Communication

English
by Agnes Negrescu
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COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Every individual
Whereas being yourself is all about being
comfortable in your own skin and doing
what you feel, to be individual is to follow
your heart and actively resist social pressure and control.

Steps
Find yourself first. Figure out what
makes you you. Spend an hour before you
sleep in bed thinking about life, religion,
death, etc. and your stance on everything
and how accurately you follow those ideals and stances. Write down those ideals
and set about sticking to them.
Be yourself. Stop filtering your natural
individuality and start feeling comfortable in your own skin. Dont give yourself
any reason to feel ashamed or embarrassed. Shame and embarrassment are the
biggest obstacles to achieving true individuality. Instead of trying to match current trends (i.e. trying to get into pop punk
music to fit in even if you dont like it),
do things that you enjoy doing. Though
others could potentially call you nerd or
weird chances are that eventually, the
very thing you like is going to come into
style (or has been in style before). Instead
of trying to keep up, slow down and do
things your own way at your own pace!
Set goals for yourself, particularly ones that contribute something
new and different to the world. Aim
to do something thats never been done
before.
Learn to face and overcome criticism. If your goals really are paving a new
road, youll encounter naysayers all along
the way. Get used to it.
Question everything. Be keen to learn. Dont believe everything you read,
and dont reproduce it unless it is a reliable source. Constantly ask yourself how
many different ways there are to do the
things you do, and why youre doing it the
way everyone else is doing it. If you can
find a better way, go for it.
Be original. Dont accept generic behavior or work from yourself. Put your own
twist on everything you do. Stamp it with your individuality. At the same time,
always try to be yourself! Live out of your heart instead of the latest trendy magazine.
Love yourself. Celebrate yourself priva-

tely, and be proud of your existence. There

is only and will only ever be one of you to
ever exist. Fulfill the potential entrusted
upon you.
Think and write
examples for each step. Develop.

What are the benefits of being an

individual, as opposed to someone
who just wants to be like everyone
else?
A: Asserting your individuality will increase your sense of significance, as well as
your perceived value. Theres your answer
in one neat little sentence. I could leave it
at that but...that wouldnt be much fun,
would it?
An emotionally healthy person feels as if they add a certain amount of value to their environment. And others will
perceive them as being more valuable as
well. This allows them to maintain an optimum level of self-esteem. A person with high self-esteem and a sense of significance has a much greater chance of being
successful.
I know that it sounds morally incorrect
to talk about one person being more valuable then another. Were all human, right? Yeah, whatever. You and I both know
thats not how it works in the real world.
In most circumstances the more unique
you are the more youre worth.
Three things to watch out for when asserting your individuality are arrogance,
jealousy, and I-ness.
It takes confidence to stand out and it
takes confidence to know your true worth.
But theres a thin line between confidence and arrogance. As a matter of fact that
line is probably invisible.
So how do you know when youve crossed the line? Ahhhh, young grasshopper,
if it were only that simple! The answer to
that question is subjective. Different people will call the same person confident
or arrogant.
But I guess you could say that at the core of confidence there is certain sense of
humility and a willingness to learn from
people who may not be as talented as you

are. An arrogant person completely lacks

these qualities. Also, people covet confidence, they despise arrogance.
Next theres the jealousy. The more your individuality shines through the more
youll stand out. The more you stand out the
more people will be jealous of you. Who
does she think she is?! Halle Berry?
This is why you must help people.
When you give of yourself fewer people
will envy you and more people will appreciate you. They will still wanna be like Mike but thats more like idolization.
I-ness is the Its all about me or Ive
gotta do everything syndrome. Often this
is a persons attitude when they are trying
to prove their significance and value. (I
know... sometimes its that they dont
trust anybody but thats not what were
talking about.)
No one truly succeeds alone. Its fruitless to try to assert your individuality in
this manner. The most beautiful flowers
in the world couldnt grow without the
soil. So, maybe the flowers should show
some appreciation every now and then.
The dirt deserves some love too!
Here are a few tips on promoting your
individuality effectively:
Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. You can become better at things
that you dont do well, but you can become great at things you can do well. Spend
the majority of your personal development
and self-improvement time working on your strengths and you will stand out for sure.
Increase your awareness. Learn as
much as possible about the people in your
environment or profession. Then you will
be able to highlight the differences between you and them in a positive way.
Dont always go with flow, do something different. Peer pressure is often just
as challenging for adults as it is for teenagers but too much conformity kills individuality. Break or bend the rules (within
reason) every now and then.
Ask a few people that you know personally and professionally what makes
you different from anyone else they know.
You might not like everything they say,
but their perception doesnt have to be your reality. Write down what they say and
use it to your advantage.

Relationships
Personality and
Relationships
And above all, have fervent love for one
another: for love shall cover the multitude of sins.
--Peter 4.8
Most of us are probably allured by the
attractive notion that effortless relationships exist. Whether it be happily-ever-after marriages, or friendships which last forever, or parent/child bonds which supercede the need to understand each other,
wed all like to believe that our most intimate relationships are unconditional,
and strong enough to withstand whatever
may come. However, at some point in our
lives most of us need to face the fact that
relationships require effort to keep them
strong and positive, and that even wonderful, strong relationships can be destroyed
by neglect.
Whether youre looking to improve a
love relationship, familial relationships,
friendships, or employer/employee relationships, understanding your own personality type and the personality type of
the other person involved in the relationship will bring a new dynamic to the situation, which will allow better understanding and communication. Although the different types of relationships have very different characteristics and specific needs,
there are two basic areas which seem to be
critical in all relationships: Expectations
and Communication. What do we expect from ourselves and the other person
involved in the relationship? How do we
communicate these expectations and our
feelings and opinions to the person in the
relationship? How does our personality
type affect our expectations and methods
of communication? Does our personality
type affect who we are romantically attracted to? How does it affect who our friends
are, and who we work with best?

Opposites Attract
That old concept and expression opposites attract has been batted around for centuries. And in fact, its very true when it comes to love relationships. Through our research, we have noted that people are usually attracted to their opposite on the Ex-

traversion/Introversion and Judging/Perceiving scales. We are naturally attracted to

individuals who are different from ourselves - and therefore somewhat exciting. But
its not just the exciting differences which
attract us to our opposites, it is also a natural quest for completion. We naturally
are drawn towards individuals who have
strengths which we are missing. When two
opposites function as a couple, they become a more well-rounded, functioning unit.
There is also the theory that our natural attraction to our opposites is a subconscious
way of forcing us to deal with the weaker
aspects of our own nature. While we are highly attracted to our opposites, two opposites involved in an intimate relationship
have significant issues and communication barriers to overcome. So in a sense, our
attraction to the opposite personality can
be seen as our subconscious minds driving
us towards becoming a more complete individual, by causing us to face the areas in
life which are most difficult to us.
The same cannot be said for other kinds
of relationships. When it comes to work
colleagues, or friends, we are not especially interested in dealing with people who are
very unlike ourselves. We are most comfortable with those who have similar interests
and perspectives, and we do not show a lot
of motivation or patience for dealing with
our opposites.

Birds of a Feather
Flock Together
Although we are attracted to people who
are very different from us in the way we
deal with the world, we are most attracted
to others who have a similar focus in their
lives. Couples who have the same dominant function in their personalities seems
to have the longest and happiest relationships. So, for example, an individual whose dominant function is Introverted Sensing (ISTJ or ISFJ) seems to be naturally
drawn towards partners with a dominant
function of Extraverted Sensing (ESTP or
ESFP).
We have also noticed that Sensors seem
to communicate best with other Sensors,
and that Intuitives seem to communicate best with other Intuitives. There seems
to be a more equal partnership formed with people who communicate on the same

level, although there are many successful

relationships between Sensors and Intuitives. Two individuals of any type who are
well-developed and balanced can communicate effectively and make a relationship
work, but many people will communicate
best with people who share their same information gathering preference.
With that in mind, it shouldnt come as
any surprise to learn that research regarding Personality Type and Relationships
shows a definite pattern which indicates
that successful mates often share the same dominant function, and the same letter
preference (S or N) for their information gathering function. Of course, that does not mean that people with different preferences cannot have a happy, successful
marriage, it simply indicates that people
frequently settle down with individuals
who are on their same wave-length.

Relationships and
the Sixteen Types
To learn more about Personality and Relationships with regards to a specific personality type, click on the name of the type
youd like to read about.
The Duty Fulfillers
The Guardians
The Nurturers
The Caregivers
The Mechanics
The Doers
The Performers
The Artists
The Executives
The Scientists
The Visionaries
The Thinkers
The Givers
The Protectors
The Inspirers
The Idealists
Which one are
you? But the people around you?

In order to have great relationships,

there are some things to be looked at.
They regard private relatioships.

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Human beings crave intimacy, need to

love and be loved. Yet people have much
trouble doing so.
Its clear from the many letters I get
that lots of folks have no idea what a healthy relationship even looks like. Because
I care about these things, and care about
the environments children grow in, Im
using this space as an attempt to remedy
the problemagain.
From many sources and many experts,
I have culled some basic rules of relationships. This is by no means an exhaustive
list. But its a start. Print them out and pin
them up on your refrigerator door. I wont
test you on thembut life will.
Choose a partner wisely and well. We
are attracted to people for all kinds of reasons. They remind us of someone from
our past. They shower us with gifts and
make us feel important. Evaluate a potential partner as you would a friend; look at
their character, personality, values, their
generosity of spirit, the relationship between their words and actions, their relationships with others.
Know your partners beliefs about relationships. Different people have different
and often conflicting beliefs about relationships. You dont want to fall in love with someone who expects lots of dishonesty in relationships; theyll create it where
it doesnt exist.
Dont confuse sex with love. Especially
in the beginning of a relationship, attraction and pleasure in sex are often mistaken for love.
Know your needs and speak up for them
clearly. A relationship is not a guessing
game. Many people, men as well as women, fear stating their needs and, as a result, camouflage them. The result is disappointment at not getting what they want
and anger at a partner for not having met
their (unstated) needs. Closeness cannot
occur without honesty. Your partner is not
a mind reader.
Respect, respect, respect. Inside and outside the relationship, act in ways so that
your partner always maintains respect for
you. Mutual respect is essential to a good
relationship.
View yourselves as a team, which means
you are two unique individuals bringing
different perspectives and strengths. That
is the value of a teamyour differences.
Know how to manage differences; its
the key to success in a relationship. Disagreements dont sink relationships. Name-calling does. Learn how to handle the
negative feelings that are the unavoidable
byproduct of the differences between two
people. Stonewalling or avoiding conflicts
is NOT managing them.
If you dont understand or like something your partner is doing, ask about it

and why he or she is doing it. Talk and explore, dont assume.
Solve problems as they arise. Dont let
resentments simmer. Most of what goes
wrong in relationships can be traced to
hurt feelings, leading partners to erect defenses against one another and to become
strangers. Or enemies.
Learn to negotiate. Modern relationships no longer rely on roles cast by the
culture. Couples create their own roles,
so that virtually every act requires negotiation. It works best when good will prevails. Because peoples needs are fluid
and change over time, and lifes demands
change too, good relationships are negotiated and renegotiated all the time.
Listen, truly listen, to your partners
concerns and complaints without judgment. Much of the time, just having someone listen is all we need for solving
problems. Plus it opens the door to confiding. And empathy is crucial. Look at
things from your partners perspective as
well as your own.
Work hard at maintaining closeness.
Closeness doesnt happen by itself. In its
absence, people drift apart and are susceptible to affairs. A good relationship
isnt an end goal; its a lifelong process maintained through regular attention.
Take a long-range view. A marriage is
an agreement to spend a future together.
Check out your dreams with each other regularly to make sure youre both on the same path. Update your dreams regularly.
Never underestimate the power of good
grooming.
Sex is good. Pillow talk is better. Sex is
easy, intimacy is difficult. It requires honesty, openness, self-disclosure, confiding concerns, fears, sadnesses as well as
hopes and dreams.
Never go to sleep angry. Try a little tenderness.
Apologize, apologize, apologize. Anyone can make a mistake. Repair attempts
are crucialhighly predictive of marital
happiness. They can be clumsy or funny,
even sarcasticbut willingness to make
up after an argument is central to every
happy marriage.
Some dependency is good, but complete
dependency on a partner for all ones needs is an invitation to unhappiness for both partners. Were all dependent to a degreeon friends, mentors, spouses. This
is true of men as well as women.
Maintain self-respect and self-esteem.
Its easier for someone to like you and to be
around you when you like yourself. Research has shown that the more roles people fill,
the more sources of self-esteem they have.
Meaningful workpaid or volunteerhas
long been one of the most important ways
to exercise and fortify a sense of self.

Enrich your relationship by bringing into it new interests from outside the relationship. The more passions in life that you
have and share, the richer your relationship will be. It is unrealistic to expect one
person to meet all of your needs in life.
Cooperate, cooperate, cooperate. Share
responsibilities. Relationships work ONLY when they are two-way streets, with
much give and take.
Stay open to spontaneity.
Maintain your energy. Stay healthy.
Recognize that all relationships have
their ups and downs and do not ride at a
continuous high all the time. Working together through the hard times will make
the relationship stronger.
Make good sense of a bad relationship
by examining it as a reflection of your beliefs about yourself. Dont just run away
from a bad relationship; youll only repeat it with the next partner. Use it as a
mirror to look at yourself, to understand
what in you is creating this relationship.
Change yourself before you change your
relationship.
Understand that love is not an absolute,
not a limited commodity that youre in of
or out of. Its a feeling that ebbs and flows
depending on how you treat each other.
If you learn new ways to interact, the feelings can come flowing back, often stronger than before.
Pick up a few statesments from
above and talk
about them.

Managing personal
relationships
at work
Many personal relationships begin with people meeting at work, and many of these lead to long-term partnerships. This should
not be viewed as a problem in itself, but its
important to recognise that relationships
at work can cause a number of issues for
both employer and workforce.
Why have a relationships policy?
Any employment policy about relationships at work is intended to ensure that
staff dont commit - and are not open to
allegations of acts of:
inappropriate behaviour
favouritism
abuse of authority
conflict of interest
It is also intended to ensure that all employees feel confident of fair and consistent treatment without the fear that a re-

5
lationship will influence their or other employees treatment or wider working relationships.
Depending on the size of your business,
you may also want to extend the policy to cover other types of relationship, such as those
between relatives or family members.
Some companies go so far as to specify in
employment contracts that employees cant
form an intimate relationship with someone they work with, although this is probably
unnecessary in most workplaces.
What types of relationships would a
policy cover?
For the purposes of creating a policy, intimate relationships or close personal or
family relationships apply to those relationships between people in the same team
or department, or between a line manager and one of their team that could potentially be problematic. It does not refer
to straightforward friendship between colleagues.
Issues that could arise include the following:
If one of a couple is the others manager,

what happens if disciplinary action has to

be taken against the employee? Who will
do the employees appraisals or performance reviews?
Does either of the couple have any financial responsibilities, such as authorising expense claims or overtime payments,
or deciding pay rates or increases?
What happens when the employee applies for a post for which the manager would
be conducting the interviews? Or when someone related to an existing employee applies for a job?
What a general policy on relationships at work might cover
If you choose to have a policy about personal relationships at work, it should clarify
the behaviour you expect from employees, eg that the relationship shouldnt affect
their work, and that there should be no favouritism or preferential treatment, particularly where one employee is more senior than the other.
You may wish to include guidance on
what to do if an employee involved in recruitment is aware that a partner, relative

or even a close friend has applied for a job.

You could state that they should declare
this at the earliest opportunity.
Depending on the position and the
employees own role, you should consider:
any potential conflict of interest
how an appointment might affect the
working environment
any resulting risks that the relationship
might cause
what steps could be taken to address these matters
Your application forms might also ask
applicants to declare any close personal or
family relationships with existing employees. Remember that it can be a positive
thing to have friends and family working
together, as well as considering the potential risks.
Write a script for
your ideal relationship. It can be
one page, two pages or 10 pages.

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Family
In human context, a family (from Latin:
familiare) is a group of people affiliated by
consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In
most societies it is the principal institution
for the socialization of children. Extended
from the human family unit by biological-cultural affinity, marriage, economy,
culture, tradition, honour, and friendship
are concepts of family that are physical and
metaphorical, or that grow increasingly inclusive extending to community, village, city, region, nationhood, global village and
humanism. A family group consisting of a
father, mother and their children is called
a nuclear family. This term can be contrasted with an extended family.
There are also concepts of family that
break with tradition within particular societies, or those that are transplanted via migration to flourish or else cease within their
new societies. As a unit of socialization and
a basic institution key to the structure of
societ, the family is the object of analysis
for sociologists of the family. Genealogy is
a field which aims to trace family lineages
through history. In science, the term family has come to be used as a means to
classify groups of objects as being closely
and exclusively related. In the study of animals it has been found that many species
form groups that have similarities to human familyoften called packs.

Kinship
terminology
Family tree showing the relationship of each person to the orange person. Cousins
are colored green. The genetic kinship degree of relationship is marked in red boxes
by percentage (%).
Archaeologist Lewis Henry Morgan
(18181881) performed the first survey of
kinship terminologies in use around the
world. Although much of his work is now
considered dated, he argued that kinship
terminologies reflect different sets of distinctions. For example, most kinship terminologies distinguish between sexes (the
difference between a brother and a sister)
and between generations (the difference
between a child and a parent). Moreover,
he argued, kinship terminologies distinguish between relatives by blood and marriage (although recently some anthropologists have argued that many societies defi-

ne kinship in terms other than blood).

Morgan made a distinction between
kinship systems that use classificatory terminology and those that use descriptive
terminology. Morgans distinction is widely misunderstood, even by contemporary anthropologists. Classificatory systems
are generally and erroneously understood to be those that class together with a
single term relatives who actually do not
have the same type of relationship to ego.
(What defines same type of relationship
under such definitions seems to be genealogical relationship. This is problematic given that any genealogical description, no matter how standardized, employs
words originating in a folk understanding
of kinship.) What Morgans terminology
actually differentiates are those (classificatory) kinship systems that do not distinguish lineal and collateral relationships
and those (descriptive) kinship systems
that do. Morgan, a lawyer, came to make this distinction in an effort to understand Seneca inheritance practices. A Seneca mans effects were inherited by his
sisters children rather than by his own
children.

Morgan identified six basic patterns of

kinship terminologies:
Hawaiian: only distinguishes relatives
based upon sex and generation.
Sudanese: no two relatives share the same term.
Eskimo: in addition to distinguishing relatives based upon sex and generation, also
distinguishes between lineal relatives and
collateral relatives.
Iroquois: in addition to sex and generation, also distinguishes between siblings of
opposite sexes in the parental generation.
Crow: a matrilineal system with some
features of an Iroquois system, but with a
skewing feature in which generation is
frozen for some relatives.
Omaha: like a Crow system but patrilineal.

