Innovation in Construction Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

In ancient Greece

In old Greece there was before a matriarchal society. We know this since it is clear in the writing that has gone into our hands and from the religions of these old people groups. While this proof is before us the purpose behind the change to a male centric culture isn't so apparent. Almost no data exists regarding the matter, perhaps in light of the fact that the change was so fierce sometimes. Robert Graves discloses to us antiquated Europe had no divine beings. The Great Goddess was viewed as unceasing and perpetual. Parenthood held no significance for these people groups since it was sometime in the not too distant future that they found that a man was expected to deliver a kid. Everywhere throughout the world we can experience these mother goddesses. The ladies were viewed as supreme and the priestess of a town was generally the sovereign. She took sweethearts for joy, not for a dad for her kids, as the offspring of a network were viewed as consecrated endowments from the goddes s. Men venerated and regarded the wonder and intensity of ladies and loved the matron, her hovel or sanctuary being the soonest social focus. In this manner the primary casualty of a Greek open penance was to Hestia. Hestia was goddess of the hearth and it is her pronouncement that suppliants must be ensured in her name (Graves 75). She is frequently portrayed as the raised white hill of debris that secures live coals without creating smoke. This extraordinary goddess was !ingrained in each aspect of the Greek family. The goddess is portrayed as the moon just as the sun. The moons periods of new, full, and old review the female authorities periods of lady, mother, and hag. The sun additionally runs its course of spring (lady), summer (mother), and winter (hag). Hence the goddess became related with creature and vegetation through these regular wonders. The moon controls the tides and transitory ocean creatures while the sun controls the reap and the hibernation times of numerous cre atures. The goddesss li...

Factors to Consider If You Want to Become a Lawyer

Factors to Consider If You Want to Become a Lawyer Have you ever watched “Law Order” or “Suits”? If your answer is yes, then you have probably wondered how your life would be if you were one of the characters from those TV shows.Almost every one of us who have done that imagined ourselves in a courtroom full of people, with Judge in front of us and Jury on the side, trying to convince them in our client’s innocence.Ah, those were fun days!And then we would think: “Hey, I want to be a lawyer, it is such an amazing profession.”Wearing suits, putting criminals behind bars and earn a lot of money. It all sounded like a dream job for a lot of people.Of course, not everything is as shiny as it seems.Being a lawyer is not a catwalk, there are a lot of factors to consider, from expensive education to not always being a hero.Sometimes lawyers get to defend criminals, rob poor people of their savings and a lot more.It is just a part of the job, and that is why being a lawyer is not a profession fit for everyone.That said, in thi s article, we will mention several factors which you should consider if you want to become a lawyer.So stay with us if you are interested in this topic!LONG AND EXPENSIVE EDUCATIONNow, before you become a successful lawyer and start earning a lot of money, you need to complete a very extensive and expensive education process.Everyone knows that Law is one of the most boring subjects to study unless you are really in love with it.There are a lot of unnecessary topics to learn and it can often be very tough to learn everything by heart.Now if you are still interested in pursuing a career as a lawyer, then you should keep these next few steps in mind.1. Bachelor’s DegreeIn order for you to even apply to join any law school, first, you will need to earn a bachelor’s degree.You might ask what is the most suitable field to get your bachelor’s degree if you want to continue with education in Law?And the right answer is that there is none.Some studies show that students get accepted t o law schools from almost all fields of study, but that most are coming from schools related to political science, philosophy, journalism, and economics.So it really doesn’t matter that much.What matters is your determination and performance at LSAT, which we will go over in a second.2. LSATBefore you apply for a law school, you need to pass the Law School Admission Test, or in other words, LSAT.LSAT is one of the most important factors included in the law school application process.It is used to asses the person and to help people who need to decide whether to accept you or not, by testing the applicants, by testing their various skills, which could be needed for the job.The test itself is divided into several parts, with both open and closed types of questions.There are five questions where you are offered with multiple choices as well.3. Choosing Right Law SchoolWhen choosing a law school, you need to consider a lot of factors, such as location, fees, accommodation, and popular ity.But there is also one crucial factor that you must consider, which is law school accreditation.That means you should choose