Drama Essay English 102 Essay

In A Doll’s House by Henrik Ibsen Nora (protagonist), lives a lifestyle that complies with the social standards of a typical wife during the late nineteenth century. She follows a patriarchal lifestyle in which her husband, Torvald Helmer (antagonist) is dominant. Furthermore, she doesn’t see that her marriage to Mr. Helmer is an illusion. Tarvold belittles and disempowers her throughout the play. However, at the end of the play she is no longer blind and sees that Mr. Helmer only cares for himself. Ibsen provides a clear example of Nora’s disempowerment in her lifestyle as a woman during the late 19th century. In 1879 women were not allowed to sign a contract for a loan without a male cosigner. Mrs. Helmer needed to take out a loan to pay for Tarvolds trip to Italy due to is illness at the time. Nora didn’t want her father to know about the loan because he was â€Å"on his death bed† (840). She didn’t want Mr. Helmer to know about the loan, because he wouldn’t take the money, he didn’t want to be in debt to a woman. Therefore she took the contract and forged her dieing fathers signature Another example of Nora’s disempowerment that Ibsen provides the audience with is Nora’s marriage to Torvald. First, he constantly belittles her by calling her pet names of insignificant animals such as squirrel or songbird (823). Another example is Mr. Helmer not allowing Mrs. Helmer to eat macaroons, which he claims are bad for her teeth. In Tkatchev 2 addition, when he suspects her of eating a macaroon he treats her as if she was a child (825). An example of Tarvolds feeding off of Nora’s helplessness is when she practices the Tarantella but she acts as if she doesn’t know what she is doing and desperately asks Tarvold to teach her. However in reality she was stalling him from checking his mailbox in which lies the letter from Krogstad stating the details of Nora’s forgery (859-860).. Although Nora is constantly disempowered and belittled by Tarvold, she is very submissive to Tarvold and believes that her marriage is a success. Although Nora is constantly disempowered and belittled by Tarvold, she is very submissive to Tarvold and believes that her marriage is a success. Although Nora is blind, because she doesn’t see that her marriage to Torvald is an illusion. At the end of the play Nora finds out what kind of person Mr. Helmer really is. After Torvald opens and reads the first letter from Krogstad he is astonished and the first words that came out of Nora’s mouth after Tarvold â€Å"flings open the door† â€Å"I won’t let you save me† (870). She is expecting for him to defend her because she committed a crime. However, it is the opposite he belligerently insults her and continually carries on about himself and his reputation. In addition, even when she implies suicide â€Å"When I’m gone from the world you’ll be free† (871), Tarvold implies if it was beneficial to him, he would let her do it; however, it doesn’t so she shouldn’t. After Tavold reads the second letter he quickly â€Å"forgives† Nora because the letter states that Krogstad will disregard the fraud and he will not file any charges. The second letter was written thanks to Mrs. Linde, who suggested that he still keep the letter stating the forgery and write a letter stating that he will disregard the forgery. The reason that she wanted the first letter to Tkatchev 3 reach Mr. Helmer is because she wanted the truth to be known. However it’s too late because Nora finally â€Å"opened her eyes†. After seeing Torvalds reaction the blind, submissive, powerless, Nora understood that Mr. Helmer only cares about himself. Therefore, she opened her eyes and changed to the complete opposite of the Nora that the audience met in the beginning of the play. Nora went from being submissive to unyielding. Instead of keeping to herself she began to voice her opinion. For example â€Å"For eight whole years – longer in fact since we first met, we have never talked seriously to each other about a single serious thing.† (873) Not only does Nora finally see what her marriage is really about, she also decided to leave Torvald forever. Clearly showing power and independence Tarvold begs her to stay and use the children as an excuse. However Nora responds by stating that the maid knows the house and the children better then she ever did. After reading this play I believe that the second translation (A Dolls’ House) is better then the first (A Doll’s House). Because, the first translation means singular, in reference to Nora. However, the second translation means plural in reference to both Nora and Tarvold. In my opinion both Nora and Tarvold are both, being dolls, victims of society and social standards. They followed a patriarchal rule within their family, which met with the social norms during that time period. Where Tarvold is the dominant, bread winner, husband and Nora is the submissive, entertainment, wife. If their social standard of society during that era, are now looked upon as immoral and wrong, does that mean that the people of the next era will look at our social standards of society and social norms and as immoral and wrong?

Chad’s Creative Concept Essay

Introduction †¢ Case Findings†¢ Problems†¢ Reasons behind the problems†¢ Questions and Answers †¢ Chads Creative Concepts is a company foundedby Chad Thomas that designs and manufactureswood furniture.†¢ The company began by producing custom-madefurniture and within a short duration developed asolid reputation for creative designs and high-quality workmanship.†¢ As company’s reputation grew and salesincreased, the sales force began selling some ofthe pieces to retail furniture outlets, which ledthem into the production of a more standard lineof furniture. †¢ Buyers of standard line furniture were much more pricesensitive and imposed more stringent deliveryrequirements.†¢ Custom designed furniture, however, continued todominate sales, accounting for 60% of volume and 75% ofdollar sales.†¢ Currently, the company operates a single manufacturingfacility where the equipment is mainly general purpose innature for providing flexibility to custom m ade furniture. †¢ Both custom and standard furniture compete forprocessing time on the same equipment by the samecraftspeople. †¢ Sales of standard line is increasingsteadily, so it requires more regularscheduling, but custom made furniture is givenpriority because of its higher sales and profitmargins.†¢ Thus, scheduled lots of standard furniturepieces are left sitting around the plant invarious stages of completion. †¢ The holding cost of the company is increasingwith dollars tied up in inventory, both of rawmaterials and work in process.†¢ The company has to rent expensive publicwarehouse to accommodate the inventoryvolume resulting in further increase of holdingcost.†¢ The increased lead times in both segmentshas resulted in longer promised delivery times. What type of decision must Chad Thomas make daily for his company’s operations to run effectively? Over the long run?The situation that Chad is facing is between the manufacturing andturn over. He needs to focus on decisions onscheduling, inventory, capacity & layout.†¢ He need to make scheduling decision to make sure there is not many raw materials as work in progress status. The standard line manufacturing need to be scheduled properly to avoid this problem.†¢ The standard product’s warehouse is costly. So, he need to reduce inventory by deciding on good supply-chain and implement it.†¢ As both the manufacturing line are well in demand and well increasing as well. So, he need to increase capacity to accommodate demand for both product lines.†¢ He can also separate out the production lines after increasing capacity

Cost Volume Profit Essay

Some things we know: The objective of every business is to make money (profit) for the owners Profit = Revenues – Expenses Revenues = Sales = Quantity sold x price per unit Expenses = the costs related to: the specific revenue (COGS) or the specific accounting period Matching Principle Role of Management is: Planning, control and performance measurement, and decision-making Decision-making relates to future events and involves risk Full costing (full-absorption costing) is a good historical tool but may not Be the best indicator of future activity because it is based on past events. Cost Behavior Variable Costs – total dollars change with volume, Cost per unit is constant Fixed Costs – total dollars are constant, cost per unit changes with volume Mixed Costs – include some variable costs and some fixed costs Total Cost = Fixed Costs + Volume(variable cost per unit) Fixed Component Variable Component Purely Fixed $25,000$ 0 Purely Variable 0 5.00 per unit Mixed Costs 10,000 2.00 per unit Total Costs $35,000$7.00 per unit Graphing Total Costs X axis (horizontal/across) = volume Y axis (vertical/up & down) = dollars Estimating the Composition of Mixed Costs Account Analysis Scattergraph – Visual inspection of plotted points High-Low Estimation Theory: The change in total costs between the high volume point and The low volume point, must be purely variable costs Linear Regression (computer assisted scattergraph) Contribution Margin Income Statement Ignores the function of the expenses Focus is on cost behavior (fixed and variable) Used extensively in forecasting future potential outcomes (planning & decision making) Because Profit = Revenue – Expenses(Costs) Where: Revenue = Volume x price per unit AndTotal Costs = Fixed Cost + (Volume x Variable cost per unit) Therefore: Volume x price per unit Less Volume x variable cost per unit Less Fixed costs Profit Revenue Less Variable Costs CONTRIBUTION MARGIN Less Fixed Costs Pretax Profit KNOW THIS FORMULA FRONTWARDS AND BACKWARDS Margin of Safety = the difference between the expected level of volume and the break-even point (normally using sales dollars but could also use units sold). When comparing two or more alternatives it may be helpful to look at the Margin of Safety as a percentage of sales. Contribution Margin Ratio = CM per unit / Selling Price per unit OrContribution Margin / Sales Operating Leverage = Fixed Costs / Contribution Margin Or Contribution Margin/Pretax Profit Cost-Volume-Profit (CVP) Analysis Break-Even Point = the point at which profit = zero (i.e. we break even) = The point at which Contribution Margin = Fixed Costs Once we know the break-even point, we can begin to plan for target profit Target Pre Tax Profit versus Target After Tax Profit Pretax Profit$100 Less Tax Expense 40 After Tax or Net Profit$ 60 Effective Tax Rate = Tax Expense / Pretax Profit(40% above) Tax Expense = Pretax Profit x Effective Tax Rate Net Income = Pretax Profit x (1- effective tax rate) Pretax Profit = Net Profit / (1- effective tax rate) Multiple Product CVP Analysis Weighted-Average Contribution Margin (also referred to as blended average) PRODUCT MIX IS CRITICAL Product 1Product 2Total Units Sold10020 Selling Price$10.00$50.00 Variable Costs 5.00$30.00 Sales$1,000$1,000$2,000 Contribution Margin 500$ 400 900 CM Ratio 50% 40% 45% SO LONG AS THE PRODUCT MIX REMAINS AT 5:1 THE PROJECTED CM RATIO WILL STAY AT 45%. Therefore if sales are expected to be $20,000, AND WE SELL 5 of Product 1 for every 1 unit of Product 2, Contribution Margin should be $9,000 ($20,000 x 45%) However if sales of Product 1 are only $1,000 and the remaining $19,000 are sales of Product 2 the Contribution margin is only $8,100 and the CM Ratio drops to 40.5%. $ 1,000 x 50% = $ 500 plus$19,000 x 40% = $7,600 $20,000 $8,100 = 40.5% of sales or (1/20 x .50) + (19/20 x .40) .025 + .38 = 40.5% When computing the Weighted-Average Contribution Margin USE SALES DOLLARS as the weighing factor (NOT UNITS). Constraint = a limitation of resources To maximize profits given a limited resource, produce the product that generates the highest contribution margin per limited resource. This may not be the product with the highest contribution margin ratio. Illustration: A company manufactured two types of beer, premium and regular. Both types of beer are brewed in the same kettles. A regular batch brews for 15 days and yields 12,000 bottles. A premium batch brews for 30 days and yields 12,000 bottles. Regular beer sells for $1.00 per bottle and has variable costs of $0.40 per bottle. The premium sell for $1.50 per bottle and has variable costs of $0.50 per bottle. Assuming unlimited demand of both products, which product should the company brew? PremiumRegular Per Batch: Sales$15,000$12,000 CM$12,000$ 7,200 CM % 66.67% 60.00% CM per Limited Resource (Days) CM$12,000$ 7,200 Divided by days 30 15 CM per day of limited Resource use $400 $480 Regular beer has a higher CM per limited resource. Therefore, given unlimited demand of both types, produce only regular. Proof: In 30 days we can make one batch of premium, which will yield $12,000 in CM. In the same 30 days we can make 2 batches of regular, which will yield $14,400 in CM. We are in business to make money for the owners, not percentages. You can’t deposit percentages in the bank!

Not Just Entertainment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Not Just Entertainment - Assignment Example A main topic of colonization seemed to be a dominant issue in several of the films. Female oppression and gender categorization was another situation discussed in several of the films. Cultural traditions and beliefs were intertwined throughout many of the films as each group practiced traditions in various ways from Western culture and traditions. Some cultural traditions have made their way into Western society as people have immigrated to Europe, America, Canada, and South America. Traditions that seemed acceptable by the mainstream society were openly practiced, while others were kept confidential because of their unacceptable practices (WHO, 1996). The film Keita carried the issue of education by the government to be the most important part of a young person’s life (Kouyate, 1995). In comparison to mainstream cinema, Brooks (1955) depicted how education is handled in an inner city all boys school in the film titled Blackboard Jungle. In La Bataille d’Alger the rule s the government were placing on the people were portrayed as the only acceptable way of life, even though the people of Algiers had their own traditions and beliefs that they had been practicing for generations (Pontecorvo, 1966). The comparison to how the Indians were treated by the government in the film titled Dances with Wolves is not much different. One group is trying to coerce the other group into something that is not wanted (Costner, 1990). The traditions in the film Moolaade that had been carried out for generations were being questioned and dismissed by some, while completely supported by other members of the community (Sembene, 2004). The oppression of women was depicted in a similar fashion, but not to the extreme in the film Maid in Manhattan (Wang, 2002). In each of these films, one group was trying to force another group to accept something that was different from the other group or individual’s belief. The similarities and differences can be determined in th e opinion of the viewer. Many mainstream films are created for and considered entertainment, while African cinema seemed to expose oppression, injustices, and real world experiences that may have remained hidden knowledge from the rest of the world. The function and art of the traditional griot portrayed in the film Keita was the teaching of the youth of the community through stories passed down through generations (Kouyate, 1995). It was the griot’s responsibility to make sure that everyone learned the history and origin of their family and community. A comparison between the African filmmakers and the griot could be that both have a job to disseminate the truth about the history and traditions of a community according to the culture and beliefs of that people. The difference between the filmmakers and the griot is that the filmmakers try to provide different opinions of the situation and allow for the view to decide how to interpret the outcome of the film. A griot taught t he story from knowledge passed down from generations and allowed the person being told the story to choose their own beliefs, without providing any other scenarios or versions of the story (Kouyate, 1995). A good example of the opposing views of a story from a filmmaker is provided in La Bataille d’Alger. In this film, the police were shown as one way and the script was written to

