Letter Writing - Definition and Examples

Letter Writing s Letter writing is the exchange of written or printed messages. Distinctions are commonly drawn between personal letters (sent between family members, friends, or acquaintances) and business letters (formal exchanges with businesses or government organizations). Letter writing occurs in many forms and formats, including notes, letters, and postcards. Sometimes referred to as hard copy or snail mail, letter writing is often distinguished from forms of computer-mediated communication (CMC), such as email and texting. In his book Yours Ever: People and Their Letters (2009), Thomas Mallon identifies some of the subgenres of the letter, including the Christmas card, the chain letter, the mash note, the bread-and-butter letter, the ransom note, the begging letter, the dunning letter, the letter of recommendation, the unsent letter, the Valentine, and the war-zone dispatch. Observations The test, I think, of a good letter is a very simple one. If one seems to hear the person talking as one reads the letter, it is a good letter.(A.C. Benson, Letter-Writing. Along the Road, 1913)The art of beautiful letter writing has declined with our supposed advances, [Alvin Harlow] lamenteda cry we have been hearing ever more often in the eighty years since his book appeared. Those of us with a strong inclination toward the past must remember that, to its early writers, the handwritten or even chiseled letter must itself have seemed a marvel of modernity, and surely, even in Queen Atossas time, there were those who complained that letter writingby its nature a virtual activitywas cutting down on all the face time that civilized Persians had previously enjoyed.(Thomas Mallon, Yours Ever: People and Their Letters. Random House, 2009)Literary CorrespondenceThe age of the literary correspondence is dying, slowly but surely electrocuted by the superconductors of high modernity. This ex piration was locked into a certainty about 20 years ago; and although William Trevor and V.S. Naipaul, say, may yet reward us, it already sounds fogeyish to reiterate that, no, we wont be seeing, and we wont be wanting to see, the selected faxes and emails, the selected texts and tweets of their successors.(Martin Amis, Philip Larkins Women. The Guardian, October 23, 2010) Historical RecordsSo much of what we know of the world stems from private letters. Our principal eyewitness account of Vesuvius derives from a letter from Pliny the Younger to the Roman historian Tacitus. Our knowledge of the Roman world has been hugely enriched by the discovery in the early 1970s of inky messages on oak and birch discovered not far from Hadrians Wall in Britain. The letters of Henry VIII to Anne Boleyn and of Napoleon to Josephine show infatuation, weakness and angeruseful additions to rounded character portraits. The list carries on to the present day, with recently collected correspondence by Paul Cezanne, P.G. Wodehouse and Christopher Isherwood adding nuance to influential lives.(Simon Garfield, The Lost Art of Letter-Writing. The Wall Street Journal, November 16-17, 2013)The Future of Letter WritingAll communication is human-madebased upon some form of technology. It is not that some forms of communication are free from technology but rather that all modes of c ommunication are based upon a complex relationship between the current cultural practices and the material resources necessary to support the technology. . . .Though CMC [computer-mediated communication] may, for those with access, replace letters as a means of rapid personal communication [the] lack of material fixity ensures a continued role for letters. By making a physical mark in the process of communication, letters for the moment support a number of social practices and conventions where authorship, authenticity and originality need to be ensured (e.g. in legal or business interactions).(Simeon J. Yates, Computer-Mediated Communication: The Future of the Letter? Letter Writing as a Social Practice, ed. by David Barton and Nigel Hall. John Benjamins, 2000) Jail MailIn prisons across the country, with their artificial pre-Internet worlds where magazines are one of the few connections to the outside and handwritten correspondence is the primary form of communication, the art of the pen-to-paper letter to the editor is thriving. Magazine editors see so much of it that they have even coined a term for these letters: jail mail.(Jeremy W. Peters, The Handwritten Letter, an Art All but Lost, Thrives in Prison. The New York Times, Jan. 7, 2011)Electronic Letter-WritingWhen I sift through my past weeks electronic in-box, I find easily half a dozen messages that qualify as letters in every traditional sense. They are coherently structured, written with care and design. They enlighten, they illuminate, they endear. They even follow the old epistolary ritual of signing off (not yours ever, but some venerable variant: yours . . . cheers . . . all best . . . xo). . . .[T]hese messages would probably never have come my way if the senders had been obl iged to take out pen and paper. Indeed, it is the very facility of electronic communication that makes the Luddite soul tremble. . . .Even in the age of tweets and pokes and blasts, the impulse to bring order to our thoughts and lives persists, and at the risk of sounding like a technojingoist, one might argue that technology facilitates this impulse as much as it impedes it.​(Louis Bayard, Personal Compositions. The Wilson Quarterly, Winter 2010)

