The Right and Wrong of Writing

The Right and Wrong of Writing The Right and Wrong of Writing The Right and Wrong of Writing By Mark Nichol Who or what determines what is correct form in writing, and what is incorrect? Many nations have an official body that regulates the national language to protect it from extinction or at least from degradation. (France’s Academie Francaise, in particular, seems to exist primarily to prevent pollution of the French language by importation of English words let me know how that works out, mes amis). This paternal protection, however, does not extend to grammar and punctuation and the like. The United States is not among those countries with prose police, but our library and bookstore shelves groan with dictionaries and grammar, usage, and style manuals as well as handbooks that guide us in our use of punctuation and the Internet abounds with more of the same. These resources are not necessarily engrossing reading (unless you’re a word nerd), but they are exemplary models in practicing what they preach, and they are likely to be much more reader-friendly than the dread-inducing language arts textbooks of our schooldays. Why, then, has the quality of writing declined so dramatically that we might benefit from an English Academy one devoted not to language purity (which words we use, and which ones we don’t) but to monitoring the written form of that language? The democratization of publishing is primarily responsible, I think. Because, thanks to the dramatic increase in options for businesses and organizations to disseminate information by way of text online and in print, and because of the ease of self-publishing the same media affords anyone with access to them, more and more people who don’t pay attention to such details are writing and being read, which of course exposes so many more people to the errors. Thus, erroneous usage not just in hyphenation, punctuation, spelling, and other mechanical mistakes but also in infelicities of grammar, syntax, usage, and other more substantial elements of writing is multiplied virally because of the shift in the signal-to-noise ration: Fewer people are reading rigorously written and edited prose, and more people are reading writing crafted with less care. This, I believe, is the culprit in the decline of quality in published writing I’ve observed over the years both as an editor and as someone who takes a busman’s holiday every time I read for information or pleasure. The reason for the decrease in consumption of meticulously produced content is twofold. Fewer people actively seek good writing. But equally culpable are the publishing industries, the erstwhile guardians of good writing, which compromise the quality of periodicals and other publications because they discourage labor-intensive practices necessary for producing high-quality writing, practices inimical to lean-business strategies that result in high profits. This issue brings up a question I’m surprised people don’t ask more often: In the realm of writing, if so many people do something seen as wrong or nonstandard, doesn’t that make it right? After all, that’s how new laws are written and how societal mores changes. And that’s how language changes. So, if the majority of writers write, â€Å"You and me† at the head of a sentence instead of â€Å"you and I† (or reverse their preferences when the phrase is the object of a sentence), why is the former usage considered incorrect and the latter one deemed the acceptable way? The majority seems to beg to differ. Because language doesn’t turn on a dime. For sanity to prevail, there must be a period of time between shifts in rules of usage and punctuation and other elements of writing in which we respond to â€Å"Everybody else does it† the way a parent would react to that type of justification uttered by a willful teenager: â€Å"Well, if everybody else went and jumped off a cliff, would you?† By the same token, we need to scold writers by saying, â€Å"Well, if everybody uses comma splices, does that mean you should, too?† At the risk of seeming like a strict parent, that’s why I’m going to defend my rigor by saying that popular usage is not a standard. It is not a guidebook. And I will follow my own counsel: I will adhere to the rules (unless I have an indefensible reason to break one now and then), and I will exhort others to do the same. 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 General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:75 Synonyms for â€Å"Angry†50 Idioms About Meat and Dairy ProductsPreposition Mistakes #3: Two Idioms

Predicate Grammar Glossary for Spanish and English

Predicate Grammar Glossary for Spanish and English A predicate  is  the part of the sentence that complements the subject by indicating either a state of being or an action. Generally speaking, a complete sentence has a subject and a predicate. The subject typically is a noun or pronoun (in Spanish, the subject doesnt have to be explicitly stated) that either performs some action or is described after the verb. In a sentence such as The woman is reading the book (La mujer lee el libro), the subject of the sentence is the woman (la mujer) and the predicate is is reading the book (lee el libro). Predicates can be classified as either verbal or nominal. A verbal predicate indicates some sort of action. In the sample sentence, reads the book is a verbal predicate. A nominal predicate uses a copulative verb (most commonly a form of to be in English, ser or estar in Spanish) to identify or describe the subject. In the sentence The woman is happy, the nominal predicate is is happy (est feliz). Also Known As Predicado in Spanish. Examples In the sentence I would like a cup of coffee, (Yo quisiera una taza de cafà ©) the predicate is would like a cup of coffee (quisiera una taza de cafà ©). In the sentence Estn mas fuertes que nunca (They are stronger than ever), the entire sentence in Spanish is the predicate because the subject is not stated. (In the English translation, the predicate is are stronger than ever).

