Saturday, November 30, 2019

Second Battle of Ypres free essay sample

The Second Battle of Ypres was a First World War battle fought for control of the strategic Flemish town of Ypres in western Belgium in the spring of 1915, following the First Battle of Ypres the previous autumn. It marked the first time that Germany used poison gas on a large scale on the Western Front. Additionally, the battle was the first time that a former colonial force (the 1st Canadian Division) defeated a major European power (the German Empire) on European soil, in the Battle of St. Julien-Kitcheners Wood. The first commission completed for the Canadian Was Memorials Fund (CWMF), The Second Battle of Ypres is also one of the biggest. It commemorates the first major action of Canadian troops at the front Current History (New York Times) map showing reported positions during the Second Battle of Ypres, as at about 30 April 1915. On 1 May the British withdrew to shorten their lines, with the final front line running through Hooge, FrenzenbergThe map is largely correct. We will write a custom essay sample on Second Battle of Ypres or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page By the end of the battle German forces had in fact captured St Julien and Zonnebeke. NYT caption : The German rush across the Yser-Ypres Canal was checked at Lizerne and opposite Boesinghe. The shaded area on the map marks the scene of the battle. Within this area are Steenstraate, Het Sast, Pilkem, St. Julien, and Langemarck, all of which the Germans claimed to have captured. Ypres, the British soldiers Wipers, was the scene of much of the bloodiest fighting of the war. Three great battles were fought for its possession.

Tuesday, November 26, 2019

5 Erroneously Constructed Not Only . . . But Also Sentences

5 Erroneously Constructed Not Only . . . But Also Sentences 5 Erroneously Constructed â€Å"Not Only . . . But Also† Sentences 5 Erroneously Constructed â€Å"Not Only . . . But Also† Sentences By Mark Nichol Writers often have difficulty determining the word order in sentences in which the phrase â€Å"not only† appears followed by an example and then, subsequent to â€Å"but also,† another example. Here are fixes to five such sentences. 1. â€Å"Digital cameras are not only changing photography, but our lives.† The key to correct syntax in â€Å"not only . . . but also† constructions is, when sharing a verb between the two examples, placing â€Å"not only† after the verb: â€Å"Digital cameras are changing not only photography but also our lives.† 2. â€Å"He wasn’t only listening to tone, but also to the rhythms and patterns he would need to understand and communicate.† This sentences partially conceals the problem because not is part of a contraction. To solve it, spell out the contracted phrase, and follow the rule stated in the explanation of the example above: â€Å"He was listening not only to tone but also to the rhythms and patterns he would need to understand and communicate.† 3. â€Å"Many people prefer the squatter neighborhoods not only because they provide affordable housing but freedom from government control and a sense of community spirit.† This sentence is improved by the basic strategy of placing the verb before â€Å"not only,† but a further fix is recommended. Because the element following â€Å"but also† is a two-part phrase, freedom may be (at least initially) misconstrued as applying to both â€Å"government control† and â€Å"a sense of community spirit,† so distance the second phrase from the first: â€Å"Many people prefer the squatter neighborhoods because they provide not only affordable housing but also freedom from government control, as well as a sense of community spirit.† 4. â€Å"We house them in the nicest neighborhoods we can afford, the ones that are not only comfortable in themselves, but that mask direct evidence of the world’s unfairness.† In this example, each corresponding phrase has its own verb. When this is the case, simply place â€Å"not only† and â€Å"but also† immediately preceding the respective verbs: â€Å"We house them in the nicest neighborhoods we can afford, the ones that not only are comfortable in themselves but also mask direct evidence of the world’s unfairness.† 5. â€Å"Eventually, I began to notice that dreams are not only inspirations for creative life and interesting puzzles to be solved, but that they provided access to a world of meaning that was even greater than the tactics of nonviolent social change.† More complex sentences pose a challenge, but as in the other examples, simply break the sentence elements down. The two points of this sentence are â€Å"dreams are inspirations . . .† and â€Å"they provide access . . . .† To achieve parallel structure, precede the first phrase with â€Å"not only that† and the second one with â€Å"but also that†: â€Å"Eventually, I began to notice not only that dreams are inspirations for creative life and interesting puzzles to be solved but also that they provide access to a world of meaning that was even greater than the tactics of nonviolent social change.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples)Cannot or Can Not?When to Spell Out Numbers