Family types
Family arrangements in the United States
have become more diverse with no particular household arrangement representing
half of the United States population.
The different types of families occur in
a wide variety of settings, and their specific functions and meanings depend largely on their relationship to other social institutions. Sociologists have a special interest in the function and status of these forms in stratified (especially capitalist) societies. The term nuclear family is com-

7
monly used, especially in North America
and Europe, to refer to conjugal families.
Sociologists distinguish between conjugal families (relatively independent of the
kindred of the parents and of other families in general) and nuclear families (which maintain relatively close ties with their
kindred). The term extended family is
also common, especially in North America and Europe. This term has two distinct
meanings. First, it serves as a synonym
of consanguinal family (consanguine
means of the same blood). Second, in
societies dominated by the conjugal family, it refers to kindred (an egocentric network of relatives that extends beyond the
domestic group) who do not belong to the
conjugal family. These types refer to ideal or normative structures found in particular societies. Any society will exhibit
some variation in the actual composition
and conception of families. Much sociological, historical and anthropological research dedicates itself to the understanding of this variation, and of changes in
the family that form over time. Thus, some speak of the bourgeois family, a family structure arising out of 16th- and 17thcentury European households, in which
the family centers on a marriage between a man and woman, with strictly defi-

ned gender-roles. The man typically has

responsibility for income and support, the
woman for home and family matters.
According to the work of scholars Max
Weber, Alan Macfarlane, Steven Ozment, Jack Goody and Peter Laslett, the huge
transformation that led to modern marriage in Western democracies was fueled
by the religio-cultural value system provided by elements of Judaism, early Christianity, Roman Catholic canon law and the
Protestant Reformation.
In contemporary Europe and North
America, people in academic, political and

civil sectors have called attention to single-father-headed households, and families headed by same-sex couples, although
academics point out that these forms exist
in other societies. Also the term blended
family or stepfamily describes families
with mixed parents: one or both parents
remarried, bringing children of the former family into the new family. Also in sociology, particularly in the works of social psychologist Michael Lamb, traditional
family refers to a middleclass family with
a bread-winning father and a stay-at-home mother, married to each other and raising their biological children, and nontraditional to exceptions from this rule.
Most of the US households are now nontraditional under this definition.
In terms of communication patterns
in families, there are a certain set of beliefs within the family that reflect how its
members should communicate and interact. These family communication patterns arise from two underlying sets of beliefs. One being conversation orientation (the degree to which the importance of
communication is valued) and two, conformity orientation (the degree to which
families should emphasize similarities or
differences regarding attitudes, beliefs,
and values).

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Homes
House generally refers to a shelter or building that is a dwelling or place for habitation by human beings. The term includes
many kinds of dwellings ranging from rudimentary huts of nomadic tribes to highrise apartment buildings.[1] However, the
word can also be used as a verb (to house), and can have adjectival formations
as well. In some contexts, house may
mean the same as dwelling, residence, home, abode, accommodation, housing, lodging, among other meanings.
The social unit that lives in a house is
known as a household. Most commonly,
a household is a family unit of some kind,
though households can be other social groups, such as single persons, or groups of
unrelated individuals. Settled agrarian and
industrial societies are composed of household units living permanently in housing of
various types, according to a variety of forms of land tenure. English-speaking people generally call any building they routinely occupy home. Many people leave their
houses during the day for work and recreation but typically return to them to sleep
or for other activities.
The oldest house in the world is approximately from 10,000 B.C. and was made of
mammoth bones, found at Mezhirich near Kiev in Ukraine. It was probably covered
with mammoth hides. The house was discovered in 1965 by a farmer digging a new
basement six feet below the ground.[2]
Architect Norbert Schoenauer, in his
book 6,000 Years of Housing, identifies three major categories of types of housing: the Pre-Urban house, the Oriental Urban house, and the Occidental Urban house.
Types of Pre-Urban houses include temporary dwellings such as the Inuit igloo, semi-permanent dwellings such as the pueblo, and permanent dwellings such as the
New England homestead.
Oriental Urban houses include houses
of the ancient Greeks and Romans, and traditional urban houses in China, India, and
Islamic cities.
Occidental Urban houses include
medieval urban houses, the Renaissance
town house, and the houses, tenements
and apartments of the 19th and 20th centuries.[1]
Some houses transcend the basic functionality of providing a roof over ones head
or of serving as a family hearth and home.

When a house becomes a display-case for

wealth and/or fashion and/or conspicuous consumption, we may speak of a great house. The residence of a feudal lord
or of a ruler may require defensive structures and thus turn into a fort or a castle.
The house of a monarch may come to house courtiers and officers as well as the royal family: this sort of house may become
a palace. Moreover, in time the lord or monarch may wish to retreat to a more personal or simple space such as a villa, a hunting lodge or a dacha. Compare the popularity of the holiday house or cottage, also
known as a crib.
In contrast to a relatively upper class
or modern trend to ownership of multiple houses, much of human history shows
the importance of multi-purpose houses.
Thus the house long served as the traditional place of work (the original cottage industry site or in-house small-scale manufacturing workshop) or of commerce (featuring, for example, a ground floor shopfront shop or counter or office, with living
space above). During the Industrial Revolution there was a separation of manufacturing and banking from the house, though
to this day some shopkeepers continue (or
have returned) to live over the shop.
The names of parts of a house often echo
the names of parts of other buildings, but
could typically include:
atrium
attic
alcove
basement / cellar
bathroom (in various senses of the word)
bath / shower
toilet
bedroom (or nursery, for infants or small
children)
conservatory
dining room
family room or den
Fireplace (for warmth during winter; generally not found in warmer climates)
foyer
front room (in various senses of the
phrase)
garage
hallway/passage
hearth - often an important symbolic focus of family togetherness
kitchen
larder
laundry room

library
living room
loft
lounge
nook
office or study
pantry
parlour
recreation room/rumpus room/television room
shrines to serve the religious functions
associated with a family
stairwell
sunroom
storage room/box room
workshop

Small Towns,
Would You Live
There?
Ive had a lot of thinking time this week,
as I had to spend a large amount of time
away from the internet and my friends on
Twitter. As I pondered many topics, I kept
circling back to a passion of mine, my hometown.
I understand completely why people
move away, and leave North Dakota (my
home state) completely for that matter.
But as much as it may benefit me to move
away, and be around more people with the
same mindset as me, technology wise, I would rather be the guy who turns things around, and gets people to move here.
Big City Living
Big towns/cities (more than 50,000 people is big to us) offer a lot of conveniences
that we dont have. The late night trip to
Wendys or Taco Bell. Walmart ALWAYS
being open. More competition on gas prices. Movie theaters open every day. Churches with more resources. More stuff to
do. Faster internet.
Small Town Life
Small town USA offers many things too
though. Less, if any, crime. You know
everybody. Cheap housing, cheaper cost
of living. Better education, largely due to
smaller class sizes. People trust you with
just about anything. Personalized service.
Minimal traffic. Great hunting. Low cost
barrier to starting businesses. Hard working people.
Differences
Its obvious people want things that the
big city offers, that they cant get in a small
town. For me, the internet has opened up
a lot of things, namely shopping, so that I
dont NEED to go elsewhere to get things,
they can be shipped to my door. Sure, the
hardware store, groceries, and gas might

9
cost a little more. But I dont spend so much
time in traffic to get somewhere, which saves a little money. Ive got friends that need 20 minutes just to get to Walmart. I can
go to the hardware store, grocery store, and
be back at home in 20 minutes. Theres no
pollution. I can leave my car/house unlocked and not worry. If I want to play basketball in the gym, I can usually find a teacher
to let me in, and will probably even play
with me.
Needed: More Technology
Perhaps the single biggest dislike I have in
my small town, is lack of technology. Rural

America, the place that needs mobile phone service the most, has the worst coverage.
Internet speeds from our ISP (yes, we only
have on choice when it comes to internet
providers) are even worse. A lot of people
are simply old, and dont see the need. Of
course, why should they care, theyll likely
die before the town does. The problem I see
is the people with money have no vision,
and the people with vision have no money.
This is compounded by the people that have the clout to do something, dont want to
listen to young people with radical ideas
like blogging and social networking.

What Do You Think?

So I guess my question to all of you is, what
keeps you away from Small Town? What
does a small town need to offer you, in order for you to live here? Is there something
you dont like about small towns? I really
want feedback on this, whether in the comments, or responding in your blog (use the
trackback link). I want to make a difference, I want to make my town relevant. But I
also want to know what other people want
here, not just my desires. Hopefully this
will generate enough feedback to do something with.

10

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Travelling and
transportation
Travel is the movement of people or objects (such as airplanes, boats, trains and
other conveyances) between relatively distant geographical locations. Travel can
also include relatively short stays between successive movements.
The term travel originates from the
Middle English word travail. The term also
covers all the activities performed during a
travel (movement). A person who travels is
spelled traveler in the United States, and
traveller in the United Kingdom.

Purpose and
motivation

Mount Fuji, Fuji-Hakone-Izu National Park, Japan

Koh Phangan island, Thailand

Reasons for travelling include recreation,

tourism or vacationing, research travelfor
the gathering of information, for holiday
to visit people, volunteer travel for charity,
migration to begin life somewhere else, religious pilgrimages and mission trips, business travel, trade, commuting, and other
reasons, such as to obtain health care or
fleeing war. Travel may occur by humanpowered transport such as walking or bicycling, or with vehicles, such as public transport, automobiles, trains and airplanes.
Motives to travel include pleasure, relaxation, discovery and exploration, getting to
know other cultures and taking personal time for building interpersonal relationships.
Travel may be local, regional, national (domestic) or international. In some countries,
non-local internal travel may require an internal passport, while international travel
typically requires a passport and visa. A trip
may also be part of a round trip, which is a
particular type of travel whereby a person
moves from their usual residence to one or
several locations and returns.

Means of transportation
Transport or transportation is the movement of people , cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of
transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations. Transport is important since it enables trade between peoples, which in turn
establishes civilizations.
Transport infrastructure consists of the
fixed installations necessary for transport,
and may be roads, railways, airways, waterways, canals and pipelines, and terminals
such as airports, railway stations, bus stations, warehouses, trucking terminals, refueling depots (including fueling docks and fuel stations), and seaports. Terminals may be
used both for interchange of passengers and
cargo and for maintenance.
Vehicles traveling on these networks
may include automobiles, bicycles, buses,
trains, trucks, people, helicopters, and air-

11
craft. Operations deal with the way the vehicles are operated, and the procedures set
for this purpose including financing, legalities and policies. In the transport industry,
operations and ownership of infrastructure can be either public or private, depending
on the country and mode.
Passenger transport may be public, where operators provide scheduled services, or
private. Freight transport has become focused on containerization, although bulk
transport is used for large volumes of durable items. Transport plays an important part
in economic growth and globalization, but
most types cause air pollution and use large amounts of land. While it is heavily subsidized by governments, good planning of
transport is essential to make traffic flow,
and restrain urban sprawl.

sical exercise and environmentalism. Human-powered transport is sometimes the

only type available, especially in underdeveloped or inaccessible regions. It is considered an ideal form of sustainable transportation.
Although humans are able to walk without infrastructure, the transport can be enhanced through the use of roads, especially when using the human power with vehicles, such as bicycles and inline skates. Human-powered vehicles have also been developed for difficult environments, such as
snow and water, by watercraft rowing and
skiing; even the air can be entered with human-powered aircraft.

Mode

Animal-powered transport is the use of

working animals for the movement of people and goods. Humans may ride some of
the animals directly, use them as pack animals for carrying goods, or harness them,
alone or in teams, to pull sleds or wheeled
vehicles. Animals are superior to people in
their speed, endurance and carrying capacity; prior to the Industrial Revolution they
were used for all land transport impracticable for people, and they remain an important mode of transport in less developed
areas of the world.

A mode of transport is a solution that makes

use of a particular type of vehicle, infrastructure and operation. The transport of a person or of cargo may involve one mode or several modes, with the latter case being called
intermodal or multimodal transport. Each
mode has its advantages and disadvantages,
and will be chosen for a trip on the basis of
cost, capability, route, and speed.

Human-powered

Animal-powered

Air

Air France Airbus A318 F-GUGR, at

Charles de Gaulle, Paris

Human-powered transport remains

common in developing countries.
Human powered transport is the transport
of people and/or goods using human muscle-power, in the form of walking, running
and swimming. Modern technology has allowed machines to enhance human-power.
Human-powered transport remains popular for reasons of cost-saving, leisure, phy-

A fixed-wing aircraft, commonly called airplane, is a heavier-than-air craft where movement of the air in relation to the wings is
used to generate lift. The term is used to distinguish from rotary-wing aircraft, where
the movement of the lift surfaces relative to
the air generates lift. A gyroplane is both fixed-wing and rotary-wing. Fixed-wing aircraft range from small trainers and recreational aircraft to large airliners and military cargo aircraft.
Two things necessary for aircraft are air
flow over the wings for lift and an area for
landing. The majority of aircraft also need
an airport with the infrastructure to receive maintenance, restocking, refueling and

for the loading and unloading of crew, cargo

and passengers. While the vast majority of
aircraft land and take off on land, some are
capable of take off and landing on ice, snow
and calm water.
The aircraft is the second fastest method
of transport, after the rocket. Commercial
jets can reach up to 955 kilometres per hour (593 mph), single-engine aircraft 555 kilometres per hour (345 mph). Aviation is
able to quickly transport people and limited
amounts of cargo over longer distances, but
incur high costs and energy use; for short
distances or in inaccessible places helicopters can be used. As of April 28, 2009 The
Guardian article notes that, the WHO estimates that up to 500,000 people are on planes at any time.

Rail

InterCityExpress, a German highspeed passenger train

Rail transport is where a train runs along
a set of two parallel steel rails, known as a
railway or railroad. The rails are anchored
perpendicular to ties (or sleepers) of timber,
concrete or steel, to maintain a consistent
distance apart, or gauge. The rails and perpendicular beams are placed on a foundation made of concrete, or compressed earth
and gravel in a bed of ballast. Alternative
methods include monorail and maglev.
A train consists of one or more connected vehicles that run on the rails. Propulsion is commonly provided by a locomotive,
that hauls a series of unpowered cars, that
can carry passengers or freight. The locomotive can be powered by steam, diesel or
by electricity supplied by trackside systems. Alternatively, some or all the cars can
be powered, known as a multiple unit. Also, a train can be powered by horses, cables,
gravity, pneumatics and gas turbines. Railed vehicles move with much less friction
than rubber tires on paved roads, making
trains more energy efficient, though not as
efficient as ships.
Intercity trains are long-haul services
connecting cities; modern high-speed
rail is capable of speeds up to 350 km/h
(220 mph), but this requires specially built
track. Regional and commuter trains feed
cities from suburbs and surrounding are-

12

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

as, while intra-urban transport is performed by high-capacity tramways and rapid

transits, often making up the backbone of
a citys public transport. Freight trains traditionally used box cars, requiring manual loading and unloading of the cargo. Since the 1960s, container trains have become
the dominant solution for general freight,
while large quantities of bulk are transported by dedicated trains.

cost of reduced flexibility. Road transport

by truck is often the initial and final stage
of freight transport.

Other

Water

Road
Trans-Alaska Pipeline for crude oil
Automobile ferry in Croatia

Interstate 80 near Berkeley, California, United States

A road is an identifiable route, way or path between two or more places. Roads are
typically smoothed, paved, or otherwise
prepared to allow easy travel; though they
need not be, and historically many roads
were simply recognizable routes without
any formal construction or maintenance.
In urban areas, roads may pass through a
city or village and be named as streets, serving a dual function as urban space easement and route.
The most common road vehicle is the
automobile; a wheeled passenger vehicle that carries its own motor. Other
users of roads include buses, trucks, motorcycles, bicycles and pedestrians. As of
2002, there were 590 million automobiles
worldwide.
Automobiles offer high flexibility and
with low capacity, but are deemed with
high energy and area use, and the main
source of noise and air pollution in cities;
buses allow for more efficient travel at the

Water transport is the process of transport

a watercraft, such as a barge, boat, ship or
sailboat, makes over a body of water, such
as a sea, ocean, lake, canal or river. The need
for buoyancy unites watercraft, and makes
the hull a dominant aspect of its construction, maintenance and appearance.
In the 19th century the first steam ships
were developed, using a steam engine to
drive a paddle wheel or propeller to move
the ship. The steam was produced using
wood or coal. Now most ships have an engine using a slightly refined type of petroleum called bunker fuel. Some ships, such
as submarines, use nuclear power to produce the steam. Recreational or educational craft still use wind power, while some
smaller craft use internal combustion engines to drive one or more propellers, or in
the case of jet boats, an inboard water jet.
In shallow draft areas, hovercraft are propelled by large pusher-prop fans.
Although slow, modern sea transport is
a highly effective method of transporting
large quantities of non-perishable goods.
Commercial vessels, nearly 35,000 in number, carried 7.4 billion tons of cargo in 2007.
Transport by water is significantly less costly than air transport for transcontinental
shipping; short sea shipping and ferries remain viable in coastal areas.

Pipeline transport sends goods through

a pipe, most commonly liquid and gases
are sent, but pneumatic tubes can also
send solid capsules using compressed air.
For liquids/gases, any chemically stable
liquid or gas can be sent through a pipeline. Short-distance systems exist for sewage, slurry, water and beer, while longdistance networks are used for petroleum
and natural gas.
Cable transport is a broad mode where
vehicles are pulled by cables instead of an
internal power source. It is most commonly used at steep gradient. Typical solutions
include aerial tramway, elevators, escalator and ski lifts; some of these are also categorized as conveyor transport.
Spaceflight is transport out of Earths
atmosphere into outer space by means of
a spacecraft. While large amounts of research have gone into technology, it is rarely used except to put satellites into orbit, and conduct scientific experiments.
However, man has landed on the moon,
and probes have been sent to all the planets of the Solar System.
Suborbital spaceflight is the fastest of
the existing and planned transport systems from a place on Earth to a distant other
place on Earth. Faster transport could be
achieved through part of a Low Earth orbit, or following that trajectory even faster using the propulsion of the rocket to
steer it.

13

Communication
and keep in touch
Public speech
Any public speakers success depends on the
orators ability to attract the audiences attention and further retain it for as much time as it is necessary to completely expound
the necessary ideas. This simple objective is
reachable only in case the following principles are observed.
The audience must be interested in
the topic of the speech. To be memorized, the speech should appeal to each listener in the audience and therefore topicality is the primary principle that should be taken into account when preparing a speech.
Therefore, each speech is prepared on the
basis of the previously collected information about the preferences and interests of the
target auditorium.
The orator must use his fascination to persuade the audience. He must
believe unconditionally in the subject of his
speech and in the same time he should expound his ideas as if they have just stricken his
mind, despite the fact that the speech could
be composed beforehand by the professional speechwriters. It is necessary to understand that the listener has a subtle perception of creativity and as soon as he will realize that the speaker does not believe in what
he says or the idea is someone elses words,
the interest will fade instantly.
Emotional background is an important constituent of every speech.
It is necessary to maintain versatility during
the process of speaking. The speaker must
control rhythm, inflexion, pauses and accents. It is possible to keep the audiences
attention only in case the orator is able to
maintain its emotional alteration.
Gestures and mimics of the orator must be natural, although it is hard
to formulate the universal advice in this case. However, it is possible to say with utmost
certitude that hesitating speaker is given out
by his body. Successful orator does not merely control the process of speaking, but also watches his gestures and mimics, remaining inwardly emancipated.
The orator must be sincere. Advan-

ced techniques of public speaking and any

other manipulations are worth nothing without sincerity.
Prepare a speech
and talk in front of
your classmates.

