Easter Offensive 1972 Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Easter Offensive 1972 - Research Paper Example The size and ferocity the offensive unleashed to the waiting American and Vietnamese forces had been under estimated thus leading to them being overwhelmed by the North Vietnamese Army (NVA). The involvement of John Ripley in the Easter offensive which lasted over three hours is also reportedly the end of the North Vietnam Army push to conquer the south. The following paper is a description of the Easter offensive that occurred in Dong Ha when the NVA’s Push for the Southern Vietnamese nation. It also describes the involvement of John Ripley in combat while still exploring the under looked issues in the mission. The Easter Offensive Before the South Vietnamese Operation Lam Son which was to fail, discussions had been held by the Hanoi leadership on the Easter offensive. This was during the 19th Plenum of the Central Committee of the Lang Dong party in 1971. It is reported that by December that same year the Politburo had resolved to launch a mega attack on the southern region of Vietnam (George 75). This would be favored by the elections that were to take place in the United States the following year. In addition, the US marines in the area were being withdrawn from Vietnam. Consequently, the Army of the Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) was increasingly being stretched over the South Vietnam border. It is also reported that the ARVN was increasing losing their ground on the border to an estimated 600 miles to the NRV. Moreover, the ARVN was offensive was a promising memory after the failure of the Laos mission. As described by George (24), ‘This decision marked the end of three years of political infighting between two factions within the Politburo: those members grouped around  Truong Chinh, who favored following the Chinese model of continued low-intensity  guerrilla warfare  and rebuilding the north; and the "southern firsters" centered around Defense Minister Vo Nguyen Giap and supported by First Party SecretaryLe Duan  (both of whom supporte d the  Soviet  model of big offensives)’ . The decision would be to use a combined mega guerilla attack on the security forces. This is also supported by Nalty (

Employment Rights Act Essay Example for Free

Employment Rights Act Essay 1. Know the statutory responsibilities and rights of employees and employers within own area of work. 1.1 List the aspects of employment covered by law Here is a list of the aspects of employment covered by law; minimum wage, discrimination, health and safety, holiday entitlements, redundancy, dismissal, training, disciplinary procedures, union rights and consultation, maternity rights, protected disclosures, working time regulations, particulars of employments. Working hours and holiday entitlements, Sickness absence and sick pay, Anti – discrimination provisions, Data protection, Relevant equalities legislation. 1.2 List the main features of current employment legislation is : Health and Safety Act 1974 Equality Act 2010 Date Protection Act 1998 Employment Rights Act 1996 Part Time Workers Regulations Act 2000 Working Time Regulations Act 1998 National Minimum Wage Act 1998 1.3 Outline why legislation relating to employment exists. Legislation relating to employment exists to protect the rights of employers and employees by providing rules and regulations that must be followed. It prevents employers from abusing or taking advantage of employees. To prevent exploitation and To ensure safe working environment. 1.4 Identify sources and types of information and advice available in relation to employment responsibilities and rights. Sources and types of information that are available to employment responsibility and rights include: Employment contracts -copy, company policies, manager of team, Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service, Jobcentre Plus, Citizens Advice Bureau, Department for Work and Pensions, Employment Appeals Tribunal Service, Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs, Access to Work (to help pay towards a support worker or the equipment you need at work) and Direct.gov website. Understand agreed ways of working that protect own relationship with employer.

