Mulan

Hayden Ikerd Mr. Wheeler AP Literature 12 April, 2013 Thomas Foster’s Themes Traced in Mulan In his book How to Read Literature Like a Professor, Thomas Foster explains many reoccurring themes in literature, and shows how to recognize them and in some instances shows certain works where they occur. By reading this guide to literature, one may gain a deeper understanding of the work itself and of the author’s intent in writing it. However, Foster’s methods can also be applied to films.A film that contains many of the various themes, models, symbolism, and devices discussed in his book is Walt Disney’s Mulan. Mulan is a character type with which people are familiar. Foster discusses this process of association in the chapter â€Å"Now Where Have I Seen Her Before? † In his book, he asserts that no work is wholly original. The whole idea of a female Chinese heroine was not originally conceived by Disney. The character of Mulan can be traced back to The Ballad of Hua Mulan, written sometime in the 11th century.Still, most people may not be so familiar with this relatively dated ballad. Some people may associate the character of Mulan with that of Scout from To Kill a Mockingbird. Both Mulan and Scout are tomboys by nature, acting in ways more suited to boys. Also, they both do things they do for the approval of their respective father figures. Mulan is notably the heroine of her story, saving the Chinese empire from the attacking Huns. The ‘heroine’ model can also be seen in characters such as Antigone and Hester Prynne. Food plays some role in every work- namely the act of consuming it.Mulan is no exception. Foster talks about this in the chapter â€Å"Nice To Eat With You. † Towards the beginning of the movie, Mulan along with several other young maidens go to visit the match maker, who is in charge of determining each girl’s eligibility as a wife. This process by which she judges them is by partaking in a cup of tea with each one. Mulan’s ‘interview’ as it were went over horribly. This is to establish the fact that Mulan has a measure of difficulty coming into womanhood, and the whole idea of being ladylike does not come to her naturally.The second meal that plays a big part in the film is the one that takes place in the barracks. Mulan just met her fellow soldiers, and the next thing to occur is a meal with them. Trying to establish herself as a man, she accidently picks a fight with one, leading to a riot, and rice being spilled all over the camp. After this, they all held her in contempt. Mulan’s first meal with her comrades shows that she has just as hard a time fitting in with these men as she did with the women. Mulan’s two meals show the difficulty she has trying to find her place.The role of men and women play an important role in this movie. Foster touches this phenomenon in the chapter â€Å"It’s All Political. † The unde rlying message of Mulan is that of gender equality. As a woman, Mulan is looked down upon, and is not allowed to fight in the war against the Huns in the first place. To fight is to disgrace her whole family. This offense was so dire, that when she was discovered to be a woman on the battlefield, she was sentenced to death. She is also portrayed as being weaker and less capable than the other soldiers.However, she learns to keep up, and eventually excels in combat training and proves to be an invaluable asset to the Chinese army. In the end, Mulan portrays women as strong, and in the battle could not have been won without femininity. Towards the end, the Huns are ultimately overcome by the male soldiers dressing as women, who seduce them, then defeat them. In the end of the film, virtually all of China bows to Mulan in respect, showing that she is held in equal esteem as even the emperor, who is male (he also bows, of course).Another important element in Mulan that Foster points out is that of rain, which he mentions in his chapter entitled, â€Å"It’s More Than Just Rain or Snow. † Foster would have one to believe that often times when a character goes through rain, snow, or something of the sort, that he or she has undergone a figurative baptism. After Mulan has failed in her encounter with the matchmaker, she goes home and begins singing the marvelous, gripping song called â€Å"Reflection†. She asks, â€Å"When will my reflection show who I am inside? She realizes that her fair appearance does not reflect her feelings. Singing this song, she washes away her makeup, and gives up on becoming the perfect daughter and bride; it is a baptism. Maybe it would be key to mention that during this song, Mulan sings in a downpour of rain. Just like Foster describes in his book, Mulan is ‘baptized’ in the rain. Disney movies are not notorious for their violent nature. So, when something violent occurs in a Disney movie, or an individu al (or animal in many cases) dies, it must carry some kind of importance.In the chapter of his book â€Å"More Than It’s Gonna Hurt You†, Fosters says that there is usually more to violence than just violence. When Mulan is struck by the sword of Shan Yu, many more things happen to her than a fatal wound. She almost meets her demise, and for the first time, the reality of war sets in. Mulan realizes that she is not invincible and grasps the perils of war for the first time. When she receives medical attention for her wound, she is discovered to be a woman. All she has worked for up until this point is now for naught, as she is expelled from the army and her family name is disgraced.Another instance where violence plays an important role is when Li Shang’s father is discovered to be dead. Li Shang’s father was the head general of the Chinese army; he was held in high esteem by everyone, especially his son. Li Shang aspired to be the general his father was. Shang’s father’s plan was to make an assault on the Hun army, and meet up with Shang after they had obtained victory, which they thought was inevitable. When Shang reaches the point at which he was to intersect with his father, he found him gone.Shang’s father’s death signals the time for Shang to take up the burden of leading the Chinese army and the time to become a man. The only way for China to be victorious was for Shang to surpass his father and to do what he could not: defeat the Huns. Without this loss, Shang would have never grown and would have never become the general that he was. One can see that Foster’s themes are very prevalent in the story of Mulan and are echoed in movies and books alike. Mulan is a real masterpiece to include so many elements of good literature.

Ethical Issues in Business

2. Ethical Issues in Business. It seems that every day in the news we are hearing of new company that has acted at least unethically and possibly illegally in the operation and financial reporting of their company's business dealings. There are many ethical issues in business. One major issue that we see is over and under reporting net income. Companies like to show that every quarter the net income of the business has an increase or profit. In order to show this they adopt unethical or illegal means in the operation and financial reporting.One such method is the indiscriminate use of stock options for employees that enable companies to take employment costs off balance sheet and inflate earnings. With the recent ethical issues we have had companies over the years it is important that we pay close attention to financial reporting provided by companies. This method will reduce the equilibrium price and increase equilibrium quantity for this company's products and services. The reason for this is that the wage is bill is shown lower than what it actually is. This causes the supply curve to shift to the right.With an increase in supply, if the firm is a monopoly/oligopoly/monopolistic competition, there will be a decline in the price of the product of the firm. In case the firm is operating in perfect competition, there will only be an increase in the quantity the company sells in the market. The scenario described above indicates that there is a shift in the supply curve, in other words the costs are shown to be lower than what they actually are at the time. The supply curve shift to its right but its elasticity is not affected.As the method described above does not relate to demand, the elasticity of demand is not directly affected. Any market structure, perfect, monopoly, oligopoly or monopolistic competition, the same ethical issues arise, the salary cost is underreported because of the use of stock options. This means costs are shown at a lower rate and profi ts are inflated. The decision to show inflated profits is unethical. From the deontological ethical perspective it is the duty of the management to show the correct profits and not inflated profits. Chapter 3, Question 14Assuming that the demand and supply for premium coffees are in equilibrium, the price will be at a constant, without significant pressure from the market. If Starbucks introduced the world to premium blends, this would cause a positive shift in the demand curve. There a higher equilibrium price and higher quantity when demand increases and supply remain unchanged. As prices increase, and the market moves to a new equilibrium, we will see higher wages, more advances and investments in technology and infrastructure, and greater competition.As production become more efficient and competition becomes greater, supply will increase and cause prices to settle back down. There are several factors that will impact the long-term equilibrium, such as changes in supply. For exa mple, if a hard freeze eliminated Brazil’s premium coffee crop, this would cause a negative shift in the supply curve. Assuming demand remains constant a negative shift in the supply curve will cause quantity to decrease and equilibrium price to increase. Research shows that in 2011 a frost occurred in Brazil's southeastern coffee growing belt.Traders worried that next year's yields could be hurt. At the same time, heavy rains during harvest forced Columbia to reduce its crop estimate for 2011. Understanding the impact of problems along the supply chain and how the changes in supply will impact prices in the market allows real world investors to make predictions of price in the future. This is important for businesses along the supply chain as well, in order to â€Å"stay ahead of the curve† when making strategic business decisions. ? Chapter 5, Question 17Assuming there is a large rise in the demand for computer chips and potato chips. Potato chips manufacturers will be able to respond to a rise in demand quicker than a computer chip manufacturer. This is due to the fact that potatoes are more readily available, and the process for making potato chips is not as involved or difficult. The tools, materials and highly skilled labor force it takes to manufacture computer chips are more complex and will require more time to complete. Both manufacturers may attempt to ramp up production by adding another shift to the existing production line.Another option in the short run may be to contract another company to assist with the manufacturing as the demand increases or purchase/rent additional equipment to expand the production lines as needed to keep up with the demand and process request. In the overall big picture the positive shift in demand will put pressure on the market for increased competition. In order to maintain market share and maintain competitive advantage, both manufacturers will need to deliver value to the customer either in the form of a differentiated product or lower prices. In the long run, both of these priorities will be achieved through investment.A decision will have to be made that either investment in more efficient production and supply chain management, or more investment in a better product that stands out in the market. The long run success will also be dependent on the abilities of the entire supply chain to keep up with demand. If the demand is large but you are unable to meet the demand and supply the products it means nothing. The disadvantage of the potato chip company is that no matter how many potato chip factories you build, the manufacturer is still at the mercy of how many potato crops can be grown in a given season.

