What Is English As A Lingua Franca?

What Is English As A Lingua Franca? Over the last few decades, with global spread and use of English, some researchers have shown an increased interest in English as a Lingua Franca. The issue of ELF has eventually become an important focus of research in applied Linguistics. McKay (2003) emphasizes that local context and learners needs should play an important role in the teaching of English. Kirkpatrick (2007) claims that we, as English language teachers, should reconsider which model of English should be adopted for the language classroom in countries where English is used mainly for international communication. This paper seeks to the following things. Firstly, the paper will explore what is meant by English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) and followed by the discussion the importance of relevant issues, such as choosing the right teaching model, cross-cultural intelligibility and strategies, accommodation and open-minded attitudes towards different English varieties. Secondly, with respect to Chinese context, the author will discuss the choice of appropriate teaching models. As an English language teacher in China, the author claims that the choosing of teaching models should be based on the local context and learners needs. Finally, the author will discuss the development of China English in Chinese context. 2. What is English as a Lingua Franca? 2.1 The Spread of English Nowadays, there is no doubt that English is an international Language. It is widely used as a communication medium in the fields of politics, economics, culture, technology etc. Crystal (2003) points out that the number of non-native speakers (NNSs) of English is far more than native speakers (NSs) and claims that roughly only one of every four users of English in the world is an English native speaker. 2.2 World Englishes With the spread of English in the world, there are now many varieties. Jenkins (2004) refers to these as world Englishes. In other words, English no longer has one single base of authority, prestige and normativity (Mesthrie Bhatt, 2008). The three circles model proposed by Kachru (1992) has been very influential and gives us a good understanding of the spread of English and world Englishes. These three circles, based on geography and history, include the Inner Circle, the Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle. The Inner Circle comprises the countries in which people speak English as a native language (ENL), known as Norm-providing, such as USA, UK, Australia, Canada and New Zealand. The Outer Circle includes the countries where English is spoken as a second Language (ESL), most of which used to be the colonies of UK, US, and regarded as Norm-developing. Jenkins (2009) points out that one of the main characteristics of the Outer Circle countries is that the variations of English in ESL have become institutionalised and are developing their own standards. The Expanding Circle means EFL countries, such as China, Japan, Korea and Thailand, known as norm-dependent. The main reason for defining the Expanding Circle is that English has no official status and can be seen as dependent on the norms of the inner circle countries (Jenkins, 2009). 2.3 English as a Lingua Franca However, language is always developing and changing. With the spread of English, Kachrus three circles model (Kachru, 1992 )is criticized by some scholars (Jenkins, 2005; Seidhofer, 2004) because it pays more attention to the interaction between native and non native speaker, and has not recognized that one of the most important functions of world-wide English today is to provide a lingua franca between all three circles. In particular, the interaction takes place within the Expanding Circle (Mollin, 2006). Therefore the term ELF is proposed under this circumstance In the first place, it was widely accepted that ELF does not include native speakers. House (1999) defines ELF interactions between members of two or more different linguacultures in English, for none of whom English is the mother tongue. In other words, from Houses point of view, ELF means English is spoken by speakers whose first language is not English. Jenkins, however, claims that the term English as a Lingua Franca (ELF) refers to the English that is used as a contact language among speakers who come from different first language and cultural background (Jenkins, 2005). In other words, despite the fact that native speakers are not like non-native speakers which represent a large percentage of the totality of the worlds ELF users, they are still included in ELF, But their interactions are not collected in Jenkins ELF data, and when they take part in ELF interactions, they do not represent a linguistics reference point (Jenkins, 2007). ELF is characterized by the following: (1) ELF is used in different contexts in which speakers have different L1 and cultural background, but they need it as a tool to achieve their communication goal. During this communication process, they need to be open-minded, tolerate and accommodate each other (Politeness, schema theory and so on). (2) ELF is different from EFL which the main purpose is to communicate with native speakers and the interaction needs to adhere to ENL linguacultural norms. (3) Linguistically, ELF involves innovations, performativity and creativity that differ from ENL (Seidlhofer, 2011). When Speakers negotiate meaning with each other in English, they may change the ENL norms. For example: Use of 3rd person singular zero. She/he go to school. More details please see the appendix one (Jenkins, 2009). Obviously, the term ELF well represents English as it is used today. In addition, the ownership of English does not only belong to native-speakers, it belongs to all who communicate with each other in English (Nelson, 2011). With the global use of English, Cross-cultural Intelligibility, certain communication strategies are needed in ELF interaction, such as accommodation and code switching, the awareness of noticing the specific communication context. The discussion will be explored in the next session. 3. ELF and relevant issues for the classroom 3.1 The teaching models Seidlhofer (2006) points out that, with global use of English, a problem is raised to choose the teaching model: what English should be taught in a specific context? What norms of English should be adopted? People make different choices based on their needs and context of learning English. Three models are proposed by Kirkpatrick (2007: 184-197): exonormative native speaker model, endonormative nativised model, and a lingua Franca approach. Most people in Expanding Circle Countries would like to choose the exonormative native speaker model, because most of them learn the standard British and American English and their respective standard accents, RP(Received Pronunciation) and GA (General American),despite the fact that they know learning English is not only to communicate with native-speakers(Jenkins, 2009). But in fact, the term standard English deals with grammar and vocabulary (dialect) but does not include pronunciation (accent) (Trudgill Hannah, 1982). Shepherd (2000) claims t hat which model is chosen depending on the learners needs and should use the learner-centred approach. In the meantime, it is very hard for speakers who are in expanding circle countries to achieve native-like English. On the contrast, it will not motivate the learners and makes them lose confidence in learning it (Seidlhofer, 2011). 3.2 Cross-cultural intelligibility and strategies As English continues to grow as a lingua Franca, there are a lot of variations of English. How should we achieve the cross-cultural communication? Smith (1976) pointes out the view below: 1) There is no need for learners to internalize the culture norms of native speakers of the language; 2) the ownership of an international language becomes denationalized and 3) the primary goal of learning language is to make learners to communicate their ideas and culture to others. For example, generally speaking, Nelson points out that (2011) we will identify who people are, where he or she comes from by his or her lexical choice or accent before we communicate with other person from different background with us. However English is currently used as a Lingua Franca, the goal of communication is to make each other understood. International Intelligibility is getting more and more important and become a concern in recent days, especially understanding each other in multiple contexts (Nelson, 2011). Therefore developing the students listening and comprehensibility and speaking skills are very crucial in order to understand people and make other people understood who come from different backgrounds with different accents. Since the purpose of learning Language is to achieve communication, so how to get the meaning of language through different pronunciation or accents when people speak English is becoming a main issue in ELF. Learning linguistic features and knowing different cultures might be helpful to understand different variations. Therefore understanding your speaker linguistically and culturally will lead to successful communicate in a super diversity context, In short, Knowing how, when, and why to say what to whom. Furthermore, in order to achieve the international intelligibility and effective communication, raising the awareness of the strategies of lingua franca communication is becoming more and more important in the interaction. Promoting multi- competence among native and non-native language users (Cook, 2007), the accommodation theory, the schema theory, the speech act theory, cultural information, cross-cultural negotiation and strategies, language technology, cultural awareness and so on 3.3 ELF: attitude and identities Now English is becoming a Lingua Franca, hence the norms of native speakers countries are not only one standard, in the meantime, non-native speaker countries have got the ownership of English. So not only non-native speakers need to accept the native-speaker norms, they have got their own particular norms. At the same time, Jenkins (2007, 2009) claims that native speakers should accept non-native speakers norms .Because in the current