Tuesday, December 31, 2019

Life satisfaction across different cultures - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 19 Words: 5779 Downloads: 9 Date added: 2017/06/26 Category Statistics Essay Did you like this example? ABSTRACT Defining culture by reference to deeply situated societal values and beliefs, this study makes three contributions to the growing field of satisfaction research: first, it tries to uncover the relationship between international students life satisfaction and cultural life satisfaction across different cultures; Second, it explores whether and to what extent a range of cultural values serve as important moderators of international students life satisfaction; Finally, it explains the Life Satisfaction differences between international students across five nations (India, Africa, China, United Kingdom and Turkey). A total of 100 international students from the University of Northampton participated in this study. Analysis of the present study is based on data from two surveys. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Life satisfaction across different cultures" essay for you Create order The first is the Dieners Satisfaction with Life Survey (SWL) to measure international students overall satisfaction with life across nations. The second is the cultural satisfaction survey which includes the six determinants of cultural factors: satisfaction in general, job, social relationships, health services, authority services and public safety. Using both Pearson and Partial correlation coefficient, statistical analysis showed that except for the General Satisfaction section p value is more than 0.05 (p0.05) for each of the subsections. In addition, hypothesis one showed that there is not any correlation between Life Satisfaction and Cultural Satisfaction amongst International Students. Therefore, null hypothesis is accepted. One-Way between subjects ANOVAs enables us to partially accept hypothesis 2, which states there will be a difference in CS between International Students from different countries. Statistical results of one-way ANOVAs also accepted Hypothesis 3, which stat es there will be a difference in LS between International Students from different nationalities as well. According to these results, Hypothesis 2 is partially accepted because four out of the six subsections of the CS (General and Job Satisfaction) showed these differences. These results show the importance of the cultural determinants of the social relationship, health, authority and public safety satisfaction play a particularly prominent role on individuals Life Satisfaction. Finally, based on the Dieners SWL (Diener et al, 1984) and cultural life satisfaction survey, the empirical results show that several cultural values are indeed very significant influences on individuals assessment of their life satisfaction. INTRODUCTION Psychological research during the past two decades has revealed cultural differences across a wide range of domains. These studies focus on several factors such as what are peoples desires, wants, and needs, and which life domains are decisive in an overall evaluation of living conditions? Does the quality of a society in which a person lives play a significant role? As a result most psychologists are now keenly aware that the way people in different cultures think, feel, and act are, in varying degrees, different. International students have in recent years come to constitute a large proportion of the world-wide student body in higher learning institutions. There are hardly any countries that are unaffected by the presence of international students in its institutions of higher learning, or the pressure to send some of its own students to study abroad (Paige, 1990). Current estimates suggest that up to 1 million students annually study in countries other than their own (Open Doors, 1996/97). One rationale behind the increasing number of international students is the assumption that students can serve both as cultural ambassadors and resources (Klineberg, 1970; Mestenhauser, 1983; Paige, 1990), and as links between cultures (Eide, 1970). It has also been assumed that these cultural links could help reduce inter-group tension, prejudice, hostility and discriminatory behaviour, and to help increase international understanding and co-operation (Amir, 1969; Baron and Bachman, 1987; Fulbright, 1976) . These assumptions, however, have not always been supported. On the contrary mental health problems such as depression, psychosomatic complaints, anxiety and paranoid reactions (Jou and Fukada, 1997a and b; Sam and Eide, 1991; Ward, 1967; Ying and Liese, 1991) have been suggested to characterise international students. These are in addition to socio-cultural problems (e.g., language difficulties, difficulties in negotiating day-to-day social activities and, racial and ethnic discrimination) (Furnham and Bochner, 1982; Kagan and Cohen, 1990; Ward and Kennedy, 1993) and academic problems such as failure (Aich, 1963; Barker et al., 1991) have been documented as characterising international students overseas sojourn. Life Satisfacion (LS) has been defined as a global evaluation by the person of his or her life (Pavot et al., 1991, p. 150), and has been identified as a key aspect of quality of life and Subjective Well Being (SWB) (Mannel and Dupuis 1996). SWB is a way of defining a good life, and is often referred to as happiness. People who experience abundant SWB have many pleasures and few pains, and they feel satisfied with their lives (Diener, 2000). Satisfaction also refers to the cognitive/judgemental aspects of SWB (Neto, 1995). Diener and his colleagues (1999) argued that, SWB and happiness, has both an affective (i.e., emotional) and a cognitive (i.e., judgmental) component. The affective component consists of how frequently an individual reports experiencing positive and negative effects. In addition to this, previous research (Diener et al., 1999) has found college students consider happiness and LS to be extremely important, and there is evidence that increased LS impacts upon academi c performance in college students (Rode et al., 2005). Research has shown that increased LS and happiness may be related to goal progression (Emmons, 1986), close social relationships (Myers, 2000), and being involved in flow activities (Csikszentmihalyi, 1997). Moreover, Veenhoven (1991) uses the definition of LS as the degree to which an individual judges the overall quality of his life as a whole favourably. (1991: 10). This idea emphasises satisfaction with ones life, implies contentment with or acceptance of ones life circumstances, or the fulfilment of ones wants and needs for ones life as a whole. Furthermore, the need satisfaction model (Maslow, 1970; McClelland, 1961) and the spill over (Diener, 1984;Wilensky, 1960) theories provide useful frameworks to conceptualise the processes that underlie happiness in a life domain. The basic premise of the need satisfaction model is that people have basic needs they seek to fulfil in each life domain. Individuals derive satisfaction in a particular life domain when events and experience related to that domain fulfil their needs. Therefore, this model seems to suggest that people who are successful in satisfying their needs are likely to enjoy greater SWB than those who are less successful. For example, a person reports high satisfaction of her health life domain based on positive experiences concerning health-related activities such as a healthy diet, regular exercise and attention to medical needs. Moreover, the spill over theories of quality of life are viewed as having two broad types; bottom-up and top-down theories. Firstly, bott om-up theories assume that LS is a summary evaluation of aspects of ones life. For example, one is satisfied with life because one has good social relationships, enough money, weight under control, and an interesting job (Choi et al., 2007; George and Landerman, 1984; Larsen, 1978). Secondly, top-down theories assume that LS is due to personality influences. For example, a neurotic individual is more dissatisfied in general with his or her job, social relationships, weight, and income in particular ( Shepard, 1974; Kremer and Harpaz, 1982). Although there may be some agreement about the important qualities of the good life, with considerations like health and successful relationships, each individual assigns different values to these factors (Diener et al., 1985). Each person has his or her own values, criteria, and basis for evaluation. Furthermore, considerable research effort has been devoted to the study of adults perception of the quality of their lives, including LS judgements. LS research is supported by the variety of measures appropriate for adults, such as the Satisfaction with Life Scale (Diener et al., 1985; Pavot and Diener, 1993), Quality of Life Inventory (Frisch et al., 1992), Life Satisfaction Index (Neugarten et al., 1961), and the Salamon-Conte LS in the Elderly Scale (Salamon and Conte, 1984). Several studies have been carried out regarding LS and the results of these studies emphasise that LS is related to different factors. A great deal of psychological research has explored the sources of peoples LS. Due to variation in the characteristics of the included samples such as age, gender or culture questions which are commonly found in questionnaires as well as included indicators, different factors have been found to be associated with LS. Campbell (1981) indicates that there are at least 12 domains involved in contributing to LS. These are health, finances, family relations, paid employment, friendships, housing, living partner, recreational activity, religion, self-esteem, transportation, and education (Campbell, 1981). Specific cultural and social factors also have been found to play an important role in determining LS and happiness (Triandis, 2000). LS is used worldwide in research including adults, young people, students, older people etc. (Baiyewu and Jegede 1992; H illeras et al. 2001b,Neugarten et al. 1961; Vitterso et al. 2002; Wood et al. 1969) and is supposed to be a useful outcome variable in different countries. Cultural context is an important element that influences an individuals cognitive evaluation of ones life. Culture affects people in a variety of basic psychological domains, including self-concept, attribution and reasoning, interpersonal communication, negotiation, intergroup relations, and psychological well-being (Brewer Chen, 2007; Fiske et al., 1998; Markus Kitayama, 1991; Oyserman et al., 2002). Sociologists and social psychologists are interested in socio-demographic patterns that emerge when people evaluate their overall living conditions (Veenhoven 1984; Argyle 1999; Headey and Wearing 1992; Hagerty et al. 2000; Glatzer and Zapf 1984). However, socio-demographic factors account for less than 20% of the variance of SWB, a finding confirmed in several studies (Campbell et al. 1976; Andrews and Withey 1976; Diener and Suh 1997). Many efforts have been made to analyse determinants of LS and researchers from several disciplines illuminate this subject from different perspectiv es. The study revealed that the standard of living, access to employment, job satisfaction, marriage, social relationships, social networks, and health were the most decisive factors when explaining variations in LS within countries. Previous research also indicate that these factors have a positive impact on individuals LS (Diener et al. 1999) with results also showing that individuals with high LS have such benefits including physical health, mental health, good interpersonal relationships, and educational and vocational success (Frisch, 2000; Park, 2003, 2004; Veenhoven, 1989). More recently, economists have shown an interest in explaining LS outcomes with respect to reported SWB as a proxy for individual utility. They primarily focus on cross-country comparisons, the question of marginal utility of income, and the relationship between absolute and relative levels of income on SWB (Frey and Stutzer 2002a, b; Oswald 1997; Layard 2005). Moreover, LS differs a great deal between individuals and between European countries. The previous study within the enlarged European Union shows average LS in 2003, measured on a scale from 1 (very dissatisfied) to 10 (very satisfied), ranged from 8.38 in Denmark to 4.41 in Bulgaria. In every country high income goes hand in hand with higher LS scores. However, poor people in Denmark are nevertheless more satisfied than rich people in Bulgaria. The large differences in the overall level of LS between old and new member states have so far been explained with reference to the level of economic prosperity in each country (Fahey and Smyth 2004). Moreover, several studies have pointed out that poorer countries tend to possess lower LS than richer ones. To support this idea, Leelakulthanit and Day (1993) compared the LS scores of Americans and Thais. The results showed that Americans were more satisfied with their lives than Thais. Similarly, Diener et al., (1995) investigated LS among American, Korean, and