Discrimintion Free Essays

Discrimination has similar meaning as Inequity or favouritism. Discrimination is a considerable common problem throughout the world. Especially girls have to face discrimination everywhere in the world. We will write a custom essay sample on Discrimintion or any similar topic only for you Order Now For example in the remote areas of Pakistan like Sindh, girls school entries are less as compared to boys and girls are forced to stay at home and help in household tasks. This Is the vulnerable misery of the girl child in our society. By depriving to the right of education girls are also deprived from the benefits which are associated with education for example Job right and right to ake decisions or simply one can say that girls are deprived of liberty. Same is the situation for girls while taking their marital decisions. Girls are not allowed to choose spouse of their own choice but boys are free to take such declslons. Similarly, other discriminations also exist In our society for example even in this modern era when some Jobs are announced it is clearly mentions on the job advertisement that only males can apply this Is profession discrimination. Also in some cases females are not given equal status as male staff and females have to face allot of problems related to heir Jobs. Beside these, there are also other examples of discriminations in many societies for example Indian society is one of the best examples of discrimination on the basis of caste, lower castes are not allowed to make any relation with people who belong to upper caste. Discrimination on the basis of class Is also common In some societies many countries can be coated in this aspect of discrimination like Indian society. Also Sometimes an individual with disabilities is treated badly if some misshapen occur due to his disability, this type of discrimination arises from isabilities of people. Discrimination on the basis of colour is also existing in westerns societies where white people are given more importance than black people but now the trends are changing with increasing education. Education is the key that can change the behaviour of people towards gender discrimination and bring changes specially in developing countries Ilke Pakistan. Education Is essential to end gender unfairness, but first of all elimination of poverty is must that makes discrimination even worse In the developing world. How to cite Discrimintion, Papers

Understanding Copyright Law

Question: Describe about the Understanding Copyright Law. Answer: How are enforceable contracts formed? 1: For forming a contract with legal bindings one must make sure to satisfy six basic elements of contract formation. First of all the parties going for the contract must have the capacity, mutual assent and consideration to undergo the legal steps needed to form this contract. They must also make sure that everything is transparent and clear in the contract and has nothing illegal in the eyes of Law. (Stone, 2012) Given organizational ownership of property (real, personal and intellectual), analyze the rights of an organization regarding the protection of its property and the legal rights and obligations arising out of the use of the property, including environmental impact and issues where appropriate. 2: A contract of commercial or business nature can be enforced under a common law or under the Uniform Commercial Code only when these essential legal elements are present in it. Two parties are mandatory for forming any contract. Both these parties act as one who offers and one who accepts a subject. The subject matter of the contract must not be unscrupulous at any condition. (Stone, 2012) In our daily life we own many things. These can be personal, real or intellectual properties on which only we have the sole right. When dealing with such properties one is obliged to know what legal remedies are available if any party breaches a contract. In three ways one can categorize business properties. These are :- a) Real property meaning anything related to the land b) Tangible property meaning all kind of properties that can be touched like trucks, computers, equipments etc c) Intangible property have no physical being but has a value attached with it. Business, organizations or individuals protect such intellectual properties as they have immense value to them. (Kom, 2005) Given a business or commercial contract for the sale of goods and services to a customer, examine the elements of the contract, and determine whether the contract is enforceable under common law or the Uniform Commercial Code 3: Any legal contract which has a force of law behind it can be termed as an enforceable contract and is an agreement of legal nature in between two parties. For forming an enforceable contract the following elements must be covered:- An offer -A situation where one party expresses willingness for making a contract with another party. Based on the subject matter of the contract a legal binding is made where another party accepts the contract mutually. Acceptance-Acceptance is the unqualified expression given by a person to whom something is offered is acceptance of the offer. Both parties entering into the contract must be competent- This means the individuals involved are legally capable for the contract. Lawful - The contract core matter must be legal in nature. Mutual Factor- Both the parties must have the common intention to meet the terms of contract. Consideration- Consideration is an important element in the formation of an enforceable contract. (Putman, 2011) Are there "special" rules for electronic contracts? 