Gay Lesbian Parents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Gay Lesbian Parents - Essay Example That reality suggests that the children of gay and lesbian couples can experience healthy and normal psychological development were it not for societal tendencies towards discrimination, on the one hand, and the innate tendency of children to react negatively to uniqueness, or difference, on the other (Ahmann, 1999). In other words, while homosexual parenting does not, in itself, limit a child's capacity to undergo a normal psychological development process, the fact that it unfolds within societies which, despite public statements to the contrary, are innately protective of the traditional family structure and biased against same-sex families, detrimentally impacts the child's opportunities for healthy development. Through a review of the arguments on either side, the research shall attempt to prove the stated argument. Western societies, despite the prevalence of laws upholding homosexual rights tend towards negative conceptualisations of homosexuality. The anthropologist, D. Gilmore (1990) asserts that societal acceptance of sexual orientations is ultimately defined by the prevalent culture and cannot be dictated by laws. Insofar as Western societies, whether as a consequence of historic or religious traditions, define homosexuality as a practice which falls from without the bounds of normalcy, if not outright abnormal, it is inherently incapable of comprehending the possibility of children of same-sex parents as anything other than underprivileged. The fact that this is not necessarily the case and that the aforementioned perception is ultimately predicated on the dominant culture's perception of homosexuality as abnormal is validated by evidence which effectively proves that cultures which perceive of homo and hetero-sexuality as equally normal, have no prejudices against the concept of same-se x parenting (Gilmore, 1990). In other words and as further emphasised by Halwani (2002), culture dictates perceptions of homosexuality and, as a result, invariably affects the children of same-sex couples. The fact that culture, concomitant with traditional definitions of marriage and family, inexorably influence perceptions of the stated relationship and, as such impact the psychological development of the children concerned, is evidenced in a plethora of commentary on the phenomenon. The law, for example, clearly defines marriage and the family unit which is subsequently formed as a "union of man and woman uniquely involving the procreation and rearing of children within a family" (Johnston, n.d.). Religion, similarly defines marriage and family, consequently maintaining same-sex unions and families to be a harmful deviation from the norm with incalculably detrimental psychological effects on the children concerned (Richardson, 2004). In other words, there exists a predominately negative perception of the same-sex family unit insofar as culture, religion and the law combine to define it as abnormal. That in itself will limit the possibilities of healthy psychological development for children with gay or lesbian parents. Psychologists have determined the existence of a strong likelihood, as evidenced by empirical fact, that children who grow up with same-sex parents can

Elastic and Inelastic Demand Essay Example for Free

Elastic and Inelastic Demand Essay I would say that when I think of a company that has inelastic demand on their products it would have to be Apple. Apple charges above average prices for their phones, computers and music players all with the marketing strategy of superior quality. When a company achieves inelastic demand it is because of two possible reasons. They have either developed highly differentiated products or brands or they have achieved a monopoly on a market or product category. (Tedesco, 2011) If you look at Apple they have a combination of both. You wouldn’t necessarily label Apple as a monopoly but they do possess a large amount of influence on how other tech companies develop their products. This is shown in various lawsuits that have been brought by Apple against other tech companies for patent violations. Apple has however developed superior products in comparison to others. Apple has marketed their high-end electronic devices to the point that they can introduce similar devices every few months and make people think that they are improved enough over the older models to constitute a needed upgrade. The marketing is brilliant. If I was talking to the president of Apple about what their pricing strategies should be I would bring up the possibility of a downgraded model to reach the customer base who can’t afford $600 every few months for a new phone or tablet. Even though Apple has monopolized on the higher income customer base they have untapped potential in the lower to middle income customer base. Cell phones are deemed as a necessity by many and if the price is right most consumers will spend the money on a product that is considered superior to others in the marketplace. While researching different articles for this assignment I came across an article about the elastic demand of sports tickets, especially Super Bowl tickets. When I was trying to think of a company with elastic demand, the NFL never crossed my mind but the NFL is a profit generating entity. The article cited the difference in ticket prices in tier seating between the Super Bowl in New York City and the Super Bowl in New Orleans. The prime examples showed that club-level tickets at MetLife Stadium would cost $1400 more than the similar seats at the Super Bowl in New Orleans. The article attributed this to the marketability of the venue. The author stated that most sports teams price their ticket inventories in the inelastic portion of their demand function because,† teams charge too low a price to maximi ze ticket  revenues. Part of the strategy in doing this is to ensure maximum attendance so as to ensure greater revenue streaming from complementary purchases associated with sporting attendance†¦such as concessions, parking, and merchandise.† (Rishe, 2013) If I were to talk to the president of the NFL I would suggest putting a cap on Super Bowl tickets so that a more diverse group of fans could attend the Super Bowl. As of now the only fans that attend a Super Bowl are the fans with a large amount of expendable income. If tickets were more attainable by the â€Å"common† fan they would generate as much money but also accommodate a much wider consumer market. Bibliography Rishe, P. (2013, September 19). SuperBowl XLVIII Pricing: A Lesson In Demand Elasticity. Retrieved September 27, 2014, from Forbes.com: http://www.forbes.com/sites/prishe/2013/09/19/super-bowl-xlviii-pricing-a-lesson-in-demand-elasticity/ Tedesco, T. (2011, May 20). View from Mount Olympus. Retrieved September 26, 2014, from piworld.com: http://www.piworld.com/blog/inelasticity-demand-your-printing-services-pricing-strategy-tj-tedesco Tucker, I. B. (2013). Survey of Economics (8th ed.). Mason, Ohio, United States of America.

