Tax Analysis And The Corporate Accounting - Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Examine about the Tax Analysis And The Corporate Accounting. Answer: Answer 1 The Eureka bunch property restricted has value capital partitioned into three explicit parts. Regular Stock Other Accumulated benefit Held income or distributable benefit The regular stock is the contributed capital which is contributed sum by the value investors. It is viewed as that Eureka bunch possessions restricted has regular stock AUD $ 94 million out of 2017. What's more, held income of organization is AUD $ 19. Be that as it may, it is appeared as negative. As organization has stopped back the entirety of its held income in its business (Eureka bunch property restricted 2017). Value (Amount in dollar million) ($M) 2017 2016 Basic stock 94 91 Held acquiring 19 26 All out value 129 111 Conversation of value some portion of the organization It is seen that Eureka bunch property restricted has negative held profit. It has kept AUD $ 19 million held procuring which isn't acceptable marker for the association. Organization has stopped back the entirety of its gaining and indicated negative held profit in its value capital side. In this way, it could be gathered that held income is the measure of benefit accessible for the organization which it has utilized in its business and reflected negative held profit in its value capital. Answer 2 It is viewed as that the expense measure of cash that is charged on the benefit of organization. It is assessed that Eureka bunch possessions restricted has been paying zero measure of expense for the duration of the time. It is seen that Eureka bunch possessions restricted has been conveying, reasonable, mindful and comprehensive board of trustees which is working its business in the best entombs of destitute individuals. In this manner, government has absolved organization from its assessment installment and there is no suggestion on the organization to pay charge on its benefit. Particular(AUD $ in million) 2015 2016 Annual assessment costs 0 0 In this manner, it could be derived that there are a few organizations who have been excluded by the legislature from the expense suggestion. Aha bunch property restricted is one of the excluded organization for the duty installment. In any case, organization has great measure of benefit in its business which is stopped back by organization in its business activities for the advancement of society and individuals on the loose. It has decreased the annual taxation rate of organization in decided methodology. Answer 3 It is seen that duty costs of Eureka bunch property constrained has been appeared in the salary articulation as zero. Organization is having zero degree of expense suggestion because of the exception allowed to it. The Eureka bunch a holding constrained is entirely possessed Australian occupant substance that have framed duty solidification bunch with impact from first July 2003. Then again, organization has not paid any duty in any of its monetary year. In any case, so as to answer the reality whether the personal expense charged is equivalent to the assessment rate times processed on the net benefit following data could be drawn. The duty rate 30% is the standard expense rate which is resolved so as to decide the assessment pace of pay in decided methodology. The duty charged on the benefit of organization which is involved according to the guidelines and guidelines of personal assessment. Likewise, charge rate times is figured by utilizing bookkeeping income* 30% expense rate, for example 6538*30%. This sum is AUD $ 1961.4 million. In this manner, because of the distinction in bookkeeping rules and personal duty rules, charge sum appeared in the salary proclamation would be contrast from the assessment rate times registered. Clarify why this The fundamental explanation behind this depends on the distinction in bookkeeping rules and annual assessment rules relevant on the organization. The treatment of charging charge on the net benefit is totally unique according to the bookkeeping rules and personal duty rules. The assessment costs appeared in the salary proclamation is totally founded on the personal duty rules and guidelines. Then again, charge rate times is resolved according to the bookkeeping rules and charged on the benefit earned by organization. The primary reasons are given as underneath. The primary first contrast is identified with recording of income and costs recorded in the benefit and misfortune record, for example, recording of deterioration, bed obligations and treatment of income and costs of organization. The chronicle of income and costs appeared in the fiscal report vary because of the distinction among bookkeeping and annual duty rules AASB-122 (Devereux, Griffith and Klemm, 2012). Answer 4 Subsequent to assessing the yearly report of Eureka bunch possessions constrained it is resolved that organization is having zero measure of duty installment. It is viewed as that conceded charge is perceived by utilizing asset report strategy. This technique is accommodated transitory distinction between the conveying estimation of the advantages and liabilities of organization and sum utilized for tax collection reason. For example, if organization pays higher personal assessment because of the contrast between bookkeeping an annual duty then it will check the abundance measure of cash as conceded charge resources in the books of record of organization. Then again, if organization paid less measure of duty according to the tax collection rules and guidelines, when contrasted with bookkeeping rules and guidelines then it should books the less sums in its books of record as conceded charge liabilities (Eureka bunch possessions constrained 2017). The conceded charge sum isn't recorded in the books record of organization. It shows that organization has no conceded charge liabilities in the books of record of organization which mirrors that organization need not to pay any add up to government in future. The conceded charge isn't understood in the books of records of Eureka bunch possessions restricted so it isn't reserved in the fiscal report of records. Specific (AUD $ million) 2017 2016 Conceded charge resources 0 0 Answer5 Current assessment payable and current duty costs of Eureka bunch property constrained It is assessed that current duty is charged on the benefit of Eureka bunch possessions constrained. Nonetheless, because of the expense exclusion, organization has paid zero measure of duty to government. In this manner, there is no measure of assessment payable by organization to government. The current duty is charged according to the tax assessment rules and guidelines given under AASB 112. The current expense mirrors the measure of duty charged on the benefit of organization in current year. Then again, current assessment payable is the measure of by and large expense payable by organization to government. The current duty installment is appeared in salary articulation and assessment payable sum is recorded in the liabilities side of budget summary of organization (Garrett, Hoitash and Prawitt, 2014). In this way, it could be surmised that organization has not current assessment costs nor any duty payable. It has exhibited no liabilities on organization. Conceded charge installment of Eureka bunch property constrained is likewise zero. Particular(AUD $ in million) 2016 2017 Annual assessment Expenses 0 0 Why annual assessment costs isn't same as the personal expense payable There are a few reasons which have come about to contrasts between charge costs and assessment payable organization. Answer6 Is the annual assessment cost appeared in the pay proclamation same as the personal duty paid appeared in the income explanation? If not No, the personal duty costs appeared in the salary explanation isn't equivalent to annual assessment sum appeared in the income articulation of organization. For what reason are the distinctions? It is assessed that income proclamation is went with the money inflow and outpouring from the business specifically year regardless of the way that whether it is identified with current year or earlier year. The personal duty charged on the benefit of organization is zero as organization is excluded from all expense installment. Furthermore, organization has been paying zero measure of assessment to government. Consequently, there is zero measure of expense installment appeared in the books of record of organization. Income explanation covers all the money costs of organization. Then again, salary explanation covers just the measure of assessment which is charged on the current year benefit of association. The chronicle of expense sum in the books of record is finished by following AASB 112 of the tax assessment act (Robinson, Stomberg and Towery, 2015). Accordingly, it could be surmised that organization need not to stress over the assessment installment to government as it is absol ved from the expense suggestion. Answer7 Treatment of assessment in the books of records of organization Intriguing thing about the recorded its whole expense sum The principle fascinating thing about the chronicle of whole duty sum depends on the chronicle of expense according to the bookkeeping rules and guidelines. It might results to contrasts between bookkeeping benefit and benefit processed by personal assessment rules and guidelines. This distinction in sum might be recorded as conceded charge resources or conceded charge liabilities in the fiscal report of organization. This is truly intriguing thing about the organization which has indicated that organization has positive chronicle of benefits in the books of records Astonishing thing about the recorded its whole assessment sum The principle astonishing thing about the account of sections charge sum in Eureka bunch property restricted is identified with its corporate administration. Legislature of Australia has excluded different organizations and bodies from the taxation rate. Aha bunch property restricted is one of the chose organization which isn't permitted to pay expense to government. (Aha bunch possessions constrained, 2017). Trouble in recorded the whole assessment sum Aha bunch possessions restricted has been absolved from the taxation rate by the legislature. It is assessed that organization has not paid any expense in its books of record according to the AASB-112 personal duty rules and guidelines. It has expanded the multifaceted nature in recording of annual expense. According to the bookkeeping rules and guidelines, organization should pay charge sum

Attention Deficit Disorder :: essays research papers fc

A lack of ability to concentrate consistently Disorder      For hundreds of years kids have been grounded, beaten, or even slaughtered for disregarding the standards or not tuning in to what they're told. In the past it was thought these †bad† kids were the results of awful child rearing, awful condition, or basically being difficult, anyway it is currently realized that a considerable lot of these kids may have had Attention Deficit Disorder, or A. D. D., and could've been made a difference. A. D. D. is a condition that influences a huge number of kids and grown-ups in the United States and is a disappointing and confounding condition that regularly goes undiscovered. While there is no obvious meaning of A. D. D., it's realized that it's a hereditary issue that influences guys more regularly than females, in a 3:1 proportion, what's more, is set apart by an exemplary set of three of indications, which are impulsivity, distractibility, and hyperactivity (Hallowell 6). There are two general sorts of A. D. D., the cliché, high-vitality, hyperactive gathering, and the less realized underactive ones that regularly dream and are rarely intellectually present anyplace. Ordinarily, individuals with A. D. D. are truly affable and are normally very vehement, natural, and sympathetic, anyway they have entirely unsteady dispositions that can extend from an outrageous high to an extraordinary low immediately, for no clear reason. As a rule, they stall frequently and experience difficulty completing undertakings, while on the other hand, they can hyperfocus now and again and achieve assignments all the more rapidly furthermore, effectively than an ordinary individual could. Regularly they have touchy attitudes and come up short on the drive to prevent themselves from exploding over minor subtleties (Hallowell 10). Albeit A. D. D. has quite recently as of late been found and there is still moderately minimal thought about it, it has a fascinating history. In 1902, George Frederic Still originally imagined that the predicament of demanding was a natural imperfection acquired from a physical issue during childbirth and not the consequence of terrible child rearing. In the 1930's and '40's energizer drugs were first used to effectively treat numerous conduct issues due somewhat to Still's theory. In 1960, Stella Chess further helped look into in the field by expounding on the â€Å" hyperactive youngster syndrome.† She expressed that the conduct issues weren't a result of injury during childbirth, yet rather were acquired hereditarily. At long last, in 1980, the disorder was named A. D. D., due in enormous part to Virginia Douglas' work to discover precise approaches to analyze it (Hallowell 12). Officially, A. D. D. comes in two kinds: A. D. D. with hyperactivity and A. D. D. without hyperactivity (Hallowell 9). Anyway there are a few other subtypes that are utilized to analyze the disorder and aren't officially perceived.

Home Away From Home

Home Away From Home (Click to zoom) Panoramic look at my room in Random Hall, lets zoom into some of the more interesting parts! On top we have a couple of props from my favorite movies/comics. The first shelf holds the crux of my media collection. It starts off with some classic newspaper comics, Calvin Hobbes and Dilbert. From there it leads into the defining book of my childhood Squids will be Squids. From there we have a nice split of comics from the big two and independent distributors. Next we hit a series of novels that starts with The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy, my favorite series of all time. Last is a series of DVDs (and the occassional Wii game) that Ive always loved, from A Knights Tale to Terminator 2. The second shelf has a pair of blank white cardboard boxes that hold individual comics and various CCG cards. In the back there are a couple of CDs that mean a lot to me (from Regina Spektors What We Saw From The Cheap Seats to Outkasts Speakerboxxx/The Love Below) and a frisbee signed by the great Woodie Flowers! In front are a couple of coasters collected from my time in Munich. We start at the top with a scarf I picked up at a Barcelona football game followed by a poster Ive had since sophomore year. Its adorned with postcards and tickets on both sides from various concerts and museums. And finally we reach my pride and joy, the dual monitor battlestation that has been three years in the making. The final interesting wall has a group of posters. The two on the left are from an early Reddit Secret Santa gift exchange that I had a lot of fun participating in. I dont remember where I got the third poster but hey, it has Spider-Man. Post Tagged #Random Hall

Child Development Is The Growth And Change Within A Child...

regulates social recognition†, â€Å"affliction†, and â€Å"modulates mood† swings, â€Å"anxiety†, â€Å"and aggression† (Mate, 2013). Parents who are pregnant and use drugs, or use after birth can alter these chemicals by not â€Å"socially interacting† with their infant, â€Å"leading them to drug seeking behavior†, early in his or her â€Å"childhood†, which in turn will â€Å"lead to the death of good brain chemical†, and â€Å"lead to a dangerous overload of worse chemicals† (Mate, 2013). In order to back these findings, one must cross-reference research findings on this topic. Cross Reference Article to Support Research Finding. So in order to back the findings in the first research journal, further research was conducted, and this article based on several research findings through the process of reports and resources, shows that â€Å"cognitive development is the growth and change in a child’s intell ectual and mental abilities† Cognitive Development Domain - Child Development (CA Dept. of Education), 2016). Here is where children â€Å"learn† their â€Å"reasoning†,† thinking†, and â€Å"understanding† of his or her â€Å"acquisitions†, and â€Å"consolidation of knowledge† Cognitive Development Domain - Child Development (CA Dept. of Education), 2016). The article also proves the fact that at time of birth, infants â€Å"draw on language†, â€Å"motor†, â€Å"social emotional†, â€Å"and perceptual experiences†, â€Å"and abilities† for his or her â€Å"cognitive development† Cognitive Development Domain - Child Development (CA Dept. of Education),Show MoreRelatedPiaget And Vygotsky Theory Of Cognitive Development Essay826 Words   |  4 Pagescognitive development and, highlight both Piaget and Vygotsky’s theory as it relates to cognitive development, and the significant dif ferences between them. The term cognitive development refers to the process of growth and change in intellectual, mental abilities such as thinking, reasoning and understanding. It comprises of the acquisition and consolidation of knowledge. Infants draw on social-emotional, language, motor, and perceptual experience and abilities for cognitive development. AccordingRead MoreEarly Childhood Education Essay1573 Words   |  7 Pagesimportant step in preparing the child for future learning experiences. The evolution of early childhood education has changed how adults and parents view the importance of offering stimulating and exciting opportunities to the very young. Early childhood Education offers the young child learning experiences that benefit them throughout their educational career. They soon embark on a whole new world of learning. These children are not only experiencing standard brain growth, but verbal and physical skillsRead MoreThe Theory Of Child Development1053 Words   |  5 PagesArt educators that consider theories of child development when creating lesson plans, are more effective. 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With includingRead MoreJean Piaget And Vygotsky s Theory On Children s Cognitive Development1507 Words   |  7 Pagescognitive development. Both psychologists had their own vision of what stimulates and helps a child grow. Jean Piaget s theory was shaped through the thinking and understanding of how knowledge is built through a series of four stages; preoperational, sensorimotor, formal operational and concrete operational. He believed that the development was with the child themselves. On the contrary, Lev Vygotsky s theory is shaped through adult social interactions and cultural roles. He believed that a child sRead MoreOral Language And Development : Developing Language Through Nature And Nurture Theories Essay1276 Words   |  6 PagesSarah Przybylo Oral Language and Development Developing Language Through Nature and Nurture Theories Language development is much more complex than one would think. Not only are there strategies and factors behind developing one’s native language, but there are also theories set in place to guide the steps of building language. On the other hand, nurture inspired theories (also know as empiricist) are based of factors in the environment. This means that people believe nurture theories are basedRead MoreChildren At A Psychological Perspective Essay1697 Words   |  7 PagesNow, to fully understand cognitive development in children at a psychological perspective we must first look at Jean Piaget, who was titled the most influential contributor to the term throughout the 20th century. According to Huitt, W., Hummel, J. (2003), Piaget â€Å"originally trained in the areas of biology and philosophy and considered himself a genetic epistemologist. He was mainly interested in the biological influences on how we come to know. He believed that what distinguishes human beings

