POLC in the School System Essay

Just like any other organization, a school system would not be able to function properly without an efficient administrator and an effective administration process. In the case of school systems, the administrator would be the superintendent of the school. As the administrator, the superintendent serves as both the leader and the manager of the school. In order to be a successful and efficient administrator, the superintendent should focus on four areas– planning, organizing, leading, and controlling. In the case of planning, the administrator should be able to pinpoint appropriate goals for the whole school system. The goal usually carries prospects for progress, equality, and harmony. As part of the planning process, the administrator should also be able to identify the best courses of action in fulfilling the chosen goals. Such goals should be evaluated at a regular basis so as to assess if they are ion line with the demands of time. After planning the goals and the ways towards its achievement, the administrator should be able to put those plans into action. Organizing is as important as the plan itself. As such, the new administrator should be able to formulate task and authority relations. He should be able to establish an organizational set-up that will allow the school system to efficiently and quickly make the vision, a reality, if he/she may deem the present set-up is inappropriate. As the leader of the school, the new administrator should also be able to influence people- from the students to the teachers, and even the other sectors involved in establishing an effective educational system such as the community, the parents, governmental agencies, and many more. He or she should be able to motivate and unite them, and provide them with a common goal for the educational welfare of the students and for the encouragement of harmony and efficiency of learning and teaching processes. He or she should be able to encourage everyone to work towards a common goal, which is usually the mission and vision of the school. Lastly, after ensuring the plans, the set-up and the people are all set for action; the administrator should be able to control the organization. Control should not be equated with stringent and numerous laws and regulations matched with various sanctions. Instead, it should be associated with the establishment of precise evaluation processes that will allow the administrator to measure and monitor the organization’s development at regular basis overtime, in accordance with the established goals. References: Brennen, Annick M. (n.d.) The Administration of Elementary Schools. Retrieved January 29, 2008 from http://www.soencouragement.org/admin-of-elementary-schools.htm The Management Process Today (n.d.) Retrieved January 29, 2008 from http://highered.mcgraw-hill.com/sites/dl/free/0073011223/317076/samplechapter.pdf

Library an Internet Essay

The internet and the library , both are the considered to be a big depository of information .Library can be defined as [1]â€Å"A collection of literary documents or records kept for reference or borrowing† While Internet is defined as [2]â€Å"An electronic network providing access to millions of resources worldwide. University Libraries provide access to many periodical indexes through the Internet. Internet access is available on all floors of the Libraries.† Internet and the library both seems to be serving the same purpose but as the time goes by and world moves to new innovations and directions , the question arises is the latter going to replace the former . This essay compares and contrasts the Internet and an Library , how they share a common purpose and how they vary from each other while serving the purpose . Both the internet and an Library provides information on a wide array of topics but it may be not be necessary that library in United states has the books or journals about the History of Asian countries like china , India . Even if an American Library does has the books and information on the Asian history it may not as exhaustive as it would be in the libraries based in Asia itself . It is not possible to have the same set of books and information in all the libraries. Not all the books available in the Library of the Lindenwood university would be same as available in the libraries of Delhi University at India . Although noticeable works like the ones of Shakespeare would be definitely on the shelves of both the libraries .But its not always necessary that less known authors or journals will make to each library. While on the other hand information available on internet is universal , the same information can be accessed in all the computers worldwide . There is no regional version of internet just about anyone and everyone can access the same information whether it is done with a internet connection in India or in Americas .

Marketing Plan Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Marketing Plan - Research Paper Example The company’s product – Daisy Make-up kit – is waterproof in design and does not fade during rains. The company has an utmost objective of reaching out to both local and international brides and brides’ maidens with the make-up kit while achieving 70 percent profit margin in its product’s sales. The first strategy that the company seeks to employ in enticing the prospective customers is merging high quality with price affordability. As such, it seeks to have the brand of high-quality make-up kit – Daisy Make-up Kit – that has significantly low and affordable price. The company shall embark on the creation of customer awareness and relations campaign by putting strategies in place for demonstrating to the customers how the product’s key features work. In so doing, Silva Company Limited shall be aiming at communicating to the prospective customers the competitive qualities of its brand make-up kit. The company shall place details of the demonstration with intensive description encompassing the quality if the product on its website that must also be updated from time to time. Another strategy shall involve aggressive advertisement of the product that the company shall conduct through different medium. It shall use print, audio and audio-visual media to reach out to the prospective customers. For instance, the company ought to take advantage of seasonal Bridal Magazines produced by reputable companies (Ferrell & Hartline, 2012). It shall also make use of the rapidly growing social media as a reach-out tool. Concerning marketing mix, the company intends to employ diverse customer-friendly means of acquiring and retaining its customers. Prices shall be set based on the customers’ levels of income and welfare. The company intends to offer focus on price affordability in relation to quality. The company intends to

Tools of the Trade Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Tools of the Trade - Essay Example Since a project is a team effort, communication is a basic key to helping assure the endeavor stays on schedule. Conventional e-mail still relies on the hub and spoke method for transferring information among team members. A recent move has been made toward Digital Group Memory (DGM). This tool centralizes communication based on the objective, rather than the chronological reply method. All team members can input data, update progress, and share thoughts across the entire platform. As Jackson (2005) points out, it is a way "[...] to empowered team members who actively participate in planning and management". This shift away from centrality places greater responsibility on the team members. David Oates (2006), Vice President at Primavera Systems, points out the limitations of team communication. He contends that, "[...] while real time collaboration can cure many of the communication difficulties regularly encountered by project teams, theses tools are not sufficient for strategic assessment of projects" (p. 5).

Research Study on the Position of the Unites States in World Politics Paper

Study on the Position of the Unites States in World Politics - Research Paper Example ormation of a nation’s view about its importance and role in the world, but also, and perhaps more importantly, determine the manifestations of thus conceived role in trade, culture, diplomacy or war2. In the realm of world politics, however, the position of a state in the international system, along with interstate interactions, is the subject matter of a particular area of study, namely International Relations, usually defined as protracted competition between realist, liberal and radical traditions, or schools of thought3. Realism, as the dominant theoretical tradition throughout the second half of the twentieth century, most notably the Cold War, describes international affairs as â€Å"a struggle for power among self-interested states† within an anarchic environment, where each state seeks to survive on its own4. Liberalism, in turn, includes various theories such as some that regard the interactions between domestic actors – either in the political, societal or economic spheres – as the most important explanatory factors, as well as others that are predominantly focused on political constitutions, economic systems or dominant ideologies5. This paper is intended to examine the set of domestic and international factors and developments that brought about or/and facilitated the US rise to the position of global superpower during the twentieth century, in order to determine whether or not the country is able to retain this position in the years or decades to come. Being based on historical evidence, as well as taking into consideration the theoretical discourse on the basic forces that shape international outcomes6, the paper attempts an insight into China’s ability to challenge or successfully contest the current US supremacy. Historians widely agree that America’s isolationism from the early twentieth century, i.e. from the 1920s to 1940s, should be ascribed to then domestic political priorities such as the commitment to economic development and

Descartes First Meditation paper and Moore's Certainty paper Essay

Descartes First Meditation paper and Moore's Certainty paper - Essay Example Descartes work was centered on the issues that challenge one’s ability to be certain about something. His path to establish certainty begins a state of doubt. It is this doubt that prompts him to choose to demolish all the knowledge he had in the past (Descartes 87). He will then start afresh through testing the validity of things before being certain of their existence. He searches to establish a foundation of philosophy that cannot be shaken. This is because much of the knowledge he obtained in the past was through senses that at times are deceptive. In this he highlights, it is somehow difficult to distinguish when one is asleep and when awake. He majors on meditation, which is regarded as a philosophical classic. However, he provocatively pursues the issues to do with these important matters. Provocatively, Moore challenges the argument concerning ones inability to know whether he is dreaming. In the logical inversion of Descartes argument, Moore argues that, if one knows not that he is dreaming, one knows not that he standing. Additionally, people is unsure of his standing and realize that he is not hallucinating, (Moore 30). This is logical since one can only dream when asleep. Additionally, one can be dreaming or think he is standing and in actual sense, he is standing. This is the only case where dreaming and thinking to standing and standing at the same time is consistent. Moore’s concern on external world’s existence is evident. Given the reality, it is impractical to prove its existence. According to him, so many oppositions can, be used to prove the existence of the external world. In his illustration to demonstrate the fact about the existence of the world, he uses his hands. For instance, when he holds up his hands, it is certain that he is holding up his hands. The conclusion from the above illustration shows it is true that he has hands. If it has truth in it, more illustrations are also true. About external world issue, similar proofs can be used to tell the existence of it (Kim and Sosa 30). While Descartes says that dreams have taken place, he not sure he is dreaming. This is to mean that he does not know that the dreaming has taken place. In evaluating Descartes ides, â€Å"doubt† and â€Å"thinking† brings inconsistency the ideas. Descartes is unsure of his existence, although he thinks he does. The reason validating his doubt is that he may be dreaming or is being deceived by a demon that he exists. The reason for him to think he exists is th at he is only thinking without any objective proof of his existence. The proof about his existence is only subjective. He is unable to convince others of his existence, (Moore 34). Descartes argument has weaknesses and strengthens. He says that all things he knew as truth in his childhood have been falsehoods. This is a weak argument because; lack of proof cannot guarantee one to assume it is false. He later justifies his attempt to ruin that entire truth he had known over years and started afresh. He wanted something that had a strong foundation that did not rest on mere assumptions and feelings (Descartes 87). This is quite right to be passionate to do away with former opinions unless tested to be true. Additionally, he says not all the ideas and information he has is false. He makes an excuse that, for the opinions that he is not certain with, he will not touch on them. This gives a loophole for doubt and uncertainty. To assess which opinions are not certain would be a tedious jo b; therefore, he will not go through

Points To Consider Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Points To Consider - Article Example All the members contributed to effective team building because they considered the ideas of others as valuable and they were well aware of the history and feelings of each other. They resolved their minor issues by themselves. They set rules and regulations to be followed and formed consensus on any problem arising. It was not only erecting tents in the evening but it was more of team building. It was the sense of responsibility which this group of people were showing. Everyone was responsible for his work. Even small children were contributing in this team by collecting firewood. The newcomers were warmly welcomed by Steinbeck’s team. Help was to be provided for newcomers so that they could set up their perimeter. They are helped in cooking food and their sadness is shared for leaving their homes. Past is not revised before them so that they may move on without any regrets or memories from the past. Songs should be sung for the newcomers so they do not become nostalgic and they can easily adapt themselves to the new place. Hence the idea was to be helpful to the newcomers in all possible manners. Conclusion and observation is very important for team building. Everyone must know that what is right and what is wrong. And punishment is also set for the wrongs. Rules and regulations are being followed and they are same for everyone. No one is above these regulations. Poor are equally treated. If anyone could not share his rich food with the poor, he should not eat it openly. Ultimate freedom is the main cause of Frankl’s. If a person is having some future goal only then he can remain optimistic. In this case, the goal and hope of prisoners was freedom. If they think that they cannot achieve the goal, all their resistance would be long gone and they will be subjected to despair and diseases, either physical or mental. Goals and targets act as motivating factors for people in harsh situations

Institutions in Business Strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Institutions in Business Strategy - Essay Example As the discussion declares in business, both formal and informal institutions are influential in domestic and foreign business operations. In Muslim societies, social norms and practices dictate that people of the Islam faith are religiously prohibited from consuming pork foods and alcoholic drinks among other products. Any business organization that markets pork products or alcoholic drinks in Muslim societies will hardly realize profits because the informal institution of Islam dictates that certain norms and practices must be observed by Muslim consumers. With respect to formal institutions, constitutions, trade agreements and legal courts define and interpret the operational frameworks that both domestic and foreign business entities exercise their business practices. Legal systems determine the level of taxes that organizations pay to revenue authorities, and legal systems also arbitrate issues between business organizations and other stakeholders within a business environment.T his paper discusses that  business entities are more interested in market certainties than they are interested in profitability. Market uncertainties increases business risks, thus correspondingly increasing business costs. As elaborated earlier, institutions enhance certainty and predictability of interactions within a business environment. Formal institutions like judicial systems and investment laws play a critical role during entry and operation within a foreign market.

