Federal Reserve Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Federal Reserve - Article Example Demand for non-financial services was also reported to have strengthened including transportation and professional services (Federal Reserve Bank, 2013). By the beginning of March 2012, the US economy was reported to continue flourishing at a modest to moderate pace and economic activities rose at a faster rate in various states. Most states also recorded an economic improvement in various sectors such as manufacturing, agriculture, real estate and construction industry, banking and services as well as tourism and hospitality industry. The hiring rate was also reported to have increased significantly across several districts. Consumer expenditure was reported to be positive in various states examined. Positive findings were also reported by a similar study conducted in mid-April same year and in the beginning of June (Federal Reserve Bank, 2013). However, despite the positive reports about the performance of the US economy, the agriculture sector was reported to have been affected by the continuous drought conditions in various districts like the Atlanta, Minneapolis, Kansas City, and Dallas. This affected the planting exercise of corn and wheat in areas like Chicago, Minneapolis and Minneapolis. Uncertainty about future demands was another key factor that affected the country’s economy in a tremendous way. The mid April report indicated that some employers preferred to hire employees part-time or temporarily for fear of uncertainties in the future. Such cases were reported in Richmond, Atlanta Districts Boston, Cleveland, Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, and Dallas Districts and many employers termed it as a strategy of containing production costs. Therefore, unemployment and drought can be termed as some of the issues that were affecting the US economy. Inflation was another main issue that threatening the country’s economy. This led to demand for salary and

Realism and Idealism Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Realism and Idealism - Essay Example Ideally, art should come from within an individual but this does not happen and instead, art is taught in schools. Courbet asserts that art cannot be taught and that it should come from inside an individual and should be an expression of the artists towards the things that surround him. In the same way, a person from another generation cannot accurately form an art of either the previous or he next generation. It is impossible to do so since an artist can only draw accurately what they experience. From this reading, it is clear that everyone knows their place in the society. The poor are aware that there are places they can only admire from afar but not get into. Even children are conscious of the poverty and the lanes that they should maintain. The children stare with amazement at how beautiful the building is yet the narrator had already exclaimed that it was unfinished. Further, the other guest is uncomfortable at the sight of the poor family and asks the companion to request the manager to send them away. The world has had a class struggle from time immemorial. There are those who own factors of production and those that work for the rich to earn a living. The bourgeoises are the rich in the society who continue accumulating wealth at the expense of the poor. The society has become such a money-minded community that even the prestigious professions such as medicine and engineering are focused on making money rather than helping the people. The proletariats, on the other hand, are the workers who work for the bourgeoises for a living. Once in a while they attempt to join hands so that they can have fair dealings with the bourgeoises. The strength of their unions and their demands is highly dependent on whether they will remain unified in the long run. For the proletariats to have a fair share in the society, they need to keep on fighting for their rights. A doll’s house is about a woman who leaves her husband and children to

Depictions of Dragons in Different Cultures

Depictions of Dragons in Different Cultures With the integration of global economy and technology, multicultural situation is inevitable. Culture exchange in various countries has become extremely important. Under its shadow, all culture becomes significant factors in this international environment. Today, in the information-crash society, the cultural has not merely be seen as separated signs but seen as a cross-cultural communication behavior. For a long time, people are keen to argue about superiority and inferiority among Eastern and Western cultures. However, in fact, we lack sufficient recognition of essential aspects on cultural differences and clashes. We should see through the appearance to the essence and take culture views to closely observe the tendency of global cultural development. H.L.Menken once said, Culture itself is neither education nor law making, it is an atmosphere and a heritage. Dragon culture, as a core culture reflects typical differences. Different countries have different cultural norms values, su ch differences lead to communication problems in Western thought, resulting in misunderstandings and conflicts. This article focuses on analyzing the Dragon Culture budded from two culture branches,  and from a philosophical point of view to outline the ideology that reflects from two cultures. Dragon was one of the totem worship images in remote ancient times when people liked using the images of creatures or plants which they held in awe as symbols of their tribes. Loong seems a combination of numerous animals, such as snakes body, pigs head, deers horns, bulls ear, goats beard, hawks claws and fishs squama. One alternative view said in remote times of clanship, the Huaxia Clan which symbolized by snake totem in the Yellow River drainage area, conquered other clans and then grew into a big clan union by integrating others together with their totems. The other legendary figures like Nà ¼wa, Fuxi are depicted as having snake bodies. Some scholars report that the first legendary Emperor of China Huang Di (Yellow Emperor) used a snake for his coat of arms. Every time he conquered another tribe, he incorporated his defeated enemys emblem into his own (Li Rong, 1999, P14). The exact origin of the dragon in Chinese culture remains elusive, though its earliest depictions can be traced back to the totems made by various ancient Chinese tribes. And we, Chinese people often consider ourselves as the descendents of the loong. From that time, loong has been the most important totem in Chinese traditional culture. Ancient people admire loong has magic power. It could change the length of its body as it wishes; it can either fly or swim and even bring rainfalls. 