Non-English speaking community Essay

  The acronym ESL stands for English as a Second Language and it is a common term among Non-English speaking community. Most people who do not know how to speak the English language attend ESL classes so as to gain adequate knowledge. What is experienced most times though is that these categories of Non-English speaking citizens find it hard to cope with various challenges that come their way. Learning the English language needs a lot of rules to be followed and only people who are interested and patient enough will be able to learn fast. In this essay we shall be taking a look at how cultural differences and language variety pose a threat to ESL classes, we shall also highlight how a teacher can identify these problems and overcome them. Finally we shall take a look at the positive effects of linguistic and cultural differences on ESL classes. â€Å"There are many ESL classrooms and cultural sensitivity issues that teachers must address to ensure they are delivering language instruction without prejudice, discrimination, or bias. By understanding the potential problems with cultural sensitivity, teachers can avoid creating an English-centric classroom while increasing their students’ language skills† (ESL Classroom and Cultural Sensitivity , 1996-2010). As a teacher in the ESL class a lot of factors need to be put into consideration in order to reduce misunderstanding and disagreements in the class. Knowing so well that a lot of these students come from various parts of the world, with different languages and cultural backgrounds. These are major factors that affect the level and speed of assimilation of the students in class. The ESL classes teach the students all aspect of English language, such as the intonation and accent, pronunciation, verbal usage, grammatical structures and spelling. These are key areas where the non English speaking students face major problems. DIFFICULTIES POSED BY CULTURAL AND LINGUISTIC BACKGROUND Communication is an essential part of life and clarity is very important. When two people are communicating, the message must be clearly understood. When a listener has various contrasting meanings for what has been spoken then there is a major problem. However, there are various setbacks to effective communication in an ESL class, to which variety of cultural and linguistic backgrounds are amongst. How does cultural background affect the communication in ESL class? Culture is the way of life of an individual and it plays a vital role in his/her overall attitude to life and learning. In an ESL class a teacher will encounter variety of learning attitudes amongst students from other cultural background which affects their learning. â€Å"In many non-English speaking cultures, students are brought up with more passive behaviours when interacting with adults. An ESL student may be less willing to approach a teacher for extra help or tutoring† (ESL Classroom and Cultural Sensitivity , 1996-2010). Take for example the African culture where children are usually flogged and abused by their own parents or guardians. These students are usually scared in the classroom and will hardly ask questions in for the fear of being flogged. In the African culture, beating up the child for wrong doing is rampant and this has had an adverse effect on the development of the child. This same fear for their parents is transferred to their teachers. They therefore have little or no participation in class and consider who do so as being forward. â€Å"Stereotyping can have intense negative effects, especially when educators or managers make fewer attempts to involve those of other cultures because they have been taught not to expect participation† (Billikopf, 2009). Taking a look at the difficulties caused by variety in cultural background from another angle, one can discuss how the meaning that certain gestures and statements have to different cultures. A teacher must be conscious about what he or she says in an ESL class, because what he or she thinks might not be offensive to an average American might be a taboo for other cultures. Some certain cultures frown more at abuses more than others. There are certain words that some other cultures will not embrace in a public arena such as classroom. ‘You must have being very mad when you realised that the answer to the question was not farfetched’. To a non-English speaking fellow, the word ‘mad in the sentence is literarily lifted from the sentence to mean an abuse, whereas someone who is from an English speaking nation knows exactly what the statement means and doesn’t feel offended by it. â€Å"One of the biggest problems ESL teachers face is that one ESL classroom may be filled with students from many nations, even if, for example, they are all Spanish-speaking countries† (ESL Classroom and Cultural Sensitivity , 1996-2010). However, variety in linguistic background can also pose a major barrier to effective communication in English as a second language class. English is a very complex language and it takes time to master. A student from a different linguistic background, has his own idea of sentence structures, writing approach and original accent which. To adjust to the new way of communication could be very difficult because he will find the English language a different ball game to the ones he has been used to for year. When you begin to learn the English language as a non-English speaking student, what you first find confusing is the sentence structure. My little cousin once reported her elder sister to her dad, saying, ‘Daddy, my dress Fadeke wear’. This sentence is definitely faulty in structure, but when I thought of it closely I realized that she literarily translated indigenous language to English following the same structure, not realizing that the English language has a very different sentence structure. Another major concern is the accent of a non-English speaking student. When a Hispanic student speaks English it is difficult to understand because the accent used when talking. You will hardly pick a meaning from what he says not because of the sentence structure or the grammatical usage but the accent. The language one speaks usually affects the accent of the person which is why most Latinos find it hard to pronounce certain letters. You will also notice the trace of their original language when they speak the English language. Finally, learning disabilities can pose a great danger when learning the English language by an ESL student. Dyslexia is a popular disability that makes an ESL student forget what has been taught easily. â€Å"Learning Disability is the term currently used to describe a handicap that interferes with someone’s ability to store, process or produce information. Such disabilities affect both children and adults† (Root, April, 1994). HOW CAN THESE PROBLEMS BE RECOGNIZED? Spotting out the effect of linguistic variety in the ESL requires experience from the part of a teacher. To be able to recognize these difficulties in communication, certain signs and gestures are to be taken note of. These difficulties could be as a result of the two factors highlighted above. These are variety in Linguistics and Cultures. Participation in class is a major clue. Any student not seen participating in class shows a good sign of difficulties in class. Generally, students who are from the English culture are known to be very inquisitive in class and wanting to learn more. They are believed to ask questions in class while the other students from a different culture are less interested. To overcome this, a teacher must be willing to be able to carry them all along in classroom. In order not to be considered bias in class the teacher should make sure to avoid focussing attention on the English speaking students alone. â€Å"If the student lacks the proficiency to participate in the class, another arrangement should be made for the student. It may be possible to place the student in another class more appropriate for their level of proficiency. If this is not a possibility, the teacher should put the ESL student on a syllabus geared to his or her level† (Steenbergen). Another method is to give assignments to the ESL students to assess if they understand what is being taught in the class. You cannot force a student to ask questions in class. Rather, as a teacher, you can only encourage them to be more participating. Most times, these ESL students are less confident about the way they speak the English language and would prefer not to talk in the class than being a source of mockery from the rest of the students. â€Å"As the student in this scenario, you fear the reaction of the students and the teacher because you are unsure of your language. You feel a deep insecurity knowing that your language skills are inferior to those of your peers† (Steenbergen). Another sign of difficulties in communication is the inability to pronounce word spell words very well in their writing and also bad language structure. The English language is one of the most difficult languages to learn and this is as a result of the complexity in details that need to be followed. Lexis structures, spelling, verbal usage and concord. When you notice that a student is literarily translating his/her language to the English Language, not taking cognisance of the structure involved then probably the fellow is having this problem due to linguistic variety. A perfect way to increase the rate at which a student learns the English language is through regular reading of books. â€Å"Every day in school and at home ESL students have many different texts to read. It is through reading that they acquire much of their knowledge and understanding of the different subject areas, and reading often forms the basis of follow-up work such as class discussions or homework questions† (Shoebottom, 1996-2007). Educators know that the best way to subconsciously inscribe the English language into the hearts of the ESL students is to make them imbibe the habit of reading. When you as an ESL student read text regularly, you will learn the English language naturally. Through regular reading, an ESL student naturally masters the grammatical structures, verbal usage, correct spelling of words and many more concepts necessary to be learnt. ESL students also find it hard to relate to some references that are peculiar to the American history when learning and speaking the English language. Reference such as 9-11 refers to the Terrorist attack on the USA floor and someone from another cultural background might not understand it when spoken in class. â€Å"Other cultural references which might come up in text or conversation would be things like Christopher Columbus, George Washington, Sesame Street, Thanksgiving, Halloween, and other aspects. The teaching of such cultural factors is not intended to be a means of promoting mainstream American culture and values† (Kyprianides). POSITIVE CONSEQUENCES IN AN ESL CLASSROOM The major positivity in an ESL classroom is the environment they create. Most of the students are from various countries of different cultural background. This creates an avenue for all the students to learn about various cultures from each other. The advantage is that it makes the English speaking cultural students to see the beauty in other people’s culture. It gives the students a wider knowledge base about other students’ culture and creates more understanding amongst them. â€Å"ESL students can greatly benefit the classroom. They bring linguistic diversity and a richer cultural environment to the class. Teachers must be sure to avoid locking ESL students into an ethnic or cultural stereotype† (Steenbergen). Bibliography Billikopf, G. (2009, June 1). Cultural Differences? Or, are we really that different? . Retrieved May 7, 2010, from http://www. gebillikopf@ucdavis. edu ESL Classroom and Cultural Sensitivity . (1996-2010). Retrieved May 7, 2010, from Your Dictionary: www. yourdictionary. com Kyprianides, R. (n. d. ). Socio-cultural Competence in ESL Education. Retrieved May 9, 2010, from Site Maker- University of Michigan: http://www. sitemaker. umich. edu Root, C. (April, 1994). A Guide to Learning Disabilities for the ESL Classroom Practitioner. Teaching English as a Second or Foreign Language , Vol. 1. No. 1. Shoebottom, P. (1996-2007). Helping ESL students understand written texts. Retrieved May 9, 2010, from A Guide to Learning English: http://www. esl. fis. edu Steenbergen, L. ESL Learners in the Writing Classroom.

