10 Shelf-Sign Errors

10 Shelf-Sign Errors 10 Shelf-Sign Errors 10 Shelf-Sign Errors By Mark Nichol Errors on store signs are less egregious and more common than those on the products sold themselves, but one wonders, based on these photographs (and on the mistakes we see all the time while we’re shopping) if anybody who works in retail is paying any attention. Somehow, this rollback doesn’t seem like such a good deal. I assume the person who prepared the sign simply used the wrong currency symbol, and I assume store employees don’t ever look at the signs. This error rarely shows up in print or online, though redundant use of both dollars and the dollar sign (as in â€Å"He spent less than $500 dollars†) appears on occasion. What’s a flue shot? Getting ejected out of a chimney like a human cannonball? I’d pay twenty bucks for that as long as a parachute is included in the cost. The employee who typed this sign evidently didn’t have a 12-pack of â€Å"Genness† on hand for reference or maybe they did, and sampled some. No, thanks for some reason, I’m just not that hungry anymore. Now, that, on the other hand, I might just have to try. (What was on that employee’s mind?) The N key, you’ll note, is close to but not adjacent to the K key, so a simple slip of a finger didn’t cause this typo. I’ve been wondering what Dan Quayle is up to these days. Not only is potato misspelled, but salads has an extraneous apostrophe. Third offense: Why â€Å"potatoe salad† but â€Å"macaroni salad’s†? Make both salads singular, or make both plural, Dan. And the person who type’s these sign’s is misinformed about how to style plural’s. Stationary looks anything but it appears that the word (which should be spelled stationery in this sense) and flashlights are about to make a break for it. Just what, exactly, is a Skittles Theather Box? Presumably, theathering is involved. It appears that this shelf holds every type of movie-watching snack but Skittles, but whatever. The sign maker, and fellow Whole Foods employees, didn’t catch the dueling verbs at the beginning of the second line. As regular Daily Writing Tips readers are wont to remark, I make mistakes like this on occasion (despite reading posts aloud while I proof), but this error seems too obvious to overlook. And what’s up with â€Å"conventionally grown†? That’s an awkward counterpart to organic why would any self-respecting Whole Foods customer buy something conventional? These images are from the websites Apostrophe Abuse, English Fail Blog, GrammarBlog, The Great Typo Hunt, and Wordsplosion. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Incorrect Pronunciations That You Should Avoid16 Misquoted QuotationsHow to Write a Proposal

Bildungsroman a Literary Genre Essay Example

Bildungsroman a Literary Genre Essay Example Bildungsroman a Literary Genre Paper Bildungsroman a Literary Genre Paper In  literary criticism,  bildungsroman  or  coming-of-age story  is a literary genre which focuses on the psychological and moral growth of the protagonist from youth to adulthood (coming of age),[2]  and in which character change is thus extremely important. [3]  The term was coined in 1819 by philologist  Karl Morgenstern  in his university lectures, and later famously reprised by  Wilhelm Dilthey, who legitimized it in 1870 and popularized it in 1905. [1][4]  The genre is further characterized by a number of formal, topical, and thematic features. 5]  The term coming-of-age novel is sometimes used interchangeably with  Bildungsroman, but its use is usually wider and less technical. The birth of the  Bildungsroman  is normally dated to the publication of  Goethe’s  The Apprenticeship of Wilhelm Meister  in 1795–96. [6]  Although the  Bildungsroman  arose in Germany, it has had extensive influence first in Europe and later thro ughout the world. Thomas Carlyle  translated Goethe’s novel into English, and after its publication in 1824, many British authors wrote novels inspired by it. citation needed]  In the 20th century, the genre has been particularly popular among female and[7][Need quotation to  verify]minority writers;[8][Need quotation to  verify]  it has spread to Germany, Britain, France,[9]  and several other countries around the globe. [citation needed] The genre translates fairly directly into cinematic form, the  coming-of-age film. A  Bildungsroman  tells about the growing up or coming of age of a sensitive person who is looking for answers and experience. The genre evolved from folklore tales of a  dunce  or youngest son going out in the world to seek his fortune. Usually in the beginning of the story there is an emotional loss which makes the protagonist leave on his journey. In a  Bildungsroman, the goal is maturity, and the protagonist achieves it gradually and with difficulty. The genre often features a main conflict between the main character and society. Typically, the values of society are gradually accepted by the protagonist and he is ultimately accepted into society  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ the protagonists mistakes and disappointments are over. In some works, the protagonist is able to reach out and help others after having achieved maturity. There are many variations and subgenres of  Bildungsroman  that focus on the growth of an individual. An  Entwicklungsroman  (development novel) is a story of general growth rather than self-cultivation. An  Erziehungsroman  (education novel) focuses on training and formal schooling,[citation needed]  while a  Kunstlerroman  (artist novel) is about the development of an artist and shows a growth of the self. Great Expectations  is widely considered to be a direct descendant of Goethes  Wilhelm Meister,  the prototypicalBildungsroman. Aurora Leigh  takes the genre and complicates it with problems of gender in Victorian society. Waterlandreconsiders personal growth in a postmodern context, using narrative not for description, but rather as the vehicle for maturation * Hayy ibn Yaqdhan, by  Ibn Tufail  (12th century), a precursor of the genre[11] * The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling, by  Henry Fielding  (1749)[12] * The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman, by  Laurence Sterne  (1759)[12] * Candide, by  Voltaire  (1759)[13] Emile: or, On Education, by  Jean-Jacques Rousseau  (1762) * Wilhelm Meisters Apprenticeship, by  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, the paragon of the genre (1795–96) * The Sorrows of Young Werther, by  Johann Wolfgang von Goethe  (1787), though the protagonist doesnt learn to accept society, and instead commits suicide. * The Swiss Family Robinson  (German: Der Schweizerische Robinson), by  Johann David Wyss, and edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss (1812) * Jane Eyre, by  Charlotte Bronte  (1847

PDA Slim 4 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

PDA Slim 4 - Essay Example I decrease the price of X5 item 10%, increased the X6 by 10% and decreased the X7 price by 20%. During this simulation run I accelerated the X7 results and was able for the first time to obtain positive profits for X7 in the first round for the first time. I was able to do by lowering the price in the initial run by 20% for an overall price of $136. The market saturation growth doubled from 4% to 8%. My cumulative profits after the first round were $341 million. After completing the first round I studied the behavior of the X5 marketplace. I noticed by analyzing the historical data that the last two times I ran the simulation after the second round the results for the X5 product were negative. Independent of the price movement upwards or backwards the product became unprofitable and saturated. Based on this information I learned that this was a clear indicator that the best course of action was to eliminate the product out of the market since its existence was detrimental to the cumulative profits of the company. The profits I achieved during this round amounted to $194 million of which the X6 contributed $107 million, while the X5 provided $87 million. In the third round of this simulation I noticed that the internal information provided by the advisors of handheld became more useful and insightful. I would imagine the reason the information became more useful is that the management of the company now had more time to concentrate of their efforts in a more simplified strategy since more time could be spend in analyzing each product now. For example for the X6 the advisor told me that the customers pay more the X6 product than other comparable products. This originally made me raise the price of the item. Along with this comment another advice came in saying that the competition for the X6 has comparable products with more features. The added information was an indicator that a small decrease in price would provide greater value for the customers. I