1.2 The symbolization of loong in feudal period When Chinese went into primeval society, loong had begun to be caved on the bronze containers, designed in jewelry, and embroidered on cloth. Gradually, people who honored loong as almighty God, hoping that caving this special image on daily necessities can bless them well and bring them good fortune. People in ancient China often offered sacrifices to loong to celebrate favorable weather and good harvest. With the deification of loong, it was gradually monopolized by the imperial lineage, making these images embalmed the federal Chinese empires. Loong were a symbol of power, strength, success, luck and honor, and it was no surprise that they emerged as a representation of the imperial power of emperors. It was believed that loong was able to race across the sky with its divine power, and the emperors regarded themselves as exclusively entitled to the dragons attributes. Chinese empires thought they were real loong, so they addressed themselves as son of heaven, which meant they were chosen by the destiny to dominate the world. They held power over peoples lives and property, and had staff in their hands. Emperor became the most honorable person on the earth. Also loong became the symbol of imperial power. Thus, the imperial clothes were known as dragon gowns and their thrones were dubbed dragon thrones. , the descendents of empires were titled as son or daughters of loong, the health of an emperor was called loong ti, the bed they sleep named loong bed. In the Zhou Dynasty the 5-clawed dragon was assigned to the son of heaven, the 4-clawed dragon to the Zhuhou (seigneur), and the 3-clawed dragon to the Daifu. Up to Qing Dynasty, the 5-clawed dragon was assigned to represent the Emperor while the 4-clawed and 3-clawed dragons were assigned to the commoners. In the Qing Dynasty, the country even preferred to embroider Loong as a symbol on national flags. Carvings of loong adorns on the steps leading to many ancient palaces and tombs, most notably, the Forbidden City in Beijing. And it is still taboo to disrespect or disfigure any depiction of a loong in China. 2 The origination of western dragon 2.1 The development of western dragon in early time About 11th century BC, the Hebrews made the concept of Seraphim, which was close to the concept of the dragon. Not only in Western mythology, religion, but also significance, the seraphim were the most consistent of loong in china. Seraphim was a constrictor in ancient Rabbinic which is the Seraphs plural. There is other saying it was followed with a suffix on the meaning of the flame or burning and so. In the early Rabbinic language, because no dragon word, so often used constrictor to represent dragon. However, religious portraits and sculptures of the Seraphim have become a type of person now which is translated into Seraphim (Blazing Angels) generally. The appearance of dragon is much later than the Seraphim, which is the object of Celtic worship, standing holy. The early middle ages, the Virgin caved ships like dragons to explore a new path on the Atlantic Ocean, hoping dragons to bless themselves with endless power. While in Britain, the dragon is more commonly associated with Wales due to the national flag has a red dragon as its emblem and their national rugby union and rugby league teams are known as the dragons. This dragon may originate in Arthurian Legend where Myrddin, employed by Gwrtheyrn, had a vision of the red dragon (representing the Britons) and the white dragon (representing the invading Saxons) fighting beneath Dinas Emrys. The red dragon was linked with the Britons who are today represented by the Welsh and it is believed that the white dragon refers to the Saxons who invaded Britain in the 5th and 6th centuries. This particular legend also features in the Mabinogion in the story of Llud and Llefelys. (http://en. wikipedia.org/wiki/Seraph) Specific reactions to alarm calls identifying several of predators have mately local cultural manifestations, maintaining to this day its shape and mature. Though we glimpse the dragon in the world of the ancient bandsmen-it does not spring into life from the murky depths of the primate brain until a particular point in cultural evolution-specially that point where a multiculturic-or loosely organized-polity moves toward centralization and ultimately statehood. (David E. Jones , 2001 ,P 107) The birth of Christianity made the fate of dragons an earth-shaking change that to some degree became synonymous to Satanas. Dragon is regarded as the symbol of devil in the Christian which comes from Mesopotamia. In mythology Mesopotamia, the dragon is the horrible life of the ocean, the scourge of people, the fate to be destroyed by God. In Babylonian myth, the heros opponent Tiamato and Hittite myth Illuyankas, are all examples. Living in the Mesopotamia region nearby Jewish also affected, and inherited down such a concept. Dragon in Judaism and Christianity gradually became the symbol of the devil. 