Semantics Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Semantics - Essay Example For instance, the sentence Annie looked at people wearing glasses can mean that Annie was looking at people who were wearing glasses themselves, or it can mean that Annie was wearing glasses while looking at people. These two different meanings have a very large impact on the effectiveness of the sentence. Related to ambiguity is the relationship between sentence meaning and utterance meaning. Put simply, sentence meaning is independent of context, and utterance meaning is dependent upon context (Lyons 38). However, the relationship between the two is hardly simple, and many cases of ambiguity are a result of the differences between the two: â€Å"Perceived discrepancies between sentence meaning and utterance meaning give rise to the frequently asked question What did s/he mean when s/he said that? (Allan 43). It would not be appropriate to attempt to determine whether one was more important than the other because they are used for two different situations. One might as well ask whe ther having a context or not having a context was more important to the study of semantics. As stated, sentence meaning is independent of context, though there is more to the definition that needs to be considered. For instance, the sequence of words obviously has to be possible in a given language, and it has to be complete in a given sense. There would be no point in attempting to examine the meaning of a sentence such as Chomsky’s example. The meaning of the sentence England is an island is easy to discern. England, as a country, is a familiar entity, and the concept of an island being a land-mass completely surrounded by water is also well-known. Looking at any map, the fact that England is a land-mass that is completely surrounded by water is not a difficult thought to grasp. Utterance meaning is used by a speaking on a particular occasion and is dependent upon the context of the situation. John Lyons once stated that â€Å"utterances are unique

John Steinbeck: A Common Mans Man :: essays research papers fc

John Steinbeck: A Common Man's Man "I never wrote two books alike", once said John Steinbeck (Shaw, 10). That may be true, but I think that he wrote many of his novels and short stories based on many of the same views. He often focused on social problems, like the â€Å" haves† verses the "have nots", and made the reader want to encourage the underdog. Steinbeck's back ground and concern for the common man made him one of the best writers for human rights. John Steinbeck was born in Salians, California and spent most of his life there or around Salians, because of that he often modeled his stories and the characters around the land he loved and the experiences he encountered. He lived in Salians until 1919, when he left for Stanford University, he only enrolled in the courses that pleased him - literature, creative writing and majoring in Marine Biology. He left in 1925, without a degree. Even though he didn't graduate his books showed the results of his five years spent there. His books display a considerable reading of the Greek and Roman historians, and the medieval and Renaissance fabalists and the biological sciences (Shaw 11). He then moved to New York and tried his hand as a construction worker and as a reporter for the American. (Covici , xxxv). Steinbeck then moved back to California and lived with his wife at Pacific Grove. In 1934, he wrote for the San Franciso News, he was assigned to write several articles about the 3,000 migrants flooded in at Kings County. The plight of the migrant workers motivated him to help and document their struggle. The money he earned from the newspaper allowed him to travel to their home and see why their reason for leaving and traveled to California with them, sharing in with their hardships (Steinbeck, 127). Because John Steinbeck was able to travel with the Okies, he was able to accurately portray them and their struggles. Each book that he wrote had settings in the places where he has either lived or wanted to live. He presented the land as it was. The characters in his stories experienced floods, drought, and other natural disasters, while in the Salians Valley (Shaw, 5). What Steinbeck wrote was very factual and in depth. He exhibited his awareness of man and his surroundings, in his early books, before people ate, a pig had to be slaughtered, and often that and before they ate, it had to be cooked. Also when a car broke down, the characters had to find parts, and fixed

Integrating learning styles Essay

Facilitators use different learning styles such as auditory, kinetic, and visual methods to enhance each student’s ability to grasp material the simplest way possible. Through research, instructors have adapted many instructing methods to tap into each student’s learning style without alienated other strategies necessary for various learners. Auditory strategies may include speeches, tapes, or auditoria tutorials so the students can complete their work as they listen to the facilitator’s instructions thoroughly (Felder and Soloman, p.1). Instructors should emphasize the key words during their speeches to trigger the student’s critical listening skills. The keywords of the speech should be relative to their new material, but it must advise them on how to carry out the motions as well (Family Education, p. 2). As in online tutorials, the student must be able to hear the instructions and place the instructions in action by kinetic learning methods. Kinetic methods can include on-hands learning opportunities such as drawing, playing, or writing. An example of this would be to write out the format of a mathematical equation. The students learn to articulate the mathematical structure of the equation in order to answer the question more thoroughly (Felder and Soloman, p. 2). Instructors can use hands-on applications to break the barrier between the textbooks and the information’s overall objective. For instance, an electrical engineer must use their knowledge in the field in order to work diligently through their coursework. It is very important to give the students a chance to have a complete understanding of what their class material is about through kinetic methods. Visual instructions show students how to replicate the sequence for a given answer (Family Education, p. 1). For example, a student must know the basics of a mathematical equations in a more, in-depth way to capitalize on the verbal (auditory) and kinetic (working out) aspects of the subject matter. Reference Cited Felder, R. M. and Soloman, B. A. Learning Styles and Strategies. North Carolina State University. Retrieved October 25, 2006 from http://www. ncsu. edu/felder-public /ILSdir/styles. htm. â€Å"Visual, Auditory, Kinesthetic Learners. † (2006). Family Education. Retrieved October 25, 2006 from http://school. familyeducation. com/intelligence/teaching-methods/38519. html.

Is Topgrading A Hiring Method For Identifying Candidates...

Topgrading is a hiring method for identifying candidates who qualify and are most likely to succeed in the organization and avoid the disastrous mis-hire. Through the use of the Topgrading interview hiring managers will be able to identify the â€Å"A Players† who are interviewing for the job based on the various steps in the process. According to the book â€Å"Topgrading techniques for hiring, promoting, assessing, and coaching people have enabled hundreds of companies to achieve 75% and even 90%+ success picking not ok performers but rather true high performers†(Smart). Before the Topgrading interviews even begin there are a few key steps that need to be taken to weed out the â€Å"C Players† from the â€Å"A Players.† One of these steps is the threat of the TORC (Threat of Reference Check), this informs candidates that at every step of the interview process that they will need to provide the company with references, such as former bosses and supervisors. Using the TORC scares away the â€Å"C Players,† because if they are just an average employee there former supervisors will not be willing to talk with the interviewer, and â€Å"A Players† will be extremely willing to give these references, because they are confident that their former bosses will talk highly of them. Measuring the baseline of your organization will all the company to calculate the percentage of successful employees you have hired and the percent of mis-hires the organization has hired. This will allow the organization to evaluate