Language transfer

Language transfer Introduction The title of this research article has caught my attention because it talks about language transfer which is an area I am always interested in knowing more about it. Also, being an ESL teacher, it is definitely beneficial for me to study this article as it specifically investigates the cross-language and writing system transfer between Chinese and English. This paper consists of two main parts. Part one is a description of the article itself. The background and details of the research will be summarized and presented here. Part two is a critique of the article. Various parts of the research will be analyzed and, hopefully, modifications and suggestions can be made to better the research design and generate ideas for further investigation into this topic. Part One: The article itself Contextualization According to the introduction made by Wang, Perfetti, Liu (2005), various studies conducted in the 1990s have tried to investigate whether there is a relationship between learning to read and the orthography and phonology of a language. As cited in Wang et al. (2005), certain studies (Adams, 1990; Perfetti, 1992; Treiman, 1993) have said that learning to read is actually learning to match the phonological form with the orthographic form of the language. This has also been claimed as language-specific, i.e. subject to the nature and writing system of the language (Chen Tzeng, 1992; Feldman, 1987; Frith, Wimmer, Landerl, 1998; Goswami, Gombert, Barrera, 1998; Leong Tamaoka, 1998; Perfetti, 1999; as cited in Wang et al., 2005). However, recent studies (Cisero Royer, 1995; Durgunoglu, Nagy, Hancin-Bhatt, 1993; Durgunoglu, 2002; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have found that cross-language transfer of phonological skills does take place when one is learning to read two alphabetic languages, like Spanish and English. These findings have aroused the researchers (Wang et al., 2005) interest in investigating whether there is cross-language and writing system transfer when one is learning to read Chinese and English, i.e. acquiring biliteracy. Background in the Literature To prepare for their in-depth research on the topic, Wang et al. (2005) have conducted a literature review focusing on the following three aspects: (i)The orthography and phonology of Chinese A number of studies (Perfetti, 1999; Perfetti, Zhang, Berent, 1992; Defrancis, 1989; Mattingly, 1992; Perfetti, Liu, Tan, 2005; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have been reviewed by Wang et al. (2005) in order to produce the following general overview of the Chinese orthography. It has been found that Chinese is a nonalphabetic writing system, in which the basic unit is the character. Each character consists of basic strokes, which can be combined to form one or more component radicals. A character which is composed of two or more component radicals is called a compound character. The structure of the component radicals in these compound characters are usually left-right or top-bottom. Wang et al. (2005) have also reviewed certain studies (Hanely, Tzeng, Huang, 1999; Taylor Taylor, 1995; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) so as to offer a clear introduction of the Chinese phonology. It is now being summarized below. The basic speech unit of Mandarin Chinese is the syllable which is made up of the onset and the rime. Very often, the onset is a single consonant while the rime is composed of vowels. As a result, the number of syllables in Mandarin Chinese is pretty small (i.e. around 400) whereas the number of homophones is quite large. Fortunately, the use of the four tones in Mandarin Chinese (i.e. 1. high level; 2. high-rising; 3. falling-rising; 4. high-falling) have successfully reduced the large number of homophones. Yet, one should note that the tones are not shown in written Chinese, i.e. they are not part of the written characters. Thus, they will not help learners distinguish the characters. (ii)Different cognitive demands involved in learning to read the Chinese and English writing systems According to Wang et al. (2005), there are three main contrasts between the two target language and writing systems. Contrasts Chinese English Grapheme mapping principle syllabic morphemes phonemes Graphic form and special layout nonlinear linear Tonal feature tonal nontonal **This table is a simplified version of Table 1 (Wang et al., 2005, p. 69) As suggested by Wang et al. (2005), these contrastive differences are bound to cause differences in learning to read these two languages. First, studies (Byrne Fielding-Barnsley, 1995; Hulme et al., 2002; Lundburg, Frost, Peterson, 1988; Muter, Hulme, Snowling, Taylor, 1998; Huang Hanley, 1994; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have discovered that childrens ability to read English can be predicted by their skills in processing the phonemes (i.e. the small phonological units) and phonological awareness. On the contrary, studies about Chinese reading (Perfetti et al., 2005; Taft, Zhu, Peng, 1999; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have found that the phonological and meaning information can only be activated after the orthographic representation has been recognized. Then, Wang et al. (2005) have concluded that graphemic information and visual skills are essential for learning how to read Chinese. Despite these previous studies, Wang et al. (2005) have mentioned that recent studies (Ho Bryant, 1997; Hu Catts, 1998; McBride-Chang Ho, 2000; Shu, Anderson, Wu, 2000; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have indicated that phonological information and early phonological skills such as rhyme processing do play a part in Chinese reading acquisition. (iii)Cross-language transfer in bilingual and biliteracy acquisition Wang et al. (2005) have obtained two key findings about cross-language transfer through reviewing numerous studies (Durgunoglu et al., 1993; Cisero Royer, 1995; Ganschow Sparks, 1995; Comeau, Cormier, Grandmaison, Lacroix, 1999; DAngiulli, Siegel, Serra, 2001; Geva Siegel, 2000; as cited in Wang et al., 2005). First, Wang et al. (2005) have found that a clear phonological relationship exists between two alphabetic languages such as Spanish-English, French-English, English-French, English-Italian, etc. This means the phonological skills of one language are highly related to those of the other language. Second, Wang et al. (2005) have discovered that phonological skills of one language can help with the word reading skills of the other language. Yet, Wang et al. (2005) have failed to figure out whether there is such cross-language transfer existing in Chinese and English as there is little research done in this area and the two language systems are contrastive in nature. Besides that, certain studies (Wydell Butterworth, 1999; Liow Poon, 1998; Liow, 1999; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) have tried to argue that there is dissociation or even a negative transfer from the nonalphabetic first language (L1, Chinese) to the alphabetic second language (L2, English). Nevertheless, Wang et al. (2005) have