Freeman vs Friedman

Edward Freeman’s â€Å"Managing for stakeholders† was an interesting selection which clearly defined several possible stakeholders for a business, primary and secondary, and how important each one is to the survival of the business as is the survival of the business to their survival. Customers, bankers, financiers, employees, and suppliers are all stakeholders. The selection stressed how important it was for the executive of a given corporation to have the skill set to manage the relationship between the stakeholders and the corporation to create value for all over time. My personal reaction to the article was a positive one in the sense that it was a clear message and made sense. However, I feel the article was repetitive and a little too drawn out. I realize the importance of the examples and the different perspectives of managing stakeholders and putting yourself in their position. I learned a lot from this article, but it became tedious in the last seven pages. Milton Friedman’s article went into grave detail the social responsibilities of an individual vs. he social responsibilities of a business. He also explained the duties of the businessman: legislator, executive, and the jurist. He couldn’t understand how some businessman could be so â€Å"clear headed† regarding matters internal to their business but so â€Å"muddle headed† in matters outside their business in matters critical to their business’s survival. According to Friedman, there is one social responsibility for a business â€Å"engage in open and f ree competition without deception or fraud. My personal reaction to this article was that it was very difficult to read and comprehend. I had to reread the article and several sections of it several times to figure out what Friedman was trying to convey. I agree with Friedman’s one social responsibility for a business. However, when compared to Freeman’s article, his message was much clearer and defined better than Friedman’s.

12 Angry Men Sociological Analysis

â€Å"12 Angry Men† focuses on a jury’s deliberations in a capital murder case. A 12-man jury is sent to begin deliberations in the first-degree murder trial of an 18-year-old Latino accused in the stabbing death of his father, where a guilty verdict means automatic death sentence.The case appears to be open-and-shut: The defendant has a weak alibi; a knife he claimed to have lost is found at the murder scene; and several witnesses either heard screaming, saw the killing or the boy fleeing the scene. Eleven of the jurors immediately vote guilty; only Juror No.8 (Mr. Davis) casts a not guilty vote.At first Mr. Davis’ bases his vote more so for the sake of discussion after all, the jurors must believe beyond a reasonable doubt that the defendant is guilty. As the deliberations unfold, the story quickly becomes a study of the jurors’ complex personalities (ranging from wise, bright and empathetic to arrogant, prejudiced and merciless), preconceptions, backgro unds and interactions.That provides the backdrop to Mr. Davis’ attempts in convincing the other jurors that a â€Å"not guilty† verdict might be appropriate. A huge feel of the film is gotten through the time period it took place in.People’s views on race were made very publicly within the jury. Many of them seemed to have personal vendettas against different races. They deemed the boy’s Hispanic race to be slum and nothing more than that. A universal problem that is shown in several ways throughout the film is personal prejudice getting in the way of judgment.Juror number ten’s reason for saying the accused boy was guilty was because he felt people from slums should not be trusted and that they kill one and another for fun. His prejudice lead him to discriminate against the boy initially by voting guilty earlier in the film, before being convinced in voting not guilty.This was during the civil rights era and all of that. We all know blacks werenâ €™t treated equally and this makes it apparent that it wasn’t easy for any minority within the US. They’d rather lock them up and throw away the key than give them a fair trial. Tensions run high the second the jury went into the private room to deliberate.It was a very hot day outside and the fan wasn’t working nor would the windows open. No man wanted to  spend more time than what they thought would be efficient to determine the verdict. Some even spoke about their plans for right after, thinking it would be a sure bet they’d be out of there soon with the whole night ahead of them.They were wrong. From then on the film turned into an example straight out of a sociology textbook. Everyone didn’t deviate from the norm of the group†¦ All except one, Juror #8. The rest of the jury was outraged and deemed him a radical. They could not believe two things.One, that he voted not guilty, and second, that he went against the group norm. He tried not one bit to conform. Rather, he stood up in grand fashion and presented his doubts to his fellow jurors. Slowly but surely his grand scheme was working. He did not know for sure whether he was guilty or not guilty, but he had a reasonable doubt and that’s all about what the justice system stands for.It’s so interesting when you bring a group of 12 random people into a setting like a jury and see what you come up with. All of these men, from different walks of life , they all brought something special to the table that was vital to their key decision. The sociological theory that tone of this film could easily fall under is the conflict perspective.At the very beginning, viewers can clearly see the tension is between the jurors whom most have a personal prejudice against the boy for certain reason. Some jurors simply expected that a boy from the slums would commit an act like that they were stereotyping that all people who come from slums are criminals.Even if a per son is not personally prejudiced against and individual or group, stereotypes can have them make discriminatory actions such as vote guilty. The reason most of the jurors stereotyped the actions of the accused boys is because of socialization.The way of transmission was most likely through media; crimes shown by television new or new papers are frequently from neighborhood of low economics standing. Deviance a topic I touched on earlier, is another sociological aspect that can be examined in this film. Deviance is a very relative term where depending on the group and situation, it varies.Juror 8 was the only that felt from the beginning the boy was not guilty. When the first vote most of the other jurors by the fact he could think the boy was innocent and even were upset at him for thinking that. As the film progressed the jurors began changing their votes, eventually the roles were reversed; juror number 3 appear to be the one committing the deviant act since it is revealed his own reason for voting  guilty is because of issues with his own son.One of the most important things I learned in observing the sociological aspects of this film is how easy norms can change. The norms of eleven out of the twelve men voted guilty, changed entirely to guilty as the film came to a chose.

Postmodern and Hyper Reality

Modern Culture and Hybridization PAPER #1 3/18/2013 HUM310-09 Daniel Echeverria The world has drastically changed since the beginning of online dating and other social network sites. With the growing number of people getting connected in the network, the way older generations used to communicate with each other is slowly diminishing. Today’s social networking sites have altered the way we communicate with each other, changed the ways that we evaluate one another, and the way we express ourselves.Due to the vast amount of information that can be found on the internet, a person can know about another’s past, current social circle, and interests in a matter of minutes. This has completely changed the way our generation was taught to interact with each other. For so many people now-a-days it has also become part of their social identity. Characteristics and pictures may be exaggerated slightly or completely fabricated, with the intention of enhancing one’s identity f or outside observers.As more innovations in the cyber social network are developed, today’s post-modern culture society is heading toward an hyper reality. According to â€Å"Statistic Brain† a US statistics website, there are currently 50 million people single in the United States. 40 Million People have tried online dating.? The way we meet and interact with one another isn’t the same as was 30 years ago. Our generation was taught different on the subject of dating and â€Å"Getting to know† someone. What used to be the only way of building a relationship or dating is now changed with the amount of information that is on the internet.We have seen that in films, a man meets a woman, they have face-to-face interactions, they talk about themselves and who they are and what they want to become. 1. Statistic Brain â€Å"Online Dating Statistics†, online http://www. statisticbrain. com/online-dating-statistics (6/20/2012) Relationships started with get ting to know someone unknown, communicating with that someone, and building a relationship out of the experiences with them. Due to the growth of online dating and other network sites, a person can be reviewed before they can present themselves.Websites like Facebook & MySpace give the user a profile where they can give a description of who they are without directly telling anyone. Someone with a user profile in these websites can be looked up in within seconds just by typing in the other person’s name in a regular web search engine. The excitement of exploring the person’s personality quickly vanishes with a stroke of a button. What was once local pub, or local cafe, or night club as the only ideal destination for social networking has now become online dating websites and online social networks.Society has begun to adapt these dating methods by using the tools and information in the internet to evaluate one another prior to the actual dating. The traditional dating e xperience of discovery, surprise, and experience is slowly fading away. In Glenn Ward’s Teach Yourself series, Glenn talks about postmodernism and the changes we need to adapt to, â€Å"†¦ society, culture and lifestyle are today significantly different from what they were 100, 50 or even 30 years ago †¦. Old styles of analysis are no longer useful, and that new approaches and new vocabularies need to be created in order to understand the present. ? Due to the rapidly increasing information technology, and social network users, the 2. Ward, Glenn â€Å"Teach Yourself† (Teach Yourself, 1998) modern way to share and research anyone’s personal information is through the web. It can be can be used in many different ways, negative and positive. Law enforcement has used these social websites to investigate suspects and quickly have a better idea of who the person is. A users profile can quickly give brief information on where the user lives, interests, and social group.But it can also be used to leak viral information in seconds. A recent example was of a LAPD manhunt in February 2013. In early February 2013, a suspected criminal Christopher Dorner posted a manifesto exposing the violence of the LAPD in his Facebook profile. This information was instantly available to everyone to read and share before there was any attempt to destroy the manifesto. ? Another group that has adopted the social network sites as tools for evaluating individuals is employers. Now-a-days an employer can view an applicant’s profile to screen the individual.Or an employee can be affected by what he/she decides to put on their profile page. According to Oregonbuisness. com, a survey was conducted in Chicago in 2009, â€Å"Forty-five percent of employers reported in a recent CareerBuilder survey that they use social networking sites to research job candidates, a big jump from 22 percent last year. Another 11 percent plan to start using social networking sites for screening. More than 2,600 hiring managers participated in the survey, which was completed in June 2009. †? 3. Wikipedia, â€Å"Christopher Dorner† online http://en. wikipedia. rg/wiki/Christopher_Dorner (2/13/2013) 4. Oregon Business Report, â€Å"45% Employers use Facebook-Twitter to screen job candidates† online http://oregonbusinessreport. com/2009/08/45-employers-use-facebook-twitter-to-screen-job-candidates (8/24/2009) In other cases employees are fired for pictures they have posted and blogs they have written on their user profiles while on their personal time. It can be amazing how society has embraced and trusted information technology now when merely a few decades ago the public was nervous of having the same technology invade their privacy.Kimberly N Rosenfeld mentions this in her article Terminator to Avatar: A Postmodern Shift, â€Å"Cinematic representations of a society in shambles brought about by humankind’s losing control to i ts machines were popular with audiences in a period when the sociopolitical context fostered anxiety and technological mistrust. †? Although social networks provide the tools to the users so that they can express themselves, a user could use the profile to portray themselves as someone they are not.Not too long ago, punk rockers in the UK showed the world their rebellion through appearance and politically themed lyrics. During the 1980’s Iranian War, it was obligatory for young women to wear a veil at school. In Marjane Satrapi’s graphic novel â€Å"Persepolis† a young Iranian school girl identifies herself as a rebel by the way she dresses and the way she communicates her views. She dresses in public with a denim jacket, with Michael Jackson Pins and Nike shoes.Her image is that of a modern punk which was not tolerated from women at the time.? As mentioned earlier in this essay, a user’s personality can be now easily identified by viewing the userà ¢â‚¬â„¢s profile. Pictures, blogs, personal statements, comments on others pages, can easily describe 5. Rosenfeld N, Kimberly (Terminator to Avatar: A Post Modern Shift, 2010) 6. Satrapi, Marjane â€Å"Persopolis† (Random House Inc, 1969) who the user is. Society has adopted this form of self-expression and has become comfortable on showing their identity this way.The user has become so addicted to the world of online social networking that physical communication and real social networking is almost not preferred. Almost similar to a gamer feeling confident playing an online sport better than the actual sport itself. Rosenfeld also describes this while comparing the movie â€Å"Avatar† to modern hyper reality. â€Å"While inhabiting the body of their avatar, human drivers are able to manipulate the world around them, free from the constraints of their earthly life. Pandora is a place where interspecies communication and relationships are possible.It is also a place w here a paraplegic war torn veteran can experience once again the sensations of his limbs and the joy of living. †? In the â€Å"Pandora† of social networks, a person who has a nervous personality can feel fully comfortable communicating to another person without actually being in front of them. Again Rosenfield quotes director of â€Å"Avatar† James Cameron on his experience of a submarine expedition to the Titanic, â€Å"â€Å"I'm operating it, but my mind is in the vehicle. I felt like I was physically present inside the shipwreck of Titanic. So, it was this absolutely remarkable experience. †? As technology advances, we can expect to see more of these virtual realities develop. It’s inevitable that we will be communicating with one another more and more through online networks than by person anymore. The line between reality and hyper reality will become 7. Rosenfeld N, Kimberly (Terminator to Avatar: A Post Modern Shift, 2010) 8. Rosenfeld N, K imberly (Terminator to Avatar: A Post Modern Shift, 2010) blurred for post-modern society as more people use online identities to interact.The way we used to express ourselves, from the way that we dress or the way that we talk, will be another fad lost in history. Technology will use a search engine to influence our decision on which person we want meet and communicate with. Profiles and â€Å"Avatars† will replace human personalities and online worlds will become to feel much easier to live in. Rosenfeld talks about how the movie Avatar is a prediction on how society is slowly changing their views and attitudes toward the â€Å"real life†. â€Å"We find in Pandora simulacra of a post humanist future.The utopian quality of this film’s magical world has even resulted in an uncommon public reaction, post viewing depression, as several news sources have reported. Maybe the public is especially sensitive to the contrast between the film’s hyper reality and the current reality of our depressed economy. When these viewers walk out of the theater, they are let down at returning to live in the actual world they must inhabit†. ? 9. Rosenfeld N, Kimberly (Terminator to Avatar: A Post Modern Shift, 2010) Works Cited 1. Statistic Brain â€Å"Online Dating Statistics†, online http://www. tatisticbrain. com/online-dating-statistics (6/20/2012) 2. Ward, Glenn â€Å"Teach Yourself† (Teach Yourself, 1998) Wikipedia, â€Å"Christopher Dorner† online http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Christopher_Dorner (2/13/2013) 3. Oregon Business Report, â€Å"45% Employers use Facebook-Twitter to screen job candidates† online http://oregonbusinessreport. com/2009/08/45-employers-use-facebook-twitter-to-screen-job-candidates (8/24/2009) 4. Rosenfeld N, Kimberly (Terminator to Avatar: A Post Modern Shift, 2010) 5. Satrapi, Marjane â€Å"Persopolis† (Random House Inc, 1969)

