Production of Liquefied Natural Gas

Introduction Exxon Mobil Corporation is a multinational corporation that deals with oil and gas production. Having its headquarters located in Irving, Texas, Exxon Mobil Corporation has its shares enlisted in the New York Stock Exchange. The company as well trades its shares in Dow Jones and SP 500 Component. The company reserves an average of 70 billion oil barrels every year.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Production of Liquefied Natural Gas specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Exxon Mobil Corporation has about 40 oil refineries brances in about 20 countries in the world. Having been formed in 1870, the company has emerged as one of the largest refiner in the world. Averagely, Exxon Mobil produces about 3.9 million barrels of oil. Exxon Mobil Corporation majorly markets its products through the brands of Mobil, Esso and Exxon (Casper Matraves 2003, p. 112). Global operating divisions The company has a range of divisions, which helps the firm to carry out its activities effectively. The first category is upstream, which majorly deals with oil exploration, wholesale operations, shipping of diverse oil products as well as extraction. The upstream division is located in Houston, Texas. The downstream division is located in Fairfax, Virginia and chiefly deals with retail operations, refining and marketing. The chemical division is as well located in Houston, Texas and mainly deals with a range of chemicals produced by the company for different purposes (Peteraf 1993, p. 7). African National Oil Corporation African National Oil Corporation is amongst the largest oil companies, which dominates the large part of Sub-Saharan desert. The company is based in Tripoli, Libya and merely deals with upstream and downstream products. Founded in 1970, the company has grown to own several subsidiaries in the continent such as Zawia Refining, RASCO, Brega, North African Geophysical Exploration Company and National Oil Fields among others. Although the company is state-owned, its chairperson Nuri Berruien and Abdulrahman Ben Yezza have enabled the company emerge as one of the very competitive oil companies in the world. African National Oil Corporation output accounts for over 70% in Libya (Wittner 2003, p. 12). Indeed, Libya is said to have the largest oil reserve in Africa. Other countries that have almost equal reserves include Nigeria and Algeria. As is the case with other countries in Africa, Libya is a member of OPEC (organization of petroleum exporting countries).Advertising Looking for coursework on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The Sirte Basin province was ranked 13th amongst other provinces in the world as having high-level of petroleum. The province is chiefly known to have reserves of 37.8 trillion cubic feet of gas and 0.1 Gbbl of natural gas in liquid form. Libya has managed to bring its eco nomy into control through manipulation of the oil resources policies. It has been estimated that oil products generates about 95% of the total export earnings and contributes about 50% of the GDP computed to stand at about $50.2 billion in the year 2006. Onshore gas field After exploring and carrying out an appraisal program in a potential oil field, which is about 200km south of the Mediterranean Sea, it was confirmed that the field needs about 150 wells, although the field will also need pipelines. The pipeline facilities would include condensation recovery facilities, as well as dehydration plants. A pipeline of 220 kilometers would be laid somewhere in the land from the coast. In addition, a new liquefied natural gas terminal would be built. The appraisal program also confirmed that specialized LNG vessels would be built, as it would help to ship gas to a given terminal along the U.S. coast (Amable 2003, p. 46). Exxon Mobil Power Production Sharing Contract Proposal As scholars define it, Production Sharing Contract is a kind of contract that is signed between companies that desire to extract resources, especially oil firms and governments that own natural resources and wishing to attract contractors. Mostly, governments usually give a contractor some powers to conduct exploration related activities as well as production. In this situation, a company always bears all risks associated with exploration and developing the field to become significant in production of a given natural resource. After a company is through with development, it may start producing a natural resource such as oil. In many circumstances, a company is always allowed to use profit from the resource in recovering its capital in addition to operating expenditures. The amount associated with recovering the costs is widely recognized as cost oil while the profit left after allocating revenues to all oil costs is referred to as profit oil. The oil profit is normally shared between the govern ment and the contractor. Previously, most companies have been earning 20% of the profit while government goes with a whopping 80% of the oil profit.Advertising We will write a custom coursework sample on Production of Liquefied Natural Gas specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Production sharing contract has become effective for countries that lack expertise in oil production as well as capital required for oil exploration and development (Hollingsworth 2000, p. 45). Most countries in Africa often attract foreign companies in production of oil related products with a view that it would be able to own production facilities after a given period. It is also apparent that most African countries lack expertise in oil production and sometimes they end up producing substandard products. Therefore, it is advisable for foreign companies to be given a chance as far as oil exploration is concerned. Signature Bonus Because it is mostly used in oi l producing countries, the signature bonus system tends to make an upfront payment to the country owning resources. The upfront payment enables a foreign company to begin its operations within a designated locality of in the host country. Frequently, this system has been accepted because a given company has the right to exploit natural resources in an approved region. Exxon Mobil will embrace the signature bonus initially by paying $0.1 billion before beginning its operations. The 0.1 billion is assumed that it would strongly attract ANOC in considering Exxon Mobil as the best foreign company in exploring and producing gas that will be shipped to the East coast of the U.S. However, this figure is much high as compared to what other companies would have proposed (Kanniainen Keuschnigg 2005, p. 145). Nevertheless, the company is hopeful that 0.1 million will be recovered within a short period. In fact, it would be more reasonable to sign for such huge bonuses given the fact that Sirt e Basin province was ranked 13th amongst other provinces in the world. Therefore, the reserves of 37.8 trillion cubic feet of gas and 0.1 Gbbl of natural gas in liquid form assures that Exxon Mobil will certainly stand a chance of compensating all expenditure expended in oil production in all fields. The signature bonus amount is expected to put off other companies from getting the contract of producing liquefied natural gas in a field of length 220 kilometers south of Mediterranean Sea. The company expects date of operation to begin from February 15 2012 and probably stop its operation on February 15 2037.Advertising Looking for coursework on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This duration is anticipated to remain unchanged unless unpredictable events that are binding for the termination of operation occur within the duration of operation. Exxon Mobil will comply with all requirements signed under the signature including exploiting only designated area, bringing its technology of production in the area, proving enough it has more than minimum capital requirement of 8 billion US dollars. Exxon Mobil has a good reputation of not breaking terms and conditions provided on the contract. Royalties Royalty is very important in power sharing contract since at this point title of ownership passes on to contractor. For the ownership to pass on to a contractor, a licensee must pay a certain amount of money commonly known as royalty fee. After a licensee have paid the royalty fee he/she is given go ahead of using natural resources provided by licensor. In this regard, Exxon Mobil will acquire ownership for 25 years by offering an upfront payment of $.1 billion. The payment will be made before the commencement of operations. The upfront payment of $.1 billion is anticipated to give Exxon Mobil a competitive advantage over other petroleum and gas producing companies such as Galana Oil Company. However, the company will later pay