Saturday, August 31, 2019
Discuss the varying roles of the promotion Essay
This would increase the quality of life to the families living at home dramatically, from living of just one dollar a day to the minimum wage of an employee in an MEDC. Some people believe that you can put large amount of aid into a country, or even create a neo-liberastic situation ââ¬â however, the countries that are currently regarded as LDCs or even LEDCs will always be in that situation and itââ¬â¢ll never change. This is due to their geographical location, and how so many external factors are taken into consideration such as the climate, the droughts and the inability to grow many things within the climate. Biologist Jared Diamond in his book ââ¬Ëguns germs and stealââ¬â¢ wrote heavily on this point, in this he effectively believed that the development of a country is completely reliant on their location rather than the people within it. To an extent this is true, 33 out of the 50 countries are just below the Sahara desert in terrible conditions. They have little crops that are able to grow on their land, which used to be the first stage of development many years ago ââ¬â the animals that graze are few in terms of species and overall are on a complete natural disadvantage. Arguably geography created the countries into what they are today. For example, the harsh conditions led to people unable to make many by selling their crops ââ¬â this led to crime, as people needed more money to survive. This endless struggle continued and the crime, corruption and civil wars just became out of control. Similarly, economists agree that these countries have too many problems to be able to compete on a global market, such as internal conflicts/ HIV and AIDs. These huge problems all contribute to the unrest of the countries in question. Many companies may disagree with moving their factories to Africa, not only would they have to adapt their designs to fit with the harsh environment. Also with 22. 5 million adults and children who have HIV/ AIDs in sub Saharan Africa, would also contribute to the potentially weak workforce ââ¬â making the productivity of those factories less. This is mainly why many economists believe there is no way that they will be competitive within the workforce. In many developing countries around the world aid is directly given to the government and the public sector. With the increase in trade, it can directly add to the successfulness of exportesr within the private sector. Many governments have seemed to prefer aid, however it does not necessarily mean this is the best way of improving the quality of life for the people within it. Many LDCs struggle to receive a large amount tax from their people, and having a weak private sector reduces their chances even further in developing ââ¬â which is why governments of LDCs prefer aid to support their infrastructure. Tony Blair believed that we needed a $25 billion increase, doubling the annual aid, to countries within Africa by 2010 ââ¬â and an even further $25 billion by 2015. However, this aid only improves the country in the short term ââ¬â for example Japanââ¬â¢s recent natural disaster of an 8. 9 earthquake on the Richter scale, may need for external aid which may be essential to get them back on their feat. But too much aid and it could lead to a dependency culture, in which countries are just merely reliant on aid without trying to achieve a goal for their country or to increase their countries quality of life. The argument comes into the idea that ââ¬Å"if you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. But if you give him a fishing rod, you feed him for a lifetimeâ⬠; aid is simply just a means to get by it is not a good enough plan for the future. While trade can effectively set you up for the future, and hopefully increase the revenue of that country and thus increasing the quality of life. I believe that the most important provision is trade, however for the trade to be optimized there are many problems which need to be addressed ââ¬â such as political stability. If a country does not rid itself of some of its problems, the trade that a LDC does will just go straight back into the corrupt leader.
Friday, August 30, 2019
Introduction to Linguistics Essay
What is meant by the field of linguistics? This introductory chapter concerns some dimensions of linguistics, which give us a general idea of what linguistics is, including the history of linguistic, grammar, and other disciplines of linguistics study. What does grammar consist of and what are the relationship between one and another? How many languages do human beings have the capacity to acquire? What other studies are made in recent centuries? Each of these aspects are clearly described, and other chapters will go into further details. While in this chapter we will provide some less detailed information on the various aspects of linguistics mentioned so far. 1. 1 Defining Linguistics There is nothing that can be said by mathematical symbols and relations which cannot also be said by words. The converse, however, is false. Much that can be and is said by words cannot successfully be put into equations, because it is nonsense. C. Truesdell Linguistics is a study to describe and explain the human faculty of language. There is no doubt that linguistics has changed through human development. 1. 1. 1 History of linguistics. The history of linguistics can be divided into three periods: antiquity, middle ages and modern linguistics. 1. 1. 1. 1 Antiquity Dating back to earlier period of linguistics, linguistics is often associated with a need to disambiguate discourse, especially for ritual texts or in arguments. Ancient Indians made a big contribution to linguistics development. Similarly, ancient Chinese played a key role in improving linguistics development. Around the same time as the Indian developed, ancient Greek philosophers were also debating the nature and origins of language. During this period, syntax and the use of particles developed fast. In addition, scholars proposed that word meanings are derived from sentential usage. 1. 1. 1. 2 Middle Ages In Middle East, in terms of expanding Islam in 8th century, a large number of people learn Arabic. Because of this, the earliest grammar came to being gradually. At the same time, Sibawayh, a famous scholar, wrote a book to distinguish phonetics from phonology. In the 13th century, Europeans introduced the notion of universal grammar. 1. 1. 1. 3 Modern Linguistics Modern linguisticsââ¬â¢ beginning can date back to the late 18th century. With time passing by, the study of linguistics contains increasing contents. Meanwhile, it is used in other fields, computer, e. g. , has come to be called computational linguistics. The study of applications (as the recovery of speech ability) is generally known as applied linguistics. But in a narrower sense, applied linguistics refers to the application of linguistic principles and theories of language teaching and learning, especially the teaching of foreign and second language. Other related branches include anthropological linguistics, neurological linguistics, mathematical linguistics, and computational linguistics. However, linguistics is only a part of a much larger academic discipline, semiotics. It is the scientific study of language. It studies not just one single language of any one society, just like Chinese or French, but the language of all human beings. A linguist, though, does not have to know and use a large number of languages, but to investigate how each language is constructed. In short, linguistics studies the general principles whereupon all human languages are constructed and operated as systems of communication in their societies or communities. 1. 1. 2 An Interesting Comparison Linguistics is a broad field to study, therefore, a linguist sometimes is only able to deal with one aspect of language at a time, and thus various branches arise: phonetics, phonology, morphology, syntax, semantics, applied linguistics, pragmatics, psycholinguistics, lexicology, lexicography, etymology and so on. Suppose that the study of linguistics can be considered to be a computer, so linguistics is equal to the CPU, which supports all the other parts. Moreover, sound card would stand for phonetics and phonology, and then morphology and semantics are like the memory of the computer. Whatââ¬â¢s more, syntax plays as an important role to translate single words to a whole sentence which is full of meaning, just like a graphics card, which uses picture to make sense of the idea of memory stick. Finally, everything is ready, itââ¬â¢ s time to use computer and the same goes for language acquisition. Very interestingly, the properties of computer are amazingly similar to human language. from www. iflytek. com/english/Research-Introduction%20to%20TTS. htm Above all, linguistics is concerned with the study of verbal languageââ¬â particularly speech and written language. Whatââ¬â¢s more, language is a system and there is a set of options of which one must be chosen depending on the purpose and context. (Marie E. & John P. , 1991, p. 64). 1. 2 The broad study of language Language is a highly complex system of communication, so it sometimes will be called a ââ¬Ësystem of systemsââ¬â¢. It is used to construct, exchange, express, and record information and ideas. It performs these functions effectively because it is based upon systems that are understood by those using the language. In this chapter, four topics will be concerned. They are phonology, morphology, syntax, and semantics. In this section, some overall definitions and interactions among the four parts will be talked about. 1. 2. 1 Phonology In order to assist learners at the early stages of literacy, it is very important to understand the relationship between sounds and letters. The sounds of speech are studied in phonetics and phonology. (Marie E. & John P, 1991) 1. 2. 1. 1 Definitions of phonology and phonetics Phonology is the study of sound systems- the invention of distinctive speech sounds that occurs in a language and the patterns wherein they fall. In other words, we study the abstract side of the sounds of language, a related but different subject that we call phonology (Peter, 2000). In short, it is about patterns and roots. On the other hand, it is more strict linguistics. Phonetics is the science which studies the characteristics of human sound-making, especially sounds used in speech, and provides methods for their description, classification and transcription. In common, speech sound is used everywhere, and it can be divided into three parts: articulatory phonetics, auditory phonetics, and acoustic phonetics. 1. 2. 1. 2 The difference between phonology and phonetics It seems that phonology and phonetics are similar. That is why both of them make learners confused. In fact, they have great difference. Phonology pays attention to how speech sounds of a language pattern are put together according to regular rules. On the contrary, phonetics focuses mainly on description of how speech sounds are made. For instance, if someone says ââ¬Å"we should get our two lips close together and then push them open with a strong airâ⬠, that means he or she is relevant to phonetics field. Another example is ââ¬Å"no words should begin with the ââ¬Ëngââ¬â¢/N/ sound, the sound only occurs at the end of wordsâ⬠, and this concerns phonology area. Plenty of terms are used to describe different patterns of letters and sounds. Some of the common used terms are blend, digraph, schwa, syllable and phonics, which are widely and frequently applied. 1. 2. 2 Morphology Morphology has been regarded as a necessarily ââ¬Å"synchronic disciplineâ⬠. That means the rules focusing on the study of word structure instead of the development of words (Katamba, 1993, p. 3). It is the basic element used in a language, and the concept of ââ¬Ëmorphemesââ¬â¢ is one of the main aspects in the study of ââ¬Ëmorphologyââ¬â¢ (Yule, 2006, p. 66). Basically, it is the branch of linguistics that studies the internal structure of words. In morphology, morphemes are the minimal units that have semantic meaning. It is ââ¬Å"the linguistic term for the most elemental units of grammatical formâ⬠(Fromkin, Rodman, & Hyams, 2006, p. 77). 1. 2. 2. 