Creative Commons - America Needs Fair Use Licenses Essay

Creative Commons - America Needs Fair Use Licenses It’s likely happened to you before, you turn on your radio, or favorite music video network and begin listening to a song by some hot new pop starlet, hip-hop superstar, or aging rocker. The beat is catchy, inviting, and oddly familiar, almost too familiar in fact. You may think, â€Å"Didn’t David Bowie, or, hmm, wasn’t it that guy from Queen that played this riff in like ten years ago? Who is this Vanilla Ice guy and why is he rapping over it?† If you were old enough to remember Under Pressure and subsequently were listening Ice Ice Baby in 1990 (likely while cruising in your Mustang 5.0 convertible on your way to a Milli Vanilli concert), you would have experienced an†¦show more content†¦Thankfully, a solution called Creative Commons has been developed which addresses many of these issues in an effort to encourage new creative development through the open sharing of intellectual property. (Lessig) There are many issues with the current copyright laws that exist in the Canada and the United States today. Many critics of these laws like, Creative Commons founder Lawrence Lessig; believe that current copyright laws only exist to protect entrenched, and often uncreative interests at the expense of everyone else. (Plotkin) In the United States, back in 1790, copyright extended for 14 years after the document was published, and then for another 14 years if the author was still alive. (Plotkin) Today copyright laws in the US have been lengthened to 70 years after the death of the author, which means that companies can withhold releasing works into the public domain for almost a century. (Plotkin) In Canada copyright laws are similar, but instead of 70 years after death, an authors works are released into the public domain 50 years after their death. (Harris) Lessig has stated in interviews that current copyright and patent practices are contrary to the reason why they were devel oped in the first place. (Plotkin) They wereShow MoreRelated Creative Commons Essay3468 Words   |  14 PagesCreative Commons Creative Commons encourages artists to share and distribute their work for free. And that could be the key to a new multibillion-dollar industry. People can widely redistribute other people works, as long as they provide the credit to the authors; create new works based on an existing ones, provided they offer those derivations back to the public on the same terms. This paper analyzes the conflicts between the need of technology for creativity and innovation versusRead MoreImmigration Is One Of The Most Popular Topics Today1591 Words   |  7 Pagesillegal immigrants in the nation would expand net contributions to Social Security by over $486 billion, give legal status to 85 percent of foreigners, and that number increases up to $606 billion, as shown in Figure 1 (Kugler, Lynch, Oakford). A common argument around immigration is that immigrants hurt American culture. Several people may say such accusations because a lot of immigrants don t speak English when first entering the U.S., which shines a negative light on American culture. AssumingRead MoreIntellectual Property, By The Way1814 Words   |  8 Pagesthat interest a person, but, the topic I’m most interested in is entitled intellectual property, by the way, one thing one has to know is US is based on freedom of ownership of property, and also in America, real estate, personally property and intellectual property right has value of business in America and benefits for individuals. The importance of intellectual property was outlined in a Paris convention for the protection of industrial property in 1789, and also in the Berne Convention for theRead MoreExternal and Internal Environment of atT4271 Words   |  18 Pagescapabilities. There are currently three providers for the digital wireless mobile phones service that create the networks via satellite. Global Service for Mobile Communications (GSM) has internationally appeal but is the network that Cingular and T-Mobile use for their service. Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA), have better coverage in the United States and are mainly utilized by Sprint and Verizon Wireless. The newest trends plan to integrate their technologies in the cell phone industry. VoiceRead MoreCopyright Infringement Research Paper4022 Words   |  17 Pagesthe exclusive right - such as fair dealing and fair use. Copyright does not protect ideas, only their expression. In most jurisdictions copyright arises upon fixation and does not need to be registered. Copyright owners have the exclusive statutory right to exercise control over copying and other exploitation of the works for a specific period of time, after which the work is said to enter the public domain (1). While piracy is simply defined as the unauthorized use of anothers production, inventionRead More Piracy Essay2152 Words   |  9 PagesPiracy Piracy is the unauthorized copying, counterfeiting or distribution of software. Piracy is essentially stealing someone elses intellectual property. The five most common types of software piracy are end user piracy, client-server overuse, Internet piracy, hard disk loading, and software counterfeiting. End User Piracy occurs when an employee of a company reproduces software without the proper authorization. End User Piracy can be done in several different ways: . Using one licensedRead MoreBurberry Case Study1896 Words   |  8 Pages(GUS) – a British holding company bought Burberry. In 1970 with first sale to Japan, company started to realize license agreements across the world. By 1990s Burberry had limited control over licenses sold making its brand price, design and quality vary across markets; â€Å"parallel trading† (sale of products at prices, channels and locations without respect to brand image) became common, especially in Asia. Business was profitable, but earning quality was low; customers were mainly older males andRead MoreBurberry Case Study1906 Words   |  8 Pages(GUS) – a British holding company bought Burberry. In 1970 with first sale to Japan, company started to realize license agreements across the world. By 1990s Burberry had limited control over licenses sold making its brand price, design and quality vary across markets; â€Å"parallel trading† (sale of products at prices, channels and locations without respect to brand image) became common, especially in Asia. Business was profitable, but earning quality was low; customers were mainly older males andRead MoreAn Introduction to the Law and Economics of Intellectual Property12472 Words   |  50 PagesAssociation Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/1942699 . Accessed: 24/11/2011 08:39 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarshipRead More Software Piracy and Copyright Laws: United States vs Vietnam2829 Words   |  12 PagesSoftware Piracy and Copyright Laws: United States versus Vietnam I. Introduction Software piracy is the unauthorized duplication, distribution or use of computer software. Five main types of software piracy exist: publisher patent and copyright infringement, industrial piracy, corporate piracy, reseller piracy, and home piracy. Software piracy is a large global issue, which has become a more pressing issue due to a number of reasons: software is now easier to distribute on a global scale

