Organisational Structure, Boundaries and Space Essay

Organisational Structure, Boundaries and Space - Essay Example The boundaries between home and work are blurring. Today, workers want more flexibility and mobility as compared to the previous years. The increase in the Web 2.0 tools at the workplaces is contributing to the erosion of boundaries between social and work life. The technological developments, web presence and the social media are considered as the major factors contributing to the blurring boundaries between work and home. Adnerson argues that difficulty in managing work-home balance is increasing divorce rate because when couple experiences difficulties in managing their roles, they start confusion over changing gender roles which create problems between them. Actually individuals have different roles which they perform in the society. In the context of an organisation, the roles of individuals at workplace and home are of special interest. Edwards, R. J. and Rothbard (2002) argue that a dramatic increase has been seen in the research devoted to study the association between work a nd family life and a number of linking mechanisms have been also suggested to explain the nature of the relationship between work and family roles of an individual. Organisations have adopted various mechanisms to reconfigure the work and home roles, so that employees could be better able to achieve the balance. Boundaries between work and home have become significantly important because of the changing work patterns and organisational behaviour. Greenhaus and Singh have highlighted few major links which are usually parallel to work-home boundaries. These conflicts include conflict, accommodation, enrichment, compensation and segmentation. Work-family conflict is the incompatibility between the work roles and home roles and it may be because of the pressures from either of the domain. Work-family accommodation as defined by Lambert (1990, cited in Greenhaus and Singh, 2003) is the process through which people try to reduce their participation in one role to fulfil the demands of the other role. Work-family compensation as defined by Lambert (1990) and Zedeck (1992, cited in Greenhaus and Singh, 2003) is the attempt to seek satisfaction from one role by offsetting the dissatisfaction in other role. Another mechanism that links work and home is the work-family enrichment, in which roles of ind ividuals in one role support the role of individuals in the other role. Finally work-home segmentation separates the roles of individuals at work and home and it advocates that integrating the roles can create conflicts. Therefore, work and home roles are strongly linked with each other. Managing boundaries have become important for the companies because organisations seek to achieve maximum employee productivity and it is only possible of employees play their role more effectively and efficiently. All individuals have transitions in their roles of home, work and other places and the transitions are the boundary-crossing activities where one performs roles and enters and exists (Ashforth, Kreiner and Fugate, 2000). Ashforth, Kreiner and Fugate have considered these roles to be arrayed on a continuum which spans from high segmentation to high integration. Actually, Ashfort and his colleagues have argued that roles can be broadly categorised into two major groups. When the segmentatio n between roles is significant, the boundaries blur and the magnitude of change increases, thereby, making the boundary crossing more difficult. On the other hand, when the roles integration is significant, t

Biological Influences and Sensory Adaptation Essay

Biological Influences and Sensory Adaptation - Essay Example The basic reason for the sensory adaptation is the change in the sensitivity of sensory receptors that takes place by the repetition of a stimulus of similar effectiveness. However, the sense of pain is the only exception. It can be explained by quoting various examples such as the adaptation of body on coming in contact with specific temperature changes. As long as the strength of the temperature stimulus is not extreme, human body adapts to it like scorching hot water, the human body becomes accommodating to such stimulus very quickly due to the occurrence of sensory adaptation in the sensory receptors embedded in the skin (Examples of Sensory Adaptation). Experiments The first of the three experiments performed, was to rub the index finger softly over a small piece of sandpaper repeatedly and then the coarseness of this sandpaper was to be rated on a scale of 1 to 7 depicting the increase in coarseness from 1 to 7. This initial rubbing resulted in rating the coarseness to a level of 7 showing extremely coarse. After a few minutes, the finger was rubbed again on the same paper and this time again it has to be rated on the same scale. Upon repeating the same procedure, it was found that the coarseness was found to be decreased by repetition and this time it was rated as 4. A considerable change in perception has resulted. This change in perceiving the coarseness resulted due to sensory adaptation that occurred within the sensory receptors of touch residing in the skin. The second practical demonstration involved taking two empty cups and then filling one cup with sugar solution while the other one with plain water. The sugar solution was then sipped up, swished within the mouth for a few seconds and then spat. With the passage of time the sensation of water solution sweetness was found to be declining and when the same procedure was repeated with plain water the taste was found to be obscure and surprisingly salty though no salt was added to it. To proceed fur ther, another experiment was performed employing three bowls of medium sizes.