4: Yes, there are special rules for electronic contract. The Indian Contract Act 1872 governs the way electronic contracts can be made and executed. These rules must cover the following areas:- There must have an offer The offer must all be accepted A law must govern it The parties in such a contract must have an intention to create law abiding relations The parties in such a contract must be competent. Parties making an electronic contract must also have complete free consent in it. The objective or subject matter of the offer must be legal There must also be a certainty regarding the legal performance. (Keong, 2004) Identify the various types of intellectual property and elements of infringement 5: IP or Intellectual Property refers to the creation of the human mind where exclusive rights are recognized. People like business owners, innovators and artists have exclusive rights to ow n intangible assets for a specified duration. Patents, Copyrights, Trademarks and Trade Secrets are some of the various kind of IPs. These are intangible assets for an organization. Financial institutions and business owners due to these properties get the confidence to invest into an organization. Copyright infringement is some complex actions which has the basis as deception. Such an infringement arises when one third party violates some rights that has been granted by copyright owners. For establishing an infringement there must be an evidence that the intellectual property belongs to one with all legal documents in place.(Goldstein, 2010) The challenges of protecting our information from cyber thieves. 6: Protecting sensitive information from cyber thieves today has become a challenge for us. Some of the challenges in this matter are these questions:- a) Where do cyber thieves get all information. b) How much information must be shared has to be judged. c) Enhancing malware is a challenge. d) Enormous personal information stored digitally e) Many times we do not understand that we are the victim of cyber theft. f) Phishing Scams g) Not keeping software updated h) Spammers turning the computer into a zombie References: Goldstein, P.(2010). Understanding copyright law. Retrieved from https://www.americanbar.org/groups/young_lawyers/publications/the_101_201_practice_series/elements_of_a_copyright.html Putman, C.(2011). The Nuts and Bolts of an Enforceable Contract. Retrieved from https://www.ilovelibraries.org/article/nuts-and-bolts-enforceable-contract. Keong, C.(2004). Formation of electronic contracts. Retrieved from https://shodhganga.inflibnet.ac.in/bitstream/10603/49009/11/11_chapter%203.pd Kom, N.(2005).Guide to Intellectual Property Rights and Other Legal Issues. Retrieved from https://www.minervaeurope.org/publications/guideipr1_0.pdf Stone, R.(2012). Elements of the law of contract. Retrieved from https://www.londoninternational.ac.uk/sites/default/files/programme_resources/laws/ug_subject_guides/elements_law_contract-subjectguide4chapters.pdf

Italian Renaissance Essays (511 words) - Renaissance,

Italian Renaissance "How was the Italian Renaissance an age in which life was a work of art?" The Renaissance was an important time. It was a time when new ideas were formed, worldly places became more important, and great people became known. All of which paved the way to future inventions, philosophies, and life as we know it. During the Renaissance, new possibilities were explored. One of which was a group of people who called themselves Humanists. Humanism was a movement based on the literature and ideas of ancient Greece and Rome. Humanists focused on secular themes, rather than those that were religious. They also believed that individualism, human improvement and that people should develop their talents through many activities. Humanism was influential in that more attention was paid to literature, the arts and education. Because education was becoming more important, more schools were opened. Students were taught all that was taught in classical Greek schools such as Greek, Latin, history and philosophy. The humanists strongly believed that education could help people to improve themselves. Humanism also inspired literature to become more universal. Many authors were discovered. Also, a form of poetry, called a sonnet, was developed. The humanists were very important to the Renaissance, without their teachings much would have been left undiscovered. The city stated of Florence, Rome and Venice were also important parts of the Renaissance. Florence was ruled by a line of successful and wealthy rulers. Florence produced many great things. Great rulers, great architects, great sculptors and great painters. Thus leading the way through art. Rome was the leading renaissance city during the 1500's. Many artists and scholars went to Rome to be taught by master craftsmen. Rome also became a site of great religious increases. Venice was a city of great trading. It linked Asia and Western Europe in trade routes, also drawing traders from the rest of the world. Venice was also known for it's artistic achievements. Florence, Rome and Venice were three of the most influential powers during the Renaissance. The arts were extremely important to the Renaissance, and very influential. Architecture was modeled after classical Greek and Roman stylings. The greatest Italian architect was Filippo Brunelleschi, who was best known for his completion of a cathedral in 1436. Sculpture, as did architecture, reflected ancient Greek and Roman ideas. The best known sculptors were Donatello, Michelangelo and Ghiberti. Donatello was the first sculptor to cast free standing figures. Michelangelo was best known for his free standing figure of David, and Ghiberti for his ten biblical scenes on Florence cathedral's walls. During the Renaissance, painting acquired a more realistic style. Some famous painters of the time are Giotto, Michelangelo, and probably the most famous of all, Leonardo Da Vinci. Da Vinci is best known for his works of The Mona Lisa and The Last Supper. During the Renaissance, boundaries were explored, new heights were discovered and a whole new way of life was found. The renaissance truly was an age in which life was a work of art not only because art was so important to that time period, but because everything was original and new. Without the renaissance, and the people who lived during it, such as Da Vinci, modern life may not have been so modern.