Chinese college students. The results of the study illustrated that American college students scored more highly on LS, positive feelings and influential factors (e.g., income and wealth of the countries) than both Chinese and Korean college students. The results of these studies emphasized that the countries with high qualities (such as income, wealth, education) have higher LS scores than the countries who have low quality of standards . Conversely, Heady et al. (2004) instead analysed household panel data for five countries and found the happiness measure to be considerably more affected by economic fac tors than found in most of the earlier literature. The economic factors in the study include wealth and consumption expenditures and among the findings are that wealth has a stronger impact on happiness than income and that non-durable consumption expenditures are as important for happiness as income. Recent cross-country studies have therefore returned to this issue, questioning the insignificance of economic factors, which led to a heated debate in Social Science Indicators between Richard Easterlin, who defended the standard conclusion that average income does not matter, and Michael Hagerty and Ruud Veenhoven, who opposed this and argued that positive happiness trends in most nations were caused by income growth (Hagerty and Veenhoven 2003; Easterlin 2005; Veenhoven and Hagerty 2006). Moreover, a number of previous studies exposed evidence about health playing a critical role in overall LS. In fact, health has long been viewed as one of the major factors to LS as previous studies have found that health plays a crucial role on individuals LS (Linn et al., 1988; Michalos, Zumbo, Hubley, 2000; Okun et al., 1984; Parkerson, Broadhead, Tse, 1990). Additionally, a number of previous studies have examined the relationship between LS and health factors such as obesity, alcohol use, suicidal thoughts, physical activity, stress, and academic performance in different populations. For example, the study of the Moum (1996) found that people who score high on LS measures are less likely to attempt suicide. Lewinsohn et al., (1991) also pointed out that people who score high on LS are less likely to become depressed in the future . Several researches have also examined that LS is related to healthy behaviours in a number of different populations (Kelly, 2004; Rudolf Watts, 20 02; Valois, Zullig, Huebner, Drane, 2004b). To support this idea, Statistics Canada Web Site (2009), found that Canadians LS was related to their health. The statistics showed that people who were satisfied with their lives reported that their health was excellent (62.5%) and only 8.4% of people who were satisfied with life reported poor health. Conversely, of those people who were not satisfied with their lives, 54.2% reported that their health was poor. As a result, this study found that weak levels of health are directly related to low levels of satisfaction with life, low levels of morality, and low levels of satisfaction. This study also stresses that public health provisions have an important role on the improvements of individuals quality of life. For example, Life expectancy in France or Germany has risen sharply. However, this improvement is not due to high-technology. These countries attach importance to improve the quality of health in urban sanitation. The main aim here is relatively low-cost treatment (for example; antibiotics for childrens ear infections) (Deaton, 2008). From the past to the present, a great deal of psychological research has explored the sources of peoples LS. These sources include ones overall wealth, whether one is single or married, male or female (Gold et al., 2002; Murtagh Hubert, 2004), or young or old (Diener, 1984; Mercier et al., 1998; Prenda Lachman, 2001) A few studies have investigated international undergraduate students Satisfaction with Life (SWL) in the pattern of culture associates. Definition of the SWL emphasises the individuals own Quality of Life (QoL) based on their selected standards (Shin and Johnson, 1978). Each individuals decisions about their own particular criteria of their QoL can help them to judge and establish their own SWL (Diener et al., 1985). This shows that ones SWL is not a universally determined criteria of QoL, because each individual is judging their SWL by their own evaluation of the QoL. This is one of the important reasons to focus on people of diverse ethnic background and their differ ent values and perceptions of what may characterise the good life (Diener et al., 1985). Another important reason to study SWL and Culture across different nations is based on cultural factors (such as ones quality of life) that play an important role on individuals happiness. Veenhoven (1991) found that living in an economically prosperous country where freedom and democracy are respected; political stability; being a part of a majority rather than a minority; being toward the top of the social ladder; being married and having good relationships with family and friends; being mentally and physically healthy; being active and open minded; feeling in control of ones life; having aspirations in social and moral matters rather than money-making and being politically conservative are significantly related with individuals happiness rather than unhappiness. Moreover, other researchers have established that individuals from different cultures have different levels of economic and social satisfactions with their Jobs. For example, people who have the same jobs but who live in different countries might have different levels of job satisfaction because of cultural influences (Cranny et al., 1992; Gallie Russell, 1998). This signifies that both economic (money) and social (interest) satisfaction with work, such as individuals quality of their working styles, experiences and achievements, is another very important component of individuals overall SWL (Frijters et al., 2003; Kraft 2000). Furthermore, health is a subjective phenomenon manifested as the experience of wellness/illness based on individuals evaluations of how they are feeling and doing. There are variety of factors on an individuals health satisfaction which have been related to their LS such as weight (Ball et al., 2004), alcohol use (Murphy et al., 2005), stress (Schnohr et al., 2005), and physical activity (Valois, Zullig, Huebner, Drane, 2004b) These have been shown to be related to life satisfaction in different populations. The relationship between LS and various aspects of perceived health has been investigated in different nations because in different cultures people have different health institutions and services which can affect both their QoL and SWL. Previous researchers found that there is a positive relationship between subjective health and LS (Arrindell et al., 1999; Lohr et al., 1988; Rapkin Fischer, 1992; Willits Crider, 1988). The information above supports that to study both SWL and culture have been useful in illuminating how individuals differ in their SWL from different nations and the role of culture. A Number of studies emphasize that culture affects individuals from several basic psychological domains. For example, attribution and reasoning, intergroup relations, interpersonal communication, self-concept, negotiation, and psychological well-being (Brewer Chen, 2007; Fiske et al., 1998; Lehman et al., 2004; Markus Kitayama, 1991; Oyserman et al., 2002). From the theory and research presented in this review, it can be seen that cultural factors are the integrative parts of the LS. According to this, this study will focus on the Culture and LS amongst international students to see whether culture plays an important role on the undergraduate students LS from five different cultures. The specific aims of the study are three-fold. Firstly, it determines whether there is a relationship between international students LS and CS amongst five different countries. Secondly, it specifies whether the international students have differences in CS in general factors (i.e. quality of services/ city/life etc.), social relationships, job satisfaction, health, authority and public safety across five different countries. Thirdly, it explores whether there is an LS difference between International Students from five different countries which are China, India, UK, Turkey and Nigeria. In this study, I will focus on more cross-cultural phenomenon of the st udents satisfaction as well as its link with cross-cultural differences in the bases of LS (Schimmack et al., 2002; Suh et al., 1998) and provide tests of an empirically supported explanation for the differences. When people construct judgments about their overall LS, different cultural members place relative emphasis on different aspects of life. Therefore the hypotheses for this study are: There will be correlation between LS and CS amongst International Students from five different countries . There will be a difference in CS between International Students from five different countries There will be a difference in LS between International Students from five different countries. METHOD SECTION Participants A total of 100 students from the University of Northampton (UCN) in Northampton participated in the study. The sample for the current study comprised of 100 students, with twenty participants from each of the five nations India, Africa, China, United Kingdom and Turkey. Participants were selected from these five countries because many students from these countries came across to study in the University of Northampton. All participants were more than 18 years of age. Both males and females between the ages of 18-25 were selected. Each participant was required to complete both Questionnaire Section A of Life Satisfaction and Section B of the Cultural Satisfaction (see Appendix 2). All student participation was voluntary. Apparatus/Measurements The measures for the study were either taken directly or with modification from existing scales as described below. With the exception of the Satisfaction With Life Scale, all the items reported here were answered on a 5-point Likert Scale. Life Satisfaction : Global life satisfaction was measured by the Satisfaction With Life Scale (Diener, Emmons, Larsen, Griffin, 1985) to measure the life satisfaction of the international undergraduate students. The SWLS is a five-item inventory with a 7-point scale. The five items used to measure satisfaction with life are : (a) In most ways my life is close to ideal; (b) The conditions of my life are excellent; (c) I am satisfied with my life; (d) So far I have gotten the important things I want in life; and (e) If I could live my life over, I would change almost nothing. Participants respond to each item on a 7-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree), yielding a possible total score ranging from 5 to 35 (see appendix 2). Satisfaction With Culture: Participants cultural life satisfaction was measured by questions both from Quality of Life Satisfaction Survey (2003) (QLS) (cited in Delhey, 2004) and the 2006 General User Satisfaction Survey (GUSS) (Torbay Council, 2006). Researcher also prepared some of the questions. The Satisfaction with Culture survey is a 70-item Likert scale designed to measure international students cultural satisfaction within six cultural life domains: general, social relationships, job satisfaction, health perception, authority and public safety were considered important influences on individuals life satisfaction. Participants respond to each item on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree) (see appendix 2). General : The general questions about the cultural life satisfaction, which consists of twenty-three out of the 70 items, was added to the beginning of the Cultural life satisfaction scale in order to measure general life satisfaction about the cultural factors. The researcher also prepared the questions from 1 to 19. However, questions 20 to 23 from the general section were obtained from QLS. Students were expected to respond to each item based on a five-point Likert scale from strongly disagree to strongly agree. Examples of items are It is a good place to live, overall quality of life in the city, water quality, noise etc. However, nine items were measured on an ordinal scale that assessed satisfaction with current state of general services (e.g. health services, public transport, education system etc.). Participants again respond to each item on a 5-point scale ranging from 1 (poor) to 5 (very high). Higher values indicate higher LS. Social Relationships : To achieve a high level of joy and happiness in life, people must be socially involved with people. This involves getting along well with others, having friends and companions, and offering help to those who need it. This part evaluates international students social relationships in their home countries through sixteen items. However, five questions about the tensions between different groups were obtained from QLS. Scoring goes from 1 to 5, where 1 corresponds to the answer Very many tensions and 5 to No tension at