Nominalization and Conversion

Nominalization and Conversion Nominalization and Conversion Nominalization and Conversion By Mark Nichol Every field of endeavor has its vocabulary, and the business world, for better or worse, has contributed significantly to the English language with jargon- an insider language that often obfuscates when it should clarify and complicates when it should simplify. This post discusses two categories of such word adaptation. Nominalization is morphological change though suffixation- the creation of a noun by attaching a suffix to an existing noun or another part of speech. For example, pomposity derives from pompous, corporatism comes from corporate, and humanization results from nominalization of humanize (and, of course, nominalization is itself a nominalization of nominal, which simply means â€Å"pertaining to a name or naming,† though it often has a sense of â€Å"in name only†). This neologistic strategy is not inherently inadvisable; it is, after all, how we label concepts that help us understand the world. But writers can get carried away, piling up nominalizations into a formidable heap of sesquipedalian pedantry. When you find yourself collecting such constructions, aid comprehension by breaking the discussion down into more conversational prose- describe with a phrase what one word can do more concisely but not necessarily more coherently. The second category, conversion (also called zero derivation), sometimes takes this disassembly too far in the opposite direction. Here, one part of speech is repurposed, without alteration, into another, as when verbs become nouns. Some examples are well worn: Disconnect, for one, has become increasingly ubiquitous since its coinage several decades ago to describe a break or disruption between two entities or parties or between one entity or party and a concept. But other venerable words have taken on new senses: For example, build, which as a noun has long referred to a person or animal’s size and shape, now also denotes the development of a procedure or a system. Fail has existed for some time as a noun in the phrase â€Å"without fail† and in the context of a financial deal, but now it is an everyday truncation of failure. And read, employed for decades to refer to something read or the act of reading or time spent reading, has more recently developed as a casual alternative to analysis or opinion in such comments as â€Å"What’s your read on that?† Meanwhile, a new generation of upstart conversions has entered the lexicon since the passing of the last millennium: Writers refer to an ask, or what is expected or requested of someone. Solution is passà ©; one now achieves a solve. And the cost of something is often referred to in corporate contexts as the spend. It’s likely too late for an undo for some of these words, but others may quietly disappear, while those that remain eventually become as unobjectionable as disconnect as a noun. But unless you’re in the thick of the business realm (and perhaps even then), maintain an aversion to conversion. 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:Useful Stock Phrases for Your Business Emails41 Words That Are Better Than Good50 Plain-Language Substitutions for Wordy Phrases

Homing In and Plain Honing

Homing In and Plain Honing Homing In and Plain Honing Homing In and Plain Honing By Maeve Maddox Kristi Landis writes: When one wants to get more detail on something is it called â€Å"homes in† or â€Å"hones in†? Until I researched this question, I knew of only two uses of hone as a verb: the literal meaning of â€Å"to sharpen,† as on a whetstone (also known as a â€Å"hone†), and the figurative meaning â€Å"to improve,† as in â€Å"to hone one’s skills.† Hone Your Skills: Become A Better Data Center Manager Honing Skills: This section is devoted to articles on honing and improving your writing skills, by editing, critiquing or discussion. Tomko looks to hone his skills during â€Å"lull† in WWE career Surgeons Hone Skills on Nintendo Wii The OED also gives these dialect meanings for hone as a verb: to delay, tarry, hesitate; to whine or pine for; to hanker after. I’ve heard and read the expression â€Å"to hone in† used with the sense of focus on or get closer to, but always assumed that it was a mistake for â€Å"to home in.† Ive always assumed that the expression to home in originated with â€Å"homing pigeons that return to the place they were hatched. However, in the OED examples of early use, â€Å"home† is used without the â€Å"in†: 1875 Live Stock Jrnl. 23 Apr. 57/3 Pigeons home by sight and instinct. 1899 Westm. Gaz. 12 Apr. 9/1 The first [pigeon] homed at nine oclock. The homing habits of pigeons may have caused aircraft technology to adopt the verb: 1920 Wireless World Mar. 728/2 The pilot can detect instantly from the signals, especially if ‘homing’ towards a beacon. 1956 Amer. Speech XXXI. 228 A good officer could even ‘home in on a bottle of whisky’ placed on the landing field. This use of â€Å"home in on’ is used figuratively to describe other ways in which one comes closer to an object or subject of importance: 1971 New Scientist 16 Sept. 629/1 Mexicos Professor S. F. Beltran homed in on education as a critical need. Substituting â€Å"hone† for â€Å"home† in the expression may have begun as an eggcorn, but it has become common enough for the OED to give it its own entry: intr. to hone in. To head directly for something; to turn ones attention intently towards something. Usu. with â€Å"on†. Cf. HOME 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 Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What is the Difference Between "These" and "Those"?Driver License vs. Driver’s LicenseAffect vs. Effect