Free Essays on Frank Lloyd Wright

The Life and Works of Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright was the world’s most fabulous architect of all time. This was his ambition in life and he managed to meet his goals. Kaufmann and Raeburn quote him saying, "...having a good start not only do I fully intend to be the greatest architect who has yet lived, but fully intend to be the greatest architect who will ever live. Yes, I intend to be the greatest architect of all time" (Writings 21). With much research Kaufmann discovered that throughout Wright’s life he completed one hundred and eighty eight structures (338). All of his buildings were not simply concrete and/or wood but art. Born in Richland Center, in southwestern Wisconsin, on June 8, 1867, sometimes reported as 1869, Frank Lincoln Wright changed by himself to Frank Lloyd Wright was raised in the influence of a Welsh heritage. Kaufmann and Raeburn learned through Mr. Wright’s writings that the Lloyd-Jones family, his mother's side of the family, had great influence on Mr. Wright throughout his life. The family was Unitary in faith and lived close to each other. Major aspects within the Lloyd-Jones family included education, religion, and nature. Wright's family spent many evenings listening to William Lincoln Wright read the works of Emerson, Thoreau, and Blake out loud. Also his aunts Nell and Jane opened a school of their own pressing the philosophies of German educator, Froebel. Wright was brought up in a comfortable, but certainly not warm household. His father, William Carey Wright, who worked as a preacher and a musician, moved from job to job, dragging his family across the United States. His parents divorced when Wright was still young. His mother Anna (Lloyd-Jones) Wright relied heavily upon her many brothers, sisters and uncles, and was intellectually guided by his aunts and his mother (Writings 6-18). â€Å"Before her son was born, Anna Wright had decided that her son was gong to ... Free Essays on Frank Lloyd Wright Free Essays on Frank Lloyd Wright I have chosen to critique one of Frank Lloyd Wright’s well-known homes, the Kaufmann House. It sits on a wooded terrain in Bear Run, PA and was built in 1936. The principle building material used here is reinforced concrete and stone. This home is also a perfect example of Wright’s naturalistic style of integrating modern materials into a serene natural landscape. In the case of the Kaufmann House, the positioning of the house nearly on top of a small waterfall marries the house and landscape in an aesthetically exciting and mysterious way. I am a true fan of Frank Lloyd Wright’s work. In addition to a naturalistic style, which is my taste in homes, he has designed other homes such as a home with a distinguished sense of privacy in a busy downtown area. Unfortunately, I forget the name of the home at the moment and lack the literature at hand. Regardless, Wright’s designs focus on clean visual lines and integration of a home to its site. His use of modern materials such as reinforced concrete and traditional materials such as stone also marries today’s technology with the aesthetically pleasing feeling of days gone by. I do not feel that Wright’s work was necessarily representative of its time because Wright was creating homes that had no contemporary equal. I truly believe he was ahead of his time. I do, on the other hand, feel that his work was representative of the place and culture it was completed. The Kaufmann House, for example, works well with its site and has the subdued feeling of the Pennsylvania countryside. Because Wright was sensitive to the area in which his designs were to take form, it is hard to imagine the waterfall without the house and the house without the waterfall. In my opinion, this is what makes the Kaufmann House such a successful piece of architecture... Free Essays on Frank Lloyd Wright These ideas proposed by Wright represent a half century of ingenuity and unrivaled creativity. Wright was unquestionably a architectural genius and was years ahead of his time. The biggest obstacle which held Wright back throughout his career was the lack of technogaly that was present during his time. As a architect, Wright accomplished more that any other in history, with the possible exception of DaVincci or Michangelo. His philosophy of Organic Architecture showed the world that form and function could both by achieved to create a house that was both true to nature and affordable. Wrights homes, have today become monuments of greatness and distictionn. Most of them serve as museums, displaying the his ideas and the achievements of a lifetime of innovation. It wasn't until Wright published "The Natural House" however, that he fully was able to illustrate all of his ideas relating toward housing. In the "Natural House" wright defines the meaning of Organic Architecture and how it c an be applied to creating housing which provides a closeness to nature for the occupents. Wright was undoubtly a romantic and individualist. His feeling toward nature and self integrity can best be shown by comparing them to those shared by Emerson and Thoreau. Wrights deep love of nature and his individualism were formed from the events which influenced him as a child and up until his days working for Louis Sullivan. In order to fully understand the ideas which Wright proposed through his philosophy of Organic Architecture, one must first understand the events and influences which led to their creation. As a child, Wrights parents always encouraged him to be a free thinker and individualist. Both of his parents were intelligent and creative people by nature. They, of all people had the greatest influence on Wright. Throughout his life they were extreamly supportive of Wrights dream of becoming an architect, and always made sure that he had books and pic... Free Essays on Frank Lloyd Wright The Life and Works of Frank Lloyd Wright Frank Lloyd Wright was the world’s most fabulous architect of all time. This was his ambition in life and he managed to meet his goals. Kaufmann and Raeburn quote him saying, "...having a good start not only do I fully intend to be the greatest architect who has yet lived, but fully intend to be the greatest architect who will ever live. Yes, I intend to be the greatest architect of all time" (Writings 21). With much research Kaufmann discovered that throughout Wright’s life he completed one hundred and eighty eight structures (338). All of his buildings were not simply concrete and/or wood but art. Born in Richland Center, in southwestern Wisconsin, on June 8, 1867, sometimes reported as 1869, Frank Lincoln Wright changed by himself to Frank Lloyd Wright was raised in the influence of a Welsh heritage. Kaufmann and Raeburn learned through Mr. Wright’s writings that the Lloyd-Jones family, his mother's side of the family, had great influence on Mr. Wright throughout his life. The family was Unitary in faith and lived close to each other. Major aspects within the Lloyd-Jones family included education, religion, and nature. Wright's family spent many evenings listening to William Lincoln Wright read the works of Emerson, Thoreau, and Blake out loud. Also his aunts Nell and Jane opened a school of their own pressing the philosophies of German educator, Froebel. Wright was brought up in a comfortable, but certainly not warm household. His father, William Carey Wright, who worked as a preacher and a musician, moved from job to job, dragging his family across the United States. His parents divorced when Wright was still young. His mother Anna (Lloyd-Jones) Wright relied heavily upon her many brothers, sisters and uncles, and was intellectually guided by his aunts and his mother (Writings 6-18). â€Å"Before her son was born, Anna Wright had decided that her son was gong to ...

