A Short Guide to Capitalization

A capital letter is the form of an alphabetical letter (such as A, B, C) used to begin a  proper noun  or the first word in a sentence. A capital letter is an uppercase letter in contrast to lower case. Verb: capitalize. Also known as  majuscule, uppercase, upper-case, block letter, and caps. In classical Greek and Latin writing, only capital letters (also called majuscules) were used. Examples and Observations By the sixth and seventh centuries the various letter forms we now use had been invented . . .. From the ninth century on all writing in the Latin alphabet, in whatever style or hand, used capital and small-letter pairs as we do now.(Thomas A. Sebeok, Current Trends in Linguistics, 1974)A capital is always used for the first letter of a sentence. It is a universal rule. But the same cannot be said for the capitalization of names or proper nouns. Style varies wildly between--and even within--publications such as national newspapers and magazines. Apply commonsense rules. All names of people and places--Peter Cook, Paraguay, Piccadilly Circus--take capitals. All titles of specific works of art--Citizen Kane, the Mona Lisa, Beethovens Fifth Symphony, Anna Karenina--take a capital. Languages and nationalities--English, the French--take capitals. Institutions--the Houses of Parliament, the White House, the Anglican Church--take capitals. Days, months and formally defined periods of histor y--Monday, February, the Middle Ages--take capitals. . . .Words deriving from proper names usually take a capital--as Christian from Christ and Marxist from Marx. But some such words, known as eponyms, have come into everyday use and no longer take a capital.(Ned Halley, Dictionary of Modern English Grammar. Wordsworth, 2005)She laid the folded newspaper on the counter between us, and my eye caught the words DISASTER, FAILURE and CRASH.(Eva Figes, Nellys Version. Secker Warburg, 1977) Trends in Capitalization I am a poet: I distrust anything that starts with a capital letter and ends with a full stop (Antjie Krog)Times have changed since the days of medieval manuscripts with elaborate hand-illuminated capital letters, or Victorian documents in which not just proper names, but virtually all nouns, were given initial caps (a Tradition valiantly maintained to this day by Estate Agents). A look through newspaper archives would show greater use of capitals the further back you went. The tendency towards lowercase, which in part reflects a less formal, less deferential society, has been accelerated by the internet: some web companies, and many email users, have dispensed with capitals altogether.(David Marsh and Amelia Hodsdon, Guardian Style, 3rd ed. Guardian Books, 2010)If in doubt use lower case unless it looks absurd.(The Economist Style Guide. Profile Books, 2005) The Lighter Side of Capital Letters He believed in a door. He must find that door. The door was the way to . . . to . . .The Door was The Way.Good.Capital letters were always the best way of dealing with things you didnt have a good answer to.(Douglas Adams, Dirk Gentlys Holistic Detective Agency. Pocket Books, 1987) Carol Fisher: This is Scott ffolliott. Newspaperman, same as you. London correspondent. Mr. Haverstock, Mr. ffolliott.Scott ffolliott: With a double f.Johnny Jones: How do you do?Scott ffolliott: How do you do?Johnny Jones: I dont get the double f.Scott ffolliott: Theyre at the beginning, old boy. Both small fs.Johnny Jones: They cant be at the beginning.Scott ffolliott: One of my ancestors had his head chopped off by Henry VIII, and his wife dropped the capital letter to commemorate the occasion. There it is.Johnny Jones: How do you say it, like a stutter?Scott ffolliott: No, just straight fuh.(Laraine Day, George Sanders, and Joel McCrea in Foreign Correspondent, 1940)

Slavery Has Been Written By The People Who Have Gained...

History has been written by many different people explaining many different situations. We study books written by the people who have gained victory during those times. We have the knowledge of events and what occurred because of these people. But would we look at history different if it was written by the people who did not have such great outcomes as others. Slavery is one of the most studied topics in history. It all started in the early 17th century and continued on for many years. Slavery refers to a condition in which individuals are owned by others, who control where they live and at what they work. Slavery had previously existed throughout history, in many times and most places. There are several people who have had great†¦show more content†¦If it was written by someone who did not win the story would most likely exposed details, we were not meant to know. Harriet Jacob is one of the most famous African American women slave to escape and tell her story. She tells her story with brutal details about what actually happened to her. She talks about her sexual history while being a slave and how she used it to escape. She used her sexuality as a way to avoid exploitation by her master. She goes into details about her having to hide for seven years and not being able to see her grandmother and two children. Harriet’s story is similar to other slave narratives when talking about the struggle and becoming free, but her story tells a different side when she talks about sexuality and motherhood. Her story tells a different side to how things happened because women and men did not have to endure the same struggle when talking about sex. After escaping she becomes an abolitionist speaker and reforms. If her story was written by someone who could not have used their sexuality to escape or avoid exploitation by their master, the story would b e a lot more brutal and disturbing. A woman who had to stay in endure that would have had a lot more to say. The ending would not have been so delightful. Solomon Northup, was born a free man, but became a slave. He went on a trip with a group of people, who told him to get his free papers before he left New York. He was promised money for

