Agents that Inhibit Stem Cell-resistant Chemotherapy - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 2 Words: 520 Downloads: 3 Date added: 2019/06/26 Category Biology Essay Level High school Tags: Stem Cell Essay Did you like this example? As cancers are heterogeneous, drug discovery efforts are aiming to increase patient survival and will surely need to consider the plasticity of cancer cells (Singh and Settleman, 2010). Cancer stem cells have a higher intrinsic resistance to chemotherapy than do normal cancer cells, and may be the source of post-therapy relapse (Thomas; et al, 2014). New agents were discovered as anticancer drugs to destroy cancer stem cells that are resistant to chemotherapy. This review paper will focus on some important agents, and these are: Resveratrol, Histone Deacetylase Inhibitors, Disulfiram and metformin. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "Agents that Inhibit Stem Cell-resistant Chemotherapy" essay for you Create order The first agent is Resveratrol. â€Å"Resveratrol is a polyphenol non-flavonoid compound present in strongly pigmented vegetables and fruits† (Pintea and Rugin?, 2014). This compound has antitumor effect. It works by inhibiting tissue necrosis factor beta (TNF- ?) pathway that activates tumor growth. It also suppresses the formation of cancer stem cells of colorectal cancer. The unique feature about this agent is that it sensitizes cancer stem cells to 5-FU. (Buhrmann et al., 2018). Secondly, mentioning Histone Deacetylase (HDAC) Inhibitors. This class of agents has a significant role in suppressing cancer stem cells of different cancer types by various mechanisms, but not all of them are fully explained. One of these mechanisms is reprogramming gene expression in cancer cells, thus leading to growth arrest and apoptosis. Another mechanism is suppressing self-renewal capability and activating the differentiation of cancer stem cells, resulting in enhanced sensitivity to chemotherapy. There is evidence that these agents can aid the deacetylation of non-histone targets related to cancer stem cells homeostasis; making it target-specific (Lin et al., 2018). Thirdly, the anti-alcoholism drug Disulfiram was approved for targeting resistant cancer stem cells in both in vivo and in vitro. Disulfiram is aldehyde dehydrogenase (ALDH) inhibitor. It inhibits both ALDH1A1 and ALDH2 isoforms and has shown anti-CSC effects in breast cancer. In addition to ALDH inhibition, it inhibits proteasome and E3 ligases, and considered as DNA-demethylating agent. â€Å"This drug has reached phase II clinical trials in the treatment of BGM† (Liu et al., 2013). Finally, the unexpected agent in inhibiting resistant cancer stem cells (CSC) is metformin. This agent has shown anticancer effect especially against CSC in addition to its antidiabetic effect. Metformin selectively inhibits CSCs via targeting of the AMPK/mTOR/PI3K, insulin/IGF1, Ras/Raf/Erk, Shh, Wnt, TGF?, Notch, and NF-?B signaling pathways, which have many tasks in cell proliferation, self-renewal, differentiation, metastasis and metabolism. It’s important to notice that even metformin –as monotherapy or in combination with chemotherapy- has anti-CSC activity; further clinical trials are needed for additional emphasis of this effect (Saini and Yang, 2017). To conclude, cancer stem cells are more resistant to conventional chemotherapeutics than the majority of cancer cells, and survival of cancer stem cells likely contributes to tumor recurrence. Theoretically, eliminating cancer stem cells through targeted therapies would increase the efficacy of our existing treatments and lead to more favorable long-term prognoses for many cancer types. Drug discovery nowadays is directed towards cancer field and aims to treat cancer and prevent cancer relapse via targeting cancer stem cells. Some agents were existed before like Disulfiram and metformin, and other agents are totally new.

Essay on The Effects of Global Climate Change - 1013 Words

Every human activity is having a particular effect on our climate. This was noted by the world in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro when it was open for signature by the United Nations Framework on Climate Change. In the Climate Change Convention, the international community agreed to prevent and combat the effects of climate change such as those in agricultural areas, melting icecaps and the increase in sea level. In 1997, governments took the next step and agreed to the Kyoto Protocol which set as its goal the reduction of greenhouse gases emitted by industrialized countries. Global Climate Change is a fact, although there are always skeptics, do not represent in any way a majority group. That is why governments around the world have reacted to†¦show more content†¦The accumulation of these gases in the atmosphere contributes to global warming. If nothing is done, by 2100 temperatures could rise between 1.3 and 5 degrees, according to new scientific calculations. Desagraciadamente, conferences of this type, which seeks to achieve a common goal beneficial to humanity as the emission reduction is not completed successfully. It is known that there are many interests at stake that impede their realization. The atmosphere and the processes that maintain their characteristics are not very fast reaction time periods compared to humans. Solutions to the problems of the thinning of the Ozone Layer, Global Warming, a devastating climate changes, it is a matter of years, even decades. It is therefore a concern that must be immediate, you can not expect that the effects become too clear, as you probably already at that time is too late to act to find solutions climate change scenarios for Mexico is very serious, due to the very impact of climatic changes but also highly vulnerable to social, economic and political life. In countries like Mexico, which lack the resources to address and mitigate, where possible, the impacts of climate change, this phenomenon will have major consequences. People living in vulnerable areas, in substandard housing, in areas with water shortages, with serious pollution problems, or rain-fed farming, has no insurance, no food,Show MoreRelatedGlobal Climate Change And Its Effects1582 Words   |  7 Pages​The global climate change was identified late 19th century with more and more greenhouse gases released into atmosphere by human activities. Carbon dioxide, a major human-produced greenhouse gas, accounts for more than 50% of direct contribution to the present-day reinforcing greenhouse gas effect. It is estimated that over half of the carbon dioxide comes from energy sector activities. Energy demand and energy-related carbon emissions in the developing regions cause an increasingly global concernRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Effects On Global Climate Change1302 Words   |  6 PagesGlobal Warming was first measured in the 1930s, but it was assumed that the CO2 would be absorbed by the ocean without an harm, so it was not taken as a problem. Climate change is a prominent issue that has been debated on for quite a few decades. According to wikipedia, â€Å"climate change is a change in global or regional climate patterns, in particular a change apparent from the mid to late 20th century onwards and attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide producedRead MoreGlobal Warming And Its Effect On Climate Change Essay1362 Words   |  6 PagesThe global warming is a controversial and debated topic, but it is no surprise to most people. When we think about our future, we only think about our personal life effects and benefits. Global warming is also an important and troubling situation going on the planet earth. Changes in climate can be resulted from both human activities and natural. Human activities involve careless actions and burning fuels. On the other side, natural events cause climate change by volcanic eruptions. Human activitiesRead MoreThe Effects Of Livestock On Global Climate Change794 Words   |  4 Pages What is one major cause of global climate change? One major cause of global climate change is the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which causes the warming of the Earth. These greenhouse gases are a result of human activities. Animal agriculture directly and indirectly contributes to the human activities that cause hazardous amounts of methane and carbon dioxide emissions. The impacts of livestock on global climate change are often underestimated and ignored; hence, these greenhouseRead MoreThe Effects Of Global Warming On Climate Change1012 Words   |  5 Pagescalled climate change. This period of time may be more than a decade of length. To perform studies on climate change is very important for increasing yields and for insuring the crops for the farmers of the modern day. These studies were used historically too and have helped the agricultural community to grow crops over the same land decade after decade. At present the earth’s average temperature continues to increase. One reason for this is Global warming. There are many negative effects of globalRead MoreThe Effects Of Global Climate Change On The World1118 Words   |  5 PagesThe effects of global climate change are everywhere from major cities to the under populated arctics. Most people just call it global warming, but it is not. By calling it global warming people are assuming that everywhere in the world, temperatures are rising and that it will be hotter all year long, but this is not the case. This is why the scientific community calls it global climate change, because it can be hotter in the Summer time and colder in the Winter time. Global climate change occursRead MoreThe Effects Of Global Warming On The Climate Change1376 Words   |  6 Pagesfacing is the climate change. The temperature of the earth is warming day by day. According to many scientific researches, conducted on climate change have resulted that sudden climatic changes are the cause of global warming in the environment. The term ‘Global Warming’ is defined as the gradual increase in the temperature of the earth’s atmosphere due to the greenhouse effects which results in the corresponding changes in the climate. According to IPCC’s research, Earth’s global temperature isRead MoreThe Effects of Global Climate Change Essay1372 Words   |  6 Pagesenvironment everywhere right this very moment. What is causing the damage? Global climate change contributes a great amount of devastation to the world every day. This is important because the change is affecting humans, animals, plants and just about anything else that is living. As a result of global climate change, regions, ecosystems, and agriculture will be greatly affected. There are many things causing global climate change such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. One may noticeRead MoreThe Effects Of Global Warming On The Climate Change1405 Words   |  6 PagesGlobal warming, also referred to as climate change, has become a major political topic within recent years. Essentially, a controversial debate exists regarding the causes and subsequent impacts of global warming. Nevertheless, the current consensus by most experts is that evidence unequivocally supports the measurable impacts of global warming, such as increased temperatures, melting ice, etc. A literature review will be conducted in order to present scientific evidence that illustrates the impactsRead MoreClimate Change Is The Effect Of Global Warming936 Words   |  4 PagesClimate change is the effect of global warming. Global warming is when the temperature of the earth is rising and this has many effects on the world we know. The greenhouse effect causes global warming. T he greenhouse effect is due to gases being trapped in earths atmosphere and not being released into space beyond our atmosphere. When the gases are built up in the atmosphere the heat from the sun cannot escape and thus acts as a blanket to trap the heat and ultimately gradually heat the temperature

Curriculum development Free Essays

An Analysis of Philippine Educational Curriculum† To attain the progress of our country, the quality of education is one of the factors which contributes to the development of our economy and to have the quality of education, the national curriculum should set a clear direction and should have an empowered teaching force manned by excellent teachers that are properly guided by supervisors, and conducive learning environment that fosters learning among students that includes materials, technology. ND learning resources. In our country, it takes ten years of schooling under basic education and students armorial started going to school at the age of 6 in elementary level, starts in Grade 1 up to Grade 6. We will write a custom essay sample on Curriculum development or any similar topic only for you Order Now And proceeds to High School which takes 4 years and after finishing that long years, at the age of 16, they continue studying to higher education. Compared to other developed country, it takes 12 to 13 years of schooling in the basic education. As what Vive read, it says that the longer years of schooling means more learning, more time spent to master skills and develop competencies, deepening of learning outcomes, and more opportunities to be exposed to the learning environment. How to cite Curriculum development, Papers