all. Moreover, eleven questions consisted of general problems about parents, children, teenagers etc. These eleven questions were also prepared by the Researcher. Statements such as parents not taking responsibility for the behaviour of their children, noisy neighbours or loud parties and people being attacked because of their skin colour, ethnic origin or religion etc. The items were also based on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from 1 (a very big p roblem) to 5 (not a problem at all). Job Satisfaction: In this section questions asked students to evaluate their overall Job satisfaction and financial situation. Questions in the Job Satisfaction section were adapted from QLS. A list of seven items was constructed to measure the job satisfaction variable. Items were presented on a 5- point Likert scale ranging from strongly agree to strongly disagree. Items included My work is dull and boring , I am well paid, and My job offers good prospects for career advancement etc. Health Perception : The health perception variable was measured on a Likert scale that assessed satisfaction with current state of health services in international students countries. This section consisted of eight items. Questions 1 to 4 from the health section were obtained from QLS. However, questions from 5 to 8 were obtained from GUSS. Items were presented on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from very satisfied to very dissatisfied where 1 corresponds to the answer very dissatisfied and 5 to very satisfied, and included statements such as waiting time to see doctor on day of appointment, Quality of Hospitals and Deal with patients etc. Authority: The authority section consists of seven items. Question 1 and 7 from the authority section were adapted from GUSS . Also, questions 2 to 6 were prepared by the researcher . The items were rated on a 5-point Likert scale, and included statements such as how satisfied or dissatisfied you are with each of the following services provided or supported by your country City Council such as; Sports/leisure facilities and events, libraries, museum, galleries, theatre etc. Scoring goes from 1 to 5, where 1 corresponds to the answer strongly disagree and 5 to strongly agree. Public Safety: Public safety questions about the cultural life satisfaction, which consists of nine items. Questions in the Public Safety section were prepared by the researcher. Questions include how safe do you feel walking in your neighbourhood during the day? and how safe do you feel walking in your neighbourhood after dark? etc. The responses were based on a 5-point Likert scale ranging from very unsafe to very safe, and 1 (strongly disagree) to 5 (strongly agree). Procedure Before the experiment participants were asked to read the standardised instructions (see appendix 3 ) and to give their consent verbally. According to the standardised instructions, participants were fully informed what the study was going to investigate. The standard instructions informed the students of the purpose of the study; that participation was voluntary and the responses were going to be treated confidentially. Also, it explained the details of what participants would have to do and were allowed to ask any questions. Experimenters informed the participants that the aim of the study was to investigate whether there is a relation between participants general life satisfaction and cultural life satisfaction. By giving their consent to taking part in the study, they were agreeing to be involved in this study and were then asked to sign the consent form (see appendix 4) and read the brief (see appendix 4). After that, participants were asked to fill in the questionnaire. The que stionnaire consisted of two sections; section A and section B. Section A was about the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS; Diener et al., 1985) to measure life satisfaction. The scale comprises of five-items and the responses were made on a 7-point agree-disagree Likert scale (Diener et al., 1985). On the other hand, section B was about cultural life satisfaction (Questions were obtained from QoL). The Satisfaction with Culture survey is a 70-item Likert scale and was designed to measure international students cultural satisfaction. The scale provides scores for six dimensions namely for the participants satisfaction with their nations. The six sections of the cultural satisfaction are: general, social relationships, job satisfaction, health perception, authority and public safety considered important on individuals cultural life satisfaction. According to participants responses, negative scores indicate dissatisfaction, whereas positive scores indicate satisfaction of the specific domain for the individuals life satisfaction. In this experiment, participants were not timed. Therefore, all the participants had the same life satisfaction and cultural satisfaction scale. Participants were also aware that they were allowed to withdraw at anytime without giving reason. After the experiment, the experimenter gave the participants a cue sheet which consisted of a brief explanation of what the study was about and the experimenters e-mail address (see appendix 5). Also, each Life satisfaction scale had the participant number recorded on the top of the paper so, if the participants changed their minds and wanted to retract their results from the study, they could email the experimenter and give their paper number by 01-01-2010. Also, participants were allowed to ask any questions. There was no deception of the participants in this study. Finally, no personal data was requested. As a result, the participants were anonymous . Questionnaires will be kept confidential and securely kept in the locked answers cupboard. Design This study was performed to determine the relation between culture and life satisfaction. The dependent variable of the study was the life satisfaction and the independent variable was culture. In this experiment, participants were sampled around the university campus and each participant received only one questionnaire. All experimenters rated using the same grading criteria. In this experiment, participants used to conduct this study were divided into five groups. These groups were formed according to the students nations which were China, India, UK, Turkey and Nigeria (Africa). Ethics A standard ethics form was completed prior to the study (see appendix 1) and approved by the ethical committee of the University of Northampton. The participants were asked for their consent prior to taking part in the study. Once they had read the standardised instructions (see appendix 3) and the participants were also given the chance to ask any questions. After this, participants were asked to sign their consent (see appendix 4). By giving their consent to taking part in the study, they were agreeing to be involved and to follow the instructions from the study. There was no deception to the participants in this study. They were fully informed of what the study was investigating and what they would have to do. The participants were also given the chance to withdraw at any point while they were taking part. They could also have their data removed. This is essential as the participants need to feel at ease and should not be held against their will. They were informed of this on the standardised instructions (see appendix 3 and 4). To ensure that the participants were comfortable and understood the study that they were taking part in, they were debriefed. This was done both verbally after the study had concluded to give the participant a chance to ask any questions and given a handout which they could keep for reference. This also included a contact email address (see appendix 5). The questionnaires that were completed by the participants involved them answering some questions that, unless they were assured of confidentiality, they may not have wanted to answer. In this study, this is done by there being no personal data requested that could link the participant to the data and researcher keeping the data safe. By taking part in a psychological experiment, some people may be affected and this is why there was a contact email on the debrief for the participants (see appendix 5). There had also been no personal data requested; therefore, the participants could no t be contacted or found even if there was a leak in confidentiality. RESULTS Descriptive Statistics were used to summarize the main features of a collection of this studys data in quantitative terms to see the differences between International Students Life Satisfaction (LS) scores from five different nations (India, China, UK, Turkey and Nigeria). A Pearsons r product moment correlation coefficient test was carried out to test if the correlation between Life Satisfaction and the six subsections of the Cultural Satisfaction (General, Social Relationship, Job, Health, Authority and Public Safety Satisfaction) were statistically significant or not with data at interval/ratio level. Partial correlation also used for International Students from five different nations to describe the association between LS and the six subsections of the Cultural Satisfaction (CS) whilst taking away the effects of nationality on this relationship. An analysis of One-Way between subjects ANOVA was also used to see whether international students from five different nations differed i n any six subsections of the CS. A Post-Hoc Tukey test, which is generally used in conjunction with an ANOVA, was also carried out to see whether each nations mean differences between the six aspects of the CS were significantly different from one another. Descriptive Statistics In this study, descriptive statistics are used to describe the main features of a collection of data in quantitative such as mean, median, standard deviation that summarize and interpret some of the properties of a set of data. The participants score from the Life Satisfaction (LS) questions on the LS survey, were collected and entered into SPSS. (see appendix 6). Descriptive statistics were calculated for each of the five nations to obtain the mean scores of Life Satisfaction. Descriptive statistics for five countries are presented in Table 1 below. The descriptive statistics showed that Turkish (Mean= 5.70, SD=0.92) and UK (Mean=5.15, SD= 1.46) students reported the highest life satisfaction scores, and these groups in turn reported higher mean life satisfaction scores than Indian students (Mean=4.40, SD=1.18), Chinese students (Mean=4.75, SD=1.11) and Nigerian students (Mean=4.85, SD=1.22). Indian (Mean= 4.40) and Chinese (Mean=4.75) students were the least satisfied with life. Descriptive statistics also show that Indian students reported the lowest mean scores; these students were less satisfied with their life satisfaction than students from the other four countries. Moreover, it is obvious that Turkish students were the most satisfied with their life satisfaction than the other four countries. Pearsons (r) product moment correlation coeffient In order to test the hypothesis 1, that there will be correlation between Life Satisfaction (LS) and Cultural Satisfaction (CS) amongst International Students from five different countries, a Pearsons (r) product moment correlation coefficient tests (calculations obtained from the SPSS program is shown in Appendix 6) was used to find strength of the correlation between Life Satisfaction and the six aspects of the cultural satisfaction with data at interval/ratio level (see Table 2). Pearsons correlation coefficients results showed that there was no statistically significant correlations between Life Satisfaction and any other subsections of the Cultural Satisfaction because P value is more than 0.05 (p0.05) for each of the subsections. Results from both Pearsons and Partial correlation coefficient indicates that we accept the null hypothesis which is there is not any correlation between LS and CS amongst International Students. One-way between subjects ANOVA test An analysis of the data using One-way between subjects ANOVA was carried out to see whether there were differences in any subsections of the cultural satisfaction (CS) across the five nations (see appendix 6 for calculations). Seven one-way ANOVAs were conducted between the international students from five nationalities (India, China, UK, Turkey, and Nigeria) and subsections (general, social relationships, job, health, authority and public safety satisfaction) of the CS domains. Results can be seen in table 4. A one-way between subjects ANOVA was conducted to compare the international students scores from five different nations (India, China, Turkey, UK, Nigeria) to see whether there were differences in Life Satisfaction (LS) and each of the cultural satisfaction variables, which are general satisfaction, social relationship satisfaction, job satisfaction, health satisfaction, authority satisfaction and public safety satisfaction. One-way ANOVA found a statistically significant difference in the level of LS in relation to the four aspects of social relationship satisfaction (F(4,95)= 2.89, p

