Conjugation of Pedir, Servir, and Vestir

Conjugation of Pedir, Servir, and Vestir Pedir (to request), servir (to serve), and vestir (to dress or wear) are among the common Spanish verbs in whose conjugation the -e- in the stem sometimes changes to -i-. Other verbs that follow the pattern of pedir as shown below  include competir (to compete), despedir (to send off, among other meanings), impedir (to impede or prevent), medir (to measure), and repetir (to repeat). Irregular forms are shown below in boldface. Translations are given as a guide and in real life may vary with context. Infinitive of Pedir pedir (to request) Gerund of Pedir pidiendo (requesting) Participle of Pedir pedido (requested) Present Indicative of Pedir yo pido, tà º pides, usted/à ©l/ella pide, nosotros/as pedimos, vosotros/as pedà ­s, ustedes/ellos/ellas piden (I request, you request, he requests, etc.) Preterite of Pedir yo pedà ­, tà º pediste, usted/à ©l/ella pidià ³, nosotros/as pedimos, vosotros/as pedisteis, ustedes/ellos/ellas pidieron (I requested, you requested, she requested, etc.) Imperfect Indicative of Pedir yo pedà ­a, tà º pedà ­as, usted/à ©l/ella pedà ­a, nosotros/as pedà ­amos, vosotros/as pedà ­ais, ustedes/ellos/ellas pedà ­an (I used to request, you used to request, he used to request, etc.) Future Indicative of Pedir yo pedirà ©, tà º pedirs, usted/à ©l/ella pedir, nosotros/as pediremos, vosotros/as pedirà ©is, ustedes/ellos/ellas pedirn (I will request, you will request, he will request, etc.) Conditional of Pedir yo pedirà ­a, tà º pedirà ­as, usted/à ©l/ella pedirà ­a, nosotros/as pedirà ­amos, vosotros/as pedirà ­ais, ustedes/ellos/ellas pedirà ­an (I would request, you would request, she would request, etc.) Present Subjunctive of Pedir que yo pida, que tà º pidas, que usted/à ©l/ella pida, que nosotros/as pidamos, que vosotros/as pidis, que ustedes/ellos/ellas pidan (that I request, that you request, that she request, etc.) Imperfect Subjunctive of Pedir que yo pidiera (pidiese), que tà º pidieras (pidieses), que usted/à ©l/ella pidiera (pidiese), que nosotros/as pidià ©ramos (pidià ©semos), que vosotros/as pidierais (pidieseis), que ustedes/ellos/ellas pidieran (that I requested, that you requested, that he requested, etc.) Imperative of Pedir pide (tà º), no pidas (tà º), pida (usted), pidamos (nosotros/as), pedid (vosotros/as), no pidis (vosotros/as), pidan (ustedes) (request, dont request, request, lets request, etc.) Compound Tenses of Pedir The perfect tenses are made by using the appropriate form of haber and the past participle, pedido. The progressive tenses use estar with the gerund, pidiendo. Sample Sentences Showing Conjugation of Pedir and Similarly Conjugated Verbs No podemos retener a extranjeros que no quieren pedir asilo. (We cant keep holding foreigners who dont wish to ask for asylum. Infinitive.) Hay muchas veces en las que ella y su madre se han vestido igual. (There are many times in which she and her mother have dressed alike. Present perfect.) La ley no impide venta de alcohol cerca de las escuelas. (The law doesnt prevent alcohol sales near schools.  Present indicative.) Estoy satisfecho con estos resultados porque los muchachos compitieron en contra de los mejores del paà ­s. (Im satisfied with these results because the boys competed against the countrys best. Preterite.) Durante la Segunda Guerra Mundial hubo enormes aviones que servà ­an como bombarderos, volaban sobre el enemigo. (During World War II there were huge airplanes that served as bombers, flying over the enemy. Imperfect.)  ¿Se repetir la historia? (Will history repeat itself? Future.) No vas a creer lo que estn vistiendo. (You wont believe what theyre wearing. Gerund.) Rodrà ­guez insistià ³ en que su partido pedirà ­a a los catalanes que votaran sà ­ a quedarse en Espaà ±a. (Rodrà ­guez insisted that his party would ask Catalonians to vote yes to remaining in Spain. Conditional.) Es violatorio de la Constitucià ³n que impidan el derecho a las protestas. (It violates the Constitution for them to impede the right to protest. Present subjunctive.) Quisiera unos padres que no midieran el tiempo al estar conmigo. (I wanted parents who wouldnt ration their time being with me. Imperfect subjunctive.) No pidas perdà ³n. (Dont ask for forgiveness. Imperative.)