stream of a given ratio of the revenue received from operations. Nevertheless, Exxon Mobil will begin distributing annual 15% of total revenue at the end of 5th year. Exxon Mobil anticipates that it will be able to generate total revenue of 3,202,580,645 pounds at an annual basis. Exxon Mobil believes that the remaining 85% of revenue will be able to pay for other costs associated with investment such as exploration costs, development cost and production costs, which are specifically incurred before commencement of selling of liquefied natural gas. Exxon Mobility will however, embrace sliding royalty scale, which is as shown below in order to reap optimally from the gas production. Production per day Royalty percentage 8 ,000 bbl per day and below 10% 8001 bbl-15,000bbl per day 15% 15,000 bbl per day and above 20% The above sliding scale denotes that when the production level is low royalty payment will be low. This will defend Exxon Mobil from high level of losses incurred during low level of productions (Michael McGahan 2007, p. 231). Cost recovery Cost recovery is a very important aspect in power sharing contract especially with production of liquefied gas at the field, which is estimated at 200 kilometers south of the Mediterranean Sea. The cost recovery part of Exxon Mobil and ANOC contract will enable both parties to understand clearly, which costs are recoverable and which will be recovered within a designated period. In particular, Exxon Mobil will face partly exploration costs, development costs as well as the production costs. However, production costs are only counted up to the period when a product will be able to sell in the market. Exxon Mobil will be able to determine the period with in which it would be able to recoup all investment costs aimed towards producing liquefied natural gas. Exxon Mobil will comply with 100% payment policy of all costs incurred in the operation. Exxon Mobil will be free to allow ANOC to participate in production of liquefied natural gas up to the percentage of 45%. Exxon Mobil will be ready to recover all expenditures if production of liquefied natural gas will be sufficient. This means that the gas produced should be able to meet a target of average revenue of 3,202,580,645 pounds every year. In addition, Exxon Mobil will agree with ANOC that it facilitate recovery of annual costs with maximum of 60% of the revenue generated during the period. Allocation of profit gas between ExxonMobil and the African National Oil Company From the Exxon Mobil perception, it is wise to pay royalties first, although it is a law for the companies to pay royalties first. From the royalties, Exxon Mobil will as well be required by law to pay all taxes in cluding both local and state taxes. The final payment will be charged for all costs associated with the explorations, development and production activities. The remaining amount after the subsequent charges is normally referred as profit gas, which will be available for both ANOC and Exxon Mobil. The amount is expected to be distributed at the ratio of 6:4. To calculate the amount, which will directly go to the government, it would be necessary to get all costs. In the case of Exxon Mobil, it is anticipated to pay annual production tax of 4%, 15% of royalty in addition to maximum (cost gas cap) of 60% of annual revenue. In this circumstance, a profit gas of 21% [100 %-( 60%+15%+4%)] will be distributed between the government of Libya and Exxon Mobil at the ratio of 6:4. This means that Exxon Mobil will only make away with 4%of the 21% average annual revenue. However, the government of Libya will share the remaining 6% of the 21% revenue with the state-owned company at the ratio of 7 :3. The percentage allocated to the state-owned company is meant to improve facilities owned by ANOC in different regions of Libya and abroad. The government is expected to depend on the revenue for various government expenditures such as ensuring high level of education. This can be judged in such a manner given the fact that Libya oil industry makes 90% of exports (Ghemawat 1999, p. 10). Profit taxes Exxon Mobil will pay taxes in accordance with the law taxes provided in Libya. Libya requires that all domestic companies pay corporate tax of 30% while foreign companies will be charged at the rate of 40%. In addition, the charges are imposed at both the local level and state level. All-inclusive, it is expected that every foreign company will have to pay the entire 40% of its before-tax revenue. The tax before revenue will be perceived as all revenues collected less all costs associated with investment and production, as well as royalty fee and the upfront bonus signature fees. In a ddition, the liquefied natural gas, which will consequently be transported to the East coast of the U.S.A., will as well be charged export taxes at the rate of 9%. Accounting standards and foreign exchange Exxon Mobil has dedicated itself towards using the full cost method in analyzing its expenses and revenues. For this reason, the company will frequently allocate its entire expenses to the balance sheet regardless of whether the firm would successfully locate the natural gas reserves or not. The exploration costs are always indicated in the balance sheet as long-term costs although the GAAP requires all costs to be charged against the generated revenue for the specified financial period since the assets are used on a daily basis. The company is expected to convert the US dollar into sterling pounds at the rate of US $1.5 for every one sterling pound. Export rights Exxon Mobil will enter into contract with ANOC to allow it to export most of its unrefined liquefied natural gas to th e East coast of the U.S. for further processing. Exxon Mobil will however pay the export tax of 9% of the total cost of entire liquefied natural gas shipped to the U.S. Duration of contract phases and relinquishment The contract is expected to last within the duration of 25 years. The 25 years include the 4 years, which ultimately do not generate any revenue. The four years will also include the payment of the yearly investment cost of US$2 billion, which will total to US$8 billion for the 8 years. In the remaining 21 years, the company expects to generate3, 202,580,645 pounds on an annual basis. Nevertheless, termination of the contract may occur before the expiry date of the contract given that Exxon Mobil will fail to comply with the rules outlined on the contract such as failure to pay royalty fees or other costs negotiated between the government and Exxon Mobil’s directors. Meeting predetermined objectives of ANOC Technology Transfer Exxon Mobil is expected to transfer s ophisticated methods of productions to Libya. This will include bringing experts in gas exploitation in Libya as well as advanced facilities that would help in production of liquefied natural gas. Exxon Mobil is focused towards training the local residents in a bid to empower them with sufficient knowledge concerning gas production as well as oil products exploitation (Besanko Dranove 1996, p. 67). Development Local content Exxon Mobil will as well plan to improve the society of Libya by offering several incentives. Infrastructure development Exxon Mobil is focused towards helping Libya in improving its infrastructure. Exxon Mobil will particularly improve electricity in the north part on Libya. Exxon Mobil is as well planning to improve road network throughout the country with a grand of US$20 million. Apart from roads and electricity, Exxon Mobil is dedicated towards improving the level of education by pumping in US$30 million (Gompers Lerner 2004, p. 58). Laying 225 kilometer p ipeline Exxon Mobil is planning to lay a pipeline approximately 225 kilometers south of Mediterranean coast. The pipeline is budgeted at US$1million for every kilometer. It is also expected that Exxon Mobil will spend 2% of the planned operational expenditure. Exxon Mobil will contract a more competitive firm. In this respect, it would be wise for Exxon Mobil to choose PIPECO for the development as well as laying of 225-kilometer pipeline south of Mediterranean sea. The PIPECO has more competitive services as well as cost effective services that would help the entire work carried out during the production of gas effectively. The PIPECO covers the following scope. Engineering Design PIPECCO mostly imports its pipeline products from Germany, which are perceived to be stainless. PIPECO will help Exxon Mobil to lay pipes across the field in a manner that will run through areas, which are highly expected to have high level of gas. The company is also expecting to install about 30 natural liquefied gas terminals. The pipelines are expected to serve the area within the duration of 30 years before replacement. Procurement The pipeline, which will be laid on the ground, will be imported from Germany. The stainless steel pipe will be purchased at the cost of US$100 for every meter. The terminals will also be equipped with special terminals that will be purchased from France. All terminal equipments are expected to be purchased at a cost of US$1 million. Pipeline construction The pipeline construction will involve a number of issues including trenching, welding as well as reconstituting the route. The company will dig about 0.5 meters to 3 meters below the ground in order to lay the pipes, which will transport natural liquefied gas towards the coast to be shipped to the U.S. Welding will be done in order to allow the joining of laid down pieces of pipes across the 225 kilometer route. The construction will begin from the inland and finalize with terminals that would be s ituated at the coast. The construction of pipelines is estimated to cost US$1 million for very kilometer. PIPECO is expecting that Exxon Mobil would consider this affordable as compared to what other companies might be offering (Hall Soskice 2001, p. 89). 