Dick Hebdige argues that subcultural style should be regarded as a Essay

Dick Hebdige argues that subcultural style should be regarded as a semiotic form of resistance against authority - Essay Example Culture is an indispensable part of social life. From this point of view, culture is also necessarily related to politics even if the particular relationship is not standardized, in terms of its forms. Hebdige has thoroughly explored the potential relationship between culture and politics. In his book ‘Subculture: the Meaning of Style’, first published in 1979, Hebdige uses examples from cultural trends developed in Britain during 1970s (Blake 1998, p.97). Emphasis is given to the cultural trends, especially in terms of music and dress, of youths in different subcultures (Blake 1998, p.97). The research on this subject has led Hebdige to the assumption that social relations can be influenced by the cultural background of the parties; for politics, a similar view could be developed (Blake 1998, p.97). The view of Hebdige that subcultural style should be regarded as a semiotic form of resistance against authority is evaluated in this paper. Reference is primarily made, pri marily, to the concept of subculture, as described in the study of Hebdige. Then, two examples are employed for showing the value of the views of Hebdige if they are used in practice. It is proved that, indeed, subcultural style can be used as a form of resistance against authority. Still, the implications of such use are rather difficult to be identified. Neither can it be said that a particular subcultural style has been found to be effective in supporting a strong resistance against authority. 2. Hebdige and subcultural style as a semiotic form of resistance against authority 2.1 Key points of Hebdige’s view in regard to subcultural style For Hebdige, subcultures are related to two key terms: ‘conjuncture and specificity’ (During 1999, p.441). More specifically, Hebdige promotes the idea that subcultures are not limited to a particular aspect of life or to a particular area (During 1999, p.441). Rather, subcultures can be identified ‘almost everywhereâ⠂¬â„¢ (During 1999, p.441) being influenced though by specific conjunctures (During 1999, p.441). The term ‘conjunctures’ (During 1999, p.441) in the above use reflects not just the cultural and social trends developed in a particular region but also the political and economic conditions of the region (During 1999, p.441). It is in this framework that subcultures are created and developed (During 1999, p.441). At the next level, these subcultures change as they are adopted by people in different social classes and of different age (During 1999, p.441). Through the above transformation process a high range of styles appears (During 1999, p.441). It should be noted that the notion of subculture as developed by Hebdige is based on the continuous opposition with the system, leading to a phenomenon described as ‘resistance through style’ (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86). The particular type of subculture has been characterized as heroic, indicating a strong willingness for fighting the system, including politics (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86). However, today subculture has been slightly transformed; a transmission to ‘a post-heroic phase’ (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86) has been unavoidable since the willingness of people to fight the system has been gradually reduced. On the other hand, the value of subculture for evaluating the social trends for opposing the system remains significant (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86). When efforts are made for evaluating the power of subculture within a particular society the following fact should be taken into consideration: subculture, as described by Hebdige, needs to ‘represent noise, disturbance and blockage of the system of representation’ (Muggleton and Weinzierl 2004, p.86). If the above requirement is not met, then the social

Marxist Theory Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marxist Theory - Essay Example Marxism focuses on the relations between different social classes and the societal conflict. Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels are the intellectual tenets of Marxism in the mid to late 19th century. Many writers have endeavored to talk and elaborate more on this as Marxism has taken a key root in the economies and societal relationships of many countries. Among them are Franz Kafka in the book Metamorphosis and Guy De Maupassant in the book The Necklace. In our following essay, we shall be seeking to associate the two novels and capitalism. Metamorphosis warns of the effects of capitalism. Those human beings are held up in a cocoon of labor and labor and the inevitable end where human beings will be lonely and live a life of makes him horror. It also creates a notion that in the end women will rule over men. The Novella revolves around Gregor who is a salesperson hawking fabric so that he can be able to support his mother and sister. He works so hard like an insect to find anything he c an survive with. He becomes exhausted with this race and he oversleeps and later wakes up and wakes up as a monstrous vermin. Gregor is trapped by his job that makes him like a machine that can be replaced any minute. Entangled by his parents debt and his will to provide for his family he is left with no way out but becoming an alcoholic and this makes him. He works so hard like an insect to find anything he can survive with. He becomes exhausted with this race and he oversleeps and later wakes up.

