Educational inequality and NGOs Essay

You have, perhaps, never heard a discussion or symposium on the topic, â€Å"Men-their role in the society. † The discussion is always about women. Men perhaps, have no role! This is not to say that the men can not do some of the jobs normally done by women. Even today the best chefs are men! The talk of giving equal rights and educational facilities to women goes on all over the world unabated. All the Acts of Parliaments in the world will not bring equality for women. The change has to be achieved within-both men and women. How can you say that women need to be given equal rights? God has created her, given her the status of more-equal. Nobody can take that right away. It is the mother who gives ‘protection’ for the initial nine months to the divine creative force of the future male or female! A female child is victimized at every step of life, from the moment of birth. Women should be the legal and spiritual equals of men. Male and female are alternative beats of the same heart. Discrimination against females contributes negative impacts as for the wellbeing of the society as a whole. The gender differences are transmitted from generation to generation. Their impact varies, softens or hardens, due to various social, cultural and political factors. Basically gender means the biological differences between females and males. â€Å"Gender refers to the meanings that are attached to those differences within a culture. † ( Kimmel p. 3 ). Apart from the biological differences, other differences are human-made. â€Å"Traditional gender ideologies and present changing gender norms affect the way gender is taught through the â€Å"hidden curriculum† found within every classroom today in America. Gender ideologies past and present influence the policies and the economic realities of education in today’s society. Education is one of the leading institutions that teaches and bolsters the gender inequalities which we see in America. † (Our Educational†¦)Even the most enlightened find it difficult to transcend the concept of gender inequality. The thorn will have to be removed by thorn. We say classrooms contribute to maintain inequalities; we also need to understand that the educational system implemented through the classrooms is the ideal place to make a start in educating the gender inequalities. Kimmel writes, â€Å"†¦the message students get, from both the content and the form of education, is that women and men are different and unequal, and that the inequality comes from those differences, and that, therefore, such inequality is justified† (p. 151). As for removing the gender inequalities, NGOs can do a lot in awareness campaigns, running small model schools, but this great social malady deeply impacted by the cultural, religious traditions, can not be set right overnight. The political will of the people of a country to obtain equal opportunities for the subjugated female gender counts much. If one turns the pages of history of gender education, what used to happen a century ago seems unbelievable in the circumstances prevailing today. Stupendous advancement has been made by the female gender in education, and consequently on all fronts. â€Å"When women tried to enter the classroom in 1900 at the University of Rochester, after it opened its doors to women who could raise money to build new dorms and facilities, â€Å"male students responded by stamping their feet, physically blocking classroom doors, and jeering at them whenever they appeared on campus† (Kimmel p. 153). World renowned intellectuals like Rousseau averred that women are created to give pleasure to men. The intervention of the NGOs has softened the attitude of the policy makers to a great extent. Four decades ago, before the 1970s, women had lees openings to obtain a good education. Title IX of the Educational Amendments of 1972, provides an equal opportunity to all in educational programs and activities. â€Å"The average female pre-kindergarten teacher in 1980 earned $8,390, while her male counterpart earned $14, 912. †in USA. (Kimmel, 2000). America has the special gender related problem, closely linked to its racial history of African American community. This is a highly complicated issue that needs to be viewed from attitudes about sexuality, culture, the role of the Black Church, Male dominance within Black communities, which obstructs the progress of women in the field of education etc. â€Å"The process by which Black communities has arrived at its current situation, in which 54 percent of Black children live in single-parent, largely female-headed and less prosperous households, 68 percent of African-American children are born to unmarried mothers and 47 percent of the prison population and 29 percent of those who are confined to mental hospitals are Black. † (Henry, 2007) So much about the global north as for the gendered educational inequality! As for the global south, if we take the example of a developing country like India, women in Indian Society are no better. The conditions are slowly evolving in favor of women and emancipation of women is in sight and that is due to women’s education, diversification of their roles, bar to child marriage, encouragement to widow remarriage, occupational mobility etc. The urban women in India are better placed than their rural counterparts for obvious reasons. Most of the NGOs working in the field of education are established in the urban and metropolitan areas. Whereas the NGOs can not exercise legal powers directly, they help women in making them aware about the existing legal rights. NGOs also play active role in sensitization of Women, Building confidence in women, Change in Social Attitude, Collective Awareness, etc. Conclusion: â€Å"Schools are like old-fashioned factories, and what they produce is gendered individuals,† says Michael S. Kimmel. But hopefully they are changing for the better. Education to women on par with men, may lead to other cultural and social problems. That is another issue. On this factor, women can not be denied their right to higher education. Education is the mainstay on the basis of which many a reformation and rehabilitation programs can be chalked out and implemented for the benefit of women. NGOs all over the world are precisely attempting that. Legislation can extend the helping hand legally. What matters is the change in the male perception and attitudes as for the all round growth of the personality of the female gender.   References: Kimmel, Michael S. 2000. The Gendered Society. New York, NY: Oxford University Press. Henry, Kathy: Gender Talk29 May 2007 †¦ In the African-American studies book Gender Talk, Dr. Johnnetta †¦ how gender inequality affects the entire African-American community. †¦ ezinearticles. com/? Gender-Talk&id=584732 –Retrieved on July 25, 2008

