50 Incorrect Pronunciations That You Should Avoid

50 Incorrect Pronunciations That You Should Avoid 50 Incorrect Pronunciations That You Should Avoid 50 Incorrect Pronunciations That You Should Avoid By Maeve Maddox Fred Astaire drew laughs back in the Thirties with his song Lets Call the Whole Thing Off in which the lovers cant agree on the pronunciation of words like either, neither, and tomato. On a personal level, I cringe when I hear someone sound the t in often or pronounce pecan with a short a, but I have to acknowledge that both these pronunciations are widely accepted alternate pronunciations that can be justified by the spelling. Alternate pronunciations, however, are a different matter from out-and-out mispronunciations. The latter, no matter how common, are incorrect, either because of the spelling that indicates another pronunciation, or because of what is widely agreed upon to be conventional usage. Word of caution: Im writing from an American perspective. Here are 50 frequently mispronounced words. The list is by no means exhaustive, but provides a good start. 1. aegis The ae in this word is pronounced /ee/. Say EE-JIS/, not /ay-jis/. In mythology the aegis is associated especially with the goddess Athene. It is her shield with the Gorgons head on it. 2. anyway The problem with this word is not so much pronunciation as the addition of an unnecessary sound. Dont add an s to make it anyways. The word is ANYWAY. 3. archipelago Because the word is from Greek, the ch is pronounced with a /k/ sound. Say /AR-KI-PEL-A-GO/, not /arch-i-pel-a-go/. 4. arctic Note the C after the R. Say /ARK-TIK/, not /ar-tik/. 5. accessory the first C has a hard sound. Say /AK-SESS-OR-Y/, not /ass-ess-or-y/. 6. ask The S comes before the K. Say /ASK/ not /aks/. 7. asterisk Notice the second S. Say /AS-TER-ISK/, not /as-ter-ik/. 8. athlete The word has two syllables, not three. Say /ATH-LETE/, not /ath-uh-lete/. 9. barbed wire Notice the AR in the first syllable. Say /BARBD/, not /bob/. 10. cache The word is of French origin, but it does not end with an accented syllable. A cache is a hiding place or something that is being hidden: a cache of supplies; a cache of money; a cache of drugs. Say /KASH/, not /ka-shay/. 11. candidate Notice the first d. Say /KAN-DI-DATE/, not /kan-i-date/. 12. cavalry This word refers to troops that fight on horseback. Say /KAV-UL-RY/, not /kal-vuh-ry/. NOTE: Calvary refers the place where Jesus was crucified and IS pronounced /kal-vuh-ry/.) 13. chaos The spelling ch can represent three different sounds in English: /tch/ as in church, /k/ as in Christmas, and /sh/ as in chef. The first sound is heard in words of English origin and is the most common. The second sound of ch, /k/, is heard in words of Greek origin. The third and least common of the three ch sounds is heard in words adopted from modern French. Chaos is a Greek word. Say /KAY-OS/, not /tchay-os/. 14. clothes Notice the TH spelling and sound. Say /KLOTHZ/, not /kloz/. 15. daà ¯s A daà ¯s is a raised platform. The pronunciation fault is to reverse the vowel sounds. The word is often misspelled as well as mispronounced. Say /DAY-IS/ not /dÄ «-is/. 16. dilate The word has two syllables, not three. Say /DI-LATE/, not /di-a-late/. 17. drowned This is the past participle form of the verb drown. Notice that there is no D on drown. Dont add one when using the word in its past form. Say /DROWND/, not /drown-ded/. 18. et cetera This Latin term is often mispronounced and its abbreviation is frequently misspelled. Say /ET CET-ER-A/, not /ex cet-er-a/. For the abbreviation, write ETC., not ect. 19. February Just about everyone I know drops the first r in February. The spelling calls for /FEB-ROO-AR-Y/, not /feb-u-ar-y/. 20. foliage The word has three syllables. Say /FO-LI-UJ/, not /fol-uj/. 21. forte English has two words spelled this way. One comes from Italian and the other from French. The Italian word, a musical term meaning loud, is pronounced with two syllables: /FOR-TAY/. The French word, an adjective meaning strength or strong point, is pronounced with one syllable: /FORT/. 22. Halloween The word for the holiday Americans celebrate with such enthusiasm on October 31 derives from Hallowed Evening, meaning evening that has been made holy. The word hallow comes from Old English halig, meaning holy. Notice the a in the first syllable and say /HAL-O-WEEN/, not /hol-lo-ween/. 23. height The word ends in a /T/ sound, not a /TH/ sound. Say /HITE/, not /hith/. 24. heinous People unfamiliar with the TV show Law and Order: S.V.U. may not know that heinous has two syllables. (The show begins with this sentence: In the criminal justice system, sexually based offenses are considered especially heinous.) Say /HAY-NUS/, not /heen-i-us/. 