Friday, November 22, 2019

Hail Definition, Causes, and Formation

Hail Definition, Causes, and Formation Hail is a form of precipitation that falls from the sky as pellets of ice. The pellets can range in size from small pea-sized pellets to hailstones as large as grapefruits (more on hail size below). The formation of hail means a severe thunderstorm is likely in your vicinity. You should monitor your weather situation closely for thunder, lightning, torrential rain, and possibly even tornadoes. Not a Winter Weather Event Because its made of ice, hail is often mistaken as a cold weather event, but in reality, it is associated with severe thunderstorms  - not winter weather.    While hailstorms technically can occur year-round, some of the most destructive hail events have occurred at  the height of summer. (This makes sense seeing as how  hail is associated with thunderstorms, and thunderstorms, in turn, are most common in the summertime when theres an abundance of heat in the atmosphere to help fuel their development.)   Hail Forms High Up, in Cold Clouds If hail is a summer rather than winter weather event, how do temperatures get cold enough to form ice? Hailstones  form inside of cumulonimbus clouds that can tower at heights of up to 50,000 feet. While the lower regions of these  storms contain warm air, the upper regions are below freezing. strong updrafts  Ã‚   Updrafts within the storm system can whisk raindrops up into this sub-zero region, causing them to freeze into ice crystals. These ice particles are then carried back down into the clouds lower levels by the downdraft where it thaws  and collects additional water droplets  and back up via the updraft where it re-freezes. This  cycle may continue  multiple times. With each trip above and below the freezing level, a new layer of ice is added to the frozen droplet until it  grows too heavy for the updraft to carry it. (If you cut a hailstone in half, you would see alternating concentric layers inside it, resembling tree rings.) It  then falls out of the cloud to the ground. The stronger the updraft, the heavier a hailstone it can carry, and the longer that hailstone cycles through the freezing process (that is, the larger it grows). Short-Lived Storms Hail usually forms over an area and leaves within a few minutes. However,  there have been instances when it stayed in the same area for several minutes, leaving several inches of ice covering the ground. Hailstone Size and Speed Hailstones are measured according to their diameter. But unless you have a knack for eyeballing measurements  or are  able to slice a  hailstone in half, its easier to estimate its size by comparing it  to everyday  items. Description Size (Diameter) Typical Fall Speed Pea 1/4 inch Marble 1/2 inch Dime/Penny 3/4 inch 43 mph Nickel 7/8 inch Quarter 1 inch 50 mph Golf Ball 1 3/4 inch 66 mph Baseball 2 3/4 inch 85 mph Grapefruit 4 inch 106 mph Softball 4 1/2 inch To date, the largest hailstone recorded in the U.S.  fell in Vivian, South Dakota  on July 23, 2010.  It measured 8 inches in diameter, 18.2 inches around, and weighed 1 pound 15 ounces. The velocity of hail varies by shape and size. The largest and heaviest can fall at speeds upwards of 100 mph! Hail Damage With their hard exteriors and relatively fast fall speeds, hailstones often cause extensive damage. On average, over $1  billion dollars in damage to crops and property is sustained each year in the U.S. The most susceptible objects to hail damage include  vehicles  and roofs.   One of the most costly hail events in  recent weather history occurred in  June 2012 when severe storms crossed over  the Rockies and Southwestern U.S. causing  over $1.0 billion dollars in damage  in the state of Colorado. The Top 10 Hail-Prone Cities in  the U.S. Amarillo, TexasWichita, KansasTulsa, OklahomaOklahoma City, OklahomaMidwest City OklahomaAurora, ColoradoColorado Springs, ColoradoKansas City, KansasFort Worth, TexasDenver, Colorado

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

History of Planning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

History of Planning - Essay Example (National Planning Policy Framework), housing strategy and Localism Act were introduced leading to more compliance with environmental justice, availability of government incentives for home planners and builders (Bryson & Bryson, 2004). Civil War and the subsequent industrial revolution resulted to changes in U.S settlement and other social aspects. New technologies emerged and led to growth of industries, huge cities, and escalation in industrial workers. Disparagingly, cities grew with petite planning. Choices regarding construction and land use were in the hands of builders, developers, individual landowners who were out to make huge profits and consequently left little open space for expansion. Environmental degradation upsurged while developers simply focused on economic development at the expense of the existence of a sustainable environment. By the closing of the frontier a unique American society had been created. Americans became resourceful, established strength and craggy individualism that nurtured democracy. Instead of succumbing to urban problems in the collusive cities, the poor considered moving to the west which they perceived to be safe. People started living close to nature and sanitize it of civ ilization’s corruption (Bryson & Bryson, 2004). The primeval wilderness ominously improved. Due to increased land demand, Americans planned to explore cyberspace and outer space and John F. Kennedy was committed to resolve the planning issues facing Americans while leaders such as Chief Joseph, Crazy Horse, Sitting Bull and Geronimo strived to resist such changes. Cases over the best planning and utilization of land have always existed. For instance, in the case of Village of Euclid v. Ambler Realty Co, Euclid formulated a zoning ordinance that divided the land into sections that were to be used for particular purposes (Bryson & Bryson, 2004). While Euclid had the right to control and use the property, it violated Ambler’s 14th Amendment provision

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Chinese Film Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Chinese Film - Essay Example The reasons why film is particularly suited for semi-unimpeded movement across national borders, cultural boundaries and linguistic barriers will be illustrated in this essay through reference to Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Through a critical analysis of this production, the essay will expose the extent to which this supposedly Chinese film is, as with cinema in general, a transnational work. Globalisation has, undoubtedly, maximised cinema's capacity to function as a transnational medium of communication. As Lu (1997) asserts, contrary to immediate assumptions, this is not because globalisation has facilitated the movement of goods and services across borders or because it is characterised by an intricate network of transnational interpersonal communication system (internet), but because film has become transnational. Ethnic and national cinema is decreasingly purely ethnic and increasingly international in scope (Lu, 1997). The veracity of the aforementioned is perfectly evidenced in Ang Lee's 'Chinese' film, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. ... Produced and released in 2000, the film won, within the context of non-English speaking cinema, unprecedented international acclaim and box office success, even scooping up four Oscars (Rose, 2001). The film's budget of fifteen million dollars was the highest ever for a Chinese language film and became the most commercially successful foreign film ever to be distributed worldwide, grossing more than two hundred million dollars in global box office receipts (Rose, 2001). Its international success cannot be divorced from the inherently transnational character of the production. As Cheshire (2001) writes, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon's director, Ang Lee, was born in Taiwan, studied theatre acting and directing at the Taiwan Academy of Arts in Taipei, received a bachelor's degree in theatre at the University of Illinois, Urbana Champaign, and continued his studies in film at New York University in the nation's cultural melting pot. By the time he made Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Le e had already completed three Chinese language films and three Hollywood projects (Cheshire, 2001). In 1995, the British screenwriter and actress, Emma Thompson, invited Lee to adapt Austen's British classic Sense and Sensibility to the cinema. Then Lee took on the American suburbs of the 1970s in Ice Storm (1997) and the war-torn American South in Ride with the Devil (1999) (Cheshire, 2001). Apart from the thoroughly transnational character of its director, Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (2000) includes such transnational artistic talents as Chow Yun-Fat (Hong Kong), Michelle Yeoh (born in Malaysia, but began her film career in Hong Kong), Zhang Ziyi (China), Chang Chen (Taiwan), and Cheng Pei-pei (Hong Kong). The cinematographer Peter Pau and fight

