Michelle Morano’s “Grammar Lessons: The Subjunctive Mood” Essay

The essay â€Å"Grammar Lessons: The Subjunctive Mood† by Michele Morano is a work that parallels the Spanish language and life. In the story, Michele reveals a little about herself as a character in the essay. She offers the reader a glimpse into an extravagant daydream into the locales of exotic Spain in which she hopes to one day visit to escape her husband whom had recently tried to kill himself. Throughout her fantastic tale, she encounters many unusual characters and proceeds to compare aspects of the Spanish language such as clauses like, ‘si’ and ‘como si’ (Morano 111), and ‘verbs of doubt and emotion’ (114) to the complexities of life. As I first began reading the essay, I was puzzled that Morano chose to ‘speak’ in the second tense as it is a rare form of writing, especially for a non-persuasive essay. While she was using her own experiences to provide the reader with an imaginary world, she wrote as though she hoped her audience would find themselves in her shoes. I also found it difficult to understand Morano’s style of writing because of her choice to use the future tense. I was able to grasp the concept that this extravagant adventure had not occurred yet, but I found it difficult to insert myself in her whimsical, romantic production. Once I began reading the essay and analyzing it, however, I took a liking to her ‘what-if’ style of writing. It suited the topic matter very well. Morano was able to equate the Spanish language with life beautifully with her writing style and extensive use of imagery. While I enjoyed the style of writing very much, the essay itself left me tentative on weather or not I enjoyed the piece as a whole. I am very familiar with the Spanish language, but I believe Morano could have clarified each educational segment a little further. As amusing as it was to brush up on high school Spanish, I found the presentation of the content in the text itself very confusing. I am uncertain that I would have enjoyed the piece as much had I not taken Spanish in earlier years of schooling. I also found it distracting how Morano would switch from her ‘grammar lessons’ to her fantasy life in Spain so abruptly. Beginning to read the piece, I was unsure of whether or not Morano had actually lived these experiences she was writing about, or if they were a thoughtful delusion of the future. For example, while reading about Morano’s encounter with the swimmer (110), I  found myself being pulled into the reverie of this romance in Spain; and suddenly I would be brought back to this lackluster high school Spanish class. And while Morano did provide the reader with a comparison from the language to the event itself, the change seemed so abrupt that it left me displeased. I also could have gone without the jumping back and forth between Morano’s life with her depressed husband and her musing of a life in Spain. While I do believe that her history with her husband was pivotal to the back story, I found the bouncing between her Spanish daydream and her real life experiences with her husband very distracting. I consider it would have suited the essay better had Morano simply used that as an introduction and left it at that. One feature of the essay that I enjoyed, although, was the fact that Morano took something as lifeless as the Spanish language and seemed to enliven it to the reader. I find it very rare that an author is able to put life into something as cold as grammatical concepts, especially in a different language. Morano, through her experiences in Spain, was able to provide the reader with a looking glass into a world where language isn’t just language and grammar isn’t just grammar but they’re part of being alive. She is able to convey to the reader that while details such as how to express emotion in Spanish would seem tedious any other point, experiences such as sleeping with a stranger in Spain unexpectedly brings out these ‘grammatical elements’ of human nature such as doubt and excitement (115). As a whole, I did enjoy the essay. I found Morano’s use of descriptions and interactions between characters very intriguing. I was able to sympathize with Morano as a character through her internal struggle of leaving the man that she had been with for a long while for a fresh start in Spain. Morano, Michele. â€Å"The Best American Essays.† Grammar Lessons: the Subjunctive Mood. Ed. Lauren Slater. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 2006. 107-121. Grammar Lessons: The Subjunctive Mood

Monitor children and young people’s development Essay

Observation informal observations will be those which staff carry out each day as you work with pupils. These may be small but over time will enable staff to build up a picture of each pupil. Staff may notice, for example, that a pupil is able to understand new concepts very easily, or that they are holding a pencil incorrectly. It is likely that teaching assistants will discuss your observations with teachers as part of the feedback process after your work with pupils. A disadvantage of informal observations is that they may not be recorded and you might forget to pass on what you have seen to others. Staff may also be asked to carry out formal observations on pupils to support the teacher in assessing pupil’s levels of development. The assessments that are made – do you have progress charts or records that map children’s development, that you then have planned and unplanned times to evaluate, enabling you to support children’s development / be aware of t heir current stage of development? Assessment frameworks involve methods such as England’s EYFS profile, possibly baseline assessments for children entering a new setting, the way a setting assesses development for a possible 2 year progress check, P-scales are another method that may be used to assess the development of children with learning difficulties. Other materials from Early Support might be used. Standard measurement – school tests/cognitive aptitude tests that demonstrate a snapshot of children’s academic ability or skill at retaining taught information and that might then be used to compare outcomes between a larger population of same-age children. Health programmes that might measure head circumference, weight, height, visual and auditory functioning. Educational psychologists may use reasoning tests to assess an intellectual age in contrast to a chronological age.

Ap English Free-Response Questions Essay

John Downed writes a letter to his wife Jukes from the United States to England. Downers purpose in the letter is to persuade his wife Jukes into coming to America. He adopts an objective tone in order to glorify America in his letter to Jukes using ambiguity, repetition, and pathos. Downed begins his letter to Jukes by describing the incredibility of what America has given him. He then shifts to pathos when he begins using repetition. He appeals to repetition by repeating my dear when addressing Jukes. He does this in order to emphasize his feelings awards his wife through his writing. When Downed moves to pathos, he uses guilt to persuade her. He describes that without her and the family he couldnt be happy, but if they were to come and Join him he could be happy again. He does this in order to motivate her into coming. Keys husband then opens the letter by loosely describing the crossing of Atlantic. He states that [she] will find a few inconveniences, and that after she has made the Journey over he knows It will be worth it all because he feels that she will like America.He does this in order to glorify America and not focus on any negatives because his goal to persuade her. If he was to tell her fully what the cross would be like, she would not wish to go, and thus defeating Downers purpose. He wants her to believe that America is a good place, so he coaxed her into coming by creating America into something superb instead of the truth. He told her that America Is not like England, thus making it seems America is a better place. Jukes would have no other choice, but to come to America and see her husband.

Accounting Module 5 SLP Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Accounting Module 5 SLP - Assignment Example Relevant costs are also called differential costs. If the future costs are going to be incurred regardless of the decision that is made, those costs are not relevant. Sunk costs are never relevant. The repair cost of $26000 is relevant to the decision on hand whether to sell the truck or get it repaired. The sale proceeds offered by repair shop of $10000 is also relevant. The purchase cost of used truck of $ 34000 is relevant to the decision. The amount offered by the insurance company of $30000 would be the same whether Pizzahut gets the truck repaired or disposes the truck and purchases the used truck. Since the amount is same under both the alternatives it is a non-relevant cost. Similarly, the original cost of truck of $50000 is a sunk cost and would be same under both the alternatives and hence it is also a non-relevant cost. The classification of costs into Relevant and non-relevant costs aids in decision making. The cost with respect to the alternative of disposing the truck is $34000 - $10000 which is equal to $24000. Thus, the gain to the company in choosing this alternative is $26000(cost of repair) minus $24000, which is $2000. Thus, the analysis helped the company reach a decision which resulted in a gain of $2000 to the company. 1. Dennis Caplan, Management Accounting: Concepts and Techniques, Retrieved on December 21st 2009, from Oregon State University, College of Business Web Site,

Mental Health Issue Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 4000 words - 1

Mental Health Issue - Coursework Example Interestingly, the legal aspect of this issue is also detailed in the guide. Cindy has a responsible job as a software engineer in a multinational company but she feels she is unable to advance in her career because of her inability to contribute in group meetings. It’s almost more than what she could bear just to sit in on meetings, let alone offer her opinions. Yesterday, her boss approaches her about the possibility of giving a presentation about their latest product to some customers. At that point, she began to be nervous and could not open her mouth to talk at all. He walks out of her boss’s office with lack of self-confidence and later refuses to give the presentation. Phobias can be defined as the persistent and irrational fears that affect some people when they come into contact with external factors (stimuli) (Morgan, 2003). There are different categories of phobias based on the sources of stimuli, to which the persons affected withdraw or move away from. Examples of these categories are:- (i) Agoraphobia:- this is irrational and persistent fears about being in a place crowded with many other people, and which might make escape impossible in case there is a sudden danger (Gray, 1994). This may happen with or without a panic attack. (ii) Social phobia:- This is irrational and persistent fears about participating in a social or public event. A chronic form of social phobia also leads to avoidance behavior as the affected person keep running away from social duties (Kleiman, 1988). Cindy is affected by this kind of phobia as she dodges her duties. (iii) Specific phobias:- These are irrational and persistent fears to some specific stimuli. Examples of these stimuli include but are not limited to animal types, natural environment types, situational types, blood-injection injury etc. (Lefton, 1997). Several researches have