George Simmel s The Stranger - 992 Words

George Simmel’s, ‘The Stranger’ and W.E.B. Du Bois’, ‘Souls of Black Folk’ pose very parallel arguments in understanding the role of a ‘stranger’ in society. In Simmel’s work, he examines the trajectory of the stranger through an abstract lens. He establishes a conceptual framework for the ‘stranger’ within society while Du Bois presents a more tangible illustration through the experiences of African Americans in the United States. Although each approach is discrete from the other, the theories behind both arguments are comparable. In ‘The Stranger,’ George Simmel first explains who the actual stranger is away from standard definition. Spatial relations within society consist of three types: the wanderer, the outsider and the stranger. The wanderer is one who enters society one day and leaves the next and the outsider has no direct relation to the society in which they enter. However, the stranger i s unique from both the outsider and the wanderer because they actually join and remain in the society while developing a relationship to it and position within it. When referencing the stranger Simmel states, â€Å"†¦the man who comes today and stays tomorrow.† Although the stranger is now a part of society, he is never fully integrated. Despite being connected to this new space, the stranger remains alienated because of her differences. He participates within the larger society, but is still detached from it because the more dominant group marginalizes him. She plays a pivotalShow MoreRelatedDouble Consciousness and the Stranger Essay1565 Words   |  7 PagesThroughout history, Georg Simmel and W.E.B. Du Bois have had a significant influence on important theories and ideas developed in the Social Sciences. Perhaps two of the most relevant and well-known concepts developed by both of these theorists are the concepts of â€Å"double consciousness† and â€Å"the stranger†. In this paper I will be analyzing both of these pieces of work to draw upon differences and similarities between the two. The similarities I will be elaborating on are the usage of the paradoxicalRead MoreSymbolic Interactionism George Simmel Jacqueline Low10230 Words   |  41 PagesStructure, Agency, and Social Reality in Blumerian Symbolic Interactionism: The Influence of Georg Simmel Author(s): Jacqueline Low Source: Symbolic Interaction, Vol. 31, No. 3 (Summer 2008), pp. 325-343 Published by: Wiley on behalf of the Society for the Study of Symbolic Interaction Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/si.2008.31.3.325 . Accessed: 31/03/2015 20:24 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstorRead MoreFashion As A Social Process Essay2186 Words   |  9 Pagesproducing distinction to reflect on two fashion movements that include the introduction of women wearing pants within the society, which could also be connected to the second fashion movement that is women’s fashion during the suffragette movement. George Simmel thinks of fashion not just as a single realm of social life, but rather as a general occurrence of all societies that are modern in nature. He terms this as a social horizon where the interests of individuals come up together collectively (1971Read MoreJohn Mead s Mind, Self, And Society Essay1679 Words   |  7 Pagesaccepting the religion, however this is the way in which your â€Å"self† is developed. Mead s idea of â€Å"taking the attitude of the other† is a concept that comes forth during social interactions. According to the textbook, Mead thinks of the mind as a â€Å"behavioral process that entails a ‘conversation of significant gestures’† (pg. 292). This means