Saturday, November 16, 2019

How to Write Radio Drama Essay Example for Free

How to Write Radio Drama Essay Here are some horrible truths: Most radio drama is very badly written. Radio drama is an endangered species. It has never taken a hold of mainstream programming on commercial radio in the UK. It used to be the mainstream in the States and Australia but lost out to TV in the middle to late fifties. It is under threat within public radio services including the BBC because of the pressure of monetarist ideology and the fact that authors and radio drama directors have been too complacent. IRDP is a significant oasis and continues to support the principle of the original play. Ground rules The Beginning The beginning is everything. If this part of it does not work you are up shit creek without a paddle. Your listeners will desert you. You have failed. You do not exist as a dramatist. Booo! The Moment of Arrival This is how you drop your listeners into the story. Dont give them a warm bed with comfortable pillows and a hot water bottle. The background and sub-text of previous histories is better explored through revelation in dramatic action. So parachute your listener into a top dramatic moment. Not the climax. That would be premature. Find the MOMENT to join the story. Avoid the slow snails explicatory route. Kick em into a high energy trip and whoosh them through the rapids. Structure Set upstruggleresolution. You can reverse this if the set-up is more dramatic and explosive than the resolution. Regard your play as a series of phases The Plot This is the story with lots of twists and turns. The more the merrier. Most listeners like good exciting plots. Without a good plot youre eating a souffle that has gone flat. You need plot, more plot and more plot. Run at least two story lines. Two sub plots would be interesting. Keep the plots linked logically within the same play. The best system is a major and a  minor storyline linked to one another. Get them to come together at the end. Surprise People are hungry for entertainment. If they wanted boredom they would be filling out their tax returns instead of listening to your radio play. Make people afraid, but also excited. Character Your main character must have the sympathy of the audience. Your audience has to identify with your main character. If this does not happen you have created a failure. Booo! Conflict Drama = conflict = audience. There has to be an emotional, financial, human, moral, physical struggle so your listeners can laugh or cry. Yes, you want your listeners to laugh or cry or laugh and cry. If you dont, give up. Polarities or Extremes The art of story telling is exploring the extreme limits of our psychological or physical existence. To pitch one polarity against another. The Climax I apologize for the sexual metaphor. But there is something in this. The better sex has foreplay, development, sustained excitement, surprise and affection, nay love followed by an explosion of ecstasy. Good radio drama is not all that different. If you dont use it, you lose it. Dialogue This is how we engage dramatically with the world. Characters inform, argue, amuse, outrage, argue through the ebb and flow of dialogue. When we do we talk and that is how great radio plays are made..by talking in dramatic dialogue. Atmosphere / Ambience This sets the emotional spirit of the play. It determines whether your  listeners believe in the world that you have created. Worlds are not created by dramatic dialogue alone. There is attitude and atmosphere. This is determined by detail and relevant detail. It could be in a sound effect. It could be in the writing. It could be in the music. It could be in everything. But the result is that the fifth dimension of radio writing the imagination of the listener is stimulated to become a picture palace of the mind. Emotion Got to be there. You have to generate an emotional response from the audience.preferably to the main character.also not so strongly in relation to the other characters. Emotion = love, hate, admiration. Never mind about the type of emotion..concentrate on whether it is there or not. Emotional connection between the writing and the listener = good radio drama. Balance Character and Plot You have to have both. You cannot trade. One can predominate over the other. Where they are balanced equally.it can only work if characterisation relates to plot development. If your main plot is character intensive, make sure that your minor plot is plot intensive. Purpose Crooks golden rule is that every word, every line, every scene must serve a dramatic purpose in terms of characterisation and plot development. Drop anything that does not have a dramatic purpose. Tension and Humour To stop the listener dropping off or switching off, maintain the tension always and throw in the humour. Tension, humour, tension, humour, tension humourlike the foxtrot..Make the emotional rhythm of the play dance on the listeners heart and mind. Charm and alarm, charm and alarm. But theyve got to be linked. Your character uses humour to react to the tension in the scene or play. Keep one character who uses humour to deal with difficult situations. Make sure the humour is verbal. Slapstick belongs to a different  type of play or entertainment. Make sure you do not have characters taking it in turns to be funny. This is not stand up comedy or sitcom. Make sure that the character who uses humour has a consistent sense of humour. Get your listener inside the world of your play. How? a. Sympathy or empathy with the main character. b. A bloody good set up. c. A big, nasty antagonist or villain. d. Great PlotGreat Story.twists and turns. e. Crisis at the beginning is dramatic and a great start. f. Emotional intensity. Hit some high points. g. Escalating conflict so the structure climbs with tension and humour. h. Strike the colours with detail so theres an atmosphere, moodambience. I. Modulate charm with alarmhumour with tensiontension with humourfunny policeman nasty policeman. j. Surprise, surprisethats what you do to the listener, through the plot. The principle of developing scenes 1.Introduction. 2.Character onegoal and objective. 3.Character twogoal and objective. 