Suicide Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Suicide - Research Paper Example Sociologists have been trying to calculate the suicide rates for over a hundred years. Unfortunately the â€Å"shock-wave† that a single suicide generates is so powerful that the statistical rarity becomes disproportionate (Baudelot & Establet 2008). In countries like the United States, suicide is not as frequent amongst the civilians as it is amongst the people belonging to the military. Hence, the social stigma of suicide in the United States and the European countries remains a matter of fear and disgust combined with feelings of contempt and lack of compassion (Joiner 2010). Suicide may be rationally defined as a voluntary act chosen by an individual who wants to die because the situation he has caught himself in is irretrievable and cannot be transformed (Diekstra & WHO 1989). The disgrace it carries with it for the communities especially in the United States is due to the fact that it indicates not only immoral behavior on the part of that individual but also the family who falls victim of this crime. Most of the cases in the U.S. have been connected with wartimes and the percentage of suicide committed amongst the soldiers and the army men is higher than ordinary civilians. Suicide usually has a history in the family. There are several generations in the family who have been indulged in this course of action and hence it becomes rather difficult for the sociologist to come up with a sensible reason for such an act. Modern therapists and thinkers have however come to believe that suicide may be acceptable at some point in a person’s life. Survivors of suicide end up in alcoholism and other lethal activities which becomes a threat for the community. The rate of depression is extremely high in the United States. Researches associate the suicide rates to the ethnic groups that exist simultaneously among the natives. This is surprisingly one of the main reasons of suicide especially among adults or elderly people who have gone through traumas in their life which they cannot share with anyone. War, loss of a family member, depression, broken families and crashing businesses are some of the risk factors which influence suicide among this age group (Retterstol 1993). In places where there are broken families, a person wanting to commit suicide is disheartened by his own situation and position in the family. He is likely to compare himself with privileged people around him and ends up having a very low self-esteem like in many other cases. Broken families are usually a result of some tragic or tabooed incident in the past which give rise to feelings of anxiety and hopelessness. Similarly a person whose business is crashing is likely to be affected with the downfall more severely than his team of people. If he has a depressing personality he would shut himself from the rest of the world and let the feeling of failure grow inside him. Eventually he would grow tired of his life and end it himself (Retterstol 1993). As opposed to the causes of suicide seen in the United States, other countries which are categorized as the third world countries such as Pakistan are confronted with altogether separate sets of causes of suicide. Pakistan is a nation which never recovered from the trauma of partition in 1947. A series of events caused the citizens to believe that they are doomed for life. With the

Fried Green Tomatoes Essay Example for Free

Fried Green Tomatoes Essay I chose to critique the film Fried Green Tomatoes. I wanted to show that this film is about two friendships between four women that prove that when you find that person that is your best friend, you find the best in yourself. This film was released in 1991. It was based on the book, Fried Green Tomatoes at the Whistle Stop Cafe by Fanny Flagg. Ms. Flagg was also the one who wrote the screenplay as well. The movie is filmed in the present, which would have been 1990-ish, where we meet Evelyn Couch who is visiting a nursing home with her husband, Ed. She meets a lonely old woman Cleo Threadgoode, whom everyone calls Ninny, and they begin talking. Ninny shares a story with Evelyn about Idgie Threadgoode and Ruth Jamison, taking place in the 1920’s and the 1930’s. We see dual storylines here. The first in the present with Evelyn and Ninny and then the story of Idgie and Ruth in the past, both of them being told chronologically but at different periods of time. In the first, or establishing shot, we hear a train whistle and the camera pans over a ghost town and eventually stopping at a run-down building that says The Whistle Stop Cafe. Watching this movie, I found myself laughing, then crying and then laughing and feeling happy. I found myself relating to the characters, most of them in one way or another which was a good feeling. I saw the insecurity in Evelyn, the way that she is so passive and shy. She is very naive. She is trying to get her husband to pay attention to something other than sports on television. He comes home from work, picks up his dinner that has been set on the table, grabs a beer and then he sits in his chair and ignores her. The stubbornness of Idgie, she is one that does what she wants, when she wants and won’t follow the rules, even if they are in her best interest. The quiet strength of Ruth, she can be the most kind and ladylike woman, but when it comes to her child or her best friend, she is willing to do anything to keep them safe. The carefree Ninny, who does not seem to have ever met a stranger, may be old, but is very direct and lovable. I think that through the movie we see that within each set of friends, that in the beginning there is one that is shy and passive and then other is outspoken and extroverted. As their friendships grow, they balance each