Identify three laws (state and federal) that limit what an employer Assignment

Identify three laws (state and federal) that limit what an employer can do to an employee, and explain the pros and cons of each law - Assignment Example Such incidences leave employees in a state of tumult and cursing their employment (FLSA, 2012). On the same note, the employers are said to remunerate their employees however they wish subjecting the employees in a state of discomfort and discontentment. In this study, we look at some state and federal laws that have a limit or prohibit what employers can do to their employees as well as the pro and cons of those laws. The first law that will be discussed is the Federal Wage Garnishment Law, The Consumer Credit Protection Act’s Title 3 (CPPA) (Dol.gov, 2009). But, what is meant by wage garnishment? Wage garnishment can be defined as any legal or equitable procedure through an employee’s portion of the wage is required to be withheld by an employer for settlement of dome debt. Primarily, garnishments are done following a court order. Other types of wage garnishment may include IRS or the federal tax collection agency levies for unpaid taxes and the federal agency garnishments for non-tax debts owed to the federal government (Dol.gov, 2009). The CPPA limits the amount of employee’s wages that can be garnished by the employers and protects them from facing the sack if their earnings are garnished for only one debt. This law is very important because it helps employees whose wages have been garnished for a single debt to continue working, but it fails on part that the amount to be garnished will be after all the legal deductions, leaving the employee with little or nothing to take home. The law also allows pensions to be garnished and this is not pleasing especially to the elderly. The 1963 Act of Equal Pay is another law that prohibits employers from exploiting employees. It safeguards men and women who perform equally at work or equal work from sex-based wage discrimination and compels the employers to pay them equally regardless of the gender of the workers (Eeoc.gov, 2015). If it is a construction work done by employees of bother gender,

Kate Spade analysis of financial operations Research Paper

Kate Spade analysis of financial operations - Research Paper Example It is calculated by multiplying each source of finance by their relevant weight and then adding up the product of all these sources (Weighted Average Cost of Capital, 2015). Returns on investment of the company must be higher than the cost of capital. It increases the growth of the company and overall profitability. The Higher cost of capital results in loss of capital and decrease in growth over time. Return on investment of Kate Spade is 24.5% while its cost of capital is 14.48%. It means that the company is generating higher returns on capital than the cost required to generate that capital. It indicates that the future growth of the company is positive. †¢ Declining economic conditions and instability in economic markets in Asia and Europe can significantly affect the consumers’ confidence and may lead to a decline in consumer purchases of fashion and related products. Global economic condition after the recession of 2008 have resulted in unemployment and declining consumer confidence which in turn have led to a decline in consumer spending, specifically of those goods which represents discretionary purchases including fashion related products. Significant declines in revenue were experienced by the company and it is likely that consumption patterns and habits of consumers have changed as a result of recession, and this may continue to affect the revenues of the company for a foreseeable future. If the global economy will not recover and continue to decline further, it will have a negative impact on long-term revenues, operating margin and earnings in international segments of the company. †¢ Economic conditions have also forced the company to enter into a promotional environment, and both wholesale, and retail consumers are having pressure to increase discounts on sales. It had a negative impact on the company’s profitability. Additionally, international political

Counterculture Analysis: The Klu Klux Klan

Counterculture Analysis: The Klu Klux Klan Brooke Lauginiger The Ku Klux Klan: A Counterculture Within the American Society Picture a perfect, white world filled with Christian beings. No one defied their beliefs, no one looked any different than they did. This was the common aspiration of all members of the infamous group The Ku Klux Klan, otherwise referred to as the KKK. Formed in 1865, in Pulaski Tennessee, the Ku Klux Klan was established as a means of upholding white supremacy in a great time of change incorporating non-Caucasian citizens (Newton 7). The Ku Klux Klan can be referred to as an example of a counterculture in their time, which also happens to still be relevant to this day. A counterculture can be defined as a group that rejects the values, norms, and practices of the larger society and replaces them with a new set of cultural patterns tailored to their beliefs(Thomas 37). In 1866, non-Caucasian citizens were beginning to enter the light of the medias focus. African Americans were beginning to exit the slavery statistic and flourish in the center of social society. Certain individuals such as some of the confederate army generals, refused to accept the incorporation of African Americans into their perfectly supreme, white society (Southern Poverty Law Center). With this idea in mind, they decided to initiate a group to not only belittle those African Americans, but push them out of the picture by inflicting danger and violence. As explained by definition, members of the KKK were completely against the acceptance of di fferent races and revolted against the laws being accepted by the larger society. They upheld their own standards such as only admitting white, Christian members. In 1865, The KKK quickly grew from a secretive social group to a strong force which strictly enforces reversal of the federal governments progressive Reconstruction Era-activities in the South, specifically targeting policies that elevated the rights of the uproaring African American population (History).ÂÂ   Pulaski, Tennessee proved to be the ideal location of initiation of this group. This may have been for the overwhelming southern attitude toward minorities at the time. This group established violence as their attempt to pushing back Reconstruction and its incorporation of African Americans (History). Every forceful group must have strong leaders behind it, and in this case these leaders were intimidating, and inflicted violence in every case they saw fit in order to achieve their large goal of reinstating white supremacy. Army General, N.B. Forrest is a leader that first comes to mind when looking into the history of the KKK. He was named the first Grand Wizard of the orga nization (Newton 69). Other relevant men when speaking of the Ku Klux Klan would be the six founders: Frank McCord, John Lester, Calvin Jones, Richard Reed, James Crowe and John B. Kennedy (Newton 92-95). The ideology of the group was basically to prevent African American incorporation and keep a sense of white ruling throughout the nation despite the federal laws being put in place. In order to achieve this, members of the KKK burned crosses, and even bombed predominantly black churches and schools (History). Perhaps what the members of this notorious society did, is not as bad as it seems from first glance. Using a sociological perspective to observe their actions can could help uncover a hidden intention behind their actions. A sociological perspective is a viewing of the behavior of groups in a systematic way (Thomas 4). Viewing groups such as the KKK with a sociological perspective can help identify their contribution to society. Members of the Ku Klux Klan are indeed social beings. They interact with the same beings of society that everyone else does; this selective interaction could have potentially lead to their decision to inflict a strong need for white supremacy. A decline in societal improvement with the induction of non-Caucasian citizens could have struck the fight for a stop to integration ideas. Behavioral factors such as the behaviors of slaves, and the way that slaves were brought up, without education and grace, could have been a strong reason that the members of the KKK felt the African Americans were not qualified enough to lie on an even playing field with the whites that had ruled for years before. Using this perspective can broaden the view of the world, by seeing it from a member standpoint as well as a part of the larger, predominant society. This influential perspective also helps create a sociological imagination. A sociological imagination is the ability to connect the larger world with ones utmost personal life (Thomas 5). Klan members thought incorporation of African Americans into society would ruin opportunities for them in the future. Jobs, educational systems, home life, future generations of children, just to name a few were on the line if integration were to occur. The exclusion of these members from society would benefit all white citizens, not just those that looked to actually make the aspiration a reality. The Ku Klux Klan actively exercised ethnocentrism. Ethnocentrism the belief that ones culture or group is superior to all other cultures and groups (Thomas 35). The larger society, the Americans accepting of the African American incorporation saw the KKK as a counterculture based off of this definition. Due to the Klan believing they were superior to all others cultures, especially the predominant practices, the rest of the nation saw the Ku Klux Klan as a counterculture because they clearly defied the expectation of following the Reconstruction-Era activities which was the norm at the time. In their eyes, because the rejected the norm, as any other counterculture would by definition, they were frowned upon in the eyes of the media, the government, and the people (Thomas 37). Actually, it was quite common to display a negative reaction toward the actions and mannerisms of the Klan by the American people. Specifically, the KKK refused to accept black leaders in the government, black c itizens in jobs, and black citizens on any sort of even playing field. Instead, they attacked the African Americans, verbally and physically to intimidate them and chase them away from becoming more involved in society. In numerous cases they destroyed the African Americans sanctuaries and locations of education to get their point across (Southern Poverty Law Center). Private invasions often occurred. This was the case for so many innocent black citizens such as J.C. Dunlap, Evergreen Flowers, Isaac Gaston, and Benton Ford. Ford, specifically, was enjoying a peaceful night with his girlfriend when Klan members in March of 1939 right outside of Atlanta, Georgia dropped in with an unexpected plan for the evening (Newton 267). Many victims of the KKK held similar stories in which their lives drastically changed forever. When being thought of as ethnocentric in the eyes of the larger society, one must find a way to defend itself to the predominant culture in order to justify their means of behavior. In order to do so in this scenario, the Ku Klux Klan employed cultural relativism in order to defend their actions. Cultural relativism is the belief that each society should be judged by their own standards rather than the standards of another culture (Thomas 36). To the members of the Klan, their actions were not to come across as superior to all other cultures at the time. Instead, they looked at their behavior as a tailored standard they believed justified their values. Members did not look to be judged by the rest of the American society using their terms and values as examples; they simply acted out in their own manner and hoped it would be looked upon as an individual value in a subculture completely isolated from the values of the American citizens who support Non-Caucasian integration. Klan membe rs often aspired for the rest of the American society to see the world from their point of view, whether they agreed or not, merely observing in a different mindset would justify their actions and beliefs all on its own (Thomas 36). Growing up hearing nothing but negative comments in regards to the Ku Klux Klan, I was forced to think they were an awful society of merely racist people. After further researching them and looking at their level of ethnocentrism, or pride, using a sociological perspective looking for a deeper meaning, the KKK can be thought of as a counterculture, whom of course rejects the norms of the larger society, but does so because they are afraid of change. Change can be stable for some, but leave so many unstable; Those members of this secret society could not handle the inevitable change that was among them, so they turned to violence and danger to put a stop to it. Personally, my opinion does not align with those in support of the KKK, but I simply cannot only comment negatively in regards to their actions because their deeper meaning meant so much more for the white society many years ago, as well as today. Works Cited KKK founded. History.com. AE Television Networks, n.d. Web. 08 Mar. 2017. Ku Klux Klan. Southern Poverty Law Center, Web. 03 Mar. 2017. Newton, Michael. The Ku Klux Klan. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland Company, Inc., 2007. Reference Book. Thomas, W. LaVerne. Holt Sociology The Study of Human Relationships. Austin: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 2003. Textbook.