Nursing theory in practice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Nursing theory in practice - Essay Example The purpose of Orem’s theory relates to the holistic approach to nursing. According to Orem, a human being is someone who â€Å"is an integrated whole composed of an internal physical, psychologic, and social nature with varying degree of self-care ability† (Bridge, Cabell & Herring, 2007). The essence of the theory is that all patients are able to take care of themselves. The role of nursing is this regard is that nursing serves as an art, which allows nurses to provide specialized care to people with disabilities of such a nature that more than usual care is required for fulfilling the daily needs of self-care and to intelligently take part in the delivery of care from the physician to the patient. In Orem’s perspectives the environment can be considered as a collection of various dimensions, which include physical, chemical and biologic features and socioeconomic features. The socioeconomic aspect of the environment primarily encompasses the family and the com munity and includes elements such as gender and age roles, norms, and cultural values. On the other hand, the physical, chemical and biologic features would entail the atmosphere, pollutants, weather conditions and pets amongst other factors (Bridge, Cabell & Herring, 2007). ... However, critics have come to common grounds with respect to the world view of the theory. It is common consensus that Orem’s perspective on the interaction between the person and the world is representative of the reciprocal interaction world view. Orem further regards her world view as an illustration of moderate realism (Bridge, Cabell & Herring, 2007). This entails that human beings are actively involved in an ongoing process of development and are struggling for their self-ideal, along with the owner of absolutely human traits like free will (Banfield, 2008). The theory presents the notion that people are able to maintain their life and well-being by caring for themselves (O’Connell, 2009). Orem classified the needs and requirements of the patients into three groups. These include the universal self-care deficits, developmental self-care deficits and health deviation requisites. The critique of SCDNT ranges from it being explicit and simple to generality. According to Marriner-Tomey and Alligood (2006) the terms that Orem has used in the description of the theory are very precise. The language that has been utilized is in compliance with the language deployed in action theory and philosophy. Moreover, the entire length of the theory conforms to a congruency in the usage of the terminologies. This can be exemplified from the fact that the term self-care has an array of meanings in different contexts. However Orem’s dexterity lies in her ability to precisely put forth a definition of self-care which is not only uniquely presented, but does not conflict with other interpretations of the concept. Critics have also

Evaluation of Barclays strategy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Evaluation of Barclays strategy - Essay Example When we see the Barclays’ acquisitions of Wells Fargo Nikko Investment Advisers in 1995, to be integrated with BZW Investment Management to form Barclays Global Investors; acquisition of Banco Zaragozano in 2003, one of Spain's largest private sector banking groups; acquisition of Juniper Financial Corporation, a US leading full-service credit card issuer in 2004; acquisition of major stake of Absa Group Limited in 2005, South Africa’s largest retail bank; and acquisition of Gerrard Management Services Limited in 2006, a leading UK private client wealth manager; we can say that Barclays has preferred a route of investment in capital purchase of other financial institutions, as a direct measure of expanding its global base, as well ass to establish its base more firmly in other countries, and to use the established customer base of other financial institutions for its advantage. This sort of strategy gives the additional management challenges to barclays of managaing an ever expanding customer and market base, not to mention the growing number of cemployees and branches and integrate its acquisitions into its own processes and culture. As far as its performance measurement goes with reapect to the global drivers and its financial performance, we can see from the company financial data that its strategy of growing has worked well for the company. The time for its new acquisitions to become an effective contributor has been quite small and has been able to show profits very early. The bank has shown repeated profits aver the entire time while acquiring new enterorises, which shows that the bank has performed admirably in keeping the acquisitions hampering its profits. As far as the global industry drivers go, the new wave in banking has been the retail banking and the emergence of global players. The banking laws have become stricter, while some parts of the financial world, i.e. some big players have started to become monopolies, while all along the time there has been a massive flow of new products for the customers. In all this, banks like barclays have a strategic advantage caused by their huge presence and its modern outlook. It is in a position that it can capture huge amount of new customers and its massive base is able enough to satisfy the growing customers requirements. Also the diversion of barclays into different sectors of financial world, other than typical banking, such as credit, invetsment, insurance etc gives it an edge over its competitiors, while at the same time does not couse too much burden on its original operations. Also its base is valuable for establishment in emerging markets. Thus barclays can be assumed to be in a key position to dominate the financial world. Q2 Compare and contrast the intended acquisition of ABN with that of the earlier acquisition of Banco Zaragozano , paying particular attention to the merger rationale and the motives in each case and the likely synergy gains resulting from the integration of ABN. The intended acquisition of ABN is similar in many points with the previous acquisition of Banco Zaragozano, with the key similarities in the dimensions of rationale, motives and gained synergies

