The History of American Slang Essays

The History of American Slang Essays The History of American Slang Essay The History of American Slang Essay When thinking of American slang, you may think that is just something that youth have made up to make themselves sound cool when they speak. This is not the case. Slang has been used in America since the late 1800’s. It is defined as â€Å"a type of language that consists of words and phrases that are regarded as very informal, are more common in speech than writing, and are typically restricted to a particular context or group of people.† A lot of slang that was used back then is still used today. I will give just a brief overview of popular slang that has been used over the last century. By the 18th century, the differences between American English and other English speaking countries began the evolution of slang. For a while, any word not used in Britain was considered slang. As early as 1870, slang was prominent in the early years of the United States. The word â€Å"bad† has been used to mean â€Å"good† and â€Å"dude† to refer to a guy, for example, were some of the first slang to be used among Americans. Each decade has originated its own slang that has stood out from the decade prior. Here are a few common slang words and expressions from recent decades. From the 1950’s, â€Å"boo boo† to mean a mistake, â€Å"garbage† to mean nonsense and â€Å"hot† to describe someone attractive were commonly used. In the 1960’s, the terms â€Å"far out† meaning amazing, using â€Å"hassle† instead of annoy and getting good â€Å"vibes†, or feelings, were popular. The 1970’s originated words such as â€Å"bogus† to replace unfair, â€Å"gross† to mean something disgusting and â€Å"no brainer, to describe an easy problem. From the 1980’s, 1990’s, and 2000’s there were quite a few phrases originated that are still prominent in today’s society. For example; using â€Å"crib† instead of house, â€Å"bling† for jewelry or glitter, â€Å"hood† to describe a juvenile delinquent and â€Å"buzz†, referring to someone shaving their head. Most rec

Family-Related Vocabulary for English-Language Learners

Family-Related Vocabulary for English-Language Learners One of the most important categories of words for English learners to master is the group that includes family-related terms. Family members are likely the people that students interact with early in life and most often. Explain to students that the words and phrases below are used when talking about family and relationships. Each word is categorized and is used in an example sentence to provide  context for understanding. Families Learning words that describe family members  is  must for students who want to master English.  The table gives the word for the family member on the left, and a sample sentence using that term on the right. To make it easy to find just the term you want, the family-related words are presented in alphabetical order. Family-Related Word Example Sentence aunt My aunt tells me funny stories about my mothers youth. brother My brother is very competitive. cousin My cousin left for college last year. daughter She has one daughter and one son. father My father spent a lot of time on the road for work. grandchild That 90-year-old woman has 20 grandchildren! granddaughter / son His granddaughter gave him a birthday card with a bunny. grandfather / mother Do you remember your grandmothers and grandfathers? great-grandchild She has four great-grandchildren and is very happy to be alive and to have met them all! husband She sometimes argues with her husband, but thats normal in every marriage. ex-husband She had to divorce her ex-husband because he cheated on her. in-laws Many people dont get along with their in-laws. Others are happy to have a new family! son-in-law, daughter-in-law Her daughter-in-law told her to mind her own business. mother Mother knows best, or at least thats what my mother always said. niece His niece works in a shop in Seattle selling eyewear. nephew I have a nephew who lives in town. Its nice to have lunch every once in a while. parents All of us have two biological parents. Some people grow up with adopted parents. sister His sister drove him crazy with her constant complaining about the parents. son Many people say that sons are harder to raise than daughters because they cause more trouble. stepfather, stepmother She gets along wither her stepfather, but she prefers to not call him Dad. stepdaughter, stepson If you marry him, youll have two stepdaughters and one stepson. twin Its amazing how similar some twins are. They look, act, and talk alike. uncle My uncle lives in Texas. Hes nothing like my father. widow She became a widow 20 years ago and never remarried. widower The widower is very sad because hes all alone now. wife My wife is the most amazing woman in the world because she puts up with me. ex-wife His ex-wife took all his money. Marital Relationships Marriage brings change. Tell students that these words describe the state of relationships: Divorced: Jennifer is divorced, but shes happy to be single again.Engaged: Helen is engaged to be married next June. Shes making plans for the wedding.Married: Ive been married for over 25 years. I consider myself lucky.Separated: In many countries, couples must be separated for more than a year in order to divorce.Single: Hes a single man living in New York.Widowed: Hank became widowed last year. He hasnt been the same since. Becoming Family These verbs describe the process of becoming family: Get divorced (from):  My husband and I got divorced three years ago. Now, were best friends, but we know our marriage was a mistake.Get engaged (to): I got engaged to my wife after just two months of dating.Get married (to): Were planning on getting married in May.Marry someone: She married Tom 50 years ago today. Happy anniversary!Start / end a relationship with someone: I think we should end our relationship. Were not happy with each other. Family Vocabulary Quiz Use the context of each sentence to help your students find an appropriate family-related word to fill in the gaps. The answers are provided below. My father has a brother and a ______, so that means I have one _____ and one aunt on my fathers side of the family.Someday, I hope to have a lot of ______. Of course, that means that the children of my children need to have more children!After five years of marriage, they decided to get _____ because they couldnt get along with each other.  Upon her husbands death, she became a _____ and never married again.  My mother remarried last year. Now, Im the _____ of my stepfather.Peters _____, but he would like to get married and have children one day.  We started our ______ in Germany after we had met at an English-language school.  My _____ looks exactly like me, but I was born 30 minutes before she was.  He has an excellent relationship with his _____. They still celebrate holidays together with their children despite their divorce.Im ______ to be married in June! I cant wait! Answers: sister / unclegreat-grandchildrendivorcedwidowstepdaughter or stepsonsinglerelationshiptwinex-wifeengaged To continue practicing family-related vocabulary, create a  family relationships lesson plan  to further your students knowledge of this important vocabulary.

