Pay Roll System Project Proposal Computer Science Essay

Pay Roll System Project Proposal Computer Science Essay Visual Basic was one of the first languages along with Paradox and Dbase designed to take advantage of GUI interfaces with visual programming in mind. We can build the menus, forms and reports of a program by visual drag and drop operations. Then complete the coding by filling in the skeleton programs developed during prototyping of the programs interface. Coding VB pioneered the use of standard 3rd party components such as VBX and now ActiveX. 6 8.2 Java 6 1 TITLE Payroll system 2 CUSTOMER SMITH News Agent, Watford. 3 BACKGROUND/OVERVIEW In Smith news agent, they are doing paper work calculation for employees monthly salary. And they are maintaining all employees details and salary details in paper works. They have to keep all details for long time for shop purpose. It takes long time to do all employees salary calculation. To solve the entire problem I decide to develop a system for payroll. All data are going to store in a database and all calculation is going to calculate by system. 4 MAIN FUNCTIONS OF THE SYSTEM In the system, Manager or Assistant Manager can login as an administrator. They can add employee details like First Name, Last Name, Address, Phone No, NI number, Bank Details, Tax Code, etc. For salary calculation they can enter employees working hours for that month. If they want they can add bonus also. Automatically the system will calculate the salary and it will generate the reports. Administrator can view and print the reports and details and if they want they can delete the employees details. 5 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM In Tax Code, there are two type of Tax Code in using. Those are: 5.1 Tax Codes end with a letter This Tax Code is made up of several numbers and a letter. This type of Tax Code is called Suffix codes. For example: 647L, 375K, etc (paypershop, nd). 5.2 Other Tax Codes This Tax Code has two letters. There is no Number or is the letter D followed by a Zero For example: BR, D0, and NT (direct, nd). In payment type, they are paying regular hours, bank holiday hours and holiday hours. They are not paying for sick hours. 6 SOLUTIONS FOR PROBLEM STATEMENT For Tax Code problem, I am going to use second type of Tax Code method (Other Tax Codes). For payment type problem, I am going to add a column called Pay Type. When they enter working hours they can select what type of working hours. For example: REG Regular BH Bank Holiday SICK Sickness Hours 7 AIMS AND OBJECTIVES 7.1 AIMS The main aim of the project is to develop a system to store employees all details and working hours. The system has to calculate the payment and tax. The system also generates the reports. 7.2 OBJECTIVES To understand the current system I went to Smith news agent (my customer) store and met the manager. I collected the details about how they are doing current salary calculation and how they are keeping are records. It is unstructured interviews. To study a similar system I went to Dowson house hotel and met the manager. I got some details about how their current system working, how they are calculating the payment and tax and how they are storing their employees detail. To study about Unified Modelling Language(UML) It is help to create the logical design of the System. For e.g. Activity diagram, Use case diagram, Class diagram. To study about programming languages Java, Visual Basic.Net To study database applications Oracle, Mysql Design the system Testing and implementation Test the system and make sure it works according to the customers requirements, which includes verification and validation. Install the developed system in store. And train the manager and assistant manager. Get feedback from the manager and assistant manager. Make any change if they want changes or new features. 8 Literature review 8.1 Visual Basic.Net Visual Basic was one of the first languages along with Paradox and Dbase designed to take advantage of GUI interfaces with visual programming in mind. We can build the menus, forms and reports of a program by visual drag and drop operations. Then complete the coding by filling in the skeleton programs developed during prototyping of the programs interface. Coding VB pioneered the use of standard 3rd party components such as VBX and now ActiveX. Now, VB.NET has many new and improved language features. The .NET framework comes with ADO.NET, which follows the disconnected paradigm, i.e. once the required records are fetched the connection no longer exists. Error handling has changed in VB.NET. A new Try-Catch-Finally block has been introduced to handle errors and exceptions as a unit, allowing appropriate action to be taken at the place the error occurred thus discouraging the use of ON ERROR GOTO statement. Security has become more robust in VB.NET. In addition to the role-based security in VB6, VB.NET comes with a new security model, Code Access security (David, Chittibabu 2004). 8.2 Java Java was designed to be easy to use. Therefore it is easy to write, compile, debug, and learn than other programming languages. Java is object-oriented because programming in Java is cantered on creating objects, manipulating objects, and making objects work together. This allows you to create modular programs and reusable code. One of the most significant advantages of Java is its ability to move easily from one computer system to another. The ability to run the same program on many different systems is crucial to World Wide Web software, and Java succeeds at this by being platform-independent at both the source and binary levels. Java is one of the first programming languages to consider security as part of its design. The Java language, compiler, interpreter, and runtime environment were each developed with security in mind. In Java, multithreaded programming has been smoothly integrated into it, while in other languages, operating system-specific procedures have to be called in order to enable multithreading. Multithreading is a necessity in visual and network programming (Herbert 2007). 