The Acquisition Vs Learning Education Essay

The Acquisition Vs Learning Education Essay The innateness of language structure is most relevant to the process by which a child learns its first language. The first language is learnt informally, naturally and spontaneously without the child being aware of the fact that it is learning something. But there comes a stage when the child learns a new language which may be the second or third language. As second or third language learning happens through a formal process, exposure to an altogether different kind is required where the learning situation is artificial. It is generally said that people acquire the first language and learn the second language but experts in the field often use it interchangeably. People learn or acquire these languages in different circumstances with different results. The difference between first language and second language acquisition are presumably due to different conditions that either facilitates or constraint language acquisition/learning. In First Language Acquisition (FLA) abundant exposure is available but it is not so with the second language where natural circumstances are available. It is through instruction that second language is mostly learnt. Second Language acquisition appears to be a process which exhibits certain regularities, is constrained by a number of factors determining its course, rate of progress, and final outcome, is subject, within certain limits, to external influences such as (methods of ) instruction(Klein, 1988.1). Krashen attempts to distinguish between the first language acquisition and second language learning by saying, there are two independent ways to developing ability in second languages. Acquisition is a subconscious process identical in all important ways to the process children utilize in acquiring their first language, while learning is a conscious process that results in knowing about language (1985.1). Hence, Acquiring a language is picking it up i.e. developing ability in a language for use in natural, communicative situations. Language learning is knowing the rules, having a conscious knowledge of the grammar (Chaudhary, 2002, 96). A second language can be acquired rather than learnt in situations where children have exposure to a wide range of languages i.e. a multilingual situation is conducive to language acquisition. However, it is necessary to keep in mind that there is a wide range of learners from different environments and settings which affect the degree to which learners have the opportunity to acquire the second language. Moreover, cognitive processes of learning by rule formation helps learners to acquire language faster than by the natural processes of unconscious acquisition. Teacher Education in India The development of both, Pre-service and In-service teacher education in India is explained, in order to gain a good knowledge of the objectives of the programmes, the developments that have taken place in various teacher education programmes and the current state of affairs in the field of teacher education in India. Pre-service teacher education Teacher education programmes have existed in the country for over a century. In the 1850s, teacher training existed as an undifferentiated course of study meant for school teachers. Later, on the recommendations of the Indian Education Commission (1884), the teacher training programmes were mode more differentiated and for graduates the course was designed to be of shorter duration. During the twentieth century, greater differentiation was sought and practised with respect to the stages at which teachers were expected to teach. Alongside this, different training modes were introduced, such as regular campus-cum-practicing school experience, correspondence-cum-contact programmes and the more recent distance learning programmes of teacher education. Despite such diversification, the basic features of these programmes as well as the theoretical premises have not altered significantly. Although newer concerns surface from time to time have been taken cognizance of, for e.g. learner-centeredness and the break-with-methods. These concerns have not influenced in any major way the main stream system of teacher education (Stern, 1983). The professional preparation of teachers has been recognized to be crucial for the qualitative improvement of education since the 1960s (Kothari Commission, 1964-66). The Commission, in particular notes the need for teacher education to be: brought into the mainstream of the academic life of the Universities on the one hand and of school life and educational development on the other. Recognizing quality as the essence of a programme of teacher education, the Commission recommended the interdiction of integrated courses of general and professional education in Universities and a comprehensive programme of internship. Subsequently (1983-85), The Chattopadhyaya Committee Report of the National Commission on Teachers envisioned the New Teacher as one who communicates to pupils: the importance of and the feeling for national integrity and unity; the need for a scientific attitude; a commitment to excellence in standards of work and action and a concern for society. The Commission observed that: what obtains in the majority of our Teaching Colleges and Training Institutes is woefully inadequate If teacher education is to be made relevant to the roles and responsibilities of the New Teacher, the minimum length of training for a Secondary teacher should be five years following the completion of class 12. Reiterating the need to enable general and professional education to be pursued concurrently, the Commission recommends that: to begin with we may have an integrated four year programme which should be developed carefully it may also be possible for some of the existing colleges of Science and Arts to introduce an Education Department along with their other programmes allowing for a section of their students to opt for teacher education. The Chattopadhyaya Commission recommends a four-year integrated course for the secondary as well as the elementary teacher. (NCERT, 2005) The National Policy of Education (NPE 1986-92) recognized that: teachers should have the freedom to innovate, to device appropriate methods of communication and activities relevant to the needs of and capabilities of and the concerns of the community. The policy further states that teacher education is a continuous process, and its pre-service and in-service components are inseparable. As a first step, the system of teacher education was to be overhauled. The Acharya Ramamurti Committee (1990) in its review of the NPE 1986 observed that an internship model for teacher training should be adopted because the internship model is firmly based