25. hierarchy The word has four syllables. Say /HI -ER-AR-KY,/ not /hi-ar-ky/. 26. Illinois As with Arkansas, the final s in Illinois is not pronounced. Say /IL-I-NOY/ (and /Ar-kan-saw/, not /il-li-noiz/ or /ar-kan-sas/). NOTE: Some unknowledgeable folks may still be trying to pronounce Arkansas as if it had something to do with Kansas. The pronunciation /ar-kan-zuz/ is waaay off base. 27. interpret The word has three syllables. Dont add one! Say /IN-TER-PRET/, not /in-ter-pre-tate/. 28. incident Something that happens is an incident. Dont say incidence when you mean a specific event. There IS a word incidence, but it has a different meaning. 29. irregardless See the real word, regardless. 30. jewelry The word has three syllables. Say /JEW-EL-RY/, not /jew-el-er-y/. The pronunciation /jewl-ry/ is common but not correct, as it removes one syllable from the word. 31. library Notice where the R comes in the word. Say /LI-BRAR-Y/, not /li-ber-ry/. 32. medieval The word has four syllables. The first E may be pronounced either short [med] or long [meed]. Say /MED-EE-EEVAL/ or /MEE-DEE-EEVAL/, not /meed-eval/. 33. miniature The word has four syllables. Say /MIN-I-A-TURE/, not /min-a-ture/. 34. Mischievous This is the adjective form of mischief whose meaning is calamity or harm. Mischievous is now associated with harmless fun so that the expression malicious mischief has been coined as another term for vandalism. Mischievous has three syllables with the accent on the first syllable: /MIS-CHI-VUS/. Dont say /mis-chee-vee-us/. 35. niche The word is from the French and, though many words of French origin have been anglicized in standard usage, this is one that cries out to retain a long e sound and a /SH/ sound for the che. Say /NEESH/, not /nitch/. 36. orient This word has three syllables. As a verb it means to place something in its proper position in relation to something else. It comes from a word meaning east and originally meant positioning something in relation to the east. Now it is used with a more general meaning. Say /OR-I-ENT/, not /or-i-en-tate/. 37. old-fashioned This adjective is formed from a past-participle: fashioned. Dont leave off the ED. Say /OLD-FASHIOND/, not /old-fashion/. 38. picture Theres a K sound in picture. Dont confuse picture with pitcher. Say /PIK-TURE/, not /pitch-er/. Pitcher is a different word. A pitcher is a serving vessel with a handle. 39. precipitation This is a noun that refers to rain or snow, or anything else that normally falls from the sky. As with prescription (below), the prefix is PRE-. Say /PRE-CIP-I-TA-TION/, not /per-cipi-ta-tion/. 40. prescription Note the prefix PRE- in this word. Say /PRE-SCRIP-TION/, not /per- scrip-tion/ or /pro-scrip-tion/. 41. preventive The word has three syllables. A common fault is to add a syllable. Say PRE-VEN-TIVE/, not /pre-ven-ta-tive. 42. pronunciation This word is a noun. It comes from the verb pronounce, BUT it is not pronounced like the verb. Say /PRO-NUN-CI-A-TION/, not /pro-nounce-i-a-tion/. 43. prostate This word for a male gland is often mispronounced. There is an adjective prostrate which means to be stretched out facedown on the ground. When speaking of the gland, however, say /PROS-TATE/, not /pros-trate/. 44. Realtor The word has three syllables. Say /RE-AL-TOR/, not /re-a-la-tor/. 45. regardless The word has three syllables. Please dont add an IR to make it into the abomination irregardless. 46. sherbet The word has only one r in it. Say /SHER-BET/ not /sher-bert/. 47. spayed This is a one-syllable word, the past participle form of the verb to spay, meaning to remove the ovaries from an animal. Like the verb drown (above) the verb spay does not have a D in its infinitive form. Dont add one to the past participle. Say /SPADE/, not /spay-ded/. 48. ticklish The word has two syllables. Say /TIK-LISH/, not /tik-i-lish/. 49. tract Religious evangelists often hand out long printed statements of belief called tracts. Thats one kind of tract. Houses are built on tracts. Then theres the word track. Athletes run on tracks. Animals leave tracks. Dont say /TRAKT/ when you mean /TRAK/, and vice-versa. 50. vehicle Although there is an H in the word, to pronounce it is to sound hicky. Say /VEE-IKL/, not /vee-Hikl/. 51. wintry Heres another weather word often mispronounced, even by the weather person. The word has two syllables. Say /WIN-TRY/, not /win-ter-y/. Got any to add to the list? 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 Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Punctuate References to Dates and TimesTelling a Good Poem from a Bad OneHow to Send Tactful Emails from a Technical Support Desk

