The Concept of Probability in Mathematics

The Concept of Probability in Mathematics Probability is a way of expressing knowledge or belief that an event will occur or has occurred. The concept has been given an exact mathematical meaning in probability theory, which is used extensively in such areas of study as mathematics, statistics, finance, gambling, science, and philosophy to draw conclusions about the likelihood of potential events and the underlying mechanics of complex systems. The word probability does not have a consistent direct definition. In fact, there are two broad categories of probability interpretations, whose adherents possess different views about the fundamental nature of probability. The word Probability derives from Latin word probabilitas that can also mean probity, a measure of the authority of a witness in a legal case in Europe, and often correlated with the witnesss nobility. In a sense, this differs much from the modern meaning of probability, which, in contrast, is used as a measure of the weight of empirical evidence, and is arrived at from inductive reasoning and statistical inference. History: The scientific study of probability is a modern development. Gambling shows that there has been an interest in quantifying the ideas of probability for millennia, but exact mathematical descriptions of use in those problems only arose much later. According to Richard Jeffrey, Before the middle of the seventeenth century, the term probable meant approvable, and was applied in that sense, univocally, to opinion and to action. A probable action or opinion was one such as sensible people would undertake or hold, in the circumstances.[4] However, in legal contexts especially, probable could also apply to propositions for which there was good evidence. Aside from some elementary considerations made by Girolamo Cardano in the 16th century, the doctrine of probabilities dates to the correspondence of Pierre de Fermat and Blaise Pascal (1654). Christiaan Huygens (1657) gave the earliest known scientific treatment of the subject. Jakob Bernoullis and Abraham de Moivres Doctrine of Chances (1718) treated the subject as a branch of mathematics. See Ian Hackings The Emergence of Probability and James Franklins The Science of Conjecture for histories of the early development of the very concept of mathematical probability. The theory of errors may be traced back to Roger Cotes but a memoir prepared by Thomas Simpson in 1755 (printed 1756) first applied the theory to the discussion of errors of observation. The reprint (1757) of this memoir lays down the axioms that positive and negative errors are equally probable, and that there are certain assignable limits within which all errors may be supposed to fall; continuous errors are discussed and a probability curve is given. Pierre-Simon Laplace (1774) made the first attempt to deduce a rule for the combination of observations from the principles of the theory of probabilities. He represented the law of probability of errors by a curve y = à Ã¢â‚¬  (x), x being any error and y its probability.He also gave (1781) a formula for the law of facility of error (a term due to Lagrange, 1774), but one which led to unmanageable equations. Daniel Bernoulli (1778) introduced the principle of the maximum product of the probabilities of a system of concurrent errors. The method of least squares is due to Adrien-Marie Legendre (1805), who introduced it in his New Methods for Determining the Orbits of Comets. In ignorance of Legendres contribution, an Irish-American writer, Robert Adrain, editor of The Analyst (1808), first deduced the law of facility of error, h being a constant depending on precision of observation, and c a scale factor ensuring that the area under the curve equals 1. He gave two proofs, the second being essentially the same as John Herschels (1850). Gauss gave the first proof which seems to have been known in Europe (the third after Adrains) in 1809. Further proofs were given by Laplace (1810, 1812), Gauss (1823), James Ivory (1825, 1826), Hagen (1837), Friedrich Bessel (1838), W. F. Donkin (1844, 1856), and Morgan Crofton (1870). Other contributors were Ellis (1844), De Morgan (1864), Glaisher (1872), and Giovanni Schiaparelli (1875). Peterss (1856) formula for r, the probable error of a single observation, is well known. In the nineteenth century authors on the general theory included Laplace, Sylvestre Lacroix (1816), Littrow (1833), Adolphe Quetelet (1853), Richard Dedekind (1860), Helmert (1872), Hermann Laurent (1873), Liagre, Didion, and Karl Pearson. Augustus De Morgan and George Boole improved the exposition of the theory. Andrey Markov introduced the notion of Markov chains (1906) playing an important role in theory of stochastic processes and its applications. The modern theory of probability based on the measure theory was developed by Andrey Kolmogorov (1931). On the geometric side, contributors to The Educational Times were influential. Types of probability: There are basically four types of probabilities, each with its limitations. None of these approaches to probability is wrong, but some are more useful or more general than others. Classical Probability: The classical interpretation owes its name to its early and august pedigree. Championed by Laplace, and found even in the works of Pascal, Bernoulli, Huygens, and Leibniz, it assigns probabilities in the absence of any evidence, or in the presence of symmetrically balanced evidence. The classical theory of probability applies to equally probable events, such as the outcomes of tossing a coin or throwing dice; such events were known as equipossible. probability = number of favourable equipossibilies / total number of relevant equipossibilities. Logical probability: Logical theories of probability retain the classical interpretations idea that probabilities can be determined a priori by an examination of the space of possibilities. Subjective probability: A probability derived from an individuals personal judgment about whether a specific outcome is likely to occur. Subjective probabilities contain no formal calculations and only reflect the subjects opinions and past experience. Subjective probabilities differ from person to person. Because the probability is subjective, it contains a high degree of personal bias. An example of subjective probability could be asking New York Yankees fans, before the baseball season starts, the chances of New York winning the world series. While there is no absolute mathematical proof behind the answer to the example, fans might still reply in actual percentage terms, such as the Yankees having a 25% chance of winning the world series. In everyday speech, we express our beliefs about likelihoods of events using the same terminology as in probability theory. Often, this has nothing to do with any formal definition of probability, rather it is an intuitive idea guided by our experience, and in some cases statistics. Some Of the Examples Of Probability: X says Dont buy the avocados here; about half the time, theyre rotten. X is expressing his belief about the probability of an event that an avocado will be rotten based on his personal experience. Y says I am 95% certain the capital of Spain is Barcelona. Here, the belief Y is expressing is only a probability from his point of view, because only he does not know that the capital of Spain is Madrid (from our point of view, the probability is 100%). However, we can still view this as a subjective probability because it expresses a measure of uncertainty. It is as though Y is saying in 95% of cases where I feel as sure as I do about this, I turn out to be right. Z says There is a lower chance of being shot in Omaha than in Detroit. Z is expressing a belief based (presumably) on statistics. Dr. A says to Christina, There is a 75% chance that you will live. Dr. A is basing this off of his research. Probability can also be expressed in vague terms. For example, someone might say it will probably rain tomorrow. This is subjective, but implies that the speaker believes the probability is greater than 50%. Subjective probabilities have been extensively studied, especially with regards to gambling and securities markets. While this type of probability is important, it is not the subject of this book. There are two standard approaches to conceptually interpreting probabilities. The first is known as the long run (or the relative frequency approach) and the subjective belief (or confidence approach). In the Frequency Theory of Probability, probability is the limit of the relative frequency with which an event occurs in repeated trials (note that trials must be independent). Frequentists talk about probabilities only when dealing with experiments that are random and well-defined. The probability of a random event denotes the relative frequency of occurrence of an experiments outcome, when repeating the experiment. Frequentists consider probability to be the relative frequency in the long run of outcomes. Physical probabilities, which are also called objective or frequency probabilities, are associated with random physical systems such as roulette wheels, rolling dice and radioactive atoms. In such systems, a given type of event (such as the dice yielding a six) tends to occur at a persistent rate, or relative frequency, in a long run of trials. Physical probabilities either explain, or are invoked to explain, these stable frequencies. Thus talk about physical probability makes sense only when dealing with well defined random experiments. The two main kinds of theory of physical probability are frequentist accounts and propensity