Positive Learning Essay

Introduction Student behaviours in schools have been perceived by researchers for years. Over the past twenty-five years, Sugai, (2009) states that Gallup Polls have specified, behavioural complications are on the top trials schools face. To establish and scan these behaviours, checklists of behaviours are available that included the most usual behaviours observed by te schools teachers (Algozzine, 2003). Such behaviours includes anxiety, disobedience, isolation, destructiveness and disruptiveness. Safran, Safran, & Barcikowski, (1985) states, such behaviours occupy teachers for an undue amount of time. Safran & Safran, (1984) reports that teachers normally spend sixty- ninety precent more time with misbehaving students than with the rest of the students. Johnson & Fullwood, (2006) states that teachers spend up to ninety precent more time with problematic students. Many new teachers have trouble dealing with persistent misbehaviour. They become exasperated because their previous responses had little impact. They spend substantial time distressing about the problem and often feel as if their authority and power is being challenged. A common way of consolidating behaviours is the division of internalising against externalising behaviours. Internalising behaviours such as anxiety, shyness, or inattentiveness mainly affect the student demonstrating the behaviour. Externalising behaviours such as fighting, aggression, and disobedience are outer-directed behaviours. It is essential to understand student behaviour from an eco-systemic viewpoint. This principle highlights the composite, unified and co-dependent type of relationships between a variety of relational, intra-personal and environmental factors that impact the everyday behaviours of teachers and students. The behavioural change in social systems does not take place in the direct approach of the positivistic custom. Instead, behaviours should be observed as cycles of communication. In other words, the students’ behaviour is assumed to be affected and dependent on the behaviours of other people around them. (De Jong. 2005). To learn the approaches and opinions of different people regarding student misbehaviour, a research was commenced through conducting informal interview of six people belonging to different groups in the society. The purpose was to get different views and perceptions on why students misbehave; interviewees included people from different groups such as practicing teachers, retired school teacher, parents, pre service teacher and a non-teaching professional. The interview consisted of several informal and open-ended questions in order to grasp the in-depth knowledge about various reasons of student misbehaviour and their solutions. The approach uses a series of questions intended to offer perspective on the student’s misbehaviour and assistance in creating responses. 2. 0 Participants: Following interviewees were selected for interview. Names have been kept confidential to maintain privacy. 1. Interviewee 1 (Female): is a full time teacher is her early 30’s. 2. Interviewee 2 (Female): is a pre-service teacher in her 20’s. 3. Interviewee 3 (Male): is a pensioned off school teacher in his late 50’s. 4. Interviewee 4 (Female): is a 38 years old mother of three children. 5. Interviewee 5 (Male): is a father of three children in his early 40’s. 6. Interviewee 6 (Male): is a non-teaching professional and postgraduate student in his early 30’s. During the interviews, many common themes regarding student misbehaviour, their reasons and impacts were discussed. Various researches and theories were also linked with the answers in order to analyse the root cause of such behaviours and the suitable responses. 3. 0 Understanding the Reasons for Difficult Behaviour: Understanding multiple causes of student misbehaviour can aid you to select the most applicable solution. Questions on physical, emotional and environmental factors were asked which helped in understanding the main grounds of problematic misbehaviours: 3. 1 Question – What are the physical causes of misbehaviour? Interviewee 1 suggested that the consumption of illegal Medication and Drugs by school students modify their behaviour in numerous ways. She once took students on an excursion, and one student arrived drunk showing extreme behaviours (drowsy, overly active). Students usually recall information when they are in the same state (drunk) as when they learned it (Eich, 1989). Interviewee 2 answered that students don’t take good care of their health and feeling unpleasant can make them irritable, although misperception and distraction may be more usual reactions. She also pondered that Fatigue is common in academic life and increases, when exams dates are near. When the pressure of exams increases, politeness is usually absent in students. Hearing and vision problems also result in student misbehaviour. A student with such debility may appear troublesome. Interviewee 3 answered that vision/hearing difficulty of student or even the teacher raises the risk of confusion thus leading to miscommunication and the possibility that student or teacher might get offended. 3. 2 Question – What are the major Emotional Challenges? Teachers have to choose if to get personally involved when emotional challenges are the reason for rude behaviour. Talking privately with associates or the counselling centre can benefit the teacher to choose when a student requires referral for professional assistance. Interviewee 6 specified that when school students reach an adults’ age, they’re usually given charge for their major decisions in life thus they might feel lonely once confronted with loss. Grief may be uttered as anger or guilt, depression and denial. Interviewee 3 believed that a small incident in the class (like forgetting the textbook) may activate a strangely big response and usually the teacher is merely an aim for the expression of the student’s sentiment. 3. 3 Question – What are the major Environmental Factors? Interviewee 1 discussed that class size and culture contribute to varying student’s behaviours. Big classes can buoy up a student or students to behave as if they were in a cinema or even a tv lounge. Interviewee further commented that supportive educational activities might aid in reducing the blockades that a big class creates among the teachers and the students. Every culture has a different standard regarding student’s unpunctuality to class or when it is suitable for a student to talk. If all every student is going to experience a specific cultural atmosphere after graduation, it may be easier to have classroom environment that matches with the work environment. Routine and Stimulation are other environmental factors identified by Interviewee 2 commented that excessive routine result in boredom, however too little creates confusion. A lot of motivation generates difficulties for the students who normally have trouble handling their activity level, and too little motivation results in disruption in the class. Interviewee 1 opined the importance of an unconventional learning environment. Some students require alternate flexible atmosphere but taking away students from the regular schoolroom should be the last alternative, and is grounded upon the belief that not all effective educational experiences happen in the classroom and thinking broadly about education is critical. 4. 0 Importance of behaviour management: 4. 1 Question – How important is behaviour management in effective teaching and learning? For many teacher and school front-runners in the past, a silent and disciplined classroom was the symbol of effective teaching. There is no doubt that regimented classrooms and schools enable effective teaching and the decent behaviour management skills are essential for teachers to perform the primary task of improving students’ performance and learning outcomes. Interviewee 3 stated that behaviour management is a key skill for both experienced and beginning teachers. Interviewee 6 specified specifies that it is brilliance in teachers that makes the utmost difference. Hattie’s research about the key impacts on the variance in student success examined the differences between experts, proficient and experienced teachers (Hattie, 2003). Interviewee 1 suggested that the student behaviour is indissolubly associated to the quality of the learning capability and teaching skills. Active pedagogics is acute to student engagement. She advised that good quality of teaching increases the student engagement and reduces behaviour matters. She further recommended that optimistic relationships between students and teachers are significant to encourage correct behaviours and attaining learning objectives. 5. 0 Role of parents: 5. 1 Question – How can parents contribute in improving the behaviour is students? Successful parent participation develops not only good student behaviour and attendance but also significantly affects student accomplishments. Parents can exhibit involvement at home by reading with their kids, assisting with homework, discussing school events and by attending functions or volunteering in classrooms. Being an experienced father, Interviewee 5 advised that parents are occasionally hesitant to get involved in school because they don’t have spare time or because they don’t speak smooth English. He said however â€Å"the biggest issue is the disconnection between the school and the parents†. Interviewee 4 on the other hand answered, â€Å"Parents consider that they are not welcomed. They often have had a lesser adequate experience with their own schooling†. However she firmly believed that parents should remain open and supportive with teachers and other school staff when dealing with issues of student misbehaviour. Retired school teacher Interviewee 3 recommended that school staff should mediate with parents while dealing with behaviour and misconduct issues. He also suggested that parents should back the school’s Student Behaviour Management Policy and should work with their children to assist them to understand their responsibility and obligations towards others. 6. 0 Effects of Teacher Gender: 6. 1 Question – How teacher gender affect the student behaviour? Interviewees were asked about the possible differences for teachers’ patience founded upon the gender of the teacher. Since both male and female teachers are present in the classrooms and the students are engaged in the classrooms with both genders, it is significant to recognise the characteristic differences. Teachers’ gender, teachers’ attitude, and the reporting of behaviour problem are found to have a connection (Ritter, 1989, Stake & Katz, 1982). Interviewee 3 believed that teacher tolerance and student behaviour have a give-and-take relationship, in that students’ behaviour influences the teachers’ patience levels for behaviours, teachers’ approach and opinion of the student, and the contagion influence of behaviour on the rest of the students in the class, resulting in academic achievement of the students. He also considered that students are more involved, behave more properly, and perform at a greater level when taught by teachers who shares their gender. On the other hand, Interviewee 6 suggested that the male teachers used more clarifications and general instructions than the female teachers. They also ask more questions and call for more student answers than female teachers. 7. 0 Conclusion: The interview with diverse group of people of both genders helped in identifying the main causes of student misbehaviours and efficient ways of addressing such behaviours. There are always students in classrooms who tend to meet their desires and wants through inappropriate behaviour. Having a range of alternatives (that are consistent with the needs and values of the teacher) can be exceptionally valuable when reacting to incidents of misconduct in complex classrooms. Both verbal and nonverbal communications are important when answering to persistent disobedience. Teachers should develop an â€Å"I mean it† demeanour by using firmness and clarity. Many student misconduct problems can be resolved by reorganising the environment. This might be done to ease proximity control, isolate students who cannot workout self-control, or eliminate students from an area where there are disruptions. Teaching students to adjust their own behaviour benefits students recognise their feelings and their wants and aiding them learn how to search for substitutes to unproductive behaviour. Teachers and parents need to be working together rather than being adversaries.

