Saturday, November 30, 2019
The Lesson Essays - The Lesson, Teaching, Toni Cade Bambara, Lesson
The Lesson Symbolism and Theme in Bambaras The Lesson Toni Cade Bambara wrote the short story, The Lesson, in 1972. The Lesson is considered by the Literary Canon to be a wonderful work of fiction because of its use of language, humanistic theme, symbolism, and non-genre plot. Two essential elements that add to the depth and enhance a readers comprehension of The Lesson are Bambaras use of symbolism and theme. The Lesson takes place in New Yorks inner city. The fictional story begins with a group of poor, uneducated, lower class city kids standing in front of a mailbox, preparing themselves for another day of being taught by Mrs. Moore. Mrs. Moore felt that it was her duty to help underprivileged children learn because she was one of the only women in the neighborhood to earn a degree. The main character is Sylvia, who tells the story in a first person narrative. Sylvia is a young African American girl, probably around fourteen years old, who is very judgmental about the world around her. By Bambaras choice of words, the reader can tell that she is extremely opinionated, presents a very tough, hostile exterior and not at all happy about having to be taught anything by Mrs. Moore. For instance, she states we kinda hated her too, hated the way we did the winos who cluttered up our parks and pissed on our hand ball walls (Bambara 121). On this hot summer day, Mrs. Moore felt that there was a lesson to learn at FAO Schwartz, a very expensive, upper class toy store in downtown Manhattan. After stepping out of the cab and peering into the window, Sylvia knows that this is not just any toy store and they are not just there for any reason. The reason Mrs. Moore brought the children to FAO Schwartz is captured in Bambara's use symbolism. Outside of the toyshop the children glare at a number of very expensive toys. Some of them include a paperweight and a sailboat. Initially, none of the children, especially Sylvia, knew what the paperweight was. She says to herself that my eyes tell me its a chunk of glass cracked with something heavy, and different-color inks dripped into the splits, then the whole thing put into a oven or something. But for $480 it dont make sense (Bambara 123). After Mrs. Moore explains what it is, the children still cannot comprehend its use or the price. Bambara uses the paperweight to symbolize importance. A paperweight is used to hold something that is of value, something that someone wishes not to lose. The children have never known or owned something that is precious. At the same time, the paperweight can symbolize that their living in the slums and never reaching out for something more can be holding them down. They are the important ones under that paperweight. A better life, one in which their basic needs are met, costs a price- one that they are not use to. To them, $400 is a lifes worth of work and unfathomable. The price of their future is going to have be something that they will have to strive for and open their minds past their current dwellings. Similarly, the sailboat is also used by Bambara to represent freedom and the journey that lies in front of them. The journey into Manhattan was only a cab ride away. However, it was only a temporary chance for the children to see this type of life. If Sylvia or the other children wished to permanently escape the world of poverty they came from, they would have to realize that it wasnt going to be easy. There are many steps along the way and to complete them, they would have to be educated. It would be just the same for someone who wanted to sail, they would have to first learn how. Sylvia, astonished by the price, cannot understand why someone would pay that much when my sailboat cost me about fifty cents (Bambara 124). The question is then- would she always be happy settling for less? Or did she even realize that she might be settling? Bambara raises interesting thoughts with the use of symbolism. Another element of literature
Tuesday, November 26, 2019
5 Key Terms Of Dramatism Example
5 Key Terms Of Dramatism Example 5 Key Terms Of Dramatism – Coursework Example Reflection Discussion: 5 Key Terms of Dramatist In investigating the semantic dimensions of language, the five primal terms of dramatists are the best tools to use. However, from the real life experiences, there exist ambiguities in analyzing a situation using these terms. There exists a great variance in the analysis of different situations and thus the ambiguity. Besides, the interrelationships among these terms are eminent as it is revealed by encounters in the real world.When the five terms of dramatist are used to analyze a situation, the interrelationship between these terms is apparent. It is because some terms have to work together in forming a common ground or substance for a given situation (Burke XIX). For instance, dancing in a church can be considered inappropriate, whereas dancing in a wedding is granted. In this context, the scene, and the act have a strong relationship. The interrelationship is used as the ground for justifying the appropriateness of an act, given the prevailing scene.The terms also bring forth ambiguity when used in the analysis of situations. In fact, the social and political trends surrounding a given situation act as the sources of ambiguity (Burke XVII). For instance, one can consider voting as an act and the voters as the agents during an election. From a differing point of view, the votes and voters can all be seen as the agents of a politician or even part of the scene through which he or she gets into office. Also, war brings out the point of ambiguity clearly in the sense that; during a military officer regards war as scene because it inspires the nature of his training, another person views war as an agency because it is a means through which an end, victory, is achieved. Without doubt, different situations deserve different analysis when using the five key terms of the dramatist.Work CitedBurke, Kenneth. A Grammar of Motives. Berkeley, CA: Univ. of California Press, 2000. Print.
