Saturday, August 31, 2019

Rhetorical Strategies Analysis of “Bill Clinton’s First Inaugural Address”

Rhetorical Strategies Analysis of â€Å"Bill Clinton's First Inaugural Address† Introduction William Jefferson â€Å"Bill† Clinton served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He got authority at the end of the Cold War. During Cold War, in order to compete with the Soviet Union's military power, the federal government spent a great deal of financial resources to establish a powerful military. The quality of life of common people decreased year after year. At that time, people desired to have a new powerful authority to rebuild people's confidence.Clinton won the 1992 presidential election with 42% of the vote against his predecessor, George H. W. Bush who had 37. 4% of the vote. Clinton's wining ended the Republican rule of the White House of previous years. With 43% of the vote, he outpolled the winning House candidate in five districts. Clinton has been described as a New Democrat. In January 1993, he had campaigned on the theme of change and the public expected him to deliver. And in his first inaugural address, he continually promised change.The purpose of my article is to figure out: what rhetorical strategies and tactics did President Clinton use in oder to accomplish hi task of change? Inaugural addresses have often served as the civil religion. Clinton was well – prepared to take this tradition. According to the evidence, it suggests his three main resources for first inaugural address are his lifetime study of the Bible, his education at Georgetown University, and his reading of others' inaugural addresses by Republican and Democratic presidents.During the campaign Clinton mentioned that when he was a little child, he felt a strong calling to go to church even though his parents did not go. He grew up in the Southern Baptist denomination and as he remembered, â€Å"I had to get other people to read the scripture every day or do it myself. † His religious choice fits the American belief. Most American believe that God â€Å"is actively interested and involved in history, with a special concern for America,† as Robert N. Bellah said. During the 1990s, Clinton skillfully used biblical language to make common eople trust him and rebuild their confidence in a future president. Context The inaugural address of an American president is a vital ceremonial event and an occasion for a particular kind of communication between the President and the people. The president represents all the people of a country and his inaugural address shows a direction of the government. The address is the first official announcement made by the new president and it is analyzed as setting the tone for the four years to follow.Presidents have had their own skill in shaping and delivering their addresses, drawing on rhetorical devices to convey a message and to communicate a sense of meaning and value. Clinton gave people a vivid image about a brand new future for the United States with a short first a ddress. He bring a metaphor for the future, â€Å"a spring reborn in the world's oldest democracy, that brings forth the vision and courage to reinvent America. † For the spring to be reborn in America, President Clinton called for government and public to change.Clinton thought that America have to change for better notion and â€Å"not change for change's sake, but change to preserve America's ideals – life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. † Thus, from my perspective, the rhetorical strategy of Clinton's first address is persuasion. He tries to explain contemporary situation of America and he tries to advocate â€Å"change† on this issue. The Strategy of Persuasion As we learned, the three main methods of persuasion involve pathos, ethos and logos. President Clinton seems to use one major approach, pathos, to persuade audiences. Also you can read Rhetorical Devices in Night Walker by Brent StaplesPathos is to use emotion to persuade audiences' minds in a rhetorical argument. President Clinton uses basic American beliefs and ideologies, such as, â€Å"life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness,† trying to arouse people's passion. Also, he brought out the social problem of America, that â€Å"raised in unrivaled prosperity, we inherit an economy that is still the world's strongest, but is weakened by business failures, stagnant wages, increasing inequity, and deep divisions among our people. † He used realistic problems to relate to common people's daily life. It brings out another passion, which is to struggle for their life.Then, in the middle of his first inaugural address, Clinton calls for people's responsibilities to renew and create a better nation. He uses child to bring out a bigger theme of posterity and he calls people's passion to create a better society for their posterity. He said, â€Å"posterity is the world to come — the world for whom we hold our ideals, from whom we have borrowed our planet, and to whom we bear sacred responsibility. † By using pathos of persuasion, President Clinton tried to arouse the public to put more effort into establishing American society in order to renew the United States.The significant purpose of persuasion always to change people's behavior eventually. Then, Clinton mentioned three main parts to renew the whole country. First of all, â€Å"to renew America, we must be bold,† which brings out the responsibilities of citizens and government; second of all, â€Å"we must revitalize our democracy,† which discusses reinventing authority and the federal government; finally, â€Å"we must meet challenges abroad as well at home,† and President Clinton gave two ideas both diplomacy and national thoughts. The Strategy of Biblical LanguageIn the end of first address, President Clinton emphasis on how individuals change themselves to drive the government's and country's change. He used emotional language to make that argument, that is â€Å"in serving, we recognize a simple but powerful truth — we need each other. † In the final paragraph of the inaugural address, it included a verse from St. Paul's letter to the Galatians, â€Å"and let us not be weary in well – doing; for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not,† which could make special resonance. As mentioned above, Clinton uses biblical language to reference to political trusts and purposes.

Friday, August 30, 2019

Midtermquestion obesity

Generally, much of the blame for obesity’s widespread existence in Western society is placed upon poor lifestyle. In the case of the former, the increasing pervasiveness of a sedentary lifestyle, characterized by long periods of inactivity (such as sitting in an office) with little to no exercise, in addition to a decreasing amount of leisure time being spent on physical activity, as opposed to video games and television viewing. (Bleich, et. al., 2007) In the case of the latter, over-eating remains a problem, despite advances in nutritional awareness. Additionally, the increasing reliance on fast-food meals, with their energy dense composition, have quadrupled the calorie intake of the average American over the period between 1977 and 1995.   (Lin, et. al., 1999) Genetics also play a part in the development of obesity. Excess calorie intake and how it translates into body mass is affected by various factors such as the genes which regulate metabolism, appetite and adipokine. Additionally, there are various genetic conditions that have been identified as symptomatized by obesity (e.g. Bardet-Biedl syndrome, leptin receptor mutations and MOMO syndrome). Farooqi & O’Rahilly (2006) have also noted that obesity has a hereditary component. Chakravarthy & Booth (2004) have also theorized that certain ethnicities may be more prone to obesity, as an evolutionary means of taking advantage of abundance in between long periods of food scarcity. As such, the genetic disposition towards obesity is an advantage in surviving famine, but a maladaptive trait in a society with food stability. Obesity may also be affected by medical illnesses such as Cushing’s syndrome, growth hormone deficiency and hypothyroidism. The treatment of some illnesses may also lead to fluctuations in weight, as a side effect of medication taken (e.g. antipsychotics, fertility meds). Quitting smoking has also been recognized as a cause of moderate weight gain, due to the resulting loss of appetite suppression. Also, some psychological disorders such as bulimia or binge disorders contribute direct risks of obesity. The mechanisms of neurobiology also contribute to the development of obesity. In addition to leptin (which regulates the intake and expenditure of energy) substances such as ghrelin (which regulates short-term appetite) are linked with the maintenance of obesity. (Flier, 2004). Other such substances include adiponectin which regulates glucose, cholecystokinin which stimulates the digestion of fat and protein, and PYY 3-36 which responds to food intake by reducing appetite. Finally, social determinants contribute to obesity by significantly affecting the habits formed that contribute to obesity. In a 2004 study, it was noted that there was an inverse correlation between wealth and obesity, suggesting that lower income individuals rely on cheaper fast food for nourishment. (Zagorsky, 2004). Also, a 2007 study followed more than 32,500 individuals over a span of 32 years and found that changes in body mass of friends, and siblings were reliable predictors of changes in subjects, regardless of geographical distance, suggesting that the acceptance of one’s body mass has an influence on changes in body size. (Christakis & Fowler, 2007) REFERENCES Bleich, S., Cutler, D., Murray, C. & Adams, A. (2007) Why Is The Developed World Obese?. Annual Review of Public Health, Volume 29. Retrieved May 5, 2008 from: http://www.nber.org/papers/w12954.pdf Lin, B.H., Guthrie, J. & Frazao E. (1999) â€Å"Nutrient contribution of food away from home†. In: Frazao, E. (Ed). America's Eating Habits: Changes and Consequences. Agriculture Information Bulletin No. 750, US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Washington, DC, pp. 213–239. Farooqi, S., O’Rahilly, S. (2006) Genetics of obesity in humans. Endocrine Review, Volume 27. Chakravarthy, M.V., Booth, F.W. (2004). Eating, exercise, and â€Å"thrifty† genotypes: connecting the dots toward an evolutionary understanding of modern chronic diseases. Journal of Applied Physiology, Volume 96. Flier, J.S. (2004). Obesity wars: molecular progress confronts an expanding epidemic. Cell, Volume 116, Issue 2, pp. 337-350. Zagorsky, J.L. (2004) Is Obesity as Dangerous to Your Wealth as to Your Health? Res Aging Volume 26, pp. 130-152. Christakis, N.A., Fowler, J.H. (2007) The Spread of Obesity in a Large Social Network over 32 Years.†      

