The Language Police

The Language Police The Language Police The Language Police By Maeve Maddox Lovers of language and literature, especially those with children or grandchildren still in Grades K-12, will find The Language Police by education historian Diane Ravitch riveting, revelatory, and extremely disturbing. The Language Police is an exposà © of the practice of systematic self-censoring by textbook manufacturers to avoid offending either the political right or the left. Ravitch, an education historian who has worked in the administrations of both political parties, says she learned only gradually that educational materials are now governed by an intricate set of rules to screen out language and topics that might be considered controversial or offensive. The systematic censorship Ravitch describes stems from â€Å"bias and sensitivity† guidelines provided by state textbook selection committees and other groups. Such guidelines proscribe words, phrases, images, and concepts that someone- anyone- might consider sexist, religious, elitist, ageist, regionalist, or unhealthful. Here are a few of the words and phrases writers are warned to avoid or to exclude outright when writing for the educational market: able-bodied seaman, actress boatman, busboy cabin boy, cameraman, caveman, cult devil, dogma, dwarf Eskimo, fairy, fanatic, fat, fisherman God, gringo, gypsy heathen, hell, heroine, hut jungle, junk bond, juvenile delinquent Middle East, maniac, myth night watchman, nobleman, normal old, old wives’ tale pagan, papoose, past one’s prime, polo Satan, schoolboy, schoolgirl, seamstress, Sioux, slave, snow cone, snowman, soul food, stick ball, swarthy tomboy, tote bag, tribal warfare, tribe, turn a deaf ear to un-American, uncivilized victim, yacht For a detailed description of The Language Police, read the review by science teacher Anne C. Westwater in The Textbook Letter, Vol. 12, No.4 of the Textbook League. Better yet, read the book. 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 Book Reviews category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:"Because Of" and "Due To" 7 Patterns of Sentence StructureDouble Possessive

Religion vs. Relationship Professor Ramos Blog

Religion vs. Relationship Summary: Jefferson claims, â€Å"Religion makes you blind, but Jesus makes you see  and thats why religion and Jesus are two different clans. Religion is man searching for God; Christianity is God searching for man.† Jefferson wants people to understand the difference between religion and having a relationship with God. He says Religion says do but Jesus says done. He claims Religion is a hypocritical front people put on to call themselves â€Å"good.†Jefferson makes a statement to let people know that having a personal relationship with Jesus means come as you are. Jefferson states, â€Å"Its not a museum for good people- its a hospital for the broken.† Church shouldn’t feel like a place to come because we are perfect, but instead a place to be real and come as you are even if that means you are broken. Religion is the infection while God’s grace is the cure. Its not about what you’ve done but what Jesus has already done for us. Response:   We agree with what Jefferson is trying to proclaim. People can have their opinions on religion whether its good or bad. Jefferson really lightens up the perspective of just the simplicity of knowing Jesus without all the rules and regulations religion brings to the table. Religion can become like a front making it seem like it’s all okay when in reality people are hurting inside. Now people will have there different opinions on what they believe and thats okay. I believe that Jefferson does a good way of using Ethos to grab the audience attention to try and get people to think differently about religion and start looking at the words and life Jesus lived.

The walt disney company (competitive analysis) PowerPoint Presentation

The walt disney company (competitive analysis) - PowerPoint Presentation Example What is therefore important to understand that in order to perform the competitive analysis of Walt Disney, it is critical to consider Walt Disney as a brand rather than analyzing the firm’s competition in different segments of the business? Three of the most important competitors of Disney include News Corporation , Time Warner Inc and NBC Universal Media Inc. News Corporation is involved in different businesses including News, Movies and publishing. It operates the Fox News channel as well as the Fox Filmed entertainment thus competing on two different counts with Disney. It is important to note that New Corporation is also in the business of publishing and publishes world renowned magazine on the stock market with the name of The Wall Street Journal and the Times London. Apart from this, the News Corporation also owns and operates the book publishing giant of HarperCollins thus having presence in different segments of the same line of business. Time Warner is the third larg est media company in the world after Disney and New Corp and is considered as one of the giants in the industry after these firms. Time Warner is also in the business of television, films and publishing and has relatively reputable market recognition for presenting successful movies over the period of time.