Friday, November 22, 2019
How to Tell Your Parents You Want to Drop Out of College
How to Tell Your Parents You Want to Drop Out of College If you are considering dropping out of college, you likely have a good reason: personal, financial, academic, or a combination of factors. Even though the benefits of dropping out may be clear to you, your parents may have some concerns, and talking to them about dropping out may not be easy. So where can you begin? What should you say? Be Honest Dropping out of college is a big deal, and your parents know this. Even if they suspected that this conversation was coming, they probably arent going to be too pleased about it. Consequently, you owe it to them- and yourself- to be honest about the main reasons driving your decision. Are you failing your classes? Not connecting socially with others? Feeling lost academically? Is the financial obligation too much to bear? If you expect to have an honest, adult conversation about dropping out, youll need to contribute your own honesty and maturity as well. Be Specific General statements, like I just dont like it, I dont want to be there, and I just want to come home, may be accurate, but theyre vague and therefore not very helpful. Additionally, your parents may not know how to respond to these kinds of general statements other than to tell you to get back to class. If, however, youre more specific- I need some time off from school to figure out what I want to study, I need a break right now academically and intellectually, Im concerned about how much this is costing- both you and your parents can have a constructive conversation about your concerns. Explain What Dropping Out Will Accomplish Dropping out has such a heavy feel to it because it is a very serious choice. To assuage their concerns, discuss with your parents what dropping out will accomplish. True, youll leave your current situation, but then what? While withdrawing from your current college or university might be appealing, it should be only one step in a longer, carefully thought-out process. What will you do instead? Will you work? Travel? Aim to re-enroll in a semester or two? The conversation should not just be about leaving college; it should also include what youre planning to do next. Be Aware of the Consequences Your parents will likely have a lot of questions for you about whats going to happen if you drop out. What are the financial consequences going to be? When will you have to start paying back your student loans, or can you put them on deferment? What will happen to the loan and grant money youve already accepted for this term? What about your lost credits? Can you re-enroll at your institution at a later time, or will you have to reapply for admission? What obligations will you still have for your living arrangements? While your heart and mind might be set on dropping out and leaving your current situation, your parents can be great resources for helping you keep your focus on whats most important. The key, however, is to fully engage and work in partnership with them to make the transition as painless as possible for everyone involved.
Thursday, November 21, 2019
Short Response to event Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Short Response to event - Assignment Example For business communication seeking partners and collaboration in order to achieve some goal is priority. Audience was allowed to communicate in a dialog to members of software companies only before presentation speeches. I talked to some of them, asking questions, gathering information and trying to make contacts, but real interest and good questions logically appear after you’ve heard a presentation speech and understood the subject. But it was jury only allowed to ask speaker questions, so to another part of the audience the main part of the event was a monolog and we were listeners. I suppose that means audience wasn’t considered like a business partner on this event, so jury and App software companies were only interested in each other, and it makes sense according to the kind of event. But I think audience should be allowed to ask questions, because in business you need to think wider. A company can not win the prize pool, but there are potential partners in the au dience, maybe. As a rule audience in such kind of events is professional orientated and someone could be interested in your project, or your company may hear an interesting question and find a partner itself. So I think taking audience into account is important, so I will in my future career. The entire event was pretty much verbal: speakers from App software companies proclaimed speeches 10 minutes long and then answered jury’s questions, audience were listening and we all were wearing tag sticks on our chest with information we had put there etc. I was involved in nonverbal communication nodding as a response on verbal communication, shaking hands with members of software companies I talked before presentation, I was slapping hands etc. About the same did the rest of the audience and jury. Speakers used gestures, voice intonations and posed themselves differently to look confident and professional etc. But mostly I was interested in short videos that were shown as a part of
Tuesday, November 19, 2019
Improvement measures on Sight Savers Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words
