Emotional health Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

Emotional health - Essay Example Erickson’s Eight Stages of Psycho-Social Development: States that the individual has to undergo eight stages of development, in order for them to become integrated into society (Erikson 359-396). Erickson focuses on eight stages in total; however the first five are aimed at childhood, whereas the last three are classifications of changes which take place throughout the rest of the individual’s lifetime. In summary, Erickson was concerned with the individual’s adaptation to society. Let’s now compare this to Sigmund Freud, and his approach, which is centered towards the individual’s adaptation to their own psychic sphere. According to Freud, the young child first develops an oral fixation, whereby as a baby and then toddler, everything goes into the mouth. They then move onto the anal stage, during toilet training, and finally at around five to seven years of age they undergo what is known as the Oedipus complex, whereby the boy fears castration, at the hands of their father, for lusting after the mother; and whereby the young girl accepts the reality that she has already been castrated. Either way, the phallic stage represents an acceptance of external authority, and a reordering of the individual’s psychic World, so that they become emotionally well regulated. Erickson versus Freud: Interestingly, when we compare, Freud to Erickson, we can clearly see that both theorists are attempting to explain the emotional developmental stages of the individual, and that for Erickson the focus is on adaptation to external challenges; whereas with Freud the focus is upon internal adaptation within the psychic reality of the individual, to the external reality which faces them. While the focus might be slightly different, the inference is the same, that a healthy individual has to come to terms with the society, in which

Vincent Van Gogh Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Vincent Van Gogh - Research Paper Example In 1866, his father transferred him to a boarding school at Zevenbergen. The transfer proved to be disastrous to his life due to the fact the he was an introvert. This made it difficult for him to associate and make friends in the new school. In addition, people from the new school harassed him due to his peculiar characteristics. In September 1886, he joined Willem II College in Tilburg province. This school meant a lot to his life and career as an artist since he got the chance of meeting Constantijin a famous artist from France. At this school, Constantijin worked as a teacher and he was able to note the peculiar characteristics in Gogh within a short period. Although Gogh had a good relationship with his teachers from the new school, he decided to drop out of school in 1868 due to lack of interest with school duties and procedures. In 1869 his uncle Cent, connected him to an art dealer who owned Goupil & Cie, which was a leading art company in Hague. This marked the beginning of his career as a professional artist. After joining Goupil & Cie Company, his supervisor immediately noticed his outstanding skills and placed him in a training program in order to refine his artistic skills. Gogh completed his training secession in 1873 and he was immediately transferred to London where he worked for Messers Goupil & co. This transfer became a source of motivation for his career since he was earning more money than his fellow artists were (Callow 46). Life in London however turned against him as his was rejected by his first lover Eugenie Loyer. The dark moments of his lie returned to him and he returned to his solitary life. His father and uncle noticed this behavior and they arranged... Gogh is mainly remembered for his paintings that portrayed a high degree of beauty, bold colors and emotions. In addition, most of his audience described his paintings as honest due to the life expressions that they possessed. Gogh is also considered as one of the most influential artists of the nineteenth century due to the work that he did within his 37 years of life. His life was intensive since he started drawing at an early age. By the time he had attained 37 years of age, he had produced approximately 2,000, which consisted of about 800 oil paintings. His life involved many turnarounds and each of them inspired him to produce a work of art. Gogh mainly concentrated in oil painting with most of his work done on canvas. His painting on the Potato Eaters 1885 was the first piece of work that put him in the public domain. This painting was inspired by the life of many peasant farmers who lived in Netherlands. The painting, however made the local Catholic Church priest to condemn him. The Skull with a Burning Cigarette 1886 is also among his most celebrated works of art. He did this painting on canvas and it was first displayed in Hague. The main motivation behind this painting was the changing lifestyle among the Europeans. Gogh noticed his superiority in art during his early school days and he lived his life to fulfill his passion in drawing. Gogh encountered many events during his life, which he transferred into paintings. His paintings demonstrated the life of ordinary people that surrounded him.