Identity Essay Example For Students

Identity Essay Not too long ago, I began wondering about my family and where I belonged in terms of the wider society, and so I began some research. I found both positive and negative information about my family that I already knew or had heard about, however, I also discovered some interesting information about my family which I had never been aware of. The one thing that really shaped my identity was the things about my grandfathers immediate family. My grandfathers father, worked as a master shoemaker for German officers throughout the early stages of the Second World War. He was assigned to a ship moving the men to an internment centre. When the Americans came heroically in they bombed the ship, so without any choice my grandfathers father swam back to Germany. Not long after he came to get the family and escaped onto a train. Yet again there was another bombing. The family ended up going to Bengali Displaced Persons camp in Italy, waiting for transportation to some other safe haven; Australia or America. My grandfathers father decided Australia because it was a new country. All the family had were a couple of suitcases and a great big box. The agreement was that they worked for the Australian Government for two years. They came to Australia on the Bundy. My aunty Beate was very small and my aunty Anne was only five years old (grandfathers sisters). When they boarded women were generally asked if they were pregnant and my grandfathers mother declined without hesitation. That was in July; she had my grandfather John in December (1949). She hid the pregnancy as protection. At this stage of their migration they were poor and experiencing terrible conditions whilst abroad the Suez Canal. Immediately after their arrival at Sydney they headed to Parkes (migrant accommodation) where my grandfather John was born. They didnt settle in Parkes for too long as they then moved onto to Scheyville Holding Centre. My grandfathers father continued to earn some money, he moved to Port Kembla for work and travelled quite often back to Scheyville and Parkes. My grandfathers mothers commitment to the family never went unnoticed especially when she started to work through the night just earn cheap factory handouts. They family later left Scheyville in 1951 and moved to Marsden Park (aunty Anne still lives in this same house, with extra, minimal renovations), at that stage in society, there were no street lights and the roads were terrible, it was absolutely black and silent (not many people resided in this area at the time), it absolutely terrified my aunty Anne that she cried herself to sleep most nights. Things in this area were extremely tough and many misfortunate strains such as sicknesses and poverty were placed on the whole family, that I still hear about even today. When the stress started to ease, the family felt at home like there was nowhere else they wanted to be. They started living life again like before all the tension built up they invited their nationality and identity back into their lives by continuing to speak Estonian and having many Estonian things in their home. In 2005, a reunion was held, and my aunty Anne was listening to people, a couple of women were going on well perhaps things were bad she thought, but to her it didnt seem that way. To her she lived there, went to school, ate and played. Although my grandfathers family endured many low lights in their life, they continued to have a positive outlook and as I discovered after researching about this significant part of their life, the children (Aunty Anne, Aunty Beate and grandfather John) never really understood what was happening at the time and so all they saw of their early childhood was what happened to them alone. So, I discovered that I never wanted to be like that, I wanted to learn about world affairs and other peoples world, I then knew that I was never going to be concerned with only me! .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f , .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f .postImageUrl , .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f .centered-text-area { min-height: 80px; position: relative; } .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f , .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f:hover , .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f:visited , .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f:active { border:0!important; } .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f .clearfix:after { content: ""; display: table; clear: both; } .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f { display: block; transition: background-color 250ms; webkit-transition: background-color 250ms; width: 100%; opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #95A5A6; } .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f:active , .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f:hover { opacity: 1; transition: opacity 250ms; webkit-transition: opacity 250ms; background-color: #2C3E50; } .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f .centered-text-area { width: 100%; position: relative ; } .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f .ctaText { border-bottom: 0 solid #fff; color: #2980B9; font-size: 16px; font-weight: bold; margin: 0; padding: 0; text-decoration: underline; } .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f .postTitle { color: #FFFFFF; font-size: 16px; font-weight: 600; margin: 0; padding: 0; width: 100%; } .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f .ctaButton { background-color: #7F8C8D!important; color: #2980B9; border: none; border-radius: 3px; box-shadow: none; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 26px; moz-border-radius: 3px; text-align: center; text-decoration: none; text-shadow: none; width: 80px; min-height: 80px; background: url(https://artscolumbia.org/wp-content/plugins/intelly-related-posts/assets/images/simple-arrow.png)no-repeat; position: absolute; right: 0; top: 0; } .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f:hover .ctaButton { background-color: #34495E!important; } .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f .centered-text { display: table; height: 80px; padding-left : 18px; top: 0; } .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f-content { display: table-cell; margin: 0; padding: 0; padding-right: 108px; position: relative; vertical-align: middle; width: 100%; } .uc8e12b4d06143f98c3ff51e2bf063d6f:after { content: ""; display: block; clear: both; } READ: Plagiarism EssayThroughout this discovery of life I really began to understand my deeper identity, the part of my identity that no one really knows or can see displayed through my actions. After unearthing all the hardships, deprivation, lies, suffering and cruelty they were faced with, I felt lucky not only because of the fact that I was not in the same situation at such a young age, but also because of the freedom I endure every day, I have rights and I am constantly protected which allows me to feel safe and secure in my body, in my community and in my world.

Beginner Acting Exercises †Stage Acting Essay

Beginner Acting Exercises – Stage Acting Essay Free Online Research Papers Beginner Acting Exercises Stage Acting Essay Stage 1 Eyes Closed Leader Exercise Half the class stands on one side of room with pointy finger outward and eyes closed. The rest of the class comes across room and touches tip of finger and leads eyes closed person around the room. If leader moves too fast the tips are separated. It is the leaders job to keep finger tips together. This exercise can be thought of as truck driving with a trailer behind it. The Triangle Game Group Movement Improvizational Activity (Professor calls out numbers) #0 walk around the space without looking at anyone. #1 walk around space while keeping one person in your line of sight. #2 Walk around space with two people in your line of sight, or walk between the two people. #3 try to stay an equidistant from your two people that are in your line of sight. (This goes on until stasis occurs) Stage 2 Tell your students: â€Å"Today we are going to play the casting procedure† Split the class into even number of groups of about 4. One group is to be a casting crew, (casting directors) and the other is to be candidates for leading roles in the film. After first casting they change roles. Show the casting group their objectives: 1. â€Å"You are a casting crew for a new horror film, you have to find a person to play role of innocent victim of a monster. Think of tasks you are going to give your candidates to perform to check their acting abilities.† 2. â€Å"You are a casting crew for a new gangster film, you have to find a person to play role of a ruthless gangster. Think of tasks you are going to give your candidates to perform to check their acting abilities.† The group of applicants receive one of the following information: 1. â€Å"You are a candidate for a leading role in a new horror film. It might be the turning point of your life. You really want to get that role.† 2. â€Å"You are a candidate for a leading role in a new gangster film. It might be the turning point of your life. You really want to get that role.† Stage 3 The emotions game – Give your students handouts with emotions (see bottom of this page) and make sure they understand all terms. Then one student has to pick one emotion and mime it. Others try to guess the emotion. This activity goes until all students tried it. Stage 4 Show students a short extract from a professional film. Tell them to pay attention to acting. Then give them a scripted fragment and ask to play the same roles (You have to take part in distributing roles if necessary). One person shoots everything (possibly in the similar fashion as in the original film) so that everyone can watch it later and analyse. (Just use linear in-camera editing) Students analyse their acting. Stage 5 Similar to the previous one. Show students fragment of a professional script and tell them to enact it. Again someone (not the same person) shoots the action. Students watch the effect Show them the original performance in the professional film to compare. Stage 6 Groundwork for students’ film Finding locations: Tel your students to read through the script and suggest locations for scenes. Once the locations are established on paper it is good to visit them if possible and check their applicability. Research Papers on Beginner Acting Exercises - Stage Acting EssayWhere Wild and West MeetThe Hockey GameStandardized TestingThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsRelationship between Media Coverage and Social andMarketing of Lifeboy Soap A Unilever ProductPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyCapital PunishmentThree Concepts of Psychodynamic19 Century Society: A Deeply Divided Era

Learn how to get only As for your paper!

Learn how to get only As for your paper! How to End Failing Grades in Paper Writing Failing grades on papers in college is a GPA â€Å"killer.† When a major research paper can be fully one-third of a course grade, it is easy to understand that no one ever wants a â€Å"D† or â€Å"F† on one of them. And yet those grades are quite common, when students submit writing paper assignments that are just not up to the standards that college-level work demands. If you are the recipient of some of these kinds of grades, you know you have to something to fix the issues you have. But you can’t fix those issues unless you first identify them. So, here are common causes of poor writing grades, and if you can identify yours, you’ve made the first step toward grade recovery. Course overload: Some students are just too ambitious and enroll in either too many courses or in too many really challenging courses. And many students have part-time jobs that they must keep due to their financial situations. Take a long hard look at the courses you are currently in. If it is early in the semester, you might want to consider dropping ones in which you are struggling and picking up a â€Å"fluff† course to keep your credit load the same. This will naturally give you more time to spend on the essay and paper writing for the remaining courses. Time Management/Procrastination: If you are not organizing your time efficiently, you will always end up trying to get those essays and papers completed at the last minute. This is a â€Å"death knell,† because you will never do a good job when rushed. And if you are the type of person who is continually putting things off and choosing social time instead, you will always have your â€Å"back up against the wall† when you finally do have to get a paper in. Students who get consistently good grades on writing assignments schedule time for them in advance and stick to a schedule of daily assignments, time for work on longer-term essays and papers, down-time to just chill, job, and other co-curricular and social activities. If you manage yourself well, you will have time for all of these things. Lack of Motivation: If you are forced to take a course in which you have no interest, do not feel alone. Every college student faces this issue, and it is really hard to get motivated to write an essay or a paper on a topic you really dis-like. There is no cure for this, but you will have to force yourself to put together a credible piece of writing anyway. One thing you can do is get online and read sample essays and/or papers on the topic, and these will give you some good ideas for development and perhaps some current resource materials that you can use. A word of caution: all of your professors have plagairism-detection software at their disposal, and, in fact, a number of colleges now require that a student submit a TurnItIn report with their essays and papers. Don’t try to â€Å"game the system!† Organizing Information/Data from Several Sources: Writing a paper that will earn a good grade means that information and data is presented in an organized fashion. When several sources are used, synthesizing that content can be a challenge, especially when you have to be very careful about the specific source of each piece. If you struggle with combining the results of research into logical sub-topics, you need an organizing system. In high school, you probably used note cards, and that works for many students. If it doesn’t work for you, try listing each sub-topic at the top of a page and then enter information that pertains to that sub-topic (with the source and page number of course) all on two or three pages. You can then print those page out, lay them before you, and have a complete picture of the information you have on a sub-topic. Combining similar pieces of data from different sources is then an easy task. English writing skills: If you do not have proficient composition skills, you probably already know it. Even though a paper may be for a history class, lack of good writing automatically lowers a grade. Professors are, after all, human, and they get frustrated when they have to read anything that is poorly written – they cannot focus on your content, no matter how good it is. You must get help if this is your issue, and here are your options: First, commit to remediating your skills through an online course or a tutor. This will take time but eventually pays off. Make use of the writing lab on your campus – it’s free, and there are good writers there to help you. Write your rough draft and have a friend who is a good writer review and edit it for you. Get a writing style app that will find your major errors and give you solution suggestions. Contact a custom paper writing company and get original custom writing of your essays and papers. The additional â€Å"plus† of this option is that you can study the pieces as you work to improve your own skills.

