Q: Contrast English with One Other Language with Respect to Two Particular Points of Grammar or Vocabulary. with Reference to That Point of Grammar/Vocabulary, State How Native Speakers of These Languages Would Be

Q: Contrast English with one other language with respect to TWO particular points of grammar or vocabulary. With reference to that point of grammar/vocabulary, state how native speakers of these languages would be predicted to differ in their thinking or perception if we accept the linguistic relativity hypothesis. How might you test this prediction experimentally? This essay will discuss the linguistic relativity hypothesis contrasting the English language with the most common Chinese dialect, Mandarin.The question of whether or not the language we speak shapes how we view the world has interested the fields of anthropology, psychology and linguistics for many years. Using two aspects of vocabulary, which I have chosen to be that of ‘space’ and ‘time’, I will attempt to predict how native Mandarin and English speakers may differ in their conceptions of the sequential order of time. Following these predictions I will outline a proposed method as to test the predictions experimentally. A definition and brief history of how the linguistic relativity hypothesis developed into what it is today is the necessary starting platform for this essay.Today and indeed spanning back through this century, Benjamin Lee Whorf is most commonly associated with the hypothesis of linguistic relativity. (Slobin, 1996, p. 70). However it is due to the arguments and advancing hypotheses of Hamann, Herder, Humboldt, Boas and Sapir that brought about today’s view of linguistic relativism (Gumperz & Levinson, 1996, p. 2). Hamann was the first German philosopher to bring light and discussion to the relationship of language and cognitive thinking. In 1762 Hamann recorded many ideas with attribute to linguistic relativism in his work ‘Kreuzzuge des Philologen’.Here Hamann states how â€Å"Language did not originate from thought, but its origin had been prior to thought, for thought presupposes a language in which it might manifest itself† (Beek, 2005, p. 7). Herder was Hamann’s student and it is visible in his work that he was influenced by the teachings of Hamann. The progression of this discussion began as Herder believed that language was a result of psychological, historical and natural forces, (McAfee, 2004, p. 28), and had no divine origin as thought by Hamann. Whorf also shared this belief among others with Herder. Whorf put such eliefs into his studies, the prevalent shared theory being that â€Å"external features of a particular language could provide clues to its inner character† (McAfee, 2004, p. 28). The 19th century paved way for the German philosopher and language theorist, Humboldt. Whorf drew many of his theories from those of Humboldt’s. Humboldt strongly believed that language and thought were one and that with the absence of language, cognition could not be articulated clearly, (McAfee 2004, p. 28). Humboldt is the first mentioned in this essay to seek a substantial amount of evidence in order to prove or further predict his thoughts on linguistic relativity.Due to lack of concrete information present in the linguistic comparative research field, Humboldt backed up his claims by using evidence from non-western languages (Beek 2005, p. 8). One of his studies examined the different amount of words for the animal ‘elephant’, in the English and Sanskrit languages. He found that in comparison to the English word ‘elephant’ which carries only one meaning, there were several words for elephant in the Sanskrit language denoting many meanings. His concluding thoughts on this were that because of the differences in their vocabulary, the English and the Sanskrit would perceive the animal differently.This led Humboldt to further believe that each culture had its own world view, a theory known and adapted by Whorf as ‘Weltanschauung’ (McAfee, 2004, p. 29) Humboldt’s theory ‘Weltanschauung’ was brought to Ame rica by the founder of the American School of Anthropology, Boas. This was due to the fact that Boas shared Humboldt’s view that each culture had a distinct identity and could only be fully understood through the study of its history, society, traditions and of course language (McAfee, 2004, p. 9). Boas, teacher of Sapir (Sapir, teacher of Whorf), was credited by Whorf with his theory that different exotic cultures exemplify different methods of thinking. It was Sapir that introduced Whorf to the claims made by his teacher, Boas. Whorf took this theory and altered it, stating that unlike Boas, he felt that it was linguistic structures rather than conceptual differences that led to different world views of different cultures (McAfee 2004, p. 29).Sapir argues that through his article entitled â€Å"The status of linguistics as a science† it is the language of a society that shapes the world we live in. Sapir blatantly states that human beings are â€Å"at the mercy† of the language they speak. Whorf, learning and drawing from each of his predecessors gave meaning to his hypothesis of linguistic relativity where he believes that it is the different grammars of languages that lead to different types of observations and evaluations of â€Å"externally different facts of observation† (Gumperz & Levinson, 1996, p. 6).Therefor it can clearly be seen that although the linguistic relativity hypothesis has come to being more commonly known as the ‘Whorfian Hypothesis’, it is not only Whorf who should be accredited with the hypothesis, but all minds that lead to the final wordings of Whorf. However, in today’s society and with the advancement of cognitive science, Whorf’s claims cannot stand alone. His view has been dissipated. Now leading the research are Lera Boroditsky, John A. Lucy and Stephen C. Levinson. These linguists are concerned with answering the question â€Å"Does language shape thought? , and relying m ore on evidence than thoughts and theories. This essay will conform to the modern resurgence of the question â€Å"Does language shape thought? † Different languages have different vocabularies. Do people of different languages view the world differently because of their respective vocabularies? More specifically, does the differing vocabulary associated with space and time associated with different languages affect the speaker’s cognitive conceptions of the sequential order of time? Of course, many aspects of time are common to all languages and therefor cultures.For example, yesterday is in the past and tomorrow is in the future. Indeed these concepts are universal across all languages. However, what is not universally accepted by all languages regarding the above statement is the sequential order of yesterday and tomorrow. For native English speakers, tomorrow would be thought to be in front of you, forward. Yesterday would be thought to be behind you, backwards. Th is is due to the use of the English language’s spatial terms representing time. ‘In front’ and ‘behind’ are spatial terms that shape the thoughts of English people’s perception of time.This statement is meaningless without the comparison of another language with different conceptions of special awareness involving time. Mandarin. Mandarin also uses the spatial terms ‘in front’ (‘qian’) and ‘behind’ (‘Beihou’) when talking about time. However, unlike the English language, Mandarin uses vertical spatial morphemes to talk about the order of events, for example, tomorrow, yesterday, next month, last year etc. Boroditsky (2011, p. 1305-1328) Events that are yet to happen i. e. in the future are thought to be ‘up’ (‘shang’) and events in that have already happened i. . past events are thought to be ‘down’ (‘xia’) (Boroditsky et al, 2010, p. 1). Th ere are some minor cases where English speakers do refer to time using vertical spatial terms, e. g. â€Å"Things will be better down the line. † However it has been proven that Mandarin speakers think about time vertically more frequently than English speakers do (Boroditsky et al, 2010, p. 2). An experiment to verify this can be seen through Chan and Bergen’s workings, â€Å"Writing direction in? uences spatial cognition. Where a group of native English and Mandarin speakers were asked to spatially arrange temporal sequences shown to them in pictures, 30% of the time Mandarin speakers arranged the pictures vertically as opposed to the English speakers who didn’t arrange them vertically once. There are in fact many experiments to test the linguistic relativity hypotheses, regarding whether English and Mandarin speakers differ in their thinking and perception of time using spatial metaphors. The leader in this current field of research is the aforementioned Ler a Boroditsky. Boroditsky has carried out many studies on this specific topic. Does Language Shape Thought? : Mandarin and English Speakers’ Conceptions of Time† published in 2001, Boroditsky deliberates the question, ‘Is processing altered in the long term by the use of metaphors†. In 2008, Boroditsky revisited the topic, carrying out further experiments concluding the Mandarin speakers are more inclined to arrange time vertically. The paper was titled â€Å"Do English and Mandarin speakers think differently about time? † Boroditsky’s latest research and publishing’s, entitled â€Å"Do English and Mandarin speakers think about time differently? has concluding experiments that claim to the affirmative of the relative linguistic hypothesis. Boroditsky’s previous workings did not consider the importance of the pairing of primes and targets. In her most recent studies it shows that disregarding these aspects will lead to further inte rference and instability. There are numerous methods of predicting if English and Mandarin speakers conceive different conceptions of the sequential order of time. Firstly, each race must be tested in their own language. Testing Mandarin speakers through English or vice versa introduces unnecessary variables into the experiment.If Mandarin speakers were to be tested through English it would inevitably test if Mandarin speakers think differently when they speak English. The question of whether they think differently to English speakers would not be properly examined and answered, as they would be thinking habitually but rather how their newly acquired language has influenced them to speak (assuming the legitimacy of the Relative Linguistic Hypothesis. ) The test would separate a group of native English and Mandarin speakers into their native languages. Each participant is given 3 magnets with pictures on them.One magnet depicts a picture of a sitting high up on a tree. The next pictu re sees the boy falling off of the tree. The final picture comprises of the boy on the ground crying. Each participant is then asked in their native language to stick their magnets, in order of events onto a magnetic board secured onto a wall. Presumably, assuming that Mandarin speakers construct time on a vertical axis, their pictures would be placed vertically. With the first picture placed at the bottom of the vertical line and the final picture at the top of the vertical line.In comparison it would be assumed that English speakers would place the pictures horizontally from left to right in starting order. The evidence from this experiment, would suggest that due to the different alignments of the pictures, Mandarin speakers do think differently to English speakers regarding the sequential order of time. With the available evidence from Lera Boroditsky’s 2010 publication, â€Å"Do English and Mandarin speakers think about time differently? † There proves to be many plausible, evidence based methods for testing the question do English and Mandarin speakers think differently?Boroditsky’s most recent experiments takes 181 people, 118 were native English speakers and 63 were native Mandarin speakers whom also spoke English. The procedure involved projections of Woodey Allen’s face on a screen. There were two pictures, the first was shown on a fixed point on the screen for 2 seconds and the second was then shown in the same position. The second picture stayed there until the participants answered the question. The question posed to them was whether the second picture of Woody Allen was taken at an earlier or later stage in his life than the first.To answer the question the participants had to press a key on a keyboard, one labelled earlier and one labelled later. The position of the keys were arranged into four groups. The first group, tested on 51 native English speakers and 26 Mandarin speakers, had their keyboards lying flat on the table top. The keys were on the horizontal axis, the left key labelled earlier and the right key labelled later in the first group. The left key labelled later and the right key labelled earlier in the second group.For the remainder of participants, 67 native English speakers and 37 Mandarin speakers, their keyboards were positioned vertically to the table top. The keys were respectively arranged in a vertical order. The bottom key labelled earlier and the top key labelled later in the first group. The bottom key labelled later and the top key labelled earlier in the second group. The reasoning behind this experiment was that assuming people habitually represent time on a horizontal or vertical axis, asking them to view the axis in an incongruent order to their automatic reasoning, should cause an interference.The results coincided with this reasoning. As discussed previously, both Mandarin and English speakers use horizontal spatial terms to represent time and both groups showed a canonicality effect on the horizontal axis. However as proven, Mandarin speakers think of time more frequently on the vertical axis than English speakers do. Only Mandarin speakers responded faster when the earlier key was placed on top in the vertical axis on the keyboard. This study clearly suggests that Mandarin speakers do think about the sequential order of time differently to English speakers.Mandarin speakers make explicit use of the vertical axis regarding time more often than English speakers. With reference to the question posed by the linguistic relativity hypothesis, â€Å"Does language shape thought? † the prediction of whether English and Mandarin speakers view the sequence of time differently was affirmed. Through the discussion of the Linguistic Relativity Hypothesis it became clear that the origins and developments of the hypothesis were needed in order to establish the exact question that was being asked in this essay.The question was then specified to refe r to two different languages, which were as mentioned, Mandarin and English. The thought questioned was that of time. The vocabulary dealt with was ‘space’ and ‘time’ and how they combine to comprise of different thoughts to the speakers of the languages. The conclusion and answer to the central question of this essay was yes, English speakers and Mandarin speakers do think differently. Mandarin speakers are much more likely to think about time on a vertical axis while English speakers think about time on a horizontal plane.The question â€Å"Does language shape thought? † has been a topic that has spanned the centuries and perplexed anthropologists, linguists and psychologists. It seems this question has enlightened people over the centuries too, and the thought of language affecting cognition has been a desired theory. Holy Roman Emperor, Charlemagne is known to have said â€Å"to have a second language, is to have a second soul. † Reference s Beek, W. 2005. Linguistic Relativism, Variants and Misconceptions. Boroditsky, L. & Fuhrman, O. et al. 2010.Do English and Mandarin Speakers think about time differently? CA: Elsevier B. V. Boroditsky, l. & Chen, E. 2011. How Linguistic and Cultural Forces Shape Conceptions of Time: English and Mandarin Time in 3D. Cognitive Science Society, Inc. Gumperz, J. J. & Levinson, C. S. 1996. Rethinking Linguistic Relativity. New York: Cambridge University Press. McAfee, C. 2004. The Linguistic Relativity Theory and Benjamin Lee Whorf. The McMaster Journal of Communication. Volume 1, Issue 1. Slobin, I. D. 1996. From â€Å"Thought and Language† to â€Å"Thinking for Speaking†. Cambridge University Press.