Improvement measures on Sight Savers - Essay Example cult for the organization to exhibit effective governance The organization is also grappling with how to leave their finances to professional outsiders without losing control of the organization’s activities. Sight Savers International can use several key performance indicators to define, as well as measure their progress towards their goals. In order to plan for an uncertain future, one thing that they have to do is improve the level of confidence and trust in the organization from the public. The first KPI here is the overall level of confidence and trust in their charity organization from the public, which they can carry out using an independent survey every two years (Marr, 2012: p22). Their target here should be to improve their ratings continuously over their 2007 baseline. The second KPI would be a survey by stakeholders of the effectiveness of their charity sector’s main regulator, which would also be carried out by an independent survey (Marr, 2012: p22). They should also measure the confidence and trust in their charity as compared with other professions and organizations every two years in order to be informed on their standing. The organization should also seek to achieve service delivery standards that are acceptable to their main clients. Their first KPI under this strategy would be the percentage of their clients who said that they did a commendable job across their area of operation (Molyneaux, 2009: p11). Second would be the average individual or charity rating at initial contact point who said that their services as provided were those that they required. Third would be the increase in use of their services across their area of operations. They should also use the average time that they take to deal with issues brought up by their clients as a key... The first KPI here is the overall level of confidence and trust in their charity organization from the public, which they can carry out using an independent survey every two years (Marr, 2012: p22). Their target here should be to improve their ratings continuously over their 2007 baseline. The second KPI would be a survey by stakeholders of the effectiveness of their charity sector’s main regulator, which would also be carried out by an independent survey (Marr, 2012: p22). They should also measure the confidence and trust in their charity as compared with other professions and organizations every two years in order to be informed on their standing.The organization should also seek to achieve service delivery standards that are acceptable to their main clients. Their first KPI under this strategy would be the percentage of their clients who said that they did a commendable job across their area of operation (Molyneaux, 2009: p11). Second would be the average individual or char ity rating at initial contact point who said that their services as provided were those that they required. Third would be the increase in use of their services across their area of operations. They should also use the average time that they take to deal with issues brought up by their clients as a key performance indicator. Another key performance indicator would be the increase in the publications that they send out directly to their client base on the services that they provide (Molyneaux, 2009: p11).
Saturday, November 16, 2019
Prevalence of Racism within Police Departments Essay Example for Free
Prevalence of Racism within Police Departments Essay Abstract            Racism is always associated with the occurrence of Police Brutality in the country. Police violence’s had been reported from different states in the country. According to some notable information, race is an instrument in treating criminals or violators. This implies that Black and Whites are fostering a biased attitude in their counter-part race. Black would treat black Americans favorably than whites and vice versa.            On the other hand, it was determined that cases of police brutality are also highly probable to those people with low connections in police departments. People are averring that Policemen are engaged with Abused Power which including fond of terrorizing and exploiting apprehenders.            Perhaps, America can never be free from Racism but Policemen can always be away from cases of Brutality. Prevalence of Racism within Police Departments            All nations in the world are in influence of Racism. Compared to other countries, racism is well identified issue in the United States of America. In the study conducted by the United Nations Organization, racism was also considered as the roots or catalyst of other discrimination and exploitation issues such as slavery, crimes and even police brutality against minorities. The issue regarding police brutality is in great concern as the numbers of victims are greatly increasing in the state.  (Snah, 2004)This paper aims to study the role of racism in the incidence or occurrence of police brutality. Also it sought to find out some cases of police brutality. Incidence of Police brutality            Cases of police brutality had been reported across the country. In the New York City alone, 500 cases occurred per month (Gregg, 1999). In 1999, the Chicago Police Department faced the charges of racism after the incidence of different deadly encounters of Black Americans and police. The department was in controversy as an incident happened regarding a university student football player Robert Russ. He was suspected of grabbing the gun and disrespecting a police officer while in confrontation in the street. He was shot out in his car aimlessly. According to some witnesses, the policemen in the said department are abusing their power in treating every suspected violator.  (Johnson, 1999) The bottom line in this incident is most victims are black Americans while apprehenders are white Americans. On the other states, New York Police Department was also in intrigue with the incident called the â€Å"savage brutality†. An immigrant from Guinea named Amadou Diallo died after being rained of forty one shots by four policemen. (Jones, 1998) This event is an absolute proof were policemen are not following the â€Å"zero-tolerance†policy where they tend to react violently to the criminal notoriously; not upholding the rights of the criminal.            