Contrastive Linguistics Essay

The Language of the Stock Exchange – A Contrastive Analysis of the Lexis V clanku je podana analiza jezika borze s stalisca slovensko-angleske protistave. Izrazje (samostalniske zveze) obeh jezikov smo protistavili tako v strukturnem kot v semanticnem smislu, pri cemer se je razkrilo vec protistavnih znacilnosti, med drugim razlicni nacini ubeseditve istega pojma, terminoloske praznine in lazni prijatelji, slovensko borzno terminologijo pa zaznamujejo tudi angleske tujke. The article analyzes the language of the stock exchange from a Slovene-English contrastive viewpoint. The specialized lexis of the two languages was juxtaposed as to the structural and semantic differences of their respective terms and expressions (nominal phrases), revealing such contrastive phenomena as different conceptualizations, terminological gaps and false friends, while the Slovene stock exchange terminology is also characterized by English foreignisms. 1. Introduction James characterizes contrastive analysis (CA) as a hybrid linguistic discipline (1989: 4), since it is neither particularist nor generalist and is interested both in the immanent genius of a language and in the ways in which one language compares to other languages. CA does not strive to classify languages and is interested both in the differences and similarities between them. Having had strictly pedagogical implications at first, the theoretical foundations of CA were initially laid down by Robert Lado in his Linguistics Across Cultures (1957). Lado supported the conviction that if learners of a foreign language (L2) were made aware of the ways in which their mother tongue (L1) and L2 differed, this would facilitate foreign language learning. He went even further by claiming that the elements of L2 that are similar to the learners’ L1 will prove simple to learn, with those that are different being difficult. Lado was the first to suggest a systematic set of technical procedures for the contrastive study of languages; this included descriptions of languages and their comparisons as well as predictions of L2 learning difficulties. In its most ambitious phrasing, the Contrastive Analysis Hypothesis claimed to be able to predict all learners’ errors committed in using an L2. However, empirical studies conducted during the 1970s could not sustain this claim, making it clear that CA could only predict certain problematic areas for learners and some of the errors they are bound to make in their versions of L2 (James 1989: 145; my italics). All comparisons work on the basis of the assumption that the entities to be compared have certain things in common, and that any differences between them can be laid 154 Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 7 (2009) against this common background. A CA thus always involves a common linguistic platform of reference, against which contrastive deviations are stated. This common platform is termed tertium comparationis (TC). Depending on the adopted TC, the same aspects of language may turn out be similar or different (Krzeszowski 1990: 16). In syntactic and lexical contrastive studies, the TC is often taken to be formal or semantic correspondence (ibid. ), chiefly in combination. Contrastive linguistics is not a unified field of study. The focus may be on general or on language specific features. The study may be theoretical (theoretical CA), without any immediate application, or it may be applied (applied CA), i. e. carried out for a specific purpose (Fisiak 1981: 2–3). Further, Gabrovsek (2005: 75–6) points out that contrastive work can be done at the levels of: phonology, graphology, lexicology, grammar, and textology. This is why any contrastive work must necessarily be limited in scope and thus always represent but a fragment of the overall contrastive landscape of a given pair of languages. Contrastive lexicology is the contrastive study of the vocabularies of two (or more) languages. It concerns itself with the transposition of lexical items from L1 to L2 and vice-versa, facing such difficulties as culture-bound vocabulary, interlingual mismatches, lexical gaps, etc (ibid.: 62–194). Equivalence between lexical items in two languages can be complete (trgovalni dan—trading day), partial (organizirani trg—regulated market), or nil (TUVL; insider). There are two possible scenarios in transposing such problematic lexical units: either the L2 equivalent is completely unknown to us (what, for example, is narocilo z razponom in odstranitvijo neizvrsene kolicine in English), which might lead to considerable confusion or even a communication breakdown, or we are uncertain as to the correct collocate (is SLO organizator trga EN market organizer or market operator?), which may make our L2 unidiomatic, but does not impede successful communication. Depending on the pattern and environment it appears in, a lexical item will typically benefit from additional semantic shading imposed by the surrounding lexical elements (semantic tailoring), and often consequently receive different counterparts in L2. Note the pairs svezenj—bundle, avkcija—auction, majhen—small, but (in a stock exchange context) svezenj—block (trade), prekinitvena avkcija—volatility interruption, mali vlagatelj—retail investor. The collocator and the base, even if lexically predictable in L2, may appear in the opposite order in the two languages (zascita vlagateljev—investor protection) or be joined by a different preposition (trgovati z obveznicami—trade in bonds). Another collocation-related problem, interlingually, is false friends: (borzna) kotacija ? (market) quotation. Lexicological CA also deals with divergent polysemy (vzdrzevalec likvidnosti—liquidity provider or market maker). This article focuses on lexical contrastive studies and chooses as its TC the English and Slovene lexis of the language of the stock exchange, juggling between formal and semantic equivalence of the terms and expressions in the two languages. Taking the Slovene-English contrastive viewpoint, we focused on nominal phrases (NPs), which have been examined as to the types of (non-)correspondence, on the structural as well as semantic level. The aim of this article has not been a discussion of terminology as such; terminology is here solely the object of contrastive lexicology, which lies at the core of this paper. B. Bozinovski, The Language of the Stock Exchange †¦ 155 As to the structural aspect, a divergence had been expected of the following kind: SLO simple NP complex NP EN simple NP complex NP complex NP simple NP On the semantic level, an occasional discrepancy had been anticipated between the meaning of a particular NP in isolation and that in a particular context (in different word combinations, most notably collocations), semantic tailoring being a feature of not only LGP (language for general purposes) but also LSP (language for special purposes). We had thus expected NPs to have different translation equivalents in different environments. English being the lingua franca of the financial world, we had also expected to find the English terms to be of a much more specialized nature than their Slovene counterparts. 2. Materials and methods The present CA entailed a lexicological comparison of pairs of (original) Slovene and (translated) English texts used in the regular operations of the Ljubljana Stock Exchange Inc. (LJSE). In juxtaposing texts with the same TC—the common platform for comparison was stock exchange terminology—pairs of lexemes (terms and expressions) relevant to our discussion were singled out and compared as to their structural and semantic properties. Given that we dealt with an LSP, our primary concern was with NPs, which constitute the main part of any LSP. The analysis was based on the thus-compiled database of over 1,000 pairs of headwords, of which only a selection appears in this article. 3. Analysis 3. 1. SLO: simple NP > avkcija CVS delnica delnicar dividenda glavnica indeks izdaja nalozba narocilo obveznica posel EN: simple NP auction NAV share shareholder dividend principal index issue investment order bond trade 156 Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 7 (2009) 3. 1. SLO: simple NP > promet sklad svezenj trg EN: simple NP (continued) turnover fund block market The logical English equivalents for promet, posel and izdaja in general language or in isolation would be, for example, traffic, business and betrayal, with bond, auction and share being translated into Slovene as vez, drazba and delez, but in a stock exchange context the respective equivalents are LSP specific and uncontroversial. Svezenj and trg prove more problematic. The former can either be translated as block (of securities) or as block trade, since it can refer to a particular quantity of securities or to a trade executed in that particular quantity of securities—both svezenj in Slovene. Trg can either be rendered as single-word market or compound order book, depending on the context. In the case of the securities market in general, trg is equivalent to the EN market, but in combination with the trading platform and orders placed in the trading system, trg will normally be order book (narocila na trgu—orders sitting in the order book). SLO avkcija and dividenda are LSP terms of an international character, having been adopted from English (which their English counterparts clearly show), while the others are Slovene words. While avkcija, trg, izdaja, and narocilo are polysemous words of widespread use in Slovene LGP and only obtain specialized meanings when used in proper stock exchange contexts, dividenda, sklad, delnica, glavnica, nalozba and obveznica are financial terms of an inherently terminological nature. In English, the situation is slightly different; only dividend and investment belong to the financial field, while all other words have a wide range of uses and senses. In their full versions, CVS (cista vrednost sredstev) and NAV (net asset value) are structurally divergent but lexically transparent. 3. 2. SLO: simple NP borza dokapitalizacija kupnina lot nezaupnica pooblascenec pripojitev Statut VEP > EN: complex NP [N+N] [N+N] [N+N] [Adj+N] [N+PP] [N+N] [N+PP] [N+PP] [N+PP] stock exchange capital increase purchase price trading unit vote of no confidence proxy holder merger by acquisition Articles of Association NAV per unit Except for dokapitalizacija—capital increase, kupnina—purchase price, pripojitev—merger by acquisition and nezaupnica—vote of no confidence, which share at least some lexical elements, the remaining pairs are lexically completely divergent. B. Bozinovski, The Language of the Stock Exchange †¦ 157 3. 