Preliminary Outline and Draft Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Preliminary Outline and Draft - Assignment Example In 10 years to come, approximately 25% of American vehicles will be running on biodiesel. Public health institutions attribute increase in cancer and respiratory complications to pollution from fossil fuels. Undeniably, any alternative fuel that causes less or no pollution would be adopted as a solution to the health impacts of fossil fuels. Recent increase in biodiesel campaigns and consumption is attributed to potential benefits of the fuel. Unlike gasoline, biodiesel is non toxic. Gasoline releases unpleasant fumes upon combustion. On the contrary, biodiesel emit fumes with a pleasant smell, no greenhouse gases and absolute absence of carcinogenic hydrocarbon compounds. Occasionally, air pollutants like carbon dioxide are directly associated with gasoline and other fossil fuels. Carbon dioxide, together with other greenhouse gases causes global warming. Scientific research indicates that global warming will lead to increased desertification, climate change, increased acidity of fresh water and rise in sea levels. Among the identified mitigating factors of global warming include use of less polluting and renewable energy sources like biodiesel. Since biodiesel burns cleanly, it releases negligible amounts of greenhouse gases compared to gasoline. Therefore, biodiesel features as a viable solution to the global warming monster together with other complications related to air pollution. A scientific research exercise will be appropriate in substantiating claims relating to the benefits of biodiesel in addressing issues of air pollution. The research hypothesis asserts that increased use of biodiesel reduces emission of carbon dioxide and air pollution. This hypothesis contains both the dependent and independent variables. A null hypothesis, which contradicts the earlier statement, will be introduced to test the validity and reliability of the alternative hypothesis. Undeniably, biodiesel reduces pollution. However, other sources of pollutants

Internation World AIDS Charity Day Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Internation World AIDS Charity Day - Essay Example The rationale of the event is to collect money that can be used to subsidize the medication for management of AIDS in the affected countries (Sharon, 2011). Our goal is ensure that every person infected with AIDS gets the required medication regardless of individual economic status. The event is on its 20th year and so far over six hundred billion dollars have been raised. It has attracted the support of many international celebrities who have contributed both materially and in kind for the cause. Our vision is to raise sufficient funds to finance not only the purchase of drugs but also raise public awareness on the issues related to AIDS. We also seek to encourage further research on finding a cure for AIDS. To this end, our long term strategy is to work with the leading pharmaceutical companies and researchers to put more effort in finding a cure for the disease. The date of the ceremonial commemoration is on 1st July. The chosen location will be in London. Other commemorations wil l be marked in all major cities in the world. The venue will be at the Oxygen arena. All proceeds from the event will go to charity. Strategic Aims Objectively, the event seeks to raise funds for the purchase and supply of drugs for the treatment of AIDS victims in the developing countries. We intend to raise fifty million dollars that will be used to buy the drugs to be distributed in these countries. We also intend to secure commitments from world leaders that this scourge will be tamed and appropriate programs will be put in place to curb its spread. The â€Å"AIDS free world† accord which details elaborate plans to wipe out the pandemic will be presented to the leaders to persuade them to take deliberate measures to lower the rates of new infections in their countries. In addition, the event also aims to put more emphasis on the research for a permanent cure for the disease. Research on this field has been sluggish. Consequently, the event aims to gain a clear commitment from leading pharmaceutical companies and researchers that research for a cure will be given a priority. Objectives One of our objectives is to raise funds towards the support of AIDS medication. Our target is to raise over fifty million shillings in cash. To obtain these funds, we will design arm bands, t-shirts, caps, and bandanas to target people attending the event. The sales will begin on days set before the start of the major event. In addition, branded merchandise will be availed in selected outlets to make them accessible to the public. Another strategy to raise funds will be through organizing a charity concert before the main event. Leading musicians will be invited to entertain participants at a nominal fee. In fact, the invitation of leading artistes will serve a twofold function of attracting larger crowds to the concert and also increase the sales of the branded merchandise. The event will also run an online campaign through the social networking sites to raise funds. We intend to spur online interest on AIDS as an imminent threat to humanity. The other objective for the event is to raise awareness concerning AIDS in the developing countries. The rate of HIV/AIDS infections is highest in the developing countries. The disease is most prevalent in African countries. Sub-Saharan Africa accounts for about forty percent of the documented infections (Luter, 2010). The implications are dire considering that most of those infected are the breadwinners for their families. The result is that their

The course Academic Communication in the English language Essay - 61

The course Academic Communication in the English language - Essay Example The three essays that I wrote during this course was a challenge because the style of writing taught in the English Second Language program differed to a great extent from the writing that I was introduced to in this course. Going through the Academic Communication cures taught me a lot of useful concepts in the English language. Most importantly, Academic Communication cures program has taught me how to write a research paper, how to write an argumentation research, and how to link my ideas with the topic that I focus on. Because of Academic Communication cures, I feel that my ability to deliver effective research papers has improved. Looking back, I struggled so much to write my ideas and points in a cohesive and appropriate manner in my first essay. In fact, because of frequent mistakes, I cannot remember the number of mistakes I made in that first essay at the beginning of this course. However, by week two, we had already discussed so much on plagiarism, APA style and citation ru les and much more. We had also read an article titled, â€Å"An Enviro’s Case for Seal Hunt,† to help us in research writing which helped in avoiding plagiarism in writing. I also learned about argumentative writing which allows writers to show their opinion and thoughts.Writers can use many sources to support their arguments. I have learned how to support a logical argument in a perfect manner. I faced challenges analyzing the work of another author so as to clarify and perfect my ideas.

