Discrimination Against Biracial Children Essay Example for Free

Discrimination Against racial Children EssayBiracial children face a myriad of concerns on a daily basis. Research reveals what common sense suggeststhat all these problems are rooted in racist, biased, and discriminatory social attitudes, attitudes which children encounter from their low moments of pre-school. The sense of injustice that they instinctively feel when they sense these biases will manifest out of dissimilitude towards one or both of their racial backgrounds, as well(p) as towards the fact that they have more than one racial background.Examples of these concerns, and manifestation of racist attitudes, are concerns shared by parents of bi-racial children, who also suffer the emotional brunt of discrimination against their children. An understanding of the suffering of parents, as well as bi-racial children, can provide for us not only a comprehensive perspective on the challenges and concerns that bi-racial children and their parents consume on a daily basis, b ut a means of providing the proper environment thereof. Sample of Sources Used* Black Women with Biracial Children. 2007http//groups.yahoo.com/group/blackwomenwithbiracialchild/ * Delle, Margaret. Raising Biracial Children Still a Difficult Subject after all These Years. 2007 http//www.associatedcontent.com/article/107661/raising_biracial_children_still_a_difficult.htmlIdentity Issues and Concerns of Biracial Children.2007 http//members.aol.com/lacillo/biracial.html * Jones Frank and Gibbs Staff. Parenting Biracial Children Issues for Black/White Biracial Child- Rearing. 2007 http//www.gibbsmagazine.com/Parenting%20Biracial%20Children.htm * Nakazawa, Donna Jackson. Does Anybody Else Look alike(p) Me? A Parents Guide to Raising Multiracial Children. Da Capo Press Reprint edition March 30, 2004. * Pattnaik, Jvotsna. Learning about the other Building a display case for Intercultural Understanding among Minority Children. Childhood Education Vol 79 2003. P NA

Food and Culture Essay Example for Free

Food and Culture EssayThat is, both mother and child argon being watched, judged, and constructed by society since making a good obento may please her child and also affirm that she is a good mother, and child consuming their entire meal in a appropriate manner is considered well-taught. This affectionate phenomenon represents that culture is constructed with power which exerts a force which operates in ways that are subtle, disguised, and accepted as effortless social practice.Another essay Carole Counihans Mexicanas Food Voice and Differential Consciousness in the San Luis Valley of Colorado uses the case of Ryubal to suggest how women can divulge differential consciousness through their practices and beliefs surrounding food. In society where traditionalistic division of labor in cooking is still prevalent, a Mexican women Helen Ryubal challenged the traditional views of women and cooking by rejecting cooking, making husbands respect women who cooked, and involving husb and in cooking.Her strategy not only minimized the subordinating dimensions of reproductive labor but also valued and benefited from the help of her mother, sister, and husband. Her attempt has been based on her ideologies which was developed from differential consciousness which is a key strategy used by dominated peoples to carry through demeaning and disempowering structures and ideologies (175). Both essays are focusing on the relationship between food and gender through each case.Allison considered obentos as a container of cultural meanings, and social expectations from women and their performance and effort in obentos. Counihans ethnographic research of Ryubal also provided evolved relationship between women and food which could be possible due to her differential consciousness. dickens authors both used a certain level of methodology to associate with their claim such as Ideological State Apparatus and differential consciousness.This workout strongly supports their claim and strengthens the relationship between gender and food in culture. Moreover, both authors imply the relationship food is not a mere outcome but rather deeply involved with society and its ideology. As the readings focus on the relationship between gender and food, it is evident that this relationship is deeply grow in cultural representation. To be more specific, culture constructs what is considered as normal, custom, reasonable, acceptable under ideology.The hegemonic view from this culture forms womens custodial relationship with food. As an Asiatic woman, I also have countless experience relating to food. Similar to most of asian culture, the societys expectation from woman is still traditional- cooking is womens role and they are suppose to serve their men and rest of the family. Like Ryubals challenge, the counter-hegemonic view toward womans relationship to food and reasonable, modern alternatives are necessary.