National Cholesterol Education Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

National Cholesterol Education Program - Essay Example Additional factors include age, a family history of heart disease, and being male. The risk of heart disease is the main reason why cholesterol level alertness is required. Heart disease, also known as cardiovascular disease (CVD) or coronary heart disease (CHD), is defined as any disorder, which impairs the normal functioning of the heart (Gandelman, 2006). Such disorders include arrhythmias, heart attack (myocardial infarction), and the various kinds of cardiomyopathy and angina. According to Barrett (2006), heart attack is ranked one among the most common causes of death in the United States and stroke is a close third. Epidemiological surveys demonstrated that there is a continuous correlation between CHD risk and serum total cholesterol levels over a broad range of cholesterol values (Grundy et al., 2004). High-risk and very high-risk people are individuals who have over 20% chance of heart attack within ten years (Barrett, 2006). The 2004 ATP III guideline regarding the said individuals state that drug therapy should be definite at 130 mg/dL (milligram per deciliter) cholesterol levels and it should be optional between 100 to 129 mg/dL levels (Barrett, 2006). This was a major change from the 2001 recommendation. Now, the goal for LDL-lowering therapy for all high-risk patients is a LDL-C level of less than 100 mg/dL (Grundy et al., 2004). According ... The ATP reports identified low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) as the main target of cholesterol-lowering therapy since "Many prospective studies have shown that the high serum concentrations of LDL-C is a major risk factor for coronary heart disease (CHD)" (Grundy et al., 2004). Cholesterol-lowering therapy involves statins and some clinical trials that tested the efficiency and effectiveness of these drugs are as follows. In a Heart Protection Study (HPS) conducted in the United Kingdom involving 20 536 adults, aged 40 to 80 years and at high risk for a CVD event, the patients were randomly allocated to 40 mg simvastatin or placebo daily (Grundy et al., 2004). The results demonstrated that in patients treated with simvastatin, all-cause mortality was significantly reduced by 13%. Moreover, "Major vascular events were reduced by 24%, coronary death rate by 18%, nonfatal myocardial infarction + coronary death by 27%, nonfatal or fatal stroke by 25%, and cardiovascular revascularization by 24%" (Grundy et al., 2004). On the other hand, the Prospective Study of Pravastatin in the Elderly at Risk (PROSPER) examined the efficacy of pravastatin treatment in older people with or at high risk of developing CVD and stroke. A total of 5804 subjects aged 70 to 82 years, with history of vascular disease or CVD risk factors, were randomly assigned pravastatin or placebo treatment. The follow-up averaged 3.2 years. Results showed that baseline total cholesterol ranged from 150 mg/dL to 350 mg/dL and prasvatatin reduced LDL-C levels by 34%. Major coronary events such as nonfatal myocardial infarction and CHD death fell by 19% whereas CHD mortality fell by 24%. The authors of PROSPER concluded that statin therapy can be extended to