Body Preparation for Photo Shoot :: Photo Shoots Health Self Image Beauty Essays

Body Preparation for Photo Shoot Get a good night's sleep the two days before the shoot. Nothing wrecks a great photo more than a tired model. Hair Conditioning Healthy hair is thick hair. Thick hair is much more attractive in photos -- since it "lifts" off the top of the head and it "fills out" the air surrounding the head. The easiest way to achieve full hair is to use hair conditioner for at least two weeks. Additionally -- avoid using any hair dryers, heated curlers, or curling irons on your hair. This "heat" breaks down the hair proteins -- which leads to loss of hair volume and split and frayed hair. Nails Most people have problem nails. A simple solution it so apply nail coloring which is the same color as the "center" portion of the nail. By having the entire nail the same color -- it helps minimize the attention paid to hangnails, discolorations in the nail, and rough nail tips. Shaving There is a right way, and a wrong way to shave. When shaving -- you want to "shave with the grain" of the hair. Each hair comes out of the skin at a particular angle. The handle of the razor should be pointed in the same direction. This shaves off the hair cleanly at the surface. If you shave "against the grain" of the hair -- the razor is "pulling" the hair out of the body as it cuts it -- so that the hair "snaps back" under the skin after being cut. The Razor Burn (redness, itching, bumps) associated with shaving are caused by the hair trying to push its way back through the skin. When shaving longer hair (like pubic areas or legs) -- you will first want to use a very sharp scissors and trim the hair as close to the skin as possible. This will not only allow you to clearly see which direction the hair is coming out of the body -- but it also prevents the razor from "skipping & jumping" over long and tangled hairs (which leads to nicking of the skin). To shave properly, get the skin and the hair very wet. Use a shaving cream or baby oil (preferred) to help the razor glide over the skin more easily. I recommend using baby oil -- since it still allows you to see the direction the hair is exiting the body.

