Marys Knowledge Acquisition

Table of Contents Background Knowledge Acquisition Physicalism versus Sensory Perception Conclusion Mary is unique because she grew up in a laboratory-like atmosphere. She was confined in a room that has no colors. It was all black-and-white for her. This includes not only the environment but also her education. She was educated using black-and-white materials only, no color was allowed to enter her dreary world.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Mary’s Knowledge Acquisition specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The moment of truth came when she was finally allowed to leave her black-and-white room, and in the outside world she saw a plump ripe red tomato. It was her first time to see one but back in her black-and-white world she was taught that a ripe tomato is red. The question that confounds resesearchers is this: Did she learn new facts or is it merely the acquisition of a new ability to imagine? Backgrou nd A lady confined in a room all by herself is a strange thing unless she was imprisoned since birth. However, this study is not interested to know why Mary was forced to be in a situation that seems inhumane at first glance. It has to be made clear that aside from the extreme seclusion that she had to go through, Mary was never given a mirror and she was in a sterile environment that prevented her from injuring herself such as being bruised or cut. If this is part of a human experiment then the authorities had to be contacted to put an end to this madness. Another way to deal with it is to go along with the discussion. Pretend for instance that there is nothing wrong with this picture and the most important thing is that scientists and psychologists are given the opportunity to study how a human being the process of learning. The question raised earlier can only be answered with a clear understanding of physicalism and how a person learns or acquire knowledge. An assertion was made that if physicalism is true then Mary need not leave her prison cell or laboratory in order to know that a ripe tomato has a color and not just black-and-white. It seems to sugggest that physicalism is the phenomonon of knowng something based on the power of suggestion or teaching. Thus, if someone says that a delectable banana when ripe manifests a yellow color then automatically the mind can see the ripe banana in all its glory as a beautiful yellow fruit.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Knowledge Acquisition Based on the case study there is proof to discredit the claim of physicalists. They contended that everything that can be known about the physical world is achievable through teaching and this includes teaching students using abstact concepts. For instance the color red can be taught. But in the experience of Mary, she had no idea about the concept of â€Å"red† as a c olor. It was her first time to see a ripe tomato, it was her first time to know that the sky is blue etc. If physicalism is based on the idea that knowledge acquisition about the world and everything it contains can be achieved by simply understanding the three-dimensional attributes of an object then this theory is severely limited. The counter-argument to physicalism is easily rendered in the contention that not everythig can be learned by reading and listening to lectures. There are many things in this world that has to be experienced in order to be understood and appreciated in its totality. This simply means that knowledge acquisition is not only done in the abstract realms but also in the sensory level. There are things that has to be processed by the five sense in order to be imbibed and made part of the conscious mind. Physicalism as a theory has to be modified to include the other facets of the physical world. It is not just about shapes and sizes but also about color, text ure, and even movement. A car can be perfectly described by a gifted speaker and Mary could listen to a speech about cars and leave the room with the full conviction that she knows more about cars than the average person. Mary can walk out of that room with the confidence of a scholar convinced that everthing that can be studied about cars was already covered in the lecture. All of a sudden Mary is led outside the courtyard and right before her eyes is a gleaming red sports car with a galloping horse logo on the hood. She is invited to ride with a race car driver and as a passenger she was taught the use of a seatbelt and instructed to sit back and enjoy the ride. The engine was fired up and in a few seconds the car went from zero acceleration to 60 miles per hour. Mary was convinced that there is more about cars than what she read in a magazine. Physicalism versus Sensory Perception Based on the idea of physicalism it has to be assumed that color and other attributes that can be ob served in the physical world are excluded in the knowledge acquisition process. Thus, this is the main weakness of physicalism because it does not include the reality of sensory perception.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Mary’s Knowledge Acquisition specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More It makes one wonder why color is not part of the physical feature of an object. If this was included in the theory of physicalism then Mary’s knowledge acquisiotion experience, while she was confined in the black-and-white room should have been judged as imperfect and incomplete. In other words the researchers should have immediately discovered the flaw in their methodology because it is not possible to teach someone about the truth concerning an object without allowing her senses to become a part of the learning process. The abstact terms that were thrown at her was inadequate for Mary to have a clear and complete gras p of what a ripe tomato means. Her teachers could have used all the teaching techniques available to man and indoctrinate her about the wonderful qualities of a tomato but if she was never given the chance to hold one in her hands, to touch it, smell it, and finally to taste it then her learning experience is incomplete. It should not be a surprise for researchers to realize that her idea of what comprises a ripe tomato is different or lacking in details when compared to other people’s knowledge level regarding the said fruit. A more complicated way to deal with this issue is to assess it using Leibniz’s Law. According to this law, two identical things posses the same qualities. Using this argument, sensations and the knowledge gleaned from using it is very much different from the knowledge acquired using mental cognition. It leads back to the argument that merely describing an object is an incomplete step towards total understanding and complete appreciation of the th ing described. It is therefore easy to make the conclusion that Mary learned something new. It was not a technique of imagining things. She could not imagine something that she is ignorant of. For instance, a student can be taught to imagine riding an airplane. Now, it is not important for a student to have had an experience riding airplanes. But at least he or she has a similar experience such as riding a bus. But more importantly this student should have an acceptable knowledge base about airplanes and how it functions. For example the child had seen a real airplane flying on air. He or she could have had an experience watching an airplane take off on TV and at the same time saw some footages of what it was like inside the cabin. The feeling and idea of riding an airplane can therefore be imagined without a prior experience. But a zero knowledge of related information makes it impossible for a student to imagine what it means to ride an airplane. More importantly the basic knowled ge required must include knowledge gained trhough the use of the senses.Advertising Looking for essay on psychology? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The same thing can be said of Mary. No matter how hard the teachers tried to teach her about the concept of â€Å"red† as a color, that it is diferent from yellow, blue, orange, and green, then nothing will register. For Mary, color is an abstract concept that is like a variable wherein one can associate different values. She can imagine color but only as far as the scale of black and white because this is the limit of her knowledge when it comes to the physical world. In fact, her mind was conditioned to think that everything comes in black and white. Conclusion Mary learned something new. She was able to acquire new facts. Her undestanding of a tomato was limited and so when she came out of her black-and-white room, her knowledge about a red tomato was upgraded. Before there was no color but now she can distinguish that in the phsycial realm, living and non-living things are imbued with color. This is a dramatic proof that learning is not limited to imbibing facts about an object or a phenomenon but it also requires the learner to experience it using the sense of smell, touch, sight, hearing, and taste. This essay on Mary’s Knowledge Acquisition was written and submitted by user Damar1 to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