Terrorist Threats Faced In The Uk Criminology Essay

Terrorist Threats Faced In The Uk Criminology EssayFor Steven Greers article on anti-terrorism law, at that place were many distinctions he picked out when taking into account the background, and other facts on the terrorism organisation. He contrasts between the threat in the beginning 9/11 and afterward 9/11 using Northern Ireland and Al-Qaeda as his causes. He situates how Northern Ireland were subjected to the diplock process, characterised by non-jury courts, extended police and army powers to stop and question, stop and front, search and seize, and arrest and detain for up to seven days without charge. He emphasizes and distinguishes how most of the state arrested under this diplock process, three quarter of them were released. And convictions mainly based on mostly based on confessions extracted in police interrogation or obtained as a result of evidence provided by supergrasses. Mr Greer distinguishes the shoot to kill policy, whereby it was introduced before 9/11. Th ere is evidence that elements in the British security agencies colluded in murder with Loyalist paramilitaries due to this policy. some other distinguish is the seven day policy, Mr Greer points out how before 9/11, the united kingdom had seven-day detention provision did not violate the Convention because there were grounds for maintaining that the conflict in Northern Ireland amounted to a man nip threatening the life of the nation. In 1998 human rights act was introduced whereby it empowers UK courts to consider whether anti-terrorist detention provisions are compatible with the Convention and, if necessary, to force a establishment rethink as dramatically occurred in the Belmarsh case in 2004.For post 9/11, Mr Greer using the two prime examples, to outline how each of them operates differently and how untold of a risk they are to the UK. He states how some people perceive terrorism as too broad the long war where it is more of a struggle against terrorism with terrorism i n the UK context meaning something narrower than the definition, namely violent threats to a liberal democratic state and society .He distinguishes many factors which when set into account make the pre 9/11 terrorism come along minor implications. First, he distinguishes post 9/11 how the IRA embraced a modern, secular, nationalist ideology, whereas AQT terrorists brace Islamism, a political ideology which relies heavily on Islam, a pre-modern religion. Consequences of this, Muslims in the United Kingdom and elsewhere would repudiate as inauthentic and illegitimate. The second deflection is that the IRAs violence had limited territorial objective to enhance the political power of the nationalist minority in the north of Ireland. It was never intended to destroy a civilization or a way of life. Indeed the way of life. Post 9/11 threats to the UK Greer points out how terrorist organisations such(prenominal)(prenominal) as AQT their goals were much more pushful and were fleetly l inked to a conflict over control of territory in the Middle East and not Britain. Greer also points out British jihadists are motivated by a sense of injustice stemming from disadvantage and discrimination suffered by British Muslims. In contrast with pre 9/11 and post 9/11 the old-fashioned nationalism of the IRA is quite different to Islamist terrorism objective to destroy the West as a decadent and ungodly anti-civilization. Another distinction that Steven Greer uses is the terrorisms fire power. He shows how pre 9/11 the IRA never used suicide bombs, which in contrast to post 9/11 is the favoured rule of AQT terrorism. The IRA always had in mind to minimise civilian casualties whereas post 9/11 AQT terrorism seeks to maximise civilian casualties. Steven Greer also outlines how pre 9/11 the IRA remained a centrally-controlled and hierarchical paramilitary organisation. Whilst AQT organisations, very loosely structured with no central command other than the inspiration provided b y charismatic and highly independent leaders. In the sense outlined, the IRA was a terrorist organisation and Al Qaeda type (AQT) associations are terrorist organisations. But there the similarities end. There are most a dozen much more significant differences between post 9/11 and pre 9/11 threats facing the UK. Mr Greers distinctions are very clear to where each terrorist organisation differs for instance when it comes down to casualties, pre 9/11 the IRA would try to minimise the casualties and be effective but post 9/11 the more casualties the better for AQT. It whitethorn be that the law has not been so harsh on anti-terrorism that the boundaries on casualties have increased. During the years the fire power and engineering has become more advanced such as bombs, effectively to deter people or stop them security measures and more harsh laws have been placed. This could apologize the 28 day stage they can derogate them for, in order to have enough measure to gather evidence. Relatively the key objective of antiterrorist laws moldiness directly be to contribute significantly to the prevention of attacks and to prosecute those responsible before they occur, since the risk has tripled from pre 9/11. To be effective as possible when risks such as this are at large, gathering accurate intelligence and responding to it appropriately is crucial relating back to pre-9/11 police confessions amount to arrests is not enough. However misuse of these powers could lead to inaccurate evidence such as the insensitive use of stop and question and stop and search powers can provoke anger which, in turn, can cause more damage to intelligence-gathering than the information produced. The use of arrest and detention powers for intelligence-gathering purposes is also incompatible with the European Convention. So by law valet rights should overrule the arrest and derogation powers.What did the Law Lords rule in relation to the provisions under the Anti-Terrorism, Crime Sec urity Act, 2001 concerning indefinite detention, without charge, of foreign nationals? Where are we now in terms of extraordinary powers of detention in cases of guess terrorism?The Anti-Terrorism, Crime Security Act gave the Home Secretary power to verify a foreign national as a guess international terrorist (s. 21). The House of Lords Judicial Committee on December 2004 concluded with their judgement on the compatibility of the protrude 4 powers with the (ECHR). The Human Rights 1998 (Designated Derogation) Order 2001 was crushed and section 23 of the ATCSA was affirmed to be incompatible with Articles 5 (right to liberty) and 14 (freedom from discrimination) of the ECHR.The House of Lords considered Part 4 powers were discriminatory. Their argumentation was it solo applied to foreign nationals and also acknowledged that they were not proportionate to threats the UK faced was facing on terrorism. From this action, the Government replaced the Part 4 powers with a upstart sys tem of Control Orders. Control Orders would be subjected to all suspected terrorist, whether him or her being a UK national or not. Also whatever the aim of his/her