5 years operation PIPECO is expecting to run and maintain the laid down pipes for about 5 years from the time of construction. PIPECO realized that it would take Exxon Mobil 4 years to execute all activities pertaining to investment during this period and therefore, it will hardly earn anything from the investment. Exxon Mobil is expected to start generating revenue on the 5th year. Due to this, PIPECO will remain on the ground to ensure the pipes remain effective for gas production within the designated period of 5 years. Before the installment of the pipes, PIPECO will dedicate its time in advising Exxon Mobil on the best pipes to lay on the ground, which perhaps will remain effective for over 30 years without the need for repla cement. In addition, PIPECO will advice Exxon Mobil in areas that would prove efficient for pipes to be laid, which would include avoiding hilly areas that might require a lot of pressure to pump the liquefied natural gas. Most importantly, Exxon Mobil should avoid populated areas and rather lay the pipes across regions with less population to avoid leakage of pipes through road construction and other underground activities that might interfere with the pipelines. Populated areas are also risky areas as they are more exposed to criminal cases such as banditry. However, PIPECO is determined towards negotiating the price of laying down the pipes, although PIPECO will not accept any amount below US$800,000 due to risks associated with losses or facing increased cost of labor as well as procurement of the pipes. Exxon Mobil will mostly pay attention to services of PIPECO considering that laying of pipelines for various companies, which transport liquids, is its core business. Payment as sociated with performance and equity investment PIPECO will propose for a contract that will be based on performance. PIPECO would like to be rewarded in terms of its performance as well as equity investment. Payment based on performance would most likely attract Exxon Mobil since PIPECO would be paid less if its services are considered ineffective. This means that PIPECO will endure to produce the best services followed by best engineering products. However, equity investment might not be attractive considering that Exxon Mobil might fail to perform in the market. Therefore, its shares would depreciate in value leading to losses (Oster 1994, p. 36). List of references Amable, B 2003, The Diversity of Modern Capitalism, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Besanko, D Dranove, D 1996, Economics of Strategy, John Willey Sons, Nueva York. Casper, S Matraves, C 2003, â€Å"Institutional Frameworks and Innovation in the German and UK Pharmaceutical Industry†, Research Policy, Vol. 32, no. 1, pp 1865–1879. Ghemawat, P 1999, Games Businesses Play: Cases and Models, MIT Press, Cambridge. Gompers, P Lerner, J 2004, The Venture Capital Cycle, MIT Press, Cambridge. Hall, PA Soskice, W 2001, Varieties of Capitalism: The Institutional Foundations of Comparative Advantage, Oxford University Press, Oxford. Hollingsworth, RJ 2000, â€Å"Doing Institutional Analysis: Implications for the Study of Innovations†, Review of International Political Economy, Vol. 7, no. 1, pp 595–644. Kanniainen, V Keuschnigg, C 2005, Venture Capital, Entrepreneurship, and Public Policy, MIT Press, Cambridge. Michael, P McGahan, MA 2007, â€Å"An Interview with Michael Porter†, The Academy of Management Executive, Issue 16, no. 1, pp 2-44. Oster, SM 1994, Modern Competitive Analysis, Oxford University Press, Nueva Peteraf, MA 1993, â€Å"The Cornerstone of Competitive Advantage: A Resource-Based View†, Strategic Management Journal, Issue.14, no.1, pp 179- 191. Wittner, P 2003, The European Generics Outlook: A Country-by-Country Analysis of Developing Market Opportunities and Revenue Defense Strategies, Datamonitor, London. This coursework on Production of Liquefied Natural Gas was written and submitted by user Johnny Harris to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Deficiencies of the Prevailing Labour Law in Sri Lanka Essays

Deficiencies of the Prevailing Labour Law in Sri Lanka Essays Deficiencies of the Prevailing Labour Law in Sri Lanka Essay Deficiencies of the Prevailing Labour Law in Sri Lanka Essay DEFICIENCIES OF THE PREVAILING LABOUR LAW SYSTEM IN SRI LANKA BACKGROUND FOR THE STUDY 1. 1. Employment Employment is a An act of employing State of being employed The work in which one is engaged; occupation. An activity to which one devotes time The percentage or number of people gainfully employed: a vicious spiral of rising prices under full employment (William Henry Beveridge). 1. 2. Definition of Employee and Employer A person who is hired to provide services to a company on a regular basis in exchange for compensation and who does not provide these services as part of an independent business† â€Å"An employee is a person who works in the service of another person under an express or implied contract of hire, under which the employer has the right to control the details of work performance† (Blacks Law Dictionary). â€Å"An employee is hired for a specific job or to provide labor and who works in the service of someone else† (the emp loyer). The IRS classifies a worker as an employee as follows: In general, anyone who performs services for an organization is an employee if the organization can control what will be done and how it will be done. 1. 0. Types of Employment There are a variety of employment types that can offer new staff including Permanent, full-time, part-time, casual, fixed term employment, traineeships and apprenticeships. 2. 1. Figure: Types of Employments Permanent employment Can work continuously until retirement. Letter of appointment must be given. Can be asked to undergo a probationary period. If progress is unsatisfactory during probationary period, the period can be extended or service terminated. Even during the probationary period employees can enjoy all facilities under Labour Laws. Apart from permanent employment, there are other new forms of employment that are widely practiced in the world today. Full Time Employment Full-time employees work on a regular weekly basis and are expected to work a full week. Part Time Employment Part-time work is a new concept adopted only in few institutions such as BPO Companies. They engage school-leavers and unemployed IT educated youth such as IT operators for a few hours in a day. Unfortunately, Labour Laws are silent on part-time workers. Part-time employees usually work on a regular ongoing basis. They are paid on a pro rata basis. They are entitled to the following to: Part-time workers are paid for the total number of hours they have worked. They do not enjoy any benefits such as leave, gratuity and ETF. However, they are entitled to EPF. Under the EPF, part-time employees are covered and shall enjoy the benefits of EPF. Casual Employment Casual employees are employed on an irregular basis as needed. The can work as many hours as agreed between the employer and the employee. They: A casual employee has no right to expect daily or regular employment. A casual employee may report for work as and when they like and they can be employed as and when the employer pleases. The practice of having casual employees to substitute for absence of permanent employees is very common. However, the Termination of Employment (Special Provisions) Act gives coverage to an employee who has worked 180 days for a period of 12 months immediately preceding termination. Where the nature of work is of a transitory nature, it would be considered casual employment and all such workers are treated as Casual Employees. However, where such work recurs at regular intervals and forms part of the business, it