that the mind makes decisions on how to act through another person s actions during a social interaction. For example, you are at school and another studentRead MoreMetropolis And Mental Life By Georg Simmel2554 Words   |  11 Pagesthe society and culture we are accustomed to. Because culture is difficult to define, and there is not one set definition, we look to social theorists and thinkers to see the way in which our society is formed. â€Å"Metropolis and Mental Life† by Georg Simmel addressed different aspects of social urban life during the 19th century. He talked about some aspects of modern urban culture during this time. The writing discusses the position of an individual in a big city of urban life and ways in which peopleRead MoreStri Bhrun Hatya Essay in Marathi4841 Words   |  20 PagesvgwtkHkkjrh; lekt] jkor ifCyds’ku] t;iwj] 200224- eukstdqekj flag Hkkjr esa lkekftd ifjorZu] vtqZu ifCyf’kax gkÃ…l] ubZ fnYyh] 200525- ‘;kekpj.k nqcs Hkkjrh; lekt  ¼vuq-izdk’k ns’kikaMs ½] uW’kuy cqd V ªLV] bafM;k 1994- 9 26- xksfoan xkjs] f’k#HkkÃ… fye;segkjk†V ªkrhy nfyr ‘kks/k vkf.k cks/k] lgk/;;u izdk’ku] eqacbZ] 197327- gseyrk jkbZjdjvLi`’;rk vkf.k dk;nk] bafM;u lsD;qyj lkslk;Vh] iq.ks 197828- xq#ukFk ukMxksaMs Hkkjrh; vkfnoklh] dkWfUVusUVy izdk’ku] fot;kuxj] iq.ks29- ufyuh iaMhrtkfrokn vkf.kRead MoreGlobalization and It Effects on Cultural Integration: the Case of the Czech Republic.27217 Words   |  109 Pagesthe US but also to the world at large. This is because if left to fall on earth, the catastrophe could have been worldwide, affecting both man, animals and the environment. 1.6 McDonaldization The term McDonaldization was first coined by Ritzer George in his text â€Å"the McDonaldization of Society†. Cited in Taylor Stephen and Lyon Phil (1995), he defines McDonaldization as the process by which the principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of American societyRead MoreDeveloping Management Skills404131 Words   |  1617 Pagesbuilt-in pretests and posttests, focus on what you need to learn and to review in order to succeed. Visit www.mymanagementlab.com to learn more. DEVELOPING MANAGEMENT SKILLS EIGHTH EDITION David A. Whetten BRIGHAM YOUNG UNIVERSITY Kim S. Cameron UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN Prentice Hall Boston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle River Amsterdam Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal Toronto Delhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul SingaporeRead MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 PagesStrikwerda, â€Å"Tides of Migration, Currents of History: The State, Economy, and the Transatlantic Movement of Labor in the Nineteenth and Twentieth Centuries,† International Review of Social History 44 (1999): 367–394. 20. See Jose C. Moya, Cousins and Strangers: Spanish Immigrants in Buenos Aires, 1850–1930 (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1998) for an effort to fuse these global and local perspectives on migration and adaptation. 21. Imre Ferenczi and Walter Willcox, eds., International MigrationsRead MoreOrganisational Theory230255 Words   |  922 Pagesmanaging, organizing and reflecting on both formal and informal structures, and in this respect you will find this book timely, interesting and valuable. Peter Holdt Christensen, Associate Professor, Copenhagen Business School, Denmark McAuley et al.’s book is thought-provoking, witty and highly relevant for understanding contemporary organizational dilemmas. The book engages in an imaginative way with a wealth of organizational concepts and theories as well as provides insightful examples from the

