Language and Citizenship

Language and Citizenship Language and Citizenship Language and Citizenship By Maeve Maddox Most countries have an â€Å"official† language. Several have more than one. Government business and schools are conducted in the official language. Official documents are printed in the official language. Knowledge of the country’s official language is usually one of the stated requirements for citizenship. For example, here are some language requirements I found in naturalization guidelines available on the web: Canada Be able to communicate in one of Canada’s official languages. France Provide proof of adequate knowledge of the French language. Germany Be able to speak German to B1 standard in the Common European Framework of Reference. Mexico Prove knowledge of Spanish and Mexican history. UK Be able to communicate in English, Welsh or Scottish Gaelic to an acceptable degree. USA Pass an English test Just how stringently the language requirement is enforced varies from place to place. Knowledge of Japanese is not specifically mentioned in the guidelines I found on line, but because an applicant for citizenship must complete the process entirely in Japanese, it’s unlikely that anyone could achieve citizenship without considerable fluency in the language. The UK has only recently required applicants for citizenship to provide proof they can speak the local language at the B1 level; the outcry against the stiffer requirements is still in progress. A speaker at the B1 level can understand the main points of clear standard input on familiar matters regularly encountered in work, school, leisure, etc. can deal with most situations likely to arise while traveling in an area where the language is spoken. can produce simple connected text on topics that are familiar or of personal interest. can describe experiences and events, dreams, hopes and ambitions and briefly give reasons and explanations for opinions and plans. Under a new rule, Canada now requires something similar to the European B1: â€Å"applicants [for citizenship] must provide objective evidence that they meet the language requirement, achieving the Canadian Language Benchmark/Niveau de compà ©tence linguistique canadien 4 speaking and listening, when they file their application.† The United States government, on the other hand, is not only very generous in providing test waivers, but it doesn’t provide much of a test to those who can’t claim exemption. A new citizen commenting at the Business Week site describes his experience: I prepared for three months for this exam. [] For the reading part of the exam, I was asked to read the following sentence: Today is a sunny day. For the writing part of the exam, I was asked to write the following words: Today is a sunny day. [] I was flat out insulted. It doesn’t seem unreasonable to expect immigrants who plan to spend the rest of their lives in a country to learn to speak the country’s language of government and education. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:50 Synonyms for â€Å"Leader†Story Writing 101Words That Begin with Q

Current Sources of Basic Legislation in the UK Case Study

Current Sources of Basic Legislation in the UK - Case Study Example A company is said to be a private limited liability company if it is incorporated under the laws of either of the following: Scotland, England, Republic of Ireland, and Wales. In addition its shares are strictly limited to a specific group of shareholders but not the general public, consequently cannot be put for trading on a commercial stock exchange.1 The fact that the company is limited by shares is an indication of the presence and ownership of company capital by shareholders who are equally bound by the company's liability to creditors and other third-party institutions and agents. Going by the conventional rules governing the issuance of shares, shareholders and their personal effects are legally insulated from confiscation during insolvency save the value of the premium paid and the nominal value of the shares owned and issued by the company. According to the laws of the United Kingdom, all private limited liability companies are mandated to bear the suffix "Limited" abbreviated as "Ltd." The Case of John and his Partners Suffice to begin this section with a definite reference to the new Company and Companies Act 2006, will serve as the main reference framework of this paper. According to the act which will become functional in the last quarter of this year.