Jackson Pollock Exhibition New York Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Jackson Pollock Exhibition New York - Essay Example The paper "Jackson Pollock Exhibition New York" focuses on the artworks of Jackson Pollock. The art was first exhibited, in Sidney Janis Gallery, during Pollock’s solo exhibition, in November of 1952. The date of the painting has been mistaken frequently being given as 1953. The creation of the blue poles attracted much attention. creation of the blue poles attracted much attention. The artist has made painting over other existing paintings, and the other paints were just covered up. It seems Pollock began painting canvases that were spread on the floor. The un-stretched canvas was then stretched on the wall, after the first layer of paint was dry, by tacking it along the top edge to a beam, which stretched across the wall where more paint was added. The canvas was then left unattended to, for a period. The blue paint that run through the thick ridges of the existing paint layers was visible after the second painting is done. This is an indication that they were quite dry by t hat time. Pollock was the first painter to pour paint rather that use brushes and palette. â€Å"Action† is the only image Pollock painted. This image, however, seemed inadequate for his creative process. This is in relation to his earlier works. Lavender Mist is three meters long (nearly 10 ft). It is also a massive expanse on a heroic scale. It is decorated with colored scribble, spattered lines that cross its entire surface but now thickening, and trailing off to a slender skein. Its eye is constantly eager.

Buddhism in china, Korea and japan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Buddhism in china, Korea and japan - Assignment Example On persuasion by his student, Shariputra, Buddha agrees to teach the meaning of this Sutra. However, most of the followers leave after this, as they doubt the legacy of this Sutra. As revealed by Buddha, during his teachings of Lotus Sutra, the burning house is a huge mansion with many rooms. The children in this house are busy in their play, without noticing the dangerous creatures crawling on the floor. When the house is under fire, the father of these children urges them to come out and promises that a cart is waiting for them outside. The underlying message indicates that most of us are pursuing the material gains, without noticing the dangers that accompany them. The lotus floats, clean and dirt-less, above the surface of muddy pond. The teachings of Budda take the form of cart to take us away from the greed that we all are pursuing in this material world. Hoolboom, Mike â€Å"Burning House: Betrayal as Innovation† The goal of practice is compassion, Center of Gravity, 25 February 2012, Web 05 Nov 2013:

Advertising Is Harmful Essay Example for Free

Advertising Is Harmful Essay Today I went to the bathroom in Tyson’s mall, and I saw a Lenovo camera advertisement stuck in front of the stool. It made me feels like a camera recorded everything in the bathroom. No matter where you go, walking on the street, taking the bus or subway, looking for websites or watching TV shows you always see advertisements. So I believe advertisements are harmful. Some people say that advertisements won’t brainwash them, because they know what they really want. I don’t agree with this, because advertisements affect our subconscious mind. For instance, I have read a newspaper article about a mother who came home and asked her child what he wanted to eat and her child said McDonalds. The mother asked him why McDonalds and the kid said because he always saw it on the TV so he wants to try it. See more:Â  Social Satire in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn Essay Although a child didn’t really know how McDonald food tastes, McDonalds had been advertised so many times on the TV that the children make the decision to have it for dinner. Not only are kids influenced by advertisements, but adults also are. For example, I bought a Dell laptop last year, but returned it a week later. I saw the Dell advertisements everywhere, at the college, the website, and even walking on the street, so when I wanted to buy a laptop, Dell became my first choice. I returned it a week later, because my friend told me Lenovo laptop has the same configuration as the Dell laptop but the price was much cheaper. This example demonstrates how the advertisement induces people to buy products. When people have seen advertisements many times, they have good impressions of the product in their minds. So not was only I had been influenced by advertisements, but most people are also. For example, most people bought IPhones rather than other phones because IPhones adverti sements around everywhere. Often an advertisement not only disturbs our daily lives, but also provides untrue information. Companies always show perfect products in their advertisements, but the real products are much worse. For example, last month I went to Burger King, and I saw a big poster outside the store that showed a man held a hamburger with two hands and open his mouth as big as he can to eat a hamburger. However, he only bites little of the hamburger, because it was too big. And it only cost 99 cents! When I bought it, I felt I had been cheated. It was delicious, but it was smaller than my hand and can be finish within a bite. Also most of the reducing weight advertisements are untrue too. Some companies exaggerated their products in the advertisement to misleading people to buy the products. Some of the advertisements said the medicines could help people reduce around 5 to 20 pounds per month. As we all know, obesity is one of the most serious problems in America, so many people tried to reduce their weight in many ways. However, the result is not as the advertisements showed. Those drugs helped people reduce the weight but also had side effects. For instance, drugs harm people’ health by increasing the risk of diseases, and people would also rebound a weight heavily after they stopped the drug. While not all advertisements are untrue, some advertisements provide exaggerated information that let us waste money and also harm our health. We waste our money to buy advertised products we don’t need. An advertisement may make us feel lower class than other because not having the newest product. For example, The Apple Company has most successful advertisement campaign, because most of people would like to buy their new products. For example, the IPhone5 commercial shows IPhone5 is tallest, thinnest and lightest iPhone. Many people changed Iphone4S to the IPhone5 because the commercial shows IPhone5 is better. However, it has similar systems and the same function as Iphone4S. Another reason people buy the IPhone5 is they had low self- esteem. Like my friend who bought IPhone4S last winter and bought IPhone5 now. And he told me, when there has a better product then he wouldn’t use worse one, because that makes him feel he was lower class than others. In this case, people wasted money to buy the newest advertised products to satisfy their vanity. There are too many advertisements in our world now, because companies try to increasing the sales. However advertisements always mislead people to waste money. Government must provide a law to stop untrue and exaggerated advertisements. And parents also need to take time to explain to their child that some products they saw in commercial are harmful. For example, when child asked to buy a quick food or candies, parents must explain to them those foods are unhealthy.