Art of conversation
The art of conversation is a skill shared by
most successful people. Good conversation
promotes an image of self-confidence, intelligence, and wittiness.
People who always seem to rise to the top
of their professions and are well respected
by others who share the ability to converse
with anybody in every situation. People who
seem to speak effortlessly and efficiently with others are generally well liked and highly
successful. If you need to improve your conversational skills, here are a few tips that can
help you enhance your conversational skills
and boost your image.
1. Always say what you think, not what you
think others want you to say. Especially in a
professional setting, learning to express your views and ideas in a positive, non-threatening manner will invite reactions and responses. Effective leaders always say what
they are thinking and express their ideas freely. Having the courage to speak your mind as well as listening openly to the
views and ideas of others is a sure way to
earn the respect and admiration of all those you encounter.
2. Listen carefully to what others are saying.
People often interpret things said by others
in a way that clouds their ability to hear what
people are intending to say.By giving your
full attention to the speaker, you can hear
what they intend for you to hear instead of
what you want to hear. The art of conversation includes the ability to listen to others as
well as the ability to speak effectively.
3. Always assume that a speaker is saying
exactly what they mean to say. Even if it se-

ems unclear, try to find meaning and coherence to the words they are saying and give
them the respect of hearing what they want
you to hear. In any conversation, the ability to give respect is just as important as receiving it. The art of conversation is a give
and take between parties, not one speaker
and one listener.
4. Any conversation can be broken down
into three parts. The first part is small talk.
Small talk is dictated by social rules and includes polite greetings, inquiries about the
well-being of others, etc. Stage two is the
end of the small talk and moving on to the
purpose of the conversation such as business, the sharing of opinions and personal
views. Without the ability to express yourself efficiently, the conversation can easily
slip back into small talk, lessening the chances of accomplishing the initial goal of the
conversation.
The art of conversation is a learned skill
that is common among successful, energetic people. If you are unable to effectively express yourself in any situation, you will likely find that you do not attract the attention
and command the respect that is bestowed
upon some others.
People who talk freely and easily with
others usually find more professional and
personal fulfillment than those who are introverted and silent.
If you want to improve your professional
and social standing, learn to communicate efficiently and in a positive manner.You
will notice a dramatic difference in the way
other people perceive you if you demonstrate self-confidence and project a friendly, informed image.
1. Imagine a phone
conversation with
a friend of your, in
ten
t lines.
2. Relate an event
you took part in
llast week-end. Describe the event, the people, the feeling you had beeing there.
3. Which rules stated above do you
think its the most important?

14

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Services
Providing Services
How do I respond to the needs of the community? Does it make a difference if the library doesnt have Latino librarians?
Consider the following traits often
associated with successful libraries
providing effective services for their
Spanish-speaking community:
The library actively seeks partnering with
community organizations already serving
the Latino community.
There is a high level of organizational
support for outreach.
The library has sufficient resources (staff, money).
There is a positive attitude towards the
Hispanic/Latino community among staff
and beyond the library walls.
The library actively promotes programs
through Hispanic media and community
service agencies that serve Spanish speakers.
There is an institutional awareness of cultural diversity.
The library plans for a skilled, competent
workforce.
Dont be discouraged if your library doesnt share all these traits! There are
ways to adapt or work towards building these traits. Case studies of several successful
programs are available on WebJunction.
But before we can have a successful service, we must understand the cultural context within which we as professionals operate and the cultural context within which
our customers live.

Cultural Perspective
Dimensions of Culture

American Culture

1. Sense of self and space

Individual spacearms
length
Informaluse you for
all relationships
Hearty handshake
Direct eye contact
Explicit, direct communication
people say what they mean
and mean what they say
Emphasis on content; meaning
found in wordsyes means yes

2. Communication
and language

3. Dress and appearance

4. Food and eating habits
5. Time and time
consciousness

6. Relationships, family,
friends

7. Value and norms

What is culture?
Culture is the software that determines
our values, attitudes, and behaviors.
We all have culture and we are all culturally programmed.
None of us has the same cultural program.
We all belong to many different cultures
with different cultural rules.
We interpret a persons behavior based
on our cultural rules.
We make assumptions when we dont
understand.

8. Beliefs and attitudes

9. Mental processes and

learning style

Hispanic/Latino Culture

Closer than arms length

Formaluse both formal
and informal you
Warmer, softer handshake,
hug, kiss on the cheek
Averts eye contact to show
respect
Implicit, indirect
communicationpeople
may hold back to avoid
upsetting other person
Emphasis on context; meaning
found around wordsyes may
mean maybe or even no
Dress for Success ideal
Dress seen as sign of position,
Wide range in accepted dress
wealth, prestige
Eating as a necessityfast food
Dining as a social or family
experience
Religious rules
Time is linear and finiteseen
Time is elastic and infinite
as limited commodity
there is always more time
Exact time consciousness
Relative time consciousness
handle one thing/one person
many activities going on at once
at a time
Time spent on enjoyment
Value on promptness
of relationships
time means money
Deadlines and schedules
Deadlines/ schedules are sacred;
easily changed; time is bent
needs of people bend to
to meet needs of people
demands of time
Focus on nuclear family
Focus on extended family
Responsibility for self
Loyalty and responsibility
children encouraged to live
to familybeing independent
separate, independent lives
considered irresponsible, disloyal
Value on youth, age seen
Age given status and respect
as handicap
Individual orientation
Group orientation looking
independence and self
out for others protects ones self
reliance highly valued
Group success is greatest good
Personal fulfillment is
Preference for harmony
greatest good
Preference for direct
confrontation of conflict
Egalitarianall people
Hierarchicalpower
should have equal rights
more centralized
OK to challenge authority
Defer to authority and
Individuals control their destiny
social order
Gender equity
Limited control over destiny
Different roles for men
and women
Linear, logical, sequential
Lateral, holistic
Fix it approach to problems
Simultaneous
Humans in control
One adapts to problems
Progress and change is good
and situations
Learning is interactive; learner
Accepting of lifes difficulties
prefers to draw own conclusions
Change is threat to order
and harmony
Learning more formal and
one-way; learner dependent on
written information

15

Dimensions of Culture

American Culture

10. Work habits and practices Emphasis on task

Reward based on individual
achievement
Work has intrinsic value

Hispanic/Latino Culture
Emphasis on relationships
Rewards based on seniority,
relationships
Work is a necessity of life

Adapted from Lee Gardenswartz and Anita Rowe, Managing Diversity, Rev. ed. (McGraw Hill) 1998

Putting Together
a Class or Program
Finding the right instructor
Finding qualified instructors for your classes is one of the most important and most
challenging aspects of developing a program.
Language Ability Ideally, the instructor should be a native Spanish speaker. But
most importantly the instructor should be
enthusiastic about sharing this knowledge.
Technology Skills The majority of computer-related classes focus on basic skills
so trainers need to be comfortable guiding
people through the basics.
An awareness of cultural difference, such as those noted above is also helpful. For
example, Hispanic/Latinos are more likely
to behave in a formal way in a class setting
and show the instructor a great deal of respect. They may be uneasy questioning the
instructor or acknowledging they dont understand.
Instructors knowledgeable about the local Spanish-speaking community utilize
this specific information during training.
For example, if the instructor knows that
the majority of Spanish-speakers in the
community are from a certain country or
particular area of Mexico, the instructor
can use this knowledge while citing examples to make the class more interesting or
relevant to the patron; for example, while
explaining Internet resources, the instructor can point out newspapers from their city, state, or country.
Overcoming the Language Barrier
While a native or fluent speaker is ideal,
non-native or even non-fluent library staff
members often end up teaching a Spanish
language. The following are some ideas for
bridging the language gap:
Ask for referrals from the community
leaders.
Talk to ESL teachers or program coordinators at local schools.
Make handouts that are very easy to follow; show pictures and not so much text.
For example, a library in Des Plaines, IL
uses step by step screen shots that are accompanied by directions in Spanish for
class handouts. These handouts also ser-

ve as a great reference.
Use interpreters CAUTION: Realize
that the length of the class will increase significantly and some students get distracted
by switching languages and the interaction between the teacher and the interpreter.
If an interpreter is not available, consider
asking a student who speaks some English
to aid in communication.
Class Logistics
Scheduling Be aware of multiple jobs,
school schedule, etc. Many libraries have
found that consistent, regular, predictable
course offerings often result in the highest
overall attendance levels. Many have found
evenings to be a popular time. Other have
had success by using a rotating schedule
of evenings, mornings, and Saturdays, as
members of the Spanish-speaking community have widely varying work schedules.
Marketing Advertise outside of the library, take the library flyers, IN SPANISH,
to places where Spanish speakers already
gather. Consider making the information
about the program available in Spanish via
your web site or phone line, in addition to
print fliers. Use native media as much as
possible.
Word of Mouth marketing is very important. Partnerships with community organizations, schools, and churches can also
help get the word out. Marketing materials
should be simple and in both English and
Spanish (see WebJunction for examples).
Personal Invitation The power of
the personal connection cannot be emphasized enough. When library staff take the
time to talk to Spanish speaking patrons
about upcoming programs or classes, patrons acknowledge the special effort being
made and often respond with increased attendance to library programming.
Enrollment Many libraries have
found it helpful to forego formal registration and have adopted a first come, first
served policy. As most students lead very
busy and complicated lives, many cant attend class sessions regularly. The first come first served policy eliminated the administrative time required to oversee enrollments and maintain a waiting list. Most libraries encourage students to come when
they can and retake classes if needed.
Transportation If lack of transpor-

tation is an issue, consider delivering the

class or program elsewhere in the community. If your library is accessible by public
transportation, include this info in marketing materials. If your library is not easily reached by public transportation, it
may be difficult for some students to attend class. Some libraries have partnered
with community agencies to provide transportation.
Babysitting Some libraries have
found it very helpful to offer babysitting
or childrens programming at the same time as computer classes or other programs
for older audiences. Other libraries have
provided childrens activities in the classroom or have designed classes for children
and adults.
Preparing for a Computer Class
Before class Set up the computers
by opening needed files and browser windows. Change the language if you are planning to utilize the Spanish profile. Add needed Web sites to Favorites list.
As class begins Anticipate that some students may be late arriving, spend time with introductions, and present information about the library and services first.
Address factors of fear and embarrassment
openly, create a positive and trusting environment, keep the mood light. In the first
class, or in every class if turnover is great,
demonstrate basic computer and keyboarding skills like holding a mouse, clicking,
double clicking, minimizing and maximizing windows, using close buttons, etc.
Throughout class Explain all computer terminology and provide handouts with clear directions in Spanish. Empower students by giving them tasks they
can complete. Try to use culturally relevant
examples and tasks.
Service Success Principles
Make no assumptions about what the
community knows about the library or its
services.
Establish trust and respect one person at
a time, one day at a time.
Integrate the library into the heart and
soul of the community.

Marketing &
Working with
Ethnic Media
Key Concepts
Focus on selling the service or program
in terms that connect or mean something
to the user that relate to their needs, problems, life situations, etc.
Focus on selling the idea that the life of
the user will be enhanced. Avoid focusing
on selling the library.
Build personal relationships.

16

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

You cannot invite people to YOUR event

and expect them to make it THEIR event.
Yolanda Cuesta, October 2007.
Developing Messages That Connect
Instead of a brochure publicizing the Spanish language collection, develop flyers
(with colorful book cover illustrations)
that call attention to specific materials.
For example:
Are you expecting a baby? What can you
do to be sure your baby is born healthy and
strong? These materials are available to
you for free at the public library.
Are you going for a job interview? Do you
need to know what to expect and how to
prepare for a job interview?
Instead of simply publicizing a list of
computer classes, talk about what the classes will help them do:
Communicate with your family in Mexico!
Send e-mail messages from the library.
Are you looking for a job? You can submit
your job application on the computer.
Use kids to market the FREE services at
the library and showing that the library is a
welcoming place. For example, to advertise
a Mothers Day program, create a card for

kids to take home to mothers inviting them

to a free knitting class at the library.
Tips on Preparing Marketing
Materials
Emphasize the visual. Use color.
Emphasize the 4 Fs: Free (Gratis), Family, Food, Fun
Use their language
Get it down to basics
Get help reviewing translations. Always
get a second opinion.
Word-of-Mouth Marketing
Word of mouth refers to passing information from person to person. Originally, word of mouth referred specifically to
verbal communication, but now it is understood that it includes other means of communication, such as face to face, telephone, email, and text messaging.
This whole notion of word-of-mouth
marketing in the multicultural market is tightly related to social networks. The marketer needs to know who is in the social network. Penetrating a community through opinion leaders makes for a good chance that the product will be adopted. Felipe
Korzenny, Marketing News, July 22, 2002

48% of Latinos get advice about a product through someone they know who has
already used the product.
62% of Latinos gain knowledge about a
product from their relatives.
16% of Latinos get their information from
a newspaper or magazine.
Marketing News, July 22, 2002
For better word of mouth exposure
Promote service among local community leaders.
Hold special events within the community tailored to community needs and interests.
Partner with community organizations
to celebrate local events.
Contact the ethnic media to help spread the word.
Imagine you are
some services
provider: which
p
services would you
s
provide? Make a
marketing plan,
ffollowing the steps
you saw above.

17

Culture and
entertainment
Feasts and
Festivities in
Medieval Dartford
Very little documentary evidence has survived regarding leisure and entertainment
in medieval Dartford. One can only speculate that, as with other medieval towns,
saints days and national events would have been celebrated by most of the local populace. Religious festivals were accompanied by miracle plays, processions, and feasting; secular occasions and the annual fair
presented the ideal opportunity for bawdy
merry-making and sports and games which included archery, bowling, dice, hammer-throwing, quarter-staff contests, quoits, skittles and wrestling.
The Midsummer Solstice (23 June),
the feast of the Eve of St. John, was celebrated in most towns, and was marked by
feasting, drinking, playing bawdy games,
building bonfires, carrying torches and rolling burning wheels down hillsides. In some towns, houses were decorated with garlands. Christmas was the other great celebration characterised by wassails, feasts, gift
giving, and mummers (dancers). Christmas
was the time for the lords of misrule; one of
the lowly peasants of the manor was allowed
to be lord for the day and order feasts and
entertainments for his fellow peasants.
St Swithuns Day was traditionally an occasion on which to mark the richness of the
harvest. There was bobbing for apples, races,
currant bread and plums. On Lammas Day
in August there were candlelit processions
and bread was ceremoniously saved for the
next year. Many of these celebrations were
a survival from a remote pagan past, so the
Church did its best to discourage them.

Musical
Entertainment
Music was an important element in medieval life. Instruments included violins,
drums, harps, lutes, organs, citoles, psal-

teries, flutes and horns. Minstrels and jugglers were often to be found in bands of
travelling players.

Tournaments
and Jousts
Medieval warfare produced entertainments, in the form of ritualised battles,
known as tournaments or tourneys. Tournaments seem to have been invented in the
eleventh century by Geofroyde de Preuilly.
They were particularly a feature of French
courtly life, and were far less popular in England except in the time of Edward III.
A tournament was a battle in which prisoners were taken and, although deaths could occur, they were chiefly symbolic reenactments of the type of events that were
taking place in reality. As time went on the
tournaments became increasingly entertainments rather than practice wars, with
music, dancing and betting.
The joust, liked by many in England,
was a small-scale tournament which was
increasingly popular from the fourteenth
century. It was a one-to-one combat with
any of a variety of weapons, carried out on
horseback or on foot. Jousts were also indulged in as the opening of a tournament.

The Great Dartford

Tournament f 1331
Edward III, on his return from France in
1331, proclaimed a splendid international
tournament on Dartford Heath or Dartford
Brent in which his knights and nobles endeavoured to outdo other nations in military skill and magnificence. King Edward,
who may have owned a fortified royal house in or near Dartford, ordered all the ablebodied knights of the realm to attend the
Dartford tournament, presumably to ensure the success of the occasion. Edward III
himself rode in the tournament at Dartford
under the banner of William de Clinton.
The tournament was the great sport of the
upper classes. No doubt the local popula-

ce was invited to watch the Dartford tournament. Musicians, acrobats, jugglers and
other performers would flock to the tournament to entertain the crowds and earn
some money. By the late middle ages, rules had been written for tournaments, and
the knight and his horse were so well protected that fatal incidents were comparatively rare.

Nobles

In Medieval Europe, games and sports were not only played for the sake of enjoyment
and entertainment. For the noble class, games and sports served the additional purpose of keeping noblemen fit and active.
By engaging in regular physical training,
the noblemen and knights were able to be
better prepared for any battles which might arise in the future.
Men from upper classes usually entered tournaments, which were fiercely competitive contests between individuals and
between clans. Tournaments featured
the joust (two mounted men, each trying
to knock the other off his horse) and the
mle (mock battle).
Nobles also enjoyed archery and a type
of tennis, known in modern times as royal
tennis. While most noble women stayed in
the home, some women did join the men to
go hunting and hawking (hunting birds of
prey). The noble class not only engaged in
physical activities, but also played board games which included chess and Nine Mens
Morris (a game in which the object is to remove all of the opponents pieces).

Peasants

Physical fighting games and sports were

not only limited to the noble class. Peasants also enjoyed wrestling, fighting with
swords and quarterstaffs (wooden sticks
with metal tips) and watching cockfights
(fights between specially-bred roosters).
The peasants, however, did not socialise
with the noble class, who was opposed to
joining in with the peasantry. Often the
dire financial circumstances of peasants

18

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Agnes Negrescu

also prevented them from participating

in a number of games and sports that the
noble class enjoyed. Unable to afford the
cost of a horse, armour and weapons to
compete in a joust, for example, peasants
tended to play games which required little
equipment. Peasants often played a game

which is similar to modern-day football

(soccer). The game, however, was without any rules concerning obtaining the ball
and there were no limits on the number of
players. Refer Image 3
In some cases, peasants were even forbidden by law to engage in some of the ac-

tivities that noblemen enjoyed. While both nobles and peasants enjoyed hunting
and hawking, it was illegal for peasants
to hunt on the lords land. Considered
as poaching, the crime had serious consequences for the offenders involved.

19

Time and weather/

Environmental
protection
Climate Change
and Global
Warming
Global warming and climate change is looked at in this section of the global issues web
site. Introduced are some of the effects of
climate change. In addition, this section attempts to provide insights into what governments, companies, international institutions, and other organizations are attempting to
do about this issue, as
well as the challenges they face. Some of the major
conferences in
recent years are
also discussed.
The climate is changing.
The earth is
warming up,
and there is now
overwhelming scientific consensus that it
is happening, and human-induced. With
global warming on the increase and species and their habitats on the decrease, chances for ecosystems to adapt naturally are
diminishing.
Many are agreed that climate change
may be one of the greatest threats facing the
planet. Recent years show increasing temperatures in various regions, and/or increasing extremities in weather patterns.
This section looks at what causes climate change, what the impacts are and where
scientific consensus currently is.

Global Dimming

Research has shown that air pollutants from

fossil fuel use make clouds reflect more of

the suns rays back into space. This leads to

an effect known as global dimming whereby less heat and energy reaches the earth. At
first, it sounds like an ironic savior to climate change problems. However, it is believed
that global dimming caused the droughts in
Ethiopia in the 1970s and 80s where millions died, because the northern hemisphere
oceans were not warm enough to allow rain formation. Global dimming is also hiding
the true power of global warming. By cleaning up global dimming-causing pollutants
without tackling greenhouse gas emissions,
rapid warming has been observed, and various human health and ecological disasters
have resulted, as witnessed during the European heat wave in 2003, which saw thousands of people die.

UN Framework
Convention on
Climate Change
The world mostly agrees that something
needs to be done about global warming and
climate change. The first stumbling block,
however, has been trying to get an agreement on a framework. In 1988, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
(IPCC) was created by the United Nations
Environment Programme (UNEP) and the
World Meterological Organization (WMO)
to assess the scientific knowledge on global warming. The IPCC concluded in 1990
that there was broad international consensus that climate change was human-induced. That report led way to an international
convention for climate change, the United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), signed by over 150
countries at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992.
This section looks at this Convention and
some of the main principles in it.

Reactions to
Climate Change
Negotiations and
Action
The United States plus a few other countries, and many large corporations, have
been against climate change treaties due
to the fear of the threat to their economy
and profits if they have to make substantial changes.
However, as more climate change science has emerged over the years, many businesses are accepting this and even asking
their governments for more action so that
there is quick clarification on the new rules of the game so they can get on with their
businesses.
This section explores some of those fears
to see if they are justified or not.

