Phonetics

Changing Education Paradigms

One of the objectives that the video “Changing Education Paradigms” is try to building awareness regardless of the education as a global issue. However, it has other points in which it wants to focus: economical and cultural problems direct related with the education.

One of the first points is regarding about the influence of the economy in the education, it has some relation to this, due to the fact that we learnt about the necessity to have a degree and, of course, a god job. The good job will give us the chance to earn some quantity of money. All this was in the past, because over the years, our children are losing the interest of get a career in the future. How we can change that?

 It is not easy to change the education, because also the cultural impact has been a topic that it should be take into account. We need to conserve our identity in order to have a society with different opinions about the country and the world.

One of the biggest problems of the society, and of course stuck to the education is a disorder called “Attention Deficit”. This illness is related with the problem in being focused in something and the consequences are the bad performance in classes, and of course, bad marks. Mainly, this problem is global, because it was generated by the society, through the years has been growing up, and the only way to control it are some drugs like the “Ritalin”. With children medicated, the way in which the teaching is developed is hard. For a primary teacher fight with a student with ADHD becomes very difficult due to the fact that needs special attention.  What we can do to change it? It is hard, because is not a change that we can generate easily.

My opinion about the video saw in classes is that we, as a society, need to change some things and others that we should conserve. Also, we know that we are sons and daughters of the globalization, so we should use it, but at the same time try to conserve our identity, without it, it would be trivial the educational process.

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The Cosmetic Industry

The industry of cosmetics in this era is one of the most important. The personal care of women and men is the mission of this industry, which always is searching for the creation of new products, formulations and always trying to give products of high quality.

Around the world, there are a lot of different companies, which are trying to innovate and create attractive, different and high quality products. However, there are some brands that are looked for test its products with different studies, but not experimenting on animals. Some of these brands are the best in the world of the personal care and esthetic.

M.A.C Cosmetics (Makeup Art Cosmetics) it’s a Canadian company created in 1985 in the city of Toronto, Canada for Frank Toscan, a Makeup Artists and Frank Angelo, a Businessman.

M.A.C is one of the most important brands of makeup and cosmetic products. The main reason of the creation of this company was the absence of a mark that was useful for the professional photography. In the past, it was normal that the makeup was wasted in create different effects in the photos, for that, M.A.C is a brand that it’s very exclusive and with a high level of quality.

At the beginning, M.A.C was used just for professionals, but then won prestige around the world. The commercialization of these products was through stands and counters of important stores (Sephora, Ulta) in the U.S and Canada and then around the world. In the actuality, M.A.C is considering the best brand of Makeup in the world and it is used for makeup artists in the cinematography industry, the musical industry, etc.

The reason of the popularity of the brand is the variety of products and the collections. M.A.C has the particular custom of sell exclusive products (like lipsticks, blushes or eye shadows) and then, the most popular of the collections, make it available for the public for an indefinite period. One of these is the “Viva Glam Collection”. Every year, a famous person is chosen to promote the cosmetics that form part of “Viva Glam” and all the money is intended to beneficial corporations. People like Lady Gaga, Elton John, Pamela Anderson, and Lisa Marie Presley were part of this campaign.

Another popular brand is Bobbi Brown. This was created by the American makeup artist of the same name. The story began when she was a promising makeup artist and found a scientific that helped her to create the first dry lipstick. Then the creation of the foundation with a yellow base (which is one of the most famous products of the brand) was the peak of the popularity of Bobbi Brown Cosmetics. In 1995, the giant of cosmetics “Estee Lauder” bought the brand and give to Bobbi the creative control of the brand. From the popularity of Bobbi Brown and her makeup brand, she wrote 5 books of makeup.

Finally we have Loreal, this is a giant industry that handles the majority of the most common brands of cosmetics in the world (Maybelline, Lancome, Helena Rubinstein, etc.) It was created in 1907 for the French Chemical Eugene Schueller. The first product of this brand was an inoffensive tint for the hair and then the brand was growing gradually during the years. Nevertheless, Loreal is one of the brands that many times have been inquired for the alleged experimentation on animals and the cruelty that is used on the test of products. Nonetheless, this is being investigated but it is not absolutely sure at all.