accounts. Relative frequencies are always between 0% (the event essentially never happens) and 100% (the event essentially always happens), so in this theory as well, probabilities are between 0% and 100%. According to the Frequency Theory of Probability, what it means to say that the probability that A occurs is p% is that if you repeat the experiment over and over again, independently and under essentially identical conditions, the percentage of the time that A occurs will converge to p. For example, under the Frequency Theory, to say that the chance that a coin lands heads is 50% means that if you toss the coin over and over again, independently, the ratio of the number of times the coin lands heads to the total number of tosses approaches a limiting value of 50% as the number of tosses grows. Because the ratio of heads to tosses is always between 0% and 100%, when the probability exists it must be between 0% and 100%. In the Subjective Theory of Probability, probability measures the speakers degree of belief that the event will occur, on a scale of 0% (complete disbelief that the event will happen) to 100% (certainty that the event will happen). According to the Subjective Theory, what it means for me to say that the probability that A occurs is 2/3 is that I believe that A will happen twice as strongly as I believe that A will not happen. The Subjective Theory is particularly useful in assigning meaning to the probability of events that in principle can occur only once. For example, how might one assign meaning to a statement like there is a 25% chance of an earthquake on the San Andreas fault with magnitude 8 or larger before 2050? It is very hard to use either the Theory of Equally Likely Outcomes or the Frequency Theory to make sense of the assertion. Bayesians, however, assign probabilities to any statement whatsoever, even when no random process is involved. Probability, for a Bayesian, is a way to represent an individuals degree of belief in a statement, given the evidence. Evidential probability, also called Bayesian probability, can be assigned to any statement whatsoever, even when no random process is involved, as a way to represent its subjective plausibility, or the degree to which the statement is supported by the available evidence. On most accounts, evidential probabilities are considered to be degrees of belief, defined in terms of dispositions to gamble at certain odds. The four main evidential interpretations are the classical interpretation, the subjective interpretation, the epistemic or inductive interpretation, and the logical interpretation. Theory: Like other theories, the theory of probability is a representation of probabilistic concepts in formal terms-that is, in terms that can be considered separately from their meaning. These formal terms are manipulated by the rules of mathematics and logic, and any results are then interpreted or translated back into the problem domain. There have been at least two successful attempts to formalize probability, namely the Kolmogorov formulation and the Cox formulation. In Kolmogorovs formulation, sets are interpreted as events and probability itself as a measure on a class of sets. In Coxs theorem, probability is taken as a primitive and the emphasis is on constructing a consistent assignment of probability values to propositions. In both cases, the laws of probability are the same, except for technical details. There are other methods for quantifying uncertainty, such as the Dempster-Shafer theory or possibility theory, but those are essentially different and not compatible with the laws of probability as they are usually understood. Mathematical Treatment: In mathematics, a probability of an event A is represented by a real number in the range from 0 to 1 and written as P(A), p(A) or Pr(A). An impossible event has a probability of 0, and a certain event has a probability of 1. However, the converses are not always true: probability 0 events are not always impossible, nor probability 1 events certain. The opposite or complement of an event A is the event (that is, the event of A not occurring); its probability is given by P(not A) = 1 P(A). As an example, the chance of not rolling a six on a six-sided die is 1 (chance of rolling a six) . If both the events A and B occur on a single performance of an experiment this is called the intersection or joint probability of A and B, denoted as . If two events, A and B are independent then the joint probability is For example: if two coins are flipped the chance of both being heads is If either event A or event B or both events occur on a single performance of an experiment this is called the union of the events A and B denoted as . If two events are mutually exclusive then the probability of either occurring is For example, the chance of rolling a 1 or 2 on a six-sided die is If the events are not mutually exclusive then Conditional probability is the probability of some event A, given the occurrence of some other event B. Conditional probability is written P(A|B), and is read the probability of A, given B. It is defined by If P(B) = 0 then is undefined. Applications: Two major applications of probability theory in everyday life are in risk assessment and in trade on commodity markets. Governments typically apply probabilistic methods in environmental regulation where it is called pathway analysis, often measuring well-being using methods that are stochastic in nature, and choosing projects to undertake based on statistical analyses of their probable effect on the population as a whole. A good example is the effect of the perceived probability of any widespread Middle East conflict on oil prices which have ripple effects in the economy as a whole. An assessment by a commodity trader that a war is more likely vs. less likely sends prices up or down, and signals other traders of that opinion. Accordingly, the probabilities are not assessed independently nor necessarily very rationally. The theory of behavioural finance emerged to describe the effect of such groupthink on pricing, on policy, and on peace and conflict. It can reasonably be said that the discovery of rigorous methods to assess and combine probability assessments has had a profound effect on modern society. Accordingly, it may be of some importance to most citizens to understand how odds and probability assessments are made, and how they contribute to reputations and to decisions, especially in a democracy. Another significant application of probability theory in everyday life is reliability. Many consumer products, such as automobiles and consumer electronics, utilize reliability theory in the design of the product in order to reduce the probability of failure. The probability of failure may be closely associated with the products warranty. Probability Of Winning A Lottery: Everyone knows that the probability of winning the lottery is a pretty big long shot. How long, however, you probably never really thought about. Your actual odds of winning the lottery depend on where you play, but single state lotteries usually have odds of about 18 million to 1 while multiple state lotteries have odds as high as 120 million to 1. If you have ever thought youd win the lottery, youre not alone. About one out of every three people in the United States think that winning the lottery is the only way to become financially secure in their life. This is a frightening statistic when you sit down and consider what the above odds really mean. Its time to take a long hard look at the chances of you winning the lottery. While winning the lottery may be something that you want, to show you your chances well take a look at a number of remote occurrences that you probably wouldnt like to have happen to you and probably dont think will ever happen to you but are still much more likely to happen to you than winning the lottery. How about the classic odds of being struck by lightning? The actual probability of this happening varies from year to year, but as a good estimate, the National Safety Council says between 70 and 120 people a year die in the US by lightning so lets take 100 as our base. With the US population being approximately 265 million people, that means that the chances of being killed by lightning are roughly 2,650,000 to 1. Not very likely. However you are still 6 to 45 times more likely to die from a lightning strike than you would be to win the lottery. Now nobody really wants to die from flesh eating bacteria, and with odds at about 1 million to 1, the chances that you will die that way are pretty slim. Then again, you are 18 to 120 times more likely to die this way than to win the lottery. What are the chances that if youre playing with a group of four that two of you will get a hole-in-one on the exact same hole? At 17 million to 1, theyre better than the chances of you winning the lottery. What about dying from a snake bite or bee sting? It probably isnt a way that you have imagined that you would leave the earth. Youre a whopping 180 to 1,200 times more likely to die from one of these incidents than win the lottery. Thats because the probability of dying from a snake bite or bee sting is about 100,000 to 1. Now I know that you are not a bad person and you dont imagine finding yourself on death row for a crime you committed anytime soon. Still, its a lot more likely that you will be legally executed than win the lottery. In fact, you are 30,000% to 200,000% more likely to die in a legal execution than to win the lottery. If none of the above has convinced you to stop playing the lottery, then Ill bring out my favorite lottery fact. If you drive 10 miles to purchase your