Monday, September 30, 2019

Good and Evil in Scarlet Letter Essay

â€Å"Inside each of us, there is the seed of both good and evil. It’s a constant struggle as to which one will win. And one cannot exist without the other† (Burdon). The novel _The Scarlet Letter_ perfectly illustrates this point using complex and intricate characters that mirror reality with both positive and negative aspects of their personas. The story begins in mid-17th century New England with Hester Prynne being publicly humiliated for having a child out of wedlock. She is branded with a scarlet letter â€Å"A† as an adulterer but refuses to disclose who the father is. Soon after, Hester’s former husband shows up under the pseudonym of Roger Chillingworth and makes Hester promise not to tell anyone who he is as he tries to hunt down her lover. As the story progresses, the reader and Chillingworth discover the identity of Hester’s beloved as the minister, Arthur Dimmesdale. As Chillingworth begins to psychologically torment Dimmesdale, He progressively becomes more ugly, evil, and twisted. In his novel, _The Scarlet Letter_, Hawthorne uses the symbolism of the scarlet letter to convey that within each person exists the capacity for both good and evil. First, Hawthorne utilizes the scarlet letter to assert that from all evil, some kind of good is blossoms, whether it is drastic or subtle. Even the most unfavorable of situations, such as carrying the burden of the scarlet letter, yields an advantageous quality of some sort. For example, as the plot of the story begins, the women of the town are slandering Hester Prynne for her misdeeds and discuss ways to punish her and brand her as an  adulterer. While the unforgiving women attempt to scorn her, Hester enters the scene from the prison with her badge of shame. Hester Prynne had sewn her own scarlet letter to advertise her sin. â€Å"It was so artistically done, and with so much fertility and gorgeous luxuriance of fancy, that it had all the effect of a last and fitting decoration to the apparel which she wore, and which was of a splendor in accordance with the taste of the age, but greatly beyond what was allowed by the sumptuary regulations of the colony† (Hawthorne 9). Even in the strictly puritan colony of Boston, Hester chooses to retaliate as an individual rather than reform. Hawthorne uses the apparent mark of shame to express Hester’s distinction as an elegant, strong, and fertile woman that can derive the beauty from even the worst situations. Later in the book, the governor questions Hester on why she should be able to keep Pearl. He calls Hester â€Å"One who hath stumbled and fallen amid the pitfalls of this world† (61) and questions her ability to care for Pearl’s â€Å"temporal and eternal welfare† (61). â€Å"‘I can teach my little Pearl what I have learned from this!’ answered Hester Prynne, Laying her finger on the red token† (61). From the governor’s view, the scarlet letter is a clear symbol of sin. However, in her own reality, Hester has shifted the meaning of the letter to not only a valuable lesson that she can pass on, but also a badge that exhibits her individuality along with her immorality. The scarlet letter undoubtedly displays that there is merit in even the worst evil or disgrace. Secondly, Hawthorne employs the scarlet letter to convey that within all good, there is evil hidden, no matter how pure the element may seem. Even the most exemplary appearing citizens may conceal dark and evil sins. For instance, as Pearl is playing by the sea, her mother watches her make an array of things out of seaweed. Along with the scarves and headdresses, Pearl creates a letter â€Å"A† on her own bosom. As Hester questions her as to what she thinks it means, Pearl begins to inquire Hester in response. â€Å"‘What does the letter mean, mother? And why dost thou wear it? And why does the minister keep his hand over his heart?’ ‘What shall I say?’ thought Hester to herself. â€Å"No! If this be the price of the child’s sympathy, I cannot pay it† (Hawthorne 127). Despite the pleas of her child, Hester still refuses to enlighten Pearl to what the scarlet letter on her bosom signifies. Hawthorne  uses the scarlet letter as an analogy of secrets that are held. Many reprehensible acts are kept hidden to protect people who are too young, naà ¯ve, or innocent to know the truth. Later in the book, Reverend Dimmesdale becomes mortally ill. As he walks up onto the scaffold, He hardly has any strength left. Dimmesdale must be supported by Hester and Pearl just to stand up. With his last bit of vigor, Dimmesdale announces that he is guilty of the same sin for which the people have punished Hester. â€Å"With a convulsive motion, he tore the ministerial band from before his breast. It was revealed! But it were irreverent to describe that revelation† (198). With all of his strength and life, Dimmesdale died revealing his dark secret: That he was a sinner instead of the morally perfect man he had feigned being. However, as a truly good man, Dimmesdale knew that before he passed, he needed to prove that even the most respected among man concealed some sort of evil and that visible sinners should not be shunned. Hester’s and Dimmesdale’s letters both epitomize the evil that hides within all good. Finally, Hawthorne uses the symbol of the scarlet letter to prove that no matter how good a person is, he or she can never eradicate evil within his or her self. Even the most holy and kind people have some sort of black tarnish that cannot be erased. Likewise, As Hester confronts Chillingworth about his persecution of Dimmesdale, Chillingworth begins to sympathize with Hester. In an attempt to comfort Hester, if only for a moment, Chillingworth informs her about the council’s discussion concerning the removal of her scarlet letter. Instead of the gracious response he expected, Chillingworth was met with a much colder and wiser retort: â€Å"‘it lies not in the pleasure of the magistrates to take off the badge,’ calmly replied Hester. ‘Were I worthy to be quit of it, it would fall away of its own nature, or be transformed into something that should speak a different purport'† (Hawthorne 115). Even when the opportunity arises, Hester knows that she does not have the ability to escape her dark deed. Despite Chillingworth making a motion that would inevitably improve her life, Hester is very aware of the fact that no matter what she does, her mark would stay with her forever: physically or at heart. Later in the story, Dimmesdale and Hester are planning to run away to England together. As the renounce their old lives, Hester thrusts her scarlet letter across the river to start their new  epoch together. However, as they call over Pearl to join them, she refuses to come near. Hester realizes that Pearl will not come near because of the fact that her mother is missing something that is part of who she is. â€Å"But, in very truth, she is right as regards to this hateful token. I must bear its torture yet a little longer†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (156). although Pearl is not exactly sure what the scarlet letter symbolizes, she knows that it is an important part of Hester that she cannot evade. Hester quickly comprehends Pearls wisdom and admits that she must live with her sin. The scarlet letter clearly demonstrates that good can never fully cast aside evil. In conclusion, the scarlet letter in Hawthorne’s _The Scarlet Letter_ represents the unbreakable link between good and evil within everybody. Whether he is stating that from all evil, good blossoms; within good, people hide evil; or that good can never fully cast aside evil, Hawthorne strongly conveys the point that Evil and Good cannot exist within someone without their counterpart.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Guy De Maupassant’s The Jewelry Essay