Compilation of Recipes

COMPILATION OF RECIPES (Asian and Western Cuisine) SUBMITTED BY: Group 1: Jelica Louise Pascual David Therese Daryll Santos Janine Crister Valencia Mary Joy Jose Reyes Cristoni Fajardo Ariez Murayag 3-D BIT (Food Technology) SUBMITTED TO: Ms. Johna Coffi Felipe PHILIPPINE CUISINE Entree: Kare-Kare (Vegetable Stew) Ingredients: * 3 lbs Pork pata (or any other meat of your choice) * 1 small banana flower bud (sliced) * 1 bundle of Pechay or Bok-choy * 1 bundle of string beans (cut into 2† slices) * 4 pcs eggplants (sliced) * 1 cup ground peanuts * ? cup peanut butter * ? cup shrimp paste (bagoong) 34 ounces water (about 1 liter) * ? cup annatto seeds (atsuete) soaked in a cup of water * ? cup toasted ground rice * 1 tbsp garlic (minced) * 1 large onion (minced) * Salt and pepper Procedure: 1. In a large pot, bring the water to a boil 2. Put in the pork followed by the onions and simmer for 2. 5 to 3 hrs or until tender (35 minutes if using a pressure cooker) 3. Once the meat is t ender, add the ground peanuts, peanut butter, and coloring (water from the annatto seed mixture) and simmer for 5 to 7 minutes 4. Add the toasted ground rice and simmer for 5 minutes . On a separate pan, saute the garlic then add the banana flower, eggplant, and string beans and cook for 5 minutes 6. Transfer the cooked vegetables to the large pot (where the rest of the ingredients are) 7. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve hot with shrimp paste. Enjoy! (Yields 6) Gising-gising Ingredients: * 1kg assorted seafood (shrimp, squid, tuna & cooked mussels) * 4 tbsp butter * 2 large garlic cloves * 1 small onion * 100g broccoli * 100g cauliflower * 100g string beans * 100g snow peas * 100g carrots * 1 small red capsicum * 3 tbspn oyster sauce 4 tspn dark soy sauce * 1 tspn sugar * 1-2 tspn chili paste or 2 bird eye chili (deseeded and chopped) * cornstarch slurry (1 tablespoon water + 1 1/2 tbspn cornstarch) * good pinch of ground black pepper Procedure: 1. In a large wok/pan, heat (medi um high) the butter and saute the garlic and onions. Add in the fish and squid pieces, stir for awhile till they become slightly cooked. Stir in the shrimps. 2. Keep in stirring mixture till the shrimps turns light orange. Add in your mussels and saute for another minute. Pour in your prepped vegetables and stir fry for around 2-3 minutes. . Season with sugar, ground pepper, oyster sauce, chili sauce and dark soy sauce. Reduce the heat into medium heat, give the mixture a good stir and let it simmer. Pour in the cornstarch slurry (stir before pouring) and quickly mix the mixture to evenly distribute the slurry to the sauce. Simmer it for another 1-2 minutes and test the vegetables by eating some pieces of it, it should be crunchy but cooked. Sauce will thicken by this time, so keep on stirring for even cooking but be careful so that you don’t break the fish pieces too much. 4. Pour Gising! Gising! Seafood Extreme) in a large serving bowl or a large sizzling plate and serve wh ile it’s still hot. (Yields 8) Dessert: Ginataang Bilo-bilo Ingredients: For the bilo-bilo, sticky rice dumplings * 1-1/2 cup glutinous rice flour * 3/4 cup water For the stew * 2 13. 5-ounce cans coconut milk * 1 cup water * ? cup uncooked small  sago  (tapioca pearls) * 1/2 cup  jackfruit, sliced lengthwise into strips * ? cup sweet potato (diced) * ? cup ripe Saba (diced) * 1/3 cup sugar Procedure: Knead the rice flour and water in a mixing bowl to make a smooth dough that holds together and separates cleanly from the bowl.With floured hands, pinch off a small piece of dough, roll into a ball like a marble roughly the size of a penny. Place the rolled dough on a plate and cover with a damp towel until they are all ready to be cooked. Bring coconut milk and water to a boil in a large pot over medium to high heat. Add  sago  and simmer covered over low heat for 20 minutes. Add bilo-bilo, sweet potato, Saba, jackfruit, and sugar. Simmer until sago  and bilo-bilo  are cooked through, about 20 minutes more. Stir occasionally to keep sago and bilo-bilo  from sticking to the bottom of the pot.For a thinner stew add more water and adjust the sweetness by using more or less sugar. Ladle the stew in bowls, serve warm with more sliced jackfruit. (Yields 4) Dessert: Tibok-tibok Ingredients: * 6 cups carabao's milk * 50 grams glutinous rice powder * 150 grams cornstarch * 1 cup sugar * grated rind of 2 limes (dayap) * oil or butter * greased banana leaf 1   In a wok, mix carabao's milk, glutinous rice powder, cornstarch, and sugar. Cook at low heat, stirring mixture constantly. 2   Add rind and stir continuously with a wooden spatula until smooth and thick.Carefully dip finger or the handle of a wooden spoon into the mixture. 3   When it no longer sticks to the finger or spoon, remove mixture from heat. 4  Ã‚  Grease  a 9-by-9-inch square pan with oil or butter then top with a greased banana leaf. 5   Pour mixture in and spread evenly. Let mixture cool then top with latik. Makes one 9-inch square pan. CHINESE CUISINE Entree: Chicken and Bean Sprout Salad Ingredients: * 400 grams Bean Sprouts * 300 grams Chicken Breast * 1 tsp Soy sauce * 2 tbsp Onion chives (chopped) * 1 tbsp Vinegar * 1 tsp Sugar * 1 tbsp Soy Sauce * Pinch garlic (chopped) 1 tbsp Peanut oil * 1 tbsp Sesame Oil * Salt and pepper (ground) Procedure: 1. To prepare the sauce, mix together all the ingredients in a bowl, and season with a little salt and pepper. Allow to stand for 20 mins. 2. Meanwhile, cook the bean sprout for 20 mins in boiling water. Drain and refresh under cold water. Set aside to drain completely. 3. Sprinkle the chicken with the soy sauce and steam in Chinese Bamboo Steamer over a large pan or wok for about 15 mins, until cooked through. 4. Remove the chicken from the steamer, set aside to cool, then thinly slice. 5. Mix together the bean sprouts and chicken.Pour over the sauce and serve. (Yields 4) Dessert: Sago and Fruit Jelly Ingredients: * 175 grams sago * 1 liter water * 2 tbsp gelatin * 220 grams fruit cocktail * 70 grams raisin * 125 ml evaporated milk * Sufficient raisins, strawberries and grapes Procedure: 1. Bring 1 liter of water to a boil. Add in sago and stir continuously until sago is nearly glassy. Remove from heat, cover and set aside for 20 min. 2. Dissolve gelatin in 125 ml hot water. 3. Combine fruit cocktail, raisins, evaporated milk with the sago mixture. Add in gelatin mixture, stir well and pour quickly into mould.Chill in the refrigerator until set. Invert on plate, garnish with raisins, strawberries and grapes. Serve. (Yields 5) JAPANESE CUISINE Entree: California Maki Ingredients: * cooked Japanese rice (in a rice cooker, cook 2 cups short-grain Japanese rice in 3 cups water) * bowl of water * nori (seaweed) sheets, cut in half * wasabi * Mayonnaise * ripe mango slices * cucumber slices * crab sticks * bamboo sushi mat Procedure: 1. Spread rice on the sushi mat, leaving half an in ch of margin on the edge. 2. Then lay half a nori sheet in the rice.On the nori, lay out crab sticks, mango slices, and cucumber slices lengthwise. Finish with mayonnaise. 3. With the help of the sushi mat, roll up sushi and seal tightly but gently. 4. Using a very sharp knife, slice into 1-inch rounds. Cut firmly straight down. Dessert: Dorayaki Ingredients: * 4 eggs * 140 grams (2/3 cup) sugar * 2 tbsp honey * 1 cup All Purpose flour * 1 tsp baking powder * 1-2 tbsp water * 520 grams sweetened red bean paste Procedure: 1. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar and honey until the mixture gets fluffy. 2. Sift flour and baking powder to the bowl and mix.Keep in the refrigerator to rest for 15 min. 3. Stir in ? Tbsp of water at a time to get the right consistency. It should be a little bit thicker than pancake batter. If the batter is too thin, Dorayaki buns will be too flat and not fluffy. 4. Heat a large non-stick frying pan on medium-low to medium heat. Dip the paper towel in oil an d coat the bottom of the pan with the oil. The pan should be slightly oiled but shouldn’t be visible. That’s the secret to get nice texture on the surface of Dorayaki. With a ladle, drop the batter from 1 foot above the pan to create 3 inch diameter â€Å"pancake†.When you see the surface of batter starts to bubble, flip over and cook the other side. Transfer to a plate and cover up with damp towel to prevent from drying. Continue making pancakes. 5. Make sandwich with red bean paste. Put more red bean paste in the center so the shape of Dorayaki will be curved (middle part should be higher). Ready to serve. (Yields 16 pcs) KOREAN CUISINE Entree: Bibimbap Ingredients: Kimchi Ingredients: * 1 large Chinese or Napa Cabbage * 1 gallon (4l) water * 1/2 cup (100g) coarse salt * 1 small head of garlic, peeled and finely minced one 2-inch (6cm) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and minced * 1/4 cup (60ml) fish sauce * 1/3 cup (80ml) chili paste or 1/2 cup Korean chili powd er * 1 bunch green onions, cut into 1-inch (3cm) lengths (use the dark green part, too, except for the tough ends) * 1 medium daikon radish, peeled and grated * 1 teaspoon sugar or honey Procedure: 1. Slice the cabbage lengthwise in half, then slice each half lengthwise into 3 sections. Cut away the tough stem chunks. 2. Dissolve the salt in the water in a very large container, then submerge the cabbage under the water.Put a plate on top to make sure they stay under water, then let stand for 2 hours. 3. Mix the other ingredients in a very large metal or glass bowl. 4. Drain the cabbage, rinse it, and squeeze it dry. 5. Here’s the scary part: mix it all up. Some recipes advise wearing rubber gloves since the chili paste can stain your hands. 6. Pack the kimchi in a clean glass jar large enough to hold it all and cover it tightly. Let stand for one to two days in a cool place, around room temperature. 7. Check the kimchi after 1-2 days. If it’s bubbling a bit, it’ s ready and should be refrigerated.If not, let it stand another day, when it should be ready. 8. Once it’s fermenting, serve or store in the refrigerator. If you want, add a sprinkle of toasted sesame seeds over the kimchi for serving. Storage: Many advise to eat the kimchi within 3 weeks. After that, it can get too fermented. INDIAN CUISINE Entree: Chicken Roti Ingredients: * 2 tablespoons ground turmeric * 1 tablespoon crushed dried chili flakes * 1 tablespoon cumin seeds * 1/2 tablespoon coriander seeds * 1/2 tablespoon ground cloves * 1/2 tablespoon ground ginger * 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder 1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds * 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper * 1/2 teaspoon ground allspice * 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon * 2 teaspoons salt * 1/4 cup vegetable oil * 1 chicken, cut into 8 pieces * 2 cups chopped onion * 1 tablespoon minced garlic * 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger * 2 sprigs fresh thyme * 1/2 hot pepper, such as Scotch bonnet or serrano, seeded and finely c hopped, or to taste * 2 cups chicken broth * 1 can unsweetened coconut milk * 1 tablespoon light brown sugar * 2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro * 1 recipe West Indian Bread for Roti, recipe follows, breads kept covered and warmProcedures: In a medium skillet or saute pan combine the turmeric, chili flakes, cumin seeds, coriander seeds, cloves, ginger, garlic powder, mustard seeds, pepper, allspice, and cinnamon and cook, shaking the pan frequently, until spices are fragrant and just beginning to smoke. Remove from the heat, transfer to a shallow plate and allow to cool completely. Transfer to a coffee grinder or spice mill and process until very finely ground. Reserve 6 tablespoons of the spice mixture separately and transfer the remainder to an airtight container and save for another purpose.In a mixing bowl combine the chicken, 2 tablespoons of the curry powder, 1 teaspoon of the salt and 2 tablespoons of the vegetable oil and set aside, covered, for 20 minutes. In a la rge Dutch oven, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, and, when hot, add the chicken pieces and cook, turning occasionally, until golden brown on all sides, about 8 minutes. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, thyme, hot pepper if using, and remaining 4 tablespoons curry powder and cook, stirring, until the vegetables are soft, about 4 minutes. Add the chicken broth, coconut milk, and brown sugar and bring to a simmer.Add the remaining teaspoon of salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until chicken is very tender and falling from the bone and the sauce has reduced enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 1 1/2 hours. Stir in the cilantro and adjust seasoning, if necessary. (Note: traditionally, curried chicken roti is eaten with the chicken still on the bones. If you prefer otherwise, at this point you can remove the chicken from the sauce and remove the meat from the bones and then return the meat to the sauce before serving. ) Serve the chicken and sauce ladled into the cen ter of the roti breads, then fold both sides over the filling.Fold the top and bottom ends over the sides to form a neat square package, and serve. West Indian Bread for Roti: * 4 cups all purpose flour * 2 tablespoons baking powder * 1 teaspoon salt * 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, plus more for cooking roti * 1 cup water Procedures: To make the breads, combine the flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl and make a well in the center. Combine the oil and water and add this mixture to the well. Using your hands, mix to form a dough. Knead for about 5 minutes, or until the dough is smooth. Divide the mixture into 6 balls of dough and set aside for about 2 hours, covered with a damp kitchen towel.On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball of dough into a thin, flattened circle about 9 inches in diameter. Set aside, covered, until ready to cook the breads to serve. (Do not stack. ) Heat a large griddle or 12-inch skillet over high heat and add 2 teaspoons of vegetable oil. When h ot, add the bread dough and cook until brown spots form on the bottom, about 1 minute. Turn the bread and cook on the second side, about 1 minute longer. Transfer to a large plate or baking sheet and cover with a damp towel to keep warm while you prepare the remaining breads.Yield: 6 large roti breads Dessert: Almond and Fruit Jelly Ingredients: * 4 1/2 ounces agar powder * 1 teaspoon almond extract * 1 1/2 cups water * 1 1/2 cups fresh milk * 1/4 cup granulated white sugar * 1 can (30 ounces) fruit cocktail Procedure: 1. Combine milk and agar powder. Stir 2. Add almond extract and mix well. Set aside. 3. Boil water and put-in sugar. Stir until well dissolved. 4. Pour-in the agar and milk mixture and let boil while gently stirring. 5. Let the temperature cool down then transfer to a shallow contaner. 6. Refrigerate for 2 to 3 hours. . Slice the jelly into squares and mix with the fruit cocktail. 8. Serve for dessert. Share and enjoy! (Yields 6) INDONESIAN CUISINE Entree: Nasi Goreng Ingredients: * 2 cups long-grain rice, rinsed * 2 1/2 tablespoons kecap manis * 1 tablespoon Yeo's Dark Soy Sauce * 1 tablespoon sweet chilli sauce * 1/4 cup peanut oil * 4 eggs, lightly beaten * 1 brown onion, thinly sliced * 1 teaspoon sambal olek (see note) * 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped * 1 teaspoon shrimp paste * 1 carrot, peeled, finely chopped * 1 small chicken breast fillet, chopped 300g green prawns, peeled, deveined, roughly chopped * 3 green onions, thinly sliced * 1/4 small Chinese cabbage, finely shredded * 1/4 cup fried shallots (see note) * thinly sliced red chillies, to serve Procedures: 1. Cook rice following absorption method on packet until just tender. Drain. Transfer to a baking tray. Fluff rice with a fork. Cool to room temperature. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours or until cold (see tip). 2. Combine kecap manis, soy sauce and sweet chilli sauce in a jug. Set aside. 3. Heat a wok over high heat until hot. Add 1 teaspoon oil and swirl to coat.Add one-quarte r of beaten egg and swirl to form a thin omelette. Cook for 30 seconds or until egg sets. Slide onto a board. Repeat with oil and egg, in 3 batches, to make 4 omelettes. Roll up omelettes and thinly slice crossways. 4. Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in wok over high heat. Add brown onion, sambal olek, garlic, shrimp paste and carrot. Stir-fry for 1 minute or until aromatic. Add chicken. Stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes or until sealed. Add prawns. Stir-fry for 2 minutes or until prawns turn pink. Add rice, soy mixture, green onions and cabbage. Stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes or until rice is heated through.Toss through half the sliced omelette. 5. Spoon nasi goreng onto serving plates. Top with remaining sliced omelette. Sprinkle with fried shallots. Serve with sliced chillies. Gado Gado Ingredients: * 1 thinly sliced medium sized fresh cucumber,  ) * 1 cup of string beans cut into 4 cm long pieces, * 1 cup of shredded cabbage, * 1 cup of mung bean sprouts, * 2 small chayotes cut into w edges For the sauce: * ground roasted peanuts, dried shrimp paste (terasi), sugar, salt, and water * Blanch and strain string beans, mung bean sprouts, cabbage and slice 1 cucumber. Grind these ingredients with a mortar and pestle until they’re smooth: 1 ts salt, 2 ts dried shrimp paste, , and ? cup’s worth of sugar. Procedure: 1. Add 1 cup of finely ground roasted peanuts (or 1 cup of peanut butter) and grind it all some more until it’s mixed well. If you use peanut butter instead of ground roasted peanuts, add less salt because there’s salt in the peanut butter. 2. Add ? cup of water and mix it well. 3. Transfer the vegetables to a serving plate and pour the sauce on top of it or mix all the vegetables with the sauce in the mortar before serving. (Yields 2) SatayIngredients: * 8-12 skinless chicken thighs, cut into thin strips * 1 package wooden skewers SATAY MARINADE: * 1/4 cup minced  lemongrass  , fresh or frozen * 2 shallots OR 1 small onion, sl iced * 3 cloves garlic * 1-2 fresh red chilies, sliced, OR 1/2 tsp. to 1 tsp. cayenne pepper, to taste * 1 thumb-size piece ginger, thinly sliced * 1 tsp. minced fresh turmeric OR 1/2 tsp. dried turmeric * 2 tsp. cumin * 3 Tbsp. soy sauce * 4 Tbsp. fish sauce * 5-6 Tbsp. brown sugar * 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil Procedure: 1. If using wooden skewers, soak them in water while you prepare the meat. 2.Cut chicken into thin strips and place in a bowl. 3. Mix all marinate ingredients. Mix well. 4. Taste-test the marinade – you will taste sweet, spicy, and salty. Add more sugar or more fish sauce (in place of salt) to adjust the taste. You can also add more chili if you want it spicier. 5. Pour the marinade over the meat and stir well to combine. Allow at least 1 hour for marinating, or longer (up to 24 hours). 6. When ready to cook, thread meat onto the skewers. Tip:  Fill up to 3/4 of the skewer, leaving the lower half empty so that the person grilling has a â€Å"handle† to e asily turn the satay during cooking. 7.Grill the satay on your BBQ, OR on an indoor grill, basting the first time you time it with a little of the leftover marinade from the bottom of the bowl. Depending on how thin your meat is, the satay should cook in 10 to 20 minutes. (Yields 2-4) VIETNAMESE CUISINE Entree: Pho (Rice Noodles) Ingredients: * 2L (8 cups) salt-reduced chicken stock * 2 thick slices ginger * 1 onion, thinly sliced * 2 garlic cloves, sliced * 1/3 cup (80ml) fish sauce * 375g vermicelli rice noodles * 400g chicken breast, very thinly sliced * 1 cup (80g) bean sprouts * 1 long red chilli, seeds removed, thinly sliced 1/3 cup each of basil, mint and coriander leaves, to serve Procedure: 1. Place stock and 2 cups (500ml) water in a saucepan with ginger, onion, garlic and fish sauce. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Strain, discarding solids, then return soup to pan. Cover and return to the boil. 2. Meanwhile, prepare noodles ac cording to packet instructions. Drain well. 3. Divide the noodles among warmed soup bowls, then top with the sliced chicken. Pour over the hot soup mixture (the heat will gently cook the meat) and top with the bean sprouts. Serve garnished with chilli and fresh herbs. Yields 4) Vietnamese Salad Rolls (Spring Rolls) Ingredients: * 1 (8 ounce) package  rice vermicelli * 8 ounces  cooked, peeled shrimp, cut in half lengthwise * 8  rice wrappers (6. 5 inch diameter) * 1  carrot, julienned * 1 cup  shredded lettuce * 1/4 cup  chopped fresh basil * 1/2 cup  hoisin sauce * water as needed Procedure: 1. Bring a medium saucepan of water to boil. Remove from heat. Place rice vermicelli in boiling water, remove from heat, and let soak 3 to 5 minutes, until soft. Drain, and rinse with cold water. 2. Fill a large bowl with hot water. Dip one rice wrapper in the hot water for 1 second to soften.Lay wrapper flat, and place desired amounts of noodles, shrimp, carrot, lettuce and basil in the center. Roll the edges of the wrapper slightly inward. Beginning at the bottom edge of wrapper, tightly wrap the ingredients. Repeat with remaining ingredients. 3. In a small bowl, mix the hoisin sauce with water until desired consistency has been attained. Heat the mixture for a few seconds in the microwave. 4. Serve the spring rolls with the warm dipping sauce. SPANISH CUISINE Entree: Paella Ingredients: * 2 tablespoons vegetable oil * 1 onion, finely chopped * 4 or 5 large cloves garlic, minced 1 tablespoon finely minced gingerroot * 1 teaspoon ground annatto (achiote) * 1 cup long-grain rice * 3 ounces cured chorizo, diced * 2 medium tomatoes, coarsely chopped * 2 cups chicken or fish stock * 1 tablespoon fish sauce * Several good grinds of black pepper * 1/2 to 3/4 pound fresh shrimp, peeled and deveined * 1/2 cup fresh or frozen peas * Pimiento-stuffed olives * sliced hard-boiled egg, for garnish (optional) Procedures: * Heat the oil in a medium, heavy saucepan and sau te the onion, garlic, and gingerroot over moderate heat, stirring, until the onion wilts and the mixture becomes aromatic. Stir in the annatto and mix well, then add the rice and the diced chorizo and cook, stirring, for a few minutes. * Add the tomatoes, stock, fish sauce, and black pepper. Mix well, bring to a simmer; then cover and cook over low heat for 10 to 15 minutes. * Stir in the shrimp and the peas, then cover and continue to cook over low heat until all the liquid has been absorbed and the shrimp have turned pink, about 5 to 10 minutes. Remove from the heat and let stand, covered, for 5 to 10 minutes before serving. Spoon the paella into a serving dish or platter and garnish with the olives and hard-boiled egg, if desired.Soup: Sopa de verduras con pollo (Vegetable soup with chicken) Ingredients: * 2 turnips * 5 carrots * 3 leeks finely chopped * 1 stem celery * 3 medium potatoes * ? chicken * salt Procedures: Peel and chop all ingredients except the chicken put in a potà ‚  with 500 ml  of water; add the chicken and a trickle of oil; boil for 3/4  of an hour at low heat. Add water if necessary  and season with salt. Remove the chicken and split into pieces and  replace it  in the soup. Serve it hot. Appetizer: Garlic-cheese bread Ingredients: * french bread * butter with garlic ham * cheese Procedures: * slice the bread * spread the butter with garlic * and then toast in pan * after that top the ham * together with cheese on top Dessert: Tocinillo de cielo – Golden caramel custard Ingredients: * Ingredients: * 6 egg yolks * 250 g of sugar * 300 ml of water For the caramel: * 1 tbsp of sugar * 1 tbsp of water Procedures: Put the sugar in a saucepan with the water and heat until the syrup goes golden brown. Cover  6 small moulds evenly and put to one side. Put the sugar and water in an earthenware dish and heat until the syrup goes stringy.Beat the egg yolks and slowly add the syrup, stirring as you pour. Strain and pour  the cara melised mixture into the 6 small moulds. Cook in a bain-marie in the oven at 150? C for around 15 to 20 minutes. When the  custard has set, remove from the oven, leave to cool and take it out of the moulds. Serves 6 people. Beverage: Granizado de limon o frutas – Iced lemon crush Ingredients: * grated zest and freshly squeezed juice of  8 lemons or the juice of 4 lemons and add the rest with other fruit juice * 150 g sugar * crushed ice Preparation:Put the zest and sugar in a saucepan with 250 ml cold water and bring to the boil for 5 minutes. Strain. Add 500 ml col water and the lemon juice or the mix of lemon and fruit juice. Pour into a freezerproof container and freeze for about 1 hour until ice crystals have formed around the edge. Break up with a fork and serve. Add extra crushed ice, for serving. To Ms. Johna Coffi Felipe†¦ To our professor of two semesters.. You gave us strength.. We are glad you were our teacher.. Thank you for giving us courage.. You made u s better persons.. You gave us confidence in ourselves..Thank you for your patience. You helped us see what we could be.. You have inspired us deeply.. And for that, we will never forget you.. One unknown author had said.. â€Å"Teachers are like the candles, which consume themselves to brighten the lives of others. † Mam, you are just like that.. Thank You Very Much for staying with us in two semesters! Even though we know we’ve stressed you out with our very hard heads. We will miss you.. We hope you’ll miss us too May God Bless You All The Time! Love always, Group 1 Ariez and Cristoni w/ the Teletubbies (Kayo po nagbansag samin nyan! XD)