The influence of this brand and others in the public (a lot of them feminine) has been huge. In the U.S and the U.K is very usual find girls that like to experiment with makeup, record makeup tutorials, hauls, etc. They are the most common consumers of makeup (approximately 15 to 35 years). It’s common find in the internet girls giving advices to persons who want to know more about new makeup, advices, prices, etc. Also, the consumption of makeup has been growing for the influence of the fashion, magazines and campaigns in television.

It should be noted that most of these products are not tested on animals. This point is very important for the cosmetic industry, because in the past, most of the makeup and cosmetics industries resorted to test on animals things that normally could be proved on volunteers. Currently, the population search for cosmetics and makeup that are mostly cruelty free. Bobbi Brown and M.A.C are brands that are disagree with the experimentation on animals.

Cosmetics and PETA

Certainly, beauty is very important for people, and of course makeup is one of the best ways to enhance it. However, we must take care that the blush we put on our cheeks, the lip-gloss that shines on our lips and nail polish decorating our nails, has not claimed the life of an innocent animal. To warn us of these abuses we have PETA.

PETA, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals is the biggest organization that protects the animal rights in the world. This organization has four major concerns in which animals are maltreated: on factory farms, in the clothing trade, in laboratories, and in the entertainment industry. In the makeup business, the most important concern is animal testing in laboratories.

To end this cruelty to animals and to reassure consumers who are against these practices PETA created the PETA’s statement of assurance where companies must fill a short questionnaire and sign making a commitment complying with the regulation which is: the company and the ingredient suppliers cannot do any animal tests on ingredients, formulations, or finished products. If companies want, they can pay for the cruelty-free bunny logo, so the costumers can identify in a better way the products of companies committed to the cause.

Once the companies have signed the agreement with PETA, it is almost impossible to try to cheat their customers, since they risk having serious legal and economic problems. Moreover, these brands would lose its credibility and fame in the world of cosmetics.

This association, protector of animal rights, has all the information available to everyone who wants to know more about how to support the cause and avoid the consumption of products containing materials of animal that have been abused.

More than animals...

Many people around the world own pets, like cats and dogs, which they love and care. But, what would happen if they knew that their dogs and cats are part of what they use on their faces? Some of the ingredients of makeup are made with meat and bones belonging to pets that have been slaughtered. Surely this sounds cruel, but it is a reality unknown to many people who love animals and life.

As a way of acculturating people about the issue of animal ingredients in various products besides cosmetics, the organization created a list of these to help consumers choose according to their preferences.

Here are some components from animals used in the cosmetic industry.

Amino Acids: The building blocks of protein in all animals and plants. In cosmetics, vitamins, supplements, shampoos, etc

Animal Fats and Oils: In foods, cosmetics, etc. Highly allergenic.

Boar Bristles: Hair from wild or captive hogs. In "natural" toothbrushes and bath and shaving brushes.

Carmine Cochineal, Carminic Acid: Red pigment from the crushed female cochineal insect. Reportedly, 70,000 beetles must be killed to produce one pound of this red dye. Used in cosmetics, shampoos, red apple sauce, and other foods (including red lollipops). May cause allergic reaction.

Emu Oil: From flightless ratite birds native to Australia and now factory-farmed. Used in cosmetics and creams.

Fish Scales: Used in shimmery makeup

Gelatin. Gel: Protein obtained by boiling skin, tendons, ligaments, and/or bones in water. From cows and pigs. Used in shampoos, face masks, and other cosmetics.

Lard: Fat from hog abdomens. In shaving creams, soaps, cosmetics.

Pristane: Obtained from the liver oil of sharks and from whale ambergris. Used as an anti-corrosive agent. In cosmetics.

Stearic Acid: Fat from cows and sheep and from dogs and cats euthanized in animal shelters, etc. Most often refers to a fatty substance taken from the stomachs of pigs. Can be harsh, irritating. Used in cosmetics, hairspray, conditioners, deodorants, creams.

If we read the composition of each ingredient we can clearly see the damage being done to the animals to get them.This list is only a little evidence of the brutality with which living and dead animals are treated.

The people must become more aware of the things we use and consume day by day. Animals are more than pets and raw material suppliers; they also deserve respect even after his death. To inform us, we may count with several global organizations like PETA that guide us on how to take care of us, respecting nature and living things.