Thursday, August 29, 2019

Marketing principles Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Marketing principles - Essay Example Marks & Spencer offers stylish high quality and Fashionable outfits. The company has the core competency within the industry to represents high quality fashionable clothes. The company gets supply of clothes from more than 2000 global suppliers and the company has 78,000 employees worldwide. Marks & Spencer is the leading provider of lady wear in UK clothing market. Moreover the company is receiving high market share in kids-wear and menswear. Apart from these business areas Marks & Spencer has also dedicated to do social welfare activities. The company has become zero solid waste and carbon neutral by implementing its effective five years eco plan for organization’s green credential. Marks & Spencer enjoys the advantages of more than 21 million footfalls every week in all the retail outlets. By providing effective fashion retail marketing strategy and product of high quality with effective customer services, Marks & Spencer has able to produce enormous number of footfall ever y week. It is the major achievement for the company as leading fashion retail chains globally. The study will reveal the internal and external analysis, competitive strategies, and purpose of marketing strategy in order to develop a marketing strategy for Marks & Spencer. This will help the company to attract customers. Finally the study ends with a conclusion. There are different elements of marketing process such as marketing environment analysis, targeting strategy, market segmentation and product positioning. Marketing environment analysis deals with the impact of macro and micro environmental forces on the performance of company. Targeting strategy is used to identify the target audience for the products. Market segmentation is used to determine the various segments of customers with respect to different product line. Product positioning is used to identify the area in which the product will compete in a market place. These

Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Compare two styles of art Da Vinci's Last supper and Tintoretto's The Essay

Compare two styles of art Da Vinci's Last supper and Tintoretto's The Last Supper - Essay Example The most prominent is obviously the use of lit halos – Jesus’s head is fully enshrined by a glowing sun of light, while is apostles each have their own much smaller halo as well. But Tintoretto also includes common people in his composition, washing the floor, serving people and so on – these people have no halos at all. This disparity in that visual element creates a clear hierarchy – Jesus is the most holy, and is on a plane wholly above the apostles, who are, in turn, more holy than the common people – the composition emphasizes the otherness and superiority of Jesus and his companions. DaVinci’s composition, on the other hand serves almost the opposite purpose. The only prominence given to Jesus is his place at the centre of the table, somewhat separated from his companions. But otherwise he bears no particular marks of holiness, and his companions jostle together in the conviviality of the meal. This connects the subjects of the painting, Jesus and the Apostles, to the viewer, who has no doubt also experienced such an occasion amongst friends. This emphasizes the humanity of Jesus and his companions, and encourages the viewer to follower their examples, showing that they, as amazing as they were, they were people too, and can be emulated. These two paintings, though both quite striking, diverge drastically in the connection they make between their subject and their viewer, with Tinteretto’s creating distance, and DaVinci’s creating

Tuesday, August 27, 2019

Business plan of Towing Service Company Research Paper

Business plan of Towing Service Company - Research Paper Example The service industry is among the fastest growing sectors in US which has been expanding its horizon with zeal. In the last few years, the demand of towing service companies has increased significantly as the customers are looking for the professionals who can assist them in taking their vehicles to the auto repair outlets (Marsh, 2013). Since Orlando, Florida is offering huge potential for the towing service company, our organization will commence its business operations in January 2014 in this region. Brief description of the business and principals involved Our company has been present in the wrecker/towing service industry for many years and has been evaluating various expansion options so that it can offer the customized services to the customers. As the number of vehicle owners is increasing with the advent of time, it has become imperative for them to avail the services of a registered towing company who can provide them quick solutions for their auto related issues (Haq, 2013). We will make sure that the customers are provided all the required services with utmost ease and convenience. Since the vehicles can get broken down any instant on the road or any emergency situation can arise, the business of towing service will assist people who are caught up in such situations in resolving their matters quickly. All of our service providers will perform all the mandatory services with perfection so that the issues are avoided in future. This business will be beneficial for the society as the transportation safety will be enhanced by our expert offerings.

Monday, August 26, 2019

Changing Water Cycle Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Changing Water Cycle - Essay Example According to the argument on reducing water levels, the regions indicated will suffer profusely in the agricultural and energy aspects. The consequential outcome of the challenges will further affect the society’s welfare at the advent of insufficient commercial production of specialty crops, recreation, and the general amenities. The figure shows that the southwest states’ water levels reduced by 14% from the beginning of the millennium to the present period, and the anomaly will remain at 84% until 2035. Further, the states’ water resources will dwindle to 66% and 43% between the ranges of 2041-2070 and 2070-2099 respectively. Therefore, it is certain that the south and west states along the US-Mexico border would be vulnerable to the consequences borne from the drastic climatic changes. The figure indicates that the water levels reduction process is imminent to the current societal practices. The region’s dependence in hydroelectric energy should cease as continuation of the practice risks the society’s welfare with the current prospects, which indicate a rapid rate of population increase in the agriculture-dependent area. Therefore, the concerned authorities should invest in geothermal, wind, and solar energy production projects as the alternative and eco-friendly sources to adapt to the changes. Secondly, the economic dependence on irrigation-based agricultural practices would flourish after the region’s reconsideration of constructing alternative water reservoirs and boreholes for use in the projects over the stream water sources. Apparently, the practice is a sustainable measure to ascertaining growth in the farming industry in the absence of water scarcity. The municipal water supply systems should conform to the measures of sustainability by reviewing the water distribution systems’ to match the environmental changes. Lastly, the

Sunday, August 25, 2019

Discussion questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Discussion questions - Assignment Example In order to stabilize its revenue, the organization should also consider venturing into mining and manufacturing especially in those areas that will directly determine the supply of its raw materials. As with other big organizations, virgin group should also venture in to the financial market to boost its revenue in the unstable global markets. Renewable energy sector is another promising area that virgin group can venture in since as the world moves from the conventional sources of energy such as petroleum products, the demand for renewable sources of energy is likely to increase which translates to profits for virgin group (Barwise & Meehan, 2010). Other companies that have built their value proposition on image include McDonalds, which specializes in fast foods; the company has built an image as the best source of fast food in America. Apple is another company that has also built its value on its image proposition on its communication gadgets such as mobile phones, tablets and personal

Saturday, August 24, 2019

Ase brief Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Ase brief - Research Paper Example In order for the appointments to be effective, the commissions were required to be delivered to the appointees. Most of the commission had been duly delivered. Jefferson argued that the remaining commissions were void since they had not been delivered by the expiration of president Adams’ presidential term. Marbury, an intended appointee applied to the US Supreme Court for a writ of mandamus to ensure that the commissions were duly delivered. II. The Law Pursuant to Article III Section 2 Clause 2 of the US Constitution, all cases relative to Ambassadors, public Consuls and ministers and cases in which the state is a party, the Supreme Court is possessed of original jurisdiction. Any other case falling under the authority of the judiciary, the Supreme Court will have the authority to determine appeals subject to any exceptions and/or regulations that Congress may apply. Under Section 13 of the Judiciary Act 1789, the Supreme Court has the authority to hear appeals from circuit courts and state courts and will also have the authority to issue prohibitive writs to district courts and writs of mandamus to any appointed courts or individuals in public office. III. Legal Questions/Issues The main legal questions/issues were: Is the claimant entitled to the commission?Does the claimant have a legal remedy? Does the Supreme Court have the jurisdiction to review Congressional decisions and to ascertain whether or not such decisions are constitutional and valid? Does Congress have the authority to broaden the original jurisdiction of the Supreme Court as contained in Article III of the US Constitution? Does the Supreme Court’s original jurisdiction include the authority to issue a writ of mandamus? IV. Holding/Decision and Action The US Supreme Court denied the writ of Mandamus with the result that the claimant did not obtain the commission. V. Opinion John Marshall, delivered the opinion of the court. The Court thus concluded that the claimant was entitled to the commission since it took effect once the Executive exercised its constitutional power of appointment and that power was the final act required of the executive exercising the authority. Therefore, once the commission was signed by the president it became effective. The court also ruled that the claimant did indeed have a legal remedy as it is implicit in the protection of civil rights: any person claiming harm has a right to the protection of the law. The US Supreme Court also ruled that the US Supreme Court has the power to review congressional decisions and to ascertain the constitutionality and validity of those decisions. It is the judiciary’s duty to state the law. In the application of the law to specific cases, the judiciary also has a duty to interpret and explain the applicable rule. When laws contradict each other, the Court has a duty to decide between the two. In all cases, the Constitution, the supreme law of the land will prevail where it is inconsistent with any other law. Moreover, the US Supreme Court ruled that Congress does not have the authority to expand upon the original jurisdiction accorded the Supreme Court beyond that conferred by Article III of the US Constitution. If Congress had such an authority, the Constitutional basis of original jurisdiction would be entirely meaningless. Finally, the Court ruled that the US Supreme Court did not have authority to issue a writ of mandamus within the parameters of its original jurisdic