1 The classification of morphemes Morphemes are composed of free and bound morphemes. Free morphemes are the morphemes that can ââ¬Å"stand by themselves as single wordsâ⬠, while bound morphemes are those that ââ¬Å"can not normally stand aloneâ⬠, but that can be attached to affixes (Yule, 2000, p. 75). Free morphemes contain lexical and functional morphemes. The first category, free morphemes, is the set of ordinary nouns, adjectives, adverbs and verbs which carry the content of the conveyed messages (Yule, 2000, p. 76), and most English words refer to this category. The functional morphemes consist largely of the functional words, including conjunctions, prepositions, articles and pronouns (Yule, 2000). Bound morphemes can also be divided into two categories. They are derivational and inflectional morphemes. Derivational morphemes are those which ââ¬Å"make new words in the language and make words of a different grammatical category from the stemâ⬠(Yule, 2000, p. 76), which means that it can change the meaning or the word class, whereas the inflectional morphemes are used to ââ¬Å"indicate aspects of the grammatical function of a wordâ⬠(Yule, 2000, p. 77). 1. 2. 2. 2 The interaction with other aspects Morphology has interactions with phonology. The selection of the form that manifests given morpheme may be affected by the sounds that realize neighboring morphemes (Katamba, 1993). For example, prefixes and suffixes will normally affect the stress. Meanwhile, there is interaction between morphology and syntax. The form of words may be influenced by the ââ¬Å"syntactic construction in which the word is usedâ⬠(Katamba, 1993, p. 13). 1. 2. 3 Syntax So far in our study of language, we have made studies of phonetics, phonology and morphology. We have analyzed the structure of sounds and words. Therefore, we have been concentrated on the level of small units of language. After our analysis of words, we move to the consideration of larger structural units of language: phrases and sentences. ââ¬Å"If we concentrate on the structure and ordering of components within a sentence, we are studying what is technically known as the syntax of a languageâ⬠(Yule, 2000, p. 100). Syntax can be simply defined as the scientific study of sentence structure. According to Geoffrey (2005), syntax is a term used for the study of the rules governing the way words are combined to form sentences. The origin of this word is from Greek and it means ââ¬Ëa setting out togetherââ¬â¢ or arrangement (Yule, 2000). In the sentence The boy hits the door, we can discover that the words are related to each other in this order that it only has one meaning. If we change the order of the words The door hits the boy, the sentenceââ¬â¢s meaning has totally changed and it is nonsense. The reason is that the parts of the sentence are structurally related to each other, and this structure is reflected in the word order. In English, the word order is very necessary and important for the meaning of the sentence according to linguistic rules. In some languages, word order plays a less important role. The meaning of the sentence depends more on the form of the words themselves. In such cases, it is possible for sentences with totally different word order to have the same meaning. English used to be one of these languages. The following examples are taken from Old English: Se cyning metech thone biscopââ¬âââ¬â-The king meets the bishop Thone biscop meteth se cyningââ¬âââ¬â-The king meets the bishop Although the words are arranged differently, they still mean the same. However, nowadays, the word order is very crucial for meaning. As a consequence, there is a great need for us to explore syntax. Some important concepts are included in the study of syntax. 1. 2. 3. 1Complex and compound sentence Three sentence types are basic in the syntax. There are simple sentence, compound sentence and complex sentence. A simple sentence includes one word. However, in some situation, the simple sentence contains two words. A compound sentence contains at least two simple sentences. The sentences are linked with a conjunction. A Complex sentence composes of at least one main clause and one subordinate clause. 1. 2. 3. 2 Syntax Analysis The following example is provided for syntax analysis. The football team won the match last year. S NP VP NP Det N Vt Det N Adv Ext(time) The football team won the match last year. The chart above is called tree diagram. The letters above each indicate: S = sentence, NP = noun phrase, VP = verb phrase, N = noun, V = verb, and so on. The syntacticians use this method to analyze the sentences. 1. 2. 3. 3 Basic Syntactic Structure In English, the structure of sentence depends heavily on word order. The four basic structures are listed as follows: S>NP + Vc + NP ( NP>N, NP >Det + N) S>NP + VP ( NP>N, VP>Vc + Adj) S>NP + VP ( NP>N, VP>V) S>NP + VP (NP>N, VP>Vt + NP, NP>Det + N) 1. 2. 3. 4 Basic Syntactic Generative Process There are four basic syntactic generative processes: substitution, expansion, extension, transformation. Take the following sentence as an example to clarify these three concepts. Ken is a policeman. Substitution: Ken is a policeman. > Tom is a policeman. Expansion: Ken is a policeman. > Ken is a bad policeman. Extension: Ken is a policeman. > Ken is a policeman at that time. Transformation: Ken is a policeman. > Is Ken a policeman? 1. 2. 4 Semantics Semantics, a subfield of linguistics, is the study of literal meaning. ââ¬Å"It is the recent addition to the English language. â⬠(Palmer, 1976, p. 1). According to Matthews (2007), during the early years the study of meaning focused on the lexicon alone. The scope of the study has expended since 1960s to include both semantics and pragmatics (analyzed in 1. 3), which come to the main fields of the study of linguistic meaning(Katamba, 2000& Matthews, 1997). Semantic meaning is fixed and abstract. It can be understood by surface. However, it is de-contextualized. In another word, it is easily subverted by different gestures or intonations. Semnatics interacts with other aspects of linguistics. For example, when synonyms are used, they can be understood, so it fits the rule of syntax. However, synonyms are used to describe something similar. In a sentence, a synonym can be substituted by another synonym. However, the meaning of synonyms speaker or writer determines or predicates have different degrees, which indicates the meaning is actually different (Alan, 2004). Thus, it is the interaction between syntax and semantics. As for the interaction with phonology, the term tonic syllable in phonology has three kinds of functions. The first one is the accentual function, which is to indicate the focus of the information. The second one is the attitudinal function that is to indicate the speakerââ¬â¢s attitude. And the last one is grammatical function. If speakers use these functions, the same sentence will turn out to have various meanings. To conclude, in this section, linguistics is analyzed from the aspects of sounds, word structure, grammatical rules and meaning. Each of them is in charge of a certain system. Thus linguistics can help people to communicate, to express, and to be understood. 1. 3 Other disciplines Apart from the core subparts of linguistics, which we have demonstrated before, for further reading, we introduce some other exciting aspects in the field of linguistics. There are a lot more to discover than those areas. 1. 3. 1 Sociolinguistics People may know something about you through the way you speak, for example, where you come from, where you spend most of your life time, your social identity and so on. Two people growing up in the same geographical area, at the same time, may speak differently owing to a number of social factors (Yule, 2000). Consequently, itââ¬â¢s very important to consider the social aspects of language. Itââ¬â¢s because speech is a form of social identity and is used, consciously or unconsciously (Yule, 2000). The study of the social aspect of language is known as sociolinguistic. ââ¬Å"Sociolinguistic is concerned with investigation of the relationship between language and societyâ⬠(Ronald, 2006, p. 13). It consists of cultural norms, expectations, and context on the way language is used. The first linguists who studied the social aspect of language are Indian and Japanese in the 1930s. Another person called Gauchat who came from Switzerland had a analysis of this in 1900s as well. However, these three people didnââ¬â¢t receive much attention in the West. Until the late 19th century, the study of social aspects of language laid its foundation. Sociolinguistics gradually appeared in the 1960s in the West. Linguistics such as William Labov in the US and Basil Bernstein in the UK first brought out this concept and explored it. (Wikipedia, 2007, para. 1) 1. 3. 2 Neurolinguistics Though the neural structures of most animal species are very distant from man, there are still resemblances between human and animal languages (Marler, 1981; Nottebohm, 1970), since neurons work in both. Human brain contains billions of neural cells, and so far, the exact number of those so-called neurons is still to be defined (Fabbro, 1999, p. 21). These teeny tiny neurons have close link with the production of language. There can be innate or learnt vocal utterances. Oral language can be the innate property of the human brain, written language, however, is an invention of humankind. Dogs can bark, cats can miaow, and man can cry even after the removal of the midbrain, whereas parrots cannot imitate human sounds, and we cannot produce human language (Fabbro, 1999, p. 21). Therefore, the neural center of our brain is playing an irreplaceable role in the production of language. How does the main cerebral structure serve the production of humanà vocalizations? The study of neurolinguistic rely on the study of neurology and neurophysiology, and in these fields, all parts of the nervous system, each having different functions in generating language, are discovered. Theories are found based on lots of experiments concerning the removals of different sections of the brain. The destruction of different language areas destroys language distinguishingly. 1. 3. 3 Historical linguistics Historical linguistics definitely is not concerned with the history of linguistics, though historical linguistics has played an important role in the development of linguistics. It is the main kind of linguistics practiced in the 19th century (Campbell, 1998, p. 5). Historical linguistics concerns the investigation and description of how languages change or maintain their structure in the course of time. Language change can be easily proved by documents written in the same language but at different periods of history. The differences of wording and structure of sentences can reflect the historical development of language. From series of datable documents, Lordââ¬â¢s Prayer widely recorded the history of mankind, and different versions help us analyze the language of each period (Bynon, 1978, p.7). Meanwhile we can also discover that certain structure rules are still used in current language. There are some constructs and rule that link the grammars of two different but related languages, which descend from a single original language, sharing a common ancestor. More accurately, historical linguistics deals with the kinds of changes, and the techniques and methods we have use to discover history, rather than the origin of words themselves (Campbell, 1998, p. 5). 1. 3. 4 Anthropological linguistics Anthropological linguistic is the study of relations between language and culture. It is related to human biology, cognition and language. It belongs to the field of linguistic anthropology, which is a branch of anthropology that studies human-beings through the language they use(Wikipedia, 2007, para. 1). Some Linguists who explore theanthropological linguistics consider these topics such as chimpanzee communication, pidgins and creoles, structural linguistics,total languages, whorf hypothesis, etc. 1. 3. 5 Pragmatics According to Kate (2000), pragmatics is one of the two main fields in the study of linguistic meaning. Pragmatics deals with natural language, while language is always used in context for an intended purpose. The listeners must try to grasp the meaning implied, enrich the ideas, and finally make out the opinion that what the speakers meant when talking about a particular expression (Kate, 2000). According to Yule (1996), ââ¬Ëpragmatics studies the context in which the utterance is produced as well as the intention of language user. ââ¬â¢ That means pragmatic meaning depends on context or situation. Without context, meanings can be vague and may be misunderstood by people. Two of the branches are: speech acts that cover ââ¬Ërequestingââ¬â¢, ââ¬Ëcommandingââ¬â¢, ââ¬Ëquestioningââ¬â¢ and ââ¬Ëinformingââ¬â¢, and politeness that shows the awareness of another personââ¬â¢s face. In short, sociolinguistics is the analysis of interrelationship of language and society. Neurolinguistics is the study of the brain and how it functions in language. Historical linguistics is the consideration of language change and how different languages are related to each other. Anthropological linguistics is the study of language and culture. There are some other disciplines in linguistics. Pragmatics deals with the speakersââ¬â¢ meaning. The five mentioned above are some main disciplines in linguistics. Different disciplines of linguistics enrich the content of linguistic. The study of linguistics tends to be more and more detailed and completed. 