situation the expanding circle is potentially rather different from typical situations in which powerful NS groups impose their linguistic norms on less powerful, often minority, NNS groups. In particular, many groups of English speakers in parts of Europe, Latin America, and East Asia (especially China) are both economically powerful and numerically large, and this may ultimately prove to be decisive in the fight for the recognition of ELF, in turn, it may affect the ELF identity landscape in ways that are at present only dimly discernible (Jenkins, 2 009; Seidlhofer, 2011). Widdowson (1993: 385) claims that it is a matter of considerable pride and satisfaction for native speakers of English that their language is the international means of communication. However, it is very hard for native or even non-native speakers to accept the worlds Lingua Franca which has its own lexicogrammar and accent characterises and should have its own right to develop its own Lingua Franca forms. For instance: China English, Japan English. Even these features did not cause intelligibility problems and can achieve the goal of communication (Jenkins, 2004). For more details, please see the appendance one. Identity is becoming an interesting issue in English language use nowadays. Recent literature (B. Kachru and Nelson.2001; De Kadt, 2004) point out that the use of English plays an important role in showing groups and individuals identities. Because non-native speakers use English with their own characters show their own identities. Especially people use English to communicate with people who came from different background, For example, the interaction between a Chinese English and Korea English speaker, and they may be identified by each others pronunciation and accent. In most of cases, English language teachers and learners desire native-like English identity in Expanding Countries, Especially for non-native English teachers. In their mind, native-like English accents are helpful for them achieve the success in the career development. 4. Rethinking ELF in China Kirkpatrick (2006) points out that context should be considered before making the decision to choose the teaching model, and the context includes learners needs and the relative possibility of adopting nativized model. Next, the role of English based on Chinese context and learners needs are discussed in more detail, then the teaching model in China is described, and the development of China English is explored. English in China Nowadays With the spread of English, English is seen as extremely important and strongly promoted in China. The motivation for learning English for Chinese learners are discussed in more details based on Chinese context, and the uses of English in China is always changing over time. With economic reform and open door policy of China in 1979, and the motivation of learning English is to acquisition Western knowledge (Kachru, 1992: 165) and international understanding. English is a compulsory subject in primary, secondary and universities in China, they need to pass the examinations. Students in secondary need to pass the National Examination to access to university, students in the majority of Universities need to pass CET band 4 to get the degree. Some students who want to study abroad need to pass IELTS and TOEFL. Here, the role of English is as a medium to access to science, technology, political, business, culture information around the world. However, nowadays more and more teachers and learners notice that learning English is to international communication. Especially, since China entered WTO in 2001 and held 2008 Olympic Games, these make China get involved in globalization. For example, many companies in USA and some European countries found that they can cut the costs and make more profit if they send their jobs in China, it is well known as outsourcing. People in China who want to work in these companies need to have a high proficiency of English. In addition, with the development of China, more and more people study abroad, travel and immigrate around the world, and they are exposed to English with different accents. They not only need to communicate with people in the inner Circle countries. ¼Ã‹â€ America and UK ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °, but also need to interact with people in some Outer Circle and the Expanding Circle(Singapore, India, Malaysia, Japan and Korea). Finally, with China emerging as an economic superpower, Chinese government found that China not only needs to learn the knowledge from the world, but also need to let the world know about China, Confucius Institutes have founded all over the world since 2004, which provide opportunities for people to know Chinese Language and culture. For mandarin Chinese teachers, they need to translate Chinese Language and culture into English. However, sometimes it is very hard to find the word in English vocabulary to express Chinese language and culture. Therefore, direct translations from Chinese into English take place(Kirkpatrick,2007), such as taichi, kung fu, fengshui, iron rice bowl, one country, two systems, open-door policy. 4.2 Teaching models in China As mentioned earlier, Kirkpatrick (2007) points out that there are three potential models which can be used in outer and expanding circle countries, and they are an exonormative native speaker model, endonormative nativised model and a lingua franca approach. China is one of such expanding countries, and the exonormative native speaker model has been accepted and promoted as the standard pedagogic model for English language teaching in China. However, there are still a lot of changes during the period of development of English in China. In the past, only native-speaker varieties and norms are used and other varieties of English are ignored in China. British English is regarded as standard English in the beginning; with the economic development of America, American English dominated in the ELT of China, mixed with a little British English; in the last two decades, with the economic development of China, more and more foreigners from different countries in the world go to China to do b usiness, study and travelling, and some Chinese people are exposed to different varieties of English and they found it hard to communicate with foreigners with different accents. This raises their awareness of the importance of other varieties of English. Therefore, nowadays, other varieties of English are taken into account in English curriculum. Including Canada English, China English, India English, Nigeria English, Japan English, and so on. English teaching materials have reflected these changes and tend to incorporate the principle of English as a Lingua Franca in terms of cultural knowledge. In the English teaching materials, not only the culture of native speaking-English countries is introduced, but also the culture from the inner and expending counties is presented inside. Kirkpatrick (2006) points out the advantages of adopting the exonormative native speaker model in the Outer and Expending Circle countries. Firstly, this model has been codified in the dictionary and grammar books; Secondly, this model is regards as standard varieties of English; thirdly, this model has got power. Fourthly, this model has got historical authority (ibid: 72). The above reasons also can explain why the learners in China want to learn American and British English, and why they regard American and British English as Standard English. However, with the global development of English, other varieties of English have already started to be drawn attention in the field of ELT in China. Kirkpatrick and Xu(2002) points out that the reason for learning English should be clarified before choosing the right English teaching model, if learning English is to communicate with native speakers, then the exonormative native speaker model will serve a good role, however, in fact, In China, the purpose of learning English is not only to communicate well with native speakers, but also communicate with non-native speakers, and the number of non-native speakers has already exceeded the number of native speakers, in the meantime, the number of non-native speakers are still growing at the fast speed. Therefore, they argue and suggest that the development of China English with Chinese characteristics may be an inevitable result (ibid: 277). 4.3 China English The concept of China English has been attracting growing attention from scholars over the past 20 years (Du and Jiang, 2001; Kirkpatrick and Xu, 2002; Hu, 2004; Bolton, 2003,). This concept is different from the older terms Chinese English and Chinglish, because Chinese English and Chinglish are ungrammatical or nonsensical English and are not standard variety. Chinese English refers to a variety of English used by Chinese learners and bears trace of L1 interference (Kirkpatrick and Xu, 2002).while Chinglish refers to the combination of English and Chinese in ones sentence. China English was first defined by Ge in 1980 (Du and Jiang, 2001), and it is described as it is understood as a standard variety and used by Chinese People in China, and it has Chinese characteristics in lexis, sentence structure and discourse and reflects Chinese culture norms (Li, 1993;Du and Jiang, 2001). Undoubtedly, English is a lingua Franca now and English should be learnt with the culture of the target language to a certain extent in order to learn English language. In the meantime, in the Chinese context, China English should be developed to make it part of the main English. For example, during the period of learning Mandarin Chinese, many students are interested in Chinese culture, i.e. Acupuncture and moxibustion treatment, traditional wedding, traditional Chinese musical instruments, the ancient Chinese works, Chinese food etc. But it is hard to find English words to describe these special things with respect to Chinese knowledge and culture. This is a big problem and challenge for Chinese people to communicate with foreigners in English. The emergence of China English contributes to the development and enrichment of English and spread the Chinese culture around the world, so it is necessary to develop China English with Chinese characteristics in lexis, sentence structure an d discourse and become one part of the worlds Lingua Franca. and China English needed to be codified to appear in dictionaries and reference books, of course, there is a long way to go before China English become one standard variety, this not only needs official support, but also needs to change peoples attitudes towards China English, and further research needs to be done to investigate China English with respect to phonology, lexis, discourse and culture. Kachru (1992) emphasizes that giving the rights to develop the variety of norms would not lead to a lack of intelligibility among varieties of English. 