Intro to Linguistics Essay

The study of human languages; including the influence of one language on another; how language and words are formed and change within time; the rules of the language- how words are formed, the structure of sentences and words; relationship between culture and language; how language is acquired- the process of language acquisition (foreigner verses mother tongue language). There are two approaches/types of linguistics: 1. Traditional Linguistics- the only field that ruled until the 20 century. 2. Modern Linguistics Traditional Linguistics. Characteristics: 1. Proscriptive approach- according to this approach, linguists tell native speakers how to use their own mother tongue- what are the rules: set norms of/ dictating the right use of the language, the rules and the right use of the language- educating the native speakers. The goal is to tell the speakers what is considered right or wrong language. 2. Focus on the written language- Most of the focus is on the written text, which is considered superior to the spoken language; the base of the rules. 3. Diachronic Research (etymology) – Historical research- the study of the origins of words and languages, which reveals many connections between different languages. Due to technological developments, the influence of one language on another is even higher these days. Modern Linguistics At the beginning of the 20 century, there was a shift of interest to the following: The human languages are more complex and highly different than animal communication systems- due to amazing cognitive human communication ability (the language faculty). A known Swiss linguist, Ferdinand de Sassure- the first linguist to pose the following question: what do we know when we know a language (mother tongue)? By asking this question the focus of linguistics was shifted from grammar to the study of human language as a cognitive ability (cognitive science). The focus shifted to Language faculty ( ) – and what it consists of. Characteristics: 1. Descriptive approach- we observe native speakers’ use the language, both in writing and in speaking, and try to draw conclusions out of it- learn about the changes that the language undergoes through time. Not interested in what should be, but rather in what IS. There is no judgment of the use, just observation and description of the current use, in order to analyze and find correlations. 2. Focus is on the spoken language- point of departure is that the spoken language is more important to the research because of the following: * It is less conscious, more natural, spontaneous and dynamic and therefore it reflects better the current use of the language. * Not all languages have a written system, but everyone has at least one mother tongue language. * The written language is less natural- one needs to study it in a very logical way; whereas the spoken language –mother tongue is acquired in a natural process, common to everyone (normally in the early years of 3-4). 3. Synchronic Research (current) – the focus is not on the origin/History of the words; but on the current use of the words today. We are less interested in what happened; but rather in what is happening today. Knowing â€Å"The† whereas knowing â€Å"about†! 07/11/11 Linguistic Fields 1. Phonetics- the study of linguistic sounds (also called phones) which are consisted of consonants and vowels. The focus is on the articulation and pronunciation of sounds (independent of the letters/ graphics). How the sound is produced. It is independent of the letters (which is just the graphics). How we produce and perceive sounds. 2. Phonology- deals with sounds in interaction, and when they are brought together into words- they usually affect each other. Cats(s), dogs(z)- something very systematic- ( )) 3. Morphology- examines words’ structure, and the ways words are added into our vocabulary, i. e. – how we form new words. Ex- dis/content/ed/ness (the parts are also called Morphemes- small units of words) 4. Syntax- deals with sentence structure and the meaning of sentences. We also examine differences between languages- the order of verb and its subject, adj, nouns etc. In addition, we examine Syntaxic Processing , for example: Without her contributions/ are hard to find. – At first glance- it looks like something is missing in the sentence, when actually we did not process it in the right way- we can look at the sentence as: without her, contributions are hard to find. 5. Semantics- the study of meaning- both of words and sentences, and the logic behind them. 6. Pragmatics –deals with meaning in context- how we understand one another beyond what is actually said (the use of the language). For example: do you have the time? – One won’t answer: â€Å"yes†; but rather tell the person what time it is. Not like the dry literate meaning, Pragmatics deal with the actual use of language – meaning in context- beyond the literate words that were actually said. – 2 â€Å" â€Å"- : * 6 ( = – 6 ) * 6 ( = ! – ) 7. Discourse Analysis- Like Pragmatics, this also examines the use of language, but the focus is on the text. Written vs. spoken text; Narratives vs. expository text; the use of conjunctions; types of text; different tenses; complex vs. simple sentences; the length of sentences; vocabulary etc. 8. Language acquisition- we examine the process of acquiring a language- mother tongue and then foreign languages. How children acquire their mother tongue so quickly? How does the process happen? Which words are produced first etc. It is related to all the other fields mentioned above. 9. Neuro Linguistic- examines how linguistic knowledge is represented in the brain. For example: aphasia- brain injury that affects the part of the brain that understands linguistics. 10. Psycho Linguistic- a very big field that examines the correlation between language and psychological cognitive processes (for example: lexical retrieval). Sometimes one meaning of a word is more prominent than the other, depending on the context. For example: bug- insect/ computer related problem. The field also examines what happens when there is no context- how we associate between words and its meanings. For example: word priming- â€Å"Duck†-(goose/ book)- the word duck primes with goose, faster than with the word book. 11. Historical Linguistics- examines the evolution of languages, the origin of words, and the relation between languages- how they genetically related to one another (Etymology). 12. Computational Linguistics-deals with building artificial intelligence, creating models that try to imitate how language works and use it in different applications. Related to the implementation of linguistics. Information extraction, more practical. (for example: Google translate). 13. Clinical linguistics ( )- the use of linguistic tools for speech therapy, for people who have language disorders (both kids and adults). 14. Social Linguistics- the field that examines the interaction between language and society (socio economic and cultural factors). Socio-linguistics We distinguish between dialects- different varieties of the same language, as a result of many factors. Types of Dialects- 1. Geographic Dialect-changes according to region (city, country). In the states there are so many different dialects, depending on the area one grew up in. 2. Sociolect-typical for a certain group in the society, which has its own social, economic and cultural characteristics. 3. Idiolect-dialect that is typical to an individual. It is sometimes gradual, and we don’t always notice it. Usually bases on imitation. Each of us speaks a little bit differently (intonation, pronunciation, vocabulary etc). 21/11/11 Linguistic knowledge- every 4-5 year old can speak the mother tongue language. Where does the ability to understand and speak a language comes from? The 2 opposed approaches argue on the source of that ability/knowledge – Is it innate (genes) or acquired (comes from the environment, stimulates, feedback)? Two opposed currents in science, which have great debate on the nature of human knowledge in general. They argue on the source of the human knowledge: 1. Empiricism (John lock; Hume) -every person comes to the world, as a clean slate- have no knowledge, which means that human knowledge equals the sum of experiences. Nothing is innate, we are only equipped with the ability to respond. Everyone are born equal- with nothing innate. This means humans can be shaped- their thought can be manipulated using feedback and exposure. 2. Rationalism (Decardes)-claim that human knowledge does not equal the sum of experiences: we are born with some innate material- we are equipped with some ability, to which experience is added. Experience is not the only thing! All people are equal, but this equality is based on richness- we all share something very basic and innate, to which environment is added. At the beginning of the second half of the 20 century, the argument of human knowledge continued with regards to the human language – mother tongue (different theories): Behaviorism- As continuance of Empiricism- there was a current called Behaviorism (BF Skinner, wrote the Verbal Behavior, 1957). B. F. Skinner claimed, based on Empiricism, that Linguistic knowledge is based solely on exposure and the ability to react- to learn from experience. That means everything is acquired, nothing is in the Genes. Skinner also claimed we expand our sets of sentences, by analogy (differ in only one thing- thus it is able to expand one’s use with the other). For example: a kid only heard â€Å"John ate an apple†- but he will be able to create the following sentence: â€Å"John ate an Orange†; using Analogy. This means, we learn and use language, by: exposure +analogy. —————- In the following sentences, configuration of who does what changes (relationships between the entities) when changing the word â€Å"told† to â€Å"promise† and still, it is automatically understood by a child in his mother tongue: John told bill to clean the room; John promised Bill to clean the room. How? -analogy is not enough to explain the above. —————- Noam Chomsky (Influenced from Rationalism; wrote the Syntactic Structures, 1957) -a linguistic who argued against Skinner’s observations, claiming Analogy is not enough; and we have to assume inborn/innate linguistic knowledge, common to all human beings (regardless of their language or culture), which is also known as â€Å"the Hypothesis of innateness†. The experience and the feedback are mapped on to these language biological properties (encoded in our genes). The experience and feedback are not enough to explain mother tongue knowledge! We have to add it to something innate. Language is partially innate! Evidence Chomsky proposed to