only those law schools who are generally accredited by specific institutions, like the American Bar Association for example.Only law schools with proper accreditation are worthy and generally recognized, which gives you the best chance of getting a good job after you complete your education.There are a lot of law schools to choose from, but if your aim is to become the best of the best, you should try to enter some of the most prestigious law schools.In order to get into desired schools, both your previous grades and LSAT results will be considered, so that is why we mentioned how important LSAT is and why you should try to prepare yourself as best as possible for the test.4. Juris Doctor DegreeNow that you have successfully applied and been accepted to the desired law school, the next logical step is getting your Juris Doctor degree or in short JD.It is a three-year program, which allows you to specialize in a desired field of the law.This is where you need to decide what you really want with your life.Being a corporate lawyer and lawyer in other areas, like crime and family lawyer are completely different things.This also depends on your previous education. If you have been studying economics, it would probably be easier for you to become a corporate lawyer.On the other hand, if you have been studying in some other field, then other types of lawyers might be more suitable professions for you.Everything really depends on what you really want to do, what would you like to do and what are you prepared to do, so choose wisely.5. Bar ExaminationYou would probably think that after getting a JD, your education process would be over and you would be able to start doing your job as a lawyer.But that is where you are wrong.There are still few more obstacles to cross.After completing all of the above, there is still one more left to do and tha t is passing the Bar Examination, which is the final test you need to pass in order to become a lawyer.In order for you to work as a lawyer in a specific state in the USA, first, you need to pass the State Bar Examination. It contains two parts.First, the applicant must pass a test formed of various law-related questions.Apart from that, the applicant needs to solve a practical legal problem.Something like solving a case study, if you want a simpler explanation.After you pass Bar Examination and prove yourself as a competent and reliable person who can be trusted with a serious matter and who can make some difficult choices, you are ready to become a lawyer.Most young lawyers first join some firms and work as a junior associates, then after some time they either advance through the ranks or join another firm where they think they have a better chance of promotion, which means better and more interesting cases.Apart from that, some choose to pursue the career of a judge.6. Education ExpensesA large number of tests and years of study are not the only obstacle which young people who want to become lawyers have to cross on that path.Another very big issue can be the educational fees.In the USA, educational fees per year can get as high as $40.000 and in some cases can reach $60.000.With the information that average law student has a debt of around $140.000, you can get the bigger picture of how hard it must be for those young men and women and their parents, especially for those who do not come from wealthy families.That is why it is important for them to succeed in this endeavor and become lawyers because otherwise, it would be very hard to repay this vast debt.And even if they succeed, some may feel trapped in the circle with a job they thought they liked, but in fact, they don’t. And it can be very depressing.That is why it is important for you to be certain about your choice to pursue a career in the law. EARNINGSWhen it comes to the question of how much mon ey lawyers earn, the general opinion is that amount in question is very high.Yes, there are lawyers who earn millions and millions of dollars, but there are not so many of them, which is why the general opinion about lawyers’ salary is usually wrong.Statistics show that the average lawyer earns around $120.000 a year. Depending on a workplace, a lawyer’s salary can vary from very small to huge.Lawyers who work in small legal clinics generally earn much less money, because they tend to work with the general population, who, as we all know, is not among the richest upper class of residents.Also, legal clinics often take a lot more pro-bono cases, especially to help the people who don’t have the money to pay for legal counseling.On the other side, there are lawyers who work for big law firms.They tend to work on a lot more interesting cases, which can bring a lot of money, especially if we talk about corporate law.These lawyers tend to earn much more than their colleagues from le gal clinics.Another important factor when it comes to the salary is geographic location.Lawyers from big cities usually have more cases, thus, they often earn more money than lawyers who work in small towns.THE GENERAL OPINION OF LAWYERSFor generations, the lawyer profession has been considered as one of the most elite professions.Fancy suits, high salary and ability to help others were the most common causes for young people to decide to pursue a career in this field.Nowadays