Factors Affecting Pakistans Literacy Rate

Factors Affecting Pakistans Literacy Rate LITERATURE REVIEW: The literature review will help in identifying the previous work done in this subject area. It aims to explore the relationship among the different variables and their impact on literacy rate in Pakistan. It would further assist in defining these variables and analyze them according to the published work. Maurice Boissiere (2004) did a research on the determinants of primary education outcomes in developing countries. The research question for this paper is What determines the outcomes of education?According to this paper, In todays world, simply getting children into schools in not enough, governments must also ensure that children complete the primary cycle and attain the basic knowledge and skills needed for personal well-being and national development. Many studies have examined how total resources devoted to education or resources per student affect education outcomes. This paper identified five principal contributors to education effectiveness: Curriculum, learning materials, instructional time, teaching strategies and students learning capacity. According to this paper, education outcomes often are framed in terms of the supply-side factors, but demand-side factors are also important in determining education outcomes. Participation in school is regarded here as an input, and completing primary school with the acquisition of basic knowledge and skills is regarded as a desirable outcome. An important pattern is that the outcomes of primary education in poor countries are far below those of the rich countries. There is now much more known about the basic cognitive skills of literacy in rich and poor countries based upon the growing body of evidence from international and regional education assessments. The gap between the rich and the poor countries on these measures is large, and the distribution of this most basic form of human capital within the poor countries also seems to be more inequitable. Ronald G. Ridker (1997) did a research on the Determinants of Educational Achievement and Attainment in Africa. This paper presents an overview and discussion of nine studies that attempt to explain educational achievement, attainment, and participation in different African countries.Available information on school, household, child, and community characteristics are explored for this purpose. Four of the studies base their analyses on national sample surveys, the remainder on evidence from field investigations of specific interventions at the primary level. This overview discusses the significance, limitations, and policy and research implications of the findings. The studies speak to a variety of issues, such as the importance of socio-economic as opposed to school characteristics in determining educational outcomes, the effect of quality improvements on enrollment, textbooks versus class size, professional versus para-professional teachers, and the role of parent participation. Mo st of the interventions were found to have positive impacts. This overview finds that outcomes can differ significantly depending on the context and status of variables. According to this paper variable are interrelated with each other. They demonstrate that improvements in school quality can have indirect as well as direct effects on achievement, the indirect effects occurring because of the effect on participation (enrollment, attendance, and continuation),which in turn affects achievement. They demonstrate the important mediating effects that household characteristics such as income and parent education can have on educational outcomes in some circumstances. They demonstrate that these influences can be very different in different circumstances. Grant Johnston (2004) did the research on Adult literacy and economic growth. According to this paper, Sustained economic growth is a priority for the government. Investments in human capital are seen as making a key contribution to growth. This paper looks at whether an increase in the basic literacy skills of adults would have a positive effect on the New Zealand economy, through increased employment and workplace productivity. It contributes to a suite of research projects the Treasury is undertaking on specific contributions of human capital that is, the knowledge, skills, competencies and attributes embodied in individuals Literacy skills are among the most important generic cognitive skills. Literacy was once considered to be the ability to read and write: people who couldnt meet a very basic standard writing their own name, for example were considered illiterate. Contemporary definitions of literacy still include reading and writing, but take the concept a considerable step further and include a range of skills used in work, and at home, which are much broader than the term literacy at first suggests. Workbase, the New Zealand Centre for Workplace Literacy Development, considers that literacy covers not just reading and writing, but speaking, listening, creative thinking, problem solving and numeracy Bruce Fuller, Lucia Dellagnelo and Annelie Strath (1999) did the research on Early Literacy and The Influence of