terrorist drill is.In cases of extraordinary powers on suspected terrorism, control orders wills the authorities to impose conditions from prohibitions on accessing items or any service, re fixedions on being with particular individuals, or restrictions on movement or curfews. The Home Secretary has the power to make a control order based on any intelligence provided. On suspected terrorism, Control Orders could be varied and controls changed if the individual poses a larger threat. These types of powers may be up to certain strict periods, as Control Orders will be time limited and can be set up to 12 months at a time allowing them to be renewable thereafter. The powers are set strict enough to when breach of a condition, it would be a criminal offence most believably of imprisonment.In the light of what you have rea d, do you consider that a period of up to 28 days detention without charge of those suspected of terrorism is reconcilable with Article 5, ECHR and with the ECtHRs jurisprudence on extended detention periods in such cases?In light of what I have read, 28 days is too much to keep a person in pre- psychometric test detention on charges of suspected terrorism. The 2006 Terrorism act , I doubt would have considered beforehand putting a person away for 28 days what would the damage be to the mental health, personal and family relationships and employment of the person detained for periods as long as this. Putting people under long detention periods by the police may amount to a confess at the end, but might it is also well known that detention rules such as these can produce delusive confessions which, in their turn, can lead to miscarriages of justice. Steven Greer outlined this prime principle with his example of the evidence gathered on Northern Ireland indicated that most confession s in such processes are, in fact, made in the first 48 hours. But that was pre 9/11 however now the risks are much bigger several days would seem the best option. In contrast with Article5 (2), a person shall be informed promptly of the reasons for the arrest and any charge against them and that they shall be brought promptly before a judge (Art.5 (3)). The 28-day pre-charge detention period would, therefore, appear to constitute a violation of human rights. In a more logic instances, factors should be considered and outlined on whether this person should be detained for longer, for example if the person is a potential threat to community and has previous charges of providence false statements or evidence. In any trial before on suspected terrorism it should be what characteristics does the current terrorist threat have, which would be able to extended power of pre-charge detention?The Government originally advocated a 90-day period on the grounds that much more time is required, is too extreme. This in most instances should violate the rights of an individual person. 28 days is still to be considered under the Convention test let alone 90 days or 42. In comparison other western democracy i.e. the USA, it is quite astounding that the United Kingdoms 28-day has the longest pre-charge detention period. Under U.S. Federal law, the maximum period of pre-charge detention is 48 hours. This limit comes from the Fourth Amendment to the US Constitution.Overall, detaining people for 28 days without charge inevitably leads to injustice, and undermines our ability to fight terrorism. It also affects the British tradition of liberty and justice.Libertys Director, Shami Chakrabarti, has consistently argued against extended periods of detention in suspected terrorism cases and is precise of reliance on the states Article 15 power to derogate (enabling it to suspend the protection of the ECHR) It simply seems to me that a state of public emergency of indefinite aloofness i s as dangerous as the unending war on terror which allows the murderer to call himself a soldier. A limitless state of emergency is a contradiction in terms. It is no longer a temporary departure from the proper and normal order of society for as short a period as possible in order to re-establish means of existence, government and law. It is instead a new state of being. A state of integral poverty without the honourable framework that we most need in times of greatest difficulty. (last page of her article, Terrorism and the Rule of Law). Is she right?Libertys Director, Shami Chakrabarti, has regularly argued against extended periods of detention (imprisonment) in suspected terrorism cases and is critical of (confidence) reliance on the states Article 15 power to derogate (take away) (enabling it to suspend the protection of the ECHR) It simply seems to me that a state of public emergency of indefinite (unfixed) length is as dangerous as the (endless) unending war on terror whic h allows the murderer to call himself a soldier. A limitless (unlimited) state of emergency is a contradiction (conflict) in terms. It is no longer a temporary departure (retreat) from the proper and normal order of society for as short a period as possible in order to re-establish (re-build) means of existence, government and law. It is instead a new state of being. A state of constitutional poverty (shortage) without the ethical (moral) framework (structure/background) that we most need in times of greatest difficulty. (last page of her article, Terrorism and the Rule of Law). Is she right?Prior to shami chakrabati principle on how an unlimited period of public emergency is the same as an endless war on terror. Being able to derogate our rights on detention and on other rights, retreats us from the proper normal society we are living in today. Laws such as these will never be able to allow us return to normal but instead lead us into a state of a constituinoal poverty without the moral structure. Governments at a time like this would instead of focusing on how to prevent any terrorisim from happeneing, split our society up based on our views rather than our actions. As lod hoff man verbalise the real to the life of the nation comes not from terrorisim, but from laws such as these. An example can be the new-anti terror control orders surely the are likely to breach Article 6. Not surprising as to some quite significant interference with liberty without charge or trial. Another prime example being the government trying to extend the pre trial detention to ninety days. Surely under Article 5, demands prompts information on reasons of your arrest and any charges against you. And this is only for terror supects. Picture how ninety days in prison and being released without charge, not only would he be disgusted with the britsh laws but other people would stay clear of the police when it comes to co-operating with some useful inside information on the latest ter rorist activity. Even so what with chakarbati giving some in hole on the rule of law , in todays news there are various news articles on how britian has been torturing our own british suspects in camps such as guantamano bay and Pakistan. The British have paid whatever costs to use all means possible to access any information relating to terrorists activity.