Evidence base practice Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Evidence base practice - Assignment Example RAM was of was advanced by one Callista Roy, back in 1976 (Clarke, Barone, Hanna and Senesac 2012). Roy’s major aim while developing the model was to promote adaptation in the nursing practice. The model’s development was influenced by various factors like; education, clinical experience, family, religious background, and education (Weiss, Hastings, Holly and Craig 2012). It seeks to address the following issues; According to Roy, adaptation happens whenever individuals respond positively to environmental changes. The model comprises four major components of individual, Nursing, Health and Environment (Weiss et al. 2012). The model notes that an individual is a bio-psycho-social being that constantly interacts with an ever changing surrounding. It considers people as individuals or in groups like families, organizations and the society as a whole (Clarke et al. 2012). It suggests that health is both a status and a procedure of being complete. Health and sickness are considered unavoidable areas of an individual’s life. RAM remains the best fit for the nursing practice because it gives practical suggestions concerning the nursing practice and process. It supposes that for individuals to respond well to changes in the surrounding, they have to adapt. Such adaptation depends on the stimulus the person is exposed to and his/ her extent of adaptation (Smith 2013). The individual also has four adaptation means, namely; physiologic necessities, self-notion, role purpose as well as interdependence. In conclusion, RAM is still the best fit for the nursing practice because it gives practical suggestions concerning the nursing practice and process. It suggests that all through the nursing process, every nurse, and all healthcare professionals should make adaptations to the nursing care plan. All this is done on the basis of the patient’s health

The Subject of Macroeconomics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

The Subject of Macroeconomics - Assignment Example The good thing about children is that it's easier for them to burn what they eat. Meaning, we can afford to feed them with greasy and sugary fast food and yet with proper play and exercise they will be able to burn them. And though schools remove facilities for physical activities, I don't think this should prevent children from exercising. They could run around the block and it would not cost a thing. Also, you can give the children chores requiring physical activity. This may even address the increasing demand for work time. With the children doing chores, they get exercise and adults have more time to work. It's a win-win situation. My point is, even though economic indicators tend to favor the occurrence of obesity, non-economic factors can easily counter it. With the right mindset, we can go above these economic indicators and prevent obesity. On the contrary, Microeconomics deals with the behavior of individuals and how they decide to allocate their limited resources. In the study of Macroeconomics, we deal with certain indicators and factors. These are the unemployment rates, price indices, national income, among other things. It is with the relationship of these factors that determines how the economy functions. National income is the estimate of the value of goods and services produced in an economy, for example, the US economy. There are many ways to measure national income. It may either be measured as Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Gross National Product (GNP) among other things.  Ã‚  

Strategy Implementation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Strategy Implementation - Essay Example Technology and incentives are not aligned because technology deals with production issues, while incentives deal with human resources. Companies can offer reward for good work acts, while enforcing punishment to implement disciplinary action. Incentives can be offered as a way to motivate employees. Monetary incentives motivate employees a lot due to the fact that compensation is the number one motivator of employees. There a different types of control mechanism in organizations. Five types of controls are bureaucratic control, output control, operational control, market control, and culture control. Bureaucratic control is the use of rules, policies, hierarchy of authority, reward systems and other mechanism that influence the behavior of the employees (Barnat). Output control deals with measures of count. For example the number of units produced during a day is an output control. Market control is used to compare companies. An example of a market control is the prices of stocks in the stock market. Operational control is used to measure efficiency. Culture control deals with the organizational culture of the firm. Culture control can have both positive and negative consequences. Control is a much different concept than technology or incentives. Work Cited Page Barnat, R. 2007. â€Å"Bureaucratic Control† 5 May 2011

Comparative analysis of two texts(can be films, short stories, poems) Essay

Comparative analysis of two texts(can be films, short stories, poems) you are free to choose both texts but they should be conne - Essay Example Different audiences interpret different arts differently provided they can draw a connection between their hypothesis and the actual works of art. Among the most conspicuously addressed themes in any work of art is normally the psycogeography. The theme includes the geographical representation of the setting drawing great prominence on the visible geographical aspects of the setting of the work of art. Events happen in places, to give an effective understanding of the places, writers must always provide an effective description of the places in which they choose to set their works. The geographical factors of a place help the audience conceptualize the possibilities that the writer later claims in his or her works. Additionally, the factors help create a sense of recognition among some audiences with knowledge of the places while it heightens the imagination of those unaware of the places an important feature that helps develop suspense thereby draws either readership or viewership t o the different works of literature. The films Coming to America produced in 1988 and the Saturday Night Fever produced in 1977 are two theatrical masterpieces that employ the use of different literary stylistic devices to ensure success; the films use such elements of literature to depict several similar themes. However, owing the different story lines, the films depict their respective themes differently thereby portraying the both the difference in their film genres and their audience specifications. Set in different times, the films address different societal issues but in the same setting. The two films are set in different parts of the New York City. While Coming to America bases its storyline on the life in the expansive Queens region, Saturday Night Fever is set in Brooklyn. His two films address the different themes differently, key among the themes, which are in both films are psychogeography, living cities, and urban landscapes. Owing to the different messages in the film s, the writers address the themes differently thereby achieving relative successes in developing their work. Coming to America begins in an imaginary setting, a Kingdom in an underdeveloped African country. The setting in the Kingdom is expansive with flawless natural beauty. The gardens are rife with vegetation creating a clean and ever fresh environment in which wild animals interact freely with humans and other domestic animals. The young prince Akeem has lived in the kingdom all his life and is now of age and ready to marry. His father, the king, presents him with virgins from which he is to pick a bride. He however refuses and decides to find a wife for himself. The writer fuses the desires of the young Akeem with the American society so seamlessly by claiming that the young prince later decides to come to America to find himself a wife. He settles in the sprawling Queens Township from where the contrast in the two settings depicts itself naturally. The African Kingdom is under developed and the population of the people is relative thereby making it conducive for habitation. The obvious lack of infrastructure in the region portray a technological gap that the prince fills up once in America. Life in the African Kingdom is simple and people eat fresh vegetables and fruits readily available in the evergreen gardens. The palace is more opulent and the prince

The religious factors that led to the clash between Native Americans Essay

The religious factors that led to the clash between Native Americans and early Euro-American settlers - Essay Example However, not everything in the Native American/White relations was entirely gruesome. Oppression and conflicts with white people turned Native Americans into a nation with remarkable adaptation potential. The development and change touched all the areas including culture and religion. As a result, while European colonialism was pushing Native American populations westwards, the latter were developing the degree of flexibility, adaptability and cohesion that had been unknown to native populations before 1607. The difference between the frontier line of America and the frontier line of other countries is the following: the other countries knew their boundaries and they knew which countries were beyond these boundaries. The North America frontier underlined the unknown land beyond it. In accordance with Calloway: â€Å"†¦fertile valleys, meeting friendly people bedecked in turquoise, and hearing wondrous accounts of the towns to be found in the north† (p. 133). As far as we can see, the diversity of the North frontier is evident. The nature of the diversity can be found in the first settlers’ necessity to deal with natural challenges and remain self-sufficient. Indian cultures are really unique and peculiar in America. Some Indian tribes have survived, although other tribes have been vanished and completely destroyed. Many of them continued their traditional cultures, while others fully lost their cultures and communities. The history of American Indians in their relationship with Americans is full of brutality and intent destruction and discrimination. (Erchack 1992) Some scientists mention that the history of American Indians is something similar to labyrinth of different opinions and ideas. Indians resides from the cold regions of the Intuit in northern Alaska to the Yahgan. Many Americans consider Indian Americans as noble savages. It became an

Operations and supply chain management Research Paper

Operations and supply chain management - Research Paper Example In a bank, personnel use systems and computers to manage the flow of money among the respective accounts along with providing customers efficient service through statements and further banking facilities. No matter what the operations are, decisions have to be taken to set up work schedules for the employees, improve & maintain quality, forecast demand for the products along with services, ascertain adequate inventory and maintain transport activities & store materials (Pamplin College of Business, â€Å"Course Descriptions†). The efficient operations and supply chain management of the United States (US) has initiated the ultimate revolution and transformation in the area of trade and commerce in the US. In this regard, Public Broadcasting Service series America Revealed has drawn certain ideal examples of a few of the US companies with efficient OSM. This study deals with a few of these examples which illustrate three most significant concepts or ideas concerning efficient OS M. The 21st century is an era of continuous change and ruthless competition. Till the year 2013, the US has shown the globe its power of efficiency by touching certain historical milestones in the business of silicon chips, arms, logistics and fastest cars (Lion Television, â€Å"Episode 4: Made in the USA†). ... Their operations mostly are concerned with the rolls and rolls of paper apart from exporting flat screen television and certain other items. The main concept in this regard is the idea incorporated by the authority of importing low cost raw materials of paper from the land of China and exporting them to rest of the world. Georgia Ports Authority is a strategic partnership with Resolute Forest Products, formerly known as Abitibi Bowater Inc., which is a pulp and paper manufacturer headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Ships of Georgia Ports Authority are filled with the large paper containers along with being filled with televisions and computers (Lion Television, â€Å"Episode 4: Made in the USA†). It is generally known that paper is generated by low value raw materials. Georgia Ports Authority’s unique strategy to process them to finished goods along with exporting them to the rest of the globe as well as the relentless 24*7 operations can be stated as among the m ost significant concepts in the area of OSM. CONCEPT/IDEA/REVELEATION 2 Second most significant idea or concepts of OSM has been introduced by one of the auto manufacturing leader Volkswagen. It has been creating high value manufactured offerings through its game based training programs. Its billion dollar projects and state-of-the-art facility have made them one of the finest leaders in the US. It produces 12 million cars a year. It also needs to assemble 20,000 mechanical parts a day. This requires huge assistance of highly technical, efficient and skilled manpower. In this regard, it has created a factory based revolution by introducing robot into its manufacturing operations. Time is one of the most important components in the operations sector. By

Would Islamic finance have prevented the current global financial Essay

Would Islamic finance have prevented the current global financial crisis Discuss - Essay Example The Islamic financial markets appears to have greater discipline and risk-sharing and conceivably can provide a solution or safeguard against the risk of financial crises.3 This research study analyzes the possibility that a world financial system modeled after Islamic financial systems may have prevented the current financial global crisis. It is concluded that some aspects of the Islamic financial markets system may have functioned to minimize the current global financial crisis, but it could not have prevented the crisis altogether. This is because some features of conventional financial systems are necessary for preserving and servicing conventional financial needs and competition, particularly the interests rates attributed to mortgages. This paper is therefore divided into four sections. The first section analyzes the causes of the financial crisis of 2008-2009. The second part of this paper analyzes the key aspects of Islamic financial markets regulations and ideologies. The s econd part of this paper also identifies and strengths and weaknesses of Islamic financial systems. The third part of this paper analyzes the feasibility of Islamic financial systems as a solution to or safeguard against financial crises. The final part of this paper offers concluding remarks and observations. Contents Abstract 2 Contents 3 Introduction 4 The Causes of the Global Financial Crisis 2008-2009

Internal QMS auditor training assessment booklet Essay Example for Free

Internal QMS auditor training assessment booklet Essay Case Study 1: Pre-Audit Preparation Instructions: 1. Each participant should individually study the background of the company including the background of organisation, organisation chart and process flow chart provided: †¢ Managing Customer Service: Front Office VVG-FO-B-7.5.1 (D) †¢ Managing Customer Service: Food and Beverage VVG-FB-B-7.5.1 (D) †¢ Managing Property: Engineering VVG-EN-B-7.5.1 (D) †¢ Delivery Service: Housekeeping VVG-HK-B-7.5.1 (D) 2. Prepare an audit plan for an internal audit of one business process but not your own work (use template of audit plan provided in Case Study 1: Output 1 or current Internal Audit Program). State any assumptions that you have made in preparing the audit plan. The plan should: †¢ Define the scope of the audit; †¢ What to audit (documents, records, activities); †¢ Who to select for interview and reason for selection; †¢ Where and when to audit (locations, audit trails, sequences, estimated time required); †¢ Methods for gathering objective evidence (interview, observation, document / record review). 3. Prepare an audit checklist with suitable questions to guide you in verifying the conformance, implementation and effectiveness of the QMS at the Sales and Marketing Department (use template of audit checklist in Case Study 1: Output 2 or current Internal Audit Program) Case Study 1: Output 1Name of Participant: .. ISO 9001 Internal Audit Plan Audit Specifications | | | |Audit Objectives | | |Audit Scope | | |Audit Client | | |Audit Team | | |Audit Dates | | |Audit Locations | | |Audit Criteria | | Date: ..Day: Assessment Program / Audit Plan |Time |Area |Clause |Auditor |Auditee | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Lunch | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Date: ..Day: Assessment Program / Audit Plan |Time |Area |Clause |Auditor |Auditee | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Lunch | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Case Study 1: Output 2Name of Participant: .. Internal Audit Checklist Department: Date of Audit: . Title of Procedure / Documents: Auditor: .. Auditee: . Page(s): of . |No |Step |Internal Audit|ISO Clause | | | |Checklist | | | | |Questions | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |Audit Conclusion | | Case Study 2: Output 2Name of Participant: .. For one selected non-conformity / observation: |Internal Audit Corrective and Preventive Action Report No.:.. | |To: From: | |(Auditee) (Auditor) | |Audit Criteria: ISO 9001 Clause No.: | |and / or Procedure: | |Description of Non-conformity / Observation (Part 1 by Auditor): | | | | | |Auditor’s Name / Signature: Date: | |Auditee’s Name / Signature: Date: | |(to be completed: 1 moth) | |(a) Root Cause(s) (Part 2 by Auditee): | | | | | |2. (b) Correction and Corrective / Preventive Action Plans to be taken | |Correction Plans: | | | | | |Corrective / Preventive Action Plans: | | | | | |Auditee’s Name / Signature: Date: | |Verification of Corrective / Preventive Action: | | | | | |Auditor’s Name / Signature: Date: |