United Nations, Power Broker or Toothless Tiger essays

United Nations, Power Broker or Toothless Tiger essays United Nations: Powerbroker or Toothless Tiger? The United Nations has given us the appearance that they are an integral part of the system of international relations; all they do is provide a central link in the chain of international organizations that are tackling global problems today. Furthermore, the United Nations does not play any other key role in tackling many essential problems that occur in the world. The United Nations has no real influence in the world; this is a result of their lack of structure in the Security Council and their poor reactions to events, such as Kosovo and Iraq. These events have given the United Nations the image as a toothless tiger; however, peacekeeping practices held tightly by the United Nations does give the tiger a bit of a bite in the global fight for peace. The United Nations does not have clout in the world, but in certain situations the UN has proven itself as real powerbroker in today's world. With the recent situation that is occurring in Iraq all eyes have been placed on the United Nations to see what steps they are going to take, if any, to stop the United States. The Iraq issue is shining a bright light onto the United Nations. It is highlighting a key issue for the world; does the United Nations have real any influence, is their presence beneficial to the world? The United Nations is caught between domestic oppositions to a war and increasing pressure from pro-war countries, mainly the United States. With other nations' opposition hardening, the White House left open the possibility that it would not seek a United Nations vote on its war-making resolution if the measure was clearly headed for defeat. (The Associated Press) By the United States overstepping the United Nations just as NATO had done in Kosovo it will ultimately show to the world the ineffectiveness of the Security Council. The decision made by the United Nations will help prove if they truly do wield powe...

