Differences in Spanish and English Spelling

Differences in Spanish and English Spelling If you can spell in English, you have a head start with spelling in Spanish. After all, thousands of words are English-Spanish cognates, words in both languages that are spelled identically or similarly because they share common origins. For the English speaker learning Spanish as a second language, most of these words pose little problem in spelling, as the differences between the two languages usually follow regular patterns. Below are listed the most common regular differences in spelling as well as a selection of words whose differences dont fit these patterns. The emphasis here is on words that are likely to cause spelling problems, not ordinary differences in the languages such as radio for the English radium and dentista for dentist. Differences in Prefixes and Suffixes English -tion as the equivalent of Spanish -cià ³n: Hundreds of words fit this pattern. The English nation is nacià ³n in Spanish, and perception is percepcià ³n. Use of inms include inmadurez (immaturity), inmaterial, and inmigracià ³n. Use of trass include trasplantar and trascender. However, there are many Spanish words where both tras- and trans- are acceptable. Thus both trasferir and transferir (transfer) are used, as are both trasfusià ³n and transfusià ³n. Differences in Specific Letters Avoidance of k in Spanish: Except for a few Greek words (such as kilà ³metro and some words of other foreign origin such as kamikaze and various place names), Spanish cognates of English words with a k usually use a c or qu. Examples include quimioterapia (chemotherapy) and Corea. Some words are spelled both ways: caqui and kaki are both used for khaki, and both bikini and biquini are used. Lack of th in Spanish: Cognates of English words with a th usually use a t in Spanish. Examples are tema (theme), metano (methane), ritmo (rhythm) and metodista (Methodist). Avoidance of y as a vowel: Except for some recently imported words such as byte and sexy, Spanish usually doesnt use y as a vowel except in diphthongs, so i is used instead. Examples include hidrà ³geno (hydrogen), dislexia , and gimnasta (gymnast). Use of cua and cuo instead of qua and quo: Examples include ecuador (equator) and cuota. Dropping of Englishs silent letters: Commonly, the h in English words is dropped in the Spanish equivalents, as in ritmo (rhythm) and gonorrea (gonorrhea). Also, it is common in modern Spanish to not use ps- to start words. Thus sicolà ³gico is used for psychologist, although the older forms such as  psicolà ³gico are still used. (The cognate of psalm is always salmo.) Use of ess include especial, està ©reo, escaldar (scald), escuela (school), and esnobismo (snobbery). Use of f for the English ph: Examples include elefante, foto, and Filadelfia. Other Common Differences Avoidance of double letters in Spanish: Except for recent words of foreign origin (such as express), the use of rr and, less commonly, the use of cc (where the second c is followed by i or e), Spanish generally doesnt use double letters in English cognates. Thus the English libretto is libreto in Spanish, possible is posible, and illegal is ilegal. Examples of rr or cc in cognates include accià ³n, acceso, and irrigacià ³n. One Spanish word that doesnt fit this pattern is perenne (perennial). Avoidance of hyphenation in Spanish: Hyphens arent used as much in Spanish as they are in English. An example is that while some styles of English uses hyphens in words such as re-edit and re-encounter, Spanish does not in the equivalents: reeditar and reencontrar (the latter of which can also be spelled as rencontrar). Simplification in Spanish: A number of words, particularly ones whose English spellings come from French, have more phonetic spellings in Spanish. For example, bureau is burà ³ and chauffeur is chà ³fer or chofer, depending on the region. B and V: B and V have identical sounds in Spanish, and there are a few words where the English and Spanish cognates use opposite letters. Examples include govern and gobernar, and Basque and vasco. Words that dont fit other patterns: Following are some other easy-to-misspell words that dont fit any of the above patterns. The Spanish word is in boldface followed by the English word in parentheses. Note that in a few cases the Spanish word doesnt have the same meaning, or has other meanings, than the English word listed. abril (April)adjetivo (adjective)asamblea (assembly)automà ³vil (automobile)billà ³n (billion)caà ±on (canyon)carrera (career)circunstancia (circumstance)confort (comfort)coraje (courage)coronel (colonel)diciembre (December)à ©nfasis (emphasis)erradicar (eradicate)espionaje (espionage)etcà ©tera (et cetera)femenino (feminine)garaje (garage)glaciar (glacier)gorila (gorilla)gravedad (gravity)huracn (hurricane)Irak (Iraq)jamà ³n (ham)jeroglà ­ficos (hieroglyphics)jirafa  (giraffe)jonrà ³n (home run)lenguaje (language)mensaje (message)millà ³n (million)(canyon)mà ³vil (mobile)noviembre (November)objeto, objetivo (object, objective)octubre (October)pasaje (passage)proyecto (project)septiembre or setiembre (September)siniestro (sinister)subjuntivo (subjunctive)tamal (tamale)trayectoria (trajectory)vagabundo (vagabond)vainilla  (vanilla)yogur or yogurt (yogurt)