Project Risk Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 2

Project Risk Management - Essay Example Documentation review involves almost every field i.e. a documentation review can be carried out for different services such as legal, environmental, fraud and other investigations. With respect to project management, documentation review provides a comprehensive review for document intensive projects. The review consists of different procedures through which better solutions are designed in order to control expenses and reduce a risk of any given project. The main element of a documentation review is the gathering of information that is used upon before a project is initiated, this in-depth information and analysis helps in minimizing future costs by keeping away from avoidable costs and mitigating the risks that a project may incur. The key criterion of a project is the identification of the costs and the risks associated with any given project. Once these are identified, proper procedure should be taken to avoid the costs and reduce the impact of the risk. Documentation review is usually a function that is outsourced to veteran organizations that are good at providing the service due to their extensive experience. This process involves leads to better understanding of the external environment in which an organization operates or with respect to the project, it identifies and provides quick responses so as to reduce the impact of risk associated with a

Social Contract Theory by John Locke Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 1

Social Contract Theory by John Locke - Essay Example Consequently, there is an automatic bound between different individuals, who are bound by the social contract principles. In accordance with the principles of the social contract, there are basic duties, which have their roots in the very nature of human beings. The social contract theory is one of the greatest contributions made by John Locke (1690-1986). The American government has taken much from this philosopher’s ideas. The effective power of the governmental authorities contributes much to the development of the society: â€Å"So while Locke might admit some governments come about by force or violence, he would be destroying the most central and vital distinction, between legitimate and illegitimate civil government† (Frodeman & Mitcham, 2000). John Locke claims that people are closely related to the criminal justice system because they have their right to represent themselves in the courts. It is relevant to the modern society when citizens violate the laws they are brought to justice by courts. The main principles of the modern criminal justice system are taken from Locke’s principles of social contract theory. From Locke’s perspective, the rights of citizens can be outlined in the following phrase: â€Å"We give up our right to ourselves exact retribution for crimes in return for impartial justice backed by overwhelming force. We retain the right to life and liberty and gain the right to just, impartial protection of our property† (cited by Grant, 2000). In such a way, John Locke has concluded that it is natural for people to gain the right to protect their property in return they sacrifice their liberty and the right to just. Nevertheless, John Locke underlines that men have their rights by their nature. Therefore, humane principles of the Bill of Rights and the roots of the American Revolution can be found in the ideas of Locke.

Palestinian settlement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Palestinian settlement - Essay Example Israel built 200,000 illegal Jewish settlements on the West Bank forcing up to 300,000 Palestinians out of their homes and destroying their settlements (Kevorkova). The Israeli-controlled municipality is asking the Palestinians to demolish their homes saying that they have been constructed illegally. The same set of authorities has made the permits very expensive for the Palestinians to afford. Many Palestinians have been so heart-broken that they are destroying their homes themselves rather than having the Israeli authorities do it to them by force. â€Å"Self-demolitions like this began a few years ago and have continued—albeit somewhat under the mainstream media’s radar—ever since, with Palestinians compelled to destroy their own homes in order to avoid the steadily increasing fines leveled by the municipality† (Gilbert and Collins). The amount of land zoned for the Palestinian construction in the Shu’Fat neighborhood of East Jerusalem is far less than the population of the Palestinians in the city. This can be estimated from the fact that although the population of the Palestinians has become 300,000 in the city since the year 1967, the amount of land zoned for the Palestinian construction by the municipal authorities is no more than 9 per cent (Gilbert and Collins). On the West Bank, the Israeli army checks the papers of the Palestinian settlers in the area, randomly confiscates some of them, and herds them as well as their flocks away from the hilltop that has been so wanted by the Jewish settlement called Susiya. The Israeli officers arrest those who argue with them over the unjust orders of movement. Young Jewish settlers are increasingly establishing their mobile homes over the hilltops. â€Å"Armed with a list of military orders, Israeli soldiers are herding the West Bank’s Palestinians out of the rural 60% of the territory,

E-Commerce Methods of Amazon Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 12

E-Commerce Methods of Amazon - Essay Example Amazon is able to lower its costs because it can offer customers lower prices than competitors. Lower production costs result in savings for customers because Amazon is able to pass those on.  Despite selling products for very little profit, Amazon is able to gain traction in the market simply because of the sheer volume of orders that it processes every day. Because Amazon focused on selling its products online from the very beginning, it was able to become well-known as an online goods store.  With Internet purchases increasing year on year, Amazon is well-placed to dominate the market for years to come. New market entrants are simply unable to compete with the purchasing power that Amazon has through its vast number of customers. The disadvantage to Amazon only selling through the Internet is that if the Internet is affected in any way over the next few years, the business will feel the effects of that. This is why Amazon should consider diversifying its business model so that risk is lessened.

Applied communication ,on MOOCS Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Applied communication ,on MOOCS - Essay Example In order to learn and earn a certification in a certain field, the MOOCs exempts the learners of many costs in terms of fare that they need to have so that they can get to centres of learning. This reduces the cost of services the students have to pay to access education because they do not have to pay for any movements to any place. This happens because the mode of provision of services, online delivery of services, enable the students to access the learning materials from any place in the world as far as there is availability of internet. Comparing the cost of the internet that a students pay for and that of the travel that they can pay on travelling to the college or renting an accommodation facility, the former is very low than the latter. This means that the cost of education through MOOCs for students (Bowen, 2013). When a person enrols in a course program in MOOCs, he or she does not have to concentrate on buying expensive reading materials. This is because through the online system of learning the students are able to access many online reading materials that a person needs so that he or she can achieve the goals of his or her course. This means that a student will not incur the cost of buying books from the market, which would increase the cost of education. The cost of buying stationeries is exempted because a student can make notes on the computer in which he or she uses therefore, avoid the cost books and pens. This means that this learning method is less costly as compared to other methods of learning where students have to have pens and other writing materials that cost them a lot of money (Archibald & Feldman, 2011). In delivery of services, the students do not have to go to classes, which would increase the demand for money by the institution that offers the learning and therefore, increase the cost. Also, there are few lecturers that

International Marketing Strategy for Multinational Company Essay - 1

International Marketing Strategy for Multinational Company - Essay Example This paper illustrates that the global expansion helps a company in many ways. It increases the brand value in the global market, due to globalization an organization can earn huge revenue and can maximize the profit. Moreover, global expansion can give a huge market share to the operating company. The companies may face several internal and external challenges while practicing international business. Depending on the core competency, strengths, and competitive advantages the particular organization has to develop their global business plan. Wal-Mart is the largest American multinational retail chain established in the year 1962 currently headquartered in Bentonville, United States. The company has ranked top in the list of fortune 500 in two consecutive years. It is the third largest public limited company in the global market. The employee strength of Wal-Mart is more than two million internationally. Wal-Mart has made its position on New York stock exchange in the year 1972. The c ompany operates on their own in countries like Canada, Brazil, and Argentina. They have the outlets in China, South America, UK. They have ventured into countries like South Korea and Germany. ASDA, one of the leading UK based retail chain is the Subsidiary of Wal-Mart. Wal-Mart offers different luxurious and consumer durable goods to its customers. The broad range of different product categories that include crafts, movie DVDs, gift items, shoes, jewelry, cosmetics, garments, home appliance, video games, outdoor living, grocery, college essentials, toys and much more are available in a Wal-Mart outlet globally. The various product ranges have increased the core competency of Wal-Mart in a global market.

Factors for the prevalence of diabetes and mental health(inpatient) in Research Paper

Factors for the prevalence of diabetes and mental health(inpatient) in the UK - Research Paper Example actors responsible for mental illness in the UK include infections, pregnancy, lack of essential nutrients, psychological factors, poor parenting, poor relationships, economic problems, poor relationships, family destructions, social expectations, etc. The differences between mental illness and mental disorders have also been elaborated in the discussion for better understanding. Recommendations have been made on the basis of the discussion and they include out of family marriage, addressing to environmental issues sincerely, taking precautions against viruses, encouraging breast feeding, increasing physical activities, reducing workload, minimising use of artificial flavour, eating more nutritious food, taking precautions during sexual intercourse as well as pregnancy, improving parenting and addressing to several social factors responsible for the prevalence of these dangerous diseases. Diabetes and mental illness are among the most prevalent diseases in the United Kingdom. People with these disorders die prematurely as compared to other diseases. Other than the deaths from accidents or unnatural incidents, the number of deaths from diabetes and mental illness are quite high. The relationship between diabetes and mental illness is now recognized on a broader scale (Diabetes U.K 2010). Usually there are two types of the diabetes that are found in co-occurrence with schizophrenia and that pairing of glucose tolerance affect the overall health of a person. Both the diseases collectively misuse substances present in the body affecting the health of patients severely leading them the mortality. Through several researches it is evaluated as well that the people with diabetes are more likely to die as compared to the people without the evidences of diabetes in their bodies. (Vinogradova et al. 2014) The researches on the death rates and the patients with such diseases are though no more ignored by the researchers yet the researches on the factors causing these

Master of Science in Information Management Personal Statement

Master of Science in Information Management - Personal Statement Example I had an attitude of first solving my issues before I sought for help. This attitude, seemingly, has made me have a passion in providing solutions in the ever advancing technological world. In class, I have done well in information technology with the general point average (gpa) of 3, 3. I have also done well in the IT lab and was named the best student in our class. In today’s living, all realms of life require information and technology. In the medical sector, robots are assuming the precise role of surgery. Data storage would be hectic if people were dependent on print media. Transfer of information has become lightning fast and the world has become a global village. With this in mind, and all other myriad of solutions that can be offered by technology, an advancement of knowledge in this field is imperative. The results are a good gauge of what I am capable of doing, given the chance to expand to a master’s level. I have excellent leadership skills that enhance my relationship with other students at Syracuse University, and that I have developed and learned from the university. As a leader, I hope to reconcile the interests of the student with those of the university. I will also use the learned skills in information technology in giving back to the community. Currently, I engage in activities where I teach the community members and those around me on the importance of protecting their personal information and ways through which they can do this. As a group, we talk to the small and upcoming businesses that are embracing the use of information and computer technology in their business operations. With new data gathering tools being invented and the computing power increasing in leaps and bounds, companies and governments need new policies and strategic plans on how to utilize the large amounts of data that is being captured. In order to stay competitive in this world where