It can be considered that police brutality is in everyday occurrence. Also, the event is highly probable or possible in which different races or culture mixes. They are highly victimized because these people have lesser security or higher connections, in which police officers are confident of terrorizing and intimidating therm. Different races like Blacks, immigrants like Latinos and Asians are harassed, exploited, assaulted and in worst case-killed. This incident implies that American policeman are not equable, they do unequal treatments. Race had been their instrument or basis in giving their service as crime-busters and peace keepers. It’s an implication of prevalence of racism and police brutality where both races are fostering a condescending attitude toward their counterpart race. Narrowing Down            Primarily, Racism triggered the occurrence of police brutality in the country. Police brutality in one way or another had stained the over-all integrity of Policeman as the defenders of Democratic and Republic people. With different cases or evidences of police brutality, we can certainly deduce that the police system is instituted basically to protect upper class people from poor people, serve and promote their own race and consider other races as conspiracy against them. In short, they are not equable.            The image portray by the police is very different from their sole purpose. It’s never late to renew the image of policeman in the country. It’s true that the country is divided and being separated by different principles. Races continue to develop gap with in each other.  However, the resemblance that keeps us one is our ability to accept the challenge of Racism. We can always foster a good camaraderie with all people in the word. In this simple way, in some how, we can make a better America and have the best Policemen in the universe, where Police brutality will never be experienced again and policemen will be associated to goodness. References Gress, T. (1998, July 4). Everyones Problem: Police Brutalty and Race. Retrieved August 12,  2008, from http://www.socialissuesletters.com.html Johnson, D. (1999, July 19). Police Racism Charges Defy a Pattern. Retrieved Augut 12, 2008,           from New York Times Press:        http://querry.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9B02E4DE123BF93AA257 Jones, A. (1998, 9 July). US Police Brutality. Retrieved August 11, 2008, from Socialism Today:            http://www.socialismtoday.org/38/nypd38.html Snah, A. (2004, December 20). Racism in North America. Retrieved August 13, 2008, from      Global Issues:            http://www.globalissues.or/article/165/racism/NorthAmerica
Thursday, November 14, 2019
Gulf War Syndrome Essay -- history
In 1990 the United States deployed 700,000 soldiers into and around the region of the middle east known as the Persian Gulf. The U.S. wanted to stop the progression of Iraqi forces who were invading the oil-rich neighboring country of Kuwait. When Iraq Surrendered to the Allied forces on March 5th they had been completely swept out of Kuwait. The United States only lost one-hundred-forty-eight men while Iraq’s losses where estimated around 100,000 men. Little did the United States know that the effects of this war effects would be much more extensive than one-hundred-forty-eight soldiers lost in battle. Ever since the war ended the Veteran Association and the Pentagon have been getting reports of reports of many varying illnesses. These illnesses have fallen onto the soldiers who bravely fought in the Gulf War. I believe that the Gulf war Syndrome does indeed exist. Furthermore I believe that the United States is just as much responsible for giving their soldiers this disease as the Iraqi nerve gas, oil fire smoke and post war stress. Lots of evidence has been presented yet many in this world don’t believe that this syndrome exists. Many experts believe that these illnesses ( Gulf War Syndrome) don’t exist. Including a ranking doctors in the pentagon. Dr. Stephen Joseph says this about the blight, â€Å"We found that there was no single hypothesis that could explain the symptoms of such a large # of people. The soldiers are suffering from stress related problems. Of the diseases they contracted, such as cancer or Lou Gehrigs disease, would have occurred whether or not the soldiers had gone to the gulf.†,. ( Brumley p 8) Dr. Joseph is a highly prestigious doctor working on the syndrome for the pentagon. He graduated from Harvard and has been assigned to many high profile jobs in the pentagon. The U.S. government doesn’t know what to believe so they granted a fifty million dollar grant to pay for illnesses believed to be caused by a mysterious syndrome. Although many don’t believe it this syndrome does exist and it has many different causes. Of the 700,000 men and women who served in the Gulf war 170,000 them have been hospitalized since 1991. 10,000 of them filed disability claims. And it is estimated that 35,000 ( Cary, Peter p, 33-34) more will fill out these disability claims. This average is much higher than the average number of hospitalizations of civilians.... ..., petroleum smoke from the nearby oil fires and post war stress. I also believe that the U.S. Government did a poor job of handling this problem. Men and woman who volunteer their lives for pride and for their country have been severely mistreated by the U.S. Government and deserve a apology. WORKS CITED Barnes,Elizebeth. 1992 Nursing Drug Handbook . Houston: Heath 1992, Brumley, Al. â€Å" Frontline Targets Gulf War Syndrome†. Dallas Morning News. 1998 Jan 20: 8 Bullman, Tim. â€Å" Mortality among U.S. Veterans of the Persia†. New England Journal of Medicine 20 1992: 45-47. Cary, Peter. â€Å" The Gulf War’s Grave Aura†. U.S. News and World Report 1996 July 8: 33-34. Compion, Ed MD. â€Å" Disease and Suspicion after the Persian Gulf War†. New England Journal of Medicine. 20 1992: 67 Fowler, Rebecca. â€Å" Sick Veterans†. World Press Review. 1996 May:9-10. Liu, M. â€Å" Tracking the Second Storm†. Newsweek 1994 May 16:56-57 Schmitt, Eric. â€Å" Special White House Panel Rejects Chemical Exposure as Coarse of Gulf war Illness†. New York Times. 1997 January 8th: 1. Shannon, Philip. â€Å" Once Healthy, Her Pain is Reminder of Gulf War Service†. New York Times 1997 January 2: 3.