2.2. The image of dragon in western society in movies and novels Western dragons arent necessarily evil, but they often are. At least, they tend to be greed, evil and solitary, which may represent the dark side of human natures. Quite different between Chinese Loong, the Western dragon is a huge, winged, green scaly skin, fire-breathing, and dinosaur-resembling creature. An alternative name for dragon is Wyrm, a word clearly related to worn, this name is more commonly used for serpentine, water dwelling dragons but can be used for any of them, Wyrms are to be especially common in Britain. In the traditional myths, fairy tales and legends, dragons live in caves, mountains, or virgin forests. They have vicious power to destroy buildings, cause catastrophe. They are the mindless monsters that know nothing but killing people, animals, and hoarding gold and silver, and treasure. All these images create an evil black reflection into the Western consciousness. Also, dragons can be found in many literatures and films, those quite significantly different b etween Chinese loong. In medieval legend, the highest merit of a hero was to slay of a dragon. In the Beowulf, the national epic of the English people, Beowulf fights against a fire dragon with single-handed. At last, the dragon is killed, but Beowulf is hopelessly wounded too. Maybe, it is the first complete dragon appears on the paper of English literature. The Bible, Satan is a fallen angel who rebels God Jehovah. And Satan changes in to a image of a snake (dragon) to beguile Adam and Eva to eat the apple in the Eden. In the Bible story, Satan also is into a red dragon whose tail swept a 1 / 3 of the stars. it has seven heads, each head crowned, greedily devouring the new-born baby. The Learned Adventure of the Dragons Head in Lord Peter Views the Body (London: Gollancz, 1928), in which a character refers to having seen hic dracones on an old map [spotted by both Andrew S. Cook and Benjamin Darius Weiss]. (Chales Gould ,1998, ,p126) Thus, the Western dragon from the miser degenerated into the most evil, described as representatives of evil, cunning and cruel. With the Christianity spreading and European expansion, the Satans notoriety shadows dragon in Europe, even in the world. 3. Comprehensive analysis on the clashes of loong and dragon 3.1 Analysis from literature background With the development of science, people gradually get rid of ignorance, the West has finally recognized that dragons only exists in imagination, and not fear it. But dragons in western culture still become a derogatory terms. In Western literature, the dragon has become a vivid description of the evil words. British writer Charles Dickens in his masterpiece Hard Times criticizes Mrs. Si Base is a evil dragon of keeper bank. In Shakespeares Romeo and Juliet, when Juliet heard her cousin was killed by Romeo, she said sadly:ah, flower face hides a wild snake heart! Which dragon was perched once in this elegant heart? Nowadays, it could easily observe the trace of dragon in some kinds of legendary novels, like Harry Potter.  Ã‚   3.2. Explaination in social profounding of loong and dragon. With a few centuries going on, the Chinese loong has crystallized the unique culture profundity. Till now, Loong is still superior to any of the mythological in peoples mind. Loong, this word have been extensively used in our daily life. For example, Long tou qi ye, of course, we cant translate it word by word. In our China, this is an honor given by the local government to a company that achieves highest income through the commercial business. Here Loong means, leading the top, being first. So we can put it into the leading enterprise. In the eyes of our ancestors, loong ,since it is held sacred, of course, also contacted with the good fortune together. With good metaphor, the image of the dragon goes into all aspects of social life. Such as lobster, longan, lichee, asparagus, Longjing tea, the noodle of Long Xumian, etc. The name of the foods are plenty from their shapes, while others are propitious meanings. Another example is the Seasonal Eating Custom, from the early Yuan Dynast y, it has been recorded on Lunar February 2, loong flys up to heaven. To express the hope of the harvest, people in many places are prevalent of eating noodle this day. Noodles made this day is called noodle of Long Xu pancakes called Interfax, dumplings called fossil teech. (Ji Chenming, 1998, p58) And China has a lot of festivals about culture of Loong, such as dragon boat. Dragon boat racing which originates in China over 2000 years ago. For competiton events, dragon boats are generally rigged with decorative Chinese dragon heads and tails every annual Duanwu Festival. In the Merriam-Webster Dictionary-dragon lady means an overbearing or tyrannical woman, also glamorous often mysterious woman. However-the Collins Cobuild English language Dictionary explains that if you call a woman a dragon-you mean she is unpleasant and fierce. In the famous Chinese TV play A Couple of Chivalrous Swordsmen and their Supernatural Eagles, there is a girl named little dragon maid. Maybe when the foreigners head dragon maid, the image appearing in their mind is ferocious instead of holy and pure. Whats more, the same characteristic of two kinds of dragons is that they have been interpreted as symbols of the power to control the nature. They often are associated with weather, like rain, lighting, thunder. Meanwhile, people in China regard Loong as controllers of weather. Thus, in folk, they are honored as the king of Loong. Negatively, dragon in western, this greater power of nature frequently carries a malign or destructive quality. When the character Loong appears in the words and expressions, we always refer it to the analogical meanings, which are formed by the profound civilization of China. Above, we have explained two dragon cultures by analyzing the origination, development, and connotation, differences. Culture is a rich multi-dimensional extension, including value systems. Values are the essence spirit of national culture to decide the characteristics and style of culture. According to cite the difference of metaphors and symbolizations between Chinese loong and western dragon, we will explain the origin of Philosophy. 4. Explore the West dragon philosophical roots of cultural differences 4.1 The Chinese monism unity of Nature and man 4.1.1 Living environment affect the Chinese values Different ways of thinking led to the different Dragon metaphor, which leds to cultural misunderstanding. China is monistic of unity on nature and man, while Western mains dualistic. At an atmosphere of living on plain of farming growth, Chinese people have always focused inward-looking on Heaven, internal intermediation of national character. 7 Chinese people believe that nature is a loop. Everything is an element in cycle of nature .Of course, people also belong to the natural world, rather than the relatively isolated unit element. Therefore, people return to nature, to maintain harmony. Cultural identity is stick to the local community, calm solid, plain thick, peace. Chinese culture believe that people and nature, spirit and matter, subject and object, which both into one with God, focusing on both the interdependence and unity. In the relationship between human and nature, Chinese advocate the harmony between human and nature. 