3. SLO: simple NP > EN: simple NP [N+N] [Adj+NP] [Adj+N] [N+PP] [Adj+NP] [N+N] [Adj+N] [N+PP] [N+N] [Adj+N] [Adj+N] unit futures point delisting derivative tick LJSE quote (n. ) ticket ticker security enota premozenja financne terminske pogodbe indeksna tocka izkljucitev iz (borznega) trga izvedeni financni instrument korak kotacije Ljubljanska borza narocilo za nakup in prodajo stevilka posla trgovalna koda vrednostni papir The lexically completely divergent Ljubljanska borza and LJSE deserve a word of mention. While having an adjectival premodifier (denoting the place) and a simple nominal head (denoting the institution) in Slovene, English lexicalizes the concept differently in several respects. First, Ljubljana in Ljubljana Stock Exchange is a nominal premodifier, as opposed to the adjective ljubljanski. Further, the simple borza has a complex equivalent in English, namely the compound stock exchange, the two terms being lexically miles apart (the word borza itself has nothing in common with stocks or securities or exchanges of any kind). What is more, all this is packaged into an English acronym of the stock exchange name, thus LJSE, which is common practice with English names of stock exchanges (New York Stock Exchange—NYSE, London Stock Exchange—LSE, National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations— NASDAQ), while less so in Slovene. The Slovene name of the exchange either appears in its full form or is shortened to borza. English abbreviations and acronyms are a common feature of stock exchange terminology and have penetrated Slovene in their original forms in large numbers. Examples include ETF (exchange traded fund—indeksni vzajemni sklad), SI (systematic internalizer—sistematicni internalizator), MiFID (Markets in Financial Instruments Directive—direktiva o trgu financnih instrumentov), OTC (over-the-counter, which has no lexicalized equivalent in Slovene), FOK (fill-or-kill—narocilo z razponom in odstranitvijo neizvrsene kolicine). In these cases, there are no equivalent Slovene abbreviations (although descriptive equivalents do exist), since the English ones are recognized and actively used by all Slovene speakers of the LSP in question. Note also the difference between the highly idiomatic fill-or-kill as opposed to the descriptive Slovene expression. 3. 4. 3. 4. 1. SLO: complex NP > EN: complex NP Structurally and lexically transparent equivalents auction trading brokerage house avkcijsko trgovanje borznoposredniska hisa 158 Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 7 (2009) 3. 4. 1. Structurally and lexically transparent equivalents (continued) electronic trading financial instrument institutional investor public company trading day elektronsko trgovanje financni instrument institucionalni vlagatelj javna druzba trgovalni dan  Note further instances of the so-called international words in both columns, underlining the international character of the terminology: avkcijsko—auction, financni—financial, instrument—instrument, elektronsko—electronic, institucionalni—institutional. Although we do have a native Slovene word for institution, which is ustanova, there is no semantically corresponding Slovene adjective (ustanovni in this case would be a false friend); this is why the Slovene term employs the international premodifier. 3. 4. 2. Structurally parallel, lexically unpredictable equivalents official market regulated market retail investor semi-official market average price initial public offering bullish market registered shares private bonds government bonds open-end fund borzna kotacija organizirani trg mali vlagatelj prosti trg enotni tecaj prva javna prodaja bikovski trend imenske delnice podjetniske obveznice javne obveznice vzajemni sklad Here we have NPs of the uniform structure Adj+N on both sides, and what is problematic is the lexical choices—either of premodifiers or of heads. In place of official one would expect a fusion with the words stock exchange (judging from borzen). Kotacija does have a direct translation, namely quotation, but the English term refers to the highest bid or lowest ask price available on a security at any given time and thus the two are false friends. The very specific Slovene term borzna kotacija, which stands for the part of the LJSE regulated market intended for companies complying with strict reporting and disclosure obligations, only has one equivalent in English, namely official market. For organizirani trg, many would expect organized market, which, however, is a mistranslation. Instinctively, and not being familiar with stock exchange terminology, a translator might also be tempted to translate the seemingly unproblematic mali vlagatelj as something like small investor, which would of course result in implications divorced from the stock exchange context. If looked at in isolation, prost, enoten, prodaja, trend, imenski, kotacija, podjetniski, javen would all get translations different from those in the above right B. Bozinovski, The Language of the Stock Exchange †¦ 159 column. Here they appear in typical multi-word lexical items from the language of the stock exchange, and demand specific equivalents. The above pairs are also illustrative of the different conceptualizations in the two languages. Take podjetniske obveznice—they are not *entrepreneurial bonds or *company bonds, but rather private bonds. What is more, although one might expect, in view of the logic of things, the opposite of private to be public bonds, English nevertheless calls them government bonds (while Slovene does see them as public, thus javne obveznice). 3. 4. 3. Structurally divergent, lexically parallel equivalents 3. 4. 3. a. Opposite order of lexemes or different parts of speech delnica [prostega trga] druzba za upravljanje [dvotirni] sistem [vodenja druzb] indeks [blue-chip delnic] indeks [celotnega trga] indeks obveznic posel s sveznjem struktura prometa vzdrzevalec likvidnosti N+[NP] N+PP [Adj]+N+ [NP] N+[NP] N+[NP] N+N N+PP N+N N+N [semi-official market] share management company [two-tier management] system blue-chip index [total market] index bond index block trade turnover structure liquidity provider [NP]+N N+N [NP+N]+ N N+N [NP]+N N+N N+N N+N N+N In phrases with indices, Slovene has plural nominal postmodifiers in the genitive case (indeks obveznic), while English will typically lexicalize the same concept though a singular nominal premodifier in the nominative (bond index). The delnice part of the respective Slovene NPs (indeks blue-chip delnic, indeks delnic investicijskih skladov) has a nil realization in English (blue-chip index, investment fund index). 3. 4. 3. b. Structurally different premodifiers avkcijsko trgovanje celotna trzna kapitalizacija delniska druzba osnovni kapital presezni certifikat tekoci podatki trzna kapitalizacija trzno narocilo cenovno obcutljiva informacija dobro pouceni vlagatelj auction trading total market capitalization joint-stock company share capital outperformance certificate real-time data market capitalization market order price-sensitive information well-informed investor 160 Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 7 (2009) Slovene uses adjectival premodifiers where English has nominal ones, except in the last two cases, which both share the structure of a nominal head premodified by an adjective and even share the same head, but employ different premodifiers; the Slovene premodifier has the head obcutljiv premodified by the adverb cenovno, whereas in English the same information is lexicalized through a compound composed of a noun (price) and an adjective (sensitive). 3. 4. 3. c. Structurally different postmodifiers delnice investicijskih skladov predcasni odkup delnic stopnja donosa trzna kapitalizacija obveznic shares of investment funds early redemption of shares rate of return market cap of bonds The recurrent pattern here is a nominal postmodifier in the genitive case in Slovene as opposed to a postmodifying prepositional phrase (PP)—typically the of-phrase, as shown by all of the above examples—in English. Both groups of postmodifiers have the same function (namely that of expressing genitival relations), irrespective of their having different constructions; Slovene being a synthetic language, its expression of the genitive involves attaching genitival suffixes on postmodifying nouns, with English, an analytic language, having the same content expressed through an independent morpheme (the preposition of). Postmodifiers may be PPs on both sides, but with different heads: sredstva v upravljanju trgovanje z obveznicami sistematicni internalizator za delnice 3. 4. 4. N+PP N+PP NP+PP assets under management N+PP trading in bonds N+PP systematic internalizer in NP+PP shares Structurally and lexically divergent equivalents EN BTS trading system GBD brokerage house market maker TUVL segment 3. 4. 4. a. Explanatory equivalent BTS GBD TUVL segment The acronym TUVL stands for Trg uradnih vzdrzevalcev likvidnosti, BTS for borzni trgovalni sistem and GBD for Gorenjska borznoposredniska hisa, none of which have English counterparts. There are other Slovene acronyms and abbreviations that do not have direct English equivalents and need explanatory phrases when being translated into English, e. g. , CTG (celotna globina trga), ATVP (Agencija za trg vrednostnih paprijev), KDD (Centralna klirinsko depotna druzba), DZU (druzba za upravljanje), ID (investicijska druzba), PID (pooblascena investicijska druzba), and others. Disregarding the names of institutions, only a few are left, a situation B. Bozinovski, The Language of the Stock Exchange †¦ 161 somewhat different from that in English, which abounds in abbreviated forms. These, in turn, do typically not require explanatory Slovene phrases to be understood by Slovenes, being used world-wide by the speakers of the LSP in question. Slovene abbreviations, on the other hand, are not self-explanatory or known to English speakers, and therefore do need explanations. Cf. 3. 3. 3. 4. 4. b. Non-transparent equivalents Below are a few groups of recurrent constructions that appear in the two languages as equivalent: SLO: NP [NP(nomin. )+NP(gen. )] [Kodeks upravljanja] [javnih delniskih druzb] SLO: NP [N(nomin. )+N(gen. )] nihanje cen obrat kapitalizacije placilo kuponov revizija indeksov SLO: NP [N(nomin. )+NP(gen. )] indeks [delnic borznega in prostega trga] EN: NP [NP+N] [Corporate Governance] Code EN: NP [N+N] price volatility turnover rate coupon payment index review EN: NP [NP+N] [total market] index Note the contrastively problematic EN index review (similarly index performance, index structure, index constituents, etc), where the premodifying noun index is always in the singular, both if referring to a single index (SLO revizija indeksa) or several (SLO revizija indeksov). This calls for an attentive English-Slovene translator who must infer from context. SLO: NP [N(nomin. )+NP(gen. )] datum [zapadlosti zadnjega kupona] SLO: NP [N(nomin. )+N (gen. )] institut izstopa institut iztisnitve oddelitev druzbe SLO: NP [NP+PP] [prvi trgovalni dan] [brez upravicenja do dividende] [izvedeni financni instrumenti] [na blago] SLO: NP [NP/N+PP] [borzni clan] [z oddaljenim dostopom] narocilo [s preudarkom] EN: NP [N+N] coupon date EN: NP [cpd] sell-out squeeze-out spin-off EN: NP [N+N] ex-dividend date commodity derivatives EN: NP [Adj+N] remote member discretionary order. 