enforce his theory: 1. Properties of human languages (natural languages, animals’ communication systems are excluded)- * Homogeneity- except for pathological cases, all human beings acquire at least one mother tongue; more or less at the same time; regardless of their region, culture, socio-economical condition etc. This implies there is something biological in the acquiring of a mother tongue language- we are all the same. * Infiniteness- language is infinite- we have the ability to produce and understand an endless number of sentences, including sentences that we have never heard before. We have the ability to expand the language (for example- we never count to 1,000,000 but we can). * Identical properties across languages- there are some properties that all languages share (therefore- it has to be in the genes, otherwise – how can it be explained? ). For example: * All languages have nouns and verbs –thus, it has to be some inborn categories. * Universal grammer rules/structures, that all languages share: * John said that Mary bought a car. What did John say Mary bought? * Bill said that John said that Mary bought a car. What did Bill say that John said that Mary bought? * John spread the rumor that Mary bought a car. What did John spread the rumor that Mary bought? – Ungrammatical sentence- any speaker will know this sentence is ungrammatical- impossible in English. What prevents speakers of using the above structure intuitively (in other languages as well)? Chomsky claimed that there are universal constraints (in all grammer of all languages) that prevent it. 28/11/11 2. Properties of the process of language acquisition (mother tongue) * Process is quick and efficient- child has to acquire a very complex system of rules, and he does it by the age of 4-5. By the age of 5 he already masters the language (in comparison to the long and complex process of learning a foreigner language). It shows that there is something innate behind it, otherwise- it would have been a quick process also when learning foreigner language. * Critical period/age- there is a certain age in which the child must be exposed to a language (the innate system has to be stimulated, activated), in order to acquire it- the age is usually around 6-8, and in some extreme cases it can go until adolescence (16). If it was not activated during the critical period, the child will have no mother tongue- he will have no grammer. He will be able to communicate in a basic function, but without the richness and infinity of the mother tongue acquisition, since the brain is no longer elastic enough to acquire a mother tongue. The issue of critical period provides support for the importance of both exposer and innate theories. Chomsky agrees that exposer is crucial, but it is crucial to activate innate abilities. If it was only exposer – it would have been possible to acquire a mother tongue at any age. * Process is spontaneous/ immune against external interference- the process happens by itself and the teacher/ parent cannot manipulate it. MCNeal (1964)-research that shows you cannot manipulate child’s grammer, it will eventually change by itself with exposer. * Identical stages across languages- children acquire their mother tongue in parallel stages across linguistics, more or less at the same time, regardless of the language. This shows that there is some biological aspect to the process of mother tongue acquisition we have to assume something innate in order for the process to be so universal. (First they babble, then acquire first words, combining 2 words together, then start using sentences). * Poverty of stimuli- stimuli(the input) is poor- it is not enough to explain completely how a child acquires and masters his mother tongue: a. The stimuli is partial and consists of errors- the child can never be exposed to everything, still he makes up sentences he has never heard before. What he is exposed to is limited, yet what he can produce is endless. In addition, the stimuli consist of errors- he child doesn’t always listen to complete/ grammatical correct sentences: the input he hears consists of partial sentences and grammatical errors; yet the children know how to filter the errors and eventually acquire a perfect grammer. b. There is no teaching- the process of acquiring a mother tongue involves no methodological and pedagogical process (in regard to grammer). c. No negative evidence- there are mistakes that no child will ever make, even though he is not told ahead not to make them. For example: John thinks he is smart (he can be either John or somebody else) VS. He thinks John is smart (he can never refer to John). When examining language acquisition, we see children making many mistakes, but no child will ever use the second sentence when he wants to refer to John. No child will make such mistakes to begin with- they just know, without being told ahead. De Sassure – was the first one to ask what do we know when we know a language? What does it mean to know a language? He distinguished between the following terms: * Langue-the rules of the language, that are agreed upon by some society. The rules of a language, but from a social point of view (a social term). * Parole-everything we use or say- the way we actually use the language (What we actually do, language wise). Linguists are generally more interested in the Langue (the knowledge). De Sassure didn’t relate to the question of innateness- what abilities, if any, we have in our minds†¦ 12/12/11 Noam Chomsky used 2 other terms: Competence vs. Performance. 1. Performance: the same as Parole: performance is how we actually use the language: what we actually write or say. 2. Competence: is not exactly the same as Langue. Both relate to the rules of the language, but Langue is about the society, the community (grammer is something social, that we all agree on- social interaction creating social agreement) and Competence is about the individual (the system one has in his mind: some of it comes from the genes and some from the environment). Competence is the ability that each of us has to produce and understand an endless number of sentences. Every speaker of every language, has the ability (whether it is innate or not). The point of view of Chomsky and De Sassure is different when relating to the rules of the language. In modern linguistics- the focus is on the Langue- competence and not directly what we say/do with the language (the main goal is to crack the black box and understand how the system works). The performance is the mean to learn about the competence, not the direct end. It teaches us/indicates about the competence: the way we speak or write tells us about how the knowledge is organized in one’s mind. The main question that linguists ask is: what does competence consist of? Chomsky’s Model: UG+EXPOSER= G. Chomsky assumes innateness and that language faculty is to some extent universal (some things are common to all languages). He Offers a SPECIFIC model for this question: When a child is born he is in the initial state. In this state, he has some specific knowledge, shared by all languages: Universal Grammer (UG) – it is the grammer that is common to all languages. In addition to the difference in vocabulary, there are grammatical differences between languages: by the end of the critical period, he has more than the UG, he ends up with Particular Grammer (PG, G)- specific grammer of a specific language. There are many Gs, as many as the number of languages in the world. A child is equipped with universal grammer, common to all languages, and during the first years he is exposed to his mother tongue and how it takes place (feedback, corrections, mistakes etc)- and acquires particular/specific grammer. UG+EXPOSER= G. The G is a combination of something innate and something that comes from the environment. What does the UG consist of? According to Chomsky’s model, UG consists of two things: 1. Principles- rules that are innate and that are common to all languages (things that don’t change at all from one language to another, such as: the existence of nasal consonants). 2. Parameters- those are also rules that are innate, and are also part of universal grammer; but in contrast to principals, these are open rules, whose values (â€Å"fillings†) are acquired during the exposer. The values are not common to different languages, Thus they have to be acquired via exposer. For example: in all language there is a subject in every sentence; but in some languages the subject must be a separate entity- which means the subject position is always occupied vs. in some languages the subject can be dropped (English does not allow the dropping of a subject: can’t say â€Å"ate an apple†. We must add a subject; vs. Hebrew- – â€Å" † represents the subject. In the French language, we are not allowed to drop the subject, even when it is known who did the action: J’ai mange la pomme- the French â€Å"ai† is like the Hebrew â€Å" † , yet we still cannot drop the J: we have to have a separate entity for the subject). This parameter is called the Null subject parameter ( )- The Parameter: the subject must be pronounced separately; The Values of the Parameter: (that has to be filled- determined through the acquisition process) Yes or No. In Hebrew and Italian the value is no (in some cases, we can have a sentence without a subject), in English and French the value is Yes. During the critical period, the child is exposed to the data in his mother tongue and they acquire the values to the fixed parameters (the parameter is innate, its values though are not innate- they change from language to language and acquired in the child’s critical period). Another Parameter is: * It is hot outside- * It seems that Marry is late- * There is a cat in the room- In English the occurrence of the pronouns (functioning as the sentence’s subject) â€Å"it† and â€Å"there† is a must: they cannot be dropped (it is not grammatical, although one will be perfectly understood if he’ll say it); in Hebrew, we can drop them. Even though semantically we don’t need the subject, in English it must be filled. These pronouns are called: Expletive / Pleonastic Pronouns- pronouns that do not refer to an entity, but they’re only function is to fill the subject position. They HAVE NO SEMANTIC ROLE, THEY ARE ONLY THERE TO FILL THE POSTION OF THE SUBJECT. We distinguish between pleonastic pronouns and referential pronouns, which refer to some kind of entity (he, she, w, they etc). â€Å"It† and â€Å"There† are not always expletive pronouns- they can also function as referential pronouns: It is hot outside (expletive) vs. I can’t eat the soup, (referential); the cat is there (referential) vs. there is a cat in the room (expletive). We can relate to it as two parameters: 1. Parameter: an expletive pronoun exists; values: yes/no. (In English- yes, in Hebrew- no). 