may fall under temporary employment. Labour laws are silent on â€Å"Casual employment†. It is, there for, necessary to treat them like any other employee. They should come under EPF and ETF coverage. A casual employee is one who is taken, either for work of a casual nature or on the basis of fulfilling a casual need. Several companies maintain a register of those who are registered for work, when work is available. The difference between a casual employee and other employees is that a casual employee cannot be expected to report for work daily. There is no obligation to offer work on a daily basis too. Most organizations also recruit them at the gate and at the end of the day, if there is work the next day as well, he could be informed that he may turn up for work the next day as well. Casual employees are also paid on a daily rated basis and as far as practicable, paid daily or not later than at the end of the week. Payment is also made by voucher and the signature of the employee is obtained. A casual employee employed on a weekly holiday should be remunerated at 1 1/2 times the normal hourly rate. His normal hours of work shall be nine hours a day inclusive of one hour for meals and he is entitled to overtime if he is called upon to work over nine hours. In the event the employer fails to provide work for the full day such employee shall be entitled to be remunerated on the basis that he has worked for the full day. All casual employees are entitled to EPF and ETF. Fixed term or contract employees Fixed term or contract employees are hired for a fixed period of time, for example, for a specific project, or to replace an employee on sick leave or parental leave. Most organizations as prefer to offer a fixed term contract when it is felt that the nature of the work offered will last only for a limited period of time. When offering a fixed term contract it is necessary to: State the period of Contract from (Date/Month/Year) to (Date/Month/Year) As far as the date of expiry of the Contract, get the following Clause. Included in the contract of employment â€Å"I agree to the cessation of my employment on.. † A fixed term contract is one under which a person is employed for a fixed period. The contract will come to an end by mutual agreement at the end of the agreed period. When the management repeatedly gives a series of fixed term contracts to the same employee, it may be treated by an appropriate Court as a device and the employee being deemed to be a person on a permanent contract of employment. This is especially so where there is no break in service between the several contracts. It is also desirable to omit any reference to the possibility of a renewal of the contract. Any further contracts should be new contracts and not mere extensions or renewals of the earlier one. A Fixed Term Contract of Employment is one, which is entered into for a fixed term without any guarantee that the Contract would be renewed on the expiry of the period stipulated. At the end of the period stipulated, the Contract automatically comes to an end. Fixed Term employees are entitled to enjoy all benefits of the Labour Laws. Temporary employment * A temporary employee is an employee taken to fulfill a temporary need. If a vacancy is temporarily created by a permanent employee going on long leave such as maternity leave, study leave or where a special assignment has to be executed for which purpose extra employees are needed. It is important to issue â€Å"A letter of temporary employment† to such people. * Although the temporary employment is for a limited period, temporary employees will normally be entitled to the benefits of the labour laws. Outsourced Employment * Several institutions are at present outsourcing Accounting, human resources and other administrative function to specialized institutions established for such services. Although Labour Laws are silent on the terms and conditions of such employees most of such newly established institutions apply the shop and Office Act for the staff engaged by them. Major employment types at a glance Seasonal Employment * There is a distinction between seasonal and casual workers. Seasonal workers are employed during certain seasons of the ye ar. * There are certain industries such as the agricultural industry, where certain categories of employees are employed during one season of the year and at the end of that season their employment comes to an end. If such workers are engaged during the next season it will be new employment and the question of continuity of employment does not arise. * In the event of a dispute regarding retrenchment of workers, the question as to whether such industry is of a seasonal nature or whether the work in that industry is done intermittently, shall be decided on by the Commissioner of Labour and his decision shall be final. * In the case of seasonal workers they are also entitled to benefits under the EPF and ETF. Apprentices Apprentices are generally training to be trades people, while trainees are generally learning the skills of a non-trade occupation. Both involve: a registered training agreement; practical work; learning skills on and off the job; and Rates of pay covered by an award or agreement, or the Minimum Conditions of Employment Act 199 3 or the Workplace Relations Act 1996. Both apprenticeships and traineeships lead to a nationally recognized qualification. 2. 0. EMPLOYED POPULATION OF SRI LANKA The formally employed population of Sri Lanka in the late 1980s was shifting gradually from agriculture to manufacturing, trade, and service employment. Nevertheless, over 40 percent of the work force remained agricultural in early 1988; most of these workers were smallholders, tenants, and plantation workers. The labor force growing most rapidly in the early and mid-1980s was in the service sector. However that the figure 3. 1. will show the distribution pattern of year 2006 that emphasized trend of employments. It is very clear that, 33 percent of the total employment contributes to the agriculture sector while these percentages are 41 percent and 26 percent for service sector and Industry sector respectively in Sri Lanka. 3. 0. THE PREVAILING LABOUR LAW SYSTEM IN SRI LANKA The origins of labour laws in Sri Lanka can be traced back to the year 1841 when the first labour ordinance pertaining to contracts of employment of labour war introduced by then British Colonial Government to appease the interest of British planters when plantations were opened in the hill country first in Coffee and later in Tea and rubber as they found it exacting to get work done through Indian labour, who were brought down to Sri Lanka from South India. After the establishment of the Department of Labour, Labour law has been framed to protect the interest of all classes and grades of indigenous labours. Sri Lanka has nearly 55 legislation to control labour relations but only 44 of them are not actively using today. Of the 44 statutes also some in operation have become obsolete and out of date although they still continue on a legal basis. However the major statues as follows: Main Labour statues NoOrdinance/Act NoYearName of ordinance/Act 1191934Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance 2141935Trade Union Ordinance 3321939Maternity Benefits ordinance 4271941Wages Boards Ordinance 5451942Factories ordinance 6431950Industrial Disputes Act 7191954Shop and Office Employees Regulation of Employment Remuneration) Act 8151958Employees Provident Fund Act 9451971Termination of Employment of Workmen Act 10461980Employees Trust Fund Act 11121983Payment of Gratuities Act Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance No 19 Workmen’s Compensation Ordinance is an ordinance to provide for the payment of compensation to workmen who are injured in the course of their employment. It was formed in 1934 . 