Tuesday, November 26, 2019

What each character represents to isabel archer in portrait of a lady

What each character represents to isabel archer in portrait of a lady What each person represents to IsabelEach person in the novel represents something to Isabel and makes her feel and think certain things, and she is drawn to different people for different reasons, and I will explore these reasons here. I will explore why she is drawn to some characters, and I will attempt to use this to highlight her choice in a husband.First, I'm going to discuss the character of Isabel archer.She is said to be the perfect Henry James heroine, embodying all of the major preoccupations of his writing career., she is a mix of unlike elements. Isabel Archer is both innocent andknowing. she loves liberty and yet she marries a man who would guarantee her constraint, and she has a strong distaste for the emptiness of conventionality while submitting to it readily and consistently.In her decision of whom to marry, we can find the same mix in Isabel of what seems at first to be romantic rebelliousness and conformity to conventionality.Isabel, Molley, Shanny, Ann + Michelle choping up ...SISTERS:In the beginning of the novel, we hear about isabel's sisters. She has seen her two sisters tied down in unsatisfying marriages, and she decides early on that she is not attracted to that lifestyle.Casper GOODWOOD:Chapter 13: Isabel once again tries to escape the possessiveness of Caspar Goodwood, her American suitor. She feels as if he influences her in such a way that it deprives her of a sense of freedom. He is a very powerful force in her mind and this force always translates in her sense of things to a diminished sense of liberty. She realizes she was very eager to take up Mrs. Touchett's offer to come with her to Europe because she wanted to escape Caspar Goodwood. She thinks of him as a sort of...

Friday, November 22, 2019

How to Block a Play and Give Stage Directions

How to Block a Play and Give Stage Directions Blocking is the theater term for the actors’ movements on the stage during the performance of the play or the musical. Every move that an actor makes (walking across the stage, climbing stairs, sitting in a chair, falling to the floor, getting down on bended knee) falls under the larger term â€Å"blocking.† Who Blocks? Typically, the play’s director determines the actors’ movements and positions on stage. Some directors â€Å"pre-block† scenes- map out the actors’ movements outside of rehearsal and then give the actors their blocking. Some directors work with the actors during rehearsal and make blocking decisions by having the actors perform the movements. These directors try a variety of movements and stage positions to see what works, make adjustments, and then set the blocking. Other directors, especially when they work with experienced actors during rehearsals, ask the actors to follow their instincts about when to move and the blocking becomes a collaborative work. Playwrights May Provide Blocking In some plays, the playwright provides blocking notes in the text of the script. American playwright Eugene O’Neill wrote detailed stage directions that include not only movements but notes on the characters’ attitudes and emotions as well. An example from Act I Scene 1 of Long Day’s Journey Into Night. Edmund’s dialogue is accompanied by stage directions in italics: EDMUNDWith sudden nervous exasperation.O for God’s sake, Papa. If you’re starting that stuff again, I’ll beat it.He jumps up.I left my book upstairs anyway.He goes to the front parlor saying disgustedly,God, Papa, I think you’d get sick of hearing yourself.He disappears. Tyrone looks after him angrily. Some directors remain true to the stage directions provided by the playwright in the script, but directors and actors are not bound to follow those directions in the way that they are bound to use the playwright’s dialogue strictly as written. The words the actors speak must be delivered precisely as they appear in the script. Only with the playwright’s specific permission may lines of dialogue be changed or omitted. It is not imperative, however, to adhere to the playwright’s blocking ideas. Actors and directors are free to make their own movement choices.​ Some directors appreciate scripts with detailed stage directions. Other directors prefer scripts with little to no blocking ideas within the text. Basic Functions of Blocking Ideally, blocking should enhance the story on the stage by: Reflecting the authentic behavior of the characters- a character’s movements can reveal just as much and sometimes more than his or her words do.Reflecting the relationships between and among characters.Giving the focus to certain characters at appropriate moments (helping the audience know where to look.)Allowing the audience to see what they are supposed to see and not what is meant to be hidden- either as part of the play or an accidental peek backstage.Creating effective stage pictures- strong, pleasing, horrific- that convey the meanings and moods of the play.Making effective use of the set. Blocking Notation Once a scene has been blocked, the actors must execute the same movements during rehearsals and performances. Thus, actors must memorize their blocking as well as their lines. During blocking rehearsals, most actors use a pencil to note blocking in their scripts- so if the blocking changes, the pencil marks can be erased and the new blocking noted. Actors and directors use a â€Å"shorthand† for blocking notation. Rather than write out â€Å"Walk downstage right and stand behind (or upstage) the sofa,† however, an actor would make notes using abbreviations. Any stage movement from one area of the stage to another is called a â€Å"cross,† and a quick way to indicate cross is to use an â€Å"X.† So, an actor’s blocking note the above blocking could look like this: â€Å"XDR to US of sofa.†