Apple E-book Antitrust Lawsuit Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Apple E-book Antitrust Lawsuit - Essay Example They forced the Amazon to increase the e-books prices on the rival kindle. The five publishers were HarperCollins, Simon & Schuster, Penguin, Hachette, and Macmillan. HarperCollins, Hachette, and Simon & Schuster (owned by CBS) have cleared with the department of justice. Macmillan and Apple have declined to negotiate (Banks 127). They have said that they never colluded in the increase of the e-books prices. The publishers had already complained that the $9.99 price for e-books set by the Amazon was greatly discounted. This was before the introduction of the iPad and the iBookstore. After the iPads were unveiled into the market, Apple prices were set at $12.99 together with a Californian-based company (Cupertino).This allowed publishers to set the ‘agency model’, which was the individual prices for companies. Amazon took an immediate action to allow publishers to set their own prices too. This rose up the digital edition prices (Banks 129). The major allegations toward A pple Company are that it facilitated the collective efforts of the publishers to terminate retail price competition because it encouraged the agency model among the retailers. According to the CNN money report, the conspiracy was first alleged in a class action lawsuit in California District Court by kindle consumers during last summer. They argued that booksellers were terrified by the discounted price of the e-book structure launched by Amazon in 2007 (Ceruzzi 415). The department of justice could lose the e-book antitrust suit while targeting the Apple Company. The alleged suit stretches the antitrust law and could probably end in defeat. In 1982, embarrassed department of justice confessed its antitrust lawsuit against IBM.It abandoned the case because the case was â€Å"without merit† (Ceruzzi 437). In 2001, Microsoft Company had been divided into two different companies by a federal appeal court because of the department ambition to formulate the antitrust law. Accordin g to Geoffrey Manne, a lecturer at the Lewis and Clark School in Oregon, the case is harder against Apple than the publishers. As stated in the (justice department complaint 36), Apple was not present at the breakfast meeting at the London hotel and dinners at the Manhattan’s posh Picholine restaurant. He also said that it is not good for competing firms to meet without the presence of lawyers (Ellig 270). Other than Apple, the justice department has a better case against publishers. Dominick Armentamo; a professor in economics at Hartford University argued that the chief executive officers of the publisher who met at the hotel rooms to discuss the price changes can also settle the prices. According to Richard Epstein, a legal scholar and a law professor at the University of NewYork, there are difficulties in the department of justice case against the publishers because it will take time to hear the whole case. He says that the charge is a mistake. The attorney general (Eric Holder) accused the defendants to the case of creating a â€Å"conspiracy.† The version of events used by Holder did not blame the publishers on the agreement toward specified prices. If in any case they agreed on something, it was on the agency model. It meant that Apple’s iBookstore was better as compared to the Amazon.com wholesale model (Page and Lopata 340). Apple and other publishers had benefited from the serial precedents of the supreme court of the United States as from 1970s.This is the issue that the department of

Cafeteria Food Essay Example for Free

Cafeteria Food Essay Some people think that school cafeterias should be required to provide low-fat and/or vegetarian lunch options to accommodate the government’s nutritional guidelines, but all students do not eat the same. In my essay about cafeteria food, I will explain what students want in their food. I will also share the likes and dislikes in the food and what we can do to improve it. Cold pizza, undercooked hamburgers and brown lettuce sounds nasty. Many students from different states and districts have to deal with that every day at their schools. The food from the cafeterias used to be good, with a sweet flavor, but in the last few years the food had taken a different flavor, a flavor that cannot be tolerated by the students. The students need a better quality in their food, don’t they? It’s time for a change, a change to food, so students can be satisfied while their eating, a change to food that can be really worth it. As a matter of fact, we students pay money to the district every year and this is what we get? It’s time for a change. Everybody knows that eating healthy was from the past. However, now students and not necessarily just students eat fast food like McDonalds or Taco Bell. Now everybody does, which can be a good and a bad thing. The changes of the food’s taste has made many students to not eat at school, or even made students to bring lunch, and this as a matter of fact causes the school to lose money. In all actuality is the loss of money causing the school to give students poorly made food? If the schools would serve students food from places like Pizza Hut and Subway I can guarantee that most or all students would eat at the cafeterias and it would benefit to both school and students. These types of foods would be so great to have in schools, but unfortunately the district and the governments have taken action and unfairly, they have set down laws that prohibit these foods in the schools. They have settled these laws because they want us as students to eat healthy, but if they want to keep us healthy, why are they giving us food with a bad and nasty taste? Also, with these laws they keep students like me away from eating too much â€Å"junk† food because they can cause obesity. But do they keep on giving us food that is not even worth the amount of money our parents give to the government every year? If they were the ones who eat all of the nasty food given by the cafeteria they would of get tired of eating cold pizza and uncooked hamburgers with brown lettuce just like we the students do. In conclusion, we all understand what the government and the school system is trying to do with this healthy eating program. They want to promote healthy eating habits in an effort to prevent obesity. Although nutrition is important, students feel that there is a better way to have healthy food without ruining the taste. Therefore, in an effort to keep students healthy and leave with their stomachs satisfied we should all come together to realize that we are the ones that have to make it through the school day with the food.