Battle of Kwajalein in World War II

Battle of Kwajalein in World War II The Battle of Kwajalein occurred January 31 to February 3, 1944 in the Pacific Theater of World War II (1939-1945). Moving forward from victories in the Solomons and Gilbert Islands in 1943, Allied forces sought to penetrate the next ring of Japanese defenses in the central Pacific. Attacking into the Marshall Islands, the Allies occupied Majuro and then commenced operations against Kwajalein. Striking at both ends of the atoll, they succeeded in eliminating the Japanese opposition after brief but fierce battles. The triumph opened the way for the subsequent capture of Eniwetok and a campaign against the Marianas.   Background In the wake of the American victories at Tarawa and Makin in November 1943, Allied forces continued their island-hopping campaign by moving against Japanese positions in Marshall Islands. Part of the Eastern Mandates, the Marshalls were originally a German possession and were awarded to Japan after World War I. Considered part of the outer ring of Japanese territory, planners in Tokyo decided after the loss of the Solomons and New Guinea that the islands were expendable. With this in mind, what troops were available were shifted to the area to make the islands capture as costly as possible. Japanese Preparations Led by Rear Admiral Monzo Akiyama, Japanese forces in the Marshalls consisted of the 6th Base Force which initially numbered approximately 8,100 men and 110 aircraft. While a sizable force, Akiyamas strength was diluted by the need to spread his command over the entirety of the Marshalls. In addition, many of Akiyamas troops were labor/construction details or naval forces with little ground combat training. As a result, Akiyama could only muster around 4,000 effectives. Believing the assault would strike one of the outlying islands first, he positioned the bulk of his men on Jaluit, Mili, Maloelap, and Wotje. In November 1943, American airstrikes began whittling down Akiyamas air power, destroying 71 aircraft. These were partially replaced over the next several weeks by reinforcements flown in from Truk. On the Allied side, Admiral Chester Nimitz originally planned a series of assaults on the outer islands of the Marshalls, but upon learning of Japanese troop dispositions through ULTRA radio intercepts altered his approach. Rather than strike where Akiyamas defenses were strongest, Nimitz directed his forces to move against Kwajalein Atoll in the central Marshalls. Armies Commanders Allies Rear Admiral Richmond K. TurnerMajor General Holland M. Smithapprox. 42,000 men (2 divisions) Japanese Rear Admiral Monzo Akiyamaapprox. 8,100 men Allied Plans Designated Operation Flintlock, the Allied plan called for Rear Admiral Richmond K. Turners 5th Amphibious Force to deliver Major General Holland M. Smiths V Amphibious Corps to the atoll where Major General Harry Schmidts 4th Marine Division would assault the linked islands of Roi-Namur while Major General Charles Corletts 7th Infantry Division attacked Kwajalein Island. To prepare for the operation, Allied aircraft repeatedly struck Japanese airbases in the Marshalls through December. This saw B-24 Liberators stage through Baker Island to bomb a variety of strategic targets including the airfield on Mili. Subsequent strikes saw A-24 Banshees and B-25 Mitchells mount several raids across the Marshalls. Moving into position, US carriers began a concerted air offensive against Kwajalein on January 29, 1944. Two days later, US troops captured the small island of Majuro, 220 miles to the southeast, without a fight. This operation was conducted by the V Amphibious Corps Marine Reconnaissance Company and 2nd Battalion, 106th Infantry.    Coming Ashore That same day, members of the 7th Infantry Division landed on small islands, dubbed Carlos, Carter, Cecil, and Carlson, near Kwajalein to establish artillery positions for the assault on the island. The next day, the artillery, with additional fire from US warships, including USS Tennessee (BB-43), opened fire on Kwajalein Island. Pummeling the island, the bombardment allowed the 7th Infantry to land and easily overcome the Japanese resistance. The attack was also aided by the weak nature of the Japanese defenses which could not be built in depth due to the islands narrowness.   Fighting continued for four day with the Japanese mounting nightly counterattacks. On February 3, Kwajalein Island was declared secure. Roi-Namur At the north end of the atoll, elements of the 4th Marines followed a similar strategy and established fire bases on islands dubbed Ivan, Jacob, Albert, Allen, and Abraham. Attacking Roi-Namur on February 1, they succeeded in securing the airfield on Roi that day and eliminated Japanese resistance on Namur the next day. The largest single loss of life in the battle occurred when a Marine threw a satchel charge into a bunker containing torpedo warheads. The resulting blast killed 20 Marines and wounded several others. Aftermath The victory at Kwajalein broke a hole through the Japanese outer defenses and was a key step in the Allies island-hopping campaign. Allied losses in the battle numbered 372 killed and 1,592 wounded. Japanese casualties are estimated at 7,870 killed/wounded and 105 captured. In assessing the outcome at Kwajalein, Allied planners were pleased to find that the tactical changes made after the bloody assault on Tarawa had bore fruit and plans were made to attack Eniwetok Atoll on February 17. For the Japanese, the battle demonstrated that beachline defenses were too vulnerable to attack and that defense in-depth was necessary if they hoped to stop Allied assaults.