According to critic W.E. Garrett Fisher, â€Å"(Maupassant’s) view of human nature was an utterly distorted one. On all hands he only saw the cruelty, the bestiality, above all, the ineffable stupidity of mankind. We hardly find one man or woman in his books who illustrates the nobler side of life.† (Piana, n. pag.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Indeed, French writer Guy De Maupassant’s works were based on ordinary incidents from everyday life, which exposed the true nature of people. (n. pag.) The Jewelry was no exception – it was built on the premise that first impressions of people are almost always wrong, as they constantly change, with unexpected results.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Set in Paris, The Jewelry centered on Monsieur Lantin, a chief clerk in the Department of the Interior, and his wife, who was unnamed throughout the story. The initial impression that the reader can derive from Madame Lantin is that she is a perfect woman. De Maupassant described her as â€Å"a perfect type of the virtuous woman in whose hands every sensible young man dreams of one day intrusting his happiness.† (n. pag.) The reader can also conclude that Madame Lantin was the ideal wife and homemaker. According to De Maupassant, â€Å"She (Madame Lantin) ruled his home with an economy so adroit that they really seemed to live in luxury† and that â€Å"It would be impossible to conceive any attentions, tendernesses, playful caresses which she (Madame Lantin) did not lavish upon her husband†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (Piana, n. pag.) De Maupassant implied through the latter that Madame Lantin was a faithful spouse who will never cheat on her husband. (Piana, n. pag.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   However, The Jewels’ plot identified Madame Lantin as the antagonist by unmasking the hypocrisy of her character. After her demise, Monsieur Lantin wondered how did she manage to make ends meet with his paltry salary of 3,500 francs a year. Madame Lantin had very expensive vices – frequenting the theater and her large collection of fake jewelry. De Maupassant wrote, â€Å"His salary, which, in his wife’s hands, had amply sufficed for all household needs, now proved scarcely sufficient to supply his own few wants. And he asked in astonishment how she had managed always to furnish him with excellent wines and with delicate eating which he could not now afford at all with his scanty means.† (Piana, n. pag.)   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It was also The Jewels’ plot that answered Monsieur Lantin’s question. Broke and hungry, he was forced to go to the jewelry store in an attempt to pawn Madam Lantin’s jewels – and came out of the shop with 196,000 francs. Therefore, this incident revealed that Madame Lantin’s jewels were genuine, in sharp contrast to her claim to her husband, â€Å"Now look at them – see how well the work is done. You would swear it was real jewelry!† (Piana, n. pag.) It also refuted Madame Lantin’s fidelity – she most likely had a paramour who provided her with money and jewelry. (Piana, n. pag.) After Monsieur Lantin told the jeweler that he had more jewels to sell to him (he managed to sell one of his wife’s necklaces for 18,000 francs), â€Å"one of the jewelry store’s clerks rushed out to laugh at his ease while another kept blowing his nose as hard as he could,† as if they were trying to suppress their laughter. (n. pag.) Chances are, they were mocking his ignorance about his wife’s adultery. The story ended six months later with Monsieur Lantin’s unhappy second marriage to a virtuous but ill-tempered woman. These circumstances allowed him to emerge as the protagonist – the loving husband who was cheated on by his late first wife and was trapped in a loveless second marriage.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The Jewelry was able to defend its argument that looks can really be deceiving. Madame Lantin, whom everyone praised and admired, turned out to be a greedy woman who cuckolded her husband for material wealth. Meanwhile, Monsieur Lantin became as fortune-hungry as she was by enjoying the money he got from selling her ill-gotten jewelries. Money transformed him from an upright man who refused to sell a fake piece of jewelry to a man obsessed with profiting from his late wife’s jewels, regardless of the fact that she got these using illicit means. What added credibility to The Jewelry was that De Maupassant allowed the events in the story to naturally unfold and expose the characters’ hypocrisy in the process, drawing on the saying that there is no secret that will never be revealed. He also showed that anyone can be a hypocrite, hence his very generalized description of Madame Lantin and his refusal to give her a name.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Lastly, The Jewelry leaves the reader with an open-ended question: Which is better, gaining happiness from dishonesty, or experiencing misery as a result of honesty? Works Cited â€Å"Guy De Maupassant.† The Literature Network. 9 January 2008.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   . Baccellia, Autumn. â€Å"Short Story Analysis: The Jewelry, by Guy De Maupassant.†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Helium. 9 January 2008.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   .    Piana, Courtney. â€Å"The Many Impressions of Mrs. Lantin.† 23 July 2002. 9 January 2008.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   .