Free sample - The Man of the Crowd by Alen Poe. translation missing

The Man of the Crowd by Alen Poe. The Man of the Crowd by Alen PoeNowadays it is practically impossible to find a person who does not read books, especially those of modern literature. It is present by the diversity of writers and poets whose masterpieces provoke so many different opinions, contradictory points of view and critical articles. Those books that describe certain periods in history are of greater interest among the readers, as they give complete imagination of the period that is known only from history. Films that are screened based on the books are very popular. Moreover, these works are rather interesting and they have already found their army of fans all over the world. These works are original but sometimes it is necessary to make some efforts in order to understand them correctly, as each reader may have his or her personal point of view. Those books and plays that describe certain periods in history are of great interest among the readers, as they give complete imagination of the period that is know n only from history. Films that are screened based on the books are very popular. It is usual state of affairs as everything in this world changes and these changes always mean something new and interesting. Among a great number of modern writers there is an author who attracts the readers’ attention by his stories, which are always interesting and original. Current paper is connected with the art and the book of Edgar Alen Poe. It is hard to argue that he is unusual and sometimes even mysterious writer. His thoughts are reflected in the works, which later become the object of studying and lively discussions. The achievement of the works by Alen Poe lies in the so-called balance amid the practical and the anagogical. The stories by Alen Poe are very interesting, but the main peculiarity of them is that sometimes they are rather difficult to read; it is necessary to pay attention to the special techniques that compose his style of writing.   What is really significant in the style of Alen Poe is his mode to utilize the character viewpoint in the story. Despite of the fact that it is performed in the way that even if the omniscient narrator employs a certain point of view of the character while depicting some events, the reader can observe the effect which is more like a mirror rather than advocate. The key topic under discussion of the present paper is the book The Man of the Crowd by Alen Poe. The main thing that the reader is interested in is what is beyond his ability to read.   The readers and professional critics state that this poem of the writer is one of the most complicated as it is rater difficult to read. Many of the critics say that this book does not allow reading itself. The main reason for it is not a complicated language, but topics. The set of events is very tricky and it does not permit readers to understand the book completely. The book is full of different odd and interesting images that make it very complicated for reading and understanding. Establishing trust and reliance with the reader, still, is what Poe is most attractive in doing, as it permits for the darkness and desolation that he feels to leach into the novel. When Poe tells about it, it does not seem unbelievable or outlandish. Instead, it looks like much more sensible that ache and horror is an inevitable part of a usual every day life. The author tries to tell that our life is full of drama and terror, and it should be treated as something usual, as they are also necessary to help people to see the difference between bad and good, evil and kindness.   Probably, this is the main reason why the book is considered strange and difficult to read. Poe is not interested in enjoyment and calm, although, and instead pays particular attention on some heartrending aspects of humanity. In some parts of writing, it might seem like an effort to bend the reader too much in the direction of what the narrator thinks, but the way Poe describes, it seems much more pragmatic and significant. The narrator tries to demonstrate his points of view about loneliness and isolation in society, thus making the story as strange as possible. The main peculiarity of the style of Poe is that he is depicting his characters and city in a dark colors, making it as dark as possible. Therefore, he does with the man in the crowd, making him very strange and different from the rest of the crowd. Dark colors help to convey the general mood of the novel and the image of the man in particular, describing the idea of loneliness and despair to that the author tries to pay attention,   considering it as an important part of life of every person. From the very beginning of the book, it seems very odd and difficult to understand and catch the main idea due to a great number of strange images and the mixture of languages. The author used some words of French and Greek origin to demonstrate the peculiarity of those times, when using foreign languages was fashionable. The people depicted in the novel behave the way as if there is no other way to express one's feelings except through relax action. Those people were the typical representati ves of that time, fashionable and lazy, thinking only about themselves. The main character of the story and the narrator as well is a man, who is wandering in the center of the city, in the crowd and depicting his thoughts and points of view. This man is wandering from side to side in the public square; nothing he does is aggressive or unlawful, yet the narrator has built him up into indistinct, despicable figure. From behind the window of a cafà ©, a convalescent, contemplating the crowd with delight. Finally, he rushes into the crowd in search of an unknown person whose face, glimpsed momentarily, fascinated him. Curiosity has become a fatal and irresistible passion. (Poe 9) The first thing that attracts the attention of the reader is the indifference of the man to everything around him. Probably, Poe tried to show that our world is full of odd people who are around us.   Perhaps, that is the drive force of the story: unusual and discomfiting people are all around us, if merely we notice them and this fact makes the story difficult to read, as it is based upon the ideas of the narrator’s imagination. He depicts the behavior of a lonely person in a night city. The opening of The Man of the Crowd depicts the emotions comprised in countless secrets and crimes; there are interior conflicts, fights, anxieties, and agonies results because of the disgust of the impenetrable crimes. The opportunity of these crimes is depicted by means of man of the crowd throughout his unidentifiable appearance. The unpredictable and unreadable behavior of the man in the crowd is probably the main reason why the narrator finds it difficult to read him, as his image comprises many unusual things that are so difficult to understand. The narrator depicts his thoughts about this man as: He arose confusedly and paradoxically within my mind, the ideas of vast mental power, of caution, of penuriousness, of avarice, of coolness, of malice, of blood-thirstiness, of triumph, of merriment, of excessive terror, of intense- of supreme despair. I felt singularly aroused, startled, fascinated. (Poe 12) Even though the narrator did not know this man of the crowd, he was obliged to follow him based on his expression that had never been watched by the narrator. He kept on following the man of the crowd, paying attention to his patterns of following people by the crowd and his waddle clothes and he concluded that he was  « the type and genius of deep crime. He refuses to be alone" (Poe   10). One more reason of the man to be hard for reading is the mixture of images and descriptions around him. On their setting, he looks like even more unusual. From the very beginning of the novel, the narrator used so many different descriptions, moving from one image to another, depicting people and town at the same time. It is rather for the reader difficult to turn his attention to another image. From the first sentences of the story, the narrator describes the town he is wandering about, depicting people and surroundings. Before noticing the man of the crowd, the narrator paid attention some different types of people. Their description is observed in the first pages of the novel. All of these people can be read due to their noticeable appearances. The narrator could easily understand their behavior and saw ha kind of persons they were looking at their appearance and cloths. They are so unsurprising and standard. Their movements show the narrator that they feel alone because of the large crowd around them. There was nothing special about their way of life, their motions and behavior were very easy to read and predict. Despite of all the luxury, these people were very lonely and all their actions were very easy to predict. Their movements sounded to the narrator as if these men were unconfident in their actions and motioned to themselves for aims of measurement. The man of the crowd, noticed by the narrator was beyond his ability to read. He was somewhat special and differed from the rest in the crowd. The narrator was following the man, but it was too difficult for him to read the man and his actions. As we know, unknown is always interesting as harder the task is, interesting and attracting it is to people. The man from the crowd was this very unknown and unpredictable person for the narrator, as it was unpredictable in his actions, despite all his simplicity. â€Å"My observations heightened my curiosity and I resolved to follow the stranger whithersoever he should go" (Poe 12).   This person is something that is very hard to read, Because of his unpredictable manner of behavior. On the once hand he was a simple man form the crowd, but on the other hand he was peculiar and differed from the rest of the crowd. The narrator could not read him according to his actions. The only thing that was clear was that this man felt very lonely despite of the fact that he was surrounded by the crowd of people. â€Å"Still more was I astonished to see him repeat the same walk several times†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Poe 14). The most odd and interesting to the narrator was that he could not foresee further actions of the man.   He was not interested in anything particular that is why the narrator could not determine what class the man belonged to, what was his occupation and way of living, as the rest people from the crowd were very easy to read. The behavior of the man was very strange, as if he was the person trying to find something that was lost many years ago.    Poe, Edgar A. The man of the Crowd. New York: BookSurge Classics, 2004