8.3 My Front End GUI After a lot of research I was decided to use VB.Net for my front end GUI. There are some good features in VB.Net. For example, we can build the menus, forms and reports of a program by visual drag and drop operations. Then we have to complete the coding. Like these there are lot of features. Why I did not chose the java? There are lot drawbacks. Java language programs runs on a virtual machine. Therefore it runs slowly and it takes more memory-consuming. In java, No separation of specification from implementation and No preconditions and post conditions. And Exceptions not caught within a method must be declared as thrown by that method. The default look and feel of GUI applications written in Java using the Swing toolkit is very different from native applications. 8.4 ORACLE (PL/SQL) Oracle is the No 1 database and has the most advanced feature set. Oracle is made up of a set of processes running in our operating system. Oracle database system has the following properties: Atomicity: That is Results of a transactions execution are either all committed or all rolled back. Consistency: The database is transformed from one valid state to another valid state. Illegal transactions arent allowed and, if an integrity constraint cant be satisfied then the transaction is rolled back. Isolation: The results of a transaction are invisible to other transactions until the transaction is complete thus increasing the security on data. Durability: Once committed (completed), the results of a transaction are permanent and survive future system and media failures and thus ensuring maintenance and protection of data (Steven, Bill 2005). We are using PL/SQL (procedural SQL) language to use the Oracle. With PL/SQL, we can use SQL statements to manipulate Oracle data and flow-of-control statements to process the data. Moreover, we can declare constants and variables, define procedures and functions, and trap runtime errors. PL/SQL is a block-structured language. A PL/SQL block has three parts: a declarative part, an executable part, and an exception-handling part (In PL/SQL, a warning or error condition is called an exception). 8.5 MySQL MySQL is open source Relational DataBase Management System (RDBMS). It is using Structured Query Language (SQL). The Mysql has lot of advantages. It is available on many different operating systems. We can use in different platform. It is free to use for personal, private, or development use. It is using Indexes like primary key index and unique index to avoid duplicate row data. We have the opportunity to optimize searching against even large amounts of text located in any field indexed as such. 8.6 My Back End I decided to use Oracle (PL/SQL) to use back end. In oracle, lot of advantages are there. PL/SQL makes it easy to detect and process predefined and user-defined error conditions called exceptions. Anonymous PL/SQL blocks can be embedded in an Oracle Pre-compiler. And one of the main advantages is recent version (10g) oracle has the concept of Flashback technology. Flashback provides an Efficient recovery from human errors Faster database recovery Helps in simplifying the management and administration processes Why I was rejected the MySQL? There are some drawbacks. The indexes take up disk space. Normally the space usage is not significant, but because of creating index on every column in every possible combination, the index file would grow much more quickly than the data file. In the case when a table is of large table size, the index file could reach the operating systems maximum file size. The indexes slow down the speed of writing queries, such as INSERT, UPDATE and DELETE. Because MySQL has to internally maintain the pointers to the inserted rows in the actual data file.

Applied Linguistics Essay

Second language learning has always become an important work-field both in schools and other private sectors dealing with language teaching and learning process especially in the time of global integration. It is a complex activity involving a mix of internal factors such as age, aptitude, motivation, personality, or learning strategies†¦and external factors such as socio-economic and cultural background, learning and teaching contexts†¦ All these factors play a very important role in learners? success in acquiring and using a second language. Thus, learners’ second language achievement can be greatly improved when teachers have a better understanding of the learner, of the learning process and of the variables that may help or hinder learner’s language achievement. Because of the limited size of this article, I am going to discuss some of the most important factors affecting learner’s second language achievement: motivation, age, personality, social and cultural factor in order to analyze what stimulates successful language learning and what places obstacles in the learner’ s path to language proficiency. II. DEVELOPMENT II. 1. Some factors affecting learner’s L2 achievement II. 1. 1. Internal factors II. 1. 1. 1. Motivation It is undeniable that motivation is one of the major factors in deciding the learner’s failure or success in second language achievement. Motivation is a kind of desire for learning. It is very difficult to teach a second language in a learning environment if the learner does not have a desire to learn a language. Reece & Walker (1997) stress that a less able student who is highly motivated can achieve greater success than the more intelligent student who is not well motivated. In this article, we are concerned with motivation related to foreign language teaching and learning. Wilkins (1972) points out that â€Å"motivation is not a general covert term for possibly distinct concept such as energy, interest and enjoyment, but instead, restricted to the degree of willingness to learn which depends largely on the learner’s needs in learning the language. Psychologists have distinguished two major types of motivation which play an important role in determining how willing the learner is to persevere with the task: instrumental and integrative motivation The first motivation will be discussed is instrumental motivation. It is generally characterized by the desire to obtain something practical or concrete from the study of a second language (Hudson 2000). With instrumental motivation, the purpose of language acquisition is more utilitarian, such as meeting the