Word of the Week! Doldrum Richmond Writing

Word of the Week! Doldrum Richmond Writing July marks the lowest ebb of my summer, at least when I do not escape Richmonds continual sauna for more temperate climes. I feel like Im a ship becalmed under a burning sun. In a word, in the doldrums. By August Im gearing up for the semester ahead and the doldrums lie behind me. Our word this week has a fascinating history, with the OED Online providing an etymology from the more familiar dull and the less familiar dold, meaning dim-witted. We no longer call a dull or boring person a doldrum, saving that term for dull moods, as when Carlo Marx, the fictional counterpart of Allen Ginsberg in Kerouacs On the Road,   complains of times when he is not being creative as his doldrums. I consider the nautical use of the word its most pow erful. Every summer, for no reason I can fathom, I pack my sea chest and embark on a fictional sea voyage, usually by sail. It is not something Id ever want to do in reality, but the specialized language of sailing, the rich history, and of course the many disasters compel me to read on. This year my pick is Joshua Slocums 1900 memoir, Sailing Alone Around the World. Slocum was the first person, at least on record, to do so. He faced many dangers, from pirates, storms, to hostile native tribes, and I looked forward with delight to his traversing the Atlantic doldrums, an equitorial region where winds are calm or nonexistent. Slocum sailed right through, to my great disappointment. Otherwise, the book is really fine reading. Yet to this reader the thought of being beca lmed at sea seems worse than any storm. All one can do is wait for wind. Thus the term fits well with Carlo Marxs, and other writers,   fears of getting stuck. May your doldrums be brief and a fair wind fill your sails, until the storms of Autumn arrive. This blog will continue all summer, so nominate a word by e-mailing me (jessid -at- richmond -dot- edu) or leaving a comment below. See all of our Words of the Week  here. Creative Commons image from Flikr, courtesy of Joan Campderrós-i-Canas

All About the Genre of Character Writing

A brief descriptive sketch of a class or type of person (such as a city slicker, a country bumpkin, or a grumpy old man) rather than of an individual personality. Character-writing became a popular literary form in England following the publication in 1592 of a Latin translation of Theophrastus, an ancient Greek writer of similar sketches. Characters eventually became more individualized and were integrated with the essay and the novel. Also Known As: character sketch Examples of Character Writing The Character of the Man in Black, by Oliver GoldsmithA Definition of a Gentleman, by John Henry NewmanGood Souls, by Dorothy ParkerThe Landlord, by Henry David ThoreauMr. Barlow, by Charles DickensThe Plumber, by Anthony TrollopeThe Satirist, by Robert Louis StevensonStatus Details in Tom Wolfes DescriptionsThree Characters by John EarleThe True Friend, by Joseph Hall Etymology From the Latin (mark, distinctive quality) from the Greek (scratch, engrave) Observations and Examples: The 17th-century character writings reflected the assumptions of the period about the nature of human beings, but they also conditioned the ways in which subsequent authors would for a time treat character...The great strength of the character sketch as a genre was its ability to create a single unified impression of a person, whether as an individual or a type. The succinctness essential for producing this effect carried inherent limitations. Character sketches tended to be reductive. Each of the early forms, for differing reasons, oversimplified the human beings they depicted.(James Engell, Johnson and His Age. Harvard University Press, 1984)Modern Example of a Character: The AnchormanHe graduated from drama school and looked for parts in television. Because he had prognathous jaws like a cowboys and every cilium of his light-brown hair seemed to be nailed into his skull for keeps, he was steered into the news department. At first, like all beginning newscasters, he had to leave th e building...He would stand in front of the building and hold a microphone covered in black styrofoam and recite AP or UPI copy about [an] event. He could do this without skipping a beat, and he maintained his head of hair nearly intact, and soon he did not have to leave the building anymore. He was promoted to the anchor desk of the stations six oclock news broadcast, where he reads the AP and UPI copy from the Teleprompter. Only two things stand in the way of his goal of reaching the network news desk. One is the Anchorwoman, a fireproof blonde who is so aggressive, such a nutcracker, that she terrifies him. His on-air Happy Hour Chitchat with her sounds as if it is being extracted by water torture. The other is the ever-so-imperceptibly widening part in his hair.(Tom Wolfe, Success Stories: The Anchorman. In Our Time, Farrar, 1980)The Theophrastian CharacterTheophrastus (c. 371-287 BC) was a Greek rhetorician and philosopher. Today he is best remembered for what he considered a m inor work, his Characters, a series of sketches originally intended as models for students of rhetoric. The Characters (the word in Greek meant distinctive marks) consists of satires of comic, foolish, or cloddish types. The sketches follow a formula: first a definition of the trait to be illustrated, then a number of situations and responses that dramatically reveal the trait in terms of behavior. For example, After dinner, the waiter brings the check; the stingy man drops his napkin and hides beneath the table until someone else has paid.(Thomas S. Kane and Leonard J. Peters, Writing Prose: Techniques and Purposes, 6th ed. Oxford University Press, 1986)Classic Example of a Character: The Penurious ManThe Penurious man is one who, while the month is current, will come to ones house and ask for a half-obol [a silver coin]. When he is at the table with others he will count how many cups each of them has drunk; and will pour a smaller libation to Artemis than any of the company. Whene ver a person has made a good bargain for him and charges him with it, he will say that it is too dear. When a servant has broken a jug or a plate he will take the value out of his rations; or, if his wife has dropped a three-farthing piece, he is capable of moving the furniture and the sofas and the wardrobes, and of rummaging in the curtains. If he has anything to sell he will dispose of it at such a price that the buyer shall have no profit. He is not likely to let one eat a fig from his garden, or walk through his land, or pick up one of the olives or dates that lie on the ground, and he will inspect his boundaries day by day to see if they remain the same. He is apt, also, to enforce the right of distraining, and to exact compound interest. When he feasts the men of his parish, the cutlets set before them will be small: when he markets, he will come in having bought nothing. And he will forbid his wife to lend salt, or a lamp-wick, or cummin, or verjuice, or meal for sacrifice, or garlands, or cakes; saying that these trifles come to much in the year. Then, in general, it may be noticed that the moneyboxes of the penurious are mouldy, and the keys rusty; that they themselves wear their cloaks scarcely reaching to the thigh; that they anoint themselves from very small oil-flasks; that they have their hair cut close; that they take off their shoes in the middle of the day; and that they are urgent with the fuller to let their cloak have plenty of earth, in order that it may not soon be soiled.(The Characters of Theophrastus, edited and translated by R.C. Jebb. Macmillan, 1870)