1935 Trade Union Ordinance No 14 Trade Union ordinance is an ordinance to provide for the registration and control of trade unions. Maternity Benefits ordinance No 32 The Maternity Benefits Ordinance, as amended in 1957, entitled a woman who worked in a factory, mine, or estate to full compensation for a period of two weeks before her confinement and for six weeks afterward. The employee must have worked for the employer 150 days before her confinement to be eligible to receive the benefits. Wages Boards Ordinance No 27 In 1941 the government enacted the Wages Boards Ordinance, the first comprehensive piece of legislation regarding the payment of wages, the regulation of working hours, and sick and annual leave; the ordinance also empowered the government to establish wages boards for any trade. The boards are composed of an equal number of representatives of workers and employers and three appointees proposed by the commissioner of labor. Part I of the Wages Board Ordinance applies to all trades defined as any industry, business, undertaking occupation, profession or calling. Factories ordinance No 45 The Factories Ordinance of 1942 established guidelines for industrial safety and sanitation and made each factory liable to government inspection. Because this ordinance and other similar legislation has not been enforced consistently, workers frequently protested their working conditions. In the 1980s, strikes and boycotts often took place because of inadequate meals at factories that had their own lunchrooms or because of the lack of other facilities. The Factories Ordinance prohibited work for women between 9:00 P. M. and 6:00 A. M. In the years after independence, a further series of laws restricted the employment of women and children to designated time periods and places. A 1957 law, for example limited working time for women to nine hours. Other laws prohibited women and children from working time underground, in mines, for example. Industrial Disputes Act Industrial Disputes Act is an act to provide for the prevention, investigation and settlement of industrial disputes and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. Shop and Office Employees (Regulation of Employment Remuneration) Act The Shop and Office Employees act No. 19 of 1954 which is an Act providing for the regulation of employment, hours of work and remuneration of persons in shops and offices and for matters connected therewith. All shops and offices in Sri Lanka have been covered by a regulation made under this act. Employees Provident Fund Act No 15 The Employees Provident Fund, established in 1958, provided a national retirement program for the private sector. The Provident Fund required an employer to contribute 6 percent of total earnings and an employee to contribute 4 percent of earnings exclusive of overtime pay. Participation in this plan grew quickly, and in the 1980s most salaried workers in the formal sectors of the economy were members. Government employees had their own pension plans. 1971 Termination of Employment of Workmen Act No 45 Termination of employment of workmen Act is an act to make special provisions in respect of the termination of the services of workmen in certain employments by their employers. Employees Trust Fund Act Under the Employees Trust Fund Act, every employer has to contribute at the rate of 3% each employee’s monthly earnings, to the Fund managed by the Commissioner of Labour. Employees are eligible to withdraw their balances at the termination of employment with their interest in the accounts. Payment of Gratuities Act An Act to provide for a scheme for the payment of gratuity to employees engaged in factories, mines, oilfields, plantations, ports, railway companies, shops or other establishments and for matters connected therewith or incidental thereto. 5. 0 Analysis of Data The data collected by primary and secondary sources, the following factors were found for the main question of the assignment whether the present law system in Sri Lanka protect the new types of employment. Figure 5. 1. – Methodology structure of the data collection 5. 1. Review and suggestions Sri Lanka today has a very fine texture of laws to protect the interest of employees and to a lesser extent to safeguard the interests of employers as well. The department of Labour as a mediator between employers and employees has up to date performed its onerous task through its officers to maintain industrial peace and the enforcement of the legal right and claims, which labour has in the performance of work under their masters. Even though, The Sri Lankan legal system is enriched with many laws for protecting employees, there is hardly any legislation to protect the interests of the employers who are the investors. Hence, the existing labour statutes have to be amended to protect the interests of the investors, especially the foreign investors. If not, they will have a conducive environment for investment and Sri Lankan Economy. The industry and service sector representing the highest proportion of Sri Lankan Employed population(Figure 3. 1),but the labour legislation of this country is equally applied to the industries that come under the BOI and no power has been granted to the Board to enter into an agreement to exempt or modify or vary the provisions of labour legislation. But it is interesting to note that even though the post 1977 policy of the successive governments has been attracting more foreign investment, the labour legislation of the country has been applied without any change in the context of foreign investment In Sri Lanka, the State intervention to protect the interests of the workers who do not have equal bargaining power with the employers has resulted in the enactment of large number of labour statutes. The question does arise whether the labour legislation is over protective of employees and weigh heavily in favour of them. If so, it will have an adverse impact on creating a conducive environment for foreign investment in Sri Lanka. The Factories Ordinance shall also be amended from time to time in accordance with the changes in the technology and the substances used in the factory to ensure the safety, health and welfare of the workers. In Consumer Education and Research Centre v Union of India Ramaswamy. J stated that The right to health to a worker is an integral facet of meaningful right to life to have not only a meaningful existence but also robust health and vigor without which worker would lead a life of misery. The evolution of the right to health of the workman as a part of his human right and the pervasion of modern technology and the various types of chemical substances with the foreign investment require the intervention of the State to ensure the safety, health and welfare of workers. The brochure on Labour Standards and Relations issued by the BOI, prescribes the conditions subject to whi ch the female workers could be employed on night shift. If these conditions are strictly adhered to, the employment of female workers on night shift will not have deleterious effects. The absolute prohibition of night work for the female workers may be a discrimination against them and may affect their chances of employment by discouraging the foreign investors. Therefore, in the context of foreign investment what is required is regularized night work for the female workers. Although, there are a number of labour statutes to protect the interests of the workers, still, some of them require amendments in the context of foreign investment. The Workmen Compensation Ordinance4 provides for the payment of compensation to workmen for personal injury caused by accident arising out of and in the course of employment15 or for occupational diseases mentioned in Schedule lll16 or for the disease which is reasonably attributable to the nature of the workmans employment. As to payment of gratuity, the Payment of Gratuity Act 23 is applicable to the employer who employs fifteen or more workmen24 and in respect of the employer who employs less than fifteen workmen, the workmen has to make an application to the Labour Tribunal 25 for gratuity. It is suggested that the Payment of Gratuity Act should be amended to make it applicable even to the employer who employs only one workman. As to the contribution of the employer to the employees provident fund, the employers should be induced to enhance their contribution. 6. 0. Conclusion In Sri Lanka the Statutory measures that are available are fairly satisfactory in protecting the workers. There are certain areas where there can be some improvement, specially the need for a mandatory letter of appointment, categorization of fixed term contracts, settling the questions relating to casual employment, etc. However, the problems are not mainly regarding inadequacy of legal provisions, but in the implementation and enforcement of same. The weakness in the enforcement machinery has been stated above. The mechanisms and the machinery available are not adequate and not very satisfactory and this is an area, which has to be strengthened. It is appropriate to state that in employer-employee relationship the survival of one party depends on the survival of other. Hence, the industrial law cannot be static and it has to change with the time. In Sri Lanka, in the present trend of industrial policy, the protection of the interests of the foreign investors draws special attention for the benefit of the present and future workforce of the country. References A. T. M. Nurul Amin, The Informal Sector in Asia from the Decent Work Perspective, ILO, May 2001. S. R. De Silva, Some Aspects of Labour Administration and Development in Sri Lanka A. T. M. Nurul Amin, The Informal Sector in Asia from the Decent Work Perspective, ILO, May 2001.