Active Shooter, National Security Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Active Shooter, National Security - Term Paper Example An analysis of the situation shows that the University of Northern Florida (UNF) sits on more than 1400 acres of land and has a student population of approximately 60,000. The UNF has multiple campuses. There is a campus police unit located within the University who patrol the university grounds at regular intervals, though they are unarmed. There is an ongoing basketball game at the 9500 seat university arena with the campus police providing security. Shooting erupts at the spectator section in the arena during which approximately 15 individuals suffer gunshot wounds and several other individuals are critically wounded. The shooter escapes from the arena in the melee. Prior to the game, a note was found in the men’s restroom that intimated at a possible attack within the UNF compound. A security meeting, held after the note had been found but prior to the basketball game commencement determined that the university security measures were adequate to handle any potential securi ty threats. The first safety action would be to secure the incident area, in this case the university arena in which a basketball game had been proceeding when the shooting occurred. Firstly, the area is secured by locking and barricading all entrance and exit points into the arena. In this case all available materials can be used to block the entrances, for instance bleachers, tables, and other furniture. This action is conducted to ensure that the shooter(s) do not get access to the incident area, or if they are in the incident area then they are contained. Secondly, all persons in the incident area are to be moved away from clear lines of sight and positioned behind barricades and solid objects. This removes them from the shooter(s) possible line of sight and shields from bullets. Thirdly, the entrances are barricaded if the assailant enters or leaves the incident area. Finally, the persons in the incident area can seek a safer refuge if they

Structure, Culture, Define, & Estimate Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Structure, Culture, Define, & Estimate - Essay Example According to the report findings  members contribute wholesomely to the project hence making it a success. The knowledge and needs of stakeholders are ingrained into WBS, allowing members to understand their place within the project. In addition, WBS portrays significant aspects of project, ensuring that all members align to tasks and processes being administered.  According to the paper it is clear that additional information required to help the project manager, Nicolette, is derived from previous events and plans within the industry . In using the previous WBS events, some adverse past issues can be eliminated since they become lessons in the current project. Learning and adoption of best practice becomes the norm. Information on how soccer events organized by other clubs in the area exists. The contacts of their project managers need to be obtained. The project manager will have a wider understanding about project expectations by liaising with them. People within the club and committee with past tournament project involvement, can assist in defining requirements and other project management issues. Nicolette can contact Chelsea football club to get access to professional referees and additional coaching on club leadership.  The project manager is able to map out requirements and individual tasks in order to complete the whole process. Identification of these tasks and requirements allows the project manager to accurately estimate and identify costs.

Ethics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics - Essay Example Business ethics generally means the philosophy of business. This will determine the fundamental proposes of the company. If any company is intending to maximize the returns to its share holders then that would be called as unethical since it is depriving the interests and rights of some one else. Corporate social responsibility or CSR is widely debated regarding the rights and duties existing between and society. Industrial espionage and hostile takeovers are the issues concerning different companies. Leadership issues, corporate contributions that too political contributions are being the worst debated ethical issues within business law. Introducing a new reform under the law reform is the crime like corporate manslaughter which is being opposed by the biggest business houses to make them self's more secure. Business law must be generally governed under the law and the justice should be equally distributed. Corporate ethics policies are being misused as marketing instruments. Since business law does not come under the criminal law and any deviation is considered under the civil law and hence these deviations are not taken seriously.

Personal Development Process Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Personal Development Process - Essay Example The awkward resolution of a complaint, initiated by Tom, escalated into an uncontained environment that fuelled unsafe and untrustworthy feelings among the group. Toms trouble and unresolved issues with the tutor and college resulted in him feeling isolated, which I understood completely. I could tell this not only for the fact that I had been sitting always close to him but from his very often withdrawn stance and body language. I reflected on how Toms case affected me so much. I could feel his struggle to fight for some basic recognition of his rights as a student, but most importantly as a human being, who as far as I understood was left to his own devices. A strong sense of power and justice came over me from the way Tom was treated. Aware of my tendency to play the role of a rescuer, I held back in making any kind of intervention in relation to his position to the group. However, I also felt that I could no longer ignore Toms actions as part of the group. This time, my rescue mode with Tom had a different flavour. I was recognising that my approach had more to do with me trying to understand Toms world and his experiences of it rather than my need to be useful and feel good about rescuing him. Tom formed in me a sense of vulnerability and the anxious and unsettling feeling of not knowing what to do. The fact that only in the middle of the term was made aware that he had to re-write his essay, even after talking to some senior members of the college, made me think of the unbalanced power that we were possibly subjected to. Silence was very much a focus of this PD term. Many questions were asked about the reason for it and what it provoked in us. I have the view that silence is at times a comfortable and reflective space to be in, but it can also be uncomfortable at the same time. Tashi felt agitated by silence because of the unknown element it brought into the room. My experience of silence was similar

Reflective Practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words - 1

Reflective Practice - Essay Example As Eisner (1991, p6) observes, the successes and accurate interventions of critical reflection are discussed below against potential missing links to development as supported by various literature perspectives. Most arguments for reflective practice hold the opinion that it is a very vital tool for designing development. Both teaching and learning outcomes form an important concept in education, which takes form from the quality of experiences that the teacher and learner make out of the learning process. Critical evaluation and reflection entails learning skills that individuals develop towards a sustainable progression in application of knowledge in life and career. Reflection is an important function of mental processing that enables application of thinking in the formulation of a solution to a task aimed at specific outcomes (Boulton-Lewis, Brownlee, Dart & McCrindle 1998). The application of mental skills in such a task may follow complex or unstructured knowledge to arrive at the anticipated outcome. Personal and professional development concepts adopt self-reflection and evaluation as strong tools to exploit personal abilities for a sustainable and consistent performance (Boutrup, L eerberg and Riisberg 2010, p7). Proponents of this position however fail to demonstrate the importance of personal initiative in designing one’s reflective assessment. Commonly available reflective skills are taught, which shows lack of development of initiative minds among learners and professionals if mental skills are to be developed in an equal measure. Another common element of argument for reflective practice is that both formal and informal reflective play a vital role in the development of an all-round individual in the respective performance tasks in life, learning, and career. Reflection skills facilitate the approach that individuals adopt to internalize knowledge and ideas to make