E_Week4DQ Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

E_Week4DQ - Essay Example The money transfer is done without exposing the account details of the sender to the buyer. On purchase, the money is transferred directly from the buyers account to the sellers account. The transaction can be monitored by the buyer through logging into the Micropay account. In the event of any loss, Micropay refunds the cost of the purchased item and the cost of the initial postage value. This mode of payment offers Privacy, integrity, and non-repudiation and the authorizing entity, in this case Micropay issues the users against any losses. Micropay facilitated payment of large values as well as small values. The cash value accumulated in the Micropay account is transferable to banks and internationally. The system is easy to use and allows users to login and transact business from different locations and computers. One has to register with both EBay and Micropay to be able to utilize Micropay services (Hsiao-Cheng, Kuo-Hua, & Pei-Jen, 2002). How Micropay works Micropay does not pro vide a different way of banking but is just a middleman in the transactional processes. Credit and debit cards transactions travel on different networks. When a merchant a transaction to be made through Micropay, they will do so by paying a small fee which is normally 2 percent of the transaction. There is also an interchangeable fee that is charged for all the companies that take part in the transactions. The fee is universal and is charged for any company that is involved in the process. The part that Micropay comes in is in that both the buyer and the seller deal with Micropay after they have provided their banking details. Micropay then handles all the transactions that will take place between all the banks that will be included and will pay the interchange fee. They will recover the money that they pay for the interchange from the fee they charge for receiving the money. They also get it from the interest they get from the money they left in their accounts (Han Zhang & Haizheng , 2006). I am sure that Micropay will assist us in our e-commerce project in the fact that it will help us to get payments done to various clients. It will also help us secure our money and trust. Their security is trustworthy and we are able to bank on it getting payments and making payments. References Han Zhang & Haizheng, L 2006, Factors affecting payment choices in online auctions: A study of e-Bay traders, Springer, New York. Hsiao-Cheng, Y, Kuo-Hua H, & Pei-Jen K 2002, Electronic payment systems: An analysis and comparison of types, Chiao-Tung University, 1001 Ta-Hseuh Road, Hsinchu 30010, Taiwan IBM Taiwan, Taipei 100, Taiwan Technology in Society. In a 3 to 4 paragraph essay with support from the text theory discuss the following:Â   As a customer, what is your biggest security nightmare and how to you expect the site to protect you? My biggest security nightmare is having our online account hacked and all the funds transferred to other accounts. This will mean that all ou r money for undertaking the e-commerce shall have been lost. Micropay will be of great help in the sense that the online transactions will be secured. Due to the nature of Micropay in the sense that it has all the personal information of many users on the Internet, it has an extra layer of security for the purpose of securing the data it handles on the Internet. The details that it handles include bank account numbers, addresses and credit card numbers. With other online transaction

Ban driving of gasoline powered vehicles In U.S Essay

Ban driving of gasoline powered vehicles In U.S - Essay Example â€Å"To truly transform our economy, protect our security, and save our planet from the ravages of climate change, we need to ultimately make clean, renewable energy the profitable kind of energy†, says President Obama. For the last forty years, the Presidents of the United States have many times called for a reduction in the dependence of the country to fossil fuels. The consumption patterns of fossil fuels have utterly failed to honor the fact that the fossil fuels happen to be a finite and non-renewable resource (Borowitz, 1999). Stronger efficiency standards and high tax rates on motor fuels are some of the ways in which, the government has embarked upon to reduce this dependency. Though resorting to high efficiency technologies may make the cars go a few extra miles per gallon, eventually there will come time when the oil wells will go dry and the contemporary civilization’s dependence on non-renewable energy resources will jeopardize its survival. The need for a burgeoning investment on the research and development of the alternative ways of powering the means of transportation is to a great extent being withheld by the fact that nothing much is being done to wean off people from the gasoline driven cars. It is said that the necessity is the mother of invention. Research for alternative fuels will receive a shot in the arm; the day concrete measures are taken to discourage people from driving gasoline powered cars.

Umberto Eco and Hyper-reality Concept Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Umberto Eco and Hyper-reality Concept - Essay Example While it is a clearly tangible technology, hyper-reality is a concept still simmering in the minds which we use sometimes to describe something as unreal as the Disneyland structures. Is it then just postmodernist gibberish when writers like Eco and Baudrillard came up with the concept of hyper-reality? We shall now discuss Eco’s contention with the help of other significant writings on the subject. According to postmodern writers and by that we do not mean Eco alone, hyper-reality is a representation of reality which is better than the original. Eco argues for example that a recreated diorama is more effective than the actual scene (Eco 1986:8). Jean Baudrillard supports this argument when he says that Americans like to see reproductions of their heroes and monuments as simulacra. Simulacra is thus something which is "more real" than the original (1988:41). Meaghan Morris thus defines simulacra as something where, "the true (like the real) begins to be reproduced in the image of the pseudo, which begins to become the true (1988:5)." In the same vein, Umberto Eco argues that for Americans "the past must be preserved and celebrated in full-scale authentic c opy; a philosophy of immortality as duplication (1986:6)." With these views, Eco urges us to go on a "journey into Hyperreality in search of instances where the American imagination demands the real thing, and, to attain it, must fabricate the absolute fake (1986:7)." Umberto Eco maintains that America is obsessed with simulations. The never-ending series of hyperstructures that recreate reality serve as a proof of this obsession with something that is better than the original. Baudrillard (1983) puts it a little differently but supports Eco’s contention. He argues that the reason American like simulations is because they are perpetually trapped in the present.

Economic Improvements in California Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Economic Improvements in California - Essay Example Marois and Pei differentiate between opinion and facts. The article is full of statistical evidence from cited reports published by acknowledged institutions such as World Bank, U.S. Census Bureau, and the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp (Marois and Pei 2015). It is difficult to identify any political bias in the article because of the use of numerous statistical findings. However, a likely political bias in the article is Marois and Pei ‘s observation that Brown’s â€Å"proposed state budget show the gains† is purely personal (Marois and Pei 2015). The writers offer no evidence for this observation, which adds more suspicion to the fact that the revise figures will not be available until June 2015 yet this article was published in January. From this perspective, one can easily question why the writers did not wait for the revised figures to observe Brown’s â€Å"gains,† which brews a republican agenda when discussing big governments (Ma rois and Pei 2015). The economic development and related political figures are very important to California. This importance shows the results of efforts made to improve infrastructure and alleviate unemployment and poverty. More specifically, living standards in California are high in comparison to other states. Californians living on and below the poverty threshold might not be thought of as poor in states such as Seattle and Texas.

PUBLIC HEALTH AND COMMUNITY NURSING Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

PUBLIC HEALTH AND COMMUNITY NURSING - Essay Example Of concern specially is smoking among adolescents which can contribute to several health problems and birth defects in babies born to pregnant women who smoke. Thus, the community selected for critical analysis of health needs in this essay is adolescent smokers. The extent of problem and the impact and effectiveness of public health in the primary care setting with reference to this community will be discussed through review of suitable literature. The Community According to the 2009 statistics, 29 percent of pupils have tried smoking atleast once and the prevalence of smoking in young people was 6 percent. Though this proportion is the lowest since the time the survey began in 1982, it continues to be a significant problem for both health authorities and public. The prevalence of smoking between 11-15 years old has been estimated to be 6 percent. The prevalence is more among girls (7 percent) when compared to boys (5 percent). Another important finding of the survey is that the pre valence of smoking increases with age. At 11 years of age, the prevalence is 0.5 percent and at 15 years of age it is 15 percent. Ethnicity has an influence on the prevalence. It is more common in White pupils when compared to Black of Mixed ethnicity pupils. It is also more prevalent in pupils coming from lower socioeconomic strata (Smith et al, 2009). According to the Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use survey of 2006 (NHS, 2007), nine percent of pupils in England are regular smokers and a further 5 percent are occasional smokers. The survey defined regular smokers as those smoking atleast one cigarette per week and occasional smokers as those smoking less than one cigarette a week. Pupils who smoked regularly smoked an average of 6 cigarettes a day, approximately 43.5 cigarettes a week. 74 percent of the regular smokers smoked cigarettes from a packet and 6 percent smoked from rolled tobaccos. Girls were more likely to smoke from a packet (NHS, 2007). Regular smoking in this age group has been associated with drug abuse, alcohol intake and truancy and school exclusion. The dependence of smoking by children is mainly related to the time they spend as regular smoker. Those who have smoked for more than a year as regular smokers have reported that they find it difficult to not smoke each day. However, more than 50 percent opined that they knew the ill effects of smoking and thus would like to give up. Most pupils knew that smoking caused lung cancer. But two-thirds of them reported that they felt relaxed because of smoking. Thus, the immediate benefits of smoking outweighed the future potential hazards of smoking. According to the survey, majority of pupils were aware of the fact that their families had negative attitude towards smoking. One third of the pupils who smoked did so secretly and occasional smokers were more likely to be secret smokers. Also, households of pupils who smoked were more lenient that those who did not smoke (NHS, 2007). Since most adult smo kers begin smoking at young age, it is every important to ascertain and understand the causes of smoking in young children so that predictors of smoking can be evaluated and targeted for prevention. Several risk factors have been studied in this regard. According to the Liverpool Longitudinal Smoking Study (Smith et al, 2009), deprivation at both school and home was strongly associated with smoking among adolescents. The trial of smoking is influenced by several school-related environmental factors

The Effects and Causes of Fetal Alcohols Spectrum Disorders Essay Example for Free

