Good Friday and Easter

Good Friday and Easter Good Friday and Easter Good Friday and Easter By Maeve Maddox Reader Elaine Peters wonders if the word Good in Good Friday has anything to do with the word God, pointing out that the English good-bye is a shortened version of the once common expression God be with ye. The word goodbye is the result of running words together until theyve dwindled into a compressed version of the original. The English words good and god, however, are not related. Both stem from Indo-European roots. The word god meaning deity, is thought to come from a word meaning that which is invoked. Or, It could come from a different Indo-European word meaning to pour as in the pouring of a libation. The word good, meaning having a desirable quality, comes from a Proto-Indo- European base word with the meaning to unite, be associated, suitable. Like the word nice, good can be used in so many contexts that it is probably a word to be avoided by careful writers. For example, good can have the following meanings: prosperous: He makes a good living. beneficial: Spinach is good for you. welcome: The doctor gave him good news. fertile: The land isnt very good in this area. attractive: Actors must have good looks. genuine: This money is not good. advantageous: I got a good deal on this couch. Among the many meanings of good are virtuous, moral, and wise. One of the meanings of the word holy is infinitely good. From such meanings come the expressions the Good Book and Good Friday. To call the day of the crucifixion of Jesus Good Friday could seem a little perverse, but seen from the perspective of Christian belief, the day marks the salvation of mankind and the triumph over death. For that reason it is called Good Friday in the Christian calendar. The Christian use of the word Easter for the religious celebration of the passion and death of Christ is one of those ironies of linguistic history. The word Easter derives from the name of an ancient Germanic goddess of fertility and sunrise, Austron. Her feast was celebrated at the spring equinox. Anglo-Saxon converts to Christianity adopted the name and, according to the Venerable Bede, some of the practices of the old worship for their Mass of the Resurrection as well. The word east derives from the same word as does the name of the goddess. The German word for Easter is similar: Ostern, but most European languages use words derived from Medieval Latin pascha: French: PÃ ¢ques Dutch: Pasen Italian: Pasque Spanish: Pascua Portuguese: Pscoa* Russian: nacxa [pass-kha]* (with thanks to Andre, Andriano, and Alexey) The Latin word come from a Hebrew word which passed into Aramaic as pasha and from there into Greek and Latin. William Tyndale, translating the Bible in 1530, translated Hebrew pesah as pass over. During the Middle English period, some writers used the word Pasche for Easter, but the pagan word is the one that has survived into modern English. Even though English speakers use Easter as the name of the festival, they do have an adjective, paschal, that has the meaning of or pertaining to Easter. One of my family traditions was the eating of the Paschal Egg on Easter morning. We cut one of our colored eggs, usually a purple one, into four pieces, one for each member of the family. I suppose that an Easter egg hunt could be referred to as a paschal event. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Words with More Than One SpellingThe Possessive Apostrophe6 Foreign Expressions You Should Know