Sports Information :: essays research papers

The Minnesota Vikings opened their developmental camp for veterans on Monday morning at Winter Park. The Vikings had a very high player turnout for their first session on Monday, including free agent signees Kenny Mixon, Lorenzo Bromell, Corey Chavous, and Henri Crockett. The developmental camp will run Monday-Wednesday and the Vikings will have workouts, classroom work, and weightlifting. â€Å"I thought the work was good,† Mike Tice said. â€Å"I thought the tempo was good today. I had to pull them back a little bit because I was worried about somebody getting hurt. But I thought the tempo was excellent and the guys understand that they have to be in good shape in order to keep up.† The only veterans not at Monday’s workout were defensive tackle Darius Holland and newly signed tight end Hunter Goodwin and punter Kyle Richardson. Tice said Holland had a death in the family and that Goodwin would likely be on the field tomorrow and Richardson on Wednesday. The Vikings will have their first mini-camp this weekend, when the team’s draft picks and rookie free agents will join the veterans for practices. â€Å"There is definitely a sense of excitement on both sides of the ball,† Byron Chamberlain said. â€Å"I think guys were eager to get out here after what seemed like a long offseason. Any time you win five games and lose 11, it tends to be a pretty long offseason. There is a sense of excitement with the moves we made in the draft and free agency and just seeing guys out here for the first time.† Notes The Vikings signed rookie free agent wide receiver Kelly Campbell on Monday. Campbell played for Vikings’ defensive line coach George O’Leary at Georgia Tech, where he had 56 catches for 708 yards and three touchdowns in 2001. He is Georgia Tech’s all-time leader in career catches (198), receiving yards (2,907) and touchdowns (24). Comments from Monday Daunte Culpepper On his knee I’m fine. I’ve just rehabbed it real good this offseason. I’m feeling real good. I’m over 90 percent and I’m ready to go. (It just) needs a little more strengthening, that’s all. I can run. I would like to strengthen it a little bit more so it’s equal to my right, or even stronger. On Bryant McKinnie He definitely is a blessing to us and definitely to myself. I’m glad that we got him. I was hoping and praying that we would, and I couldn’t believe that he dropped to number seven.