The Effects and Causes of Fetal Alcohols Spectrum Disorders Essay Drinking while pregnant is a bad decision. Sometimes the child will result in certain health problems, and at times they will be perfectly healthy. The effects are referred to as FASD (Fetal Alcohols Spectrum Disorders). FASD can take form as many various effects. Many people are aware of these effects but they do not realize that moderate alcohol exposure to the fetus can be just as harmful to the baby as frequent exposure. Though this might leave some people thinking that some pregnant women do not realize their pregnancy for many weeks after conception, and how might they know when no to drink. Well, the women who are trying to become pregnant or women who think they may be pregnant should not drink at all. This is due to the possibilities of pregnancy. (March) When women first get pregnant only about 40 percent of the women notice the pregnancy right away (CDC). Studies by the CDC have published that with each live birth in the United States 0.2 – 1.5 out of 1,000 of those births are babies with FASD effects. In a period of 15 years it has been noted that 1 out of 8 women have admitted to drinking during their pregnancy (CDC). This just shows how unaware mothers are of their drinking’s lasting effects on their children and the strain these effects will bring to their families and friends. There are various symptoms, referring to health, of FASD some of the more major according to the Mayo Clinic are heart defects, slow growth before and after birth, problems with sight and hearing, learning deficiency, small brain size, joint and bone deformities, balance and coordination errors, sleep problems, mental retardation, short attention span, and issues controlling anxiety and impulsive behaviors. Some of the visible effects of FASD are a small head size and facial flattening (MC). The causes are simply stated, easily understood, but yet people do not always agree with them. To make the situation more easily understood, we can say that when you drink the alcohol goes into your bloodstream as a form of energy; the blood is shared amongst you and your unborn child. Therefore the baby gets alcohol into its blood and its slow metabolism cannot handle the amounts of alcohol that an adult woman can. This process also causes the oxygen to moves very slowly into the fetus and therefore the organs cannot get enough oxygen to grow properly (MC). It is known when the baby is most likely to be harmed and where development is risked during the stages of pregnancy. In the first three months of the pregnancy the baby is most likely to have facial deformation, and in the remainder of the pregnancy, the baby is at risk of growth of the central nervous system. When pregnant it is unknown how much alcohol consumed that it takes to cause risks to your baby. It could range differently with the woman’s metabolism, health, and age. Seeing that it is unknown of the amount for risks, it would just be safer to not drink at all while pregnant or if you might be pregnant (MC). If your baby has FASD it will not be evident until the birth, unless you tell your doctor that you have drank and he can check for signs and symptoms in the fetus. The signs that can be noticed while the baby is in the womb are small changes in growth, strange facial features, heart deformities, and all around behavior. This is to say that your FASD baby will be unplanned for and that you are always at risk if you have drank. There has been no cure found for Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder and most of its effects do not ware off with time. A cure for one of the more major signs, heart disorders, can be surgery. And if you have a learning disability that does not leave you mentally impaired, a special learning course in school will usually be very helpful. And with all the stress of the effects the parents may need counseling to cope with their mistakes and child’s behavior (MC). If FASD is evident before the age of six, medication can usually be provided to help with mental and social abilities (CDC). If you’re a parent with a child who suffers from FASD it is good to treat them as any parent would treat their child. Some of the things you can do to help them cope are giving them chores, teach them skills for daily living, teach them to hold their ground and stand tall, reward their good behavior, and teach the child daily routine (MC). If a child is not diagnosed with FASD they might still have fetal alcohol effects (FAE). FAEs consist of two types the first being Alcohol-Related Neurodevelopment Disorder (ARND). ARND is the collection of metal problems a child can have without collectively having FASD, a child with ARND is bound to struggle in school, be impulsive, low memory mass, short attention spam, and bad deciphering skills. The other FAE are Alcohol-Related Birth Defects (ARBD). These are the deformities in the skeletal system due to drinking while pregnant. The deformities may be include in these areas of the body heart, kidneys, bones, and the whole auditory system (FAE). On of the more heard of FASDs is FAS (Fetal Alcohol Syndrome). FAS can lead to Fetal Death which is the most severe result in drinking while pregnant. But usually these people just experience face abnormality and growth problems. Some of the distinctive face abnormalities are a thin vermillion border, smooth philtrum, and small palpebral fissures. A child with FAS has a very hard time getting along with others and making friends (CDC). Children with FASDs often need extra help with simple tasks like walking, talking, and associating with others. These skills can be improved with special counselors at a young age, from birth to three years of age. This counseling is extremely important, so if it is noticed that the child has effects of FASD talk to your doctor immediately. The doctor might also recommend that the parents go through daily speech routines with their child. These routines will help the child reach their full potential and help them more as they reach high school age. As the child ages it is most often necessary for them to be in a special education class. A stable home life is a necessity for FASD cases. Children with FASD have a higher emotion to their surroundings, so moving frequently can cause mental breakdowns and tantrums. Therefore it is important to have a loving household and to care for you child with a great deal of attention. Help can also come from the community and friends to keep the child’s self esteem high and gleaming. And a high self esteem will help the child grow and keep them from criminal activity, dropping out, and unemployment (CDC.)Â  When your child has FASD they still need the same medical attention as a child without the sideffectts.