Topic 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Topic 2 - Essay Example It was analyzed using simple analytical tools. The study found out that teens had a lot of influence in their parents' consumption pattern. The concept of marketing has become broad and refined with seemingly segmentation of the market. It has been well studied to come up with the best marketing strategy for organization. This is because marketing forms the core operation of any profit oriented organization. It is a powerful tool for a business to have a breakthrough in its existence. Currently the scholarly world is concerned with studying the effects of having an effective marketing strategy based on different market segments. (Willis, 1990) Market segmentation has continued to grow day by day as more and more researches are revealing needs of different segments of the market. It has tried to shift from tradition segmentation of male and females, old and young, and other segmentation to more refined one. It has also seen the emergence of consumer clubs sub-culture which has driven the market in another direction. These clubs have gone on marketing spree at one time buying particular goods which seemingly identifies a particular club. (Hall, 1997) Sarah (1997a) defines Culture as some particular values or tastes that define a particular group of people. A sub-culture is a division of a culture with particular tastes or values that are not shared with other members of a culture. Marketing have been targeting a particular subculture within a diverse culture. This has become a valued aspect in any marketing strategy. This is important to address various demographic characteristics that are evident in a particular culture. It has become evident that people within a culture do not share the same values and tastes. For example it will be difficult to find the old and the young sharing the same tastes in fashions. This has become important to address the needs of every subculture and also to help create a notable difference between the two sub-cultures. Marketers have been using the concept of sub-cultures to develop refined marketing strategies that address the needs of each and every group in a culture and on the other hand to mar ket product that are seemingly acceptable to consumers. (Donovan and Henley, 2003) The strategy of manufacturing and branding goods targeting the whole population has not bee very successful. It has led to pile up of goods in warehouse due to low sales. Market research data has revealed manufacturing and branding goods with a particular target to a group with a clear knowledge of its demands in terms of purchase power and the consumption pattern. For example the teen group has been found to fast in consumption compared to the old. A senile member of the community will buy a pair of shoe once in a year while a teen of the same community will have bought more than three pairs of shoes in the same time bracket. This