7 Steps for Writing a Paper on an Environmental Issue

7 Steps for Writing a Paper on an Environmental Issue Are you a student tasked with writing a research paper on an environmental issue? These few tips, along with some hard and focused work, should get you most of the way there. 1. Find a topic Look for a topic that speaks to you, that grabs your attention. Alternatively, choose a topic about which you are genuinely interested in learning more. It will be a lot easier to spend time working on something of interest to you. Here are some places you can find ideas for a paper: Of course, here on About.com’s Environmental Issues site. Browse the front page to see if a topic grabs your attention, or go to more specific content hubs like these ones:Global warmingBiodiversityDeforestationFossil fuelsWater PollutionThe science or environment sections of major newspapers and news organizations will feature articles about current environmental news and events.Environmental news websites like Grist or Environmental News Network. 2. Conduct research Are you using internet resources? Make sure you can assess the quality of the information you find. This article from Purdue University’s Online Writing Lab is useful to help with assessing the quality of your sources. Print resources are not to be neglected. Visit your school or city library, learn how to use their search engine, and talk to your librarian about accessing the resources available. Are you expected to constrain your sources to primary literature? That body of knowledge consists of peer-reviewed articles published in scientific journals. Consult your librarian for help with accessing the proper databases to reach those articles. 3. Follow instructions Carefully read the handout or prompt given to you and which contains instructions about the assignment. Early in the process, make sure you choose a topic that will satisfy the assigned requirements. Once half-way through the paper, and once when it’s done, check it against the instructions to make sure you didn’t drift away from what was required. 4. Start with a solid structure First craft a paper outline with your main ideas organized, and a thesis statement. A logical outline will make it easy to gradually flesh out ideas and eventually produce complete paragraphs with good transitions between them. Make sure all the sections serve the purpose of the paper outlined in the thesis statement. 5. Edit After you have a good draft produced, put the paper down, and don’t pick it up until the next day. It’s due tomorrow? Next time, start working on it earlier. This break will help you with the editing stage: you need fresh eyes to read, and re-read your draft for flow, typos, and a myriad other little problems. 6. Pay attention to formatting Along the way, check that you are following your teacher’s formatting instructions: font size, line spacing, margins, length, page numbers, title page, etc. A poorly formatted paper will suggest to your teacher that not only the form, but the content is of low quality as well. 7. Avoid plagiarism First, make sure you know what plagiarism is, you can then more easily avoid it. Pay especially close attention to properly attributing the work you cite. For More Information Purdue University Online Writing Lab. Writing a Research Paper.