The Virginal Conception of Christ Essay Example for Free

The Virginal Conception of Christ Essay The Virginal Conception is a vital aspects in Christian faith, this is also held by Muslims (Qur’an 3.47). Virginal conception is a miraculous, non-sexual manner. The Holy Spirit caused Mary to conceive God Incarnate without the help of a man. For some believers they believed that   Mary also gave birth to Jesus miraculously; He passed through her without wounding her or spoiling her physical virginity, But for some He passed through her in natural way- thus breaking her hymen and went thru birth pains. When talking of virgin birth, it means also, Virginal Conception (Virginitas ante partum), i.e. that Christ, one of the person in the Deity Incarnate, had no human biological father. The biblical basis of virginal conception of Jesus was prophesied in Genesis 3:15 and Isaiah 7:14. It came true in Matthew 1:18-25 and Luke 1:34-35. Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14) And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn. (Luke 2:7) However, the possibility of a virgin birth is often questioned for the fact that, from a biological viewpoint, it is impossible for a human being to be born without a biological father and a mother. Also, some Christians do not believe in the Virgin Birth. Research by many groups, including Christian researchers, indicates that among both the clergy and the laity (in all branches of Christianity) a belief in central tenets of the faith such as Virgin Birth or bodily Resurrection is highly variable. Although they believe in the Virgin Birth, Muslims do not call Jesus Son of God, rather Servant of God. In the Quran, Jesus (Isa in Arabic) is consistently termed Isa ibn Maryam a matronymic- because, in Muslim belief, he had no biological father. Philosophical controversy In the wider sense, arguments for and against the Virgin Birth depend on fundamental philosophical assumptions: if one believes God does not exist, or if God exists but does not perform miracles, the Virgin Birth cannot have taken place in any traditionally accepted sense. While parthogenesis, a type of virgin birth where a female gives birth without the intervention of the male material, is known in nature, the resulting offspring must be female since the mother has no Y chromosome to pass on. Also, the process has never been observed in mammals. The Virgin Birth not only violates a naturalist philosophy, but also science based upon methodological naturalism. Alleged late appearance in the New Testament There are explicit references to the virgin birth in only two places in the New Testament: the Gospels of Matthew and Luke, which are believed by many scholars to be amongst the later written parts of the New Testament. The apparently older Gospel of Mark, on which Matthew and Luke are believed to be partly based, does not mention the virgin birth, and some scholars also argue from grammar and style that the first two chapters of Luke, describing the virgin birth, were a later addition to the Gospel, which may originally have begun at 3:1: 2:51 And he went down with them, and came to Nazareth, and was subject unto them: but his mother kept all these sayings in her heart. 52 And Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favour with God and man. 3:1 Now in the fifteenth year of the reign of Tiberius Caesar, Pontius Pilate being governor of Judaea, and Herod being tetrarch of Galilee, and his brother Philip tetrarch of Ituraea and of the region of Trachonitis, and Lysanias the tetrarch of Abilene, 2 Annas and Caiaphas being the high priests, the word of God came unto John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. At 3:1 there is an abrupt change of subject and the story begins again. Nevertheless, this is characteristic of many stories in the Gospels and the author of Luke may simply be beginning a new segment of his narrative. Arguments regarding the addition of material to a narrative (Redaction and Form criticism), especially when the material in question is present in the earliest manuscripts, have received significant criticism in the last 20 years and are now regarded as dubious by some textual critics. Double attestation The Virgin conception and birth is a tradition that fits within the criterion of multiple attestation, that is, the same event appears in two independent traditions (most scholars argue that the authors of Matthew and Luke worked independent of one another). For many historians, independent testimony is a significant evidence for the historical validity of a said event. Matthew and Luke are testifying to an event, the birth, about which there was a tradition, namely, that it resulted from a miraculous conception. That the conception itself was indeed miraculous appears to rest on a single attestation, that of the Virgin Mary. The attestation of the Angel to St. Joseph on the miraculous nature of the conception would not be accepted by many scholars as historiographically valid. Critics of the double attestation argument cite many inconsistencies between the accounts of Matthew and Luke regarding Jesus birth. According to Matthew, Joseph was forewarned of the virgin birth by an unnamed angel; in Luke it is Mary who is notified of this by the angel Gabriel. Matthew tells us that Joseph and Mary were residents of Bethlehem who moved to Nazareth after Jesus birth in order to avoid living under Archelaus: according to the better-known story in Luke the couple lived in Nazareth and only traveled to Bethlehem in order to comply with a Roman census. Luke mentions that Mary was the sister of Elizabeth, mother of John the Baptist, has the new-born Jesus visited by shepherds, and mentions several long hymns uttered by various characters, such as Marys Magnificat. None of this is mentioned by Matthew, who instead tells us of the visit of the Magi, the massacre of the innocents by Herod, and the flight into Egypt. There are thus two rival explanations for the double attestation of Matthew and Luke regarding the virgin birth of Jesus: The virgin birth was a historical event, and the stories of Matthew and Luke are based on different aspects and witnesses accounts of it. Matthew and Luke both wanted to make Jesus fit prophecies from Hebrew scripture. Both authors were aware of the prophecies concerning virgin birth and Bethlehem, and therefore these elements of their stories match. But each author wove these prophecies into the overall narrative in a different way. For example, both authors had to explain how Jesus was born in Bethlehem when he was known to be from Nazareth (as mentioned in Marks gospel) and each came up with a totally different explanation. The double attestation shows only that the two witnesses are independent, although, there are some inconsistencies but it does not disqualify the truth of the case. Dispute regarding Isaiah 7:14 In the past two millennia, there has been controversy among scholars about the translation and the meaning of a small section of Isaiah. For many scholars, the crux of the matter is the translation of the word  : × ¢Ã—Å"מה, `almah which has been translated as young woman and as virgin. In Isaiah the word for virgin here is almah. Some liberals1 and Orthodox Jews claim that the word really means young woman, and this is reflected in Bible translations such as the NEB, RSV, NRSV, and GNB. Such people fail to explain why a young womans bearing a son should be a sign it happens all the time. The Septuagint translates it as (parthenos), the normal word for virgin.2 Later Jews, such as Trypho,3 Justin Martyrs (c. 160) dialog opponent, and Rashi4 (11th Cent.) have claimed that the Septuagint was wrong. Trypho claimed that almah should have been translated neanis (young girl) rather than parthenos.5 However, even Rashi admitted that the word could mean virgin in Song of Sol. 1:3 and 6:8. In the KJV, the word is translated virgin in Gen. 24:43 (Rebekah before her marriage), maid in Ex. 2:8 (Miriam as a girl) and Prov. 30:19, and damsels in Ps. 68:25. These verses contain all the occurrences of almah in the OT, and in none can it be shown that a non-virgin is meant. In English, maid and maiden are often treated as synonyms for virgin (e.g. maiden voyage). Vine et al. note that the other word for virgin, betà »lah, emphasizes virility more than virginity (although it is used with both emphases, too).6 It is qualified by a statement neither had any man known her in Gn. 24:16, and is used of a widow in Joel 1:8. Further evidence comes from clay tablets found in 1929 in Ugarit in Syria. Here, in Aramaic, a word similar to `almah is used of an unmarried woman, while on certain Aramaic incantation bowls, the Aramaic counterpart of betà »lah is used of a married woman.37 The Encyclopedia Judaica, while criticising the translation of almah in Is. 7:14 as virgin, also points out that btlt was used of the goddess Anath who had frenzied sex with Baal.8 In the King James Virsion of The Bible, a traditional Protestant translation, the verses in question run like this: 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. 15 Butter and honey shall he eat, that he may know to refuse the evil, and choose the good. 16 For before the child shall know to refuse the evil, and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings. Some newer translations also use the word virgin: The New King James, The English Standard Version, The Contemporary English Version, Youngs Literal Translation, among others. Many modern translations concede that the word in the Hebrew does not mean virgin, including The Revised Standard Version, The New Jerusalem Bible, The Revised English Bible, The Good News Bible, The New Revised Standard Version, among others. This demonstrates that some Christian scholars, both Protestant and Catholic, prefer the traditional translation of the Hebrew in the context of Isaiah 7:14, while others do not. Skeptics argue that this is not a very clear prophecy of the birth of Jesus. In addition to the objection that Jesus was not in fact named Immanuel there are other problems: for example, (1) what does the butter and honey refer to? (One possible response to the butter and honey problem: it is a reference to one who, metaphorically, has eaten good meat his entire life in order to spit out the bad meat if it ever touched his lips. Note that the butter and honey reference is immediately followed by the comment on an ability to choose between good and evil; this may suggest that they are related.) (2) Why is Jesus, who was sinless from birth in the traditional Christian understanding, described as having to learn to refuse the evil and choose the good? and (3) This passage within the latter translations states clearly that the young woman within this prophecy is already pregnant with a child. This makes this prophecy about the coming Messiah Jesus very difficult to explain as the prophecy would have already been fulfilled during Isaiahs time. Some Christian aplogists have attempted to explain this problem of temporal context as: a) the latter translations are in error, and b) the latter translations are correct, but that the prophecy has a double-application for both Isaiahs time and the first century. Thomas Paine argued in the second part of The Age of Reason that Isaiahs prophesy (7:16) turned out to be false. He based his conclusion on the 2nd Chronicles (chapter 28) account of heavy defeat of Ahaz. Skeptics raise even greater questions about the translation of the first verse in this passage: 7:14 Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold, × ¢Ã—Å"מה (a `almah) shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel. Christian apologists respond that the passage is a double reference— a sign both to Ahaz that the alliance against him would be destroyed, and to the house of David as a whole that was threatened with extinction. This is shown by the Hebrew which uses singular you for the former and plural you for the latter. With the former, Isaiah reassures Ahaz that the alliance would be destroyed before his own son Shear Jashub, who was present (v. 3), would learn to refuse the evil and choose the good. Finally, there is archaeological evidence that Jewish speakers of Greek used the word parthenos elastically; Jewish catacombs in Rome identify married men and women as virgins, and some have suggested that in this case the word was used to call attention to the fact that the deceased was someones first spouse (although it is notable that this usage is from several centuries before the translation of the Septuagint [citation  needed]). Certainly, Jews stopped using the more explicit Septuagint translation as Christianity spread, and post-Christian Jewish translations into Greek use ÃŽ ½ÃŽ µÃŽ ±ÃŽ ½ÃŽ ¹Ãâ€š, neanis, meaning young (juvenile) woman, rather than parthenos. Possible borrowing from Paganism Some have argued that the Virgin Birth is a Christian borrowing from paganism The impregnation of mortal women by gods is common in pagan mythology. However, this is not technically virginal conception, since virginity is lost by definition when the sex act is initiated. Christian writers have noted that the obvious sex of the pagan myths is missing in the Gospels: Matthew 1:18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was on this wise: When as his mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost. Luke 1:34 Then said Mary unto the angel, How shall this be, seeing I know not a man? 35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God. A pagan myth of virgin birth may also underlie the disputed verses from Isaiah: It all boils down to this: the distinctive Hebrew word for virgin is betulah, whereas `almah means a young woman who may be a virgin, but is not necessarily so. The aim of this note is rather to call attention to a source that has not yet been brought into the discussion. From Ugarit of around 1400 B.C. comes a text celebrating the marriage of the male and female lunar deities. It is there predicted that the goddess will bear a son The terminology is remarkably close to that in Isaiah 7:14. However, the Ugaritic statement that the bride will bear a son is fortunately given in parallelistic form; in 77:7 she is called by the exact etymological counterpart of Hebrew `almah young woman; in 77:5 she is called by the exact etymological counterpart of Hebrew betulah virgin. Therefore, the New Testament rendering of `almah as virgin for Isaiah 7:14 rests on the older Jewish interpretation, which in turn is now borne out for precisely this annunciation formula by a text that is not only pre-Isaianic but is pre-Mosaic in the form that we now have it on a clay tablet. (Feinberg, BibSac, July 62; the citation to Gordon is: C. H. Gordon, `Almah in Isaiah 7:14, Journal of Bible and Religion, XXI, 2 (April, 1953), p. 106.) This philological reasoning seems to raise four possibilities: virgin birth is a pagan concept that Christianity has 1) taken from contemporary paganism; 2) taken from pre-Mosaic paganism through Isaiah; 3) taken from contemporary paganism and justified from Isaiah, who took it from pre-Mosaic paganism; 4) produced independently of all forms of paganism, though sharing similar vocabulary. If pre-Mosaic paganism supports Isaiah, and Isaiah supports Matthew and Mark, paganism has anticipated Christianity, perhaps because God was preparing the way for Christianity or because, as some Church Fathers argued, the Devil was blasphemously imitating Christianity. On the other hand, if paganism does not underlie Isaiah, there are several possibilities. Perhaps virgin birth was invented separately, first in paganism, then in Christianity. Perhaps the idea of asexual conception was so different from the idea of conception through sexual intercourse with a deity that there was little or no borrowing in either direction. Or perhaps, despite the earlier date of the Ugaritic text, virgin birth existed first in Judaism, without any other instances than this one, and was borrowed by paganism. The obvious difficulty with this idea is that virgin birth was much more prominent in paganism, where it occurs in many myths in many different areas, than it was in Judaism, where it occurs (if at all) in a single verse late in the Old Testament. Nevertheless, the argument that virgin birth was a Jewish concept first borrowed by paganism and later incorporated into Christianity was first made by Justin Martyr in The First Apology of Justin, written in the second century. Justin also made this argument in his Dialog with Trypho, in which he debates with a Jew called Trypho: Be well assured, then, Trypho, I continued, that I am established in the knowledge of and faith in the Scriptures by those counterfeits which he who is called the Devil is said to have performed among the Greeks; just as some were wrought by the Magi in Egypt, and others by the false prophets in Elijahs days. For when they tell that Bacchus, son of Jupiter, was begotten by Jupiters intercourse with Semele, and that he was the discoverer of the vine; and when they relate, that being torn in pieces, and having died, he rose again, and ascended to heaven; and when they introduce wine into his mysteries, do I not perceive that the Devil has imitated the prophecy announced by the patriarch Jacob, and recorded by Moses? Justin was clearly not referring to any Ugaritic texts, as these texts were not known in his day; he was referring to Greek paganism. That the Devil is responsible for the similarities between paganism and Judaism is not generally accepted by modern scholars, partly because the Devils influence would be impossible to disprove. The Devil could not, for example, imitate Christianity or Judaism before either existed, without violating the generally accepted historical rule that a culture cannot be influenced by a culture that does not yet exist; even though in point of fact it is likely that if the patriarch Jacob existed, he was contemporary with the inscriptions at Ugarit. In a similar vein, it might also be argued that God had chosen to out-do these earlier human myths, all as part of his Plan. Christian writers point out that if in fact the writer of Isaiah intended to borrow the idea of a virgin birth from an older pagan tradition, we might expect to find Isaiah using more explicit language to indicate that a virgin was meant. However, if Isaiah had borrowed the story from pagans, he might be expected to speak in the same way as the pagans, and that is what he does, according to the scholar quoted, who notes the remarkable similarity of the Ugaritic and the Hebrew. However, Isaiah may speak the same way as the pagans simply because he came from a similar sociological and semantic context. If Isaiah received a new prophecy direct from God, on the other hand, he had no tradition to conform to, and he could have expanded the meaning to make it completely unambiguous. That he did not choose to make it unambiguous is thus an apparent difficulty for the Christian interpretation of the text, though the ambiguity could be seen as being intended, if one supposes that God had a dual purpose for the text (i.e., to serve one function in Isaiahs time and another function later). Isaiahs prophecy departs from the Ugaritic version of the virgin birth by having the female be entirely human, whereas in the Ugaritic culture, the virgin was another deity, on par with the male; but this is exactly what might be expected if the myth were borrowed from paganism, since Judaism has only one male deity; a female deity in a borrowed myth might thus conceivably become a female human. According to Origen and Tertullian, the Christian doctrine of the Virgin birth met with lively opposition and mockery from pagan groups. This testimony would seem to discount the suggestion of those modern revisionists who have posited that the pagan religions had a similar or identical tradition. The doctrine of the Virgin Birth is frequently confused with the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception. The latter, taught by the Roman Catholic Church states that Mary was conceived without the stain of original sin. Mary, however, unlike many peoples views of Jesus, was conceived in the ordinary way: i.e. she had a human father as well as a human mother (whose names, according to Catholic and Orthodox tradition, were Joachim and Anna/Anne or Jehoiakim and Hannah in Hebrew). Whilst Protestant denominations adhere to the doctrine of the Virgin Birth, they do not adhere to the idea of Marys immaculate conception, nor of her perpetual virginity. References: Hagner, Donald-Matthew 2 Vols. (Biblical Commentary) Dallas; Word, 1993,1995. Luz, Ulrich. Matthew 1-7 Minneapolis; Augsburg Fortress, 1989. Green, Joel B. The Gospel of Luke. Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 1997. Keener Craig, A Commentary on the Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 1999. Nolland, John, The Gospel of Matthew. Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 2005 Raymond E. Brown, The Virginal Conception and Bodily Resurrection of Jesus, New York: Paulist, 1973 (pp. 21-68) Marshall, I. Howard. Commentary on Luke, Grand Rapids; Eerdmans, 1978 Fitzmyer, Joseph. The Gospel According to Kuke I-IX (Anchor Bible) Garden City. Doubleday. 1981

