INVESTIGATION INTO THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE RATE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS

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INVESTIGATION INTO THE FACTORS AFFECTING THE RATE OF PHOTOSYNTHESIS

AIM- To identify the factors affecting the rate of photosynthesis and, choosing one factor, to ascertain the effects it has.

Photosynthesis is an endothermic reaction that occurs in plants, by which plants use light energy to make glucose. It needs energy from the photons of light and it is their anabolic effect on the plant that gives the energy for the reaction to take place. During this process carbon dioxide combines with water to from glucose, and oxygen is released. The glucose made then has many uses in the plant respiration, making ATP, active uptake….

Sunlight and chlorophyll must be present for the reaction to take place, and the light is trapped in the chlorophyll

sunlight

Carbon dioxide + Water Glucose + Oxygen.

Chlorophyll

The amount of oxygen given off is an indication of the rate of photosynthesis. The more oxygen being given off, clearly the faster the rate of the reaction, and the more photosynthesis occurring / the faster the rate of photosynthesis.

POSSIBLE VARIABLES-

from background research and previous experiments I know the following variables/ limiting factors to affect the rate of photosynthesis

·Light Intensity the basic energy source

·Temperature- increases enzyme reactions until the point of denature.

·Water- a basic reagent- a lack of water also causes stomata to close inhibiting diffusion of CO in and out of the leaf.

·Chlorophyll- this is what traps the light energy for the reaction

·Carbon dioxide the more CO in the air, the more that can diffuse into the leaf to be a basic reagent for the photosynthesis reaction.

Of these variables I have chosen to investigate light intensity because there are various reasons why other variables would not be suitable

·Temperature- this variable is not specific to increasing the rate of photosynthesis, but rather to general rates of reaction, as I have seen in previous experiments into reaction rates.

·Water- this would be too difficult to control as lowering the water levels too much would kill the plant and ruin the investigation.

·Chlorophyll- again this variable would be too hard to control, as we could not get a whole range of results. Leaves come in variegated form, where parts either contain chlorophyll or they don't. There is no way with our basic equipment to ascertain precise chlorophyll levels in the plant leaves.

·Carbon Dioxide- again with this variable there is either carbon dioxide present or not (adding soda lime). It would be very difficult to obtain or measure precise carbon dioxide levels in the air, or keep that environment from contamination of normal carbon dioxide levels.

·I Chose light intensity- as it is possible to vary this more (resulting in a range of results) by increasing distances between the plant and the lamp gradually to diminish light intensity. Also light is the key variable for photosynthesis- without it no photosynthesis would occur as there would be no energy source.

My aim therefore is to investigate the effect of light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis by varying the distance of a lamp from pondweed and measuring the volume of Oxygen given off.

OurPUT VARIABLE- the volume of oxygen given off.

PREDICTION- I predict that as light intensity increases (distance from bulb decreases) so will the rate of photosynthesis increase. Light is a key factor of photosynthesis and without it plants cannot get enough energy to make glucose. Light intensity itself is directly proportional to the rate of photosynthesis as the more light energy a plant receives and traps in the cholorophyll, the more it can produce and so doubling energy in = doubling energy out.

HOWEVER………

From scientific research I know that the relationship between light intensity and distance is

Light intensity = 1/ d

This shows that light intensity is inversely proportional to the distance squared because the light energy spreads out as it travels further away from its light source (ie as distance increases).

This is because light energy travels along the circumference of an expanding circle. As the circle expands and distance becomes greater, this causes the light intensity to decrease as the same amount of light energy must be equally dispersed over a larger area/ circumference. This is not a linear relationship because doubling the distance causes the spreading out light energy to reduce by more than a half as the circumference of a circle =r and this is not a linear quality. Also the equation backs this up, as it is a quadratic quality.

Therefore by doubling the distance away from the plant I expect to quarter the volume of oxygen released as the light intensity will be quartered and so the rate of photosynthesis will be quartered (see above).

I also predict that the control left in the dark will not produce any oxygen as there is no light available for photosynthesis to occur.

TO MAKE MY EXPERIMENT A FAIR TEST

·Keep constant all other variables

·Keep a fixed volume of water in the surrounding beaker of each experiment (in excess)

·Add an excess (1 spatula) of sodium hydrogen carbonate to the water so that CO levels are in excess and not limiting the rate of photosynthesis.

·Keep the water at a constant temperature for each experiment- 4 degrees C- and if it heats up from the lamp add more cold water. This will not affect my experiment as the water needed only needs to be of a certain level, and it will be in excess.

·Also a transparent screen can be placed between the lamp and beaker to prevent heat radiation.

· Use the same fresh elodea for each experiment to ensure the same leaf structures and basic photosynthetic rates.

·The same lamp should also be used in each experiment as the wavelength and intensity of the bulb should be kept constant.

·Use the same length of elodea for each experiment

·Cut the end of the elodea fresh with a razor blade to make sure that optimum photosynthetic rates are acquired.

· Keep a control in the dark to monitor all conditions. No photosynthesis should occur and no oxygen should be collected.

·Give each experiment the same time to photosynthesise.

·Always keep the funnel containing the elodea right in the middle of the beaker so that it is always an equal and fair distance from the beaker edge. This way it will always be the same extra distance from the light source, and no unfair heating or light will be in place to mar my results.

TO MAKE MY EXPERIMENT SAFE I think this is a fairly safe experiment although

·When working with water and electricity be extremely careful to keep surface and hands dry so as not to cause an electric shock.

·When cutting the elodea be very careful with the razor blade and make sure not to cut yourself.

·Be very careful when dealing with glassware.

EQUIPMENT NEEDED-

·1 Lamp (60 Watt bulb)

·1 Beaker (500 ml)

·1 funnel

·1 measuring cylinder- 10cm. This is to hold the elodea and measure the exact amount of oxygen given off.

·1 cm sprig of elodea.

·Stop clock to time investigations.

·Thermometer- to monitor water temperature.

·Bluetack- to hold measuring cylinder in place in beaker.

·Transparent screen- to prevent heat from lamp radiating the water.

·Razor blade to cut a fresh edge on the elodea.

·Mains electricity socket

·Water in excess

·I spatula of sodium hydrogen carbonate (to add CO to the water.

·Ceramic tile

OVERVIEW OF METHOD AND PRELIMINARY WORK

I conducted a preliminary experiment by placing some elodea in an inverted funnel in a beaker of water. Over the funnel I placed an inverted measuring cylinder. I then placed a lamp cm away and, switching on, left it for 10 minutes to photosynthesise. I repeated this for 4, 6, 8 and 10 cm from the lamp. I counted the volume of oxygen given off.

There were however some basic problems with this method

·Firstly I did not have much time, and so the 10 minutes I gave the plant to photosynthesise each time was not sufficient to create a worthwhile volume reading for the oxygen given off, and so my results were void. For the real method I shall count bubbles, and although this method is not terribly accurate, overall I will get a more accurate pattern off results.

·Also I could not use the screen (as intended in my fair test outline), as this was not available. Instead I just had to be more careful with the temperature of the water ( making sure that it did not overheat, and adding cool water whenever it started to heat up)

·In my preliminary work I placed the weed to near to the bottom of the funnel and observed bubbles escaping round the side of the funnel which marred my results. In my real experiment I shall place the weed directly in the measuring cylinder, and further up to avoid oxygen loss, and therefore resulting in more accurate results.

·I shall try to obtain a range of at least 5 results (as in preliminary work- ,4,6,8 and 10 cm between the beaker and the lamp.) to get an accurate and substantial representation and pattern of results. In my preliminary work I also tried putting the lamp 50cm away, yet no bubbles were observed. Therefore our results must be at much smaller intervals as fore-mentioned.

·I shall try to repeat each experiment twice so that any inaccurate results will be noticed, and so that I get more accurate results (by taking averages from a larger amount of data).

For most experiments a control is needed, to which we can compare our results. In this case, we will leave one weed in the dark, and attempt to exclude all light, so we can observe what would happen in terms of photosynthesis and oxygen produced if the plant received no light at all. Obviously we will not be able to count bubbles as they are released in the dark, but we will be able to observe whether after the 10 minutes any oxygen was given off at all. I would predict that it would not be as plants do not photosynthesise in the dark. Any gas that is given off is likely to be carbon dioxide, as plants also respire all the time. We could then use this information to find out how much of the bubbles from our other results were in fact oxygen, or carbon dioxide from respiration.

We will then vary the amount of light the plant receives, at set intervals (as mentioned above), and compare this data to the control.

PLAN OF RESULTS TABLE

Distance between lamp and Elodea(cm)Number of oxygen bubbles producedTemperature of the water (oC)

result 1result average

no lamp- in dark

4

6

8

10

METHOD

1. Cut cm of elodea on the white tile using a razor blade and taking care not to cut yourself.

. Set up apparatus as shown below

. Place one spatula of sodium hydrogen carbonate into the water so that CO is in abundance and is not the limiting factor.

4. Place in the dark and leave for 10 minutes (record time using the stop watch)

5. After 10 minutes remove plant from the dark and see whether any Oxygen has been given off (i.e. whether any gas bubbles have displaced the water at the top of the measuring cylinder.)

6. Repeat the experiment, only this time place the beaker in the dark room but with a light ,4,6,8, and then 10 cm away.

7. Throughout the experiment always monitor the temperature of the water using the thermometer, and if it starts to heat up, add cool water so that your results are not marred.

8. Record all results and repeat experiments twice so that maximum accuracy can be achieved.

OBTAINING EVIDENCE

I carried out my experiment fairly and safely, following the guidelines I set. I repeated each experiment to get more data and so more accurate results, however time did not allow for me to repeat each experiment twice. Although this was the case, my two sets of results still seem to coincide and so I think that they are sufficiently accurate.

Results table 1- no of oxygen bubbles produced compared to distance.

Distance between lamp and Elodea(cm)Number of oxygen bubbles producedTemperature of the water (oC)

result 1result average

no lamp- in dark

4

6

8

10

ANALYSIS

results table - no of oxygen bubbles produced compared to 1/ distance squared

1/Distance between lamp and Elodea squared(cm-)Number of oxygen bubbles producedTemperature of the water (oC)

result 1result

no lamp- in dark

4

6

8

10

As we can see from graph 1, the number of bubbles of oxygen produced (i.e. volume of oxygen) is inversely proportional to the distance between the beaker and the lamp. This is as I predicted and so I have achieved the results I wished for. The graph clearly shows that as distance between the beaker and the lamp increases, the no of bubbles given off decreases. In fact we see from graph 1 that the no of bubbles quarters by doubling the distance from the lamp

distance of cm 1.00 bubbles

distance of 4 cm.5 bubbles

distance of 8cm .50 bubbles

We see that these figures are very near 1/4 the no of bubbles when double the distance. In the evaluation I shall explain why I think they are not exact.