Reading Response to Poem To Waken an Old Lady by William Carlos Williams

Reading Response to Poem To Waken an Old Lady by William Carlos Williams Reading Response to Poem To Waken an Old Lady by William Carlos Williams To Waken an Old Lady is a poem that was authored by William Carlos Williams. The poem essentially focuses on the aspect of old age. Therefore, the writer utilizes numerous bookish tools so as to construct the poem. In my experience of reading the poem I got attracted to the manner in which the author presented the poem the use of literary devices actually affected my experience. The use aspects of content, language and form were of greatest significance in the entire poem. Other literary devices have also been used in the construction of the poem. The elements used greatly affected my response to the poem, in its entirety. The literary devices employed by the author of the poem actually affected my response to the poem. Furthermore, they made me to focus more on one aspect of the poem than the others. I was significantly drawn to the aspect of old age and its prevalent connotations. This is due to the manner in which the author applied the literary elements all through. I cannot deny the great relevance of the above elements on my experience. William Carlos Williams makes great use of several elements in the presentation of the poem. Some of these elements are language, form and content. First of all I was greatly attracted to the aspect of content. The author chose to narrow down to old age as the essential content of the poem. Actually it activated me as I read through the poem. I just appreciate their use through out the reading. The language used by the author was both poetic and simple. This served two purposes at the same time. First was the fact that the poetic language made it possible for the poem to be appealing first as a text and second as a medium of communication. Subsequently, the language was simple enough to be comprehended by the reader. The use of literacy elements by William Carlos Williams in the construction of the poem, To Waken an Old Lady is inherently commendable. The form of the poem was great and played a great role in making my response to the poem. I tended to focus on the nature of the form employed by the author on the presentation of old age through symbolism. This constituted a key cause that manipulated my reading experience as well as my response. It actually changed my perception of the poem. Generally, the application of the several elements in the poem was of great magnitude not merely in the expansion of the poem, but towards the reading experience and response. William Carlos Williams, To Waken an Old Lady is a poem that focuses on the aspect of old age. Having read through the poem, my reading, and response experience was inherently influenced by the numerous literary devices and elements used by the author. As a result, the use of language, form and content were of great significance to the presentation of the entire poem. Actually it made me to focus primary on the prevalence of old age. This was due to the fact that old age was symbolized in several elements that the author employed in the construction of the poem.

Evaluation of the Current Status of Alitalia Essay

Evaluation of the Current Status of Alitalia - Essay Example Correspondingly, this report intends to examine the prospects of Etihad Airways which has started to examine the possibility to buy a majority/total stake in Alitalia, the Italian struggling airline. Alitalia is a prominent Italian based airline group and one of the leading players in the European airline industry. The group operates under the brand name of Alitalia and offers an assortment of premium services at all levels including the purview of domestic, international and intercontinental destinations. Air One is a subsidiary of Alitalia Group that provides low-cost flights to domestic and international routes. Alitalia is a privately owned group and 75% of its ownership is retained by Italian entrepreneurial and financial world while the remaining 25% is acquired by the biggest European airline, Air France-KLM. The group is also the member of SkyTeam alliance and has opened transatlantic joint venture with Air France KLM and Delta. The group over the years has been able to secure and distinguish its position amid its customers particularly due to its superior service quality, maintenance, and passenger care. The pool of well-trained employees along with effective operational management has established it as the most punctual airline across Europe. At the same time, the extensive and ambitious investment plan to make its fleet modernize has tremendously facilitated it with attaining greater customer confidence and trust. Apart from transportation of passengers, the company also operates in cargo sector. It has been able to meet the customers’ shipping requirements through the effective arrangement of cargo charter flights (Alitalia n.d.). Moreover, it has the most modern fleet of 132 aircraft. The company’s financial health during 2012 was worst affected with increasing loss and augmenting debt. However, amid this sluggish performance, the market share of the group across all routes continued to st ay stable at around 22.6% (Alitalia 2013).