2. Parameter: a subject is a must; values: yes/no. (We can say that if a language must have a subject, it will necessary have Expletive pronouns; and vice versa: If the subject is not a must- there are no expletive pronouns. there might be, but they will not be a must). The two things come together- * Cluster of properties- The Parameters come in clusters- one affects/ can teach about the other. The existence of Principles and Parameters strengthens the hypothesis of innateness, because it shows the occurrence of certain grammer structures is not random- there is something consistent across different languages, which therefore must be predetermined, innate. 19/12/11 Some languages require an independent subject and in addition- they have expletive pronouns (it seems that the quiz will be difficult- expletive; this soup is not tasty because it is cold. – The â€Å"it† is referential- points to an entity). Proposition Stranding and Pied Piping â€Å"Who did you speak to? † can also be asked as followed: â€Å"To whom did you speak? â€Å"- These are two possible grammatical structures that manifest the same idea. It is not possible in Hebrew: : : This construction is called- Preposition Stranding- you desert the proposition by itself: leaving the proposition by itself at the end of the sentence. It can be viewed as a parameter, differentiating languages. Another construction/parameter is: Pied Piping- locating the proposition at the beginning of the sentence. This parameter is valued â€Å"yes† in both English and Hebrew (allowed in both languages). Material for the quiz is up to here! ————————————————- Phonetics and Phonology- These are both fields that deal with sound and specifically linguistic sounds (phones- ) – sounds that are parts of a language. Phones are divided into: consonants (b, l, r, m†¦) and vowels (e, a, i†¦ ). The differentiation doesn’t refer to the letters, but to the sounds that are used naturally/ automatically. (Since the same sound can be expressed/ represented by different symbols/letters, for example: the sound â€Å"K†- is represented by 4 letters: k, c, q, ch. We will refer to all 4 as â€Å"K†). In Phonetics- Different sounds are examined in different languages: how they are produced and how they are perceived- it is a technical field regarding how pronunciation works. One sound can be expressed/ represented by different symbols/letters or one letter â€Å"u† represents many sounds: university, fur, put, cut etc. Conclusion: there is no correspondence between sound and symbol. Phonetic systems (systems of symbols- used for transcription- write exactly as you here it- distinguish between spelling and pronunciation) 1. International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) – a system of symbols, used mainly by linguists, in which every sound corresponds to one symbol and vice versa. 2. American Phonetic Alphabet (APA) – similar, yet competing system to the IPA. These are two similar, yet competing, artificial languages/ systems, dealing with the ambiguity of the languages/ with the lack of correspondence between sound and symbol. Both systems are based on English letters, other than special sounds/exceptions (that have no one specific letter in English that prescribe them) such as: * in order to indicate/transcribe â€Å"sh† – we use: stretched big s (IPA) or s^(APA)- (the ^ should be upside down) * ch= t+stretched big S with a bow on top of them (IPA) or c^ (APA) * for th (such as in thin) = 0 with a line across it (APA+IPA) 26/12/11 A minimal pair- * big- pig * sing- sang. * dean- teen (The only difference is the phone- â€Å"t† vs â€Å"d†. The spelling is irrelevant) * knight- light These words are different in meaning, yet they are different in only one sound. The switch of the consonant â€Å"g†/ â€Å"p† changes the meaning of the word. This kind of word pairs are called â€Å"minimal pair†-a pair of words that differ from one another in meaning and in one phone (sound) only. (Only one difference in pronunciation- the spelling is irrelevant) * night- knight : are not a minimal pair, because there is no difference in pronunciation. Phoneme- Phoneme- a minimal linguistic unit that can change the meaning. One of the goals of recognizing minimal pairs is to recognize the basic sounds in a language, that can cause a change of meaning. We use the tool of minimal pairs to identify and distinguish between the Phonemes of a language. Aspirated consonant ( ) * Spy vs. pie- when we pronounce â€Å"pie†, there is a greater puff of air when pronounced. This is also the case in: stole vs. tall (in â€Å"tall† we puff much more air). These are aspirated consonants, which are marked with a little â€Å"h† on top of the consonant. They are two types for the same consonant- the regular and the aspirated one, where we puff a greater amount of air (pie; tall). Are the aspirated consonants phonemes? (Can they distinguish between a minimal pair? -can we find a pair of words that the only difference between them is aspirated consonant vs. non-aspirated). In English, there is no such pair; yet in the Hindi language we can find several examples. Conclusions: 1. In English, they are not phonemes (vs. Hindi), because they can never occur in the same environment/location of the word, which means they are 2 manifestations/versions of the same thing. We can predict in which environment/ when the aspirated consonant will occur. 2. Minimal pairs are used to distinguish between phonemes and also to determine which consonants and vowel are not phonemes. 2/1/2012 Pig – big (minimal pair) vs. Pie, spy (not a minimal pair since there are 2 differences in pound). In English, aspirated and regular – Complementary Distribution- these two sounds never occur at the same environment/ same location of the words, which means they are two manifestations of the same thing – of the phone â€Å"p†. This means P is the phoneme which has two manifestations: aspirated and regular (non-aspirated). This means that this phone has two allophones. Two ways of language representation- 1. Phonemes- the general term for linguistics sounds. These are the basic sounds of a language, and are language specific (are not the same in different languages). They are part of the Underlying Representation (UR): the way and the place words and sounds in specific, are represented in our mind- in the â€Å"backstage†- abstract representation. The phoneme has two manifestations: one is the actual p and the other is the aspirated one. 2. What we actually say are allophones. Allophones are in the Phonetic/ Representation (PR) – what comes out of our mouths (articulation). Every phoneme is also an allophone, but not the other way around! Thus, there are some things that are represented in the PR, yet are not represented in the UR (like the aspirated p). In the Ur we have the regular P phoneme, which has two manifestations in the PR: In English, the only case we see an aspirated P is in the beginning of a word and before a vowel (both must occur together). In all other case the P will not be aspirated. For example: Possible, put, pink, pan, etc. vs. apply, spring, play etc. This means the aspirated P has no independence existence- we can predict its occurrence. The default is the regular P and only in a specific environment will have an aspirated P. The aspirated P doesn’t exist in the UR! Another example is: regular â€Å"N† vs. the back â€Å"N†: They cannot distinguish between minimal pairs in English- will never occur in the same environment. We will find the back â€Å"n† only before the sounds â€Å"k† and â€Å"g†- in specific environment, which is predictable. For ex: bank, Bangkok, rank, chunk, rang, ring, thanks, bring. The normal N is the default – will occur everywhere else, except for before the sounds: â€Å"g† and â€Å"k† sounds. These two allophones are two versions of the same thing (of the one phoneme) that never occur in the same environment- complementary distribution. â€Å"N† is the phoneme, which has two allophones: â€Å"n† and back â€Å"n†. We can predict exactly where each of the manifestations will occur. * The phoneme is in the UR and the allophones are in the PR. * The default is always in the UR! – The phoneme. * The allophones are always in complementary distribution- meaning they never occur in the same environment and will never distinguish between minimal pairs. You can nver find in English 2 words where the only difference between them will be â€Å"n† and back â€Å"n†. * Minimal pairs are the tools to identify phonemes. Distinctive Features 1. Aspiration The pair pal- pal (with aspirated p) in Hindi – these two words are different in meaning and in one phone only. In specific, they are different in one feature only: aspirated vs. non-aspirated. This means, they constitute a minimal pair (In Hindi). Aspiration – this feature in Hindi unlike the English, we have both – because they have independent existence- each of them is a phoneme on its own. Aspiration – this feature in Hindi, unlike English, is a Distinctive Feature- a feature that distinguishes between 2 phonemes in the same language and as a result it can create a difference between minimal pairs. Aspiration is not a distinctive feature in Hebrew and English. It is a distinctive feature in Hindi language. 2. Voicing ( )- Dean – Teen: â€Å"d†- Is a voice (+voice) consonant ( ) and â€Å"t† is voiceless (- voice). This feature, called voicing, creates different meaning in both words. Thus, it is a distinctive feature in English, because it can distinguish between minimal pairs. Minimal pair- a minimal pair is a pair of words that differ from one another in one meaning, 1 phone (sound) only, and the 2 phones must be different in one feature! 9/1/2012 Phonetic features of consonants- What makes sound/phones different from one another? Linguistic sounds are called phones, and are divided into: consonants and vowels. The difference between the two: in the production of vowels the air flows freely, however in the production of consonants the air is blocked to some extent. The speech organs- body organs that are involved in the production of phones (Lips, tongue, nose, teeth, and palate). Generally, the following are involved: the oral cavity and the nasal cavity ( ). The consonants differ from one another according to 3 criteria: 1. Place of articulation- the location in which the air is blocked and the consonant is produced (B- in the lips; T- in the tongue; P-in the lips and teeth) 2. Manner of articulation ( ) – relates to the manner of the air flow and the degree of blocking. For example: â€Å"n†- blocked in the nose. 3. Voicing- relates to the vibration/ the lack of vibrat.