Management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Management - Case Study Example In other words change management tries to reduce the impacts on the employees of the organization and ensures to avoid disruption. Therefore the companies which successfully implements change in their system of operation are successful and on the contrary those who could not execute it properly remain at the flipside. The report will highlight on the rationale for which the company is making changes in its existing system of conducting business. The report will also try to draw attention to on the specific changes which are undertaken by Virgin Blue. Apart from that the report will also use Kotter’s eight step change model to showcase change management process. Table of Contents Executive Summary 2 Introduction 4 Why Virgin is changing 5 Changes in Virgin 7 Kotter Eight step model 9 Conclusion 14 References 15 Bibliography 17 Introduction Business environment is turbulent and organizations are not only making frequent changes to their operations but also making changes which are complex in nature. Change is the most essential characteristic for an effective management (Hussey, 2000, p.1). Change management is defined as the structured approach for modifying the organizations current situation to a preferred situation in the future. Change management is considered important for various reasons i.e. a number of issues influences the need for change. The major changes include technological change, change in customer tastes, alteration in the rules and regulations of the government, issues related to industrial relationship, competition changes, changes in leadership and a cluster of different other changes which either affects the growth of the organization or improves survival opportunity and expansion of the organization (A. Mills, Dye & J. Mills, 2008, p.10). In order to conduct or assess the positive impacts of chang e management in an organization Virgin blue the Australian air transport company has been chosen. The chosen company is a part of the renowned virgin group. The company arrived in the Australian market during the early 2000. They entered the Australian aviation industry and from then onwards they have given stiff completion to other players. The first flight of the company was DJ214 from Brisbane to Sydney during august 2000 (Virgin Australia, n.d.). They have principally focused on the leisure sector of the industry. The company has repositioned itself during the mid of 2011 with the launching of virgin Australia (Virgin Australia, n.d.). The company also achieved plenty of acclamation to its name. So in order to remain in the long run the company is also focusing on the changes to its current state. Why Virgin is changing A change in organization is a risky activity as organizations sometime fails or do not realize the proposed results. There are number of factors which are consid ered by the company to undergo changes in their existing system. Some of the reasons that Virgin blue has considered for making changes in their organization are as follows:- Declining market share – With the struggling economy there were huge losses of job and slow growth of economy. In such situations there are very less leisure travels and people tend to cut down their cost on luxury spending. Leisure travelling is one activity which gets hampered. Therefore it was necessary to make changes in their current state in order to strengthen the financial condition of the company. The changes which need to be undertaken are strictly based on current market situation. Strengthen Position in the corporate market – One of the strongest reason for which the company considered to implement changes in their

Minimum wage issue Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Minimum wage issue - Essay Example Employees who start working on jobs that offer minimum wage sometimes use it at a platform to attain other professions. Additionally, minimum wage not only helps young people, but also senior citizens who use it to support their families. I am addressing this letter to you to urge you as the senator of New York to introduce a motion in Congress calling for a raise in the minimum wage across all states. The United States requires policies that safeguard hardworking Americans who are dedicated in earning a living.1 Therefore, I believe raising the minimum wage above $10 per hour would be an important policy change towards restoring hope in citizens who rely on this income. Given this brief account, I believe that raising the minimum wage is a bold step that the Congress may take for purposes of achieving economic development. Raising minimum wage is a bold step towards economic recovery in the country. I call for the federal government to increase its spending on regular people as a means of increasing economic output in terms of revenue. Normally, regular people exhibit fluidity in their spending; hence, more money remains in circulation. On the contrary, wealthy people tend to hoard their wealth; hence, preventing it from circulating back into the economy. The minimum wage issue presents a transformation to the economy, which has been hijacked by the elite in recent years; thus, making it less productive in terms of government revenue collected through taxes. I would urge the government to increase the minimum wage of American workers to boost their purchasing power, as this will facilitate economic recovery.2 Therefore, a change in policy in increasing the minimum wage prevents counterproductive economics, which boosts the economy. 3 Second, raising the minimum wage can alleviate poverty. It is evident that these days the focus of the US economy is on Wall Street, which accounts for less than 1% of the population. In recent years, the number of people

Grammatical constraints on code-switching