Monday, December 23, 2019

Utilitarianism A Man Named Joe Is Dying Of Aids

Dan Simons Ethics Mill Paper 10/28/14 Utilitarianism The Topic that is have chosen is Topic #1 which is â€Å"What is utilitarianism? Suppose a man named Joe is dying of AIDS. He requests that his doctor prescribe him a lethal dose of medication in order to end his life now, before the worst suffering from AIDS begins. His family objects to this. How would Mill advise the doctor? What sort of questions would he ask? What facts would be relevant to evaluating the case and why would they be relevant?† in the following I will be presenting what utilitarianism is, how Mill would advise the doctor, and why he would advise the doctor, and what evidence would he use to persuade the doctor. Along with what the difference is between act and rule†¦show more content†¦Gay’s belief was that God had created humans to be happy, and that his will is that humans are to be happy. Bentham expanded upon these ideas. Bentham introduced the idea of the Hedonic Calculus, which is meant to determine the value of bot h pleasures, and pains. Mill then further defined utilitarianism by the quality of the utility rather than the quantity of it. He argued that intellectual (higher) pleasures where better than physical (lower) pleasures. Mill argues that pleasures aren’t to be considered happiness, and that they are a means to an end known as Virtue, which in the beginning wasn’t the end, however it can become so. The idea of ideal utilitarianism brought into light by G.E. Moore who goes into depth of what ideal utilitarianism means. G.E. Moore suggests that hedonistic utilitarianism was not ideal, however that there are ranging ideas, and values that could be maximized. Moore argues that is impossible for pleasure to be the only measure of what is ideal. These values although all come from different backgrounds, and have different theories argue that what benefits society are moral actions, which will cause happiness. Though some actions maybe considered immoral for some others they ar e considered moral such as mercy killing. Consider the following, a man by the name of Joe is dying of Aids, due to the severity of his condition he asked his doctor to give him a lethal dose of

Sunday, December 15, 2019

Specific User System Requirements Free Essays

Specific Requirements This section provides comprehensive details on all requirements. It should include all of the details which the designer will need to create the design. The details that is shown below should be defined as individual specific requirements such as User Requirements and System Requirements. We will write a custom essay sample on Specific User System Requirements or any similar topic only for you Order Now It also contains all of the software requirements to a level of detail sufficient to enable designer to design a system to satisfy those requirements and testers to test that the system satisfies those requirements. User Requirements The user must enter the correct username and password otherwise they cannot access through the system. The system should reports invalid log in errors. The system shall provide a facility in changing user accounts: Username and Password allowing the users to modify their accounts. The system should report any violation. The system should automatically generate bills and receipt, and other functional reports. The system can also void purchase order and should include search facility on different products information. The system should keep records on every actions that has been made. System Requirements 1. Log in and log out a. Users must be able to log in and log out b. The users must enter correct user accounts to access the system c. The users can change their accounts 2. Viewing the system main menu a. The system should have a clear and user friendly interface. 3. Rendering order transaction a. The system should provide bills and receipt 4. Viewing / Retrieving / Modifying records a. The user must be able to create and update records 5. Viewing and evaluation of records How to cite Specific User System Requirements, Papers

Saturday, December 7, 2019

Billy Budd Essay Research Paper Joyce Carol free essay sample

Billy Budd Essay, Research Paper Joyce Carol Oates writes that Herman Melville? s novels have artistic trouble because he uses fiction composing as a preachy parable. Oates believes that Melville? s authorship is raging for the modern reader to construe because of modern-day outlooks that composing be entertaining and less like a heavy discourse. Oates believes a modern-day reader must go educated in the fact that Melville? s characters are word picture of thoughts, non characters in a play, in order to do sense of his work. Additionally, Oates thinks Melville? s bulky, extended sentences and exalted vocabulary about prevents a reading of his work for pleasance. Any beauty of the narrative is hidden in a tangle of large words. This is a true analysis of Melville. It can be confirmed and explained by a brief illustration of modern-day outlooks from a novel, a speedy expression at the life of Melville, and some existent samples from the novel, Billy Budd. We will write a custom essay sample on Billy Budd Essay Research Paper Joyce Carol or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Today? s reader? s know Melville best from the fresh Moby Dick. Movies were made of this narrative. It is a narrative synonymous with sea escapade to most people. Contemporary readers buy and read a narrative that moves through a clear beginning, center and terminal. Best selling books on the Internet site, Amazon.com. are The Hours, by Michael Cunningham and The Pilot # 8217 ; s Wife by Anita Shreve. These are interesting, fast paced narratives. Melvile didn? T seem to desire to compose narratives. He was excessively serious a adult male for narratives. Herman Melville helped his female parent raise a big household and overcome deep debt left from his male parent? s decease. This undertaking left Melville depressed. Throughout his life, he held a pessimistic position. Bad intelligence caught his attending quicker than cheerful intelligence. Calamities and trials at sea were his favourite intelligence points and inspired some of his Hagiographas. One of Melville? s foremost poems was called # 8220 ; Billy in the Darbies # 8221 ; . In it he wrote of a existent crewman who had been apprehended, tried, and sentenced to han g over a mutiny secret plan. This verse form expanded into the prose work, Billy Budd. The rubric character is a immature crewman who murders a average master-at-arms in a tantrum of justifiable rage. The struggle between the good Billy Budd and the evil character, John Claggart eventually centres on Captain Vere. The Captain has the duty in finding right from incorrect. Readers may look up to or disapprove of Captain Vere for his determination to condemn Billy Budd to decease by public hanging, if they care plenty at the terminal of their reading labour to hold an sentiment. While seeking to screen out the moral inquiries in Billy Budd, the reader must read through elaborate and hard authorship. Melville? s authorship is excessively descriptive. Describing one minor character? s sentiment of an Admiral Nelson, near the beginning of the book, this sentence shows the chief job with Melville for the modern-day reader ; They may add, excessively, Trafalgar it was in consequence nil less than a challenge to decease ; and decease came ; and that but for is bravado the winning admiral might perchance hold survived the conflict, and so, alternatively of holding his perspicacious deceasing injunctions overruled by his immediate replacement in bid, he himself when the competition was decided might hold brought his tattered fleet to ground, a proceeding which might hold averted the distressing loss of life by shipwreck in the elemental storm that followed the soldierly 1. ( Melville 306 ) In decision, Melville is hard to read due to his complicated sentence construction and vocabulary. The complex moral inquiries in the novel Billy Budd is one with no immediate reply. The modern reader attacks Melville with the outlook for a quick paced play that leads to a decision and finds slow, difficult reading that leads to an unfastened ended issue of right and incorrect. The modern reader concerns about happening significance in the tangle of slippery words instead than considers the art and beauty of good authorship.

Friday, November 29, 2019

Huck Finns Journey To Morality Essays - Huckleberry Finn

Huck Finn's Journey To Morality Huckleberry Finn's Journey to Morality In Mark Twain's novel Adventures of Huckleberry Finn we see through the eyes of a brilliant child, the prejudice world he lives in, and the reality that is thrown at him in his journey down the Mississippi River. He learns to see the true society he is a part of by encountering many different characters. These characters will unknowingly turn this innocent and perceptive young boy into a moral-based and caring young man. Miss Watson tries to show Huck the good of Christianity, while the King and Duke prove to him that there are always some people left in the world who are inhumane. With both of these influences, Huck's morals become as strong as they possibly can. He goes against society to save a man whom he never considered would be a friend for life. Huck is unable to grasp Miss Watson's religion. He does not care for the past and takes no stock in dead people?(Twain 4). Miss Watson tells Huck that if he prays for something, he will get it. Huck tests the theory and is let down. He says, ?It warn't so. I tried it. Once I got a fish-line, but no hooks. I tried for the hooks three times, but somehow I couldn't make it work? (Twain 12). The hypocrisy is that Huck prays for the hooks, does not receive them, and wonders why. What he does not realize is that he cannot pretend to act like he understands the whole concept, and expect to receive the hooks. After Huck is taken by his father and escapes down the river, he gets hungry, and bread reaches him down the river. Huck thinks the bread is sent to him because of Miss Watsons' prayers. He realizes he may not understand it all but says, there's something in it when a body like the widow or the parson prays, but it don't work for me, and I reckon it don't work for only just the right ki nd?(Twain 37). Continuing on his way with Jim, Huck comes upon two classic characters, the King and Duke. From the beginning, the two hypocrites never once are their true identities, and Huck is aware of this. Huck says, ?Then he turns around, blubbering, and makes a lot idiotic signs to the Duke on his hands, and blamed if he didn't drop a carpet bag and bust out a-crying. If they warn't the beatenest lot, them two frauds, that I ever struck? (Twain 157). What Huck doesn't realize are the great lengths the two will go to, to get what they want. The two frauds do their best to play the role of the Wilks' brothers and try to corrupt Mary Jane and her sisters. Huck is morally against the King and Dukes' plan. He realizes he has got to get the money and expose the two frauds because of his adoration for Mary Jane. Huck reaches a moral dilemma and decides to tell the truth for the first time in his life. He says I'm blest if it don't look to me like the truth is better and actuly safer than a lie?(Twai n 180). As Huck continues on his journey, Jim has become a companion in Huck's eyes. Jim is no longer just another slave, but a real person to Huck. After Jim is captured and taken away from Huck, Huck will face the greatest challenge he has ever faced. He has to go against society, or go with his morals and save Jim. Huck tries to tell God he will be a better person, but deep inside he knows he will not. He says, ?I was letting on to give up sin, but away inside of me I was holding on to the greatest one of all? (Twain 205). This realization in Huck is so great and so morally mature that he understands he is unable pretend to be something he is not. Before he tears up the letter to Miss Watson, he says, ?All right, then, I'll go to hell? (Twain 206). It is obvious that Huck is the only moral character in the story. For a boy of such young age

