Electrocute

Electrocute Electrocute Electrocute By Maeve Maddox The verb electrocute was coined in the late nineteenth century on the model of execute in the sense of â€Å"to inflict capital punishment upon.† Unlike execute, which has a legitimate Latin etymology, electrocute is a portmanteau word. H. W. Fowler (A Dictionary of Modern English Usage) held it in disdain: This word does not claim classical paternity; if it did, it would indeed be a barbarism. It is merely a portmanteau word formed by telescoping electro- and execution, and, as it is established, protest is idle.† Fowler was writing about forty-five years after Buffalo, New York dentist Alfred P. Southwick invented the electric chair in 1881 as a more humane method than hanging. The first person to be executed by electrocution was William Kemmler (1860-1890). The newness of the word is apparent in the two earliest OED citations, dated 1889 and 1890: He wants to be ‘electrocuted’ The gentlemanshould be ‘electrocuted’ By 1903, the word was in use without enclosing quotation marks. The OED includes a second definition of electrocute as â€Å"to give an electric shock to† and includes this citation from an Australian source: I was electrocuted. I can still smell the flesh burning. American usage, however, does not allow for the survival of an electrocuted person. Merriam-Webster offers two definitions: 1. to put to death as a legal punishment by causing a fatally large electric current to pass through the body. 2. to kill by electric shock. The following examples from the Web illustrate nonstandard (US) usage: I was trying to unplug my cell phone charger and got my fingers too close to the bottom. They touched the prongs and I got electrocuted! I electrocuted myself three times trying to unplug my laptop charger. Teenage friends electrocuted trying to take selfie on top of  train (The girls were severely injured, but, as they survived, they were not electrocuted.) Paul Brians (Common Errors in English Usage) summarizes US usage this way: To electrocute is to kill using electricity. If you live to tell the tale, you’ve been shocked, but not electrocuted. For the same reason, the phrase â€Å"electrocuted to death† is a redundancy. 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 General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Compared "to" or Compared "with"?Between vs. In BetweenA "Diploma" is not a "Degree"

The Significance of the Vietnamese Boat People in Canadian Immigration Research Paper

The Significance of the Vietnamese Boat People in Canadian Immigration History - Research Paper Example These people have impacted Canadian culture and its economy greatly. This paper will focus on the migration of Vietnamese people to Canada during the Vietnam War. The paper will discuss the importance of the event and the role of government in the immigration of Vietnamese people. Vietnam War started in 1955 between the communist North Vietnam and the non-communist South Vietnam. The United States of America was also supporting South Vietnam. Vietnam’s People army (Northern Vietnam military) was getting help from communist countries like the Soviet Union. The war was actually a cold war battle between the then two superpowers of the world. They were fighting; the difference was that the battle was not fought directly. The war ended after 20 years of bloodshed and many lives were lost in the process. It is very important to understand the plight of the Vietnamese people in order to understand their reasons for migration to other countries. They were left with no option but to find shelter in foreign countries due to the conflict. They were desperate to leave their homeland. It was not for a better future only that these people were migrating to other countries. They were migrating to save their lives! Canada was not militarily involved in the conflict but its role was very important. It was always with the western capitalist countries but it was not directly aiding the United States in war. But Canada was heavily affected by the influx of thousands of Vietnamese settlers from the war region.