requirements for school or university graduation, applying for a job, requesting higher pay based on language ability, reading technical material, translation work or achieving higher social status. Instrumental motivation is often characteristic of second language acquisition, where little or no social integration of the learner into a community using the target language takes place. According to Richards (1976) simply learning a language to acquire course credits, or to carry out a limited range of tasks that do not involve the learner in close face – to – face interaction ( for example a person learning enough English to sell souvenirs to tourists does not generally lead to a high degree of accomplishment in learning). However, in recent years, according to Brown (1977), he stated that Indian English is one example of a variety of English which can be acquired very successful for instrumental reasons alone. Another motivation will be taken into consideration is integrative motivation. According to Gardner and Lambert (1959), this kind of motivation means learning a language because the learner wishes to identify himself with or become integrated in the society whose language it is. It has generally been thought that integrative motivation is the more powerful of the two because it implies a desire to integrate with speakers of the target language. Instrumentally oriented students would be expected to acquire the second language only to the point where their instrumented goals were satisfied. It is likely that when the learner merely wanted to be able to buy food and take public transportation he could achieve those goals with a very low level of proficiency in the second language and if the learner had to use the target language in his professional life, his level of learning would be much higher. Learners with integrative motivation view the language as a key to social and cultural enrichment through the opportunities to provide for association with members of a different culture. Then their goal in learning the language is to be able to use the language as a means of  communication and also for acceptance by the people who speak the language. Such motivation often leads to high accomplishment. In settings such as Vietnam, learners who learn English for special purposes have a great deal of instrumental motivation to acquire English in order to be able to be applied for a good job with a high salary. They learn English very fast just because they want to communicate orally, in a very simple English with other speakers of English. In Vietnam, English is a compulsory subjects so almost all of students learn English just to pass the exam. Thus, the type of language learned namely forms as mainly for communicative use will be directly affected by the type of examination students need to pass. As a result, it is likely that learners will not achieve a high standard of English. II. 1. 1. 2. Language aptitude As has been discussed in the previous section, success in mastering a foreign language depends very much on the learner’s motivation. Beside the motivation factor, social psychologists have also found out that whether a student can learn a foreign language very successfully or not also depends on his language aptitude. This section is an attempt to discuss an intrinsic factor influencing foreign language learning that is language aptitude. Aptitude for language learning is usually composed of four different types of abilities: the ability to identify and memorize new sounds, the ability to understand the function of particular words in sentences, the ability to figure out grammatical rules from language samples, the ability to memorize new words. Many tests of language aptitude have proven extremely effective in predicting which learners will be successful in learning. However, considerable controversy remains about whether language aptitude is properly regarded as a unitary concept, an organic property of the brain, or as a complex of factors including motivation and short-term memory. Research has generally shown that language aptitude is quite distinct from general aptitude or intelligence, as measured by various tests, and is itself fairly consistently measurable by different tests. Language aptitude research is often criticized for being irrelevant to the problems of language learners, who must attempt to learn a language regardless of whether they are gifted for the task or not. This claim is reinforced by research findings that aptitude is largely unchangeable. In addition, traditional language aptitude measures such as the Modern Language Aptitude Test strongly favor decontextualized knowledge of the sort used in taking tests, rather than the sort used in conversation. For this reason little research is carried out on aptitude today. However, operators of selective language programs such as the United States Defense Language Institute continue to use language aptitude testing as part of applicant screening. In my opinion, as a teacher of English, aptitude plays an important role in learner’s language achievement. How is it that some people can learn a foreign language quickly while others, given the same opportunity experience utter failure? Does this depend on how language is taught? Partly this is true as when the teacher is equipped with a better language teaching method, his students can learn faster. But partly it is not true as in the same group there always exists fast and slow learners. Another answer to the question is the problem of â€Å"motivation† but not all students with the same motivation can have the same accomplishment. Another possible answer to the question is that some people have language aptitude while others do not. II. 1. 1. 