Monday, November 25, 2019

SmallBizMaster Classes you never thought would help in an online business

SmallBizMaster Classes you never thought would help in an online business Classes you never thought would help you in an online business Did you wonder why you had to suffer through most of the courses you took from kindergarten to the completion of your education? Do you remember the sense of joy with which you emptied your locker on the last day of school?Advertising We will write a custom article sample on SmallBizMaster Classes you never thought would help in an online business specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Were you one of those kids who abandoned books, papers, pencils, extra clothes, and any recollection of the content of your classes the moment the semester was completed? Did you vow never to crack a book again, once you had your mortarboard? You are not alone. However, there were sound reasons for most if not all of your courses and you may find them remarkably useful when trying to start or grow a small business, even if you missed the memo back in school. Writing, reading, manipulating numbers, all should seem like rather obvious skills for a small independent businessperson. However, understanding statistics, using artistic principles, and grasping the import of current events are just a few of the additional competencies you will need as an entrepreneur. Let’s look at some of the classes that you never imagined would enter your consciousness again after you closed the textbook for the last time. The three Rs: It may seem so boring to hear this again, but everyone needs to know how to read. You need to be able to read analytically and critically. This means being able to summarize what is said, identify and articulate how the writer made their point or achieved their effect, and assess the quality of their arguments. These skills from literature and rhetoric class are the best defense against propaganda or scams, and allow you to identify where a speaker or writer is making an unsupportable assertion, rather than merely feeling uncomfortable with what is being con tended without knowing why. Furthermore, you need to be able to persuade and influence others. Don’t you want them to purchase your product or servc9e? If anyone is going to have an impact using words, shouldn’t it be you? Whether mathematics was fun or terrifying to you, you will need it in business. Until you can hire someone to do all your quantitative thinking for you, you will need to be able to do the calculations involved in setting up and managing your enterprise. Figuring taxes involves math, but even deciding whether you owe taxes and how much involves calculating your income minus your expenses. If you took business math, you are ahead of the game.Advertising Looking for article on education? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Lies, Damn Lies, And †¦ The complexities of determining how successful you are and how to be more so may require a bit more than just math. You need to understand som e basic statistics as well. Perhaps you have heard the humorist Evan Esar’s definition of statistics, â€Å"The science of producing unreliable facts from reliable figures. As a businessperson, you need to be able to understand what the data you observe imply. These days, as well, with Big Data as a hot commodity, you need to be able to assess whether a particular statistical measure is worth purchasing. Art: You may have wondered where you would ever use what you learned in History of Art, if you were lucky enough to take it. However, every time you update your business web page, you will need to use the principles of design. The same design ideas that make a classical painting pleasing and effective: balance, emphasis, movement, and so forth, make your web site and your marketing effective. Social Studies: Remember all that emphasis on current events? A businessperson has to keep current and spot trends in the news in order to anticipate and respond to the marketplace. You r ability to track and analyze news and trends could mean the difference between your capturing, or missing out on, important opportunities. Those fusty musty courses were doubtless a pain at the time. However, you will be pleased to have those skills under your belt and in your portfolio when you are trying to establish and grow your business.

Friday, November 22, 2019

Budgeting and Financing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Budgeting and Financing - Essay Example No matter how one refer to it, it's a tool to help him/her to prioritize spending and manage money-no matter how much or how little he/she has. A fiscal deficit is regarded by some as a positive economic event. For example, economist John Maynard Keynes believed that deficits help countries climb out of economic recession. On the other hand, fiscal conservatives feel that governments should avoid deficits in favor of a balanced budget policy. Fiscal deficit is an economic phenomenon, where the Government's total expenditure surpasses the revenue generated. It is the difference between the government's total receipts (excluding borrowing) and total expenditure. Fiscal deficit gives the signal to the government about the total borrowing requirements from all sources. The fiscal deficit is the difference between the government's total expenditure and its total receipts (excluding borrowing). The elements of the fiscal deficit are (a) the revenue deficit, which is the difference between the government's current (or revenue) expenditure and total current receipts (that is, excluding borrowing) and (b) capital expenditure. The fiscal deficit can be financed by borrowing from the Reserve Bank of UK (which is also called deficit financing or money creation) and market borrowing (from the money market that is mainly from banks). It is the fund used by an establishment to produce physical assets like property, equipments or industrial buildings. Capital expenditure is made by the establishment to consistently maintain the operational activities. Arguments: Fiscal deficit lead to inflation According to the view of renowned economist John Maynard Keynes, fiscal deficits facilitate nations to escape from economic recession. From another point of view, it is believed that government needs to avoid deficits to maintain a balanced budget policy. In order to relate high fiscal deficit to inflation, some economists believe that the portion of fiscal deficit. Expert recommendation Financial advisors recommend that the Government should not promote disinvestment to reduce fiscal deficits. Fiscal deficit can be reduced by bringing up revenues or by lowering expenditure. Logically, there are two ways in which the fiscal deficit can be reduced - by raising revenues or by reducing expenditure. However given the character of our State and the constraints of a liberalized economy, the government has not increased revenues. In fact, in budget after budget the government has actually given away tax cuts to the rich. Even when it has tried to raise revenues, it has been through counterproductive means like disinvestment. The main impact of the policy of reduced fiscal deficits has therefore been on the government's expenditure. This has had a number of effects. First, government investment in sectors such as agriculture has been cut. Secondly, expenditure on social sectors like education, health and poverty alleviation has been reduced leading to greater hardship for the poor already bearing the brunt of liberalization. Perhaps most importantly, in an economy going through a recession the government is not allowed to play any role in boosting demand. CATEGORY B Q. No. 1 Why

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

In What Ways Has Technology Impacted the Way We Train Employees Research Paper

In What Ways Has Technology Impacted the Way We Train Employees - Research Paper Example Training is an integral part of human resources. Recently the human resource industry has adapted to a lot of changes due to the developments in technology. Nowadays human resource managers have to be prepared for organizational transformation and adaptations. Hence the HR function must be capable of guaranteeing the employability of collaborators without compromising the flexibility of the organization. This is due to the fact that people form a part of the organization due to their talents and abilities and not because to their past knowledge. At a certain point of time, when the managers feel that a particular employee is redundant to the organization then they have to leave them in a situation where in an employee can easily incorporate into another work profile or a new job. Human resource management policies must be designed to emphasise more on accepting change and the changing attitudes. In a way these policies are designed to make employees responsible for their own achievem ents. A technical system needs to be developed which helps to facilitate the employees to solve most problems related to their job themselves and without the intervention of higher hierarchical levels. In the human resource field, this idea needs to be incorporated as technology can make it possible for employees to manage their own database, update and access it directly, get online training, performance assessment, transfer or any other miscellaneous official matters which affects the employee. This idea is known as employee self – service. In order to facilitate the successful implementation of this idea, certain technological development needs to be made. Chief among this is the existence of intranet. This is a tool which facilitates collaboration and communication in the organization. It helps to streamline processes and provide updated information to the staff with updated information. This is a useful tool as it makes possible to reach employees working in the same fir m but whose work place may be located across the globe. Training modules can be updated on the intranet and the human resource can update and impart online training to overseas as well as domestic employees. (Gasco, Llopis & Gonzalez, 2004). Nowadays a lot of organizations are leveraging technology to create virtual teams which can work at the same time from difference places by using video conferencing, e – mails, teleconferencing and instant messages. The same tool has been incorporated by the human resource to provide virtual training to employees. A human resource leader may impart training to various employees located at different places at the same time by using any of the above mentioned tools. However an important challenge lies in using and identifying the proper technology suited to meet the purpose. Especially in case of online training it is recommended that one selects the right method to impart online training. This is especially because this kind of training do es not allow any scope for face – to – face interaction. Hence, the trainer must choose the proper medium of training which will facilitate the trainees to clear doubts online. Also the trainer should see that the technology selected for this purpose is user friendly. In other words, the trainees and the trainer should have expert knowledge on the kind of technology used for the training to