162 Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 7 (2009) SLO: NP [N+PP] delnice [v borzni kotaciji] 3. 4. 4. b. Non-transparent equivalents (continued) SLO: NP [N+PP] poslovanje [s sveznji] prenosi [med racuni istega imetnika] trgovanje [z vrednostnimi papirji] trgovanje [na podlagi notranjih informacij] SLO: NP [N+PP] potrdilo o pravnomocnosti SLO: NP [Adj+N] (borzni) clan kosovne delnice presecni datum EN: NP [NP+N] [official market] shares. EN: NP [N+N] block trading inter-accounts management securities trading insider dealing EN: NP [N(gen. )+NP] court’s [finality seal] EN: NP [N/NP+N] member (firm) [no par value] shares record date The above lists of corresponding construction patterns are far from exhaustive. We have merely made an attempt at classifying selected NPs both according to their structural (congruent or divergent) and lexical (transparent or oblique) properties, trying to show that there are innumerable patterns of correspondence between the two languages. 4.  Discussion and conclusion The present analysis has mapped out a complex web of interlingual correspondences between Slovene and English terms and expressions from the language of the stock exchange. The CA focused on the form of the identified pairs of NPs as well as on problems of meaning, discovering such interlingual difficulties as divergent polysemy, false friends, conceptual and lexical gaps. This was expected, since languages are known to differ in an unsystematic and largely unpredictable manner as to expressing the same content. We will now present our findings under the following three headings: a. Translation correspondence. Lexical (terminological) gaps The analysis has shown the prevalent type of translation correspondence between the identified Slovene and English NPs to be partial correspondence; it involves structural non-congruence, often coupled with complexities of meaning. Example pairs include: pooblascenec—proxy holder, trgovalna koda—ticker, posel s sveznjem—block trade, trzna kapitalizacija—market capitalization, promet clanov—turnover by member firms, nominalne delnice—par value shares, etc. There were also instances of complete correspondence, where the English and Slovene NPs were both structurally and semantically congruent, but these were a minority. Examples include: promet—turnover, trgovalni dan—trading day. B. Bozinovski, The Language of the Stock Exchange †¦ 163 Examples of nil correspondence between English and Slovene NPs have revealed lexical (or, rather terminological) gaps in the languages of the stock exchange, where certain concepts exist or have been lexicalized in one language but not in the other. English terms for which there are no ready-made Slovene equivalents include insider, blue-chip, OTC, and many others. Our expectations regarding the three types of translation equivalence to be found between lexical items in two languages, as laid down in the Introduction, have thus been confirmed. English is the lingua franca of business and finance, and this is also reflected (interlingually) in the language of the stock exchange. New concepts and terms for them are born in the Anglophone West, while the rest of the world adopts the English terminology and mostly just localizes it to a certain extent, often failing to come up with language-specific equivalent terms. As a result, Slovene stock exchange terminology abounds in carbon copies of English terms (blue-chip indeks, sistematicni internalizator, insajder), directly modelled upon their English counterparts, and descriptive expressions (izvedeni financni instrument, trgovanje na podlagi notranjih informacij, prvi trgovalni dan brez upravicenja do dividende). Especially tricky are virtually untranslatable English terms that have no lexical equivalent in Slovene at all (mistrade, market maker, OTC, hedge fund). Problematic as to their Slovene equivalents are also the idiom-like pumping dumping, painting the tape, wash sales, scalping, etc. When there are no ready-made translation equivalents (lexical, conceptual gaps), there are at least three options—a) to make up a new Slovene term, b) to opt for a descriptive equivalent, or c) to try to find an approximate â€Å"functional† equivalent. Descriptive expressions (posli, pri katerih je sprememba lastnistva financnih instrumentov zgolj navidezna for wash sales) can be long-winded. Functional equivalents (narocilo s skrito kolicino is a type of order very similar to iceberg order, but not identical to iceberg) can be inaccurate. The third option, to invent a new term, lies outside the scope of translation work, since in LSP it is not customary for translators to decide on preferred terms for concepts. These are for experts to agree on (sometimes in cooperation with linguists). Once they become used and catch on, the translator may recognize them as legitimate equivalents, based on expert advice, but not before, lest they become ghost words, i. e. terms that exist on paper, but not in actual use. There are also some Slovene terms with no mirror-image English equivalents, which is a general feature of any terminology, not just the language of the stock exchange. TUVL, BTS, and the like are limited to terms for concepts unique to the Slovene stock exchange trading platform. We can therefore speak of conceptual gaps. They are translated into English through explanatory equivalents, e. g. , market maker TUVL segment. b. Interference. Collocations, false friends and the like It is a known fact that language learners (translators as non-native speakers of an L2 included) are inclined to draw analogies with their L1 when constructing lexical units in L2. When the two languages overlap in their formal, semantic or grammatical features, this leads to positive transfer and correct L2 lexical items (terms and expressions). Slovene terms such as mednarodni razpis, nalozba, dividenda, obveznica and 164. Slovenski jezik – Slovene Linguistic Studies 7 (2009) their English translations are parallel in all of the above respects and thus unproblematic in translational and contrastive terms. If the formal, semantic or grammatical features of L1 and L2, however, do not overlap, or if they do but only partially (when meanings agree, but not forms, or the other way around), then constructing L2 terms on the analogy with L1 ones leads to lexical errors and we speak of interference or negative transfer from L1. This is a possibility with the bulk of Slovene stock exchange terms and expressions. Take aplikacija, for instance. A translator unfamiliar with the terminology of the field might be tempted to translate it as application, which, to my knowledge, has no specialized meaning in this field, the correct equivalent being the unpredictable cross trade. Or the much debated organizirani trg, which is not organized in English, but rather regulated market. Consider also the temptation of word-for-word rendering of korak kotacije, borzna kotacija, mali vlagatelj, prekinitvena avkcija and many others. Negative transfer works in the opposite direction as well, when it is known as backward interference; under the influence of L2, learners can be often tempted to remodel their L1 lexical items to match those in L2. Even if backward interference be at work, expressions such as financial markets, legal framework, investors would not cause any problems, since they are structurally and semantically parallel to their Slovene equivalents. It gets tricky when the Slovene term for open-end fund is not odprti sklad, but rather vzajemni sklad, and especially with terms such as quote. Quote has the attractive verbal equivalent kotirati that does exist and is widely used but with a different meaning, the correct rendering being narocilo za nakup in prodajo. The cross-linguistic floors are also slippery with terms such as regulated market, which appears unproblematic at first sight; in fact, however, regulirani trg is an expression that does not exist in the Slovene language of the stock exchange, where the same concept has been lexicalized through another lexeme—organizirani trg. Further, there are pairs of NPs that look deceptively similar, yet differ in important details, which we had anticipated in the Introduction to this article. For instance, trade in shares is trgovati z delnicami, assets under management is sredstva v upravljanju, right on a security is pravica iz vrednostnega papirja, bond (sg. ) index is indeks obveznic (pl. ), dobicek (sg. ) na delnico is earnings (pl. ) per share, and capital markets can either be kapitalski trg (sg. ) or kapitalski trgi (pl. ). Grammatical collocations are a notoriously difficult interlingual area, causing problems especially in encoding, and so are the singular—plural distinctions. When translating slovenski kapitalski trg into English, most would opt for the only reasonable choice, namely Slovene capital market. Yet the English prefer the plural expression, thus Slovene capital markets. Due to semantic tailoring, a lexical item may be endowed with a multitude of semantic shadings and consequently receive different counterparts in the other language. Trg, for instance, is not always market in the language of the stock exchange. Borzni and prosti trg are exchange and semi-official market, while for narocila na trgu we have orders sitting in the order book. Similarly, the adjective organizirani can either be organized (trading) or regulated (market) in English, while vzdrzevalec likvidnosti can either be liquidity provider or market maker, depending on the context. B. Bozinovski, The Language of the Stock Exchange †¦ 165 Conversely, the EN share is not always delez in Slovene; note the pairs share—delnica, official market share—delnica na borznem trgu, market share—trzni delez, share capital—osnovni kapital. This confirms our expectations worded in the Introduction on the possible discrepancy between translation equivalents of lexemes in isolation (aplikacija—application, organiziran—organized) and those of the same lexemes in a particular context (aplikacija—cross trade, organizirani trg—regulated market). It is one of the goals of contrastive lexicology to point out such controversial pairs of collocations and thus sustain the claim that translation equivalence is largely collocation-dependent. The analysis has also singled out Slovene and English NPs that look similar (have a similar form), but differ, at least partly, in meaning (the so-called false friends). One of them usually belongs to the LSP of the stock exchange, while the other has LGP applications divorced from the stock exchange context: quote (n. )—kotirati (v.), institutional inve.