The consumption of ice cream increases, so do the instances of Essay

The consumption of ice cream increases, so do the instances of drowning - Essay Example Ice-cream consumption (first variable) and the incidence of drowning (second variable) may show a positive correlation, but the consumption does not cause the incidence. This may be common sense, but this simple example demonstrates the issue of spurious correlation being taken as evidence for implying causality. In Correlation Theory, the coefficient of correlation simply measures the ‘goodness of fit’ of sample of the data for the two variables i.e. how well they correlate together. It â€Å"does not necessarily indicate a direct dependence of the variables† (Spiegel, M). â€Å"The problem of interpretation is always very much more difficult to deal with than the statistical manipulations, and for this side of the work there is no substitute for detailed practical acquaintance with every aspect of the problem.† (Moroney, M) Conclusions based on the correlation findings are only good as the interpretative ability of the analyst and his or her acquaintance with every detail or aspect of the problem. The possibility of other variables affecting the ones being compared should always be considered to account for the relationship being tested if there is any inkling of a spurious correlation. In our example, a third variable of temperature relates to both the existing variables of ice-cream consumption and instances of drowning and better explains the phenomenon. More ice-cream is consumed in hot weather especially during the summer heat. This tendency to consume more during hot weather is understandable my most people, and can easily be ascertained by examining the sales figures of ice-cream parlours. These are well known to show seasonal fluctuations being higher in summer and lower in winter. As for drowning, this too can be explained as being a more common occurrence in summer simply because more people like to and do spend more time either in or near water. This can be near lakes, rivers, seasides, and

Alternative Energy Essay Example for Free

Alternative Energy Essay Alternative Energy whether used for transportation or utilities such as generating electricity for home or business is a very significant subject going on right now because of the benefits it would provide for us, such as environmental, economic, job security and energy security. I believe alternative energy would be beneficial to our society, especially if it is used in transport; there is many other better, leaner and reusable energy sources out there, for example fuel for vehicles pollutes the air and yet can be changed by using a more natural source that doesnt create as much pollution if not any If we were to experiment more with the usage of natural elements, without mentioning that it would be cheaper for all of us in the long run. Evidence Despoiling nature to get at the tiny trickle of oil we have left wont make any significant difference in what we pay at the pump not now and not ever. And it wont make our country any less dependent on foreign fuel. Our thirst for oil is bad for national security, bad for our economy and bad for the environment, America needs to say no to pumping up Big Oils profits and yes to forging a new clean energy economy. -Build the Clean Energy Economy, www.nrdc.org ?(accessed Feb. 25, 2009). The nation is finally realizing that the solutions to these twin crises are linked. That is because nearly everything that is good for the environment and practically everything that is good in the fight against global warming is a job. We can power America through this recession by repowering America with clean energy. We can create millions of jobs that will make our people wealthier and the Earth healthier. (Jones, 2008) The U.S. renewable energy resource base is vast and practically untapped. Available wind energy resources in 12 Midwestern and Rocky Mountain states equal about 2.5 times the entire electricity production of the United States, Complete elimination of CO2 could occur as early as 2040. Elimination of nuclear power could also occur in that time frame. (Makhijani, 2007) Biofuels can provide a number of environmental advantages over conventional fossil fuels-most notably a reduction in greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Since the transportation sector accounts for about a third of total U.S. emissions of carbon dioxide (an abundant GHG), cleaner transp ortation fuels can play an important role in addressing climate change. -Environmental Benefits of Biofuels, www.doe.gov ?(accessed July 8, 2008) Solar power is a prime choice in developing an affordable and feasible global power source that can substitute fossil fuels in all the worlds climate zones. The solar radiation reaching the earths surface in one year provides more than 10,000 times the worlds yearly energy needs, with the right product, therefore offering customers the type of added value they are looking for, coupled with innovative marketing technologies such as solar electricity should be able to compete with grid power in industrialized countries.- Solar Generation: Solar Electricity for Over One Billion People and Two Million Jobs by 2020, www.epia.org, ?Sep. 2006. Counterarguments It is estimated that there is enough oil and natural gas offshore and in non-wilderness and non-park lands in the United States but currently ruled off-limits for production by the federal government to fuel 50 million cars and heat nearly 100 million homes for the next 25 years. -â€Å"PuttingAmericasEnergyResourcesto Work, www.exxonmobil.com,?June 2008. Taking into account the EIAs [US Energy Information Agency] projected increases in electricity demand, the renewable sector would need to grow 19% per year for 22 years consecutively to meet U.S. demand by the year 2030. Clearly, these targets are overly ambitious and impractical The government cannot create wealth or jobs; all it can do is take from Peter to pay Paul, opening up a job in green industry A by eliminating one in fossil fuel industry B. (Murphy, 2008) We want to be very clear: solar cells, wind turbines, and biomass-for-energy plantations can never replace even a small fraction of the highly reliable nuclear, fossil and hydroelectric power stations. Claims to the contrary are popular, but irresponsible. (Patzek, Pimentel, 2005) The use of corn for ethanol has led to major increases in the price of U.S. beef, chicken, pork, eggs, breads, cereals, and milk a boon to agribusiness and bane to consumers, as global population soars to 8 or 9 billion toward mid-century, and a s we burn more grain as fuel, shortages and production costs could cause grain prices to skyrocket, taking food from the mouths of the worlds poorest people. (Pimentel, 2008). The suns energy is too widely dispersed and the land area required to collect it too vast for solar to become a large-scale power source. The suns energy is too widely dispersed and the land area required to collect it too vast for solar to become a large-scale power source, he solar problem is that no matter how you design the system it will always be inefficient and capture only a small, uneconomical amount of solar energy. (Leher, 2005) We can come to a conclusion that there are many viable alternate sources of energy that we can and should use to supply our energy needs other than fossil fuels and coal, but if we really want to change the energy we use, we need to make a dramatic change. Even if at a first impression we might think it is more expensive to switch to Alternate energy for transport, imagine how it would be like to have cars that don’t need gas to run, in the long run it would be beneficial not only to our wallets but also to our environment, if we really want a change we should start investing in alternative energy now.