Monday, November 18, 2019

Dealing with the Homosexual Condition inside the Christian Church Research Paper

Dealing with the Homosexual Condition inside the Christian Church - Research Paper Example During prime time television, it is ok to see women kissing other women and men â€Å"living together† with their fellow men and many find these shows a reflection of the real world. Many gay couples are now officially married and have a wonderful â€Å"family† together by adopting and giving unwanted and orphaned children homes. A few decades back people would have been thrown into dumpsters for dressing in drag but now it is now common to see gays everywhere and expressing who they are in whatever manner they seem fit. All of us have people we know who are part of the LGBT community and we are even friends with some. Being Christians, we are expected by society and by the Almighty to adhere to certain values and make it the foundation of our decisions and judgments (Article 7). With the outpouring of support for the LGBT community, Christians and the Church are often the target of criticism for not being open and welcoming to homosexuals. Many Christians are labeled a s homophobes and it’s as if the tides have turned for the church and the LGBT Community. The Holy Scriptures serves as our guide in dealing with moral issues including that of homosexuality however, there is still contention on how the church should act with regards to homosexuals who are outside and inside the church. Where does compassion end and where will fortitude draw the line in dealing with the homosexual condition inside the church? What is the right attitude for us Catholics with regards to the acceptance of homosexuals in our communities and other denominations? And for homosexuals inside the Church, how should they see themselves and how should they respond to the redemption given to us by Jesus’ suffering on the cross? I. The Stand of the Church on Homosexuality For the Catholic Church, the practice of homosexuality is a grave sin. That was well established in the Letter to the Bishops of the Catholic Church on the Pastoral Care of Homosexual Persons (Ratz inger). But it is also stipulated in the document circular that these brothers and sisters should still be treated with respect as is due every person created by God and helped through pastoral care to pursue chastity. The Christian world is considerably a lot kinder to the homosexuals these days but that was not the case in the past. There may have been some actions of the Christian community that promoted stigma and injustice towards people that has this sexual condition. This stigma caused alienation of the homosexual from the faith and does not cater to their spiritual needs (Calimlim 18-19). A. Traditional Means of Dealing with Homosexuality by the Church Contrary to what most supporters of homosexuality might say, the Bible is very explicit in the condemning of homosexual acts as sin. When God created man in His own image He made the distinction that â€Å"†¦man and woman, He created them† (Genesis1:27) – God created only 2 sexes and nothing in between and t he only meaningful, sexual relationship that the Lord sanctified for people is in the context of marriage between man and woman. The Lord’s destructive wrath and judgment on Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19 was caused largely by the lust that the men had for their same sex in those cities –

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Taboo Language In The Elf Classroom English Language Essay

Taboo Language In The Elf Classroom English Language Essay Nowadays, theEnglish language is very important and spread widely all around the world. Everybody has their own reason why they study English language, for example business contacts, study, exams, and for daily life. In fact, the teacher teaches only Standard English in the English classroom. There are few teachers that mention non-standard English such as taboo words in their classroom. What are taboo words? Taboo words aresanctioned or restricted on both institutional and individual levels under the assumption that some harm will occur if a taboo word is spoken. The exact nature of harm to befall the speaker, listener, or society has never been entirely clear (Heins, 2007). We use taboo wordsto be emotionally expressive, but people use taboo words with their friends to show the depth of their relationship and there are many reasonswhy we use taboo words.This essay will show understanding about taboo words. The readers will have better understandingabout taboo words through these qu estions: Why do we have to know taboo words? Why do speakers use taboo English? How often do people say taboo words and who says them? How important of taboo word between L1 and L2. What are the most frequently used taboo words compare with their own language and English language? Why dont students often use taboo words? How do we use taboo words? When should we use taboo words? Why dont teachers put taboo in the lesson? How do they receive taboo? The perspective of taboo words has changed from past to present. Taboo words were unacceptable from ten or fifteen years ago. The BBC has a list of words whichare not allowed to be used on broadcasts but there are increasing use of taboo words in the contemporary media contextas you can see in the present(Arndt, Harrey and Nuttall, 2000).In real life, native speakers dont only the Standard English sometimes they speak slang, taboo words or swear words. When they shout of you with taboo words, do you know what do they want or what dose it mean if you dont know the meaning of taboo word? They might insult you or they might want to hurt or threaten you. The reason that taboo words should be taught parallel with Standard English is because students are aware when they are threatened or are insulted. Its not necessary just for protecting themselves from danger but it is used more and more frequently in everyday speech and is becoming increasingly common in songs particularly in the lyric s of popular hip-hop music, and in the media. There are many studies which have indicated that taboo words occur frequently in everyday speech, especiallyin arguments (Jay Janschewitz, 2008). Reasons for using taboo words depend on the conversational goals of speaker for example feeling (expressing pain, frustration, annoy, anger), adding emphasis to statements whether positive or negative in context.In addition,if youre with a group of close friends, the more relaxed you are, the more you swear (sign of comfortableness).Or the reason of acceptance in some social circle for example, in a group of workmen, they said If you dont join in, you are thought an outside (Wright, 1974).There are a lot ofstudies which have showed that those who swearregularly suffer less from stress than those who do not such as if I say motherfucker it makes me feel better that when I say darn (WEB). There are researches that have indicated that taboo words appear to cause less anxiety when spoken in a foreign language. L1 and L2 are frequently learned in different context. The L1 is learned in the context of family life and thus generally includes emotional extremes and usually also an individuals earliest encounters with the gamut of human emotions (Schrauf, 2000). An L2 is frequently the language of school, work, and professional achievement and thus comes to be associated with emotional control, autonomy, and achievement (Dewaele Pavlenko, 2002).Taboo words are remembered better than nontaboo words that similar idea with research about recalling taboo words has showed that the arousing properties of taboo words produce vivid memories without elaborative processing, which may be sufficient to override the burden of limited attentional resources. On the other hand, nonarousing words rely on elaborative processing for better memories (recalling taboo and nontaboo words, 2008).P eople respond to taboo wordsin L1 better that L2. They have strong reaction to emotionallyladen childhood reprimands in the L1 but not the L2 (Harris, 2003).They prefer to use taboo wordsfrequentlyin their own language more thanEnglish languagebecause they have confidence and they know how to use and when to use it in their own language. In the English language, they lack confidence and experience taboo words because taboo words in English can be expressed in many forms not only in negative form. As mentioned before, international students do not often use taboo in the English language because they are not sure about grammar, situation andlack of confidence. It will not surprise if students do not often use taboo in English language because taboo words can be used in many forms of grammarsuch as noun, verb, adjective or even adverb, for example the word fuck. It can be explained in grammar as following table. The Grammar Of Fuck Anintransitive verb. Jeffry fucks. Atransitive verb. Jeffry fucked Mary. An adjective. Its so fucking cold. As part of an adverb. Jeffry eats too fucking much. As an adverb intensifying an adjective. Jeffry is fucking handsome. As a noun. Jeffry doesnt give a fuck. As aninfix (part of a word). Thats abso-fucking-lutely wonderful! Adapted From: (Hoster, 2005) Other way to be express taboo words in many functions and many feeling The Functions Of Fuck Greetings How the fuck are you? Difficulty I dont understand the fucking question. Fraud I got fucked by the car dealer. Despair Fucked again. Dismay Oh, fuck it! Incompetence He fucks up everything. Trouble Well, I guess Im fucked now. Displeasure What the fuck is going on here? Aggression Fuck you! Lost Where the fuck are we? Disgust Fuck me. Disbelief Unfucking believable. Confusion What the fuck? Retaliation Up your fucking ass. Adapted From: (Hoster, 2005) The Grammar Of Taboo English Use 1. As separate utterances (expletives and abusives): Shit! Jesus Christ! You Bastard! 2. As adsentences (loosely tied to a sentence, before or after): Shit! I forgot all about that. You have to tell me, for Gods sake! 3. As major constituents of a sentence (Subject, verb, adverb etc.): That stupid bastard came to see me. He fucks up everything. He managed God damn it to get his degree. 4. As part of a constituent of a sentence (adjective, adverb:) This fucking train is always late! Hes got a bloody big mouth. 5. As part of a word (compound or derivational, as prefix, suffix or infix): Thats abso-bloody-lutely wonderful news. Thats a fan-fucking-tastic job. Adapted From: (Hoster, 2005) Teachers didnt teach taboo words in the English classroom because they think that its not necessary. In fact, it depends on student needs, for instance people who want to study business. They dont need to study any taboo words because when they do business, they use just terminology words to talk with partner or boss. On the other hand, if they hang out with friends in the evening after work they might have to speak or understand taboo in communication. In additional, hip-hop groups always use taboo words in their music or even in their communications in daily life. So if students want to join in a peer group or they just want to know the meaning of hip-hop song. They need to understand the meaning of those taboo words and know how to use it as well. So teacher cannot decide that they need to teach or they dont need to teach, but it depends on students needs. People think that taboo words should not be allowed to be taught in the English classroom because its rude and inappropriate e specially teacher and older. Taboo words are used in many form not only used to insult or abuse. In some situations, we use taboo words in adverbs to clarify the picture. For example,Jeffry eats too fucking much. It means that he eats a lot more than human being eat. In the present, taboo words are used more openly, publicly and with more confidence than ever before(Hoster, 2005). Another case, teachers do not often teach taboo words in the English classroom because teachers are not familiar to taboo words for the reason that they arent native speakers. There are few natives that teach in Asia,for example in Thailand. Most teachers are Thai people they have few knowledge about taboo words in the English language because they never learn it and they never use it in daily life. If students are interested in this topic, Thai teachers cannot explain to them. If students want to study with natives, they have to pay extra money just for few hours of teaching which is quite expensive. So t hey dont have a chance to learn daily unless Standard English. We learn about taboos through the socialization of speech practices, which creates an oral or folk knowledge of swearing etiquette. Reports that swear words occur frequently in everyday speech are consistent with the argument that native speakers of any culture learn when and with whom it is appropriate to use taboo words (elaborated in Jay Janschewitz, 2008). Everybody has heard taboo or uses taboo words outside the classroom. In reality, there are many ways that we receive taboo words outside the classroom such as friends, movies, television and music. As I mentioned before, television is allowedusing taboo words morefrequently than the past because it might be the best way to communicate. According to Hoster (2005) 75% percent of the respondents in the British study thought Taboo English was a fact of life and acceptable in certain situations.In the present music has became a connection between people although they are different nationality, religion or language. Teenagers exchan ge their culture or language through music. So they can receive taboo words through music and friends who like the same kind of music, especially Hip-hop music. Hip-hop music uses slang and taboo words in the music to make their music is outstanding or to be different. So music is an important way that everyone can receive taboo words. This essay has discussed the taboo words in English classroom which include many topics. For example, the importance of taboo words, the ways people receive taboo words and the reason the teachers dont teach taboo words in classroom. There are few teachers teach taboo words in the English classroom. Although it isnt necessary, it is used in every day life. People who travel on the bus or walk on the street each day, is in agreement that Taboo English was being heard more frequently in the public arena. Moreover, these teachers were in agreement that the younger generation was using taboo language more frequently in public.à  Ã‚ ¸-à  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ³Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ £Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¹Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸-à  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¶Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã‹â€ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ªÃƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ­Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã… ¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ £Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ²Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ °Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ £Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¹Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã‹â€ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã†â€™Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã…  Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã‹â€ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‹â€ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬ °Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ²Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ­Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚  Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ²Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ©Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ²,tabooà  Ã‚ ¸Ã…“à  Ã‚ ¹Ã‹â€ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ²Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã… ¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¥Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬ ¡, à  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã‹â€ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ²Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â€š ¬Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ £Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ µÃƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¢Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â€ž ¢Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã‚ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã… ¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬ ¡Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ¡Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¹Ã‹â€ Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ªÃƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ³Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚ ±Ãƒ  Ã‚ ¸Ã‚  A project commissioned by the British Broadcasting Standards Commission in 1999 investigating audience attitudes towards taboo words, found that just over half (54%) of the respondents thought that there was too much swearing and offensive language on television However, other participants, notably those who travelled on the bus each day, were in agreement that Taboo English was being heard more frequently in the public arena. I am becoming more aware of younger people swearing more openly, publicly and with more confidence than ever before. When I travel by bus, I hear most of these words quite frequently. Especially in the mornings from high school students. If the pedestrians are passing groups of school children they will hear a lot of swearing.