the general opinion of lawyers is still, more or less, the same. It is still considered a very prestigious profession by most of the people, but, of course, there are those who do not agree and have their own picture of a lawyer.So it is the only fair thing to mention their reasons as well since after all, you should consider both good and bad aspects of being a lawyer.Lawyers tend to be heroes to some people, yes, but it is often the case that something can go wrong, whether with the evidence or any other asp ect of the case.In that case, clients can feel like their lawyer let them down and they often blame them for losing the case, especially if it means that the client has to go to jail.There is also the situation when criminals go away unpunished for the crimes they had committed because they had such a good lawyer who managed to remove the guilt from their way.In these situations, lawyers are no longer viewed as heroes but as villains.Of course, not every lawyer accepts this kind of job, some have really high moral standards, but sometimes it is not a choice, especially if the money involved is high and as we had already said, most of the young lawyers tend to have financial struggles when they start their careers.So despite they are good people and have high moral standards, they often take that one case which would probably make them feel bad for themselves, but could potentially help them with paying their debts, because they feel there is no other way to do it.Of course, not ever ything is as dark as it might seem from these sentences.Lawyers do help people, especially those working in small legal clinics.People who do not have enough money to pay for fancy lawyers often get represented by lawyers who have a good heart and want to prove themselves and help people.They often accept those jobs for free or for a very small fee.That kind of case is called pro-bono cases, which are not just useful for clients, but also for a lawyer in question.Sometimes even the smallest pro-bono case could turn out to be a big deal and that is one of the ways for young lawyers to get some reputation and might earn a place in some bigger law firms.WHAT ARE THE SKILLS EVERY LAWYER SHOULD HAVE?Apart from lengthy education, there are some skills every lawyer should have.So it is not just about having a degree on paper.Let us see what skills define a good lawyer.1. Knowledge of LawThe first thing that defines a good lawyer is his knowledge of all current and past laws.Of course, it i s impossible to know literally every law that has ever existed, there are thousands of them.But it is very important to be aware of current actual laws, because it may help you find some loopholes, which could help you win the case in not so few occasions.2. ConfidenceThis is one of the most important traits of successful lawyers. It is not crucial just to be confident for yourself, but also for your clients.Remember, lawyers are sometimes the last hope for some people, so in order for them not to lose hope and continue to fight, lawyers have to be confident and to inspire their clients to keep on fighting if there is even a small chance of winning.Of course, sometimes it is better to make a consensus and accept the deal, but it still takes a confident lawyer who can persuade a stubborn client that accepting the deal is in his best interest.3. CommunicationWith confidence comes the ability to be able to properly communicate with both your client and the other people, like judge, jur y or simply the police.A lawyer with an excellent communication skill could possibly change the tide of the entire case, by convincing the jury in certain things.The way of presenting evidence can be crucial in most of the cases, so no matter you are defending or accusing someone, you need to have very developed oral skills in order for you to either positively validate evidence or manage to make it unusable by the court.4. PrecisionBeing a lawyer is one of those jobs where every little detail matters, so that is why you have to be precise and meticulous.You need to be careful what you write and say because even one misused word could either be turned against you or used in your own advantage if you are precise enough to find it.Every contract, formal e-mail or just a simple conversation between lawyers and clients must be carefully conducted.That is why it is important to have a plan before you jump to a case.Read everything related to it, find out all the facts and be aware of eve ry little detail, because if you could have found it, it means that your opponents can too.5. Time PlanningOne of the most difficult things to process as a lawyer is that it is a very time-consuming job.Perhaps it is not the case when you first start working, but after a while, cases will pile up, so you will need to work much longer hours.That is why it is crucial to plan your activities and organize your schedule to the best of your abilities, so you don’t get overrun by the amount of work.It is important not just to organize your work schedule, but you should also try to fit some side activities as well, in order for you not to get insane.Everyone needs to vent from time to time, so that is why having side activities matters a lot.Take a walk, have fun with your friends, go for a couple of drinks, enjoy