finally justified their research topic by saying that these previous studies have failed to test the cross-language and writing system transfer as they did not investigate the phonological and orthographic processing skills of the learners L1 and L2. Research Hypotheses Wang et al. (2005) have hypothesized that ‘bilingual reading acquisition is a joint function of shared phonological skills and writing system specific skills (p. 72). They have particularly predicted that ‘sensitivity in English and in Chinese to onset and rime, common linguistic units in both languages, will be correlated and ‘Pinyin reading skills will correlate with English word reading, since the two systems share the alphabetic principle (p. 72). However, Wang et al. (2005) have estimated that orthographic skills ‘are writing system and script specific skills (p. 72). Details of the Research (i)Research design The design of this research is mainly quantitative in nature. A number of experimental tasks were completed by the participants in order to obtain data in objective ways. (ii)Setting Participants As reported by Wang et al. (2005), the forty-six participants came from the Washington, DC area and they were Chinese immigrant children consisting of 24 boys and 22 girls with the mean age of 8 years and 2 months (SD = 9.1 months). All of them learned Chinese as their first language and had developed normal English proficiency. They attended English classes in public schools and weekend Chinese schools in which the Pinyin systems and a simplified version of Chinese characters were taught and used. It should be noted that forty-two of them spoke both Mandarin Chinese and English at home while the other four only spoke Mandarin Chinese at home. (iii)Methodology Referring to the description given by Wang et al. (2005), the participants were tested in two 30-minute sessions in which they had to complete a set of Chinese or English experimental tasks in each session in a language laboratory. The list below has summarized the various experimental tasks adopted by Wang et al. (2005). Chinese experimental tasks Focus Reference Phonological tasks onset, rime, and tone matching Participants ability to manipulate and distinguish between the phonological units in spoken Chinese characters. Wang et al., 2005, p. 72-74 Orthographic choice task Participants sensitivity to the legality of the radical position and form. Character naming Participants familiarity with the characters. Pinyin naming Participants ability to match letters with sounds in Pinyin. English experimental tasks Focus Reference Phonological tasks onset and rime matching Participants ability to manipulate and distinguish between the phonological units in spoken English words. Wang et al., 2005, p. 74-76 Phonological task -phoneme deletion Not given Orthographic choice task Participants sensitivity to various orthographic patterns in English. Real word naming Not given Pseudoword naming Not given According to Wang et al. (2005), there was also a nonverbal skill test which was used to test the participants nonverbal ability. (iv)Analytic procedures As mentioned by Wang et al. (2005) in the presentation of the research results, several measures were adopted to analyze the quantitative data collected from those experimental tasks. First, means and standard deviations were used to show the participants performance in the Chinese and English language and reading tasks. Second, the bivariate Pearson correlations were used to measure the correlations Chinese and English tasks. Third, the stepwise regression analyses were adopted to find out the best predictors for Chinese and English reading. Finally, the hierarchical regression analyses were used to explore (a) whether Chinese phonological and orthographic processing would affect English word reading; and (b) whether English phonological and orthographic processing would affect Chinese character reading. (v)Results With the help of the bivariate Pearson correlations, Wang et al. (2005) found that there was a significant correlation between the Chinese onset matching skill and English onset and rime matching skill. Moreover, another significant correlation was found between Chinese orthographic choice and Chinese character naming. Furthermore, Pinyin was found highly correlated with the pseudoword reading in English whereas the English phoneme deletion task was also found highly correlated with English real word and pseudoword naming. Last but not least, Chinese tone was found correlated with character reading as well. Through the stepwise regression analyses, Wang et al. (2005) found Chinese orthographic processing to be the best predictor for Chinese character reading while the phoneme deletion skill was the best predictor for English real word and pseudoword reading. Consequently, by using the hierarchical regression analyses, Wang et al. (2005) found that only Chinese tone processing skill, but not orthographic skill, could affect English pseudoword reading. They could not find any cross-language influence of the English tasks on Chinese character reading. (vi)Discussion Wang et al. (2005) have concluded that the findings of this research do support their hypothesis. Specifically, Wang et al. (2005) have discussed the three significant findings (i.e. the significant correlations between Chinese onset, English onset, and rime matching skills; the significant influence of Chinese tone processing skill on English pseudoword reading; and the significant correlation between Pinyin and English pseudoword reading) and derived the implication that phonological awareness and skills are not language-specific but shared between Chinese and English reading when bilingual reading acquisition is taking place. Besides that, based on Wang et al. (2005), the finding of orthographic skills being unable to affect English reading skills has also supported the hypothesis proposed by Wang et al. (2005). This has been explained by Wang et al. (2005) who has cited a study (Liu Perfetti, 2003; as cited in Wang et al., 2005) to show that the orthographic skills of Chinese and English are language-specific as Chinese reading requires the use of both the left and right occipital brain areas while English reading mainly involves the use of the left occipital brain area. Part Two: The Critique Assessment of the Researchs Internal Validity Based on my analysis, this research done by Wang et al. (2005) is considered to be a good research which has demonstrated a high level of internal validity. The following is a detailed critique of the various parts of the research. (i)High correspondence between the research hypotheses and the findings As reflected from the previous session, the findings generated from this research are highly related to the research hypotheses established beforehand. Actually, they have successfully confirmed the hypotheses, proving that there is a certain degree of cross-language transfer in Chinese-English biliteracy acquisition. (ii)In-depth literature review Wang et al. (2005) have done a detailed and in-depth literature review on Chinese phonology and orthography, and previous studies related to the