Survival and Positive Growth during an Economic Downturn Assignment

Survival and Positive Growth during an Economic Downturn - Assignment Example This study will evaluate and arrive at a consensus regarding each of the financial aspects to provide a plan that will help the organization survive during a depression or recession and lead to a positive growth. It is therefore aimed at providing inputs from the financial perspective of business during the economic downturn. The idea of providing inputs or making changes and venturing into new arenas in terms of cost efficiency and management are discussed as they are the need of the hour. The whole economic system functions on the money supply in the market, and this supply is facilitated by the various business enterprises that are the backbone of every economy. To begin with, let us get acquainted with the "Great Depression of the 1930's" and the current economic downturn. The Great Depression was the worldwide economic downturns that lead to widespread poverty and unemployment as businesses failed. Though the exact cause of the Great Depression is unknown, it began with the Stoc k market crash by the end of 1929. A normal change in the business cycle that becomes a short recession can lead to a depression. During the 'The great depression' the construction industry came to a stunning halt in many countries with prices of crops falling by almost 60%, leading to widespread unemployment, as these sectors have few alternative employment options. However, the economy started showing signs of recovery during early 1933 and the economy stabilized thereafter leaving potential room for the growth of the business. A report about recession where the Former US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan commented "the current global recession will "surely be the longest and deepest" since the 1930s and more government rescue funds are needed to stabilize the U.S. financial system."To stabilize the American banking system and restore normal lending, additional TARP funds will be required," Greenspan said in a speech to the Economic Club of New York. The U.S. Treasury's Trou bled Asset Relief Program designed to help bail out banks has been partially successful". The current recession too had the stock markets crashing with the heavy downturn in the construction industry segment. Greenspan further comments "a housing recovery is a necessary condition for the end of the financial crisis, and said that "the prospect of stable home prices remains many months in the future." The effect of this economic downturn is the huge cut down on spending by corporate houses leading to widespread unemployment. According to the Forbes Digital Company "Working capital management" means a "managerial accounting strategy focusing on maintaining efficient levels of both components of working capital, current assets and current liabilities, in respect to each other. Working capital management ensures a company has sufficient cash flow in order to meet its short-term debt obligations and operating expenses." It is only in the implementation of an effective working capital man agement can companies see the return on investment and better earnings.

The Impact of Universal Studios Essay Example for Free

The Impact of Universal Studios Essay Universal Pictures, or Universal Studios, has been around for a little over a century and it is currently regarded amongst the top six movie studios in America. It grosses billions of dollars in revenue annually and produces major hits and movie stars. Universal is also owned by a giant media conglomerate known as NBC Universal, which is quite different from its humble beginnings. This paper will provide a brief insight into the relationship between Universal Pictures and its impact on the movie industry along with how Universal became a big name in Hollywood. The man who started it all was Carl Laemmle. Born in Wà ¼rttemberg Germany, Laemmle was the tenth of thirteen children, eight of which died of a cruel epidemic of scarlet fever. At the age of thirteen, he was apprenticed to a family friend as a bookkeeper and office manager. A few years later, at the age of seventeen, Carl persuaded his father to let him buy passage to the United States. After arriving, Carl worked as an errand boy in New York for a short while then moved to Chicago where his brother Joseph lived. There Carl worked as an office boy until his next move took him to Wisconsin. There he worked in a clothing company and met his wife Recha Stern who gave birth to a son, Carl Jr., and a daughter , Rosabelle. Carl got into an argument with his employer and moved back to Chicago looking for an enterprise that might multiply his family’s savings. Carl decided to go into the film industry after seeing The Great Train Robbery, which left a â€Å"heavy impression† and a profound business idea (Zeirold 89). In 1906, Laemmle began purchasing nickelodeons. As Laemmle’s business bloomed, the Motion Picture Patents Company was born, which sparked one of his many contributions to the industry, the Independent Moving Pictures Company of America. Founded in 1909, the Independent Moving Pictures Company of America, condensed to IMP, was created to spite the MPPCo. IMP caused its biggest blow to the MPPCo when they snatched up Florence Lawrence, nicknaming her the â€Å"Biograph Girl,† and produced many hit films with her, thus creating the star system we know today. In 1910, Carl joined another organization named the Motion Picture Distributing and Sales Company. This company led to the downfall of the MPPCo and the creation of major studios, such as, MGM (Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures), Twentieth Century-Fox, Paramount Studios, and Universal Pictures. Universal, whose name came from Laemmle â€Å"observing† a Universal Pipe Fittings wagon, was created from the remnants of IMP and was sited in New York (Dick 33). The new Universal studio was a horizontally integrated company, with movie production and distribution of exhibition venues. As Laemmle’s business grew he