Thursday, November 21, 2019

Hamlet Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 2

Hamlet - Essay Example It seemed to me that he was different from Oedipus or Macbeth in that he did not jump into thoughtless action. I searched for the possible reasons for this and interrogated the differences in the notion of tragedy among these heroes. Apparently, Hamlet was different from the others because he was faced with serious domestic problems soon after he returned home from the University. The learned Prince took the world seriously and tried to comprehend it to the fullest, and to his utter dismay discovered that time was out of joint. I focused on the specific pattern in which Hamlet tried to discover the truth and the ways in which he tried to avoid action. I searched for the possible reasons for his ambivalent relationship with his mother Gertrude and lady love Ophelia, and a specific pattern evolved with which I could argue that Hamlet’s inaction did not show his inability, and that it was part a well thought out plan of action which the Prince had conceived. The paper revolves around the idea that Hamlet’s inaction was related to the careful study of the situation at hand which he had to resolve. It is argued that instead of jumping into thoughtless action like Oedipus or Macbeth, Hamlet took as much time as possible to interrogate the existential questions he was faced with and realized that the state of the world did not adhere to any idealistic notion. Hamlet’s quest for truth is not something that would lead to a happy state of affairs. He realizes that he is doomed to be a tragic hero whose actions can only result in irrevocable sorrow. The paper introduces the psychoanalytic readings that have established the possible reasons for the procrastination of Prince Hamlet and goes on to analyze the Apollonian and Dionysian traditions in the Greek culture. In this section, Hamlet is seen as possessing more of the Apollonian elements in contrast with Oedipus, who

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Synthetic Financial Products Speech or Presentation

Synthetic Financial Products - Speech or Presentation Example Note that an increase from 1 to 2 is 100 per cent increase, from 1 to 3 a 200 percent increase, and so on. Therefore, a 300 per cent cap would be a rise from 1 to 4 (in case of an index, from 100 to 400.) Analysis: Where So is less than St is less than 400 [initial index value times performance cap 300%]. Here the initial index value has to be 1.333 in order for the performance cap to be 300, per problem statement, considering that ÃŽ · has to be 300, in order to yield 400.[300 x 1.33 = 400] Analysis: Based on the ELN theory, the Face value or principal of the investment -- here $1,000,000 – has to be reduced to its present value (PV), and the difference between the present value figure and the Face amount is the amount available for exposure in the equity index options market. The present value of the amount is held either in a zero coupon bond or another risk-free investment vehicle such as a savings account earnings a fixed return. At 5%, the amount of $216,301 is available to be invested in European call options, as required by the problem. . European options can be exercised only at the end of their contract life, unlike American options which can be exercised at any time prior to expiration date to take advantage of a profitable situation. While the problem statement states otherwise, ELN theory says that only long call options are used, as short positions - - the writing of call options -- is not consistent with the theory. It should also be noted that most index options are American options, and the restriction in favor of European options limits the investor’s decision choices. It is therefore suggested that the writing of options be dispensed with as unnecessary to the ELN concept. Information provided by an annual Dun and Bradstreet publication indicates that the index options market is a cheap way of obtaining an opportunity to profit from the movement of an index such as the OEX