Two Scavengers and Nothings Changed Essays

Two Scavengers and Nothings Changed Essays Two Scavengers and Nothings Changed Essay Two Scavengers and Nothings Changed Essay Essay Topic: Poetry Both Two Scavengers and Nothings Changed are protesting against issues of discrimination between different classes of society and different races. In Two Scavengers Ferlinghetti is protesting against the inequalities within a democracy, and how its not democratic but more ruled by class. In Nothings Changed we are shown Africa when the apartheid law was still in place and a protest about the way black people are treated there. The imagery used by both poets highlights there protests against the unfairness of society. Two Scavengers is set in San Francisco which is meant to be a democratic society however there is a small gulf in the high seas of this democracy. The use of this metaphor emphasizes how society is still ruled by class. Ferlinghetti says the gulf is small which indicates it should be easy to cross the over to a democratic society. However, paired with the high seas, it becomes hard to cross. It is dangerous to try and break out of the different classes and it is easier and almost safer to remain in the same kind of society. The use of the word democracy is sarcastic, there shouldnt be a gulf in a democracy, especially in a place like San Francisco that should keep everyone equal. Similarly there is an invisible divide in apartheid Africa, shown in Nothings Changed, where although No sign says it is they still know where they belong. Apartheid is over when the poem had been written, however, like in Two Scavengers there is still inequality between the two classes of people. The white people still believe that the black people dont belong there. It highlights the invisible divide between the two cultures. It is meant to be equal now however the black people realize that the white people dont want them and know where they belong. Afrika uses himself in first person to speak for the whole group using the word we. Hes speaking up for the black people and although they are angry at is they accept it. Even though its not a law anymore and there is no sign the divide between them is great. Furthermore Ferlinghetti uses a simile to compare one of the garbage men to a gargoyle Quasimodo. Quasimodo was an ugly character but had a very good heart. This shows that although today society is mostly ruled by appearances, inside some people there can be kindness and compassion. A gargoyle is used to scare away evil in churches. It shows that the man protects the city by keeping it clean. He may seem insignificant and Quasimodo like, but without him the cool couple wouldnt be living in a clean city. Likewise Afrika may be suggesting that the black people are like purple flowering, amiable weeds. Weeds always come back, and can only be removed by properly digging up the roots. This suggests that the black people have roots in Africa and refuse to be taken away. Since the weeds are amiable it suggests they are friendly. The juxtaposition of calling weeds amiable highlights that appearances can be deceiving and although the black people may be trodden on they will still come back stronger each time. In both poems, Ferlinghetti and Afrika use the materials plastic and linen to accentuate the difference between rich and poor. It again shows that although there should be no difference because of race and class it still exists. In Two Scavengers the garbage men are wearing red plastic blazers as opposed to the linen suit the man in the Mercedes is wearing. This links to Nothings Changed where the poorer working mans cafi has a plastic tables top, whereas in the white peoples cafi linen falls off the table. Plastic is a cheap material that is considered unattractive. However it is very hard to tear and break which shows that although society and race considers them to be poorer than everyone else, they are stronger than others. Linen is more associated with richer, well off people. It is malleable and can be shaped into almost anything. This suggests that the richer, higher people in society do what they can to fit in. They change themselves to fit what society demands. In both poems it shows that the richer people have a lot of linen, more than what they need. The man has a three-piece linen suit and in the cafi in Nothings changed excess linen falls from the table. This shows that although its not needed the well off people need to show that they can afford it, and that they are better off than other people. The poets both structure the poems in different ways to get through there protest against inequality in there society. Ferlinghetti has no punctuation throughout the poem except for the comma in the title. The comma could stress the separation between rich and poor and how different they are. The lack of punctuation could show that the cycle is never-ending, and even though the democracy is there it is not enforced and therefore will always dictate how society is. The poem is also laid out in a fragmented way suggesting the broken nature of society. The haphazard lines could also illustrate how fragile democracy is, and how easily it could collapse. With the last word of the poem being democracy it could also suggest that society is built on democracy yet along the way things have changed causing it to become easily collapsible. The lines also overlap but never touch which shows the social divide between both rich and poor. In Nothings Changed the title and the last line of the poem are the same. Throughout the poem Afrika is describing the way that although the apartheid law is no longer in place it still dictates the way society is run, showing that at the beginning of the poem nothings changed and then at the end still nothings changed. By using it as the title and the ending line of the poem it provides a visual image for the reader showing that things are still the same. Also in the middle of the poem there is the two line stanza, No sign says it is: but we know where we belong. It is almost separate from the rest of the poem which draws the readers attention to it. It could be that this is Afrikas main point of the poem so he deliberately draws our attention to it. Both poems show the injustice in the society they live in, and how although the divide was abolished it is still there, invisible but prominent. In Two Scavengers the only thing separating the cool couple from the garbage men is the jobs they do. Both the man in the Mercedes and the young garbageman wear sunglasses, are about the same age and have long, shoulder-length hair. They are both similar yet because of social class the garbage man is considered ugly. This makes us consider the fact that they arent interchangeable. One of them has money and the other doesnt and although that is only a little detail, in a society ruled by class is become a big one. In Nothings Changed the amiable weeds are being outgrown by the Port Jackson trees. They are both plants yet because the trees are better looking, and considered less troublesome they become better than the weeds, indicating the white people are better than the black people.

