Definition and Examples of Modifiers in English Grammar

Definition and Examples of Modifiers in English Grammar In English grammar, a modifier is a  word, phrase, or clause that functions as an adjective or adverb to provide additional information about another word or word group (called the head). A modifier is also known as an adjunct. As illustrated below, modifiers in English include adjectives, adverbs, demonstratives, possessive determiners, prepositional phrases, degree modifiers, and intensifiers.   Modifiers that appear before the head are called premodifiers, while modifiers that appear after the head are called postmodifiers. Modifiers may be either restrictive (essential to the meaning of a sentence) or nonrestrictive (additional but not essential elements in a sentence). Examples of Different Modifier Usage Too many grammar terms in a row? Lets look at some examples. Authors  Gà ¼nter Radden and Renà © Dirven  illustrate the types with the most common ways that qualifying modifiers are used in Cognitive English Grammar. In all the examples here, the qualifiers modify the word detective and are in italics: (4a) Hercule Poirot is a  brilliant  detective.(4b)  Agatha Christies  detective Poirot is a legend all over the world.(4c) The detective  with the waxed moustache  solves the  most baffling  cases.(4d) Hercule Poirot is the  famous  detective  created by the English mystery writer Agatha Christie.(4e) Poirot is a detective  who has come to England as a war refugee.In sentence (4a), the adjective  brilliant  modifies the  predicate noun  detective.In sentence (4b), the head noun  detective  is modified by the complex  noun phrase  Agatha Christies, where the  genitive  morpheme  s  expresses the relation of possession.In sentence (4c), the noun  a detective  is modified by the  prepositional phrase  with the waxed moustache.In sentence (4d), two  nonrestrictive  modifiers are added to qualify the definite  referent  detective: the adjective  famous  and the  participial phrase  created by the English mystery-writ er Agatha Christie.In sentence (4e),  a detective  is modified by a  relative clause. Additional Examples of Modifier Types We could go further, to illustrate additional examples:   Hercule Poirot is a really good detective. The word really represents an intensifier for the adjective good. Really is an adverb, as it is modifying an adjective. Hercule Poirot is that detective. The word that is demonstrative. It distinguishes Poirot from at least one other detective. Hercule Poirot is the detective whos not wearing a deerstalker hat. The clause  is restrictive. The clause is essential to know which detective Poirot is, presumably from at least one detective who is wearing a deerstalker hat. The case was  almost  solved. The degree modifier (an adverb) shows how much of the case was solved. Instead of intensifying, degree modifiers qualify by giving the degree to which something is, like someone being fairly sure of something. Wearing a deerstalker hat, the murderer was caught by Sherlock Holmes. This clause represents a misplaced modifier  because it puts the hat on the murderers head instead of Holmes. If there were no subject of the sentence (eliminating by Sherlock Holmes), the opening phrase would be a  dangling modifier. Few detectives wear deerstalker hats. Few is a  quantifier, telling how many. Both Hercule Poirot and Sherlock homes are well-known detectives. The modifier is a  compound adjective. Source Radden, Gà ¼nter. Cognitive English Grammar. Cognitive Linguistics in Practice, Renà © Dirven, 2nd Edition, John Benjamins Publishing Company, July 5, 2007.

George Balanchine essays

George Balanchine essays There are many people involved in the world of fine arts today and one must have extraordinary talent to influence or create an impact in his or her field or art. George Balanchine, regarded as the ...foremost contemporary choreographer... (Balanchivadze 1) is one of these choreographic geniuses. It was Balanchine that brought the standards of dance up to a level that had never been seen before, creating a new audience for ballet. George Balanchine was one of the most influential choreographers of dance in ballet history. Georgi Melitonovich Balanchivadze was born the second of three children to Meliton Balanchivadze and his wife Marie on January 22, 1904 in St. Petersburg, Russia. He received a classical education, acting and dance training beginning at the age of 9, from the Imperial Ballet School. It was originally thought that young Georgi would become one of the Tsars cadets so it was with the thought that if things didnt work out at the ballet school he could always join the Navy. In fact, in his first year Georgi was not at all thrilled by what he was learning. Eventually the initial homesickness wore off and Georgi thrived in the atmosphere. At the age of 17, Balanchine graduated from the imperial ballet school and joined the Soviet State Dance Company (now known as the Kirov) (Balanchivadze 1). It was here that Georgi first began to choreograph. This choreography deeply upset his traditionally minded superiors because of its improper use of costumes and his unorthodox dance routine. All this discouragement soon ended after Balanchine met Vladmir Dmitriev. In 1924, with Dmitrievs help Balanchine, Tamara Geva, Nicholas Efimov, and Alexandra Danilova formed the Soviet State Dancers. (George Balanchine 1) The group traveled throughout Europe looking for places to perform and eventually settled temporarily in London. They experience...