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Online Behaviors And Impression Management Essay Example for Free

Online Behaviors And Impression Management Essay Introduction With the rapid development of technology, the Internet has become an effective mechanism for social networking. People can not deny the fact that a successful social networking is more possible to lead a successful life. A personal impression serves as an important role in establishing new networks and managing old ones. It was proved that people have more opportunities presenting themselves in the computer-coordinated communication settings than face-to-face environments. Therefore, regardless of generations, the ways how people interact with one another have been greatly changed by online social sites. The purpose of this study is to understand how people utilize online social sites to manage their personal impression and how they behave on social media; also, people utilize social media in order to gratify their social needs such as their friendship maintenance. The thesis of this paper is that social media influences personal behaviors as well as their impression management and it also has positive impacts on people friendships performance. Personal Behavior on Social Media Individual behaviors may be restrained because of their awareness that their behaviors might possibly be seen by other people, and the fact that people tempt to look more appealing in any social occasions is obvious (Jeong, 2011). Since social media is served as a platform which is opened to public, people tend to pay more attention to how they appear and behave online. An experiment from Denton (2012) indicates that participants within heterogeneous networks such as Facebook have more desire to shift their impressions to others. A heterogeneous network is a network which is established for people without same interests, religions or common interests; in other words, people are able to speak or act freely on those websites. This experiment explains further that people manage or even shift their image based on others views and attitudes. According to Cummings (2012), the setting of profiles provides an opportunity for ones’ social life; people put effort into presenting a better image which aims at influencing others within the network. Jeong (2012) also declares that the process in which individuals attempt to control their impression with others is called â€Å"impression management†. Impression management can be used interchangeably with the term â€Å"self-presentation†, and its goal is to elevate people’s public image by performing behaviors based on how others evaluate them. Jeong also states that impression management usually occurs together with social desirability. Social desirability is defined as an individual’s tendency to describe themselves and behave in a manner in which they believe they will be viewed favorably in a situation. Moreover, Jeong also points out three main characteristics of self-presentation in online media platforms. They are asynchronous, malleable and selective. Asynchronous means that people can edit and update self-presentational cues deliberately over time. Malleable means people can simply manipulate those cues. Denton (2012) explains further by stating that people behave differently in different situations or interact with different people with whom they have specific relationships. For example, a lazy and incompetent employee may spend his evening as a passionate and assiduous worker volunteer or he behaves as a hard-working worker only under supervision; in this case, employers might misunderstand that he is truly a diligent worker. Thirdly, selective means people can improve their impression by choosing specific cues. Jeong explains this term by giving an example that individuals are more likely to donate or show their supports for charity campaigns as long as they realize that their participation would be noticeable to other people. Besides, there are some companies tend to elevate their images by sponsoring nonprofit organizations. To conclude, in general, people tend to behave favorably and try to create a positive impression to others on social media. Impression Management on Social Media Social media has been a new and easy platform for people managing their impression. Sameer (2007) states that document preparation programs make it relatively easy to manipulate the appearance of profiles; also, programmability helps people keep track of contents to the audience, and browser application provide an easy way to distribute the original or modified profiles. Therefore, Krisanic (2008) concludes from her research that impression management has been commonly carried out by those who involved in social networking activities. Jeong (2011) also states that online media platforms are expected to provide people with a greater opportunity for impression management, and because of its â€Å"public display† which enables participants to articulate and make their social networks more manifest; furthermore, Ellison (2008) declares that this kind of â€Å"public display of connection† serves as important signal that helps people navigate their networked social world. Cummings (2012) supports his idea. He points