David Foster Wallace on SNOOTS

SNOOT (n) (highly colloq) is this reviewers nuclear familys nickname à   clef for a really extreme usage fanatic, the sort of person whose idea of Sunday fun is to hunt for mistakes in the very prose of [William] Safires column [in The New York Times Magazine]. This definition of the family word SNOOT (an acronym for Sprachgefà ¼hl Necessitates Our Ongoing Tendance or Syntax Nudniks of Our Time) appears in footnote number five of David Foster Wallaces review article Authority and American Usage (in Consider the Lobster and Other Essays,  2005). There, the late author of Infinite Jest devotes more than 50 smart and entertaining pages to the topic of grammar, in particular, to the dispute between linguistic conservatives and linguistic liberals, otherwise known as the Prescriptivists vs. the Descriptivists. Before deciding whether you would feel comfortable characterizing yourself as a SNOOT, consider Wallaces description of SNOOTitude: There are lots of epithets for people like this--Grammar Nazis, Usage Nerds, Syntax Snobs, the Grammar Battalion, the Language Police. The term I was raised with is SNOOT. The word might be slightly self-mocking, but those other terms are outright dysphemisms. A SNOOT can be defined as somebody who knows what dysphemism means and doesnt mind letting you know it.I submit that we SNOOTs are just about the last remaining kind of truly elitist nerd. There are, granted, plenty of nerd-species in todays America, and some of these are elitist within their own nerdy purview (e.g., the skinny, carbuncular, semi-autistic Computer Nerd moves instantly up on the totem pole of status when your screen freezes and now you need his help, and the bland condescension with which he performs the two occult keystrokes that unfreeze your screen is both elitist and situationally valid). But the SNOOTs purview is interhuman social life itself. You dont, after all (despite withering cultural pressure), have to use a computer, but you cant escape language: Language is everything and everywhere; its what lets us have anything to do with one another; its what separates us from the animals; Genesis 11:7-10 and so on. And we SNOOTS know when and how to hyphenate phrasal adjectives and to keep participles from dangling, and we know that we know, and we know how very few other Americans know this stuff or even care, and we judge them accordingly.In ways that certain of us are uncomfortable about, SNOOTs attitudes about contemporary usage resemble religious/political conservatives attitudes about contemporary culture: We combine a missionary zeal and a near-neural faith in our beliefs importance with a curmudgeonly hell-in-a-handbasket despair at the way English is routinely manhandled and corrupted by supposedly literate adults. Plus a dash of the elitism of, say, Billy Zane in Titanic--a fellow SNOOT I know likes to say that listening to most peoples public English feels like watching somebo dy use a Stradivarius to pound nails. We are the Few, the Proud, the More or Less Constantly Appalled at Everyone Else.(David Foster Wallace, Consider the Lobster and Other Essays. Little, Brown and Company, 2005) As regular visitors to this site may have noticed, we strive to remain on speaking terms with both sides in the Usage Wars. Looking at how language works (description) happens to interest us more than laying down arbitrary laws on how language should be used (prescription). And yet its clear that most readers arrive at About.com Grammar Composition in search of rulings, not linguistic ruminations, and so we do try to be accommodating. But how do you define your interest in language? Are you a fan of Lynne Trusss Eats, Shoots Leaves: The Zero Tolerance Approach to Punctuation (2004), or do you feel more at home with David Crystals The Fight for English: How Language Pundits Ate, Shot, and Left (2007)? Are you inclined to fuss at a child who uses aint, or are you more interested in finding out that until the 19th century in both England and America aint was an acceptable usage?