Global Warming,
Spin and Media
For many years, large, influential businesses and governments have been against
the idea of global warming. Many have
poured a lot of resources into discrediting
what has generally been accepted for a long
time as real.
Now, the mainstream is generally worried about climate change impacts and the
discourse seems to have shifted accordingly. Some businesses that once engaged in
disinformation campaigns have even changed their opinions, some even requesting
governments for regulation and direction
on this issue.
However, a few influential companies
and organizations are still attempting to
undermine climate change action and con-

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COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

cerns. Will all this mean a different type of

spin and propaganda with attempts at green washing and misleading information becoming the norm, or will there now be major shift in attitudes to see concrete solutions
being proposed and implemented?

Climate Justice
and Equity
For a number of years, there have been concerns that climate change negotiations will
essentially ignore a key principle of climate
change negotiation frameworks: the common but differentiated responsibilities.
This recognizes that historically:
Industrialized nations have emitted
far more greenhouse gas emissions (even if
some developing nations are only now increasing theirs);
Rich countries therefore face the biggest responsibility and burden for action
to address climate change; and
Rich countries therefore must support
developing nations adaptthrough financing and technology transfer, for example.
This notion of climate justice is typically ignored by many rich nations and their
mainstream media, making it easy to blame China, India and other developing countries for failures in climate change mitigation negotiations.
Development expert, Martin Khor, calculated that taking historical emissions into account, the rich countries owe a carbon

debt because they have already used more

than their fair quota of emissions.
Yet, by 2050 when certain emission
reductions are needed by, their reduced
emissions will still add up to be go over
their fair share.
However, rather than continue down
the path of unequal development, industrialized nations can help pay off their carbon debt by truly helping emerging countries develop along a cleaner path, such as
through the promised-but-barely-delivered technology transfer, finance, and capacity building.
So far however, rich nations have done
very little within the Kyoto protocol to reduce emissions by any meaningful amount,
while they are all for negotiating a follow
on treaty that brings more pressure to developing countries to agree to emissions
targets.
In effect, the more there will be delay the
more the poor nations will have to save the
Earth with their sacrifices (and if it works,
as history shows, the rich and powerful will
find a way to rewrite history to claim they
were the ones that saved the planet).

Climate Change
Flexibility
Mechanisms
Flexibility mechanisms were defined in the
Kyoto Protocol as different ways to achieve

emissions reduction as part of the effort to

address climate change issues. These fall
into the following categories: Emissions
Trading, Joint Implementation and Clean
Development Mechanism.
However, these have been highly controversial as they were mainly included on
strong US insistence and to keep the US in
the treaty (even though the US eventually
pulled out). Some of the mechanisms face
criticism for not actually leading to a reduction in emissions, for example.

Carbon Sinks,
Forests and
Climate Change
A mechanism suggested for tackling climate change and warming has been the idea of
using Carbon Sinks to soak up carbon dioxide. To aid in this, reforestation, or planting of new forests, have been suggested.
This is a popular strategy for the logging
industry and nations with large forests interests. While there may be some potential in this solution, it cannot be effective on
its own. This is because it legitimizes continued destruction of old-growth and pristine forests which are rich ecosystems and
have an established biodiversity base (albeit shrinking now) that naturally maintain the environment (at no cost!). Creating
new forest areas would require the creation
of entire ecosystems. It is also criticized for
being a quick fix that does not tackle the root causes effectively and does not lead to, or
promote actual emissions reduction.

Climate Change
Affects Biodiversity

Rapid global warming can affect an ecosystems chances to adapt naturally. The Arctic is very sensitive to climate change and
already seeing lots of changes. Ocean biodiversity is already being affected as are
other parts of the ecosystem.

21
Global Warming
and Population

more nations and companies are trying to

invest in alternatives. But will the geopolitics remain the same?

Scientists believe that Global Warming will

lead to a weaker Ozone layer, because as
the surface temperature rises, the stratosphere (the Ozone layer being found in the
upper part) will get colder, making the natural repairing of the Ozone slower.

It seems there has been a recent interest

in associating climate change/global warming with over population and that
countries such as China and India have to
do more to help contain global warming.
Yet rich countries have a lot to do themselves. There were agreed reasons why developing countries were exempt from initial greenhouse gas emission targets: it was
the emissions from rich countries that accumulated in the atmosphere for so long to
trigger climate change.

Coral Reefs

One type of ecosystem that perhaps is neglected more than any other is perhaps also
the richest in biodiversitythe coral reefs.
Coral reefs are useful to the environment and to people in a number of ways.
However, all around the world, much of
the worlds marine biodiversity face threats from human and activities as well as natural. It is feared that very soon, many reefs could die off.

Energy Security

Energy security is a growing concern for rich

and emerging nations alike. The past drive
for fossil fuel energy has led to wars, overthrow of democratically elected leaders, and
puppet governments and dictatorships.
Leading nations admit we are addicted
to oil, but investment into alternatives has
been lacking, or little in comparison to fossil fuel investments.
As the global financial crisis takes hold
and awareness of climate change increases,

The Ozone Layer

and Climate Change

El Nio and
Climate Change
Dominance
and Change
in the Arctic

The Arctic region has long been considered

international territory. Five countriesCanada, Denmark (via Greenland), Norway,
Russia, and the United Statesshare a border with the frozen Arctic Ocean. Some of
these nations have claimed parts of the region to be their territory.
Underlying the interests in the area are
potentially vast oil, gas and other resources, as well as the opening up of lucrative passages for trade and economic activity as climate change reduces the amount
of ice in the region. As a result, these nations have been vying for dominance in the
Arctic.
Climate change provides an additional
threat not just to the local wildlife and indigenous populations that are already seeing their surroundings change rapidly, but
to the rest of the planet, too. While retreating sea ice may open up shipping routes,
the regions ability to reflect sunlight back
into space would diminish, further increasing climate change effects.

The 1997 Nio caused huge problems all

over the world, from droughts to floods and
poor yield of crops. It is thought that there
is a link between climate change and the
severity of Nio.

Environmental
Issues

Environmental issues are also a major global issue. Humans depend on a sustainable
and healthy environment, and yet we have damaged the environment in numerous ways. This section introduces other issues including biodiversity, climate change, animal and nature conservation, population, genetically modified food, sustainable development, and more.

22

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Living healthy
Leading a physically and mentally wellbalanced existence is the ideal way to live
a healthy life style. This is, of course, easier said than done, and there are a great
many other things involved. The way you
think, what you eat, where you work, where you live, what you do, what your financial situation is, who you know, and so on.
You need a certain amount of self-discipline and self-motivation to maintain a sensible daily rhythm. You need to discover
what works for you and what doesnt. You
need to accept that certain things are beyond your control and there is little point
in knocking yourself out about them. You
need to understand that leading a healthy
life-style is a continual and life-long process. Youre never going to reach a point
where you can think, oh, its all okay now,
Im okay, I dont have to make any more
effort here after unless youre dead and
gone, that is. Life is a chain of continued
efforts, an on-going process. Think of yourself as a work of art in progress.
Here are a few healthy living tips. They
work for me. Maybe they will work for you.
You should always find your own path to
living the healthy lifestyle.
1. Everything should be done in moderation eating, working, resting, playing, maintaining hobbies, socializing, and so on.
2. You should take stock of how you spend
your day, so you can reschedule your time, concentrate on important chores, cut
down on the inconsequential, and thereby suffer less stress.
3. Dont take on more work or personal

responsibilities than you can realistically handle.

4. Do what you love. The money will usually follow.
5. Try to be less materialistic and keep your life simple. It is really unnecessary to
keep up with the Joneses. Why buy a car
if you can avail of public transport? Why
own a cell-phone when you dont really
need one? Why beat yourself up trying to
upgrade to the latest software when the
old one serves you just fine?
6. Pay all your bills regularly and on time.
Never take a loan if youre not sure about
meeting the monthly payments. Live within your means.
7. You should sleep for at least eight hours every night. A siesta in the afternoon,
if possible, is also a good idea and certainly refreshing for your brain.
8. Control your mind. What you think and
how you think affects your general wellbeing. Refuse to entertain negative or selfderogatory thoughts and emotions. This
will require practice, especially if you have fallen into the habit of seeing the glass
half-empty.
9. Cultivate your spiritual side. You dont
have to turn religious and burn candles at
public altars, but keeping in touch with
your intuition and your inner self is important.
10. Go for comfort over fashion any day.
11. Eat well and healthy. Learn to cook
well. Try new recipes. Make meals interesting and fun.
12. Exercise regularly. Go for a short run

every morning. Do Yoga. Exercise your

eyes regularly, especially if you spend a
lot of time in front of the computer. If you
have to run errands around the neighborhood, walk or cycle around. Walk up stairways instead of taking the lift.
13. Go for regular medical check-ups.
If you have health problems, talk to your doctor and discuss all the options that
are available for you. Get a second, third,
fourth opinion. Research on the Internet.
Dont panic, lose hope, or give up easily.
14. If you have the space, cultivate a garden. Working in a garden is a great form of
exercise, and growing plants brings a lovely deal of cheer and satisfaction to the soul. If you dont have the space, make space. You can have your garden in small tubs
or containers.
15. Maintain a good social life. Take an
interest in other people and help without expecting anything in return whenever possible.
16. Be honest, ethical, polite, and sincere. Dont flatter anyone unless you mean
it and dont ever lie.
17. Read books, magazines, newspapers.
Be aware of what is going on around you,
locally, nationally, and internationally.
Try to learn at least one thing new every
day.
18. Dont take yourself too seriously. Learn to laugh at yourself.
19. Dont indulge in malicious gossip.
20. Pay attention to the thing that youre
doing at any given moment, and do it
well.

23

Sports
A sport is an organized, competitive,
entertaining, and skillful activity requiring commitment, strategy, and fair play,
in which a winner and loser can be defined by objective means. Generally speaking, a sport is a game based in physical
athleticism. Activities such as board games and card games are sometimes classified as mind sports, but strictly speaking sport by itself refers to some physical activity. Non-competitive activities
may also qualify, for example though jogging or playing catch are usually classified as forms of recreation, they may also
be informally called sports due to their
similarity to competitive games.
Sports are governed by a set of rules or
customs. Physical events such as scoring
goals or crossing a line first often define
the result of a sport. However, the degree
of skill and performance in some sports
such as diving, dressage and figure skating is judged according to well-defined
criteria. This is in contrast with other judged activities such as beauty pageants and
body building, where skill does not have to
be shown and the criteria are not as well
defined.
Records are kept and updated for most
sports at the highest levels, while failures
and accomplishments are widely announced in sport news. Sports are most often
played just for fun or for the simple fact
that people need exercise to stay in good
physical condition. However, professional
sport is a major source of entertainment.
While practices may vary, sports participants are expected to display good sportsmanship, and observe standards of conduct such as being respectful of opponents
and officials, and congratulating the winner when losing.

training. The modern Greek term for sport

is (athlitismos), directly cognate with the English terms athlete and
athleticism.
The oldest definition of sport in English
(1300) is of anything humans find amusing or entertaining. Other meanings include gambling and events staged for the
purpose of gambling; hunting; and games
and diversions, including ones that require
exercise. Rogets defines the noun sport as
an activity engaged in for relaxation and
amusement with synonyms including diversion and recreation.

Etymology and
meaning

Roman bronze reduction of Myrons

Discobolos, 2nd century AD

Sport comes from the Old French desport

meaning leisure. American English
uses the term sports to refer to this general type of recreational activity, whereas other regional dialects use the singular
sport. The French word for sport is based on the Persian word bord, meaning
winning or win. The Chinese term for
sport, tiyu (; ) connotes physical

History

There are artifacts and structures that suggest that the Chinese engaged in sporting activities as early as 2000 BC. Gymnastics appears to have been a popular
sport in Chinas ancient past. Monuments
to the Pharaohs indicate that a number
of sports, including swimming and fishing, were well-developed and regulated
several thousands of years ago in ancient
Egypt. Other Egyptian sports included ja-

velin throwing, high jump, and wrestling.

Ancient Persian sports such as the traditional Iranian martial art of Zourkhaneh
had a close connection to the warfare skills. Among other sports that originate in ancient Persia are polo and jousting.
A wide range of sports were already
established by the time of Ancient Greece and the military culture and the development of sports in Greece influenced one
another considerably. Sports became such
a prominent part of their culture that the
Greeks created the Olympic Games, which
in ancient times were held every four years
in a small village in the Peloponnesus called Olympia.
Sports have been increasingly organized and regulated from the time of the ancient Olympics up to the present century.
Industrialization has brought increased leisure time to the citizens of developed and
developing countries, leading to more time for citizens to attend and follow spectator sports, greater participation in athletic activities, and increased accessibility.
These trends continued with the advent of
mass media and global communication.
Professionalism became prevalent, further
adding to the increase in sports popularity, as sports fans began following the exploits of professional athletes through radio, television, and the internetall while enjoying the exercise and competition
associated with amateur participation in
sports.
In the New Millennium, new sports have been going further from the physical aspect to the mental or psychological aspect of
competing. Electronic sports organizations
are becoming more and more popular.

Motorized sports have appeared since the advent of the modern age.

Sportsmanship

Sportsmanship is an attitude that strives

for fair play, courtesy toward teammates
and opponents, ethical behaviour and integrity, and grace in victory or defeat.
Sportsmanship expresses an aspiration
or ethos that the activity will be enjoyed for

24

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

its own sake. The well-known sentiment by

sports journalist Grantland Rice, that its
not that you won or lost but how you played the game, and the modern Olympic
creed expressed by its founder Pierre de
Coubertin: The most important thing...
is not winning but taking part are typical
expressions of this sentiment.
Violence in sports involves crossing the
line between fair competition and intentional aggressive violence. Athletes, coaches, fans, and parents sometimes unleash violent behaviour on people or property,
in misguided shows of loyalty, dominance, anger, or celebration. Rioting or hooliganism are common and ongoing problems at national and international sporting
contests.

Professional sports

Modern sports have complex rules

and are highly organized
The aspect of sports, together with the increase of mass media and leisure time, has
led to professionalism in sports. This has
resulted in some conflict, where the paycheck are more important than recreational aspects, or where the sports are changed simply to make them more profitable
and popular, thereby losing certain valued traditions. Indeed, since sport by definition is a leisure activity, professional
sport does not and cannot exist. However the term is commonplace and accepted
to mean a game or other activity, regarded
by the general population as sport, which
is performed by persons for reward with
the intent to entertain spectators. The entertainment aspect also means that sportsmen and women are often elevated to celebrity status in media and popular culture. For this reason, many journalists have
suggested that sports should not be reported by the general media but only by specialist magazines.

When apartheid was the official policy

in South Africa, many sports people, particularly in rugby union, adopted the conscientious approach that they should not appear in competitive sports there. Some feel this was an effective contribution to the
eventual demolition of the policy of apartheid, others feel that it may have prolonged
and reinforced its worst effects.
The 1936 Summer Olympics held in Berlin was an illustration, perhaps best recognised in retrospect, where an ideology was
developing which used the event to strengthen its spread through propaganda.
In the history of Ireland, Gaelic sports
were connected with cultural nationalism.
Until the mid 20th century a person could have been banned from playing Gaelic football, hurling, or other sports administered by the Gaelic Athletic Association
(GAA) if she/he played or supported football, or other games seen to be of British
origin. Until recently the GAA continued to
ban the playing of football and rugby union
at Gaelic venues. This ban is still enforced,
but was modified to allow football and rugby to be played in Croke Park while Lansdowne Road was redeveloped into Aviva
Stadium. Until recently, under Rule 21, the
GAA also banned members of the British
security forces and members of the RUC
from playing Gaelic games, but the advent
of the Good Friday Agreement in 1998 led
to the eventual removal of the ban.
Nationalism is often evident in the pursuit of sports, or in its reporting: people
compete in national teams, or commentators and audiences can adopt a partisan
view. On occasion, such tensions can le-

Politics

At times, sports and politics can have a large amount of influence on each other.

Gymnastics

ad to violent confrontation among players

or spectators within and beyond the sporting venue, as in the Football War. These
trends are seen by many as contrary to the
fundamental ethos of sports being carried
on for its own sake and for the enjoyment
of its participants.

Physical art

Sports have many affinities with art. For

example, figure skating, drum corps, skateboarding, artistic gymnastics, dancesport,
and Tai chi can be considered artistic spectacles. Similarly, there are other activities
that have elements of sport and art in their
execution, such as bodybuilding, free running, martial arts, professional wrestling,
performance art, yoga, dressage, and culinary arts. Perhaps the best example is bullfighting, which in Spain is reported in the
arts pages of newspapers.
All sports involve physical and mental
activities that are pursued for more than
simply utilitarian reasons. For instance,
running, when done as a sport, occurs for
reasons beyond simply moving from one
place to another. Value is gained from this
activity when it is conducted simply for its
own sake. This is similar to the concept of
aesthetic value, which is seeing something
over and above the strictly functional value coming from an objects normal use.
For instance, an aesthetically pleasing car
is one which doesnt just get from A to B,
but which impresses with its grace, poise,
and charisma. In the same way, a sporting
performance such as jumping doesnt just
impress as being an effective way to avoid

25
obstacles. It impresses because of the ability, skill, and style that is demonstrated in
its performance.
Art and sports were clearly linked at
the time of Ancient Greece, when gymnastics and calisthenics invoked admiration
and aesthetic appreciation for the physical build, prowess and arete displayed by
participants. The modern term art as skill,
is related to this ancient Greek term arete. The closeness of art and sport in these times was revealed by the nature of the
Olympic Games, which were celebrations
of both sporting and artistic achievements,
poetry, sculpture and architectures.

The 3 Key Traits of

a Successful Sports
Bettor - Do You
Have What it Takes?
With the explosion of the online sports
betting industry, there are now more people betting on sports than ever before. Its
a great form of entertainment and for some people, its an extra form of income.
If you like to bet on sports, then youll
probably agree its better when you win
money! So with that in mind, today we go

over three of the main characteristics of

successful bettors.
1. Discipline
I list this first because I truly believe its
what separates the professionals that make money year after year.
Unfortunately, most people who bet on
sports fall victim to bad money management and poor discipline. All too often people will bet big when they have lost a few
in a row hoping to win it back, or simply
bet bigger than they should be based on
their bankroll.
Most professional bettors will stick to
the same bet amount for each wager (they
may vary but are within a narrow range).
Also, they rarely wager more than 1-3%
of their bankroll on any one game.
Professionals dont let emotions get the
best of them and stick to strict money management plans.
2. Seeking out Value
Professionals approach each game as
though it was an investment. And just like Warren Buffet does when he invests
in stocks, they look for bets that offer value.
There are times when the odds wont
be set quite right and offer an opportunity
to make a profit. It doesnt mean that the
bet will win everytime, but a professional
will make the wager when they believe the

probability of victory is high enough to be

a longterm profitable wager.
3. Taking advantage of bonuses
This one is fairly new and really only started coming into play when sportsbooks
started taking bets on the internet. Nowadays, it can add tens of thousands of dollars of profits to the professional bettors
bottom line.
Online Sportsbooks will offer bonuses
to new and existing customers when they
make a deposit. These are usually based
on how much you deposit - for example
they might offer you a 20% bonus. Therefore, if you deposit $2500, they will add
$500 to your balance so that you start with $3000.
Obviously you cant just automatically
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pro sports bettor will easily meet any wagering requirement.
In the longrun, taking advantage of bonuses when they are available can be a huge boost to your profits.
Sports betting can be more than just a
hobby if you take the right approach. If you
have what it takes, you can be part of a select group of people that consistently beat
their bookie and make money from sports
betting!