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Employee State Insurance Act Essay

The Act in fact tries to attain the goal of socio-economic justice enshrined in the Directive principles of state policy under part 4 of our constitution, in particular, articles 41, 42 and 43 which enjoin the state to make effective provision for securing, the right to work, to education and public assistance in cases of unemployment, old age, sickness and disablement. The act strives to materialize these avowed objects through only to a limited extent. This act becomes a wider spectrum than factory act, in the sense that the factory act is concerned with the health, safety, welfare, leave etc of the workers employed in the factory premises only. But the benefits of this act extend to employees whether working inside the factory or establishment or elsewhere or they are directly employed by the principal employee or through an intermediate agency, if the employment is incidental or in connection with the factory or establishment. Origin: The Employee State Insurance act was promulgated by the Parliament of India in the year 1948. To begin with the ESIC scheme was initially launched on 2nd February 1952 at just two industrial centers in the country namely Kanpur and Delhi with a total coverage of about 1. 20 lakh workers. There after the scheme was implemented in a phased manner across the country with the active involvement of the state governments. Objectives: The ESI Act is a social welfare legislation enacted with the object of providing certain benefits to employees in case of sickness, maternity and employment injury. The insured employees and their dependants are entitled to the following benefits: * Medical benefit

Friday, September 27, 2019

Social Media and Brand Reputation Dissertation

Social Media and Brand Reputation - Dissertation Example Reputation risk has been considered the primary threat to business operations and the market value of their organizations. Despite this, organizations have been neglecting reputation risk management strategies. Thus with the aim to educate businesses on the ways in which brands might deal with ‘viral’ social media events to ensure they do not damage the reputation of the brand, three objectives were set in Chapter I. This was a qualitative study based on secondary data and after extensive literature in Chapter Two the study has achieved its objectives. The study finds that social media has changed how businesses function. Social networking applications create and manage a digital expression of people’s personal relationships or links. Social networking has the ability to expand social contacts, accelerate business processes, improve customer relations, reduce cost of recruitments, improve staff morale, motivation and job satisfaction among employees. It also provi des a collaborative learning environment where knowledge workers can be grouped together. Social media can be termed as an alternative communication tool which supports existing relationship and enriches the users’ experience. ... Web 2.0 technology presents opportunities for companies to be closer to their customers, to their markets, to observe and collect information. Companies form online brand communities where consumers can have direct but non-intrusive connection with the brand which generates a sense of belonging to the group. However, the same social media platform can also damage the brand reputation. Social software is susceptible to intentional attack when groups or an individual can bend the system to suit its purpose. Users have the freedom to express strong emotions and incidents soon go ‘viral’ which negatively affects the reputation of the organization. Social media fuels new expectations about the organization and it becomes essential for the organization to respond to it. Corporations have little control over information flow and information posted with malicious intentions can damage corporation’s reputation that may have taken years to build. Social media crises have oc curred because social business readiness is lacking even in the most advanced companies. Thus, the study concludes by presenting a model to educate businesses on the ways in which brands might deal with ‘viral’ social media events. Imitations to the study have been highlighted and recommendations for further research in this sector have been made. Table of Contents Chapter One: Introduction 1.1 Background 1 1.2 Problem statement 2 1.3 Research aims and objectives 3 1.4 Structure of the study 3 Chapter Two: Literature Review 2.1 Chapter Overview 5 2.2 Definition – social media and social networking 5 2.3 Potential of Web 2.0 technology and social networking sites (SNS) 5 2.4 Benefits of social media