Collins or Longman Dictionary – a Difficult Choice

The choice of a dictionary – Collins or Longman? Nowadays many learners of English face a problem – which dictionary to choose as their main aid in learning the language. There is a variety of dictionaries from different publishers available at the market now, but we can focus here on two – Collins and Longman which are quite good reference books for everybody. Although they are both equally preferred by English learners, they posses a number of features which leave the buyer with not an easy choice. Collins, for instance, with its layout which makes looking up easier, clear definitions and specific vocabulary is by far better than Longman.The two dictionaries have their differences and perhaps that’s why they aim for the different group of users. Definition is the first thing the user confronts. That is – the place it occupies on the page of the dictionary. If it is clearly presented, there should be no difficulty with getting the idea of the word. Therefore Collins, unlike Longman, usually includes grammar information in the margin, which makes it easier for the user to find quickly either the desired meaning or the grammar references. In contrast, Longman’s grammar notes are inserted between the definitions.Consequently, it results in making the way to the needed meaning much longer. If the user managed to find the right definitions, he or she may now encounter problems with understanding them. In this respect Longman prevails. Why is it so? First of all, both dictionaries draw upon some kind of bank of words. Collins definitions are based on a wider range of vocabulary. That’s why they are more complicated and difficult to understand. However, Longman defining vocabulary comprises less words but nevertheless it may be good for less advanced learners. Collins definitions are undoubtedly more specific.Learners of second or foreign language have a better opportunity of matching difficult English words (e. g. pro per nouns) to the equivalents in their mother tongue. As far as the variety of English is concerned it appears as if Collins tends towards British rather than American English. It is definitely better for students who want to focus their attention on British English only (they want to emigrate to Britain for business purposes, for example) On the other side of this confrontation we have Longman which deals with both varieties of English more thoroughly. Collins does show the nuances between British and American English but it erhaps isn’t so much concerned with colloquial American English and slang. In this field Longman is more universal. Thus, it is more suitable for younger learners or just for those at lower level of proficiency. Moreover, what goes for register, Longman may be more useful for people who want to explore the informal language (those young people who look for the sense of their favourite songs, for example). The two dictionaries aim to provide excellent hel p in studying a language. In this process, Collins is for those who have already tasted what English really is whereas Longman is for the novices who want to become familiar with that taste.

New Media Convergence and Audience Fragmentation and Programme Content in International Broadcasting