Do You Call That Art? a Conversation

Do You Call That Art? a Conversation T: Do you call that art? I just dont see how something like could be called art, I just dont see it. Where is the form, where is the beauty? Is that not what art is for; to hint at universal truths, to uncover answers to fundamental questions about our human condition? To make us experience a kind of immortal truth, Beauty is truth, truth beauty that is all/Ye know on earth, and all ye need to know. (Keats, 1908: 14) Is that not what Keats said? To be honest I fail to see how an unmade bed surrounded by the detritus of a good night out can be classed as either. It is just sensationalism, pure sensationalism and should not be allowed into an art gallery. S: I suppose it has some merits doesnt it? T: No, none at all as far as I am concerned. What does it say? What does it mean? Where is the skill in its construction? Why, anyone could make that, look, it is only made out of every day items, theres no paint, no clay, no stone, none of the traditional tools of the artist. My six year old child could have made that, in fact he does every morning after a restless night. S: I read some interesting reviews on it. T: What do reviewers know? Listen to this: La Giaconda is, in the truest sense, Leonardos masterpiece, the revealing instance of his mode of thought and work. In suggestiveness, only the Melancholia of Durer is comparable to it; and no crude symbolism disturbs the effect of its subdued and graceful mystery (Pater, 1948: 264) That is both a reviewer and artist coming together in a perfect symbiosis of artistic appreciation, Walter Pater was a man of great intellect and understood the genius of Da Vinci in an intimate way. What is spoken of here lifts the everyday into the world of aesthetics and art, it transforms the daily life, it consoles and palliates, it makes the hardships seem worthwhile and the little pains of life worth bearing. S: Yes, I see that, but does that not apply to artists like Tracey Emin and Damian Hurst too? T: Do you feel palliated by this unmade bed? Do you feel as though your pain is soothed by a bisected sheep? These images serve only to make us feel worse, to highlight our pain, to capitalise on our misfortunes. These are the things that modern art work on, these are the emotions that they stir up; depression, sadness and alienation. Is that art? Is that worth bothering about, buying or funding? S: I dont know, perhaps if we were to look at them more carefully. Isnt art just a matter of taste anyway? T: Ah but taste is a complex thing and has been hotly debated in art history and philosophy. In some ways it goes right to the heart of our experience of art and literature as a whole. Two of the most interesting and most important theories concerning taste come, of course, from the English thinker David Hume and Immanuel Kant, both of these philosophers, in their own way, asserted the existence and importance of the notion of taste and aesthetic judgment. Hume saw that education and experience would enable men (and women) to acquire taste; the more art we see, the more books we read, the more films we see and the more music we listen to the more we learn about what is good and what is bad in art. For instance, if I had only seen one picture in my entire life, say of a cottage in a mountain glade surrounded by pink and blue flowers, then it goes without saying that this must be the best painting I know and, ipso facto that I must be of the opinion that this is the best painting in the world. The same, I suppose, goes for a situation where the only sculpture I had seen was this unmade bed, then I would naturally think it was masterpiece and hail it as the finest work of art ever made. Well, according to David Hume, the more I see the more educated I become, the more my taste develops. Therefore if I were to view, say, Eugene Delacroixs Massacre at Chios, that depicts a scene from the Greco-Turkish war of 1824 and is painted with both subtlety and strength, I would automatically think this was better than an unmade bed. If I then chanced to view a Renoir or a Rossetti then I might think that these were better. You see how this works? You see how, through education and experience my taste broadens and becomes more refined. S: But I still do not see who defines what is good and what is bad for the rest of us? Taste is relative isnt it? T: To an extent, says Hume, but taste as a benchmark and as a standard is set by those who are educated most. It stands to reason, does it not, that those who are educated and experienced most will know the most about a particular given subject. When your car needs a service what sort of mechanic do you choose? S: A good one? T: Yes, a good one, but what is a good mechanic? Is it a good mechanic someone who has had no or very little experience with cars, is it someone who has only ever seen or worked on one car the whole of their lives? No, you would choose the mechanic with the most experience, the mechanic who has worked on hundreds, perhaps thousands of cars. S: Yes, I suppose I would. T: So, could we not say that that mechanic is an expert, at least over the other mechanic who has seen very few cars? S: Yes. T: Well, it would that mechanic who sets the standard. What if he told you your engine needed replacing? S: I would believe him. T: Exactly, and if the inexperience mechanic told you it didnt, who would you believe? Who would you think was telling you the right thing? S: Probably the experienced mechanic, he after all is more educated and more experienced so he must know what he is talking about. T: So why is it so different with taste? Why is it so difficult to believe that those with most experience set the taste for the rest of us? Taste is intersubjective, it is founded on agreement and consensus. This was Humes great notion. It does not exist as an objective notion nor purly subjective but somewhere in between. Joshua Reynolds encapsulates it well when he says The arts would lie open for ever to caprice and casualty, if those who are to judge of their excellencies had no settled principles by which they are to regulate their decisions, and the merit or defect of performances were to be determined by unguided fancy (Reynolds, 1992: 182). Although, of course, Reynolds himself saw taste as being intrinsically fixed and established in the nature of things. S: So, what about Kant? How did he see taste and aesthetic judgement? T: For Kant, taste came secondary to the notion of beauty. There was, he thought such a notion as intrinsic beauty; a beauty that existed outside of taste, outside of the capriciousness of fashion, a beauty that is, to quote Keats again A Joy forever. Kants philosophy extended far and wide, his works like The Critique of Pure Reason and The Critique of Practical Reason sought to classify and quantify exactly what it was to be human, not just in an ontological sense but in the sense of how we experience the world; how we perceive things and, most importantly, how we reason about these things. In fact Bertrand Russell says in his A History of Western Philosophy that According to Kant, the outer world causes only the matter of sensation, but our mental apparatus orders this matter in space and time, and supplies concepts by means of which we understand experience. (Russell, 1979: 680) In order to experience the world, thought Kant, we label many of the things we sense, often in ways that are unconscious or arbitrary. Take this bench, for instance, we both know this is a bench and that it is for sitting on but we only know this because it has certain characteristics as distinct from, say, that fire extinguisher over there. It is made of wood, it is flat, it has four legs etc. etc. The bench is out in the world (Cummiskey, 1996: 78) and thus our experience of it informs our idea of what it is. For Kant there was no such thing as an a priori knowledge; nothing, he said could be divorced from our experience of it. S: But how, then, if we know this is a bench through our perception of it out in the world can we ever know beauty. Beauty, after all is not out in the world, it is surely a priori? We must have an idea of beauty before something can be classed as beautiful. I understand that, for Hume this is based on consensus, but this does not fit in with Kants ideas. T: For Kant, beauty does exist in the world but not, perhaps in the way that we might assume. He noticed that we classify and label things according to the purpose they have for us as human beings. We have a notion of the bench because it is good for us to sit down on and take a rest every now and then. Beauty on the other hand can not be eaten or smelt or even touched, however it is in every culture every civilisation known to man so, in some ways at least, it must be intrinsic to our needs. Beauty and art have a purposeless purpose. S: How can a purpose be purposeless? T: Let me explain: when I see a picture by Monet for instance, it inspires feelings in me of contemplation and of emotion. I am touched by the delicate brushwork, I am moved by the images. If I see a beautiful flower I feel the same thing. I do not find the flower beautiful because I want to eat it or because it gives me an actual benefit in the real world but because it promotes a kind of internal pleasure, a psychological harmony. This is what Kant thought of the beautiful. If we begin to attach meaning to art by deliberately making it ugly or adapting it for our own psychological or socio-political ends we ruin its initial purity and lose a valuable part of its nature. Kant said Taste is the faculty of estimating an object or mode of representation by means of a delight or aversion apart from any interest. The object of such a delight is called beautiful(Kant, 1972: 479). This is why Kant regarded Nature as representing a higher plain than man made art, simply because it does not have the other aspects, the poetic, artificial meaning. This unmade bed is neither of these situations, it is neither a depiction of the sublime in Nature not does it evoke a universal response. It simply is, like the unmade bed that it mirrors, because of this is can not be art. However, if we take a picture from the Romantic movement of Nineteenth century, for example, such as Turners The Fighting Temeraire (1838) or Landscape with a Distant River and Bay (1840) we can see that what the artist is striving for is a universal achievement of beauty; a beauty that is invested in the very paint he uses, a beauty that arises from the purity of the image; the colours, the brushwork, the setting. S: So, for Kant, the artist is the translator of that sense of beauty? T: Yes, for Kant, only the artist or the man of genius can truly be said to be a translator of these universal truths. His theories gave way to the march of the Romantic movement in Europe and artists like Turner, William Etty and Landseer and writers like Wordsworth, Coleridge and Shelley. Let us think, for example, of the painting The Leaping Horse by John Constable (1825). What do we see in this painting? We see the majesty of Nature, not only in terms of the visual images of the sky, the clouds and the trees but in the way that this is translated through the human experience. The figure in the foreground is pictured not merely against Nature but in it, existing within it and being a part of it. There is a directness of vision here that reflects Kants assertions on the place of the artist within society. The artists role, he said, was to translate the experience of the sublime, of the beauty of Nature, into the synthetic medium of art. This unmade bed, or the bisected sheep of Hurst or even the daubings of Jackson Pollock do not attempt to do this and so, in my opinion at least, are not art in the slightest. A: I beg to differ with you. They turn to see A standing behind them. A: What do you see there? S: I see an unmade bed, I see rubbish, I see magazines, tissues, cigarette butts. A: I see an idea, a concept, a representation of truth. As you said, truth is beauty, right? T: No, actually what I said was Beauty is truth and truth beauty there is a world of difference between those two ideas. A: Yes perhaps, and I would agree with you, maybe this work is not about beauty in the Kantian sense, it is not about a universal notion of what is beautiful, what is sublime but it has everything to do with what the world means to us and how we interpret our own experiences of life. In his first manifesto on Surrealism, Breton says The marvellous is not the same in every period of history: it partakes in some obscure way of a sort of general revelation only the fragments of which come down to us: they are the romantic ruins, the modern mannequin or any other symbol capable of affecting the human sensibility(Breton, 1990: 16). All we have now are shards of aesthetic philosophy that have made their way down to us. S: So you are saying Kant and Hume were wrong? A: No, I am saying they were right in their time. We have been let down by their structures; the notions of truth and beauty no longer mean anything to us in this postmodern age. T: Postmodern? Does that word even mean anything? A: Well, yes, Modernism as a philosophical construct can be seen to stem from the Enlightenment of the mid Eighteenth century. S: I thought Modernism happen just after the First World War? A: Yes in a way, the artistic and literary movement hails from then but, in terms of philosophy and, of course, aesthetics, Modernism can be seen to be founded much earlier with thinkers such as Rousseau, Locke, Hobbes, Bishop Berkely and others. Later, of course, this manifested itself in philosophies of Kant, Hegel and Marx. S: So, what do these thinkers tell us about what art is and why this work should be called art? A: Well it was not so much what they said about art that is of importance as how they say it. Modernism, as Jean Francois Lyotard says in his study The Postmodern Condition: A Report on Knowledge, relied on metanarratives, all encompassing notions like truth, beauty, the body and even the self to provide a foundation for its philosophies. The Enlightenment is considered the birth of the modern because it asserted the primacy of the individual consciousness and the reason upon which it was based; it signalled a split from the religious dogma and the superstition of the Renaissance and Middle Ages. The art, the music and the literature all reflected the birth of this new idea. Postmodernism is not so much the rejection of this as a melancholic outcome of its demise and failures. I am sure there is not one thinker in the whole postmodern canon who would not find it agreeable to rely on concrete notions like beauty and truth, but what are they? That is what postmodernism asks us, they have failed us. Foucaults poetic evocation at the end of his history of human sciences is as good as any at expression this idea: As the archaeology of our thought easily shows, man is an invention of recent date. And one perhaps nearing its end. If those arrangements were to disappear as they appeared, if some event of which we can at the moment do no more than sense the possibility without knowing either what its form will be or what it promises were to cause them to crumble, as the ground of Classical thought did, at the end of the eighteenth century, then one can certainly wager that man would be erased, like a face drawn in the sand at the edge of the sea.