Indias Foreign Exchange System: An Analysis

Indias Foreign Exchange System: An Analysis CHAPTER-2 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1 Introduction: It is a fact that the currencies of different countries have different values that is based upon their actual economic and monetary strength. It is from this difference that the genesis of foreign exchange occurs. Foreign exchange can be termed as the act of matching the different values of the goods and services that is involved in the international business transaction process in order to attain the exact value that is to be transferred between the parties of an international trading transaction in monetary terms. Foreign exchange as an activity had started the day civilization and independent principalities got established in the world. But in those days it was a case of exchanging value in the form of transfer of goods and services of identical value that is commonly identified with barter system. Moreover the transactions were done on a one-to-one basis, and the terms and conditions were determined by the parties entering into such transactions. There was no universal system or rule that determined these transactions. In that way foreign exchange and international monetary system is a modern day trend that gained an institutional form in the first half of the twentieth century and has been developing since then. 2.2 Foreign Exchange: According to International Monetary Fund (IMF), Foreign Exchange is defined as different forms of financial instruments like foreign currency notes, deposits held in foreign banks, debt obligations of foreign banks and foreign governments, monetary gold and Special Drawing Rights (SDR) that are resorted to make payments in lieu of business transactions that is done by two business entities or otherwise, of nations that have currencies having different inherent monetary value (www.imf.org). Leading economist Lipsey Richard G.,1993 has mentioned that the foreign exchange transactions are basically a form of negotiable instrument that are resorted to deliver the cost of goods and services that form a part of trading transactions and otherwise, between business and public entities of nations of the global economy. Sarno, Taylor and Frankel, 2003 gives the definition of foreign exchange as denoting the act of purchase and sale of currencies of different economies that is performed over the counter for various purposes that includes international payments and deliverance of cost of various business transactions, where the value is usually measured by tallying the value of the currencies involved in the foreign exchange transaction with that of the value of U.S. Dollar. According to Clark and Ghosh 2004, Foreign Exchange denotes transactions in international currency i.e. currencies of different economies. In such transactions the value of a currency of one country is tallied and exchanged with similar value of the currency of the country in order to exchange the cost of a business transaction or public monetary transfer that is taking place between two entities of these economies. 2.2.1 Foreign Exchange Transactions: Transactions in foreign exchange are done through various types and various modes between different countries of the world. According to information mentioned in the Reuters Financial Training Series, 1999,TOD Transactions, TOM Transactions, Swap Rates, Spot Rates, Forward Rates, Margin Trading and Buy / Sell on Fixed Rates foreign exchange transaction methods are some of the commonly used methods that are widely used by global managers for their foreign exchange transaction activities. 2.2.1.1 TOD Operations: TOD Operations are foreign exchange transaction methods where the trader uses the exchange rate of the day on which the foreign exchange transaction order is to be executed. In other words TOP operations are commonly used in intra-day foreign exchange transactions. As a result they are commonly resorted to by speculators in foreign exchange transactions and those who general speculate on the rates of different foreign exchange markets of the globe. 2.2.1.2 TOM Operations: In this type of transactions the transaction process carried forward to the next day instead of it being an intra-day trading. TOM transactions rate is fixed on the day the transaction is signed, but the rate of exchange is agreed upon to be that of the next day. 2.2.1.3 SPOTTransactions: SPOT Transactions can be compared with TOM transactions because here also the exchange rate is fixed at a value that prevails over the exchange rate of intra-day trading of shares. But SPOT transactions have been separated as a different category because unlike TOM transactions, SPOT transactions contracts are executed on the third day after the signing of agreement between the Bank and the client. 2.2.1.4 Forward Contract: Forward contracts are those exchange rate contracts where the currency conversion exchange rate agreement is decided at a certain rate at a time that is well before the date of execution of the exchange contract. In that way they are similar to TOM transactions. The only differ from them in the fact that these transactions are made for a long term i.e. generally for one year, and the parties involved in making this foreign exchange transaction deposit five percent of the contract value with the bank involved in facilitating the transaction at the time of executing the contract which is then returned to the client after execution of the exchange transaction. The need for depositing this amount is to secure the transaction against any loss due to market fluctuations. 2.2.1.5 SWAP: The greatest advantage of SWAP transactions is that the clients involved in the foreign exchange get prior information about the exchange rate of the currencies that are part of the transaction. In this type of transaction the bank first buys the amount of transaction form the client and resells it to the client after a few days after disclosing the exchange rate of the currencies involved in the transaction process. SWAP transactions are much sought after by traders because here they get to know beforehand the exchange rate of the currencies involved in the transaction process that helps them in avoiding fluctuations in market rate and gives them the advantage of determining the prices of goods, the nature of the currency market notwithstanding. . 2.2.1.6 MarginTrading: The key element of Margin trading is that any trader can opt for SPOT trading round the clock by going through the margin trading mode. The other key element of margin trading is that the traders can make deals with a minimal spread for a huge amount of funds by projecting fraction of the needed amount. In that way it is a unique form of global financial transaction where the threshold value that can be transacted through the margin trading mode is $ 100000 with bigger deals being multiples of $ 100000. But in order to deal in margin trading the trader has to make a security deposit of five recent of the contract value that has to be replenished from time to time in order to maintain the amount from which the probable losses from margin trading transactions are accommodated. 2.2.1.7 Buying/Selling on Fixed Rate Order: This is a mutual agreement between the buyer and seller of foreign exchange. Neither its rate nor its other terms and conditions are based upon actual conditions. Rather the deal is based keeping the mutual profitability of the buyer and seller intact where both of them get their desired amount. 2.3 Global Foreign Exchange Market: According to the table depicting the Triennial Bank Survey of Foreign Exchange and Derivatives Market Activity done by Bank for International Settlements (BIS)2007, as shown below the global foreign exchange market has an average daily turnover of over $ 2 trillion, which is an increase of around forty percent in terms of volumes . This rise in foreign exchange transactions it is observed has been due to rise in the volume of trading in Spot and Forward markets. This is indicative towards increase in volatility of foreign exchange markets around the world. (www.bis.org). Global Foreign Exchange Market Turnover Daily averages in April, (in billions $) Year 1989 1992 1995 1998 2001 2004 Spot Transactions 317 394 494 568 387 621 Outright Forwards 27 58 97 128 131 208 Swaps in Foreign Exchange 190 324 546 734 656 944 Gaps in Reporting (Estimated) 56 44 53 60 26 107 Total Turnover (Traditional) 590 820 1,190 1,490 1,200 1,880 Memo: Turnover (At April 2004 Exchange Rates) 650 840 1,120 1,590 1,380 1,880 (BIS Triennial Central Bank Survey, 2004) As observed by Jacque Laurent L.1996, Studies in foreign exchange point to the fact that the volume involved in foreign exchange transactions in the total markets around the globe has the potential to affect the overall functioning of the global financial system due to the systematic risks that are part and parcel of the foreign exchange transaction system. Most of the transactions occur in the major markets of the world with the London Exchange followed by New York and Tokyo Stock Exchange accounting for over sixty percent of the foreign exchange transactions done around the globe. Among these transactions the largest share is carried out by banks and financial institutions followed by other business transactions i.e. exchange of value for goods and services as well as dealers involved in securities and financial market transactions. According to the studies by Levi Maurice D., 2005, in foreign exchange transactions most of the transactions happen in the spot market in the realm of OTC derivative contracts. This is followed by hedging and forward contracts that are done in large numbers. The central banks of different countries of the world and the financial institutions operating in multiple markets are the main players that operate in the foreign exchange market and provide the risk exchange control mechanism to the players of the exchange market and the system where around $ 3 trillion amount of money is transacted in 300000 exchanges located around the globe. The largest amount of transactions takes place in the spot rate and that too in the liquidity market. The quotation on price in these markets sometimes reaches to around two thousand times in a single day with the maximum quotations being done in Dollar and Deutschemark with the rates fluctuating every two to three minutes with the volume of transaction for a dealer in foreign exchange i.e. both individual and companies going to the range of $ 500 million in normal times. In recent years the derivativ e market is also gaining popularity in OTC dealings with regards to the foreign exchange market. 2.4 Global Foreign Exchange Market Management Risks: According to the researcher Kim S. H., 2005, Foreign exchange transactions are identified by their connection with some financial transactions occurring in some overseas market or markets. But this interconnectivity does not affect the inherent value of the currency of the country which is determined by the economic strength of that country. This means that the inherent value of each currency of the world is different and unequal. So when the need arises to exchange the value of some goods or service between countries engaged in such activity it becomes imperative to exchange the exact value of goods and services. Considering the complexity and volume of such trading and exchange activity occurring in the global market between countries it is but natural that the currencies of individual countries is subject to continual readjustment of value with the currency with which its value has to be exchanged. This gives rise to the importance of foreign exchange transactions as a separate ar ea of study and thereby needs much focus for its understanding (Frenkel , Hommel and Rudolf , 2005). In addition to this it is to be realized that with the growing pace globalization and integration of global economic order there has been a tremendous increase in international business transactions and closer integration of economic systems of countries around the world especially between the members of WTO, that has led to the increase in economic transactions and consequent activity in international foreign currency exchange system (Adams, Mathieson and Schinasi, 1998). Added to this is the fact that the exchange value of currencies in the transactions is not determined by the respective countries but by the interplay of value of the currencies engaged in an international foreign exchange transaction and the overall value of each currency in the transaction prevailing at that time. In fact each country in the global economic order would want to determine the value of its currency to its maximum advantage, which was possible a few years ago in when the countries used to determine the value of their currency according to the existing value of their economy. The individual countries till the early nineties used to follow a policy of total or partial control over the exchange value of their currency in the global market. At the same time there also were a group of countries that followed the policy or system in determining the exchange value of their currency i.e. left it to the interplay of global economic activity where the value was determined by its economic performance. The currencies of countries that provide full or partial amount of control in the international exchange value of its currency are known to follow a Fixed Rate whereas the currencies of countries that allow its currency to seek its inherent value through its performance in the global economic system are termed as following the Floating Rate of foreign exchange conversion mechanism. Though lo gically both the type of mechanism of foreign exchange face the effect of exchange rate fluctuations and consequent volatility in rate it is the currencies having a floating rate that are continually affected by the fluctuations in exchange rate in the global market when in the case of currencies with a fixed rate it is more of a controlled and regulated affair (Chorafas Dimitris N., 1992). 