What Happens If the Presidential Election Is a Tie

What Happens If the Presidential Election Is a Tie In four instances, the Electoral College, not the popular vote, has determined the outcome of a presidential election. Although there has never been a tie, the U.S. Constitution outlines a process for resolving such a scenario. Heres what would happen and who the players involved are if the 538 electors sit down after the election and vote 269 to 269. The U.S. Constitution When the U.S. first gained its independence, Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution outlined the process for selecting electors and the process by which they would select a president. At the time, electors could vote for two different candidates for president; whoever lost that vote would become vice president. This led to serious controversies in the elections of 1796 and 1800. In response, U.S. Congress ratified the 12th Amendment in 1804. The amendment clarified the process by which electors should vote. More importantly, it described what to do in the event of an electoral tie. The amendment states that the House of Representatives shall choose immediately, by ballot, the President† and â€Å"the Senate shall choose the Vice-President. The process is also used in the event that no candidate wins 270 or more Electoral College votes. The House of Representatives As directed by the 12th Amendment, the 435 members of the House of Representatives must make their first official duty the selection of the next president. Unlike the Electoral College system, where larger population equals more votes, each of the 50 states in the House gets exactly one vote when selecting the president. It is up to the delegation of representatives from each state to decide how their state will cast its one and only vote. Smaller states like Wyoming, Montana, and Vermont, with only one representative, wield as much power as California or New York. The District of Columbia does not get a vote in this process. The first candidate to win the votes of any 26 states is the new president. The 12th Amendment gives the House until the fourth day of March to select a president. The Senate At the same time that the House is selecting the new president, the Senate must select the new vice president. Each of the 100 senators gets one vote, with a simple majority of 51 senators required to select the vice president. Unlike the House, the 12th Amendment places no time limit on the Senates selection of a vice president. If There Is Still a Tie With 50 votes in the House and 100 votes in the Senate, there could still be tie votes for both president and vice president. Under the 12th Amendment, as amended by the 20th Amendment, if the House has failed to select a new president by Jan. 20, the vice president-elect serves as acting president until the deadlock is resolved. In other words, the House keeps voting until the tie is broken. This assumes that the Senate has selected a new vice president. If the Senate has failed to break a 50-50 tie for vice president, the Presidential Succession Act of 1947 specifies that the Speaker of the House will serve as acting president until tie votes in both the House and Senate have been broken. Past Election Controversies In the controversial 1800 presidential election, an Electoral College tie vote occurred between Thomas Jefferson and his running mate,  Aaron Burr. The tie-breaking vote made Jefferson president, with Burr declared vice president, as the Constitution required at the time. In 1824, none of the four candidates won the required majority vote in the Electoral College. The House elected  John Quincy Adams president despite the fact that Andrew Jackson had won the popular vote and the most electoral votes. In 1837, none of the vice presidential candidates won a majority in the Electoral College. The Senate vote made Richard Mentor Johnson vice president over Francis Granger. Since then, there have been some very close calls. In 1876, Rutherford B. Hayes defeated Samuel Tilden by a single electoral vote, 185 to 184. And in 2000, George W. Bush defeated Al Gore by 271 to 266 electoral votes in an election that ended in the Supreme Court.

Writing Assignment # 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 1

Writing Assignment # 2 - Essay Example There can be a perfect addition, removal, or change of vital generic elements by the use of modern biotechnology techniques (David &Thompson, 2008). Because genes are common to the life on earth, there is a possibility that the transfer of genes from one organism to another and even between non-related species occurs perfectly. From the above scientific principles, it is evident that this manipulation can produce a product with new characteristics that probably have advantages. Genetic engineering refers to the use of elements of modern biotechnology and molecular biology to come up with new characteristics or traits into an organism. Competent researchers can use these implements to introduce new generic elements, or remove or modify prevailing hereditary material to present the proposed, new characteristics o or traits. The traits that are induced into the plant or animals are always having wanted characteristics thus being economically beneficial and friendly (Sanderson, 2007). The major purpose of genetic engineering is to enable scientists or researchers to introduce a much wider concept of new traits into an organism (plant or animal) than it is possible by natural breeding. These traits are always the best that an individual may want an organism to possess thus boosting the level or rate of production. For instance, in agriculture it makes crops to have traits of being resistant to certain pests and diseases. In medicine, there might be the development of microbes that can produce pharmaceuticals for proper human or animal usage. Finally in foods, the concept of genetic engineering helps in the production of microorganisms that facilitates brewing, cheese making and baking. For the creation of genetically modified organism, three main components should be available. These are the gene that should be transferred, the organism to put it into or the target species, and the vector to carry the gene into the target species cells. The steps for

Article Critique Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Article Critique - Research Paper Example Who are the subjects? The participants were divided into two sub-samples in accordance with their grades. Overall, 590 students (both males and females) of first, second and third grades (including 237 students with mild disabilities) were involved in the research. What procedures did the authors use? The participants completed social subscales of the CBSK and the Pictorial Scale depending on the grade to assess social self-perception. They completed rating scales to assess acceptance by classmates. The participants had to nominate up to five of their classmates as their friends. Observations were also used and students were observed during classes. What are the results of the study? Koster et al. (2010) report the following results: there is no significant difference between social participation among students with different disabilities. It was also found that the size of social participation of students without disabilities was significantly larger than that of students with disabilities. What are the final conclusions of the study? Koster et al. (2010) conclude that inclusion can be an inefficient approach but further research is required as it is not known whether students have the same social participation in special educational establishments. Was the article written for the general audience of the journal? In the first place, it is necessary to note that the article can be appropriate for a wide audience. Although there are some terms and significant number of data, educators, researchers as well as parents can benefit from reading the article. Did the work clearly answer the research questions? The article is relevant and well-grounded. It includes direct answers to the research questions as Koster et al. (2010) report that there is no difference in social participation among different categories of students and that there is significant

A View from a Bridge Essay Example for Free

A View from a Bridge Essay I feel sorry for Eddie Carbone to a certain extent in A View from the Bridge because what he does is to protect his niece Catherine but in some parts of the play he deserves it. I feel sorry for Eddie Carbone because what he does is to protect his niece. Eddie has taken care of Catherine and he tries to hide her away from the outside world, he doesn’t want her to grow up. At the start of the play Eddie’s character is portrayed as a kind but quite over protective of Catherine, you see Eddie as a caring father-figure to Catherine so you assume he loves her as his own daughter. You can tell by the way he talks to her and how interested he is when she speaks. At the point where Catherine tells Eddie that she has got a job he becomes very concerned because he thinks she can do better but she will also attract a lot of men’s attention where she will work. I feel sorry for Eddie at this point in the play because he finds it hard to admit that Catherine is growing up, I guess I just never figured that you would ever grow up. Later on in the play when the cousins arrive Catherine is taking too much interest in Rodolpho, you see that Eddie is getting jealous. However, I do not feel sorry for Eddie because what he does he deserves it. Eddie is very over protective of Catherine which means that he doesn’t like it when she attracts men especially after she has got a job near the docks. When the cousins arrive Catherine is interested in Rodolpho this annoys Eddie because he is trying to keep her away from.