Igor Stravinsky Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Igor Stravinsky - Research Paper Example Ironically, Stravinsky’s father wanted him to be a lawyer instead of a musician, but Stravinsky was bored with law study (Venezia 11). Stravinsky was always more interested in music. While at law school, Stravinsky met Vladimir Rimsky-Korsakov whose father was the very famous composer, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov. Stravinsky would eventually begin to work with Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov who would eventually teach him about composition. After a vast career in composing different musical scores, Stravinsky died of heart failure in 1971 (Henahan). 2. Biographical Information Stravinsky was born on June 17, 1882. His ancestry was Polish from his father’s side of the family (Oliver 12). Stravinsky had four brothers, and only the youngest brother, Gury was interested in music. Stravinsky was very close to his younger brother because they shared this musical interest, and his brother was a baritone singer. The two boys clung to each other for the affection that they did not receive f rom their parents. Stravinsky would describe his childhood as â€Å"lonely and unhappy† which created challenges for him as a child (Oliver 12). Unfortunately, his brother died of typhus in 1917 (Oliver 14). Needing love and affection, Stravinsky turned to the butler, Simon Ivanovich and his nurse, Bertha, for the affection that he did not receive from his family. For quite some time during his childhood, Stravinsky stayed in his room because his parents thought that his health was too fragile (Oliver 14). As he became older, Bertha and Simon found was to shield him from the cruelty of his father; although Stravinsky as he grew older would not talk about what happened (Oliver 14). At the age of nine, Stravinsky had begun to play piano and he was fascinated by the music. His father did not want him to become a musician because he felt this life was too insecure and it was not a proper career for a young man (Dobrin 14). Instead, Stravinsky’s father forced him into law school because he felt this would be a more lucrative career that would provide him with a more steady income (Dobrin 14). Enrollment into the University of St. Petersburg would be his fate to study law, but he soon found it to be boring. He was more fascinated by music, and although the concept of counterpoint can be considered boring to most musicians, it was of interest to Stravinsky (Dobrin 16). At the university, Stravinsky became friends with Vladimir Rimsky-Korsakov. The two men became fast friends and this lead to Stravinsky working for Vladimir’s father, Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov and eventually he would be able to begin learning composition from him (Dobrin 15). Stravinsky wo uld live his life in Europe and in America. After studying with Rimsky-Korsakov, Stravinsky began to be influenced by composers like Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel (Schwartz). In his various compositions, one can hear the influences if they listen closely. Within the music of â€Å"Fireworks†, â€Å"The Faun and the Shepherdess†, and the â€Å"Firebird† ballet, one can find the influence of Debussy and Ravel (Schwartz). All of Stravinsky’s music became a part of what is called â€Å"the standard repertory† because of his ability to write very good music. Stravinsky often performed his own work. He began by writing, composing, and playing it on piano, but he eventually began to conduct his own work. He is credited with being the â€Å"first contemporary composer†

How Good Recruitment Practises Help the Organisation In Achieving a Essay

How Good Recruitment Practises Help the Organisation In Achieving a Competitive Advantage - Essay Example The business has roughly 10,000 locations, which consist of the typical sit-in restaurants, drive through windows, and outpost sites. McDonald's supremacy in the fast-food industry is not expected to evaporate anytime soon. The Company is expanding ad infinitum, as in December 2000, McDonald’s and its franchises functioned over 28,700 restaurants wide reaching in 120 countries and terrain, serving food and drab to over 45 million citizens on a daily basis.   Literature Review As per the article ‘Recruitment and Selection’ (2010), it can be said that the recruitment and selection belongs to value added HR processes. The staffing is about the capability of the organization to resource new employees, keep the business in commission, and improve the superiority of the human capital working in the company. The excellence of the recruitment process is the most important driver for the contentment of managers with the services provided by Human Resources Department. Th e article states that the recruitment is a costly HR Process and it eats a fat percentage of the HR budget. Recruitment is a process of taking into service the outlay of hiring. The competitive HR administration always starts with the competitive  enrollment process. The organization builds the competitive advantage with its human resources. The recruitment procedure has to settle on the best sources on the occupation market. The HR recruiters have to make use of the recruitment sources, and the manager has to make the correct and immediate hiring decisions. This is a necessary set-up of the ready-for-action recruitment method. In the world of globalization and liberated market, businesses are facing ever-increasing rivalry and consequently questions on how to guarantee continued existence... This essay stresses that effective recruitment and selection process can give an association a competitive edge over its competitors by saving both time and expenditure. McDonalds recruits most part of its employees from outside source especially from Newspaper ads that cost them less This report makes a conclusion that McDonalds should go for online job advertisements, programs in educational institutions to attract qualified part-time workers. It should take into account different factors like cost of living, taxation, family requirements etc. in recruiting people. An orientation session should be organized at the start to give employees a clear picture of the organization and what it expects out of them. Recruitment policy should be exercised and focused on recruiting the best potential people and must ensure that each employee is treated equally with same dignity and respect; it should encourage employees to achieve self-actualization. Briefly it can be concluded that HRM and a company’s ability to attain competitive advantage are strappingly co-related. In today’s highly globalized world it is difficult for an organization to stay at the forefront and pull off a competitive advantage. The capability to attract the talent, select the finest buddi ng and advancement of skills, stirring innovation and retaining the treasured employees will be the key levers for firm’s triumph. Organizations having good HRM managers and using good HRM strategies are prepared for action advantage.