New Media Convergence and Audience Fragmentation and Programme Content in International Broadcasting The new media technologies have been referred to as the communication revolution due to the immense changes they have brought to mass communication and social lifestyles in past decade or so. The expression ‘new media’ has been in use since the 1960s and has had to encompass an expanding and diversifying set of applied communication technologies such the it is somehow impracticable to tell just what the ‘new media’ comprise. As far as the essential features of new media are concerned, however, the main ones seem to be: their interconnectedness; their accessibility to individual users as senders or receivers; their interactivity; their multiplicity of use and open-ended character; and their ubiquity and almost limitless extended located-ness. The new media could be said to have brought a communications revolution because it seems to have brought a revolt against mass communication and all that it used to stand for. The two main driving force of this communications revolution are satellite communication and computer technologies. The key to the immense power of the computer as a communication device lies in the process of digitalization that allows information of all kinds in all formats to be carried with the same efficiency and also in a multiplex. New means of transmission by cable, satellite and radio have immensely increased the capacity to transmit. New means of storage and retrieval including the personal video recorder, the mobile phone, CD-ROM, compact disc, DVD, etc, have also expanded the range of possibilities, and even the remote control device has played a part. The many possibilities of ‘media-making’ (camcorders, PCs, printers, cameras, etc, especially in digital form) have changed immensely the practice of journalism whether print or broadcast, such that the amateur or the professional are being bridged. There are also new kinds of ‘quasi-media’ such as computer games and virtual reality devices which seem to be overlapping with the mass media in their culture and in the satisfaction of use. The communications revolution has being of benefit to traditional media and the audience due mainly to the interactivity that has become possible. What is the nature of convergence? Convergence is the coming together of different technologies, the fusion of two or more technologies to form something new and different, something that has attributes of each but is altogether unique. The new technologies and products that result from convergence are greater than the sum of the original parts, and the two most powerful and pervasive technologies – information and media are converging. The result of convergence has been called ‘techno-fusion’. What are the differences between the old and the new? Today the differences between the old and new are difficult to distinguish partly because some media forms are now distributed across different types of transmission channels, reducing the original uniqueness of form and experience in use. Also, the increasing convergence of technology, based on digitalization, can only reinforce this tendency. Thirdly, globalization has reduced the distinctiveness of domestic content and institutions and as such content and practices are becoming global or universal though some are domesticated variants of the global. Nevertheless, there are some clear differences in terms of physical and psychosocial characteristics, in terms of perceived trust and credibility for example. Differences are obvious concerning freedom and control where the new seems to be freer and less controlled especially by government. Secondly, differences are clear concerning what each is good for and the perceived uses by individual audience members. What is New Media? New media rely on digital technologies, allowing for previously separate media to converge. Media convergence is defined as a phenomenon of new media and this can be explained as digital media. The idea of new media captures both the development of unique forms of digital media, and the remaking of more traditional media forms to adopt and adapt to the new media technologies. Convergence captures the development futures of old media and merges it with new media. Blogs, and Podcasts are all part of new media. MySpace and Facebook are part of social media (also known as viral marketing), which is a branch of new media. What is new about the new media? It is pertinent at this point to understand that a medium is not just an applied technology for transmission of certain symbolic content or of linkage among people but that it also embodies a set of social relations that interact with features of the new technology. There are some evidences that mass media have changed from the past two or three decades from the days of one-way, one-directional and undifferentiated flow to an undifferentiated mass audience due to certain features of new technology. What is new is basically due to the fact of digitalization and convergence. Digitalization is the process by which texts can be reduced to binary form and used in production, distribution and storage. Convergence is the digital linkage and symbiosis between media forms in terms of organization, distribution, reception and regulation. Mcquail (2006) has defined convergence as the process of coming together or becoming more alike of media technologies due to digitalization. The new media transcends the limit of traditional print and broadcast in the following ways: ? It enables many-to-many conversations ?It enables the simultaneous reception, alteration and redistribution of cultural products ? It dislocates communicative action beyond national boundaries bringing in the ‘death of the distance’ across the world More succinctly, what is new about the new media may be the combination of interactivity with innovative features such as, the unlimited range of content and content format, the scope of audience reach, and the global nature of communication. Other features include, that the new media are as much private and public communication and that their operation is not typically professional or bureaucratically organized to the same degree as the mass media. Another feature of the new media is that the boundaries between publisher, producer, distributor, consumer and reviewer of content are blurring, leading to a general meltdown of roles that may result in the emergence of separate, more specialized institutional complexes of media skills and activities. So, what is new? ?Digitalization ?Convergence Divergence from mass communication ?Adaptation of media roles ?Interactivity and fragmentation of audience ?Fragmentation of media organization and institution ?Reduced control Categories of new media While new media technological forms continue to multiply and diversify, there are as at now four main categories. ?Interpersonal communication media ?Interactive play media ?Information search media ?Collective participatory media Key ch aracteristics of new media The following are the key characteristics unique to the new media across the four categories. Interactivity ?Sociability ?Media richness ?Audience autonomy ?Entertainment ?User privacy ?User personalization Audience Fragmentation and Programme Content in International Broadcasting Countries and cultures have long been in communication across borders; however, in the 20th century, first radio, then television and the internet accelerated that process dramatically. National leaders are often unnerved when broadcasts or other information comes straight across borders without any chance to stop, control, or mediate it. In the 1930s and 1940s, around World War II and the cold war, radio seemed menacingly effective in propaganda across borders. Radio competitions and clashes, even some miniature cold wars of their own, erupted among a number of countries in the Asia, Middle East, Latin America, Eastern Europe and the West and USA. By contrast, broadcast television seemed comfortingly short range as it took preeminence from the late 1940s on. Satellite television was the next big technological development in international broadcasting. As early as the 1960s controversies started concerning the use of this type of transmission for fear of the propaganda and intrusion into national borders. The debate culminated in a schism between the developed and the developing regions of the world concerning cultural imperialism, media imperialism and the imbalance in news flow across the globe. The global spread of satellite and cable TV channels in the 1990s has seemed to increase the outflow of American and European television programming and films to other countries. The internet has become the latest major t technology to deliver radio, television, music downloads, video downloads, films, news stories, newspapers, and new forms of content, like weblogs, across national and cultural borders. The growth of the internet in the late 1990s and 2000s has also threatened the ability of national governments to control cross-border flow of information and entertainment. The internet continues to bring a great deal of content from the USA and the West into other parts of the world. However, it also much cheaper to produce either information or entertainment for the internet, so many governments, cultures, religion, and ideologies now produce for and distribute over the internet. Governments dominated activity in international radio, despite early developments and precedents from commercial international shortwave broadcasting prior to World War II. However, it seems private actors instead of governments now dominate global television news and entertainment. What are the implications for the audience of the shift from government international radio broadcasting to private international satellite television? What of the further shift on the internet to supplement or replace the dominance of major international radio and international commercial TV? What of the implications of the fact that most radio audiences today tend to be quite localized, given a choice, particularly with the spread of higher fidelity stereo FM broadcasts, which deliver the best available radio sound quality but seldom cover more than a limited urban area? What are the motivations for broadcasting internationally? Four major reasons have been adduced for both state-run and private organizations transmitting directly across borders: to enhance national or organizational prestige; to promote national or organizational interests; to attempt religious, ideological or political indoctrination; and to foster cultural ties. When governments are the primary actors as it is here, the goal is often summed up as public diplomacy. That is the deliberate effort by governments to affect foreign public opinion in a manner that is positive to their goals. Public diplomacy may be defined as the influencing in a positive way the perceptions of individuals and organizations across the world. Another perspective on this sees motivations in terms of: being an instrument of foreign policy, as a mirror of society, as symbolic presence, as a converter and sustainer, as a coercer and intimidator, as an educator, as an entertainer, and as a seller of goods and services. Evidence of the importance that governments attach to international broadcasting can be found in their total commitment to funding and support using diverse models as may be found in BBC, VOA, Radio Moscow, RFI, etc. Similarly, as the internet now permits a greater variety of players to broadcasting, many more have entered to pursue all or some of similar goals. Why audiences listen or view across borders? According to the categories of listening motivations listed by Boyd (1996) as cited by Straubhaar and Boyd (2003), audiences tune in to hear news and information, to be entertained, to learn, to hear religious or political broadcast, to enhance their status, to protest, or to pursue a hobby. Concerning the question of media effects on audience in international broadcasting, the available studies show that the effects of international radio broadcasting are relatively limited. Nevertheless, there are at least some historical cases in which international radio as part of public diplomacy had considerable impact. Radio Free Europe clearly had a role in fomenting the Hungarian uprising of 1956. The USA conducted ‘radio wars’ against Cuba and Nicaragua fomenting refugee flight if nothing else. The use of radio in international broadcasting is changing decisively; however, as most of the services are moving away from transmitting on shortwave radio and moving towards re-broadcasting or re-transmitting on leased local FM facilities and also supplementing these efforts by web casting. Today, international radio broadcasters tend to put their signals out as streaming audio feeds on the internet. International radio is also sometimes sought by those who do not trust the local or national media readily available to then. This and other factors may be affecting the international audience in the direction of fragmentation. Few international broadcasters today have anything resembling a mass audience, instead they have fragments of core listeners of viewers who are attracted by tradition or habit or interests in specific programming such as news, music, documentaries, sports and so on. Audience Fragmentation in International Broadcasting The rise of new media has brought the question of audience fragmentation and selective exposure to the front burner of concerns by the broadcast media. This is because audience fragmentation has emerged as the inevitable consequence of audience diversity based on diversity of participation and reception that have been enhanced immensely by the convergence of media technologies. Audience fragmentation may also be due to diversity of media content and the loyalty or otherwise of the audience to these various programmes. In the same way there are many broadcast channels and stations even at the external broadcasting level such that loyalties may have become fragmented over the multitude of international stations available to the audience. The array of broadcast options available to the audience may have thus created a remarkable degree of audience fragmentation. There has been created a new multi-platform world due to the convergence of new media. For example, the number of listeners or viewers who now use their PCs or mobile phones for monitoring the newscast instead of waiting for specific time periods of broadcast from their station of choice usually on traditional media may be increasing as more and more people adopt several new media options available to them. Such fragments of listeners or viewers may actually replace their traditional media channels with the ones they now have in multimedia. Some viewers now choose to watch news highlights on the web at their convenience rather than the scheduled news cast they used to frequent. Traditional broadcasters cannot afford to ignore cable and satellite operators as well as the web, mobile and other alternative distribution channels who may have contributed to the fragmentation of their traditional audience. Today media scholars and practitioners have continued to debate whether the mass audience really exists any more or whether mass audience has not become a myth. This issue or question persists because they challenge them to re-think presumed givens of the past while also providing a framework within which to examine the undeniable evidence of fragmentation of the broadcast audience today. As information and communication technologies increasingly become available and affordable to people and are more widely adopted news and current affairs media may have to strategize on ow to move away from being mass media to media targeting and specific niche programming and distribution. The external channel may have to do some audience research to find out what type of audience are disengaging form their traditional media and for what reasons. So also the world-view of such audience may have to be ascertained and embedded in programme content so as to attract the audience. Other forms of distrib ution that may compliment the traditional may have to be considered and appropriated. How to view and review the audience against the backdrop of fragmentation? Any evaluation of audience should start with a disturbing doubt about the continuing validity of the term. On the threshold of an era in which pressing a button summons any song, stock number or movie episode on display anywhere in the house and ‘grazing’ and ‘on demand’ viewing or listening replace the regular traditional listening or viewing habits. The notion of audience as a community or solidarity group, or as a form of involvement in a text which one has not summoned or invented oneself, a text that can surprise, becomes problematic. The danger to audiences posed by their disembodiment into individual dreams bubbles, or their disappearance into time-shift recorders who never find time to listen or view, is not as close as the technologies that allow it. The conditions underlying identity, sociality and community are slower to change than technologies. We know that the world cup or the English league or the Olympic Games find us attending as faithful audience members, be it within the community, the nation or even the globe. These examples however suggest that the term ‘audiences’ is too general. Fans may be more fitting in the case of football, and ‘public’ in the case of an al-Qaida attack. But, whether listening or viewing as we used to know it is seriously threatened, the acutely destabilizing transformations of communication technologies suggest that the concept of ‘audience’ should be studied in tandem with its counterpart: the dominant media and genre it faces. Those changing technologies also suggest that the way in which audiences are situated – is everyone listening or viewing at the same content, are they listening or viewing alone or together, are they talking or silent, is the transmission live or recorded – is inseparable from characteristics of the media they interact with, marked by their technological and institutional characteristics, and the ways in which they perceive their consumers. The larger picture suggests that the contemporary media environment holds two types of threats to audiences. One is the abundance of what is offered, chasing viewers or listeners to an endless choice of niche channels or stations and time-shift options which may operate as a boomerang pushing us to turn on good old broadcast radio or TV and find out what is on. The second threat is the internet. It has been contended that internet user are not really ‘audiences’ as it can not be seen as an electronic mass medium but rather as an umbrella, multi-purpose technology, loaded with a broad range of disparate communication functions, such as shortcutting mediators in the management of daily life. In reality the internet fosters audiences but goes beyond that to provide a myriad of services that may not be in the mode of mass communication especially as it does not fulfill the need of listening or viewing texts over which audiences have no direct control and /or texts that enable the suspending of unbelief. Assuming that in spite of the dramatic transformation in the media environment, audiences are still alive, so do the technologies that nurture them , what follows is a review of the changes undergone by mass media audiences and the ways in which these changes were defined. A very useful scheme to define audiences categorizes them into three: citizens, consumers and jugglers. The audience is categorized thus based on the historical progression of broadcasting through three eras, moving from ‘scarcity’ to ‘availability’ to ‘plenty’. Each phase carries an image of the audience. Scarce broadcasting addresses audiences as a unified mass of ‘citizens’ while available broadcasting addresses them as individual ‘consumers’. Today’s broadcasting of plenty seems to be addressing lonely ‘jugglers’ somewhat paralyzed by endless choice, offering listeners or viewers to either commute between isolated niches or listen or view broadcast as ‘impotent witnesses’. Ellis (2000) as cited by Straubhaar and Boyd (2003), implied that in the first era of scarcity of broadcast, radio and then TV address ‘citizens’ who in the period of availability turn into ‘consumers’ and in the phase of plenty become ‘jugglers’. The ‘citizen’ is a passive audience’ often comprising a lonely crowd subjected to broadcast directed at the mass audience as such broadcast reaches all groups uniformly, but this is soon changed to the ‘consumer’ who is an active audience who has choices and multiple interpretations and plurality of ways of getting involved and varying tastes that can be addressed. The age of plenty provides endless options for activity for the ‘juggler’ audience, but raises the issue of how such activities should be defined. Here, near endless choices weakens commitment and makes the audience to resort to juggling between competing programmes, stations or channels, or media. The monstrous dimensions of choice in this present phase may be leading in two directions. As indicated by Ellis, jugglers can choose between retreating to any obscure, esoteric, isolating niche of broadcasting or joining the citizens and /or consumers by turning to broadcast of traditional radio or TV. What is the implication of audience fragmentation for programme content? Following the identification of today’s audience as a ‘juggler’ audience due to fragmentation the main programme content strategy should border on how to retain the core listeners and viewers and provide niche programmes at the same time. This requires audience research on a more or less continuous basis. International broadcast channels may have to imitate the local FM channels that have mastered the art of creating programme formats that make them unique even where there is a proliferation. The BBC and VOA do a lot of audience research but hardly make them public but they have started utilizing re-distribution and re-transmission on local FM in some regions of world and also making their presence available on the internet and on satellite and cable. What are the prospects of new media? The new media have been widely hailed as a potential way of escape from the oppressive top-down politics of mass democracies in which tightly organized political parties make policy unilaterally and mobilize support behind them with minimal negotiation and grass-roots input. They provide the means for the provision of information and ideas, almost unlimited access for all voices and much feedback and negotiation between sender and receiver in the mass media. They promise new forums for the development of interest groups and formation of opinion, and allow social dialogue without the inevitable intervention of governmental institutions or state machineries. They promise true forms of freedom of expression that may be difficult to control by government. There is the prospect of a reduced role for professional journalist to mediate between citizen and government and to mediate in the public sphere generally. There is also the promise of absence of boundaries, greater speed of transmission and low cost of operations compared to traditional media. The biggest prospect is the ready access for all who want to speak, unmediated by the powerful interests that control the content of print and broadcast. What are the challenges? The new media are no different from the old in terms of social stratification of ownership and access. It is the better-offs that can access and upgrade the new technologies and they are always ahead of the working class or the poor. They are differentially empowered and if anything move further ahead of majority of the people. The new media require new skills and new attitudes to learning and working. There must be the attitude of life-long learning to catch up with new skills demanded by the pace of technological changes. There is also the issue of multi-tasking and its burden or otherwise on the users of new media technologies. Finally, there is overriding challenge of control and diminishing of the freedom of new media. References Anokwa, K. Lin, A. C. , Salwen, B. M. (2003). International Communication: Concepts and Cases. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/ Thomson. Axford, B. and Huggins, R. (eds). (2001). New Media and Politics. London: Sage. Curran, J. and Gurevitch, M. (2005). Mass Media and Society, 4th ed. London: Hodder Arnold. Jones, S. G. (2003). Encyclopedia of New Media. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Kamalipour, R. Y. (2007). Global Communication, 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson. Koelsch, F. (1995). The Infomedia Rev olution: How it is changing our world and your life. Montreal: Mcgraw-Hill Ryerson. Liebes, T. (2005). Viewing and Reviewing the Audience: Fashions in Communication Research, in Curran, J. and Gurevitch, M. (2005). Mass Media and Society, 4th ed. London: Hodder Arnold. Mcquail, D. (2006). Mcquail’s Mass Communication Theory. London: Sage. Slevin, J. (2000). The Internet and Society. Cambridge: Polity. Straubhaar, D. J. and Boyd, D. A. (2003). International Broadcasting, in Anokwa, K. , Lin, A. C. , Salwen, B. M. International Communication: Concepts and Cases. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth/ Thomson.