3. Learner’s age The previous section dealt with the learner’s language aptitude, a factor that influences language acquisition a great deal. This section will take into consideration another factor – age which has received a number of opinions so far. In the past few decades, the comparisons among child, adolescent and adult learners have been made by many researchers, and the different findings as well as explanations have been reported. Traditionally, research in Critical Period Hypothesis and other variables has derived two major aspects of language learning–the younger = the better and the older = the better. However, recently the scholars in the fields of linguistics, psychology and psycholinguistics have reported their study or experiment results continually, resulting in completely different points of view so the argument for or against the Critical Period Hypothesis has never stopped. The question of how developmental stages interact with individual learning differences is still a question of great debate. Is there an optimal age, a critical period or a sensitive period? How does the age factor affect the development of linguistic abilities? Are adults really inferior to children and even to adolescents? There exists a belief that younger learners have certain advantages over older learners in language learning. According to Ellis in 2008; Larsen-Freeman in 2008; Mayberry & Lock in 2003, Robert Dekeyser in 2000, younger children learn L2 easily and quickly in comparison to older children. Larsen-Freeman & Long in 2008 also suggest that there is a period of time, between birth and somewhere around the age when a child enters puberty, exists in which the learning a second language can be accomplished more rapidly and easily than times falling outside of this period (i. e. post puberty). This is because children are in the most flexible condition learning a foreign language. This stage might be strongly impressed on their brain, which can stimulate nervous function system, and the further learning can help them to form language habit and competency easi1y. however Researchers also disagree with withdrawing home language support too soon and suggest that although oral communication skills in a second language may be acquired within 2 or 3 years, it may take 4 to 6 years to acquire the level of proficiency needed for understanding the language in its academic uses (Collier, 1989; Cummins, 1981). So children who are taught L2 intensively too early will damage their L1 acquisition. Another belief reported by Johnson and Newport, Dekeyser, Asher and Price, Politzer and Weiss, Olson and Samuel, Lightbown and Spada (2008) that older learners have a higher level of problem solving and metalinguistics abilities than younger learners.. The young learners are considered fluent in communication of the second language and achieve native like accent. Learners after the age of puberty do not acquire native like accent of a second language but have complex learning pattern. Research suggests that children and adults L2 learners pass through different developmental states in second language learning. Learning depends on the cognitive maturity and neurological factors. Adults’ cerebra nerve network has come into being completely, and their thinking habits have become mature in this period. They can deal with complicated language form and contents easily, because their meta-language consciousnesses, common sense and literary knowledge are better than children. In general, age is important but not everything in second language learning. There are some factors related to the age, for example the learning opportunities, the motivation to learn, individual differences, and learning styles, are also important determining variables that affect the rate of second language learning in various developmental stages of the learners. II. 1. 1. 4. Learner’s personality We have mentioned some important factors influencing learner’s second language achievement such as motivation, language aptitude and age. In this section we continues with some specific personality factors in human behavior in relation to second language acquisition. The psychological factors to be discussed here are self-esteem, inhibition, extroversion/ introversion. Self –esteem is the degree of value, a worthiness which an individual ascribes to himself. According to Schuman in 1978 and Brown in 1980, there are three kinds of self- esteem: global, specific and task self – esteem. How is self –esteem related to second language acquisition? Brown (1980) states that specific self- esteem might refer to second language acquisition in general but task- esteem might approximately refer to one’s self-evaluation of a particular aspect of the language process: speaking, writing†¦ A study by Adelaide Heyde (1979) revealed that all three aspects of self-esteem correlated positively with performance in oral production and student with high self –esteem actually performed better in the foreign language. Inhibition – sets of defences built to protect the ego, a concept closely related to self-esteem and of course has to be considered by teachers. Language learners, children or adults, make progress by learning from making mistakes but at the same time, making mistakes can be viewed as a threat to one’s ego. As a result, the learner tends to build a certain degree of defence to protect himself. Guiora et al†¦ (1972a) produced one of the few studies in inhibition in relation to second language learning, and the experiments have been high-lighted a possibility that the inhibition, the defence which we place between ourselves and others can prevent us from communicating in a foreign language. . Another factor which also needs some examination is extraversion and introversion. Language teachers often assume that the extraverts are better language learner than introverts. In a language class, the teacher tends to prefer to have more students with an outgoing and talkative personality. At an early stage, extroverts seem to speak the language better than the introverts, but this does not mean that the proficiency of a more introverted student will be lower. This depends very much on the goal of learning. It can be argued that the reserved learner may be very quiet but he can be a good language learner in the sense that he is good in aural and reading comprehension even though he cannot speak. Thus, it is not clear then that extraversion or introversion helps or hinders the process of second language acquisition and it is hard to say which is ideal for language learning. II. 1. 