other out. Evelyn becomes more self-confident and assertive, with her husband for example. Ninny learns that you are never too old to find your best friend. Idgie learns how to let people into her heart, and teaches Ruth how to think for herself and gives her courage to leave her abusive husband. Ruth tries to tame Idgie’s wild ways and Idgie discovers that she has someone that she can be herself with. All of these things are so very important. The protagonists in this film; Evelyn, Ninny, Idgie, and Ruth each face their own form of enemy or antagonist. For Evelyn, it is her poor self-image. For Ninny, it is her longing to go home. Idgie in this particular point in time is facing the court that is trying her for murder. Ruth faces her abusive husband. All of these things each threaten to hold each of these women back. This film falls into two different genres; drama and comedy. There is no love story, no fight scenes, nothing explodes. It is the story of friendship and with that you have tears and laughter, like in real life. The film is set in the fictional town of Whistle Stop, Alabama and in Valdosta, Georgia. You can hear the southern twang in the accents of the characters that would suggest the southern descent. The score contains several southern gospel, blues, and then some soft pop ballads, but throughout the movie the sound of a train whistle is prevalent both in the presence of a train and without. The use of a train is vital to the film. The train is where Idgie and Ruth have their first â€Å"adventure† stowing away in a train car containing food and throwing that food to needy families along the track. The train is present during the important moments in the film; when we first see Evelyn, Buddy’s death, the birth of Ruth’s son, Frank Bennett’s murder, when we are told of Ruth’s cancer. There is voice over from Ninny when we go from the present to the past. We hear her talk about the past and then there is a fade out and then in. These are often used at the beginning and/or end of a scene or sequence as a sort of punctuation mark, fading into a shot from a black screen or fading to black at the end, like bringing the lights up or down during a stage play (Goodykoontz 2011). Other sounds in the movie are used to let audience be aware of the character’s surroundings. For example, when Idgie goes to the stump to get the honey, we hear the buzzing of bees, or scenes from the cafe you can hear things sizzling and cooking. The four main actors in this film are; Kathy Bates/Evelyn, Jessica Tandy/Ninny, Mary Stuart Masterson/Idgie, and Mary Louise Parker/Ruth. Imdb1991) They are all wild card actors, which made this film enjoyable to watch. With no one typecast into any certain role, you could not predict how one was going to act or do. It made it easier to picture these actors in the roles that they played here. Each actor was well chosen to play each role. The personalities of the actors fit with the persona lities of the character of the story. When I read the book now, I see Kathy Bates when I read about Evelyn and Mary Louise Parker when I read about Ruth. It makes the story more enjoyable, I think when I can read it and watch along in my head. The clothing worn depicts the time period very well. We know that it is warm by the way that people are dressed; light flowing dresses and simple pants and shirts with the sleeves rolled up. The hairstyles also compliment the time; hair up and pinned or put up softly so that some curls flow for the women and the men had very short and well kept hair. Those men who had hair kept it slicked back or in a traditional curl. Everyone in the past storyline seems to constantly wear a gleam of sweat if they appear outdoors. Only in the present-day storyline are we able to measure time, and that done here with holidays. In the beginning we see Evelyn bringing a basket of candy to her husband’s aunt. Then we see different decorations in the nursing home, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas, and Valentine’s Day. The past is different because Ninny is telling the story so she says when things happen so we are not left to guess for ourselves. The lighting in this film is tied to the mood of the particular scene. The sun shines when things are good and happy. When Frank comes to take the baby away, it is a tense scene and is shown with dark lighting and lots of shadows. It gives a menacing tone. When there are deaths, the lighting is dull and sorrowful, and even the weather is a factor. During the more somber scenes, it is cloudy and rainy which gives a sense of sadness to the already dismal part of the storyline. A normal lens was used to shoot this movie as the scenes are shot as if one was seeing them with their own eyes. The effect that this film has on society is that it presents a realistic and classic view of friendship that people can in some way relate to. It has a great deal of fiction in regards to the storyline. But there are some parts that have a bit of truth to them. The matter of racism, given the time period, is portrayed as it has been documented in history books. The presence of the Ku Klux Klan is another piece of our nation’s history. Not a great one, but still a true one. The film is directed, produced, and written by Jon Avnet, who is credited with such films as The War and Up Close and Personal. Mr. Avnet worked with author Fannie Flagg to write the screenplay. This story may have â€Å"chick flick† written all over it but one should not be fooled, there is more to this film than just four chicks laughing and crying together. There is, of course, the story of friendship, but there is mystery, there is a bit of our dark history, there’s a murder and then there is food. Fried green tomatoes and the best barbeque you ever had†¦the secret’s in the sauce.