Symbolism in To Kill a Mockingbird :: free essay writer

Symbolism in To Kill a Mockingbird  Ã‚   Harper Lee's To Kill a Mockingbird is an astounding portrayal of Southern tradition and human dignity, a novel whose themes and lessons transcend time and place. The book is narrated by a young girl named Scout who matures over the course of the story from an innocent child to a morally conscience young adult. The cover of the novel displays a knot-holed tree containing a pocket watch and a ball of yarn, accompanied by the silhouette of a mockingbird soaring over the trees through a twilight sky. The portrait on the cover is an emblem that signifies the nature of Scout's maturation and the underlying themes presented by Harper Lee. Lee's signified themes, ethically rich and profoundly humane, epitomize traditional Southern mentality. The story commences during the summer in Maycomb County, Alabama, in a children's world. Scout is a young girl around the age of ten and her older brother Jem is about thirteen. Their summer days consist of playing make believe, fictional games from dawn until dusk with their friend, Dill, from Montgomery, Alabama. In the child's world, the twilight sky represents the rising sun, the dawn of a new day, and the commencement of a full day of children's games and activities. The child's world that exists during the daytime is a world flourishing with innocence and simplicity. However, the daytime is the only time when the child's world exists, for when the sun falls, curfews draw Scout, Jem, and Dill back to their homes for the evening. When daylight fades and the moon begins to rise, the games subside and the make believe, fictional world ceases to exist until following morning. The twilight sky portrayed on the cover represents a rising sun, and thus, the inconsequential child's world . The knot-holed tree housing the pocket watch and the ball of yarn portrayed on the cover is another signifier for the child's world. The tree is on the edge of the Radley property and the pocket watch and ball of yarn within it were placed there by Boo Radley. Boo is an instrumental character to the make believe child's world because of the great ambiguity and elusiveness that he represents. Neither Scout, Jem nor Dill has ever seen Boo Radley; all they know about him are the stories they have heard from Miss Stephanie Crawford, their neighbor and potentially reliable source.

Henry Morton Stanley

Nathan C. Thompson EUH1001 Feb 28, 2012 Dr. W. Moody Henry Morton Stanley Born John Rowlands in Wales, or as those of his time knew him as Henry Morton Stanley; was the illegitimate son of John Rowlands and Elizabeth Parry. He grew up partly in the charge of reluctant relatives, partly in St. Asaph Workhouse. After his interlude of dependence on relatives, he sailed from Liverpool as a cabin boy, landing at New Orleans in 1859. There Rowlands was befriended by a merchant, Henry Hope Stanley, whose first and last names the boy adopted in an apparent effort to make a fresh start in life with a new identity; â€Å"Morton† was added later.For some years Stanley led a roving life; a soldier in the American Civil War, a seaman on merchant ships and in the U. S. Navy, a journalist in the early days of frontier expansion. In 1867 Stanley offered his services to James Gordon Bennett of the New York Herald as a special correspondent with the British expeditionary force sent against Tewo dros II of Ethiopia, and Stanley was the first to report the fall of Magdala in 1868.An assignment to report the Spanish Civil War followed, and in 1869 he received instructions to undertake a roving commission in the Middle East, which was to include the relief of Dr. David Livingstone, of whom little had been heard since his departure for Africa in 1866 to search for the source of the Nile. On Jan. 6, 1871, Stanley reached Zanzibar, the starting point for expeditions to the interior, and, intent on a scoop, left on March 21 without disclosing his intentions.His secretive conduct caused much offense to the authorities, especially to Sir John Kirk, the British consul, who had been having difficulty in making contact with Livingstone. Leading a well-equipped caravan and backed by American money, Stanley forced his way through country disturbed by fighting and stricken by sickness to Ujiji on Lake Tanganyika, Livingstone's last known port of call. There he found the old hero, ill and short of supplies, and greeted him with the famous words â€Å"Dr. Livingstone, I presume? A cordial friendship sprang up between the two men, and when Stanley returned to the coast he dispatched fresh supplies to enable Livingstone to carry on. The older man's quest ended a year later with his death in the swamps of Lake Bangweulu still vainly seeking the Nile in a region that in fact gives rise to the Congo (Zaire) River. When Livingstone died in 1873, Stanley resolved to take up the exploration of Africa where he had left off. The problem of the Nile sources and the nature of the central African lakes had been only partly solved by earlier explorers.Stanley secured financial backing from the New York Herald and the Daily Telegraph of London for an expedition to pursue the quest, and the caravan left Zanzibar on Nov. 12, 1874, heading for Lake Victoria. His visit to King Mutesa I of Buganda led to the admission of Christian missionaries to the area in 1877 and to the eventual est ablishment of a British protectorate in Uganda. Circumnavigating Lake Victoria, Stanley confirmed the explorer John H. Speke's estimate of its size and importance.Skirmishes with suspicious tribes people on the lakeshore, which resulted in a number of casualties, gave rise in England to criticism of this new kind of traveler with his journalist's outlook and forceful methods. Lake Tanganyika was next explored and found to have no connection with the Nile system. Stanley and his men pressed on west to the Lualaba River (the very river that Livingstone had hoped was the Nile but that proved to be the headstream of the Congo).There they joined forces with the Arab trader Tippu Tib, who accompanied them for a few laps downriver, then left Stanley to fight his way first to Stanley Pool (now Malebo Pool) and then (partly overland) down to the great cataracts he named Livingstone Falls. Stanley and his men reached the sea on Aug. 12, 1877. Failing to enlist British interests in the develop ment of the Congo, Stanley took service with the king of Belgium, Leopold II, whose secret ambition it was to annex the region for himself.From August 1879 to June 1884 Stanley was in the Congo basin, where he built a road from the lower Congo up to Stanley Pool and launched steamers on the upper river. (It is from this period, when Stanley persevered in the face of great difficulties, that he earned, from his men, the nickname of Bula Matari [â€Å"Breaker of Rocks†]). Originally under international auspices, Stanley's work was to pave the way for the creation of the Congo Free State, under the sovereignty of King Leopold.Author Laura Benet does not disappoint us with this extensive study formerly know John Rowlands in Wales, Stanley's boyhood was harried by poverty, by relatives who treated him as a thorn in the side and by tough years in a workhouse- not the best of conditions for growing up. Amazingly unembittered by this, John went as a youth to New Orleans and had the g ood fortune to go to work for Henry Morton Stanley, a southern merchant who adopted him and whose name John later took. Still another set back, the Civil War, was not enough to dispirit the new Henry Stanley, who found himself in post war years a reporter for the New York Herald.First assignments sent him to Abyssinia and Spain and then the hunt for Livingstone geared the rest of his life as the reporter explorer who left his mark on the opening up of Africa. For an exciting biography, the author dug deep into Stanley's life and made him a full personality in these pages, without ignoring the challenges each journey entailed. I personally found this book to be a very interesting read, it kept me intrigued and involved with an attraction that intensified with each depiction of the stories.I would recommend this book to all readers young and old. For the summary I chose stories about Stanley's most memorable adventures like the search for Livingston, the journey through Africa, and Ki ng Leopold's covert purchase of African territory for best locations. Those stories really helped put Stanley into greatness due to the impact they made, he saved David Livingston, a Nation hero; also help jump start the â€Å"Race for Africa† for King Leopold; all this aside from the fact that he was quite the reporter/adventure/identity thief.