Freedom Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Freedom - Essay Example Freedom allows a person to undertake any activity or action that he or she wishes as long as it does not limit or interfere with the freedom of another person. Self-determination is supposed to impact on the decisions that affect only the individual and not others. For example, one has the freedom to swing hand, however, this does not mean crushing another person’s nose in the guise of swinging own hands. In order to utilize freedom effectively, people should be bound by the principles such as self-control. This implies that the person can know the extent and limits of freedom. Overemphasis on freedom can be detrimental to the individual, community or the country at large. Freedom is thus regulated by law since it is sometimes used as justification for illegal activities. There are several types of freedom. Freedom of worship is guaranteed in many countries practicing democracy. This allows individuals to proclaim their religion without fear (Osho 2013). Economic freedom allows people to determine how to do business and who to associate with in business. However, this type of freedom is constrained by geographical locations and political factors. Example, transactions that threaten the security cannot be termed as economic freedom. Political freedom is the liberty to determine individual political affiliation without any coercion. Brett (2008) asserts that an individual can only change his or her political position based on persuasion. Political freedom further implies that a person cannot be punished for his or her political choices.

Evaluating Fictive-Narrative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Evaluating Fictive-Narrative - Essay Example He effectively illustrated that the abstract understanding is enhanced when studying the physical object. John was greatly fascinated with nature and science from a very early age. His father was a scientist in the area of Surgery, thus he occasionally communicated with John on issues concerning general science. The literature explains that John used to observe the activities of small living organisms such as the insects that are commonly found on the tree barks. He developed curiosity on how the insects manage to hatch or come forth from the dung. During childhood, John developed keen interest in the bodies of dead animals like the pigs. He wanted to observe the pig more closely to satisfy his curiosity. They obtained the dead animals from the slaughterhouse, before they are taken by the butchers or meat suppliers. During analysis of the dead animals, he used several procedures and equipments. He used the knife to slice the carcass, and then remove the intriguing organs such as the liver, lungs and heart. He observed that the features and characteristics of the hearts varied, from one animal to another. His father taught him great lessons in natural science and surgery through practical procedures, more so the animal dissection techniques. The father explained that the surgical procedures conducted on animals, was very similar to procedures conducted on human beings. The father taught him the general functioning of the body organs. The esophagus is the channel that the food follows, so as to make blood. The food enters the stomach, then liver and also the heart. The heart pumps the blood to other body parts or organs through the phlebes. Aristotle was taught by his father that blood is the main source of nourishment to the body. Therefore, John illustrated adequate capabilities of being a natural scientist. John was effectively guided in his medical training by the medical school lecturers, instructors and

Pips Shadow Parents Essay Example for Free

Pips Shadow Parents Essay He then takes Pips hands, and causes him to be disorientated and feel very weak and vunerable. This is, again, like a metaphor for Pips whole world being shaken up and turned on his head, and he has control, he is pushed out of his comfort zone by this stranger, and so it creates a strange bond with him, because then Magwitch has total control over Pip. Magwitch exerts his new found control over the boy to pressure him into stealing for him, and if Pip fails this, the fate is death. The mention of death has a huge emotional impact on Pip. Magwitch also uses his eyes to great effect to scare Pip, intensifying his stare to pressure Pip even more. Dickens focuses on the eyes and hands in Great Expectations because they show the methods, which Magwitch uses, and the look in Magwitchs eyes reveals a lot about his desperate attitude. The BBC dramatization of this echoes this, because the actor who plays Magwitch uses his eyes to great extent, looking Pip all over, checking him out, and the whole scene is reproducted even down to the last detail. When Magwitch is led away in Chapter 5, we dont hear much about him until his return in Chapter 39. What we find out is that Magwitch was taken to Australia by the dreaded hulks and worked in sheep farming, and this is the source of Magwitchs money, which he uses to fund Pips journey to London, and to become a gentleman. However, when Magwitch is away in Australia, he sends Pip money, in other words, he is Pips benefactor. We find out this in chapter 39. Dickens plays with the idea that Pip has no idea where all this mysterious money is coming from, and it is quite amusing. A huge sum of around five hundred pounds (a huge amount of money in the 19th century) arrives for him via Jaggers in Chapter 36. Pip is still confused and thinks that it is Miss Havisham who sends him the money; however, Miss Havisham denies this fact. Miss Havisham, whom Pip first meets in Chapter 8, conveys herself as a mysterious character, who is sitting upon a great fortune, but who will not spend it. Miss Havisham, despite the fact she doesnt give Pip any money, still plays a major part in sending him to London. Miss Havisham acts as Pips shadow mother; because she gives him advice like a mother would give to her own son. Frequent visits to Satis House build up the relationship between Miss Havisham and Pip, and in addition to this, Pip and Estella, since their first meeting, grow more tolerant towards each other. Estella has treated Pip like dirt since their first meeting in Chapter 8. We know that there is a link between Compeyson and Pips shadow parents. Compeyson is Magwitchs arch enemy, since Compeyson split the beans and blamed all his misdemeanours on Magwich. Miss Havisham, as we discover in Chapter 42, reveals that Compeyson was the con-man who ruined Miss Havishams life by failing to show up at her wedding. The social class system in the mid-19th century was much stronger than it is today. There was a more obvious divide between the rich and the poor. Nowadays, it is less apparent. At the time Dickens is writing, it was easier to become a gentleman. Before the novel, the only way you could become a gentleman was to be born into a rich upper-class family, and brought up in decent surroundings. Pip was born in the working-class band and works his way to becoming a gentleman, aided along the way by Miss Havisham. Dickens writing style throughout the whole novel ends the novel on a cliff-hanger. The reason for this is because of the original format of the book. Great Expectations was published in a journal format (one chapter per journal) in a publication called All The Year Round from December 1, 1860 to August 3, 1861. The writing style is apparent throughout the whole novel. 1,207 words   English Coursework Mr Bacsich James Cull Page 1 08/05/2007 Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Great Expectations section.