John Deweys Critique of Socioeconomic Individualism Essay -- Sociolog

My paper attempts to exhibit the consistency of John Dewey’s non-individualistic individualism. It details Dewey’s claim that the traditional dualism opposing the individual to the social is politically debilitating. We find Dewey in the 20’s and 30’s, for example, arguing that the creation of a genuine public arena, one capable of precluding the rise of an artificial chasm between sociality and individuality—or, rather, one capable of precluding the rise of an artificial chasm between notions of sociality and individuality—had itself been forestalled by an inherited, outdated, but nonetheless dominant custom called individualism. By blocking public investigation itself, by enervating what Dewey called social inquiry, and thus by misguiding historically sensitive assessments of slippery social phenomena, our contingently strapped individualism drifts aimlessly and destructively through the present era. Insofar as it fails to realize how publi city and individuality can be a congruous, inextricable, and mutually conditioning pair, individualism leeches many of today’s individuals of their situated and situating historical potential. In the final chapter of his work The Public and its Problems (PAIP) John Dewey suggests that, despite the insistence of most social theorists, if we regard the so-called individual/social distinction as a gap to be bridged or as an antithesis to be synthesized then our nose for public & democratic reform has been tricked by a central red herring of political modernity: The preliminary to fruitful discussion of social matters is that certain obstacles shall be overcome, obstacles residing in our present conceptions of the method of social inquiry. One of the obstructions in the path is the seemingl... ...ical progress, and only then will we lay the foundation for the construction of public apparati which do not merely police atomic selves negatively in their battles for economic supremacy and which do not merely reconcile Society to the claims of private Selves but which produce selves habitually resistant to atomization. Indeed, as we also indicated above, according to Dewey the problem of publicity in modern society and the modern state lies less in need of bridging the gap between the one and the many as in showing the impractical effects of thinking according to the conceptual scheme of a gap. It is currently anathema, in other words, to think sacrificially of publicity, to think that a lively public arena can exist only when certain individual claims are sacrificed or, conversely, that individuality will thrive only at the expense of the greater public good.

Renting Software :: essays research papers

Renting Software The life expectancy of software, especially purchased software, has become shorter and shorter over the years. While in the past an organization could be on the cutting edge of technology for five or six years with the software it had, now some applications become obsolete within two or three years. If you personally want to use the most current application, such as word processors and spreadsheets, you must pay several tens or hundreds of dollars to upgrade your version every two or three years. Now imagine how much money organizations have to pay for the same privilege for hundreds of thousands of employees. Worse, unlike households and small firms, many organizations spend millions of dollars on enterprise-wide applications, such as supply-chain management, ERP, and Web-based transaction systems only to find that two or three years later their version is old and lags behind the newer versions that their competitors use. Also, for small companies, the cost of even a single module o f an enterprise-wide system may be too high for purchasing. They prefer a monthly payment to a single, but large allocation of capital for the software. The answer to these challenges may be a relatively new approach to acquiring applications – renting. There are two approaches to renting: in one, the organization pays for the use of an application over a limited period of time at its site; in the other, the organization pays to use the application through the web. On-site Renting Many IS executives would rather rent software for a limited period of time and pay less than own it for a much higher cost. To satisfy this need, many software vendors now offer rental programs. For example, many organizations rent antivirus software rather than purchase it. Network Associates, Inc., the company that owns the popular McAfee antivirus software offers rental contracts for limited periods, as short as one year. The company realized that since thousands of new computer viruses are launched every years, its customers prefer to rent a version of the application for only one year, and when the next version, which takes care of new virus, is available, rent the newer version. When a company rents software, the rental rate is determined by the number of users and the period for which the software is rented. At the end of that period, the company must delete all copies of the software from its computers, or renew the rental agreement. Renting Software :: essays research papers Renting Software The life expectancy of software, especially purchased software, has become shorter and shorter over the years. While in the past an organization could be on the cutting edge of technology for five or six years with the software it had, now some applications become obsolete within two or three years. If you personally want to use the most current application, such as word processors and spreadsheets, you must pay several tens or hundreds of