searched for a new foothold to permanently house his studio and, following the westward trend of the industry, by the end of 1912 the company was focusing its production efforts in the Hollywood area. On March 15, 1915, Laemmle opened the worlds largest motion picture production facility, Universal City Studios, on 230 acres of converted farm just over the Cahuenga Pass from Hollywood. Studio management became the third facet of Universals operations, with the studio incorporated as a distinct subsidiary organization. Unlike other movie moguls, Laemmle opened his studio to tourists. Universal became the biggest studio in Hollywood, and remained so for a decade. However, it sought an audience mostly in small towns, producing mostly inexpensive westerns, melodramas, and serials. The reason for Laemmle’s low budget and lower-class films were because he personally funded all of Universal’s endeavors. One of his greatest â€Å"investments† was character actor Lon Chaney, nicknamed â€Å"The Man of a Thousand Faces.† Chaney started working for Universal when it began in 1912, but was not truly recognized until 1918 in the silent picture Riddle Gawne. He began his early career presented as a team alongside Dorothy Phillips and William Stowell, starring in fourteen films from 1917 to 1919. However, Chaney’s greatest contributions to Universal were The Hunchback of Notre Dame and The Phantom of the Opera. The Hunchback of Notre Dame was Universals Super Jewel of 1923 and was their most successful silent film, grossing over $3 million, and set the standard for all future horror films in the industry. The Phantom of the Opera made Universal more interested in possibly making higher budget, â€Å"grade-A† films. Chaney eventually left Universal for MGM and retired shortly after making a few films for Howard Dietz. In the late 1920s, Universal became a very powerful movie studio but was not considered part of the â€Å"Big Five.† It was, however, given companionship alongside Columbia Pictures and United Artists which became collectively known as the â€Å"Little Three.† Although it was the largest of the Little Three, Universal Pictures lost money during each year of the 1930s except 1931, 1934 and 1939. This desperate ï ¬ nancial situation led to a change in ownership in 1936 and several management upheavals thereafter. Universal had traditionally engaged primarily in the production of low-budget features and â€Å"sub-features† aimed at the subsequent run and rural markets, with only an occasional prestige ‘A’ picture. This policy of reliance on programme pictures remained fairly stable throughout the decade of the 1930s; those periodic forays into ‘prestige’ production and away from the basic programme formula generally met with ï ¬ nancial disaster and precipitated most of the decade’s management turnovers. The case of Universal is somewhat unique when compared with MGM or Warner Bros. Under the conservative leadership of its founder, Carl Laemmle, Universal specialized in the secondary, largely rural, independent theatre market, and most of its product consisted of rather short features without top rank star players. Unlike MGM or Warner Bros., short subjects had always been a fundamental part of Universal’s production strategy. In an effort to remove itself from its near-bottom industry ranking, the company ï ¬â€širted occasionally with the prestige feature market during the 1930s, usually to its ï ¬ nancial detriment. During this decade it did its best ï ¬ nancially when it concentrated on its primary business: turning out low-budget features at high speed. Universal’s short subject releases maintained this philosophy throughout the 1930s with amazing consistency, considering the turnover in management (including the ouster of Laemmle and his son, Carl, Jr, in 1936 ). Early in the 1930s, the studio’s emphasis was shifted to two-reel comedies, starting with the likes of Slim Summerville, Arthur Lake and Benny Rubin as starring comedians. The Universal two reelers took a decidedly interesting swing when former Hal Roach studio manager Warren Doane was hired in 1932 to organize a production unit. Doane, in turn, brought in Roach employees James W. Horne, a young George Stevens and Alf Goulding as directors, as well as a long-time member of Charles Chaplin’s staff, Albert Austin. The unit lasted until 1934, with Stevens leaving for RKO quite a bit earlier. Unfortunately most of these ï ¬ lms have been unseen for decades, locked away in Universal’s ï ¬ lm vaults, unavailable for fresh appraisal. A handful of the Doane shorts viewed by the author revealed no hidden treasures, a disappointment considering the behind-the-camera talent involved. However, Mr. Mugg, a 1933 series entry, was nominated for an Academy Award. Another Universal short comedy from this period, although not from the Doane unit, which could provide both a â€Å"new† look at a legendary humorist and a cinematic treatment of an early Depression school of political thought, is a single Robert Benchley two reeler entitled Your Technocracy and Mine. In addition to the comedies, Universal had the ‘Mentone’ revue series, Strange As It Seems and later Stranger Than Fiction, short lived Goofytone News series produced by a New York independent studio, and travelogue and sports series. Universal produced its own twice-weekly newsreel, the only non-Big Five company to do so. In a reversal of the situation with MGM and Warner Bros. at this time, Universal also had its own in-house animation unit, headed by Walter Lantz, at the beginning of the 1930s, but allowed Lantz to go independent during the ownership turmoil of 1936. The unstable nature of the company at mid-decade also abbreviated the production of colour cartoon s after just six shorts made in 1934 and 1935. Colour did not return to the Universal cartoon release schedule until the 1939–1940 season, when the Lantz studio switched to all-colour production. The area of short ï ¬ lm production for which Universal is best known, however, is the serial. Serials generally were considered the domain of small, independent