(Foucault, 1997: 387) The postmodern condition recognises no hierarchy of taste; it does not see taste as being universal or being classifiable in any meaningful way. With technological advances like the internet and reprographics what now is beautiful? What can even be considered original? This is the point that Walter Benjamin makes in his seminal essay The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction. S: So, the Modernist artists were the beginning of this, after all they experimented with style and content didnt they? As Ezra Pound said, they sought always to Make it new. A: Could we not see artistic Modernism as not so much the beginning of something new as the end of something old? Its theoretical foundations are clearly based in a number of thinkers all of which assert the importance of teleological thinking: Freud, Marx, Hegel etc. If we examine, for instance Guillaume Apollinaires series of essays and articles on the Cubists, we can see that we characterises both Cubism and Apollinaire is the sense of revolution; in both art and in conceptions of beauty. He says Greek art has a purely human conception of beauty. It took man as the measure of perfection. The art of the new painters takes the infinite universe as its ideal, and it is to the fourth dimension alone that we owe this new measure of perfection.(Harrison and Wood, 1997: 178) We can see here how, even though the nature of the artists vision has changed, his or her place hasnt. The Cubists and, indeed the Moderns as a whole (especially in terms of its literature) asserted the validity of the artist in exactly the same way as our friend here has pointed out that Kant did. T: Which I see as being a testament to the correctness of Kants vision. A: It was this that the Moderns desperately strove to cling on to, all of their experimentation, all of their theorising, all of their invention can be seen as merely an attempt to cover up the fact that what was dying, what was losing its validity was them; their special place as artists, writers and thinkers. In the postmodern age all things are equally valid as art, all things are equally worthy even an unmade bed. How does a painting like David Bombergs The Mud Bath (1914) or even Picassos Guernica (1937) reflect the ideals of Kant? They are obviously beautiful pictures and yet they have the power to terrify and to inspire awe, they do not palliate or console so much as remind us of our own death and mortality. How do they fit in with your scheme? T: You have answered your own question, they are sublime paintings. They remind us of our own place as human beings. I agree with you, times change and so does art but the notion of the artist as a translator of human emotion is an important one. Picasso was a visionary, his art was beautiful, it made one think, to cogitate, to realise ones own humanity. OK, not in the same representative way as, say Constable or Rossetti but, then again, neither did Turner, Monet or any of the Impressionists. The subtle play of colour and light, for instance in La Promenade (1875) or even the famous Waterlilies (1905) is nothing but the distillation of experience both in terms of the artists heightened sensibility and training. The same can be said of Picasso or Braque or any of the so called Moderns that you speak of. The form is of no importance, forms and fashions change, what matters is the importance of the artist. There are recent artists who manage to combine both an artistic brilliance with a clear understanding of exactly what art means. Take someone like Lucien Freud, for instance, his paintings do not inspire one in the traditional sense of the word. They do not remind one of beauty in the same way Botticelli does or Poussin, however he asks questions about the human condition whilst displaying an artistic talent, or skill if you will. Freuds pictures are about what is like to be human, about what it is like to have a body that is constantly dying, that is betraying the young person that you still are on the inside. His naked self portraits are concerned with my point exactly: with the place of the artist in society. It is their role to exorcise the ghosts. A: Art should not be a religious experience. T: You are wrong, thats exactly what it should be. A: Art is about reflecting whats here and now not what is eternal. The work of Tracey Emin is as valid as Lucien Freud, as valid as Picasso as valid as Turner and as valid as Rembrandt because it is a product of a time that recognises no universal truths, no absolute hierarchies and no metanarratives. T: But how, then do you judge? How do you decide what should be in an art gallery and what isnt? Do you simply open the doors and let everyone in? A: Yes. T: But thats absurd, where would that led us? A: What are you afraid of? What have you got to lose? S: What is there to lose by the destruction of the discourses of truth and beauty? A: Well, this is at the heart of the question of whether this work is a work of art. What is there to lose by saying it isnt? We have seen the failure of realism in describing the truth about the human condition and we have seen the failure of abstraction in describing the truth about human emotions and mind. The only thing left for us to do is to suggest that it is the truth itself that is non-existent. S: So there is no truth left. A: There is no universal truth, the same as there is no universal sense of beauty. What is beauty after all? The Japanese have a notion they call Wabisabi, it makes up almost all of their aesthetic appreciation. Roughly translated it means imperfect or incomplete, modest or humble. It is as far from our traditional notions of Western aesthetics as we could get. There is none of the grandeur of the sublime, none of the intricacies of Vermeer or Zoffany just the simplicity of line and the imperfection of creativity. S: You mean Wabisabi actively encourages imperfection? A: Yes, it is an intrinsic ingredient of the Japanese aesthetic, but the important point is that aesthetic notions change from country to country from time to time, therefore it is an impossibility for them to be a universal ideal as our friend here seems to think. S: But is it art, this unmade bed? A: Is it in an art gallery? S: Yes. A: It must be art then. T: So you are saying anything that is in an art gallery is art, how ridiculous. That means anything I bring into this gallery could be called art. My dog? The shoes on my feet? The flask I have in my bag? At least we know where we are with the universal notion of beauty. It may not be perfect, in fact it may far from perfect but it is solid, it is not ever-changing or open to this mumbo jumbo that you are talking of. You speak as though everyone were an artist, as though everyone could lay claim to being a Picasso or a Matisse. A: Well, in a way, yes, I am. For postmodernism to work we must adopt a number of responsibilities and positions as well as reject old ones. We must be aware of our actions, Of course that means realising that, perhaps, the whole system of aesthetics needs re-evaluating. Media such as the Internet and increased access to cheap means of publishing means that it is becoming easier and easier to publish ones work and get it to a wide audience. Many musicians have found this out and have started making their work available for Internet downloads and many artists are using technology to challenge the boundaries of the traditional routes into the art world. This has got to be a good thing hasnt it? S: So, what you are saying is that because of changes in society, because of this postmodernism thing the old ideas about what is beautiful, what is true, what is art become irrelevant. In their place is a series of individual judgements based on context. If I put a light switch into a gallery a s a light switch it is not art, if I put it in as art then it is? A: Exactly. S: So it has a linguistic base your argument? If I say something is art, it is? T: This all sounds like rubbish to me. Art has a function in the real world, to be beautiful or at least to make us realise our own humanity or humanness. If we do not draw boundaries, if we dont make distinctions between art and the rest of the world we cheapen art. A: Or we elevate life! T: Take for example Hegels aesthetics theory. For Kant, existence, and along with it art and culture, could only be witnessed in a subjective sense, in other words only bits of the larger picture could be seen by anyone at any one time. It would be impossible to see the whole. Hegel disagreed with this and stated that, if we used reason, we could look at the entire universe at once. S: But thats clearly impossible isnt it? How can we look at anything other than through subjectivity? T: Think about the philosophy of science, physics, chemistry, do they not claim to be able to look at the entire world at once? There is no suggestion in medicine, for instance that we find a cure for TB in a subjective way. An integral part of the truth of the discovery is that it is reproducible, objective and quantifiable, in other words that it is being viewed in some kind of universal way. Israel Knox has a fine quote about Hegels method Hegel exalted reason to an eminence from which it could have an adequate and coà ¶rdinated knowledge of the whole of reality of reality as the incessant temporal forward march of the Absolute, of Spirit, of God.(Knox,1958: 81). It is reason that is at the basis of scientific discovery so why can not reason be at the heart of Aesthetic theory? A: Because reason is an outmoded construct. T: Let me finish! For Hegel, art is a reflection of Geist, which can be translated as either spirit or mind. In Hegel the two are much the same thing the mind and the spirit could be thought of as the defining entity in man; it is the thing that distinguishes him from anything else. His humanness, if you will. Geist is a manifestation of the order of the universe, the phenomenology of Geist is existence and its highest expression is art and philosophy. In this Hegel disagrees with Kant who, as we saw, thought that Nature was the most beautiful of all things. If art is an expression of Geist and Geist itself is a manifestation of the orderliness or reason of the universe, then it follows that the greatest art must be that which mirrors most succinctly this universal sense. For Hegel, art transcends nature precisely because it is a manifestation of mans spirit. You see, Hegel believed in a system he called dialectics. In the Preface to his Phenomenology of Spirit (1977) (or mind, of c ourse) he outlined his grand scheme of things and one that he was to go on to relate to art in his Introductory Lectures on Aesthetics (1993) of the 1820s. The dialectic is the grand working of history, it describes how progression can be achieved by thesis, antithesis and synthesis rather than relying on the idea of a continual advancement. In art, as in everything, first an antithesis establishes an idea, say the classical period of art; here we have a number of philosophies, ways of seeing and ideas that go up to making what we know about the world. However this is very rarely enough, this is never would we call exhaustive. Our culture, in order to progress, needs an antithesis. The classical period of art then, gave way to a period of Romanticism whereby artists and writers developed startling new ideas and notions that would transform art into something completely new. This second notion is the antithesis, it describes not a backward movement but a negation that can propel things forward; that can ensure a synthesis is formed that unites the two and causes forward momentum. For Hegel, this happens in all walks of life, from ideas and science to art and literature. He takes the great periods of art and shows how they interacted with each, succeeding schools challenging preceding schools and so on until eventually there will be an end to art where we have reached a final stage of enlightenment and there is no longer any need for dialectics. Hegel sees that reflected in his own age, with its use of reason and beauty and its synthesis of ideas and notions. Look at this bed, I see no spirit in this, I see no manifestation of Geist here, I see a manifestation of damp and mildew but very little else. This is not art because it does not conform to any of the notions I have been talking about, there is nothing here of the majesty of the universe nothing that lifts us above our everyday experience, in fact it is our everyday experience. S: I can see how Hegels philosophy makes art seem reasonable and structured, I can see that there is a progression from one idea to another. After all, if you look at a painting of the classical period it looks nothing like a painting of today, does it? Hegel must be right; art must be a reflection of some universal spirit that finds its expression in an ever progressing artistic movement. A: But, of course, if that is the case where is the end point? S: The end point? A: Yes, according to Hegel and the other philosophers of Modernism like Marx, the dialectical process inevitably advances, it has to lead to some end point. In Marx it was the glories of revolution and a Marxist state, in Hegel it was the enlightened mind. For their philosophies to have any form of truth in them this end point needs to taken into account but, where is this end point? Where has it gone? We have had almost 150 years of Marxism and over 200 hundred years of Hegelianism but still there is no sign of reaching the end point that they speak of. Consider this, for Hegel the crowning glory of civilization was his own, and therefore our, age. This was the time at which art and literature, music and culture reached its highest point, the point at which Geist was reflected most in societys artifacts. T: Yes, that is what I said. A: According to that philosophy there can only be progression, there can only be forward motion through dialectics; art, literature, culture can only get better. T: Yes, surly. A: But where is this enlightened society? If anything, society is getting more dangerous, more violent. The canonical image is that of Auschwitz, how can Auschwitz be a symbol of a society getting more enlightened and reflecting the reason of the universal unity? If anything it is a sign that it is getting less enlightened. What about the Russian Gulags, they challenge both Hegel and Marx and the same time! On the one hand they make us question the idealist dialectic of Hegel by suggesting that, far from getting more and more enlightened, society is getting more and more barbaric and, on the other, it questions Marxs dialectical materialism by asking where is this glorious revolution that was promised? What we have is not a series of structured progressions based around thesis and antithesis at all but an ad hoc collection of ideas that are organised retrospectively by history. S: So what does this mean for art? A: Well it means that, not only are the ideas in Hegels aesthetics challenged but also that his very methodology is as well. It was this failure that Adorno and Horkheimer traced in their ground breaking work The Dialectic of Enlightenment (1997). It is not so much that postmodernism negates modernism or reason but that it shows up its failings. In an interesting reworking of Odysseus and the Sirens in their book, Adorno and Horkheimer suggest that there is forever a socio-political aspect to art that precludes it from ever being a universal given. Odysseus plugs the ears of his sailors with wax so that they can not hear the song of the Sirens but he ties himself to the mast, fully able to hear. S: What does this mean for art though? A: Well, it means, for one thing that the experience of the Sirens song (a clear symbol for art) depends upon who you are in the ship. If you are a sailor you only know the dangers of the song, you are blissfully unaware of its terrible beauty and alluring qualities and if you are Odysseus you are know the beauty and the terror but you have the pain and responsibility of denial. The song remains the same, only the listeners change. S: So the value of art,