A Christian View of Beauty Essay

Beauty, a term once revered in ancient days as the pinnacle of physical attributes embodied in worldly entities, has seemingly in this day lost much of its meaning. Phrases like â€Å"beauty is in the eye of the beholder† have surprisingly become commonplace, and even Christians have begun to subscribe to the notion of aesthetic relativism. Specifically, this is the idea that beauty is purely contained within the observer and objects on their own have no aesthetic value in and of themselves. It is what has effectively stripped the main essence from the old ideal of beauty, and in my opinion a primary reason why there are so many who cannot see or refuse to see God in the world today. â€Å"Beauty is in the eye of the beholder†, the oft-heard phrase today, refers to one’s belief in the subjectivity of beauty—that is, aesthetic relativism. This prevailing belief dictates that my own perception of what is beautiful does not necessarily correlate to others’ perception of what they find beautiful. Simply because I find a song inspiring and relaxing does not necessarily mean that everyone will and it’s even pretentious and rude of me to insist so. And since everyone has their own particular tastes in all types of art, it is inferred that those tastes correlate to true beauty in their own eyes. But, this whole concept of beauty in each man’s own perception is severely lacking: it gives our own God far too little credit for the creation itself. In my opinion, a greatly preferable view for one who professes to believe in a divine creator is the belief in the objectivity of beauty. Perhaps the ancient Greeks were on to something after all when artists such as Polykleitos sought the perfect proportions of beauty. Such a pursuit required one to see beauty as objective: something contained within the object itself. Especially farseeing was Plato’s belief in the â€Å"idea† realm, in which perfect prototypes of every living and nonliving thing existed. It was a transcendent realm which we could never quite reach in terms of achieving this perfect â€Å"idea form†. Such a theory, old as it is, is not very far from the truth in my opinion. The real truth of beauty lies in none other than our own God. Nevertheless, I think it is necessary to divide beauty into two types to see how God influences it. There is a physical beauty in each living and nonliving thing; something which can be perceived by the eye. Such beauty, I think, aligns with Plato’s â€Å"idea form† concept—that is, we perceive things as the most beautiful when they are closest to that ideal shape from which they were wrought. Among my beliefs is that God really does have ideal forms in His own mind, from which spring forth every single precious creation. God’s creations are often universally seen as beautiful to us—forests, rivers, grasslands, domestic animals and wild animals alike are loved by us and sometimes even worshipped for their beauty. Their forms tend to be very similar among their own kind, and many different organizations strive to find the perfect proportions, coloring, and other attributes of them. A well-known example is the American Kennel Club, which appoints judges in dog shows who determine the ideal proportions of many breeds of dogs. In such competitions, we are striving to find the ideal, most beautiful form of dogs, which strongly hints at a belief in an archetypal â€Å"idea form†. Perhaps the human form itself could even have its archetypal roots in Adam and Eve; but regardless, humans who most closely fit this prototypical form are perceived as most beautiful by others. Ugliness is the disfiguration or mutilation of this form, such as severed parts or scars or even obesity. Even so, there is always some degree of the supreme beauty in each and every creation, for God’s own light can shine through even the darkest of places. Indeed, God’s original beauty shining through us and our own creations is the main source of aesthetic pleasure in this world. God revealed this to us in Ezekiel 16:14, when He declared â€Å"And your fame spread among the nations on account of your beauty, because the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect†. This constitutes a second kind of beauty, a nonphysical and more conceptual beauty. Such beauty is what normally would be seen in man’s creations and his very personality. It can be witnessed in personalities such as a warm and inviting host, a charitable man who goes out of his way to help others, or something as simple as one who laughs often. And, of course, a massive demonstrator of this kind of beauty is creations of man’s own design such as music, paintings, and sculptures which frequently grab hold of our emotions. The reason these things are so beautiful is simple: God’s immense love when He created us and our intellects is still shown brilliantly in things which we produce. These do not necessarily have to be direct reflections of God’s own exquisite creations (as in the Realist style of art); His magnificence can be shown in abstract art as well. A good example is the Asian kanji form of writing, which for centuries has been considered highly artistic and stylized. The Japanese kanji ai, or â€Å"love† (Appendix A) has a very smooth and majestic feel, and is capable of triggering human emotions of wonder and calmness on its own. It is a mere thirteen strokes of a brush, yet because of God’s own love and inventiveness shining through the artist onto the paper, we can consider it beautiful. Truly, God’s creativeness can be seen in every single thing which man has created, and therefore we can see some degree of beauty in everything. Looking at the world in this objective way is doubtlessly far greater than the popular aesthetic relativist stance in contemporary culture. It introduces a sense of wonder in the individual in everything he perceives, because he has the knowledge that it was specifically created by the supreme God and personally beheld in all its glory as â€Å"very good† (Genesis 1:31). Hiking through mountainous forests can fill a man with such a sense of sheer majesty that it can be a religious experience, and I have personally witnessed even unbelievers profess to see a glimpse of God in such prime examples of His glorious creation. Even more typical occurrences such as a snowy night under a star-speckled sky or waking up to a dazzling sunrise peeking through lush treetops can in a person bring forth extreme awe if that person accepts aesthetic objectivity through God. Maybe the subjectivity of beauty is not as enlightened as it appears to countless millions in our culture. The beauty in that captivating mountainous forest or star-speckled sky becomes fully dependent on the individual. It’s reduced to a matter of taste, and if a person finds such things wondrous, that in itself does not make them truly and rapturously divine as it does in one who believes that God Himself has blessed such occurrences. Beautiful entities are simply something which an individual deems â€Å"nice† or â€Å"quaint† to which someone else might readily disagree, in contrast to a glimpse of the utter splendor of God. Some things are beautiful, some are ugly, and it all depends on preference; whereas objectivity of beauty proclaims that beauty is to be found everywhere in varying degrees. Aesthetic relativism ultimately leads to a sense of incuriosity towards much of the world and blocking out what does not â€Å"suit your taste†, a sort of omnipresent mild malaise of the subconscious. It would be wiser to consider that â€Å"the splendor I had given you made your beauty perfect† (Ezekiel 16:14), and approach the magnificent world with an ever-growing curiousness and a watchful eye for the inherent beauty present in each and every creation.

Civilization and Its Discontents Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Civilization and Its Discontents - Essay Example The essay "Civilization and Its Discontents" talks about the central thesis of Sigmund Freud’s "Civilization and its Discontents" which is the assertion that the conflict between sexual needs and the societies restrictions is a big factor to human â€Å"dissatisfaction, aggression, hostility and ultimately, violence†. Given that the book was published in 1930, people’s mindsets were largely conservative, which led to protests and outcry against the book. But putting it in a purely scientific context, there is much truth in this thesis. Freud’s introduction to his book begins with the following lines: â€Å"Psycho-Analytic work has shown that these frustrations in respect of sexual life are especially unendurable to the so-called neurotics among us. These persons manufacture substitute-gratifications for themselves in their symptoms, which, however, are either painful in themselves or become the cause of suffering owing to the difficulties they create for the person's environment and society at large†¦ but culture demands other sacrifices besides that of sexual gratifications.† Further support for the Freudian view of human discontent could be found in Isabel Fonseca’s seminal work on the Gypsy tribes – Bury Me Standing. Fonseca attempts to decipher several aspects of the Gypsy way of life. The author shows that by virtue of remaining in their native geographies and not letting go of their primitive lifestyles, the Gypsies don’t live unfulfilled lives.

Temporary home Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Temporary home - Movie Review Example Dorothy Law Nolte’s â€Å"Children Learn What They Live† made me realize the roles we play as adults. In social work, we establish a relationship based on trust. This is especially true with families who are facing complex issues. Proper guidance and counseling approaches are used to help them improve the socio-psychological functions of each family member. We play an active and positive role in promoting growth and development of these people, especially children, giving due consideration to their background and regard to sensitive issues they are facing. Our main goal is to help them to live a productive life by asking family members to assist and participate, to be able to analyze their situations. The poem can be used as a guide in order to find out and consider possible causes of the different attitudes of each family member. We can teach the poem to family members and make them realize the importance of positive attitude towards others, more particularly how adult s should teach their children by

Brainstorming Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Brainstorming - Assignment Example It may improve collaboration and increase the quantity of ideas, and it is designed so that all attendees participate and no ideas are rejected. The process begins with a well-defined topic. Each participant brainstorms individually, then all the ideas are merged onto one large idea map. During this phase, participants discover a common understanding of the issues as they share the meanings behind their ideas. (Google video) Identifying the problem at hand in the first place is a very bright idea for the group. By doing this, the group has a varied set of ideas they can generate in order to come up with the solution. The way also the group sits in a relaxed manner and informal way thus allowing free flow of ideas. During this sharing, new ideas may arise by the association, and they are added to the map as well. Once all the ideas are captured, the group can prioritize and take action. This is the idea the team seems to take to tackle the problem at hand. This way, the group comes up with the solution easily. (Google video) Brainstorming is surely the best way to solve problems and come up with new ideas. This is demonstrated by the virtue that Google video. Google uses this method steering it to great heights. The group also portrays great teamwork and this is a great motivation to the entire

Great Depression Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Great Depression - Essay Example The citizens, on the other hand, cut down their expenditure. It then spread to the other parts of the world because of the relationships the US had with other countries. Both the poor and the rich countries felt the effects of the great depression. Cities were affected and mostly the ones which depended on heavy industry. Construction and farming were hit hard. The level of joblessness rose. Citizens blamed the president in power for the economic depression they were facing and were not willing to re-elect him back to power. This led to the election of President Roosevelt, a democrat, who applied some changes in the economy of America and adopted new policies. In the mid 1930s, some economies began to recover with some recovering after the end of the World War 2. This essay will look into the causes of the Great depression and the reasons it lasted so long. Causes of the Great Depression The economic depression happened because of a number of causes. The crash of the stock market is said to be the spark that ignited the fire of the economic depression. A number of scholars agree that it is the leading cause of the great depression. At the end of the market day on 24 October, the market had declined by 21 percent from the high. The market fell by several points in the first three quarters of the year. A selling panic occurred. By the year 1932, when the crash was completed, stocks had lost almost 90 percent of their value. The great depression could not be avoided despite the fact that the stock market recovered some of its losses (Walton 424). Another cause of the depression was the reduction in purchasing. After the fall in the stock market, people of both the upper and lower classes stopped purchasing items. This was due to the fear of probable future economic problems. No one was ready to risk his property. Resultantly, the production of items decreased leading to need of a smaller work force. Employees had to sack a number of their employees to reduce the w orkforce resulting in a rise in the number of the unemployed to a percentage of around twenty-five. The people who lost their jobs could not continue paying for the items they had bought hence led to repossession of their items (Walton 425). Another great cause of the depression was bank failures. Over nine thousand banks failed throughout the 1930s. This failure led a massive number of people losing their savings and rendering them broke. The few surviving banks were concerned with how they will be able to continue. They hence had to come up with new strategies on how they will continue without failing. One of the strategies was they are not extending loans. This lead to a worse situation than it was after savings got lost because of bank failures. People spent less since they had lost savings in the failed banks and the surviving banks were not ready to give them loans. Hence, the demand went down (Walton 429). Things got more difficult and businesses started failing. The American government thought that creating an American economic policy with Europe will save the situation but it did not. This policy was called the Smoot-Hawley Tariff and was created in the 1930. Its aim was to help protect the American companies. The policy increased the import tax charge. This increase in the import tax led to less trade between America and foreign countries. Countries found it expensive to trade with America after the increase in the i

