Controversial Issues Like Same Sex Marriage - 1481 Words

Modern society has become very opened minded about controversial issues like same-sex marriage. Before, same-sex marriage was despised and highly opposed by a majority of people nationwide. They believed it distorted the institution of marriage, traditionally between a man and woman, and subsequently, lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders (LGBTs) are subjected to discrimination. Then again, legitimizing same-sex marriage is not an issue that general society ought to be fussing over. The main problem for LGBTs is the implementation of their human rights; the rights that are denied by the administration and state laws. Many bills we are turning attention to attempt narrowing their scope by concentrating only on marriage-related services or activities. As of late, a bill was proposed and acknowledged into the Arkansas legislature. The bill permits businesses the privilege to deny assistance to any couples marriage and are guaranteed for protection if, perhaps, a couple files a lawsuit. Draft legislation bars state representatives from issuing marriage licenses LBGT couples, in most cases, keep them from benefiting from pensions or gathering their wages. Arizona and Oklahoma are also two examples of legislatures that are trying to promote the division of LGBTs from society. For Oklahoma, one of the bills is an anti-gay license to discriminate, it permits anyone to deny â€Å"any services, accommodations, advantages, facilities, goods or privileges, nor counseling,Show MoreRelatedSame Sex Marriage Should Be Respected1123 Words   |  5 Pages(â€Å"Lawrence v Texas 3)? Despite the controversial issue within the American society, same-sex marriage should be respected at the same level as traditional opposite-sex marriage. â€Å"Marriage is the ultimate affirmation of a sexual relationship. Marriage is the institution in which we not only tolerate people having sex and housing children, but we encourage it and celebrate it as a society† (Foust 3). Most states attempted to avoid the same-sex marriage issue by defining marriage between man and woman, butRead MoreThe Debate Over The Legalization Of Same Sex Marriage1264 Words   |  6 Pagesprevalent examples of this is the ongoing debate over the legalization of same-sex marriage within America. In the article â€Å"Supreme Court should make gay marriage a national right† by the editorial staff at the Boston Globe, the importance of the upcoming Supreme Court ruling on same sex marriage was stressed because it is a topic that has been dodged thus far. While numerous federal circuit courts have ruled on this issue, some in favor and some opposed, the legal dispute of whether the decisionRead MoreMedia Bias: Same Sex Marriage Articles Essa y example1064 Words   |  5 PagesPortfolio Essay Same sex marriage has been a controversial issue since homosexual couples started to petition for their civil and marital rights. Even though homosexuality existed long before our society labeled it, it is still not socially accepted by many groups as well as individuals. As a result, people tend to be biased when reporting facts concerning homosexual marriage. Biases can be hidden in many literature works like books, journals, magazines, and articles. Through these documents writersRead MoreThe Debate Over Same Sex Marriage1181 Words   |  5 Pagescontroversy, society thrives on it. What is more controversial in today’s society than same sex marriage? It is a topic that has battered Americans for decades, and just recently has it been decided that same sex marriage and relations is awarded by the constitution. Before this it was at states discretion whether or not to allow those of the same sex to marry. But, on June 26, 2015 the Supreme Court ruled that the constitution g ave legal rights to same sex couples to marry in all 50 states where priorRead MoreGay Marriage Should Be Legal966 Words   |  4 PagesGay marriage is one of the most debated and controversial issues in today’s society. Everyone has his or her opinions on gay marriage, whether it is acceptable or should not be allowed. According to The Washington post, â€Å"59 percent say they support same-sex marriage while 34 percent are opposed†(Craighil, P., Clement). While 59% of the supporting gay is a high number, however that number is skewed. There is a difference between tolerance and acceptance, but the 59% is the total of the both. PeopleRead MoreWhat is homosexuality? Homosexuality is the romantic or sexual attraction or sexual behavior900 Words   |  4 Pagesbehavior between members of the same sex or gender. What is same sex marriage? Same sex marriage is marriage between two people of the same sex. The legal recognition of same-sex marriage or the possibility to perform same-sex marriage is called marriage equality or equal marriage. The recognition of same-sex marriage is a political, social, human rights, civil rights, and religious issue in many nations around the world, and there are continuous debates over whether same-sex couples should be allowedRead MoreGay And Same Sex Marriage963 Words   |  4 PagesThe topic of gay (or same-sex) marriage has been a controversial topic throughout the nation for many years. Like most issues, different people have opposite views on the idea of the subject. Some states governments support the idea while others are totally against it. Also, within