The Adventures of the speckled band Essay Example for Free

The Adventures of the speckled band Essay I am going to compare the opening pages of two detective stories The Adventures of the speckled band by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Miss Marples Final cases by Agatha Christie. I am then going to find out what is the most convincing and why. In the beginning of the Speckled Band it starts off with Holmes sidekick, Dr Watson examining his case notes on examining my notes. He talks about the way that every one of the cases is unusual a large number merely strange. He then recollects on one specific story. He then sets the scene of when Sherlock is woken up by a woman. He then talks about Holmes then going down stairs to meet her and discover the situation that she is in. At the beginning of Miss Marples Final Cases it starts off just like an ordinary day. The Vicars wife comes into the church to do her flower arranging as usual. It was a cold day but also sunny as she did so the sun came out. Whilst inside the church she noticed something huddled on the chancel On the chancel steps was a huddled dark form. She then realised that it was a man. He then utters the word sanctuary twice. The similarities between the two beginnings are that they both start off in quite a normal way. This is seen in the way the Vicars wife is doing the ordinary thing of flower arranging arranged the blooms in their holders. Another way in which they are similar is that each of the extracts gives small hints of things like death fear and darkness. For example in the Adventures of the Speckled Band the woman says, it is fear, Mr Holmes, it is terror and in Miss Marples Final Cases Bunch says to herself, I dont want to die of cold. The differences between these two stories are that the Adventures of the Speckled Band is set in Victorian times whereas the other story is set more in the 1930s. You can tell this by the words used. For instanced in the Adventures of the Speckled Band it says Knocked up instead of woken up. Another difference between the stories is that the Agatha Christie novel is set in the countryside whereas the Arthur Conan Doyle novel is set closer to a city or town. In the Adventures of the Speckled Band the story is told through the eyes of Dr Watson who is Sherlock Holmes best friend. All of the events are also seen through the eyes of Dr Watson. In Miss Marples Final Cases the author tells the story. Again the author sees all of the events. In the first extract there are only three characters Dr Watson, Sherlock Holmes and a woman. Two people are mentioned but do not appear. Dr Roylott the death of Dr Grimesby Roylott and Mrs Hudson Mrs Hudson has had the good sense to light the fire. In the second extract there is the first character, which is the Vicars wife. Then there is the man on the chancel. What we realise about the characters is that Holmes believes in logic and is very observant for I observe you are shivering. I think that Dr Watson thinks that Holmes is very clever and shows a bit of jealousy because of it perhaps just a little resentment. The woman seems to be very agitated and afraid of something because of the way she shivers. In the second extract the Vicars wife seems to be quite a pleasant woman. She also seems to be slightly untidy because of the way she wears her hat more rakishly than it had done before. I think the Adventures of the Speckled Band is made interesting by the way you know that the woman is worried about something but you dont know what until you read on. I also think it is made interesting by the way Dr Watson says that all of Sherlock Holmes cases are unusual but none commonplace. So this tells you that this one is going to be just as unusual. I think that Miss Marples Final Cases is made interesting by the way it is just an ordinary day until one small thing happens. Also because of this one thing you want to find out what is going on and why it has happened. I noticed that there is a difference between the language used in each of these extracts. You can tell that the Adventures of the Speckled Band was written earlier because of the words and phrases used like a young lady has arrived in a considerable state of excitement. With quotes like this it makes it more difficult to understand. Whereas the Agatha Christie novel is a lot easier to understand because the words used are a lot more similar to the ones that we use today. I would have to say that I prefer the Miss Marples Final Cases. This is because I think that the way the story starts is very good for drawing you into the story. By having something out of the ordinary happen in an ordinary situation. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Conan Doyle section.

Street racing: On The Inside :: essays research papers

For 19-year-old Jeff, weekends begin on a long strip of highway near Atlanta. rather than browsing the mall or going to the movies like others his age. Jeff joins a group of his comrades and spectators to witness a spectacular show of speed. As we pulled up to the meeting spot he looks over at me and says, â€Å"Welcome to the world of illegal street racing.† "We have a cruising area where all the cars go and just chill. If someone wants to race," says Jeff, "they just ask...most of our races are with people you know pretty well...we don't have the major race nights like they have in other areas." The other areas Jeff refers to are about as common as can be and can probably be found on a straightaway near you. "Motorsports has made incredible progress as a legitimate sporting event in the last decade," says Editorial Director of NHRA Publications Phil Burgess. "Corporate America has taken a keen interest in motorsports, which has led to the proliferation of not just racing teams, but racing venues, where racers and fans can go to enjoy the fast-paced excitement that the varied forms of racing have to offer. Many sanctioning bodies offer grassroots-level racing, often where families can enter a race car literally off the street and compete against similar entries." Contrary to popular belief, street racing isn't only found on the fast moving streets of the major cities, its going on all over the country. Recent articles published on MSNBC.com report on street drag racing as an increasing problems in such out of the way places as Spokane, Washington and Forth Worth, Texas; other articles found on www.abc.com report on accidents and coverage of events in Washington D.C., Boston and New York City. Los Angeles County is a big street racing scene however, was recently given a $200,000 state grant to crack down on the illegal street racing activity. Penalties for racing vary from state to state and offense to offense, but can range from a slap on the wrist ticket to arrest and impounding of the vehicle as was the case last January when police in Sylmar-Sun Valley arrested 32 people and impounded 72 vehicles after a sweep. With such heavy impending penalties why would anyone set themselves up for what seems imminent trouble? "Everyone's got a hobby," says Jeff. "And this just happens to be mine.

