Thursday, October 31, 2019

Spiritual Belief Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Spiritual Belief - Essay Example In patience recovery, faith is important in contributing to the beliefs of the individual thus their ability to recover. The spiritual needs assessment of a relative to a patient helped reveal several demographic factors that may help devise proper psychological therapies for the patient thereby resulting in faster recovery. The assessment revealed that the patient had ardent faith in the Christian faith and was a staunch catholic. His beliefs were founded in the teachings of the Roman Catholic and so was his family’s. As a Christian ascribing to the doctrines of the faith, the respondent neither drinks nor smokes. Additionally, he portrays a social and loving personality often assisting those he interacts with whenever possible thus validating his support for the patient. The patient portrayed strong belief in the teachings of the faith thereby opting to live as per the demands of the Catholic Church. From the assessment, it became evident that one’s spiritual beliefs are important in determining their subsequent personalities. Religious beliefs contribute to the development of a personality within an individual as the interview portrayed. Most of the questions in the assessment tool sought to investigate the relationship between the faith and the social life of the individual. The respondent’s responses revealed a close relationship with the faith greatly influencing the social lives of the respondent (Reilly, 2011). Since the respondent is a catholic and that, the catholic teachings abhor alcoholism and cigarette. The respondent thus selects his social groupings carefully always avoiding smoker ad alcoholics. His religious beliefs thus influence the type of respondent’s lifestyle, such toxic substances as alcohol and cigarette affect health. By avoiding such for whichever reasons, one reduces chances of infections (Manent, 2011). Religious beliefs and the degree of beliefs in the teachings of a faith is a key factor that helps inf luence the type of lifestyle an individual leads. In this relation, religious beliefs thus influence the propensity of an individual being susceptible to certain lifestyle diseases such as those caused by alcohol, cigarettes and other religious contrabands. The assessment went well thereby revealing several important factors of religion that affect the health of an individual. Just as stated earlier, religion influences the relationship among people. The respondent’s belief in his faith that discourages discrimination resulted in an objective interaction between the respondent and the interviewer. The interaction was free and extremely interactive with the respondent opting to take the opportunity to pass some of his teachings to the respondent. The personal interaction between the respondent and the interviewer portrayed advanced development and maturity thereby leading to free flow of information from both sides. Such thereby contributed to the effectiveness of the study, w hich revealed several important facts about the relationship between religious belief, and lifestyle that is an important determinant of lifestyle diseases. Besides the personal relations between the respondent and the interviewer, communication between the two was effective a factor contributed to by several factors. The effectiveness of the interview ensured that the interviewee responded to all the questions and exhibited sincerity that improved the effectiveness of the study. The respondent owing to his inclination to his faith committed to the study and provided detailed answers to the questions in the tool. The free flow of information between the two permitted the respondent to provide examples of some of the issues he raised thereby developing factual relationship betw

Monday, October 28, 2019

An analysis of variations in style in comparison to Standard English Essay Example for Free