Home Guard in Britain 1940-1944

Home Guard in Britain 1940-1944 The Home Guard in Britain 1940-1944: Simply Dads Army or Valuable Fighting Force On the night of 14th May, 1940, Anthony Eden, then in his role as Foreign Secretary, made his first speech as Secretary of State for War, in part broadcasting a message asking for volunteers for the LDV (Local Defence Volunteers): We want large numbers of such men in Great Britain who are British subjects, between the ages of seventeen and sixty-five, to come forward now and offer their services in order to make assurance [that an invasion would be repelled] doubly sure. The name of the new force which is now to be raised will be the Local Defence Volunteers. This name describes its duties in three words. You will not be paid, but you will receive uniforms and will be armed. In order to volunteer, what you have to do is give your name at your local police station, and then, when we want you, we will let you know (Arthur, 2004) The Home Guard was formed when there was a clear and present threat of invasion by the German forces. Britain had watched from the relatively safety of its island position as many European countries succumbed to the Blitzkrieg, culminating in the devastating occupation of France. Most British men who could fight were already in the forces, those that were left were either too young, too old, or in reserved occupations vital to the war effort, however, many possessed the desire to in some way play an active role in Britain’s defences. Neither Churchill nor his government had previously shown any enthusiasm for policy which involved a civilian militia, fearing imminent invasion, being allowed to actively arm themselves and possess the right to confront, detain, arrest and even attack the enemy on British soil, instead of relying on the orthodox forces of security and public order from the police and the regular army. When reports began reaching the War Office regarding the disturbing appearance up and down the country of bands of civiliansarming themselves with shotguns (Steele,2003), it had been clear that the government needed to address this very real public concern. It is still unclear whether the aim was to support and nourish this burgeoning grass-roots activism, or to restrain and curb the unofficial, unsanctioned and technically illegal actions which may result from unregulated, armed civilians under the grip of fear from invaders. Nonetheless, Eden and his advisors proceeded to improvise the initial plans to endorse a civilian defence force and, as one observer put it, thus evoked a new army out of nothingness (Carroll, 1999). The publicly released rationale for the formation of the Home Guard, though vague, made references to delaying an enemy invasion force for as long as possible, thereby giving the Government and the regular army the crucial time to form a front line from which the enemy invasion could be repelled. When they were first formed, under the epithet of the Local Defence Volunteers, the Home Guard were allegedly expected to fight highly trained, well-armed German troops using nothing but shotguns, old hunting rifles, museum pieces, and a collection of unorthodox, makeshift weaponry involving pikes, sawn-off shotguns and Molotov cocktails (MacKenzie, 1995). Subsequently, these unconventional arms were officially sanctioned unintentionally, following an instruction from Winston Churchill to the War Office, in 1941, that â€Å"every man must have a weapon of some kind, be it only a mace or pike. â€Å"Initially intended to focus efforts towards the appropriate equipping of the Home Guard, this instruction was unfortunately interpreted literally, and resulted in the War Office ordering the production of250,000 long metal tubes, including gas pipe, with surplus sword bayonets welded in one end (Carroll, 1999). The issue of the pikes generated an almost universal feeling of anger and disgust from the ranks of the Home Guard, demoralised the men and led to questions being asked in both Houses of Parliament. In many instances the pikes never left Home Guard stores as area and unit commanders were aware of how the men would react (Steele, 2003). However, this incident illustrates the conflicting appreciation of the capabilities and value of the Home Guard from Churchill and his wartime Cabinet. While Churchill appeared, both officially and unofficially, to acknowledge the driving need of some civilians to actively participate in practical defence strategies, the War Office continually conveyed its view that the Home Guard was nothing more than a hobbyist faction of retired soldiers, to be tolerated, humoured and indulged without expending valuable resources, time or effort better served towards the regular army. Winston Churchill, in contrast, saw the Home Guard as an example of the British resolve, seen, in part, by his changing their title, in the summer of1940, from Local Defence Volunteers to the more proactive, aggressive-sounding name of Home Guard. The Home Guard exemplified the â€Å"nation at arms ideal, and it was hoped that the presence of the Home Guard would send a signal to both the United States and Germany that the British would indeed fight German invaders on the beaches, fields, and streets. Whether deliberately or unintentionally, the reputation of the Home Guard as an amateurish, unprofessional and crude mismatched collection of elderly soldiers ineffectually attempting to defend the country was only exacerbated by the War Office’s apparent deficiency of any comprehensive planning with regards to the logistics of such a defence force. The Local Defence Volunteers was launched without any staff, or designated funds and premises of its own. Listeners to Eden’s broadcasting the spring of 1940 had only the scantest of instructions to follow, to hand in their names at a local police station and wait to be called upon. In agreement with the popular post-war public and media opinion, the wartime reality was shambolic. Eden’s message was considerably more welcome by the British populace than the government may have realised, and, before the broadcast had ended, police stations in all regions of the nation were deluged with eager volunteers. By May 15th, twenty-four hours after the initial broadcast, 250,000 men had registered their names, a number which equalled the peacetime Regular Army (Calder,1969). Officially, it was the intention of the government that this new defence force would only accept citizens within the age range of 17 to65, however, this was not strictly enforced in the early stages of the development of the Home Guard, and several pensioners, such as Alexander Taylor, a sprightly octogenarian who had first seen action in the Sudan during 1884-5, contrived to serve (MacKenzie, 1995). Membership continued to grow at a remarkably rapid rate, and by the end of May, 1940, the total number of volunteers had risen to between300,000 and 400,000. By the end of the following month registered volunteers exceeded 1,400,000, a number approximating 1,200,000 more than any of the Whitehall bureaucrats had anticipated (Donnelly, 1999).The majority of new recruits were forced to wait several weeks before official uniforms were sent out, and even when they arrived many were missing essential elements. In many instances, the denims came without the caps, or vice versa, and the volunteers were resigned to donning armbands in an attempt to differentiate between Home Guard and other civilians. While the uniforms were necessary to impart a sense of coherency and organisation, however, the most frustrating aspect of the initial Home Guard involved the severe lack of equipment’s and weapons. The men, who had been called upon at a time when both the government and the public were in experiencing the fear of imminent and overwhelming invasion by the German army, were now facing the possibility of having to defend king and country armed only with homemade or debilitated weaponry. While the War Office searched for suitable arms from abroad, the eager volunteers proceeded to improvise, with rolled umbrellas, broom handles and golf clubs adapted for military service, and all kinds of antique fowling-pieces, blunderbusses, carbines and cutlasses dusted down for action (Smith,2000). The Home Guard was eventually issued with more conventional weapons, but these also had their problems, with many having first been issued to the British Army in World War One. The British infantry rifle of World War One, the .303 SMLE, was issued to the Home Guard, and in addition, a number of World War One era P14 and P17 rifles were also supplied from the US and Canada later that first summer. The P14 andP17 looked almost identical, the only real difference being that theP14 took the SMLE .303 ammunition whilst the P17 took the American.30 (30-06) ammunition. To prevent accidents, the P17 had a red band painted on it to identify the 30-06 calibre. Eventually, the War Office supplied Home Guard units with such cheaply-made devices as the Stengel and the North over projector. The Stem gun experienced a pitiable reputation among the Home Guard volunteers, and was summarised by one resigned volunteer as a spout, a handle and a tin box (Carroll,1999). Similarly, the North over projector, which fired grenades with the aid of a toy pistol cap and a black powder charge, in addition to being considered unsafe for the user, was likened to a large drainpipe mounted on twin legs (Steele, 2003). With such a chaotic start, it is scarcely surprising that the first enthusiasm of the volunteers quickly waned. The lack of uniforms, weapons and training syllabus resulted in the majority of the public, Home Guard volunteers and civilians alike, questioning the Government’s commitment to the defence force. These problems were exacerbated by the nature of the Home Guard membership as a high proportion of the volunteers had previously seen service in war, World War One and the Spanish Civil War among others. Former officers enlisted as Home Guard soldiers, for example, the Kensington-Belgravia unit had some eight retired generals in its ranks (Long mate, 1974), and these decorated, experienced officers were not hesitant in indicating the shortcomings of higher authority. It rapidly became apparent that the Government, in responding to one political difficulty, the need to respond to invasion fear, had created a new, more articulate and influential pressure group. In its formative months, the LDV may have had virtually no comprehensive military utility, but it carried great political weight and was not restricted by the normal restraints of military hierarchy. Matters became so difficult, potentially damaging to British morale at home and reputation abroad, that Churchill focused on the new force. His personal interest, in turn, became problematic for those charged with bringing it into being, and documentary evidence indicates prolonged arguments between Churchill and Eden. Although Churchill forced through, against considerable opposition, a change in name from Local Defence Volunteers to the Home Guard, he also gave priority to uniforms and weapons and assisted the Home Guard in becoming a more cohesive, structured fighting force. The feelings of frustration, however, never faded: too many men, for too long a time, found themselves continually mismanaged and poorly equipped, many using unfamiliar, makeshift and unorthodox firearms forth duration of the war. The enduring image of Britains home guard defences during World War Two remains that of Dads Army; an amateurish and uncoordinated operation staffed largely by old men and incompetents (Donnelly, 1999). To some extent the image from the classic 1970s comedy television series reasonably reflects Britain ‘slack of preparedness for hostilities in June 1940. But by the middle of1941 the British mainland was virtually a fortress, with a public mentality of confronting the enemy in any guise he chooses. However, The Dads Army image is a false one: had German forces managed to cross the channel in 1941, they would have found considerable resistance on British soil, their passage effectively blocked in many locations, and would have faced unorthodox and unfam iliar weaponry in the hands of determined, experienced and highly indomitable civilians. Chapter 2 Historiography The study of World War Two is extensive, and has been comprehensively researched and analysed for many decades. Less well-documented, however, is the Home Guard, with only a select number of influential texts available for scrutiny. The Home Guard is, primarily, discussed as part of a greater abstraction of the Second World War; a review of the military, or a generic analysis of the Home Front. Less common is the committed and detailed account of the Home Guard and its effect during the war. Similarly, those literature pieces that do exist appear to focus, predominantly, on the related shortfalls of the contemporary government, the lack of equipment and the disorganised structure of the volunteer units. An example of this can be seen in Graham McCann’s Dads Army: The Story of a Classic Television Show. McCann approaches the comparison of the real and fictional Home Guards in a relatively derogatory fashion, implying throughout that the volunteers stood very little chance against any official invading army. The implication throughout this text is that the fictional Dad’s Army bore more than a passing resemblance to the real Home Guard; a collection of ill-equipped, elderly men who fortunately never faced combat on home soil. The Home Guard is presented here as comical and ineffectual, and McCann insists that ‘if Hitler had invaded in strength, it is unlikely that the Home Guard, casting around for lengths of tram line to incapacitate tanks, or hurling lethal glassware at motor-cyclists, would have lasted long’(McCann, 2002). As the initial fear of invasion receded, the Home Guard was left with fewer bridges and reservoirs to guard and fewer checkpoints to control, and McCann focuses on the mistakes of the Home Guard, regaling the fatal challenges at Home Guard checkpoints during the ‘early nervous days’ (McCann, 2002)). As such, McCann’s presentation of the value of the Home Guard relies predominantly on the Civil Defence projects in blitzed cities, and the manning faint-aircraft guns by ‘some of the more able-bodied’ of the volunteers, allowing them to finally engage the enemy ‘if only at five miles up’(McCann, 2002). Though McCann concedes that the Home Guard volunteers numbered 1,793,000 at its peak, that a total of 1206 volunteers were either killed on duty or died from wounds, and that the unit had nationally been awarded two George Crosses and thirteen George Medals, the overall presentation of this section of British history is remarkably disparaging. Relatively few references are made towards thematic-tier purposes of the Home Guard, the bravery of the volunteers or the successes during a substantially stressful and tumultuous period for British citizens. Comparatively, Simon Mackenzie’s analysis of the Home Guard during World War Two contrasts markedly with the Dad’s Army view of the volunteers. In his publication The Home Guard: A Military and Political History (2005), MacKenzie recognises that the Home Guard during the Second World War entered the memory of that nation more through a BBC television comedy than reality, however, his intention to reintroduce the reality of the World War II Home Guard to the national conscience is admirable. MacKenzie traces the Home Guard from its origins as locally organized militia groups preparing to meet the invader, through its evolution into a component of His Majestys forces, and its final disbandment at the end of the war, and also includes the re-creation of the Home Guard for domestic service in response to the growing threat from the Soviet Union during the 1950s. The result is a mostly political history of support and opposition of the Home Guard in British society and government. By the time that the Home Guard