An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding, Section 10 Essay

In Hume’s 1748 publication: An Enquiry Concerning Human Understanding , Section 10 is titled Of Miracles. This section is an extended argument against the veracity of miracles. In response to Hume, Richard Price published Four Dissertations in 1768. In Dissertation IV, The Importance of Christianity, the Nature of Historical Evidence and Miracles, Price outlines a Bayesian argument against Hume’s conclusions that miracles cannot ever occur. My thesis is that Price’s Bayesian argument, arguably the first use of Bayes’ Theorem to challenge another published argument fails. It fails on three fronts: it mischaracterizes Hume’s argument as non-conditional; it improperly employs a Bayesian model test case of newspaper reporting; and it does not consider the effects of the preliminary seeding of probabilities for its Bayesian model of miracles. 1.0 Hume’s Argument Against Miracles Hume’s argument is multi-faceted but most commentators (Millican, Earman) agree that the key summary occurs in paragraph 13. The plain consequence is (and ‘tis a general maxim worthy of our attention) â€Å"That no testimony is sufficient to establish a miracle, unless the testimony be of such a kind, that its falsehood would be more miraculous, than the fact, which it endeavours to establish†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (E 10.13) This first quote establishes a simple probability model of a miracle occurring (Miracle Happening: MH) given a true testimony about that event (True Testimony: TT) and Hume argues that it must be greaterShow MoreRelatedWhat Is The Problem Of Freewill?1495 Words   |  6 Pagesprovides us with a compelling argument for determinism. Though a libertarian, Richard Taylor justifies the stance that humans assume universal causation without realising. In â€Å"Freedom and Determinism† in Metaphysics, he gives the example of a person who hears a sudden noise and instantly tries to find the cause. This illustrates the fact that recurring experience of causation means that humans have taken the law of cause and effect as a fundamental belief that is objectively true. If we find an event thatRead More Humes Wide Construal of the Virtues Essay3865 Words   |  16 Pagesat around seventy, with the more untraditional ones including wit, good manners, and dialog. Unsurprisingly, Humes crit ics have attacked him for making nonsense of the concept of virtue by construing it so widely. Hume was aware that his broad understanding of virtue was controversial and he offered several defenses for it. After presenting the neglected attacks of his contemporaries along with Humes response, I argue that a problem remains: by failing to distinguish between degrees of virtue, HumeRead MoreDavid Humes Argument Against Belief in the Existence of Miracles2000 Words   |  8 Pagesknowledge comes through the senses. 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Faith, akin to love in this way, makes individuals happy. In Plato’s dialoguesRead MoreLabour Relations8410 Words   |  34 Pages COSATU†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 1.8.2) FEDUSA†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 10 1.8.3) NACTU†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦......... 11 2.) Qualities of a Good Negotiator†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦......... 12 2.1) Characteristics of a Negotiator†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 14 3.) Workplace Forums†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.......... 17 3.1) The Current Position†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 18 4.) Procedural Aspects during a disciplinary enquiry†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.... 20 4.1) Adequate Notice†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 21 4.2) The enquiry must precede the decision†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Read MoreTorture and Custodial Violence in Prisons12554 Words   |  51 PagesNational Human Rights Commission, New Delhi, India Project Report On â€Å" Torture and Custodial Violence in Prisons â€Å" Submitted By- Yashwardhan Pratap Singh 1st year, B.A.LLB Course, Jindal Global Law School, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana. Report on - The Custodial Violence and Torture In Prisons: Can it be justified even if done for a greater good? Where to draw the line between the autonomy of the police and the rights of the prisoners ? Basic StructureRead MoreIti Industrial Training Report16491 Words   |  66 PagesNation’s first Electronic Switching Systems Production Unit. 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They further suggest that health research may expand knowledge of society and health, or address an existing health care problem. Undergraduates of health related studies therefore have to consider health research in its broadest sense. A common method of assessing understanding both of the subject area and the research methodologies