An analysis of variations in style in comparison to Standard English Essay 1. Introduction As in every language there are many different dialect in British English. It has always been and continues to be a language of dialects. Wherever one goes in England there are very obvious differences between the ways in which people speak in different places. This is often a big shock for people who have been learning Standard English which is the variety of English that is held to be correct in the sense that it shows none of the regional or other variations that are considered by some to be ungrammatical, or non-standard English. Non-English school-kids learn SE at school and expect to understand every English person once they enter the country. But the English they learn at school differs from the language which is being spoken in Britain. Of course, SE is used in the media and by public figures, and therefore it has prestige status and is regarded by many as the most desirable form of the language.1 But the English do not speak like that linguistic reality is different. Not only the words which are being used sometimes differ from Standard English even the grammatical structures vary at times. This work tries to present the differences between Standard English which is being taught at German schools and the dialects which are spoken in England. Altogether these factors might lead to confusing situations at times. German school-kids could hear words in England which they were told not to pronounce in that way when they were learning English at school. Hughes and Trudgill2 speak of two ways of dealing with the problem of native Britons not being able to speak their own language correctly. They point out that for learners it is not relevant weather their hear correct English or not. The problem which their are confronted with is to understand what they hear from the native speakers and which language-features they can adapt into their own speech. The second point they speak of is if that the notion of correctness is not really useful or appropriate in describing the language of native speakers.3 To find those differences I will analyse German English books from a Orientierungsstufe4, literature about dialects in Britain as well as private sources. I will try to analyse the gap between German school English an find possible solutions for that problem. 11 At the beginning of my approach I will be presenting a selection of different accents regarding their regional usage. In the following point I will analyse Standard English which is being taught in German schools and compare these results with the accents mentioned beforehand. After that I will summarize my approaches and try to find explanations as well as possible solutions. 2. The main dialects I want to start off with the presentation of the main dialects of the English language. For this I will adapt the Dialectology of Baugh5 who differentiates between Northern, West Midlands, East Midlands and Southern. In Old English they were divided into Northumbrian, Mercian, West Saxon and Kentish6. Of course there are far more divisions of accents but this would exceed the length of this piece of work. Additionally, I will conclude Cockney7 in my analysis. 2.1. Northern English This dialect is also knows as Geordie8. The Northeast area contains the urban centres of Newcastle, Sunderland, Middlesborough and neighboring areas. Trudgill9 defines some of the best-known characteristics of the modern Northeast pronunciation which include the following. According to him the accent, as we have seen, does not have the diphthongal pronunciations of the long a vowel in made, gate, face that are more typical of the south of England, and the same is true of long o as in boat, road, load. It can be defined as a certain kind of simplification. Instead of the Standard English Combination of two vowels in boat [bà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ut] only one vowel is being used: [oo] The same phenomenon can be found within the pronunciation of words like made, which are not being pronounced [mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½id] but simplified [mehd]. Trudgill also points out that words that have al in the spelling are pronounced with a vowel of the type ah, so that all is ahl and walk is wahk. A Geordie-joke makes this difference clear in a funny way: A non-Geordie doctor who asks his patient if he is able to walk makes the patient interprets as a query about work ans replies Wawk! I cannot even wahk yet! 11 The second part of the Northern area, the Lower North and Central North, covers, according to Trudgill, a large area stretching down from Carlisle to Sheffield and covering Cumbria, most of Yorkshire and parts of Lancashire. He points out that this dialect differs from the Northeast by not having ee in very. 10 Another remarkable factor he mentions is that he Central North also contains a sub-area in which an interesting type of consonantal change takes place in certain conditions. What happens is that the voiced consonants b, d, g, v, z and j change to their voiceless counterpart p, t, k, f, s, and ch if they occur immediately before any of these same voiceless consonants.11 The examples E wood goh (He would go) and E woot coom (He would come). They would pronounce the expression I dont know like I doont noo. Another point is that this dialect is quite similar to the accent Indians or Pakistanis have when they talk English. Many of these dialectal features also appear in their accent. These shared features could be analysed in future for the Asian community in Britain is increasing steadily is growing. Which words, expressions are being brought into English through them would be interesting to find out. 2.2. West Midlands The central town for this accent is Liverpool. for the accent is very distinctive for this area called Merseyside. It has been mainly influenced by Irish immigrants during the nineteenth century. Hughes/Trudgill12 describe the Liverpool accent defining several features of which I will be mentioning a few. 1. a) There is no contrast between pairs of words like put and putt, both being pronounced [put]. b) [à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½] occurs in words like dance, daft etc. [] c) Words like book and cook have the vowel [u:] 2. Unlike in other northern urban accents (but in common with Newcastle), the final vowels of words like city and seedy is [i:] 3. A relative infrequency of glottal stop occurs. 4. [h] is usually absent, but is sometimes present (him an her) 5. The suffix -ing is [in] 11 2.3. East Midlands Based on own experience I can say that one of the clearest markers for the East Midland accent can be defined as a kind of parallelism to German which also appear in the Liverpool accent at times. The word bus, for instance, is not being pronounced [bas] but [bus]. Here, the vowel [u] is being pronounced the same way as in German. The same phenomenon can be found in words like. Another marker for East Midland accent is the pronunciation of the vowel combination [oe] like in shoes, where it is being changed to [à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½] [shà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½z]. Speakers in this area may even have short e at the end of words like coffeh13. Trudgill mentions a diagnostic sentence for this area: Veri few cahs mayd it up the long ill.14 2.4. Southern English Some of these dialectal features of Southern English are similar to the welsh accent. Trudgill states that the Bristol speech is famous for the presence in this accent of a phenomenon called the Bristol I. He explains that in the Bristol area, words such as America, India, Diana, Gloria are pronounced with a final I. Undoubtedly, foreigners would be quite confused hearing words like Americal, Indial and Dianal. This feature might be a result of hypercorrection, according to Trudgill.15 In the South the glottal stop is very common as a pronunciation of t which can be found in words like better, water, bet and what. This feature can also be found in Cockney or Midland areas. Trudgill mentions the diagnostic feature of the South are the lack of y in few, which differentiates it from all other English regions except the Northeast, although today h is rapidly being lost.16 He also notes that it a typical factor for East Anglia is the lack of distinction between the vowels of here and there, so that peer sounds like pair, here like hair and deer like dare.17 2.5. Cockney Cockney can be counted as a very special dialect because it can only be found amongst people who live in and around the London area. Let alone the name for this accent is special because it does not refer directly to the region. 