2.5 Foreign Exchange Risks Prevailing in the Global Market: Risks related to the exchange rate of a currency in the global market as has been mentioned, occurs due to the interplay of inherent value of each currency of the respective countries that are part of the global financial mechanism. Risks related to foreign exchange come into picture and are also inevitable in this world marching towards increased interaction due to globalization. The risks will occur due to business interaction and consequent exchange of value for goods and services. According to Kodres LauraE., 1996, the risks related to foreign exchange occur when there is increased interaction between the currency of a country with that of other countries in the international market and that too if the currency has a floating exchange rate. In that case the value of the currency is continually affected by its business and financial performance. This relation with other currencies in the market affects it during the time when the need arises to exchange it with another currency for settlement of financial transaction in some business or financial purposes and gives rise to various types of risks. The prominent risks associated during this situation are Herstatt Risk, and Liquidity Risk. 2.5.1 Herstatt Risk: Herstatt risk is a risk that is named after a German Bank that got liquidated by the German Government in the seventies of the last century and made to return all; the claims accruing to its customers. This is because its creditworthiness was affected and it could not pay the settlement claims to its customers and also on behalf of its customers to their clients. It is basically connected to the time aspect of foreign exchange value claim settlements in which the foreign exchange transactions do not get realized as the bank loses its ability to honour the transaction in the intervening period due to some causes. In the particular case the German bank failed to honour the financial settlement claims of its clients to their counter parties that were to be paid in values of U.S Dollars. The main issues that arose were regarding quantifying the amount to be delivered and the time of the transaction process due to the two countries financial systems being located and working according to different or separate time zones. This case has established a phenomenon in foreign exchange market where there may erupt situations in which the working hours of banks located in different time zones may never match with each other leading to foreign exchange settlement transactions getting affected during the mismatch of the two banks closing and opening time. In fact the Alsopp Report that studied this phenomenon in detail said that though the foreign exchange transactions are made in pen and paper on a single day the actual transfer of value takes place within three to four days. And with the exchange value of currencies operating in the international market always remaining in a state of flux they either get jacked up or devalued. In either case it affects the clause of transactions that was decided on an intra-day rate, as the value of both the currencies in the international market has changed during these days. 2.5.2 Risks related to Liquidity: There can crop up different problems related to the banking systems operations and dynamics i.e. in both technical and management systems as well as inability in terms of volume of available liquidity strength or in mismatch in tallying of time etc; that can affect the capacity of banks to honour foreign exchange transactions in terms of transfer of liquidity. These types of risks are being commonly witnessed in newly emerging economies that are being unable to cope with the sudden surge in volume of global business transactions thereby leading to exchange rate settlement and payment delays, outstanding payments and dishonouring of financial commitments in the exchange rate transaction market. 2.5.3 Financial Repercussions: According to the Studies in foreign exchange related risks by Dumas and Solnik, 1995 aver that risk related to transactions in foreign exchange have increased with globalization and the rise of global economic integration process with the countries getting affected in relation to the volume of their transactions in the global financial and business marketplace. This is because the market is now more oriented towards market value driven convertibility of currencies that is influenced by the global financial movements and transactions, and any independent transaction especially of transnational and multinational companies; will automatically affect other transactions happening in the global financial marketplace (Klopfenstein G.,1997). However, according to another study by Gallati Reto R., 2003, these multinational and transnational companies are simultaneously being affected by the fluctuations in exchange rate of different currencies of the global market that is exposing their business operations in different global markets to exchange rate related risks especially due to difference in Spot and Forward rates and the inevitable fluctuations (Choi , 2003) that give rise to foreign exchange settlement related problems. 2.5.4 Remedies to Foreign Exchange Settlement Risks: As there risks that have cropped up in foreign exchange transactions due to increase in volume and frequency of transactions mainly as a result of globalization so, also there have come up remedies to minimize the risk related to adverse conditions in foreign exchange transactions. The Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in one of its studies in 1999 has said that settlement of claims is the most predominant risk that is related to foreign exchange transactions, especially the speed with which these transactions are materialized and the roadblocks that they may face in the process due to tremendous increase in volume of foreign exchange transactions that cannot be cleared in expected times. The solution to these risks according to the study is to simultaneously clear transactions on either side i.e. for both the parties side so that they simultaneously give and receive payments at the agreed rate of exchange. This would solve the problem of extended time of actual payment when the rate of exchange fluctuates, thereby creating problems for both the parties. This arrangement is related to deals being processed simultaneously, which requires the concurrence and common cause of both the parties. This is because the party that is expecting a hike in value of it s currency may not agree to such a proposal. In that case there should be some law or arrangement that would make it mandatory for both the parties to settle their intra-day payments on that day itself so that there is no scope left for speculation by them. According to the study, such arrangements have been made in USA and Europe where systems like Fedwire and Trans- European Automated Real-Time Gross Settlement Express Transfer (TARGET) have been established. Fedwire facilitates payments in foreign exchange transactions under the mode of Real Time Gross Settlements (RTGS)and TARGET facilitates intra-day transfer of foreign exchange between parties of member countries of Europe on the same day itself. But, for simultaneous release of funds by both the parties and the intra-day settlement of claims to succeed it is imperative that the member countries of the global economic system should come together have concurrence on these issues. This is because all said and done the foreign exchange transaction related rules and laws are still governed by the respective countries. And most of these countries are reluctant to make any headway in linking their currency system to the global currency system for speedy disposal of foreign exchange transactions for fear that such a move would expose their currency end financial system to the baneful effects of risks and volatility of global foreign exchange system (Hagelin and Pramborg, 2004). At the level of international trading corporations there has been initiated some steps whereby they have formed a private arrangement known as Group of Twenty. They are a group of twenty internationally acclaimed global clearing banks who have formed an system called the Global Clearing Bank that acts as a connection between the payment systems of different countries and verifies international foreign exchange transactions in order to simultaneously satisfy both the parties regarding authenticity of the process of transaction. The thing is that this system puts a high amount of strain on the financial and foreign exchange system as well as reserves of individual countries along with requiring them to bring about some amount of commonality between the financial rules and regulations of individual countries which is easier said than done. All the same the establishment of Bilateral Netting System and Multilateral Netting Systems as well as of Exchange Clearing House (ECHO) are trying t o facilitate foreign exchange transactions and minimize the inherent risks involved (McDonough ,1996). 2.6 Indian Foreign Exchange System: 2.6.1 Historical Background: The historical background of foreign exchange system in India was a saga of excess control and monitoring with even minor transactions being made to undergo the rigorous scrutiny of concerned government authorities to avoid any risks associated with such transactions and save the scarce foreign exchange reserves from being frittered away in some transactions considered unimportant or anti-national by the government. The Foreign Exchange Regulation Act (FERA) that was enacted in 1947 and made more stringent in 1973 was the embodiment of the prevailing sentiment of the governments of those days, which was to completely regulate and control all the foreign exchange transactions and protect the foreign currency reserves. (Mehta, 1985) All these changed in the nineties of the last century with the opening up of Indian economy in 1991 in keeping with the recommendations of the High Level Committee on Balance of Payments set up under the chairmanship of Dr C. Rangarajan by the Ministry of Finance, Government of India and subsequent entry of India into World Trade Organization (WTO) in 1994. This was preceded by the liberating of current account transactions and establishing full convertibility of current account transactions in 1993. In 1994 also the Government of India accepted Article VIII of Agreement of the International Monetary Fund that established the system of current account convertibility and the exchange value of rupee came to be determined according to the market rates with only the convertibility of capital account being under the control of the government (Krueger,2002) as the Tarapore Committee on Capital Account Convertibility of 1997 (Panagariya A., 2008) suggested the government to keep adequate sa feguards before allowing the convertibility of capital account to be determined according to the market forces as there was need to consolidate the financial system and have an accepted inflation target before such a venture. The Tarapore Committee also suggested that the legal framework governing the foreign exchange transaction system in India also needs to be modernized before going for total convertibility of the capital account due to which the Government repealed the FERA Act of 1973 and promulgated the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) in 2000. This new act did away with the system of regulation and control and established a system of facilitation and management of foreign exchange transactions thereby promoting all the activities related to foreign exchange transactions. The most important thing that was done by FEMA was to recognize violations or mistakes in foreign exchange transactions as a civil offence instead of a criminal offence as was done by FERA. FEMA also shifted the responsibility of proving the violation or mistake in foreign exchange transaction and related rules from the prosecutor to the prosecuted. And if the prosecuted was proved guilty he or she was to pay only monetary fine or compensation instead of being jailed as was the earlier provision under FERA. FEMA also simplified many of the rules and notified specific time frames for delivering judgments related to violations of foreign exchange rules and regulations and provide rules for establishing special tribunals and forums to deal with such cases. Th e compounding rules were also made less stringent and all matters related to compounding rules were notified to be dealt by Reserve Bank of India (RBI) instead of the previously assigned Enforcement Directorate. RBI was made the designated Compounding Authority in all related matters. Only the cases involving hawala transactions were left from its purview As per Mecklal and Chand