Strategies of Inventory Administration

Strategies of Inventory Administration AQuestion 1: Answer: INTRODUCTION Inventory management is a characteristic piece of your business that you certainly would prefer not to mess around with. The accompanying are some normal inventory management methods conveyed by associations along with their inventory   holding expenses and potential benefits. Youd most likely require a mix of various strategies for the best approach for your business This inventory management method dispenses with the cost of holding inventory   inside and out. When you have a dropshipping agreement, you can specifically exchange client requests and shipment points of interest to your maker or distributer, who then ships the merchandise straightforwardly to your clients. Along these lines you dont need to keep products in inventory , get the chance to save money on forthright inventory   expenses, and advantage from a positive income cycle. A procedure like dropshipping where both techniques rule out the requirement for distribution centers or work expenses and dangers required with inventory   taking care of, cross-docking is a practice where approaching semi-trailer trucks or railroad autos empty materials specifically onto outbound trucks, trailers, or rail autos with next to zero inventory piling in the middle. (inventory-management) Types of inventory Management Every business includes of their inventory   of company, the material that they offer for sale and any other important material that is realy important for running their business. For maintaining small business there is less need of inventory than large business. Coming up short on products implies you will be unable to take care of demand, while having excessively numerous merchandise implies your cash is tied up in inventory   that you can not offer. Raw Materials This sort of inventory   consists any merchandise utilized as a part of the assembling procedure, for example, components use to assemble a completed item. Raw materials may consist completed merchandise or materials. For instance, for a orange juice organization, oranges, sugar and additives are raw materials; while for a PC producer, chips, circuit sheets and diodes are raw materials. Inventory things might be named raw materials if the association has bought them from an outside organization, or if they are utilized to make components. Work-in-Process Work-in-process inventory   things are those materials and parts that are holding up to be made into something else. These may consist halfway collected things that are holding up to be finished. Work-in-process inventory   things may consist completed merchandise that have not yet been packed and reviewed, and in addition raw materials that have moved from capacity to a preassembly area. For instance, in a orange juice organization, the oranges may come into a capacity zone, where they are raw products, but once they have been moved out of the capacity range and onto the sequential construction system for squeezing, they get to be work-in-process inventory . In a little organization, work-in-process goods might be put away in in the same area as raw materials and completed products. Finished Goods Finished goods   are any items that are prepared to be transported out or sold specifically to clients, including to wholesalers and retailers. Completed products might hold up in a capacity zone or on a shop floor. In the event that the measure of inventory   of Finished goods increase quicker that the measure of raw products and work-in-process products, then creation may need to back off until more completed merchandise are sold. In a few organizations, merchandise are excluded in the completed products inventory   until they are sold. For instance, in organizations where products are made to arrange.(types-inventory-organization) Ordering, holding, and lack costs make up the three principle classifications of inventory related expenses. These groupings broadly separate the a wide range of inventory   costs that exist, and below we will identify and describe a few cases of the different sorts of cost in every class. (-inventory-ordering-holding-and-shortage-costs) Ordering costs Ordering costs, also   called setup expenses, are basically costs acquired each time you submit a request. Illustrations include: Clerical expenses of preparing buy orders There are so many type of clerical costs, for example, receipt preparing, bookkeeping, and correspondence costs. Cost of finding providers and assisting orders Costs spent on these will probably inconsistent, but they are vital costs for the business. Transportation costs The expenses of moving the merchandise to the distribution center or store. These expenses are highly variable across different industries and items. Accepting expenses These include expenses of unloading goods at the distribution center, and reviewing the merchandise to ensure they are the right things and free of defectss. Cost of electronic information exchange   These are systems used by large organizations and particularly retailers, which permit requesting process expenses to be altogether  reduced. Holding costs As known called carrying costs, these are costs required with putting away inventory   before it is sold. Inventory   financing costs This consists everything identified with the investment made in inventory , including costs like interest on working capital. Financing expenses can be complex relying upon the business. Opportunity cost of the cash invested into inventory   This is found by figuring in the lost options of tying cash up in inventory , for example, putting resources into term stores or common assets. Storage space costs These are costs identified with where the inventory   is stored, and will change by area. There will be the cost of the storeroom itself, or rent installments if it is not claimed. At that point there are office preservation costs like lighting, warming, and ventilation. Inventory   services costs This consists the cost of the physical handling of the products, and protection, security, and IT equipment, and applications if these are utilized. Costs identified with inventory   control and cycle counting are further cases. Inventory   risk costs A major cost is shrinkage, which is the loss of items between buying from the provider and last deal because of any number of reasons: burglary, seller extortion, shipping mistakes, harm in travel or capacity. The other fundamental case is out of date quality, which is the cost of products going past their utilization by dates, or generally getting to be distinctly obsolete. (inventory-costs) Shortage Costs These costs, additionally got inventory -out expenses, happen when organizations get to be distinctly out of inventory   for reasons unknown. Disrupted production When the business includes delivering merchandise and in addition offering them, a deficiency will mean the business should pay for things like sit still specialists and industrial facility overhead, notwithstanding when nothing is being created. Emergency   shipments For retailers, inventory -outs could mean paying additional to get a shipment on time, or evolving providers. Client faithfulness and notoriety These expenses are difficult to pinpoint, yet there are positively losses to these when clients can not get their wanted item or administration on time. (inventory-cost) Economic Order Quantity:   Economic order quantity is the level of inventory that limits the level inventory holding expenses and requesting costs. It is one of the most seasoned traditional generation planning models. The structure used to decide this request amount is otherwise called Wilson EOQ Model or Wilson Formula. The model was produced by F. W. Harris in 1913. Yet at the same time R. H. Wilson, an expert who connected it widely, is given acknowledgment for his right on time top to bottom investigation of the model. EOQ is basically a bookkeeping equation that decides the time when the mix of request expenses and inventory conveying expenses are the slightest. The outcome is the most practical amount to arrange. In acquiring this is known as the request amount, in assembling it is known as the generation part estimate. The essential Economic Order Quantity (EOQ) recipe is as per the following: EOQ can be determined by applying the following commonly used formula:(models-of-inventory-management) Q = 2UxP/S Where: Q = Economic Ordering Quantity (EOQ) U = Quantity purchased in a year or month P = Cost of placing an order S = Annual or monthly cost of storage of one unit known as carrying cost. Let us illustrate this with an imaginary example: Let us assume the following data for a firm: Annual requirements 800 units Ordering Cost (per order) Rs. 50 Carrying Cost (per unit) Rs. 100 Now, using the EOQ formula, EOQ quantity will be as follows: EOQ = 2 x 800 x 50/2 = 80,000/2 = 40,000 = 200 Units Yearly USAGE Expressed in units, this is for the most part the simplest piece of the condition. Firm can just utilize its guage yearly use information for computational purposes. CARRYING COST Also called Holding Cost, carrying cost is the cost related with having inventory available. It is basically made up of the expenses related with the inventory investment and storage cost. With the end goal of the EOQ computation, if the cost does not change based upon the amount of inventory available it ought not be included in carrying cost. In the EOQ recipe, conveying expense is spoken to as the yearly cost per normal close by inventory unit. Minimum-Maximum Technique: The minimum maximum framework is regularly utilized as a part of association with manual inventory control frameworks. The base amount in addition to the ideal parcel measure., a demand is started when a withdrawal diminishes the inventory beneath the base level; the request amount is the most extreme short the inventory status after the withdrawal. In the event that the last withdrawal lessens the inventory level significantly beneath the base level, the request amount will be longer than the computed EOQ.The adequacy of a base most extreme framework is controlled by the strategy and accuracy with which the base and greatest parameters are built up. In the event that these parameters are based upon self-assertive judgments with a constrained premise, the framework will be restricted in its viability. In the event that the base depend on a target balanced premise, the framework can be extremely compelling. Two-bin Technique: One of the oldest systems of inventory control is the two bin system which is adopted to control C group inventories. In the two bin system, inventory   of each item is separated into two bins. One bin includess inventory , just sufficient to last from the date a new order is placed until it is received in inventory. The other bin contains a amount of inventory   enough to assure possible demand through the time of replenishment. CONCLUSION Inventory means inventory . It consists raw material, work in advance, completed items, spares in order to meet unexpected demand of clients. It additionally consists upkeep , repairs and working gadgets. There are a few strategies of inventory administration control like EOQ investigation, perpectual inventory, two receptacle procedure, GOLF, SOS methods and so on. Be that as it may, the best method is without a moment to spare examination and EOQ procedure which knows how much amount is required in future. Task B   Question 2: Question 2: 8 0.18 Question 2: 8 0.18 y=a+b b=Æ ©xy-nxyÃÅ'†¦/Æ ©x ²-nxÃÅ'†¦Ã‚ ² b= 38.60-12(144/12)(2.77/12)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2072-(12/2072) 3.86-33.24     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   2071.99   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   = 5.36/2071.99 = 0.002586 a=yÃÅ'†¦-bxÃÅ'†¦ y/n b(x/n) = 2.77/12 0.002586 (144/12) = 2.77/12 0.031032 = 0.1998 Y = a+bx So, here x is = 10 million Y = 0.1998 + (0.002586)(10)   Ã‚  Ã‚   = 0.1998 + 0.02586 = 0.2256 million. Q.3) a) weighted average forecast weight= .40 = (43*.1)+(44*.2)+(42*03)+41*.1) =4.3+8.8+12.6+16.4 =42.1 Weight= .30 = (44*.1)+( 42*.2) +(41*.3)+ (45*.4) = 4.4+8.4+12.3+18 =43.1 Weight =.20 = (42*.1)+ (41*.2)+ (45*.3)+ 39*.4) = 4.2+ 8.2+ 13.5+15.6 =41.5 b) if actual demand for stage 6 is 39 then demand for stage 7 will 41.5 =(42*.1)+ (41*.2) +(45*.3)+(39*.4) =4.2+8.2+13.5+15.6 =41.5 Q.4   When ÃŽ ±=0.10 When ÃŽ ±=0.30 Solution: Ft+1 = Ft + a(At Ft) inventory-cost. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/inventory-cost.html inventory-costs. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.managementstudyguide.com/inventory-costs.htm inventory-management. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.tradegecko.com/inventory-management-techniques -inventory-ordering-holding-and-shortage-costs. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.unleashedsoftware.com/blog/what-are-inventory-ordering-holding-and-shortage-costs models-of-inventory-management. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/production-management/inventory-control-forms-and-models-of-inventory-management-explained/41081/ types-inventory-organization. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://smallbusiness.chron.com/types-inventory-organization-14109.html