out that social network sites provide people a channel to present themselves digitally, and also gives them another way to provide details about themselves and establish or maintain their relationships in their own social network. Also, profile owners are not the only ones who are able to provide information on their own pages. Most sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn allow those who are involved in the connection to create additional information, and the use of wall posts and the recommendation are the examples (Cummings, 2012). All in all, the main characteristics of social network sites include the capability to make connection between people and share personal information; on top of that, it offers an easy way for people to manage their personal impressions. Friendships Performance on Social Media The articulation of friendship connections is another facet of impression management; it might possibly be viewed from others as an identity marker to profile owners (boyd Ellison, 2008). Although boyd and Ellison argue that online audiences’ comments may dominate user behaviors, Vallor (2012) thinks that those interactions are part of the reciprocity which serves a prime function maintaining friendships. Reciprocity is an original biological stimulus that operates as the core of human sociology and is the mutual characteristic of different types of friendships (Vallor, 2012). Take Facebook as an example, reciprocity emerge with diverse forms; it begins with the friend requests and accepting invitations correspondingly, responding to friends’ status by pressing â€Å"like† button, sharing photos and videos online, comments on friends’ status, and â€Å"tag† friends on pictures or posts. Therefore, a study from Vallor (2012) shows that instead of di minishing people’s interactions in their real lives, online social sites actually extend chances for such interaction. Vallor (2012) also declares that social media can support friendships. Many social network sites allow additional information, and which encourage people to list hobbies, post photos, and interact with other individuals within the network (Cummings, 2012). Furthermore, social network sites help individuals to manage contacts beyond traditional software like outlook, and they also help incorporate visual information such as pictures of contacts (Cummings, 2012); hence, the online social media offers a precious function of recombining efficiently with friends in the past (Vallor, 2012). To conclude, it is true that these sites help participants perceiving more sense of social value and connection; also, social network sites help reinforce participant’s desire to maintain their friendships (Vallor, 2012). Conclusion As online social networking sites as a new media technology comes out in our society, individuals have more opportunity than ever before to present themselves in public by using them. These sites allow users to make self-presentation by creating their own profile pictures, personal information, photos, videos, and their activities. Impression management is related to social networking sites use because individuals tend to develop different self-presentation depending on the audiences online. From those studies we were discussed, people tend to behave favorable to their audiences. However, the authenticity of profile information comes into concern since everything that shows on people’s profiles may dominate their images to others; whether this fact leads to negative problem of social networking sites may still need to be further investigated and researched. From another aspect, we can conclude that social networking sites have a positive impact on friendship performance. Although some studies argue that the online social networking sites may damage the traditional meaning of friendship, it serves as a valuable tool maintaining the friendship in people real lives. All in all, social network sites if manage properly; they can of course offer very concrete benefits to people social networking lives. References boyd, D. Ellison, N. (2008). Social Network Sites: Definition, History, and Scholarship. (pp. 219-220). Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication 13(2008) 210-230. Cummings, J. (2012). Virtual First Impression Matter: The effect of social networking sites on Impression formation in virtual teams. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses 2012 pg. n/a Ellison, A. S. W. (2012). Impression Formation in a Social Network Context. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses 2012 pg. n/a Jeong, H. J. (2011). The Effectiveness of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Campaigns on Consumer Responses to Brand in Social Media: Impression Management Perspectives. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses 2011 pg. n/a Krisanic, K. (2008). Motivation and Impression Management: Predictors of social networking site use and users behaviors. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses 2008 pg. n/a Sameer, B. (2008). First Impression formation in electronic profiles. ProQuest Dissertations and Theses 2008 pg. n/a Vallor, S. (2011). Flo urishing on Facebook: virtue friendship new social media. Springer Science and Business Media B.V. 2011