Advanced Marine Design Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Advanced Marine Design - Coursework Example Substantial modifications have been installed in the design to include the hull form characteristics and standard dimensions to iterate certain design arrangements. This marine craft is a high-speed aluminum planing hull with similar screw diesel thrust and heavy buildup. The key facets that have been well-thought-out in the designing procedure of the craft include the effects, needs, dimensional ratios, form features, resistance, propulsion and strength of the ship and its outline (Mizine, Brenner and Harries, 2011, p. 1). Corresponding dimensional ratios I. Influences Increasing anxiety over the creation of the general design of the marine craft, its incorporation, with production, sustenance and renovation has created specific attention (Mizine, Brenner and Harries, 2011, p. 1). This focus influences the functions and needs of automatic designs and production, and the application of information technology aspects. Initiation of computerized instruments has made this design employ the attempt of enhancing the design guidelines with the aim of advancing the performance and security of the ship and its structures. The depiction of the hull configurations for such a high-speed marine crafts is the most significant aspect that greatly influences all stages of the design project (Mizine, Brenner and Harries, 2011, p. 1)... This mainly applies for traditional marine crafts that make this design appear and perform as a modern and improved structure of traveling and warring purposes (Mizine, Brenner and Harries, 2011, p. 2). III. Principle dimensional ratios The accompanying dimensional ratios have been recognized with a program that gets a grip of the function played by the three-dimensional computer displaying in current ship design exercise. This exercise involves training in numerous current utilized three-dimensional project apparatuses like the current design (Mizine, Brenner and Harries, 2011, p. 2). To get to the opening principle features of the ship’s design structure, a database of similar vessels were covered. To commence the design, it was already established that planing hulls need a coefficient of velocity (CV) of 2, Savitsky, operating under the theory of Hydrodynamic Design of Planing Hulls. The marine technology used in this design also employs a cruising velocity that is supposed to be approximately 30 knots. Using these values and the theory that establishes Savitsky’s equation: CV = V/ (g*B).5 A distance of 20 feet was initiated for the marine craft’s beam. Afterwards, the equation was deployed to control this measurement: L = 9.8489*B –91.585 = 105 feet Knowing the length, the relationship shown in the design was used to realize the displacement: ? = 2.2244*L –120.01 = 113.55 LT Lastly, from the calculation, a value for the current was realized: ? = 56.857*T – 253.56 T = 5.5 feet Consequently, preliminary principal dimensions were as follows: L = 105 feet B = 20 feet T = 5.5 feet IV. Form characteristics on stability Certain incorporation techniques, Bonjean curves, dampened exteriors and

Yoga Essay -- essays research papers

The term Yoga has a few meanings. It's both a school of thought in the Hindu religion, and a system of mental and physical exercise developed by this school. All forms of yoga originated in India. People who follow this school, and practice any form of yoga are called yogis, or yogins. Students study under prolonged and careful guidance of the teacher, known as the guru. The first syllable 'gu,'; in Sanskrit means light; the second syllable, 'ru'; means light. A guru is a spiritual teacher who leads the pupil from darkness to light. Literally, yoga means 'the union of mind and body.'; In Sanskrit, the language of India, yoga means discipline. Many people in western countries practice some form of yoga exercise in hope of improving their health, and achieving peace of mind. Various forms of yoga have become popular in Europe and the United States. Transcendental Meditation is a simplified version of the yoga of Hinduism. Bhakti-Yoga involves the dedication of all actions and thoughts to a chosen God. Hatha-Yoga, stresses difficult bodily postures and breathing techniques. It has become very popular as a method of gaining and improving health. Certain people also study this form of yoga because of the control they develop over certain bodily functions. A new concept in fitness combines gentle stretching with techniques from Hatha Yoga to perform the most effective, relaxing ways of exercising. It is called Yogacise. There are other forms of yoga that are practiced in India. T...