Argumentative Essay On Beauty Pageants - 758 Words

â€Å"When they are a little bit overweight, that’s not gonna cut it. You don’t want to see a chubby child on stage. You have to have the barbie look.† a mom on Toddlers and Tiaras said. Now available to children, around 250,000 girls compete in beauty pageants each year. These pageants have had damaging consequences on them. Child beauty pageants need to be banned because they sexualize young girls, put too much pressure on them to win, and lead them to focus too much on beauty. Girls are sexualized in beauty pageants at a very young age. On Toddlers and Tiaras, girls are shown in ‘sexy’ costumes, showing too much skin, especially for their age. With around 1.3 million viewers a week, the show has normalized this sexualization. In one†¦show more content†¦Everything is part of a routine whether or not the girl enjoys it. The most important factor of these pageants, beauty. When competing in and watching beauty pageants at a young age, girls believe that their outer beauty matters most. Girls who watch Toddlers and Tiaras focus on the contestant’s beauty, causing them to do the same with themselves. The skinny girls hidden under piles of makeup on tv make both the contestant and viewer think that this is normal. Before a pageant, a mom injected botox in her 8 year old daughter’s face to take away her wrinkles. Another mom fed her daughter tapeworms to make her skinnier. Soon after, the girl was in the hospital. In no situation should little girls have to go through this just to improve their outer appearance. If this is what it takes for a girl to win, then we are better off without these pageants. In some ways, child beauty pageants can be great for young girls to compete in. Pageants can build confidence by putting girls in front of lots of people to perform and speak. This leads to confidence through life and public speaking skills. Another positive outcome of competing is winning scholarships and priz e money. Scholarships will help a child receive a higher education later on. Next, in order to continue competing well, a girl needs to stay fit and healthy. She must also work hard and be disciplined. While these are great life traits to have, there are manyShow MoreRelatedArgumentative Essay On Beauty Pageants814 Words   |  4 Pages Beauty contests for women have always been popular around the world, but in recent years child pageants have become more successful. This success led to the production of the well-known show, Toddlers and Tiaras. Beauty pageants have now evolved and even include newborn babies. Contestants are not only rewarded with a title, but also receive cash prices. These rewards and fame without a doubt attract parents into the world of beauty pageants. Children who are involved in beauty pageants are perceivedRead MoreArgumentative Essay On Beauty Pageants780 Words   |  4 Pagesterm â€Å"beauty pageants coming up,† will result in 2,710,000 results appearing in 1.18 seconds. Children are the fastest-growing segment of the beauty pageant market, with annual childrens competitions attracting an estimated 3 million children, mostly girls, ages six months to 16 years, who compete for crowns and cash. Infants, carried onto the stage by their mothers, are commonplace. April Brilliant, reigning Mrs. Maryland and the director of Maryland-based Mystic Pageants, says pageants give littleRead MoreBeauty Pageants Argumentative Essay1311 Words   |  6 PagesThe Problems and Pleasures of Pageants Beauty pageants have been questioned on whether or not their truly innocent. In some cases, the smiles are more likely than not phony. On the other hand, the abundance of memories and skills gained from these extravaganzas can create a positive effect on the child. On the negative side, pageants are found to be full of drama from both the parents and from the stress of the requirements, including eating disorders. They also lead to bad sportsmanship and theRead MoreArgumentative Essay On Beauty Pageants794 Words   |  4 Pagesever watched beauty pageants like the tv show Toddlers and Tiaras, and think the parents are absurd for pushing their daughters too hard for a sparkling plastic tiara? Maybe you have been to a live beauty-pageant, or specifically, support or despise them. Well, most people particularly do not like beauty-pageants as the toddlers mothers have them on strict diets, make them wear extensive makeup, shave their legs, and get spray tans. But to the people within th is culture, beauty-pageants are valuableRead MoreEdward Burtynsky s Photographic Series, Oil, And His Nature1815 Words   |  8 Pagesfeelings often provoked by the boundless essence drawn from the power of landscape. This essay will investigate the Edward Burtynsky’s photographic series, Oil, and his approach to find a sinister beauty within the damned. The underlying metaphors poised within Burtynsky’s work in regard to environmental change, in pursuit to document nature transformed through industry will be the central idea in this argumentative dissertation. Oil comprises 50 photographs, some referred to as primary landscapes that