Technology and Ethics

While there is a robust debate in American society over the relation between technology and such ethical issues as democracy, localism and the environment, the introduction of technologies admits of no debate. Jerry Mander writes, â€Å"It is a melancholy fact that in our society the first waves of descriptions about new technologies invariably come from the corporations and scientists who invent and market these technologies and who have much to gain by our accepting a positive view† (Mander, 1996, 345). This is a central point: the basic issue is that the introduction of new technologies is far removed from any real democratic discussion. Such discussion always occurs in a sterile environment, always after the fact.For example, the development and mass production of the automobile was hailed almost universally as a revolutionary development. It was supposed to provide freedom of movement and make our world smaller. Such slogans also met the development of air travel, televis ion and the internet. Such things were accepted in society almost without discussion, save for a few marginalized traditionalists and agrarians who were speaking into the wind. Nevertheless, the automobile has recreated the American landscape, demanded thousands of miles of paved roads, brought civilization to small towns whether they wanted it or not, killed many millions in traffic accidents worldwide, massively increased the dependence on oil and created a massive oligarchy of corporate capital who benefits from all this.It [industrialism] also led, and leads. . . to social and political consequences: the squeezing of farm populations and the uncontrollable growth of cities, the evisceration of self-reliant communities, the enlargement of central governments, the enthronement of science as ruling ideology, a wide and increasing gap between rich and poor, and ruling values of profit, growth, property, and consumption. (Sale, 1996)Now, the general point is had all of this been know n (or theorized) in 1920, and a national discussion had taken place, would we have the mass production of automobiles?Has it, ultimately, been a good thing? Often, the common response is that â€Å"you can’t stop progress.† Such a slogan is saturated with cynicism and amorality, as if technologies were some seismic phenomenon as natural as photosynthesis. Progress is something that is, as Mander says, dictated by a handful of major corporate and government agencies who decide what shape progress will take.In addition, Mander also holds that technologies, such as nuclear power and air travel, are inherently biased politically. He writes, â€Å"To build and operate nuclear power plants requires a large, highly technical and very well-financed infrastructure. . . It can only be done by huge, centralized institutions. Without such institutions, nuclear power could not exist† (Mander, 2006, 347). Mander sees the same problems in the development of the internet.Such s peed in communications and access to information does little but assist the continued centralization of political and economic power. â€Å"In fact, it is my opinion that computer technology may be the single most important instrument ever invented for the acceleration of centralized power. While we sit at our PCs. . . .transnational corporations are using their global networks, fed by far greater resources. . . .they operate on a scale and at a speed that makes our own level of cyber-empowerment seem pathetic by comparison† (Mander, 2006, 355).Even more, such global interconnectedness, long lauded as a path to freedom and unity, brings instead, cultural leveling and a destruction of diversity. The computer revolution is a revolution that permits a handful of major cultural centers such as Hollywood to impose their view of the world into every corner of the world, and the results of this are just beginning to be seen. The issue of Hollywood and New York imposing its view of t he world to the plant is a given: the facts speak for themselves. But one then must grapple with the issue of whether or not this is a good thing? What gives Hollywood the right?The general point is that the mega-technologies have brought the world closer together and sped up the speed at which we receive information. But what are the concrete results? Could any of these results have been foreseen in the late 1970s when this technology was being developed? And if not, what does this say about democratic governance? After all, computers and automobiles have revolutionized our society with far more direct results than who gets elected president. But again, there is no democratic control over these intimate invasions of our lives and the technologies themselves not only assume centralized control, but provide the agencies of centralization with greater and greater resources.Mander’s thesis is that technology is already biased in terms of centralization and statism. In other word s, the technological revolution, which clothed itself in the mantle of freedom and progress, in fact needs a huge centralized apparatus of physical, technical, educational, political and economic forms. The technologies that have revolutionized our society have both created and in fact, assumed the existence of a radically altered landscape that touches every element of human life.The technical apparatus that must be in place to electrify an entire continent must be huge, not to mention the standing armies that must be in place to defend the corridors of energy transmission such as oil pipelines. Technology is political, and most certainly, is not isolated from the remainder of life. Technology has, in the20th century â€Å"second industrial revolution,† touched every aspect of human life without a vote taken.All technologies have consequences, inevitable and built in, and imperatives, just as inevitable, essentially separate from human dictates and desires. Norbert Wiener, t he mathematician who was the founder of modern cybernetics, has written about â€Å"technical determinants† dictated by â€Å"the very nature† of machines, and of the steam engine he noted that it automatically leads to large and ever larger scales because it can power so many separate machines at once, to ever increasing production because it must pay back its high investment and operating costs, and to centralization and specialization because factors of efficiency and economy supersede those of, say, craftsmanship or esthetic expression. (Sale, 1996).Nevertheless, there can be no discussion of these topics without that of ideology. Technology does have its own ideology, and it needs to be â€Å"unpacked.† One might summarize this point of view this way: First, that technology has its own trajectory that is independent of the will of mankind. This can be challenged by the simple fact that all technological innovations of recent memory have been developed in a corporate setting under corporate rules for profit. Men have financed and created these things. But they have not financed or created these things blindly, as part of some â€Å"natural and inevitable process.† They have been created according to a scheme of thought.Second, this scheme of thought is that happiness is a matter of technological progress and the accumulation of capital. In other words, the person that has the better car, high tech stereos and I-Pods, must, in general, be happier than one that does not, or has older, outdated equipment. Yet, there is no evidence for this, one would have a tough time pointing to research that says people are happier or less stressed now than they were 1,000 years ago.Third,   the â€Å"market† is in control over whether or not technology is accepted and hence, democratically justifiable is often heard. In other words, the â€Å"democracy† problem is solved by the market itself. If new technologies are invented and marketed, people can choose to buy or not to buy. But is it that simple? One who buys the latest inventions is progressive, while the other is regressive. To have an 8-track player in one’s car is an occasion for mockery, regardless of the satisfaction one gets from having such â€Å"vintage† equipment. Advertising and marketing campaigns are not projected to one’s reason, but to one’s base passions, to be considered acceptable, lovable and intelligent, rather than boorish and ignorant. The acceptance or rejection of technology also partakes of these components as well.I think that in general, these arguments are universally seen as undergirding and justifying the immense power of technology in modern societies, and in fact, even