Summary Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Summary - Article Example Rational signals or laws may just spur them to do worse while making their misdeeds look appealing. There is hue and cry on what should be done. The media firmly supports disarmament although many will be left defenseless . Aspiring politicians further bend the sandy hook tragedy denouncing ownership of firearms for their own career boost (Domenech 45). According to Grant Duwe’s research, both mass murders and homicides have dropped since 1960s. Criminologist, Fox also shows that mass shootings victims have been roughly consistence with margins being credited as sheer coincidence or copycats. As appalling as these murders are, these culprits are not responsible for 1% of the nation’s homicide cases. Criminology studies also support Duwe’s research accusing the media of not laying the true facts of mass murder ignoring the most prevalent cause of death. Political fires are brewing with Senator Diane proposing an ineffectual bill to ban 120 firearms. The bill would also force government seizure of previously bought firearms. In addition debating this bill will ensue in reactions from lawful gun owners. Piers Mogan agrees with democrats blaming the policies that allow gun ownership as a vent of causing violence and denounces the 2nd amendment. Focusing on the UK a handgun ban in 1998 following a shooting massacre was unprecedentedly followed by a rise in serious crime. Shocking as this may be in 2011 the number of legal gun ownership went up by a third and coincidentally the number of gun related crimes dropped by 74%. Majority of shootings is however classified by place and race. Statistics show that 58% of the crimes were in large cities and done mostly by blacks. This represents 16% of the homicide victims. There is no comprehension however of the weapons that the villains use. Research shows that in 2% of gun crimes assault weapons are carried. Adam Lanza used the ar-15 rifle which takes a standard 223-caliber bullet. The rifles used by La kota and Arapaho Indians fired bullets almost 10 times larger than the.223. The caliber does not however determine the lethality of the gun. Others argue that the main issue is the mental health system to not giving proper care to the mentally ill. Steps may be undertaken to ensure they do not possess guns but hurrying to committing to the mentally unstable has its cons: having them bear a lifetime penalty for transgressions never to be committed. The Secret History of Guns Supporters of gun rights argue that the second amendment gives right to gun ownership but portrays no regulation. Advocates still do not support the amendment arguing it covers state militias and is not strong enough to mandate disarmament. The founders of the nation made hard-core gun laws that denied ownership to many people. Individual allowed to own guns had to report regular musters for gun inspection registered on public rolls. According to newton the civil rights movement caused more violence. Malcolm x an d the panthers however argued for their gun ownership right based on the constitution. Guns became a piece of their identity. Luther’s application to own a firearm after his house bombing was denied .The panthers started giving public display of their firearms. Once Newton was stopped by Oakland police to show his gun but he vehemently refused grounding his rights. No arrest was made. The event inspired the

Art Management & Marketing Assignment Case Study

Art Management & Marketing Assignment - Case Study Example These factors contribute towards positioning the company as market leader in the artificial jewellery industry. Products offered by the company will cater to the needs of all age groups and classes of people. The essay will provide further details about the business plan, which will help to portray viability of starting this business in United States. Jewellery business falls in the category of art business hence it is obvious that it should be treated from an imaginative point of view. The business plan for Beauclaire will reflect imagination, creativity and it has not followed the traditional business plan formulation approach. The mission of Beauclaire is to design and sell innovative art jewelleries. Through sale of attractive art jewellery, the company aims to attract maximum number of customers from all classes. Services provided by the company desires to exceed expectation of customers. The vision of Beauclaire is to be the leading jewellery selling company of United States within next few years. Core values of the company comprise providing appropriate quality of goods and services to customers. Beauclaire would not compromise on quality and standard of the products offered so as to retain core values developed (Graham 72-74). As US lacks Egyptian style of jewelleries, it would be easier for Beauclaire to target the market of United States. Aim of the company is to be a leader in the artificial and antique jewellery industry of United States. The company desires to cater to the needs of individuals across various age groups, especially women. The specific objective of the company is to penetrate and gain 50% leadership of the artificial and antique jewellery market. Besides that, Beauclaire would ensure that shelf life of the jewelleries is short and not more than a week. The jewelleries will also be sold online and in various galleries of U.S. For