Benefits of Mentoring Programs in Schools Research Paper

Benefits of Mentoring Programs in Schools - Research Paper Example This has an overall effect of simplifying the staff’s duty of establishing and monitoring relationships among children in elementary schools (Rose 1). Moreover, mentoring programs in the elementary schools allows mentors to advocate on the children’s behalf since they understand them (Rhodes 1). Mentoring programs influence the status of the children by deriving an understanding on the mentee and enhancing social standing (Rhodes 1). These programs also foster academic focus by presenting academic issues to the forefront and offer a natural context for mentors to address school and learning issues (Rhodes 2). Moreover, most mentors in the mentoring programs in the elementary schools cannot volunteer their services outside the school context. As such, these programs attract mentors who cannot offer their services in community-based programs hence maximizing this exclusive potential (Rhodes 2). Such mentors are minority volunteers who have considerable knowledge and skills on mentorship. This benefits the children and the administration of the elementary schools since they benefit from this potential. Furthermore, it is clear that sourcing and screening mentors for school-based programs is much easier than sourcing mentors for community-based programs (Rhodes 2). As such, the se programs allow for the spreading of mentorship wealth in elementary schools. The mentoring programs in the elementary schools are equally flexible since they accommodate cross-gender matches (Rhodes 2). Indeed, these programs have more mentors coming from all genders where both males and females render their services to children. Indeed, these programs reach more children than the community-based programs thus helping children who cannot access community-based mentorship program, which depicts their ability to reach higher-risk children and families (Rhodes 2). At the same time, mentoring programs in the elementary schools attract more

Some advantages and disadvantages of a questionnaire Essay Example for Free

Some advantages and disadvantages of a questionnaire Essay All lecturers come in contact with questionnaires whether it is the standard end of year course questionnaire or one that is used in research. These questionnaires come in many different forms from: factual to opinion based, from tick boxes to free text responses. Whatever their form, questionnaires are often viewed as quick and easy to do. This is not always the case. To get useful responses, in a cost-effective way, it is important to be clear about the aim of the questionnaire and how the responses will help you improve the learning technology or its implementation. Think also about the analysis of results. It can be sobering to consider the amount of data you will generate and the time it will take to analyse. Some advantages and disadvantages of questionnaires follow. Notes on how to deal with some of the disadvantages are also provided, as are some references to more comprehensive information on questionnaires. Some disadvantages of questionnaires: Questionnaires, like many evaluation methods occur after the event, so participants may forget important issues. Questionnaires are standardised so it is not possible to explain any points in the questions that participants might misinterpret. This could be partially solved by piloting the questions on a small group of students or at least friends and colleagues. It is advisable to do this anyway. Open-ended questions can generate large amounts of data that can take a long time to process and analyse. One way of limiting this would be to limit the space available to students so their responses are concise or to sample the students and survey only a portion of them. Respondents may answer superficially especially if the questionnaire takes a long time to complete. The common mistake of asking too many questions should be avoided. Students may not be willing to answer the questions. They might not wish to reveal the information or they might think that they will not benefit from responding perhaps even be penalised by giving their real opinion. Students should be told why the information is being collected and how the results will be beneficial. They should be asked to reply honestly and told that if their response is negative this is just as useful as a more positive opinion. If possible the questionnaire should be anonymous. Some advantages of questionnaires: The responses are gathered in a standardised way, so questionnaires are more objective, certainly more so than interviews. Generally it is relatively quick to collect information using a questionnaire. However in some situations they can take a long time not only to design but also to apply and analyse (see disadvantages for more information). Potentially information can be collected from a large portion of a group. This potential is not often realised, as returns from questionnaires are usually low. However return rates can be dramatically improved if the questionnaire is delivered and responded to in class time.