4.Purpose of scene in overall plot. 5.One of the characters achieves a goal. 6.Link to the next scene by introducing or pointing to location of next scene or presence of character in next scene. Question marks in the mind of the listener. Always keep one, better two or three The Principle of Character 1.Believable and recognisable. 2.Purpose within the plot. 3.Characters have to have function. Character has to be consistent with function. 4.Characters have to be intentional. 5.Start with a stereotype to ensure rapid recognition, then twist the stereotype. Challenge the homily that there is nothing new under the sun by making it new under the moon. 6.Give each character a dominant physical or behavioural characteristic. Make the dominant characteristic purposeful. Make it extreme. 7.Your main character must be active. 8.Active character / urgent plot. The characters energy has to fight the urgency of the plot and the urgency of the plot makes the character more energetic. The principle of Hero / Heroine 1.Listeners look up to main characters, want to admire them because we all want heroes and heroines in our lives. Lifes eternal fantasy that transcendent people and transcendent moments conquer adversity. 2.If you are very clever you can transfer the hero from the obvious to the humble and make great the inferior or character who has greater potential for human dignity. 3.Charisma. Characters need intensity and conviction. They may not be perfect but they are attractive. You cannot identify with people who are unlike ourselvestoo perfect, no beliefstake themselves too seriouslylack a sense of humour.. 4.Give your characters private moments when they drop their guards and allow us into their minds and hearts. Make the listener privileged. Use this moment for revelation. 5.The main character has to change and has to be changed by the plot. 6.You must have a main character and secondary characters. Your main character changes. Your secondary characters are probably more singular in their characteristics. Your secondary characters are already committed. Your main character is still weighing up the options. 7.You must have characters who are extreme in relation to each othercharacters that are different make drama. Where are we now? Well, we should be here. a. The main character is in the middle of the story. b. Youve used dominant characteristics. c. The listener likes the main character. d. The listener cares what happens to the main character. e. The listener hates the antagonist. f. The main character is developing. Principles of Dialogue a. Dialogue must be a response to a situation, plot or action. b. Dialogue must be a response to each character in the scene. c. Dialogue must be comic relief. d. Dialogue must connect to the next scene. e. Avoid reflective, passive and neutral. Go for active, and direct and emotional. f. Dialogue must be believable by being specificby being specific to the characters background and emotional state. g. If dialogue is reacting to action or situation then it must be dramatic and poised on polarities. The goals of the characters in each scene should be different. h. Dialogue should be continuous. Tipcharacters often take a tag by repeating the last word spoken by the first character. i. Dialogue must relate to function. j. You can mix direct with indirect between two characters because they have different goals. k. Humorous dialogue is not a character telling a joke but a line or lines responding to the dramatic situation. l. Heightened dialogue vs naturalistic dialogue. Heightened language is the language of the theatrehigh octane communicationpoetic, philosophicalcharged..the expression of the playwrightIt serves not only the development of the plot and character, but it also presents the view of the writer. Works well in radio. But there is now a tendency for more naturalism. Radio producers like to go out on location and explore realism. In these situations you must stick to natural dialogue. Principles peculiar to Radio 1.The inner existence. 2.The tension and conflict between the interior and exterior. 3.More psychological. 4.Easier to explore the real and the surreal and to delineate the line between the two. 5.Have to work in the fifth dimensionthe energy of the listeners imaginative participation. 6.The interior existence offers exploration of personal thoughts, fantasies, emotions and conflicts. 7.All  levels of external conflict can be explored. 8.The precipitating event through plot has to threaten the inner life of the main character. This is the kick-off in radio drama. 9.The end or resolution in radio drama is more deeply rooted in the emotional equilibrium and insight of the main character. Changes are internal as well as external. 10.Time transposition and translocation are faster and more rapid and more complicated. Flashbacksflashforwards different ages. 11.Radio requires less rather than more characters. Characterisation needs to be strong and fascinating. 12.Maintain the focus of the main character and plot. 13.Economy of words underlines subtextual surprise and engagement with the listeners imagination. 14.Wit is vital because language is so importantcleverness with wordsenergy with words..humour with wordsWit is advanced by surprising the listenerbeing aggressive with the listener..being fast, short and clever with the listener. 15.Irony is pathos and bathos. Its conflict between the inner life and outer action. Other radio drama producers in the world Norway: NRK kulturkanalen, P2 RODD- 0340, Oslo, Norway. Swedish Radio, SR S-105 10 Stockholm, Sweden. YLE Finnish Broadcasting Company Radio, PO Box 79 FIN-00024 Yleisrdio, Finland. HR, Hessischer Rundfunk Bertramstrasse 8, 60320 Frankfurt am Main, Germany. DR Danmarks Radio, Radio Drama Department, Ewaldsgade 3-9, DK 2200, Copenhagen N Denmark. ABC Australia, ABC Ultimo Centre, Level 5, 700 Harris Street, Ultimo NSW 2007. CBC-SRC, Radio Drama Department, Box 500, Station A, Toronto, Ontario, Canada MSW 1E6 SDR Suddeutscher Rundfunk, Neckarstrasse 230, 70190, Stuttgart, Germany. Radio Television Hong Kong, Broadcasting House, m 30 Broadcast Drive, Kowloon, Hong Kong, China. Other radio drama producers, SABC, South Africa, Los Angeles Theatre Works, LA, California, Public Radio, New Zealand.