Plan Columbia Essay Example for Free

Plan Columbia Essay The term Plan Colombia is most often used to refer to U.S. legislation aimed at curbing drug smuggling and combating aleft-wing insurgency by supporting different activities in Colombia.[1] Plan Colombia can also refer to a wider aid initiative originally proposed by Colombian President Andrà ©s Pastrana Arango, which included U.S. military/counter-narcotics aid, but was not limited to it. The plan was conceived between 1998 and 1999 by the administration of Pastrana with the goals of ending the Colombian armed conflict and creating an anti-cocainestrategy. Critics of the initiative also claimed that elements within the Colombian security forces, which received aid and training from the U.S., were involved in supporting or tolerating abuses by right-wing paramilitary forces against left-wing guerrilla organizations and their sympathizers. Another controversial element of the anti-narcotic strategy is aerial fumigation toeradicate coca. This activity has come under fire because it damages legal crops and has adverse health effects upon those exposed to the herbicides. Original Plan Colombia The original version of Plan Colombia was officially unveiled by President Andres Pastrana in 1999. Pastrana had first proposed the idea of a possible Marshall Plan for Colombia during a speech at Bogotà ¡s Tequendama Hotel on June 8, 1998, nearly a week after the first round of that years presidential elections. Pastrana argued that: [Drug crops are] a social problem whose solution must pass through the solution to the armed conflictDeveloped countries should help us to implement some sort of Marshall Plan for Colombia, which will allow us to develop great investments in the social field, in order to offer our peasants different alternatives to the illicit crops.[2] After Pastrana was inaugurated, one of the names given to the initiative at this early stage was Plan for Colombias Peace, which President Pastrana defined as a set of alternative development projects which will channel the shared efforts of multilateral organizations and [foreign] governments towards Colombian society.[2] Pastranas Plan Colombia, as originally presented, did not focus on drug trafficking, military aid, or fumigation,[3] but instead emphasized the manual eradication of drug crops as a better alternative.[4] According to author Doug Stokes, one of the earlier versions of the plan called for an estimated 55 per cent military aid and 45 percent developmental aid.[5] During an August 3, 1998 meeting, President Pastrana and U.S. President Bill Clinton discussed the possibility of securing an increase in U.S. aid for counternarcotics projects, sustainable economic development, the protection of human rights, humanitarian aid, stimulating private investment, and joining other donors and international financial institutions to promote Colombias economic growth. Diplomatic contacts regarding this subject continued during the rest of the year and into 1999.[6] For President Pastrana, it became necessary to create an official document that specifically served to convene important U.S. aid, as well as that of other countries and international organizations by adequately addressing US concerns. The Colombian government also considered that it had to patch up a bilateral relationship that had heavily deteriorated during the previous administration of President Ernesto Samper (1994–1998). According to Pastrana, Under Secretary of State Thomas R. Pickering eventually suggested that, initially, the U.S. could be able to commit to providing aid over a three year period, as opposed to continuing with separate yearly packages.[7] As a result of these contacts, US input was extensive, and meant that Plan Colombias first formal draft was originally written in English, not Spanish, and a Spanish version was not available until months after a revised English version was already in place.[8] Critics and observers have referred to the differences between the earliest versions of Plan Colombia and later drafts. Originally, the focus was on achieving peace and ending violence, within the context of the ongoing peace talks that Pastranas government was then holding with the FARC guerrillas, following the principle that the countrys violence had deep roots in the economic exclusion andinequality and poverty. The final version of Plan Colombia was seen as considerably different, since its main focuses would deal with drug trafficking and strengthening the military.[8] When this final version was debated on the U.S. Senate floor, Joseph Biden spoke as a leading advocate of the more hardline strategy.[9] Ambassador Robert White stated: If you read the original Plan Colombia, not the one that was written in Washington but the original Plan Colombia, theres no mention of military drives against the FARC rebels. Quite the contrary. (President Pastrana) says the FARC is part of the history of Colombia and a historical phenomenon, he says, and they must be treated as Colombians[Colombians] come and ask for bread and you (America) give them stones.[10] In the final U.S. aid package, 78.12 percent of the funds for 2000 went to the Colombian military and police for counternarcotics and military operations. (See graph, below) President Pastrana admitted that most of the resulting US aid to Colombia was overwhelmingly focused on the military and on counternarcotics (68%), but argued that this was only some 17% of the total amount of estimated Plan Colombia aid. The rest, focusing mostly on social development, would be provided by international organizations, Europe, Japan, Canada, Latin America, and Colombia itself. In light of this, Pastrana considered that the Plan had been unfairly labeled as militarist by national and international critics that focused only on the US contribution.