Edna’s Self Discovery in Chopin’s The Awakening :: Chopin Awakening

Edna’s Self Discovery in Chopin’s The Awakening She was fond of her children in an uneven, impulsive way. She would sometimes gather them passionately to her heart; she would sometimes forget them. The year before they had spent part of the summer with their grandmother Pontellier in Iberville. Feeling secure regarding their happiness and welfare, she did not miss them except with an occasional intense longing. Their absence was a sort of relief, though she did not admit this, even to herself. It seemed to free her of a responsibility which she had blindly assumed and for which fate had not fitted her. (p. 40) Edna Pontellier is a child discovering her very sense of self. Her attitude toward her own children emphasizes the she is not the typical â€Å"mother-woman† (p. 29). This is one of the key elements in identifying Edna’s â€Å"awakening.† Unlike the other women, such as Madame Ratignolle, she has not accepted her role unquestionably. This passage is an insightful window into the beginnings of Edna’s new thoughts. Edna considers herself â€Å"fond of her children.† This statement alone is strange. Most mothers are enamored of their children, obsessed with their every movement. Even her fondness is considered â€Å"uneven† and â€Å"impulsive.† Edna, beginning to feel as a child herself, is noticing these traits within her. Edna speaks of the summer they spent away â€Å"with their grandmother...in Iberville.† Even in their extended absence she missed them only with â€Å"an occasional intense longing,† perhaps as someone might miss a city, or an old tattered stuffed toy. She seemed to feel towards them more as family, loved and missed, but not intensely as a mother would. Most striking in this passage are the last two sentences. It is in these phrases that Edna begins to demonstrate something important about herself. She feels â€Å"relief† when the children are gone. She feels â€Å"free† of the â€Å"responsibility.† One â€Å"which she had blindly assumed.† Edna had simply accepted the role of motherhood. It was expected, and so she had asked no questions. She is now realizing, however, that she feels this is a position in life â€Å"for which fate had not fitted her.