Grammatical constraints on code-switching Grammatical constraints on code-switching The behaviour of bilingual and multilingual speakers in a wide variety of speech communities and a broad range of social contexts has been the subject of research since the 1970s. Specific attention has been paid in the literature on bilingualism/multilingualism to the phenomenon of code-switching, one of the results of which has been the proposal of and subsequent debate surrounding a number of different grammatical approaches to it. This essay will attempt to examine and discuss some of the main grammatical approaches to code-switching, and go on to look at the arguments advanced to support (and undermine) these. As Poplack (1980) mentions, authors of the early literature when not focusing on the sociolinguistic and discourse elements relating to code-switching concluded that code-switching was a phenomenon that occurred at random. Subsequent research has shown that there are code-switching patterns and that switching is, in fact, subject to grammatical rules; the debate now is centred on what, exactly, those rules are. The various theories put forward by scholars in this field of research seek to elaborate universally-applicable rules that account for all instances of code-switching in all language pairs. As will be seen in this essay, and as is claimed by Gardner-Chloros and Edwards (2004) and Alvarez-Cà ¡ccamo (1998), none of these theories achieves its aim. It is worth bearing in mind that, broadly speaking, there are two main â€Å"types† of code-switching: intersentential and intrasentential. The latter is arguably of greater interest to researchers as â€Å"it is only there that the two grammars are in contact† (Myers-Scotton and Jake (1995)). There are several main grammatical approaches to code-switching which fall into a number of broad categories, each of which will be discussed in turn. Gardner-Chloros and Edwards (2004: 3-4) argue that any given grammatical approach to code-switching depends on the sense of the word â€Å"grammar†. They claim that at least five senses of the term can be identified and, of those five senses, grammatical approaches to code-switching have focused (explicitly or otherwise) on the following two: Formal grammar; and Chomskyan/Universalist grammar Poplacks study of code-switching amongst a sample of bilingual Puerto-Ricans in New York City (1980) is an empirical test of two simple constraints that, she claims, are universally applicable: the Equivalence Constraint and the Free Morpheme Constraint. The Equivalence Constraint dictates that intrasentential switches will only be made by any bilingual speaker (regardless of the speakers proficiency in his or her L2) â€Å"at points in discourse where juxtaposition of L1 and L2 elements does not violate a syntactic rule of either language, i.e. at points around which the surface structures of the two languages map onto each other†. So a bilingual speaker implicitly obeys the syntactic rules imposed by the respective grammars (which, in this model, are deemed to share rules that apply to the use of particular lexical items or language constituents) and will only make a switch from one code to the other at points where that switch will not violate the rules of either grammar. Indeed, the title of Poplacks paper is a case in point: (1) Sometimes I start a sentence in Spanish y termino en espanol(â€Å"and finish in Spanish†) Here, the switch is made at a point in the sentence where the Spanish subordinate clause â€Å"y termino en espanol† does not violate the grammatical rules of English (which are deemed to set the framework for the sentence): the verb â€Å"terminar† is correctly inflected (â€Å"termino† first person singular, present indicative) as the English verb â€Å"to finish† would be (i.e. â€Å"I finish†) had the clause been uttered in the latter language and indeed, the grammar of the subordinate clause does not violate any grammatical rules of Spanish, were the entire sentence to be uttered solely in Spanish. The Free Morpheme Constraint states that an intrasentential switch may be made by any bilingual speaker â€Å"provided [a] constituent is not a bound morpheme†. Thus a sentence such as: (2) And what a tertuliait was, Dios mio! (And what a gathering it was, my God!) is acceptable under the Free Morpheme constraint (note that idiomatic expressions such as Dios mio above are â€Å"considered to behave like bound morphemes in that they show a strong tendency to be uttered monolingually†), unlike a sentence such as: (3) *Estaba type-ando su ensayo (She was type-ing her essay) Subsequent discussion and research have shown that Poplacks Constraints theory is not universally applicable to all language pairs or all instances of code-switching. It would appear that the Constraints model sits perfectly with Poplacks own data set drawn from her sample Puerto-Rican speech community, and may be appropriate for language pairs which share particular grammatical, syntactic or lexical features, such that these facilitate switches that indeed do not violate any grammatical rules of either of the languages in contact. Nevertheless, Poplack has continued to defend and refine the model, arguing that instances of code-switching that violates either or both of the constraints are not code-switches at all, but rather what are termed by Poplack â€Å"nonce borrowings† (a term first coined by Weinreich (1953)). These, it is argued, are tantamount to single-word code-switches: words from the L2 are used in an L1-dominant utterance but have yet to become an established pa rt thereof. Poplack argues that the Free Morpheme constraint is â€Å"a consequence of the nonce borrowing hypothesis (Sankoff et al, 1990)†. However, further research has yet fully to substantiate the claim of universal applicability of the Constraints model to all language pairs and all instances of code-switching. Other constraints models have also been put forward, amongst others, by Pfaff (1979) in her study of Spanish-English code-switching and borrowing. She argues that there are four main types of constraints on constraints: functional, structural, semantic and discourse-related.   