Automatic Metadata Harvesting From Digital Content

Automatic Metadata Harvesting From Digital Content MR. RUSHABH D. DOSHI,  MR. GIRISH H MULCHANDANI Abstract: Metadata Extraction is one of the predominant research fields in information retrieval. Metadata is used to references information resources. Most metadata extraction systems are still human intensive since they require expert decision to recognize relevant metadata but this is time consuming. However automatic metadata extraction techniques are developed but mostly works with structured format. We proposed a new approach to harvesting metadata from document using NLP. As NLP stands for Natural Language Processing work on natural language that human used in day today life. Keywords:  Metadata, Extraction, NLP, Grammars I. Introduction Metadata is data that describes another data Metadata describes an information resource, or helps provide access to an information resource. A collection of such metadata elements may describe one or many information resources. For example, a library catalogue record is a collection of metadata elements, linked to the book or other item in the library collection through the call number. Information stored in the META field of an HTML Web page is metadata, associated with the information resource by being embedded within it. The key purpose of metadata is to facilitate and improve the retrieval of information. At library, college, Metadata can be used to achieve this by identifying the different characteristics of the information resource: the author, subject, title, publisher and so on. Various metadata harvesting techniques is developed to extract the data from digital libraries. NLP is a field of computer science, artificial intelligence and linguistics concerned with the interactions between computers and human (natural) languages. As such, NLP is related to the area of human computer interaction. Recent research has increasingly focused on unsupervised andsemi-supervisedlearning algorithms. Such algorithms are able to learn from data that has not beenhand-annotatedwith the desired answers, or using a combination of annotated andnon-annotateddata. The goal of NLP evaluation is to measure one or more qualities of an algorithm or a system, in order to determine whether (or to what extent) the system answers the goals of its designers, or meets the needs of its users. II. Method In this paper we proposed automatic metadata harvesting algorithm using natural language (i.e. humans used in day today works). Our technique is rule based. So it does not require any training dataset for it. We harvest metadata based on English Grammar Terms. We identify the possible set of metadata then calculate their frequency then applying weight term based on their position or format that apply to it. The rest of the paper is organized as follows. The next section review some related work regarding to metadata harvesting from digital content. Section gives the detailed description of proposed idea presented here. At last paper is concluded with summary. III. Related Work Existing Metadata harvesting techniques are either machine learning method or ruled based methods. . In machine learning method set of predefined template that contains dataset are given to machine to train machine. Then machine is used to harvest metadata from document based on that dataset. While in rule based method most of techniques set ruled that are used to harvest metadata from documents. In machine learning approach extracted keywords are given to the machine from training documents to learn specific models then that model are applied to new documents to extract keyword from them.Many techniques used machine learning approach such as automatic document metadata extraction using support vector machine . In rule based techniques some predefined rules are given to machine based on that machine harvest metadata from documents. Positions of word in document, specific keyword are used as category of document and etc. are examples rules that are set in various metadata harvest techniques. In some case Metadata classification is based on document types (e.g. purchase order, sales report etc.) and data context (e.g. customer name, order date etc.) [1]. Other statistical methods include word frequency [2], TF*IDF [3], wordco-occurrences[4]. Later on some techniques are used to harvest key phrase based on TF*PDF [5]. Other techniques use TDT (Topic Detection and Tracking) with aging theory to harvest metadata from news website [6]. Some techniques used DDC/RDF editor to define and harvest metadata from document