11 The term Cockney originally stems from the middles ages where it was applied to an effeminate person, simpleton or a particularly weak man from a town as opposed to a countryman who was regarded as tougher. In the 17th century the term changed and came to mean specifically a Londoner. The six most striking features of Cockney are18: 1. r is pronounced only when followed immediately by a vowel-sound. So, in the demonstration below, no r is pronounced in flowers. (Some New England accents and Southern U.S. accents have this same feature.) 2. h is usually omitted (home in the demonstration words); in self-conscious speech its articulated very strongly. 3. l is pronounced only when a vowel-sound follows (so no l is pronounced in hole, etc.). 4. Voiceless th is often, but not always, pronounced as f (breath, etc.). 5. Voiced th is likewise often but not always pronounced as v (breathe, etc.) This feature is also found in Southern U.S. lower social class speech. 6. The long vowels are all diphthongs, as one can hear from the demonstration words. Notice especially the difference between force etc. (spelled with r followed by a consonant, though the r is not pronounced) and poor etc. (spelled with r not followed by a consonant, though again the r is not pronounced). More examples for this would be: price [proià ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½] mother [mawa] little [liou] with a glottal stop in the middle note [no] with a glottal stop at the end bowl [bao] Cockney has another speciality. It consists of a special vocabulary which is called Cockney rhyming slang. It has been evolving in the East End of London since the sixteenth century. It is thought to have originated from the seamen and soldiers who used the London docks, from the Gypsies who arrived in the fifteen hundreds, from the Irish residents and the Jewish faction and from all the other ethnic minorities which have made up the population of the city.19 11 It is said to have started as a way for costermongers20 to communicate without letting their customers know what they were saying. The slang usually consists of two words, e.g. butchers hook = look but sometimes only the first word is used in conversation. For example, someone might say I had a butchers at her barnet and her titfer meaning I had a look at her hair (barnet fair) and her hat (tit for tat). One has to know, though, when to use the whole phrase and when to abbreviate. Another example: Would you Adam and Eve it? I was on me Jack Jones when I saw me old china half inching a whistle from the market. Well, I aint no grass and hes borassic, so I kept me north and south shut. Translation: Would you believe it? I was on my own when I saw my old mate (friend) pinching (stealing) a suit from the market. Well, Im not a nark (informer) and hes skint (got no money, hard up) so I kept my mouth shut. In the Internet a whole dictionary can be found consisting of old and new Rhyming-Slang. The freshest contribution was the expression Becks and Posh for food. Food is also called nosh which rhymes with the nicknames of the famous David and Victoria Beckham, nationwide known as Becks and Posh21. This last example makes it clear that the rhyming slang does not have and economical reasons behind. It is more or less result of playing with words which the English are very fond of (for example in newspaper headlines). Additionally it is of course, the sense of togetherness, a kind of linguistic fellowship by defining a secret language as a code of London residents whereas this point, regarding the high population rate, refers more to small groups of people. 3. Standard English English-teaching in lower-saxony English has the status of a global language nearly everybody applying for a good job needs to prove his or her English skills. The competition is getting harder and harder. This is one of the factors leading to the current discussion whether to introduce English to schoolchildren at an even earlier age then 10. Some primary schools offer this already. Another interesting fact is that more and more schools offer bilingual teaching. The Ricarda-Huch-Schule in Braunschweig, for instance, offers several subjects being taught in English to make the children learn both, biology and English, at once. 11 Like this English finds its way into our life in more and more ways. But coming back to education a problem arises. Of course, children cannot learn every single accent being spoken in England, so that is why there are set forms for the learning process. They are identical to the language understood by the term of Standard English. Different then in Germany there cannot be found any accent-free regions in England. In comparison to that you can find unofficial figures which tell us that Hanover is most likely to be accent-free. Standard English, on the other hand, is more of an indicator for an upper social status, it can be seen as a class-dialect, owing its origin in the main not to geographical but to socio-economic causes. At the end it is quite a thin border between the English which is being taught at foreign schools and the English which is meant to represent poshness. Wakelin22 marks that a distinction must be made between Standard English, which is a dialect in use by educated speakers of English throughout the world, and Received Pronunciation, which is the accent of English usually associated with a higher social or academic background, with the BBC and the professions, and that most commonly taught to students learning English as a foreign language.23 So one has to clearly differentiate between Received Pronunciation (RP) and Standard English (SE). So, why is Standard English so different from the other accents then? Wakelin defines that Standard English is the sort of language used when communicating beyond the family, close friends and acquaintances, whereas dialect is nowadays often kept for intimate circles.24 So it can be seen as the most relevant English accent which can be understood everywhere and is compatible to every region in England. This type of English as being called normal English by Randolph Quirk25 is being taught children and adults all around the world. The following graphic tries to illustrate the violation which arises when both Standard English and regional accents clash. 11 People with different mother tongues learn English as their first or as another foreign language. They all refer to the same Vocabulary, use the same grammar and expressions which have been set by the Standard English-norm. 3.1. Comparison to English accents The chapter of English Sounds prepares the learning schoolchildren with the explanation that English words are often being pronounced differently than they are written and defines some words by using the phonetical alphabet.26 I want to show the differences of Standard English and English accents by directly comparing several words to each other. Referring to the pronunciation I want to compare the word but which is being pronounced with a short [u] in South England and with a long [oo] in Northern England27 whereas schoolchildren learn to pronounce the word but with an [28? There is one area of England where the y sound has been lost as a result of a historical process. This can be found in words like beauty [booty], music [moosic] and few [foo]29 and is probably going to spread more with the years. 