Thursday, March 19, 2020

The Line is for the Toe

The Line is for the Toe The Line is for the Toe The Line is for the Toe By Simon Kewin The Washington Times recently printed an editorial about H1N1 flu calling the disease tow-the-line flu. The use of the phrase tow the line is a common mistake; what the paper should have written was toe the line. To toe the line means to conform to some rule or standard, to fall into line. Politicians, for example, often have to toe their party lines. People may imagine that the spelling tow the line is correct as it perhaps derives from some nautical activity. Ropes are often called lines aboard ship and a tow-line is just a line used to tow something on the water. But the phrase is probably nothing to do with ropes. In fact, the exact source is unclear but the phrase is generally taken to derive from the idea of lining up for a sporting activity, i.e. to place your toe on the line for the start of a race. By doing so you are following the rules set out for the activity. There are other theories as to the origins of the phrase. It may derive from boxing, with early prize-fighters having to stand with one foot on a scratched line on the ground to fight. Others have claimed that it derives from the British House of Commons, where lines are marked on the ground to prevent more adversarial debates from getting out of hand. Whatever the true origin of the phrase, the spelling should be toe and not tow. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Fly, Flew, (has) FlownFlied?15 Words for Household Rooms, and Their SynonymsHow to Address Your Elders, Your Doctor, Young Children... and Your CEO

Monday, March 2, 2020

Site, Sight, and the Spell Check Syndrome

Site, Sight, and the Spell Check Syndrome Site, Sight, and the Spell Check Syndrome Site, Sight, and the Spell Check Syndrome By Maeve Maddox Today I found a plastic bag on my front door. A yellow sticker identified it as a bag for the Scouting Food Drive. Being a writer and a grammar nazi, I never just glance at things like this. It is my curse to read labels in their entirety. In small print I was instructed to leave the bag, with food inside, in plain site on my porch. My first surge of censure was for the Scout leaders who had submitted incorrect copy to the printer. The second surge was for the printer who hadnt bothered to read the copy for errors before printing it. Then, at the very bottom of the sticker, I saw that the printing had been donated by a local corporate entity, a very large company with international sales. Im sure it must employ educated people to see to such things as printing and advertising. So why in plain site and not, as the context called for, in plain sight? Id bet that the person responsible knows the difference between site and sight and would redden in embarrassment if called on it. I think the error is a symptom of Spell Check Syndrome. Spell check catches only those misspellings that do not represent any word at all. It will catch such howlers as recieve, seperate, and dalmation, but not homonyms like site/sight, and rite/right. Computers are great, but they are no substitute for the human brain. Run spell check by all means. But then run your own eyes over your writing before submitting it. In its usual use, site (noun) is an area, a piece of ground, a place: This is the site of a prehistoric village. As a noun, sight is the sense of vision, or something seen: Louis Braille lost his sight at the age of three. A favorite tourist sight is the Tower of London. Sight can also refer to the device on a gun that helps one to aim: The sight on this rifle is slightly bent. Sight can be a verb: Tell me when you sight the buffalo herd. Sight occurs in several idioms: Keep the enemy in sight. Youre a sight for sore eyes (i.e., a welcome sight). His newest book is out of sight (beyond comparison)! (slang) Dear me, you look a sight (have a bedraggled or disreputable appearance)! Theyve got a sight of grandchildren (a great many). (dialect) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What is the Difference Between "These" and "Those"?"Latter," not "Ladder"List of 50 Compliments and Nice Things to Say!