Finding the Exception Essay

â€Å"I remember riding my bike to school every day and seeing those two men working on their bicycles in their garage, little did I know that they would be the founders of the Trek Bicycle Corporation.† My mother told this to me a few months back when we were reminiscing on the good ol’ days. Waterloo, one of the smallest towns I have ever been too, is home to the success of French history. Its Trek bicycles are now the Tour de France winning frames that brought Lance Armstrong his victories and brought the midwest its spotlight on making the first American bike frames to win the world’s most prestigious bicycle race. By 1984, Trek was at its peak and sales were around $20,000 with approximately fifty thousand Treks being sold in the United States (Burke, 2012). However â€Å"Trek had grown arrogant, and the problems were starting to show† (Burke, 2012). Within business success lies problems and for this company the early years presented many because Trek did not like the bicycle retailers that they were dealing with, they had no brand strategy, and they had no money to advertise It seems that the most successful businesses start with the passion of at least one person. For Trek it was the vision of Richard Burke and Bevel Hogg. Burke was a former accountant that took interest in investments. Hogg was the owner of a Midwestern chain of bicycle stores. While Burke spent 15 years perfecting his business skills with Roth Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Hogg was growing tired of the retail business while keeping his heart with bicycles. Burke had a passion for outdoor recreation which drove him toward the bicycle market. During a meeting between the two men in 1975 when they sought to solve the issue of foreign made product. Their main competitor at the time was Schwinn bu this company dominated the specialty retail market but their bikes were Japanese made. Burke and Hogg wanted to sell American-made product for the same specialty. The company began as a five-person operation in a barn and is now a globally oriented company with distribution in 65 countries and over 1500 employees worldwide. What made the Trek bicycle so unique? Their mission was and still is simple, build the best bikes in the world. The frame sets were handmade from steel. The style was adopted from a European brazing style with its own American flavor. Tim Issac, an early frame engineer, said that a Trek bicycle could be identified without any paint on it. The company was blessed with the right designers and tolling infrastructure to use exactly the right materials to create such unique frame sets. The company had successfully found a way to distinguish itself. â€Å"In order to succeed, you cannot just sell any brand; you need to produce something special† (Burke, 2012, p. 4). Once this is established it’s time to settle on a distribution channel to ensure customers are being reached. At the time, Penn Cycle, outside of Minneapolis, Minnesota was Trek’s dealer. What attracted this dealer to Trek was that not only did this bicycle manufacturer provide lightweight, advanced bicycle s, but they were also made in the United States. Market shares were quickly gaining from the Japanese and European competitors and the company was gaining dealers from Madison to San Francisco and sales had grown to over $1,000,000. After expanding the facility to allow for assembly lines and paint factories, reshaping the entire business, the company was able to hire its first true sales representatives and there in lies its customer service foundation. In 1981, sales doubles and again in 1982. In 1983, the company was already building additions to the factory. The business growth inspired a movements on the West Coast in corporations like Gary Fisher. Then in 1985, sales were over $20,000,000 But, as with any fast lane growth, Trek was facing a net loss for the second year straight. The totals sales in 1984 did not meet expectations and quality control was lacking which angered retailers. The assembly line was built but   it seemed as thought the company didn’t know how to keep it moving forward. On top of that the turn over rate was lacking. John Burke, the son of Richard Burke, who worked for his fathers business remembers writing orders and them showing up at the customer two weeks later but yet having other orders written on prior sales call that still were not arriving to the customers (Burke, 2012, p. 10). The quality in the company was deteriorating. There were paint problems, frames were out of alignment, credits that were promised were not going through, etc. â€Å"I worked hard and sold a lot of product but the problems from the home office kept mounting† (Burke, 2012). Retailers were becoming more and more upset which pushed Trek even harder and the company was falling apart. Customer services makes or brakes a company in the retail world and Treks mission was to make every customer happy. It was up to their customer service department to bring this company back up and that is exactly what John Burke did. He knew that they needed to regain their focus, and that he needed to take a more active role in the companies day-to-day operations. A lot of options were being faced which included closing the operation and liquidating the business, sell the company, or turn it around. â€Å"We decided to roll up our sleeves and get it done (Burke, 2012). There is one method in business that seems to always prevail and that is the back-to-basics approach. Build a quality product, at a competitive value, that can be delivered on time while maintaining a positive work environment for customers and employees. Most importantly, deliver profit. The company first needed to start shipping orders on the same day. Cross training is always an excellent tool and this was a perfect opportunity for the business-suited employees to start putting their hand in on the factory work. The factory would get backed up and so the office workers would go into the warehouse and make sure that orders were fulfilled. Saturdays may seem like a day of rest for some but for Trek to succeed it had to require work on the weekends. Not only were deadlines met but lousy product needed to stop making it out the door. This truly shows the customer that their needs are  being met no matter what