Personal statement for PhD admission Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

For PhD admission - Personal Statement Example The program itself is predicated on a heavy research background; something that I am partially familiar with and interested in understanding and engaging to a more profound degree. Essentially, my current research background has been limited to a 2012 publication in the Academic Journal of Chongqing University of Posts and Telecommunications. However, I also engaged in a great deal of research with respect to my Master’s degree while studying at the University of New Haven. Moreover, my internship at China Taiping Insurance Company helped me to realize that very few current issues that are represented throughout the world can be addressed without performing adequate research and understanding the unique variables that tie in to each and every situation. Quantitative and qualitative research in terms of crime prevention and sociological understanding are of primal interest to me as well. Although I only had a few opportunities to leverage these interests in undergraduate school, I fully intend on focusing on both of these methodological approaches within a graduate program. Likewise, focusing on crime theory and sociological ramifications of crime is a predominant interest that I have with regard to the field. Similarly, as with any other field of study, understanding dynamics of crime and crime prevention ultimately reduces to an understanding of finance; something that further intrigues me. Essentially, these are two differentiated research interests and ones that I believe can lead to further relevant understanding of the field of criminal justice. The first relates to the way in which crime can be better understood and potentially prevented, whereas the second is mainly contingent upon the resources that individual departments a llocate to crime scene investigation and how this correlates with their overall rates of successfully solved crimes. Obviously, these two research interests

Glo bus simulation Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Glo bus simulation - Essay Example technologies ever cognizant that the imaging industry evolves so quickly that emerging technology could easily render a prevailing technology obsolete and irrelevant. A5 Digital Camera Co. also caters to market where it can strategically position its product favorably that would highlight its advantages as a company allowing it to profit and grow while developing new technologies as a foresight to the ever changing future. The markets that A5 Digital Camera identified where it can leverage its position are both the end-user hobbyist and the professional photographer. These markets prove to be favorable to A5 Digital Camera due to its sheer size and relatively new market considering that digital camera industry is still relatively in its nascent stage. The room to explore new market among end users is still considerable allowing further growth for the company. In addition, it can still develop new markets of which A5 Digital Camera could be a pioneer by introducing new technologies that is considered cutting edge in the digital imaging industry. To ensure that the market will remain relevant in the market, A5 Digital Camera will develop its core competencies and product lines to make each and every process in the company create value for the customer. A5 Digital Camera will also continue to seek new markets and identify areas in the market that has not been fully covered or served by the competitors. Better yet, identify markets that have not been discovered by the competitors. These markets will provide invaluable opportunities for A5 Digital Camera to dominate these markets and acquire market share with the least competition. In addition to seeking emerging and unexplored markets, A5 Digital Camera will also identify markets that have few competitions and ventured by small players where A5 Digital Camera can exploit its size and advantages to challenge the existing players. This will allow A5 Digital Camera to acquire new markets and/or widen its market

Reflecting on a moral problem ( affirmative action) Essay

Reflecting on a moral problem ( affirmative action) - Essay Example Other countries similarly enlightened adopted the same principles of this affirmative action law but termed it differently, such as â€Å"positive discrimination† in the United Kingdom in which discrimination was given a positive and beneficial connotation or in Canada where it is called as employment equity to mean everybody has equal chances at getting employed if a person has the same qualities, qualifications, credentials, and capabilities as another person. In all these countries, the main idea was to take positive action that will equalize everybody. In reference to the Women's Liberation Movement (or feminism for short), the same laws in principle were adopted and likewise applied to women to have the same opportunities as men. Some countries adopted a different system altogether such as using quotas to allocate a certain number of slots to members of some minority groups. The same idea of affirmative action was soon introduced to schools and universities in admitting s tudents for enrollment. In this paper, it will be argued how procedural affirmative action is the better of the two variants. ... The only remaining criterion for a job applicant is his or her qualifications for the position. In a sense, this first side of affirmative action is negatively stated, that to achieve the noble aims of affirmative action, any employer should ignore the applicant's race, creed, or color. This first side is what is now called as the procedural affirmative action (Cahn 14). On the other hand, the second side is now more nuanced as it carefully takes into its consideration the very things which were supposed to be ignored or not considered such as an applicant's race, creed, or color; the elements which will make affirmative action a success is to embrace the same criteria which were to be ignored or discarded as mentioned earlier. It is now incumbent upon a potential employer to carefully take into consideration the same things like race, creed, or color when evaluating an applicant. This is what is required now by the so-called preferential affirmative action by paying very close atten tion to the same criteria. These two seemingly contradictory aspects of the affirmative action program can be problematic for those desirous to comply with its provisions and objectives although both two aims aspire for the same result of equality in opportunities. The main problem is whether to use the same set of criteria and then whether to grant compensatory advantages to group members of minorities who were discriminated against. This flies in the face of the ideals of affirmative action which is to allow everybody to compete fairly on an equal footing against everybody else. This implies preference for diversity to enrich everybody's experience but the philosophical debate on this issue has