5. Conclusion In this paper, this author has discussed the understanding of ELF from narrow and wide view. Secondly, this paper has explored the implications of ELF for classroom issues: Choosing the teaching model should be based on students context and needs; In order to achieve the Cross-cultural Intelligibility, we should raise the students awareness of effective communication strategies; as long as non-native speakers features such as lexicogrammar and pronunciation do not cause Intelligibility problems and can achieve the goal of communication, we should be open-minded and accommodate each other (Cogo Dewey, 2006; Dewey, 2007). More importantly, some people would like to keep their own identity when communicating with each other in English. Finally, this author focused on the discussion of teaching model in China based on Chinese context, and then the author discussed China English and advocated China should develop China English along with learning native-speaking culture and this may be n ext big trend on teaching English in China. Nanoparticles: Applications and Impact on Science Nanoparticles: Applications and Impact on Science Nanoparticles (NPs) functionalised with cores composed of inorganic and organic materials like noble element, magnetic metals, their alloys and oxides, and semiconductors are ehaustively studied and have huge potential for application in various areas. The spectrum of applications are endless and embraces nano-biomedicine, nanoprobes for diagnostics to treatment of diseases, nanobots for early detection of neoplastic cell, nano drug delivery systems, Nanosuspension, SPION, nanolithography for nanoelectronics industry, electrochemical sensing supported by gold nanoparticles impregnated halloysite nanotube composites and latent fingerprint detection for forensic investigations are to call a few. The effects of nanoparticles ought to be predictable and controllable, and bear the specified result with minimum cytotoxicity. These criteria are met by the careful craft of the core shell, allowing stabilization, specific targeting and recognition of biochemical species. This review is focuse d on the synthesis and functionalisation of a wide range of nanoparticles for various applications. Keywords: nanoparticles, SPION, nanobots, halloysite, nanodrug delivery system forensic investigators, nanoelectronics. 1.INTRODUCTION: The incredible accomplishments created within the discipline of material science and nanotechnologies over the past decade have had a significant impact on the biological, physical, and, chemical sciences. Recent developments in the life sciences rely profoundly on the supply of latest state of the art experimental tools and devices that modify and manipulates biomolecules and avail the study of complex biological processes at the molecular and cellular levels. Significant progress created inside the synthesis of fluorescent semiconductor Nanocrystals (NCs), further brought up as quantum dots (QDs), aboard an extra robust understanding of their nonlinear photo physical properties and then the event of biocompatible surface chemistries for their solubilization, have provided new imaging probes with monumental potential for scientists in the biological domain [1-3]. The distinctive optical properties of these semiconductor Nanocrystals make them exceptional fluorescent biological marke rs. The leptons in QDs are confined in all three dimensions, resulting in a powerful size dependency of optical behavior like absorption, transmission and, consequently, emissive energies [4]. The radiative recombination of the charge carriers that ends in fluorescence emission once the lepton falls into the valence band is greatly inflated by quantum confinement, compared with their bulk semiconductor [5-8]. Thus, by reducing the dimensions of certain semiconductors to a couple of nanometers, new fluorescent probes may be obtained entirely different from their bulk counterpart. Additionally, by varying the nanometric size a greater control over the fluorescent properties of these probes like their emission wavelength can also be achieved to utilise its complete spectral potential [1]. Nanoparticles are constructs that possess distinctive physical and chemical properties associated to their size domain of 1–100 nm or a minimum of one dimension need to fall in the regime of 1-100 nm. NPs consist of a spread of materials as; metallic nanoparticles of noble metals of Gold / Aurum (Au) [9], Silver/ argentous (Ag) [10,11], atomic number 46 (Pd) [12], atomic number 78 (Pt) [13],magnetic compounds (viz. Co [14], Fe3O4 [15,16], FePt [12], CoFe2O4 [17], CoPt [18]), semiconductors (viz. CdS [19], CdSe [20], InGaAsP [21], GaAs [22], GaAsP [23], ZnS [24], TiO2 [25], Lead Sulphide (PbS) [26], Indium Phosphide (InP) [26], Silicon (Si) [27]), core shell (viz. CdS/CdSe [28], CdSe/ZnS [29], CdS/ZnS [30], CdSe/AgS [31], HgS/CdS [32], PbS/CdS [33, 34], CdS/HgS [35], ZnS/CdSe [36], ZnSe/CdSe [37]) and different nanocomposites nanomaterials (viz. Co/WC and Fe/TiC). Therefore, as for the NPs to be useful in biomedicine, they need to satisfy certain criteria. For in-vitro applicat ions like fluorescent staining of proteins and TEM imaging, NPs ought to trounce the traditional agents whereas having minimal toxicity. In-vivo, NPs got to be compelled to avoid non-specific interactions with plasma proteins (opsonisation) and either evade or allow uptake by the reticulo endothelial System (RES) hoping on the applying, to attain their meant target efficiently. They need to in addition maintain homogeneity and stability under physiological conditions, ideally within a good spectrum of pH. NPs carrying a payload, like drug molecules or de-oxyribonucleic acid (DNA) for cistron treatment ought to avoid premature release, at the same time should precisely deliver the load to the desired site. To accomplish these phenomenon Surface Chemistry of the NPs should be well known and modified accordingly for specific interactions with biological moieties of interest. Nanoparticles-based drug delivery system provides many blessings, like enhancing targeted drug delivery, resulting in drug-therapeutic efficiency, reduction in dosage quantity, and pharmacological characteristics. Moreover, nanoparticles additionally improve the solubility of sparingly soluble drugs,dramatically alter pharmacokinetics mechanism, enhances drug half-life by reducing immunogenicity, increases specificity towards the target cell or tissue (therefore reducing facet effects),improve bioavailability, diminishing drug metabolism, providing controllable release of therapeutic compounds and in addition the delivery of two or more drugs at an equivalent time for combination medical aid [38,39].In the field of qualitative analysis, UV, FTIR-ATR [5] shows a stimulating spectral improvement in peaks of sample analytes rendering a quicker analysis even from a trace evidences. DC magnetron sputtering of nanoparticles on noble metals like Gold and Silver on samples of forensic eviden ces viz: blood, semen, spittle and latent fingerprints shows an enhanced and improved spectrum under ultraviolet light, FTIR-ATR and UV/VIS spectrum measurement devices. The spectral improvement is a result of Quantum confinement effect [40] of nanoparticles. This article is split into three sections of: Pharmaceutical applications, Engineering and Technology and additionally the foremost expected field of forensic investigation. The article in addition presents current and futuristic market potential for Nanomedicine and numerous different nanoelectronic devices and its impetus impact on humanity. 2. Pharmaceutical Applications of nanoparticles The potential application of nanoparticles is in the field of Nanomedicine. Nanomedicine as the name indicates is the branch of nanotechnology that deals with medical application of engineered nanotechnology. Though, the definition of nanotechnology and Nanomedicine continues to be an open debatable field, contention and brain storming among academicians and industrialists; we might wish to advocate wide accepted definitions by variety of the reputed regulatory authorities, research institutes and government agencies across the world. United States Food and Drug Administration (USFDA) outline nanotechnology as: Technology which allows scientists to create, explores, envision, and manipulate materials scaled in nanometers (10-9 m). Such engineered materials can have an entirely different set of properties (physical, chemical and biological) that dissent from those of their larger counterparts [41]. National Institute of health in its ‘National Institutes of Health Roadmap for Medical research in Nanomedicine programme’ defines Nanomedicine as: â€Å"An offshoot of nanotechnology, [which] refers to highly specific medical interventions at the molecular scale for curing disease or repairing damaged tissues, such as bone, muscle, or nerve† [42]. European Science Foundation’s (ESF) Forward Look Nanomedicine program has given comprehensive definition of Nanomedicine as: Nanomedicine uses a set of nano-sized tools for the diagnosing, preventing and treating of disease and to gain insight and in-depth understanding of some of the complex underlying patho-physiology of disease. The ultimate goal is to improve the quality-of-life [43]. Since last two decades Nanotechnology has evolved as the most promising engineering technology in novel drug delivery systems and in diagnostic techniques. The very fact may be determined by the number of promising Nanomedicine candidates approved by completely different regulatory authorities across the world for these applications. The Nanomedicine here represents umbrella term that covers the molecules at a lower place the scale of one thousand nm in at least one dimension and has potential applications among the subsequent fields: Advanced and targeted drug delivery Real time imaging and diagnosis Regenerative drugs. 