Black & Economic Structure

1) Malcolm X spent much of his life fighting for equal rights for African Americans. Like others, Malcolm suffered from discrimination, economic suppression, and violent acts at the hands of the whites. Throughout his life, he could not escape the atmosphere of racial prejudices, as it existed everywhere from his welfare agencies to school and his family relationships. Although some form of equality exists today, many African Americans males are still continuously trying to establish themselves in society. As a young boy Malcolm participated in activities where he experienced little freedom. Malcolm was ranked number one in his class and elected class president, which shows that the school system allowed him to succeed to an extent. Malcolm had a dream of becoming a lawyer, but his English teacher quickly rejected his dream and told him he should become a carpenter, which demonstrated that whites were willing to allow black success only to a certain degree. Malcolm eventually came to an understanding that white society allowed progression when doing so did not threaten the established order of white society. Throughout his life Malcolm was seen as a â€Å"pet, mascot, and pink poodle,† which excluded him from society. He was a black student in a predominantly white school who was like a poodle in a family. He was seen as a submissive creature that represented no real threat to anyone. He was portrayed as white society’s model for how blacks should act, but white society didn’t see him as a human being in his own right. Malcolm realized that no level of accomplishment or esteem would break down the essential barrier to his acceptance and success in society. White oppression stripped him of the power and independence a normal man would experience. Although Malcolm experienced great amounts of discrimination, he was still able to succeed and become Minister Malcolm X and lead many civil rights events. In society today, the prototypical black male experience in America is extremely comparable to the life of Malcolm X. Most black men are looked down on because of the various stereotypes that exist in our society today. Many believe that if black men aren’t athletes or rappers, or if they aren’t washing dishes or waiting tables, they have no purpose in society other than being seen as inferior. Each and every day a black man experiences discrimination, but the black men who have goals and aspirations will be the ones who will make a difference like Malcolm X did. Malcolm lived through a rough time, but he still managed to make it as can every other black man in the world. ) Like Malcolm X, Washington too envied the lives of white dues to the simple fact that there was absolutely no limit placed on his or her dreams and aspirations. During his years of adolescence, Washington was very aware of what it meant to be a black man in a white society. With this knowledge, Washington was very optimistic and assured himself that whatever dreams or goals he would accomplish would be the result of hard work and persistence. Washington wrote, â€Å"I have learned that success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome while trying to succeed. Out of the hard and unusual struggle through which he is compelled to pass, he gets a strength, a confidence, that one misses whose pathway is comparatively smooth by reason of birth and race. † (Washington, 1901, p 39). Washington believed that if blacks strove to be impressive and distinctive they would be accepted in society. He believed that being black or any race other than the majority was an advantage because there was a better chance of achievement due to the fact that one would constantly try to overcome any obstacles. He believed that through proof, blacks would be connected with the white society. Alongside assisting African Americans in attaining economic success, Washington also had accomplishments in the field of education, in becoming the first black educator at the Tuskegee Institute. Washington was very concerned about forming connections within both the black and white communities, and achieved his goal. I believe his argument is still valid for those who actually want to make something of themselves in life and are willing to go above and beyond in doing so. Unfortunately black males are not always hardworking and persistent in trying to accomplish a goal. They tend to take the easy way out, and in doing so end up with the mediocre jobs unless they are playing professional sports or apart of an entertainment industry. Like Washington said success comes with overcoming obstacles, and I do not think blacks are willing to overcome the many obstacles they would have to face in order to become established. With the many stereotypes of black men, I do not think success would be as easy for the black man because they are already looked down upon from the beginning. ) In recent years, terms such as crisis, at-risk, insignificant, and endangered have been used with increasing regularity to describe the troubles and conditions of black males. The grounds for using such harsh descriptions of conditions that black males face is provided by a broad range of social and economic indicators, all of which point to the undeniable fact that large numbers o f individuals who fall within these two social categories, black and male, are in deep trouble. Many perceive black men as being violent and aggressive law breakers regardless of their true nature. It doesn't stop there. Some stereotypes of Blacks include being arrogant, athletic, devious, dirty, dishonest, drug addicts, incompetent, inferior, lazy, unintelligent, noisy, passive, poor, primitive, untrustworthy, and violent, and â€Å"having rhythm. † Some black men have some of the same goals and aspirations as the white man, but they too have a deep fear of rejection due to the discrimination they continue to experience in their daily lives. When the black man continuously gets rejected he is eventually going to subject himself to activities just to make ends meet, or he is going to start to believe the stereotypes set out for him. When you have a large group of black men in a society that rejects them, they are going to feel like they have no chance at success, and therefore they will feel like they have nothing to lose. With nothing to look forward to, they are going to unconsciously want to destroy their surroundings. Throughout Malcolm’s he was seen as inferior, and eventually began to feel more like a â€Å"mascot† or pet than a human being equal to those around him. Malcolm had dreams of becoming a lawyer, but his teacher instead told him he should be a carpenter. One of his Malcolm’s teachers laughs at him and tells the class that â€Å"though the slaves have been freed, black people are still lazy and dumb. † When an adult says something like that to a child, the child is more than likely going to believe the teacher and begin to think of him or herself as being lazy and dumb. If a child begins to believe this negative stereotype, their performance in school could be effected, and cause them to drop out. If they drop out they may begin to deal drugs or commit robberies and end up in jail. Dealing drugs or being incarcerated is the perception whites have for blacks today. Media also has a negative effect on portrayal when it comes to representing an entire race of people. No two people are exactly alike no matter what race they come from so there is no way one film can represent all peoples. Unfortunately, many people believe that a certain depiction of black people characterizes all black people, which is certainly not the case. This is very dangerous because this perpetuates stereotyping and discrimination. Any form of media, whether it be a film, TV show, etc. , black males tend to play the role of the poor black man who lives in poverty and usually belongs to a gang. He usually has no goals, and has a mediocre job if he has one at all. They usually dress in baggy jeans with long shirts or â€Å"hoodies† and wear timberlands or sneakers. In media, blacks aren’t usually portrayed positively, and even if they were, many wouldn’t believe that is how blacks really live their lives. For example, In The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, the Banks family is very well off, but many wouldn’t believe that all blacks are well off because 95% of the time blacks are being potrayed as being a threat to society. 4) LaLee's Kin: The Legacy of Cotton shows the disadvantaged life of residents living in the Mississippi Delta. The documentary shows how living in poverty and the lack of education still effects the lives of many living in Mississippi even though slavery has been over now for hundreds of years. The main character, Laura Lee (LaLee) Wallace, was an illiterate 62-year-old woman who had been living all her life in Tallahatchie County, Mississippi. She had one surviving son, nine daughters, 38 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren. On a daily basis she encountered many difficulties from raising her grandchildren to receiving news about her son continuously being put in jail. LaLee received $494 from her disability benefits and sold home cooked meals to workers at the cotton factory to make more money to keep the children clothed and fed. In the movie LaLee said, â€Å"I cry sometime, I pray sometime, I sing sometime. † LaLee and her grandchildren struggled each day in trying to take care of each other. The images of barefoot children playing on abandoned cars outside dilapidated motor homes, and of families who get water for drinking and washing by filling plastic jugs from a hose were unbelievable because it took you back to the times of slavery when slaves really had to wash themselves with dirty water or walk around barefoot. One of LaLee’s grandchildren, nicknamed Granny was a very attentive and intelligent in school, but her grades began to fall due to the fact that she had household chores and had to care for her younger cousins or siblings which left little time for education. Paralleling LaLee's struggle was Reggie Barnes, the superintendent of the West Tallahatchie schools, who continuously struggled in trying to raise school standards, bring in qualified teachers and obtain school supplies. If Barnes failed to raise the school from its current Level 1 status to a Level 2, the state of Mississippi has threatened to take over. Barnes and his faculty opposed this because they knew the state would not address the special needs of the children. With the illiteracy of the parents of the families of the children the children most likely will never be able to get a great education which will leave them illiterate when they get older. In LaLee’s family the cycle of living in poverty and lacking education is evident, which makes it seem like slavery still exists to this day.

