Migrant Workers in California essays

Migrant Workers in California essays During the 1930s countless farm workers from the region known as the Dust Bowl came to California in search of a better life. Today, California remains one of the ideal spots for migrant workers to find job opportunities and make a living. However, the migrants of California today are very different from the migrants of the 1930s. The present migrants live under much better conditions and have a great deal of support from their unions and the government. Todays migrant workers are nothing like the migrants workers of the 1930s. The migrant workers of the 1930s were made up of white Americans from the Midwest. On the other hand, todays migrant workers are mostly made up of Mexicans and Mexican-Americans. In 2001 there were 1.1 million Hispanic farm workers in California (California Farm Workers: Employment and Earnings). These workers are found in many different fields of work; some of them work in farms, others work illegally in stores for under the table wages, and some go on to start their own businesses such as lawn mowing. The kind of work these migrants do varies a huge amount. One reporter, who was making fun of the work these migrants do, wrote, Crews of migrant workers have allegedly reduced the San Fernando Valleys smoggy ring by up to 80% ( DeChristo). This was a very interesting article because it was written to make its readers laugh and to send out a very important message about migrant workers. In addition, th e migrant workers of today live in much better facilitations than those of the Dust Bowl Migrants. The Dust Bowl Migrants lived in overcrowded camps without running water and without bathrooms. Some of todays present migrants also live in camps; however, their camps are much cleaner and less crowded than those of the 30s. They have working bathrooms and showers. Nevertheless, not all of the migrants live in these camps. S...