Thursday, September 26, 2019

The discriminatory treatment undergone by the blacks under the Research Paper

The discriminatory treatment undergone by the blacks under the criminal laws of United States - Research Paper Example From this research it is clear that controversial issues related to identity do not always result in wars and other violent forms in the context of handling the particular social issue. The most important impact of social issues falls on people’s lives and also their relations and interactions with others. Social issues can influence various economic and cultural aspects related to lives of people and generate discrimination which challenges the idea of equality in more than one respect. Thus it is related to identity. Social issues are those issues which create significant impacts on human lives and also affect their lifestyles and processes of interactions and building up social, economic, and cultural relations with others. Social issues often increase the intensity of people to create controversy related to any social issue and hence to create greater societal and cultural problem in the society where these people live in. There are various social issues which are creating significant impacts on human lives in modern times, such as suicide, public nudity, gun rights, drug laws, gay marriage, capital punishment etc. These social issues are the most current issues in every life of developed countries which are affecting people’s lives to great extent. The current social issue related to the fact that there is growing discrimination against the black communities living in the country in terms of application of criminal laws on people belonging to black communities.... In the country people belonging to black communities, such as African and African-American communities are facing discriminations from government officials and various legal systems of the country. In order to address social problems in an effective proper understanding of the causes of various behavioral patterns of human beings are very much important. This is because these causes are responsible for creation of greater social problems. Again these different human behaviors depend on various circumstances which people face in their everyday lifestyles (Kizza, 92). These circumstances create human motivations in regard to deal with those particular circumstances. The most important principle of social theory is that the all (mainly different types of) human behavior is finally motivated by the necessity to maintain the identity of the person under consideration. In this context human behaviors can be defined as the process of continuous effort which is related to the maintainace or enhancement of that particular identity (Bracher, 23-24). In simple terms identity can be defined as the sense of the person regarding who is he or she. In technical sense identity can be defined as â€Å"a sense of psychosocial well-being† (Bracher, 24). In this context the notion of social identity is related to the fact that it relates the sense of personal identity of a person with various social conditions and circumstances. Creation of this social identity is very much important in modern times, and also very much visible in American societies (Bracher, 24-25). This necessity to establish a sense of identity is the main concern to a person and this necessity drives the person to become motivated to behave in according manners. In the context of this paper is motivation and

Business law essay questions Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 1

Business law questions - Essay Example This instrument is promissory note as Elle unconditionally promise to pay Frank a sum of $ 600 on or before six months from the date of writing the note. Nonetheless, this instrument is not negotiable since for an instrument to be negotiable there must be certain conditions, which should be fulfilled. In this case, the instrument does not have a signature hence it is not negotiable. Drawer of a negotiable instrument other than making unconditional promise to pay should signed in order for the document to be binding. Unfortunately, Elle may later on claim that she never wrote the note since her signature does not appear. It is essential for negotiable instruments to have signature of the drawer. 2. Discount Stores, Inc., borrows $5,000 each from EZ Loan Corporation, First National Bank, and Great Products Corporation. Discount uses its "present inventory and any thereafter acquired" to secure the loans from EZ Loan and First National. EZ Loan perfects its interest on April 1, followed by First National on April 5. Discount buys new inventory on April 10 from Great Products and signs a security agreement, giving Great Products a purchase-money security interest in the new inventory. On the same day, Great Products perfects its interest and notifies EZ Loan and First National. Discount takes possession of the new inventory on April 15. On April 20, Discount defaults on all of the loans. Whose security interest has priority? According to the Personal Property Securities Act 1999, the general rule for priority of financing statement as provided for in Section 66 affirms that any perfected security interest within an agreement has the priority or capability over unperfected security interest of the same collateral that has been used in the agreement. On a different perspective, the same Section 66 provides that the party who was able to perfect it first should determine priority experienced between perfected securities interests within common

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Receiving A Telephone Call From The Security Guard. Company's Security Essay

Receiving A Telephone Call From The Security Guard. Company's Security Issues - Essay Example I'll further ask the security guard to produce a list of those who entered the locker room and list of those who operated their lockers in last twenty four hours. The Security guard will be asked to call upon the in-charge of department handling cameras and equipments, the in charge will be requested to figure out if he had any clue regarding loss of the cameras. If yes, the main in-charge will be requested to report the exact timings of the loss. The security department will be asked to ascertain the list of those who visited the equipment department, and inquire about their purpose of visit, the frequency of visits has to be noted down. Upon reaching the location, I'll inspect the data gathered by the security guard. Every present employee, including the security officials, will be handed over a page, to give a brief description of their entire working day; the respective pages will then be handed over to the in-charge of the department for confirmation and verification. In the meantime, I'll develop a personal interaction with Randeep, listen to his part of the story, the team leader of his department will be requested to give me a highlight about employee's past record and activities. Randeep will be asked to provide the exact timings of when did he operated his locker last time, and why should he be considered innocent of the charges. Of course I will not consider Randeep to be the culprit, because if he had to steal it, he would not have been fool enough to place those cameras into his locker, that are regularly inspected. Randeep is either too stupid to make such robbery, or he is innocent. I'll inform the company's management about the incident, and will inform him about the steps taken. I'll seek his guidance, if he wanted crime forces to intervene, and conduct the inquiry, or wait for the outcome of the steps initiated by my authority as Human Resource Manager. The company's management guidance will be requested with reference to ordering immediate termination letter to the employees found guilty of charges. The company's management will be informed as per their convenience, before the next working day commence. What do you think has happened After listening to the employee's version, and receiving briefing by the team leader. I'll ask my deputy to interact with Phil. Phil will be asked verbally to ascertain all that he has written on the paper, he will asked to proof that he has no connection with the charges, such that neither he plotted the event, nor he supported Randeep for his action. I'll ask my deputy to not only target Phil, but target some other individuals, including staff in the security, because it was mainly a lapse from their side as well. I would have personally considered Randeep to be the culprit, but the reason for not doing is that because the crime committed or impose upon Randeep has emerged out during the period when the company is likely to announce the nomination of Randeep for the position of Team Leader. An employee who is so dedicated and sincere towards his task, who understands that he will be promoted soon, is not likely to commit such crime, perhaps Randeep would have received better opportunities to steal after his promotion. I will certainly have different versions related to the incident, 1. Either Randeep has stolen the camera, to gather money, because he has been always complaining shortage of finances after he separated. 2. Either Phil has committed this folly, because he wanted to damage the image of Randeep, as the company planned to announce the suitable