Publix Case Essay

Identify the relevant marcroenvironmental factors. What impact do these issues have on the focal organization? Level I: The Global Business Community The macroenvironment consists of the global business community, focusing more on the external environment of an organization. The macroenvironmental factors that are relevant to Publix and its industry includes society, demographics, economic, natural, political/legal, and technological. I.Society: Publix serves over 1 million customers every day. This consists of individuals being influenced by others, organizations, society, and the subcultures, which they identify with. Publix is based in the United States, initially being founded in Florida. In places such as Atlanta, Florida, South Carolina and Tennessee, where Publix has presence, consist of a melting pot of cultures that have come to the â€Å"land of the free† for convenience and freedom of choice. Due to this, there are many subcultures that have their own preferences. Some only eat Kosher, organic, or specialty products, that may only be found in certain supermarkets; alternatively, consumers may just be looking for the best deal they can get their hands on. Customers, both men and women, are becoming more knowledgeable about products and are more demanding on quality in the goods they purchase, therefore being more involved in company’s decision making process. â€Å"Nutritional conscious supermarket shoppers are checking labels as never before†(Mujtaba et al, 2012). II.Demographics: The growth rate of the population, the age distribution, and household patterns all account for many of Publix’s’ innovative ideas. In Florida, Atlanta, South Carolina, and Tennessee, all have a strong student population, as well as dual employed family homes. In such a fast paced society, a majority of this population can be categorized as time impoverished customers. They opt for already pre-cut food and prepared cooked dinners. Studies show that 37% of households buy prepared products at least once a week, a major increase from 27% in the previous year(Mujtaba et al, 2012).This is the reason why Publix was one the first to incorporate self-checkout within their stores to cater to this market. Similarly, Publix tried to penetrate the online market due to the trends of customer behaviors  to buying goods online. â€Å"By 2007, 20 million households in the United States will purchase groceries, goods, and other household items online†(Mujtaba et al, 2012). This is an approximate expenditure of $85 million dollars for mainly good items. The pattern of most household shows that individuals, families, and any other consumers in the supermarket industry, on average, live in a geographical area for about 10 years. This means that the average revenue spent by consumers every year have a lifetime value of ten years, and that relationship needs to be nurtured. Despite educational level, since the recession of 2008, many individuals have felt the effects not only in their bank account, but also within their daily lives. Therefore, in general, the United States has shifted to a â€Å"bargain shopping† way of purchasing goods. However, those living in the United States also seek the full package, and want to be taken care of [customer service], at a reasonable price. Therefore, there has been a trend showing cost- conscious customers turning away from premium brands towards individual store brands. III.Economic: Fortunately for all in the food industry, US food spending is on the rise. However, unfortunately for Publix and other supermarket retailers, they are not capturing their fare share of that market. Instead those penetrating the available market are alternatives to supermarkets, such as supercenters, warehouse clubs, and drug stores. When regarding the food industry in the United States it is a market-based economy, where there is currently an oversupply in choices available to the consumer. It has been 5 years since the recession hit consumers, thus companies all over the United States, and the average customer now spends $50,000 dollars as a lifetime value over ten years. However, due to recent trends, the average income of online target customers would deliver a higher profit those regular shoppers. IV.Natural: Over the last decade, there has been a lengthy move toward environmentalism. In the past, environmentalism would not have much to do with the food industry, but this view is incorrect. Generally speaking, most companies are expected to have a corporate social responsibility towards the environment, its well being, and the well being of its stakeholders. According to the food industry, across the board, consumers believe that corporations should  have their best interest in mind and provide foods that are of quality and are not detrimental to the human body. Global activists group have arisen such as Greenpeace, who have formed two other coalitions, including True Good Now and GE free Markets. V.Political/ legal: As mentioned, as customers obtain more knowledge and want a voice ion what is in the goods that they purchase, food safety is becoming a major issue in the grocery industry. Therefore, there have been many laws and regulations that have been enforced to ensure this. For example, seven of the nations largest grocery stores have admitted to re-dating meats and fish that had already reached their original sell by date. VI.Technological: Due to technology, 20000 new items are hitting the market every year across the board. The on-going innovations brought forth by technology are bringing changes and new procedures in all industries, not just food retailers. Therefore, the value of understanding and anticipating changes in consumer preference cannot be overestimated. Technology is a major success factor in the food industry and plays a major role in efforts to offer more value for the customers needs. It’s a new force in the environment that should not be reckoned with. It enhances the competitive position offering better service to the time- impoverished customer, and even those customers seeking convenience. Level III: The Focal Organization Each successive level is part of the preceding one. This is why macroenvironmental factors affect the focal organizations.   The fact that Publix serves over 1 million customers in America, does not mean that all of these consumers are similar in behavior, values, or associated subcultures. America has become a melting pot of cultures with various beliefs and household patterns. Due to the fact that these customers are becoming more demanding, it is important to have an environment that takes care of their employees, customers, suppliers and community that they serve, to bring increased value to the customer. This results in better quality and more needs that are satisfied. Their mission is to become the premier quality food retailer in the world. Customers are delighted with their shopping experience because Publix is responsive to the wants and  needs of customers, such as already prepared food, due to their Customer Intimacy Programs. To cater to the wide range of subcultures and demographics, Publix had to employ the Deliver plus 1% philosophy. You must meet the customers shopping needs, plus exceed it by 1%.   Despite the cost- conscious consumers, they get the full package they seek at Publix, that they would not find at another competitor such as Wal-Mart. Publix supermarkets are ranked third among 46 chains, nationwide. As their prices are slightly higher than some of its competitors, Publix received neutral ratings on prices but excelled in checkout speed, service, and cleanliness. This shows that the customer perceived value was higher than the customer perceived cost of paying slightly higher prices for high quality goods. Consumers do not mind spending a little extra to shop at Publix, once their ‘full package’ service is satisfied, with clean stores staffed with trained and friendly front line employees. Environmentally, Publix does their part. They are a caring employer, and are known for being socially responsible in the community. By adhering to the needs of consumers and abiding by safe and clean environments, this becomes a major strength of the Publix brand. Last but not least, technology is a major force that has aided Publix get to where it is today. They were one of the first companies to have water fountains, self- service shopping, shopping carts, and computerized scanning technology. These are all innovations that add to the Publix brand, where shopping can truly be a pleasure. Self-service checkouts cater to the time- impoverished customers, and the computerized scanning technology that assists in keeping shelves stocked. Technology has also allowed Publix to explore the online market, founding PublixDirect. Even though they did not do well, it is a start to discovering a whole new market, where opportunities for major profit exists. All Macroenvironmental factors have had a direct influence on Publix’s operations, as described above, especially technology. 2.Discuss the market factors. How do collaboration, competition, supplier, and regulators affect the performance of the focal  organization? Level II: The Market The market consists of the microenvironment. This includes all factors such as collaboration, competition, suppliers, and regulators. I.Collaboration: At Publix, †where shopping is a pleasure†, everything revolves around pleasing the customer. This philosophy does not change, and should never be compromised. To do this associates are encouraged to interact with their customer on a daily basis, resulting in immediate and local feedback. The advantage of this information is that Publix can better determine customers needs, wants and desires. To allow customers to enjoy shopping at Publix’s clean facility, management believes employees should also conduct work in a place â€Å"where working is a pleasure†. Publix offers their employees world class training programs, especially for their perishables department like the deli, bakery, produce and seafood. With over 1,000 stores, Publix has retained the largest employee- owned supermarket chain in the United States because it has a loyalty and commitment to employee training. In an industry that can be categorized with having high turnover, most of their employees have been working with them for 10 or more years. Associates are taught to understand that they are not just in the grocery business, but also in the people business. Through this world class training program, Publix has created its Publix Customer Intimacy Program that enables managers to keep their fingers on the pulse of the customer on a daily basis (Mujtaba et al, 2012). This is not only a phrase, but has turned into a philosophy. This allows Publix to get both information from their own consumers, and also from their competitors. Another program implemented in its stores is called the Associate Voice Survey (AVS), and Quality Improvement Process (QIP). The focus is not on the customer, but instead their associates. The fact that Publix is constantly rewarded for 100 Best Companies to Work For, Employers of Older Workers, and Employers of Choice, speaks a lot to the way they treat their employees, results in quality improvements and assures that front line employees carry out Publix’s philosophy. II.Competition: Despite the strong competition in the supermarket industry, Publix has no immediate plans to expand internationally at this time. Whether Publix is being undercut or imitated, they are not willing to concede its customers to  the competition. The idea is that â€Å"only [they] can give [their] customers a reason to shop elsewhere. As long as [they] take care of [their] customers better than anyone else, [they] will defeat [their] competition†( Mujtaba et al, 2012). Wal-Mart is one of their top competitor, similarly challenging other industries across the globe. They are number one retail grocer in the world and opened major supercenters throughout Florida, and in many other countries(Mujtaba et al, 2012). Due to economies of scale, they are able to successfully compete on price by undercutting almost all of their competitors. Therefore focus is beginning to shift to differentiation and performance improvement versus pricing, as no profits come from matching Wal-Mart prices. Within the food Industry, Safeway and Kroger Co. take second and first place as competitors, doubling and almost tripling their revenues, respectively, in 2009. Other companies such as Lacklusters financial performance has plagued some supermarket players in recent years, and also Walgreens, a food and drug store is one of the most admired companies. Whole foods, is a close runner up, which has achieved one third of Publix’s sales, and should be considered competition. Publix is still small relative to other giants in the food industry. However, it consistently ranks highest among its competitors. To stay among these ranks, Publix retains their customers by benchmarking by studying the best practices of their competition; find gaps between customer needs and availability, thus, trying to fill them. Despite major profit possibilities, none of the major grocery chains have mastered the online arena. III.Suppliers As with most companies, the suppliers that distribute to Publix are not noted in the case. However, Publix prides itself on a corporate culture of an organization that creates superior value, but also high quality goods. Suppliers are likely to have a relationship with Publix, such as the one they have with their employees. Its about quality products at good prices, with a good shopping experience. Offering â€Å"functional foods† that are fortified with popular herbs, vitamins, and healthy additives implies that Publix must have a healthy relationship with their suppliers to supply this. Also, with the rise of cost- conscious consumers, Publix offers their own brand to cater and retain them. With private label branding continuing to  grow, Publix must have their own supplier, which differs from all others, which supply their individual local brand. Private label branding grew 10.2% from 2007, and accounts for 25%( Mujtaba et al, 2012). 64% of shoppers said they often or always buy a store brand versus a national brand (Mujtaba et al, 2012), which has major implications for supermarkets and their own suppliers. IV.Regulators Mentioned previously, food safety has become a major concern. Therefore, in the food industry, leaders are paying more attention to ensure that the food products are in a safe and clean environment. They are required to constantly look at all risks that are associated with providing good quality as well as good safety, while attempting to get rid of them. Level III- Focal organization: Embedded in Publix’s business culture is that everything revolves around the customer, and servicing them with a smile. Their value proposition for customers clearly states that its customers want more than just groceries. Customers must be satisfied, delighted, and excited every time they visit or shop at your store. Some try to copy Wal-Marts style of providing low cost goods to customers, and almost guarantee a re-purchase. However, studies show that this is not an easy task, and is not likely favorable to those retailers. Hence the reason Publix strives for differentiation. How do they maintain this competitive advantage whole competing with supermarket giants? Through the different programs at Publix, such as the Customer Intimacy Program and the AVS, employers are able to provide customers with value. They have created cross-functional and ad hoc teams to discuss opportunities for improvement that prove the fact that â€Å"two heads are better than one†. That is a competitive advantage in itself, being equipped with front line employees committed to making the arena a better place for the company’s consumers. They are committed to satisfying the needs of its customers better than their competition. This is why they passionately focus on customer service, because only they can give their customers a reason to leave, and attracting  new customers is about five to six times more costly than retaining the ones they. Service is what Publix built its reputation on. As a result, Publix is ranked third among 46 chains, nationwide. Collaboration and Competition are the major factors regarding the microenvironment that affect their focal organization.