11 Whereas in foreign schools it is still being taught that music should be pronounced [mju:zik]30 and beautiful [bju:t?f?l]31. The pronunciation of milk also differs. Camden Market teaches the children to pronounce it [mà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½lk]32 but the pronunciation according to the modern dialectology says that in a large area of southeastern England this consonant has aquired a short oo-like vowel in fron of it, or, especially in London itself, has disappeared altogether, leaving only the oo behind.33 So in this case the word milk is being pronounced [mioolk] which is being defined as a quite a recent change but spreading rapidly through the country. Now shifting over to the less problematical field of lexical variations it can be said that there are several words with the same meaning but regionally fixed. Words like the Standard English term gymshoe are known as the general term but in England they have more expressions for that. In the southern region they are called plimsolls, in middle English they are called pumps and people living in and around Newcastle talk about sandshoes.34 The word ear has also has different regional variations. In the North they talk about lugs and around Nottinghamshire one can also hear them talking about tabs. The Eastern part of England also might use lug. Standard English, of course, only teaches ear. 4. Summary On the whole it there is a big gap to be found between the English which is being taught in schools and the English which is being spoken in England. My analysis makes it quite clear that several difficulties occur when a person who has been learning English for five years and thinks he is now prepared for the linguistic challenge in England. The reality is different, as my paper shows. There is nearly nobody who speaks accent-free English but on the other hand Standard English mixes into the accents more and more. The loss of pure dialects is being mourned about in the whole country. The dialects are no longer pure, if they ever were, but contain a large admixture of Standard English or pseudo-Standard forms, as Wakelin35 mentions. The main reason for this development might be the result of the following problem: 11 In England is that people often get discriminated because of their language. The dialect is a clear social marker these days. Many countries have problem with racism, but in England people sometimes get discriminated against if they sound different. For example: A Scouse accent refers to a very rough area and there are chances are that the speaker is a thief A Posh accent: If people talk like this then they are supposedly educated, and can be trusted. Others would think your a rich person, and that your stuck up and you went to a boarding school. A Brummie accent: If a person speaks like this, then chances are that people think he is stupid. A Geordie accent: For some reason, the geordie accent is more comforting to southerners in England out of all the northern accents. Even though a Geordie can live in just as much a rough area, than a scouser if not rougher. A Yorkshire accent: There is a saying about this dialect called Yorkshire born, yorkshire bread, thick in the arm and thick in the head? A Cornish accent: If somebody talks like this most people think they are a farmer. The significance of accents and their cultural and social associations is well represented in films and on television in Britain. The critically acclaimed 1964 file My fair Lady based on George Bernard Shaws 1912 play, Pygmalion is often referenced in linguistic discussions as a example of how social class and accent were, and are still, inextricably linked in Britain. Over the past years, numerous television series have also provided viewers with a glimpse of the lives and accents of the Cockney population of London. The Cockney English section talks more about the current, very popular long running television series EastEnders. This opposes my supposition that Standard English might not be the right form to teach people English or should only form the basis of the linguistic education. The fact that the dialects are slowly dying and Standard English is spreading all over the world questions this. Additionally, more and more immigrants from mainly the Asian region bring in a new Standard English which I have been mentioning in point 2.1. At the end, I would say that English language teaching should be more concerned about real life and the real speech avoiding throwing the young learners into a cold pool when they enter the country. 11 A possible solution for this could be to strengthen the bonds of international relations between schools. Pen-friendships and school-exchanges could provide the basis of a more reality-based teaching which would undoubtedly also have the effect of arousing the childrens enthusiasm of learning English. 5. Literature Baugh, A.C.: A History of the English Language, p. 235 Davis, Lawrence M.: English Dialectology. Alabama/USA: 1983, p. 8 Edelhoff, Christoph (Hrg.): Camden Market. Hannover: 1998, p. 146 Hughes, Arthur and Trudgill, Peter: English Accents and Dialects, London: 1996. p. 1 Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 51 Wakelin, Martyn F.: English Dialects. An Introduction. London: 1977, p. 5 Quirk, Randolph: The Use of English. London: 1962, p. 95 Internet: http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/ http://www.derek.co.uk/cockney.htm http://www.geordie.org.uk/ http://www.phespirit.info/cockney/ http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/standard-english.html 1http://www.usingenglish.com/glossary/standard-english.html 2Hughes, Arthur and Trudgill, Peter: English Accents and Dialects. London: 1996, p. 1 3s. a. 4Orientierungsstufe Westhagen/Wolfsburg 5Baugh, A.C.: A History of the English Language, p. 235 6Davis, Lawrence M.: English Dialectology. Alabama/USA: 1983, p. 8 7Most common accent in and around London 8http://www.geordie.org.uk/ 9Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 67 10Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 67 11see above 12Hughes, Arthur and Trudgill, Peter: English Accents and Dialects. New York (1996), p. 92 13Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 71 14see above, p. 72 15see above, p. 73 16see above, p. 72 17see above, p. 74 18http://www.derek.co.uk/cockney.htm 19http://www.phespirit.info/cockney/ 20= street and market sellers 21http://www.cockneyrhymingslang.co.uk/ 22Wakelin, Martyn F.: English Dialects. An Introduction. London: 1977 23Wakelin, Martyn F.: English Dialects. An Introduction. London: 1977, p. 5 24Wakelin, Martyn F.: English Dialects. An Introduction. London: 1977, p. 5 25Quirk, Randolph: The Use of English. London: 1962, p. 95 26Edelhoff, Christoph (Hrg.): Camden Market. Hannover: 1998, p. 146 27Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 51 28Edelhoff, Christoph (Hrg.): Camden Market. Hannover: 1998, p. 146 29Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 57 30Edelhoff, Christoph (Hrg.): Camden Market. Hannover: 1998, p. 179 31see above, p. 173 32see above, p. 178 33Trudgill, Peter: The dialects of England. Oxford: 1990, p. 60 34see above, p. 102 35Wakelin, Martyn F.: English Dialects. An Introduction. London: 1977, p. 5