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Education Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 4

Education - Research Paper Example Twenty-one questions answered on a scale apply as the measurement tool to measure job satisfaction. In addition, factor analysis in the nature of varimax rotation facilitates the grouping of the survey questions on six major factors. These are opportunity for autonomy and growth, quality of supervision, career advancement opportunities, pay benefits, physical and job stress and job security. Questions used in the National Health and Retirement Survey serve to find out in this survey of intentions to quit or leave current positions. A panel of experts reviews the survey to gauge content, format, readability and usability. Finally, a test on the project involving nurses from different environments occurs. Data collection is takes place through a descriptive questionnaire of twenty one questions measured on a scale out of seven. The overall response rate is one thousand, five hundred and seventy four respondents. There is the use of descriptive statistics to compares BS and AD educates Registered Nurses. Variables measured include job satisfaction and duration of career. All the nursing variables finally get comparison by application of age cohorts. 91.5% of the one thousand, five hundred and seventy four respondents are working nurses and complete the remaining survey questions (McIntosh et al., 2005). There is exclusion of some nurses from the survey leaving a total of one thousand and thirty nine nurses whose responses contribute to the findings. Four hundred and ninety three nurses list AD as their highest level of education. On the other hand, five hundred and forty six list BS as their highest education level. AD and BS nurses work in different environments with BS nurses working in hospitals while AD nurses work in private care. BS educated nurses cite more job satisfaction in terms of career growth and longevity. BS nurses

Monday, September 23, 2019

The Tactical and Strategic Asset Allocation of Pension Funds Essay

The Tactical and Strategic Asset Allocation of Pension Funds - Essay Example The process of asset allocation may take place afresh for a new investor or through a review for an existing investor. The review of the pattern of allocation may take place on a continuous basis or periodically. The most important is the determination of the assets, liabilities and assess the net worth of investor that is available for investment. If the goal of the investor is to maximize the assets, the goal should be determined in terms of the assets required to be accumulated by the end of the investment period. This report seeks to brief asset allocation procedure and the strategies and tactics to be taken care of by an investor of pension fund to maintain a balance between risk and return. The origin of the employee benefit funds can be traced to the late 1800s; but it is their tremendous growth in the last 25 years that has established them as one of the most influential institutional investors in the United States of America. Pension funds dominate the investment scenario in the United States, United Kingdom, Japan and Canada. Almost 90 percent f the pension funds in Japan, the UK and Canada are mid-sized and large private and public sector employee funds. The asset allocation structure for pension funds can differ for both a country and a type of plan. The return from any investment is a function of the ability to take risk and the realization of market expectations. The economic model of defined pension plan is useful in interpreting the questions regarding investment decisions for pension assets. If defined benefit plans are looked at as an act of pension debt-servicing financial institutions, pension asset should be managed in the context of the nature of pension plan balance sheets. The riskiness of the pension fund cannot be judged by comparing with other pension plans or in terms of the absolute values of the pension liabilities, but are based on the nature of the plan liabilities, and in the context of the cash flow and the balance sheet characteristics of the employer liable to pension claims. The objectives set here for the fund is long term return and capital appreciation at the end of maturity. This needs to be done carefully by fund managers and the fund should be allocated in such a manner that majority of the fund sh ould be invested in equity of blue chips so that regular return can be expected and capital appreciation is also possible. However, there may be uncertainties with regard to the return from equity and to protect the investor from such a risk, a sizeable portion should be kept in bonds. The following two approaches will clearly discuss the manner in which the fund is allocated to

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Recommendation - conclusion Essay Example for Free