Mistakes and Failures of a Business Essay

Small and large business fails because they take risk to many risks in what they do. Lots of times it is the employees that make or break a business or the owner of the business, which makes a business fail. The way they fix the problem is to ask the employees what they are looking to get out of the business and what they like to see done with the business these way owners and employees can work together as a team and not make mistakes and failures in the next years to come. Lots of business blindly trust employees witch means that the worker can take from the business or have problems with others they work with from day to day. The employee will give his/her boss mix singles on the task at hand and with that the business will fail and lose profits as well there income or overheard will be lost. The biggest failure of a business is employee time theft this cost the business money and time witch can fail a business and is a big mistake the business misses every day. As stated by go4funding. com every single day, many businesses fail for numerous reasons. According to the United States’ Small Business Administration (SBA), approximately 90% of all small enterprises fail within the first two years of operation, primarily because many entrepreneurs lack the basic knowledge and experience in handling the challenges of their company in its initial stages. The following are several common problems that are encountered during this vital preliminary phase. Business owners should be informed about these issues and work diligently to address them in order to avoid failure.

Pride and prejudice compare and contrast novel and film 2005 Essay

Jane Austen penned masterfully the novel Pride and Prejudice. For many countries for many years and with or without the movie adaptation, this novel has achieved superstar status, considered by many as one of the best work of fiction that they had and one of the most read. Proof of the very good story line behind the novel is the fact that movie and television production outfits does not seem to tire in making movie adaptation of the novel year after year. Because of this, it has become important to criticize the resulting characteristics that will surface once comparison between the movie, particularly the 2005 version, and the novel is made. This paper will discuss several significant characteristics noticeable in the comparison of the 1813 Jane Austen novel with the 2005 film adaption of Pride and Prejudice, and these are (1) inconsistencies with the characters, (2) compressed scenes, (3) changes in the scene and (4) the introduction of new scenes. Inconsistencies with the Characters One of the noticeable characteristics that the 2005 film version of the novel has in comparison with the original novel story is the changes that happen to the characters and the personalities of these characters. Some differences are minimal, like the changes in the physical attributes of the characters. A very good example of this is the case of the character of Mr. Collins. Mr. Collins, it seems, was described in the original novel as a person with who is tall. However, in the movie, this characteristic is not noticeable in the portrayal of Mr. Collins, as the Mr. Collins in the 2005 Pride and Prejudice movie cannot be characterized as tall since he seem to have the height common with the other male characters in the movie. There were also some noticeable differences in the way the character Elizabeth was portrayed in the movie compared to the way Elizabeth was constructed by Austen throughout the novel. In watching the movie, the audience may have the impression that Elizabeth has a very negative temperament, that she is highly strung or even boorish. But in the book, Elizabeth has the personality that qualifies her as someone who is more on the positive temperament, sprightly and even playful. Proof of this is unexpected, unrealistic and somewhat inconsistent characteristic of Elizabeth was a part in the movie wherein Elizabeth yelled at her mother in defiance, pointing to Elizabeth’s more negative behavior. This is somewhat contrary to the original Pride and Prejudice story because in the novel, the author did not make Elizabeth yell directly to her mother. While Austen made it obvious that Elizabeth has the characteristic to defy her mother, she did not do so directly and verbally. Another important point to raise here is that in consideration to the lifestyle and culture of the people during the time, daughters yelling at their mothers is something that is not common or usual compared to today, making it more unrealistic and not faithful to the original story and faithful to the culture in the real life during that time. Stephen Holden even went to the extent of claiming that Elizabeth’s 2005 portrayal is â€Å"not exactly the creature described in the 1813 novel (Holden 1). † Compressed Scenes The novel features a story that is considered lengthy if everything in it will be featured in the film. This is the same predicament that most movie adaptation of a novel encounters, and the movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice is no exception. The director is forced to cut, shorten and compress the different parts of the story in the effort to make it faithful to the novel and still ideal for the movie market. Because of this, significant missing parts in the movie that was featured in the novel are some situations and circumstances which are deleted, cut or shortened. Take for example, the part wherein Elizabeth was visiting Pemberley, Hunsford Parsonage as well as Rosings Park – this, as well as other parts of the novels where heavily compressed. The story focusing on how Lydia eventually eloped in the novel was also something that was compressed. Changes in the Scene Some scenes that were described by the author in the original â€Å"Pride and Prejudice† novel was not translated similarly in the film version. For example, when Darcy proposed to Lizzy for the first time, the author placed this particular scenario somewhere inside the house of Mr. Collins. But the 2005 movie version of the novel made it different, because in the movie, the proposal was made by Darcy to Lizzy while they were both standing under the rain. There were also significant and noticeable changes even with the second proposal, since the circumstances that led to the second proposal were different in the book compared to the scenes shown in the movie. According to the novel, the proposal happened after Lizzy did something for Mrs. Bennet that sent Lizzy in a particular place that night, but the circumstances presented in the movie puts Lizzy in bed but unable to get sleep, so she went out for a short walk and in the process meeting Mr. Darcy who was also taking a walk thinking about something serious that involved Lizzie as well as Lady Catherine de Bourgh (Ernst 44). Introduction of New Scenes In comparing the movie and the novel, another noticeable characteristic is the presence of scenes, situations and circumstances which are integral in the movie but is nonetheless not found in the novel. For example, there was a scene wherein both Mr. Darcy and Elizabeth were seen by the audience walking one night with nothing but their night clothes on. This kind of situation is something that is not presented in the book, and an educated guess might point to the fact that there maybe some reasonable factors why such was not the case in the novel – because it is not realistic. And the reason why this is not realistic is because the temperature may not be very convenient for someone to walk around on their night clothes on at night, and because this is not the action of someone who is of Mr. Darcy or Elizabeth’s stature, not to mention that walking around in nightclothes is something that is not usual, common or even normal during the time and age presented in Pride and Prejudice. Still related to the discussion on how the movie presented some scenes which are not only consistent with the novel but is also not consistent with the practice of the people during that time/era is the scene wherein Lady Catherine paid the Bennets a visit late in the night, and the Bennets greeted their visitor wearing their night clothes only. This is not in the novel, and this goes against common cultural practice among homes. People during that time make sure that they are fully dressed before presenting themselves to visitors. And visitors don’t actually visit other people unannounced and in very inconvenient times of the day or night. Because of these inconsistencies, the audience cannot help but feel that the creation of the 2005 movie version did not only put in scenes and details that are not consistent with the novel, it was also reflective of the lack of sensitivity with regards to the time, era and period that the novel that the story represents. Besides the inability of the production to consider being faithful to the culture at the time, some audience may also feel that the production of the movie did not seriously studied the aspects and details that support and put together the story as it is (like culture, practices etc). Conclusion The 2005 movie adaptation of Pride and Prejudice can be viewed in different contrasting perspectives. On one side, it can be considered as a very successful movie considering that it is an adaptation from a very popular novel and that many other adaptations made in film were created before it. On the other side, people can simply focus on the flaws and failures of the movie adaptation and call the movie not a worthy enough to be considered a film adaptation. In the end, it’s all about perspective. While there are indeed problems, there are also merits that the movie earned for it to be considered as good enough. â€Å"Like any other film adaptation, Austen’s Pride and Prejudice has positive and negative conditions for a translation onto screen (Ernst 35). † The truth is that for all of the differences that the 2005 movie had when compared to the novel it was based on, this is not surprising since the predecessor of this movie adaptation – which was already numerous since there is the 1940, 1980 and 1995 version – also has several flaws themselves, particularly when it comes to bearing differences from the original novel. There were also other little changes that were seen in the 2005 film. According to the website IMBD, a website that focuses on providing information about movies, there was even a difference in the ending in the US film (Pride and Prejudice 6). For all of these things, the only consolation there is can be found in the effort to be faithful to the novel by the movie, and for what it failed to accomplish. The audience should understand that there is indeed no perfect movie adaptation, since both movie and novel, however similar in story, are still different entities by themselves (Lupack 277). Works Cited Ernst, Reni. The Presentation of Speech and Thought in Jane Austen’s Price and Prejudice and in Joe Wrigth’s Film Adaptation. GRIN Verlag, 2008. Holden, Stephen. â€Å"Marrying Off Those Bennet Sisters Again, but This Time Elizabeth Is a Looker. † New York Times. 11 November 2005. 22 February 2009 . Lupack, Barbara Tepa. Nineteenth Century Women at the Movies: Adapting Classic Women’s Fiction to Film. University of Wisconsin Press, 1999. â€Å"Pride and Prejudice. † IMBD. com. 2009. 22 February 2009 .