Midterm Essay Essay Example for Free

Midterm Essay Essay As a ruler in the Warring States period, my kingdom’s survival has the utmost importance. Therefore, choosing a philosophy to base my government upon is a crucial decision. Legalism, Confucianism, Mohism, and Daoism are all great philosophies but for my state, I choose to implement Legalism. Legalism supports a rigid system based on publicized laws that deals out punishments and rewards accordingly. Legalism also emphasis an adherence to laws and customs, obedience to the ruler and receiving influential positions based on merit. Legalism as a national strategy of governance is crucial in times of chaos and constant fighting. For my  kingdom I demand absolute obedience from my subjects. I want officials who are qualified by my side to help me make important decisions. I do not want a government full of family members and friends who do not have the credentials for the position. Also I believe everyone should be punished according to the law and there should be no special treatments for the nobles. Everyone is equal under the law in my state. I want to conquer neighboring lands and become the ruler of a unified China. Legalist ideas support my goals for conquest, wealth and a well- functioning government and that is why I choose to implement Legalism in my state. The main ideas of Legalism are to lengthen the rule of the ruler. To further the interest of the ruler, a ruler’s adoption of the Legalism was associated with a tight control of society. Secondly, Legalism emphasized the usage of incentives to govern. Thirdly, Legalism emphasized the usage of institutions in inducing desired behavior because the Legalists believed human nature was inherently bad. As an individual could not be trusted, Legalists paid much attention to the design of institutions to prevent undesirable things from happening. Fourth, in terms of foreign relations, the Legalism school encouraged the building of a strong army. For rulers trying to survive the competition among states, Legalism is more practical and can be implemented more easily than other schools of thought during the Warring State period. 1 For my state, I would employ Han FeiZi’s form of Legalism. His ideas are centered on a COMBINATION OF â€Å"FA † ? (LAW), â€Å"SHU ? † (METHOD) AND â€Å"SHI ? † (POWER). BEFORE HAN FEIZI, LEGALIST PHILOSOPHERS SUCH AS SHANG YANG ONLY STRESSED ON FA ? , SHEN BUHAI ONLY STRESSED ON â€Å"SHU ? †, WHILE SHEN DAOQIANG ONLY STRESSED ON â€Å"SHI ? †. 2 HAN FEIZI BELIEVED THAT â€Å"FA †? , â€Å"SHU ?† and â€Å"Shi ? † should all be implemented together. If only â€Å"Shu ? † is taken into practice and â€Å"FA † ? IS NEGLECTED, PEOPLE HAVE NO REASON TO FOLLOW THE LAW. IF â€Å"FA † ? IS BEING IMPLEMENTED then this can bring the state wealth and power but without â€Å"Shu ? † the regime will not be able to maintain its ruling and without â€Å"Shi ? †, a ruler will not be able to exercise order or rule efficiently. Therefore it is important to implement all three ideas together to bring peace and stability to the kingdom. â€Å"FA † ? (LAW) In Legalism, law is used as a standard for judgment on whether a certain behavior is appropriate, inappropriate, right or wrong. Thus, all human behavior has to be confined within the boundaries set forth by the law. A Legalist type of law does not recognize the people’s needs but instead, everyone’s needs and interests will be based according to the standard of law. Legalism also stresses the importance publicizing laws so people can know and follow them. This will bring order and justice to the state. In a Legalist state everyone is equal before the law and the system 1 Ivanhoe, P. J. , and Van Norden Bryan W. Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. New York: Seven Bridges, 2001. Print 2 Ivanhoe, P. J. , and Van Norden Bryan W. Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. New York: Seven Bridges, 2001. Print of â€Å"rewards and punishments† does not care about social status, family background but instead deals out punishments and rewards accordingly. Those who contribute to the state will be rewarded, while those who violate the law will be punished. 3 â€Å"Shu ? † (Method) Shu is a bureaucratic model of administration to aid the ruler and help prevent corruption and incompetence. It is also a political method or tactic used by a ruler to effectively control officials and subjects. Han FeiZi believed that a ruler must utilize â€Å"Shu ? †in order to identify loyal officials from disloyal subjects. This will help the ruler consolidate power and strength in order to control his subjects effectively Han FeiZi urged rulers to control officials and subjects by the two â€Å"handles† of punishment and favor. 4 An official’s accomplishments must neither be greater than nor less than their assigned duties. A minster is always held accountable for his and his subordinate’s actions. Also the ruler must not allow people to know his thoughts and should be suspicious of everyone. In doing so, the ruler can prevent takeovers and rebellions for his  position. 5 â€Å"Shi ? † (Power) 3 Mo, Di, Xunzi, Fei Han, and Burton Watson. Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hs? n Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu. New York: Columbia UP, 1967. Print. 4 Ivanhoe, P. J. , and Van Norden Bryan W. Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. New York: Seven Bridges, 2001. 323. Print 5 Mo, Di, Xunzi, Fei Han, and Burton Watson. Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hs? n Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu. New York: Columbia UP, 1967. Print. In Legalism, power is an important part of governance. If a ruler does not wield any power then the law becomes a superficial notion and method will be useless. In order to ruler over a kingdom, the leader has to possess power. In Legalism, power should be employed within the confines of law in order to maximize its usage. If the law is ignored in order to exercise power, then this kind of power can easily lead to chaos and turmoil. Power is not inherently good or evil but the person who wields it can be a moral or immoral person. It is important to employ â€Å"FA † ? AND â€Å"SHI ? † TOGETHER BECAUSE IF A RULER HAS NO POWER THEN THE LAW CANNOT BE ENFORCED which makes a superficial ruler but if one has power but is not constrained by law, this can lead to an abuse of power that can bring harm to society. 