Wednesday, March 2, 2011

John Maynard Keynes in a mindmap

John Maynard Keynes (1883 - 1946) brought a revolution in economics theories and has laid the foundation of modern macroeconomics. Though being from the Marshallian school, he came up with his own theories mainly based on Aggregate Demand.

Get more on John Maynard Keynes from the following mindmap:



Learn more on John Maynard Keynes and his work from the following publications:


Karl Marx in a Mindmap

Considered as the father of communism, Karl Marx (1818 - 1883) influenced several political parties. He advocated a society where there is collective ownership and control of resources. He believes in the downfall of capitalist society where according to him the working class is exploited.

Learn more from the following mindmap:


Read more on Karl Marx and his ideologies from the following publications:

Alfred Marshall in a Mindmap

Famous economist Alfred Marshall (1842-1924) is considered as the one who introduced the concept of demand and supply as well as the concept of elasticity. His was closely associated with the University of Cambridge for having been successively a student, lecturer in mathematics and Chair of Political Economy.

Learn more about Alfred Marshall in the following mindmap.


Learn more on Alfred Marshall from the following publications:

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

Dolphin Watch at Tamarin

 
Dolphins in the bay of Tamarin


The bay of Tamarin is situated on the west coast of Mauritius, a small island, to the east of Madagascar, in the Indian Ocean.

The island of Mauritius is often compared to paradise for being so beautiful. As Marc Twain said Mauritius was created first then heaven was copied from it.





Mauritius became famous for its beautiful sun and clear blue sky and lagoons. The hospitality of its people and the delicious food are also highly appreciated.


Many attractions are available to visitors: Big game fishing, horse riding, glass bottom boats, quad, mountain climbing and many many more … and also dolphin watch.

Yes. Anyone can go for dolphin watch in Mauritius. Ideally in the early morning, take a boat from Tamarin and after half an hour trip you can enjoy seeing more than a hundred dolphins swimming and jumping around you. See the pictures taken. If you have a good camera, you’ll definitely be able to get better pics than what is on this blog.


Enjoy the doplhins doing their show
Land is visible and this should let you imagine how close the dolphins are to the shore
Next time you visit Mauritius do not miss this unique opportunity at very affordable price. Talk to your tour operator for more details.

Consult your travel guide for holiday ideas. Choose below:



Tuesday, February 22, 2011

Why do people swear?

Many times we wonder why people swear. And when it comes to young people, it is more astounding to hear them swearing openly on the streets, at the mall and even in the school compound itself. Besides, young people even write swear words on their desks, the walls, in the bus, at bus stations and anywhere else they are able to.

Swear words have always been considered taboo by various institutions like religion, media, school and even family. At school as well as at home, children are punished for swearing. Yet, the use of swear words at school has not ceased nor has it decreased.

But what is a swear word? A swear word is defined by the Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary as a rude or offensive word, used, for example, to express anger.

In general, swear words include words that are socially, culturally and religiously disapproved or even proscribed.

In early childhood, crying is an acceptable way to show emotion and relieve anxiety. As children (especially boys), grow up, society discourages them from crying, especially in public. But they still need a relief for strong emotions and so they swear.

Adiredja Aditya, Dedon Russell and Weitzman Margaret quoted Ashley Montagu’s Anatomy of Swearing in their writings Foul Mouth: The Ultimate Equalizer as follows:

“There is no doubt that swearing has a definite physiological function; for after childhood relief in tears and wailing is rightly discouraged […] Silence under suffering is usually impossible. The nervous system demands some expression that does not affect towards cowardice and feebleness and, as a nervous stimulant in a crisis, swearing in unequalled”.

Research on swear words

Different types of research have been made on the use of swear words, also referred to as taboo words. Dr. Timothy Jay, in his book “Why we curse” analyses the reasons why people swear at different perspectives.. He argues that there can be neurological factors for people to swear. He explains that swearing is controlled partly by the brain and the nervous system. According to his writings, a person may learn swear words through emotional speeches or stories. The same person uses swear words to express anxiety and anger. He also describes that there are psychological factors for people to swear. Each person acquires a language and an identity through a collection of behaviours, habits, traits, abilities, and mental processes; these factors influence his swearing. Dr. Timothy Jay also explains that there are social and cultural factors underlying swearing. Swear words are based on notions about religion, sexuality, taboo, disgust, and legal restrictions among others.

Another research on swearing was made by Mike Thelwall titled “Fk yea I swear: Cursing and gender in a corpus of MySpace pages” in January 2008. Mike Thelwall investigated the pattern of swearing on the social network MySpace. He analysed the pattern in terms of gender difference, age and location – he chose a comparison between UK and US as these are the two major national users of MySpace. Mike Thelwall found that generally UK citizens swear more frequently than US citizen. He also showed that for both regions, males swear more than females. While analysing the results in terms of age group, he showed that according to the research, people in the range 16 years to 19 years swear more than any other upper age groups for both gender types.

References

Adiredja Aditya, Dedon Russell, Weitzman Margaret (2003), Foul Mouth:The Ultimate Equalizer. http://www.linguistics.berkeley.edu/~rosemary/55-fall2003-studentpaper.pdf

Jay Timothy (1999), Why we curse : a neuro-psycho-social theory of speech.

Thelwall Mike (2008), Fk yea I swear: Cursing and gender in a corpus of MySpace pages. United Kingdom: University of Wolverhampton

Sunday, January 30, 2011

Roses

The Queen of Flowers
and
The Flower of Queens

There is no flower more beautiful than a rose
And there is no fragrance more pleasant
Than the fragrance of a rose
No garden is one 
Which has no rose
And no lover is one
Who has not loved a rose

Roses exist in different species. In fact, it is said that there may exist hundreds of different types of roses. Rose plants vary from miniature shrubs to climbers that may reach as high as 7 metres. Colours vary: red, pink, yellow, white, cream, violet and sometimes even blue and black. There are also roses of more than one colour like pink and yellow, cream and red and many more.The rose is famous for the fact it is a beautiful and very delicate flower found on the top of a wooden stem full of prickles. It is associated with love and marriage which are compared to either a bed of roses or a bed of thorns. The rose is also referred to when people talk about difficulties in achieving wonderful things. It is said that one has to go through the cruel thorns before reaching the delicate rose.


                     A Rose for all season

Roses are cultivated as ornamental plants but also for the flowers. They are being offered for all occasions. The rose is a flower that has many meanings. It is a flower for all season. Each colour has a symbol and each quantity that one gives has a meaning.

Red rose symbolises love and passion, pink symbolises grace, white is for purity and yellow for friendship. Giving 3 roses is telling someone you love him/ her. Giving or receiving 108 roses is a marriage proposal.