Acquisition Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Acquisition Analysis - Essay Example Such factors as internal and external market environment as well as Adobe priorities were examined, and it was found that acquisition is profitable for both companies. The three templates were designed to analyze broad, specific and other issues necessary to evaluate the risk and profitability of the project. It was supposed that the company IAP will invest about $ 1000000 from internal cash funds. Financial analysis proves that fact that the rate of return will be high if IAP invests $ 1,000000. Such calculations as WACC, risk assessment, CAPM, foreign currency translation effect, cash flow analysis have been madeThe initial assessment of markets conditions involves screening foreign markets to discover the potential of different countries. This process includes consideration of rates of growth of economies, new developments such as opening up of markets in developing and emergent economies, technical changes that are creating new opportunities to sell and identification of long-ter m economic and demographic factors that are altering demand patterns.With the globalization of the world economy, companies like IAP Company Limited are growing by merger and acquisition in a bid to expand operations and remain competitive. The complexity of such transactions often makes it difficult to assess all risk exposures and liabilities, and requires the skills of a specialist advisor. Four main types of assessment for companies considering acquisition beyond their national borders should be undertaken: political and legal conditions, economic conditions, cultural conditions, competitive conditions. USA-based company Adobe operates in the stable political situation, which has high rates of economic growth. Acquisition policy is undoubtedly the most radical growth strategy open to management in that it represents a deliberate attempt to change the nature of the business. Acquisition policy can be classified into backward, forward and horizontal integration. Acquisition policy occurs when the new business is related in some way to the old one. (Zolkiewski, 1994). Template 1: IAP Company Limited will be reluctant to enter countries that have high political risks unless the potential returns are high or when countries with high political risk are providers of raw material that are in short supply. When the overall market is growing or can be induced to grow, it may be relatively easy for companies with a small market share, or even new entrants, to gain share. This is because the absolute level of sales of the established companies may still be growing; and indeed, in some instances, those companies may be unable or unwilling to meet the new demand. Import penetration into some industries can be traced back to the early 1990s, when companies were unable to supply the peak demand occurring during booms and their customers had to seek alternative sources overseas (Benito, Gripsrund, 1992). Once established with overseas suppliers, many UK users were reluctant to revert to UK sourcing. When the boom was over, the importers held on to their market share. The size of the investment required by a business wishing to enter industry will be an important determinant of the extent new entrants. Acquisition with Adobe allows IAP Company Limited to subject to a complex regulate framework whereas others are less so. Still, even if it is possible to predict the needs of customer there are some threats and new opportunities, which should be taken into consideration. American administrative and legal environment is very favourable for acquisition with Adobe. There are no specific regulations governing the goals and structures of the industry, there is

Audit Consultant Essay Example for Free

Audit Consultant Essay The Science of Scientific Writing If the reader is to grasp what the writer means, the writer must understand what the reader needs George D. Gopen and Judith A. Swan* *George D. Gopen is associate professor of English and Director of Writing Programs at Duke University. He holds a Ph. D. in English from Harvard University and a J. D. from Harvard Law School. Judith A. Swan teaches scientific writing at Princeton University. Her Ph. D. , which is in biochemistry, was earned at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Address for Gopen: 307 Allen Building, Duke University, Durham, NC 27706 Science is often hard to read. Most people assume that its difficulties are born out of necessity, out of the extreme complexity of scientific concepts, data and analysis. We argue here that complexity of thought need not lead to impenetrability of expression; we demonstrate a number of rhetorical principles that can produce clarity in communication without oversimplifying scientific issues. The results are substantive, not merely cosmetic: Improving the quality of writing actually improves the quality of thought. The fundamental purpose of scientific discourse is not the mere presentation of information and thought, but rather its actual communication. It does not matter how pleased an author might be to have converted all the right data into sentences and paragraphs; it matters only whether a large majority of the reading audience