All About Zero

All About Zero All About Zero All About Zero By Mark Nichol Zero is the basis of a small set of terms and idiomatic phrases, which are listed and defined below. Zero derives, through French and Italian, from the Latin term zephirum, which in turn stems, as do the other mathematical terms algebra and algorithm, from Arabic: Sifr means â€Å"cipher† (and is the origin of that word as well). Sifr, in turn, comes from Sanskrit. Absolute zero (quantified as 273.15 degrees below zero Celsius) is the temperature at which matter stops moving, while ground zero is the origin point of a phenomenon. (Originally, it referred to the blast site of a thermonuclear explosion.) Zero hour is the time at which something is scheduled to begin. Zero gravity and zero visibility refer to a near, not absolute, absence of the qualities referred to in the phrases, and patient zero is the first person to contract a disease in an outbreak. The colloquial expression â€Å"From zero to hero† denotes a change in state from anonymity or a lack of distinction or popularity to fame, from the sense of zero as meaning â€Å"an undistinguished or worthless person.† (One can also, unfortunately, transition in the other direction as well.) To zero in is to focus on something or to come closer to it; the expression stems from the idea of adjusting a setting on a device or instrument to zero but originally applied to shooting a firearm. To zero out is unrelated- it means either to reset something, such as timer, or to cut off funding or reduce a quantity. Zero tolerance is the concept of absolute adherence to a rule; the phrase has entered mainstream discourse in references to zero tolerance for weapons or illegal drugs in a given area or jurisdiction. A zero-sum game, meanwhile, is a situation in which a defeated competitor or participant loses as much as the victor wins. (The sum of the gains and losses is zero, hence the name.) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Expressions category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:How to Format a US Business LetterRules for Capitalization in Titles50 Synonyms for â€Å"Villain†

In Britain, Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp was the most Essay

In Britain, Greenham Common Women's Peace Camp was the most numerically significant form of women's political activism since the - Essay Example As the camp gained fame and publicity, the aims of their movement increased. They now demanded the removal of their cruise and started challenging the gender stereotypes of their time (Wilkison, 2002). In addition, the women also came up with a gendered critique of militarism, even as they asked for the restoration of common land to its prior state. The women camp was largely considered a feministic movement, and this raised different reactions from different people. The Greenham protest had a grand contribution in Britain. The number of women groups and campaigns were on the increase as a result of the protest. Anti-war movements and peace activism groups also drastically increased. In 1980, there was the emergence of a women group, Women Oppose Nuclear Threat (WONT), and 1981 saw the formation of Women Peace Alliance. These women group were vigilant in their activities and often conducted protests in the streets. For instance, in February of 1982, women groups came to a decision th at there would conduct a women only protest. The reasons they had for this was that women were less likely to cause violence even when provoked and that the police and soldiers would be less violent when dealing with them (summers, 1988). These women also viewed that the protest would be a sign of women empowerment and they thought that it would help to undermine the domestic division of labour. Encouraging feministic focus would also be achieved by the protest. Their plan was not without its weaknesses and flaws. For instance, it was difficult for married women to neglect their responsibilities so that they can attend the camp. Attending the camp would force these women to be separated from their families. During their stay in the camp, the women had a set of rules that were a guide to how they should relate. Some of these include disallowing men into the camp after dark, staying away from eating meat. Violence against each other was not allowed, and the decision making process was democratic (Wilkinson, 2002). In the camp, the living conditions were poor, and the women had to withstand all kinds of weather. Rainy seasons and the winter period were especially hard for women because of the cold, but their determination kept them going. The women gave up their comforts for the commitment of their cause. Many women were arrested and taken to prison, but eventually, their efforts bore fruit. Between 1991 and 1992, the cruise missiles were removed from Greenham Common and flown to the USA following the signing of the Intermediate Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty. The Treaty is in agreement with the fact that nuclear weapons would have devastating effects on all human-kind. The fact that Greenham was a women only camp many people thought that it had become feminist. To a large extent this is true because, at the camp, the women emphasized the need of women to be deeply involved in politics and leadership roles within the community. Others chose to feminize the feminine protests in the by arguing that the camp taught the women the importance of caring for one another and supporting one another even in difficult times. This was a view held by the radical feminists like Reger, (2005). It is of exceptional significance to note that, from 1983, there was a sharp increase of activities by groups whose agendas were feministic There was a big wave of feminism, both in support of women’s empowerment and development, as well as in support of the cause of the Greenham Common Women’