6 BY EMPLOYING ALL THREE TENANTS OF â€Å"FA †? , â€Å"SHU ? †AND â€Å"SHI ? †, LEGALISM CAN BRING STABILITY AND peace to my state. I would employ Legalism in my state because it can help expand the population of my kingdom by uniting the warring factions and states under my control. According to Legalist ideals hereditary titles must be abolished and only those who have merit should hold government positions. This means I should not employ family members and friends because they can influence my decisions on a personal level. This can eliminate corruption and  cronyism from my kingdom. 7 Next by creating strict laws for the citizens to follow will foster obedience through punishments and favors. 8 According to Legalist scholars, to expand my state’s population I should also focus on agriculture and the military which will to a surplus of food and 6 Mo, Di, Xunzi, Fei Han, and Burton Watson. Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hs? n Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu. New York: Columbia UP, 1967. Print. 7 De Bary, William Theodore, Irene Bloom, and Joseph Adler. Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. Print. 197. 8 De Bary, William Theodore, Irene Bloom, and Joseph Adler. Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. Print. 196 help create stronger warriors. This will allow for more conquests and military campaigns. By investing state resources into agriculture, famines can be prevented and populations will grow. 9 Also a mandatory military service for a short time will help my kingdom fight against the barbarians from the west. 10. Finally, increasing the military can also prevent invasions and help my state conquer lands, thus leading to an increase in population as well. Another reason I would employ Legalism because it can also help increase the wealth in my state. The increase in food will help increase trade of agricultural products like millet and wheat as well as other products like plums, apricots, dates, melons, persimmons, beef and pork. Through military conquests an increase of natural resources, tax revenue and workers will help strength the state economy. Lastly, the creation of strict laws with emphasis on collective responsibility will help prevent people from violating the laws. Other philosophies have merits that could help me govern my state. The main ideas of Confucianism are to establish a harmonic society, rather than to promote the interests of the ruler. Second, the Confucianism school does not encourage the usage of material incentives and opposed the usage of severe punishments to rule. To motivate individual behavior, moral obligations were emphasized. 11 Third, the Confucianism school did not value institutions in inducing desirable behavior and that human nature is inherently good. Fourth, in terms of foreign relations, Confucianism discouraged a state’s invasion of other states. Confucianism argued that 9 Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print. 52. 10 Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. Print. 40. 11 Ivanhoe, P. J. , and Van Norden Bryan W. Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. New York: Seven Bridges, 2001. 323. Print by following the guidance of li, a humane ruler would induce residents in other states to accept the rule of the humane ruler voluntarily. Relying on military force as a defense would be inferior  and would be unnecessary for a state. 12 To expand the population of my state, Confucianism recommends cultivating goodness (ren) as well as maintaining ritual propriety (li) so I become the most righteous ruler in the land. When a ruler is righteous, his subjects perform righteous tasks down to the common man and people from other lands shall visit my state. 13 This would increase my kingdom’s population. To increase the wealth of my state, Confucian scholars would recommend returning to the traditional Zhou tax system of the 10% tithe. 14 This will allow farmers to have enough grain to  reduce famines and allow more trade to be conducted when there is an excess of products. Confucians would not endorse a state that seeks profit over goodness because goodness (ren) is more desirable for a Confucian gentleman (junzi). When a ruler decides that profit is worth more than virtues, his subjects begin to look for profits as well and ignore virtues, thus leading to gradual corruption within the state. 15 I would not employ Confucianism in my state because while cultivating goodness and being a gentleman is an honorable task, I am only interested in 12 Slingerland, Edward Gilman. â€Å"Kongzi (Confucius) ‘The Analects. ’† In Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy, 1-58. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. , 2005. Print. 13 Slingerland, Edward Gilman. â€Å"Kongzi (Confucius) ‘The Analects. ’† In Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy, 1-58. Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, Inc. 2005. Print. 14 Slingerland, Edward Gilman,† Kongzi (Confucius) ‘The Analects. † In Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. 1-58. Indianapolis, IH: Hackett Publishing Company Inc. 2005. Print 15 De Bary, William Theodore, Irene Bloom, and Joseph Adler. Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. 115. Print. increasing my kingdom’s wealth, population and status. Legalist scholars say it would be hard to reduce the tax to 10% and should be kept at a 20% tithe in order to have enough currency and supplies to supply a growing army. Also the selection of government officials through recommendations valued by Confucianism led to high level of corruption. High positions of the government were monopolized by individuals with strong family backgrounds and capable individuals with weak family backgrounds could not get high rank positions. 16 To reduce  corruption in my kingdom, I should abolish hereditary titles and promote through merit so there would be fairness in my government and less bribery and dishonesty. 17 Another philosophy that has gained momentum and fame is Daoism. Daoism is centered on the ideas of wu (emptiness) and wuwei (non-doing). It also places importance on Yin and Yang. Daoism promotes the idea that material items will not satisfy a person’s soul, leading to lifelong emptiness and competition. 