Cognitive and Observational Learning Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Cognitive and Observational Learning - Essay Example The learning, which is acquired from observing others, is called observational learning. According to the observational learning theory the behavior of an observer changes when he or she views the behavior of another model. (Woods & Boyd, 2008) We first observe the behavior of other people and consequences and then we apply it to our lives. Positive and negative consequences can affect our behavior. There two main principles behind observational learning theory. First, the observer learns and imitates the behavior of another model if the other person has intelligence, good looks and talent. Second, the observer will only reacts to the rewarded behavior of the other person and if the model behavior is punished which is called the vicarious punishment then there are less chances that the observer will imitates the model's behavior. Cognitive learning theory is concerned with the behavior that involves more than a response and an environmental stimulus. It is related with the experiences of our behavior. The cognitive theory differs from the observational learning theory because it involves analysis of information through thinking and remembering which is our internal event. (Woods & Boyd, 2008) But these internal events are deeply related to the observation of behavior of another model. ... The main focus of cognitive learning is on the organism, which is the processor of several types of information, which helps in modifying the new experiences. It also helps in relating new experiences with the past experiences in order to organize information for storage. The cognitive theorists assume that the learning occurs in the absence of an obvious behavior. Some cognitive theorist believes that reinforcement is not necessary element of the learning process. An organism only demonstrates latent learning when he or she is willing to show it. Our internal states are responsible for differences in behavior. The early cognitive theorists rejected this idea. So, the behavior varies from person to person depending on the physiology and the metal states. Conclusion Learning is the process of understanding and acquiring knowledge and skills. Both the perspectives of learning i.e. observational and cognitive theories are essential for our learning. They are related to each other. Learning starts form observation and collection of information and then this information is processed and analyzed by our minds in order to store the information and later retrieving the stored information. References: The world of psychology 6th edition by Wood, S.e., Wood, E.G., & Boyd, D

BUSN300 Unit 1IP Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

BUSN300 Unit 1IP - Research Paper Example Emission of harmful gases damages the ozone layer that is responsible for absorbing harmful radiations of the sun. This leads to increase in the overall temperature of earth’s atmosphere. The main culprit of global warming is carbon dioxide and its variants that are introduced in the earth’s atmosphere by human activities. The most potent argument given in this regard is that there is clear evidence that the temperature of the earth has increased over the last century. The temperature of the earth is increasing and this is creating climatic imbalance which has harmful effects for the natural habitat. People who consider global warming a serious threat argue that the change in climatic conditions of the world is clear evidence of the validity of global warming. Another reason why global reason is considered a serious issue by many is that icebergs all over the planet are melting. This melting of icebergs is leading to increase in the water levels of seas and oceans, and this can have disastrous effect on climate and natural life (Venkataramani, 2004). This has also led to the increase in occurrences of floods all over the world. Increase in water levels also creates imbalance of salty and fresh water in oceans which also leads to grave climatic issues. Melting of icebergs is also seen by many as proof of the existence of global warming phenomenon. Global warming is also considered a serious issue because it can be explained very well from the human activities in the 20th century. In 20th century, human beings have increases combustion of fossil fuels and in the same period earth’s temperature has increased. This correlation is considered by many as evidence that the phenomenon of global warming is real and can be explained through human activities in the 20th century. Many believe that global warming should not be taken seriously because the temperature of the world