Behavioral change project - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 7 Words: 2022 Downloads: 6 Date added: 2019/04/05 Category Psychology Essay Level High school Topics: Behavior Essay Did you like this example? Step 1: Set goals and identify rewards On this assignment, I choose to focus on changing the way I eat the reason why Im focusing on this topic is that diabetes runs in my family my mom, uncle, and grandfather has diabetes. We are focusing to change the way we eat I sat down with my family and told them that we need to start eating healthier. Also, I am wary about changing my eating routine since I have become used to eating or drinking similar sustenances, and this is a dread to take a stab at something new in light of the fact that I am accustomed to eating similar stuff. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Behavioral change project" essay for you Create order One of the initial moves toward vanquishing awful dietary patterns is giving careful consideration to what Im eating and drinking. Read sustenance marks, get comfortable with arrangements of fixings, and begin to pay attention to what I put in my mouth. When I turn out to be more mindful of what Im eating, I begin to acknowledge how I have to enhance my eating regimen. I Plan to take a bit of fruit to class each day for a snack, stock up on grain and natural product for fast morning meals, and go to the rec center after my classes three times each week. To state I will work out additional,wont encourage me. What will help is thinking about when and how you can fit it into your way of life. I will likely eat more vegetables, I need to reveal to myself Ill attempt one new veggie every week until the point when I discover some I truly appreciate. I search for simple approaches to include one all the more serving of vegetables to my eating regimen every week until the point that I achieve my objective. The reason why I havent change this behavior in the past because I wasnt caring about my health or how and what I was eating, and then when I found out my mom had diabetes it made me think like what am Im doing why Im eating so bad like I had a whole new perspective on eating better. Step 2: Assess your current behavior Day1-2: On Monday at 7:50 am I want to the dining hall to eat breakfast I had grits and bacon with some orange juice. I sat with my friends and we were talking, everything around me was kinda slow because people looked tired. I was thinking about how I need to hurry up class starts at 8:00 am my mood was tired cause I woke up around 6:30 am. I ate a bowl, 1 glass and two pieces of bacon. for lunch, I had rice with broccoli l and carrots with lemon water I went to lunch around 12:00 pm with my roommate the dining hall was a little noisy I was thinking about what was I going to do after I finish eating my food. I ate ?†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å" of a plate and 1glass of lemon water. On day 2 Tuesday I woke up the same time this time I had oatmeal for breakfast with fruits and apple juice I ate a bowl, 1 glass and 1 cup of fruits I want to lunch at 2:00 pm I had one slice of plan pizza with a cup of water. Day 3-4: On Wednesday at 9:30 am I had a bowl of honey bunches of oats for breakfast, yogurt, and pineapple juice. This time I ate in my room because I went food shopping. I was thinking about going to sleep but I realized that I had a class in 10 minutes my mood was very lazy I didnt feel like doing anything. I ate a bowl of cereal, a bottle of juice and yogurt. For lunch I stayed in my room again I had leftover spinach pasta with broccoli and cranberry juice. On Thursday I skipped breakfast because I woke up too late but I ate lunch around 2:30 pm I had a salad with chicken breast and just a little bit of ranch dressing. Day5: On Friday I only ate a bagel and cream cheese for lunch and for dinner I went to the dining hall with my friends to go eat I had cheddar broccoli soup with crackers and apple juice and for dessert, I had me a fruit parfait. Later on that day I decided to order wendys and I order an apple pecan chicken salad with pomegranate vinaigrette dressing. Step 3: Redefine your goal and develop an action plan My revised goal is to make better food choices and watch how Im eating as like food portions. I will buy nourishments that come straightforwardly from nature and are insignificantly handled. This incorporates plants, natural products, meats, nuts, and so on. It bars things like refined grains and sugars, or nourishment that have fixings that I cant articulate. Genuine sustenances areas near their normal state as could reasonably be expected. Set goals Reward yourself Reward yourself: It is an incredible plan to compensate myself for accomplishing my objectives. It will give me something unmistakable to anticipate. It is ideal if the reward is something I just get in the event that I finish my objective. I will make sure I wont use my reward as a cheat day to get myself fast food, Ill actually be wise I will use my reward to spend extra time with my friends, a hobby that I wanted to do or an activity that keeps me active. Set goals: measurable my objective should answer addresses like how much and what number of. This will enable me to measure my advancement toward my objective. Attainable I need to pick an objective that I can accomplish. Begin with little changes. I can generally change my objective later to make it harder. Rewarding The objective should make me feel great when I accomplish it. On the off chance that I think my objective is advantageous, I will be bound to succeed. my objectives ought to be set by me and not by another person. Timely Give myself a time period to achieve my objectives. I may set a momentary objective. Termination Preparation Action Termination: The general purpose of acing the craft of conduct change is to make the life based on your most astounding personal preference. Effectively coordinating a picked way of life change is a reasonable sign that you have what it takes to do that. Search for new ways you can use those aptitudes. Investigate how you may utilize the quality, self-information, and shrewdness youve picked up to attempt new zones of test or learning and to be of administration and support to other people. Preparation: Preparation organize are preparing to make a move. They are more definitive, certain and submitted; theyre building up an arrangement and may have officially made little strides. Now, the stars of rolling out the improvement unmistakably exceed the cons, however, theres some work to be done before the significant move can make put. Action: Search for approaches to recognize your continuous endeavors, to address new obstructions as they rise, and to remunerate yourself for even little victories, she prompts. Snappy course amendments and encouraging feedback will enable you to remain submitted and persuaded. Step 4: Implement your behavior change plan Day 1-2: 10/2 3:00 pm In spite of the fact that perceiving exercise as an imperative sign is a positive development for solid conduct change, there is still work to be finished. I had to keep reminding myself that I cant eat certain things, my friend Niecy decided to go on this journey with me and together we kept each other motivated. We had a set schedule on when we would go to the gym so every Tuesday and Thursday at 7:00 pm we were in the gym. 10/5 4:00 pm after I was done with class I went to Niecy room and we made a list on what should we eat and not eat. It was hard for me to give up the foods that I loved but knew doing this thing would benefit me in the future. Day3-4: 10/10 6:00 am one approach to draw in people in enhancing their well-being is to demonstrate to them how solid conduct changes can be significant supporters of averting or postponing the beginning of an infection or individual damage. Today I got up super early brush my teeth and went for a morning run with Niecy it was so refreshing I think going for a run is better than going to the gym. Later on that, we didnt go to the gym but we maintain to exercise in our room. 10/11 5:00 pm I was taking a nap and I heard a knock on the door it was Niecy she was telling me to get up so we can go to the gym then go eat. I wasnt feeling it I just wanted to stay in my bed and go to sleep I felt lazy, but I had to remember that I should never give up so I got up and went to the gym. Day5: 10/12 12:00 am me and Niecy went for a midnight walk to quick check. She attempted to buy junk food and I told her no because if your on this journey with me then you have to follow the rules I also told her how she made that list but didnt follow the list rules we said no junk food. so I made her buy grapes, crackers, and cheese. then when we came back from quick check we went for a midnight run. Step 5: Evaluate your progress Yes, I did reach the goals I had to concentrate on little strides to receive more beneficial, deep-rooted propensities. Remember that everyday decisions impact whether you keep up imperativeness while you age or create wellbeing conditions. Change may appear to be intense at first, yet with help, assurance and these tips, you can be beautiful. It made me feel accomplished that I reached my goals because I was on the edge of giving up but I knew that I could do it so I continued until I got to the finish line and I did a great job. The difference that I noticed in my life as I lost a little weight and I was eating much healthier than before, I track down the stuff Im eating I write it in my little journal. I go to the gym every 3days a week and when I go up the stairs I dont get tired. I think Ill be able to maintain this change even though it was hard because I had to give up the foods I normally eat I use to eat fast food every 2 weeks but now I barely eat fast food I really loved p opeyes but now I cant stand it I hate the same of it. My plan is still ongoing I go to the gym every day after class I maintain to eat healthier I pick better choices of food Im still working on getting up every morning to go running but I will change that. I will this process will be going on for another month because I love the result that I have this project made me have a better perspective on eating better I sit back and think wow I was really eating this food that isnt really food it was just really nasty I actually watch a video on how they made hotdogs and that was very disgusting. The thing that changed in my life was exercising more, when I was younger I never use to want to exercise I didnt even participate in gym class because I was too lazy to do the activities and my gym teacher told me if I dont participate I was going to fail the class in my head I was like nobody feels gym class but I got serious because I use to get tired after going up one flight of stairs. Yes, I felt like I reached my goals but I knew I couldve done better, in the future I would like to continue this so when I get a family over my own they could do this too.

Article Review Draft Free Essays

I am reviewing literature that relates to my research topic of how the Information genealogy affects the employment rate in the logistics field. I have assembled 16 individual books, articles, and or sources that will support me in my research of my hypothesis. My goal of this review is to properly order and summarize the data have accumulated, and to determine areas in which further research and focus is required (Crewel, 2014). We will write a custom essay sample on Article Review Draft or any similar topic only for you Order Now The first article that is going to be absolutely critical to my research is the Bureau of Labor Statistics (2015) Occupational employment statistics estimates. This isn’t an article but more specifically a database of information collected by U. S. Overpayment organizations in order to calculate nationwide employment rates. The data is collected on a monthly basis by the U. S. Census Bureau and from a sampling Of sixty thousand households. The employment databases goes back to 1942, however for purposes of my study I will just use recent information from the last 10-15 years. While this data is subjective, it offers strong set of supporting historical employment trends in logistics career fields, and is the current standard in U. S. Employment information (Bureau of Labor Statistics, 2015). In a research article by (Anderson, German, Scrum, 1 997), the authors look to provide empirical research into the impacts of downsizing or reducing the amount of employees on logistics performance. Two main conclusions are reached; companies that have reduced their logistics workforce have a perception of improved logistics performance but in re ality they have the same indicators as firms that have not reduced their workforce. The other conclusion is the reduction of workforce contributes greatly to the lack of loyalty, decreased moral, and vastly increased stress levels. This article provides interesting argument that tit firms striving to reduce employee number totals; reduction equally increases negative aspects as well. The article (Jackson, 2001 ) clarifies the beginning of the Internet age and details what and when it came into existence, as we know it today. The development of the Internet was a collaborative team research effort created in U. S. Governmental agencies around 1960. The Internet was not a viable option for civilian society until 1990. This article will allow me to accurately focus on the proper time frame of Internet availability to the logistics community. I will not rely solely on the information in this article and back up the findings of this article with the data in a similar Internet origin articles. Additionally this article makes clear that the many supporting technologies and infrastructure developments positively contributed to the advent of the Internet. In the article by (Laser, 2004), he explores the ways and methods that the Internet, computers, and software with communications affect logistics and specifically transportation. This study confirms the vast importance of technology in revolutionize modern logistics areas. One important aspect of this particular article is the mint that no matter the technological innovation, location still drives transportation speed, timeliness and efficacy. I can utilize this important realization with other aspects of research and technology application and ensure my internal bias is reduced. The key takeaway I came away with is that no matter how much information or data is improved the location and distance of transporting goods and materials will always persist. The article One on One by (Roberts, 2004) is an interview with the vice president of the company Oracle, Greg Tennyson. This interview captures the strategies ND leveraging of technologies in order to increase profitability of logistics operations within the realm of shipping raw materials globally. Specifically useful to my research is the discussion of â€Å"offspring† logistics operations. â€Å"Offspring† is described as transitioning logistics operations from the L] . S. To overseas markets, which offer vastly cheaper labor and trade restrictions. India is a primary market utilized by Oracle in this article. I believe that the perspective of cheaper overseas labor cannot be mistaken for the advances in informational technologies. This article will further reduction of y bias by tempering it with different empirical data supporting a theory that labor reductions in logistics may be due to cheaper labor in different regions of the globe. Despite the increase of offspring, the article still reiterates the central importance of communications technologies in order to synchronize the complex and intricate global transactions. The article from (Atkinson, 1 999) discusses the usage of communications and web-based technologies in order to develop logistics cost savings. The specific technology discussed in this article is Collaborative, Planning, Forecasting and Replenishment (CUFF). CUFF is the Internet based communications business solution utilized by many fortune 500 companies today including Wall-Mart. The article details the successes of this technology from a cost savings perspective. The key point of this study in relation to my research is the importance of communications, not only externally to a logistics company, but internal as well. Communication enables timely delivery of information and ensures needs are forecasted and met. Technology and automation coupled with advanced communications technology is integral with the future Of logistics. In another article from (Atkinson, 1999), the author cuisses the expansion of the Internet in the logistics sector and the development and maturation of E-commerce. E-commerce is commerce that takes place between two or more organizations electronically. Early on in the inception of the Internet, many logistics companies were reticent to employ Internet based technologies in fear of security issues. Those companies that mastered the web-based technologies were rewarded by reduction in costs and labor efficiencies. The main learning point of this article is the fact that it correlates using technology and the Internet with reducing labor forces and Ewing more productive with less people employed. With the article by (McGovern, 1998), it is undeniable that the Internet is a crucial area for growth in logistics sectors. The only argument about the Internet as it pertains to the logistics industry is how to apply and utilize it in the best manner possible. The main issue with this article in regards to my research is the fact that it pertains mainly to visibility and communication and does not include hard data with employment statistics. While can use the perspective and insight provided additional support with numerical data will be more relevant to use in my study. I can always use and improve upon the information provided in this study. The article is quite old (1998) in reference to the subject of my research. I will be able to use all information here as either pre or post Internet and in that way even older articles can provide much-needed context. With infill article by (Williams, 2001) he provides additional support to the origins of the Internet. This article analyzes three components of logistics, inventory control, order processing and transportation. The Internet impacts all three areas in positive ways in the article. One area this article could be of more assistance to my research reports is again more usage of empirical data and numerical figures on employment and how that relates to performance. In conclusion the articles summarized together present a consistent gap of research in regards to how informational technologies impact the employment of logistics employees. I believe can utilize the data surveys from the Bureau of Labor Statistics and incorporate supporting documentation to identify that informational technologies did and continue to reduce employment opportunities within the united States of America. Can continue to refine my literature or more clearly define the scope of my research question in order o synchronize the availability of research available at this time. How to cite Article Review Draft, Papers