Public Transport Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Public Transport - Assignment Example Increase of commuting is a desirable goal and has policy support (Bailey, 2007). Apart from this reasons like congestion on the roads, savings in commuting time would be seen as the chief reasons for a commuter to prefer public transport over using own cars. Typically a product or a service that gives enhanced value for a customer would what make a customer to switch to a service or a product. There is a big opportunity here for bus operators to create this critical additional value through use of ICT to induce commuters to switch over in a big way to using public transport like buses. This proposal is about creating a viable and profitable business model built through 2 products, the "Bus Catcher" and the "Bus bug" and software, all of which will provide an enhanced service offering to commuters. Bailey (2004) estimates that for an US population of 7.2 million non-drivers, 50% 0f which is people above the age of 654, public transportation is the only alternative, when they are going somewhere outside their immediate neighborhood. She also observes most U.S. residents still do not have the option of using public transportation to get places. Basing her observation on the American Housing survey of 2001, she says that just half - 49 percent - of all Americans reported that they have no public transportation service. ... Till very recently she says that a quarter of rural counties had below average public transportation service, and 41 percent had none at all. The gap between the need and what is available is high. The demand for public transport is however growing at a tremendous pace since the mid-nineties. Reasons like surging oil price, congestion, commuting time are the reasons. Pucher (2002 says that ridership is up 25.1percent since 1995, because of the awareness among the users that use of public transport saves money. Reducing commuting is seen to be the chief consideration for people to switching over to public transport. Another study indicates that demand will come further as people move away further and further away from their work place. (Howlett, 2008). This report says that people are willing to commute for over 90 minutes each way and an estimated 3.4 million Americans already are doing this and their numbers will be growing. Americans took 10.3 billion trips on public transportation in 2007, the highest level in 50 years, representing a 2.1% increase over the previous year, according to data released by the American Public Transportation Association (APTA). It is estimated to have grown by 32% since 1995. (Green Car Congress, 2008). Though bus service, at 1% was lower than the overall increase, it had a much bigger growth in places with population less than 100,000 and more than 5% in select urban areas. Even though the budget estimated to improve public transport is 50% of what would be needed, Federal funding has been increasing annually at the rate of 2.1 % since 2001(Bailey 2007) Increasing access to employment for the urban poor would mean their need to commute to suburbs and this will have to be an important policy decision of

MODERN BUSINESS in Comparative Perspective (EXAM PREPARATION) Essay - 1

MODERN BUSINESS in Comparative Perspective (EXAM PREPARATION) - Essay Example The population in the cities increased drastically. There was a widespread discontent between the rich and the poor. This triggered new reform movements. Due to the increase in American industry, many developments emerged and there was value for the American goods. In addition, due to the use of machines, workers were able to produce goods faster than they could when using hands. Moreover, the availability of natural resource played a big role in the rising of big business. In the UK, industrial revolution began in the late 1700. People manufacture goods in their homes using hand tools or basic machines. Industrialization led to the shift and there was mass production of goods. The development of the steam engine played important roles in ensuring there was an improvement in the transport, communication, and banking industry. It also brought about employment opportunities that led to the improvement of the living standards of the poor as well as the working class. Before industrialization, people used to live in the rural area practicing farming. The textile industry was transformed by industrialization that were made in people’s homes. It was difficult for merchants to regulate their own schedules in the manufacture of textiles thus resulting in numerous inefficiencies. In addition, the transport system was also advanced from the use of horse-drawn wagons to steam boat then later steam ships. Late or newly, industrialization refers to those countries whose level of economic development is between the developing and the first world classifications (Wyatt, 2009).  This means that these countries have moved from the agriculture based economy to the industrialized urban economy. Some of the countries that are industrialized include Germany, China, and Japan. The development of a the railway network fastened the transportation of goods from one

Strategic Human Resource Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Strategic Human Resource Management - Essay Example This may mean that SHRM has the ability to change the way things are done in an organisation, effectively changing an organisation’s culture (Schein, 2004; Robbins, 2003). However, individual HRM strategies in themselves may not be strategic HRM, where SHRM is the â€Å"overall framework which determines the shape and delivery of the individual strategies† (CIPD, 2009). Strategy exists in all organisations as it is concerned with defining the organisation’s behaviour and its existence in a given environment, where the role of SHRM is to explain how the human resources function influences organisational performance (Boxall and Purcell, 2003). Dyer and Holder (1998) give us the main features of SHRM, where SHRM at the organisational level is planned at the top, where decisions are made regarding goals, policies and allocation of resources; the focus of SHRM is then aimed at organisational effectiveness or better performance, where people are viewed as resources that need to be managed towards the achievement of strategic business goals; HR strategies are then seen as frameworks which are broad, integrative, unifying and contingency based, as they incorporate a whole lot of HR goals and activities which are designed to be in strategic fit with the environment (also see Mankin, 2009). This particular study will focus on the role of SHRM in multinational organisations (MNCs), where the HRM function becomes international (IHRM). IHRM is a relatively recent addition to the field of human resources, developed mainly because of the rapid pace at which businesses are getting internationalised as a result of globalisation (Scullion, 2001). Even though IHRM’s operations are based on the same parameters of domestic HRM, it is much more complex as it deals with sensitive cross-cultural issues and calls for proper education of the local behaviour in terms of culture, values, business practices, and employment laws of the host country of a

Answer questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 23

Answer questions - Essay Example Males that are good hunters control their hunting groups and interact a lot with fertile females. The genes for goo hunters get passed on to other generations due to increased possibility of mating with fertile females (Van, pg.198). 2: read page 205 â€Å"The Mother/Infant Bond and Social Learning† and answer the following question: What do the monkeys raised without a mother tell us about the importance of parenting among primates? Are primates purely instinctual, or do they need to learn complex behaviors? Parenting among primates plays a crucial role in shaping the basic skills of the babies. The monkeys that did not grow up with a mother could not interact well with others, and they lacked basic mothering skills towards their young ones. Primates are not purely instinctual, and they need to learn the complex behaviors. The surrogate ‘mothers’ in the story did not provide any practice for the young monkeys to emulate; this letter made them behave negatively towards others (Wrangham, pg. 205). The chimpanzees used the knuckle-walking style of locomotion when on the ground. They mostly utilized the proximal finger joints of their hands while walking on quadrupedal but not the palms of their hands. The chimpanzee in the video portrayed minimal differences between them and other subspecies. Their bodies are more robust build than the bonobos, and they seem to have slight sexual dimorphic features. The grooming handclasp in the video shows that the Chimpanzee live in a fission-fusion society. Like other animals, they move and do their activities in groups mostly because they want to avoid the predators. The group size of the Chimpanzee keeps on changing in size and composition all through the year in addition to their activities