Thursday, November 14, 2019

All About the Philippines :: essays research papers

The first inhabitants of the Philippines arrived from the land bridge from Asia over 150,000 years ago. Throughout the years, migrants from Indonesia, Malaysia, and other parts of Asia made their way to the islands of this country. In the fourteenth century, the Arabs arrived and soon began a long tradition of Islam. Many Muslims are still living in the Philippines today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In 1521, Magellan claimed the land for Spain, but was killed by local chiefs who did not want Spain’s inhabitance. However, the Spanish returned in 1543 and named the land Filipinas after King Philip II. Spain soon after began their control. At the time of the Spanish American War the colonial government in the Philippines was administered by a Governor-General selected in Spain. The Philippine islands were used to reward the king’s favorites who could return home enormous fortunes from natives and foreign immigrants via a system of taxation that savored of blackmail and confiscation. The Governor-General had a cabinet composed of the Archbishop of Manila, the Captain-General of the army and the Admiral of the navy stationed in the colonies. The administrative power lay with the Governor-General and the Archbishop, and the religious orders of the Spanish Catholic Church were the practical controllers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The climate of the Philippines, which is tropical, subjected to violent monsoons, seasons of drenching rains, and an almost intolerable heat lasting from March to July, has made it necessary to change continually the Spanish administrators. By 1571, the country had control over the islands, except for any Islamic areas.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The Filipinos lived in settlements called barangays before the colonization of the Philippines by the Spaniards. As the unit of government, a barangay consisted from 30 to 100 families. It was headed by a datu and was independent from the other groups. Usually, several barangays settled near each other to help one another in case of war or any emergency. The position of datu was passed on by the holder of the position to the eldest son or, if none, the eldest daughter. However, later, any member of the barangay could be chieftain, based on his talent and ability. He had the usual responsibilities of leading and protecting the members of his barangay. In turn, they had to pay tribute to the datu, help him till the land, and help him fight for the barangay in case of war. There were four classes of society.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Mari Evans’ “I Am a Black Woman”