Hierarchy vs Heterarchy in Organizational Structures Research Paper - 1

Hierarchy vs Heterarchy in Organizational Structures - Research Paper Example Conversely, a heterarchical structure supports the autonomy of the workers from the various departments of an organization. In essence, this structure advocates for horizontal management of the affairs of an organization, as opposed to a vertical management, embraced by a hierarchical organizational structure. The management of an organization can take either a centralized control of operations or decentralized control of operations. Depending on the structure that an organization adopts, both structures have their merits and demerits in terms of improving the operations of an organization. In some organizations, the management often prefers controlling every aspect of operations under their supervision. This calls for a situation where employees work according to the management’s preference. On the other hand, there are organizations that prefer giving employees space to undertake their own initiatives within the work environment so long as these initiatives can improve the o rganization’s performance (Diefenbach and Sillince 1518). In this paper, I will examine the debate that surrounds hierarchy versus heterarchy in organizational structures and their successes and limitations in an organization’s setting. Having a command center in any organization is essential because of those under the top management work according to orders from the management. This is a key feature of organizations based on a hierarchy structure. Organizations operating in this line often embrace a vertical line of authority where there are levels and each level has an authority figure. In essence, this involves embracing an office cadre where authority starts with CEO moving to the bottom level of the organization. At each level, there is an authority figure with employees under him or her. This organization helps to simplify the chain of command, but the overall authority lies with the CEO of the organization.

Their negative influence on childrens Essay Example for Free

Their negative influence on childrens Essay As a video game and computer game lover, the thought that negative effects ever being present in these enjoyable past time devices never crossed my mind. Over this past summer I was able to spend countless hours improving my skills on different games. I of course made multiple visits to video game stores such as Game Stop and Game Crazy. As I entered one these stores to purchase a new game, I noticed two boys, probably about eight or nine years of age, were playing one of the latest war games on a new video game console known as the Xbox 360. As I walked over to the shelves to search for the game that I had gone there to buy I heard a loud, Thats right bitch, I got your ass! I slowly turned to notice that it was one of the boys who were playing the Xbox that had just said this. What I had just heard is not something uncommon to hear boys say while playing certain games, but it made me think: what compels such young boys to act and say things this way? My purpose in this paper is to persuade parents of young boys that the video game culture might be harmful to their psychological development. First of all, video games today are being made so that the involvement of the player is constantly being improved. The idea is that when you play the character on the screen they want you feel as if you really are the character. Game producers are always trying to one up each other by making new ways to make games feel realistic. Whats unfortunate about this is that the majority of these games are extremely violent, gory, and sexually graphic. For example, consider the gaming company Rockstar. They are known for creating extremely controversial games. They are the creators of two popular games known as Grand Theft Auto and Bully. In Grand Theft Auto you play as a gang member in a suburban city who has the freedom to commit almost any kind of crime and is able to get away with it by killing those who get in your way. In the game Bully you play a young boy attending a private high school who bullies not only other students but teachers as well. These kinds of games all revolve around one notion, and that is using physical force to get what you want. This is what Cassell and Jenkins (1998) call playing like a male. In their book, From Barbie to Mortal Combat (1998), it explains how nine out of ten games present a male as the main character. Not only do these games have a male as the leading character, but the male is also grotesquely illustrated as a hyper masculine violent being. These males show no regret, grief, or sorrow toward their actions and basically take the life other characters in the game without expressing any emotion. Game producers come up with particular strategies to keep the gamer involved. Their most effective strategy is the way that they reward the gamer. The more people you kill the more points you get. At the end of every level they show a tally of how many kills you achieved and keep track of your points. As the game progresses these points allow you unlock more things in the game. For example, more weapons are provided for the character. At the beginning of the game the character is given low level weapons, such as a pistol or knife, but as the game continues the character gains larger and higher tech weapons, such a flame thrower or grenade launcher. And attaining these weapons lets the character kill more opponents quicker and allows the gamer to see more violently graphic material, such as severed limbs or exploding heads. According to Norris (2004), this aggression demonstrates extreme male behavior that contributes to gender stereotyping. Not only do we see extreme male stereotypes in video games, we also see extreme female stereotyping. In a game where the male is the main character females usually portrayed as helpless and needy and in most cases always need to be rescued. They are considered the damsels in distress. People may argue to an extent that there are also games that have females as the main characters too, such as the game Lara Croft, but this and other games define femininity in a very different way. Females who play larger roles in video games are portrayed extremely sexual. Since most gaming companies are comprised of mostly or all men, they portray the female characters as they would in a males fantasy. For example, Lara Crofts body is considered grossly unnatural. She does not have the same body proportions that a woman has. Her breast and waist sizes just dont exist in real life. And this applies to practically all females in video games. The last kind of video game that I would like to inform parents about are known as first person shooter games. These kinds of games basically teach kids how to kill. In the video documentary, Game Over (2002), Sergeant Baker explains how the U. S Military made a 30 year research on how first person shooter games effectively teaches someone to kill another person. In the military they use a live video feed simulator known as F. A. T. S, which stands for Fire Arm Training Simulator. The only difference between a first person shooter game and the simulator is that if a soldier accidentally shoots the wrong person they could be demoted or even fired, but if a child shoots the wrong person all they have to do is restart the game. A soldier may go to war and not fire a weapon for months on end, but when a child picks up a gun at the arcade or plays a first person shooter game they are going to shoot something. According to Sergeant Baker, the reason why the military uses these games to teach people how to kill is because it does just that, teaches them how to kill. They teach the mind to shoot at your enemy, and it has worked effectively for over 30 years. In conclusion, there are quite a few video games today can be detrimental to a child psychological development. I am not trying to say that all video games influence negative effects on children. As a matter of fact there are games that help teach problem-solving, hand-eye coordination, and allow boys to be competitive with each other. It is not the technology that is to blame, it is the content that gaming companies use where the problem lies. This is where parental guidance becomes important. Every game has a rating and that rating is there to let the childs guardians know whether that certain game is suitable for the age of the child. Overall video games are a fascinating past-time that is a lot of fun to play. Parents just need to make sure that they observe what their child is playing and how long they play it for. References Cassell, J. , Jenkins, H. , (1998). From barbie to mortal kombat: Gender and computer games. Caecilia: Graphic Composition, Inc. Norris, K. (2004). Gender Stereotypes, Aggression, and Computer Games: An Online Survey of Women. Retrieved November 26, 2006, from Academic Search Premier Database. Dietz, T. (1998) Sex roles: An examination of violence and gender role portrayals in video games. Reviewed November 26, 2006, from Google. com. Web site: http://www. findarticles. com/p/particles/mi_m2294/is_n5-6_v38/ai_20749198. Huntemann, N. (2002). Game Over: Gender, Race, and Violence in Video Games. United States: Media Education Foundation.