Friday, August 23, 2019

Analysis of a Business Narrative Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Analysis of a Business Narrative - Essay Example There is renewed realization of the fact that organizations are continuously seeking a means of communication that synthesizes and not that which analyzes information (Sole & Wilson, 2004). Story telling offers an ideal answer to this quest, which explains the increasing use of narratives by many organizations today. Knowledge by itself serves no purpose to organizations. However it is by application that such knowledge becomes useful to an organization. Therefore, all stories in organizations have the basic intent to share knowledge, which helps in promoting effective actions in the behaviors of all the involved stakeholders or in achieving a specific task within the organization. One importance of narratives in organizations is in informing the clientele â€Å"who we really are† (Dunning, 2005). In this attempt, for the narrative to be effective, executives have to do something that may at first appear uncomfortable, which mostly involves talking about the failures involved and the down times that the company has experienced in coming to being (Dunning, 2005). Self-disclosure in narratives is one of the best ways to accomplish trust and to inspire others. For instance, in the narrative about Baidu invention, though the company does not narrate about their down times and failures, the narrative clearly indicates that the brand was formed with the Chinese people in mind and had specific tools that accommodated the diverse needs of the Chinese users. The company draws its identity from its intention to serve the Chinese clientele and thus was designed with this customer segment in mind. This is portrayed by the fact that the search engine recognizes 38 ways in which a Chinese can say I. Recognizing such user specific features defines a clear identity of the company in relation to its clientele. On the other hand, Google in its invention offers a captivating narrative of the failures and the downtimes that haunted the young company. For instance, BackRub w as discontinued for taking a high bandwidth than necessary, and that the young Google Company had to start from a garage and not an office. Stories that disclose failure and hardships within a company in its years of operations have a paradoxical effect of instilling trust and encourage openness among its audience (Dunning, 2005). Google offers a simple story about its startup, which elicits both humor and confidence in all their operations. Such a story enhances confidence, courage and inspires others within the company and outside to be confident in their operations. Narratives in organizations do share values and norms. The norms and values are passed through different generations within the organization, and are derived from the organization’s past to describe its intended future (Sole & Wilson, 2004). Leadership theories empathize on the need to offer a robust context and vision of a firm. This objective is better accomplished using stories that have more emphasis on the strong qualities of the organization in the past; narratives place organizational qualities in future’s context, while at the same time helping in identifying possible future opportunities in an organization (Sole & Wilson, 2004). For instance, during Baidu’s design and launch, the detailed knowledge of Chinese language and culture was instrumental in

Discussion# 11 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Discussion# 11 - Assignment Example These functions help the hospital in the inclusion of the collected data. The data can be incorporated in every task and assembled for future reference. Patient records can be saved in a diary via IVRS. This makes consultations with the doctors highly effective (Leiner, Gaus & Haux, 2003). The IVRS system allows for the integration of data about the doctors and surgeons present and on duty in the hospital. This consecutively implies that patients are capable of accessing this data via an IVRS pre-recorded message through a phone call. The apparatus used in the hospital processes can be registered with an allocated numeric distinctiveness. This assists the staff to recognize the available drugs in the hospital. IVRS helps in the documentation of data, making it available to all (Leiner, Gaus & Haux, 2003). The data developed from this process is catalogued in an IVRS using the data outline reports. In conclusion, data storage is automatic in a computerized worksheet through the encoding of IVRS. The IVRS makes the input and organization of data in the hospital unproblematic, fault free and cannot be tampered with