Paradise lost Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Paradise lost - Essay Example Knowledge is compared to food and needs no less (Milton, 1905, p. 45). Wisdom to folly, as nourishment to wind. The influence of wind by tossing or creating turbulence in mind is a metaphor used to direct state the mind. The use of virginity to illustrate originality and innocence is revealed in the several lines of the poem. The use of â€Å"her Virgin Fancies pouring forth more sweet (v 291-97). Though Eve is revealed as a Matron latter on, the original status calls her a virgin because she does not know evil and she is an innocent nature spirit. In modern language, literary use is occasional, with the main approach being on the use of metaphor. Several issues in the society are addressed by the use of metaphor such as pass away to illustrate death. The current literature books address almost all the literary devices that can be used to evaluate the different contemporary literature (Milton, 1905, p. 67). Compared to paradise lost, the current literature such as water for elephant employs the use of metaphor in defining the life of the young man Jacob Jankowski. The young man’s life is depicted clearly through the use of metaphor and the other stylistic devices such as irony (Gruen, 2011, p. 34). Suspense and metaphor use in the book illustrates the power of literary devices. The use of styles that facilitate the development of interest to read the book. The exposition of Jacobs’s depression illustrates the beauty of the story with continued use of illustrative language and the development of understanding of t he overall plot of the novel. The behavior of the characters is explained by use of metaphor and epic similes making modern literature similar to the traditional literature such as paradise lost. In response to the different plots, the use of literary device is changed, by the authors, to suit the style of writing. The novel Paradise Lost has employed the use of metaphor significantly, with the statements being used,

All human beings have a deep need for affection and respect Essay Example for Free

All human beings have a deep need for affection and respect Essay Do you think that Steinbeck conveys the message that nearly all human beings have a deep need for affection and respect? Yes I do think that Steinbeck conveys the message that nearly all human beings have a deep need for affection and respect because there is a lot of characters in the story that are very lonely and depressed, they need someone to talk to and to discuss their own problems with. Curleys wife is very lonely and she doesnt have anyone to talk to. She is the only woman on the ranch and isnt treated properly. She has a dream to become and actress and she tells us the story about the time she was talking to a man and he told her that he would send her a letter back to become an actress and she is still waiting on the letter. She should be respected and it makes us release it. George and Lennieà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½s dream is to liv of the fata the lanà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½. This means that they dream to buy their own land and be there own boss and work there every day. They also want to be fed from there and Lennie wants to tendà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ his rabbits. As soon as candy finds out that George and Lennie have a dream, Candy buysà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ in to it by offering all his savings. Lennie and George are outcasts and exiles, the reason for this is for the fact that they are itinerant workers and they always work together and go everywhere with each other. This makes them outcasts because they always go everywhere together where as compare to other people at that moment in time every one went on their own. Crooks is lonely and no one talks to him, he doesnt sleep in the bunkhouse with the other ranch-hands because he is black. This shows the racism at this time. When Lennie goes in to his room he tells Lennie to get out of it because he wasnt allowed in their rooms so why should Lennie be in his room. It shows the way he is rejected from the others and that he has a need for deep affection. Curley is very bossy and he thinks that everyone is afraid of him. He bullies people because this is the way he can talk to people. He thought that he would be able to bully Lennie because Lennie looked stupid and very shy, but after he hit Lennie a few times so as soon as George told Lennie to hit him back he did so. Every person has a need to convey their affection and in Of Mice and Men Steinbecks shows this in different ways, with the different characters.