Gloablization Positive and Negative Impact

Advantages of Globalization Globalization means increasing the interdependence, connectivity and integration on a global level with respect to the social, cultural, political, technological, economic and ecological levels. Advantages * Goods and people are transported with ease and speed * the possibility of war between the developed countries decreases * free trade between countries increases * global mass media connects all the people in the world as the cultural barriers reduce, the global village dream becomes more realistic * there is a propagation of democratic ideals * the interdependence of the nation-states increases * as the liquidity of capital increases, developed countries can invest in developing ones * the flexibility of corporations to operate across borders increases * the communication between the individuals and corporations in the world increases * environmental protection in developed countries increases Effects of Globalization enhancement in the information flo w between geographically remote locations * the global common market has a freedom of exchange of goods and capital * there is a broad access to a range of goods for consumers and companies * worldwide production markets emerge * free circulation of people of different nations leads to social benefits * global environmental problems like cross-boundary pollution, over fishing on oceans, climate changes are solved by discussions * more trans-border data flow using communication satellites, the Internet, wireless telephones, etc. international criminal courts and international justice movements are launched * the standards applied globally like patents, copyright laws and world trade agreements increase * corporate, national and sub-national borrowers have a better access to external finance * worldwide financial markets emerge * multiculturalism spreads as there is individual access to cultural diversity. This diversity decreases due to hybridization or assimilation * international t ravel and tourism increases * worldwide sporting events like the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup are held * enhancement in worldwide fads and pop culture local consumer products are exported to other countries * immigration between countries increases * cross-cultural contacts grow and cultural diffusion takes place * there is an increase in the desire to use foreign ideas and products, adopt new practices and technologies and be a part of world culture * free trade zones are formed having less or no tariffs * due to development of containerization for ocean shipping, the transportation costs are reduced * subsidies for local businesses decrease * capital controls reduce or vanquish there is supranational recognition of intellectual property restrictions, i. e. patents authorized by one country are recognized in another Advantages in the Developing World It is claimed that globalization increases the economic prosperity and opportunity in the developing world. The civil liberti es are enhanced and there is a more efficient use of resources. All the countries involved in the free trade are at a profit. As a result, there are lower prices, more employment and a better standard of life in these developing nations.It is feared that some developing regions progress at the expense of other developed regions. However, such doubts are futile as globalization is a positive-sum chance in which the skills and technologies enable to increase the living standards throughout the world. Liberals look at globalization as an efficient tool to eliminate penury and allow the poor people a firm foothold in the global economy. In two decades from 1981 to 2001, the number of people surviving on $1 or less per day decreased from 1. 5 billion to 1. 1 billion.Simultaneously, the world population also increased. Thus, the percentage of such people decreased from 40% to 20% in such developing countries. Globalization means increasing the interdependence, connectivity and integration on a global level with respect to the social, cultural, political, technological, economic and ecological levels. Advantages * Goods and people are transported with ease and speed * the possibility of war between the developed countries decreases * free trade between countries increases * global mass media connects all the people in the world as the cultural barriers reduce, the global village dream becomes more realistic * there is a propagation of democratic ideals * the interdependence of the nation-states increases * as the liquidity of capital increases, developed countries can invest in developing ones * the flexibility of corporations to operate across borders increases * the communication between the individuals and corporations in the world increases * environmental protection in developed countries increases Effects of Globalization enhancement in the information flow between geographically remote locations * the global common market has a freedom of exchange of goods and capital * there is a broad access to a range of goods for consumers and companies * worldwide production markets emerge * free circulation of people of different nations leads to social benefits * global environmental problems like cross-boundary pollution, over fishing on oceans, climate changes are solved by discussions * more trans-border data flow using communication satellites, the Internet, wireless telephones, etc. international criminal courts and international justice movements are launched * the standards applied globally like patents, copyright laws and world trade agreements increase * corporate, national and sub-national borrowers have a better access to external finance * worldwide financial markets emerge * multiculturalism spreads as there is individual access to cultural diversity. This diversity decreases due to hybridization or assimilation * international travel and tourism increases * worldwide sporting events like the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup re he ld * enhancement in worldwide fads and pop culture * local consumer products are exported to other countries * immigration between countries increases * cross-cultural contacts grow and cultural diffusion takes place * there is an increase in the desire to use foreign ideas and products, adopt new practices and technologies and be a part of world culture * free trade zones are formed having less or no tariffs * due to