Wednesday, November 27, 2019

Robert Louis Stevensons Treasure Island for Study

Robert Louis Stevensons Treasure Island for Study Not only is Robert Louis Stevensons ​Treasure Island  one of the most popular childrens books in history, its had a major influence on popular culture portrayals of 19th-century pirates. It tells the story of young Jim Hawkins, cabin boy on a ship bound for an island where the treasure is believed buried. He encounters pirates who seek to overthrow the ships officers in a mutiny. Published as a series in the magazine Young Folks between 1881 and 1882, Treasure Island is notable as a childrens book because of the moral ambiguity of many of its main characters; the good guys are sometimes not so good, and its most memorable character, Long John Silver, is a classic anti-hero. The story has captured imaginations for more than a hundred years and has been adapted for film and television more than 50 times.​​ Questions for Study and Discussion Why do you think Jim goes on the journey as a cabin boy?How does Robert Louis Stevenson reveal the characters motivations in Treasure Island?Knowing that this was a serialized story when it was first published, do you have a sense of whether Stevenson plotted out the entire story before writing, or do you think he changed elements of the plot as he wrote each individual section?What are some symbols in Treasure Island?Is Jim Hawkins consistent in his actions? Is he a fully developed character?What about ​Long John Silverare his actions consistent?How easily can you identify with Jims feelings? Do you think this portrayal of a young boy seems dated, or does it stand the test of time?If this novel were written in present day, what details would have to change?Discuss how Long John Silver is or is not a father figure to Jim.Which of the characters surprises you the most?Does the story end the way you expected?How essential is the setting to the story? Could the story have taken p lace anywhere else? Besides Jim Hawkins mother, there are very few women in Treasure Island. Do you think this is important to the plot?What would a sequel to this novel have looked like? Would it be possible to continue the story?

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Free Essays on Michelangelo The Optimistic Artist

Artist Michelangelo was pessimistic in his poetry and an optimist in his artwork. Michelangelo’s artwork consisted of paintings and sculptures that showed humanity in it’s natural state. Michelangelo’s poetry was pessimistic in his response to Strazzi even though he was complementing him. Michelangelo’s sculpture brought out his optimism. Michelangelo was optimistic in completing The Tomb of Pope Julius II and persevered through it’s many revisions trying to complete his vision. Sculpture was Michelangelo’s main goal and the love of his life. Since his art portrayed both optimism and pessimism, Michelangelo was in touch with his positive and negative sides, showing that he had a great and stable personality. Michelangelo’s artwork consisted of paintings and sculptures that showed humanity in it’s natural state. Michelangelo Buonarroti was called to Rome in 1505 by Pope Julius II to create for him a monumental tomb. We have no clear sense of what the tomb was to look like, since over the years it went through at least five conceptual revisions. The tomb was to have three levels; the bottom level was to have sculpted figures representing Victory and bond slaves. The second level was to have statues of Moses and Saint Paul as well as symbolic figures of the active and contemplative life- representative of the human striving for, and reception of, knowledge. The third level, it is assumed, was to have an effigy of the deceased pope. The tomb of Pope Julius II was never finished. What was finished of the tomb represents a twenty-year span of frustrating delays and revised schemes. Michelangelo had hardly begun work on the pope’s tomb when Julius commanded him to fresco the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to complete the work done in the previous century under Sixtus IV. The overall organization consists of four large triangles at the corner; a series of e... Free Essays on Michelangelo The Optimistic Artist Free Essays on Michelangelo The Optimistic Artist Artist Michelangelo was pessimistic in his poetry and an optimist in his artwork. Michelangelo’s artwork consisted of paintings and sculptures that showed humanity in it’s natural state. Michelangelo’s poetry was pessimistic in his response to Strazzi even though he was complementing him. Michelangelo’s sculpture brought out his optimism. Michelangelo was optimistic in completing The Tomb of Pope Julius II and persevered through it’s many revisions trying to complete his vision. Sculpture was Michelangelo’s main goal and the love of his life. Since his art portrayed both optimism and pessimism, Michelangelo was in touch with his positive and negative sides, showing that he had a great and stable personality. Michelangelo’s artwork consisted of paintings and sculptures that showed humanity in it’s natural state. Michelangelo Buonarroti was called to Rome in 1505 by Pope Julius II to create for him a monumental tomb. We have no clear sense of what the tomb was to look like, since over the years it went through at least five conceptual revisions. The tomb was to have three levels; the bottom level was to have sculpted figures representing Victory and bond slaves. The second level was to have statues of Moses and Saint Paul as well as symbolic figures of the active and contemplative life- representative of the human striving for, and reception of, knowledge. The third level, it is assumed, was to have an effigy of the deceased pope. The tomb of Pope Julius II was never finished. What was finished of the tomb represents a twenty-year span of frustrating delays and revised schemes. Michelangelo had hardly begun work on the pope’s tomb when Julius commanded him to fresco the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to complete the work done in the previous century under Sixtus IV. The overall organization consists of four large triangles at the corner; a series of e...