Re-reading of ‘A Birthday Present’ Free Essays

Re-read ‘A Birthday Present’. By means of close analysis of the language of this poem, demonstrate how Plath achieves her effects in this poem, and by means of BRIEF reference to one or two other poems, say how typical of her writing you find it. Plath’s poem ‘A Birthday Present’ creates binary oppositions of images by using antithesis. We will write a custom essay sample on Re-reading of ‘A Birthday Present’ or any similar topic only for you Order Now An example of antithesis in this poem is when the narrator asks, â€Å"is it ugly, is it beautiful?† The adjectives ‘ugly’ and ‘beautiful’ are opposing images. The structure of this phrase is mirrored in the line below when the narrator asks, â€Å"has it breasts, has it edges?† These two images are opposite as when we imagine ‘breasts’ they are round and smooth and not sharp like an ‘edge’. By using this linguistic device Plath creates a ‘seesaw’ effect between positive (‘beautiful’) and negative (‘ugly’) lexis. Plath uses this device of conflicting lexis throughout the poem creating a tension. Furthermore, it can also be said that Plath uses these binary oppositions on a more subtle level to create the theme of good vs. evil. This theme can be seen in some of Plath’s other poems. Take ‘Face Lift’ or ‘Morning Song’ for example, the theme of good and evil is represented by the images of babies she juxtaposes with those of death. The same binary opposition of images is used in ‘A Birthday Present’ when the narrator says, â€Å"White as babies’ bedding and glittering with dead breath.† Again the two juxtaposed images are of death and babies. It can therefore be said that this theme is typical of Plath’s writing and is probably influenced by the miscarriage she suffered prior to writing these poems. Another device that Plath employs for a specific effect in this poem is her use of the personal pronoun ‘you’. The narrator questions, â€Å"Is it impossible for you to let something go and have it go whole?† and, â€Å"Must you kill what you can?† Many other writers use this device to achieve the desired effect of involving the audience as it addresses them directly. However Plath also has another motive. On first glance one may assume that the narrator is questioning the present as it is the apparent focus of the narrator throughout the poem. However, considering the number of references to God throughout the poem, (â€Å"My God what a laugh!†, But my god, the clouds are like cotton.†) one could assess that the question is actually aimed at God. Moreover, the theme in ‘A Birthday Present’ of questioning God can be linked to some of Plaths other poetry. Plath’s father died when she was a young child. From studying her life I found out that she loved and idolised her father. In her poems ‘Daddy’ and ‘Full Fathom Five’ Plath makes subtle suggests that she now sees her father as a God-like figure. In ‘Full Fathom Five’ she writes, â€Å"You defy other Godhood. I walk dry on your kingdom’s border†, when talking to her father. This could therefore be evidence that although she may seem to be addressing the birthday present with questions in this poem she is really questioning to her Dad. The theme of Dad arises in many of Plath’s poems and so this poem is typical of her writing. Like many of Plath’s other poems she uses personification in ‘A Birthday Present’ to make an inert object appear to have a life of its own. The narrator is describing the present when she says, â€Å"I feel it looking. I feel it thinking†. The two verbs are actions that only a living person could do. Plath, however uses them to make the present in the poem come alive. The literary device of personification is typical to some of Plath’s other poems. One example is in her poem ‘Cut’ where she personifies her thumb by referring to it as ‘Little pilgrim’, ‘Saboteur’ and ‘Kamikaze man’, before reminding us at the end of the poem that it is just a ‘Thumb stump’. This is therefore a device that Plath uses typically in her writing. In conclusion, many of the themes and ideas found in ‘A Birthday Poem’ can also be found and mirrored in Plath’s other poetry. She also uses a range of literary and linguistic devices in this poem that is typical of her writing. How to cite Re-reading of ‘A Birthday Present’, Papers

Research Proposal on Reproductive Health Essay Example

Research Proposal on Reproductive Health Essay Reproductive health is the state of the normal reproductive functions of a human being during her life. In fact, reproductive health is not only the absence of various diseases connected with the reproductive system; it is something more and includes physical, psychological and social well-being concerning the question of sexuality. That means, one is considered to be healthy when he treats sexuality emotionally positive, does not have any physical discomfort, is able to have a safe sexual life and choose the partner soberly. It is obvious that reproductive health is the important part of the general health of a human being and if one has any problems with sexuality, it will surely influence his life and psychics badly. Reproductive health can not be observed only from one side, because except of the side of medicine there are such related fields, like psychology, abortion, contraception and even economics. To begin with, poor reproductive health affects human psychics badly. The person is always in the bad mood and possesses low self-esteem. The problem of family planning and contraception is closely connected with reproductive health, because it is known that a young girl is not able to give birth to her child unless she is at least eighteen years old, as the human body can be considered ready for such processes only starting from such age. So, in order to avoid unplanned pregnancy young people should get to know about contraception for the sake of their reproductive health. Finally, if a woman is pregnant but does not want to leave the child and chooses abortion, it will affect her reproductive health badly. There is a possibility that such a woman will never be able to become pregnant again. We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal on Reproductive Health specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal on Reproductive Health specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Research Proposal on Reproductive Health specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer A successful reproductive health research proposal should be informative, brief, interesting and persuasive. A student should remember that he has to prove that the chosen topic is worth investigation and he has to collect enough reliable facts and brand new ideas to convince the teacher in the value of his choice. A good research proposal should be logically composed and contain all the methods for the research and present the predicted results and achievements. In conclusion, a student should dwell on the advantages and importance of the investigation for the topic and the discipline. Very few students know how a good research proposal should look like. That is why most of them apply for help in the web and take advantage of free sample research proposals on reproductive health written by the real experts. Professional writers share their experience with students and it is fairly reasonable to look through a well-analyzed free example research proposal on reproductive health in the Internet and raise your chance to prepare a well-formatted logical paper yourself. At EssayLib.com writing service you can order a custom research proposal on Reproductive Health topics. Your research paper proposal will be written from scratch. We hire top-rated PhD and Master’s writers only to provide students with professional research proposal help at affordable rates. Each customer will get a non-plagiarized paper with timely delivery. Just visit our website and fill in the order form with all proposal details: Enjoy our professional research proposal writing service!