1. 4 Language Acquisition This chapter began with a general introduction to language study. It ends with a consideration of the acquisition of language, containing first, second and foreign language, which is affected by the relationship between teacher and learner. Some experienced educators advise that it is only through learning to speak a language that you can fully analyze it (Everett 2001). ââ¬ËAcquisitionââ¬â¢ is described as occurring in spontaneous language contexts (Krashen, 1982), is subconscious, and leads to conversational fluency. 1. 4. 1 First language acquisition For a child, learning first language is automatic, not after starting school, not in specific circumstance and not by great efforts (Yule, 2006). It requires only basic physical capability of sending and receiving sounds directly or indirectly, and interaction with others using this language. Children are brought up in particular environments, being affected by different surroundings, especially by those people whom they spend most of their time interacting with. Infants start express themselves through some simple utterance, such as some vowel-like sounds. Children gain increasing abilities at different development stages, from producing single-unit utterance to producing speech by communicating through expressions (Yule, 2006), since they are able to understand what others said. This a big step forward, like quitting toddling and being capable of walking steadily, forwards, or backwards. As children are being increasingly exposed to communication and interaction, their language skills are developing rapidly because of the expansion of vocabulary. They are never forced to speak first language and seldom be corrected by others, but they correct themselves through interactions every day. Then children learn to use verbs in different sentences, and how to use different words to form a sentence (Yule, 2006). They gradually learn to ask questions correctly and how to use the word no in their speeches to express negative meanings. The last stage of first language acquisition is the ability of making meaningful sentence (Yule, 2006). There is massive variation in the rate at which features of oneââ¬â¢s first language are acquired. 1. 4. 2 Second language acquisition. Being able to speak first language is one of the basic skills of second language acquisition. Except for the minority of people who are bilingual speakers, most of the learners have no access to a second language until our late childhood. Actually most of the Chinese learners are now learning English as a foreign language, because it is immediately back to Chinese speaking time out of the classroom. But later on they may have the chance of learning it as a foreign language in a native speaking environment, during immersion semesters, when they will acquire this second language in circumstances similar to those of Chinese acquisition. There are obviously differences in foreign language achievement, sometimes related to differences in aptitude (Carroll, 1982), sometimes to affective factors (Gardner & Lambert, 1972), sometimes to learner strategies (Naiman, Frohlicn, Stern & Tedesco, 1978), sometimes to environmental factors such as opportunities for language use or instructional conditions (Long, 1982), and sometimes simply to time (Carroll, 1975). Human beings have the ability to learn more than one language all through oneââ¬â¢s live. Farwell (1963) (cited in Taylor, 1976) reports that a British explorer in the 19th century claimed to have spoken more than 40 languages and dialects. Usually, however, after the age of 10, the acquisition of second language is very different from the way one acquired his first language, which is relatively slower and cannot achieve native-like proficiency. 1. 4. 3 Educational factors Most of us begin learning second language in teenage years, spending only few hours on it every day and for most of the daily activities we use our mother tongue. Accordingly, we will encounter lots of difficulties in learning second language without enough exposure to it. Therefore, the largely distinguished part of acquiring first and second language should be language teachers. In order to learn a second language, we must learn from a teacher, or at least follow their guidance. The classroom is a very powerful instrument of instruction and it can control language learning in a very direct way (Richard, T. & Roger,H. ). As language teachers, we should focus on studentsââ¬â¢ requirements and follow learner-centered approaches. We should impart knowledge in a more practical way so the students can receive easily. Keep the class disciplined and orderly so that students can learn most effectively from the lessons. There are often the situations that the students seldom volunteer answers, and the teacher sometimes has to call on someone and wait for a long time before a response is forthcoming. Why not try breaking away from typical Hong Kong classroom practices in class? Like, students do not have to stand up to greet teachers, and they do not have to raise their hands or stand up when they answer questions. In a relaxed classroom atmosphere, students will feel free to interact. They will not fall silent when the teacher enters the room, then stand up and chant a choral greeting. If the pupils are put in this position in the classroom, they can be more effectively kept in their place in social life. During the class, we teachers should never say like this: I am your teacher. By the authority vested in me I have the right to ask you to behave in a certain way, whether you like it or not. And you, in your role have the obligation to obey (Widdowson, H. G. ). Whereas, we should say that in another way: Do this because I am the teacher and I know whatââ¬â¢s best for you, but not ââ¬ËDo this because I am telling you and I am the teacher. ââ¬Ë This difference has the advantage of largely increasing participation in the use and practice of language. 1. 4. 4 Summary Approaches to the acquisition of language account for different backgrounds of learnsââ¬â¢ first language, and different conditions of exposure. In acquiring language, learners often go through transitional stages of development, which is at distinguished rates. References Cruse, A. (2004). Meaning in language : an introduction to semantics and pragmatics. Oxford, New York, Oxford University Press. Bynon, T. (1983). Historical Linguistics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Campbell, L. (1998). Historical Linguistics-An Introduction. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press. Dechert, H. W. (1990). Current trends in European second language. Great Britain: WBC Print, Bristol. Fabbro, F. (1999). The Neurolinguistics of Bilingualism. Psychology Press Ltd. Fromkin, V. , Rodman, R. , & Hyams, N. (2006). An introduction to language (8th ed. ). Boston, MA: Heinle & Heinle. Palmer, F. R. (1976). Semantics: a new outline. Cambridge; New York : Cambridge University Press. Geoffrey, F. (2005). Key Concepts In Language And Linguistics. USA: Palgrave Macmillan. Kate, K. (2000). Semantics. Basingstoke, England, Macmillan. Katamba, F. (2006). Morphology. Basingstoke : Macmillan Press. Marie E. & John P. (1991). Language and Learning. Melbourne: Oxford University Press Oââ¬â¢ Mally, J. M. , & Chamot, A. U. (1990). Learning strategies in second language acquisition. Cambridge University Press. Matthews, P. H. (1997). Oxford Concise Dictionary of Linguistics. Oxford. University Press, USA. Peter, R. (2000). English Phonetics and Phonology. Cambridge University Press. Ronald, W. (2006). An Introduction to Sociolinguistics. USA: Blackwell Publishing. Widdowson, H. G. (1990). Aspects of Language Teaching. Oxford University Press. Wikepedia: Sociolinguistics (n. d. ). Retrieved 30 October 2007 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Sociolinguistics Wikepedia: Anthropological linguistics (n. d. ). Retrieved 30 October 2007 from http://en. wikipedia. org/wiki/Anthropological_linguistics Yule, G. (2006). The study of language (3rd ed. ). Cambridge, New York: Cambridge University Press.
Thursday, August 29, 2019
Marcosââ¬â¢ family Essay
Unlike the Antagonist, the protagonist is introduced from the first scene, Eddie Carbone. At first we donââ¬â¢t see him as the mean and vicious person he later turns out to be. From this we get an understanding as to what kind of ââ¬Ëheroââ¬â¢ he is. During the course of the play Eddie becomes an evil ââ¬Ëheroââ¬â¢. Making the protagonist an evil person makes the play more effective. At no point does Eddie actually break the law, but instead breaks the rules of society. The society in which Eddie lives, (full of Italian immigrants) has made it a golden rule not to snitch, not to tell on anyone that may be doing something wrong in the governments eyes but not in theirs. Eddie makes this the first thing that Catherine and Beatrice have to know before the arrivals of the cousins. He tells them a true story about Vinnie B, how he betrayed his family by snitching to the authorities about the illegal immigrants his family was hiding. As a result Vinnie gets treated like a foreigner in his own family, and gets thrown down the stairs and has to leave the house despite being the youngest. In this play there is unity of time, place and action, all the action appears to be continuous in one place. Miller brings unity into the play, everything happens over a period of time there are no gaps except the gap between Acts 1& 2 allowing time for Catherine and Rodolfoââ¬â¢s relationship to grow; the unity in this play brings all the action, betray and romance in one place so it gives the audience a better understanding as what is happening. Whereas if one thing was happening in Jersey and another thing in New York it wouldnââ¬â¢t keep the audience interested. Miller creates a sense of pity and sorrow over the audience at the very end of the drama. Eddie ringing the Immigration Bureau brings us to the catastrophe. It is Marco who breaks the law. We, as the viewers, believe that Marco has done nothing wrong but to defend his beliefs, which is to protect his name and by doing so protecting his family. Eddies manliness was challenged when Marco confronted him to a chair lifting contest; this warned Eddie to stay away from Rodolfo. Mixing the pathos and misery with the catastrophe of Eddieââ¬â¢s death makes the drama much more effective. After taking a traumatic journey through Eddies mind, the audience is left to think that he will never love Beatrice again because he has been showing all his emotions, especially ââ¬Ëlustââ¬â¢ the feeling that is usually associated with couples, towards her niece, but Miller surprises us because Eddie reclaims his love for his wife Beatrice, this is a very tear-jerking scene. He turns what the law says is right into a moral wrong, by having Eddie obey the law and telling the authorities that there are illegal immigrants in the community, but by doing so he is also put the lives of Marcosââ¬â¢ family in Sicily in jeopardy. Miller has borrowed many elements from the Greek Tragedy; he has used the prologue to set the basis of the play, which gave a strong sense of fate from the beginning that something awful is going to come out of Eddie taking in the two cousins. Miller has used Eddie as the Protagonist and also an evil hero. The unity of time and place has been used through out the whole play to give the audience understanding; having things done within 24 hours was significant as to what happened the next day. To have many scenes in separate places may have confused the audience. Miller made the chorus more effective by using the narrator (Alfieri) as the voice behind the story, he expressed the traditional morals and the social attitudes that the audience relate to. The pathos has been used several times in this piece of drama, one example being, when Eddie reclaims his love for Beatrice. This was a tear-jerking scene in the drama, not just making the play dramatic but allowing the audience to feel pity and sorrow for Eddie. Miller borrowing such elements has made the play more effective.