The History and Archaeology of the Silk Road

The History and Archaeology of the Silk Road The Silk Road (or Silk Route) is one of the oldest routes of international trade in the world. First called the Silk Road in the 19th century, the 4,500-kilometer (2,800 miles) route is actually a web of caravan tracks which actively funneled trade goods between Changan (now the present-day city of Xian), China in the East and Rome, Italy in the West at least between the 2nd century BC up until the 15th century AD. The Silk Road is first reported to have been used during the  Han Dynasty  (206 BC-220 AD) in China, but recent archaeological evidence including the domestication history of a series of animals and plants, such as barley, indicates that trade managed by the ancient steppe societies across the central Asian deserts began at least 5,000-6,000 years ago. Using a series of  way stations  and  oases, the Silk Road spanned the 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) of the Gobi Desert of Mongolia and the mountainous  Pamirs  (the Roof of the World) of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. Important stops on the Silk Road included Kashgar,  Turfan, Samarkand,  Dunhuang, and the  Merv Oasis. Routes of the Silk Road The Silk Road contained three major routes leading westward from Changan, with perhaps hundreds of smaller ways and byways. The northern route ran westward from China to the Black Sea; the central to Persia and the Mediterranean Sea; and the southern to the regions which now include Afghanistan, Iran, and India. Its fabled travelers included Marco Polo, Genghis Khan, and Kublai Khan. The Great Wall of China was built (in part) to protect its route from bandits. Historical tradition reports that the trade routes began in the 2nd century BC as the result of the efforts of Emperor Wudi of the Han Dynasty. Wudi commissioned Chinese military commander Zhang Qian to seek a military alliance with his Persian neighbors to the west. He found his way to Rome, called Li-Jian in documents of the time. One extremely important trade item was silk, manufactured in China and treasured in Rome. The process by which silk is made, which involves silkworm caterpillars fed on mulberry leaves, was kept secret from the west until the 6th century AD when a Christian monk smuggled caterpillar eggs out of China. Trade Goods of the Silk Road While important to keeping the trade connection open, silk was only one of many items passing across the Silk Roads network. Precious ivory and gold, food items such as pomegranates, safflowers, and carrots went east out of Rome to the west; from the east came jade, furs, ceramics, and manufactured objects of bronze, iron, and lacquer. Animals such as horses, sheep, elephants, peacocks, and camels made the trip, and, perhaps most importantly, agricultural and metallurgical technologies, information, and religion were brought with the travelers. Archaeology and the Silk Road Recent studies have been conducted at key locations along the Silk Route at the Han Dynasty sites of Changan, Yingpan, and Loulan, where imported goods indicate that these were important cosmopolitan cities. A cemetery in Loulan, dated to the first century AD, contained burials of individuals from Siberia, India, Afghanistan, and the Mediterranean Sea. Investigations at the Xuanquan Station Site of Gansu Province in China suggest that there was a postal service along the Silk Road during the Han Dynasty. A growing mass of archaeological evidence suggests that the Silk Road may have been in use long before Zhang Qians diplomatic journey. Silk has been found in the mummies of Egypt around 1000 BC, German graves dated to 700 BC, and 5th century Greek tombs. European, Persian and Central Asian goods have been found in the Japanese capital city of Nara. Whether these hints ultimately prove to be solid evidence of early international trading or not, the web of tracks called the Silk Road will remain a symbol of the lengths to which people will go to stay in touch. Sources Christian D. 2000. Silk roads or steppe roads? The Silk Roads in world history. Journal of World History 11(1):1-26.Dani AH. 2002. Significance of Silk Road to human civilization: Its cultural dimension. Journal of Asian Civilizations 25(1):72-79.Fang J-N, Yu B-S, Chen C-H, Wang DT-Y, and Tan L-P. 2011. Sino-Kharosthi and Sino-Brahmi coins from the silk road of western China identified with stylistic and mineralogical evidence. Geoarchaeology 26(2):245-268.Hashemi S, Talebian MH, and Taleqni EM. 2012. Determining the Position of Ahovan Caravansary in Silk Road Route. Journal of Basic and Applied Scientific Research 2(2):1479-1489.Liu S, Li QH, Gan F, Zhang P, and Lankton JW. 2012. Silk Road glass in Xinjiang, China: chemical compositional analysis and interpretation using a high-resolution portable XRF spectrometer. Journal of Archaeological Science 39(7):2128-2142.Toniolo L, DAmato A, Saccenti R, Gulotta D, and Righetti PG. 2012. The Silk Road, Marco Polo, a bible and its proteome: A detective story. Journal of Proteomics 75(11):3365-3373. Wang S, and Zhao X. 2013. Re-evaluating the Silk Roads Qinghai Route using dendrochronology. Dendrochronologia 31(1):34-40.