lottery ticket, its three to twenty times more likely for you to be killed in a car accident along the way than to win the jackpot. Flipping Of Coin: Coin flipping or coin tossing is the practice of throwing a coin in the air to choose between two alternatives, sometimes to resolve a dispute between two parties. It is a form of sortition which inherently has only two possible and equally likely outcomes. Experimental and theoretical analysis of coin tossing has shown that the outcome is predictable. During coin flipping the coin is tossed into the air such that it rotates end-over-end several times. Either beforehand or when the coin is in the air, an interested party calls heads or tails, indicating which side of the coin that party is choosing. The other party is assigned the opposite side. Depending on custom, the coin may be caught, caught and inverted, or allowed to land on the ground. When the coin comes to rest, the toss is complete and the party who called or was assigned the face-up side is declared the winner. If the outcome is unclear the toss is repeated; for example the coin may, very rarely, land on edge, or fall down a drain. The coin may be any type as long as it has two distinct sides; it need not be a coin as such. Human intuition about conditional probability is often very poor and can give rise to some seemingly surprising observations. For example, if the successive tosses of a coin are recorded as a string of H and T, then for any trial of tosses, it is twice as likely that the triplet TTH will occur before THT than after it. It is three times as likely that THH will precede HHT. Are we likely to be struck by lightning? In the United States, an average of 80 people are killed by lightning each year. Considering being killed by lightning to be our favorable outcome (not such a favorable outcome!), the sample space contains the entire population of the United States (about 250 million). If we assume that all the people in our sample space are equally likely to be killed by lightning (so people who never go outside have the same chance of being killed by lightning as those who stand by flagpoles in large open fields during thunderstorms), the chance of being killed by lightning in the United States is equal to 80/250 million, or a probability of about .000032%. Clearly, you are much more likely to die in a car accident than by being struck by lightning. Probability in Our Lives: A basic understanding of probability makes it possible to understand everything from batting averages to the weather report or your chances of being struck by lightning! Probability is an important topic in mathematics because the probability of certain events happening or not happening can be important to us in the real world. Weather forecasting: Suppose a person wants to go on a picnic this afternoon, and the weather report says that the chance of rain is 70%? Will he ever wonder where that 70% came from? Forecasts like these can be calculated by the people who work for the National Weather Service when they look at all other days in their historical database that have the same weather characteristics (temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.) and determine that on 70% of similar days in the past, it rained. As weve seen, to find basic probability we divide the number of favorable outcomes by the total number of possible outcomes in our sample space. If were looking for the chance it will rain, this will be the number of days in our database that it rained divided by the total number of similar days in our database. If our meteorologist has data for 100 days with similar weather conditions (the sample space and therefore the denominator of our fraction), and on 70 of these days it rained (a favorable outcome), the probability of rain on the next similar day is 70/100 or 70%. Since a 50% probability means that an event is as likely to occur as not, 70%, which is greater than 50%, means that it is more likely to rain than not. But what is the probability that it wont rain? Remember that because the favourable outcomes represent all the possible ways that an event can occur, the sum of the various probabilities must equal 1 or 100%, so 100% 70% = 30%, and the probability that it wont rain is 30%. Bernoulli Trials On Probability: It happens very often in real life that an event may have only two outcomes that matter. For example, either you pass an exam or you do not pass an exam, either you get the job you applied for or you do not get the job, either your flight is delayed or it departs on time, etc. The probability theory abstraction of all such situations is a Bernoulli trial. Bernoulli trial is an experiment with only two possible outcomes that have positive probabilities p and q such that p + q = 1. The outcomes are said to be success and failure, and are commonly denoted as S and F or, say, 1 and 0. For example, when rolling a die, we may be only interested whether 1 shows up, in which case,naturally, P(S) = 1/6 and P(F) = 5/6. If, when rolling two dice, we are only interested whether the sum on two dice is 11, P(S) = 1/18, P(F) = 17/18. The Bernoulli process is a succession of independent Bernoulli trials with the same probability of success. Uses Of Probability In Our Daily Lives: I think we use probability routinely in our daily lives. When you get into a car and drive on public roads, we often assume that we have a low probability of being hit by another car. When you pull out onto a busy street crossing 2 lanes of traffic, you judge the speed of the traffic in those lanes. You assume you have a high probability of judging that speed correctly when you cross those lanes. If you did not make that assumption, you probably would not attempt to cross the lanes for fear of being hit by another car. We assume that we have a low probability of being hit by lightning or a meteor. When you eat with your hands, you assume your probability of getting sick from germs on your hands is low. Or you wouldnt eat with your hands. You could say the same of eating in a restaurant with reference to food you didnt prepare yourself. Within assuming many probabilities, I think wed constantly live in fear of what horrible things might happen to us. Summary of probabilities: Event Probability A not A A or B A and B A given B Other Cases Where Probability Can Be Observed: Youve seen it happen many times-a player in a dice game claims she is due for doubles; strangers discover that they have a mutual acquaintance and think that this must be more than a chance meeting; a friend plays the lottery obsessively or enters online contests with a persistent dream of winning. All these behaviors reflect how people perceive probability in daily life. People who lack an accurate sense of probability are easily drawn in by false claims and pseudoscience, are vulnerable to get-rich-quick schemes, and exhibit many of the behaviors mentioned above. The modeling and measurement of probabilities are fundamentals of mathematics that can be applied to the world around us. Every event, every measurement, every game, every accident, and even the nature of matter itself is understood through probabilistic models, yet few people have a good grasp of the nature of probability. Frequentists talk about probabilities only when dealing with experiments that are random and well-defined. The probability of a random event denotes the relative frequency of occurrence of an experiments outcome, when repeating the experiment. Frequentists consider probability to be the relative frequency in the long run of outcomes.[1] Bayesians, however, assign probabilities to any statement whatsoever, even when no random process is involved. Probability, for a Bayesian, is a way to represent an individuals degree of belief in a statement, or an objective degree of rational belief, given the evidence. Relation to randomness: In a deterministic universe, based on Newtonian concepts, there is no probability if all conditions are known. In the case of a roulette wheel, if the force of the hand and the period of that force are known, then the number on which the ball will stop would be a certainty. Of course, this also assumes knowledge of inertia and friction of the wheel, weight, smoothness and roundness of the ball, variations in hand speed during the turning and so forth. A probabilistic description can thus be more useful than Newtonian mechanics for analyzing the pattern of outcomes of repeated rolls of roulette wheel. Physicists face the same situation in kinetic theory of gases, where the system, while deterministic in principle, is so complex (with the number of molecules typically the order of magnitude of Avogadro constant 6.02 ·1023) that only statistical description of its properties is feasible. A revolutionary discovery of 20th century physics was the random character of all physical processes that occur at sub-atomic scales and are governed by the laws of quantum mechanics. The wave function itself evolves deterministically as long as no observation is made, but, according to the prevailing Copenhagen interpretation, the randomness caused by the wave function collapsing when an observation is made, is fundamental. This means that probability theory is required to describe nature. Others never came to terms with the loss of determinism. Albert Einstein famously remarked in a letter to Max Born: I am convinced that God does not play dice. Although alternative viewpoints exist, such as that of quantum de-coherence being the cause of an apparent random collapse, at present there is a firm consensus among physicists that probability theory is necessary to describe quantum phenomena.