Process of Job Evaluation and Determining Pay

fulfil of Job Evaluation and Determining PayMotivation is the process by which the behaviour of an personal is influenced by some others, through their power to fissure or withhold satisfaction of the individuals needs and goals. (BPP Learning Media, 2010) Motivation theories atomic number 18 divided into two different viewpoints. regulate content and process theories of motivation in (Appendix 1). Content theories emphasis what motivations argon, whereas process theories emphasise the real process of motivation. On the other hand reenforcement is something that employees secure during their utilization. It can be financial when the company pays for their surgical operation and it can be non-financial which in this case means that the company rewards employees by promotion, actionment and praise.Maslow positions forward a possibility that there are five levels of human needs which employees need to have fulfilled at work (Mullins, 2005). See (Appendix 2).Maslow mentions in his theory that managers sideline this theory deflect their attentiveness to offering complementary pleasing relationships, more attractive work, and more opportunities for self-fulfillment.On the other hand, Herzberg in his theory suggests that there are two basic needs of individuals such as hygiene factors (environmental factors) and motivation factors. See (Appendix 3). Managers following Herzbergs theory reject money as a inducing and pay attention to supplying more job enhancements.According to McGregors theory, managers may follow two different theories which is theory X and theory Y. Pursuant to theory X, the average employee dislikes work and will avoid it whether he/she knows what to do or not, that is why employers suggest Theory Y which leads them to do excellent job and managers offer opportunities to have a job done. However, McClelland foc personas interest on providing employees with the capability to persuade their needs for success, power, and relationship.Com panies use both positive amplification and negative amplification to be active employees. Managers may use positive motivation techniques to persuade employees to create good quality job. Some managers may use negative motivation techniques to encourage employees and rub them from bad modes. However, companies reward their employees with both touchable products, as well as admire. Mangers may reward their employees by providing weekly or monthly bonus or free lunches, many managers reward their top employees by praising them.For example Tesco uses two motivation theories Maslows and Herzbergs, see both hierarchies in (Appendix 4). Tesco uses Maslows theory because it suggests the company if they master one level then it motivates them to achieve the next one. Also Tesco aims to motivate its staff both by paying interest to hygiene factors and by enable satisfiers. For example, Tesco motivates its staff by good communication, by giving responsibility and involving employees in d ecision making. Tesco allows the staffs to be part of the blabbers on pay rises. This shows credit of the work that staff does and rewards them.In Tesco, they reward staff for their works because it keeps motivating them at work and will carry on applying different motivation theories at work. fiscal reward uses by Tesco in a way of getting employees to welcome the complete value of their benefits package. Tesco as well as follows pension brass and this usually includes pension service that the employer creates on the employees behalf and being process in payroll department. They also reward employees by giving them extra benefits such as car insurance and private medical insurance, by special offers and discounts. See Tescos reward system in (Appendix 5).Evaluate the process of job paygrade and other factors determining payThe Process of Job EvaluationJob evaluation is a systematic process for defining the relative worth or size of jobs within an placement in order to establ ish internal relativities. It provides the basis for designing an equitable grade and pay structure, grading jobs in the structure and managing job and pay relativities.(Armstrong, 2006)Job evaluation is really an extensive process and it must follow in a systematic approach. At the beginning of this process management must make discharge to its employees the reason of this program and importance of it. After that a crowd has been fixed where all the knowledgeable HR specialists and employees are included. In the next step organisation chooses the job from each department that they are going to evaluate. Then the selected job is investigated in detail by the committee. Next, the committee chooses a method for the job evaluation. thither are two methods that can be followed to evaluate a job and these areAnalytical points rating, factor comparison, proprietary brands andNon-analytical job ranking, job classification, paired comparisons.The other factors determining payThe pay, wh ich is an award for work, can be influenced by various factors and it creates some difference between the roles and the organisations. Those factors are as followsSize of the organisation,Seniority,Skills and experience,Industry sector, lucrativeness of the organisation,Employee performance. See (Appendix 6) for more detail.The effectiveness of reward systems in different contextsBratton and Gold (2003) define a reward system as The mix of extrinsic and natural rewards provided by the employer. It also consists of the integrated policies, processes, practices and administrative procedures for implementing the system within the framework of the human resources (HR) strategy and the total organisational system.There are two types of rewards Extrinsic rewards which are tangible rewards that employee receives for their good performance, such as bonuses, salary raise, gifts, promotion, compensation and commissions. Intrinsic rewards are inclined to give personal satisfaction to an emplo yee, such as information, feedback, recognition, boldness and relationship.Employee bonus systems are positive strategies and they can provide actual motivation. Moreover to monetary thoughts bonus systems take into account factors such as attendance, customer service, quality, group and individual performance. Also bonuses increase employees motivation and output. It improves employees morale and increases their self-esteem. However, a carefully planned bonus scheme can improve retention which helps to preserve the stovepipe employees.Salary raise is the other types of reward system and it is one of the some significant motivators for the employee, also it is the key motivation behind an employees performance.Promotion is one of the most important types of reward system, where an organisation rewards an