4.1.2. View of nature and the dragons supernatural forces in nature In China, relationship and humans to nature is: harmony with nature, as follows: live according to the rhythms of nature; everything has its own character; be balanced. Chinese traditional medicine shows the cultural value of harmony with nature. Chinese people are deeply affected by the Confucian and the ideology in I Ching or Chouyi. They think that the more conducts a person makes in his life, the more meaning reflects. Therefore, people who has the largest political vision are affected by such a unitary value of life, most people do not want to be the one who is interested in Natural Science, which were trapped in the embryonic stage of scientific. Also, people have the wisdom to concentrate on political power, so that can create a real political culture super-solid model in a unique world. In this particular model, the Chinese will have a unique historical phenomenon. When the ancients could not fight against the natural or supernatural phenomena, they raise the imaginary loong for the ideal solution to be deified. At the stage of no loong exiting, snakes, crocodiles, lizards and other reptiles are related to water, and even some on the living in the water. People who live on the land t are all produced mystery on crocodiles submerging in water, water snakes swimming fast in the water, no feet but can be free movement of snakes. This the mystery became to awe, and the myth. Into the real dragon time, people decided to give the loong their homes in the water. People have them lived in the water in order to let loong control water for the needs of agriculturing water. (Yang Rong Liu Zhixiong , 2002,P106) Therefore, the loong in Chinese legend would have exceeded the forces of nature. For example, loong could control clouds, rain, thunder, etc. Last loong gain the sanctity in peoples mind. 4.2. The western dualism of Host-guest Western awareness of the environmental background Western culture is restricted by the narrow scope on the island. In order to survive, for economic and cultural development, people often face an independent nature, fighting the sea, which develop the character of novelty, change, curiosity and hyperactivity and the view point of separation between heaven and nature. Western culture thinks that people and nature, spirit and matter, subject and object, where the uniform of God into two distinct lines, emphasizing the coexistence and the opposite binary. The mainstream of Western cultural values is dualism of Host-guest, the spirit of fighting for self-satisfaction. As if the destruction of the dragon cannot be too thorough for the human spirit-the dragon next appears to metamorphose into a palpably unreal character of fantasy. (David E. Jones , 1984, p237 ) Western culture publicizes personality, emphasizes the protection of individual interests, focus on the potential of independent individuals and strengthens the awareness of individual rights. The famous Greek physicist Archimedes once said: Give me a fulcrum and I can turn the entire universe. Vivid demonstration of this sentence reflects a mans spirit of bold exploration and transformation in the natural world. 4.2.2 Dragon culture derived from the western values From old time to now, Westerners has a tendency to split into two different worlds universe, the separation of man and nature, ever against. Westerners self-awareness on the original sin is to enable them to atonement and perseverance to conquer nature, and transform them to be divine power, to achieve One God. Western culture emphasizes the playing of individual potential, personal goals and pursuing personal interests. Individual-based consciousness is the deepest core of Western culture, with the highest value. Western culture of individualism makes a analogy to the rule of survival of the fittest. Individuals only make through their own efforts, and ability to explore their potential, to protect their interests, to choose a place in society. Individual character in Western culture is extremely important value. The development of individual potential, personal hobbies, interests and personal rights are often paramount. The Western experience of human life separated from nature can be found in the Bible story of creation. As masters of nature .humans are encouraged to control it and exploit it in any way they choose to master the natural world. People need to study and explore it to figure out how it works, to figure out how a machine works before using it. Westerners prefer to show their power to control, transform, and dominate nature. Therefore, in the legend, the dragon changes into a wicked body, the embodiment of greedy, then brave knights fought for victory. All show that human stress the independence of the individuals awareness; so they need some kind of evil forces to contrast out of peoples unlimited potential. Be crucial, unity of Nature and man and Host-guest the two different world view and values in the construction of Chinese and Western thinking way .And almost national character plays a decisive effect on the communication behavior. Conclusion Culture is a kind of social behavior, which is correlated with peoples customs and habits.  With the intercultural communication, we should recognize the condition of our unique culture; acquaint other cultures to avoid unnecessary culture clashes and misunderstanding as far as possible. Loong and dragon cultures are very important parts to nations. Each nations special culture gives owe special cultural connotation. Western dragon and Chinese loong culture obviously have differences, which exactly result in the obstacle of cross-cultural social intercourse. If there is no communication, there would be no culture. The two cultures reflect the national characteristics, not only including historical and cultural background of that race, but also the position in nature, containing competitive viewpoint to life styles and the ways of thinking. Therefore, to comprehend the different culture, we have to explain the origin of philosophy. We not only need to have culture exchanged-but also need to value culture in the cross-cultural social intercourse process. Only we set out to analyze cultural differences, we can hold the deep contact of culture effectively.