is unreasonable military order and has a better allocation of weapons, Mackenzie asserts, the threat of invasion has totally passed. The problem then existed in how the government was to keep the members motivated. Documenting arguments in Cabinet about the diversion of 1.8million men to playing soldiers when the country desperately needs to increase industrial production, MacKenzie is generous in his conclusions, believing that the advantages to national morale and there leasing of regular soldiers from guarding duties outweighed the costs. He accepts that there is no evidence to show the existence of the Home Guard had any effect on German invasion plans, and to many it will seem that Mackenzie’s catalogue of muddled professional advice, political posturing and misallocation of scarce resources during a war of survival is a lesson for the future. His concluding section on the short-lived successor Home Guard of the early 50s suggests that few of the lessons had been learned. While MacKenzie concedes that the men of the Home Guard were never given an opportunity to prove themselves in battle, and that there are many more distinguished units that had actual disasters in war, the television comedy series Dads Army virtually destroyed the post-war reputation of a dedicated home defence organisation. Events commemorating the Home Guard war effort are scarce, and Mackenzie claims that it seems Churchill was mistaken in forecasting that: â€Å"History will say that your share in the greatest of all our struggles for freedom was a vitally important one. Professor MacKenzie has written a serious analysis of the policy history of the Home Guard. Inman ways this well-researched, cross-referenced, academic study shows that the saga of this volunteer force was funnier and more confused than any scriptwriter could invent. Yet the topic is an important one, not just for the historian but also for todays military planner, particularly with regard to the allocation of priorities made between the front line combat forces and this last ditch defending army of civilians, the sensibility of the operational concept, and the existence of such a force having a deterrent effect on the enemy. MacKenzie, as an American professor, compares and contrasts the British Home Guard with their American counterparts, and a primary similarity involved the general lack of opportunities to confront the German invaders. The British Home Guard did, however, become heavily involved in the less glamorous but nevertheless necessary work of civil defense and manning anti-aircraft weapons. Despite Mackenzie’s contention that the Home Guard existed more out of political than military necessity, the Home Guard became increasingly valuable to the British Army as regular soldiers became scarce on the home islands. For this reason, Churchill, as well as many Members of Parliament who also belonged to Home Guard battalions, supported the Home Guard in its quest for a combat role, though this part of the Home Guard’s history is only briefly mentioned by MacKenzie. Primary sources indicate that Home Guards relished the idea of fighting the Germans and did not quietly accept War Office plans for using the Home Guard for guarding bridges or simply reporting the presence of Germans. The question over guerrilla warfare or static defence was never completely settled. The War Office always pushed for static defence, with units fighting to their last bullet, while many Guards, as well as their political supporters, clearly favoured partisan warfare behind the lines after a German invasion. MacKenzie does, however, illustrate that the Home Guard formed as a result of local initiative, but survived and sometimes thrived because of government support. However, when local enthusiasm waned, such as the removal of the threat of German invasion after the Allied invasion of Normandy, government support could not keep it alive. From a non-academic perspective, A. G. Street’s From Dusk Till Dawn: The Sedgebury Wallop Home Guard Platoon Prepare for War (1989) records the history to the Home Guard from personal experience. In this text, Street has recorded the story of the Home Guard from its birth in 1940,through its teething troubles and adolescence, to the mature and efficient force that it quickly became. As a farmer and an enthusiastic country Home Guard, Street recounts the story of the Sudbury Wallop Platoon in the Wessex district. According to Street, the force itself was an example of British improvisation, and every one of the early volunteers, officers and men alike, improvised in various ways to give his unit the highest possible efficiency in the shortest possible time, in expectation of the universally predicted invasion by German military forces. As a non-academic, first person account, Streets text is unashamedly biased in favour of the Home Guard’s role in World War Two, however, compared to many academic research pieces, which tend to focus on the problems, assumed in competencies, and believed ineffectuality in the event of an invasion, this text redresses the balance and avoids focussing overwhelmingly on the inabilities of the Home Guard. Addressing the history of the Home Guard from the perspective of photographic evidence, David Carroll’s research in The Home Guard recalls the activities of the auxiliary force otherwise known to the British public as Dads Army. The book draws on the early days of the Local Defence Volunteers from the moment when Anthony Eden broadcast an appeal, to the official stand-down of the Home Guard in 1944. This title evokes memories of World War Two in a domestic setting and asserts life on the Home Front from the perspective of those left behind to defend it. Carroll approaches the historiography of the Home Guard by the analysis of more than 200 photographs of Home Guard duties. After a brief introduction to the Home Guard, this 125 page paperback book displays page after page of photographs and detailed annotations showing the Home Guard in its different forms and fulfilling many different functions. While not the dissecting analysis expected of academic research, this methodology allows the historian to review the history of the Home Guard from a form of primary evidence otherwise unobtainable. One of the most influential historiographies of the Home Guard, with regard to its efficiency in the event of a significant invasion, is Norman Long mate’s If Britain Had Fallen (2004). The question of what would have occurred if Germany had invaded the British Isles has long preoccupied writers, but few have dealt with the subject as comprehensively and effectively as Long mate. If Britain Had Fallen attempted to cover every phase of the subject, from the Germane-invasion manoeuvring and preparations, and the landing of troops, to the German seizure of power. Long mate has endeavoured to present contemplation of what may have occurred following an attempted invasion by the German army, and how Britain may have been able to repel such an attack. Under the supposition of the Luftwaffe defeating the Royal Air Force and winning the Battle of Britain in the summer and early fall of1940, Long mate provides an in-depth recount of what might have happened if this â€Å"counterfactual† event had occurred: that the Germans would have successfully launched Operation Sea lion in September 1940 and occupied Britain. As a result, the British Isles would not have become the â€Å"unsinkable aircraft carrier† from which the Allies could launch their own invasion of Fasting Europa, and the history of both World War Two and the world would have been drastically different. Although other authors have written about a successful invasion and occupation of Britain, these works cover a single phase, the preparations, landing, or subsequent campaign. Long mate, however, has attempted to address all aspects of a successful invasion and the defence strategies in place to counterattack them. Only three of the seventeen chapters are fictional, and although it is uncertain what actual effect the Home Guard volunteers would have had on repelling an invasion, Long mate has addressed their value in a counterstroke campaign, and during the initial invasion stages. Although Long mate has drawn on documents collected by the British Broadcasting Company (BBC), which produced television film of the same name, the key to this alternate history is Goring and Hitler’s decision during the Battle of Britain to continue attacking Fighter Command and British radar stations until German forces defeated the RAF, rendering it unable to stop a cross-channel invasion. The Nazi leaders realized they needed air superiority over the English Channel for a successful invasion. However, they in fact ordered the Luftwaffe to bomb cities, especially London, in early September 1940, a critical decision that gave the RAF breathing room to recoup its losses and prevent the Luftwaffe from establishing air superiority. As a result, the Germans postponed Sea lion several times, finally cancelling the operation (Cox, 1977). There are only two blatant criticisms of such an approach to historiography. While valuable in the sense of a hypothetical, this form of historiography reneges on crucial factual accounts of the capabilities of the Home Guard. Additionally, although the author discusses his references in bibliographical essay for each chapter, Long mate provides no notes to identify the sources of specific passages. However, his acknowledgement that, despite the presence of the defensive and committed Home Guard, Britain would probably have been successfully invaded should the English Channel have been secured illustrates the continued awareness that the Home Guard provided no adequate defence in a full-scale invasion scenario. Regimental records, while not complete, do assist in the analysis of the Home Guard during the Second World War. In addition to records commemorating decorations awarded to Home Guard volunteers, there are also primary sources in the form of newspaper accounts, particularly with regard to civil defence during blitzkrieg incidents, andante-invasion records to the defence strategies of the British Isles. Acknowledging that Britain was existing during a time of extreme propaganda, where civilians were frequently and routinely warned that ‘walls have ears’, newspaper accounts of civil defence can only be relied upon to a limited degree. Morale in Britain would have severely suffered had the media regularly reported, correctly or incorrectly, that the civil defence measures, including the Home Guard, were in some way failing. However, the anti-invasion records provide something of asocial history of the pillboxes and other roofed defence structures which are so widespread over great tracts of the landscape. Many lie in remote locations, overgrown, and with easy access through unblocked entrances and other openings, and can be readily seen as providing ideal sites where misdeeds and accidents might happen. The database records one wartime tragedy: a pillbox at Kenmore in Perth and Kinross was the scene of a fatal Home Guard shooting of a tramp who did not respond to a sentrys challenge. First comes the understanding of the intensity of the militarisation of Britain, in particular during the Second World War. In particular, an appreciation of the structure of the anti-invasion defences of 1940-41 shows not a few badly sited pillboxes manned by gallant, octogenarian Home Guards with pikestaffs, which is still the popular mythology, but an intensely planned and implemented defence strategy, involving a totality of defence over the entire landscape that can only be appreciated when the original documentation is analysed. It is true to say that there was not one square foot of the United Kingdom that was not included in some military or civil defence scheme. By the summer of 1941, when the defences had reached their most complete state, most of Britain had been planned, measured, and armed for defence roads were blocked, fields were strewn with obstacles, bridges were mined, factories, railways, airfields, and ports were protected, the coastline, towns and villages, the length and breadth of the country bristled with fortifications and with troops and weapons to man them. If the Germans had invaded in June 1940, then there would have been few defences, and even fewer weapons, to stop them. By the end of the year, however, and into 1941, the situation had changed dramatically. Even if the Germans had managed to cross the Channel, they would have had a very hard battle to fight themselves ashore. Records relating to the Home Guard volunteers frequently include detailed lists of defence works with the Home Guard units who were responsible for manning them, often with maps. However, contrary to the popular view that the majority of Home Guard regimental records were destroyed, it is imperative to understand that certain aspects of World War Two were only semi-documented. It has also been ascertained that the Home Guard deliberately set out to be a â€Å"paperless army†, and thus its records are relatively sparse. (Lord,1999). It is, therefore, necessary to analyse as many reliable sources as possible, and hence literatures, such as Carroll’s The Home Guard, which rely on non-orthodox historiographies have value within this period of research. When analysing events from an era where spies abounded and there was the continual fear of the enemy gaining access to valuable material evidence, it is important to not disregard unusual or unofficial evidence without extensive consideration. Records suggest that the relationship between the Home Guard and active army differed from the American practice. While the U.S. War Department insisted on the distinctness of State Guard uniforms, British Home Guards were soon required to wear the standard British khaki uniform. With the heavy threat of invasion in the early years of the war, the training schedule of the Home Guard was far more intense than that of their American counterparts. Home Guards were expected to train 48hours each month, exhaustive when compared to the infrequent and limited training required of American State Guardsmen. The American State Guardsmen complained when the federal government replaced rifles with shotguns, however, the British Home Guards found themselves issued an odd assortment of cheap weapons, including homemade Molotov Cocktails, sticky bombs and self-igniting phosphorous grenades, designed more to give each man a role rather than a real weapon. The lack of effective weapons caused Home Guard supporters to question whether the War Office truly expected the Home Guard to provide creditable opposition to a German landing (Calder, 1969). Although most Britons realized that British industry and finances were hard pressed to arm all active forces, some suspected that the Home Guards role had more to do with channelling enthusiasm and creating propaganda, than in providing real security. Official and unofficial primary sources indicate that the inclusion and official acceptance of the Home Guard was neither immediately nor warmly embraced by all in the Home Guard or in the government. Many of the initial enthusiasts of the Home Guard had served in the Spanish Militia during the Spanish Civil War and hoped to see the Home Guard become a similar leftist militia of British workers. The War Office, by gaining control over the Home Guard, effected the exclusion of radicals on the left as well as the right. The inclusion of the Home Guard into His Majestys forces never placed the Home Guard on equal status with the army. Originally, Home Guard units functioned without commissioned officer or NCO ranks. Instead, leaders held authority only by their position. As a result, discipline remained almost wholly voluntary. Many in the Home Guard preferred the situation as it was, but records indicate that the movement for greater control and efficiency led tithe introduction of ranks. However, whereas American State Guard officers held comm