defining what â€Å"modern† actually is. While technology is taken for granted, the beginnings of a serious discussion can only begin when the basic assumptions of a technological life are unpacked. What are the assumption s and promises, and to what extent has the high-tech society succeeded in meeting these expectations? It might be unreflectively held that people who lived 1,000 years ago were uniformly miserable and ignorant, yet serious research into that field has succeeded in smashing that silly myth, but it still remains the domain of eccentric specialists.Yet such a view undergirds much discussion on the question of technology and its role in society. Technology and its thought-apparatus have succeeded even in rewriting history to suit itself: people were miserable and ignorant up until the 19th century. It is difficult to see how the high-tech society can justify itself in any other way. But the nature of any â€Å"discussion† must have teeth. In other words, it must be attached to the ability of communities and families to break away from the grid and being living different, wholesome lives. Sterile academic â€Å"discussions† do nothing but justify faculty salaries. Such talk must have a revolutionary purpose, to shift the movement of progress as Bookchin sees it: from technological gigantism to miniaturism, starting with the means by which the machines are powered.Given the above arguments, Kirkpatrick Sale has written substantially on the rebellion, both historical and modern, of the land versus the machine, the ultimate bi-modality in this discussion. His argument nicely dovetails with Mander in many respects. The first question is the difference between technology and a system of production. Mander holds that there is no difference, that machinery depends on a huge, centralized system of life and thought, the â€Å"bureaucratic man.† On the other hand, Sale holds that the real revolution was in the development of the steam engine.For him, this was the first time that an invention came into existence completely independent of nature, rather than actually using it. Just as importantly, this invention also made the quantum jump from the world of local machines to an entire system of production and life. Steam created the modern factory and its discipline that derive from it (Sale, 1996). In other words, the development of steam took the organic community and plugged it into a world of production dominated by a handful of elites. But this should be noted: that it has been the issue of how machines are powered that led to the creation of the first â€Å"grid.†Again, the issue comes back to that of energy. With this, the more optimistic view of Bookchin makes more sense, since it is really not machinery per se, but the means by which they are powered that is non-liberatory in its tendency. Bookchin seems to say that the reduction of power to solar and wind sources (among other natural sources) is both inevitable (as oil runs out and coal is too dirty) and morally demanded if decentralization and true local democracy are to become a reality.In his â€Å"Five Facets of a Myth† Sale asks the simple question: has th e 400 years since the Industrial revolution produces more or less happiness for humanity (as a whole)? Has it produced more equality, more justice, less work, less stress, more mental stability, for humanity as a whole? What were the promises of the technological revolution? These arguments, from Bacon to Compte have been nothing less than plenty, peace, less work and stress, a veritable utopia of production where drudgery would disappear. Diseases would be cured, wars ended and mental illness a thing of the past. But has industrialism and technology carried through on these promises? And what has been the cost of the convenience that industry has created?It seems that Mander, Bookchin and Sale would all agree that the promises of industrialism and the technological revolution have not been fulfilled. As one sort of knowledge is brought forward, some others are left behind. All that does not conform to the English model of industrialization (or industrialization in general), is dism issively called â€Å"backward† and â€Å"primitive,† as terms of abuse.II. Society, Churches and the Technological RevolutionAs a matter of course, society seems to be a passive victim of the propaganda of the industrialists. Technology has invaded every corner of human life, altering landscapes of entire continents. All of this has been done long before any kind of debate has been engaged. This is the central problem. On the whole, churches have accepted the technological revolution with little protest. There are small exceptions: the Russian Old Believers, the Amish, some traditional Roman Catholic and Orthodox writers have detailed the problems, both moral and social, of technology and its dominance over life.One promising area of research has been developed by the green anarchists, who have taken at least some of their material from the erstwhile Murray Bookchin, who advocated a humanized technology detached from centralized structures. Solar power is the perennia l example, since it is relatively easy to install and is off a grid, in other words, it need not be connected into any larger structures of power. Bookchin, in his 1970 Post Scarcity Anarchism, contains a powerful essay called â€Å"Toward a Liberatory Technology.†The early date of this publication makes it of great interest in modern writings against the technological revolution. Bookchin is far more optimistic than Mander, and holds that the movement in this revolution is toward the small scale: computers and machinery in general are getting physically smaller and using less and less energy. This movement is a good thing and can assist in the building of a new, decentralized society (Bookchin, 1970, 59).A liberated society, I believe, will not want to negate technology precisely because it has liberated and can strike a balance. It may well want to assimilate the machine to artistic craftsmanship. By this I mean that the machine will remove the toil from the productive proc ess, leaving its artistic completion to man. The machine, in effect, will participate in human creativity. . . In a liberated community the combination of industrial machines and craftsmans tools could reach a degree of sophistication and of creative interdependence unparalleled in any period of human history (Bookchin, 1970, 80).The distinction between Mander and Bookchin in clear: For the former, technology is inherently biased, at least in its present manifestation. Mander, like Bookchin, holds that solar and wind power is the wave of the future, and, in general, can mean that life â€Å"off the grid† is quite possible, enhancing independence and local control over events. The central issue here is democracy and local control: off-grid means local control, and cultural and economic lives are not necessarily dictated by distant banks, the Federal Reserve or the global economy, none of which the average community has any control over. But in Bookchin’s case, the indus trial revolution already contains the seeds of its decentralization and hence, sees in the industrial revolution seeds of a new, liberated society. In general, by the term â€Å"liberated† Bookchin means independent of centralized sources of control.One interesting source of Christian radicalism has been the monastery. Here, especially in its Orthodox foundations, the technological revolution has been held at bay. For example, the Platina, California monastery of St. Herman is completely off grid. They have no running water or electricity, and grow most of their own food (Damascene, 2002). Their grounds are beautiful and spacious, and since they are vegetarians, hunting is prohibited (as is the case for all Orthodox monasteries). Their diet is very simple yet extremely healthy, and the community is growing. They run a major publishing house on generator power run by solar panels. The Platina experience has become central for giving an example of how to live a happy, healthy l ife without dependence on the system of interlocking systems of control which is meant by the term â€Å"grid.