on the primary value of actual field experience in a realistic situation, on the development of teaching skills by practice over a period of time. The Yashpal Committee Report (1993) on Learning without burden noted: inadequate programmes of teacher preparation lead to unsatisfactory quality of learning in schools The content of the programme should be restructured to ensure its relevance to the changing needs of school education. The emphasis in these programmes should be on enabling the trainees to acquire the ability for self-learning and independent thinking. (NCERT, 2005) In-service Teacher Education Similar developments have taken place in respect of in-service programmes of teacher education. However, it may be noted that the in-service programmes have drawn their substance from the emerging needs and concerns of education appeared from time to time. As a result these programmes have, at at best, been awareness programmes in respect of specific concerns and not teacher development programmes, as visualized. As an outcome of the National Policy on Education (1986), orientation of school teachers gained momentum on a mass scale. Efforts have been initiated over the past few years to gradually develop a network of institutions like DIETS, IASEs, CTEs with the mandate of providing in-service education to primary and secondary school teachers respectively. During the last decade the use of satellite interactive television based activities have been provided for teacher up-gradation as part of the SOPT and DPEP projects. The majority of them however continue to perform their legacy functions (NCERT), 2005). The major indicator of quality of training is its relevance to the needs of teachers. The transactional approach and other concepts like activity based teaching, joyful learning, classroom management for large size classes and multi grade situations, team teaching, co-operative and collaborative learning which require demonstration and participatory training are also planned to included in in-service education programmes. The potential for radical shifts in school practices and programmes via effective in-service education programmes has been acknowledged by most Education Committees and Commissions. The Report of the National Commission on Teachers (1983-85) highlighted the absence of of clear-cut policies and priorities for in-service education and lack of systematic identification of needs. It recommended planning ahead of time and closure scrutiny of methodologies adopted for in-service education of teachers. It also recommended that strategies used for in-service education must be imaginative, bold and varied. It further states that the most effective among them are the services organized through the school complex put forward by the Kothari Commission intends to link primary and secondary schools with a view to pulling resources and including the educational processes. The commission mooted the idea of Teachers Centres that could function as: a meeting place for teachers located in a school that has resources that it would like to share with others it is a forum where workshops practical in nature are organized for teachers of all faculties and at all levels it pools in the talents of all teachers of various schools who act as resource personnel for centres workshops and it arranges book fairs. What teachers need most is a change in the climate of schools, an atmosphere conducive to educational research and enquiry (select) teachers could be given study leave and sent to advanced centres of learning for furthering their professional competence through visiting fellowships. The landmark National Policy on Education (1986) linked in-service teacher education as a continuum with pre-service education. A Centrally Sponsored Scheme of restructuring and strengthening of teacher education was evolved and implemented. The scheme visualized the establishment of DIETs in each district, up-gradation of 250 Colleges of Education as Colleges of Teacher Education, establishment of 50 institutes of Advanced Studies in Education (IASEs) and strengthening of State Councils of Educational Research and Training (NCERT, 2005). In all these reports, common ideas expressed are: the need to restructure the teacher education programmes to the changing needs of education, and to make these programmes more as awareness- raising programmes. Also, these programmes needed to be demonstrative and participatory in nature, with varied strategies to explore methodologies. With all these developments in teacher education, it is interesting and important to see the outcome of these changes from the perspectives of teachers, teacher educators and researchers. REFERENCES Stern, H. H. (1983). Fundamental Concepts of Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) (2005). Fifth Survey of Educational Research (1988-1992). Vol. I and II. New Delhi: NCERT. NCERT (National Council of Educational Research and Training) (2005). National Curriculum Framework. New Delhi: NCERT. II CHAPTER In order to organize and interpret the descriptive data, the following three related areas in the literature were reviewed. These are: (a) Theories of language teaching and learning, (b) The methods of language teaching and language skills and (c) In-service teacher education. This chapter puts together the summary of the review findings from these three major areas. Researchers acknowledge the complexity involved in teaching and in learning to teach effectively (Ballentyne, Bain and Packer, 1999; Calderhead, 1996; Clark and Peterson, 1986). At the primary and secondary levels, the difficult and complicated process of learning to teach has been well studied (Ethell, 1997; Wideen, Mayer-Smith, and Moon, 1998). Emerging from these researches is the understanding of the central role that teachers views and theories play in teaching practice (Pajares, 1992; Richardson, 1996; and Trumbull, 1990). The field of language teaching is subject to rapid changes. This is because the profession responds to new educational paradigms and trends, changes in curriculum, and students needs. Educational institutions also face new challenges resulting from changes in language teaching. As a result, teachers need regular opportunities to update their professional knowledge and skills. This update is necessary for teachers to take appropriate decisions in the classroom. Decision taking depends on teachers understanding and assumptions about language teaching. The dominant conception of teacher learning and development as development of skills of performance which is largely unreflective has led to a formal procedure of following instructions from authority. The result is that teachers are growing more alienated for a lack of personal significance in the teaching and