and validate by thirds parties [7]. Several models are developed to harvest metadata from corpus. Now days most of techniques used models that all are depends on corpus. IV. Proposed Theory Our approach focused on harvesting a metadata from document based on English grammar. English grammar has many categories which categorized the word in statement. Grammar categories such as NOUN,VERB, ADJECTIVES, ADVERB, NOUN PHRASE, VERB PHRASE etc. each and every grammar category has a priority in statement. So our approaches to extract out the Metadata extraction based on its priority in grammar. Priority in grammar component is as follows: noun, verb, adjective, adverb, noun phrase V. Proposed Idea Figure-1  Proposed System Architecture Infigure-1we give proposed system architecture. In this architecture we does not stick steps in any order. ArticlePre-processing: articlepre-processingwhich remove irrelevant contents (i.e. tags,header-footerdetails etc.) from documents. POS Taggers: APart-Of-SpeechTagger (POS Tagger) is a piece of software that reads text in some languages and assigns parts of speech to each word (and other token), such as noun, verb, adjective, etc. Stemming: In most cases, morphological variants of words have similar semantic interpretations can be considered as equivalent for the purpose of IR applications. For this reason, a number ofso-calledstemming Algorithms, or stemmers, have been developed, which attempt to reduce a word to its stem or root form. Calculate frequency: Here each termed frequency is calculated i.e. how many occurrence of each term in document. Identify Suitable Metadata: Now metadata is extracted from word set based on their frequency, grammar and their positions. VI. Experiments Results In this study we take a corpus with 100 documents. Documents contain the news article about various categories. Here we first extract the metadata manually from each every documents. Then apply our idea to corpus. We measure our result from following parameter. Precision = No of terms identified correctly by the system / Top N terms out of total terms generated by the system. Recall = Number of keyterms identified correctly by the system / Number of keyterms identified by the authors.F-measure=F=2* ((precision* recall)/ ( precision+ recall)) Table1: Evaluation Results VII. Conclusion Future Works This method based on grammar component Our Aim to use this algorithm to identifying metadata in  bigram, trigram tetra gram. This metadata helps us to generate summary of documents. References: [1] Christopher D. Manning, Prabhakar, Raghavan, Hinrich Schtze An Introduction to Information Retrieval book. [2] H. P. Luhn. A Statistical Approach to Mechanized Encoding and Searching of Literary Information. IBM Journal of Research and Development, 1957, 1(4):309-317. [3] G. Salton, C. S. Yang, C. T. Yu. A Theory of Term Importance in Automatic Text Analysis, Journal of the C.Zhang et al American society for Information Science, 1975, 26(1):33-44. [4] Y. Matsuo, M. Ishizuka. Keyword Extraction from a Single Document Using WordCo-ocuurrenceStatistical Information. International Journal on Artificial Intelligence Tools, 2004, 13(1):157-169. [5] Yan Gao Jin Liu, Peixun Ma The HOT keyphrase Extraction based on TF*PDF, IEEE conference, 2011. [6] Canhui Wang, Min Zhang, Liyun Ru, Shaoping Ma An Automatic Online News Topic Keyphrase Extraction System,IEEE conference, 2006. [7] Nor Adnan Yahaya, Rosiza Buang Automated Metadata Extraction from web sources, IEEE conference, 2006. [8] Somchai Chatvienchai Automatic metadata extraction classi_cation of spreadsheet Documents based on layout similarities, IEEE conference, 2005. [9] Dr. Jyoti Pareek, Sonal Jain KeyPhrase Extraction tool (KET) for semantic metadata annotation of Learning Materials, IEEE conference, 2009. [10] Wan Malini Wan Isa, Jamaliah Abdul Hamid, Hamidah Ibrahim, Rusli Abdullah, Mohd. Hasan Selamat, Muhamad Tau_k Abdullah and Nurul Amelina Nasharuddin Metadata Extraction with Cue Model. [11] Zhixin Guo, Hai Jin ARule-basedFramework of Metadata Extraction from Scienti_c Papers, IEEE conference. [12] Ernesto Giralt Hernndez, Joan Marc Piulachs Application of the Dublin Core format for automatic metadata generation and extraction,DC-2005:Proc. International Conference. on Dublin Core and Metadata Applications. [13] Canhui Wang, Min Zhang, Liyun Ru, Shaoping Ma An Automatic Online News Topic Keyphrase Extraction System, IEEE conference. [14] Srinivas Vadrevu, Saravanakumar Nagarajan, Fatih Gelgi, Hasan Davulcu Automated Metadata and Instance Extraction from News Web Sites,IEEE conference.