Cell Phones Do Not Cause Any Health Problems

In today’s world, cell phones are part of a life. As the technology improves more and more people are buying cell phones. Many new cell phones are like a small computer, as they have a picture and video camera, web browsing, music player, internal storage, and many other features. â€Å"Statistics show that 79% of the U. S. population and 90% of European and Asian teens own a cell phone† (O’Keefe, 2008, p. 671). In some countries around the world such as Israel, Hong Kong, Italy, and the Czech Republic, there are more cell phones than people (Kohli, Sachdev, & Vats, 2009, p. ). In 1993, a man named David Raynard from Florida appeared on the Larry King Live and accused a cell phone industry that his wife died because of cancer that was caused by a cell the use. From that time cell phone radiation has been one of main concerns to people (Park, 2001, p. 166), but since then several studies have proved that cell phones do not cause any health problems. There are two types of radiations, ionizing and non-ionizing. Ionizing radiation consists of Gamma rays, X-Rays and ultraviolet radiation. Ionizing radiation has enough energy to damage the nucleus of atoms causing damage to DNA which could lead to changes in chemical reactions in the body (How Cell-phone Radiation Works, 2001). Cell phones function at 900 or 1800 MHz frequencies. These frequencies fall within the same part of the radiation spectrum as the radios and televisions which are referred to Radio Frequency Radiation. Radio Frequency Radiation falls in the range of non-ionizing radiation (Kohli, Sachdev, & Vats, 2009, p. 6). Non-ionizing radiation consists of radio, television, cell phones, microwave, and visible light (â€Å"How Cell-phone Radiation Works†, 2001). Non- ionizing radiation has enough energy to change the energy levels of the electron, but doesn’t have enough energy to destroy or move any part of an atom. This causes increase in heat level of the area that could be close to source of radiation. This states that RFR from cell phone does not harm the human tissue from heat. Besides the heating of the tissues, there are some other theories that say â€Å"extremely low frequency magnetic fields† might affect the production of some antioxidants and/or stop the production of the chemicals that stop cellular mutation. There is also another theory that says low frequency electromagnetic fields change the structure of DNA, but these are just theories for now (Kohli, Sachdev, & Vats, 2009, p. 6). For the electronic devices not to cause harm, the law requires safety standards to limit and periodically update the maximum amount of exposure to Radio Frequency Radiation. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued standards for general public and working people. Working people refers to those people who are working in an area where they are exposed to Radio Frequency Radiation. Exposure limit for working people is higher than the general public, because working people are aware that they are being exposed to the radiation unlike the general public that is not aware of the exposure and cannot avoid or decrease the exposure (Barnes, 1999, p. 21). The limit for exposure for working people is 0. 4W/kg and for the public is 0. 08W/kg. Effects of Radio Frequency Radiation from cell phone and cell phone stations are investigated by the World Health Organization (WHO). â€Å"According to WHO, exposure to [Radio Frequency Radiation] from base stations is actually only 0. 002% to 2% of the levels of international exposure guidelines, lower or comparable to exposure from radio or television. † (Kohli, Sachdev, & Vats, 2009, p. 7). WHO is also helping the researchers to fully understand Radio Frequency Radiation exposure. There have many researches that have been done trying to look for a link between cancer and cell phone radiation. Some studies have been done by collecting data from records and looking for any links between cell phone and cancer. While other actually test at affect of cell phone on living beings. These researches test to see how much radiation was absorbed and even after that if increases the chances of having health problems One of biggest researches included a study that was done in Denmark. IT included a list of cell phone users that subscribed from January 1982 until December 1995. The list was obtained from the two cell phone companies that provided service to the user in the Denmark. The list also contained contact information of the cell phone users, and what kinds of cell phones they were using at that time. Many of the users had to be excluded because there was not enough information to support the research. The final list had about (420,000 users) 80. 3 percent of users that were on the first list obtained from the cell phone companies. The median age for cell phone users was 37. 4 years and 38. 4 years for female cell phone users. Another list was obtained from Danish Cancer Registry that was used to determine the number of cancers from January 1982 to December 1995. The cancer list contained many different types of cancers including brain tumours and urinary tract papilloma that occurred to cell phone users. That list also separated sex and five year groupings. Most of the cell phone users subscribed to the service during the years 1994 and 1995. Using the statistics from the cancer report, expected numbers of cancers were predicted. The results from the study showed that the usage of cell phone did not increase the number of cancers to be found in male cell phone users. For female cell phone users the results were similar as males and did not show any increase in number of cancers. The number of people with brain cancer actually decreased even when the number of cell phone users increased dramatically; however there was increase in a few types of cancer, but the increase showed no relationship between the cell phone and cancer. The study also showed decrease in lung cancer after 1992 because of the decrease in prices of cell phones in Denmark. The usage of cell phones showed decrease in lung cancer because users were more likely to use a cell phone than some cigarettes. Many young people were spending more money on cell phone rather than buying cigarettes. In conclusion of this study, the results show no increase in any type of cancer that was related to cell phone use. (Johansen, Boice, McLaughlin, & Olsen, 2001, p. 203-207). Another research was done in India to determine the neurological effect of electromagnetic radiation emitted by cell phone, when cell phone is kept at different positions close to the body, by analysis of heart rate variability (sample entropy and scaling exponent). The study included fourteen male aged between 24 and 46. Electrocardiogram was used for 30 minutes on each volunteer to obtain recordings with three different situations. The heart rate of the volunteers was also recorded during all three situations. First situation was to get normal recordings without a call phone. Second situation was to have the cell phone in the left pocket so that it is closer to the heart. In the third situation, the cell phone was placed near the left ear. A thirty-minute break was given between each recording. Dame cell phone was used for the recordings. The results determined sample entropy and scaling exponent indicated an increase when cell phone was placed near the chest and a decrease when cell phone is placed near the head. However, the differences were not that high enough when compared to recordings from without using a cell phone simple because cell phones emit very low power to cause any significant change to heart rate that can be detected. (Ahamed, Karthick, & Hoseph, 2008, p. 709-711). There have been several studies that found that cell phone radiation increases the risk of cancer, but later when some of those studies were studied again, it was stated that cell phone radiation does not increase the risk of cancer. A study in Australia in 1996 found that FM and TV towers increased the rates of leukemia in children, but in a later study it was determined that towers showed no increase of risk from the exposure. Two different studies were done in Sweden and found the increase in number brain tumours from cell phone radiation, but when the one of these studies was repeated, it found no increase in brain tumours. Once again when the same study was done later on, it found increase of risk developing tumour. After International Agency of Research in Cancer sponsored the research and no evidence was found that cause increase the risk of tumours. Kohli, Sachdev, & Vats, 2009, p. 8). The studies about cell phone radiation have many limitations that prevent them from completely accurate answers. Several factors contribute to this such as there are not that many researches that researched for more than ten years, documents that show amount of cell phone usage are possibly to be bias, amount of Radio Frequ ency Radiation depends on type of cell phone and the location of the cell phone, and also it is almost impossible to test Radio Frequency Radiation exposure in an isolated area because there are always other objects emitting Radio Frequency Radiation. These types of limitations produce different answers sometimes to a study when it is repeated. It is possible for some researchers to bias to state their point. (Kohli, Sachdev, & Vats, 2009, p. 7). In conclusion, there been many researches trying to find the answer to cell phone radiation and its possible effects. Some state that there is an increase in risk of cancer and other health problems, however some researches state that there no increase in risk of cancer and other health problems. (Kohli, Sachdev, & Vats, 2009, p. 7). To have improved future researches, the studies should be longer, ongoing for at least ten to fifteen years. There should be a study that is done throughout different countries in the world in both rural and urban areas. In my opinion, cell phone radiation does not increase the risk of any disease. If that was not the case then anybody who uses a cell phone would already have brain tumour and there would been a dramatic decrease in population. For at least now I think there are enough studies that support the no increase in risk developing health problems and everyone should believe those studies.