each individual state there are people that have their own opinion of the issue. Both supporters and opponents within the states have tried to pass different amendments to established laws, in which reflect their viewsRead MoreEssay On Salience1181 Words   |  5 PagesNews sources were able to increase salience on specific cases because they were highly controversial like Brown, Roe, and same-sex marriage cases. However, the media only covers cases that â€Å"rearranged the prior distribution of political influence and benefits† (Flemming, Bohte and Wood 1947 pg. 1247). These characteristics can bring the Supreme Court’s voice to the forefront of the media. Periods of stasis can be interpreted by the Supreme Court due to the magnitude of specific cases. I argue thatRead MoreEssay on Marriage Equailty for the LGBT Community1554 Words   |  7 Pagescommunity, as it pertains to human rights, equality, and particularly, marriage equality. Each individual has their own perception on marriage equality, whether it is based on moral basis, or on a humanistic (humane) basis, which is the belief of not denying anyone the right to be who they are, and therefore love who they love. However, as a society, we must examine the facts, as well as ourselves, as we address the debate for marriage equality for the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexua l, and Transgender communityRead MoreSame Sex Marriage And Marriage948 Words   |  4 PagesSame-sex marriage and same-sex parenting are comparatively new controversial topics in today’s world and its â€Å"mainstream† morality. I was not exposed to any homosexual â€Å"lifestyle† while growing up. I know that I am strongly traditional in my theological views, nevertheless, I vigorously believe that traditional marriage and parenting are devotional commitments between a man and a woman. Therefore, same-sex marriage and parenting are to me, issues of a society with strong traditional cultural identities

Marital Conflicts and the Resolutions Free Essays

Our marriage is in one of the most critical moments of our lives; in fact it is between a rock and a hard place. It has now been six years since we got married in one of the most colorful church weddings I have ever witnessed. It is not that we have not gone through some minor conflicts previously, but at least we were able to resolve them immediately by counselors, friends, our pastors and ourselves. We will write a custom essay sample on Marital Conflicts and the Resolutions or any similar topic only for you Order Now The previous disagreements had to do with our monthly spending, pressure from our parents, time to arrive home and our choice of friends among other issues. At present, things have escalated from being bad to worse, with no signs of a possible solution at the horizon. Before we got married, I had vividly known that my fiancà ©e at that time was a committed Seventh Day Adventist though I am a member of the Assemblies of God Church, an evangelical group of the Protestant church. Our parents, friends and the best couple had asked us if we foresaw any future collision since our churches’ doctrines were different; our answer then was a big no. We believed that our love for each other would conquer any disputes that would arise in our marriage. My wife’s father is a very staunch Adventist; in fact, one of the senior elders at the local church and had never had the thought that any of his five children would ever desert the church which he helped found; an action that made him become respected in the entire locality. My wife loves his father so much and thus has no intent of betraying him. Being an evangelical, a born again Christian and the head of my family, I am not comfortable with the idea of having a divided family with my wife attending church on Saturday making her not attend to her domestic and marital duties from six in the morning to six in the evening (according to their beliefs). On the other hand, I attend church services on Sundays and other fellowships on the weekdays. The conflict is arising from the fact that we do not agree in very many issues that pertain to the different doctrines that the two groups advocate for. My wife does not eat pork or any related products; she does not take either tea or coffee for to her both are drugs, classifying them in the same group with tobacco or marijuana. My wife and I are both civil servants, my wife working with the department of Education and I as an army officer though at the moment I am on the study leave enrolled in the University in an undergraduate program. We have two daughters, Shari and Shako aged five and three respectively. It is our obligation as parents to bring them up in a way that is honorable so that they can become great members of the society. What makes me uncomfortable about our religious differences is because our little children look confused (especially the elder one). Sometimes they go to church on Saturdays and on Sundays; to their mother’s and father’s churches respectively. The older daughter has severally asked me why I do not go to their mother’s church and she has, I suppose, asked her mum a similar question. She has made me understand that her friends usually go to church with their both parents and looking at her anxious face, it is obvious that she will be very happy if we would start doing the same. My greatest desire is for us to attend the same church for the sake of our unity and our children. Since I have never thought of myself becoming an Adventist and have always regarded myself incompatible with their doctrines (that I find very conservative) and because our church is a bit liberal, I have severally suggested that we choose a neutral church where we would all be attending together with our children but she has categorically stated that this would only happen â€Å"over her dead body†. This definitely explains why I am a stressed man. How to cite Marital Conflicts and the Resolutions, Papers