employee by moving them from their position to a higher position. Promotion improves employees morale and job satisfaction.However, improved performance is an effectiveness of re ward system it helps the employee to perform better at work in order to get extra reward from the organisation. At the same time employees also put their efforts, skills and knowledge which help them to learn something new.However, reward system also boosts profit, where a company has good opportunity to make profit because employee works honestly and carefully. It also helps to bring positive psychological contract between employees and the organisation it creates a better working environment and helps organisation to keep gifted, potential employees with them.Examine the methods organisations use to monitor employee performance.There are some methods that are used by Tesco to monitor their employees performance. Tesco uses observation and feedback to monitor their employees performance. In this system Tesco hires someone to monitor the performance of the employee, after that this person provides straightforward feedback. By observing and providing feedback Tesco can give the accur ate shape to the employees of what is expected from them.Tesco also uses performance standards and it is one of the employee performances monitoring system where performance has been compared with the criterion and where employee needs to accomplish this criterion. In this system performance must be realistic, measurable and expressed in terms of time, quality, cost, quantity, effect, or manner of performance.Performance evaluation is another method that used by Tesco to determine the actual job performance of an employee against chosen performance standards. In Tesco employees are interviewed to talk about their performance to identify strengths and weaknesses, and to create a plan how to improve weaknesses and increase strengths.Tesco also uses a method known as 360-degree appraisal (Business grimace Studies, 2013). In this method all Tescos stakeholders evaluate an employees performance and give them feedback. For example, a manager of one department gets feedback from their man ager from HR department and their team.ConclusionThe closedown of this report shows that employees motivation and reward are very important. There are many types of theories of motivation such as Maslows, Herzbergs, McClellands and McGregors theories. Each theory has a passably different view of leaders and employees motivation. Motivation is managers action to influence employees behaviour at work, so that perform as required in order to achieve organisational goals. Reward management can be view as a type of management practice where employees are rewarded for their performance. Rewards can be tangible and intangible benefits for the employee as part of employment relationship. Employees consider the reward as a return in exchange of their performance being appreciated by their employer.

Bilingual signs in the Alsace area

Bilingual point outboards in the Alsace araIntroductionThe focus of this probe is on the multilingual point outs in the Alsace area. The Alsace, like all of France, is officially monolingual. Even so, in t holds such(prenominal) as Strasbourg, Mulho drop/Mhlha ingestionn or Colmar bilingual high avenue signs cede been noticed. Interest in German and Alsatian patoiss, repressed until the 1970s, has juvenilely increased. However it may be too late as Alsatian is no lifelong widely intercommunicaten by younger generations. Alsatian may be relegated to an antiquarian curiosity and as such is no longer a curse to French nationalism.This essay presents some primary data in the form of photographs of street signs and demonstrates that there is a pattern to these signs. Bilingual signage only appears in the historical centre, where out align of this the signs are monolingual. therefore installing street name signs in both French and Alsatian/German may be a tourer draw pref erably than a genuine attempt to increase the awareness of the language.Bilingual SignsThe linguistic landscape is defined as the signs on buildings and shops, road signs, street names and advertising billboards within a geographical territory, which serve the help of conveying information and besides a symbolic function (Cenoz Gorter, 2006 Landry Bourhis, 1997). The symbolic function that is served is to promote the language and thus the identity of a minority. Where in previous generations, the possessive culture would obliterate the language of a minority culture breathing within its confines, either deliberately or simply due to a lack of concern, in the current multicultural climate, minorities are celebrated.Sohamy (2006) refers to language battles taking seat mingled with top-down and bottom-up approaches. The top-down approach is from politics, in the public eye(predicate) or economic facilities, where bottom-up is when those of an autonomous status such as local craft and private citizens initiate the action. These cardinal approaches interact and this is where Sohamy suggests that the battles for control arise.In terms of bilingual signage, these battles would be fought on the linguistic landscape with shop signs be in one language and road signs being in anformer(a) for instance, or road signs being bilingual and shop signs monolingual. The appearance of language in the public space serves as an important mechanism through which language battles take place. Thus, the public place serves as a tool in the hands of antithetic groups for the transmission of messages as to the place of different languages in the geographical and political entities and for influencing and creating de facto language realities. (Sohamy, 2006, p.111)These battles may erupt into criminal behaviour such as the defacing of road signs where the language which is considered unacceptable is obliterated (Chen, 2007). These are civil disobedience actions by people with national pride and pride in their language as a symbol of their nationality, and these actions would be the result of a bottom-up process. In Wales the focus has shifted in recent decades from bottom-up actions like these to a top-down process whereby the government and all official signs must legally be bilingual. A bottom-up protest in Wales now would be a monolingual side sign erected by a shopkeeper who does not wish to pay for translation services.The impact of the bilingual signage in Wales is that drivers take longer to read the sign than if it were monolingual in their dominant language (Jamson, 2004). However, even with this safety concern, and given that there are no longer any Welsh communicateers who do not also speak English, it remains politically expedient to oblige all official signs to be bilingual in Welsh and English