Syntactic Errors in Writing

Syntactic Errors in Writing Introduction When the British colonised the then Malaya, English was used in the colonial administration. English was the national language in Malaya and it was used as medium of instruction in English schools. When Malaya gained independence in 1957, the role of English as the official language dropped and Bahasa Melayu replaced English as the national language and medium of instruction in schools. In schools, English is considered as the second language. The official status of English in Peninsular Malaysia ceased after 31st August 1967, in Sabah was after September 1973 and in Sarawak was after September 1985. (Asmah Haji Omar, 2003) Even though English is the second language in Malaysia and it is still used in mostly urban areas, however, many people feel that the younger generations of Malaysians are not proficient in the language. There is a great difference in English proficiency among urban and rural school students even though they share the same syllabus. This might be because mother tongue and Bahasa Malaysia are widely used in the rural community compared to English. Problem Statement Many teachers and researchers found that many students in Malaysia have problems in writing syntactically correct English sentence. This might be because of their exposure to the language is lesser than the exposure to the national language, Bahasa Malaysia or is due to the influence of the mother tongue and Bahasa Malaysia. Saadiyah Darus and Khor (2009) investigated written English essays of Form 1 Chinese students in a school in Perak and they found that their subjects made numerous syntactic errors in their essays. Errors on tense made up of 121 of errors and subject verb agreement consists of 87 errors. Thus, they believed that the errors made by their subjects are due to the influence of their first language and also due to confusion on the English grammar rules because some rules in English do not exist in their mother tongue or first language. Saadiyah Darus and Kaladevi Subramaniam (2009) examined written English essays of Form 4 students in a school in Semenyih, Selangor and they found that the majority of their subjects made mistakes in singular/plural form followed by verb tense and others. They concluded that their subjects have problems acquiring normal grammatical rules in English. There are two objectives for this study. The first objective is to identify the common syntactic errors in compositions written by upper secondary- specifically Form four students. The second objective is to identify the reasons the subjects committed the errors. Analysis Twenty two essays on Sports injuries and its prevention were collected from 22 form four students from a secondary school in Petaling Jaya. There are 12 Malays, 3 Chinese and 7 Indian students in this class. These students are considered as of high or high intermediate proficiency. The students are all males and they are from the first class of the fourth form and they all came from national type school that uses Bahasa Malaysia as the main medium of instruction. The essays were then marked and analysed for the common errors the subjects committed. Type of Errors Number of Person Subject Verb Agreement 14 Tenses 13 Auxiliary 10 Singular/Plurals 10 Preposition 8 Table 1: Type of Errors Error Correct Form Here some general rules for injury prevention. Here are some general rules for injury prevention. There is a lot of sports in the world. There are a lot of sports in the world. Rules, aside from keeping the games fair, is also to help make the sports safer for everyone. Rules, aside from keeping the games fair, are also to help make the sports safer for everyone. These steps is important in preventing injuries. These steps are important in preventing injuries. There are a few ways to prevent this injuries. There are few ways to prevent these injuries. Table 2: Examples of errors in subject verb agreement According to the findings, the most common error made by the students is the subject verb agreement. Fourteen out of 22 students have problems in subject verb agreements. Most of the students do not know when to use is/are and was/were. For example, These steps is important in preventing injuries. This student used is instead of are might be because he does not know the differences between is and are and when to use the appropriate verb. Students have problems in differentiating the verbs because in Chinese and Mandarin, there is an absence of agreement between subjects and verbs in the languages and this may cause the students to commit errors on subject verb agreement. (Saadiyah Darus Khor, 2009) Maros et al (2007) examined the interference in learning English among form 1 students in Malaysia and they found that most of their subject committed grammatical errors due to the interference of Bahasa Malaysia. In Bahasa Malaysia, there is no such subject verb agreement rule that requires inflections based on the number of subjects. For example when He plays basketball is translated into Bahasa Malaysia, it will be Dia main bola keranjang. Even though dia is a third person singular, in Bahasa Malaysia, there is no need to add the suffix -s after the word main. Hence, the subjects were confused on when to add the suffix -s and this resulted in numerous subject verb agreement errors in their essays. Subject verb agreement errors are very common among second language learners. Even academics make mistakes in subject verb agreement in their academic papers. Flowerdew (2001) mentioned that subject verb agreement as one of the common errors in papers submitted by non-native writers of English. (Ting, Mahanita Mahadhir Chang, 2010) Hence, it is not surprising to find that the most common error made by the students in this study is subject verb agreement. Error Correct Form According to sports injuries statistics of 2009, the highest number of sport injuries reported was soccer which is then followed by rugby and basketball. According to sports injuries statistics of 2009, the highest number of sport injuries reported was soccer which was then followed by rugby and basketball. We can also have serious injuries where we get knocked out like in rugby and end up in the hospital. We can also have serious injuries where we got knocked out like in rugby and ended up in the hospital. Warm muscles are less susceptible to injuries. Warmed muscles are less susceptible to injuries. The table shown the number of sport injuries in soccer is higher than the other sports. The table shows that the number of sport injuries in soccer is higher than the other sports. It follows by rugby that has the second highest percentage. It is followed by rugby that has the second highest percentage. Table 3: Examples of errors on tenses Next is the error on tenses, whereby 13 out of 22 students made errors on tenses. Saadiyah Darus and Khor (2009) examined the four most common errors in writings of form 1 Chinese students and they found that errors on tense are the second highest total number of errors in the study after mechanics of writing. They found that the result is not surprising because the English notion of tense is something confusing to second language learners. This is because, in Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia, there is no indication of time in their verbs as compared to English that has present, past, future and continuous tenses. Besides that, it can also be assumed that some students are not aware of the different rules of tenses application. (Saadiyah Darus Kaladevi Subramaniam, 2009) Another reason might be because in Chinese and Bahasa Malaysia, words are added before the verb to show the time of the action. (Ting, Mahanita Mahadhir Chang, 2010) Hence, students have problems in constructing sentenc es with correct tenses. Wee (2009) found that Asian students tend to use the stem forms of the verbs in all contexts regardless of their tense. This is because Bahasa Malaysia does not have any linguistic device like verb inflections to show past time. So, the Malay students often use the stem of forms of the verbs in order to simplify the target language rules and reduce their linguistic burden or learning load (Wee, 2009). Warmed muscles are less susceptible to injuries in Bahasa Malaysia would be Otot-otot yang telah panas tidak mudah mengalami kecederaan. The word telah shows the tense of the sentence in Bahasa Malaysia whereas in English, we need to add the suffix -ed to show the past tense of the sentence. Therefore, the subjects will usually omit the tense because they do not know when to add the suffix -ed. Error Correct Form We can prevent injuries if we be in a proper physical condition when playing a sport. We can prevent injuries if we are in a proper physical condition when playing a sport. Frequent training and conditioning can prove useful in a long run. Frequent training and conditioning proven to be useful in a long run. The first way to prevent sport injuries is be in proper physical condition to play a sport. The first way to prevent sport injuries is to be in proper physical condition to play a sport. The athletes should had properly train for the sport. The athletes should be trained properly for the sport. Table 4: Examples of errors on auxiliary Results show that many students have problems in using the appropriate auxiliary in their compositions. They often used the wrong form of modals. For example, the majority of the students wrote We can prevent injuries if we be in a proper physical condition when playing a sport instead of We can prevent injuries if we are in a proper physical condition when playing a sport. This shows that many students did not know the proper use of auxiliary verb. Ali Akbar Khansir (2008) investigated syntactic errors in English committed by Indian undergraduates and he found that errors on auxiliary were the second highest error committed by his subjects. His study revealed that there is a lack of knowledge of auxiliary verb rules among his subjects. Error Correct Form For example, in rugby we must wear a mouth guards to prevent our mouth or teeth from injuries. For example, in rugby we must wear a mouth guard to prevent our mouth or teeth from injuries. A sportsmen can do this by doing regular exercises, eating proper food and doing regular practice. A sportsman can do this by doing regular exercises, eating proper food and doing regular practices. These safety gear such as ball guards, helmets and etc are designed to prevent injuries. These safety gears such as ball guards, helmets and etc are designed to prevent injuries. There are many reason they got injured. There are many reasons they got injured. This is because most of the athlete did not warm up before playing. This is because most of the athletes did not warm up before playing. Table 5: Examples of errors on singular/plurals Ten students made errors on singular and plurals. Most of them do not know when to apply the suffix -s when it is a plural noun. This might be due to the absence of plural marker for a noun in Bahasa Malaysia. (Saadiyah Darus Kaladevi Subramaniam, 2009) Some students might be aware of the existence of singular and plural nouns, but probably they are confused on when they should use singular or plural nouns. For example, There are many reasons they got injured when translated into Bahasa Malaysia will be Terdapat banyak punca mereka cedera. In Bahasa Malaysia, the word banyak indicates many, so banyak punca means many reasons. However, in English, we must apply the suffix -s to show that there are many reasons. Error Correct Form During the year 2009, the highest number of sport injuries was soccer. In the year 2009, the highest number of sport injuries was soccer. For the conclusion, there are many ways to prevent injuries when we are playing sports. In conclusion, there are many ways to prevent injuries when we are playing sports. For example, our countrys famous national football player, Mokhtar Dahari, retired in his football career at such a young age because of his calf injury. For example, our countrys famous national football player, Mokhtar Dahari, retired from his football career at such a young age because of his calf injury. Last but not least, avoid playing when you are in tired or in pain. Last but not least, avoid playing when you are tired or in pain. Sports can be divided to many categories such as indoor sports, outdoor sports and aquatic sports. Sports can be divided into many categories such as indoor sports, outdoor sports and aquatic sports. Table 6: Examples of errors on preposition Error on preposition is the least error made by the students. Only eight out of 22 students made errors on preposition. Error on preposition happens might be because of the interference of students L1 and Bahasa Malaysia. This is because some of the prepositions in Mandarin and Bahasa Malaysia have similar meanings and functions with the prepositions in English. Hence, students might be confused on which preposition to be uses in their writing because sometimes a preposition in Bahasa Malaysia can be translated into different English prepositions. (Saadiyah Darus Khor, 2009) Ting and colleagues (2010) examined university students grammatical errors in spoken English and they found that, their subjects made the most mistakes in preposition and this indicates that the subjects are uncertain of the correct usage of the prepositions in the appropriate settings. The same problem occurs in students writings because the students are uncertain of the correct usage of the prepositions. Summary According to the data collected, 14 students made errors on subject verb agreement, 13 on tenses, 10 on auxiliary, 10 on singular/plural verb and 8 on prepositions. The reasons students made these errors might be due to the influence of their mother tongue or first language. Another reason might be because the subjects are confused with the rules of grammar usage. Every Form four student in the Malaysian education system follows the same English language syllabus provided by the Ministry of Education of Malaysia. The current syllabus has been used since 2003. The syllabus is divided into two sections; the first is Learning Outcomes and Specifications and the second section is Language Content. Under the language content, there is a list of grammatical items that the teacher has to teach in class. They are nouns, articles, adjectives, pronouns, verbs, adverbs, prepositions, connectors, sentences and punctuation. So, every grammatical item is covered under the syllabus but the subjects still have problems with the grammar rules. Therefore, students should be made aware of the grammar rules and the teachers should make sure their students know how the grammar rules and apply them in their writings. There are some limitations in this study. First, the students were selected based on their proficiency and not based on ethnicity, so it is not easy to determine whether students mother tongue or first language influence the students command of English. Secondly, students compositions should be marked by more than one marker so that the result will be more reliable. Thirdly, this study was conducted in an urban secondary school where English is used widely in the community. So, the result of the study does not indicate that all students in Malaysia commit the same errors and have the same reasons behind the errors. Thus, this study can be improved by taking these factors into consideration. Conclusion In conclusion, by referring to previous studies and the results of the data collected, most students in Malaysia commit syntactic errors in their written compositions. Hence, teachers play an important role in teaching the students the correct forms of the language. They can incorporate grammar lessons into their English lessons and device interesting games and exercises to teach their students grammar. Many students and teachers acknowledge the fact that grammar lessons are boring and most teachers will try to avoid grammar lessons because the students are not interested in learning them. However, if teachers are able to device interesting lesson plans for their grammar lessons, students will be very interested and will participate actively in class.

My Short Story Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"Private 062!† â€Å"PRESENT SIR!† Private Robert replied. â€Å"Private 063!† â€Å"PRESENT SIR!† Private Wallace shouted. Master Sergeant Olsen was taking attendance at the Base Camp Zan. He was in charge of a platoon of eighty Privates, fresh from the Recruit Camp. Soon, he had accounted for all his soldiers. Coming fresh from the mainland with no knowledge of the army, none of his soldiers could outdo him. Or so he thought†¦ â€Å"Time for your short morning walk, Privates!† â€Å"YES SIR!† The privates started on their ‘short morning walk’ which turned out to be twenty kilometres long. Delta, one of the privates, was the first to finish the run with an astonishing timing of one and a quarter of an hour beating the Master Sergeant by five full minutes. Master Sergeant was infuriated. â€Å"Private 019! Meet me at 0645Hours!† â€Å"Hmm...† Corporal Nelson looked through Private Delta’s particulars. â€Å"Go, run on that running analysis machine there!† He pointed on the steel metallic structure occupying only a small area in the room. Delta walked to the machine and started running. Indeed he ran at an unbelievable speed. But that awesome speed was short-lived. It lasted only two minutes. Now Corporal Nelson was getting interested in Delta’s talents. He sent Delta for a health check and at the same time, promptly sent a proposal to Prof Daniel Frank. Prof Daniel Frank is a scientist. He had just invented something named as the LSSE (Light-weight Self-Sustaining Energy) suit. The...