Analysis of A Perfect Ganesh :: Perfect Ganesh Essays

A Perfect Ganesh Analysis of the play elements. The author: Terrence Mcnally’s career began in the New York off-off-Broadway boom of the late 1960s. Most of his 60’s plays are not really relevant although some are funny. However, during the 70’s his plays began to get recognition. Nowadays, his plays are performed in off-Broadway theaters and he is known as the author of tragicomic plays, filled with breadth and depth. He still lives in New York and is one of the America best playwrights. He is the author of numerous plays, including Master Class and Love! Valour! Compassion! (both winners of the Tony Award for best play), The Ritz, and Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, which became a movie starring Al Pacino and Michelle Pfeiffer, and the books for the musicals The Rink and Kiss of the Spider Woman, which won the Tony Award for the best book of musical. Other successes include Lips Together, Teeth Apart and The Lisbon Traviata. Other plays by Terrence McNally are: Andre’s Mother; Corpus Christi: a play; It’s only a Play;Â   !Cuba si! Bringing it all back home, last gasps; and Where has Tommy Flowers Gone. McNally has received two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, and a citation from the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He also serves as vice president for the Dramatists Guild, the American organization of playwrights, composers, and lyricists. His plays have been adapted to many languages, and performed in different countries. The plot The play concerns a two-week travel to India by two rich middle-aged women, who seem to be empty and frivolous. They both have indifferent and painful memories of the deaths of their sons. Although being friends for many years, it is only in this trip that they get to know each other (and also themselves) by experiencing the humanity of India. Katharine Brynne, one of them, is a mother who lost a homosexual son, killed by homophobics, and is haunted by the fact she rejected him. Katharine is also a woman who must deal with her racism, fueled by the fact that the men who killed her son were black. She is also an exuberant and open-minded woman who is willing to take risks and to accept the reality she sees about herself. In contrast to Katharine, there is Margaret Civil, who is more reserved, conventional, and motherly.