producers such as Mascot and Republic. Of all of the major studios, only the two ‘mini-majors’, Universal and Columbia, produced serials. This may be largely attributed to the aforementioned need for producers without theatres to cater to rural and niche markets. Throughout the decade of the 1930s that was to prove so turbulent for Universal, the studio still managed to crank out an average of four 12-episode serials per year. The subject matter ranged widely, from Westerns to jungle adventures to mysteries to air adventures and more. One Universal serial available in its entirety for viewing today is the 1934 Perils of Pauline. Other than the title, borrowed for name recognition value, the Universal Perils bears no resemblance to its famous early silent forebear. This serial was obviously the beneï ¬ ciary both of several standing sets evidently left over from other productions and of a rather large st ock footage library. The latter fact is particularly apparent in the scenes of a Chinese revolution that opens Chapter 1, and of numerous jungle and other location scenes in the following episodes. It is not at all uncommon to have clean backlot shots of the serial’s characters reacting to shaky, ï ¬â€šickering, scratched and undercranked shots of revolutionary carnage or charging tigers. Both the extensive use of existing sets and of stock footage permit the story to hopscotch from one location to another, all over the Far East and, ultimately, back to New York City. The result is that this series is essentially a mixture of virtually every type of serial ever done at Universal, including science ï ¬ ction. Much more successful, as evidenced by their popularity even today, were the studio’s three Flash Gordon serials. The battles between Buster Crabbe’s Flash and Charles Middleton’s Ming the Merciless of the Planet Mongo combine streamline, art-deco styling of the late 193 0s with sci-ï ¬  camp in a package that is still appealing. The promotional booklet, For Your Box-office: Line up with Universal 1935–1936, provides a fascinating look at the manner in which the studio tried to sell its product to exhibitors during the last year of the Laemmle regime. The promotional hype expended on the company’s shorts suggests their perceived audience appeal as well as the content of some of the long unseen short series. Announcing the ï ¬ rst â€Å"Flash Gordon† series, the advertising copy proclaims: ‘53 million people read it in the Daily and Sunday newspapers! Now Universal adapts Alex Raymond’s sensational newspaper adventure strip for a serial of 13 episodes!’ The page devoted to Universal Newsreel reminds theatre owners that Graham McNamee, ‘National Broadcasting Company’s Ace Announcer’, narrated the reels. It goes on to assert the statistically unsupportable ‘First! Fast! Foremost! Holder of the World’s Record for Miraculous Scoop after Sc oop.’ Moving to the entertainment short series, For Your Box-office describes the ‘Mentone’ series as having ‘more stars and headline acts than the best vaudeville show! †¦ And at prices you can afford to pay!’ Three other one-reel series are depicted thusly: ‘Stranger than Fiction’-‘Facts, freaks and fancies from every corner of the globe! Each reel is a box-office magnet in itself’; ‘Studio Novelties’—‘Gems of comedy, musical comedy, trick photography, satire and short subjects! A new and novel series’; and ‘Going Places’—‘The short that never fails to do things! From one end of the world to the other †¦ and back again †¦ with the enchanting personality and voice of Lowell Thomas.’ As frequently happened with studio press books, which were designed to sell a company’s product before production on the season’s wares had actually commenced, some of the announced projects never reached the screen. Speciï ¬ cally, in this case, the promised 13 episodes of the new ‘Studio Novelties’ dwindled to a mere four ‘Specials’. In sum total, Universal’s product actually conformed to the basic format of its competitors, with the exception of serial production. Content and quality are hard to judge at this point in time with relatively few of the ï ¬ lms available for re-evaluation. The original nitrate negatives for most of the Universal short subjects still survive and are housed in the company’s Kearny, New Jersey, vaults. Hopefully, they will be transferred to safety ï ¬ lm before they are consumed by the inevitable nitrate decomposition. As has been previously noted, serials were generally the province of low-budget producers, not of major studios. Beyond serials, Universal’s greatest successes were its novelty series (Strange As It Seems, Stranger Than Fiction), travelogues (Going Places) and musicals (Mentone series). An interesting aspect of Universal’s short subject programme was that it continued to release silent ï ¬ lms through 1931, over 2 years after the ‘ talkie revolution’. Presumably this was for the beneï ¬ t of the more than 1500 small silent theatres that were still in business despite having been unable to afford the conversion to sound. Beyond that, one gets the impression that Universal was just struggling to turn out a product during the turbulent 1930s, with any ideas of visual style being secondary. The studio’s shorts, like its features, tended to be all over the map in terms of production polish. One may ï ¬ nd a rough correlation between Universal’s B-grade Western feature productions and a number of its Western-themed serials. However, as with Warner Bros.’ lack of gangster shorts, it is something of a surprise that the studio known for its world-class horror ï ¬ lms (Frankenstein, Dracula, The Phantom of the Opera, etc.) attempted virtually nothing in the way of horror/science ï ¬ ction serials until decade’s end (Flash Gordon, Buck Rogers, and The Phantom Creeps). In conclusion, Carl Laemmle worked vigorously to bring down the MPPCo powerhouse with IMP and kick start a major movie studio which he called Universal. Universal made great impacts on the industry in the fields of horror, sci-fi, and serials; impacts that changed the movie industry forever.