Specificity of sociology and sociological knowledge free essay sample

MINISTERY OF EDUCATION OF THE REPUBLIC OF BELARUS Belarus State Economic University REFERAT: # 171 ; SPECIFICITY OF SOCIOLOGY AND SOCIOLOGICAL KNOWLEDGE # 187 ; Minsk 2008 1. The construct of societal world and societal fact Very frequently we come across the construct of societal world and believe that societal world is something that can be understood and learnt. But yet the given construct hasn # 8217 ; t been defined exactly in sociology and it is frequently used as a equivalent word of such constructs as # 8220 ; societal life # 8221 ; , # 8220 ; society # 8221 ; , # 8220 ; societal universe # 8221 ; , # 8220 ; societal and historic being # 8221 ; etc. Furthermore, the job is made more complicated due to the fact that judgments # 8220 ; societal world # 8221 ; and # 8220 ; societal universe # 8221 ; belong to different theoretic paradigms. Theorists are united merely by the circumstance that human societal universe can be learnt. In sociology there are two ruling theoretic attacks # 8211 ; individualistic and positive 1s that specifically explain the nature of societal world. The individualistic place positionssocietal worldas a consequence of purposeful or reasonable human behavior. An Austrian sociologist Alfred Schutz, laminitis of phenomenology, defines societal world as # 8220 ; a entire amount of objects and phenomena of societal universe # 8221 ; in the manner how societal universe is shaped in mundane consciousness of people populating among other people and connected with them by assorted interactions. Therefore, societal world is an mundane universe, experient and interpreted by people populating in it ; it is a universe of significances which are typical impressions about the objects of this universe. In contrast to an individualistic attack, a positive attack suggests a point of view harmonizing to whichsocietal worldis something with its ain life holding an external and mandatory character to a individual ( i.e. that his behavior is determined by world ) and happening human consciousness. The thoughts of the positive place were shaped under the influence of a Gallic sociologist Emile Durkheim who is considered its smartest representative. This attack suggests construing the construct of societal world through the prism of a societal fact. Harmonizing to the paradigm of a societal fact, societal world is represented by two groups of societal facts # 8211 ; societal constructions and societal establishments, and accent is made on the nature of their interaction. E. Durkheim believed that societal facts are characterized by specific belongingss ; they are samples of ideas, actions and feelings which are capable to be outside adult male and have a compulsory influence which makes adult male get and internalize them. The construct of a societal fact was criticized by Sigmund Freud and his followings, protagonists of the paradigm of societal behavior. They consider the construct metaphysical as it ignores human behavior which, in their sentiment, is a individual societal world. Many theoreticians agree that societal world is formed in the procedure of people # 8217 ; s societal interactions ; it is a consequence of their consciousness and activities in a definite limited territorial and temporal ( historic ) country. Social world may be fixed in people # 8217 ; s behaviors, in the character of their value orientations, in signifiers of life organizion and in function behavior. A summarized index of societal world is civilization considered as a system of values, societal norms of life, forms of behaviour, linguistic communication, character of communications, imposts and traditions, material civilization etc. As degrees of interactions may differ, degrees of societal world or societal life may besides differ. A societal universe of adult male, group, society or universe community can be spoken approximately. Very frequently differences between these societal universes may be polar. A cogent evidence is a bed of mendicants bing in an economically comfortable society like in the USA, France or Great Britain, or people with a really low cultural degree in a extremely cultural society. What is a societal fact? Traditionally, universe is divided into three groups of facts. The first group includes biological facts such as external respiration, nutrition, sleeping, human diversion etc. The 2nd group includes psychological 1s such as emotions of love, hatred or perceptual experience, emotions giving satisfaction, for case while look up toing plants of art. The 3rd group includes societal facts connected with societal relationships and society. The term # 8220 ; societal fact # 8221 ; was coined by E. Durkheim to depict human behavior that is non attributed to the human # 8217 ; s characteristic but to societal facts. He considered societal facts as things that force people to make certain behaviors. A societal factis a socially meaningful event or a entirety of homogenous events typical for a definite domain of the society or definite societal procedures. In the ontological significance, a societal fact is any event or any entirety of events which took topographic point at a definite clip at definite fortunes, no affair whether or non they were watched by research workers or other topics who were non participants of the given events. As societal facts become known merely by enrollment, they are considered true or dependable in instance they are given a grounded description taking into consideration their whole unity and their connexions with indispensable features of a societal state of affairs. The undermentioned fragments of societal world can be fixed as societal facts: # 183 ; behavioral socially meaningful people # 8217 ; s Acts of the Apostless, i.e. what they do ; # 183 ; consequences or merchandises of people # 8217 ; s activities geting societal significance, i.e. stuff and cultural artefacts ; # 183 ; people # 8217 ; s verbal Acts of the Apostless, i.e. socially important expressed positions, judgements, sentiments ; # 183 ; different interactions. But the point is how to see if a societal fact is dependable. As a regulation, scientific evidences of societal facts depend on the research worker # 8217 ; s universe mentality, the nonsubjective character of the sociological theory, in the constructs of which societal facts are measured or described, and dependability of the method and technique of enrollment of sociological informations qualifying the manifestation of this or that societal fact. Let # 8217 ; s see the undermentioned illustration. A adult male is purchasing a jammed trip to Thailand for a household of four. In Thailand they # 8217 ; ll pass a two weeks. A psychologist would wish to cognize why the adult male decided on Thailand. An economic expert would wish to see if there could be another manner to pass money. A sociologist would see that it is a household of four and would wish to happen out how the married woman and kids could act upon on the caput of the household # 8217 ; s determination. Therefore, one and the same fact is explained in a different manner by different scientific disciplines. 2.Laws and classs of sociology As sociology is a comparatively immature scientific discipline, its system of Torahs and classs is still being actively formed. For any scientific discipline, holding such a system is a basic inquiry of its position as it is classs and Torahs where the obtained cognition is concentrated in. A direct object of research of sociology is the societal in the procedure of its development, transmutation, use, direction at different degrees of a societal system. So the first largely broad class is the construct of # 8220 ; the societal # 8221 ; . Other of import constructs include # 8220 ; societal interactions # 8221 ; , # 8220 ; societal establishments # 8221 ; , # 8220 ; societal groups # 8221 ; etc. In sociology there are a batch of classs that reflect qualitative province of societal procedures such as Bolshevism, groupism, societal homogeneousness, societal differences and involvements etc. But the meat of any scientific discipline is its Torahs. A jurisprudence is known to be contemplation of important, stable and necessary ties taking topographic point both inside of a procedure, system or phenomenon and between them. As a regulation, Torahs are expressed in classs. So each subdivision of scientific discipline has its linguistic communication. When specializers speak their professional linguistic communication, other people can barely or non understand them. A celebrated gag explains that scientific discipline happens when known things or phenomena are spoken about in the linguistic communication impossible to understand. A celebrated Russian sociologist G.V. Osipov definesa societal jurisprudenceas comparatively stable and consistently reproduced relationships between peoples, states, categories, socio-demographic and professional groups, between the society and societal organisation, society and labour collective, society and household, society and personality etc. Sociology should be noted to cover with societal Torahs that take topographic point in all domains of human activities and differ from each other by the signifier of their influence, the country of widening etc. For case, some Torahs embrace merely little groups or categories, others # 8211 ; the society as a whole. Like all scientific Torahs, societal Torahs possess the undermentioned features: # 183 ; a jurisprudence acts merely under certain conditions ; # 183 ; under certain conditions a jurisprudence is displayed without any exclusions ; # 183 ; conditions, under which a societal jurisprudence Acts of the Apostless, are realized non in full step but partly and about. For case, a statement like # 8220 ; A constructive societal struggle in the organisation is ever solved after acquiring rid of the causes of its outgrowth unless external factors influence or/and redistribution of resorts within the organisation take topographic point # 8221 ; describes the action of a societal jurisprudence because its conditions are clearly defined. It means that in the organisation it # 8217 ; s impossible to wholly avoid influence of external factors or impede material resources and information from redistributing within the organisation. On the other manus, it may go on that external factors don # 8217 ; t influence so the jurisprudence is realized partly. Social Torahs can be divided into two chief groups: those of working, or forming, and those of development. Of primary importance are Torahs depicting unity of the organisation and development of the whole society and civilisation. They are calledall-sociologicalorexpansiveTorahs. For case, dependance of any societal phenomenon on correlativity of the footing and superstructure, jurisprudence of clip economic system etc. A specific character of a expansive jurisprudence # 8217 ; s operation is determined by a definite societal and economic construction ( formation ) because any societal phenomenon depends on the degree of the society # 8217 ; s development, manner of production of stuff and religious wealth. Different formations with common expansive Torahs differ from each other by the specificity of these Torahs # 8217 ; working. For case, an economic or political crisis in the society may develop against places of political leaders, parties and sometimes against the will of the bulk of the population. A typical illustration is the devastation of the USSR against a place occupied by the bulk of the state # 8217 ; s population. Besides there are some Torahs typical for the household, labour organisation, personality in a societal group etc. It is them that form the carcase of specialised theories. 3. Structure of sociological cognition Modern sociological cognition is of a complex inner construction. As any other scientific disciplines, historically sociology developed in two basic waies # 8211 ; cardinal and applied. But sociologists, representatives of different paradigms, used different standards and constructs for specifying one and the same event and phenomenon that resulted in confusing. So today, sociological cognition is structured as follows. The first construction is macro- and micro-sociology. The point is that for the first decennaries of its being sociology developed in Europe a s macro-sociology pretense to uncover planetary Torahs of the society, and this purpose is reflected in its name. But shortly micro-sociology appeared to halt philosophising about the society in general and acquire down to larning human behavior in different societal conditions, motives of human workss, mechanisms of interpersonal interactions etc. Since so the development of sociology has gone along two parallel waies that were of small correlativity with each other. Macro-sociologists operated with the constructs # 8220 ; society # 8221 ; , # 8220 ; societal system # 8221 ; , # 8220 ; societal establishment # 8221 ; , # 8220 ; civilisation # 8221 ; , # 8220 ; civilization # 8221 ; etc. It means they used abstract classs. Micro-sociologists preferred discoursing stimulation of human behavior and people # 8217 ; s reactions, factors finding their certain workss, aberrant behavior etc. Macro-sociologyis sociology look intoing large-scale societal systems and historically long procedures taking topographic point in the society. Another country of its involvement is inclinations of the society # 8217 ; s development in general. As macro-sociology is frequently referred to as a cardinal scientific discipline, most of its attending is paid to societal establishments such as the household, faith, instruction etc. and to political and economic systems of societal order It besides surveies interrelatednesss between different parts of the society and kineticss of their changing. Micro-sociologyis sociology analyzing small-scale societal constructions, groups and direct interpersonal relationships. The object of micro-sociological research is a human as a member of the group, association or community. So a standard for distinction between macro- and micro-sociology is fundamentally their contents: macro-sociology is destined to analyze Torahs, factors and positions of development of the society and its largest parts ( civilisations ) while micro-sociology surveies relationships between groups and persons. So a standard for distinction between macro- and micro-sociology is fundamentally their contents: macro-sociology is destined to analyze Torahs, factors and positions of development of the society and its largest parts ( civilisations ) while micro-sociology surveies relationships between groups and persons. The 2nd construction is cardinal theoretic and applied empirical sociologies.Cardinaltheoretic sociologygives replies to inquiries what is investigated ( i.e. it defines the object and topic of research ) and how to look into ( i.e. chief methods of sociology are meant ) . Cardinal sociology is to acquire new cognition on societal development. That # 8217 ; s why it concerns with societal and philosophic comprehension of most general jobs of the society # 8217 ; s development and operation and a personality # 8217 ; s topographic point in it. That # 8217 ; s why its constructs are characterized by a high degree of abstraction. Cardinal sociology does non look into such definite units as a societal group or societal procedure, and this point presents its most typical characteristic. It is the cardinal degree where sociology realizes its interrelatednesss with other scientific disciplines such as doctrine, history, psychological science etc. Applied empiric sociologysurveies and suggests ways of influence on societal world and societal communities. It is to give construct about existent procedures of societal development, being engaged in prediction, projecting and organizing a societal policy, working out recommendations for societal administration. It is besides to happen out agencies to accomplish socially of import ends, implement propositions of cardinal sociology and methods of societal planning and prediction. So the standard for distinguishing between cardinal and applied sociology is the character of sociological cognition: abstract and practical. Some research workers thought that development of macro-sociology lead to formation of modern cardinal sociology, so as development of micro-sociology # 8211 ; to use sociology. The thought has a ration to be but it can # 8217 ; t be accepted true in full step. Macro- and micro-sociology have two degrees, both cardinal and empiric 1s. Macro-sociologists ( E. Durkheim, M. Weber, F. Toennis, P.A. Sorokin ) were really active in transporting out empiric sociological researches, and micro-sociologists ( representatives of the American sociological school G. Mead, G. Homans, P. Blau ) became laminitiss of most important sociological theories. It merely means that macro- and micro-sociology developed both as cardinal and applied. Some research workers thought that development of macro-sociology lead to formation of modern cardinal sociology, so as development of micro-sociology – to applied sociology. The thought has a ration to be but it can’t be accepted true in full step . Macro- and micro-sociology have two degrees, both cardinal and empiric 1s. Macro-sociologists ( E. Durkheim, M. Weber, F. Toennis, P.A. Sorokin ) were really active in transporting out empiric sociological researches, and micro-sociologists ( representatives of the American sociological school G. Mead, G. Homans, P. Blau ) became laminitiss of most important sociological theories. It merely means that macro- and micro-sociology developed both as cardinal and applied. The 3rd construction came to existence non long ago. Sociology is a comparatively immature scientific discipline that historically emerged from societal doctrine and psychological science. First sociological theories were cardinal, being based on observations, decisions and generalisations of different sides of societal life. To work out such a theory a research worker needs exact informations of certain societal facts which constitute the society # 8217 ; s construction and the procedure of altering. These informations are obtained with methods of empiric research ( interviews, observations, experiments etc. ) . Gathered empiric facts are processed and generalized ; after making it, a research worker can do primary theoretic decisions about definite phenomena of societal life. Cardinal theories and empiric researches should be closely connected as pure speculating without cognizing definite facts of societal kingdom becomes infeasible. At the same clip empiric researches which are non supported withfundamental theoretic decisions can non explicate the nature of most societal phenomena. In the first tierce of the XX century a aggressively increased degree of empiric researches demanded a cosmopolitan theoretic setup to explicate the consequences of research. But the setup of cardinal sociology couldn # 8217 ; t be applied to analyzing such assorted societal phenomena as the household, aberrant behavior, societal administration etc. In its bend, cardinal sociology was in great demand of empiric information as empiric researches were carried out, as a regulation, to run into narrow-practical, useful demands and it was difficult to do up an entity of them. It resulted in making a jailbreak between cardinal sociology and empiric researches that became an obstruction in the manner of developing sociology and prevented research workers from unifying their attempts. However, the manner out was found in formation of one more degree of sociological cognition under the name ofin-between scope theories. The term was introduced by an American sociologist Robert Merton who, in his work # 8220 ; Social theory and societal construction # 8221 ; published in 1949, stated a figure of propositions of in-between scope theories # 8211 ; constructs of manifest and latent map, societal disfunction, referent group etc. Middle scope theories, to R. Merton # 8217 ; s head, had to unite empiric generalisations and theoretic constructs to compensate T. Parsons # 8217 ; s cosmopolitan theory. Degrees of sociological cognition Grand/ all-sociologicaltheories Learning societal constructions Learning societal development, integrating and decomposition procedures Learning a personality # 8217 ; s development Learning theoretical accounts, methods and techniques of sociological reseach Social establishments Social communities Social procedures Middle scope theories Sociology of household Sociology of scientific discipline Sociology of instruction Sociology of faith Sociology of labor Sociology of humanistic disciplines etc. Sociology of little groups Sociology of organisation Sociology of crowd Sociology of strata, categories Ethnosociology Feminist sociology etc. Sociology of struggles Sociology of town Sociology of societal motions Sociology of aberrant behavior Sociology of mobility and migration etc. Primary generalisation of empiric informations Transporting out empiric sociological researches in societal groups and establishments At present there exist a figure of in-between scope theories that occupy an intermediate topographic point between theories of the expansive or all-sociologicallevel and empiric generalisation of primary sociological information. They are aimed at generalising and structuring empiric informations within definite countries of sociological cognition ( the household, organisation, aberrant behavior, struggle etc. ) using both the thoughts and nomenclature borrowed from cardinal sociological theories and specific constructs, definitions formed merely for the given subdivision of sociological research. When emerged, in-between scope theories created a figure of incontestable advantages. First, research workers were given a possibility to do up solid theoretic evidences for look intoing definite countries of human activities, non using to the conceptual setup of cardinal theories ; 2nd, in-between scope theories allow to exert close interaction with people # 8217 ; s existent life as the topic of their research. Middle scope theories gave birth to instead a narrow specialisation of sociologists who work, for case, merely in the country of the household or direction, gather empiric informations, generalise them and do theoretic decisions within the given country of applied sociological cognition. That # 8217 ; s why these theories bear an applied, or subdivision character. At the same clip, applied theories enabled to increase effectivity of cardinal researches because sociologists were given an chance to generalise theoretic results in separate sociological subdivisions without changeless using to first-hand empiric informations. All in-between scope theories can be conditionally divided into three groups: those of societal establishments, societal communities and specialised societal procedures. Theories of the first group investigate complex societal dependances and relationships ; those of the 2nd one consider structural units of the society ( societal groups, categories, communities etc. ) ; those of the 3rd one survey societal procedures and alterations. In each group the figure of in-between scope theories is invariably increasing every bit far as larning the society is intensifying, and sociology as a scientific discipline is developing. Sociologists, who study applied societal jobs, work out a specific conceptual setup, carry out empiric researches of their issues, generalise the given informations, make theoretic generalisations and unite them into a theory within their ain subdivision. Therefore, sociology is non some monosemantic or homogenous formation because it includes different degrees of sociological cognition. Although at each of the given degrees the impression of the topic of research, ends and aims are given a definite look to, in all instances sociology is represented as a scientific system. It means that its chief end is to acquire scientific cognition about the society on the whole or about its parts and subsystems. Extra literature # 183 ; Blau P. Exchange and Power in Social Life. ( 3rd edition ) . # 8211 ; New Brunswick and London: Transaction Publishers, 1992. # 8211 ; 354 P. # 183 ; Bourdeiu P. Logic of Practice. # 8211 ; Cambridge: Polity Press, 1990. # 8211 ; 382 P. # 183 ; Coser L. The Functions of Social Conflict. # 8211 ; Glencoe, Ill: Free Press, 1956. # 8211 ; 188 P. # 183 ; DurkheimE.The Division of Labour in Society. # 8211 ; New York, NY: Free Press ; 1997. # 8211 ; 272 P. # 183 ; DurkheimE.Suicide. # 8211 ; New York, NY: Free Press ; 1951. # 8211 ; 345 P. # 183 ; Goldthorpe J. H. Class Analysis and the Reorientation of Class Theory. # 8211 ; British Journal of Sociology, 1996, # 47. # 183 ; Homans G.Elementary Forms of Social Behavior. ( 2nd edition ) # 8211 ; New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1974.