Saturday, October 26, 2019

Russias Role in World War One

Russias Role in World War One Ryan Baccus Russia played a strong role in ww1 Until the treaty of Brest-litovsk removed the from ww1 and allowed them to focus on the russian revolution. WW1 affected russia in more ways than one. The Russian Empires many ethnic minorities grew increasingly restive under Russian domination. But it was the governments inefficient prosecution of World War I that finally provided the challenge the old regime could not meet. . Russias civil wars were affected by foreign troops The civil war was complicated by Allied intervention in Russia. British, French, and American forces occupied (Mar., 1918) Murmansk and later Arkhangelsk with the stated purpose of protecting Allied stores ( Research in Context.com ) Almost 15 million served in the Russian Army during the First World War. Casualties totalled an estimated 1.8 million killed, 2.8 million wounded and 2.4 million taken prisoner. The Russian Revolution eliminated Russia as an effective participant in the war, Although the Austro-Hungarians were unsuccessful in their attacks on Serbia and Montenegro in the first year of the war. Russia ordered a general mobilization of its armies. The next day Germany sent the tsar an ultimatum threatening war if Russia didnt stop the mobilization within twenty-four hours. When Russia refused, on August 1, Germany declared war on Russia. Germany followed this up with an invasion of Belgium. (Research in Context.com) When World War I broke out in 1914, most elements of Russia (except the Bolsheviks) united in supporting the war effort. However, the repeated military reverses, the acute food shortages, the appointment of inept ministers, and the intense suffering of the civilian population created a revolutionary climate by the end of 1916. The first offensive Russia launched was in August 1914, against Germany in East Prussia. The Russian First Army (commanded by Rennenkampf) aimed straight into the heart of East Prussia (held by the German Eighth Army), while the Russian Second Army (commanded by Samsonov) aimed to cut off the Eighth armys line of retreat. Once Eastern Prussia was Scure, the Russian Ministry of War planned to march on Berlin. On the outbreak of the First World War General Alexander Samsonov was given command of the Russian Second Army for the invasion of East Prussia. He advanced slowly into the south western corner of the province with the intention of linking up with General Paul von Rennenkampf advancing from the north east. The first offensive Russia launched was in August 1914, against Germany in East Prussia. The Russian First Army (commanded by Rennenkampf) aimed straight into the heart of East Prussia (held by the German Eighth Army), while the Russian Second Army (commanded by Samsonov) aimed to cut off the Eighth armys line of retreat. Once Eastern Prussia was Scure, the Russian Ministry of War planned to march on Berlin. Russia entered the first world war with the largest army in the world, standing at 1,400,000 soldiers; when fully mobilized the Russian army expanded to over 5,000,000 soldiers (though at the outset of war Russia could not arm all its soldiers, having a supply of 4.6 million rifles). Treaty of (brĆ¢st-lÄ ­tà ´fskÊ ¹), separate peace treaty in World War I, signed by Soviet Russia and the Central Powers, Mar. 3, 1918, at Brest-Litovsk (now Brest , Belarus).. After the separate armistice of Dec. 5, 1917, long, bitter negotiations were conducted by Leon Trotsky for Russia, Richard von Kà ¼hlmann for Germany, and Count Ottokar Czernin for Austria-Hungary (the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria were also represented). On March 3, 1918, in the city of Brest-Litovsk, located in modern-day Belarus near the Polish border, Russia signed a treaty with the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria) ending its participation in World War I (1914-18). With the November 11, 1918, armistice ending World War I and marking the Allies victory over Germany, the treaty was annulled. By the terms of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles, Germany was forced to give up its territorial gains from the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk. After the separate armistice of Dec. 5, 1917, long, bitter negotiations were conducted by Leon Trotsky for Russia, Richard von Kà ¼hlmann for Germany, and Count   Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚  Ãƒâ€šÃ‚   Ottokar Czernin for Austria-Hungary (the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria were also represented). Trotsky at one point suspended negotiations, but Germany resumed warfare and the Soviets-on the insistence of Lenin-accepted the German Works Cited Brest-Litovsk, Treaty of. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopediaà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢. New York: Columbia UP, 2017. N. pag. Research in Context. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. Gottfried, Tod. Chapter Six: Mother Russias Dying Sons.. Road to Communism. US: Lerner Group, 2002. 67. History Reference Center. Web. 16 Feb. 2017. ISBN: 9780761325574; Lexile Rank: 940; Source of Data: R; Full Text Available; 9150105 The chapter describes the involvement of Russia in World War I. The saber rattling of Kaiser Wilhelm of Germany, who made no secret of his schemes for military conquest, had put Great Britain, France and Russia on alert for at least seven years preceding the outbreak of war. In September 1914, with the war barely a month old, a Russian army had tried to invade Prussia, Germany and suffered a major defeat at the Battle of Tannenberg and lost 100,000 soldiers. History Today 58.3 (2008): 12. History Reference Center. Web. History.com Staff. Treaties of Brest-Litovsk. History.com. AE Television Networks, 2009. Web. 01 Mar. 2017. ([emailprotected]), John Simkin. Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational. Spartacus Educational, n.d. Web. 28 Feb. 2017. Russian Revolution. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopediaà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢. New York: Columbia UP, 2017. N. pag. Research in Context. Web. 17 Feb. 2017. Russian Revolution. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopediaà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢. New York: Columbia UP, 2017. N. pag. Research in Context. Web. 7 Feb. 2017. Russian Revolution of 1917. Britannica School, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 26 Oct. 2011. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/Russian-Revolution-of-1917/64488. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017. Russia. Britannica School, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 19 Aug. 2016. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/109504. Accessed 30 Jan. 2017. Smele, Jonathan, DR. BBC History World Wars: War and Revolution in Russia 1914 1921. BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. 24 Feb. 2017. Solntseva, Svetlana A. Russian Studies in History 51.4 (2013): 50-73. History Reference Center. Web. Solntseva, Svetlana A. Russian Studies in History 51.4 (2013): 50-73. History Reference Center. Web. Vladimir Lenin. UXL Biographies. Detroit: UXL, 2011. N. pag. Research in Context. Web. 16 Feb. 2017. World War I. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopediaà ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢. New York: Columbia UP, 2017. N. pag. Research in Context. Web. 7 Feb. 2017. World War I. Britannica School, Encyclopà ¦dia Britannica, 9 Dec. 2016. school.eb.com/levels/high/article/World-War-I/110198#. Accessed 27 Feb. 2017. WWI Russia. Glossary of Events: WWI: Russia. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Mar. 2017.