Thursday, November 14, 2019

Pro Legalization of Marijuana Essay examples -- essays research papers

Cannabis has been illegal since the Marijuana Tax act of 1934. Yet out of a population of 284 million American citizens, 70 million Americans claim to have smoked cannabis at some point in their lives. Prohibition of cannabis is therefore apparently ineffective at changing the habits of a population, just as prohibition of alcohol was ineffective in 1919-1933. Making otherwise law-abiding citizens fugitives does nothing more than fill the prisons and alienate the populace from their government. In fact the total cost to taxpayers of solely marijuana-related incarceration (in local, state, and federal prisons and jails) of 15,400 people exceeds $1.2 million per year. There have been many studies performed to try to prove that the effects of marijuana are worse than other medications. Unfortunately, 9 out of 10 of the studies found that marijuana is in fact safer than many of our everyday prescription and over the counter drugs. Never in United States history has their been even one case of someone dieing or being injured from the use of marijuana an illegal drug. But every year many people die from use of Americas popular legal drugs. A combined 50,000 plus people die a year from use of over the counter drugs. 90 percent of these deaths are caused by aspirin and caffeine pills. 150,000 plus people die a year from over use of alcohol. Not including the fact that alcohol is the main reason for 50 percent of all motor vehicle accidents and the cause of 60 percent of all murders in the United States. Tobacco, another of Americas highly used legal drugs kills close to 500,000 people per year. If the government did legalize marijuana the National debt would be greatl... ...have found evidence that THC, the active ingredient in marijuana, and other cannabinoids have a direct effect on pain signals in the central nervous system, by tracing the biochemical pathway that pain signals follow from the site of an injury, through the spinal cord, to the brain. How can you ignore a drug that aids in the relief of these terminal diseases? Marijuana is more effective than conventional drugs in many instances. Denying cannabis treatment to the sick and dying is cruel and unnecessary. Marijuana has and will drastically help the people of our country in many ways. The terminally ill patients and anyone that uses marijuana does not pose a threat to the public in any way shape or form and there for, with all these facts stated the United States clearly needs to rethink there marijuana laws and legalize this drug of wonders for public use.