Wednesday, November 13, 2019

slavery in 18th century Essays -- Slavery Essays

slavery in 18th century Despite the horror of the word slavery we have to admit that slaves have played a big role in rising big empires. For example the Egyptians used slaves to build their majestic pyramids, the Chinese and Indian used slaves for large-scale construction and agricultural and the Hebrews also used slaves. Slaves were brought from Africa to the British American colonies to work in agriculture and farming, which among other factors made the British colonies in America become so strong and prosperous. The slaves of the British American colonies were mainly from African west coast. It is important to note that slavery was present in African communities long before white traders sent African slaves to Europe and America. Slaves in Africa were those tribal people captured in confrontations between tribes and sold to Arab traders. The first traders to introduce slaves to the American colonies were the Portuguese who were later followed by the Spanish. Brought from Africa by way of different routes but in particular, the "Middle Passage" or directly from Africa to the Indies, slaves would travel in ships packed like sardines and under the most horrible conditions. Perhaps the most logical reason to try to explain the boom of slavery in America and anywhere is it was a very profitable business. In the case of America, the first slave trades were done for mere profit but then it became a necessity because of the increasing demand for working hands in the ...

Monday, November 11, 2019

Pressures Faced by Media Organizations During War Essay

While wars kill people, destroy lives and economies and create lasting hatreds, they often bring great benefits to a minority of people. Wars are great for the national cohesion of a country, wars allow unpopular rulers to gather support for themselves and rally the masses behind them. Wars may also benefit the manufacturers of arms and ammunition and military equipment, mercenary forces or other industries. Wartimes are often periods of great emotional upheaval and peoples’ patriotic and nationalistic feelings rise to a great intensity. During wars people are inclined to be less suspicious of government motives and more complaint to government commands and recommendations. However, generally wars cause much more harm than good and a section of the public often opposes war. During war times governments often rely on the national media to back their military policy and answer and refute the critics of war in their behalf. Media organizations face pressure from the government, the masses, the corporations and the military to conceal or distort facts or to report the war in a certain way. In a democratic country, the citizens depend on the media to inform them objectively whether a certain governmental policy is in their best interests or not. Often the rulers of a country decide to go to war, while the people are reluctant. In such situations the government may pressurize media organizations to convince the public of the need for war. This situation occurred in the United States at the start of the World War I. The American public saw no reason to enter war against Germany at the behalf of Britain. The President Woodrow Wilson, on the other hand pledged to enter war in the aid of Britain. In April 1917 as the US entered the war, Wilson formed the Committee on Public Information (CPI) to convince the American intellectuals to support US entry into the war. The committee flooded the country with speakers and propaganda posters. Newspapers were flooded with news releases denouncing the Germans and leveling true and false accusations at them (Ponder). While at war governments often wish that the war be seen as a moral cause, wars that are fought for mercenary reasons or out of a misguided or extreme conception of patriotism are portrayed as morally sanctioned campaign to bring about a noble goal. Members of the media are expected to use this narrative in their reporting. Those who question the righteousness of the cause may face punitive actions of various types. During the Vietnam War, the media was employed by the American government as a tool against the anti-war movement. Anti-war protesters were portrayed as traitors, giving aid and comfort to the Vietcong and North Vietnamese enemy. It was not until a large number of elected officials had declared their opposition to the ongoing war, that it became acceptable for the media to discuss the motives and assumptions behind the conflict and the righteousness of America’s cause. However the general tone of the war coverage was highly ‘patriotic’ as if the presence of the US forces in Vietnam were most natural and it were the Vietcong who were foreign invaders (Hallin). Compared to previous administrations, the Nixon administration had to face a lot more public skepticism and widespread anti-war sentiments. The television networks too, started showing a lot more criticism of the administrations war policies. The administrations response was to appeal to the affiliate TV channels, which were mostly owned by rich, white, conservatives, to bear pressure upon the news networks to reduce the extent of their criticism (Hallin). The success of the establishment’s efforts to present the war as a moral goal is heavily dependant upon the public’s perception of the enemy as the epitome of evil. Therefore the establishment may try to suppress any discussion in the media that portrays the enemy as having any positive quality whatsoever. Soon after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, comedian Bill Maher, on his TV show ‘Politically Incorrect’ questioned President Bush’s comment that the attackers were cowardly. One of the guests on the show, political analyst Dinesh D’Souza replied that the word was inaccurate when applied to the attackers, they were not cowards but warriors, agreeing with him Maher said, â€Å"We have been the cowards, lobbing cruise missiles from 2,000 miles away. That’s cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building, say what you want about it, it’s not cowardly. † (Jones) This comment provoked a storm of fury in the public, in the media and the government. The comment was condemned by President Bush’s spokesman Ari Fleischer who said, â€Å"There are reminders to all Americans that they need to watch what they say, watch what they do and this is not a time for remarks like that; there never is. † (Jones). As a result of the controversy generated by the comment, the show ‘Politically Incorrect’ was deprived of advertising revenue and was cancelled a few months later (Jones). One of the most common themes employed in pro-war propaganda is the identification of the military campaign as a campaign for the human rights of ordinary people. This propaganda is severely threatened by the news of civilian causalities. Therefore governments at war wish may wish to suppress or minimize the impact of news mentioning civilian casualties caused as a result of their soldiers’ actions. In order to portray the conflict with the enemy as a struggle between good and evil it is necessary to minimize any wrong doings or atrocities committed by the national and allied armed forces. Often reporters learning of a story involving atrocities by their own side feel pressured to hide these atrocities altogether. Reporters may also fear that if they report anything negative about the military, their access to the frontlines will be curtailed. In addition for reporters who are embedded within a military unit, within a few days of facing the same dangers as the troops, their identification with the unit may make it extremely difficult for them to make an objective assessment of a situation. During the Korean War, in the summer of 1950, the United States forces gunned down hundreds of South Korean refugees at No Gun Ri, believing them to be North Korean infiltrators. This massacre and other lesser ones were covered up by the American reporters because they believed that publishing the story might harm the war effort. It was not until 1999 that the No Gun Ri massacre was reported in the American Media (Penri). In Vietnam, the journalist Morley Safer, who revealed a number of atrocities on the part of the American military was especially the target of government wrath. Military officials attempted to have him barred from the war zone and recalled by his news agency (Hammond). In order to keep public support behind the war, the government may wish to give the impression that the war effort is succeeding very well even when the facts are to the contrary. The government may try to restrict the broadcast of certain types of information such as causality figures. During the Vietnam War, the American forces were fighting a smaller, clandestine war in Laos. In order to prevent the news of this clandestine war becoming public, the casualty figures for the Vietnam war were expanded to include the casualties in Laos under the heading â€Å"Casualties incurred by the US . military personnel in connection with the conflict in Vietnam† (Hammond). During the present day Iraq and Afghanistan wars, the Bush government forbade the media from publishing photographs of flag draped coffins of American soldiers shipped back from Afghanistan and Iraq, on the basis that it would undermine the morale of the public. The government may also fear that news of military setbacks received by the national forces may turn public opinion against the war. In World War II, news of setbacks suffered by the US forces in the South Pacific were severely censored. If it became clear that there was no way to hide the news from being broadcasted, media sources would be instructed to wait until a victory had been achieved, the news of the setback in one area would then be paired up with the news of victory in another area to lessen the impact of the bad news (Carpenter). On occasion members of international media organizations may be regarded as a hostile force by a side in a conflict due to their refusal to ascribe to a code of self-censorship or due to perceived bias in their news reports. These media organizations may then face violence at the hands of military forces. The Qatari television channel Al-Jazeera may have been the object of this treatment in the present day Afghanistan and Iraq wars. In November 2001, a bomb dropped from a US warplane destroyed the Al-Jazeera office in Kabul. Al-Jazeera executives alleged that the US military had been informed of the coordinates of their office beforehand and that the bombing was deliberate (Wells). Al-Jazeera was again the alleged target of US attack in Iraq. Al-Jazeera interviewed Allied military personnel captured by Iraqi forces as well as the massive civilian losses caused by the allied bombing. Neoconservative intellectuals close to the Bush administration, such as Frank Gaffney advocated the use of the US military against Al-Jazeera, alleging that it was the mouthpiece of Saddam Hussein and al-Qaida. In November 2005, the British publication The Daily Mirror alleged the existence of a memo from the British Prime Ministers office that claimed that President Bush considered bombing al-Jazeera offices in Qatar in discussions with the Prime Minister Tony Blair and that Blair talked him out of it (Mcguire and Lines). The conduct of war often becomes a point of contention between rival groups in a government, this may lead to politically motivated intentional ‘leaks’ of sensitive information to the media. These ‘leaks’ may consist of partial, distorted or fabricated information, giving people a distorted view of the reality of issues. Since news media organizations are always looking to gain an advantage over their competitors they may decide to publish this unverified information thereby becoming unwitting tools in the hands of a faction in the government. During the Iraq War, the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame was leaked to the press, the leak was seen as a reprisal against Plame’s husband Joseph C.  Wilson IV who had refuted President Bush’s assertion that President Hussein of Iraq was seeking to build nuclear weapons in a column in ‘Times’ (Werther). Modern news media attempts to serve several masters at once. In order to get to cover a war a make a profit they have to keep the military, the people, the administration and the affiliates happy. The professional responsibility of a journalist to report only the truth often takes a b ackseat to these considerations.