The Four Corner Hustlers Essay Example for Free

The Four Corner Hustlers Essay The Four Corner Hustlers originated on Chicagos Westside in the early 1970s. The organization was founded by King Walter Wheat and Freddy Malik Gauge. Shortly after the Four Corner Hustlers emerged, they became allied with the Vice Lords street gang, becoming a faction and adopting Vice Lord symbols and colors. The gang operated as a small group in the Austin neighborhood throughout the mid-to-late 1970s, often fighting area clubs and engaging in petty theft and vandalism. However, a group of Four Corner Hustlers began to operate in the Garfield Park and Austin neighborhoods. Lead by Monroe Money Banks, this group adopted the Black Diamond as a symbolic reference to their gang. In the late 1980s, Freddy Gauge died while incarcerated. Walter Wheat then took over the organizations operations solely. In the early 1990s, Monroe Banks proclaimed leadership over the entire organization but this was disputed by older high-ranking members of the gang. The tension and disagreements within the gang lead Walter Wheat to retire from the organizations leadership. Monroe Banks was later killed in a drug related murder in 1992. The 4CHs began to expand their bases of operation throughout the 1990s, growing substantially in number. A group of younger Four Corner Hustlers began to distance themselves from the Vice Lords and even rest away some of their territory, often times flipping Vice Lord members with the lure of drug spots. These Four Corner Hustlers charged a 50 percent tax on profit for the selling of narcotics as opposed to the traditional 75 percent. Many of these Four Corner Hustlers, whose main base of operation was in Austin and Garfield Park neighborhoods used the Black Diamond. Amongst the Young Turks was Angelo Roberts. Angelo Roberts was given a leadership position in the organization by Walter Wheat due to his relationship with Wheats daughter, despite Angelo Roberts young age. As such, disputes for leadership positions continued. Due to turmoil in leadership, Walter Wheat reassumed his position in the organization. Walter Wheat was killed in 1993; Angelo Roberts was the principle suspect in orchestrating the hit. Angelo Roberts was arrested on drugs and weapons charges in the mid 1990s. After release, Angelo Roberts attempted to blow up the Area 3 Police station with high power weapons. He even made Americas Most Wanted as authorities pursued him across the United States. Angelo Roberts was killed in 1995, his body found frozen stiff in the trunk of a car. Several sets still pay homage to Angelo Roberts, adopting the moniker Angelo 4s. Ray Longstreet assumed leadership of the official branch of Four Corner Hustler around the time of Angelo Roberts death. His group still considers themselves a faction of the Vice Lords street gang, especially while in the correctional facilities. Ray Longstreet was recently released from prison in 2004 after serving a stint for drug charges. He was recently arrested again, this time by Federal authorities in Operartion Street Sweeper. The Four Corner Hustlers pride themselves in making money. The organization has grown tremendously within the last ten years or so, and have expanded throughout the Southside and far South suburbs. The 4CHs are an off-shoot of the Vice Lords, however, on the street most members consider themselves a separate entity. Most Four Corner Hustlers now consider themselves a separate Nation and often show their independence with the adoption of the Black Diamond symbol, while other 4CHs who still retain ties to the Vice Lords using the 5 point Star. However, all 4CHs align themselves with the Vice Lords while incarcerated forgoing any street antimosity. The gangs primary criminal involvement has consisted of graffiti, drug trafficking, assault, armed robbery, extortion, kidnapping, shootings, murder, and the renting out of drug turf to independent dealers. The organization has also been known to engage in the overseeing of solicitation of prostitution (pimping), the selling of illegal firearms, and the opening of front businesses to launder money.