The Nature of Beauty in Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray Essay

The Nature of Beauty in Oscar Wilde's Picture of Dorian Gray - Essay Example At the studio of the painter, Basil, was Lord Henry who heard Dorian’s wish to remain youthful and grants him the wish (Wilde 26). Lord Henry Wotton uses sweet words to lure Dorian Gray into retaining his youth and beauty by exchanging the aging effects with the portrait made by the painter Basil. This fascination Gray receives from Basil makes him jump into a life of falsification. Many characters in the book are shown to admire the beauty of Dorian Gray. He does not age but instead the portrait painted by Basil is the one that changes and fringes in place of Gray. Due to this falsified beauty, Dorian wins the love of an actress called Sybil whom he dumps after learning that she has stopped acting. The story outlines how beauty is adorned in times of Wilde by the characters of the book. The nature of beauty is that it cannot be preserved in other things such as art. To this the adoration of youthfulness and beauty continues to define the lives of many who risk for their lives and morals in the name of beauty as it is depicted in the theme of the book. First, the nature of beauty is demonstrated through art in the book. ... es the notion that art is used to express morality and values of humanity as it were taken in the Hellenistic age, however he acknowledges that art is for beauty and the artists do not necessarily have morals and the ethics while designing the arts. This symbolically associates art with beauty as whatever the artist creates will be beautiful. Basil admires the beauty of Dorian and even tells him â€Å"I worshiped you†. â€Å"I grew jealous of everyone to whom you spoke. I wanted to have you all to myself. I was only happy when I was with you" Basil tells Dorian (Wilde 26). He does all this out of the admiration he has for the beauty of Dorian Gray. As a result, Basil has no better way of appreciating how much he adores the beauty of Dorian other than through art, and he goes ahead and paints a picture of Dorian. The author clearly elaborates the distinctions between art and real life. Dorian admires the painting of Basil and associates it with beauty and regrets that he is go ing to frown with age, but the picture will remain beautiful as it is. He continues to regret that the portrait will be reminding him of the beauty that he had during his youthful stage. As he regrets, Lord Henry, a noble man in those times who admired the beauty of Dorian Gray, offers to make Gray’s wish to come true (Wilde 26). He persuades and lures Gray into accepting his charm and retain his youth and beauty forever. Lord Henry through his charming talk and brilliant wit as described in the story tricks Dorian to suspending the aging effect into the portrait and he remains beautiful. Henry wants the young beautiful man to live his life as if he was a piece of art. This is symbolic of how the nature of beauty was believed to be found in art. In contrast, the book views life as the contrast of