Rapex is a weapon for woman against rape Free Essays

Rapex is a weapon for woman against rape. It is a diaphragm with teeth which bites when something touches it that is not supposed to, such as a penis. This is both painful and will make the rape stop immediately. We will write a custom essay sample on Rapex is a weapon for woman against rape or any similar topic only for you Order Now It also has to be removed surgically thus it is much easier to identify the rapist. In this essay I will explain and discuss the facts and uses for Rapex, the medical concerns for Rapex and the ethical and safety issues. In South Africa there are 119 people per 100,000 that are raped every year. This is probably 9 times as much because the number that was previously mentioned is only the reported rapes. You could also say that there is 50,000 rapes per year in South Africa. This is again about 4 times as many because rapes of children and acquaintances are never reported. This is an alarmingly high number and measures needed to be made. One of these measures was the Rapex anti rape device. Rapex also prevents pregnancy and the infection of sexually transmitted diseases. This is another important function of Rapex because South Africa has the most people in the world which are infected by HIV/AIDS. 1 of nine people in South Africa are infected with the virus. This scientific development has lead to many discussions of ethical issues such as if Rapex would be used for revenge by an angry wife or girlfriend or that it might cause the men to act violently towards the women and hurt them or even kill them. Rapex is made of latex and polyurethane which is held firm by shafts of sharp barbs. When the man penetrates the hooks are fastened into the tip of the man’s erected penis and the Rapex has to be surgically removed after that. Rapex is much like a diaphragm thus it should not stay inside the vagina for more than 24 hours. You should wear it when you know you are in danger of being raped such as walking a long distance or when you are somewhere were there are a minimal amount of people and a rapist can easily be attacked. You should also not wear it when you have you are menstruating. The reason that the men rape women in South Africa is that the men feel superior to them and women don’t really count in society. They are suppressed by men and don’t have the sufficient means to protect themselves. The reason for men raping children is that there is a smaller chance of sexually transmitted diseases. The man suffers from pain but no permanent injuries are inflicted. The woman may however suffer from violence from the man as a result to the pain the man is having. This could even result in death. Rapex is not as helpful by preventing rape because the man still has to penetrate for the Rapex to have an effect. This still causes the woman to be raped but she stops it immediately and she doesn’t get pregnant or get a sexually transmitted disease. She does however get a chance to get the man back. In my opinion it is more a weapon for revenge than for self protection. The defense mechanism, Rapex, should be this hard. At least for the time being to scare men and do reduce the amount of rapes taking place. Also, the men that do rape will be identified. The punishment for raping in South Africa is very low at the moment and if the Rapex I going to be used the punishment should also go up. There should also be a punishment for women that use it as a weapon for attack and not as self defense. The 3 main religions in South Africa are Zion Christian, Pentecostal/Charismatic and Catholic. None of these religions encourage rape and so the religious and cultural issues of the Rapex have no impact on this in my opinion. If they choose to rape, against their religion then they can also suffer from this. To conclude I believe I think that the Rapex is a good idea to stop rape, pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease. However, there is a big chance that it will be misused and that the men will get angry and kill the women. Therefore, I don’t think Rapex should be produced in large amounts but I think the whole educational system, civil law system and the society needs to change when it comes to its look on women. Women need to get a better education allowing them to work and became more equal to men. The civil law system needs to change its punishments of rape and the society needs to change in the way that men except woman as their equal. Rapex is only a temporary solution to the problem of rape and instead of investing money in something short term I believe you can better invest it in something that will stay long term such as a change in society and the role of women within that society. How to cite Rapex is a weapon for woman against rape, Papers