Discussion on Global Local Image

Question: Discuss about the Global Local Image. Answer: Global-local Image An image is a visual representation of an object, an animal or a person. Images can be in the form of sculptures, paintings, photographs. They depict, give an impression, and create ideas on how things or people are. Images can be produced or made into copies and stored in electronic forms. In the reproduction of art, two general types of printable images are used: half-tone images and line art images. Solid lines describe a line art on a page that is white. Half -tone images can also be termed as photographs and are quite complicated to reproduce due to their characteristics including gray tones. Images have two major types of descriptions, global descriptions, and local depictions. It has resulted in the minting of the terminology global-local image. Images are objects and their recognition in the past recent years has been developed rapidly because of improvements in technologies like machine learning. In the modern world, new approaches have been prepared like feature extraction techniques and more image databases being available. According to Susan (2015), an images global description describes the image as a whole; they have the ability to characterize the entire objects using a single vector. The global description is defined by its texture and color (Raoui et al. 2014). The global description can also be used for classification of images. Numerous object recognition systems and machines utilize the characteristics of global features that explicitly describe a whole picture. The shape, color, and texture of a picture make them very appealing to the eye because they create very sophisticated representations of an image. These characteristics of an image are sensitive to occlusion and clutter. As a result, its speculated that an enhanced fragmentation of the picture from the background is present or an image only contains one object (Larsin, 2015). Images local description is also termed as local features of a picture. Some of the features include position which is the pixel location, scale, and orientation. In the picture below, its features can be extracted. Fig: Showing local image features An image is encoded as shown below before indicating global or local features of an image. (image from D. Lowe, CVPR03 tutorial). Advantages of encoding an image a) Locality: There is less sensitivity to the images deformations in small partial neighborhoods. Occlusion of other parts of the image can be done. b) Distinctiveness: A small false matching possibility (for example 10-3) with a 0.7 0.9 detection rate can be achieved by encoding image neighborhoods. c) Applicability: One perspective of a textured object is sufficient for training so as to identify an object from a nearby 3D viewing directions (but possibly different image locations, image orientations and different scales. Among the common key challenges in computer vision research is object recognition. The majority of image recognition systems use either of the two approaches global or local approach. This is partly because of the problems which arise when one tries to integrate a single global vector within a set of local features. In scenarios where there is rough segmentation, combining local and global features is of benefit in any application (Larsin, 2015). There are two primary methods of combining global and local elements of an image. The classical method is by stacking and the second method is using classification hierarchy. In stacking, the output of multiple component classifiers is taken into account. Using various methods for classifying has been proved to have more precise results than the component classifiers if the classifiers are accurate and diverse in nature. Classification hierarchy uses a two-tier hierarchical classification method which utilizes both local and global features in succession. At the top most position the, classes which are not separable by global characteristics are grouped together into master classes. The global feature classifier is then trained on these master classes. A local feature classifier is then trained to distinguish between the original levels contained in each super-class. When a query image is categorized to belong to the super-class, it is authorized to the local characteristic classifier, that in later ascertains to which of the categories the image will fall. The reasoning behind this is that at the top level the images are categorized into broader, more separable, groups, and at the bottom. Visual text Every image contains within it a story to be covered. The optical (visual) text refers to text in which an object performs an important function in the audiences response (Health Direct, 2014). Words and images are always combined in creative ways to create meaning and make sense. Unique features of visual language provide aid in determining the kind of message that is being conveyed by a visual text. These features include layout (color, size, shape and position), image (symbols, graphic) and writing (message, position, and font). There are many different types of visual texts namely cartoons, paintings, photographs, brochures, picture books, posters, CD covers, web pages, postcards, advertisements and film posters. Visual texts like logos, emblems, symbols and insignia communicate a meaning to us. An example of a visual text is shown below (NSW Government health. 