accurately perceives what the author had in mind. Therefore, in order to understand how best to improve writing, we would do well to understand better how readers go about reading. Such an understanding has recently become available through work done in the fields of rhetoric, linguistics and cognitive psychology. It has helped to produce a methodology based on the concept of reader expectations. Writing with the Reader in Mind: Expectation and Context Readers do not simply read; they interpret. Any piece of prose, no matter how short, may mean in 10 (or more) different ways to 10 different readers. This methodology of reader expectations is founded on the recognition that readers make many of their most important interpretive decisions about the substance of prose based on clues they receive from its structure. This interplay between substance and structure can be demonstrated by something as basic as a simple table. Let us say that in tracking the temperature of a liquid over a period of time, an investigator takes measurements every three minutes and records a list of temperatures. Those data could be presented by a number of written structures. Here are two possibilities: t(time)=15’, T(temperature)=32? , t=0’, T=25? ; t=6’, T=29? ; t=3’, T=27? ; t=12’, T=32? ; t=9’; T=31? time (min) 0 3 6 9 12 15 temperature(? C) 25 27 29 31 32 32 Precisely the same information appears in both formats, yet most readers find the second easier to interpret. It may be that the very familiarity of the tabular structure makes it easier to use. But, more significantly, the structure of the second table provides the reader with an easily perceived context (time) in which the significant piece of information (temperature) can be interpreted. The contextual material appears on the left in a pattern that produces an expectation of regularity; the interesting results appear on the right in a less obvious pattern, the discovery of which is the point of the table. If the two sides of this simple table are reversed, it becomes much harder to read. temperature(? C) 25 27 29 31 32 32 time(min) 0 3 6 9 12 15. Since we read from left to right, we prefer the context on the left, where it can more effectively familiarize the reader. We prefer the new, important information on the right, since its job is to intrigue the reader. Information is interpreted more easily and more uniformly if it is placed where most readers expect to find it. These needs and expectations of readers affect the interpretation not only of tables and illustrations but also of prose itself. Readers have relatively fixed expectations about where in the structure of prose they will encounter particular items of its substance. If writers can become consciously aware of these locations, they can better control the degrees of recognition and emphasis a reader will give to the various pieces of information being presented. Good writers are intuitively aware of these expectations; that is why their prose has what we call shape. This underlying concept of reader expectation is perhaps most immediately evident at the level of the largest units of discourse. (A unit of discourse is defined as anything with a beginning and an end: a clause, a sentence, a section, an article, etc. ) A research article, for example, is generally divided into recognizable sections, sometimes labeled Introduction, Experimental Methods, Results and Discussion. When the sections are confusedwhen too much experimental detail is found in the Results section, or when discussion and results interminglereaders are often equally confused. In smaller units of discourse the functional divisions are not so explicitly labeled, but readers have definite expectations all the same, and they search for certain information in particular places. If these structural expectations are continually violated, readers are forced to divert energy from understanding the content of a passage to unraveling its structure. As the complexity of the context increases moderately, the possibility of misinterpretation or noninterpretation increases dramatically. We present here some results of applying this methodology to research reports in the scientific literature. We have taken several passages from research articles (either published or accepted for publication) and have suggested ways of rewriting them by applying principles derived from the study of reader expectations. We have not sought to transform the passages into plain English for the use of the general public; we have neither decreased the jargon nor diluted the science. We have striven not for simplification but for clarification. Reader Expectations for the Structure of Prose Here is our first example of scientific prose, in its original form: The smallest of the URF’s (URFA6L), a 207-nucleotide (nt) reading frame overlapping out of phase the NH2-terminal portion of the adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6 gene has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene. The functional significance of the other URF’s has been, on the contrary, elusive. Recently, however, immunoprecipitation experiments with antibodies to purified, rotenone-sensitive NADH-ubiquinone oxido-reductase [hereafter referred to as respiratory chain NADH dehydrogenase or complex I] from bovine heart, as well as enzyme fractionation studies, have indicated that six human URF’s (that is, URF1, URF2, URF3, URF4, URF4L, and URF5, hereafter referred to as ND1, ND2, ND3, ND4, ND4L, and ND5) encode subunits of complex I. This is a large complex that also contains many subunits synthesized in the cytoplasm. * [*The full paragraph includes one more sentence: Support for such functional identification of the URF products has come from the finding that the purified rotenone-sensitive NADH dehydrogenase from Neurospora crassa contains several subunits synthesized within the mitochondria, and from the observation that the stopper mutant of Neurospora crassa, whose mtDNA lacks two genes homologous to URF2 and URF3, has no functional complex I. We have omitted this sentence both because the passage is long enough as is and because it raises no additional structural issues. ] Ask