Scope of Demography free essay sample

To a statistician a population can be any collection of items but to a demographer it means a collection of people. Preston et al (2001:1) describe two such collections: †¢ A population of persons alive at a particular point in time. For example, the 2001 Australian census collected information on all people in Australia on the night of Tuesday, August 7 th of August, 2001. †¢ A population that ‘persists through time even though its members are continuously changing’. Demographers may thus talk about the aggregate of persons who have ever lived in Australia in the past and also about people in Australia in the future. Populations can be subdivided, often by age and sex. For example, a study of the Australian labour force may look at males and females aged from 15 to 64 years. In a more restricted sense, a population can refer to any group being studied where its size and structure depend on persons entering and leaving (Pressat 1985:176). We will write a custom essay sample on Scope of Demography or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The composition of the Australian Defence Force largely depends on the entry of recruits and on members exiting on resignation (Schindlmayr and Ong, 2001). The components affecting population change are measured by birth, death and migration rates that determine the numbers in the population, its age composition, and how fast it is growing or declining. If demographers are studying a country they will ask such basic questions as: How many males and females are there now? Where are they? What are their ages? How many births have occurred, and to whom? What are the characteristics of those who die or migrate? How and why will these change? 1 BEGINNING AUSTRALIAN POPULATION STUDIES BOX 1. Defining demography †¢ Demography is the study of human populations in relation to the changes brought about by the interplay of births, deaths, and migration. The term is also used to refer to the actual phenomena observed, as in phrases such as the demography of tropical Africa (Pressat 1985:54). Demography is the statistical and mathematical study of the size, composition, and spatial distribution of human populations, and of changes over time in these aspects through the operation of the five processes of fertility, mortality, marriage, migration, and social mobility. Although it maintains a continuous descriptive and comparative analysis of trends, in each of these processes and in their net result, its long-run goal is to develop a body of theory to explain the events that it charts and compares (Bogue 1969: 1-2). Demography is the study of the size, territorial distribution, and the composition of population, changes therein, and the components of such changes, which may be identified as natality, mortality, territorial movement (migration), and social mobility (change of status) (Hauser and Duncan 1959:2). †¢ †¢ Note: In this last definition Hauser and Duncan (1959:2) explain that the omission of population quality is deliberate. Population composition refers not only to characteristics such as age, sex, and marital status but also to health and occupation. Social mobility involves changes in status e. g. through marriage and migration. The inclusion of social mobility as a part of demography can be disputed. Bogue (1969:28) includes it because ‘ there is very strong demographic component in this line of research’. John Graunt, who lived from 1620 to 1674, answered some questions of this ind for 17th century London. He estimated that London’s population comprised 199,000 males and 185,000 females, and that slightly more males than females had been born between 1628 and 1662 (Graunt 1975:57). Graunt was a cloth seller, and his knowledge of ‘shop arithmetic’ was the basis for his 1662 Natural and Political Observations, a study of births and deaths. His data we re presented in statistical tables, their reliability was assessed and adjustments made (Kreager 1988). Because he calculated demographic rates and other statistics, Graunt is often called ‘the father of demography’. In Australia pioneering effforts in demography included Pell’s 1867 paper on mortality rates (reproduced in Santow et al 1988) and the work of the first two Commonwealth Statisticians, Knibbs and Wickens (Gray 1998). Knibbs’s Mathematical