Recommendation conclusion Essay The factors and stimulants to the fast food industry discussed in the paper have highlighted certain aspects in the company policies that need to be revised for better and effective brand positioning of Back Yard Burgers. The strategic changes recommended in the paper are summarized below: †¢ Brand awareness and brand recognition campaign using â€Å"Fun logo† that spells great time to the consumer segment. †¢ Aggressive market campaign to promote consumer traffic using catchy slogans that appeals to the youngsters and children. †¢ Bright color scheme for the restaurant interiors, uniform in pattern and layout across all outlets to ensure visibility and consumer retention. †¢ Spearheading changes in the restaurant operations integrating fast food service features with menu offerings of a full serviced restaurant. †¢ Event catering and home delivery concepts can be introduce to popularize the company products and services. †¢ Flexible offerings in price to suit all levels of consumer segment. †¢ Regular adaptations to the menu card to retain consumer interest. †¢ Introduction of healthier options in the menu card to cater to the health conscious consumers. Conclusion The rapid changes in the consumer behavior drive the fast food industry business. Rising incomes, and changes in the lifestyles of the people are the stimulants to this change in food culture. From traditional home cooked meals to ready to eat over the counter burgers and sandwiches – the eating habits of the Americans have changed drastically. Back Yard Burgers started with one outlet in the year 1987 and moved on to 183 outlets by the year 2007 – the expansion is quite dramatic. But the success story could have been even more dramatic if the company had followed a different operational strategy. The loopholes in their existing strategy is quite evident at this stage when the management realizes the potential that the company had to expand and conquer the fast food industry segment. But its not too late to make the amends and bring out the true potential that the company has to overcome the stiff competition from market giants like McDonalds, Wendy’s and Burger King. All that is required is a little foresightedness and a flexibility to adapt to the changing market trends. References: 1. Company website – www. backyardburgers. com accessed on 11th Dec 2007 2.Eric Schlosser – Rolling stone magazine (Sept 1998) – Fast-food Nation: The true cost of America’s Diet http://www. mcspotlight. org/media/press/rollingstone1. html accessed on 11th Dec 2007 3. Back Yard Burgers Inc. http://www. fundinguniverse. com/company-histories/Back-Yard-Burgers-Inc-Company-History. html accessed on 11th Dec 2007 4. Hayden Stewart, Noel Blisard, Sanjib Bhuyan, Rodolfo M. Nayga Jr. – USDA – The Demand For Food Away From Home Full Service or Fast Food? http://www. ers. usda. gov/publications/aer829/aer829. pdf accessed on 12th Dec 2007 5. http://finance. google. com/finance? q=NASDAQ:BYBI accessed on 12th Dec 2007 6. SEC reports from the company website 7. http://www. franchize. biz/franchise-information-whats-new. htm accessed on 11th Dec 2007 8. http://www. hoovers. com/fast-food-and-quickservice-restaurants/ID__269/free-ind-fr-profile-basic. xhtml accessed on 11th Dec 2007 9. http://www. nytimes. com/2006/04/19/business/19mcdonalds. html? _r=2pagewanted=2oref=sloginoref=slogin accessed on 12th Dec 2007 10. http://content. healthaffairs. org/cgi/content/full/22/6/207 accessed on 12th Dec 2007.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Other Word Formation Processes English Language Essay