Expert Interview with Colleen Georges on Resumes and Hiring

Expert Interview with Colleen Georges on Resumes and Hiring Dr. Colleen Georges is a professional psychologist who has focused her career on job seeking and writing the perfect resume. She’s a certified counselor, time management consultant, career coach, leadership expert, and if that weren’t enough, she runs Colleen’s Career Creations, a resume writing and job coaching service. Somehow, she found the time to speak with us about how to write the best possible resume. What are some common problems you see on resumes, and why do you think they persist?The two most prevalent issues I encounter with resumes are lack of a clear job target or career focus and documents that read like job task descriptions, rather than career achievement highlights. Fortunately, I see fewer and fewer resumes that begin with objective statements, which are generally unfocused and do little to separate one candidate’s value from another. However, I still see many resumes with summary of qualifications sections that are too vague or broad, or resumes that have no summary at all.What makes a strong resume?A strong resume needs to effectively brand professionals in their field of practice, and immediately showcase their professional title/job target, years of experience, specific expertise/hard skills and unique value propositions. Often, professionals believe that since this information is spread throughout their resume, there is no need to summarize and present it at the beginning. However, most recruiters and hiring managers today are flooded with hundreds of resumes and lack the time to read through every line of each document to determine which candidates have the requisite skills for the job. Thus, candidates can make recruiters’ and hiring managers’ lives easier by summarizing this information in a strong branding statement right at the beginning of the resume in a 10- to 15-second read.More importantly, job seekers can do themselves a wealth of good by following their branding statement with a sect ion that showcases five to seven of their proudest career achievements. Such a section should highlight accomplishments that demonstrate a broad spectrum of skill sets that are relevant to their target field. This can be done by underscoring the quantitative and qualitative results of their work, such as costs cut, revenue generated, time saved, customer satisfaction increased, errors decreased, manuals written, policies and procedures developed, training instituted and so forth.Even more effective, a career achievements section can outline the story behind the outcomes, in a bite-sized, bulleted Challenge, Actions, Results format. By nature, people learn and understand people best through their unique stories, which is why interviewers often ask candidates to discuss times when they have performed a particular action. Articulating stories, both on a resume and in an interview, demonstrates to an employer that the candidate is purposeful in their actions and both understands and can articulate their process. Furthermore, this section backs up the skills the job seeker presents in their branding statement.Many job seekers do not include career achievement sections because they believe the time to share this information will be during the interview. In this competitive job market, however, without sharing these successes on a resume, an interview may never come. Yet most commonly, the reason for this lack of information on job seekers’ resumes is because from the time we are children, we are taught not to brag about our accomplishments, as others may find us obnoxious. Over the years, this lesson makes it progressively more challenging to acknowledge our accomplishments to ourselves, nonetheless an audience. However, when job seeking, emphasizing our unique talents and successes is critical, and thus we must unlearn the lesson, at least in this arena.What can job boards do to help job seekers write a better resume?A number of job boards are already provid ing resources to job seekers, such as resume critiques and tips. However, a wonderful resource would be to not only suggest providing branding statements and achievement stories, but to offer suggested skills required by various career fields, as well as common deliverables for these fields. For example, an accountant might need skills like variance analysis, bank reconciliation, and audit preparation, and common deliverables may be decreasing risk exposure, diminishing accounting errors and automating processes. Sometimes the hardest part of resume writing is getting started in figuring what skills and accomplishments to highlight. Resources like this may help job seekers brainstorm.What are some red flags we might accidentally put up on a resume or say during an interview?The most common red flags on resumes are generally items that point to age, which can unfortunately lead to age discrimination in some cases. I typically suggest that my clients represent that last 15-20 years of their career and leave off college graduation dates that go further back than 20 years. Furthermore, computer skills that are very dated, like DOS for example, should be left off. I also suggest eliminating AOL email accounts as well, since it is remembered to be a part of the advent of the internet, and the â€Å"dial-up† days. I typically advise clients to get a Gmail account. It is most certainly the â€Å"in† email, forever evolving in its capabilities.In both resumes and interviews, I also advise my clients not to draw attention to job gaps by stating that they were terminated or took a leave due to illness, an accident or a family-related situation. This information can inadvertently lead to fear that such issues may arise again in the future and negatively impact employment if hired.How can employers write job postings to let employees know what they’re looking for? Is it just some requirements, or can they convey a culture in a posting?I am always of th e belief that with job postings, the more detail, the better. With detail, the employer is less likely to attract candidates who lack the requisite experience and skills. As a resume writer, I love job postings that break tasks into umbrella categories and provide the specific accountability within them. This enables me to pull out the candidate’s relevant skills and accomplishments and match them to the posting. When utilized by employers, applicant tracking systems are scanning for this type of skill match, so it works to both the employer’s and candidate’s advantage for employers to offer detailed job descriptions in postings.Conveying corporate culture would be a fantastic advantage to both employer and candidate. Employers can weed out receiving resumes from candidates who may not be a great fit, and candidates can avoid wasting energy applying for a job that will not suit their work style and values.What do you wish everyone, from recruiters to job seekers , knew about resumes?This is a great question, and not an easy one to answer. I would say that I wish recruiters, employers and job seekers recognized that a resume is meant to be a job seeker’s marketing document. Like any marketing collateral, it should showcase the best of who the candidate is. Sometimes, recruiters and employers get frustrated because they later learn that a candidate left off a short-term job, for example. Similarly, candidates occasionally fear leaving off a short-term position because their omission may be â€Å"caught.† There is a staunch difference between omitting a career blip and, say, creating a position you never had on your resume. Candidates should never lie on a resume – this is a matter of ethics and integrity. Marketing documents are created to describe a product’s attributes. No product or person is perfect, but all have their own uniquely fantastic qualities. With this said, the resume is the prelude to the interview. The interview is where candidate and employer see if those unique attributes and the company’s position, team and culture collectively create the right synergy.How will technology change the resume? Will we see more links? Videos? Gimmicks?Technology is absolutely changing resumes in a wonderful way. We can now make our resumes come alive by linking them to our online articles, interviews, features, video presentations, documents, artistic endeavors or similar media. We can also create web resumes and create social media profiles that give recruiters and employers a wider window into who we are, not just what we have done. We can now show employers, in action, what we bring to the table.Yet technology has indeed amplified the pressure for job seekers. I now tell my job-seeking clients that they must be on LinkedIn. It’s not a luxury anymore – for recruiters and hiring managers in most industries, it’s seen as a necessity. Those who are not on LinkedIn ca n be viewed as lacking social media savvy, which is a career no-no. But it’s not just about being on LinkedIn, it’s about using all its resources. Recruiters and hiring managers can gather additional information about candidates from LinkedIn through recommendations and group membership and activity. I do a lot of one-on-one client coaching and group workshops on optimally leveraging LinkedIn and other social media like Twitter and Facebook. Some of this coaching involves what to post and what not to post, how to set privacy settings and simply how to use all the features of the various social media to the job seeker’s advantage.