Movies Influence Among the People Research Proposal

Movies Influence Among the People - Research Proposal Example The most popular and influential of all movie industries is obviously, Hollywood. According to Allan and Barbara Pease, American films have been one media that brought about the vast spreading of American culture throughout the world, even in shaping the culture of the younger generation of in some parts of Asia. Hollywood plays a big part in the development of one's culture, as well as in the development of one's life. The media gives, and the audience receives. By studying (Hollywood) movie fanatics, we will know the reason as to why these people love to watch movies a lot; it could be discovered what genre of movies people of a certain culture prefer - as this is related to their daily routine and lifestyle; finding out if movie fanatics lead lives influenced by movies, or if these have affected their lives. Hollywood, too, is quite curious as to the numbers that upcoming box office hits may produce. They have hired three companies, namely, IAG Research, OTX, and the National Research Group to actually study these. These companies conduct different surveys, but only have one question they want answered, "Are movie goers still interested in a new release" (Horn 1). Just like in anything else, movie goers too have their own preferences when it comes to the movies they are fond of watching. Is this connected to their culture and lifestyle That is one question we would like to find out. In 2008, it has been noted that one of the quite surprising box-office results has been the performance of the movie, "The Game Plan." Most movies usually drop some 50% every weekend. However, this feel-good football film stays on, even on its second week of release (Horn 2). Americans are sports lovers by nature, and having baseball, football, and basketball in the list, this movie surely captured the audie nces by its relation to their cultural side, as a sporty nation. It is also to be noted that the movie showed the story of a father and his estranged daughter, which also reflect a part of the American lifestyle today. Movies' influence among the people is very strong that scenes depicting the stars smoking are being asked to be removed from youth-rated movies as this could influence, mostly the young members of society when they see their favorite star having a fondness for it (Guardian News and Media 2008). The lifestyle of the current times is very much faster and more stressful compared to those in the past that watching movies have been such a pacifier against stressful living. The movies create an escape from reality, and into the land of one's imaginary desires. Whatever the theme may be, it is a refuge for the busy minds of today's world and the hustle and bustle that comes with it (Connors). Plans for the Research Since movies are released weekly in the cinemas, plus movie goers are everywhere - as it is quite a trend, having movie watching considered as a recreation for some, it would probably take 4-6 weeks to complete the research. Observing the weekly releases and how the people in general respond to it is one way of gauging what do movie goers/movie fanatics really want, in terms of movies' genre. The

Chicano Movement Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Chicano Movement - Essay Example Luis Valdez was a Mexican American who hailed from a family of migrant farm workers. Valdez’s parents, Francisco and Armida Valdez, moved from farm to farm as hired hands where Valdez was also expected to help out in order the support to the big family of 10 children that his parents had. Even though Valdez was expected to both work and read and his schools kept changing, Valdez attained a strong position for himself as a student excelling in performing arts (Meier, 230). Luis Valdez is the father of Chicano Theatre. This is because he formed the El Teatro Campesino which served as the first platform for performing arts for the Chicano Movement. Valdez’s love for the performing arts began when his school teacher introduced him to puppet art. Later during his college and university days, Valdez pursued the love and created his own theatre group. The purpose of this theatre group was to bring the plight of the Mexican Americans to the forefront. Valdez began working in theatre during his college days at San Jose State College. In 1963, he introduced his first play. The Shrunken Head of Pancho Villa was one play that Valdez directed and wrote during his time in San Jose State College. After leaving college, Valdez went on to join a Mime Troupe based in San Francisco. It was from here that Valdez learned the method of using theatre as a platform for expressing his own pent up anger. It was on the basis of this work that Valdez formed his theatre group in 1965. This was a group that toured different cities and enacted short one-act plays, also known as an actor.

MS A.S.Thafeni Essay Example for Free

MS A.S.Thafeni Essay 1. How did I engage myself with the group? Deciding which group or organization to engage with was not easy for me. I had to play around with some ideas and think which one because we have plenty of them around here. In my community we have Trauma Center, FAMSA; we also have lay counselors who are making a difference in more informal way. However deciding how to approach one of them wasn’t easy at all. I felt anxious every time I had to make a choice. I reflected to one of my experiences I encountered long time ago when I relocated to another country (Angola) for three years. When I had to meet different people, different culture, language and so forth. It was totally new environment for me and I had to adjust very fast. The first step I took was to make an appointment with one nurse in charge in our local clinic to authorize me to do my observation in the clinic with the help of my nephew who was employed at the clinic. She agreed. I also went to FAMSA and try to negotiate my entry there as person who needs help, unfortunately, they were not in that day. Then I decided to engage with the group located in my clinic where I got permission. . I learned lay counselors are in attempt to bring change in our community. Targeted members are those patients who visit or come to clinic on a daily basis for various reasons. The group meets during the week (Monday to Friday) at 8am – 10pm. The establishment of the group was two years ago because the concern some few community members had. It seems it has been started by local community members who were concerned about certain issues that affect people. They felt that buy working together as community would bring a difference and enhance life of other people. They also thought that this group will bring some changes in their homes and to community as a whole. This awareness program is not static, new members are introduced daily, weekly and monthly as the group is informal. The program compels no one to stay, people do have right to choice and freedom and it’s being respected by everyone. The goal of this program is to make the people aware of some disease and illness that affect us and consciously and unconsciously. I understand since this program started two years ago, it has been successful. People show interests  and others report that there has been a radical change in their lives as now they know the importance of taking their treatment especially on time, completing the treatment, eating healthy, exercising, teenage pregnancy decreased as youth now know how to protect themselves against the diseases, abortions decreased and so forth. This kind of reports is what kept the program alive. I also understand this program reached so many people every month as they count approximately 300 to 400 monthly. Again they hope that in the long run the community will be better, HIV/AIDS, TB, Teenage pregnancy will be decreased by 50%. What made them certain is that in 2012 when this program commenced within six to seven months, TB and HIV/AIDS was combated seriously and clinic reported that 2% less/ reduced. I also learned that people wants to be taught with the language they understand so that they can participate fully about the things affect their lives on the daily basis. I came to know the group because I am also a community member who also uses the facilities available to my community such as the clinic. Most of the time when I visited my clinic I used to see people entering certain door and I asked a friend who was sitting next to me and also as I have mentioned above I have a nephew who is employed there about the group and she explained to me. Initially, I never give myself time to join or to be interested in whatever they are doing but studying this module made me to be interested in the group. My nephew who works at the clinic helped me to enter the space by introducing me to the nurse in charge. I made appointment with appointment with the nurse. I had to make an appointment because for me it indicated respect as I wouldn’t just enter as I please in the group without permission. I had five minutes with the nurse and explain who I am? What do I want to do? Why, How? When? And after that she gave me permission. What is important I  indicated that whatever I am going to observe here is strictly confidential; it’s only for my assignment purpose. The nurse introduced me to the facilitator who was facilitating the group and I was highly accepted as part of the family but as an observer. The main area of focus is to teach or  make the community members aware about various issues that affect them on the daily basis. Issues such as Teenage pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, TB, STI’s, etc. They also focused on teaching morality because they believe good morality will result in reduced mortality. 2. I had few assumptions before engaging in the context. Assumption 1- The Environment= the environment should be conducive so that members should be comfortable. Assumption 2-The group share common interest. Assumption 3- They group should share common problem. Assumption 4- They must have open communication. Assumption 5 They should have solution to their problem. Assumption 6 – Decisions are made collectively. All these assumptions are only based on my observations that are not confirmed. I was also aware that even though they form a group but they are still unique individuals with their unique experiences (proposition 1 2). These unique experiences will bring change to their lives. I also believed that as a group they have collective knowledge, skills and potential. The only thing that is required is the facilitator to release that potential resource. Aspects pertaining to the social context as well as social issues that the group is grappling with or the challenges the group is facing are denial and distortions about the disease such as HIV/AIDS. Some member of the group came with the interesting aspect that HIV/Aids caused by super natural causes. It is caused by people casting a spell over you (bewitched) (boloi- South Sotho). Some will say the disease can be cured, they know the traditional healers who cured somebody. Some will say its indication  of ancestors calling. Some claims that they don’t have food in order for them to take treatment. Because of these challenges the program had to be adjusted a little bit to accommodate these challenges. The members will somewhere somehow include God and super naturals in their discussions, for an example, a woman was taught about the HIV/AIDS illness, how we contact it and so forth, and she also made her inputs that in the Bible all these illnesses where predicted, therefore its not a miracle. During my observation I realized that people are struggling to relate with the  environment also with one another. For an example, during the session the group members were afraid to talk their hearts out. I can assume that members know each other perhaps as a neighbor, friend. Therefore, their friendship or neighbor relationship deprived them freely participation in the group as one will think that what others will do or say or one doesn’t want others to know about his /her business or issues the one struggling with. According to part two of the study Guide – The ‘cracked’ landscape Society in crisis. I have realized that people are not aware that they are not alone, they are not individuals. They failed to cherish the idea of ‘motho ke motho ka batho ba bang’ – ‘Humanity’. They still isolate themselves, still have negative thinking that no one can help them and yet they don’t realize that this behavior is abnormal as it makes us to live like animals – where we should be on a look out everyday – who says what, to w hom? In what manner? This behavior also creates tension between the people, create hunger, poverty, violence, discrimination (Study Guide for PYC3705:24). Our society is broken into smaller pieces. However, As I was observing this group I realized positive things about the members. Even though disclosing in public is not their way of life but they do need help. I saw this after the first session ended. Some of them wanted private dialogue with the facilitator. Others shared their experiences with others in private. That private conversation gave them hope and less despair and that allowed development among the group itself. The second session – the following day I saw different group than  yesterday in terms of enthusiasm, energy. The dialogue was just open and free and that also helped other to open up. I heared other member of the group says â€Å"Ka ikutlwa ke fodile† – â€Å"She now feels better or healed†. That where I learned that talking or opening up indeed heals and assist the government cost on medicine. I think the are some similarities and differences I have observed with regard to what constitute a counseling setting. Why I am saying this is because firstly, as I have mentioned above about the well reception I received from the group and the counselors. This indicated positive regard for others  Unconditional positive regard is one of the climate that the counselor should create so that people should feel accepted, and that how I felt. As I observed the counselor/ facilitator’s. According to study guide for PYC3705:40, explains that unconditional positive regard is being present is the basis from which people can explore thoughts, feelings and experiences. This is what I saw from the lay counselor. That is reason why members of the group were able to express their feelings about the HIV/AIDS issues. Even though members introduced their knowledge about traditional healers who can treat various illnesses, she was non – judgmental, she showed warmth through body langu age – used posture, maintained eye contact and that indicated one of the values that she should have – Respect. Secondly, she created the safe environment (proposition 17). She allowed the group members to be themselves. She let them to deal with the issues they felt strong about e.g. (What do you guys want us to talk about today?). She let them to self determine (proposition 4). She never judged them. She respected every one’s ideas. She listens to each and every one of them. She was attending every member of the group. The lay counselors even though they conduct counseling informally as they have no formal training in psychology , like Mrs. Bengu in the study guide for PYC3705 they provide emotional support in the community in collaboration with others. What I also observed in this group is ‘Confidentiality’. We know that this is a dilemma. One member in the group requested that what they discussed in there it should end there. She herself she doesn’t want to hear her problems outside that group. If her request is not respected, then she will be very disappointed. All members including the facilitator agreed on that and made promise to one another that they will be confidential. This indicated the unity of the group (proposition 3). The differences I saw was lay counselor couldn’t recognize the discrepancies between what the member was saying and how was said or behaved. She was just accepting what ever the member said. Two, non-verbal communication, what the member was communicating through her body language e.g. member is communicating something but she puts hands on her mouth. She doesn’t use minimal encouragers, open question paraphrasing and so forth. The lack of attentiveness skill. According to (Grobler and  Schenck 2009:46), attentiveness is the way in which the facilitator orientates him or herself physically and psychologically towards the clients. However, the counselor will answer her phone during the session with the client without apologies. This is the evidence that I have conducted a proper research. As I have mentioned earlier the group is located in my local clinic and is informal, is not registered, the counselors are not qualified or trained. Therefore, they make use of the pamphlets available in the clinic such as Drug-resistant, TB and HIV and TB in the Workplace. REFERENCES Grobler, H. Schenck, R. 2009. Person centred facilitation. 3rd edition. Oxford University Press Modutla, K. Semenya, B. 2010. Only study Guide for Transformative counseling encounters. University of South Africa. Louw, H. 2008-2010. Only study guide for Participatory community development in social work and the social service professions. University of South Africa.