War and Media Essay -- War Television Essays

War and Media Perhaps one of the greatest impacts on the lives of the peoples of Earth is that of our own self-destruction; of wars, death, and decay. It is therefore very reasonable to suppose that at the forefront of these events would be the media, capitalizing on their ability to bring to the people, those less immediately afflicted by war, news and developments concerning the actual war, statistics, and shocking images from inside the various war zones. Though many may think that the purpose of this type of reporting is for the intellectual benefit of the viewers, some have argued that it is instead a sort of real-life â€Å"reality television show.† Tom Engelhardt wrote in an article entitled â€Å"The Gulf War As Total Television,† found in The Nation, that the Gulf War â€Å"†¦proved promising exactly because the boundaries between military action and media event broke down in such a way that military planning could become a new form of media reality.† (Engelhardt, 108) If one follows this dissertation, we seem to pick up on how the Gulf War was actually a sort of ploy by the government and the newly conglomerated media industries to boost ratings and provide high-rated entertainment as opposed to news coverage. It is known that at this point in history the broadcast industry was in very real danger of falling through, even though they had mass financial support by various companies across the US, due to the cable industry and the then newly formed Fox network. This makes a lot of sense when you look at how the broadcast networks were planning taking back the industry, by getting in with the governme nt and making the production of a lifetime. â€Å"The history of the war has always been suppressed in the national... ...p://www.bsu.edu/library/doresearch/resourceguides/terrorism.html> Cohen, Jeff. â€Å"Stenographers to Power: The Gulf War As a Case Study in Media Coverage.† Stenographers to Power. Ed. David Barsamian. Monroe ME: Common Courage Press, 1992. 139-162. Engelhardt, Tom. â€Å"The Gulf War As Total Television.† The Reference Shelf: The Media & the Public, Vol. 66, Num. 5. Ed. Casey Ripley, Jr. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1994. 108-115. Johnson, Peter. â€Å"Media, War and Scrutiny.† USA Today 17 Oct. 2001. 34 pars. 19 Nov. 2002 Kennedy, William V. The Military and the Media. Connecticut: Praeger, 1993. Neuharth, Al. â€Å"Media Mesmerize with Attack Coverage.† USA Today 13 Sept. 2001. 14 pars. 19 Nov. 2002 War and Media Essay -- War Television Essays War and Media Perhaps one of the greatest impacts on the lives of the peoples of Earth is that of our own self-destruction; of wars, death, and decay. It is therefore very reasonable to suppose that at the forefront of these events would be the media, capitalizing on their ability to bring to the people, those less immediately afflicted by war, news and developments concerning the actual war, statistics, and shocking images from inside the various war zones. Though many may think that the purpose of this type of reporting is for the intellectual benefit of the viewers, some have argued that it is instead a sort of real-life â€Å"reality television show.† Tom Engelhardt wrote in an article entitled â€Å"The Gulf War As Total Television,† found in The Nation, that the Gulf War â€Å"†¦proved promising exactly because the boundaries between military action and media event broke down in such a way that military planning could become a new form of media reality.† (Engelhardt, 108) If one follows this dissertation, we seem to pick up on how the Gulf War was actually a sort of ploy by the government and the newly conglomerated media industries to boost ratings and provide high-rated entertainment as opposed to news coverage. It is known that at this point in history the broadcast industry was in very real danger of falling through, even though they had mass financial support by various companies across the US, due to the cable industry and the then newly formed Fox network. This makes a lot of sense when you look at how the broadcast networks were planning taking back the industry, by getting in with the governme nt and making the production of a lifetime. â€Å"The history of the war has always been suppressed in the national... ...p://www.bsu.edu/library/doresearch/resourceguides/terrorism.html> Cohen, Jeff. â€Å"Stenographers to Power: The Gulf War As a Case Study in Media Coverage.† Stenographers to Power. Ed. David Barsamian. Monroe ME: Common Courage Press, 1992. 139-162. Engelhardt, Tom. â€Å"The Gulf War As Total Television.† The Reference Shelf: The Media & the Public, Vol. 66, Num. 5. Ed. Casey Ripley, Jr. New York: H.W. Wilson Company, 1994. 108-115. Johnson, Peter. â€Å"Media, War and Scrutiny.† USA Today 17 Oct. 2001. 34 pars. 19 Nov. 2002 Kennedy, William V. The Military and the Media. Connecticut: Praeger, 1993. Neuharth, Al. â€Å"Media Mesmerize with Attack Coverage.† USA Today 13 Sept. 2001. 14 pars. 19 Nov. 2002