Proposition 215 Essays - Antiemetics, Entheogens, Euphoriants

Proposition 215 There should have been a NO vote on Proposition 215! Marijuana is NOT a medicine! There currently exists controversy concerning smoking marijuana as a medicine. Many leaders and members of the public have been misled, by the well financed and organized pro-drug legalization lobby, into believing there is merit to their argument that smoking marijuana is a safe and effective medicine. A review of the scientific research, expert medical testimony and government agency findings shows this to be false. There is no justification for using marijuana as medicine. The California Narcotics Officers' Association consists of over 7,000 criminal justice professionals who are dedicated to protecting the public from the devastating effects of substance abuse, whether cocaine, methamphetamine or marijuana. They have seen firsthand the hurting and often tragic results, both psychologically and physically, for those who chose intoxication as part of their lifestyles. They have studied the medicinal use of marijuana issue, compiling information from medical experts to present to those we are sworn to protect. It is their firm belief that any movement that liberalizes or legalizes substance abuse laws would set us back to the days of the '70s, when we experienced this country's worst drug problem and the subsequent consequences. In the '80s, through the combined and concerted efforts of law enforcement and prevention and treatment professionals, illegal drug use was reduced by 50 percent. Teenagers graduating from the class of 1992 had a 50 percent lesser chance of using drugs than did those who graduated in the class of 1979. Substance abuse rises whenever public attitude is more tolerant towards drugs (i.e., they are safe and harmless.) Other factors that contribute to a rise in use include increased availability, reduced risk with using or selling and lower prices. In 1993, for the first time in 12 years of steady decline, illegal drug use rose and continues to climb. A major contributing factor is a message that drugs "aren't so bad." To counter this "just say yes" campaign, all of us should feel compelled to provide the facts on the use of marijuana as medicine. These documented facts will prove beyond a doubt that MARIJUANA IS NOT MEDICINE. FACT: The movement to legitimize marijuana as medicine is not encouraged by the pharmaceutical companies, Federal Food and Drug Administration, health and medical associations of medical experts; but instead by groups such as the National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML) and the Drug Policy Foundation (DPF). These organizations have little medical expertise and favor various forms of legalizing illegal drugs. FACT: The majority of the marijuana advocates' "evidence" comes from unscientific, non-examined or analyzed illustrative statements from people with a variety of illnesses. It is unknown whether these individuals used marijuana prior to their illnesses or are using marijuana in combination with other medicines. It is also unknown if they had a recent thorough medical exam or are justifying there use of marijuana, experiencing a remedy effect or experiencing the intoxicating effect of smoking marijuana. FACT: The psychoactive ingredient in marijuana (THC) is already available in pharmaceutical capsule form by prescription from medical doctors. This drug, Marinol, is less often prescribed because of the potential adverse effects and there are effective new medicines currently available. FACT: The manufacturers of Marinol, Roxane Laboratories inc., do not agree with the pro-marijuana advocates that THC is safe and harmless. In the Physicians Desk Reference, a good portion of the description of Marinol includes warnings about the adverse effects. FACT: Common sense dictates that it is not good medical practice to allow a substance to be used as medicine if that product is 1) not FDA approved, 2) ingested by smoking, 3) made up of hundreds of different chemicals, 4) not subject to product liability, 5) exempt from quality control standards, 6) not governed by daily dose criteria, 7) offered in unknown strengths (THC) from 1 to 10 percent, 8) self prescribed and self administered by the patient. FACT: Since the pro marijuana lobby has been unsuccessful in dealing with the federal government before, they targeted state and local governments to legitimize smoking marijuana as a medicine. A careful examination of their legislative and/or ballot proposals reveals they are written to effectively neutralize enforcing most marijuana laws. Crude, intoxicating marijuana, under their proposals, would be easier to obtain and use than even the most harmless, low level prescription drug. FACT: Major medical and health organizations, as well as the vast majority of nationally recognized expert medical doctors, scientists and researchers, have

Definition and Examples of Word Aversion (or Logomisia)

