Analogy Questions in SAT Reading Strategies and Tips

Analogy Questions in SAT Reading Strategies and Tips SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Though direct analogy questions were eliminated along with the old SAT Verbal Reasoning section in 2005, analogy questions remain in place in a more abstract form in the Critical Reading section. In this article, I’ll show you what analogy questions look like, the best way to approach them, and some step by step examples for solving them with real questions from the SAT! What Is An Analogy Question? Before we learn how to solve these types of questions, we need to learn how to spot them in the first place. Analogy questions will ask you to make comparisons.They might ask you to compare a relationship between two things in the passage with a relationship between two things in the answer choices, or they might just ask for the answer choice that is most similar to something in the passage. Here’s an example of an analogy question: Which of the following most resembles the relationship between "black hole activity" and "star formation" (lines -12) as described in the passage? A. A volcanic eruption on one continent results in higher rainfall totals on another continent.B. Industrial emissions in one region lead to an increase in airborne pollutants in adjacent regions.C. A drought in a wilderness area causes a significant loss of vegetation in that area.D. Decreased oil production in one country results in higher gas prices in oil-dependent countries.E. Overfishing in a gulf leads to an increase in the population of smaller aquatic organisms. In this case, you would have to examine the cause and effect relationship between black hole activity and star formation described in the passage and see which of the five choices is most similar to that relationship. Analogy questions are a subset of inference questions because they require you to understand a relationship or condition in the passage and then take it one step further to infer the similarity of something NOT mentioned in the passage. How Do I Solve Analogy Questions? You’re going to have to take a couple of mental steps to solve analogy questions (which is why they can be one of the more confusing question types). Step 1: Read the question carefully. This is important because some analogy questions will ask you for the relationship that is LEAST like the one in the passage.Make sure you know what you’re looking for! Step 2: Understand the relationship or condition in the passage. Go back and read the relevant section of the passage.If you think it will help you to remember the nature of the relationship or condition mentioned in the question, sum it up in simpler terms.Make sure you fully understand what specifically you’re going to be comparing to the potential answer choices. Step 3: Go through the answer choices, break them down, and eliminate the duds. Look at each relationship or condition presented in the answer choices, and see if it is functionally the same as what you found in the passage.Remember that the point of an analogy question is that the concrete details are different, but the core relationship or condition is a match between the passage and the answer choice.If this is not the case, eliminate it (unless it’s a LEAST question, of course). Keep going with this until you have only one correct answer! Ok, that sounds doable. Let’s try a sample question. Time to get our feet wet. Good thing we painted our toes "College Board blue". Analogies in Action Now for our first real SAT analogy question! Here it is: Which most resembles the "irony" mentioned in line 34? A. A worker moving to a distant state to take a job, only to be fired without warningB. An executive making an important decision, only to regret it laterC. An athlete earning a starting position on a good team, only to quit midseasonD. A student studying for a major exam, only to learn that it has been postponedE. A person purchasing an expensive umbrella, only to lose it on the first rainy day First, let’s make sure we read the question carefully - looks like this one is pretty straightforward. No LEASTs here.We are clearly looking for the answer choice that is most similar to a condition in the passage. Ok, now we will refer to the passage.Here’s the sentence we need to reference: As she wrote a final letter on her typewriter - she did hate letting the old machine go - Georgia did considerable philosophizing about the irony of working for things only to the end of giving them up. What is the irony mentioned in the passage?Looks like it's â€Å"working for things only to the end of giving them up.† So: we are going to be looking for an answer that demonstrates working hard for something but later deciding to abandon it. Now we can go through the answer choices to find our winner! For these answer choices, I thought it was helpful to break them down into two parts to show exactly why each incorrect choice was eliminated. Choice A: A worker moving to a distant state to take a job, only to be fired without warning A worker moving to a distant state to take a job - Ok, the first part of this answer sounds promising. That's definitely an example of someone putting in effort for something. Now let's look at the second part. Only to be fired without warning - No, that’s not going to fit. Being fired doesn’t mean you gave up, it means someone else gave up on you. This doesn’t match the irony described in the passage, so let's eliminate it! Choice B: An executive making an important decision, only to regret it later An executive making an important decision - Eh, that doesn’t really fit with working towards something. Only to regret it later - Regret isn't the same as giving up, so this part doesn't work either. This doesn’t match the irony described in the passage either - get rid of it! Choice C: An athlete earning a starting position on a good team, only to quit in midseason An athlete earning a starting position on a good team - Ok, that’s definitely working towards something. Only to quit in midseason - Yes, that’s absolutely giving up. Looks like it matches the irony described in the passage.This choice works! Choice D: A student studying for a major exam, only to learn that it has been postponed A student studying for a major exam - Yes, this part makes sense as working towards something. Only to learn that it has been postponed - No, this isn't the same as giving up because something happened that was outside of the student’s control. It doesn’t match the irony described in the passage, so cross it out! Choice E: A person purchasing an expensive umbrella, only to lose it on the first rainy day A person purchasing an expensive umbrella - Nope, that's not really an example of working towards a goal unless your priorities are seriously weird. Only to lose it on the first rainy day - That’s not giving up, this person is just frivolous AND careless. I’m glad they lost their umbrella. This doesn’t match the irony described in the passage either - eliminate it! Great, so we have Choice C as our answer! "O Umbrella, why did you leave me? O cruel vagaries of fate!" - quote from the poor sap in choice E Let's try another one. The first sample analogy question that I showed you about black holes is pretty tough, but I think we're ready for it. Here it is again: Which of the following most resembles the relationship between "black hole activity" and "star formation" (lines -12) as described in the passage? A. A volcanic eruption on one continent results in higher rainfall totals on another continent.B. Industrial emissions in one region lead to an increase in airborne pollutants in adjacent regions.C. A drought in a wilderness area causes a significant loss of vegetation in that area.D. Decreased oil production in one country results in higher gas prices in oil-dependent countries.E. Overfishing in a gulf leads to an increase in the population of smaller aquatic organisms. Ok, first we need to read the question carefully. We are going to be comparing two relationships for this question, and there's no LEAST, so we want to find the answer choice that is most similar to the relationship in the passage. Now let's read the lines from the passage. Here's our relevant excerpt: Accordingly, astronomers long assumed that supermassive holes, let alone their smaller cousins, would have little effect beyond their immediate neighborhoods. So it has come as a surprise over the past decade that black hole activity is closely intertwined with star formation occurring farther out in the galaxy. What's the relationship between black hole activity and star formation? They are "closely intertwined," implying a cause-effect relationship of some kind, although the star formation is occurring very far away from the black hole activity. So we are looking for a vague cause and effect relationship between two events that are occurring far apart from one another. Now let's examine our answer choices to see which one matches up with this relationship. Choice A: A volcanic eruption on one continent results in higher rainfall totals on another continent. This answer seems to work. The volcanic eruption and the higher rainfall totals are occurring in two separate regions, just like the black hole activity and star formation. This answer also demonstrates a cause and effect relationship that is somewhat ambiguous - though the events are related, they do not directly lead into one another. The nature of this relationship is the same as that of the relationship between black hole activity and star formation. Choice B:Industrial emissions in one region lead to an increase in airborne pollutants in adjacent regions. The key to detecting this wrong answer is the word "adjacent". Black hole activity and star formation in the passage are occurring very far away from each other, not in nearby regions of the galaxy. This answer also describes a direct causal relationship that makes straightforward logical sense - that's different from the vague nature of the relationship in the passage. Get rid of this one! Choice C:A drought in a wilderness area causes a significant loss of vegetation in that area. This answer is incorrect because both events are occurring in the same area. This makes it even more clearly wrong than Choice B, where the events happened in adjacent regions. This answer also describes a very logical relationship that demonstrates obvious cause and effect between drought and loss of vegetation. This is not the same as the relationship between black hole activity and star formation. Eliminate this one too! Choice D:Decreased oil production in one country results in higher gas prices in oil-dependent countries. Though the two events in this relationship are occurring in regions that are far away from one another, this answer still doesn't work. This relationship demonstrates a direct and logical cause and effect chain of events. This was not the case with black hole activity and star formation. Cross it out! Choice E:Overfishing in a gulf leads to an increase in the population of smaller aquatic organisms. This once again refers to a scenario where both events are occurring in the same place, whereas a key feature of the relationship in the passage was that black hole activity and star formation happened far away from each other. This one's wrong too! Looks like Choice A is our answer! That was a really tough one, but if you understood why we eliminated the four incorrect answers, you shouldn't have to worry about any super challenging analogy questions sneaking up on you on the SAT. You've already got the skills to beat them. Your brain must be like a black hole for SAT knowledge! Summary Analogy questions (in a less direct form) are still a part of the SAT Critical Reading section.These questions will ask you to make a comparison between a condition or relationship in a reading passage and a different condition or relationship that’s not referenced in the passage. When you see an analogy question, remember to: Read the question carefully. Go back to the passage and make sure you fully understand the condition or relationship you are being asked to compare. Read each of the answer choices and break them down so that you can make a direct comparison to what’s in the passage. Eliminate four choices, and find the one that works! Remember, you can do it! What's Next? Want more skills-focused SAT Reading articles? Start with these articles on sentence completion questions and vocab-in-context questions, and check back in the next week for more! What's the best way to get information out of a passage on SAT Reading? Find out the best way to read the passage and what's actually on SAT Reading. Worried that vocab is going to trip you up? Don't worry - we can help. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Reading lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty

Aphrodite, the Greek Goddess of Love and Beauty Aphrodite is the goddess of beauty, love, and sexuality. She is sometimes known as the Cyprian because there was a cult center of Aphrodite on Cyprus [See Map Jc-d]. Aphrodite is the mother of the god of love, Eros (more familiar as Cupid). She is the wife of the ugliest of the gods, Hephaestus. Unlike the powerful virginal goddesses, Athena and Artemis, or the faithful goddess of marriage, Hera, she has love affairs with gods and mortals. Aphrodites birth story makes her relation to the other gods and goddesses of Mt. Olympus ambiguous. Family of Origin Hesiod says Aphrodite arose from the foam that gathered around the genitals of Uranus. They just happened to be floating in the sea after his son Cronus castrated his father. The poet known as Homer calls Aphrodite the daughter of Zeus and Dione. She is also described as the daughter of Oceanus and Tethys (both Titans). If Aphrodite is the cast-offspring of Uranus, she is of the same generation as Zeus parents. If she is the daughter of the Titans, she is Zeus cousin. Roman Equivalent Aphrodite was called Venus by the Romans as in the famous Venus de Milo statue. Attributes And Associations Mirror, of course she is the goddess of beauty. Also, the apple, which has lots of associations with love or beauty (as in Sleeping Beauty) and especially the golden apple. Aphrodite is associated with a magic girdle (belt), the dove, myrrh and myrtle, the dolphin, and more. In the famous Botticelli painting, Aphrodite is seen rising from a clam shell. Sources Ancient sources for Aphrodite include Apollodorus, Apuleius, Aristophanes, Cicero, Dionysius of Halicarnassus, Diodorus Siculus, Euripides, Hesiod, Homer, Hyginus, Nonnius, Ovid, Pausanias, Pindar, Plato, Quintus Smyrnaeus, Sophocles, Statius, Strabo and Vergil (Virgil). Trojan War and Aeneids Aphrodite / Venus The story of the Trojan War begins with the story of the apple of discord, which naturally was made of gold: Each of 3 goddesses: Hera - marriage goddess and wife of ZeusAthena - Zeus daughter, wisdom goddess, and one of the powerful virginal goddesses mentioned above, andAphrodite thought she deserved the golden apple, by virtue of being kallista the most beautiful. Since the goddesses couldnt decide among themselves and Zeus wasnt willing to suffer the wrath of the females in his family, the goddesses appealed to Paris, son of King Priam of Troy. They asked him to judge which of them was the most beautiful. Paris judged the goddess of beauty to be the loveliest. In return for his verdict, Aphrodite promised Paris the fairest woman. Unfortunately, this fairest mortal was Helen of Sparta, wife of Menelaus. Paris took the prize that had been awarded him by Aphrodite, despite her prior commitments, and so started the most famous war in history, that between the Greeks and Trojans. Vergil or Virgils Aeneid tells a Trojan War sequel story about a surviving Trojan prince, Aeneas, transporting his household gods from the burning city of Troy to Italy, where he founds the race of the Romans. In the Aeneid, the Roman version of Aphrodite, Venus, is Aeneas mother. In the Iliad, she protected her son, even at the cost of suffering a wound inflicted by Diomedes.

Business Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Business Analysis - Research Paper Example As a well-established facility, W Hotel San Francisco has a total of 404 rooms. These are used to provide a variety of services including Wonderful Rooms, Spectacular Rooms, Cool Corner Rooms and Fantastic Rooms. Each of these is very important since they offer a distinct category of services to a diverse group of clients who frequent the facility for accommodation. For instance, Wonderful Room which is situated in the 12th floor contains a 300 square feet sitting room. On the other hand, the Fantastic Room which are found in the 23rd and 24th floors consist of 700 square feet fabulous one bed room suites that provide the customers with a spectacular bird’s eye view. Summarily, these rooms are made to cater for each of the clients in line with their income and preferences. They have bed and table spaces to suite both individuals and groups as well. On the other hand, the facility offers cuisine services. Just like the other hotels, W Hotel San Francisco provides a wide range of meals to its clients especially the residents. However, it offers special meals consisting of local and Asian cuisine. These are made to be more appealing especially being that they are more organic. This makes them quite enjoyable especially for those who are very much interested in the organic Chinese dishes. Moreover, the hotel has bars which provide different brands of local and organic wines, liquors and beers. These are opened from 11:30 am to 1:30 am. Indeed, W Hotel San Francisco should be considered as the best facility in the region. A part from offering a wide range of services, it has a team of professionals to manage it and offer day to day services required by its customers. Besides, it offers high quality services such as 100% organic coffee, wines and meals. At the same time, it has a well-equipped gym which remains accessible to all the clients at any time of the day (Gross, 2009). Finally, unlike its competitors, it provides on-site parking

Little Red Riding Hood Presented In Different Cultures Research Paper - 1

Little Red Riding Hood Presented In Different Cultures - Research Paper Example Little Red Riding Hood is yet another story that has been told many times in order to teach children lessons of not talking to strangers or disobeying their parents and elders. However, this story has been presented in various forms in different cultures all around the world because the best part about fairytales is that they may be morphed and diffused into different cultures and retold in different languages with the help of characters and beings that people are familiar with within the purview of their own cultures. The story of Little Red Riding Hood talks about a little girl who wore a red hooded cloak and went into the forest to look for wild berries and fruits. In the process, she was tricked into following a wolf dressed as her grandma, inside a house in a deserted part of the forest, where the wolf ultimately ate her up. The moral here is that children should not talk to or follow and believe strangers because they might fall into trouble and not have anyone around them to p rotect them from the evils of life. On viewing the same in a larger picture, parents tell their children this story as it is presented with a view to helping them understand the cruelties that lie in the world with respect to molestation, rape, and other criminal activities like vandalism and kidnapping, and how their children might be affected during their teenage years because those are the vulnerable years of a person’s life. Written by Gillian Cross, ‘Wolf’ is a very loose adaption of what a modern-day version of Little Red Riding Hood might be; it talks about the cruelties that young people are made to suffer and also social problems that rage in the world at present.