Is there an appropriate balance between the right to protect your Essay

Is there an appropriate balance between the right to protect your reputation with the law of defamation and the right to free speech - Essay Example Obviously democratic societies benefit from free and open speech as well as providing compensation for those who are injured by false damaging statements. However, the law of defamation allows for â€Å"remarkable restriction of the freedom to speak and write.†1 This point is amply substantiated by the evaluating the law of defamation and the right to free speech with particular emphasis on how the courts have protected the reputation of the individual The English law of defamation is decidedly complicated.2 The complexities stem from a variety of technical and detailed rules contained in both common law principles and legislative provisions.3 Moreover, the common law has been modified by the Defamation Act 1952 and the Defamation Act 1996 and by the European Convention on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms which have been indorsed by the Human Rights Act 1998.4 Under English law defamation can be founded by virtue of either libel or slander.5 Libel typically refers to the print form although libel does not necessarily require that it was committed by word.6 For instance in Monson v Tussauds Ltd a wax effigy was held to be sufficient to substantiate a libel.7 Ultimately, the libel is required to be such that it makes permanent imputations against the character of another8. Common forms of libel are usuall published by television broadcasts, newspapers, video and audio recordings.9 Slander, however can be made by virtue of non-permanent forms and is typically committed by word of mouth. A claim in slander requires that the plaintiff prove special damages unless the alleged slander is founded on one of the following grounds: Be that as it may, the plaintiff is at liberty to lodge a complaint with the court and the defendant is required to prove that the statement is true.12 The fact that the plaintiff is at liberty to lodge a complaint so easily, speaks to the strict protection of individual reputations under

Prerogative Powers in The Context of The UK Constitution Essay

Prerogative Powers in The Context of The UK Constitution - Essay Example The British constitution (comprising of a set of guiding principles and laws) is derived from a large number of sources that include: Royal prerogative powers Conventions Statute EU Treaties Common law Authoritative statements made in print, as in law books. Royal prerogative laws existed prior to the current form of the UK parliament. Officially, the right to exercise prerogative laws are retained by the Queen. However, in actual practice Ministers of the Crown, which comprise of the British Cabinet, exercise majority of these laws. The powers, as vested by the royal prerogative laws, are termed as Royal prerogative powers. On the other hand, statutes are laws that are passed by the UK Parliament; hence, they refer to laws  that are considered as the highest form of law for all governmental activities. This essay briefly examines differences that exist between Royal prerogative powers and statutory powers, while analysing and deriving that prerogative powers in their current form are not compatible as regards executive accountability, and needs modification to ensure better governance. Discussion Prerogative powers and statutory powers: The  royal prerogative  is a set of established privileges, immunities and authority, acknowledged in the  UK  as the sole right of the Sovereign. A majority of the  executive  powers, vested in the queen and exercised by the UK cabinet, have been accorded under the royal prerogative laws. Historically during middle ages in the UK, the king used royal prerogative powers to enforce his will during the process of decision-making, which purportedly aimed at public good. However, from 19th century, various reforms took place and by convention, it became compulsory to take into account the  advice given by Ministers of the Crown or the Prime Minister, who in turn are accountable to the UK Parliament for their decision while exercising prerogative powers.2 Under the constitution, the queen retains his or her powers to exercise Royal Prerogative laws against the advice of the UK Cabinet or the Prime Minister, however in actual practice the queen can only act as such during emergencies or where there are no precedent cases that can be applied suitably to that specific situation. Currently, the royal prerogative laws encompass various areas that are significant and critical to the United Kingdom, including country’s security, defence, and foreign affairs. While the queen’s name is officially present in all the aforementioned areas, in reality she exercises very little power, because currently royal prerogative power is vested mainly in the hands of the Cabinet ministers and the prime minister. While delineating prerogative powers, there have been difficulties in giving it a clear definition. As the Select Committee on Public Administration  Fourth Report  framed it in their review, â€Å"The royal prerogative itself is a notoriously difficult concept to define adequately.

America in 1920s Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

America in 1920s - Essay Example In the track of World War One, American men tussled to hoard their realm and woman wrestled to triumph the spot on to take part in an election. Near the conclusion of the First World War America was viewed as the mainly influential and affluent state in the world. During the 1920s the United States' cutback was roaring with hit and rising wealth, in which a huge pact of Americans, although surely not everyone, collectively. This epoch was too identified as the 'roaring twenties. By a copious contribute of raw resources (e.g. oil and coal) and the strategy of separation and repression in place; America rapidly becomes yet extra dominant and richer. America had large area variety, with every district contributing a bit diverse to the financial system. Into Metropolis at hand were fine waged career so folks who existed in city profited since the improved salaried work. Beside amid the goal of a state in the 1920's, at hand was as well frustration. America experienced the immense stash market collides that left a lot of Americans impoverished. This dissatisfaction in America was too what directed to the country's misery (Kallen (2002), p. 28). The melancholy instigates in 1929 and final for almost a decade. Millions of individuals lost their occupations beside with lots of industry going broke. The inequity of funds is what shaped such a wobbly economy. The stock market's undertaking a lot poorer than populace attention in this age. This condition leads to the largest stock market hurtle in our account. Cost attained a point that citizens by no means imagined. At one face whilst the market was deafening in September 1929 forty percent of stock market values were clean air. This supposed that financiers thinking that the stock market would set off up since it have been going up. Ku Klux Klan's existence paved the way for extensive fame during the 1920's. The KKK pleased the mainstream of white conventional America of any accountability for the inadequacy of the social order. It as well presented them a sagacity of refuge by shaping a hefty treaty in opposition to minorities (Smith (2002), p. 106). The 1920's where a point in time of conservatism, it was a period of immense communal modification. As of the world of fashion to the world to politics, forces collide to manufacture the mainly volatile decade of the century. The eighteenth Amendment was approved in 1920, which finished alcohol unlawful. It was named the Prohibition Amendment. This was recognized as the "Noble Experiment". All in history contributes to what a country is today and that is what we call contribution to culture, a way of life. The way we are today can be explained of what we experienced from the past. As a consequence, a lot of non-traditional tendency embark on to emerge in the lives of the youthful liberals in the 1920's. Women set in train to sense extra sexually unconventional and comprehend that they also had desires apart from only breathing to house their male equivalent. Many women also obtain up smoking, a commotion beforehand hand over wholly to men. In addition, progressively, women chase careers outside of their homes. The tempo of separation mounted. The young age band had closed living their lives according to customary culture, principles and had slot in their individual sets of needs, ambitions, and principles by which to exist as an alternative. The 1920's has really contributed greatly in the present