Feminism And Nationalist Themes

Feminism And Nationalist Themes The twentieth century Indian literature has drawn a considerable amount of its themes especially feminism and nationalist themes from two major epics: The Mahabharata and The Ramayana. Like Bible in European culture these two major epics dominates the Indian culture strongly and powerfully because they discuss all the major problems that are faced by all kinds of people. They discuss the issues of social inequality, gender inequality and for the rights of the lower class people too. Especially in India, for most of the people, myth is a lived reality, is a part of ones lived reality, every day existence, and large communities of people live by myths. As Daniel Tehapda, the philosopher from Cameroon states in La Place du my the dans Lexistence du negro-African. Another critic Ritwik Ghatak says the purpose of using such ancient myths and traditional music is to constantly point towards some dormant inspiration that lies hidden in reality. Sita, the female protagonist of the Ramayana and Draupadi, the female protagonist of the Mahabharata have become signs or cultural icons as pativratas (ideal wives) and as earth born Goddess. In the epics and in the culture that influenced and is influenced by them, a woman alone, a woman the powerful, a woman capable of bringing shame upon her family-that is to say, any woman is a woman in need of control. On a relatively innocent level, she is viewed as vulnerable creature in need of masculine protection. More insidiously, she is seen as essentially unable to control her own fatal force. But literary texts have brought subtle readings of these two epic women- sita can wage a psychological war against her captor Ravana; Draupadi can argue. The Mahabharata, attributed to Vyasa, is generally agreed to have been composed between 500BCEto 400CE. The Ramayana, attributed to Valmiki, is likely between 200BCE to 200CE. In the eleventh century, the Tamil poet Kamban wrote a recension in the south, and in the sixteenth century,Tulsidas translated the epic into Avadi(old hindu),which was later brought into Bengali by Krittivasa,and into modern Hindi. William Jones translated it to English. Both the epics recension of oral and written have emerged in all major Indian languages, as well as in European languages, from palm leaf into paper, drama, film, poem, etc. When one speaks of epic in India at large, with its literate and non literate audiences, no one written text is necessary to mind: Mahabharata or Ramayana is more likely to be envisioned. Doordharshan televised version of Ramayana, generally based on Tulsidas, but incorporating other major texts, faithfully watched by over80,000,000viewers,some of whom Bathed before watching, garlanded the set like a shrine, and considered viewing of Rama to be a religious experience. (Rich man 3) Most of the versions of epics focus upon the tradional heroes (Rama in the Ramayana, the Pandava brothers in the Mahabharata); only very few versions focus the views of the heroine. India is casted as Bharathmata, a maternal figure who has been captured, insulted humiliated by evil men or rakshasas (demons) Draupadi at the hands of Duryodhana, Sita at the hands of Ravana. Social activists or writers perceive the darkness and power of sita and Draupadi to rescue from their avenging figure to liberate one of a nation, of a gender, of a class. This chapter concentrates on the major crisis Sitas reunion with Rama at Valmikis Ashram; Draupadis humiliation at Hastinapura after Yudhistra has lost her in a game of dice, the innocent lives of innocent people was written or reworked in literature. Mahaswetha Devi says, Im not a student of history but anyway I read, I wrote, then I tore away the pages, I collected folklores, ballads, things like that. I was drawn to the great importance of collecting the oral traditions. I was only 26 or 28. Because at the time Thakur mansingh was operating. I had left my child son at home with my husband. I went to all these places. Never have I faced any danger, except one small Encounter with a dacoit. That was the time when I realized that oral tradition, folk material, is very important of historical, material. So those must be kept and preserved and printed if possible, because when these people die, the next generation, their life style might change, they will not see these. Indian people anywhere, tribal or non-tribal whatever happens; they keep it alive in folklores. Else, you will be surprised to know how many songs about Telegana struggle have been collected and published. I have taken After Kurukshetra story collection, Dopdi from Breast Stories and Ambais Atavi for the study. In all these stories, the women move on. They do not wait for endings. They meet the demands of life and find resolutions in nature. The Mahabharata and the Ramayana has received a great deal of exegetical and explicatory attention over the years, yet the voices of the oppressed in the great epic have remained a somewhat neglected field of critical enquiry. Mahaswetha Devi and Ambais palpable intention is to underscore the contrast between the Rajavritta and Lokavritta, in which one Honours and celebrates life. Kunti and Nishadin epitomize these two contrasting world vies respectively. The fifteenth chapter of the original version of the Mahabharata the ashram Vasik Parva describes the three years stay of the three familiar characters of the great epic Dhritarashtra, Gandhari, Kunti- in a forest towards end of their lives. After fifteen years of reign, they opt for a life of vanaprastha which is the third of the four stages of life, prescribed tradition for a caste Hindu, the stage of abandoning worldly affairs. Much against his wishes, Yudhistra lets them go. One day, as Dhritarashtra finishes his ablutions and returns to their hermitage, he comes to know that the forest has caught fire. The wind blows and the flames spread everywhere. The animals and the birds start deserting the forest. The blind Dhritarashtra, Gandhari with her blindfolded eyes and kunti, all awaiting death, ready to give themselves up to the flames. They have spent their times in penance, prayers and yogas till their death in the forest-fire. In her attempt to rewrite the story, Devi has made a couple of brilliant interpolations-Kuntis confession, her guilt-stricken conscience at being unwed mother and her helplessness in not accepting Karna as her son in public. What shocks her more is the Nishadins reminder of a greater crime committed by her, of which she was totally unaware, that is, the murder of six innocents belonging to the lower caste society. In her introduction to the politics of literary theory and representation, Pankaj.K.Singh states that, this is an interrogative rewriting of a segment of the Mahabharata from the point of view of the Nishadin whose mother-in-law and her five sons were made to die in the fire of Lakshagriha to cover the escape of Kunti and her sons, and who holds up for interrogation the whole practice of Rajavritta. Commenting upon its cotemporary relevance Singh states further that contemporary India has its own subalterns in the lower castes, the tribal, the landless, the poor and their women, Devi gives voice in her writing. Devi says, its my realization that the more we read through the lines and give voice to the countless infantryman used to protect the landed epical heroes, the dasis (mother of vidura, mother yuyutsu and countless others) and the vratyas used as cannon fodder during rajavritta emergency, the more the mythical time come into focus and the eternal game of politics comes into view. The first thing which strikes us, as the story opens, is the pitiable, pathetic plight of Kunti, the mother of mighty pandavas, queen of Pandu undergoes an existential despair, Mother of the Pandava, wife of Pandu, the role of a daughter-in-law, the role of a queen, the role of a mother, playing these hundreds of roles where was the space, the time to be her true self? All that while, amazingly she never felt that anything was hers, hers alone. She feels betrayed by life, now, she cant bear to keep it all locked inside her. But never tried to learn the life style of Nishadins, even she did not care their presence, one day she sees some middle-aged Nishadins moving about the forest with their children and familiesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Kunti never tried to learns the language they speak. Kunti is not happy, she laments of her present situation, whereas Nishadins are happy without any crumbling. This forest is full of tall, resinous trees. They gather this resin, honey, tubers and roots. They seem to be a tranquil, happy, hardworking lot, their faces always wreathed in breath smiles. After watching nishadins life Kunti feels that she has wasted her life by following the rituals of rajavritta. Watching Nishadins, it strikes her for the first time that she is wasting herself living like this, subsisting on rotting, withered leaves. Blindly following predetermined predestined path to death. Then realizes that, she never knew that she carried within her such a burden of unspoken thoughts. She feels guilty of being on unwed mother to Karna, one of the greatest heroes of Mahabharata and her helplessness, in accepting him openly as her son because of the oppressive patriarchal social order gnaws away at her conscience, Karna looked so much at peace as he lay there, dead. Gandharis piercing cry at the sight of Karnas body struck me like a whip. Why did I not have the courage? To cradle Karnas severed head in my lap and say, this is my first born? Dhananjaya! You have murdered your eldest brother! The son I abandoned for fear of public shame! Had I not disowned him, my name would have been sullied forever. Karna is the only one of my sons whose father I took of my own free will. What irony! What irony! Not one of the five pandavas as is sired by Pandu! Yet they are Pandavas. And Karna? A carpenters son. O! Ancient mother! That day Kunti stayed silent. What greater sin can there be? Gandhari knew she was pure and innocent. This knowledge gave her courage to publicly speak t he truth. Death is approaching slowly towards her and she feels the urge to unburden herself before she dies. She knows that the confession at this stage is urgent because Silence would be unpardonable. Then, her second confession, its about when she directly went to Karna asking him to leave Duryodhana and join to Yudhisthira I hesitated no more. I have not committed just, one sin, after all. I had not told my sons about the birth of Karna. Then, the day before the battle, I went to Karna and told him, abandon Duryodhana, side with yudhisthira. At this time she feels for being Rajavritta, living in the Rajavritta makes one cunning, treacherous. Because love did not dry Kunti to meet Karna only her self-interest did. Against the world of Rajavritta, the dark Virgilian world of deceit, duplicity and double moral standard stands the world of Lokavritta, world of Nishadins that is guided by natures law, where different standards of judgments do not have any place. Natures law. Nature abhors waste. We honour life. When a man and woman come together, they create a new life. But you wont understand. As the Nishadin proudly tells Kuti, we do not deny the demands of life. If we are widowed we have the right to remarry. Those who wish to, can marry again. We did so. We have husbands, childrenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth that is the way of the Rajavritta. That is what Kurukshetra was all about. The Lokavrittas ways are different. The conversation between Kunti and Nishadin brings out the sharp contrast between the worlds of Lokavritta and Rajavritta, the Rajavritta folk and the Lokavritta folk have different values, different ideas of right and wrong. If a young Nishadin girl makes love to the boy of her choice and gets pregnant, we celebrate it with a wedding. After the conversation Kunti understands clearly that Lokavrittas moral and spiritual ethics have been destroyed by the Rajavritta and which does not allow her to lead instinctive life and to confess her sin. It is in the forest Kunti realizes her true self, do not forgive me, o mother! The brute wealth of the royal palace, the might of the son on the throne, I felt caged and torn to pieces. Kunti dreams of her past life. She recalls her life as Rajavritta, the life of Rajavritta was so different, and she had so many roles to play. Deep in the forest she notices the Nishadins but nothing registers on her mind, oh, yes, I not only understand it, I speak it too. Of course you never thought of us as human, did you? No more than mute rocks, or trees, or animals. The Nishadins are so self-composed, hardworking, innocent people. But Rajavritta knows only to attend the Brahmins and worshipping the Gods. Kunti does not remember ever talking to a lower-class people, how could they? Her life had been the Rajavritta, the Gods, serving the Brahmins. Had she ever spoken to a dasi? Had she developed any genuine bond with hidimba? Life outside the Rajavritta had not touched her at all. Kunti wishes to confess, to purge herself of the sins she had committed. After every confession Kunti finds herself at peace, cleansed light and on every occasion. The nishadins hear her maternal lamentations, but Kunti believes them to be as dumb as rocks. Nishadins do not know her language or Kunti their, still the elderly nishadins reprimands her: no confessing of sins today? Youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦youà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Ive heard you out day after day, waiting to see if you will confess your gravest sin. Your languageà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦likes mineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦? Oh yes, I not only understand it, I speak it too. Of course you never thought of us as human, did you? No more than the mute rocks or animals. The elderly Nishadin accuses her of committing the most heinous crime, the massacre of innocents for self-interest. As the Varanavata episode from the Mahabharata was a conspiracy to kill Pandavas. But the Pandavas came to know the plan of Kauravas and hatched a counter-plan for survival. When the vax palace was set to fire by the trusted soldiers of Duryodhana, the pandavas escaped through a secret tunnel. In order to make the Kauravas to believe that Kunti and Pandavas were burnt to death, an elderly Nishadin and her five sons were invited to a feast and oceans of wine were served with food. The innocent Nishadin and her five sons drank too much and slept well. The elderly Nishadin, in Mahaswetas story whom discusses with Kunti is none other than the daughter-in-law of the dead old Nishadin. Kunti is shocked by this revelation and fears for her life. The elderly Nishadin makes clear view of their (tribal) ethics to kunti. She says, no I wont kill you. The Nishadin informs Kunti that a forest fire, which is disastrous natural phenomenon, has already broken out. She says, Yes, we can tell, from smelling the air, just as the other creatures of the forest can, that a fire has started. That is why they are fleeing like we are. Where to? Far away, beyond the reach of the forest fire. Where there are mountains, lakes and winding rivers. Kunti asks for forgiveness but the elderly Nishadin says, three blind, weak and infirm people cannot make it there. One is blind from birth, another has chosen to be a blind, and you, you are the blindest of the three. The thought of forest fire makes Kunti fearful but the Nishadin is not ready to forgive. She believes that it is easy for the Rajavritta to commit sin. to beg forgiveness is typical of the Rajavritta . The narrative ends with Kuntis acceptance of the destiny with the sense of finality. She got up. She has to go back to the Ashram. Wait for the forest fire. Dhritarashtra and Gandhari, after their loss of a hundred sons, are waiting patiently for death, waiting for the final fire to consume them. Kunti also welcomes death. In the story the five women, the narrators are five war widows, their husbands, foot soldiers, died in Kurukshetra war to protect the chariot mounted heroes. these women are not of the rajavritta, women of royalty, nor are they servants or attendants. These women are from the families of the hundreds of foot-soldiers Podatics from various other little kingdom. The women of Rajavritta strictly follow the ordeal but the women of Janavritta lives life in close association with the natural world. The Rajavritta is represented by Kunti, Draupadi, Subhadara and the pregnant Uttara where as the five women from the Kurujangal represent the Janavritta. I am Godhumi. This is Gomathi, holding my hand. That is Yamuna, with the red spot between her brows. That one standing there with a finger on her chin is Vitasta. And this is Vipasha, Vitastas sister. The five women consider the war as futile clash of egos, so many great kings joined in a war between brothers. Some choose one side, some cross over to the other. It was not just brother slaughtering brother. We know of quarrels jealousies rivalries too. But such a war for just a throne? This, a holy war?! A righteous war?! Just call it a war of greed! The five women are appointed to keep Uttara company and help her to overcome her grief. But to Uttara all the five women seems to be inseparable. the five women seem to think as one. They are so close that they seem to understand each other without words, speak to one another with their eyes alone. They look, they understand. The companionship of these five women is in contrast to the isolation of the women of the Rajavritta. Uttara feels as a stranger to them. Uttara, like the other women of Rajavritta believes that all the soldiers who died in the holy war are very secured in Divyalok the heaven, but the five young women reject this idea. Gothumi says, no chariots came down from Divyalok. They did not go to heaven. The foot soldiers, died fighting in the very same Dharmayudha. But no funeral rites were held for their souls. Further they reject the idea of Dharmayudha, this was not out Dharmayudha. Brother kills brother, uncle kills nephew, shishya kills guru. It may be your idea of dharma, it is not ours. The Janavritta women enjoy the public participation where as it is denied to rajavritta. Thus Uttara expresses surprise, imagine men and women singing together. The rajavritta women have no companionship or bond with their child, at best her child will stay with her a year. After that, the wet nurses will take over its upbringing. Royal offspring are not raised by their mothers. Then will begin the prescribed rites and rituals, the self-denial, the penance. So, this story clearly shows that the rajavrittas were restricted by false notions of high civilization. The natural human state is represented by the five Kurunjugal tribal women, whose life, ideas and quests are opposite to the destructive and sterile attitudes of the higher class of society. Uttara understands the difference and is not ready to leave them. But as widows of rajavritta, all the women (widows) concerns only for Uttara and not for the five young widow. Rajavritta women expect them to give a good company to Uttara because she may beget a son for the throne. how anxious her mother-in-law are! Draupadi, Subhadara, all the others, are deeply worried. If Uttara bears a son, he will be a king. After becoming so close with the five people Uttara used to question, did the rajavritta the royalty ever care to know about the Janavritta common humanity? through the story the five women Mahasweta Devi reveals to the reader the other side of Kurukshetra war and the ingenious of rajavritta women towards Lokavritta people. The third story, Souvali focuses on the irreconcibility of the rajavritta and the Janavritta. Souvali is a former handmaid who served to Dhritarashtra and bore him a son named Souvalya; known as yuyutsu. Souvali, a woman from Janavritta is forced to send her son to the Gurugrigha at the age of five. She is not able to bare the life of Janavritta so she gives up her dasi status and lives outside of the town, waiting for her son to return. On the margins of the town live the marginalized. Their settlement is a lively, noisy place. The alleys are narrow, the houses small. Ponds here and there, surrounded by trees, cattle sheds beside the huts. There, on the stoop of a large hut, sat Souvali. Souvalya is insulted and discriminated from the Kauravas, Dasiputra! Slave child! Its because of this Dasiputra that you got water from a sons hand! Kunti! Gandhari! Gandhari never once, in all these years, acknowledged you as a Kaurava. But he only performs the last rites (tarpan) for Dhritarashtra after the forest fire. The conversation between mother and son reveals that Souvalya is happy to rise above the status of dasi-putra by the pandavas. But his mother is not happy to accept the recognition rather she calls it as a farce. She wants her son to be a Janavritta, her son is foolish. Following the norms and customs of royalty even though he is one of the common folk. She thinks to herself, if you must learn, learn from your mother. I was nothing but a dasi in the royal house-hold but here, amongst the common people, Im a free woman. This story shows the difference between centre and the margins of society. its true. Its in the janavritta,amongst the common people, that we are in touch with our natural emotions. Tenderness,caring,compassion romance,love anger,jealousy. But in the rajavritta,you know how they keep such natural emotions strictly in check. Thus, mahasweta devi shows the two types- the subaltern as gendered subject and the subaltern as class subject clearly. The charcters exemplify the twin problems of class and gender. Mahasweta devis another story draupadi concentrates on the major crisis of drupadis humiliation at hastinapura after yudhistra has lost her in a game of dice. Briefly the Mahabharata chronicles the ancestry and the escalating conflicts of two sets of the brothers, the pandavas and the kaurauvas,for ruler ship of the land. In most recensions, drupadi is born from the earth(although some have her emerging from the fire of her fathers ritual sacrifice). Not long thereafter (she emerges as a young woman of marriageable age), her father arranges a sw aymvara, a gathering of eligible men who compete for her hand in marriage. Arjuna, the third of the five pandavas,wins,as she had hoped he would. But when he returns with his brothers to tell their mother the joyful news, their mother thinking he has won some material goods, commands him to share his winnings with his brothers. As her word can never be taken back, arjuna must share her, to the consternation of all. Draupadi marries all five pandavas in turn, yudishtra, the eldest and wisest; Bhima,noted for his physical strength and tenderheartedness; Arjuna, the consummate warrior, friend of Krishna, and Draupadis favourite; and the twins nakula and sahadeva, celebrated for their good looks. They device an arrangement to eradicate jealousy: beginning with Yudhisthira, each brother ha sole right of conjugal acces to Draupadi for a year at atime, during which the other may not even accidently enter the marital bedroom. Draupadi bears a son to each husband. Eventually, due to pressure exerted upon them by the king Dhritarashtra, the two sets of brothers reconcile, although mutual suspicion remains. In a move of anticipatory, Dhritarashtra divides up the kingdom between the two sides of the family: half to the pandavas and the other half to the hundred kauravas, an arrangement most unsatisfactory to the kauravas. The leading kaurava , Aduryodhana, arranges for yudhisthiras horse sacrifice and coronation,followed in the kauravas grand assembly hall by a ritual game of dice in which players are supposed to ceremonially lose to the new king. But Duryodhana puts his maternal uncle Sakuni, a master at dice, to play in his stead, and the loaded dice take away yudhistras land, wealth and slaves. Yudhistra then stakes each of his brothers in turn, again losing each time. He stakes himself, and again he loses. While the pandavas, stripped to their undergarments, stand aside helplessly as slaves, Duryodhana demands that Draupadi be brought out of the womens hall, and sends a messenger to fetch her. Informed about what has just occurred, she asks whether Yudhishtra lost her before or after he lost himself, and argues that one who no longer owns himself cannot own another to give up. She sends back the messenger. Another messenger is sent, and again returns. Finally, in frustration, Duhshasana himself goes to the womens hall; Drupadi tells him to leave her alone that she is having her period and unable to come to mens gathering. Ignoring her protestations, he drags her by the hair out to the assembly hall, where she pleads in vain with her husbands to help her, which they cannot do. Draupadis fury unmans all present. A debate ensues, interrupted by Duhshanans demanding that Draupadi be stripped, and Duryodhana laughingly patting his thigh to invite her to sit. This humiliation in the assembley hall is Draupadis central crisis, and is related in varying ways. Most recensions show her caling for Krishna to protect her; some show her merely as being jeeringly told to pray. In either case, a miracle occurs: as Duhshasana pulls at the cloth, Draupadi remains clothed:sari after sari appears, and ultimately, after pulling off hundreds of saris, Duhshasana collapses,weary and confused. Dhritarashtra halts the proceedings and grands Draupadi twoo boons. She asks for the freedom of Yudhisthira and for that of the other pandavas. The king grands freedom to every one, and restores all of their posssssessions and land to the pandavas. A second dice game ensues, which Yudhisthira again loses:the terms of the loss are that the pandavas must go into exile for twelve years, remain in exile in disguissse for another year, after which their half of the kingdom would be restored.draupadi follows them into exile, and tjhrought their years away from the kingdom is most eager for revenge: Bhima fulfill his promise to break Duryodhanas thigh and to drink Duhshasanas blood. A reworking of the mahabharatas assembly hall scene, draupadi brings forward the struggle of a santal woman(black like the epics draupadi, for whom she has been named by her mothers master). A cadre in the naxalbari rebellion, draupadi, in the text referred as dopdi is ultimately captured by senanayak, a Bengali army officer whose expertise in anthropology makes him perfect for the task of apprehending tribals. in order to destroy the enemy,become one . senanayak has become one just as in the Mahabharata , kauravas planned to wipe out draupadis husband,the five pandavas. Both the narratives clearly show the struggle of less powered people at the hands of powered ones and the less powered peoples wake of the powerful cheating. Similarly to the disempowering of the epic draupadis husbands,who,enslaved by the loss at the dice,cannot move,dopdis husband is murdered. on one such search, army informant Dukhiram Gharari saw a young Santhal man lying on his stomach on a flat stone, dipping h is face to drink water. The soldiers shot him as he lay. As the 303 threw him off spread- eagled nd brought a bloody foam to his mouth, he roared Ma-ho and then went limp. They realize later that it was the redoubtable Dulna Majhi. She refuses to fall into the armys trap by going to bend his body. The problem is thus solved. Then, leaving Dulnas body on the stone, the soldiers climb the trees in green camouflage. They embrace the leafy boughs like so many great God pass and wait as the large red ants bite their private parts. To see if anyone comes to take away the baby. This is the hunters way, not the soldiers. But senanayak knows that these brutes can not be dispatched by the approved method. So he asks his men to draw the prey with a corpse as bait. All will come clear, he says. I have almost deciphered Dopdis song. The soldiers get going at his command. But no one comes to claim Dulnas Corpse. Rather than lead her pursuers to capture other rebels, Dopdilets herself be caught, refuses to tell names.unlike the epic Draupadi,whose sari flow out in endless profusion,she is stripped, Draupadi mejhen was apprehended at 6.53 pm. It took an hour to get her to camp. Questioning took another hour exactly. No one touched her, and she was allowed to sit on a canvas camp stool. At 8.57 senanayaks dinner hour approached, and saying,Make her. Do the needful, he disappeared. The next day she is ordered to senanayaks tent and offered a pot water to slake her by-now overpowering thirst. But her response upsets all expections, Draupadi stands up. She pours the water down on the ground. Tears her piece of cloth with her teeth. Seeing such strange behavior,the guard says,shes gone crazy, and runs for orders. He can lead the prisoner out but does not know what to do if the prisoner behaves incomprehenstably .so he goes to ask his superior. Mahasweta devis Deaupadi refuses to be clothed again. She forces the confrontation with her tormentors-letting them see exactly what they have done to her, refusing to futilely attempt to cover herself. No goddess will come to help her and no king will fight for her behalf. Senanayk is paralysed at what he sees, Draupadistands before him, naked. Thigh and public hait matted with dry blood. Two breasts,two wounds. What is this? He is about to bark. Draupadi comes closert. Stands with her hand on her hip, laughs and says, The object of your search,Dopdi Mejhen. You asked them to make me up, dont you want to see how they made me? Where are her clothes? wont put them on,sir. Tearing them. Drauypadis black body comes even closer. Draupadi shakes wih an indomitable laughter that senanayak simply cannot understand. Her raveged lips bleed as she begins laughing. Draupadi wipes the blood on her palm and says in a voice that is as terrifying, sky spiliting and sharp as her ululation,whats the use of clothes? You can stripe me, but how can you clothe me again?are you a Man? She looks around and chooses thr front of senanayaks white bush shirt to spit a bloody gob at and says, There isnt a man here that I should be ashamed. I will not let you put my clothe on me. What more can you do? Come on, counter me- come on counter me-? Draupadi pushes senanayak with her two mangled breasts, and for the first time senanayak is afraid to stand before an unarmed target, terribly afraid. In the Mahabharata Draupadi is dragged from her menstrual cycle into the assembly hall in one garment, the stained garment is signifier that dushasana is expected to understand. She is not to be touched, and she certainly is not to be brought to the view of men. She reminds him,but he mocks at her and forces her to be in the hall. Dopdis signifiers of bllod, in contrast , mark a rape and torture completed rather than forestalled. The soldiers and senanayak are paralysed rather than goaded like Duhshasana into further action. Like the epic Draupadiu, who decries the impotence of her husbands, dopdi can find no man present within the camp. Ferociously, she defiles senanayak with her blood-she spits on him with her bleeding mouth, and pushes him with her wounded breasts into hiswhite shirt. Occypying his physical, forcing him to see her made up, she shoves his own fear into his face. Unarmed, but threatens what the actions of the next hour may be. In dopds case,the insults she hurls at senanayak and his men- which echo those that the master narrator Vyasa gave to the epic Draupadi in the assembly hall, and even her spitting and her pushing her wounded