2. External factors The previous section examined some aspects of internal factors. This section accounts for some equally important external factors which also affect learner’s second language achievement. As language teachers we are faced with factors such as the social context of learning, the cultural differences between two language involved. The learning environment of the educational context and the teaching method being used. Most of these are largely beyond our control but nevertheless they are important because they can affect, sometimes decide the learner’s internal factors in learning. To improve teaching and stimulate better learning, these factors should be taken into consideration. II. 1. 2. 1.  Social factor The child’s acquisition of his mother tongue is affected by the condition under which it takes place. The same influence is also relevant to learning of a second or foreign language. The classroom itself is a kind of social setting where each student has a role, so his success of learning a foreign language is, to some extent, determined by the teacher- student relationship and the student- student relationship. The teacher’s love for his job is often an encouragement to his students in their learning. According to Cheatain (1976), student is also strongly encouraged to learn the language when his teacher is always hopeful. The student- student relationship is no less important. This instance concerns face- saving. No students likes to let his errors be known to his friends, so correction of errors by the group is helpful when there is non- hostile trusting climate in the classroom. In addition to the classroom features of the learning situation itself, there are factors in the wider social context that influence language learning. Teaching never occurs in a vacuum. Any subject occupies a position in the syllabus in order to meet a need of all part of the school population. Second language or foreign language teaching is not an exception. As the political, economic and historical conditions change, the course objectives are altered. In a great number of countries it so happens that shifting political economic and social conditions often bring about the change in status of a second or foreign language. For example, English was not introduced into the school curriculum in Vietnam until 1971. Nowadays, when Vietnam is a member of WTO, English becomes a compulsory subject as it is an international language of commercial and official communication. Political factors are not the only ones that influence second language learning. Other attitudes towards language learning which are characteristic of the society to which the learner belongs are particularly important to the success of language learners. In Vietnam, the ability of using English fluently is a special qualification for certain favored jobs, but in others like the UK or the USA, learning another language is little more than a hobby. Obviously, all the different attitudes, which actually stem from political, economic or historical causes play an important part in the overall achievement in foreign language learning. II. 1. 2. 2. Cultural factors It is obvious that knowing a second language no longer means merely having acquired some linguistic competence: the ability to construct grammatically correct sentences. It also includes the acquisition of communicative competence: the ability to communicate the second language. To the extent that language is culturally acquired, one can never learn a second language successfully without learning the culture of that language. In the article â€Å"Talking across culture† in 1981, Richards argues that those who are supposed to know a foreign language must have linguistic competence, communicative competence and social competence as well. By social competence, he means that the learner is expected to know how to behave in a speech community of speakers of the target language. In other words, he must be familiar with the culture of the native speakers otherwise, he will be shocked, or fail to understand native speakers even though he is linguistically competent. It can be concluded that anyone decides to learn a certain language properly, culture is something he cannot avoid in the process. In teaching English, we need to be aware of the cultural assumptions that the students already possess. We also need to be aware of the cultural assumptions that surround the use of English. Functions and structures used to be examined for cultural content, it cannot be assumed that they are neutral. II. 2. Language teaching implications. For the reason that motivation plays a very important role in second language achievement, the task of the teacher is to maximize the motivation. Teachers should raise students’ interest in learning English so that they no longer learn English to pass the exam or to fulfill curriculum’s requirement but for the desire to interact and communicate with foreigners†¦ In order to achieve these goals, teachers should vary the activities, tasks and materials, provide students with opportunities for interaction in the target language in and outside the language learning environment through preplanned, and authentic activities. As a result, students will be more interested in learning English. Not many researchers have carried out research about language aptitude because it is something that teachers are powerless to alter. Students vary in terms of aptitude so teachers should categorize them according to their aptitude profiles. For example, one group was identified as having particularly good memory abilities (relative to other abilities), and another group was identified as being high in verbal analytical abilities. It is the duty of teachers to select appropriate teaching approaches and activities based on learners’ aptitude profiles to accommodate their differences in aptitude. If the methodology matches students, they will learn better otherwise it may decrease students’ second language achievement. We all know that different ages have different ways of learning and different ways of achieving language. The differences among the three age groups (children, adolescents and adults) are really existent and the biological L2 learning conditions are unchangeable. Learners of different ages and stages should use different strategies. Thus, the teacher’s duty is different in the three groups and the teaching approaches and strategies should cater for the traits