The reason that the oxygen given off quarters as the distance doubles is because light energy spreads out as it travels further away from its light source (i.e. as distance increases).

Light energy travels along the circumference of an expanding circle. As the circle expands and distance becomes greater, this causes the light intensity to decrease, as the same amount of light energy must be equally dispersed over a larger area/ circumference. This is not a linear relationship because doubling the distance causes the spreading out light energy to reduce by more than a half as the circumference of a circle = pr and this is not a linear quality.

If light intensity is quartered as distance doubles light intensity a 1/ d, this would explain why the amount of oxygen given off is also quartered as distance doubles.

This is because light intensity is directly proportional to rate of photosynthesis (doubling energy in = doubling energy out). This in turn is directly proportional to volume of oxygen released, as doubling the rate will also double the bi-product (oxygen) produced.

By looking at graph we do indeed see that the volume of oxygen (no of bubbles released) is directly proportional to 1/distance from lamp. As you double the 1/d, you double the bubbles given off

0.040 cm- 0. bubbles

0.080 cm- 4 bubbles

This is very accurate - only 0. of a bubble out.

The fact that these two factors double together would make sense because light intensity and the amount of bubbles given off are both quartered by doubling the distance. This would imply that if they are inversely proportional to d, then they are both proportional to 1/d , and this is in fact true (see above).

My prediction was therefore correct, and by analysing my results I think that I have sound enough evidence on which to base my conclusions above.

EVALUATION

The method used was a simple and effective way to investigate the effect of light intensity on the rate of photosynthesis. Although my results were not 100% accurate (as pointed out in the analysis), they were mainly correct, as shown by the smooth curve and straight line of the graphs, and as they clearly followed set patterns, I think that they are sound enough on which to base firm conclusions. My method was not highly sophisticated, yet by carrying out my experiment with great care, repeating my results and observing the patterns portrayed, I can say that my results are reasonably reliable. I had no anomalous results, although obviously there were a couple of points that deviated slightly from the curve / line of the graph.

There are a number of explanations for these slight deviations

·Although I managed the temperature quite well, it did fluctuate a bit, and this may have raised the rate of photosynthesis, and the oxygen produced. We can actually see that the result for 6cm distance actually had a highish temperature, and also a slightly higher thatn expected result. To combat this in the future I should attempt to regulate the temperature by a more satisfactory method. Perhaps I could heat the water slightly to start with, and as it gets hotter than the initial temperature, I could reduce my other heat input.

· Secondly, the pondweed did not photosynthesise at a constant rate. The bubbles were given off erratically, and therefore my results to not reflect 100% accurately what happened. To prevent this in the future, I could allow the plant to adjust to the set intensity of light for longer before I began to record the number of bubbles produced.

·Also the method of counting bubbles was not entirely satisfactory - even though my results were good and fairly reliable- as all the bubbles were of different sizes and so this was not a very fair portrayal. A great improvement for the future would be to leave the experiments running for a much longer time, Perhaps a whole day, to get a better idea of the volumes of oxygen given off. Also instead of counting bubbles I should stick to my original method from my preliminary work of recording the exact volumes of oxygen with the measuring cylinder. Unfortunately this method was not suitable for the time that I had, as volumes were not high enough to record accurately.

The entire experiment also may not have given an accurate reflection of the rate of photosynthesis. This could have happened for the following reasons.

· Unfortunately I did not have time to repeat each experiment twice, but only carried each one out twice. This may have affected all results, because there was only a small range of data to compare, and if one result was significantly wrong, I only had one other result to compare it to. However I did not seem to have any great errors/anomalies and so I still think that my results are reliable overall. In the future I shall however repeat the experiments one or two more times in order to gain more data and so highly accurate and reliable results.

· Some of the oxygen bubbles produced may also have escaped out of the measuring cylinder, or dissolved into the water. Perhaps they were even used for respiration by micro-organisms living on the pondweed. The oxygen lost in this way, however may have been a highly insignificant volume, and would have been very similar for all tests as they were carried out at the same time.

·Some of the gas given off may have been carbon dioxide from the plants respiration, but again, this was unlikely to mar my results, as they would all have been affected at the same rate. Also most of this gas would have been used up in photosynthesis, so the volumes would have been minimal.

· As previously mentioned, when observing the bubbles I noticed that they were all of different sizes. It was hard to judge which I should consider for observation, as some were of negligible size. I decided therefore to count all the bubbles I could, both large and small, even though this may also have resulted in some error. To combat this in the future I could collect the oxygen produced in a gas syringe, or inverted measuring cylinder, to measure the volume, which would be much more accurate than counting bubbles.

Having said all of this, I believe that the evidence collected, supported by my evidence from research and previous enquiries, was sufficient on which to base firm conclusions. However, for further confirmation, and also more insight into the topic as a whole, I could extend the enquiry by doing the following things

·I could vary one other or all of the other variables mentioned in my plan.

·A sensible extra variable to investigate would be the colour, and therefore the wavelength, of the light, keeping the intensity of the light constant this time. Taking into account that plants are green, and so this light will not be as effective for photosynthesis.... I could also vary the wavelength of light, trying to coincide this factor with the one I already investigated (the greater the intensity of light, the greater the rate of photosynthesis).

·I could repeat my experiments to get a wider range of data, leaving each one for a longer period.

·I could investigate different sorts of plants and see whether there is any difference in photosynthesis rate depending on their habitat/environment.

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"The Case of Bill Gates"Is too much success unethical?

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The Case of Bill Gates

Is too much success morally unethical?

By Chuck Haling

MGMT 68 B

Professor Swartz

July 4, 00

If there is a fine line between being a successful American business entrepreneur and a monopolistic villain, Bill Gates could probably tell us where that line is. If you were to talk to Bill Gates he would most likely tell you that he has experienced the American dream, and then some, so why do so many people hate him because of it?

Bill Gates is not a stupid man, although he did drop out of college, his love for computers and his natural business sense has helped him to create one of the largest and most recognizable companies in the world. There are several ethically debatable issues surrounding the rise of Microsoft and how Bill Gates has gotten to where he is. One issue that has received the most press over the past few years has been whether or not Microsoft violated anti-trust laws by creating boundaries to prevent other companies from entering the market. When you look at the computer you can break the components down into a few categories, hardware, software or peripherals. You can further dissect software into two additional categories, the operating system and the other being application software such as word processing software, spreadsheet software and web browser software to name a few. Those who have attacked Microsoft claim that the company, through its bundling approach to selling software and that fact that they give away their web browser program with the purchase of the operating system, limits the opportunity for competitors to enter the market with a sellable product that can compete. Although I have some mixed opinions about this issue and can appreciate both sides of the argument, I keep coming back to a basic fact that if it weren't for people like Bill Gates and companies like Microsoft, technology like this may not even exist. Don't get me wrong, I don't think that other companies should just sit back and not try to compete with companies like Microsoft, but I do believe that they need to find ways to differentiate their products or prove to consumers that their products are of equal or better quality to those produced by Microsoft and then let the consumer make a decision based on the features and benefits rather than by trying to reduce Microsoft's edge and ability to do what it they do best, develop software solutions. Consumers benefit from the natural progression that takes place when new companies try to enter markets by introducing either a better product or a better value. If other competing companies feel limited in their ability to complete at an even level, then perhaps they should look at ways to increase the value they are bringing to the consumer. For Microsoft, they have done an outstanding job of integrating their products to work very well with one another. Rather than look at this as a means of locking out the competition we should appreciate the technology and their innovation.

Another heavily debated issue related to Microsoft surrounds the amount of money that one is allowed to make before society considers it to be too much. Through the growth of the company and his shares of stock in Microsoft, Bill Gates is now worth billions of dollars and is one of the richest men in the world. It is hard to even fathom this amount of money, but the fact that Mr. Gates earned it is something that is rather easy to comprehend. Some people feel that making the amount of money that Mr. Gates makes is morally wrong and that if one person can make this type of money while other people are in poverty, the system must not be working. Most of Bill Gates wealth does not come from his salary, but instead comes from his approximate 0% ownership of the companies stock. By taking the company public, Bill Gates increased the amount of capital needed to grow Microsoft, and he made the stock available to anyone who could afford it. So who is really at fault for the success and extreme wealth of Bill Gates and Microsoft? As a publicly traded company, we the people, the consumers, the stock holders are the one who set the prices and the value of Microsoft. Through basic supply and demand we purchase Microsoft products and determine the wealth of not only Bill Gates, but all the stock holders in the company. The nice thing about the American economic system is that people have choices. If people did not see value in the products that are produced by Microsoft, they would stop buying them, or the demand that would be created would be enough to bring new competitors to the market. The fact that there are a limited number of competitors tells us that there is little demand that is not being met by Microsoft, as it relates to computer software.

The wealth associated with Microsoft now goes far beyond Bill Gates. The number of millionaires associated with the Microsoft organization is more than any other company in United States. Compared to employees in other technology related companies, Microsoft employees may not earn as much in a standard salary, employees who have been with Microsoft since the beginning as well as new executive level employees are now millionaires simply based upon the shares of stock they hold in the company. Some people allege that non-millionaire employees at Microsoft are being taken advantage of when the company is making so much money and the employees are not directly compensated based accordingly. To this I say that each of these employees has the opportunity to purchase Microsoft's stock and if they felt exploited they could leave the company at any time. It is a shame that not everyone has this type of wealth and that other people live in poverty, but I don't think we can fault the successful, nor should we punish them for their success. If we judge these individuals we are tearing at the threads that make up our competitive market system and send the message that although hard work may pay off, it only pays off to a certain level. I would suspect that many of the wealthy associated with Bill Gates and Microsoft have in fact given quite a bit back to society in the form of donations and charitable events, but I think it is wrong for us to expect them to do any more than anyone else.

If building one of the most successful companies in the world and inventing some of the most advanced technology that will take place in our lifetime is a crime, than Bill Gates and Microsoft are guilty as charged. It is hard to not be overwhelmed and even a bit jealous of Bill Gates and what he has created; however, until it is proven otherwise, everything he has accomplished has come as a result of a lot of hard work and moral and ethical business decisions.