Thursday, August 22, 2019

Phonetics Case Essay Example for Free

Phonetics Case Essay Introduction The aim of this thesis is to give a systematic description of some aspects of English morphophonemic. The thesis falls into 2 chapters: The first chapter, which is an introduction, presents a short sketch of the title, the problem, the purpose of the study,phonological rules. The second chapter is devoted to some of the basic concepts required in the study of morphophonemic. It starts with various definitions of morpheme, allomorph. The thesis ends with some conclusions, a list of bibliography. Morphophonemic Analysis designates the analytic procedures whereby paradigms with phonological alternations are reduced to underlying representations and phonological rules. The term morphophonemic analysis has a now obscure origin. In the 1940s and 1950s, many phonologists worked with a theory in which (roughly) all neutralizing rules were assumed to apply before all allophonic rules. This in effect divided the phonology into two components: a neutralizing component, whose units were called morphophonemes, and a non-neutralizing component, which dealt with phonemes and allophones. This bifurcated-phonology theory is widely considered untenable today, but  morphophonemics remains a useful term for characterizing the study of neutralizing phonological rules as they apply in paradigms. When we conduct morphophonemic analysis, we seek to establish a connection between data and theory. The theory in question is that morphemes are stored in the lexicon in an invariant phonemic form, are strung together by morphological and syntactic rules, and are then converted to their surface forms by a sequence of phonological rules (often neutralizing), applied in a particular order. The purpose of morphophonemic analysis is to discover a set of underlying forms and ordered rules that are consistent with the data; and the payoff is that seemingly complex patterns are often reduced to simplicity. Morphophonemic analysis may be contrasted with phonemic analysis. Phonemic analysis is a more limited form of phonological analysis that seeks only to discover the non-neutralizing (allophonic) rules of the phonology. In phonemic analysis, only the distribution and similarity of the phones is examined. Therefore, the data need not be grouped in paradigms, but need only comprise a sufficiently large and representative set of words. Like phonemic analysis, morphophonemic analysis can be pursued with a systematic method. The main purpose of my work consists in making exact definition of a phoneme and allophone and be able to distinguish them. To understand what is morphophonemic?   Problems of my work are: morphophonemic and morphophonological rules, types of morphophonological changes, relation between phonology and morphophonology, isolation forms, rule ordering, morphophonology and orthography. Morphophonology (also morphophonemics, morphonology) is a branch of linguistics which studies the interaction between morphological and phonological or phonetic processes. Its chief focus is the sound changes that take place in morphemes (minimal meaningful units) when they combine to form words. Morphophonological analysis often involves an attempt to give a series of formal rules that successfully predict the regular sound changes occurring in the morphemes of a given language. Such a series of rules  converts a theoretical underlying representation into a surface form that is actually heard. The units of which the underlying representations of morphemes are composed are sometimes called morphophonemes. The surface form produced by the morphophonological rules may consist of phonemes (which are then subject to ordinary phonological rules to produce speech sounds or phones), or else the morphophonological analysis may bypass the phoneme stage and produce the phones itself. Morphop honemes and morphophonological rules When morphemes combine, they influence each others sound structure (whether analyzed at a phonetic or phonemic level), resulting in different variant pronunciations for the same morpheme. Morphophonology attempts to analyze these processes. A languages morphophonological structure is generally described with a series of rules which, ideally, can predict every morphophonological alternation that takes place in the language. An example of a morphophonological alternation in English is provided by the plural morpheme, written as -s or -es. Its pronunciation alternates between [s], [z], and [É ªz], as in cats, dogs, and horses respectively. A purely phonological analysis would most likely assign to these three endings the phonemic representations /s/, /z/, /É ªz/. On a morphophonological level, however, they may all be considered to be forms of the underlying object //z//, which is a morphophoneme. The different forms it takes are dependent on the segment at the end of the morpheme to which it attaches – these dependencies are described by morphophonological rules. (The behaviour of the English past tense ending -ed is similar – it can be pronounced [t], [d] or [É ªd], as in hoped, bobbed and added.) Note that the plural suffix -s can also influence the form taken by the preceding morpheme, as in the case of the words leaf and knife, which end with [f] in the singular, but have [v] in the plural (leaves, knives). On a morphophonological level these morphemes may be analyzed as ending in a morphophoneme //F//, which becomes voiced when a voiced consonant (in this case the //z// of the plural ending) is attached to it. This rule may be written symbolically as: /F/ - [ÃŽ ±voice] / __ [ÃŽ ±voice]. In the International Phonetic Alphabet, pipes (| |) are often used to indicate a morphophonemic rather than phonemic representation. Another common convention is double slashes (// //), as  above, implying that the transcription is more phonemic than simply phonemic. Other conventions sometimes seen are double pipes (|| ||) and curly brackets ({ }). Types of morphophonological changes Inflected and agglutinating languages may have extremely complicated systems of morphophonemics. Examples of complex morphophonological systems include: 1. Sandhi, the phenomenon behind the English examples of plural and past tense above, is found in virtually all languages to some degree. Even Mandarin, which is sometimes said to display no morphology, nonetheless displays tone sandhi, a morphophonemic alternation. 2. Consonant gradation, found in some Uralic languages such as Finnish, Estonian, Northern Sà ¡mi, and Nganasan. 3. Vowel harmony, which occurs in varying degrees in languages all around the world, notably Turkic languages. 3. Ablaut, found in English and other Germanic languages. Ablaut is the phenomenon wherein stem vowels change form depending on context, as in English sing, sang, sung. Relation between phonology and morphophonology Until the 1950s, many phonologists assumed that neutralizing rules generally applied before allophonic rules. Thus phonological analysis was split into two parts: a morphophonological part, where neutralizing rules were developed to derive phonemes from morphophonemes; and a purely phonological part, where phones were derived from the phonemes. Since the 1960s (in particular with the work of the generative school, such as Chomsky and Halles The Sound Pattern of English) many linguists have moved away from making such a split, instead regarding the surface phones as being derived from the underlying morphophonemes (which may be referred to using various terminology) through a single system of (morpho)phonological rules. The purpose of both phonemic and morphophonemic analysis is to produce simpler underlying descriptions for what appear on the surface to be complicated patterns. In purely phonemic analysis the data is just a set of words in a language, while for the purposes of morphophonemic analysis the words must be considered in grammatical paradigms to take account of the underlying morphemes. It is postulated that morphemes are recorded in the speakers lexicon in an invariant (morphophonemic) form, which, in a given environment, is converted by rules into a surface form. The analyst attempts  to present as completely as possible a system of underlying units (morphophonemes) and a series of rules that act on them, so as to produce surface forms consistent with the linguistic data. Isolation forms The isolation form of a morpheme is the form in which that morpheme appears in isolation (when not subject to the effects of any other morpheme). In the case of a bound morpheme, such as the English past tense ending -ed, it will generally not be possible to identify an isolation form, since such a morpheme does not occur in isolation. It is often reasonable to assume that the isolation form of a morpheme provides its underlying representation. For example, in some American English, plant is pronounced [plà ¦nt], while planting is [ˈplà ¦nÉ ªÃ…‹], where the morpheme plant- appears in the form [plà ¦n]. Here the underlying form can be assumed to be //plà ¦nt//, corresponding to the isolation form, since rules can be set up to derive the reduced form [plà ¦n] from this (while it would be difficult or impossible to set up rules that would derive the isolation form [plà ¦nt] from an underlying //plà ¦n//). This is not always the case, however; sometimes the isolation form itself is subject to neutralization that does not apply to some other instances of the morpheme. For example, the French word petit (small) is pronounced in isolation without the final [t] sound, although in certain derived forms (such as the feminine petite) the [t] is heard. If the isolation form were adopted as the underlying form, the information that there is a final t would be lost, and it would be hard to explain the appearance of the t in the inflected forms. Rule ordering Morphophonological rules are generally considered to apply in a set order. This means that the application of one rule may sometimes either prevent or enable the application of another rule provided the rules are appropriately ordered. If the ordering of two rules is such that the application of the first rule can have the effect of making it possible to apply the second, then the rules are said to be in feeding order. For example, if a language has an apocope rule (A) which deletes a final vowel, and a cluster reduction rule (CR) that reduces a final consonant cluster, then the rules are in feeding order if A precedes CR, since the application of A can enable application of CR (for example, a word ending /-rpa/ is not itself subject  to CR, since the consonant cluster is not final, but if A is applied to it first, leaving /-rp/, then CR can apply). Here rule A is said to feed rule CR. If the rules are ordered such as to avoid possible feeding (in this case, if CR applies before A) then they are said to be in counter-feeding order. On the other hand, if rules are ordered such that the application of the first rule can have the effect of preventing application of the second, then the rules are said to be in bleeding order. For example, if a language has an epenthesis rule (E) that inserts a /w/ before certain vowels, and a vowel deletion rule (D) that deletes one of two consecutive vowels, then the rules are in bleeding order if E precedes D, since the application of E can prevent application of D (for example, a word containing /-iu-/ would be subject to D, but if E is applied to it first, leaving /-iwu-/, then D can no longer apply). Here rule E is said to bleed rule D. If the rules are ordered such as to avoid possible bleeding (in this case, if D applies before E) then they are said to be in counter-bleeding order. The terminology of feeding and bleeding is also applied to other linguistic rules, such as those of historical sound changes. Morphophonology and orthography The principle behind alphabetic writing systems is that the letters (graphemes) represent phonemes. However in many orthographies based on such systems the correspondences between graphemes and phonemes are not exact, and it is sometimes the case that certain spellings better represent a words morphophonological structure rather than the purely phonological. An example of this is that the English plural morpheme is written -s regardless of whether it is pronounced as /s/ or /z/; we write cats and dogs, not dogz. The above example involves active morphology (inflection), and morphophonemic spellings are common in this context in many languages. Another type of spelling that can be described as morphophonemic is the kind that reflects the etymology of words. Such spellings are particularly common in English; examples include science /saÉ ª/ vs. unconscious /ÊÆ'/, prejudice /prÉ›/ vs. prequel /priË /, sign /saÉ ªn/ signature /sÉ ªÃ‰ ¡n/, nation /neÉ ª/ vs. nationalism /nà ¦/, and special /spÉ›/ vs. species /spiË /. Conclusions according to this chapter Morphophonology (also morphophonemics, morphonology) is a branch of linguistics which studies: 1. The phonological structure of morphemes. 2. The combinatory phonic modifications of morphemes which happen when they are combined. 3. The alternative series which serve a morphological function. Examples of a morphophonological alternatives in English include these distinctions: Plurals -es and -s, as in bus, buses, vs. bun, buns. Plural of -f is -ves, as in leaf, leaves. Different pronunciations for the past tense marker -ed. English, having lost its inflection, does not have much morphophonology. Inflected and agglutinating languages may have extremely complicated systems, e.g., consonant gradation. A morphophonemic rule has the form of a phonological rule, but is restricted to a particular morphological environment. Morphophonemic rules are sensitive to their environment, unlike phonological rules. Whenever morphological information is required to specify the environment for an allophonic rule, the rule is morphophonemic. The prefix /in-/ has the allomorphs [il] and [ir]: /in-/ + responsible irresponsible /in-/ + logical illogical Therefore, there must be a morphophonemic rule which determines the allomorphs [il] and [ir] of the prefix /in-/. The purpose of both phonemic and morphophonemic analysis is to produce simpler underlying descriptions for what appear on the surface to be complicated patterns. When morphemes are clustered or grouped in words than changes in the phonological structures of these words occur. Such changes are called morphophonemic changes. Assuming that we allow phonological rules to apply in sequence, we can cycle through them using the output of the first rule as the input to the second. For many cases in the data set, at most one phonological rule introduces a structural change. But in cog, tail, or comb we see a single derivation that involves both rules. Furthermore, such cases are not rare in English. Any word that begins with a voiceless stop and contains a vowel that precedes a voiced consonant will require the application of both rules. We use cog as an illustrative example: Allophone Central to the concept of the phoneme is the idea that it may be pronounced in many different ways. In English (BBC pronunciation) we take it for granted that the r sounds in ‘ray’ and ‘tray’ are â€Å"the same sound† (i.e. the same phoneme), but in reality the two sounds are very different – the r in ‘ray’ is voiced and non-fricative, while the r sound in ‘tray’ is voiceless and fricative. In phonemic transcription we use the same symbol r for both, but we know that the allophones of r include the voiced nonfricative sound É ¹ and the voiceless fricative one . In theory a phoneme can have an infinite number of allophones, but in practice for descriptive purposes we tend to concentrate on a small number that occur most regularly. Phoneme This is the fundamental unit of phonology, which has been defined and used in many different ways. Virtually all theories of phonology hold that spoken language can be broken down into a string of sound units (phonemes), and that each language has a small, relatively fixed set of these phonemes. Most phonemes can be put into groups; for example, in English we can identify a group of plosive phonemes p, t, k, b, d a group of voiceless fricatives f, ÃŽ ¸, s, ÊÆ', h, and so on. An important question in phoneme theory is how the analyst can establish what the phonemes of a language are. The most widely accepted view is that phonemes are contrastive and one must find cases where the difference between two words is dependent on the difference between two phonemes: for example, we can prove that the difference between ‘pin’ and ‘pan’ depends on the vowel and that i and are different phonemes. Pairs of words that differ in just one phoneme are known as minimal pairs. We can establish the same fact about p and b by citing ‘pin’ and ‘bin’. Of course, you can only start doing commutation tests like this when you have a provisional list of possible phonemes to test, so some basic phonetic analysis must precede this stage. Other fundamental concepts used in phonemic analysis of this sort are complementary distribution, free variation, distinctive feature and allophone. Different analyses of a language are possible: in the case of English some phonologists claim that there are only six vowel phonemes, others that there are twenty or more (it depends on whether you count diphthongs and long vowels as single phonemes or as combinations of two phonemes). It used to be said that learning the  pronunciation of a language depended on learning the individual phonemes of the language, but this â€Å"building-block† view of pronunciation is looked on no wadays as an unhelpful oversimplification. Phonemics When the importance of the phoneme became widely accepted, in the 1930s and 40s, many attempts were made to develop scientific ways of establishing the phonemes of a language and listing each phoneme’s allophones; this was known as phonemics. Nowadays little importance is given to this type of analysis, and it is considered a minor branch of phonology, except for the practical purpose of devising writing systems for previously unwritten languages. Conclusion: An allophone is a phonetic variant of a phoneme in a particular language. A phoneme is the smallest contrastive unit in the sound system of a language. A phone is one of many possible sounds in the languages of the world. Phonemics a branch of linguistic analysis involving the study of phonemes, the structure of a language in terms of phonemes. General conclusion Morphophonemics, in linguistics, study of the relationship between morphology and phonology. Morphophonemics involves an investigation of the phonological variations within morphemes, usually marking different grammatical functions; e.g., the vowel changes in â€Å"sleep† and â€Å"slept,† â€Å"bind† and â€Å"bound,† â€Å"vain† and â€Å"vanity,† and the consonant alternations in â€Å"knife† and â€Å"knives,† â€Å"loaf† and â€Å"loaves.† The ways in which the morphemes of a language are variously represented by phonemic shapes can be regarded as a kind of code. This code is the morphophonemic system of the language. The morphophonemics of English is never so simple. There are always many instances of two or more morphemes represented by the same phonemic shape, and there are always cases in which a single morpheme is represented now by one phonemic shape, now by another. Therefore the morphophonemics of English is never trivial. Literature: 1. Hayes, Bruce (2009). Morphophonemic Analysis Introductory Phonology, pp. 161–185. Blackwell. 2. R. Jakobson, C. G. Fant, and M. Halle, Preliminaries to Speech Analysis, Fundamentals of Language (Mouton and Company, The Hague, 1956). 3. P. Roach (2004). â€Å"English Phonetics and Phonology†, Cambridge. 4. www.wikipedia.ru 5. www.sil.org 6. www.msu.edu