Grenada and Mission Command Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Grenada and Mission Command - Essay Example As a function of this breakdown, the US Atlantic Command was forced to keep a close hold of the operation; so much so that it did not successfully transmit needed information to the US Readiness Command. This led to many command elements being unaware of the initial planning stages; thereby leading the entire operation to the point of leaving out key elements of command from the planning process. Quite obviously, such an oversight led to many problematic issues during the logistical execution of the operation itself. US Second Fleet: This command unit was given overall control of the operation. Under the leadership of Vice Admiral Joseph Metcalf III, the US Second Fleet formed Joint Task Force 120 with overall responsibility of the Operation Urgent Fury. The Second Fleet had a clear understanding of the intent and objectives of the orders of the Atlantic Fleet passed on from President Regan. However, here as well there was a breach in the building of cohesive teams. This lack of cohe sion naturally deterred a building of mutual trust when the recommendation of Admiral Metcalf II to have army Major General Norman Schwarzkopf be put in charge of the overall ground operations instead of Major General Edward Trobaugh was quashed due to its clear abrogation and deviation from the chain of command. While Admiral Metcalf III knew that most of the operation would be ground based, more suited under command of an army command unit, this was unfortunately never considered openly in the planning stage. Regardless of such an oversight and/or prejudice, the Second Fleet was still up to the task and was able to establish proper command and communication channels to the units under its command. XVIII Airborne Corps: Under the leadership of Lieutenant General Jack Mackmull, this command unit was in charge of the majority of logistics and sustainment of the operations in Grenada. Although this command unit had an important role, it was overlooked by the main planners during the p lanning phase. Near the beginning of operations, the Atlantic Command requested that the XVIII Airborne Corps’ subordinate 82nd Airborne Division be placed in combat readiness without being given a clear or otherwise full idea of what the situation entailed. It was also found that the XVIII Airborne Corps was excluded by the Atlantic Command from the planning phase; additionally compounding the initial problem of logistics and sustainment of participating ground forces. Among the participating command unit

Value Creation through Mergers and Acquisitions in the Banking Thesis - 1

Value Creation through Mergers and Acquisitions in the Banking Industry-A Case Study of Five Mergers & Acquisitions in Banking Industry-- JP Morgan Merger with - Thesis Example The definitions of the aforesaid variables are given in the research methodology. In each case of these mergers the individual companies became integrated to form a mega giant company. Though we mention these as the examples of merger actually those are the examples of acquisition. But the fact is that none of these five is a case of hostile acquisition rather all of these can be termed as friendly acquisition. While merger took place the existing shareholder of the merging companies retain their own position regarding the share they hold and the position to which they belong. Regarding the positions of the shareholders of both of the companies in the pre contract and the post contract situation here the acquisition becomes synonymous to merger. Generally the merger and acquisition takes place for various reasons: some of the reasons are beneficial for the shareholders. In these cases the major objective of the merger of each partnership was to capture the market as much as possible. If the mergers become successful enough to generate profit the shareholders prem ium would raise and hence the price of share and equity would rise consequently. There are two major benefits that a shareholder may enjoy. I. if the amount of dividends rise then the shareholder is benefited as he gets higher return on the same amount of money. If the premium on the share rises then the shareholder is better off. II. If the price of the share rises due to the merger then the shareholder would enjoy a capital gain. That is also a benefit that is brought about by merger. But if we consider an increase in the part of undistributed profit due to merger then we can say that the merger is not beneficial for the shareholders. . For example when a profitable company merges with a loss making company, it use the loss as a tax writes off to offset the

What are the advantages and disadvantages of bilingualism Assignment

What are the advantages and disadvantages of bilingualism - Assignment Example This suggests that while the speaker may use Spanish at home, the same person may use English while at school. In addition, bilingualism may arise out of individual choice to study a language other than the primary language. In the end, bilingualism has both its advantages and disadvantages. The ability to communicate in two different languages is the immediate benefit of bilingualism. The expanded communication ability enables a student access a larger world than usual. In addition, it enables a student enjoy enriching cultures from different communities. This enhances learning, as a student is able to understand different contexts when applied to cultural education. Language is essential since it gives insight into other people’s experiences, perspectives, history, and culture (Fish & Morford, 2012, P.4, L.23-26). For instance, the bilingual ability could be crucial to deaf students who would wish to develop relationships with their peers who speak the English language. Studies have recommended bilingualism for deaf children. When such children learn both ASL and English, the aptitude in the second language becomes an indicator of the mastery of ASL (Baker, 2011, P. 3, L.66-67). Proper acquisition of ASL also supports the proficiency in English. Studies show that bilingualism stimulates language production in both languages. This suggests that a speaker’s brain becomes more open to handling information from two languages (Byrd, 2012, P. 20, L. 13-14). In this sense, a bilingual activates dual grammar systems. This is essential when such a speaker uses two languages simultaneously. Simultaneous, in this perspective, means that a bilingual speaker smoothly transitions from one language to another. When bilinguals develop such control, they can easily communicate to individuals who have only mastered a single language. This is a significant factor in translation. Bilingualism, however, burdens the learner. Burden occurs in terms of

The Importance Of Age In Sla

The Importance Of Age In Sla There are many theories if age affects second language acquisition. Some authors saying that, to learn a second language when you are child is easier than to learn a second language when you are older. We can define children ages from 3 to 18 that are in school and adults or older learners from the ages of 18 and above. However the critical period hypothesis it can also play a role in the learning and also the implicit and the explicit shift hypothesis. Below will examine what authors point out. What is the difference of learning a second language in early stage or later, the benefits and the negatives. And when is easier to start learning a second language. To start with, in critical period hypothesis suggests that there is a period when language acquisition takes place naturally and effortlessly. Penfield and Roberts (1959 in Ellis, 1985:107) argued that the optimum age for language acquisition it starts the first ten years of life. Because in this time of period the brain retains plasticity but with the onset of puberty this plasticity begins to disappear. They suggest that this is a result of the lateralization of the language function in the left hemispheres of the brain, and slowly concentrated in the left hemisphere for most people. Thus, increased difficulty which learners supposedly experience as a direct result of a neurological change. According to Lenneberg (1967 in Ellis, 1985:107) to support the critical period hypothesis found that injuries to the right hemisphere caused more language problems in children than in adults. He also found that in cases of children who underwent surgery of the left hemisphere, no speech disorders resulted, whereas with adults almost total language occurred. Furthermore, Lenneberg provided evidence to show that whereas children rapidly recovered total language control after such operations, adults did not do so, but instead continued to display permanent linguistic impairment. This suggested that the neurological basis of language in children and adults was different. However, Lennebergs evidence does not demonstrate that is easier to acquire language before puberty but he assumed that language acquisition was easier to children. According to Lightbown and Spada (1999:61) most studies of the relationship between age of acquisition and second language development have focused on learn ers phonological (pronunciation) achievement. In general, these studies have concluded that older learners almost inevitably have a noticeable foreign accent. However, another