18 Daoism also endorses the idea of non-doing but this does not mean to do nothing at all. It simply means that we must not interfere with the natural course of things. The practice of non-action will lead to spiritual harmony with the Tao. Daoism explains the true path to happiness is to throw away all desires so people will not become selfish or corrupt, throw away concepts of justice and morality so people will do the right thing and throw away profit so people will not become thieves. 19 16 17 De Bary, William Theodore, Irene Bloom, and Joseph Adler. Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. 197. Print. 18 Ivanhoe, P. J. , and Van Norden Bryan W. Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. New York: Seven Bridges, 2001. 323. Print 19 Laozi, and Jonathan Star. Tao Te Ching: The New Translation from Tao Te Ching: The Definitive Edition. New York: Jeremy P. Tarcher/Penguin, 2008. Print. Daoist ideas would not help me achieve my goals of increases in population, wealth or uniting the warring states under my control. Daoist scholars would argue that the population does not need to be bigger than it already is. The sage Laozi has said that a state should be small and the people few so that they will have fewer ambitions and acquire less wealth, keeping them happy without the excess of material possessions. 20 Daoist’s would also be against increasing state wealth because in doing so, it will tempt people with desires of wealth and that will lead to corruption in the state. 21 Daoist scholars would encourage me to do nothing and allow things to go their way naturally which is the concept of wuwei. Daoism would be against war and trying to unify the states under my rule. I would not employ Daoism because it does not help me achieve my goals of a great kingdom. I want to go on war campaigns to conquer lands and have control over my kingdom. Allowing people freedom to do whatever they want will lead of instability and  I cannot have that in my state. In times of turmoil, it is a foolish thing to try and bring peace by doing nothing. Other states will invade my kingdom if any signs of weakness show. It is better to strengthen the people with military training and values so that they can protect their homes and the state from barbarians, and invading armies. 22 This is why I would not employ the use of Daoism in my kingdom. The last school of thought I considered employing in my kingdom is Mohism. Mohists are the main rivals to Confucians in promoting a way of life centered on moral teachings. 20 De Bary, William Theodore, Irene Bloom, and Joseph Adler. Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. 94 Print. 21 De Bary, William Theodore, Irene Bloom, and Joseph Adler. Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. 80 Print. 22 Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 52. Print. Mohists rejected rituals and music that is central to Confucian beliefs, seeing them as wasteful and pointless. Mohists endorsed moral practices that promote the welfare of all. Mohists sought a way to restore order (zhi) to human society. 23 The Mohists saw people as naturally good, and thus concerned about their family and community, and generally ? committed to doing what they take to be morally right. But if people fail to distinguish right from wrong properly because of a lack of proper education and political leadership, conflicts will arise, leading to disorder. 24 To prevent disorder Mohists want everyone to follow a unified moral code. Ideally, this project would be carried out through a government administered by wise, virtuous leaders, who at each level of  the state hierarchy would teach everyone to draw moral distinctions in the same way. This way everyone would have the same moral standards and conduct themselves in similar ways by knowing what is right or wrong. 25 To accomplish my goals in attaining wealth and population increases, Mohists scholars would want to promote officials by merit as well and would want to eliminate the rites that Confucians endorse. If I employ the able and worthy, my kingdom will attract virtuous people. 26 Mohists would not want to engage in wars, but would extend the concept of universal love (jian 23 Mo, Di, Xunzi, Fei Han, and Burton Watson. Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hs? n Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu. New York: Columbia UP, 1967. Print. 24 Ivanhoe, P. J. , and Van Norden Bryan W. Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy. New York: Seven Bridges, 2001. 323. Print 25 Mo, Di, Xunzi, Fei Han, and Burton Watson. Basic Writings of Mo Tzu, Hs? n Tzu, and Han Fei Tzu. New York: Columbia UP, 1967. Print. 26 De Bary, WilliamTheodore, Irene Bloom, and Joseph Adler. Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. 67. Print. ai). 27 Mohists believe if a noble king rules by partiality and is malevolent towards his neighboring states; other states will want to destroy his kingdom. If however, he rules by universality and is benevolent towards the other states, then other states will hold him in high regard. I would not employ Mohism in my state because I do not care about universal love or benevolence or morality. My goals for the kingdom are purely political and economic based. I want to be remembered in history for being the ruler of the strongest, largest and most wealthy state. During times of turmoil a strong military and cunningness is needed in order overcome the other states. 28  Legalism is the best choice for my state because it promotes a highly structured society. This can prevent instability and internal conflicts. Also by promoting a system of government based on merit, it eliminates corruption and unqualified people from participating in government. Confucianism allows for too much corruption because mostly nobles dominate the government. Daoism advocates non-doing and peace but that is exactly the opposite of what I want for my kingdom. Doing nothing can lead to instability because there is no structure and everyone can do whatever they please. Lastly Mohism places too much emphasis on morals and peace. To maintain a kingdom, the ruler has to make the state ready to invade other states and for invasions as well. To survive in this period of chaos and wars, only the strong survive. Legalism provides the structure I need to rule my kingdom ruthlessly and effectively. 27 De Bary, William Theodore, Irene Bloom, and Joseph Adler. Sources of Chinese Tradition, Vol. 1. New York: Columbia University Press, 1999. 70. Print. 28 Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. The Cambridge Illustrated History of China. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010. 52. Print.