Difficulties Arabic Students Face In English Language Learning

Difficulties Arabic Students Face In English Language Learning In educational settings the language is both the medium and content of instruction. Academic success is dependent on proficiency of spoken and written forms of the language used for instruction (Shatz and Wilkinson 2010: 55). Introduction Next to the United States, the United Kingdom receives the biggest number of international students in the world. In 2009, 13 percent of the total undergraduate population enrolled in the UK were international students (UK Council for International Student Affairs 2009). More specifically, college entrants from Saudi Arabia increased rapidly by 42.2 percent from 3,535 in 2008 to 5,205 in 2009 (Times Higher Education 2010). This dramatic rise of the Arabic international student cohort in the UK requires immediate attention especially in relation to the academic adjustments these students make in the school environment. One of the most significant adjustments for Arabic international students is learning the English language, a phenomenon driven by the demands of globalisation and the now widespread use of English as a second language in the educational curriculum even in Arab countries (Tahaineh 2010). While the process of English language learning among Arab students within their hom e countries has gained much academic attention (Khatib, 2000; Tahaineh, 2010; Ghaith and Diab 2008), not enough research focus has been made on the experiences of Arabic international students in the UK. What is known today is too scant to be applied practically in policymaking or in educational practice. This dissertation explores two main points, firstly, it highlights how little we know about the difficulties that Arabic international students face in learning the English language and secondly, it calls for the need to undertake more robust empirical work on the growing Arabic international student cohort in the UK. This mixed methods research will be a valuable contribution to UK educators in helping Arabic students learn effectively at the same time achieving institutional goals as well as meeting the educational expectations and needs of Arabic students in the UK. Research question This dissertation aims to answer the central question, What difficulties do Arabic students in the UK face when learning the English language? There are two sub-questions proposed which will guide the outcomes of this research. What issues do Arabic students face in English language learning? The literature review suggests that the difficulties Arabic international students may face when learning the English language are multi-faceted. It may involve basic structural differences between Arabic and English (Shabbir Bughio 2003), cultural issues (Elyas and Picard 2010), motivation and self-esteem (Al-Tamimi Shuib 2009), and social issues (Shammas 2009). What strategies do they use to overcome the barriers identified? After discovering the issues that Arabic international students face in English language learning, it is important to uncover the strategies that they employ in order to cope with the difficulties faced. Rationale and context The context of this proposed dissertation is of a general and personal nature. ESL literacy has always been an ongoing academic interest of the researcher. While in the past, learning the English language was viewed as a betrayal of the mother tongue for most Arabic students, the demands of free market globalisation has prompted a renewed vigour among Arab universities and Arabic students to become proficient in the English language. On a personal level, I have always been concerned with the skills of Arabic international students in reading and writing. Studying the English literacy experiences of these students will contribute to an increase in our understanding as to what strategies could help Arabic students obtain English proficiency and attain their educational goals. At the same time, it will also address the gap in literature which can inform the policymaking and institutional practice of UK universities in meeting the needs and expectations of Arabic international English learners. By describing the experiences of Saudi students in L2 literacy experience, we can begin to draft useful conclusions, implications, and recommendations to contribute to second language acquisition and proficiency in general and ESL literacy in particular. Literature review A preliminary literature review reveals significant themes related to the difficulties that Saudi international students experience in learning the English language. 1. Basic structural differences of Arabic and English The most common difficulty experienced in English language learning and proficiency among Arab students lies in the basic structural differences between the mother tongue and the second language. For instance, Arabic writing does not use capitalisation and uses different rules in punctuation from English (Shabbir Bughio 2003). Spelling is also a problem since in Arabic, there is only one letter per sound so the spelling part is much more challenging in English. A study revealed that students struggle with spelling silent alphabets located in the middle of English words such as half or knowledge. Pronunciation of English words is also problematic since Arab speakers often use Arabic phonetics to pronounce words (Salebi 2004). As a result, words like stupid are pronounced istobbid while pregnant is pronounced brignent (Shabbir Bughio 2003). The use of commas and conjunctions is also another difficulty for Arabic students because the usage is different in Arabic and English contexts ( Rababah 2002). The same is true on the use of English prepositions; due to the varied nature and usage of prepositions in English, many Arabic students opt to translate each Arabic preposition in English (Shabbir Buhgio 2003). Kambal (1980) documented major syntactic errors in the compositions of Arab students in the Sudanese University particular in verb formation, subject-verb agreement, and use of tenses. 2. Motivation in learning EFL Motivation has been an established predictor of success EFL outcomes (Al-Tamimi Shuib 2006). Consequently, a learners attitude towards the second language affects his or her outcomes in English language learning. Gardner and Lambert (1972:3) explained that a learners motivation to learn is reflected in the latters attitudes towards English speakers as well as towards the English language itself. In fact, empirical research has pointed to a learners general attitude towards knowledge as an influential variable in second language acquisition and proficiency (Arkoudis 2003). Moreover, self-esteem has been shown to be a significant predictor in writing achievement among Arabic secondary students (Al-Hattab 2006). Beliefs on the English language are mediated by culture and social characteristics (Ely 1986). This means that not all people hold uniform epistemological beliefs about L2 language acquisition and that our appreciation of the knowledge process is dependent upon our different co ntexts. Some argue however that while motivation and attitudes towards the L2 language is important, it is not a sufficient condition in language proficiency (Ely 1986). In a survey of Arabic students in Australia, general attitudes towards the English language were positive; most believed that English symbolised technological advancement and modernity (Suleiman 1983). In another study, it was found that positive attitudes toward English language learning were related to EFL outcomes (Ghaith and Diab 2008). 