Saturday, February 15, 2020

Sense of Self Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Sense of Self - Essay Example His mindset concentrates deep and far away from the physical world. His plight for revenge against his uncle Claudius and his mother was delayed by his mindset being deep and far away from the physical world. He relates to other characters in the play through individualism of self. What makes Hamlet so distinctive from others is how he shows himself to others with all his human flaws. Every time Hamlet wakes up, his mind was preoccupied with his own thoughts something that intensifies his feelings and perceptions in everywhere he saw imperfections, worry, tension and confusion. This situation makes it impossible for him to solve his problems easily (Lee 174-178). Hamlet’ssense of self is shown his deep thoughts where although he knew Claudius killed his father and was not a noble king like his father, he does not want to kill him because he wanted to avoid civil war. Hamlet does not wish to plunge his country with chaos because of his own personal turmoil. He realized that this would happen when he kills Claudius. He also fails to combine the spiritual (in the form of his father’s ghost) with the situations that surrounds him every day. The ghost persuades him to take revenge of his father’s death but for him being a humanitarian and taking in to account his responsibilities as a prince and future king, hamlet avoids all this pressure to kill Claudius (Taylor 206). Hamlet was a thinking man, along the play he is shown to be always thinking about the things that lay ahead of him. Unfortunately, when the time to act came, he always pulled back because of his urge to believe. His capacity to think becomes a handicap to him rather than an advantage and the most painful or tragic part is that he was aware of his weakness. In act five scene one, Hamlet looked at the bones of many of the graveyards occupants including that of the great powerful Alexander and concludes that the

Sunday, February 2, 2020

Maternal Death Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Maternal Death - Research Paper Example Those deaths occurring to women during pregnancy but are not related in any way to that pregnancy are referred to as accidental. However, many other definitions are contrary to this. Such definitions offer an extension of the duration for consideration after the termination of the pregnancy to one year. Other definitions incorporate incidental and accidental deaths of pregnant women as maternal death (Temmerman & Verstraelen, 2004). Therefore, there lacks a universal definition of maternal death. As such, the issue of maternal death is complex, starting from its definition, to its causes. While there is wide range of information sources regarding maternal death, the sources have not tackled the subject comprehensively, with a gap being left for more research to be undertaken in this field (Temmerman & Verstraelen, 2004). Although it is a complex issue, there is much that is known about maternal death. One of the issues well studied and understood is the causes of this death. The remedies to these causes have also been researched and developed. The direct causes attributable to this death include bleeding. This is known to account for 25% of all maternal deaths (Thaddeus, 1994). This bleeding is caused by hemorrhage or deep vein thrombosis. A lack of skilled medical care during birth could also lead to bleeding, since cuts could be made in a way they are not supposed to be made. If not addressed, bleeding can kill a woman within two hours after birth. Therefore, it is supposed to be addressed immediately it is discovered, through the injection of oxytocin immediately after birth. The other cause of maternal death has been observed to be infections, which normally occurs after birth. After birth infections, accounts for 13% of all known maternal death (Temmerman & Verstraelen, 2004). Therefore, it can be prevented through the observation of hygiene after the birth of the child by a woman. If the signs of infections are discovered earlier, then seeking medical attention is important to eliminate infection related deaths. High blood pressure is another cause of maternal death, which accounts for 12% of such deaths in women. This needs to be discovered and managed earlier, just before it causes convulsions and other complications to the pregnant woman. The effects of high blood pressure can be lowered through the administration of magnesium sulfate, which lowers the risk of developing the high blood pressure in pregnant women (Temmerman & Verstraelen, 2004). Obstructed labor is another cause of maternal death. This mostly occurs when the head of the unborn child is too big for its mother’s pelvis. It can also occur, on the event that the baby is poorly positioned in the uterus (Huron, 2005). It is known to cause 8% of all maternal deaths and as a result needs to be controlled . Obstructed labor can be addressed by the use of partograph, which detects the conditions of a baby before birth. When observed that the conditions are likely to cause prolonged labor pain, then a caesarian delivery can be opted for, to reduce risks associated with obstructed labor for the mother and the child. There are other causes of maternal deaths, which are classified as indirect. They include diseases

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Communication and Culture Essay -- Philosophy, Taoism