Wednesday, August 28, 2019
The Concept of Individuals Responsibility To other Members of Their Essay
The Concept of Individuals Responsibility To other Members of Their Community by Peter Singer - Essay Example By taking a look at the donations from such an angle these countries generosity can be said to take a drastic dive when compared to their other expenses. One could say that these governments care more about their transport system for example than they do about the millions of lives that they could affect with such money (Singer). However, in realistic terms especially from an economic point of view, it is necessary that a government invests in projects that will bring back financial returns in a bid to provide a better stable economy from which they can operate from. Without these investments, they would not be able to donate any money to the causes that they provide funding for. Taking a look at the stance brought about by Singer and the economic defense of such actions by the governments it can be said that two clear sides emerge from this argument with each supporting the opposing sides. A good strategy to determine whether Singer was right in his evaluation of an individualââ¬â ¢s responsibility to other members of their community as well as a governmentââ¬â¢s responsibility to society is by studying the underlying factors that would more or less govern the potential results of what certain actions may bring. This can be done by setting a choice of two potential paths that a society can take and the results that these two paths are most likely to yield. By doing this, it can be said that the path that leads to the best results will be the better option. Taking a look at the basis of the argument taken by Singer it can be said that from an overall perspective he has a good point and if his plan was to be placed perfectly into action there could be a high chance of success should everyone play their part. This is to say that the effect should take place from the grassroots and make its way up to the top echelons of government. This would mean that a regular individual would begin to take more interest in the plight of refugees and ensuring that they are doing everything in their power to improve their conditions. This would include donating more money to affiliated organizations, taking a political interest in the policies as well as changing their lifestyle to a more giving and generous one (Singer). The government on the other hand would divert more of their funds towards helping these causes and concentrate more on the wellbeing of these individuals rather than the other projects they have lined up (Singer). The government in this case would take the stance that the improvement of human life is more important than other issues. If this was to happen exactly as stated there could be a chance that causes such as the wellbeing of refugees will get the attention it deserves and as a result their plight may be significantly reduce as more people take action on the matter. However, this would need the support and co operation of all the people and bodies involved which would also include a somewhat drastic in some change in mindset wh ich is something that would not happen overnight. People would need to be willing to change their ways and adopt a giving policy that may have diminished over the years thanks to the promotion of capitalist values. The changes entailed could also bring about negative aspects as well as positive ones, which is something that should be taken into consideration. As much as helping others and ensuring tha
Best diet centers in kuwait( fainal) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
Best diet centers in kuwait( fainal) - Essay Example Diet Centre is the first health nutrition centre in Kuwait launched in 2004. Since that time, some other diet centres opened in Kuwait including Diet Care, Eat Gourmet, Lofat, etc. These centres provide customers with a perfectly balanced plan that can help them achieve their desired weight. In most cases, weight loss is not the customerââ¬â¢s only goal. Customers visit such centres in order to have a healthy lifestyle and to overcome some chronic disease symptoms by eating healthy food. These diet centres deliver freshly prepared balanced meals (breakfast, lunch, dinner, and two snacks) daily to each customer. It is like having your own personal chef who prepares, packs and delivers meals to your front door. If there is only the need for picking the food from such centres, then they also provide home delivery which completely eliminates the planning, purchasing and preparation of diet-compliant meals. In addition, most diet centres provide other services to their customers such as health advice, meal planning guides, flexibility of programs and frequent personal contact with the nutritionist. We used both quantitative and qualitative data collection approaches in our study. First, we searched the Internet to find all diet centres in Kuwait. We mainly used Google, as it was more accurate than other search engines. For the quantitative research approach, we developed a preliminary survey, which listed 10 diet centres in Kuwait. The purpose of this preliminary survey was to narrow down the list to the top 3 diet centres in Kuwait. The survey was created through surveymonkey.com, which gave us a web link that could be copied and pasted in any websiteââ¬â¢s page. We sent the survey link to all students and faculty members at GUST, and to our families and friends, through e-mail, Face book, Twitter, and WhatsApp messenger. We also posted the surveyââ¬â¢s link
Tuesday, August 27, 2019
The Changing State of the Education System Essay
The Changing State of the Education System - Essay Example An option which has been forward is the idea of having charter schools as a way for parents who may not be happy with the present public school system that their child, or children, is in at the present time. "Charter Schools are sponsor-created and -administered, outcome-based public schools that operate under a contract between the school and the local school board or the state. To establish a Charter School, certified (in Ohio's case, certificated) teachers and/or other individuals or organizations, such as colleges, cultural institutions, government bodies, or parents, draw up plans for an innovative, outcome-based** school. (Minnesota's 1993 charter legislation allows for sponsors other than teachers.)," (Sautter p.1). A common complaint for many supporters of the public school system is that, to support charter schools, would drain necessary operating funds from an already fiscally strapped school system. Some interesting statistics for charter schools comes from the website fo r the National Study of Charter Schools: Characteristics of Charter Schools. Those statistics are; (1) Charter schools enroll about 0.5 percent of public school students in the charter states. (2) Most charter schools are small, particularly compared to other public schools. Charter schools have an estimated median enrollment of about 150 students, whereas other public schools in the charter states have a median of about 500 students. More than 60 percent of charter schools enroll fewer than 200 students, whereas about 16 percent of other public schools have fewer than 200 students. Charter schools begun in the 1995-96 and 1996-97 school years have a higher proportion of small schools, those fewer than 100 students than schools opened in earlier years. (3) Many charter schools have nontraditional grade configurations. Charter schools include a higher proportion of K-12, K-8, and ungraded schools than other public schools. (4) Most charter schools are newly created schools. An estima ted 62 percent of charter schools were created because of the charter opportunity; the remainder are pre-existing public schools (25 percent) or pre-existing private schools (13 percent) that have converted to charter status. (5) Newly created charter schools tend to be smaller than converted schools. The median school size for newly created schools is 116 students, compared to a median of more than 380 students for pre-existing public schools. (National Study of Charter Schools 1). While the argument for charter schools has always been that they are better capable to educate the youth of today for the challenges of tomorrow, it is important to mention that charter schools are not above the same failures which plague their public counterparts. In a New York Times article dated 8 November 2007, author Sam Dillon details the campaign by Ohio officials to overhaul their charter school system because, surprise, it too is plagued by issues of poor performance. To sum it up, Ohio Governor Ted Strickland is quoted as saying that, "Perhaps somewhere, charter schools have been implemented in a defensible manner, where they have provided quality," he said. "But the way they've been implemented in Ohio has been shameful.