Korean American culture experience Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Korean American culture experience - Essay Example Indded, they cited that studies point to the vitality of religion, evident in the more than 3,000 Korean American Protestant churches nationwide. (p. 2) Most Koreans who migrated to the US barely know the English language. As such, they have difficulty in communicating with local and federal authorities. The Korean churches played an important part in this aspect because they serve as a mediator or facilitator when problem or misunderstanding between immigrant and authorities arise. According to Michael Foley and Dean Hoge (2007): The Korean churches were the only social service organizations that were able to take care of the problems of the Korean immigrants. Church is the core the community since the beginning of Korean immigration to the US. (p. 124) Karen Leonard (2006) found in her study that there is also a relationship between participation in ethnic congregation and the preservation of ethnicity. According to her, churches help to increase the Korean co-ethnic fellowship and in maintaining Korean cultural tradition. (p. 99) It is also important to note that Christianity in Korea or the Korean interest in the faith did not originate from missionary work. Instead Koreans sought it and adopted it, particularly incorporating traditional values such those pertaining to education, social services, political activities, among others. While the church serve the Korean community well – with all the previously cited factors – it could at times turn into a liability. The nature of fellowship in Korean church prevents them from learning to assimilate more. One should remember that the church and its devotees appear to be a slice of home and so Korean flock to it for security and other problems. However, this may hinder the assimilation process and Koreans may end up keeping to themselves and less and less interactive in the wider American society. On April 29, 1992 a riot broke the

Managing Information and Technology in Samsung Electronics Case Study

Managing Information and Technology in Samsung Electronics - Case Study Example This helps develop strategic information systems, which support the competitive position as well as strategies for the enterprise. The various information systems like the TPS, MIS and DSS help organizations gain competitive advantage, decrease competitive disadvantage and meet strategic objectives for the enterprise (Stair & Reynolds, 2014; Khosrow-Pour, 2006). Michael Porter shows that a firm is capable of having long-term success once the business successfully creates strategies for confronting the five competitive forces which shape the structure of competition within an industry. It is possible to develop various competitive strategies to assist a business to confront the five competitive forces. This can be achieved through knowledge presented to business professionals by information systems that include the main forms of IS. Information systems can provide knowledge regarding strategies on cost leadership, differentiation, innovation, growth and even alliance (KhadraouI & Herr mann, 2007; Heijden, 2009). Just over a decade ago, In 1993 Korea’s Samsung launched an initiative with the goal of rising to the ranks of global leading companies. From that time onwards, the company worked hard in refining its business focus and even alter the prevailing businesses strategies to achieve the ambition. Today Samsung is among the finest global corporations in terms of sales and earnings as well as innovative technological design. The company’s earnings and sales performance have surprised the world. As one of the planet’s largest makers of memory chips, Samsung creates many digital consumer gadgets, appliances, semiconductors, and even telecommunications devices. Since the 1993 initiative, Samsung electronics invested heavily in establishing its presence as an international iconic brand and manufacturer (Lee, 2006).