Schema Theory: Usefulness For Language Teaching

Schema Theory: Usefulness For Language Teaching There can be no doubt that all our knowledge begins with experience, Immanuel Kant (1781: 41). What is schema and schema theory? A schema (plural schemata) is termed as a mental structure (which) derives from all the particular experiences we have had (Nuttall 1982:7). Schema theory was first proposed by the gestalt psychologist Bartlett (1932), who observed that when people were asked to repeat a story from memory, they often filled in details which were not included in the original but related to what they already knew based on their cultural background. Schema then is culturally bound, as shall be shown in this essay. The concept of schema can be found from anthropology to philosophy and has been considered for both instruction and assessment in language learning, examples of which will be referred to and considered later. Kant (1781) claimed that new information, concepts and ideas can only have meaning when they can be related to something already known by the individual. This exemplifies how the idea of background knowledge in language-related performance has been around for centuries, if not actually co ined as a term at the time. McNamara, Miller and Bransford (1991) in Clapham (1996), who referred to the theory as mental models which consist of mental tokens, agree that schemata are used in comprehension but that it is not clear what we do with them. There are two main types of schema that have since been termed by theorists (Cook 1997). The first is formal schema and is based on the background knowledge of the structure of any given text. The second is content schema and relates to the background knowledge of the content area. We can see then that all schemata relates to background knowledge of some kind. A similar distinction can be made with processing skills used for reading, which is discussed later. Carrell (1998) states that these processes are not understood well. In this essay I will, however, attempt to address the issue of schema theory along with its practical application in relation to studies that have been carried out in the area. In doing so, I will also attempt t o focus on the main skills involved and the factors that affect its usefulness from the perspective of a language teacher. As teachers of English, we are constantly attempting to activate schematic knowledge for all skills work, and indeed, any work at all done in class. Within the context of a multi-skills approach, it more often than not leads to processing via receptive skills (reading and listening) and then progresses to productive skills work (speaking and writing). Research on schema theory has had a great impact on understanding both reading and listening skills, with the amount of research done seemingly focussing on the former. Thus, for the purposes of this essay I shall refer mainly to the evidence as it is applied to reading skills. Most methodologies investigating the role of schemata or background/prior knowledge are variations on Carrell’s (1987) paradigm. Traditionally in the study of second language comprehension, the emphasis has been focussed almost exclusively on the language itself rather than the individual attempting to interpret it (Cook 1997). It seems that more recently the language learner themselves, with the knowledge and ideas that they bring from the outside world, is perhaps as important a factor as the language itself. Carrell and Eisterhold (1983:80) point out that one of the most obvious reasons why a specific content schema may fail to exist for a reader is that the schema is culturally specific and is not part of a reader’s cultural background. Aebersold and Field rather philosophically describe it when they say, if the topic†¦is outside of their experience or base of knowledge, they are adrift on an unknown sea (1997:41). It is then surely the teachers responsibility to help learners and make sure that they are guided in the right direction by providing that which may be missing, or at the very least, helping to stimulate what is already there. In an ideal scenario, it would include a combination of both factors. Application to skills processing Processing a text can be seen as a two-way process between the text and the background knowledge or memory schemata of the listener or reader (Carrell 1982). This again stresses the need to take the learner into account and suggests a more holistic approach to skills work. Cook (1989) states that the mind, when stimulated by key words or phrases in the text or by the context, activates a knowledge schema. The emphasis here is on the cognitive characteristics of schema which allow us to relate incoming information to existing information. The reading process, therefore, involves such things as identification of genre, formal structure and topic; all of which activate schemata and allow readers to comprehend a text (Swales 1990:89). In turn, as well as allowing for the organisation of information and knowledge, schemas also allow us to make predictions on the continuation of discourse and check whether our fit matches (Carrell 1998). If it does not, then it would be common sense that w e are able to add to our already existing schema. It also makes sense that the more experience (both life and classroom) a learner has, the more available schemata they will have at their disposal and thus the better equipped they will be. Focussing as we are mainly on reading skills, a useful distinction can be made here between top-down and bottom-up processing. The former relates to making predictions based on background knowledge (knowledge-based) and the latter to building textual meaning from the individual linguistic units (text-based) (Carrell 1982:101). This has also been referred to by Anderson Lynch (1988) as schematic knowledge, which is background knowledge that includes factual/sociological factors and procedural knowledge or how the language is used in discourse; versus systemic knowledge, which is the knowledge of the language system and includes semantic, syntactic and phonological features. All of which, when related by context, combine to provide comprehension. So then, in relation to schema theory, it is with the former of both the above that we are most concerned. At times it can seem that theorists are overly concerned with this being some kind of battle and hence, the use of the word versus abov e, with one aspect winning over the other. However, evidence points to reading skills involving both equally, working hand-in-hand in order to achieve the best results possible. This view is supported by Spiro (in Carrell 1998), who believes that skilled readers constantly adapt their mode of processing, changing to meet the demands of a particular text/reading situation; less skilled readers tending to rely overly on processes in one direction and thus experiencing negative effects on overall comprehension. Overreliance on top-down processing has been referred to as schema interference, or a lack of understanding (Carrell 1998). When faced with unfamiliar topics, some students may overcompensate for absent schemata by reading in a slow, text-bound manner; other students may overcompensate by wild guessing (Carrell 1988:101). Swaffar, Arens and Byrnes (1991) in Clapham (1996) argue that most reading comprehension items only test bottom-up skills and fail to actually measure the way a reader understands, advertising the use of recall protocols in tests of reading comprehension. This view is supported by Carrell (1998) and has certainly been my experience as a teacher of English. We can surmise then that it is our responsibility as teachers to help make learners aware of the importance of both types in relation to one another and attempt to provide the right balance in order to achieve the greatest degree of comprehension possible. The form of detrimental processing mentioned here is supported by a good deal of related studies, some of the most significant of which I will now present in order to provide further validity to the concept of schema and schema theory. Studies Research carried out by Johnson in Carrell and Eisterhold (1983) suggests that a text on a familiar topic is better recalled than a similar text on an unfamiliar topic. Swales (1990), believes that this and other research supports the expectation that when both content and form are familiar the texts will be relatively accessible. It seems evident then that the greater the difference between the L1 and L2, the greater the difficulty in interpretation. Carrell and Eisterhold state that some key concepts may be absent in the schemata of some non-native readers or they may have alternate interpretations (1983:87). An obvious example we can choose to better exemplify this idea, are life rituals, such as celebrations that include weddings and festivals. One cultures concept of Christmas, for example, may contrast completely with anothers or may not, in fact, exist at all. These gaps or differences in cultural knowledge then need to be bridged in order to comprehend relevant information t o be considered and worked on. In Carrell’s (1987) study mentioned previously, subjects remembered the most when both the content and rhetorical form was familiar to them. However, when only content or only form was unfamiliar, unfamiliar content caused more difficulty for the readers than did unfamiliar form. This has obvious implications for the classroom and language learning, and suggests the common sense idea that teachers should attempt to choose topics and texts which learners have some concrete understanding of, especially when it comes to actual content involved. The form of a text then is something that learners are perhaps better able to deal with and which can be analysed, in the form a model for example, and then compared with the concept of form in relation to what they already know or are aware of or vice-versa. A conclusive study was conducted by Steffensen and Joag-Dev (1984) using two descriptions of weddings, which found that readers comprehended texts abo ut their own cultures more accurately than the other, which is no real surprise. Similarly, studies by Johnson (1981) and Kang (1992) have revealed that cultural origin of a text/story has a greater effect on comprehension than syntactic or semantic complexity. Also, results suggested that prior cultural experience prepared readers for comprehension of familiar information in a text. This again puts the emphasis on the importance of cultural background and how necessary it is for teachers to spend a good amount of time making sure that cultural concepts are considered and understood, whatever the form may be. However, the previous study showed that exposure to any unfamiliar words does not seem to have a significant effect on reading comprehension. This would then perhaps suggest that we do not need to give similar weight to the consideration of vocabulary, though we should, of course, bear this in mind when approaching texts. Carrell (1998:245) asks the relevant pedagogical question: Can we improve students reading by helping them build background knowledge on the topic prior to reading, through appropriate pre-reading activities? This then, for whichever theme and skill we are about to introduce and practise, is the key question. Were it not true, the implications for current methodology, and indeed ELT materials would be vast. Fortunately for all involved, this does not seem to be the case. The available research shown above, along with the likes of Stevens (1982) and Hayes and Tierney (1982) in Carrell (1998), suggest that all the effort of activating schema or schemata, is actually worthwhile. The latter study found that presenting background information related to the topic to be learned helped readers learn from the text regardless of how that background information was presented or how specific or general it was. As Stevens says: A teacher of reading might thus be viewed as a teacher of relevant in formation as well as a teacher of reading skills (1982:328). Levels Different pre-reading activities may be more or less effective with different proficiency levels. Hudson (1982) in Carrell (1998) found that a more explicit pre-reading activity, such as discussing pictures and making predictions, had a significantly greater facilitating effect on reading comprehension when compared to another less specific type; for example, vocabulary related. However, close analysis of the data showed that the effect was only significant for beginner and intermediate level ESL readers, with no real difference for advanced levels. This might then suggest that higher level learners are better able to deal with a lack of schema activation. Another significant issue is that, as lower level students may have the background knowledge but not the language skills to discuss them in English, their L1 might be used to access schemata but teachers should present the related vocabulary or otherwise a schema has been activated but learning the L2 has not been facilitated (Aebe rsold and Field 1997:77). ELT materials design When I first considered exactly what schema theory was, while admittedly not being fully sure, I was aware that it must have something to do with how, as language teachers, we are encouraged to warm up learners with an introduction that they can relate to and to ascertain exactly what it is that they know in relation to the subject matter and the coverage of a lesson and then to provide that which may be missing. So let us first begin by considering the actual activities that are used to introduce a topic. Carrell (1998) offers a variety of means in which relevant schemata may be constructed, including: discussion, real-life experiences, visual aids, text previewing, introduction and discussion of key vocabulary, and key-word/concept association activities. I would add brainstorming and use of quotations to this list. Although helpful, Carrell (1998) is of the opinion that these pre-reading activities are probably insufficient to be used only by themselves and teachers will almost c ertainly need to supply additional information; going on to suggest that it is probably wise to assume that pre-reading activities work best when used in a variety of combinations, believing that such activities must both build both new background knowledge, as well as activating existing background knowledge. So then, they are to be considered as a starting point and a springboard or foundation for teachers to utilise and learners to work from. The utilisation of schema theory in materials design is, in my opinion, completely evident and there for all to see. I do not feel it is necessary to include an extensive list of ELT materials in order to provide such examples, as there is such a great amount available. I think it can safely be stated that the introductory activity types do not vary too greatly and can be found in most good ELT textbooks; examples of which are Cutting Edge and (New) Headway, which are now considered classic ELT coursebooks and are widely used in the field along with many others that I have used myself in the past. Thus, I will instead focus on an example that I am currently using in my own teaching. As a teacher of English for Academic Purposes, I tend to use the Language Leader series of coursebooks along with other related materials, such as teachers books and so on, which I find both effective and user-friendly. I currently teach mid to high level learners who have an arts background and are worki ng towards arts related courses in higher education such as degree courses, and so it is appropriate that I choose material that focuses specifically on this area. The beginning of Unit 9 in Language Leader Upper-Intermediate (see appendix 1) provides examples of the activities mentioned above and include, for example, a picture of a Dali painting along with a quote to consider with some related questions for discussion, before moving onto what constitutes art and asking the students to read a text (leaflet: p.91) related to the theme of art This is a typical example of how schema theory is utilised in ELT materials and very similar activities can, in fact, be seen at the start of each unit. However, as Carrell (1998) suggests, this is not enough; and so, we as teachers are handed the responsibility of deciding exactly what to do with it. There are, of course, teachers books that help to provide ideas for usage which can be highly beneficial for inspiring ideas, especially for teach ers without the experience that helps to know how to approach such an activity. In using the material in the classroom myself, I have taken what is there and, as Carrell (1998) has suggested, added variety to it and attempted to bring it to life. For example, rather than just using one picture that is in the coursebook, show learners a range of examples that include a variety of genres and will then link into later activities that require learners to consider what constitutes art and include such examples (see activity 1b). Learners might also be encouraged prior to the lesson to bring in their own examples and thus start the activation and thinking process before the lesson has even begun. It could, and arguably should, link to work done in previous lessons that may include visits to art museums and galleries. This then is a kind of controllable variable in that we hopefully already have an idea of the background knowledge that learners will bring in from previous learning and the outside world. Thus, the more we know our students, the more it makes sense that we are in a position whereby we are better able to know what might work best. This is an area that I feel could be expanded upon and explored in greater detail by those who carry out studies pertaining to the area of schema and schema theory. While the learner is indeed now taken into account, the actual relationship and depth of shared and common knowledge between the teacher and their learners, plus amongst learners themselves, is something that rarely seems to be mentioned. Further application As well as in relation to teaching, schema theory can be applied to testing also; whether it be for diagnostic or assessment purposes. Of course, there are far too many examples of testing for us to consider here but it can be said that many of these forms of testing are very limited. As an IELTS examiner, it can sometimes seem as though one is preparing learners with strategies and techniques in order to pass a test, rather than to actually improve their English language skills. With all the skills being tested individually, we could apply schema theory across the board and suggest that the test-taker is not always prepared with necessary schematic knowledge before actually taking the exam. However, not all will be aware of the usefulness of this, and instead take the test(s) cold. They will then be expected to respond to and answer questions that they have a very limited knowledge of, which is a major criticism of the exam. For example, if they have not previously considered the ef fects of globalisation, they will not have the necessary schematic knowledge needed to answer the question. A better method, in my opinion, would be to make the exam more integrative and thus testing more than one skill at a time. For example, rather than testing receptive and productive skills separately, a combination could be used in which learners read a text or listen to an extract and then have to respond by writing or speaking about that which they have just been exposed to. That way we are then better able to actually provide the necessary information which might not be there in the first place. For example, learners might be asked to summarise a text or extract after reading or listening to it. It makes sense that test-takers will more likely come with the formal schema but not necessarily the content schema required. It will be interesting to see how the new Pearson Test deals with this aspect, especially being a computer based exam. Conclusion Despite the current popularity of pre-reading/listening activities, there might be restrictions to their use in ELT and they may not always work as intended. Cook (1994) stated that schemas can be restrictive even if they allow us to process communication. It has been proved that applications of schema theory do not always mean that comprehension has been improved, particularly where there is insufficient attention to the details of a given text, or where schema-interference increases due to the activation of dominant or negative schemata (Stott 2001). Also, there is evidence that the contextual and background information given may not always necessarily be adopted by the learners. However, there is little doubt that schema theory has positively influenced the teaching of reading and listening and that pre-activities can help to improve a learners comprehension in many situations. Therefore, it makes sense for teachers to use such activities but not be assumptive that what we expect is in fact reality. In other words, teachers should make sure that they check the usefulness of the activities used and pay close attention to possible schema-interference or non-activation. In essence, we must do the most possible in order to increase comprehension, and thus, maximise overall performance. Bibliography Aebersold, J. and Field, M. (1997) From Reader to Reading Teacher. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Anderson, A. and Lynch, T. (1998) Listening. Oxford: Oxford University Press Bartlett, F. (1932) Remembering. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Carrell, P. (1982) Cohesion is not coherence; TESOL Quarterly: Vol. 16, No. 4 Carrell, P. and Eisterhold, J. (1983) Schema Theory and ESL Reading Pedagogy, in Carrell, P., Devine, J. and Eskey, D. (eds) (1988) Interactive Approaches to Second Language Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Carrell, P. (September, 1987) Content and Formal Schemata in ESL Reading; TESOL QUARTERLY. Vol. 21, No. 3: Southern Illinois University Carrell, P. (1988) Some Causes of Text-boundedness and Schema Interference in ESL Reading, in Carrell, P., Devine, J. and Eskey, D.E. (eds) (1988) Interactive Approaches to Second Language Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Carrell, P. (1998) Interactive Approaches to Second Language Reading. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Clapham, C. (1996) Studies in Language Testing: The Development of IELTS 4. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Cook, G. (1994) Discourse and Literature. Oxford: Oxford University Press Cook, G. (January, 1997) Key concepts in ELT; ELT Journal. Volume 51/1: Oxford University Press Cook, G. (1989) Discourse in language teaching: A scheme for teacher education. Oxford: Oxford University Press Johnson, P. (1981) Effects on reading comprehension of language complexity and cultural background of a text; TESOL Quarterly: 15(2), 169-181. Kang, H. (1992) The effects of culture-specific knowledge upon ESL reading comprehension: School of Education Review, 4, 93-105. Kant, I. (1781) Critique of pure reason Maslow, A. (July, 1943) A theory of human motivation; Psychological Review: Vol. 50(4), 370-396. Nuttall, C. (1982) Teaching Reading Skills in a Foreign Language. Heinemann Singhal, M. (1998) A Comparison of L1 and L2 Reading: Cultural Differences and Schema, http://iteslj.org/Articles/Singhal-ReadingL1L2.html [last accessed on: 14.11.09] Swales, J. (1990) Genre Analysis. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press Steffensen, M. and Joag-Dev, C. (1984) Cultural knowledge and reading, In J. Alderson A. Urquhart (Eds.), Reading in a Foreign Language (pp. 48-61). New York: Longman Stott, N. (November 2001) Helping ESL Students Become Better Readers: Schema Theory Applications and Limitations; The Internet TESL Journal: Vol. VII, No. 11 Tannen (1993) Framing in Discourse. Oxford University Press US