Ethical Issues in Cloning

Ethical Issues in Cloning Thesis Statement: Although cloning has been successful to a certain extent, there have also been a high percentage of failures which has raised some ethical issues. Preface I was in a dilemma whether to choose teen pregnancy or cloning. When I did some research for these 2 topics, I realized cloning has been around for decades and I thought it was only quite recent. My misunderstanding led me to further research on the topic. However, I was also researching on teen pregnancy as it is quite common these days. There are cases of teen pregnancy in the newspapers. It is shocking to see cases with pregnant girls as young as nine-years old. There are human cloning and animal cloning. Some pets are also cloned. It is quite surprising that people would want to clone their pets as it is very costly. Human cloning has caused a debate. Certain religions such as Protestants, Catholics, Buddhism and Islam think that cloning a human is like being God. They do not think it is right. Also, there are many risks involved. On the contrary, there are some who thinks that it is peoples own decision. It is like your freedom rights. You can make the decision. After much deliberation, I decided cloning is much more interesting. I am sure not many people know a lot about cloning. Teen pregnancy is a common topic, one that you have heard many times. Therefore, ultimately, I chose the topic cloning. Introduction Cloning describes the processes used to create an exact genetic replica of another cell, tissue or organism. The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as a clone. There are three different types of cloning: Gene cloning, Reproductive cloning and Therapeutic cloning. Gene cloning creates copies of genes or segments of DNA. It can identify genetic abnormalities. Reproductive cloning creates copies of whole animals. Therapeutic cloning creates embryonic  stem cells. It is for medical use. Researchers hope to use these cells to grow healthy tissue to replace injured or diseased tissues in the human body. (National Human Genome Research Institute viewed 31 July 2010) The purpose of reproductive cloning is for research. It uses a method called Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT). It can repopulate endangered species or make breeding of certain animals less difficult and can produce creatures with particular traits, such as genetically special animals. (Therapeutic cloning vs. reproductive cloning, viewed 31 August 2010) In 1996, scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland have successfully cloned a sheep, named Dolly. However, Dolly was produced only after 276 attempts. The success rate ranges from 0.1 percent to 3 percent, which means that for every 1000 tries, only 1 to 30 clones are made. (What are the risks of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) Cloning has its disadvantages and advantages. Some advantages are solution to infertility; provide treatments for variety of diseases and genetic modification. Some disadvantages are the uncertainty of science technology, the great diseases and leading to extinction. There are also ethical issues such as unnatural acts, changing the diversity of society and risks of abuse and exploitations. Although cloning has been successful to a certain extent, there have also been a high percentage of failures which has raised some ethical issues. 1. Advantages of cloning 1.0 Provide organs for transplantation If it is possible to clone the essential organs or body parts of the human body, then they may be able to operate as support systems. The cloned body parts can act as human beings lifesaver. For example, when a kidney or any other organ fail to act properly, it may be possible to use the newly cloned organ and take out the spoiled organ. Cloning can make new organs required for organ transplants. It offers hope to people needing organ transplants since people requiring them often have to wait for years for an appropriate donor. There are many cases whereby patients die waiting because of the numerous people requiring organs. (Human cloning viewed 31 July 2010) Also, patients with an implanted organ must take loads of medicine that can cause side effects everyday as long as they live. This is to guarantee that their body does not reject the implanted organ. These side effects can decrease their life quality. Anyone can clone his or her own organs. The cloned organ would be produced from the body cell of the person who needs the transplant. This will reduce the high risk of the body rejecting the cloned organ since it has the same genetic code. This will be harmless and directly help the patients. Cloning can get rid of this problem by creating more animals who can be suitable donors. There are successful cases of pig livers being transplanted to humans as a temporary measure while waiting for a human liver. In addition, a burn victim can be helped by growing skin using his or her own skin cells and cloning them. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.1 Solution to infertility Approximately 15% of Americans are infertile. Most of the time, doctors are unable to help them. Federal statistics reveal that in-vitro fertilization and other related technologies have a success rate of less than 20%. These technologies cannot help many couples. Couples are having a hard time trying to have children and they must go through painful procedures. In addition, they are also expensive and take up a lot of time. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) Due to the ethical issues of cloning, some states have prohibited human cloning. However, couples struggling to have children are now beginning to mull over the promises that cloning presents. The current infertility treatments are not improving as many people think that infertility is not a medical problem. Thus, cloning can be the answer to infertility. Doctors can implant the cloned embryos into the bodies of infertile women. Hence, these women can have their own babies and it can remove the mental and physical pains of many infertile couples. (The advantages of cloning viewed 31 July 2010) 1.2 Increasing populations of endangered species Cloning can help to increase the populations of species who are in danger of extinction. It may be even possible to reverse the extinctions that by now would have occurred. Even though conservationists worldwide are doing their best already, there are still some species that are near to extinction. To save the scarce species, conservations have used captive propagation programs. There is a need for further propagation programs due to limitations such as constrained physical space for animals, problems with animal husbandry, and common reproductive failure of the animals. (CLONING: Bringing Back Endangered Species viewed 7 August 2010) A majority of ethicists who disagree strongly with human cloning spots no trouble in using this method to save endangered species. Since 1973, the bucardo was listed as an endangered species. However, officials were unable to stop the poaching and the total destruction of their habitats that finally led to the bucardos extinction. In another case, there are a few remaining Chinese panda which will most probably be cloned. (CLONING: Bringing Back Endangered Species viewed 7 August 2010) 1.3 Genetic engineering It is achievable to produce a particular characteristic in humans. Parents have the chance to select the traits that they want present in their child. For example, they want their child to be as smart as Albert Einstein. This makes it possible to produce people with certain merits, particular pleasing personality, thus humans become a man-made being. Some scientists believe that cloning is good as humans can be in charge of their evolvement so the world can produce more artists, athletes and scientists. Cloning can bring back peoples dead ancestors to life. For example, if you want to produce your great-grandmother, you only need to preserve some samples of her body cells. It is that simple. (Human cloning viewed 31 July 2010) 1.4 Provide treatments for different diseases Cloning of stem cells can provide treatments for different diseases. With the proper prompts, stem cells are able to change into other cell types. Hence, it is possible for doctors to replace the tissues and injured organs to reinstate healthy function. Therapeutic applications of stem cells potentially could treat illnesses including: Parkinsons disease, diabetes, Alzheimers disease, stroke, heart attack, multiple sclerosis, blood, bone and bone marrow ailments, severe burns by providing skin grafts, spinal cord injuries, and cancer patients who have lost cells and tissue to radiation and chemotherapy. (The advantages of cloning 31 July 2010) Cloning can cure terminal diseases. Patients may be cured if doctors try to develop a helpful gene therapy. 1.5 Research purposes Scientists are able to take modified organisms and utilize them for the health benefits of society. Duplicating animals by cloning can be used for research purposes. This can help researchers in genetics as they may understand more on the arrangement of genes and the effects of hereditary constituents on human characteristics. They can simplify their study of genes since they can change the genetic components in the human being who is cloned. (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-cloning.html) It is crucial to research on cloning so that well-matched tissues and organs can be created for the patients who are being treated with stem cell therapy. Stem cells must be obtained from embryos created by a patients own cells. This will not allow any rejection problems related to organ and tissue transplants. This would require research cloning. If research cloning is restricted, therapies helpful to millions of people could be delayed. Delays cannot be allowed in the progress of techniques that could save many lives or put a stop to suffering. It is intolerable to restrict and form of medical research in a free society. People have their rights to practice any scientific investigation, especially medical investigation. Our lives have already been enhanced immeasurably by medical technology. Therefore, we ought to maintain continuous improvement. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con viewed 10 August 2010) 1.6 The healthiness of infants Cloning can abolish the worries concerning the health of a child. Scientists can modify the genes to guarantee a healthy child. For example, if a mother has given birth to a child who suffers from Downs syndrome. Doctors will be able to control and balance out the number of chromosomes in the embryo so that the child may be normal and healthy. (The advantages of cloning viewed 31 July 2010) This will ensure that the child will grow up with no disorders and will be a normal child. 1.7 Improving food supply In the agricultural business, people can improve the quality and quantity of beef by simply cloning the farm animals with desired characteristics. Diseases like foot and mouth disease could be eliminated. Cloning can also cultivate crops that are tougher and more resilient to diseases. Therefore, cloning may successfully resolve the worlds food problem and lessen or if possible, eliminate starvation. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.8 Reverse the aging process Cloning can reverse the effects of aging and our aging process. The anti-aging market is already a multibillion industry. Every cloned body cell is a brand new cell. It is the precise replica of an existing cell. However, the difference is it is not as old as the model. A person could make his body younger by cloning his body cells and implanting these cells into his body when he is older. This method can allow humans to live up to any age they want. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.9 Cosmetic surgery Cloning can help improve reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. Even until now, cosmetic surgery may be dangerous as the used equipments are unknown to the body. For example, silicone breast implants can cause immune disease. Doctors have the skill to construct bone, fat and connective tissue that can precisely match the patients tissues. Therefore, if a person wants to change his or her appearance, there would be no risks involved. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 2. Disadvantages of cloning 2.0 Loosing the diversity of genes Human beings need DNA variety for survivability in future particularly if there are unpredictable things. Cloning can drastically hinder that. This is because matching genes are created by cloning and it is procedure of duplicating the entire genetic constitution. Humans will be so alike in human cloning. They will have the same type of genes. The genetic characteristics of its ancestor will be passed on to the next human clone. This will include genetic abnormalities and diseases. (Pros and cons of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) For example, some think that Dolly the sheep had signs of premature aging, but her developers confidently denied it. There is a risk of the whole population getting infected by the similar kind of pathogen. Everyone cannot have the same type of genes and be close to one another otherwise they might not be able to protect themselves against the similar type of severe disease. People cannot foresee or guess when viruses or other harmful agents grow. So, the cloned species will not know how to respond to it. It will be a huge disaster if everyone gets affected. For example, all the rice in the world is cloned. Gradually, only one type of rice is produced but with more nutrition. Soon, the other types of rice are not produced anymore and its DNA variants cease to exist. Later in the future, the rice crop is hit by a disease and is totally wiped out. The world will be lack of rice. (What are the pros and cons of cloning? viewed 31 July 2010) 2.1 Inbreeding Parents have special sets of genes and this leads to the diversity of genes. Cloning can cause inbreeding as human cloning copy the matching genes. The diversity of genes will lessen. So everyone will have similar genotype and keep on procreating among themselves. Finally, it leads us to our own extinction. The differences that we see in people are the splendor of humanity and cloning will get rid of surprises since all look alike.