cross-language transfer in bilingual and biliteracy acquisition. This certainly helps lay down a good foundation for the later data analysis and discussion. However, it may be better if Wang et al. (2005) can provide the audience with a more comprehensive literature review by describing the English phonology and orthography in greater detail. In this way, the audience can have a clearer picture of the phonology and orthography of these two language systems. This can then enhance the audiences understanding of the research findings. (iii)Well-constructed and clear research hypotheses The research hypotheses of this study are well-constructed with clear predictions made about the relationship among the variables mentioned. This can certainly help increase the internal validity as this has given clear directions for the development of research design, measurement tools and analytic procedures. (iv)A well-selected group of participants The participants are well-selected with little variation in their background and learning profile. It is very wise for Wang et al. (2005) to study bilingual children as this can minimize the dominance of L1 over L2, which might affect the findings of the research. Moreover, the sample size is big enough for making generalizations. And, the number of male participants is similar to that of the female participants. This can help reduce the gender influence on the findings. (v)Carefully-designed measurement tools Obviously, the large number of Chinese and English experimental tasks and methods for data analysis are carefully designed and chosen. As shown from the results, the Chinese and English tasks are highly correlated, indicating a high level of internal validity. Nevertheless, it is thought that the tasks are cognitively or mentally too demanding for the young participants. This is because they are required to process a number of tasks and a large amount of information and instructions within a short period of time. (vi)Variable overlooked gender difference According to Skaalvik Rankin (1994), girls have been found to be more motivated to study language than boys. One may then wonder if this gender difference would affect the level of cross-language transfer in bilingual reading acquisition. Since Wang et al. (2005) have recruited a similar amount of boys and girls as participants, they may also take a look at the influence of this variable. Assessment of the Researchs External Validity Although this research enjoys a high level of internal validity, its external validity is relatively low and limited. The reasons are as follows: (i)Findings are limited to learners with a similar background or learning profile As mentioned in the above, the background (e.g. age and family background) and learning profile of the selected participants are more or less the same due to the careful selection done by Wang et al. (2005) to avoid the research findings being affected by the individual differences among the participants. As a consequence, the research findings derived from this specific group of participants can only be applied to learners with a similar background and learning profile. (ii)Findings may not be able to make generalizations in the actual learning context In this research, Wang et al. (2005) have conducted all the Chinese and English experimental tasks in a language laboratory in a bid to minimize the influence of the numerous factors which may affect the participants cross-language transfer in the actual learning context. For instance, in the real learning context, learners cross-language transfer in the process of language acquisition can be affected by their learning environment, teachers teaching methodologies, peer influence, learning materials, etc. Hence, the research findings derived from tasks conducted in the language laboratory which keeps the other factors constant may not be able to contribute to making generalizations in the actual learning context. (iii)Few implications can be derived for language learning and teaching Few implications can be generated from this research for language learning and teaching as the findings can only be applied to a specific type of learners (i.e. bilingual Chinese-English learners with a particular background and learning profile). Besides that, the experimental tasks conducted are all at word level and this definitely does not resemble the actual reading acquisition in language learning, which is usually at sentence level or discourse level. Suggested Modifications for the Research With reference to my analysis shown in the above, certain modifications can be made in the different parts of the research mentioned below. (i)Literature Review It is suggested that Wang et al. (2005) may also give the audience an introduction on the English phonology and orthography instead of simply describing English as an alphabetic, nontonal language with phonemes as the smallest basic speech units in the language. This is because this introduction can help to make this research more complete as the audience are then allowed to make a clearer comparison between the two target language systems and better understand the findings obtained from this research. (ii)Measurement tools As mentioned previously, the Chinese and English experimental tasks can be cognitively or mentally too demanding for the young participants as they need to process a lot of information and instructions within a short time. Therefore, it is suggested that Wang et al. (2005) may either simplify the content and instructions of the tasks or lengthen the period of time given to participants for completing the tasks. In this way, the influence of frustration and fatigue on participants performance in the tasks can be avoided. (iii)Discussion For the discussion part, it is recommended that Wang et al. (2005) can also analyze the data collected and see if there is any influence of gender difference on the cross-language transfer between Chinese and English reading acquisition. By doing so, significant implications may be derived and this will in turn provide useful implications for language learning and teaching in the real learning context. Suggestions for an Extension Study After having studied this research and its findings, it is believed that further research can be done in the following areas in order to derive more implications for language learning. (i)Chinese and English reading at sentence level or discourse level Referring to what mentioned beforehand, this research done by Wang et al. (2005) focuses on Chinese and English reading acquisition at word level only as all the experimental tasks are designed at word level. However, it is a well-known fact that learning to read may proceed to sentence level or discourse level. Thus, it is definitely worth investigating whether cross-language transfer still occurs when Chinese and English reading acquisition is done at sentence level or discourse level. (ii)Bilingual children whose first language is English Since bilingual reading acquisition is the main focus of this research, it is believed that similar research can also be done to study bilingual Chinese-English children