yourself and every job will become much easier.6. Analytical SkillsAs previously mentioned, there are a lot of laws, and with that comes a large number of information which you will get from all sides.Some of the information may or may not be useful to both you and your clients, so that is why you, as a successful lawyer, need to be able to distinguish what is important and what is not.To be able to do it, you need to have excellent analytical skills. It is crucial to find the information you need for a certain case, because it may turn the tide in your favor and then, combined with the skills we previously mentioned, such as confidence and communication skill that can lead to you winning the case for your clients.7. Being Able to Work Under PressureBecause of all the previous things we had already mentioned, to work as a lawyer means being able to handle a lot of stuff simultaneously.That itself can cause a lot of stress and pressure.Hence, in order for you to be a lawyer, it is very important to be a stable person who can cope with all that pressure.There are a lot of deadlines and hard cases, which could sometimes be risky if you are dealing with the wr ong type of people.All of that brings a lot of pressure, so being a lawyer is not a job for fainthearted.You should never allow yourself to lose the grip, especially not in front of other people, because it could hurt your case and reputation.You should always be as calm and as confident as possible, so your clients could feel a lot safer when you are around.In order for you to get the feeling of what it takes to become a lawyer, look at this video made by Georgie Stevenson, who shared how her life as a law student and later law graduate was. FINAL WORDNow that we have come to the end of our presentation, you probably have a wider picture of what it takes to become a successful lawyer.Now you understand that it is not an easy process, in fact, it is very hard and requires a lot of hard work and persistence.But if you are in love with the subject, nothing is too hard to learn or work, because when you love what you do, you feel happy, even if it is a work like this, which adds a lot of pressure and is very time-consuming.So, even after reading all of this, you still want to become a lawyer, and then nothing should stop you on that path, because it means you do not quit so easily and being a fighter is what you are.Then go ahead and live your dream!

Apartheid in South Africa Essay - 2560 Words

Origins of Apartheid In the seventeenth century, South Africa was colonized by Dutch and British imperialists. In response to British domination, Dutch settlers made two colonies: The Republic of the Orange Free State and Transvaal. Dutch descendants became known as â€Å"Afrikaners† or â€Å"Boers.† In the early 1900s, Boers discovered diamonds on their land. This led to a Britain invasion and sparked the Second Boer War, which lasted three years. This was the first modern war to see concentration camps; they were used successfully to break the will of Afrikaner guerilla forces by detaining their families. British forces won the war, converting the two Boer states into colonies who were promised limited self-governance. Post-Boer War, the†¦show more content†¦This created â€Å"white only† areas. If a nonwhite wanted to enter one of these locations, one would have to carry their â€Å"pass book† which only gave them limited access. In 1951, the Bantu Authoriti es Act was implemented which would later be used to further suppress ethnic groups. It created â€Å"homelands† or states for each ethnic group. This had the effect of diverting the majority’s political rights (such as voting, political participation, etc.) away from the National Party and toward their homeland. In 1970, the Bantu Homelands Citizens Act augmented the Bantu Authorities Act. Empowered with this legislation, from 1976 to 1981, more than nine million South African citizens lost their nationality, becoming citizens of their respective Bantustan. They became aliens in their own country for nearly thirty years. History of the African National Congress The African National Congress (ANC) was founded in 1912 as a means to protect the rights of black persons. Through this party, a Programme of Action (1949) was born where protests and strikes were organized. This Programme evolved in 1952 with the launch of the Defiance Campaign. At this point, the ANCs goal was â€Å". . . the liberation of the black majority and to equality before the law for all South Africans† (Walshe, 541). Some of the methods implemented may have been inspired by Gandhi’s actions as the ANC used similar methods as him (e.g., peaceful protest), and they beganShow MoreRelatedThe Apartheid Of South Africa1174 Words   |  5 PagesSome periods in human history are simply shameful. The period of apartheid policy in South Africa was one of these times. Apartheid featured a rebirth of racist legislature in South Africa from the 1950s to the 1990s. Essentially, these laws treated people who were not white as completely separate from society; the t erm apartheid literally means â€Å"apartness.