Thursday, November 21, 2019

SARS Outbreak in Toronto Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

SARS Outbreak in Toronto - Research Paper Example But he was not sure how to communicate the crisis to the community at large. Moreover, a timeline of events occurred that led to misinformation to the public thus proving a difficult task to find ways to curb the epidemic. Many of those mistakes were preventable, for instance the World Health Organization produced numerous reports contradicting to the previous ones. In their reports the disease which had been stated as having an incubation period of two days was later said to have a ten days incubation period. For another thing, the disease was at one time thought as been bacterial, besides it being viral so this made it harder to cure the disease. Additionally, the mode of transmission was said to be through immediate contact with an infected individual but later on the virus was found that it might live on surfaces for days. Communication errors also made it difficult to manage the situation; whenever a report was released by the WHO it was not marked as important but was placed in other categories as normal flues. Moreover, there was a detachment amongst organizations. The physicians could have prioritized the urgency of the reports so as to make it easier for disease prevention. In addition to the information gap, the structure of health care systems and public health in Ontario and Toronto was another root cause of this endemic. Most hospitals in Toronto operated devoid of any local health authority leading them. Also, there were no pandemic control centers that could be delegated authority in cases of an outbreak. Lastly, spokespersons conveyed inconsistent information’s and this ensued confusion. Therefore, the core problem that led to SARS getting out of hand is misinformation by the WHO. If the reports could convey genuine information then even if there was poor communication between companies, those measures could have been put in place and would have helped to curb the endemic (Berry,

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

Teachers_ perceptions of the use of technology in teaching language Article

Teachers_ perceptions of the use of technology in teaching language - Article Example First an introduction has been given as to what contribution has technology made in education and especially the teaching of language. Then, teachers’ competencies and barriers to the integration of technology have been discussed. After that, various technological tools and concept are discussed like CALL and ICT, which the teachers can make use of to facilitate their language teaching process. The report is summarized in a concluding paragraph and MLA referencing style has been used properly. Introduction Since the advent of sophisticated technological means, the educators have been trying to modify the instructional process with the help of technology. According to Baker, early 1960’s brought with it â€Å"new curricula, instructional models, and approaches to individualization† (3) of instruction but the drawback with these instructional schemes was their poor management. An ideal classroom environment is so dynamic in which each student presents his own under standing and is comfortable with his own set of instructional materials. Thus, the teacher needs to organize instructional schemes in such a way that all students with their unique calibers are equally attended to. Teachers started feeling the necessity of incorporating information and communication technology in teaching language. According to Kaka, â€Å"Technology (internet) in another side can be the most effective way to increase the student’s knowledge.† Teacher Perception, Competencies and Barriers Kong and Kwok studied teacher perception of the use of information technology in teaching languages in a school in Hong Kong and examined this perception under four domains that included â€Å"teacher perception of their computer training, computer facilities and assistance available, their confidence and comfortability in using computer in daily lessons, and their perception of their roles in using IT in classrooms.† Their survey results supported the idea tha t teacher perception had a positive effect in the usage if teacher-centered technological approaches in the teaching process. They also found that the teachers and the school administration worked in a collaborative environment for the implementation and usage of IT in classrooms especially in language learning. Another similar research has been conducted by Ismail, Ghaleb and Almekhlafi (37) who studied teacher perception teaching Arabic and English languages in schools in UAE. They also found that teachers’ support and willingness to incorporate technology in their teaching languages is very important to obtain positive outcomes. They discussed the benefits of the usage of IT both for the teachers and the students and found from their qualitative and quantitative research that teacher perception should be considered seriously for better implementation of technological tools in classrooms. Hence, as Woodrow (qtd. in Ismail, Ghaleb and Almakhlefi 37) asserts, â€Å"teachers are seen to be active agents in the process of changes and implementation of new ideas as their beliefs and attitudes may support or impede the success of any educational reform such as the utilization of an innovative technology program.† Technological advances have greatly facilitated the language learning. The teachers today can use many technological too

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Organizational Behavior at My Company Essay Example for Free