British Colonialism and its Linguistic Consequences

British Colonialism and its Linguistic Consequences Background Colonization (and more recently globalization) certainly accounts for the drastic changes in the linguistic landscapes of the world over the centuries. Conceptualized as as the directing control of politics, society and people by foreign states, colonization has imposed to the colonized several harmful challenges. The compulsory necessity of engaging with a language ascribed to oppression, exploitation and slavery stands out, though. Moreover, colonialism, in many territories meant also an imposed mosaic of different ethnic groups and human types that prior to European penetration, had different political, cultural and social structures which were randomly obliged to coexist in that space. Such impositions regarding language and life styles reflected and altered the identity of the colonized people and, according to TÃ ¼rkmen (2003), played an important role essential to colonialism to be successful: Identity is one of the indispensable components of colonialism, if we consider colonialism as a body; identity constitutes its spirit while the economic exploitation is its corporal body. The colonizer coming to the virgin lands with the feeling of colonial desire and obsession to have cheap profit in his heart finds himself ready to defame the inhabitants, regard them as the other. And he starts his policy by deterritorializing and reterritorializing (p.189). In that sense, people were forced to be what they are not. This is evident by the fact that the colonizers used to call the colonies new lands, as if they were virgin lands, uninhabited before their arrival. TÃ ¼rkmen (2003) stresses that the colonizers did not perceive their actions over the colonies as reconstruction because they did not consider the institutions and cultures established in the colonies as valuable. The colonizers also imposed their culture and language as a way to legitimize their power: In the colony what is asymmetrical, rather than merely different proves to be pathological. In order to legitimize their maltreatment, the colonizer tries to project the other not only different but also dangerous, primitive, aggressive, lazy, etc. The aim is making people feel that colonialism is not an unfair perpetration, rather, it is a necessary drive, for, and these people do not deserve these lands by virtue of their notorious traits. Also, the drive, after all, will promote their life standards. This is for their interest. (Robert Young in Colonialism and Desiring machine as cited in TÃ ¼rkmen (2003), p.190) As shown, the colonized is forced to internalize a new identity through the reinforcement of stereotypes by the colonizer, which is easily understandable if one thinks that the colonized finds him/herself in a circumstance they have never experienced before, after having been obliged to abandon all what constitutes his/her world. The colonized then has no option other than emulate the colonizer as a sole model in front of him. However, his attempt is rejected by the colonizer. Motivated by his urge for exploitation, he makes sure to set hard limits to the difference, as to them the difference is what feeds the colonial system, what legitimize and postulates it (TÃ ¼rkmen, 2003). So the colonized loses his former identity but he is also not supported in building a new one. As TÃ ¼rkmen (2003) puts, it, he will neither be like the colonizer nor himself. Thus, he lives in a complete oblivion. All at once, he is casted out from his history, memory and citizenship. Nonetheless, through colonialism identity is not totally lost, but set in the unknown ground temporally placed between prior and after the colonizers came. Identity and language Identity and the cognate terms in other languages have a long history as technical terms in Western philosophy from the ancient Greeks through contemporary analytical philosophy. They have been used to address the perennial philosophical problems of permanence amidst manifest change, and of unity amidst diversity. Wide spread vernacular and social-analytical use of identity and its cognates, however, is of much more recent vintage and more localized provenance. The introduction of identity into social analysis and its initial diffusion into social sciences and public discourse occurred in the United States in the 1960s (with some anticipation in the second half of the 1950s). The most important and best-know trajectory involved the appropriation and popularization of Erik Erikson (who was responsible, among other things, for coining the term identity crisis). But there were other paths of diffusion as well. The notion of identification was pried from its original, specifically psychoanalytic context (where the term had been initially introduced by Freud) and linked to ethnicity on the one hand and to sociological role theory and reference group theory. The term identity proved highly resonant in the 1960s diffusing quickly across disciplinary and national boundaries, establishing itself in the journalistic as well as the academic lexicon, and permeating the language of social and political analysis. (Davis, 2004, p.61) Stuart Hall, one of the well-known scholars specialized on identity, points that identity is dynamic, not stable and is in constant flux: Perhaps instead of thinking as identity as an already accomplished historical fact, which the new cinematic discourses represent, we should think, instead, of identity as a production, which is never complete, always in process, and always constituted within, not outside, representation (ibid 210), (Davis, 2004, p.184). Therefore, cultural identity can be considered as a historically located set of experiences that need to be recovered in order to fulfill the desire to become one nation or one people, hence, happens to the language. As it expresses beyond what its words signifies, language also reveals the way individuals situate themselves in relationship to others, the way they group themselves, the powers they claim for themselves and the powers they stipulate to others (Sterling, xxx). People use language to indicate social allegiances, that is, which groups they are members of and which groups they are not. In addition, they use language to create and maintain role relationships between individuals and between groups in such a manner that the linguistic varieties used by a community form a system that corresponds to the structure of the society. Therefore, a speaker uses language not only to express but to create a representation of him/herself in relation to others with whom s/he is interacting. The issue of respect is an aspect of the broader relationship between power and language. Power is the degree to which one interlocutor is able to control the behavior of the other. S/he then uses the language of intimacy and familiarity as they used it in greetings, communicating about family, and leave-takings. In talking about their jobs and other external acquaintances, they use the colonizers language, which possibly signs distance. Sterling (xxx) also argues that within a society or a culture, speech patterns become tools that speakers manipulate to group themselves and categorize others with whom they are interacting: Because of the relationship between language use and group membership, language can inspire deep group loyalties. It can serve as a symbol of unification on several levels. On the national level, language loyalty can serve an important political function. Many people in the United States are threatened by the use of languages other than English. To speak a language other than English is thought to be un-American. This is because English is promoted as the one and only possible language of a unified and healthy nation. On a local level, language is a symbol of loyalty to a community. (Sterling, xxx, p.xx). For the community as a whole, socialization through language learning creates conformity to social norms and transmits the culture of the community. As s/he learns language, a child learns the social structure of the culture, learning the appropriate linguistic form for each kind of person. This is part of communicative competence. Communicative competence is not only knowing how to speak the specific language(s) used in the speech community but also knowing how to use language appropriately in any given social situation in the community. And the ability to know that is closely related to the identity that one holds. Speech patterns become tools that speakers manipulate to group themselves and categorize others with whom they are interacting and that is only shared with those sharing a certain identity, whether in a community or a culture.