whose first language is English and see if similar findings about the cross-language transfer can be generated. In this way, the findings generated may help confirm the findings produced by Wang et al. (2005) and enhance the external validity of the study done by Wang et al. (2005). (iii)Children with dyslexia or other language learning problems Likewise, will there be any changes to the present findings of the research conducted by Wang et al. (2005) if the bilingual participants suffer from dyslexia or other language learning problems? It is thought to be a good idea to further research on this group of participants. Hopefully, useful implications can be derived to help enhance the learning effectiveness for this group of learners. (iv)Reading fluency and comprehension As mentioned in the above, research on bilingual reading acquisition should not be limited to word-level as reading occurs more often at sentence level or discourse level. In addition, reading acquisition should not be limited to phonological and orthographic skills of individual words only. Actually, reading fluency and comprehension are two important aspects in reading acquisition. So, it is worth researching on these two aspects and figure out if there is any cross-language transfer in these areas of Chinese and English language learning. Conclusion Critiquing a research article is indeed a challenging but thought-provoking task to me. Through working on this assignment, I have learned about how a quantitative research can be conducted in the area of language acquisition, and gradually developed a better set of critical analysis skills when writing the critique. I would surely bear in mind the research and analytical skills that I have learned from the study of Wang et al. (2005) and put them into use when I am given a chance to conduct a research on my own.

Korean Dramadance :: essays papers

Korean Dramadance China, Korea, and Japan have been historically close for centuries, thus accounting for their numerous common artistic traditions. From pre-Christian times until the 8th and 9th century AD, the great trade routes crossed from the Middle East through Central Asia into China. Hinduism, Buddhism, some knowledge of ancient Greek, and much knowledge of Indian arts entered into China, and thence in time into Korea and Japan. Perhaps before Christ, the Central Asian art of manipulating hand puppets was carried to China. For more than 700 years, until 668, in the kingdom of Koguryo, embracing northern Korea and Manchuria, court music and dances from Central Asia, from Han China, from Manchuria, and from Korea, called chiso and kajiso, were performed. Many of the dances were masked; all were stately as befit serious court art. They were taken to the Japanese court in Nara about the 7th century. Called bugaku in Japan, they have been preserved for 12 centuries and can still be seen performed at the Imperial Palace in Tokyo, though they have long since died out in China and Korea. In Koguryo's neighbouring kingdom of Paekche, a form of Buddhist masked dance play was performed at court, and, in the 7th century, it too was taken to the Japanese court at Nara by a Korean performer, Mimaji, who had learned the dances while staying at the southern Chinese court of Wu-hou. Called kiak in Korea and gigaku in Japan, the Aryan features of some of its masks clearly indicate Indian (or Central Asian) influence. Su ch complicated genealogies are common in East Asian performing arts. Korean drama has its origins in prehistoric religious rites, while music and dance play an integral role in all traditional theatrical performances. A good example of this classical theatrical form is the masked dance called sandaenori or talchum, a combination of dance, song and narrative punctuated with satire and humor. Slightly varying from one region to another in terms of style, dialogue and costume, it enjoyed remarkable popularity among rural people until the early 20th century. Pansori, the lengthy narrative songs based on popular tales, and Kkokdugaksinoreum or puppet plays, performed by vagrant artists, also drew large audiences. The shamanistic rituals known as gut were another form of religious theater that appealed to the general public. All these performances are seldom presented today. There are a few institutions that offer various performing arts in one place, an example of this being Jeong-dong Theater in central Seoul, that presents a traditional performing arts series, drama and music.

Steven Spielberg’s Interpretation of Philip K. Dicks’s Minority Report

Steven Spielberg’s Interpretation of Philip K. Dicks’s Minority Report In the year 2054 crime has become a thing of the past. The relatively new Pre-Crime system allows the government to operate an elite police force, which with the help of three very talented and unique human beings can see into the future and prevent countless crimes, especially murders before they happen. In Philip K. Dicks’s short story, The Minority Report, the world we live in is nearly infallible. With the reduction of violent criminal acts, people can live their lives in peace and prosperity without the fear of the pain and suffering, which usually accompanies violence. Likewise, in director Steven Spielberg’s 2002 movie re-creation of Dick’s renowned story, Spielberg also offers up an image of a nearly flawless society whose foundation is about to be tested to its limits. The atmosphere Philip K. Dick immersed the reader into in his short story about what is to come of crime and the future is very fast paced. The story itself being fairly short in length is action packed and abundant with drama, mystery, and suspicion. The opening scene takes place at the Pre-Crime headquarters where John Anderton, the Pre-Crime director confronts Ed Witwer, who is an ambitious newcomer to Anderton’s agency. As in Spielberg’s film the two quickly bond in not such an affectionate way. However, when Anderton decides to show off the way his crime prevention scheme works he’s stunned upon realizing that he has been predestined by his own system to kill a man in the upcoming week. In both versions of the story the main character, Anderton, now embarks on a quest to find out exactly what is happening to him. Under the suspicion that he’s being fr... ...y reasons why this could have occurred, the most probable one is that Spielberg needed to lengthen Dick’s short story and alter it slightly in order to make it more lengthy and meaningful to his target early 21st Century audience. Lastly, I personally preferred the original version of the story after seeing the film; however, after being given the chance to actually listen to Spielberg’s reasoning behind some of the things he did in his version of the story, the movie adaptation became more intriguing and meaningful to me than it had previously been. Works Cited Dick, Philip K. The Minority Report: And Other Short Stories by Philip K. Dick. New York: Kensington Publishing Corp., 2002 Minority Report. Writ. Dick, Philip K., Frank, Scott, Cohen, Jon. and Dir. Steven Spielberg. Prod. Goldman, Gary, Shusett, Ronald. Perf. Tom Cruise. 20th Century Fox, 2002.