Organizational Behavior at My Company Essay To understand how the concept of organizational behavior can be applied and described through the work environment of My Company, I will first explore a general definition of what Organizational Behavior is and then relate how the individual components apply. According to Stephen Robbins, author of our Organizational Behavior textbook, Organizational behavior is a field of study that investigates the impact that individuals, groups, and structure have on behavior within organizations for the purpose of applying such knowledge toward improving an organizations effectiveness(9). The first component of this definition is to see the impact that the individuals have, followed by the impact of the groups, and then finally the impact of the structure. I will expand on each of these areas and relate them to the current practices within My Company. It is probable that the single most prevalent aspect of organizational behavior through the eyes of an employee would be the impact that they personally have on the company. What this implies, is that when I try to describe the impact individuals have to the company, it will be solely from my perspective as a non-managerial employee. Had my perspective been from that of an employee in a management-level position, it would most likely differ. From the experiences that I have had in the two and a half years that I have worked at My Company, it seems to me that individuals are encouraged to take the initiative to make their work as productive as possible. I have been part of many changes that have been initiated by non-management level employees to try and streamline and improve efficiencies within the company. This has led me to believe that one of the in-use espoused values is that of empowering all levels of employees with the ability to make changes that will directly affect their p articular areas. When evaluating the group component and how that relates to the My Company environment, I am going to make the assumption that a group is the equivalent of a department. These departmental segregations help to increase internal accountability and define what each group will be responsible for. Each group has its own independent structure and operates a little differently depending on the style of the individual manager. Many of these groups (departments) can be broken down into subgroups to further delegate  components of work. The outcome is that within each department or group there is a hierarchy where you will find different forms of leadership. Some of these subgroup leaders lead by being experts in their fields rather than having a title of being a manager. Within my group there is a distinct leader that I work for. I have found that if I am struggling with a project or if I cannot define the scope of a job that I am working on often times I can rely on help from the leader of my group to help achieve the desired results. If for some reason components (individuals) within my subgroup started to perform poorly, the outcome could have serious consequences to the productivity of our entire department. Conversely, if we were able to drastically improve performance metrics for our areas of responsibility, we would then be able to offset some work from other areas within the group. This interdependence of the subgroups has helped our group to have more control of the aspects that will impact how productively the company will continue to be going forward. Through the process of defining the groups within My Company, I have made reference to the internal group structure. Instead of rehashing this same information and tying it back to the structural component mentioned in the definition of organizational behavior, I am going to relate how my manager is able to structure her team to be as effective and productive as possible. Looking through the four essential management functions (Robbins 5) defined in our reading material, (planning, organizing, leading and controlling) I am able to see how my manager struggles to constantly apply these ideas in her day to day responsibilities. Our group organizes weekly meetings where we try to plan what tasks we would like to undertake in the near future. My manager is responsible for keeping these meetings in focus so that overall group objectives are met. Through controlling and delegating within these meetings, she has shown the ability to lead our group and utilize different strengths of individuals to maximize our effectiveness. Being able to take more of an observational role in this situation has helped me to understand the different idiosyncrasies that exist within our company and department. By identifying these quirks I feel that I am able to better understand how many of the different internal components and people must work together in order to achieve desired results. This has helped me to recognize, at least  at the group level, how one can utilize many of the resources to maximize efficiencies within My Company. Works Cited Robbins, Stephen. Organizational Behavior. New Jersey: Pearson, 2001.

Friday, November 15, 2019

The Metamorphosis- Critical Essay -- essays research papers

Frank Kafka is considered one of the most influential writers of all time. Helmut Richter would agree with this statement. Richter agreed that Kafka was a very prominent figure in world literature and was amazed by his mechanics and word usage. I feel that his essay is supportive of Kafka’s writing, but also leaves out many important details in its brevity. Richter did not include Kafka’s flaws and tendencies in his essay. Helmut Richter analyzed the plot of The Metamorphosis in his essay. He depicts the main plot of the story to be Gregor’s failure at his work, which leads to his death. The climax of the story starts off early in the book. When Gregor wakes up one morning, he realizes that he has turned into a giant insect. Gregor was a salesman and his job required that he was very determined in his work. Kafka proves to us that Gregor did not do a good job as a salesman by transforming into a bug: a strong work force. Kafka’s use of this metaphor stresses the poor work that Gregor does as a salesman. Many people would argue that Kafka reflects his personal life in The Metamorphosis. These people would describe it as an autobiographical work. Kafka’s parents were very similar to that of Gregor. He was born into a wealthy family and his father was an overbearing man. His mother was a very nice woman, as Gregor’s was in the novel, but she often took the side of his father. The striking resemblance of the families is that of Gregor’s sister. Kafka’s sister, like Gregor’s si...