Parliamentary Sovereignty Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Parliamentary Sovereignty - Coursework Example During the 1880s, Oxford Professor A.V. Dicey proposed a theory of Parliamentary sovereignty that encompassed a hierarchal constitutional structure with Parliament reigning supreme. Dicey’s theory of Parliamentary sovereignty has wielded significant influence over definitions and concepts of Parliamentary sovereignty until recently. Specifically, Dicey argued that Parliament, elected by and representing the public, had the authority to make and unmake any law. Moreover, according to Dicey, the power of Parliament is so absolute that no other body has the authority to â€Å"override† an act of Parliament. Essentially, Dicey’s theory of Parliamentary sovereignty holds that Parliamentary sovereignty is binding on Parliament and even Parliament as omnipotent as it is, is powerless to alter Parliamentary sovereignty. In more recent times there has been a shift toward a new form of constitutionalism that recognizes restrictions to Dicey’s theory of Parliamentary sovereignty. In fact, the decision in Jackson and Others, specifically identifies two limitations on Dicey’s theory of Parliamentary sovereignty. Although, the Appellate Committee of the House of Lords agreed that the Parliament did have the authority to pass the Hunting Act 2004, which was the subject of challenge in Jackson, the dicta revealed â€Å"deep divisions† among the Lords on the Diceyan view of an omnipotent Parliament. In particular Lord Hope identified two ways in which Parliamentary sovereignty has been limited: the court’s ability to determine whether or not an Act of Parliament satisfied procedural propriety and the rule of law which permitted judicial review of administrative actions and decisions. 8 Lord Hope’s observation that there has been a gradual decline in Parliamentary sovereignty is

Letter to self Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Letter to self - Essay Example Your journey in becoming a highly skilled communicator was filled with challenges, being an international student and not a native English speaker. You had to struggle in learning the complicated rules of the English language which so confused you at that time! Not to mention that you were very young and was at the phase of adjusting to a new culture in America, coming from your home country, Bahrain. However, due to your zest for learning and your persistence in mastering the English language, you succeeded in communicating effectively in your second language. You learned that you had to suit your style to your audience. It was easy for you to write informally when your audience were your friends and people who did not mind a more laid-back approach. However, when it came to writing formal essays, research papers and business correspondences, you found it more difficult to adjust your tone to a more serious audience. You’ve always been a great communicator, judging from your work in high school when there was no issue about using a second language. In your native tongue, you expressed yourself very well in both verbal and non-verbal ways. Your essays and letters were very clear and reflected your personality. Add to your strengths, your capacity to understand instructions well and deliver action quickly and accurately. In your first semester in College, learning English was no easy feat! You manifested weakness in exams and tests and were frustrated in performing poorly in such tasks. However, once you persevered in learning the language well, you were able to achieve the goals you set for yourself as a college student eager to prove your inherent skills and abilities. Living at a time when language evolves rapidly, it is easy to give in to the temptation to adopt colloquial and bastardized words in one’s writing. The proliferation of â€Å"text language† or short-cut spellings of words in text messages such as IKR (I know, right!_, BRB (b e right back) or even the oft-used LOL (laugh out loud) may confuse people with its use in writing. It is still not acceptable to use such in more formal writing work. Remember not to include them in your repertoire of words to use in your future business correspondences or else you might not be taken seriously. Learning about theories in your college years clarify much of what you will encounter in actual practice. That is why you studied about the works of prolific writers and authors. Reading articles and books helped a lot in building your vocabulary and developing our own style. Do keep reading books, magazines, newspapers and even online articles to keep you up-to-date and keep learning how people use the English language to convey their messages. You have also learned about the ethics of using other people’s ideas in your work. Never plagiarize. Give credit where credit is due. How would you feel if someone else snatched your awesome work or bits of it and never mentio ned that it was you who came up with such a brilliant idea? Reading other people’s works should not stop you from developing your own original ideas. Let it enhance your own imagination to create something related but different. Cultivate your creativity share your novel ideas with others. In your own practice as a business person, work on innovating things and come up with new strategies to promote your business. Use various communication avenues to disseminate it. As of this time, the internet is a great medium in sharing one’

Home Security alarm system Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Home Security alarm system - Research Paper Example We are required to research home alarm systems available in the market, investigate and understand conditions that may results in activating an alarm, develop a smarter home alarm system using digital technology, draw a circuit diagram (preferably using computer software) that will assist in building the circuit, develop a test strategy to demonstrate the operation of your circuit, produce a team written technical report, reflect on process from start to finish in regards to the alarm circuit, in an individual written exercise. For all the requirement we need to use our math, science and problem solving skills to solve the problem. We approach the problem by designing the new simple circuit using BOOELEAN algebra to do all tree such as logic expression, truth table and logic circuit. We build our circuit use our circuit diagram to demonstrate the operation of our circuit to the supervisor. Once the circuit is operated successfully, we decide to compile a report clearly explaining the steps taken to approach this problem, the final design of the circuit of home security alarm system and the diagram we used as part of the process as well as verifying our calculation and finding through the MATLAB programing software. As part of our investigation, we discuss our plan of action prior to attending a digital electronic work of home alarm system and discuss how our team would proceed with the information and details already available to us. The aims of the report include the research, analysis, design and construction of the alarm circuit. The other issue is to come up with a detailed description of the system hereby designed. The project aims at discovering possibilities putting in place home security as well as a wide research, observed from already existing designs. Research of alarms in the marketplace which perform different tasks is also analysed. Schematic and block diagrams showing the functionality of the design work

Fiction Story Writing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Fiction Story Writing - Essay Example I do not like to see people struggling, so that in every opportunity I believe it is my responsibility to help them. I believe that doing the right thing at the right time is the best achievement in life. Many of my colleagues do not follow this kind of thinking. They say I am becoming more obsessed with my ideology that I am beginning to step on others' rights. Well, they have their own beliefs and I have mine. I will just continue doing what I think is best for me and my people. The "Apocalyptic War" was a nightmare. I do not remember much now. These unknowns have separated me from my wife, Samantha, and my daughter. Jennifer. I do not believe them when they say Samantha was kidnapped long before the war and that Jennifer was killed during crossfire between the unknowns and the SecForce (government security). I need to find the answers. I want the truth. These medals I received from the army are worthless without my family. I need to find them. I must find the stranger whom they say has rescued me from the "invasion," he will point the way for me. In the meantime, I have all my plans laid before me now. With my co-survivor, Antonio Guitrez's assistance, in the next ten years I will open several chains of businesses to help boost the economy of Shady Sands. "Chance Bar" will have branches in every district.

Position paper of a debate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Position paper of a debate - Essay Example The annual expenditure for childhood obesity is approximately $ 100 billion (Bandini & Dietz 648). Studies have shown that when a child is obese at the age of between 10 year and 13 years, there is more than 80 percent chance of becoming obese when he or she grows to adulthood. But with exercise, proper nutrition, and support, such obese children can lose weight and live a healthy life marked by healthier habits (Anderson 461). There is need for parents to explore ways of dealing with obesity and help their obese children lose weight. Parents should take advantage of all the opportunities to raise the children’s self esteem. They should not feel ashamed to come up with a health fitness topic. This should be sensitively done so as not to make the obese child view it as an insult. Parents should talk to their obese children openly, directly and without being judgmental or critical (Ball et al. 20). It is important for parents to be sensitive to their children’s feelings and needs. Becoming active is a key lifestyle change that an obese child should undertake. They should be given support and guidance by their parents on the best and comfortable physical activities to engage in. The efforts made by these children towards reducing their weight should constantly be praised (Arslanian & Suprasongsin 157). Celebrating any incremental changes and not rewarding the efforts with food is very important for the parents. Parents should further take an initiative of talking to these children about their feelings. This helps them to find means of dealing with their emotions that do not entail eating. By doing so, the child will be able to focus on the positive goals such as running the necessary number of rounds in a gym class as a way of losing the excess weight (Adiar &Gordon 644). Transitioning a child by parents from an obese condition to a state of a well balanced weight should not be taken to be as

Restructure an essay and apply more economic diagrams

Restructure an and apply more economic diagrams - Essay Example Analysis using price elasticity of demand has been employed. In addition to it, to check for the presence of any substitution effect and the probable relationship between these two designer shoes, analysis on the cross price elasticity of demand has been implemented. This paper also discusses the result of a survey conducted with respondents to gain their opinion about the two commonly and widely accepted designer shoe products. Most of their answers were substantial to the analysis and in fact, they helped to further justify the result of cross price elasticity and price elasticity analysis. Just by looking at the pictures, one cannot differ from shoe to shoe. What is the difference to cause such diverse pricing? Answering this question requires analysis and most importantly, substantial methodology prior to evaluation and analysis of information. The following is the discussion of the methodology employed in this paper. This paper is research work to examine how Deichmann and Gucci, the two widely known brands of designer shoes can be sold at two completely different prices in the same area. To gather sufficient information in line with the analysis, the follow undertaking of data and information gathering was completed. A survey of 100 female respondents who were able to answer the questionnaire was undertaken. These respondents are primary sources of information in support of the results obtained from price elasticity analyses. The sales volume of two different shoes from two different shops is through looking at consumers’ income. In economics, the income effect is pertaining to the effect of price change and consumers’ real income to the quantity of products demanded (McConnell & Brue 1993, p. 403). This means that as the price of Gucci or Deichmann increases, consumers will consider their budget or income and ultimately will end up buying the product they can afford. However, a major factor being held constant over here is the availability of