The Effects of Education on Fiscal Responsibility Essay -- Financial M

The world is recovering from financial crisis that started in 2007. The cause of the crisis was failure of American Mortgage Company. The effect has spread all over the world; however the world seems to be recovering. This is not the first time that the world has suffered such a crisis. There was the great depression of 1920s. The point that is in people’s mind; economists, politicians, and social scientist is how they can prevent the occurrence of such a crisis in future. Among the many recommendation brought out, there is the role that education can play. Our education system can be moulded to educate students and society in general on how they can prevent such an occurrence in the future. Secondary school life is the initial stage that a child moulding can start. It ensures that there is a base of a human being that can be shaped to influence the life of the child in future (Alloy & Ahrens, 2008). This paper will focus on how education can be used to combat future occurrenc e of such crisis. Development and enforcement of a money management principles The principle that human beings have are moulded by early life development. At high school a child is given some money to manage and spend. This is the period that they are given pocket money to spend at school and are allowed to make individual decisions toward things that affect their lives. In schools children should be taught on how to manage the finances they have, they should be trained on how to make decisions which have an impact on the finances they have. The little money they are given by their parents should be the one to start molding their behavior towards good financial management and making priorities. One of the most important things that people should aim at is t... ...simism for the future: Biased use of statistically relevant information in predictions for self versus others. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(2), 366-378. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.52.2.366 Ambachtshee, K., Beartty, D. and Booth, L. (2008). The financial crisis and rescue. What went wrong? Why? What lesson can be learnt? Toronto: university of Toronto Melzert, H. (1995). Review of "Curriculum-adjustment in the Secondary School". Journal of Educational Psychology, 16(9), 638. doi:10.1037/h0068007. Morris, P. (1997). School knowledge, the state and the market: an analysis of the Hong Kong secondary school curriculum. Journal of Curriculum Studies, 29(3), 329-350. doi:10.1080/002202797184071. Park ,R. cona, K. and Fingess, M. (2008). The crisis of global environment governance: towards a new political economy of sustainability. New York: Prentice Hall

Cultural Differences in Perception

The cultural influence of difference in focus and categorization In the research article, â€Å"The influence of culture: holistic versus analytic perception† provided by Richard E. Nisbett and Yuri Miyamoto, there is evidence that perceptual processes are influenced by culture. The research found that Western cultures focus on salient objects and use rules and categorization for purposes of organizing the environment, whereas, East Asian cultures focus more holistically on relationships and similarities among the objects when organizing the environment.In an illustrative study both rural Chinese and American children were shown a picture of a man, a woman, and a baby. The Chinese children tended to group the woman and the baby because of the relationship between the two, a woman takes care of a baby. American children tended to group the man and the woman because they are both adults. The results indicated that culture influences late stages of perception and categorization.I n another study East Asians and European Americans were presented with the Rod-and-Frame Test. In this test a rod or line is shown inside a frame, which can be rotated around the rod. The participants were asked to state when the rod appeared vertical even if the position of the frame was in a different position. The East Asian participants made more errors than the European American participants. This indicated that the East Asians were attending more to the whole field which made it difficult to ignore the frame.It was found that East Asians not only attended more to the field, but they noticed it earlier, remembered more about it, and related the object to the field in memory. Additional evidence that Asians pay more attention to context comes from work by Masuda and Nisbett. They presented American and Japanese participants with two animated pictures of a farm. The two pictures had various small differences in details. Some of the changes differed in focal objects and other chan ges were made in the field and relationships between objects.The findings showed small differences in styles of attending to information in the environment. In conclusion Nisbett and Miyamoto found, â€Å"considerable evidence that shows that Asians are inclined to attend to, perceive and remember contexts and relationships whereas Westerners are more likely to attend to, perceive and remember the attributes of salient objects and their category memberships† (Paragraph 10). Eye-movements during scene perception In the past hundred years, cultural differences in perceptual judgment and memory have been observed.It has been found that Westerners pay more attention to focal object whereas East Asians pay more attention to contextual information. Hannah Faye Chua, Julie E. Boland, and Richard E. Nisbett wrote a research article, â€Å"Cultural variation in eye movement during scene perception† in which they studied such cultural differences. They examined the possibility t hat the differences came from culturally different viewing patterns when confronted with a nature scene.The authors did so by measuring the eye movements of both American cultured individuals and Chinese cultured individuals while they viewed photographs with a focal object in a complex background. They found that the Americans fixated more on focal objects and the Chinese participants paid more attention to the background. It appeared to Nisbett, Boland, and Chua that the differences in judgment and memory may have come from differences in what is actually attended as people view a picture.In the study performed by Nisbett, Boland, and Chua participants were asked to sit in front of a computer screen with a head-mounted eye-movement tracker. The individual would start the session by looking at a plus sign in the middle of a black screen followed by a scenic picture. The findings from study Easterners and Westerners differ in assigning information to objects versus backgrounds. The East Asians were less likely to correctly recognize old foregrounded objects when presented in new back grounds.Providing more evidence that East Asians appear to bind objects with backgrounds in perception. Therefore the cultural differences in visual memory are likely caused by how people from Eastern and Western cultures view scenes and are not only due to cultural norms. American participants looked at the foregrounded object sooner and longer than the Chinese whereas the Chinese looked more at the background than the Americans did. It is thought that this is due to the fact that East Asians live in relatively complex social networks. Thus, attention to context is important for effective functioning.Westerners, however, live in less constraining social worlds that stress independence which allows them to pay less attention to context. Thought habits in different cultures In the research done by Nisbett and his colleges it is found that individuals not only think about different things but think differently over all. In all the studies it was found that Easterners think more holistically, paying more attention to context and relationship and relying more on experience-based knowledge than abstract logic and showed more tolerance for contradiction.Westerners are more analytic, tending to detach objects from their context to avoid contradiction. They relied heavily on formal logic. The Asian participants in the studies showed greater attention to the background of scenes than the objects in the background whereas the Americans showed greater attention to the objects. When it came to interpreting events in the social world, the Asians seemed similarly sensitive to context more quickly than the Americans did. This can cause different views when perceiving world events.