A Migrant’s Diary Free Essays

Dear Diary, Hello, my name is Lucas and I am a migrant. I am the oldest of eight children and we live on a small farm in the Hills of Kenya. Tomorrow I will have to leave my Family to move to the capital city Nairobi. We will write a custom essay sample on A Migrant’s Diary or any similar topic only for you Order Now Here I work on our small patch of land with my Mother and Father, the only problem is that everything is getting worse. There are so many in my Family that we haven’t got enough food to feed everyone. That is why I must go. I will try to find work to earn some money and then send it too my Family to help them. We rely on the Weather to be able to grow crops but this is normally not very successful. The weather here is very bad for our crops because mostly there are either Droughts or Floods. The condition of the soil is very poor and our crops die very quickly. Because we live on high land it is hard to grow crops because of all the slopes. I am very excited to go because I will hopefully be able to help my Family but also a bit worried because maybe I will not even find a Job. I have heard that Nairobi has quite a lot of jobs on offer so I hope I will find one. Very many people live out here in the Countryside but not very many people live in the city. More and more Migrants like me are moving to the City. I hope the People in Nairobi will be nice to me and not make me feel down. I do not like to leave my Family but I have to, so that they will be able to survive. I must go now to get ready for Tomorrows leave. Goodbye Lucas Dear Diary, I have just arrived in Nairobi and I am very impressed at what it looks like. The Journey here was very long, Tiring and bumpy and I am glad I have got some fresh air to breathe now. I am now waiting for my cousin to meet me here. Most buildings here are very small and are made of Iron. It looks quite clean here but there are a lot of piles of rubbish outside the Houses. The people here wear much better quality clothes and they look a lot richer than I do. The city is built on very low Land and so it is very easy to build houses. There are some higher buildings but I cannot see any Skyscrapers of any kind. There is a lot more Traffic here than were I used to live. The people here look much more busy and I cannot see any Farms. I think they work in Offices, Hospitals, Schools and shops. I have a lot of hope that I will get a Job even if it is only small but I need to save my Family. The City looks much bigger than the Countryside. There seem to be a lot of People crowded in one little space. I hope that my cousin will come soon because I am starting too feel very nervous. Oh, there she comes, I will write to you later. Goodbye. Lucas Dear Diary, I am now in my cousin’s house and I am not very pleased. I thought that I would live in a really nice house, because my uncle told me that she was doing really well but it doesn’t seem like it. The House is very clean but very small. She calls it a shanty house and there is lots of rubbish outside and a river of sewage is running outside. There is no Electricity or clean Water and I can’t believe anybody could live like this. The Walls are made from mud and the Roof from Iron. It is very hot in the day and very cold at night. There are a lot more Jobs here, which is what I was looking for, but the ground here is not ideal for farming either. I have written a letter to my Family describing what it is like and that I am searching for a Job. Every day I go out and look for a Job, but it is very hard as I am a Migrant. The Offices, Schools, Hospitals and Shops are a lot cleaner than the Shanty Houses. Well I will write more Later. Goodbye. Lucas Dear Diary, I have now been looking for a Job for 4 weeks and I became very desperate. My Family have been asking what’s going on and I told them that I couldn’t find anything, but my cousin was helping me. It is very hard to find a Job because all I know about is farming and there are no Farms in the City. But yesterday a man came up to me and asked if I would like to work for his cleaning Company. I was so pleased that I said yes without Thinking First. I am so happy that I have found a Jog. I only get paid very poorly but it is still better than working on the Farm. I will get my first amount of money next week and that Money will go straight to My Family. I have already sent them a Letter. I work as a cleaner on the streets of Kibera and have to pick up the Rubbish that is left in front of all the Houses. It is not very nice to do but I need to bring some money to the Family. I hope that they will be Pleased with the Amount I send. Being a Cleaner is very hard work and I work 11 Hours a day. All the rubbish outside the Houses makes me feel a bit sick but apart from that I’m O.K. I will write more later. Goodbye. Lucas Dear Diary, I have know been working for 3 Month and have been sending Money to my Family every Week. My sister said that she is very impressed and wants to come to work here as well. I wrote a Letter to her that said something like this. Dear Sister, I am very pleased to hear that you would like to come and live with me and help me. I must tell you though that the City isn’t as great as you think. The shanty houses are very clean inside but very Dirty outside. As I have previously told you I am a Cleaner and I have to pick up all the Rubbish people leave outside. You might need to get the same Jog as me but if you are Lucky you will get a Different one. Working here is great but very Hard. I hope you will come so that we can send even more money to the Family and maybe sometime I could pay them a Visit when you are working. If you tell me when you will arrive then I can come and Pick you up at the Bus Station. I hope the whole Family is well. Please write back as soon as Possible, to tell me all Information. There are a lot more Shops here and better health care. Please come to visit because I am starting too fell very Lonely. Even though I live with my Cousin I’m still Lonely because I never see her as she is working at Night and I am working at Day. The City is very nice and Different so Please Come to Visit. Goodbye, Your Brother Lucas. I am so happy because she wants to come and Visit me. I am really starting too fell Lonely and It would be great if she came, so I am holding Fingers crossed. I am sorry but I will have to go to work now. How to cite A Migrant’s Diary, Papers