Unit 7 Case Manegment Discussion Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Unit 7 Case Manegment Discussion - Research Paper Example The environment may not be supportive of that since he may find himself getting back to drugs again. He is therefore requesting case management to assist his friends who are still in the streets to get off drugs. He is asking his parents not worry about him anymore since he is now drug-free. He may not be sober but he can be able to take care of himself and he wishes his parents could understand that. He also wants people to change their attitude towards him. Most people think he can’t take care of himself because he is been a drug addict before .They also think he can’t take care of his dog. But the fact is, he is very responsible and takes good care of his dog, takes it for a walk in the park and ensures it has a lot of food. He also travels with him everywhere he goes. My client is in the maintenance and relapse prevention stage. This is the stage where a patient is trying to incorporate new behavior and avoiding any slips. My client having been a drug addict, he has changed his drug-life behavior and trying to start a new life. He is also doing his best in avoiding any slips despite the neighborhood being full of drugs and addicts. To help the client in the stage to move forward, I will recommend that he relocates to a drug-free neighborhood to avoid any event of falling back to drugs again. I also recommend that he be re-united with his family and let them and other people accept him and support him by seeing him as a transformed and responsible individual. He will also need constant counseling to help him through the whole process. One guiding principle of the Recovery Model that relates the interaction with the client is that Community involvement as defined by the user of service is central to the recovery process. This is directly related to my client since it’s the community group that helped him to get to where he is. Were it not of this community that is still donating household foodstuff,

Original Writing Essay Example for Free

Original Writing Essay As she lay there silently on her back, staring deeply into the intricate yet excruciatingly dull pattern on the textured ceiling- as if it were a piece of fine, overpriced artwork, she let her thought processes wander over exhausted terrain. She thought of life, of death, of love, of hate, of god and everything along the way. What was it all for? She began to scribble a few notes down on a piece of paper in front of her. Her mind began to flutter from one feeling to the next. Im reading all the time of hate and anger and frustration. Im hearing nothing but the pain of others. I see the agony of all around me. And I have felt it, breathed it, been engulfed by it. I understand the need to vent, to get it all out. But I realise now that I can no longer accept it. Blood is on the minds of millions of innocent children, searching for an answer to this emptiness that harbours our death wish. We hold, in our hand, the power to steal but nothing is taken without payment. Give and take, live and let live. No harm done, no penalty. Even the most gentle of beings get judged by the monster. This is no dragon, no giant; this is a group, a society, a network. This monster is sacrificing the happiness of the innocent for suicide. This monster is killing off what may be our last chance. Children beaten down and left to bleed and to cry, they are screaming but no one cares, no one sees them. They are irrelevant, theses children are they are the children of you and yours and people you know. They are outcasts these children are. They are banned from beliefs of any sort of rebellion or belief in other gods. But these children need no god. These children worship themselves. They are good and are portrayed as evil, yet they are shunned and thrown away. Put on display for window shoppers to point and stare and mock. These children are not different, they are not unique. The children are minions banned together to have their freedom. They are slaves to the system. Their innocence is overlooked but ignorant bystanders and administrators. These children are against everything, against god, against the devil, against you, against me. They refuse to worship the nine inch nails of your so called Christ. You will never win! The children will persevere. The children will run free. You will die someday. They will to. They know that in the end we are all alone and youve spent your lives convinced that there is always someone looking out for you and your heretic children. These children know better than you. These children know fate. They know yours and you can sense it. They can smell the fear in your shattered voice. They can smell failure. The innocent children have a blood lust and a hit list I guess this means you will die. Too bad we couldnt save you from the innocent children they killed us too. We are locked inside our minds and we are rotting here now Everything dies she thought, but she still hadnt figured out how to truly live yet. Would her life come to an end before she even knew the answers to all of her questions? It seemed meaningless. Everything seemed that way lately. Her life had become a painful cycle of the same boring events, day after everlasting day. Her friends had begun to slowly detach themselves from her, and it made her question herself. Shed been gone for so long when she moved away, and her world felt wonderful when she had returned to her home, and the people she had taken advantage of before. Theyd all seemed glad to see her, and shed never felt so important. She fell back into her circle of friends and remembered all that she had walked away from. She was happy again, and that was good. One day, it was like the world had shifted suddenly and everything changed. People stopped talking to her. They no longer came by at all odd hours of the night bearing gifts and happy drug-induced smiles. Distancing them. Maybe they all finally came to the conclusion that they hadnt been missing much after all. People tend to romanticize things to a definite fault, and when they realize theyve set themselves up for disappointment, they dont always realize that they themselves are not the only ones being affected by their great epiphany. They sometimes forget the person in the middle of it all, maybe even unintentionally, but without even thinking twice She asked herself what she possibly could have done to turn them away so suddenly. Was it just her character in general? Were some mindless beings getting rushes of power by spreading dirty lies about her as their new form of narrow-minded offence? Were they sick of her already? The fact that she found herself with so few people left to talk to wasnt what bothered her. It was the fact that she was entirely oblivious to the cause of all of this landfill that made her question herself over and over again. The more she thought about it, the wider the possibility grew that they had never really enjoyed her company in the first place; it was all a terrible charade. She hated that she could be that person that people associated themselves with for mere lack of anything at all better to do. Was she that person that they all talked about in her absence, like she had seen them do to others in times passed? Did they avoid her when they saw her in the streets? Were they all two-faced after all? Again, her reasoning began to shift. She wanted no part in any kind of comradeship with a person too shallow to tell her to go away in person. She felt, she knew she was better off by herself. Somehow she felt more at ease in her own company anymore. Shed learned a lot about people in the years prior, and it sickened her to think about what humanity has come down to, how meaningless people have become. She honestly didnt mind not having friends. Of course friends are wonderful to have, but she had found that she became more herself everyday she spent alone, and she liked that. She had come to the abrupt realization long ago that people really arent worth much anymore; definitely not worth wasting your days trying to change or analyze, or even hold a civil open conversation with, for that matter. And again, it all comes back around to the irrelevance of everything. Why had she just wasted her time thinking about these people that she doesnt even like to surround herself with anymore? Since shed returned, everything had changed so dramatically. Her friends were not the same people they had been three years ago, and they never would be again. She knew she could do nothing, and had accepted this fact, but it lingered painfully in the back of the bedlam of a mind she possessed. She wished for simpler times. She began to let her mind jump to other things. Shed tired herself of pondering anything even remotely related her connections with other people, and had come to the conclusion that she was indifferent on the matter. She really couldnt bring herself to care much anymore. If someone desired to speak with her, theyd approach her, and she would listen, but making any sort of an effort to please another person seemed ridiculous to her Meaningless. The past three hours had been meaningless, and so were the thoughts she had spent that time thinking. And now, so were the people that had provoked these very thoughts.