The Return: Midnight Chapter 3

Damon leaped. Somewhere in the middle of the leap Elena felt herself left to the whims of gravity. She tried to curl into a bal to take the impact on one buttock. What happened was strange – almost miraculous. She came down, right side up, on the opposite side of the couch from the plate of steak tartar. The plate did a little leap of its own, three or four inches, perhaps, and then settled back where it had been. Elena was also lucky enough to get a perfect view of the end of the heroic rescue – which involved Damon diving for the floor and grabbing the bottle of precious Black Magic wine just before it hit the ground and smashed. He might not have the kind of lightning-fast reflexes he had when he was a vampire, but he was stil far, far faster than an ordinary human. Leap holding girl, drop girl onto something soft, turn leap into dive, and at last instant grab bottle, just before it would hit. Amazing. But there was another way that Damon wasn't like a vampire anymore – he wasn't invincible to fal ing onto hard surfaces. Elena only realized this when she heard him gasp, trying to breathe and not being able to. She scrambled wildly in her mind for al the accidents she could remember with jocks, and – yes, recal ed one when Matt had had the wind completely knocked out of him. The coach had seized him by the col ar and thumped him on the back. Elena ran to Damon and grabbed him under the arms, rol ing him onto his back. She put al her strength into hauling him into a sitting position. Then she made a club of her hands. Pretending she was Meredith, who had been on the basebal team at Robert E. Lee High and had a .225 ERA, she swung as hard as she could at Damon, slamming her fists into his back. And it worked! Suddenly Damon was wheezing, and then breathing again. A born straightener of ties, Elena knelt and tried to rearrange his clothes. As soon as he could breathe properly, his limbs stopped being pliant under her fingers. He gently curled her hands into each other. Elena wondered if possibly they'd gone so far beyond words that they would never find them again. How had it al happened? Damon had picked her up perhaps because her leg was burned, or perhaps because he had decided Mrs. Flowers was the one with the star bal . She herself had said, â€Å"Damon, what are you doing?†Perfectly straightforward. And then halfway through the sentence she had heard for herself the â€Å"darling†and – but who would ever believe her? – it hadn't been connected with anything they had been doing earlier at al . It had been an accident, a slip of the tongue. But she'd said it in front of Bonnie, the one person most likely to take it seriously and personal y. And then Bonnie had been gone before she could even explain. Darling! When they had just started fighting again. It real y was a joke. Because he had been serious about just taking the star bal . She had seen it in his eyes. To cal Damon â€Å"darling†seriously, you would have to be – have to be†¦hopelessly†¦helplessly†¦desperately in†¦ Oh, God†¦ Tears began to run down Elena's cheeks. But these were tears of revelation. Elena knew she wasn't in her best form today. No real sleep for going on three days – too many conflicting emotions – too much genuine terror right now. Stil, she was terrified to find that something fundamental had changed inside her. It wasn't anything she had asked for. Al she had asked was that the two brothers stop feuding. And she had been born to love Stefan; she knew that! Once, he'd been wil ing to marry her. Wel , since then she'd been a vampire, a spirit, and a new incarnation dropped from the sky, and she could hope that one day he would be wil ing to marry the new Elena, too. But the new Elena was bewildered, what with her strange new blood that to vampires was like rocket fuel compared to the gasoline most girls carried about in their veins. With her Wings Powers, such as Wings of Redemption, most of which she didn't understand and none of which she could control. Although lately she had seen the beginning of a stance, and she knew it was for Wings of Destruction. That, she thought grimly, might be quite useful someday. Of course a number of them had already been helpful to Damon, who was no longer simply an al y, but an enemy-al y again. Who wanted to steal something that her whole town needed. Elena hadn't asked to fal in love with Damon – but, oh God, what if she already had? What if she couldn't make the feelings stop? What could she do? Silently, she sat crying, knowing that she could never say any of these things to Damon. He had a gift of farseeing and a level head in times of emotion, but not, as she knew al too wel , about this particular issue. If she told him what was in her heart, before she knew it, he would kidnap her. He would believe she had forgotten Stefan for good, as she had forgotten him briefly tonight. â€Å"Stefan,†she whispered. â€Å"I'm sorry†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She could never let Stefan know about it either – and Stefan was her heart. â€Å"We've got to get rid of Shinichi and Misao fast,†Matt was saying moodily. â€Å"I mean, I real y need to get into condition soon or Kent State's gonna send me back stamped ‘Reject.'†He and Meredith were sitting in Mrs. Flowers's warm kitchen nibbling on gingersnap cookies and watching her as she diligently worked at making beef carpaccio – the second of the two raw beef recipes in the antique cookbook she owned. â€Å"Stefan's doing so wel that in a couple of days we could even be tossing around the old pigskin,†he added, sarcasm edging his voice, â€Å"if everybody in town would just stop being crazy possessed. Oh, yeah, and if the cops would stop coming after me for assaulting Caroline.† At the mention of Stefan's name, Mrs. Flowers peeked into a cauldron that had been bubbling away on the stove for so long, and was now emitting such a fearsome odor that Matt didn't know who to pity more: the guy getting the huge pile of raw meat or the one who'd soon be trying to choke down whatever was in that cooking pot. â€Å"So – assuming you're alive – you're going to be glad to leave Fel ‘s Church when the time comes?†Meredith asked him quietly. Matt felt as if she had just slapped him. â€Å"You're joking, right?†he said, petting Saber with one tanned, bare foot. The huge beast was making a sort of growly purring sound. â€Å"I mean, before that, it's going to be great to throw a couple of passes to Stefan again – he's the best tight end I've ever seen – â€Å" â€Å"Or ever wil see,†Meredith reminded him. â€Å"I don't think many vampires go in for footbal , Matt, so don't even think of suggesting that he and Elena fol ow you to Kent State. Besides, I'l be right beside you, trying to get them to come to Harvard with me. And worse, we're both checkmated by Bonnie, because that junior col ege – whatever – is much closer to Fel ‘s Church and al the things around here they love.† â€Å"Al the things around here Elena loves,†Matt couldn't help correcting. â€Å"Al Stefan wants is to be with Elena.† â€Å"Now, now,†Mrs. Flowers said. â€Å"Let's just take things as they come, shal we, my dears? Ma ma says that we need to keep up our strength. She sounds worried to me – you know, she can't foresee everything that happens.† Matt nodded, but he had to swal ow hard before saying to Meredith, â€Å"So, you're eager to be off for the Ivied Wal s, I'm sure?† â€Å"If it wasn't Harvard – if I could just put it off for a year and keep my scholarship†¦Ã¢â‚¬ Meredith's voice trailed off, but the yearning in it was unmistakable. Mrs. Flowers patted Meredith's shoulder, and then said, â€Å"I wonder about dear Stefan and Elena. After al , with everyone thinking that she's dead, Elena can't live here and be seen.† â€Å"I think they've given up on the idea of going somewhere far, far away,†Matt said. â€Å"I'l bet that now they think of themselves as Fel ‘s Church's guardians. They'l get by somehow. Elena can shave her head.†Matt was trying for a light tone, but the words sank like lead bal oons as they left his mouth. â€Å"Mrs. Flowers was talking about college,†Meredith said in a tone just as heavy. â€Å"Are they going to be super-heroes at night and just veg out the rest of the time? If they want to go somewhere even next year, they need to be thinking about it now.† â€Å"Oh†¦wel , I guess there's Dalcrest.† â€Å"Where?† â€Å"You know, that little campus in Dyer. It's smal but the footbal team there is real y – wel , I guess Stefan wouldn't care how good they are. But it's only half an hour away.† â€Å"Oh, that place. Wel , the sports may be fantastic but it's sure not an Ivy, much less Harvard.†Meredith – unsentimental, enigmatic Meredith – sounded as if she had a stuffed-up nose. â€Å"Yeah,†Matt said – and just for a second took Meredith's slim, cold hand and squeezed it. He was even more surprised when she linked her chil ed fingers up with his, holding his hand. â€Å"Ma ma says whatever is fated to happen wil happen soon,†Mrs. Flowers said serenely. â€Å"The main thing, as I see it, is to save the dear, dear old town. As wel as the people.† â€Å"Of course it is,†Matt said. â€Å"We're going to do our best. Thank God we have somebody in town who understands Japanese demons.† â€Å"Orime Saitou,†Mrs. Flowers said with a little smile. â€Å"Bless her for her amulets.† â€Å"Yeah, both of them,†Matt said, thinking of the grandmother and mother who shared the name. â€Å"I think we're going to need a lot of those amulets they make,†he added grimly. Mrs. Flowers opened her mouth, but Meredith spoke, stil focused on thoughts of her own. â€Å"You know, Stefan and Elena may not have given up on their far, far away thing after al ,†she said sadly. â€Å"And since at this point none of us may even live to make it to our own col eges†¦Ã¢â‚¬ She shrugged. Matt was stil squeezing her hand when Bonnie dashed in the front door, keening. She tried to speed through the foyer toward the stairs, avoiding the kitchen, but Matt released Meredith and they both dashed up to block her. Instantly, everyone was in combat mode. Meredith grasped Bonnie's arm tightly. Mrs. Flowers came into the foyer, wiping her hands on a dish towel. â€Å"Bonnie, what happened? Is it Shinichi and Misao? Are we being attacked?†Meredith asked quietly but with the intensity to cut through hysteria. Something shot like a bolt of ice through Matt's body. No one real y knew where Shinichi and Misao were right now. Perhaps in the thicket that was al that was left of the Old Woods – perhaps right here at the boardinghouse. â€Å"Elena!