Theme John Steinbacks Of Mice :: essays research papers

Dreams are a train of thought or images passing through ones mind. Of mice and men's two main themes consist of dreams and pipe dreams. Dreams can lead to problems, success, or neither. Dreams can also lead to new dreams as well. Some individuals can carry out their dreams, others cannot. Dreams involve commitment and one can never achieve it if you're not dedicated in following through. This goes with just about any goal or dream. Each individual character has different and specific pipe dreams. These pipe dreams help to go more in depth in understanding each individual character. The pipe dreams shape the characters' behavior and affect the way the character makes his/her decisions. Throughout the story, 'Of Mice and Men,'; focus' a lot on pipe dreams. The title of the book relates to Burns' poem when it states:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  'But, Mousie, thou art no thy lane   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In proving foresight may be vain:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The best laid schemes o' mice an' men   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Gang aft a –gley   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  An' lea'e us nought but grief an' pain   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  For promised joy'; This also states that others encounter problems as well when they look into the future and try to make plans. Others as well, find that their planning might be futile and fruitless as time goes on.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  George and Lennie both fit into the category of wanting to carry out their dreams and be different than everyone else by taking care and looking out for one another. Although, many of their individual pipe dreams followed a different view, but there were still some in which they shared. George was the 'base'; of his and Lennies friendship and loyalty. He was the 'root'; or 'leader'; so to speak. George would be the one who would keep things going on properly and more in order, to an extent. George had to be the 'base'; since Lennie was not strong enough. Proof of this is when he stated:   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  'If George don't want me, I'll go away. I'll go away.'; (Page 110) Lennies pipe dreams were more selfish and related to himself rather than Georges. Lennie wished for rabbits, and furry creatures to satisfy his urges. This showed his lack of control, intelligence, and his liking towards soft things. George and Lennie did share their goal about the farm and both wanting to succeed at it. They also knew that they would be different from the others because they had each other to rely on. Their dream of the farm in the future and the pipe dreams symbolized their security.

The Lost Inca Indian Culture Essay example -- Pre-Columbian History Cu

The Lost Inca Indian Culture Most historians recognize the fact that the empire of the Incas in Peru was one of the great civilizations that was lost due to the expansion of the Europeans into the New World. The Incas were once an empire boasting with riches and controlling a large portion of the west coast of South America. Until the arrival of the Spanish, the Incas did their own thing within their culture, with few outside sources affecting them. This paper focuses mainly on the role that the Spanish played in changing and eventually eliminating the culture that was the Incas. Facts drawn from outside sources will illustrate the changes the Incas made from the pre-Columbian age to their unfortunate downfall. Also mentioned will be the actual invasions by the Spanish and the cultural change in the Spanish after the conquests. The Europeans at the time of Columbus' first voyage probably did not expect to find such a large array of civilizations when they landed five centuries ago. Not only was the vast number of tribes awesome, but the technology that some had was much more than anticipated. The Incas, like many other tribes, built great structures mostly as religious shrines or temples. Some well known areas are especially laden with these structures: Machu Picchu, Cuzco, and Lima. The religion of the Incas is may seem familiar to anyone who has heard of any indian religion, but it does contain a flavor that separates it from other religions. The Incas were a polytheistic culture, believing in one supreme god, and a few lesser gods. When referring to the Supreme Being, the Incas called him Viracocha. That name had been passed down over centuries, used for worship of the Creator and Ruler of the Universe. The Incas were ... ...ves any longer. They were allowed to go about their business after the conquest for the most part. Spanish men married Inca women, and the two cultures began to become interracial. Spanish ministers set up communities to help the indians learn the religion and give the sacraments. Had the Spanish not conquered these indians, another nation probably would have. The money-complex was too strong in Europe to worry about the misfortunes of other people. As long as the people of Europe were satisfied, that was all that mattered. Bibliography Means, Philip A., Fall of the Inca Empire. Gordan Press Inc., New York, 1964. Lockhart, James, Spanish Peru, 1532-1560. University of Wisconsin Press, Madison, 1968. Baudin, Louis, Daily Life in Peru. The Macmillan Company, New York, 1962. Markham, Sir Clements, The Incas of Peru. AMS Press Inc., New York, 1969.

Essay --

Hydraulic fracturing, or â€Å"fracking† is a process in which natural gas and oil are extracted from shale rock layers deep within the earth by creating fractures below the earth’s surface. This is done by injecting a mixture of water, sand and chemicals at high pressure into wells. There are a number of environmental concerns related to hydraulic fracturing. One concern is the amount of water it takes to extract these resources – it could involve up to 5.9 billions gallons of water per day. In order for these fracking sites to get all that water 200 trucks are needed in order for this to happen. In drought prone areas of the country, this could create additional strain on the environment. The areas that are most prone to drought are areas like Texas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Virginia, and Kentucky along with other states surrounding them. Droughts take place all over the United States but most severely in the south as shown in this map. The dark, dark red are the states that have the most number of drought evens occur per year. The chemicals that are involved in the process are al...