Racism and Prejudice at State College Essay -- Sociology Racism Prejud

Racism and Prejudice at State College America: the home of the brave and the free, the "melting pot." America: a society of endless possibilities and promises. We as Americans have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Or do we? On what do these rights depend? Power? Power is the ability to influence another's mind. Though expressed in many ways, power is not always accessible. One's social, economic, ethical, and racial status determine how much power one can have--the cultural majority has the power. In American society, culture plays a pivotal role in our everyday life and experiences. What happens when one's identity or sense of self is lost in the melting pot? Who I am and what race or culture I belonged to never seemed to be an issue until I came to State College--everyone around me was the same race and belongs to the same culture it never seems to be an issue. More and more, as I roam this campus, I find myself asking the same questions: do I belong here? Is this the place for me? Who am I? I always come to the same conclusions: I'm me, Emanuel Simmons, the same person who came as a freshman but with more knowledge now. I ask myself, "Who was Emanuel Simmons as a freshman?" and I realize that to figure out where I belong, I must first figure out who I am. State College is a fine institution of learning with a great deal of promise. When I first arrived at State College I was caught off guard. I was an eighteen-year-old, young black man coming from a big-time city to a small town. I had my share of trouble, and I was a little naà ¯ve but not innocent. I was in college, away from family and friends and on my own; nothing could stop me now. I was on top of the world, floating like a free balloon... ...thing about. So with lack of knowledge comes suspicion. I'm not saying that all State College students act this way, but a few mess it up for everyone else. If we as individuals take responsibility for our actions, maybe we would be held accountable for our actions and not everyone else's. In this world we all would like to think we know who we are, but it is only when we come in contact with others of different backgrounds that our sense of self is heightened. We tend to define ourselves as "us and them" rather than "us all." It is so much easier to categorize each other than to learn about each other. We must work together as a community to strengthen each other's weaknesses and let our individuality shine through. Then and only then will we be able to respect and embrace one's differences. We all belong to the same race, humankind. So let's start acting like it. Racism and Prejudice at State College Essay -- Sociology Racism Prejud Racism and Prejudice at State College America: the home of the brave and the free, the "melting pot." America: a society of endless possibilities and promises. We as Americans have the right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Or do we? On what do these rights depend? Power? Power is the ability to influence another's mind. Though expressed in many ways, power is not always accessible. One's social, economic, ethical, and racial status determine how much power one can have--the cultural majority has the power. In American society, culture plays a pivotal role in our everyday life and experiences. What happens when one's identity or sense of self is lost in the melting pot? Who I am and what race or culture I belonged to never seemed to be an issue until I came to State College--everyone around me was the same race and belongs to the same culture it never seems to be an issue. More and more, as I roam this campus, I find myself asking the same questions: do I belong here? Is this the place for me? Who am I? I always come to the same conclusions: I'm me, Emanuel Simmons, the same person who came as a freshman but with more knowledge now. I ask myself, "Who was Emanuel Simmons as a freshman?" and I realize that to figure out where I belong, I must first figure out who I am. State College is a fine institution of learning with a great deal of promise. When I first arrived at State College I was caught off guard. I was an eighteen-year-old, young black man coming from a big-time city to a small town. I had my share of trouble, and I was a little naà ¯ve but not innocent. I was in college, away from family and friends and on my own; nothing could stop me now. I was on top of the world, floating like a free balloon... ...thing about. So with lack of knowledge comes suspicion. I'm not saying that all State College students act this way, but a few mess it up for everyone else. If we as individuals take responsibility for our actions, maybe we would be held accountable for our actions and not everyone else's. In this world we all would like to think we know who we are, but it is only when we come in contact with others of different backgrounds that our sense of self is heightened. We tend to define ourselves as "us and them" rather than "us all." It is so much easier to categorize each other than to learn about each other. We must work together as a community to strengthen each other's weaknesses and let our individuality shine through. Then and only then will we be able to respect and embrace one's differences. We all belong to the same race, humankind. So let's start acting like it.

Imprisonment and Persecution of Quakers :: British History Essays

Imprisonment and Persecution of Quakers In An Account of the Travels Sufferings and Persecutions of Barbara Blaugdone, Blaugdone describes her experiences as a traveling Quaker minister, most often those of persecution and imprisonment. Imprisonment was not an uncommon occurrence for Quakers, as Blaugdone exemplifies. Traveling from town to town, Blaugdone notes, â€Å"I had Prison in all those Places† (12). Although the Quaker ideal of denouncing the clergy was not necessarily uncommon, the Quakers were much more zealous in their pursuit to spread the Truth, therefore much of their persecution was due to their own perseverance (Trevett 18). A common justification for Quaker imprisonment was blasphemy (Trevett 17). Elizabeth Hooton, a strong female figure in Quakerism, performed many of the same roles that Blaugdone did, and in return, she was imprisoned for merely reprimanding a priest (18). Hooton was arrested numerous times for activities such as public speaking, refusal to swear an oath in court, and disturbing the peace. In Blaugdone’s Account, disturbing the peace seems to be merely stepping foot in town. Numerous laws were also passed that enabled the arrest and persecution of Quakers, including The Blasphemy Act, The Conventicle Acts, The Five Mile Act and The Quaker Act. All of these laws basically prohibited Quakers from disrupting the ministry of the church (18). By challenging priests in their own churches, organizing and attending gatherings, and meeting with and preaching to others on street corners, Quakers broke the law. Blaugdone clearly took part in these ‘unlawful’ activities: â₠¬Å"And then I was moved to go to Great Torrington in Devonshire, unto the Steeple-house there, where was a very bad Priest† (Blaugdone 13). Of course her only outcome at talking to the priest was to be once again put in prison. By 1659, twenty-one Quakers had died in prison due to ill treatment, while countless others were crippled or their health had been permanently damaged (Trevett 18). Blaugdone reveals similar mistreatment in her Account: â€Å"and the nest day the Sheriff came with a Beadle, and had me into a Room, and Whipt me till the Blood ran down my Back† (15). Whipping was not the only form of punishment exercised against Quakers. Punishments included public humiliation, pelting, whipping sometimes after being stripped naked, fining family members, and confiscation of property (Trevett 21). Prison conditions were also quite inhuman, and prisoners depended upon either the good nature of guards of bribes.

Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture.Feminist Archeology Essay