Global ,societal,and contemporary lssues Research Proposal

Global ,societal,and contemporary lssues - Research Proposal Example Regarding global economy, the engineering profession is likely to change in the next 20 years due to developments in the global economy. The energy consumption in the world is expected to rise because of rapidly increasing population. Thus, the major source of fuel that is fossil fuel may diminish and fail to provide enough energy to cater for the population. At the same time, more emphasis is on the development of energy from renewable sources in order counter the effects of global warming caused by use of fossil fuels (Wuestenhagen 2689). Therefore, electrical engineering will change to accommodate the need to produce energy from alternative sources other than fossil fuels. These alternative sources include solar energy, geothermal energy, and wind energy. Concerning societal impact, the electronic engineering profession has documented a number of inventions and technological developments that have had impacts on societies and cultures. For instance, cell phones have eased communication across places and countries, even in the remotest regions of the world. This faster communication is of great advantage because it enhance faster transfer of information, and allows individuals to connect with family members who are far. At the same time, cell phones have had negative impacts on communities including contributing to anti-social behaviors among friends and family members (Baron 5). Thus, interaction between individuals has become digital more than physical leading to introduction of digital culture. Contemporary technical issues in engineering include nanotechnology, which plays an important role in the society. Nanotechnology is a combination of science and engineering disciplines that deal with units larger than molecules and atoms, but fall in the range of 1-100 nanometers (BBC 2). Nanotechnology has been applied in several aspects of life including medicine to

Graphic Novel vs Movie Essay Example for Free

Graphic Novel vs Movie Essay Books that have become sources of scholarly learning have been categorized under these titles to make the field sound more appropriate than comic book, which could be mistakenly perceived by others as something that may be childish or adolescent. Such a thing would cost the literature its’ credibility and cause people to lose sight of what is really important, the content. So why is there such a sudden sense of acknowledgment on the academic end? This type of literature has never been sophisticatedly observed up until recent times. More and more complex stories have been using this form as their outlet. Reading and comprehending the world of comics has evolved into quite the mental task that is not as basic as pictures and words. Most graphic novels/narratives (GN) are basically composed of frames and gutters, which call reader’s attention visually and spatially to the act, process, and duration of interpretation. GN use the artwork to help narrate the story. This leaves an important part of translation up to the artist. GN offer an intricately layered narrative language (the language of comics) that include the verbal, the visual, and the way the two both interact on the page. The world of GN are so complex that books have been dedicated to understanding them. Scott McCloud’s Understanding Comics(1993) was used as a medium for comics. It defined comics as â€Å"a medium using words and pictures for reproduction. † This guide may have proved useful before but now the field has evolved into longer more elaborate and complex books rather than your old traditional comics. Some of the more recent GN drawing attention include Watchmen and V for Vendetta. Both of which are written by Alan Moore who is recognized as a major graphic novelist of our time. In a interview Moore once stated about GN that â€Å"Its a marketing term that I never had any sympathy with. The term comic does just as well for me. † Alan Moore is recognized as one of the famous comic writers in the history of the genre. Few writers in the field can compare to his level of success. Moore was born in North Hampton, England on November 18th, 1953. He was also raised in North Hampton and still lives there to this day. Moore considers himself an â€Å"anarchist† and you see him express this in his writings. Moore is popular for creating alternate universes of actual history. He does this by placing several of his stories in alternate histories, meaning that many details to the time period are accurate, but some event has been changed. This is seen in Watchmen and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. Watchmen is set in an alternate history during the presidency of Richard Nixon. The story includes other altered historical events such as the assassination of Robert F. Kennedy and the Vietnam War. The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen alters history such that England landed on the moon in 1901. These alterations of history are one of the signatures Moore is most popular for. They often have political meanings behind them and are a way for Moore to subliminally express his own personal thoughts and feelings in his stories. His popular works also include From Hell, Swampthing, and V for Vendetta. Moore is such a distinguished writer that many of his works have been targeted for adaptation into film. Comics and GN have long been major targets for films. They are often very popular and draw a large fan base of readers that are eager to see a version of their favorite comic book characters brought to life. A major popular string has been categorized as â€Å"Superhero Films†. All these films are comic book adaptations onto the big screen. Some the pioneers of this type of film were the Adventures of Captain Marvel(1941), Batman (1943),Captain America(1948) and Superman (1948). This was just the first generation of comic adapted films. The trend would continue through the years. The decade where these films would pick up and become most popular in would be the 2000s. The list of adapted comics and GNs were endless. X-men(2000),Spider-Man(2002), Daredevil(2003),The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen(2003),Hulk(2003), Catwoman(2004), Hellboy (2004),Ghost Rider ( 2007),Iron Man (2008) and Watchmen(2009). Sequels to many of these would also come out after a successful first film. The decade of 2000 was a major generation for comic adaptation. Several of these were graphic novels. The biggest box office hits were the traditional Superhero films such as The Dark Night which brought in $533. 3 million dollars followed by the wall crawler in Spider-man which brought in $403 million. The films actually based off books categorized as graphic novels didn’t do so bad as well. Frank Miller’s 300 made number 10 on the list of the top 50 comic book movies in history by bringing in $210. 6 million. The very same director, Zack Snyder, whom directed 300 also directed Watchmen. In his second major adaptation of a graphic novel Snyder didn’t due to shabby, Watchmen brought in $107. 5 million and was considered to be a pretty true representation of the graphic novel (it’s was the original source). Other graphic novels that made it into the top 50 include Sin City, Hellboy, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, and V for Vendetta. The latter two were both original works of Alan Moore. Alan Moore hasn’t exactly had the greatest history with directors, especially with the ones being paid to adapt his films. Whether the director of the film was very distinguished or even a fan of Moore’s work it did not gain him any more cooperation on Moore’s end in the adaptation to film. Zack Snyder who was both well distinguished and a fan of Moore’s mentioned in an interview about the making of Watchmen When I arrived to do the movie and I said to the producer So when do we call Alan and he said Never. He doesnt want to talk about it, Snyder said. Moore has refused to cooperate since he felt Hollywood butchered his last novel The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. The film itself was a success and Moore was still left unsatisfied. Moore has had several conflicts with DC comics and Warner Bros. regarding the film adaptations of his novels. Moore refused to be associated with anything he did not write and told Warner Bros. to keep his name out of any of the films. During a press conference at Warner Bros. about the film adaptation of V for Vendetta producer Joel Silver said that Larry Wachowski had spoken to Moore about the film and that Moore was very interested in what he had to say. This was it for Moore and he asked that his name not be included with anything done in Hollywood. The film version of V for Vendetta opened in theatres on March 17, 2006. The film was directed by James McTeigue and its screenplay was written by the Wachowski Brothers who are well known for their work on The Matrix. Alan Moore was not credited in the movie as he wished. The film version contrasted to its original version in many ways. The film was not an exact translation of its graphic novel, but rather another version of the story with the same type of concept. Alan Moore’s GN was written as a political response to British Thacherism and set a conflict between a fascist state and anarchism. The screenplay written by the Wachowski Brothers kept the theme of the film as a political expression that also involved anarchy but chose to incorporate more current political issues in the film. The film involved many of the same characters and plots from the graphic novel. The actress cast in the role of Evey Hammond was Natalie Portman and Hugo Weaving was chosen to play V. The graphic novel was set in the early 1990’s while the movie chose to set itself in the near future between the years of 2028 and 2038. That alone would leave many differences in setting and technology between the GN and film. My Analysis of the film†¦To be continued..