dollars to upgrade your version every two or three years. Now imagine how much money organizations have to pay for the same privilege for hundreds of thousands of employees. Worse, unlike households and small firms, many organizations spend millions of dollars on enterprise-wide applications, such as supply-chain management, ERP, and Web-based transaction systems only to find that two or three years later their version is old and lags behind the newer versions that their competitors use. Also, for small companies, the cost of even a single module o f an enterprise-wide system may be too high for purchasing. They prefer a monthly payment to a single, but large allocation of capital for the software. The answer to these challenges may be a relatively new approach to acquiring applications – renting. There are two approaches to renting: in one, the organization pays for the use of an application over a limited period of time at its site; in the other, the organization pays to use the application through the web. On-site Renting Many IS executives would rather rent software for a limited period of time and pay less than own it for a much higher cost. To satisfy this need, many software vendors now offer rental programs. For example, many organizations rent antivirus software rather than purchase it. Network Associates, Inc., the company that owns the popular McAfee antivirus software offers rental contracts for limited periods, as short as one year. The company realized that since thousands of new computer viruses are launched every years, its customers prefer to rent a version of the application for only one year, and when the next version, which takes care of new virus, is available, rent the newer version. When a company rents software, the rental rate is determined by the number of users and the period for which the software is rented. At the end of that period, the company must delete all copies of the software from its computers, or renew the rental agreement.

Investigating Business Essay

In this section, I will give a detailed explanation of the marketing mix and why it is used in businesses. I will be giving a detailed analysis’ of the Product, Pricing, Place and Promotions. This section is based on about how I found my target market and then fulfilling their wants and needs. Marketing Mix Marketing mix: ‘Provides a recipe for effective marketing’: tutor2u. net Marketing is the term used to describe a range of activities within a business that are designed to keep existing customers and to gain new ones. The ‘marketing cycle’ begins with the objectives of the business, which feed into marketing objectives. Next comes, Market analysis, involving the business looking at its position in the market and the ways it can best take advantage. Market research will be used to fid out which groups can best be targeted, and how. Market planning will include how, when and where to target markets. It includes test produces and test marketing. A marketing mix needs to be developed so that a successful balance of price, product, promotion and distribution is achieved. The marketing mix: Product The product refers to the different range of products supplied by a business. A product can be either a good or a service. It is just one part of the marketing mix and will only be successful if properly combined with marketing. Good market researchers will identify where new products are needed or existing products can expand. The product lifecycle The product lifestyle shows the stages that a product goes through from development to decline. There are five stages to the life of a product and they are development, introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. The first stage is development. This is where the product is being developed it will not be growing as it is currently not on the market yet. Nobody will know what it is as it hasn’t yet been launched. The launch stage also known as the introduction is the second stage. This is where the product will begin to grow little by little. As it is a new product no body knows about it and therefore on a product lifecycle chart, it starts off at the very bottom, with no sales. The producer will need to create brand awareness so people know that the product exists. Brand awareness could be an objective set by the company. Brand awareness could be achieved in many different ways such as advertising in the local paper or on national T.  V. depending where the product will be sold in my case it will be sold locally so it will be most likely to be advertised in a local paper. When the consumers are more aware of the product they are most likely to buy it, as, sales will go up and the product then goes into its next stage of growth. Once, the product comes to the end of the decline stage then it is likely that the company will stop producing it, as they will eventually make a loss instead of a profit. However, not all products will reach the declining stage. The product lifestyle can be shown on a graph to the left. Currently, my product is at the development stage. I am currently finding out my customers need and wants through market research such as field and desk research, I am developing my product around what they want, this is important as they are buying it. If my product is successful it will evolve through the product lifecycle. As my product is a new product and not yet on the market I will need to do a lot of advertising to create brand awareness, through carrying this out successfully it will mean my product will get a good head start in the launch stage. When it becomes more popular I will the advertise in different ways such as television advertising, as this was