A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay Example for Free

A Midsummer Nights Dream Essay Compare and contrast the writers presentation of love and hate in The End of the Affair, A Midsummer Nights Dream and the poems of Robert Browning The recurring themes of love and hate are prominent in Graham Greenes The End of the Affair, Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream and the poems of Robert Browning, and are in many cases evidently the inspiration for the stories and characters that are created within these texts. In A Midsummer Nights Dream, Shakespeare explores the contrasting emotions of love and hate by involving such impossibilities as magic and fairies in his tale, primarily as a device to bring out in his characters every feeling that is experienced whilst one is in Love or tormented by Hate, including jealousy, control and despair. It is an analysis, rather than just a story, of love and hate. The poems of Robert Browning namely The Laboratory, My Last Duchess and The Light Woman on the other hand, present scenarios in which the contrast of love and hate is present. These poems are not so much an analysis of love and hate as they are a presentation of the effect that these emotions can have on an individual. The End of the Affair is a comparatively more comprehensive examination of the effects of love on a man, and how love is able to create jealousy and insecurity, which can potentially transform into hate, obsession and a lust for control. This is a sentiment expressed by Maurice Bendrix whilst writing about the snowball effect that insecurity can create in a relationship: Insecurity twists meanings and poisons trust. From the very beginning of Act One of A Midsummer Nights Dream, we see that love causes and fuels a need for control and hateful emotions a motif which runs throughout the entire play. Egeuss parental love for Hermia is too strong for him to allow his daughter to marry a man about whom he knows very little, therefore Hermias love for Lysander causes Egeus to hate him, to the extent that he accuses Lysander of stealing his daughter: With cunning hast thou filched my daughters heart/Turned her obedience, which is due to me/To stubborn harshness. Similarly, Robert Brownings The Laboratory includes a female main character who is so consumed by jealousy after her husband becomes enamoured with her rivals, Elise and Pauline, that she has visited an alchemist in order to create a poison that would kill both of them without sparing any of the pain of death. This character, too, accuses her rivals of stealing her love: Shes not little, no minion like me! /Thats why she ensnared him. Interestingly, both Egeus and The Laboratorys main character speak of their loved ones as if they are possessions that are being taken away from them. Egeuss use of the word filch implies that his daughters heart is something of quite superficial value that has literally been stolen, whilst the Laboratory womans inclusion of the word ensnare in her description portrays the image of an animal being unwittingly trapped and taken from her. This shows how ones love for an individual can inspire a need for control over them. If control is not attainable, possessive love can convert into hatred towards potential rivals for control. Maurice Bendrix is a man obsessed with control. He admits that, in order to feel sexual desire towards a woman, he must feel that they are inferior to him: I have always found it hard to feel sexual desire without some sense of superiority, mental or physical. However, when he falls in love with the woman who is the exception to this rule Sarah his lack of control over their relationship inspires hatred within him. Unlike the protagonists of The Laboratory or A Midsummer Nights Dream, Bendrix is the oppressive character who is consciously attempting to take Sarah away from her husband Henry, yet it seems that Henry does not hate Bendrix at all in fact, things are quite the opposite. In parts of the novel, Bendrix hates Henry because, even though Henry and Sarah havent even consummated their marriage, his mere existence prevents Bendrix from having as much control over Sarah as he desires for example, when Henry is ill and Sarah stays at home to look after him, out of a sense of duty more than anything, Bendrix immediately feels inferior to Henry, and he writes I had felt friendship and sympathy for Henry, but already he had become an enemy, to be mocked and resented and covertly run down. Interestingly, Bendrix describes Henry here as his enemy a declaration which is made at various points throughout the novel. Its as though a battle for control over Sarah is being waged between two or three separate parties: Bendrix, the physical lover; Henry, the lawful husband, and, in the time before Sarahs death, even God, who Bendrix describes as a jealous God. On the other hand, Bendrix also hates the fact that Henry doesnt try to have more control over Sarah, which means that she could be having affairs with any number of other men: I hated his blinkers even when I had benefited from them, knowing that others could benefit too. There are also times when Bendrix is disturbed by how easily Sarah can so nonchalantly cope with their secret relationship when she is in front of Henry: We kissed and heard the squeak of the stair, and I watched sadly the calmness of her face when Henry came in. In these cases, it is love which once again fuels hatred towards Henry and suspicion towards Sarah when it is distorted by the emotion of jealousy. Furthermore, all three authors portray the ways in which relationships are affected by the passing of time. Robert Brownings My Last Duchess is a dramatic monologue about a Duke who once loved his wife, otherwise he would not have married her, but eventually began to loathe her recalcitrant ways, proclaiming things like She liked whateer/She looked on, and her looks went everywhere. When the Dukes love for his Duchess was young, his infatuation with her would have compelled him to ignore her imperfections, much like how the main character in The Laboratory places the blame of her husbands infidelity on her rivals rather than him because of her blind love for him. However, as time passed, the Duke began to realise that his wife was far less subservient than he had first thought, which twisted his love for her into frustration and jealousy. Throughout the monologue, the Duke lists a number of incidents in which the Duchess makes him feel jealous, and he expresses his belief that She had/A heart how shall I say? Too soon made glad. It is as though he is using the Duchesss alleged infidelity to justify her murder. The Dukes frustration is reflected in the structure of the poem its not separated into stanzas and there are fluctuations in line length, even though there is a steady rhyme scheme. The chaos within the Dukes mind is also shown via Brownings use of caesura throughout the text; the Duke interjects his own sentences with sudden remarks of disgust and loathing whenever an opportunity arises to once again belittle his wife, for example: She thanked men, good! But thanked/Somehow I know not how as if she ranked/My gift of a nine-hundred-years-old-name/With anybodys gift. The fact that he believes that his own family name is a better gift than any other is also evidence of what a selfish, inadequate husband he was, and the hate that he shows towards his wife is unjustified, and is a result of his own personality flaws. Conversely, there are some who believe that the Dukes loathing is caused by the Duchesss own lack of commitment to the marriage; the Duke only wants feel secure in her love, but she treats him like anybody else. Similarly to the Dukes relationship with the Duchess, Oberons relationship with Titania is also one which varies greatly over time. It is a shallow relationship, considering that its stability seems to rest entirely on the shoulders of a magical changeling boy who is under the guardianship of Titania, but is desired by Oberon. He directly makes his need for the changeling boy known to Titania in Act Two, Scene One: I do but beg a little changeling boy/To be my henchman. Much like Brownings My Last Duchess, a lot of the conflict between the two parties is caused by the wife not giving the husband what he wants. Because of this, Oberons jealousy towards Titania early on in the play is so strong that it causes a series of events which Titania calls the forgeries of jealousy crops are ruined, frogs rain from the sky and livestock has been killed. These are the physical embodiments of Oberons hatred towards his