Music For Torching by A.M. Holmes Essay -- Music Torching Holmes Essay

Music For Torching by A.M. Holmes A.M. Holmes’ critique of the American dream’s malfunction in modern suburbia examines contemporary domestic life through a variety of socially realistic metaphors. No metaphor is a stronger critic of the dark domestic world she presents than the recurring theme of clothing as a mask which her characters use to hide their true identities. The novel focuses on the importance of â€Å"socially acceptable† clothing as an expression of each character’s overall desire to reach a state of normalcy, if not perfection. Yet irony arises out the representation of clothing as both filling its customary role as a cover-up, and simultaneously being used as a medium of exposure. This ironical situation of clothing as a literal and abstract costume to hide physical and mental disfigurement reinforces the assertion that the real desires of Homes’ characters are often shielded from themselves and from others, and yet are ultimately revealed through what they wear. T he juxtaposition of the clothing motif is that clothing, or the lack thereof, serves as to conceal as well as reveal inner conflicts of sexuality, discontentment, or personal esteem. The use of clothing as a disguise is primarily apparent in its role of covering up the secret sexual lives of the characters. Each time she calls, Henry’s date asks the person on the other line, â€Å"What are you wearing?† Her constant desire to know the character’s clothing reveals the importance that outward appearance holds in a sexual connotation; the characters are repeatedly in various states of dress and undress. Nate’s mother, whom Paul refers to as Mrs. Apple, answers her door wearing her husband’s shirt. The incongruity lies in the seeming normalcy of her appearanc... ...ugged off especially by his mother Mrs. Apple, who excuses his frequent absences to conventions and war games as if they were trivial and acceptable behavior for men. Nonetheless, his father’s absence compels Nate to mimic and adopt his father’s appreciation of guns and ammunition with a warped sense of masculinity, concluding in the death of Sammy and the death of the novel’s innocence as a whole. Music For Torching inverts many societal conventions as satirical commentary on the secretly flawed world of American suburbanites. The typical societal convention for clothing’s purpose is covering up one’s own body; however, in Holmes’ novel, clothing’s accepted function is elongated and also reversed. Clothing not only covers up the physical body as well unspoken thoughts and entities, but also reveals such entities through a mixture of subtle and thematic details.

A Comparison between Knowledge and Information Essay

The definition for knowledge and information are normally high related. It is true that both of them complement each other but it is also important to know that they are mutually exclusive concepts. There are some important differences between knowledge and information that make of them two independent concepts. What are those characteristics? Which comes first and leads to the other? How can we use them together to get their maximum benefit? Well, I have settled on the following essay a definition for both knowledge and information, the way the complement each other and which one is more meaningful in a job. In my opinion knowledge is made by beliefs, perspectives, judgments, experiences, visions, truths and concepts (information). I believe also that knowledge is very situational- independent. In the other hand information is made by facts, data, descriptions, numbers, words, music, images, sounds and so on. Knowledge refers to the practical use of information. While information can be transported, stored or shared without many difficulties the same can not be said about knowledge. Knowledge necessarily involves a personal experience. Referring back to the scientific experiment, a third person reading the results will have information about it, while the person who conducted the experiment personally will have knowledge about it. It is very important to have this difference clear, specially in our Internet-based society. Today information is freely available to anyone anywhere in the world. An eighteen year old boy from the Sri Lanka could easily search on the web and find all the information ever produced about an Adenoidectomy. But I am not sure whether I would like to have this same boy performing that surgery on myself†¦ what about you?