American Involvement in Ww1

World War I (WWI), which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centered in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918. It involved all the world's great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (centered on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and Russia) and the Central Powers (originally centered on the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy).These alliances both reorganized (Italy fought for the Allies), and expanded as more nations entered the war. Ultimately more than 70  million military personnel, including 60 million Europeans, were mobilized in one of the largest wars in history. More than 9  million combatants were killed, largely because of great technological advances in firepower without corresponding advances in mobility. It was the sixth deadliest conflict in world history, subsequently paving the way for various political changes such as revolutions in the nations involved.Long-term causes of the war included the imperialistic foreign policies of the great powers of Europe, including the German Empire, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Ottoman Empire, the Russian Empire, the British Empire, France, and Italy. The assassination on 28 June 1914 of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, by a Yugoslav nationalist was the proximate trigger of the war. It resulted in a Habsburg ultimatum against the Kingdom of Serbia.Several alliances formed over the previous decades were invoked, so within weeks the major powers were at war; via their colonies, the conflict soon spread around the world. On 28 July, the conflict opened with the Austro-Hungarian invasion of Serbia, followed by the German invasion of Belgium, Luxembourg and France; and a Russian attack against Germany. After the German march on Paris was brought to a h alt, the Western Front settled into a static battle of attrition with a trench line that changed little until 1917.In the East, the Russian army successfully fought against the Austro-Hungarian forces but was forced back by the German army. Additional fronts opened after the Ottoman Empire joined the war in 1914, Italy and Bulgaria in 1915 and Romania in 1916. The Russian Empire collapsed in 1917, and Russia left the war after the October Revolution later that year. After a 1918 German offensive along the western front, United States forces entered the trenches and the Allies drove back the German armies in a series of successful offensives.Germany, which had its own trouble with revolutionaries at this point, agreed to a cease-fire on 11 November 1918, later known as Armistice Day. The war had ended in victory of the Allies. By the war's end, four major imperial powers—the German, Russian, Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires—had been militarily and politically defeat ed and ceased to exist. The successor states of the former two lost a great amount of territory, while the latter two were dismantled entirely. The map of central Europe was redrawn into several smaller states.The League of Nations was formed in the hope of preventing another such conflict. The European nationalism spawned by the war and the breakup of empires, the repercussions of Germany's defeat and problems with the Treaty of Versailles are generally agreed to be factors contributing to World War II. The strategy of the Central Powers suffered from miscommunication. Germany had promised to support Austria-Hungary's invasion of Serbia, but interpretations of what this meant differed. Previously-tested deployment plans had been replaced early in 1914, but the replacements had never been tested in exercises.Austro-Hungarian leaders believed Germany would cover its northern flank against Russia. Germany, however, envisioned Austria-Hungary directing most of its troops against Russia , while Germany dealt with France. This confusion forced the Austro-Hungarian Army to divide its forces between the Russian and Serbian fronts. On 9 September 1914, the September program, a possible plan which detailed Germany's specific war aims and the conditions that Germany sought to force on the Allied Powers, was outlined by German Chancellor Theobald von Bethmann-Hollweg.It was never officially adopted. Military tactics before World War I had failed to keep pace with advances in technology. These advances allowed for impressive defense systems, which out-of-date military tactics could not break through for most of the war. Barbed wire was a significant hindrance to massed infantry advances. Artillery, vastly more lethal than in the 1870s, coupled with machine guns, made crossing open ground extremely difficult. The Germans introduced poison gas; it soon became used by both sides, though it never proved decisive in winning a battle.Its effects were brutal, causing slow and pai nful death, and poison g as became one of the most-feared and best-remembered horrors of the war. Commanders on both sides failed to develop tactics for breaching entrenched positions without heavy casualties. In time, however, technology began to produce new offensive weapons, such as the tank. Britain and France were its primary users; the Germans employed captured Allied tanks and small numbers of their own design. After the First Battle of the Marne, both Entente and German forces began a series of outflanking maneuvers, in the so-called â€Å"Race to the Sea†.Britain and France soon found themselves facing entrenched German forces from Lorraine to Belgium's coast. Britain and France sought to take the offensive, while Germany defended the occupied territories; consequently, German trenches were much better constructed than those of their enemy. Anglo-French trenches were only intended to be â€Å"temporary† before their forces broke through German defenses. Both s ides tried to break the stalemate using scientific and technological advances.On 22 April 1915 at the Second Battle of Ypres, the