Analyse item 1 a newspaper article from The Guardian Essay Example for Free

Analyse item 1 a newspaper article from The Guardian Essay I am writing an assignment which is on media. The two sources I have been given to analyse is a leaflet from The Salvation Army and a newspaper article from The Guardian. Both are based on the subject of homelessness. The problem of homelessness is a very unsettled issue. It is evident in many countries but in the UK it is concentrated in London. The two items are different, as one is an article from a broad sheet newspaper whereas item 2 is a leaflet asking for donation for a charity which helps the homeless. The article on homelessness states many facts on the reasons why homelessness is an issue which is faced by many people today. It is estimated that 419, 400 individuals have been accepted homeless by the local authorities in which many are living in a sub standard condition and are not even included in the statistics. This means that there are many out there who are regarded homeless and are yet not to be found. The main reason that people are homeless is the fact that most of them are rough sleepers who go about during the day and sleep wherever there is a dry place. It is mentioned that the majority are single people. This may have been due to the fact that many of them leave home at a young age and are unable to support themselves financially and resulting in not having kids. It is estimated tat 90% of the homeless population is male. One may think why? The answer to this is due to the fact of excess consumption of alcohol resulting in spending a huge amount of money and leading to bankruptcy and not affording to a good life. People who are dependant on non prescribed drugs are also homeless because they spend most of their income on drugs. It is also stated that those who suffer from multiple social problems are mostly either family problems or are kicked out due to other problems. They suffer mentally as these problems mount up leading them to leave home and run away with no benefits and live on the streets without a fixed home. As homelessness is increasing, government intends to abolish the problem by setting up plans for the future, which may help in development. The newspaper states that in order for this plan to work out successfully, the government proposed many new acts since 1980s Due to public outcry against doss houses many of these houses were closed down, in return new warm hostels were opened; the downside to this improvement was that it was insufficient as by 1989 they were, 5000 fewer beds than there were 10 years ago. By 1990 the government estimated 1000 to 2000 people were sleeping rough in central London. Along the government response to this was the Department of the Environment had launched a three year i 90,000,000 rough sleepers initiative (RSI) in which they funded resettlement workers, temporary cold workers and a permanent accommodation for rough sleepers to move on. Other authorities like the Department of Health launched a homeless mentally ill initiative to provide a more high care hostels for those with mental problems. Because of its success, the initiatives were renewed for a further 3 years in 1993. By 1995, the government reported that the number of rough sleepers in London dropped to around 270 which means it was successful. The problem of homelessness was reported in the newspaper article in the Guardian. Now I will analyse an extract of a leaflet from The Salvation Army which helps to tackle the problem of homelessness. The Salvation Army is an agency, which works on peoples contributions to continue the agencys work on helping homeless people. The Salvation Army is a provider of accommodation for those who are single and homeless all year round. This group has developed a successful programme for helping people to find permanent homes. This means that the Salvation Army is not only working on short-term projects but also on long term projects to ensure safety for the future and help build their lives. An example of a successful help project is Jim. It is stated that Jim was a success because of many peoples generosity which enabled a brighter future for Jim. Home for Jim was not good. He lived on a hill amongst brambles, because of the reason that his life living on the streets was disappointing, and also the reason about the time he got is hopes high of getting a job that was refused, because of the interviewer took one look at his crumpled clothes his hopes of living a good life with a fresh start was shattered and he was left where he started from. But then the Salvation Army stepped in. Once the Army hears a person in need like Jim, they send someone to investigate the matter. After that incident an officer visited him. With a helping hand and a shoulder to cry on Jim was taken to a hostel where he enjoyed a hot bath, a shave and most of all friendship. From then, Jim had been living in the local Salvation Army hostel. Building up his confidence with the dedicated help of the officers he has open up his hope and is determined to find a job and build up his life once again. As this story was successful in Jims case it may mean many other cases which are there must be successful too. With this story as an example the Salvation Army is a charity which is there to lend a sympathetic ear and a comforting arm and most importantly it is there to offer true friendship to those who are lonely and scared. The Salvation Army is not there just to provide a temporary home but also to offer a long-term programme which enables a better future for the unfortunate homeless people. As The Salvation Army is a charity which helps to build long term projects for the homeless, they have to find a way to make people pay attention and one strategy used is the use of emotional language. There are many examples in which emotional language is used but the main ones are: Once in the streets, homeless people become prey to all sorts of illnesses, all potential killers. In fact over 600 people a year on the streets die on the streets. In this sentence the word prey is used. The literal meaning of prey is a victim. This tells the reader that homeless people are victims of cold weather and the use of this word is emotional and used to make a point; it is also supported by a fact 600 making this statement true. Another sentence where the use of language is strong is With your generosity we can give vulnerable people not only a happier Christmas but a brighter future too. The word generosity is used to give an opinion of being helpful or kind. This suggests that with the help of the people outside giving donations it can give vulnerable people a happier Christmas and give a lifelong help of a good future. Another sentence which captures the readers eye is We are the ones to lend a sympathetic ear, the ones with the comforting arm, the ones offering true friendship and support during difficult times. The words comforting, sympathetic are both very emotional. They are used here in order for the reader to be aware of the good nature of The Salvation Army, how at difficult times they can offer friendship and show support to those who are in difficult times. The Salvation Army is there to help people who cant help themselves and those who do not show help to others. The use of emotive words gives an impression of a sad tone to the story about Jim and to the life of homeless people. The two items about homelessness are very unlike as item 1 is an article from a broadsheet newspaper The Guardian whereas item 2 is a information leaflet from The Salvation Army. The newspaper article follows a parliamentary debate which is going to take place on the issue of homelessness. The article begins with a subheading getting to the key point about the size of the problem. It begins with the historical past of homelessness. A lot of statistical information is given; it also states what kind of people is most likely to be found homeless single people, childless couples. It also shows previous parliament records over 8,000 people which tells you that this debate has taken place once before. There are many facts given to show evidence of the controversial issue of homelessness. The newspaper article finally shows what the government has done to overcome homelessness; an example of this is doss houses which were closed down. The leaflet from the Salvation Army begins with an opinion, of how sleeping rough you can dread bad weather. It states a fact about living outside in the cold weather can feel like. Compared to the newspaper article which is not biased about who is to blame for being homeless, the leaflet states a biased opinion on how homeless people are blameless for their situation. It also states what kind of people is likely to be homeless, which is different from the newspaper article. It gives a reason for publishing the leaflet but does not give a lot of statistical information. There is a blend of facts and opinions like over 600 people a year die on the streets which is a fact. It also gives a reason for why they are successful by giving the story about Jim, which was a success. It does not show background information on the issue of homelessness. It ends with a paragraph on requesting help from the readers by donating money. The newspaper article gets to the point on what the article is about with a large heading in bold and capitals HOMELESSNESS which later is followed by sub- headings. It is set out in vertical columns which are not fully justified. It has short paragraphs and sub-headings. The paragraphs give much information in a compact place. In comparison to the leaflet which begins with bold highlighted blocks giving little facts. The paragraphs are set like tabloid newspapers also in vertical columns. There are very short paragraphs and some of them are in Italics; the font of the letters varies in style like Italics with your generosity . It does not give substantial information on the issue. The newspaper articles use of language is formal and direct; it is very informative stating many facts on the issue and the historical background. Like the parliament debate, the sentences are easy to understand and the sentences are balanced with connectives like however, or. It gives a lot of statistical information to show evidence of how homelessness is a very big issue. No emotional language is used. The leaflets use of language is very straightforward and easy to understand. The sentences are very simple. It has information but not in a great amount. There is a case study shown in the story about Jim and how the Salvation Army was a success and this can draw a persons attention. Many financial appeals are requested using emotive words with your generosity and become prey which also catches the readers attention. The leaflet is based on appeal rather than factual information like the newspaper article. The Salvation Armys main motives to ask for donations to help resolve homelessness whereas the newspaper article is informative and has a lot of statistical information in a more formal manner. The article appeals to me as a more informative packed story. It gives more amount of statistical information to prove many facts; the sentence which caught my eye was 90 per cent were male as I did not think that most homeless people were male. It also begins on with what kind of people are most likely to be homeless which can tell the reader how homelessness has begun. The information on how homelessness has increased during the years shows the reader how it has become a more highly regarded issue and is something to think about. It also shows what the government is doing to tackle the problem and how at a yearly basis new initiatives have been introduced. The reader is left to make their own opinion about homelessness whether it is an issue worth thinking about and, make a public stand to it or leave it to the government to sort it out. The leaflet has a more emotional tone for public appeal on donating for a charity which is helping to reduce the problem of homelessness. The Salvation Army is a charity which is based on peoples donation to help the homeless and develop long term projects for a good future. It gives information on what kind of conditions the homeless have to sleep in. it also shows a case study to support their success. It is not as informative as the newspaper article. It has no fixed presentation device unlike the newspaper article which is all set in columns. Towards the end of the leaflet the reader is left to make a choice of feeling sorry for the homeless and donate money or is left untouched by the story about Jim.