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Aborted Aspirations in Pat Barkers Regeneration Essay -- Pat Barker R

Aborted Aspirations in Pat Barker's Regeneration Pat Barker's riveting World War I novel Regeneration brilliantly exemplifies the effectiveness of fiction united with historical facts. While men aspired to gain glory from war and become heroes, Regeneration poignantly points out that not all of war was glorious. Rather, young soldiers found their aspirations prematurely aborted due to their bitter war experiences. The horrible mental and physical sicknesses, which plagued a number of soldiers, caused many men to withdraw from the battlefield. Feelings of guilt and shame haunted many soldiers as they found themselves removed from the heat of war. Men, however, were not the only individuals to experience such feelings during a time of historical upheaval. Women, too, found themselves at war at the dawn of a feminine revolution. One of the most contentious topics of the time was the practice of abortion, which comes to attention in chapter 17 on pages 202 and 203 of Barker's novel. Through Baker's ground-breaking novel, we learn how m en and women alike discovered that in life, not all aspirations are realized; in fact, in times of conflict, women and men both face desperate situations, which have no definite solutions. Illustrated in Barker's novel by a young woman named Betty, and many broken soldiers, society's harsh judgments worsen the difficult circumstances already at hand. As men engaged in war overseas, women gained many opportunities in their every day life. New employment opportunities became attainable to women. In women's health, many new medical practices were conventionalized as well. One of the most pivotal medical advancements of the time was the commercialization of birth control ("Marie Stopes"). However, n... ...omen did or did not abort their unborn child varied, it can be inferred that social disgrace would result from whatever choice was made. The decisions we make today, can create life-long repercussions. Regeneration poignantly points out that not all is fair in war, or life. Works Cited "Abortion: In Law, History & Religion." Childbirth By Choice Trust. May 1995. 26 April 2004. <http://www.cbctrust.com/abortion.html> Barker, Pat. Regeneration. New York: Plume, 2003. Horden, Anthony. Legal Abortion: The English Experience. New York: Pergamon Press, 1971. "Marie Stopes." Spartacus. 7 December 2001. 26 April 2004. <http://www.spartacus .schoolnet.co.uk/Wstopes.htm> Raffel, Brian, Monica Borgone, Michael D'Ambrosio and Rebecca Heydon. "Abortion Around the World." 1999. 30 April 2004. <http://apdude0.tripod.com/abortionaroundtheworld/index.html>