Slaughterhouse Five Essay Example for Free

Slaughterhouse Five Essay Slaughterhouse-Five explores fate, free will, and the illogical nature of human beings. Protagonist Billy Pilgrim is unstuck in time, randomly experiencing the events of his life, with no idea of what part he will next visit. Billy Pilgrim says there is no free will, an assertion confirmed by a Tralfamadorian, who says, Ive visited thirty-one inhabited planets in the universe. Only on Earth is there any talk of free will. The storys central concept is that most of humanity is insignificantthey do what they do, because they must. To the Tralfamadorians, everything simultaneously exists, therefore, everyone is always alive. They, too, have wars and suffer tragedies (they destroy the universe whilst testing spaceship fuels), but, when Billy asks what they do about wars, they reply that they simply ignore them. The Tralfamadorians counter Vonneguts true theme: life, as a human being, is only enjoyable with unknowns. Tralfamadorians do not make choices about what they do, but have power only over what they think (the subject of Timequake). Vonnegut expounds his position in chapter one, that writing an anti-war book is like writing an anti-glacier book, both being futile endeavours, since both phenomena are unstoppable. Like much of Vonneguts other works (e.g., The Sirens of Titan), Slaughterhouse-Five explores the concept of fatalism. The Tralfamadorians represent the belief in war as inevitable. In their hapless destruction of the universe, Vonneguts characters do not sympathize with their philosophy. To human beings, Vonnegut says, ignoring a war is unacceptable when we have free will; however, he does not explicitly state that we actually have free will, leaving open the possibility that he is satirizing the concept of free will as a product of human irrationality. This human senselessness appears in the climax that occurs, not with the Dresden fire bombing, but with the summary execution of a man who committed a petty theft. Amid all that horror, death, and destruction, time is taken to punish one man. Yet, the time is taken, and Vonnegut takes the outside opinion of the bird asking, Poo-tee-weet? The same birdsong ends the novel God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater. Slaughterhouse-Five is framed with chapters in the authors voice, about his experience of war, indicating the novel is intimately connected with his life and convictions. That established, Vonnegut withdraws from the unfolding of Billy Pilgrims story, despite continual appearances as a minor character: in the POW camp latrine, exiting the train at Dresden, the corpse mines of Dresden, when he mistakenly dials Billy’s telephone number. These authorial appearances anchor Billy Pilgrim’s life to reality, highlighting his existential struggle to fit in the human world.

Requirement English Composition :: essays research papers

Few Americans can understand the elaborate and superlative language of the Constitution or Declaration of Independence. This results from a lack in English education in all academic tiers. Dropping English composition from the requirements for Associate degrees would further decimate the form and lexicon of our verbal and written language by removing a critical exposure to language development. An erosion of complexity in language would result, affecting every level of existence. A diluted language would destroy critical thinking and remove the tools that allow people to intellectually express themselves. Thus, society would take another step towards approximating ignoramuses. We can hardly suffer anymore erosion of our language before it becomes entirely consumed by four letter words and contractions. Composition is a cure to this disease. When a student witnesses the impotence of their writing they can perceive the need to improve their writing abilities. It forces students to purify their thoughts and therefore use more elaborate yet succinct words. Without a medium to see their weakness there is no incentive to change and empowerment does not occur. The process of putting words to paper gives students a concrete example of their thoughts. They are allowed to analyze their views with an outside perspective. This facilitates a critical thinking state of mind in which the student can better develop their thoughts. Critical thinking enables students to move away from colloquialisms and clichà ©s as they struggle to improve and clarify their writing. Thus, critical thinking necessitates advancement in the ability to express complex ideas. This reinforces the demand for the student to develop a manifold and potent vocabulary. It will be a tragic day when Americans cannot understand the