Linking instruction Essay Example for Free

Linking instruction Essay Teaching is always perceived as a straightforward process whereby teachers provide instruction and students learn. With this perspective, teaching is seen as a simple instruction–learning process. In actual practice, it is more realistic to view assessment as an integral component of the teaching process. In fact, it has been estimated that teachers devote at least one-third of their professional time to assessment-related activities (Stiggins Conklin, 1992). Assessment can and should provide relevant information that both enhances instruction and promotes learning. In other words, there should be a close alignment between theory, instruction and assessment. With this expanded conceptualization of teaching, instruction and assessment are integrally related, with assessment providing objective feedback about what the students have learned, how well they have learned it, how effective the instruction has been, and what information, concepts, and objectives require more attention. Instead of teaching being limited to an instruction–learning process, it is conceptualized more accurately as an instruction–learning–assessment process. For example, a misaligned curriculum, instruction, and assessment had been seen as one factor that led to poor student achievement. In the past, standardized norm-referenced tests, used traditionally for accountability, have only partially aligned with curricular materials and classroom instruction. These conditions obviously result in poor test scores (Burger, n. d. ). Using the standards-led alignment approach, this policy sought to align, integrate, and connect components of schools as systems (e. g. , assessments, curriculum, instruction, and accountability). According to Linn Herman (1997), standards-led alignment should use local content standards as the focal point to: †¢ foster the use of multiple assessment sources and methods, †¢ describe how classroom and accountability assessment relate to each other, †¢ align accountability and classroom assessment with learner outcomes, and †¢ ensure that teachers and administrators use appropriate forms of assessment, are skilled in interpreting data, can plan for re-teaching activities using data, and can evaluate the impact of specific programs and instructional strategies. To begin the alignment process, Allington and Cunningham (2002) advocated a comprehensive policy review to determine where all system elements connect (e. g. , curriculum, instruction, and leadership). Stiggins and Conklin (1992) illustrated the important role that teachers play in the process of aligning instruction and assessment methods with theory: As a nation, we spend billions of dollars on educational assessment, including hundreds of millions for international and national assessments, and additional hundreds of millions for statewide testing programs. On top of these, the standardized tests that form the basis of district-wide testing programs represent a billion dollar industry. If we total all of these expensive, highly visible, politically important assessments, we still account for less than 1 percent of all the assessments conducted in Americas schools. The other 99 percent are conducted by teachers in their classrooms on a moment-to-moment, day-to-day, and week-to-week basis. In summary, if an educational institution wants to have effective teachers, they needs incorporate in their educational paradigm to link theory in the methods of instruction and assessment. Instruction and assessment are both instrumental parts of the teaching process, and assessment is a major component of a teacher’s day-to-day job. Knowing the connection of these, teachers can obtain information that promotes self-understanding and they will have more ability to help students plan for the future. For example, parents and students can use assessment information to make educational plans and select careers that best match a students abilities and interests. References Allington, R. L. , Cunningham, P. M. (2002). Schools that work: Where All Children Read and Write.Boston, MA: Allyn and Bacon. Linn, R. , Herman, J. L. (1997, February). A Policy Maker’s Guide to Standards-Led Assessment. Denver, CO: Education Commission of the States. Burger, D. (n. d. ). Using Standards-Led Policy to Align Assessment and Accountability Systems. Honolulu: Pacific Resources for Education and Learning. Retrieved 2 November 2006 at http://www. prel. org/products/re_/standards-led. htm. Stiggins, R. Conklin, N. (1992). In Teachers’ Hands: Investigating the Practice of Classroom Assessment. New York: SUNY Press.