Immigrant assimilation Essay

Immigrant assimilation is a well known process in which a group of immigrations change their culture in order to adapt with the dominant society, which are the native people of a certain country. In the United States, this process had been widespread since the early 1800s, where immigrants gradually become similiar with natives. There are two kinds of assimilations. The first one is that immigrants are becoming more similar over time in norms, and behaviors, while the second one , the racialor ethnic disadvantage model states that mostly black immigrants or other races that are discriminated have no chance to assimilate. An example of this model is discrimination to job opportunities. There were three theoretical explanation referring to assimilation. In 1845 Ralph Emerson referred to assimilitaion as the main idea for imigrants of changing themselves in an equal way, because not only the europians, but also the other races can contribute to the new formed citizens. Mead and Kwan stu died a person’s treatment in society for what he truly is and not categorizing people in racial minorities. Robert Park interpretated assimilitation as a process in which people share experiences together and in this way help the immigrants to be part of the american mainstream life. He viewed this process as the end of the stage of race cycle. After World War 1, he and Thomas, after some studies of immigrants in Chicago,explained that it will be easier if immigrant groups were left to make this process happen slowly and not being forced to change because of the feeling discriminated. It has been proved that people were more efficient this way, and assimilation shows inwhat direction are these people actually moving or changing. The third theory shows Gordon’s points of view. He explained assimilation through acculuration, which according to him is a one way process where the minority integrates with the majority. He also focused on the generational change because he noticed that the first generation of people that were born somewhere else in the world were less assimilated than the second one, their children. The measurable aspects of assimilation are socioeconomic status, spatial concentration, language attainment, and intermarriage. The first one refers to education, wealth, and occupation. The second one is defined by residential patterns, while the third one indicated their first language, and the last one is defined by race or ethnicity. I agree on Gordon’s statement about the generation change and the segmented assimilation theory which focuses on the notion that people adapt in different ways with their life in the United States, depending on their social and economic factors. Immigrants come from diverse backgrounds, and their children known as second generation immigrants, have another experience regarding cultural conflict compared to their parents and that of mainstream american society. These second generation immigrants seem to assimilate into society easier. Three major groups including Hispanics, African Americans, and Asian Americans make up the population of second generation immigrants in the United States. Latinos have resulted really successful in businesses in LA and Miami, and a lot of new students are enrolled in schools. In contrast to their parents, second generation Hispanics are more likely to intermarry with members of other racial groups. The second generation immigrants of African Americans seem to be more aware of racial discrimination. In addition, the assimilation into black society and black culture in the U.S. by these children is hindered by their parents’ oppositional stance to American black culture, contributing to identity conflict. A considering percentage of the Asian population in the U.S. can be categorized as a second generation immigrants. Again, we can see the segmented assimilation theory in practice here because the cultural assimilation of second generation Asians is diverse, where many are highly educated, which results that asians have achieved a lot and consist on middle class families. The second generation of immigrants are truly part of the society and should not be considered foreign. In conlusion, immigrant assimilation is a complex process in which immigrants not only fully integrate themselves into a new country, but also lose a lot of aspects of their native cultures. The most common route to economic well-being for the young adults is to join the mainstream. This meticulously researched project shows that immigrant youths in fact fare better than both their parents and their native counterparts. This second generation advantage reflects the systematic differences between immigrant and native groups For example, adult children of immigrants are more likely to live at home in multigenerational households than native bourns. Moreover, the presence of extended family members could allow for more working adults to pool income together, and thus make more resources available per child.