Whats Involved In Knowing A Word English Language Essay

Whats Involved In Knowing A Word English Language Essay What is involved in knowing a word? Is it significant for learners of a second language to manage a great amount of vocabulary? How can teachers help vocabulary learning? In this essay, I am firstly going to analyse, what really a word is, and the aspects involved when knowing and using vocabulary. In the second section of this paper, I am going to discuss and analysed some authors and linguists point of view about lexicon and its importance in learning a foreign language. Finally, I am going to focus on some useful learning strategies to be applied when teaching vocabulary to second language learners. When thinking about teaching and learning of a second language, the first aspect which comes to our minds is the syntactic aspect, the rules by which we construct intelligible ideas. To know how to use grammatical rules is, indeed, important to native and non natives speakers, it could make the difference between a good and a bad user of the language. Nevertheless, as important as knowing about grammar is knowing about vocabulary. During decades, lexis was kept aside and was not considered as an important aspect of language to be concerned about. Linguists have had remarkable little to say about vocabulary and one can find very few studies which could be of any practical interest for language teachers (Wilkins, 1972:109). Though, after ignoring it for a long time, Lexical knowledge is now been appreciated as one of the most important aspect in the learning process. (Gass and Selinker, 1994:270). According to Nation (2001:26) meaning is just an aspect of knowing a word. Identifying its Form (whether it is spoken, written as well as word-parts) recognising its use (grammatical functions, collocations or constraints on use) are strands involved too. As stated before, words embrace much more than a meaning and to be familiar with them, a learner must be aware of its formation and its meaningful parts. For that reason , I am going to focus this essay on Morphology, which is defined by R.L. Trask (1997:145) as the branch of linguistics dealing with the study of word structure, conventionally divided into inflectional and derivational morphology. From now, the term word-form is also going to be used in this essay to refer to a word. The first assumption a learner should make is that a word-form consists of meaningful pieces of language ( Ronald Carter et Michael McCarthy, 1988:18) called morphemes, which is commonly defined as the smallest grammatical and meaningful unit.(Aitchison, 1994:122) In the word-form useless two morphemes with different meanings ( use/less) are arranged to create another word-form with a new meaning. In this case, the morpheme use is a free morpheme, due to it can stand by itself, whereas the affix less is a bound morpheme, since despite having own meaning it is not freestanding. The same phenomenon occurs in unhappy. No one may consider un as a word, but its meaning is well- known (opposite in this case), instead of happy that is a lexeme by itself. In the English Language as in many others, the affix found in one word-form, may also occur in others. That feature, Nation claims, is another aspect involved in knowing a word, (2001:46) and this semantic knowledge, may facilitate students acquisition of vocabulary, especially in the first stages of learning word-forms, thus learners may apply word-formation to decode the meaning of other words. The same learner who realized that unhappy could be considered as opposite of happy, due to the affix un, will interpret the word uneducated correctly thanks to that learner already recognises one of the meanings of the specific bound morpheme un. There is no doubt that being aware of word-formation contributes in the learning process of a non native speaker. Although, it should be mentioned, that morphemes not always behave as in the examples above. As not all words consists of two or more morphemes, some words may create misunderstandings in a learner. Whether the affix un enables to create an opposite meaning, a beginner student who is trying to formulate a sentence in English with the language he or she handles, may easily say I unwork on weekends assuming that unwork is the opposite of work, which is actually erroneous. Owing to that fact , in the last section of this paper I am going to concentrate in the ways teachers can help learners to achieve accuracy in learning vocabulary. Another significant morphological feature in word-forms, is the grammatical factor. Bolinger and Sears mention that by the point of view of grammar, morphemes may be grouped into inflectional or derivational ones( 1981:71). The former group is related to those morphemes which affect the syntactic role of a word-form, without modifying its inner meaning. Aitchison illustrates Inflectional by saying that the only difference between the words Dish and Dishes is the suffix plural ending -es (1994:124). The author agrees with Bolinger and Sears in that when inflectional morphemes are attached to a word, it continues being the same, but with a different form(1981:66). The latter group, derivational morphemes, are the bits of language that attached to an existing word make a new word. Aitchison exemplifies it using the word-form Learn. When the suffix -er is attached, a new word appears: learner. In this case, the observable change may be in word class or in Sense.