any ten people why this paragraph is hard to read, and nine are sure to mention the technical vocabulary; several will also suggest that it requires specialized background knowledge. Those problems turn out to be only a small part of the difficulty. Here is the passage again, with the difficult words temporarily lifted: The smallest of the URF’s, and [A], has been identified as a [B] subunit 8 gene. The functional significance of the other URF’s has been, on the contrary, elusive. Recently, however, [C] experiments, as well as [D] studies, have indicated that six human URF’s [1-6] encode subunits of Complex I. This is a large complex that also contains many subunits synthesized in the cytoplasm. It may now be easier to survive the journey through the prose, but the passage is still difficult. Any number of questions present themselves: What has the first sentence of the passage to do with the last sentence? Does the third sentence contradict what we have been told in the second sentence? Is the functional significance of URF’s still elusive? Will this passage lead us to further discussion about URF’s, or about Complex I, or both? Information is interpreted more easily and more  uniformly if it is placed where most readers expect to find it. Knowing a little about the subject matter does not clear up all the confusion. The intended audience of this passage would probably possess at least two items of essential technical information: first, URF stands for Uninterrupted Reading Frame, which describes a segment of DNA organized in such a way that it could encode a protein, although no such protein product has yet been identified; second, both APTase and NADH oxido-reductase are enzyme complexes central to energy metabolism. Although this information may provide some sense of comfort, it does little to answer the interpretive questions that need answering. It seems the reader is hindered by more than just the scientific jargon. To get at the problem, we need to articulate something about how readers go about reading. We proceed to the first of several reader expectations. Subject-Verb Separation Look again at the first sentence of the passage cited above. It is relatively long, 42 words; but that turns out not to be the main cause of its burdensome complexity. Long sentences need not be difficult to read; they are only difficult to write. We have seen sentences of over 100 words that flow easily and persuasively toward their clearly demarcated destination. Those well-wrought serpents all had something in common: Their structure presented information to readers in the order the readers needed and expected it. Beginning with the exciting material and ending with a lack of luster often leaves us disappointed and destroys our sense of momentum. The first sentence of our example passage does just the opposite: it burdens and obstructs the reader, because of an all-too-common structural defect. Note that the grammatical subject (the smallest) is separated from its verb (has been identified) by 23 words, more than half the sentence. Readers expect a grammatical subject to be followed immediately by the verb. Anything of length that intervenes between subject and verb is read as an interruption, and therefore as something of lesser importance. The reader’s expectation stems from a pressing need for syntactic resolution, fulfilled only by the arrival of the verb. Without the verb, we do not know what the subject is doing, or what the sentence is all about. As a result, the reader focuses attention on the arrival of the verb and resists recognizing anything in the interrupting material as being of primary importance. The longer the interruption lasts, the more likely it becomes that the interruptive material actually contains important information; but its structural location will continue to brand it as merely interruptive. Unfortunately, the reader will not discover its true value until too late-until the sentence has ended without having produced anything of much value outside of that subject-verb interruption. In this first sentence of the paragraph, the relative importance of the intervening material is difficult to evaluate. The material might conceivably be quite significant, in which case the writer should have positioned it to reveal that importance. Here is one way to incorporate it into the sentence structure: The smallest of the URF’s is URFA6L, a 207-nucleotide (nt) reading frame overlapping out of phase the NH2-terminal portion of the adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6 gene; it has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene. On the other hand, the intervening material might be a mere aside that diverts attention from more important ideas; in that case the writer should have deleted it, allowing the prose to drive more directly toward its significant point: The smallest of the URF’s (URFA6L) has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene. Only the author could tell us which of these revisions more accurately reflects his intentions. These revisions lead us to a second set of reader expectations. Each unit of discourse, no matter what the size, is expected to serve a single function, to make a single point. In the case of a sentence, the point is expected to appear in a specific place reserved for emphasis. The Stress Position It is a linguistic commonplace that readers naturally emphasize the material that arrives at the end of a sentence. We refer to that location as a stress position. If a writer is consciously aware of this tendency, she can arrange for the emphatic information to appear at the moment the reader is naturally exerting the greatest reading emphasis. As a result, the chances greatly increase that reader and writer will perceive the same material as being worthy of primary emphasis. The very structure of the sentence thus helps persuade the reader of the relative values of the sentence’s contents. The inclination to direct more energy to that which arrives last in a sentence seems to correspond to the way we work at tasks through time. We tend to take something like a mental breath as we begin to read each new sentence, thereby