Hopefully we can be confident that Mac Cosmetics, Bobby Brown and L’Oreal are included in the list of companies PETA which do not test on animals. So the shoppers of these two successful brands, worldwide recognized, can rest assured that no animal has been injured for the benefit of beauty.

The Gold Bug

The story that was given to us for this class, in this opportunity was “The Gold Bug”. This text was written by the American writer Edgar Allan Poe. It was published on a newspaper of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1843. In this blog I am going to write and give a contrast and comparison of this text and “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery”. Also, I’m going to give my opinion about the style of writing of Edgar Allan Poe and Agatha Christie.

Basically, the story is about William Legrand, a man who lived on a very small island. He found a gold bug in the shore and that little bug later will help William, Jupiter and the narrator to find a treasure which belonged to a pirate called Captain Kidd.

I want to begin this paragraph talking about the style of Edgar Allan Poe. This writer has a particular way of writing, mostly he used to write horror stories, but in the case of “The Gold Bug”, as readers we could realize that this short text has an adventure style. In my opinion, for the way of writing of Edgar Allan Poe, this text is very different, but at the same time very good and not boring at all.

If we want to talk or describe the narrative style of Agatha Christie, it is different. She was a writer who her specialty was the detective stories. As Edgar Allan Poe, she was a famous writer with a particular style too, but very difficult if we want to compare her style with the narrative of Edgar Allan Poe. She had a priceless talent in her style and for that reason “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery” was not a bored story, at the contrary, was very dynamic but not short at all.

“The Gold Bug” and “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery” could be contrast and compare on many ways, but I am going to analyze these two texts in my point of view. First of all, I could realize that the two stories have many differences, for example, the main characters of each story. “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery” has as main character to the French private investigator Hercules Poirot. Psychologically he was very particular, mysterious and with an always right way to discover the truth, no matter how difficult the case was. Moreover, William Legrand was a normal person who discovered a treasure (the treasure as the case of “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery” was also a very particular mystery) but he was not an investigator, just an amateur in thinks like that. Other difference is the time where the story is developed. “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery” is developed in the XX Century, and “The Gold Bug” is in the IX Century. The places are different too. In “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery” mostly the places that are described are from Europe (England), the Queen Elizabeth and New York (but the last two are not mentioned in many opportunities). “The Gold Bug” has a lot of open spaces and an isle as main scenarios. The hunt where William Legrand lived was also a very important place the story, because here the parchment with the bug drawn, changed when the narrator put it near to the fire.

If we want to compare these two stories it’s a very interesting experiment. We need to be clear and think that the two texts do not have a lot of things in common, but I could mention that the two has a very mysterious thing. We are clear, the story of “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery” IS a detective story, and “The Gold Bug” is mainly an adventure narration, but the two have suspense and some drama, for that reason I think are very interesting and dynamic. The second thing could be the final. The outcome of “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery” is good, Poirot discover that the money was stolen and has a happy ending. “The Gold Bug” has also a happy ending, because William Legrand, Jupiter and the Narrator won a lot of money with the treasure (almost 2 million dollars). Other thing that could be compared in these stories is the help that the main characters received from another people. Poirot could not be helped without the hand of some characters, he just investigate, but by himself could not be so easy. In “The Gold Bug”, William Legrand was helped for his employee called Jupiter. Also, the help of his friend, the narrator was very important, because he saved the secret of the treasure and then helped his friend digging and carrying things to find the treasure.

As a conclusion, I am going to give my opinion of “The Gold Bug”. For me, this text was very special. I have got problems reading the texts, because sometimes for me are very difficult for the vocabulary, that in previous occasions have been my biggest weakness. I have to say that this time was different and I could understand the main idea of the text the first time that I read it. The thing that I like a lot about “The Gold Bug” was, of course the vocabulary. It was very easy to understand and memorize. Also, I think this story mix the mystery with the adventure. It’s hard to find a text that gives to the reader the feeling of being on an adventure, but at the same time with a bit of things like skulls and crossbones (Personally, I love the books and stories of Edgar Allan Poe. It has that dark thing, almost gothic). If we need to read in the future more stories or short texts of this writer, I would be very glad, because he mix a lot of styles in one story and that is hard to find in the contemporary literature. The text was short, precise and concise, for this reason was easy to read and reread. Finally, I have to say that I enjoy a lot this text. It was fun, mysterious and interesting.