Study Of The Foregrounding Theory English Language Essay

Study Of The Foregrounding Theory English Language Essay 1. Introduction The term Stylistics has been for a long time associated with literary criticism, and stylistics has been considered as a branch of literary criticism. The authors style was the major theme of this field of study. Later on, the focus moved from the study of the authors style to how meanings and effects are produced by literary texts. Thus, there was a critical need to change the field from a branch of literary criticism into a field on its own. Although stylistics has focused on literary works as its raw material of scrutiny, this does not underestimate the importance of stylistics in non-literary texts. Moreover, it is difficult sometimes to draw a clear line between literary stylistics and linguistic stylistics (Jeffries and McIntyre, 2010). In fact the distinction between the two is not the material in of their study, rather than in the objectives of the study. Literary stylistics in this case is concerned with using linguistic techniques to assist in the interpretation of texts, w hereas linguistic stylistics is about doing stylistic analysis in order to test or refine a linguistic model in effect, to contribute to linguistic theory. (Jeffries and McIntyre, 2010: 2). Also, Stylistics depends so much on theories and models from other fields more than it develops theories of its own. It is a combination of many sub-disciplines of linguistics, and other disciplines, such as literary studies and psychology, drawing upon these (sub-) disciplines but not seeking to duplicate or replace them. Based on such disciplines, Stylistics has started as a distinguished field of study which has its own theories and principles. Among these theories, foregrounding theory, which is the subject matter of this paper, has received a special interest from stylisticians. The term refers to specific linguistic devices: deviation and parallelism devices. These devices are usually used in literary texts in a functional and condensed way. They support the possible meaning of the text, i n addition providing the person who reads with the possibility of aesthetic knowledge. According to the theory of foregrounding, literature by employing abnormal forms of language breaks up the readers routine behaviour: commonplace views and perspectives are replaced with new and unexpected insights and sensations. In this method literature keeps or makes individuals conscious of their automatized actions and preconceptions. This paper discusses the foregrounding theory in detail. The paper is organized as follows: first of all, there is a detailed discussion of the origin and historical background of the theory. The Greek, Russian, and European effects on the theory will be discussed. The discussion will move to focus on the principles and assumptions behind the theory. Foregrounding principles of strikingness, effectiveness, time-consumption and universality will be discussed in detail. Once these principles are discussed, devices of deviation and parallelism, which are the main pillars of foregrounding theory, will be discussed and their relation to foregrounding effects will be explained. Once foregrounding devices are discussed, attention will be paid to obvious advantages of the theory in general. Although this theory is a powerful one, it is not surprising at all to find some problems in the theory. These problems will be discussed and possible answers offered to them in literature will be considered as will. Finally, conclusion will be drawn and recomm endation will be offered according to the discussion of the theory in general. 2. Foregrounding Theory With the rapid development of language analysis in the twentieth century, stylistics has come to the view as a powerful discipline which has its own theories such as, Foregrounding Theory, Text World Theory and Schema Theory. The general aim of this discipline is to look at the formal features of a text and find out their significance for the interpretation of that text. Stylistics started with much emphasis on the analysis of literary texts, and then the focus shifted to both literary and non-literary texts (Jeffries and McIntyre, 2010). Irrespective of the type of the text, it remains the raw material of stylisticians. Among the various stylistic theories, foregrounding theory is the most common and powerful one in the literature. The term is very general to the extent that it resists definition. However, many stylisticians have tried to define it. For example, van Peer and Hakemulder (2006) say that the term refers to specific linguistic devices, i.e., deviation and parallelism, that are used in literary texts in a functional and condensed way. Under their definition, such devices can help to add a specific meaning to the text and provide the reader with aesthetic experience. Van Peer and Hakemulder (2006) also tried to show that foregrounding generally means new information contrasted to old information in the text that forms a background against which the new meaning to be understood by the reader. Others restricted its definition to the literary side of the theory. Shen (2007: 169) argues that this theory assumes that poetic language deviates from norms characterized the ordinary use of languag eà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦and that this deviation interferes with cognitive principles and processes to make communication possible. In the same way, Martindale (2007) points out that there are two types of foregrounding. The first type is parallelism which involves repetition while the second type of foregrounding is deviation which is related to the use of specific devices in unusual ways. Similarly, van Peer and Hakemudler (2006) show that deviation is a poetic license to the writer who is exceptionally allowed to deviate from normal rules and expectations surprise the reader and give him a beautiful literary experience. The best examples of deviation would be metaphors, ungrammatical rules, paradox, and so on. Examples of parallelism, on the other hand, would be various forms of figures of speech such as, rhyme, assonance, alliteration, and so on. Such claims about foregrounding make it the opposite of automatization. While automatization schematizes an event, foregrounding breaks this sc hematization and creates a special kind of meaning (Miall and Kuiken, 1994). The roots of this theory go back to the Greek Antiquity. Specifically, to the great philosopher Aristotle who emphasized the use of devices and their importance for foregrounding (van Peer, 2007; Martindale, 2007). Aristotle (ca. 335 BCE, cited in van Peer and Hakemulder, 2006) argues that literary work should be distinguished from other works through the use of strange words, metaphors and unfamiliar terms. Thus, foregrounding started basically as a theory of literature in the Greek philosophy. Later on, Russian Formalists and Czech Structuralists emphasized the importance of foregrounding in literature. According to Martindale (2007), foregrounding in that stage was so much related to novelty. The Russian and Czech theorists were in struggle for maintenance of change in literature. For instance, the Russian Formalist, Shklovsky, points out that the purpose of art is to present the unfamiliar objects in a sophisticated unfamiliar way so that the perception of such objects will be re newed and refreshed in the eyes of the reader (Miall and Kuiken, 1994). Unless this change is continuelously preserved, literature will die. Therefore, foregrounding was the only hope to keep literature alive. Similarly, foregrounding in English literature and stylistics has been used with different meanings. Van Peer and Hakemulder (2006) show that foregrounding in English can refer to a prominent interest that a reader might assign to something in a text during the process of reading. Such prominence is resultant from a special use of some devices located in the text itself. Foregrounding may also refer to analytical tools used to evaluate texts and show their literary, historical and cultural significance. Therefore, the emphasis has always been on foregrounding in literature rather than foregrounding in other genres. So far, discussion was about the theoretical account for foregrounding, yet we have not given any example. To understand what is meant by foregrounding, consider the following example that was planned by Miall and Kuiken (1994). In their discussion of foregrounding in literature, they presented a segment of a story called the Dark Walk: It is a laurel walk, very old, almost gone wild, a lofty midnight tunnel of smooth, sinewy branches. (p392). Through the alliteration of [l] and [s] sounds in the sentence and the metaphoric use of midnight and sinewy, Miall and Kuiken claim that foregrounding passes through three stages. First, defamiliarization which is present in the use of unfamiliar linguistic features which strikes and captures the eye of the reader. Second, such unfamiliar linguistic features forces the reader to slow down and allow time for the feelings arouse by alliteration and metaphor to appear. Third, such feelings create a rich beautiful image of the dark walk in the min d of the reader. To summarize this section, we can say foregrounding is a powerful theory that has started in the Greek philosophy, developed by the Russian and Czech theorists, and flourished in the current century. This theory is based on breaking up rules and norms by implementing devices of deviation and parallelism, yielding an aesthetic experience in the mind of the reader. 3. Principles of the Theory Although it is difficult to delimit the principles and assumptions that underlie the foregrounding theory, this section discusses some general notes which can be considered as basic to the theory in general. Foregrounding and strikingness It is always reported that foregrounding causes defamiliarization especially in literary texts (Miall and Kuiken, 1994; van Peer, 2007; van Peer and Hakemuilder, 2006). Defamiliarization, in turn, strikes the reader because he finds the unexpected. Thus, the way new ideas introduced captures the mind of the reader and triggers his attention. Foregrounding is affective Besides inducing strikingness, defamiliarization helps to evoke the feelings of the reader. Miall and Kuiken (1994: 393) argue that, although available evidence is indirect, it does suggest a relationship between the defamiliarizing effects of foregrounding and the emergence of feeling. Once a reader encounters an unfamiliar text, special area in the mind which is responsible for affect is intensified. Foregrounding and time Since foregrounding texts are striking and evocative, they should take longer time for processing and comprehension. For example, when a reader finds verbs ellipsis or grammatical inversions, he needs much more time to figure out the meaning of the sentence. Also, the use of figurative devices such as metaphors and similes triggers the reader imagination and intensifies his feeling. At this stage, the reader will resort to other similar texts or experiences he has encountered in his life which, in turn, prolong the process of reading. Miall and Kuiken (1994: 395) point out that, Since foregrounding often occurs in clusters of closely related phonetic, grammatical, and semantic features, the sheer density of the processes by which refamiliarization occurs suggests that it takes time to unfold. Foregrounding is universal If foregrounding is striking, affective and time-consuming, are such foregrounding effects universal or related to specific type of individuals? In other words, do foregrounding effects occur in highly trained and sophisticated readers? In fact, many stylisticians have discussed and offered an answer to such question. Van Peer (1986) conducted a study on a group of people for this purpose and he found out that foregrounding effects are present among different readers irrespective of literary background. He found that readers responses are affected by deviation, and deviation makes readers process the text more slowly which, in turns, leads into aesthetic appreciation. Similar observations were reported by Miall and Kuiken (1994) who conducted a study on four groups of readers. Miall and Kuiken were interested in testing how foregrounding is indicator of reading times and readers judgments of strikingness and affect. In conclusion, they found out that the aforementioned effects are pr esent in all groups independent of readers backgrounds or interests. Thus, readers with general linguistics skills and backgrounds will find foregrounding texts striking, affective and challenging. However, none can deny such effects will be higher with people of higher literary background. Also, many questions remain under-researched in this theory. Fore example, when readers concentrate on the way the text is written rather than its content, is that a matter of convention in general or a special property of the text? To put it differently, do readers read literary texts slowly because they already think that literature needs more time to be processed? Or is it a property of foregrounding in general irrespective of the text type or genre? In summary, foregrounding is striking, affective, time-consuming and universal. It surprises the reader by violating the rules. Such violation triggers his feelings and requires much more time to understand and process the text which in turn forces the reader to focus on the way the text is written more than the content. Finally, such effects are claimed to be universal irrespective of the background or literary experience of the reader. 4. Foregrounding Devices Linguistic devices are the main pillars of foregrounding theory. They are the tool which is wonderfully manipulated by writers to produce a piece of art. These devices help the writer to express his ideas in a special way, adding some music to his words or giving an image that stimulates the imagination of the reader. Generally, the foregrounding theory is based on two types of devices: devices of deviation and devices of parallelism (van Peer and Hakemulder, 2006; Shen, 2007). The former refers, as the name indicates, to breaking up rules or expectations. What you expect is not what you read or listen to. Following these devices, the writer attracts his readers attention because when they hear something unexpected, they will look for clues to know what is going on. Devices of deviation include: neologism, metaphor, ungrammatical sentences, archaisms, paradox and oxymoron. Devices of parallelism, on the other hand, are also called figures of speech. They generally involve repetitive and contrasted structures. Thus, some parts or syllables of the word verbal configuration is repeated or contrasted, leading to foregrounding effects on the perception of the reader. The rest of this section sheds light on the main devices used in foregrounding theory. 