(Disadvantages of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 2.2 Risk of abuse If man is allowed to meddle with genetics in humans, then cloning can increase the probability of intentional reproduction of unattractive characteristics in humans if it is so preferred. This may cause open up likelihood of abuse in medical fraternity. Scientists might misuse the technology. If a couple is not happy with their clone, what is the next step they might choose? Some people say that clones can be grown in a farm-like approach just for harvesting organs or stem cells. We must not ignore the prospect of devaluing human life for life is precious. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 2.3 The uncertainty of science and technology Science and technology cannot provide solutions for every problem. Not even the scientists can promise that they can solve everything. Behind every problem, there are clearly several possible crises. Naturally, these doubts are not practical to bring to a standstill all the developments of science and technology. There is no guarantee that if the human clone survives, it will develop normally. (Disadvantages of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) The incident of trying to clone new mammals indicates that most of the human clones would have genetically related diseases. If there was creation of embryos, majority of them would have critical deformity, several of which only will be evident late in pregnancy. Testing for genetic deformity would eradicate a percentage of such deformities, but only at the expense of getting rid of the unborn baby itself. Out of the many babies born alive, many will have disabilities being inflicted on them negligently due to the methods used to create them. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.4 The element of uncertainty Dolly, the cloned sheep, was regarded as an achievement story. However, before Dolly was cloned, there were actually many embryos which were destroyed. The cloning process began with 277 eggs, of which only Dolly is the successful result. The field of cloning still needs to improve a lot apart from the success in other areas. For example, for infertile couples, if in-vitro fertilization failed, they may go through the similar distress. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 2.5 Potential costs At the moment, reproducing animals by other ways are much cheaper than to clone. Although the failure rate of cloning is expected to reduce, it still remains high if cloning is taken on a wider scale in addition to the cost. There will be many disabled babies and many pregnant women who have suffered a lot to make cloning safe. Some people may be unwilling to eat the cloned meat. Hence, the value of the cloned animals will decrease. (What are the pros and cons of cloning? viewed 31July 2010) 2.6 Research cloning Several studies have proposed that research cloning would not be an essential or attractive method to overwhelm immune rejection. Developing stem cells are shown to be less expected to encourage rejection following transplantation than other cell types. If this is verified to be true, beneficial tissues can be developed from obtainable embryonic stem cell lines rather than from the cell lines modified for an individual patient. Another current investigation suggests that by reprogramming a few of the patients individual cells, it may ultimately accomplish identical results. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con, viewed 10 August 2010) Research cloning would be very expensive if it is used in the routine medical measures. It would be very labor demanding and costly to create the cloned embryos. Womens health supporters are apprehensive about the healthiness and social justice implications of creating a human eggs market where most of the donors are probably poor women. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.7 Health risks It is not only the child who would be mistreated in such untried reproduction but also those women who want to gestate a cloned child. The women would be in danger of trauma of an extremely high rate of miscarriage, the shock of being offered abortion when serious deformities were found in the uterus, and the wellbeing risks of a hard and unusual pregnancy. It would be reckless of the scientists to inflict such risks on any human no matter what the motives of the women who decided to take part. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.8 A type of parental control The cloned child would have no genetic parents. The child would be a replica of some live person, perhaps someone who had only just died. Even though the clone has survived and is in good shape, he will most likely live in the shadow of the original person, under pressure to be alike that person he was created to be similar to. The childrens interest in establishing their own identity is compromised. The childs freedom is subjected unfairly to the parents wishes. This makes cloning a type of extreme parental control because the child is created as a replica of a person selected by the parents. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 3. Ethical issues of cloning 3.01 ‘Closed future Some people believe that cloning will cause children to not have an open future as they will become exactly like the person they are a clone of. They may also be exactly the opposite of the person they are a clone of. Religious organizations think that cloning gives humans a lot of power and that cloning does not care about the truth that every human has matchless soul. (Cloning, viewed 11 August 2010) 3.02 Unnatural way A lot of people think that cloning is unnatural as cloning needs a considerably bigger level of participation and meddling with animals reproductive performance than traditional production methods. Some religious groups, such as Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist faiths, do not accept animal cloning. They view cloning and genetic modification as equivalent to playing God. Many others perceive this as an infringement of the distinctiveness of a human life, which each of us and no one else have received from God. (Cloning information, cloning ethics) Can we play God? Some think that we should just let things be the way they are as that is the way they are meant to be and we should not try to change that as it is natures creation. Others think that the world can be free of cancers and tumors and perhaps save lives too. Others believe in restricting the means of unique types of cloning using harmless ways. (Understanding the issues of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.03 Risk of abuse People fear that someone would form armies of military or even create huge amounts of human resources. This would result in clones being treated as the lower class people or the second class people and compromising individualities. Human cloning can bring serious jeopardy of abuses to human self-esteem and misuse by corrupt people. (Cloning information, cloning ethics, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.04 Morally wrong to kill or extend life Although therapeutic cloning presents the possibility for caring for humans who are suffering from ailment or wounds, the procedure of taking out stem cells is the same as killing the human being as it will involve the annihilation of embryos. Religious and morally traditionally people think that is morally wrong to take the life of one person just to save or extend another persons life. However, other people believe that embryos do not need any ethical thoughts as it is just a cluster of cells that holds the DNA when is cloned, and are similar to the millions of skin cells that we discard daily. At that stage, the embryonic cells should not be thought of as the same as humans as the brain, feelings, inner organs, body and so on are not present. They believe that only when the brain grows and becomes conscious of itself then it has attained human personhood. (Rita Putatunda) 3.05 Not the exact same animal Every creature that is shaped by life experience is more than an incarnation of his DNA. The cloned animal would look identical and bring pet lovers happy memories but it is not the same animal that they are looking at. Only the DNA is the same. (Wayne Pacelle) 3.06 Genetic disorders If a particular animal is cloned several times and it has a virus, then its clones would bear the identical virus and this may cause a food shortage. It is likely that genetic disorders will occur. If a section of DNA is taken from a person to be duplicated, that person may be bearing a code for some kind of ailment which the symptoms of it would not show till later in that persons life. Thus, that same code would be duplicated to make another person carry the same ailment. (Understanding the issues of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.07 Pollute the diversity Reproducing traits that parents want would pollute the diversity of the world. If people can decide what traits their child should have, majority would choose the traits of well-known people who are very clever or gorgeous. Cloning can cause designer babies as the fertilized egg cell can be made better with additional genes for particular traits. The cloned people would be so alike in characteristics and their thinking that the world would be a very dull place if this were the case. (Understanding the issues of cloning) Moreover, the egg cell can be checked for genetic diseases. If the disease does not exist, it can be placed in the womans womb, or else it will be destroyed. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 3.08 Unknown identity of the child There are some who think that cloning is not safe for delivery of the baby. They are of the opinion that babies should not be created by unnatural ways and should have a variety of genes different from his parents. For the cloning purposes, the egg is obtained from a different woman; sperm is obtained from a different man who is not the father of the baby and is inseminated in the laboratory. The fertilized embryo is then placed in another mother who is not the one whom the egg was obtained. It will be unsure who the biological parents of the child are when the child is born. The childs identity will continue to be a mystery. (Ethical issues related to human and animal cloning, viewed 1 July 2010) 3.09 Clash with religious principles There is a possibility that reproductive cloning may create a human that is genetically matching to a person who was formerly alive or who now currently is live. This might clash with ancient religious and common principles on self-respect, perhaps violating the main beliefs of individual liberty, individuality and sovereignty. However, some people disagree with that. They believe that infertile couples can achieve their vision of parenthood by reproductive cloning. Other people think human cloning is a method to steer clear of a destructive gene that is hereditary in the family without having to go through embryo testing. (What are some of the ethical issues related to cloning, viewed 3 August 2010) 3.10 Worsen the wellbeing of animals Cloning may cause people to treat animals like an object. People may treat these living emotional beings as plain machinery for human creation. Also, communities are becoming more and more conscious of the handling of farm animals. A lot of people are worried for cloning worsens the wellbeing of animals as the animals are likely to bear hurting infections of udder, lameness and also production related diseases. (Ethics, viewed 3 August 2010) 3.11 Different personalities Cloning cannot make sure that the genetically similar humans will have the similar individual thinking or goals as the model. For instance, it is not certain that the baby whose embryo was made better with genes for musical talent will become a well-known pianist one day. Even if the child has a musical flair, it is for him to decide whether he will use them or not. If the child has no interest in going for piano lessons, then the talent will remain undiscovered. It is the same problem when one tries to replace the one he loves. Impractical hope on how the personality will be may cause disappointments. Obviously the outer appearance of the clone will be closely identical but the character may be poles apart. The clone cannot be a replacement for another person. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 3.12 Two classes of people There will be two classes of humans if most of the people are cloned, the one whos gene is enhanced and the one who is produced naturally. The one whose gene is enhanced will definitely have many advantages in life as they were given particular flairs. They will be rich as only the rich ones will have enough money to improve their child with particular genes. They also have a higher chance of obtaining better jobs than other people due to their particular talents so they will be even wealthier. Affluent people always have loads of power. Sooner or later, the well-off gene-enhanced people may be the most influential ones. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) Conclusion Given the advanced technology and the success of the cloned sheep, Dolly, more scientists will be trying their best to improve the process of cloning. As seen from the information above, cloning is still not an advanced technology. There are a lot of risks involved that concern the health of the humans and the clones. I feel that it is unfair for us to intervene in choosing the special talents for our children. We should be happy with what we have and our own talents. It is unfair to other people if we enhance our own genes. Cloning costs a lot and only those wealthy people can afford it. What about those less wealthy people? This may cause an even bigger inequality in our society which we would want to avoid. Also, it is unnatural. Although cloning can make us immortal, in the long run, it will cause overpopulation in the world. There are both sides to cloning which we must consider very seriously before we legalize or ban it. It is an issue which must be handled carefully. Cloning can bring the world benefits but can also destroy us. Both sides of the arguments seem very convincing. Everyone will have different opinions to cloning based on their religious values or their own principles. It is difficult to say whether cloning is ethically right or wrong. If the government decides to legalize it, there will definitely be some people who will protest against it and vice versa. The government must ensure that cloning is not used for the wrong and unethical purposes. It can be dangerous if the technology of cloning is in the wrong hands. Who knows what hidden motives they have? Human lives are very important. We must not devalue our lives. Ethical Issues in Cloning Ethical Issues in Cloning Thesis Statement: Although cloning has been successful to a certain extent, there have also been a high percentage of failures which has raised some ethical issues. Preface I was in a dilemma whether to choose teen pregnancy or cloning. When I did some research for these 2 topics, I realized cloning has been around for decades and I thought it was only quite recent. My misunderstanding led me to further research on the topic. However, I was also researching on teen pregnancy as it is quite common these days. There are cases of teen pregnancy in the newspapers. It is shocking to see cases with pregnant girls as young as nine-years old. There are human cloning and animal cloning. Some pets are also cloned. It is quite surprising that people would want to clone their pets as it is very costly. Human cloning has caused a debate. Certain religions such as Protestants, Catholics, Buddhism and Islam think that cloning a human is like being God. They do not think it is right. Also, there are many risks involved. On the contrary, there are some who thinks that it is peoples own decision. It is like your freedom rights. You can make the decision. After much deliberation, I decided cloning is much more interesting. I am sure not many people know a lot about cloning. Teen pregnancy is a common topic, one that you have heard many times. Therefore, ultimately, I chose the topic cloning. Introduction Cloning describes the processes used to create an exact genetic replica of another cell, tissue or organism. The copied material, which has the same genetic makeup as the original, is referred to as a clone. There are three different types of cloning: Gene cloning, Reproductive cloning and Therapeutic cloning. Gene cloning creates copies of genes or segments of DNA. It can identify genetic abnormalities. Reproductive cloning creates copies of whole animals. Therapeutic cloning creates embryonic  stem cells. It is for medical use. Researchers hope to use these cells to grow healthy tissue to replace injured or diseased tissues in the human body. (National Human Genome Research Institute viewed 31 July 2010) The purpose of reproductive cloning is for research. It uses a method called Somatic Cell Nuclear Transfer (SCNT). It can repopulate endangered species or make breeding of certain animals less difficult and can produce creatures with particular traits, such as genetically special animals. (Therapeutic cloning vs. reproductive cloning, viewed 31 August 2010) In 1996, scientists at the Roslin Institute in Scotland have successfully cloned a sheep, named Dolly. However, Dolly was produced only after 276 attempts. The success rate ranges from 0.1 percent to 3 percent, which means that for every 1000 tries, only 1 to 30 clones are made. (What are the risks of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) Cloning has its disadvantages and advantages. Some advantages are solution to infertility; provide treatments for variety of diseases and genetic modification. Some disadvantages are the uncertainty of science technology, the great diseases and leading to extinction. There are also ethical issues such as unnatural acts, changing the diversity of society and risks of abuse and exploitations. Although cloning has been successful to a certain extent, there have also been a high percentage of failures which has raised some ethical issues. 1. Advantages of cloning 1.0 Provide organs for transplantation If it is possible to clone the essential organs or body parts of the human body, then they may be able to operate as support systems. The cloned body parts can act as human beings lifesaver. For example, when a kidney or any other organ fail to act properly, it may be possible to use the newly cloned organ and take out the spoiled organ. Cloning can make new organs required for organ transplants. It offers hope to people needing organ transplants since people requiring them often have to wait for years for an appropriate donor. There are many cases whereby patients die waiting because of the numerous people requiring organs. (Human cloning viewed 31 July 2010) Also, patients with an implanted organ must take loads of medicine that can cause side effects everyday as long as they live. This is to guarantee that their body does not reject the implanted organ. These side effects can decrease their life quality. Anyone can clone his or her own organs. The cloned organ would be produced from the body cell of the person who needs the transplant. This will reduce the high risk of the body rejecting the cloned organ since it has the same genetic code. This will be harmless and directly help the patients. Cloning can get rid of this problem by creating more animals who can be suitable donors. There are successful cases of pig livers being transplanted to humans as a temporary measure while waiting for a human liver. In addition, a burn victim can be helped by growing skin using his or her own skin cells and cloning them. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.1 Solution to infertility Approximately 15% of Americans are infertile. Most of the time, doctors are unable to help them. Federal statistics reveal that in-vitro fertilization and other related technologies have a success rate of less than 20%. These technologies cannot help many couples. Couples are having a hard time trying to have children and they must go through painful procedures. In addition, they are also expensive and take up a lot of time. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) Due to the ethical issues of cloning, some states have prohibited human cloning. However, couples struggling to have children are now beginning to mull over the promises that cloning presents. The current infertility treatments are not improving as many people think that infertility is not a medical problem. Thus, cloning can be the answer to infertility. Doctors can implant the cloned embryos into the bodies of infertile women. Hence, these women can have their own babies and it can remove the mental and physical pains of many infertile couples. (The advantages of cloning viewed 31 July 2010) 1.2 Increasing populations of endangered species Cloning can help to increase the populations of species who are in danger of extinction. It may be even possible to reverse the extinctions that by now would have occurred. Even though conservationists worldwide are doing their best already, there are still some species that are near to extinction. To save the scarce species, conservations have used captive propagation programs. There is a need for further propagation programs due to limitations such as constrained physical space for animals, problems with animal husbandry, and common reproductive failure of the animals. (CLONING: Bringing Back Endangered Species viewed 7 August 2010) A majority of ethicists who disagree strongly with human cloning spots no trouble in using this method to save endangered species. Since 1973, the bucardo was listed as an endangered species. However, officials were unable to stop the poaching and the total destruction of their habitats that finally led to the bucardos extinction. In another case, there are a few remaining Chinese panda which will most probably be cloned. (CLONING: Bringing Back Endangered Species viewed 7 August 2010) 1.3 Genetic engineering It is achievable to produce a particular characteristic in humans. Parents have the chance to select the traits that they want present in their child. For example, they want their child to be as smart as Albert Einstein. This makes it possible to produce people with certain merits, particular pleasing personality, thus humans become a man-made being. Some scientists believe that cloning is good as humans can be in charge of their evolvement so the world can produce more artists, athletes and scientists. Cloning can bring back peoples dead ancestors to life. For example, if you want to produce your great-grandmother, you only need to preserve some samples of her body cells. It is that simple. (Human cloning viewed 31 July 2010) 1.4 Provide treatments for different diseases Cloning of stem cells can provide treatments for different diseases. With the proper prompts, stem cells are able to change into other cell types. Hence, it is possible for doctors to replace the tissues and injured organs to reinstate healthy function. Therapeutic applications of stem cells potentially could treat illnesses including: Parkinsons disease, diabetes, Alzheimers disease, stroke, heart attack, multiple sclerosis, blood, bone and bone marrow ailments, severe burns by providing skin grafts, spinal cord injuries, and cancer patients who have lost cells and tissue to radiation and chemotherapy. (The advantages of cloning 31 July 2010) Cloning can cure terminal diseases. Patients may be cured if doctors try to develop a helpful gene therapy. 1.5 Research purposes Scientists are able to take modified organisms and utilize them for the health benefits of society. Duplicating animals by cloning can be used for research purposes. This can help researchers in genetics as they may understand more on the arrangement of genes and the effects of hereditary constituents on human characteristics. They can simplify their study of genes since they can change the genetic components in the human being who is cloned. (http://www.buzzle.com/articles/pros-and-cons-of-cloning.html) It is crucial to research on cloning so that well-matched tissues and organs can be created for the patients who are being treated with stem cell therapy. Stem cells must be obtained from embryos created by a patients own cells. This will not allow any rejection problems related to organ and tissue transplants. This would require research cloning. If research cloning is restricted, therapies helpful to millions of people could be delayed. Delays cannot be allowed in the progress of techniques that could save many lives or put a stop to suffering. It is intolerable to restrict and form of medical research in a free society. People have their rights to practice any scientific investigation, especially medical investigation. Our lives have already been enhanced immeasurably by medical technology. Therefore, we ought to maintain continuous improvement. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con viewed 10 August 2010) 1.6 The healthiness of infants Cloning can abolish the worries concerning the health of a child. Scientists can modify the genes to guarantee a healthy child. For example, if a mother has given birth to a child who suffers from Downs syndrome. Doctors will be able to control and balance out the number of chromosomes in the embryo so that the child may be normal and healthy. (The advantages of cloning viewed 31 July 2010) This will ensure that the child will grow up with no disorders and will be a normal child. 1.7 Improving food supply In the agricultural business, people can improve the quality and quantity of beef by simply cloning the farm animals with desired characteristics. Diseases like foot and mouth disease could be eliminated. Cloning can also cultivate crops that are tougher and more resilient to diseases. Therefore, cloning may successfully resolve the worlds food problem and lessen or if possible, eliminate starvation. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.8 Reverse the aging process Cloning can reverse the effects of aging and our aging process. The anti-aging market is already a multibillion industry. Every cloned body cell is a brand new cell. It is the precise replica of an existing cell. However, the difference is it is not as old as the model. A person could make his body younger by cloning his body cells and implanting these cells into his body when he is older. This method can allow humans to live up to any age they want. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 1.9 Cosmetic surgery Cloning can help improve reconstructive and cosmetic surgery. Even until now, cosmetic surgery may be dangerous as the used equipments are unknown to the body. For example, silicone breast implants can cause immune disease. Doctors have the skill to construct bone, fat and connective tissue that can precisely match the patients tissues. Therefore, if a person wants to change his or her appearance, there would be no risks involved. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 2. Disadvantages of cloning 2.0 Loosing the diversity of genes Human beings need DNA variety for survivability in future particularly if there are unpredictable things. Cloning can drastically hinder that. This is because matching genes are created by cloning and it is procedure of duplicating the entire genetic constitution. Humans will be so alike in human cloning. They will have the same type of genes. The genetic characteristics of its ancestor will be passed on to the next human clone. This will include genetic abnormalities and diseases. (Pros and cons of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) For example, some think that Dolly the sheep had signs of premature aging, but her developers confidently denied it. There is a risk of the whole population getting infected by the similar kind of pathogen. Everyone cannot have the same type of genes and be close to one another otherwise they might not be able to protect themselves against the similar type of severe disease. People cannot foresee or guess when viruses or other harmful agents grow. So, the cloned species will not know how to respond to it. It will be a huge disaster if everyone gets affected. For example, all the rice in the world is cloned. Gradually, only one type of rice is produced but with more nutrition. Soon, the other types of rice are not produced anymore and its DNA variants cease to exist. Later in the future, the rice crop is hit by a disease and is totally wiped out. The world will be lack of rice. (What are the pros and cons of cloning? viewed 31 July 2010) 2.1 Inbreeding Parents have special sets of genes and this leads to the diversity of genes. Cloning can cause inbreeding as human cloning copy the matching genes. The diversity of genes will lessen. So everyone will have similar genotype and keep on procreating among themselves. Finally, it leads us to our own extinction. The differences that we see in people are the splendor of humanity and cloning will get rid of surprises since all look alike.