Internationalization Strategies The WritePass Journal

Internationalization Strategies Introduction Internationalization Strategies ). The final plan of the open-up initiative further relaxed the number and size of retail outlets that could be owned by foreign companies. In 1993, foreign companies were allowed to open up as many as 20 retail stores with a maximum size of 3,000 sq m. However, it was in 1996, that the FDI policy for the South Korean industry was completely liberalized allowing foreign supermarket giants to expand their international business operations in earnest. Sensing this opportunity, both Wal-Mart and Tesco entered the South Korean market almost at the same time; with both adopting different international business strategies (Retail 360, 2012). Market Entry Strategy Upon liberalization of the South Korean market, Wal-Mart attempted to make its way into the new market by building its own stores in remote urban areas of the South Korean cities where real estate prices were relatively lower than the main commercial centres. It was a clear replication of Wal-Mart’s US strategy of smaller-city store build-up. Wal-Mart succeeded in opening up a total of only 16 stores in all of South Korea; with having only one store in the Seoul metropolitan area. With this, the company failed to achieve the economies of scale. Wal-Mart anticipated that the Korean consumers, like those in the US, would drive to its remotely located stores for bulk price shopping. However, this location strategy proved to be contrary to the South Korean consumers’ lifestyle and shopping behaviours. Korean consumers preferred buying smaller units of goods more frequently and thus favoured accessibility to a store more over bulk price buying (Retail 360, 2012). Unlike Wal-Mart, Tesco took a more gradual path of market entry. Tesco entered the South Korean market through a joint venture with Samsung. Samsung is one of the largest South Korean conglomerates operating across a wide range of business sectors. With this market entry strategy, Tesco benefited from Samsung’s knowledge and know-how of local market and consumers behaviours whilst limiting its focus upon transferring its core retailing skills to the South Korean market. Tesco did not try to replicate its British version of retail business in the new market.   Tesco gradually increased its stake in its joint venture until it acquired 95% of its stake (Retail 360, 2012). Firm Size and Internationalization Management literature prescribes four fundamental business strategies and their coinciding business models for firm operating internationally. These are: Multinational organizational strategy: It resembles a ‘decentralized federation’, wherein each of the foreign subsidiaries of an organization can adapt the company’s products and services and even business strategies,   to meet the local requirements of its international destinations. The head offices of those companies adhering to this strategy presumably maintain only financial controls over its subsidiaries. International organizational strategy: This type of strategy resembles a ‘coordinated federation’ wherein the head office of a business is determined to transfer its knowledge, expertise and technology to its subsidiaries in new markets. The subsidiaries is foreign markets depend upon the headquarters for developing products and services, processes and ideas; although some tasks and authorities are decentralized. The subsidiaries enjoy some autonomy regarding policies and business level strategies. Global organizational strategy: This strategy essentially forms a ‘central hub’ wherein the centre has a stringent focus upon marketing standardized product and services across the globe through a predefined unified strategy. The head office observes a tight control over all the business activities with foreign subsidiaries being strictly confined to the implementation of the policies and procedures of the head office. Their task remains to provide only sales and service. Transnational organizational model: It resembles an ‘integrated network’ wherein ideas and information flows both ways from the head office to the subsidiary and vice versa. This strategy is prevalent in knowledge organizations and information technology firms and knowledge organizations. (Kairimi and Konsynski, 1991; Hill, 2003; Johnson and Turner, 2003) Considering the above theory, business strategy of Wal-Mart in South Korea can be described as being of ‘global organizational strategy’. Wal-Mart, which entered South Korea in 1996, disappointed South Korean customers by sticking to its Western marketing strategies. The company insisted upon focusing more on dry goods, ranging from clothing to electronics, just like its American stores, while its rivals focused more on selling food and beverages which according to experts attracts South Korean customers to hypermarkets/supermarkets. Moreover, Wal-Mart stores followed their traditional store design, making them look too simpler in appearance than its local rivals. Its store simplicity was further marked by its display strategy in wherein it sold its products in boxes, while most of its rivals built eye-catching display with clerks appealing to customers over megaphones and through hand clapping like a traditional street market (Sang-Hun, 2006 a). For instance, Wal-Mart d isplayed fish wrapped in cellophane, disregarding the South Korean custom of buying fresh fish (alive in tanks). Furthermore, by applying US standards to its stores in South Korea, the company failed to alleviate various difficulties faced by its customers. For instance, adhering to the US standards, the height of the shelves at Wal-Mart stores was too high for short South Koreans (Sang-Hun, 2006 b). Meanwhile, the business strategy of Tesco, can be described as that of a ‘multinational organization’. The South Korean subsidiary of Tesco operates with complete autonomy in terms of its business strategy and approach, following an organizational structure of a decentralized federation. This approach is evident from the company’s articulated ‘Homeplus’ stores, which have relatively different features than those of Tesco’s home country stores. The chairperson of the company’s South Korean division appears to formulate and execute its business strategy with a stern local perspective; a key constituent for the business’s success in South Korea. The most critical challenge for any company undergoing international expansion is to take into account the cultural differences between its home and foreign market (see Hofstede, 1991, 2001).  