Blacks Leisure Group Plc Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Blacks Leisure Group Plc - Case Study Example Black’s leisure Group Plc is one of the leading retail outdoor and board wear group in United Kingdom. The company carries all its operations under two categories: The Outdoor Group and the Boardwear Division. The Outdoor Group comprises Millets and Blacks, the largest outdoor retailers in the UK, and Freespirit and Mambo, the leading retail chains in the newly emerging UK boardwear market. The Boardwear Division comprises the wholesale and retail arms of the O'Neill brand, one of the world's leading names in boardwear. The Group has the exclusive distribution rights to the brand for the UK. In brief, the company operates more than 450 stores under seven companies- owned and managed retail chains. 1. A macro-environmental and competitive audit The UK Boardwear market has been growing strongly in recent years and is estimated to be worth around  £400m at retail prices. Blacks Leisure is market leader in this fast growing market segment through its O’Neill and Free Spir it businesses. The main competitors for Blacks Leisure Group is Debenhams, JJB Sports, Snow & Rock and Halfords. With an increase in the number of consumers of the broad wear market, the competition has been growing tremendously. A large number of new entrants are seen entering this market in the past few years. However, Blacks Leisure still continues to dominate the market with its large range of products and a large number of outlets. PEST Analysis: PEST analysis is concerned with the environmental influences on a business. The acronym stands for the Political, Economic, Social and Technological issues that could affect the strategic development of a business. Identifying PEST influences is a useful way of summarizing the external environment in which a business operates. Although the PEST analyses rely on past events and experience, it can be used as a forecast of the future (Wilson and Gilligan, 1998). Political factors The political environment is good. The government is stable and reliable, even if Britain fails to achieve total agreement with some EU policies from time to time. At present no EU directives are known which will have a direct effect on the UK sports or outdoor wear retail industry in the near future. Due to the EU membership a trend can be seen towards stricter environmental protection legislation. This may have a direct or indirect effect on Blacks Leisure Plc or its suppliers. Economic factors Looking at the economic environment, it is somewhat tricky since on one hand there is the strong sterling compared to the Euro. Euroland encourages imports and endeavors to hold domestic prices at an attractive level. But on the other hand it is difficult for UK to be competitive outside its boundaries because of the high pound sterling exchange rate against the Euro. As Blacks Leisure Group sells about 92% in the UK marketplace, this may currently only have a limited effect, but could be more important in the future when thinking globally. Social factors In the present world scenario it is being observed that the people retire earlier these days, and are working for shorter hours as well. Average working hours per week have decreased over the last 20 years. As a result people have more spare time. This means they have time to compare prices in the High Street and the quality of goods and services from retailers. As a result they are spending more time comparing different sellers. Another issue these days is the "Green environmental issues". A large number of people are getting concern over the environment and thus are getting in the depth of the production cycle of products. Blacks Leisure is taking different steps to assure people that they operate as an eco-friendly environment. Technological factors Another issue is the speed of technological transfers which also has an impact on the industry - it is not comparable with the fast growing internet business - but nevertheless it

Economics of Competition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Economics of Competition - Essay Example The trend towards concentration had been present for the previous twenty years, but the 1980s were characterized, most notably, by the emergence of a small group of retail corporations whose turnover, employment levels, profitability and sheer market and political power came to rival the largest industrial corporations in any sector of the UK economy. Between 1982 and 1990, the market share of the top five grocery retailers increased from under 25 per cent, to 61 per cent of national sales, on one estimate, and a "super league" of just three firms began to separate out in terms of growth, profitability and annual capital investment. During years which have been described as the "golden age" of British grocery retailing, the immense oligopsonistic buying power wielded by the retail corporations came to condition all aspects of retailer-supplier relations, and created new corporatist relationships between the retailers and the regulatory state. Nowadays, there are many retailers who are trying to enter the competitive grocery market. However, it is difficult to gain substantial market share as the industry is very saturated and requires a lot of efforts for companies to become leading competitors. Below, the market share of the UK retail industry is presented. As we see from the table, only a few retailers present competitio... The "Others" that include hundreds of retailers constitute 14.3% and are relatively small shops that do not present a threat to the retails such as Tesco or Asda. The evolution of grocery industry and the competition in it reflects significant changes over the time. As we will see further in this paper, the competition in the grocery industry used to take place between the small shops which did not take a dominant position on the whole market of the country, but rather were located and competed on the small area. In present time, the situation is changed as big retailers try to capture the whole market of the industry. 2. Main grocery retailing competitors To understand how the competition of British grocery retailing evolved, it is first necessary to appreciate some of the key features of the retailer-dominated UK food system which emerged during the 1980s, for it was those features which drove that internationalization. Four features will be picked out. In practice these are intimately interconnected, but for purposes of discussion it is useful to separate them. In the early 1980s the top three firms-Sainsbury, Tesco and Asda-held a combined market share of around 20 per cent of national grocery sales. They had recently been joined by two other firms, the Argyll Group and the Dee Corporation (later Gateway), which were growing rapidly by takeover and merger. Between 1982 and 1988 the dominance of this "big five" group increased considerably. Their combined market share reached approximately 43 per cent by 1984 and 58 per cent by the end of 1988. By 1988, Sainsbury, the largest food retailer, had surged up the rankings of British companies by turnover, from 51st position a decade earlier, to 14th