the most effective way of advertising (results from questionnaire), with advertising in this way my product will be known nationally instead of originally locally. The marketing mix: Price Price is one of the elements of the marketing mix. The marketing mix term is used to refer to the balance between these different elements. Businesses need to get the mix right and in order to do this they need to decide on a price that is appropriate to the product. Most times, all prices determine by the interaction of supply and demand. In some countries, buyers and sellers still bargain until both are satisfied with the price. The auction process such as eBay mirrors this. However, this process can be time consuming and the seller usually sets the price and the buyer shows their acceptance of this by buying at that price. Price will vary according to the circumstances. Normally, if you start a new business you will have to research the market very carefully, examining competitors’ pricing very carefully. What will customers buy on price, example, buy the cheapest? The numbers of pricing strategies which can be used are the choice of pricing strategies that will depend to some extent on the long term objectives of the business- how it wishes to position itself in the marketplace, or how important its financial needs are. The examples of long term objectives are: * Making a profit * Pricing to keep the competitors out of the market * Pricing which positions the company at the luxury end of the market * Pricing to maximise sales and make the business a market leader. Commonly prices are based on the marketing needs of the business. There are often temporary price strategies used to achieve a particular short-term target, called tactical pricing. Promotional pricing is designed to increase sales quickly. This can be done using low prices or discounts, special offers or (buy one get one free. ) The marketing mix: Promotion Promotion involves telling the customers that a product exists, and attempting to persuade them to buy it. It is important to remember that this is just one part of the marketing mix; it is linked to other parts. Promotion is usually divided into advertising and sales promotion. Using different media such as TV, newspapers and magazines, posters, the internet and sponsorship are one of the different techniques of communication. Large businesses have the advantage of resources in promoting products to a mass market. Though, small businesses can make can make variety of promotional techniques in a local area or niche market and achieve good communication with the target market. One of the best promotional tools of a small business is a well-designed website. Place  Place is often referred to the fourth ‘P’ of the marketing mix. It has two key parts to it. Firstly, it is the market where goods and services are sold. This may be physical ‘place’ like a shop, market or trading floor, or it may have no physical existence but be the a market that exists on the phone or, increasingly, in cyberspace. The place where something is sold does not have to be solid; it just refers to the place where the transaction occurs. Secondly, ‘place’ refers to the transaction occurs. Secondly, ‘place’ refers the efficient distribution of goods. Most retail outlets can take many different forms. For example vending machines is a retail outlet, as is a department store. They are categorised by the type of range of goods or services they sell, and their geographical range and position. Multiples provide a brand identify for all of their sites. My product From carrying out primary and secondary research I have been able to choose exactly what my final product is. In carrying out field and desk research it enabled me to find out exactly who my target market is, how to segment the market and finding out and full filling my customers’ needs and wants. This is one of my four objectives. As my product is a new product it is currently at the introduction/launch pad, as nobody knows about it so far, but it will work its way along the graph. My product is a 3D indoor stimulating ride. As analyzed in my questionnaire a large group of the target market would like to see something different introduced in the theme park. This stimulator will include features that no other stimulator has ever included. As mentioned before, this ride is based on a classic book and film, Alice in Wonderland. Firstly the 3D stimulator will be one of the tallest stimulators in the world. The ride will be 395 feet high (beating Las Vegas Stratocasters record. ) with the speed of 150mph. As this is a suspense/vertical drop ride, people will be expecting to be entering a normal looking 3D stimulator ride but as the ride begins, they will be in for a shock. The ride will begin with a small voice of Alice speaking to the rabbit. After, the 3D screen will appear with the clip of Alice following the Rabbit. The ride will shake as it follows the motion of Alice’s footstep. As Alice’s follows the rabbit she will then see a small bottle labelled â€Å"drink me. † After Alice drinks the content from the bottle, the screen will switch off, a puff of white smoke will appear and a distorted nursery rhyme will be heard. The 3D stimulators will then shake vigorously and tilt forward. Flashing images of Alice’s face will appear from the screen with psychedelic patterns and colours. The stimulator will then spin around at a speed of 60mph for 40 seconds and unexpectedly stop. Then The ride will tilt even more and there will be an opening right below the people on the ride. This opening will have a slight cold breeze and will be pitch black. The ride will then drop down vertically from 395 feet, and that will be the end of the ride. This is the poster to my product: Safety As this ride will have a lot of dangers, safety is essential. Firstly, as the people will enter the simulator ride they will have to abide by the height restrictions (min. 1. 