Further constraints have also been formulated by Woolford (1983) in her generative model of code-switching (again based on data from Spanish-English bilinguals). Such constraints models can be contrasted with the far more elaborate Matrix Language Frame model developed and advocated by Myers-Scotton and her collaborators (1993 and subsequently refined: 1995, 2000), in which sociolinguistics and psycholinguistics are combined within a grammatical approach to code-switching. The notion of a base or matrix language was not new when the MLF model was initially published by Myers-Scotton. Work by Klavans (1985), Joshi (1985) and others had already posited a â€Å"frame† or â€Å"matrix† into which elements of the other language could be embedded. The broad lines of the MLF are as follows. Myers-Scotton makes the case for code-switching to involve a base or matrix language (ML), into which pockets of embedded language are inserted. The ML, then, is the â€Å"unmarked† language choice that provides the grammatical structure for the utterance or discourse, with â€Å"islands† of EL inserted at grammatically acceptable points of that utterance. She distinguishes between different types of morphemes and the role they play in code-switching: the ML supplies the system morphemes (closed-class items) in the sentence, while the EL supplies a proportion of the content morphemes (open-class items). There is also a psycholinguistic dimension to the MLF model, in that the ML is deemed to be more â€Å"activated† than the EL; it therefore lends itself more readily to providing the frame for code-switching between a bilingual speakers two (or more) languages. In seeking to define â€Å"matrix language† Myers-Scotton argues that the decision made on the part of bilingual speakers to make intrasentential switches is â€Å"based on social, psychological and structural factors†. It is these factors that essentially form the basis of a definition of the ML. There are two structural criteria involved:  § The ML is the language that projects the morphosyntactic frame for the CP that shows intrasentential CS. This is operationalised by two principles: the morpheme order principle, which states that the â€Å"surface morpheme order (reflecting surface syntactic relations) will be that of the ML†; and the system morpheme principle, which states that â€Å"all system morphemes that have grammatical relations external to their head constituent (i.e. participate in the sentences thematic role grid) will come from the ML†.  § The ML generally supplies the greater number of morphemes in intrasentential code-switching. The sociolinguistic aspects of the MLF model underpin the psycholinguistic ones: as stated above, the ML is the â€Å"unmarked† or expected language choice for the exchange between code-switching speakers. It is pointed out, however, that this is not always the case, for instance when the speakers do not share the same first language. It is also argued that the ML can change over the course of an exchange, in relation to situational changes for example. The distinction between content and system morphemes is central to the MLF model, in that they help to identify the ML and EL. Under the MLF model, content morphemes come mainly from the EL, with system morphemes coming principally from the ML to form the frame in which code-switching can occur. There are, however, difficulties in using morphemes to identify the ML, particularly when a speakers bilingualism is quite balanced. The quantitative criterion states that the majority of the morphemes in a code-switched utterance will come from the ML. However, this raises the issue of sample size which Myers-Scotton herself concedes is difficult to determine and comes up against instances of code-switching by balanced bilingual speakers who use both of their languages more or less equally; the number of morphemes from each language will, therefore, be more or less equal, thus undermining the applicability of the quantitative criterion posited in the MLF model in identifying the ML. . Like the Constraints model, subsequent research and commentary have led to the MLF model being refined into its current form, the 4-M Model. In this theory, further distinctions are drawn between categories of system morpheme. Attempts are also made to resolve issues in the original MLF model, such as double morphology. An interesting aspect of the MLF model is that it does not adopt the â€Å"sentence† as an appropriate unit for the grammatical analysis of code-switching. Myers-Scotton instead uses the CP (complement phrase) as an analytical unit, which she defines as a syntactic structure expressing the predicate-argument structure of a clause, plus the additional syntactic structures needed to encode discourse-relevant structure and the logical form of that clause. Because CP explicitly assumes that the unit of structure includes COMP (complementizer) position, it is a more precise term than either clause or sentence. For all of its innovation and complexity which sets it in stark contrast with the simplicity of the Constraints model discussed above the MLF model does not account for all instances of code-switching in all language pairs, fitting only with certain language pairs, and particularly with Myers-Scottons data set drawn from East African languages and dialects; as well as â€Å"cases of very asymmetric bilingualism† where the speakers proficiency in one or other of the languages in contact is weaker. So neither the Constraints model nor the MFL model gives a complete grammatical description of code-switching; instead, they each describe a particular form or class of code-switching into which particular language pairs or forms of bilingualism fit. A more complete view is therefore required. Muysken (2000) proposes a typology of code-mixing (a term that he favours over â€Å"code-switching†, which he reserves for referring to instances of rapid interchange between languages in the same discourse) that attempts to encompass both of the models discussed above, with an additional component that he terms â€Å"congruent lexicalization†. He argues that there are three main types of CS: Alternation: this is a form of code-switching in which bilingual speakers alternate between their two (or more) languages. An example of alternational code-mixing is Poplacks Constraints model. Insertion: in this form of CS, speakers insert chunks of switched constituents from the L2 into discourse framed in L1. Muysken argues that the MLF model is an illustration of insertional code-mixing. Congruent lexicalization: this is code-mixing between language pairs that share close morphological and phonological ties. An example of one such language pair (and the corresponding code-switching) is provided by Clynes study of Dutch-English code-switching in Australia (1987). Muysken argues that different language pairs will fit into one or other of those types. So, rather than proposing a â€Å"one size fits