Wal-mart's Philanthropic Efforts Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Wal-mart's Philanthropic Efforts - Essay Example For example, a smart buyer who would want to buy more out of her single dollar can actually meet this need at Wal-mart. It has got all, if not many, for every customer who would want to find more value for their money in today’s highly challenging economy. The main objective of this paper is to examine the philanthropic efforts of Wal-mart and how they are strategically aligned with its core competencies. Wal-mart emphasizes two important philanthropic points in its mission. Save people money There are many ways how an individual can save his or her money. However, Wal-mart emphasizes that each consumer can save their money with its various product and service offerings. For Wal-mart, saving money is associated with a low-priced product. Common sense suggests that money could substantially buy more if the products’ prices are remarkably low. In line with this, Wal-mart ensures that people can still attend to their other priorities by providing or offering those products that of substantial lower prices. For example, a particular consumer who is in a budget requires products that are substantially low in price so that there may still be left for other spending. This means that a one-kilo sugar needs not be too expensive so that there is still a way to buy coffee, milk, and others. However, Wal-mart also emphasizes that saving money is also associated with providing the best quality that customers can rely on. It ensures that customers can really make out the best of its offerings. This means that customers will still enjoy fresh and healthy fruits such as oranges, apples and others. Providing quality to each of its product offering would mean a lot to its consumers, so Wal-mart sees to it that by providing a higher quality it does not only entices people but build up trust among them. So here are the most important points of saving people money, it basically builds up the trust of consumers towards Wal-mart’s product and service offerings. T his in return is strongly aligned with its core competencies (Wal-mart, 2011; Wal-mart, 2010; Wal-mart, 2009; Wal-mart, 2008). Living better To live a better life is another good promise of Wal-mart for its consumers. This is just the result of providing the best and competitive prices of its products for its customers. Wal-mart ensures that people can receive more, but above this is to allow them save even more. Product chain management Perhaps, one may wonder why Wal-mart can remarkably offer lower prices for its offerings. The answer lies on its product-chain management. For many years, its core competencies are rooted in here. It can offer lower prices for goods and other related products because it substantially cut back expenses that may be passed on to the final price of the product. In order to ensure that the market or retail price of the product is low, its strategy is to provide great effort on its product chain management (Wal-mart, 2011; Wal-mart, 2010; Wal-mart, 2009; Wal-mart, 2008). This is remarkably the root of Wal-mart’s core competencies. If it has to be analyzed, the company does not only look forward to how it can stand a cut above the other in its industry, but its aim is to help people save their money so as they could live a better life. Conclusion It is clear that Wal-mart is significantly trying to be a cut above the other in its industry by cultivating its core competencies through its low-price strategy for its product offer

Issue with communication Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Issue with communication - Essay Example This not only looks bad from a new customer point of view, but it does not firm up established relationships with current customers. The lack of action on the company’s social media pages suggests that it does not place the role of technology in acquiring new customers very highly. It would useful for Future Shop to also share its Facebook posts on its Google+ page. In this case, the company would gain more followers among Google+ fans because not everyone uses Facebook. It is important that Future Shop caters to all social media networks because some people only use one or two. If Future Shop customers who prefer to use Google+ feel like the company has a lack of interest in them, then this will result in a loss of trust and loyalty from these customers. Communication plays an important role in the performance and growth of a company, and Future Shop needs to realize this if it wants to expand in the future. In a similar way, Future Shop’s LinkedIn page also reflects badly on the company’s image and reputation. On the LinkedIn page, the company mentions that it has more than 10,000 employees, except only 1,581 employees are in linked on the page (this means that only about 15% of employees are connected to the page). Added to this is the fact that the amount of followers is only around 3000, which barely double the number of the employees who are linked on the page. On the career page, Future Shop does not have any activities or job postings to attract new people to the company. Leaving this page blank shows a disinterest in hiring new people. The company does not put in any effort to attract job seekers and/or encourage them to visit the page regularly for any updates about job openings. Also, on the products page, the company does not list any of its products currently for sale. This does not encourage new customers to become attracted to the company