Definition and Examples of Word Aversion (or Logomisia) In language studies, logomisia is an informal term for a strong dislike for a particular word (or type of word) based on its sound, meaning, usage, or associations. Also known as word aversion or  verbal virus. In a post on Language Log, linguistics professor Mark Liberman defines the concept of word aversion as a feeling of intense, irrational distaste for the sound or sight of a particular word or phrase, not because its use is regarded as etymologically or logically or grammatically wrong, nor because it’s felt to be over-used or redundant or trendy or non-standard, but simply because the word itself somehow feels unpleasant or even disgusting.   Moist   A Web site called Visual Thesaurus asked its readers to rate how much they like or dislike certain words. And the second-most-hated word was moist. (A friend once said that she dislikes cake mixes that are advertised as being extra-moist because that basically means super-dank.) Oh, and the most-hated word of all was hate. So a lot of people hate hate.(Bart King, The Big Book of Gross Stuff. Gibbs Smith, 2010) My mother. She hates balloons and the word moist. She considers it pornographic.(Ellen Muth as George Lass in Dead Like Me, 2002) Drool My own word aversion is longstanding, and several decades from the first time I heard it I still pull back, like the flanges of a freshly opened oyster. It is the verb to drool, when applied to written prose, and especially to anything I myself have written. Very nice people have told me, for a long time now, that some things they have read of mine, in books or magazines, have made them drool. . . .I . . . should be grateful, and even humble, that I have reminded people of what fun it is, vicariously or not, to eat/live. Instead I am revolted. I see a slavering slobbering maw. It dribbles helplessly, in a Pavlovian response. It drools.(M.F.K. Fisher, As the Lingo Languishes. The State of the Language, ed. by Leonard Michaels and Christopher B. Ricks. University of California Press, 1979) Panties Adriana recovered first. Panties is a vile word, she said. She frowned and emptied the caipirinha pitcher into her glass. . . .Im just pointing out its relative grossness. All women hate the word. Panties. Just say it- panties. It makes my skin crawl.(Lauren Weisberger, Chasing Harry Winston. Downtown Press, 2008)He used the eraser end of a pencil to pick up a pair of womens underwear (technically, they were panties- stringy, lacy, red- but I know women get creeped out by that word- just Google hate the word panties).(Gillian Flynn, Gone Girl. Crown, 2012) Cheese There are people who dislike the sound of certain words- they would enjoy eating cheese if it had a different name, but so long as it is called cheese, they will have none of it.(Samuel Engle Burr, An Introduction to College. Burgess, 1949) Suck Suck was a queer word. The fellow called Simon Moonan that name because Simon Moonan used to tie the prefects false sleeves behind his back and the prefect used to let on to be angry. But the sound was ugly. Once he had washed his hands in the lavatory of the Wicklow Hotel and his father pulled the stopper up by the chain after and the dirty water went down through the hole in the basin. And when it had all gone down slowly the hole in the basin had made a sound like that: suck. Only louder.(James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, 1916) The Disgust Response Jason Riggle, a professor in the department of linguistics at the University of Chicago, says word aversions are similar to phobias. If there is a single central hallmark to this, it’s probably that it’s a more visceral response, he says. The [words] evoke nausea and disgust rather than, say, annoyance or moral outrage. And the disgust response is triggered because the word evokes a highly specific and somewhat unusual association with imagery or a scenario that people would typically find disgusting- but don’t typically associate with the word. These aversions, Riggle adds, don’t seem to be elicited solely by specific letter combinations or word characteristics. If we collected enough of [these words], it might be the case that the words that fall in this category have some properties in common, he says. But it’s not the case that words with those properties in common always fall in the category.(Matthew J.X. Malady, Why Do We Hate Certain Words? S late, April 1, 2013) The Lighter Side of Logomisia Our theme this time was an Ugliest Word Contest: everyone had to show up with a sign around their neck on which would be written the ugliest word they could think of. All the linguists present would later judge the best entry. . . .On the sofa were PUS and EXPECTORATE. On the floor, sitting cross-legged in a half circle in front of the stone fireplace, and all balancing paper plates heaped high with nachos, hummous, and guacamole, I spotted RECTUM, PALPITATE, and PLACENTA (as one of the linguists, I knew that placenta would be eliminated quickly from the running: while it brought to mind an ugly image, its phonetic realization was actually rather lovely). In a fantastic coincidence, SMEGMA . . . was cuddling up to SCROTUM against the pantry doors in the kitchen. . . .As I walked around, I realized that a lot of these words would make great band names: e.g., FECAL MATTER (phrase: disqualify), LIPOSUCTION, EXOSKELETON.(Jala Pfaff, Seducing the Rabbi. Blue Flax Press, 2006) Pronunciation: low-go-ME-zha

Maximising Project Value Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Maximising Project Value - Assignment Example Every business project is profit oriented and returns on capital employed stand as the main goal. That is why I consider that Finance perspective should focus on the cost control to ensure that in the long run income is more than the input. In a business process, the steps of what to do are provided to ensure that the end goal of profit making is achieved. It works with a target of minimizing cost so as to maximize returns. The ways of cost minimizing are wage cutting, reduction of advertising cost and reduction of employees. This is the level of deployment of the best practices an organization has defined for its Project Management process (Galliers & Leidner 2003). A lot of collaborative tools have to be designed in order to reach the recommended standard of Capability Maturity Model Integrated, a best practice framework for businesses dedicated to product development (Galliers & Leidner 2003). This part work with a clear set framework that covers areas like objectives, measures, target, and initiative. This gives everyone in the system a guide on what to do and the target goal is always indicated. For this case of study, I can bring out the best framework of a balanced scorecard as below. A balanced scorecard is used to evaluate the performance and future improvements of an organization. "Scorecard" signifies quantified performance measures in the process, financial performance, internal process, customers and learning, and growth. Balanced is an indicator showing if the system is balanced between short-term objectives and long-term objectives, financial measures and non-financial measures lagging indicators and leading indicators and internal performance and external performance perspectives (Goodpasture 2010).

Topic is a case study of the hacking of Sony Playstation that occurred Term Paper

Topic is a case study of the hacking of Sony Playstation that occurred in April 2011 - Term Paper Example The personal details that the hackers took if traded on via online black-markets rendered a likely value of ?100 million. The hit upon the Sony PlayStation System was aided by the absence of a unsystematic digit in the set of rules employed by the system security therein. This eventually permitted the clandestine key employed for the fortification of digitized content on the network to be located. Sony made a critical mistake. The safety systems in position inside the Sony correspondingly left a lot to be anticipated. The establishment failed to safeguard the systems via firewalls. Use of web applications that were archaic made Sony sites appealing victims for hacking pursuit. Outmoded Apache versions for the Web server were operational besides no patches had been applied on the PlayStation system. Lack of a firewall operating on the PlayStation system servers could have prompted ease of hackers to break into Sony’s system. The other reason as to why the breach took place was that there existed problems at the board level inside Sony Corporation. There was structural intricacy and a deficiency of ample backing for safekeeping. It is unknown, precisely what safety precautions Sony had in position prior to the infringement. Nonetheless, structural complacency correspondingly played a role during the PlayStation System hits. ... computer websites and networks are typically so well secured such that even the best advanced hacker habitually has to devote hours attempting to get a pathway in past the safety measures. A greatly easier victim is the comparatively latest technologies for instance; gaming devices for example, the Sony PlayStation, tablet PCs, and mobile phones. These machineries do not possess identical level of defense as the ordinary PC networks applying protected networks and firewalls. Sony necessitates little overview as one of the globe leading digital showbiz brands, along with a huge collection of hypermedia content. A significant emphasis for Sony is its division of gaming, Sony Computer Showbiz, a key video game establishment focusing in a multiplicity of parts in the industry of video game. The PSN (PlayStation Network) is a wired multiplayer gaming digital channel delivery service and to utilize the service, customers must create accounts. The recent concerns with the PlayStation System , in which thousands of accounts were broken into, is an indication that hackers are attempting, and succeeding in hacking and stealing personal information from hundreds of paying clients. The security was so lapse such that the single way Sony could avoid the glitch from reoccurring eventually was to shut down the gaming system for a number of weeks. As indicated on June 6, 2011 by New York Times, Sony would possibly take ages to repair their safety issues for the servers, website and database in the Sony substructure. In contrast to Microsoft, a corporation, which has had ages in the manner of improving safety, Sony is very overdue concerning safety of their fundamental services. Analysis Sony was taken on in several of areas, together with their website, gaming and network platform.