Monday, November 11, 2019
Deep Ecology
Whether its watching a whale Jump up in the air and seeing him crashing back into the water, or looking at all of the trees leafs changing colors in the fall time; nature is a beautiful thing. In the past, traditional Native Americans once cared about the land. The grass, trees, rocks, and everything else had value. Nowadays most people are moving away from these ideas and moving towards a capitalist mindset, only caring about their own personal gain. Deep ecology is defined as â€Å"an environmental movement and philosophy that regards human life as Just one of many equal components of a global cosystem†(Google).Arne Naess was a Norwegian philosopher who coined the term Deep Ecology. It may seem very similar to traditional Native American thought, but there are a few differences. In traditional Native American thought, they believe that everything is sacred, has value, and is alive. Deep ecologists do not feel the same way, they believe objects hold value but not all things are living. For example, if you were to pick up a rock and show it to a deep ecologist, he or she would say that the rock is not living. According to traditional Native American thought, they would say hat the rock is valuable, living and is sacred (Professor Bill Weiss).Arne Naess and George Sessions created the eight principles of deep ecology. They are the eight principles that all deep ecologists follow. The fifth principle states, present human interference with the nonhuman world is excessive, and the situation is rapidly worsening (The Anarchist Library). For example, 137 species of animals are becoming extinct each day, which adds up to 50,005 species disappearing every year, because of deforestation (Oocities). If we don't start doing something about this issue he world's animal population will become extinct, and that's only from deforestation.That doesn't include all the garbage and chemicals that we are dumping on the earth. Those also have an effect on animals all acros s the world. And soon this will start to effect the human population. People will start to become sick and they won't have anything to eat because animals across the world were killed off or become extinct, and the vegetables you want to eat won't be edible because the chemicals that were dumped on the earth reached the plants you want to eat and ontaminated them. This could potentially lead to the human population becoming extinct.I'm not saying this is going to actually happen or be an immediate result of our actions but this is what the world is coming to. The companies are the indirect problem in this issue. It's the population's demand that keeps these companies going which makes us the direct source to the problem. Almost everyone is caught up in the capitalist mentality, only caring about themselves and seeing how much money they can make. And when that happens they go out and buy more products which ave negatively affected the environment.