Imani Newbill Professor Simms-Burton English 2140 21 March 2010 Mari Evans’ â€Å"I Am a Black Woman† â€Å"Mari Evans is one of the most energetic and respected poets of the Black Arts movement† (1850). The themes of her poems are very direct, but the simple lyrics make the poem eloquent (1850). â€Å"Lost love, a lost Africa, failed relationships between black woman and black men† are usually the tails of her poems (1850). Yet she also portrays that â€Å"losses summon from us the courage to struggle , to continue in the face of adversity and pain† (1850). ‘I Am a Black Woman’ whose title poem first appeared in Negro Digest, links the themes of black enslavement and impoverishment with the global oppression of the wretched† (1850). â€Å"The volume [â€Å" I Am a Black Woman†] heralded the arrival of a poet who took her subject matter from the black community, and who celebrated its triumphs, especially the focus on the beauty of blackness that characterized the black arts and civil rights movements. †(Gale ) Therefore, understanding Mari Evans’ themes and tone fuels the greatness of â€Å"I Am a Black Woman†.Mari Evans’ usually deals with the despair and loss of the African American citizen in her literary work. In â€Å"I Am a Black Woman†, Evans chooses to tell the story of the black woman. She portrays the roles and relationships of the black woman. Evans’ includes the story of all black women’s pain, their fight for civil rights, the black lover, and the black mother. The narrator of this poem describes, in lines 1-4, the pain black women experience because they are black woman:I am a black woman the music of my song some sweet arpeggio of tears is written in a minor key The â€Å"music of my song/some sweet arpeggio of tears† tells of the internal struggle of being a black woman. Also what it means to be a black woman. Evans’ portr ays the despair felt from her husband’s death in lines 11-12 when the narrator describes more pain â€Å"I saw my mate leap screaming to the sea/ and I/with these hands/cupped the lifebreath/? from my issue in the canebrake†.The mother receives more grief in lines 14-15 â€Å"and heard my son scream all the way from Anzio/for Peace he never knew† (Gates 1852). Evans’ tells of the pain of the black mother. The mothers who birth the black children whose rights are being spit on and dragged through the dirt. The mother whose black sons who fight in wars for a country that despises the black skin that they have at birth. This also portrayed in lines 16-17 â€Å"learned Da Nang and Pork Chop Hill/? in anguish† (Gates 1852) Evans’ theme of pain of the black woman is clearly shown.Evans’ shows the blues of being a black woman in stanza’s one and two, but in the last stanza she shows that even threw the pain and anguish black woman are still strong: I am a black woman ?tall as a cypress ?strong beyond all definition still ?defying place ?and time and circumstance ?assailed ?impervious ?indestructible ?Look ?on me and be ?renewed Evans’ chooses a public persona to work through her understanding of what it means to be black in the Western world, and she hopes to inspire others through their witnessing her quest. Gale ) In line 29, the narrator indicates that as a black women are imperious and one can not set their boundaries Black women can not be boxed into in situations based on circumstance because the odds can be defied place time and the black women’s indestructibility. The narrator is saying look at me defy the odds and anyone can be renewed because of the triumph from my despair. The narrator has most clearly defied the odds because of all the stress and drama that is in her life and she still stands strong. The tone changes from stanza to stanza in the poem, â€Å"I Am a Black Woman.The tone in the first stanza is filled with stress and she use humming to relieve the stress. She is actually crying in the first stanza. The tone of the second stanza is despair. She watches her mate and son die along with important figures like Nat Turner (Gates 1852) In stanza two the narrator indicates, â€Å"Now my nostrils know the gas/ and these trigger tire/d fingers† (Gates 1852) . Again the tone is despair because she attempts and contemplates suicide. However, stanza three's tone is about renewal , inspiration and strength.She indicates look at me and my struggles and still I stand strong like a cypress tree. The tone of the poem is sad at the beginning and inspirational at the end. Evan remains strong to her themes of negative love affairs between black men and women and global perspective in her writing of â€Å"I Am a Black Woman. However, the tone changes in this poem, and the lyrics are simple. An ultimately she provides encouragement and hope, which is still done in her poem â€Å"I Am a Black Woman. Therefore, understanding Mari Evans’ themes and tone fuels the greatness of â€Å"I Am a Black Woman†.Works Cited| Gates, Henry Louis Jr. and Nellie Y McKay, ed. Norton Anthology of African American Literature. 2nd ed. New York: WW. Norton, 2004. 2096| Gates, Henry Louis Jr. and Nellie Y McKay, ed. â€Å"I Am a Black Woman. † Norton Anthology of African American Literature. 2nd ed,. New York: WW. Norton, 2004. 1851-1852. | Gates, Henry Louis Jr. and Nellie Y McKay, ed. â€Å"The Black Arts Era 1960-1975. † Norton Anthology of African American Literature. 2nd ed. New York: WW. Norton, 2004. 1831-1850. Print. | |