Reliability of Speaking Proficiency Tests

Reliability of Speaking Proficiency Tests Introduction Testing, as a part of English teaching, is a very important procedure, not just because it can be a valuable source of information about the effectiveness of learning and teaching but also because it can improve teaching, and arouse the students motivation to learn. Testing oral proficiency has become one of the most important issues in language testing since the role of speaking ability has become more central in language teaching with the advent of communicative language teaching (Nakamura, 1993). However, assessing speaking is challenging (Luoma, 2004). Validity and reliability, as fundamental concerns and essential measurement qualities of the speaking test (Bachman, 1990; Bachman Palmer, 1996; Alderson et al, 1995), have aroused widespread attention. The validation of the speaking test is an important area of research in language testing. Test of oral proficiency just started in China 15 years ago, and there are a few very dominant tests. An increasing number of Chinese linguists are putting their attention and efforts on analysis of their validity and reliability. Institutions began to introduce speaking tests into English exams in recent years with the widespread promotion of communicative language teaching (CLT). Publications that deal with speaking tests within institutions provide some qualitative assessments (Cai, 2002). But there is relatively little research literature relating to the reliability and validity of such measures within a university context. (Wen, 2001). The College English Department at Dalian Nationalities University (DLNU) has been selected as one of thirty-one institutions of the College English Reform Demonstration Project in the Peoples republic of China. In College English (CE) course of DLNU, the speaking test is one of the four subtests of the final examination of English assessment. The examination uses two different formats. One is a semi-direct speaking test, in which examinees talk to microphones connected to computers, and have their speeches recorded for the teachers to rate afterwards. The other is a face-to-face interview. This research in this paper aims to ascertain the degree of the reliability and validity of the speaking tests. By analyzing the results of the research, teachers will become more aware of the validity and reliability of oral assessments, including how to improve the reliability and validity of speaking tests. I, as a language teacher, will gain insight into the operation of language proficiency te st, In order to better degree of reliability and validity of a particular test, I will also take other qualities of test usefulness into account when designing the language proficiency test., such as practicality and authenticity. Research questions: This study mainly addresses the questions of validity and reliability of the speaking test administered at DLNU. They are comprehensive concepts that involve analysis of test tasks, administration, rating criteria, examinee and testers attitudes towards the test, the effect of the test on teaching and teacher or learner attitudes towards learning the tests (Luoma, 2004). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to answer the following research questions: 1. Is the speaking test administered at DLNU a valid and reliable test? This question can involve the following two sub-questions: 1) To what extent is the speaking test administered at DLNU reliable? 2) To what extent is the speaking test administered at DLNU valid? 2. In what aspects and to what extent may the validity and reliability of the speaking test administered at DLNU be improved? Literature Review This chapter presents a theoretical framework of speaking construct, ways of testing speaking, marking of speaking test and the reliability and validity of speaking test, also introduces the situation of speaking test in China. Analyzing Speaking And Speaking Test The Nature Of Speaking Speaking, as a social and situation-based activity, is an integral part of peoples daily lives (Luoma, 2004). Testing second language speaking is often claimed to be a much more difficult undertaking than testing other second language abilities, capacities or competencies, skills ¼Ã‹â€ Underhill, 1987). Assessment is difficult not only because speaking is fleeting, temporal and ephemeral, but also because of the comprehensibility of pronunciation, the special nature of spoken grammar and spoken vocabulary, as well as the interactive and social features of speaking (Luoma, 2004), because of the â€Å"unpredictability and dynamic nature† of language itself (Brown, 2003). To have a clear understanding of what it means to be able to speak a language, we must understand that the nature and characteristics of the spoken language differ from those of the written form (Luoma, 2004; McCarthy OKeefe, 2004; Bygate, 2001) in its grammar, syntax, lexis and discourse patterns due to the nature of spoken language. Spoken English involves reduced grammatical elements arranged into formulaic chunk expressions or utterances with less complex sentences than written texts. Spoken English breaks the standard word order because the omitted information can be restored from the instantaneous context (McCarthy OKeefe, 2004; Luoma, 2004; Bygate, 2001; Fulcher, 2003). Spoken English contains frequent use of the vernacular, interrogatives, tails, adjacency pairs, fillers and question tags which have been interpreted as dialogue facilitators (Luoma, 2004; Carter McCarthy, 1995). The speech also contains a fair number of slips and errors such as mispronounced words, mixed sounds, and wrong words due to inattention, which is often pardoned and allowed by native speakers (Luoma, 2004). Conversations are also negotiable, unpredictable, and susceptible to social and situational context in which the talks happen (Luoma, 2004). The Importance Of Speaking Test Testing oral proficiency has become one of the most important issues in language testing since the role of speaking ability has become more central in language teaching with the advent of CLA (Nakamura, 1993). Of the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing), listening and reading occur in the receptive mode, while speaking and writing exist in the productive mode. Understanding and absorption of received information are foundational while expression and use of acquired information demonstrate an improvement and a more advanced test of knowledge. A lot of interests now in oral testing is partly because second language teaching is more than ever directed towards the speaking and listening skills ¼Ã‹â€ Underhill, 1987). Language teachers are engaged in â€Å"teaching a language through speaking† (Hughes, 2002:7). On one hand, spoken language is the focus of classroom activity. There are often other aims which the teacher might have: for instance, helping the student gain awareness of practice in some aspect of linguistic knowledge (ibid). On the other hand, speaking test, as a device for assessing the learners language proficiency also functions to motivate students and reinforce their learning of language. This represents what Bachman (1991) has called an â€Å"interface† between second language acquisition (SLA) and language testing research. However, assessing speaking is challenging, â€Å"because there are many factors that influence our impression of how well someone can speak a language† (Luoma, 2004:1) as well as unpredictable or impromptu nature of the speaking interaction. The testing of speaking is difficult due to practical obstacles and theoretical challenges. Much attention has been given to how to perfect the assessment system of oral English and how to improve its validity and reliability. The communicative nature of the testing environment also remains to be considered (Hughes, 2002). The Construct Of Speaking Introduction To Communicative Language Ability (CLA) A clear and explicit definition of language ability is essential to language test development and use (Bachman,1990). The theory on which a language test is based determines which kind of language ability the test can measure, This type of validity is called construct validity. According to Bachman (1990:84), CLA can be described as â€Å"consisting of both knowledge or competence and the capacity for implementing or executing that competence in appropriate, contextualized communicative language use†. CLA includes three components: language competence, strategic competence and pyschophysiological mechanisms. The following framework (figure 2.1) shows components of communicative language ability in communicative language use (Bachman,1990:85). Knowledge Structures Language Competence Knowledge of the world Knowledge Of Language Strategic Competence Psychophysiological Mechanisms Context Of Situation This framework has been widely accepted in the field of language testing. Bachman (1990:84) proposes that â€Å"language competence† essentially refers to a set of specific knowledge components that are utilized in communication via language. It comprises organizational and pragmatic competence. Two areas of organizational knowledge that Bachman (1990) distinguishes are grammatical knowledge and textual knowledge. Grammatical knowledge comprises vocabulary, syntax, phonology and graphology, and textual knowledge, comprises cohesion and rhetorical or conversational organization. Pragmatic competence shows how utterances or sentences and texts are related to the communicative goals of language users and to the features of the langue-use setting. It includes illocutionary acts ¼Ã…’or language functions, and sociolinguistic competence, or the knowledge of the sociolinguistic conventions that govern appropriate language use in a particular culture and in varying situations in t hat culture (Bachman, 1987). Strategic competence refers to mastery of verbal and nonverbal strategies in facilitating communication and implementing the components of language competence. Strategic competence is demonstrated in contextualized communicative language use, such as socialcultural knowledge, real-world knowledge and mapping this onto the maximally efficient use of existing language abilities. Psychophysiological competence refers to the visual and auditory skill used to gain access to the information in the administrators instructions. Among other things, psychophysiological competence includes things like sound and light. Fulchers Construct Definition To know what to assess in a speaking test is a prime concern. Fulcher (1997b) points out that the construct of speaking proficiency is incomplete. Nevertheless, there have been various attempts to reflect the underlying construct of speaking ability and to develop theoretical frameworks for defining the speaking construct. Fulchers framework (figure 2.2) (Fulcher, 2003: 48) describes the speaking construct. As Fulcher (2003) points out that there are many factors that could be included in the definition of the construct: Phonology: the speaker must be able to articulate the words, have an understanding of the phonetic structure of the language at the level of the individual word, have an understanding of intonation, and create the physical sounds that carry meaning. Fluency and accuracy: these concepts are associated with automaticity of performance and the impact on the ability of the listener to understand. Accuracy refers to the correct use of grammatical rules, structure and vocabulary in speech. Fluency has to do with the ‘normal speed of delivery to mobilise ones language knowledge in the service of communication at relatively normal speed. The quality of speech needs to be judged in terms of the gravity of the errors made or the distance from the target forms or sounds. Strategic competence: this is generally thought to refer to an ability to achieve ones communicative purpose through the deployment of a range of coping strategies. Strategic competence includes both achievement strategies and avoidance strategies. Achievement strategies contain overgeneralization/morphological creativity. Learners transfer knowledge of the language system onto lexical items that they do not know, for example, saying â€Å"buyed† instead of â€Å"bought†, Speakers also learn approximation: learners replace an unknown word with one that is more general or they use exemplification, paraphrasing (use a synonym for the word needed), word coinage (invent a new word for an unknown word), restructuring (use different words to communicate the same message), cooperative strategies (ask for help from the listener) , code switching (take a word or phrase from the common language with the listener in order to be understood) and non-linguistic strategies (use gestur es or mime, or point to objects in the surroundings to help to communicate). Avoidance or reduction strategies consist of formal avoidance (avoiding using part of the language system) and functional avoidance (avoiding topical conversation). Strategic competence includes selecting communicative goals and planning and structuring oral production so as to fulfill them. Textual knowledge: competent oral interaction involves some knowledge of how to manage and structure discourse, for example, through appropriate turn-taking, opening and closing strategies, maintaining coherence in ones contributions and employing appropriate interactional routines such as adjacency pairs. Pragmatic and sociolinguistic knowledge: effective communication requires appropriateness and the knowledge of the rules of speaking. A range of speech acts, politeness and indirectness can be used to avoid causing offence. Ways Of Testing Speaking Clark (1979) puts forward a theoretical basis to discriminate three types of speaking tests: direct, semi-direct and indirect tests. Indirect tests belong to â€Å"procommunicative† era in language testing, in which the test takers are not actually required to speak. It has been regarded as having the least validity and reliability, while the other two formats are more widely used (OLoughlin, 2001). In this section, the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of the direct and semi-direct test are presented, The Oral Proficiency Interview Format One of the earliest and most popular direct speaking test formats, and one that continues to exert a strong influence, is the oral proficiency interview (OPI) –developed originally by the FSI (Foreign Service Institute) in the United States in the 1950s and later adopted by other government agencies. It is conducted with individual test-taker by a trained interviewer, who assesses the candidate using a global band scale (OLoughlin, 2001). It typically begins with a warm-up discussion of a few easy questions, such as getting to know each other or talking about the days events. Then the main interaction contains the pre-planned tasks, such as describing or comparing pictures, narrating from a picture series, talking about a pre-announced or examiner-selected topic, or possibly a role-play task or a reverse interview where the examinee asks question of the interviewer (Luoma. 2004). An important example of this type of test is the speaking component of the International English L anguage Testing System (IELTS), which is adopted in 105 different countries around the world each year. The Advantage Of An Interview Format The oral interview was recognized as the most commonly used speaking test format. Fulcher (2003) suggests that it is partly because the questions used can be standardized, making comparison between test takers easier than when other task types are used. Using this method, the instructor can get a sense of the oral communicative competence of students and can overcome weakness of written exams, because the interview, unlike written exams, â€Å"is flexible in that the questions can be adapted to each examinees performance, and thus the testers have more controls over what happens in the interaction† (Luoma, 2004:35). It is also relatively easy to train raters and obtain high inter-rater reliability (Fulcher, 2003). The Disadvantage Of An Interview Format However, concern and skepticism exist about whether it is possible to test other competencies or knowledge because of the nature of the discourse that the interview produces (van Lier, 1989). a. Issue of time For the instructor, time management can be quite an issue. For instance, using a two-hour period for exams for 20 students means each student is allowed only six minutes for testing. This includes the time needed to enter the room and adjust to the setting. With such a time limit the student and instructor can hardly have any kind of normal real-world conversation. b. Issue of asymmetrical relationship The asymmetrical relationship between examiners and candidates elicits a form of inauthentic and limited socio-cultural contexts (van Lier, 1989; Savignon, 1985; Yoffe, 1997). Yoffe (1997) commented on ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) OPI that the tester and the test-taker are â€Å"clearly not in equal positions† (Yofee, 1997). The asymmetry is not specific to the OPI but is inherent in the notion of an interview as an exchange wherein one person solicits information in order to arrive at a decision while the interlocutor produces what he or she perceives as most valued. The interviewee is, in most cases, acutely aware of the ramifications of the OPI rating and is, consequently, under a great deal of stress. Van Lier (1989) also challenges the validity of OPI in terms of the asymmetry between them because â€Å"the candidate speaks as to a superior and is unwilling to take the initiative† (van Lier, 1989). Under the unequal relationship, the speech discourse, such as turn –taking, topic nomination and development, and repair strategies are all substantially different from normal conversational exchanges (see van Lier 1989). c. Issue of interviewer variation Given the fact that the interviewer has considerable power over the examinee in an interview, concerns have been aroused about the effect of the interlocutor (examiner) on the candidates oral performance. Different interviewers vary in their approaches and attitudes toward the interview. Brown (2003) warns the danger of such variation to fairness. OSullivan (2000) conducts an empirical study that indicated learners perform better when interviewed by a woman, regardless of the sex of the learner. Underhill (1987:31) expresses his concern on the unscripted â€Å"flexibility†¦ means that there will be a considerable divergence between what different learners say, which makes a test more difficult to assess with consistency and reliability.† Testing Speaking In Pairs There has been a shift toward a paired speakers format: two assessors examine two candidates at a time. One assessor interacts with the two candidates and rates them on a global scale, while the other does not take part in the interaction and just assessesusing an analytic scale. The paired oral test has been used as part of large-scale, international, standardized oral proficiency tests since the late 1980s (Ildikà ³, 2001). Key English Test (KET), Preliminary English Test (PET), First Certificate in English (FCE) and Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) make use of the paired format. In a typical test, the interaction begins with a warm-up, in which the examinees introduce themselves to the interlocutor, followed by two pair interaction task. The talk may involves comparing two photographs by each candidate at first, such as in Cambridge First Certificate (Luoma, 2004), then a two-way collaborative task between the two candidates based on more photographs, artwork or computer gra phics, and ends up with a three-way discussion with the two examinees and the interlocutor about a general theme that is related to the earlier discussion. The advantages of the paired interview format Many researchers claim that the paired format is preferable to OPI. The reasons are: a. The changed role of the interviewer frees up the instructors in order to pay closer attention to the production of each candidate than if they are participants themselves (Luoma, 2004). b. The reduced asymmetry allows more varied interaction patterns, which elicits a broader sample of discourse and increased turn-takings than were possible in the highly asymmetrical traditional interview (Taylor, 2000). c. The task type based on pair-work will generate a positive washback effect on classroom teaching and learning (Ildiko, 2001). In the case of the instructor following Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) methodology, where pair work may take up a significant portion of a class, it would be appropriate to incorporate similar activities in the exam. In that way the exam itself is much better integrated into the fabric of the course. Students can be tested for performance related to activities done in class. There may also be benefits in regards to student motivation. If students are aware that they will be tested on activities similar to the ones done in class, they may have more incentive to be attentive and use class time effectively. The disadvantages of the paired interview format There are, however, also concerns voiced regarding the paired format. a. Mismatches between peer interactants The most frequently raised criticisms against the paired speaking test relate to various forms of mismatches between peer interactants (Fulcher, 2003). Ildiko (2001) points out that when a candidate has to work with an incomprehensible or uncomprehending peer partner, it may negatively influence the candidates performance. As a consequence, in such cases it is quite impossible to make a valid assessment of candidates abilities. b. Lack of familiarity between peer interactants The extent to which this testing format actually reduces the level of anxiety of test-takers compared to other test formats remains doubtful (Fulcher, 2003). OSullivan (2002) suggests that the spontaneous support offered by a friend positively reduces anxiety and task performance under experimental conditions. However, the chances are quite high that the examinee will meet with strangers as his or her peer interactant. It is hard to imagine how these strangers can carry out some naturally flowing conversations. Estrangement, misinterpretation and even breakdown may occur during their talk. c. Lack of control of the discussion Problems are generated if the examiner loses control of the oral task (Luoma, 2004). When the instructions and task materials are not clear enough to facilitate the discussion, the examinees conversation may go astray. Luoma (2004) points out that testers often feel uncertain about what amount of responsibility that they should give to the examinees. Furthermore, examinees do not know what kind of performance will earn them good results without the elicitation of the examiner. When one of the examinees has said too little, the examiner ought to monitor and jump in to give help when necessary. Semi-Direct Speaking Tests The term â€Å"semi-direct† is employed by Clark (1979:36) to describe those tests that are characterized â€Å"by means of tape recordings, printed test booklets, or other ‘non-human elicitation procedures, rather than through face-to-face conversation with a live interlocutor.