Saturday, November 9, 2019
F1 Grenades
F1 – fragmentation grenades Introduction World War two plays a major role in our conception of human history, because, unlike the senseless massacre of World War one, it stands for an ideological struggle between Good and Evil. This deadly and bloody war between the allies and the axis alliance lasted for six years. At the end of the war victory was claimed by the allied powers, which were: Britain, France, the U. S, the Soviet Union, China, Canada and Australia. Canada plays an important role to the successful victory of the allied power because of their strong support of combat using f1 -fragmentation grenades. BodyA. First supporting idea (topic sentence): The f1 – fragmentation grenades were very small but that was a great advantage to the user. I. It provided soldier with personal artillery they could carry in their pockets. II. When the grenade was thrown, it was visible to the enemies since it was so petite. III. The grenade was small so it also had to be light w eighted, which meant it could be thrown further than larger grenades. B. Second supporting idea (topic sentence): The f1 grenade was very small but it still was lethal as an artillery shell. I. The grenade held 60 grams of explosion which could do a lot of damage.II. If there were a group of enemy troops attacking together, the grenade could come into play because a gun can’t kill all the enemies at once, unless there was collateral damage but that even couldn’t give a guaranteed kill. III. The grenade can kill an enemy with one explosion is the enemy is in the direct vicinity, of the projectile when it detonates. C. Third supporting idea (topic sentence): The f1 grenade had an excellent design which gave very good advantages to the user. I. The exterior of the grenade was notched which prevented hands from slipping off the grenade when throwing it.II. There is safety ring on the grenade so that the striker lever is not triggered accidently. III. It has a steel exterio r so it can facilitate fragmentation upon detonation. Conclusion The allied power was able to claim victory against the axis alliance because of their Canadian army’s powerful and impressing weapons which named them the premier fighters of the war. The f1- fragmentation grenade should be displayed to the public in the Canadian war museum; so that others can see what strategies did Canadians come up with when it comes to artillery weapons needed for war. .
Thursday, November 7, 2019
bad cops essays
bad cops essays In memory of unarmed, unresisting victims, murdered by cops: Edward Anthony Anderson: Shot while handcuffed and on the ground Frankie Arzuega: Shot in the back of the head Anthony Baez: Choked to death by Francis X. Livoti Charles C. Campbell: Beaten and shot to death by Richard D. DiGuglielmo Jeffrey Carlson and Steven Winkel: Hit by Doug Leiter when he ran a stop sign without lights or a siren Anibal Carrasquillo: Shot in the back Garland Carter: Shot in the back by Eddie Sanchez Dionesia Correa: Kicked to death while handcuffed and on the ground Amadou Diallo: Shot 41 times for the crime of being black in NYC Malcolm Ferguson: Shot in the head by Louis Rivera Nathanial Gaines, Jr.: Shot in the back by Paolo Colecchia Jorge Guillen: Beaten and choked to death Jose Antonio Gutierrez: Shot in the back William Hankston: Shot in the back of the head Joe Love: Beaten and choked to death Yvonne Mathison: Beaten and run over Ismael Mena: Shot through a closed door by SWAT team at wrong house Patrick Heslin Phelan: Shot to death Lamore Rich and his 7-month-old son: Run down by 2 cruisers Jose Antonio Sanchez: Shot to death Ernest Sayon: Beaten and suffocated Tony Sullivan: Shot in the back of the head Kenneth Michael Trentadue: Beaten to death in cell Hilton Vega and Anthony Rosario: Shot in the back 14 times while handcuffed and on the ground 10-year-old Freddie Vela: Shot to death by Glenn Price Aswan Keshawn Watson: Shot to death ...
Tuesday, November 5, 2019
lexicographer - definition and examples
lexicographer - definition and examples Definition A lexicographer is a person who writes, compiles, and/or edits a dictionary. Lexicographer examine how words come into being and how they change in terms of pronunciation, spelling, usage, and meaning.The most influential lexicographer of the 18th century was Samuel Johnson, whose Dictionary of the English Language appeared in 1755. The most influential American lexicographer was Noah Webster, whose American Dictionary of the English Language was published in 1828. See Examples and Observations below. Also see: Ambrose Bierce on Lexicographers American Spelling and British Spelling Corpus LexicographyEtymologyAn Introduction to Noah WebsterLexicographicolatryLexicographyOxford English DictionaryReading the Dictionary: Ammon Sheas Lexicographical ExerciseSamuel Johnsons DictionaryWebsters ThirdWhich Websters Dictionary Is the Real Thing? Examples and Observations Lexicographer. A writer of dictionaries; a harmless drudge, that busies himself in tracing the original and detailing the signification of words.(Samuel Johnson, A Dictionary of the English Language, 1755) Lumping and SplittingDictionaries are . . . based on an oversimplification which posits that words have enumerable, listable meanings that are divisible into discrete units. Such constructs come in handy because dictionary users tend to work best with clear-cut distinctions and categories that we like to classify into distinct, well-defined boxes. One of the key questions the lexicographer then faces is related to the distinction between lumping and splitting. The former term refers to the slightly different patterns of usage that are considered as a single meaning, while the latter happens when the lexicographer separates slightly different patterns of usage into distinct meanings. The burning question whether the lexicographer should apply a lumping or a splitting st rategy does not just apply to monolingual dictionaries, however. A related question for bilingual lexicographers is whether sense divisions should be based upon the source language or the target language.