Monday, August 26, 2019
Muhammad Ali Clay ( Cassius Marcellus ) 1942 - 1981 Essay
Muhammad Ali Clay ( Cassius Marcellus ) 1942 - 1981 - Essay Example For instance, he started training when he was only 12 years old. However, irrespective of the tender age of training, the super man acquired several skills, expertise as well as experience. This pushed him towards the realization of his first global success at the age of 221. For instance, it was at the age of 22 when Muhammad Ali first won the World heavyweight championship. This happened in the year 1964. The victory really motivated Muhammad Ali. As such, he vowed to put even more effort in order to succeed at each and every boxing event. It is of crucial significance to underscore the fact that Muhammad Ali was born a Christian. However, as he continued to grow, he later on converted to Islam. This happened in the year 1975 when he was 33 years old. Born in Louisville, Kentucky in the United States of America, Muhammad Ali, also known as Cassius Marcellus Clay played a total of 61 fights. Amongst these fight matches, he won 56 and lost 5. Amongst his victories, his total wins by knock outs included 37 in number. This paper is going to focus on Muhammad Ali relevant to his religious perspectives as well as the issue of women. Moreover, the paper is going to focus on the views of Muhammad Ali relevant to wars as well as maintenance of peace amongst individuals in the society. Furthermore, the paper is going to focus on Muhammad Aliââ¬â¢s take on the issue of racism as well as equality of all the people regardless of differences in races, religion as well as ethnic backgrounds. It is of crucial significance to note that Muhammad Ali, also known as Cassius Clay was really opposed to the issue of racism in the United States of America. Muhammad Ali is someone who deeply the valued the issue of equality amongst all humanities. However, it is of crucial significance to underscore the fact that the issue of racism greatly undermined as well as compromised the issue
Sunday, August 25, 2019
Watch the film on a speech by renown anti-racist activist The Essay
Watch the film on a speech by renown anti-racist activist The Pathology of White Privilege of Tim Wise - Essay Example The fair housing act was compiled in 1968 and until 1968, there were no highest number of race based housing discrimination complaints. One million Afro-Americans died to till date due to lack of heath care facilities. In the similar manner, law enforcement authorities are continuously maintains the white supremacy. Afro-Americans and Latin Americans are three times more likely suspected and checked for drugs; however, white Americans are found to have drugs four and half times more like when they are stopped. He argues that when white people see a Latin American young person driving a nice car, they would say him a drug dealer; however, if a white young person drives the similar car, people would say, ââ¬Å"spoiled rich childâ⬠. The average white American family holds 4 times more wealth as compared to an average Black American family and 8 times more wealth as compared to average Lain American family residing in USA premises. He argues that in 1962, 1963, 90% of the White Americans argued that black Americans are receiving equal education opportunities and services but we know that the real situation at time. In 2005, 80% of the white Americans believe that black and Latin Americans are receiving equal educational rights. He argues that white Americans use the word underprivileged for the black and Latin Americans but who is then ââ¬Å"overprivilegedâ⬠. He uses the word ââ¬Å"overprivilegedâ⬠for the white Americans. He argues that if someone is down then someone must be up on him. That is the reason he is down and someone is making him down. He argues that why white American do crimes regarding racial discrimination and then escape into woods. White people give black Americans low wages as compared to white Americans. Free labor is demanded when black Americans are hired to work in fields. It is right to torture a Muslim for the act he has never done. White Americans
Saturday, August 24, 2019
The Modern Epictetus's Philosophy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words
The Modern Epictetus's Philosophy - Essay Example The passage is quite explicit in explaining that when we interpret an event or action by associating it with well-defined adjectives, it expresses certain inhibiting or exhibiting features which provoke a reaction that defines our attitude and perception towards it. According to the passage, death is dreadful. In truth, it is we, who have associated death with being ââ¬Ëdreadfulââ¬â¢ and therefore, whenever we come across death, we react accordingly. That is why the philosopher says that we must understand the more complex nature of conscious and subconscious mind that forms impression which influences our actions and therefore, instead of blaming others, we must try to change our attitude and perception. Various philosophers like Aristotle, Pluto, Hume etc. have espoused philosophies regarding a different aspect of our lifeââ¬â¢s ideologies and the concept of living a moral and ethical life. The philosophy is part and parcel of every human being and he or she exhibits it th rough the wisdom and individual perspectives towards the various aspect of their daily life. The philosophers through the ages have attempted to explain the sequence of events or happenings around us that directly or indirectly influence our actions and reactions in our daily life. It tries to interpret everything and anything in the wider empirical consideration of our experiences of conscious and unconscious manifestations of our being. It, therefore, can be said that each of us, follow a definite philosophy which guides our actions and our efforts to gain knowledge and accordingly base our judgments of the people or event. Hence it becomes a crucial aspect of our thought processes that link the person or things with the represented verdict that has been pronounced by our mental imagery and once declared as such, we often refuse to change that impression.à Ã
Friday, August 23, 2019
Fundamental of International Buisness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words
Fundamental of International Buisness - Essay Example Investors are gaining confidence despite natural disasters and bombings due to the opportunities presented in the economic reforms. The Indonesian Rupiah is gaining strength against the dollars although its stability cannot really be gauged as of the present. With the country's membership to global organizations such as APEC, GATT/WTO and the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA), several trade barrier laws have been eliminated and import tariff has been considerably reduced. Even the processing of licensing requirements has been made easier and faster as they move towards the creation of investor-friendly environment. Several major sea and air ports have been opened and free trading zones have been established. Since government is extending its full support to its Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) arm, investors can expect a more relaxed and positive atmosphere as they put up businesses in Indonesia. Bureaucratic red tape is still existent, though, so this is one of the things that we wil l have to deal with as it can definitely affect our time plan and even our budget. The country's location is ideal for trading because it is between Asia and Australia. There lies a big potential for marketing our product especially to countries such as China, Philippines, Malaysia, and of course, Australia.
Thursday, August 22, 2019
Production - Establishing a Business Essay Example for Free
Production Establishing a Business Essay This School Based Assessment is based on a business plan for Otaku Cafe. It is written with the intent to learn what it takes to start a business and to have something to use as a proposal to address potential investors and show the feasibility of the business. Business Description Otaku Cafe will be a cafe where people can come and read and write while enjoying sweet treats and coffee. It will be a sole trader business that sells sweets and beverages made right in the shop, fresh every day. The main objectives of this business will be to make 100% profit and to eventually open other branches all the while satisfying customers and bringing together people who have similar interests and reawakening peopleââ¬â¢s interest in books. Justification of Location The cafeââ¬â¢s location will be in Heritage Quay on the board walk. This is the chosen location because of the flow of customers who pass through due to the other businesses in the area and the tourists that come from the cruise ship. This location is in town but away from the traffic congestion; roads, water and electricity will also be easily accessible from the location. Also it is near the port, making it easier to get stocks from overseas. The lack of competitor cafes and the ready supply of possible labour from the surrounding area make this an optimum location. Selection of Appropriate Labour Skilled Employees Barista At least 2 will be necessary. They will be responsible for the making of quality beverages, handling the customers Assistant baker At least 3 will be needed. The assistant baker will be responsible for cleaning baking equipment and preparing and organising products in preparation for the baker Waiter / Waitress At least 4 will be necessary. They will be responsible for taking customer orders and delivering them their meals and beverages in a timely manner, delivering the bill to customers and clearing dirty wares from the tables. Sources of fixed and working capital The business premises, vehicles such as vans that may be used for transport of the product and raw materials, computers that are used, machinery such as ovens, coffee machines, heated display cases, freezers, are fixed capital, all which will be essential to the business but can be used to gain funds through their sale though they most likely would not be sold as they would be vital to the running of the business. Working capital will be gained first through small business loans from a commercial bank and will later be created through the money made from the sales of the cafeââ¬â¢s goods as working capital is the variable types of capitol made throughout the course of the business that can be readily converted into monetary funds. Roles of the Entrepreneur Creating and setting the concept the business will be bases on Providing funding for the business Planning for the establishment of the business Organize resources for business operation Type of Production The business will be involved in the production of the service of providing food and goods to customers as well as an entertaining experience at the cafe. Level of Production Production in the business will be on a domestic level, only producing for the local market as it is a more plausible level of production and more fiscally sound. Quality Control Measures Quality control within the business will be maintained through the strict adherence to recipes set for products, the hiring of mostly skilled workers and regular quality checks so as to ensure output of only optimum products and services to the customers. Use of technology Technology used in the business Internet Point of Sales system Accounting software (QuickBooks) Linkages The business will be involved in linkages with wholesale suppliers or producers of coffee, tea and other such beverages as well as suppliers or producers of fruits or fruit jams such as local farmers, producers of flour, dairy products and other suck materials needed to produce the goods of the cafe, to create an economic flow locally and to increase possible output and profit. Potential for Growth Growth within the business will be expected and hopefully the business will have to eventually move to a larger location, purchase more equipment to keep up with product demand and if possible, maybe even open other branches across the island. Government Regulations As a business earning money it will be required to be registered and pay taxes such as corporate taxes which are 2% of profits, custom tariffs, licence for importations and applying for work permits for any non-national employees and fulfilling payments of Social Security and Medical Benefits for employees. Ethical Issues Ethical issues such as the prompt payment of taxes, the correct labelling and advertising of products and the sales of quality goods instead of substandard or shoddy goods are all ethical standards that will be upheld by the business.
Wednesday, August 21, 2019
Canadas Changing Demographics and the Work Force Essay Example for Free
Canadas Changing Demographics and the Work Force Essay What has happened to Canadaââ¬â¢s demographics over the past 50 years? Over the past fifty years, Canadaââ¬â¢s demographics have been fluctuating significantly in terms of age and sex structure. During the mid-twentieth century, the population distribution pyramid was owned by the younger people and youth while the aged were not as highly populated. Now, the pyramid does not even resemble a pyramid; an increase in life expectancy, and a drop in fertility rates may account for such a drastic and effective transformation, and this sudden drop on the charts represents the large cohorts of the baby boomers, who are now beginning to play, perhaps even a slightly harmful, role in the economic workforce. In terms of statistics, these changes represent well the aging that has taken place in Canada over the past fifty years. Between 1956 and 2006, the median age of the Canadian population went from 27. to 38. 8 years, an increase of more than 10 years over a span of fifty years. By 2056, the median age is expected to reach 46. 9 years, or 20 years more than it was in 1956. In terms of demographics in the work force, during the third quarter of the twentieth century, there were almost 8 adults between 15 and 64 years of age in Canada for each person aged 65 years or over. However, the demographic dependency ratio for seniors in 2006 was just over 5 persons aged 15 to 64 years for each person aged 65 years and over. This ratio gives an approximation of how many elderly persons there are in relation to the potential pool of workers. During the last twenty-five years, the ratio has gradually yet significantly decreased to its current level. This downward trend could also continue into the future, according to recent population projections by expert analysts. Regardless of the scenario selected, most projections show a continuation of the decline of this indicator of population aging. According to the projections, in the year 2056 there would be only 2. working-age persons for each person aged 65 years or over, an even lower ratio than we are dealing with at the present moment. The Issue of Age Discrimination Age discrimination is defined, technically, as the idea of restricting persons from getting hired, promoted, or discriminated, in a position on the basis of age. It involves adverse work treatment of an employee based on a class or category that the employee belongs to ââ¬â employees over age 40 rather than on the employees individual merit. The Age Discrimination in Employment Act of 1967 (ADEA) protects certain applicants and employees 40 years of age and older from discrimination on the basis of age in hiring, promotion, discharge, compensation, or terms, conditions or privileges of employment. In fact, any action that an employer takes that adversely affects a disproportionate number of employees over 40 is also age discrimination. Various different types of age discrimination do exist throughout the workforce. It would be sensible to be knowledgeable on oneââ¬â¢s rights in terms of age discrimination to ensure that future conflicts as such are avoided. . Denying Employment: Denying ones rights on hiring and employment based on their current age (most cases involve the misjudgement of oneââ¬â¢s capabilities due to inexperience and young age) 2. Position-Based Employment: When one is already working for a company and is denied another position, perhaps a promotion, within the company based on their current age. 3. Salary-Based Employment: While it is reasonable to assume that a person with more experience and education will apprehend a higher salary, even for doing nearly the same work as another person, there may be cases where that is not applicable. Some cases involve the act of paying more to one person while another is doing almost identical work yet is being paid less, yet one person is significantly older or younger than the other. 4. Housing-Based Solutions: This type of age discrimination is different than others, simply because it is not related to employment. Some communities specifically cater to older adults, but this is an exemption to housing discrimination allowed under the Housing for Older Persons Act (HOPA). This is true in many retirement communities, for example, for which often do not allow those younger than age 55 years to own property or live there. Current myths regarding the older work force employees There do exist, however, many myths about the capabilities of older workers in the field and how efficient they would be if they were to continue working in the workforce as they age. One circulating myth is that older people cannot or will not learn new material as efficiently as younger people, which is the most prominent one of the rest. A few others include the idea that older people are not flexible or adaptable to the work environment, that older people are less productive, and that older workers are more expensive than younger workers. There has been great debate on both sides of these theories, given that although people do accept that older people should not be discriminated against and limited in terms of the workforce, there do still exist aspects in their work habits and the resources needed to provide for them in the workplace which are less ideal than if younger people were to be hired instead. Some issues that may have to be dealt with throughout the workplace with elder people include more health protection, more resources to provide for them, and perhaps even more training to ensure that they are not slow in apprehending the skills necessary for the post (all of these factors also relate back to idea of more expenses in general). Labour shortage in Canada Figure 1. Statistics on the recent study on Canadian labour shortage by province Figure 1. Statistics on the recent study on Canadian labour shortage by province Finally, the case for job shortages in Canada became thinner recently with the most recent data showing vacancies actually fell to 200,000 at the start of the year, meaning there were 6. 5 unemployed workers chasing each opening. The fresh data is just the latest indicator that seems to undercut government and business arguments that Canada is facing a serious skills and labour shortage. Furthermore, given the fact that older citizens are beginning to retire from their positions, there is an increased risk of labour shortages beginning to emerge. Parts of the economy such as the food and restaurant, oil, and public services industries are beginning to face such issues, and this area of conflict may even continue to grow over the decades, perhaps even spread and expand to more parts of the economy. In terms of action against this issue however, steps have already been put into effect by different organizations and the Canadian government. Progress has been made to reduce barriers to work by providing tax incentives for working Canadians and by modifying Employment Insurance and Guaranteed Income Supplement programs to remove penalties for working people. Canadian Prime Minister, Steven Harper, responded that ââ¬Å"there are certain cases in Canada where there are absolute shortages of workersâ⬠and that he will ââ¬Å"ensure the programs put in effect are reformed so they may not be misused in any way. The government has already begun to take action to further reduce barriers to work for Canadians, given that Canadaââ¬â¢s labour shortage is not only a skills shortage, but a person-shortage that will have an increasingly negative affect on the economic growth and prosperity of all Canadians. The diminishing young worker to retired elder-ratio should be a clear indication that a conflict is, and will be prominent throughout the next couple years or decades in Canadaââ¬â¢s economy, and that action must be tak en as efficiently as possible to avoid a serious problem for both our current and future generations.