learning processes. So, the search for an alternative model of development is motivated by dissatisfaction with the existing one and possibility of an alternative view as holding more potential to address issues of concern to this study. This could be in form of providing opportunities to teachers voice their views about teaching/learning English as a second language. It could also be reflecting on their practices, thus finding out their own insights in more concrete terms and, through INSET programmes, rethinking of their teaching practices for better understanding of teaching and learning processes. In the reconstituted view of teacher change, teachers are seen as playing an active, developmental and constructivist role that is based on both understanding and skills. This alternative view of teachers receives support in the literature where, for instance, teachers have been seen as authors of reform (Krishner, 2002.47), as researchers and curriculum developers (Stenhouse, 1975), and as progressing towards self-authorship (Baxtor Magolda, 2001, 2002, 2003, 200; and King, 2004). The responsibility this entails in making informed choices as a teacher is a moral and intellectual meaning making process involving the teacher in self-reflection. Beyond acquiring behaviour, it centres more fundamentally on the views of teachers about the nature of knowledge, nature of teaching and learning, and, their role in making explicit their implicit theories of teaching/learning, among other things. In this chapter, the theories of teaching and learning, methods of teaching language skills will b e discussed in detail. It will also discuss the INSET programmes offered in India and, look at some studies in these areas in order to arrive at a methodological framework of the present study. Theories of Teaching Teachers teach within the context of framework of assumptions that shape their planning and interactive decisions. Theories of teaching are central to how one understands the nature and importance of classroom practices. As Posner (1985) observes, different theories of teaching lead to a different understanding of classroom life. A didactic view of teaching is based on the belief that teaching is primarily concerned with transmitting knowledge through providing clear explanations, or discussions. A discovery view of teaching by contrast, is based on the idea that students can develop knowledge themselves through active investigation and discovery, with a minimum of teacher explanation and with a provision of opportunities to learn inductively from observation. An interactionist view, on the other hand, holds that students come with well-formed ideas, so that there is a necessary interaction between the students own ideas and the learning materials. While general teaching theories such as these have informed approaches to mainstream teaching, such as behaviourist, cognitive-developmental, social-psychological, theories specific to second language teaching and learning have been developed and formed the basis for specific methodologies for language teaching such as the Communicative Approach and Natural Approach. However, teaching is an individual activity. As such, teacher development involves teachers in creating an approach that draws on their experiences and understanding as well as their personal principles about food teaching. These are known as the teachers implicit theories of teaching. the explanations given by teachers for what they do are typically not derived from what they were taught in teacher education programmesRather, the classroom actions of teachers are guided by internal frames of reference which are deeply rooted in personal experiences, especially in school ones, and are based on interpretations of these experiences. (Marland, 1995. 131) Theories of Learning There are numerous approaches and theories which have a huge impact on learning. Generally, approaches provide information about how people acquire their knowledge of the language and about the conditions which will promote successful language learning. Five major approaches to language teaching/learning will be discussed below. The Naturalistic Approach This approach is based on the assumption that language acquisition is innately determined and that one is born with a certain system of language that one can call on later. Numerous linguists and methodologists support this innateness hypothesis. Chomsky, who is the leading proponent, claims that each human being possesses a set of innate properties of language which is responsible for the childs mastery of a native language in a short span of time (Brown, 2002. 24). According to Chomsky, the mechanism, which he calls language acquisition device (LAD), governs all human languages, and determines what possible form human language may take (Dulay, Burt, Krashen, 1982. 6). Some linguists, in particular Stephen Krashen, distinguish between acquisition and learning. Acquisition is supposed to be a subconscious process which leads to fluency. Learning, on the other hand, is a conscious process which shows itself in terms of learning rules and structures. Furthermore, Krashen claims that there are three internal processors that operate when students learn or acquire a second language: the subconscious filter and the organizer as well as the conscious monitor (Dulay, Burt, Krashen 1982. 11-45). The organizer determines the organization of the learners language system, the usage of incorrect grammatical constructions as provisional precursors of grammatical structures, the systamatical occurrence of errors in the learners utterances as well as a common order in which structures are learnt. The filter is responsible for the extent to which the learners acquisition is influenced by social circumstances such as motivation and affective factors such as anger or anxiety. The monitor is responsible for conscious learning. The learners correct mistakes in their speech according to their age and self-consciousness (Dulay, Burt, Krashen 1982.45). Cognitive Approach Cognitive psychologists claim that one of the main factors of second language acquisition is the building up of a knowledge system that can eventually be called on automatically for speaking and understanding. At first, learners have to build up a general knowledge of the language they want to understand and produce. After a lot of practice and experience they will be able to use certain parts of their knowledge very quickly and without realizing that they did so. Gradually, this use becomes unconscious and the learners may focus on other parts of the language. The cognitive theory is relative newcomer to second language acquisition and there have been only a few empirical studies about this approach so far. Although it is known that the processes of automatizing and restructuring are central to the approach, it is still not clear what kinds of structures will be automatized through practice and what will be restructured. Also it cannot predict which first language structures will be transferred and which will not. As far as the phenomenon of restructuring is concerned, psychologists state that things that one knows and uses automatically may not necessarily learned through a gradual build-up of automaticity but they may be based on the interaction on knowledge one already has. They may also be based on the acquisition of new language which somehow fits into an existing system and may, in fact, restructure this system (Lightbown and Spada, 1995. 