Monday, November 11, 2019

Christianity and Islam: A Case for Comparison and Contrast

The world is a place marked with essential diversity. In particular, one only has to take world religions as a composite phenomenon to best exemplify the diversified character of human affairs. But much too often, diversity can become a sure catalyst for misgivings and misunderstandings. This for instance happens when, still pertaining to religion, a person pits on belief system in respect to another, or someone tries to compare one set of doctrines against another.It is thus not surprising to learn that religion was often, and is in fact currently being taken as an unwarranted cause for heated debates, if not for human conflicts all together. In view of the foregoing, it is insightful to note that roadmap of this study aims not at sowing seeds of religious division as collocating the interesting correspondences that may be gleaned from juxtaposing Christianity on the one side of the spectrum, and Islam on the other side of the spectrum.At the very least, the crux of this paper aims at pursuing a successful comparison and contrast between Christianity and Islam. In the process, this paper hopes to appreciate important strains of resemblances between the two religions in question, against the palpable differences that already define them. To this end, the central thesis of this paper lies in arguing that notwithstanding patent differences, Christianity and Islam can in fact manifest elements of correspondences, while upholding respectable uniqueness in their own beliefs.Methodology and Scope Briefly, it needs to be cited that, for purposes of clarification and delineation, this paper employs an expository approach in discussing the major themes of the religions in question. An expository approach is done so as to elucidate on, with significant analyses, the topics that may be deemed appropriate for discussion.Since this paper would not to attempt to exhaustively circumscribe all the aspects pertinent to the two religions, owing much to the limits provided for th is particular study, the discussions shall zero in on expounding on the similarities and differences between the two religions in respect to at least three distinct aspects: the role which their own founders play in their respective belief-systems, the quality of the monotheism operative in both religions, and the differing notions of Abraham’s role in their faith and life.Christianity and Islam: A Ponderous Juxtaposition Christianity emerged from a handful of followers of a man named Jesus the Christ, sometime during the first century. Put in other words, the Christian religious phenomenon takes root from a small community that first embraced the teachings of Jesus as a both compelling and sufficient cause to deflect from the more dominant religious force of the time – namely, Judaism. Thus, the â€Å"precipitating cause† of Christianity â€Å"was and is a man named Jesus† (McGrath 1).Which is why, Tavard contends that Christianity is a religious movemen t that commenced when â€Å"an undetermined number of Jews believed that the prophet Jesus of Nazareth, who has ‘risen from the dead’ was alive in their midst by the power of God’s Spirit† (15); a movement which was greeted with much disdain and skepticism initially. For Christians, Jesus Christ is both the center and crux of their faith. They hold that Jesus Christ is Son of God, who was sent by God the Father to redeem humanity from misery and sinfulness.Consequential to this belief is the equally important ascent to the divinity nature and mission of Jesus Christ here on earth. Thus, Christians unreservedly worship Jesus Christ as a divinity as well. Islam, like Christianity, started too from a small group of community who saw themselves glued by a gripping desire to follow their revered founder in the person of Mohammad. While the faith in Mohammed’s teachings started when Christianity was already an expansive religious force, the historical cir cumstances defining the emergence of Islam nevertheless manifest unmistakable strains of similarities with the Christian faith.Like Christianity, Islam started on account of one man – Mohammad. And akin to Christianity, the small Mohammedan community was at the onset despised on account of the new faith it embraced (Renard 6). Unlike Christianity however, Islam does not give its founder a respect proper to a divinity. For Moslems, Mohammad is not a god; he is instead a prophet of plain human origin and descent. The prophet however is rendered with unparalleled importance within Islam because it is believed that Allah chose Mohammad to reveal his message (Renard 7).Secondly, herein it is important to cite that the manner in which the Islamic faith refuses to render Mohammad a kind of reverence fit to a divinity reveals only the quality of monotheism which the religion professes. Islamic faith, it has to be mentioned, is operative on a type of monotheism in the strictest sense of the term – i. e. the belief that there is only one god, and that such deity, because he is absolutely supreme, does not have a competing divine force as its rival.Islamic faith believes that Allah – the proper name of God as provided by the Qur’an – is identified as the principle of ‘tawid’ or simply, the unity of God. And â€Å"according to this central Islamic idea, (God) is utterly and inevitably One, a perfect unity (and) uniqueness unto himself† (Gordon 24). Simply put, the Islam religion believes that Allah, and him alone, is the accepted singular expression of divinity. Christianity meanwhile is operative on a unique kind of monotheism.On the one hand, it has to be noted that like Islam, Christianity concurs to a belief that there is only one God to whom unqualified human obedience and worship is due. On the other hand however, Christianity does not subscribe to a radical type of monotheism; for while Christianity believes th at God is essentially one, it nonetheless takes such oneness as revelatory of a further sociality within it. Christians call this the Trinitarian unity of the God, or simply, the Trinity.And according to this doctrine, â€Å"the divine life consists in three persons of equal and same nature – the Father, the Son (i. e. , Jesus Christ) and the Holy Spirit (Neuner and Ross 86). As such, the Trinity does not speak of three separate divine entities; otherwise, Christianity would have been best described as a polytheistic rather than monotheistic faith. What this doctrine instead teaches is that the three persons of the Trinity are distinct expressions of that same divine reality which is God.Last but not least, it is certainly insightful to appreciate that both Christianity and Islam places high premium on the role of Abraham in their own profession of faiths. This is because both religions share a belief that the remotest roots of their faith necessarily throw them back to the heritage which Abraham bequeathed thousands of years passed. In fact, both the Christian Bible and the Islamic Qur’an give Abraham a special importance precisely on account of the fact that it was through him that the first strains of monotheistic faith was successfully practiced.Far more essential, both Christianity and Islam see the supreme importance of Abraham’s promethean response to God’s invitation as the primordial inspiration required for living one’s own faith; and this is for the plain reason that Abraham showed how to adore God who requires â€Å"submission to His decrees, even when they are inscrutable† (McLean). Still, it is imperative to carefully note that both Christianity and Islam differ in their particular understandings of their respective Abrahamic heritage.Christians on the one hand believe that Abraham’s faith acts as a precursor to the coming of the Messiah – who is Jesus Christ. The Christian Bible speaks of Abraham as the progenitor to a myriad of descendants commencing through Isaac, his only son to Sarah (Gen 17: 21). Thus, Christianity holds that God’s covenantal relationship with Abraham, and his children, marked the beginning of the long preparation that would welcome the sending of His Son into the world at an appointed time. On the other hand, Islam believes that the great Mohammedan tradition draws directly from the fount of the Abrahamic legacy.In other words, Islam maintains that the Moslems are the direct, nay rightful descendants and legitimate heirs to the heritage of Abraham. This is because the Islamic Qur’an speaks of Ishmael, Abraham’s son to Hagar, as the legitimate heir and the primordial progenitor of the Islamic faith. Ishmael, if only to remind, also figures in the Christian Bible as the son of Abraham to his maidservant Hagar. Both Ishmael and Hagar were thrown out of Abraham’s household â€Å"to find a life of their own† after Isaac was born to Sarah (Maxwell 168).Notwithstanding conflicting narratives, it still can be said that both Christianity and Islam recognize that the gratuitous love of God for humankind is the initial act that brings into play the faith with which both religions so sacredly profess. Conclusion This paper ends with a brief thought that affirms its central thesis expressed hereinabove – i. e. , notwithstanding differences, one can glean unmistakable similarities in juxtaposing the teachings and tenets of both Christianity and Islam. In the discussions, patterns of differences and similarities were discussed in respect to three aspects.First, it was seen that both Christianity and Islam places high regard and respect to their revered founders; second, both religion embrace monotheism as an axiomatic aspect for their respective belief-systems; and third, Christianity and Islam believe that their common Abrahamic heritage lends an initial inspiration to the subsequent coming abo ut of the faith they now both profess. In the end, it must be acknowledged that efforts to draw similarities against the larger backdrop of defining differences surely constitute a welcome avenue not only for inter-religious dialogue but also mutual respect.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Intertextuality: Meaning of Life and Silk Cut Essay