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Private Danny Chen was alone when he died. The Army says that he shot himself in a guard tower in Kandahar Province, Afghanistan. But, in an extraordinary case alleging criminal culpability in a suicide, it has charged eight soldiers in connection with his death, saying they bullied Private Chen into killing himself. Seven enlisted men face counts that include involuntary manslaughter, negligent homicide and assault. One officer, a first lieutenant, is charged with dereliction of duty.

The Pentagon insists that it does not tolerate hazing. But the alleged assault on Private Chen bears the markings of ritualistic abuse. He was dragged out of bed, pelted with rocks and racial taunts and forced to crawl along the ground and do pull-ups without swallowing or spitting out a mouthful of water — all apparently because he forgot to turn off the water heater after taking a shower. Private Chen was the son of Chinese immigrants in Manhattan, and he had written to his parents about being the butt of racial jokes, but it’s not clear that racism was a primary reason for the attack.

It is encouraging to see the Army — criticized for being opaque and insensitive to families in high-profile deaths of soldiers — moving with apparent swiftness to investigate Private Chen’s death. It must pursue every detail and not hide them.

Private Chen’s parents may never know what drove their son to kill himself. But they deserve to know everything that can be learned about his final days and hours., his family deserves to see justice done. Others soldiers deserve to know that the military and if, as Army prosecutors claim, he was pushed into suicide by fellow soldiers who brutalized and humiliated him takes seriously its policy forbidding hazing and its promise to punish those who violate it.

Underlined: Simple

Italics: Compound

Black: Complex

Labeled: Compound-Complex

My friends, family and depression.

-Where you came from is not relevant…– I heard how the secretary said to a person, who was before me –Okay, please leave your number and I will call you as soon as I can… -Okay, bye.

-What you did make me laugh –Said the man next to me to…maybe his girlfriend. The voices in that room were absolutely insane. My head hurt and the only thing that I wanted was being in my room with my cat. I said to myself that this was going to be my last visit to the Psychiatric.

-Miss Anderson! It’s your turn – Said a tall and skinny woman. I just said “Thanks”.

- I’ve been with depression since last year, when my dad died tragically – I said while I was crying inconsolably.

-Well…taking a look to your exams, the depression that you have is severe. You need new medicines. The pills that I’m going to give you are very strong. You must be responsible with it.

-Okay doctor, I will be careful. Thank you very much – I closed the door as I checked my mobile phone. I had ten missed calls from my best friend Anna. We were meeting on a Starbucks at 7pm.

I opened the door and the place where my best friend was sitting was so comfortable and cozy.

-And…tell me, are you ok? – She almost throws me the cup of coffee. I was very sad and confused.

-Mmm, not actually. The doctor who was an expert in depressions said that the medicine I need is very strong…and you know! I don’t want to go to the Psychiatric anymore!

-I know Sarah, I know. What do you think is correct? Since you lost your father in that accident, you never were the same anymore.

-I don’t know. The only thing that I know is I want to be healthy and this sadness can’t be anymore in my head. My dad rest in peace…

-Yes, that’s right. What you need to do is take your medicines and try to leave this treatment as soon as you can.

-…Also, you know that you and your brother are the only family of your mother. You must be strong!

-Yes…I must be strong for my mother and for Bill (her brother), whom are everything.

-Okay, so…what do you think to buy something to carry home while I go to my car? – Said my friend - I forgot my wallet –She run to her car while I ordered frapuccinos and some donuts.

We went to my home. Before, we went to Blockbuster to rent some movies. We are friends since the Kindergarten and now we’re 24 years old.

We invited also our boyfriends. Her boyfriend, Louis, who is very tall in comparison to Anna, came to my house and bought some ice cream for us. My boyfriend Joe, who is the best friend of Louis, came with him. We received our boyfriends and they take sit with us. With Joe, we are boyfriends since two years ago, so he knew my father before he died tragically.

-So, how was your hour with the doctor, baby –said my boyfriend.

-It was fine. I’m ok…I guess – He hug me on a very cute way.

-Everything is going to be fine Sarah…-He smiled.