Nursing Students at any College

Considering a nursing career can be both challenging and at the same time rewarding.   It is a commitment that needs time and effort in order to help others while constantly studying to update their knowledge.   Nursing is not for everyone, it is for the elite.   Even though it is a trend it does not mean everyone can pursue the career.   For students who are in this field it has never occurred that someone took it so lightly.   The pressure is always there yet they need to put a smile on their faces in front of their patients no matter how hard it is to work and study at the same time. One student in a prestigious school is at his third year.   He knew it along that he was going to pursue a nursing career.   He has his mind-set since he was a kid and now only a year to go before he graduates.   Although he wanted to be a nurse, he could not deny the fact that stress is the main hindrance to his goal. On the other hand another student from a different school is at his fourth and final year in nursing.   At first he never wanted to be a nurse, thinking that it would be hard to care for someone he barely knows.   After the span of four years he realized that everything was a misconception.   It is not just the hard work.   It is the feeling of fulfillment when he sees his patient go out of the hospital thanking him for the care that he has given. After interacting with some students, I realized that nursing is not a walk in the park career.   Nursing is not as simple as caring it requires knowledge and grace while performing a task. Stress is always present in any job.   Nursing is a good example of a very stressful career.  Ã‚   It is never a sedentary job that requires time and energy while performing your job.   Even as student, they are trained under pressure.   Every nursing student cares for their patients while thinking about their report which is one of the scenarios of stress in any student taking up this course. It is admirable to see students managing their time.   They tend to think about their priorities than having fun with their peers.   During weekends, there are times that they don’t even have a break.   Somehow they have to go to the hospital during weekends to get their patient’s data before their exposure in the hospital the following day. The profession is based on taking care of other people but it is very important to take care of your own well-being.   One awry of students is that they think more about their patients and they forget about themselves.   It is essential to be vigilant on personal health.   You need to take good care of yourself before you can take care of others. Learning is constant in this career.   There are always new updates of the old concepts that every student should be aware of.   Books are not just the source of information these days.   With the theoretical knowledge a student is equipped with the know how in applying it in the field. One of the most important aspects of nursing is teamwork.   Collaborating with the co-nurses is a must in maximizing the treatment for each patient.   Planning with the team can result to lesser effort and more effective intervention. Even as student nurses, they are considered as modern day heroes.   But as humans there are also limits.   It is very important to know your limitations, students should never intervene with the duties that only a registered nurse can do.   Instead of helping they might end up making the situation worse. References Antai-Otong, Deborah (2003). Psychiatric Nursing, Biological and Behavioral Concepts . Singapore: Thomson Asian Edition C. Dailing, Personal Communication, July 28, 2007 M. Sharks, Personal Communication, July 29, 2007            

How Federalism Has Changed Since the Ratificationt of the Constitution Essay

Federalism has evolved over the course of American history. At different points in time, the balance and boundaries between the national and state government have changed substantially. In the twentieth century, the role of the national government expanded dramatically, and it continues to expand in the twenty-first century. Dual Federalism (1789–1945) Dual federalism describes the nature of federalism for the first 150 years of the American republic, roughly 1789 through World War II. The Constitution outlined provisions for two types of government in the United States, national and state. For the most part, the national government dealt with national defense, foreign policy, and fostering commerce, whereas the states dealt with local matters, economic regulation, and criminal law. This type of federalism is also calledlayer-cake federalism because, like a layer cake, the states’ and the national governments each had their own distinct areas of responsibility, and the different levels rarely overlapped. The Civil War and the Fourteenth Amendment (1861–1868) Part of the disputes that led to the Civil War (1861–1865) concerned federalism. Many Southerners felt that state governments alone had the right to make important decisions, such as whether slavery should be legal. Advocates ofstates’ rights believed that the individual state governments had power over the federal government because the states had ratified the Constitution to create the federal government in the first place. Most Southern states eventually seceded from the Union because they felt that secession was the only way to protect their rights. But Abraham Lincoln and many Northerners held that the Union could not be dissolved. The Union victory solidified the federal government’s power over the states and ended the debate over states’ rights. The Fourteenth Amendment, ratified a few years after the Civil War in 1868, includes three key clauses, which limit state power and protect the basic rights of citizens: 1.The privileges and immunities claus e declares that no state can deny any citizen the privileges and immunities of American citizenship. 