What is intertextuality? How does intertextuality challenge E. D. Hirsch’s idea that a text has a single meaning created by its author? Explain with reference to examples drawn from any media format. According to American literary critic, E. D. Hirsch, in order to interpret a body of text, one must ask one’s self the only question that can be answered objectively ? â€Å"what, in all probability, did the author mean to convey? † He believed that the author’s intended meaning equates the meaning of a text and it is in fact, the reader’s duty to uncover the the author’s intentions. â€Å"The meaning of a text and its author’s intentions are one and the same. † Hirsch’s concept revolves around the assumption that a body of text is original, and is purely a body of the author’s sole â€Å"intentions†. The production of text, if one were to adhere to Hirsch’s theory, is therefore exclusive to the author’s own ideas and concepts and free of external influence. However, the notions of langue and parole disputes this idea. According to Barthes in 1984, â€Å"It [la langue] is the social part of language, the individual cannot himself either create or modify it†. Furthermore, Ferdinand de Saussure’s work on structuralism and semiotics demonstrates the subjectivity of language and can be said to have sewn the seeds for modern concepts of intertextuality (such as those developed by Roland Barthes and Julia Kristeva). Intertextuality challenges the idea of a text’s ability to be truly original and therefore disagrees with Hirsch’s theory. In this essay, I will focus on how conscious intertextuality as well as the semiotics involved in unconscious intertextuality both dispute the idea that the meaning of a text belongs exclusively to its author’s intentions. Julia Kristeva, who was the first to use the term â€Å"intertextuality†, proposed the idea that a text should not be interpreted merely by its words at face value, but also studied based on other works it has adapted and was influenced by. The concept can be further expanded upon by Gunther Kress’ notion of â€Å"ceaseless semiosis† which brings to light the social aspect of a text’s creation. â€Å"From the beginning, I use materials which I have encountered before, which bear the meanings of their social contexts, to weave a new text which, because it is woven from materials of other texts, everywhere and always connects with those other texts. † -Kress, 2000 Conscious intertextuality thus enables a reader to participate in this â€Å"ceaseless semiosis† by the identification and application of their prior knowledge to a text, along with creating their own version of the text by combining their existing knowledge gleaned from other texts with the works of others a text is based on (e. g. someone watching a satirical television show such as The Simpsons). The best example of this sort of intertextuality would be the process of a reader (or surfer) browsing the world wide web. Here, an author cannot control the way in which a reader approaches his or her body of text. There is seldom a linear fashion in which a reader consumes information while surfing the internet. It is common for him or her to absorb only small chunks of texts on one page of a website before being led to an entirely different webpage via links. Through surfing and following links of their choice, readers effectively thus begin to construct their own text of sorts as they make their way through various sites on the internet. Unlike newspapers or most other forms of printed media, intertextuality on the internet is often one of a blatant and conscious nature. Here, almost more so than anywhere else, it is clear that content is not entirely original, nor is it based on an author’s sole ideas and concepts. It is common for a great many websites to host a multitude of links, and consist of short articles that link to other sources of information that the work was based on, or that provide further elaboration. Even on the internet, certain etiquettes are often observed, one of them being the courtesy of giving credit where it is due. A graphic or piece of digital art someone uses on his or her website, for example, often requires credit and a link back to the page of the artist that created it. Upon following the link to the artist’s page, one might find further credit and a link to the photographer who provided the stock photograph from which the graphic was created. One then clicks on the link that leads us to a page of stock photography, on which, perhaps, yet another link to the homepage of the model in the photograph might be provided. One visits the aforementioned homepage, and might perhaps chance upon the history of the model or a little story about his or her life. The initial graphic no longer stands on its own, and new history and meaning is produced with every link the surfer clicks, tracing a â€Å"path† that paints a story beyond the original piece of art. Hirsch’s idea of a text having one sole meaning ? that of the author’s ? no longer applies. The readers construct their own text, and therefore their own meanings as they navigate through the internet, often with no apparent logical progression. The existing knowledge they possess, along with their ability to identify the other works a text is based on, shapes their interpretation of an idea being presented. Even the authors themselves often acknowledge the lack of complete originality in their content, and through links and credit on their page, make it obvious that their text is a coalition of ideas and texts by other authors, whose texts are a coalition of ideas and texts by yet, other authors etc. There are also varying degrees of intertextuality on the internet. Some sites, such as The Onion (www. theonion. com) restricts the level of interactivity on their website by limiting links to only those of their advertisers. However, the content of their site is a testament of classic conscious intertextuality. Much like the Simpsons, â€Å"The Onion† is a satire. It parodies legitimate news websites and global current affairs. Readers’ prior knowledge of these affects the way in which they view the site and interpret these satirical â€Å"issues† of The Onion. A webpage that allows for a greater level of interactivity through its onslaught of links is â€Å"How To Dress Emo† (http://www. geocities. com/howtodressemo). A site that makes fun of a teenage trend in today’s society, the text has potential to be humorous to its reader. However, the degree of appreciation and humour a reader might find in the text depends on the level of the reader’s prior knowledge of the â€Å"Emo† trend and sub-culture. Unlike The Onion however, the white text on â€Å"How To Dress Emo† is peppered with phrases and words that are grey in colour. Existing knowledge of the internet and html might inform the reader that these grey words and phrases are in fact links, and clicking on them will lead them to further sites, games, generators and articles that provide further references and elaborate upon the original article. The internet has made it possible for authors to quote another piece of work â€Å"wholesale† by simply and conveniently placing a link on their page. The two texts become inevitably intertwined and new meaning is generated as the reader pieces together information gleaned from both works. Another form of intertextuality is one that is often based on a more subconscious level. Arguing against the idea that a text is an isolated entity, Kristeva once stated, â€Å"any text is the absorption and transformation of another†. The text in question is not limited to only that which is literary in nature, and whatever form it should take is subject to its reader’s or audience’s interpretation based on their knowledge of other existing texts, their cultural literacy and associations they individually produce. In subconscious intertextuality, interpretation is based on a highly individual level and may even produce meanings that the author had no knowledge of whatsoever, let alone intended. However, a study of subconscious intertextuality and semiotics is often useful to advertisers who then use these subtle allusions to maximum effect. The reader or audience is often unaware of the subconscious effects an advertisement has on their perception of a product. Nevertheless, through signs in commercials and print advertisements, the meanings an advertiser wishes to convey about a product are presented. Silk Cut cigarettes in England demonstrates clever advertising in their campaigns. Strict laws and restrictions are imposed on tobacco advertisements in the country, forbidding any association of sports, glamour, success, luxury, masculinity and femininity with tobacco products. Targetting a tobacco advertisement towards a certain market or denomination in society was also banned. Silk cut, however, has managed to get around such stringent laws by the use of semiotics, thus showcasing intertextuality and the ability to generate multiple meanings out of a single text. In one of their most striking advertisements in the 90’s, magazine advertorials often featured a purple silken sheet with a single oval slit in the middle. The connotations were luxurious, sexual and feminine, yet in a way that was subtle and did not violate the advertising code for tobacco. On one hand, one could explain the text as being simply representative of a ruined piece of cloth ? no more, no less. Doubtlessly, this would have been Silk Cut’s explanation had they been questioned by the law. However, on a more subconscious intertextual level, the colour purple and the expensive silken fabric could have been interpreted as an association with luxury and royalty. The texture of the cloth could also have been seen as an allusion to the smooth nature of a Silk Cut cigarette, therefore making the product appealing to women (despite the fact that targeting a specific gender or market was forbidden). The diagonal slit in the cloth could be easily interpreted as sexual in nature, and representative of a woman’s genitalia, thus giving the cigarettes a suggestive appeal. Through these clever advertisements, Silk Cut became widely known as THE woman’s cigarette of choice. They were even featured in the bestselling novel, â€Å"Bridget Jones’s Diary†. In this book by Helen Fielding, the protagonist, Bridget, smokes Silk Cut. The brand is constantly referred to throughout the novel, therefore once again making use of intertextuality. Bridget Jones spends a great deal of the book attempting to quit smoking. However, she is simply unable to curb her craving for the Silk Cut cigarettes. The qualities that have come to be associated with Silk Cut cigarettes through their advertising campaigns, can now be seen as the qualities Bridget desires by smoking Silk Cut. Once again, Hirsch’s idea of a text bearing only one singular meaning can be easily disputed. The interpretation of the Silk Cut advertisement, as well as the use of Silk Cut cigarettes in Bridget Jones’s Diary, is highly subjective and dependent on the reader’s cultural literacy and existing knowledge. Intertextuality in the media, both print and otherwise, has become too powerful to ignore, especially in this day and age. The internet, satirical texts, advertisements and books are only some examples that demonstrate the effects other works and a reader’s prior knowledge have on any given text. Intertextuality in its various states, conscious and unconscious, is certainly a valid contention against the theory of E. D. Hirsch. Bibliography, References & Notes 1) Cultural Consumption and Everyday Life†, Reading As Production, John Storey, Pg 63, Arnold, London, 1999 2) Intertextuality, Allen. G, Pg 9, Routledge, London 2000 3) http://web. uvic. ca 4) http://www. theonion. com 5) http://www. geocities. com/howtodressemo 6) http://www. aber. ac. uk 7) Reading Ads Socially. Goldman. R, Routledge, London, 1992.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