Frankenstein :: essays research papers

1. List the title and author of the work you read.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 2. Briefly describe the plot (action) of the work. What happens?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Robert Walton (the first narrator) finds Victor Frankenstein adrift in the Arctic. After a week’s recovery Frankenstein tells his story. As Victor was growing up he had always been interested in alchemy and pseudo-sciences. He hoped to one day to be able overcome death and decay. Victor learned how to create life in the laboratory and collected parts from cadavers to create his creature. After giving his creation life, he was horrified and fled. He was hidden away for two years, then received a letter telling of his little brother’s death. He suspected the creature, but the police suspected a female friend of his family’s and hanged her. One day the being found Victor and told him of his survival and his knowledge. He requested Victor make him a companion and in return they would flee away never to be seen again. He eventually agrees to make the â€Å"bride,† but after much pondering destroys all the work he had done. The â€Å"monster † curses Frakenstein assuring revenge on his wedding night. Later another of his friends turns up dead. Victor still made plans to marry Elizabeth with whom he was raised. On their wedding night she is strangled by the monster. He follows the monster pledging to destroy it. The story leads to where he is taken aboard the ship. Soon after the story Victor dies. The monster s discovered on board and announces his plans to kill himself. 3. How would you describe the author’s style? Examine the way the author writes, considering word choice, point of view, structure, special techniques (i.e., symbolism).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I really liked the way Shelley told the story from different points of view. She made the story whole by telling what Victor thought and what the creature thought. I also liked the way she didn’t just dive right into the central story, but laid out an outer frame. Shelley tries to make an easily read story by telling it from all angles and makes it a little different with the story inside of the story. 4. Was this an easy work to read? Why or why not?   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  I believe it was easily read. There was no overly difficult language. If you did have to pause in the middle of the story it was easily picked up again without rereading sections a couple times.

Palace of Industry in Paris France Essay -- Architecture History

missing images Paris 1855: The Universal Exposition Interior and Exterior of the Palace of Industry These selected images, an exterior view of the Palace of Industry and a view of the interior of the palace during the distribution of awards, are both detailed views from which much can be observed. Since both images are illustrations, as opposed to photographs, they may not be entirely accurate. The image of the interior is a lithograph, which is approximately thirty-five inches by fifteen inches. Because of the medium employed, the details of the image are not very sharp, but many details are included. Emperor Napoleon III can be seen handing out the awards, and his empress is seen seated behind him. The other image appears to have been taken from a French newspaper article. Today, the actual paper is very old, as can be evidenced by the large tear in the middle of the picture and its worn edges. The actual size of the illustration is about fifteen inches long and eight inches wide. Most significant about the Palace of Industry are its historical precedents, the evolution of its de sign, its successes and failures, and finally its role at the fair. After London hosted the first international exposition in 1851, Napoleon III realized that France needed to seize back the initiative. The motive given for the 1855 Paris exposition was to celebrate forty years of peace in Europe since Waterloo (Findling, pp. 16-17). A hidden agenda, however, was the competition among the major European nations, to establish their industrial and artistic supremacy. Napoleon III decided that France needed a spectacular structure "based on the plan of the Crystal Palace of London" (Lavedan, p. 228). Therefore, in 1852, France held a competition fo... ...e success of the Palace of Industry, it did nothing to promote the careers of either Viel or Barrault. Regardless, the Palace of Industry was an influential step in the integration of this revolutionary material, iron, with traditional architecture. Bibliography Findling, John E. Historical Dictionary of World's Fairs and Expositions 1851-1988. New York City: Greenwood Press, 1990. Lavedan, Pierre. French Architecture. London: Scholar Press, 1956. Mignot, Claude. Architecture of the Nineteenth Century in Europe. New YorkCity: Rizzoli International Publications Inc.,1984. Hautecoeur, Louis. Histoire de l'architecture classique en France. v. 7. Paris: Rue Bonaparte, 1943. Steiner, Frances H. French Iron Architecture. Ann Arbor, Michigan: UMI Research Press, 1984. Tachà ©, J. C. Canada at the Universal Exhibition of 1855. Toronto: Yonge Street, 1856.

The Miranda Warning :: essays research papers

The Miranda Warning For the past decade, many Right Wing organizations have sort to change many of the laws, governing our rights and freedom. These laws were passed by congress and upheld by the Supreme Court. The Miranda Warning is one of these laws. The Miranda Warning is intended to protect the guilty as well as the innocent and should be protected at all costs. Without the law, many suspects may be treated unfairly. It is a necessary safeguard. Miranda is a ruling which says that the accused have the right to remain silent and prosecutors may not use statements made by them while in police custody, unless the police advice them of their rights. In other words, a police officer must inform a suspect of this fundamental right, under the Fifth Amendment, at the time of their arrest and or interrogation. Miranda protect ignorant suspects from incriminating themselves. Miranda also protects suspects from overzealous police officers. Although most law-enforcement agents in the United States are decent men and women, some abuse their power. They may try to coerce suspects into giving false confessions. Time and time again, we read of cases where suspects were forced to make confessions because an overzealous or prejudiced police officers want to close a case. The story of Rubin Hurricane Carter, made popular by the motion picture of the same name, demonstrated how lives could be destroyed when vindictive and manipulating detectives abuse their power. The Miranda Warning helps keep abuses in check. If the law is used correctly, the guilty would receive their due punishment. When police officers inform suspects of their rights before interrogation, it is very unlikely that the judge presiding over any case would throw out statements made during questioning. Many high ranking law enforcement agents around the country support the Miranda Warning rule because it is a necessary safeguard; it helps and does not hinders the judicial process. William J. Bratton former police commissioner for the New York City Police Department said, "Miranda works at a minimal social cost. The Supreme Court should reaffirm a decision that has served this country well." I believe that the Miranda warning protects all citizens, guilty and innocent, victim and perpetrator, from unscrupulous officers. The law was designed to insure that the statement given is voluntary and not extracted by force or coercion. Many courts including the Supreme Court have made thousands of decisions using the Miranda ruling without any indication that the law was unconstitutional or benefit criminals.