Victorian Painting :: Art History Essays

Victorian Painting Victorian painting was made up of several schools including the Romantics, the Realists and the Pre-Raphaelites. Recurring topics included fallen women, fairies, family scenes, historical scenes, landscapes and portraits (Sporre 509-511; Victorian Web). Romantic painters focused on escaping the rules of classical composition and opening up painting to imagination and individual drama. It was not meant to be objective. The Romantics also discovered the power and importance of color as opposed to shape and form (Sporre 489-90). Two well-known British Romantic painters whose works fit this ideal were Joseph Mallord William Turner (1775-1851) and John Constable (1776-1837). Turner’s most famous work is The Slave Ship (1840), based on the real event of a sea captain throwing out sick slaves into the sea so that he could collect the insurance money (Turner’s The Slave Ship.2). In this painting, color clearly dominates over form and the sea, sky and sun seem to merge. There are no clear delineations between the elements. (Flynn; Sporre 493; Tansey 950-51). Landscape paintings were also very popular in this era, and Constable was one of the most noted landscape painters. He was interested in color, but tried to reproduce the s cenes he painted scientifically onto the canvas. This focus made his paintings very realistic (Sporre 511; Tansey 952-53). The Realists and the Pre-Raphaelites were the other two important movements in Victorian painting. Both paid extreme attention to details (Sporre 510). John Evrett Millais' (1829-1896) Ophelia (1852) is a good example of Realism (Millais’ Ophelia. 3). Even if his subject is from a play, his attention to detail draws strongly from the Realist techniques (Flynn; Tansey 975-76). Dante Gabriel Rossetti is probably the most well known Pre-Raphaelite painter. His paintings almost always represented women. An acclaimed example of his work can be found his paintings for Goblin Market (1862), a poem written and published by his sister, Christina Rossetti (1830-1894). The Victorian era had numerous painters that produced a multitude of works. Its variety of styles and topics were precursors to the movements of Impressionism and Abstract painting which were to follow (Sporre 511).