Wednesday, August 21, 2019

The Boundary Of The Boundless Of Anaximander Philosophy Essay

The Boundary Of The Boundless Of Anaximander Philosophy Essay This study tells about Anaximanders theory of Apeiron and as well as his life and his philosophical background. Anaximander is said to be a younger contemporary of Thales, who also sought for the first material principle; he was a disciple and successor of Thales and philosophized in dialogue with him. He was not mentioned until the time of Aristotle. Unlike Thales, Anaximander wrote a philosophical work, entitled  On Nature; unfortunately, neither this nor any of his other works has survived. The information about his philosophy came from summaries of it by other writers, especially Aristotle and Theophrastus. Anaximander was said to have drawn the first map of the inhabited world on a tablet, which was a marvel in his day (Agathemerus  I, 1) Statement of the Problem Anaximanders theory of Apeiron, a Greek word which literarily means boundless, indeterminate, unlimited, infinite, or indefinite is an unintelligible idea about the origin of all things. It gave confusion with his Arche which means beginning, or origin. He explains how the  four elements  of ancient physics (air,  earth,  water  and  fire) are formed, and how Earth and terrestrial beings are formed through their interactions. However, unlike other Pre-Socratics, he never defines this principle precisely, and it has generally been understood (e.g., by Aristotle and by  Saint Augustine) as a sort of primal  chaos. The researcher has his own rule on doing this research. The studies came from the book and through internet. The researchers use a descriptive type of research. This research is for educational purposes and serves as a requirement in on the researchers study. All of the information that has gathered in the entire sources is a big help in answering the research. All of the information that was gathered will serve as knowledge to us and for the readers. This study will be beneficial to the students and instructors. This researchs goal is designed to help students improve academic competency. The output of this study is a source material that the teachers can assimilate and disseminate by diffusion and induction technique. The proposed study serves the students as their reference or guide in creating their research. It will also help students taking help in making their research studies about their topics. For the teachers, this study will help them to have a deeper understanding of the said research. By this study they will come up with easier and powerful research. To the researchers, the proposed study will benefit and help the future researcher as their guide. The study can also open in development of this study.   Background of the Study Anaximanders Biography Anaximander, son of Praxiades, was born in  Miletus  during the third year of the 42nd  Olympiad  (610 BC).  According to  Apollodorus of Athens, Greek grammarian of the 2nd century BC, he was sixty-four years old during the second year of the 58th Olympiad (547-546  BC), and died shortly afterwards. Establishing a timeline of his work is now impossible, since no document provides chronological references.  Themistius, a 4th-century  Byzantine  rhetorician, mentions that he was the first of the known Greeks to publish a written document on nature. Therefore his texts would be amongst the earliest written in  prose, at least in the Western world. By the time of  Plato, his philosophy was almost forgotten, and Aristotle, his successor  Theophrastus  and a few  doxographers  provide us with the little information that remains. However, we know from Aristotle that Thales, also from Miletus, precedes Anaximander. It is debatable whether Thales actually was the teacher of Anaximander, but there is no doubt that Anaximander was influenced by Thales theory that everything is derived from water. One thing that is not debatable is that even the ancient Greeks considered Anaximander to be from the Monist school which began in Miletus with Thales followed by Anaximander and finished with  Anaximenes  3rd-centuryRoman  rhetorician  Aelian  depicts him as leader of the Milesian colony to  Apollonia  on the  Black Sea  coast, and hence some have inferred that he was a prominent citizen. Indeed,  Various History  (III, 17) explains that philosophers sometimes also dealt with political matters. It is very likely that leaders of Miletus sent him there as a legislator to create a constitution or simply to maintain the colonys allegiance. Philosophical View The Apeiron Anaximander shares Thales assumption that all things originate from one original element and ultimately are that element; to use Aristotles terminology, he holds that there is a first (material) principle (arche) of all things. Unlike Thales, however, Anaximander asserts that the first principle is not water but what he calls theapeiron, translated as the indeterminate or limitless. Simplicius , drawing upon theophrastus work, gives following account of anaximanders. Anaximander named the arche and element of existing things the apeiron, being the first to introduce this name for the arche. He says that it is neither water nor any other of the so-called elements, but a different substance that is limitless or indeterminate, from which there come into being all the heavens and the worlds within them. Harmony of the Opposites Dependent upon Theophrastus, Simplicius says according to Anaximander, things perish into those things out of which they have their being, according to necessity; for they make just recompense to one another for their injustice according to the ordinance or assessment of time. The Aperion as Unconditioned and God We cannot say that the apeiron has no effect, and the only effectiveness which we can ascribe to it is that of a principle. Everything is either a source or derived from a source. But there cannot be a source of the apeiron, for that would be a limit of it. Further, as it is a Beginning, it is both uncreatable and indestructible. For there must be a point at which what has come to be reaches completion and also a termination of all passing away. That is why, as we say there is no principle of this, but it is this which is held to be the principle of other things, and to encompass all and to steer all; as those assert who do not recognize, alongside the infinite, other causes such as mind or friendship. Theories Anaximanders theories were influenced by the  Greek mythical  tradition, and by some ideas of  Thales   the father of philosophy   as well as by observations made by older civilizations in the East (especially by the Babylonian astrologists). All these were elaborated rationally. In his desire to find some universal principle, he assumed like traditional religion the existence of a cosmic order and in elaborating his ideas on this he used the old mythical language which ascribed divine control to various spheres of reality. This was a common practice for the Greek philosophers in a society which saw gods everywhere; therefore they could fit their ideas into a tolerably elastic system. Apeiron For Anaximander, the  principle  of things, the constituent of all substances, is nothing determined and not an element such as water in Thales view. Neither is it something halfway between air and water, or between air and fire, thicker than air and fire, or more subtle than water and earth.  Anaximander argues that water cannot embrace all of the opposites found in nature for example, water can only be wet, never dry and therefore cannot be the one primary substance; nor could any of the other candidates. He postulated the  apeiron  as a substance that, although not directly perceptible to us, could explain the opposites he saw around him. Anaximander maintains that all dying things are returning to the element from which they came (apeiron).   Cosmology Anaximanders bold use of non-mythological  explanatory hypotheses considerably distinguishes him from previous cosmology writers such as  Hesiod. It confirms that pre-Socratic philosophers were making an early effort to demythify physical processes. His major contribution to history was writing the oldest prose document about the  Universe  and the origins of  life; for this he is often called the Father of Cosmology and founder of astronomy. However,  pseudo-Plutarch  states that he still viewed celestial bodies as deities. Anaximander was the first to conceive a  mechanical  model of the  world. In his model, the  Earth  floats very still in the centre of the infinite, not supported by anything. It remains in the same place because of its indifference, a point of view that Aristotle considered ingenious, but false, in  On the Heavens.  Its curious shape is that of a  cylinder  with a height one-third of its diameter. The flat top forms the inhabited world, which is surrounded by a circular oceanic mass. Such a model allowed the concept that  celestial bodies  could pass under it. It goes further than Thales claim of a world floating on water, for which Thales faced the problem of explaining what would contain this ocean, while Anaximander solved it by introducing his concept of infinite (apeiron). Multiple Worlds According to Simplicius, Anaximander already speculated on the plurality of  worlds, similar to  atomists  Leucippus  and  Democritus, and later philosopher  Epicurus. These thinkers supposed that worlds appeared and disappeared for a while, and that some were born when others perished. They claimed that this movement was eternal, for without movement, there can be no generation, no destruction. In addition to Simplicius, Hippolytus  reports Anaximanders claim that from the infinite comes the principle of beings, which themselves come from the heavens and the worlds (several doxographers use the plural when this philosopher is referring to the worlds within,  which are often infinite in quantity).  Cicero  writes that he attributes different gods to the countless worlds. This theory places Anaximander close to the Atomists and the  Epicureans  who, more than a century later, also claimed that an infinity of worlds appeared and disappeared. In the  timeline of the Greek history of thought, some thinkers conceptualized a single world (Plato, Aristotle,  Anaxagoras  and  Archelaus), while others instead speculated on the existence of a series of worlds, continuous or non-continuous (Anaximenes, Heraclitus,  Empedocles  and  Diogenes).   Meteorological phenomena Anaximander attributed some phenomena, such as  thunder  and  lightning, to the intervention of elements, rather than to divine causes. In his system, thunder results from the shock of clouds hitting each other; the loudness of the sound is proportionate with that of the shock. Thunder without lightning is the result of the wind being too weak to emit any flame, but strong enough to produce a sound. A flash of lightning without thunder is a jolt of the air that disperses and falls, allowing a less active fire to break free. Thunderbolts are the result of a thicker and more violent air flow. He saw the sea as a remnant of the mass of humidity that once surrounded Earth.  A part of that mass evaporated under the suns action, thus causing the winds and even the rotation of the celestial bodies, which he believed were attracted to places where water is more abundant.  He explained rain as a product of the humidity pumped up from Earth by the sun.  For him, the Earth was slowly drying up and water only remained in the deepest regions, which someday would go dry as well. According to Aristotles  Meteorology  (II, 3), Democritus also shared this opinion. Origin of humankind Anaximander speculated about the beginnings and  origin  of animal life. Taking into account the existence of fossils, he claimed that animals sprang out of the sea long ago. The first animals were born trapped in a spiny bark, but as they got older, the bark would dry up and break. Anaximander put forward the idea that humans had to spend part of this transition inside the mouths of big fish to protect themselves from the Earths climate until they could come out in open air and lose their scales. He thought that, considering humans extended infancy, we could not have survived in the primeval world in the same manner we do presently. Other Accomplishments Cartography Maps were produced in ancient times, also notably in  Egypt,  Lydia, the  Middle East, and  Babylon. Only some small examples survived until today. The unique example of a world map comes from late Babylonian tablet BM 92687 later than 9th century BCE but is based probably on a much older map. These maps indicated directions, roads, towns, borders, and geological features. Anaximanders innovation was to represent the entire inhabited land known to the ancient Greeks. Such an accomplishment is more significant than it at first appears. Anaximander most likely drew this map for three reasons.  First, it could be used to improve navigation and trade between  Miletuss colonies and other colonies around the Mediterranean Sea and Black Sea. Second,  Thales  would probably have found it easier to convince the Ionian  city-states  to join in a federation in order to push the Median  threat away if he possessed such a tool. Finally, the philosophical idea of a global representation of the world simply for the sake of knowledge was reason enough to design one. Gnomon The  Suda  relates that Anaximander explained some basic notions of geometry. It also mentions his interest in the measurement of time and associates him with the introduction in  Greece  of the gnomon. In Lacedaemon, he participated in the construction, or at least in the adjustment, of  sundials  to indicate  solstices  and  equinoxes. Indeed, a gnomon required adjustments from a place to another because of the difference in latitude. In his time, the gnomon was simply a vertical pillar or rod mounted on a horizontal plane. The position of its shadow on the plane indicated the time of day. As it moves through its apparent course, the sun draws a curve with the tip of the projected shadow, which is shortest at noon, when pointing due south. The variation in the tips position at noon indicates the solar time and the seasons; the shadow is longest on the winter solstice and shortest on the summer solstice. However, the invention of the gnomon itself cannot be attributed to Anaximander because its use, as well as the division of days into twelve parts, came from the  Babylonians. It is they, according toHerodotus  Histories  (II, 109), who gave the Greeks the art of time measurement. It is likely that he was not the first to determine the solstices, because no calculation is necessary. On the other hand, equinoxes do not correspond to the middle point between the positions during solstices, as the Babylonians thought. As the  Suda  seems to suggest, it is very likely that with his knowledge of geometry, he became the first Greek to accurately determine the equinoxes. Prediction of an earthquake In his philosophical work  De Divinatione  (I, 50, 112), Cicero states that Anaximander convinced the inhabitants of  Lacedaemon  to abandon their city and spend the night in the country with their weapons because an earthquake was near.  The city collapsed when the top of the  Taygetus  split like the stern of a ship. Pliny the Elder also mentions this anecdote (II, 81), suggesting that it came from an admirable inspiration, as opposed to Cicero, who did not associate the prediction with divination. Philosophy Contributions Cosmology the production of the opposite and their separating off are important in his cosmology penalty and retribution of the opposites in accord to the assessment of time. The earth is cylindrical in shape and its depth is 1/3 its breath. It is immobile (the earth does not rest on water ) in the center of the universe by way of its equilibrium. The earth may someday become dry. Concerning the formation of the heavenly bodies: the sun is equal to the earth. The circles and spheres carry the heavenly bodies. An eclipse occur when the aperture of the sun or moon are blocked. Concerning meteorological phenomena: the winds thunder and lightning all these have to do with winds. Zoogamy the 1st living creatures were born in moisture and enclosed in thorny barks. As their age grows they came forth into the drier part and the bark was broken off. Anthropology- Anaximander held the theory of evolution of animals. Man was born from animals of another species (man come into being inside fishes). Conclusion Anaximander was indeed one of the greatest minds that ever lived. By speculating and arguing about the Boundless he was the first metaphysician. By drawing a map of the world he was the first geographer, by boldly speculating about the universe he broke with the ancient image of the celestial vault and became the discoverer of the Western world-picture. The Boundless has no origin. For then it would have a limit. Aristotle once said there is no beginning of the infinite, or in that case it would have an end. But without beginning and indestructible, as being, a sort of first principle is necessary for whatever comes into existence should have and end and there is a conclusion of all destruction. But there is no principle of this Apeiron (www.egs.edu/library/anaximander/qoutes) and Anaximander himself affirm that that all dying things are returning to the element which they came which is the apeiron. The fact that things dies, decays, or wither states its limit, therefore it is limite d, finite, and is bounded by the natural law. We find his theory of Apeiron unbelievable especially when it is first; a theory and has no proof, second; a paradox itself in a way that he viewed the world as tangled in a neatly bounded category. Its hard to believe on what someone has said when that someone, itself, defies what he have stated and thus formed a seemingly contradictory paradox that leads to confusion.

Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Transnational Governance And Overseas Filipino Workers Politics Essay

Transnational Governance And Overseas Filipino Workers Politics Essay In an era of increased globalization, different countries turn to different national strategies in order to maintain a competitive edge in the global market. For many developing countries, the labor force that they possess is a significant resource that may be utilized in order to pursue economic and social growth and development within their countries. The Philippines is one of the major countries that rely heavily on its workforce for economic stability and social advancement. Indeed, the Philippine experience of Diaspora is a sad and happy story to tell. The fact is that Filipinos working outside of the country brings the bacon home-the dollars that supports the economic activities in the country. However, the Philippine government is faced with this dilemma: how do they make sure that these Filipinos outside of the country maintain their links to the country. The fact that they send money back to the Philippines is not enough. They have to make sure that these Filipinos remain connected to their homeland lest they might lose them someday. A stronger sense of identity, solidarity and nationalism will ensure that these Filipinos will participate in the affairs of the country which will then ensure continued support from them in terms of financial matters. In order to induce such participation, the government should cross borders and exert re-territorialization and extra-territorial jurisdiction efforts-the government now faces the issue of transnational governance. These integration mechanisms to induce participation from Filipinos abroad is an effort that should be carried out by the Philippine government to make sure that Filipinos abroad remain connected to their home countr y. Research Questions What difference did the Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 (RA9189) made in terms of the political participation of OFWs in national and local elections in the Philippines? How does RA 9189 function as a tool of transnational governance for the Philippine government? Why is it important for the Philippine government to re-territorialize OFWs all over the world and encourage them to participate in the political processes of the country? What are the measures that the Philippine government has to take in order to secure transnational governance on OFWs all over the world? Independent Variable: RA 9189 or The Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003 as a tool of transnational governance for the Philippine government Dependent Variables: The transnational connection between OFWs and the Philippine government as seen through the exercise of the voting rights of OFWs and its subsequent effects on the domestic politics of the Philippines; The sense of identity, solidarity, and nationalism of OFWs as the basis for their corresponding political representation and participation; The efforts of the Philippine government to seek re-territorialization and establish extra-territorial jurisdiction (through RA 9198) as a political integration mechanism As such, the aim of this study is to be able to look at RA 9189 as a tool employed by the Philippine government as a political integration mechanism to address the much larger and broader issue of transnational governance which is brought about by the increasing interaction between the economic, social, and political forces at play in the global arena and their respective counterparts from a state-level perspective. II. Significance/Importance of the Study A Brief History of Filipino Migration The migration of Filipinos to foreign lands has a long history in modern times. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 eased Filipino migration into Europe. By the turn of the 20th century, the growth of nationalist ideas fermented in Europe by Filipino exiles such as Dr. Jose P. Rizal gave birth to the Philippine nation. In the early 1900s, Filipino workers laboured hard in the sugar and pineapple plantations of Hawaii while skilled Filipino labour in the health and tourism sectors helped in the reconstruction of Europe after the devastation of the Second World War. The post war era also saw many Filipinos joining the US navy for the privilege to petition for residence in the United States and live a better life. The 1970s saw the massive importation of Filipino construction workers to the Middle East where petrodollars were readily available. By the 1980s and the 1990s, there were Filipino doctors and physical therapists in the United States, Filipino nurses in the United Kingdom, Filipino secretaries in the UN headquarters in Geneva, Vienna and New York, Filipino engineers and teachers in Africa and Asia, Filipino au pairs in Scandinavia, domestic workers in Italy and Hong Kong, and seamen in Greece. Filipino migration has spread to other continents and by the 2nd millennium continues unabated. Filipinos are the second largest migrant population in the world (Hoegsholm, 2007). Current Trends and Situation The Philippines is one of the major countries that rely on its labor force for the support of its economy. Of the 80 million people in the country, approximately 10 percent is outside of the country working permanently or temporarily and because of this massive diaspora, Filipino migration continues to be a major concern for the Philippine government. However, one aspect of this issue that remains unexplored or altogether ignored is the fact that these Filipino migrants can be significant political forces that may influence the political situation in the country. The political system in the Philippines is one that needs reforms and transformations. As a democratic country, the electoral process of the country provides for an opportunity for the people to choose representatives that will empower them. However, time and time again, corruption and bureaucracy over rules democracy-the voice of the people through electoral votes is not entirely reflective of the political change so long desired by the Filipinos. Perhaps it is a lack of the participation from the middle class of the country; perhaps it is a result of the indifference of the average citizen of the country; and perhaps many people do not see why they should be clamouring for change in the government when clearly the government has nothing to do with their economic survival anymore. Such is the case of the many Filipinos living and working outside of the country, and such political outlook may be shared by their families in the Philippines as well. Seeing as the Filipinos outside of the country may be a significant political force that can initiate changes in the political system of the country, there is a need to understand how to tap these political forces that might serve the interest of the Filipino nation in general. Table 1. Estimate of Overseas Filipinos, Commission on Filipinos Overseas (2009) Commission on Filipinos Overseas STOCK ESTIMATE OF OVERSEAS FILIPINOS As of December 2009 PERMANENT TEMPORARY IRREGULAR WORLD TOTAL 4,056,940 3,864,068 658,370 Table 2. No. of Overseas Registered Voters, Commission on Elections, COF (2009) Overseas Absentee Voting 2009 Statistics on Number of Registered Voters Summary per continent and seafarers 2007 DELETED (Failed to vote twice) Asia Pacific 191,761 47,219 North South Africa 27,247 4,886 Europe 48,462 12,233 Middle East Africas 218,250 68,482 Total Landbased 485,720 132,820 Seafarers 18,404 OVERALL TOTAL 504,124 132,820 Comparing tables 1 and 2, we can see that of the more than 8 million Filipinos abroad, only a little over 500,000 people are registered voters. These numbers are strikingly significant if we are to consider Overseas Filipino Workers (OFWs) as political forces that may serve as an avenue of the much needed political change in the Philippines. Literature Review On Transnational Governance and Nationalism: The Issue of Transnationalism In a very relevant study concerning the issue of the nationalism of Filipino migrants and the transnational governance efforts of the Philippine government, Rodriguez (2002) argued that citizenship, and the obligations attached to it, is used as a state strategy for income generation for the Philippine government. Further, citizenship has become a means by which the Philippine state disciplines migrants as cheap workers for the global economic orderà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦transformations in notions of Filipino nationalism and citizenship have given rise to new kinds of transnational citizenship struggles allowing Filipino migrant workers to demand economic, political and cultural rights of the Philippine state wherever they may be. Rodriguez also explored the idea that Filipino migrants nowadays offer alternative nationalisms that challenge the constraints imposed by the governance efforts of the Philippine government. This study is important mainly because it pointed out that transnationalism may be looked at from two perspectives: that of the government and that of the Filipino migrant workers and their advocates. When looking from the point of view of the government, Filipino migrants are transnational citizens that can serve the best interest of their homeland. For instance, in recognizing that overseas Filipino workers are the new or modern-day heroes of the country, the Philippine government explicitly commits itself to ensuring that the welfare rights of these migrant workers are protected beyond the territorial boundaries of their country. As the heroes of Philippine society, migrants are extended limited rights and privileges. Yet ultimately, as citizens, Filipino migrants are expected and indeed forced to comply with particular obligations to their home state that ultimately serve the interests of global capital (Rodriguez, 2002). On the other hand, Rodriguez also explored the idea of alternative nationalism pursued by migrant advocates such as the group Migrante International. According to this idea, the Philippine state owe it to the Filipinos abroad to secure their rights in their host countries and ultimately lead them back to the Philippines. However, when this study was conducted, only the Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995 or RA 8042 was in effect. The Overseas Absentee Voting Act or RA 9189 was passed into law in 2003; a year after Rodriguezs study was published. Since then, a lot of changes in the political strategies of the government in terms of addressing the issues of transnationalism amo ng Filipino migrant workers all over the globe have taken place. RA 9189 Overseas Absentee Voting Act of 2003: Causes, Roots, and Implications Concerning the issue as to why RA 9189 was not enacted as a law earlier, Moon (2009) argued that the passage of RA 9189 was a product of the dynamic interaction between external (the presidential support in mid-term legislative elections, the emergence of a sectoral party Akbayan in the House of Representatives since 1998, the Asian economic crisis, and the advent of the Internet in the late 1990s) and internal factors (International Coalition for Overseas Filipinos Voting Rights [ICOFVR] and the increasing grievances of overseas Filipinos towards the Philippine government). According to this study the [e]nactment of RA 9189 was neither a sole decision of the political elite such as the president and legislators, nor a consequence purely of overseas Filipinos avid lobby campaigns for their voting rights (Moon, 2009). Instead, the author believes that the factors in the political system of the country and the growing activism of Filipino migrant workers led to the successful passage o f the Absentee Voting Act of 2003. RA 9189 is clearly an effort by the Philippine state to re-territorialize Filipinos all over the world mainly for economic reasons but it also reflects the initiative of the state to respond to the needs of the millions of Filipinos overseas intertwined in the increasing globalization of labor. As Bach Solomon (2008) have pointed out in their study, the urge to re-territorialize is partly about maintaining state legitimacy through the identification and participation of its citizens, partly about exercising sovereign power over extra-territorial flows, and partly an attempt to secure sources of state revenue as wealth becomes located outside the country. Furthermore, these authors have argued that [g]lobalization leads not always to decentralization but also to significant state efforts in building centrally controlled administrative structures; the transnational migrant worker shapes new articulations of belonging and political membership, and as such migrant populations function a s agents of social change; and the formalization of trans-nationalism among migrants points to new, institutionalized mechanisms through which nation-states with large migrant populations manage, channel and forge political action and subjectivity (Bach Solomon, 2008). Such arguments are very important in because it illustrates the issue of transnational governance that is faced by almost all every state in the context of globalization. Indeed, there is an immediate need for states to figure out how transnational governance works if at all for the benefit of the millions of migrant workers around the globe. Furthermore, their study has pointed out another important issue: that globalization and the need for extra-territorial governance are dynamic factors that influence one another which constantly evolve through the increasing interdependence of states arising from the situation in the contemporary global order. Therefore, there is an immediate need for political actors and academics alike to put forth more effort in understanding the political integration mechanisms that is likely to come out of transnational governance concerns. Transnationalism, Transnational Governance, Extra-territorial Jurisdiction: Concepts and Issues With regards to transnationalism, transnational governance, extra-territorial jurisdiction, and re-territorialization-the most important challenge for nation states that seek to address these transnational issues is to acknowledge the fact that they have no effectively employ governance strategies within an anarchic system. In a study by Risse (2004), he pointed out that governance in the global system is about creating social and political order in the absence of modern statehood. He further adds that democratic governance beyond the nation-state faces serious hurdlesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦the main problem of transnational governance concerns the lack of congruence between those who are being governed and those to whom the governing bodies are accountable (Risse, 2004). The most important reflection from this study is that states have to craft ways to exercise transnational governance in an international realm where transnational accountability and legitimacy remains to be a problem at larg e. The Philippine Experience The Philippines, being one of the very few states that have really dealt with the issue of migration in a head-on manner, has a lot of experiences to draw up decisions from. Hence, in an era where transnational governance seems to be an option to maintain a steady hold on its nationals in the increasing wave of transnationalism and globalization. In fact, one of the many advantages of the Philippine government is that one of the distinctive traits of Filipinos is that they are deeply attached to their familial roots-there will always be a sense of wanting to belong to something that could connect them from where they came from. This innate characteristic may not be reflected yet in the political sense, but it is certainly is seen in terms of the economic and social support of Filipino migrants