Delinquent youth subculture (Gangs) Research Paper

Delinquent youth subculture (Gangs) - Research Paper Example Rubel, these youth gang members mostly comprised of Mexicans who had migrated to the region of United States and may have developed a gang due to their difficult lives in America (Rubel, 1965). It has even been recorded that gangs started surfacing in major regions of United States such as New York during the period of 1800s when the Industrial Revolution was gaining pace (Franzese, 2006). As industrialization started to spread throughout the United States and attracted more and more immigrant populations, increase in number of gangs was witnessed in larger metropolitan areas such as Chicago (Franzese, 2006). The United States has witnessed an upsurge in the number of gangs and the gang members especially during the periods in which huge number of immigrant populations has travelled to the United States. Gangs have even emerged as a result of hostile activities that have been carried out against the ethnic groups they represent. In early periods of 1900s, Chicago witnessed an increas e in the number of African American gangs and gang members as a result of the hostilities they were facing at the hands of the White American gang members (Franzese, 2006). Later during the period of 1950s the African American gangs started becoming prominent on the streets of the Western regions of the United States (Franzese, 2006). These gang members could easily be witnessed in the regions where mostly those families resided that did not have access to proper economic opportunities. The Southern regions of the United States were the last in the race to experience the issue of gang related activity. Gang activity in these regions emerged and escalated between the periods of 1980s and 1990s (Franzese, 2006). Gang members and related activities are quite prevalent in the United States even in the years of 21st century. According to 2011 National Gang Threat Assessment, more than 1.4 million individuals are working with different gangs of United States and can be witnessed on the

Keeping Up with the Joneses Essay Example for Free

Keeping Up with the Joneses Essay Society has many effects on the narrator in â€Å"Two Kinds† and Madame Loisel in â€Å"The Necklace†. Whether it is helping us achieve feats or our actions in public, we can be affected both negatively and positively. In the short story â€Å"The Necklace† Madame Loisel is dirt poor. When her husband, a simple Clerk, comes home holding a white envelope which says â€Å"The Minister of Education and Mme. Georges Ramponneau beg M. and Mme. Loisel to do them the honor of attending an evening reception at the Ministerial Mansion. Madame Loisel tries her best to look as good as she can at the reception. She even borrows a necklace to look her best at the reception, this is because of how society expects us to look our best and dress up on occasion. In the other short story, Two Kinds, Ni Kan’s mother wants her to be something she doesn’t want her to be. Whether it was opening a restaurant, working for the government, or even building a house to sell it and make a profit. She basically wants her to become a prodigy, which is highly unlikely. My mother believed you could be anything you wanted to be in America. You could open a restaurant. You could work for the government and get good retirement. You could buy a house with almost no money down. You could become rich. You could become instantly famous. Of course, you can be a prodigy, too, my mother told me when I was nine. † Her mother wants her to become a prodigy because of how society has â€Å"molded† her thoughts and actions. He r daughter, she is only best tricky, you can be best anything. What does Auntie Lindo know? For example, her mother forces her to learn the piano, which doesn’t work out very well â€Å"Three days after watching the Ed Sullivan Show my mother told me what my schedule would be for piano lessons and piano practice. She had talked to Mr. Chong † In both positive and negative ways society has affected me in many aspects of my life, society has affected how I look, how I do in school, what I want to become after High-School, what I say, how I perform in sports. In conclusion, society in a whole affects everyone, everywhere, every day in every way. This concludes my essay.