CHAVARRIA Surname Meaning and Family History

CHAVARRIA Surname Meaning and Family History The Chavarria surname means new house, originating as a common variation of the surname Echevarria (Basque Extebarria), derived from the elements  exte, meaning house and  barria, meaning new. Its origins are rooted in the Northern Basque region. Alternate Surname Spellings:  ECHAVARRIA, CHAVARRI, CHAVARIA, ECHAVARIA, CHAVARRA, ECHEBERRIA, ECHEBARRIA, ETCHEVERRI, DETCHEVERRY, ECHEBARRI Surname Origin:  Basque, Spanish, French Famous People With the CHAVARRIA  Surname Daniel Chavarrà ­a  - Uruguay-born revolutionary and writer living in CubaJorge Rossi Chavarrà ­a - Costa Rican politician Where Is the CHAVARRIA Surname Most Common? According to surname distribution from  Forebears, Chavarria is the 2,959th most common name in the world- found most prevalently in Mexico. It is most common, however, in countries such as Nicaragua (ranked 27th) and Costa Rica (ranked 35th). Within the United States, the Chavarria surname is most common in states with a large Spanish-speaking population, including New Mexico, Texas, California and Florida. Surname maps from the Instituto Nacional de Estadestica (Spanish Statistics Office) indicate that the Chavarria surname is most frequently found in northeastern Spain, used most frequently by individuals born in the province of Tarragona, followed by Cuenca, Huesca, Teruel and Zaragoza. Genealogy Resources for the Surname CHAVARRIA GenForum: Chavarria: This free genealogy forum includes posts from individuals researching their Chavarria ancestors around the world. Search or browse the archives for posts about your Chavarria ancestors, or join and post your own Chavarria query.FamilySearch - CHAVARRIA Genealogy: Explore over 524,000 results from digitized  historical records and lineage-linked family trees related to the Chavarria surname on this free website hosted by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.GeneaNet - Chavarria  Records: GeneaNet includes archival records, family trees, and other resources for individuals with the Chavarria  surname, with a concentration on records and families from France and other European countries. Resources and Further Reading Cottle, Basil.  Penguin Dictionary of Surnames. Baltimore, MD: Penguin Books, 1967.Dorward, David.  Scottish Surnames. Collins Celtic (Pocket edition), 1998.Fucilla, Joseph.  Our Italian Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 2003.Hanks, Patrick and Flavia Hodges.  A Dictionary of Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1989.Hanks, Patrick.  Dictionary of American Family Names. Oxford University Press, 2003.Reaney, P.H.  A Dictionary of English Surnames. Oxford University Press, 1997.Smith, Elsdon C.  American Surnames. Genealogical Publishing Company, 1997.