Family, Teacher and Classroom in northeast brazil. Firstly they tried to answer this question How Can Government Raise childrens Early Literacy?Governments throughout the world-whether in the industrialized North or the impoverished South-are searching for effective means of boosting the early literacy of young children. Policy makers may be aiming to raise their societys human capital stock and reduce inequalities inherent across schools. Whatever the motivation, policy makers and local educators are trying to identify investment strategies and local programs that will raise childrens basic literacy rate.what form of government investment raise literacy?. The study of school effectiveness in Third World settings is a field that dates back to the early 1970s, and it continues to mature. Over 120 sound empirical studies that attempt to isolate school or teacher attributes t hat raise the achievement of students have been conducted in diverse countries. According to the paper, the study of school effectiveness within the northeastern states of Bahia and Cearai focuses on three facets of school and teacher quality that may help to explain variability in childrens early literacy skills. These aspects of quality correspond to three policy strategies for raising the effectiveness of primary schools.First point is School infrastructure and instructional inputsformalize school facilities and enrich basic materials.second point is teacher selection and preparation policies-recruit more able teachers and strengthen preservice training and the third point is classroom policies-improving pedagogy and classroom organization. In this case, they also run basic regression model to take findings for how literacy scores are related to childrens own attributes, such as gender and age, and to features of their home environment. Atta Ur Rahman and Salah Uddin (2002) did the research On The Different Socioeconomic factors Affecting the Education of N-W.F.P (Pakistan).According to the case, Education is the basic need of human beings. It is also very important for the development of any country. Education is the responsibility of the state and government who should make every possible effort to provide it on an ever interesting and increasing scale in accordance with the national resources. The community should also realize its role in the development of education. Pakistan is one of the countries of the world where the highest number of illiterates are concentrated. Being illiterate is not only an individual disability, it also has societal implications. Democratic institutions and values can hardly flourish in a society where half of the adult population is illiterate, and most of the voters cannot access information or read newspapers. The situation is particularly alarming for women and those living in rur al areas. Illiteracy not only causes dependence, it deprives people of development of their fullest potential of participation in decision making at different levels, and ultimately rises to breed oppression and exploitation. A number of students in the urban and rural areas of N-W.F.P (Pakistan) and control group were collected to examine the various socio-economic factors which affect our education system. A logistic regression was applied to analyze the data. The response variable for the study is literate (illiterate) persons and the risk factors are Father literacy, Father income Parents attitude towards education, Mother literacy, Present examination system, Present education curriculum. In the conclusion of the paper, they investigated the factors which affect education in the model with one explanatory variable the main effect father education has a significant effect on education. The factor which affects our education is FE*PA, which means that the education of the child i s depend on the education of the father and attitude of parents. The other factor are FI*ME means that father income and mother education also affect the education of the child. The father income and parents attitude also affect the education of the child. Malik Ansab (2003) did the research on the Factors Affecting Literacy Rate in Pakistan. According to the case, multiple factors affect (both positively and negatively) the literacy rate in Pakistan. In Pakistan, allocations for education in general and for enhancement of literacy in particular, have, always been very low with, 2.3 % of GNP being the highest figure in 9th Plan (1998-2003). Allocations for literacy started with the non-plan period (1970-78) in which Rs. 2.3 million were allocated for literacy but actually only Rs. 5.00 million were spent. Rs. 12.5 million and Rs.8.5 millions, were respectively spent during the 7th and 8th plans periods for the first time. The message arising out of EFA 2000 Assessment noted that, Education is characterized by the need to make tough choices between competing options of nearly equal attractiveness. Public expenditure on primary education in any country has a direct bearing on the literacy rate of that country. In Pakistan, like most of t he developing countries, the traditional ascription of feminine and masculine standards of behavior, division of labor and family responsibilities