Auditory Attention Essay Example for Free

Auditory Attention Essay The ability to localize sound sources is of considerable importance to both humans and animals; it will determine the direction of objects to seek or to avoid as well as indicating the appropriate direction to direct visual attention. The precision of sound localization is remarkable, particularly for brief sounds or for those occurring in noisy or reverberant surroundings. While the most reliable cues used in the localization of sounds depend upon a comparison of the signals reaching the two ears, there are also phenomena of auditory space perception which result from monoaural processing of the signals. Localization refers to judgments of the direction and distance of a sound source. Like when headphones are worn, the sound image is located inside the head. Headphones allow precise control of interaural differences and eliminate effects related to room echoes. Using two ears we are able to selectively attend to sounds coming from a particular direction while effectively excluding other sounds. This ability is particularly important in noisy surroundings or when there are several sound sources competing for our attention. Our acuity in locating sounds is greatest in the horizontal dimension, fairly good in the vertical direction and least good in the depth dimension. Aside from this ability we are also able to judge the direction of a sound source and to some extent estimates its distance. Many everyday experiences indicate that auditory localization can be influenced by conflicting visual cues. At a cinema for example, the loudspeakers are usually placed behind the screen or in its center yet the sound still appears to come from the actor’s mouth as he moves about the screen. Similarly, the loudspeaker in a television set is located to one side of the screen but the sound does not appear to be detached from the visual image. Thus, it might be possible that exposure to conflicting auditory and visual cues for a period of time may lead to an after-effect in which the localization of sounds is systematically displaced. This may occur during experiments wherein sound may be generates from one area but a cue may say otherwise and given the effects of practice and priming, experiment results into auditory localization may not be valid. Early findings on the study of orienting pure auditory attention have yielded no significant change in performance. Posner (1980) did not find any advantage in the use of auditory pre- cueing of auditory targets. Others have failed to find a benefit for the detection of sounds coming from expected vs. unexpected locations (Scharf, Quigley, Aoki, Peachey and Reeves, 1987). Buchtel and Butter (1988) found that informative auditory cues provided a benefit in the detection of visual targets; however they failed to find a benefit from cues on auditory targets. Klein, Brennan and Gilani (1987) also found no benefit in the detection of auditory targets with the use of uninformative cues using both visual and auditory cues. However, the use of auditory and visual cues together on tasks has been promising. Previous researches on multisensory instruments have found that it can optimize performance rather than using one sensory modality. Recently Duncan, Martens and Ward (1997) found evidence of restricted attentional capacity within but not between sensory modalities. They presented streams of visual and or auditory inputs containing occasional targets to be identified and recalled, for two visual or two auditory streams they found that the identification of one target produced a sustained reduction in the ability to identify a second target. In contrast, when the streams were from both modalities, there was no such reduction in the identification of the second target. The results suggest a modality-specific restriction to concurrent attention and awareness. The results of this study have important implications for the design of complex human machine interface systems. Systems should be designed to take advantage of the spatial presentation of information to the human operator to enhance the detection rate of critical information (i. e. ; warnings). This findings support Rhodes (1987) earlier work on auditory attention where he reported that auditory attention has spatial constraints. He found that time linearly increased to localize a sound as a function of distance from the point of attention; he further proposed that even for sounds, localization is shifted through logical and topographical representations. Information presented in locations where spatial attention has been allocated has both faster and more accurate response in both visual and auditory modalities (Posner, 1980, Ward, 2000, Spence driver, 1996, 1997a, 1997b). Moreover, even if there is a limited human attentional capacity the nature of spatial attention across modalities suggests that if one modality is overloaded the attentional capacity of other modalities are not adversely affected (Duncan, Martens Ward, 1997). Thus, the best way to maximize this modality-specific restriction is to present information using both the visual and auditory modalities. Flanagan, McAnally, Martin, Meehan Oldfield (1998) found evidence of the usefulness of using both modalities. In their study, they reported that visual search times were reduced when spatially informative auditory information was supplied. They used a spatial localization task in which the search for a visual target was aided by either a visual arrow or an auditory cue. They found both the visual and the auditory cues aided in significantly reducing the search times when compared to unaided search. It is however important that the visual and auditory information presented are detectable and localizable. Hence a signal should be localizable when information presented is critical (i. e. ; location of threats such as enemy fighters, missiles etc. ) and that information presented is expected in that location will improve response time and accuracy (Posner, 1980, Spence and Driver, 1996).

Daisy Buchanans Role in The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald :: The Great Gatsby