(1994:124) The diagram below illustrates the difference between both Derivation and Inflection. DERIVATION INFLECTION PREFIX SUFFIX SUFFIX Dis- agree -ment Hate -s Until now, it is been explained the morphological aspect of knowing a word. It was also said that being familiar with this feature is useful when learning a foreign language, but the fact that vocabulary learning and teaching was a neglected theme for so many years, placed the task of vocabulary acquisition on learners hands (Hedge, 2000:110). I concur with McCarthy in saying that Studying how words are formed offers one way of classifying vocabulary, for teaching and learning purposes(1990:5). As a non-native speaker, I truly believe that vocabulary development is essential to communicate in a foreign language, and I do not hesitate in declaring that Morphology is one of the most important tool learners may have command of when acquiring a new language, and English Teachers may contribute in achieving this task, by using vocabulary learning strategies in the classroom. As a language is made up of an endless amount of words, it may be slightly demanding for teachers and learners to select the appropriate number and words to be acquired. Nonetheless, coping with learning strategies is a conscious process which enables people to control their own learning at their own speed and may be employed in any subject, not just in teaching a foreign language. Learning strategies promote learner autonomy in the learning process, whereas, these techniques must be taught and trained. At this point, is when teachers emerge to become a facilitator in the learners acquisition of the proper knowledge. Tricia Hedge classifies learners strategies into four groups: Cognitive, Metacognitive, Socio-affective and Communication strategies (2000:77-79). The author gives some examples to be applied within each category. TYPES OF LEARNER STRATEGIES Socio-affective strategies Communication strategies Metacognitive strategies Cognitive strategies *Initiate conversations. * Collaborating on tasks. *Listening to the radio in the target language. *Watching TV in the target language. *Use of body language. *Paraphrase. *Use of cognates. *Self-monitoring. *Evaluation of the learning process. *Analogy: to compare the meaning of a new Word in L1 and L2. *Memorization: Visual or auditory *Repetition: imitating a model. *Inferencing: guessing meanings. Focusing on acquiring vocabulary by learning word-formation, a teacher may wish to make use of affixes in first place. Recognizing the composition of words is important; the learner can go a long way towards deciphering new words if he or she can see familiar morphemes within them (Michael McCarthy, 1990:4). Nation states (2001:275) that learners should attain some essential skills in order to acquire the appropriate knowledge; these are the Receptive and Productive skills. The former refers to the ability of recognizing that some words are made up of meaningful bits of language, the ability of knowing the meaning those bits of language. Nation grades derivational affixes according from the easiest to the more difficult to learn. (Nation 2001: 268) and the ability of recognizing that a new word has been made. e.g. use / useful The latter skill refers to the ability of realising the shifts in pronunciation and spelling of the new word-form; the ability of identifying the changes in class of the new word-form. To teach vocabulary throughout affixes may result in an attractive experience for learners, but first, it is imperative to create an appropriate environment to develop the activities. The purpose of the tasks must be clear enough(what it is going to be learnt and why) as well as the instructions for the class work. Equally important is the fact that learners may know that the new knowledge is pertinent and relevant for their learning process. As brainstorming learners may well start analyzing some authentic material from a magazine, where they underline all the suffixes or prefixes. In comparing with the whole class, learners will acknowledge and discuss the overlap among some words regarding, for example, the endings, and in which way they affect the word-forms. It is appropriate displaying tasks which enable learners to recognize those shifts clearly. The PPP (Presentation, Practice, and Production) approach seems suitable when working with affixes. First, the teacher presents one affix, emphasizing its meaning and its use. Then, students identify that affix in the words by underlining them, for instance; and finally learners are encourage to apply the new knowledge, by matching words with the appropriate affix and using the new word in a new sentence. Still, educators must be careful. Exposing the learners to too many morphemes at the same time, may cause confusion and rejection amongst students, therefore, it is important to consider frequency when choosing the proper morphemes to teach, that motivates learners since they will feel familiar with the content. (Nation 2001:268) Another way to deal with affixes is using the dictionary as a tool. Learner could be asked to look up as many words containing the prefix -anti (maybe any other), before giving its meaning (against), so they will guess it and share their predictions with the rest of the class. The following list contains suggestions about how to work with morphemes in the classroom: Matching columns. Column A containing the affix, and column B the root. Playing memory cards with roots and affixes. Giving extra points to the learners when they use affixes properly. Team contest, where the team with more correct words having affixes and roots, will obtain extra points. Using Hangman game with words including morphemes to strengthen spelling. Reinforcement may be fulfilled by creating a chart for the classroom with roots, suffixes and prefixes with their meanings, that students will make use of when requiring.