it takes. Organizational buying process is such an important business practice. With the many years of developed partnerships Trek has established, the company now has suppliers around the world that allow the fulfillment of demands of the product line. In the 1980’s, when Trek was struggling, they were overlooking one very important aspect of their customer relationships-what is the actual value of their product? They were not going to their buyers and simply asking if they could help them find a vendor based on the value they were proposing. One a vendor is found there is some research that is to be done as well. Does this vendor have good history? Who has worked with them in the past? Is there opportunity to save some money in the mean time? Reliable quality product is what businesses thrive on. Any product that is overpriced needs to be discontinued and new products need to be developed that hit the right price points. â€Å"When potential suppliers are identified, they’re evaluated on four criteria: quality, delivery, capability, price, and environmental impact of their production process† (Kerin, 2005). In an industry such as bicycle production, the operational approach to management is essential. This approach is dedicated to improving efficiency, cutting waste, and improving quality (Kreitner & Cassidy, 2011). By staying in line with business ethics, the manager of Trek would have put more energy into building better product so that it would support the challenges faced today such as limited mobility, issues with the environment, and now more than ever, issues with health. Essentially the bike must work well. If the name Trek is one it then there is quality behind it and this quality needs to be adhered to in the warehouse during production. At the time, Trek probably could not have seen that the bicycle would become the simple solution to all of these things but just as we embrace the availability of such innovation, managers of any business should be at least two steps ahead as to almost predict the future, therefore focusing on sustaining the reputable quality product that the company originated from. In 1988, Trek introduced the Model 1200 aluminum road bike. This was the turning point for the company. This was true quality at a very competitive price. The original dollar amount was $500. Originally the company planned to sell 3,000 of these models but at the end of the year 12,000 were sold. This is when a business needs to reevaluate its retail margin. What goals are being made to improve the amount of retailers and what is the target date? Buyer centers then need to help the company find vendors to find the right place to sell new product. New strategic visions for new models and components builds a better business. Trek was learning, slowly but surely, that they needed to look at their own processes, understand how they make their product, how they source their product, and how they will continue to bring their product to the market and maybe at the end of the day, saving a dollar or two. How could Trek build bicycles that last longer, maybe even use recycles tires. Every business has room for improvement. Business owners should always be looking for ways to bring new technology and solutions into the marketplace. By 1996 Trek was now over $300 million in sales. At this point in the time the company was expanded in Europe to include Japan. However, when there is sunshine expect rain and when there is rain expect for sun. After Trek ramped up their budgets by 20 percent in 1996, 20% more product was to be produced. Sales forecasts were starting to get missed which left inventory levels shooting through the roof. The company was yet again out of balance. There were more bikes in inventory than sales. Every year bicycle products are expected to change, therefore this high inventory of product needed to be discounted heavily in order for sales to continue. This only hurts profit margins. Basically what happened was that Trek grew too big too fast. Just about an hour away form Waterloo is the Whitewater Trek manufacturing plant. When this plant was first opened in 1995, the goal seemed to still be manufacturing low-price point bikes. â€Å"We got out of 1996 making a profit, but the future was no longer bright, and storm clouds were on the horizon† (Burke, 2012). Then numbers continued to look worse and worse as the years went on. Finally in 1998, Tim Callahan was hired on to Trek to take over manufacturing. He turned over Trek manufacturing that essentially saved the business, yet another time. The concept of Kaizen, Japanese for â€Å"continuous improvement† was used first to turn the Trek factories around. â€Å"In the gift-that-keeps-on-giving department, we took Kaizen to our dealer network and it has continued to make an amazing difference to this day† (Burke, 2012). Businesses to do not There was one other thing that added to Treks new found momentum in success. Trek signed a sponsorship deal with the US Postal Service to sponsor a bike team. Thanks to Lance Armstrong, who had a good group of riders, Trek appeared in the 1999 Tour de France. Lance’s winnings gave Trek the opportunity to show up on the front of Sports Illustrated and The New York Times, as well as on the Letterman show (Burke, 2012). Business was great until the year 2006. Production needed a facelift. How do you keep a product backed for years by consumers by maintaining its quality and reputation? For consumers of Trek bicycles, there is customer loyalty. Just like with Apple computer or Smart phones. Why such dedication from the customer? Trek figure out that to continue this relationship they would not only have to continue to build quality bicycles-the best in the world but they would provide their customers with quality products at competitive value that would be delivered on time. Just as with Apple computers, the product continues to prove itself in quality, never leaving the customer unsatisfied. IF there is a problem for whatever reason, dedication to customer sanctification shines the most by fixing whatever issue there may be in a timely fashion. When Senior Burke fired the management team and asked John to move back to Wisconsin to run Trek’s customer service department, he learned the value of maintaining relationships with retailers and customers.