Works Cited

Warner, Margaret. The Innovation Question Online News Hours 8 June 000. 4 July 00 http//www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/cyberspace/jan-june00/innovation.html.

Economides, Nicholas. Microsoft Anti Trust Case Stern Business Stern School of Business, NYU. Spring/ Summer 000. 4 July 00. http//www.stern.nyu.edu/networks/sternbusiness.html

Wilcox, Joe. Final Arguments in Microsoft antitrust Trial CNET News.com. 1,

September 1. 4 July 00. http//news.com.com/100-1001-415.html?legacy=cnet&tag=st.ne.ron.lthd.100-00-11650

Bollow, Norbert. Business Ethics In The Face Of Monopolistic Threats DotGNU Project

4 July 00 http//www.dotgnu.org/ethics.html

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French Revolution & The Declaration of the Rights of Man

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The French Revolution is a turning point in history, where the traditional social and political structures gave way to new forces and ideas of liberty, equality and fraternity. France provided crucial assistance in the American Revolution that launched the United States as an independent republic. Many French officers who served in the American Revolution arrived home exhilarated by the ideals of liberty and equality that they saw in the New World. The Revolution had helped to foster the idea of human rights in France and would lead to the creation of a modern republic.

In the 1760's France lost the Seven Years War to Britain and subsequently its valuable North American lands and markets. The royal financial mismanagement and self indulgences only worsened the situation. King Louis XV wasted enormous sums of money on costly wars, personal luxuries and a corrupt and extravagant administration. He failed to affect the tax reforms and other measures necessary to replenish the treasury. Louis XV managed to alienate a majority of the French people and made them distrust the monarchy.

The lack of confidence in the government served to heighten the social and political unrest in the nation. France's old political-social order, the ancien rgime was rigid, class oriented and unjust. Their structure, based upon a pyramid with the monarchy at the top and peasants at the bottom, was the basic model for many European societies at the time. What made the French society different from the others was that the social pyramid was plagued with conflicts and tensions that were becoming more apparent. Most of the non-privileged in France were superior to those elsewhere in Europe; they enjoyed a greater degree of freedom and a growing middleclass, having acquired wealth. Because there was more wealth and more enlightenment, the French were more forcefully discontent with the status quo and therefore more ready for change. It is a mistaken idea that revolution is caused by the worst conditions of tyranny and oppression. There must be the spirit to resist, and usually the most determined resistance comes from those who have secured at least a degree of liberty so that the remaining burdens are all the more galling by reason of the contrast.

However, members of all social classes were unhappy with the present status. The absolute monarchy was destroying itself; criticism of state business and of government institutions was growing rapidly. The parish priests who lived a modest and humble life grew to resent their superiors who lived in the lap of luxury. The aristocracy, although exempt from most taxes and receiving privileges even in criminal trials, were resentful of their exclusion from office and state affairs. The bourgeoisie was denied social status and a share in the government commensurate with their wealth. The peasants were becoming more educated and independent and yet they were still despised and considered to be the beasts of burden. The peasants were the most over taxed group, with approximately three-fifths of their income being paid to the clergy, nobility and state. They detested the government for their burdensome taxes. The accumulating grievances aroused a vigorous public opinion in favor of thorough reforms which would make their aspirations reality.

The French Revolution however, was mainly a movement of the bourgeoisie. The bourgeoisie grew in response to trade, industry and improvement in means of transportation. These middleclass families owned about a sixth of the land in the nation. Despite their affluence, they were considered to be of an inferior social class. They wanted to do away with the order of society that was determined by birth rather than prosperity. They desired a greater scope for initiative and enterprise. The bourgeoisie were ready for a significant change. They read the published works and pamphlets of the philosophes that expressed the middleclass ideals. Even though many of these works were forbidden by censorship, their contents were heavily discussed in the cafs, Masonic lodges and salons. The bourgeoisie came confidently to believe that the future belonged to them.

The philosophers and economists of the era profoundly influenced many of the thoughts and ideas for the Revolution. The eighteenth century became known as the Age of Enlightenment or the Age of Reason. It was a time when men stressed raison dêtre as a guide to the solution of the problems of man and the world. The origin of this idea can be found mainly in the works of John Locke, an English philosopher. In his work Of Civil Government, he states his political philosophy that since all members of a society cannot govern, government must be delegated to a few; and that the relations between governors and governed are established in some form of compact or contract involving mutual benefits and guarantees and punishments for infractions by either party to the agreement.

Voltaire was perhaps the most famous of the philosophes. He detested the Church and believed it was corrupt, inefficient and guilty of oppression and intolerance. His inclinations were to call for the destruction of an institution in order to rid it of its defects and vices rather than promote reform.

It was Jean-Jacques Rousseau however, who exerted the most influence over the French populace. He is noted for coining the notion of law as an expression of general will. Rousseau argued that sovereignty resides in the people, an extremely attractive idea to revolutionaries who wanted to draw up a new constitution to replace the old order they had rejected. In the Social Contract, Rousseau stated that all men originally were equal and good, but due to their environment they became unequal and bad. To be saved from themselves they must return to a happy state of nature. This can only be attained by enforcing the law as an expression of the general will. This cannot be done by reason alone, but requires prompting of the heart.

When Louis XVI was crowned king in 1775, the treasury was in dire straits. There was a tremendous amount of debt with interest that needed to be paid, and the situation was only expected to worsen. Louis XVI was a well-meaning but ineffective and indecisive ruler. At the Queen's insistence, he dismissed the ministers of Louis XV, who wanted to implement the tax reforms begun by the late King. These tax reforms would shift the burden from the poor to the rich. Unfortunately, the poor had no voice, whereas the rich made themselves heard and protested the modifications. By giving in to the protests of the nobility, Louis XVI earned great popularity, but prevented the regime from reforming itself. By the time of the Revolution, the treasury was nearly empty and Louis XVI could not prevent the erosion of public confidence in the government.

In 178, Louis XVI was in urgent need of money. He had no choice but to tap into the wealth of the Church and aristocracy by levying taxes. The only way he could accomplish this was to convene a meeting of the Estates General (similar to medieval Europe's great council or a rudimentary Parliament), which hadn't taken place since 1614. The meeting demonstrated the King's desperation and weakened authority. He needed the help of the nation to affect any real reform. The meeting of the Estates General raised many people's hopes that the government might finally be forced to consider the grievances of the various social groups. Despite his weakened position, he maintained a superior, arrogant attitude. He expected the assembly to bow to his wishes and agree with his requests. Instead the delegates arrived with a list of grievances (cahiers de dolances), which called for less oppressive taxes, free speech and press, the abolition of letters de cachet (arbitrary arrest) and regular meetings of the Estates General.

The Estates General consisted of three orders clergy, nobles and commoners-including the bourgeoisie. All three orders were equal in power. However the commoners outnumbered the other two orders and therefore demanded votes by head in a single assembly that would maintain equality of the orders and provide the commoners with a majority voice. This demand was denied. The King, influenced by the Queen and the Court decided to support the privileged classes. The commoners took matters into their own hands and declared themselves the National Assembly of France. When guards refused to admit them to meet in the building they moved to a nearby tennis court where they took the famous Tennis Court Oath vowing not to break up until a constitution had been framed for France.

The National Assembly was not looking to make France a democracy or eliminate the monarchy. They wanted to draft a constitution that would guarantee all French citizens, regardless of social class, basic civil rights and oblige the king to agree and sign it. It would make France a constitutional monarchy and the king's authority would rest on the will of the people and their duly elected representatives in government. Many of the clergy and nobles joined the commoners at the National Assembly, which weakened the government position. The King urged the remainder of the privileged orders to join with them. Two schools of thought then emerged with regards to the constitution. One said France already had a constitution that had been violated and ignored. It needed to be reinstated and the abuses of it eliminated. These defenders of the old constitution were the nobility and clergy. The commoners favored a new constitution, saying that the old

one was vicious and not worth saving, if one existed at all. This thought reflected the influence of Voltaire. It wouldn't matter if there were a new constitution or the old one were restored if the provisions were the same. But that was the problem; there was no agreement.

The King's concession for the privileged orders to join the National Assembly was not in good faith. Influenced by members of the royal family and disgruntled aristocrats who feared losing their wealth and power, he used this time to gather troops on the outskirts of Paris and Versailles. This caused the people of Paris to become extremely anxious. They feared the troops would disband the Assembly or attack the city. Paris and the surrounding cities began to collect arms.

On July 14th in search of weapons, the people came upon the Bastille, the fortress where political prisoners were once kept. This building was a hated symbol of the monarchy's past abuses. Out of fear and ineptitude, the governor of the fortress ordered his guards to fire on the crowd. The angry survivors captured the Bastille and executed the governor and several guards. Bastille Day is now celebrated as France's independence day. If Louis XVI had intended to disassemble the Assembly, he had to back away from the plan now. The old leaders, from the King down, began to lose their power.

After the fall of the Bastille, there was an increasing disorder in the provinces, reports of disturbances, uprisings and demonstrations against the government throughout France. To the peasants, who did not care about politics but wanted the end of unequal taxation and feudal dues, these uprisings were their spark to set off the fire. Rumors that the King was sending troops to rural areas to control the revolts started the Great Fear. Peasants fled their homes and villages and took shelter in the forest. After their fears subsided they found themselves gathered together with arms. They turned their attention to the evils that plagued them and took action. Peasants burned mansions and monasteries destroying documents that recorded their feudal obligations to provide landlords with labor and monetary payments. Realizing that the rioting must be stopped and evil cured at its roots, the aristocracy in the Assembly renounced feudal rights and instituted proportional taxing. The abolition of the feudal regime on August 4, 178 was a direct expression of the popular will. From then on all French citizens were theoretically equal under the law.

With the growing discontent in the city streets, the Assembly knew that fundamental changes were imperative and a liberating decree needed to be provided. They were determined to educate the citizens about liberty. The National Assembly voted that a declaration was necessary and should be separate from and preliminary to the constitution. Marquis de Lafayette, a close friend of Thomas Jefferson and a celebrated French participant in the American Revolution, offered the first proposal on July 11, 178. Even at the earliest stages, the connection between natural rights and democracy as a form of government emerged. Some felt that the idea of democracy was suitable for Americans who were accustomed to equality, but it could not be introduced in France where feudalism and nobility had been the heritage. After days of debate and 4 articles proposed, 17 articles were agreed upon and the Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen was ratified on August 6, 178. The Declaration provided a vision of the government based on principles completely different from the monarchy. The legitimacy of the government now stems from the guarantee of individual rights by law. The government of the absolute monarchy had stemmed from the king's divine right and maintenance of social order that guaranteed privileges according to rank and status, allowing him to buy allegiances.