†he shouted. â€Å"Oh, God, she and Damon are both out there! Are they hurt? Did Shinichi get them?† Bonnie shut her eyes and shook her head. â€Å"Bonnie, stay with me. Stay calm. Is it Shinichi? Is it the police?†Meredith asked. And to Matt: â€Å"You'd better check through the curtains there.†But Bonnie was stil shaking her head. Matt saw no police lights through the curtains. Nor did he see any sign of Shinichi and Misao attacking. â€Å"If we're not being attacked,†Matt could hear Meredith saying to Bonnie, â€Å"then what is happening?† Maddeningly, Bonnie just shook her head. Matt and Meredith looked at each other over Bonnie's strawberry curls. â€Å"The star bal ,†Meredith said softly, just as Matt growled, â€Å"That bastard.† â€Å"Elena won't tel him anything but the story,†Meredith said. And Matt nodded, trying to keep from his mind a picture of Damon casual y waving and Elena convulsing in agony. â€Å"Maybe it's the possessed kids – the ones who walk around hurting themselves or acting insane,†Meredith said, with a side glance at Bonnie, and squeezing Matt's hand very hard. Matt was bewildered and fumbled the cue. He said, â€Å"If that S.O.B. is trying to get the star bal , Bonnie wouldn't have run away. She's bravest when she's scared. And unless he's kil ed Elena she shouldn't be like this – â€Å" Which left Meredith the grim job of saying, â€Å"Talk to us, Bonnie,†in her most comforting big-sister voice. â€Å"Something must have happened to get you in this state. Just breathe slowly and tel me what you saw.† And then, in a torrent, words began to spil from Bonnie's lips. â€Å"She – she was cal ing him darling,†Bonnie said, gripping Meredith's other hand with both of hers. â€Å"And there was blood smeared al around on her neck. And – oh, I dropped it! The bottle of Black Magic!† â€Å"Oh, wel ,†Mrs. Flowers said gently. â€Å"No use crying over spil ed wine. We'l just have to – â€Å" â€Å"No, you don't understand,†Bonnie gasped. â€Å"I heard them talking as I came up – I had to go slow because it's so hard not to trip. They were talking about the star bal ! At first I thought they were arguing, but – she had her arms around Damon's neck. And al that stuff about him not being a vampire anymore? She had blood al over her throat and he had it on his mouth! As soon as I got there he picked her up and threw her so I couldn't see but he wasn't fast enough. She must have given the star bal to him! And she still was calling him ‘darling'!† Matt's eyes met Meredith's and they both flushed and looked away quickly. If Damon was a vampire again – if he had somehow gotten the star bal from its hiding place – and if Elena had been â€Å"taking food†to him just to give him blood†¦ Meredith was stil looking for a way out. â€Å"Bonnie – aren't you making too much of this? Anyway, what happened to Mrs. Flowers's tray of food?† â€Å"It was – al over the place. They'd just tossed it away! But he was was holding her with one hand under her knees and one under her neck, and her head was way back so that her hair was fal ing al over his shoulder!† There was a silence as everyone tried to imagine various positions that might correspond to Bonnie's last words. â€Å"You mean he was holding her up to steady her?†Meredith asked, her voice suddenly almost a whisper. Matt caught her meaning. Stefan was probably asleep upstairs, and Meredith wanted to keep it that way. â€Å"No! They – they were looking at each other,†Bonnie cried. â€Å"Looking. Into each other's eyes.† Mrs. Flowers spoke mildly. â€Å"But dear Bonnie – maybe Elena fel down and Damon had to just scoop her up.† Now Bonnie was speaking remorselessly and fluently. â€Å"Only if that's what's just happened to al those women on the covers of those romance books – what-d'you-cal -'ems?† â€Å"Bodice-rippers?†Meredith suggested unhappily when no one else spoke. â€Å"That's right! Bodice-rippers. That's how he was holding her! I mean, we al knew that something was going on with the two of them in the Dark Dimension, but I thought al that would stop when we found Stefan. But it hasn't!† Matt felt sick in the pit of his stomach. â€Å"You mean right now Elena and Damon are in there†¦kissing and stuff?† â€Å"I don't know what I mean!†Bonnie exclaimed. â€Å"They were talking about the star ball! He was holding her like a bride! And she wasn't fighting it!† With a chil of horror, Matt could see trouble, and he could see that Meredith could see it too. Even worse, they were looking in two different directions. Matt was looking upstairs, at the staircase, where Stefan had just appeared. Meredith was looking at the kitchen door, one glance at which showed Matt that Damon was entering the foyer. What was Damon doing in the kitchen? Matt wondered. We were there until a minute ago. And he was, what, eavesdropping from the den side? Matt gave the situation his best shot, anyway. â€Å"Stefan!†he said in a hearty voice that made him wince inwardly. â€Å"You ready for a little athlete's-blood nightcap?† A tiny part of Matt's mind thought: But just look at him. Only three days out of prison and he already looks like himself again. Three nights ago he was a skeleton. Today he just looks – thin. He's even handsome enough to make the girls al go crazy over him again. Stefan smiled faintly at him, leaning on the banister. In his pale face, his eyes were remarkably alive, a vibrant green that made them actual y shine like jewels. He didn't look upset, and that made Matt's heart twist for him. How could they tel him? â€Å"Elena is hurt,†Stefan said, and suddenly there was a pause – an utter silence – as every person froze in place. â€Å"But Damon couldn't help her, so he brought her to Mrs. Flowers.† â€Å"True,†Damon said coldly from behind Matt. â€Å"I couldn't help her. If I were stil a vampire†¦but I'm not. Elena has burns, mainly. Al I could think of was an ice pack or some kind of poultice. Sorry to disprove al your clever theories.† â€Å"Oh my heavens!†cried Mrs. Flowers. â€Å"You mean dear Elena's waiting right now in the kitchen for a poultice?†She hurried out of the foyer toward the kitchen. Stefan was stil coming down the stairs, cal ing, â€Å"Mrs. Flowers, she scalded her arm and leg – she says because Damon didn't recognize her in the dark and jostled her. And that he thought it was an intruder in his room, and nicked her throat with a knife. The rest of us wil be in the parlor if you need help.† Bonnie cried, â€Å"Stefan, maybe she's innocent – but he isn't! Even according to you, he burned her – that's torture – and he put a knife to her throat! Maybe he threatened her to make her tel us what we wanted to hear. Maybe she's stil a hostage right now and we don't know it!† Stefan flushed. â€Å"It's so hard to explain,†he said very softly. â€Å"And I keep trying to tune it out. But so far – some of my Powers have been growing†¦faster than my ability to control them. Most of the time I'm asleep, so it doesn't matter. I was asleep until a few minutes ago. But I woke up and Elena was tel ing Damon that Mrs. Flowers doesn't have the star bal . She was upset, and injured – and I could feel where she'd been injured. And then suddenly I heard you, Bonnie. You're a very strong telepath. Then I heard the rest of you talking about Elena†¦.† Oh my God. How insane, Matt was thinking. His mouth was babbling some â€Å"Sure, sure, our mistake†gibberish, and his feet fol owed Meredith's to the parlor as if they were attached to her Italian sandals. But the blood on Damon's mouth†¦ There had to be some mundane reason for the blood, too. Stefan had said that Damon had nicked Elena with a knife. As to how the blood got smeared around; wel , that actual y didn't sound like vampirism to Matt. He'd been a donor for Stefan at least a dozen times in the last days and the process was always very neat. It was strange, too, he thought, that it had never occurred to any of them that, even from the top of the house, Stefan might be able to hear their thoughts directly. Could he always do that? Matt thought, wondering at the same time whether Stefan was doing it right now. â€Å"I try not to listen to thoughts, unless I'm invited or I have a good reason,†Stefan said. â€Å"But when anybody mentions Elena, especial y if they sound upset – that I can't help. It's like when you're in a noisy place and you can barely hear, but when somebody says your name you hear it instantly.† â€Å"It's cal ed the Cocktail Party Phenomenon,†Meredith said. Her voice was quiet and remorseful as she was trying to calm the mortified Bonnie. Matt felt another tug at his heart. â€Å"Wel , you can cal it whatever you want,†he said, â€Å"but what it means is that you can listen in on our minds any time you like.† â€Å"Not any time,†Stefan said, wincing. â€Å"When I was drinking animal blood I wasn't strong enough unless I real y worked at it. By the way, it may please my friends to know that I'm going back to hunting animals by tomorrow or the next day, depending on what Mrs. Flowers says,†he added with a significant glance around the room. His eyes lingered on Damon, who was lounging against the wal by the window, looking disheveled and very, very dangerous. â€Å"But that doesn't mean I'l forget who saved my life when I was dying. For that I honor and thank them – and, wel , we'l have a party sometime.†He blinked hard and turned away. The two girls melted at once – even Meredith sniffled. Damon heaved an exaggerated sigh. â€Å"Animal blood? Oh, bril iant. Make yourself as weak as you can, little brother, even with three or four wil ing donors around you. Then, when it comes to the final showdown with Shinichi and Misao, you'l be about as effective as a piece of damp tissue paper.† Bonnie started. â€Å"Is there going to be a showdown†¦soon?† â€Å"As soon as Shinichi and Misao can manage it,†Stefan said quietly. â€Å"I think they'd rather not give me time to get wel . The whole town is supposed to go up in fire and ashes, you know. But I can't keep asking you and Meredith and Matt – and Elena – to donate blood. You've already kept me alive the last few days, and I don't know how to repay you for it.† â€Å"Repay us by getting as strong as you can,†Meredith said in her quiet, level voice. â€Å"But, Stefan, can I ask a few questions?† â€Å"Of course,†Stefan said, standing by a chair. He didn't sit himself until Meredith, with Bonnie almost in her lap, had sunk down on the love seat. Then he said, â€Å"Fire.†