The Benefits and Drawbacks of Globalization Essay -- Pros and Cons of

The notion of globalisation encompasses various different aspects of social, economic and political life. In order to answer the question of whether or not globalisation is a progressive or negative force, I must first define globalisation. Then I shall examine the impact of globalisation on the population and finally determine whether this is a positive or negative impact. There are five different aspects that I have chosen in order to define the phenomenon of globalisation. They are internationalisation, liberalisation, universilisation, westernisation, and deterritorialization. (Scholte, page 16) Internationalisation refers to the significant increase in relations between countries. Increases in economic trade and politcal relations between countries has led to increased interdependency between countries, especially on an economic level. There has also been increased movement of people, capital, and ideas between countries. International relations between countries have always existed, but in today's globalised world, these relations have become more important and more significant than ever before. Liberalisation refers to the loosening of government restrictions on movements between countries. It is easier for individuals to move between countries, and also for money and capital to move between countries. The main component of liberalisation has been economic. There have been increasing commitments on the part of nations to adopt free trade policies and allow the free movement of capital between states. There have been significant reductions in tarriffs and on foreign exchange restrictions. Capitalism has been adopted on a global level with companies competing against companies in other countries, and the in... ... has positive and negative effects as it does create for better awareness, understanding, and tolerance of other cultures, it has also eroded many tradional cultural values and this has caused resistance to globalisation. Lastly, globalisation has reduced the power of nation states and increased the power of international organisations and multinational corporations. Globalisation has positive and negative effects, but one certainty is that globalisation does exist and it remains to be seen how much further it will go. Bibliography Bamyeh, Mohammed A. The Ends of Globalisation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000. Sandbrook, Richard. Civilizing Globalisation - A Survival Guide. Albany: State University of New York, 2003. Scholte, Jan Aart. Globalization - A critical introduction. International Politics Studypack for Term 2, 2006. The Benefits and Drawbacks of Globalization Essay -- Pros and Cons of The notion of globalisation encompasses various different aspects of social, economic and political life. In order to answer the question of whether or not globalisation is a progressive or negative force, I must first define globalisation. Then I shall examine the impact of globalisation on the population and finally determine whether this is a positive or negative impact. There are five different aspects that I have chosen in order to define the phenomenon of globalisation. They are internationalisation, liberalisation, universilisation, westernisation, and deterritorialization. (Scholte, page 16) Internationalisation refers to the significant increase in relations between countries. Increases in economic trade and politcal relations between countries has led to increased interdependency between countries, especially on an economic level. There has also been increased movement of people, capital, and ideas between countries. International relations between countries have always existed, but in today's globalised world, these relations have become more important and more significant than ever before. Liberalisation refers to the loosening of government restrictions on movements between countries. It is easier for individuals to move between countries, and also for money and capital to move between countries. The main component of liberalisation has been economic. There have been increasing commitments on the part of nations to adopt free trade policies and allow the free movement of capital between states. There have been significant reductions in tarriffs and on foreign exchange restrictions. Capitalism has been adopted on a global level with companies competing against companies in other countries, and the in... ... has positive and negative effects as it does create for better awareness, understanding, and tolerance of other cultures, it has also eroded many tradional cultural values and this has caused resistance to globalisation. Lastly, globalisation has reduced the power of nation states and increased the power of international organisations and multinational corporations. Globalisation has positive and negative effects, but one certainty is that globalisation does exist and it remains to be seen how much further it will go. Bibliography Bamyeh, Mohammed A. The Ends of Globalisation. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2000. Sandbrook, Richard. Civilizing Globalisation - A Survival Guide. Albany: State University of New York, 2003. Scholte, Jan Aart. Globalization - A critical introduction. International Politics Studypack for Term 2, 2006.

Food has become easier to prepare Essay

We live in century when everybody has device:†The time is Gold†.We always work,rush and have busy life.So that’s why the fast food is the best choise for men,who don’t want to waste their time with waiting for preparing something to eat.And it concern that kind of people who eats for living,not lives for eating!We can find fast food in some caffe,restaurants or in other such kind of places,where people heat just for satisfaction feelings of hunger as quick as possible. Altought there are a lot of packed and freezed food in markets which are bought for quick preparation by people who always come home very late and tired,after hard day. But as we all know fast food has negativities too.First of all ,this is a junk food and if we pay our attention on it from medical side,we will notice that it is very uselessly and harmfully for health.Because junk food contain conservators,artificial additionals and a lot of other chemical structures,what destroy our organism.We are enough informed about it,but as always we choose easy way for solving problems,even if it concern our health. I would like to say about me as example for this topic . I am a student.I have full schedule.From early morning till the evening I have to be outside.I don’t have chance to go home for eating because I live very far from my university.I am trying to have breakfast and supper at home,but in time for dinner don’t have other way as eating fast food with friends in caffe or in university canteen.So I agree with opinion,that this change has improved the way people live. In conclusion I would add something for this issue in form of advice to people:†Let’s use fast food only of necessity.Don’t prefer junk food to fresh home-made meal,for beeing strong and healthy,for having energy to work and to go on!