A Revolutionary Approach Essay Example for Free

A Revolutionary Approach Essay I believe that the pressures of work can strip the energies off anyone. Without the right motivation, anyone can be a victim of this scenario. For me, happiness is an important ingredient to make work worthwhile. Joy at work, according to Bakke (2005) begins with individual initiative and individual control. It is my great understanding that my happiness at work depends solely with my attitude. Like success, joy at work may only be achieved if I allow it to happen. I can be successful if I allow myself to be. In like manner, if I choose to be unhappy and unsuccessful, I can do things to make my life that way too. Oftentimes, we find ourselves looking for reasons to stay in a company where we work. When the excitement wears off, we start weighing our other options. Some of us may opt to try our luck somewhere. Some may even shift careers with the hope that their new chosen field will turn them into happier persons. Bakke (2005) illustrates at least 10 aspects in the workplace that will bring joy at work. First on hs list is that: When given the opportunity to use our ability to reason, make decisions, and take responsibility for our actions, we experience joy at work. This tells us that in order to achieve joy at work, we should learn to communicate our feelings to our superiors to be able to inform them of certain situations in the workplace. As responsible workers, we should also learn to make our own decisions. This will show how efficient we are and how ell we can perform the duties and responsibles assigned to us. Bakke’s Joy at Work listed that, The purpose of business is not to maximize profits for shareholders but to steward our resources to serve the world in an economically sustainable way. Putting it the other way, we should understand that what we’re doing at the moment as career persons may translate to the world in general. As workers, we are contributing to the world’s economy. Without our efforts, we may not be able to achieve economic supremacy. Thirdly, we should attempt to create the most fun workplace in the history of the world (Chapter 3). No effort should be looked upon as too small or too little. Every task when pooled together contributes to the bigger share. We can make our workplace a joyful spot for everyone by the amount of happiness we contribute. The other way to achieve joy at work is to eliminate management, organization charts, job descriptions and hourly wages. All employees must be treated with importance. Job descriptions, hourly wages and the rest will only make them compete with each other. Another important aspect of joy at work is, fairness means treating everybody differently. Each of us is unique and each of us is born with his own talent. Thus managers must see to it that their employees are treated that way they should be. The other details listed by Bakke (2005) are: Principles and values must guide all decision; put other stakeholders (shareholders, customers, suppliers, etc. ) equal to or above yourself; everyone must get advice before making a decision. If you don’t seek advice, â€Å"you’re fired; and finally, a â€Å"good† decision should make all the stakeholders unhappy because no individual or group got all they wanted; and lead with passion, humility, and love. Being happy at work boils down to one thing. I believe that everything else depends on the person. As I mentioned above, our happiness depends on us as individual persons. We can choose to either be happy or sad in the workplace. As a member of a certain company, we should learn to appreciate what we have and be happy with what we have. Work Cited: Bake, Dennis W. Joy at Work: A Revolutionary Approach to Fun on the Job. PVG. January 2005

Becoming a Man :: essays research papers

A Day No Pigs Would Die is a story that Robert Peck wrote to show the reader his adolescent life, fate, and the journey from boyhood to manhood. Peck leads the reader through the intricate web of his youth, almost as though he were a stitching needle. The author makes sure not to miss a single stomach pumping detail, leaving the reader, well, not quite wanting more. As a young Shaker boy, Robert lived with his mother Lucy, father Haven, and his aunt carrie. The novel begins with a vivid scene in which he helps bring a calf into the world up on the ridge above their farm. The mother seemed to have been posessed by some force of the underworld, causing her, her calf, and Rob a great deal of pain. Robert learns at an early age the value of a simple life, hard work, and a strict moral code. While other boys his age spend their time playing, Robert helps his father on the farm and does his own daily chores, while raising a pig in hopes of supplementing the family income. The role fate pl ays in this story is Robert's future, and how he will make a living. He is destined to become a farmer just like his father, on the same land he grew up on. He knows that when his father dies, he will become the man of the house, and he will be in charge of his mother and his aunt. Robert would like very much to become famous, but he is resticted in that it is against his religion. Robert grows up feeling this constant sense of predestination, with his whole life planned out before his eyes only making him feel even more the urge to break free and live free. Robert's father becomes ill with a lung disease, and does all he can to help his son be ready to be the head of their household. Haven develops a cough, and eventually has to start sleeping out in the barn with the animals since it is warmer there, and he is worried about his wife becoming ill aswell. After a few years of preparation and rigorous teaching, Haven does not wake up one morning out in the barn. Robert does his best to be a man, and to make sure to keep his immature feelings concealed. He jumps right into his father's boots, and is allowed to, for the first time, call his neighbors by their first names.