Medical-Related Communication Technology Essays

Medical-Related Communication Technology Essays Medical-Related Communication Technology Paper Medical-Related Communication Technology Paper 2001; Stuart et al. , 2003). These systems have also been used in teaching students and checking for their mastery and understanding of the course topic (Fung Kee Fung et al. , 2003). Such technology is currently being evaluated for application to the pharmaceutical care laboratory setting, by providing an interactive teaching tool that may also assess the learning outcome in students (Hussein and Kawahara, 2006). VoiceTextTM is a powerful software created by Neospeech. com that provides a method in generating voice output from any inputted text. This software employs voices that have a natural sound, making communication in a much friendlier interaction with another individual. The software may be configured for application in different types of devices, including desktop and network settings, as well as in different languages such as English, Korean, Japanese and Mandarin Chinese. VoiceTextTM is equipped with a number of features that facilitates communication of a speech-restricted patient or individual. It is supplied with features that employs natural sounds and clear pronunciation, so that the speech is very understandable. The software is also supplied with a comprehensive dictionary that provides thousands of words as well as pronunciations at its default setting. Interestingly, the software has controls features that allow the user to control the pitch and volume of the voice output, as well as regulate the speed and pauses of the speech. In addition, the user has the ability to customize the settings for dates, times and abbreviations associated with addresses and mixed languages. The software is very powerful because it provides access to its network from a distance through an internet connection, and also allows delivery of data to the user’s PDA and email. This high quality program is also equipped with the ability to use English as a second language, with a maximum of three languages that may be used at one time. The software also allows customized features such as news reading, driving directions and book or document reading. The renowned scientist/physicist, Dr. Stephen Hawking, is one of the latest users of the VoiceTextTM technology. Dr. Hawking suffers from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), which is a degenerative motor neuron illness that restricts his physical movements yet retains his intellectual capacity. The only parts of his body that are still capable of moving are his two fingers on his right hand, and he is unable to speak. The text-to-speech technology is a prime assistive technology that facilitates Dr. Hawking in communicating with the rest of the world. He is typically seen in public with a computer screen mounted on the arm of his wheel chair, of which runs his TTS software. The software enables him to press a switch in his hand to create words and sentences at his own command. Once he has built up a sentence, he sends it to the VoiceTextTM system, which converts his inputted text into speech. This technology has helped Dr. Hawking in continuing his life as a scientist/physicist, including writing scientific books and research papers, and giving lectures. The development of the IVR-TTS system has tremendously facilitated communication among speech-restricted individuals and patients. Seeing the interactive nature of the human being, this medical-related technological innovation may provides special kinds of individuals to continue on with their lives, regardless of speech and motor impairment. References Fung Kee Fung K, Fung Kee Fung M, Bordage G and Norman G (2003): Interactive voice response to assess residents’ laparoscopic skills: An instrument validation study. Am. J. Obstet. Gynecol. 189:674-8. Hussein G and Kawahara N (2006): Innovations in teaching: Adaptive and longitudinal pharmaceutical care instruction using an interactive voice response/text-to-speech system. Am. J. Pharm. Educ. 70(2):1-8. Mundt JC, Ferber KL, Rizzo M and Greist JH (2001): Computer-automated dementia screening using a touch-tone telephone. Arch. Intern. Med. 61:2481-7. Stuart GW, Laraia MT, Ornstein SM and Nietert PJ (2003): An interactive voice response system to enhance antidepressant medication compliance. Top. Health. Info. Manage. 24:15-20.