Difficulties in Learning English Grammar

International Journal of Instruction e-ISSN: 1308-1470 ? www. e-iji. net July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 p-ISSN: 1694-609X DIFFICULTIES IN TEACHING AND LEARNING GRAMMAR IN AN EFL CONTEXT1 Abdu Mohammed Al-Mekhlafi PhD. , College of Education, Sultan Qaboos University, Oman [email  protected] com Ramani Perur Nagaratnam PhD. , Ministry of Manpower, Oman The role of grammar instruction in an ESL/EFL context has been for decades a major issue for students and teachers alike.Researchers have debated whether grammar should be taught in the classroom and students, for their part, have generally looked upon grammar instruction as a necessary evil at best, and an avoidable burden at worst. The paper reports a study undertaken to investigate the difficulties teachers face in teaching grammar to EFL students as well as those faced by students in learning it, in the teachers' perception.The study aimed to find out whether there are significant differences in teachers' perceptions of difficulties in relation to their gender, qualification, teaching experience, and the level they teach in school, thus providing insights into their own and their students' difficulties. Mean scores and t-test were used to interpret the data. The main findings are reported with implications. Key Words: English language teaching, instruction, EFL grammar instruction, teaching, difficulties in grammar instructionINTRODUCTION The English teacher is often portrayed as an â€Å"unattractive grammar monger whose only pleasure in life is to point out the faults of others† (Baron, 1982, p. 226). For the most part, within the classroom, any mention of grammar causes the student moments of discomfort and sometimes even terror. Many teachers have tried to make grammar teaching a non-threatening, imaginative and useful activity within the English curriculum. A summary of this paper was presented at the 54th World Assembly of the International Council on Education for Teaching (ICET) on ‘Maintaini ng Strategic Agility: Managing change and assuring quality in education for teaching’, 14-17 December 2009, Muscat, Oman. 70 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ Previous studies on students' and teachers' attitudes and perceptions of grammar instruction in the context of language teaching and learning suggest a disparity between students and teachers.While students favour formal and explicit grammar instruction and error correction, teachers favour communicative activities with less conscious focus on grammar (e. g. , Brindley 1984; Kumaravadivelu 1991; Leki 1995; Schultz 1996, 2001; Spratt 1999). Rationale for the present study The foregoing review of literature shows that practicing teachers are faced with a range of options for grammar instruction in their classrooms. There are, however, many types of difficulties faced by students and teachers with regard to grammar instruction in an ESL/EFL context.Identifying such difficulties and being consciously awar e of them would help teachers find ways of overcoming them and provide effective grammar instruction. There has, however, been little investigation of the difficulties faced by EFL teachers and Aran learners in the Gulf region with regard to grammar instruction. The teachers employ theoretically recommended methods without necessarily taking into account their own and their learners’ potential difficulties.They may not be conscious of difficulties which are serious and may thus hinder students’ learning of English grammar, and do not choose the method of instruction that would pose fewer difficulties and problems to their learners. It is in this context that the present study was undertaken to capture valuable insights into how EFL school teachers in Oman perceive students’ as well as their own difficulties with grammar instruction. The study reported here aims to address this need by presenting the difficulties of a cross section of school EFL teachers in Oman as well as their perceptions of their students' difficulties in this regard.It also aims to add to the knowledge base in this area. REVIEW OF LITERATURE Attitudes towards grammar instruction In teaching grammar, three areas have to be considered: grammar as rules, grammar as form, and grammar as resource. For many L2 learners, learning grammar often means learning the rules of grammar and having an intellectual knowledge of grammar. Teachers often believe that this will provide the generative basis on which learners can build their knowledge and will be able to use the language eventually. For them, prescribed rules give a kind of security.International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 71 A better approach is perhaps to see grammar as one of many resources that we have in language which helps us to communicate. We should see how grammar relates to what we want to say or write, and how we expect others to interpret what our language use and i ts focus. According to Widdowson (1990: 86), † . . . grammar is not a constraining imposition but a liberating force: it frees us from a dependency on context and a purely lexical categorization of reality. Given that many learners – and teachers – tend to view grammar as a set of restrictions on what is allowed and disallowed in language use – ‘a linguistic straitjacket’ in Larsen-Freeman’s words (2002: 103) – the conception of grammar as something that liberates rather than represses is one that is worth investigating. According to Morelli (2003), students perceived themselves as having a better attitude towards grammar instruction in context, while performing slightly better after having experienced the traditional grammar instruction.Elkilic and Akca (2008) reported generally positive attitudes of students studying English grammar at a private primary EFL classroom towards studying grammar. In particular, however, a little ov er 50% of their subjects claimed to enjoy grammar very much and only about 10% reported finding some difficulty in learning and remembering grammar. Student expectations Student expectations of traditional, explicit grammar teaching have been confirmed by many teachers (cf. Borg, 1999a, b).Burgess and Etherington (2002:440-441) also conclude that teachers believe that explicit teaching of grammar is favoured by their students because of expectations and feelings of insecurity. Since the 1970s, attention has shifted from ways of teaching grammar to ways of getting learners to communicate, but grammar has been seen to be a powerful undermining and demotivating force among L2 learners. In terms of motivation and learner success with languages, grammar has been seen to be a problem and to stand in the way of helping learners to communicate fluently.The hard fact that most teachers face is that learners often find it difficult to make flexible use of the rules of grammar taught in the cl assroom. They may know the rules perfectly, but are incapable of applying them in their own use of the language. Teachers' recognition of this process (i. e. , of transferring declarative knowledge about grammar into procedural knowledge) as a problem for many of their students has been reported by Burgess and Etherington (2002:442). Haudeck International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 72 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ as reported that many learners have difficulty in internalising grammar rules, although these have been taught intensively (1996, cited in European Commission, 2006). The use of grammatical terminology Metalinguistic discussion (i. e. , the use of grammatical terminology to talk about language) is seen by Stern (1992:327) as one of the characteristics of explicit grammar teaching. According to Burgess and Etherington (2002: 444), teachers believe that their students see grammatical terminology as useful and that its use does no t present a particular difficulty for students.Descriptive grammars acknowledge the fact that language is dynamic and its use is constantly changing, although not in major ways. The problem for ESL/EFL learners, however, is that there is a time-lag between the awareness of such changes and their acceptance as the proper use of the language. As Morelli (2003:33-34) has observed, â€Å"Grammar can be taught traditionally or contextually, but student perception should be considered by teachers in the decision-making process. Students need to feel confident that educators have met their needs . . . nd educators should be willing to consider the attitudes and perceptions of students when making decisions about how to teach grammar. † METHOD Purpose The study reported here aims to investigate the difficulties of a cross section of school EFL teachers in Oman as well as their perceptions of their students' difficulties with regard to grammar instruction. Research questions The study aimed to answer the following questions: 1. What are EFL teachers’ perceptions of the difficulties of students and teachers with regard to grammar instruction in an EFL context? 2.Are there any differences in teachers' perceptions between the difficulties faced by teachers and those faced by students? 3. Do these perceptions of difficulties vary according to the teachers’: †¢ Gender, †¢ Level taught, †¢ Qualifications, and †¢ Experience? International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 73 4. Are there any significant differences in teachers' perceptions due to the type of difficulty? Limitation of the study The present study is limited to: †¢ EFL teachers teaching English in Omani Basic Education schools, and †¢ The use of questionnaire as the research instrument.Nevertheless, the responses are valuable in themselves, indicating the general difficulties that students and teachers face with regard to grammar instruction in an EFL context. Research design The study was mainly quantitative in design, using a questionnaire and the subjects responded to each statement on a five-point Likert-type attitude scale (from 5 for ‘strongly agree' to 1 for ‘strongly disagree'). The respondents also provided background information on gender, qualification, teaching experience and the level they teach, for creating their profile in terms of variables. The data was analyzed (t-test and ANOVA) using the SPSS.The research instrument The questionnaire used in the present study, which comprises 20 statements, was the one employed by Burgess and Etherington in their study (2002: 451452) (See ANNEXURE – I for the questionnaire used in the present study). Subjects Only one broad geographical context was chosen for the study, namely Oman, in order to be context-specific and be able to make a close connection between teachers, their assumptions and their practical experience. It is b elieved that the subjects fairly represented the context of EFL teaching at different levels in Omani schools.Besides, the sample size was 90, more than the minimum number required for making useful statistical analyses according to Cohen and Manion (1994:77). The profile of the subjects in terms of the four variables is given below in Table 1: International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 74 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ Table 1. Profile of Respondents to the Study Instrument Variable Gender Level they teach Categories within the variable Male Female Grades 1-4 Grades 5-10 Grades 11-12 Master’s Degree Bachelor’s Degree Diploma ? years > 5 ? 10 years > 10 years No. of respondents in each category 39 51 17 31 42 8 76 6 27 41 22 Total (N) 90 90 Qualification 90 Experience 90 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION With regard to the first research question whether there are difficulties faced by students and teachers with grammar instruction, Tabl e 2 (ANNEXURE – II) shows an overall mean of 3. 51 on a five-point scale, the means for individual statements ranging from 2. 97 to 4. 10, thus indicating teachers' general agreement with most of the statements in the survey questionnaire (See Fig. below). This suggests that, in the perceptions of teachers, there are difficulties faced by teachers as well as students with regard to grammar instruction in an EFL context. Fig. 1. Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 75 With regard to the second research question about the differences between students and teachers in the difficulties faced, Table 3 shows that there is a statistically significant difference at the level of p ; 0. 01 in the perceptions of teachers and students, with students experiencing difficulties to a greater extent than teachers, which is understandable. The overall mean for students' difficulties as perceived by the teachers was 3. 58, while the overall mean for teachers' difficulties was 3. 23 (Table 3 below). Table 3. Teachers’ Perceptions of Teachers’ and Students’ Difficulties with EFL Grammar (N = 90) Statement Teachers’ Difficulties Students’ Difficulties as perceived by the Teachers Mean 3. 331 3. 5779 SD . 58484 . 42214 t Sig. (2-tailed) 5. 225 . 000 The third research question is about the differences in perception of difficulties in terms of the four teacher variables: gender, level taught, qualification, and teaching experience. With regard to gender, a comparison of the overall mean response for male (3. 508) and female teachers (3. 510) (See Fig. 2 below) shows that they are quite nearly the same and that there is no statistically significant difference at the level of 0. 5 in their perceptions about the difficulties (Sig. : . 978) (Table 4 in ANNEXURE – II)). This suggests that gender does not play a significant role i n the teachers' perceptions when it comes to articulating their own difficulties as well as those of their students with English grammar instruction. Fig. 2. Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to Gender With regard to the level taught, Table 5 (ANNEXURE – II) shows that teachers teaching at different levels have similar perceptions about their wn and their International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 76 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ students' difficulties with English grammar instruction, with a slightly higher mean for teachers of Grades 1-4 (3. 58) than the means for teachers of the other two levels, which are nearly the same (3. 49 and 3. 5) (See Fig. 3 below). Table 5 also shows that there is no statistically significant difference at the level of 0. 05 in terms of this variable (Sig. : . 686). Fig. 3.Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to Level Taught With r egard to teachers’ qualifications, Table 6 (ANNEXURE – II) shows a slightly higher overall mean for teachers with a diploma qualification (3. 78) than the overall means for teachers with higher qualifications, viz. bachelor's (3. 46) or master's degree (3. 49) (See Fig. 4 below). The results also show that there is no statistically significant difference at the level of 0. 05 in terms of this variable (Sig. : . 211 – Table 6). Fig. 4.Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to Qualifications With regard to teachers' experience, it does not seem to be a significant variable with regard to their perceptions of their own and their students' difficulties with English grammar instruction, as Table 7 (ANNEXURE – II) shows (See Fig. 5 below). The results also show that there is no statistically significant difference at the level of 0. 05 in terms of this variable (Sig. : . 869 – Table 7). International Journal of Instructio n, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 7 Fig. 5. Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to Experience The foregoing discussion is based on the overall mean score obtained for the difficulties in general and for each of the four teacher variables considered in the present study. With regard to the fourth research question, a detailed analysis of the results provides interesting and valuable insights into teachers’ perceptions of different types of difficulties for students and teachers themselves and their concerns about classroom application of grammar teaching principles.The results are discussed with respect to difficulties categorized in terms of the themes listed in Table 8 below: Table 8. Statements in the Questionnaire Categorised according to Themes Theme Explicit grammar teaching The transfer of declarative knowledge into procedural knowledge The use of grammatical terminology Error correction Problem-solving activities The use of authentic texts for grammar instruction The use of spoken and written communicative activities Statement(s) 3, 4, 5, 13 1, 17, 18 14, 19 15, 16 2, 20 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 17, 18Explicit grammar teaching The dichotomies of unconscious/conscious learning and inductive/deductive teaching methods are both sometimes equated with the dichotomy between implicit and explicit instruction. Attitudes to inductive and deductive methods were investigated through statements concerning explicit presentation of grammar by teachers, students finding form-function matches for themselves, and the constraints in using either of the two methods. International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 78 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦Statement 3 (My students expect teachers to present grammar explicitly) and Statement 13 (A lack of explicit grammar teaching leaves my students feeling insecure) produced a mean score of 3. 61 and 3. 38 respectively (Table 2 ANNEXU RE – II), supporting the view that students, in teachers’ perception, prefer explicit grammar teaching. This is not surprising, as students are known to expect traditional, explicit grammar instruction (e. g. , Borg, 1999a, b). The responses in the present study indicate that this expectation of students still remains, especially at the school level.Responses to Statement 5 (My students prefer to find matches between meaning and structure for themselves), however, produced a mean score of 3. 59 (Table 2 – ANNEXURE – II), which is very close to the mean score for students’ expectation about explicit teaching of grammar. This perception of students’ preference for an inductive method of learning grammar on the part of the same responding teachers is surprising. With regard to the same statement, the difference in mean between males and females seems to be higher than for the other statements (Table 4 – ANNEXURE – II).A follow-up interview with teachers might have provided more specific information and thrown light on their understanding of explicit and implicit methods of teaching grammar. With regard to Statement 4 (My students prefer to learn grammar from onesentence examples), which links to explicit grammar teaching, responding teachers produced the lowest mean score (2. 97) of all statements in the questionnaire (Table 2 – ANNEXURE – II). In terms of experience, however, there seems to be some significant difference at the level of 0. 5 in favour of teachers with more than 10 years of experience (Table 7 – ANNEXURE – II). Declarative vs procedural knowledge Statement 1 (My students find it difficult to transfer their grammatical knowledge into communicative language use), designed to identify teachers’ beliefs about the possible transfer of declarative knowledge (i. e. , knowledge about grammar) into procedural knowledge (i. e. , ability to use that knowledge in actua l communication), produced a mean score of 3. 81 (Table 2 ANNEXURE – II).This indicates that responding teachers recognise this process of transfer of one kind of knowledge into another as a problem for a large number of their students. This gap between students’ grammatical knowledge and communicative ability is not surprising to teachers, who often find that most of their students can recall grammatical rules accurately and perform very well on discrete-point grammar International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 79 exercises, but fail to achieve such grammatical accuracy in actual communication.This fact is corroborated by the responses to Statements 17 and 18 (My students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical knowledge within a totally communicative writing/speaking activity), which produced a mean score of 4. 10 and 3. 73 respectively (Table 2 – ANNEXURE – II). In terms of teacher qua lifications, teachers with a diploma agree strongly (mean of 4. 33) that their students find it difficult to transfer their grammatical knowledge into communicative language use. The mean for this statement for teachers with higher qualifications is lower (Table 6 – ANNEXURE – II).The use of grammatical terminology The use of grammatical terminology in the EFL classroom is seen as a necessary part of the explicit method of teaching grammar. When students and teachers talk about grammar (i. e. , in meta-linguistic discussion), which is one of the characteristics of explicit language teaching (Stern 1992: 327), they need to use grammatical terms. Two statements (14 & 19) sought to explore teachers’ perceptions of how their students feel about the use of grammatical terminology.Statement 14 (My students find grammatical terminology useful) and Statement 19 (My students find it difficult to use grammatical terminology) produced a mean score of 3. 82 and 4. 07 respec tively (Table 2 – ANNEXURE – II). This indicates that, in the responding teachers’ perception, their students see grammatical terminology as useful, but find difficulty in using the terms to be of a greater magnitude. Interestingly, the usefulness of grammatical terminology seems to be linked to the students’ preference for explicit grammar instruction. The difference in mean between teachers of Grades 1-4 and 11-12 on the one hand (mean of ? ) and those of Grades 5-10 (mean of 3. 4), however, seems to be higher with regard to their perceptions of the usefulness of grammatical terminology to their students. That is, teachers of the lowest and highest levels think that their students find grammatical terminology more useful than those of the middle grades. There is a significant difference at the level of 0. 05 in terms of the level taught with regard to the usefulness of grammatical terminology (statement 14) (Table 5 – ANNEXURE – II). In te rms of teacher qualifications, teachers with a diploma agree very strongly (mean of 4. 0) that their students find it difficult to use grammatical terminology and the majority of teachers surveyed, who have a bachelor's International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 80 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ degree, also seem to show a high level of agreement with regard to the same statement (mean of 4. 04). The mean for this statement for teachers with higher qualifications is lower (Table 6 – ANNEXURE – II). Error Correction Teachers generally tend to believe that errors of form committed by EFL learners should be corrected even when communicative goals are intended.This need for correction of form even within a communicative context, either spoken or written, may arise from a concern for grammatical accuracy in students’ communicative output or for avoiding fossilization of errors in their interlanguage. Statements 15 and 16 aim to capture teachers’ perceptions in this regard. Statement 15 (Teachers find it difficult to correct student errors of grammar within a written communicative context) and Statement 16 (Teachers find it difficult to correct student errors of grammar within a spoken communicative context) produced a mean score of 3. 26 and 3. 7 respectively (Table 2 ANNEXURE – II). It may be inferred from the results that the responding teachers experience more difficulty in correcting their learners’ spoken communication than written. Problem-solving techniques Problem-solving techniques in relation to grammar teaching are inductive techniques that require learners to find form-function matches by themselves. (e. g. , Hall and Shepheard, 1991). Responses of teachers surveyed in the present study produced a mean score of 3. 58 for Statement 2 (My students are motivated by problem-solving techniques for learning grammar), showing a link to responses to Statement 5 bout studentsâ⠂¬â„¢ preference for finding matches between meaning and structure for themselves. Surprisingly, however, the same responding teachers produced a mean score of 3. 60 for Statement 20 (My students are frustrated by problem-solving techniques for learning grammar) (Table 2 – ANNEXURE – II). A possible interpretation could be that teachers, while recognising the motivational potential of problem-solving techniques, also observe their students’ frustrating experience with such techniques, possibly because they are too ‘challenging’ for the learners to cope with.Another interpretation could be that teachers’ responses to Statement 2 are based on their theoretical assumption about what these techniques could do to the learners, while those to Statement 20 could be based on teachers’ assessment of the ground reality. International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 81 With regard to the statement about students being motivated by problemsolving techniques for learning grammar (Statement 2), there is also a significant difference at the level of 0. 5 between males and females in their perceptions (Table 4 – ANNEXURE – II). The use of authentic texts for grammar instruction Authentic texts are texts that are not produced artificially for the purpose of language teaching, but are used for genuine purposes in the real world, like newspaper articles and recipes. By implication, these texts are contextualised and communicatively complete in themselves. They focus is on conveying real meaning rather than on form.Decontextualised examples of language, on the other hand, are one-sentence examples usually found in EFL textbooks and grammar practice books. They illustrate grammatical forms and structures in context-free sentences and are generally associated with the explicit method of teaching grammar. The use of texts illustrating authentic communication for presenting gramma r is generally seen as posing problems to teachers and students alike. Students’ problems with their use arise from difficulties of variety of structures Statement 7), culture (Statement 8), vocabulary (Statement 9), and implicit form-function matches (Statement 10), besides an overall difficulty in handling grammar presented within authentic texts (Statement 6). Teachers’ difficulties with authentic texts include those arising from the amount of time needed for using them (Statement 11) and producing suitable tasks from such texts (Statement 12). According to the responding teachers’ perceptions, students experience greater difficulties from vocabulary (Mean=3. 52), variety of structures (Mean=3. 49) and finding form-function matches (Mean=3. 3) than from handling from presented within authentic texts (Mean=3. 33) and culture (Mean=3. 26). Statements 11 and 12 relating to teachers’ difficulties in using authentic texts produced a mean score of 3. 03 and 3. 09 respectively (Table 2 – ANNEXURE – II), which indicates a lower perception of teachers of their own difficulties than those of students. The use of spoken and written communicative activities Statements 17 and 18 refer to the possible difficulties students might have in improving the accuracy of their grammatical language within totally communicative activities.Responding teachers produced a mean score of 4. 10 and 3. 73 for the two statements respectively. In fact, the highest mean score of International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 82 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ all scores for the survey questionnaire (4. 10) was obtained for Statement 17 (My students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical knowledge within a totally communicative writing activity) (Table 2 ANNEXURE – II).The results indicate that, in teachers' perceptions, totally communicative activities, whether written or spoken, po se great difficulties to students for learning grammar and improving grammatical accuracy, writing activities proving more challenging than spoken ones. It might be inferred that the teachers surveyed might have a serious concern about the lack of sufficient focus on form in purely communicative activities or tasks for developing students' grammatical knowledge. Practising language as communication in real-life tasks might not give sufficient opportunities for students to improve their grammatical knowledge.In terms of teacher qualifications, teachers with a diploma agree very strongly (mean of 4. 67) that their students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical language within a totally communicative writing activity and the majority of teachers surveyed, who have a bachelor's degree, also seem to show a high level of agreement with regard to the same statement (mean of 4. 01). The mean for this statement for teachers with higher qualifications is lower (Table 6 – ANNEXURE – II).CONCLUSION Generally speaking, in teachers’ perceptions, both teachers and students invariably face serious difficulties with regard to EFL grammar instruction, students facing them to a greater extent than teachers. It is obvious that EFL teachers consider these difficulties quite serious, which suggests that serious attention needs to be paid to them. There may be generally recommended ways of teaching EFL grammar (for example, the implicit method), but it would not be proper to adopt them universally without looking at the possible difficulties that might go with those methods suggested.While a less favoured method might pose fewer problems and hence be more effective, a more favoured method might be less effective owing to greater difficulties or problems in implementing it. The difficulties may also be influenced by the context in which a particular method is used. It is, therefore, necessary to make a detailed study of such difficulties faced by teachers and students in specific contexts, take appropriate steps to overcome them, and adapt the method to suit the actual teaching and learning International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 83 environment. This is not to suggest ‘diluting’ a sound approach or method, but only to plan mediating or supplementary tasks to help learners tide over the difficulties. IMPLICATIONS The findings of the present study point to the following implications: 1. EFL Curriculum and material developers should show an understanding of learners’ and teachers’ difficulties, and provide sufficient guidance and help in the curriculum document and the teachers’ book showing how the potential difficulties could be addressed in planning their classroom activities.Teachers may be given examples of mediating tasks, which would mitigate the difficulties. 2. As Morelli (2003: 33-34) has pointed out, students need to be taught grammar through various methodologies and approaches to cater to their individual styles of learning, and educators should consider students’ attitudes and perceptions when making decisions about how to teach grammar. 3. EFL teachers would do well to understand and address their learners’ concerns in planning their lessons and classroom activities, and use supplementary materials, if necessary, to help learners cope with the difficulties. 