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Coming of Age Essay

There have always been challenges that a young adolescent must make to become an adult. Whether it was one hundred years ago, or today in this day and age, the challenges are ever so present. Unfortunately, the challenges faced back then were far more harsh and difficult for the young adults compared to the present. They lacked the technology, resources, and knowledge we now possess today. Most jobs one hundred years ago had to be physically done by people, not machines, which the 21st century seems to love. Although times are now different in the sense of materials and knowledge, the society and traditional structure of becoming an â€Å"adult† still stands; you get a job, you get married – you are an adult. There are plenty more things that need to be done and prepared for before even entering the work world, let alone becoming an adult. One hundred years ago, someone my age would have already been working on a farm or in a warehouse with production of some sort. They might be already married with a baby on the way and one already born. Life was very out of the ordinary compared to what we are accustomed to today. A young person was considered an adult at a very early age, typically because he/she started working very young to provide for a family. Life expectancy one hundred years ago, if you survived birth without any antibiotics, was not very long. For women it was fifty-six and men, fifty-two. Due to the short-lived lives of parents, children had no choice but to learn how to fend for themselves in this wild world we call life. Almost all of these jobs, lacking any requirement for education, were not the safest, cleanest, or best paying jobs. Not everyone went straight to work; some had the luxury of going to school to further their education so that they may obtain a good, high paying job. Those who were lucky enough to have the money to pay for an education are the ones who set the high demand for education in the world today. Only the children of the wealthy were educated, and they became wealthy as well. That was the mind set, which led to current day policy. Everyone goes to school. There are some people that go straight to work after high school. Similar to one hundred years ago, the jobs they obtain typically are not the highest paying jobs that require less education, typically are labor union jobs or â€Å"off the books† working. In this country, you need an education if you want to work anywhere, even at McDonalds. Education has become such a big part of the world today.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Cognitive linguistics Essay