26

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Mass-media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies, including the Internet, television, newspapers, film and radio, which
are used for mass communications, and to
the organizations which control these technologies.
Since the 1950s, in the countries that have reached a high level of industrialization,
the mass media of cinema, radio and TV
have a key role in political power.
Contemporary research demonstrates
an increasing level of concentration of media ownership, with many media industries
already highly concentrated and dominated by a very small number of firms.

History

The phrase the media began to be used

in the 1920s, but referred to something
that had its origins much further in the
past. The invention of the printing press
in the late 15th century gave rise to some
of the first forms of mass communication,
by enabling the publication of books and
newspapers on a scale much larger than
was previously possible.

Newspapers

The first high-circulation newspapers arose in the eastern United States in the early
1800s, and were made possible by the invention of high-speed rotary steam printing presses, and railroads which allowed
large-scale distribution over wide geographical areas. The increase in circulation,
however, led to a decline in feedback and
interactivity from the readership, making
newspapers a more one-way medium.
Since the beginning, high-circulation
newspapers have been a medium for conditioning public opinion.

Electrical telegraph

In the 1840s, the first commercial electrical

telegraph was developed, allowing to separate communications from transportation, enabling messages to be transmitted
instantaneously over large distances.

Movies

Cinema began to be a large-scale entertainment industry in 1894, with the first

commercial exhibition of film. The first

films with a narrative bagan to be distributed in 1987.

Radio

The first commercial broadcasts in the United States began in the 1920s.

Television

The first television broadcasts for a mass

audience began in 1936 Germany and UK.
Regular mass TV broadcasts in the United
States only began in 1948, with a show hosted by Arturo Toscanini and starring comedian Milton Berle.

Political role in
modern societies
Since the 50s, when cinema, radio and TV
began to be the primary or the only source of information for a larger and larger
percentage of the population, these media
began to be considered as central instruments of mass control. Up to the point that
it emerged the idea that when a country
has reached a high level of industrialization, the country itself belongs to the person
who controls communications.
Mass media play a significant role in
shaping public perceptions on a variety of
important issues, both through the information that is dispensed through them,
and through the interpretations they place upon this information. They also play a
large role in shaping modern culture, by
selecting and portraying a particular set
of beliefs, values, and traditions (an entire way of life), as reality. That is, by portraying a certain interpretation of reality,
they shape reality to be more in line with
that interpretation.

Internet, mobile
devices, video games
Purposes
Mass media can be used for various purposes:
Advocacy, both for business and social concerns. This can include advertising,
marketing, propaganda, public relations,
and political communication.
Entertainment, traditionally through

performances of acting, music, and sports,

along with light reading; since the late 20th
century also through video and computer
games.
Public service announcements.
Technologies
Electronic media and print media include:
Broadcasting, in the narrow sense, for
radio and television.
Many instances of various types of recorded discs or tapes. In the 20th century, these were mainly used for music. Video and
computer uses followed.
Film, most often used for entertainment,
but also for documentaries.
The Internet examples include Blogs
and podcasts (such as news, music, pre-recorded speech, and video)
Mobile phones, which can be used for rapid breaking news and short clips of entertainment like jokes, horoscopes, alerts, games, music, and advertising
Publishing, including electronic publishing
Video games, which have developed into a mass form of media.

Mass Media
Influence
In the last 50 years the media influence has
grown exponentially with the advance of
technology, first there was the telegraph,
then the radio, the newspaper, magazines,
television and now the internet.
We live in a society that depends on information and communication to keep
moving in the right direction and do our
daily activities like work, entertainment,
health care, education, personal relationships, traveling and anything else that we
have to do.
A common person in the city usually wakes up checks the tv news or newspaper,
goes to work, makes a few phone calls, eats
with their family when possible and makes
his decisions based on the information that
he has either from their co workers, news,
tv, friends, family, financial reports, etc.
What we need to be aware is that most of
our decisions, beliefs and values are based
on what we know for a fact, our assumptions and our own experience. In our work
we usually know what we have to do based on our experience and studies, however on our daily lives we rely on the me-

27
dia to get the current news and facts about what is important and what we should
be aware of.
We have put our trust on the media as
an authority to give us news, entertainment
and education. However, the influence of
mass media on our kids, teenagers and society is so big that we should know how it
really works.

How mass Media

Influence works
Of all the media distribution channels the
most influential has been the television,
we are constantly exposed to thousands of
images of violence, advertising, sex, celebrities and much more, in fact a its known

that a child is exposed to about 40,000

ads a year.
But who owns the media, which are the
companies or people that shape our values, beliefs and decisions? The media is basically dominated by five major companies
they are:
Time Warner
VIACOM
Vivendi Universal
Walt Disney
News Corp
Those 5 companies own 95% of all the
media that we get every day. They own the
major entertainment theme parks, entertainment movie studios, television and radio broadcast networks and programing,
video news and sports entertainment.
They also own integrated telecommuni-

cations, wireless phones, video games softwares, electronic media, the music industry and more.
Years ago there was more diversity in
companies, but they have merged so now
they are just a few and they have the power
to shape the opinion and beliefs of us and
our kids. So its important to be aware of
what your kids are exposed to every day
and you should also try to look at things
from different perspectives and not just
from the one the media gives you.
State the power
and the lacks of
mass
media.
m

28

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Learning
and working
Natural Learning
During the last hundred years, our society
has moved away from natural learning environments to heavy dependence on classrooms. To further narrow learning opportunity, society is accepting the belief that
the standardized test measures achievement potential. The production line mindset that Henry Ford started during the early
1900s, repetitive action with limited skills
and no responsibility, is now the mindset
of our education system.
Natural learning is assuming responsibility, asking questions, seeking answers,
analyzing information, which leads to more questions. The answer is never complete
because there are always broader possibilities and/or better ways. Learning by asking
questions is a treadmill that has no end.
This method trains the mind to keep searching, even when a reasonable answer is
found. This is the key to educating oneself
without dependency on others.
Benjamin Franklin went to school for
two years between the ages of 8 and 10,
then was out. His continuing education
was a life long process of creating challenging projects with familiar objects, asking,
There must be an alternative use? Then
he would seek answers and analyze them.
Examples: Lighting has power that can be
beneficial to man if harness or moving fire from the fireplace to a stove in the center of the room for greater efficiency. He
found answers to these familiar forces of
nature by asking questions, then trial and
error, then more questions.
Remember:
For every successful result, there were
hundreds of incomplete answers or total failures.
Self-motivated projects are natural learning environments.
Compare Mr. Franklins achievements
to people who spend many years in school,
then stop developing their learning skills
when they are out. Personal achievement is
based on a learning attitude, not how many
years spent in school.

1. Education is what remains after one has

forgotten what one has learned in school.
~Albert Einstein
2. Education is a better safeguard of liberty
than a standing army. ~Edward Everett
3. A man educated only at school is an uneducated man. ~George Santayana
4. Education is the ability to listen to almost anything without losing your temper
or your self-confidence. ~Robert Frost
5. Education is the movement from darkness to light. ~Allan Bloom
6. They say that we are better educated
than our parents generation. What they
mean is that we go to school longer. It is
not the same thing. ~Richard Yates
7. Education is the transmission of civilization. ~Ariel and Will Durant
After learning, there comes working;
where and why?

An employees workplace environment is

a key determinant of their level of productivity. How well the workplace engages an
employee impacts their level of motivation to perform. This then influences that
employees:
error rate
level of innovation
collaboration with other employees
absenteeism
and, ultimately, how long they stay in
the job.
The most important of these workplace
environment factors that either lead to engagement or disengagement are shown in
the following diagram. A close consideration of each of these factors is also very useful
in ensuring that employees apply the skills they learn during training programs once they return to their workplace. Tending
to the structural and interpersonal aspects
of each of these factors enables employees
to apply the required skills in a consistent
and habitual way.

The Importance
of Workplace
Environment

Workplace
Performance
Factors

Quotes about
education:

Workplace factors affecting employee performance

29
What does each of these factors mean? The
following is a brief introduction.
Goal-setting
Employees are involved in setting meaningful goals and performance measures for
their work. This can be done informally between the employee and their immediate
supervisor or as part of an organizations
formal performance management process. The key here is that each employee
is actively engaged in the goal-setting process and takes ownership of the final agreed goals and measures.
Performance feedback
Information on how the employee is performing is fed back regularly to employees.
This consists of both positive feedback on
what the employee is doing right as well as
feedback on what requires improvement.
The feedback is objective and delivered with the appropriate interpersonal and conflict resolution skills and can be a mix of both informal feedback and feedback delivered as part of a formal performance management cycle.
Role congruity
The role that the employee is required to
perform is consistent with their expecta-

tions on joining the organization and any

subsequent training. The organizations
role expectations are typically reflected in
formal documents, such as Job Descriptions and Role Specifications. These expectations are consistent with tasks allocated
by the employees immediate supervisor.
Defined processes
The organization constrains the variability
of how work is actually performed through
documenting processes and communicating such expectations to employees. The
organization verifies on a regular or random basis that the work is actually performed in the way required.
Workplace incentives
The organization has determined what motivates its employees and has set up formal
and informal structures for rewarding employees that behave in the way required.
Rewards may consist of a mix of internal
rewards, such as challenging assignments,
and external rewards, such as higher compensation and peer recognition.
Supervisor support
Immediate supervisors act as advocates for
employees, gathering and distributing the
resources needed by employees in order for

them to be able to do a good job and providing positive encouragement for a job well
done. Supervisors display the interpersonal skills required to engage employees
and enhance their self-confidence.
Mentoring/coaching
Skilled and respected people are available
to employees to help them perform better
in their current role and to assist them develop further into a future role. Mentors
and coaches may be internal to an organization or external. Either way, they possess
the necessary facilitation skills to assist employees develop and apply new sills.
Opportunity to apply
Time and material resources are available
to employees, enabling them to perform
to the best of their ability. Individual workloads and organizational systems and
processes do not hinder employees from
applying established skills or from practicing newly learned skills.
Job aids
The work environment is set up so that
templates, guides, models, checklists and
other such workplace aids are readily available to help minimize error rates and customer dissatisfaction.

30

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

European Union
The European Union (EU) is an economic and political union of 27 member states which are located primarily in Europe.
The EU traces its origins from the European
Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) and the
European Economic Community (EEC),
formed by six countries in 1958. In the intervening years the EU has grown in size by
the accession of new member states, and in
power by the addition of policy areas to its
remit. The Maastricht Treaty established
the European Union under its current name in 1993. The last amendment to the constitutional basis of the EU, the Treaty of Lisbon, came into force in 2009.
The EU operates through a hybrid system of supranational independent institutions and intergovernmentally made decisions negotiated by the member states. Important institutions of the EU include the
European Commission, the Council of the
European Union, the European Council, the
Court of Justice of the European Union, and
the European Central Bank. The European
Parliament is elected every five years by EU
citizens.
The EU has developed a single market
through a standardised system of laws which
apply in all member states. Within the Schengen Area (which includes EU and non-EU
states) passport controls have been abolished. EU policies aim to ensure the free movement of people, goods, services, and capital,
enacts legislation in justice and home affairs,
and maintains common policies on trade,
agriculture, fisheries and regional development. A monetary union, the eurozone, was
established in 1999 and is currently composed of 17 member states. Through the Common Foreign and Security Policy the EU has
developed a limited role in external relations
and defence. Permanent diplomatic missions have been established around the world
and the EU is represented at the United Nations, the WTO, the G8 and the G-20.
With a combined population of over 500
million inhabitants, in 2010 the EU generated an estimated 26% (US$16.282 trillion)
of the global economy, or 20% (US$15.170
trillion) when adjusted in terms of purchasing power parity.

History

19451958
After World War II, moves towards European integration were seen by many as an

European
Union
(Bulgarian)
Evropsk unie (Czech)
Den Europiske Union (Danish)
Europese Unie (Dutch)
Euroopa Liit (Estonian)
Euroopan unioni (Finnish)
Union europenne (French)
Europische Union (German)
(Greek)
Eurpai Uni (Hungarian)
An tAontas Eorpach (Irish)
Unione europea (Italian)
Eiropas Savienba (Latvian)
Europos Sjunga (Lithuanian)
Unjoni Ewropea (Maltese)
Unia Europejska (Polish)
Unio Europeia (Portuguese)
Uniunea European (Romanian)
Eurpska nia (Slovak)
Evropska unija (Slovene)
Unin Europea (Spanish)
Europeiska unionen (Swedish)

Flag
Motto: United in diversity

escape from the extreme forms of nationalism which had devastated the continent.
One such attempt to unite Europeans was
the European Coal and Steel Community, which was declared to be a first step
in the federation of Europe, starting with the aim of eliminating the possibility of
further wars between its member states by
means of pooling the national heavy industries. The founding members of the Community were Belgium, France, Italy, Lu-

xembourg, the Netherlands, and West Germany. The originators and supporters of
the Community include Jean Monnet, Robert Schuman, Paul Henri Spaak, and Alcide De Gasperi. In 1957, the six countries
signed the Treaties of Rome, which extended the earlier cooperation within the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC)
and created the European Economic Community, (EEC) establishing a customs union and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) for cooperation in developing nuclear energy. The treaty came into force in 1958.
19581972

The Rome Treaty was signed in 1957

and came into force in 1958. It created
European Economic Community
The EEC and Euratom were created separately from ECSC, although they shared
the same courts and the Common Assembly. The executives of the new communities were called Commissions, as opposed to
the High Authority. The EEC was headed
by Walter Hallstein (Hallstein Commission) and Euratom was headed by Louis Armand (Armand Commission) and then Etienne Hirsch. Euratom would integrate sectors in nuclear energy while the EEC would develop a customs union between members. Throughout the 1960s tensions began
to show with France seeking to limit supranational power. However, in 1965 an agreement was reached and hence in 1967 the
Merger Treaty was signed in Brussels. It came into force on 1 July 1967 and created a
single set of institutions for the three communities, which were collectively referred to
as the European Communities (EC), although commonly just as the European Community. Jean Rey presided over the first merged Commission (Rey Commission).
19731993
In 1973 the Communities enlarged to include Denmark (including Greenland, which

31
On 1 December 2009, the Lisbon Treaty entered into force and reformed many
aspects of the EU. In particular it changed
the legal structure of the European Union, merging the EU three pillars system
into a single legal entity provisioned with
legal personality, and it created a permanent President of the European Council,
the first of which is Herman Van Rompuy,
and a strengthened High Representative,
Catherine Ashton.
The Iron Curtains fall in 1989 enabled eastward enlargement. (Berlin
Wall)
later left the Community in 1985), Ireland,
and the United Kingdom. Norway had negotiated to join at the same time but Norwegian voters rejected membership in a referendum and so Norway remained outside. In 1979, the first direct, democratic
elections to the European Parliament were held. Greece joined in 1981, Portugal and
Spain in 1986.[31] In 1985, the Schengen
Agreement led the way toward the creation of open borders without passport controls between most member states and some non-member states. In 1986, the European flag began to be used by the Communityand the Single European Act was
signed.
In 1990, after the fall of the Iron Curtain, the former East Germany became part
of the Community as part of a newly united Germany. With enlargement towards
Eastern and Central Europe on the agenda, the Copenhagen criteria for candidate
members to join the European Union were agreed.
1993present
The introduction of the euro in 2002 replaced several national currencies.
The European Union was formally established when the Maastricht Treaty came into force on 1 November 1993, and in 1995
Austria, Finland and Sweden joined the
newly established EU. In 2002, euro notes and coins replaced national currencies
in 12 of the member states. Since then, the
eurozone has increased to encompass 17
countries. In 2004, the EU saw its biggest
enlargement to date when Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia joined the Union.
On 1 January 2007, Romania and Bulgaria became the EUs newest members.
In the same year Slovenia adopted the euro, followed in 2008 by Cyprus and Malta, by Slovakia in 2009 and by Estonia in
2011. In June 2009, the 2009 Parliament
elections were held leading to a renewal of
Barrosos Commission Presidency, and in
July 2009 Iceland formally applied for EU
membership.

Competences

EU member states retain all powers not explicitly handed to the Union. In some areas
the EU enjoys exclusive competence. These
are areas in which member states have renounced any capacity to enact legislation.
In other areas the EU and its member states share the competence to legislate. While both can legislate, member states can only legislate to the extent to which the EU
has not. In other policy areas the EU can
only co-ordinate, support and supplement
member state action but cannot enact le-

Exclusive
competence:
The Union
has exclusive
competence to
make directives
and conclude
international
agreements when
provided for in a
Union legislative
act.
the customs
union
the establishing of the
competition rules
necessary for
the functioning
of the internal
market
monetary
policy for the
Member States
whose currency
is the euro
the conservation of marine
biological
resources under
the common
fisheries policy
common
commercial
policy

gislation with the aim of harmonising national laws. That a particular policy area
falls into a certain category of competence
is not necessarily indicative of what legislative procedure is used for enacting legislation within that policy area. Different legislative procedures are used within the same category of competence, and even with
the same policy area.
The distribution of competences in various policy areas between Member States
and the Union is divided in the three categories shown below.
Search and talk about the following issues
regarding UE:
s
Foreign
relations:
F
military, humanitarian aid; Economy:
internal
market, moi
netary union, financial supervision,
competition, agriculture, energy, infrastructure; Education and science;
Health care; Demographics: urbanisation, languages, religion

Shared competence:
Member States
cannot exercise
competence in
areas where the
Union has done
so.
the internal
market
social policy, for
the aspects defined
in this Treaty
economic, social
and territorial
cohesion
agriculture and
fisheries, excluding
the conservation of
marine biological
resources
environment
consumer
protection
transport
trans-European
networks
energy
the area of freedom, security and
justice
common safety
concerns in public
health matters, for
the aspects defined
in this Treaty

Union exercise
of competence
shall not result in
Member States
being prevented
from exercising
theirs in:
research, technological development and space
development
cooperation,
humanitarian aid
The Union coordinates Member
States policies
or implements
supplemental to
theirs common
policies, not covered elsewhere
coordination
of economic,
employment and
social policies
common
foreign, security
and defence
policies

Supporting
competence:
The Union can
carry out actions
to support,
coordinate or
supplement
Member States
actions in:
the protection
and improvement of human
health
industry
culture
tourism
education,
youth, sport
and vocational
training
civil protection
(disaster prevention)
administrative
cooperation

32

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Culture
and civilisation
Life During
the Middle Ages
Daily life during the Middle Ages is sometimes hard to fathom. Pop culture loves to
focus on exciting medieval moments-heroic knights charging into battle; romantic liaisons between royalty and commoner; breakthroughs and discoveries made.
But life for your average person during the
Dark Ages was very routine, and activities
revolved around an agrarian calendar.
Most of the time was spent working the
land, and trying to grow enough food to
survive another year. Church feasts marked sowing and reaping days, and occasions when peasant and lord could rest from
their labors.
Social activities were important, and
every citizen in a medieval town would be
expected to attend. Fairs with troubadours
and acrobats performing in the streets
merchants selling goods in the town squaregames of chance held at the local taverntournaments featuring knights from
near and abroadthese were just some of
the ways medieval peasants spent their leisure time. Medieval weddings were cause
for the entire town to celebrate.
Medieval superstitions held sway over
science, but traveling merchants and returning crusaders told of cultures in Asia,
the Middle East and Africa that had advanced learning of the earth and the human
body. Middle Age food found new flavor
courtesy of rare spices that were imported
from the East. Schools and universities were forming across Western Europe that would help medieval society evolve from the
Dark Ages on its way to a Renaissance of
art and learning.