Effective Use of Irony and Satire in Unveiling :: Unveiling

Effective Use of Irony and Satire in Unveiling Unveiling, by Vclav Havel, is an almost satirical view of societal behavior in the modern day world. The unusual props located throughout the apartment as well as the characters involved in the play come together to form an ironic tale wrought with realistic themes and an extremist view of modern society. The main characters are Vera, Michael, and Ferdinand Vanek. The play begins with Ferdinand entering the party of Vera and Michael. As the story line progresses, Vera and Michael continue describing their many material possessions and showing off their supposed glamour. All throughout the commentary on their accolades, they also openly criticize Ferdinand in every aspect of his life. They claim to do so only because they like him and because he is their best friend. In the end, Ferdinand begins inching towards the door, and Vera and Michael start to go hysterical at the thought of Ferdinand leaving. Finally, when he sits back down, Vera and Michael resume their "normal" chatter. The characterization in Unveiling is consistent in that each character is generally stagnant. Vera is a flat character. She starts out as a needy woman who is almost grandiloquent when she speaks of her belongings. Her husband Michael is no different. His pretentious behavior is only heightened by the accessory of his wife. In the end, they are still the same albeit not as composed as in the beginning. Ferdinand is really just a minor, speaking character in the play. There is not much depth to his character. He is essentially flat because there is no change in his character or lack thereof. Though Unveiling does contain many themes, the principle one that is prevalent throughout is social pretensions. Vera and Michael pretend that everything is fine in their life though it clearly is not. They hold themselves to a materialistic standard that they feel they must uphold. The slick veneer that they like to hide behind is actually rather brittle and transparent. Their loneliness is apparent. For their "unveiling" party, there is only one guest, Ferdinand. That points to the fact that they do not have many friends, thus the reality which is that they are alone. Along these same lines, societal pressures and social conformity are also major themes. They feel they must uphold such pretenses because that is the social standard.

Political and Legal Forces Essay

Political and legal forces are two of the three most important aspects for a business, with social forces being the third. Politics is a changing scene, and the rules and laws will change not regularly but often enough. Different elected parties have different feelings about certain business practices and use or alter the laws to change these. The same comes into play with trading in other countries. Organizations, especially the European Union, have a lot of rules for their member states with regards to production, distribution, content, health benefits, and many more. What are political forces? Political forces are governments and unilateral bodies that decree certain rules, regulations, laws or restrictions with regards the way a country is run. This siphons down into everyday life, especially business. Businesses cannot avoid these unless they move countries, and then there’s the issue of the attention this draws. More often than not they simply have to adapt. An example i s taxation. If taxation rises for companies then so does the price of the goods. If taxation rises in general then wages have to be increased thus making production values higher and prices for goods increase further. †¢What are legal forces? Legal forces are the types of law and legislation that a political body introduces. A government or state-body like the E. U may decide, for example, that advertising chocolate around children’s television is inappropriate, and thus ban them from advertising on children’s channels and during set time periods. This is a legal constraint. †¢How do we adapt? You have to evaluate the situation. If you’re being taxed more then the simple solution is to raise prices. However, this may upset the consumer, so you need to weigh up whether it’s safer to take the decrease in profitability or whether you should only marginally increase the prices, thus reducing your loss and minimizing upset to the consumer. Other manners of political interference or legal restriction can occur. Realistically you just have to make them part of your business model. Defying the law can result in punishment, such as fines and even closure

Constitual convention of the 1787 essays

Constitual convention of the 1787 essays The constitual convention of the 1787 had to deal with hard desicons and choices between fedral and state sepration. they had to deal with the Kentucky resloution, Alexander Hamilton, and the Bill of Rights. The Constitual had to figure out the hard choices to see where the central goverment should and shouldnt deal with state affiars. With all those factors the consnstitual convention had many hard desicons to make trying not to upset or cause too much drama with either side. The constitual convention of the 1787 had to deal with hard desicons and choiices between fedral and state sepration. they had to deal with the Kentucky resloution, Alexander Hamilton, and the Bill of Rights. The Constitual had to figure out the hard choices to see where the central goverment should and shouldnt deal with state affiars. With all those factors the consnstitual convention had many hard desicons to make trying not to upset or cause too much drama with either side. >Alexander hamiltion was a strong supporter of a central goverment. Fedrealist strongly stood behinde him supporting him in his ideas of setting up the bank of america taking over states debts and ruling the newly founded united states.The founding fathers thought that there were still problems with the union under the Articles of Confederation and needed to be changed with power in defferent places. Commerce was a large issue because if the difficulties in going from state to state with your goods. Hamilton and Madison felt the states were holding too much power and a central government was needed to handle the affairs of the entire union.In document one alexander hamiltion stated the police and little issues like that would be dealt with inside of the state but forgien affiars, and banking would be a central goverent issue. It was qutoed " employ all the means which regulate to its regulation to the ...

Free Essays on Cyberlaundering

Introduction This article will explore the latest technique in money laundering: Cyberlaundering by means of anonymous digital cash. Part I is a brief race through laundering history. Part II discusses how anonymous Ecash may facilitate money laundering on the Intenet. Part III examines the relationship between current money laundering law and cyberlaundering. Part IV addresses the underlying policy debate surrounding anonymous digital currency. Essentially, the balance between individual financial privacy rights and legitimate law enforcement interests. In conclusion, Part V raises a few unanswered societal questions and attempts to predict the future. Disclaimer: Although the author discusses this subject in a casual, rather than rigidly formal tone, money laundering is a serious issue which should not be taken lightly. As this article will show, fear of money laundering only serves to increase banking regulations which, in turn, affect everyone's ability to conduct convenient, efficient and relatively private financial transactions. Part I Humble Beginnings In the beginning, laundering money was a physical effort. The art of concealing the existence, the illegal source, or illegal application of income, and then disguising that income to make it appear legitimate 1 required that the launderer have the means to physically transport the hard cash.2 The trick was, and still is, to avoid attracting unwanted attention, thus alerting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other government agencies 3 involved in searching out ill-gotten gains.4 In what could be described as the "lo-tech" world of money laundering, the process of cleaning "dirty money" was limited by the creative ability to manipulate the physical world. Other than flying cash out of one country and depositing it in a foreign bank with less stringent banking laws,5 bribing a bank teller, or discretely purchasing real or personal property, the classic approach w... Free Essays on Cyberlaundering Free Essays on Cyberlaundering Introduction This article will explore the latest technique in money laundering: Cyberlaundering by means of anonymous digital cash. Part I is a brief race through laundering history. Part II discusses how anonymous Ecash may facilitate money laundering on the Intenet. Part III examines the relationship between current money laundering law and cyberlaundering. Part IV addresses the underlying policy debate surrounding anonymous digital currency. Essentially, the balance between individual financial privacy rights and legitimate law enforcement interests. In conclusion, Part V raises a few unanswered societal questions and attempts to predict the future. Disclaimer: Although the author discusses this subject in a casual, rather than rigidly formal tone, money laundering is a serious issue which should not be taken lightly. As this article will show, fear of money laundering only serves to increase banking regulations which, in turn, affect everyone's ability to conduct convenient, efficient and relatively private financial transactions. Part I Humble Beginnings In the beginning, laundering money was a physical effort. The art of concealing the existence, the illegal source, or illegal application of income, and then disguising that income to make it appear legitimate 1 required that the launderer have the means to physically transport the hard cash.2 The trick was, and still is, to avoid attracting unwanted attention, thus alerting the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) and other government agencies 3 involved in searching out ill-gotten gains.4 In what could be described as the "lo-tech" world of money laundering, the process of cleaning "dirty money" was limited by the creative ability to manipulate the physical world. Other than flying cash out of one country and depositing it in a foreign bank with less stringent banking laws,5 bribing a bank teller, or discretely purchasing real or personal property, the classic approach w...