The Lion King Essays -- essays research papers

Disney’s success continued in adapting their hit animated film into a theatrical phenomenon. I finally got to go see the musical version of The Lion King last week, and the first few words that come to my mind are: â€Å"amazing,† â€Å"stunning,† and â€Å"unbelievable!† My expectations were met, as my eyes grew wider with the bright, colorful lights, breath taking costumes, and the superb music of the first scene. I was a little unsure at first, wondering how in the world Disney was going to manage putting a film starring non-human characters, and animated ones at that, onto a three-dimensional stage. Disney never ceases to amaze me. The Lion King was one of the many impressive displays of an elaborate musical production that I have ever had the pleasure of seeing. The Lion King is the tale of Simba, the son of the Lion King Mufasa (Rufus Bonds, Jr.). The birth of the new heir displaces the king's brother Scar (John Vickery), leading the envious Scar to plot the death of Mufasa and Simba. When Mufasa is killed while trying to save Simba, Scar convinces Simba he must go into exile. There, Simba is befriended by a meerkat, Timon (Danny Rutigliano) and a warthog, Pumbaa (Bob Bouchard), and grows to adulthood (adult voice of Matthew Broderick) blissfully free of responsibilities. However, when childhood friend Nala (Moe Daniels) coincidently finds Simba and informs him that Scar is destroying the pride land, Simba must decide whether to keep his distance or to confront his demons...and Scar....

Legal, Social and Cultural Environment of Ecuador Essay

The Republic of Ecuador is a country in South America, which is known worldwide for its bananas and cocoa. It has a unique ancient history, beautiful mountainous landscapes and amazing nature, as well as all necessary modern facilities for active rest, sports and recreation. Despite long periods of political instability, Ecuador remains the only country in the continent which has never had a serious domestic military conflict. Finally, Ecuador, with its qualified workforce, developed infrastructure and promising industrial outlooks, is a country of great opportunities for modern businessmen and investors. The population of Ecuador is expected to exceed 14 million people in summer 2008 (CIA, 2008). Modern social and cultural environment of Ecuador has a great deal of ethnic, social and regional distinctive features. Ethnic composition of the country’s population is the following: 65% are mixed people of Spanish origin (mestizo), 25% are Amerindian indigenous population, 3% are black African American population and 7% are people belonging to other ethnic groups (mainly of European origin) (CIA, 2008). Also, active migration is a factor which impacts social development of Ecuador to a great extent. The Northern coastal regions of the country are called â€Å"black provinces of Ecuador†, which are inhabited by the population of African-American origin (the descendants of African slaves) and considered to be among of the most crowded African cultural settings in South America. People living in these regions of Ecuador are mainly occupied in agriculture, farming, trade and commerce, and the higher social classes of these regions consist of rich immigrants and plantation owners. The Northern Sierra is dominated by mestizos and cholos, mixed groups of Spanish and local origin. For long period of time Sierra was controlled by white Hispanic elite and, due to enormous discrimination against indigenous population, aborigines had very limited opportunities for developing own social traditions and cultures. Now, Sierra is a famous tourist destination, where local population is employed in services or trade and is well-adopted for international cultural patterns. The Southern Sierra is a mixture of rural and urban cultures, which is an artistic center of the nation. Finally, the eastern Amazonian regions, known also as El Oriento, are inhabited by unassimilated ethnic groups of indigenous Amerindian population, including Cayapas, Colorados and other cultures. Also, several local tribes with primitive social culture, (including Aucas, Cofanes, the Jivaros, Secoyas and others) occupy the lowlands of the Amazon Basin (Herrera, 2002). This region was traditionally isolated from economic and cultural European influence and massive exploration of some distant areas of the Amazon Basin stared only in the late 1960s. The country’s cultural traditions and heritage are very rich. Numerous archaeological evidences prove that the representatives of early human settlements, such as Valdivian or the Vega cultures, had some sophisticated aesthetic taste, as well as created various advanced technologies of pottery, ceramic and textile works. The traces of social traditions and customs of early pre-Hispanic cultures can be found in modern lifestyle, ceremonies, handcrafts or other cultural components of Ecuadorian social life. A great contribution in cultural and social development of modern Ecuador was made by famous Inca culture, which was developing in the thirteenth-fifteenth centuries. The Inca Empire was one of the most advanced world’s civilizations, population of which could achieve high level of social welfare and organization, technological and scientific advancement, industrial and cultural development, etc. Therefore, a number of modern forms of arts, architectural ideas and technological innovations (for example, mummification and others) were borrowed from this early culture. The period of Spanish occupation of South America had quite controversial impact on cultural development of the nation, because some historians consider this period of time to be dominated by oppression and tyranny, but other specialists point on cultural progress and integration of local cultures into global society (Herreira, 2002, 22). Nevertheless, Spanish colonizers influenced social, economic and cultural development of the country to a great extent. They established urban culture, opened a number of silver and gold mines, started exporting various