Medieval Clothing

From the 11th through the 13th centuries, medieval clothing varied according
to the social standing of the people. The
clothing worn by nobility and upper classes was clearly different than that of the
lower class.

The clothing of peasants during the Middle Ages was very simple, while the clothing of nobility was fitted with a distinct
emphasis on the sleeves of the garments.
Knights adorned themselves with sleeveless surcoats covered with a coat of arms. Barbarian nomads wore clothing made of fur, wool, and leather. They wore long
trousers, some of which had attached feet. Fine leather shoes were also worn. Imports such as turbans and silks from the
East were common for the more fortunate of society.
As with today, clothing styles of medieval men changed periodically. At the end of
the 13th century, the once loose and flowing
tunics became tighter fitting. Besides tunics, the men also wore undershirts and
briefs covered by a sleeveless jacket and
an additional tunic. Stockings completed
the ensemble. Mens medieval clothing also consisted of cloaks with a round opening
that was slipped over the mans head. Such cloaks were worn over other clothing as
a type of jacket.
Early medieval womens clothing consisted of kirtles, which were tunics worn
to their ankles. These tunics were often
worn over a shirt. When the women were
in public, they often topped the tunics with
an even shorter kirtle. Of course the more
affluent women wore more luxurious clothing than those of the less affluent lifestyle. Women, especially those who were married, wore tight-fitting caps and nets over
their hair, which was wound in a bun on
their heads. Other women wore veils over
their hair, which was left either hanging loosely, or braided tightly.

Medieval Health

Superstition and ignorance reigned during

the Middle Ages, a time when characters
we now consider to be simply from fairy
tales; pixies, trolls, hobgoblins and so on,
were thought to truly exist. Health was controlled by the stars, and affliction was a sign
of impurity of the soul-a curse from God.
Disease was a constant concern, as was
infection from injuries. Hygiene was not

always a priority and medieval diets were lacking in vital nutrition. Barbers doubled as surgeons, and a good bleeding was
often the cure prescribed.
Medieval science progressed slowly,
and treatments for the sick were quite
often out of reach, especially for the poor. But little by little, doctors were learning information that led to better cures,
and understandings of how diseases were transmitted.
Hospitals began to be constructed, and
schools established for those wishing to
practice medicine. Superstition remained,
and medieval science certainly did not have all the answers. Information lost from
the burning of the library at Alexandria
by Christian zealots was slowly being rediscovered.

Medieval Food

Medieval foods and diets depended much on the class of the individual. For those living in the manor house, there was a
wide range of foods available. Fowl such
as capons, geese, larks, and chickens were
usually available to the lord and his family. They would also dine on other meats;
beef, bacon, lamb, and those living close
to water may have regularly dined on salmon, herring, eels ands other fresh water fish. Fish would either be sold fresh or
smoked and salted. Wealthy society could
afford large quantities of milled flour and
other meals made from grain. Dairy products such as cheese and butter could be
seen on the manor table.
Medieval peasants, on the other hand,
had a much simpler diet available to them.
Most of the wheat they harvested went exclusively to the market, and peasant breads were made from barley and rye, baked
into dark heavy loaves. Ales made from
barley would quaff the thirst, as would water drawn from the well, sweetened with
honey. Peasant society got what little proteins they could from peas and beans that
would be added to bread and pottage.
Pottage was often favored over bread,
because it did not require the grains that

33
the miller guarded closely. Onions, cabbage, garlic, nuts, berries, leeks, spinach,
parsley were some of the foods that would
combined to make thick soup. Raw vegetables were considered unhealthy and rarely eaten, but anything that could grown,
with the exception of known poisonous
plants, were added to the mix. Lucky families may have added salt pork or fatty
bacon for flavor and protein. Poorer society depended on these simple foods for
survival. It was ironic that after the Black
Death ravaged societies, even the poor could find wheat available.
Medieval diets lacked vitamins A, C
and D and were not high in calories, making the regular drinking of ale a necessity for most. The only positive part of these diets, were that they were somewhat
heart-smart; low in fat and high in fiber. But the medieval world was usually
a very hungry one.

Domestic life
in middle age
After treating of the intercourse of society,
let us glance for a moment at the domestic
life of this period. We are commonly disposed to look on the family life of the Italians at this time as hopelessly ruined by
the national immorality, and this side of
the question will be more fully discussed
in the sequel. For the moment we must
content ourselves with pointing out that
conjugal infidelity has by no means so disastrous an influence on family life in Italy as in the North, so long at least as certain limits are not overstepped.
The domestic life of the Middle Ages
was a product of popular morals, or if we
prefer to put it otherwise, a result of the
inborn tendencies of national life, modified by the varied circumstances which affected them. Chivalry at the time of
its splendor left domestic economy untouched. The knight wandered from court
to court, and from one battlefield to another. His homage was given systematically to some other woman than his own wife,
and things went how they might at home

in the castle. The spirit of the Renaissance first brought order into domestic life,
treating it as a work of deliberate contrivance. Intelligent economical views, and a
rational style of domestic architecture served to promote this end. But the chief cause of the change was the thoughtful study of all questions relating to social intercourse, to education, to domestic service
and organization.
The most precious document on this
subject is the treatise on the management
of the home by Agnolo Pandolfini (actually written by L. B. Alberti, d. 1472). He represents a father speaking to his grownup sons, and initiating them into his method of administration. We are introduced into a large and wealthy household,
which, if governed with moderation and
reasonable economy, promises happiness
and prosperity for generations to come.
A considerable landed estate, whose produce furnishes the table of the house, and
serves as the basis of the family fortune,
is combined with some industrial pursuit, such as the weaving of wool or silk. The
dwelling is solid and the food good. All
that has to do with the plan and arrangement of the house is great, durable and
costly, but the daily life within it is as simple as possible. All other expenses, from
the largest in which the family honor is at
stake, down to the pocket-money of the
younger sons, stand to one another in a
rational, not a conventional relation. Nothing is considered of so much importance as education, which the head of the house gives not only to the children, but to
the whole household. He first develops his
wife from a shy girl, brought up in careful
seclusion, to the true woman of the house,
capable of commanding and guiding the
servants. The sons are brought up without any undue severity, carefully watched
and counseled, and controlled rather by
authority than by force. And finally the
servants are chosen and treated on such
principles that they gladly and faithfully
hold by the family.
One feature of that book must be referred to, which is by no means peculiar to it,
but which it treats with special warmth --

the love of the educated Italian for country

life. In northern countries the nobles lived in the country in their castles, and the
monks of the higher orders in their wellguarded monasteries, while the wealthiest burghers dwelt from one years end to
another in the cities. But in Italy, so far as
the neighborhood of certain towns at all
events was concerned, the security of life
and property was so great, and the passion for a country residence was so strong,
that men were willing to risk a loss in time
of war. Thus arose the villa, the countryhouse of the well-to- do citizen. This precious inheritance of the old Roman world was thus revived, as soon as the wealth and culture of the people were sufficiently advanced. Pandolfini finds at his villa a peace and happiness, for an account of
which the reader must hear him speak himself. The economical side of the matter
is that one and the same property must,
if possible, contain everything- corn, wine, oil, pastureland and woods, and that
in such cases the property was paid for
well, since nothing needed then to be got
from the market. But the higher enjoyment derived from the villa is shown by
some words of the introduction: Round
about Florence lie many villas in a transparent atmosphere, amid cheerful scenery, and with a splendid view; there is
little fog and no injurious winds; all is good, and the water pure and healthy. Of the
numerous buildings many are like palaces, many like castles costly and beautiful to behold. He is speaking of those unrivaled villas, of which the greater number were sacrificed, though vainly, by the
Florentines themselves in the defense of
their city in 1529.
In these villas, as in those on the Brenta, on the Lombard hills, at Posilippo and
on the Vomero, social life assumes a freer
and more rural character than in the palaces within the city. We meet with charming descriptions of the intercourse of the
guests, the hunting-parties, and all the
open-air pursuits and amusements. But
the noblest achievements of poetry and
thought are sometimes also dated from
these scenes of rural peace.

34

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Public life
Private versus
public
In general, private is the opposite of public. This may signal protection from public gaze and regulation, or it may signal
privation, and in particular the loss of
the rights associated with public statuses,
as a deposed king becomes merely a private citizen. Classical Greek and Roman
thought regarded freedom, creativity, and
political rights as features of the public realm (Arendt 1958). Women, children, and
slaves were all consigned to the private realm, meaning that they had little existence beyond that dictated by material desire and necessity. They were accordingly seen as without substantial or important distinctions, a usage that survives in
labeling an ordinary soldier who has not
attained rank or distinction as a private.
Development of full personhood was seen as an activity carried out in friendship,
political participation, intellectual debate, military service and other public roles
(Weintraub and Kumar 1998).
Early Christianity gave a greater role to
the interior life of individuals, but the link
between privacy and individual personhood developed most clearly as a core feature
of modernity (Taylor 1989). Late 18th and
early 19th century Romanticism symbolize the trend, but concern for the quality of
private life was already reflected in early
modern art with its multitude of portraits,
family groups, and interior rooms. Pioneered especially by bourgeois families, this
concern for the virtues and pleasures of
domesticity spread widely. Closely related
to the new moral emphasis on family life
and ordinary affairs was increased awareness of interior experience, emotional
life, and personal development. This placed new value on the private spaces (both
literal and metaphorical) into which one
withdrew for spiritual meditation, prayer,
and self-examination. Such pursuits focused on self as well as God, and helped to
give rise to modern psychology as well as
to a more personal orientation to religion (celebrated notably in Protestantism).
This in turn was linked to a new understanding of the body as a properly private
possession. Increasingly elaborate codes
of manners and norms of bodily discipline arose, not least in relation to sexuali-

ty, health, and labor (Elias 1939). A common feature was the treatment of the body as an object of mental control. Movements for hygiene and morality involved
the body in new dynamics of shame and
eroticism (Foucault 1976, Turner 1997).
Sex organs became private parts. An ideology of feminine modesty generally removed women as well as sexuality from public life (though it defined a countertype
of immodest public womenprostituteswhose properly private selves were
publicly exchanged). On the other hand,
a right to privacy could be construed as an
important basis for ascribing to each person control over her body.
The logic of possession governed also
in defining market exchange as private.
Private persons enter markets to exchange their private property. Their rights to
do so were conceptualized in the 17th century by extension from the notion of individual labor in the appropriation of the
common heritage of Creation or nature
(though inheritance raised other questions). Human beings were reconceptualized as possessing individuals (MacPherson 1962). They were also understood as
the self-sufficient primary actors of the
market so that privacy was no deprivation to them, but an affirmation of their essential autonomy. This was echoed in a
host of secondary forms of privacy: private homes, private offices, private clubs,
private boxes at sporting events and even
private washrooms. Those without private property, by contrast were commonly
without claims to personal privacy. Ironically officers slept in their own bedrooms
and private soldiers in barracks.
A central paradox in thought about private property was the social and often very
large scale character of its production and
accumulation (Marx 1867). Money, business corporations, and a range of innovations in financial instruments made relations of property ever more abstract from
both individual persons and physical goods produced by their labor. Most corporations are public companies in the sense that their stock is held relatively widely and traded on open markets; many are
also created by government charter rather than only private contract; this publicness subjects them to levels of regulation not applied to private companies.
What is at issue is private (individual) ap-

propriation of the produce of public (collective) labor. Understood as tied to the

individual, the private is opposed to the
collective. Understood as rightfully independent of state interference, private is
opposed to government. But private property extends beyond the individual. Indeed, most corporations are public in the
sense that their stock is held by many persons and traded on the open marketas
distinct from family businesses. Confusingly, these are still considered part of the
private sector. At the same time, private
wealth could be used for public purposes,
as in philanthropic foundations and donations to not-for-profit organizations such as universities or hospitals (Powell and
Clemens 1998).
The liberal tradition combines this
economic usage of private with a political meaning. The possessing individuals
of market society are also possessors of
political rights (and indeed, rights against
politics). They hold these as private personsnot occupants of public statuses
but the private rights empower them to
act in public. Indeed, political life is conceptualized in liberal thought as the coming together of private individuals to
make collective decisions about matters
of common interestthat is, the public
good. While some features of the public
good are essentially shared (as, for example, clean air is difficult to appropriate in
an individually exclusive manner) most
are conceptualized as aggregates of (and
thus compromises among) private goods. This is given one of its most influential formulations in the Benthamite utilitarian slogan, the greatest good of the
greatest number. The boundaries of the
public are given, in this tradition, by family and intimate relations and by the market. Each is granted autonomy from intrusions of the public, which is understood primarily as the governmental. Of course, the conditions of family and market life may be highly unequal, not least in
the support they give different individuals for action in public. Accordingly, each
boundary has been the object of recurrent
struggles-from workers efforts to subject
parts of the economy to state regulation
through feminist efforts to make the personal political. Ironically, feminists have
often treated the nonfamilial as indiscriminately public, and labor movements have often sought to defend the autonomy of
the family from the market.
Also ironically, perhaps, liberal thought has given rise to the very language of
rights used increasingly prominently to
challenge the autonomy of putatively private spheres. Thus people claim rights to

35
education, or jobs, or information about
what goes on beyond the closed doors of
business corporations. Rights are generally attributes of private individuals, in
liberal usage, and conceived significantly
as defenses against the intrusion of states.
The defense of privacy remains a concern
in just this sense, and indeed is renewed
with regard to new technologies of surve-

illance. Yet private rights have become increasingly prominent bases for demands
of government action, both domestically
and internationally.
By contrast, other traditions emphasize the shared activity involved in creating public institutions. They stress that
private action by individuals can account
for only a fraction of the goods enjoyed by

members of modern societiesand also

that large corporations are not private in
the same sense and often act in ways contrary to the interests of individuals. At the
same time, they too would defend the need for individual privacy in relation to governmental surveillance. The idea of private remains contested.

36

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Current subjects
and events
Stress

The main causes of stress are work, school, family, money, and health. This is pretty
much everything that is important in life,
so they are not going to magically go away
thus leaving us stress free
All to often, I see people around me looking for short term solutions to stress, such as taking must needed vacations, and
then they go right back to their hectic and
stressful schedule immediately afterwards.
I equate this with yo-yo dieting that does not
work in the long term. Handling stress must
be a lifestyle change that minimizes everyday stress. Furthermore, dont wait until you
are stressed out before doing something.
The reasons for stress are with us each
and every day of our lives, so our stress relieving solutions should be too. So, here are some recommended suggestions to help us relieve stress that should be done periodically
even if you do not think it is necessary.
First, each day take some time for yourself. I know this may seem impossible with a
busy schedule, but the problem is a continuously busy schedule. Learn how to do less if
your schedule is packed each and every day.
If you collapse exhausted in bed each and
every day, then this suggestion is for you.
Second, at the end of the day in bed or
when you are brushing your teeth, consciously think how you felt throughout the day
and why. Think what you will do differently
next time, and not what you should have
done differently.
Third, at least once a week, meet up with your friends and laugh a bit. I find that
relaxing with friends over a long lunch reduces stress considerably. And laughing is
a quick and easy way to relax and reduce
stress immediately. I think we all need to
laugh more in our daily lives.
Fourth, when you find yourself stressed
out, stop and take a few slow deep breaths.
This will help you relax and put things into
perspective. You should notice that you will
then be able to think about whatever caused you so much stress with less stress.
Fifth and most hardest, is take periodic
and regular time off from your most stres-

sful activity. If it is your work, take off work

early and go walking or to go to a park for an
hour or so. We never realize how much we
are really stressed out, until we break out of
our regular schedule and do something relaxing. Even if you love your work or family, slightly varying your routine with something relaxing will greatly reduce stress.
Sixth, sleep. It is estimated that a typical adult needs an average of 7 to 9 hours
of sleep each night. However, a lot of us
function with a lot less hours of sleep, yet
this is one of the fundamental foundations
of stress. Getting not enough sleep, makes
people much more stressed out even for
the most trivial activities. So, take a nap
and sleep more.
Seventh, exercise. Exercise has proven to
help both the body and mind relax, yet few
of us exercise. I am definitely guilty of this
because I do not make enough time to exercise, so who am I to say how exercise helps

handling stress? Try it and let me know.

Finally, your diet can affect stress. A healthy diet allows the body and mind to cope
with stress better. Additionally, decreasing
stimulants, such as caffeine and sugar, has
been proven reduce stress too. So when we
are stressed out, avoid junk food and eat
healthy foods. The foods that we were taught are comfort foods are actually quite
the opposite.
People have different ways of escaping the stress and
p
difficulties of mod
dern life. Some
read; some exercise; others work
c
in their gardens. What do you think
are the best ways of reducing stress?
Use specific details and examples in
your answer.

37
Consumption and
Consumerism
In 1995, the inequality in consumption was
wider, but the United Nations also provided some eye-opening statistics (which
do not appear available, yet, for the later
years) worth noting here:
Todays consumption is undermining
the environmental resource base. It is exacerbating inequalities. And the dynamics
of the consumption-poverty-inequalityenvironment nexus are accelerating. If the
trends continue without change not redistributing from high-income to low-income consumers, not shifting from polluting to cleaner goods and production technologies, not promoting goods that empower poor producers, not shifting priority from consumption for conspicuous display to meeting basic needs todays problems of consumption and human development will worsen.
The real issue is not consumption itself but its patterns and effects.
Inequalities in consumption are stark.
Globally, the 20% of the worlds people in
the highest-income countries account for
86% of total private consumption expenditures the poorest 20% a minuscule 1.3%.
More specifically, the richest fifth:
Consume 45% of all meat and fish, the
poorest fifth 5%
Consume 58% of total energy, the poorest fifth less than 4%
Have 74% of all telephone lines, the poorest fifth 1.5%
Consume 84% of all paper, the poorest
fifth 1.1%
Own 87% of the worlds vehicle fleet, the
poorest fifth less than 1%
Runaway growth in consumption in the
past 50 years is putting strains on the environment never before seen.
If they were available, it would likely be
that the breakdowns shown for the 1995 figures will not be as wide in 2005. However,
they are likely to still show wide inequalities in consumption. Furthermore, as a
few developing countries continue to develop and help make the numbers show a
narrowing gap, there are at least two further issues:
Generalized figures hide extreme poverty and inequality of consumption on
the whole (for example, between 1995 and
2005, the inequality in consumption for
the poorest fifth of humanity has hardly
changed)
If emerging nations follow the same path as todays rich countries, their consumption patterns will also be damaging to the
environment
And consider the following, reflecting
world priorities:

GLOBAL PRIORITY

Cosmetics in the United States

$U.S. BILLIONS

Ice cream in Europe

11

Perfumes in Europe and the

United States

12

Pet foods in Europe and the

United States

17

Business entertainment in Japan

35

Cigarettes in Europe

50

Alcoholic drinks in Europe

105

Narcotics drugs in the world

400

Military spending in the world

780

And compare that to what was estimated

as additional costs to achieve universal access to basic social services in all developing countries:

GLOBAL PRIORITY

Basic education for all

Water and sanitation for all

$U.S. BILLIONS

6
9

Reproductive health for all women

12

Basic health and nutrition

13

We consume a variety of resources and

products today having moved beyond basic needs to include luxury items and technological innovations to try to improve
efficiency. Such consumption beyond minimal and basic needs is not necessarily a
bad thing in and of itself, as throughout history we have always sought to find ways to
make our lives a bit easier to live. However, increasingly, there are important issues around consumerism that need to be
understood. For example:
How are the products and resources we
consume actually produced?
What are the impacts of that process of
production on the environment, society,
on individuals?
What are the impacts of certain forms of
consumption on the environment, on society, on individuals?
Which actors influence our choices of
consumption?
Which actors influence how and why
things are produced or not?
What is a necessity and what is a luxury?
How do demands on items affect the requirements placed upon the environment?
How do consumption habits change as
societies change?
Businesses and advertising are major
engines in promoting the consumption of

products so that they may survive. How

much of what we consume is influenced
by their needs versus our needs?
Also influential is the very culture of today in many countries, as well as the media and the political institutions themselves. What is the impact on poorer nations
and people on the demands of the wealthier nations and people that are able to afford
to consume more?
How do material values influence our relationships with other people?
What impact does that have on our personal values?
And so on.
Just from these questions, we can likely think of numerous others as well. We
can additionally, see that consumerism
and consumption are at the core of many,
if not most societies. The impacts of consumerism, positive and negative are very significant to all aspects of our lives, as well as
our planet. But equally important to bear
in mind in discussing consumption patterns is the underlying system that promotes certain types of consumption and not
other types.
Inherent in todays global economic system is the wasteful use of resources, labor
and capital. These need to be addressed.
Waste is not only things like via not recycling etc; it is deep within the system.
The U.N. statistics above are hard hitting,
highlight one of the major impacts of todays
form of corporate-led globalization.
Over population is usually blamed as
the major cause of environmental degradation, but the above statistics strongly suggests
otherwise. As we will see, consumption patterns today are not to meet everyones needs. The system that drives these consumption patterns also contribute to inequality of
consumption patterns too.
This section of the globalissues.org web
site will attempt to provide an introductory look at various aspects of what we consume and how.
We will see possible hidden costs of
convenient items to society, the environment and individuals, as well as the relationship with various sociopolitical and economic effects on those who do consume,
and those who are unable to consume as
much (due to poverty and so on).
We will look at how some luxuries were
turned into necessities in order to increase profits.
This section goes beyond the dont buy
this product type of conclusion to the deeper issues and ramifications.
We will see just a hint at how wasteful
all this is on resources, society and capital.
The roots of such disparities in consumption are inextricably linked to the roots of poverty. There is such enormous waste in the
way we consume that an incredible amount

38

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

of resources is wasted as well. Furthermore, the processes that lead to such disparities in unequal consumption are themselves wasteful and is structured deep into the system itself. Economic efficiency is
for making profits, not necessarily for social good (which is treated as a side effect).
The waste in the economic system is, as a
result, deep. Eliminating the causes of this
type of waste are related to the elimination of poverty and bringing rights to all. Eliminating the waste also allows for further
equitable consumption for all, as well as a
decent standard of consumption.
So these issues go beyond just consumption, and this section only begins to highlight the enormous waste in our economy
which is not measured as such.
A further bold conclusion is also made
that elimination of so much wasted capital would actually require a reduction of
peoples workweek. This is because the elimination of such waste means entire industries are halved in size in some cases.
So much labor redundancy cannot be tolerated, and hence the answer is therefore to
share the remaining productive jobs, which means reducing the workweek!
We will see therefore, that political causes of poverty are very much related to
political issues and roots of consumerism.
Hence solutions to things like hunger, environmental degradation, poverty and other
problems have many commonalities that
would need to be addressed.

Creating
the Consumer
This section looks at the rise of the consumer and the development of the mass
consumer society. While consumption has
of course been a part of our history, in the
last 100 years or so, the level of mass consumption beyond basics has been exponential and is now a fundamental part of
many economies. Luxuries that had to be
turned into necessities and how entire cultural habits had to be transformed for this
consumption is introduced here.

Children
as Consumers

The market for childrens products and food is enormous. Parents on the one hand
have a hard time raising children the way
they want to, while on the other hand, kids
are being increasingly influenced by commercialism that often goes against what
parents are trying to do.

Effects of
Consumerism
Because consumption is so central to many
economies, and even to the current forms
of globalization, its effects therefore are also seen around the world. How we consume, and for what purposes drives how we
extract resources, create products and produce pollution and waste. Issues relating
to consumption hence also affect environmental degradation, poverty, hunger, and
even the rise in obesity that is nearing levels similar to the official global poverty levels. Political and economic systems that
are currently promoted and pushed around
the world in part to increase consumption
also lead to immense poverty and exploitation. Much of the world cannot and do not
consume at the levels that the wealthier in
the world do. Indeed, the above U.N. statistics highlight that very sharply. In fact,
the inequality structured within the system
is such that as Richard Robbins says, some
one has to pay for the way the wealthier in
the world consume.

suffer as the food industry supplies cheaper food of poorer quality.

Environmental, societal and life-style
factors all have an impact on obesity and
health. While individuals are responsible
for their choices, other actors such as the
food industry are also part of the problem,
and solution. Unfortunately, the food industry appears reluctant to take too many
measures that could affect their bottom line, preferring to solely blame individuals
instead.

Sugar

In this section, we look at the example of

tobacco consumption. Smoking kills millions. Furthermore, it exacerbates poverty,
damages the environment, and (through
diversion of land resources away from food
production) contributes to world hunger.

In this section, we look at the example of

sugar consumption; how it has arisen (as it
was once a luxury, now turned into a necessity). We look at things like how it affects
the environment; the political and economic drivers in producing sugar (for example, historically, sugar plantations encouraged slavery); its health effects today; its
relation to world hunger (as land used to
grow sugar and related support, for export,
could be used to grow food for local consumption); and so on. As we will also see,
it is an example of a wasteful industry. That
is, so many resources go into this industry
compared to what might be needed. This
wastes labor, wastes capital and uses up
many resources.

Obesity

Beef

Tobacco

Obesity typically results from over-eating

(especially an unhealthy diet) and lack of
enough exercise.
In our modern world with increasingly cheap, high calorie food (example,
fast food or junk food), prepared foods
that are high in things like salt, sugars or
fat, combined with our increasingly sedentary lifestyles, increasing urbanization and changing modes of transportation, it is no wonder that obesity has rapidly increased in the last few decades, around the world.
The number of people overweight or
obese is now rivaling the number of people suffering from hunger around the world. Obese people were thought to be mainly from richer countries or wealthier segments of society, but poor people can also

Beef, like sugar, is another vivid example of

using resources wastefully, degrading the
environment, contributing to hunger, poor health and more.
More than one third of the worlds grain harvest is used to feed livestock. Some

39
beef examples, there is a lot of unnecessary use of resources that could otherwise be freed up to help local people in a way
that is also less degrading to the surrounding environment.

70 to 80% of grain produced in the United

States is fed to livestock. A lot of rainforest in the Amazon and elsewhere are cleared for raising cattle not so much for local consumption, but for fast food restaurants elsewhere.
There are enormous related costs of
what is an inefficient process when considered as a whole. Subsidies in farming in
the US and elsewhere end up encouraging
unhealthy foods to be cheaper than healthy foods. Just factoring in the cost of water alone, a more realistic estimate of the
real cost of common hamburger meat would be $35 a pound!
As with sugar, beef was a luxury turned
into an everyday item. Like sugar, it is also
an example of how peoples tastes are influenced and how demands can be created
(or very much expanded), rather than meeting some natural demand.

Bananas

The banana industry in Latin America and

the Caribbean also touches many other issues. Rainforest destruction is one effect
of the banana industry.
Dependent economies is another, where bananas are grown not to feed local people and meet their demands, but to create exports for Europe and America. The
recent trade disputes between those two
regions have received the most attention.

Wasted Wealth,
Capital, Labor and
Resources

However, the focus of the debate is limited. It continues to leave both dependent
Latin American nations, and the Caribbean nations in poverty and hunger, while Latin American nations, large multinational American banana corporations and
the American government seek to destroy
the Caribbean banana economy, via the
World Trade Organization, in order to gain dominant access to the European markets.
So many resources are poured into the
banana industry, and like the sugar and

We are beginning to get just a hint of how

wasteful our societies are. Sugar, beef, and
bananas are just the tip of the iceberg in
terms of examples of wasted industry and
waste structured within the current system. Not only are certain wasteful job
functions unnecessary as a result, but the
capital that employs this labor is therefore a wasteful use of capital. As a result, we
see waste and misuse of the environment,
as well as social and environmental degradation increasing. Our industries may be
efficient for accumulating capital and making profits, but that does not automatically mean that it is efficient for society.
However, with such wasted labor what do
we do? We cant have such an enormous
idle labor force, right? Well, as J.W. Smith
points out, we should share the remaining
jobs. This would also reduce our workweek. Something technocrats have kept promising us in rhetoric only!

40

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Globalisation
Globalization

Globalization refers to the increasing

unification of the worlds economic order
through reduction of such barriers to international trade as tariffs, export fees, and
import quotas. The goal is to increase material wealth, goods, and services through
an international division of labor by efficiencies catalyzed by international relations,
specialization and competition. It describes the process by which regional economies, societies, and cultures have become
integrated through communication, transportation, and trade. The term is most closely associated with the term economic globalization: the integration of national economies into the international economy
through trade, foreign direct investment,
capital flows, migration, the spread of technology, and military presence. However,
globalization is usually recognized as being
driven by a combination of economic, technological, sociocultural, political, and biological factors. The term can also refer to
the transnational circulation of ideas, languages, or popular culture through acculturation. An aspect of the world which has
gone through the process can be said to be
globalized.
Against this view, an alternative approach stresses how globalization has actually decreased inter-cultural contacts while
increasing the possibility of international
and intra-national conflict.

History

Perhaps the most extreme proponent

of a deep historical origin for globalization was Andre Gunder Frank, an economist
associated with dependency theory. Frank
argued that a form of globalization has been in existence since the rise of trade links
between Sumer and the Indus Valley Civilization in the third millennium B.C. Critics
of this idea contend that it rests upon an
over-broad definition of globalization.
An early form of globalized economics
and culture, known as archaic globalization, existed during the Hellenistic Age,
when commercialized urban centers were focused around the axis of Greek culture over a wide range that stretched from India to Spain, with such cities as Alexandria,
Athens, and Antioch at its center. Others
have perceived an early form of globalization in the trade links between the Roman Empire, the Parthian Empire, and the
Han Dynasty. The increasing articulation
of commercial links between these powers
inspired the development of the Silk Road,
which started in western China, reached
the boundaries of the Parthian empire, and
continued onwards towards Rome. With
300 Greek ships a year sailing between the
Greco-Roman world and India, the annual
trade may have reached 300,000 tons.
The Islamic Golden Age was also an important early stage of globalization, when
Jewish and Muslim traders and explorers
established a sustained economy across the Old World resulting in a globalization of crops, trade, knowledge and technology. Globally significant crops such as
sugar and cotton became widely cultivated across the Muslim world in this period, while the necessity of learning Arabic
and completing the Hajj created a cosmopolitan culture.

Extent of the Silk Road and Spice trade routes blocked by the Ottoman Empire in 1453 spurring exploration
The historical origins of globalization are
the subject of on-going debate. Though several scholars situate the origins of globalization in the modern era, others regard it as
a phenomenon with a long history.

Portuguese carrack in Nagasaki, 17th

century Japanese Namban art

Native New World crops exchanged

globally: Maize, Tomato, Potato, Vanilla, Rubber, Cacao, Tobacco
The advent of the Mongol Empire, though destabilizing to the commercial centers
of the Middle East and China, greatly facilitated travel along the Silk Road. The Pax
Mongolica of the thirteenth century had
several other notable globalizing effects.
It witnessed the creation of the first international postal service, as well as the rapid
transmission of epidemic diseases such as
bubonic plague across the newly unified
regions of Central Asia. These pre-modern
phases of global or hemispheric exchange
are sometimes known as archaic globalization. Up to the sixteenth century, however,
even the largest systems of international
exchange were limited to the Old World.
The next phase, known as proto-globalization, was characterized by the rise of
maritime European empires, in the 16th
and 17th centuries, first the Portuguese and
Spanish Empires, and later the Dutch and
British Empires. In the 17th century, globalization became also a private business
phenomenon when chartered companies
like British East India Company (founded
in 1600), often described as the first multinational corporation, as well as the Dutch East India Company (founded in 1602)
were established.
The Age of Discovery brought a broad
change in globalization, being the first period in which Eurasia and Africa engaged
in substantial cultural, material and biologic exchange with the New World. It began
in the late 15th century, when the two Kingdoms of the Iberian Peninsula Portugal
and Castile sent the first exploratory voyages around the Horn of Africa and to the
Americas, discovered in 1492 by Christopher Columbus. Global integration continued with the European colonization of
the Americas initiating the Columbian Exchange, the enormous widespread exchange of plants, animals, foods, human populations (including slaves), communicable

41
diseases, and culture between the Eastern
and Western hemispheres. New crops that
had come from the Americas via the European seafarers in the 16th century significantly contributed to the worlds population growth.

19th century Great Britain become the first global economic superpower, because of superior manufacturing technology and improved global communications such as
steamships and railroads
The 19th century witnessed the advent
of globalization approaching its modern
form. Industrialization allowed cheap production of household items using economies of scale, while rapid population growth
created sustained demand for commodities. Globalization in this period was decisively shaped by nineteenth-century
imperialism. After the First and Second
Opium Wars and the completion of British
conquest of India, vast populations of these
regions became ready consumers of European exports. It was in this period that areas of sub-Saharan Africa and the Pacific islands were incorporated into the world system. Meanwhile, the conquest of new parts
of the globe, notably sub-Saharan Africa,
by Europeans yielded valuable natural resources such as rubber, diamonds and coal
and helped fuel trade and investment between the European imperial powers, their
colonies, and the United States.
The first phase of modern globalization began to break down at the beginning
of the 20th century, with World War I, but
resurfaced after World War II. This resurgence was partly the result of planning by
politicians to break down borders hampering trade. Their work led to the Bretton Woods conference, an agreement by
the worlds leading politicians to lay down
the framework for international commerce and finance, and the founding of several international institutions intended to
oversee the processes of globalization. Globalization was also driven by the global expansion of multinational corporations based in the United States and Europe, and
worldwide exchange of new developments
in science, technology and products, with
most significant inventions of this time ha-

ving their origins in the Western world according to Encyclopedia Britannica.[25]

Worldwide export of western culture went
through the new mass media: film, radio
and television and recorded music. Development and growth of international transport and telecommunication played a decisive role in modern globalization.
These institutions include the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (the World Bank), and the International Monetary Fund. Globalization has
been facilitated by advances in technology
which have reduced the costs of trade, and
trade negotiation rounds, originally under
the auspices of the General Agreement on
Tariffs and Trade (GATT), which led to a
series of agreements to remove restrictions
on free trade. Since World War II, barriers
to international trade have been considerably lowered through international agreements GATT and its successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO). World exports rose from 8.5% in 1970, to 16.2% of
total gross world product in 2001.
In the 1990s, the growth of low cost
communication networks allowed work
done using a computer to be moved to low
wage locations for many job types. This included accounting, software development,
and engineering design. In late 2000s, much of the industrialized world entered into a deep recession. Some analysts say the
world is going through a period of deglobalization after years of increasing economic integration. China has recently become the worlds largest exporter surpassing
Germany.

Effects

Globalization has various aspects which

affect the world in several different ways.
Industrial
Emergence of worldwide production markets and broader access to a range of foreign products for consumers and companies, particularly movement of material and goods between and within national
boundaries. International trade in manufactured goods has increased more than
100 times (from $95 billion to $12 trillion) since 1955. Chinas trade with Africa
rose sevenfold during 200007 alone.
Financial

As of 20052007, the Port of Shanghai holds the title as the Worlds busiest port

Emergence of worldwide financial markets

and better access to external financing for
borrowers. By the early part of the 21st century more than $1.5 trillion in national currencies were traded daily to support the expanded levels of trade and investment.
Economic

Realization of a global common market, based on the freedom of exchange of goods and capital
Almost all notable worldwide IT companies have a presence in India. Four Indians were among the worlds top 10 richest
in 2008, worth a combined $160 billion.
In 2007, China had 415,000 millionaires
and India 123,000.
Further, in the job market, employees
compete indirectly in a global job market.
In the past, the economic fate of workers
was tied to the fate of national economies.
With the advent of the information age and
improvements in communication, this is
no longer the case. Because workers compete in a global market, wages are less dependent on the success or failure of individual economies. This has had a major effect
on wages and income distribution.
Survival in the new global business market calls for improved productivity and increased competition. Due to the market becoming worldwide, companies in various
industries have to upgrade their products
and use technology skilfully in order to face increased competition.
Political
The development of globalisation has wide-ranging impacts on political developments, which particularly go along with
the decrease of the importance of the state. Through the creation of sub-state and
supra-state institutions such as the EU, the
WTO, the G8 or the International Criminal Court, the state loses power of policy
making and thus sovereignty. However,
many see the relative decline in US power
as being based in globalisation, particularly due to its high trade imbalance. The consequence of this is a global power shift towards Asian states, particularly China, that
has seem tremendous growth rates. In fact,
current estimates claim that Chinas economy will overtake the one of the United
States by 2025.

42

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Informational
Increase in information flows between geographically remote locations. Arguably
this is a technological change with the advent of fibre optic communications, satellites, and increased availability of telephone and Internet.
Language
The most spoken first language is Mandarin (845 million speakers) followed by Spanish (329 million speakers) and English
(328 million speakers). However the most
popular second language is undoubtedly
English, the lingua franca of globalization:
About 35% of the worlds mail, telexes,
and cables are in English.
Approximately 40% of the worlds radio
programs are in English.
English is the dominant language on the
Internet.
Ecological
The advent of global environmental challenges that might be solved with international cooperation, such as climate change, cross-boundary water and air pollution,
over-fishing of the ocean, and the spread of
invasive species. Since many factories are
built in developing countries with less environmental regulation, globalism and free
trade may increase pollution and impact on
precious fresh water resources(Hoekstra
and Chapagain 2008). On the other hand,
economic development historically required a dirty industrial stage, and it is argued that developing countries should not,
via regulation, be prohibited from increasing their standard of living.

London is a city of considerable diversity. As of 2008, estimates were published that stated that approximately 30%
of Londons total population was from an
ethnic minority group. The latest official
figures show that in 2008, 590,000 people arrived to live in the UK whilst 427,000
left, meaning that net inward migration
was 163,000.
Cultural
Growth of cross-cultural contacts; advent
of new categories of consciousness and

identities which embodies cultural diffusion, the desire to increase ones standard
of living and enjoy foreign products and
ideas, adopt new technology and practices,
and participate in a world culture. Some
bemoan the resulting consumerism and
loss of languages. Also see Transformation
of culture. This might also affect the spreading of multiculturalism, and better individual access to cultural diversity (e.g. through the export of Hollywood). Some consider such imported culture a danger, since it may supplant the local culture, causing reduction in diversity or even assimilation. Others consider multiculturalism
to promote peace and understanding between people. A third position that gained
popularity is the notion that multiculturalism to a new form of monoculture in which no distinctions exist and everyone shifts
between various lifestyles in terms of music, cloth and other aspects once more firmly attached to a single culture. Thus not
mere cultural assimilation as mentioned
above but the obliteration of culture as we
know it today. Greater international travel and tourism. WHO estimates that up to
500,000 people are on planes at any one
time. In 2008, there were over 922 million
international tourist arrivals, with a growth
of 1.9% as compared to 2007.
Greater immigration, including illegal
immigration. The IOM estimates there are
more than 200 million migrants around
the world today. Newly available data show
that remittance flows to developing countries reached $328 billion in 2008.
Spread of local consumer products (e.g.,
food) to other countries (often adapted to
their culture).
Worldwide fads and pop culture such
as Pokmon, Sudoku, Numa Numa, Origami, Idol series, YouTube, Orkut, Facebook, and Myspace; accessible only to those who have Internet or Television, leaving
out a substantial portion of the Earths population.