Germans (violating the Hague Convention) used chlorine gas for the first time on the Western Front. Algerian troops retreated when gassed and a six-kilometer (four-mile) hole opened in the Allied lines that the Germans quickly exploited, taking Kitchener’s' Wood. Canadian soldiers closed the breach at the Second Battle of Ypres. At the Third Battle of Ypres, Canadian and ANZAC troops took the village of Passchendaele. At the start of the war, the German Empire had cruisers scattered across the globe, some of which were subsequently used to attack Allied merchant shipping.The British Royal Navy systematically hunted them down, though not without some embarrassment from its inability to protect Allied shipping. For example, the German detached light cruiser SMS Emden, part of the East-Asia squadron stationed at Tsingtao, seized or destroyed 15 mercha ntmen, as well as sinking a Russian cruiser and a French destroyer. However, most of the German East-Asia squadron—consisting of the armored cruisers Scharnhorst and Gneisenau, light cruisers Nurnberg and Leipzig and two transport ships—did not have orders to raid shipping and was instead underway to Germany when it met British warships.The German flotilla and Dresden sank two armored cruisers at the Battle of Coronel, but was almost destroyed at the Battle of the Falkland Islands in December 1914, with only Dresden and a few auxiliaries escaping, but at the Battle of Mas a Tierra these too were destroyed or interned. Soon after the outbreak of hostilities, Britain began a naval blockade of Germany. The strategy proved effective, cutting off vital military and civilian supplies, although this blockade violated accepted international law codified by several international agreements of the past two centuries.Britain mined international waters to prevent any ships from en tering entire sections of ocean, causing danger to even neutral ships. Since there was limited response to this tactic, Germany expected a similar response to its unrestricted submarine warfare. The 1916 Battle of Jutland (German: Skagerrakschlacht, or â€Å"Battle of the Skagerrak†) developed into the largest naval battle of the war, the only full-scale clash of battleships during the war, and one of the largest in history. It took place on 31 May  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ 1 June 1916, in the North Sea off Jutland.The Kaiserliche Marine's High Seas Fleet, commanded by Vice Admiral Reinhard Scheer, squared off against the Royal Navy's Grand Fleet, led by Admiral Sir John Jellicoe. The engagement was a stand off, as the Germans, outmaneuvered by the larger British fleet, managed to escape and inflicted more damage to the British fleet than they received. Strategically, however, the British asserted their control of the sea, and the bulk of the German surface fleet remained confined to port for the duration of the war. German U-boats attempted to cut the supply lines between North America and Britain.The nature of submarine warfare meant that attacks often came without warning, giving the crews of the merchant ships little hope of survival. The United States launched a protest, and Germany changed its rules of engagement. After the notorious sinking of the passenger ship RMS Lusitania in 1915, Germany promised not to target passenger liners, while Britain armed its merchant ships, placing them beyond the protection of the â€Å"cruiser rules† which demanded warning and placing crews in â€Å"a place of safety†. Finally, in early 1917 Germany adopted a policy of unrestricted submarine warfare, realizing the Americans would eventually enter the war.Germany sought to strangle Allied sea lanes before the U. S. could transport a large army overseas, but could maintain only five long-range U-boats on station, to limited effect. The U-boat threat lessened in 191 7, when merchant ships began travelling in convoys, escorted by destroyers. This tactic made it difficult for U-boats to find targets, which significantly lessened losses; after the hydrophone and depth charges were introduced, accompanying destroyers might attack a submerged submarine with some hope of success.Convoys slowed the flow of supplies, since ships had to wait as convoys were assembled. The solution to the delays was an extensive program to build new freighters. Troopships were too fast for the submarines and did not travel the North Atlantic in convoys. The U-boats had sunk more than 5,000 Allied ships, at a cost of 199 submarines. World War I also saw the first use of aircraft carriers in combat, with HMS Furious launching Sopwith Camels in a successful raid against the Zeppelin hangars at Tondern in July 1918, as well as blimps for antisubmarine patrol.In December 1916, after ten brutal months of the Battle of Verdun and a successful offensive against Romania, the Germ ans attempted to negotiate a peace with the Allies. Soon after, U. S. President Woodrow Wilson attempted to intervene as a peacemaker, asking in a note for both sides to state their demands. Lloyd George's War Cabinet considered the German offer to be a ploy to create divisions amongst the Allies. After initial outrage and much deliberation, they took Wilson's note as a separate effort, signaling that the U. S. was on the verge of entering the war against Germany following the â€Å"submarine outrages†.While the Allies debated a response to Wilson's offer, the Germans chose to rebuff it in favor of â€Å"a direct exchange of views†. Learning of the German response, the Allied governments were free to make clear demands in their response of 14 January. They sought restoration of damages, the evacuation of occupied territories, reparations for France, Russia and Romania, and recognition of the principle of nationalities. This included the liberation of Italians, Slavs, R omanians, Czecho-Slovaks, and the creation of a â€Å"free and united Poland†.On the question of security, the Allies sought guarantees that would prevent or limit