Sociology and Social Sciences

The traditional social sciences which have been developed as part of the totality of learning in the West have been brought over to Asia. It is now becoming increasingly evident that the validity of such social sciences, whether in the realm of research theory or of action policy, can no longer be accepted uncritically. An appreciation of what is valid or invalid, applicable or inapplicable, is therefore imperative.Such analysis is necessary not only as an academic venture; social change is basic to the Asian aspiration for modernization and the need is urgent for such change to be directed towards the achievement of what may well be Asian as distinguished from non-Asian goals. CULTURE The problem is clear and present. The Asian academic world, until now, has been staffed with many scholars whose training has been, for the most part, in Western universities and institutions. At the same time, the political and intellectual leadership in the larger life of its society is held to a sig nificant degree of Western-trained leaders.The orientation of many of these leaders has been conditioned by the predominantly Western culture. Trained to think in Western terms through the medium of Western languages, some are experiencing a reawakening to the reality of their situation. Asian intellectuals are undergoing an agonizing period of soul-searching. Their system of values, developed through years of training in, and broad exposure to, Western philosophies, is being shattered by a realization that these values may not be suitable to the Asian environment.Recently, Professor Ruben Santos-Cuyugan of the University of the Philippines expressed misgivings about the movement towards the unification of all knowledge, including the assumption of â€Å"universal categories of culture† and the universality of value judgment. This movement, according to him, makes the social scientist evade one of his fundamental responsibilities which is â€Å"to examine the ways by which h is science and thought, indeed his very perceptions, are rooted in the matrix of his own culture† (Santos-Cuyugan 1967). POLITICSIn the meantime, in the realm of politics, the postwar leaders of Asia have discovered that independence has not automatically ushered in the Utopia. Thus, they are not seeking the nature and structure of government that will best meet their needs, the political philosophies their peoples should embrace or adopt, and the policies that will bring about the good society by their indigenous standards and values. A starting point is the fact that with a few exceptions, the developing countries of Asia profess belief in freedom and human rights, the rule of law and constitutional government.These concepts and maxims are manifested in their constitutions. However, in spite of guarantees enshrined in their constitutions, these countries find it difficult to achieve real constitutional democracy. For the constitutions of the West have, in many cases, been tr ansplanted to Asian soil without the historical experience that nurtured them in the West, where they were the products of a long period of evolution and development. Democracy implies mass participation by the people in the political process.But if the people are not sufficiently educated in the processes of democracy, or have not sufficiently imbibed its spirit, how can it flourish? In fact, one wonders whether or not the structure of government of the Philippines, patterned as it is after the outlined in the American Constitution, is not really a hindrance to, rather than an instrument for, national development. In any case, it has become quite clear that Western-style democracy has to be modified so as to satisfy the urgent Asian desire for economic progress and social justice.Liberty, as this term is used in the West, has mainly the negative connotation of freedom from arbitrary restraint. In the Asian setting, it must be given a positive content; governments have to assume a g reater responsibility for providing opportunities for the growth and self-realization of citizens. In the same manner, â€Å"justice† has had mainly a political connotation in the West, where it is usually associated with law and social behavior. In Asia, if political justice were not integrally related to economic justice, it would be almost peripheral to the real problems.In so far as Asians are concerned, economic justice is the more relevant concept because it touches the heart of the existing social order. In this sense, it is associated with the eradication of poverty and the alleviation of human suffering. Another qualification should be made. There is so much lip-service to the concept of â€Å"rule of law† in many Asian societies. By this, people are supposed to be guided by certain legal precepts in their social relations. However, in the Philippine experience, despite the fact that most Filipinos are professed and vocal adherents of the â€Å"rule of law.â € They do not find difficulty in transgressing legal rules because in the business of everyday living, non-legal rules oftentimes command greater obedience than legal ones, especially when values such as family and kinship ties are involved. This is part of the explanation of such phenomenon as nepotism. Which is certainly frowned upon by the formal laws of society, but which is carried out in practice by almost everyone in political authority. Finally, bureaucracy, as an institution, is in external forms and manifestations similar to its prototype in the West.The same formal methods of recruitment, of organizational charts, of job descriptions, etc. , are utilized. But the ethos that animates Asian bureaucracy is obviously quite different from what animates Western bureaucracy. ECONOMICS The discipline of economics fives many illustrations of the limits of applicability of Western concepts, values and methods. The most evident at the moment is the emergence of new branches of st udy, such as development economics, and of a more socio-psychological approach to the study of economic systems than Keynesian economics allowed at an earlier period.Thus even in the West, there is a growing recognition (e. g. , Hagen 1962), that if economic growth is to occur, a country’s cultural patterns must be such as to produce â€Å"high need-achievement† directed towards â€Å"clusters of followers† once innovations are made. In fact, to achieve substantial economic development, it is suggested that the number of individuals with the entrepreneurial-motivational complex, and particularly with high achievement drives, will have to be significantly increased.Again, many Western economists have been laboring under the assumption of conventional analysis that the missing elements in developing societies are modern technical knowledge, capital, specially trained manpower, and a sound plan for using capital, manpower and technical knowledge. Once these element s were made available, they assumed, progress will automatically ensue. The international economic policy of the Western nations have therefore generally been geared towards providing these missing elements, with perhaps the strongest bias being in the provision of capital as the principal agent of development.The view is still widespread that if Asian countries can only obtain, through their own efforts or through foreign assistance, as sufficient amount of capital, they would be able to â€Å"finish the job† of development. The truth is that investment, whether public or private is subject to the risks, uncertainties and eccentricities of the poor public administration. Since development is a process, it is subject at every stage to how effectively the government can execute its plans.Moreover, it is now clear that traditional marginal analysis, however useful it may be as a basis for the understanding of advanced economics, can be very misleading for underdeveloped ones. W hen such factors as population growth and technological progress are made an integral part of analysis, instead of being left out altogether as in traditional equilibrium theory, out analysis can lead to policy conclusions exactly the reverse of what orthodox equilibrium theory might suggest.Even with the emergence in the West of development economics as a new field for the study of developing countries, certain biases continue to show. An example is the fact that in the West, economic development as a goal has been reckoned almost exclusively in terms of increases in annual national income. The corollary problem of income distribution has been merely glossed over. This is a serious omission because of the existing wide disparities in incomes among the peoples of the developing nations. This is illustrated in Philippine society.For this society may be likened to a social pyramid with an acute apex and a very broad base. At the apex is a very small segment of society, the rich and th e very rich; at the base are the broad masses of those who are poor and very poor. The constellation of power in our society has traditionally consisted of the hacendero-politico class at the apex of the social pyramid, which held sway over the lives of human beings. More recently, a new industrial class has appeared to increase their numerically few but historically powerful ranks.The elite class enjoys the benefits of modern technology and the affluence that it makes possible while the vast mass of the population lives close to the subsistence level. There is this a distressing and ever-widening gap in the process to goods and services. It is clear, therefore, that to be relevant to the realities of the Asian situation, economic development should not be reckoned only in terms of annual rates of economic growth, or of doubling national incomes in a decade.It should be vitally concerned with promoting economic justice, in spreading more widely the benefits of economic progress, and in continuously opening up new opportunities to an ever-widening circle of entrepreneurs and investors in the developing countries. In short, the achievement of economic democracy has to be a primordial goal, alongside the acceleration of the growth process. SOCIOLOGY In the realm of rural sociology, many practical limits to Western social research concepts and methods have been actually discovered in the Philippines. Methods and TechniquesTo begin with, planning a research project on the Western pattern is often not warranted by the amount and quality of available resources. There is, for instance, the problem of shortage of local professional social researchers compounded by the attitude which rural folks have for those social researchers. In the West, its rural folks are used to extension workers, welfare-agency