Why Germany moved it's capital from Bonn to Berlin Research Paper

Why Germany moved it's capital from Bonn to Berlin - Research Paper Example Bonn was seen as the city that epitomized West German economic success and political moderation but Bonn supporters defended it based on this success during the parliamentary debate separating it from Nazi which they believed haunted Berlin and they argued that Bonn was good for upholding the country’s democracy. Moreover, the debate cut across party lines, that is, some social democrats and Christian democrats supporting Berlin and others backing Bonn and this parliamentary division reflected people’s mixed feelings about where to locate their government and set on the newly united Germany. However, some leaders suggested that the debate was not a fight between two cities but a decision about the future of the society for everyone’s good. Most parliamentarians backed the move to Berlin since it symbolizes Germany’s unification. This essay explores what made Germany to move its capital from Bonn to Berlin. German lawmakers engaged in a very heated debate t o make a decision whether the capital of the newly reunified country to remain in Bonn or be relocated back to its historic eastern location in Berlin (Cowell). Bonn has served as the capital of West Germany until the reunification of Germany when Berlin was chosen to be the new capital and the move to Berlin has been lengthy and costly but this move had been delayed by construction problems, plan charges and bureaucratic immobilization. Even though the parliament voted to support the move from the West German capital of Bonn to the old German capital of Berlin, most politicians perceived this as a future happening. Bonn supporters argued that a move to Berlin which is under monarchy, chaotic Weimar Republic, and the Nazis would only ruin the country contrary to Berlin backers who claimed that Bonn represented a small town thus a small minded Germany but Berlin was actually the country’s spiritual and cultural heart. More so, this relocation was meant to enhance unity in the country, that is, the unity of people from Berlin and the rest of the east depended on this move. However, everyone was worried about the cost which was high and this was reflected in the parliament’s decision to make a move after a long time. Improving Berlin’s infrastructure required a lot of money. Accordingly, some have argued that the â€Å"enormous cost of moving all government ministries to Berlin would never assume Bonn’s role as the sole seat of government† (Quint 107). One major reason why German moved its capital from Bonn to Berlin was to ensure a change from a smaller to a larger city (Slack and Rupak 105). Unlike Bonn which was quiet and small in size, Berlin was â€Å"a brash and busy metropolis† and it ranks as a great city recognized worldwide (Holz). Bonn had no symbol of being a capital because being small in size, it cannot contain dominant section like other middle or large sized German cities do especially Berlin (Slack and Ru pak 105). This actually made Germany to move its capital to a larger city, Berlin. In addition, Berlin is situated at the heart of the east making it to the best choice as the country’s capital and seat of government. Furthermore, the unification treaty acknowledged Berlin as capital leaving the decision on the seat of government to the future German legislature (Quint 107). Berlin supporters argued that relocating to Berlin would be very important in providing both political and economic support but others opposed this claiming that moving all government offices to Berlin would only add more financial burden (Quint 107). Accordingly, eastern representatives argued that the shift to Berlin is crucial to enhance â€Å"economic recovery in the former GDR and bolstering a psychological sense of parity and equality for of

Answer exam questionA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Answer exam questionA - Essay Example This notion postulates that the nuances of HRM and the applicability of its associated theories vary drastically on a cultural basis (Brewster et al. 2011: p2). Therefore, the pivotal significance of cultural observations in international management practices not only extends to the appreciation of national culture and its impact on business operations but also to the aspect of managerial behaviour (Crawley et al. 2013: p76). In assessing the impact of an understanding of culture and cultural difference on the behaviour of a western manager assuming an executive position at a non-western organization several factors must be examined. The commencement of managerial roles in an unfamiliar national culture is welcomed by cultural shock which may result in a failure to meet objectives and goals that accompany the position (Crawley et al. 2013: p77). However, a thorough comprehension of culture implies that a manager’s attitude towards colleagues would be marked by respect, sensiti vity, consideration and an understanding of critical aspects such as religion, ethnicity and race when managing a diverse workforce (Crawley et al. 2013: p77). More importantly in the context of the example under discussion, the assignment of a western manager within a non-western organisation presents the challenges of unique role demands posed by cultural factors. In this scenario, an effective understanding of role demands assists both managerial behaviour and performance (Dowling 2008: p193) given the existence of role clarity in defining what is expected of the individual within the organization (Dowling 2008: p194). While, it is important for a western manager to recognize the significance of specific characteristics related to cultural differences when performing his duties at a non-western organization, it is the successful application of relevant leadership theories that lies at the core of effective HRM. The contemporary leadership theories that have been applied by resear chers on assessments of culture and cross-cultural examinations are that of transformational leadership and charismatic leadership. An investigation into the Global Leadership and Organizational Behaviour Effectiveness (GLOBE) proposed that the relationship between manager behaviour and cultural implications in Indian organizations was such that workers favoured charisma and action orientation in an ideal leader (Robbins 2001: p389). This observation implies that a western manager having extensive information about culture and cultural differences would adopt the characteristics of a charismatic leader, as research shows that charismatic leaders can be made (Robbins 2001: p374). Additionally, formulating a vision, a clear long-term strategy and achievable yet inspiring goals are constituents of successful charismatic leadership. Furthermore, it is understood that characteristics of Indian culture include collectivism and the adoption of a humane approach. Therefore, the managerial b ehaviour of a western executive must integrate the attributes of transformational leadership by inspiring workers through communication of goals and the provision of personal attention, coaching and advise (Robbins 2001: p377. The latter is an indication of respect, understanding, sensitivity and consideration which is much valued in non-western nations such as India. In conclusion, an extensive comprehension of culture is a factor that is highly favourable for a manager who is

In what ways has technology ended the physical and intellectual Research Paper

In what ways has technology ended the physical and intellectual isolation of Americans - Research Paper Example revolution. This â€Å"technological determinism† incorporated technology and science in impacting the society and its processes; thus widely accepted by progress-oriented Americans. Believers of humankind’s steady moral and material improvement such as Thomas Jefferson and Benjamin Franklin championed the pursuit of science and technology for human betterment. The twentieth century commenced with the advent of professional advertising associated with dominance of technology. Challenges were however unavoidable especially with the social, economic and emotional effects that technological change posed on human life. While adherents were constantly swayed by its dynamism, scholars of technology and culture wondered how something so evidently wrong-headed attracted so much attention. It is therefore evident that the leaders of the eighteenth-century Enlightenment in their faith and enthusiasm toward technology as a liberating force perceived technological determinism as an intellectual heritage. Additionally, the proponents and skeptics in addition to conjuring the deterministic thinking both believed that technology and science were powerful social change agents.