Sociological Imagination Essay

The blackboard website will be unavailable between 7PM to midnight on June 29th for maintenance, so please make sure you upload it before 7 PM. Do not wait till last minute. Late assignments will result point deduction or even a zero essay grade. Format: Please submit an electronic word file named â€Å"your full name essay 1†, such as â€Å"JohnSmithessay1†, through blackboard on time. This essay should be 3-4 pages in total, double spaced, 11 point font. Do not directly copy and paste your assignment on blackboard! Choose to attach your assignment word file. Late assignments are not going to be accepted. â€Å"The sociological imagination enables individuals to see the intimate relationship between the events of history as they occur in human societies and the events of an individual’s or family’s biography.† wrote C. Wright Mills. In this assignment, you are to write up an Essay explaining the connections between your family biography and historical events over the past 50 years. Choose one family members of yours to focus on, such as your grandparents, you parents, your brothers and sisters, or you. Reflect on his or her life and think about how his/her life trajectory is intertwined with the historical changes in the country that you are from. The purpose of this assignment is to for you to apply the sociological imagination to analyze the profound influence that historical and societal contexts have on lives of individuals. Please make sure that you fulfill the following requirements: Clearly state what the personal events are. Explain how these personal events in your family are related to or affected by some of the historical events you listed. Explain in your own words what the sociological imagination is and whether/how it has helped you to better understand the life experiences of your family members. You can refer to the first assigned reading to answer these questions. Before you start your essay, you can do the following exercise on a piece of paper. Please do not include the time line drawing in your essay! It is just used for you to better conceptualize your essay. Draw a time line that begins in the 1960 and ends at the 2013. Above the line you are to identify in chronological order three significant events and/or transitions in the life of you or your family members (such events or transitions are like births, graduations, marriages, divorces, employment changes, income changes, geographic mobility, employment changes, or other changes you can think of). Next, think about the historical and social contexts underlying this particular individual’s life trajectory. What historical or societal events have affected his/her path or life? What historical or societal factors have influenced the important decisions he/she made in his/her life? Below the line identify in chronological order some of these important historical events. Write down the historical events and the time period it occurred or lasted. Such events in the United States include, are not limited to, World War II, the â€Å"Cold War†, the Korean War, the Civil Rights and Women’s movements, the Vietnam War, the recession of the 1980s, and etc. Please do not be limited by the events I list here. You are free to choose some historical events that are less well known (such as the development of colon technology, tea party movement and etc.) but you think are influential in your life or the life of the family member that you chose. After you have decided which family member and life events to focus on, write an essay on the relationships between these personal events and some the important historical events in your country. Please note: I am not asking you to write what you or your family were thinking or doing on the day of 911 or the inauguration day of president Obama. You are supposed to write about how these historical events substantially shaped the life trajectory of the particular individual you chose. Your essay will be graded based on how well you answered each question and the overall quality of your assignment. I strongly recommend you read the grading rubric in the appendix carefully before you start. Please organize your thoughts and arguments, present them in a logical manner and explain them in detail. Please proof read papers for typographical and grammatical errors. Appendix 1: excerpts of other students’ assignments as example The following are some examples from other students’ assignments. Please learn from them how to apply the sociological perspective to your own life events but do not be constrained by them. (1) During World War II my family underwent some great changes. My grandmother took a second job, working in the woolen mills making army blankets. My grandfather joined the marines and moved his whole family from Ohio to California†¦ It was during this time that my grandparents divorced. Divorces are higher during any period of dramatic economic change. Although I’m sure my grandparents blamed themselves, their divorce was a product of the economy and society. The same theory holds true for my parents. When they divorced, they blamed themselves, wondering what each had done wrong, as I did. When I look at what was happening in the economy, the similarities [with my grandparents] are easy to see. The nation- wide divorce rate was up dramatically and the economy was beginning to take a terrible turn for the worse. (2)When people ask me why I enrolled in college a year ago, I usually answered that I enrolled because I wanted to. I realize now that my answer cannot be quite that simple. Because my family doctor believed that the â€Å"pill† was finally proven safe in 1963, I was able to plan my family. In doing so, my son and daughter are nearly raised and I am still young enough to pursue a second career. More than any other factor, though, the women’s movement probably was the greatest influence on my decision. The successes of the movement in social equality have given me the necessary courage and confidence to attempt to be more than a mere shadow of my husband’s social position. Appendix 2: grading rubric Sociological Understanding (40%) The essay should apply key sociological concepts, ideas, theories learned in class correctly and properly to analyze related topics. Assertions in the essay must be supported by evidence (from texts or from data) that is logically related to the thesis. Coverage (30%) The essay must be clearly based on readings and topics related to the course. Essays that are simple summaries of sources are adequate, but will not get the highest grades. The essay should answer all the required questions in the essay guideline. If you fail to answer any questions, some points will be deducted. However, you should organize the essay in a way that it flows smoothly. Do not just list your answers to each question. Originality (10%) The essay should be original. Originality does not mean that you must be the first to think or write something, but that you take different sources and write about them using your point of view. Originality is entailed in taking your sources and forging them into an essay in your voice. Summarizing sources will be adequate, but not very original. Papers written by you and previously submitted to other courses are not original for this course. Such recycled papers will get a failing grade. Copying directly from internet without citing properly is considered plagiarism and will result in a failing grade. What is plagiarism? Writing Quality (10%) Words and constructions should be chosen with care. Statements should be direct and clear.w The essay should contain no errors of sentence structure, spelling, word choice, or punctuation. If you have difficulty writing or English is your second language you should tell me at the beginning of the semester. I’m not a writing teacher, but I will do what I can to help you become a better writer. You should also seek help at the Writing Center. Every paper must have a title and the author’s name, either at the top of the first page or on a separate title page. All citations and references must be in ASA, APA or MLA format. The general tone of the essay should be academic and professional. Good writing often â€Å"sounds† like well-organized thoughtful conversation. I do not want you to imitate the turgid academic writing found in some sociology journals. I want you to write with a level of sophistication appropriate for well-educated college stu dents.