Saturday, November 9, 2019

Black People and James Baldwin Essay

In Toni Morrison’s â€Å"Recitatif,† the story is about two girls, Twyla and Roberta. They grow up in an orphanage because their mothers could not care for them. Morrison makes it clear the girls come from different ethnic backgrounds but never states which one is black or white. At one point in the story Twyla comments, â€Å"We looked like salt and pepper. † I grew frustrated with the story and had to read it several times. I could never determine who was black and white and the lesson I learned should have been it doesn’t really matter. The story begins with Twyla’s mother dropping her off at the orphanage. She meets Roberta and they become best friends. The bond they share occurs because they were not considered real orphans. They were abandoned kids unlike the other children whose parents had died. One of the last times the girls see each other was the day of a visitation. On that night, Twyla’s mother was wearing â€Å"those tight green slacks that made her butt stick out. † Many people have labeled blacks as having larger butts. She could have been black, she could have been a heavy white woman with a large butt, or a Hispanic woman like me. But I automatically stereotyped and went with Twyla has to be black. During the visitation Roberta’s mother â€Å"had brought chicken legs. † Twyla notices Roberta does not eat the chicken legs. I always thought black people liked chicken more than white people which means Roberta was white since she did not eat the chicken. Or maybe she just wasn’t hungry. Shortly after that visitation Roberta’s mother came to take her home, leaving the girls devastated. They see each other several times throughout the years. At their first meeting, Roberta was rude and distant because she was high. Roberta tells Twyla she is on the way to see Jimi Hendrix. Hendrix was an infamous black guitarist. I thought at this point Roberta has to be black. However Hendrix’s band was interracial with a diverse audience. Roberta could have been white due to the diverse audience. I am a huge Hendrix fan and I am not black so why would I think Roberta is. Twelve years later they meet again at a grocery store. Roberta married a rich man and was extremely friendly to Twyla. Twyla cannot hold back her emotions and asks Roberta about the last time they saw each other. Roberta shrugs it off, â€Å"Oh, Twyla, you know how it was in those days: black—white. You know how everything was. † I can relate to this. In 1980, the Cuban Mariel Boat Lifts came over bring thousands of Cubans. I am Cuban but I was born here. Kids I had known since kindergarten treated me as if I just come over on the boats. It had a lasting effect on me and matured me beyond my years. The third time they meet is at the school where their children attend. Roberta and other mothers were picketing because they did not want their kids to be segregated. This led to a fight severing any last chance of a friendship for them as it would not be resolved until Twyla and Roberta meet for a final time. As the story ends I do not get a sense of closure. The question of which girl is white or black remains unanswered. It opened my eyes and made me question how prejudice I really am. I try to not stereotype as a result of what I went through as a child but I found myself doing just that. I can understand why Morrison wrote the way she. I am not sure what her goal was overall but to me it seemed as if she were teaching me about prejudices. â€Å"Recitatif† challenged me to not judge either girl by their race but accept them for who they are. In the end, what difference did it really make about the girls’ races? The story is about how their friendship develops and then deteriorates. Nothing more; nothing less.

Wednesday, November 6, 2019

More Words Drawn from Trahere

More Words Drawn from Trahere More Words Drawn from â€Å"Trahere† More Words Drawn from â€Å"Trahere† By Mark Nichol A recent post explored tract and other words derived from the Latin verb trahere (â€Å"draw†) that are based on tract. Here, other words stemming from trahere that do not build on tract are listed and defined. The descendant of trahere that most closely resembles tract is trace. To trace is to discover or follow, to form or imprint, or to copy or record. A trace is a path or line (or a geometrical intersection), a barely detectable or measurable amount or a vestige of something, or a marking or plan. Someone or something that traces is a tracer, such as a substance that enables observers to chart a process or the progress of a condition in a medical patient; a tracer bullet is ammunition that gives off light or smoke to mark its path, helping the gunner determine accuracy of aim. To trail is to extend or hang down, to carry, drag, or tow, to lag behind, straggle, or plod, to dwindle, or to pursue prey. A trail is a course or path or a sign of progress along a course or path portray, such as a mark or a scent. It may also refer literally to something that is or appears to be drawn along or figuratively to an aftermath. Something that trails is a trailer, such as a vehicle that carries cargo or another vehicle or serves as a temporary shelter. In filmmaking, a trailer is an extra length of film attached at the end of a reel of footage or, counterintuitively, a short selection of footage from a film or television program that serves as a preview. Treat, from trahere by way of tractare, which came to mean â€Å"conduct oneself† or â€Å"manage,† means â€Å"bargain,† â€Å"negotiate,† or â€Å"deal with.† Extending the sense of â€Å"deal with,† treat also came to refer to medical attention, and from the other senses it eventually applied to food or drink offered to others. That sense resulted in the use of treat to refer to a delicacy (as in the Halloween expression â€Å"Trick or treat†) and, by extension, a pleasant experience. The noun treatment pertains to how something is managed or how one behaves toward someone or something, or to medical attention. (A medical condition is called treatable or untreatable based on whether there is a cure for it.) To maltreat or mistreat is to abuse; the noun forms are maltreatment and mistreatment. Meanwhile, a treatise is a methodical argument or exposition that treats, or deals, with a topic, and a treaty is a document that details an a greement resulting from negotiation. Entreat means â€Å"plead,† from the sense of negotiation; an act of pleading is called an entreaty and the notion of doing so is entreatment. To retreat is to draw back, literally or figuratively, and a retreat is such a movement, or an event at which one withdraws from one’s daily routine to study or reflect. American English directly borrowed trattoria, an Italian word for a small restaurant, to refer to such establishments, usually ones featuring Italian cuisine, in the United States; the word stems from the French verb traitier (meaning treat), which derives from tractare. To train (from trahere by way of traginare) is to literally or figurative draw along by directing, instructing, or teaching, or to subject oneself to such actions. One may train an aiming device at a target or objective, and train can also mean simply â€Å"drag.† A train is one or more of various things (or people) drawn by something else. It can consist of one or more connected vehicles drawn along a road or a railway by an engine, or simply a moving line of vehicles (or people or animals); it can also refer to a group of followers or attendants. (To entrain is to board a railroad train.) Train might also pertain to support vehicles and personnel for a military unit detailed for combat, to a series of mechanical parts that enable motion or a literal or figurative equivalent for achieving results, or to an order of occurrence or a succession of thoughts or actions. A train is also that part of a gown fashioned to trail along behind the person wearing it. One who trains is a trainer, and one who is trained is a trainee. Someone or something that can be trained is trainable, and the antonym is untrainable. (Something not or not yet trained is untrained.) To retrain is to train again, and training is both a verb referring to the action and a noun referring to the act or process (as well as an adjective). Portray (literally, â€Å"draw forth†) means â€Å"draw† or â€Å"paint†; the result is a portrait. (Both words also refer, by extension, to any characterization or description of one or more people.) Portraiture is the act of making portraits, though the word may also be synonymous with portrait. Trait, derived from trahere by way of tractare, means â€Å"characteristic† or â€Å"quality† or, less commonly, a stroke or trail. (Traitor is unrelated; it stems from tradere, meaning â€Å"deliver,† and is therefore related to trade.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Grammar Test 1Does "Mr" Take a Period?Confusion of Subjective and Objective Pronouns