2.1  Nanoparticles for site dependent and targeted Drug Delivery The size confluence of nanoparticles with proteins is the major reason that nanoparticles are widely used in therapeutic applications [63]. Their huge surface area provides a binding site for displaying surface functional groups like ligand. Moreover, they possess a speedy absorption and unleash behavior provided by high skills of their diffusion and surface modification. Nanoparticles in its synthesized form are rarely used in biomedical application on account of its inherent properties viz: cytotoxicity and high surface charge. Their high toxicity destroys healthy cells and enormous surface charge renders them highly unstable prohibiting its medical application. Therefore, the particle size and surface characteristics of nanoparticles are in general tailored or controlled to suite user needs and medical interests. Some distinguished examples of surface modification of nanoparticles are covalent binding between surface and functional molecules or polymers, electrochemical sensors: a dded gold NPs and halloysite nanocomposites [44] and layer-by-layer (L-b-L) self assembly. Whereas organic, inorganic or organic/inorganic hybrid materials are used for the fabrication of nanoparticles, polymeric nanoparticles have in

Sports Essays Table Tennis China

Sports Essays Table Tennis China Like many other sports, table tennis began as a mild social diversion. Descending from lawn tennis to badminton to the  ancient medieval game of tennis. Table Tennis likely began as a social hobby in England toward the end of the 1800s. These early pioneers may have referred to their sport as gossima, flim-flam, or ping-pong. The game became a huge fun event after the name Ping-Pong, the noise made by the ball striking the table, was introduced by J. Jacques Son. It became very popular in England under its present name â€Å"Ping-Pong.† (Hickok) By the early years of this century, Ping-Pong had already acquired some of its present day complexities, but it was still used by many as an after-dinner amusement game rather than a sport. Dining-room tables made up some of the early equipment that was used. Several different every-day objects were used to play the sport. They used a line of books as the net; rackets were lids from empty cigar boxes, and then a little later, parchment paper stretched around a frame created a paddle. The ball would be either a ball of string, or perhaps more commonly, a champagne cork or rubber ball. The game underwent a few changes in England in the next few years. One person introduced a celluloid ball to the game, while another added pimpled rubber to the wooden paddle. These additions were used by many and advanced on by others. Some box sets can still be bought from Milton Bradley. (Bradley) The game was very popular in Central Europe in 1905 to 1910, but even this was a modified version that was introduced to Japan, where it later spread to China and Korea to become a huge popular sport in these countries. (Museum) The Japanese dominated the sport for much of the 50s and 60s. But in the 60s and 70s, the Chinese soon caught up with the Japanese. China alone has dominated the sport for much of the time since then, especially after Table Tennis became an Olympic event in the 1980s. For a reason unknown, the Chinese took table tennis as their national sport. And most other countries cant really touch them in skill. Alone from China four of the top ten from both male and female live here including number one. Now other nations such as Sweden and South Korea have joined the top ranks. For a while in Europe, it lost its fun and became very unpopular to play. Then in the early twenties, it regained its popularity and became a sport. In 1926 the International Table Tennis Federation, ITTF, was formed. By that time it had adopted its new name of Ping-Pong, while also being called table tennis. It started to become so popular that organizations and federations developed and rules and regulations were made. (Museum) Over the next sixty years, table tennis developed into a major worldwide sport. Today it is said that a rough 30 thousand people play competitively, and another million to 2 million play in household rooms and garages. Although it has became faster and harder to play, the game itself has not lost its â€Å"gentlemans† sport aura. One major concern that the ITTF has always insured that table tennis remains a contest of human skills. Also, they are very concerned with technological developments, which add a new factor to the game like the spin and speed of a paddle or bat, do not give too great an advantage to the players who get to use these developments. Therefore, equipment specifications are carefully laid down, and rigorously enforced. (Museum) Other changes like lowering of a net, is a big rule that shouldnt be broken. Rules preventing excessive advantage being gained by the server-were introduced in the thirties, and only minor changes are made from time to time. Changes to the rules of the sport can only be made only at the ITTFs Biennial General Meeting. These changes are never made without the agreement of a substantial majority of the hundred members in Associations represented at the BGM. In this vote everyone is equal. This is kind of like the UN Security Council too, if they want to veto a rule or movement, just one person can stop the rule or movement. Modern table tennis at a high rank is as rigorous as any sport in its demands for the highest degree of physical fitness and mental concentration. Very physical and arduous training to develop natural skills for the sport usually attains this. Fred Perry in 1928-29 became the World Mens Singles Table Tennis Champion, and then in the following years he became a champion at Wimbledon. Many say he moved to the tennis court because his reactions got slower. But it is certainly true that no other sport requires faster reactions and more delicate muscular co-ordination than ping-pong. (Museum) According to a PBS article: One of the first public hints of improved U.S.-China relations came on April 6, 1971. This happened when the American Ping-Pong team in Japan for the 31st World Table Tennis Championship, received a surprise invitation from their Chinese colleagues for an all-expense paid visit to the Peoples Republic. Time magazine called it The ping heard round the world. On April 10, nine players, four officials, and two spouses stepped across a bridge from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland, ushering in an era of Ping-Pong diplomacy. They were the first group of Americans allowed into China since the Communist takeover in 1949.(Dean) In table tennis there are very many different strokes, different swings, and different stances. I, myself as a ping-pong player, use the shake-hand grip. I use this grip for very many reasons. One reason would have to be that it feels the most comfortable to me. It feels way more natural and comfortable rather than the pen-hold grip. I have a lot more speed and control when I hit a hard move or hit. Another reason is because if someone hits the ball really fast back to me, then I am ready and I can hit back a very fast stroke back. In this style I can hit a backhand or forehand as fast as my body will let me. Also when I use this grip I can hit the ball to any spot on the table. When I use the pen-hold grip, I cant usually hit the ball where I want to. In table tennis, professionals play with either the shake-hand grip or the pen-hold grip. I myself use this grip. I have more control and more speed when I use this style. The shake-hand grip is appropriately named because you hold the paddle as if you were shaking someones hand, with your index finger extending over the bottom part of the rubber on the backhand side and your thumb slightly touching the rubber on the forehand side. (Bradley, Milton) The pen-hold grip is also appropriately named because you hold the paddle just like a pen, only grasping the paddle at the top of the handle. Because of this, people that use this grip get a paddle with a more comfortable handle to use this grip. The wrist flick is almost always done from the backhand side. The opponent usually does it to return a serve or to return a ball hit very short and low. (Bradley) The counter is used against topspin balls, which you have no time to loop. This stroke requires very little forward arm motion, but it is extremely important that you angle and position your paddle correctly. If it is hard topspin, you must angle your paddle downward, so the ball is forced not to pop up when you hit it. If it is soft topspin, do angle your paddle so its nearly facing the opponent. If hitting either a backhand or a forehand, the paddle should only move forward about a foot during the complete shot. (Bradley) All in all, ping-pong has a long history of ups and downs. It started in the end of the 1800s and has since then become very popular. From all countries there have been many people that have played their way to the top of ping-pong history. There are a lot of different strokes and spin moves in the game of ping-pong. There are two main grips, pen-hold grip and shake-hold grip which are used in all games of ping-pong. Works Cited: Deen, Alfred. History of Table Tennis. PongWorld. 2000. PongWorld. 31 Jan 2008 . Hickok, Ralph. Table Tennis. Hickok Sports.com. Monday, 17-Dec-2007 11:26:23. Hickok Sports. 4 Feb 2008 . International Table Tennis Federation museum, The History of Table Tennis. Robbins Table Tennis Specialties. 2007. Robbins Table Tennis Specialties, Inc.. 31 Jan 2008 http://www.robbinstabletennis.com/history.htm ITTF Museum. A Comprehensive History of Table Tennis. ITTF Museum. ITTF Museum. 4 Feb 2008 . Milton Bradley, The History of Table Tennis. Table Tennis History. Fortune City. 4 Feb 2008 . Willcox, Isobel. Acrobats Ping~Pong. 13438. New York: Dodd, mead Company, 1981.