†Another example might be the St. Mary’s community in St. Mary’s Kansas. This is a Roman Catholic community that only partially controls the small town of St. Mary’s. They seek to live their lives simply and peacefully in prayer and honest labor. It is not a monastery and families thrive there, but they have already received several visits from the FBI, paranoid that a â€Å"cult† was at work there. If anything, such communities have an uphill climb from the state as well as the media, whose coverage of the community has been uniformly hostile and uncomprehending. (cf. http://www.smac.edu, St. Mary’s Academy page, with some information on the community as a whole).One can surmise with a great deal of justification that the average American family has embraced technology as â€Å"inevitable,† without fully understanding the com plex consequences of such technologies. Slowly but surely however, the rather marginalized monastics, anarchists and greens have made somewhat of an impact. But if Bookchin is correct, the smaller scale of newer technologies will make a freer life possible with rather small changes in social consciousness. What seems to be at the center is the nature of power. If power can be locally created through bio-mass or solar energy, then technology can become liberatory. The grid seems to be based on power, i.e. energy, more than anything else though it cannot be limited to that.Every community would approximate local or regional autarky. It would seek to achieve wholeness, because wholeness produces complete, rounded men who live in a symbiotic relationship with their environment. Even if a substantial portion of the economy fell within the sphere of a national division of labor, the overall economic weight of a society would still rest with the community (Bookchin, 1970, 83).The central g ood here is independence. But it is difficult to square the American interest in â€Å"environmental politics† with anything other than a fashionable political cause. It is hard to see how such a superficial commitment can be brought to bear on the rather humane anarchism and communitarianism of Bookchin. It seems that for the moment, the experiments such as Platina will remain marginalized and unappealing to the masses. The debate might continue, but, for better or worse, that does not stop the â€Å"inevitable wheel of progress† from spinning.A recent study from Cornell University suggests that most of Americans are strongly beginning to question the issue of genetically engineered foods. This technology was gradually introduced into food production largely unbeknownst to the American public. Hence, since about two-thirds of American food is so processed, the â€Å"debate† is largely a moot one. Nevertheless, Cornell claims that there has been a â€Å"slight but significant shift over time towards a little less support [for genetically engineered foods] and more risk perception† (Bio-Medicine, 2005).What are the conclusions we can reach here? The first might be that the more practical questions of the ethic of technology must be brought under a more general heading: this heading has been dealt with above and is the relationship of technology to liberty and democracy. All other goods flow from this. If one can show that technology has led to a stressed, mentally unbalanced and mechanized society, then one must be able to reform the system and bring to bear new insights. If machinery is harmful to democracy and local control, then it needs to be eliminated, or at least, highly modified in the way that Bookchin proposes. Hiding behind arguments about the   â€Å"inevitable† nature of â€Å"technical progress† will not do, but these only beg the question.Second, the question of technology and ethics is central to moder n societies, and needs to be taken out of the classroom and into the Congress and the public square. These issues are not about the â€Å"environment† per se, but the environment is just an appendage of the more important questions concerning the nature of centralized economic control (whether from the state or corporate America, or an alliance of both) and its intimate relation to the history of technological progress. This is the bedrock issue of technology and its relation to ethics, that is, to freedom and autonomy. Freedom and autonomy, therefore, must also be the bedrock of a democratic order.A Model Syllabus: A Brief IntroductionThis seminar is entitled Technology and Democracy, and will meet five times. It will incorporate film, written work and discussion. All points of view are welcome and encouraged. Nevertheless, it should be made clear that the basic issues are defined as the relationship of technology and the sources of its creation and marketing with democracy, equality and safety. The issues below are meant to illustrate these basic themes from varying fields of study. This syllabus is meant to take the basic insights above, that is, the relationship of democracy to technology (as the center of technological ethics) and bring it to bear on more practical pursuits such as medicine or computer science.Day IThe question of technology and childrenReadings to have prepared beforehand:Parens, Eric (2006) Surgically Shaping Children: Technology, Ethics and the Pursuit of Noramality. Johns Hopkins University PressThis work will be the main topic of the first meeting. Discussion and workshops will follow concerning the impact of technology on raising children. Topics will include, sex selection and abortion, genetic engineering and, importantly, the medicating of children, especially boys. Basic issues of sexism (especially anti-male bias) will be discussedDay IIEthics and Health Care TechnologyReadings to have prepared beforehandAnderson, James (2002) Ethics and Information Technology: A Care Based Approach to a Health Care System in Transition. Springer Books.The discussion will center upon the nature of genetic engineering in the realm of medicine and ethics. But what needs to be stressed is the connection between the corporate or state control of medicine and the nature of ethics and centralized power.A video will also be shown:Sulmasy, Daniel (2004) Dignity, Vulnerability and Care of the Patient. St. Vincent’s Medical Center. 55 min (available at http://www.providence.org/oregon/programs_and_services/ethics/e15clips.htm)Day IIIReadings to have prepared beforehandEthics and Weapons TechnologyBrigetedy, Ruben (2007) Ethics, Technology and the American Way of War. Routledge.This component will concern technology and the development of weapons. There is no separate between the industrial revolution and the development of mass warfare and extremely high-casualty wars. Technology must face this element of itself, its promises to bring humanity peace and plenty are belied by the fact that technology has all of the most deadly weapons known to man. Science, in other words, is not intrinsically liberating, it can also enslave.Day IVEthics and Information TechnologyReadings to have prepared beforehandStamatellos, Giannis (2007) Computer Ethics: A Global Perspective. Jones and BartlettThis part of the seminar will deal with the issues involved in computer technology and privacy. This is a central issue in today’s economy and must be dealt with. Issues such as Pay-Pal and Ebay will be discussed, as well as the potential for fraud and abuse.Day VEthics and mental HealthReadings to have prepared beforehandDyer, Allen (1988) Ethics and Psychiatry. American Psychiatric Association PublicationsMental health and pharmaceuticals are important areas of ethics today. Tens of millions throughout the world are currently on legal, pharmaceuticals for mental illness. Hence, the issue goes right to the heart of this course: the intimacy of technology to the average person. In this case, the technology goes straight to the brain and manipulates the chemistry, altering the personality for better or worse. But at the same time, these medications are marketed for profit, hence creating a moral quandary: is the prescription of these medications medically necessary or even proper? Is the profit motive center stage here, or the science of medicine, and even more, to what extent has this science been controlled by the profit motive itself?Students will end the seminar with a brief presentation concerning one of the these five topics relative to the main topic: the relation of technology to democracy and liberty.Bibliography:â€Å"American Opinions are Split on Genetically Engineered Food.† Bio Medicine News. 2005. (Bio-medicine.org)Bookchin, Murray (1970) Post Scarcity Anarchism. AK Press.Damascene, Fr. (2003). Fr. Seraphim Rose: His Life and Works. St. Herman’s Press (Fr. Seraph im founded the settlement at Platina, CA)Mander, Jerry (2006). â€Å"Technologies of Globalization.† in Mander, ed. The Case Against the Global Economy. Sierra Club Books. 344-359Sale, Kirkpatrick (1996) Rebels Against the Future. Basic Books(nd) â€Å"Five Facets of a Myth.† Primitivism Online Journal. (Primitivism.org)