Describe Some of the Ways That the Person-Centred Approach

Describe some of the ways that the Person-Centred Approach differs to Cognitive Behavioural and Psychodynamic Approaches to Counselling. The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination. (Rogers, 1961, p. 186) The Mental Health Foundation (2012, Talking Therapies) refers to certain therapeutic approaches as talking therapies. These therapies include: Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), Psychodynamic Therapy and Person Centred Therapy (PCT).The Foundation says, ‘Talking therapies give people the chance to explore their thoughts and feelings and the effect they have on their behaviour and mood’. In attempting to describe some of the ways that the Person-Centred approach differs to Cognitive Behavioural and Psychodynamic approaches to counselling it may be helpful to acknowledge that that binds them. The British Association for Counselling and Psychotherapy (BACP) identifies that, ‘there is evidence that the relationship between the counsellor and the client is more important than the approach the therapist uses.BACP (2011). This does not presuppose that counsellors working within differing paradigms practice in an entirely different way to their counterparts or that those working within each approach operate in exactly the same way either. Indeed, it is within the relationship between the counsellor and the client that many of the differences in the therapeutic approaches can be identified. Nelson – Jones (2011, p1) warns us to, ‘be careful not to exaggerate the differences between counselling and therapy schools since there are similarities and differences among them. Worsley et al. (2011, p. 25) believe that, ‘the Person Centred Approach is a basic philosophy of living, and not a technique for therapy’. Worsley’s view does highlight a potential schism between the Person Centred model and the Psychodynamic and CBT approaches; that of, ‘feeling over process’ (B owyer 2011). Mearns and Thorne (2008, p. 9) provide some welcome professional credibility to this viewpoint by identifying a link between the experience of living out the tenets of the Person Centred approach (on both a philosophical and professional level), with the counsellor’s own ability to ‘grasp a hope that seems to lie beyond despair’.This raw awareness helps translate towards a natural realisation of some of the therapeutic conditions (namely: empathy, congruence and unconditional positive) regarded by Person Centered practitioners as critical to achieving positive change. Branch and Dryden (2008, p. 33) see this as the most significant point of divergence between the Rogerian (Person Centred) and CBT therapeutic approaches, in that Rogers considered the Core Conditions (Rogers 1957, pps. 95 – 103) to be both necessary and sufficient whilst CBT purists recognise the conditions as desirable and necessary but not sufficient to bring about client chan ge.In purist terms therefore, it can be seen that CBT, ‘focuses on eliciting and restructuring maladaptive goal-impeding thinking (Branch and Dryden 2008, p. 24) whilst the Psychodynamic approaches are sometimes called the ‘uncovering’ therapies (Dryden and Mytton 1999, p. 42) which, ‘aim to take the lid off that seething cauldron and bring the contents of the unconscious into conscious awareness. CBT and psychodynamic therapies may therefore be regarded as being focused on identifying and challenging behaviours and beliefs, whereas from the counsellor’s perspective, the Person Centred model assumes no such prescriptive agenda.Dryden and Mytton (1999, p. 203) acknowledge that the Psychodynamic approach focuses on the client’s past experience ‘whereas the Person Centred approach focuses on the here and now. Care must be taken not to assume that this is a one size fits all definition. For some counsellors and therapists working within each therapeutic paradigm may well ‘borrow’ methods and strategies from other approaches in order to help effect positive change. There is one tenet however which differentiates Person Centred therapy from the two other approaches; control.Whilst there is a communality of approach insofar that relationship is critical to all approaches, it is the hierarchy within the relationship which acts as differentiator. Within the Person Centred relationship, the client retains control; determining where and at what pace the relationship develops and what is explored and what remains unsaid. The non- directive approach taken by the counsellor allows the client freedom to hold his ‘comfort blanket of self-structure’ intact (Bowyer 2010) until such time that he feels able to begin a journey towards eventual self- actualisation (Goldstein 1940, p. 258). Tolan (2010, p. ) sees self- structure as being everything a person holds about herself and about the world. Following on fr om the concept of non-directive client control, the Person Centred practitioner does not consider himself to be the expert, the client is. The division between the three approaches is further widened by the atmosphere in which the counselling session takes place. Russell and Jarvis (2003, p47) identify a difference between humanistic (e. g. Person Centred) and other therapies (including CBT and Psychodynamic), in that the former refers to ‘clients’ whereas the latter regard those in therapy as ‘patients’.This reinforces the view of humanistic based therapies (including Person Centred) that regard the therapist and client as equal partners. On the client’s journey towards personal fulfillment therefore, Dryden and Mytton (1999, p. 89) feel that the counsellor or psychologist ‘acts as a companion, not a guide’. In the absence of a professional ‘expert’ comes a dynamic shift of personal responsibility. Within the psychodynamic and CBT approaches, the therapist, albeit somewhat tacitly does seek to effect positive change and sees this as a professional responsibility and not one which the client is capable of undertaking on their own.To this end, it is the practitioner who assesses the need and determines the outcome(s). CBT is based on finding solutions to issues or problems identified by the counsellor. In turn, the Psychodynamic approach assumes long held conflict between the conscious and unconscious state and sees its role as ‘bringing the unconscious thoughts and feelings into conscious awareness to help individuals make sense of their current problems, of past memories, and of dreams (Dryden and Mytton 1999, p. 4). These somewhat presumptive approaches when coupled with a’ fix it’ mentality (particularly prevalent within the time to cost driven NHS/CBT approach) seem somewhat at odds to that of Person Centred Therapy which works in the immediate and holds true the belief that â⠂¬Ëœall clients have within themselves vast resources for development’ (Mearns and Thorne, 1988, p. 16). Mearns and Cooper (2005, p. 60) provide a meaningful insight into a comparison of therapeutic approaches, ‘While inexperienced therapists tend to differ widely and are easily identifiable by their adopted approach, experienced therapists tend to become more close in their working and are not so easily identified by approach†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. it probably means that therapists are learning from their clients and are gradually being shaped by their clients to offer a relationship that is meaningful. I have so much to learn.