This refers to a feminist perspective used in interpreting the past societies. The main focus is on gender in relation to class, race or sexuality. This archeology was critiquing the very uncritical modern, western values applications that were being used to look at the area of archeology. Feminist anthropology has three waves with the first wave occurring between1850 and 1920, the second wave was between 1920 and 1980 and the third wave which still exists to now started in 1980’s. The first wave The main concern coming from the first wave was the need to ensure women voices are taken into account in area of Ethnography. They wanted any little information that women contributed to Ethnography to be included in all records of data that are available or have recognized men who participated in the same field. Margaret Conkey together with Janet Spector wrote a paper entitled ‘Archaeology and the study of Gender’ in 1992 which was critiquing the way the then archeologists were overlaying the modern Western Gender values and norms on past societies like on matters of division of labor based on Gender, of which all the contexts or artifacts only attributed to tasks done by men and all the characters related to the discipline were attributed to only masculine values. Women on the other hand were asked to take professions relating to laboratory studies rather than field work (Clea, 13). Clifford believes that during the second wave, the female archeologists started focusing on academic sphere separating sex and gender notions, which had been used interchangeably during previous periods. Gender had been used to refer to the male and the female, their cultural construction and the relationship that existed between the two. Even though gender definitions vary from one culture to another, the feminist anthropologists were against the broad generalizations that were being done. The female archeologist in the second phase also rejected the concept of inherent dichotomies like whom between a man and a woman was to remain home or go to work. Research done during this second wave was developed in a materialistic perspective. Theories touching on social relations researched on women, production and reproduction factors associated with them. Many scholars that follow this Marxist theory focus on gender and how it relates to changes in production modes, power social relations a nd class (23). According to Clea (12), the third wave that occurred in 1980’s expanded their focus beyond gender, to include archeology and physical anthropology. They focus on the difference existing between women rather than between the males and females. They focus on differences that come as a result of race, class, and even ethnicity. They also encouraged consideration in other categories like religion, age, status and occupation, what they mean and how they relate with each other, moving away from the male and female concept. Power was a crucial factor during the third wave as it gave the females an opportunity to construct their identity, hence the need for a ‘fragmented theoretical approach’ that focuses on a particular fragmented subject. The point’s female theories were reacting to. According to Clea (41), first wave feminist anthropologists were reacting to the fact that discussion on women only focused on areas of marriage and family, with little regard on women issues and gender leading to a very deficient understanding on general human experience. The female archeologists also criticized the language that was being used in the discipline, especially the word ‘man’ which was in a way very ambiguous, because at one point it referred to all homo sapiens and sometimes it was referring to the male population in general. According to Clifford (39), second wave feminists on the other hand were criticizing Durkheim’s notion which recognized having a static system, which can easily be broken down in inherent dichotomies. The female anthropologists argued that the social system is very dynamic as the social relations at the end of they come down on practice. Feminist Anthropologists who emerged during the post-structuralist time criticized cultural feminism theory which was opposed by Mary Daly together with Adrienne Rich. The theory believed in the existence of a male or female essence which validated traditional roles performed by the male or female folks. The theorists focused on women’s tenderness, sentimental and her subjectivity as her main self awareness. Those opposing the theory claimed that it ignored the oppressive nature of the traditional values on the women population. Clea asserts that further criticisms were from the African-American archeologists together with other people from ethnics, who represented the minority population, who questioned the power of questions that were being asked by earlier feminist anthropologists. Audrey Lorde wrote to Mary Daly questioning her view that the oppression women faced were identical in women of all races. It views that the early female anthropologists like Zora Neale were excluded from matters Anthropology, not because she did not have a PHD but because of her race. The African-female anthropologists believe that black anthropologists continue to be ignored or marginalized despite their great contribution to archeology (23). Globalization is a major force in redefining society today. Discuss the effects of migration on the nation-state. Also, what does it mean to be a trans-border citizen? Joseph defines Globalization as set of processes that embodies transformation of social relations or transactions which have been expressed in transcontinental and interregional networks of activities power and interactions. It has been categorized in four kinds of changes with the first focusing on stretching of economic, social and political processes across regions, continents and frontiers. The second kind involves the intensification of interconnectedness and smooth flow of investment, trade, finances, culture and migration (2). Nicole explains that while the third is linked to speeding of global processes and interaction procedures, as there is development of global transport systems and communication platforms which increases the rate at which people share ideas, capital, information and capital. The fourth focuses on the fast rate global interactions which show the effects of distant activities can have a great significance elsewhere and how specific local development in one country can affect global development. All these four kinds of globalization shows us that boundaries that exist between local issues and global matters have become increasingly fluid, hence it is widening, growing, intensifying and increasing the impact of global interconnectedness (21). Effects of migrating on a nation-state According to Joseph (28), migrating on a nation state reduces the sovereignty of a country due to the acceptance by the nation to use international law and abide by the human rights principle which legitimizes the international community to intervene if a country is not treating the immigrants well. In addition due to globalization effects, migration among nation states reduces a nation’s Autonomy by transnational corporation powers and supranational bodies which reduce a nation’s capacity to create and implement policies and decisions that are touching on economical, social and political issues. Held &McGrew believe that a country’s authority on border control is undermined by migration due to burgeoning cross-border frequent flows of capital, ideas, migrants and commodities. If elected officials of different nations no longer have the power to make national decisions due to supranational level, democracy reduces a lot due to lack of popular representation. This migration also undermines the important link between states and their nations, due to diverse and huge mobile populations with affiliations in various states, reducing space for individual races. It will also see a decline in welfare state because of huge corporations and international markets having authority to restrict intervention by affected nations, as they demand deregulation and privatization (34). Nicole believes that Western states have predominated; the global stage in organizing politics, identity, culture and economic development of many nations especially developing countries. Globalization has led to the proliferation of many transnational communities leading to increased mobility across borders of populations, as they increase the possibility of maintaining very close links between their homeland and co-ethnics happening elsewhere (18). According to Held & McGrew, (12) trans-border citizens are also given the opportunity to erode border-control protocols as they decline the link existing between the citizen and his nation. In addition, they undermine the territorial sovereignty of a nation, as a result of creating cross-border links that are very durable, divided loyalties and many multiple identities. Using Terry Eagleton’s book, Across the Pond, as a starting point, discuss the meaning and symbolic representation of individualism in American culture During the past many Americans have found the British oddness very fascinating, but according to Terry Eagleton, the U.S citizens are the ones who are more strange and individualistic in nature. Through his journey in language, national character of the citizens and the country’s geography, Terry probes the depths of the United States culture with both an academic mind and humor. He answers questions expressed by his fellow compatriots like why the Americans wake up at dawn even during holidays and Sundays. Through this book, the writer Eagleton shows true admiration of the American individualism culture. In the book Eagleton makes broad, debatable generalizations like ‘Americans find it hard to do things by halves’, ‘The British are no enthusiasts of extremes’, and ‘Americans tend to sling things together that Europeans would keep strictly apart’. Even though these observations do not apply to specific individuals, Terry generalizes them to describe how Americans operate, being given the Authority to do so because of poetry. From the beginning of the book, he recognizes the fact that most Americans will not take his sentiments lightly because of their total devotion to personal rights and individualism. He however expresses his point on stereotypes and his sense of humor by making an observation that if truly the Americans hold on to their individuality concept, then they should take his observations as an irony about them. While addressing the issue of obesity Terry (9),believes that is affecting over 60% populations of the Americans, he observes that many of them have no idea that the entire population does not have people like them, or they have not gotten the chance to observe that for they are too fat to fit in the aircraft. This only means that the American population are only concerned with what is happening to them and do not care about what other nations across the world are going through. As much as most of the observations are not insult the Americans, his chapter that focuses on differences between the English and Americans is full of mistakes that are very hilarious in the sense that anyone who has interacted with people from Britain will automatically realize. According to Terry (21), emphasis on the American dream also brings about the individualism that the American citizens possess. He observes that, ‘Americans are great believers in the fraudulent doctrine that you can do anything you want if you try hard enough’. He however does not understand why this dream has not helped them to eradicate poverty, early teenage pregnancies, social exclusion and incarceration. By attacking the American dream, it is clear that he is of the idea we should not be so selfish to the point we cannot realize when it is time to give up and let go rather than making a fool out of ourselves. The American’s political structure as explained by Eagleton shows how individualistic they are by nature. He refers to their politics as having only one party state that of democratic capitalist and republican capitalist, with the diversity of their opinions not even able to rival the varieties of candy bars. He explains that the Americans are capitalists and that is not going away any soon. Even though people view Obama as a capitalist, he believes that the love affair the Americans have with capitalism is not going anywhere. Generally countries that have a capitalism economy are individualistic as they put their concerns first before any other (Terry, 23). Despite being humorous and ironically, the book has underlying meanings that if studied well can help in understanding the American culture. The change in leadership between the democratic and republicans and their style of leadership does not differ much as most of their policies are always focused on protecting their nation against any enemy that wants to kill the country’s sovereignty. From the book it is clear that the country does not care about the needs of other countries as long as their own interests are protected and safeguarded. This can be seen in the way they handle the Arab nations when it comes to fighting terrorism. American government have in the recent past been accused of tapping phone conversations of big government officials in Britain, Germany, France and even the developing countries and the main reason for this is to safeguard their interests. The wiki leaks that occurred some years back are a true reflection of the lengths the country can go to protect their nation without caring about what will happen to other nations hence their individualism. Eagleton has observed that the Americans may not take his writings in a good way and true to his words; many Americans have criticized his writings just because it did not favor them. If the writings supported them, then most probably they would have supported the writings. But as much as it’s touching on the nation’s pride, they definitely oppose it in strong measures. The writer is however very individualistic in a way because he being an English man, only praises the British while criticizing the Americans. Having married an American, he should have at least said one positive thing about the Americans. References Terry Eagleton, â€Å"Across the Pond: An Englishman’s View of America†, London Press, London: 2013. Print. Joseph, Stigltz, â€Å"Making Globalization Work†, Harvard University Press, New York: 2008. Print. Clea, Koff, â€Å"The bone woman†, London Press, London: 2004. Print. Clifford, Geertz, â€Å"Interpretation of cultures† Harvard University Press, New York: 2008. Print. Nicole, Johns, â€Å"Nation-states and migration effects†, Oxford University Press, New York: 2013.Print. Held, Dannies. And McGrew, Andrew, â€Å"Global Transformations: Politics, Economics and Culture†, Polity Press, Cambridge: 2000. Print. Source document