Lord Essays - Rhetorical Techniques, English-language Films

Lord Of The Flies By William Golding Lord of the Flies William Golding uses stylistic devices such as tone, structure and pace to create drama and immediacy in this passage taken from Lord of the Flies . Through his word choice, pace changes, structure and other elements which help create the mood, Golding has produced an intense and climatic piece. At the beginning of this piece the viewpoint and tense shift. The effect of the shifting viewpoint is to allow the audience to feel the mounting tension. The tense also shifts by moving from past to present and back to past. The shifting tense helps the tension but it also has a dramatic effect on pace; "...Ralph was looking straight into the savage's eyes. Don't scream. You'll get back. Now he's seen you. He's making sure. A stick sharpened. Ralph screamed, a scream of..." The large second paragraph assists in building the tension and adds to the drama of the intense chase. Lengthy sentences also draw out the tension and help build the climax. "All at once the lights flickering ahead of him merged together, the roar of the forest rose to thunder and a tall bush directly in his path burst into a great fan-shaped flame." This piece starts with no movement. Reading on, the pace picks up with short sharp sentences containing alliteration and assonance, ?A stick sharpened.' Suspense grabs us, and once again the pace increases. ?He shot forward, burst the thicket, was in...' By the end of the second paragraph the intense climax has been reached. "He stumbled over a root, and the cry that persued him rose even higher...... crouching with arm up to ward off, try to cry for mercy." Detached language shows the audience that the pace has decreased. At the introduction of a new character the pace suddenly stops in it's tracks. "He staggared to his feet, tensed for more terrors, and looked up at a huge peaked cap..." Use of assonance, personification, metaphors, similes and alliteration successfully describe Ralph's feelings, thoughts and actions and his desperate, frustrated, exhaused and hopeless state of mind is described in detail; "...He forgot his wounds, his hunger and thirst, and fear...Spots jumped before his eyes and turned into red circles...below him someone's legs were getting tired..." The language then launches into assonance and alliteration for example ?screaming, snarling bloody' and ?series of short sharp cries.' This has a strong effect on the desperate mood that Golding is portraying. With dramatic diction Ralph's movement is described powerfully. The reader can almost see Ralph staggering, stumbling, ?...tensed for more terrors.' Startling contrasts create intensity as well as helping the mood of the frightening jungle atmosphere. From the beauty of the island to the sheer horror and terror of the chase. Dangerous chaos to the safety of order restored when the naval officer appears, the contrasts are strong are strong and dramatic. Golding uses this to structure the piece and make it dramatic. Begining in a short and breathless tempo the mood of sheer terror is presented in the opening sentences. Written in omniscient third person, Golding uses this to describe a climatic frenzy that the reader can vividly visualise. "The seconds lengthened. Ralph was looking straight into the savage's eyes." Ralph rises to see a ?saviour'. A naval officer, a symbol of order and civiliation. The mood changes to relief, safety. Ralph is utterly astonished not only by the ?hero' but the majestic aura of the ship behind the naval officer. Stylistic devices like personification, metaphors and similes make Goldings prose delightful; "...The desperate ululation advanced like a jagged fringe of menace..." Golding has written a very dramatic piece. His use of pace modulations, mood, tense and viewpoint effectively describe the chaos and disarray of boys turned savages on a picture perfect island. Ralph's intense feelings are thoroughly explored and his character well developed even in this short excerpt.