volunteers, missionaries and the like. On the other hand, Philippine researchers and interviewers have been looked upon as philanthropists, as some sort of Rockefeller o f Ford Foundation representatives ready to give out material aid (Feliciano 1965).The establishment of concepts and definitions has not been easy. Social research is built around a framework which requires certain concepts such as household, family, literacy, religion, cooperation, and the like. But a research group, led by Professor Gloria D. Feliciano of the University of the Philippines, has recently concluded that in diagnostic studies wherein these concepts need to be stated in more refined or precise terms, an adaptation is necessary to avoid getting inaccurate data (Feliciano 1965).The term â€Å"religious affiliation. † For instance, has a connotation in the Philippines different from that in the West, where individualism and not â€Å"familism† prevails. In the West, it implies not only membership of an individual in a religious group. But usually religious preferences as well. In the Philippines, where close family and community ties are predominant, religiou s affiliation becomes a family or community matter. Hence, the term does not necessarily imply the religious preference of the individual.Another example mention by a Philippine research group has to do with family types: In this country (Philippines), one may not find a simple or nuclear family defined and interpreted according to Western standards. For, although it may appear simple nuclear structurally, functionally it usually partakes of the character of the extended type. Studies in recent years have exploded the myth that structurally the Filipino family is of the extended type. Rather, they showed that although the majority of the nuclear families live apart from one another, this did not deter them from helping one another in times of need or crisis.  (Castillo 1963 and Feliciano 1964, cited in Feliciano 1965).In reporting one of his studies, a Filipino researcher expounded on the problem he encountered in regard to the concept of cooperation: In the West, where this term gave rise to cooperatives, one usually thinks of it in terms of a disciplined, highly ordered code of behavior, de-emphasized family loyalties, rigid business principles, and a high degree of rationalized behavior. In short, the term has come to be associated with individual independence.In the Philippines, however, where the practice is deeply rooted in familiar or family ties, it is a matter of interdependence among indivuals. (Provinse 1960, cited in Feliciano 1965). Finally, insofar as the concept of literacy is concerned, a further refinement of sub-types is needed in the Philippines. It has been discovered that very often one encounters people who could literally read and write but who do not fully understand what they read or write.Role of Women, Role of Education In another report, Professor Gelia T.  Castillo, a pioneer rural research scholar in the Philippines, has found it necessary to reexamine the role of women in the development scheme (Castillo 1964). Her findings s howed such strong female influence in family and farm decision-making that for purposes of development work, it would be more fruitful to classify the Filipino woman in the rural scene as an active initiator, legitimizer, and decision-maker in her own right, rather than just a person who plays a mere supportive role to her husband, her father, or her barrio.A closer examination of the role of education has likewise been suggested because, while it is a potent instrument for effecting change in agricultural production, education acquires a different dimension when it â€Å"rules out mud on educated hands. † This view has been corroborated by another rural researcher, Professor Juan F. Jamias (1967). Who has an interesting explanation for the effectiveness of the â€Å"verbal culture† (education, research and extension) in increasing agricultural productivity in the Philippines.He states that the agricultural college degree in the Philippines has been â€Å"white-collar ized. † He cites data on the employment distribution of graduates of the College of Agriculture, University of the Philippines, which show that except for 8 percent engaged in farming, all the rest may be classified as white-collar workers. A later and more comprehensive survey revealed that only 1. 3 percent were actually engaged in private farming or business. Most of the graduates were actively involved in teaching and extension work. There are other examples of generalization that need closer scrutiny.In community leadership, does youth versus age necessarily mean change versus status quo? Is the mutual self-help circle, often regarded as an existing resource for cohesive community action, coterminous with the village unit of operations? The problem of concepts and definitions aside, the Feliciano research group has found out, too, that Western scientific sampling techniques are quite difficult to apply because, oftentimes, sampling universes such as geographic, or politic al subdivision lines are not definitely established.Furthermore, in many places, the basic socio-economic structure of the occupational groups, ethnic and religious groups, and types of land-use and land ownership have not been objectively defined. Raw Materials from Research in Action Programs The traditional social research method, which has come down to us from the West, calls for empirical evidence to support existing ideas. Our experience shows that rural research theory in the Philippines, in fact, being enriched by various experiences in research in action programs.The findings of Professor Gelia Castillo show that the researcher in action setting â€Å"has a unique advantage in obtaining substantive and methodological insights while actually participating in real life events which are part of the process of bringing about change. † At times, she says the problem which defies any design except the kind which involves a faithful description of down-to-earth happenings, is the most fertile source of insights. Examples to support this view have been cited.In the Philippines, many extension workers have claimed that most of the researches done are not practical and economically feasible under village conditions (From The Innovator, 1965). In the Philippines, experience, new theories in rural sociology are arising from empirical evidence. And the existing facts and data gathered are quite interesting because they are the results of pioneer efforts, empirically identified with their meanings laid bare rather than assumed by the conceptualizer. Truly, the agents of change in rural Philippines are breaking virgin ground. Knowing One’s AudienceAs we have said, in effecting directed social change, Western social scientists have focused their attention on knowing one’s audience. Even in the voluminous literature on diffusion studies in the United States, rarely have investigators addressed themselves to the nature of the innovation and the cha racter of the carriers of change. Among the advocates of change, there is an unchallenged assumption that the change being introduced is good, that the change agent is effective and that, therefore, the farmer who refuses to accept the innovation is irrational (Castillo). To be sure, the audience should be known.Who is the Asian farmer, for instance, whose ways are sought to be changed? This is an extremely important question. Again, one should know his audience in order to evaluate his data. It has been found that the reliability of farmers’ responses depends upon the respondent’s image of the researcher or interviewer and their expectations from the project. The Role of the Change Agent Be that as it may, to understand the subsistence farmer’s response or lack of response to the innovations sought to be introduced, the innovation itself must be proved, and the role of the change agent fully studied.On the latter point, one of the findings is that oftentimes a change agency is as rigid as the farmers it seeks to change. A former consultant has been quoted as saying that â€Å"the problems of development exist just as much in the organization charged with instituting change schemes as they do in the populace they are trying to change. † (Kumata 1960) To other findings have come out of the Philippine experiments. One is that a change agent can hardly expect to be effective unless his roles is accepted by his clientele.Rapport with the villagers, therefore, becomes a key factor. The other is that the agent of change in the Philippines should have a versatility unmatched by his counterpart in the West. The enormity and diversity of problem situations he comes to grips with require an interdisciplinary thinking, especially when he is the only social scientist within a radius of many kilometers. He should not be just a rural sociologist or an agricultural economist but a social scientist with expert preparation in his own discipline.He n eeds sophistication in social theory, mastery of research methodology, adequate comprehension of bureaucracy and political behavior, and intensive exposure to the world of village action, administration and policy. Towards a Theory for Developing Asian Nations It is of the highest priority that the teachers and practitioners in the social sciences in Asia emancipate themselves from the value-bias of Western concepts and postulates of reasoning. There is need for escaping the universalizing that characterizes much of the social sciences as they have developed in Western academic circles.Asian social scientists should undergo a truly creative engagement with their own culture and society, making use, in the process, of frameworks that provide standards of relevance to the experiences and aspirations of their own people. It should be constantly borne in the mind that there are limits to the applicability of Western concepts, values and method to Asian realities. It is important therefo re, that organized efforts be undertaken to compile and codify the vast amount of scattered data on particular subjects of social research in the different countries which are to be found in research offices and libraries of universities.With a commitment to intellectual efforts with a decidedly Asian value base, more genuine works of scholarships in the social sciences should come out of the academic world. With the growing data from field works and social sciences which enable d us to verify the referents of concepts in our respective countries, we may usefully embark on the ambitious project of setting up a theory for the developing Asian nations, and in the process, hopefully, understand ourselves.