Chinese New Year Foods

Chinese New Year Foods Introduction Culture can be defined as the way of life of a given people. It entails how people behave and perceive different life issues. It includes aspects like religion, ethnicity, customs, language, beliefs, and food among others that define a people.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Chinese New Year Foods specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Culture varies from one place to the other depending on the circumstances surrounding a place, for instance, climate and environment as well as how people perceive different things. Chinese culture is unique in its way and stands out distinctively among other cultures through different cultural aspects such as foods taken on different occasions. This piece of work will give an in depth discussion of Chinese culture with the central focus being on the Chinese New Year Foods and its relationship with the changes that have been experienced in the Chinese Cultures. How the cultural production or cultural producer struggled to change the boundaries and meanings of what can be said or done will also be discussed. To have a clear understanding of the concept in question, it is advisable to give some background information. Chinese New Year is a concept that has received a lot of concern among different people. It has been celebrated for more than 4000 years. In China it was a holiday that was initially meant to mark the end of winter and the beginning of spring, which was deemed to be the start of a New Year (Flanagan, Zhurkina, Labbo 7). It is one of the most significant holidays in Chinese traditions that is celebrated all over east and South-East-Asia. A lot of importance is attached to this celebration to an extent of influencing the overall Chinese culture to a large extent. Most things done during this festive are clearly seen in carrying out of different Chinese cultural aspects. What the Chinese New Year Foods reveal about the changing and contested natu re of Chinese cultures and how this cultural production or cultural producer struggled to change the boundaries and meanings of what can be said or doneAdvertising Looking for essay on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Chinese culture is a unique one. It is considered to be one of the world’s complex and oldest cultures. The Chinese culture is portrayed in a relatively large geographical region of eastern Asia. Although there exists some differences in the customs and traditions among different cites, towns, and provinces some cultural aspects are usually maintained. These include traditional food, cultural celebrations, music, martial arts, literature, and visual arts among others (Davis 10). Just like any other aspect, culture is subject to changes with passage of time. Although Chinese culture has been perceived by many to be static, the reality is that no one culture is absolutely static bu t rather undergoes some changes no matter how minor they may be. The modern civilization that emerged from Europe and America is one of the factors that are linked with the changes in the Chinese culture. Modern Chinese culture has been invaded by other external cultures especially from Europe and the United States of America. Over the past 20 years, the Peoples Republic of China has been observed to be adopting western culture and technology in a rapid rate. A good example to support this statement can be seen in their extensive acceptance of a lot of aspects such as cell phones, fast food as well as the American television (Kleinman Tsung-Yi Lin 4). The Chinese New Year’s festival has had a lot of influence on the Chinese culture as a whole. This is more so due to the significance that has been attached to this festival. This can even be seen through the number of days it is given on the lunar calendar as compared to other holidays. Some of the beliefs associated with the Chinese New Year festival have been maintained up to date while others have undergone some changes over the years. The Chinese New Year festival or the spring festival is still the largest celebration in China.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Chinese New Year Foods specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Despite the fact that Chinese New Year occurs on dates that usually vary from between mid January to mid February, it is strictly observed among different Chinese populations. During this time, people are involved with various activities, for instance, a thorough cleaning of houses to signify a new start and giving of the children money packaged in red envelopes as a sign of good luck and attainment of happiness in the coming year. This occasion is also dedication in honour of the ancestors and activities such as fireworks and parades with dancers who are smartly dressed are common during this function. The Chinese New Yea r festival is considered to be a significant part of China’s culture. As stated earlier, Chinese New Year is the most regarded festival in China and therefore it is highly celebrated not only in China but also in countries and territories with a considerable number of Chinese populations, for instance, Hong Kong, Philippines, Malaysia, Indonesia, Taiwan, Thailand, Tibet, Singapore, and Mainland China among others. Among the reasons behind the aspect being considered to be Chinese and to form a large portion of the overall Chinese culture is the fact that it started in China, that is, it has its roots in china. Despite the fact that the Chinese New Year festival is celebrated in different parts of the world, its origin is in China. Consequently, the festival is practiced mainly by the Chinese populations and it involves China’s cultural aspects including the foods that are prepared and served during this time. To show how important the festival is perceived in China, Ch inese New Year is the longest holiday in the country’s calendar taking a total of 15days. The Chinese New Year Foods is a significant element in the entire festival. Food is given noteworthy importance in the Chinese culture. Traditional Chinese food is prepared way before the beginning of the New Year since according to the Chinese culture, the people are not supposed to prepare and cook food within the first five days of the year.Advertising Looking for essay on cultural studies? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More This is however somehow tricky due to the fact that as opposed to other holidays that have some fixed calendar dates, the date of the Chinese New Year changes each and every year based on the lunar calendar. The Chinese people stay prepared at around this time to avoid any form of inconveniences. Some of the traditional foods include savoury dumplings, nian gao also known as sweet sticky rice cake, turnip cakes, Yusheng, taro cakes, noodles, mandarin oranges, fish and Buddhas’s delight among others. All these foods offered during the Chinese New Year are extremely delicious and deemed crucial to the Chinese people. Each type of food carries along a symbolic significance. For instance, serving a whole chicken during this festival is a sign of family togetherness. For this reason, all family members are expected to come together and celebrate in union. The noodles on the other hand are a sign of long life and should be prepared and served without cutting them. The sweet steamed cakes also have a symbolic meaning. The sticky rice cake, for example, stand for a wealthy sweet life that is full of good things for the coming year. This is represented by its sweetness and layers (Chiu par 12). Back from the early days, a lot of importance has been given to the traditional Chinese New Year food. They are for example taken as a symbol of opulence, good health, long life and good luck in general life for every individual who partake it. Apart from offering physical satisfaction, the food is associated with some old Chinese beliefs that keep the Chinese people going to present moments. For instance, most of the foods are expected to wish the people good things in the coming year. The Chinese cultures are portrayed by the different activities that the people engage in. Research shows that even though some concepts have been maintained to today, there are some cultural changes that are quite evident. This can even be seen through the Chinese New year Foods. These cha nges can be attributed to changes in times and cultural beliefs about some issues due to exposure, for instance, through technological innovations and developments. Gleason (12) asserts that years ago, on the New Year’s eve, Chinese people would take baths with mint leaves in the water with the believe that this practice would make them superfluously clean. It was as well believed that it was not right to wash during the New Year’s Day since by doing so people would wash away their good luck for the coming year. Although some of these beliefs still stand among some individuals, there are some other cultural aspects that have been adopted in today’s world among the Chinese people. For instance, there is a tendency of many people getting their haircut and buying of new clothes before or on the eve of the New Year’s Day as a sign of being fresh and leaving the past. Colour red is preferred by many for the clothing due to the fact that it is associated with h appiness and thus it was believed that putting them on the New Year’s Day would bring happiness to the people throughout the following year. It is also a belief that change of appearance through new haircuts and clothes is a way that is expected to put off the evil spirits that disturbed them in the past year as they would not recognize who they were, after the change. Another issue that is linked with the Chinese New Year festival and culture is the fact that people have believed that they ought to do away with or finish everything that had been started over the past year. For instance, people are expected to pay back any money they owe others as well as settle any form of discrepancies that could exist between their families and friends before the begging of the New Year. The children are also expected to catch up on their schoolwork. In a nutshell, the Chinese culture requires that everything should be in a perfect condition for New Year’s Day in an effort to make t he coming year a success; filled with good things (Gleason 13). Looking at the Chinese New Year ceremony and all the issues that surround it, including the food taken and the significance attached to them, it is clear that it has played a great role in shaping the overall Chinese culture. There are various do’s and don’ts that are stipulated in regard to this ceremony with respect to what ought to bring good luck to the people and what could be a source of bad luck in the coming year. The Chinese New Year celebration stipulates what is supposed to be done and said among the Chinese population all over the world not only during this season but also under normal circumstances, for instance, when doing business. Amazingly, the practices of the Chinese New Year have been seen to influence the overall Chinese culture in many ways. One good example is on the changing culture and etiquette. From the Chinese New Year festivals, a lot of cultural aspects can be learnt most of w hich affect how the Chinese people behave and how they expect those they come across, irrespective of their origin, to behave. The understanding of several key cultural concepts associated with the Chinese culture is helpful in carrying out both individual as well as business related activities in China. It is therefore advisable to have some basic knowledge of the socio-cultural, historical, political, and economic situation in China before entering the country for any purpose. The cultural differences are also essential. They include the verbal and non verbal communication styles and the issues surrounding the Chinese etiquette, for instance, proper banquet behaviour and giving of gifts. All these aspects can be drawn from the Chinese New Year festival and hence its importance in the overall Chinese culture. Conclusion From the above discussion, it is evident that the Chinese New Year food and the entire festival have an extremely critical part to play in the cultures in China. Th is is more so because a lot of importance is attached to this issue and a lot of activities are done in preparation to the big day and it is celebrated for a relatively long period of time (15 days) as compared to other holidays. Over the past decade, there are some cultural traditional concepts that have been maintained year after year while some concepts and beliefs have changed for the best of the communities. All in all, a great percentage of the cultural concepts that were present long before have been maintained up to today; an aspect that contributes much to the value that is attached to the Chinese New Year festival. However, it is clear that no single culture in the world is absolutely static but rather it undergoes some changes no matter how minor they may be. China’s culture is therefore not an exception and it has experienced a revolutionary rate of change. External factors play a great role in facilitating cultural change in different parts of the world, for inst ance, expansion of international trade and mass media as well as massive human population increase. Chiu, Lisa. â€Å"The History of Chinese New Year.† About.com. 2011. 19 Oct. 2011. https://www.thoughtco.com/history-of-chinese-new-year-687496 Davis, Edward, Lawrence. Encyclopaedia of contemporary Chinese culture. New York: Taylor Francis, 2005. Print Flanagan, Alice., Zhurkina, Svetlana., Labbo Linda. Chinese New Year. Minneapolis, MN: Compass Point Books, 2003. Print Gleason, Carrie. Chinese New Year. New York: Crabtree Publishing Company, 2008. Print Kleinman, Arthur., Tsung-Yi Lin. Normal and Abnormal Behaviour in Chinese Culture. New York: Springer, 1981. Print