future wars, complete with sanctions, as a condition of any peace settlement. The negotiations failed and the Entente powers rejected the German offer, because Germany did not state any specific proposals. To Wilson, the Entente powers stated that they would not start peace negotiations until the Central powers evacuated all occupied Allied territories and provided indemnities for all damage which had been done. At the outbreak of the war the United States pursued a policy of non-intervention, avoiding conflict while trying to broker a peace.When a German U-boat sank the British liner Lusitania in 1915, with 128 Americans aboard, U. S. President Woodrow Wilson claimed that â€Å"America is too proud to fight† but demanded an end to attacks on passenger ships. Germany complied. Wilson unsuccessfully tried to mediate a settlement. However, he also repeatedly warned that the U. S. A. would not tolerate unrestricted submarine warfare, in violation of international law and U. S. ideas of human rights. Wilson was under pressure from former president Theodore Roosevelt, who denounced German acts as â€Å"piracy†.Wilson's desire to have a seat at negotiations at war's end to advance the League of Nations also played a role in the eventual decision to join the war. Wilson's Secretary of State, William Jennings Bryan, whose opinions had been ignored, resigned in 1915, as he could no longer support the president's policy. Public opinion was angered at suspected German sabotage of Black Tom in Jersey City, New Jersey, and the Kingsland Explosion. In January 1917, Germany resumed unrestricted submarine warfare. The German Foreign Minister, in the Zimmermann Telegram, told Mexico that U. S. ntry was likely once unrestricted submarine warfare began, and invited Mexico to join the war as German y's ally against the United States. In return, the Germans would send Mexico money and help it recover the territories of Texas, New Mexico, and Arizona that Mexico had lost during the Mexican-American War 70  years earlier. Wilson released the Zimmerman note to the public, and Americans saw it as casus belli— a cause for war. After the sinking of seven U. S. merchant ships by submarines and the publication of the Zimmerman telegram, Wilson called for war on Germany, which the U. S. Congress declared on 6 April 1917.The United States was never formally a member of the Allies but became a self-styled â€Å"Associated Power†. The United States had a small army, but, after the passage of the Selective Service Act, it drafted 2. 8 million men, and by summer 1918 was sending 10,000 fresh soldiers to France every day. In 1917, the U. S. Congress gave U. S. citizenship to Puerto Ricans when they were drafted to participate in World War I, as part of the Jones Act. Germany h ad miscalculated, believing it would be many more months before American soldiers would arrive and that their arrival could be stopped by U-boats.The United States Navy sent a battleship group to Scapa Flow to join with the British Grand Fleet, destroyers to Queenstown, Ireland, and submarines to help guard convoys. Several regiments of U. S. Marines were also dispatched to France. The British and French wanted U. S. units used to reinforce their troops already on the battle lines and not waste scarce shipping on bringing over supplies. The U. S. rejected the first proposition and accepted the second. General John J. Pershing, American Expeditionary Forces (AEF) commander, refused to break up U. S. units to be used as reinforcements for British Empire and French units.As an exception, he did allow African-American combat regiments to be used in French divisions. The Harlem Hellfighters fought as part of the French 16th Division, earning a unit Croix de Guerre for their actions at Ch ateau-Thierry, Belleau Wood, and Sechault. AEF doctrine called for the use of frontal assaults, which had long since been discarded by British Empire and French commanders because of the large loss of life. After the war, the Paris Peace Conference imposed a series of peace treaties on the Central Powers. The 1919 Treaty of Versailles officially ended the war.Building on Wilson's 14th point, the Treaty of Versailles also brought into being the League of Nations on 28 June 1919. In signing the treaty, Germany acknowledged responsibility for the war, and agreed to pay enormous war reparations and award territory to the victors. The â€Å"Guilt Thesis† became a controversial explanation of later events among analysts in Britain and the United States. The Treaty of Versailles caused enormous bitterness in Germany, which nationalist movements, especially the Nazis, exploited with a conspiracy theory they called the Dolchstosslegende (Stab-in-the-back legend).The Weimar Republic lo st the former colonial possessions and was saddled with accepting blame for the war, as well as paying punitive reparations for it. Unable to pay them with exports (as a result of territorial losses and postwar recession), Germany did so by borrowing from the United States. Runaway inflation in the 1920s contributed to the economic collapse of the Weimar Republic, and the payment of reparations was suspended in 1931 following the Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the beginnings of the Great Depression worldwide. U. S. intervention in the war, as well as the Wilson administration itself, became deeply unpopular.This was reflected in the U. S. Senate's rejection of the Versailles Treaty and membership in the League of Nations. In the interwar era, a consensus arose that U. S. intervention had been a mistake, and the Congress passed laws in an attempt to preserve U. S. neutrality in any future conflict. Polls taken in 1937 and the opening months of World War II established that nearly 60% regarded intervention in WWI as a mistake, with only 28% opposing that view. But, in the period between the fall of France and the attack on Pearl Harbor, public opinion changed dramatically and, for