Supply Chain Management in Hospital Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Supply Chain Management in Hospital - Term Paper Example Health ONE Supply Chain has a business base (HCA) in Nashville Tennessee, through the Continental Division hub at this time in Denver. HCA is a major system of leading healthcare facilities crossways the state. The Continental Division facilities include North Suburban, Presbyterian St. Luke's, Rose Medical Center, Medical Center of Aurora, Centennial Medical Plaza, Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, Swedish Medical Center and the latest Colorado ability Sky Ridge Medical Center. Denver in addition services the Wesley Medical middle in Kansas, OU Medical Center, Children's Hospital of Oklahoma, Presbyterian Tower, Everett Tower, Southwestern Medical Center and Edmond Medical Centers in Oklahoma. My present place with Health ONE as the Facility Coordinator at Rose Medical Center involves supervision product sharing and inventory organization for the ability. Responsibilities also comprise expense forecasting, new manufactured goods completion and monitoring manufactured goods utilizat ion as it relates to vendor contract fulfillment. I am still comparatively novel with HCA, with less than three years of service, so my perceptions of the managerial climate are based on an incomplete experience through the present arrangement and operations. In family member to the health and safety strategy, I must counsel the management on preventing hazards and injuries to themselves or others inside the business. The Health ONE is completely unaware of what a health a safety strategy and other workplace policies are; this is why you were brought on the plank. Describe your roles and everyday jobs in relation to such policies. Make management conscious of the officially permitted requirements moving health, safety, and wellbeing. Advise methods of safe operational Advice management to offer protective clothing and gear for employees at all times when on site overseeing the recording and psychoanalysis of in order on injuries, and appraisal overall safety performances.

Student Teaching Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Student Teaching - Essay Example An intensive reading intervention strategy involving decoding and fluency skills and based on the Phono-Graphix and Read Naturally program was applied to 27 students (Denton, 2006). A 16-week intervention â€Å"resulted in significant improvement in reading, decoding, fluency, and comprehension† (ibid). Students with special needs also respond well to reading interventions. The effectiveness of a supplemental tutoring intervention by the name of Read Well was evaluated on children with learning disabilities, attention-deficit disorder, and English language learners who were also poor readers in a several multiple-probe-across-participants design (Jitendra, 2004). These children â€Å"showed improvement in passage fluency† (ibid) in Year 1 studies and â€Å"growth in reading, spelling, and comprehension for most children† (ibid) in Year 2 studies. Overall, both studies indicated â€Å"benefits of increased instructional intensity and duration for children who struggle with emerging reading skills† (ibid). Students with different primary language backgrounds also respond equally well as a study of 166 struggling readers who underwent phonologically based remediation showed (Lovett, 2008). They either had a reading disability, or were below average in oral or verbal skills besides having English either as a first language (EFL) or had an English language learner (ELL) status. After being randomly assigned to either a special education reading control program or one of three reading interventions, â€Å"the research based interventions proved superior to the special education control on both reading outcomes and rate of growth† (ibid). Moreover, there were no differences between children with EFL and ELL status. Thus, intervention is successful but student’s reading difficulties can have varying causes for which an individually tailored instructional strategy can help to better respond to the unique challenges of

Antifascism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Antifascism - Essay Example One such occurrence was in Spain. At that time, there were strong clerical fascist forces that were introduced by Francisco Franco. Consequently, antifascist movements were formed to oppose Franco's ideologies. These latter movements were characterised by anarchist militias. Antifascism was also visible in Italy; antifascist's uprisings in the early twentieth century were responsible for freedom from fascists. Mason D ed, (2003) Perhaps the most outstanding depiction of antifascism was witnessed in Germany. This was during the Nazi era in the 1920s. Antifascists in this era took up a militant stand point. Antifascists at that time argued that it was necessary for them to defend themselves against those who supported Nazism. This was because they felt susceptible to their actions and could not be protected by another external force like the State. However that aggressive standpoint has been criticised by another version of antifascists who believe that violence should not be part of the principle. They argue that this shifts blame form the real perpetrators to the antifascists themselves. (Banton, 1998) In light of the above facts, some contradictions arise both in the definition and in the practice of Antifascism. These latter facts will be examined below with the purpose of showing that antifascism should not be considered as an ideology on its own right. Antifascism as an ideology supports the working ... Such drastic political changes cannot come without a price. Most of the time, the government of the day will rise up in opposition to these movements and consequently defeat the very purpose of the antifascists. This was especially visible during Hitler's time; it was realised that the only way the government could have power over its people was through repressive orders that overruled antifascists. With this in mind, antifascism beats the very purpose for which it was created and therefore cannot stand alone as an independent ideology. Contradictions in 'revolutionary antifascism' Antifascism per say arises out of the need to eliminate dictatorship ideologies. In that context, it cannot apply those same ideologies that it is trying to eliminate during achievement of its objectives; instead it must use other avenues that are less oppressive. Therefore antifascism goes hand in hand with democracy as opposed to dictatorships. This is a fact that is synonymous with the very nature and logic of antifascism. (Gray, 2007) However, there are instances when a support of antifascism changes to a political embodiment. It is possible to be against fascism and not be an antifascist. The former signifies an individual who opposes ideas/ ideologies brought forward by fascists. Such people regard acts committed by people such as Hitler and Franco as appalling. However, an antifascist is one who takes up a political standpoint against a threat or a fascist state and they regard that party as an enemy that must be eliminated at all costs. This therefore means that the aspect of 'revolutionary antifascism' inevitably becomes a contradiction since it embraces a communist element. The problem with communist

Why Byzantine Economy Remained One of the Most Powerful in Europe Through Early Middle Ages Essay Example for Free

Why Byzantine Economy Remained One of the Most Powerful in Europe Through Early Middle Ages Essay â€Å"Why Byzantine economy remained one of the most powerful in Europe through Early Middle Ages? † The Byzantine cconomy was one of the largest systems throughout Europe and the Mediterannean for many centuries. Both local and international trade were of huge importance for the Byzantine Empire. Lower class, including traders, depended on the upper class. Their need of the foreign goods in order to stay in Local trade was much less popular. Throughout the fourth and sixth centuries, long-distance trade was operating successfully, until the plague appeared, which killed around one-third of the citizens in the Byzantine Empire, and ruined the trade networks. The Byzantine economy had recovered in the tenth century, and Italian merchants contributed to its steady growth in the Mediteranian through the tenth and eleventh centuries (Katz 27-39). To begin, the decades of instability as well as foreign invasions mostly by Germanic tribes, led to an establishment of a new military, political, and administrative framework under Diocletian (284-305), and Constantine I, which also led to a new economic power in Byzantine and Constantinopole. From 395 to 476, the Empire was in a big crisis until the Germans left the territory. Emperor Justinian I provided the growth of the economy, but also the growth period ended with the â€Å"Justinian Plague† that broke out in Egypt in 542, and reduced the population in all provinces of the empire. The â€Å"Justinian Plague† continued until the 8th century. At the same time, political disadvantage occurred with the warfare against Sasanian Persia in 6th and 7th century, which had a really bad impact on Byzantine economy. In the 7th century, after the death of Prophet Mohammed, the Arabs started to invade eastern parts of the empire, and the Byzantine was still weak from the war with Persia, and until 642, most of the revenue of the empire was gone, but due to their unbreakable economic system, the empire survived again. After the survival of Arabian attacks, Byzantium appeared as a completely new power that was financed by a new effective tax system. In the 9th century, conditions in the empire largely improved, which led to an increase of security and economic growth. After that, Byzantium was a completely new empire (Laiou 9-28). The Byzantine economy was based on money provided by taxes which enabled government to receive huge budgets, which is enormous even nowadays. The well organized economy of the empire allowed it to survive dangers of money shortage. In the 950 and 1200 Byzanine economy grew rapidly, which led to a creation of aristocracy, which was a basic link in the state system. Public expenditures were primarily annual payments in gold to state functionaries, military, Constantinopolitan and provincials. However, a desire for the coinage grew with the growth of the economy, but actually it was not easy for Byzantium to meet the standards for coinage, and it appeared that coins were in a short supply once again in Constantinopole. This suggested a sustained thirst for gold to service the state economy. From the 4th to the end of the 6th century people were using coinage called â€Å"solidi†, from 7th to 11th century â€Å"nominsata†, and from 12th to 14th century â€Å"hyperpyra†. In 540 annual revenue of the empire was 11,300,000 solidi which was more annual revenue than in any other year from 4th to 6th century (Morrison 900-1000). The 6th century economy had a power that accompanied the whole Mediterranean, followed by Justinians conquests. In the period of his reign, the economy was full of activity and exchange, that lasted until middle of the sixth century. The trade networks expanded, and Byzantine trade developed as far as England to the west and to the east,including the Red Sea and beyond as far as India. A significant economic undertaking also represented the construction of cities in the fifth and sixth century and new ways of architecture and infrastructre. (Morrison 172). However, trade was more developed in the eastern part of the empire. For the international trade, the Byzantine Empire used well-organized systems of Roman roads and bridges and adapted them for their own use. The resurfacing of the roads and bridges and well organized infrastructure allowed the traders to import and export fresh food, use places to sleep and eat, and just have a good trading experience. According to Constantine VII Porphyrogennetos, it was necessary to know which roads were narrow or steep, and at the same time unsafe for transport, and which ones were good. The most important road in the empire was the â€Å"Imperial Rode,† which ran from the northwest to the southeast of the empire. The Black Sea connection was also of importance, which was the connection path to the Asia, and its exporters (Avramea 57-90). The base of the Byzantine economy was agriculture. The interest of the state is that agriculture keeps the state revenue flowing in. Agriculture was also important for gathering as many gold coins and returning a portion to the state treasury. Paying taxes was the best way to prove the ownership of the land. The seaside areas were featuring vines, sea crops, and production of lives, which played an important role for the Byzantine Empire. The manpower or â€Å"the musscle of the peassants† was also a big significance for the empire, because the economy would have been useless without the manpower. However, the imports were mainly constructed of the common goods that kept the business including, oil, wool, metals, spices, and jewelery that were imported mostly from China, India, and Persia. Byzantium took care of the timely arrival of the goods to both eastern and western parts of the empire. The Byzantines considered land a common resource, not to be bought or sold, but it is valuable only if the men were invesing in it. The biggest loss of the inhabitants and land was in 541 due to the plague, where Constantinopole lost 40 % of its inhabitants. It affected both cities and countryside, as well as the routes of trading and communication, and significantly shrank the economic production. In the 9th century after the plague, peace was slowly reestablished and territories started to increase (Bryer 101-113). From the other side, Constantinople was presented as a very wealthy capital which served as propaganda for the foreigners that came to visit it, as well as for their own citizens. Constantinopole was fully decorated with the foreign imported material such as silk or gold. The 10th century was one of the most powerful in the Byzantine Empire history, and through that period, Constantinopole was the biggest centre of the international trade, with merchants mostly from Italy, Syria, and Bulgaria. In the middle of the 10th century international trade with Muslims became very popular, while in the 11th and 12th century economy of exchange took place. Before the ninth and tenth century, Arabs were invading Egypt and Syria, which ruined the Byzantine trade, but since the population size increased in ninth and tenth century, production and trade also increased, especially the demand for grain. The shipping was important for the international trade, so good quality of the ships was needed. One of the popular brands was â€Å"dromon†, which followed the Roman shipbuilding tradition. The big change in the technology of the sea transport came from the storage jar, which gave way to the wooden barrel, which overall reduced the weight of the ship, allowing for more things to be transferred from one side to another (Avramea 55-89). Coinage was the basic form of the money in the Byzantine Empire, but even though businessmen were very skillful, they were not capable to speed up the circulation of the coins through the empire. The gold coinage was mostly used from 7th to the start of 11th century. At the start of 11th century, silver and copper coins were circulating more through the monetary system. However, there was a coinage crisis going through many periods, until Alexios I Komnenos put the end to a coinage crisis. His reign was based on his family as a centre of government. His reign was known for power and wealth, and Komnenian policies enhanced the importance of the Byzantine ports and cities. The entirely new coinage released from the economy of state helped the massive expansion in subventions of land-based tax privileges. These subventions strengthen local market economies, which encouraged peasants to develop the production. The state collected the taxes in cash, but they used excess to pay off obiligations to the state. These grants had also grown significantly in the 11th century and Alexios Komnenos used it as a reward for the military and his family. As the state mostly depended on aristocrats, there were always the difference between upper and lower class, and as much as aristocrats were giving to the state, they were also increasingly working for their own interest. The best example of that system is shown in the Komnenos family. The main interest of the aristocrats was to benefit from the states’ weaknesses, but not to weaken the state, which would deprive the poor of access to the resources and stop aristocrats seeking benefits by competing with each other (Lopez 209-234). Even though the estate and the village competed with each other about the territory because there was a big amount of land available, the estate and the village also need each other. The estate needed land for farming, such as growing crops or raising life. From the other side, the village needed the land for spreading their trading facility as well as commerce. Within the Byzantine Empire, regardless of where the person lived, the same as in the Roman Empire, men were in charge of almost every part of their property, considering cultivation of the land and other physical activities which were including hard work that women usually could not do. Women were in charge of children and the life inside the house (Laiou 45-56). During the period from 9th to 11th century, it appeared that the economy was almost completely monetized. All the taxes had to be payed in gold, while in the other countries such as Bulgaria, tax was paid in kind. The organization of the fiscal services evolved in the 9th century. There were various offices with employees that were writing documents and accounting books. The tenth and eleventh centuries also viewed a development of â€Å"charitable houses,† institutions that were using revenue for financing the upper aristocratic class, which is another example of the power of the upper class and the Byzantine Empire economy (Oikonomides 577-581). Even though the Byzantine economy had ups and downs like any other economy in any other system, the positive thing is that through the longer period it remained strong and powerful. The 6th century and Justinian and start of the 11th century and Komnenians’ reign were the periods when the ecomony reached its climax and showed the world its characteristics and endurance. Even in modern times, it appeared difficult for many economies to reach the Byzantine economic level of wealth and strength.