25). Two important models in this approach are Attention processing model and Implicit and Expli cit models. The Constructive Approach In the constructive paradigm, learning emphasizes the process ans the product. Learning is process of constructing meaningful representations, of making sense of ones experiential world. In this process, students errors are seen in a positive light and as means of gaining insight into how they are organizing their experiential world. The notion of doing something right or correctly is to do something that fits with an order one has established oneself (Von Glasersfield, 1987. 15). This perspective is consistent with the constructivist tendency to support multiple truths, representations, perspectives and realities. Multiplicity is an overriding concept for constructivism. It defines not only the epistemological and theoretical perspective but also the many ways in which the theory itself can be articulated. Researchers and theorists have developed variants of constructivism or have evolved the theory in different directions. Nonetheless, there are many common themes in the literature on constructivism which permit the derivation of principles, instructional models and general characteristics. Social Interaction Approach According to Vygotsky, social interaction plays a vital role in the learning process. He emphasizes the role of shared language in the development of thought and language which stands for social interaction. According to Vygotsky (1962) children develop higher order cognitive functions such as linguistic skills, through interactions with adults or more knowledgeable peers. Eventually these skills are internalized independently. The most important interactions take place within a childs Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD). It is the teachers duty to try to take each child to the next level (X+1). The teacher does this by giving maximum help to the children. Perhaps he/she can give learners just the prompt they need. This prompt provides for the learners a breakthrough he/she needs. Sometimes the teacher can take the whole class through a series of steps, which help them solve the problem. Learning depends on the differences in their areas of zones of proximal development. Children are to be exposed to the social interaction first and it will eventually enable them build their inner resources. Vygotskys contention is that language is the key to all development and words play a central role on the development of thought but in the growth of cognition as a whole. Therefore, child language acquisition is the result of social interaction. Teaching is social responsibility and a cognitive activity. The Communicative Approach Proponents of this approach state that the goal of language teaching is communicative competence. Another aim is the development of procedures for the teaching of the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading and writing). Moreover, the four skills build the basis of the independence of language and communication (Richards and Rodgers, 1986. 64-66). According to Littlewood, one of the most important aspects of Communicative Language Teaching is that it plays systematic attention to functional as well as structural aspects of language (Littlewood, 1981.1). Another important aspect is pair and group work. Learners should work in pairs or groups and try to solve problematic tasks with their available language knowledge. Generally, communicative language teaching focuses on communicative and contextual factors in language use and it is learner-centred and experience-based. A central aspect of Communicative Language Teaching is communicative competence. (See also ) Also there is little discussion of learning theory, there are still some elements that, according to Richards and Rodgers (1986), can be defined as communication principles and meaningfulness principles. The first one includes activities that involve real communication which are supposed to promote learning. The second element describes activities in which language is used for carrying out meaningful tasks which are also supposed to promote learning. The last one states that language that is meaningful to the learner supports the learning process. Of great importance is meaningful and authentic language use (Richards and Rodgers, 1986. 72). In-service Teacher Education (INSET) Teachers can continue to be learners and develop their pedagogical understandings using their beliefs, by engaging themselves in ongoing professional development opportunities. One of these opportunities is the In-service teacher education programmes where teachers can learn to reflect on other teachers teaching and, think meta cognitively about teaching and learning which is a key factor in being able to resolve problems and dilemmas that arise in their daily teaching practices. There are fundamental assumptions underlying teacher education (Fullen, 1991): Teacher education must be thought of as a career long proposition. Teacher development and the academic development of the school in terms of curriculum, materials, and methods of teaching must go hand in hand. We cannot have one without the other. The role of teacher education programmes in preparing teachers for the difficult endeavour of teaching a second language (English) in India, and particularly the role of in-service teacher education programmes and their impact of teachers classroom teaching would be examined, keeping the above said assumptions in the forefront. In-service Teacher Education (INSET) in India The need for ongoing teacher education has been a recurring theme in language teaching circles in recent years and has been given renewed focus as a result of the emergence of teacher-led initiatives such as action research, team teaching and reflective teaching. Opportunities for an in-service education are crucial for long term development of teachers. The well established tradition of teaching and learning in India has retained its inherent strength even under adverse circumstances. The post-independence