4m) anyone under that height will not be permitted onto the ride. Any pregnant women, people suffering from high blood pressure, heart problems or any other serious conditions, won’t be allowed on the ride. Seatbelts must be double checked before the ride begins. If any accidents occur during the rides i. e. vomiting then the ride will automatically stop and medical help will come straight away. Also, there will be paramedics in the area if any accident occurs. Branding From conducting my questionnaire in my primary research, it showed me that most people would prefer a scary themed ride, but I needed further information in how I was going to present the merchandises to the target markets. However from my secondary research it showed that most people would like a horror theme vertical drop ride. I decided to link the horror themed ride (chosen by the target market) with the other most popular choice, the 3D stimulator and combined the two together. For the merchandisers, I’ve decide to use Alice in terror land doll key chains, similar to the slasher film, Chucky the killer Doll. The features will include a sensor. The dolls eyes will follow you’re movement. This will also include a mini torch.

Definition and Examples of a Morph in Linguistics

Definition and Examples of a Morph in Linguistics In linguistics, a morph is a word segment that represents one morpheme (the smallest unit of language that has meaning) in sound or writing. Its a written or pronounced portion of a word, such as an affix (a prefix or suffix). For example, the word infamous is made up of three morphs- in-, fam(e), -eous- each of which represents one morpheme. The word has two affixes, both a prefix (in-) and a suffix (-eous) attached to a root word. Key Takeaways: Morphs Morphs are portions of a word, such as affixes.Morphs that are also whole words are called free morphs.The different sounds that pronounce a morph are its allomorphs.A morpheme is a description, such as a past-tense verb ending. This morpheme is often represented by the morph -ed. Morphs, Morphemes, and Allomorphs Although a morpheme is an abstract unit of meaning, a morph is a formal unit with a physical shape. A morpheme is the description of what a morph is or does to a word. Author George David Morley explains: For example, the morpheme meaning negative forming is evidenced in adjectives by the morphs un as in unclear, in - inadequate, im - immoral, il - illegal, ig - ignoble, ir - irregular, non - non-existent, dis - dishonest.  (Syntax in Functional Grammar: An Introduction to Lexicogrammar in Systemic  Linguistics.  Continuum, 2000) When something has multiple ways that a sound can be created, these are its allomorphs. Authors Mark Aronoff and Kirsten Fudeman explain the concept this way:  For example, the English past tense morpheme that we spell -ed has various [allomorphs or variants]. It is realized as [t] after the voiceless [p] of jump (cf. jumped), as [d] after the voiced [l] of repel (cf. repelled), and as [É™d] after the voiceless [t] of root or the voiced [d] of wed (cf. rooted and wedded). (What Is Morphology?  2nd ed. Wiley-Blackwell, 2011) Types of Morphs A morph that can stand alone as a word is called a free morph. For example, the adjective big, the verb walk, and the noun home are free morphs. Root words may or may not be free morphs. For example, the root in the word construction is struct, meaning to build. The word also contains the prefix con- and -ion (the latter of which shows that the word is a noun). A morph that cant stand alone as a word is called a bound morph;  the endings -er (as in bigger), -ed (as in walked), and -s (as in homes) are bound morphs (or affixes). When Is a Word Part a Morph? For most language users, being able to pare a word down into its parts (root words and affixes) is sufficient for the purposes of understanding a complex word. Take the word antidisestablishment. It can be broken into the following: anti- (against), dis- (taking apart), establish (root word; to disestablish is to end an official status, especially of a church), and -ment  (showing the word is a noun). Surmised from the sum of its parts, then, the word means being against the state breaking up a church, and it particularly refers to the 19th-century Church of England. Conversely, for most users, knowledge of affixes will suffice to create words from parts. This is what George W. Bush was going for when he said that people misunderestimate him. Native speakers of English who know what the prefix mis- means understands what the former president was trying to say, even though he created a new word for the popular lexicon (a Bushism) when he misspoke. (Bushism is also an example of a created word, containing Bush, referring to the former president, and -ism, a noun, meaning characteristic of the word its attached to.) Instead of stopping at the root word and affix level, some linguists take the word dissection even farther, as author Keith Denning and colleagues describe: Etymologists and those interested in the history of the language may go in the opposite direction and isolate as a morph every sound that ever had a distinct function, even if they have to go as far back as Proto-Indo-European to find it. Both viewpoints are valid, as long as the criteria are clearly stated. (Keith Denning, Brett Kessler, and William R. Leben,  English Vocabulary Elements, 2nd ed. Oxford University Press, 2007.)