The cognitive linguistics enterprise is characterized by two fundamental commitments (Lakoff 1990). These underlie both the orientation and approach adopted by practicing cognitive linguists, and the assumptions and methodologies employed in the two main branches of the cognitive linguistics enterprise: cognitive semantics, and cognitive approaches to grammar, discussed in further detail in later sections. The first key commitment is the Generalization Commitment (Lakoff 1990). It represents a dedication to characterizing general principles that apply to all aspects of human language. This goal is just a special subcase of the standard commitment in science to seek the broadest generalizations possible. In contrast to the cognitive linguistics approach, other approaches to the study of language often separate the language faculty into distinct areas such as phonology (sound), semantics (word and sentence meaning), pragmatics (meaning in discourse context), morphology (word structure), syntax (sentence structure), and so on. As a consequence, there is often little basis for generalization across these aspects of language, or for study of their interrelations. This is particularly true of formal linguistics. Formal linguistics attempts to model language by positing explicit mechanical devices or procedures operating on theoretical primitives in order to produce all the possible grammatical sentences of a given language. Such approaches typically attempt precise formulations by adopting formalisms inspired by computer science, mathematics and logic. Formal linguistics is embodied most notably by the work of Noam Chomsky and the paradigm of Generative Grammar, as well as the tradition known as Formal Semantics, inspired by philosopher of language Richard Montague. Within formal linguistics it is usually argued that areas such as phonology, semantics and syntax concern significantly different kinds of structuring principles operating over different kinds of primitives. For instance, a syntax ‘module’ is an area in the mind concerned with structuring words into sentences, whereas a phonology ‘module’ is concerned with structuring sounds into patterns permitted by the rules of any given language, and by human language in general. This modular view of mind reinforces the idea that modern linguistics is justified in separating the study of language into distinct sub-disciplines, not only on grounds of practicality, but because the components of language are wholly distinct, and, in terms of organization, incommensurable. Cognitive linguists acknowledge that it may often be useful to treat areas such as syntax, semantics and phonology as being notionally distinct. However, given the Generalization Commitment, cognitive linguists do not start with the assumption that the ‘modules’ or ‘subsystems’ of language are organized in significantly divergent ways, or indeed that wholly distinct modules even exist. Thus, the Generalization Commitment represents a commitment to openly investigating how the various aspects of linguistic knowledge emerge from a common set of human cognitive abilities upon which they draw, rather than assuming that they are produced in encapsulated modules of the mind. The Generalization Commitment has concrete consequences for studies of language. First, cognitive linguistic studies focus on what is common among aspects of language, seeking to re-use successful methods and explanations across these aspects. For instance, just as word meaning displays prototype effects – there are better and worse examples of referents of given words, related in particular ways – so various studies have applied the same principles to the organization of morphology (e.g., Taylor, 2003), syntax (e.g., Goldberg, 1995), and phonology (e.g., Jaeger & Ohala, 1984). Generalizing successful explanations across domains of language isn’t just a good scientific practice – it is also the way biology works; reusing existing structures for new purposes, both on evolutionary and developmental timescales. Second, cognitive linguistic approaches often take a ‘vertical’, rather than a ‘horizontal’ strategy to the study of language. Language can be seen as composed of a set of distinct layers of organisation – the sound structure, the set of words composed by these sounds, the syntactic structures these words are constitutive of, and so on. If we array these layers one on top of the next as they unroll over time (like layers of a cake), then modular approaches are horizontal, in the sense that they take one layer and study it internally – just as a horizontal slice of cake. Vertical approaches get a richer view of language by taking a vertical slice of language, which includes phonology, morphology, syntax, and of course a healthy dollop of semantics on top. A vertical slice of language is necessarily more complex in some ways than a horizontal one – it is more varied and textured – but at the same time it affords possible explanations that are simply unavailable from a horizontal, modular perspective. The second commitment is termed the Cognitive Commitment (Lakoff 1990). It represents a commitment to providing a characterization of the general principles for language that accord with what is known about the mind and brain from other disciplines. It is this commitment that makes cognitive linguistics cognitive, and thus an approach which is fundamentally interdisciplinary in nature. Just as the Generalization Commitment leads to the search for principles of language structure that hold across all aspects of language, in a related manner, the Cognitive Commitment represents the view that principles of linguistic structure should reflect what is known about human cognition from the other cognitive and brain sciences, particularly psychology, artificial intelligence, cognitive neuroscience, and philosophy. In other words, the Cognitive Commitment asserts that models of language and linguistic organization proposed should reflect what is known about the human mind, rather than purely aesthetic dictates such as the use of particular kinds of formalisms or economy of representation (see Croft 1998 for discussion of this last point). The Cognitive Commitment has a number of concrete ramifications. First, linguistic theories cannot include structures or processes that violate known properties of the human cognitive system. For instance, if sequential derivation of syntactic structures violates time constraints provided by actual human language processing, then it must be jettisoned. Second, models that use known, existing properties of human cognition to explain language phenomena are more parsimonious than those that are built from a priori simplicity metrics. For example, quite a lot is known about human categorization, and a theory that reduces word meaning to the same mechanisms responsible for categorization in other cognitive domains is simpler than one that hypothesizes a separate system for capturing lexical semantics. Finally, it is incumbent upon the cognitive linguistic researcher to find convergent evidence for the cognitive reality of components of any proffered model or explanation. Having briefly set out the two key commitments of the cognitive linguistics enterprise, we now briefly map out the two, hitherto, best developed areas of the field. Cognitive linguistics practice can be roughly divided into two main areas o research: cognitive semantics and cognitive (approaches