The construction of continental hotels is a major consequence of globalization process in affiliation with tourism and travel industry, Dariush
Grand Hotel, Kish, Iran
Worldwide sporting events such as FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games. In-

corporation of multinational corporations

into new media. As the sponsors of the AllBlacks rugby team, Adidas had created a
parallel website with a downloadable interactive rugby game for its fans to play and
compete.
Social development of the system of
non-governmental organizations as main
agents of global public policy, including humanitarian aid and developmental efforts.
Technical
Central aspect of globalisation has been
the development of a Global Information
System, and greater transborder data flow,
using such technologies as the Internet,
communication satellites, submarine fiber
optic cable, and wireless telephones, which increased the number of standards applied globally (e.g., copyright laws, patents
and world trade agreements) but also affects
Legal/Ethical norms such as the creation of
the international criminal court and international justice movements, crime importation and raising awareness of global crimefighting efforts and cooperation, the emergence of Global administrative law.
Religious
The spread and increased interrelations of
various religious groups, ideas, and practices and their ideas of the meanings and values of particular spaces.
Cultural effects

Globalization has influenced the use

of language across the world. This
street in Hong Kong, a former British colony, shows various signs, a
few of which incorporate both Chinese and British English.

Japanese McDonalds fast food as

evidence of corporate globalization
and the integration of the same into
different cultures

43
Culture is defined as patterns of human
activity and the symbols that give these activities significance. According to prevailing notions, globalization has joined different cultures and turned them into something different. The dominant view
stresses that globalization should be distinguished from Americanization. This approach has been used since the late 1980s
to conceal the unidirectional, top-down
character of US-led globalization as it was
being relentlessly imposed on the rest of
the world.
Recently, this view has been challenged
by highlighting globalizations irradiating
pattern as largely derived from decisions
originally taken in Washington, D.C., particularly in the economic and cultural fields. Culinary culture has become extensi-

vely globalized. For example, Japanese noodles, Swedish meatballs, Indian curry and
French cheese have become popular outside their countries of origin. Two American
companies, McDonalds and Starbucks, are
often cited as examples of globalization, with over 31,000 and 18,000 locations operating worldwide, respectively.
Another common practice brought about by globalization is the usage of Chinese
characters in tattoos. These tattoos are popular with todays youth despite the lack of
social acceptance of tattoos in China. Also, there is a lack of comprehension in the
meaning of Chinese characters that people get, making this an example of cultural appropriation.
The internet breaks down cultural
boundaries across the world by enabling

easy, near-instantaneous communication between people anywhere in a variety

of digital forms and media. The Internet
is associated with the process of cultural
globalization because it allows interaction
and communication between people with
very different lifestyles and from very different cultures. Photo sharing websites allow interaction even where language would otherwise be a barrier.
Democratizing effect of communications
Exchange of information via the internet is
playing a major role in the democratization of many countries. Virtualization of industries since the dawn of ecommerce has
transferred the power to the buyer, and the
same effect has transitioned into voting systems by the groupin effect of social media.

44

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Ethics nowadays
Some years ago, sociologist Raymond Baumhart asked business people, What does ethics mean to you? Among their replies were the following:
Ethics has to do with what my feelings
tell me is right or wrong.
Ethics has to do with my religious beliefs.
Being ethical is doing what the law requires.
Ethics consists of the standards of behavior our society accepts.
I dont know what the word means.
These replies might be typical of our
own. The meaning of ethics is hard to
pin down, and the views many people have about ethics are shaky.
Like Baumharts first respondent, many
people tend to equate ethics with their feelings. But being ethical is clearly not a
matter of following ones feelings. A person following his or her feelings may recoil from doing what is right. In fact, feelings
frequently deviate from what is ethical.
Nor should one identify ethics with religion. Most religions, of course, advocate
high ethical standards. Yet if ethics were
confined to religion, then ethics would apply only to religious people. But ethics applies as much to the behavior of the atheist
as to that of the saint. Religion can set high
ethical standards and can provide intense
motivations for ethical behavior. Ethics,
however, cannot be confined to religion
nor is it the same as religion.
Being ethical is also not the same as following the law. The law often incorporates ethical standards to which most citizens
subscribe. But laws, like feelings, can deviate from what is ethical. Our own pre-Civil War slavery laws and the old apartheid
laws of present-day South Africa are grotesquely obvious examples of laws that deviate from what is ethical.
Finally, being ethical is not the same as
doing whatever society accepts. In any
society, most people accept standards that
are, in fact, ethical. But standards of behavior in society can deviate from what is ethical. An entire society can become ethically
corrupt. Nazi Germany is a good example
of a morally corrupt society.
Moreover, if being ethical were doing
whatever society accepts, then to find
out what is ethical, one would have to find
out what society accepts. To decide what
I should think about abortion, for exam-

ple, I would have to take a survey of American society and then conform my beliefs to whatever society accepts. But no one
ever tries to decide an ethical issue by doing
a survey. Further, the lack of social consensus on many issues makes it impossible to equate ethics with whatever society
accepts. Some people accept abortion but
many others do not. If being ethical were
doing whatever society accepts, one would
have to find an agreement on issues which
does not, in fact, exist.
What, then, is ethics? Ethics is two
things. First, ethics refers to well-founded
standards of right and wrong that prescribe what humans ought to do, usually in terms of rights, obligations, benefits to society, fairness, or specific virtues. Ethics, for
example, refers to those standards that impose the reasonable obligations to refrain
from rape, stealing, murder, assault, slander, and fraud. Ethical standards also include those that enjoin virtues of honesty,
compassion, and loyalty. And, ethical standards include standards relating to rights,
such as the right to life, the right to freedom from injury, and the right to privacy.
Such standards are adequate standards of
ethics because they are supported by consistent and well-founded reasons.
Secondly, ethics refers to the study and
development of ones ethical standards. As
mentioned above, feelings, laws, and social norms can deviate from what is ethical. So it is necessary to constantly examine ones standards to ensure that they are
reasonable and well-founded. Ethics also
means, then, the continuous effort of studying our own moral beliefs and our moral conduct, and striving to ensure that we,
and the institutions we help to shape, live
up to standards that are reasonable and solidly-based.

Developing Codes
of Ethics
According to Wallace, A credo generally
describes the highest values to which the
company aspires to operate. It contains
the `thou shalts. A code of ethics specifies
the ethical rules of operation. Its the `thou
shalt nots. In the latter 1980s, The Conference Board, a leading business membership organization, found that 76% of corporations surveyed had codes of ethics.

Some business ethicists disagree that

codes have any value. Usually they explain that too much focus is put on the codes themselves, and that codes themselves are not influential in managing ethics
in the workplace. Many ethicists note that
its the developing and continuing dialogue around the codes values that is most
important.

Developing Codes
of Conduct
If your organization is quite large, e.g., includes several large programs or departments, you may want to develop an overall corporate code of ethics and then a separate code to guide each of your programs
or departments. Codes should not be developed out of the Human Resource or Legal departments alone, as is too often done. Codes are insufficient if intended only to ensure that policies are legal. All staff
must see the ethics program being driven
by top management.
Note that codes of ethics and codes of
conduct may be the same in some organizations, depending on the organizations
culture and operations and on the ultimate level of specificity in the code(s).

Resolving Ethical
Dilemmas and
Making Ethical
Decisions
Perhaps too often, business ethics is portrayed as a matter of resolving conflicts in
which one option appears to be the clear
choice. For example, case studies are often presented in which an employee is faced with whether or not to lie, steal, cheat,
abuse another, break terms of a contract,
etc. However, ethical dilemmas faced by
managers are often more real-to-life and
highly complex with no clear guidelines,
whether in law or often in religion.
As noted earlier in this document, Doug
Wallace, Twin Cities-based consultant, explains that one knows when they have a
significant ethical conflict when there is
presence of a) significant value conflicts
among differing interests, b) real alterna-

45
tives that are equality justifiable, and c) significant consequences on stakeholders
in the situation. An ethical dilemma exists
when one is faced with having to make a
choice among these alternatives.

The Effects of
Ethics Policies:
A Positive Story

Assessing and
Cultivating Ethical
Culture

By Jessica Silliman
Mike Bradley was well established in his
career in human resources when he went to
work for a mid-size, IT company located in
the Bay Area. At the time, Arthur Andersen
had just gone out of business for illegal accounting practices and ethics scandals were all over the news. But against the grain,
Mikes new company had taken the commitment to ethics to a new level. The company made a conscious effort to dedicate itself to be an employer that actively supported ethical business practices. They wanted employees to be comfortable speaking
up about ethical issues, so they partnered
with an external ethics company which fielded anonymous phone calls about ethics
concerns. In addition, each employee was
required to navigate an online values course that provided ethical dilemmas for
employees to solve. Mike felt comfortable knowing his company took ethics seriously.
After two years with the company, Mike encountered a situation that questioned his morals. He had been assigned to
create an online tool designed to explain
the inner workings of the company to each employee. He had committed to having
it done in two weeks, but he encountered a
problem: some of the content necessary for
the online tool was under copyright. Mike

Culture is comprised of the values, norms,

folkways and behaviors of an organization. Ethics is about moral values, or values regarding right and wrong. Therefore,
cultural assessments can be extremely valuable when assessing the moral values in
an organization.

Ethics Training

The ethics program is essentially useless

unless all staff members are trained about
what it is, how it works and their roles in
it. The nature of the system may invite suspicion if not handled openly and honestly. In addition, no matter how fair and upto-date is a set of policies, the legal system
will often interpret employee behavior (rather than written policies) as de facto policy. Therefore, all staff must be aware of
and act in full accordance with policies and
procedures (this is true, whether policies
and procedures are for ethics programs or
personnel management). This full accordance requires training about policies and
procedures.

knew that he didnt have time to request

use of the material. He also knew that, if
he used it illegally, it was likely nobody would notice.
Deep down I knew it wasnt right to use
the content, said Mike.
Flagging this as a concern for the company would delay the project, but Mike was
committed to the ethical stance of the company, so he went to the management team.
He told them that, although he knew he
wanted the project done, he would be forced to violate the companys stance to accomplish the project on time.
Mike offered two options to the management: they could purchase the content
or eliminate it from the online tool. E ither
way, the project would be delayed.
Mike was quickly praised by the management for bringing the issue to their attention. Managers told him that he did the
right thing.
Assuming that
unauthorized use
of copyrighted
material may be ilm
legal, do you also
think its unethical? Why or why
c
not?
Do you think Mike would have made the same decision if his company
had not had an extensive internal
ethics policy?
Name at least three things that you
think indicate whether a company is
committed to ethics or not.

46

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

Economic and
social current
problems
Causes of Poverty

Almost half the world over 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 a day.
The GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of
the 41 Heavily Indebted Poor Countries
(567 million people) is less than the wealth
of the worlds 7 richest people combined.
Nearly a billion people entered the 21st
century unable to read a book or sign their
names.
Less than one per cent of what the world
spent every year on weapons was needed
to put every child into school by the year
2000 and yet it didnt happen.
1 billion children live in poverty (1 in 2
children in the world). 640 million live without adequate shelter, 400 million have
no access to safe water, 270 million have no
access to health services. 10.6 million died
in 2003 before they reached the age of 5 (or
roughly 29,000 children per day).
Poverty is the state for the majority of
the worlds people and nations. Why is
this? Is it enough to blame poor people for
their own predicament? Have they been
lazy, made poor decisions, and been solely responsible for their plight? What about
their governments? Have they pursued policies that actually harm successful development? Such causes of poverty and inequality are no doubt real. But deeper and more global causes of poverty are often less
discussed.
Behind the increasing interconnectedness promised by globalization are global
decisions, policies, and practices. These are
typically influenced, driven, or formulated
by the rich and powerful. These can be leaders of rich countries or other global actors
such as multinational corporations, institutions, and influential people.
In the face of such enormous external
influence, the governments of poor nations and their people are often powerless.

As a result, in the global context, a few get

wealthy while the majority struggle.

Poverty Facts
and Stats
Most of humanity lives on just a few dollars a day. Whether you live in the wealthiest nations in the world or the poorest, you
will see high levels of inequality.
The poorest people will also have less
access to health, education and other services. Problems of hunger, malnutrition
and disease afflict the poorest in society.

The poorest are also typically marginalized

from society and have little representation
or voice in public and political debates, making it even harder to escape poverty.
By contrast, the wealthier you are, the
more likely you are to benefit from economic or political policies. The amount the
world spends on military, financial bailouts and other areas that benefit the wealthy,
compared to the amount spent to address
the daily crisis of poverty and related problems are often staggering.
Some facts and figures on poverty presented in this page are eye-openers, to say
the least.

47
Structural
Adjustment a Major Cause
of Poverty
Cutbacks in health, education and other
vital social services around the world have
resulted from structural adjustment policies prescribed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank as conditions for loans and repayment. In addition, developing nation governments are required to open their economies to compete with each other and with more powerful and established industrialized nations.
To attract investment, poor countries enter a spiraling race to the bottom to see who
can provide lower standards, reduced wages and cheaper resources. This has increased poverty and inequality for most people.
It also forms a backbone to what we today
call globalization. As a result, it maintains
the historic unequal rules of trade.

fined as living on the equivalent of $1.25 a

day. With that measure based on latest data available (2005), 1.4 billion people live
on or below that line.
Furthermore, almost half the world
over three billion peoplelive on less than
$2.50 a day and at least 80% of humanity
lives on less than $10 a day.

Today, over
22,000 children
died around the
world

Meaningful long-term alleviation of hunger is rooted in the alleviation of poverty,

as poverty leads to hunger. World hunger
is a terrible symptom of world poverty. If
efforts are only directed at providing food,
or improving food production or distribution, then the structural root causes that create hunger, poverty and dependency would
still remain. While resources and energies
are deployed to relieve hunger through technical measures such as improving agriculture, and as important as these are, inter-related issues such as poverty means
that political solutions are likely required
as well for meaningful and long term hunger alleviation.

Food Dumping
[Aid] Maintains
Poverty
Food aid (when not for emergency relief)
can actually be very destructive on the economy of the recipient nation and contribute to more hunger and poverty in the long
term. Free, subsidized, or cheap food, below market prices undercuts local farmers,
who cannot compete and are driven out of
jobs and into poverty, further slanting the
market share of the larger producers such
as those from the US and Europe. Many poor nations are dependent on farming, and
so such food aid amounts to food dumping.
In the past few decades, more powerful nations have used this as a foreign policy tool
for dominance rather than for real aid.

Poverty Around
The World

Around the world, in rich or poor nations,

poverty has always been present. In most
nations today, inequalitythe gap between the rich and the pooris quite high and
often widening.
The causes are numerous, including
a lack of individual responsibility, bad
government policy, exploitation by people and businesses with power and influence, or some combination of these and
other factors.Many feel that high levels of
inequality will affect social cohesion and
lead to problems such as increasing crime
and violence.
Inequality is often a measure of relative
poverty. Absolute poverty, however, is also a concern. World Bank figures for world
poverty reveals a higher number of people
live in poverty than previously thought.
For example, the new poverty line is de-

World Hunger
and Poverty

Over 22,000 children die every day around

the world. That is equivalent to:
1 child dying every 4 seconds
15 children dying every minute
A 2010 Haiti earthquake occurring almost every 10 days
A 2004 Asian Tsunami occurring almost
every 10 days
An Iraq-scale death toll every 1843
days
Just under 8.1 million children dying
every year
Some 88 million children dying between 2000 and 2009
The silent killers are poverty, easily preventable diseases and illnesses, and other
related causes. Despite the scale of this daily/ongoing catastrophe, it rarely manages
to achieve, much less sustain, prime-time,
headline coverage.

Food and
Agriculture Issues

Food and agriculture goes to the heart of

our civilizations. Religions, cultures and
even modern civilization have food and
agriculture at their core. For an issue that
goes to the heart of humanity it also has
its ugly side.

48

COMMUNICATION ENGLISH
Agnes Negrescu

This issue explores topics ranging from

the global food crisis of 2008, to issues of
food aid, world hunger, food dumping and
wasteful agriculture such as growing tobacco, sugar, beef, and more.

Corruption

We often hear leaders from rich countries

telling poor countries that aid and loans
will only be given when they show they are
stamping out corruption. While that definitely needs to happen, the rich countries
themselves are often active in the largest
forms of corruption in those poor countries, and many economic policies they
prescribe have exacerbated the problem.
Corruption in developing countries definitely must be high on the priority lists, but
so too must it be on the priority lists of rich countries.

Foreign Aid for

Development
Assistance
In 1970, the worlds rich countries agreed
to give 0.7% of their gross national income
as official international development aid,
annually. Since that time, billions have certainly been given each year, but rarely have the rich nations actually met their promised target. For example, the US is often
the largest donor in dollar terms, but ranks
amongst the lowest in terms of meeting the
stated 0.7% target.
Furthermore, aid has often come with a
price of its own for the developing nations.
Common criticisms, for many years, of foreign aid, have included the following:
Aid is often wasted on conditions that
the recipient must use overpriced goods
and services from donor countries
Most aid does not actually go to the poorest who would need it the most
Aid amounts are dwarfed by rich
country protectionism that denies market
access for poor country products while rich nations use aid as a lever to open poor
country markets to their products
Large projects or massive grand strategies often fail to help the vulnerable; mo-

ney can often be embezzled away. This article explores who has benefited most from
this aid, the recipients or the donors.

Causes of Hunger
are related
to Poverty
There are many inter-related issues causing hunger, which are related to economics and other factors that cause poverty.
They include land rights and ownership,
diversion of land use to non-productive

use, increasing emphasis on export-oriented agriculture, inefficient agricultural

practices, war, famine, drought, over-fishing, poor crop yields, etc. This section introduces some of these issues.

United Nations
World Summit
2005
The UN World Summit for September
2005 is supposed to review progress since the Millennium Declaration, adopted

49
by all Member States in 2000. However,
the US has proposed enormous changes
to an outcome document that is to be signed by all members. There are changes on
almost all accounts, including striking any
mention of the Millennium Development
Goals, that aim for example, to halve poverty and world hunger by 2015. This has
led to concerns that the outcome document will be weakened. Developing countries are also worried about stronger text
on human rights and about giving the UN
Security Council more powers.

IMF & World

Bank Protests,
Washington D.C.
To complement the public protests in
Seattle, the week leading up to April
16th/17th 2000 saw the other two global
institutions, the International Monetary
Fund (IMF) and World Bank, as the focus
of renewed protests and criticisms in Washington, D.C. The purpose of the mass
demonstrations was to protest against the
current form of globalization, which is seen as unaccountable, corporate-led, and
non-democratic, and to show the link between poverty and the various policies of
the IMF and the World Bank.

Read IMF & World Bank Protests, Washington D.C. to learn more.

Aid

Economic
Democracy
This next page is a reposting of a flyer about a new book from J.W. Smith and the Institute for Economic Democracy, whom I
thank for their kind permission. The book
is called Economic Democracy: The Political Struggle Of The 21st Century. Typically on this site, I do not advertise books etc,
(although I will cite from and link to some, where relevant). However, in this case, I found that the text in the flyer provides an excellent summary of povertys historic roots, as well as of the multitude of issues that cause poverty. (Please also note
that I do not make any proceeds from the
sale of this book in any way.)

World hunger
related links for
more information
Links to web sites and articles that discuss
world hunger, the relationship between populations and hunger, of poverty and hunger,
agricultural issues, land rights and so on.

There are numerous forms of aid, from humanitarian emergency assistance, to longer term development aid. Some provide
food aid, or military assistance, but all these forms of aid seem to be accompanied
with criticism, either around inefficiency
of delivery, or of political agendas or more. This section attempts to look at some
of these issues.