have been the main barriers in achieving a female literacy rate equal to that of males. In the rural areas, the poor people send only their sons to school, and that too make great personal sacrifice, but female children are kept without schooling. The country has not been able to provide adequate opportunities for the girls to acquire education. As a result, the situation has not only hampered the overall process of national development, but has also adversely affected the management of the day-to-day affairs of women, like childcare/child rearing, economic participation and social mobility. Azmat (2003) did the research on factors affecting literacy in Pakistan. According to this paper,The trends in respect of male and female literacy from 1981 to 1998 for various provinces of Pakistan indicate that the male literacy rate in 1981 for Punjab has increased form 36.82 to 57.20 percent against a rise in the female literacy rate from 16.82 to 35.10 percent. in Pakistan the fertility rate is directly dependent on the level of education of mothers. In other words, the educational level of mothers influences family size. The illiterate women in high literacy regions have 4.74 children on an average, while literate and secondary school certificate holder women have 3.63 -3.24 children. This co-relation is quite significant and emphasizes the importance of literacy and schooling because some literature suggest that mere schooling of girls also affects fertility. they also run the regression analysis between fertility and literacy. the result of regression analysis is about both v ariables have strong correlation. Another important finding is Literacy is not only hampered by the low participation rate but a major problem is the retention of children who get admitted to primary schools. The survival rate up to grade 5 in Pakistan is only 49.7 while the repetition rate for each grade in the primary schools in Pakistan is about 15.74 %. The existence of a permanent infrastructure and an institutional set-up also contributes positively in enhancing the literacy rate in developing countries. One of the causes of Pakistans despairing situation in terms of literacy rate is, that adult literacy and non-formal basic education have not been institutionalized. After Balochistan, only Punjab has recently started to shape literacy and mass education in an institutional form. Punjab has constituted the Punjab Commission for Literacy and EFA, but it is still in its infancy. Michael Kremer (2005) did the research on Schools, Teachers, and Education Outcomes in Developing Countries.Eight out of 10 of the worlds children live in developing countries (World Bank, 2003).For economists working on education, the study of developing countries offers both policy questions of fundamental importance and a rich set of experiences to examine.The important policy questions stem from the potential role of education in improving the welfare of the 5 billion people living in developing countries. Many macroeconomists have emphasized the impact of education on economic growth. The rich set of experiences worth examining includes wide variation in input levels and education systems across developing countries and, in recent years, dramatic policy changes and reforms in many developing countries. In addition, in the last 10 years randomized evaluations of education policies (which are rare in developed countries) have been undertaken in several developing countries. All of this makes the study of education in developing countries a potentially fruitful area of research. There are many differences between the education systems of developed and developing countries, so this section provides basic information on education in developing countries. Imran Sharif Chaudhry and Saeed ur Rahman (2009) did the research on The Impact of Gender Inequality on Education in Pakistan.this paper run regression analysis on primary data sets. Gender refers to socially constructed roles and responsibilities of women and men. The difference in roles and responsibilities among women and men stems from our families, societies and culture. The concept of gender includes our expectations about the characteristics, attitudes and behaviors of women and men, and is vital in facilitating gender analysis. The different roles, rights and resources that both the genders have in society are important determinants of the nature and scope of their inequality and poverty. Inequality in access to resources between women and men is most common in poor and developing countriesThe status of women in Pakistan is somehow different from that of western countries. Gender is one of the organizing principles of Pakistans society. Home has been defined as a women legitimate ideological and physical space where she performs her procreative role as a mother and wife while a man dominates the world outside the home and performs his productive role as a breadwinner. Men and women are conceptually divided into two separate worlds. The household resources are allocated in the favour of sons due to their productive role. Male members of the family are given better education and are equipped with skills to compete for resources in public