Are we too dependent on computers? Essay

When we talk about computers, people often relate computers with modern technologies. Computer is a tool that helps us make things in our life easier. People use computers in business, public services, educations, even entertainment. Our daily activities are more and more based closely on the working of computer. Almost everything we do is affected by modern technology and computers. I would say that I agree that people nowadays depend on computers too much. Firstly, computers controlled cars, planes, ships and other vehicles, so that we can travel safely. Computer is the backbone of most institutions and colleges nowadays. Computer is a popular device among college students. Students get their assignments done using computer. It is convenient for them to search for information using computer or through online library rather than going to library. They save their files in the computer and use computer to make their presentation. Lecturers and students prefer to use computer to work on assignments if it relates to paper work. Moreover, there are plenty students use their computer to take courses and study online. Computer is a convenient device for students. Speaking of health systems, many hospitals and medical offices use computer to store all the patients’ data. It is easy to keep track and is accessible. Medical officer also store important works that are needed to be recorded and stored for health purpose in the computers. The use of computers is very important even in medical field. More and more hospitals use computers to store patients’ data instead of using paper. It will be messy and a lot of paperwork needed to be done if hospitals didn’t use computers. It will also pollute the environments that so many paper works needed to be stored. All the mental work that we need to do can be done by computer or calculator. It would be almost impossible to calculate a huge statistic data w ithout using a calculator. Computers play an important role in human life. Computers allow office workers to work from home too. Computers help us to keep in touch with friends or families that live too far away to visit. We are also exposed to information and knowledge. We can release our stress by playing the computer games when we come home from work or school. People have increasingly relied on computers nowadays. Moreover, people tend to become lazy to think with presence of computer and technology. Most people rely on computers too much will make them forget their own strengths. People are concerned that vital skills can be lost by next generations as computer technology slowly replaces the traditional ways of working. However, computer affects human health if human spend most of their time facing the computer. When we are asked whether we face the computer most of the time, most of us choose to deny or ignore it because we are scared to admit it. Denial or ignorance is a type of resistance. In a research, people are highly exposed to health risks as they spend most of their time sitting in front of the computers to get their work done. We will have eye pain and backache if we face the computer over a long period. We will also face tired eyes, dizziness and other symptoms. This will also affect other parts of our body, such as brain, neck and fingers. We should not deny or ignore these health symptoms as it could affect our life. Let’s imagine if one day, your computer breakdown, will your life in a mess? People work and do their jobs using computers. People save all their documents in their computers as they think that computer is the safest place to keep documents. Entrepreneurs run their business using computers. However, there is a possibility that the computer will breakdown. A serious chaos will happen. Once the computer system fails to operate, people really can’t do anything. People will just sit down and wait for the engineer to repair it. The business will also be affected. In serious scenario, the entrepreneurs will lose millions of business and money. Although it is said that people fall into the fallacy of slippery slope, break down of computer systems really happen in real life. For example in May 15, 2011, Kuala Lumpur Stock Exchange (KLSE) experienced a breakdown in computer systems. The stock exchange came to a standstill for about 5 hours. Most of us also have the misconception that we are in control. Actually we are not. Nobody knows what is going to happen in the future. We can’t really control the computer systems but we can try our best to make sure that computer systems work smoothly. As far as I concerned, computer is a great invention and it is useful to human life. It should be impossible to live without computer as we get too much used of computers nowadays. However, we should use it wisely. We know the fact that the more we rely on computer, the more we will lose in our life. So, we should also find ways to make our dependence on computers less dangerous to us, so that we will not rely on computer completely.

Writing a Critical Essay on Hamlet

Writing a Critical Essay on Hamlet If you are an ardent fan of William Shakespeare’s literary works, you should not have problems writing a critical essay on Hamlet. Shakespeare’s plays are used as class readers in many schools across the world. Students particularly love acting the plays, since it gives them a better understanding of the central themes explored therein. An essay on Hamlet calls for prior comprehension of the plot of the play, the themes, motifs, and characters involved. You cannot simply begin writing the critical essay without first reading and re-reading the play in order to understand what role Hamlet plays. Similarly, you will need to recognize what Hamlet symbolizes in the play. Essentially, an essay on Hamlet will tackle the revenge as well as terrible attributes inhibited by the character named Hamlet. You cannot expect to get a good score on your essay if you fail to notice and mention that Hamlet was pursuing revenge in the whole course of the play. For a literature student, theme recognition should not be a problem. However, you should understand that your essay has the potential of reaching an audience that is not very conversant with themes. Therefore, before beginning to discuss the theme, it is vital to describe what it is about Hamlet that makes her the protagonist in the play. For example, provide a detailed exposition of the exciting facts as well as features that your reader might not know about Hamlet. By themselves, such features may not be enough to convince the reader that Hamlet is the leading character in the play. Given that your essay should be critical, you ought to describe the other characters who are participating in the play, and the way in which they relate with Hamlet. A better analysis of the play can be presented if the writer conducts further research. Many writers and authors have written various reviews about Shakespeare’s works. Each of the authors provides an evaluation of the works according to his or understanding. For example, if you are encountering challenges trying to understand the plot of the play, you can research and get a simplified summary of the plot and character analysis easily. This will enable you tow rite your critical essay easily, besides minimizing the possibility of making misleading conclusions that can earn you less marks. On the other hand, you can divert from the conventional essay-writing format and discuss the technique used in writing the play. Your instructor will most likely be amazed by this unique deviation, and will give you more credit for your creativity. If you elect to discuss this, you might also consider outlining what distinct elements Shakespeare has used in this particular piece, as opposed to other works. You can also conclude by giving your rating of the play, and suggesting any areas of deficiency that you may have noted in the play. For instance, you may highlight any misuse of rhetoric devices that you might have observed. You can order a custom critical essay online, at CustomWritings writing service. We provide students with high-quality custom essays written by professional writers.