Role of Botanical Garden in Conservation of Environment
Role of Botanical Garden in Conservation of Environment With the destruction and over-exploitation of forests, many plants diversity and species have been affected and forced to face the extinction. As we know, plants are the crucial part of biodiversity in our planet as they can provide the aesthetic values, cultural and economic benefits to us. For example, plants can provide the sources of food, medicine, shelter and clothing to most of the organisms in the world. Besides, plants are also the key determinant to maintain the balance of environment and biodiversity and help our ecosystem to achieve the stability. Without plants, many wild animals will place in the danger of extinction condition due to the loss of habitats. Much more natural disasters will also be occurred if the devastation of forests actions are being continuously such as cutting down the plants in the huge quantity from time to time. From these perspectives, we can clearly know that plants are essential to support the biodiversity and help us to achieve the sustainable development. However, what is the significance does plant diversity have for humanity? How much does the loss of plant diversity matter in our biodiversity? What resources should we be committing to its conservation? One of the reason why these are such difficult questions the answer lies in the enormous uncertainty associated with the loss of biodiversity. Which party is the most involved in the destruction of our biodiversity such as over-exploitation of forests and directly causing the pollution, global warming and climatic change? The answer is human being because they tends to satisfy their individual greed and vanity to achieve their materialistically life. Some of them are not aware with the significance and importance to protect and conserve our natural sources such as plants in nature. This probably is due to the lack exposure of the importance and benefits of plants that bring to our life and helps to support the ecosystem in our world. To protect our plant diversity, hum an being must be the leader and involved themselves in the conservation action such as building up botanical gardens because botanical gardens can help much in the plant conservation. Botanical gardens can also increase the awareness and understanding of publics towards the species of plants by some of the education and research purposes. Significance of plant conservation In the food chain, plants are mostly the primary producers to provide the food sources to secondary and tertiary producers. Plants are also the backbone of life to support the natural biological system in the Earth. This is because plants not only can provide the habitat infrastructure for many ecosystems, but also as the sources to prevent erosion and stabilize the soil systems. However, most of the plant communities throughout the world are under threat and approximate to extinction level. By the investigation and estimation of scientists, there are more than one-third or at least 100 000 species of plants are under the threaten of extinction. What are the main threats that affect the extinction of plants diversity? This might be due to the destruction of habitat, over-collection of plant species and the invasive species. When a plant species loss the habitat, the whole ecosystem will be affected by the devastating influences, as other species also lose their food sources and habitats or shelters. Other than that, this may cause us to loss the natural resources to support our daily life because plants can be processed as the medicine, building materials and fuels. As a result, it is essential to carry out the plant conservation to support the development of livelihoods based on the sustainable uses of plants and as the promoter to advocate the understanding and sharing of the benefits and functions of plants. Plant conservation can also help to strengthen the measurement in controlling the unsustainable uses of plant resources. In fact, plant conservation can be considered as a section of biological conservation because it focus on the conservation of the whole ecosystems and biodiversity to achieve the sustainable development. Plant conservation can enhance the long-term preservation, restoration and management of plant diversity and communities with the associated ecosystems and habitats. For instance, implement the in-situ and ex-situ conservation in which in-situ involved in the more natural and controlled environments whereas ex-situ mostly involved in the country of origin and only be applied when necessary. Furthermore, plant conservation plays the vital role to encourage the conservation of native plant habitats in every local community. For instance, plant conservation get involved with the native plant groups such as botanical gardens, zoo, garden clubs and national parks. Education institutes and centers can also advocate and encourage the plant conservation program in their curricula to increase the awareness among their students. This is because plant conservation need the cooperation from every people protect the threatened plant diversity and communities. Moreover, plants are crucial to us because it supports the functioning of every ecosystems and provides us with many direct advantages. Hence, it is necessary for us to aware the plants that are endangered to the extinction because plants are sustainably utilized and preserved for our future generations. If we need the long-term plant conservation of our natural resources, the sustainability utilization of plant and the sustainable living are necessary in general. However, in the contemporary day, we do not properly value the benefits of our natural resources to bring to us. Unfortunately, our activities tend to degrade and deplete them, even though they are essential for human-kinds survival and well-being. Additionally, plant conservation is important because extinction may occur anytime if there are the destruction of forests or without any care or preservation from human being. Plant conservation can also refer to the protection of our biodiversity from being endangered because plants can be the foundation of providing the advantages to biodiversity. The loss of plants can affect our water supply and atmosphere because plants possess the mutualism relationships between each others. Plants not only assemble the huge component of global biodiversity which approximately 320 000 species in the world, but also as the supplier to provide the major nutrient sources to food webs and provide the shelters to animals. As a result, it is crucial to promote the significance and importance of plant conservation to publics. Due to this, the government, NGO, communication, research and education centers are very important to increase the understanding, awareness and consciousness of publics. For instance, government can collaborate with the private sector and NGO to maximize the potential action and synergies to support the plant conservation. Oppositely, communication, research and education centers can cooperate with other related organizations to improve the human resources, financial support and the physical and technological infrastructure as the efforts for the plant conservation. Importance of botanical gardens Botanical gardens are the parks that consist a wide variety of plants that labeled with their botanical name. Different type of botanical gardens contain different varieties of plants. For example, some of the botanical gardens mainly consist of the plants from some specific parts in the world like tropical plants and some might take form of a green house while some of the botanical gardens or parks emphasized on the different varieties of plants such as herbs, cactus and flowering plants. Botanical gardens are mostly run by a management of universities and scientific research organizations to investigate the varieties of different plants with their unique characteristics to undergo their research experiment or project that involve with the plant taxonomy.Ãâà In other words, botanical garden is one of the ex-situ conservation because it involved the components of biological diversity outside their natural habitats. Ex-situ conservation is the process of protecting an endangered species of plant or animal by removing part of the population from a threatened habitat and placing it in a new location, which may be a wild area or within the care of humans. Therefore, it is undoubtedly that botanical gardens have the function to preserve the endangered plant species and to sustain our environment. The main purpose that setting up the botanical gardens is to increase publics knowledge and appreciation of plant based on the significance and conservation of plants through locally and globally and also for the ongoing benefit and enjoyment of the community. Botanical gardens also can provide visitors with an exceptional range of cultural, recreational, educational and scientific facilities which improve peoples enjoyment and understanding of the plant world. Therefore, botanical gardens is used to demonstrate their relevance characteristics and values to our society. Nowadays, botanical gardens not only as the recreational and cultural purposes, but also possess a mix of all purposes behind their incorporation ranging from economic to research as a response to the interests of horticulture and botany. As the research purposes, botanical gardens can provide the real teaching materials: plants which cannot find their whole plant body in the laboratory. This is the good exposure to students to the morphology and characteristics of the different species of plants. Botanical gardens also can display the plant diversity in form and use in a particular regions. For example, which plants grown within their particular families and which plants grown for their rarity or seed. Botanical gardens also consist of timber trees that are crucial for the research and development of the uses. Other than that, botanical gardens can play the vital role to the climatic change due to their biological functions. Due to this, some related organizations can carry up some education programs because botanical gardens can strive the change of human behavior whereas their horticultural and botanical expertise will be essential in helping ecosystems to adapt to changing conditions. Botanical gardens not only treasured for their aesthetic beauty, but can help to preserve the health and well-being of planets because plants can helps to release oxygen into the atmosphere and provide the sources of food and medicines. However, the benefits for society which accrue from their economic potential may act as an incentive to over-exploit plant resources, a situation which could threaten our health, food security, economy and environment. As a example, the biggest botanical garden in Malaysia has covered an area over 92 hectares. The park is divided into three sections which are ornamental plants, flowering plants and preservation or research purposes. The garden currently has more than 700 species of flowering plants, local plants as well as plants from the Asia-Pacific and Africa regions. This botanical garden has also set up a research center with its multi-purpose collection to promote and investigate the plant conservation and sustainable use of biological plant diversity. This research center also helps to advocate the world of plants for human benefits as well as fir its own intrinsic worth. As a summary, botanical garden is a place or garden for the culture of plants collected for the scientific and educational purposes. It contains a wide variety of plants including a herbarium, the greenhouses and the research laboratory. Botanical gardens also perform the diversified functions such as the experimentation in plant breeding and hybridization and also the collection and cultivation of plants from all parts of the world. Besides, botanical gardens also essential to helps our biodiversity to achieve the sustainable development. Roles and relationships of botanical gardens in plant conservation Most of people do not aware with the roles of botanical gardens that can bring to the plant conservation. Normally, they just think that a botanical gardens often has the high recreational value, but neglected the research purposes within it. Conventionally, botanical gardens have worked in a