all† grammatical approach to code-switching/code-mixing, he acknowledges that code-mixing/code-switching between different languages pairs will display different characteristics, rather than claiming that all instances of code-mixing/code-switching will fit into a single immutable model or theory. It is interesting to note that Muysken is also a proponent of the Chomskyan Government model of code-switching. In a paper co-authored with Di Sciullo and Singh (1986), it is argued that the government constraint, whereby there can be no switch in codes between a governor constituent and its corresponding governed item, will serve to predict which switches will and will not be acceptable, regardless of the languages in contact in a bilingual persons lexicon. The model, however, does not account for or predict all instances of code-switching; indeed, bilingual speakers will code-switch at any point in any given utterance, Government or no. Even when the scope of the model is restricted to lexical government by non-function words (Muysken 1990), it remains an overstatement. It must also be borne in mind that this model will change as many times as Chomskys theory of Universal Grammar goes through its various transformations; in its current incarnation of the Minimalist Program, the not ion of Government has been cast aside altogether owing to definitional difficulties Another take on the generativist approach to code-switching is the â€Å"null theory† of code-switching. A number have been put forward (Mahootian (1993), Chan (1999), MacSwan (1999, 2000), Woolford (1983)). The basic premise of the â€Å"null theory† approach whether it is couched in terms of Tree Adjoining Grammar (Joshi 1985) or the Minimalist Program/Principles and Parameters is that code-switching can be described in terms of grammatical principles relevant to monolingual grammars, without postulating additional devices or constraints that are specific to code-switching itself. This is an attractive argument, but far from compelling. Generativist models are highly abstract, to the point where they are too far removed from the realities of bilingual speech. The underlying premise of Chomskys notion of the monolingual â€Å"ideal speaker† is not helpful here, as it leads to generalisations about bilingual speakers that are simply not accurate, as they are not a reflection of how bilinguals combine their languages in speech. Additionally, the â€Å"ungrammatical† nature of speech weakens any grammatical model of code-switching (see below). There are a number of reasons why none of these models (perhaps with the exception of Muyskens proposed typology of code-mixing) can account for all instances of CS. 1. Variability: As Gardner-Chloros and Edwards rightly point out, this variability is found between communities, within a single community, right down to the speech of individuals and even within the speech of a single individual within the same conversation (2004: 4). This may be the end result of and, at the very least, related to the idiolectal competence of individual speakers. 2. Nature of bilingual speech: Bilingual speakers are known to employ all kinds of devices and â€Å"tricks† to avoid being constricted by the dictates of grammatical rules. Speakers use pauses, interruptions and other means to neutralize any grammatical awkwardness resulting from switching at a particular point in the sentence.These devices serve a functional purpose in allowing speakers to make full use of both of their languages, and legitimising combinations from languages that are typologically different (e.g. word order). 3. Abstract nature of the notion of â€Å"grammar† and â€Å"sentence†: These are abstractions used by linguists to conceptualise language behaviour, in this instance amongst bilingual speakers. The issue here is whether such abstractions are relevant to the analysis of CS as seen in bilingual speech. The concept of the â€Å"sentence† may not be appropriate to the analysis of code-switching in any event: speakers rarely utter fully-rounded, grammatical sentences in everyday discourse and code-switch at will with seemingly little concern for the grammaticality of the (intersentential or intrasentential) switches that they make so effortlessly. Furthermore, from a grammatical analysis perspective, Gardner-Chloros and Edwards argue that even if the sentence were to be accepted as the â€Å"upper limit of grammar† and a meaningful unit in the context of code-switching, this would mean that grammatical approaches would only seek to explain intrasentential swit ches whilst omitting intersentential switches and conversational â€Å"moves† (2004: 5). The fundamental question at issue is whether or not a grammatical approach to code-switching is even appropriate. Given the variability of code-switching and the nature of speech in general and bilingual speech more specifically it seems particularly difficult to formulate any kind of universally applicable principle or constraint that accurately predicts how, where and when a bilingual speaker will switch codes, let alone whether that switch will â€Å"grammatical†. Variability lays at the very heart of code-switching; it is a reflection of a human ability to handle and manipulate language in any way that serves the speakers purpose in any given situation and with any given interlocutor(s). Another salient point that emerges is whether code-switching is even an observable fact. Gardner-Chloros (1995) argues that CS is an â€Å"analyst construct†, a product of linguists conceptualisations of language contact and language mixing and, as such, not separable from borrowing, interference or pidginisation (1995: 86), be it in ideological or practical terms. She also argues that the abstract concept currently accepted in bilingualism research is â€Å"fuzzy† and should in fact be used as a much broader term for a range of interlingual phenomena in which strict alternation between two discrete systems is the exception rather than the rule (1995: 68). If that is indeed the case, is it possible to begin to formulate a â€Å"grammar of code-switching† when there is still uncertainty as to what code-switching actually is? The arguments put forward by Alvarez-Cà ¡ccamo (1998) are also related to the points raised by Gardner-Chloros. In tracing the development of code-switching as a field of