According to the Italian writer Beccaria in his work Of Crime and Punishments, when we adhere to the strict execution of the laws, which is the result of the will of all, people will know the exact consequences of their crimes and will be more effectively deterred. It then follows for the need of legislative supremacy, with a severe limitation of the power of judges, confined to strict execution of the laws. The law itself can determine the just proportion between crime and punishment. Limiting the power of judges is essential to the freedom of citizens

The influence of this rationalism is apparent in the Declaration of Rights of Man and Citizen. It reinforces the legitimacy of the state by implying laws will be more legitimate and obeyed because they conform to the Declaration; that it is possible to judge the actions of the legislature by the standards of the rights of man. The terms of the Declaration are clear to be understood by everyone, which prevents the need for judicial interpretation. It establishes legislative supremacy in the ordering of liberties. Whatever the delegated responsibilities are to the executive and judicial powers, the legislative powers are supreme and are invested with the responsibility to express the general will of the people as stated in law. The law is the expression of general will.

The Declaration expresses revolutionary faithfulness to the legacy of the Enlightenment, which promoted a politics of reason based on evidence entrusted to the power of statute law. Many of the Enlightenment's concerns are evident throughout the document including individual freedom, civic equality and unjust privileges. All people were to stand equally before the law. Rationalized law now replaced custom and the will of the king, whose legitimacy extended only to his conformity to the wishes of the enlightened public opinion. The main problem for the Enlightenment was not the identity of the sovereign, but the rationalization of the social order. The assertion of equality of opportunity was not intended to eliminate all social distinctions. The preservation of property rights assured that differences due to wealth, education and talent would remain and be considered natural and legitimate. The Declaration therefore, helped make wealth not birth the foundation for social and political order in the new regime.

The Assembly endeavored to make a statement of universality rather than one that was uniquely French. The Declaration clearly placed sovereignty in the nation. The notion of rights stemming from membership in the nation as opposed to that in a social-political order was a fundamental change. People began to greet each other as citizen.

The French Revolution was a radical break. It promoted people vs. king, equality under the revolution vs. privilege under the monarchy, citizens vs. subjects of the king. To liberty and equality the French Revolution added fraternity, in respect of which no inequalities are justifiable. The impartial republic must be equal. There was no diversity of interests, no non-French and no nobles. Their political goal was to be a nation of equals.

The Declaration of 178 is a close relation to our Declaration of Independence. Both revolutions appealed to the idea of rights inherent in all human beings. The French wanted to produce what they believed to be a more purely rational and universalistic statement. They felt the Americans did not break radically enough with their English past. The French thought Americans were preoccupied with specific legalities and limitations, whereas they wanted to address the essence of the law. They have a commitment to absolute legislative sovereignty and impatience with the American doctrine of separation of powers. They could not see the point of checks and balances in a system where privilege had been abolished in favor of equal rights for all citizens. They felt it was an imitation of the English government. The philosophes felt the American's limitations and balances only served to obstruct the simple truth they had discovered that the will of the people as expressed in legislation is sovereign.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen tries to combine the elements of the Declaration of Independence, which speaks of natural rights and the Constitution, which establishes civil rights into one document, mixing together natural and civil rights. In principle the French system was opposed to private interests. However, it was actually more open to the influence of particular interests through opinion by the societies (i.e.-Jacobins). The Americans knew that you must distinguish the people's reason from their will; hence government, representing reason, must be at a certain distance from popular will. However, the French viewed reason and will the same. Government is necessary but can always be corrupted. You must bring the government as close to the people as possible by bringing it in alignment with popular opinion. Opinion is about equality or about what equality demands right now. And what the nation wants, or is assumed to want, is more equality.

The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen exercised an enduring influence on all subsequent discussions of human rights. Like the Declaration of Independence, it spoke of the natural, inalienable and sacred rights of man. It stood as the preamble to the constitution and provided the principles for political legitimacy. It provided a vision of government that would stem from the guarantee of individual rights by law. It held out for the highest ideals including genuine justice and the encouragement of human development. They added fraternit to the democratic qualities and leaders often spoke of the necessity of virtue and community. Most important is their attempt at universal application, rather than one particularly French. It is because of its universality that it has continued to resound in the name of liberty, equality and fraternity.

References

Andrews, George Gordon (17). The Constitution in the Early French Revolution. New York, NY F.S. Crofts & Co.

Blanning, T.C.W. (16). The Rise and Fall of the French Revolution. Chicago & London The University of Chicago Press.

Craig, Albert & Graham, William, et al. (000). The Heritage of World Civilizations (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ Prentice-Hall, Inc.

Crow, Thomas E. (185). Painters and Public Life in Eighteenth-Century Paris. New Haven & London Yale University Press.

Hancock, Ralph & Lambert, L. Gary ed. (16). The Legacy of the French Revolution. Lanham, MD Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.

McClellan, Andrew (1). Inventing the Louvre. Berkeley & Los Angeles, CA University of California Press, Ltd.

Merriman, John (16). A History of Modern Europe From the Renaissance to the Age of Napoleon. New York & London W.W. Norton & Co.

Nardo, Don - ed. (1). The French Revolution. San Diego, CA Greenhaven Press, Inc.

Rohr, John A. (15). Founding Republics in France and America. Lawrence, KS University Press of Kansas.

The Age of Enlightenment, Direction des Muses de France. http//mistral.culture.fr/lumiere/documents/files/imaginary 14 Direction des Muses de France, All Rights Reserved.

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Moulinex, the French-based electrical household appliance manufacturer, started in the early 100's with Jean Mantelet and a few employees who made hand-held mashed potato grinders. With limited technology at the time, the company eventually became very innovative. They began to distribute their grinders all across France and neighboring countries. Their reputation for quality lead to the company becoming infamous for many other kitchen appliances. Many of this included kettles, food processors, and pressure cookers. For the next 60 years Moulinex continued to put comfort in their products first, using its expertise to offer homemakers a different and improved lifestyle. Always a step ahead, Moulinex successfully created innovative and attractive household appliances to meet the changing needs of the modern household (www.moulinex.com).

During the early twentieth century, Moulinex was at the head of the French homemaking industry. Yet, since the mid-180s, Moulinex has experienced a wave of redundancy plans. Under the management of its founder, Jean Mantelet, the company failed to anticipate the economic slowdown of the early 180's (Macaire, Simon). From 185 onward, its losses began to mount up. That year, the first of the redundancy plans led to 1,00 lay offs, and the unfortunate retirement of Mr. Mantelet. In 10, the Moulinex groups debt burden stood at EUR 50 million, and a restructuring of management and marketing procedures did nothing to turn this situation around. The company took on almost a dozen different general managers during the early nineties (Macaire, Simon).

In 14, they introduced another new redundancy plan, which would result in the company shedding 1,500 employees and inevitably closing two plants. In 16, Pierre Blayau took control of the company and provided cash inoculation of EUR 150 million. However, the companys losses still stood at a staggering EUR 107 million. Blayau introduced yet another new redundancy plan, in which ,400 jobs would be lost (Hege, Agelheid). Conversely, the impact of this redundancy plan was offset by the implementation of a reduced working week. Meant to save jobs, the reduced workweek encouraged working time reductions and reorganization. However, the Asian economic crisis in 17, and the 18 economic crisis in Russia, which was Moulinexs second largest market, resulted in a renewed slump in the companys profits.

Against a background of consolidation and production relocation, the Italian group Elfi, which already owned Brandt, bought out Moulinex in late September of 000 (Hege, Adelheid). The merger of Brandt and Moulinex into the Moulinex-Brandt Corporation took place in December 000, with Patrick Puy becoming the new chief executive. The merger was meant to pull the company out of the gutter. Instead, it entered back into the spotlight. The merger was greatly endorsed by most all trade unions represented at Moulinex including; the General Confederation of Labour, the French Christian Workers Confederation, the General Confederation of Labour-Force ouvrière, and the independent Workers Interest Defense Union (Macaire, Simon). The support of the unions made the change easier and more appealing to the employees who feared for their jobs. However, it was opposed by CFDT, who felt that the merger would just increase the amount of debt onto the company.

On the 5 April 001, Mr. Puy introduced a restructuring/redundancy plan to the companys board that would shed almost 4,000 jobs worldwide (Husson, Michel). This would include 1,500 jobs in France and 1,700 jobs in Poland, out of a combined workforce of only ,000. He presented the same plan to the French central works council the next day. The plan provided for the closure of three plants in France, which housed fifty percent of Moulinex's employees, and four more plants elsewhere in the world. At the time of the announcement, Mr. Puy stated, the goal of the plan is to balance the books by 00 and to move into a profit-making situation of % to 4% of turnover by 005 (Husson, Michel). The controversial plan seemed doomed from the beginning, nevertheless something had to be done about the companys debt burden, which now stood at EUR 760 million. Moulinex had to find sources of funding to finance the cost of restructuring, which was estimated at EUR 00 million. The trade unions decided to respond by using the courts. In early 001, the central works council authorized its secretary to request a court-authorized expert appraisal. It was in an attempt to obtain all the information pertaining to the economic, legal, accounting, and management operations underpinning the companys current economic and labor relations situation. The members of the central works council believed that the former management team of Moulinex had indulged in poor management procedures in an attempt to promote the Moulinex-Brandt merger. Consequently, the Nanterre High Court ordered the appointment of an expert to assess the economic situation resulting from the merger. The expert report, which severely criticized the managements rescue plan, was submitted to the central works. Some of the experts called on, considered that the measures put forward failed adequately to address the employee and economic issues. They, in turn, recommended retaining two plants and repositioning manufacturing on mid-range to high-range product lines advocating a redefined innovation policy (Husson, Michel). However, management opted instead to implement the plan in its original form, with only subtle adjustments.