Can Migration Flows Be Considered A Security Issue Politics Essay

Can Migration Flows Be Considered A Security Issue Politics Essay For quite some time now, issues of migration flows and security have become concern for many leading ministers, politicians, the media and the electorate of the host countries. They have dominated politics and social sciences literature and surprisingly became a major contemporary theme in the main field of International Relations and its subcategories of international and domestic politics, international security studies, and human security. In many Western states, an abundance of anti-immigration campaigns appeared. For example, we see right-wing political parties who oppose migration on the ground that it poses a direct threat to their identity and security; therefore they demand tougher policies and restrictions on migration flows. This essay begins by discussing the historical background of migration with references to some of European countries. Then, it will explore the symptoms of migration, refugees and asylum seekers in the framework of the possibility that it may pose a di rect threat to security in Europe. After establishing the different links between migration and security, the essay will focus on the development of treaties, policies and measures undertaken by the European countries in order to tighten up their security borders against unwanted immigrants, combat illegal and irregular migration, human trafficking and smuggling. Finally, the essay will provide a personal view, arguing that migration flows can be considered a security issue. Migrations by people in large groups or individuals across vast distances are by no means a recent phenomenon. The term migration can be defined as the movement of people from one place to another. (Migration and European Culture). Two types of human migration are very common: first, internal migration, and second, international migration. A good example of internal migration is the movement from England to Scotland. A good example of international migration is the movement from Congo or Rwanda to America, Australia or Europe. The causes for migration can be divided into two main categories, the push and pull factors. Push factors such as, civil war, poverty, climate changes and political or religious oppression. Pull factors are for example, a chance of a better standard of living in general as well as political and religious freedom (Migration and European Culture). Historically, between the seventeenth and nineteenth centuries migration to North America from all parts of Europe and by Protestant and Catholic alike emigrated to North America, New Zealand, Australia, South America, and southern Africa (Wolffe, 2004, p. 98). Undoubtedly, religious, cultural and political conflicts were inevitable between the new comers and the indigenous people in the New World. Buzan contends that a threat to population can arise from human migrations especially when the incoming population is of a different cultural or ethnic stock from that already resident (Buzan, 1991, p. 93). Notwithstanding, migration has dominated the security agenda in the recent years mostly due to the unprecedented scale of the phenomenon that about 20.5 million foreigners living in Western Europe at the beginning of the twenty-first century (Kicinger, 2004, p. 1). But what is migration? What is security? What are the main aspects of the migration-security link? These contested question s have no easy answers. According to Huysmans and Squire scholars have opened up a range of other challenging questions that are important to the analysis of the migration/security nexus (Huysmans and Squire, 2009, p. 11) questions such as should migration be named a security threat? At which level it should be met national or at international level such as the EU? Is migration already a threat or only a challenge to security? (Kicinger, 2004, p. 3). Migration in Europe appeared in the years between the two World Wars. After the First World War, the refugee problem emerged in Europe as a result of the turmoil created by the break-up of the Ottoman, Austro-Hungarian and Russian Empire, which led to the displacement of more than 20 million people (Turton, 2002, p. 28). After the Second World War, Europe was in crisis regarding shortage of laborers and desperately needed extra hands in the form of temporary immigrants laborers to rebuild Europes devastated cities. Hansen argues that i n Europe, during the 1950s and 1960s, France, Switzerland, and Germany facilitated, through guest worker programmes, wanted temporary migration (Hansen, 2000, p. 4). Since the 1970s, many of the temporary migrant workers did not go home. However, they encouraged their families and invited them to join them in the host countries as family reunification. For the anti-migration campaigners, this family reunification is an exploitation of migration policies and procedures as they argue that migration is considered unnatural, and as something to be feared. The migrant as an outsider is viewed with considerable suspicion as to his/her intentions that are thought to be dubious (Gupta, 2005, p. 115). Furthermore, these same groups exacerbate the problem of xenophobia especially towards ethnic minorities who have already settled in the host countries as genuine refugees and / or asylum-seekers. Scholars such as Ireland believe that migration in Europe is a complex process but Europeans today live in societies that have become truly multicultural (Ireland, 2000, p. 234). The issue of multiculturalism in Europe caused controversy in the realm of politics, s ocial sciences and security studies. Boswell suggests that while a multicultural approach implies tolerance of cultural and religious diversity, robust anti-discrimination legislation, however this approach came under criticism for failing to deal adequately with the challenges of integration (Boswell, 2005 p.10). For some, like the anti-migration campaigns and right-wing political parties, the phenomenon of multiculturalism started with mass migration of people who came from different backgrounds, cultures, religions and identities. One can argue that these, and other, factors may have caused direct threats to the security of the host countries and jeopardized European values, such as national heritage, cultural identity and social cohesion (Vaughan-Williams and Peoples, 2010, p. 136). The European governments feared that the mass migration may threaten social stability in Europe. In addition, mass migration created xenophobia which hampers both assimilation and integration. Furthermore, it may play an important role in demographic security and implies that migration exacerbates the problem of population increase in Europe. Regarding internal security, governments fear that migrants would get involved in dealing with drugs, crimes, trafficking and smuggling in human beings activities, making use of all channels available both legally and illegally. Guild states that the image of the foreigners as a security threat because of his or her propensity to commit criminal offences is often seen in the press in many EU countries (Guild, 2009, p. 115). Cultural identity is another factor raised with respect to the issue of security. The issue of hijab (headscarf), Burka, and veil, for example, angered the hard core right-wing parties especially in France and other European countries (Holland, Germany, Austria and Belgium ) which eventually led to social and political clashes with Muslim communities Throughout the 1980s, migration control especially on refugees and asylum seekers did become a hot topic in both political arenas and domestic public debates in European countries. Weiner sums it up, saying, migration and refugee issues are now matters of high international politics, heads of states, cabinets, and key ministries involved in defence, internal security, and external relations (Weiner, 1992 1993, p. 91). The result of political debate was that opinions polarized and refugees often made the headlines articulating theatrical language and were negatively portrayed for racial policies (Huysmans, 2005, p. 11). It is worth mentioning that the breakup of the former Soviet Union and the fall of the Berlin wall in 1990, provided fresh impetus for migration from Eastern Europe which became an easy gateway to the West, both for people from the former communist countries themselves and asylum-seekers transiting from further afield (Telà ¶ken, 1999). As the pressure mounted on gov ernments to focus on migration control, many Western governments have tightened up their security borders against refugees and asylum seekers. Warner contends that gate keeping has become the primary state function†¦ the state must protect its borders because that is what states do (Warner, 1997, p. 60). Quite often, refugees and asylum seekers are portrayed as a burden and hazardous to the European culture, identity, and pose threats to social, economic and internal security. They are potential threat to collective security and can be located within a security continuum that connects it with issues such as terrorism and international crime, (Guild, 2009, p. 132-133 and Vaughan-Williams and Peoples, 2010, p. 136). Although migration and refugee issues have caused severe headaches for some politicians, ministers and governments, others have used such issues as a political propaganda to win electorate votes. For example, in August 2001, the Australian Prime Minister John Howard transferred many refugees, mainly Afghans who were rescued in the sea by a Norwegian freighter, to detention centres in a Pacific island (Nauru and Manus) rather than to Woomera (detention centre for refugees and asylum-seekers) in Australia. This move consolidated the Prime Minister and his coalition back into power for the third successive time†¦ issue of refugees played an important role in securing this electoral victory and made refugee policy†¦ a highly visible political issue (Huysmans, 2005, p. 36-37). In the same vein, Weiner contends that the very form and intensity of response to unwanted migrations is itself an indication that such population flows are regarded as threats to security or stability (Weiner, 1992 1993, p. 125). In the same direction, in an article by Annika Savill in The Independent, which was published on Wednesday 16 September 1992, Douglas Hurd, the Foreign Secretary at the time, produced outstanding examples of migration as a security issue: Mr Hurd said that many of his European counterparts considered that migration among all the other problems we face is the most crucial. Like the US of the 19th century, Europe is a magnet for people seeking greater opportunities, from the east and south . . . We have already seen, most obviously in Germany but also elsewhere in the Community, the tensions and antipathies which can result from the inflow,. But he warned that unlike 19th-century America, ours is not an empty continent (Savill, 1992). What is security? Security is an ambiguous and a contested concept which most of the literature that attempted analysis or prescription was, and to some extent still is, based on the concepts of power and peace (Buzan, 1991, p. 2). Many readers associate the word security with topics such as, military threats, war, international relations, diplomacy and strategic studies. Arguably, this general understanding of the concept has monopolized security and military studies throughout the Cold War era. Guild contends that security cannot be reduced to one element, but it can only be understood in relation to power either more power provides more security or security is based on relationship among actors and thus not a commodity at all (Guild, 2009, p. 6). But for Buzan and some international relations scholars this concept is too narrow and vague, therefore they demanded to develop and stretch the concept of security beyond such well known traditional topics. In the aftermath of the Cold War, some prominent scholars of the Copenhagen School, including Buzan, Waever and others, argued that the concept of security could be expanded†¦From 1980s onward a more general sectoral widening of security included societal, economic, environmental, health, development and gender (Buzan and Hansen, 2009, p. 13). With time and space, the available literature on migration and security has increased considerably. However, the term security has evolved and undergone significant changes to include more political, economic and social dimensions such as, environmental degradation, pandemic diseases (HIV/AIDS), transnational organized crime and international migration. Cottey suggests that security therefore is not something that can be objectively defined or of which there is likely to be an agreed definition (Cottey, 2007, p. 7). Scholars such as Mayron Weiner was the first to address the relationship between immigration and security issues, other scholars indirectly captured this linkage in their work on immigration and refugees in the US policy (Lahav, 2003, p. 90). In order to combat illegal migration in Europe and deal with unwanted mixed flows of refugees, asylum seekers and others who were using illegal routes to beguile the migration system and restrictions, various and tougher measures of migration security were introduced by the European governments to prevent the abuse of the system. Taylor claims that the measures are contained in the Hague Programme, a five-year plan for the field of freedom, justice and security (Taylor, 2005). Some of these measures, for example, aimed at preventing asylum seekers from arriving at the states border in the first place, send asylum seekers back to countries through which they had passed, encourage member states of the EU to apply the refugee definition more narrowly and apply deterrence, such as the increasing use of detention, and restrictions on the right to work and access to social welfare (Turton, 2002, p. 42). Politically speaking, these measures on migration, refugees and asylum seekers played a n important role in bringing member states of the European Union even closer to the union than before. The member states of the European Union went further regarding restrictions and policies on migration, refugees and asylum seekers. Metaphorically speaking, they wanted to build one strong Fortress in Europe with a solid iron-gate as a security protection against immigrants and mixed flows of refugees. Taylor contends that at the end of 2004, the European Union (EU) agreed further measures strengthening Fortress Europe. Ministers from the 25 EU member states established the basis for a common asylum system†¦ and the wider sharing of information by national police forces and security services (Taylor, 2005). Fortress Europe, in the form of treaties, conventions and steps, which have been taken by the member states of the European Union to accord their policies on immigration, is overwhelmingly tough and very restrictive. Some of the measures, which are summarized here: the 1990 Dublin Convention: its aim was to ensure that one member state would take responsibility for examining a claim, thus preventing asylum-seekers from shopping around for the most favorable country in which to ask for asylum, the 1990 Schengen Convention: its aim was to reinforce external border controls whilst allowing free movement within participating states, the 1991 Maastricht Treaty: this empowered Justice and Home Affairs Ministers to establish a framework for a European-wide asylum policy and introduced the concept of EU citizenship, the 1992 London Resolutions: ministers in London responsible for immigration approved three non-binding resolutions and conclusions and the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam: this include s a commitment by member states to develop a common immigration and asylum policy within five years, but the treaty came into effect in 1999. (Turton, 2002, p. 42-23). Since the 9/11 attacks on the American soil, the London bombings in July 2005 and other bombings across Europe, the issue of security became once again a hot subject for debate among politicians and topped social, economic and political agendas particularly those of Western governments. Given that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by terrorists from Al Qaida and not by the refugees or asylum seekers, the European governments once again raised the issue of security in relation to migration. The European countries have maintained excessive securitisation actions within migration policy frameworks as politicians and media portrayed migrants, asylum seekers and refugees, especially from Asia and Middle East, as potential terrorists abusing immigration policies and procedures. Vaughan-Williams and Peoples argue that moves towards the securitization of migration were already well underway prior to the events of 9/11†¦ In the aftermath of 9/11 and bombings in Madrid and London, has bee n the particular focus on Muslim communities (Vaughan-Williams and Peoples, 2010, P. 137). These actions and efforts by European countries to strengthen their external borders and tighten up their immigration policies caused immense controversy in the realm of politics. On one hand, anti-migration elites have argued that these common policies and rigorous law measures are mainly against bogus asylum-seekers, refugees and illegal immigrants. On the other hand, migration supporter elites and some of the NGOs argue that these measures have caused thousands of deaths of refugees and asylum-seekers and as well marginalized, criminalized and sidelined many genuine of them (Hogan, 2002). In conclusion, migration flows opened new debates in the domain of domestic and international security and foreign relations. Over the past decades, the concept of security has significantly changed to include several other categories in the realm of politics and social sciences. This essay briefly discussed the historical background of migration and concentrated on refugees and asylum seekers as the main themes for societal and security analysis. From the essay point of views, the philosophy of multiculturalism played an important role in security, xenophobia has created racial tensions which sometimes led to violence between the host population and the immigrant communities and definitely illegal migration poses threats to the social stability and internal security of host countries in Europe. In addition, the essay agrees that the European countries have the right not only to secure their borders against illegal migration, but also to have the right to defend and protect the value s they espouse such as social stability and cultural identity. The territorial integrity, economic and political independence of the European countries need to be protected from the danger of migration exploitation. Securitization of migration is not new, but the 9/11 attacks have stirred up the process of securitization and the building up of the so-called Europe Fortress to keep unwanted immigrants out of Europe. The European countries remain the favourite destination for both legal and illegal immigrants regardless of how tight border controls are. Immigrants, refugees and asylum seekers who fear persecution at home or are intent on escaping war and poverty will keep the hopes of reaching European countries alive. Such hopes could be pipe dreams.