An overview of World Englishes

An overview of World Englishes 1.1 English as an international language Among thousand languages in the world, English has become an International English since it is a multinational, multicultural and multifunctional language. The term, English as an international language (EIL) can be shortened as International English, highlights the international use of English rather than wrongly suggesting that there is one clearly distinguishable, unitary variety called `International English. Mckay (2002: 132) in her book entitled Teaching English as an International language makes use of the shorthand term and gives a definition like this: International English is used by native speakers of English and bilingual users of English for cross-cultural communication. International English can be used both in a local sense between speakers of diverse cultures and languages within one country and in a global sense between speakers from different countries. From her statements, we can see that the uses of English internationally include speakers of English as native lan guage (ENL)/English as mother tongue in all its dialects, as well as speakers of New Englishes/World Englishes/indigenized/nativized varieties. Chosen as the preferred potion for cross-cultural communication, it can be referred to as EIL. Besides, some other terms can be used more or less interchangeably with EIL, such as English as a lingua franca, English as a global language, English as a world language, and English as a medium of intercultural communication. In fact, the dramatic development of modern science and technology, the coming age of information superhighway, and the shrinking of the world into a global village are all accelerating international exchanges and intercultural communications and, for that matter, the wider spread of English. Recently, another term for EIL has been introduced: World English (Brutt-Griffler, 2002:110). She provides a carefully researched and well-argued basis for acknowledging the active role of EIL users as agents in its spread and in its linguistic development: they are not just at the receiving end, but contribute to the shaping of the language and the functions it fulfils. This is a perspective with considerable implications for English education all over the world. 1.1.1 An overview of World Englishes There are several researches of varieties of world English, two famous scholars Quirk and Krachu are worth mentioning. Quirk divides the varieties of English into three kinds: English as native language (ENL); English as second language (ESL); English as foreign language (EFL). He maintains that all the varieties of world English should base on the established rules of British English or American English. He is the typical representative who suggests the only criterion for the varieties of English in the world. However, with the fast development of the society, with the quick trend of internationalization of English, it is neither possible nor practical to hold on the sole criterion for different kinds of English all over the world. Being a very popular pioneer of the theories for the internationalization of English, a promoter insisting on the pluralistic criterions of English and a variationist, Krachu put forward the notion of World Englishes in 1970s. And in 1985 he proposed the three concentric circles to view the varieties of English that are similar to Quirks division. The inner circle refers to the traditional culture and linguistic bases of English. It includes the USA, UK, Ireland, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. The outer or extended circle represents the institutionalized non-native varieties. It involves the earlier periods of the spread of English in non-native settings, where English has become part of a countrys institutions, and plays an important `Second Language role in a multilingual setting. The countries are Singapore, India, Malawi, and more than fifty other regions in the world. The expanding circle includes the regions where the performance varieties of the language are used essentially in EFL contexts, as in China, Japan, Greece, Iran, etc. China English belongs to this circle. There are some seventy-five territories in which English has held or continues to hold a special place, as a member of either the inner or outer circles (Cry stal, 2001: 53). Crystal (2001: 54) gives the following estimates for the speakers of English in terms of Kachrus (1985, 1992) `concentric circles: the inner circle, first language, 320-380 million; the outer circle, additional/second language, 150-300 million; the expanding circle, foreign language, 100-1000 million. Kachru (1996: 241) himself maintains There are now at least four non-native speakers of English for every native speaker. McArthur (1992: 355) has a more conservative estimate, namely a 2-to-1 ratio of non-natives to natives. And to cite a voice from what Kachru calls the expanding circle, the German author Gnutzmann (2000: 357) adds another way of looking at this: It has been estimated that about 80% of verbal exchanges in which English is used as second or foreign language do not involve native speakers of English. The statistics show us its power and effect in cross-cultural, cross-lingual communications during the worldwide development of English. Besides the researches done by the above mentioned scholars, many other linguists also have done the similar researches about the internationalization of English, such as Smith (1983), Platt (1985), Stevens (1992), Graddol (1997) and so on. The common marked trait of their researches is that they all go against linguistic chauvinism. On the whole, World English is the product of the development of a world market and global developments in the fields of science, technology, culture and the media; World English is learned by people at various levels of society, not just by the socio-economic elite; World English tends to establish itself alongside local languages rather than replacing them, and so contributes to multilingualism rather than jeopardize it; World English spreads due to the fact that many people learn it rather than by speakers of English migrating to others; thus two processes happen concurrently: new varieties are created and unity in the world language is maintained. With the vast spread and quick speedy internationalization of the English language, it will lead to nativization of English in different parts of the world. 1.1.2 Nativization of English and English es in Asia A non-native English situation is basically an innovative situation involving certain well-known processes of nativization (Bamgbose, 1998: 1). English has become international in character, it cannot be bound to any culture. That is, any culture can use English as its vehicle of communication (Smith, 1983: 9). Kachru (1982: 5) has pointed out once English was adopted in a region, whether for science, technology, literature, prestige, elitism, or `modernization, it went through a reincarnation process, which is unique to another culture. Native English, unable to adequately express what is unique to another culture, should be reincarnated, changed or varied in order to fit the given culture. Such variation or reincarnation of language is called nativization, indigenization or hybridization (Kachru, 1981; Moag Moag, 1977; Whinnom, 1971). Development of English in most parts of Asia was due to contact with native English-speakers through colonialism. Many Asian countries of the outer circle and the expanding circle were former colonies or semi-colonies of countries of the Inner circle, typically USA, UK and Canada, etc. The English language was first introduced to these Asian countries, like India, Singapore, and Pakistan, as the medium of instruction in a western system of education, and was adopted as the official language by some governments for easy communication between the rulers and the ruled. The introduction of the English language may have three purposes: religious purpose, commercial purpose, and political purpose. However, it is certain that the colonists arm has not always been decisive for spread and development of English in Asia. There are some other reasons. English has often been learned because of the status it may confer on the readers and speakers, because it opens doors in modern science, technology, trade, diplomacy, and intercultural communication. In Japan, a country under little colonial influence of an English-speaking power, even though English continues to be a performance variety, it has penetrated deep into the Japanese language and culture. In its localized form, English has acquired a stable status in Japanese culture. Once English was adopted in any region of Asia, whether because of colonialism, or for science, technology, literature, prestige, or modernization, it went through various changes and adaptations, which were partly linguistic and partly cultural. The changes were essentially caused by the new bilingual or multilingual settings, as well as new cultural contexts in which English has to function. Such linguistic and cultural changes are especially well established in the regions where it has been used as an international language, in addition to serving intranational purpose, which is the case of Singapore, India, etc. Establishment of a non-native variety of English in any new culture is well illustrated for its linguistically deviation from standard native English varieties. It usually distinguishes itself from other non-native or native English varieties in terms of phonology, vocabulary, grammar, syntax, semantics, or discourse. The most conspicuous is the vocabulary, because nativi zed English varieties have to include some borrowed words from local languages in order to express some unique phenomena and ideas of local culture that is quite different from that of other cultures. This is also the case of China English. At present, most of the evidences for the recognition of China English are mainly from some of its distinctive vocabulary carrying unique Chinese culture. Besides the above countries mentioned, English is playing its international and intranational roles in many other Asian countries, as well as in other parts of the world. The fact shows that English varieties developed in Asia are either performance varieties in the expanding circle or institutionalized varieties in the outer circle. Performance varieties include those that are used as foreign language, such as in Japan, China, Indonesia and so on. They have a highly restricted functional range in specific contexts, for example, those of tourism, commerce, and other transactions. Institutionalized varieties are those used as the second language, such as in Singapore, Malaysia, India, and so on. These varieties have a more extended range of uses, registers and style range in the social context of a nation. According to Kachru (1992), The main characteristics of an institutionalized variety are the following: the length of time in use; the extension of use; the emotional attachment of second language users with the variety; functional importance and sociolinguistic status. Under the circumstance of institutionalized varieties, English is not only used i n the domains of government administration, law, military, education, commerce, media religion, etc., but also in the more private domains of family and friendship. From 1990s, the wide and fast spread of English in Asia has aroused the interest of many English scholars worldwide. In the early 1990s, Japan established an organization called the Japanese Association for Asian Englishes. And in 1999, the association published a magazine named Asian Englishes, which is committed to the study of varieties of English in Asia. A lot of well-known linguists like Kachru (1999), Smith (1999), Kirkpatrick (2000), and McArthur (2002) all published articles entitled English as an Asian Language. They all have acknowledged the common features of Asian Englishes, which decide that different varieties of English in Asia belong to the family of World Englishes from the perspective of functional nativeness. In recent years, among western academic circle, there has been a distinct change in attitudes towards English varieties (either institutionalized or performance varieties) developed in Asia, as well as in other parts of the world. Currently most institutional ized varieties have been gradually accepted by native English speakers. However, the development and nativization of institutionalized varieties has been traditionally unacceptable to majority of native English speakers. These varieties have once been considered deficient models of language acquisition. This attitude has not only been restricted to speech performance, but extends to lexical and collocational items that are determined by the new social and cultural context. But, this kind of negative attitude began to change step by step with the growth of linguistic tolerance after the Second World War. A survey (Chen Linhan/ ,# X, 1996: 46) on remarks from native English speakers on China Daily and Beijing Review shows that even in such important English newspaper and magazine there are some misuse of article or prepositions. Nevertheless, all the interviewees have acknowledged the existence of China English. 1.1.3 China English in EIL context English in China, when used as a vehicle of Chinese culture, will also be nativized or sinicized linguistically and culturally. China English was first presented by Ge Chuangui(- ,1 I) in 1980. He used the term to refer to the distinctive vocabulary carrying unique Chinese culture in Chinese-English translation, but he did not suggest China English as a variety of English. Since then, this term has aroused great interest of many scholars in China. Wang Rongpei 1991: 1-8) in his paper entitled China English an objective English variety points out, provided that English is widely used in a non-native area with certain characteristic of indigenization, whatever its function might be, it can be regarded as an English variety. There are no reasons to deny the fact that China English is an objective language phenomenon in China. Since then, China English has been popular among scholars home and abroad. Chinese speakers or learners appropriate communication in English has become one of the more heated topics for all the Chinese scholars of English teaching, translation, linguistics and cross-cultural communication. On the whole, the popularity of English has pushed forward the nativization of English in China. With the open-up and reform policies, more and more foreign people and different institutions flood into China, and more English expressions that are typically 2.3.1 Pidgin English and China English A Pidgin is a lingua franca that arises in order to facilitate communication between speakers of different languages who are in sustained contact with each other, e.g. in trade or plantation situations (William, 1992: 224). Although it is no ones native language, a pidgin usually involves mixture or compromise between the native languages of its users; in comparison with these, it is restricted in social role, and simplified or reduced in linguistic resources. Pidgins flourish in areas of economic development all over the world, and Pidgins are based on English, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Actually, Pidgin English in China originated from Pidgin Portuguese that is a hybrid language with the combination of Portuguese, English, Hindi, Malay and Chinese Cantonese. Evidences in the history show that the Portuguese were the earliest Westerners who came to China to undertake the cause of colonial expansion and activities after the establishment of the new route in the 16`h century. When they first arrived in Macau, they found it was very difficult to communicate with the local people, and the local people, who were eager to find ways of livelihood