13 Questions You Should Be Asking about Updating Your References

13 Questions You Should Be Asking about Updating Your References National Update Your References Week It seems there are international and/or national weeks for just about everything, and the first week in May was, as proclaimed by Career Directors International, International Update Your References Week (UYRW). Why such a thing? CDI says UYRW â€Å"was created due to the importance of job seekers [sic] learning to maintain a network of warm contacts and references, in order to assist them in career change, employment, and growth.† CDI’s director, Laura DeCarlo, asserts that â€Å"up to 45% of employers check references, so it is necessary to be prepared to be asked for them.† Are You a Skeptic about National Anything Weeks? Even as a resume writer, my initial response to learning about International Update Your References Week was, â€Å"You’ve gotta be kidding. How much could there possibly be to do or say about references?† But then I thought about all the people reading my blog who might not have their references updated. I did a double-take for myself too: If I were to apply for employment somewhere, would my references be at my fingertips at the moment I needed them? I Need to Update My References The answer to that second question was †¦ well †¦ â€Å"mostly yes.† I’m connected with the majority of my past supervisors on LinkedIn, and recently had a nice chat with one of them just to catch up. When I travel to New York, I make an effort to visit my old stomping grounds in Brooklyn to stay in contact with the folks at CAMBA Legal Services. So why do I say â€Å"mostly†? Well, I have, embarrassingly enough, forgotten the name of my most recent supervisor at the University Of Wisconsin Law School’s Career Services Office. Prior to posting this article, I wrote to the man who was assistant director during my tenure- someone I have stayed connected with through networking- and asked for his assistance in identifying her. Oops. From my own erroneous ways in the references department, I can confidently say that while updating your references is something that’s best done on an ongoing basis (just like being nice to your mother on days other than Mother’s Day, or showing love to your partner on days other than Valentine’s Day), it doesn’t hurt to give some extra attention to this project once a year. 13 Questions and Answers About Updating Your References Since Update Your References Week proved useful to me, I imagine it will be a wake-up call for some of you too! To that end, here are some questions you might have about updating your references, which are answered on the UYRW information page: Why do I need to provide references for an employer? Who makes a good reference? How many references do I need? What types of information do I list? Should I list references directly on my resume? Should I list â€Å"References Available Upon Request† on resume? What if I was fired from my last job? Do I need to list that employer as a reference? When do I send references? What if I can’t find all of my previous supervisors? Do I need to ask permission to use someone as a reference? Someone once suggested that I send a copy of my resume to all my references. Why should I do that? What if I don’t have any prior experience? CDI has thoroughly answered all those questions and I recommend you read the answers. You might be surprised by some of them! Another question came up recently for me: â€Å"Can I quote my references on my resume without asking for their specific permission to do so?† My answer to that is, â€Å"It depends.† If your reference has publicized their testimonial on LinkedIn, then their recommendation is fair game. If they have not, then best practice is to request their permission before putting their name on your resume, especially if a quote is attributed to them. This doesn’t mean you can’t use their rave review from an evaluation or other source- but get their permission first, or, as an alternative, use their title only, without their name attached to it. Keeping It Personal Also missing from CDI’s list is a recommendation that I would like to make: Stay in contact with your references! Are you aware of your former boss’s career transitions? Family milestones? Remember, people will be most willing and enthusiastic about providing recommendations for you if you exhibit interest in them for more than their reference status. Staying in touch with your references will be particularly useful if they are prohibited by company policy from providing a recommendation, but can find a way around the rules- or if they move to another company, allowing them to provide a reference for the prior one. Do you have other questions about references? I will be happy to answer them even though Update Your Reference Week is over! I’d also love to hear how you would rate yourself on your communications with your references. Is it time to reach out to someone or find out what’s happening with their career or life? There’s no time like a national UYRW to do it!

CHRISTINA GOLD LEADING CHANGE AT WESTERN UNION Research Paper

CHRISTINA GOLD LEADING CHANGE AT WESTERN UNION - Research Paper Example Western Union implemented an organizational change that was targeted to raise the participation of all its employees as well as increase its productivity by enhancing adaptability to the environment. Kotter and Cohen suggest an eight-step model of change that can explain how an organization can change in response to different situations in the market so that it can achieve the intended goal. Christiana Gold, the Chief Executive Officer of Western Union implemented an organizational structure change in the company so that it could enhance the productivity of the company in the market. Through her effort, Gold wanted to ensure that the company can achieve high quality performance in the midst of the different things that happened in the market. While Gold’s plan of implementation of change could be related to Kotter and Cohen’s 8-step model, the plan could have had some differences that could be a different approach that can improve the success of implementation of the ch ange. In the first step where Gold wanted to implement change, she identified the things that needed a change and helped the employees of the company to see the need of the organizational change. ... As in Kotter and Cohen’s 8-step model step three (Daft & Lane, 2008), Gold created a vision of what Western Union would be if the changes in the organizational structure were implemented in the company. She had a vision of the company having a global outlook and she focused on the ways through which different people could enhance the change of mindsets of all employees from a small company kind of company to one which would have a world focus. Through different people with whom she interacted, she communicated the vision, and this received the approval of some leaders at the regional level of organization accepting the new structure and showing positivity. This was regardless of reluctance to change that was witnessed in some leaders in America who could not see the essence of the new structure of organization and perceived it as a threat to their positions (Rowe & Guerrero, 2011). The resistance to change that the different people faced in the implementation of the organizati onal structure change would have been easy to address if Gold had encouraged a broad-based action in which the employees and the leaders in different regions would be able to influence the employees (Daft & Lane, 2008). In this respect, the leaders would make it easy to communicate the changes that she wanted the employees to implement, and this would take a shorter time to achieve goals, as opposed to the style she used when implementing change in America, where regional leaders were reluctant to change. In order to achieve this plan of the company to implement change in the organizational structure, Gold advocated for establishment of offices and leaders in the offices that could steer the new plan of the company.