Deconstruction and Multiplicity of Self through Modern Technology :: Technological Essays

Deconstruction and Multiplicity of Self through Modern Technology The Internet has allowed a postmodern view of self to dominate and serve as the solution to a dilemma that modernism has perpetuated surrounding self perception. Such a dilemma includes the identity crisis. Having only one self is restricting and can be dangerous, especially if the self is viewed as â€Å"bad† by the individual/self or others. It becomes critical, in the modernist view of self, to like oneself or else one will have to either self-hate or self-destruct. Self destruction would mean to kill off or eliminate the self-defining characteristics that one dislikes. My Mother always told me: â€Å"It’s never to late to be who you really are†. This advice functions to encourage combat against negative self-image that modernism cultivates. For some, this process is like clearing the slate. Starting from scratch will hopefully be refreshing to one’s self-esteem and self-value, but starting over as the â€Å"new you† can be a difficult an d scary adjustment as well. For the same reasons, labels and stereotypes control and shape one’s identity. The postmodern, technological world loosens the powerful grip of modernism’s resulting restrictions on selfhood. Modernism promotes an either-or option for self being one thing or another (and, hopefully, that dichotomy is not the dangerous good-bad ultimatum). On the other hand, postmodernism allows for fluidity and does not condemn or pollute the entire self with one portion of self-identity. Additionally, the worry about a â€Å"new you’s" role in society will never arise as the â€Å"new you† is just â€Å"another you† in a postmodern self concept. No one has one true self nor control over others’ perceptions of one’s selves. Therefore, one must come to terms with the fragmented, multiplicities of their own identity. Their self exists in the here-and-now, and is much less definable in simple categories. While others, then, cannot grasp and categorize your identity, the possibility exists, that neither can the self which is you. This presents a freeing and frustrating capacity for any individual worried about control. The postmodern, technology-age self is not contained. It is a limitless region abounding with environment-sensitive traits. We can imagine such a concept through the unlimited Internet—in the vast expanse called cyberspace. Viewing ourselves through, or actually as composed like, a machine unlocks such infinite possibilities in identity.

Essay --

Dividend News for 2013 When the budget deal was agreed upon for the beginning of the year, this included rates on dividends. Qualified dividends, including capital gains, for individuals in the 25%, 28%, 33%, and 35% income tax brackets will continue to be taxed at 15%. Individuals making more than $400,000 in taxable income or couples making more than $450,000 will see their rate rise to 20%. Individuals in the 10% and 15% brackets as before will have a zero tax rate. Charles Farrell, chief executive of Northstar Investment Advisors LLC had stated that these tax rates for this year were pretty consistent. If they had been higher, investors probably would have been favoring non-income producing assets. Although, taxes on dividends will continue to rise for individuals making incomes above $200,000 or families making income above $250,000 due to the new Medicare tax (Ruffenach, 2013). The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 increased tax rates in 2013 for upper bracket taxpayers by 3.8% (Eyde n, 2013). This 3.8% tax applies to net investment returns which covers capital gains, interest, certain annuities, and dividends. So, many families will pay around 18.8% which includes 15% plus 3.8%, plus state taxes. For others who are the high wage earners will pay tax on dividends around 23.8% which includes 20% plus 3.8%. About 80% of companies in the S&P 500 pay dividends. Some of these companies include Exxon, IBM, Apple, Chevron, and Procter & Gamble (Ruffenach, 2013). Dividends are crucial to long term returns. Looking back on the past 100 years, dividends accounted for about 50% of an investor’s total return. The other 50% is from price appreciation or capital gains. If an investor were to cut dividends out of their por... ... 2013). The Bottom Line The dividend tax rate discussion continues to be an argument in board rooms, think tanks, and in Washington (Flannelly, 2013). There has been much controversy whether or not dividends and capital gains should receive preferential tax treatment. The rates of taxation on dividends and capital gains have always been progressive, perhaps for the fairness of the overall economy (Eyden, 2013). As an individual investor, it does not matter what dividend tax rates are, because attractive returns can be realized. Although there is some clarity to the short term future of dividend tax rates, it will be a surety that this will change sometime down the road. With a discussion about the history, the news, the theory, and data about dividend tax rates, this can help with some uncertainty and insight of dividend taxes (Flannelly, 2013).