Willa Cathers Death Comes to the Archbishop: A Narrative :: Willa Cathers Death Comes to the Archbishop

Willa Cather's Death Comes to the Archbishop: A Narrative Though many reviewers of Willa Cather's, Death Comes to the Archbishop, had difficulty classifying the book, Cather herself preferred to call it a narrative rather than a novel. I tend to agree with Cather. One definition from Webster's New World College Dictionary defines "narrative" as "a story", which is then defined as, "the telling of a happening or connected series of happenings, whether true or fictitious". A novel on the other hand is defined as having, "a more or less complex plot or pattern of events." Where most books tend to follow certain guidelines as to plot, Cather chooses to take a different route. Trying to create a tale that involves clever plot twists, bizarre characters, a telling climax, and a fitting denouement, would detract from the simple story she is telling. It is the story of two French priests who have been sent to the American Southwest to rejuvenate the Catholic churches in that diocese, during the late 1800's. The southwest, during this time period, was harsh and unhurried, and its indigenous people lived simple, remarkable lives. In keeping with the atmosphere of her story, the book is written almost as though her two main characters are keeping journals. The stories of Bishop Latour and Father Vaillant, who have adopted this rugged lifestyle, are told in little vignettes separated by chapters. Each vignette narrates a meaningful incident in their lives. I find it interesting that each chapter, or vignette, can stand on its own as an independent short story, yet it is woven together to create a tapestry of the Father's lives, with the people they meet and places they go tying it all together. Cather put it best when, in the book, she says, "Observing them thus in repose, in the act of reflection, Father Latour was thinking how each of these men not only had a story, but seemed to have become his story" (182). This type of "narrative" writing gives believability to the people, and a sense of realism to the story.

An Analysis of Judith Wrights Woman To Man Essay -- Judith Wright Wom

An Analysis of Woman To Man  Ã‚   The form of this text is a poem. The visual appearance of the text on the page indicates to us that it is a poem: it is positioned in the center of the page and it is made up of uniform sections, or stanzas. The form is more constrained than that of a novel, which runs freely across the page from left to right. The text also utilizes formal poetic features, such as: multiple stanzas containing equal numbers of lines; line breaks between stanzas; and a regular number of beats per line. The knowledge that Judith Wright is a well-known poet adds to the evidence that this is a poem. This text has more than one intended audience. The primary audience is Judith Wright's husband. It is a well-known fact (in literary circles) that Wright addressed this poem to her husband when she was pregnant with one of their children. The intimate nature of this exchange between Wright and her husband is evident in her use of personal pronouns: "†¦you and I have known it well"; "†¦your arm†¦"; "†¦my breast†¦". The second intended audience is every woman and every man, as an expression of something from every woman to every man. The title Woman To Man makes the poem universal, more than just a poem from Judith Wright to her husband. There are no names given to the woman and the man within the world of the poem. The experience of 'the Woman' becomes the experience of 'every woman'. The third audience for this text is the literati – the world of literature. Judith Wright is a well-known Australian poet; this poem has been published many times; this po em obviously did not stay between Wright and her husband. The poem displays the poet's highly technical and sophisticated control over language: this skill has been analyse... ...childbirth. The tone of "Woman To Man" is serious and moves from contentment to fear. To begin with, Wright calmly pours her emotions onto the page. She contemplates her unborn child, joyfully sharing her experience with her husband: "†¦yet you and I have known it well†¦". Her joy is shown in the beautiful images she uses to describe her child: "†¦the intricate and folded rose†¦". It is only in the final stanza that her joy and contentment turn to fear. She begins to imagine the intense pain of labour and she becomes frightened: "†¦the blaze of light along the blade / O hold me for I am afraid." The conclusion of the poem is dramatically appropriate. The shift in tone from peaceful contentment to fear is only natural, as the Woman (the poet) moves from the state of pregnancy, which she has known for nine months, into the early stages of labour, which frightens her.

Reformers Of The Second Great Awakening :: American History, Social Reforms, Slavery

During the Second Great Awakening, a mass revival of American society took place. Reformers of every kind emerged to ameliorate women’s rights, education and religious righteousness. At the forefront of the movement were the temperance reformers who fought for a change in alcoholism, and abolitionist who strived for the downfall of slavery. Temperance reformers were mostly women and religious leaders. Lyman Beecher, a well known preacher and temperance leader during this time, talked about how intemperance was destroying our nation. He stated that intemperance was,†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦continually transferring larger and larger bodies of men, from the class of contributors to the national income, to the class of worthless consumers...,† which meant that more men were taking away from the national then putting in. Some reformers even went as far as making illustrations showing how starting at a simple glass of this â€Å"demon rum† could lead to death or even suicide. Reformers such as Henry Clay Work wrote songs that at times placed a young daughter asking her father to come home to take care of their family. Women also played a very important role in the temperance movement by protesting to government to make alcohol illegal. The Abolition movement pushed for the country to realize the cruelties of slavery. Harriet Tubman, an escaped runaway slave, helped over 300 African Americans get freedom. Many people published books and reports on slavery. They showed Americans, as well as a world the harshness of slavery. Some abolitionist held posts on Underground Railroad to help free slaves and even helped them hide at times.