Japanese Food, Culture, and the Tanabata Festival

The Soba Incident by Duncan Dixon Moving to a new country and meeting a new culture always has the potential for incidents that are embarrassing at the time, but humorous later. The following incident happened to me several weeks after I arrived in Japan. I was in Odawara around noon and I decided I wanted to have some  ebi soba. I found a restaurant display that looked good and, because I could not speak Japanese, carefully copied down the characters under the display, on a piece of paper. I went into the restaurant and gave the paper to the waitress.She read it, gave a nod, and pointed me to a seat at a table in the middle of the restaurant. A lacquer box topped with soba soon appeared. It came with a bowl of broth leaving me with the problem of what to do with the broth. I knew I had to get the noodles and broth together somehow. I debated with myself for a few minutes, do I pick up the noodles and dip them, or pour the broth over the noodles? I finally came up with what seemed a suitable solution — pour half the broth over the noodles.I did this and watched to my dismay as the sauce ran our of the bottom of the noodles, across the table, and began dripping onto the floor. The other customers looked at me with thinly disguised amusement and I began to wish I had ordered something simple like katsu-don. About this time the waitress appeared and looked at me and the mess I had made. She disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a fork. By now I was completely embarrassed. I ate quickly and discovered the reason for my problem — the bamboo mat so cleverly hidden under the soba.I paid my bill and fled. To this day one thing puzzles me; I never did get the shrimp that were supposed to be on top of the soba. My First Tanabata  by Duncan Dixon * Read the two versions of my paragraph about Tanabata. * Which is for readers unfamiliar with Japan and which is for readers who know Japan? Version 1 Every July when the Tanabata festival arrives, I remember my first Tanabata. Tanabata is the Star Festival, traditionally celebrated in Japan July 7. In some cities people hang elaborate decorations from bamboo poles.To the poles they also attach papers on which they have written their wishes. Some friends told me that Tanabata in Hiratsuka was worth seeing so I took the bus downtown. I had been living in Japan for about nine months and didn't speak much Japanese yet. The downtown area was packed and I was constantly bumping into people. As I was making my way through the crowd, my hand brushed the shoulder of a young girl about three years old who was walking with her mother. Without looking up at me, the girl reached up and took my hand. Immediately, I was in a quandry.If she looks up and sees whose hand she has, she'll panic and start crying, but if I pull away quickly, she may also look up and panic. If her mother sees I have her by the hand, how can I explain what has happened? I'll be arrested for attempted kidnapping. All t hese thoughts rushed into my head as I walked along. Finally, after a few more metres, I was able to release my hand from the grasp of my escort and melt away into the crowd, undiscovered. Even today, the thought of what might have happened, makes me shiver. Version 2 Every July when the Tanabata festival arrives, I remember my first Tanabata.It was the year I was almost involved in an international incident. Some friends told me that Tanabata in Hiratsuka was worth seeing so I took the bus downtown. I had been living in Hatano, Kanagawa for about nine months and didn't speak much Japanese yet. The downtown area was packed and I was constantly bumping into people. As I was making my way through the crowd, my hand brushed the shoulder of a young girl about three years old who was walking with her mother. Without looking up at me, the girl reached up and took my hand.Immediately, I was in a quandry. If she looks up and sees whose hand she has, she'll panic and start crying, but if I p ull away quickly, she may also look up and panic. If her mother sees I have her by the hand, how can I explain what has happened? I'll be arrested for attempted kidnapping. All these thoughts rushed into my head as I walked along. Finally, after a few more metres, I was able to release my hand from the grasp of my escort and melt away into the crowd, undiscovered. Even today, the thought of what might have happened, makes me shiver.

Learners Profile for DE essays

Learners Profile for DE essays The impact of Distance Education on the process of learning defines not only distinct roles for the instructor, the instruction and the technology involved but also the role of the distance learner who faces a change from the traditional learning environment to a new setting. The learner is face with new challenges of anticipation, distress and the need to balance the responsibilities of the forthcoming tasks with the conditionings of work, family or life circumstances (Thompson, 10). The distance learner is, however, characterized by self-reliance and a natural intent to pursue individual achievements on an environment different from the traditional one. The distance learner must be able to do the following: juggling a range of responsibilities on a daily basis, does not need constant reassurance and direction from faculty, likes working independently and can manages their time well, enjoys working on their own, but also appreciate some interaction with faculty and peers, busy and/or frequently changing schedule. However, some distance education learners do not do well because they need constant contact with the instructor in the traditional MWF or TTh pattern of classes. This usually includes students (despite age or previous education) with deficient reading, writing, computing, studying, test-taking, and critical thinking skills. Some students right out of high school are at high risk if they do not have the appropriate skills. They may need more experience with how to pursue a college class by taking a few classes on-campus. The research clearly shows many different motivational factors that are contributing to the distance education learners. Many of the learners find this an effective method of teaching and learning. Listed below are some of the characteristics, which have been found for the distance education learner. ...