Ã‚   From the case of Wal-Mart in South Korea, it is evident that cultural habits and preferences play the most crucial role in determining the success or failure of a retail food business. In order to overcome this challenge, Tesco adopted a strategy to run its South Korean business in a strictly localized way. Pertaining to this strategy, the company employs a large number of local staff, even at its top most managerial positions. For instance, in 2008, out of its 23000 employees, only four of them were British; one of them being the regional director while the others were positioned at middle management (Davey, 2009). This strategy has proved to be very successful of Tesco. According to Martin Uden, the British ambassador to South Korea, the success of Tesco in South Korea is attributed to its strategy to run the business like a local one. He states that Tesco is just using its general retailing skills to run the company with a Korean approach (Davey, 2009). The company’s Homeplus format of stores is another reflection of its multinational business strategy. The Homeplus format stores are regarded as highly popular cultural centres as they facilitate community education within the premises of the hypermarkets. Overall, Homeplus stores in South Korea have more than 650 classes being conducted simultaneously to a school term in numerous subjects such as English and Chinese, Cookery and Ballet among others. In South Korea, sending children to private tuitions after school hours (called as ‘hakwons’) is a common practice. The provision of community education where children attend regular classes while their mothers occasionally accompany them for shopping is a highly successful approach. Apart from this, the Homeplus format offer sitting, resting and play areas for children. Moreover, instant snacks such as noodles and others are served at the corners of various aisles throughout the stores (Davey, 2009). South Koreans value the street market shopping experience along with the convenience of a hypermarket offered by Homeplus store. Such customer-focused approach which has been very popular in South Korea is achieved by the company’s overall international business strategy. Conclusion The opening up of South Korean market and its favourable FDI policies paved way for the international expansion of large multinational retail chains within the South Korean market. Wal-Mart chose to enter the new market with complete ownership of its subsidiaries, anticipating its success based on its homeland experience. Meanwhile, Tesco treaded the new water more carefully by choosing to enter the new market through joint venture, and gradually increasing its stake in the business. The international business strategy of Wal-Mart and Tesco differed starkly in regard to the South Korean market, with the former adopting a standardized approach, adhering to a global organizational strategy while the latter following a customized approach for the expansion in South Korea, adhering to a multinational business strategy. The standardized approach adopted by Wal-Mart failed to deliver the level of success desired by the company, leading to its ultimate exit from the South Korean market in the year 2006. Tesco, on the other hand, continued to progress and succeed in its South Korean market, acquiring a 95% stake in its joint venture with Samsung. It can be concluded that when there are stark cultural differences within the home country and the new target market, a multinational firm should best adhere to a multinational organizational strategy rather than adhering to a standard global strategy for international business. This is not to say that this perspective is the si ngle factor behind the success and failure of Tesco and Wal-Mart in South Korea. Various other factors usually intertwine to determine the success or failure of a firm in an international market. However, this perspective can be considered as the leading cause behind it.    References Conyon, S. Girma, M. Thompson, S., Wright P.   (1999). The Impact of Foreign Acquisition on Wages and Productivity in the UK; Centre for Research on Globalisation and Labour Markets, School of Economics, University of Nottingham Czinkota, M., Ronkainen, I. and   Moffett., H (2005) â€Å"International Business†, Wiley. Davey, J. (2009) Tesco enjoys a Korea break with Homeplus. The Sunday Time {online} thesundaytimes.co.uk/sto/business/article183991.ece (cited on 28th December, 2012) Euromonitor, (2009)Euromonitor International {online} euromonitor.com/ (cite on 9th August, 2012) Hill, (2003) in Lan, C. (2005) â€Å"Global Information Society:  Operating Information Systems In A Dynamic Global Business Environment†, Idea Group Inc Johnson, D. and Turner, C. (2003), â€Å"International Business: themes and issues in the modern global economy†, Routledge Kairimi and Konsynski (1991) in Lan, C. (2005) â€Å"Global Information Society:  Operating Information Systems In A Dynamic Global Business Environment†, Idea Group Inc Mckinsey Quarterly (2002) Taking Tesco global: David Reid, deputy chairman of Tesco, the United Kingdom’s largest grocer (2002), explains his international strategy. {online} mckinseyquarterly.com/Strategy/Globalization/Taking_Tesco_global_1221 (cited on 28th December, 2012) Retail 360, (2012) Korean retail therapy for foreign chains Tesco , Wal-mart and  Carrefour International Retail Consultants {online} http://retail360uk.wordpress.com/2012/05/27/korean-retail-therapy-for-foreign-chains-tesco-wal-mart-and-carrefour/ (cited on 28th December, 2012) Sang-Hun, C. (2006 a) Wal-Mart quitting South Korea {online} nytimes.com/2006/05/23/business/worldbusiness/23shop.html?_r=0 (cited on 28th December, 2012) Sang-Hun, C. (2006 b) Wal-Mart quitting South Korea {online} nytimes.com/2006/05/22/business/worldbusiness/22iht-won.html?_r=0 (cited on 28th December, 2012)

Punctuation on ACT English Apostrophes, Colons, and More