† Appearing during 1970s, and being an innovative adaptation of the traditional OPI, the semi-direct method normally follows the general structure of the OPI and makes an audio-recording of the test takers performance which is later rated by one or more trained assessors (Malone, 2000). Examples of the semi-direct type used in the U.S.A. are the simulated oral proficiency interviews (SOPI) and the Test of Spoken English 2000 (TSE) (Ferguson, 2009). Examples in U.K. include the Test in English for Education Purpose (TEEP) and the Oxford-ARELS Examinations (OLoughlin, 2001). Another mode of delivery is testing by telephone as in the PhonePass test (the test mainly consists of reading sentenc es aloud or repeating sentences), or even video-conferencing (Ferguson, 2009). The Advantages Of The Semi-Direct Test Type First, the semi-direct test is more cost efficient than direct tests, because many candidates can be tested simultaneously in large laboratories and administered by any teacher, language lab technician or aide in a language laboratory where the candidate hears taped questions and has their responses recorded (Malone, 2000). Second, the mode of testing is quite flexible. It provides a practical solution in situations where it is not possible to deliver a direct test (OLoughlin, 2001), and it can be adapted to the desired level of examinee proficiency and to specific examinee age groups, backgrounds, and professions (Malone, 2000). Third, semi-direct testing represents an attempt to standardize the assessment of speaking while retaining the communicative basis of the OPI (Shohamy, 1994). It offers the same quality of interview to all examinees, and all examinees respond to the same questions so as to remove the effect that the human interlocutor will have on the candidate (Malone, 2000). The uniformity of the elicitation procedure greatly increases the reliability of the test. Some empirical studies (Stansfield, 1991) show high correlations (0. 89- 0. 95) between the direct and semi-direct tests, indicating the two formats can measure the same language abilities and the SOPI can be the equivalent and surrogate of the OPI. However, there are also disadvantages. The Disadvantages Of The Semi-Direct Test Type First, the speaking task in semi-direct oral test is less realistic and more artificial than OPI (Clark, 1979; Underhill, 1987). Examinees use artificial language to â€Å"respond to tape-recorded questions situations the examinee is not likely to encounter in a real-life setting† (Clark, 1979:38). They may feel stressful while speaking to a microphone rather than to another person, especially if they are not accustomed to the laboratory setting (OLoughlin, 2001). Second, the communicative strategy and speech discourse elicited in these semi-direct SOPIs is quite different from that found in typical face-face interaction – being more formal, less conversation-like (Shohamy, 1994). Candidates tend to use written language in tape-mediated test, more of a report or narration; while, they focus more on interaction and on delivery of meanings in OPI. Third, there are often technical problems that can result in poor quality recordings or even no recording in the SOPI format (Underhill, 1987). In conclusion, one cannot assume any equivalence between a face-to face test and a semi-direct test (Shohamy, 1994). It may be that they are measuring different things, different constructs, so the mode of test delivery should be adopted on the basis of test purpose, accuracy requirement, practicability, and impartiality (Shohamy, 1994). Stansfield (1991) proposes the OPI is more applicable to the placement test and evaluation test of the curriculum, while SOPI is more appropriate for large-scale test with requirement of high reliability. Marking Of Speaking Test Marking and scoring is a challenge in assessing second language oral proficiency.. Since only a few elements of the speaking skill can be scored objectively, human judgments play major roles in assessment. How to establish the valid, reliable, effective marking criteria scales and high quality scoring instruments have always been central to the performance testing of speaking (Luoma, 2004). It is important to have clear, explicit criteria to describe the performance, as it is important for raters to understand and apply these criteria, making it possible to score them consistently and reliably. For these reasons, rating and rating scales have been a central focus of research in the testing of speaking (Ferguson, 2009). Definition Of Rating Scales A rating scale, also referred to as a â€Å"scoring rubric† or â€Å"proficiency scale† is defined by Davies et al as following (see Fulcher, 2003):  ·consisting of a series of band or levels to which descriptions are attached  ·providing an operational definition of the constructs to be measured in the test  ·requiring training for its effective operation Holistic And Analytic Rating Scales There are different types of rating scales used for scoring speech samples. One of the traditional and commonly used distinctions is between holistic and analytic rating scales. Holistic rating scales also are referred to as global rating. With these scales, the rater attempts to match the speech sample with a particular band whose descriptors specify a range of defining characteristics of speech at that level. A single score is given to each speech sample either impressionistically or by being guided by a rating scale to encapsulate all the features of the sample (Bachman Palmer, 1996). Analytic rating scales: They consist of separate scales for different aspects of speaking ability (e.g. grammar / vocabulary; pronunciation, fluency, interactional management, etc). A score is given for each aspect (or dimension), and the resulting scores may be combined in a variety of ways to produce a composite single overall score. They include detailed guidance to raters, and rich information that they provide on specific strengths and weakness in examinee performance (Fulcher, 2003). Analytic scales are particularly useful for diagnostic purposes and for providing a profile of competence in the different aspects of speaking ability (Ferguson, 2009). The type of scale that is selected for a particular test of speaking will depend upon the purpose of the test Validity And Reliability Of Speaking Test Bachman And Palmers Theories On Test Usefulness The primary purpose of a language test is to provide a measure that can be interpreted as an indicator of an individuals language ability (Bachman, 1990; Bachman and Palmer, 1996). Bachman and Palmer (1996) propose that test usefulness including six test qualities—reliability, construct validity, authenticity, interactiveness, impact (washback) and practicality. Their notion of usefulness can be expressed as in Figure2.3: Usefulness=Reliability + Construct validity + Authenticity + Interactiveness + Impact +Practicality These qualities are the main criteria used to evaluate a test. â€Å"Two of the qualities reliability and validity are critical for tests and are sometimes referred to as essential measurement qualities† (Bachman Palmer, 1996:19), because they are the â€Å"major justification for using test scores as a basis for making inferences or decisions† (ibid). The definitions of types of validity and reliability will be presented in this section. Validity And Reliability Defining Validity The quotation from AERA (American Educational Research Association ) indicates: â€Å"Validity is the most important consideration in test evaluation. The concept refers to the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of the specific inferences made from test scores. Test validation is the process of accu ­mulating evidence to support such inferences. A variety of inferences may be made from scores produced by a given test, and there are many ways of accumulating evidence to support any particular inference. Validity, however, is a unitary concept. Although evidence may be accumulated in many ways, validity always refers to the degree to which that evidence supports the inferences that are made from the score. The inferences regarding specific uses of a test are validated, not the test itself.† (AERA et al., 1985: 9) Messick stresses that â€Å"it is important to note that validity is a matter of degree, not all or none (Mess Reliability of Speaking Proficiency Tests Reliability of Speaking Proficiency Tests Introduction Testing, as a part of English teaching, is a very important procedure, not just because it can be a valuable source of information about the effectiveness of learning and teaching but also because it can improve teaching, and arouse the students motivation to learn. Testing oral proficiency has become one of the most important issues in language testing since the role of speaking ability has become more central in language teaching with the advent of communicative language teaching (Nakamura, 1993). However, assessing speaking is challenging (Luoma, 2004). Validity and reliability, as fundamental concerns and essential measurement qualities of the speaking test (Bachman, 1990; Bachman Palmer, 1996; Alderson et al, 1995), have aroused widespread attention. The validation of the speaking test is an important area of research in language testing. Test of oral proficiency just started in China 15 years ago, and there are a few very dominant tests. An increasing number of Chinese linguists are putting their attention and efforts on analysis of their validity and reliability. Institutions began to introduce speaking tests into English exams in recent years with the widespread promotion of communicative language teaching (CLT). Publications that deal with speaking tests within institutions provide some qualitative assessments (Cai, 2002). But there is relatively little research literature relating to the reliability and validity of such measures within a university context. (Wen, 2001). The College English Department at Dalian Nationalities University (DLNU) has been selected as one of thirty-one institutions of the College English Reform Demonstration Project in the Peoples republic of China. In College English (CE) course of DLNU, the speaking test is one of the four subtests of the final examination of English assessment. The examination uses two different formats. One is a semi-direct speaking test, in which examinees talk to microphones connected to computers, and have their speeches recorded for the teachers to rate afterwards. The other is a face-to-face interview. This research in this paper aims to ascertain the degree of the reliability and validity of the speaking tests. By analyzing the results of the research, teachers will become more aware of the validity and reliability of oral assessments, including how to improve the reliability and validity of speaking tests. I, as a language teacher, will gain insight into the operation of language proficiency te st, In order to better degree of reliability and validity of a particular test, I will also take other qualities of test usefulness into account when designing the language proficiency test., such as practicality and authenticity. Research questions: This study mainly addresses the questions of validity and reliability of the speaking test administered at DLNU. They are comprehensive concepts that involve analysis of test tasks, administration, rating criteria, examinee and testers attitudes towards the test, the effect of the test on teaching and teacher or learner attitudes towards learning the tests (Luoma, 2004). Therefore, the purpose of this study is to answer the following research questions: 1. Is the speaking test administered at DLNU a valid and reliable test? This question can involve the following two sub-questions: 1) To what extent is the speaking test administered at DLNU reliable? 2) To what extent is the speaking test administered at DLNU valid? 2. In what aspects and to what extent may the validity and reliability of the speaking test administered at DLNU be improved? Literature Review This chapter presents a theoretical framework of speaking construct, ways of testing speaking, marking of speaking test and the reliability and validity of speaking test, also introduces the situation of speaking test in China. Analyzing Speaking And Speaking Test The Nature Of Speaking Speaking, as a social and situation-based activity, is an integral part of peoples daily lives (Luoma, 2004). Testing second language speaking is often claimed to be a much more difficult undertaking than testing other second language abilities, capacities or competencies, skills ¼Ã‹â€ Underhill, 1987). Assessment is difficult not only because speaking is fleeting, temporal and ephemeral, but also because of the comprehensibility of pronunciation, the special nature of spoken grammar and spoken vocabulary, as well as the interactive and social features of speaking (Luoma, 2004), because of the â€Å"unpredictability and dynamic nature† of language itself (Brown, 2003). To have a clear understanding of what it means to be able to speak a language, we must understand that the nature and characteristics of the spoken language differ from those of the written form (Luoma, 2004; McCarthy OKeefe, 2004; Bygate, 2001) in its grammar, syntax, lexis and discourse patterns due to the nature of spoken language. Spoken English involves reduced grammatical elements arranged into formulaic chunk expressions or utterances with less complex sentences than written texts. Spoken English breaks the standard word order because the omitted information can be restored from the instantaneous context (McCarthy OKeefe, 2004; Luoma, 2004; Bygate, 2001; Fulcher, 2003). Spoken English contains frequent use of the vernacular, interrogatives, tails, adjacency pairs, fillers and question tags which have been interpreted as dialogue facilitators (Luoma, 2004; Carter McCarthy, 1995). The speech also contains a fair number of slips and errors such as mispronounced words, mixed sounds, and wrong words due to inattention, which is often pardoned and allowed by native speakers (Luoma, 2004). Conversations are also negotiable, unpredictable, and susceptible to social and situational context in which the talks happen (Luoma, 2004). The Importance Of Speaking Test Testing oral proficiency has become one of the most important issues in language testing since the role of speaking ability has become more central in language teaching with the advent of CLA (Nakamura, 1993). Of the four language skills (listening, speaking, reading, writing), listening and reading occur in the receptive mode, while speaking and writing exist in the productive mode. Understanding and absorption of received information are foundational while expression and use of acquired information demonstrate an improvement and a more advanced test of knowledge. A lot of interests now in oral testing is partly because second language teaching is more than ever directed towards the speaking and listening skills ¼Ã‹â€ Underhill, 1987). Language teachers are engaged in â€Å"teaching a language through speaking† (Hughes, 2002:7). On one hand, spoken language is the focus of classroom activity. There are often other aims which the teacher might have: for instance, helping the student gain awareness of practice in some aspect of linguistic knowledge (ibid). On the other hand, speaking test, as a device for assessing the learners language proficiency also functions to motivate students and reinforce their learning of language. This represents what Bachman (1991) has called an â€Å"interface† between second language acquisition (SLA) and language testing research. However, assessing speaking is challenging, â€Å"because there are many factors that influence our impression of how well someone can speak a language† (Luoma, 2004:1) as well as unpredictable or impromptu nature of the speaking interaction. The testing of speaking is difficult due to practical obstacles and theoretical challenges. Much attention has been given to how to perfect the assessment system of oral English and how to improve its validity and reliability. The communicative nature of the testing environment also remains to be considered (Hughes, 2002). The Construct Of Speaking Introduction To Communicative Language Ability (CLA) A clear and explicit definition of language ability is essential to language test development and use (Bachman,1990). The theory on which a language test is based determines which kind of language ability the test can measure, This type of validity is called construct validity. According to Bachman (1990:84), CLA can be described as â€Å"consisting of both knowledge or competence and the capacity for implementing or executing that competence in appropriate, contextualized communicative language use†. CLA includes three components: language competence, strategic competence and pyschophysiological mechanisms. The following framework (figure 2.1) shows components of communicative language ability in communicative language use (Bachman,1990:85). Knowledge Structures Language Competence Knowledge of the world Knowledge Of Language Strategic Competence Psychophysiological Mechanisms Context Of Situation This framework has been widely accepted in the field of language testing. Bachman (1990:84) proposes that â€Å"language competence† essentially refers to a set of specific knowledge components that are utilized in communication via language. It comprises organizational and pragmatic competence. Two areas of organizational knowledge that Bachman (1990) distinguishes are grammatical knowledge and textual knowledge. Grammatical knowledge comprises vocabulary, syntax, phonology and graphology, and textual knowledge, comprises cohesion and rhetorical or conversational organization. Pragmatic competence shows how utterances or sentences and texts are related to the communicative goals of language users and to the features of the langue-use setting. It includes illocutionary acts ¼Ã…’or language functions, and sociolinguistic competence, or the knowledge of the sociolinguistic conventions that govern appropriate language use in a particular culture and in varying situations in t hat culture (Bachman, 1987). Strategic competence refers to mastery of verbal and nonverbal strategies in facilitating communication and implementing the components of language competence. Strategic competence is demonstrated in contextualized communicative language use, such as socialcultural knowledge, real-world knowledge and mapping this onto the maximally efficient use of existing language abilities. Psychophysiological competence refers to the visual and auditory skill used to gain access to the information in the administrators instructions. Among other things, psychophysiological competence includes things like sound and light. Fulchers Construct Definition To know what to assess in a speaking