Julius Caesar Essay -- essays research papers fc

Julius Caesar’s legacy and attributes are just as robust today as they were in his time. From the time he took power to the time of his death he accomplished more than many other men would have done in a lifetime. He brought the Roman Empire to its height and from his death on, the Empire did nothing but fall. He was one of the world’s greatest leaders and probably the best. At the age of 15 Caesar became head of his family when his father died in 85bc. His family wanted him to pursue a religious career as the priest of Jupiter but Caesar had other plans. He wanted to dive head long into a political career. He took maters into his own hands when in 84bc he married Cornelia the daughter of one of Rome’s stronger leaders at the time, Cornelius Cinna (Schlesinger 30). Cinna took power in 82bc when Rome’s leader at the time Gaius Marius died. Marius was married to Caesar’s Aunt Julia. Marius was killed in battle with one of his great enemies Sulla. Soon after this battle Sulla died also, but he still had many allies. Marius had let Caesar help him while he was leader by doing small jobs. Caesar gained much experience while helping out Marius. When Caesar was 25 he set sail for the island of Rhodes. But, on the way a band of pirates captured the ship and kidnapped him. While his family was raising ransom money he was a very difficult guest for the pirates. He strolled boldly around their ship and pointed out weaknesses in their sword fighting technique and told them he would kill them all after he was released. They were entertained by this young man but did not believe the threat (Green 19). His family finally paid his ransom. Soon after it was paid, Caesar learned that the government was not going to take action and pursue the pirates. Caesar took matters into his own hands. He organized a fleet of ships, captured the pirates and crucified their whole gang. The news of this spread quickly, and Caesar was both admired and criticized for acting so quickly. By age 30, Caesar was making Sulla’s allies very worried. But 30 was not too young for a roman so full of ambition. In 69bc, Caesar was serving as governor in farther Spain, administering Roman laws to Spanish tribes and subduing those who resisted. He went to go see the statue of Alexander the Great in the city of Cadiz. Alexander was a leader who had conquered much of the world by the age of 30. Caes... ... he died, it is amazing to think of all that he accomplished in his life. Also it is amazing to think of all that he could have accomplished if he had lived. His legacy lived on through Octavius, who named himself emperor of Rome and like all roman emperors that followed he took the name of Caesar. If he had stayed alive the Roman Empire could have conquered all of the Eastern Hemisphere. Rome defiantly benefited from him. Rome was the most powerful nation at the time and would have stayed that way for much longer if Julius Caesar had not been murdered. Works Cited Green, Robert. Julius Caesar. New York. Franklin watts publishing company, 1996 May, Robin. Julius Caesar and the Romans. East Sussex. Wayland publishing, 1984 Schlesinger, Arthur M. Caesar. Boston. Chelsea house publishers, 1987 Suetonius. The lives of the 12 Caesar's. Willamstown, MA. Corner house publishers, 1987 Blooming, Mike H. â€Å"Hero or Villain† 6 April, 1995

Anarchy :: essays papers

Anarchy Anarchy is the theory of life and conduct under which social interactions exist without government interference or assistance. It is not chaos, nor terrorism, and has no connection to senseless violence; anarchy is simply existing without being governed. Harmony in such a society would be obtained not by submission to laws, or by obedience to any form of authority, but by freely entered agreements between individuals. The United States has strong ties to anarchy, a rather paradoxical situation. It was conceived by, and is even to this day constantly being refined by anarchists; people who maintain the view that the highest attainment of humanity is the freedom of individuals to express themselves unhindered by any form of external repression. Men such as the likes of Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers, whose views can best be summarized in something he preached, "If you think people incapable of exercising their choices with wholesome discretion, the solution is not to take away their choices, but to inform their discretion." So where did the concept of anarchy come from? Could it be inherent in human nature, a hold over from adolescence perhaps? Could it be people are naturally opposed to being told what to do? Abraham Lincoln, during the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, said something that summarizes human view towards being governed, "No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent." The modern concept of anarchy as being a sort of ethical civil society came during the French Revolution, around 1848. A man named Pierre Joseph Pfoudhon envisioned a society in which people's ethical nature and sense of moral responsibility would be so highly developed that government would be unnecessary to regulate and protect society, and is thus credited with fathering modern anarchy. Anarchy requires a lot of commitment on the part of the individual. How does the old saying go With freedom comes responsibility. On an individual level, no one wishes to be dominated, but at the same time the individual does not want to be infringed upon by others. A Russian-American anarchist and women's rights activist named Emma Goldman wrote, "I want full freedom and cooperation to evolve as a human being, to gain wisdom and knowledge." She does not refer to freedom of others, merely herself. Greed of freedoms is understandable because it is so hard to trust others to always do what is good. Socrates might respond, "To know the good is to do the good." Can the idea of an ethical civil society, a term coined by Adam Michnik in Anarchy :: essays papers Anarchy Anarchy is the theory of life and conduct under which social interactions exist without government interference or assistance. It is not chaos, nor terrorism, and has no connection to senseless violence; anarchy is simply existing without being governed. Harmony in such a society would be obtained not by submission to laws, or by obedience to any form of authority, but by freely entered agreements between individuals. The United States has strong ties to anarchy, a rather paradoxical situation. It was conceived by, and is even to this day constantly being refined by anarchists; people who maintain the view that the highest attainment of humanity is the freedom of individuals to express themselves unhindered by any form of external repression. Men such as the likes of Thomas Jefferson, one of the founding fathers, whose views can best be summarized in something he preached, "If you think people incapable of exercising their choices with wholesome discretion, the solution is not to take away their choices, but to inform their discretion." So where did the concept of anarchy come from? Could it be inherent in human nature, a hold over from