wife. The hatred that stems from her defiance of his request later comes to a climax when he wishes death upon her with his love in idleness juice: The next thing when she, waking, looks upon -/Be it on lion, bear, or wolf, or bull/On meddling monkey, or on busy ape -/She shall pursue it with the soul of love. However, once Oberon has stolen Titanias changeling boy whilst she is distracted by Bottoms artificial love, thus gaining control of the relationship, his attitude towards Titania changes and his love for her is no longer blinded by jealousy, calling the love in idleness a hateful imperfection of her eyes and Titania my sweet Queen. The contrast between the hate and jealousy that Oberon feels for Titania at the beginning of the play and the love that he feels for her towards the end shows that love can be a fickle emotion; if one of the many fine balances that a relationship relies on is knocked out of its equilibrium, then love can be blinded by emotions such as jealousy and possibly hatred. In The End of the Affair, there are three characters whose feelings of both love and hate towards one another change over time: Sarah, Bendrix and Henry. Book Three, which is almost entirely comprised of Sarahs diary entries, is far more coherently structured than the rest of the novel, which is unreliably narrated by Bendrix. This is because Sarahs diary was intended to be read by nobody else, therefore it is a truthful account of thoughts and feelings, whereas Bendrixs accounts are often over-thought to the tiniest detail, which often leads to recollections of the past or even contradictions, such as referring to Henry as his enemy on one page, and then as Poor Henry on the next. Henry is also the source of the only inconsistency in Sarahs writings on one page, she writes I love Henry: I want him to be happy and then on the next page she writes To hell with Henry. I want somebody wholl accept the truth about me and doesnt need protection. Furthermore, Book Three is also a plot device used by Greene in order to fill in the gaps of Bendrixs unreliable narrative and to provide the reader with Sarahs perspective of the affair and her feelings of love over time. We discover in Book Three that Sarahs decision to devote herself to God was the ultimate expression of everlasting love. In Sarahs mind, the only way to save Bendrixs life after the bomb explosion was to stop seeing Bendrix and start believing in God, but we know that this was a last resort because she writes So I said, I love him and Ill do anything if You make him alive. This prayer also served as a vow to love Bendrix forever, even if it meant not seeing him; she used God as an example of how this is possible: People can love without seeing each other, cant they, they love You all their lives without seeing You. Unlike the Duke in My Last Duchess, Sarahs love for Bendrix doesnt deteriorate over time, it just gets stronger. Sarah is more like Titania in A Midsummer Nights Dream, because even though she constantly fears the end of the affair, and even though she has the occasional argument with Bendrix, which may for a short time provide an illusion of hate, she will always love him in the long run, just like Titania and Oberon. All three authors create characters within their texts that exist solely to create conflict or perform acts of hate, sometimes out of some whimsical impulse and sometimes because of misguided love. In The End of the Affair, Bendrix makes several references to a demon that tells him to do or say hateful things for example, after Bendrix tells Henry about how he hired Mr. Parkis (who is also highly skilled in, as Bendrix calls it, the devils game) to follow Sarah, with the intention of hurting him, he writes The demon had done its work. I felt drained of venom. Although Bendrix writes about the demon as though it is an entirely independent entity, there are some who believe that, as a man who insists on being in control, Bendrix quietly thinks that he is the demons creator, because he is not the kind of man who would listen to such things from anybody else. I believe that Bendrixs demon is his sense of jealousy that compels him to hurt whoever puts doubt into his mind. He doesnt hurt Henry simply because he feels like it, he hurts him because his existence means that theres always a possibility that he could take Sarah from him he is the enemy, after all; the one who, according to Bendrix, sometimes has the upper-hand in the battle of love: Didnt he in the end possess the winning cards the cards of gentleness, humility and trust? . The protagonist of Robert Brownings A Light Woman is similar to Maurice Bendrix in that he is assured in the knowledge that he is always right, even though what he thinks is right can cause emotional pain to other people. The poem portrays the fickleness of love through the light woman, who wishes to add the protagonists friend To her nine-and-ninety other spoils/The hundredth for a whim! she thinks of love as a shallow thing to be briefly sampled, rather than savoured. When the protagonist diverts the light womans poisonous attention away from his friend, however, he views it as a hateful act: One should master ones passions, (love, in chief)/And be loyal to ones friends! . Although the protagonist had the best intentions, his act of love towards his friend was misguided. He is also an arrogant person, similar to the Duke, because he compares himself to an eagle and his friend to a wren: The eagle am I, with my fame in the world/The wren is he, with his maiden face. This narcissism leads him to toy with the emotions of the light woman once he has gained her attention, comparing her to a ripened pear: Just a touch and off it came;/Tis mine,- can I let it fall? he doesnt show any concern for the emotions of the woman, he simply doesnt know whether to physically have his way with her or not, having no mind to eat it, thats the worst! , using the pear analogy again. He decides not to respond to the womans advances, thus hurting her feelings as well his original act of love has resulted in a perceived act of hate towards two different people. Despite this, however, he still insists that he did the right thing: Yet think of my friend, and the burning coals/He played with for bits of stone! even though he has inadvertently hurt his friends feelings, he believes that he has saved him from suffering heartbreak as the result of being misguided by the light woman. In A Midsummer Nights Dream, Shakespeares use of Puck to spread the love that Oberon wishes to happen is a device used to create conflict between the characters of the play, thus allowing Shakespeare to present different aspects of love and hate. Like Bendrixs demon, Oberon tells Puck to carry out his act of malevolence out for him when he orders the love in idleness juice to be dropped into Titanias eyes in order to make her full of hateful fantasies. However, similarly to the protagonist of A Light Woman, Oberons good intentions when he tells Puck to douse an Athenian mans eyes with the same juice fall awry when Puck mistakenly places the wrong drops into the wrong eyes. This attempt to create love instead creates a hatred which culminates in Lysander and Demetrius fighting and Hermia wanting to kill Helena, who decides to flee the conflict: Your hands than mine are quicker for a fray;/My legs are longer, though, to run away! . Similarly to the protagonist of The Laboratory, who accuses women of ensnaring her husband, Hermia calls Helena a thief of love, which again shows the need for control in a relationship by referring to lovers as possessions. In conclusion, the recurring themes of love and hate are prominent in Graham Greenes The End of the Affair, Shakespeares A Midsummer Nights Dream and the poems of Robert Browning. The texts explore the need for control in a relationship, and how, if the balance of control is uneven then love can create hateful feelings such as jealousy. The effects of time on love and hate are portrayed in a number of different ways it sometimes causes fear and paranoia, love can be fickle and superficial over time, and sometimes love fades away, only to be replaced by loathing. All three authors use devices in order to create conflict and sabotage love; these are Bendrixs demonic sense of jealousy, a meddling friend and a mischievous fairy. Love is so closely linked to hate that it is capable of causing both joy and pain. Love and hate are complicated, fickle, difficult, blind, chaotic and ultimately quite inexplicable. As Lysander announces in line 134 of Act One, Scene One: The course of true love never did run smooth.