to their homeland. As Bach Solomon (2008) pointed out, in the Philippines, a sense of solidarity latent among countrymen and women abroad was skilfully mobilized in order to capitalize on thre e things: the desire of Filipinos to make money abroad to support family back home; the desire of Filipinos abroad to consider themselves part of their nation; an appeal to pride in order to raise the skill-level and market niches of the migrant workers. Hence, the Philippine government could use this to their advantage when coming up with political integration mechanisms to employ transnational governance over the millions of Filipinos overseas. Although a lot of Filipinos feel resentment to the very government that pushed them out of their homeland and nationalism and identity may not be as strong as compared to other sending countries and may be even scattered at large, there will always be that invisible connection to their mother country which arises from the fact that as human beings we would always desire to belong and identify ourselves unto something. Capitalizing on this, the Philippine government should be able to employ effective transnational governance mechanisms. Of course, there will always be domestic issues that will hinder the state in maximizing the potential of the government to exercise transnational governance, some would even reject the idea that such kind of mechanism should be employed, instead, Filipinos all over the world should be encouraged to return back to the Philippines. However, the contemporary situation requires for political actions otherwise: the world is becoming increasingly interdepen dent, globalization is true, and transnational political action is needed-fast. The Research Gap in Existing Literature The literature about transnational governance, its advantages and disadvantages, is not lacking. There are also debates as to whether such mechanism is even needed or not. Furthermore, the discussion of the merits and demerits of capitalizing on Filipino nationalism, culture, and solidarity in applying transnational governance efforts by the Philippine government is also abundant. There is also an expansive literature about the role of governments in facilitating the whole migration process. However, there is a research gap in terms of recognizing the political impact that overseas Filipinos could make on the country if the government would be able to employ effective and efficient political integration mechanisms. This study will aim to fill the missing link between the importance of mobilizing the political capacity of migrant Filipinos and its implications on the political dynamics of the Philippines. Furthermore, this study will seek to explain why and how the Philippine governme nt should be bolder in pursuing transnational governance mechanisms and develop an understanding as to how the dynamics between migrant workers and the government could be fully utilized. III. Research Framework, Concepts, Theories, and Propositions Research Framework This framework shows the concepts and issues that are needed to be addressed in terms of using transnational governance as the connecting link that will bridge the gap between OFWs and the Philippine government. Specifically, this framework is meant to explore the case of RA 9198 as a tool of transnational governance that can strengthen the participation of OFWs in the political outcomes of the country through electoral votes and representation. The political interaction between the OFWs and the government may be bridged through the employment of transnational governance on the part of the government and the corresponding participation by the OFWs. The broken lines represent the possibility of bridging this political gap through the employment of transnational governance mechanisms although the maximum potential of such connection is yet to be explored. Meanwhile, the solid lines represent the concepts which are to be explored using the perspective of either the OFWs or the Philippin e government. Hence, the concepts of identity, solidarity, nationalism, and political representation and participation should be tackled from the point of view of OFWs; whereas the concepts of extra-territorial jurisdiction, re-territorialization, and political integration mechanisms concern the Philippine government. Meanwhile, the dotted lines connect the factors that are likely to influence one another. For instance, the concepts of identity, solidarity, and nationalism among OFWs may be used by the Philippine government as the founding blocks of re-territorialization efforts on their part and in return these efforts by the government may induce more solidarity and a further sense of nationalism on the part of OFWs. Furthermore, political representation and participation from the OFWs may be used by the government as a platform for integration mechanism between the politics in the host country and the homeland, and in return such integration efforts from the government may encour age OFWs to participate in the political processes of their homeland. Taken together, these concepts create a model of transnational governance for the Philippine government in terms of dealing with Filipino migrants at least in the sense that OFWs are seen as a significant political force that may contribute to the growth and development of the polity in the Philippines in the long run. Concepts, Theories, and Propositions Time and again, OFWs all over the globe have proven their invaluable economic contributions to the Philippines by bringing in millions of dollars in the country that supports the economy at large. These economic contributions have been translated into social contributions by ensuring that households receiving remittances are investing more in education and health. Overall, receiving households have been experiencing an increase in the quality of life because of the stability brought about by the monthly remittances from family members working abroad. As a result of this new economic and social empowerment the so-called middle class of the Philippine society are increasing in number. However, the political contribution of this newly emerging middle class if mobilized to its maximum potential is something that political scientists and social researchers should further explore. The concept that OFWs are untapped political forces that could introduce drastic political changes in the Philippines would only be possible if the Philippine government itself would be able to realize the political value held by the millions of Filipinos working and residing overseas. If the government would be able to employ effective and efficient measures of transnational governance that will reach the Filipino workforce outside of the country then they will be able to exercise their maximum potential as transnational citizens of the country. Hypothesis The argument of this study is three-fold: one is that Filipino migrant workers all over the world have become distant not only from the Philippine government itself but from the very political processes of the state as well; the second is that the government is not utilizing the maximum potential of OFWs as agents of political change; finally, this study asserts that if the government would be able to tap the capacity of OFWs as political forces then it will invoke the political participation of the middle class in the Philippines which will eventually lead to a radical change in the polity of the country. Going the Distance: The Lack of Political Participation from OFWs It is known that millions of Filipinos abroad rarely participate in the political processes of their homeland in its most general sense, particularly in the electoral processes of the country. The lack of participation from OFWs may be attributed to a number of reasons. First, there is the problem of logistics. Many of the Filipino workers would have to travel long distances in order for them to register as absentee votes to be able to participate in the national elections of the country. In addition, they would have to allocate time and resources on their own. This would include getting off from work in a day or two which means they would have to forego of their salary during those times. Some Filipino workers reside and work far away from Philippine embassies or voting posts and as such participating in the electoral process would require so much of their time and financial resources. Given these things, they would undoubtedly consider if it is well worth it to exercise their votin g rights. Some of them just regard the situation as given and that they could not do anything about it at all. If given the choice between working and participating in the electoral process, a lot of them would just choose the former, because it is much more convenient for them to stay out of the entire process. Another reason is that, a lot of the Filipino workers are very distant with the Philippine government because they remain distrustful of the very government that could not support them in their own country. Furthermore, they do not see the reason as to why they should be caring for the needs of the government when in fact they do not rely much on the government for support. In other words, they do not depend on the government for financial support because they earn their living from outside of the country. As such, OFWs feel very little attachment to the government and they remain sceptical of the government in terms of the growth and development that it can provide for the Filipino nation in general. This attitude of indifference is a result of the thinking that there is no hope left for a change within the political system of the country. Hence, the why-bother-attitude remains prevalent in the way that the millions of overseas Filipino workers think. Moreover, the lack of motivation among OFWs in terms of participating in the political processes of the country remains to be an acceptable norm and so it creates a feeling of mutuality among those who live and work abroad. Such indifference, is not just evident in the voters turnout during electoral processes, but could also be seen in the civic and political participation of these OFWs when they are abroad. A relatively small number of OFWs are active in pursuing their rights and welfares both in their home country but in their host country as well. This general feeling of indifference remains to be a big disadvantage and a hindrance to the relative growth and development of the civic and political participation of OFWs all over t he world-one which is an unhealthy shortcoming that is very much reflected in the domestic politics of the Philippines. Governing from Across Borders: The Necessity of Transnational Governance Mechanisms On the one hand, there is a large and significant number of OFWs all over the world that remains very indifferent to the political affairs of the country. On the other hand, there is the Philippine government who does not seem to exert as much effort as it should have been doing in order to induce political participation from its nationals who are residing and working in many different parts of the world. Obviously, the government is aware of these untapped political forces but the question remains as to why there is not enough effort from its part in order to encourage such political participation. In answer to this question, a number of reasons come to mind. First is that in order to induce a full-scale participation from its overseas nationals, the government has to invest a significant amount of money to facilitate electoral processes from outside its national borders. For instance, the government and its corresponding offices, agencies, or posts would have to ensure that the Fil ipinos migrant workers would have to sacrifice less of their time and resources in order to participate in the electoral processes of the country. For instance, more voting posts would have to be established and then the government should also provide more incentives to those who are willing to take a day off from work in order to participate in the voting processes. This requires additional financial and manpower resources and since Philippine embassies abroad only have a few employees, ensuring an efficient and effective program to encourage more people to vote would not be an easy task to carry out. Furthermore, considering that a lot of these embassies operate under a limited budget, it would require a lot of bureaucratic and legislative work in order to arrive at certain programs that will promote and encourage participation from OFWs. Another reason that comes to mind is that there may be certain individuals in governmental posts or interest groups that may be preventing the government from pursuing an all-out policy to support the participation of OFWs in the political processes of the nation. There may be some politicians who are afraid of the capabilities of OFWs as a coherent political force and as such they may be preventing measures in order to fully realize such capabilities. These are all political concerns and strategies at the local and national level which hinders the empowerment of the many OFWs who are residing and working outside of the territorial boundaries of the Philippines. Nevertheless, the government itself may be largely at fault in terms of the not-so satisfying political participation that it gets from its citizens from scattered all over the world. Without a strong political will to carry out the tasks of promoting and encouraging more political participation from OFWs little results are l ikely to be achieved both in the short and long run. In this regard, the government is missing on a lot of the political tools that is available at its disposal in order to carry out such strategies. For instance, it does not utilize RA 9189 as a powerful tool of transnational governance mechanism. If the government would be able to capitalize on the inherent nationalist sentiments and connections of the overseas Filipinos to their homeland and combine it an efficient utilization of the RA 9189 as a tool of transnational governance then acceptable political results may follow. OFWs as Untapped Agents of Political Change Ultimately, however, the right steer of leadership and a healthy dose of political will may lead to a successful realization of the potential capacity of OFWs as political forces that may be crucial in determining the future course of the political systems in the country. For instance, if OFWs all over the world would be able to participate in the political processes of the country then they could largely influence their families and relatives to do as well back in the Philippines. This may well be the start of the awakening of the middle class in Philippine society which has long been pointed out as the missing link that could eventually lead to the much needed change in the political change in the country. Furthermore, if the political participation of OFWs all over the world can trigger middle class participation back in the Philippines, significant changes could happen not just in the governmental system of the country but in the general context of the society in general as well. Indeed, the full-scale participation of the middle class in Philippine political context is a much anticipated change because this means that those who remain very indifferent to the political processes of the country would have their voices heard and would then eventually lead to radical political changes not just within the territorial boundaries of the country but well without its borders as well. If the Philippine government and its designated agencies in and out of the country can maximize and fully utilize the implementation of RA 9189, then Filipinos all over the globe could actively participate in the political processes of the country and hence radic