Forklift truck design – planning systems to enhance forklift safety

I have indentified a need that there is nominally a high rising â€Å"accident† rate which involves forklift trucks, with injuries and fatalities occurring to other workers and members of public who are in the area of the forklift truck whilst in use. I have chosen to design a product that could be fitted, to a forklift truck, which will improve safety and reduce â€Å"accidents† whilst a forklift truck is in use. Resulting in taking all of the above into account my single phrase function statement being â€Å"prevent accidents† however, theirs already methods, procedures and regulations in place to try and prevent â€Å"accidents† such as regulated speed limits, sufficient training in using a forklift truck and warning fixtures such as a drivers horn, hazard light. If an accident was to occur in most cases it will be blamed as an operators fault even if the safety scheme was in place. Employer areas of using forklift trucks, which are also known, to cause accidents. > Lack of training or improper training of employees who operate forklift trucks. > Time factors, having little time to carry out the job in hand causing stress and speeding. > Lack of proper attachments and accessories. > Wrongly tasked job of forklift truck or operators. – Not qualified, using the forklift incorrectly to do the wrong things. > Poor maintenance of forklift trucks Operational areas of using forklift trucks, which are prone, too cause accidents. > Incorrect reversing techniques. > Incorrect turning, use of space > Incorrect use – over loading & over reaching > Incorrect warnings to others about a forklift in use nearby, no signage or alarms/hazard lighting > Poor contact throughout joint jobs, or in shared spaces, could this result in the need of a banks man. > Giving rides on the forklift truck or load – also comes back to incorrect use. > Playing games, not taking the job in hand seriously resulting in stunt driving, erratically driven Having had a quick look at forklift trucks and the ways that they are used I have come to the decision that it would be very rare for a forklift to be involved in an â€Å"accident† due to malfunctions of the forklift truck itself but would result in the incorrect use due to operator error or areas which haven't been covered or have been vaguely thought about by the employee. â€Å"There are reputed to be over 8,000 reported accidents involving the use of forklift trucks in the UK each year and some of these result in fatalities. The majority of these accidents are caused by the lack of sufficient training of the operator, operator error, a lack of knowledge about the equipment and the working environment, bad truck maintenance, poor lighting conditions, inadequate gangways and unsuitable premises in which forklift trucks are used. In fact, slightly more pedestrians are injured as the result of a forklift accident than the operators themselves.† The above statement is taken from http://www.workplacesafetyadvice.co.uk/forklift-truck-safety.html This statement stands by and proves what I have pointed out regarding forklift truck accidents. Having carried out some brief research I can now focus my thoughts onto exactly what I want to be able to achieve for example demands would be things that I would need the final product to have, the principle ideas if you will. wishes, would be the additions, which we don't exactly need but would be an added bonus. Demands Wishes To prevent accidents! Compact Easy to install alongside existing accessories Cheap to produce Universal fitting Works well alongside other accessories Robustness Looks nice Reliable Looks original against existing product Pedestrian safety improved Improved driver visibility Just from carrying out a simple task of listing demands and wishes explores areas, which are possibly endangering humans and infrastructures for example if the product we design does succeed with its demands, then the product its self with reduce risks and risk of accidents, therefore this would result in less employee time off work, less accidents and a lower risk of the health and safety executive getting involved resulting in a fine. All of these problems/potential incidents can be prevented by carrying out the correct procedures and using efficient products and accessories to do so†¦ for example an add on product/accessories that is built and engineered to these exact demands! Outline Specification An outline specification specialises in exact specifications during the early stages of a design process, this being the designing of an accessory to improve the safety whilst forklifts trucks are being used. The specification is to include the need of the particular product, which can then be quantified, by converting each demand into a specific broken down form. Functionality. The functionality would be to try and improve the driver's visibility, increase safety & awareness for pedestrians. User interaction. User Interaction would be visual for example – VDU Monitors so the forklift truck driver can closely examine what is going on with the truck in blind spot areas. Alarms & sensors could be also fitted so as these sound the operator will interact up on hearing these alarms and respond efficiently knowing that something or someone is potentially at risk Physical Form. The physical form of the product should improve the forklifts lifting capabilities and working in tight spaces. Robustness & Operating Environment. The product will have to be robust I,E it is going to be used in different climates, both hot, cold, wet and dusty. If electrical or electronic components are to be used these should be waterproofed in some kind of way, designing a casing that can with stand these conditions could do this. It would need to be made out of a heavy duty material due to the kind of environment being used in, to do this you could design the casing out of a heavy duty plastic or some kind of metal. Signals. Signals of the particular unit or accessory dependant on whether it is electrical/electronic based, it should be ensured that fast response times between display & alarm units are as close to real time as possible. Having Latency type effects will delay the operators response therefore could have already caused an â€Å"accident† Power Supply. Depending on the type of unit a separate battery source (12VDC) could be used, charging the unit off of the existing battery package, it would charge the unit whilst in use. However this may not be very efficient, with solar powered technology becoming more and more common, a little solar panel could be fitted therefore creating its own power supply and charging its own battery source. Safety. The final product designed would need to reach the EU standards and be CE certified, it would need to be proven that the product is safe, and is capable of carrying out the specified task Product Failure. If the product were to fail, it would have to be self-notifying i.e. and integrated alarm with in the unit to notify the operator that it is not working. If the product was to fail and not give any notification of doing so then the operator would still be relying on a piece of accident prevention equipment which could in fact cause an â€Å"accident† Maintenance. The Product should be easy to maintain, be located in a place where it is to do so, maintaining the product would mean checking that the product is working correctly and the connections are all in order. However the product will be designed to last in excess of 5 years under normal operating conditions before it should be due a â€Å"service† Costs. The Estimated development cost of producing this extraordinary accessory would be: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½50k+ with the forklift truck product retailing at around: à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½350 with a DIY fitting package. However an installation and service/maintenance contract could be agreed resulting in extra income. Schedules. The schedule from designing the specified product to developing it would be roughly around 6 – 12 months. Development schedule would depend on Function Solution Matrix: Function Solution Principle Driver Visibility Cameras – Improving the view of driver, integrated VDU unit 1 Mirrors – Improve the drivers view 2 Maneuverability 5 Second reverse delay – Giving the driver a good chance to look round 2 Restricted speeds for built up area – Reducing the risk of accidents/crashes1 Pedestrian Visibility High-Visibility color's – Another way of enforcing the forklift trucks visibility 1 High intensity lights & Alarms – making people aware of the use of a forklift truck 2 Cordoned off areas/hot spots – reduces the risk of accidents to humans Object sensors Laser Sensors – limit speed of forklift truck depending on how close an object is to the truck, alerting driver Infra Red sensors – limit speed of forklift truck depending on how close an object is to the truck, alerting driver Solution one is rather complex when compared to solution two because it contains more electronic components This means that it may be of a higher potential to fail as there is more that could go wrong. However it would ensure that forklifts trucks that would be lifting more abnormal heavy loads the operator would be easily informed In comparison to solution one, the second solution is much more simple approach to satisfying the specification set. With this would bring better reliability however the product wouldn't be original. The use standardized alarms and hazard lights should be set as a standard, the more complex clever device is the 5-second reverse delay unit. This would delay the operation from putting the forklift truck into reverse giving the operator enough time to check and look around, investigating at this point in time the best route to take and look for instructions The unit would be an all in one manufactured unit in 1 part except the hazard lights. I have chosen to design and build a 5 second reverse power delay (Solution 2) with alarms to indicate a forklift truck is in presence. The 5-second delay gives the operator plenty of opportunity to look around to plan the route to be taken, and there are no objects/people in the way. Picture Taken from http://www.esoftbank.net.cn/images/product_b/10004921/forklift_truck.jpg Standard alarm alerting people of forklift truck operation Hazard light visibility increased for blind/loss of sight people are notified of a forklift trucks operation When the main board detects the forklift truck is put into reverse there is a 5 second delay with restricted power/speed Finally a power source overseeing the whole operation ensuring there is power to all components in order for them to work