Diverse Workforce Essay

The term labor force is a general way to refer to all the people willing and able to work. For an organization, the internal labor force consists of the organization’s workers – its employees and the people who have contracts to work at the organization. This internal labor force has been drawn from the organization’s external labor market, that is, individuals who are actively seeking employment. With the development of the world, the labor force also changes. There are three major trends today in the change in labor force: 1. An aging working, 2. Diverse working, 3. Skills deficiencies of workforce. This report will talk about one of the three major trends in the change of labor force — Diverse Workforce. Diversity workforce refers to the variety differences between people in an organization. That sounds simple, but a diverse workforce consists of so many things, like gender, age, ethnic group, immigrants, physically and mentally disabled people, veteran status, sexual orientation, lifestyle, skill level, function or position within the company and so on. This paper is designed for advantages of a diverse workforce, problems of workforce diversity and strategies can be implemented to overcome the problems. 2.0 Advantages of a diverse workforce For an organization, a diverse workforce is good for it. Diversity is not only beneficial to both associates, but also to employers. Although associates are interdependent in the workplace, respecting individual differences can increase productivity. Diversity in the workplace can reduce lawsuits and increase marketing opportunities, recruitment, creativity, and business image (Esty, et al., 1995). In an era when flexibility and creativity are keys to competitiveness, diversity is critical for an organization’s success. Also, the consequences (loss of time and money) should not be overlooked. An organization’s success and competitiveness depends upon its ability to embrace diversity and realize the benefits. There are two advantages of why the diverse workforce important to an organization. 2.1More creative When employees come from diverse background, but bring individual talents and experience with them. This invariably contributes to an organization’s overall growth. Embracing employees with different skills and cultural viewpoints helps in understanding the needs and requirements of the customers, on a global scale. Diversity in workplace leads to a wide of viewpoints and business ideas. This helps an organization formulate the best business strategy, with its lager pool of different ideas and solutions. It can be more creative. Absolutely, with the world developing, a company need more creative to follow the world, and a diverse workforce can bring different employers, they have different background and experiences. So a diverse workforce is important to organizations. 2.2Increasing sales and earnings For organizations, the most important gold is profit. No one wants them lose money. Workforce diversity can increase sales and earnings. â€Å"Valuing diversity is part of Safeway’s approach to competing with specialty grocers and big-box stores such as Walmart and Target. Safeway invested in programs to attract, develop, and retain its best talent and to position the company as an employer of choice. Although 70 percent of Safeway’s customers are women, male leaders had been the norm in the retail grocery industry. Safeway took initiatives to help women, including women of color, advance into management. The CEO speaks regularly with employees about diversity issue, and employees have access to DVDs featuring interviews with successful employees who are women and people of color. The company ensures that all employees who qualify for its Retail Leadership Program, including those who work part-time and have flexible schedules to juggle work and family responsibilities, have the same opportunities for coaching, development, and advancement. A women’s leadership network sponsors development meetings between promising women and executives who suggest new job opportunities that can help the women advance to next level. With these and other efforts, the number of female store managers has risen a dramatic 42 percent, and financial analysts have concluded that the advancement of women and minorities has increased Safeway’s sales and earnings.† (Noe, el al. p.67) 3.0 Two problems of workforce diversity Although employing a diverse workforce has many advantages, it comes with some problems as well. 3.1 Communication Communication barriers lead to problems in a company attempting to create a diverse workplace. When a U.S. company hires employees of other cultures whose first language is not English, employees and managers may experience difficulties communicating with one another. This can lead to misunderstandings and a decrease in productivity. For example, if a manager gives instructions about completing a certain task to an employee who fails to fully comprehend the instructions, the employee may make mistakes if he tries to complete the task without receiving clarity. Sometimes it helps for companies to hire bilingual employees who can mediate and reduce language and communication barriers. To achieve the advantages of diversity, you must often provide diversity training, which includes cultural awareness and sensitivity training. Communication barriers become a major challenge in a diverse workforce. Employees that come from different cultures sometimes speak different languages, and encouraging communication can be a challenge. This can negatively affect both formal and informal communication and cohesion. It can also cause more errors and conflicts than you would likely find in a less diverse company. 3.2 Discrimination A company may encounter is reverse discrimination. This is a feeling that is associated with affirmative action policies. It is a major argument against such policies. Reverse discrimination is a claim by white males that they have been unfairly discriminated against. They claim they are equally or more qualified for the position, yet were passed over for a minority to receive the job. This can cause lawsuits in some cases, but mostly a sense of rejection by other workers in the company toward the minority who received the position. Although companies often train to avoid discrimination, the more diverse a workplace, the more potential for discrimination. This can create a hostile work environment where employees may fell oppressed if their emotional security is not protected. The company may face possible legal issues if prejudice and discrimination enter the mix and impact the decisions company leaders make. If managers make decisions about employees based on their personal traits, the company and the managers face potential lawsuits for discrimination. 4.0 strategies can be implemented to overcome the problems 4.1 Recognition As a manager or business owner, you must recognize that people have differences, be they physical, generational or cultural, and you cannot pretend that these barriers have been broken down. Instead, celebrate the differences among your employees, and encourage them to let their individualities show. For example, don’t hesitate to ask someone from another culture about their culture’s etiquette practices — their knowledge could prove useful to your business. Do not pigeonhole your employees. An employee’s worth comes from more than his ethnicity or age. 4.2 Fairness Acting fairly and acting uniformly are different, and only one enables you to successfully deal with diversity in your workplace. Don’t be fooled into thinking that by treating everyone exactly the same, you are demonstrating a fair attitude and respecting diversity. Instead, treat people fairly and respect the differences that make them who they are. For example, don’t schedule a mandatory meeting that falls on a religious holiday — it demonstrates a insensitivity and may breed resentment and foster feelings of being left out in any employees that are unable to attend. As a manager, you must fairness, whatever he or she is white or black, do not discriminate them. When the top managers treat the employees fair, the employees and employees can be respect themselves. 4.3 Patience Although employees that come from different cultures sometimes speak different languages, sometimes they cannot know what you say, as a manager or owner, you must have patience to listen to your employees’ suggestions so that it can help you improve yourself. 5.0 Conclusion A diverse workforce is a reflection of a changing world and marketplace. Diverse work teams bring high value to organizations. Respecting individual differences will benefit the workplace by creating a competitive edge and increasing work productivity. Diversity management benefits associates by creating a fair and safe environment where everyone has access to opportunities and challenges. Management tools in a diverse workforce should be used to educate everyone about diversity and its issues, including laws and regulations. Most workplaces are made up of diverse cultures, so organizations need to learn how to adapt to be successful. 6.0 References Esty, Katharine, Richard Griffin, and Marcie Schorr-Hirsh (1995). Workplace diversity. A managers guide to solving problems and turning diversity into a competitive advantage. Avon, MA: Adams Media Corporation. Lynne, M. D. Advantages & Disadvantages of Diverse Workforce in an Organization, [Online] Available at: http:smallbusiness.chron.com. [Accessed 3 November 2012]. Noe, R. A, et al (2011): Fundamentals of Human Resource Management, 4th edition, New York: McGraw-Hill Josh, G. Diversity in the Workplace: Benefits, Challenges and Solutions [Online] Available at: http:www.multiculturaladvantage.com/recruit/diversity [ Accessed 7 November 2012] Tom, R. 5 Strategies for Dealing with Diversity in the Workplace [Online] Available at: http:smallbusiness.chron.com. [ Accessed 10 November 2012]

Current Issues in Management Essay