Analysis of Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s Oration on the Dignity of Man Essay

In Giovanni Pico della Mirandola’s â€Å"Oration on the Dignity of Man,† he discusses his conceptions and ideas on the nature and the potential of human beings. Notably, in his discussion, he reconciles and combines the teachings of Islam, Judaism and Christianity into a single binding thought. He also attempted to reconcile the several contrasting teachings of Aristotle and Plato, although it is noticeable that he is more in favor of the teachings of the latter. Although his oration is great in length, it can be summarized into several important points. Possibly the first important point is in the first part of Mirandola’s oration in which he explained the origin of man through the story of creation. He claimed that after God, whom he considers as the highest form of authority in the universe like all other religions, finished creating all creatures, he expressed the desire to create another being who would be able appreciate all of the animals, plants, and other things he created. In addition, based on his oration, these creatures each had its own â€Å"rank† in the world. However, Mirandola claimed that there was no longer any room for another creature in the hierarchy of the world, as all the slots, from angels to worms had already been occupied when he finished creating. According to Mirandola, as a result, God created man in such a way that he would not be belong to any slot or position in the hierarchy or chain of beings. Instead, Mirandola claimed, that man had the ability to imitate and learn from all the other creatures, which he likened to a â€Å"chameleon. † Furthermore, he asserted that man’s destiny was the controlled merely by the hand of God, but by his own freewill. In other words, according to Mirandola, human beings could change themselves based on the decisions and the choices they make. In addition, he claimed that these choices could lead man closer to God or farther away from him. After Mirandola’s explanation of man’s purpose in the world, he then discussed how man should act and also discussed the consequences of each of his actions. According to him, human beings should imitate the actions of Cherubims, whom he described as the angels that â€Å"flashes forth the splendor of intelligence,† as this would help them ascend the ladder or hierarchy of beings and ultimately reach God, whom he claimed as the one on top of the ladder. In other words, Mirandola asserted that it is through the use of human intellect, specifically through philosophizing or engaging in intellectual discussions, can human beings become like angels and become one with their creator God. Moreover, although there are other ways of communing with God and ascending closer to him, according to Mirandola, the use of human intellect is the best way to do so because in is through thinking can human beings conceive and understand â€Å"pure† and eternal ideas and thoughts. In other words, Mirandola generally emphasized the importance of the power of the imagination as this where limitless possibilities occur. In contrast, based on his oration, when human beings fail to use their intellect they descend the ladder or the hierarchy and become evil and useless. Furthermore, according to him, it is this ability of man, which the exercise of freewill that distinguishes him from all the other creatures of God and thereby making him superior to them. Mirandola claimed that only human beings have control of their fates as all the other creatures in nature are controlled by external forces acting on them. Moreover, he also explained based on the teachings of Empedocles, that human beings have dual souls. One brings them closer to the heavens and in effect closer to God while the other drags them further down the earth, where war and discord exists. However, Mirandola emphasized that it is solely the choice of human beings which soul they would nourish. Another important point that Mirandola discusses in his oration is his view on the many schools of thoughts or philosophies existing in the world. First of all, according to him, philosophies always change, which makes a human being’s ability to self-transform the only thing constant. Moreover, he emphasized that since there are many philosophies and beliefs, which include the teachings of Plato, Aristotle, Christianity and Islam, among others, it is best for man to learn all of these doctrines to have a broader view and understanding of life and the journey to God. According to him, human beings should not simply believe in and stick to a single dogma or doctrine, especially if this attacks other teachings, as this hinders their capacity to think, which he holds in the highest regard. Furthermore, Mirandola also stressed that in the system where man has freewill and can transform himself into any other existing creature, it is the philosophers, which include himself, who are considered the most dignified and possible the highest form of human beings. Based on his oration, he believed that since philosophers think and engage in debates most of the time, they are drawn closer to God and they ascend the hierarchy of beings faster than other humans. Similarly, he asserted that artists, writers, and painters, who have very powerful imaginations, are not merely artisans but geniuses as they possess ability to exercise their intellectual capacities Lastly, another notable point that Mirandola discussed is his of view on the mystery of God himself. According to him, God made himself known to prophets like Moses not through a single revelation but a series of revelations that made them understand his true nature and character. In addition, he emphasized that there only a few human beings who possess the capacity to understand the revelations of God because it is they who can accurately and truthfully profess what they know and what they have discovered.

Quality Management Worldwide Total Quality Management Essay

For more than four decades after independence the companies in India enjoyed a protected market with virtually no competition, and some of them even monopolised the market, with customers having little or no choice. As a result complacency set in, and no pressure existed for improvement or change. However, the policy of globalization and liberalization adopted by the Indian Government five years ago, has hrown open new avenues and challenges to companies in India. The new policy has resulted in open doors through which global corporate players have entered the Indian markets, and are threatening the domestic manufacturers and suppliers, using quality as a weapon. This has compelled the managers of local companies to look for those tools and techniques, proven and tested, which would help them to maintain and improve their strategies and positions in the market. One such policy or philosophy that has captured the attention of industry and the business community is TQM. Particularly, in the recent years TQM is even regarded as bsolutely essential for growth, stability, and prosperity. This paper has the main intention of presenting an overview of TQM’s progress in the country, starting from its initiation to its current status. Besides, the paper also describes how the organizational attempts by various agencies enabled the establishment of a TQM culture. Further, these attempts are presented in a chronological order, to appreciate the role played by various agencies, which resulted in growth and propagation of TQM in India. Towards the end, the gaps that still exist and hence the efforts that eed to be channeled are pointed out, so as to result in appropriate guidelines about the work to be done. The author R. Jagadeesh is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering, S. J. College of Engineering, Mysore, India. Keywords TQM, India, Quality Abstract Total quality management (TQM) has spread its wings in every sphere of the global corporate world and Indian companies are no exception. In this paper, first the growth and spread ofTQM in India is traced from its initiation to current status. Further, the paper has tried to identify the causes for poor quality of products and ervice, and the gaps that exist between the expectations and the outcome after adopting the TQM practices. Later a critical view of the quality scene in India is presented, and finally, based on these observations suitable guidelines and recommendations are made to bridge this gap. It is concluded that there is still a long way to go for Indian companies to receive the stamp of acceptance for their products at international level. Electronic access The current issue and full text archive of this Journal is available at http://www. emerald-library. com are synonymous with high quality products and trust worthiness. However, the post- independent era did not witness any spectacular improvement regarding the quality of goods and services produced in the country. According to Agrawal (1993) due to protected business environment many positive attributes of the Indian industry have been lost and weaknesses have surfaced. These weaknesses based on the study are: lack of trust and credibility in the working system, lack of clarity/seriousness for achieving target, lack of precise observance