Madame DeFarge Essay

Screams rend the air. Your sisters husband was worked to death by the scum who call themselves nobles. Before your brother-in-law is even cold in his grave, these men take your sister away. For sport. Your father’s heart is broken, your brother outraged. You are taken away to the sea for protection, and your brother goes to seek revenge on the dogs, who took not only your family’s food and money, but your honor, which is more valuable to a poor man than all other things combined. Your brother is killed by the â€Å"nobles† and your sister dies of a broken heart, and crushed honor. What is your response to this situation. This was Madame Defarge’s situation, and her heart was turned to cold, hard pitiless stone. She nursed her hatred and bitterness. She was filled with a cold, calculating desire for revenge upon all those whom she could remotely connect to those demons who had taken everything from her and her family. She cared for no one and nothing that s tood in her way. She made them and all the other nobles pay, with oceans of blood. She gloried in her enemies downfall, and danced in their graves. Here thirst was unquenchable. She was hardened to the point of no return, and I believe she would have murdered her own husband if he stood in her way. Madame Defarge was bitter and cruel in the way she acted towards Charles Darnay and his family. She pretended that she was their friend, and she needed to see them for their protection. Instead she was just confirming them, so that she could put them on her registers of death. In her bitterness and hatred, she made the descendants of those who had wronged her responsible for their ancestors sins. She was ruthless in her killing and condemning of anyone who could be remotely connected to the aristocrats and she stopped at nothing, until they were dead. She spent hours knitting her registers, spelling out who would die, and why. She didn’t care if it was poor seamstress or the richest noble in the castle. If they were accused of being connected to the accursed race of aristocrats, they were her mortal enemies. When Darnay was supposedly on the way to his death at the guillotine, she went to see Lucie, both so she could gorge herself on Lucie’s pain, and also to make sure that Lucie and her child were at her fingertips, ready to be killed as soon as possible. She was barely stopped by Miss Pross, whom she tried to kill, but was herself killed in the attempt. Indeed, if it was not for Miss Pross, Madame Defarge’s plans would have succeeded nicely. Madame Defarge was a cold, bitter, and extremely vengeful person. Yes, she was shaped by the circumstances she was born into, but that alone did not change her into this awful person. It was the nurturing of these grudges, the careful plotting, scheming and brooding over her plans for vengeance that turned her into the dreadful wretch that she was. She was in fact, a slave to her own desire for revenge and even though it may seem that she had the victory, because she made the nobles pay. She let them steal her soul. Revenge is not victory. Reconciliation and forgiveness through Christ is victory.