Scholars from the indigenous psychology and philosophy field noted that explanations of the differences between the East and West, such as individualism/collectivism, have relied most exclusively on theoretical constructs generated in Western cultural contexts (Cheng, 1987; Cushman & Kincaid, 1987; Peng, Spencer-Rodgers, & Nian, 2006). Peng and his colleagues argued that indigenous concepts need to be introduced into the mainstream study, and the cultural differences between Western and Eastern people in the domains of thinking and reasoning can be attributed to differences between Western and Eastern folk epistemologies (Peng et al., 2006). Moreover, communication theory can be explored from both Western and Eastern perspectives by bringing in philosophical thoughts (Cushman & Kincaid, 1987). With its rich background and insights into human nature and human understanding, philosophy can make contributions to contemporary communication theory by recognizing the crucial nece ssity of the human context for communication (Cushman & Kincaid, 1987). Cheng (1987) noted that by bringing in philosophical perspective, the way of communication can be understood in a much broader sense. For instance, when comparing the differences between the West and China, scholars pointed out that while Chinese thinking and reasoning are mainly guided by folk version of Taoism and Ch’an Buddhism, Western thinking and reasoning are mostly Aristotelian in spirit (Cheng, 1987; Peng et al., 2006). The theoretical foundation of Taoism belief is the idea that two opposites are mutually dependent on each other (Peng et al., 2006). This mutual dependence can be found between form and substance, between knowledge and action, and between symbol and e... ...ive emphasizes selflessness and submission to central authority as the institutional means for achieving unity and harmony between man, and nature and this is the principle goal for communication. In contrast, the Western perspective emphasizes self-cultivation and the subjugation of human and natural resources to individual control as the central means for achieving individual and group goal attainment. According to the Eastern perspective, an individual's participation in a collective institutional structure motivates human action and human communication, therefore, serves for the need of participation (Cushman & Kincaid, 2006). According the Western perspective, an individual's desire for political, social, and economic self-realization actuates human action and human communication, therefore, serves for the need of self-realization (Cushman & Kincaid, 2006).

Friday, January 17, 2020

History Ia (Ib) on Russo-Japanese War and Its Effect on the 1905 Revolution Essay