of students. For example, children use strategies unconsciously and their teacher should help them form good learning habits in this period. Some adolescents might be unable to be aware of using learning strategies, and others use too many complex and sophisticated learning strategies in L2 language learning, which might not ensure to achieve high level. Adult learners prefer analytic-style strategies such as comparative and contrastive analysis, generalization rules learning, and dissecting words and phrases. As a result, teachers should manipulate a number of options according to the aim of the teaching and learning, such as different reading materials, the speed of teaching procedures, etc†¦ Suitable approach and strategies for each trait of age will help learners achieve language better, compensate the shortcomings and take good advantage of in three groups. As the results listed in the previous part indicate, learners differ in terms of personality. Some students are very reserved, some are self- confident, some are ready to take a risk but others do not. Understanding each student’s personality is extremely important to every teacher not except for teacher of English. When teacher know students’ characteristics, they can use appropriate methods for each of them. For example, most of Vietnamese students are still basically shy and withdrawn. Then teachers should involve a lot of pair and group work instead of using the teacher- students questions and answers. Teachers should use cooperative rather than competitive goals to create a supportive and non-threatening learning atmosphere. Besides, teachers should encourage and support students all the time especially when they are struggling or lacking confidence in certain areas. Good teachers will know how to adapt their methods of teaching to different learners’ personalities to have best results in second language achievement. It cannot be denied that social context has a big influence on situation of second language teaching and learning of each nation. Thus, in order to create a good learning condition for second language learning to flourish is the duty of everyone: parents, authority of school, community, ministry†¦ For example, parents should give children favorable condition to learn second language, school should be concerned about students’ language learning and teaching to make it better, ministry of education should pay more attention to the quality of language teacher, textbooks and facilities necessary for effective second language teaching and learning to happen. Culture is very important in second language learning so the duty of teachers is to raise students’ awareness of cultural differences between countries. When teaching a foreign language such as English, teachers should teach students language competence along with socio- cultural competence. Both teachers and authorities should bear in mind that learning about other cultures does not mean changing one’s own values and world outlook. On the contrary, by comparing some aspects of cultures in different societies, students may better appreciate their own culture and tradition and avoid false stereotypes which may result in either prejudice against other culture or blind belief that other cultures are superior. A successful language learner is a person who not only knows how to make grammatical and meaningful sentences but also knows how to use them in appropriate situations and a good language teacher is a person who knows how to help them do so successfully. III. CONCLUSION In conclusion, the success in second language acquisition depends largely on many factors but some of the most important factors can be mentioned are motivation, language aptitude, learner’s age and personality, social and cultural context. Thus, knowing these factors and how they influences learners’ second language achievement is very crucial to teachers of foreign languages in general and English in particular. Their language can be greatly improved when teachers have a better understanding of the learner, of the learning process and of the variables that may help or hinder learner’s language achievement. IV. REFERENCE Krishna K.  B , â€Å"Age as an Affective Factor in Second Language Acquisition†, Troy Universityn Press. HIDASI, Judit, (2005) â€Å"The Impact of Culture on Second Language Acquisition†, Annals of the International Business School. Hoan, P. K, (1985), â€Å"Psychological and cultural factors related to methodologies to Hanoi foreign languages Teachers’ college student†, Sydney Zhang . J, (2006) Sociocultural Factors in Second Language Acquisition, Sino-US English Teaching, Volume 3, No. 5 (Serial No. 29) Mehmet, N. G, (2001) â€Å"the effects of age and motivation factors on second language acquisition† F? rat University Journal of Social Science. tic

The Nature of International Politics

The Nature of International Politics The first principle that Thucydides addresses regarding the nature of international politics calls into question the conclusive goals that each individual entity in the world of international relations deems most important. Thucydides states that a country or state’s ultimate goal is to gain power and ruling over other nations. He illustrates this best in The Melian Dialogue through the actions of the war-loving Athenians.In their effort to maintain their stance of power against their rival Spartans, they travel to the island of Melos with the goal of conquering the Melians; either through force or through the Melian surrender. The people of Melos wish to remain neutral friends of both Sparta and Athens, but the Athenians will not hear of it. In their eyes, staying on friendly terms with a neutral country would be construed as a sign of weakness and fear. The Melians refuse to surrender, resulting in the ultimate destruction of their societ y while the Athenians gain further rule and power for their empire.However, I believe that this principle need not to always hold true, especially in the terms of war through diplomatic countries such as the United States of America. The United States has always held its principles in the effort to spread democracy and morality in the international realm. In The Fog of War, John F. Kennedy disproves Thucydides first