Executive Summary Aim of this study This study is to analysis the selected airline business environment and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) program implementations of some airline and compare with the selected airline. What is CSR CSR is an approach to business that takes account of issues associated with society and the environment in addition to more traditional business concerns of shareholders and profits. The low-fare airline â€Å"Ryanair† doing about CSR We can see the result of Ryanair CSR performance from the interviewee in this section. Analysis and discuss how the airline performance Corporate Social Responsibility. 1. INTRODUCTION In the last few decades, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) has grown in importance, which is reflected by an increasing demand from consumers, employees, legislative systems, and the society for inclusive evaluations about how corporations are meeting acceptable standards. CSR plays an important role in the formation of airlines’ strategies due to the unique characteristics of the airline industry. Nevertheless, CSR in the airline industry has received relatively little attention from academics. The purpose of this study are to understand and analysis how the selected airline communicates to the outside world by implementing CSR programs. This research is exploratory by nature and is based on CSR reports published by the selected airline and related CSR information on the company websites. This topic has been chose because of the importance of CSR in business, more specifically in airline industry. What makes the application CSR programs in airline industry a particularly interesting topic to research is the highly competitive and pollutive nature of the industry. This competitive market has been caused by the price sensitivity of customers, and their desire to get good service at a decent price, as well as by the saturated nature of supply market due to multiple operators. In order to compete in the market, companies have to be cost efficient while providing best possible service. This, however, is difficult due to high operating costs that influence the whole industry. CSR is considered to be a vital part of any contemporary business strategy. In our mind focusing on CSR can provide airlines with both operational efficiency, as well as image benefits. People are becoming more aware of the social and environmental effects of their consuming habits, hence it be projected that innovative and responsible companies will continue to do well in the future, as their actions affect the purchasing behavior of customers.  The purpose of this study is to provide overview of CSR, discuss and analysis the performance of selected airline in corporate social responsibility. 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ON CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN AIRLINE INDUSTRY Corporate are inseparable from society. Nowadays, the responsibility of corporations is not solely providing products and services, it must also take care of the welfare of the various stakeholders in society (Robin, 1987). Corporate nowadays do not primarily focus on profits but being society responsible which generates more intangible value. Consumers prefer to be associated with socially responsible cooperates and as a result of this, corporate will allocate response to this area and play a private role. First, the flying of airplanes will adversely affect the global environment (Miyoshi, 2009). Favorable public image can be created if the airline â€Å"greening† the environment. Secondly, promoting CSR is an attractive differentiation strategy, it gains competitive advantages and growing competition between airlines when airlines are offering increasingly similar products and service in marketplace. For meeting the expectations of various stakeholders and customers, airlines can fulfill their responsibilities as a corporate citizen especially for international airlines operates in multiple countries. There seems to be no universally agreed definition of CSR (Frankental, 2001). He even argues that â€Å"CRS is a vague and intangible term which can mean anything to anybody, and therefore is effectively without meaning†. The continuing commitment by business to behave ethically and contribute to economic development while improving the quality of life of the community and society at large(Holmes and Watts, 2000). It is generally agreed that CSR refers to the obligations of the firm to society (Smith, 2003). 2.1 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY THEORIES AND STRATEGIES CSR includes four kinds of responsibilities: economic, legal, ethical and philanthropic. The economic responsibility refers to the firm’s obligations  to be productive, profitable, and to maintain wealth. Firm’s legal responsibility refers to carrying out their activities within the confines of legal requirements. For ethical responsibility refers to having ethical codes, norms going beyond mere legal frameworks, and being honest in their relationships with their customers and their own employees. Finally, the discretionary component includes voluntary or philanthropic activities aiming to raise the well-being and development of society as a whole (Carrol, 1911). CSR issues under a variety of headings: Marketplace, workplace, community and environment will be used as CSR components. Safety is the most important social responsibility for the aviation industry. From All Nippon Airways CSR report 2009, the company reports the preventive measures for two incidents occurred in 2008 that influenced stakeholder trust in the airline. In order to improve workplace relationship and employee morale, Korean Air has created an Employee Counseling Center to resolve complaints and receive suggestions from employees. For community, â€Å"I Can Fly† Program from Cathay Pacific, program is designed to encourage young people to fly high and to reach for their dreams. Being an international airline, Cathay pacific’s community investments also extend to communities outside of Hong Kong. Singapore Airline participates â€Å"the Asia and Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emission (ASPIRE)† Program in 2010, demonstrated green flight, which operated from Los Angeles to Singapore via Tokyo. As a result, it was able to use around 6% less fuel than normally required for a s imilar flight. Nowadays, customers are more aware of ethical consumption so that the airlines act in positive role in society by implementing some corporate social responsibilities’ programs. At the same times, consumers are also vulnerable to the problems and crises they are facing to, such as crisis in values and climate change, huge differences among people and also economic crisis in developed countries. Therefore, company can gain customer satisfaction and market value when they are applying the above CSR components. Corporate social responsibility means that organizations take on responsibility towards others in society, not merely on their shareholders and customers (Holloway, 2004). On the other hand, corporate social  responsibility also can improve our quality of life in the local community to solving environmental or socio-cultural problems locally or globally. CSR has found a positive relationship in both the short and long terms (Lee and Park, 2009). (Kang et al, 2010) examined the effects of positive effects of positive (proactive) and negative (reactive) CSR activities. 2.2 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY CHALLENEGES AND ISSUES Despite the potential of a Value Chain approach, the following issues need to be considered if the airline is planning to adopt or develop further more comprehensive CSR activities. Financial implications The Low-Fares Airlines business model relies on cost-reduction (Grob and Schroder, 2007). There are costs associated with implementing a CSR strategy but many are already accounted for within existing budget lines such as: Charitable giving, environmental management programs, corporate sponsorship and etc. Staffing Monitoring, evaluation and management of CSR objectives and related actions do require a staffing commitment in order to facilitate accurate reporting of costs and benefits. The size of the staffing commitment depends on the size and commitment of an organization. British Airways at the time of writing employed 30 staff working on CSR related initiatives (GreenAir 2008) Time Implement on CSR is a medium to long-term commitment that can only be fully achieved with realistic timescales built in from the start. However, there are some objectives, or â€Å"quick wins†, that can be realized in the short-term. 2.3 SUMMARY OF KEY CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ELEMENTS Review of the corporate social responsibility theories, strategies,  challenges and issue has shown that most of the international airlines (for example, Cathay Pacific Airline, Air France-KML, British Airways and etc) are very proactive in some of CSR components, for example, climate change and environment; customer relations by proving a level of customer service and comfort that ensure customer loyalty by focusing safety and security; staff personal development of the airline’s staff by offering personalized career advice, training and encouraging job mobility within the group. However, some of budget airlines, they are not really focus on CSR as a business strategy, the reason are airlines didn’t want to spend too much money on CSR because they need to control expenses for other resources to ensure tickets are low prices. Therefore, those budget airlines only focus on environment and community only. 3.1 COMPANY BACKGROUND Ryanair was established in 1985 by the Ryan family with  £1 share capital and 25 staff. Operation started with daily flights from Waterford in the southeast of Ireland to London on 15 Bandeirante aircraft (Ryanair, 2010). In 1987, the company acquired their first jet aircraft and as a result increased their network with 15 scheduled routes from Dublin to Liverpool, Glasgow, Manchester, Cardiff and opened new routes from Luton to West of Ireland. Consequently the number of passengers increased to over 600,000, but the company soon faced intense price competition with Aer Lingus and British Airways resulting to  £20m loss. During the 1990s, Ryanair decided to restructure the company by copying Southwest Airline low fares model (Ryanair, 2010). 