2015). In the widely used no smoking image. Image: No smoking sign (Source: NSW Government health. 2015). The images context is in places which are designated to be no smoking zones. The image was created with the purpose of creating awareness and informs people that smoking is not allowed in those particular places. The intended audience for this particular image is individuals who smoke cigarettes and might not be aware that people are not authorized to smoke cigarettes in the marked area. The image has the intention of deterring smokers from smoking in the smoke banned zone. The symbol in the picture is that of a lit cigarette inside a red circle with a bold red backslash symbol to signify not allowed. The global factors of this image are the red color, the lit cigarette in black, the backslash sign, the smoke emanating from the cigarette, and the color white inside the circle where the cigarette is. The local factors of this picture include the color combination is red, white and black, the size of the cigarette. Others are the boldness of the backslash no smoking symbol and the fact that the image is bold red a color that is easily seen making the image stand out and be clearly even from far. Most people associate with the red color as a sign of danger and in this case scenario smokers who see the image will know that it is not allowed to smoke in the particular area (Susan, 2015). Combining images with words and other forms of communication has proved to be most effective in passing messages. The image above could be accompanied with words stating that smoking is not allowed but it is sufficient on its own to convey the message clearly without necessitating the need to use text to accompany it (Kleinberg, 2014). Apart from serving as a warning to smokers, the image above will undoubtedly act as compliance with governing laws and regulations regarding nonsmoking facilities. These pictures also convey a message to the general public notifying them that a particular location in an environment is smoke-free and conducive for the non-smokers. It is, therefore, common to find these signs and images in public recreational parks, learning institutions, bus stations, vehicles, trains, planes, offices and workplace facilities, and even in private homes and properties (Sturken, Douglas Cartwright, 2012). Health organizations also use the symbol to create and promote awareness on the hazardous effects of cigarette smoking. They do this so as to reduce the incidences of smoking as this is a predisposing factor for chronic diseases like certain types of cancer (NSW Government health. 2015.) In the onset of fast changing technology and competitive businesses, the combination of the global and local aspects of imagery will reduce errors as both provide different information about the object. If used effectively, can propel businesses and enterprises to unrivaled heights (Jensen, 2015). References Health Direct. 2014. Smoke Free England. [ONLINE] Available at:https://www.smokefreeengland.co.uk/resources/guidance-and-signage/. [Accessed 12 August 2016]. Jensen, A., 2014. Local image features. Retrieved from ftp://ftp.cs.utoronto.ca/pub/jepson/teaching/vision/2503/localFeature.pdf Kleinberg, D. 2014.Modernity and the hegemony of vision. Berkeley u.a, Univ. of California Press Larsin, D., 2015. Combining local and global image features for object class recognition. Combining local and global image features for object class recognition, [Online]. Amherst, MA 01003 USA, 1-8. Available at: https://www.google.com/url?sa=trct=jq=esrc=ssource=webcd=13cad=rjauact=8ved=0ahUKEwjA48_r37rOAhWHXBQKHZxBCP0QFghAMAwurl=http%3A%2F%2Fvis-www.cs.umass.edu%2Fpapers%2Flocal_global_workshop.pdfusg=AFQjCNFYcFFppYTl8pbgc9wtjYFN8O3qqwsig2=vfYhIRtU4XoIfKII6MIr8Q [Accessed 12 August 2016]. Margaret R., 2016. Image. [ONLINE] Available at: https://whatis.techtarget.com/definition/image. [Accessed 11 August 2016]. Moriarty Mitchell Wells Crawford Brennan Spence-stone, S. N. D. W. D. R. L. R., 2015. Advertising: Principles and practice. 3rd ed. pg. 502: Pearson Australia Group Pty Ltd. Marita S. Lisa C., 2013. Practices of looking: an introduction to visual culture. NSW Government health. 2015. Smoke-free signage and resources. [ONLINE] Available at: https://www.health.nsw.gov.au/tobacco/Pages/smoke-free-resources.aspx. [Accessed 11 August 2016]. Raoui, Bouyakhf, Devy, Regragui, Y. E. M. F., 2014. Global and local image descriptors for content based image retrieval and object recognition. Applied mathematical sciences, vol. 5, 2011, no. 42, 2109 - 2136. Susan, M. 2015. Seeing Global. From: https://susanbuckmorss.info/constellation/seeing-global/ Sturken, M., Douglas, S. J., Cartwright, L. (2012).Practices of looking: an introduction to visual culture. Don Mills, Ont, Oxford.