The Proposed Visiting Centre At Elkhorn Slough Environmental Sciences Essay

The Proposed Visiting Centre At Elkhorn Slough Environmental Sciences Essay Elkhorn Slough has a visitors centre that focuses on the conservation of natural resources and biological history of the area. The Strategic Plan for 2006-10 (Elkhorn Slough Foundation [ESF], 2006) has an objective to increase membership and numbers of visitors but laments the limited capacity of the existing centre. It is therefore necessary to build a new centre to cater for the increased membership and visitors. Global Information Systems [GIS] analysis methods were employed to analyse the environmental sensitivity issues of the Slough area and subsequently locate a proposed visitors centre. The new Visitors Centre will complement the existing one, but focus on stimulating visitors interests in the terrain (physical geography) of the Slough area. The new visiting centre will be located north of Empire Road. Keywords: Boolean maps, Environmental sensitivity, GIS, Suitability, Visitors centre Introduction: Located 1.29x 103 m south of Watsonville [approximately 36Â ° 20 18.72N, 121Â ° 31 17.17W], Elkhorn Slough is the drainage delta for Salinas River and its tributaries in the surrounding farmlands (Cartier, 2009). Its watershed is an impressive 1.23108 m2 and is part of a larger network of estuaries. Waters from Gabilan and Moro Cojo watersheds drain into the Elkhorn Slough through the Old Salinas River Channel at Moss Landing South Harbour (EFS, 2010).Totalling an area of 4x 10 m2, the estuary is a tidal, coastal salt marsh. The estuary is home to 780 species of birds, a variety of plants, including several that are slowly becoming extinct (EFS, 2010). Elkhorn Slough consists of 1.09x107m2 of unique habitat types. (ESNERR, unpublished data) and has 2.83 x 107 m2 designated protected lands. The Elkhorn Slough has a visitors centre that concentrates on the natural history of the slough area. Activities at the centre include show-casing the unique plant and animal life, birds as well as marine life of the watershed. It has an educational theme which focuses on the conservation of the resources and natural history of the slough area. The Strategic Plan for 2006-10 (Elkhorn Slough Foundation [ESF], 2006) set out to increase membership and numbers of visitors to Elkhorn Slough area. However, the document noted the limited capacity of the existing centre to cater for increased numbers of visitors to the area. As a compliment to the existing centre, it is proposed that the establishment of a second visiting site would be appropriate in trying to achieve the objective of increasing membership at the foundation thus boosting the number of visitors to the area. The concept for the new centre will focus on physical surroundings of the estuary and stimulate the local community and visitors interests in the historical and contemporary geography (terrain) of the Slough area. The centre will include an environment or conservation theme that will hopefully stimulate sustainable use of natural resources in the area, especially for the local community. GIS techniques will be employed to site the location of the proposed second visitors centre at Elkhorn Slough. Literature Review: 2.1 Location and History of Elkhorn Slough Located at the midpoint of Monterey Bay, on the west cost of America, Elkhorn Slough is a large tidal salt marsh estuary in central California. Figure 1 below shows the location of Elkhorn Slough. Figure 1: Location of Elkhorn Slough (ESF, 2010) The estuary is referred to as a coastal embayment and consists of deepwater habitats with intertidal wetlands. It is the remnant of an ancient river flooded at the last sea level rise (EPA, 2010) that has been filled with sediment from the surrounding area. An artificial opening to the Monterey Bay was constructed in 1947 exposing the Elkhorn Slough estuary to increased tidal exchange (ESF, 2010). The marshlands were also artificially drained to make way for the farmlands (ESF, 2010). This has vastly altered the natural flow of the estuary and changed the physical properties of the slough. 2.2 Environmental Sensitivity The changes to the physical properties of the area have raised several environmental issues. The most important issues in the estuary are pollution [water quality degradation]; invasive plant species and hydrology alterations (Cartier, 2009). Brackish water habitats have been lost due to the redirection of water from the Salinas into the farmlands. Channel bank erosion rates ranging from 310-1 to 6.110-1 m per year and interior marsh dieback rates of at least 1.22x 104 m2 per year have led to marsh and habitat loss (ESF, 2010). These changes have affected the estuarys animals and plants habitat, as well as public access sites and railroad and road infrastructure. There are 2.83107 m2 of protected lands in the Elkhorn Slough watershed. The estuary is also an important fish (recreational and commercial) nursery and prime stopover for migratory birds (ESF, 2010). The Moss Landing Power Plant at the mouth of the slough at bay end also lends to the sensitivity of the area (ESF, 2010). As a measure to conserve the area, the ESF was established in 1982 by the Elkhorn Slough National Estuarine Research Reserve [ESNERR]. In 2006, the Foundation noted that the capacity of the visitors centre to meet the needs of increased number of members was limited. As such, one of the strategic objectives for 2006-10 was to increase membership and numbers of visitors to the area. It is against this background that a new visitors centre is proposed to cater for increased membership and to stimulate interests in physical geography, encouraging sustainable use of estuarine resources. Methodology and Data Processing According to Sahoo et al (2000), GIS provides ample opportunity for reasoned land evaluation. GIS are quick methods and tools used by decision-makers to address and cope with uncertainty in decision-making where there are environmental sensitivity concerns. GIS data processing and spatial analysis are used to define the location of a proposed development. This method along with modern decision analysis techniques can be used to improve habitat suitability evaluation over large areas (Store and Kangas, 2000). Analysis methods included investigations into accessibility, location, environmental sensitivity of the area as well as location-specific hazards. In environmental studies, several factors are taken into account when deciding where to locate a new development. One of the most common approaches for locating new developments is Multi-Criteria Analysis [MCA] (Sahoo et al, 2000). Employing the MCA technique, a mask is created and used as the extent of analysis. Raster calculations can be used to create Boolean maps (graphic representation of binary equation whereby 0 = no data, 1 = data present) that simplify the data to the specified criteria. Threshold values are then employed to simplify the decision making process into whether certain feature data can be included or excluded from the final choice of location. Areas are included or excluded based on environmental sensitivity. For example, the United Kingdoms [UK] Environment Agency recommends that protected areas remain free of development (Environment Agency, 2010). According to the UKs Highways Agency no development shall take place within, on average; 300 m of a busy road (rank-1). This is to create a buffer for noise pollution given that heavy goods vehicles can be very noisy at close proximity (Environment Agency, 2010). Similarly, distance of settlements from roads is important for easy accessibility reasons. A further factor to exclude from the model is areas that contain vegetation because some areas sink due to diking and draining (ESF, 2010). Woodlands and marshlands lend diversity to the habitat and therefore have conservational importance. They are thus unsuitable for building/development. Similarly, surface water areas are unsuitable for development due to likelihood to cause pollution in areas such as the estuary (ESF, 2010). Based on exclusion of environmentally sensitive areas, raster calculations are performed using the Boolean logic. Therefore, the remaining area is the potential location of the proposed development. 4 Data Analysis Data used was originally obtained from the Elkhorn Slough website and the projection is UTM Zone 10N, WGS84 datum. In addition to the GIS data supplied, a digital elevation model [DEM] data of the area was obtained from the SRTM data on Google Earth [GE]. The data was re-projected with Global Mapper to overlay the two data sets in ArcGIS. The DEM was used to visualise the terrain of the area and guide decision-making on the suitability of the terrain for the proposed development. Other sources of data included available maps and literature on the area in question. The data used is illustrated in Figure 2 below. Figure 2: Original data used (ESF, 2010) ArcGIS 9.3 was used for data processing. All data was adjusted to cell size 50, with each pixel on the resultant Boolean maps being 50 m long. 5 Findings As outlined in section 4 above, environmental organisations, such as the UKs Environment Agency, Figure 3 below shows the raster of the protected area that is excluded in the final calculation. Figure 3: Protected Area Using data on the road network of the Elkhorn Slough area, Figure 4 below shows the buffer created around the busy roads [rank-1] which are unsuitable for locating the new visitors centre. The light-shaded areas are, theoretically, suitable for locating the centre. Figure 4: Buffer Zone around Rank-1 Roads Taking into consideration data on the vegetation in the Elkhorn Slough area which requires exclusion from the analysis due to diking and draining for cultivation, Figure 5 below shows that the new visitors centre can be located in the light-shaded areas. The dark-shaded areas have conservational importance for the wood and marshland species. Figure 5: Vegetation areas Surface water areas are also excluded from possible location of the new development due to likelihood of water pollution, as shown in Figure 6 below. Figure 6: Water Areas The wetlands area was also excluded from the possible location of the centre because these areas are known for their ecological diversity. Vast numbers of birds and plants as well as micro-organisms (mud species) would be in this area. Figure 7 below shows the wetlands areas of the Elkhorn Slough which was also excluded as potential areas for locating the new visitors centre. Figure 7: Wetland areas An elevation of 40 to 195m was chosen as the optimal height above sea level for the development. The elevation is considered suitable to facilitate transport logistics of building materials. The elevation also takes into consideration the tidal nature of the area to ensure that the new visitors centre is protected from any possible tidal effects. Applying the necessary measurements and raster calculations leaves the areas that are potentially suitable for siting the new centre as illustrated in Figure 8 below. Figure 8: Optimal Elevation for New Development Another important consideration was the distance to roads for ease of accessibility to the new centre by visitors. This is illustrated in Figure 9 below. Figure 9: Distances to roads Figure10 below shows the final results excluding environmental sensitive features and measurements. Figure 10: Location of Visitors Centre Corroborating the Boolean logic with Google Earth, the second visitors centre can theoretically be sited at a location north of Empire Road. Limitations Three areas with data on the resultant Boolean map match the criteria defined. Potentially, these are the locations for the new visitors centre. However on closer inspection by overlaying with data on the road network, an area between Elkhorn and Dolan rank 1 roads [close to Empire Road] remains after further scrutiny using GE. Using this database imagery, the proposed site is just outside a forested area. Crucial information is missing from the analysis above. For example, information was missing on the location of current buildings on which the proposed site cannot be located. Information was also missing on the heaviness of traffic at different times to better estimate the buffering distance of the rank-1 roads (assuming they are asphalt). Other information missing was on tidal range and volume of the coastal zone with the attendant high flood risk. Therefore, given that the data available for this analysis was not entirely straight forward rendering the proposed location of the new visitors centre tentative. Digital Terrain Models (DTM) by using Light Detection and Ranging (LIDAR) technology to obtain more complete and accurate surface data. Had data been more complete and accurate, the positioning of the centre would be more conclusive; without the need to use a further data source. This analysis shows that although data processing and software can sometimes be expensive, GIS methods can conclusively be used in defining areas for development, and are quicker than traditional methods of exploration of new areas. (Store and Kangas, 2000). Conclusion and Recommendations Available data shows that the proposed location of the new visitors centre is close to Empire Road. Due to incomplete data, the proposed location of the second visitors centre is tentative. The evaluation has highlighted the need to have a more conclusive data set to avoid the need for re-projection from other sources, which may cause inaccuracies in positioning.

William Mackenzie King :: essays research papers

In my background paper I will be talking about William Mackenzie King and how Great he was to our province; I will also talk about his great accomplishments,strength,and weaknesses. And how he achieved his role of being our Prime Minister. William Mackenzie King was the grandson of William Lyon Mackenzie, was born in Kitchener (then they called it berlin) on Dec. 17, 1874 he went to school and Studied hard and got his B.A. in law and also got a degree from the University of Toronto, and also studied at the University of Chicago and Harvard University. William Also became a served as a deputy minister of labour from 1900 to 1908 then he was first Elected to the house of commons in 1908, and succeeded Laurier as a leader of the liberal Party in 1919. King also became a Prime Minister when the liberals won the general Election on Dec. 6, 1921. Even though the Meighen's won the most sets in the general Election of Oct. 29, 1925, King stayed in the office with the help of progressive and Labor members who supported his proposed tariff reductions and an old-age pension Legislation. William had lost his York North seat in the 1925 election but returned to the House of Commons as the member for Prince Albert, following a by- E lection on Feb.15, 1926. William's government was shaken in 1926 by the Revelation that the Customs Department was tainted with corruption and incompetence. King William was also interested in labour coincided with an expansion in manufacturing and a concern elations. King also acted as a conciliator in a number of strikes, his major legislative Achievement being the industrial dispute investigation in the Act of 1907, which delayed Strikes, or lockouts in public utilities or mines until a conciliation board achieved a settlement or published a report. King was defeated in the 1911 for the federal election and in 1917 the Conscription election, but he still maintained his connections with the Liberal party, but during the war acted as a labour consultant and was employed by the Rockefeller Foundation. In 1919 at the Liberal convention King was appointed Laurier's Successor. Two years later the Liberals won a bare majority in the federal election and King became a Prime Minister. He set out to regain the confidence of the farmers in Ontario and western Canada who had supported the new Progressive Party, but his