during the contact with the Portuguese and other western people, also felt hard to exchange ideas with them. Both needed a shared language as a tool for communication to open up new prospects. Gradually Canto-Portugue s (j~,*I-, j iq ) came into being, which was a business term in commercial exchan ge between China and Portugal. It was a language used by the Portuguese traders and the local businessmen. Later the language became very mature with abundant vocabulary, stable speech sound, morphology and syntax, which had been used by the local people for 300 years. It did not disappear until 19`x century when the English colonists came to South China to extend trade. With the increase of trade volume of Britain in China, a new Pidgin, Canton English, emerged as the times demanded. Many English words gradually replaced those Portuguese words. Pidgin Portuguese had a great effect on late Canton English, now known technically as Chinese Pidgin English or China Coast Pidgin. Chinese Pidgin English was greatly influenced by the earlier Cantonese Pidgin Portuguese. But little has been known about how Canton English was reborn from Pidgin Portuguese. Anyhow, it developed into a lingua franca of the Pacific that influenced the Pidgins of Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Vanuatu, Queensland, and elsewhere. With regard to its origin, the linguist Chin Chuancheng notes: The Chinese held the British, like all foreign devils, in low esteem, and would not stoop to learn the foreign tongue in its full form. The British, on the other hand, regarded the heathen Chinese as beyond any possibility of learning, and so began to modify their own language for the natives `benefit (Chinese Varieties of English, in B. Kachru (ed.), the Other Tongue, 1982). Pidgin English with typical Cantonese grammatical structures spread rapidly when the Treaty Ports were established in China in 1843, but declined towards the end of the l9`h century as Standard English began to be sys tematically taught in schools and universities. Before liberation, there was Shanghai Pidgin English too. Pidgin English is now extinct in the Peoples Republic of China and marginal in Hong Kong. In fact, Chinese Pidgin English that had been demoted by people was the earliest embryo of China English. People always consider Pidgin English as a term with derogatory sense. But it was the initial stage when we Chinese people began to get in touch with English in the specific historical times. What Pidgin English reflected was how Chinese people learned English at the initial and the most superficial stage. With the development of the society, it has been discarded. However, the traces left over by history can never be removed, and they will influence our behaviors, thoughts and attitudes unconsciously. So, facing the phenomenon of China English, we should not have the attitudes of evasion towards Chinese Pidgin English. Both Pidgin English and China English are the combined result of English with China, which are with typical Chinese language models and thought patterns to different degrees. But they cant be equated and regarded as the same thing. Du Zhengming (* 1998: 6) notes: To Chinese people, Pidgin English was an imposed English, which was the product of colonial expansion. So, they had no motives or conditions to learn Standard English, they just imposed Chinese speech sound, vocabulary and grammar into English, thus became a mixed language. However, China English is a formally learned language. People learn and master it actively and systematically through formal education at schools and universities. They cant treat it entirely as they please. Pidgin English was a language by putting English, the so-called super-state language, together with Chinese, the so-called sub-state one. It was neither English nor Chinese. It reflected the inequality in culture and society. But there are no such com positions as the so-called super-state and sub-state in China English. It is English with typical Chinese social and cultural characteristics. 2.3.2 China English and Chinglish As discussed earlier, China English is used to refer to special things of China and it exists objectively and contains three implications: China English is used only by Chinese people in China; China English takes normative English as its nucleus English; it has its own characteristics. But the first implication doesnt correspond to practice, because some words are used not only by Chinese people but also by western people. The difference between China English and Chinglish lies in the communicative effect depending on the recognition of Normative English speakers. So, Chinglish can be converted into China English, like long time no see. Many teachers and scholars home and abroad have noticed this language phenomenon and studies of Chinglish are scattered in books or articles in the field of English teaching and learning. Nevertheless, due to the unsystematic and unsteady nature of Chinglish, people do not always resonate a clear and unanimous voice on what Chinglish is and hereby present diverse and incomplete definitions from different angles in light with their own understanding. Pinkham (2000: 1-) defines it is a hybrid language that is neither English nor Chinese but that might be described as `English with Chinese characteristics; Deng Yanchang and Liu Runqing ()l Vl)i1f7 1989) views it as speech or writing that shows the interference of the influence of Chinese; Li Wenzhong ( 1993: 18) considers it as abnormal of deformed English that is produced by Chinese English learners or users when they are influenced by Chinese language rules. The above-cited definitions indicate that Chinglish is mainly caused by language learners mother tongue interference; it is caused not only by linguistic interference, but more importantly, by the interference of the language learners home culture and the thought patterns peculiar to the home culture. Whether there is a clear-cut distinction between China English and Chinglish or Chinese English is a heated debate, because people think the term Chinglish is derogatory. Actually, Chinese English and China English are at different points on the same continuum of interlanguage between Chinese and Standard English in the Chinese context, at different stages of acquisition or proficiency level. Due to insufficient acquisition or proficiency level, some of the English-using Chinese often make errors in grammar. These errors do not have an underlying sociolinguistic explanation, and English inflicted with such errors can hardly be recognized as the educated form of English, or teaching mode l in China. The violation of cultural norms may be common, however those grammatical errors are more or less related with the inadequate acquisition and insufficient proficiency of Chinglish. In chapter four, we are going to discuss this problem in detail according to the relevant theories of SLA TEFL. 3.2.1 Lexical level At the lexical level, Kachru (1982) has pointed out that a part of the lexicon is nativized in two ways. On one hand, native items are used in localized registers and styles in order to contextualize the language. On the other hand, English lexical items may acquire extended or restricted semantic markers. During the process of the nativization of English in China, the former is called cultural words, the latter, semantic shift. There is a great difference between Chinese and English culture, many a time we cant find equivalent English expressions to convey peculiar things in Chinese culture. Under this situation, people will employ different translation strategies, such as domesticating and foreignizing translations, literal and free translations, to interpret Chinese words of material and spiritual cultures into English. Domesticating translation refers to the translation strategy in which a transparent, fluent style is adopted in order to minimize the strangeness of the foreign te xt for target language readers, while foreignizing translation designates the type of translation in which a target text deliberately breaks target conventions by retaining something of the foreignness of the original. Words and phrases in China English are the main manifestations of the nativization of English in China. They get into English through the following ways. (i) Transliteration Many Pinyin words have directly entered English because of linguistic relativity and intranslatability of the applied language. Transliterated expressions in Pinyin can be considered a most conspicuous feature of China English with the technique of literal translation and the strategies of foreignizing translation. Chinese personal and geographical names and even some other China-unique facts can be romanized in Chinese Pinyin either in completeness (e.g. Wen Jiabao; Shanghai) or in part (e.g. Maotai Liquor). Actually, transliterated words from Chinese into English originated in the early 19`h century. At that time, lots of Chinese personal names and geographical names were translated into English according to the phonetic system called Wade System, a system of Romanization of Chinese, widely used in representing Chinese words and names in English, esp. before the adoption of Pinyin. It is also called Wade-Giles with some characteristics of English spelling, but it didnt stick to the principles of English spelling fully. And in the early times there were some transliterations from Guangdong dialects and Southern Fujian dialects, such as tea (*); chow mei (r); ); won ton (t; Bohea (RA*t,) ; cheongsam (1> 4) and so on. A system using the Latin alphabet, called Pinyin, has been developed in China since 1950s, and it is now in common use. Pinyin is the official standard for transliteration of Chinese language in the Peoples Republic of China now. It has been widely used by the international c ommunities and foreign countries since the International Standardization Organization passed IS07098: Documentation Service A System for Romanizing Chinese Characters into the Roman Alphabet in 1982. So, we can see transliteration in China English keeps on developing and advancing with the passing of time. Now lets compare the following different transliterated words: In the Wade Giles system In the Pinyin system, Mei-kuo Meiguo, Chung-kuo Zhongguo, Pei-tai-he Beidaihe, Mao Tse Tung Mao Zedong, Peking Beijing, Chonghwa Zhonghua, Tsinghwa Qinghua, Taipei Taibei With the fast increasing of publicity and exchange with the outside world, China has been greatly affecting the world in many different fields, like politics, economy, culture, education, science and daily life. In this case, more and more Chinese words expressing peculiar things in Chinese culture have been translated into English through transliteration and have become loanwords of English. They greatly enrich English vocabulary. Lets look at some vocabulary in China English. China English words transliterated under specific historical and cultural background: Confucius (L); Lao-tzu (Z-T); Tao Te Ching (((,t,));Yamen (Tf1); Xiucai (A.A); Yin (M); Yang(1IF9); qipao (h4); doufu (J); litchi (k); wushu (A*); quyi(1); gongfu ()i), etc. Some Chinese brand names entering China English through transliteration: Many of them are Pinyin words, but some of them are translated by using English words similar in pronunciation with Chinese words. For example, Tun Huang (WI), Da FU Gui (111-ft), E Mei(), Chang Hong(Kt), Maxam (-X.)3116.), Hisense (I;Haier (CI:), Stone ma), Lucky (ff:01,), Star (it), Rising (AW.), Transit (lifiY,) and so on, to name but a few. The above examples show that the transliterated China English words possess different traits in different periods. They reveal the significance and vitality of transliteration in the development of China English vocabulary. Nevertheless, there exists a great difference between Chinese and English, their pronunciation and spelling are quite different from each other. If we simply replace English words with Chinese Pinyin words, it will cause misunderstandings in cross-cultural communication. So while transliterating Chinese words and expressions into English, we should pay attention to translatability, readability and understandability. (ii) Loan translations When there are no transliterated borrowings, or hybridization, loan translations will be adopted. Many Chinese words and expressions have been translated into English by borrowing English words and phrases directly. There are three forms of loan translations. They are compound words, clipped words, and phrases (Zhou Feng, 1987: 111-125). The essence of their ideas can be summed up as follows: One form of loan translations is compound words. Some examples of this type are loan +English, like Canton ginger (Canton is a transliteration, and ginger is a native word); teacup (from Chinese word chabei); teahouse (from Chinese word chaguan), etc. Other examples of this kind of loan translation are the English calque, like beancurd (from Chinese compound word doufu; dou=bean or soy, fu curd); red bean (from Chinese compound word chidou; chi red, dou=bean), etc. The second form of loan translations is some special clipped word that is formed according to the pattern: a number + Chinese character (word translated into English literally). For example, sishuwujing=Four Books, Five Classics ( Sishu refers to four classic Chinese books, namely: The Great Learning (da xue); The Doctrine of the Mean(zhong yong); The Analects of Confucius gun yu) and Mencius(meng Wiijing stands for The Book of Songs (shi jing); The Book of History (shujing); The Book of Changes (yijing); The Book of Rites (li ji) and The Spring and Autumn Annals (chun qiu). Besides Four Books and Five Classics, it also includes Three Cardinals and Five Permanent Virtues, the Theory of Five Elements and so on. The third form of loan translations refers to English phrases translated from Chinese phrases literally. All these English phrases possess the peculiar characteristics of Chinese culture that cant be found in English culture. They manifest the different features of Chinese culture and things during the development of history and society. For example, things originating from the culture of Buddhism, philosophy and Chinese ancient literature: Taoism (i); Buddhism (T9 1); The Analects ( ((itiih )) ); The book of Changes ( ((1)) ) and so on. Loan translations in specific historical and cultural developing periods of China: red guard (iEJ L); one big pot (ik i^WX); ideological remoulding ( LRR CiA); paper tiger (J);); four modernizations (lThi`(tf- ); spiritual civilization material civilization (t1JAX OA); Three Represents (~ IM-M); rule by virtue (1i1); laid-off workers (TliIA); two-hundred policy ( (~one country, two systems ( ~1 IlJ); cross-strait relations etc. When discussing Chine se words and expressions, we will never fail to mention those idioms, mottos, proverbs and set phrases that carry unique Chinese culture. Some of them have the similar meanings to English idioms, mottos and proverbs, but when translated into English by applying English versions mechanically, they will be against the natural and original meanings of Chinese. In this situation the measure of loan translations or semantic shift can be adopted to translate Chinese idioms, mottos and proverbs. China English created by the way of loan translations or semantic shift can better retain the features and the detailed content of splendid Chinese civilizations. For example, to spend money like dirt (ii f) ; to draw a snake and add feet to it (i i , ); people mountains and people seas (A W ); like bamboo shoots after rain (C JA# ); seeking truth from facts (k *RE); no discord, no concord (4T7) x); one arrow, two hawks (- Mj~X),etc. All these set phrases and expressions in China English manifest c ultural activities of the different ages in human society of China. Actually, Chinese people have a preference for four-character phrases both in writing and conversation. The exis