interesting cognitive theory is the implicit and the explicit shift. This suggests that the age affects the decreasing in language learning capacity in SLA and it happens because of the declining role of implicit learning and memory in the language acquisition process, and at the same time increase the role of explicit learning and memory. This statement is supported by a wide agreement that learners process their late-learnt language differently than their native language, but the results of the performance are rarely the same. Paradis (2004 in Dornyei 2009:256-257) point out that a particular strength of the implicit and the explicit shift hypothesis is that they can account of the age effects in naturalistic SLA and in formal school learning: first, the dominating learning mechanism is the implicit thus the younger we are, the better we can capitalize. Second the limited amount of L2 exposure and cognitive structure input is typically favours explicit learning and learning we can benefit from this language environment more in older age when the implicit and the explicit shift is on the way and thus prepared us for utilizing explicit learning mechanisms. Although it is often assumed that the loss of the implicit learning that is forces the second language learners to rely in the explicit learning, which uses a cognitive system different from that the native language is support. Dekeyser (2000 in Dornyei, 2009:241) point out that if the Critical Period Hypothesis (CPH) is constrained, however in the implicit learning mechanisms appears that there is more than just a sizable correlation. Also early age confers an absolute that there may well be no exceptions to the age effect. Between the ages of 6-7 and 16-17 , everybody loses the mental equipment that requires for the implicit induction of the abstract patterns that underlying the human language, thus the critical period deserves its name as DeKeyser mention. DeKeyser and Larson Hall (2005 in Dornyei 2009:241) point out, that this approach is also accepted by Lenneberg (1967 in Dornyei 2009:241) who had the original observation of the CPH that automatic acquisition from mere exposure to a given language seems to disappear after this age. Also many scholars agree with DeKeyser (2000 in Dornyei, 2009:242) that the qualitative disparity between adult (post Critical period) and child language acquisition shows that somewhere along the line there is bound to be break that it caused from maturational constraints. Studies have repeatedly found that age causes a gradual decline in acquiring language with an attainment curve with a sharp discontinuity at the terminus of the period. Although there is a theory the younger the better whereas Dornyei points out that language learning is easier when one is young. For example a family of immigrates to a new country for a 5 year old child will be far easier to learn a L2 proficiency than the 30 year old father, but he would be better than 60 year old grandma. I can agree with Dornyei view, as for a child it can be easier to learn the second language because of the school context, but for the father it depends from the working or the environment he will be surrounded, thus it can be more difficult for older learners. As Dorney (2009:249) explains, a young immigrant child who will start primary school in the new country at the age of 5-6, will be able to learn as often optimal conditions are provided by the school experiences. However, for an adult immigrant whose social network involve people from the same ethno linguistic group and has few native speaking colleagues at work the learning conditions are far from the ideal. It is also the same for a student that contact a L2 onetime per week in a school context. Some other authors that agree with Dornyei, is Kuhl (2008 in Dornyei, 2009:249) who states, There is no doubt that children learn languages more naturally and efficiently than adults and N.Ellis (2005 in Dornyei, 2009:249) also concludes, It is an incontrovertible fact that ultimate second language attainment is less successful in older than younger learners According to Gass and Selinker (2001:342) children are more successful second language learners than adults and there various explanations: First, there social psychological reasons why adults learn languages less easy than children. There many different versions of this hypothesis. Some suggest that adults dont want to give up the sense of identity that the accent provides them. And other suggests that adults dont want to surrender their ego in the extent that required adopting a new language, which combines with a new life-world. Second the cognitive factors are also responsible for the weakness of the adults to succeed in learning. Adults have greater cognitive abilities than children. Adopting the cognitive abilities in language learning task has less successful learning in children, which according to the hypothesis where supposed to rely a greater extent in a specific language acquisition device. Third, there are neurological changes that prevent adults to use their brain with the same way that children learn language learning tasks. This usually presented as a loss of plasticity or the flexibility in the brain. Fourth, the children are exposed to a better input for language learning thus children are provided with better data about the language. On the other hand, some other authors disagree with that point of view and point out that the older the better by state that a 5 year old student probably will occur to less progress in learning language in school context than an older learner age of 15 or 30, even 60 years old. According to Dornyei (2009:235) Anglophone children in French immersion who entered the immersion programme relatively late, around 9 to 11 years old, very quickly manage to caught up with the early immersion of students, who start he immersion programme in kindergarten or when entering the primary school. Also Dornyei (2009:250) point out that in school settings older students make better progress than their younger peers, particularly in acquiring morphosyntactic and lexical aspects of the second language and sometimes also in acquiring phonological aspects. Also Dornyei (2009:250) states that younger the better principle suggests that younger children learn better in educational settings in the sense of going further but not faster. Singleton and Ryan (2004 in Dornyei, 2009:250): Extrapolating from the naturalistic studies, one way plausibly argue that early formal instruction in an L2 is likely to yield advantages after rather longer periods of time than have so far been studied. Over the last few years two investigations took place in Spain, to examine the older the better issue. They examine three groups of Basque learners of English who attended the fifth year in primary school, the second year in secondary school and the fifth year in secondary school who had 600 hours of instruction, Cenoz (2003 in Dornyei, 2009:251) reported that the oldest group had the highest proficiency in English, followed by the intermediate group and the youngest group. The youngest learners where only better in attitudinal and motivational disposition from their older peers. The second study investigated Catalan learners of English in the Barcelona Age Factor (BAF) project and they found very similar findings. Several groups of learners (total N= 1928) with different AoA were examined three times, after 200 hours, 416 hours, and 726 hours of instruction. In the results older learners where progress faster in learning a foreign language than younger learners. Munoz (2006 in Dorny ei, 2009:251) concluded that after linger periods of time, younger starters did not outperform later starters, and the extensive span and size of this investigation makes this finding particularly robust. However, many authors point out that in formal language contexts younger learners are not better but worse. Thus, in recent initiatives they attempt to push forward the starting age of learning a foreign language as a school productive. Lightbown and Spada (2006 in Dornyei, 2009:251), conclude that older learners are possible to achieve a better use in L2 learning in limited time. When the goal is the basic communicative ability for all students in an educational system, and when the childs native language will remain the primary language, it may be more efficient to start learning a second or a foreign language teaching later. When the learners receive few hours of teaching per week, the learners who start later between 10 to 12 years old often are likely to caught up with the learners who start earlier. Some second or foreign languages programmes that start with very young learners and provide minimum of contact, usually they do not lead to much progress. On the other hand Ellis gives some facts of younger and older learners. According to Ellis (1994:491-492) adult learners have an initial advantage of learning, where rate of learning in concerned, particularly in grammar. Eventually adult learners can overtake the child learners that are exposed to L2. This is less likely to happen in instructional than in naturalistic settings because the critical amount of exposure is usually not available in the former. First, only child learners are able to acquire informal learning contexts. Long (1990 in Ellis, 1994:491-492) point out that the critical