Mob Protesters Right or Wrong :: miscellaneous

Mob Protesters Right or Wrong Essay Outline: My essay is only around one thousand five hundred words long and in that one and a half thousand words I must give points of views from both sides as well as a introduction and this Essay Outline. The first opinion I will write about is the opinions of the labour supporters, saying how They suffered because of the petrol protests, the rights wrongs and how the wrongs were or tried to be sorted out and how long it took. Also in labours defence I shall write about how Tony Blair thinks that a cut in fuel tax will cause more problems in the future. Also I will right about the opinions of the petrol protesters, how they are helping the nation on the over taxed fuel, because they are not doing the protests for fun (although they might look fun). The newspapers I read showed what Tony Blair said about his taxing but where most of it was lies or misleading. Also what he actually did with our taxes and how some of it just went to waste like how he cut 140 road improvements programs to only 3 7 or how his ten-year  £180billion partnership with John Prescott took tree years to sort out. Is this because of his poor money management or is he getting an extra million or two in his pocket each year? These important points might creep up with some more in my essay. But to end my essay I shall Finnish with a conclusion that contains an overall view of the essay. A thanks to where I got all my information for the essay, how the essay developed and how my point of view developed as I learnt more on what happens to our taxes while labour is ruling parliament. But most importantly asking the reader the question I was given, but a little briefer, ‘ should we wait for an election to sort out the taxation problems or should we stand up and demand lower taxes to solve the taxation problem’. Introduction: Should the government have total control over our taxes and we can not do anything about it. Should we be able to stand up for the taxes we pay or should we wait weeks, months or years for another election. Or should we be happy for taxes knowing that it’s going towards our health, safety and education.