Impact of exchange rate on the economy

Impact of exchange rate on the economy A countrys exchange rate is explicitly the currency value at which it transacts business with other countries around the world. It determines how much would be an equivalent of its currency which would be used to purchase goods and services from other countries around the global world. The world is a global market that needs a form of agreement in terms of currency at which it trades. The essence of a fixed exchange rate system is to maintain a countrys currency value  within a very narrow band.  This is also regarded as pegged exchange rate. The exchange rate in question depends on the form or type which the government of the country chooses to adopt or to use. OBJECTIVE To discuss issues as they will affect certainty in international trade when all countries adopt a fixed exchange rate. The issues to consider include: Types of exchange rate How exchange rate changes Impact of exchange rate on the economy both nationally and internationally Understanding of fixed exchange rate from demand and supply perspective. IMPACT OF THE ADOPTION OF A FIXED EXCHANGE RATE ON INTERNATIONAL MARKET. In the history of financial world there exists various international monetary systems and foreign exchange rate which not only manage domestic economy of country but also international trade issue. These include: Fixed rate Floating rate Forward rate Spot rate Future rate Amongst these, we shall critically examine the fixed rate and how it can affect international trade as a whole. FIXED RATES According to the writer of ehow found on http://www.ehow.com/list_6804540_types-foreign-exchange-rates.html viewed on 30/12/10 it writes The smaller economies of developing countries adopt the use of fixed foreign exchange rates for trading and to attract foreign investments. By fixing its currency against the currencies of other countries, a country keeps export prices affordable and easy to international buyers and allows for trade surplus over time. Fixed currency rates also allow a country to assure foreign investors of the stable value of their investments in the country. However, under fixed rates, the monetary policies of a country can become ineffective when trying to stimulate domestic economic activities by consumers at the host country. Injecting more money into the economy would normally reduce a countrys currency value against foreign currencies under floating rates. As imports become more expensive, consumers would gradually focus their demand on domestic products, potentially lifting up the economy. With fixed rates, however, the exchange value of domestic currency does not move and more money means more buying power for imports. Such an outcome does not achieve policy makers intention to increase domestic demand. This is expedient in order to ensure that there is a close gap which would assist balance of payment; the international economy would be appreciative of a fixed rate of exchange as it would allow for free f low goods and services at a predicted price. (Reference: http://www.rba.gov.au/publications/confs/1993/intro-93.pdf assessed on 30/12/10) From the above citation from Adrian, it is obvious that fixed exchange rate has its benefits too which would help the international market. Below are some of the merits and demerits of the fixed exchange rate. MERITS OF FIXED EXCHANGE RATE 1. It reduces fluctuation in the value of currencies which can cause problems for firms engaged in Trade. When exchange rate is fixed, it allows for comfort in the desire of the foreign customers who wants to trade with the host country as they would know that the price agreed on for the commodities at the stated time would still be at a given exchange rate. Though the price of the commodity might change, but the exchange rate is known. 2. It allows for foreign firms to invest in countries where fixed exchange rate occurs. Some Japanese firms have said that the UKs reluctance to join the Euro and provide a stable exchange rates make the UK a less desirable place to invest. 3. When the cost of import and export increases, it will therefore increase the income of the host country and the other countries involved. 4. A well monitored exchange rate would assist the domestic companies to sell out there products to the international world without fear of pressure from exchange rate differences, thereby increasing the domestic market and encouraging the local manufacturers to produce more of their products which would be used for international trade. 5. Fixed exchange rate reduces drastically the expectations of inflation in an economy.  Inflation is reduced to a minimal if not zero. This is due to the fact that the one of the major factors that would have allowed for inflation which is differing exchange rate is absent. DEMERITS OF FIXED EXCHANGE RATES 1. To maintain a fixed level of the exchange rate may conflict with other macroeconomic objectives. 2. It is difficult to respond to temporary shocks. For example an oil importer may face a balance of payments deficit if oil price increases, but in a fixed exchange rate there is little chance to devalue. 3. It requires government intervention when there exists too much money in circulation and the fixed rate is affecting the countrys currency adversely. 4. In order to check the problems that may accrue to the countrys currency, the central bank with the government may have to increase interest rate which may not be conducive to the citizenry, leads to unemployment and might lead to recession. (Reference: http://www.economicshelp.org/macroeconomics/exchangerate/advantages-disadvantages-fixed.html assessed on 30/12/10) CONCLUSION From the above mentioned issues on foreign exchange basically on fixed and floating foreign exchange, it is obvious that the floating system of exchange would be better off as the dangers of fixed would be avoided. This is also the system widely used by most countries i.e. the floating exchange rate as it helps to readjust during inflation and deflation. Under a system of fixed exchange rates balance of payments equilibrium is disturbed by a fall in export sales. When the supply curve of foreign exchange moves sharply and the authorities do nothing, an excess demand for foreign exchange will come on the market and thereby causing the exchange rate to rise which means the home currency would depreciate. In order to guard against such happening the home authorities must enter the market, and close the gap by supplying foreign exchange from reserves. Thus the home currency may be supported at cost to the countrys reserves. This would drastically affect the financial reserve of the count ry. However, the implication of the adverse effect on the domestic market is also very crucial. But this is where the government intervention now matters. The government of the concerned countries would buy the currency which is in excess from the market so as to avoid deflation of its currency which could lead to a devastating market economy. A good example is the government of Australia as written by Adrian Blundell-Wignall. He wrote Australias economic relations with the rest of the world have undergone profound change over the past decade. The floating of the exchange rate opened goods markets to greater international competition and Australias pattern of international trade changed considerably. Concomitantly, increasing integration into world financial markets saw Australia drawing more heavily on foreign capital. In the past 15 years, two broad developments in the world economy have been particularly significant for Australia: financial market liberalisation and the emergence of t he newly industrialising countries in Asia. From the late 1970s, financial liberalisation (and, in particular, the removal of capital controls) made financial markets increasingly globalised. At times, these developments were associated with speculative capital flows that undermined attempts to reconcile managed exchange rates with domestic macroeconomic objectives. At the end of 1983, against the background of more general moves to deregulate the financial system, the Australian dollar was floated. Australia is a small commodity exporting country, subject to significant terms of trade shocks driven by the world commodity price cycle. Once the currency was floated, the nominal exchange rate was able to respond more rapidly to these external shocks, helping to cushion the domestic economy from the inflationary and deflationary pressures to which they gave rise. For example, falls in the terms of trade have been associated with real depreciation which has reduced the negative income effects of the terms of trade decline on exporters and has added stabilising stimulatory influence to the domestic economy. While movements in the currency have been largely driven by commodity prices, it is widely felt that the depreciation in the mid-1980s went beyond that justified by fundamentals. While the real exchange rate recovered in the second half of the 1980s and fell again in the early 1990s, in line with the behaviour of the terms of trade, the overall trend in the past two decades has been one of real depreciation. This downward trend in the real exchange rate occurred at a time when Australia also began to cumulate significantly larger external deficits, so that foreign debt was rising as a share of income. This too can be linked to the globalisation of world capital markets. The greater degree of integration of Australia into world financial markets meant that it became easier to attract capital from the rest of the world to finance investment independently of the level of national saving. There were two major investment booms in the 1980s associated with high real exchange rates and current account deteriorations. The first occurred around the time of the second oil price rise in the late 1970s/early 1980s, and resulted largely from improved prospects for the ene rgy and minerals sectors. The second was associated with the asset price boom later in the decade. Both episodes were accompanied by a build-up in Australias foreign liabilities and were followed by a world recession and falling commodity prices.

Notes on the Blank Verse of Christopher Marlowe :: English Literature

Notes on the Blank Verse of Christopher Marlowe "Marloe was stabd with a dagger, and dyed swearing" A MORE friendly critic, Mr. A. C. Swinburne, observes of this poet that "the father of English tragedy and the creator of English blank verse was therefore also the teacher and the guide of Shakespeare." In this sentence there are two misleading assumptions and two misleading conclusions. Kyd has as good a title to the first honour as Marlowe; Surrey has a better title to the second; and Shakespeare was not taught or guided by one of his predecessors or contemporaries alone. The less questionable judgment is, that Marlowe exercised a strong influence over later drama, though not himself as great a dramatist as Kyd; that he introduced several new tones into blank verse, and commenced the dissociative process which drew it farther and farther away from the rhythms of rhymed verse; and that when Shakespeare borrowed from him, which was pretty often at the beginning, Shakespeare either made something inferior or something different. 1 The comparative study of English versification at various periods is a large tract of unwritten history. To make a study of blank verse alone, would be to elicit some curious conclusions. It would show, I believe, that blank verse within Shakespeare's lifetime was more highly developed, that it became the vehicle of more varied and more intense art-emotions than it has ever conveyed since; and that after the erection of the Chinese Wall of Milton, blank verse has suffered not only arrest but retrogression. That the blank verse of Tennyson, for example, a consummate master of this form in certain applications, is cruder (not "rougher" or less perfect in technique) than that of half a dozen contemporaries of Shakespeare; cruder, because less capable of expressing complicated, subtle, and surprising emotions. 2 Every writer who has written any blank verse worth saving has produced particular tones which his verse and no other's is capable of rendering; and we should keep this in mind when we talk about "influences" and "indebtedness." Shakespeare is "universal" (if you like) because he has more of these tones than anyone else; but they are all out of the one man; one man cannot be more than one man; there might have been six Shakespeares at once without conflicting frontiers; and to say that Shakespeare expressed nearly all human emotions, implying that he left very little for anyone else, is a radical misunderstanding of art and the artist-a misunderstanding which, even when explicitly rejected, may lead to our neglecting the effort of attention necessary to discover the specific properties of the verse of Shakespeare's contemporaries.

Social Class and Health Essay -- Mental Health Nursing

This essay will explore the socio-economic background affecting Regina and the circumstances she faces within her life. In addition to this, I will examine the Sociological model of Social class in comparison to why Regina finds herself in the specific social position that she is in, as well investigating the contributing factors that are associated with social class and health issues. The definition of Sociology described together with the Social Class Model itself. Firstly I will provide a brief picture of Regina’s situation; Regina is a 23 year old single mother of a two year old son. She lives on her own in council accommodation in Bridgeton. Since the age of 8 she has suffered from arthritis, this can be extremely painful at times and needs on-going help from her mother and best friend to care for her child. Due to her health conditions Regina is unable to work therefore receives state benefits. The benefit reform is causing worry for Regina. Additionally Regina an d her ex-partner are disputing child visitation issues. Although Regina receives multi-disciplinary help for her arthritis, she is concerned about the instability of her illness and now feels socially isolated and depressed. The definition of Sociology can be defined in numerous ways there is not right or wrong answer with it, I have chosen the simplest explanation I can find which is â€Å"Sociology is the study of human social life, groups and societies. It is a dazzling and compelling enterprise, having as it’s a subject matter our own behaviour as social beings. The scope of sociology is extremely wide, ranging from analysis of passing encounters between individuals in the street up to investigation of world-wide social processes† (Giddens â€Å" Sociology†, 1... ...a and treat her successfully. References BBC News. (2013). the Great British Class Survey - Results. Available: http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/21970879. Last accessed 5 December 2014. Denny, E Earle, S (2008). Sociology for Nurses. Malden: Polity Press. p140--160. Giddens,A. (1989). "Sociology". Available: http://www.sociology.org.uk/as4i1b.htm. Last accessed 28 November 2014. Gro-Scotland. (2010). National Records of Scotland. Available: http://www.gro-scotland.gov.uk/files2/stats/council-area-data-sheets/glasgow-city-factsheet.pdf. Last accessed 28 November 2014. Murali, V Oyebode, F. (2004). Poverty, social inequality and mental health. Available: http://apt.rcpsych.org/content/10/3/216.full. Last accessed 5th December 2014. Womble,D M (2011). Introductory Mental Health Nursing. 2nd ed. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. p60-67.