Punctuation on ACT English Apostrophes, Colons, and More SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips What's the difference between a periodand a semicolon? Between a comma and a dash? These questions bedevil not just students, but evenprofessional writers. Punctuation can be one of the weirdest, most confusing parts of writing. However, the ACT English section isn't writing- it's a multiple choice test, which means that every question has to have only one correct answer. The ACT tests a specific set of punctuation rules, most of which deal with commas. Icovered commasin a separate post- here I'll be explaining the other punctuation rules you need to know, which deal with apostrophes, semicolons, colons, and dashes. Here's brief rundown of everything this article will cover: Using apostrophes in possessives and contractions Understanding the differences between semicolons, colons, and dashes Answering ACT English questions on punctuation ACT English practice questions Feature Image Credit: xlibber Apostrophes: Possessives and Contractions Apostrophes on the ACT can be really tricky. You mayassume you know the rules, but the ACTtests these concepts in its ownweird way. As such, I'm going to briefly review the relevant rules, and then go over in detail how these concepts are tested on the ACT and what the common errors that you need to watch out for are. Possessives The basic rules for forming possessives are quite simple. If a word is singular or if it's plural but doesn't end in "s," then you add "'s" to the end of the word. the fox → the fox’s the women → the women’s To create a possessive for a plural word thatdoes end in "s," you simply place an apostrophe at the end of the word, after the "s." the archaeologists → thearchaeologists’ Let's look at how this works in a sentence: At the tinkers convention, Jose browsed for a long time before deciding he wanted to buy something from the leather workersstall. Clearly, this sentence is missing a number of apostrophes. Theconvention is for a lot of tinkers, so there should be an apostrophe after the s. It's probably just one leather workerat the stall though, so the apostrophe should go before the s. At the tinkers' convention, Jose browsed for a long time before deciding he wanted to buy something from the leather worker'sstall. On the ACT English, possessives questions aren't so much about knowing the rules as they are about determining whetheryou need an apostrophe at all and, if so, whether the noun is meant to be plural or singular. Should This Noun be Possessive? Happily, there's an easy trick to determine whether a noun should be possessive. "Sally's ball" is just another way of saying "the ball of Sally." So if you want to figure out whether a noun is meant to be possessive, take the noun, put an "of" in front of it, and stick it after the noun or phrase that follows it. This may sound complicated, but it's actually very easy. Let's walk through an example. When my computer crashed, I lost a months work on my plan to take over the world. Should month be possessive? Try switching it around: When my computer crashed, I lost thework of a month on my plan to take over the world. That makes sense: the point is that I lost all the work I did in a month. The correct version of the sentence is: When my computer crashed, I lost a month's work on my plan to take over the world. It's easy to assume that because a month isn't a person it can't be possessive, but that's not the case. Any noun can be possessive. In general, when dealing with possessive nouns, you're more likely to see questions where there's a necessary apostrophe missing (or misplaced, which we'll discuss shortly), than you are to see ones with extra apostrophes that you don't actually need. Is the Noun Meant to be Plural or Singular? The other factor you'll need to consider when placingapostrophes is whether the possessivenoun is meant to be singular or plural. Whether "the neighbor's dog" or "the neighbors' dog" is correct is dependent on whether there is only one neighbor or more than one. When working on ACT English questions, you'll need to look at context clues to determine how many of the noun there are meant to be. Let's revisit our example from above: When my computer crashed, I lost a months work on my plan to take over the world. We've already established that "months" should be possessive. But how do we know that it's "month's" not "months'"? The singular article "a" gives us the clue- "a months" makes no sense, so the noun has to be singular. Consider a slightly different version of the sentence: When my computer crashed, I lost somemonths work on my plan to take over the world. "Some" indicates more than one. So when we make "months" possessive, we need to put the apostrophe after the "s": When my computer crashed, I lost somemonths' work on my plan to take over the world. Keep in mind that the relevant context clues may sometimes be trickier to spot, so check the sentences before and after the underlined one if you're unsure. ACT Example The ACT tests possessives in almost exactly the same way we just discussed. Take a look at this example from an official ACT English section: Let's go through our two questions in order. Should "family" be possessive? If we switch around the word order to "the farm of his family" that makes sense, so yes, the noun should be possessive. (In this example, you might also say "family farm" but you'll notice that isn't an answer choice.) Is it "family" or "families"? First, think about what clues you can use- "his" is a good one. We're talking about Banneker's family specifically, and people generally only have one family. The singular form is correct. Nowwe know that we need an answer with "family" and an apostrophe, which narrows it down to A and B. We need to pick the one that correctly places the apostrophe before the "s" (since we're dealing with a singular noun), which is B. Whoever wrote this sign didn't know the correct rules for apostrophes ( ©Leo Reynolds) Contractions When working with contractions, you only really need to know one rule: the apostrophe replaces the missing letter or letters. Do not→ don't (apostrophe replaces the second "o") They have→ they've (apostrophe replaces the "ha") There are a few weird cases like "won't," but