Avoiding Stereotypes in Writing

Avoiding Stereotypes in Writing Avoiding Stereotypes in Writing Avoiding Stereotypes in Writing By Catherine Osborn It is easy to fall into the trap of using language that can be construed as racist or sexist. Here are a few tips to stay away from this type of writing. Avoid sexist language. When you know your audience varies, stay away from words that are gender specific. Use â€Å"their† instead of â€Å"his† or â€Å"anyone† instead of â€Å"a man†. You’d be surprised how many people take these sorts of things the wrong way. Avoid ethnic and racial stereotypes. You can be accurate without being biased. For example, it could be considered impolite to say Oriental; you should say Asian or better yet, the specific country such as Japanese, Korean, etc†¦. Be careful not to let religious stereotypes creep into your writing. Such as referring to a banker as Jewish, of course. This is too biased. Biases against age and sexual orientation are also frowned upon. In all these cases, it is best to well, use your best judgment. Avoid political bias and stereotypes in case you want your audienceTo read your content under a neutral point of view. This is especially important in business writing contexts. Research your facts and dont include statements you believe to be true just because the majority of people also believe so. Remember that people in different regions or countries might have a different understanding regarding what is considered sexiest or racist. When in doubt, scratch that. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Business Writing category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Regarding Re:8 Proofreading Tips And TechniquesHow Verbs Become Adjectives

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

Bioterrorism - Research Paper Example k of severe, unexplained acute respiratory disease now known as hantavirus pulmonary syndrome in the Spring of 1993, the nationwide foodborne salmonellosis outbreak caused by contaminated ice cream that accounted for an estimated 250,000 cases in the fall of 1994, and the increasing problems posed by antimicrobial-resistant organisms in community and health-care settings† (Hughes, 1999, par. 2). The article written by Tucker (1999) has revealed that most of the biological agent cases turned out to be hoaxes. As explicitly revealed, â€Å"of the terrorist attacks with biological agents, only one resulted in casualties: the use by the Rajneeshee cult in 1984 of Salmonella Typhimurium bacteria to contaminate restaurant salad bars in The Dalles, Oregon. This event caused 751 cases of food poisoning, none fatal† (Tucker: Conclusion, 1999, par. 1). Despite the differences in findings, the government has obviously been keen on evaluating, monitoring, and assuming a proactive stance in addressing terrorist attacks, especially involving biological agents (Hughes, 1999). According to the Homeland Security, a national biodefense program has been put into place to address threats of biological agents (Homeland Security, n.d.). It was therefore disclosed that as part of the intensified need to address threats of bioterrorism, the Homeland Security has been assigned to establish four pillars of the defense program, to wit: â€Å"Threat Awareness; Prevention and Protection; Surveillance and Detection; (and) Response and Recovery† (Homeland Security, n.d., p. 1). As part of the government’s public health policy, close coordination and collaboration with state and federal health agencies are encouraged, especially in examining potential biological threats. As emphasized, â€Å"intelligence analysts and biodefense experts at the National Biological Threat Characterization Center conduct studies and laboratory experiments, filling in information gaps to help us better understand and