Word Order in a Noun Phrase and English Anaphors

WORD ORDER IN NP AND ENGLISH ANAPHORS Tereza Stifnerova The purpose of this essay is firstly to show the word order of a noun phrase (NP) and how the head noun of the NP can be post- and pre-modified, and secondly to focus on meaning of some examples of English anaphors and the distinctions between them and their Czech translations. The first part is going to aim on the internal structure of NPs. Complex nominal phrase consists of the pre-modifying elements, the head noun and the post-modifying elements.The so-called pre-modifiers can be divided into two groups: determiners and prenominals. We have to say that „determiners are obligatory and uniqueâ€Å" (Veselovska:86), and they have a specific place in the noun phrase – they are at the beginning. Among determiners we arrange also the possesives (my, your, etc. ). These two (determiners and possesives) are shown in (1). (1) a/the/my/mum’s mug Prenominals are the adjectives and secondary adjectives between the de terminers and the head noun.They are optional, which means they do not have to be in the NP, and they are recursive – it means they are not lined up in a very strict order, but there are some semantic features which affect the order. (2) a. the small old blue wooden box b. ? the wooden blue old small box c. small the old blue wooden box Post-modifiers, or postnominals, can also have a fixed or a relatively free order. Among elements of these category belong multiple prepositional phrases (3-4), verbs with infinitive or in the –ing form (5-6), clauses (relative clause) (7), complex adjectival phrases (8) and of-phrases (9). 3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) the gift for Jane from Peter ? the gift from Peter to Jane a girl to watch the lector teaching history the gift which you gave me a girl [AP more beautiful than me ] the student of philology Except the last one, the others can be lined up after the head noun in a relatively free order. (10) a book of fairytales tied with a blue ribbon for my daughter As I said, the of-phrase has a fixed place in a word order of a NP – it has to follow the head noun immediately because it is adjacent to the noun. 11) a. an office of the teacher with the white door b. * an office with the white door of the teacher In the second part I am going to translate some examples of English anaphors into Czech and then discuss the meanings of them and I will also try to show the distinctions between English and Czech forms. Here are the examples in English: (a1) Theyi killed themk. (b1) Theyi killed themselvesi. (c1) Theyi killed each otheri. And the translation into Czech: (a2) Oni je zabili. (b2) Oni se zabili. (c2) Oni se zabili (navzajem).The example (a1) has the index i with the pronoun they and the index k with the accusative case of the pronoun they, which means that the pronoun they have a meaning of „peopleâ€Å", which are NOT the people included in the meaning of them, i. e. them has the so-called disjoin ed refference. The following examples (12), (13) and (14) show that in English the nominative and accusative cases of the pronoun they are used to mark different (groups of) people. (12) (13) (14) The thievesi killed themk. The thievesi killed the thievesk. *The thievesi killed the thievesi. the thieves ? them > they are not the same thieves so they cannot have the same index The example (b1) has the index i in both cases – it means that they and themselves includes the same people. Because themselves is a reflexive pronoun, we know that the group of people indicated in they is the same group of people as in themselves. In the example (c1) is shown the same as in the example (b1), although in this case the second pronoun is reciprocal so we know that the group of people included in they consists – in this case – of two people.It means that the first one killed the second one and conversely the second one killed the first one. It means that the reciprocals  ¾require the antecedent to be plural (the action or relation takes place between the members of the set, reciprocally). â€Å" (Veselovska:104) These anaphors in (b1) and (c1) are also called syntactic anaphors. „Syntactic anaphors have a hierarchically higher antecedent, which means they must be bound in the same clause, usually in the position of Subject or Agentâ€Å" (Veselovska:104) as in (15) and (16). (15) (16) We saw ourselves in the mirror. To educate oneself is a choice of every person. urselves > Subject oneself > Agent (of educating) In Czech it is different. The first example (a2) is very simple – the pronouns clearly state who killed whom. Oni killed je, which means one group of people killed the other one. The examples (b2) and (c2) are in Czech similar in form but different in meaning. Nevertheless, in the second case we can optionally add the word navzajem, so it would be more clear who killed whom but basically, the reflexive pronoun se is universal in Czech. BIBLIOGRAPHY Veselovska, Ludmila. A Course In English Morpho-Syntax. UP Olomouc, 2009