Culture and education in the development of Africa Essay

Some of the colonial power portrayed Africa as primitive in their descriptions, for instance, Cecil Rhodes Social Darwinism advocate states, â€Å"I contend that we are the finest race in the world and that the more of the world we inhabit the better†¦Ã¢â‚¬  King Leopold of Belgium assertion on civilization, â€Å"To open to civilization the only part of the globe where it has yet to penetrate †¦is, I dare to say, a crusade worthy of this century of progress.† From the above assertions, it is prudent to note that, colonial powers thought Africa to be devoid of the organization in social, political and economic perspective and therefore they wanted â€Å"to make Africa, England.† In that thought of naivety of the Africans, there were societal structures and organizations which British did not care to observe. However, it was not going to be easy as where two or three cultures interact a conflict is inevitable. Although Africa was not a plain or bear continent, Africans had their way of life, structure of government, religion, economic activities, education, systems of marriage and development plans for their societies, nevertheless the British brought their systems which conflicted with Africans established way of life, this was because the British, as many other European powers were economically depressed and Africa appeared to be the only way out. The British wanted to pass the three C’s; Commerce, that is to make money through an acquisition of free labor form Africans, raw materials for their industries as industrial revolution back in Britain was rapidly taking place, the market for their surplus production; Christianity to save Africans.Explorers such as David Livingstone, Vasco Da Gama, Portuguese Diego Cam and Arabs with Muslim faith had missionary zeal. The last C is for Civilization, they wanted to civilize Africans in terms of education, culture and many other aspects. Th us, to a larger extent, the activities of British heartened conflicts. African traditional religion is rooted in the African culture, it was difficult for Christianity to penetrate through. Portuguese tried in the fifteen century and failed. For Christianity to take the course the Africans had to abandon their culture which was hard so to say. The Missionaries in the nineteenth century, however, came up with an elaborate plan for them to spread Christianity. They introduced through religion, education and health centers which contradicted informal learning and the institution of medicine men. Africans gradually began to embrace Whiteman’s way of life but not without several clashes. These battles are seen in various forms such as spiritual, doctrinal, cultural and practical. The African religion has been given several definitions by different scholars, for instance, Dr. John Mbiti has elaborated aspects of African religion. In his book African Traditional Religion, Mbiti (1991) African religion is very pragmatic and realistic (p2), he explains that it is applied in circumstances where need arises. In addition he states that religion is rooted in the local language, so to comprehend religious life of an African society one has to understand the local dialect. He further affirms, â€Å"To be an African in traditional setup is to be truly religious.† (p30) He states that the religion can be seen in five aspects of culture; beliefs, practices, ceremonies and festivals, religious objects and places, values and morals and religious officials and leaders. He defines African religion as: â€Å" The product of the thinking and experiences of our forefathers and mothers that is men and women of their generations. They formed religious ideas, they observed religious ceremonies and rituals, they told proverbs and myths which safeguarded the life of individual and his community.(pp 13-14) Mbiti notes that Af rican religion has no scriptures as compared to Christianity and other religions, it is written in peoples history ,hearts and experiences of the people.(p14) Awolalu in his book Sin and its Removal in the African Traditional Religion defines African religion as â€Å"†¦largely written in the people’s myth and folktales, in their songs and dances, in their liturgies and shrines and in their proverbs and pithy sayings. It is a religion whose historical founder is neither known nor worshipped; it is a religion that has no zeal for membership drive, yet it offers persistent fascination for Africans, young and old.† The African traditional religion was not homogeneous as the communities had different ethnic background thus the religious practices such rituals varied one community to the other. It is worth noting that it was oral not scripted or written and was passed from one generation to the other by word of mouth, as I earlier alluded in the definitions of religion. Within their organized societal structures, Africans believed in supernatural beings together with ancestral spirits.The ancestral spirits were believed to li nk the living societal members to the gods. Therefore, the African traditional religion was and still is interweaved to the African culture. From the above insights, one cannot talk of African religion without African values as they are intertwined and inseparable. African religion was embedded in moral values or codes or standards which were believed to originate from god through the ancestral spirits, these values when observed one would be rewarded with maybe good harvest from their cultivation of land or increased number of flock of cattle. When these values were violated the culprits were reprimanded. The concept of values is a vital point as one talks of the African religion. For that reason African religion is drawn from the African values and Culture. African Culture was the source of law through the moral codes and values passed from generation to generation. From the above description we can see that law or rules of conduct were embedded in religion and that African religion was interweaved in the African culture.The African religion had some institutions as Mbiti points out in the aspects of African religion, w ho presided over religious functions, these institutions were believed to communicate directly to ancestral spirits (living dead) who in turn would communicate to the gods and grievances of the living societal members would be heard. In the Kenyan context, these institutions include Orkoyot of the Nandi, Oloibon of the Maasai, Seers, Diviners, and Rainmakers depending on the ethnic communities which they came from. These institutions apart from veneration of the ancestors, they blessed warrior before going for war, advised the political leaders, offered sacrifice to god and conducted rituals for the culprits who violated moral values in the community. The gods had some specific names for instance, in Kenyan context, we had Enkai for the Maasai, Engoro for the Abagusii, Mulungu for Akamba, Asis the Nandi, Ngai for the Agikuyu and Nyasaye for the Luo. There were specific worship places which were regarded as holy, this places included shrines, mountaintops some special trees such as m ugumo, hills and some caves. The diversity of the names given to gods and places of worship, show the lack of uniformity in the African Religion. Thus Africans were of different ethnic background and had their own religion, gods and religion as a community. The clashes can be seen in the five aspects as earlier alluded in Mbiti’s work that is beliefs, practices, ceremonies, festivals, religious objects and places, values and morals, religious officials and leaders. These aspects of African religion differ from those of Christianity. I) Source/origin of Religion The Africans believed that their religion was sourced from god, who they believed long before their ancestors’ existence. The British Missionaries conflict with Africans by telling them about the existence of a God who had a son and lived among them many years ago. The religion of British was written (Bible) thus one had to have the ability to read and write in order to understand it, whereas that of African was passed from generation to generation by oral tradition. There is an introduction of a new system of identifying the origin of religion which conflicts with the African system. II) Places of worship The Africans revered in special caves, Mountaintops, hills, Forests, Special trees (mugumo) and shrines. The British tell Africans that they should worship God places called Churches. This encounter shows that there is a bit of clashing as the African places were very clearly defined and preserved by the community members. The British also seized African land to construct churches or chapels, Africans as a result became very hostile as they had distinct worship places which occurred naturally. They believed that their land was for cultivation and a gift from their gods. III) The Practices of Religion The Africans practiced their religion by reverence to their ancestors, offering human and animal sacrifices and invoking the ancestral spirits. They offered sacrifices in order to get favours in terms of harvest. The African worship was communal that is, all community members used to convene to pray for rain and ask for wellness of the community. The British religion had an aspect of confession of one`s sins before worship, repentance and forgiveness of sin is granted. This aspect of forgiveness of sins lacks in the traditional African religion, one had to be punished for wrong doing. British missionary religion brings out an aspect of offerings in terms of money and tithe which is ten per cent of one`s total earnings. IV) Religious leaders In African religion, worship was led by Diviners, Rainmakers, and Seers who were considered righteous. The work of religious leaders was taught through apprecentiship and was hereditary from specific clans in the community. There were certain clans from whom diviners would descend. They were highly respected in the community. The British Christian religious leaders attend school to be trained mainly on theology. They study formalities of worship and nature of God. Any member of Christian family can become a religious leader although there are some myths which say one has to be ‘called’ by God. A Christian leader has to have the ability to read and write so as to pass the scriptures to his congregation. V) Uniformity of Religion As I handled earlier in this essay, the African traditional religion was diverse from one ethnic community to the other due to the linguistic differences, migration patterns and origin. Christianity is introduced as a homogeneous religion as the author of it is Jesus Christ, a common ancestry and reference point for all Christians. The diversity of worship is dismantled by the British introduction of this even religion. Africans were notoriously religious as it was found in each group. Africans who lived as per the traditional way of life were regarded as very religious.it is also worth acknowledging that Africans are at crossroads due to the fact that religion is imbedded in the African culture. It is thus difficult for Africans to fully be committed to Christianity as being fully whole-hearted means they will have to abandon some of the partaking of African culture. This has already happened as some dedicated African Christians refer to traditional religion as paganism, fetish, and animism. References. Mbiti J.S (1999) African Religion and Philosophy, Oxford, England, Heinemann Educational Publishers. Mbiti J.S (1991) Introduction to African Religion Oxford, England, Heinemann Educational Publishers. Awolalo J.O (1976) Sin and Its Removal from the African Traditional Religion Uchenna O (2008) African Crossroads: Conflict between African Traditional Religion and Christianity, The International Journal of Humanities volume 6 Number 2 History and Government Form One to Four, KLB Fourth Edition. Kwasi W. (1998) Towards Decolonizing African Religion and Philosophy, African Studies Quarterly volume 1 Issue 4. NAME: MUNYALO, DANIEL MUTHENGI REG.NO: G34/102614/2017 COURSE: GPR 109 LEGAL RESEARCH AND WRITING