Problem- Posing Essay on ethic ( Haitian vs. American)

Problem- Posing on ethic ( Haitian vs. American) - Essay Example The history tells us that the Haitians eventually worked as Slaves in the Gold mines of African west coast. These slaves made significant progress and struggled for their freedom. (Unaeze, and Perrin) When people of this origin started to settle in America they came in with their rich culture and language. Haitian Americans wish to get settled and secure in America, the immigrants in the US communicate in their own language building a communication barrier for other whether in educational institutions or workplace. The Haitians have their separate beliefs and practices as well. They even avoid the medical treatments of hospitals and prefer to adopt the traditional methods of curing any disease. For Haitians living in America, the life is full of conflicts. The Haitians have build a wall of cultural and language differences, the emphasis on maintaining their heritage. (Nicolas, Desilva, Grey, and Gonzalez-Eastep) For this reason the US government has formulated few policies for the immigrants seeking asylum. The government concerns about it and works over elvating the structure of society, illiteracy, malnutrition and promotes human rights. Proper medical treatment is given to those prone of diseases and fund in the health and education sector, to overcoming the gaps formed by cultural and language differences. (Barrett, and Cary ) Naylor, Larry.  American Culture: Myth and Reality of a Culture of Diversity. illustrated. Greenwood Publishing Group, 1998. eBook. . Nicolas, Guerda, Angela Desilva, Kathleen Grey, and Diana Gonzalez-Eastep. "Using a Multicultural Lens to Understand Illnesses Among Haitians Living in America."  Professional Psychology: Research and Practice. 37. (2006): 702-707. Web. 8 Mar. 2013.

The Way It Should Be Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Way It Should Be - Essay Example The author uses different strategies to appeal to the sensibilities of the reader to levels that might not have been reached had the story been rendered in a casual and plain format. The choice of language, use of figures of speech, questions and anecdotes have been used effectively to add strength to the theme of the enduring human spirit, which runs through the short story. The author uses facts and figures to provide authenticity to his claims. For instance, the author situates the story within a specific time frame of the financial crisis in order to create the element of contrast between the bad things and the positive happenings. Mallory’s positive actions are contrasted sharply with the difficult conditions caused by the economic crisis. In some sense, the author sets up the bad times as some kind of reflection against which, Mallory’s graceful qualities are to be seen. The matching of opposites is one of the most effective rhetoric strategies that help bring out the central themes of a story. In this story, the author mixes logical facts and convincing tactics in a manner that captures the different tastes of the readers. There is a remarkable mixture of sense and sensationalism. The use of logical claims to support the rhetoric aspects of the story is evidenced by the various factual analyses, which contribute to the central theme. For instance, in illustrating Mallory’s love for the game the author gives factual information about the level of attachment that the sports girl had for base ball; â€Å"Mallory had a softball scholarship offer from Canisius, a Division I college in upstate New York, bust she chose Central Washington so she could play for Gary Frederick and so her parents could see her play,† (Lake 8). The value of these factual details of Mallory’s attachment to the sport must be seen in light of the eventual sacrifice she later makes for an opponent. The merits of the facts are that Mallory lays aside he r own ambitions in favour of engaging in an activity that whose value is to uplift a competitor whose performance has been rendered hopeless through an accident. Logically, her actions might seem irrational and absurd particularly within the context of the sporting competition. However, the author intends to make the case of her unyielding spirit of humanity even more pronounced. The plot of the story is circular. In some sense the end of the story appears to be at the middle. The author expertly breaks up the story in bits and pieces so that it can only be understood when read in totality. The story line keeps going back and forth. For instance, the description of the game in which Mallory’s spirit of humanity became manifest is largely brought out in bits and pieces. The reader does not learn of how the main game ended until the very end of the story. However, Mallory’s heroism is celebrated much earlier even before the story provides details of about the conclusion of the main game. Through the use of circular plot, the author manages to bring into perspective different aspects of Mallory’s life in terms of how they logically connect with the main episode. Her relations with her family, the peculiar kind of upbringing and her childhood influences are brought in bits and pieces and in a way that interrupts the main story about the game, where her heroism became most