Music Genres - 826 Words

Gospel music has been described as spiritual music to help uplift you and overcoming pain and struggles. At the same time, rhythm and blues tells a story of heart ache, finding love and being very emotional. However, both are emotional nonetheless. Despite some differences on the surface, gospel music and RB are actually lot alike in the sense they constantly reinvent themselves and continue to grow worldwide. Gospel music is very soulful just like RB and can make you feel good and take you to other place when you hear the music. Gospel can reach a very large audience because there is no style restriction when it comes to this genre. Gospel music has much repetition which was carried over from the days when African Americans could not†¦show more content†¦These artists saw that combining the music or even transitioning to another music genre really had it benefits and it also seem to their choice of music they were happy with doing. As both music genres continue to change, it also continues to influence new music and sound. They are very different from lyrics, but they are very much alike in their sound. There were a lot of artist who did crossover from gospel to RB and vice versa. There is a lot of gospel music nowadays that sounds like RB music and that is great in a way because it plays to another audience. It can reach more people who may only listen to one type of genre of music. There are so many artists who do interview and said they grew up in the church and that is why they became a gospel singer or they became a blues singer. It has been those influences that have shaped these styles of music and made it the popular music that it isShow MoreRelatedMusic Is The Genre Of Music1624 Words   |  7 PagesThe modern day person encounters a plethora of genres in their everyday life. 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As Dave Holland said, â€Å"I think that what is important is that the music be honest and direct and that itRead MoreHip Hop And The Music Genre927 Words   |  4 PagesEncyclopedia Britannica, Hip-Hop can be delineated as a music genre consisting of a stylized rhythmic music that commonly accompanies rapping, a rhythmic and rhyming speech that is chanted.1 Originating from a disparaged subculture in the South Bronx and eagerly spreading through other sectors of New York City during the 1970’s, Hip-Hop evolved from formerly being a relatively fraudulent style to currently being a commercialized and disseminated music genre among diverse areas around the globe. Hip-hop sRead MoreHip Hop Is A Genre Of Music1192 Words   |  5 PagesMusic has always been one of the ways that people use to express the connection between their feelings and the outside world with melody, rhythm and sound. There are different genres and many kinds of music from different places and different nationality. 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