In early September of 001, in light of the fact that no new financial backing had been impending, the Moulinex board of trustees announced that it intended to file for bankruptcy (www.moulinex.com). The management had counted on backing from the banks, an increase in capital by Elfi, and the divestment of assets to fund the rescue plan. However, Elfi, being the main shareholder, went back on their previous decision to increase capital. Consequently, the Nanterre Commercial Court appointed two receivers for a six-month period in an attempt to work out a solution and to find backers. The government indicated that it would provide assistance to Moulinex in order to limit the social and employment repercussions. Only two companies submitted takeover bids for parts of the Moulinex group. One being Fidei, a financial group specializing in buying out ailing companies and the other SEB, a direct Moulinex competitor. Both groups were mainly interested in Moulinexs division of making small electrical appliances, which had great potential of turning over an economic profit (Hege, Adelheid). SEB proposed to keep 4,50 of the 8,85 workforces, to retain only three plants of the company's plants, and to refuse to take over the Brandt division. Fidei, on the other hand, proposed to shed ,500 employees, 1,100 fewer than SEB, but also rejected any buy-out of Brandt. Needless to say, neither of the proposals was supported by the trade unions.

In early October of the same year, Euroland, a Quebec-based investment fund, offered to take over Moulinex-Brandt as a whole. They would provide a cash infusion of EUR . billion and avoid mass redundancies (Husson, Michel). However, it was unable to prove that it had the financial resources required to fund its proposal. Thus, on October fifth of 001 the banks enabled Brandt to resume business activity. From the beginning of the Moulinex crisis, the trade unions had organized numerous demonstrations condemning the announced redundancy plan. Local elected officials and residents had also been involved. The unions had used all the possibilities to fight the plan even lobbying the government to urge the banks to free up the required funding to bail out the company. They have met with the Ministers of Economy, Finance and Industry on several occasions. However, while it appeared in late October that Brandt was on the verge of obtaining a bailout, Moulinex still had its back to the wall. The trade unions continued to battle within each other, causing more diffusion than within the actual boundaries of the company. CFDT had twice disagreed with the other unions; first by rejecting the Moulinex-Brandt merger, which resulted in a CFDT delegate being expelled from the Moulinex board to be replaced by a CGT one, and then by voting against asking the courts to allow an alternative expert appraisal of the restructuring plan. Nevertheless, the critical situation at Moulinex prompted all the trade unions to demonstrate a government intervention to save the company. The fate of Moulinex hung on a decision by the courts. If no buyer stepped in, Moulinex would be forced to close down completely. This would lead to unemployment on a scale that had not been seen for over a decade.

Many companies such as Arcelic-Beko of Turkey, Candy of Italy, Elco of Israel and Whirlpool of the US all bid on Moulinex, which filed for bankruptcy in September as part of the collapse of Moulinex-Brandt. Court-appointed administrators decided to deal separately with Moulinex and Brandt, which came together less than a year earlier when ElFi, the Italian owner of Brandt, bought Moulinex. Moulinex had 11,000 employees, but the focus remained on the fate of its 5,00 workers in France. None of the bidders were keen to buy much more than its domestic operations.

Elco offered to invest Euros 100m over two years in Moulinex, guaranteeing jobs for 4,00 Moulinex workers in France. This was the most generous offer in terms of employment, and one that received warm welcome from French labor unions. The offers were difficult to compare, but Elcos rivals hoped commercial logic, rather than employment considerations would prevail. Arcelic-Beko, a subsidiary of Koc, offered to keep ,100 jobs in France and invest Euros 500m over two years. Candy planned to maintain ,100 jobs and invest Euros 140m over three to four years. Whirlpool wanted to save ,00 jobs and invest between Euros 150m and Euros 00m in the first year.

The Moulinex decision was in the hands of administrators, but the government took a keen interest in the process. The government wanted a strong industrial partner for Moulinex, but it wanted just as much to avoid another round of social unrest at this sensitive time, according to one insider. Moulinex generated more interest from potential buyers than expected, justifying the decision to handle Brandt and Moulinex separately.

However, the French market had been growing at an average 5 per cent a year over the past five years, and Moulinex has some prized assets. In particular were its cookers, and its top-loading washing machines. The fiasco that took place since the bankruptcy announcement proves that the appliance industry is very competitive throughout the world and consolidation is probably needed in order to allow more of these companies to prosper.

In the appliance world toady there are numerous competitors, making the market almost impossible to deal with. Basic economics teaches one that to reach the long run equilibrium an entity must battle through the ups and downs. Yet, as noted earlier Moulinex has unsuccessfully battled for years upon years. That is due to competitors such as, Whirlpool and General Electric. Since the September solvency of the Moulinex group, other appliance manufacturers saw great gains. Whirlpool, for example, saw its stock price rise from about 5 in mid-September to over 75 today. That's almost a fifty percent increase in price over the last twelve months. Sales for appliance manufacturers picked up worldwide following the Moulinex bankruptcy. Most sources credit the success of other appliance companies to the drop in consumer confidence in the Moulinex brand. However, in the last quarter, following the SEB buyout of Moulinex and Krups, the Moulinex brand name started back on the right track.

SEB, the French household appliances group, saw its turnover increase by 6 per cent during the first quarter of this year, to 41m euros. Including the sales of its subsidiaries Moulinex and Krups, turnover reached year-on-year growth of 5.5 per cent. The groups turnover increased worldwide, except in South America, where it fell 14. per cent. Sales in the US went up by 11.1 per cent for SEB alone, and by 5.8 per cent including Moulinex and Krups. In France, the figures were per cent and .8 per cent respectively. In the other countries of the European Union, sales increased by .8 per cent for SEB; consolidated sales went up by .4 per cent.

One of Moulinex's big competitors is General Electric. General Electric states that they are a diversified services, technology and manufacturing company with a commitment to achieving customer success and worldwide leadership in each of its businesses. They operate in more than 100 countries and employ a little over 1,000 people worldwide. General Electric is able to cover a wider range of customers due to their worldwide reputation for quality products. They were able to turn over 15. billion dollars profit in 001, which is extremely larger than Moulinex. Also, General Electric has been placed at the top of the Forbes 500 for several years, whereas it is difficult to even locate financial information for Moulinex.

Another one of Moulinex's American competitors is Maytag. They have been is service for over 100 years and today are a 4. billion dollar home and commercial appliance company. Maytag is among the top three companies in the North American market, offering a full line of washers, dryers, dishwashers, refrigerators and ranges. Maytag is best known for their marketing campaigns. Moulinex lacks the commercial marketing appeal that Maytag has, which has hurt their overall sales.

Moulinex is in a period of consistent failure. The disturbing aspect of Moulinex's decline in the appliance business is the fact that many of the circumstances that Moulinex now faces might have been avoided, and might still be avoided. Much of the problem lies in the fact that Moulinex is subject to French Socialist legislation that generally increases the cost of doing business, and impedes on business policy in the interest of the French citizens. Many of the layoffs that Moulinex was able to carry out, though, had been greeted with picket lines and violence. Though in a Socialist government the workers expect to be more secure, and react more violently to layoffs. In a different environment, the violence and many of the situations could have been avoided.

Previously, Moulinex had been expanding business operations overseas and at home. In 16, Moulinex had projected 40% of its sales would come from outside Europe, and it had far exceeded its projected sales of billion francs in three years (AFP-Extel). In 18, it was reported that Sales had increased by 4. percent (AFP-Extel). However, it was very clear early on that Moulinex was in financial need. Early arrangements had been made with banks to secure favorable loans. As early as July in 001, Moulinex was dispelling rumors that it was going bankrupt. Recently, it had been made known that Moulinex was losing money, but management had remained optimistic, claiming that they had designed a restructuring plan that called for the loss of 4,000 jobs and the resurgence of positive numbers beginning as soon as 00. The response of management was a denial of the inevitable, and the projected job losses were an understatement. However, the workforce's violent responses just four months later might have played a large part in the actual collapse. In October of 001, Moulinex administrators confessed the truths of their circumstances, proclaiming that the sale of assets would not cover their liabilities and that shareholders had nothing to hope for (Le Monde, French Stocks Moulinex).

Moulinex has no doubt dealt with many serious blows to its business. To begin with, Moulinex is a French company. Unfortunately, this implies that Moulinex is subject to strict Socialist legislation that requires that management make a deal with the Unions before any layoffs can be made. The government has recently passed legislation that made it more difficult for companies to layoff employees (Le Figaro, French State). In August of 001, it was thought that only ,00 French jobs would be lost, but continuing talks with Unions meant that in exchange for the loss of these jobs, Moulinex must have maintained two research facilities with 50 and 00 jobs. The cost of maintaining these and continuing research became quite expensive (Le Figaro). On October , Moulinex was forced to sell most of its assets to a rival in the appliance industry, and 8,800 former employees began looking for new jobs.

The labor force resisted any layoffs or partial takeovers that Moulinex proposed. On November 1, 001, workers from Moulinex set fire to an outbuilding and placed generic bombs at several points in the microwave factory where they used to work. They claimed that Moulinex had the decision to either pay them or the building would burn (Mallet). Just a few days later, Moulinex succumbed to the Unions in negotiations. They agreed to compensate ,500 employees with between 0,000 FFr, and 80,000 FFr based on the individual employees' time with the company (Le Monde). More recently, however, SEB has acquired some of Moulinex's operations and has projected an increase in sales at the expense of still more layoffs. Subsidiaries, however, had not been considered in the SEB takeover, and face an uncertain future. Foreign plants, though, have been completely dissolved, as the French company shifts its focus to the domestic market (Le Figaro, Worries Over). Even now, Moulinex is still facing closures and layoffs. There is still time to implement a strategy to avoid the complete closure of the remaining facets of Moulinex. The situation is comprised of three key factors Moulinex must cut costs, the government wants to avoid layoffs, and the workers react violently to layoffs.

The solution, then, is to avoid layoffs without bearing large costs to keeping employees on the payroll. BMW (Bayerische Motor Werk) has had some experience with a similar situation just a decade ago. BMW had recently expanded its markets before 1. German Unification had occurred in 18 and 17 million people entered the German market. BMW had focused much of its resources on satisfying the resurgence of demand. By 1, the German car company, as well as the industry as a whole faced an increase in costs and plummeting demand for automobiles abroad. This in part was perhaps due to the growth of the Japanese car industry and an international recession. In Germany, where one out of six jobs is directly or indirectly dependent on cars, anything that affects the automotive industry has infinite ramifications on things such as morale, GDP, etc. BMW stood alone among Germany's car manufacturers for not having to temporarily shut down plants or reduce the labor force.

The truth is, that the German automobile manufacturing industry survived by using similar means of cost reduction in spite of similar circumstances. Germany, like France, has a socialist government that has strict legislation that prohibits certain behavior of businesses, including layoffs to a large extent. German car manufacturers did not typically lay workers off, rather, they implemented reduced hours at the same pay. Considering that the German Government bears the burden of health care and other services that United States businesses usually provide, the costs of keeping an idle labor force on hand are few. Hourly workers come in reduced shifts to different factories. Many of the factories that were built as expansion operations were temporarily shutdown, reducing costs to the amount of the fixed costs. The German auto industry survived and prospered because it was innovative and found alternative solutions to a problem that many other industries had faced before it.