Prisoners of war comparison

A prisoner of war can be defined as somebody who is captured or imprisoned by the enemy during an act of war. Anybody can be a prisoner of war, even an eight year old civilian who is simply caught in the crossfire. Both â€Å"Augmentation Boy†, a novel written by Anna Pepper, and â€Å"The Boy in the Striped Pajamas†, a film directed by Mark Herman, revolve around two key issues relating to the main theme of Prisoners of War. The Issues are Innocence of Children and Discrimination. All of the three main characters (Khalid's, Bruno and Samuel) are affected by the war, some more than there, and two of which lose their lives due to It.The Issue of Discrimination Is an ongoing problem In today's society. It Is explored In both texts through the unjust treatment of the characters due to their race, gender, religion or other characteristics. Delimitation Is shown against prisoners, regardless where or why they are currently being held captive. This has been thoroughly explore d in both ‘The Boy In the striped Pajamas' and ‘Augmentation Boy. In the novel, Khalid's is asked what other international cities he was planning on bombing? (P. G. 01 ) It shows how the protagonist was accused of being a terrorist due to his middle-eastern origin.Even though he is innocent, his captors do not believe him because of his physical appearance. This issue has also been explored in The Boy in the Striped Pajamas'. A prime example of this is the comparison between Bruno and Samuel, the first time they meet. There is an eye-level long shot of Bruno with lush forest as a backdrop. In contrast, there is a high angle, medium length shot of Samuel sitting in the dirt with the barbed wire fence obscuring his face. This is significant in that Bruno is portrayed as the dominant and well to do character with Samuel as the poor Jew.Although both Samuel and Khalid's are discriminated against, it is not for the same reason for both of the boys. Presumptions are made about Samuel because of his Jewish faith and Khalid's is falsely accused of crimes he did not commit because of his Arabic background. It is a stereotypical view of races and their abilities to commit crimes. A second issue which is prominent in both texts is Innocence of Children. It is shown In the novel on pages 195 and 196 â€Å"Imagine playing spin the bottle mixed with Images of small children being blown up. This quote Is representative of the fact that Khalid's finds it difficult to remember things about his past without having them disrupted by graphic visions due to the penitentiary that Is Augmentation Bay. The true effects of the unjust and Inhuman treatment of Khalid's were not shown when he was being tortured, but more so later on In the form of nightmares and Invasions of his memories. The small children being blown up were used by the author to show hat the child Inside Khalid's has also been ‘blown up' and he Is forced to mature and adapt to survive, losing his ch ildhood Innocence along the way.In The boy In the Striped Pajamas', Samuel also loses his Innocence, as being In the camp and treated as an adult forces him to grow up and do whatever he can to survive Just Like Khalid's into the gas chamber for a shower. Both young boys believed that it was actually a shower, Bruno more than Samuel, but the men all knew the truth. Bruno in innocent his whole life, right up until he dies. A prime example of this issue in the text is after Bruno sneaks in to the Jewish camp and thinks that they are being put undercover to wait for the rain to stop.There is a slightly high angle medium shot when this is stated by Bruno, who then receives a surprised look from Samuel. Consequently, it can be seen that both The Boy in the Striped Pajamas and Augmentation Bay have a direct correlation to both issues of Discrimination and Innocence of Children. The study of both texts conveyed similar key themes to the audience, in a similar manner. Although two different types of texts, the novel and elm use emotive language and camera angles to assist in getting across their message.The purpose of both texts was to educate the reader of the horrific treatment that children were and are forced to endure in their respective prisons as a prisoner of war. Prisoners of war can be innocents. Regardless of intent, civilians (including children) often are the unwitting casualties simply because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. During war time, soldiers follow orders. When under threat or fear of threat, authorities take drastic action. Even if an innocent is caught in the crossfire.