arena. Education is the most important instrument for human resource development. It has become a universal human right and an important component of opportunities and empowerment of women. A large number of empirical studies find that increase in womens education boosts their wages and that returns to education for women are frequently larger than that of men. There are many empirical evidences that, increase in female education improves human development outcomes such as child survival, health and schooling explored that lower female education had a negative impact on economic growth as it lowered the average level of human capital. According to Knowles etal (2002), in developing countries female education reduces fertility, infant mortality and increases childrens education. Gender inequality in education directly and significantly affects economic growth. Chaudhry(2007) investigated the impact of gender inequality in education on economic growth in Pakistan. The secondary source of time series data drawn from various issues has been used. In his regression analysis, he estima ted a set of regressions which shows a moderate explanatory power. The variables,overall literacy rate, enrolment ratio, ratio of literate female to male have positive and significant impact on economic growth. Dr.Zahid Asghar, Nazia Attique and Amena Urooj (2000) did the research on Measuring impact of education and socio-economic factors on Health for Pakistan. It is a common understanding that people with higher level of education lead a more healthy life due to their enhanced level of awareness compared to the less educated individuals. Two important prerequisites for an effective health policy are; monitoring and forecasting the populations health and its health determinants. Health of any individual or that of a society or community is not dependent on a particular single factor. Education affects health not because of the knowledge and practices one can learn at school, but rather it shapes individuals life and can alter the characteristics of an individual to be healthier. Measurement of health is an abstract concept and health itself is affected by a number of factors. This study aims at exploring whether there is any relation in education, gender, and health for Pakistan. Exploratory data analysis and ordinal logistic regression are used here to assess relationship between health, education and other socio-economic factors. It is evident that individuals with higher education level tend to have better health status than a person with lower levels of education. There is also evidence of gender being an important determinant of health in Pakistan. This study provides a useful piece of information for the policy makers in health and education sectors. The data used in this study was collected by Pakistan and Medical Research Council under National Health Survey of Pakistan.

On Trying To Understand The Universe and Life :: Biology Essays Research Papers

On Trying To Understand The Universe and Life I sat there in awe. I was in awe at the man's genius. I was in awe of his life. It could be described by no less than miraculous. I was especially shocked at the way the narrator of the movie, A Brief History of Time, related the discovery of his illness. He explained, "The doctors told him that he had about two and a half years to live and only his heart, his lungs, and his brain would eventually remain functional while everything else in his body would turn into a cabbage"(1) The words echoed through my mind, "Only his heart, his lungs, and his brain...". It seemed a terrifying condition to befall a youth in his early twenties. But amazingly, as the story went on, I soon found out that for him, the beginning of his illness marked a turning point from which his life truly begun. And I was at awe at God. Simply at awe. His name is Stephen Hawking. He is considered to be one of the greatest minds of Science. He was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, ALS, in 1962. He is still alive. He describes his philosophy in life prior to his diagnose in these terms, "My attitude was that nothing was worth an effort"(2) In the movie about his book, A Brief History of Time, it is explained how this philosophy was evident in his scholastic work where, in spite of his genius, he merely maintained an average standing as a student. Besides his diagnosed condition, the movie also points to another factor which reshaped his philosophy and outlook on life. He found love in the heart of a woman, Jane Wilde, who testified, "Without my faith in God, I wouldn't have been able to live in this situation(her husband's condition); I would not have been able to marry Stephen in the first place because I wouldn't have had the optimism to carry me through and I wouldn't have been able to carry on with it"(3) With these two events, things for stephen began to matter and he began to find meaning in putting forth the effort. His accomplishments, exemplified in a Brief History of Time, certainly testify to that. As the story unravels, he not only lived past two and a half years, he lived. He wrote, he studied, he taught, he questioned as his condition progressed; and still he lives.