Banjamins franklins thirteen virtues

Banjamins franklins thirteen virtues In Benjamin Franklin's "The Autobiography", he explains that he wishes to be morally perfect. If humans exemplified silence, order, humility, among others through their actions they could become successful and morally perfect. He believed that if one achieved all 13 virtues described in his autobiography then they would reach perfection. If I were to follow Franklins plan for perfection I would pick order, silence,Franklin describes silence as "speak not but what may benefit others or yourself; avoiding trifling conversation." This means one should not say something unless it is intelligent and meaningful. One should not gossip nor talk just because you can. This is an important virtue to acquire because not only does it benefit yourself it also benefits those around you. Avoiding gossip and meaningless drivel makes a less of a chance fore the people you are talking to take umbrage, making them happier. It makes me feel better when my friends are happy.This (attributed to ) originall y appeared during t...Also talking about prattle and gossip can leave one with a terrible reputation that can come with terrible consequences, such as loosing your friends. Having your words be meaningful and profound can have beneficial outcomes and avoid "sticky situations".Another useful virtue is order. Franklin describes order as "let all your things have their places; let each part of your business have its time." This means to be organized and structure and to be on top of all your affairs and responsibilities. One should also have well planed set goals. This is all about time management skills, which is something I am lacking. I do everything at the last possible second. If I followed Franklins order virtues, I could be on top of my work and not be rushing to finish everything last minute. This way I would have more time to do the...