industrial products overseas, and so on. Family is one of the most important social values of Ecuadorians. Traditionally, men are the heads of the family and important role models for their sons, but women run the household and play major role in the process of upbringing and educating the children. Family ties in local societies are traditionally very strong; nevertheless, every member of the family tends to have some personal independence. For example, it is quite common for husband and wife to spend leisure time separately. In addition, such institution as compadrazgo (having or becoming godparents) is very important in social order of the nation. Urban population of modern Ecuador is mostly represented by middle-class and working elites: businessmen, officers, teachers, managers, etc. Overwhelming majority of middle and upper social classes are white people, who demonstrate a certain level of social discrimination against other ethnic groups, especially indigenous societies. Ecuadorian elites can enjoy numerous social benefits and high living standards. Lower middle social classes are ethnically more diverse at the expense of immigrants. Modern life of rural people is quite difficult. Amerindians live in small cabins with small windows or without any windows. Women cook in special separated places outside of their houses, and the food is prepared mostly from plants and fruit. Many families can not afford eating meat every day. Usual dress-code of male Amerindians includes short trousers and poncho, and women wear white long shirts and long skirts. Both men and women like wearing hats of different styles. Women frequently wear strings of beads, necklaces, bracelets or earrings, made of different inexpensive metals. Prevailing religion in Ecuador is Roman Catholicism and more than 90% of population is adherents of this branch of Christianity, which is traditional for Spanish culture. Over 2% of population is Baptists and Protestants, around 5% are the followers of local beliefs (including Inti and others). There are also people who combine several religious traditions and ideologies. It is estimated that there are more than 1,300 various religious societies and groups exist in Ecuador (Nations Encyclopedia). Catholicism and Catholic religious practices are less popular in the countryside, that is why different missionary activities are important part of social life of local population. The Gospel Missionary Union is an organization which promotes the ideas of Christianity and there are societies promoting Evangelism and Protestant ideology. In the end of the twentieth century, a great deal of indigenous people became Christians, and this conversion seriously impacted their social life, helping to establish closer relationships with other ethnic groups and especially with the groups of immigrants. The efforts of the members of local societies are directed on preserving their cultural traditions, including their languages. Traditional Spanish is widely spoken in Ecuador, but a great number of people speak Amerindian languages, including Awa, Quechua, Shuar, Chapalachi, Paicoca or Tsafki dialects. These dialects are very similar in their linguistic structure because they all originate from the speeches of ancient Incan groups. However, each dialect has different accent, specific terms and idiomatic expressions. Visual arts are very important elements of modern culture of Ecuador, because art helps to achieve harmony of social urban life with environmental or spiritual needs. Painting, sculpture, literature, theater and music are in great demand not only among the country’s intellectual elite, but also among the less advanced population. There are a lot of museums and galleries throughout the country, where a variety of artworks is exhibited. Photography and filmography are new modern trends in national art. Education plays an important role in national culture, as well. Ecuador has very high literacy rate, which exceeds 85% and is one of the highest in South America. Recently, several important reformations were made in educational sector, including, in particular, launching of bilingual education (Spanish and English) starting from secondary academic level. There are more than 50 universities in the country, which are provided with up-to-date learning facilities and offer a lot of academic programs on such popular fields as business administration, management, finance, economics, tourism, ecology, and so on. Besides, national cuisine is an important element of Ecuadorian culture. It varies from one region to another, but generally can be characterized by spicy meals and a great deal of agricultural products used for cooking. Typical dishes include a special potato soup Locro, special meals made of meat called Cuy, Mammey and Seco de Chivo, a sort of pancakes filled with potato Llapingachos, banana desert Chifles, as well as an assortment of drinks (Chicha, Naranjila, Canelazo, and many others). Finally, like all the nations of South America, Ecuadorians are found of sports and leading active and healthy life-style. Soccer attracts huge public attention and Ecuador National Soccer team has several achievements on the world’s stage. Other popular sports are tennis, boxing, shooting and swimming. Such activities as rafting and beach-volley are extremely popular among the tourists and local youth. In addition, Ecuadorians enjoy an old Spanish traditional entertainment called bullfight and the world’s most known toreadors regularly participate in annual bullfighting festivals in Quito and other cities. Ecuador is a Unitarian state and its higher legislative branch is unicameral Parliament (Congresso National). The members of the Parliament are elected by direct public vote for a 4-year term. Usual laws can be adopted by simple majority of the present members of the Parliament; organic (constitutional) laws can be adopted only by the majority of total number of the Parliamentarians. The President of the country has the right to veto the laws adopted by the Parliament, which can be overruled by 67% of the