bilingualism research and of applied linguistics as a whole, he distinguishes between linguistic varieties and communicative codes, arguing that code-switching pertains to the former category and, as such, suggests that â€Å"code-switching† is perhaps a misnomer. He proposes that the concept of CS in its current form be both narrowed to exclude unrelated phenomena that have come under the banner of â€Å"code-switching†, and broadened to include those elements that have been excluded (including aspects of monolingual speech). It is difficult to see how an all-encompassing approach to code-switching can be put forward until the phenomenon of code-switching has been properly identified (and presumably labelled: â€Å"In order to argue convincingly for or against the existence of â€Å"code-switching constraints† and â€Å"code-switching grammars† () research should first convincingly prove that (a) speakers who code-switch possess two (or more) identifiable systems or languages, each with its identifiable grammatical rules and lexicon; and (b) â€Å"code-switched† speech results from the predictable interaction between lexical elements and grammatical rules from these languages.† (Alvarez-Cà ¡ccamo (1998: 36)) However, the issue here again lays in the conceptualisation of bilingual speech. Abstractions used by linguists in examining language phenomena such as code-switching remove the â€Å"human† element reflected in discourse strategies employed by bilingual speakers (discussed above; see below). A further aspect of code-switching, while not strictly grammatical, is discussed by Bentahila and Davies (1995):   the variables related to language contact situations, and how those change depending on developments in the contact situations. In a study of different generations of Moroccan Arabic-French bilinguals, they examine the relationship between patterns of code-switching and patterns of language contact and the influence of extraneous factors on those patterns. They point out that code-switching is affected by the nature of the contact between a particular pair of languages: duration of contact, for instance, and the impact of governmental language planning policies. They found that while all the bilingual speakers in their sample speech community used the same languages, their use of those same languages depended on their proficiency in both, which in turn depended on their age and the effects of governmental language planning and nationalist policies pursued in the post-c olonial continuum. It could be argued that evolving patterns of code-switching contribute to the variability of code-switching practices amongst bilingual speakers and, therefore, constitute another (indirect) reason why grammatical approaches to code-switching so often fall short. In summary, then, a number of grammatical models of intrasentential code-switching, with each claiming to predict where in the sentence a bilingual person will switch languages and that such switches will be made in such a way as not to violate any of the grammatical rules of either of the languages in contact. It is contended that, rather than achieving that aim, each model is specific to the data sets on which they are based, and can only really apply to similar language pairs. They therefore only describe an aspect of a phenomenon that is far more complex than the models would suggest. Furthermore, the applicability of the various models also depends on the â€Å"kind† of bilingual concerned and their proficiency in their respective language pairs: the Constraints model appears to be more relevant to more balanced bilinguals, for instance, while the MLF model seems to be more appropriate to more asymmetric bilinguals. It must be remembered that the models are not in stasis but rather continually refined and amended in relation to developments in their particular theoretical backdrop: the Government model of code-switching, for instance, is based on a theory of Universal Grammar that is itself evolving over time. Muyskens typology of bilingual speech (2000), which draws on the leading models of code-switching/code-mixing and seeks to account for all instances of code-switching by taking into account the various aspects involved therein, appears to be the most rounded of the grammatical approaches to the phenomenon, in that it encompasses the disparate aspects that have formed the focus of individual models. There is also the issue of whether code-switching is a phenomenon in its own right and, if not, what linguistic phenomena the concept of code-switching can be deemed to cover. Has the concept become an umbrella term used to describe a number of different linguistic devices employed by bilingual speakers? Or are these elements that are indistinguisha ble from a wider phenomenon? To conclude, it would appear that research into and grammatical approaches to code-switching have lost sight of the fact that code-switching is an abstraction used by linguists to conceptualise an aspect of the behaviour of bilingual speakers. After all, â€Å"languages do not do things; people do things, languages are abstractions from what people do† . Such a conceptualisation has led to researchers attempting to fit bilingual speech behaviour to a particular model rather than the other way around, discounting aspects such as variability, bilingual discourse strategies and the fact that code-switching is a creative, innovative process designed, it would appear, almost to avoid grammatical constraints altogether. Abstract grammatical models cannot reflect the realities of language contact and use. Not only that, but code-switching is also a gauge of language change and shift; this being the case, it is plausible that a grammatical shift would ensue, thus undermining a given m odel. Factors such as those mentioned by Bentahila and Davies (1995) must also have some kind of impact on grammatical models when these are based on a language contact situation which is shifting and evolving. A step back towards the realities of bilingual communication and speech acts, combined with an acceptance of the variability that they necessarily entail as reflected in the typology proposed by Muysken (2000) would constitute a more appropriate starting point for any grammatical approach to code-switching that sets out to be all things to all bilingual speakers.