Perry Benson Essays (348 words) - Fiction, Film, Literature

Perry Benson 09/22/2017 Professor Brushaber Movie Analysis - 12 Angry Men In the movie titled, there are many displays of social psychological phenomena. This nail biting, tense, and unendingly suspenseful film features 12 jurors who have in their hands the fate of someones life, through a not guilty or guilty verdict. Near the beginning of the film, initially 11 of the appointed 12 jurors vote guilty, a decision that would ultimately kill the accused. As the movies run time continues, gradually they alter their verdict to one of not guilty. When viewing the film it is easy to spot the psychological theories of conformity and group process. Conformity https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5xNlNV-UIUs Contextualizing the jury room, the simple idea of conformity is irresponsible and dangerous. Twelve Angry Men puts this idea in one of the most clear and sufficient ways, displaying the power of sheer social influence. Conformity due by social influence is shown in the first moments of the film. The jury room is in heated up debate and is obviated by a beginning vote. When the jurors place their verdicts, 11 who voted guilty, there is obvious hesitancy among the 11. In the clip above you can see the man at the front of the table call for the vote, in the very beginning of the vote only 6 people raise their hands. After a couple seconds 3 more raise their hands, then the last 2 raise their hands sheepishly, almost regrettably, showing their hesitance brilliantly. Lastly, Fonda, the one person who believes from the start that the verdict is not guilty, does not raise his hand. Change in Attitude and Persuasion https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EqDd06GW76o Persuasion is an inherent characteristic in the provocative nature of Twelve Angry Men. The idea of persuasion is a series of small ideas working towards changing someones integral attitude towards something. Fonda appeals for the accused persons innocence in a clear, well thought out matter, sourcing his points directly with factual evidence and eventually ends up changing the jurors initial votes. However, the sick business man appeals to the racially and ethnically motivated, pointing towards stereo typically motivated ways of persuasion, which leads him to be shunned by the other jurors.

Crime and Modern Technology essays

Crime and Modern Technology essays Technology offers the potential for friendship, unity, and a lasting support to law enforcement, but is this friendship truly compatible or has technology increased the need for new and tougher laws, with a revision to most of the old laws already on the books. Technology has taken an average mans job and turned into one with much needed education and even then the learning does not come fast enough for our ever changing world. This paper will examine new technologies in the help with fighting crime or in reality are the things that make our lives easier allow criminals easier access to our loved ones, the things we have worked for and even allow them to escape punishment. Crime has been around for as long as humans and will only become disappear when we are gone. Why, because crime is defined as offending and violating laws, and laws were created by man and if we are not here than they would not be needed. I dont believe anyone would deny that technology has lifted crime rates and has even created new varieties of crime, but it has also aided in solving them? Before a decision is made, this paper will assess new and different technological examples. We will look at tools that both hurt and help the law enforcement community as a whole. Lets start with some basic technology enhancements; night vision goggles see invisible infrared light and convert it to visible light (Levine such as night sights on sniper rifles, night vision lenses on still and video cameras of narcotics or organized crime surveillance teams, and night vision goggles worn by police helicopter pilots (Levine & Martin, 1992). These improvements have been very helpful, but sometimes when officers are in a hurry and possibly impatient they tend to try and skirt the letter of the law and force issues without proper paper work. This is where these ...

Easily Share Your Marketing Calendar With CoSchedules Read-Only View

Easily Share Your Marketing Calendar With s Read-Only View â€Å"Please look, but do not touch.† (the thought racing through your mind every time  you get a request to â€Å"access the calendar†) Your calendar is mission control for your entire  marketing strategy. It’s your baby. And those accidental deletions†¦ Finger flubs†¦ And randomly â€Å"misplaced† content†¦ aren’t simple fixes They’re all-nighter, stomach dropping fiascos. 😠± So, how to do you keep the right people in the know AND still maintain control over your marketing calendar (and what happens to it)? Until today, you had two options: Pay for additional users  who may or may not EVER log in†¦(and live in constant fear that something will get deleted or modified or vanish) OR take hundreds of static screenshots  and manually upload them into an email or presentation(which is ineffective and tedious as hell). Luckily†¦ Starting today, we’ve got a MUCH better solution. Introducing Read-Only View from !  AKA the *new* way to share your calendar (with outsiders) without paying for additional users, taking a bunch of static screenshots, and worrying about unwanted edits! (Plus, every Read-Only View is mobile-friendly and support both phone AND tablet!) With Read-Only View from , you can: Keep higher-ups â€Å"in the know† sans static screenshots (or other weird workarounds). With Read-Only View, you can create custom views of your calendar that are interactive, update in real-time, AND give your team the details they need (nothing more, nothing less). And eliminate unwanted edits to your content! When you share a Read-Only View with someone outside your calendar, they can only look at your contentno edits, finger flubs, accidental deletions, or moving around your carefully planned marketing campaigns allowed.   Whether you need to share important marketing details with a clientyour supervisoror a contributor outside the calendar†¦ Now it’s easy to share the RIGHT details†¦ at the right level. 😉