The Health Issues Of Hiv / Aids - 2570 Words

Communicable disease are massively important in global burden of disease and in â€Å"2001 accounted for about 40 percent of the disease burden in low and middle class income countries. Every year, HIV/AIDS kills about 1.8 million, TB kill about 1.7 million and malaria kills 1 million especially among children in poor countries like sub Saharan Africa and south Asia. These diseases â€Å"disproportionally’’ affect the poor. The better off people or families have the awareness and the income to protect themselves from the spread of disease. (S. Richard 2012). In Nigeria HIV/AIDS, TB (tuberculosis) and malaria are still main public health issues facing the country today. Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa with more than 169 million†¦show more content†¦The number of TB cases that has been notified in the country has increased from 31, 264 in 2002 to 90, and 133 in 2010 and 200 in 2013 and has resulted in 3.5 percent of death among Nigerian population (Global health data: 2013). The unresolved or rapid rise of TB in Nigeria is further compounded by the ongoing HIV/AIDS epidemic and the emergence of multi drug resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). The TB-HIV interface is a very crucial public health issue in the term of TB transmission and morbidity and mortality for both TB and HIV. The high risk of a HIV negative person developing active TB 10 %, however, the annual risk of developing active TB is 10%; but in 8 years’ time, the HIV positive person or individual has an 80% percent chance of developing active TB. Nigeria been a populous country have the second highest TB burden in Africa, women are most likely affected by TB than men; women have the mortality rate of 3.23% while men have 1.71% of total death (mortality rate). The main risk factors for TB among individuals are exposure to a person infected with TB, living in a country like Nigeria with a population of more than 163 million people, individuals or families from poor region tend to live in an overcrowded (overcrowding) houses or circumstances, under nutrition, HIV, inadequate health care and other conditions that affect the immune system.