Bullying: Self-esteem and God Essay

Bullying is a continuous cycle that starts when someone is so insecure that they feel the need to hurt someone. Often, the person who was bullied is left with low self esteem and he feels the need to put others down to make himself look better. People bully other people because they think that if they turn the attention to someone else, people won’t hurt or talk about them. They think that it will make them be more popular, but actually it just ruins their reputation. God talks about bullying in Luke 6:29 â€Å"If someone strikes you on one cheek, turn to him the other also. If someone takes your cloak, do not stop him from taking your tunic.† God never says to get even with them, call them a bad name, or hold a grudge. Jesus was constantly bullied. He was spit on, ridiculed, mocked, and whipped. He was even crucified, but still He never was mean to them. While He was on the cross, He said â€Å"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.† Even while His enemies were treating him horribly, all Jesus could think of is that He wanted to see them in heaven. Our goal also is that we want to see all people in heaven. Our life is not to focus on trying to be the most popular person. Our purpose here on earth is to tell others of our Savior so that they too will be in heaven. We are reminded of this in Matthew 28: 19 â€Å"Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.† Our relationship to others should always be one of love so we don’t put obstacles in the way of witnessing and spreading His Word. When we see someone else being hurt with words or actions, it is our job to stick up for them. If we don’t defend them, we commit the sin of omission, and we are as guilty as the bully. We need to speak well of each other, showing love and kindness to all people including the bully to help lead him to repentance. When we feel the urge to hurt someone with our words or actions, we should remember God’s command to love one another. We need to follow God’s command in Matthew 7:12 â€Å"So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you.† God has given us the perfect example of love by sending His Son to die for our sins. We need to show that same love to others through our words and actions. We need to think, if Jesus was in my exact position, what would He do? Obviously Jesus wouldn’t do anything that would hurt someone, but He’d always show love, compassion, and forgiveness. God made each of us special. Why then would we want to make fun of the way God made someone else? Our lives should always reflect Christ’s love for us. 1Peter 3:8 -10 â€Å"Live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. Do not repay evil with evil or insult with insult, but with blessing, because to this you were called so that you may inherit a blessing. For, ‘ Whoever would love life and see good days must keep his tongue from evil and his lips from deceitful speech.’†

Information Policy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 4

Information Policy - Essay Example In the opt-out system, Google could sell the book unless the copyright owner objected. Orphan work was also another issue of contention in the settlement. Google could sell the orphan works until the owner of the work showed himself. The owner of the work would be paid their share when they came forward. Was the court justified to reject the settlement despite the fact that it was after an agreement between Google and copyright owners? Based on the existing copyright laws, was the opt-out system proposed by Google in line with the existing laws? Bearing in mind that exceptions where the opt-out system is allowed, was the opt-out system beneficial to both parties and should it be added to the list of opt-out exemptions in the copyright law? How should orphan works be used? Should Copyright law apply to them? According to Swygert and Earle Yanes (1998), disputants will always rearrange their entitlements, rights, and liabilities in a manner which produces gain in their combined wellbei ng if they have perfect knowledge of all the alternatives, and transaction costs are zero. Can the Coase theorem be used to resolve copyright disputes such as the dispute between copyright owners and Google? Suppose the settlement between Google and Copyright owners was agreed on by the Court how would piracy affect such an agreement? How does piracy affect Copyright? According to DeNardis (2015), a search engine algorithm is one way to enforce trademarks and copyrights. The search engine ranks sites using algorithms, where sites with low ratings are blacklisted or shown lowest in the search. A three strike policy is also recommended whereby ISPs deny users who violate copyrights or trademarks Internet access. However, the UN indicates that the policy is against human rights. Another way of safeguarding copyright and trademarks is to switch off domains. The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) investigates domains that violate copyrights or trademarks

Psychology undefined, Darvin Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Psychology undefined, Darvin - Essay Example His Theory differs from Lamarckism in that Lamarck avoided the word "evolution", while Darwin's theory stays valid whether acquired traits are transmitted or not, Lamarck's theory becomes inoperative if acquired traits cannot be transmitted. Darwin's theory is basically criticized for absence of any credible empirical scientific evidence in support of the theory, regarding the spontaneous generation of life or inheritance from one to another . Q2. Describe Galton's application of the theory of evolution by natural selection to individual differences in human mental characteristics. For instance, what were Galton's assumptions about the nature of human mental characteristics What kinds of evidence did Galton obtain To what extent did the evidence collected by Galton provide strong scientific support for his views on individual differences and evolution of mind Answer: Galtons believes that no animals have ever been bred for general intelligence, as humans we are having the high general intellect that other living things haven't. Since no experiments had been made for this, but we can thoroughly see how rational beings are humans. We are the highest form of living things. Galton made an investigation having a biographical work that was a collection of intelligent persons.

Book review (Margaret Lock's East Asian Medicine in Urban Japan) Essay

Book review (Margaret Lock's East Asian Medicine in Urban Japan) - Essay Example ionism in the pluralistic medical systems in Japan and inspire the readers to borrow the holistic approach from the East Asian medicine and reevaluate the cultural biases of biomedicine. Although I highly appreciate Lock’s work, I will review this ethnography with a critical eye. There are two underlying assumptions concerning the study. Firstly, the book attempted to map a larger picture of the East Asian medicine in Japan from the eighth century to the late twentieth century, in which East Asian medicine was seen as Chinese medicine in Japan. The Japanese term Kanpo, literally, â€Å"Chinese method,† was thought to be a medical system learned from China, maintaining its Chinese flavor over 1300 years in Japan. Secondly, Lock assumed that the actual interviews that include only 50 Kyoto families, 2 schools, 8 herbal pharmacies, and dozens of patients and practitioners can represent the Japanese people’s thoughts concerning the practices of a pluralistic medicine in the 1970s in an urban setting in Japan. The samples are not considered large enough to draw up generalizations and to make assumption regarding a whole urban population. The ancient capital of Kyoto is also assumed to be representative as a model of a modern city in Japan. Based on these assumptions, Lock analyzed the East Asian medicine from three perspectives. Firstly, she uses a historical approach to analyze the classic Chinese medical works as the theories of East Asian medicine in a pre-industrialized Japan. The Japanese cultural ethos is analyzed as a less important force compared to the Chinese philosophies and Buddhist thoughts. Secondly, she uses a cultural anthropological approach to analyze her limited interviews and case studies in Kyoto to represente an issue of the adopting the East Asian medicine. Except for Tokyo and Osaka, other major Japanese cities other than Kyoto are barely mentioned. Thirdly, she used a critical anthropological approach to analyze the East Asian

The impact of divorce on human growth and development (childhood Research Paper

The impact of divorce on human growth and development (childhood through adulthood) - Research Paper Example Divorce is veritably a family stressor that cripples the family system. Frequently, it causes chronic anxiety and the affected family members will be hard pressed to defuse the unbearable tension. An adolescent, who is susceptible, could be seriously affected by the crisis in the family. This development permits the quarreling parents to concentrate on the pathology of the adolescent, thereby diverting attention from their private squabbles (Polacek, 2008, p. 10). The US experienced a drastic increase in the rate of divorce and separation, during the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s. During this time, there was an increase in the number of employed women. There was fluctuation in the relative contribution of spouses to the household income. Despite the enormous amount of research conducted in this area, there is little understanding with regard to the effect of economic resources on marital dissolution (Sanz, 2007, p. iv). The impact of parental divorce on the development of children has been studied for more than three decades. Several research studies have demonstrated an association between divorce and depression, diminished educational attainment, early assumption of high – risk conduct, and enhanced risk of suicidal behavior. In addition, marital discord is generally accompanied by depression. A number of family studies have shown that there is clear association between parental depression and negative child outcomes (Vousoura, et al., 2012, p. 718). In fact, Cummings and Davies have demonstrated a relationship between parental depression and depression in their children. In addition, parental depression has been seen to produce suicidal tendencies in children, anxiety disorders, dependence on intoxicants, somatic symptoms, disruptive behavior problems, insecure attachment, difficulty in controlling emotions, flawed psychosocial functioning, and problems related to attention and cognition (Vousoura, et al., 2012, p.

Week 3 - Marketing discussion questions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Week 3 - Marketing discussion questions - Essay Example In case of Industrial Buying, this person is called Purchase Manager. A common day example can be mothers of a teenager who give permission to their kids for buying toys of their own choice. The primary concern for such type of buyer is price. They are usually not impressed by the qualities of product as compared to other products. External factors greatly affect such kind of buying decisions. The primary tool for marketers facing such type of buyers is the price-comparison list of competitors and the independent list of features of product. b) The Expert: sometimes the consumer is not fully aware of the qualities or features of the product and they rely on expert advice for purchase of such products. For example IT consultants usually analyze the type of organization and then help the overall purchase of IT solution for the organizations. As a common day example, products such as pampers are bought by mothers who know exactly what type and quality of pampers will perform the required function for her baby. Internal factors need to be considered in marketing products to experts. To market your product to such buyers, always show the expert what your product can do. What benefits it can give to the consumer. Show him the best features of your product. c) The User: when you have to market your product to end user, always show them how the product can solve their real world problems. Marketing is very crucial in such cases. Understand their need and then market the product to make them sure that your product can fulfill their need and provide them with the desired benefits (Changingminds, 2007). 2. Amanda’s own confection offers different valentine’s chocolates such as cupid bad, hearts cello bag, and they are usually priced as $1.1 per oz. (Amandasown, 2007). Fannie May offers boxes fill with different shapes of chocolates and are priced at approximately $1.625 per oz. (Fanniemay, 2007). Then we also have Rivera Chocolates who

Process Quality Engineering Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Process Quality Engineering - Essay Example Process Quality Engineering The expectations and needs of the consumers must be met to acquire the quality status. Quality can be checked through customer satisfaction and statistical analysis. Quality can also be measured through efficiency. Efficiency is examined by evaluating the resources such as land, labor, and machines. A decrease in labor, variation, and warrant costs are an indication good quality in the products. Managers oversee the functioning and processes within the company. They control all components in the company including the workers. Although they control everything within the company, it is not necessarily that they are involved in everything. The managers interact and consider the employees’ suggestions and ideas. When total quality management is implemented well, sales increase and the quality improves because employees are aware of their duties. The five s housekeeping technique is crucial as its values of orderliness and standardization help enhance employees’ productivity and guiding them. Management increases efficiency and quality in everything in a short period. Cleaning improves sanity and safety that reduces accidents within the production process. Self-discipline ensures that employees remain faithful to their duties and improve the image of the company. Improving the standards of the company requires a set of ethics and rules to be established which the employees can follow. Ethics and rules put the management and employees in the same level which eliminates various problems.