Sentence Definition and Examples in English Grammar

Sentence Definition and Examples in English Grammar A sentence is the largest independent unit of grammar: it begins with a capital letter and ends with a period, question mark, or exclamation point. The word sentence is from the Latin for to feel. The adjective form of the word is sentential. The sentence is traditionally (and inadequately) defined as a word or group of words that expresses a complete idea and that includes a subject and a verb. Types of Sentence Structures The four basic sentence structures are the: Simple: A  sentence  with only one  independent clause.Compound: Two (or more)  simple sentences  joined by a  conjunction  or an appropriate  mark of punctuation.Complex: A sentence that contains an  independent clause  (or  main clause) and at least one  dependent clause.Compound-complex: A  sentence  with two or more  independent clauses  and at least one  dependent clause. Functional Types of Sentences Declarative: Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society.  (Mark Twain)Interrogative:  But what is the difference between literature and journalism? Journalism is unreadable and literature is not read. (Oscar Wilde)Imperative:  Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint. (Mark Twain)Exclamatory:  To die for an idea; it is unquestionably noble. But how much nobler it would be if men died for ideas that were true!  (H. L. Mencken) Definitions and Observations on Sentences I am trying to say it all in one sentence, between one Cap and one period. (William Faulkner in a letter to Malcolm Cowley) The term sentence is widely used to refer to quite different types of unit. Grammatically, it is the highest unit and consists of one independent clause, or two or more related clauses. Orthographically and rhetorically, it is that unit which starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop, question mark or exclamation mark. (Angela Downing, English Grammar: A University Course, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2006) I have taken as my definition of a sentence any combination of words whatsoever, beyond the simple naming of an object of sense. (Kathleen Carter Moore, The Mental Development of a Child, 1896) [A sentence is a] unit of speech constructed according to language-dependent rules, which is relatively complete and independent in respect to content, grammatical structure, and intonation. (Hadumo Bussmann, Routledge Dictionary of Language and Linguistics. Trans. by Lee Forester et al. Routledge, 1996) A written sentence is a word or group of words that conveys meaning to the listener, can be responded to or is part of a response, and is punctuated. (Andrew S. Rothstein and Evelyn Rothstein, English Grammar Instruction That Works! Corwin Press, 2009) None of the usual definitions of a sentence really says much, but every sentence ought somehow to organize a pattern of thought, even if it does not always reduce that thought to bite-sized pieces. (Richard Lanham, Revising Prose. Scribners, 1979) The sentence has been defined as the largest unit for which there are rules of grammar. (Christian Lehmann, Theoretical Implications of Grammaticalization Phenomena, Published in The Role of Theory in Language Description, ed. by William A. Foley. Mouton de Gruyter, 1993) The Notional Definition of a Sentence Sidney Greenbaum and Gerald Nelson give a different take in explaining what a sentence is and does: It is sometimes said that a sentence expresses a complete thought. This is a notional definition: it defines a term by the notion or idea it conveys. The difficulty with this definition lies in fixing what is meant by a complete thought. There are notices, for example, that seem to be complete in themselves but are not generally regarded as sentences: Exit, Danger, 50 mph speed limit...On the other hand, there are sentences that clearly consist of more than one thought. Here is one relatively simple example: This week marks the 300th anniversary of the publication of Sir Isaac Newtons Philosophiae Naturalis Principia Mathematica, a fundamental work for the whole of modern science and a key influence on the philosophy of the European Enlightenment. How many complete thoughts are there in this sentence? We should at least recognize that the part after the comma introduces two additional points about Newtons book: (1) that it is a fundamental work for the whole of modern science, and (2) that it was a key influence on the philosophy of the European Enlightenment. Yet this example would be acknowledged by all as a single sentence, and it is written as a single sentence. (Sidney Greenbaum and Gerald Nelson, An Introduction to English Grammar, 2nd ed. Pearson, 2002) Another Definition of a Sentence D.J. Allerton provides an alternative definition of a sentence: Traditional attempts to define the sentence were generally either psychological or logical-analytic in nature: the former type spoke of a complete thought or some other inaccessible psychological phenomenon; the latter type, following Aristotle, expected to find every sentence made up of a logical subject and logical predicate, units that themselves rely on the sentence for their definition. A more fruitful approach is that of [Otto] Jespersen (1924: 307), who suggests testing the completeness and independence of a sentence, by assessing its potential for standing alone, as a complete utterance. (D. J. Allerton. Essentials of Grammatical Theory. Routledge, 1979) Two-Part Definition of a Sentence Stanley Fish felt that a sentence can only be defined in two parts: A sentence is a structure of logical relationships. In its bare form, this proposition is hardly edifying, which is why I immediately supplement it with a simple exercise. Here, I say, are five words randomly chosen; turn them into a sentence. (The first time I did this the words were coffee, should, book, garbage and quickly.) In no time at all I am presented with 20 sentences, all perfectly coherent and all quite different. Then comes the hard part. What is it, I ask, that you did? What did it take to turn a random list of words into a sentence? A lot of fumbling and stumbling and false starts follow, but finally someone says, I put the words into a relationship with one another....Well, my bottom line can be summarized in two statements: (1) a sentence is an organization of items in the world; and (2) a sentence is a structure of logical relationships. (Stanley Fish, Devoid of Content. The New York Times, May 31, 2005. Also How to Write a Sentence and How to Read One. HarperCollins, 2011) The Lighter Side of Sentences Some authors a humorous view of a sentence: One day the Nouns were clustered in the street.An adjective walked by, with her dark beauty.The Nouns were struck, moved, changed.The next day a Verb drove up, and created the Sentence... (Kenneth Koch, Permanently. Published in The Collected Poems of Kenneth Koch. Borzoi Books, 2005)

Occupational Safety and Liability Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Occupational Safety and Liability - Case Study Example According to the case study, Behavior Based Safety focuses on the behavioral initiatives an employee recruits to ensure they are safe in the workplace. The safety technique and set programs hold the employees accountable for their safety. An employee gets blamed for incidents or accidents that occur when it comes to this form of the safety technique. Engineering controls are defined by the act of creating ways to fix and handle matters pertaining safety. The technique prevents hazards from occurring and re-occurring. In engineering controls, an employee applies ways of protecting themselves from harm, for example, wearing protective gear while at work or handling equipment with extra care. Lack of engineering controls leads to poor safety and exposes the employee to great risks making them vulnerable to fatal and disabling accidents. Management accountability is defined as the participation of an organization’s management level in ensuring safety to its employees. The management of an organization needs to intervene in its employee’s safety by providing protective gear as well as health insurances. The involvement of management in employee safety plays a significant role as it reduces cases of accidents or incidents at the workplace. On the other hand, the absence of the management in the implementation of employee safety leads to poor working conditions. Lack of participation in the management causes ignorance of safety precautions and measures hence making it poor. I support advocates of Behavior-Based Safety. The safety of an employee mostly lies in the personal decision an employee makes to protect their health. An employee bears more knowledge on their health and with or without the presence of the management safety precautions, safety lies in the personal decision of the employee (Hickman, 2007). Before an employee joins an organization, he or she ought to have trained in safety and health precautions under certain fields to maintain and enhance safety in the workplace.  

Quality and Information Systems Strategies Essay

Quality and Information Systems Strategies - Essay Example In accordance with the above study, the ability of firms around the world to capture and interpret knowledge is depended on a series of factors; the size of the firm and its financial strength has been proved to be critical factors regarding the ability of a firm to manage knowledge throughout its departments. The various forms of knowledge within modern organizations can be observed in Figure 1 (Appendix) where these forms are set hierarchically in order for the importance to be identified. The effective management of knowledge in modern firms is crucial in order for the various strategic plans developed within a specific organization to be appropriate, i.e. to lead to the achievement of the targets set by the firm’s strategic management team. The above assumption is also supported by Steyn (2004) who stated that ‘successful organisations are knowledge-creating organisations, which produce, disseminate and embody new knowledge in new products and services’ (Steyn , 2004, 615). In other words, gathering, evaluation and distribution of knowledge across modern organization is a highly important part of the organizational activity supporting the development of strategic plans that are effective both in the short and the long term. For this reason, firms of all sizes have tried to establish IT systems that will be able to capture, evaluate and distribute the knowledge required for the ‘smooth’ development of all organizational activities as well as for the growth of the firm in the long term. Establishing the IS required for the development of corporate activities is a challenging task for all managers worldwide – no matter the size of the firm involved. Towards this direction, it is supported by Reid et al. (2004) that managers in modern organizations should have a ‘strategic foresight that can play a significant role in the long term success, or failure, of business