Saturday, November 9, 2019

My Life Changing Experience Essay

I’ve never been more sad than the day that my cousin Taron died. She had battled cancer for five years, if not more, when she took her last breath. She was in a coma for the last week of her life. She was a fighter; no matter how sick the chemotherapy made her, no matter how bad it hurt, she never complained. She was never mean to anyone, she never made a rude remark against someone, and everyone loved her. She lived for the Lord, and did everything she could for him. I believe in my heart, when she took her last breath, she went straight up the stairway to heaven. I will never forget the morning she went to the doctor and found out she had Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. I had to go to school with my aunt, and I was in the fifth grade. Taron walked into my aunt Sherry’s room when she was getting ready and my aunt noticed that her Lymph nodes were swelled, about the size of a baseball. She was freaking out, but my cousin wasn’t really scared until my aunt got scared. I think my aunt didn’t say anything else about it until I got to school because she didn’t want to scare me or my cousin any worse, but when I got picked up early that day at school, I kind of had a feeling something was wrong. It wasn’t long after that that we learned she had been diagnosed with cancer. The day she passed away, my mom told me if she came and picked me up early that something would’ve happened. I was worrying, but after a while, I kind of eased up a little bit. At lunch, I was eating and I saw one of the office runners come into the lunch room, and my heart dropped. I knew that I was checking out, and when I got the note it was all I could do not to burst out into tears. Taron was gone, and there was nothing I could do about it. Read more:  Essays About Life Changing Experiences I never even got to say goodbye, and that’s the part that kills me. Whenever I think about her, all I can see is her laying in that casket in a pink suit, with her hair fixed, but bruises on her arms and face from where she had been in the hospital. I walked and hugged all our family that was sitting on the first row of benches in the church, and I didn’t break down until I got to her dad, and he was the last one I was going to hug. I broke down, hugged him, and cried. All he said to me was, â€Å"It’s ok. She’s in a better place now. I went back to my seat, and when the preacher was preaching I saw a single tear run down my grandpa’s face, and it’s the only time I’ve ever seen him cry. The way this changed my outlook on life was major. I’ve never been so devastated in my life. I learned that no matter who you are, bad things happen to you, and no one is invincible. Death is real, but it had never hit me so hard. I’ve learned that you should live every day like it’s your last, and have fun while you can. I learned that no matter how bad your situation is, there’s always someone who has it worse. You should always treat others like you want to be treated, because you don’t know if they’ll be there tomorrow to apologize to them. God can give, and he can take away. I learned that life isn’t just about the material things, and laughter is necessary, because that’s how I’ve got through this. Laughter, love, and my wonderful family. You shouldn’t take things for granted, because sometimes as soon as things are going good for you, it can all fall apart. Live your life while you can, because Taron did, and I’m following in her footsteps. I’m living my life one day at a time, and I’m enjoying as much of it as I possibly can.

Thursday, November 7, 2019

Demons, Daemons and Daimons

Demons, Daemons and Daimons Demons, Daemons and Daimons Demons, Daemons and Daimons By Maeve Maddox The three English words demon, daemon, and daimon all derive from Greek ÃŽ ´ÃŽ ±ÃŽ ¯ÃŽ ¼Ãâ€°ÃŽ ½ (daimà ´n), the word for a spirit that served as a link between the human and divine spheres. Daimons could be benevolent or malevolent. They were much lower in the divine hierarchy than gods like Jupiter and Diana. In first century Rome, a good way to make a pagan angry was to refer to all his gods as daimons. In Christian writings the word was used to signify pagan god or unclean spirit. Much later, when the Bible was translated into Old English, demon was rendered as devil. One type of daimon recognized by pagans was a benevolent spirit, a guardian angel that attended the individual from birth to death. This personal genius was a kind of soul. Its presumably the concept of daimon as soul that underlies the daemons of Philip Pullmans His Dark Materials trilogy. Some of Pullmans readers were bothered by the pronunciation of daemon as [dÄ“mÉ™n] in the movie The Golden Compass (2007). Although Merriam-Webster and the OED indicate that both demon and daemon are pronounced the same, Id guess that many a silent reader has been giving daemon a different mental pronunciation. At least one IMDb commentator declares outright that he plans to pronounce daemon day-mon in order to distinguish Pullmans helpful little soul creatures from malevolent demons. The word daimon [dÄ «mÃ… n], with the meaning of guiding spirit, is a latecomer to English (earliest OED citation 1852). With its different pronunciation, daimon stands as a possible alternate choice for writers who want the sense of the word without the confusion with demon. Nevertheless, the spelling daemon has its appeal. 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 Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Use â€Å"That,† â€Å"Which,† and â€Å"Who†"Have" vs "Having" in Certain ExpressionsPeople vs. Persons

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Je Ne Sais Quoi, That Indefinable Thing She Has