period was characterized by major efforts being made to nurture and transform teacher education. The system of teacher education has come under considerable pressure as a result of expansion and growth of school education. Having inherited the foreign model of teacher education at the time of independence from Britain in 1946, major efforts have been made to adapt and upgrade teacher education curriculum to local needs, to make it more context-based. The current system of teacher education is supported by a net work of national state and district level resource institutions working together to increase the quality and effectiveness of teacher education programmes for serving teachers throughout the country. The changing role of teachers in the changing definitions of teacher effectiveness have been frequently studied and analysed. The current focus on teacher education is to develop professional competencies, and achieve higher levels of commitment and motivation for higher level performance in teaching. Emerging information and communication technologies is an added dimension to the teacher education programmes. As a result of all these developments, teacher education in India is on the verge of major transformation. Bolam 1986) define teacher education as: Education and training activities engaged in by teachers following their initial professional certification, and intended primarily or exclusively to improve their professional knowledge, skills and attitudes in order that they can educate childrenmore effectively. In-service training for teachers in India is provided by: The State Department of Education. Colleges of Education. Educational associations. Voluntary Agencies. In-service programmes are often conducted via short term instructional courses and workshops. Many teachers take part in these programmes which contain a mix of many-courses and expository lectures. Each state has a State Council of Education Research and Training (SCERT) and whenever a new curriculum is implemented, massive training programmes are arranged across the state. At the district level, District Institutes of Education and Training (DIETS) undertake education programmes to train the teachers at district level. In the absence of DIETS, the Colleges of Teacher Education (CTEs or IASEs) are entrusted with the responsibilities of training the teachers. The INSET programmes currently in practice can all be put under five different categories based on the aims of the programmes. The following table familiarizes with some types of INSET programmes currently offered in India. Types of INSET programmes in India INSERT PROGRAMME AIMS Organized by educational Institutions such as CIEFL or RIE Enriching teachers subject knowledge and pedagogy Centrally designed programmes such as KV schools Teaching approaches such as orienting all teachers towards CLT approaches Locally determined programmes. For e.g. ALC School courses Attending to the felt needs of schools One-off short programmes Specific aims such as teaching vocabulary, or developing materials Programmes determined by individual needs Pursuing higher education or self-development Table 2:1: Types of INSET programmes in India (Source: Mathew, R.2005) These programmes differ mainly in their aims of the programmes and thereby differ in their training methodologies also. The takers of the programme also vary in each of these INSET programmes. As a result, the impact of these courses also differ. For example, many teachers who are willing to attend the three month INSET courses offered by the Regional Institute of South India (RIESI) are serious about updating themselves with the latest developments in the field of ELT and re-equipping themselves to meet the changing demands made by the students, parents and the society. Another example of an INSET course was the 5-Day intensive training programme for teachers working in rural areas which used to be offered by the RIE (i

Louis MacNiece: anomalous displacement and post-colonial identity :: Essays Papers

Louis MacNiece: anomalous displacement and post-colonial identity I was the rector’s son, born to the anglican order, Banned forever from the candles of the Irish poor (â€Å"Carrickfergus†) Ireland inhabits a unique position within the current framework of post-colonial literature and theory. The history of Ireland and it’s relationship to England, from the twelfth century (when Henry II was decreed feudal lord of Ireland by the Pope) to the present day, is the history of a divided colonial nation synonymous with ideas of displacement, identity and culture. Indeed, Ireland may be understood as both colonial and post-colonial, sitting uncomfortably on the fence between labels of post-colonial discourse such as first and third world. Stephen Slemon’s evocative essay, â€Å"Unsettling the Empire: Resistance Theory for the Second World†, suggests the notion of a ‘second world’, or a semi-periphery in post-colonial theory, as a method of transcending myopic binarisms (104 - 110). Slemon argues that the critical and theoretical space created by the alternative of a second world accommodates the difficult examples of the post-colonial, white, settler cultures of Australia, New Zealand, southern Africa and Canada. Ireland, with regard to both the historical experience and to Irish cultural expression and production, is a further country which may be fruitfully situated in this space. The requirement of a ‘second world’ in post-colonial theory becomes glaringly obvious in a consideration of Ireland. As Liam Kennedy concludes, in a comparative analysis of Ireland to Asian and African post-colonial nations on economic grounds, â€Å"attempting to place Ireland in a Third World perspective turned out to be a largely empty enterprise† (Modern Ireland 114). The attempt to propose Ireland as a Third World nation has been common amongst various scholars. For example, in a Field Day pamphlet, Frederic Jameson claims the Dublin of Joyce’s fiction to be â€Å"an underdeveloped village† (Kennedy 107). Kennedy’s study clearly emphasises the fact that Ireland is economically a member of the First World, comparable to Western European countries as opposed to those of the developing world. Ireland’s Gross Domestic Product per head of population in 1913 was valued at US$655 compared to the 1960 figures of US$198 for Ghana and US$74 for India (Kennedy 110). To take a more contemporary view, the World Bank’s World Development Report 1991 shows that in 1989 Ireland was not a member of the Third World. The report, drawing on accepted measurements of wealth and social conditions such as GNP, diet, infant mortality rate, life expectancy, reliance on agriculture and illiteracy, demonstrates the incongruous nature of claiming a Third World status for Ireland.