World Trade Organization is the Way to Go Essay -- Commerce GATT Argum

World Trade Organization is the Way to Go Ever since man has been engaged in international commerce, trade disputes have existed. Adam Smith observed trade disputes over 220 years ago in The Wealth of Nations. In Smith’s eyes, if a trading partner imposed restrictions on your exports, then you had the right to retaliate and impose restrictions on their imports. He felt that unilateral trade dispute settlement was the right thing to do. However, Smith's answer to settling trade disputes was shortsighted. In an era where his home country, England, was the superpower of its time, Smith could not foresee the creation of an international organization to regulate trade and commerce around the world. With the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947 and its successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, the world is capable of handling trade disputes between nations. The creation of the WTO and its improvements upon the GATT framework have proven that trade disputes are better settled thr ough a multilateral system and not unilaterally. The creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947 was a step in the right direction for handling trade disputes. At that time there was no international dispute settlement system in effect. Countries handled disputes either bilaterally or unilaterally. However, the GATT dispute settlement system was rather weak and not used effectively. More than often countries abused it or simply ignored it. Even with these faults, the GATT provided a strong foundation for the WTO to be built upon after the Uruguay Round. The United States took advantage of the weakness of the GATT dispute settlement system use its own unilateral methods to handle di... ... January 1998. "Explaining Patterns of GATT/WTO Trade Complaints." Working Paper. Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Available at: https://wwwc.cc.columbia.edu/sec/dlc/ciao/wps/sec01/sec01.html Smith, Adam. 1776 (1981 reprint). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund. Valihora, Michael S. Spring/Summer 1998. "NAFTA Chapter 19 or the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body: A Hobson’s Choice for Canada?" Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law. Volume 30 Numbers 2, 3, pages 447-487. World Trade Organization. February 1998. "Case Study—The Timetable in Practice." Available at http://www.wto.org/wto/about/dispute3.htm World Trade Organization. February 1998. WTO, "Settling Disputes: The WTO’s ‘most individual contribution’" Available at: http://www.wto.org/wto/about/dispute1.htm World Trade Organization is the Way to Go Essay -- Commerce GATT Argum World Trade Organization is the Way to Go Ever since man has been engaged in international commerce, trade disputes have existed. Adam Smith observed trade disputes over 220 years ago in The Wealth of Nations. In Smith’s eyes, if a trading partner imposed restrictions on your exports, then you had the right to retaliate and impose restrictions on their imports. He felt that unilateral trade dispute settlement was the right thing to do. However, Smith's answer to settling trade disputes was shortsighted. In an era where his home country, England, was the superpower of its time, Smith could not foresee the creation of an international organization to regulate trade and commerce around the world. With the creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947 and its successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1995, the world is capable of handling trade disputes between nations. The creation of the WTO and its improvements upon the GATT framework have proven that trade disputes are better settled thr ough a multilateral system and not unilaterally. The creation of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in 1947 was a step in the right direction for handling trade disputes. At that time there was no international dispute settlement system in effect. Countries handled disputes either bilaterally or unilaterally. However, the GATT dispute settlement system was rather weak and not used effectively. More than often countries abused it or simply ignored it. Even with these faults, the GATT provided a strong foundation for the WTO to be built upon after the Uruguay Round. The United States took advantage of the weakness of the GATT dispute settlement system use its own unilateral methods to handle di... ... January 1998. "Explaining Patterns of GATT/WTO Trade Complaints." Working Paper. Weatherhead Center for International Affairs. Available at: https://wwwc.cc.columbia.edu/sec/dlc/ciao/wps/sec01/sec01.html Smith, Adam. 1776 (1981 reprint). An Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Indianapolis: Liberty Fund. Valihora, Michael S. Spring/Summer 1998. "NAFTA Chapter 19 or the WTO’s Dispute Settlement Body: A Hobson’s Choice for Canada?" Case Western Reserve Journal of International Law. Volume 30 Numbers 2, 3, pages 447-487. World Trade Organization. February 1998. "Case Study—The Timetable in Practice." Available at http://www.wto.org/wto/about/dispute3.htm World Trade Organization. February 1998. WTO, "Settling Disputes: The WTO’s ‘most individual contribution’" Available at: http://www.wto.org/wto/about/dispute1.htm

Should Animals Be Used in Medical Research?

Should animals be used in medical research? The use of animals in laboratory research is a very well known debate. Many people wonder if the animals are treated well and if they are taken care of properly; however, if medical and scientifical experimentation were done in only human trials the knowledge and understanding of how drugs and procedures can affect human would be decades behind. That is why the use of animals in experimentation is a necessity in order to continue advancing medicine and science.Animals have a high reproductive rate and are easy to breed. Animals have the same organs and tissues as humans do making them a good match. Animals that are used in experimentation are generally small and are easy to keep and feed. It is the best way to learn the effects of substances in a living body because animals are very easy to breed and yield a high amount of offspring. A higher number of offspring allows for a greater number of experiments or trials to be performed at a time. The greater the number of trials that can be performed will increase the data that can be collected to increase the accuracy of the trial. If a drug was tested on humans and the first two people to take the drug died, chances are the drug would be discontinued and research shut down, even if the deaths were only coincidence. By having a big sample size of animals that can test the effects to see how fatal the drug is and determine how it can be improved. Even if many experiments have expected results the effects of a drug could be wide spread.This is why using animals as a match for humans is advantageous because it allow scientists to observe the effects on living tissue under controlled circumstances in many subjects, and collect appropriate data so the margin of error can be made as small as possible. The ability to see the consequences of drugs on animals its success rate because it avoids death of many people who could be used as subject. Without using animals in research labs, our progression with medicine and medical sciences would slow down dramatically.Every day new medicines and practices are coming out that, without the help of animals, would never make it to us. They might make it to us, but only after blindly testing on random human volunteers that could possibly die just as easily from the testing as a rat would if used in the humans place To sump, I would say that many of the medications and procedures that we currently use today wouldn’t exist and the development of future treatments would be extremely limited. Animal testing is the right way to test products. Animals have the right to live their own life; and we are not allowed to mess around with them just because we can.

The Return: Shadow Souls Chapter 2

Elena burst out of the backseat of the Jaguar and ran a little way from the car before turning to see what had fallen on top of it. What had fallen was Matt. He was in the process of struggling to get up off his back. â€Å"Matt – oh, my God! Are you all right? Are you hurt?† Elena cried at the same time as Matt was shouting in tones of anguish: â€Å"Elena – oh, my God! Is the Jag all right? Is it hurt?† â€Å"Matt, are you crazy? Did you hit your head?† â€Å"Are there any scratches? Does the moonroof still work?† â€Å"No scratches. The moonroof is fine.† Elena had no idea if the moonroof worked, but she realized that Matt was raving, off his head. He was trying to get down without getting any mud on the Jag, but he was handicapped since his legs and feet were covered with mud. Getting off of the car without using his feet was proving difficult. Meanwhile, Elena was looking around. She herself had once fallen from the sky, yes, but she had been dead for six months first and had arrived naked, and Matt fulfilled neither requirement. She had a more prosaic explanation in mind. And there it was, lounging against a yellowwood tree and eyeing the scene with a very slight, wicked smile. Damon. He was compact; not as tall as Stefan, but with an indefinable aura of menace that more than made up for it. He was as immaculately dressed as always: black Armani jeans, black shirt, black leather jacket, and black boots, which all went with his carelessly windblown dark hair and his black eyes. Right now, he made Elena acutely aware that she was wearing a long white nightgown that she had brought with the idea that she could change her clothes underneath it if necessary while they were camping. The problem was that she usually did this just at dawn, and today writing in her diary had distracted her. And all at once the nightgown wasn't the correct attire for an early-morning fight with Damon. It wasn't sheer, being more akin to flannel than to nylon, but it was lacy, especially around the neck. Lace around a pretty neck to a vampire – as Damon had told her – was like a waving red cloak in front of a raging bull. Elena crossed her arms over her chest. She also tried to make sure that her aura was pulled in decorously. â€Å"You look like Wendy,† Damon said, and his smile was wicked, flashing, and definitely appreciative. He cocked his head to the side coaxingly. Elena refused to be coaxed. â€Å"Wendy who?† she said, and at just that moment remembered the last name of the young girl in Peter Pan, and winced inwardly. Elena had always been good at repartee of this kind. The problem was that Damon was better. â€Å"Why, Wendy†¦Darling,† Damon said, and his voice was a caress. Elena felt an inward shiver. Damon had promised not to Influence her – to use his telepathic powers to cloud or manipulate her mind. But sometimes it felt as if he got awfully close to the line. Yes, it was definitely Damon's fault, Elena thought. She didn't have any feelings for him that were – well, that were anything other than sisterly. But Damon never gave up, no matter how many times she rejected him. Behind Elena was a thump and squelch that undoubtedly meant Matt had finally gotten off the roof of the Jag. He jumped into the fray immediately. â€Å"Don't call Elena, Elena darling!† he shouted, continuing as he turned to Elena, â€Å"Wendy's probably the name of his latest little girlfriend. And – and – and do you know what he did? How he woke me up this morning?† Matt was quivering with indignation. â€Å"He picked you up and threw you on top of the car?† Elena hazarded. She talked over her shoulder to Matt because there was a faint morning breeze that tended to mold her nightgown to her body. She didn't want Damon behind her just now. â€Å"No! I mean, yes! No and yes! But – when he did, he didn't even bother to use his hands! He just went like this† – Matt waved an arm – â€Å"and first I got dropped into a mud hole and next thing I know I got dropped on the Jag. It could have broken the moonroof – or me! And now I'm all muddy,† Matt added, examining himself with disgust, as if it had only just occurred to him. Damon spoke up. â€Å"And why did I pick you up and put you down again? What were you actually doing at the time when I put some distance between us?† Matt flushed to the roots of his fair hair. His normally tranquil blue eyes were blazing. â€Å"I was holding a stick,† he said defiantly. â€Å"A stick. A stick like the kind you find along the roadside? That kind of stick?† â€Å"I did pick it up along the roadside, yes!† Still defiant. â€Å"But then something strange seems to have happened to it.† From nowhere that Elena could see, Damon suddenly produced a very long, and very sturdy-looking stake, with one end that had been whittled to an extremely sharp point. It had definitely been carved from hardwood: oak from the look of it. While Damon was examining his â€Å"stick† from all sides with a look of acute bafflement, Elena turned on a sputtering Matt. â€Å"Matt!† she said reproachfully. This was definitely a low point in the cold war between the two boys. â€Å"I just thought,† Matt went on stubbornly, â€Å"that it might be a good idea. Since I'm sleeping outdoors at night and a†¦another vampire might come along.† Elena had already turned again and was making appeasing noises at Damon when Matt burst out afresh. â€Å"Tell her how you actually woke me up!† he said explosively. Then, without giving Damon a chance to say anything, he continued, â€Å"I was just opening my eyes when he dropped this on me!† Matt squelched over to Elena, holding something up. Elena, truly at a loss, took it from him, turning it over. It seemed to be a pencil stub, but it was discolored dark reddish-brown. â€Å"He dropped that on me and said ‘scratch off two,'† Matt said. â€Å"He'd killed two people – and he was bragging about it!† Elena suddenly didn't want to be holding the pencil anymore. â€Å"Damon!† she said in a cry of real anguish, as she tried to make something out of his no-expression expression. â€Å"Damon – you didn't – not really – â€Å" â€Å"Don't beg him, Elena. The thing we've got to do – â€Å" â€Å"If anybody would let me get a word in,† Damon said, now sounding truly exasperated, â€Å"I might mention that before I could explain about the pencil someone attempted to stake me on the spot, even before getting out of his sleeping bag. And what I was going to say next was that they weren't people. They were vampires, thugs, hired muscle – but these were possessed by Shinichi's malach. And they were on our trail. They'd gotten as far as Warren, Kentucky, probably by asking questions about the car. We're definitely going to have to get rid of it.† â€Å"No!† Matt shouted defensively. â€Å"This car – this car means something to Stefan and Elena.† â€Å"This car means something to you,† Damon corrected. â€Å"And I might point out that I had to leave my Ferrari in a creek just so we could take you on this little expedition.† Elena held up her hand. She didn't want to hear any more. She did have feelings for the car. It was big and brilliantly red and flashy and buoyant – and it expressed how she and Stefan had been feeling on the day that he bought it for her, celebrating the start of their new life together. Just looking at it made her remember the day, and the weight of Stefan's arm around her shoulder and the way he'd looked down at her, when she'd looked up at him – his green eyes sparkling with mischief and the joy of getting her something she really wanted. To Elena's embarrassment and fury, she found that she was shaking slightly, and that her own eyes were full of tears. â€Å"You see,† Matt said, glaring at Damon. â€Å"Now you're making her cry.† â€Å"I am? I'm not the one who mentioned my dear departed younger brother,† Damon said urbanely. â€Å"Just stop it! Right now! Both of you,† Elena shouted, trying to find her composure. â€Å"And I don't want this pencil, if you don't mind,† she added, holding it at arm's length. When Damon took it, Elena wiped her hands on her nightgown, feeling vaguely light-headed. She shivered, thinking of the vampires on their trail. And then, suddenly, as she swayed, there was a warm, strong arm around her and Damon's voice beside her saying, â€Å"What she needs is some fresh air, and I'm going to give it to her.† Abruptly Elena was weightless and she was in Damon's arms and they were going higher. â€Å"Damon, could you please put me down?† â€Å"Right now, darling? It's quite a distance†¦Ã¢â‚¬  Elena continued to remonstrate with Damon, but she could tell that he had tuned her out. And the cool morning air was clearing her head a bit, although it also made her shake. She tried to stop the shivering, but couldn't help it. Damon glanced down at her and to her surprise, looking completely serious, began to make motions as if to take his jacket off. Elena hastily said, â€Å"No, no – you just drive – fly, I mean, and I'll hang on.† â€Å"And watch for low-going seagulls,† Damon said solemnly, but with a quirk at the side of his mouth. Elena had to turn her face away because she was in danger of laughing. â€Å"So, just when did you learn you could pick people up and drop them on cars?† she inquired. â€Å"Oh, just recently. It was like flying: a challenge. And you know I like challenges.† He was looking down at her with mischief in his eyes, those black on black eyes with such long lashes that they were wasted on a boy. Elena felt as light as if she were dandelion fluff, but also a little light-headed, almost tipsy. She was much warmer now, because – she realized – Damon had enfolded her in his aura, which was warm. Not just in temperature, either, but warm with a heady, almost drunken appreciation, as he took her in, her eyes and her face and her hair floating weightlessly in a cloud of gold around her shoulders. Elena couldn't help but blush, and she almost heard his thought, that blushing suited her very well, pale pink against her fair complexion. And just as blushing was an involuntary physical response to his warmth and appreciation, Elena felt an involuntary emotional response – of thankfulness for what he had done, of gratitude for his appreciation, and of unintentional appreciation of Damon himself. He had saved her life tonight, if she knew anything about vampires possessed by Shinichi's malach, vampires who were thugs to begin with. She couldn't even imagine what such creatures would do to her, and she didn't want to. She could only be glad that Damon had been clever enough and, yes, ruthless enough to take care of them before they got to her. And she would have to be blind and just plain stupid not to appreciate the fact that Damon was gorgeous. After having died twice, this fact did not affect her as it would most other girls, but it was still a fact, whether Damon was pensive or giving one of those rare genuine smiles that he seemed to have only for Elena. The problem with this was that Damon was a vampire and could therefore read her mind, especially with Elena being so close, their auras intermingling. And Damon appreciated Elena's appreciation, and it became a little cycle of feedback, all on its own. Before Elena could quite focus she was melting, her weightless body feeling heavier as it molded itself to Damon's arms. And the other problem was that Damon wasn't Influencing her; he was as caught up in the feedback as Elena was – more so, because he didn't have any barriers against it. Elena did, but they were blurring, dissolving. She couldn't think properly. Damon was gazing at her with wonder and a look she was all too used to seeing – but she couldn't remember where. Elena had lost the power to analyze. She was simply basking in the warm glow of being cherished, being held and loved and cared for with an intensity that shook her to the bone. And when Elena gave of herself, she gave completely. Almost without conscious effort, she arched her head back to expose her throat and closed her eyes. Damon gently positioned her head differently, supported it with one hand, and kissed her.