The Essence of Teamwork Essay -- Sociology Sociological Team Work Essa

The Essence of Teamwork â€Å"Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their hard work. For if one of them should fall, the other one can raise his partner up. But how will it be with just the one who falls when there is not another to raise him up?† – Ecclesiastes 4:9, 10 As the scriptural text quoted above implies, teamwork can accomplish what the individual cannot do on his or her own. Teamwork is defined as â€Å"a small number of people with complementary skills who are committed to a common purpose, performance goals, and approach for which they are mutually accountable.† (Katzenbach and Smith, 1993) In today’s society, with so much emphasis on pride and personal achievement, the concept of teamwork seems to be old-fashioned or basic. Clashes of personality, different perspectives and cultures prescribe one to develop a natural inclination toward individual work and an unhealthy reluctance towards team work. Nevertheless, teamwork, if managed properly, can be a source in which complexity is simplified, a problem meets a solution and great things are accomplished. So with the focus on teamwork, what are the present challenges to teamwork? What are some good approaches towards building a successful team? Finally, what are the personal and collective benefits of teamwork? The Challenges to Teamwork When asked the question, â€Å"What are some challenges to teamwork?† most people would respond with common answers such as: conflicts of personalities, stress, job dissatisfaction, unethical behavior, miscommunication or lack of communication. However, with advancements in technology and a never before experienced contact between the western and eastern hemispheres of the world, there are new challenges that are being encountered now and will continue to be dealt with in the future. The challenges that must be met by today’s project teams are: Virtual Project Teaming, Cross-functional teams, Globalization, Diversity and Time to Market Pressure. Most of the common contributing factors to teamwork failure such as personality conflict, miscommunication or stress are the consequences experienced if the previously mentioned challenges are not met. The greater proportion of the work of virtual project teams is carried out online. These sorts of teams exploit reliable and consistent communications in order to work together and overcome some of t... ...dividual ideas. An individual’s communication, critical thinking, evaluation, conflict resolution and academic skills are improved through positive teamwork activities. As a result of good teamwork, social connections are formed between team members that may extend beyond the workplace or classroom and thus improve team morale and camaraderie. An individual’s communication, critical thinking, evaluation, conflict resolution and academic skills are improved. Bibliography: Cohen, E, (1986). Designing Groupwork: Strategies for the Heterogeneous Classroom. New York: Teachers College Press. Katzenbach, J.R and Smith, D.K. (1993). The Wisdom of Teams: Creating the High performance Organization. Boston: Harvard Business School. Kliem, R and Anderson, H (2003). The Organizational Engineering Approach to Project Management: The Revolution in Building and Managing Effective Teams. Boca Raton: St. Lucie Press. Lipnack, J and Stamps, J (1997). Virtual Teams: Reaching Across Space, Time, and Organizations with Technology. New York: John Wiley & Sons. New World Translation of the Holy Scriptures (1984 Revision). New York: Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of New York, Inc.

Bill Gates :: essays research papers

Bill Gates   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  What does it take to be the richest man? It is obvious that you don’t need to be extremely attractive or even good looking at all. You only have to have a great idea, you have to be an obsessive workaholic, and you have to be willing to beat and crush all of your competitors. Also being a genius, and being in the right place at the right time may help too. Someone that has seemed to accomplish all of these is now the Chief Executive Officer of the Microsoft Corporation and goes by the name of Bill Gates. He currently worth more than 100 billion dollars and is the most wealthy man in the world. There are many people who admire and respect him, and then there are many that hate and despise him. Either way he has managed to develop and successfully operate one of the worlds largest software manufacturers, Microsoft. Microsoft is so successful, and has such control over the computer industry that the U.S. government is filing a lawsuit accusing claiming a monopo ly. How did Bill get himself into this and where he is now? Is it possible he has made too much money and has too much power? You can decide after reading this.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  William Henry Gates III was born on October 28, 1955 in the Seattle suburbs of Washington. He grew up with his two sisters in a family of descent wealth, his father William Gates Jr. a Seattle attorney, and his mother Mary Gates, a school teacher, University of Washington regent and chairwomen of The United Way International. Gates attended public elementary school in Seattle before moving on to the private Lakeside school in North Seattle. There he began cutting classes to hang out at all hours at his schools computer center. He liked computers and learned so much that he began programming them at age 13. Throughout his early teens he and his friend Paul Allen were writing computer programs working on ways to start a business. At 16 they sold a computer-runned system to monitor highway traffic, and made around 20,000 dollars off it, but business ended when the customers found out the young entrepreneurs were still attending high school. After successfully graduat ing high school, Gates wasn’t quiet sure what to do next. He decided to attend Harvard with no specific career goal in mind. While going to Harvard he was your average smart college student with a special interest in the Popular Electronic magazine.

Technology in the Mathematics Classroom Essay -- Computer Technology

Technology in the Mathematics Classroom While reading the NCTM summary on Technology, it is to my understanding that use of technology is at the teacher’s discretion. Therefore, the teacher is charged with the responsibility of preparing students before venturing into the field of technology. Essentially, students should be able to grasp and understand basic concepts and ideas, before intertwining computers or calculators into a lesson to further explore the concepts in said lesson. When visiting the U.S. Department of Education’s National Education Technology Plan website, I did not find any information on how technology should or could be integrated with mathematics. Their entire site was devoted to integrating technology but simply left an open forum for ideas. Now the ideas submitted by teachers were interesting, however, the matter still remains on whether a teacher feels that their students are prepared and receptive to integrate technology with a lesson or idea. I believe a teacher would be less inclined to use technology especially given that no ideas have b... Technology in the Mathematics Classroom Essay -- Computer Technology Technology in the Mathematics Classroom While reading the NCTM summary on Technology, it is to my understanding that use of technology is at the teacher’s discretion. Therefore, the teacher is charged with the responsibility of preparing students before venturing into the field of technology. Essentially, students should be able to grasp and understand basic concepts and ideas, before intertwining computers or calculators into a lesson to further explore the concepts in said lesson. When visiting the U.S. Department of Education’s National Education Technology Plan website, I did not find any information on how technology should or could be integrated with mathematics. Their entire site was devoted to integrating technology but simply left an open forum for ideas. Now the ideas submitted by teachers were interesting, however, the matter still remains on whether a teacher feels that their students are prepared and receptive to integrate technology with a lesson or idea. I believe a teacher would be less inclined to use technology especially given that no ideas have b...

‘A Taste of Honey’- Improvements

During the rehearsal period before our short performances of ‘A Taste of Honey’, each actor improved all aspects of their performance, from the interpretation to their proxemics on stage. This was due to our intense rehearsal period where we developed our own acting skills as well as our way of interpreting characters. One of the issues I faced whilst playing Geoff was how best to convey his love and caring toward Jo. Because this is a core and essential part of his character, I felt that I had to work on this part of Geoff more than other parts. To achieve this, I worked closely with Poppy (who played the character of Jo) to perfect the scene which opens the piece we were performing, because this is the biggest chance we had to express Geoff’s feeling toward Jo whilst Helen is not in the scene. I included more gestures to show my feelings, such as stroking Jo’s shoulder and helping her up as she is pregnant- these worked together to show that my character cares immensely for Jo. In turn, several techniques helped me to perfect my interpretation. A strategy that I found extremely helpful was called ‘Reflection in Role’; during this process I was asked questions about my character directly after the scene had finished so that I would still be in role and have the feelings of the character fresh in my head. This technique helped to establish a relationship between our characters and develop our understanding of the Human Context. The next strategy which we used is called ‘Hot Seat’ which involved sitting in a chair in front on the class- in character- and being asked questions by the audience about feelings, relationships or statuses within the scene. This helped us to develop a deeper understanding of our character. Furthermore, one of the most common issues within our class was that our dialogue and the delivery of it didn’t sound believable in the ‘Kitchen-Sink’ context. The style of the piece was naturalistic which meant that our actions and the way we said our dialogue had to reflect this. An example of this is, during the fight scene, our lines had to overlap because this would be what would happen in a real fight- we had to make it seem like our lines were unscripted. Repetition of the scene helped us to familiarise ourselves with individual cues, certain moves between characters and being careful not to block each other- this was especially apparent in the scene where Helen is parading across the floor space and steps in front of Jo and Geoff quite often. To perfect the timing of this scene we practised it lots of times, as the repetition helped us to remember and time the section perfectly. Other techniques that we used included going through the scene without stopping- even if we did make mistakes- because this would highlight which areas we needed to improve. Because of the realism theme, everything had to feel as if it was happening for the first time. This was unusual for me, because I am used to each of my lines being heavily rehearsed and sound it. However, in ‘A Taste of Honey’ I had to act as if it was the first time that I had said it- and react accordingly. I found this particularly hard with the line: â€Å"Don’t tell her I came for you,† because I had rehearsed it so much that it had started to sound as if it wasn’t important to the scene- which it was. I improved this by changing the tone of my voice each time I said it, so that it would sound more genuine. In turn, these techniques also helped our next dilemma in rehearsing which were our positions on stage. Before we practised in front of an audience, our scene was using far too much space on stage; we improved this by restricting the amount of room we could use as a performing area. Our group also decided to experiment with different proxemics, so that we could show relationships and the interest and focus of the characters just by the positioning on stage. We also found that we often blocked each other on stage- especially during the fight scene- which would distract from the main action. This was easily corrected, however, and we were able to not upstage each other by our recorded concluding performance. Also, a common problem that some groups faced was that they forgot about their audience and played their character too much in profile so a lot of facial expressions were missed. This was fixed by remembering that the audience are the most important part of the theatre- if they were not there, there would be no theatre! The final obstacle that we faced as a group in our rehearsal period was how to vary the dynamics during the performance. As, during the scene, we are supposed to convey a variety of emotions to the audience we had to include different dynamics. To achieve this, our group experimented with different paces- especially during the argument section. We experimented with different pauses in places where they felt necessary to let the emotions of the scene process with the audience and to dramatize the moment. In each scene that required it, lines would be read at a fast pace, very quickly as to heighten the audience’s emotions and keep them on ‘the edge-of-their-seat’. In contrast, some of the scene was improved so that it was much slower than the rest of the piece. This would add tension to the scene (especially when Helen and Jo are discussing their futures) and would juxtapose the fight section. This would also create a stronger effect as it shows that Helen does truly care about her daughter but doesn’t know how to show or prove it. Before our rehearsal period our characters were very one-dimensional and ‘flat’, but after practising, interpreting, and getting used to our characters we were able to make them a lot more two-dimensional and more interesting to watch during a performance