Linguistics and Interjections Essay Example for Free

Linguistics and Interjections Essay In Western philosophy and linguistic theory, interjections—that is, words like oof, ouch, and bleah—have traditionally been understood to indicate emotional states. This article offers an account of interjections in Q’eqchi’ Maya that illuminates their social and discursive functions. In particular, it discusses the grammatical form of interjections, both in Q’eqchi’ and across languages, and characterizes the indexical objects and pragmatic functions of interjections in Q’eqchi’ in terms of a semiotic framework that may be generalized for other languages. With these grammatical forms, indexical objects, and pragmatic functions in hand, it details the various social and discursive ends that interjections serve in one Q’eqchi’ community, thereby shedding light on local values, norms, ontological classes, and social relations. In short, this article argues against interpretations of interjections that focus on internal emotional states by providing an account of their meanings in terms of situational, discursive, and social context. p a u l k o c k e l m a n is McKennan Post-Doctoral Fellow in Linguistic Anthropology in the Department of Anthropology at Dartmouth College (Hanover, N. H. 03755, U. S. A. [paul. [emailprotected] edu]). Born in 1970, he was educated at the University of California, Santa Cruz (B. A. , 1992) and the University of Chicago (M. S. , 1994; Ph. D. , 2002). His publications include â€Å"The Collection of Copal among the Q’eqchi’-Maya† (Research in Economic Anthropology 20:163–94), â€Å"Factive and Counterfactive Clitics in Q’eqchi’-Maya: Stance, Status, and Subjectivity,† in Papers from the Thirty-eighth Annual Regional Meeting of the Chicago Linguistics Society (Chicago: Linguistics Society, in press), and â€Å"The Interclausal Relations Hierarchy in Q’eqchi’ Maya† (International Journal of American Linguistics 69:25–48). The present paper was submitted 1 vi 01 and accepted 27 xii 02. 1. A longer version of this article was presented at the workshop â€Å"Semiotics: Culture in Context† at the University of Chicago in January 2001. Chris Ball, Anya Bernstein, John Lucy, and Michael Silverstein all provided very helpful commentary. This article also greatly bene? ted from suggestions made by Benjamin S. Orlove and several anonymous referees. Western philosophy and linguistic theory have traditionally considered interjections at the periphery of language and primordially related to emotion. For example, the Latin grammarian Priscian de? ned interjections as â€Å"a part of speech signifying an emotion by means of an unformed word† (Padley 1976:266). Muller (1862) ? thought that interjections were at the limit of what might be called language. Sapir (1921:6–7) said that they were â€Å"the nearest of all language sounds to instinctive utterance. † Bloom? eld (1984[1933]:177) said that they â€Å"occur under a violent stimulus,† and Jakobson (1960: 354) considered them exemplars of the â€Å"purely emotive stratum of language. † While interjections are no longer considered peripheral to linguistics and are now carefully de? ned with respect to their grammatical form, their meanings remain vague and elusive. In particular, although interjections are no longer characterized purely in terms of emotion, they are still characterized in terms of â€Å"mental states. † For example, Wierzbicka (1992:164) characterizes interjections as â€Å"[referring] to the speaker’s current mental state or mental act. † Ameka (1992a:107) says that â€Å"from a pragmatic point of view, interjections may be de?ned as a subset of items that encode speaker attitudes and communicative intentions and are contextbound,† and Montes (1999:1289) notes that many interjections â€Å"[focus] on the internal reaction of affectedness of the speaker with respect to the referent. † Philosophers have offered similar interpretations. For example, Herder thought that interjections were the human equivalent of animal sounds, being both a â€Å"language of feeling† and a â€Å"law of nature† (1966:88), and Rousseau, pursuing the origins of language, theorized that protolanguage was â€Å"entirely interjectional† (1990:71). Indeed, such philosophers have posited a historical transition from interjections to language in which the latter allows us not only to index pain and express passion but also to denote values and exercise reason (D’Atri 1995). 2 Thus interjections have been understood as a semiotic artifact of our natural origins and the most transparent index of our emotions. Such an understanding of interjections is deeply rooted in Western thought. Aristotle (1984), for example, posited a contrastive relationship between voice, proper only to humans as instantiated in language, and sound, shared by humans and animals as instantiated in cries. This contrastive relation was then compared with other analogous contrastive relations, in particular, value and pleasure/pain, polis and household, and bios (the good life, or political life proper to humans) and zoe (pure life, shared by all living things). Such a contrast is so pervasive that modern philosophers such as Agamben (1995) have devoted much of their scholarly work to the thinking out of this tradition and others built on it such as id versus ego in the Freudian paradigm. In short, the folk distinction made between interjections and language 2. D’Atri (1995:124) argues that, for Rousseau, â€Å"interjections . . . are sounds and not voices: they are passive registerings and as such do not presuppose the intervention of will, which is what characterizes human acts of speech. † 467 468 F c u r r e n t a n t h ro p o l o g y Volume 44, Number 4, August–October 2003 proper maps onto a larger set of distinctions in Western thought: emotion and cognition, animality and humanity, nature and culture, female and male, passion and reason, bare life and the good life, pain and value, private and public, and so on (see, e.g. , Lutz 1988, Strathern 1988). In this article I avoid such abstracting and dichotomizing traps by going straight to the heart of interjections: their everyday usage in actual discourse when seen in the context of local culture and grounded in a semiotic framework. I begin by characterizing the linguistic and ethnographic context in which I carried out my research and go on to relate interjections to other linguistic forms, showing how they are both similar to and distinct from other classes of words in natural languages. Next I provide and exemplify a semiotic framework, generalizable across languages, in terms of which the indexical objects and pragmatic functions of interjections can best be characterized. Then I detail the local usage of the 12 most commonly used interjections in Q’eqchi’ and show the way in which they are tied into all things cultural: values, norms, ontological classes, social relations, and so on. I conclude by discussing the relative frequency with which the various forms and functions of interjections are used. In short, I argue against interpretations of interjections that focus on emotional states by providing an account of their meanings in terms of situational, discursive, and social context. Linguistic and Ethnographic Context While I am attempting to provide as wide a theoretical account of interjections as I can, thereby providing a metalanguage for speaking about similar sign phenomena in other languages, I am also trying to capture the grammatical niceties of Q’eqchi’ Maya and the discursive and social particularities of one Q’eqchi’-speaking village in particular. Before I begin my analysis, then, I want to sketch the linguistic and ethnographic context in which I worked. Q’eqchi’ is a language in the Kichean branch of the Mayan family, spoken by some 360,000 speakers in Guatemala (in the departments of Alta Verapaz, Izabel, and Peten) and Belize (Kaufman 1974, Stewart 1980). 3 Lin? guistically, Q’eqchi’ is relatively well described: scholars such as Berinstein (1985), Sedat (1955), Stewart (1980), Stoll (1896), and Chen Cao et al. (1997) have discussed its syntax, morphology, phonology, and lexicon, and I have detailed various morphosyntactic forms (encoding grammatical categories such as mood, status, evidentiality, taxis, and inalienable possession) as they intersect with sociocultural values and contextual features and as they illuminate local modes of personhood (Kockelman 3. Typologically, Q’eqchi’ is a morphologically ergative, head-marking language. In Q’eqchi’, vowel length (signaled by doubling letters) is phonemic; /k/ and /q/ are velar and uvular plosives, respectively, and /x/ and /j/ are palato-alveolar and velar fricatives, respectively. All other phonemes have their standard IPA values. 2002, 2003a, b). This article is therefore part of a larger project in which I examine how intentional and evaluative stances are encoded in natural languages and the relations that such stances bear to local modes of subjectivity. Alta Verapaz, the original center of the Q’eqchi’-speaking people who still make up the majority of its population, has had a unusual history even by Guatemalan standards. In 1537, after the Spanish crown had failed to conquer the indigenous peoples living there, the Dominican Friar Bartolome de Las Casas was permitted to ?pacify the area through religious methods. Having succeeded, he changed the name of the area from Tezulutlan (Land of War) to Verapaz (True Peace), and the Dominicans were granted full control over the area—the state banning secular immigration, removing all military colonies, and nullifying previous land grants. In this way, for almost 300 years the area remained an isolated enclave, relatively protected by the paternalism of the church in comparison with other parts of Guatemala (King 1974, Sapper 1985). This ended abruptly in the late 1800s, however, with the advent of coffee growing, liberal reforms, and the in? ux of Europeans (Cambranes 1985, Wagner 1996). Divested of their land and forced to work on coffee plantations, the Q’eqchi’ began migrating north into the unpopulated lowland forests of the Peten ? and Belize (Adams 1965, Carter 1969, Howard 1975, Kockelman 1999, Pedroni 1991, Saa Vidal 1979, Schwartz 1990, Wilk 1991). In the past 40 years this migration has been fueled by a civil war that has ravaged the Guatemalan countryside, with the Q’eqchi’ ? eeing not just scarce resources and labor quotas but also their own nation’s soldiers—often forcibly conscripted speakers of other Mayan languages (Carmack 1988, IWGIA 1978, Wilson 1995). As a consequence, the past century has seen the Q’eqchi’ population spread from Alta Verapaz to the Peten and ? nally to Belize, Mexico, and even the ? United States. Indeed, although only the fourth largest of some 24 Mayan languages, Q’eqchi’ is thought to have the largest percentage of monolinguals, and the ethnic group is Guatemala’s fastest-growing and most geographically extensive (Kaufman 1974, Stewart 1980). The two key ethnographies of Q’eqchi’-speakers have been written by Wilk (1991) and Wilson (1995), the former treating household ecology in Belize and the latter upheavals in village life and identity at the height of the civil war in highland Guatemala during the 1980s. In addition to these monographs, there are also a number of dissertations and articles on the history (King 1974, Sapper 1985, Wagner 1996), ecology (Carter 1969, Secaira 1992, Wilson 1972), and migration (Adams 1965, Howard 1975, Pedroni 1991) of Q’eqchi’-speaking  people. The data for this article are based on almost two years of ethnographic and linguistic ? eldwork among speakers of Q’eqchi’, most of it in Ch’inahab, a village of some 80 families (around 650 people) in the municipality of San Juan Chamelco, in the department of Alta Verapaz. At an altitude of approximately 2,400 m, Ch’inahab is one of the highest villages in this area, with an annual precipitation of more than 2,000 mm. It is also one of k o c k e l m a n The Meanings of Interjections in Q’eqchi’ Maya F 469  the most remote, access to the closest road requiring a three-hour hike down a steep and muddy single-track trail. Its relatively high altitude and remote location provide the perfect setting for cloud forest, and such a cloud forest provides the perfect setting for the resplendent quetzal, being home to what is thought to be the highest density of such birds in the world. Because of the existence of the quetzal and the cloud forest in which it makes its home, Ch’inahab has been the site of a successful eco-tourism project the conditions and consequences of which are detailed in my dissertation (Kockelman 2002). While the majority of villagers in Ch’inahab are monolingual speakers of Q’eqchi’, some men who have served time in the army or worked as itinerant traders speak some Spanish. All the villagers are Catholic. Ch’inahab is divided by a mountain peak with dwellings on both of its sides and in the surrounding valleys. It takes about 45 minutes to hike across the village. At one end there is a biological station kept by the eco-tourism project and used sporadically by European ecologists, and at the other there is a Catholic church and a cemetery. In the center there is a small store, a school for primary and secondary grades, and a soccer ? eld. The surrounding landscape is cloud forest giving way to scattered house sites, agricultural parcels, pasture, and ? elds now fallow. All villagers engage in corn-based, or milpa, agriculture, but very few have enough land to ful? ll all of their subsistence needs. 4 For this reason, many women in the village are dedicated to chicken husbandry, most men in the village engage in seasonal labor on plantations (up to ?ve months a year in some cases), and many families engage in itinerant trade (women weaving baskets and textiles for the men to sell) and eco-tourism (the women hosting tourists and the men guiding them). Dwelling sites often contain a scattering of houses in which reside an older couple and their married sons, all of whom share a water source and a pasture. The individual families themselves often have two houses, a relatively traditional thatched-roof house in which the family cooks and sleeps and a relatively new house with a tin roof in which they host festivals and in which older children and ecotourists may sleep. Because of eco-tourism and the in? ux of money and strangers that it brings, there has been an increase in the construction of such tin-roofed houses, and, as will be seen, many of my examples of interjections come from such construction contexts. My data on the use of interjections among villagers in Ch’inahab comes from 14 months of ? eldwork carried out between 1998 and 2001. The data collection con4. Before 1968, what is now Ch’inahab was owned by the owner of a plantation. Q’eqchi’-speakers who lived in the village of Popobaj (located to the south of and lower than Ch’inahab) were permitted to make their milpa in this area in exchange for two weeks of labor per month on the ? nca (Secaira 1992:20). Only in 1968, when a group of villagers got together to form a land acquisition committee, were some 15 caballer? as (678 ha) of land purchased from the owner ? for 4,200 quetzals (US$4,200). This land, while legally owned by the entire community, was divided among the original 33 villagers as a function of their original contributions.  sisted in part of characterizing tokens of usage when I heard them and in part of tracking tokens of usage through recordings of naturally occurring conversations. 5 In particular, given the fact that many interjections occur in relatively nonconversational, task-engaged situations (house building, planting, playing, cooking, etc. ), trying to record them in such contexts was futile. Luckily, as will be seen, they often occur in modes of disruption (when some goal-directed action goes awry), which makes them relatively easy to notice in real-time context and their contextual regularities relatively easy to stipulate. In addition, I tape-recorded naturally occurring conversations in the households of three families once a week over several months, usually at dinnertime. 