Theories of the Origin and Evolution of Human Language

Theories of the Origin and Evolution of Human Language The expression language origins refers to theories pertaining to the emergence and development of language in human societies. Over the centuries, many theories have been put forward- and almost all of them have been challenged, discounted, and ridiculed. (See Where Does Language Come From?) In 1866, the Linguistic Society of Paris banned any discussion of the topic: The Society will accept no communication concerning either the origin of language or the creation of a universal language. Contemporary linguist Robbins Burling says that anyone who has read widely in the literature on language origins cannot escape a sneaking sympathy with the Paris linguists. Reams of nonsense have been written about the subject (The Talking Ape, 2005). In recent decades, however, scholars from such diverse fields as genetics, anthropology, and cognitive science have been engaged, as Christine Kenneally says, in a cross-discipline, multidimensional treasure hunt to find out how language began. It is, she says, the hardest problem in science today (The First Word, 2007). Observations on the Origins of Language Divine origin [is the] conjecture that human language originated as a gift from God. No scholar takes this idea seriously today. (R.L. Trask, A Students Dictionary of Language and Linguistics, 1997; rpt. Routledge, 2014) Numerous and varied explanations have been put forth to explain how humans acquired language- many of which date back to the time of the Paris ban. Some of the more fanciful explanations have been given nicknames, mainly to the effect of dismissal by ridicule. The scenario by which language evolved in humans to assist the coordination of working together (as on the pre-historic equivalent of a loading dock) has been nicknamed the yo-heave-ho model. Theres the bow-wow model in which language originated as imitations of animal cries. In the poo-poo model, language started from emotional interjections. During the twentieth century, and particularly its last few decades, discussion of language origins has become respectable and even fashionable. One major problem remains, however; most models about language origins do not readily lend themselves to the formation of testable hypotheses, or rigorous testing of any sort. What data will allow us to conclude that one model or another best explains how language arose? (Norman A. Johnson, Darwinian Detectives: Revealing the Natural History of Genes and Genomes. Oxford University Press, 2007) Physical Adaptations - Instead of looking at types of sounds as the source of human speech, we can look at the types of physical features humans possess, especially those that are distinct from other creatures, which may have been able to support speech production. . . . Human teeth are upright, not slanting outwards like those of apes, and they are roughly even in height. Such characteristics are . . . very helpful in making sounds such as f or v. Human lips have much more intricate muscle lacing than is found in other primates and their resulting flexibility certainly helps in making sounds like p, b, and m. In fact, the b and m sounds are the most widely attested in the vocalizations made by human infants during their first year, no matter which language their parents are using. (George Yule, The Study of Language, 5th ed. Cambridge University Press, 2014) -   In the evolution of the human vocal tract since the split with other apes, the adult larynx descended to its lower position. Phonetician Philip Lieberman has persuasively argued that the ultimate cause of the human lowered larynx is its function in producing different vowels. This is a case of natural selection for more effective communication. . . . Babies are born with their larynxes in a high position, like monkeys. This is functional, as there is a reduced risk of choking, and babies are not yet talking. . . . By about the end of the first year, the human larynx descends to its near-adult lowered position. This is a case of ontogeny recapitulating phylogeny, the growth of the individual reflecting the evolution of the species. (James R. Hurford, The Origins of Language. Oxford University Press, 2014) From Words to Syntax Language-ready modern children learn vocabulary voraciously before they begin to make grammatical utterances several words long. So we presume that in the origins of language a one-word stage preceded our remote ancestors first steps into grammar. The term protolanguage has been widely used to describe this one-word stage, where there is vocabulary but no grammar. (James R. Hurford, The Origins of Language. Oxford University Press, 2014) The Gesture Theory of Language Origin - Speculation about how languages originate and evolve has had an important place in the history of ideas, and it has been intimately linked to questions about the nature of the signed languages of the deaf and human gestural behavior in general. It can be argued, from a phylogenetic perspective, the origin of human sign languages is coincident with the origin of human languages; sign languages, that is, are likely to have been the first true languages. This is not a new perspectiveit is perhaps as old as nonreligious speculation about the way human language may have begun. (David F. Armstrong and Sherman E. Wilcox, The Gestural Origin of Language. Oxford University Press, 2007) - [A]n analysis of the physical structure of visible gesture provides insights into the origins of syntax, perhaps the most difficult question facing students of the origin and evolution of language . . .. It is the origin of syntax that transforms naming into language, by enabling human beings to comment on and think about the relationships between things and events, that is, by enabling them to articulate complex thoughts and, most important, share them with others. . . . We are not the first to suggest a gestural origin of language. [Gordon] Hewes (1973; 1974; 1976) was one of the first modern proponents of a gestural origins theory. [Adam] Kendon (1991: 215) also suggests that the first kind of behaviour that could be said to be functioning in anything like a linguistic fashion would have had to have been gestural. For Kendon, as for most others who consider gestural origins of language, gestures are placed in opposition to speech and vocalization. . . . While we would agree with Kendons strategy of examining the relationships among spoken and signed languages, pantomime, graphic depiction, and other modes of human representation, we are not convinced that placing gesture in opposition to speech leads to a productive framework for understanding the emergence of cognition and language. For us, the answer to the question, If language began as gesture, why did it not stay that way? is that it did. . . . All language, in the words of Ulrich Neisser (1976), is articulatory gesturing. We are not proposing that language began as gesture and became vocal. Language has been and always will be gestural (at least until we evolve a reliable and universal capacity for mental telepathy). (David F. Armstrong, William C. Stokoe, and Sherman E. Wilcox, Gesture and the Nature of Language. Cambridge University Press, 1995) - If, with [Dwight] Whitney, we think of language as a complex of instrumentalities which serve in the expression of thought (as he would sayone might not wish to put it quite like this today), then gesture is part of language. For those of us with an interest in language conceived of in this way, our task must include working out all the intricate ways in which gesture is used in relation to speech and of showing the circumstances in which the organization of each is differentiated from the other as well as the ways in which they overlap. This can only enrich our understanding of how these instrumentalities function. If, on the other hand, we define language in structural terms, thus excluding from consideration most, if not all, of the kinds of gestural usages I have illustrated today, we may be in danger of missing important features of how language, so defined, actually succeeds as an instrument of communication. Such a structural definition is valuable as a matter of convenience , as a way of delimiting a field of concern. On the other hand, from the point of view of a comprehensive theory of how humans do all the things they do by means of utterances, it cannot be sufficient. (Adam Kendon, Language and Gesture: Unity or Duality? Language and Gesture, ed. by David McNeill. Cambridge University Press, 2000) Language as a Device for Bonding [T]he size of human social groups gives rise to a serious problem: grooming is the mechanism that is used to bond social groups among primates, but human groups are so large that it would be impossible to invest enough time in grooming to bond groups of this size effectively. The alternative suggestion, then, is that language evolved as a device for bonding large social groupsin other words, as a form of grooming-at-a-distance. The kind of information that language was designed to carry was not about the physical world, but rather about the social world. Note that the issue here is not the evolution of grammar as such, but the evolution of language. Grammar would have been equally useful whether language evolved to subserve a social or a technological function. (Robin I.A. Dunbar, The Origin and Subsequent Evolution of Language. Language Evolution, ed. by Morten H. Christiansen and Simon Kirby. Oxford University Press, 2003) Otto Jespersen on Language as Play (1922) - [P]rimitive speakers were not reticent and reserved beings, but youthful men and women babbling merrily on, without being so particular about the meaning of each word. . . . They chattered away for the mere pleasure of chattering . . ..   [P]rimitive speech . . . resembles the speech of little baby himself, before he begins to frame his own language after the pattern of the grownups; the language of our remote forefathers was like that ceaseless humming and crooning with which no thoughts are as yet connected, which merely amuses and delights the little one. Language originated as play, and the organs of speech were first trained in this singing sport of idle hours. (Otto Jespersen,Language: Its Nature, Development and Origin, 1922) - It is quite interesting to note that these modern views [on the commonality of language and music and of language and dance] were anticipated in great detail by Jespersen (1922: 392-442). In his speculations about the origin of language, he arrived at the view that referential language must have been preceded by singing, which in its turn was functional in fulfilling the need for sex (or love), on the one hand, and the need for coordinating collective work, on the other. These speculations have, in turn, their origins in [Charles] Darwins 1871 book The Descent of Man: we may conclude from a widely-spread analogy that this power would have been especially exerted during the courtship of the sexes, serving to express various emotions. . . . The imitation by articulate sounds of musical cries might have given rise to words expressive of various complex emotions. (quoted from Howard 1982: 70) The modern scholars mentioned above agree in rejecting the well-known scenario according to which language originated as a system of monosyllabic grunt-like sounds that had the (referential) function of pointing at things. Instead, they propose a scenario according to which referential meaning was slowly grafted upon nearly autonomous melodious sound. (Esa Itkonen, Analogy as Structure and Process: Approaches in Linguistics, Cognitive Psychology and Philosophy of Science. John Benjamins, 2005) Divided Views on the Origins of Language (2016) Today, opinion on the matter of language origins is still deeply divided. On the one hand, there are those who feel that language is so complex, and so deeply ingrained in the human condition, that it must have evolved slowly over immense periods of time. Indeed, some believe that its roots go all the way back to  Homo habilis, a tiny-brained hominid that lived in Africa not far short of two million years ago. On the other, there are those like [Robert] Berwick and [Noam] Chomsky who believe that humans acquired language quite recently, in an abrupt event. Nobody is in the middle on this one, except to the extent that different extinct hominid species are seen as the inaugurators of language’s slow evolutionary trajectory. That this deep dichotomy of viewpoint has been able to persist (not only among linguists, but among paleoanthropologists, archaeologists, cognitive scientists, and others) for as long as anyone can remember is due to one simple fact: at least until the very recent advent of writing systems, language has left no trace in any durable record. Whether any early humans possessed language, or didn’t, has had to be inferred from indirect proxy indicators. And views have diverged greatly on the matter of what is an acceptable proxy. (Ian Tattersall, At the Birth of Language.   The New York Review of Books, August 18, 2016) Also  See Where Does Language Come From?: Five Theories on the Origins of Language Cognitive Linguistics  and  Neurolinguistics