Operation Barbarossa

Operation Barbarossa was perhaps the boldest, most ambitious but at the same time most foolish and ill-timed operation executed by Nazi Germany during World War II. This operation committed Germany to war against the Soviet Union which it invaded on June 22, 1941 and terminated on March of 1942. In the early stages of the campaign, the Germans employed the same bilitzkrieg tactics that served them well in the western campaigns.They were hoping to duplicate that same victory against the Soviets and were lulled into a false sense of confidence when they covered a lot of ground and scored many victories which netted them scores of prisoners of war. When 1942 came along, German high command began to realize later on how wrong they were and thus began a protracted war in what they came to call the â€Å"eastern front. † This operation was intended to be the fulfillment of Hitler's vision of lebensraum (living space) in his work, Mein Kampf.â€Å"If land was desired in Europe, it c ould be obtained by and large only at the expense of Russia, and this meant that the new Reich must again set itself on the march along the road of the Teutonic Knights of old, to obtain by the German sword sod for the German plow and daily bread for the nation†¦ †¦ Destiny itself seems to wish to point out the way to us here†¦ This colossal empire in the East is ripe for dissolution, and the end of the Jewish domination in Russia will also be the end of Russia as a state. † (cited in Shirer 124, 1044; Riasanovsky 515; Hitler)Politically, the clashing extremist ideologies of both Germany and the Soviet Union gave the Nazis even more impetus to invade Russia, considering it as a new crusade against communism which they believed was the creation of the Jews for whom Hitler and the Nazis could see no good. Furthermore, Hitler envisioned the Slavic people as a race that would serve the purpose of the Aryan race by wither being their slaves or â€Å"sport† whe rein they would provide them with something to hunt or kill to maintain their virility (Hitler).This was an opportunity for the Nazis to eradicate these enemies in one fell swoop, once and for all. The Spanish civil war of 1936 gave the Germans a taste of war against the communist where they even went face to face against Soviet â€Å"volunteers† in this conflict (Riasanovsky 514-515). As Hitler's armies were annexing neighboring states as part of restoring Germany's glory and patrimony, Hitler began conducting diplomatic overtures as part of his strategy to keep potential adversaries at bay, even for just a while and the Soviet Union was one of them.Thus began secret dipomatic maneuvers which resulted in the non-aggression pact between Germany and the Soviet Union prior to the invasion of Poland where the latter was invited to take part in it. Furthermore, this pact served other purposes other than buying time for Germany to attack Russia. Strategically, Germany needed Russi an territory to be able to transport resources to them following the blockade of the sealanes by the Allies, especially oil which was vital to Germany's war economy and machinery (Shirer 821-822).Despite entering into these agreements, secret or otherwise, both Germany and the Soviet Union still harbored suspicions and animosities against each other, primarily due to irreconcilable differences in ideology where both sides represent the opposite of political extremes, fascism and communism. The Soviets too saw the pact as an alliance of convenience on their part as they began their own expansion by invading the Baltic states of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia as well as Finland, which was an ally of Germany in 1940.For the sake of keeping the peace with the Soviets, the Germans remained silent as their minor ally was attacked by the Soviets. Germany also felt insecure when the Soviets occupied the Baltic states which they also felt was theirs owing to historical precedence and even mor e concerned when the Soviets were also moving into Romania, another German ally further heightening tensions between these two supposed allies but it was rather apparent that conflict between them would be inevitable as both sides were taking advantage of each other, with the Soviets being the first (Riasanovsky 517; Shirer 832-836, 883).The Nazis entered into a treaty with the Soviets as an alliance of convenience hoping to get more from the treaty. As the war was progressing in the west, the Germans were beginning to realize how difficult the Russians were as negotiators as the latter were driving very hard bargains, especially Stalin. It is revealed in captured German government documents that Stalin also took part in negotiations and was a very tough negotiator who could not be pushed into a compromise and always sought a better deal for Russia and was very demanding.No amount of persuasion and even threats could deter the Russian autocrat (Shirer 882). The German war plan calle d for a one-front war in order to conserve and husband their resources. Though most of western Europe was not occupied, Great Britain remained defiant and continued to hold out in a protracted aerial battle over their airspace where they were able to inflict heavy casualties on the German Luftwaffe (air force), thereby forestalling any plans for a seaborne invasion by the Germans well into 1941.By 1941, Hitler began to become impatient on how the campaign against the British was going. It also did not help that Germany was also suffering an acute shortage of resources and this was what prompted Hitler to jump the proverbial gun and attack Russia, thinking also that the British would not give him a problem as he decided to shelve the invasion of Britain and leave it to his U-Boats to strangle Britain economically.By December of 1940, Hitler already had plans for the invasion from his generals and it was hoped that the attack would commence in the spring of 1941. The plan was codename d â€Å"Barbarossa,† after the Holy Roman emperor who was one of the co-leaders of the Third Crusade; an apt name for the operation since Hitler regarded this planned offensive as a new crusade and it also came at a time when relations between Berlin and Moscow were starting to turn sour as both sides appear to sense that they were double-crossing each other (Shirer 1045, 1049).Another reason for Hitler's desire to attack Russia the soonest was to seal Britain's fate, leaving her with no ally when he said: â€Å"But if Russia is smashed, Britain's last hope will be shattered. Then Germany will be master of Europe and the Balkans†¦ In view of these considerations, Russia must be liquidated†¦ The sooner Russia is smashed, the better. † (cited in Shirer 1047) Furthermore, Hitler also said that â€Å"When Barbarossa commences, the world wil hold its breath and make no comment.† (cited in Shirer 1078) Hitler was apparently lulled into a false sense of confi dence following the victories of German forces in Poland and western Europe and he felt they could do it again in Russia which made him even more confident because he regarded the Russians as inferior despite their large population and their inferiority would make it easy for Germany to defeat and conquer them. He was confident that he would succeed where Napoleon had failed, by conquering Russia quickly and in the shortest span of time possible.The rationale for this was to avoid the harsh Russian winter which was one of the reasons why Napoleon failed and he would not want to make that same mistake Napoleon did. Furthermore, if the Russian campaign would drag on beyond winter, they also had to contend with the following spring where the snow-covered ground would turn muddy, which would play havoc on their powerful war machines which they had never encountered in the western front.He was so driven and obsessed in attacking Russia that he disregarded the advice of his commanders to commence campaigns elsewhere by constantly stating Russia had to be eliminated first and that everything else could wait. The plan called for a six-month time table but constant foot-dragging and waging campaigns in the Balkans and North Africa delayed plans well into June of 1941 (Shirer 1087-1088). Alongside the military planning, Hitler also spelled out his political plans for Russia once the invasion commenced in what became known as the â€Å"Commissar Order.† Hitler saw the war also as a battle of ideologies and he saw the need to eliminate those who propagate it when he stated: â€Å"The commissars are the bearers of ideologies directly opposed to National Socialism. Therefore the commissars will be liquidated. German soldiers guilty of breaking international law will be excused. Russia has not participated in the Hague Convention and therefore has no rights under it. † (cited in Shirer 1089) It can further be inferred here that Hitler was intent on deliberately committing murder by ordering the systematic execution of any political commissar captured by German forces.Most of Hitler's commanders objected to it. These were professional soldiers who knew that murder was not part of a soldier's duty and this would be something they would have to deal with when several of them would be brought to trial in Nuremberg in 1945 (Shirer 1089-1090). In an apparent display of overconfidence, Alfred Rosenberg, one of Hitler's lieutenants, prematurely made a proposal on how to divide Russia into political administrations, each with an given German name.The Baltic region and Belarus would be called Ostland; the Ukraine, along with its adjacent areas; Southern Russia running along the Caucasus mountains would be called Kaukasus; the areas surrounding Moscow, Moskau; and Turkestan for the central regions, each ruled by the modern-day German version of the ancient Roman prefect. Furthermore, plans were already in motion on how to best exploit Russia's resou rces. They intend to use it to feed Germany's industries and its people.They were acutely aware of the adverse consequences it would have on the Russian people in terms of hunger but the Nazis could not care less on what would happen even if millions of Russians would perish under their proposed policies (Shirwe 1091-1092). The forces Hitler arrayed against Russia was made up of 175 army divisions, supported by formidable artillery and armored divisions, both from the Wehrmacht (regular army) and his elite Waffen-SS. These were divided into three army groups, North, Center and South, each given specific objectives to capture.To the north, under the command of Field Marshal Wilhelmvon Leeb, the target was Leningrad. As the city's name implies, it was named after Lenin, the acknowledged father of the Russian Revolution which incidentally began in that city, then named Petrograd (St. Petersburg) and the Soviet Union and therefore, one of the symbolic targets of the German invasion forc es. Historially, Hitler believed Leningrad was once part of the territory conquered by the Teutonic Knights of the Middle Ages and he was simply trying to take back what belonged to Germany by virtue of conquest (Salisbury 37).The center group, under Field Marshal Fedor von Bock, would head for the capital Moscow, reminiscent of Napoleon's actions. The southern forces under Field Marshal Gert von Rundstedt would head for Kiev and Rostov-on-Don in what is now part of the Ukraine which was the Soviet Union's agricultural heartland as well as the road to the oil-rich fields of the Caucasus and Black Sea area (Riasanovsky 518-519). Follow-on forces would come soon to do mop-up operations and to deal with any partisan or guerrilla activity in the occupied areas.All in all, the Nazi regime had already made grandiose plans on what to do with Russia, believing they would finally succeed where Napoleon had failed in addition to the fact that Russia's conquest would be the fulfillment of Hitl er's visions defined in Mein Kampf. On the part of the Soviets, they had the numerical superiority over the Germans with roughly 8 million men to the Germany's 4 million which also included its allies from Italy, Hungary, Finland and Romania.They even had ten times the number of artillery, armored vehicles and aircraft arrayed against the Germans as well. In terms of numbers, the Soviets were by no means weak. If there was one weakness of the Red Army, it was its diversity with men from the various Soviet republics and whose dispositions ranged from cooperative to hostile towards one another even before they faced the Germans.Furthermore, majority of the Soviet forces initially arrayed were made up primarily of conscripts coming mainly from the peasantry, a throwback of the Tsarist era. The commissars were the ones who primarily kept them in line, not just to preserve ideological purity but meting out discipline instead of the officers assigned to the units and even tried to lead th em, replacing the ones persecuted even though they lacked the qualifications. Communications and leadership was also poor.This was partly Stalin's fault during the Great Purge of the 1930's where several competent senior officers of the Red Army were victims of the purges, depriving their units of capable leaders. As a result, these units were routed with millions killed and taken prisoner (Parker 60). Overall command was under Field Marshal Georgi Zhukov who had distinguished himself in the far east in border clashes against the Japanese which gave him a reputation of being a successful commander.Countering the three German offensive groups are three â€Å"Directions† tasked with forming the defense of their assigned territory and launch a counteroffensive. They were the North-Western Direction under Colonel Generals Markian Popov and Fyodor Kuznetsov which covers the Baltic region; the Western Direction under General Dimitry Pavlov which covers the areas west of Moscow and the South-Western Direction under Generals Mikhail Kirponos and Ivan Tyulenev concentrating on the Ukraine (Parker 107; Riasanovsky 518).Despite having more war machines compared to the Germans, they were inferior in quality. The Soviets initially had the T-28 medium tanks which could not stand up to the supeior armor the Germans prepared the Panzer I-III series. Although the Soviets had quality armor like the T-34 and KV-1, they were not abundant in number and were reserved for first-line units, particularly the elite â€Å"Guards† units.For air assets, once more, the quality of Soviet combat aircraft was inferior to ther Germans as they fielded the Poikarpov I-16, Lavochkin-3 and Mig-3 which were mediocre compared to the superior Bf109 fighter planes of the Luftwaffe which made short work of the Red Air Force which were on peacetime status, with aircraft parked closely together in the airfields, making them easy targets for high-altitude bombers and the dreaded Stuka dive b ombers of the Luftwaffe (Batty).On the political front, even Stalin was aware of an imminent conflict with Germany and that the treaties they had would not last much longer as tensions between the two supposed allies were increasing as both sides began to sense the duplicity of the other. Yet, he refused to heed the warnings coming from intelligence agents in the field of an impending German attack and those who merely did their duty were branded as â€Å"provocateurs† and censured, if not arrested.He even ignored warnings from British and American emissaries who were aware of the dangers, thinking it was a ruse to make him show his hand prematurely and not wanting to make the mistake Nicholas II did in 1914. Stalin held absolute power and did not permit any autonomy nor initiative among his subordinates (Salisbury 37). Although German aircraft hadalready been intruding into Soviet airspace, Stalin gave orders not to meet or engage them.His hesitation proved costly as it sent a message to the Germans that the Soviets were complacent, making it the ripe time to attack. The first phase of the war began with air strikes on key military bases and cities to sow terror, panic and confusion as well as cripple and hinder Soviet forces. By the end of the opening phase, the Lufwaffe enjoyed total air superiority over Soviet territory, making them virtually unopposed as they managed to destroy a lot of Soviet aircraft on the ground and shoot down those that managed to take off but were inferior in quality.This was followed up by a simultaneous attack by all three German army groups in their respective fronts and they were able to catch the Soviets off guard, resulting in numerous Soviet casualties and prisoners. They would duplicate the same tactic they did in Poland wherein they would bypass heavier enemy units and encircle them, cutting them off from any support and crush them. They would apply the same tactic as well on major Soviet cities, besieging them and s tarving their people although in the case of Leningrad, Hitler wanted it destroyed (Riasanovsky 518; Salisbury 40).Surprisingly, they were happily welcomed by the civilian population in the Ukraine and the Baltic states who hated Stalin and his communist regime. For them, the Germans were liberators instead of invaders and this had helped the Germans gain a foothold into Soviet territory (Batty). However, by the fourth week of the campaign, the progress bogged down as the German forces were overextended and needed time to allow for support units to catch up. By the time they were able to resume again, winter had set in.Even though it provided mobility due to hardened ground, the conditions were do dismal and German forces were beginning to understand now why Napoleon failed as severe blizzards wrought havoc on the invaders who were unprepared for â€Å"General Winter,† the same foe Napoleon faced and had proven to be a far more formidable foe than any army the Germans had fou ght. At the same time, fresh Soviet troops from the east were deployed and they fought doggedly and with more determination, further slowing down the German advance.What had hoped to be finished in three to six months would run for four more years and would eventually bleed German resources dry. The Soviets may have been brought down initially but they were not out of the running as they managed to recover and become stronger in the latter phase of the campaign. In conclusion, Operation Barbarossa started off well but in the middle, it began to lose steam and thus forcing the Germans to fight a kind of war they did not want, especially against Russia which was a war of attrition.It was considered a failure because the Germans failed to meet their objectives of capturing the key cities and failed to meet their timetable, causing them to be caught up in a winter war they were ill-prepared for. This was attributed to the constant delay of the commencement of the attack. The delay cause d them to be caught up by the winter season and Hitler refused to heed his generals' advice for a pause to allow the winter to pass.Hitler's obsession for going on the offensive caused the German forces to be stretched too thin making the rear areas vulnerable to stay-behind forces and partisan attacks which tied down his forces. The dogged and tenacious resistance put up by the Soviets despite their inferior quality bought time for them to transfer their industries to the remote regions beyond the Urals where they were safe from attacks or capture and enabled the Soviets to reconstitute their forces. Finally, they underestimated the capabilities of the Red Army, especially the Nazi leadership who looked down on the Slavs.Finally, the Germans fought a war they did not want, a 3-front campaign: Western Europe, North Africa and Mediterranean and the Eastern Front which severely divided their forces and resources, not to mention fighting multiple enemies, especially with the entry of t he United States into the war. The Soviets too had their faults which nearly cost them the war, and Stalin was to blame for decimating his officer corps during the 1930 purges. His â€Å"iron will† of not permitting retreat also caused numerous casualties and prisoners as his commissars and loyal commanders blindly followed his orders.His saving grace was the leadership in the front provided by Zhukov who cleverly went around Stalin's orders to husband his forces that enabled them to recover and regain lost ground in the subsequent battles owing to the characteristic resilience of the Russian forces, interspersed with patriotic fervor. The Soviets ay have lost the initial battles but they eventually won the war because of this and eventually took the war to the Germans and visited upon them the same havoc they wrought upon them. Works Cited â€Å"Barbarossa (June-December 1941). † The World at War. Writ. Peter Batty. Thames. 1973.Hitler, Adolf. â€Å"Mein Kampf. † Hitler. Org. 1924. Retrieved 17 May 2010 . Parker, Robert Alexander Clarke. The Second World War: A Short History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2001. Riasanovsky, Nicholas V. A History of Russia. New York: Oxford University Press, 1984. Salisbury, Harrison E. â€Å"The 900 Days: The Siege of Leningrad. † True Stories of World War II . Ed. Nancy J. Sparks. Pleasantville, New York: The Reader's Digest Association, Inc. , 1969. 35-63. Shirer, William L. The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960.