rather than monolingual English (Merriman Jones, 2008). Thus Wales is officially a bilingual country with a unique history of language activism. T he Welsh language has a much stronger position than separate minority European languages such as Basque. The Welsh bilingual signs are no longer designed to be quaint or attract ethnic tourism as they may have been in the past (Pitchford, 1995). Other minority European language speakers may still be patronised in this way and have looked to Wales as a model for challenging this attitude.The Alsace ContextThe Alsace is an historically disputed geographical area between France and Germany. It is an area of linguistic pertain between the two dominant languages French and German, and has a unique and complex history of cultural conflict, military occupation and political domination (Kegel, 2003). Since the fifth ampere-second AD when the area was occupied by two Germanic tribes, German dialects have been verbalize in this area. The Vosges mountain range to the West have served to keep apart the population from the French and kept Alsace on the German side of the Germanic-Romance l anguage border. Even when Alsace was officially French it has been easier to travel to Germany rather than into France as recently as the 1970s (Rademaekers, 1973). During the 70s Alsatians had access to television channels from both France and Germany. Most Alsatians at that time spoke both French and German and 80% also spoke Alsatian (Hessini, 1979). However in recent years there has been a decline in use and it is reported that younger generations do not speak Alsatian (Bister-Broosen, 2002). French is the state language, is apply in education and officialdom, and parents are reluctant for their children to miss learning French as a native speech due to this prestige.As languages, French and German are considered to be mutually exclusive, French being a Romance language. Alsatian is a Germanic dialect, derived from the Alemanni who colonised in the area in the fifth century, and is understood to be German with French borrowings (Hessini, 1979). In fact it has been seen that t here are appreciable differences between the dialects in different areas of Alsace and Lorraine, although the whole area is said to speak Alsatian (Judge, 2000). Alsatian was never a pen language Gutenbergs printing press in 1440 precipitated the calibration of written German. The dialect that was chosen to be the written German was the one considered to be most easily understood by all Germanic dialect speakers. This then became the official and prestige German language and other dialects dwindled. German is the literary medium for the unstandardized Alsatian dialect (Hessini, 1979).The region of the Alsace has miscellanyd allegiance or been invaded many times through wars between France and Germany, and always seems to be on the losing side (Rademaekers, 1973). Between 1870 and 1945, the Alsace experienced five different changes of nationality, each of which required a change of official language (Vassberg, 1993). It has been French since the end of the Second World War and al though Alsatian as a language has more in common with German than with French, as a French province, French has been the official language and Alsatian has been repressed until the 1970s. For example, French educational authorities have forbidden the teaching of German-language courses in Strasbourg primary schools. (Rademaekers, 1973, online).France has become more multicultural in recent years, with bilingual education being introduced, however there is a strong historical circumstance for this monolingualism which stems back to the time of the French Revolution a nation state which built itself on the principle of one language, one nation. This has meant that all citizens must lot the same language in order to be equal before the law plurality of languages or dialects was felt to be a threat to the gluiness of the nation and for two centuries linguistic policies were based on the elimination of dialects. (Hlot, 2003, p.255) Thus the elimination of Alsatian has been a deliberate policy of French government. In recent years attitudes have changed due to the acknowledgement that learning a second language while young leave alone enhance a childs educational prospects and ulterior their employment prospects (Hlot, 2003 Judge, 2000). However it may well be too late for Alsatian to continue to exist as a language in its own right. If it is no longer spoken, then it will be doomed to become something quaint and old-fashioned, only reeled out for specific purposes (Bister-Broosen, 2002).Alsatian as a spoken language is used on some radio and television, but in all written formats, e.g. education and newspapers, German is used in its place (Judge, 2000). There has not been political language activism in the Alsace in the same way as there has been in other European countries, such as Wales expound above. In the 1970s there existed a small-scale group Front de lAlsace libre and there now exists an Alsace dAbord movement which promotes bilingualism on all levels (Judge, 2000). However this is also a small movement and is described as an extreme right-wing movement playing the regionalist card to gain support (Judge, 2000).The supremacy of French in France continues to be absolute, and has been confirmed by Article 2 of the new Constitution of 22 June 1992. This article states that the language of the Republic shall be French. Elected regional authorities use only French. However they do now provide financial aid for the teaching of standard German in Alsace and in 1993 set up the shoes rgional du bilinguisme dAlsace (Regional Office for Bilingualism in Alsace).Public and semi-public services are provided solely in French, this includes telephone bills and receipts, telephone directories, hospital signs, electricity bills, post-office and police-station signs (Euromosaic, 2009). Oral communication between the authorities and the public is generally in French, as public employees tend not to be natives of Alsace. In common with other areas i n Europe, there is a great deal of geographical movement and there are many other languages spoken in this area not only French, German and Alsatian, including non-European languages. primal Source Analysis Street Signs in StrasbourgStreet signage in Strasbourg has since 1991 begun to be bilingual in French and German. As has been previously mentioned, Alsatian has no written form, and standard German is used in its place, therefore on street signs it would be difficult to distinguish whether they are Alsatian or German as both are the same when it comes to written format. Bilingual signs are also seen in other Alsatian towns such as Mulhouse/Mhlhausen or Colmar. However, this abstract will concentrate