Demographics and Culture of Brazil Essay

Brazil is currently enjoying the number 5 spot as far as big populations in the world are concerned with 190,010,647 people recorded as of August 16, 2007 (C.I.A., 2007, par. 7). Documents show that the population has grown steadily in the years with only 85,240,000 Brazilians in 1967 to 141,452,000 in 1987 (Lahmeyer, 2003, p. 1). This clearly illustrates that in just forty years, the population of Brazil has already doubled its number of natives.   With a land area of 8,456,510 square kilometers, Brazil has around 58.2 people per square mile. It was estimated by the Population Reference Bureau that 81% of the population lived in urban areas in 2001, up from 66% in 1980 (Brazil Population, 2007, par. 2). The following are more details on the current population of Brazil: Population growth rate:  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1.008% (2007 est.) Birth rate:  Ã‚  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   16.3 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) Death rate:  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   6.19 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) Sex ratio:  Ã‚     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   at birth: 1  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   .05 male(s)/female under 15 years:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   0.983 male(s)/female 65 years and over:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   0.697 male(s)/female total population:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   0.976 male(s)/female (2007 est.) Age structure:  Ã‚   0-14 years:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   25.3% (male 24,554,254/female 23,613,027) 15-64 years:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   68.4% (male 64,437,140/female 65,523,447) 65 years and over:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   6.3% (male 4,880,562/female 7,002,217) (2007 est.) Median age:  Ã‚   total:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   28.6 years male:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   27.9 years female:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   29.4 years (2007 est.) *Source: C.I.A. The World Fact Book 2007 Brazil’s culture is very much influenced by their Portuguese invaders who have ruled the lands for three centuries.   It was only in 1822 when Brazil finally became a nation. Although Brazil is a democratic country, education, health, safety (physical and juridical) are deficient in Brazil (Brazil Travel, n.d., par. 1). Brazil is the leading economic power and regional leader in South America yet uneven distribution of income is a pressing problem (C.I.A.).   Its economic strength is dependent on its mining, agricultural and manufacturing industries. One of Brazil’s cultural attractions is the Carnaval or Mar de Gras which is annually celebrated at Rio de Janeiro.   The origins of this celebration dates back to the ancient Greek festival in honor of Dionysus which the Romans soon adopted for the Roman God Bacchus as the feast of Saturnalia (World Music Productions, 2007, par. 1).   Back then they celebrated it by making slaves and their masters exchange clothes while drinking wine for the whole day. Saturnalia was converted by Roman Catholics into a festival leading up to Ash Wednesday or before the 40 days of sacrifices prior to Easter.   It became known as Carne Vale which literally means farewell to the flesh and is a fiesta filled with every known sin the Brazilians could think of.   Carnaval, as spelled in Portuguese, is a 4-day celebration. It starts on Saturday, and ends on Fat Tuesday, or Mardi-Gras. (All About Rio, 2007, par. 1). One of the major issues that had put a spotlight on Brazil in the recent years is regarding its environment.   The very rich Amazon forest is the habitat of many endangered species and it plays a major role in the weather cycle of the world.   If it continues to be cut down, global warming will greatly be affected because the Amazon Forest is one of the world’s best source of rain.   Other problems include illegal wildlife trade, air and water pollution in Rio de Janeiro, Sao Paulo and other cities, improper mining activities, wetland degradation and severe oil spills (C.I.A., par. 7). References All About Rio. (2007). Ipanema.com. Retrieved August 31, 2007 from http://www.ipanema.com/ carnival/ Brazil Population. (2007). Brazil Population. Retrieved August 31, 2007 from http://www. nationsencyclopedia.com/Americas/Brazil.html C.I.A. (2007). The World Fact Book. Retrieved August 31, 2007 from https://www.cia.gov/ library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/br.html#Intro Lahmeyer, J. (2003). Brazil. Retrieved August 31, 2007 from http://www.populstat.info/ Americas/brazilc.htm World Music Productions. (2007). History of Carnival in Brazil. Retrieved August 31, 2007   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   from http://www.afropop.org/multi/feature/ID/33/

Language Learning & Teaching