Uncle essays

Uncle essays Uncle escaped. He took a handgun and descended into the cellar, and the air resonated with the muffled sounds of a car backfiring. I hardly knew either of them, he or Auntie. Daddy said he did it to get away from her. That may be. Anyway, he left a fortune. A million, Daddy said, at a time when a new Cadillac could be had for less than four Today a Caddy is forty grand, Auntie is polluting the soil, my hair is silver, and I can say with neither boast nor shame, that I have not known another human critter whom I yet despise. Sitting at this keyboard, I cannot name another. Surely one exists, I'm not that angelic, but I can't produce one at the moment. This is not owing to faulty memory; something much more splendid, and no credit to me. But Auntie wronged Mom. A wretched soul, she wronged others, too; others whom I love. Those happenings I've dismissed. But not Mom's. We were the poor kin, the black sheep, victims of Daddy's wanderlust. Poverty earns you that status when the others have money. And now an injury prevented Daddy working, so Mom accepted the role of breadwinner with the same grace and humor that she accepted all of life. She must provide a house and food, car and clothes for a family of five. And she did. For years, she hunkered over a sewing machine in a dimly lit corner of a dry cleaners for fifty-two cents an hour. She made our shirts and the patches for our jeans. Patched, but clean and ironed The house, a recycled army barracks, had neither inside walls, nor plumbing, at first, but it was home. Tonight's beans and potatoes vary from last nights only in the way they are prepared. Hey wait! These are last night's. I knew that. Though the youngest, and a male, I was assigned the evening meals ... and helping Mom wash at the old I surprised her once. I had the washing done and hanging on the line. ...

Common Spelling and Grammar Errors Should You Use Its or Its

Common Spelling and Grammar Errors Should You Use Its or Its According to the readers of my blog, the distinction between it’s (with an apostrophe) and its (without an apostrophe) is the top pet peeve and common error out in the writing world. This article attempts to explain the distinction between the two words and when to use its or its. It’s is a contraction. Most of us have heard of and are familiar with contractions. Here’s how they work: If you want to say â€Å"here is† and be less formal about it, squash the words together and substitute an apostrophe for the last vowel (i) to create heres.   If you want to say â€Å"do not† less formally, squash the words together and substitute an apostrophe for the last vowel (o) to create dont. This process of contraction is how we get many words such as: can’t; doesn’t; aren’t; there’s; and (drumroll please)†¦ it’s! How simple is that? If you want your word to mean â€Å"it is† or â€Å"it has† then just make a contraction: it’s. Examples: It is time for bed. = It’s time for bed. It is a girl! = It’s a girl! It has been raining for days. = It’s been raining for days. These examples seem simple enough. I think where people get flummoxed is when they want a word meaning â€Å"belonging to ‘it.’† â€Å"Its† is possessive. Why is this one confusing? When something belongs to Harry we add an apostrophe after Harry and say it’s Harrys. When something belongs to the barber we add an apostrophe and say it’s the barbers. However, when it comes to saying something belongs to it, the apostrophic form goes out the window, i.e. we do NOT use an apostrophe. Something belonging to it is its. Why is there no apostrophe in its? Note there are other times we do not use an apostrophe to show possession. When something belongs to her we say it’s hers. When something belongs to him we say it’s his; when something belongs to us we say it’s ours and when something belongs to them we say it’s theirs. There are many irregular constructions here. Yet somehow most people don’t make mistakes when it comes to these other possessive forms. It’s its that continues to baffle us. You might notice something in common about all the examples where apostrophes are not used to show possession: they are all a part of speech we refer to as a pronoun. Pronouns are our shortcuts so that we do not have to keep referring to people and things by their name or other descriptor. They are a referential shortcut. They replace, or substitute for, nouns. I will write more about pronouns in a future article where I will talk about the use of â€Å"I and â€Å"me.† For now you can look at  the University of Ottawa’s Writing Center grammar page under What Is a Pronoun?, for more information. Some examples of pronouns are he, she, they, you, her, him, us, our, their and its. Here’s your rule to remember: When forming a possessive PRONOUN, do NOT use an apostrophe. Since â€Å"it† is a pronoun, we do NOT put an apostrophe after it to make it possessive. Just as you would not write â€Å"her’s† or â€Å"our’s,† do not write â€Å"it’s† when you are intending to show possession. Another trick is to remember the phrase Its raining apostrophes! This sentence means It is raining apostrophes, so you can remember that when you mean it is, you should use its, with an apostrophe. It’s my fervent hope this article has cleared up some common misperceptions and that its contents will be distributed widely by its readers! If you or someone you know needs writing or editing assistance, contact The Essay Expert. We can help clear up any apostrophe problems youre having.