In one of the greatest works of the Twentieth Century, The Great Gatsby by F.Scott Fitzgerald, there are many dynamic and round characters which greatly add to the story's theme. One character, Daisy Fay Buchannon, is made essential by way of her relation to the theme. An integral part of the plot, Daisy conveys the meaning of the novel, with her multi-dimensional personality and her relation to the conflicts. Daisy Buchannon is a round and dynamic character with many different sides to her personality. Early on in the book, she is portrayed as sweet and innocent. Her white and seemingly floating dress appeals to Nick in this way. She grew up as "the most popular of all the young girls in Louisville." Even then she dressed in white. Daisy also keeps her daughter around as a show toy. Whenever company comes over, she beckons for the little girl to come and put on a little act for everyone. This is symbolic of Daisy’s life; she is kept in the closet until it's time to show off for company, then she becomes radiant and personable. When everyone has gone, she is a bored housewife, of no importance to the world wondering aloud what she is going to do with the rest of her life. She appears to be bored yet innocent and harmless. Yet her innocence is false. Simply a materialistic young girl and has little mind of her own is underneath all of that covering. Daisy rediscovers her love with Gatsby because of his nice shirts and large house. Daisy has been well trained in a rich family. She has grown up with only the finest material goods. When Gatsby failed to contact her, she went off and married another man, without evening having heard a word from Gatsby. All of these many and round characteristics add complications to the plot and dimension to the meaning she adds to the book. The afore mentioned characteristics also help to create some of the main conflicts. Daisy was involved in the conflict between her and Tom. Tom had a mistress and Daisy was upset by it. Another conflict is her love affair with Gatsby. Her apparent sweetness and innocence allow Gatsby to fall in love with her. But her impatience and ignorance of true love or the meaning of truth or compassion allow her to flawlessly marry Tom, without a sober thought of Gatsby.

A Prominent Pilot

One of the most outstanding features of the human nature is to aim to something beyond the everyday live. Have you ever caught yourself at looking into the distant skyline and thinking:â€Å"What is out there?† Have you ever looked up at the deepness of blue sky and dreamed about being there, swimming there, flying there. These thoughts are just dreams for some people but one day they become the reality for the others. Having taken off from the earth once these lucky people decide to spend the half of their lives in the sky – they become pilots. On the way to make the dream come true there are, however, many difficulties.A number of skills and qualities a pilot should have, the knowledge he/she should gain, fears that should be overcame can scare beginners in piloting and prevent them from flying.   How not to give up, how to stay faithful to the dream, and – what is very important – how to become an above average pilot – these are the questions t he beginners should find the answers to.Learning how to get and stay in the best physical and psychical shape for a flight together with finding out about the characters of famous pilots in history can help to picture the portrait of a prominent pilot and thus can show the way to one’s own success.The first key to success at any field is personal skills that can be explored through the social science studies. The psychological and emotional qualities of a pilot, as reflected by his/her motivation and sheer determination to succeed, is the single most important factor in becoming an above average pilot.A good pilot should have a strong character, and the task of social and psychological science is to research what exact qualities one should develop and show how exactly one can do it with particular psychological techniques and trainings.The sociologists can conduct a poll among experienced aviators and even plane passengers in order to find out what qualities they believe to b e important for a pilot to fulfill his/her job duties successfully and to be a reliable team member and caring supervisor. Sometimes these qualities can differ from what we can think.For example, not only the strong character is important but also respect for the aircraft, the crew and the passengers. A pilot should be careful with the navigation, the operation of the systems and the communications, safe take-off and landing, he/she should care about the image of the aircraft and service that is presented.All of these things form a complete pilot’s personality, and the successful future in the profession of aviation depends on it. Thus social and psychological research will help in forming the character of a prominent pilot.The physiological aspect of piloting is vital too. One should consider his/her own health abilities to bear the conditions pilots usually are in. The studies on pilot’s physiology should explore how flight can impact the physical processes in human body.The special attention should be paid at the circulatory system and heart physiology under the stress conditions. It is important also to research the reactions of the nervous system in order to find out how successful one can be in responding the emergency situations and taking immediate decisions. Based on the results of the physiological research, the specialists should work out the training programs, give some advice about the diet if necessary, and general recommendations to help pilots to keep themselves in excellent shape.The best acknowledgment of a prominent person is to be retained in history. The piloting history is the story of courage, adventure, and deeds. Exploring it can give us bright characters of particular airmen the beginners could take after. One can look through the biographies of the most outstanding pilots and find many similarities that made these people worthy of remembering. For example, a society has always acknowledged pioneering in piloting.Thus in 1919 Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown were the first who crossed the Atlantic. After this adventure they were received as heroes in London and knighted for recognition of their pioneering achievement. Like these two, the names of other pioneers form the stages of the piloting history. War heroes also take the special place in history.Hopefully there can be found more peaceful areas to succeed at but war deeds are the examples of courage that pilots should have.   Thus exploring the pioneers’ and war heroes’ biographies one can find out about the deeds that helped other people to become prominent aviators.As we can see, succeeding at piloting requires picturing the personality of a prominent airman by means of the sociological and physiological researches together with exploring the outstanding pilots’ biographies.