Russia during the 19th century was considered to be the mystical land of the Great Tsars and Tsarina’s. It long held the imagination of visitors and storytellers alike from its grand courts and palaces to its superb Caviar, Vodka and Faberge eggs. Russia was also the land of magic and superstition due to the powerful presence of the Russian Orthodox Church. But life for the most of Russia was not as starry and glamorous as described above. In fact the oppressive autocratic system was still living in the medieval age with poor peasant and serfs slaving for whatever little their rich masters would allow them. Most Russians lived in abject poverty and oppression and had little chance to advance. Russia was also the last to start its rise as an industrial power and relied mainly on the agrarian industry. Russia previously famed military now laid idle and ill trained to fight modern battles. Unknown to the Tsar and Russia the world has long left Russia in the rotten medieval age and had moved on. During the first half of the 20th century witnessed some repercussion in the mindset of the Russian bourgeois towards the oppressive Tsardom. The first strike came in 1905 through a revolution. Several factors contributed towards this revolution among them special mention is to be given for the Russo Japanese war. Through this essay I am attempting to dig out the possible connection between the war and the Revolution of 1905. The Russo-Japanese War was from 1904-1905, it was caused due to Japans and Russia’s desire for expansion and dominance in Korea and Manchuria. Russia suffered many defeats in this war, against a nation that was considered inferior and was not one of the Great Powers. This humiliated the people of Russia who were a proud group of people who always believed to fight to the last man and never give up. This loss caused them to lose confidence in Tsar Nicholas II and created great military, economic, and political problems for Russia. This caused the Russo-Japanese War to be partly responsible for the outbreak of the Revolution of 1905. Huge military defeats in the Russo-Japanese War, which outlined the weakness of the military once famed for its excellent discipline and technologically weapons such as the moisan nagant resulted in national humiliation, thus contributing to the outbreak of the 1905 Revolution. An example of such a defeat was in January 1905 when the Army surrendered Port Arthur even though they had enough food and ammunition for 3 more months, this is was a great dishonor for Russia as surrender is against Russia military doctrine till date. This is believed to be because of the divide in the commanders of Port Arthur. They had taken Port Arthur at start of the war due to a treaty made with China. Another example of the failure of the military was at the Battle of Tsushima. The Russian Baltic fleet had sailed from Northern Europe to the Far East to help the Defenders of Port Arthur only to be defeated by the Japanese navy. The brutal destruction of Russian’s military added to the Revolution of 1905, as it made the people of Russia aware of the weakness of their military and made them ashamed to be Russian as Russia was the first European nation to lose a battle to any Asian country. They were losing to a nation very few had heard of and though to be inferior. However, many of the defeats to the Russian military occurred after the Revolution had started, not causing its outbreak, but added to the opposition to autocratic rule by the Tsar. The Russo-Japanese War also brought about significant economic problems to Russia, and this therefore meant there was a significant lack of funds to solve any other problems, which were present Russia, hence partly being responsible for the outbreak of the Revolution of 1905. The war cost a huge amount of money. As it resulted in failure no money could be gained from the invaded territories. Russia had already had economic problems, and its economy was still far behind that of other European Nations. Further more the lack of funds meant that Tsar could not do anything about the living and working conditions in Russia, or the problems in the rural areas of Russia. Also the economic problems brought about shame for all Russians and by Russia’s being unable to solve any of its other problems due to financial constraints were also responsible for the 1905 revolution. The political implications of the Russo-Japanese War perhaps were the most important reason as to why this war is considered to be responsible for the outbreak of the Revolution of 1905. The war was fought in the very far eastern reaches of the country, far away from where the majority of the population lived, and they must have felt removed from it, especially as news was still slow to travel, as Russia did not use modern methods of communication. There was therefore little public enthusiasm for the war. Many people felt there was little justification for it: public opinion was not on the side of the war. Moreover, the military was very ill equipped for the war and was malnourished and did not have the appropriate technology. This showed to the people of Russia the government’s failings, and caused people to turn away from the Tsar as a leader and move onto political groups who were prepared to take any means necessary action to their aims. The political implications of the Russo-Japanese War helped cause the Revolution of 1905 because the public did not support it and people therefore lost faith in the Tsar and looked in other places to groups that could possibly rule instead of the Tsar. Another reason for the outbreak of the Revolution of 1905 was the growth of opposition groups to the Tsar. These groups gradually became more organized. The four main groups were the Populists, Social Democrats, Social Revolutionaries and the Liberals. These groups were slowly providing more opposition, in particular the Social Revolutionaries. Between 1901 and 1905 this group was responsible for a wave of political assassinations such as that of Plehve, the Minister of the Interior and Grand Duke Sergei. These opposition groups were becoming more widely known and provided an alternative to rule to autocratic rule by the Tsar. Their cause was furthered by the dissatisfactions with the Tsar’s methods of ruling especially since the news of his wife controlling him and Rasputin controlling her and having sexual relations with her. Another reason for the Revolution of 1905 was the lack of constitutional reform. It was only through extreme measures that the population of Russia could make their views known to the Tsar. There were no elected parliament and since Alexander III had passed the Statute of State Security Act and the Zemstva Act barely any percent of the population had any say in the war Russia was governed. Therefore their growing dissent caused by events such as the Russo-Japanese War and expressed through opposition groups could only be shown by violence towards the Tsar and his government. The lack of constitutional reform pushed something as extreme as a revolution to occur, as there was no other way for the people to influence the government other than using force. The personality of Nicholas II also added to the outbreak of the Revolution of 1905. Nicholas II did not have the personal qualities necessary to lead Russia. He was said to be quiet, and easily led. He was not at all charismatic and this did nothing to be loved by the people of Russia. This lead to the hatred towards the Tsar. Nicholas II had a very narrow, conservative view, partly due to his tutor having been Konstantin who was Slavophil. This meant that he was unable to empathize with the groups that made liberal demands for equality and justice. He did not understand them. Those around him also easily influenced him and he had harbored deep hatred for the Japanese due to an assassination attempt, which eventually lead to the Russo-Japanese War furthered by economic and strategic advantages for Russia. The economic problems in most of Russia were another reason for the outbreak of the Revolution of 1905. Both peasants and the landowners were suffering. Agriculture systems were very backward when compared to that of other countries, as under the Witte system nothing was done to improve it. Therefore the land was not cultivated properly, and famines occurred quite regularly. The peasants were free after the Emancipation of Serfs Act in 1861, but they were bound to Mirs and could not leave without permission. Also the redemption payments for the land were very high and still enslaved them. The landowners were also suffering: they had lost free labor, and with the selling of the land to the government, many of them were in deep debt. They too were dissatisfied with the Tsar. Nicholas II was unable to help neither the peasants nor the landowners: after the Russo-Japanese War money was an issue. The discontent, resulting from these economic issues, in rural areas partly contributed to the event of the Revolution. Another main cause of the Revolution of 1905 was industrializations when factories were made people flocked to the cities: Moscow, for example, doubled in population but Living and working conditions were extremely bad and because of this huge population growth it lead to overpopulation and crime. This caused the peasants to hate the Tsar. Industrialization therefore caused deep resentment for the Tsar, and added to the resentment caused by the Russo-Japanese War and the economic problems. Bloody Sunday was a short-term cause of Revolution. It happened when a large group of peaceful protestors under Father Gapon marched to outside the winter palace in St. Petersburg with a petition that would improve their working conditions. Father Gapon, who is believed to be a double agent working for the Okhrana, led the crowd and the Tsar feared he might have switched sides to the Liberals. The Tsar therefore ordered the Cossacks who were the Tsars Personal Guard to open fire upon these demonstrators, and about 300 protestors were killed, including women and children. It was a massacre. It led to wide public outrage, not just from revolutionaries and radical that a peaceful demonstration had led to such an event. After Bloody Sunday, many of the surviving demonstrators were exiled from St. Petersburg. This furthered public outrage, and damaged the Tsar’s popularity. He was no longer trusted and the Bloody Sunday was the spark that ignited the 1905 Revolution. In conclusion, the Russo-Japanese War was certainly a main factor responsible for the outbreak of the Revolution. It caused military, political and severe economic problems that contributed to the Revolution. However, many of the events of it such as the defeats, occurred after the Revolution had started. The greatest effects therefore of the Russo-Japanese War occurred after the Revolution had started, prolonging and worsening it, rather than causing it. There were also many other factors that caused the Revolution, the most important of these being industrialization and the economic trouble. These contributed more to the start of the Revolution than any other factors including the Russo-Japanese War because it exposed a problem that was present in Russia, and by that itself it would have eventually caused the revolution. By itself the Russo-Japanese War would have not been able to be the main cause of the Revolution of 1905. Therefore the Russo-Japanese War was somewhat responsible for the Revolution but not as important as other factors discussed above.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Understanding Employment, Inflation And Gdp - 853 Words