The Role of Social Partnership

THE ROLE OF SOCIAL PARTNERSHIP Rory O’Donnell From Studies, Volume 90, Number 357 1. Introduction Social partnership has been a conspicuous feature of Irish economic, social and political life in the past decade and a half. This paper assesses its role in Ireland’s economic transformation and considers what role it might have in the years to come. Section 2 outlines the analytical foundations of Irish partnership and Section 3 shows how these are reflected in the five partners hip programmes since 1987.Section 4 summarises the self-understanding of partnership as a system of bargaining, inclusion and deliberation. The impact of partnership on economic performance is discussed in section 5. The paper close with consideration of the pressures on partnership and its possible future. 2. The Analytical Foundations of Irish Social Partnership In 1990, the National Economic and Social Council (NESC) set out a framework which has informed its subsequent work, and which underlie s the social partners’ understanding of the process.It argued that there are three requirements for a consistent policy framework in a small, open, European democracy: (I) Macroeconomic: the economy must have a macroeconomic policy approach which guarantees low inflation and steady growth of aggregate demand; (ii) Distributional: there must be an evolution of incomes which ensures competitiveness, which handles distributional issues without disrupting the economy and which is fair; (iii) Structural: there must be a set of policies which facilitate and promote structural change in order to maintain competitiveness in an ever changing external environment.The Council argued that, in the Irish case, the first of these requirements is best met by adherence to the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) and transition to EMU. It argued that the second of these requirements is best met by a negotiated determination of incomes. To be really effective, such a negotiated approach must encompass not only the evolution of pay, but also taxation, the public finances, monetary policy, the main areas of public provision and social welfare.In pursuit of the third requirement, the Council advocated a programme of structural reform in taxation, social welfare, housing, industrial policy, manpower policy and the management of public enterprises. It argued that such reforms are best achieved with the consent and participation of those who work in the agencies and institutions concerned. The international orientation of Irish social partnership was further underlined in the 1996 NESC report Strategy into the 21st Century.While globalisation has undermined many elements of national economic policy, there remain areas where national policy remains crucial. In a small, open, European democracy like Ireland: (I) Most of the policies which affect national prosperity are supply-side policies; (ii) Given rapid economic change, national policies must produce flexibility; (iii) Succ essful national supply-side policies, directed towards innovation and competitiveness, depend on the high level social cohesion and co-operation that the state can both call upon and develop.This suggests that once a consensus on macroeconomic policy is in place, the main focus of policy should be on the supply-side measures that influence competitive advantage and social inclusion, and on institutional arrangements that allow discovery and implementation of such measures (NESC, 1996). 3. Five Social Partnership Agreements, 1987 to 2001 The content and process of social partnership has evolved significantly since 1987 (O’Donnell and O’Reardon, 1997, 2000).All five programmes included agreement between employers, unions and government on the rate of wage increase in both the private and public sectors for a three-year period. The exchange of moderate wage increases for tax reductions has remained an important feature of partnership. Beyond pay and tax, the partnership p rogrammes have contained agreement on an ever-increasing range of economic and social policies. A consistent theme has been the macroeconomic parameters of fiscal correction, the Maastricht criteria and transition to EMU. Another has been employment creation and the problem of long-term unemployment.The 1990 agreement led to the creation of local partnership companies—involving the social partners, the community and voluntary sector and state agencies—to design and implement a more co-ordinated, multi-dimensional, approach to social exclusion (Sabel, 1996; Walsh et al, 1998). While partnership began by addressing a critical central issue, looming insolvency an economic collapse, it has since focused more and more on a range of complex supply-side matters. An important feature of Irish social partnership has been the widening of the process beyond the traditional social partners.The National Economic and Social Forum (NESF) was established and membership of existing del iberative bodies (such as NESC) was widened to include representatives of the community and voluntary sector. The programmes negotiated in 1996 and 2000 involved representatives of the unemployed, women’s groups and others addressing social exclusion. Those agreements also included measures to promote partnership at enterprise level and agreement on action to modernise the public service. Using the consistent policy framework outlined in Section 2, we can identify a significant dual evolution of Irish social partnership.Over the five programmes since 1987, the emphasis has shifted from macroeconomic matters to structural and supply side policies, and the range of supply-side issues has widened to address key constraints on Irish growth, such as childcare and life-long learning. This change in the substance or content partnership has involved a parallel change in method. While macroeconomic strategy can be agreed in high-level negotiation, complex cross-cutting policies on soc ial exclusion, training, business development or childcare cannot be devised and implemented in high-level national deliberation or negotiation.Consequently, to address the growing list of supply-side issues there has been an expanding array of working groups, task-forces, ‘frameworks’ and ‘forums’—involving representatives of the various social partners. In a few areas of policy—such as long-term unemployment, rural and urban re-generation and business development—new institutional arrangements have been created involve actors on the ground. + 4. Beyond Bargaining: Deliberation and Problem Solving Shared analysis of economic and social problems and policies has been a key aspect of the partnership process.Indeed, that analysis has focused on the partnership system itself (NESC, 1996; NESF, 1997). This revealed that a distinction can be made between two conceptions, or dimensions, of partnership: 1. Functional interdependence, bargainin g and deal making. 2. Solidarity, inclusiveness and participation. Effective partnership involves both of these, but cannot be based entirely on either. To fall entirely into the first could be to validate the claim that the process simply reflects the power of the traditional social partners.To adopt a naive inclusivist view would risk reducing the process to a purely consultative one, in which all interests and groups merely voiced their views and demands. There is a third dimension of partnership, which transcends these two. ‘Bargaining’ or ‘negotiation’ describes a process in which each party comes with definite preferences and seeks to maximise its gains. But partnership involves the players in a process of deliberation that has the potential to shape and reshape their understanding, identity and preferences.This idea is implicit in NESC’s description of the process as ‘dependent on a shared understanding’, and ‘characterised by a problem-solving approach designed to produce consensus’. This third dimension has to be added to the hard-headed notion of bargaining (and to the idea of solidarity) to adequately capture the process. The key to the process would seem to be the adoption of ‘a problem-solving approach’. As one experienced social partner put it, ‘The society expects us to be problem-solving’. A notable feature of effective partnership experiments is that the partners do not debate their ultimate social visions.This problem-solving approach is a central aspect of the partnership process, and is critical to its effectiveness. This suggests that rather than being the pre-condition for partnership, consensus and shared understanding are more like an outcome. It is a remarkable, if not easily understood, fact that deliberation which is problem-solving and practical produces consensus, even where there are underlying conflicts of interest, and even where there was no sh ared understanding at the outset. It is also a fact that using that approach to produce a consensus in one area, facilitates use of the same approach in other areas.The key may lie in understanding what kind of consensus is produced when problem-solving deliberation is used. It is generally a provisional consensus to proceed with practical action, as if a certain analytical perspective was correct, while holding open the possibility of a review of goals, means and underlying analysis. The word compromise is inadequate to describe this type of agreement, since compromise so often fudges the issues that need to be addressed. A similar account of the elements and process of concertation has independently emerged in recent work on the ‘Dutch miracle’ (Visser and Hemerijck, 1997; Visser, 1998).Visser and Hemerijck draw attention to new combinations of centralisation and decentralisation, and emphasise the combination of interest-group dialogue and expert input which create a common definition of problems. This yielded a ‘problem-solving style of joint decision-making’, in which participants are ‘obliged to explain, give reasons and take responsibility for their decisions and strategies to each other, to their rank and file, and to the general public’ (Visser, 1998, p. 12). The institutions of concertation work where they facilitate shift from a ‘bargaining style’ to a ‘problem-solving style’.Visser considers that ‘the most interesting property of social cencertation lies in the possibility that interest groups redefine the content of their self-interested strategies in a â€Å"public-regarding† way’ (Visser, 1998, p. 13). 