Parliament members. Legal environment of the country can be characterized by a great deal of imperfections and conflicting regulations. Current legal structure of Ecuador is shaped by more than 50,000 various decrees and laws, which frequently contradict each other or can not serve effectively for protection of civil and other rights of the population. Judicial system is currently under the influence of serious corruption and such factors as outside pressure on judges, bribing, unavailability of the courts or delays in processing, are very common practices in Ecuador (BDO International, 2002). Generally, the legal system of Ecuador belongs to American group of Latin traditional system of laws. It is based on the principles of civil culture of former dominating nation – Spain. Constitutional law is similar to the one of the U. S. and civil and criminal laws were influenced by French analogs of the codes. Since the times when the country gained its independence, legal development of Ecuador has been typical for this region. In 1860 a copy of Chile Civil law was adopted, and in 1957 current Code of Commerce was adopted. Current Constitution of Ecuador came into effect in June, 1998. According to Article 272 of the Constitution, it has the highest juridical power and dominates any other legal norm. All the laws, decrees, regulations, statutes, resolutions, orders, declarations and other legislative acts have to be correspondent to the effective constitutional norms. However, constitutional law in Ecuador, as well as the ones in the majority of the countries in this region, can be characterized by serious lack of stability. It is also important that the latest Constitution granted special rights to indigenous Amerindian ethnic groups. Labor code of the country was greatly reformed in 1991 in order to make it â€Å"more flexible† in regulating labor relations. A series of innovations, unfortunately, limited the rights of the employees of small enterprises to join unions, because minimal number of founders of such unions was increased from 15 to 30. However, a new labor code granted them the rights for collective negotiations or for strike. In 1964 the first law of agrarian reform was adopted, which limited latifundist property and granted the right for private property to peasants. In 1977 a decree stimulating exploration of the lands in the Amazon Basin (â€Å"colonization†) was adopted as an alternative one for land redistribution law. Other agrarian laws limit the prices for renting the lands for share cropping, stipulate minimal wages for seasonal agricultural laborers, etc. Criminal Code of 1938 is the main set of criminal laws. It is based on â€Å"neoclassic† Belgian and French codes. Crimes and penalties are differentiated depending on the type of punishment envisaged in the Code. The capital punishment was abolished in Ecuador in 1906 and this is stated in Article 1 Clause 23 of the Constitution. According to the constitution, every citizen of Ecuador must be provided with typical democratic guarantees of criminal justice, including judicial review of lawfulness of the detainment, etc. However, not all the guarantees and regulations are strictly observed. Finally, in terms of modern tendency to globalization, the majority of legal aspects of international activities, such as export-import relations, barriers for foreign trade, establishing international enterprises, as well as all the issues connected with standardization, certification, labeling, etc. are regulated by the norms of laws and national standards. Special laws also regulate property relationships, including the issues of copyrights, patents, trademarks and know-how (Trade Representative Office, 2005). Works Cited: â€Å"Doing Business in Ecuador. † BDO International. Brussels, Belgium: Romero Arteta Ponce, 2002. â€Å"Ecuador. † Country Studies. The Federal Research Division of the Library of Congress. 18 Apr. 2008 . â€Å"Ecuador. † Office of United States Trade Representative. Washington, U. S. , 2005. Herreira, Pedro Saad. â€Å"Ecuador: Un Pais en Imagenes, a Country in Images. † Quito, Ecuador: El Conejo Editorial, 2002. â€Å"Republic of Ecuador. † Nations Encyclopedia. Advameg Inc. 18 Apr. 2008 .

Active & Passive Voice Skill and Drill Quiz

Univ. of Phoenix: Center for Writing Excellence, Active and Passive Voice Skill-and-Drill Quiz Note: Every time you take the quiz the questions are in a different order and some questions will be different. 1. Which of the following sentences uses the active voice? †¢The hotel was left by the blackout with 250 pounds of spoiled food. ?The blackout left the hotel with 250 pounds of spoiled food. 1. Which of the following sentences should be rewritten in the active voice? †¢The director’s left had was left with about 75% mobility after he suffered injuries in a car accident. A gap was left in the auditing team by the capable director when he left. 2. Identify the correct active equivalent of this passive sentence: Enron might still exist had auditors been granted full access to company records by the executives. ?Auditors might have saved Enron had authorities granted them full access to company records. †¢Auditors might have been able to save Enron had they been granted full access to company records. †¢Enron might still exist had the executives granted the auditors full access to company records. 3. Which of the following sentences uses the active voice? The ingredients will have to be added to the boiling water. ?You will have to add the ingredients to the boiling water. 4. Identify the correct active equivalent of this passive sentence: The books will be taken from the library by the movers on January 16. ?The movers will take the books from the library on January 16. †¢The movers are taking the books from the library on January 16. †¢The movers took the books from the library on January 16. 5. Identify the correct active equivalent of this passive sentence: Intellectuals were relocated by Pol Pot to the Indonesian countryside. Pol Pot has relocated intellectuals to the Indonesian countryside †¢Pol Pot wanted to relocate intellectuals to the Indonesian countryside. ?Pol Pot relocated intellectuals to the Indonesian co untryside. 