† The national legislature in South Africa wanted to suppress blacks and ensure a white supremacy in the government. Basically, politicalRead MoreSouth Africa Apartheid And Oppression1695 Words   |  7 Pages South Africa Apartheid (oppression) Oppression is at the root of many of the most serious, enduring conflicts in the world today. Racial and religious conflicts; conflicts between dictatorial governments and their citizens; the battle between the sexes; conflicts between management and labor; and conflicts between heterosexuals and homosexuals all stem, in whole or in part, to oppression. It’s similar to an article in south africa that people have with racial segregationRead MoreApartheid and The Future of South Africa in Cry, The Beloved Country1044 Words   |  5 Pagesall characters from Alan Paton’s book, Cry, The Beloved Country, are used to share Paton’s points of view on the future of South Africa and the apartheid. Paton uses these characters to represent specific views; Arthur expresses clearly that the apartheid isn’t the right way to progress as a country, Napoleon exemplifies how Paton thinks people should take the anti-apartheid effort, and Msimangu explicitly expresses Patonâ €™s ideas of an ideal leader. Arthur Jarvis was the son of James Jarvis, anRead MoreEssay on South Africa Under Apartheid: A Totalitarian State1356 Words   |  6 PagesDuring the Apartheid Era, there emerged from South Africa cases of gross human rights abuse, racism, police brutality and general mistreatment of the non-white population. Excluding the fact that South Africa was never ruled by a dictator, it can be argued that some of these features were totalitarian and that South Africa was, to a certain extent, a totalitarian state under Apartheid. This discussion will analyse the totalitarian features that were apparent during Apartheid, and will be structuredRead MoreTo What Extent Did The Collapse Of Apartheid South Africa ( 1991 ) Really Bring About Change For The Bantu Population1458 Words   |  6 PagesTo what extent did the collapse of Apartheid in South Africa (1991) really bring about change for the Bantu population? The collapse of Apartheid in South Africa (1991) brought only a small amount of change for the Bantu population. South still faces racism in society, due to the continual domination by the â€Å"white† population with race interaction limited to the false â€Å"rainbow† television campaigns and promotional Africa strategies. At the close of Apartheid, a number of false statements were usedRead MoreHow and why did the apartheid system come into existence in South Africa and how was its existence maintained and enforced for so long?1593 Words   |  7 PagesThe term apartheid was one of the most politically charged words in the second half of the 20th century, and still remains notorious today. Apartheid translated from Afrikaans means separateness or apartness. However when the National Party came to power in South Africa in 1948, it took on a much more sinister meaning and today is associated with racial and ethnic discrimination. The roots of apartheid stem deep into South African history. It started way back during European settlement, andRead MoreApartheid in South Africa1118 Words   |  5 PagesApartheid In South Africa APARTHEID Apartheid is the political policy of racial segregation. In Afrikaans, it means apartness, and it was pioneered in 1948 by the South African National Party when it came to power. Not only did apartheid separate whites from non-whites, it also segregated the Blacks (Africans) from the Coloureds (Indians, Asians). All things such as jobs, schools, railway stations, beaches, park benches, public toilets and even parliament. Apartheid alsoRead MoreThe Apartheid Of South Africa1159 Words   |  5 PagesDuring the year of 1948, the lives of south Africans changed forever. The National Party, which was an all-white government, gained power and created hell for non-white citizens, their goal was to have white people continue to dominate the country and to keep each race separated from each other; even though at the time whites were only 20% of the population. The apartheid, which literally means â€Å"apartness† lasted until 1991, and during this time many acts were passed. One being that â€Å"non-white AfricansRead MoreThe Apartheid Of South Africa Essay1742 Words   |  7 PagesNelson Mandela and protesters during South Africa s journey away from apartheid. It’s a curious ponder, in fact, that America’s and South Africa’s ascents from racial discrimination were possibly involved with each other. However, while the world may be convinced the nation is out of racist dep ths, evidence displays the rise from discrimination in South Africa is undeniably incomplete. There is a dangerous and unresolved influence of apartheid in South Africa today. After World War 2 was won byRead MoreThe Apartheid Of South Africa1333 Words   |  6 Pageshistory of South Africa all we could see is racial discrimination. Africa was all in control of Whites till 1994. South Africa got free from racial discrimination when Nelson Mandela took a step became the first black prime minister of South Africa. Contemporary South Africa is now economically strong and it is completely a racial free state. The contemporary South Africa is now in race with every state in every field. Before 1994 South Africa was completely under control of Apartheid. WHO IS APARTHEID

Kate Chopin s The Story Of An Hour And A Doll House