Problem Solving in Mathematics

Problem Solving in Mathematics The main reason for learning about math is to become a better problem solver  in all aspects of life. Many problems are multistep and require some type of systematic approach. There are a couple of things you need to do when solving problems. Ask yourself exactly what type of information is being asked for:  Is it one of addition, subtraction, multiplication, or division?  Then determine all the information that is being given to you in the question. Mathematician George Pà ³lya’s book, â€Å"How to Solve It: A New Aspect of Mathematical Method,† written in 1957, is a great guide to have on hand. The ideas below, which provide you with  general steps or strategies to solve math problems, are similar to those expressed in Pà ³lya’s book and should help you untangle even the most complicated math problem. Use Established Procedures Learning how to solve problems in mathematics is knowing what to look for. Math problems often require established procedures and knowing what procedure to apply. To create procedures, you have to be familiar with the problem situation and be able to collect the appropriate information, identify a strategy or strategies, and use the strategy appropriately. Problem-solving  requires practice. When deciding on methods or procedures to use to solve problems, the first thing you will do is look for clues, which is one of the most important skills in solving problems in mathematics. If you begin to solve problems by looking for clue words, you will find that these words often indicate an operation. Look for Clue Words Think of yourself as a math detective. The first thing to do when you encounter a math problem is to look for clue words. This is one of the most important skills you can develop. If you begin to solve problems by looking for clue words, you will find that those words often indicate an operation. Common clue words for addition  problems: SumTotalIn allPerimeter Common clue words for  subtraction  problems: DifferenceHow much moreExceed Common clue words for multiplication problems: ProductTotalAreaTimes Common clue words for division problems: ShareDistributeQuotientAverage Although clue words will vary a bit from problem to problem, youll soon learn to recognize which words mean what in order to perform the correct operation. Read the Problem Carefully This, of course, means looking for clue words as outlined in the previous section. Once you’ve identified your clue words, highlight or underline them. This will let you know what kind of problem you’re dealing with. Then do the following: Ask yourself if youve seen a problem similar to this one. If so, what is similar about it?What did you need to do in that instance?What facts are you given about this problem?What facts do you still need to find out about this problem? Develop a Plan and Review Your Work Based on what you discovered by reading the problem carefully and identifying similar problems you’ve encountered before, you can then: Define your problem-solving strategy or strategies. This might mean identifying patterns, using known formulas, using sketches, and even guessing and checking.If your strategy doesnt work, it may lead you to an ah-ha moment and to a strategy that does work. If it seems like you’ve solved the problem, ask yourself the following: Does your solution seem probable?Does it answer the initial question?Did you answer using the language in the question?Did you answer using the same units? If you feel confident that the answer is â€Å"yes† to all questions, consider your problem solved. Tips and Hints Some key questions to consider as you approach the problem may be: What are the keywords in the problem?Do I need a data visual, such as a diagram, list, table, chart, or graph?Is there a formula or equation that Ill need? If so, which one?Will I need to use a calculator? Is there a pattern I can use or follow? Read the problem carefully, and decide on a method to solve the problem. Once youve finished working the problem, check your work and ensure that your answer makes sense and that youve used the same terms and or units in your answer.

Article Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Article Analysis - Research Paper Example The predictions of the economic theory presented in the article will also be carried as well as a discussion of the relevance of the economic theory to the ideas presented in the article. Travernise (2011) reports that about 2.6 million people slipped into poverty in the USA in 2010 as reported by the Census Bureau bringing the number of Americans living below poverty to 46,2 million people. This has been the highest figure in 52 years according to the records obtained from the bureau. According to the economists, the median income level of the household fell to records last seen in 1996 and this scenario shows that such statistics were last recorded during the great depression when the statistics had taken such a long period to rise. The report states that about 15.1 percent of the Americans were living below the poverty datum line which was pegged at $22, 314 for a family of four in 2010 and this level has been the highest since 1993. This came on the heels of President Barrack Obama’s bid to push for the jobs bill meant to foster employment creation to alleviate the levels of poverty especially among various people from the different parts of the country. T here has also been a widening gap between the haves and the have nots and this trend is likely to continue unabated if sound economic reforms have not been put in place. The minorities in particular were hardest hit as the report shows that blacks in particular experienced the highest poverty rate of 17 % up from 15 % in 2009, the rate for the Hispanics rose from 25 % to 26 % while the poverty rate for the whites rose from 9.4 % to 9,9 % in 2009. The trend shows that the whites were least affected and it seems that the gap between the rich and the poor is continuing to rise. The economists suggested that joblessness or unemployment was the main culprit leading to such unbelievably high rates of

Bitcoin - IT professional and society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bitcoin - IT professional and society - Essay Example It is supported by the network and created as a part of reward for any work to be processed. Furthermore, it is created by users that can offer their computing power for record and verify payments. Most of the transaction and buying are done by the help of credit or debit card. The use of credit card via online is insecure and never supposed to be used by the online users. The transaction done through Bitcoin does not require providing any secret information. People who are the victim of using credit card for online transaction are trying to use Bitcoin as a solution. Bitcoin is safe and required two keys such as private one and public key. Private Key is secret and is not revealed to any users. Public key is the actual Bitcoin address. One of the biggest retailers, Overstick.com is accepting the use of Bitcoin. Lot of major organizations and companies are taking the notice of making transaction secure and trying to implement the use of digital currency, Bitcoin. The introduction of Bitcoin has been one of the debated topics and buzzwords around the world. The effect of Bitcoin on Ecommerce is immense. It is mainly due to the fact that, there are no transaction fees for consumers on the currency. Moreover, the implementation of Bitcoin is secure and low transaction fess required. In addition, transaction can be possible in areas where it is not possible for any option of payment. The potential growth of implementation of Bitcoin is huge and can revolutionize the use of online transaction. The introduction of Satoshi Nakamoto has been for many years now. But it is finally taking its prime position to be on the main stage. The revolutionary currency idea has been a late arrival in the United States. Many other countries have utilized the use of Bitcoin as a potential future payment system. A vacation home can be bought with the help of Bitcoin in Argentina. Dentists in Finland have approved the use of

Creon and Antigone Being Stubborn In Antigone Essay

Creon and Antigone Being Stubborn In Antigone - Essay Example The play also shows how the gods mediate. Creon is punished for passing unreasonable rules. Key conflicts are also illustrated in the play. There is a conflict between the society and individuals. Antigone struggles against the authorities so as to reveal an unjust rule. This exposes a conflict between Antigone, Creon, and the communal customs that perceived that women are weaker than men and cannot participate in political decision-making. There is a conflict between two persons. There is a battle between Antigone and Creon, a representative of the state. Antigone also battles Ismene, who tries to convince her not to perform a burial ceremony for her brother. In addition, Creon quarrels with his son. Moreover, there is a conflict between the supernatural and the person, as Antigone’s household is cursed by the gods. The Antigone’s household fate causes their destruction. Finally, there is a conflict inside a person. For instance, in scene five Creon must relent even if he does not want. Both Creon and Antigone are tremendously stubborn. Their stubbornness causes their demise. Both of them are extremely independent individuals. Creon declines to accept anyone’s views except his own.