6. Pick the best active equivalent of the following sentence: The brochures and the radio spots were written by the tireless marketing team. †¢The brochures and radio spots had been written by the tireless marketing team. ?The tireless marketing team wrote the brochures and radio spots. †¢The brochures and radio spots were written by the tireless marketing team. 7.Which of the following sentences should be rewritten in the active voice? ?PepsiCo’s production of diet soda was exceeded by Coca-Cola in 2006. †¢The coast of Maine wa buffeted by strong winds early this morning. 8. Pick the best active equivalent of the following sentence: The layout of the new rooms at headquarters was considered â€Å"old-fashioned† by the designers, and new flooring and wall coverings were recommended. †¢The layout of the new rooms at headquarters was considered â€Å"old-fashioned† by the designers, and they recommended new flooring and wall covering s. The designer considered the layout of the new rooms at headquarters to be â€Å"old-fashioned,† and new flooring and wall coverings were recommended. ?The designers considered the layout of the new rooms at headquarters to be â€Å"old-fashioned† and recommended new flooring and wall coverings. 9. Identify the correct active equivalent of this passive sentence: The notebook computers were produced by Toshiba Corporation. ?Toshiba Corporation produced the notebook computers. †¢Toshiba Corporation had produced the notebook computers. †¢Toshiba Corporation will produce the notebook computers. 10.Which of the following sentences uses the active voice? †¢The jury was instructed not to discuss the case with anyone. ?The judge instructed the jury not to discuss the case with anyone. 11. Which of the following sentences should be rewritten in the active voice? †¢The rare book was found several miles from the library on a park bench. ?The dissertation was worked on 14 hours a day for seven days by the talented and soon-to-be Doctor Jana Hartwood. 12. Change this verb form active voice to passive voice: â€Å"†¦were watching their stock. † ? †¦ stock was being watched †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ stock had been watched †¢Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ stock had been watching 3. Which of the following sentences uses the active voice? ?The eccentric millionaire will purchase the artwork for about $100,000. †¢The artwork will be purchased by the eccentric millionaire for about $100,000. 14. Pick the best active equivalent of the following sentence: The show was stolen by Sue Preston, when an imitation of CEO Richard Blake was performed by her. ?Sue Preston stole the show when she imitated CEO Richard Blake †¢Sue Preston stole the show when an imitation of CEO Richard Blake was performed by her. †¢The show was stolen by Sue Preston, when she performed an imitation of CEO Richard Blake. 15.Pick the best active equivalent of the following sentence: After the colors were presented by the color guard, the commencement address was given by Hans Goldman, a lively if elderly survivor of the holocaust. †¢After the colors were presented by the color guard, Hans Goldman, a lively if elderly survivor of the holocaust, gave the commencement address. ?After the color guard presented the colors, Hans Goldman, a lively if elderly survivor of the holocaust, gave the commencement address. †¢After the color guard presented the colors, the commencement address was given by the Hans Goldman, a lively if elderly survivor of the holocaust. 6. Which of the following sentences should be rewritten in the active voice? †¢The experiment was first conducted at Yale University in the 1970s. ?The gold medal was won by gymnast Peter Vidmar in Los Angeles. 17. Which of the following sentences uses the active voice? ?The government cannot foresee the potential damage of a severe hurricane season. †¢The potential damage of a sev ere hurricane season cannot be foreseen by the government. 18. Which of the following sentences uses the active voice? ?Workers burn the sugar cane before hauling it to the refinery. †¢The sugar cane is burned before it is hauled to the refinery. 19.Pick the best active equivalent of the following sentence: A thickening was found by the doctor in the patient’s right bicep, and the patient was told by the doctor that it would need to be removed by the surgeon. †¢The doctor found a thickening in the patient’s right bicep, and the patient was told by the doctor that it would need to be removed by the surgeon. †¢A thickening was found by the doctor in the patient’s right bicep, and the doctor told the patient the surgeon would need to remove it. ?The doctor found a thickening in the patient’s right bicep, and the doctor told the patient the surgeon would need to remove it. 0. Change this verb from active voice to passive voice: â€Å"†¦wi ll perform Chopin’s etudes. † ? Chopin’s etudes will be performed†¦ †¢Chopin’s etudes were performed†¦ †¢Chopin’s etudes may be performed†¦ 21. Identify the correct active equivalent of this passive sentence: The organization had originally been established by the Quakers in 1848. †¢The Quakers originally established the organization in 1848 ? The Quakers had originally established the organization in 1848. †¢The Quakers were originally establishing the organization in 1848. 22. Which of the following sentences uses the active voice? By whom can Mt. Everest be climbed? ?Who will be able to climb Mt. Everest? 23. Which of the following sentences uses the active voice? ?The executive team sought ways to help the training department recover. †¢Ways were sought by the executive team to help the training department recover. 24. Which of the following sentences should be rewritten in the active voice? ?Sweaters were knitted by the 75-year-old great grandmother of seven, who sold them to supplement her social security. †¢The relic of inestimable value was found in an antique store in West Virginia.