4.Both in-service and pre-service training programmes should be planned in such a way that student-teachers and practising teachers articulate the potential and actual difficulties and discuss ways of overcoming or at least coping with them. The database relating to teaching English as a foreign language, including the difficulties of learners and teachers with regard to grammar instruction, should be enriched by more detailed research and analysis, which would enable generalizations across the gulf countries. International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 84 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦REFERENCES Baron, D. (1982). Grammar and good taste: Reforming the American language. New Haven, NJ: Yale University Press. Borg, S. (1999a). The use of grammatical terminology in the second language classroom: a qualitative study of teachers’ practices and cognitions. Applied Linguistics, 20 (1): 95-126. (cited in Burgess and Etherington, 2002) Borg, S. (1999b). Teachers’ theories in grammar teaching. ELT Journal, 53 (3): 157-167. (cited in Burgess and Etherington, 2002). Brindley, G. (1984). Needs Analysis and Objective Setting in the Adult Migrant Education Program. NSW Adult Migrant Education Service, Sydney.Burgess, J. and Etherington, S. (2002). Focus on grammatical form: explicit or implicit? System, 30: 433-458. Cohen, L. and Manion, L. C. (1994). Research Methods in Education. London: Routledge. Elkilic, G. and Akca, C. (2008). Attitudes of the Students Studying at K afkas University Private Primary EFL Classroom towards Storytelling and Motivation. Journal of Language and Linguistic Studies, 4(1): 1-22. European Commission (2006). The Main Pedagogical Principles Underlying the Teaching of Languages to Very Young Learners. Final Report of the EAC 89/04, Lot 1 Study: Edelenbos, P. , Johnstone, R. and Kubanek, A. Hall, N. nd Shepheard, J. (1991). The Anti-Grammar Grammar Book. London: Longman. Kumaravadivelu, B. (1991). Language learning tasks: teacher intention and learner interpretation. ELT Journal, 45 (2): 98-107. Larsen-Freeman, D. (2002). The Grammar of Choice. In E. Hinkel and S. Fotos (Eds. ). New Perspectives on Grammar Teaching in Second Language Classrooms. Mahwah, New Jersey: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Leki, I. (1995). Good writing: I know it when I see it. In In D. Belcher and G. Braine (eds. ) Academic Writing in a Second Language. Norwood, NJ: Ablex Publishing. International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. , No. 2 Al-Mekh lafi & Nagaratnam 85 Morelli, J. A. (2003). Ninth Graders’ Attitudes toward Different Approaches to Grammar Instruction. Unpublished Dissertation. The Graduate School of Education, Fordham University, New York. Schultz, R. (1996). Focus on form in the foreign language classroom: students’ and teachers’ views on error correction and the role of grammar. Foreign Language Annals, 29(3): 343-364. Schultz, R. (2001). Cultural differences in student and teacher perceptions concerning the role of grammar instruction and corrective feedback. USAColombia. The Modern Language Journal, 85(ii): 244-258. Spratt, M. 1999). How good are we at knowing what learners like? System, 27:141-155. Stern, H. H. (1992). Issues and Options in English Language Teaching. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Widdowson, H. G. (1990). Grammar and nonsense and learning. In H. G. Widdowson, Aspects of language teaching, pp. 79-98. Oxford: Oxford University Press. International Journal of Instructio n, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 86 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ ANNEXURE – I RESEARCH INSTRUMENT – QUESTIONNAIRE STUDENT AND TEACHER DIFFICULTIES WITH GRAMMAR These are questions about how students and teachers deal with grammar in the classroom.Please indicate how far you agree or disagree with these statements. If you agree strongly, mark a 5 on the scale; if you strongly disagree, mark a 1 on the scale. No. Statement SA 1 My students find it difficult to transfer their grammatical knowledge into communicative language use. 2 My students are motivated by problem-solving techniques for learning grammar. 3 My students expect teachers to present grammar points explicitly. 4 My students prefer to learn grammar from one-sentence examples. 5 My students prefer to find matches between meaning and structure for themselves. My students find it difficult to handle grammar presented within authentic texts. 7 My students find authentic texts difficult becaus e of the wide variety of structures which appear. 8 My students find authentic texts difficult because they are too culture bound. 9 My students find authentic texts difficult because of the vocabulary used. 10 My students cannot find form-function matches in authentic texts without explicit direction from teachers. 11 Teachers find the use of authentic material too time-consuming. 12 Teachers find it difficult to produce tasks of a suitable level from authentic texts. 3 A lack of explicit grammar teaching leaves my students feeling insecure. 14 My students find grammatical terminology useful. 15 Teachers find it difficult to correct student errors of grammar within a written communicative context. 16 Teachers find it difficult to correct student errors of grammar within a spoken communicative context. 17 My students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical language within a totally communicative writing activity. 18 My students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical language within a totally communicative speaking activity. 9 My students find it difficult to use grammatical terminology. 20 My students are frustrated by problem-solving techniques for learning grammar. A N D SD International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 87 ANNEXURE – II Table 2. Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar (N = 90) Statement 1. My students find it difficult to transfer their grammatical knowledge into communicative language use. 2. My students are motivated by problem-solving techniques for learning grammar. 3. My students expect teachers to present grammar points explicitly. 4.My students prefer to learn grammar from one-sentence examples. 5. My students prefer to find matches between meaning and structure for themselves. 6. My students find it difficult to handle grammar presented within authentic texts. 7. My students find authentic texts difficult because of t he wide variety of structures which appear. 8. My students find authentic texts difficult because they are too culture bound. 9. My students find authentic texts difficult because of the vocabulary used. 10. My students cannot find form-function matches in authentic texts without explicit direction from teachers. 11.Teachers find the use of authentic material too time-consuming. 12. Teachers find it difficult to produce tasks of a suitable level from authentic texts. 13. A lack of explicit grammar teaching leaves my students feeling insecure. 14. My students find grammatical terminology useful. 15. Teachers find it difficult to correct student errors of grammar within a written communicative context. 16. Teachers find it difficult to correct student errors of grammar within a spoken communicative context. 17. My students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical language within a totally communicative writing activity. 8. My students find it difficult to improve the accuracy of their grammatical language within a totally communicative speaking activity. 19. My students find it difficult to use grammatical terminology. 20. My students are frustrated by problem-solving techniques for learning grammar. Overall Mean 3. 8111 3. 5778 3. 6111 2. 9667 3. 5889 3. 3333 3. 4889 3. 2556 3. 5222 3. 4333 3. 0333 3. 0889 3. 3778 3. 8222 3. 2556 3. 5730 4. 1000 3. 7333 4. 0667 3. 6000 3. 5090 SD . 93490 . 97125 1. 04607 1. 49494 . 94684 1. 03858 1. 01941 1. 03382 1. 07293 1. 02825 1. 05415 1. 16739 . 97816 1. 5937 1. 25027 . 83785 . 90006 . 99210 . 87152 1. 08927 7. 71887 Table 4. Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to their Gender (Males: N=39; Females: N=51) Statement 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Gender Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Mean 3. 8718 3. 7647 3. 2308 3. 8431 3. 7436 3. 5098 3. 1282 2. 8431 3. 7949 3. 4314 3. 2821 3. 3725 3. 5128 3. 4706 3. 2051 3. 2941 3. 5128 3. 5294 3. 3846 3. 4706 3. 0769 3. 0000 3. 1282 3. 0588 SD . 86388 . 99173 1. 6281 . 80926 . 96567 1. 10223 1. 47219 1. 51489 . 95089 . 92206 1. 02466 1. 05756 . 79046 1. 17223 1. 10452 . 98578 . 99662 1. 13759 1. 09100 . 98697 1. 10940 1. 01980 1. 19603 1. 15606 F 1. 357 4. 942 1. 447 . 032 . 068 . 095 9. 319 . 295 1. 240 . 600 . 062 . 107 t . 536 3. 105 1. 051 . 895 1. 828 . 408 . 194 . 403 . 072 . 391 . 341 . 278 Sig. (2-tailed) . 593 . 003 . 296 . 373 . 071 . 684 . 847 . 688 . 943 . 697 . 734 . 782 International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 88 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ Statement 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 OverallGender Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Male Female Mean 3. 3333 3. 4118 3. 9231 3. 7451 3. 3590 3. 1765 3. 5385 3. 6000 4. 0769 4. 1176 3. 7179 3. 7451 3. 8974 4. 1961 3. 4359 3. 7255 3. 5077 3. 5100 SD . 98230 . 98339 1. 28523 1. 24649 1. 34726 1. 17823 . 82226 . 85714 . 98367 . 84017 .88700 1. 07412 . 94018 . 80049 1. 16517 1. 02134 6. 67887 8. 50930 F . 018 . 105 1. 363 . 174 . 023 1. 454 . 201 2. 494 1. 604 t . 375 . 662 . 684 . 342 . 212 . 128 1. 626 1. 254 . 028 Sig. (2-tailed) . 708 . 510 . 496 . 733 . 833 . 898 . 108 . 213 . 978 Table 5.Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to the Level taught Statement 1 Level 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 N 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 Mean 3. 8824 3. 5484 3. 9762 3. 8111 3. 5882 3. 2903 3. 7857 3. 5778 3. 7059 3. 5161 3. 6429 3. 6111 2. 7647 3. 4516 2. 6905 2. 9667 3. 7059 3. 6774 3. 4762 3. 5889 3. 1765 3. 3871 3. 3571 3. 3333 3. 6471 3. 4839 3. 4286 3. 889 3 . 6471 3. 2903 3. 0714 3. 2556 3. 7059 3. 5484 3. 4286 3. 5222 3. 7647 SD 1. 05370 1. 09053 . 71527 . 93490 1. 00367 . 97275 . 92488 . 97125 1. 04670 . 99569 1. 10036 1. 04607 1. 52190 1. 43385 1. 47314 1. 49494 . 77174 . 79108 1. 10956 . 94684 1. 01460 1. 02233 1. 07797 1. 03858 1. 16946 1. 06053 . 94075 1. 01941 . 99632 . 93785 1. 09082 1. 03382 1. 26317 1. 09053 . 99125 1. 07293 1. 20049 F 1. 970 Sig. .146 2 2. 394 .097 3 .213 .809 4 2. 593 .081 5 .557 .575 6 .242 .785 7 .274 .761 8 1. 943 .149 9 .413 1. 116 .663 . 332 10 International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 9 Statement 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Overall Level 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total 1-4 5-10 11-12 Total N 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 41 89 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 17 31 42 90 Mean 3. 3871 3. 3333 3. 4333 2. 8824 3. 0968 3. 0476 3. 0333 3. 1176 3. 1290 3. 0476 3. 0889 3. 5294 3. 0645 3. 5476 3. 3778 4. 0000 3. 3871 4. 0714 3. 8222 3. 0588 3. 5161 3. 429 3. 2556 3. 6471 3. 7419 3. 4146 3. 5730 4. 2941 4. 0323 4. 0714 4. 1000 3. 6471 3. 6774 3. 8095 3. 7333 4. 3529 3. 9355 4. 0476 4. 0667 3. 5294 3. 5806 3. 6429 3. 6000 3. 5824 3. 4871 3. 4951 3. 5090 SD . 91933 1. 02806 1. 02825 1. 05370 1. 10619 1. 03482 1. 05415 1. 21873 1. 14723 1. 18841 1. 16739 1. 17886 . 99785 . 83235 . 97816 1. 22474 1. 22956 1. 23748 1. 25937 1. 39062 1. 17958 1. 24100 1. 25027 . 93148 . 68155 . 89375 . 83785 . 77174 . 87498 . 97262 . 90006 1. 27187 . 90874 . 94322 . 99210 . 70189 . 81386 . 96151 . 87152 1. 12459 1. 14816 1. 05510 1. 08927 7. 94466 8. 51652 7. 09156 7. 71887 F Sig. .230 .795 049 .953 2. 509 .087 2. 968 .057 1. 056 .352 1. 443 .242 .499 .609 .233 .792 1. 287 .281 .072 .931 .378 .686 Table 6. Teach ers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to their Qualifications Statement 1 Qualification MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total N 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 Mean 3. 5000 3. 8026 4. 3333 3. 8111 3. 6250 3. 5395 4. 0000 3. 5778 SD 1. 30931 . 89472 . 81650 . 93490 . 91613 . 99921 . 63246 . 97125 F 1. 394 Sig. .253 2 .630 .535 International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 90 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ Statement 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17Qualification MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma N 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 75 6 89 8 76 6 Mean 3. 5000 3. 5921 4. 00 00 3. 6111 3. 3750 2. 9605 2. 5000 2. 9667 3. 7500 3. 5526 3. 8333 3. 5889 2. 6250 3. 4079 3. 3333 3. 3333 3. 2500 3. 4605 4. 1667 3. 4889 3. 5000 3. 2237 3. 333 3. 2556 3. 1250 3. 5000 4. 3333 3. 5222 3. 3750 3. 4079 3. 8333 3. 4333 2. 7500 3. 0526 3. 1667 3. 0333 3. 5000 3. 0132 3. 5000 3. 0889 3. 2500 3. 4079 3. 1667 3. 3778 3. 1250 3. 8947 3. 8333 3. 8222 3. 3750 3. 2237 3. 5000 3. 2556 3. 5000 3. 5200 4. 3333 3. 5730 4. 5000 4. 0132 4. 6667 SD 1. 06904 1. 03509 1. 26491 1. 04607 1. 40789 1. 50058 1. 64317 1. 49494 1. 38873 . 91498 . 75277 . 94684 1. 30247 . 96854 1. 36626 1. 03858 1. 16496 1. 01247 . 75277 1. 01941 1. 06904 1. 02760 1. 21106 1. 03382 1. 24642 1. 05198 . 81650 1. 07293 1. 18773 1. 03509 . 75277 1. 02825 1. 58114 1. 00525 . 98319 1. 05415 1. 30931 1. 13717 1. 37840 1. 6739 1. 58114 . 86684 1. 47196 . 97816 1. 80772 1. 16137 1. 60208 1. 25937 1. 68502 1. 18433 1. 64317 1. 25027 1. 19523 . 77738 . 81650 . 83785 . 75593 . 91642 . 51640 F . 467 Sig. .629 .586 .559 .3 66 .694 2. 108 .128 1. 596 .209 .272 .762 2. 348 .102 .484 .618 .345 .710 1. 029 .362 .240 .787 1. 363 .261 .173 .842 2. 757 2. 407 .069 . 096 International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 Al-Mekhlafi & Nagaratnam 91 Statement 18 19 20 Overall Qualification Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total MA BA Diploma Total N 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 8 76 6 90 Mean 4. 1000 3. 6250 3. 7632 3. 5000 3. 333 4. 0000 4. 0395 4. 5000 4. 0667 3. 8750 3. 5658 3. 6667 3. 6000 3. 4563 3. 4933 3. 7750 3. 5090 SD . 90006 1. 40789 . 92186 1. 37840 . 99210 . 75593 . 90097 . 54772 . 87152 1. 35620 1. 08733 . 81650 1. 08927 10. 98619 7. 29186 7. 44983 7. 71887 F Sig. .244 .784 .798 .453 .299 .742 1. 582 .211 Table 7. Teachers’ Perceptions of Difficulties with EFL Grammar according to their Experience Statement 1 Exp. (yrs) ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 0 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 N 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 Mean 3. 5556 3. 9250 3. 9130 3. 8111 3. 4444 3. 5500 3. 7826 3. 5778 3. 4444 3. 8000 3. 4783 3. 6111 3. 2222 3. 1500 2. 3478 2. 9667 3. 7407 3. 5000 3. 5652 3. 5889 3. 2963 3. 4000 3. 2609 3. 3333 3. 4074 3. 5250 3. 5217 3. 4889 3. 1481 3. 2000 3. 4783 3. 2556 3. 8519 3. 3000 3. 5217 3. 5222 3. 3333 3. 4500 SD 1. 12090 . 91672 . 66831 . 93490 . 84732 . 95943 1. 12640 . 97125 . 97402 1. 01779 1. 16266 1. 04607 1. 52753 1. 45972 1. 40158 1. 49494 . 81300 1. 13228 . 2777 . 94684 1. 17063 . 98189 1. 00983 1. 03858 1. 24836 . 93336 . 89796 1. 01941 . 81824 1. 11401 1. 12288 1. 03382 1. 06351 1. 11401 . 94722 1. 07293 1. 03775 1. 06096 F 1. 457 Sig. .239 2 .778 .462 3 1. 185 .311 4 2. 772 .068 5 .525 .593 6 .153 .859 7 .121 .886 8 .733 .484 9 2. 189 . 214 .118 . 808 10 Interna tional Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2 92 Difficulties in Teaching and Learning Grammar†¦ Statement 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 Overall Exp. (yrs) ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total ? 5 ; 5 ? 10 ; 10 Total N 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 89 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 27 41 22 90 Mean 3. 5217 3. 4333 2. 8889 3. 0750 3. 1304 3. 0333 3. 3333 3. 0750 2. 8261 3. 0889 3. 3704 3. 2750 3. 5652 3. 3778 3. 4815 3. 8500 4. 1739 3. 8222 3. 1481 3. 2500 3. 3913 3. 2556 3. 6667 3. 5000 3. 5909 3. 5730 4. 0741 4. 1000 4. 1304 4. 1000 3. 6667 3. 8250 3. 6522 3. 7333 4. 0370 4. 0500 4. 1304 4. 0667 3. 4074 3. 000 3. 6522 3. 6000 3. 4759 3. 5250 3. 5201 3. 5090 SD . 99405 1. 02825 1. 25064 . 99711 . 9 1970 1. 05415 1. 14354 1. 11832 1. 26678 1. 16739 . 92604 1. 01242 . 99206 . 97816 1. 36918 1. 23101 1. 11405 1. 25937 1. 43322 1. 14914 1. 23359 1. 25027 . 87706 . 87706 . 73414 . 83785 1. 03500 . 74421 1. 01374 .90006 1. 03775 . 84391 1. 19121 . 99210 . 70610 . 90441 1. 01374 . 87152 1. 18514 1. 06699 1. 02730 1. 08927 9. 44364 7. 20399 6. 48558 7. 71887 F Sig. .377 .687 1. 182 .311 .639 .530 1. 935 .151 .232 .794 .321 .727 .024 .976 .304 .739 .083 .921 .612 .545 .140 .869 International Journal of Instruction, July 2011 ? Vol. 4, No. 2