Getting a New Business off the Ground Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Getting a New Business off the Ground - Essay Example Additionally, since there is a potential for product liability for Joan in the aviation parts industry, Joan is legally responsible for any damages her defective products may cause. As a sole proprietorship, she absorbs these responsibilities personally, which could pose a large problem should a case arise where she is blamed for her product’s malfunction. For tax purposes, the tax rate imposed on Joan’s business is determined by the personal income tax rate of the owner. So, the sole proprietor of a business does not pay taxes apart from, or separate from, the owner. As such, this tax benefit forms one advantage of operating the business as a sole proprietor (Mauro, 2004). 2. To protect her client from liabilities incurred by the business, Joan’s attorney might recommend a limited liability company (or LLC). The LLC model shields Joan from any blame incurred by the business. So, if some product she manufactures malfunctions on a plane, she cannot be held personally responsible for those who suffer from the malfunction; in that case, it is just the company that is financially and legally responsible for the error. Her attorney may also suggest a corporation, which is a legal entity with its own liabilities and privileges separate from those of its members. A corporation may make more sense than a limited liability company if Joan hopes to expand her business to a larger scale, and if she can persuade investors to help grow her base of business. Like a LLC, a corporation shields Joan from the company’s liabilities and debts (Moye, 2004). 3. Her attorney may suggest liability insurance, which is an insurance system that can protect Joan from the risks of liabilities imposed by lawsuits. If Joan’s company were to be accused of negligence or error in manufacturing its aviation parts and brought to court in a civil suit, Joan’s liability insurance would

International financial organisation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

International financial organisation - Essay Example This will also include marketing tools used by the organisation, customers of the organisation, issues such as customer care, current issues faced by the organisation and control systems used by the organisation. Background of HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited The financial organisation, HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited was developed through the joint venture of international financial institute HSBC (Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corporation Limited) and SABB (Saudi British Bank). The Saudi Arabian Capital Market Authority (CMA), the controller and regulator of the capital market and stock exchange has provided its sanction to SABB and HSBC in order to create the initial full-service autonomous investment bank in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that has been certified under the new Capital Market Law of Saudi Arabia (HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited, 2011). SWOT Analysis Strength The financial condition of the economy can be evaluated from the overall economic development and expected growth. For the past f ew years, the government of Saudi Arabia has planned for the five year plan and invested in social and physical infrastructure for successfully transforming the economy of Saudi Arabia into a modern state with diversified economy (Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency, 2011). The diversified economic condition with government spending in different segments will strengthen the economy and it will be beneficial for the banking sector. The HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited, with the government planning for the economy, can take advantage out of the economic development. The economic progression of Saudi Arabia market has raised the domestic income and has also enhanced the performance of the banking sector (Saudi Arabia Monetary Agency, 2011). Saudi Arabia has an open policy for foreign investment. This policy of the nation will assist in bringing capital in the country through the banking operations. The HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited can attract foreign direct investments (FDIs) through the policies from foreign clients for the Saudi market. The inflow of foreign currency will assist the bank to increase it operations and also benefit from such activities (EDC, 2011). The stock of ‘foreign direct investment’ in Saudi Arabia was US$ 167 billion in 2009 that rose to US$ 204.3 billion in 2010. Within one year, there has been an increase by US$ 37.30 million. This represents the development of the economy in terms of foreign direct investment of the nation. The stock of foreign direct investment from abroad was US$ 11.41 billion in 2009 that rose to US$ 18 billion in 2010. The increase of foreign direct investment enhances the economy. The banking sector will get benefited from such increase in the investments from foreign and home country. This is a positive sign for HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited to operate in such economy where there are possibilities to increase the foreign investment in the future (Index Mundi, 2011). Marketing Tool HSBC Saudi Arabia Limited has used its â €˜fund management’ schemes to tap the growing economy market. They have a variety of fund management schemes through which they were able to generate huge capital from the Saudi market. This marketing tool is normally implemented according to the

Community Health Nursing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Community Health Nursing - Essay Example state of Columbia. It is the major center for researches and development. Maryland is known as third largest nexus in the field. Demographic Data Total Population 5,615,727 In Maryland, Asthma is a disease from which Maryland’s people are suffering. Asthma is a curable chronic lung disease categorized by inflammation of the excuses mucus secretion, reversible airway and constriction. This bounding of the airway outputs in decreased airflow that may cause effects of coughing, wheezing and tightness of the chest, and patient’s usually safe difficulty in breathing. Asthma attacks on both adults and children and is considered as the most common chronic disease of in early ages. In 2007, around 9.6 million (13.1%) U.S. children under 18 years had been suffered from asthma at some stage in their whole life. Approximately 6.7 million (9.1%) children recently had diagnosed with asthma. An estimated 24.4 million (11.0%) U.S. mature population have been identified with asthma dur ing their lifecycle, and around 16.2 million (7.3%) currently suffering from asthma. In the end of 2006, asthma was considered responsible for 443,600 hospitalizations countrywide (Bule & Golosinsky, 2006). In 2002, the Maryland State Legislature announced the MACP in statute. This mandate, In conjunction with the CDC funding, has published the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH), and the MACP to facilitate leadership for minimizing morbidity and mortality because of asthma in Maryland, specifically for its most valuable populations. Fig 1: Current Asthma Prevalence Windshield Survey A windshield survey depends on the observation of data instead of asking direct questions from the participants. It needs to develop survey questions and getting answers of them. A windshield survey was performed in a posh area of Maryland. There were hundreds of multi story houses with a very short distance (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 2000). The target audience was between the ages of 30-45 and the survey focused on their income, free access to the hospital and good medicine availability issues. The main issue was people’s income, access to medical center and ability to bear doctor’s fee. There are hundreds of popular names who expired due to improper care of themselves. Education and prevention is required in order to spend a healthy and disease free life (Pleis & Lethbridge-Cejku, 2009). PO 1). Decision making is an integral part of nursing. Quick and strong decision making skills help a lot in nursing practice. One should be capable of quick decision and an absolute of judgment for finding the best options for his patients. Clinical judgment is considered one of the vital and essential skills for nursing. In the community, as there is a very short list of people who can afford doctor’s fees and medical treatment charges. Nurses should be more accurate and fast in decision making for the community people. PO 2) Communic ation and excellent people skills are required for nursing. There are several collaborative techniques like ability to answer questions and advice; nurses spend more time with patients than a doctor. Patients are always curious to know and discuss about their disease so nurses must have ability to co-operate with them at every stage of their disease. PO 5) Accountability helps in identifying and recognizing the

Crime Prevention Program Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Crime Prevention Program - Essay Example Forty-seven percent of elementary schools reported one or more violent incidents compared with 74 percent for middle schools and 77 percent of high schools. The Pennsylvania Center for Safe Schools reports that nearly 2,000 Pennsylvania juveniles were arrested for weapons possession and 10 percent reported carrying a weapon in school or on a school bus at least once in the past year. (Walker 1995) Between 1988 and 1994 the rate of violent crime arrests for Pennsylvania juveniles rose by 69 percent. There are more statistics to show that school violence is on the rise. As a result of the obviously rising trends, the majority policy committee this summer launched a series of statewide hearings to examine the issue of school violence. Many different law enforcement experts, physicians, mental health providers, social service workers, teachers, school administrators, parents, concerned citizens and government officials testified to help determine the causes and possible solutions to school violence. The causes - whether the increases in single-parent families, increased violence on television, desensitization to violence by the media, or a decline in morals - can be debated over and over. Attention is now focused on how to stop these trends now and make inroads to our young children before it is too late. The General Assembly is starting to offer solutions and remedies. Several members of the House and Senate have announced introduction of legislation aimed at punishing the offender. Pennsylvania already has some of the nation's toughest statutes relating to juvenile crime, many enacted during Gov. Tom Ridge's previous special session on crime. Government is now looking into ways to strengthen and expand upon these. Too many proposals have been introduced which simply address the punishment of a child after a crime has occurred. My bills would attempt to stop the violent acts from ever occurring in the first place. THE MANDATORY SCHOOL VIOLENCE REPORTING ACT The first piece of legislation introduced is entitled the "Mandatory School Violence Reporting Act." This measure would allow schools and law enforcement officials to more easily distinguish those children most likely to commit violent acts before one occurs. Under this legislation, each principal, dean or other person who acts as the chief operating or executive officer of a public, private, parochial, vocational, or charter school, college or university shall make an incident report to law enforcement authorities concerning all incidents of a crime of violence which occur on the property or ground of the school, college or university. The incident report would include such information as the names, addresses and telephone numbers of the victim or victims, the accused and any witnesses. The names, addresses and telephone numbers of the parents or guardians of any minors involved as a victim, accused or witness to the incident also will be included in the report. Other information to be included would be a full description of the incident, what, if any, weapons were used or threatened to be used, a description of any injuries, and indication of whether law enforcement was contacted, and whether or not an arrest was made. The report would be filed with the local law enforcement agency and a copy would be provided to the Pennsylvania State Police for their use in compiling a detailed statewide report of school violence. This bill does not presume to

Whole Food Market, USA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Whole Food Market, USA - Essay Example The objective of this study is to outline marketing mix and market entry strategy for Whole Food Market, Inc. while entering into Netherlands. Cultural dimensions of new market would also be included in the study so as to reflect upon its impact on proposed marketing mix. The entire study shall be centered towards global market strategy of Whole Food Market, Inc. 3. Main Findings 3.2 Marketing Mix of Whole Foods Market, Inc., Global Expansion 3.2.1 Product ïÆ'Ëœ Concept: Organic products and natural food products would be delivered in Netherlands market. ïÆ'Ëœ Whole Foods Market, Inc., Global Strategy: Global strategy shall be either direct exporting or wholly owned subsidiary. ïÆ'Ëœ Brief Adaptation or Standardization in Netherlands: Standardization product strategy would be applied in Netherlands market in order to sustain their competitive advantage (De Burca, Brown and Fletcher, 2004). 3.2.2 Price ïÆ'Ëœ Concept: The main concept is to acquire maximum market share and establish a stable market position. ïÆ'Ëœ Whole Foods Market, Inc., Global Strategy: In global context, the focus would be on market development strategy. ïÆ'Ëœ Brief Adaptation or Standardization in Netherlands: Adaptation approach will be applied on Netherlands market in the context of pricing strategy. 3.2.3 Place ïÆ'Ëœ Concept: Marketing mix element place is related to distribution network. Whole Foods Market will be delivering products to manufacturing or processing plant to the warehouse and finally to retail stores.