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The biggest reason is the fact that direct democracy is the fairest and purest way of making decisions as it is entirely up to the people to decide. Whilst you would not regularly use referendums to deal with every issue that parliament would have to deal with, they are a very good way of dealing with a single, Important Issue.Referendums are also good for the electorate. Many people believe that voting In mineral elections is pointless, largely because they believe that their vote doesn't really count In the grand scheme of things, especially If you live In an area where your party Is always voted In second. However with referendums, every vote counts, and the electorate recognize this and as a result turn out In massive numbers. This also strengthens the support of the political system In the people.It encourages people to become better educated In politics, whilst providing politicians with an insight into the electorate's opinions. However there are also a large amount of disadva ntages when it comes to referendums. The most obvious is that it blatantly undermines the representative democracy system used in this country, which generally works quite well. Many of the disadvantages with regards to referendums are evident in the current Scottish independence referendum. For example, if the result Is close, countries will often feel divided over the issue.This is the case in Scotland, where the polls indicate that the result is going to be very close, and there re definite tensions on the streets between the supporters of the two campaigns, with many no voters saying that they get abuse in the street if they biblically show their choice. There are problems with letting the public make such large decisions, as they will often be the wrong ones. People in this country tend to have ignorance towards politics, and so when these people are allowed to make such big decisions, they will often vote using their emotions, rather than choosing what is best. Ethan Mullet