Long before the 20th century women were not as respected as today. Kate Chopin’s â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and â€Å"A Doll House,† written by Henrik Ibsen, are two perfect examples of what can happen when one tires to cadge a kindred spirit. Both women are faced with some hard times and are forced to look within themselves to figure out the true meaning of a fulfilled life. While the two come to this decision in different ways and also meet different fates, they realize they are more than just a doll or a pet to society, and choose a life of freedom over everything and anything else. In â€Å"A Doll House† Chopin’s character, Nora Helmer, is a woman with a rare mindset. Helmer believes her actions throughout the play were noble because she acted out of love, but when her husband finds out the lies she told Helmer’s biggest fear of her husband leaving her comes true; and she loses her husband, also like the character in â€Å"The Story of an Hour†. As the writers for Enotes support, when Helmer’s husband recounts his actions trying to reconcile with her and attempts to come back into her life (like Mallard’s husband as well), she realizes her husband is actually â€Å"a selfish, pretentious hypocrite with no regard for her position in the matter† (1), she also becomes aware that â€Å"she is not a doll to flatter Torvald’s selfish vanity† (1). In the play Helmer tries to explain to her husband how she feels by stating â€Å"[n]ow when I look back, it seems as if I’d lived here like a beggar- ju st from handShow MoreRelatedHenrik Ibsen s A Doll House1563 Words   |  7 Pages In the play, A Doll House by Henrik Ibsen, the title itself symbolizes the dependent and degraded role of the wife within traditional marriages. Ibsen portrayed the generous nature root into women by society, as well as the significant action of this nature, and lastly the need for them to find their own voice in a world ruled by men. Ibsen wrote this play in 1879, this is the era where women were obedient to men, tend the children until their husband came home, and stood by the Cult of DomesticityRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin955 Words   |  4 PagesThe story of an hour by Kate Chopin provides many examples of â€Å"inside† and â€Å"outside†. My first impression I get of Mrs. Mallard when she is told that her husband has been killed in a train accident was normal. Mrs. Mallard had just found out that she lost her spouse and she grieves which is normal in such a situation. But the thing that obstructed my impression of her was when she went to her room. She started to stare out the open window and came to the sudden realization that she was free. â€Å"WhenRead MoreThe Story Of An Hour By Kate Chopin And Daystar By Rita Dove872 Words   |  4 PagesIn the poem the story of an hour by Kate Chopin and Daystar by Rita dove the both attempt overcome their obsession by finding an outlet. Involved toned to warming I m trying to find something to do or something to watch to comfort them. Both woman wanted freedom. Freedom to be themselves. This theme can apply to many women of there time.Woman did not really have much power or say in anything that went on. Women where really the ones that stayed at home. They took care of the family and tendRead MoreFreedom Versus Confinement By Henrik Chopin1524 Words   |  7 Pageshappened in the house or how things were to be done that was the husband’s job. The man was obligated to get married, take care of his wife and household (money wise). The men were typically more free then the women. But true freedom is being able to live for yourself and do what you wanted to how you wanted to do it. Neither were truly free. During this time period, many writers and poets would using poems and stories to discuss these issues. Writer Henrik Ibsen and poet Kate Chopin are perfect examples

Collins and Yeskel Free Essays

Rising personal debt is one of the consequences of growing inequality. Over 60 percent of americans carry a personal debt every month and the average family is said to cary a nine thousand dollar debt. The reading talked about how people are now using credit cards to pay for things like groceries and gas, something we would of paid for in cash on the regular in the past. We will write a custom essay sample on Collins and Yeskel or any similar topic only for you Order Now I find this very dangerous. The main reason i find this dangerous is because having to buy groceries and gas on credit probably means you don’t feel you have the money at the given time to actually pay for it. This means a person is living pay check to pay check and has little to no money to put in savings which could hurt in the future. I feel this is primarily dangerous for middle to low income households. If one of these households are buying food and gas on credit and cant afford to put money in savings and they happen to fall on a hard time they will put themselves into further debt and cause family issues. Suburbanization of america was driven by the government and contributed disparities of wealth between whites and blacks by creating areas between the 1930’s-1960’s that were categorized by zones where certain people could live. On maps areas were broken down by color to determine the most desirable places to live. Green was a desirable area where it was predominately white and red was an undesirable place to live where it was mostly black, mixed race, or other races. The FHA would give loans based off of this data based off of who applied for them and also loans interest rates would be adjusted accordingly in the same fashion. Today we see that older generations properties in these suburban areas are starting to mix racially since this older style of suburbanization has been outlawed. Over time the larger interest rates and zoning has created problems between different ethnic groups and not areas are becoming more diverse. How to cite Collins and Yeskel, Papers