Monday, August 19, 2019

The Awakenings Symbolic Significance Of The Sea :: essays research papers fc

In the novel, â€Å"The Awakening,† Kate Chopin tells the story of a young married woman, Edna Pontellier, who, while enjoying her summer holidays at a cottage on a beach with her family, meets a young man by the name of Robert Lebrun. Edna, who is not really in love with her husband, begins to have mixed feelings and, as a result, begins to realize who she truly is. Edna feels that something is lacking in her life. The author uses the ocean to personify and symbolize what is missing in Edna’s life--the love of a man and freedom of the soul.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On several occasions Chopin uses the sea as a personification of Edna’s longing for the love of a man. Although Edna is married, she does not have the feelings for her husband which coincide with being in love. In one example, Chopin describes the sea: â€Å"The voice of the sea is seductive; never ceasing, whispering, clamoring, murmuring, inviting the soul to wander for a spell in abysses of solitude, to lose itself in mazes of contemplation† (13). The sea calls to Edna: â€Å"The voice of the sea speaks to the soul. The touch of the sea is sensuous, enfolding the body in its soft , close embrace† (13). Chopin is describing the sea as though it was a man with whom Edna is in love and for whom she feels a strong attraction, not just someone she can make love to but someone she can loose herself in. Later, the young man, Robert Lebrun, who is stirring up all these feelings in Edna, asks her if she is going swimming; she answers him no and tells him she is too tired. Chopin describes Edna’s actions afterwards: â€Å"Her glance wandered from his face away toward the Gulf, whose sonorous murmur reached her like a loving but imperative entreaty† (12). Chopin is projecting Edna’s feelings for Robert, whether Edna is conscious of these feelings or not, onto the sea because a part of Edna does want to go swimming with him.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Edna also has a strong need for freedom and Chopin, with respect to Edna’s character, makes reference to the sea to express this need. On one occasion, Edna and Madame Ratignolle, her neighbour for the summer, are sunbathing on the beach. Madame asks Edna to where her mind is wandering. Edna tells her the ocean is bringing back a memory of a field in Kentucky which, as a child, she had run through with arms stretched out in the breeze as though swimming