on Strasbourg. On analysis of these street signs, their location and purpose, it might be said that the sign makers are paying lip-service to Alsatian rather than a genuine attempt to reinstate the language.This primary source analysis will begin with street name signs in the histor ic centre of Strasbourg and will move on to general road signs around Strasbourg for comparison, and signs for the river Rhine. It will then move on to a discussion of the use of bilingual signs, including their patterns and prevalence and opinions on their use.Bilingual Street Name Signs in the Centre of StrasbourgFigure 1 Katzegass (source http//www.lexiophiles.com/english/france-%E2%80%93-belgium-bilingual-road-signs)In Strasbourg, an important and historic street Rue Du confer (Cat Street) is also signed as Katzegass. It can be seen from the photograph in Figure 1 that the French sign is clearly older than the Alsatian/German. two in style and condition, the French is seen to be the original with the newer German sign placed above.Figure 2 Isernemannsplatz (source http//www.grenzen.150m.com/strasbourgGB.htm)Another historic street in Strasbourgs tourer centre is Place De LHomme De Fer (Iron Mans Square). Figure 2 is a photograph of the two new signs that have replaced the old monolingual sign, the aperture clearly visible beneath the two signs. In this case, both new signs have been produced in the same style although different lettering is used. The French is in capitals and is placed above the Alsatian/German which is in italic script. This photograph was taken in 2001.Road Sign ExamplesFigure 3 Arrival to Strasbourg on the French side (source http//www.grenzen.150m.com/strasbourgGB.htm)Figure 3 is a photograph of a monolingual French sign Communaut Urbaine de Strasbourg (literally translated as Urban Community of Strasbourg or City of Strasbourg). This photograph was taken in 2001 on the French side of Strasbourg, on entering the city.Figure 4 Arrival to Strasbourg on the German side (source http//www.grenzen.150m.com/strasbourgGB.htm)Figure 4 depicts a monolingual German sign on arrival to Kehl, a district of Strasbourg on the German side, and Figure 5 is a photograph of a monolingual German sign leaving Kehl and travelling through Strasbourg toward s France. Comparison of Figure 3, 4 and 5 demonstrates that directional signs in Strasbourg are monolingual French on the side near to France and German on the side nearer to Germany.Figure 5 exit Kehl towards France (source http//www.grenzen.150m.com/strasbourgGB.htm)Signs for the River RhineFigure 6 Leaving Strasbourg (source http//www.grenzen.150m.com/strasbourgGB.htm)Leaving Strasbourg, a monolingual French sign indicating le Rhin (the Rhine river) is depicted in Figure 6. And Figure 7 depicts a German sign for Rhein the same river but seen from the German side.Figure 7 Leaving Strasbourg near the Europabrcke (source http//www.grenzen.150m.com/strasbourgGB.htm)Therefore it can be seen in comparing Figures 6 and 7, that signs for the river are monolingual in French or German depending on which side of the river is being signposted, rather than being bilingual.Patterns and Prevalence of Bilingual SignsStrictly speaking, Figure 1 and Figure 2 are not images of true bilingual sig ns, they are both images of two monolingual signs placed together. However due to the close proximity of these signs, and due to the fact that there are no true bilingual signs to be found, i.e. two languages on one sign, these will be classed as bilingual signage in this analysis.From these seven images it can clearly be seen that in signage other than street names, the signs in the Strasbourg area are monolingual. Given the cultural and historical significance of the Rhine river, it may be expedient to use bilingual signage for this, however as these photographs (taken in 2001) indicate, this has not been the case. It appears that the only examples of bilingual signage to be found in Strasbourg are in the historic centre, which may be considered the most tourist-visited area.Thus the patterns of signs in this region appear to be German on the side of the city nearer to Germany and French on the side nearer to the rest of France. This includes road signs for the towns and areas and for the river. In the centre there is bilingual signage for the street names.Opinions on Bilingual SignsPeople do not believe that the French government will promote the use of German. For instance there is little funding available for research projects into German in French universities. There is little encouragement to use written or spoken German in public life there is little acknowledgement of German as contributing to Frances cultural richness. People are deter from giving their children names that are too German although proper names and place names have remained in their traditional correct German form (Euromosaic, 2009).Public notices, door signs, hospital signs, school and trade signs are all in French. As can be seen from this primary source analysis, monolingual German road signs are only evident on the German side of the city. Euromosaic (2009) reports that a number of Commune authorities in France have begun to install bilingual street signs and that these usually ap pear in historic town centres. This is reportedly due to public pressure, and in Strasbourg this pressure group is referred to as Action-Pirate.The appearance of these signs in historic tourist areas appears to be a salve to indicate government support of a language that no longer presents a challenge to the dominant language of the state. If it is limited to use on street name signs, it become folklorique and antiquarian. It may be the equivalent of the English Ye Olde Teashoppe signs which are understood to be a reference to cultural history rather than a genuine attempt to reinstate a dead form of the language.This may be a misanthropical view, however with no evidence of bilingual signage immaterial of these tourist areas, as might be seen in a true bilingual country such as Wales, it is clear that the French authorities are making no effort to support the use of Alsatian in the Alsace. Instead it appears that the language is used as a gimmick to attract ethnic tourism.Conclus ionThis essay has analysed the prevalence and patterns of bilingual signs in Strasbourg. It has been seen that bilingual signage only appears in the historic centre, where outside of this the signs are monolingual. The conclusion drawn from this is that these signs form a gimmick to be used as a tourist draw. These signs are top down in Sohamys (2006) mechanism, and have a purpose other than simply naming the street. As part of the linguistic landscape, they point to the cultural history of the space rather than being needed for directional purposes.