Explore the Hidden Infrared Universe

Explore the Hidden Infrared Universe To Do Astronomy, Astronomers Need Light Most people learn astronomy by looking at things that give off light they can see. That includes stars, planets, nebulae, and galaxies. The light we SEE is called visible light (since it is visible to our eyes). Astronomers usually refer to it as optical wavelengths of light. Beyond the Visible There are, of course, other wavelengths of light besides visible light. To get a complete view of an object or event in the universe, astronomers want to detect as many different kinds of light as possible. Today there are branches of astronomy known best for the light they study: gamma-ray, x-ray, radio, microwave, ultraviolet, and infrared.   Diving into the Infrared Universe Infrared light is radiation given off by things that are warm. It is sometimes called heat energy. Everything in the universe radiates at least some portion of its light in the infrared - from chilly comets and icy moons to clouds of gas and dust in the galaxies. Most infrared light from objects in space is absorbed by Earths atmosphere, so astronomers are used to putting infrared detectors in space. Two of the best-known recent infrared observatories are the Herschel observatory and the Spitzer Space Telescope. Hubble Space Telescope has infrared-sensitive instruments and cameras, as well. Some high-altitude observatories such as Gemini Observatory  and the European Southern Observatory can be equipped with infrared detectors; this is because they are above much of Earths atmosphere and can capture some infrared light from distant celestial objects. Whats Out there Giving Off Infrared Light? Infrared astronomy helps observers peer into regions of space that would be invisible to us at visible (or other) wavelengths. For example, clouds of gas and dust where stars are born are very opaque (very thick and tough to see into). These would be places like the Orion Nebula  where stars are being born even as we read this. They also exist in places like the Horsehead Nebula. The stars inside (or near) these clouds heat the up their surroundings, and infrared detectors can see those stars. In other words, the infrared radiation they give off travels through the clouds and our detectors can thus see into places of starbirth.   What other objects are visible in the infrared? Exoplanets (worlds around other stars), brown dwarfs (objects too hot to be planets but too cool to be stars), dust disks around distant stars and planets, heated disks around black holes, and many other objects are visible in infrared wavelengths of light. By studying their infrared signals, astronomers can deduce a great deal of information about the objects emitting them, including their temperatures, velocities, and chemical compositions.   Infrared Exploration of a Turbulent and Troubled Nebula As an example of the power of infrared astronomy, consider the Eta Carina nebula. Its shown here in an infrared view from the Spitzer Space Telescope. The star at the heart of the nebula is called Eta Carinae- a massively supergiant star that will eventually blow up as a supernova. It is tremendously hot, and about 100 times the mass of the Sun. It washes its surrounding area of space with immense amounts of radiation, which sets nearby clouds of gas and dust to glowing in the infrared. The strongest radiation, the ultraviolet (UV), is actually tearing the clouds of gas and dust apart in a process called photodissociation. The result is a sculptured cavern in the cloud, and the loss of material to make new stars. In this image, the cavern is glowing in the infrared, which allows us to see the details of the clouds that are left.   These are just a few of the objects and events in the universe that can be explored with infrared-sensitive instruments, giving us new insights into the ongoing evolution of our cosmos.