20 Words with More Than One Spelling

20 Words with More Than One Spelling 20 Words with More Than One Spelling 20 Words with More Than One Spelling By Mark Nichol When the dictionary lists two alternate spellings of a word, should you use your judgment (or is that judgement?), or is there some other criterion for selection? Most dictionaries describe what is, rather than prescribe what should be hence the alternatives but they usually favor one form over the other. For both convenience and consistency, follow the dictionary’s indirect dictates. In printed dictionaries, the preferred form will have the full definition, while the runner-up will be cross-referenced to the winner. Online, the spelling in the Web page’s heading indicates the preference, though the other choice will likely also be listed. Here are some common entries with more than one orthography: 1. Acknowledgment/acknowledgement: Acknowledgment, though it looks awkward because the spelling implies that the g is pronounced hard, rather than (correctly) soft, is the preferred spelling, at least in American English. 2. Adviser/advisor: Adviser is the preferred spelling, though it is inconsistent with the spelling of the adjectival form advisory. 3. Aesthetic/esthetic: Aesthetic is the preferred spelling, a rare case of the digraph retained in American English in favor of a single-vowel spelling. (See also amoeba/ameba and archaeology/archeology.) 4. Ameba/amoeba: Amoeba is the preferred spelling. It also has variant plural forms: Amoebas is acceptable in all but the most strictly scientific contexts, where amoebae is preferred. 5. Amok/amuck: Amok is the traditional spelling, preferred to amuck. 6. Among/amongst: The -st extension is, in both American English and British English, widely considered an unnecessary appendage. (The same preference applies for amid/amidst and while/whilst; whilst is, at any rate, rare in American English.) 7. Analog/analogue: Analog is one of fourteen words in which the original -ue ending is clipped. Whether one form or the other is preferred varies depending on not only the word but also, occasionally, on which part of speech it represents. Most one- and two-syllable words ending in -ue have no truncated variant; prologue is the exception. 8. Archaeology/archeology: The version with the ae digraph is preferred over the single-vowel form. 9. Ax/axe: Ax is the preferred spelling, alone and in compounds (axman, battle-ax). 10. Collectable/collectible: Collectible is the preferred variant. 11. Barbecue/Barbeque: Barbeque is a variant of barbecue influenced by the truncation BBQ. 12. Disc/disk: Disc is a variant of disk, though it has valid status in the â€Å"phrase compact disc† and references to similar media. 13. Donut/doughnut: Donut is an informal variant of doughnut. 14. Enquire/inquire: Inquire is the preferred American English spelling, but in British English, enquire prevails. 15. Flier/flyer: Spelling depends on meaning. See this post, in which I conclude that pilots and passengers are fliers, and posted papers are flyers. 16. Gray/grey: Gray is the preferred spelling in American English; British English favors grey. 17. Nite/night: Nite is an informal variant of night. 18. Theater/theatre: The former spelling is preferred in American English, though the latter form sometimes appears in proper names. 19. Toward/towards: In American English, towards and other similar words are considered informal variants of the forms in which the s is omitted. 20. Whiskey/whisky: The former spelling is more common in the United States (as well as in Ireland), though usage in labeling varies. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing a Reference Letter (With Examples)Yay, Hooray, Woo-hoo and Other Acclamations7 Other Types of Pronouns