summoning the tension with which we pay attention to the unfolding of the syntax. As we recognize that the sentence is drawing toward its conclusion, we begin to exhale that mental breath. The exhalation produces a sense of emphasis. Moreover, we delight in being rewarded at the end of a labor with something that makes the ongoing effort worthwhile. Beginning with the exciting material and ending with a lack of luster often leaves us disappointed and destroys our sense of momentum. We do not start with the strawberry shortcake and work our way up to the broccoli. When the writer puts the emphatic material of a sentence in any place other than the stress position, one of two things can happen; both are bad. First, the reader might find the stress position occupied by material that clearly is not worthy of emphasis. In this case, the reader must discern, without any additional structural clue, what else in the sentence may be the most likely candidate for emphasis. There are no secondary structural indications to fall back upon. In sentences that are long, dense or sophisticated, chances soar that the reader will not interpret the prose precisely as the writer intended. The second possibility is even worse: The reader may find the stress position occupied by something that does appear capable of receiving emphasis, even though the writer did not intend to give it any stress. In that case, the reader is highly likely to emphasize this imposter material, and the writer will have lost an important opportunity to influence the reader’s interpretive process. The stress position can change in size from sentence to sentence. Sometimes it consists of a single word; sometimes it extends to several lines. The definitive factor is this: The stress position coincides with the moment of syntactic closure. A reader has reached the beginning of the stress position when she knows there is nothing left in the clause or sentence but the material presently being read. Thus a whole list, numbered and indented, can occupy the stress position of a sentence if it has been clearly announced as being all that remains of that sentence. Each member of that list, in turn, may have its own internal stress position, since each member may produce its own syntactic closure. Within a sentence, secondary stress positions can be formed by the appearance of a properly used colon or semicolon; by grammatical convention, the material preceding these punctuation marks must be able to stand by itself as a complete sentence. Thus, sentences can be extended effortlessly to dozens of words, as long as there is a medial syntactic closure for every piece of new, stress-worthy information along the way. One of our revisions of the initial sentence can serve as an example: The smallest of the URF’s is URFA6L, a 207-nucleotide (nt) reading frame overlapping out of phase the NH2-terminal portion of the adenosinetriphosphatase (ATPase) subunit 6 gene; it has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene. By using a semicolon, we created a second stress position to accommodate a second piece of information that seemed to require emphasis. We now have three rhetorical principles based on reader expectations: First, grammatical subjects should be followed as soon as possible by their verbs; second, every unit of discourse, no matter the size, should serve a single function or make a single point; and, third, information intended to be emphasized should appear at points of syntactic closure. Using these principles, we can begin to unravel the problems of our example prose. Note the subject-verb separation in the 62-word third sentence of the original passage: Recently, however, immunoprecipitation experiments with antibodies to purified, rotenone-sensitive NADH-ubiquinone oxido-reductase [hereafter referred to as respiratory chain NADH dehydrogenase or complex I] from bovine heart, as well as enzyme fractionation studies, have indicated that six human URF’s (that is, URF1, URF2, URF3, URF4, URF4L, and URF5,  hereafter referred to as ND1, ND2, ND3, ND4, ND4L and ND5) encode subunits of complex I. After encountering the subject (experiments), the reader must wade through 27 words (including three hyphenated compound words, a parenthetical interruption and an as well as phrase) before alighting on the highly uninformative and disappointingly anticlimactic verb (have indicated). Without a moment to recover, the reader is handed a that clause in which the new subject (six human URF’s) is separated from its verb (encode) by yet another 20 words. If we applied the three principles we have developed to the rest of the sentences of the example, we could generate a great many revised versions of each. These revisions might differ significantly from one another in the way their structures indicate to the reader the various weights and balances to be given to the information. Had the author placed all stress-worthy material in stress positions, we as a reading community would have been far more likely to interpret these sentences uniformly. We couch this discussion in terms of likelihood  because we believe that meaning is not inherent in discourse by itself; meaning requires the combined participation of text and reader. All sentences are infinitely interpretable, given an infinite number of interpreters. As communities of readers, however, we tend to work out tacit agreements as to what kinds of meaning are most likely to be extracted from certain articulations. We cannot succeed in making even a single sentence mean one and only one thing; we can only increase the odds that a large majority of readers will tend to interpret our discourse according to our intentions. Such success will follow from authors becoming more consciously aware of the various reader expectations presented here. W e cannot succeed in making even a single sentence mean one and only one thing; we can only increase the odds that a large majority of readers will tend to interpret our discourse according to our intentions. Here is one set of revisionary decisions we made for the example: The smallest of the URF’s, URFA6L, has been identified as the animal equivalent of the