6 After I describe the forms and meanings of the interjections I will discuss the relative frequency of the various tokens collected and thereby illuminate which forms and meanings are most often used by whom. The Grammatical Form of Interjections There are four criteria by which interjections may be differentiated from other linguistic forms within a particular language and generalized as a form class across languages (Ameka 1992, Bloom?eld 1984[1933], Jespersen 1965, Wilkins 1992). First, all interjections are conventional lexical forms, or words, that can constitute utterances on their own (Wilkins 1992). They are conventional in that their sign carriers have relatively standardized and arbitrary phonological forms, and they can constitute utterances on their own because their only syntagmatic relation with other linguistic forms is parataxis—in which two forms are â€Å"united by the use of only one sentence pitch† (Bloom? eld 1984[1933]:171). They can therefore stand alone as perfectly sensible stretches of talk before and after which there is silence. Second, with few exceptions, no interjection is simultaneously a member of another word class (Ameka 1992a, Wilkins 1992). Almost all of them are what Ameka (1992a:105), following Bloom? eld (1984[1933]), calls primary interjections: â€Å"little words or non-words which . . . can constitute an utterance by themselves and do not normally enter into constructions with other word classes. † In Q’eqchi’, the main exceptions are interjections built, through lexical extension, from the primary interjection ay. In the case of ay dios, the additional 5. I also include several examples of interjection usage that occurred in the context of ethnographic interviews about topics other than interjections, for these often indicated that an ethnographic question was poorly posed or inappropriate in the local context. I also carried out extensive interviews about the meanings of interjections with native speakers (see Kockelman 2002 for an extended discussion of the relationship between form, usage, and speakers’ re? ections). 6.  Indeed, the best two accounts of interjection-like things— â€Å"response cries† in Goffman (1978) and â€Å"emblematic gestures† in Sherzer (1993)—explicitly take into account social interaction and ethnographic description. Good accounts of the discursive use of interjections are offered by De Bruyn (1998), Ehlich (1986), Gardner (1998), and Meng and Schrabback (1999). 470 F c u r r e n t a n t h ro p o l o g y Volume 44, Number 4, August–October 2003 element, dios, is a loan noun from Spanish, meaning â€Å"god. † In the case of ay dios atinyuwa’, besides the Spanish loanword there is a Q’eqchi’ expression, at-in-yuwa’ (you [are] my father). Interjections of this latter kind, which are or involve forms that belong to other word classes, will be called secondary interjections (again following Ameka and Bloom? eld). Similarly, the English secondary interjections damn and heavens may be used as both interjections and verbs or nouns. Third, with few exceptions, an interjection consists of a single morpheme and undergoes neither in? ectional nor derivational processes (Wilkins 1992). Interjections cannot be in? ectionally marked for grammatical categories such as tense or number, and they cannot be further derived into another form class such as noun or verb. Such forms are often classi? ed as a subclass of â€Å"particles† or discourse markers (see Ameka 1992a, Fraser 1999, Jespersen 1965, Schiffrin 1987, Wilkins 1992, and Zwicky 1985). In Q’eqchi’ there are three exceptions to this characterization. First, uyaluy is what I will call a reduplicative interjection, being composed, through syllabic reduplication, from the interjection uy. Second, ay dios and ay dios atinyuwa’ are what I will call extended interjections, being composed, through lexical extension, from the interjection ay. And lastly, the interjection ay may undergo further derivation into a delocutionary verb (becoming ayaynak, â€Å"to cry or yell continually,† often said of dogs howling), which may then undergo normal verbal in? ection for grammatical categories such as tense, aspect, person, and number. Lastly, although it is not a criterial feature, many of these forms are phonologically or morphologically anomalous, having features which mark them as odd or unique relative to the standard lexical forms of a language. For example, unlike most Q’eqchi’ words, in which stress falls on the last syllable (Stewart 1980), the interjection uyaluy has syllable-initial stress. Similarly, while reduplication is a common morphological process in Q’eqchi’ (Stewart 1980), the reduplicative interjection uyaluy is derived through a nonstandard morphological form. While many Q’eqchi’ words involve a glottalized alveolar stop, the interjection t’ is also implosive. 7 Whereas the Spanish loanword dios is usually phonetically assimilated in Q’eqchi’ as tiox when used as a noun, in the interjection ay dios there is no devoicing of the initial consonant of this noun (i.e. , /d/ does not become /t/) or palatization of its ? nal consonant (i. e. , /s/ does not become /x/). And the interjection sht differs from ordinary Q’eqchi’ words in using /sh/, rather than a vowel, as a syllabic (see Bloom? eld 1984[1933]:121). In short, it is clear from the number of quali? cations that interjections, like most linguistic forms, are dif? cult to characterize with necessary and suf? cient conditions (see Taylor 1995, Zwicky 1985). Nevertheless, they may simultaneously be differentiated from other form classes within a particular language and generalized as a form class across languages. 7. Often called a â€Å"dental click† (Wilkins 1992) or a â€Å"suction stop† (Jespersen 1965:90). Readers who speak some Spanish may have noticed that many Q’eqchi’ interjections look similar to Spanish interjections—ay (dios), uy, ah, eh, sht—and even to English interjections (sh[t] and t’). While I have no historical data that would attest to such a claim, given the history of sustained linguistic contact between speakers of Spanish and Q’eqchi’ via the colonial encounter and between speakers of Spanish and English this should come as no surprise. The one good account of interjections in Spanish (Montes 1999) discusses only a small range of the discursive functions of interjections and focuses on the internal state of the speaker. As I will show, however, the meanings of some of these interjections in Q’eqchi’ seem to bear a resemblance to their meanings in Spanish, as far as can be discerned from the comparative data. In this way, these â€Å"loan interjections† show that almost any linguistic form may be borrowed (see Brody 1995) with some maintenance of its meaning. The Meanings of Q’eqchi’ Interjections  Although interjections are relatively easy to characterize from the standpoint of grammatical form, there is no framework in terms of which one may order and compare their meanings—that is, the classes of objects and signs that they index (and thereby stand in a relationship of contiguity with) and the types of pragmatic functions they serve (and thereby may be used as a means to achieve). In what follows, I frame their use in terms of situational, discursive, and social context. I will begin with an extended example through which the framework will become clear. The Q’eqchi’ interjection chix indexes loathsome objects in the situational context. For example, when picking up his bowl of food from the ground, a man notices that he has set it in chicken feces. â€Å"Chix,† he says, scraping the bowl on the dirt to wipe off the feces. His wife, herself responsible for the chicken, then takes his bowl for herself and gives him a new one. Similarly, when opening the door to her house early one morning, a woman notices that the dog has vomited right outside the doorway. â€Å"Chix,† she says, and her ? ve-year-old son comes over to look. She tells him to scrape it away with a machete. Like most interjections that have indexical objects in the situational context, this interjection serves to call another’s attention to the object. 8 Relatedly, and as a function of responsibility assessment (husband 1 wife 1 child), it directs another’s attention to what must be cleaned up, avoided, etc. The interjection chix may also be transposed to index a sign denoting or characterizing a loathsome object (see Buhler 1990). In such cases of sign-based transposition, ? the interjection is in a relationship of contiguity with a 8. Montes (1999:1293) notes that most of the Spanish interjections she examined â€Å"seem to be associated with seeing. We ? nd that a large number of the interjections [ah, oh, uh, ay, oy, uy] used in the conversations examined co-occur with directives to ‘see’ or ‘look at’ or as a response to these directives. † k o c k e l m a n The Meanings of Interjections in Q’eqchi’ Maya F 471 sign that denotes or characterizes the object or event in question (rather than being in contiguity with the actual object or event, as in the usage of chix just discussed). In other words, it is as if the speaker were inhabiting the frame of the narrated event (Buhler 1990). In this way, ? the interjection chix indexes not just loathsomeness but also signs that refer to or predicate qualities of loathsome objects. Insofar as the denotatum of such a sign has the same qualities and values as the object itself, the modality of contiguity (being able to taste, touch, see, or smell the object in question) is suspended while the ontological class of the object (loathsomeness) is maintained. For example, in telling a story to a group of  men about a friend who was bitten by a poisonous spider while working on a plantation in the lowland area of Guatemala, the speaker describes the pus blisters that rose up on his friend’s arm. â€Å"Chix,† says one of the men listening. The other men laugh, and before continuing his story the speaker adds that the pus blisters took two weeks to heal. Like most interjections that undergo signbased transposition, such usage often serves as a backchannel cue, indicating that the speaker is listening but cannot or does not want to contribute to the topic at hand (Brown and Yule 1983:90–94; Duncan 1973; compare the usage of mmm or jeez in English). Lastly, the interjection chix may be transposed to index an addressee’s relation of contiguity with a loathsome object. In such cases of addressee-based transposition, the situational indexical object is transposed to a person other than the speaker. The speaker’s sign is audible (a relation of contiguity) to the addressee, who is in a relationship of contiguity with the object. In other words, it is as if the speaker were inhabiting the ad? dressee’s current corporal?  eld (see Buhler 1990, Hanks 1990), and, again, the modality of contiguity is suspended while the ontological class is maintained. For example, a mother watching her three-year-old son approach a dog that is defecating wormy stool calls out to him â€Å"Chix. † The child stops his advance and watches from a distance. In this most addressee-focused way, the sign is used by a parent to index that a child is within reach (typically tactile) of a disgusting object and serves as an imperative not to touch the object. Interjections are primarily indexical (see Peirce 1955) in that they stand for their objects by a relationship of contiguity rather than by a relationship of convention (as in the case of symbols) or similarity (as in the case of icons). 9 Although the indexical modality of interjections is emphasized in this article, the symbolic modality is always present in at least two interrelated ways. First, and trivially, the interjection itself has a standard9. If interjections were iconic, then they would be expected to resemble their objects. The problem with this, as exempli?  ed by Kryk-Kastovsky’s (1997) argument that interjections are the most iconic of all linguistic elements expressing surprise, is that one needs to know what â€Å"surprise† looks like when usually our only indication of surprise is the interjection or behavior itself. However, interjections as indexical of situational and discursive objects do in certain cases have iconic modalities of meaning (see, e. g. , the discussion of ay, ay dios, and ay dios atinyuwa’ below). ized but relatively arbitrary form that is conventionally used by members of a given linguistic community. Second, interjections conventionally stand in a relation of contiguity with particular classes of objects. These conventional classes of indexical objects are present in two ways. First, across interjections, one may characterize what semiotic class of objects is being indexed. Second, in the case of any particular interjection, one may characterize what ontological class of objects is being indexed. Besides indexing objects or signs in the immediate context, interjections have pragmatic functions: they serve as a means to achieve certain ends. For example, chix variously serves as an attentative (when nontransposed), a back-channel cue (when undergoing sign-based transposition), and an imperative (when undergoing addressee-based transposition). Both the objects indexed and the pragmatic functions served (see Silverstein 1987) are integral aspects of the meanings of interjections. Finally, interjections may index more than one object at once. In particular, they may index objects, signs, internal states, and social relations. In what follows, I will refer to these distinct types of indexical objects as situational, discursive, expressive, and social, respectively. Situational indexical objects are the objects or events in the immediate context of the speech event. Discursive indexical objects are the signs that occur in the speech event. 10 Together, situational and discursive indexical objects are the most stable co-occurrence regularities that interjections possess and therefore the only ones that are easy to tabulate. Expressive indexical objects are the intentional stances of the speaker—the putative mental states, whether construed as â€Å"cognitive† or â€Å"emotive. †11 Lastly, social indexical objects are the various social roles inhabited by the speaker or addressee (gender, ethnicity, age, etc. ) or the social relations that exist between the two (status, deference, politeness, etc. ). For example, chix may index not only a loathsome object in the situational context but a social relation (parentchild, husband-wife, raconteur–appreciative listener) and, in many cases, an internal state (â€Å"disgust†). And the interjection ay not only indexes a painful object in the situational context or an unexpected answer in the dis10. This is not quite the standard distinction between â€Å"text† and â€Å"context† (Montes 1999 and Wilkins 1992). For example, while it is tempting to put sign-based transposition into the discursive context for the purposes of schematizing the data, sign-based transpositions make sense only in terms of the qualities of the objects referred to by the sign indexed by the interjection. In contrast, an unsolicited response such as a dubitive is directed at the truth of another’s assertion rather than at any particular quality of the state of affairs predicated by that assertion. For this reason, dubitives belong to the discursive context and sign-based transpositions to the situational context. 11. Whereas interjections creatively index expressive indexical objects in that the interjection is often the only sign of the internal state in question, they presupposedly index situational and discursive indexical objects in that both interjection and indexical object are simultaneously present in context (see Silverstein 1976 for this distinction). This difference in semiotic status (presupposing/creative) maps onto a putative difference in ontological status (world/mind). 472 F c u r r e n t a n t h ro p o l o g y Volume 44, Number 4, August–October 2003 cursive context but also an internal state (pain) in the expressive context and a role in the social context (in particular, female gender). Many interjections index signs in the discursive context in that they co-occur with (or serve as) a response to an addressee’s previous utterance or a nonresponse. In the case of a response, the use of an interjection occurs after and makes sense only relative to the addressee’s previous utterance. For example, the interjection ih indexes an addressee’s previous statement and serves as a registerative, indicating that the speaker has heard and understood the statement. In the case of a nonresponse, the interjection may either elicit an addressee’s utterance (and thereby occur before it) or occur in the midst of the speaker.