The Rationale for the Serial Comma

The Rationale for the Serial Comma The Rationale for the Serial Comma The Rationale for the Serial Comma By Mark Nichol Do you employ a serial comma the final comma in a sentence such as â€Å"I bought one apple, two bananas, and three oranges†? If your work for or with a business or organization involves publishing content in print or online, that decision has been made (or should have been made) for you in a style guide, a manual to be followed in production of all the content published by that business or organization. If you determine a business or organization’s style, or you self-publish in print or online, the decision is up to you. In most journalistic print and online publications and in much other online content, the serial comma is omitted. (This omission is also common in British English.) However, in most books and in many other publications published in the United States, it is required. I strongly favor the serial comma. Why? In a sentence such as â€Å"I bought one apple, two bananas and three oranges,† no ambiguity exists. But in â€Å"I ordered ham and eggs, toast and jam and pie and ice cream,† the cavalcade of conjunctions gets confusing, and in contexts in which it’s not as clear which list items might be distinct and which might be linked, the absence of the final comma might require readers to reread the sentence to establish the organization. So, the solution in this case is to use a serial comma when confusion could arise. That means that no-serial-comma publications will print or post â€Å"I bought one apple, two bananas and three oranges† but â€Å"I ordered ham and eggs, toast and jam, and pie and ice cream.† The resulting obvious question is why not, for the sake of consistency, just insert a serial comma in all cases? Another complication is illustrated in this well-known hypothetical statement: â€Å"I dedicate this book to my parents, Ayn Rand and God.† Without the serial comma, the statement could be read as acknowledging four entities: two parents, an author, and a deity. But it could also refer to two parents, one of whom is an author and other of whom is a deity. Again, the presence of the serial comma eliminates the ambiguity. This issue may seem trivial, but the English language is constructed of myriad trivialities that combine into an imperfect system but one that has supported the world’s predominant language. (Yes, twice as many people speak Mandarin as English, but my reference point is global significance.) Commas are an abundant resource, and you can pull any ordinary one out of your comma bucket to serve as a serial comma. 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 Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:70 Idioms with Heart50 Idioms About Roads and Paths50 Plain-Language Substitutions for Wordy Phrases

Project Management - Project Breakdown, Risks and Staffing Assignment

Project Management - Project Breakdown, Risks and Staffing - Assignment Example This paper highlights the possible risks in the organization and how they can be analysed and managed. The organization faces a challenge of the inability to influence wider and diverse market margins. The company is striving to widen its customer diversity and population. This is hindered with the various risks the company faces such as stiff competition from similar companies and lack of sufficient stuffing. The company lacks enough employees hence the production of the company is not to its maximum. There is also poor human resource management. The organization finds it difficult and expensive to train the recruited employees. It is hard for the organisation to replace the experienced personnel who leave with new recruits who take time before conforming to the organisation’s operations and strategies. The organisation faces constant shifting of the employees and this gives it a disadvantage compared to the competitors. Another risk that the organization faces is lack of sufficient resources and funds to hire more employees. More employees will enable the organisation to hav e broader market margins as there level of production will be increased. This problems affect all departments of the organisation hence put the whole organization at risk. The organisation has not fully implemented technology in its daily routine and operations. The computer services and the internet facilities are not fully utilized by the employees of the organization. This particularly affects the HR, marketing and finance department. If this problems are not adhered to the company faces a threat of falling out of competition and closing down in the long run. Failing to diversify and widen it market margin gives the competitors an advantage. This also hinders the organisation from attracting more customers hence limiting the amount of profit the company

Royal Thai Airways Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Royal Thai Airways - Case Study Example s of Thai culture, its customs, and traditions.' The goal of the research study is to examine the extent and nature of Thailand's reach as a tourist economy within the global market. Focused on RTA's Royal Orchid Plus (ROP) market segment, the project proposes to engage the topic of globalization through inquiry into ROP passenger membership, and in particular high wealth, male customers from cosmopolitan hubs in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and United Kingdom (UK). At the global level, RTA and by extension the Thai tourist economy has at present, a significant share of the available demand. Well known for its personal service tourism (i.e. sex tourism) economy, Thailand's beauty and tropical surroundings are compliment the dream world of male fantasies attained through association with luxury market advertising of those services. Nevertheless, Thailand's sex tourism industry has an alternative image, which is predicated upon the policy concerns of human rights activism against such activities. AIDs and interrelated discourses o n 'health' utilized by medical, public health and 'spa' businesses are also considered. A full service provider of commercial airline service to customers around the globe, RTA faces a challenge in identity management that is perhaps unparalleled elsewhere in terms of market analysis and communication. Business development, then is fostered through negotiation of gender terms, and precisely so; RTA employs Thailand's 'Spa Culture' as a benefit to ROP members, yet retracts from association with anything pertaining to 'sex.' The royal orchid carrier is in the last instance, 'traditional.' How this impacts investment underscores the nature of this study. Participation in the Star Alliance was the result of various changes in the world's economic situation, RTA claims, as single carriers 'cannot sustain and respond to these changes effectively and sufficiently.' The 2008 'Open Skies Agreement' between the EU and US set the pace for a radical restriction on nations that did not follow suit in regard to free-trade at international airports. Marketing 'paradise' has now become more expensive. Revenues generated by RTA's frequent flier customers more important to the airline than ever. To this end, the project focuses on the high wealth, male ROP client, and in particular those of the UAE and UK, working together in the heavily sanctioned social environments (i.e. dictating prohibition on sexual relations) of the Gulf States. The theoretical prospectus on the project is focused on globalization and identity, and specifically addresses critical marketing theories dedicated to activist