A Biography of King John of England

A Biography of King John of England King John was King of England from 1199 to 1216. He lost many of his family’s Angevin lands on the continent and was forced to concede numerous rights to his barons in the Magna Carta, which has led to John being considered a colossal failure. In later years many poor reputations have been rolled back by modern supporters, and while Johns financial management is now being reassessed, the anniversary of the Magna Carta saw almost every popular commentator criticize John for - at best - terrible leadership and at worst terrible oppression. While historians are more positive, this is not getting through. His missing gold appears in the national English newspapers every few years but is never found. Youth and Struggle for the Crown King John was the youngest son of King Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine to survive childhood, being born in 1166. It appears that John was the favored son of Henry, and so the king tried to find him large lands to live from. One grant of several castles, given when John was first to be married (to an Italian heiress), provoked anger among his brothers and started a war between them. Henry II won, but John was given only a little land in the resulting settlement. John was betrothed in 1176 to Isabella, heir to the rich earldom of Gloucester. When John’s older brother Richard became heir to his fathers throne, Henry II wanted to promote Richard to inheriting England, Normandy, and Anjou, and give John Richard’s current holding of Aquitaine, but Richard refused to concede even this, and another round of family warfare followed. Henry turned down the Kingdom of Jerusalem for both himself and John (who begged to accept it), and then John was lined up for the command of Ireland. He visited but proved to be seriously indiscrete, developing a careless reputation and returning home a failure. When Richard rebelled again – Henry II was at the time refusing to recognize Richard as his heir – John supported him. The conflict broke Henry, and he died. When Richard became King Richard I of England in July 1189, John was made Count of Mortain, plus given other lands and a large income, as well as staying as Lord of Ireland and finally marrying Isabella. In return, John promised to stay out of England when Richard went on crusade, although their mother persuaded Richard to drop this clause. Richard then went, establishing a martial reputation that saw him considered a hero for generations; John, who stayed home, would end up achieving the precise opposite. Here, as with the Jerusalem episode, Johns life could have ended up very different. The man who Richard left in charge of England soon grew unpopular, and John set up what was almost a rival government. As war loomed between John and the official administration, Richard sent a new man back from the crusade to take charge and sort things out. John’s hopes of immediate control were dashed, but he still schemed for the throne, sometimes in conjunction with the King of France, who was continuing a long tradition of interference in their rival. When Richard was captured returning from the crusade, John signed a deal with the French and made a move for the crown of England itself, but failed. However, John was prepared to surrender notable parts of his brother’s lands to the French in return for their recognition, and this became known. Consequently, when Richard’s ransom was paid, and he returned in 1194, John was exiled and stripped of all possessions. Richard relented some in 1195, returning some lands, and totally in 1196 when John became the heir to the English throne. John as King In 1199 Richard died - while on a campaign, killed by a (un)lucky shot, before he could ruin his reputation - and John claimed the throne of England. He was accepted by Normandy, and his mother secured Aquitaine, but his claim to the rest was in trouble. He had to fight and negotiate, and he was challenged by his nephew Arthur. In concluding peace, Arthur kept Brittany (held from John), while John held his lands from the King of France, who was recognized as John’s overlord on the continent, in a manner greater than was ever forced out of John’s father. This would have a crucial impact later in the reign. However, historians who have cast a careful eye over John’s early reign have identified a crisis had already begun: many nobles distrusted John because of his previous actions and doubted whether he would treat them correctly. The marriage to Isabella of Gloucester was dissolved because of alleged consanguinity, and John looked for a new bride. He found one in the form of another Isabella, heiress to Angoulà ªme, and he married her as he tried to involve himself in the machinations of the Angoulà ªme and Lusignan family. Unfortunately, Isabella had been engaged to Hugh IX de Lusignan, and the result was a rebellion by Hugh and the involvement of French King Philip II. Had Hugh married Isabella, he would have commanded a powerful region and threatened John’s power