broad range of concerns which including the reforestation, plant exploration, the establishment of nature preserves, agricultural research, publishing, and original research in botany. However, the plant conservation and education are the main concern of the function of botanical gardens in today society. Botanical gardens should play the important role in the exploration and search for promising plants, in the recognition and conservation of species in danger of extinction, and in the establishment of reserves and protected areas. Botanical gardens can provide many benefits to sustain our environment and have the closely relationships with the plant conservation. There are several steps for research center of botanical gardens to implement the plant conservation. Firstly, botanical gardens can provide the new plants of economic importance to society, including ornamentals, medicinal, trees for reforestation, plants for industry, fruits, and cash crops. Next, some plants are collected for the study of adaptability, growth, and also the economic and genetic characteristics. After that, the workers of botanical gardens will disseminate the cultural and scientific information about plants to the general public in order to increase the awareness and consciousness of public towards the plant conservation. Finally, researchers in botanical gardens will collect and maintain the endangered and rare plants in the ecosystem and investigate the methods of plant conservation in a natural habitats. How to say botanical gardens are closely related the plant conservation to sustain our biodiversity and ecosystem? Actually, botanical gardens can help to maintain the genetic diversity of plants that cannot easily be preserved as frozen seeds, or in tissue culture. Seeds of many tropical fruit and timber trees do not remain viable long, or survive freezing. Tissue culture techniques do not work, or havent been developed yet for some plants. Due to this point, botanical gardens are crucial for the conservation of recalcitrant plants which must be preserved as living specimens. Other than that, botanical gardens can contribute to the future of agricultural productivity through the plant conservation and the distribution of the many promising but underutilized food, medicinal, industrial crops, and wild relatives of crops, which are used in plant breeding to impart resistance to drought, pest and diseases and to adapt crops to other adverse environmental conditions. How do botanical gardens support the plant conservation? What are the roles that played by botanical gardens in plant conservation? In fact, botanical gardens support plant conservation in a variety methods. Botanical gardens play the important roles in plant conservation as they possess collectively accumulated centuries of resources and expertise. Many of these activities are contribute to ex-situ conservation, but botanical gardens also play the important role in in-situ conservation such as involving the education and research and development in plant conservation. Botanical gardens maintain the living collections of plants ex-situ, often displaying plant species under various groupings, to maintain a living store of genetic diversity that can support many activities in plant conservation and research and development activities. The first role of botanical gardens in plant conservation is the horticulture and cultivation functions towards the plants. This is because botanical gardens allows the better growth of the endangered plant species with the presence of these functions. With the better growth of plant, our environment also can become better because plants helps to absorb the carbon dioxide when undergo photosynthesis process. This role of botanical gardens can also maintain the plant conservation of genetic diversity ex-situ but in the other way, they also allows plants to be used in restoration and rehabilitation of degraded habitats in-situ. Therefore, we can say that the powerful resources for plant conservation are the botanical gardens research expertise in plant science and horticulture. Next, botanical gardens may implement the research and development (RD) into plant taxonomy and genetics, useful plant properties, efficient seed banking methods, phytochemistry, plant translocation and many more botanical areas that support plant utilization and plant conservation. Due to the increasing of human activity and the climatic change that causing the imbalance of ecosystem and biodiversity, research and development group of botanical gardens is important to carry out the projects that useful for the plant conservation. For example, RD team can implement the experiments to investigate how plants can withstand the degraded and changing environments. After that, apply the best solution for the plant conservation to improve the sustainable development to our society. In addition, botanical gardens possess the capability to store the seeds or germplasm of plants for future use, research and propagation. This role of botanical gardens is known as the seed banking which is another ex-situ plant conservation that helps to maintain the species of plant and reduce the chance of facing extinction. Seeds must be carefully collected and stored to ensure maximum genetic diversity is retained. To determine the best way of storing the different seeds, much more research and development activities and projects need to be carried out. Hence, we can state that botanical gardens are useful to promote plant conservation and recovery of endangered species of plant. Moreover, the development of education is important for botanical gardens to promote and implement the activities to plant conservation. This is because education is the historic strength of botanical gardens which allowing them to communicate the importance and significance of conserving plants to a more diverse audience. Through the educational resources, the plant conservation and biodiversity education efforts can be improved because these educational resources can help to educate publics about the importance of plant conservation by demonstrating the ways it might be achieved. Furthermore, botanical gardens can be the linkage to connect the plants with the well-being of human being. This role of botanical gardens directly aid to conserve the indigenous and local knowledge towards the plant conservation. Other than that, this linkage also encourages the sustainable use of plant resources for the benefit of all, as part of sustainable development. Additionally, botanical gardens also serves as the link between botanical research and public awareness of the significance and importance of plant conservation. There are over 100 million people a year visit the botanical gardens throughout the world. This is because botanical gardens provide a convenient visual image of the beauty and value of plants. Botanical gardens and other areas which native plants are preserved and managed their natural setting which are commonly known as ex-situ conservation areas. Therefore, the awareness among publics towards the plant conservation can also be increased with the exposur e of botanical gardens to them.
Tuesday, August 20, 2019
Comparing James Joyces Araby and Ernest Hemingways A Clean, Well-Ligh
Comparing James Joyce's Araby and Ernest Hemingway's A Clean, Well-Lighted Place As divergent as James Joyce's "Araby" and Ernest Hemingway's "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" are in style, they handle many of the same themes. Both stories explore hope, anguish, faith, and despair. While "Araby" depicts a youth being set up for his first great disappointment, and "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place" shows two older men who have long ago settled for despair, both stories use a number of analogous symbols, and lap over each other thematically. At the beginning of "Araby", the narrator describes the street's lamps as lifting their "feeble lanterns" towards an "ever-changing violet" sky (227). The colour violet is both dark and rich. The sky, this deep, mysterious colour, and always mutating, suggests the expanse of unknown beyond mortal experience. The feeble lights which fail to lick the lowest tufts of cloud resemble the people who look out into the fog of unanswerable questions; who can never hope to find anything but the shapes one reads in, like hillside skywatchers. The narrator's character goes around looking up. First at Mangan's sister: from the shadow, from the floor, and from the subordinate position of an admirer. Then, more metaphorically, he looks up to an image he's built for himself; an expectation of beauty and treasures; an enthusiastic hope or hopeful enthusiasm that his pilgrimage to Araby will yield him if not the answer (to the question which manifests as a nameless longing), then the key to the answer. This answer is represented by Mangan's sister (whose name is not mentioned, as with the Hebrew G-d), whom the boy hopes to access through the gesture of his quest.1 At the end, the boy looks up again, like the l... ...othing in it. Hemingway's old man walks away from the bar with dignity, but with hope long vanished. The older waiter, another faithless man, is resigned to nothingness. His mockery of Christian prayer is not angry, but spoken with a smile and a sigh. However, as indicated by his insomnia, Nada is a cold bedfellow. Works Cited Hemingway, Ernest. "A Clean, Well-Lighted Place". Kirszner and Mandell 233. Joyce, James. "Araby". Kirszner and Mandell 226. Kirszner, Laurie, and Stephen Mandell, eds. Literature: Reading, Reacting, Writing. Compact Fourth Edition. New York: Harcourt College Publishers, 2000. 1This character may also stand as a sexual symbol. The bracelet she handles when she speaks of the convent may suggest that she is shackled to Catholic prudery. In any case, she still stands as "the desired", physically or metaphysically.
Monday, August 19, 2019
Project Plutarch :: Short Stories Science Essays
Project Plutarch The chronometer superimposed over the edge of Floyd Garcia's vision displayed the year 28, A.D. This was the farthest projection yet, by nearly a thousand years, and at this temporal distance the computers were having trouble keeping up with the uncertainty calculations. This made the scene quite nauseating as Floyd adjusted the Virtual reality goggles and wiped the sweat from the place where the cushioned rim was held firmly against his cheeks by the tight elastic headband. Maybe the queasiness also had something to do with anticipation. In any case he was glad he had logged over a thousand hours on the terminal, the jerkiness of the nearer destinations in time acting as a sort physical training for the rigors of further projection. At this temporal distance the probability calculations involved with past projection were taxing even the giant hive of supercomputers which man once thought would have help to map out the cosmos, projection forward in distance rather than backwards in time. Arguably the first project, a NASA brainchild, had experienced a lot more enthusiasm in scientific circles. The new project, being independently run by a small team of four up and coming visionaries and funded by the University of San Juan, received a more cynical welcome. True, if mankind could use mathematical computer algorithms to construct probable models of past events, which would glean the truth from the uncertainties of the process of history, the implications would be staggering. But legitimate scientists weren't biting. Most of them claimed it was because the idea of extrapolating past events with probability mathematics didn' t offer any accuracy, or hope of verification. Floyd had conceded this point from the start. The simulation wouldn' t provide exact details, Floyd had maintained, but was convinced that for major events of global significance with a variety of well-documented viewpoints to test the projection against, the simulation would be good enough. Floyd reached out with his meat arms and legs to make sure he was still well balanced and firmly strapped into his chair. The scene that now presented itself in front of the public grounds in Jerusalem was giving him the combination of motion sickness and vertigo that he had jokingly coined to be "past shock." Of course, it had nothing to do with the past really but rather the way in which the simulation was forced to operate.