recently discovered yeast H+-ATPase subunit 8 gene; but the functional significance of other URF’s has been more elusive. Recently, however, several human URF’s have been shown to encode subunits of rotenone-sensitive NADH-ubiquinone oxido-reductase. This is a large complex that also contains many subunits synthesized in the cytoplasm; it will be referred to hereafter as respiratory chain NADH dehydrogenase or complex I. Six subunits of Complex I were shown by enzyme fractionation studies and immunoprecipitation experiments to be encoded by six human URF’s (URF1, URF2, URF3, URF4, URF4L, and URF5); these URF’s will be referred to subsequently as ND1, ND2, ND3, ND4, ND4L and ND5. Sheer length was neither the problem nor the solution. The revised version is not noticeably shorter than the original; nevertheless, it is significantly easier to interpret. We have indeed deleted certain words, but not on the basis of wordiness or excess length. (See especially the last sentence of our revision. ) When is a sentence too long? The creators of readability formulas would have us believe there exists some fixed number of words (the favorite is 29) past which a sentence is too hard to read. We disagree. We have seen 10-word sentences that are virtually impenetrable  and, as we mentioned above, 100-word sentences that flow effortlessly to their points of resolution. In place of the word-limit concept, we offer the following definition: A sentence is too long when it has more viable candidates for stress positions than there are stress positions available. Without the stress position’s locational clue that its material is intended to be emphasized, readers are left too much to their own devices in deciding just what else in a sentence might be considered important. In revising the example passage, we made certain decisions about what to omit and what to emphasize. We put subjects and verbs together to lessen the reader’s syntactic burdens; we put the material we believed worthy of emphasis in stress positions; and we discarded material for which we could not discern significant connections. In doing so, we have produced a clearer passagebut not one that necessarily reflects the author’s intentions; it reflects only our interpretation of the author’s intentions. The more problematic the structure, the less likely it becomes that a grand majority of readers will perceive the discourse in exactly the way the author intended. T he information that begins a sentence establishes  for the reader a perspective for viewing the sentence as a unit. It is probable that many of our readersand perhaps even the authorswill disagree with some of our choices. If so, that disagreement underscores our point: The original failed to communicate its ideas and their connections clearly. If we happened to have interpreted the passage as you did, then we can make a different point: No one should have to work as hard as we did to unearth the content of a single passage of this length. The Topic Position To summarize the principles connected with the stress position, we have the proverbial wisdom, Save the best for last. To summarize the principles connected with the other end of the sentence, which we will call the topic position, we have its proverbial contradiction, First things first. In the stress position the reader needs and expects closure and fulfillment; in the topic position the reader needs and expects perspective and context. With so much of reading comprehension affected by what shows up in the topic position, it behooves a writer to control what appears at the beginning of sentences with great care. The information that begins a sentence  establishes for the reader a perspective for viewing the sentence as a unit: Readers expect a unit of discourse to be a story about whoever shows up first. Bees disperse pollen and Pollen is dispersed by bees are two different but equally respectable sentences about the same facts. The first tells us something about bees; the second tells us something about pollen. The passivity of the second sentence does not by itself impair its quality; in fact, Pollen is dispersed by bees is the superior sentence if it appears in a paragraph that intends to tell us a continuing story about pollen. Pollen’s story at that moment is a passive one. Readers also expect the material occupying the topic position to provide them with linkage (looking backward) and context (looking forward). The information in the topic position prepares the reader for upcoming material by connecting it backward to the previous discussion. Although linkage and context can derive from several sources, they stem primarily from material that the reader has already encountered within this particular piece of discourse. We refer to this familiar, previously introduced material as old information. Conversely, material making its first appearance in a discourse is new information. When new information is important enough to receive emphasis, it functions best in the stress position. When old information consistently arrives in the topic position, it helps readers to construct the logical flow of the argument: It focuses attention on one particular strand of the discussion, both harkening backward and leaning forward. In contrast, if the topic position is constantly occupied by material that fails to establish linkage and context, readers will have difficulty perceiving both the connection to the previous sentence and the projected role of the new sentence in the development of the paragraph as a whole. Here is a second example of scientific prose that we shall attempt to improve in subsequent discussion: Large earthquakes along a given fault segment do not occur at random intervals because it takes time to accumulate the strain energy for the rupture. The rates at which tectonic plates move and accumulate strain at their boundaries are approximately uniform. Therefore, in first approximation, one may expect that large ruptures of the same fault segment will occur at approximately constant time intervals. If subsequent main shocks have different amounts of slip across the fault, then the recurrence time may vary, and the basic