The Process For Firing a Government Employee

The Process For Firing a Government Employee The federal government’s disciplinary personnel process have become so cumbersome that only about 4,000 employees a year 0.2 % of the total workforce of 2.1 million are fired, according to the Government Accountability Office (GAO). In 2013, the federal agencies dismissed around 3,500 employees for performance or a combination of performance and conduct. In its report to the Senate Homeland Security Committee, the GAO stated, â€Å"The time and resource commitment needed to remove a poor performing permanent employee can be substantial.† In fact, found the GAO, firing a federal employee often takes from six months to over a year. â€Å"According to selected experts and GAO’s literature review, concerns over internal support, lack of performance management training, and legal issues can also reduce a supervisor’s willingness to address poor performance,† wrote the GAO. Remember, it actually took an act of Congress to give the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs the power to outright fire senior VA executives who failed to meet performance standards. As the GAO noted, the in 2014 annual survey of all federal employees, only 28% said the agencies they worked for had any formal procedure for dealing with chronically poorly performing workers. The Probationary Period Problem After being hired, most federal employees serve a one-year probationary period, during which the lack the same rights to appeal disciplinary actions – like firing – as employees who have completed probation. It is during that probationary period, advised the GAO when the agencies should try their hardest to identify and carve out the â€Å"bad word† employees before they gain the full right to appeal. According to the GAO, about 70% of the 3,489 federal employees fired in 2013 were fired during their probationary period. While the exact number is not known, some employees facing disciplinary actions during their probationary period choose to resign rather than have a firing on their record, noted the GAO. However, reported the GAO, work unit managers â€Å"often do not use this time to make performance-related decisions about an employee’s performance because they may not know that the probationary period is ending or they have not had time to observe performance in all critical areas.† As a result, many new employees fly â€Å"under the radar† during their probationary periods. ‘Unacceptable,’ Says Senator The GAO was asked to investigate the government firing process by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisconsin), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee. In a statement on the report, Sen. Johnson found it â€Å"unacceptable that some agencies let the first year slip by without conducting performance reviews, never aware that the probationary period had expired. The probationary period is one of the best tools the federal government has to weed out poor-performing employees. Agencies must do more to evaluate the employee during that time period and decide whether she or he can do the job.† Among other corrective actions, the GAO recommended the Office of Personnel Management (OPM) the government’s HR department extend the mandatory probationary period beyond 1-year and include at least one full employee evaluation cycle. However, the OPM said extending the probationary period would probably require, you guessed it, â€Å"legislative action† on the part of Congress.

Questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 21

Questions - Essay Example Contingent liability is the company’s potential debts that arise from the past transactions. Company’s can only verify the existence of this liability by the occurrence of the expected event that the business cannot control. This liability should not be incorporated in the balance sheet. An example of this liability includes the product warranty. If a company promises to replace good with defects without charging the customers, the amount of the returned goods will be contingent liability. It is vital for businesses to distinguish the liabilities. This is because it will make it simple for investors and creditors to evaluate the risks the liabilities caused in the business in the future (Porter & Norton, 2011). The Time Value of Money is the sum of interest a certain amount of money earns within a definite time. According to the concept of time value of money, a certain amount of money one has today has more value than the same amount one expects to get in the future. This is because one can invest the money he has today and earn interests (Peavler, 2012). It is vital for accountants to comprehend the current and the future value concept. This is because it enables them to know the precise worth of the current business money. Furthermore, the concept enables accountants to know the value of the money the business is expecting (Lieuallen, 2008). The concept also enables them to differentiate between the values of savings opportunities that offer returns at varied durations. The accountants should also understand the concepts to advice the business on the amount of money the business should invest by calculating the values of the investments (Storer &Usinger, 2008). The present and future value concepts are applicable to business decisions in various ways. For instance, it is applicable in the business decision regarding the amount of the money the business should put in the

Megacities in Asia Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Megacities in Asia - Assignment Example The slum owners aspire to get better houses, healthcare, infrastructure and social cultural facilities. The citizens are concerned with the general hygiene, how tax payers’ money is being used and the crime rates. The landowners on the other hand, are concerned with the financial loss and encroachment (Ruparel 2013). The residents of Mumbai are likely to benefit from the low cost houses that will be on offer once the redevelopment is completed. They are also set to benefit from the infrastructure that Dharavi will be offering. E.g. Recreation amenities, healthcare facilities, better infrastructure, including the railway line and the roads, this will make the city to be more accessible. The redevelopment of Dharavi will reduce the crime rates as most of the slum dwellers will get employed in the new marketplaces. The quality of life in the city of Mumbai will improve after this project is finally completed. The pollution from the slum will be highly reduced and this will reduce the rate at which diseases are spread and generally lead to a better living conditions (Ruparel 2013). There also plans to build several schools that will impart knowledge to both the slum dwellers as well as the residents of