4.1 Devices of deviation Metaphor: it is defined as, The figure of speech in which a name or descriptive term is transferred to some object different from, but analogous to, that to which it is properly applicable; an instance of this, a metaphorical expression (Oxford English Dictionary). As this definition indicates, metaphors involve a mapping between two conceptual domains which are somehow related to our perceptual system. Thus, a metaphor involves a mapping from a source domain into a target domain. Shen (2007) argues that as far as foregrounding involved, mapping should be characterized by deviation via a relation between two remote concepts, i.e., Education is a ladder. Simile: it is a comparison of one thing with another, esp. as an ornament in poetry or rhetoric (Oxford English Dictionary). Similar to metaphors, similes also involve two nominal expressions. One of them is a source and the other one is a target. The two expressions are usually linked via linkage expressions such as like or as. In foregrounding theory, similes should involve deviation as well, i.e., Education is like a ladder (Shen, 2007: 171). Thus, the linkage is between two remote concepts, usually from more to less accessible object. Such simile is called canonical simile. However, if mapping is from less to more accessible object, this simile is called non-canonical simile, i.e., A ladder is like education (Shen, 2007: 171). Shen argues that foregrounding often depends on non-canonical similes. Oxymoron: A rhetorical figure by which contradictory or incongruous terms are conjoined so as to give point to the statement or expression; an expression, in its superficial or literal meaning self-contradictory or absurd, but involving a point (Oxford English Dictionary). Such literary device is frequently used in literature. It is one of the basic pillars of foregrounding theory since deviation is the main feature of this device. Shen (2007: 173-174) makes a distinction between two types of oxymoron: direct and indirect. The former represents a direct antonymic relation between a head noun and a modifier which are extremely opposite poles, i.e., hot coldness. The latter represents a relation between two expressions which are not direct opposite poles, i.e., watery dryness. In these examples, hot is the direct opposite of cold whereas watery is not the direct opposite of dryness. As far as foregrounding concerned, Shen (2007) argues that the indirect oxymoron is much more used than direct oxymoron. Paradox: it is defined as, A statement or tenet contrary to received opinion or belief; often with the implication that it is marvellous or incredible; sometimes with unfavourable connotation, as being discordant with what is held to be established truth, and hence absurd or fantastic; sometimes with favourable connotation, as a correction of vulgar error. (Oxford English dictionary). Similar to oxymoron, this device is central to foregrounding theory because contradiction is the basic feature of paradox. A paradoxical statement makes sense with more thought. Christ used paradox in his teaching: They have ears but hear not. Or in normal conversation, we may use a paradox 4.2 Devices of parallelism Assonance: it is defined as, the correspondence or rhyming of one word with another in the final (sometimes also the initial) consonant, but not in the vowel. (Oxford English Dictionary). Assonance can be described as a vowel rhyme as in the words  date  and  fade.   Alliteration: it is The commencing of two or more words in close connexion, with the same letter, or rather the same sound. (Oxford English Dictionary). Alliteration is commonly used for emphatic effects. It happens in everyday language in phrases such as tittle-tattle, bag and baggage, bed and board, primrose path, and through thick and thin and in sayings like look before you leap. Therefore, foregrounding theory uses such device to attract the concentration of the reader and emphasis certain points in the text. Antistrophe: it is The repetition of words in inverse order. (Oxford English Dictionary). For example:  In 1938, Hitler occupied Austria without warning. In 1939, Hitler invaded Czechoslovakia without warning. Later in 1939, Hitler invaded Poland without warning Rhyme: it is defined as, Agreement in the terminal sounds of two or more words or metrical lines, such that (in English prosody) the last stressed vowel and any sounds following it are the same, while the sound or sounds preceding are different. (Oxford English Dictionary). In poetry, the most common sort of rhyme is  end rhyme that occurs at the end of two or more lines.  Internal rhyme  happens in the middle of a line In conclusion, devices of deviation and parallelism are very central to the foregrounding theory. They are the main tools which should be manipulated by the writers to attract the attention of the reader and make him feel appreciate the experience of the text. 5. Advantages of Foregrounding Theory If foregrounding theory is very powerful in the literature of stylistics, what are the advantages of the application of such theory? Can foregrounding be practically useful? Or is it just a descriptive theory? This section discusses some advantages of the foregrounding theory. First of all, foregrounding in general and foregrounding theory in particular are very basic requirements to understand language and literature. Foregrounding as a style is based on a distinction between something and its background. In other words, it is all about making something prominent by making it different. For example, we can make an object in a collection of objects, such as toys, foreground by differentiating it with color, shape, etc. In the same way, we can make a string of words distinguished from others by implying foregrounding devices, such as devices of deviation and parallelism. Thus, foregrounding is a very useful tool in language to affect the readers understanding and appreciation of language. In general, this is the most obvious advantage of foregrounding theory in language and literature. Foregrounding effects are not only restricted to language. This powerful theory can be practically used as a method of language teaching as well. McInyer (2003) shows a detailed description of how foregrounding can used as a pedagogical technique in large-group teaching. Such teaching methodology makes use of internal and external deviation as a means of maintaining the effects of foregrounding throughout the whole lecture course. An example of external deviation is to have two lecturers instead of one in the class so that students will be surprised because such change is unexpected. In this case, knowledge of foregrounding theory is very important for higher education lecturers dealing with large-groups, as it could serve to highlight how the presentation of lecture material can be enhanced, so creating a more effectual learning experience for the student Foregrounding can also be important in translation. If we accept that fact that discourse analysis has its positive effects on translation, we should expect to have similar effects (van Peer and Hakemulder, 2006). Dorry (2008) argues that foregrounding theory with foregrounding since foregrounding theory is so much related to discourse analysis can be applied to discourse at levels of Syntax, lexicon and Phonology. At the level of syntax, foregrounding is defined as the process that involves placing a constituent of a sentence into the focus position so that it becomes more prominent than other parts of the sentence. Naturally, any change in the usual order of words in a sentence will be reflected on meaning interpretation in mind of the reader. In this regard, change can come through deviation from norms or breaking up the rules. Dorry (2008) points out that since translation is a process of text recreation in which translators do their best to communicate discoursal meaning across languages, the way additional or different meaning is created and understood, should therefore also be focused as well from a syntactic-pragmatic angle. This phenomenon which is the locus of foregrounding theory should be have a very careful attention in translation since understanding it can assist to process and perceive meaningful choices made by writers and speakers in the course of communication. Under this claim, translators should be fully acquainted with foregrounding theory and its devices in the source and the target language because translators should always be faithful to both languages. To conclude this section, we have seen that foregrounding is a theory that can be applied many disciplines simultaneously. It is indispensable when we study language as an artistic artifact and how it is perceived by the reader or recipient. Also, foregrounding can be applied as a teaching methodology which is based on unexpected techniques to strike the student. Finally, translators should have enough knowledge of foregrounding effects in the source and target language to stay faithful to the text they are translating. 6. Problems of Foregrounding Theory Foregrounding theory has been the most powerful theory in stylistics. It charmed many stylisticians who devoted their efforts to support this theory. Although this theory has such important position in the stylistics, it is still imperfect. Many critics have mentioned some problems that should be taken into account to render a developed version of the theory. Shen (2007) argues that since deviation in foregrounding is based on the interface of the literary text with the cognitive and communicative principles, and these two types of principles are constrained, deviation should be controlled as well. It looks strange that deviation in foregrounding is not constrained while its assumptions and principles are constrained. Therefore, we need to question the claim of unexpectedness of deviation. In other words, are all types of deviation expected? Shen (2007) discussed some constraints that can be inferred from the devices used in foregrounding theory. A detailed discussion of simile and o xymoron showed that some constraints can be imposed on deviation. However, such conclusion should be carefully considered because foregrounding escapes the routine of everyday language and shake the expectations of the reader by presentation of the unexpected. Thus, how can we constrain the unexpected? And how can we strike a compromise between novelty and constraints? Such questions should be considered when we discuss constraints on deviation. Other limitations of the theory are discussed by van Peer and Hakemulder (2006). The first limitation of the theory is related to the existence of enough evidence that supports the main claim of foregrounding theory; the grounding theory claims that the use of foregrounding devices increases the readers value and appreciation of the text. Unfortunately, this claim has not received enough evidence from research conducted in the foregrounding theory. Another important problem of the theory is the huge vagueness of its terminology. Such a problem is clear when we consider the very often used terms in the theory like estrangement, deautomatization, defamiliarization and foregrounding. Are these terms synonymies or are they different terms? Therefore, the terminology and principles of this theory and its relation to the psychological processes should be fully clarified. More importantly, this theory intersects with the principles and assumptions of other theories and constructs such as Surrealism and Absurdism. Therefore, the boundaries and assumptions should be differentiated from the assumption of other theories (van Peer and Hakemulder, 2006). A problem that has recently been considered in the literature of foregrounding theory is its scope. Some scholars are very fanatic and refuse to include oral or descriptive literature in the domain of foregrounding theory. Hence, they apply the theory to the written texts only, and they neglect oral and video/audio works. Van Peer and Hakemulder (2006) argue that this problem can be solved by integrating the foregrounding theory to the structure and interpretation of the work as whole. To put it differently, a more systematic and coherent version of the foregrounding theory should be developed to cover all genres of literary works. Another problem related to this theory is the distinction between literary and non-literary texts. The majority of literary devices discussed above are reported in literature. Also, the majority of studies reported in stylistics were conducted on literary works. On the other side of the theory, some theorists ((Jeffries and McIntyre, 2010) argue that limiting the scope of foregrounding theory to literary works is a hasty decision because the same devices can be applied to literary and non-literary works such as jokes, advertising and politics. In fact, Mukaiovsky (cited in Miall and Kuiken, 1994) addressed this problem and explained the difference between the two types of foregrounding. Foregrounding may occur in non-literary or everyday language. However such type of foregrounding is not systematic in design. Moreover, the main purpose of such language is communication and foregrounding is so much used. In literary texts, on the other hand, foregrounding is very common, systematic a nd structured. Here, the purpose of foregrounding is to deviate from everyday language and takes the reader to the unexpected to make him enjoy the aesthetic experience of the literary text. A more impressing solution to the problem is presented by van Peer and Hakemulder (2006) who distinguished between two cases of foregrounding: functional and non-functional. Only the former can be seen as literary while later is not a literary use of foregrounding. For example, when a writer uses metaphors or similes in a scientific report, the purpose is not to deviate from the expected and impress the reader. Here, foregrounding is non-functional. In literary use of language, on the other hand, foregrounding is functional and the general aim is to deviate from the expected and present the unexpected To conclude this section, foregrounding theory has its own problems. The scope of the theory should be clearly identified in terms of the text type (literary vs. non-literary) and form (written vs. spoken). Also, its boundaries should be discussed and assigned with regard to other theories and perspectives in the literature. Similarly, abstract terminology should be clarified and fully explained. Finally, deviation, novelty and constraints should have compromised in the course of the theory discussion. 7. Conclusion Foregrounding theory is required for the analysis of literary works and history. This theory yields the best conclusions in textual analysis that it is indispensable analytic methodology to describe the specific features and characteristics of any text and explain the poetic effects on the reader. It can be used in both literary and non-literary works, yet the function is different in each situation. By doing extensive research and exploring its rules and effects in cross-cultural texts, the study of literature and literary works will flourish. Foregrounding device, devices of deviation and parallelism, will lose their important value if they are not developed. Thus, their defamiliarization needs to be under continuous development and replacement. A critical problem of constraints threatens the basic feature of foregrounding which is novelty. Novelty is reached to by violation of rules, and violation is seen here as breaking up everyday routine. Therefore, how can we expect the unexp ected? How can we control and constrain deviation? Such question and enquires should be the main concern of researchers in this field. All in all, foregrounding is the best theory for innovation in literature because it gives unexpected forms of novelty and creativity.