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Deontology Definition Essay

‘Whilst Deontology has it’s attractions it fails to provide a reliable foundation for moral decision making’ Examine and evaluate this claim (30) Deontology is based upon the actions of a person, not the consequences. The word deontology is derived from the Greek word ‘deontos’. It was developed by Immanuel Kant and it is an absolutist a priori theory, the phrase a priori means it is knowable through experience and absolutist means there are fixed rules that cannot be changed. This means Kant believed the duty of the moral law was unchangeable and through experience, if everyone followed these rules the world would be a better place. Immanuel Kant wrote ‘Critique of Pure reason’ in this book he devised his deontological theory of duty. He believed it is the duty of one to follow the moral law and not judge situations with feelings, inclination, love and compassion. Kant also believed that all humans seek for summum bonum which is the state when all human virtue and happiness are united. To help people on their way to moral decision Immanuel Kant devised the categorical imperative, this is in contrast to the hypothetical imperative. The hypothetical imperative normally starts sentence with an if e.g. if you wish to complete a good essay you must spend time on it, where as a categorical imperative tells you that you should do something, e.g. you should brush your teeth in the morning. This then was devised into three different rules on how to live your life; The Universal Law, Treat Humans as Ends in Themselves and Act as if you live in a Kingdom of Ends. Kant’s second principle in the categorical imperative, ‘So act that you treat humanity, both in your own person and in the person of every other human being, never merely as a means, but always at the same time as an end’ This shows that it could be an attractive theory as it has good intentions in mind. Like many theories, Deontology has its strengths and weaknesses. One of its main strengths is that it is an absolutist theory. This means it is either intrinsically good or bad, e.g. do not commit murder. This is a major strength as it makes an easy theory people to follow. This may attract people towards the theory as it shows guidelines to follow which some people may rely on to make their moral decision making. Another reason why it may attract people is because the rules are fixed so they do not have to question the rules whether they are right or wrong them just have to obey them keeping them in a comfortable position. This makes the theory practical in everyday use and people can depend upon the theory also there is no need to do any calculations. However there are many conflicting views to this strength. One of them is how people can become dependant on the theory. If they become to dependant upon the theory and it does not help them in a situation on moral decision making they may struggle to think of what to do next. WD Ross devised the notion of prima facie duties, this means first appearance. This is when we follow our duty unless there is an overriding obligation, e.g. telling a white lie to make someone feel good about them self. This goes against the principle of duty as you must not lie but you could argue that you will feel morally good about yourself if you make another person feel good. Therefore this does not help is moral decision making as you have conflicting duties. Strength to this theory is that justice is always the absolute. This means only intrinsically right actions are accounted for. This can be seen with Kant’s statement of good will. ‘it is impossible to conceive of anything at all in the world, or even out of it, which can be taken as good without qualification, except good will.’ This shows that only good will is the only good we can achieve from the world. By justice being an absolute it means that you cannot justify immoral actions. This is attractive because it shows that by following this theory you will not act unmorally and you will be able to reach that summum bonum as you are fulfilled with good deeds. By not being able to do any intrinsically bad actions this will make people feel it is a reliable theory because if you follow these set rules you will not harm another person. Although it seeks justice, it does not seek the best interest of the majority, this means the minority may feel that justice has been done but on the other hand the majority may feel that justice has not been served. Personally I feel by pleasing the majority I will end up with a better outcome because there will greater happiness, this links in with Utilitarianism and the greatest pleasure over the greatest pain. Another reason why this theory has its flaws is the summum bonum. The summum bonum is the ultimate fulfilment but it can only be achieved by having an immortal soul as it cannot be achieved in the lifetime. This shows links with religion, even though Kant rejected theological arguments with the existence of God. This strikes a problem because not everyone believes in God so how could you follow the theory if you do not believe in his existence. Finally it is to legalistic because it assumes everyone is a law abiding person, people have different intentions so by assuming everyone has the intention of justice is wrong. To see whether is really does fail these reliabilities; we have to compare the strengths with the weaknesses. A weakness to the theory is that there are no limits to what can be universalised. This is because in one person’s state of mind something may seem perfectly fine to another person’s state of mind, e.g. a chronically depressed person. They may feel suicide is perfectly acceptable. This links in with the first law of the categorical imperative ‘Do not act on any principle that cannot be universalised.’ This means moral laws should be taken into account into all situations. Again this is wrong because who is to say one right action is another person’s right action, this makes it very unreliable with moral decision making. However if you take into account what the majority feel is wrong or right you could come to a conclusion on universal rules. This can be seen with rules such as ‘do not commit murder’ as most people do not tolerate that and it is safe to say they do not agree with it. Finally another weakness is that Immanuel Kant starts to argue now ‘is’ to be done but what ‘ought’ to be done, this is known as the Naturalistic Fallacy. This is a weakness because it makes people feel as he is in control and he is telling what should and shouldn’t be done. This is a weakness because Kant has different agreement on morals to another agreement, again he is assuming the masses will agree with this method making unreliable. By Kant saying what ought to be done he is showing what he feels is intrinsically good and that may vary from another. On the other hand by Kant saying he ought instead of is, it shows he is laying down ground rules and some people may like this as they will have rules to follow making it a attractive and reliable moral decision making theory.

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The Cholera Epidemic of 1832