2.The due process clause limits states’ abilities to deprive citizens of their legal rights. 3.The equal protection clause declares that all people get the equal protection of the laws Industrialization and Globalization (1865–1945) The nature of government and politics in the United States changed dramatically in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. The national government assumed a larger role as a result of two major events: 1.Industrialization: The economy became a national, industrial economy, and the federal government was much better equipped than the states to deal with this change. For much of the nineteenth century, the government pursued a hands-off, laissez-faire economic policy, but it began to take a stronger regulatory role in the early twentieth century. 2.Globalization: Because of its vast economy and its extensive trading networks, the United States emerged as a global economic power. The federal government assumed a greater economic role as American businesses and states began trading abroad heavily. Although these events played out over many decades, they reached their high points during the presidency of Franklin Roosevelt (1933–1945). The Great Depression, brought about by the crash of the stock market in 1929, was one of the most severe economic downturns in American history. Many businesses failed, roughly one-third of the population was out of work, and poverty was widespread. In response, Roosevelt implemented the New Deal, a series of programs and policies that attempted to revive the economy and prevent further depression. The New Deal included increased regulation of banking and commerce and programs to alleviate poverty, including the formation of the Works Progress Administration and a social security plan. In order to implement these programs, the national government had to grow dramatically, which consequently took power away from the states. Cooperative Federalism (1945–1969) Federalism over much of the last century has more closely resembled a marble cake rather than a layer cake as federal authority and state authority have become intertwined. The national government has become integrated with the state and local governments, making it difficult to tell where one type of government begins and the other types end. State and local governments administer many federal programs, for example, and states depend heavily on federal funds to support their own programs. This type of federalism is calledcooperative federalism, or marble-cake federalism. New Federalism (1969–present) Since the 1970s, political leaders and scholars of the New Federalism school have argued that the national government has grown too powerful and that power should be given back to the states. Although the national government remains extremely important, state governments have regained some power. Richard Nixon began supporting New Federalism during his presidency (1969–1974), and every president since Nixon has continued to support the return of some powers to state and local governments. Although political leaders disagree on the details, most support the general principle of giving power to the states. New Federalism has taken concrete form in a variety of policies. New Federalists have argued for specific limits on federal power, as well as devolution, a policy of giving states power and responsibility for some programs. For example, the 1996 welfare reforms gave states the ability to spend federal dollars as they saw fit. Supporters claim that local and state governments c an be more effective because they understand the circumstances of the issue in their state. They argue that a one-size-fits-all program imposed by Washington cannot function as effectively. Advantages and Disadvantages of New Federalism New Federalism appeals to many people because of its emphasis on local and state governments. Many Americans feel that the national government has become too intrusive and unaccountable. These people champion state and local government as closer to the people and thus more accountable. However, Americans often want a single seat of power for some tasks. Competing local and state governments can cause more problems than they solve, especially during emergencies. For example, the terrible hurricanes of 2005 led residents of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to demand a better, more unified national response. The Supreme Court and New Federalism The Supreme Court has played a New Federalist role by siding with state governments in a number of cases. Perhaps the most well-known of these cases is United States v. Lopez (1995), in which the Court ruled that Congress had overstepped its authority in creating gun-free school zones. More controversially, in 2000, the Court struck down parts of the Violence Against Women Act (1994) for much the same reason in United States v. Morrison. In other cases, the court has ruled that state governments cannot be sued for violating rights established by federal law. Overall, the Supreme Court in the 1990s reduced the power of the federal government in important ways, particularly in relation to the commerce clause.