By reducing man-hours at Moulinex, costs are reduced, and the government and the workforce are more pleased. The government does not find need to intervene in the affairs of Moulinex, as layoffs are few or non-existent. The labor force, too, should remain relatively pleased, and may perhaps sympathize with the company for having compensated and compromised for the sake of the employees.

In the event that Moulinex is still unable to resist impending losses long enough to witness economic recovery, then layoffs are inevitable. If large layoffs are inevitable, at least the workers might recognize that Moulinex had made concessions and did all that they could to keep them on the payroll and protect their interests. Civil disobedience is generally avoided if workers can sympathize with the company and feel that it is better in the long run if the company does commit to a policy of layoffs.

The reaction of many of the German auto manufacturers to BMWs success in the industry was to institute layoff policies. Likewise, if Moulinex's implementation of a layoff-aversion policy fosters growth and success by avoiding short-term costs and liabilities, then one might expect that other small household appliance manufacturers might also have to downsize. In the event that Moulinex should fail, then the competition would definitely purchase Moulinex's closed factories and manage them much more efficiently.

Overall, I feel that Moulinex has the ability to rise above the many problems it has been forced to face. I believe that if it implements techniques such as those followed by BMW, it can once again be a successful company. The new policies and techniques will allow the company to reduce layoffs, but keep employees happy. Based on the research I discovered that Moulinex is a prime example of a centralized foreign subsidiary. The headquarters is located in Paris, France. The headquarters management makes the major decisions. After the decisions are finalized, they are sent to the different branches and executed. Due to the large size of the organization, they tend to apply structural relationships. I knew very little of Moulinex when I first began this project, now I able to compare it to many other large appliance manufacturing companies. I enjoyed researching about this company's highs and lows over the decades.

Works Cited

Hege, Adelheid. Further Restructuring at Moulinex. Institut de Rechercher Economiques et Sociales (translated). /8/00

History of The Moulinex Group. http//www.moulinex.com

Husson, Michel. Industrial Unrest at Moulinex. Institut de Rechercher Economiques et Sociales (translated). 7/1/01

Macaire, Simon. Moulinex chronicle of a death foretold. Institut de Rechercher Economiques et Sociales (translated). /11/01

Moulinex Employees Set Fire to Factory Building. http//www.agrnews.org. 11/1/01

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Details on metamorphosis, my life with the wave, and Harrison Bergeson

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Gregor's metamorphis did not only affect him, it affected his whole family in a certain way. It affected each member of the family in a certain way. When he metamorphosed into the bug, none of his family treated him the same. His sister was the only one who showed any concern about him by bringing him his food each day. She even made him choices of what to eat. To find out what he liked she brought him a whole selection of food, all set out on an old newspaper (8.Kafka, 58). She did not even have to do that. I think she just wanted him to know that she cares for him. She was hesitant about seeing him as a bug and Gregor knew this so every time she would come to feed him, he would hide on the couch, this becoming a norm to the both of them.

It came to Gregor's sister Grete has become grieved, she would not even clean his room, and she would just rush in there and open the window. The very way she became distressed him. Hardly was she in the room when she rushed to the window, without even taking time to shut the door, careful as she was usually to shield the sight of Gregor's room from the others, and as if she were almost suffocating tore the even bitterest cold and drawing deep breaths (4.Kafka, 61). It seemed like she was not doing it because she was caring for her brother, it seem like it has just become an awful chore of hers. Gregor's sister finally lost it when the lodgers seen Gregor and refused to pay the parents for room and board. At one point she says, Things can't go on like this. Perhaps you

don't realize that, but I do. I won't utter my brother's name in the presence of this creature, and so all I say is we must get rid of it. We've tried to look after it and put up with it as far as is humanly possible, and I don't think anyone could reproach us in the slightest (77.Kafka, 74). After all she did for him, looking after him, feeding him, the only one that showed any compassion for him, she was the first one to state it. They all wanted to get rid of him. Gregor was all alone.

The narrator starts to realize that he loves her when she was waiting for him at his apartment, though first he is shocked by seeing her there. Her presence changed my life. The house of dark corridors and dusty furniture was filled with air, with sun, with green and blue reflections, a numerous and happy populace of reverberations and echoes (0.Paz, 64). The way he describes her being there shows that he has compassion for her. She complained about the apartment so he decorated it like a beach, hanging up seashells, putting up models of sailboats, and even installed a fish colony.

He ceases to love her when the fish come into the story. It was not jealousy that I watched them swimming in my friend, caressing her breasts, sleeping between her legs, adorning her hair with little flashes of color (6.Patz, 65). He feels that she was cheating on him with these fish. He did not omit that he was jealous of the fish, but the way he described them. Among the other fish there were a few particularly repulsive and ferocious ones, little tigers from the aquarium with large fixed eyes and jagged blood thirsty mouths (7.Patz, 65). He hated them and the way they got all the attention from the wave. He starts to hate her when he tries to squash the fish, but they swim away and

he starts to drown and all she does is laugh at him. I felt very weak, fatigue and humiliated. And at the same time her voluptuousness made me close my eyes because her voice was sweet and she spoke to me of delicious death of the drowned. When I came to my senses, I began to fear and hate her (8.Paz, 65). That is when the narrator's feelings drastically change about the wave.

When the narrator dispatches the frozen wave into pieces it represents their breakup. It shows that they do not belong with each other anymore. In a restaurant in the outskirts I sold her to a waiter friend, who immediately began to chop her into little pieces, which he carefully deposited in the bucket where the bottles are chilled (0.Paz, 66). This shows the relationship has come to an end. He would never see her again.

When the family first saw Gregor as a bug, he tried to walk out of his room, but his father tries to drive Gregor back into his room using a rolled up newspaper. Gregor tried to turn around but he was not fast enough. His father shoved him back into there. One side of his body rose up, he was tilted at an angle in the doorway, his flank was quite bruised, horrid blotches stained the white door, soon he was stuck fast and, left to himself, could not have moved at all, his legs on one side fluttered trembling to the air, those on the other were crushed painfully to the floor, when from behind his father gave him a strong push which was literally a deliverance and he flew far into the room bleeding freely (1.Kafka, 56). His father did even care if he hurt Gregor as long as he got him into the room.

Gregor's mother wanted to see him, so his sister and she went into his room to see Gregor. They decided to since his footprints were on the floor and ceiling, that his movement would be less hindered if they removed some furniture. While they were out of the room, Gregor climbed on the wall and his mother caught a glimpse of this and fainted. Gregor's sister Grete rushed to get her medicine. She was startled by Gregor following her only trying to help. She ran back into the room and slammed the door on Gregor's face, leaving him locked out. He panics and runs all over the ceiling and floor till passing out. His father getting home from work, irritated because he has not worked in five years sees his son passed out and becomes irritated and starts throwing apples at Gregor, one penetrating his back, which leads to his death.

The two females in Harrison Bergeron are very different, completely opposite. In the story Vonnegut gives you a sense that women are as equal as men are. Coming from the period that he wrote this was never heard of. The first woman, Harrison's mother Hazel was not that bright. Gee, I could tell that one was a doozy, said Hazel. You can say that again, said George. Gee, said Hazel, I could tell you that one was a doozy (0.Vonnegut, 8). This was an example that Vonnegut put in there to show how dumbfounded she was. Her husband George was being sarcastic and she took as if I meant for her to say it again. She could not hold a long serious thought. You been crying? He said to Hazel. Yup she said. What about? he said. I forget, she said. Something real sad on television (84.Vonnegut, 8). Her son just got shot and killed

and she could not even remember what she was crying about. Vonnegut characterized her for not being very intelligent, how most women were stereotyped to be in the 160's.

Then there was Diana Moon Glampers, the Handy-Capper General. She was the law, people were afraid of her. Diana Moon Glampers loaded the gun again. She aimed it at the musicians and told them that they had ten seconds to get their handicaps back on (80.Vonnegut, 8). The people listened to her because they fear because she was the law. This was the totally opposite of Hazel. Where no one would have ever thought of a woman with that much power, she was very smart and had a high ranking class in the government. Vonnegut made these two female characters like this to take away the stereotypes from women.

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Ffs

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A further major difficulty with the discernment of genuine autonomy in those who are dying concerns the close association between the sincere wish to be dead and mental illness, present in up to 5% of those who wish to commit suicide or who request euthanasia. Numerous articles in the literature of psychiatry reveal that the great majority of patients who desire death during a terminal illness are suffering from a treatable mental illness, most commonly a depressive condition. This is not a diagnosis which can easily be made by the average doctor unless he or she has had extensive experience with depression and suicide, and it is frequently missed even in those already under medical care.

It has been suggested, therefore, that patients will be protected by having a psychiatrist see every person who requests euthanasia. But it is not so simple, since only those psychiatrists with extensive experience of terminal illness and suicide will be sufficiently qualified in this area. Frank Varghese, Professor of Psychiatry in Brisbane, believes that if these patients were always seen by someone with the appropriate experience, 'it is unlikely euthanasia would ever go ahead'. Hendin and Klerman, American psychiatrists with extensive experience with suicide, comment that 'there is still too much we do not know about such patients, too much study yet to be done before we could mandate psychiatric evaluation for such patients and define conditions under which assisted suicide would be legal'.

Depressive illnesses can be associated with a number of cognitive changes, including a significant and measurable decrease in intellectual functioning, diminished concentration, indecision, mild memory loss and sometimes confusion. In fact, serious debilitating illness of any kind can cause degrees of confusion and depression. When to these factors is added the lack of any objective criteria for assessing the degree of mental competence required for different kinds of decision-making, simple assumptions about the presence of genuine self-determination evaporate.

Yet another problem is the question of external influence on those who are ill by subtle, undetectable degrees of coercion which would negate freedom of choice and invalidate autonomy. In its Working Paper Number 8 of 18, titled Euthanasia, Assisting Suicide and the Cessation of Treatment, the Canadian Law Reform Commission described this possibility as 'a constant danger', and one that could not be protected against. The 14 Report of the Select Committee on Medical Ethics of the House of Lords concluded 'It would be next to impossible to ensure that all acts of euthanasia were truly voluntary, and that any liberalisation of laws would not be abused'.