Jacksonian Democracy Essays -- essays research papers

Jacksonian Democracy   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Jacksonian (Democracy, Society, etc.) is a term used to describe reform during the time of Andrew Jackson’s Presidency. Specifically Jacksonian Democracy refers to â€Å"the general extension of democracy that characterized U.S. politics from 1824 to 1828.† Jacksonian Democracy and its support came primarily from the lower classes as a rebellion of sorts apposing the aristocracy. Even though it stressed equality, it was pro-slavery and anti-Indian (not unlike Andrew Jackson). Also there was change in both the political parties and the social reforms. Jackson was seen as a westerner (even though he was from Tennessee) and a president of the common man. This we can see when he married women out of the lower classes and the upper class was astonished. Also, Jackson had opened the white house to everyone on his inauguration day.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  During his time in office Political parties changed their names and were affirmed. Earlier when the term party was looked upon with similar meaning as faction, it represented a sort of selfishness and contention over unanimity that wasn’t needed in the government. The Democrats and the Whigs were the new names of the parties. The Whigs grew from the Republican Party and the Democrats form the Anti-Federalists. What brought this change were economic booms and downturns that had characterized the 19th century economy. Also Missouri Compromise (when Missouri’s proposed constitution admitted for slavery and to balance the states Maine was admitted as a free state) had a hand in bringing about the parties when a group of politicians (of whom Martin Van Buren was apart of) that were organized in a coalition for states rights and limited government that would be later supported by Andrew Jackson; also they help support Jackson for the presidency of 1828, they were known as the Democrats. Parties were also essential because they gave the Common man (which Jackson was all about) the power to compete (sort of) with the wealth, education, and social connections of the traditional leaders (fun?). The Whigs stood for Government controlled commercial development that incorporated what was called the American System, and wanted a high tariff that would benefit the North and its factories rather than the European competition, which meant more funds for the national governme... ... points in social reform from Jacksonian Democracy was abolition. The logic was that social reform also applied to slavery and almost more than any other institution. The reasoning behind this was that slaves resisted their own enslavement. Slavery was opposed in the 18th century by Quakers and few other whites, even though the American Revolution with its rhetoric about equal and universal rights called slavery into serious question. The Northern States abolished it and the Southern slave owners (upper south mind you) thought about liberating slaves. However it wasn’t until the 1830s that a number of middle class Norteà ±os (northerners) began to demand immediate emancipation of slaves for their incorporation as equals in the Republic. Just as other social reforms had taken root with mostly radical Norteà ±o Whigs, abolitionism soon found its way to them. This was a basis for the middle class revivals of the 1820s and 1830s. In closing this is what Jacksonian democracy incorporated; pretty much any reform that happened within the country during Andrew Jackson’s presidency. Source: Microsoft  ® Encarta  ® Reference Library 2005.  © 1993-2004 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

School Speech by Chief Guest

Draft speech of Mrs. D. Purandeswari, MoS-HRD (HE) as Chief Guest on the occasion of the Annual Day of the Rainbow Concept School, Mahaboobnagar, A. P on 9th February, 2007 at 5. 30 p. m. It gives me immense pleasure to be here this evening and to address the young students of the Rainbow Concept School on the occasion of its Annual Day function of the school. The Rainbow concept School has been established by Dr. A. Madhusudhan Reddy very thoughtfully for an overall growth of a child and to integrate his academic excellence with his personality development.Education is not just the amount of information that is put into a child’s brain undigested, unrelated an unassimilated. The very essence of education is the concentration of mind and not mere collection or collation of facts. As Swami Vivekananda said: â€Å"Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man†. The concept of education is that it should help the formation of character expansion of intell ect and development of a positive view of the life. It is this man-making character which is the basic object of all education.A model school should be a mirror of the child’s personality wherein education should constitute the inner beauty. Rainbow Concept School. I understand strives to identify and nurture innate talents and abilities. Experimentation and creativity through interactive and scientifically developed activities, traditional values with modern knowledge and information, all-round development of the students without any discrimination or prejudices are the basic objectives of quality education.I am assured that these ideas form the core contents in educational pattern of the school which prepares the young generation to become leaders in whatever career they choose and to contribute positively towards self, family, society, nation and the entire world. I am pleased to know that Rainbow understands the need for effective communication and therefore offers intens ive coaching in both oral and written communication skills. This helps in expressing ideas clearly and effectively. Other activities like group discussions, elocution, seminars etc. , are conducted for the personality development of students.Innovative workshops, projects and guest lectures by eminent personalities are organized for the benefit of students. Finally works of art help one to relate with the world. The expressions denote the experience and the individuals outlook towards society. Rainbow lets students kindle the fire of creativity in them who are motivated to participate and display their talents in interschool and at various other competitions. Hobby clubs at Rainbows provide the for a for students to express and hone their skills and talent in a range of activities like painting, arts, music and dance, debate elocution stamp collection and so on.Students need some time to relax and rejuvenate. This helps in learning better and also keeps the mind and body healthy. Th is is done through sports and games. They help in keeping the body fit and provide mental relaxation. It is also very heartening to be informed that field trips are an integral part of education at Rainbow. Students are taken to places of historical importance, scientific interest, farms and fields to give them first-hand idea on various occupations. This enables students to see for themselves the productive processes of goods of our daily use.These trips are preceded by assigning them projects on the proposed place of visit, its significance and are followed by summarizing their individual experiences. This should provide a strong vocational bias to our educational system which is the need of the day. A school based on the rainbow model has to ensure that entire education should take place in natural surroundings in tandem with nature where a child should learn to identity plants, flowers and birds in the open air.This would be particularly attractive to a child who while leaving t he threshold of home and going to school for the first time needs a lot of inducement and persuasion for study. Nature, as Gandhiji used to observe frequently, has enough to fulfill man’s needs but not his greeds. This should be firmly implanted in a child’s mind so that he may constantly be aware that man has a special responsibility to protect Nature. Students should be made aware of their responsibility and duty towards protecting nature and prevent its wanton destruction which unfortunately seems to be rder of the day. Some simple practices like encouraging planting of trees periodically in their neighbourhood, watering the plants and nurturing them, digging pits for rain water harvesting should be taught. These and other would foster in a child caring and sharing attitude towards nature and life on earth and a deep appearance of the flora and fauna. To make education more attractive, the students of lower classes should be imparted education through play-way metho ds. They should be taught to identify various colours, sounds, shapes and objects.Exercises like clay-modeling, building sand castles, the playpen and other interactive methods should be adopted to make learning more interesting and attractive. In this context I would like to bring to your notice that this is how Tagore conceptualized and broughts up his famous Santiniketan (Abode of Peace) where the entire educational system was integrated from pre-nursery to the stage of Masters’ Degree and where the teaching was imparted in open air classrooms in natural surroundings. Poet himself used to take some nursery and pre-nursery classes and imparted education through music dance and drama composed by him.In some cases Tagore used to take part in the dramas and plays along with other children; at times he also used to personally supervise the works of painting and craft made by the children and put in a few words of encouragement for them. This instilled life in teaching as well a s learning and served as a big booster for uplifting the spirit of the children. Indeed Tagore made education joyful and playful for all children. Under Tagore’s watchful supervision, a friendly atmosphere was created for students to interact with their teachers and share a relation of mutual trust and affection.This led to a congenial environment conducive for teaching and learning. Coaching was provided through interactive teaching methods. The curiosity of the students was not suppressed but encouraged and students had the freedom to express their opinions and to seek their own answers subject of course to the correction by teachers wherever necessary. No wonder, this unconventional methodology gained quick recognition and due to Poet’s untiring efforts and zeal, Shantiniketan won international reputation and ere long it became the hub of foreign scholars interested in arious facets of our heritage and culture. The organizers of the Rainbow Concept School would do w ell to take a leaf out of Tagore’s book in shaping the future of their school. One of the basic drawbacks of to-day’s schooling is that tens of thousands of school-going children in India are penalized by an educational system that has largely failed to take into account their special learning needs. It is time we better understood the profile of students with learning difficulties. Sustained application of sound scientific knowledge in the classroom can make a difference.Such application can occur only if our schools had more teachers anchored in the knowledge of neurological functions that impact learning. Teachers can then assess their students' strengths and weaknesses in order to modify their instruction, so that all students benefit. Failure in school often portends low self-esteem as adults, and most certainly contributes to poor productivity in professional life. With its escalating needs for economic development, India cannot afford a future citizenry that has n't been given the scholastic consideration and opportunities it deserves in childhood.The reluctance of school administrators to train teachers in these areas is puzzling. What is worse is that students' failure permeates into the home. School authorities and teachers are seldom able to reassure distraught parents. Educators and psychologists occasionally offer diagnoses of dyslexia, or other learning disability, but seldom is a learning plan offered to the child or the parent that meets that child's specific requirements. This is because teachers often do not know how a child learns, and are over focused on what a child learns.Given the pressure on children to be all-rounded, it is perhaps a matter of time before most students experience a breakdown in learning. To be successful in school, students need to be good at many things at the same time regardless of their strengths or weaknesses. This leads to frustration, humiliation, and failure among many of them. An undue pressure on the child can adversely affect his capacity to learn, as well as his ability to take pleasure in academic work. We must not forget that education must and should be joyous, not onerous. I have earlier referred to the successful growth of Tagore’s Santiniketan as focal point of imparting true and meaningful education without tears. But the study of science and technology was not sufficiently emphasized in their educational curriculum. This was not because of any inherent defect or deliberate lapse in their educational planning but because when Santiniketan was set up more than a century back (precisely on 22-12-1901) the study of Science and technology was not assigned the overriding importance in our educational curriculum. The position has undergone a sea-change since then in view of the phenomenal and exponential advancement in science and technology.The organizers of the Rainbow Concept School cannot afford to ignore this development. We have to remember that all training and teachings should be basically centered round science and technology. The 21st Century is universally acknowledged as the â€Å"Knowledge Century† which means that Knowledge or brain power through an extensive study and application of science and technology should be reflected in a country’s competitiveness, advancement and human capabilities Human capabilities today are a function of the well-being of a people and the investment we make in human capital formation.The ability of a nation to make best use of its knowledge or brain power will ultimately determine its place in the comity of nations in he present century. In this context, lifelong learning is a high priority for all and is in fact fundamental to the development of a nation. It builds the base for economic and social development, and fosters the capacity of individuals to contribute to and benefit from, that development. It also sustains and enriches both individual and overall culture of a nation and b uilds mutual respect and understanding that ultimately transcends all national differences and barriers.The Rainbow Concept School has to keep in view this development if it really wants to come up as a focal point of professional excellence. And yet, I must, caution that professional excellence without accompanying human virtues may many prove disastrous. As the adage goes that knowledge without character and science without humanity portend dangerous signals for a valued-based democratic society. We must therefore ensure that the development of a knowledge society encouraging professional excellence does not directly or indirectly discards the basics of human excellence .In the beautiful and inimitable words of our philosopher-statesman Dr. Sarvepalli Radhakrishnan, (I quote) Knowledge is not something to be packed away in some corner of our brain, but is what enters into our being, colour our emotion, haunts our soul, and is as close to us as life itself. It is the over – mastering power which through the intellect moulds the whole personality, trains the emotions and disciplines the will. UnquoteI am sure that Rainbow Concept School would go a long way in boosting the tempo of development and help our country to reach soaring heights of perfection which would enable it to become a powerhouse of intellectual endeavour and knowledge engine of the world without in any compromising the qualities human virtues of kindness compassion, sympathy and fellow-feeling. With these words, I have great pleasure in inaugurating the Annual Day Function of the Rainbow Concept School. Jai Hind.