5. The Impact of Partnership on Economic Performance The period of social partnership has been one of unprecedented economic success in Ireland. The country not only escaped from the deep economic, social and political crisis of the 1980s, but may have significant ly addressed its long-term developmental problems of emigration, unemployment, trade deficits and weak indigenous business development.Under partnership, growth resumed, inflation continued to decline, the budget deficit fell sharply, employment began to recover, but unemployment initially stayed stubbornly high. The European recession of the early 1990s and the ERM crisis of 1992-93 interrupted Ireland’s recovery somewhat. Strong growth after 1993 produced a dramatic increase in employment, huge budget surpluses and, eventually, a big reduction in unemployment. The combination of economic growth, tax reductions, reduced interest rates and wage increases yielded a substantial increase in real take home pay.Between 1987 and 1999, the cumulative increase in real take home pay for a person on average manufacturing earnings was over 35 per cent. The performance of the Irish economy since the mid-1990s, was exceptionally strong, particularly in employment creation. Indeed, between 1994 and 1999, Ireland achieved a 28 per cent increase in employment, while the EU as a whole produced a 3 per cent increase. What role has partnership had in Ireland’s remarkable economic performance since 1987?The partnership approach would seem to have had a significant impact on the Irish economy, though three channels: wage bargaining, coherent and consistent macroeconomic policy and change in supply-side factors. Consider first the impact of the partnership approach to wage bargaining. One of the most striking features of Irish economic performance in the period of partnership has been the enhanced profitability of business. Lane demonstrates that the rate of return on capital almost doubled, rising from 8. 6 percent in 1987 to 15. 4 per cent in 1996.The sharp rise in profitability coincides with ‘the formation of a new consensus among the social partners, as formalised in the negotiation of a sequence of national agreements’, suggesting that ‘the in comes policy that lies at the heart of a new consensus is an important factor in explaining the income shift from labour to capital’ (Lane 1999, p. 228). The resulting environment of wage moderation and high profitability is almost certainly a key factor in Ireland’s employment creation, attraction of inward investment and the unprecedented commercial success of indigenous companies (see also Honohan, 1999; McHale, 2000).FitzGerald’s econometric study of the Irish labour market leads him to suggest that the ‘impact of the partnership approach to wage formation has been less significant than many have assumed’, since ‘the partnership approach served more to validate the results which market forces had made inevitable’ (1999. p. 160 and p. 162). The main impact of partnership lay in improved industrial relations, which significantly enhanced economic performance, and the fact that ‘the partnership approach has also contributed to a more coherent approach to economic policy making’ (FitzGerald, 2000, p. 42).This brings us to the second channel through which partnership influenced the economy. In macroeconomic terms, partnership was an important element in Ireland’s transition form a high-inflation, volatile and conflictual economy to a low-inflation, stable, economy. In particular, a shared understanding on the position of the Irish economy took the exchange rate, and therefore inflation, outside day-to-day party political competition and industrial relations conflict. This can be contrasted with an approach in which short-termism ruled in economic policy, business decisions and wage setting.Through much of the post war period, that led the UK to short bursts of economic growth, followed by recessions imposed in order to reduce inflation. Ireland’s experiment since 1987, partly inoculated it from the unsuccessful combination of macro policy and income determination pursued in Britain for ma ny years. Ireland finally escaped the most negative effects of Britain’s political business cycle. As a result, it achieved low and predictable inflation combined with strong growth of output and employment.It has also preserved a higher level of social solidarity, which seems an essential pre-requisite to sustaining redistributive policies and addressing issues of structural change and reform in a non-conflictual way. Ray MacSharry, Minister of Finance during the critical period of fiscal correction, considers that ‘social partnership could well be regarded as the crowning achievement of the Celtic Tiger economy’ (MacSharry and White, 2000, p. 144). The third channel of influence on the economy is a supply-side mechanism.This arose because there would seem to be a close connection between settling major macroeconomic and distributional issues, on the one hand, and constructive engagement with supply-side problems, on the other. Closing-off macroeconomic alternat ives freed management, union, community and government energies for discussion of real issues that impact on competitiveness and social inclusion—corporate strategy, technical change, training, working practices, the commercialisation of state-owned enterprises, taxation, local re-generation, active labour market policy—and forced (almost) all to engage in realistic discussion of change.During the period of Partnership 2000, the Irish economy has been in virtuous circle. Wage restraint has enhanced competitiveness, which has been converted into employment growth. This in turn has generated additional tax revenues which have been used to reduce direct taxes and hence underpin wage moderation. Indeed, the success of the 1990s has been so great that the constraints on Irish growth now consist of infrastructural bottlenecks and labour shortages, something I discuss in Section 6. It would clearly be inaccurate to attribute all the success of the Irish economy to social part nership.Partnership enhanced competitiveness, assisted fiscal correction, produced consensus and stability in economic policy, and increased flexibility in both public policy and enterprises. This created the context within which Ireland’s long-term developmental strategy finally achieved its potential. That strategy involved heavy investment in education, particularly in information technology, attraction of inward investment and full participation in European integration (O’Donnell, 2000). The ‘Celtic Tiger’ of the 1990s resulted from the interaction of partnership with a set of supply-side characteristics that nhanced international competitiveness and encouraged fast economic growth. These included a young, well-educated, English-speaking workforce, improved infrastructure (funded by both the EU and the Irish state), an inflow of leading US enterprises (attracted by both Irish conditions and the deepening European market), a new population of Irish ente rprises (free of the debilitating weaknesses of the past and open to new organisational patterns), and de-regulation of the service sectors (driven by the completion of the Euroean internal market).The completion of the European internal market internal was a most important factor in the recovery and re-orientation of the Irish economy. One possible limit of consensus is the difficulty of undertaking radical action which disrupts entrenched interests in protected parts of both the public and private sector. While social partnership stabilised the economy, European integration produced a steady pressure to make public utilities and services more efficient, consumer-oriented and independent of state subsidy or protection+.Thus, Ireland benefited from an unusual, but benign, combination of institutionalised co-ordinated of the key