(Disadvantages of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 2.2 Risk of abuse If man is allowed to meddle with genetics in humans, then cloning can increase the probability of intentional reproduction of unattractive characteristics in humans if it is so preferred. This may cause open up likelihood of abuse in medical fraternity. Scientists might misuse the technology. If a couple is not happy with their clone, what is the next step they might choose? Some people say that clones can be grown in a farm-like approach just for harvesting organs or stem cells. We must not ignore the prospect of devaluing human life for life is precious. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 2.3 The uncertainty of science and technology Science and technology cannot provide solutions for every problem. Not even the scientists can promise that they can solve everything. Behind every problem, there are clearly several possible crises. Naturally, these doubts are not practical to bring to a standstill all the developments of science and technology. There is no guarantee that if the human clone survives, it will develop normally. (Disadvantages of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) The incident of trying to clone new mammals indicates that most of the human clones would have genetically related diseases. If there was creation of embryos, majority of them would have critical deformity, several of which only will be evident late in pregnancy. Testing for genetic deformity would eradicate a percentage of such deformities, but only at the expense of getting rid of the unborn baby itself. Out of the many babies born alive, many will have disabilities being inflicted on them negligently due to the methods used to create them. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.4 The element of uncertainty Dolly, the cloned sheep, was regarded as an achievement story. However, before Dolly was cloned, there were actually many embryos which were destroyed. The cloning process began with 277 eggs, of which only Dolly is the successful result. The field of cloning still needs to improve a lot apart from the success in other areas. For example, for infertile couples, if in-vitro fertilization failed, they may go through the similar distress. (The advantages and disadvantages of cloning, viewed 7 August 2010) 2.5 Potential costs At the moment, reproducing animals by other ways are much cheaper than to clone. Although the failure rate of cloning is expected to reduce, it still remains high if cloning is taken on a wider scale in addition to the cost. There will be many disabled babies and many pregnant women who have suffered a lot to make cloning safe. Some people may be unwilling to eat the cloned meat. Hence, the value of the cloned animals will decrease. (What are the pros and cons of cloning? viewed 31July 2010) 2.6 Research cloning Several studies have proposed that research cloning would not be an essential or attractive method to overwhelm immune rejection. Developing stem cells are shown to be less expected to encourage rejection following transplantation than other cell types. If this is verified to be true, beneficial tissues can be developed from obtainable embryonic stem cell lines rather than from the cell lines modified for an individual patient. Another current investigation suggests that by reprogramming a few of the patients individual cells, it may ultimately accomplish identical results. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con, viewed 10 August 2010) Research cloning would be very expensive if it is used in the routine medical measures. It would be very labor demanding and costly to create the cloned embryos. Womens health supporters are apprehensive about the healthiness and social justice implications of creating a human eggs market where most of the donors are probably poor women. (Research Cloning Arguments Pro and Con, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.7 Health risks It is not only the child who would be mistreated in such untried reproduction but also those women who want to gestate a cloned child. The women would be in danger of trauma of an extremely high rate of miscarriage, the shock of being offered abortion when serious deformities were found in the uterus, and the wellbeing risks of a hard and unusual pregnancy. It would be reckless of the scientists to inflict such risks on any human no matter what the motives of the women who decided to take part. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 2.8 A type of parental control The cloned child would have no genetic parents. The child would be a replica of some live person, perhaps someone who had only just died. Even though the clone has survived and is in good shape, he will most likely live in the shadow of the original person, under pressure to be alike that person he was created to be similar to. The childrens interest in establishing their own identity is compromised. The childs freedom is subjected unfairly to the parents wishes. This makes cloning a type of extreme parental control because the child is created as a replica of a person selected by the parents. (Cloning and Stem Cell Research, viewed 10 August 2010) 3. Ethical issues of cloning 3.01 ‘Closed future Some people believe that cloning will cause children to not have an open future as they will become exactly like the person they are a clone of. They may also be exactly the opposite of the person they are a clone of. Religious organizations think that cloning gives humans a lot of power and that cloning does not care about the truth that every human has matchless soul. (Cloning, viewed 11 August 2010) 3.02 Unnatural way A lot of people think that cloning is unnatural as cloning needs a considerably bigger level of participation and meddling with animals reproductive performance than traditional production methods. Some religious groups, such as Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu, and Buddhist faiths, do not accept animal cloning. They view cloning and genetic modification as equivalent to playing God. Many others perceive this as an infringement of the distinctiveness of a human life, which each of us and no one else have received from God. (Cloning information, cloning ethics) Can we play God? Some think that we should just let things be the way they are as that is the way they are meant to be and we should not try to change that as it is natures creation. Others think that the world can be free of cancers and tumors and perhaps save lives too. Others believe in restricting the means of unique types of cloning using harmless ways. (Understanding the issues of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.03 Risk of abuse People fear that someone would form armies of military or even create huge amounts of human resources. This would result in clones being treated as the lower class people or the second class people and compromising individualities. Human cloning can bring serious jeopardy of abuses to human self-esteem and misuse by corrupt people. (Cloning information, cloning ethics, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.04 Morally wrong to kill or extend life Although therapeutic cloning presents the possibility for caring for humans who are suffering from ailment or wounds, the procedure of taking out stem cells is the same as killing the human being as it will involve the annihilation of embryos. Religious and morally traditionally people think that is morally wrong to take the life of one person just to save or extend another persons life. However, other people believe that embryos do not need any ethical thoughts as it is just a cluster of cells that holds the DNA when is cloned, and are similar to the millions of skin cells that we discard daily. At that stage, the embryonic cells should not be thought of as the same as humans as the brain, feelings, inner organs, body and so on are not present. They believe that only when the brain grows and becomes conscious of itself then it has attained human personhood. (Rita Putatunda) 3.05 Not the exact same animal Every creature that is shaped by life experience is more than an incarnation of his DNA. The cloned animal would look identical and bring pet lovers happy memories but it is not the same animal that they are looking at. Only the DNA is the same. (Wayne Pacelle) 3.06 Genetic disorders If a particular animal is cloned several times and it has a virus, then its clones would bear the identical virus and this may cause a food shortage. It is likely that genetic disorders will occur. If a section of DNA is taken from a person to be duplicated, that person may be bearing a code for some kind of ailment which the symptoms of it would not show till later in that persons life. Thus, that same code would be duplicated to make another person carry the same ailment. (Understanding the issues of cloning, viewed 31 July 2010) 3.07 Pollute the diversity Reproducing traits that parents want would pollute the diversity of the world. If people can decide what traits their child should have, majority would choose the traits of well-known people who are very clever or gorgeous. Cloning can cause designer babies as the fertilized egg cell can be made better with additional genes for particular traits. The cloned people would be so alike in characteristics and their thinking that the world would be a very dull place if this were the case. (Understanding the issues of cloning) Moreover, the egg cell can be checked for genetic diseases. If the disease does not exist, it can be placed in the womans womb, or else it will be destroyed. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 3.08 Unknown identity of the child There are some who think that cloning is not safe for delivery of the baby. They are of the opinion that babies should not be created by unnatural ways and should have a variety of genes different from his parents. For the cloning purposes, the egg is obtained from a different woman; sperm is obtained from a different man who is not the father of the baby and is inseminated in the laboratory. The fertilized embryo is then placed in another mother who is not the one whom the egg was obtained. It will be unsure who the biological parents of the child are when the child is born. The childs identity will continue to be a mystery. (Ethical issues related to human and animal cloning, viewed 1 July 2010) 3.09 Clash with religious principles There is a possibility that reproductive cloning may create a human that is genetically matching to a person who was formerly alive or who now currently is live. This might clash with ancient religious and common principles on self-respect, perhaps violating the main beliefs of individual liberty, individuality and sovereignty. However, some people disagree with that. They believe that infertile couples can achieve their vision of parenthood by reproductive cloning. Other people think human cloning is a method to steer clear of a destructive gene that is hereditary in the family without having to go through embryo testing. (What are some of the ethical issues related to cloning, viewed 3 August 2010) 3.10 Worsen the wellbeing of animals Cloning may cause people to treat animals like an object. People may treat these living emotional beings as plain machinery for human creation. Also, communities are becoming more and more conscious of the handling of farm animals. A lot of people are worried for cloning worsens the wellbeing of animals as the animals are likely to bear hurting infections of udder, lameness and also production related diseases. (Ethics, viewed 3 August 2010) 3.11 Different personalities Cloning cannot make sure that the genetically similar humans will have the similar individual thinking or goals as the model. For instance, it is not certain that the baby whose embryo was made better with genes for musical talent will become a well-known pianist one day. Even if the child has a musical flair, it is for him to decide whether he will use them or not. If the child has no interest in going for piano lessons, then the talent will remain undiscovered. It is the same problem when one tries to replace the one he loves. Impractical hope on how the personality will be may cause disappointments. Obviously the outer appearance of the clone will be closely identical but the character may be poles apart. The clone cannot be a replacement for another person. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) 3.12 Two classes of people There will be two classes of humans if most of the people are cloned, the one whos gene is enhanced and the one who is produced naturally. The one whose gene is enhanced will definitely have many advantages in life as they were given particular flairs. They will be rich as only the rich ones will have enough money to improve their child with particular genes. They also have a higher chance of obtaining better jobs than other people due to their particular talents so they will be even wealthier. Affluent people always have loads of power. Sooner or later, the well-off gene-enhanced people may be the most influential ones. (Sabine Reinhold, viewed 7 August 2010) Conclusion Given the advanced technology and the success of the cloned sheep, Dolly, more scientists will be trying their best to improve the process of cloning. As seen from the information above, cloning is still not an advanced technology. There are a lot of risks involved that concern the health of the humans and the clones. I feel that it is unfair for us to intervene in choosing the special talents for our children. We should be happy with what we have and our own talents. It is unfair to other people if we enhance our own genes. Cloning costs a lot and only those wealthy people can afford it. What about those less wealthy people? This may cause an even bigger inequality in our society which we would want to avoid. Also, it is unnatural. Although cloning can make us immortal, in the long run, it will cause overpopulation in the world. There are both sides to cloning which we must consider very seriously before we legalize or ban it. It is an issue which must be handled carefully. Cloning can bring the world benefits but can also destroy us. Both sides of the arguments seem very convincing. Everyone will have different opinions to cloning based on their religious values or their own principles. It is difficult to say whether cloning is ethically right or wrong. If the government decides to legalize it, there will definitely be some people who will protest against it and vice versa. The government must ensure that cloning is not used for the wrong and unethical purposes. It can be dangerous if the technology of cloning is in the wrong hands. Who knows what hidden motives they have? Human lives are very important. We must not devalue our lives.