The Cholera Epidemic of 1832 The cholera epidemic of 1832 killed thousands of people in Europe and North America and created mass panic across two continents. Astoundingly, when the epidemic struck New York City it prompted as many as 100,000 people, nearly half the citys population, to flee to the countryside. The arrival of the disease prompted widespread anti-immigrant feeling, as it seemed to flourish in poor neighborhoods populated by new arrivals to America. The movement of the disease across continents and countries was tracked closely, yet how it was transmitted was barely understood. And people were understandably terrified by horrific symptoms which seemed to  afflict  victims instantly. Someone who woke up healthy could suddenly become violently ill, have their skin turn a ghastly bluish tint, become severely dehydrated, and die within hours. It would not be until the late 19th century that scientists knew for certain that cholera was caused by a bacillus carried in water  and that proper sanitation could prevent the spread of the deadly disease. Cholera Moved From India to Europe Cholera had made its first 19th-century appearance in India, in 1817. A medical text published in 1858, A Treatise On the Practice of Medicine by George B. Wood, M.D., described how it spread through most of Asia and the Middle East throughout the 1820s. By 1830 it was reported in Moscow, and the following year the epidemic had reached Warsaw, Berlin, Hamburg, and the northern reaches of England. In early 1832 the disease struck London, and then Paris. By April 1832, more than 13,000 people in Paris had died as a result. And by early June 1832 news of the epidemic had crossed the Atlantic, with Canadian cases reported on June 8, 1832, in Quebec and June 10, 1832, in Montreal. The disease spread along two distinct pathways into the United States, with reports in the Mississippi Valley in the summer of 1832, and the first case documented in New York City on June 24, 1832. Other cases were reported in Albany, New York, and in Philadelphia and Baltimore. The cholera epidemic, at least in the United States, passed fairly quickly, and within two years it was over. But during its visit to America, there was widespread panic and considerable suffering and death. Choleras Puzzling Spread Though the cholera epidemic could be followed on a map, there was little understanding of how it spread. And that caused considerable fear. When Dr. George B. Wood wrote two decades after the 1832 epidemic he eloquently described the way cholera seemed unstoppable: No barriers are sufficient to obstruct its progress. It crosses mountains, deserts, and oceans. Opposing winds do not check it. All classes of persons, male and female, young and old, the robust and the feeble, are exposed to its assault; and even those whom it has once visited are not always subsequently exempt; yet as a general rule it selects its victims preferably from among those already pressed down by the various miseries of life and leaves the rich and prosperous to their sunshine and their fears. The comment about how the rich and prosperous were relatively protected from cholera sounds like antiquated snobbery. However, since the disease was carried in the water supply, people living in cleaner quarters and more affluent neighborhoods were definitely less likely to become infected. Cholera Panic in New York City In early 1832, citizens of New York City had known the disease might strike, as they were reading reports about deaths in London, Paris, and elsewhere. But as the disease was so poorly understood, little was done to prepare. By the end of June, when cases were being reported in the poorer districts of the city, a prominent citizen and former mayor of New York,  Philip Hone, wrote about the crisis in his diary: This dreadful disease increases fearfully; there are eighty-eight new cases today, and twenty-six deaths. Our visitation is severe but thus far it falls much short of other places. St. Louis on the Mississippi is likely to be depopulated, and Cincinnati on the Ohio is awfully scourged. These two flourishing cities are the resort of emigrants from Europe; Irish and Germans coming by Canada, New York, and New Orleans, filthy, intemperate, unused to the comforts of life and regardless of its proprieties. They flock to the populous towns of the great West, with disease contracted on shipboard, and increased by bad habits on shore. They inoculate the inhabitants of those beautiful cities, and every paper we open is only a record of premature mortality. The air seems to be corrupted, and indulgence in things heretofore innocent is frequently fatal now in these cholera times. Hone was not alone in assigning blame for the disease. The cholera epidemic was often blamed on immigrants, and nativist groups like the Know-Nothing Party would occasionally revive fear of disease as a reason to restrict immigration. In New York City the fear of disease became so prevalent that many thousands of people actually fled the city. Out of a population of about 250,000 people, it is believed that at least 100,000 left the city during the summer of 1832. The steamboat line owned by Cornelius Vanderbilt made handsome profits carrying New Yorkers up the Hudson River, where they rented any available rooms in local villages. By the end of the summer, the epidemic seemed to be over. But more than 3,000 New Yorkers had died. Legacy of the 1832 Cholera Epidemic While the exact cause of cholera would not be determined for decades, it was clear that cities needed to have clean sources of water. In New York City, a push was made to construct what would become a reservoir system which, by the mid-1800s, would be supplying the city with safe water. Two years after the initial outbreak, cholera was reported again, but it did not reach the level of the 1832 epidemic. And other outbreaks of cholera would emerge in various locations, but the epidemic of 1832 was always remembered as, to quote Philip Hone, the cholera times.

Monday, October 21, 2019

Dr. Norman Bethune essays

Dr. Norman Bethune essays Personality is what makes us human. Most people when asked, What is a personality? will respond that it refers to ones public image and the way people view that particular person. But personality goes deeper than those mediocre definitions. Personality encompasses our childhood and present, our motives and drives, our needs and experiences, it is social and is specifically human. Understanding someones complex personality is a difficult task and in this essay I will try to unlock Dr. Norman Bethune to try and realize why he did what he did, what is his personality and who influenced Bethune to become the great man that he became. I will use a combination of the various personality theories and take the relevant outlooks which I believe make up Bethune as a person. In the Freudian tradition personality is linked with the past and significant events that effect an individual during certain stages of their life. Little is known about Bethunes childhood but what is known is significant. Henry Norman Bethune was born on March 3, 1890 in Gravenhurst, Ontario. He was the first son to parents Malcolm and Elizabeth. Malcolm's job (a minister) moved the family frequently to small towns throughout Ontario. Bethunes given name was Henry and at the tender age of eight he proudly and very seriously announced to his family that he was no longer to be called Henry but Norman, the name of his Grandfather. Then ceremoniously he hung the brass plate of his surgeon grandfather and namesake on his bedroom door. (Allen and Gordon, 11). Now what would cause a little boy at the age of eight to think of doing such a thing, let alone actually do it? As a young boy Norman often dissected different insects and small animals obviously fascinated by the surgeon asp ect of it. So obviously he greatly respected his grandfather who perhaps influenced him not only to become a surgeon but also to be strong enough to d...