3. Cultural issues Culture plays an important role in the English language learning process, especially in relation to language instruction (Elyas and Picard 2010). In Saudi Arabia, classroom instruction is delivered in a different manner from Western schools. The classroom is a place where the teacher is an established head and the students role is defined in terms of quietness of loving to listen (Jamjoom 2009, as cited Elyas and Picard 2010). Teacher-student relationships in the Saudi context are feudal; teachers and instructors occupy a high tier in the classroom and so-called student-centred pedagogy is not a common practice (Gallagher 1989). The implication of this is that most Saudi students are not accustomed to interactive teaching processes, one that cultivates proficiency in the English language. Arabic students only learn English from formal instruction and the classroom itself does not provide a venue wherein they could practice their English communication skills (Rababah 2002). This class room acculturation creates potential problems in the context of English language learning in a UK university where classroom interaction is a popular teaching model. Most Arabic students become unsociable in class, do not recite as often as needed, and speak English only when directed formally (Ghaith and Diab 2008). Moreover, teacher attitudes and behaviours towards Saudi students may also count against EFL. Cross-cultural differences have been shown to affect classroom sociability of Arabic students (Rababah 2002). 4. Social issues Alienation in the university setting has been found to influence the academic outcomes of Arabic international students in the USA (Shammas 2009) particularly after the 9/11 terror attacks. The same alienation was reported by Arabic students when the school climate became hostile in some universities within the UK (Rich and Troudi 2006). The level of integration that Arabic international students experience in their universities is helpful in enhancing motivation to learn the English language (Shammas 2009). Feelings of isolation due to the loss of social capital increases sociability among Arabic international students and may result to loss of self-esteem and motivation. Those who are able to renew their social capital by connecting with new friends Arabic or not have a greater chance of being successful in being proficient in the English language. Research approach Empirical work examining the processes of second language acquisition and the effectiveness of strategies focused on learning English as a second language has utilised both quantitative and qualitative research approaches (Ghaith and Diab 2008; Al-Hattab 2006; Rabab-ah 2002). This study proposes a mixed methods approach integrating both qualitative and quantitative elements to more adequately explore the English language learning process among Arabic international students in the UK. Considered a bridge between the quantitative and qualitative realms of research, mixed methods research draws upon the strengths of both paradigms to generate a more complete and thorough investigation of a topic or phenomenon (Johnson and Onwuegbuzie 2004). To this end, mixed methods research supposes that the two research paradigms can be reconciled, maximising the strengths of both while minimising their weaknesses at the same time (Tashakkori and Teddlie 2003). In deciding what research approach best suits the purposes of this study, I considered two ontological positions constructivist and positivist on the topic. Firstly, I consider that Arabic students are differently situated and construct their realities from their own experiences and values. In this regard, there is no one version of reality that could be gleaned (Denzin and Lincoln 1994) on how Arabic international students experience English language learning. Secondly, however, I believe that it is possible to establish what a causal relationship (Creswell 2003) or the particular factors predict English language proficiency among Arabic students in general. In other words, we can determine what specific difficulties can influence English language proficiency among Arabic students. From a pragmatic point of view, both ontological positions are useful in this investigation, hence, a mixed methods paradigm. Why use a stand-alone paradigm when you can use two paradigms and in the pro cess, capture the phenomenon being studied more fully? Mixed methods research is a methodologyà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ philosophical framework, method, and techniques of data collection and analysis which combines both quantitative and qualitative processes throughout the entire research cycle (Creswell and Plano Clark 2007:5). The benefits of conducting mixed methods research are three-fold: 1) it allows a holistic investigation of a phenomenon; 2) it enables a macro- and micro- investigation of the phenomenon; and 3) it has validating capacity of quantitative with qualitative methods and vice versa (Onwuegbuzie and Leech 2004). This study proposes a research approach consisting of two phases. The first phase is the quantitative phase; the goal is to determine what specific issues Arabic students face in learning the English language and how these variables are related to each other. The second phase builds on the results of the quantitative phase and explains the outcomes more fully. The quantitative phase will utilise a web-based survey questi onnaire to be followed by face-to-face interviews for the qualitative phase. The idea of this research technique is that by integrating both numerical data (survey questionnaire) and textual data (interviews), the difficulties Arabic international students phase in English language learning can be captured more completely and comprehensively. Research Design There are several variations in design to a mixed methods study. Three issues are considered in the selection of the specific mixed methods design for this particular research: priority, implementation, and integration (Creswell and Plano Clark 2007). Priority specifies which method is emphasised; implementation identifies whether data collection and analysis is done sequentially (different stages) or concurrently (parallel stages); and integration defines the connectedness between the results of the two phases. This study uses the sequential explanatory design to investigate the experiences of Arabic international students in English language learning. Sequential explanatory design A sequential