principle. In the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis, the last thing Kennedy and his Secretary of Defense, Robert McNamara, wanted to do was to attack Cuba or go to war with the Soviet Union to gain power or ruling in any sense.They wanted to deal with the frightening presence of the Soviet Union’s extensive nuclear warheads on Cuban soil in the most diplomatic way possible in order to avoid nuclear war. While this was best for the self-interest of the American people, it was also for the benefit for the citizens of Cuba and the USSR, as nuclear war destroys nation s. Thankfully JFK had the help of a man named Tommy Thompson on his team who personally knew the Soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev. Thompson urged Kennedy to go forward with negotiations with Khrushchev in order to end the Cuban Missile Crisis peacefully.Luckily, it worked. Kennedy and Khrushchev reached an agreement that the Soviet Union would dismantle the weapons as long as the United States would not invade Cuba. Through the peaceful, yet stressful, negotiations, both JFK and Khrushchev went against the international principle that countries only aim to rule and conquer, and instead in the arms of a rational governing body most often the countries own self-interest for safety overrules the desire to prove their power over other countries.Thucydides’ second principle of international politics relates to the idea that between a world of expansive cultures and beliefs, there is no international moral code for war and relations between states. In the Melian Dialogue, Thucydide s exemplifies this idea through the war practices that the Athenians practiced in regards to the Melian people. While some may argue that their initial attempt to discuss the impending attack while offering the option of surrender was â€Å"humane†, the brutal force they eventually brought upon the Island of Melos outweighed their weak attempts in the beginning.Once the Melian people surrendered, the Athenians put all men of military age to death and sold the women and children as slaves. The Athenians practiced the â€Å"might makes right† way of thinking about morality: that those who hold the most power also hold the ability to decide what actions are appropriate where they deem fit. In this case, they were the mighty ones. Their forceful actions toward the Melians were justifiable in their eyes, but across cultures such actions could easily be deemed excessive and radical.Therein lies Thucydides’ argument that there is no such moral code that every nation ca n be held accountable to. In The Fog of War, Robert McNamara is horrified with such a truth, and wonders aloud â€Å"What is morally appropriate in a wartime environment? † He illustrates his question by describing â€Å"Agent Orange†, a chemical that was approved for usage during the Vietnam War while he was acting Secretary of Defense. â€Å"Agent Orange† is a chemical that was often used to take the leaves off of trees, and after the war was discovered to be highly toxic and lethal.The usage of â€Å"Agent Orange† killed numerous citizens and soldiers who were exposed. He continues to ask whether those who issued the approval of â€Å"Agent Orange† criminals? Within the definition of the word ‘criminal’ is the assumption that there is a crime being broken that is made illegal by a system of written laws. But McNamara points out that there are no such kinds of laws in war to determine what is acceptable and what is not and ultimately there is no such thing as an international moral code that can be upheld, especially in the times of war.While there exists no international moral standard, does that mean that no state can be trusted? Thucydides’ third principle of international politics would answer â€Å"yes†. He believes that in the sense of self-interest, one state cannot rely upon alliances and only those alliances that are in line with national honor should be upheld. This principle is evident in the Melian Dialogue when the Melian people state their hope and belief in the Spartan people coming to their aid in the prospect of attack from the Athenians.They believe that if not solely for the Spartan’s will to preserve their neighboring allies (that will surely take note if they don’t come to aid Melos), then for the kinship of the Melian and Spartan race. Ultimately, the people of Melos are proven to have had too much hope in the Spartans, as no one comes to their aid. However, muc h like in the throes of friendship where not all can be trusted, surely some friends and allies can. The Fog of War displays a twisted sense of camaraderie between the USSR and Cuba, a bond that was forged in the joint disparage toward the United States.Their alliance built and housed nuclear weapons on Cuban soil, weapons that had the ability to destroy most of the continental United States. Once the American Government took hold of the dangerous situation and offered negotiations to the USSR in the hopes of avoiding destructive warfare, Nikita Khrushchev had a decision to make†¦and he had two major options. He could ignore the offer of diplomatic problem solving and strike the United States with the nuclear weapons or he could agree to the negotiations JFK brought to the table.On the one hand, attacking the United States guaranteed a responsive strike from the US that would undoubtedly destroy Cuba and kill thousands (not to mention create real problems between the USSR and t he US). And on the other, he could agree to take out the weapons in return for the promise that the US would not attack Cuba. He could be known as the man who saved Cuba from an attack by the United States and could gain national respect for upholding USSR honor and morality.Despite the disturbing urgings from war-mongering Fidel Castro, Khrushchev decided to agree to negotiations. While his actions may have been solely done for self-interest and preservation of the USSR’s teetering relationship with the US, he ultimately had the interest of the people of Cuba in mind even when their own President did not. This act by Khrushchev, despite the reasons behind it, upheld the ideals of alliances: that one nation must be reliable and ready in the ability to protect the people and rights of the ally nation.