Algebraic expressions.Elementary and Intermediate Algebra Essay

Algebraic expressions Introduction   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In the introduction to Algebra, the first assignment for the first week will involve using real numbers in place of integers to simplify expressions. Everyone needs to take his/her time to grasp the rules and the steps which are followed in algebra as this will form a concrete base for the algebraic expression understanding. One needs to understand the mathematical fundamental elements so as not to incur problems in solving any algebraic problems. For instance, one needs to be clear with the properties of integers as these are the same properties which apply to the real numbers. The first step in dealing with equations is removing the parenthesis. If an equation requires you remove the parenthesis from the equation, distribution becomes a necessity. Like terms should be grouped together when multiplying the integers that are inside the parenthesis to perform any indicated operation (Dugopolski, M.(2012  ), 2, p.67).   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The following is how I attempted to handle the assigned equations in the simplest form. In the left side of the page, I have put the mathematic equation, and in the right side there is my explanation of the steps I followed. 2a(a-5)+4(a-5) Equation =2a ²-10a+4a-20 remove the distributive properties from the parenthesis = 2a ² -6a-20 then we get the coefficient. =a ²- 3a – 10 then we simplify the expression. In the next equation, 2.  2w-3+3(w-4)-5(w-6) the equation =2w-3+3w-12-5w+30   remove the distributive properties from the parenthesis =2w+3w-5w-3-12+30 then we get the coefficients and. =15 combine them In the third equation, 3. 0.05(0.3m+35n)-0.8(-0.09n-22m) the equation =0.015m+1.75n+0.072n+17.6m remove the distributive property from the parenthesis =0.015m+17.6m+1.75n+0.072n simplify by putting the like terms together and =17.615m+1.822n combine them References Dugopolski, M. (2012  ). Elementary and Intermediate Algebra. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill. Source document

Paradise Lost Censorship and Hypocrisy in the Italian...

I love movies. I especially adore those films with an artistic, literary quality that is timeless and classical. In my experience, Italian movies seldom fail to evoke such feelings in me, and Cinema Paradiso was no disappointment. This heartwarming story about a little boy’s love affair with movies, and his subsequent coming-of-age in the repressive environment of ecclesiastical censorship and hypocrisy stirred great emotion in me, as I expected it would. The young Toto made me feel his awe as he attempted to see the forbidden film images hidden from him by his friend Alfredo at the behest of the town priest. The issue of censorship ran deep throughout the film. I believe censorship can actually provide a valid function in a†¦show more content†¦The boy sees many of the very scenes he is not supposed to be seeing. Later, he views by candlelight some of the frames the censor/priest demanded Alfredo remove from the films. But Toto does this in full view of his mother who seems more concerned with the fire hazard Toto creates than in his viewing of forbidden imagery. Clearly the priest’s attempts to protect Toto from the sordid scenes were ineffective. In at least one place in Cinema Paradiso, the omitted kiss scene was followed immediately by violent slapstick comedy. The teacher at Toto’s school severely beat and emotionally abused a young man named Boccia because he was poor at math. Toto’s mother physically abused Toto when she discovered he had spent the milk money on movies. In both cases, it seemed that no one had any problem with physical violence, even against children. Frequently in the movie several men in the audience laughed and jeered at the missing love scenes in the movies they were watching, knowing exactly what was missing from the film. It struck me as hypocritical that a community would see fit to strike scenes of love – kissing – from movies (even though everyone knew exactly what was being struck) while having no problem with actual physical violence. Lastly, I found it hypocritical that this town’s people would publicly vilify a family for being nominally â€Å"Stalinist† or â€Å"Communist† while ignoring the actual Stalin-esque repression in their midst. The