Genres and Genre Film Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Genres and Genre Film - Movie Review Example The director of the film,  Brian De Palma, adheres to the dictates of the genre theory. He develops a systematic plot that follows the life of criminals. He limits the story to underground industries that constitute the crime and gangster relations thereby upholding the features of the crime and gangster genre in films as the discussion below portrays. Crime and gangster is a major genre in films. Genre is a system of classification, which categorizes things in groups of similar kinds. In films, the genre influences the process of creating films since every genre addresses a unique social feature and adheres to the identified intricate features of such categories (Grant, 2003). As explained earlier, crime and gangster is a major genre in films. Such films follow the sinister actions of mobsters or criminals. Every economy has different types of criminals who make up a large underground economy thriving on different types of criminal businesses. Such films therefore delve in the industry of crime following the lives and actions of criminals as they go about developing their gangs and the conflicts that develop among the gangs (Browne, 1998). Scarface embodies the features of a crime and gangster film. The story in the film follows the life of a gangster, Tony Montana, as he enters the country and develops his criminal empire. The film shows the intricate features of the drug industry. Drugs are contraband products that dealers must protect both from the law enforcers and from rivaling gangs. In order to develop their illegal businesses, drug dealers engages in immense violence as they eliminate any forms of threats. Tony enters the industry when Frank Lopez approaches him with a request to kill a former Cuban official who threatened the prosperity of his drug market in the country. The film therefore opens up with the violence that characterizes the risky activities of criminals. As is the case with

Professional Devlopment- Research report Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Professional Devlopment- Research report - Essay Example This is crucial everywhere, especially at children’s settings as they are the practitioners’ responsibility. Therefore as a teacher, it is crucial to provide a supportive classroom environment suitable for children to engage in learning through creation of more lasting memory arising from brain involvement (McGaugh, 2003). In engaged learning, the focus of the teacher should be to connect new information to what is known already instead of teaching pupils in isolation (Helm, 2008, p. 2). Helm (2008) also reveals a project approach as one of the means of engaged-learning that enables students to bond the convention knowledge and skills with the world they live. According to the national Union of Teachers (2012-13), the professional duties of teachers are set out in detail in the School Teachers’ Pay and Conditions Document. It requires teachers to undertake a wide range of duties including in particular planning and teaching lessons, reporting on pupils’ pr ogress, maintaining good order and discipline, preparation of pupils for examination, collaborating with colleagues, safeguarding pupil health and safety. Practitioners need to provide various methods of effective learning as all children’s have different needs to be met. This can include singing, classroom toys, various games and physical movements. The role of the teachers is to help the child reach the milestone and reach their development stage. To do so it is essential to have a strong relationship with parents where they can communicate regarding the child’s feedback on their progress, share observations and discuss what can be done further. Current research from the Department of education (2013) (see appendix 1) shows that as of November 2012, there were 442,000 teachers - 4,000 up on November 2011. That is 7,800 higher than in 2005, and 36,200 higher than in 2000. , therefore the expectations for applying for a teaching job has

History of Table Tennis Essay Example for Free

History of Table Tennis Essay The sport got its start in England towards the end of the 19th century when, after dinner, some upper-middle class Victorians decided to turn their dining room tables into miniature versions of the traditional lawn tennis playing field. Several different every-day objects were employed in constructing the sport. They used a line of books as the net. Rackets were lids from empty cigar boxes, and a little later, parchment paper stretched around a frame. The ball would be either a ball of string, or perhaps more commonly, a champagne cork or rubber ball. Before â€Å"Table Tennis.† When the game first started it was called by a number of different names. â€Å"Whif whaf,† â€Å"gossamer,† and â€Å"flim flam† were commonly used to describe it. The words, as can be assumed, were derived from the sound that the ball made when hit back and forth on the table. In 1901 though, English manufacturer J. Jaques Son Ltd registered one of the more popular names, Ping-Pong, as a copyright. He later sold the trademark to the Parker Brothers in the United States. Then in the 1920s the name and the sport were revived in Europe as table tennis. Evolution The turn of the century brought many other refinements to the sport. Players started using celluloid balls after the English man James Gibb discovered them during a trip to the United States in 1901 and proved them to be perfect for Ping-Pong. In 1903, E.C Goode replaced parchment paper and cigar box lids with pimpled rubber on light wooden â€Å"blades† as rackets. And after the world championships in Prague in 1936, where two defensive players took over an hour to contest one point, the net was lowered to make the pace of the game-play faster. (In another effort to make the game more fast paced and entertaining, rules were again changed in 2001- see Rules). It Spreads Also around this time, the sport spread to other European countries and to the United States. Asian countries like China, Korea and Japan are understood to have learnt about it from British Army officers who held posts in those places. There was an unofficial world championship held in 1901, but the first official world championship was held in London in 1927 by the International Table Tennis Federation. The ITTF was founded in Berlin in 1926 by England, Sweden, Hungary, India, Denmark, Germany, Czechoslovakia, Austria, and Wales. Asian Factor Although it may seem today that the sport, in the professional realm, is dominated by Asian countries like China and Korea, it wasn’t always that way. Before the late 1950’s and early 60’s, European players from Hungary especially, but also from France and Sweden seemed without competition. But in 1952, Japanese player Horoi Satoh introduced the foam rubber paddle. The paddle made the game faster and spinning the ball became an even greater factor. Japan became the main winner in the world competitions in 1960, and by the mid 1960’s China took over the reigns through to the early 1980’s. Their absolute domination of the sport was finally subdued with the entering of table tennis into the Olympic Games in 1988 and the participation of players from Korea and Sweden. Table Tennis and the Cold War On April 6th, 1971, the US table tennis team was invited on an all-expenses-paid trip to play in China. Four days later, nine players, four officials and two spouses crossed the bridge from Hong Kong to the Chinese mainland. They were the first group of Americans to be allowed into the country since the communist take-over in 1949. One of the first signs during the Cold war of improved relations between the United States and China, Time magazine called it â€Å"the pong heard throughout the world.† It was shortly followed with a visit to China by President Nixon. Facilities and Equipment The Table The playing surface, should be rectangular, 2.74m long and 1.525m wide, and shall lie in a horizontal plane 76cm above the floor .The playing surface should not include the vertical sides of the tabletop. The playing surface should yield a uniform bounce of about 23cm when a standard ball is dropped on to it from a height of 30cm. The playing surface shall be uniformly dark colored and matt, but with a white side line, 2cm wide, along each 2.74m edge and a white end line, 2cm wide, along each 1.525m edge. The playing surface shall be divided into 2 equal courts by a vertical net running parallel with the end lines, and shall be continuous over the whole area of each court. For doubles, each court shall be divided into 2 equal half-courts by a white center line, 3mm wide, running parallel with the side lines; the center line shall be regarded as part of each right half-court. The Net Assembly The net shall be suspended by a cord attached at each end to an upright post 15.25cm high, the outside limits of the post being 15.25cm outside the side line. The top of the net, along its whole length, shall be 15.25cm above the playing surface. The Ball The ball shall be spherical, with a diameter of 40mm.and weigh 2.7g. The ball shall be made of celluloid or similar plastics material and shall be white or orange, and matt. The Racket The racket may be of any size, shape or weight but the blade (wooden face) shall be flat and rigid. The covering material (rubber sheets) shall extend up to but not beyond the limits of the blade, except that the part nearest the handle and gripped by the fingers may be left uncovered or covered with any material. The surface of the covering material on a side of the blade, or of a side of the blade if it is left uncovered, shall be matt, bright red on one side and black on the other. Slight deviations from continuity of surface or uniformity of color due to accidental damage or wear may be allowed provided that they do not significantly change the characteristics of the surface. Rules of the game Serving The server shall project the ball near vertically upwards, without imparting spin, so that it rises at least 16cm and then falls without touching anything before being struck. The ball shall not be hidden from the receiver by any part of the body or clothing of the server or his doubles partner and as soon as the ball has been projected, the server’s free arm shall be removed from the space between the server’s body and the net. If the umpire is doubtful of the legality of a service he may, on the first occasion in a match, declare a let (see below) and warn the server. Any subsequent service of doubtful legality of that player or his doubles partner will result in a point to the receiver. Whenever there is a clear failure to comply with the requirements for a good service, no warning shall be given and the receiver shall score a point.