‘Mother tongue’, ‘first language’, or ‘L1’ is the language that the child usually learns first by the process of interacting with the parents, family members and the society.   This language is usually not acquired by the process of formal education.   It is passed on from one generation to another by the process of interaction and communication.   It is important to know that the first language of the individual need not always be the dominant language.   For example, if the family relocates from one place to another, then there would automatically be a shift in the dominant language of the child, as the language for social communication would also change.   Suppose a child has very good skills at learning the first language, automatically the skills for learning the second language would be good, as it suggests various cognitive functions required for learning the language (such as thinking, memory, etc).   On the other hand, if th e child develops poor skills at learning the first language, automatically he/she would find it difficult to learn the second language and even others (Clark, 2000).‘Second language’ or ‘L2’ is a language that is different from the first language and is usually acquired by the process of formal education in school.   Usually, the second language is a language other than the first language or the mother tongue.   As in several parts of the world, a greater amount of importance is given to English, which has been the basis for international communication. A lot of research is being conducted to determine the manner in which the second language could be acquired, learnt and retained.   In some parts of the world, the second language is beginning to dominate the first language.   This is because of the greater amount of use of the second language in international communication, corporate sector and as a medium of instruction.   The term second languag e was given as it initially suggested the level of comprehension, understanding and the fluency of an individual with that particular language in comparison with the first language (Clark, 2000 & Ellis, 1994).  Hylenstam (1992) conducted a lot of research to determine the manner in which the second language and the first language skills were acquired and retained.  He found that after the age of 7 years, the child often found it difficult to learn a second language and obtain the skills required as good as that of the first language.   The individual frequently demonstrated a lot of grammatical errors whilst using the second language, after it was acquired following the age of 7 years (Clark, 2000).   However, research conducted by Hylenstam and Abrahamsson (2003) also found that that there was no exact cut-off period at which an individual would find it difficult to learn the second language, and term it as good as the first language.   Even during adulthood, the second l anguage skills could be acquired as good as before the age of 7 provided the individual made an effort and was motivated to learn and acquire the second language (Clark, 2000).Usually, in each and every nation of the world, the child would be learning two languages.   The United States is one of the few nations in which the children would be usually learning one language that is English.   According to Cummins, learning a second language did not affect the development of the child.   However, social interactions helped in development.   Studies based on cognitive functioning and learning abilities have demonstrated that during the phase of mental growth and development, there was no negative effect if the child learnt one language or two.   Children were able to learn a second language easily and utilise it in the same manner as the first language for communication, questioning, thinking and socialising.   All the knowledge gained from the first language could easily be transferred and utilised in the second language by the child (Clark, 2000 & Ellis, 1994).Children cannot learn a second language within a definite period of time.   Strong evidence is currently not available to suggest that children can learn a second language within a short period of time.   Evidence is also currently not available to demonstrate that children would be learning a second language faster than the adults (Clark, 2000 & Ellis, 1994).During the process of learning a second language, the child may experience several problems including improper pronunciation, not able to use grammar appropriately or poor comprehending capability.   It is important to note that several factors such as environmental, learning facilities, educational, ability to socialise, age, sex, motivation, personality type etc, play an important role in the second language development of the child.   It is for this reason that some children learn second language faster, whilst others take a long er time (Clark, 2000 & Ellis, 1994).One of the important factors that need to be considered for acquiring a second language is the age of learning.   This plays an important role compared to several other factors including motivation, cultural circumstances, opportunities etc.   The child should also get a positive response from others whilst learning the second language.   In the native home, some children may find it difficult to learn a second language.   Children whilst learning the first and the second language usually have similar attitudes.   In learning the first language, the child would usually do so at a younger age, and hence the complications and the fear of making mistakes are lesser.   The second language learning age is usually higher than the first language, and hence the complications and the fear of making mistakes are usually present.   Children tend to use the native pattern of pronouncing words (Clark, 2000 & Ellis, 1994).In 1995, Collier was able to demonstrate that even adolescents and adults had some amount of competence in learning a second language.   