as Adidas, Reebok and many other established brands to not only retain their existing market segment but also grow into new market on a local, national and international plane. There is a pre-existing need to modify strategies in context to pricing, advertising, product lines, product quality and marketing communication strategies. Failure to do so on the part of the business houses could adversely affect the sales of the product and lead the company and the product to an undesirable state of declination. The fact cannot be denied that the athletic shoe brand market has been emerging to be extremely competitive and a few brand names such as Adidas, Reebok, Nike, Puma have successfully captured certain market segments. These brands recognise the need to retain their market position and work towards market growth in the process. Adidas and Reebok, for the sake of exemplification have proven the fact that besides high quality products, a good market communication strategy and mix is vital for survival and simultaneous growth in a market which is constantly driven by a competitive atmosphere. I intent to utilize the following techniques to present a comparative analysis on the strategies adopted by Adidas and Reebok: Primary Research: Consumers would be interviewed and data compiled would be analyzed and inferences would be drawn on that basis. Secondary Research: Secondary Research would be gathering, analysing and segregation of data from websites, business journals and books. Business Analytical Tools: S.W.O.T. Analysis, Marketing Mix Market and Literature Review: Adidas: The German National Adolp Dassler could be credited with the creation of the phenomenal brand Adidas. His nickname Adi and the first syllable of his last name Das put together created the brand name Adidas. History states that Adolf was a shoe fanatic who spent several hours in his workshop designing shoes with intent to perfect it and to surpass anyone in this line of work. His dedication towards his cause led to the creation of this brand which in todays day and age is the second best global athletic shoe brand commanding a market position of 33% internationally after Nike. This brand came in to limelight with the 1926 Olympic Games wherein the sport star of the Games Jesse Owens wore Adidas shoes which performing at the Olympics. This led to instant recognition of this brand and soon the sales was reported to have gained huge momentum. The Olympic Games was the most crucial turning point in the history of the brand Adidas. From then on, Adidas, the Business house has been essentially sponsoring Global Sports Events, Olympic Games and many such events and has amassed mass popularity for their product lines. This strategy of the organization has helped the brand gain great worldwide media coverage for their product lines and the sales have been reported to grow in continuity. Zidane, Beckham and Kaka are the celebrities who wear Adidas shoes while performing at the games. The dual effect of high media coverage and the celebrity wearing Adidas creates a celebrity of sorts of the shoe brand Adidas. Today celebrity soccer players such as Kaka, Zinedine Zidane, David Beckham and many more are being sponsored by Adidas. Adidas has been successfully in existence for around 80 years being an integral part of the sports world providing hi-tech sports footwear, accessories and apparel. At the moment the business house takes pride in commanding a world position in the athletic shoe brand market. Adidas products especially shoes are sold all over the globe being available in almost every country of the world with multiple retail outlet wooing the consumers proving the fact that the business house has carved a distinctive niche for itself in the global market. Adidas has graduated from a small workshop in a little know German village to a world renowned global enterprise. (http://www.adidas-group.com/en/ourgroup/history/history.aspx) The distinctive logo it possesses and the catchy advertising slogan Impossible is Nothing further consolidates the brand image and popularity. Reebok: Reeboks United Kingdom-based ancestor company was started off to cater to one basic need which was to help athletes run with speed of lightning. Joseph William Foster in 1890s created one of the first known running shoes with spikes in them. By the period of 1895, Foster was in business handmade shoes by hand for the countrys top runners; and not before much time his fledgling company, J.W. Foster and Sons, created success by catering to an international customer of highly known athletes. The family-owned business house with pride created the running shoes which were used by athletes in the 1924 Summer Games celebrated in the film Chariots of Fire. In 1958, Fosters grandsons commenced a companion company that was christened by them as Reebok, named for an African gazelle. In 1979, Paul Fireman, who was a partner in an outdoor sporting goods distributorship, noticed Reebok shoes at an international trade show. Later on, he went on to negotiate for the North American distribution license and made a grand introduction of three running shoes in the U.S. that year. At the selling price of $60, Reebok was the most expensive running shoes on the market. Currently, Reebok International is a highly marked player in the sports and fitness products market, with a particular emphasis on footwear. Its prime strengths lied in its size and massive brand awareness. While athletic shoes are clearly its core products, concerns are being brought up over its comparative lack of interest in the associated athletic apparel market, which is over double the dimensions of the footwear global market. (http://bostonjobsource.com/reebok.html) Methodology: The methodology to execute this report successfully was primary and secondary method techniques. Primary method comprised of Consumer poll wherein a set of questions was asked to consumers of athletic shoes for their responses. The questionnaire comprised 10 questions based Reebok and Adidas drafted to draw answers which facilitated a comparative analysis While carrying out the secondary research, books and websites and learning modules were studied and comprehended. Employing the primary and secondary research techniques data compilation and analysis was carried out to draw inferences. http://media.katu.com/images/060124adidas_reebok.jpg Analysis and Discussion: Core Competencies (Jobber 2004) Adidas Core Competencies Technology Customer focus Brand recognition Supply chain Collaboratively competitive Reebok Core Competencies Trend Identification Ability to market to a niche segment Womens shoe design Design expertise Celebrity relationships S.W.O.T Analysis: (Belch 2004) A S.W.O.T Analysis in conducted of a business house helps us in understanding the strengths of the organization, the weaknesses it is confronted with, the opportunities the organization could avail of and the threats which present harm its growth, diversification and existence. Adidas Reebok Strength The prime strength of the organization is its 8 decades of existence in the global market. The employment of high end technology in the production process improves quality, precision and durability which are the most desired aspects by athletes. The organization has the largest international portfolio of celebrity sports ambassadors. The business house as a part of promotion sponsors football teams and has a high consumer brand loyalty mainly in U.S.A and India. Statistics and surveys indicate that