explanatory design is chosen. The data collection and analysis will consist of two phases (Creswell, 2003; Onwuegbuzie and Teddlie 2003). The first phase will use a web-based survey questionnaire to be answered by a manageable random sample of Arabic international students enrolled in one UK university. Data collected will be analyzed through descriptive statistics and chi-square. The second phase of the study will proceed after the completion of the first phase. It will build on the findings of the first phase and use individual semi-structured interviews of five Arabic international students. The goal of the second phase is provide a more in-depth explanation of the difficulties experienced by Arabic students and the strategies they use to overcome these difficulties. Through the integration of data from both the quantitative and qualitative phase, the results will be refined and the phenomenon explored in a more holistic manner. More specifically, this explanatory mix ed methods research uses the follow-up explanations variant in an attempt to understand more fully the process in which Arabic students learn English in foreign universities. The follow-up explanations model is selected because the qualitative phase means to explain and expand on quantitative results (Creswell 2003: 43). The priority phase of this study is the qualitative phase because of its capability to provide a more complete picture of the phenomenon being considered. Using a pragmatic ontological position which values positivist and interpretivist assumptions, the study uses two general instruments and triangulation methods to establish validity and reliability of research findings. Phase 1: Quantitative (Survey questionnaires) A self-constructed online survey questionnaire will be used to gather data on the difficulties experienced by Arabic students in English language learning. Items in the questionnaire will be drawn from the literature review and will measure difficulties in five aspects: 1) structural adjustments from Arabic to English (spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc.), 2) motivation, 3) cultural issues, and 4) social issues. After the selection of participants, a URL will be sent via email to participants advising them to read the consent form and to indicate their compliance. The survey will also be available on Facebook and other social networking sites. After gathering data, results will be analyzed using appropriate descriptive and inferential statistics. Phase 2: Qualitative (Face-to-face interviews) After the first phase of data collection and data analysis, in-depth interviews will be scheduled with six Arabic international students in order to gather information that will further explain the results of the survey questionnaire. A semi-structured interview guide will be developed in order to allow the participants to discuss their answers in a more flexible manner. The semi-structured nature of the interview guide will also allow the researcher to clarify or ask follow-up questions that can further refine the data. Interviews will be audiotaped with the participants consent and transcribed immediately afterwards. Qualitative analysis will be used to gather recurring themes from the interview data. Validity and Reliability To establish the validity and reliability of the outcomes of this study, content validity and triangulation through multiple sources will be used. To establish content validity, the survey instrument will be evaluated by a panel of specialists. Multiple sources such as documents and academic papers will also be requested from interviewees. Member checking will be done to verify the accuracy of the transcribed interviews. Ethical Issues The following ethical considerations are identified. Institutional requirements will be met before data collection. Permission to conduct the study will be obtained by securing approval from the Institutional Review Board (IRB) of the University. The researcher will complete the ethics form and wait for approval before beginning the collection of data. Consent will be secured. An informed consent will be drafted to explain to participants the purposes and objectives of the study as well as the rights of participants regarding confidentiality and voluntarism. The same form will be attached to the online survey as proof of compliance with ethical requirement for research. Anonymity and confidentiality of information will be guaranteed. Procedures will be done to protect the rights of human subjects. Every completed questionnaire will be coded in order to hide the identity of participants. For the personal interviews conducted, each participant will be informed that the interview will be audiotaped for documentation. Transcript of the interviews will use pseudonyms instead of real names. Data storage requirements will also be complied with. Transcripts and hard drives will be secured in a locked cabinet to be destroyed after the study is published. Bias will be bracketed to minimise prejudicial interpretation of data. Ethics requires the researcher to fully disclose any potential conflicts of interest. Bias is acknowledged to arise from data collection until the final phases of the study. Risk of bias will be minimised through bracketing and a written reflection log to trace subjectivities. Research schedule 2011 Activities May Completion of dissertation proposal June IRB form completed and passed July Additional literature review Survey questionnaire developed August Methodology chapter finalised Survey questionnaire piloted and evaluated Revisions to questionnaire finalised September Selection of participants October First phase of data gathering Analysis of results quantitative phase November Write up of results and advising December Refining of literature review Drafting of interview guide and approval 2012 January Selection of interviewees Conduct of interviews Transcription and qualitative analysis February Integration of findings from Phase 1 and Phase 2 Meet with supervisor Pass first draft of findings and conclusions March Check references. Finalise draft. April Final proofreading and revisions. Send to binders. May Submit bound copies by May 2012. Reflective commentary Writing this dissertation proposal has not only been a significant educational experience for me; it was also a reflexive opportunity. I was given an avenue with which to consider my own perspectives about obtaining higher education in a foreign university and the experiences which have so far brought me to the level I am now situated. Preparing the literature review was the most rewarding part of all because it enabled me to acknowledge the multifaceted and complex nature of the English language learning process. Simply put, acquiring a second language is not a simple feat. It is influenced by multiple factors and influences. While I was able to gather the most significant themes associated with English language learning among Arabic international students, I look forward to constructing the more detailed literature review in the future.