Other Word Formation Processes English Language Essay The language learners referred to in this essay are software engineers, in the age group of 23-26, tasked with developing software products for the travel industry. They were selected on the basis of their performance in a language assessment and identified as intermediate users of the language. All of them had studied English for 10 years in school and later at the university English was the medium of instruction. A few of them were risk takers, ready to take on tasks regardless of any mistakes they may make. There were those who were spurred on by the possibility of their deficient language skills impacting their career graph; they were also ready for self-learning and willing to take responsibility for their learning. Some were hesitant, unsure of their knowledge and afraid to make mistakes. All of them were, however, comfortable with technical language, but were very diffident to face situations that called for regular communication. They needed help with everyday vocabulary to communicate effectively with colleagues and clients. Word parts If we consider words as independent/freestanding units with meaning, a notion proposed by McCarthy (1990), then we can see that these units of meaning can further be broken down and re-combined to form other words. Though the word cancelled is an independently meaningful item, under closer observation it becomes clear that this word consists of two units cancel and the past tense marker -ed. The linguistic item cancel is a freestanding word in English, but there is no such word as -ed in English, even though -ed is a meaning-bearing unit. Such linguistic items that are not freestanding are said to be bound and these forms can occur only in combination with other forms. The two meaningful parts, cancel and -ed are called morphemes. Morphemes Katamba (2003) defines morphemes as the atoms with which words are built. Morphemes are the smallest unit of lexical and grammatical meaning and they are realized by morphs, as morphemes do not have a physical representation. A single morpheme can be manifested as multiple complementary morphs in distinct phonological or morphological contexts. Let us look at the past tense marker -ed to understand the distribution of these complementary morphs known as allomorphs. Free morphemes can stand alone as words; whereas bound morphemes such as -ed are only used in combination with other morphemes. There are word forms which have but a single unbound morpheme and others which consists of more than one morpheme. Words like talk, eat and mend are examples of freestanding morphemes and words such as predictable and reflection are formed by combining many morphemes. Affixation Affixes are bound morphemes attached to a stems either to create a new word or a word form. Affixation of morphemes can be either inflectional or derivational. Inflectional affixes Katamba (2003) posits that the English language has minimal inflections because of its tendency to be an isolating language. The few inflections it has are all suffixes. These suffixes are bound morphemes and are attached to the stem to inflect or change words to express grammatical features, such as the changes in tense, number, possession, and degrees of adjectives. There are 8 inflectional suffixes in English and they are: Derivational Affixes In English derivational affixes include both prefixes and suffixes. Katamba (2003) says that the purpose of derivation is to create lexical items and not to produce grammatical units that will fit in a given syntactic position. The three important derivational processes in English are: affixation, conversion and compounding. Affixation is one of the commonest methods of forming words in English. Derivational affixes can be either prefixes, those that are added before the base, or suffixes, that are attached after the base. Word forming processes like creating nouns from verbs, adjectives from verbs and verbs from adjectives are examples of a few derivational practices in English. Derivational affixes are different from inflexional affixes in many ways: They change the word class as well as the meaning of a word to which it is linked energy (n) +- ise -Æ’Â   energise (v) Even though they combine to create a new word they are not affected by syntactic relations outside of the word, they can be separated and recombined with other morphemes to form other combinations. Stem Suffix Derived word Govern (v) -able Governable (adj) Enjoy (v) -ment Enjoyment Derivational morphemes can be attached only to certain stems. Stem Suffix Derived word Violin -ist Violinist Drum -ist *drumist Drum -er Drummer *drumist is not an acceptable word. Other word formation processes Conversion or zero derivation is the predominant method of generating lexical items in English. In this process a lexical item is assigned to a new syntactic category. The word permit can be used either as a noun or as a verb; the phonological representation and the grammatical context in which it is placed are the two aspects that can alert the change in the word-class. (Permit (v) and perMit (n). Crystal (2012) quotes from Shakespeare, Petruchio is Kated as an example of conversion the name of a person becoming a verb to further his argument that conversion was a customary word-formation process even during Shakespeares time. Compounding is the process of joining two bases to create a new word; of the two words, one which is syntactically dominant is considered the head and the other as the modifier. Generally the modifier is placed in front of the head and any suffix that might later be added to the compound word is attached to the head. Compound words are different from phrases; the meaning of a compound word, unlike a phrase, is not the sum of the meaning of the base units that form the word. Iin a compound word the primary stress is on the first word and in a phrase the primary stress is on the last word. Phrase Compound word Meaning of the compound . Blue print Blueprint an early plan or design for a project green house Greenhouse a building used for growing plants that need warmth Should word parts be learned? A cost/benefit analysis of the learning of word parts should be reason enough for a learner of English language to study word parts. Nation quotes from Roberts (1964), Grinstead (1925) and Bird (1987,1990) to point out that around 60% of the English vocabulary is derived from German, French, Latin and Greek and that a large proportion of these words make use of affixes. The analysis of the LOB Corpus carried out by Bird revealed that 97% of the words in the LOB corpus were derived from around 2,000 roots. Nation maintains that the origins of the English vocabulary and the frequency of word parts validate the study of word parts. The two arguments levelled against the teaching/learning of word parts are based on the contention that, the effort involved in learning word parts is not commensurate with language output. A word is not a sum of its parts The first argument against the teaching of word parts is that the meaning of a word is not the sum of its parts (Deighton, 1970); This argument has been countered by White, Power and White (1989) drawing on their own as well as Nagy and Andersons (1984) empirical evidence that most of the affixed words probably at least 80% convey the meaning their parts suggest. Katamba (2003) argues that compositionality is the key to understanding a word. He says that if we know the meaning of the smaller units which make up the larger units we can decipher the meaning of the whole. For example, if we know the meaning of the suffix -ful (filled with x), and the meaning of the base to which these suffixes are attached, then the meaning of words like useful, careful, fearful and cheerful become self-explanatory. Most