India in 2050

India is the Country of diversity. It is the beauty if diversity that makes india a very unique country in every aspect be it technical, scientific, social, or environmental. Every Indian is worth of accomplishing every task that can flourishes the economy of the nation. Even history has proved that Indians are worth gems for world in the form of the vivekanand, mahatma Gandhi, mother Teresa, satuyajit ray, sam pitroda and many to specify. It is proved that we Indians has more innovativeness than many other public in the world. Then the question stuck in our mind that according to current situation how india will look in 2050? What will be its socio-economic status, science and technological development, living standard and other related fields?Though having busy roads, tight schedule, population density, health hazards etc., we Indians are still proud of our culture. in spite of serving MNC’s with cheap labour, still being the biggest reason of success of our culture that foc us on eco-friendliness, our actions that we though indirectly indulge in serving humanity.India has experienced extraordinary population growth: between 2001 and 2011 India added 181 million people to the world, slightly less than the entire population of Brazil. But 76 per cent of India’s population lives on less than US$2 per day (at purchasing power parity rates). India ranks at the bottom of the pyramid in per capita-level consumption indicators not only in energy or electricity but in almost all other relevant per capita-level consumption indicators, despite high rates of growth in the last decade.Much of India’s population increase has occurred among the poorest socio-economic percentile. Relatively socio-economically advanced Indian states had a fertility rate of less than 2.1 in 2009 — less than the level needed to maintain a stable population following infant mortality standards in developed nations.But in poorer states like Bihar, fertility rates were nearer to 4.0.  Does this growth mean India can rely on the ‘demographic dividend’ to spur development? This phenomenon, which refers to the period in which a large proportion of a country’s population is of working age, is said to have accounted for between one-fourth and two-fifths of East Asia’s ‘economic miracle’ as observed late last century.But India is not East Asia. Its population density is almost three times the average in East Asia and more than eight times the world average of 45 people per square kilometre. If India has anywhere near 1.69 billion people in 2050, it will have more than 500 people per square kilometre. Besides, in terms of infrastructure development India currently is nowhere near where East Asian nations were before their boom. In terms of soft to hard infrastructure, spanning education, healthcare, roads, electricity, housing, employment growth and more, India is visibly strained.For example, India has an instal led energy capacity of little more than 200 gigawatts; China has more than 1000 gigawatts and aims to generate 600 gigawatts of clean electricity by 2020. To make matters worse, many of the newly installed power stations in India face an acute shortage of coal, and future supply is not guaranteed. China mines close to four billion tonnes of coal per year, which has a negative effect on both local and global air quality.At some stage, it is probably inevitable that India will need much greater capacity than its present rate of mining 600 million tonnes of coal per year, which is also causing local and global pollution levels to rise — parts of India face air quality problems similar to those in China. On oil, India imports close to 80 per cent of its crude oil requirements, while it also runs an unsustainable current account deficit of more than 5 per cent of its GDP, and reserves for new energy sources like shale gas do not look promising either.India’s food supply is in an even worse position. As a member of India’s Planning Commission put it, ‘we have a problem and it can be starkly put in the following way: around 2004–2005,  our per capita food grains production was back to the 1970s level’. In 2005–07, the average Indian consumed only 2,300 calories per day — below the defined poverty line in rural areas of 2,400 calories a day. The trend in recent years is for Indians to eat even less.So, for India, treating lightly Malthusian predictions about food supply until 2050 or beyond may not be prudent. Worldwide food prices have been on the rise to unforeseen levels, and India too has been suffering from high food inflation.Finally, even if India manages to feed its burgeoning population, its growth may not be ecologically sustainable. The global demand for water in 2050 is projected to be more than 50 per cent of what it was in 2000, and demand for food will double. On average, a thousand tons of water is required to produce one ton of food grains. It’s not surprising, then, that international disputes about water have increasingly been replicated among states in India, where the Supreme Court is frequently asked to intervene.The probable answer is that policy makers have failed miserably on all measurable counts. If one compares India to China this becomes clear. While China’s one-child policy has been criticised as against human dignity and rights — and there is no denying that such measures