When these difficulties are taken together, the conditions necessary for the genuine exercise of autonomy may be doubtful or absent in an unknown number of requests for euthanasia, possibly the majority. It is unlikely that these problems could ever be overcome by any arrangement of words in a draft bill, since they relate to human variables, unable to be measured or even discerned.

Some of the results of an over-ready resort to claims of rights in preference to a reasoned exploration of all the issues in dispute, already mentioned, will now be examined.

First, discussing individual rights cannot settle questions of right or wrong. Rather, it is a way of avoiding the issue. It is often said that, in a pluralistic society, what is ethical or moral is a matter for private determination. Despite that, there is real community consensus on the morality of most of the actions that are the subject of criminal law, and even the most liberal libertarians are as keen as others to articulate their grievance when they feel have been wronged. If, as a society, we cannot agree that it is wrong to take innocent life, that natural rights need respect and protection, and that the frailties of mind and body imposed by serious illness render the sick peculiarly vulnerable to manipulation by others who may resent them for social reasons, on what can we certainly agree? If we cannot agree on the morality of anything, then the law can be dispensed with, except in so far as it represents self-interest or mob rule.

Second, in any discussion of rights, each person may decide which rights they will enter into the debate, and which they will omit. What may seem to be a fair and reasonable treatment of an issue is easily distorted when important matters are omitted. No better example of this can be found than the near-total neglect of the undoubtedly genuine and equal right of every innocent person to their life, while highlighting only the asserted, but unproven, novel right to die. By this omission, the interests of an articulate select group are promoted at the expense of the vulnerable who will be left to take their chance at the hands of those who, in many instances, are already known to want some of them dead. Nothing could be more hypocritical or callous. If the state will not protect the weak, who will?

Third, when the ways are examined in which human rights are commonly promoted, the powerful are seen to have access to, and influence in, the media where they are argued. At present, the diminished autonomy of vulnerable groups is regularly taken advantage of, even as the egalitarian objectives of individual human rights are articulated. It was the view of the former Australian Human Rights Commissioner, Mr Brian Burdekin, from his experience, that the vulnerable sick were already 'the most systematically abused and the most likely to be coerced'. Putting sole emphasis on individual rights has a proven record of breeding hatreds and ignoring the consequences for society, and of by-passing processes which show due regard for the interests of every group in the community.

Sociologists at Flinders University in South Australia in 14 published the results of a survey conducted among doctors and nurses, about their attitudes and practices regarding euthanasia. The survey discovered that on half the occasions doctors admitted they had carried out euthanasia, there had been no patient consent or request. It also uncovered the view of some of these professionals, the acknowledged guardians of health and life, that poor quality of life, mental disability and physical handicap should be sufficient reasons for active euthanasia, whether or not this was requested.

One of the surveyors, who had previously held no particular view on euthanasia, was moved by these findings to publicly express her disquiet that the very arguments about human rights used to promote euthanasia are in fact abused by its practice. She concluded 'There is a danger that legalisation of active euthanasia, voluntary or non-voluntary, may expand the potential for further abuses.' I consider legalisation could undermine the value placed on human life, and erode our sense of security. We need to ensure that the state continues to protect people.'

Conclusion.

Euthanasia cannot be considered without reference to human rights, but all relevant rights should be included. These will include the rights of every person to their life and to the standards of health care appropriate to their illness and, where the provision or quality of that care is demonstrably uneven, to the right to distributive justice to protect the equal rights of all the sick. No right should be included unless its existence has been validated beyond question.

It is not acceptable to want the law changed to uphold a spurious right or even a genuine right that has been shown cannot be protected. Whatever arguments may or may not be thought sufficient to support legalised euthanasia, an appeal to human rights has not been shown to be among them. The claimed rights are either unwarranted misrepresentations of rights, or are 'wants' masquerading as 'rights'.

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AN EXPLORATION OF THE METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF A PROPOSED QUALITATIVE STUDY

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AN EXPLORATION OF THE METHODOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF A PROPOSED QUALITATIVE STUDY

Introduction

Ronald Chenail observed that, Research projects, especially qualitative ones, can become muddled … because when the richness of our curiosities meets the richness of qualitative data, researchers can become overwhelmed with the choices they have to make. (Chenail, 17)

The purpose of this paper is to explore the methodological aspects of a proposed Honours thesis. Through this process, I aim to create something akin to a flight plan to help me navigate my way through the next few months of data capture and analysis without getting lost … in and amongst that vast region located somewhere between the literature, the field and [myself]. (Chenail, 17)

Focus of the study

Meeting Vygotsky

I entered my teaching career not long ago in much the same way as all beginning teachers full of noble ideas of changing young lives, envisaging the meaningful discussion that would take place in my classroom and absolutely determined not to fall prey to the lure of the chalk and talk model. Within six months, my students all sat in a carefully planned seating arrangement (so that they would not talk during the lesson), they rarely asked questions or spoke out of turn, my voice was hoarse by the end of the day and I had bought shares in a chalk manufacturing company.

At this time, I concluded that it was impossible to create a classroom in which the teacher shared power with students, without also creating chaos. I decided that such lofty notions were the pipedreams of educational theorists who had spent too much time away from the day to day reality of the classroom, and resigned myself to the ranks of those who feel they have succeeded if their students are silent and furiously copying down notes from an OHT.

Not long after this, I encountered the Vygotskian theory of Instructional Dialogue through coursework in my Honours program. It piqued my interest and, tentatively, I began to incorporate some of its precepts into my classroom practice. Even at this most amateur level of implementation, the results were very encouraging. My students became more inquiring, focussed debates and discussions began to take place more frequently (without resulting in a noise level that would wake the dead) and my own enjoyment increased.

Thus, my own positive experience with instructional dialogue has led me to focus my study on the practical ways in which instructional dialogue can be implemented as a pedagogical tool in the upper secondary school.

Research Questions

I have developed a set of guiding research questions, which, in the tradition of qualitative research, will undoubtedly be modified as the study unfolds and I will build grounded theory based on the constant comparison of data.

These central research questions include (transcribe some data and use that to inform research questions)

a) What are the benefits of incorporating this theory into one's pedagogy?

b) What are some of the practical ways in which an ordinary teacher can implement this theory in his or her classroom practice?

c) How do students feel about and respond to this approach to teaching and learning?

Theoretical Approach

Vygotskian theory … is a major influence in the effort to rethink schooling in more co-operative and democratic terms and seeks a viable model of schooling that challenges both an industrial mass-production model and a romantic, individualist view of education. (Bredo and McDermott, 1 at 1)

Fathered by Roland Tharp and Ronald Gallimore, instructional dialogue is one of the descendants of Vygotskys theoretical model, lauded by many educational theorists as the key to real teaching - helping students think, reason, comprehend and understand important ideas. (Goldenberg, 1/1 at 16) The spirit of instructional dialogue can be summed up in Tharp and Gallimores own words, To most truly teach, one must converse; to truly converse is to teach. (Tharp and Gallimore, 188 at 111) In the strongest terms, Tharp and Gallimore condemn the teaching methods employed in schools as ineffective due to the sad lack of interaction between teachers and students, noting that connected discourse occurs so rarely that observation barely detects a trace. (Gallimore and Tharp, 10 at 175)

Bredo and McDermott note that, Real or true teaching, for Tharp and Gallimore, consists of assisting performance through the ZPD. Teaching can be said to occur when assistance is offered at points in the ZPD at which performance requires assistance. (Tharp and Gallimore, 188 in Bredo and McDermott, 1 at 4) In simple terms, this assistance is arguably best given through instructional dialogue. To illustrate this, Tharp and Gallimore explore how language is taught and learned in the natural environments of home, community and culture, by contrasting the way in which a caregiver teaches a young child to communicate with the teaching methods generally employed in schools. (Tharp and Gallimore, 188 at 4)

In the former, the childs attempts to communicate are accommodated by the caregiver, who engages the child in a dialogue appropriate to both the childs level of development and interests. Rarely is this done intentionally in these natural speech communities, but it is in this way that children learn language before they even set foot in a classroom. Contrast schools, where teachers generally ignore children, talk over them and dominate the proceedings. (Gallimore and Tharp, 10 at 17)

Tharp and Gallimore assert that natural methods of language acquisition - simplifying speech, repetition, expansion of the adults and childs utterances, assuming the childs perspective - have much to teach schools. (Tharp and Gallimore, 188 at 5) A childs ability to use language is stretched through interaction with more competent speakers, who assume as much responsibility as is necessary to carry on the talk. (Tharp and Gallimore, 188 at 6) In these ways, caregivers engage in a dialogue with young children, unintentionally and naturally giving them their first language instruction, by behaving as if both parties have a shared understanding of the communication taking place.

Thus, instructional conversation can be defined as topic-centered, pragmatic discussion that takes place in a natural social context between individuals who, through allowances made on the part of the more capable party, assume roles as relative equals. In essence, Tharp and Gallimore assert that instructional dialogue is vital to effective teaching because it involves returning to the natural methods already proven to be so successful with young children, as opposed to the artificial setting of school culture and its associated hierarchy.

Literature Review

Tharp and Gallimores Rousing minds to life Teaching, learning and schooling in social context, is undoubtedly the Mecca for instructional dialogue devotees. The central text on this topic, it discusses in detail the theoretical proof that instructional conversation works, drawing largely on various qualitative studies which explore the ways in which caregivers intuitively teach infants and young children to use language.

The interest sparked by this text and other papers by the same authors has resulted in the publication of various books and articles on the topic, including those by Lemke, Renshaw and McLean. One article that contains a particularly clear explanation of both the theory and the practice of instructional conversation is Claude Goldenbergs 1/1 paper, Instructional Conversations Promoting comprehension through discussion. This article is especially valuable for its outline of what the author has identified as, Elements of the instructional conversation (Goldenberg, 1/1 at 1) and its accompanying illustration of instructional conversation in action. Goldenberg illuminates both the theory and the practice of instructional dialogue, and is a useful guide for practicing teachers wishing to incorporate this approach into their pedagogy.