Adidas has the maximum level of popularity and brand image in India. Reebok presents growing sales revenue. ON account of a part of a strategy to expand quality market share, the company indulged in the process of investing in three key products and marketing platforms: Performance, RBK and Classic. Reebok International happens to be the second largest producer of athletic shoes in the US, following Nike. The Reebok brand succeeds in accelerating sales pushing it closer to huge competitors such as Adidas. Reebok prides itself in being the number two or number three brand in most of its global markets. It dominates on 10% of the global market. The business house succeeds in increasing profits even though retail conditions are challenging. Weakness The pricing strategy of Adidas for all its products including athletic footwear lacks flexibility and is highly rigid and this proves to be a weakness in a general price conscious economy. Adidas is hovered over with a close competitor in the form of Nike, Puma and many more in the global market. The Indian subcontinent, which in now identified as a potentially growing market with high potential of revenue, the brand has not been showing good revenue results. The business has low market share in the apparel segment. Reebok has always focused on athletic shoes and not apparel. Here is where the business lags behind. The apparel market is twice as large as the footwear market and the competitors such as Adidas and Nike take advantage of this and sell their apparel products which add on heavily to their annual global turnover Opportunity Adidas should avail the opportunity to explore new world markets in the global arena. Health consciousness among the people in general is creating a good need for athletic shoes which should be skillfully tapped by Adidas. Creative advertising employed in continuity could open up opportunities of market growth and sustenance. The shoes are priced below average with a starting range of 45 dollars which is 15 dollars less than any other brand which sells at a basic 60 dollar price tag. Reebok could boost its price as it has a large consumer base worldwide and a price deviation is not expected to hinder sales but increase profitability. The organization could work on creating a better brand awareness in order to increase volume of sales. The brand could employ the best of technology to add quality and precision to its products. Threat Statistics show that Reebok, a competitor of Adidas has a good market share and employs a higher sum for market communication strategies. This presents a threat which is growing for Adidas. New entrant brands such as GAP, CAT prove to be a threat as they are eating in on the market share of Adidas which it has created over a period of time The brand is heavily reliant on footwear sales for its revenue input. This could pose a threat as there are continuous new entrants in the athletic footwear market. Reebok needs to diversify into other areas such as bags, sports equipments and fashion accessories to stay afloat in this highly competitive market which is unpredictable. Adidas commands a global share of 16% while Reebok stands at 6% Marketing Mix: (Pickton 2005) Product: ADIDAS: This brand has a huge product line of athletic footwear and apparels making it one of the most sought out brands besides Nike. The product is highly advertised through sports events where it gains good media coverage. Adidas uses cutting edge technology to offer comfort and style in their product which are light in weight. Undoubtedly, the products of Adidas have great value for money. Adidas shoes are known to have a grip which the sole provides and this is on account of good design and is useful especially in hiking. They go with ease on the legs and prevent any kind of twist or sprain. Reebok: The product line of Reebok is limited to footwear. Reebok has a good line of womens footwear. The brand has invested highly in technology to better its product lines. In the apparel sector the brand is lacking far behind from Adidas. Place: Adidas and Reebok have been selling in almost every nation of the world and they follows one level channel or an indirect channel to make their product reach out to the final consumer. The products are manufactured by the producer and it then reaches the retailer who in turn sells it to the final consumer. Price: Adidas shoes are priced higher than that of Reebok. Adidas can afford to charge higher than Reebok as Adidas is a far more established brand than Reebok. The quality of Adidas is known to be better than that of Reebok Promotion: Reebok: The promotional technique used by Reebok is basic advertising. The brand needs to develop better promotional strategies. New punch lines and slogan should be used by Reebok to create an impact on the consumers. It is observed that Reebok has the potential to closely compete with Adidas. Adidas: Sponsoring large scale sports events, adverting through different forms of media. Adidas have been constantly engaged in brand building programs. Adidas has joined in with the strategy of high fund allocation to boost sales and compete. Adidas with their innovative campaigns have proven to be at par and have to a large extent created the much desired impact which they set out to create at the onset of bringing about an improvisation of their promotional propaganda. Conclusion: It should be understood that footwear is no longer considered as a product that just offers a sense of protection for feet. What was hitherto taken as a Want is at the present day a basic Need. Today, the footwear business is a widespread and dynamic global business operation comprising of huge economies of scale. The athletic shoe segment is tremendously competitive in nature with the phenomenal players such as Nike, Adidas, Reebok and New Balance strategizing meticulously to retain their consumer market share and the small time players such as Puma attempting to gain large market share. The athletic footwear industry stresses branding more than any other competitive benefit. By the employment of advertisements, celebrity endorsements, varied promotions, and licensing agreements, the top enterprises or rather branded companies in this industry have allocated much of their resources to creating the much required brand recognition and loyalty. Significant features of this highly competitive market segment are expensive and continuous advertising, celebrity endorsements, brand awareness techniques etc. Nike, Adidas, Reebok and a few more brands are the market leaders in the world due to their market communication and mix innovative strategies. (Bovee 2003) Recommendations: It is recommended that Reebok work on improving its promotional strategies. Reebok should also focus on the apparel segment which is a large and promising market. The business house has developed a good consumer base and can work on increasing the prices of their products as this would bring in higher revenue, part of which could be employed for advertisement and promotion expenditure. Adidas should work towards improving market share and being at par with Nike which is currently the world leader in Athletic footwear. Adidas should focus on roping in more celebrities to endorse their products as celebrities are undoubtedly crowd pullers. It is also recommended that Adidas improve its product lines substantially as variation in products could lead to better and improved sales which form a major objective of any business organization. (Pettit 2003)