Since that reunion with my friends and boyfriend, I realized that I was fine with my life. The support that they give me finally helped me to get over of my depression. I was not alone.

Could you help us, Mr. Poirot?

I have been reading the short story of Agatha Christie’s book “Poirot Investigates”. This text is called “The Million Dollar Bond Robbery”. At the beginning, we could think that it is a slow story and sometimes bored, but that it is not right. The video is different and tell a similar but different story. On this blog, I am going to summarize (as I understood it) the short text, and also I am going to compare and give my opinion of the text and short video that we saw in our module of “Competencias Comunicativas”.

Poirot, as we know, is the main character of the series of stories of Agatha Christie’s book called “Poirot Investigates” and has many chapters, but we are going to focus this blog in one of them. In this opportunity, Poirot should discover who stole a million dollars which disappear from the “Olympia”. The money was custody for Philip Ridgeway, nephew of the president of the “London and Scottish Bank”. The reason why this money was on a ship like the “Olympia” was that the “London and Scottish Bank” wanted to expand its business to America and the destiny was New York. One day, this money mysteriously disappears, but this crime has a lot of weird things involucrate.

One day, a woman called Esmee Farquhar knocked the door of the private detective. She was the fiancée of Philip Ridgeway. She was in love with him and was worried about her future husband. It supposed that Philip was involucrate in the crime. For that reason, she went to talk to Poirot and left the problem to him. She told to Poirot the whole story. The money was on a special lock, to prevent the disappearance of the money. Nevertheless, the money was not on the special box, and that was the problem that should fixed Poirot. He and Captain Hastings (his kind of assistant) went to talk to Mr. Vavasour and Mr. Shaw, the first one was the Uncle Philip Ridgeway. Vavasour and Shaw had two of the keys from the lock; and two others were on colleagues hands. Now, the question is “Where was the money?” and anything knew about the million dollars. Another thing curious was that the box never was forced, on the contrary, was opened with one of the keys (but the padlock was forced) but the other two ones that have a key were in London, that is the mysterious thing. The people that were travelling in the ship were registered twice, but nothing could be found. The story of Ridgeway was confirmed by the two directors of the bank, and where was the money? That is still being mystery.

Poirot went to Liverpool, were the Olympia landed and talked to one of the persons who were in front of the big ship. Poirot discovered that apparently the bonds were sold immediately in New York, but the packet was just a dummy. The money should be in London and that package was false. In the reading version, Mr. Shaw is the responsible of the steal money.

The short movie and the reading are different in many aspects. First of all, the reading is focus on the main idea of the story and is trying to tell just central and concrete ideas. The “movie” that we saw in class, shows with many details the story and other things that in the reading are not telling. One of the differences is that Esmee in the reading version go to the office of Poirot and ask for help with the detective. In the video, Poirot receives a letter from the London and Scottish bank and for that way he knows the problem that the bank and the characters had with the million dollars. Another difference that we could find between the text and the short movie is that in the text we could not read about the poison tea and the almost shock. The video is very detailed in that kind of things, trying to show us aspects that give little anticipation which are interesting if we want to know the end of the story by ourselves.

One of the biggest differences that we could find between the text and the short movie is that in the second one we find another character: Miranda. She is the one that steal the money in the movie, but Mr. Shaw is the responsible in the text. They (in the movie) are technically involved. Miranda had the original key and gave a copy of the copy of the key to another person. She poisoned the tea, she travel in the Olympia (Queen Elizabeth in the movie) and opened the box with her key. The money was not found, and Miranda was not arrested.

I could say that this text and movie were very interesting and fun. Agatha Christie is one of the most important writers in her style, the investigation and mystery. We can see that in the text there is much vocabulary that we could use, and it is not normal in our speech. This series of stories are pretty antique and has complex words that we cannot use if we want to speak daily. If we want to write a blog or an essay much formal and we are trying to communicate a message to people that are more professional than us as students of English Pedagogy, the use and reading of this kind of texts give us a big help to our constantly knowledge. Many of the new words that I learned with this text are not normal at the business and work aspects, but are very useful if we want to write a letter to our boss in a not distant future. In my opinion, we should increase the reading of this kind of texts, because are interesting, fun and with a little piece of mystery. Also, the movie helps us to understand in a better way the text just read. It is a way to check our doubts.