Singapore English

Singapore English Introduction The range of domains and depth of use of English are closely related to the degree and manner of nativization in a non native variety. For the second category of users, however, the use of English is restricted to international purposes and the elite of societies in certain very specific domains like academic discussions and publications. The Singapore award-winning poet, Edwin Thumboo, expresses: We were very conscious of writing in English but not writing in England. We had to domesticate the English Language, give it a local habitation. For instance, I have never published a poem about a nightingale. But, of course, you cannot substitute one bird for another; you have to make the language your own. We were looking for an identity while using English to express it. (The Straits Times, 1989, November 1) Countries are institutionalized varieties, which have developed over an extended period of time and are now used in many domains. In his arguments for recognizing these varieties, Kachru says that non-native users of English have internalizations which are linked to their own multilinguistic, sociolinguistic and sociocultural contexts (B. B. Kachru, 1991, p. 5). The varieties differ from native varieties, in range and depth of their nativized features. The deviations from native norms occur at almost all linguistic levels -phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, style and discourse, and they are systematic and productive. These latter varieties of non-native English (or new English (for examples of non-native English, see (Moag, 1982), as they have been called recently, have been accorded status by both native and non-native speakers and have received much attention from linguists, educators and writers. Some linguists have gone to the extent of advocating use of the educated nativized variety of English as the standard for teaching (Tay Gupta 1983; Gupta 1986). Historical Background of English in Singapore and Malaysia Any historical discussion on Singapore, especially relating to the period before its independence in 1965, is almost always linked to historical development in Malaysia. This is inevitable as Singapore was one of the Straits Settlements in British Malaya and, in 1963, it became a political component of the independent Malaysia. Therefore, until its separation from Malaysia in 1965, Singapore and Malaysia constituted a single political entity. The establishment of British settlements in Penang (1786) and Singapore (1819) and the British take-over of Malacca in 1824 from the Dutch in Great Britains attempt to control access to the Straits of Malacca, essential to its tea trade with China, mark the beginning of the influx of immigrants and the development of large and diverse speech communities in Malaya. The increasing British influence on the Malay Peninsula coincided with the further influx of large groups of Chinese from the south-eastern provinces of China and the Tamil-speaking Indians from South India. This was a result of increased production of tin and, at the beginning of twentieth century, the establishment of the rubber industry (Platt Weber, 1980). Platt and Weber note that by the twentieth century there had developed in the British Straits Settlements and the Malay States a series of complex communities consisting not only of ethnic subgroups speaking their own native languages and dialects but also belonging to different social classes and backgrounds and engaged in different forms of employment (Platt Weber, 1980, p. 4). At the beginning of nineteenth century, British interests in Malaya and the Straits Settlements expanded, and it was clear to some members of non European ethnic groups that English was an important, powerful language. It was the language of the colonial masters; it was the language of government and administration, and it was used extensively in the judiciary. Thus, a good command of the language was certainly an asset. However, with the rapid expansion of their interests in the region, the British soon saw the need for a group of English-educated non-Europeans who could assist them in their duties. They thus authorized the establishment of private secular mission-supported schools in the Straits Settlements at the beginning of the nineteenth century (for a brief account of the history of English education from 1819 to after 1978, see Chua, 1990). These schools were at first available only to children from the well-to-do families of the different ethnic groups but later medium families were able to use these education. These English-educated school children would use English at home with their neighbors who also attended English-medium schools. Their younger siblings, being impressed by the new language, also acquired some English even before starting school. Thus, the use of English spread from the school domain to the home domain, and later, to the employment and friendship domains (Platt Weber, 1980). It is thus clear that unlike some other varieties of English, Singapore-Malaysian English has developed through education. Some varieties of English like American English, Australian English, Canadian English, New Zealand English, etc. have evolved in a natural way because of mixing of settlers over a period of time, while others like creoles have developed though pidgin English (Platt Weber, 1980). The post-colonial era in the history of Malaysia and Singapore is marked by two major political changes. One was the independence of Malaya in 1957 from British rule, followed by the formation of Malaysia incorporating the Federation of Malaya, the crown states of Sabah and Sarawak and the then self-overned Singapore in 1963. The other was the separation of Singapore from the political union of Malaysia in 1965.These political changes have had an immense influence on the spread and use of English in Malaysia and Singapore. English spread in Singapore Unlike Malaysia, where the use of English is gradually decreasing, Singapore has seen an expansion in its use. This is mainly due to increased enrollments in English-medium schools (Doraisamy ,1969).At the end of 1983, when the Ministry of Education decided that all schools, starting from January 1984, would be gradually converted into National Stream schools and English will be taught as first language. However, as more people are educated in English and with fewer people speaking Malay, English is slowly replacing Malay as the language for inter-ethnic communication, especially among the younger generation (for discussions on interethnic communication, see Platt Weber, 1980, and Tay1982a) . As English is now the common language in all schools we can thus assume that it will play an even more important role in international domains like trade, diplomacy, cultural exchange, conferences and intranational domains such as government administration, law, education, home and friendship communication in the near future. The widespread use of English within the nation itself inevitably means that English has gone through the process called indigenization (Moag Moag, 1977; Moag, 1982; Richards, 1979a) or nativization (B. B. Kachru, 1983a). To use B. B. Kachrus words (B. B. Kachru, 1982b), English has been transplanted from its source country (Britain) and acculturated to the local environment. What this means is that certain features in native British English have been permanently modified in view of the new cultural setting in Singapore which involves the interplay of the distinct ethnic cultures of Malays, Indians, and Chinese. These features manifest themselves in the phonology, lexis, syntax, semantics and styles of discourse in Singapore English. Therefore, when Singaporean English users speak or write English, there are telling signs that distinguish them from native English speakers or writers from Britain, America, Australia or New Zealand, although educated Singaporean speakers or writers have little problem making themselves understood. What are the features that distinguish the English of Singaporeans from that of, for example, the Englishmen or Americans? Characteristics and features of Singapore English The pioneering work done on Singapore and Malaysian English is the book by Tongue entitled The English of Singapore and Malaysia (1974). The book contains useful data on the phonology, syntax and lexis of Singapore English but it lacks theoretical foundation. The data are categorized under the dichotomy of standard and sub-standard forms. Some of the sub-standard forms given are actually not wrong but used in the variety of English. More importantly, Singaporean English is not treated as a system on its own, and the sociolinguistic contexts surrounding the use of sub-standard forms are not considered. Crewes works (1977, 1978a, 1978b, 1979) reflect his purist attitudes towards Singapore English. He regards Singapore English as a foreign language and implies that the English-educated Singaporean is a helpless and pitiable person. Later, Crewe came forward with the book British English and Singapore English.Exercises in Awareness (Crewe, 1979). The book claims to help Singaporeans to get rid of â€Å"Singaporeanisms† with a series of exercises where individual sentences have to be corrected so as to make them look more like British English. A more scholarly and systematic treatment of Singapore and Malaysian English is by Platt and Weber in their book entitled English in Singapore and Malaysia (1980). Using the methods of statistical correlation designed by Labov (1972a, 1972b), they observe that there is a direct correlation between the degree and frequency of divergence from Standard British English and variables such as formality, topic, domain and relationship of interlocutors. They looked at Singapore English as a system. Singapore English have been discussed from different views and therefore variety of characteristics and features have been mentioned and discussed. This study covers parts of these characteristics. Rythem: Deterding (Deterding, 2001; Deterding, Brown, Low, 2005) investigated the contrasting rhythmic properties of two varieties of English: Singapore English, which is often described as syllable-timed, and British English, which is more usually assumed to be stress-timed. Deterings (2001) study showed that there is a significantly greater variability in this measure of syllable-to-syllable duration for British English, which supports previous indications that, by comparison, Singapore English might indeed be regarded as being more syllable-timed. Additionally, it was found that there is little evidence of the influence of speaking rate on the measured differences in rhythm, but there is some evidence that the greater frequency of reduced syllables with a schwa in British English contributes to the difference between the two varieties. Grammar: Difference between Singapore and British English grammar has been discussed by scholars (Deterding, Low, Brown, 2003; Lim, 2004). †¢ Verbs:Verb generally appears in an uninflected form (Wee, 2004).For example, as Wee shows, â€Å"the verb eat is not marked for tense or number. Because the verb are uninflected, time and aspectual information are conveyed via words (using words like yesterday or already). o A.He eat here yesterday o B. He not yet eat lunch o C. They eat already Aspect is marked via forms like always, already or still. Thus, always is used to mark habituality o The bus always late The progressive aspect is marked by still o Late already, you still eat. Be and got: Platt and Weber (1980) noted that Singapore English clauses that are attributive or equative tend not to use the verb be o The house very nice The verb got is used variously in Singapore English as a perfective, a possessive, and an existentional marker o He got go to Japan o You got buy lottery? o You got nice shirt o Here got many people †¢ Nouns: As Wee (2004) mentioned: â€Å"Within the noun phrase, Singaporean tends to make use of articles. It treats non count nouns and its relstive clauses are ordered rather differently than their counterparts in more standard varieties of English†(p. 1058) †¢ Objects: Object preposing is another characteristic of Singapore English. â€Å"The object, (direct or indirect) is commonly preposed, giving rise to example like following†: o To my sister sometimes I speak English o The movie dont know whether good or not †¢ Question forming:† In wh-interrogatives, the interrogative pronoun typically remains in situ†(Wee, 2004, p. 1063) o You buy what? o This bus go where? For yes/no questions, they make use of the invariant tag is it. It also has another tag or not o The food good or not? o You busy or not? †¢ The passive:† Singaporean use kena passive phrase† (Wee, 2004, p. 1064) o The thief kena caught (by the police) †¢ Adjective reduplication: â€Å"Adjective reduplication in Singapore English intensifies the meaning of the base adjective†: o Dont always eat sweet-sweet (very sweet) things. La and Lah: These two Variables perform an important part in Singapore English and are interesting topics for linguistic experts. For instance, findings from Bell and Ser (1983) concluded that: â€Å"The existence of strict rules governing the occurrence of La not only in sentences but also inside the structure of noun phrases and verb phrases. La demonstrates the value of solidarity, friendship, a reduction of social distance between participants, in contrast with Lah dignals hostility and social distancing function†(p.17) References Bell, R. T., Ser, L. P. Q. (1983). To-day la? Tomorrow lah!; the LA Particle in Singapore English. RELC Journal, 14(2), 1-18. Deterding, D. (2001). The measurement of rhythm: a comparison of Singapore and British English. Journal of Phonetics, 29, 217-230. Deterding, D., Brown, A., Low, E. L. (2005). English in Singapore : phonetic research on a corpus. Singapore ; New York: McGraw Hill. Deterding, D., Low, E. L., Brown, A. (2003). English in Singapore : research on grammar. Singapore ; New York: McGraw Hill. Lim, L. (2004). Singapore English : a grammatical description. Amsterdam ; Philadelphia: John Benjamins. Platt, J. T., Weber, H. (1980). English in Singapore and Malaysia : status, features, functions. Kuala Lumpur ; New York: Oxford University Press. Wee, L. (2004). Singapore English: morphology and syntax. In E. W. Schneider B. Kortmann (Eds.), A handbook of varieties of English : a multimedia reference tool. Berlin ; New York: Mouton de Gruyter.