Sunday, August 18, 2019
Progressive Movement In America Essay -- essays research papers
There was a great need for the progressives during the early 1900s. In 1900 Americaââ¬â¢s population was around 76 million, and one out of every seven of those 76 million was foreign. By 1915 there were 13 million more immigrants. If that wasnââ¬â¢t enough of a drastic change in Americaââ¬â¢s culture, there was another huge change taking place. America was switching from small personal businesses, to the big business type of economy. Newer and bigger businesses meant different working conditions, different working classes as well as economic classes, and completely new jobs that hadnââ¬â¢t even existed before. à à à à à Often my parents and I disagree on current events, movies, music, etc. Sometimes I feel like they are both against change. If they see that things arenââ¬â¢t just as they were before, like during the time when they were my age, they see things as bad or wrong. On the other hand, I feel like change is necessary sometimes, and the times of the late 1800s and early 1900s were no exception. In defense of my parents, I donââ¬â¢t always see the need for total changes. After all, as the old saying goes, if it isnââ¬â¢t broke donââ¬â¢t fix it. The progressive movement refused to stick with the status quo and instead welcomed change. However progressives also recognized that some things worked fairly well, like the general form of American government. So they felt a complete change was not necessary, but that some things could use a little work, and that is how progressives forme...
Saturday, August 17, 2019
Overfishing: When Humans Exhaust the Oceans Essay
The ocean is one of the major sources of food for human beings. This is not surprising, considering that oceans cover 75% of the Earthââ¬â¢s surface. The Pacific Ocean, for one, is home to well-known edible fish species such as salmon, herring, snapper, sardines and tuna. Furthermore, about 250 new species of fish are described every year (Heemstra, South African Institute for Aquatic Biodiversity and South Africa Marine & Coastal Management, 1). However, overfishing is currently regarded as the biggest threat to the oceanââ¬â¢s ecosystem. Fishing at a much faster pace than natureââ¬â¢s ability to replenish fish has resulted in long-term economic and ecological consequences. Major fishing industries in various parts of the world have collapsed, resulting in massive unemployment (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 11). In addition, the extinction of a certain fish species would certainly spell the loss of other marine life that feed on it. Indeed, if left unchecked, overfishing could turn fish into a rare and expensive delicacy. Before World War II, fishing was associated with cotton nets, hand lines and coastal vessels with short ranges. Fishing capacity was often determined by factors such as the individual fishermanââ¬â¢s eyesight, experience and fish-finding capability. Despite the rudimentary technology, most fish populations survived. The balance between the number of fish populations and peopleââ¬â¢s ability to catch fish was maintained (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 11). But after the war, military innovations were applied to fishing equipment. Fiberglass was used to create lighter and cheaper hulls, larger and lighter nets were woven out of synthetic line and diesel engines and other electronic gear were appended to fishing boats to increase their speed and efficiency in locating productive fishing grounds. These were soon followed with advances in processing, transport and marketing of fish. As a result, the availability of fish increased in some countries (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 11). Rising human populations and affluence, especially in the United States, Japan and Western Europe, was another factor behind the boom of the fishing industry after World War II. During this period, fish was viewed as a cheap and inexhaustible source of protein. Thus, governments and entrepreneurs invested heavily in fishing vessels and infrastructure. Warnings of environmentalists regarding the dangers of overfishing went unheeded ââ¬â the ocean was supposedly too vast and too deep for its resources to be limited (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 12). At present, it appears that nature is already exacting its revenge. Many fisheries around the world now require larger fleets to be able to come up with their usual catch (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 12). In addition, some species of fish and other marine life have already become extinct, resulting in the loss of livelihood for many fishermen. Overfishing, once largely-ignored, is now recognized as a grave threat. Fishing is no longer the local affair that it used to be. It is currently a global enterprise that not only generates billions of dollars in private income, but also serves as the economic lifeblood of several countries. According to the 1997 statistics of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO), fish and shellfish landings worldwide increased from 16. 3 million metric tons in 1950 to 91. million metric tons in 1995. Meanwhile, the United States and several other countries extended the jurisdiction of their respective fishing industries by about 200 nautical miles offshore between 1950 and 1976 (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 12). This resulted in landings having an annual average growth rate of 5%, peaking at 86. 4 million metric tons in 1989 (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 13). World landings since 1950 were composed mostly of pelagic (open ocean) species such as tuna, mackerel and sardines. In 1994, they accounted for at least 60% of the worldââ¬â¢s total catch. Pelagic species constitute about 59% of the catch in the Pacific Ocean. In the Indian Ocean, on the other hand, they make up at least 50% (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 13). Demersal fishes (species that live in the ocean bottom) are also an important part of the worldââ¬â¢s fishing industry. In 1993, it accounted for about 50% of the worldââ¬â¢s total landings ââ¬â pelagic species made up only 40%. Given the enormous amount of catch from the worldââ¬â¢s oceans between the 1950s and the 1990s, it is inevitable that the percentage of fish landings that are traded internationally rose from 20% to 33% from 1980 to 1993. Much of this cut is from Third World countries, which earned $15 billion in 1990 from fish exports alone (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 14). Humans consume about 60% of the worldââ¬â¢s total fish landings in the form of processed fish meal and fish oil. This is because the percentage of catch distributed fresh decreased from almost 50% to 20% from 1950 to 1982. Freezing innovations, however, increased fourfold the percentage of fish marketed frozen ââ¬â from 5% to 22% (Iudicello, Weber and Wieland, 14). Environmental experts argued that the unsustainable nature of fishing since the end of World War II proved to be conducive to the emergence of overfishing. The oceans are said to be ââ¬Å"among the worldââ¬â¢s greatest commons ââ¬â (owned) by everyone and by no oneâ⬠(Hollander, 56). Ships and sailors, for instance, are traditionally regarded as the bearers of the privilege to enjoy the ââ¬Å"freedom of the seasâ⬠(Hollander, 56). Meanwhile, fish ââ¬â a natural and mobile ocean resource ââ¬â was always considered as common property that can be taken freely (Hollander, 56). Thus, those who are engaged in commercial fishing will not think twice about overexploiting the oceanââ¬â¢s fish stocks, as long as their own catch is maximized. As long as the catch was plentiful, people always assumed that the fishes in the ocean were unlimited. Furthermore, fishing was an industry that has been thriving for centuries ââ¬â there was therefore no apparent need to think about its sustainability. The inhabitants of the New England coast, for example, were traditionally known for living off fisheries that caught cod, flounder and haddock. As of 2004, about 200 million people around the world are directly employed in fisheries (Hollander, 56). Poor government planning exacerbates the problem of overfishing. In First World countries, fishing is a state-subsidized industry. Tens of billions of dollars worth of state assistance has prompted those in the fishing industry to further expand their fleet rather than devise sustainable means of catching fish. In addition, economic and cultural differences among competitors in large international fisheries almost always result in the race as to who ends up with the biggest catch (Hollander, 57). Fishers in the worldââ¬â¢s poorest countries are also responsible for the worsening of overfishing. Coastal dwellers in the poorest developing countries often have to compete with each other for the small stocks of fish available in their locality. In order to increase their catch, some fishers use cyanide or blow up coral reefs with dynamite. As coral reefs are the habitats of fishes, dynamite fishing diminishes and eventually destroys fish stocks (Hollander, 61). Being on the edge of starvation, fishers in the poorest nations cannot be blamed if they happened to disregard long-term management. The immediate need to catch fish for food and livelihood often traps them in the vicious cycle of resource overexploitation. But once the sea is already depleted, so is their source of food and livelihood. Thus, something must be done to about overfishing (Hollander, 62). Overfishing is not without serious economic and ecological costs. It has resulted in the near-extinction of the worldââ¬â¢s most important fish species, including the Atlantic halibut, Atlantic bluefin tuna, Atlantic swordfish, North Sea herring, Grand Banks cod, Argentinean hake and the Australian Murray River cod. Overfishing has likewise severely depleted the number of other forms of marine life, such as seals, dolphins, whales, sharks and sea turtles. Furthermore, catches in the overfished areas of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans have declined since attaining their peak in 1989 (Diamond, 480). In the northwest Mediterranean, a study revealed that the removal of fish increases the population of sea urchins. A rise in the sea urchin population, in turn, reduces edible fleshy algae and produces crusts of inedible, coral-like algae. This may result in death to other marine life due to starvation. This experiment just goes to show that overfishing has indirect but very detrimental ecosystem effects (Hollander, 59). Another very negative effect of overfishing is the destruction of livelihoods that are based on fishing. It must be noted that the fishing industry is also composed of other supporting and distributing services like fish handlers and boat builders. Thus, overfishing will push countless fishing families into poverty (Environmental Cares Organization, 250). The collapse of the cod industry in Newfoundland, Canada in 1992 led to the loss of about 40,000 jobs (Greenpeace International, n. pag. ). Because the ocean is one of the major sources of food for human beings, common sense dictates that it must be taken cared of. While there is nothing wrong with fishing, it must allow nature to fully replenish the fish that has been caught. It must not be forgotten that the loss of fish is also the loss of survival for humankind. Thus, steps must be done in order to immediately address the problem of overfishing.
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