Fences Father Son Relationships - 1325 Words

The Apple Doesn’t Fall Far From the Tree Have you ever heard the term, â€Å"the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree† or the term, â€Å"like Father, like Son?† According to the Cambridge English Dictionary, these are terms used to suggest â€Å"a child usually has a similar character or similar qualities to his or her parents.†(dictionary.cambridge.org) This is particularly evident in August Wilson’s drama, Fences. During Fences, Wilson introduces three perplexing father-son relationships. In each, the son tries to eliminate the preconceived notion that he will inevitably be like his father while simultaneously trying to escape the constraints his father has placed upon him. Ultimately leading the son to unconsciously emulate and follow in the†¦show more content†¦This would prove to be a pivotal and defining moment in Troy’s life. It was at this moment that Troy knew he had to leave his father’s house and was forced to be a man. Despite leaving home at a young age to escape his father, Troy’s father had an everlasting effect on Troy and ultimately influenced the way Troy parents his own children. In the following paragraphs, I will demonstrate how intergenerational transmission of parenting impacted Troy, Troy’s children and will quite possibility impact the future generations of the Maxon family. At the young age of 14, Troy’s father caught him fooling around with a girl down by the river. Troy’s father physically attacked him and then proceeded to rape the young girl. (Wilson 1265) Troy was forced to witness this horrific event. His father was completely insensitive to Troy’s feelings and the feelings of the young girl, showing no remorse for his actions. Instead he showed Troy that masculinity creates superiority over women. Unfortunately, Troy developed the same lack of sensitivity and an overcompensating sense of masculinity. This may have also been what led Troy to his own philandering behaviors of cheating on his wife Rose with Alberta. Both men felt like they were entitled to their behaviors.Show MoreRelatedFather-Child Relationships in Hamlet and Fences1223 Words   |  5 PagesFather-Child Relationships in Hamlet and Fences In both William Shakespeares Hamlet and August Wilsons Fences, the emphasis placed on parent-child relationship is vital, as family plays an important role in developing a characters values as well as his or her upbringing does. While Ophelia, Laertes, and Hamlet show loyalty to their fathers unconditionally, Cory, even though looks up Troy as a figure, eventually exhibits disrespect to him. The relationship that Ophelia shares with her fatherRead MoreCharacter Analysis of Cory in The Play Fences by August Wilson1109 Words   |  5 Pagesdeath of a salesman father-sonfffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff ffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffff fffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffffd Troy Maxson’s father-son relationship is anything but desirable. The harder Cory works to better himself, theRead MoreFences Research1694 Words   |  7 PagesImpact of Physical and Psychological Boundaries in August Wilson’s Fences The early 1950’s was a time of enormous importance because of the Civil Rights Movement which emphasized equal rights for blacks and whites. According to the book Approaching Literature, this time period became very familiar to August Wilson, the author of the play Fences. Wilson, an African American man, was raised by his mother and his ex-convict father. For a short period of time, before moving back to his old neighborhoodRead MoreFences, By Fences By Homer879 Words   |  4 PagesFences In Fences, Wilson tells us that there is always a kind of protection between fathers and sons, but at the same time, it is also a kind of restriction. Fathers always do not know how to express their love or even not sure about their love, causing their sons to be perplexed and hesitate whether their father really loves them. the doomed love between fathers and sons is then appeared. The relationship of the main character of fences, Troy, and his son, Cory, is a typical example of thisRead More Comparing Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson1267 Words   |  6 PagesArthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson Death of a Salesman by Arthur Miller and Fences by August Wilson have similar themes of conflicts between fathers and sons, conflicts between husbands and wives, and the need to focus on a small unit of space in order to achieve success. In the process of developing these themes throughout the two plays, three similar symbolic elements are used including the insecure father figure, the other woman, and the garden. The fathers in the two playsRead MoreFences Is A Play Written By August Wilson In 1983.The Play1181 Words   |  5 Pages Fences is a play written by August Wilson in 1983. The play investigates the evolving African- American experience and looks at race-relations, among many other themes. The main character of the play is Troy Maxson, a 52-year-old who struggled to satisfy his family need. Troy has had his dreams taken from him. He wanted more than anything to be a pro baseball player, but his career was stopped because of racial discrimination, which, lead to a misconception between Troy and his son. In thisRead More Conflict in August Wilsons Fences and How it Affects the Work1376 Words   |  6 Pages Fences, by August Wilson, is a drama that focuses on the characteristics of black life in the mid to late twentieth century and the strains of society on African Americans. Set in a small neighborhood of a big city, this play holds much conflict between a father, Troy Maxson, and his two sons, Lyons and Cory. By analyzing the sources of this conflict, one can better appreciate and understand the way the conflict contributes to the meaning of the work. The first conflict in this playRead MoreFences, By August Wilson895 Words   |  4 PagesFences written by August Wilson is an award winning drama that depicts an African-America family who lives in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania during the 1950’s. During this time, the Mason’s reveal the struggles working as a garbage man, providing for his family and excepting life as is. The end of segregation began, more opportunities for African American people were accessible. Troy, who’s the father the Cory and husband of Rose has shoes fill as a working African America man. He is the family breadwinnerRead MoreFather and Son in Death of a Salesman, and Fences Essay966 Words   |  4 PagesThe role of a father could be a difficult task when raising a son. The ideal relationship between father and son perhaps may be; the father sets the rules and the son obeys them respectfully. However it is quite difficult to balance a healthy relationship between father and son, because of w hat a father expects from his son. For instance in the narratives, â€Å"Death of a Salesman,† and â€Å"Fences† both Willy and Troy are fathers who have a difficult time in earning respect from their sons, and being a roleRead MoreAnalysis Of Fences By August Wilson1251 Words   |  6 PagesFences by August Wilson is a play about African American life during the 1950’s era, it reflects a transitional time where African Americans begin to stand up and fight against racism. The father son relationship is a centering conflict within the play Fences. Throughout the play we are immersed into this complex connection of Troy and his two sons, Cory and Lyon. Troy struggles to create an identity separate from what is forced on him through an oppressive society. His battle with identity streams