period is age 6, but Scovel point out that there is no evidence to support it and argues for a pre-puberty start. Also Singletton (1989 in Ellis, 1994:491-492) point out that children are able to acquire a native accent only if they are exposed to massive L2 learning. However, some children still do not manage to acquire a native like accent possible because they try to maintain active use of the ir L1. Adult learners may be able to acquire a native accent if they have an assistance of instruction, but more researchers have to take place to substantiate this claim. Second, children are more likely to acquire a native grammatical competence, as the critical period of grammar may be able to be later than for pronunciation, around 15 years old. But some adult learners, might achieve to acquire native levels of grammatical accuracy in speech and writing and linguistic competence. Third, children are more likely to reach higher levels of attainment in pronunciation and grammar than adults. Fourth, the process of acquiring a L2 does not really affected by the age, but the acquiring of pronunciation can be. Beside if younger learners or older learners are better, age can affect the mastery of native like learning as we saw above. Also Mark Patkowski (in Lightbown, 1999:61-62) studied the effect of age in acquisition of features of a second language, despite the accent. He pointed that even if the accent was ignored only the learners who start learning a second language before the age of 15 they could achieve full, native-like mastery of that language. Patkowski also examined the spoken English of 67 highly educated immigrants to the United States. The learners started to learn English in different ages, but all of them lived in the United States more than 5 years. Also 15 native-born Americans English speakers of spoken English from similarly high level of education take place to the research to show the validity of the research. In the research, a lengthy interview with each of the subjects in the study was tape recorded. Because Patkowski wanted to remove the possibility that the resu lts would be affected, he did not ask rates to judge the tape-recorded interviews themselves. Instead, he transcribed five-minute samples from the interviews. These samples were rated by trained native-speakers judges. The judges were asked to place each speaker on a rating scale from 0, representing no knowledge of the language, to 5, representing a level of English expected form an educated native speaker. The main question in Patkowskis research was: Will there be a difference between learners who began to learn English before puberty and those who began learning later? However, in the light of some of the issues discussed above, he also compared learners on the basis of other characteristics and experiences which some people have suggested might be as good as age in predicting or explaining a learners eventual success in mastering a second language. For example, he looked at the relationship between eventual mastery and the total amount of time a speaker had been in the United States as well as the amount of formal ESL instruction each speaker had had. The findings were remarkable, because thirty-two from the thirty-three learners who start learning English before the age of 15 years old scored 4+ or the 5 level. The homogeneity of the post-puberty learners seemed that the success of learning a second language was almost inevitable. On the other hand, was a variety in the levels that the post-puberty achieved. The majority of the post-puberty learners achieved +3 level, but a wide if distribution of levels achieved. The variety of the performance of this group were look more like the performance range were expected if someone were measuring success in learning, almost in any kind of skill or knowledge Patkowskis (in Lightbown, 1999:62-63) first question, Will there be a difference between learners who began to learn English before puberty and those who began learning English later?, was answered with a very resounding yes. Thus Patkowski found that the age of acquisition is very important factor for the development of native-like m astery of a second language and that does not only affect the accent. The experience and the research showed that native-like mastery of spoken language is difficult to achieve by older learners. Also, the ability to distinguish grammatical and ungrammatical sentences in a second language seems that is also affected by the age factor. However, according to Dornyei (2009:242) learners who are young enough in the critical period are still failing to master the L2 to a native like level. And, on the other hand are adult learners whose AoA is late, for example learners in their twenties, that has to be after the offset of the Critical Period and they succeed in acquiring native like proficiency. Also, there are evidences against the Critical Period hypothesis, an example that provided by Flege (2006 in Dornyei, 2009:242) are young learners of L2 whose L1 influence the pronunciation and it could still be detected after a long period in the host environment. And in another investigation that took place in 2007 by Jia and Fuse is that none of the ten immigrant children whose development followed by five year period in the USA manage to master the regular past tense -ed suffix at a minimum of 80% accuracy level, even thought the youngest children were 5 to 6 years old in the arrival and when the participated in mainstream schooling with additional English teaching. Birdsong (2006 in Dornyei, 2009:243) point out that few studies that have identified in early starter L2 learners that they should achieved native like proficiency but they do not as the Critical period defeating, native like adult L2 learners has received more attention in the literature. Common figures of post pubertal learners who reach a native like level range between 5 to 10% of learners in naturalistic environments. However there are two important points that adults can also do it. First, Birdsong (2007 in Dornyei, 2009:244) observed in his study that the late learners can success in phonetic training and also are having highly motivated to improve L2 pronunciation. Second, it appears that if you dig deep enough you can find chinks in the L2 armour, or even the most successful L2 adult learner. There various ways of accessing the native-like speaker judgment of L2 pronunciation, oral and written production tasks, even grammaticality judgements in more sophisticated probes such as examining subtle phonetic differences in voice onset time or intonation contour. It seems that even if standard measures identify someone to belong within the native-speaking range obtained of performance-usually within two standard deviations of the mean rating obtained for a native-speaking norm group- more elaborate techniques can still detect subtle deviations from the native norm. To conclude, there are many beliefs if age affects second language acquisition, if younger learners or older learners are better, if younger learners or older learners can achieve a native like language and if there is a critical period. In my opinion, learning a second language in younger age is more effective because is easier to save or remember new things, however if you are older learner there is a benefit to be able to practise the second language. And for my personal experience practising your second language and use the second language is how you learn it, instead of just learning a second language only in school context, through books, exercises, etc. In the second part of the native like proficiency I do not believe that the age matters but it matters from the person. Some people are more motivated to achieve a native like proficiency and they will try more, but other they just want to speak a second language and be able to understand them, nothing else. And for the third p art, if there is a critical period, I will agree as they say the children are like sponge, I will also agree with the part that says there is a time you stop learning as I believe in some point in your life you cannot handle new things, new words or new grammar but it happen in different stages for every person.

American Public Education - Obsessed with Being Average Essay -- Teach

American Public Education - Obsessed with Being Average A country's educational system is typically influenced by a variety of factors. Racial and ethnic attitudes, for example, can play an important role in policy formation and school administration. Language is a significant factor as well. Political and religious ideologies also are potent influences on the educational system. An average student’s registration into the educational system may be affected by such factors. What is the definition of an average student? What constitutes such a student to receive an â€Å"average† education? Mike Rose’s article â€Å"Tracking†, focused on the educational system and its effects on both normal and abnormal students. One student affected by this system was Ken Harvey. He was placed in the vocational track due to the labeling of the educational system. Ken Harvey’s statement, â€Å"I just wanna be average†, was a desperate call for help. No doubt, his placement in the educational system had a negative effect on his life. â€Å"Ken Harvey was gasping for air†. As brought out in the article, â€Å"schoo...