Kate Chopin and her influence on women’s rights Essay

â€Å"I would give the essential, I would give my money, I would give my life for my child; but I wouldn’t give myself† (Chopin). The rights that women enjoy today were not always as equal to that of males. The women’s rights movement transitioned America’s views of them from the way they were pre-nineteenth century to now. Novelist Kate Chopin’s literary works was a crux that aided in the strength of the movement. Women faced many hardships, and Kate Chopin, a literary genius, contributed to a lot to the movement. To begin, in the nineteenth century people married at a very young age and women did not work in that time. They were denied employment outside of seamstresses and mid-wives; therefore they couldn’t always realistically support themselves. Women had to get married so that someone could support them. Women were also not their own person; they were the property of their husbands and it was expected for them to get married and have babies. Women were not allowed the freedoms men enjoyed such as that of the law, the church or the government. Married women could not make legal contracts, divorce her husband or win the right to custody of their children. The History Education sector of the university of Maryland states: â€Å"The role of women in the nineteenth century was viewed as ‘’subordinate to males’’ and was therefore subject to the laws and regulations imposed upon them by men.’’ (Hoffberger 2) Moreover, for centuries there has always been a struggle for women to find equality and respect from men. Kate Chopin, a great writer of nineteenth century, had written novels that assisted in the upheaval of the previously stated rights of women, or lack of rights. Kate Chopin’s literary works often include male and female gender roles that are sometimes challenged by the female protagonists in the stories. Her literary works include themes about liberation and conformity in society. In Kate Chopin’s fictional short stories, â€Å"†The Story of an Hour,† and â€Å"Desiree’s Baby†Ã¢â‚¬  both show examples of the lack of freedom in the role of women in society. Kate Chopin’s viewpoints in that time period helped her influenced how other women perceived women’s rights; she was a woman far ahead of her time. At the same time, Kate Chopin was an author who was underappreciated by those in her generation. Much of this was due to the fact that she was a contemporary  author, who primarily wrote about women’s sexuality and their roles in the world. She had strong, independent women as role models in her youth so it is not surprising that these same attributes would blossom, not only in her personal life, but in her character’s lives as well in â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and â€Å"Desiree’s Baby.† While these two works do share some similarities there are also vast differences and a few parallels from Chopin’s own life. Katherine O’Flaherty, later Kate Chopin, was born in St. Louis, Missouri on February 8, 1851. She was born to stable and publicly known parents, Eliza and Thomas O’Flaherty. Eliza O’Flaherty was of French-Creole descent, while her father was a native of Ireland. Unfortunately, when Chopin was only five years old , her father was killed in a train accident. As a result, Kate Chopin lived her preteen years in a female-centered household. She lived with her mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, all of whom were widows. Her great-grandmother encouraged artistic growth by teaching her piano and storytelling. Chopin got married when she was twenty year olds and had six children till her husband passed away. She was 39 years old when she began to write fiction, her earlier life being consumed with education, marriage and children. Without the backing of the feminist movement, which had barely begun in certain areas of the country, the sexual and scandalous events in her second and final novel â€Å"The Awakening† were cause for the majority of readers to ban it from the shelves of great literature. It was not until the mid-1900’s that the book was promoted in a new light to a more accepting audience. In addition, Peggy Skaggs, the author of Kate Chopin a critical Bibliography, states that â€Å"Chopin’s development as a writer reflect in microcosm the larger movement in American literature from romanticism and local color to realism and naturalism’’ ( Skaggs 10). Furthermore, Chopin’s works have reflected to American literature because of her focu s on love within race and ethnic aspect. In many of Chopin’s stories she has exceeded simple regionalism and portrayed women who seek spiritual and sexual freedom against the more restrictive southern society of nineteenth century. Kate Chopin has emerged as one of the greatest as well as most admired American short story novelists, poet, and essayists. Critic Cynthia Griffin Wolf exclaims: â€Å"The vision in all of Chopin’s best fiction is consummately interior, and it draws for strength upon her willingness to confront the bleak fact of life’s tenuous stabiles’’ (Griffin 6). One of the  greatest sample is ‘’ Desiree’s baby’’ which is ‘’perhaps one of the world’s best short stories’’ (Griffin 1) Assuredly, the actual settings of â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† are the first instance where the two stories differ. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, the entire piece takes place in Mrs. Mallard’s home or the scenery outside the house. In fact, the outside scenery plays an important role to the story, paralleling the new spring with Mrs. Mallard’s new found freedom. Whereas the inside of the house does not play as major of a role, not even revealing what room Mrs. Mallard was in when she was notified of her husband’s passing. In â€Å"Desiree’s Baby†, the main factors of the setting include the Louisiana Bayou, the gates of Valmonde mansion, and L’Abri, a vastly larger group of settings than the prior. As in â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, one setting is described more clearly and most of the story takes place in L’Abri. The homestead is described as making Madame Valmonde shudder at the first site of it and it being â€Å"a sad looking place, Big solemn oaks, branches shadowed it like a pall† (Chopin, 243). The description of L’Abri foreshadowed events to come and symbolized the relationship of Armand and Desiree. Even though the two stories do not share a setting you can see the similarities that there is some obscure background with one major setting paralleling the main character in some way. This, in part, could be due to Chopin wanting to have a writing style of her own. Also the two main characters, Mrs. Mallard and Desiree, benefited from concentrating on the one main setting, largely because this setting was a reason of conflict in the character’s lives. In the same way that the settings shared likenesses and differences, the plot and theme of the two stories also do. The plots of â€Å"The Story of an Hour† and â€Å"Desiree’s Baby† obviously have to be different for the most part. In â€Å"The Story of an Hour†, the plot is a woman who finds out her husband is dead and after an initial shock she feels free to finally live her life. Thus when she has finally come to grips with all of the events and looking forward to her new life her husband comes in and she dies of shock attributed to a pre-existing heart condition (Chopin, 77-79). In â€Å"Desiree’s Baby†, the plot involves a woman named Desiree. As a child she was abandoned, and taken in by the Valmondes, but as a woman fell in love with Armand, a wealthy plantation owner. They get married and have a baby together, and after a short lived bliss come to find that the baby has  African American heritage. Armand turns against Desiree, assuming she is the one with African blood in her. As the story goes on Desiree kills herself and the baby only for Armand to find out he is the one who actually has African heritage (Chopin, 1-5). These two plots at first glance do not seem to share anythin g in common, however, there is one similarity gleaming through; the women’s relationships with their husbands. Both women do love their husbands, but the relationships are not on an equal level. In each case the women are looked upon as possessions. Mrs. Mallard’s thoughts were â€Å"There would be no powerful will bending her.