Calculating Concentrations with Units and Dilutions

Calculating the concentration of a chemical  solution  is a basic skill all students of chemistry must develop early in their studies. What is concentration? Concentration refers to the amount of solute that is dissolved in a solvent. We normally think of a solute as a solid that is added to a solvent (e.g., adding table salt to water), but the solute could easily exist in another phase. For example, if we add a small amount of ethanol to water, then the ethanol is the solute, and the water is the solvent. If we add a smaller amount of water to a larger amount of ethanol, then the water could be the solute! How To Calculate Units of Concentration Once you have identified the solute and solvent in a solution, you are ready to determine its concentration. Concentration may be expressed several different ways, using percent composition by mass, volume percent, mole fraction, molarity, molality, or normality. Percent Composition by Mass (%)This is the mass of the solute divided by the mass of the solution (mass of solute plus mass of solvent), multiplied by 100.Example:Determine the percent composition by mass of a 100 g salt solution which contains 20 g salt.Solution:20 g NaCl / 100 g solution x 100 20% NaCl solutionVolume Percent (% v/v) Volume percent or volume/volume percent most often is used when preparing solutions of liquids. Volume percent is defined as:v/v % [(volume of solute)/(volume of solution)] x 100%Note that volume percent is relative to the volume of the solution, not the volume of solvent. For example, wine is about 12% v/v ethanol. This means there is 12 ml ethanol for every 100 ml of wine. It is important to realize liquid and gas volumes are not necessarily additive. If you mix 12 ml of ethanol and 100 ml of wine, you will get less than 112 ml of solution.As another example, 70% v/v rubbing alcohol may be prepared by taking 700 ml of isopropyl alcohol and adding su fficient water to obtain 1000 ml of solution (which will not be 300 ml).Mole Fraction (X) This is the number of moles of a compound divided by the total number of moles of all chemical species in the solution. Keep in mind, the sum of all mole fractions in a solution always equals 1.Example:What are the mole fractions of the components of the solution formed when 92 g glycerol is mixed with 90 g water? (molecular weight water 18; molecular weight of glycerol 92)Solution:90 g water 90 g x 1 mol / 18 g 5 mol water92 g glycerol 92 g x 1 mol / 92 g 1 mol glyceroltotal mol 5 1 6 molxwater 5 mol / 6 mol 0.833x glycerol 1 mol / 6 mol 0.167Its a good idea to check your math by making sure the mole fractions add up to 1:xwater xglycerol .833 0.167 1.000Molarity (M) Molarity is probably the most commonly used unit of concentration. It is the number of moles of solute per liter of solution (not necessarily the same as the volume of solvent!).Example:What is the molarity of a s olution made when water is added to 11 g CaCl2 to make 100 mL of solution? (The molecular weight of CaCl2 110)Solution:11 g CaCl2 / (110 g CaCl2 / mol CaCl2) 0.10 mol CaCl2100 mL x 1 L / 1000 mL 0.10 Lmolarity 0.10 mol / 0.10 Lmolarity 1.0 MMolality (m) Molality is the number of moles of solute per kilogram of solvent. Because the density of water at 25 °C is about 1 kilogram per liter, molality is approximately equal to molarity for dilute aqueous solutions at this temperature. This is a useful approximation, but remember that it is only an approximation and doesnt apply when the solution is at a different temperature, isnt dilute, or uses a solvent other than water.Example:What is the molality of a solution of 10 g NaOH in 500 g water? (Molecular weight of NaOH is 40)Solution:10 g NaOH / (40 g NaOH / 1 mol NaOH) 0.25 mol NaOH500 g water x 1 kg / 1000 g 0.50 kg watermolality 0.25 mol / 0.50 kgmolality 0.05 M / kgmolality 0.50 mNormality (N) Normality is equal to the gr am equivalent weight of a solute per liter of solution. A gram equivalent weight or equivalent is a measure of the reactive capacity of a given molecule. Normality is the only concentration unit that is reaction dependent.Example:1 M sulfuric acid (H2SO4) is 2 N for acid-base reactions because each mole of sulfuric acid provides 2 moles of H ions. On the other hand, 1 M sulfuric acid is 1 N for sulfate precipitation, since 1 mole of sulfuric acid provides 1 mole of sulfate ions.Grams per Liter (g/L)This is a simple method of preparing a solution based on grams of solute per liter of solution.Formality (F)A formal solution is expressed regarding formula weight units per liter of solution.Parts per Million (ppm) and Parts per Billion (ppb)Used for extremely dilute solutions, these units express the ratio of parts of solute per either 1 million parts of the solution or 1 billion parts of a solution.Example:A sample of water is found to contain 2 ppm lead. This means that for every mill ion parts, two of them are lead. So, in a one gram sample of water, two-millionths of a gram would be lead. For aqueous solutions, the density of water is assumed to be 1.00 g/ml for these units of concentration. How To Calculate Dilutions You dilute a solution whenever you add solvent to a solution. Adding solvent results in a solution of lower concentration. You can calculate the concentration of a solution following a dilution by applying this equation: MiVi MfVf where M is molarity, V is volume, and the subscripts i and f refer to the initial and final values. Example:How many milliliters of 5.5 M NaOH are needed to prepare 300 mL of 1.2 M NaOH? Solution:5.5 M x V1 1.2 M x 0.3 LV1 1.2 M x 0.3 L / 5.5 MV1 0.065 LV1 65 mL So, to prepare the 1.2 M NaOH solution, you pour 65 mL of 5.5 M NaOH into your container and add water to get 300 mL final volume