The Achievement Of Success In An Individuals Life Essay

The Achievement Of Success In An Individuals Life - Essay Example I could either choose an easy path by dropping out of university or I could put in my efforts to adapt to my surroundings and face the problems. I chose the difficult path because I understood that education and knowledge serve to be important in the life of a person. I put in all my strength to cope up with the educational requirements of the university and I was assisted by my faculty members, who understood my problem and were highly supportive. English is not my first language and I did not hold much expertise in the language. I got enrolled in an English University where English was the medium of education. The lectures were delivered in English and English was the language used for communication with the teachers as well as the other students. The books were in English as well. My English language skills were not very good and it was a very difficult phase for me. This was because of my writing, reading as well as communication skills were not up to the mark and I had to put in much hard work to cope with my studies. I found it difficult to take down notes during the lectures. This was because I had to pay full attention towards listening to the teacher to understand the lecture and if I started taking notes, I used to lag behind in the lecture. Note taking was also an issue as I could not spell words properly and my writing speed was not up to the mark as well. I could not understand the normally used abbreviations as I was not familiar with them and had not used them before.  

Popular Culture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Popular Culture - Essay Example The Popular music and Rave culture dominates the discourse on culture particularly the popular culture. Certain genres of popular music have flickered controversy and opposition and criticisms have been centred on them particularly of their influence on 'youthful values, attitudes and behaviour through the music's (perceived) sexuality and sexism, nihilism and violence, obscenity, black magic and anti-Christian nature.'1 Popular culture in general has historically been the target of censure, condemnation and regulation, because of its intense relationship with consumerism. The essay examines the relationship between youth, youth behaviours, popular music and the consumption of music-dance cultures. In order to do this we have to examine the school of Marxist thought that is relevant to the debate - the Frankfurt School. The founders of this school of Marxism, including Marcuse, Adorno and Horkheimer were all critical of the development of what they saw as mass culture and mass consumption. The orientation of the school has been towards the linking of modern capitalism with the control exerted by media industries and products over the consumer. Strinati sees it as 'popular culture which is produced by mass production industrial techniques and is marketed for a profit to a mass public of consumers'. Mac Donald was far more critical: it is a debased, trivial culture that voids both the deep realities (sex, death, failure, tragedy) and also the simple, spontaneous pleasures...a narcotised acceptance of mass culture and of the commodities it sells as a sub stitute for the unsettling and unpredictable...joy, tragedy, wit, change, originality and beauty of real life. These arguments also underline the relationship between popular music, dance and their consumption. Youth culture has been studied from several ideological perspectives on assumptions that they are 'not isolated and untouched by the surrounding culture' . This notion has lead researchers to assume that youth culture is not part of 'growing up', but a phenomenon that occurs as a precipitation of the social, political, cultural and ideological factors. There is not one monolithic youth culture that defines all young people. Popular youth culture embraces a diversity of sub-cultures or "tribes" such as skaters, druggies, snobs, band geeks, Satanists, Jesus freaks, techno-goths, computer dweebs, blacks, Latinos and white trash. Groups distinguish themselves by dress, style, music, body modification practices, race, ethnicity, and language. In her book Club Cultures: Music, Media and Subcultural Capital, 2Thornton refers to the youth cultures based around the raves and dance clubs from the late 1980's to the mid-1990's. The main sociological context of Thornton's study was the approach to the study of youth subcultures developed by the Centre for Contemporary Cultural Studies at the University of Birmingham in books like Resistance Through Rituals. This