economic actors and pressure for market conformity (O’Donnell, 2000). While the evolution of Irish economic policy in the past fourteen years has been marked by a high level of consensus—between the social partners and across the political spectrum—the more liberal and orthodox economists have stood outside the consensus.Their opposition, negligible in policy terms but influential in academia and the media, is both to the substance of the prevailing consensus and to the idea and value of consensus itself. Some have objected to the politicisation of industrial relations because they believe it adds to the bargaining power of trade unionism. Others have argued that the social partners are ‘insiders’, whose pay and conditions have been protected at the expense of ‘outsiders who would work for less’, and that social partnership has had the effect of ‘raising the level of unemployment and emigration’ (Walsh and Leddin, 1992).In a recent historical review of Irish development, Haughton says ‘It was fortunate that the wage agreements have coincided with rapid economic growth, be cause the agreements create considerable rigidity in the labour market’ (Haughton, 1998, p. 37). An aspect of the strategy that has particularly provoked orthodox and neo-liberal economists is EMU. Opposition to the negotiated approach to economic and social management is combined, in almost all cases, with a strong attachment to sterling rather than the euro (e. g Neary and Thom, 1997). 6.The Future of Social Partnership Given pressure on the wage agreement of the Programme for Prosperity and Fairness (PPF), many are asking ‘can partnership survive? It seems more useful to consider what is now required in the three elements of the consistent policy framework—macroeconomic, distribution and structural change—and to ask what role partnership has in facilitating the necessary policies. Adopting that approach, it is clear that structural issues are urgent and the distributional settlement in place since 1987 is under pressure.The future of partnership revolve s around these two. The urgency of structural and supply-side issues was recognised in the PPF. Rapid growth has led to bottlenecks in housing, labour supply, childcare, health, transport, telecommunications, electricity generation and waste management. While the primary goal of partnership had been fiscal correction and employment creation, public policy must now aim to increase living standards, enhance the quality of life, achieve infrastructural investment and lay the economic and social foundations for long-term prosperity.Both short term sustainability and long-term prosperity and social cohesion, require a radical improvement in the level, quality and range of services. Does partnership have a role in achieving these structural and supply-side changes? The key to answering this question lies in recognising that many of these require fundamental change in public administration and the organisation of working life. This suggests a first role for social partnership: it can help to create a new national consensus for organisational change and continuous improvement.The experience of the past shows that the partners’ strategic overview—if persuasive, oriented to the wider good and genuinely problem-solving—can been a critical element in achieving major change in Irish policy. Without a strong consensus on organisational change, pay issues (which do require attention) are likely to crowd out issues of service and organisational capability. In a consensus-oriented system, it is necessary to mobilise consensus to overcome veto points that systems of consultation can create.But the solution of many of these structural and supply-side problems cannot be found in high-level deliberation and bargaining alone. While government is critical, it cannot on its own design and provide the necessary services. We require examination of the content, delivery, monitoring and evaluation of public policy and services. This recasting of public policy must in clude reconsideration of the roles of central departments, agencies, professionals, branch offices and citizens in setting goals, delivering services and monitoring performance (O’Donnell and Teague, 2000).This suggests a second role for social partnership: government, its agencies and the social partners can jointly work out how certain supply-side services can best be provided. But it also demands that the evolution in the method of partnership—from high-level negotiation to multi-level problem solving—be taken much further, to include organisations on the ground and citizens in problem solving and policy design. It is clear that the distributional element of the partnership framework is also under considerable stress and requires re-examination and probably revision.Indeed, it looks likely that all three elements of the distributional settlement require reconsideration: wage bargaining, public sector pay determination and social inclusion and the social wage. The pressure on these arrangements is largely a reflection of the dramatic change in the size and structure of the economy, the new approaches adopted within firms and changing patterns of social and family life. Some argue that in the face these pressures we should abandon the partnership approach and leave the distributional issues to be determined in a completely decentralised way.This ignores a number of co-ordination problems which can hamper economic performance and lead to unfair outcomes. Fully decentralised pay determination, combined with no consensus on tax and public expenditure, can lead to over-shooting and inconsistent claims on the output of the economy. This would cause a loss of competitiveness and employment and leave the weakest most vulnerable. With or without a single national wage norm, Ireland must find an approach to distribution which avoids these problems.While partnership began in an attempt to rescue the Irish economy, society and politics from the deep crisis of the 1980s, its development through the 1990s suggests that it should be seen as a part of the dramatic opening, Europeanisation, commercialisation and democratisation of Irish society. Since the destination of the society is unknown, so partnership must take new forms, provided it can continue to anticipate and help solve the problems that change throws up. REFERENCES FitzGerald, J. 1999) ‘Wage Formation and the Labour Market’, in F. Barry ed. Understanding Ireland’s Economic Growth, Macmillan, London. Haughton, J. (1998) ‘The dynamics of economic change’, in W. Crotty and D. Schmitt, Ireland and the Politics of Change, Longman, London. Honohan, P. (1999) ‘Fiscal and Monetary Policy Adjustment’, in F. Barry ed. Understanding Ireland’s Economic Growth, Macmillan, London. Lane, P. (1998) ‘Profits and wages in Ireland, 1987-1996’, Journal of the Social and Statistical Society, Vol XXVII, Part V. MacSharry, R. and White, P. 2000) The making of the Celtic Tiger: the Inside Story of Ireland’s Boom Economy. Cork: Mercier Press. McHale, J. (2000) ‘Options for Inflation Control in the Irish Economy’, Quarterly Economic Commentary, September 2000. Neary, J. P. and Thom, R. (1997) ‘Punts, Pounds and Euros: in Search of an optimum Currency Area’, mimeo, University College Dublin. NESC, (1990) A Strategy for the Nineties: Economic Stability and Structural Change, Dublin: National Economic and Social Council, NESC, (1996) ‘Strategy into the 21st Century, Dublin, National Economic and Social CouncilNESF, (1997) A Framework for Partnership: Enriching Strategic Consensus through Participation, Dublin: National Economic and Social Forum. O’Donnell, R. (1998) ‘Ireland’s Economic Transformation: Industrial Policy, European Integration and Social Partnership’, University of Pittsburgh, Working Paper No. 2. O’Donnell, R. (2000) Ã¢â‚¬Ë œThe New Ireland in the New Europe’, in R. O’Donnell ed. Europe—the Irish Experience. Dublin: Institute of European Affairs. O’Donnell, R. and C. O’Reardon, (1997) ‘Ireland’s Experiment in Social partnership 1987-96’, in Giusseppe Fajertag and Phillipe Pochet (eds. Social Pacts in Europe, Brussels: European Trade Union Institute, 1997 O’Donnell, R. and C. O’Reardon, (2000) ‘Social partnership in Ireland’s Economic Transformation’, in Giusseppe Fajertag and Phillipe Pochet (eds. ) Social Pacts in Europe—New Dynamics, Brussels: European Trade Union Institute. O’Donnell, R. and Teague, P. (2000) Partnership at Work in Ireland: An Evaluation of Progress Under Partnership 2000. Dublin: The Stationery Office. Sabel, C. F. (1996) Ireland: Local Development and Social Innovation, Paris: OECD, 1996Visser, J. (1998) ‘Concertation—the Art of Making Social Pacts’ paper pres ented at Notre Europe/ETUI seminar on ‘National Social Pacts’, Brussels, June 10th, 1998. Visser. , J. and A. Hemerijck (1997) ‘A Dutch Miracle: Job Growth, Welfare Reform and Corporatism in the Netherlands’ Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press Walsh B. and Leddin A. (1992) The Macroeconomy of Ireland, Dublin: Gill and Macmillan. Walsh, J. , Craig, S. and McCafferty, D. (1998) Local Partnerships for Social Inclusion? , Dublin: Oak Tree Press.