Michael Tweddle Professor Clayman Macroeconomics 19 February 2016 Understanding Employment, Inflation and GDP In the months of June and July during the year 2011, the total number the total number of people employed declined by 155,000. Meaning that that many people either quit or lost their job. But, in that same year the unemployment rate happened to decrease. The Decline of such number was most likely due to the banking failure during 2008 all the way to 2011. This would cause a cyclical unemployment issue due to the market falling under. Causing the businesses no other choice than to let people go during this economic hardship due to not being able to keep up with their net income and net losses. With that happening, most economist and investors would expect none other than the unemployment rate to increase. Thus, that wasn’t such case. Instead the unemployment rate decreased during that period. This could have happened from two of many different possibilities. The first being the gradual decrease of the United States p opulation growth due to the baby boomer generation decreasing, causing the total population to decrease and causing a lower number of employees. The second choice being that of those 155,000 employees who were laid off, most didn’t try to look for new jobs and became what we call discouraged workers. With that happening, since economist don’t put discouraged worker in the workforce equation, the previous number of total workforce decreased. There areShow MoreRelatedThe Canadian Economy And Canadian s Quality Of Life1447 Words   |  6 Pageseffects of the manufacturing industry on gross domestic product (GDP), inflation and unemployment. Through analysis of the three subtopics, the reader will get a better understanding of how the manufacturing industry is â€Å"reacting† to these factors. There will also be information on the ties of inflation unemployment to GDP, because GDP gives an accurate picture of an economies health. 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