3.2 CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AUDIT OF RYANAIR From the above audit, it showed that community projects, local skill training, advertising, disability access and ethical policies are not good from interviewee’s view. CO2 emissions, charity giving, pricing, training investment and safety are just fair. However, Ryanair are good in environmental responsibility for example: paper usage, water usage and waste. To understand why the interview gave this result, it will be discussed by using the following evidences. 4. ANALYSIS AND DISCUSS OF RYANAIR CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY PERFORMANCE Ryanair Corporate Social Responsibility activities report in 2011, it showed  environment, emissions trading, ethical codes and staff benefits will be implemented in coming year. For instance, Ryanair released two press releases about its 2008 Cabin Crew Charity Calendar, seven press releases for its 2009 Cabin Crew Calendar, and one press release for its 2012 Cabin Crew Calendar. Also, they even created a website for greening the environment. However, the charity calendar and other philanthropic efforts were not mentioned since 2008 annual report. In 2011 annual report, it also didn’t mention what kind of activities they did for the environment and how much fuel consumption they used. The following are the Corporate Social Responsibility performance of Ryanair between 2009 and 2012. For community, Fredrick (1986) developed the CSR analysis to include an ethical base to managerial decision taking in the form of corporate social rectitude and terms this CSR3. The theory claims that the study of business and community needs an ethical anchor to allow a systematic critique of business’s impact upon human consciousness and human continuity. When consumers book tickets at their website, charged price at the purchased stage is higher than the showed price at book tickets page. Real price has been hidden, it also counted as unethical. If the company’s action can have either a positive or a negative impact on the quality of a group or individual’s life, then the group or individual is a stakeholder of that company (Lepineux, 2005). On the other hand, Ryanair was not willing to provide services to those people who are disabled and older passengers has resulted in court ruling and got fines from court. After that, the airline increased the fare to all passengers and started lobbing airport and airlines, not to provide free services to disabled passengers. In 2010, The central London Country Court found it had acted unlawfully due to there was a passenger who I suffering from cerebral palsy and arthritis and be charged GBP18. Eventually, the one claimed GBP1136. Another important example of Ryanair’s unethical practices is their advert in 2012. Two UK newspaper adverted for Ryanair have been banned after complaints from readers that they were sexist and treated women as objects (BCC News, 2012). The advertising Standards Authority (ASA) received 17 complaints of this advertising, and said they were likely to cause offence. However, the airline said the adverts promoted its cabin crew charity calendar and used  images taken directly from it (BBC news, 2012). The company faced probe by the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) after a string of complaints and the rules have been breached seven times in two years (BBC News, 2009). Corporate Social Responsibility as the purpose of business and the knowledge and abilities of those that run the business (Worthington and Britton, 1997). Of course, every company is making profit, even Ryanair. Therefore, their operation and the impact on the environment have to be administrated. Ryanair is not very good in marketplace of the CSR components. They got a lot of complaints of cancellations, missing bags and denied boarding. In 2011, the aviation watchdog revealed that Ryanair and EasyJet were subject to the most complaints from British airline passengers in 2010. From Ryanair website, it shows that baggage complaints per 1,000 passengers have increased from 1.18 to 1.88 from 2010 to 2011 respectively. EasyJet had the most complaints with 719 and Ryanair following with 673. It was also noted that Ryanair complaints have risen by 70% since 2005 and the Liberal Democrats said that the numbers proved service standards is a casualty of lower fares (Guardian, 2010). As explained earlier safety is the most important social responsibility for the aviation industry. However, the flight to East Midlands Airport was forced to make an emergency landing and oxygen masks were deployed (The Sun, 2012). There are differences between Ryanair and its competitors in terms of services and how they are delivered. Ryanair pledges simply to get passengers from point A to B safely and at lowest price. Some seats are sold as little as  £1 or â‚ ¬ 1, however, if flights are delayed, passengers should not expect free refreshments (Emerald, 2007). At the same time, the airline treats their employees are different with other airlines e.g. Southwest airline. Southwest airline believes that customers deserve respect, fun and dignity but that their employees come first. This is because employees would treat customers the way they are been treated (Emerald, 2007). Employees from Ryanair are disregard. Also the company is in major dispute with its operation being socially irresponsible. 5. STRATEGIC CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR RYANAIR Corporate Social responsibility is very important for growth of the business so that the airline should be more social responsible by addressing the demands of the stakeholders. Building the sense in the organization being socially responsible will improve corporate image to create value. In my opinion, environmental issues should be considered the most important. Despite the airline can only contribute few percent to global CO2 emissions, there still are so many people will consider flying to be much more harmful. Therefore airlines are pressured into contributing to the environment and reducing their environment impact. Moreover, focusing on environmental issues airline can gain competitive edge through improved image and operational efficiency. Fuel efficiency, waste and recycling should be the most important to be addressed. CO2 emissions nowadays can be considered. To tackle the issue of emissions, most of the airlines have implemented programs that aim to reduce overall emissions within a certain time period. For example, Air France aims to reduce CO2 emissions 1-2 % annually. This is also important in order to achieve emissions target set by IATA. Most of the airlines focus on improving fuel efficiency, as it is by far the biggest source of emissions. Ryanair should reduce fuel consumption immediately, improved maintenance and engine washing, improved route planning and navigation. Waste and recycling are the second important environmental topic. Waste produced by in-flight operations comprises of aluminum, plastic, mixed paper and organic waste. Chemical waste includes deicing and antifreeze products, paint and detergents used in washing airplanes and engines. Other waste sources are normal business operations where paper is the predominant material. Most airlines reviewed are trying to reduce waste and focus on recycling. Airlines should move towards recycling and reduction of waste production in all operational areas. In my opinion this can be achieved by favoring longer lasting, recyclable or biodegradable materials i.e. in  catering operations. Airlines have a high impact on neighborhoods and communities surrounding their major hubs. The airline should support communities by recruiting and training staff, offering educational support and etc. i.e mentioned previously â€Å"I Can Fly† Program from Cathay Pacific. Creating the organizational culture of shared values where employees are willing and enjoy to work. Empower employees to do their job, support and encourage them in their decisions. When employees are empowers to do their job and be respected at work place, they will feel that they are part of the organization and their decision are appreciated, then they will work wholeheartedly at the airline. It can improve customer servicing, reduce complaints and improve airline performance. Safety measures also to be one of the most important areas of airline business, concerning customers as well as employees. Therefore various systems should be implemented to support safe business operations. In order to ensure work safety, trainings supported by risk management systems should be implemented. Key performances should be regularly measured and improved according to the legal requirements. 6. CONCLUSION In the recent years the importance of CSR has been increasing immensely in the airline industry. Although in many aspects airlines are still behind in comparison to other industries, it has been made apparent that environmentalism and social responsibility issues will only increase in importance in the coming years and decades. Having a business strategy is as essential as never before due to a high need in business life for forecasting, measuring and developing business actions further. There will always be competitors that are potentially doing better business regarding overall revenue which consequently leads to a need of efficient and structured operations to ensure long lasting business success. Businesses that are going to last and also be profitable in the future are the ones  with CSR incorporated into their business strategy. We therefore believe that implementing it is inevitable. Like many other business aspects a clear vision on how to implement CSR is crucial. Therefore a â€Å"road map† needs to be developed in order to ensure a successful outcome. It allows the firm to be successful whilst using its resources within its unique environment to meet market needs as well as meet stakeholder expectations (Industry Canada 2006, pp. 32-33). 7. References Alle, M. M and Schmitz, A. M. (2004). â€Å"Ryanair plc†. Sà ©minaire d’elaboration d’un Business Plan, p. 1-45. Moir, L. (2001). â€Å"What do we mean by corporate social responsibility†. 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