Kate Chopins The Story of an Hour - A Big Story in a Small Space :: The Story of an Hour

Story of an Hour A Big Story in a Small quad Kate Chopins Story of an Hour, tells the story of a woman trapped in a repressive marriage, who wants desperately to escape. She is given that chance, quite by accident, and the story tells of the hour in which this freedom is given her. The story is very short (only two pages), so is interesting to look at as a minimalist found of literature, and the surprise end uping offers an opportunity to look at Chopins use of foreshadowing. The story is very short, but every word has import in the story and apiece line has great depth of meaning. It is possible to infer a great deal about the womans life, even though we ar given very secondary on the surface. A telegraph and a railroad are mentioned in the prototypal paragraph, so there is some idea of the time the story takes place. We are in any case given her married name and the full name of her husband. The fact that she is referred to only as Mrs. Mallard, while her husbands full name is given, coupled with what we contain on the second page, gives some indication of the repression shes had to suffer through and the indignity society placed on woman in those times. We also learn in the first paragraph that she lives in a mans world, for, though it is her sister that tells her the news, it is her husbands friend who rushes over with the story. Even after his death, she is confined to the structures she adopted with married life, including the close friends of her husband. It can also be assumed that Brently Mallard was fairly well off, because they live in a home with an upstairs, comfortable furnishings, and he has occasion and reason to travel. Also, they can contribute a doctors diagnosis that she has a heart condition. The most important idea that is conveyed in the story is summed up in two sentences, near the end of the story, There would be no powerful will bending hers in that blind persistence with which men and women believe they have a right to chew the fat a private will upon a fellow-creature. A kind intention or a cruel intention made the act seem no less a crime as she looked upon it in that brief moment of illumination.

Internet Censorship & Libraries Essay -- Argumentative Persuasive Essa

Libaries across the nation are in a dilemma, should they filter what information is available to its visitors via the mesh? This scenario is being debated all across the unify States. Many states are arguing oer whether or not the library has the authority to limit what information is accessible via the Internet computers at the library. The argument is over the First Amendment right of Free Speech. There are family groups who are actually in favor of allowing unfiltered access on the Internet, not what one would think. These groups also run on the notion of parents being with their children while they are on the Internet, not something that all parents have the luxury of being able to do. Other groups want the public Internet access points to be filtered, making the claim that any child at anytime can be harmfully exposed to Internet information that they may incorrectly understand. I will be showing options on what the local library should do, and explaining how I think the issue should be addressed from a topology sales booth as well as a technical one. Public Libraries Libraries in the United States have been battling censorship since the American depository library Association issued its first Library Bill of Rights in 1939. This document proclaimed the American Library Associations policy on intellectual freedom. With this bill libraries have been successful in defending their collections against censorship and supporting their right to provide unrestricted access to information for all users. Now the battleground has shifted from books to electronic information, mainly the Internet. Censorship of books has decreased, and has in turn shifted and gained a great deal more attention in ... ...Unknown. (1998). City Officials to consider filtering Internet at public libraries. Online. Available http//texnews.com/1998/texas/new1115.html. 1998, Nov.15. Wallace, Jonathon. (1997). Labelling, rating and filtering systems on the Internet. Online. Available http//www.spectacle.org/cda/rate.html. 1997, Sep. 02. Wallace, Jonathon. Purchasing of Blocking packet by Public Libraries in Unconstitutional A Briefing Paper, available at http//www.spectacle.org/cs/library.html Michels, Spencer. Easy Access? Should on-line porn be available at local libraries? Transcript available at http//www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/cyberspace/July-dec97/library_8-7.html Aug 7, 1997. Libraries struggle to control public Internet terminals. Online. Available http//cnn.com/TECH/computing/9901/25/library.porn.ap/ 1999, Jan, 25.