you don't need to worry about them. In fact, the ACT English generally doesn't ask about spelling of contractions. Why are we going over this rule then? Because there are a couple of very common contraction-related errors that the ACT English does test. Could Of vs. Could've If you've doneany ACT English practice you may have seen the construction "could of," "should of," or "would of." For example: I should of gone to bed early, but I stayed up to play video games instead. This sentence sounds fine if you read it aloud, but it's actually incorrect. I'm trying to say that I should have gone to bed- the correct spelling is"should've" not "should of": I should'vegone to bed early, but I stayed up to play video games instead. Should of, could of, and would of are always wrong. If you're trying to determine if a contraction is correct in general, though, replace it with the fully written out form. This technique will come in handywith our next category of errors as well. Pronouns One of the most common mistakes students make on the ACT English is mixing up "it's," "its'," and "its." Do you know the difference? It's - it is or it has Its - possessive form of it Its' - not a word Think about it this way: a contraction must have an apostrophe to replace the dropped letters while no other pronoun possessives (his, her, my) have apostrophes. Its', meanwhile, is just a weird construction that only shows up on the ACT- it is never correct. To summarize: for pronouns, an apostrophe ALWAYS indicates a contraction. Though they're less common, errors with they're, there, and their and errors with who's and whose may also appear on the test. For more details on those, take a look at our post on word choice. Semicolons, Colons, and Dashes: Connecting Clauses and Phrases We've covered apostrophes (above) and commas (elsewhere)- that leaves only three more punctuation marks: semicolons, colons, and dashes. Like commas, which they're often tested in conjunction with, these punctuation marks help clarify the relationships between clauses and phrases. Also like commas, you are far more likely to make an error by adding an unnecessary punctuation mark than by removing a necessary one, so err on the side of less punctuation. We're going to go over the exact uses for each of these punctuation marks, but, first a quick disclaimer. Semicolons, colons, and dashes are almost always tested with commas or in the context of sentence fragments and sentence structure. We have separate posts on each of those, so make sure to look at them as well. Semicolons Semicolons are basically wishy-washy periods (or so their detractors claim); they connect two independent clauses. That previous sentence is an example! A semicolon is only correct if it could be replaced with a period. Incorrect: After seeing that the amusement park hadfour roller coasters; Maria was determined to ride them all. Correct: The amusement park has four roller coasters; Maria was determined to ride them all. In the first version of the sentence, a semicolon is being used incorrectly in place of a comma to connect a dependent and an independentclause. In the second version, it is correctly placed between two independent clauses. Remember that semicolons are interchangeable with periods- this means that you will never be asked to choose between them. If the only difference between two answers is that one has a period and the other semicolon in the same spot, both answers must be wrong. There is one other, much less common, use of semicolons: to separate items in a list, especially if they include commas. For example: My whole family was at the reunion, including my cousins, Kirsten and Jeremy; my aunts, Tracy and Megan; and my grandparents, Carl and Jen. Again, there's a small chance you'll see this usage on the test, but it'sverysmall. Don't worry about it too much. Make sure to keep your semicolons happy by only using them between independent clauses! ( ©Mauricio Balvanera) Colons Colons are easy to mix up with semicolons because the two punctuation marks look similar and have similar names. Colons can, in fact, connect two independent clauses, but they are usually used to introduce lists or explanations (you may have noticed that I tend to employ them for the latter purpose quite a lot). The key rule for colons is that they must come after a complete sentence. You should be able to put a period at the end of the clause before the colon and have it make sense. Otherwise, it doesn't matter if you're introducing a list or explanation, it's still wrong. Incorrect:Liz went to the costume shop for the supplies she needed for Halloween, including: fake blood, plastic spiders, and a witch’s hat. Correct:Liz went to the costume shop for the supplies she needed for Halloween: fake blood, plastic spiders, and a witch’s hat. Correct:Liz went to the costume shop for the supplies she needed for Halloween: a holiday when people dress up in scary costumes and eat a lot of candy. Correct:Liz went to the costume shop for the supplies she needed for Halloween: she was planning to dress up as a zombie witch. The first sentence is incorrect, because the part that comes before the colon isn't a complete thought; "Liz went to the costume shop for the supplies she needed for Halloween, including" makes no sense on its own. The other three versions all correctly locate a colon at the end of the independent clause, "Liz went to the costume shop for the supplies she needed for Halloween." You may have noticed that semicolons, colons, and periods can all be used between independent clauses. However, as I mentioned in regard to semicolons, you will never be asked to choose between the three- the distinctions are purely stylistic. If you have more questions on this topic, read our guide to sentence fragments and run-ons. Dashes Dashes are a strange and flexible punctuation mark- personally, they're my favorite! However, for the sake of the ACT English, you really only need to understand two of itsuses: markingoff a non-essential clause or phrase (just like a comma)and introducing a list or explanation (just like a colon). Non-essential clauses and phrases provide extra information that can be removed without altering the meaning of the sentence. When dashes are used with non-essential clauses or phrases, the key is making sure that you don't mix them with commas. Both are equally correct, but you have to stick to one or the other. Incorrect: Allie was minding her own business when her brother, a mischievous eight-year-old- snuck up and surprised her. Correct:Allie was minding her own business when her brother- a mischievous eight-year-old- snuck up and surprised her. Correct:Allie was minding her own business when her brother, a mischievous eight-year-old, snuck up and surprised her. To mark off non-essential clauses is by far the most likely way you'll see dashes tested on the ACT English. However, you may also see dashes used to introduce a list or explanation, like so: Allie’s eight-year-old brother surprised her- he snuck up behind her and yelled â€Å"boo!