Poverty Is Not Caused by Overpopulation Essay Example

Poverty Is Not Caused by Overpopulation Paper First presented some facts about world population and demography. Then I analyzed the Malthusian and Marxist views on population. I talked about the existing views that considered population growth as the main reason behind poverty. Then I discussed my arguments about those view and discussed how population growth is not the primary cause of low standard of living, gross inequalities or limited freedom choice that characterize much of the developing world. I tried to find the main reasons behind the impoverishment of the poor countries and how those lead to overpopulation. Background: Human race came into existence around 2 billion years ago. Agricultural Revolution took place about 10,000 years ago when people used to hunt and gather food. At that time the estimated world population was about 4 million. The population started to grow significantly after the agricultural revolution. However, the most dramatic population growth occurred after the Industrial Revolution in sass. The world population was approaching one billion people and was increasing by more than two million every year. This dramatic population growth is termed population explosion because within less than 00 years the number of people mushroomed to more than 6 billion whereas before this, world population grew very slowly for millions of years. At this very moment, nearly 7 billion people are sharing this planet. By 2050, the population is expected to reach 9 billion. The world population is very unevenly distributed by geographic region, fertility and mortality levels and age structure. Here we also have to consider the term demographic transition: transition from high birth and death rates to low birth and death rates. We will write a custom essay sample on Poverty Is Not Caused by Overpopulation specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Poverty Is Not Caused by Overpopulation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Poverty Is Not Caused by Overpopulation specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer Most of the developing countries are in stage two and the developed countries in stage three. So in the developing countries, though death rate has dropped significantly due to improvement in medicine and health care, fertility rate remains high. So population growth is highest in the developing and poor countries. Existing literature: Now the question is why birth rates are so high in the developing countries? In 1 798, Thomas Malthusian proposed a theory that determines the relationship between population growth and economic development. According to him, the poor countries are poor because of the population growth. Eliminate the population problem and the problem of poverty will be solved by itself. To eliminate the extra people, positive and preventive checks are necessary. Positive checks are famine, natural disasters, war etc which according to him is a good way to get rid of the unnecessary people who are burden to the society. Preventive checks would be only moral restrain because birth controls were considered as sins according to the Catholic Church. Malthusian was not aware of the technological progress that would occur and thus he came up with the theory that food production will not be able to keep up with the population growth. Thus the solution was to get rid of the poor people. Karl Marx saw the Malthusian point of view as an outrage against humanity. Marx pinpointed the fact that with technological progress, there would be more production. So capital would be increasing too. However, the few capitalist who own all the resources exploit the poor workers and keep them poor. So poverty is the result of a poorly organized capitalist society where there is no equal distribution of wealth. From the Marxist point of view, overpopulation is not the reason behind slow economic growth and development. Though the theory of Malthusian is much criticized and controversial, his ideas are still remaining in the present world. Many theorists and economists see the reduction of population growth through severe measures as the easiest way of ensuring economic prosperity in a developing country. According to them, unrestrained population increase is the main reason behind low standard of living, malnutrition, ill health, environmental degradation, and many other economic and social problems. There is a theory known as population-poverty cycle. This theory states that overpopulation makes the economic, social, and psychological problems more complicated. As more children are born every day, there is less savings rate per person in the household and national level. Because of the uncontrolled population growth, the government fails to provide the basic necessities for the additional people. This leads to low living standard of the existing generation and eventually poverty is transferred to the next generation. At present China is the most populous country in the world with a number Of 1. 34 billion. This country has undertaken one Of the most harsh and coercive population control policies in the early sass- one child per family policy. Though this policy dramatically reduced the growth rate, is caused many socio-economic problems and controversies. However, the cline in the fertility rate in China through one child policy is less successful than approaches based on women empowerment and education in some parts of India, such as the state of Kraal. This shows us that population no longer remains a problem even though there is slow economic growth by focusing on empowering people, especially women. Defending my thesis: My thesis is that poverty causes overpopulation and to solve both the problems, other issues are needed to be taken care of. One of the main causes that keep poor countries and poor people poor is unequal distribution of wealth and natural resources. The developed countries consist of one quarter of the worlds population but consume almost 80% of the world resources. In 2005, the wealthiest 20% of the world accounted for 76. % of total private consumption. The poorest 20% consumed just 1. 5%. When one child is born in a developed country, the amount of money and resources spend behind it is equivalent to 16 children in the developing countries. Therefore the developed countries should cut back their very high consumption instead of asking developing countries to control their population growth. However they do not do that in an attempt to hold down he development of the poor countries to continue dominance over them and to maintain the very expensive living style. So they made population growth the main reason behind poverty to distract everyone from the real reasons. They pressurize the poor nations to adopt aggressive population control programs even though they themselves went through a period of sizable population increase that accelerated their own development processes. So as the Lads are kept poor, no or less development occurs and thus generates overpopulation. Also a huge amount of resources are hold idle. For example, only 12% of all the potential arable land is under cultivation. So the land actually being cultivated amounts only a fraction of its potential. According to one web resource- Enough arable land exists in India to give each person in the country approximately half an acre. In famine-ravaged Ethiopia, each person could have three-quarters of an acre of arable land. Africa, the poorest continent, has 20. 2% of the worlds land area, and only 13% of its population. North America has a whopping 2. 1 acres of arable land per person! So many areas with potential resources are under populated and any small areas (urban areas in the Lads) are concentrated with too many people. This unequal distribution of people in terms of land causes poverty rather than the population growth. Underdevelopment itself is a huge problem. If the governments of the developing countries adopt correct strategies that promote higher levels Of living, greater self-esteem and expanded freedom, population will take care of itself. If people are healthy and better educated, they will themselves be aware of the fact that smaller families are better than larger families. On the other case, if they are uneducated and physically and psychologically weak, the large family will be the only real source of social security. So the birth control programs and severe child control policies will be unsuccessful if there is no motivation to empower and enlighten the people, especially the women. If the women have equal roles and status like the men and have access to birth control, fertility rate will fall by itself. However, the richest people of the developing countries consume most of the resources and deprive the rest of the people of their daily necessities. As the poor people are kept poor they fail to get educated ND empowered which leads to low quality of life and overpopulation. Conclusion: Overpopulation is not the main cause behind poverty. It is the other way around. However, fast population growth is not desirable too. So in order to develop, countries like Bangladesh need to adopt policies that focus on making people aware of the ways to keep the family small. The consequences of rapid population should neither be exaggerated nor minimized. However, it is pretty clear problem of population is not simply a problem Of huge number. It is about quality of life and material well being.