Free Essays on Jane Austen

Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice presents a new type of heroine. In her novel, she did not portray a traditional heroine like Jane Bennet. She imposed a new heroine, with new attributes, different to those related to the traditional heroine in the Victorian society. A true woman should combine many attributes. In traditional love story, the heroine must be submissive, weak, extremely beautiful, and dependent. Austen inverted this traditional image of the heroine to come up with a new type of a realistic one. Elizabeth Bennet is an original heroine and antithetical to the heroine of romance due to many reasons. Firstly, she is physically fit. This is evident when she walked for three miles on foot to help her sister. She did not care about the long distance she had to walk. Also, she did not care about the bad weather conditions. Secondly, this example provides another merit in her character which is her caring nature. She is very sensible. She felt responsible for her sister. When there is a need for help, she doesn’t care about social manners or decorum. Thirdly, she is very rational and has a sense of reason and logic. She tried to educate her self through reading. Fourthly, she is a daring and challenging lady, who believed in certain principles. She is independent and strong minded. Elizabeth is not extremely beautiful, but her inner beauty compensates for her lack of physical beauty. She is not as pretty as Jane, but her character is very attractive and worthy of respect. In my opinion, the most important merit in her character is the fact that she is courageous and respectable. She was courageous enough to turn down an irresistible proposal to save her self respect and dignity. I believe that she was rational enough to see that there was no hope in having a happy marriage after that kind of an insulting and condescending proposal. She knew that the man â€Å"Darc... Free Essays on Jane Austen Free Essays on Jane Austen Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice presents a new type of heroine. In her novel, she did not portray a traditional heroine like Jane Bennet. She imposed a new heroine, with new attributes, different to those related to the traditional heroine in the Victorian society. A true woman should combine many attributes. In traditional love story, the heroine must be submissive, weak, extremely beautiful, and dependent. Austen inverted this traditional image of the heroine to come up with a new type of a realistic one. Elizabeth Bennet is an original heroine and antithetical to the heroine of romance due to many reasons. Firstly, she is physically fit. This is evident when she walked for three miles on foot to help her sister. She did not care about the long distance she had to walk. Also, she did not care about the bad weather conditions. Secondly, this example provides another merit in her character which is her caring nature. She is very sensible. She felt responsible for her sister. When there is a need for help, she doesn’t care about social manners or decorum. Thirdly, she is very rational and has a sense of reason and logic. She tried to educate her self through reading. Fourthly, she is a daring and challenging lady, who believed in certain principles. She is independent and strong minded. Elizabeth is not extremely beautiful, but her inner beauty compensates for her lack of physical beauty. She is not as pretty as Jane, but her character is very attractive and worthy of respect. In my opinion, the most important merit in her character is the fact that she is courageous and respectable. She was courageous enough to turn down an irresistible proposal to save her self respect and dignity. I believe that she was rational enough to see that there was no hope in having a happy marriage after that kind of an insulting and condescending proposal. She knew that the man â€Å"Darc... Free Essays on Jane Austen Jane Austen In Jane Austen’s books she is not only the official role, but also the narrator or commentator. She also has an active and controlling presence in her books. Austen presents a style that is fiction and is created out of naturalism. When you read the final product, the book seems real because most readers feel like they know Jane Austen. On the other hand, some readers feel she is a senseless and a very incomplete woman. Austen lived a lot of her dreams through her novels since they were based on observation of her family and friends. Her writing was filled by her total artistic command over her daily experiences (â€Å"Jane Austen†, British authors of the nineteenth century). Jane Austen was born on December 16, 1775 at Steventon, Hampshire, England. Her parents were the Reverend George and Cassandra Leigh Austen. She was the seventh of eight children. The Austen family was large and extremely poor. Austen’s father provided for his family by farming and tutoring. He was also the parish clergyman and a classical scholar with a taste for fiction. Their home was larger than most homes at the time, but it did not seem large to such a big family (â€Å"Jane Austen†, British Women Writers). Her parents sent her brothers Henry and James to a boarding school, where they later edited a literary periodical, The Loiterer. The Austens also sent Jane, six years old, and her sister Cassandra, nine years old, away to Oxford to attend school. The sisters later moved to Southampton in 1782. At the school in Southampton, both girls fell ill of a high fever. While still sick, they were sent to Madame Latourelle, who conducted The Abbey School of Reading. The sisters were not learning as much as they should have been so their parents took them out of the program, and decided to educate them themselves (â€Å"Jane Austen†, British Women Writers). The family loved many novels and read books all the time. That same love for...

How to choose a business-writing training provider - Emphasis

How to choose a business-writing training provider How to choose a business-writing training provider Writing skills is a subject that many trainers claim to be able to provide. Heres our guide to sorting the wheat from the chaff. Writing analysis Its important always to build on what trainees know already. So a good provider should start by assessing documents that delegates have written and do so preferably in advance of the training course. (At Emphasis, we start by assessing 14 aspects of each delegates writing, producing a graph to show which skills they should concentrate on.) Its also useful if they can do the same after training, to assess the effectiveness of the training and pick up on any outstanding learning needs. Specialist trainers The fact that English is usually the first language of trainees does not mean that any English-speaking trainer can train them to use it effectively. Many trainers claim to be able to deliver writing-skills training. But you need to make sure that they have specialist skills in this area apart from experience of running training courses on the subject. To state the obvious: English may be our native language, but its still a language. So it demands specialist skills. After all, you wouldnt want to learn Spanish from a trainer whose only qualification is that they read a book on it last week. Flexible, solutions-based approach The objective of all training should be to give trainees the skills they need to work more effectively. It should not be simply to run a training course. Make sure, therefore, that the providers you choose can be flexible in their approach. They should be able to use a range of training techniques (eg. group-based training; one-to-one, on-site coaching; telephone coaching), so that they can adopt the methods most suited to the trainees needs and circumstances. Bespoke training Training needs to be authentic to work, as trainees need to be able to apply the techniques they learn to their jobs straight away, without having to translate it. So make sure that the provider you choose has the resources to provide bespoke training courses. Follow-up support The true test of training comes when trainees get back to their desks and have to plough through the 30 emails that have piled up while they were on the course. New techniques are easily dislodged by day-to-day workloads, and its all-too easy to slip back into bad habits. So ask what back-up the trainer can provide such as telephone/email support or regular reminders of key messages. If youd like to discuss how we can help you or your team improve your business-writing, call us on +44 (0)1273 936 907 or send us a message.

In class essay2 (1) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

In class essay2 (1) - Essay Example Therefore, if the bone of contention is cost of installation, then concern should be addressed through government subsidy whereby the government should be made to understand that in the event that it subsidize cables, then it is easy for power companies to consider laying power cables underground. This will limit exposure to adverse weather elements that cause interruptions. This way, the government will be helping in making sure that its citizens have access to uninterrupted power supply and probably say bye to blackouts associated with adverse weather conditions (Fecht 1). Assuming that the government does consider subsidy, or even if it does not consider subsidy, whose responsibility should it be to see that the underground cables are laid? In other words should the government, or residents pay for the cost of installing underground power line? As much as this question may be subjected to various opinions, it appears to me that all of them are stakeholders. The government, residents, and the power company should all contribute towards the cost of installing the underground power line. The government has a responsibility to its citizens. As such, should provide part of the funds for installation. The moment there is power blackout, a lot of government job goes undone, inevitably drawing the government in as a stakeholder in the whole scenario. Coupled with its responsibility to ensure that citizens receive all the essential services, the government should not play the second fiddle in the matter. Secondly, the power company should also contribute to t he cost of installation since eventually, all the installations remain their assets from which they earn profits. Lastly, the residents should also contribute something little so that they can have a voice in the whole process to facilitate speedy resolution and installation. However, the