adolescence perhaps? Could it be people are naturally opposed to being told what to do? Abraham Lincoln, during the famous Lincoln-Douglas debates, said something that summarizes human view towards being governed, "No man is good enough to govern another man without that other's consent." The modern concept of anarchy as being a sort of ethical civil society came during the French Revolution, around 1848. A man named Pierre Joseph Pfoudhon envisioned a society in which people's ethical nature and sense of moral responsibility would be so highly developed that government would be unnecessary to regulate and protect society, and is thus credited with fathering modern anarchy. Anarchy requires a lot of commitment on the part of the individual. How does the old saying go With freedom comes responsibility. On an individual level, no one wishes to be dominated, but at the same time the individual does not want to be infringed upon by others. A Russian-American anarchist and women's rights activist named Emma Goldman wrote, "I want full freedom and cooperation to evolve as a human being, to gain wisdom and knowledge." She does not refer to freedom of others, merely herself. Greed of freedoms is understandable because it is so hard to trust others to always do what is good. Socrates might respond, "To know the good is to do the good." Can the idea of an ethical civil society, a term coined by Adam Michnik in

Nonviolent action takes low risk Essay

Nonviolent action has been widely used in political and economical change that people can use it to fight for their true power of holder. This article is based on Merriman’s article â€Å"Agents of Change and Nonviolent†(Merriman, 2008), Yunus’s article â€Å"The Role of the Corporation in Supporting Local Development† (Yunus, 2000) and DuVall’s article â€Å"Outside View: Liberation by People† (DuVall, 2004)–the nonviolent action is the best way to people for fighting for the right of the economic and political. Moreover, it can remind the people that they are the owner of the country and they are powerful enough to participate in national management. Different with the habitual impression of the revolution, which is always full of battle, violence and gore, the nonviolent action costs less than the violent action and takes less risk based on mass supported. Hardy Merriman is Sr. Adviser of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict, in his article, â€Å"Agents of change and nonviolent†(Merriman, 2008), defines the main concept about nonviolent action: nonviolent-action comes from agreement and obedience of people, what is the categories of nonviolent action, the reason why we reckon that the nonviolent action advance the violent action and he uses the U.S. Civil Right Movement and Indian Independence Movement to explain the plan of the nonviolent action. Muhammad Yunus is economist and Nobel Peace Prize recipient in 2006. His article is focuses on specific field that is the use of nonviolent in local development, which means corporation. It is a specific nonviolent way to make change. The article contrasts the charity way with the violent way to the poor people to show us the advantage of nonviolent action. Jack DuVall is the founder of the International Center on Nonviolent. His article uses two examples, Lincoln and Gandhi, to elicit nine characters of a successful nonviolent action. The action should have a good leader with clear goals, broaden the scope of the movement, good analysis of the revolutionary situation, good risk-averse, persist the nonviolent way, courage from the enemy disintegrate, good manage of the material supply, compressive strength and ready for the challenge. For the three articles, there are 2 similarities among them; the first is that they all mention the requirement of the successful nonviolent action. For the first article, â€Å"Agents of Change and Nonviolent Action†, Merriman refers that the successful nonviolent action should have an outstanding leader, who has benevolence. Even the leader should formulate a complete programme that can attract people to unite. The key role of the leader and the programme has been emphasized, that is same of the article, â€Å"Outside View: Liberation by the People†, which lists the nine categories of the leader: clear goals, broaden the scope of the movement, good analysis of the revolutionary situation, good risk-averse, persist the nonviolent way, courage from the enemy disintegrate, good manage of the material supply, compressive strength and ready for the challenge. From the background of these two authors, we can find out that both of them are in the International Center on Nonviolent and both of them mention that we should focus on that the successful nonviolent action should have the good leader and comprehensive plan. Even the good leaders have some of the categories above that they are kind-hearted, have a good starting point that respect interests of the masses, if they use the violent way to make the change, the action still take more risks than the nonviolent action. That is the second similarity that both of three articles mentioned. For the first article, Merriman states that the violence action is base on using the force, and all the money and right concentrate on the leader and the only one way can restrict him is the rule. While, if he did not obey the rule, it will make the disaster result. On the contrary, nonviolent actions â€Å"not only tell people that they are powerful, they demonstrate people’s power by setting clear, achievable objectives and then documenting and publicizing their victories.† (Merriman, 2008) That means the successful revolution cannot separate from the masses and take less risk by getting all people involve decision-making. As the social problems, like poverty issues, we should use the charity way that give the poor enough opportunities and that will get unimaginable feedback, from the second article, â€Å"The Role of the Corporation in Supporting Local Development†. As the political aspect, DuVall, in his â€Å"Outside View: Liberation by the People†, has mentioned that dictatorship and terrorism regime should be overthrown, while we should not counter violence with violence, and we should use the nonviolent movements to fight for our rights. Because it takes less risk that it can avoid repeating the violence regime. In summary, base on the 3 articles written by Merriman, Yunus and DuVall, the nonviolent is the best way to people to fight for the right. From the economical aspects, it makes the profit maximization that poor people can get loan from the corporation to striving their lives and from the political aspects, mass people can participate in elaborating the formulation. Also with the support from the masses and the correct leadership of the good leader, the nonviolent action will take less risk than the violent action. Referenceï ¼Å¡ Merriman, H. (2008, April 8). Agents of Change and Nonviolent Action. Conservation Biology, 22(2). Yunus, M. (2000). The Role of the Corporation in Supporting Local Development. Reflections, 9(2). DuVall, J. (2004, September 22). Outside view: Liberation by the People. United Press International.