idea of periodic mainshocks must be modified. For great plate boundary ruptures the length and slip often vary by a factor of 2. Along the southern segment of the San Andreas fault the recurrence interval is 145 years with variations of several decades. The smaller the standard deviation of the average recurrence interval, the more specific could be the long term prediction of a future mainshock. This is the kind of passage that in subtle ways can make readers feel badly about themselves. The individual sentences give the impression of being intelligently fashioned: They are not especially long or convoluted; their vocabulary is appropriately professional but not beyond the ken of educated general readers; and they are free of grammatical and dictional errors. On first reading, however, many of us arrive at the paragraph’s end without a clear sense of where we have been or where we are going. When that happens, we tend to berate ourselves for not having paid close enough attention. In reality, the fault lies not with us, but with the author. We can distill the problem by looking closely at the information in each sentence’s topic position: Large earthquakes The rates Therefore one subsequent mainshocks great plate boundary ruptures the southern segment of the San Andreas fault the smaller the standard deviation Much of this information is making its first appearance in this paragraphin precisely the spot where the reader looks for old, familiar information. As a result, the focus of the story constantly shifts. Given just the material in the topic positions, no two readers would be likely to construct exactly the same story for the paragraph as a whole. If we try to piece together the relationship of each sentence to its neighbors, we notice that certain bits of old information keep reappearing. We hear a good deal about the recurrence time between earthquakes: The first sentence introduces the concept of nonrandom intervals between earthquakes; the second sentence tells us that recurrence rates due to the movement of tectonic plates are more or less uniform; the third sentence adds that the recurrence rates of major earthquakes should also be somewhat predictable; the fourth sentence adds that recurrence rates vary with some conditions; the fifth sentence adds information about one particular variation; the sixth sentence adds a recurrence-rate example from California; and the last sentence tells us  something about how recurrence rates can be described statistically. This refrain of recurrence intervals constitutes the major string of old information in the paragraph. Unfortunately, it rarely appears at the beginning of sentences, where it would help us maintain our focus on its continuing story. In reading, as in most experiences, we appreciate the opportunity to become familiar with a new environment before having to function in it. Writing that continually begins sentences with new information and ends with old information forbids both the sense of comfort and orientation at the start and the sense of fulfilling arrival at the end. It misleads the reader as to whose story is being told; it burdens the reader with new information that must be carried further into the sentence before it can be connected to the discussion; and it creates ambiguity as to which material the writer intended the reader to emphasize. All of these distractions require that readers expend a disproportionate amount of energy to unravel the structure of the prose, leaving less energy available for perceiving content. We can begin to revise the example by ensuring the following for each sentence: 1. The backward-linking old information appears in the topic position. 2. The person, thing or concept whose story it is appears in the topic position. 3. The new, emphasis-worthy information appears in the stress position. Once again, if our decisions concerning the relative values of specific information differ from yours, we can all blame the author, who failed to make his intentions apparent. Here first is a list of what we perceived to be the new, emphatic material in each sentence: time to accumulate strain energy along a fault approximately uniform large ruptures of the same fault different amounts of slip vary by a factor of 2 variations of several decades predictions of future mainshock Now, based on these assumptions about what deserves stress, here is our proposed revision: Large earthquakes along a given fault segment do not occur at random intervals because it takes time to accumulate the strain energy for the rupture. The rates at which tectonic plates move and accumulate strain at their boundaries are roughly uniform. Therefore, nearly constant time intervals (at first approximation) would be expected between large ruptures of the same fault segment. [However? ], the recurrence time may vary; the basic idea of periodic mainshocks may need to be modified if subsequent mainshocks have different amounts of slip across the fault. [Indeed? ], the length and slip of great plate boundary ruptures often vary by a factor of 2. [For example? ], the recurrence intervals along the southern segment of the San Andreas fault is 145 years with variations of several decades. The smaller the standard deviation of the average recurrence interval, the more specific could be the long term prediction of a future mainshock. Many problems that had existed in the original have now surfaced for the first time. Is the reason earthquakes do not occur at random intervals stated in the first sentence or in the second? Are the suggested choices of however, indeed, and for example the right ones to express the connections at those points? (All these connections were left unarticulated in the original paragraph. ) If for example is an inaccurate transitional phrase, then exactly how does the San Andreas fault example connect to ruptures that vary by a factor of 2? Is the author arguing that recurrence rates must vary because fault movements often vary? Or is the author preparing us for a discussion of how in spite of such variance we might still be able to predict earthquakes? This last question remains unanswered because the final sentence.