Drilling Rig and Tiger Resources Essay

Drilling Rig and Tiger Resources Essay Drilling Rig and Tiger Resources Essay September 17, 2013 Evaluation: Participation BLAW 205: Workplace Laws Scenario John Stavoni and Eric Smith arrived at their workplace – a drilling rig and field office just north of Bassano, Alberta, on Tuesday, May 25, after working consecutively for 20 days in a row. John, 23 years old, had been hired as a rig worker in response to an advertisement by Tiger Resources Inc. (â€Å"Tiger Resources†) for a â€Å"young, strong man, early twenties, who has an Italian background and no history of criminal offences†. John had worked for Tiger Resources for about 1 year, but never signed an employment contract. Eric is 65 and has worked as a field operations manager (under an employment contract) for Tiger Resources for 25 years. Eric is familiar with all aspects of a drilling rig operation, and has supervised many employees over the years. Despite the fact that Tiger Resources, a private company of about 200 people based in Alberta, did not have any safety policies in place, Eric was very diligent about making sure there were no accidents wh ile he was on shift and he had consistently received excellent performance reviews from Tiger’s upper management. As they entered the main office, Kelly Brown, a field operations supervisor with Tiger Resources with 30 years experience, left the room. It was well known that Kelly was disgruntled about the fact that she had worked in a similar role to Eric, but received half of the salary that Eric received. Her co-workers had urged her to discuss the matter with senior management, but she was concerned that she would be teased by some of the senior managers and may lose her job if she â€Å"rocked the boat† with her concerns. In addition, Kelly had drugs and alcohol dependencies, and Tiger had threatened to fire her many times because of this. She left the office because then she was less tempted to confront Eric about the difference in their two salaries. John and Eric picked up their pay cheques from their staff mailboxes, and noticed that there had been no overtime pay included. John commented, as he looked at his pay stub, â€Å"I still don’t understand why I don’t receive overtime pay when I work the night shift. So many times I’m working on my own anyway, and the whole operation depends on me. This company is a joke. The big bosses downtown drive BMWs and we get nothing for killing ourselves to make this company a profit. I’m tempted to take our client list and go work for our competitors.† Eric responded, â€Å"You think you’ve got troubles... I found out that someone tried to use my social insurance number and direct deposit financial information to access my bank account at the Bank of Montreal in Fort McMurray. Rumor has it that the new office manager had this information on her laptop when it was stolen from her truck – how else could this information be obtained by anyone?† As Eric was reviewing the previous night’s safety log (written on the back of a napkin), John offered to supervise one of the other rig workers with a task that involved the flow of drilling fluid. John hadn’t performed this particular task before (and in fact knew nothing about the equipment involved), but was confident that he could still help the other worker. He headed out to the drilling platform, sat down, and texted his friend about having a few beers after work with a few Tiger Resources managers, and then driving home so that he can watch the Flames game. While he was texting, an explosion occurred because a pressure relief device on the drilling fluid pump had been set to discharge at a pressure that was more than the maximum working pressure recommended by the manufacturer. The pressure built up, an explosion occurred, and this caused Bill Johnson, a rig worker, to lose his balance and fall into the rotary table, causing his arm to be amputated. At the same time, the drilling fluid, which was normally discharged through a pressure relief device to a holding tank, leaked over the

5 Appositive Phrases with Punctuation Problems

5 Appositive Phrases with Punctuation Problems 5 Appositive Phrases with Punctuation Problems 5 Appositive Phrases with Punctuation Problems By Mark Nichol An appositive is a noun or a noun phrase that appears in proximity to another noun or noun phrase to define or modify it. When writers employ nonrestrictive appositions, which consist of optional additional information, they sometimes fail to punctuate the sentence correctly to indicate that the phrase is parenthetical, leading to confusion. Here are five sentences in which insertion of a single comma repairs the damage. 1. â€Å"John Smith, Jones’s rival and number four on the FBI’s most-wanted list is caught.† If this sentence began with â€Å"Jones’s rival . . .,† it would be correctly punctuated. But â€Å"John Smith† is the subject, â€Å"is caught† is the object, and the phrase beginning â€Å"Jones’s rival† and ending â€Å"most-wanted list† is an appositive, and must be punctuated as a parenthetical phrase: â€Å"John Smith, Jones’s rival and number four on the FBI’s most-wanted list, is caught.† 2. â€Å"John Doe, who once led the company was indicted on eighty-five counts in a huge federal case.† The basic facts are that John Doe was indicted; the phrase â€Å"who once led the company† is an appositive parenthetical and must, like the descriptive phrase in the preceding example, be framed by commas: â€Å"John Doe, who once led the company, was indicted on eighty-five counts in a huge federal case.† 3. â€Å"Life has been rough for Jane Roe, the governor’s chief of staff ever since her controversial remark went public.† â€Å"The governor’s chief of staff† is the appositive here; without a comma following the phrase to complement the preceding comma, the statement implies that she gained her position when she made the remark: â€Å"Life has been rough for Jane Roe, the governor’s chief of staff, ever since her controversial remark went public.† 4. General Martin Dempsey, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman who just wrapped up a visit to Afghanistan, was asked whether he foresees North Korea taking military action soon. By combining the general’s title with the reference to his recent visit to Afghanistan, the sentence implies that more than one Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman exists; Dempsey is the one who had just returned from Afghanistan. The phrase â€Å"the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman† must be bracketed by a pair of commas to show that it is the first of two parenthetical phrases dividing the subject from the object: â€Å"General Martin Dempsey, the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, who just wrapped up a visit to Afghanistan, was asked whether he foresees North Korea taking military action soon.† (Sometimes, one of two consecutive appositives that follow another noun or noun phrase can be separated by relocating one before the noun or noun phrase it refers to, but here, Dempsey’s title would compete with his military rank; however, the reference to the Afghanistan visit could be moved to a subsequent sentence, or even deleted because it is irrelevant to the sentence.) 5. â€Å"The next antiwar demonstration scheduled to take place on April 7 may take aim at companies outside San Francisco.† This sentence’s lack of internal punctuation will likely lead readers to assume that more than one demonstration is scheduled to take place on April 7, which is a distracting error. The reference to the date is in apposition, identifying the date of the event (it is appositive because, as a truncated version of â€Å"the one scheduled to take place on April 7,† it is another way of referring to â€Å"the next antiwar demonstration†), and could be removed without changing the meaning of the sentence: â€Å"The next antiwar demonstration, scheduled to take place on April 7, may take aim at companies outside San Francisco.† 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 Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Because Of" and "Due To" Connotations of 35 Words for Funny PeopleOppose and Opposed To