Discuss three factors that explain why employees tend to become Essay

Discuss three factors that explain why employees tend to become unmotivated to do their jobs - Essay Example Organizations are essentially formulating and implementing strategies that seek to ensure job satisfaction among the employees. In this regard it has become essential for organizations to ensure motivation among the employees as it would lead to greater job satisfaction that would lead to generational of organizational excellence. Analysis The efficiency of an organization is directly linked to the extent to which the employees put their efforts in the workplace. The extent to which employees do so is directly linked to the levels of motivation of the employees. This has made it necessary to determine aspects that tend to de-motivate employees in an organization so as to formulate strategies that seek to ward off practices that can lead to employee de-motivation. Among the top three factors that generate employee dissatisfaction include improper working conditions, poor employee compensation and benefits and organizational policies (Brounstein, 2000). Improper working conditions in a n organization include lack of hygiene in the workplace, improper lighting, and not providing basic amenities to the employees working in an organization. Compensation is a very critical area that has the most significant impact on the motivation levels of employees.

Incorporate Expectancy Theory Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Incorporate Expectancy Theory - Article Example Other than the hygiene and food, the sailors have to sleep on single beds and do so for not more than 5 hours so. This is so that they can ensure they continue to race and relieve each other of the duty to sail and control the boat at all times due to the harsh conditions of the water they are sailing in. In order to prevent them from giving up, they have to build relationships with each other and live like married couples. This is important for support and surviving the extreme conditions in all the 10 days. The other way is to visualize the end prize as well as build the worst case scenarios on their heads so that the reality is much more tolerable and the sailors would be mentally prepared to handle it. Being disciplined enough to stick to a routine and getting enough time to rest and sleep are also important for success not forgetting being extraordinarily selfish and simply thinking about the competition and winning alone (Webster, 2011). Expectancy theory is all about putting on effort and acting in a certain way because one is expecting a reward at the end. The individual effort that is put on an activity is transformed into good or even excellent performance which will lead to a reward and hence having attained a personal goal. This is the same theory that drives the performance of the extreme sports sailors discussed in detail above (McShane, et al 2013). The sailors expect that by putting in a lot of effort towards their practice as well as adhere to the advice provided by their psychologists and other trainers, they will be able to endure while sailing and hence increase their performance level. The increased effort they put towards their sailing will lead them to complete the race within the specified timeline and will most probably be able to have fulfilled their specific goal (Kremer & Moran, 2013).

THE DREAM ACT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

THE DREAM ACT - Essay Example ve become the victims of government deportation due to their illegal immigrant status in the United States and have found themselves in very different environments from what they know, not able to fit in the culture, and not knowing the languages of the countries in which they were born but not raised. This has been a gross injustice on the part of the American government because whichever way they got to America, these so called illegal immigrants are still American through culture, language, and thought, and should be recognized as such. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is a bipartisan legislation that was pioneered by the Republican senator Orin Hatch and Democrat senator Richard Durbin, with the intention of solving this injustice in the American society. Under its provisions, qualifying undocumented youth would be eligible for a six year long process which would require them to complete a college degree or to serve at least two years in the military, and would eventually lead to their gaining American citizenship. This piece of legislation has come up twice for a vote in the senate, once in 2007 and again in 2010, but both times, it has failed to pass. In June 2012, the Obama administration issued a policy directive which would make over a million young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children free from deportation proceedings and which would make them eligible to get work permits. The government had been under considerable pressure from various circles to take action on behalf of those young immigrants due to the fact that Congress had been deeply split about the DREAM Act legislation. Furthermore, since this is an election year, this move by the Obama administration was most likely aimed at securing the votes of Latino voters, considering that the bulk of those would have been deported if this policy had not been put in place would have been Latino. According to Welner, K and Chi, W (178) every

Discuss three factors that explain why employees tend to become Essay

Discuss three factors that explain why employees tend to become unmotivated to do their jobs - Essay Example Organizations are essentially formulating and implementing strategies that seek to ensure job satisfaction among the employees. In this regard it has become essential for organizations to ensure motivation among the employees as it would lead to greater job satisfaction that would lead to generational of organizational excellence. Analysis The efficiency of an organization is directly linked to the extent to which the employees put their efforts in the workplace. The extent to which employees do so is directly linked to the levels of motivation of the employees. This has made it necessary to determine aspects that tend to de-motivate employees in an organization so as to formulate strategies that seek to ward off practices that can lead to employee de-motivation. Among the top three factors that generate employee dissatisfaction include improper working conditions, poor employee compensation and benefits and organizational policies (Brounstein, 2000). Improper working conditions in a n organization include lack of hygiene in the workplace, improper lighting, and not providing basic amenities to the employees working in an organization. Compensation is a very critical area that has the most significant impact on the motivation levels of employees.

THE DREAM ACT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

THE DREAM ACT - Essay Example ve become the victims of government deportation due to their illegal immigrant status in the United States and have found themselves in very different environments from what they know, not able to fit in the culture, and not knowing the languages of the countries in which they were born but not raised. This has been a gross injustice on the part of the American government because whichever way they got to America, these so called illegal immigrants are still American through culture, language, and thought, and should be recognized as such. The Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act is a bipartisan legislation that was pioneered by the Republican senator Orin Hatch and Democrat senator Richard Durbin, with the intention of solving this injustice in the American society. Under its provisions, qualifying undocumented youth would be eligible for a six year long process which would require them to complete a college degree or to serve at least two years in the military, and would eventually lead to their gaining American citizenship. This piece of legislation has come up twice for a vote in the senate, once in 2007 and again in 2010, but both times, it has failed to pass. In June 2012, the Obama administration issued a policy directive which would make over a million young people who were brought to the United States illegally as children free from deportation proceedings and which would make them eligible to get work permits. The government had been under considerable pressure from various circles to take action on behalf of those young immigrants due to the fact that Congress had been deeply split about the DREAM Act legislation. Furthermore, since this is an election year, this move by the Obama administration was most likely aimed at securing the votes of Latino voters, considering that the bulk of those would have been deported if this policy had not been put in place would have been Latino. According to Welner, K and Chi, W (178) every

Palamon Love Essay Example for Free

Palamon Love Essay Palamon wants Arcite to let his eyes of Emily and not interfere, but Arcite says l loved her first as women and on my head I swear, love is a greater law than any other that may be given to any earthly man. (pg. 89) love replaces all other commitments. They both show each other how much they love Emily. Later on, they both somehow manage to get out of prison. First, Arcite got out and after seven years Palamon. They both suddenly meet at grove in ngry looks and want to fight for Emily, while Theseus appearing there too with his wife and Emily. At first Theseus wanted to kill them, but seeing the situation of theirs he changes his mind and sets up arena for them to fght. They both are ready to do anything to grant Emily as wife. Then, Theseus builds 3 temples. Venus (the goddess of love), Mars (the god of war), and Diana (the goddess of chastity). Palamon went to Venus to ask to get Emily, Arcite went to Mars to ask to win the war, and Emily went to Diana to ask to say virgin or else marry a guy love her the most. After that, the battle begun and Arcite won the war with the help of the god that he visited, and Palamon lost, but in the end Palamon won and got Emily. Palamon won because of Pluto who sent earthquake at Saturns request for Venus. Arcite dies because of earthquake and fell from his horse and hits his head to ground. He died as noble knight to get Emily, and didnt care about his brotherhood relationship with Palamon while fghing against him for Emily. The knight is noble, conqueror, gentle and has pity, which he is similar to Theseus the character in the story that he is telling. The gentle duke jumped down from his horse with pitying heart as he heard them speak. (pg. 77) Theseus takes pity on those women that he meets on his way and gives what the women asked for. Which it looks like that the Knight is describing himself as Theseus. He likes fghting from the beginning so he made arrangement for Arcite and Palamon to fght over Emily. The story starts with battle of Amazons and after he marries the queen of Amazon as price of winning a battle besides the story also ends with Palamon marrying Emily in which he also get her by winning the battle.