to) grammar. The area of study known as cognitive semantics is concerned with investigating the relationship between experience, the conceptual system, and the semantic structure encoded by language. In specific terms, scholars working in cognitive semantics investigate knowledge representation (conceptual structure), and meaning construction (conceptualization). Cognitive semanticists have employed language as the lens through which these cognitive phenomena can be investigated. Consequently, research in cognitive semantics tends to be interested in modelling the human mind as much as it is concerned with investigating linguistic semantics. A cognitive approach to grammar is concerned with modelling the language system (the mental ‘grammar’), than the nature of mind per se. However, it does so by taking as its starting points the conclusions of work in cognitive semantics. This follows as meaning is central to cognitive approaches to grammar.4 It is critical to note that although the study of cognitive semantics and cognitive approaches to grammar are occasionally separate in practice, this by no means implies that their domains of inquiry are anything but tightly linked –most work in cognitive linguistics finds it necessary to investigate both lexical semantics and grammatical organization jointly. As with research in cognitive semantics, cognitive approaches to grammar have also typically adopted one of two foci. Scholars such as Ronald Langacker have emphasized the study of the cognitive principles that give rise to linguistic organization. In his theory of Cognitive Grammar, Langacker has attempted to delineate the principles that structure a grammar, and to relate these to aspects of general cognition. The second avenue of investigation, pursued by researchers including Fillmore and Kay, Lakoff),Goldberg and more recently Bergen and Chang (2005) and Croft (2002), aims to provide a more descriptively and formally detailed account of the linguistic units that comprise a particular language. These researchers attempt to provide a broad-ranging inventory of the units of language, from morphemes to words, idioms, and phrasal patterns, and seek accounts of their structure, compositional possibilities, and relations. Researchers who have pursued this line of investigation are developing a set of theories that are collectively known as construction grammars. This general approach takes its name from the view in cognitive linguistics that the basic unit of language is a form-meaning pairing known as a symbolic assembly, or a construction. Cognitive semantics, like the larger enterprise of which it is a part, is not a unified framework. Those researchers who identify themselves as cognitive semanticists typically have a diverse set of foci and interests. However, there are a number of guiding principles that collectively characterize a cognitive approach to semantics. In this section we identify these guiding principles (as we see them). In section 5 we explore some of the major theories and research areas which have emerged under the ‘banner’ of cognitive semantics. The four guiding principles of cognitive semantics are as follows: i) Conceptual structure is embodied (the ‘embodied cognition thesis’) ii) Semantic structure is conceptual structure iii) Meaning representation is encyclopaedic iv) Meaning construction is conceptualization Conceptual structure is embodied Due to the nature of our bodies, including our neuro-anatomical architecture, we have a species-specific view of the world. In other words, our construal of ‘reality’ is mediated, in large measure, by the nature of our embodiment. One example of the way in which embodiment affects the nature of experience is in the realm of color. While the human visual system has three kinds of photoreceptors (i.e., color channels), other organisms often have a different number. For instance, the visual system of squirrels, rabbits and possibly cats, makes use of two color channels, while other organisms, including goldfish and pigeons, have four color channels. Having a different range of color channels affects our experience of color in terms of the range of colors accessible to us along the color spectrum. Some organisms can see in the infrared range, such as rattlesnakes, which hunt prey at night and can visually detect the heat given off by other organisms. Humans are unable to see in this range. The nature of our visual apparatus – one aspect of our embodiment – determines the nature and range of our visual experience. The nature of the relation between embodied cognition and linguistic meaning is contentious. It is evident that embodiment underspecifies which color terms a particular language will have, and whether the speakers of a given language will be interested in ‘color’ in the first place (Saunders, 1995; Wierzbicka, 1996). However, the interest in understanding this relation is an important aspect of the view in cognitive linguistics that the study of linguistic meaning construction needs to be reintegrated with the contemporary study of human nature. The fact that our experience is embodied – that is, structured in part by the nature of the bodies we have and by our neurological organization – has consequences for cognition. In other words, the concepts we have access to and the nature of the ‘reality’ we think and talk about are a function of our embodiment. We can only talk about what we can perceive and conceive, and the things that we can perceive and conceive derive from embodied experience. From this point of view, the human mind must bear the imprint of embodied experience. This thesis, central to cognitive semantics, is known as the thesis of embodied cognition. This position holds that conceptual structure (the nature of human concepts) is a consequence of the nature of our embodiment and thus is embodied. Semantic structure is conceptual structure The second guiding principle asserts that language refers to concepts in the mind of the speaker rather than, directly, to entities which inhere in an objectively real external world. In other words, semantic structure (the meanings conventionally associated with words and other linguistic units) can be equated with conceptual structure (i.e., concepts). This ‘representational’ view is directly at odds with the ‘denotational’ perspective of what cognitive semanticists sometimes refer to as objectivist semantics, as exemplified by some formal approaches to semantics. However, the claim that semantic structure can be equated with conceptual structure does not mean that the two are identical. Instead, cognitive semanticists claim that the meanings associated with linguistic units such as words, for example, form only a subset of possible concepts. After all, we have many more thoughts, ideas and feelings than we can conventionally encode in language. For example, as Langacker (1987) observes, we have a concept for the place on our faces below our nose and above our mouth where moustaches go. We must have a concept for this part of the face in order to understand that the hair that grows there is called a moustache. However, there is no English word that conventionally encodes this concept (at least not in the non-specialist vocabulary of everyday language). It follows that the set of lexical concepts, the semantic units conventionally associated with linguistic units such as words is only a subset of the full set of concepts in the minds of speaker-hearers.