The Phenomenon Of Terrorism Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

The Phenomenon Of Terrorism - Research Paper Example Body Causes of terrorism Ethnicity and separation are two factors that significantly contribute to terrorism in different countries. Individuals from nations that are not united tend to cause trouble to other nations as a way of finding the key cause of disagreements to their own nations (Bjorgo,  2005). Separation among different nations can also be explained by political and religious differences. This also brings in the issue of racism in a country. When a country has some form of inequality, it will definitely have many terrorism cases because people will not be united. For instance, in the year 1990, racism in the United States caused terrorism cases to increase because, each group wanted to defend itself from being attacked by the other. Separation in the community can also be explained from a different point of view where there is a group of persons in the society that are dissatisfied (Crenshaw, 1981). Some individuals in the community may feel that they are not being given equal rights as other individuals. Thus, they might engage in terrorism acts in order to have such rights too. Therefore, inequality in the society can fuel terrorism. This is because; inequality and unfairness causes feelings of depression among people. Consequently, it causes individuals to act out of frustration and anger (Al-Thagafi & Army War College (U.S.), 2008). Terrorism can also be caused by the lack of or unequal opportunities for political participation (Crenshaw, 1981). When political opportunities are only available to a certain group of people in the society, then other individuals will use terrorism acts to obtain political power. This is a case where by politicians who obtain power in the wrong... Some individuals in the community may feel that they are not being given equal rights as other individuals. Thus, they might engage in terrorist acts in order to have such rights too. Therefore, inequality in the society can fuel terrorism. This is because; inequality and unfairness cause feelings of depression among people. Consequently, it causes individuals to act out of frustration and anger (Al-Thagafi & Army War College (U.S.), 2008). Terrorism can also be caused by the lack of or unequal opportunities for political participation (Crenshaw, 1981). When political opportunities are only available to a certain group of people in the society, then other individuals will use terrorist acts to obtain political power. This is a case where by politicians who obtain power in the wrong manner end up being killed in terrorism. When individuals are not in support of the governance of a country, they tend to engage in terrorist acts in order to eliminate the individuals in leadership. This can also be referred to as anti-democracy. When there are a large number of weaknesses in a democratic government, terrorism is bound to increase. This is because; democracy involves a lot of openness, which makes terrorists be in possession of information that they can use to plan terrorist attacks. Effects of Terrorism Terrorism is normally directed at disrupting and disorganizing government procedures in a country. It weakens and damages the operations of leadership in a country (Houle, 2005).