test is a prime concern. Fulcher (1997b) points out that the construct of speaking proficiency is incomplete. Nevertheless, there have been various attempts to reflect the underlying construct of speaking ability and to develop theoretical frameworks for defining the speaking construct. Fulchers framework (figure 2.2) (Fulcher, 2003: 48) describes the speaking construct. As Fulcher (2003) points out that there are many factors that could be included in the definition of the construct: Phonology: the speaker must be able to articulate the words, have an understanding of the phonetic structure of the language at the level of the individual word, have an understanding of intonation, and create the physical sounds that carry meaning. Fluency and accuracy: these concepts are associated with automaticity of performance and the impact on the ability of the listener to understand. Accuracy refers to the correct use of grammatical rules, structure and vocabulary in speech. Fluency has to do with the ‘normal speed of delivery to mobilise ones language knowledge in the service of communication at relatively normal speed. The quality of speech needs to be judged in terms of the gravity of the errors made or the distance from the target forms or sounds. Strategic competence: this is generally thought to refer to an ability to achieve ones communicative purpose through the deployment of a range of coping strategies. Strategic competence includes both achievement strategies and avoidance strategies. Achievement strategies contain overgeneralization/morphological creativity. Learners transfer knowledge of the language system onto lexical items that they do not know, for example, saying â€Å"buyed† instead of â€Å"bought†, Speakers also learn approximation: learners replace an unknown word with one that is more general or they use exemplification, paraphrasing (use a synonym for the word needed), word coinage (invent a new word for an unknown word), restructuring (use different words to communicate the same message), cooperative strategies (ask for help from the listener) , code switching (take a word or phrase from the common language with the listener in order to be understood) and non-linguistic strategies (use gestur es or mime, or point to objects in the surroundings to help to communicate). Avoidance or reduction strategies consist of formal avoidance (avoiding using part of the language system) and functional avoidance (avoiding topical conversation). Strategic competence includes selecting communicative goals and planning and structuring oral production so as to fulfill them. Textual knowledge: competent oral interaction involves some knowledge of how to manage and structure discourse, for example, through appropriate turn-taking, opening and closing strategies, maintaining coherence in ones contributions and employing appropriate interactional routines such as adjacency pairs. Pragmatic and sociolinguistic knowledge: effective communication requires appropriateness and the knowledge of the rules of speaking. A range of speech acts, politeness and indirectness can be used to avoid causing offence. Ways Of Testing Speaking Clark (1979) puts forward a theoretical basis to discriminate three types of speaking tests: direct, semi-direct and indirect tests. Indirect tests belong to â€Å"procommunicative† era in language testing, in which the test takers are not actually required to speak. It has been regarded as having the least validity and reliability, while the other two formats are more widely used (OLoughlin, 2001). In this section, the characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of the direct and semi-direct test are presented, The Oral Proficiency Interview Format One of the earliest and most popular direct speaking test formats, and one that continues to exert a strong influence, is the oral proficiency interview (OPI) –developed originally by the FSI (Foreign Service Institute) in the United States in the 1950s and later adopted by other government agencies. It is conducted with individual test-taker by a trained interviewer, who assesses the candidate using a global band scale (OLoughlin, 2001). It typically begins with a warm-up discussion of a few easy questions, such as getting to know each other or talking about the days events. Then the main interaction contains the pre-planned tasks, such as describing or comparing pictures, narrating from a picture series, talking about a pre-announced or examiner-selected topic, or possibly a role-play task or a reverse interview where the examinee asks question of the interviewer (Luoma. 2004). An important example of this type of test is the speaking component of the International English L anguage Testing System (IELTS), which is adopted in 105 different countries around the world each year. The Advantage Of An Interview Format The oral interview was recognized as the most commonly used speaking test format. Fulcher (2003) suggests that it is partly because the questions used can be standardized, making comparison between test takers easier than when other task types are used. Using this method, the instructor can get a sense of the oral communicative competence of students and can overcome weakness of written exams, because the interview, unlike written exams, â€Å"is flexible in that the questions can be adapted to each examinees performance, and thus the testers have more controls over what happens in the interaction† (Luoma, 2004:35). It is also relatively easy to train raters and obtain high inter-rater reliability (Fulcher, 2003). The Disadvantage Of An Interview Format However, concern and skepticism exist about whether it is possible to test other competencies or knowledge because of the nature of the discourse that the interview produces (van Lier, 1989). a. Issue of time For the instructor, time management can be quite an issue. For instance, using a two-hour period for exams for 20 students means each student is allowed only six minutes for testing. This includes the time needed to enter the room and adjust to the setting. With such a time limit the student and instructor can hardly have any kind of normal real-world conversation. b. Issue of asymmetrical relationship The asymmetrical relationship between examiners and candidates elicits a form of inauthentic and limited socio-cultural contexts (van Lier, 1989; Savignon, 1985; Yoffe, 1997). Yoffe (1997) commented on ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) OPI that the tester and the test-taker are â€Å"clearly not in equal positions† (Yofee, 1997). The asymmetry is not specific to the OPI but is inherent in the notion of an interview as an exchange wherein one person solicits information in order to arrive at a decision while the interlocutor produces what he or she perceives as most valued. The interviewee is, in most cases, acutely aware of the ramifications of the OPI rating and is, consequently, under a great deal of stress. Van Lier (1989) also challenges the validity of OPI in terms of the asymmetry between them because â€Å"the candidate speaks as to a superior and is unwilling to take the initiative† (van Lier, 1989). Under the unequal relationship, the speech discourse, such as turn –taking, topic nomination and development, and repair strategies are all substantially different from normal conversational exchanges (see van Lier 1989). c. Issue of interviewer variation Given the fact that the interviewer has considerable power over the examinee in an interview, concerns have been aroused about the effect of the interlocutor (examiner) on the candidates oral performance. Different interviewers vary in their approaches and attitudes toward the interview. Brown (2003) warns the danger of such variation to fairness. OSullivan (2000) conducts an empirical study that indicated learners perform better when interviewed by a woman, regardless of the sex of the learner. Underhill (1987:31) expresses his concern on the unscripted â€Å"flexibility†¦ means that there will be a considerable divergence between what different learners say, which makes a test more difficult to assess with consistency and reliability.† Testing Speaking In Pairs There has been a shift toward a paired speakers format: two assessors examine two candidates at a time. One assessor interacts with the two candidates and rates them on a global scale, while the other does not take part in the interaction and just assessesusing an analytic scale. The paired oral test has been used as part of large-scale, international, standardized oral proficiency tests since the late 1980s (Ildikà ³, 2001). Key English Test (KET), Preliminary English Test (PET), First Certificate in English (FCE) and Certificate in Advanced English (CAE) make use of the paired format. In a typical test, the interaction begins with a warm-up, in which the examinees introduce themselves to the interlocutor, followed by two pair interaction task. The talk may involves comparing two photographs by each candidate at first, such as in Cambridge First Certificate (Luoma, 2004), then a two-way collaborative task between the two candidates based on more photographs, artwork or computer gra phics, and ends up with a three-way discussion with the two examinees and the interlocutor about a general theme that is related to the earlier discussion. The advantages of the paired interview format Many researchers claim that the paired format is preferable to OPI. The reasons are: a. The changed role of the interviewer frees up the instructors in order to pay closer attention to the production of each candidate than if they are participants themselves (Luoma, 2004). b. The reduced asymmetry allows more varied interaction patterns, which elicits a broader sample of discourse and increased turn-takings than were possible in the highly asymmetrical traditional interview (Taylor, 2000). c. The task type based on pair-work will generate a positive washback effect on classroom teaching and learning (Ildiko, 2001). In the case of the instructor following Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) methodology, where pair work may take up a significant portion of a class, it would be appropriate to incorporate similar activities in the exam. In that way the exam itself is much better integrated into the fabric of the course. Students can be tested for performance related to activities done in class. There may also be benefits in regards to student motivation. If students are aware that they will be tested on activities similar to the ones done in class, they may have more incentive to be attentive and use class time effectively. The disadvantages of the paired interview format There are, however, also concerns voiced regarding the paired format. a. Mismatches between peer interactants The most frequently raised criticisms against the paired speaking test relate to various forms of mismatches between peer interactants (Fulcher, 2003). Ildiko (2001) points out that when a candidate has to work with an incomprehensible or uncomprehending peer partner, it may negatively influence the candidates performance. As a consequence, in such cases it is quite impossible to make a valid assessment of candidates abilities. b. Lack of familiarity between peer interactants The extent to which this testing format actually reduces the level of anxiety of test-takers compared to other test formats remains doubtful (Fulcher, 2003). OSullivan (2002) suggests that the spontaneous support offered by a friend positively reduces anxiety and task performance under experimental conditions. However, the chances are quite high that the examinee will meet with strangers as his or her peer interactant. It is hard to imagine how these strangers can carry out some naturally flowing conversations. Estrangement, misinterpretation and even breakdown may occur during their talk. c. Lack of control of the discussion Problems are generated if the examiner loses control of the oral task (Luoma, 2004). When the instructions and task materials are not clear enough to facilitate the discussion, the examinees conversation may go astray. Luoma (2004) points out that testers often feel uncertain about what amount of responsibility that they should give to the examinees. Furthermore, examinees do not know what kind of performance will earn them good results without the elicitation of the examiner. When one of the examinees has said too little, the examiner ought to monitor and jump in to give help when necessary. Semi-Direct Speaking Tests The term â€Å"semi-direct† is employed by Clark (1979:36) to describe those tests that are characterized â€Å"by means of tape recordings, printed test booklets, or other ‘non-human elicitation procedures, rather than through face-to-face conversation with a live interlocutor.† Appearing during 1970s, and being an innovative adaptation of the traditional OPI, the semi-direct method normally follows the general structure of the OPI and makes an audio-recording of the test takers performance which is later rated by one or more trained assessors (Malone, 2000). Examples of the semi-direct type used in the U.S.A. are the simulated oral proficiency interviews (SOPI) and the Test of Spoken English 2000 (TSE) (Ferguson, 2009). Examples in U.K. include the Test in English for Education Purpose (TEEP) and the Oxford-ARELS Examinations (OLoughlin, 2001). Another mode of delivery is testing by telephone as in the PhonePass test (the test mainly consists of reading sentenc es aloud or repeating sentences), or even video-conferencing (Ferguson, 2009). The Advantages Of The Semi-Direct Test Type First, the semi-direct test is more cost efficient than direct tests, because many candidates can be tested simultaneously in large laboratories and administered by any teacher, language lab technician or aide in a language laboratory where the candidate hears taped questions and has their responses recorded (Malone, 2000). Second, the mode of testing is quite flexible. It provides a practical solution in situations where it is not possible to deliver a direct test (OLoughlin, 2001), and it can be adapted to the desired level of examinee proficiency and to specific examinee age groups, backgrounds, and professions (Malone, 2000). Third, semi-direct testing represents an attempt to standardize the assessment of speaking while retaining the communicative basis of the OPI (Shohamy, 1994). It offers the same quality of interview to all examinees, and all examinees respond to the same questions so as to remove the effect that the human interlocutor will have on the candidate (Malone, 2000). The uniformity of the elicitation procedure greatly increases the reliability of the test. Some empirical studies (Stansfield, 1991) show high correlations (0. 89- 0. 95) between the direct and semi-direct tests, indicating the two formats can measure the same language abilities and the SOPI can be the equivalent and surrogate of the OPI. However, there are also disadvantages. The Disadvantages Of The Semi-Direct Test Type First, the speaking task in semi-direct oral test is less realistic and more artificial than OPI (Clark, 1979; Underhill, 1987). Examinees use artificial language to â€Å"respond to tape-recorded questions situations the examinee is not likely to encounter in a real-life setting† (Clark, 1979:38). They may feel stressful while speaking to a microphone rather than to another person, especially if they are not accustomed to the laboratory setting (OLoughlin, 2001). Second, the communicative strategy and speech discourse elicited in these semi-direct SOPIs is quite different from that found in typical face-face interaction – being more formal, less conversation-like (Shohamy, 1994). Candidates tend to use written language in tape-mediated test, more of a report or narration; while, they focus more on interaction and on delivery of meanings in OPI. Third, there are often technical problems that can result in poor quality recordings or even no recording in the SOPI format (Underhill, 1987). In conclusion, one cannot assume any equivalence between a face-to face test and a semi-direct test (Shohamy, 1994). It may be that they are measuring different things, different constructs, so the mode of test delivery should be adopted on the basis of test purpose, accuracy requirement, practicability, and impartiality (Shohamy, 1994). Stansfield (1991) proposes the OPI is more applicable to the placement test and evaluation test of the curriculum, while SOPI is more appropriate for large-scale test with requirement of high reliability. Marking Of Speaking Test Marking and scoring is a challenge in assessing second language oral proficiency.. Since only a few elements of the speaking skill can be scored objectively, human judgments play major roles in assessment. How to establish the valid, reliable, effective marking criteria scales and high quality scoring instruments have always been central to the performance testing of speaking (Luoma, 2004). It is important to have clear, explicit criteria to describe the performance, as it is important for raters to understand and apply these criteria, making it possible to score them consistently and reliably. For these reasons, rating and rating scales have been a central focus of research in the testing of speaking (Ferguson, 2009). Definition Of Rating Scales A rating scale, also referred to as a â€Å"scoring rubric† or â€Å"proficiency scale† is defined by Davies et al as following (see Fulcher, 2003):  ·consisting of a series of band or levels to which descriptions are attached  ·providing an operational definition of the constructs to be measured in the test  ·requiring training for its effective operation Holistic And Analytic Rating Scales There are different types of rating scales used for scoring speech samples. One of the traditional and commonly used distinctions is between holistic and analytic rating scales. Holistic rating scales also are referred to as global rating. With these scales, the rater attempts to match the speech sample with a particular band whose descriptors specify a range of defining characteristics of speech at that level. A single score is given to each speech sample either impressionistically or by being guided by a rating scale to encapsulate all the features of the sample (Bachman Palmer, 1996). Analytic rating scales: They consist of separate scales for different aspects of speaking ability (e.g. grammar / vocabulary; pronunciation, fluency, interactional management, etc). A score is given for each aspect (or dimension), and the resulting scores may be combined in a variety of ways to produce a composite single overall score. They include detailed guidance to raters, and rich information that they provide on specific strengths and weakness in examinee performance (Fulcher, 2003). Analytic scales are particularly useful for diagnostic purposes and for providing a profile of competence in the different aspects of speaking ability (Ferguson, 2009). The type of scale that is selected for a particular test of speaking will depend upon the purpose of the test Validity And Reliability Of Speaking Test Bachman And Palmers Theories On Test Usefulness The primary purpose of a language test is to provide a measure that can be interpreted as an indicator of an individuals language ability (Bachman, 1990; Bachman and Palmer, 1996). Bachman and Palmer (1996) propose that test usefulness including six test qualities—reliability, construct validity, authenticity, interactiveness, impact (washback) and practicality. Their notion of usefulness can be expressed as in Figure2.3: Usefulness=Reliability + Construct validity + Authenticity + Interactiveness + Impact +Practicality These qualities are the main criteria used to evaluate a test. â€Å"Two of the qualities reliability and validity are critical for tests and are sometimes referred to as essential measurement qualities† (Bachman Palmer, 1996:19), because they are the â€Å"major justification for using test scores as a basis for making inferences or decisions† (ibid). The definitions of types of validity and reliability will be presented in this section. Validity And Reliability Defining Validity The quotation from AERA (American Educational Research Association ) indicates: â€Å"Validity is the most important consideration in test evaluation. The concept refers to the appropriateness, meaningfulness, and usefulness of the specific inferences made from test scores. Test validation is the process of accu ­mulating evidence to support such inferences. A variety of inferences may be made from scores produced by a given test, and there are many ways of accumulating evidence to support any particular inference. Validity, however, is a unitary concept. Although evidence may be accumulated in many ways, validity always refers to the degree to which that evidence supports the inferences that are made from the score. The inferences regarding specific uses of a test are validated, not the test itself.† (AERA et al., 1985: 9) Messick stresses that â€Å"it is important to note that validity is a matter of degree, not all or none (Mess