Atheists, Agnostics, and Apostates

Atheists, Agnostics, and Apostates Atheists, Agnostics, and Apostates Atheists, Agnostics, and Apostates By Mark Nichol What’s the difference between an atheist and an agnostic? As with most words, the answer lies in the etymological origins of the words. Atheist stems, through atheism, from the French word athà ©isme, which pertains to a lack of belief in God, or in any deity. (Here, the antonymic a- is linked to theism, which means â€Å"belief in God† or â€Å"belief in gods.†) An agnostic, by contrast, is one who does not know, and perhaps believes it is impossible to know, whether God or gods exist. (Here, the antonymic a- is linked to gnostic, meaning â€Å"one who knows,† ultimately from the Greek term gignÃ… skein, meaning â€Å"to know.†) Agnostic has also developed a nonreligious sense of â€Å"nonspecific† or â€Å"nonaligned,† as when referring to software that operates regardless of which platform of hardware on which it is installed. The central element in atheist is also seen in theology (â€Å"study of religion†) and theocracy (â€Å"rule by religion†) and is the basis of the name Theodore, which means â€Å"god-given,† and the root of agnostic is also seen in gnostic (which refers, when capitalized, to a school of philosophy) and diagnosis and prognosis. A related term is apostate, which denotes someone who renounces a belief; the term can also refer to defection from or abandonment of a political or social group; the origin of the term is the Greek word aphistasthai, which means â€Å"revolt.† (The condition of being an apostate is called apostasy.) Other words pertaining to a lack of belief (or of the â€Å"correct† belief) include gentile, heathen, and pagan. Gentile stems from the Latin root gens, meaning â€Å"nation,† and refers to someone not of the Jewish faith, a non-Mormon, or a nonbeliever in general. (Gentile is cognate with gentle, which literally means â€Å"civilized.†) Heathen, likely ultimately from Gothic, in English came to mean someone living outside of civilization (from heath, meaning â€Å"uncultivated land†) and therefore outside the religion of the civilization, with a connotation of inferiority. Pagan is popularly thought to have derived from the same sense (from the Latin term paganus, meaning â€Å"rustic (person)†), but it probably stems from another meaning of the term, Roman military slang for civilians and clumsy recruits equivalent to the nautical slur landlubber. (An obsolete cognate is paynim, used by Christians during the Crusades in Europe to refer to a follower of Islam.) Then there is infidel, which specifically refers to one who holds religious beliefs different from what is regarded as the true religion (the term, from Latin, means â€Å"unfaithful†- or, more accurately, â€Å"not of the faithful†- and is related to fidelity) and the term giaour, rarely used in English, which is ultimately from Persian by way of French and refers to one who is not Islamic. An idolater, meanwhile, is one who worships idols (or the â€Å"wrong† idols); the word is also used in a secular sense to refer to someone who uncritically reveres a person undeserving of the adulation. (The practice of an idolater is idolatry, and the adjectival form is idolatrous.) Check out our latest YouTube video: Masters Degree or Master’s Degree? Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Computer Terms You Should Know10 Types of TransitionsThe 7 Types of Possessive Case

A review and comparison of legislative,regulatory and institutional Essay

A review and comparison of legislative,regulatory and institutional reform in the US and UK - Essay Example The regulation of financial markets and its implications have been a topic of considerable interest among researchers and policy makers for a long time.On the one hand, it is argued that the regulation of financial markets has welfare benefits due to the existence of market imperfections On the other hand, it is argued that financial market regulation imposes significant costs to an economy that outweighs the benefits (Benston, 1998).It has been argued that the inappropriate regulatory measures combined with many other factors have resulted in the recent economic crisis. Given this, essay examines the regulatory, institutional and legislative reforms in US and UK in the pre crisis, crisis and post crisis periods. The main aim is to compare the reforms in these periods and their impact on the capital markets in US and UK. This essay is organized as follows. Section 2 discusses the theoretical arguments regarding regulation, section 3 discusses the reforms in pre crisis period, section 4 discusses the reforms in the crisis period, section 5 discusses the reforms in the post crisis period and section 6 concludes the essay. 2. Theoretical Arguments Financial market regulation is mainly aimed at correcting market imperfection and ensuring allocative efficiency of resources (Giorgio et al, 2000). Based on these the three main reasons for financial market regulation are identified as (i) ensuring microeconomic and macroeconomic stability (ii) equitable resource distribution and (iii) allocative efficiency of resources. 2.1. ... ations on integrity requirements etc and other regulations like portfolio investment limits, regulations on off balance activities etc(Giorgio et al, 2000). 2.2.Equitable Resource Distribution Based on the objective of equitable resource distribution, the financial market regulation is aimed at making the markets and intermediaries transparent and to protect the investors (Giorgio et al, 2000). In this regard, the measures include takeovers and public offers regulations, regulations of insider trading, manipulation, price discovery mechanisms, which are aimed at equal treatment, and business conduct rules aimed at non-discrimination etc. 2.3. Allocative Efficiency of Resources Based on this objective, the financial market regulation is aimed at enhancing competition among the financial intermediaries through regulating the competitive structure of the markets as well as regulations of concentrations etc (Giorgio et al, 2000). This view supports competition by arguing that competition helps banks to earn great market share and high efficiency(Demsetz,1973 ). Based on this view, competition and concentration are not in opposite directions. Rather, competition promotes concentration and hence bank efficiency. However, this theory assumes that there are no efficient barriers to entry. According to this view competition increases concentration only if the banks, which have high market share have a special advantage in developing output which are not available to other banks. In such a case, it leads to increased efficiency of the banks, which have this advantage (Demsetz,1973 ). Here, the profits will not be reduced by competition since it will be very difficult for other banks to overcome the superior performance using their inputs. This is because, in this case, it is not