† Dashes are relatively rare on the ACT, so just understandroughly how they can be usedand you'll be fine. ACT Example As I mentioned above, these punctuation marks are often tested together. You cansee what that looks like in this official ACT question: On questions like this one, it's often easier to determine what doesn't work than what does. So let's start with the semicolon; "but versatile boat" definitely isn't an independent clause, so we know a semicolon can't be correct. This construction alsoisn't a non-essential phrase (if you take it out the sentence no longer makes sense), a list, or an explanation, so we canrule out the dash. The comma is tempting because it's right before the coordinating conjunction "but," but it's actually incorrect. Think about what commas, dashes, colons, and semicolons are all meant to do: clarify relationships between clauses and phrases. That means you generally shouldn't stick them in the middle of a thought. "simple but versatile boat" is one idea, so you don't want to interrupt it with unneccesary punctuation. B is the correct answer. Remember to always consider whether you really need a punctuation mark- you often don't. Breaking the rules is great sometimes, but not on the ACT. ( ©Edward SImpson) Applying Punctuation Rules on the ACT English We've covered a lot of rules and strategies for answering punctuation questions on the ACT English. I've rounded up the key points below, so that you can seethe key rules to remember and best strategies to implement! Key Rules for Punctuation: Possessives: theapostrophe goes before the s for singular nouns and plural nouns that don't end in s and after the s for plural nouns that do end in s Contractions: the apostrophe replaces themissing letters Possessive pronouns don't have apostrophes Semicolons connect twocomplete sentences Colons come after a complete sentence and introduce a list or explanation Dashes mark off non-essential clauses or introduce lists and explanations Helpful ACT English Strategies: Use "of" to check whether a noun should be possessive Use context clues to determine whether a possessive noun is plural or singular Remember that non-person nouns can be possessive Answer choices that are always wrong: should of, could of, would of, its' You'll never be asked to choose between interchangeable punctuation marks: either you're missing something or both answers are wrong Make sure the punctuation marks around a non-essential clause or phrase are always the same: either a pair of commas or a pair of dashes, never one of each Since there are a variety of different punctuation marks that serve similar purposes, use process of elimination to rule out the ones that can't be right, rather than trying to figure out what you think it should be If onechoice doesn't have a punctuation mark at all,be sure togive it carefulconsideration- it will often be the correctanswer Make sure to study the related topics of commas and run-on sentences as well Put Your Skills into Action! The best way to improve on the ACT English is to practice. To that end, I've created some sample ACT style questions where you can test out your new knowledge. 1. The twomain types of camels are; bactrian camels, which have two humps, and dromedary camels, which have one. A. NO CHANGE B.are: bactrian C.are bactrian D.are, bactrian 2.Tootsie Pops are beloved forthe lollipops chocolatey centers, even thoughno one knows how many licks it takes to get to them. F. NO CHANGE G. lollipops' H. lollipop's J. lollipop 3.Adding to the drama, Joe according to the rumor mill- stole Alfonso's girlfriend. A. NO CHANGE B.Joe, C.Joe who D.Joe - 4. Even though she's been trying to cut it down, Fran's action albumcollection is still impressive: over 400 vinyl records, 2000 CDs, and even a handful of tapes. F. NO CHANGE G. impressive; over H.impressive over J.impressive, it's Answers: 1. C, 2. G, 3. D, 4. F What's Next? Make sure you also understand the comma rules on the ACT English. Commas are often tested in conunction with other forms of punctuation. Not sure what else you need to study? Check out our guide to the most commonly tested ACT grammar rules. Start thinking big picture! Learn the 5 key concepts you need to ace the ACT English and the 9 steps to a 36 (as tested by a perfect scorer). Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today:

The End or Basis of Being Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The End or Basis of Being - Essay Example In this article, I support Rufus’ argument that thinking is not a preserve of the intellect. First, I give reasons as to how decisions are made by humans, second, I argue concerning the possibility of thinking becoming the thing thought, and lastly, I evaluate the merits of the two arguments as presented by Rufus. Richard Rufus rejected the premise that we think by the intellect given forms in the way matter is. This standing by Rufus is true in several ways. Firstly as Rufus (4) argues, man is every created thing, and man constitutes a lesser world: thus in his being, man shares with all created things as below: living with plants, existence with stones, sensitive with beasts, thinking with angels, and finally man shares some aspects with God. This implies that man is a complex creature that shares many aspects with other beings, but yet has some peculiar characteristics make him special; the intellect. Intellect is the part of man lacking in other beings, which presents the difference. As