Children do have the cognitive competence of learning languages and this would enable them to learn and retain a language better than an adult.   A few researchers have contradicting views about the second language learning.   They feel that once a second language is learnt within a very short period of time and at a very young age, then the skills initially acquired of the first language is lost (Bialystok & Hakuta, 1994).   Some of these researchers hence feel that the second language should not be introduced at a very young age to children and hence both the first and the second language need to be imparted (McLaughlin, 1973).Once the first or the second language is learnt, the outcome is usually different.   For example, once the first language is learnt, due to the interactions between the society, parents and family, the fluency and the comprehension improv es compared to the second language.   It may be equally difficult for learning either the first language or the second language, but the role of variables is even greater for the second language (Clark, 2000 & Ellis, 1994).For learning the first and the second language, it is very important that an environment conducive for learning exists.   Communication between the parents, family, friends and society is very important.   The cognitive ability can be developed and the language skills could be improved through positive interactions in the language.   The child should be allowed to express themselves freely with the parents.   The language learning process should be enabled through positive interactions between the parents and the child.   The existent language base and real-life situations play an important role.   The child should be able to use the language at the school, home or in social settings.   The child should be able to use and develop both the languages equally.   For example, some children may not be able to use the second language at home due to inability of the family members to understand it.Besides, some children may also find it difficult to use the first language in school, as they may have another language as a medium of instruction.   This may hamper the learning process.   It is important that the child uses the languages in many instances as possible so as to develop the skill and the knowledge required.   Whilst learning the first and the second language, formal education would only be playing a passive role.   The main ingredient for the success at developing skill in a new language is positive interactions and usage of that language (Clark, 2000 & Ellis, 1994).Some children may find learning a second language a very tedious task.   Especially those children, who have problems in learning the first language, often develop similar problems in learning the second language.   For learning the language, such problems frequently develop as it is very important that the child develops strong relationships with the parents so that such problems can overcome patiently and gradually.   The use of the second language at home should in no manner affect the cognitive development and the learning process.New experiences with the second language and the use of new ideas would definitely help in improving the cognitive processes.   It is frequently seen that once the cognitive development has occurred with the first language, the same skills could be utilized in attaining the skills required for the second language.   Frequently, children who have developed tremendous skills with the first language (due to the cognitive advancement) may find it very easy to learn a second language.   Studies have even demonstrated that children able to excel in the first language may do equally well with the second language (Clark, 2000 & Ellis, 1994).Reading is another area in which the child should deve lop a habit in order to gain competence of the second language.   It helps to improve comprehension, understanding, thinking, flow of ideas, creative expressions, memory etc.   Usually, the first language is learnt through day-to-day communication and the second language is learnt through reading.   However, both communication and constant reading are required to develop skills in learning the language.Thus it can be said that development of the first language would in fact supplement the learning of the second language.   Positive interactions with family, parents, friends and society would help in developing skills with the second language.   Besides, reading would also aid in language development.   The manner in which the first and the second language is learnt is much similar to one another.   It need not always be that the first language dominates the second language.   The dominating language usually depends on the culture the child is exposed to.   In child ren below the age of 7 years, the process of learning the second language is much easier. In adults and adolescents, motivation plays a very important role in second language acquisition.References:Clark, B.A. (2000), First- and Second-Language Acquisition in Early Childhood. [Online], Available: http://ceep.crc.uiuc.edu/pubs/katzsym/clark-b.html, [Accessed: 2007, December 31].Ellis (1994). Differences between L1 and L2 acquisition. [Online], Available: http://homepage.ntlworld.com/vivian.c/SLA/L1%20and%20L2.htm, [Accessed: 2007, December 31].Klein, W., & Jankowski, B. (1986), Second Language Acquisition, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.NWREL (2003). Overview of Second Language Acquisition Theory. [Online], Available: http://www.nwrel.org/request/2003may/overview.html, [Accessed: 2007, December 31].