development of containerization for ocean shipping, the transportation costs are reduced * subsidies for local businesses decrease capital controls reduce or vanquish * there is supranational recognition of intellectual property restrictions, i. e. patents authorized by one country are recognized in another Advantages in the Developing World It is claimed that globalization increases the economic prosperity and opportunity in the developing world. The civil liberties are enhanced and there is a more efficient use of resources. All the countries involved in the free tra de are at a profit. As a result, there are lower prices, more employment and a better standard of life in these developing nations.It is feared that some developing regions progress at the expense of other developed regions. However, such doubts are futile as globalization is a positive-sum chance in which the skills and technologies enable to increase the living standards throughout the world. Liberals look at globalization as an efficient tool to eliminate penury and allow the poor people a firm foothold in the global economy. In two decades from 1981 to 2001, the number of people surviving on $1 or less per day decreased from 1. 5 billion to 1. 1 billion. Simultaneously, the world population also increased.Thus, the percentage of such people decreased from 40% to 20% in such developing countries. The Negative Effects of Globalization globalization point out to its negative effects. Some of them are listed below. * Developed nations have outsourced manufacturing and white collar j obs. That means less jobs for their people. This has happened because manufacturing work is outsourced to developing nations like China where the cost of manufacturing goods and wages are lower. Programmers, editors, scientists and accountants have lost their jobs due to outsourcing to cheaper locations like India. Globalization has led to exploitation of labor. Prisoners and child workers are used to work in inhumane conditions. Safety standards are ignored to produce cheap goods. * Job insecurity. Earlier people had stable, permanent jobs. Now people live in constant dread of losing their jobs to competition. Increased job competition has led to reduction in wages and consequently lower standards of living. * Terrorists have access to sophisticated weapons enhancing their ability to inflict damage. Terrorists use the Internet for communicating among themselves. Companies have set up industries causing pollution in countries with poor regulation of pollution. * Fast food chains lik e McDonalds and KFC are spreading in the developing world. People are consuming more junk food from these joints which has an adverse impact on their health. * The benefits of globalization is not universal. The rich are getting richer and the poor are becoming poorer. * Bad apects of foreign cultures are affecting the local cultures through TV and the Internet. * Enemy nations can spread propaganda through the Internet. Deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS are being spread by travelers to the remotest corners of the globe. * Local industries are being taken over by foreign multinationals. * The increase in prices has reduced the government's ability to sustain social welfare schemes in developed countries. * There is increase in human trafficking. * Multinational Companies and corporations which were previously restricted to commercial activities are increasingly influencing political decisions. Disadvantages of Globalization So what's the harm if the entire world is coming together on a common platform?Why are we even discussing whether globalization is good or bad for the world? As we said earlier, everything has a good side and a bad side. The bad side of globalization predominantly revolves around the fact that the preferences differ from nation to nation, and coming to a consensus on any issue becomes more difficult when too many nods are required. When it comes to globalization, the difference between the rich and poor nation can be a major hindrance. Even though the richer nations will try to assimilate and help poor nations come up, they will not sacrifice on their national interests willingly.Economic Problems:Â  If the entire world becomes a global village, any sort of economic disruption in one nation will have a disastrous impact on various other nations which are closely related to it in terms of trade and commerce. It will be a domino-effect wherein disturbance in one economy would result in disturbance in another, and so on! Cultural Problems:Â  Cul ture and globalization also seem to be at the loggerheads. Critics of globalization are also of the opinion that it will hamper the age-old cultures which have been followed religiously all over the world.There are many countries in the world which would never agree to compromise when it comes to culture or religion. Migration will become even easier, and the influence of local cultures and traditions will slowly start to wear down. Incessant westernization of Southeast Asian nations has already put western cultural beliefs and traditions under the scanner in these countries. Unemployment:Â  One may feel that globalization is promoting employment, but the fact is exactly reverse of this is happening, especially in developed countries wherein people are losing jobs as a result of outsourcing.Several major companies from the United States and United Kingdom have outsourced their jobs to the developing nations in Asia, this has in turn resulted in unemployment in these countries. Spre ad of Diseases:Â  Increase in flow of people will also result in spread of diseases, and thus make people more vulnerable to health issues. We do have many examples in history wherein outbreak of a particular disease happened in some part of the world, and before we could realize it spread throughout the world.The critics of globalization and those involved in anti-globalization movement often argue that the implications of this phenomenon will be seen in economics, culture, health and employment, and most of the countries are not ready to take on these disadvantages head-on. Taking their seriousness into consideration, it is not at all possible to turn a blind eye towards these negative effects of globalization. The need of the hour, therefore, is to evaluate the pros and cons of this concept to find out which of the two have an edge over the other.

Plier - to Fold, Bend - French Verb Conjugations