Research Proposal on Traffic Congestion Essay Example

Research Proposal on Traffic Congestion Essay The term â€Å"traffic congestion† (traffic jam) denotes a strong faltering or stalled traffic flow on a road. One of the reasons for this is too high a number of vehicles per unit time (or per length). The causes of a traffic congestion, however, cannot be explained. Congestion – even those on waterways, railroad tracks, airports or in space – are a subject of research in transportation science. Transportation experts distinguish between â€Å"traffic jam† and â€Å"traffic congestion.† In Switzerland, for example, traffic jam is when the traffic flows at least less than 10 km/hr for a minute. If the velocity is in the range between 10 and 30 km/hr, one can speak of congested traffic. Typically, the capacity of a road is 1500 to 2500 vehicles per hour per lane. Such capacity can vary, for example by unfavorable weather such as rain, snow, or ice, and ineffective behavior of road users, for example by curiosity. This can cause jams out of nowhere, where the cause remains hidden from the road users even after the end of the jam, (as opposed to an accident in which you can see the cause when passing the scene of the accident). We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal on Traffic Congestion specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal on Traffic Congestion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal on Traffic Congestion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer A locally reduced capacity of the traffic by events such as lane closures due to road works or accidents and lane constrictions favoring further traffic jam formation. The narrowing of the traffic route can also be called a bottleneck. However, an increased volume of traffic may be responsible for congestion. Reasons for this may be rush hour traffic (especially at the beginning and at the end of vacation and usually heavy traffic in tourist areas) and major events. By means of permanently installed sensors on the highway, the traffic flow is measured objectively. Only the left lane is monitored because the parameters distance and speed on the other tracks can be blocked due to the traffic density in the left lane. The sensors are located on average every 4 km, so here are a total of 4000 sensors in use. Warning of road users is done with the help of danger signs (Z 124), or by the display of texts. In addition, speed limits can be arranged. Congestion warning systems have mostly an automatic detection and come gantries in the form of variable message signs are used. Traffic reports are read in traffic and sent via TMC (Traffic Message Channel) in the non-audible range of the FM signal in digital form. However, the TMC area is very narrow, so all messages are transmitted only about every fifteen minutes. Moreover, since it often happens that a receiver missed a message, the reception of the TMC message may be considerably delayed. Traffic reports on TMC can be received and processed by navigation systems. Traffic reports are published in the teletext and the Internet from different providers. Furthermore, they can be queried individually via mobile phones. For this purpose, the location of the inquirer is automatically located and queried more information route. Use free example research proposal on traffic congestion to learn more on the topic. NOTE!!! All free sample research proposals and examples on Traffic Congestion are 100% plagiarized, we are here to help you! EssayLib.com is a leading research proposal writing service, which can offer you the solution you have been looking for. With thousands of written research papers and proposals for Master’s and PhD degrees, we can give you exactly what you need at very affordable prices. Our experienced writers will prove you that high quality and exclusivity is a trademark of our products. We can guarantee your confidentiality and promise you strict on time delivery. There are many reasons for EssayLib.com to become your favorite research proposal writing service, but all we are asking you – just give us a try!