of rules and norms, low quality of supplies and components, lack of consciousness of time as money, viewing only short term benefits ahead of long term oals, politicalization of labor unions, lack of accountability for actions, lack of management commitment, lack of national quality policy, inadequate economic resources, lack of indigenous technology, inadequate infrastructure, preferring quantity to quality, lack of team spirit, cartel formation, and sellers’ market. Besides, lack of consumerism, Government control on everything, bureaucratic delays, quick profit making attitudes by the companies, all resulted in quality getting a low priority and consequently Indian products were constrained to serve only the domestic market being not able to compete in the international markets. Further, the factors mentioned before, clearly proved to be obstacles in the path to progress, and India in spite of possessing good resources and rich scientific and technical manpower, could not produce world-class products acceptable in the international markets. The TQM movement in India The TQM initiatives were first set by the Confederation of Indian Industries (Cll) in the early 1980s, in its pioneering effort in promoting awareness about quality among Indian industries. The work done by Cll in this direction is well documented in Deccan Herald Advertising Feature (1993) and also in The Standards Engineer (1996). In 1982, quality circles took birth in India, and some of the companies to launch quality circles first were Bharat Electronics Limited, Bangalore, and Bharat Heavvy Electricals Limited, Trichy. In 1986 the Cll then known as CEI (Confederation of Engineering Industries), invited Professor Ishikawa to India, to address industry people about quality. Later in 1987, a TQM division was set up by the Cll. This division owes its foundation to 21 companies who agreed to support the cause by pooling resources and pledging to start the Journey to TQM. Chief executives of these companies formed the National Committee on Quality, 22 Total quality management in India ? ± perspective and analysis R. Jagadeesh The TQM Magazine Volume 1 1 . Number 5. 1999 . 321? ±327 newsletter on quality. In 1987 and 1988, the Cll invited the Juran Institute to India to conduct three training workshops, and then in 1989 a team from India attended the Deming Seminar in London. Study teams organized by the Cll were taken to Japan and the USA to study quality practices. During 1990, the Cll consolidated and focused on training, and in February 1991, an Indian company with the assistance of the Cll, obtained the first ISO 9000 certification in India. The Cll organized the launch of the National Quality Campaign led by the Prime Minister of India in May 1992. It is around this time, the process of globalization and liberalization was started in the country, bringing a new dimension to the business and industrial sectors. From then on, a new line of thinking in terms of quality, productivity, and competitiveness has begun. Since 1993, the Cll has been organizing The Quality Summit every year. This provides an opportunity for all business leaders, and higher level managers of member and non-member organizations of the Cll to network, learn, and contribute hrough experience sharing, and listening to the experts who gather there. The National Productivity Council (NPC) has set up a TQM and Benchmarking Division in New Delhi, and offers TQM implementation services, which include modular training programs and consultancy services. In 1996, the Government of India announced the setting up of the Quality Council of India, (QCI) with the Industry Ministry bringing in half the seed capital of Rs. 1. 5 crores. The rest of the seed capital will be contributed by the corporate sector. The setting up of a national agency for quality certification is art of the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements, under which member countries will not trade in non-certified products two years down the line. The corporate sector too was demanding the setting up of an internationally recognized quality council as it found the certification process from foreign agencies too expensive. Besides, it would save vital foreign exchange for the country. The QCI will be entrusted with monitoring and administering of the National Quality Campaign and will also oversee the effective functioning of the National Information and Enquiry Services. Post-liberalization scene ? ± improvement in quality The economic reforms that started in 1992 have ushered in a new era of progress and prosperity in the country. According to a report published in YoJana (1997), the real gross domestic product (GDP) recorded a growth rate of 6. 8 per cent in agriculture and allied sectors, 7. 0 per cent in industry, and 7. 4 per cent in services. The Eighth Five Year Plan (EFYP) (1992-97) which ended with an average growth rate of 6. 5 per cent per annum, compares well with the target rate of 5. 6 per cent for the EFYP, and actual achievement of 6. 0 per cent in the Seventh Five Year Plan. In fact his is the highest average growth rate achieved in the planning period since 1951. The sectoral average growth rates for the period 1992-97 are: Agriculture and allied sectors ? ± 4. 0 per cent, Industry ? ± 7. 8 per cent and, Services ? ± 9. 2 per cent. Further, exports during 1996-97 registered a growth rate of 4. 1 per cent. Foreign direct inve stment amounted to US $2,696 million during 1996-97. These facts clearly indicate that the economic reforms brought through globalization and liberalization have yielded rich dividends, and hold a lot of promise for the coming years. While all ndividually to improve their product quality, besides overall performance through TQM practices. For example, Gupta and Sagar (1993) describe a case of total quality control in an engineering company through the extensive use of personal computers, and state that the Indian company was able to overcome many quality related problems which included: high rejection levels, slow inspection rates, frequent errors in measurement, inconsistency in interpreting inspection data, time consuming data storage and retrieval, rigid inspection schedules, not responding to changing environment, and quality plans not adjusted to varying batch sizes. The company improved the problem solving capacity through quality circles, and quality database at each stage. Comprehensive information systems enabled the personnel to obtain better guidance leading to improved decision making. Thus the success is attributed to systematic application of TQM. 323 The TQM Magazine volume 11 . Number 5 . 1999 . 321? ±327 Business Today (1995) in an exclusive coverage on status of quality of India, presents a detailed report on companies which are market leaders and corporate giants. The cases covered include reports on leading Indian companies like Mukand, BPL, Arvind, IFB, ABB, HDFC, Amex, Hidustan Lever, Ranbaxy, Indal, Gujarat AmbuJa, Wsya Bank, Oberoi Hotels, and Thermax. It is emphasized that these companies carved a niche for themselves by focusing on quality in their planning, operations, and marketing strategies. Awareness of quality ? ± a positive change Pati and Reis (1996) state that India is emerging as a leading economy in the new world economic order. The phenomenal increase in India’s export earnings, which rose to IJS$ 26. 2 billion in the 1994-95 fiscal year showed an increase of 18. 27 per cent over its 1993-94 export earnings of IJS$22. 7 billion. This is said to be an indicator of how its products and services are perceived by its global customers. It is further stated that the thrust has been shifted from import substitution to development of an export-oriented economy. Other pertinent observations made are: . Indian businesses are pursuing paths of superior quality and high productivity; . quality conscious consumeris m; . increasing competition; . industries expanding their domestic share and venturing into global markets; . significant rise in the ISO 9000 certified companies. The survey conducted by Pati and Reis (1996) has further revealed many interesting aspects bout quality practices in India. The survey questionnaire has used a five-point Likert interval to capture the strength of perception, where points 1 (very high), 2 (high), 3 (medium), 4 (low), and 5 (very low) indicate the degree of current practice related to quality. The critical success factors contributing to quality and overall average scores (3. 43); . role of quality department/personnel (3. 14); . training (3. 69); . product/service design (2. 91); . supplier quality management (2. 6); process management and operating procedures (2. 74); quality data reporting (2. 72); employee relations (2. 