(Thierry Fontenelle, Bilingual Dictionaries. The Oxford Handbook of Lexicography, ed. by Philip Durkin. Oxford University Press, 2015) Homonymy and PolysemyA major problem for the lexicographer is provided by the distinction between homonymy and polysemy. We speak of homonymy when two lexemes share the same word-forms . . ..  We speak of polysemy when a single lexeme has two (or more) distinguishable meanings. There is no generally agreed criterion for distinguishing between the two. EAR organ of hearing and EAR spike of corn may be treated as two distinct lexemes . . . and usually are in real dictionaries on the basis of distinct etymologies, although diachronic information should not in principle be used to determine synchronic linguistic structure. On the other hand, many speakers feel that an ear of corn is called that because it resembles the ear on someones head, and implicitly treat EAR as a single polysemous lexeme. In the writing of any dictionary, a decision has to be taken as to how to distinguish between these two.(Laurie Bauer, Word. Morphology: An International Handbook on I nflection and Word-Formation, ed. by Geert Booij et al. Walter de Gruyter, 2000) A Descriptive Approach to LanguageEven when they must make choices, lexicographers are attempting to provide a factual record of the language, not a statement about correctness of its usage. However, when people see one form highlighted in a dictionary, they interpret it as the one correct form and subsequently infer that any other form is incorrect. Furthermore, many who read and reference dictionaries take these decisions to be comprehensive and inalterable standards. In other words, even though lexicographers take a descriptive approach to language, their work is often read as prescriptive.(Susan Tamasi and Lamont Antieau, Language and Linguistic Diversity in the US: An Introduction. Routledge, 2015) A Proscriptive ApproachModern-day lexicography has produced convincing arguments in favour of a proscriptive approach (cf. Berenholtz 2003). Although it is possible to employ such an approach in printed dictionaries, it is an approach ideal for internet dictionaries. The proscriptive approach allows the lexicographer to present the user with a variety of options, e.g. different orthographic forms of a given word or different pronunciation possibilities. No single form is prescribed but the lexicographer indicates his or her preference by recommending one or more forms. By doing so the alternatives are not demonised but users get a clear indication of the form recommended by the expert.(Rufus H. Gouws, Dictionaries as Innovative Tools in a New Perspective on Standardisation. Lexicography at a Crossroads: Dictionaries and Encyclopedias Today, Lexicographical Tools Tomorrow, ed. by Henning Bergenholtz, Sandro Nielsen, and Sven Tarp. Peter Lang, 2009) Samuel Johnson on Lexicography and LanguageWhen we see men grow old and die at a certain time one after another, from century to century, we laugh at the elixir that promises to prolong life to a thousand years; and with equal justice may the lexicographer be derided, who being able to produce no example of a nation that has preserved their words and phrases from mutability, shall imagine that his dictionary can embalm his language, and secure it from corruption and decay . . .. The language most likely to continue long without alteration, would be that of a nation raised a little, and but a little, above barbarity, secluded from strangers, and totally employed in procuring the conveniences of life.(Samuel Johnson, Preface to A Dictionary of the English Language, 1755)
Saturday, November 2, 2019
Customized vs Off Shelf Software Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words
Customized vs Off Shelf Software - Essay Example It has numerous in-built databases and features, more than could be needed. Upgrades could be provided free or at subsidized cost. Even so, this software requires constant upgrading. Furthermore, it provides little flexibility because of the inability to control its source code (Cook, 2007). As such, it could fail to be compatible with the organizational goals, hence forcing the organization to change its processes. On the other hand, customized software attracts high initial cost. Just as off-the-shelf software, it is also associated with future cost, but in this, for alterations made to the software. Nonetheless, Cook (2007) observes that it provides the option of starting with the minimum critical requirements and later upgrading to encompass whatever else would be needed. Such changes could be made quickly. Importantly, its ability to be tailored to meet the exact business needs assures of its ability to meet the intended goals. With the main objective of acquiring software for a logistics organization being to meet the organizational objectives, customized software would be best suited for our organization. Even though the organization would incur high initial cost, it would experience the exact objective for which such software is acquired. Additionally, it would only provide what is needed in the organization, thus saving the company idle features consuming
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