Friday, November 8, 2019

THE BUBONIC PLAGUE Essays - Plague, Bubonic Plague, Yersinia Pestis

THE BUBONIC PLAGUE Essays - Plague, Bubonic Plague, Yersinia Pestis THE BUBONIC PLAGUE Rana Kundu Introduction Plague, was a term that was applied in the Middle Ages to all fatal epidemic diseases, but now it is only applied to an acute, infectious, contagious disease of rodents and humans, caused by a short, thin, gram-negative bacillus. In humans, plague occurs in three forms: bubonic plague, pneumonic plague, and septicemic plague. The best known form is the bubonic plague and it is named after buboes, or enlarged, inflamed lymph nodes, which are characteristics of the plague in the groin or neck or armpit. Bubonic plague can only be transmitted by the bite of any of numerous insects that are normally parasitic on rodents and that seek new hosts when the original host dies. If the plague is left untreated it is fatal in thirty to seventy five percent of all cases. Mortality in treated cases is only five to ten percent. History Of The Bubonic Plague The origin of the bubonic plague is unknown but it may have started in Africa or India. Colonies of infected rats were established in Northern India, many years ago. Some of these rodents had infected traders on the route between the Middle East and China. After 1330 the plague had invaded China. From China it was transferred westward by traders and Mongol armies in the 14th century. While these traders were travelling westward they followed a more northerly route through the grasslands of what is now Russia, thus establishing a vast infected rodent population there. In 1346 the disease reached Crimea and found its way to Europe in 1347. The outbreak in Europe was a devastating one, which resulted in more than 25 million deaths-about twenty five percent of the continent's whole population. After that the plague reappeared irregularly in many European cities until the early 18th century, when it suddenly stopped there. No explanation has ever been given for the plague's rapid disappearance. Symptoms and Causes The first symptoms of the bubonic plague are headache, vomiting, nausea, aching joints and a feeling of ill health. The lymph nodes of the groin or of the armpit or neck suddenly start to become swollen and painful. The pulse and respiration rate of a bubonic plague victim is increased, and the victim will become listless and exhausted. The buboes will swell until they are approximately the size of a chicken egg. If a case is nonfatal than the temperature will begin to fall in about five days, and approaches normal in about two weeks, but in fatal cases death will probably occur within four days. Yersinia Pestis, an infectious agent is the cause of the Bubonic Plague. Yersina Pestis is a bacteria, which means the cells lack the internal organization of eukaryotic cells. These bacteria cells would contain the membrane but they would not be able to subdivide the inside of the cell. These bacteria cells do not have a nucleus so instead they have a nucleiod that contains genetic material. The two types of bacteria cells are gram-negative and gram-positive. Yersina Pestis is gram negative and that means that antibiotics are less effective on the plague because of a lipopolysaccharide layer over their walls that adds extra protection. Lymphatic System The bubonic plague has a major impact on the lymphatic system. The lymphatic system is made up of lymph nodes, lymphatic vessels, lymphoid organs and circulating lymphocytes. Plague victims tend to have large bumps on their bodies which are called "buboes". These are actually swollen lymph nodes filled with puss. The spread of the infection causes the lymph nodes to become hard and painful. The lymph nodes are heavily concentrated in the neck, armpits, and groin. When a person becomes ill these areas will begin to swell because the body needs to make a vast amount of white blood cells to fight off whatever pathogen has entered the body. To make all parts of the body function properly the "electron transport chain" is needed. Yersina pestis releases a toxin into the body that obstructs this function from occurring. Prevention and Treatment Many preventive measures can be used to reduce the spread of the plague (sanitation, killing of rats, prevention in transport of rats). Individuals who contract the disease are isolated, fed fluids and put to bed. During World War II, scientists using sulfa

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Nathan Bedford Forrest

Nathan Bedford Forrest, one of the military geniuses of American history, was born July 13, 1821 in Bedford County, Tennessee. Nathan Forrest was the son of William and Marian Beck Forrest. Nathan's father Willaim died when he was only 16. Forrest rose from poverty to become a wealthy cotton planter, horse and cattle trader, real estate broker, and slave dealer. Nathan Forrest was perhaps the most interesting and controversial general of the civil war. This almost illiterate backwoodsman was a self-made millionaire who enlisted as a private in the Confederate Army in June of 1861 and with no prior military training rose to the rank of lieutenant general in 1865 and has also been called the greatest cavalry commander of either army. Without military education or training, he became the annoyance of Grant, Sherman, and almost every other Union general who fought in Tennessee, Alabama, or Kentucky. His formula for success was "get there first with the most men." Forrest w!as fe arless and brutal. "War means fightin' and fightin' means killin'," he explained. His nemesis General William Tecumseh Sherman called him "a devil" and declared that Forrest should be "hunted down and killed if it costs 10,000 lives and bankrupts the treasury." It is said that Forrest personally killed 31 men and had 29 horses shot out from under him. Forrest left his mark throughout the Western and at many sites in West and Middle Tennessee. During the years General Nathan Bedford Forrest was a leader he fought in many wars. At the Battle of Fort Donelson, where 13,000 Confederates surrendered to General U.S. Grant, Forrest declared that he had not come to surrender and led his men through swollen rivers and winter weather to the safety of Nashville. At Pittsburgh Landing he charged and routed a line of Union skirmishes by himself in defense of the retreating rebel army. In Murfreesboro, Tennessee he freed a garrison jail

Sunday, November 3, 2019

How Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Reputations Affect Dissertation