should be avoided as far as possible — the history of human civilization teaches us that extreme situations call for extreme actions. There will be ample time for multiple schools to have their post-mortems on the success and failure of the one-child policy, but it has helped China to control its population by a possible 400 million people.There are still millions of people still surviving in india on income of less than one dollar a day . India will never be cons ider developed country unless and until the poverty, hunger and pain of the poor on the streets and those living in the slums is curbed. According to the wealth report 2012 by  knightfrunk and citi private bank, india will emerge as the economic superpower in 2050, beating U.S. and china with a GDP of $85.97 trillion and india will also witness an economic growth of 8% by 2050.There must be upward mobility in economic terms and recognisation is through performance and results, and not through other metrics which suit special interest groups. Indian high-tech companies should create their own top position in the world by indentifying world and fulfilling those by leveraging technologies. They should identify what services need to be developed and delivered to meet the need of our underdeveloped population to improve health-care, education and new economic models to benefit backward sections of the society. The high-tech industry is going through disruptive changes because of transi tion to cloud- delivered services.Thus an Optimistic view of emerging india as a fully developed not only as a superpower nation but also as a wholesome development in the fields of health, education, business, urban and special emphesis on rural development with a poverty free, slum free, high employment opportunity are the thoughts and dreams that every Indian might be seeing. with the efforts of all of us we will surely see our proud INDIA IN 2050 as a prousperous, happy and overally developed nation.

Chinese Business Etiquette

Chinese Business Etiquette From setting up a meeting to formal negotiations, knowing the right words to say is integral in conducting business. This is especially true if you are hosting or are guests of international business people. When planning or attending a Chinese business meeting, keep these tips on Chinese business etiquette in mind. Setting Up a Meeting When setting up a Chinese business meeting, it is important to send as much information to your Chinese counterparts in advance. This includes details about the topics to be discussed and background information on your company. Sharing this information ensures that the people you want to meet will actually attend the meeting. However, preparing in advance will not get you confirmation of the actual meeting’s day and time. It is not uncommon to wait anxiously until the last minute for confirmation. Chinese businessmen often prefer waiting until a few days before or even the day of the meeting to confirm the time and place. Arrival Etiquette Be on time. Arriving late is considered rude. If you do arrive late, apologizing for your tardiness is a must. If you are hosting the meeting, it is proper etiquette to send a representative to greet the meeting’s participants outside the building or in the lobby, and then personally escort them to the meeting room. The host should be waiting in the meeting room to greet all meeting attendants. The senior-most guest should enter the meeting room first. While entrance by rank is a must during high-level government meetings, it is becoming less formal for regular business meetings. Seating Arrangements at a Chinese Business Meeting After handshakes and exchanging business cards, guests will take their seats. The seating is typically arranged by rank. The host should escort the senior-most guest to his or her seat as well as any VIP guests. The place of honor is to the host’s right on a sofa or in chairs that are opposite the room’s doors. If the meeting is held around a large conference table, then the guest of honor is seated directly opposite the host. Other high-ranking guests sit in the same general area while the remainder of the guests can choose their seats from among the remaining chairs. If the meeting is held around a large conference table, all the Chinese delegation may opt to sit on one side of the table and foreigners on the other. This is especially true for formal meetings and negotiations. The principal delegates are seated in the meeting with lower ranking attendees placed at either end of the table. Discussing Business Meetings usually begin with small talk to help both sides feel more comfortable. After a few moments of small talk, there is a short welcoming speech from the host followed by a discussion of the meeting’s topic. During any conversation, Chinese counterparts will often nod their heads or make affirmative utterances. These are signals that they are listening to what is being said and understand what is being said. These are not agreements to what is being said. Do not interrupt during the meeting. Chinese meetings are highly structured and interjecting beyond a quick remark is considered rude. Also, don’t put anyone on the spot by asking them to provide information they seem unwilling to give or challenge a person directly. Doing so will lead them to become embarrassed and lose face.