More Answers to Questions About Capitalization

More Answers to Questions About Capitalization More Answers to Questions About Capitalization More Answers to Questions About Capitalization By Mark Nichol Here are several questions that have come up recently from readers about capitalization, followed by my responses. 1. Are seasons proper nouns? Although people often capitalize the names of seasons especially in academic contexts, such as in â€Å"Fall Semester† and the like, or in reference to quarterly publications, such as in â€Å"the Summer 2013 issue† they are common nouns and should be lowercase, except as part of proper names (for example, â€Å"the Winter Olympics†) or in poetic personification (such as in â€Å"when Spring sheds her tears in April†). 2. I am about to write an article about self-publishing, and I am rephrasing my paragraphs to avoid starting the sentence â€Å"eBooks are . . . .† However, I am curious to know if a sentence can be started with a lowercase e. (I suppose the same thing could also be said of iPads, too.) Should I write E-books, eBooks, or Ebooks? The Chicago Manual of Style, the premiere style resource for US publishers, recognizes the ubiquity of such terms and recommends making an exception to the rule of always beginning a sentence with an uppercase letter: â€Å"iPads are . . . .† The Associated Press Stylebook, its equivalent for periodical publications, however, recommends changing a lowercase initial letter to uppercase when it begins a sentence: â€Å"IPads are . . . . I recast such a sentence if possible but agree with Chicago; the fact that an accommodation needs to be made is unfortunate, but AP’s style is ugly. In this case, though, the question is not a concern, because ebook (or e-book, if you prefer, but not the outdated E-book) is not a proper name; it is equivalent to email (or e-mail). At the beginning of a sentence, treat it like any other first word: â€Å"Ebooks are . . . .† 3. Botanical/horticultural names are italicized (because they are Latin) and consist of at least two parts: the genus (capitalized) followed by the species (not capitalized) - for example, Aloe vera. In writing about the genus more widely, then Aloe is often used alone as the family name and is italicized. But what does one do when the Latin botanical genus name is turned into a plural by adding an s? Then it is English, not Latin. So, presumably, the italics get dropped. But what happens to the capitalization? Is the English variant still capitalized? Good question. If one writes, for example, â€Å"The garden maintains one of the largest and finest collections of aloes outside of Africa,† rather than â€Å"The garden maintains one of the largest and finest collections of Aloe outside of Africa,† the English plural form, as indicated in the first variation, should be lowercase. 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 Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Inquire vs EnquireThe Four Sounds of the Spelling OUHonorary vs. Honourary

Resume or CV Professional Writing Tips - Proofeds Writing Tips Blog

Resume or CV Professional Writing Tips Resume or CV? Professional Writing Tips Applying for a job can involve a lot of paperwork, not least preparing a resume or CV. But what exactly is the difference between these documents? And which one do you need for your application? What Is a Resume? A resume is a short summary of your work achievements, usually no more than two pages long. The idea is to give employers a quick way to see how suitable you are for the job. You therefore need to make sure it grabs their attention! A typical resume should include: Your full name and basic contact information An objective or personal statement (i.e., a brief statement of your career objectives or a paragraph summarizing your skills and achievements) Educational achievements (including any scholarships or awards) Work experience (including job titles, where you worked, and a description of your responsibilities, starting with your current/most recent role) A list of skills (ideally including evidence of when you’ve used them, such as using leadership skills to start a community group or using programming skills to create your own website) There is no standard format for a resume, so you should tailor yours to fit the role. For example, if your degree is more relevant to the job than your work experience, the â€Å"Education† section should come before the â€Å"Work Experience† section. In all cases, though, it should be clear and concise. What Is a CV? â€Å"CV† is short for â€Å"curriculum vitae.† This Latin term can be roughly translated as â€Å"the course of life,† which sounds quite dramatic! The good news is that you don’t need to include your entire life in a CV. But a CV is a more in-depth document than a resume, so it can stretch to several pages. Typically, you will only need a CV if you’re applying for an academic, research, medical, or teaching role. Consequently, a standard CV should include: Your full name and contact information A chronological list of all professional positions held Details of your educational achievements Honors and awards Publications and presentations Research interests References You don’t have to include all of these if they are not relevant (e.g., if you are a recent graduate without any publications). In addition, the best format may depend on the position you’re applying for, so check how other CVs in your subject area are written before composing your own. Resumes and CVs Around the World Things get more complicated if you’re applying for work overseas. Outside of the US and Canada, the terms CV and resume are often used interchangeably. â€Å"CV† is certainly more common in the UK, but it refers to the kind of short work summary we would call a â€Å"resume.† The key here, then, is to do your research before applying! Make sure: You know whether your employer wants a full work history or a summary To check for the standard local format for a resume or CV To use the local version of English (e.g., British or Australian English) By tailoring your CV or resume accordingly, you stand a much better chance of getting the job!

Globalization and Economy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Globalization and Economy - Essay Example What is Globalization? Globalization means that the market goes beyond national borders, thus integrating world trade and financial markets (Czenter, 2002, p. 8). Globalization is the result of countries reducing their barriers for other countries to trade with them or directly investment in the country’s industries. These barriers were traditionally erected, so that each country had a buffer between all other countries, and globalization dismantles them (O’Riain, 2000, p. 2). This integration of world systems is accomplished in one of three major ways, according to O’Raiain (2000). The first way is through an integration of markets through the process of international trade and production. The second way is that states compete with one another to attract foreign capital and also compete with one another for the right to organize the global economy. Third, â€Å"models of state market interaction may diffuse through the world-system through the interaction of th e states and particularly through the influence of transnational organizational actors† (O’Riain, 2000, p. 3). That said, 70% of trade occurs between the triad of North America, Western Europe and East Asia (Ostry, 2005). Multinational companies are the drivers for free trade. However, Ostry (2005) argues that these companies really are not globalizers, as much of their trade and investments are regional. For instance, multinational companies in Western Europe tend to trade to other countries in Western Europe, while American firms by and large invest in their neighboring countries of Canada, Mexico and South America. Meanwhile, Japanese firms tend to trade and invest with South Korea, China and Southeast Asia (Ostry, 2005). Advantages and Disadvantages of Globalism Globalization may be either advantageous or disadvantageous, and whether it is one or the other depends upon different factors. For instance, globalization might break down the economic backbone of some coun tries that are still developing (Czenter, 2002, p. 14). Some countries that were considered to be developing as of 2002 were China, Malaysia, the Phillipines and India, and the effects of globalization on these countries’ labour markets were studied by Frenkel & Kuruvilla (2002). Frenkel & Kuruvilla note that there were two competing schools of thought on how globalization would affect labour markets and employment relations in developing countries. One school of thought was that free trade and foreign direct investment can only help developing countries, as these countries should experience job growth and increased wages due to there being an increase of industrial activity in these countries. The other school of thought was that free trade and foreign direct investment would have a negative effect on labour markets and employment relations in these developing countries. This is because of increased competition from the foreign firms, so that domestic goods are replaced by t hose made abroad; a displacement of domestic workers due to the fact that multinationals export jobs to these countries; and increased technology means fewer jobs for workers (International Labour Organization, 2011). This is also because some international markets are only open to the stronger countries, closing the door to countries that do not have a strong international portfolio (Frenkel & Kuruvilla, 2002, p. 3). Dries & Swinnen (2003) found that globalization is often advantageous for