Answers to Questions About Usage

Answers to Questions About Usage Answers to Questions About Usage Answers to Questions About Usage By Mark Nichol Many writers native English speakers and nonnative speakers alike are confounded by uncertainty or confusion about usage, the complicated issue of what, exactly, a given word means regardless of its practical or official definition. Here are some questions and comments Daily Writing Tips readers have sent me about definitions and connotations, along with my responses. 1. One of the words I hear all the time, which I believe is improperly used, is hopefully, as in â€Å"Hopefully, we’ll be successful.† I’d love to hear your thoughts about using this word hopefully, you’ll agree with me. For better or worse, in the usage you abhor, hopefully is firmly established, and employment in its original sense (â€Å"in a hopeful manner,† as in â€Å"I waited hopefully for her response†) has all but disappeared. The only thing one can do to curtail its use is avoid using it oneself, but this is a case in which the people have spoken: The new sense will prevail. 2. For the past few years, I’ve been noticing the use of â€Å"only ever,† as in â€Å"I only ever stay on the weekends.† Isn’t ever unnecessary and perhaps incorrect? Yes, ever is an extraneous intensifier. It’s not incorrect, but it should be avoided in formal writing. 3. May â€Å"Thank you for correcting me† sound ironic in Modern English? I once used it and got negative feedback. And I think it has pejorative connotation in English, though in my mother tongue it’s just a way to express gratitude or thanks. Yes, â€Å"Thank you for correcting me† looks perfectly neutral, but it’s not: In English, the notion of correcting someone has a negative connotation, like being criticized or scolded, and someone who receives that comment from you may assume that you’re resentful for the assistance. Depending on the situation, it would be better to say or write, â€Å"Thank you for providing me with the correct information† (less concise, but neutral in tone) or â€Å"Thank you for clarifying that for me.† In American English, at least, an informal, friendly way to acknowledge correction is â€Å"Thanks for setting me straight.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:12 Types of LanguageOne Fell SwoopWood vs. Wooden

5 Words That Dont Mean What You Think They Mean

5 Words That Don't Mean What You Think They Mean You keep using that word, Inigo Montoya says to Vizzini in The Princess Bride. I do not think it means what you think it means. The word that Vizzini so frequently misuses in the film is inconceivable. But its not hard to imagine other words that hold different meanings for different people. Meanings that may even be contradictory- literally so. Of course, its not unusual for word meanings to change  over time. Some words (such as nice, which once meant silly or ignorant) even reverse their connotations. Whats especially intriguing- and often perplexing- is to observe such changes in our own time. To show you what we mean, lets take a look at five words that may not mean what you think they mean: literally, fulsome, ravel, peruse, and plethora. Literally Meaningless? In contrast to  figuratively, the adverb literally means in a literal or strict sense- word for word. But many speakers have a habit of using the word quite unliterally as an intensifier. Take this example from a speech given by former Vice President Joe Biden: The next president of the United States is going to be delivered to the most significant moment in American history since Franklin Roosevelt. He will have such an incredible opportunity not only to change the direction of America but literally, literally to change the direction of the world.(Senator Joseph Biden, speaking in Springfield, Illinois, August 23, 2008) Although most dictionaries recognize the contrary uses of the word, many usage authorities (and SNOOTs) argue that the hyperbolic sense of literally has eroded its literal meaning. Full of Fulsome If your boss showers you with fulsome praise, dont presume that a promotion is in the works. Understood in its traditional sense of offensively flattering or insincere, fulsome has decidedly negative connotations. But in recent years, fulsome has picked up the more complimentary meaning of full, generous, or abundant. So is one definition more correct or appropriate than the other?Guardian Style (2007), the usage guide for writers on Englands Guardian newspaper, describes fulsome as another example of a word that is almost never used correctly. The adjective means cloying, excessive, disgusting by excess, says editor David Marsh, and is not, as some appear to believe, a clever word for full.Nevertheless, both senses of the word appear regularly in the pages of the Guardian- and just about everywhere else. Tributes, praise, and apologies are often characterized as fulsome without a hint of sarcasm or ill will. But in a book review for The Independent in which Jan Morris described the mistress of Lord Nelson as grotesque, obese and fulsome, we sense she had in mind the older meaning of the word. Having it both ways can lead to confusion. When an economics reporter for Time