How J.K. Rowling Puts a Spell on Her Readers (and How You Can, Too)

How J.K. Rowling Puts a Spell on Her Readers (and How You Can, Too) In 1994, J.K. Rowling, the imaginative author behind the Harry Potter franchise, was living on public assistance in Edinburgh, Scotland. As a single mother and estranged from her abusive husband, she was jobless and clinically depressed, but used the time while her daughter was napping to write Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone in coffeehouses. It was an idea that occurred to her on a train ride four years earlier, and one she couldnt shake.Fasts: said Mrs. Weasley, beaming at him, said Mrs. Weasley, watching him anxiously, said Hermione, hurrying into the kitchen, He said feebly, pointing toward the window.Varied sentence lengthTension created mostly through observation and action, with introspection kept to a minimum. (She ignored this. He could not blame her.)Simple verb choicesStraightforward description with little to no commentary (almost cinematic and what youd expect a camera to pick up)Wingardium leviosaAs Rowlings own past shows, crafting a great story involves findin g your own path as a storyteller and walking it with courage, determination, and discipline. Wingardium leviosa, one of the favored spells from Harry Potters world, causes levitation- and thats exactly what has to happen to put a spell on your readers. Focus on writing words and creating worlds that can rise from the page to become something other than mere words; make them come to life in the minds of your readers and your bestseller will be inevitable.

Tweet it short and simple - Emphasis

Tweet it short and simple Tweet it short and simple Never let it be said that we cant admit when we were wrong. We may have dismissed Twitter for its navel gazing. But for people in our industry to ignore the big beneficial effect of tweeting would be like a train driver climbing aboard the Japanese Bullet and belligerently asking why there was nowhere to put the coal. Now, along with several previously sceptical comedians who hone their pithy wit using Twitter, were converted. KISS Thats because when you tweet, you have no choice but to keep it short and simple. With only 140 characters to play with (including spaces and punctuation), every tweet gives you practice in the art of brevity. This is a great antidote to many of the habits we pick up at school where essays are defined by word counts, quantity is quality, and using long words supposedly makes us seem more intelligent. In the business world, short and simple equals concise and clear; brevity is a courtesy to busy readers; and punchy succinctness can leave the biggest impression. Key messages An excellent method of making sure your document will be focused is to work out your key messages before you start writing. We always suggest summing up each main message (no more than three) using a maximum of 30 words for each. You might then imagine you are about to be interviewed on TV for three minutes, and in that time you have to convince the audience that your document is important or relevant enough to read. But to truly move with the times, now you could imagine you have to convince someone of the same in one tweet. Virtuous circle So whether youre perfecting your conciseness, tweeting to improve your writing at work or working hard on your key messages to master Twitter, the only way is up. You can now follow us on Twitter here.

AT&T Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

AT&T - Essay Example The core assumption behind this movement of net income is the increasing expected costs and expenses of the company of the forth-coming periods. A little variation is the assets of the company is forecasted and the levels of assets are not expected to increase or decrease significantly. The company plans to reduce the levels of its equity in the future periods with minor deductions. AT&T tries to improve the paid dividends by increasing the value slightly every year, these movements show that the organization is planning and persuading an organic growth for the future periods. The cash flow generation is likely to drop down every year due to increased expected expenses. Due to increased expenses, the profit margins of the company will be affected and expected to fall in the future periods. The retention ratio also signifies the affect of gradual declinations of retained profits over the years and is dropping down following the same trend of Earnings of the company. The asset turnover is expected to increase due to increasing sale and reducing assets, the ratio is expected to improve continuously every year. The financial gearings of the company are assumed to remain stable with little variation that will make the company more predictable to the investors by consistency in the in the operational and financial sustainability of the organization. (Helfert,