Compare Romeo and Juliet Essay

Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice are two of the most admirable and exquisite works ever written about the struggling love of two opposing forces. The novels have had a great literary importance and give us a sense of love and marriage on its most bewildered journey during the Elizabethan Era and the Napoleonic wars. Even though these two novels are from two different eras and are quite divergent as a result of it, this essay will argue that both Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice are indubitable similar in the concern of love and marriage. Firstly, this essay will present a short amount of background regarding love and marriage during the Elizabethan era and in the turn of the nineteenth century. Secondly, the essay will talk about the comparison and distinction in love and marriage present in the novels. Thirdly, this essay will discuss and hopefully conclude with the chosen thesis. During the Elizabethan era women were subservient to men and they were raised not to consider otherwise. They were expected to marry whomever the father would hold appropriate. The Scottish protestant leader John Knox wrote â€Å"†Women in her greatest perfection was made to serve and obey man.†( Alchin, L.K. â€Å"Elizabethan Women.) The marriages were arranged to create alliances with other powerful families which becomes the obvious environment in the play about Romeo and Juliet. Love was not significant between a man and a woman. Instead the importance of financial security and a life in everlastingly safety was prioritized through the marriage of a wealthy suitor. In the play by Shakespeare Romeo and Juliet, Juliet is being arranged to marry Paris, a kinsman of the prince, a well suited husband for her despite of her disapproval. As Paris speaks â€Å"God shield I should disturb devotion!—Juliet, on Thursday early will I rouse ye.(kisses her) Till then, adi eu, and keep this holy kiss.† ( Romeo and Juliet, 4.1 William Shakespeare) This is not a marriage for love and this typical prejudice of marriage is also highly present in Jane Austen’s book Pride and Prejudice. One of the characters Charlotte amongst other, is utterly convinced of a socially ideal marriage which was the most common way to unite in the turn of the nineteenth century. â€Å"I am not romantic, you know; I never was. I ask only a comfortable home; and considering Mr. Collins’s character,  connection, and situation in life, I am convinced that my chance of happiness with him is as fair as most people can boast on entering the marriage state.† (Chapter 22. Page 193.† Pride and Prejudice. N.p.: Planet Pdf). Most women decided to marry rather than depend on other family members for financial support. Due to this choice or lack thereof, love and passion were presumed to be less essential in people’s lives. Charlotte’s quote expresses more or less the plight woman had throughout the turn of the nineteenth century. It’s very likely that the Author of Pride and Prejudice, Jane Austen intentionally tried to reveal woman’s position in love and marriage as they were. Shakespeare on the other hand probably had a slightly different agenda which was mainly to please the audiences. All though it is important to not e that Shakespeare presumably wrote about this social decay because he did not approve of what was going on at the time. We might say that this includes the social condition of women and their meager rights in love and marriage. â€Å"Get thee a good husband, and use him as he uses thee.†(All’s Well That Ends Well 1.1.212-13) In Romeo and Juliet the matter of love dominates the play.† My bounty is as boundless as the sea, My love as deep; the more I give to thee, The more I have, for both are infinite. (Romeo and Juliet 2.2, William Shakespeare). Love in this play is simply not one-sided. There is puppy love or shallow love which is the love Romeo has for Rosalie, merely drawn to her appearances’. This view of love is also present in the novel Pride and Prejudice. One of the main characters Mr. Darcy speaks of the woman who later becomes his wife â€Å"She is tolerable; but not handsome enough to tempt me;† (Jane Austen, Pride and Prejudice,Planet Pdf p.14 Ch. 3) Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice are both acclaimed love stories which center around a man and a woman and their love for each other. The other characters seem to play their important role converging upon these lovers or lovers to be. In both stories we see a strong opposing love due to a distinctness of social class as occurring in Pride and Prejudice between the middle class, the Bennett’s and the Aristocrats Darcy’s and new money the Bingley’s. In Romeo and Juliet the antagonistic love is more defined as a feud between tw o powerful families who will not by any circumstances find peace with each other. â€Å"Two households, both alike in dignity, In fair Verona, where we lay our scene, From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.† (Romeo and  Juliet, Prologue p.7 William Shakespeare). The House of Montegue and the House of Capulet are the two families who are sworn enemies, never to reconcile until Romeo and Juliet’s deaths. Nevertheless both the novel and the play have in common the opposing forces set in the story. These two main characters should not be together in love as a result of society’s rules. They both defy society’s instructions and give in to love rather than reason. This way of writing was probably intentional by Shakespeare considering the Renaissance period was also about universal order as in Humanism which was a significant factor in general in Shakespeare’s plays.( â€Å"Renaissance Humanism and Shakespeare†.) Both Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice paint marriage as one of life’s most important choices. Even though this is the case, it is considerably important to envision that Pride and Prejudice has a slightly closer focus on family over husband whereas Romeo and Juliet leans more toward love for husband over family in my opinion. The reason for this is the personalities of the women in the Novel and the Play. Both Juliet and Elizabeth are strong female characters who are being presented as very respectable human beings despite their flaws. In a way we can say that both authors, Jane Austen and William Shakespeare speak for the women at that time and their difficult situations in love and marriage. Passion, love and hate is also a common denominator in these stories. These three words as a whole provide us with an overall understanding of these books. Passion as source of consistency, love as a diversity present in different elements, and hate as an opposition to love to create balance. All though there are quite a few similarities between the novel and the play, there are also a few contrasts present in the books which are important to consider in an analysis of love and marriage. The play Romeo and Juliet has an overwhelming amount of overpowering force of love in it which supersedes everything. The love Romeo and Juliet has for each other is almost obsessive, and self-destructive as a result of it. (â€Å"Love is a smoke raised with the fume of sighs; Being purged, a fire sparkling in lovers’ eyes; Being vex’d a sea nourish’d with lovers’ tears: What is it else? a madness most discreet, A choking gall and a preserving sweet.† ( Romeo and Juliet, 1.1, William Shakespeare.) Romeo speaks of love as he has read in books, but unlikely experienced. Romeo’s passionate feelings develop into a deadly love at the end of the play when the couple’s  tragic destiny prevails and they both die by their own hands. Pride and Prej udice do not have this uncontrollable intense love. The novel focuses more on the achievement of marriage and stability in life, financial and the image of respectability rather than the passionate lusty love. It is important to remember that love is also one of the themes of Pride and Prejudice and that the love in which the main characters Darcy and Elizabeth have for each other at the end of the novel is some of the reasons why this book is so successful. Even though the excessive love is more present in the play about Romeo and Juliet as a result of their lawless passion as archetypal lovers, it is relatively different than what we see in Pride and Prejudice. Both stories have a background of society’s expectation in love and marriage such as Juliet’s arranged marriage to Paris and Elizabeth’s friend Charlotte’s marriage to Mr. Collins an overbearing, and ridiculous heir to the entailed Bennett’s estate. In the play about Romeo and Juliet they are being referred to as star-crossed lovers â€Å"Where civil blood makes civil hands unclean. From forth the fatal loins of these two foes .A pair of star-cross’d lovers take their life; Whose misadventur’d piteous overthrows. Doth with their death bury their parents’ strife.( Romeo and Juliet, the Prologue. p.7, William Shakespeare,) The stars functions as an opposition to Romeo and Juliet’s destiny and is there-for an indicatio n of a not intended universal love as we can see clearly at the tragic end of the play followed by the death of the two young lovers. Pride and Prejudice have a slightly different ending. It has lot more satisfying completion where the two main characters finally can live a fulfilled life together despite the society’s heavy burden of commandment which the reader of the novel was most likely able to anticipate through-out the novel. We see that Romeo and Juliet and Pride and Prejudice have an evident distinction at the end of the two books towards the consideration of meaning. Clearly Romeo and Juliet is a forced equation whereas Darcy and Elisabeth are more likely to be predestined. By analyzing some of the similarities and contrasts in love and marriage in the two books I find the similarities no more substantial than the contrasts. This might be a result of the underlying elements that keep on grasping the connections as we see it. Some of the leading aspects of this influence are the love against all odds in Romeo and Juliet versus the more  predestined version in Pride and Prejudice. Another important element is shallow love which presents it-self in both books through the ignorance of the characters. We see similarities in the society’s established rules of marriage and the characters capability to oppose to these â€Å"decrees†. Then again there is an over-powering and obsessive force of love in Romeo and Juliet which is not accounted for in Pride and Prejudice. Due to these almost completely balanced analogies and divergences I cannot conclude with the chosen thesis and instead I accept the equity of exceptional authorship. Work cited Alchin, L.K. â€Å"Elizabethan Women.† Elizabethan Women. Www.elizabethan-era.org.uk, 16 May 2012. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. Shakespeare, William, Barbara A. Mowat, and Paul Werstine. The Tragedy of Romeo and Juliet. New York: Simon & Schuster Paperbacks, 2011. Print. Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. N.p.: Planet Pdf, n.d. Http://www.planetpdf.com/. Planet Pdf. Web. 13 Feb. 2014. â€Å"All’s Well That Ends Well: Entire Play.† All’s Well That Ends Well: Entire Play. Http://shakespeare.mit.edu/allswell/full.html, n.d. Web. 14 Feb. 2014. â€Å"Renaissance Humanism and Shakespeare.† Http://www.saylor.org/site/wp-content/uploads/2011/11/SAYLOR.ORG-ENGL401-RENAISSANCE-HUMANISM-SHAKESPEARE.pdf. The Sailor Foundation, n.d. Web.