How Corporate Social Responsibility and Corporate Reputations Affect Profitability - Dissertation Example POSE 32 3.4.RESEARCH APPROACH 32 3.5.RESEARCH STRATEGY 33 3.6.RESEARCH METHOD 34 3.7.DATA COLLECTION 35 3.7.1.Secondary data collection: 36 3.7.2.Questionnaire For Primary Data 36 3.8.POPULATION AND SAMPLING TECHNIQUE 37 3.9.ETHICAL ISSUES 38 3.10.LIMITATIONS 38 3.11.RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY OF RESEARCH 38 3.12.SUMMARY 39 Chapter 4: Data Analysis 40 4.1.INTRODUCTION: 40 4.2.DATA ANALYSIS: 40 4.3.ANALYSIS: 50 4.4.SUMMARY 52 CHAPTER FIVE: CONCLUSION 53 5.1.INTRODUCTION 53 5.2.SUMMARY OF THE FINDINGS 53 5.3.MANAGERIAL IMPLICATION 57 5.4.RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE STUDY 58 References 60 Table of Figures Figure 1: OCCUPATION OF RESPONDENTS: 41 Figure 2: IMPACT OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY ON PROFITABILITY 42 Figure 3: IMPORTANT FACTORS FOR EFFECTIVE CSR STRATEGY 44 Figure 4: REASONS OF ADOPTING CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY 46 Figure 5: BARRIERS IN ACCOMMODATING CSR IN THE COMPANY’S OPERATIONS 48 Figure 6: IMPORTANCE OF CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY IN TODAY’S ENVI RONMENT: 50 â€Å"HOW CORPORATE SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY AND CORPORATE REPUTATION AFFECTS PROFITABILITY?† Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1. INTRODUCTION The introduction chapter provides special attention regarding the concepts associated with Corporate Social Responsibility, and Corporate Reputation and its impact on organizational profitability. In addition, this chapter encompasses the research aims and objectives along with the significance of the study. This chapter further highlights the plan of the study i.e. the research methods used along with the conceptual framework. Lastly, this chapter includes the overall summary of the dissertation. 1.2. INTRODUCTION TO STUDY During the last two decades, organizations have grown significant concerns regarding Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Through CSR, organizations have been describing their contributions towards the community while balancing the organization’s impact on the environment. With the passage of time, organi zations have extended their responsibilities towards CSR as it has helped the organizations to promote sustainable growth on company’s core business activities. Businesses have long pursued their single most dominant motive i.e. profit. Significant changes have been observed from earlier days to the modern world. One of the prominent changes includes the utmost attention towards the development of community and society. In simpler words, the concept of giving the society back has greatly impacted the profitability of the businesses in local and international markets. Today the profitability of the company is fueled through its attention on social responsibilities. Due to the very reason, the

Friday, November 1, 2019

Impact of sea ice loss on Arctic ecosystem(Indigenous people, marine Essay

Impact of sea ice loss on Arctic ecosystem(Indigenous people, marine birds) - Essay Example This paper explains the effects that will cause problems and obstacles for the indigenous people living in these areas along with them the wildlife ecosystems such as the marine birds. This paper will also look into the possible environment that the Arctic community will eventually live through. The Impact of the Warming Arctic The change in the climate and the effects it has caused in the Arctic region may possibly be one of, if not the most critical ecological concern threatening and endangering the Arctic ecosystem.  This region, the northernmost part of the Earth, is home to various native communities whose way of life and daily activities is shaped, influenced and based on the environment and the surroundings. This area is also home to the abundant wildlife that thrives there. The Arctic region is naturally and ethnically very special and delicate. However, their sensitivity can be a problem. Because a slight change in the overall climate and weather in this zone, even as litt le as half a degree, the gradual global warming could risk the life of an entire society and culture. The rapid rise in the temperature is currently becoming more and more evident, resulting in the intensification of the loss of sea ice in the Arctic ecosystem. Now, it is a fact that the Arctic inhabitants were challenged in the past as they needed to adapt to the extreme cold and freezing weather with sub-zero temperatures. In time, they were able to adjust and for a time, were thriving in this Arctic community. However, the recent gradual changes in the climate could mean that the wildlife biodiversity and the communities who are living in this area will have to be faced with new obstacles and challenges. The several groups of indigenous people such as the Inuit are currently dealing with a number of problems and difficulties in their everyday lives. The drastic negative effects are now becoming a serious issue and concern for these people, as they fear that soon, if no proper cou rse of action will be taken, then their entire society and the whole entire community will no longer thrive and exist and will be gone forever. During the last decade, the people in the region have noticed different environmental changes. One of these is the loss of a great amount of ice sheets and when ice melts, what remains is the dry harsh desert. Another environmental problem is the thinning of the ice, which has resulted to difficulty in traveling and stranded hunters. Arctic hunters are having a harder time building igloos, which are impermanent or emergency shelters due to the change in the snow conditions. They are also starting to be more careful when chasing and going for animals. These animals have also changed. Caribou and other animals have decreased greatly in population. They also appear to be unhealthier, looking much skinnier than they used to. In addition, because of the increasing temperatures and the fact that Arctic people are not used to this as they are accus tomed to the cold, reports of sunburns and rashes have increased. The melting permafrost, or the permanently frozen land, has damaged and destroyed a couple of houses and roads, and have also caused erosion, unsteadiness and landslides. Moreover, since rain is less occurring, water from a few rivers and ponds are not anymore