† She openly felt controlled, while Desiree did not seem to care about the controlling attitude of Armand, which is shown in the line â€Å"When he frowned she trembled, but loved him† (Chopin, 2). While it is evident that the plots are for the most part different, one woman relishing the loss of a husband, and the other so fearing abandonment from hers that she kills herself, the themes are quite similar. Following this further, the themes of the two stories are also shared with many other works by Chopin, women in search of themselves (Korb, 1). Mrs. Mallard from â€Å"The Story of an Hour† can see her life finally beginning after the death of her husband, as illustrated by the line â€Å"Free! Body and soul free!† (Chopin, 79). She was looking forward to a life by herself, getting to know herself as an individual. Desiree, on the other hand, was searching for an identity, or herself, from the beginning when Monsieur Valmonde found her at the gate. While the Valmondes did take her in she did not feel like she had an actual identity until Armand gave her his name and she became his wife. After it became evident that the baby had African blood and the identity she had as Armand’s wife was taken away, she could not handle the idea of finding a new identity. Another similarity shared by Mrs. Mallard and Desiree is their death, in both instances provoked by their husbands. The similarities and differences are important because while people might be experiencing the same thing in real life, their attitudes towards it may not be the same along with the outcomes, which could have been a goal of the author’s. As stated earlier, many of Chopin’s works concentrate on women trying to find themselves and in these two cases after the ending of their relationships with their husbands. Whe n reading the biography of Chopin, there is a striking similarity with these two stories in particular. Kate O’Flaherty met and wed a man named Oscar  Chopin around 1869. She lived a happy life with him and had six children and as stated when Kate was only thirty-six year old, her husband died of swamp fever. While she loved her husband dearly, it is believed that she only first begun writing after her husband’s death (Kirszner & Mandell, 77). In a way this resembles the way that Mrs. Mallard only thought her life was beginning after her husband’s death. On the other hand, she could have been portraying her sense of abandonment by her husband in Desiree’s character in â€Å"Desiree’s Baby.† Another reason Chopin writes her characters only release from their troubles as death is because of the time period she lived in. Divorce was often unheard of or taboo. It is easy to see that one of the only main differences is the way that each of the women traveled the path to self-discovery and their outcomes. This in a large part could be from Chopin’s own marriage and life. However, all of her woman characters relate to her own life which helped shape America into a place where freedom and equality for women is possible. Although the women that she created were different, their challenges and accomplishments inspired different aspects of the feminist movement. Chopin’s literary works became highly popular in the late twentieth century and remain popular today. Thus Chopin did not quite spark the flame of the women’s rights movement, but it was tinder that fueled it into what it became. Her literary works will outlive her as a testament of the strength of women and what they can accomplish. Her contributions will survive to inspire women for generations.

William Carey Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

William Carey - Essay Example Indeed, as this essay hopes to establish, while William Carey's success emanated from his linguistic talents and his faith, it was, more significantly, the outcome of his rebellion against the Anglican faith and prevalent missionary model. The son of weavers, Carey's family could hardly afford to provide him with an education which extended beyond literacy and a rudimentary knowledge of history, geography, mathematics and science (George, 1991). His education certainly did not extend to either the classics or languages and, as a matter of fact, it was discontinued when, at the age of 14, he was apprenticed to a shoemaker. Nevertheless, his natural intellectual curiosity, compounded with his gift for languages, incited him to self-educate himself in both, successfully teaching himself Latin, Greek, Hebrew, Dutch, Italian and French (George, 1991). It was during his period of self-education and learning that Carey became increasingly discontented and disappointed with the Anglican Church. It was at this point, as George (1991) explains, that Carey increasingly found himself turning towards dissent against the Church of England and, eventually, the combined influence of his readings and an acquaintance, John Warr, motivated him to leave the church and join the Dissenters. His leaving of the Church of England and embrace of Dissent constitutes an important turning-point in Carey's life. As Parker (1914) explains, he did not leave the Church of England and the Anglicanism because he lacked faith but because his faith was not satisfied by that which the Church offered. Carey believed that the Anglican Church had, to a degree, lost its spiritual direction, had become too immersed in the material world and, as a direct result, was not fulfilling its duties towards God. That duty was the spreading of Christ's message to all parts of the world. It was with this in mind that not only did Carey become a Dissenter but joined with other Dissenters in the formation of a small Congregational Church (Parker, 1914). Although not even 18 at that time Carey had found his vocation and his life's work. From the Congregational Church, Carey joined the recently formed Particular Baptists and was baptized into the faith by Ryland, effectively declaring himself a committed Baptist (Mangalwadi, Magalwadi and Winter, 1999). In the Baptist faith, Carey found the spirituality which he had been searching for and which he had felt was lacking in the Church of England. This, however, did not mean that his period of rebellion had ended. It would not be an exaggeration to argue that it was during this period that his rebellion attained full expression and led him down a missionary's path. The spark which ignited Carey's most profound rebellion, a rebellion which was to inform and shape his life's work, was a Calvinist pamphlet which effectively stated that all men were not expected to, or responsible for, believing in the Gospels (Mangalwadi, Magalwadi and Winter, 1999). Carey wrote his disputation in The Gospel Worthy of All Acceptation and, in a Church meeting, preached the responsibility of all Christians to spread the Gospels. Indeed, when ordered by J.R. Ryland not to presume his responsibility to preach God's word since "when God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid or mine," Carey