other beings have some degree of knowledge and instincts, so does man share some commonalities with other beings. For example, if a deer escapes an attack by a lion through instincts though it has not sighted the lion, man must use the same instincts to make some decisions in some cases. This follows that man does not only depend on thinking through intellect, but shares other common modes of thinking with other beings. ... Therefore, we do not think by the intellect alone, but use other senses to make decisions that are different and unique from decisions made of intellect. Thinking is a matter of literally becoming the thing thought. Rufus (2) argues that agents are dissimilar at the start; but in the end, after being acted upon, they are similar. This implies that the sensitive part refers to the faculty, and because sensing is being acted upon, it is passive. At the end, when the sensing has been acted upon, the sensitive will be similar to the active, which is namely the sensible. To understand this, first we have to introduce the idea of potency and actuality. A matchbox is fire in potency. This means that the match box can be acted upon to become fire itself. It has the potency to cause fire. Similarly, when the fire has been caused through the matchbox, it then becomes actuality. Likewise, the human soul is a spirit in potency. Rufus (4) in explaining the nature of man elaborates man shares some common things with God. God by himself is actuality devoid of any potency. He is the end; implying God cannot be caused to be any other than God himself. Cindering we share some common aspects with God; God cannot be in corporeal nature but is in spirit itself. The soul is related to the spirit and is the aspect that makes humans to have a common aspect with God, which is devoid of other animals or beings. The human soul is therefore in potency that though being the essence of humanity, it has not yet attained the spiritual status; which is the actuality of the soul, in sharing common aspect with God, whom by himself has no matter. This implies once humans are dead; the soul attains its actuality, and can be related to God, whom is devoid of matter. Rufus (4) in explaining

Violent Video Games and Increase of Aggressiveness Research Proposal

Violent Video Games and Increase of Aggressiveness - Research Proposal Example These games are violent in nature, some with parental warnings regarding violence, blood, and gore. Examples of such video games include titles like Killer Instinct, Mortal Kombat, and Sega's Primal Rage. All of these games intertwine a character-driven storyline with adventures and quests, including personal combat which requires the player to fight with and kill, various adversaries in an extremely violent way. While earlier versions of such games, such as Quake or Doom, were more plot-driven and less gratuitously violent, many of the more recent industry offerings (known as "first-person shooter" games) have escalated the combat element in favor of increasingly difficult opponents, more sophisticated weaponry, and an unhealthy focus on domination. As Bok points out, "players are rewarded for slashing, gouging, or shooting their opponents...[and are able] to see with the eyes of the killer holding the gun." (1999, p. 37) In fact, other researchers have determined that in the most p opular games, harming other characters is the primary activity and that killing occurs at a high rate. (Cicchirillo and Chory-Assad, 2005, p. 436).

Climate Changes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Climate Changes - Essay Example Deforestation in turn leads to melting of polar ice, more floods, increase in global temperature, scarce rains etc. Green forests help in soaking the suspended particles in air and thus clean the air for all of us to breath. Disappearing green cover also means presence of more pollutants in air. National Geographic reports that, "According to the World Resources Institute, more than 80 percent of the Earth's natural forests already have been destroyed. Up to 90 percent of West Africa's coastal rain forests have disappeared since 1900. Brazil and Indonesia, which contain the world's two largest surviving regions of rain forest, are being stripped at an alarming rate by logging, fires, and land-clearing for agriculture and cattle-grazing." According to the studies conducted by many Science Academies, the surface temperature of Earth has risen by about 1 degree Fahrenheit in the past century, with accelerated warming during the past two decades. New and stronger evidence is found which suggests that most of the warming over the last 50 years is attributable to human activities. Human activities have altered the chemical composition of the atmosphere through the buildup of greenhouse gases - primarily carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Energy from the sun drives the earth's weather and climate, and heats the earth's surface; in turn, the earth radiates energy back into space. Atmospheric greenhouse gases (water vapor, carbon dioxide, and other gases) trap some of the outgoing energy, retaining heat somewhat like the glass panels of a greenhouse. According to recent studies, since the beginning of the industrial revolution, atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide have increased nearly 30%, methane concentra tions have more than doubled, and nitrous oxide concentrations have risen by about 15%. In fact the greenhouse effect is also leading to some geomorphologic changes as well, which is resulting in changes of landscape. There are views which state that the climatic change is neither unusual nor necessarily harmful or bad (Jones, 1993). The benefits are being counted in the fields of economy basically. But the moot point is, to what extent can we ignore the nature for reaping economic benefits. Even during carrying out a profitable business opportunity, a sensitive management will allow the public to know what the company is doing. Such inputs not only help the company in knowing about the thought process going on in the public domain, but it also helps in strengthening the ties between company and its customers. At times the business also works hard to build public opinion in favour or against some strategic