Greek Influence on English Language

corroboratory and direct borrowings Since the living Grecian and face languages were non in direct striking until upstart times, borrowings were necessarily indirect, coming e very(prenominal) by Latin ( by dint of with(predicate) texts or respective(a) vernaculars), or from Ancient Hellenic texts, non the living language. Some Hellenic wrangle were borrowed intoLatinand its descendants, theRomance languages. slope frequently received these lecture fromFrench. Their phonetic and orthographic chance variable has nightimes changed considerably.For instance,placewas borrowed both by Old slope and by French from Latinplatea, itself borrowed from classic ( ) long (street) the Italianpiazzaand Spanish centre brook the same origin, and entertain been borrowed into side in parallel. The articleolivecomes by dint of theRomancefrom the Latin wordoliva, which in turn comes from the Hellenic (elaiwa). 12A by and by classic word, (bouturon)3becomes Latin entirelyyru mand eventually sidebutter. A vauntingly group of earlier borrowings, again inherited send-off through Latin, indeed through various vernaculars, comes from Christian dictionarybishop< episkoposoverseer),priest< (presbyteroselder), andchurch<? (kyriakon). 4In some cases, the orthography of these address was subsequently changed to reflect the Greek spell oute. g. quirewas respelled aschoirin the 17th century. legion(predicate) more course were borrowed by scholars paternity in post- neoclassical Latin. Some language were borrowed in essentially their original meaning, often transmitted through classical Latinphysics,iambic,eta,necromancy. A a few(prenominal) result from scribal errorsencyclopedia< the fate of learning, not a compound in Greekacne(skin condition) < erroneous lt high point, acme. Others were borrowed same(predicate) as technical foul terms, but with specific, allegory meaningstelescope< farther- beholding refers to anoptical instr ument for seeing far awayphlogiston< burnt thing is a supposedfire-making potential. But by far the largest Greek contribution to position vocabulary is the huge number of scientific, medical, and technicalneologismsthat befool been coined bycompounding Greek root and affixesto produce novel words which neer existed in the Greek languageutopia(1516, not + place), beast(1669, ),hydrodynamics(1738, + ),photography(1834, + ),oocyte(1895, + ),helicobacter(1989, + ). Such terms ar coined in all the European languages, and hand out to the others freelyincluding to Modern Greek. Traditionally, these coinages were constructed using unless Greek morphemes,e. g. metamathematics, but increasingly, Greek, Latin, and other morphemes argon combined, as intelevision(Greek + Latinvision),metalinguistic(Greek + Latin glossa+ Greek - + Greek - ), andgarbology( positiongarbage+ Greek - . Thesehybrid wordswere fashionerly considered to be barbarisms. Many Greek affixes such a santi-and-ichave becomeproductivein English, combining with arbitrary English wordsantichoice,Fascistic. Most learned borrowings and coinages follow the classical LatinRomanization system, where c represents ? etc. , with a few exceptionseureka(cf. heuristic),kinetic(cf. cinematography),krypton(cf. cryptic). Some Greek words were borrowed through Arabic and then Romancealchemy( or ),philosophers stone( ),alembic( ),botargo( , and mayhapquintal( < Latincentenarium (pondus)). Curiously,chemistappears to be aback-formationfromalchemist. In the 19th and twentieth centuries a few learned words and phrases were introduced using a more or less direct transliteration of Ancient Greek ( alternatively than the traditional Latin-based morphology and wasteped inflectional endings),e. g. creative thinker( ),hoi polloi( ). Some Greek words have given rise toetymological doublets, creation borrowed both through an organic, indirect route, and a learned, direct route into English anthemandan tiphon( ,franticandfrenetic( ),butterandbutyr(ic)( ),bishopandepiscop(al)( ), fulsomenessandbalsam( , probably itself a borrowing from Semitic), whangandblasphemy( ),boxandpyx(is)( ),choirandchorus( ),trivetandtripod( / -), ravishandscandal( ),oil,olive,oleum, andelaeo-( )almondandamygdala( )dramand fluidram( )paperandpapyrus( )caratandceratin( , -). 56 Finally, with the growth of tourism, some words reflecting modern Greek ulture have been borrowed into Englishmany of them originally borrowings into Greek themselvesretsina,souvlaki,taverna(< Italian),ouzo(disputed etymology),moussaka(< Turkish < Arabic),baklava(< Turkish),feta(< Italian),bouzouki(< Turkish),gyroscope(the food, a calque of Turkishdoner). - editGreek as an intermediary Many words from the Hebraical Biblewere transmitted to the western languages through the Greek of theSeptuagint, often without morphological regularisationpharaoh( ),seraphim( , ,paradise( < Hebrew < Persian),rabbi( ). - editThe writ ten form of Greek words in English Many Greek words, especially those borrowed through the literary tradition, atomic number 18 recognizable as such from their spelling. Already in Latin, thither were specific conventions for borrowing Greek. So Greek? was written as y, as ? , as ? ,? as ph, and? as c. These conventions (which originally reflected pronunciation) have carried over into English and other languages with historical orthography ( same(p) French).They make it possible to gain words of Greek origin, and give hints as to their pronunciation and inflection. On the other hand, the spelling of some words was refashioned to reflect their etymology put Englishcaracterbecamecharacterin the sixteenth century. 7 The Ancient Greek diphthongs and may be spelled in three different shipway in English the digraphsaeandoe the ligatures? and? or the saucer-eyed lettere. Both the digraphs and ligatures atomic number 18 rare in American usage, but the digraphs stay on common in Brit ish usage. Examples are encyclopaedia /encyclop? ia / encyclopedia, haemoglobin / h? moglobin / hemoglobin, oedema / ? dema / edema, Oedipus / ? dipus / Edipus (rare). The verbal ending- is spelled-izein American English and-iseor-izein British English. In some cases, a words spelling cl aboriginal shows its Greek origin. If it includesphor includesybetween consonants, it is very likely Greek. If it includesrrh,phth, orchth or starts withhy-,ps-,pn-, orchr- or the rarerpt-,ct-,chth-,rh-,x-,sth-,mn-,tm-,gn-orbd-, then it is Greek, with some exceptionsgnat,gnaw,gneiss.One exception isptarmigan, which is from aGaelicword, thephaving been added byfalse etymology. The wordtrophy, though at last of Greek origin, did not have a? but a? in its Greek form, . - editPronunciation In clusters such asps-,pn-, orgn-which are not allowed byEnglish phonotactics, the usual English pronunciation drops the first consonant (e. g. psychology) at the start of a word comparegnosticn? st? k andagnostic? gn? st? k there are a few exceptionstmesistmi? s? s.Initialx-is pronouncez. Chis pronounced likekrather than as in churche. g. character, chaos. concomitant vowel sounds are often pronounced distributively rather than forming a single vowel sound or one of them becoming silent (e. g. theatrevs. feat). - editInflectional endings and plurals though many English words derived from Greek through the literary route drop the inflectional endings (tripod,zoology,pentagon) or use Latin endings (papyrus,mausoleum), some preserve the Greek endingstetrahedron, outline(cf. cheme),topos,lexicon,climax. In the case of Greek endings, the plurals sometimes follow theGreek rulesphenomenon, phenomenatetrahedron, tetrahedracrisis, criseshypothesis, hypothesesstigma, stigmatatopos, topoicyclops, cyclopes but often do notcolon, colonsnot*cola(except for thevery rare technical term of rhetoric)pentathlon, pentathlonsnot*pentathlademon, demonsnot*demonesclimaxes, not*climaces.Usage is mixed in some ca sesschema, schemasorschematalexicon, lexiconsorlexicahelix, helixesorhelicessphinx, sphingesorsphinxesclitoris, clitorisesorclitorides. And there are misleading casespentagoncomes from Greekpentagonon, so its plural cannot be*pentaga it ispentagons(Greek /pentagona). (cf. Plurals from Latin and Greek) - editVerbs Few English verbs are derived from the equivalent Greek verbs examples arebaptizeandostracize.However, the Greek verbal suffix-izeis productive in Latin, the Romance languages, and English words likemetabolize, though composed of a Greek root and a Greek suffix, are modern compounds. - editStatistics The contribution of Greek to the English vocabulary can be quantified in two ways, fibreandtokenfrequencies emblem relative frequency is the proportion of distinct words token frequency is the proportion of words in actual texts.Since most words of Greek origin are vary technical and scientific coinages, the type frequency is considerably higher than the token frequency. An d the type frequency in a large word list will be larger than that in a picayune word list. In a distinctive English dictionary of 80,000 words, which corresponds very virtually to the vocabulary of an educated English speaker, approximately 5% of the words are borrowed from Greek directly, and about 25% indirectly (if we reckoning modern coinages from Greek roots as Greek). citation needed - editReferences 1. This must have been an early borrowing, since the Latinvreflects a still-pronounceddigamma. The Greek word was in turn on the face of it borrowed from a pre-Indo-EuropeanMediterraneansubstrate(see alsoGreek substrate language), although the earliest manifest form of it is theMycenaean Greeke-ra-wa(transliterated as elava), attested inLinear Bsyllabic scriptseee-ra-wa, Mycenaean (Linear b) English Glossary 2. Palaeolexicon, Word study ray of ancient languages 3. Carl Darling Buck,A vocabulary of Selected Synonyms in the Principal Indo-European LanguagesISBN 0-226-07937 -6notes that the word has the form of a compound + cow-cheese, maybe a calque from Scythian, or possibly an adaptation of a native Scythian word 4. church, on Oxford Dictionaries