of the morphemes that form a word have regular/stable meaning; for example, the prefix re- means again in almost all the words in which it occurs. In the light of the empirical evidence and the example we saw we can conclude that the meaning of most of the English words is what its parts suggest and therefore knowledge of the meaning of the parts can help a learner understand a word across contexts and usage. If we were to extend this argument further we could say that this knowledge along with the contextual clues would be useful in decoding even the metaphorical meaning of a word; a head hunter would thus lose the sinister overtones of the past and acquire the current meaning of someone who recruits people into key business positions. Word families in the lexicon The next argument against teaching/learning of word parts is that the knowing the parts of a word may not familiarise a learner with all the members of that word family (Schmitt 1998, 1999, Schmitt Meara 1997). Nation argues that the notion of word family is psychologically real and a word is to be seen as a member of a word family. Knowledge of the word parts can help the learners understand a word in its relation to the other members of the family. For instance, knowledge of the various inflections of English and the meaning of the base of the word predict can familiarise a learner with all the possible combinations (family members) of predict; predict- predicted- predicting- predictable and prediction are just some of the members of that family. Nagy, Anderson, Schommer, Scott, and Stallman (1989) points out that the speed of recognition of a word is based on the frequency of occurrence of the members of that word family. They quote the findings of Stanners, Neiser, Hernon, Hall (1979) to advance their argument that related words are linked in the mental lexicon. So there are linked entries for create, creates created and creation and accessing any word from this family can partly activate other family members. Word parts are not just linked in the mental lexicon, but morphologically ordered to represent the relation. Interpreting the meaning Another argument against learning word parts is that L2 learners using this for guessing the meaning of a word might cause the learner to misinterpret the word. Schmitt quotes Haynes (1993) to validate this argument; Haynes found that learners continued with the wrong meaning even though it didnt contribute to the context. For example Inflammable is often misinterpreted to mean non-flammable. Clarke and Nation (1980) caution that word parts strategy should be used to verify the guesses drawn from the context. Furthermore, knowledge of the word parts empowers the learner by teaching him to apply his understanding at the receptive and productive level. At the receptive level it teaches him a) to identify the different components of a complex word, b) to be aware that these word parts can be used to make other words, c) how the meaning of the different parts combine to make a new meaning, and d) how the sum of the parts relates to the dictionary meaning. At the productive level it makes him aware of how the formal changes can affect the spelling, pronunciation and the word class of the base when a complex word is formed. (Nation) The challenges Learning word parts presents a set of challenges to language learners. The greatest challenge is that of time and exposure. Studies conducted by Nagy, Diakody, Anderson (1993) point out that L1 learners do not acquire proficiency in morphology until their high school; if this takes so long to develop in L1 learners despite their advantage of maximum exposure, then L2 learners are likely to take more time to learn this aspect (Schmitt). Even though the learners in my group had studied English for ten years, they have learned inflectional suffixes only as part of grammar exercises and have never been explicitly taught derivational affixes. Their exposure to morphological forms was not commensurate with the duration of their study. They have used these forms productively without much knowledge about the rules that guide most of these formations; Though I have putted remainders for this tasks, accidently the remainder was unanswered; the meeting is preponed to three in the afternoon, he is very confidential during presentations are examples of the common errors. Schmitt points out that lack of consistency in affixation can cause problems even if the meaning of the parts is clear. He gives the example of the suffix -ist. Stem Suffix derived word Cycle -ist Cyclist Act -ist *actist Act -or Actor Another challenge for the L2 learner is the lack of awareness that not all words can be broken into parts. Learners sometimes try to decompose words like refuse, repel, repeat, revamp and attempt to use the perceived stem, resulting in a meaningless word. Learners often have difficulty with the formal changes that occur with affixation in spelling and pronunciation. Some derivational affixes lack consistent spelling and has to be learned individually. base suffix word suggest -able suggestible afford -able affordable Gairns Redman notes that affixation sometimes produces changes in stress and sounds in a word. democrat /demÉâ„ ¢kraet/ democratic /demÉâ„ ¢kraetÄÂ ±k/ democracy /dÄÂ ±mÉ’krÉâ„ ¢sÄÂ ±/ Derivational suffixes need to be do not follow rules strategies- guidelines how A good starting point for any teacher wishing to remedy this situation would be to train the learners to break, the complex words that are already known to the learner, into its components and to help them understand the functional meaning of these components. encourage the learners to become more aware of these morphological instill in the mond of the learner that all aspects of language learning is incremental an beA teachers task has probably never been well defines as in this situation Language learning is incremental A good game plan to remedy t Nation suggests that learners should be taught complex words as unanalyzed wholes before they begin to analyze word parts. teacher I would explicit teaching of select morphological units appropriate to the learner level, training the learners the .A teacher needs to introduce the learners to complex words before they are trained to analyse the different parts of that word. Because morphological acquisition is incremental in nature explicit teaching of level suitable affixes ,encouraging them to notice the correct forms encountered in newspapers regular exposure through exercises and receptive material. This rules out the possibility of a completely graded approach; instead I would collect words for analysis from their Collocation Time consuming Not all words can be broken into parts Affixes are not transparent Some affixes are used mor frequently than others so need to be selective Guessing a wrong meaning and sticking on with that explanation even though it made no sense. (Haynes 1993) -Clarke and Nation (1980)- word parts best used to confirm/verify the meaning. Difficulty in guessing the word class deciding on an appropriate stress, formal changes in spelling, phonetics and word forms Derivational suffixes need to be learned individually do not follow rules strategies- guidelines how Furthermore, it empowers the learner by teaching him to apply his understanding at the receptive and productive level. At the receptive level it teaches him a) to identify the different components of a complex word, b) to be aware that these word parts can be used to make other words, c) how the meaning of the different parts combine to make a new meaning, and d) how the sum of the parts relates to the dictionary meaning. At the productive level it makes him aware of how the formal changes can affect the spelling, pronunciation and the word class of the base when a complex word is formed. (Nation)