2). It is concluded from the survey that the manufacturing sector in India is well aware of importance of quality, and efforts have been channeled to improve product quality. However, the service sector mostly Government owned and operated, lags behind the manufacturing sector in all aspects that i mply quality. TQM ? ± success stories of Indian companies Many Indian companies are beginning to realize that ‘ ‘customer focus† is an absolute requirement of TQM. Jain (1996), while writing on TQM in India, states that companies are paying closer attention to consumer feedback in order to tailor roducts to meet customer needs and are using a wide variety of methods that include benchmarking with rival products, regular customer meetings, and even engaging market research companies to collect consumer feedback on their product range and after sales service. Two specific cases are worth mentioning. Escorts Limited, an automobile manufacturing company, based on the feedback from customers and dealers, changed the delivery route to ensure safe and quick delivery. Similarly, J. K. Synthetics, based on feed back from customer meetings, focused on standardization of quality parameters, and started after-sales service. This resulted in the sales rise from 220 tonnes in first quarter of 1995 to 632 tonnes in the last quarter of the same year, an impressive growth in the sales by three times the previous value. According to a report published in Business Today (1998), some Indian companies are being guided by Yoshikazu Tsuda, a counselor at JUSE (Union of Japanese Scientists and Engineers) in their quest for total quality. Some of these companies are Sona Steering, Jai Bharat Maruti, GKN Invel, Asahi Float Glass, Brakes India, Lucas TVS, India Pistons, and India Piston Rings. Further, as stated in The Economic Times (1998), sixsigma technique, which is considered to be a classic TQM technique, is being practiced by several Indian companies notable among 324 significant achievement by an Indian company due to its practicing TQM principles is reported by Sridharan (1998a). The Indian company Sundaram Fasteners located near Chennai, India, has received the Best of Best Vendors Award consecutively for two years during 1996 and 1997, for its supply of metal radiator caps to General Motors, USA. The award was given to the company for its consistent zero defects rate, 100 percent reliability in delivery schedules, and lowest price. The company is the only supplier to General Motors, USA from India out of its 3,000 supplier companies scattered all over the globe. In an exclusive interview covered by Premchander (1996), the managing director of Asea Brown Boveri Ltd (a partly owned subsidiary of Asea Brown Boveri Limited, Zurich) one of the very successfully operating multi-national companies in India, has stated that the managers have to spend time and resources on TQM. A historical achievement by an Indian company winning the coveted Deming Prize for Overseas Companies, for successful implementation of TQM, is reported by Sridharan (1998b). The Indian company Sundaram Clayton, has successfully turned its people into quality practitioners by the actual deployment of TQM tools, techniques, and systems. 38 ? ± time to market; 22 ? ± corporate credibility. Indian quality scene ? ± a critical view The developments related to Indian companies, concerning quality of products and services, need to be examined on a comparative global scale. This would enable judgement of the progress made in improving quality. A survey made in 1994 in which products and services from 41 countries were ranked by World Competitiveness Report indicates that the quality of Indian products and services is isappointing. According to the summary of results given in Skaria (1995), India’s rank based on different quality parameters is as follows (the rank out of 41 is given followed by the parameter): . 39? ± price to quality; . 38 ? ± practice ofTQM; . 40? ± customer orientation; . 28 ? ± product liability; . 39 ? ± time to innovate; The report clearly suggested that on a global scale, Indian products and services are far from satisfactory, and have a poor image. This is a major cause of worry for the corporate managers particularly for those looking for new markets, and ventures with oreign collaborators. One commonly quoted reason for getting away with low quality in India, is lack of pressure from consumers. Many managers are of the opinion that unless the customers are aware of their right to demand high quality, and insist on companies to invest in quality, they continue to receive poor quality products. While the growth and spread of quality practices are slow in India, TQM has firmly seated itself in other Asiatic countries. In a cover feature on ‘Quality in Asia’ reported in World Executive Digest (1996), it is stated that as Asia grapples with the challenge of lobalization, more and more companies seek ISO 9000 certification and adopt TQM. Companies in Hong Kong, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, and China are overtly involved in embracing practices of total quality to march ahead in global markets. According to The Economic Intelligence Unit (1996), which surveyed companies in Hong Kong on issues in the region. The growth of TQM across Asia however means that new approaches are being developed in the region. These observations clearly suggest that India has to carefully watch the developments in the Asiatic region, as TQM principles have been successfully applied by several countries improving their utput quality, attracting more foreign investment, and hence capable of restricting India’s share in the global market. What the quality experts say In spite of the hype created by the ISO 9000 bandwagon, which today has more than 1,500 companies certified as such, quality is yet to emerge as a major strength of Indian products. Managers of Indian companies have still a lot to learn and implement in the image building process based on quality. This is perhaps aptly summarized by a statement made by Philip Crosby as reported in The Times of India (1997). While addressing a 325 ews conference at the end of his weeklong visit to India, Crosby has said that complacency is a major problem with the Indian management system. The managers of Indian industries should take this seriously. In an interview published in Business India (1997-98) James Harrington, a leading authority in the field of quality, has stated that India still has four types of companies: those with poor performance, with good performance, with better performance, and with outstanding performance. Harrington remarks that companies with poor performance went bankrupt in other parts of the world, while those with good performance would follow them. But those with better performance will survive and those with outstanding performance would explode into the twentyflrst century. This indicates that India still has scope for bad products, and bad performance, which need to be immediately curbed. It is pointed out by Sukumar (1998) that TQM continues to baffle corporate India, as evident by the different interpretations made by each person in the industry about what is TQM. It was observed during the Sixth Quality Summit organized by the Cll in New Delhi, that TQM means anything and everything depending on the individual’s perspective, politics, and paradigms. During the summit as many as nine different definitions were presented by the speakers about what constitutes TQM. This means people in the corporate sector have no consensus about the concept of TQM and it could be a deterrent in its implementation. In another survey conducted by Arun et al. (1998) with regard to ISO certified companies interesting observations were made about implementing TQM in a company. Out of 17 companies that were surveyed, managers in seven companies said that though they believe in TQM they do not know how to implement it. The survey further revealed that the long term supplier elationship, an essential ingredient for successful implementation of TQM, has not the implementation of TQM were found to be: continued dependence on traditional incentive schemes, numerical targets, performance rating, slogans for improving productivity, and not identifying and providing the right type of training for each and everyone as demanded for every Job. The survey concludes that if all these factors are not mitigated a company may continue as ISO certified but not be recognized as a TQM company. Comments and conclusion The various surveys independently conducted by researchers and business ublications have revealed that awareness on quality of products and services has picked up in India. With quality based competition intensifying, Indian industries and business people are showing keen interest in improving the quality of products through TQM. A number of organizations, private and Government are actively propagating TQM through a variety of training and educational programs. TQM has proved to be a vital ingredient for success, and now has its permanent roots in the mission and vision† of the Indian corporate sector. However, based on common observations the requirements for quality to succeed in India can be summarized as ollows: . a strong consumer movement; . a sincere and committed drive by the corporate sector to keep quality as the main focus; . trict enforcement of standards by the regulatory bodies and authorities; . avoidance of multiple grading of quality in products, like export quality, first grade, seconds, import rejects, etc. ; . setting an example in adhering to high quality performance and output, before pointing to others. While TQM no doubt has enabled the Indian companies to improve the quality of products and services, the international market demands still higher uality levels to give due recogn ition and acceptance.