Analysis for Teslas Expansion into Russia

Analysis for Teslas Expansion into Russia List of abbreviations: MEDCs More Economically Developed CountriesNIC Newly Industrialized Country RUB RublePPP* Public-Private Partnership GDP Gross Domestic Product PPP Purchasing Power ParityFDI Foreign Direct InvestmentOECD Organisation for Economic Co-operation and DevelopmentEV Electric VehicleWTO World Trade OrganizationIMF International Monetary FundBRICS emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa. Letter of Recomendation to the CEO To: Elon Musk CEO of Tesla, Inc Report on Russian Federation as a potential new market for Tesla, Inc. There is no doubt that eco-friendly vehicles will dominate a global car market in the future. Telsa already officially presented in most MEDC countries and now is a time to think about Transition economies (including NICs). The electric car market in Russia is still quite small but thanks to stabilising economy and sensible government policies there is a good potential to expand it. The ability to set up our dealership chain relatively quickly must be a consideration. Lack of charging facilities could be seen as a potential to insert and expand original Tesla Supercharger chain across the country and could lead to PPP* agreement between the government and business where Tesla could take part not only in the creation of those facilities but also in the further operations of it. As our research shows, Russia has a huge domestic market which has a potential to expand and get more wealthy, what means potentially a big client base. There are many state support programs such as: (First Car, Family Car, Private Business, and public city electric transport) with financing of 17.4bn RUB, subsidies given to Russian credit organisations for the reimbursement of a shortfall in income from credits granted by Russian credit organisations in 2015–2016 to individuals for the purchase of cars (7.0bn RUB) and other similar programs. (PwC, 2017) Conditions for investment right now are perfect if Tesla wants to have a dominant position in that market in upcoming years. However, its important to consider all the risks and to understand that factors such as movements in the exchange rate of the ruble, access to auto loans, interest rates, amount and effectiveness of government support and expansion of transport infrastructure will predetermine demand more than anything else. Introduction This report will advise CEO of Tesla Inc on whether to expand their official stores into the Russian market. Currently, Tesla has its official stores in 28 countries including most of a western Europe, UAE, China, Taiwan, Australia and other and some other   MEDC countries. (Tesla, 2017) The aim of this report is to understand and conclude how perspective Russian market can be for the expansion of Tesla. By using PEST, Porters 5 Forces model analysis and SWOT we were able to outline advantages and disadvantages of investing in the Russian market with a more in-depth analysis on the relevance of bargaining power of buyers, rivalry among existing companies, political and economic factors. PEST Analysis Russia is the biggest country in the world in terms of area (CIA, 2017a) and 9th in terms of population with over 142 million people living there. (CIA, 2017b) Despite all of its huge economic potential, in recent years Russia has suffered an economic recession due to sanctions which were implemented by the US government on March 6, 2014 after an annexation of Crimea by Russian military forces. (U.S. Department of state, 2017) However recently situation in Russian started to improve and now there is a positive trend in its economic growth which is expected to be at the level of 1.8% in 2019. (The World Bank, 2017) (P)olitical Factors: Russian was the largest country to emerge from collapsed Soviet Union in December 1991 (CIA, 2017c) and went through the 90s with two Chechen Wars from 11th of September 1994 to May of 2000 but even so, the active phase of the war was over there still was a high level of tension in the region and Russian counter-terrorism operation officially finished only in April 2009. (Al Jazeera media network, 2014) However, since then there were no major conflicts within a country and regions such a Chechnya seen much of an economic growth and government stability mainly due to massive cash injections from Russia’s federal government which were aimed at stabilizing   recently unstable territory. (Financial Times, 2015) The Russian Federation today stands as one of the most powerful and influential   states in the world and   and it keeps diplomatic relations with 191 countries and has 144 embassies around the world.(ICD academy for cultural diplomacy, 2014) Government type is known as Semi-presidential federation which is also called a managed democracy due to a high level of Government intervention. (CIA, 2017d) Corruption Perceptions Index research from 2016 suggests that there is still a very high level of corruption in Russia with the score of 29/100 what ranks it 131st out of 176 countries studied.(Transparency International, 2016) (E)conomic factors: Russia is 6th country in the world in terms of GDP and PPP which is an indicator of a strong economy and prospective market. (World Bank, 2017). Its economy mainly dependent on natural resources such as oil and gas as they make up a huge part of Russian federal budget revenue. For example, in 2016 this figure was equivalent to 36% which were made up of mineral extraction taxes and export customs duties on crude oil and gas. (The U.S. Energy Information Administration, 2017) There is a positive trend in Russian economy today after a couple of years of recession which was caused by western sanctions and drop of oil prices. (World Bank 2017) Inflation significantly went down from 15.5% in 2015 to 7.1% in 2016 and is projected to reach the target level of 4% in 2018 and monetary policy is fairly balanced with the current inflation rate. These improvements lead to a better economic environment in general which caused a positive chain effect in a banking sector and improved terms of trade. (World Bank, 2017) An illustrative example of improving Economic environment in Russia is the fact that in 2015 the number of FDI project grew by 61% in comparison with a previous two years. (Invest in Russia – Russian investment agency, 2016) (S)ocial factors: Russian society went through a huge transformation after a collapse of a Soviet regime and has turned from autocratic structure society to more democratic one. There are nearly 200 national ethnic groups represented in Russias 2010 census which makes it one of the most multicultural societies in the world. (Cia, 2017e) Income inequality remains one of the big problems in Russian society. Gini index of Russia in 2015 was   37.7 which is much better than 46.1 back in 1996, however it is still very high in comparison with most western MEDC countries. (The World Bank, 2017). Russian society has some strengths and weaknesses against OECD countries, however, in recent years there was a significant progress in bringing up a quality of live standards. The table below represents a comparison of average scores of OECDs and partner countries in some key social aspects. (T)echnological Factors: Russia is a country with a rich history of scientific and technological traditions. The 1990s crisis caused by the collapse of the Soviet regime led to the significant reduction of the government support for science and technology.   Many Russian scientists went to the United States or Europe in the so-called â€Å"brain-drain† migration. In the 2000s, on the wave of a new economic boom, the situation has started to improve, and the government launched a campaign which was aimed at innovation and modernisation. Current priorities for the Russias technological/scientific development include things such as energy efficiency, IT, nuclear energy and pharmaceuticals. (Sputnik, 2009) (Time, 2011) Also, due to western sanctions, Russia started to focus on replacement of foreign technologies and raw materials by domestic ones. This has worked as a push factor towards more develompment and reserch in some key sectors such as IT and energy. In September 2017 Russian President Vladimir Putin reminded of that strategy in meeting with Russian technology producers where he said that, in some spheres, state institutions could not work with companies running foreign software because that represented a risk for national cyber-security. (CNBC, 2017) Porters Five Forces Analysis Market defenition: Our analysis focuses on the new passenger cars market in Russia, particularly on electric/hybrid segment. Passenger cars are defined as vehicles with at least four wheels, used for the transportation of passengers from point A to point B, and consisting maximum of eight seats not including drivers seat. The Russian car market in 2016 decreased by 11% but it is expected to come back to moderate growth from the end of 2017 due to a positive trend in the Russian economy. (Automotive statistics ltd,  2017a) Competition in the industry:   The electric car market in Russia is relatively small in comparison with many MEDC countries, however, it is predicted to grow. There are 1,100 electric cars in Russia but most of them presented only by a few dominant models: Nissan Leaf 508 units, Mitsubishi i-MiEV 271 units and Tesla Model-S 181 units. (Automotive statistics ltd,  2017b) As we can see there is a high concentration ratio in the Electric car market in Russia as 89% of the cars are from top three firms in the market and Tesla already one of this three companies with a market share of 19% which is still quite a high number considering the fact that they dont have their official dealership in Russia yet. Potential of new entrants: The decree which allows standard petrol stations to operate charges for electric cars was signed in autumn 2015 and took force on November 1, 2016. Russian charging infrastructure is expanding. PJSC Russian Grids already operates 130 charging stations across Russia and by the end of December 2017 this number expected to rise up to 2017 and up to 1000 by the end of 2018.(Eurasia network, 2017) As there is a constant growth in a number of charging stations in Russia it could stimulate demand for electric cars and make them even more attractive therefore attract new entrants into the market. There are not many potential companies who could offer an electric car of a similar quality as Tesla right now, however, there are many hybrid options out there which are potential rivals and could easily enter the market as entry barriers are getting lower and lower with more Government incentives being introduced and new charging stations being built. Also, there are some big companies who are already looking into expanding into Russian market as well, such as Renault-Nissan coalition which is now the leader of the global EV market. (Eurasia network, 2017) (Bertel Schmitt, 2017)   Power of suppliers: In our report, we are looking for a potential expansion of Tesla dealership centres and not manufacturing sites. Therefore the power of suppliers is not important as cars and all needed materials for its maintenance will be imported by existing supply routes like in many other cases where Tesla operates. Power of customers: When considering an expansion into a Russian market, Tesla should have a clear understanding of what are the trends in consumer incomes, availability of car loans and perspectives of consumer confidence. Within nine months of 2017, there were 66 Telsa cars sold in Russia which represents a 92% rise in comparison to previous year. (Russian automotive news, 2017a)   Demand is likely to rise further and Teslas potential client base could increase enormously due to an amendment to the tax code which is discussed in State Duma right now. The idea proposed is to exempt transport tax for electric vehicles from 2018 onwards. (Russian automotive news, 2017b) Bargaining power of buyers would be low, as Tesla in Russia would be considered as high-end product particularly due to a low average income in Russia (37500RUB=650USD) comparing to most western countries. (Trading economics,  2017) Also, Tesla is one of the most advanced electro cars in the global market, therefore there are not many potential substitutions to it in that market segment what makes it quite a unique product and allows Telsa to have some power over its existing and potential client base in nearest future. Threat of substitutes: The main substitutes for electric cars, of course, would be considered standard petrol vehicles or a market of used cars. Especially used car segment seems to be the most promising one in upcoming years due to the average length of car ownership declining thanks to the recovery from the recent economic crisis. (Invest in Russia, 2017a) Some may consider public transport such as trains, buses, public bicycles or even planes as an alternative to electric/petrol cars. However Michael E. Porter‟s definition of a substitute is: â€Å"A substitute performs the same or a similar function as an industry‟s product by a different means†. (Porter, 2008)   Therefore we can say that most of those wont be considered as substitutes because they are unable to fulfil such key passenger car features such as representing social status, providing comfort, immediate availability, independence of destination choice and flexible route change, what makes their substituting force pretty low. Nevertheless, a used car segment is more or less capable of performing most of the functions listed above. SWOT Analysis To conclude PEST and Porter’s Five Forces research we will use a SWOT analysis: (Invest in Russia , 2017b) Content: Al jazeera media network.  2014.  Chechnya, Russia and 20 years of conflict.  [Online].  Ã‚  Available from: http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2014/12/chechnya-russia-20-years-conflict-2014121161310580523.html [10 November 2017]. Automotive statistics ltd.  2017a.  The Russian car market in 2016 decreased by 11%.  [Online].  Available from: https://eng.autostat.ru/news/view/13836/ [21 November 2017]. Automotive statistics ltd.  2017b .  The number of electric vehicles has exceeded 1000 units in Russia.  [Online].Available from: http://eng.autostat.ru/news/view/14483/  [21 November 2017]. Bertel schmitt.  2017.  Who Is The Worlds Leading EV Maker? Its Not Tesla.  01 MAY 2017.  Forbes.  [Online].  Available from: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bertelschmitt/2017/05/01/who-is-the-worlds-leading-ev-marker-no-its-not-tesla/ [23 November 2017].   CIA. 2017a.  The World Factbook (geography). [ONLINE] Available from:  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2113.html#rs. [Accessed 9 November 2017]. CIA. 2017b.  The World Factbook (population). [ONLINE] Available from:  https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2119.html#rs. [Accessed 9 November 2017]. CIA.  2017c.  The World Bank in Russia (Background).  [Online].  Ã‚  Available from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2028.html#rs [10 November 2017]. CIA .  2017d.  The World Bank in Russia (Government Type).  [Online].  Ã‚  Available from: https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2128.html#rs [10 November 2017]. 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