in Aquitaine, so the break benefitted John. But, while marrying Isabella was a provocation to Hugh, John continued to snub and anger the man, pushing his rebellion. In his position as French King, Philip ordered John to his court (as he could any other noble who held lands from him), but John refused. Philip then revoked John’s lands, and a war began, but this was more a move to strengthen the French crown than any vote of faith in Hugh. John began by capturing a mass of the leading rebels who were sieging his mother but threw the advantage away. However, one of the prisoners, his nephew Arthur of Brittany, mysteriously died, leading most to conclude murder by John. By 1204 the French had taken Normandy - John’s barons undermined his war plans in 1205 – and by the start of 1206 they’d taken Anjou, Maine and chunks of Poitou as nobles deserted John all over the place. John was in danger of losing all the lands his predecessors had gained on the continent, although he managed small gains during 1206 to stabilize things. After being forced both to reside in England more permanently and to produce more money from his kingdom for war, John proceeded to develop and strengthen the royal administration. On the one hand, this provided the crown with more resources and strengthened royal power, on the other it upset nobles and made John, already a military failure, even more unpopular. John toured extensively within England, hearing many court cases in person: he had a great personal interest in, and a great ability for, the administration of his kingdom, although the goal was always more money for the crown. When the see of Canterbury became available in 1206, John’s nomination – John de Gray - was canceled by Pope Innocent III, who secured Stephen Langton for the position. John objected, citing traditional English rights, but in the following argument, Innocent excommunicated John. The latter now started draining the church of funds, raising a large sum he partly spent on a new navy – John has been called the founder of the English navy - before conceding that the pope would be a useful ally against the French and coming to an agreement in 1212. John then handed his kingdom over to the Pope, who bestowed it on John as a vassal for a thousand marks a year. While this might seem curious, it was really a cunning way to get Papal support against both France, and against the rebel barons of 1215. By the end of 1214, John had succeeded in mending his bridges with the top of the church, but his actions had alienated many further down and his lords. It also angered the mona stic chroniclers and writers historians have to use and may be one reason why so many of the modern histories have been so critical of King John, while the modern historians are increasingly peeling criticism away. Well, not all of them. Rebellion and Magna Carta While many lords of England had grown discontented with John, only a few had rebelled against him, despite widespread baronial discontent stretching back to before John took the throne. However, in 1214 John returned to France with an army and failed to do any damage except gain a truce, having once more been let down by vacillating barons and the failures of allies. When he returned a minority of barons took the chance to rebel and demand a charter of rights, and when they were able to take London in 1215, John was forced into negotiations as he looked for a solution. These talks took place at Runnymede, and on June 15, 1215, an agreement was made on the Articles of the Barons. Later known as Magna Carta, this became one of the pivotal documents in English, and to some extents western, history. In the short term, Magna Carta lasted just three months before the war between John and the rebels continued. Innocent III supported John, who struck back hard at the baron’s lands, but he rejected a chance to attack London and instead wasted the north. This allowed time for the rebels to appeal to Prince Louis of France, for him to gather an army, and for a successful landing to take place. As John retreated north again rather than fight Louis, he may have lost a portion of his treasury and definitely fell ill and died. This proved a blessing for England as the regency of John’s son Henry were able to reissue Magna Carta, thus splitting the rebels into two camps, and Louis was soon ejected. Legacy Until the revisionism of the twentieth century, John was rarely well regarded by writers and historians. He lost wars and land and is seen as the loser by giving the Magna Carta. But John had a keen, incisive mind, which he applied well to government. Unfortunately, this was negated by an insecurity about people who could challenge him, by his attempts to control barons through fear and debt rather than conciliation, through his lack of magnanimity and insults. It is difficult to be positive about a man who lost generations of royal expansion, which will always be clearly chartable. Maps can make for grim reading. But theres little that merits calling King John evil, as a British newspaper did.