Je Ne Sais Quoi, That Indefinable Thing She Has Je ne sais quoi is a French idiomatic expression used so much in English that it has made it into the leading English dictionaries. In other words, it has been assimilated into the English language. Merriam-Webster describes je ne sais quoi as something (such as an appealing quality) that cannot be adequately described or expressed, as in This woman has a certain je ne sais quoi that I really like. In French, Larousse calls je ne sais quoi a thing one wouldnt know how to define but whose existence is understood intuitively. Je Ne Sais Quoi in French In French, the expression je ne sais quoi literally means I dont know what. It is often used for its literal meaning, not as an idiom. For example: Jai fait la vaisselle, le mà ©nage, le rà ©passage, et je ne sais quoi (dautre) encore. I did the dishes, the house-cleaning, I ironed, and I dont know what else. How the French Use It But the French also use it as we do  in English: a quality you cannot describe. We connect je ne sais quoi to the adjective describing it with de, like this: Cette fille a je ne sais quoi de fascinant. There is something fascinating about that girl. Note that the adjective is always masculine singular, even if the sentence refers to a girl or a  feminine noun. The adjective should agree with je ne sais quoi, which is masculine, singular. Two Spellings in French Or we can also use it,  as in English, as a noun: un je ne sais quoi or hyphenated as un je-ne-sais-quoi. Both spellings are correct. And we often use it with certain,  as in English: Elle avait un certain je-ne-sais-quoi de spà ©cial : lexpression de son regard peut-à ªtre. She had a certain special je ne sais quoi - the expression in her eyes perhaps. Finally, in spoken modern French, the je and the ne glide together, making the expression sound like jeun say kwa. A Word About Spelling This is a common expression that is recognizable in its correct spelling of  je ne sais quoi. It is even in English-language dictionaries. So there really is no excuse for misspelling this classic phrase as jena se qua, etc., as some anglophones tend to do. Just look it up in the dictionary. That woman with the special something will thank you. Sources Je-ne-sais-quoi. Larousse. Je ne sais quoi. Merriam-Webster, 2019.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

Leadership Behavioral Analysis. Evaluation of the Research Methodology Essay

Leadership Behavioral Analysis. Evaluation of the Research Methodology - Essay Example The study entailed statistical as well as qualitative surveys conducted on a sample of project managers. Qualitative and quantitative methodologies were used to analyze how the managers used situational leadership in project management. Johnson, Onwuegbuzie and Turner (2007) consider Concurrent Triangulation Mixed Method Design as appropriate research method since it enables the researcher to collect qualitative and quantitative data simultaneously. Moreover, the researcher is able to use qualitative data in validating the quantitative data resulting in reliable findings (Driscoll, Appiah-Yeboah, Salib, & Rupert, 2007). Appropriateness of the Data Collection and Analysis Methods Used For the Study The research study used both qualitative and quantitative research methodology (hybrid) and what the author refers as Concurrent Triangulation Mixed Methods Design. This entailed more than two methods in collection and analysis of data. Although qualitative and quantitative research methodo logies are considered different in terms of epistemology and ontology, they ensure completeness and validness in data collection and analysis. ... Blending qualitative and quantitative data collection technique is advantageous since results obtained using one of the methods can be triangulated using the other method. By using quantitative techniques, the researcher was able to obtain data that was used to test the research hypotheses. The data collected through qualitative techniques was used open the study since it provided insights on the other aspects interconnected in the study (Driscoll, Appiah-Yeboah, Salib, & Rupert, 2007). Scaling, which was used for quantitative data collection, was disadvantageous since it could not have reflect diverse observations of the data. By using open-ended surveys, which is a qualitative methodology, the researcher was able to explore situational leadership and project success. The above aspects are quite complex hence hard to explore using quantitative techniques. This is because it is hard to measure leadership and project success quantitatively since such aspects are better explained in de tails other than numeric. Such explanations constitute qualitative analysis (Lee, 2010). Using both qualitative and quantitative methodologies was a great idea. Quantitative method is the major method used for data analysis. However, qualitative data is used to support the quantitative data. In some instances, data collected using qualitative strategies such as open surveys is likely to be biased. However, collecting more data using quantitative methodology and analyzing it can enable the researcher to determine the credibility of the data. For example, in Lee (2010) study, the answers obtained from the open interviews showed that most manager interviewed had used situational leadership techniques. However, the data collected