magazine recalls fulsome times, does he simply mean a prosperous era or is he passing judgment on an age of self-indulgent excess? As for the New York Times writer who gushed over a building with great banks of metal windows, set in a rich screen of glazed terra cotta, particularly fulsome on the second floor, exactly what he meant is anybodys guess. Unraveling the Meaning of Raveling If the verb  unravel means to unknot, unscramble, or untangle, its only logical to assume that ravel must mean the opposite- to tangle or complicate. Right?Well, yes and no. You see, ravel is both an antonym and a synonym for unravel. Derived from the Dutch word for a loose thread, ravel can mean either to tangle or untangle, to complicate or clarify. That makes ravel an example of a Janus word- a word (like sanction or wear) that has opposite or contradictory meanings.And that probably helps to explain why ravel is so rarely used: you never know if its coming together or falling apart. Perusing a New Janus Word Another Janus word is the verb  peruse. Since the Middle Ages, peruse has meant to read or examine, usually with great care: perusing a document means studying it carefully. Then a funny thing happened. Some people starting using peruse as a synonym for skim or scan or read quickly- the opposite of its traditional meaning. Most editors still reject this novel usage, dismissing it (in Henry Fowlers phrase) as a slipshod extension- that is, stretching a word beyond its conventional meanings.But keep an eye on your dictionary, for as weve seen, this is one of the ways in which language changes. If enough people continue to stretch the meaning of peruse, the inverted definition may eventually supplant the traditional one. A Plethora of Piatas In this scene from the 1986 film  ¡Three Amigos!,  the villainous character El Guapo is talking with Jefe, his right-hand man: Jefe: I have put many beautiful pià ±atas in the storeroom, each of them filled with little surprises.El Guapo: Many pià ±atas?Jefe: Oh yes, many!El Guapo: Would you say I have a plethora of pià ±atas?Jefe: A what?El Guapo: A plethora.Jefe: Oh yes, you have a plethora.El Guapo: Jefe, what is a plethora?Jefe: Why, El Guapo?El Guapo: Well, you told me I have a plethora. And I just would like to know if you know what a plethora is. I would not like to think that a person would tell someone he has a plethora, and then find out that that person has no idea what it means to have a plethora.Jefe: Forgive me, El Guapo. I know that I, Jefe, do not have your superior intellect and education. But could it be that once again, you are angry at something else, and are looking to take it out on me?(Tony Plana and Alfonso Arau as Jefe and El Guapo in  ¡Three Amigos!, 1986) Regardless of his motive, El Guapo asks a fair question: just what is a plethora? As it turns out, this Greek and Latin hand-me-down is an example of a word that has undergone amelioration- that is, an upgrade in meaning from a negative sense to a neutral or favorable connotation. At one time plethora meant an overabundance or unhealthy excess of something (too many pià ±atas). Now its commonly used as a non-judgmental synonym for a large quantity (a lot of pià ±atas).

Choose a topic Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Choose a topic - Research Paper Example It takes place on every Chaturmas, the twelfth day of the waning moon. During this day, all Jains congregate in temples for devotions. a) New Year Festive- in nations like Sri Lanka and Thailand, the New Year is usually celebrated for about three days from the first full moon in the month of April. In other Mahayana countries, this celebration is held the first full moon of January. b) Vesak- Vesak is held to commemorate the birth and death of Buddha, the enlightened one. It is, thus, the most important event for the Buddhists. The celebrations usually happen during the first full moon of May. Other Buddhism festivals that remember the life of Buddha are the Magha Puja and Asalha Puja Day. a) Oshogatsu- this is the celebration of the closure of the old year and opening of the New Year. During the closure of the year, the people party as they symbolically wash away the misfortunes of the past. They also express their wishful expectations of the New Year. These festivals usually give the members of these religions the opportunity to come together as one family and share their spiritual experiences. Most worshipers usually get spiritual nourishment from these festivals. In Hinduism for instance, the festivals help them divert their attention from the worldly things and concentrate on the spiritual matters. In Shinto, the visiting of the graves helps them make peace with their ancestors and gods. It is during such times that the members of these religions decide to give to the poor in the society and preach peace. As they give back to the community by helping the poor, they create a harmony between the community and religion. During these celebrations, the people usually feast with food and drinks and the outsiders are always invited to take part. Diwali is a good example. Therefore, such celebrations bring the people together and help create peace in a social set