A Guide to Conjugating the French Amener (to Bring, Take)

A Guide to Conjugating the French Amener (to Bring, Take) When learning French, you will often need to use the verb  amener  which means to take or to bring. This is used in the context of take the dog to the park or something similar. This is a relatively easy French lesson to follow and good practice for conjugating a stem-changing verb. How to Conjugate the French Verb  Amener To conjugate a verb means to adapt it to match the subject pronoun you are speaking about. We do the same thing in English, though the conjugations are often simple such as using takes instead of take. Each verb form for  amener  is slightly different depending on subject. Pronouns like I, you, he, or we each have their own translation in French j, tu, il, nous, etc. Its also important to know that  amener  is a  stem-changing verb. This means that conjugating  the verb uses the same endings as regular -er verbs. That makes this a very easy conjugation. Study this chart to learn how to conjugate this verb in French. It tells you which form to use with each subject and in each tense.  For example, to say I bring, you will say jamà ¨ne. To say we will bring, you will say nous  amà ¨nerez. Subject Present Future Imperfect j' amà ¨ne amà ¨nerai amenais tu amà ¨nes amà ¨neras amenais il amà ¨ne amà ¨nera amenait nous amenons amà ¨nerons amenions vous amenez amà ¨nerez ameniez ils amà ¨nent amà ¨neront amenaient Amener and the Present Participle The  present participle  of  amener  is  amenant. The -ant ending is similar to the -ing we use in English, which makes the verb mean bringing or taking. This verb form is quite resourceful as it can also be an adjective, gerund, or even a noun in the right context. Amener  in the Past Tense Passà © composà ©Ã‚  is the most common form of past tense in the French language. When you want to say that you brought or took something, you will need to add the appropriate  auxiliary verb. In the case of amener, that is  avoir. Were not quite done, though, because you will also need the  past participle  of the verb to complete the phrase. For amener, that is simply  amenà ©. That is used no matter the subject pronoun. Now that we know all the pieces for the past tense, lets put it to use. To say I brought in French, you will say jai  amenà ©. In this case,  ai  is the conjugate for that helping or auxiliary verb,  avoir. More Conjugations of  Amener Those are the simple conjugations of  amener  and ones that you will use quite often. There are other forms of this verb that you may or may not need, but its good to be aware of them. The subjunctive refers to a verb mood expressing that something is uncertain. The conditional is another verb mood that is used when the action might happen under certain conditions. The passà ©Ã‚  simple and imperfect subjunctive forms are used in formal writing. Unless youre learning how to write properly in French, its not likely that you will use them. Subject Subjunctive Conditional Passà © Simple Imperfect Subjunctive j' amà ¨ne amà ¨nerais amenai amenasse tu amà ¨nes amà ¨nerais amenas amenasses il amà ¨ne amà ¨nerait amena amenà ¢t nous amenions amà ¨nerions amenà ¢mes amenassions vous ameniez amà ¨neriez amenà ¢tes amenassiez ils amà ¨nent amà ¨neraient amenà ¨rent amenassent Heres where things can get a bit confusing when conjugating French verbs. The imperative form is another verb mood used to request, give, or make a request. The primary difference here is that you will not use the subject pronoun. Instead, you simply use the imperative verb form. For example, instead of saying tu  amà ¨ne you can simply say amà ¨ne. Imperative (tu) amà ¨ne (nous) amenons (vous) amenez Other Verbs Meaning To Take In English, we use the word take in many contexts. There is no single to take word in French.  As with many languages, French uses a few verbs to indicate the different meanings of to take.   Where  amener  is more like to bring,  accepter  means to accept. The verb for actually taking something is  prendre. Its a good idea to study all of these at once so you know when to use each.

Monday, November 4, 2019

Statistical significance, hypothesis testing, Type I and Type II Essay

Statistical significance, hypothesis testing, Type I and Type II errors - Essay Example When completing hypothesis testing there are two types of errors that may occur: a Type 1 or a Type 2 error. A Type 1 error occurs when the null hypothesis is rejected even though it was true (Bluman 2003). A Type 2 error occurs when the null hypothesis is accepted or not rejected even though it was false (Bluman 2003). An example of a Type 1 error would be a pregnancy test that indicates a person is not pregnant when they actually are. A Type 1 error probability is denoted by an alpha or the Greek symbol of ?. This is in contrast to the Type 2 error, which is denoted by beta or the Greek symbol of ?. An example of a Type 2 would be a pregnancy test that indicates a person is pregnant when they are not. According to the article entitled â€Å"Statistics Tutorial: Power of a Hypothesis Test,† â€Å"the probability of not committing a Type II error is called the power of a hypothesis test†(â€Å"Statistics tutorial: power of a hypothesis test†). Finally, the statis tical significance relates to the probability level of â€Å"committing† the Type 1 error within a hypothesis test (Bluman 2003). The power of a particular statistic, in contrast, is helpful in determining the likelihood of committing a Type 2 error.

Saturday, November 2, 2019

Effect on British Business for Joining Euro Zone Essay

Effect on British Business for Joining Euro Zone - Essay Example Labour Productivity: The output per worker is the ratio of total output and total employment and the unit labour cost is total labour costs-to-output. The output per worker has remained unchanged in the last two quarters but unit labour costs have increased by 0.3% in the last two quarters (ONS, 2011, p.8). Labour Disputes: These are associated with the strikes with respect to the terms and conditions related to employment. During the last 12 months before October 2011, there were 417,000 lost working days from 135 strikes (ONS, 2011, p.9). Unemployment: This measures the unemployed people who are actively seeking work and ready to join work immediately. The unemployment rate was up 40 basis points from previous year leading to 8.3% unemployment rate. The unemployed youth formed 22% of economically active population. As per the international guidelines, people in full-time education are unemployed if they are looking for jobs since last four weeks (ONS, 2011, p.11). It can be seen th at the public sector cutting of jobs has worsened the employment situation in Britain. The Conservative Party seeks to bring down the deficit to maintain the record low interest rates and avoid situations faced by Greece, Spain and Portugal (Politics.co.uk, 2011). Some people view the reasons for unemployment especially youth unemployment is because of too much reliance on unemployment benefits provided by the government and unwillingness to accept the jobs offered whereas the corporate sector believes the burden of red tape, taxes and minimum wages have tied up their businesses and prevented them from hiring more people (Palmer, 2011). Measures for Reducing the Unemployment There are three types of... Based on this research, the British economy has been affected at first due to joining the Euro Zone as the government has to cop up with the new policies of the regulatory body which make the laws for the Euro Zone. The British government has to incur certain costs for adopting with the new policies, for educate the people so that they can cop up with the new currency and new policies. Though the government had to face some initial costs but the economy are benefited from a long term view. The businessman of UK would get the new opportunity for enhance their business in the other Euro Zone countries. As the currency of 17 countries is same the transaction cost of the business has got lower. The interest rates of the country’s central banks getting lower, the mortgage also get down. Along with this the credibility of the Euro currency is improving as the same currency is used by 17 countries. The currency is not fluctuating as the previous so the investor doesn’t have to hedge their investment. The opportunity for the business owners is that they have access for a larger base of customers as well as they can utilize the larger workforce available to them. The British small and medium companies will have the opportunity to get the foreign funds as the transaction costs are not as high in the Euro Zone as there is the same currency operating in every country. The UK business owners can also have the ideas and the technologies which can enhance the revenue and subsequently profit of the company and thus the gross domestic product of the country can be improved.