Ethical Considerations

The Australian Association for Research in Education has developed a number of principles to guide educational researchers on appropriate conduct. A number of these principles are relevant to this study, particularly those principles relating to the participants. (AARE, 15 at )

1. Confidentiality

Participants and informants have the right to remain anonymous. (AARE, 15 at 4) The privacy of individual students who have participated in data capture and of the participant school itself both need to be protected. To this end, neither the school nor any individual student will be identified in the study, either through express naming or by implication. In this way, confidentiality is assured, as well as minimising the risk of significant harm to participants through loss of privacy and/or damage to the participant school as an institution. (AARE, 15 at 5)

. Consent

The AARE Code of Ethics strongly advocates the notion of informed consent. As the data to be used in this study involves minors, the consent of both participating students and their parents/guardians has been obtained. All parties have been informed as to the nature and methods of research, its purposes, any risks run by the participants and any other factors which might reasonably be expected to influence their willingness to participate. (AARE, 15 at )

. Deception and Secrecy

Persons should know when they are to be participants in research, be asked for their informed consent, and be entitled to withdraw at any time. (AARE, 15 at )

This guideline has been and will continue to be adhered to throughout the course of this study. At all times prior to data collection (taping a lesson, performing an interview) students have been and will be informed about what is taking place according to the guidelines outlined in () above, Consent.

4. Institutions

No disruption of institutional processes has taken place as a result of this research to date, and none is anticipated. However, should such disruption arise, the appropriate persons will be informed at the earliest possible time of same, and every effort will be made to minimise the negative effects of any disruption.

Permission to conduct this research has been sought and granted by relevant authorities, on condition that the identity of the school will remain confidential. Confidentiality will ensure that analysis and observation can take place without restraint, while preserving the integrity and reputation of the relevant school.

Planning and Research Design

Method

The data collection for this study was carried out in two separate phases. Firstly, over the period of one week, a series of six lessons in a Year 1 Legal Studies class was audio taped with a view to its transcription and analysis.

Secondly, after a lapse of some two weeks, a random sample of five (?) students from the class were interviewed in the Teaching and Learning HOD's office during a class research lesson in the library. The students were given no prior warning so that their responses would be as natural and unplanned as possible. The class as a whole, had been told that interviews would take place at some point in the future. The release of control opens us to unexpected paths of questioning and discovery. (Tsourvakas, 17)

Of course, some kind of game plan is necessary, and to this end, I drafted a short list of questions I wanted to ask the students. These questions included

1. Had the students observed any changes in the way we organised our classroom in recent weeks?

. If so, what had they observed?

. How did they feel about these changes? Positive overall or negative?

4. How productive did they feel these changes were? Why? How do they judge whether the changes have been positive or not?

5. What has my role been as teacher? What tasks did I perform?

Other than these very broad goals in terms of discovery, I allowed the students to go where they wanted with the conversation. Sometimes the things they say when unprompted are more meaningful than the answers they give in response to a direct question because the interviewer is not creating a reality or a lens through which to view the social world of the interaction.

Data

The data collected for this study consists of

1. Six audio taped lessons of a Year 1 Legal Studies class over the period of one week.

. An informal interview/discussion between the classroom teacher and randomly selected students from the class.

Anticipated Challenges

In a study such as this, there are a number of possible difficulties a researcher could encounter.

Challenges related to the collection and analysis of data

Miller and Glassner (17) refer to Silverman (1) when they note the dilemma facing interview researchers concerning what to make of their data. (at ) For example

1. When undertaking an interview with students, what kind of environment should I seek to create in order to conduct that interview formal or informal? Which approach will best suit my purpose and provide me with the best source of information?

. As interviewer, what role should I take? Should I frame my questions loosely and allow students a certain amount of freedom to explore the issues raised, for example, through narratives? Alternatively, should I take a more active role and focus more narrowly on the questions I need answered? Deciding which approach suits my purpose is difficult and probably cannot be done until I am engaged in the interview itself and am able to assess the dynamics of the interaction.

. Miller and Glassner note that how interviewees respond to us based on who we are in their lives, as well as the social categories to which we belong, such as age, gender, class and race is a practical concern as well as an epistemological or theoretical one. (at 101) As their class teacher, will the fact that I am also interviewing them about various aspects of their/our classroom culture and practice make the data gained less valuable or more valuable - than if someone else was performing the interview?

Holstein and Gubrium refer to Charles Briggs and Aaron Cicourel when they note that like all other speech events, interviews fundamentally, not incidentally, shape the form and content of what is said, and furthermore, that interviews virtually impose particular ways of understanding reality upon subjects' responses. (17 at 114) Thus, interviewees are not in possession of information which can be harvested by the interviewer. Rather, they are constructors of knowledge in collaboration with interviewers. (Holstein and Gubrium, 17 at 114)

In short, one central concern I have revolves around my own position of power over students as their teacher, and what impact if any this may have on the data produced in terms of authenticity and reliability.

To over come this, Holstein and Gubrium suggest that attempting to strip the interview of the countless and unpredictable variables and their possible impact is futile. Thus, rather than trying to pursue this course, the interviewer should seek to acknowledge and capitalise on interviewers' and respondents' constitutive contributions to the production of interview data. This means consciously and conscientiously attending to the interview process and its product in ways that are more sensitive to the social construction of knowledge. (at 114)

1. My role as researcher-subject-interviewer-analyst etc. etc.

. Selecting a theoretical position for analysis, a lens through which to view the world

. Assessing the success or failure of my efforts to incorporate instructional dialogue into my pedagogy too narrow a field of study? How worthwhile is this data in terms of qualitative value? Is it too narrow.

Forms of Analysis

Transcriptions of class activity

Drawing on traditional approaches to discourse analysis, those elements of teacher talk that qualify as instructional conversation will be identified and analysed, then critiqued through a Vygotskian lens.

Why transcribe? Nature of the study is that I am a participant-subject-researcher. I am taping my own lessons, thus it would be difficult to make ongoing observations during the course of the lesson. There were, of course, rough field notes taken eg while students were working in groups and I had the freedom to watch as they undertook a task. Transcription provides a permanent record of conversation and interaction to which I can return. Log tapes at important points in case I need to hear the interaction to gain some particular insight.

Could have videotaped, but this was too difficult in terms of obtaining the resources, and I felt, more intrusive. More likely to adversely affect the classroom setting. It's easier to forget about a small tape recorder than a video and a person operating it. Too disruptive. Could have been good as in Lenny study to complement transcript with physical movement and poses, but this added a real degree of difficulty in my mind. Had to capture spoken data primarily, thus audio tape seemed the most accessible and viable option.

Interview data

Silverman refers to Baker when he notes that there are two central issues to be addressed concerning interview data

1. What is the relation between interviewee's accounts and the world they describe? Are such accounts potentially 'true' or 'false' or is neither concept always appropriate to them?

. How is the relation between the interviewer and interviewee to be understood? Is it governed by standardised techniques of 'good interviewing practice'? Or is it, inevitably, based on taken-for-granted knowledge of interpersonal relations?

Silverman goes on to note that there are two different ways in which social researchers address these issues Positivism and Interactionism.

In terms of interview data, its collection and analysis, this study will take an interactionist perspective. In Silverman's words, the primary issue is to generate data which gives an authentic insight into people's experiences; the main ways to achieve this are unstructured, open-ended interviews. (Silverman, 17 at 1)

I want the interviews I conduct to be a freely flowing conversation in which my role as interviewer is not simply that of asking questions and having the students respond. My goal is to have the students themselves bouncing off one another, one adding to what the other has said, fleshing out each other's responses. To a point, I would like the students to lead the direction of the interview so that I can see which aspects of the study spring most readily into their minds and perhaps open my eyes to things that I would otherwise have missed. This seems particularly appropriate given the subject matter of the study instructional conversation. Here, students are permitted to direct the ebb and flow of classroom talk and the teacher's role is that of gentle guide, deftly leading the student from one point to the next as needed to promote learning and understanding. Naturally, there are some specific issues I need to address with the interviewees, and I will direct the conversation in relevant directions as such opportunities present themselves. Goal is not non directive but rather conversational in tone.

Note that interview data will also be transcribed. See above for reasons.

Choice of group interview vs individuals. Why? Positives/Negatives?

Anticipated Challenges

1. Must ensure that some guidance is given, otherwise students may feel lost, unsure what it is I am wanting from them. Aim to provide a broad guideline for talk, a framework within which to interact

. Are the students really giving valuable insights or are they merely presenting me with what they think I want to hear? Given that they knew my study was based on a particular teaching style as implemented by me in their class, perhaps there was pressure on them to participate in my framework, to say they experienced something which perhaps they did not.

. Not addressing all the issues I need to by allowing a more free flowing form of interview. Perhaps there is important data that I have not captured by failing to be more pedantic about what questions I asked.

4. Teacher v student = power relationship, different interactional role and rights.

5. My own total inexperience in this field am I asking the right questions and am I asking them in the right way?????

6. Has there been sufficient observation prior to the interview???? (at ) Glassner study

7. Do I constitute what is a good and bad response??? (101 10 Baker model)

Solutions

1. Cicourel errors are not really obstacles to social research, but rather exhibit basic properties of social interaction. We must learn to 'conceive of the error as evidence not only of poor reliability but also of 'normal' interpersonal relations (at 7)

. Reflexivity????

. I have developed a positive relationship with these students. They seem to feel comfortable expressing their views, and to my knowledge and given my observations and experiences with this class, there is a sense of trust that exists. They seem to understand that we are all entitled to our say and have learned to respect their own and other's opinions. P 100, Glassner, rapport, etc.

4. Work these things into analysis. Be critical, reflective, aware, take off blinkers and be as objective as possible, canvassing options and alternative perspectives. Be aware that there is very little chance of any interview being completely neutral, unbiased and representative. (at 106) Do not treat the data as truth diplays of perspectives (at 107)

Bibliography

Chenail, R.J. (17) Keeping Things Plumb in Qualitative Research The Qualitative Report, Volume , Number , September. www.nova.edu Accessed 7 November 1.

Goldenberg, C. (1/)

Hammersley, M. and Atkinson, P. (15) Ethnography Principles in Practice. Tavistock Publications Ltd, London.

Heath, Anthony W. (17) The Proposal in Qualitative Research. The Qualitative Report, Volume , Number 1, March. www.nova.edu Accessed 7 November 1.

Holstein, J. and Gubrium, J. (17) Active Interviewing. In Silverman, D. (Ed.) (18) Qualitative Research Theory Method and Practice; Sage Publications, London.

Miller, J. and Glassner, B. (17) The 'Inside' and the 'Outside' Finding Realities in Interviews. In Silverman, D. (Ed.) (18) Qualitative Research Theory Method and Practice; Sage Publications, London.

Silverman, D. (1) Interpreting Qualitative Data Methods for Analysing Talk, Text and Interaction. Sage Publications, London.

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