Speech Perception Essays (2326 words) - Phonetics, Speech Perception

Speech Perception Speech Perception Speech perception is the ability to comprehend speech through listening. Mankind is constantly being bombarded by acoustical energy. The challenge to humanity is to translate this energy into meaningful data. Speech perception is not dependent on the extraction of simple invariant acoustic patterns in the speech waveform. The sounds acoustic pattern is complex and greatly varies. It is dependent upon the preceding and following sounds (Moore, 1997). According to Fant (1973), speech perception is a process consisting of both successive and concurrent identification on a series of progressively more abstract levels of linguistic structure. Nature of Speech Sounds Phonemes are the smallest unit of sound. In any given language words are formed by combining these phonemes. English has approximately 40 different phonemes that are defined in terms of what is perceived, rather than in terms of acoustic patterns. Phonemes are abstract, subjective entities that are often specified in terms of how they are produced. Alone they have no meaning, but in combination they form words (Moore, 1997). In speech there are vowels and consonants. Consonants are produced by constricting the vocal tract at some point along its length. These sounds are classified into different types according to the degree and nature of the constriction. The types are stops, affricates, fricatives, nasals, and approximants. Vowels are usually voiced and are relatively stable over time Moore, 1997). Categorical Perception Categorical perception implies definite identification of the stimuli. The main point in this area is that the listener can only correctly distinguish speech sounds to the extent that they are identified as different phonemes. Small changes to the acoustical signal may make little difference to the way the sound is perceived, yet other changes which are equally as small may produce a distinct change, altering the phoneme identity. People do not hear changes within one phoneme category. Only changes from one phoneme to another phoneme are detected (Lobacz, 1984). Although categorical perception generally is considered to reflect the operation of a special speech decoder, there is a strong indication that categorical perception can also occur in non-speech signals. Musicians are a good example of this. The discrimination performance of musicians was better for frequency changes that revised the identity of the chord than for changes that did not alter the identity (Moore, 1997). Categorical perception is not unique to speech, however it appears more frequently with speech than with non-speech signals. There are three possible explanations for categorical perception. The first explanation suggests that consonants and vowels may be explained in terms of differences in the extent to which the acoustic patterns can be retained in auditory memory. Consonant sounds have a lower intensity than vowels, fluctuate more rapidly, and last for a shorter time than vowels. Therefore, the acoustic patterns of consonants frequently decay rapidly. Another explanation is that boundaries, which separate one speech sound from another, tend to lie at a point where discrimination is optimal. The last explanation is that it comes from experience with a persons own language. In this explanation it is believed that a person learns to attend to acoustic differences that affect the meaning of a word and ignore the differences that do not affect the meaning. The natural consequence of this is categorical perception (Moore, 1997). Brain Specialization Language functions are unilaterally represented in one of the two hemispheres. It is most commonly found in the left hemisphere. Therefore, the right ear will identify speech stimuli better than the left ear. This occurs because the neural pathways cross from the ear to the brain (Studdert-Kennedy and Shankweiler, 1970). Interestingly, the left ear will detect melodies better than the right ear. Speech is more readily decoded in the left hemisphere than in the right cerebral hemisphere. This is evident in people with brain lesions. The left hemisphere plays a primary role in speech perception (Moore, 1997). Speech Mode Speech mode is the perception of the restructured phonemes. If phonemes are encoded syllabically, they must be recovered in perception by a suitable decoder. Liberman (1996) stated that perception of phonemes that have been encoded may be expected to differ from the perception of the phonemes that have not been encoded and from non-speech. For example, the transition cues for /d/ in /di/ and