Critique of Centesimus Annus

I. Synopsis of the Pope's Encyclical Centesimus Annus, written by Pope John Paul II, commemorates and praises Pope Leo XIII's â€Å"Of New Things† (Rerum Novarum) written in 1891. Even after a hundred years, it still hasn't lost its vital influence. It is meant to honor the Church's â€Å"social doctrine† which had come from it. We should go through it once more so as to rediscover the wisdom behind the basic principles on how we should deal with the workers' condition. We should also look into the future to reawaken our responsibility, to proclaim the truth, and to communicate the life which is Christ. We should look at our own â€Å"new things† to bring forth in the Church's tradition, both â€Å"new† and â€Å"old† from the Lord's treasure. â€Å"Old† refers to defending the human person, protecting human dignity, building a more just society, and fighting injustice. â€Å"New† is analyzing recent history in order to understand the new requirements of evangelization. Chapter I – Characteristics of â€Å"Rerum Novarum† Towards the end of the last century, a new form of property had emerged – capital; and a new form of labor – labor for wages. Labor for wages was mainly profit- and efficiency-driven, rather giving high regard to the workers' sex, age or family situation. Human labor had become a commodity which could be freely bought and sold in the market, in accordance with the law of supply and demand. Workers were threatened by unemployment and lack of society security — leading to their starvation. Society has been divided into two classes. One promotes total economic freedom by appropriate laws while the other leans toward an organized and violent form of political and social structure. When people started to realize the injustice of the situation and a socialist revolution threatened to break out, Pope Leo XIII intervened by writing a document dealing with the systematic approach on the â€Å"condition of the workers†. Society was torn by the conflict between capital and labor — the worker question. The Pope wanted to restore peace, so he condemned class struggle. He formulated a doctrine regarding the Church's stand on specific human situations — both individual and communal, national and international. However, not all readily accepted the Church's right and duty in doing so. Many still believe that the Church should restrict itself to otherworldly salvation. The Pope's letter put the Church in a â€Å"citizenship status† amidst the changing realities of public life. The Church's social teaching is an essential part of the Christian message and there can be no genuine solution to the â€Å"social question† apart from the Gospel. Pope Leo XIII affirmed the dignity of work and the rights and dignity of workers, who work hard for self-preservation and for attaining their various needs. Work belongs to the vocation of every person by which one can realize oneself. Pope Leo XIII also stressed the right to â€Å"private property† — land ownership. Everyone has the right to possess things necessary for his and his family's development. Pope Leo XIII's letter affirms other undeniable rights such as the â€Å"natural human right† to form private or professional associations like trade unions. The Pope also acknowledges the limit on working hours, the right to legitimate rest, and the right of children and women to be treated differently with regard to the type and duration of work. He wrote of the right to a just wage that would be sufficient to support the worker and his family. This right cannot be left to the free consent of the parties. The Pope spoke of â€Å"distribute justice† whereby the public authority has the â€Å"strict duty† of providing for the workers' welfare, especially that of the poor because they have no other means apart from what they earn. He also affirms the right of the working class to fulfill their religious duties freely and avail of Sunday rest. Pope Leo XIII criticizes â€Å"socialism† and â€Å"liberalism.† Against socialism, he reaffirms the right to private property. As for liberalism, he states that the State should neither favor the rich nor neglect the poor. The defenseless and the poor have a claim to special consideration. The richer class can help itself while the poor have no resources of their own to do so and depend heavily on the State's assistance. This still applies today, with the new forms of poverty in the world. It does not depend on any ideology or political theory, but on the principle of solidarity, valid in the national and international order. Leo XIII calls it â€Å"friendship†, Pius XI calls it â€Å"social charity†; Paul VI, extending it even further, speaks of a â€Å"civilization of love.† In line with the Church's â€Å"preferential option for the poor,† Pope Leo XIII calls upon the State to intervene and remedy the condition of the poor. Though he does not expect the State to solve every social problem. The individual, family, and society should be protected by it and not be repressed by it. The point highlighted by Pope Leo XIII's encyclical and the Church's social doctrine is a correct view of the human person. God has imprinted man in his own image and likeness. Man's rights come from his dignity as a person, and not from the work he performs. Chapter II – Towards the â€Å"New Things† of Today The events of 1989 and 1990 proved that Pope Leo XIII's perception on the consequences of â€Å"real socialism† are accurate — that the worker would be the first to suffer, that it would distort the role of the state and create utter confusion in the community. Socialism considers the individual person as a mere molecule within the social organism to which he is completely subordinated. Man is no longer free to make a moral decision independently. This makes it difficult to realize his personal dignity and build a human community. The Christian vision is different: the social nature of a person is not totally fulfilled in the State, but is realized in various intermediary groups, beginning with the family and expands to include economic, social, political and cultural groups. Denial of God would mean complete disrespect for human dignity. The Pope does not intend to condemn every possible form of social conflict since such conflict is inevitable. However, Christians must take a stand in the â€Å"struggle for social justice.† He condemns â€Å"total war† — which has no respect for the dignity of others and of oneself. It attempts to dominate one's own side using any (and often reasonable) means to destroy the other side. Thus, class struggle in the Marxist sense and militarism have atheism and contempt for the human being as their common root. Rerum Novarum is against any form of State control that would reduce the citizen into a mere â€Å"cog† in the State machine. It is also opposed to a state that is not interested in the economic sector. The State has to determine the judicial framework to conduct economic affairs, so that the interests of one group do not overrule another. Society and the State should take the responsibility in protecting the workers against unemployment by establishing policies that would ensure the workers' balanced growth and full employment. They must protect the vulnerable immigrants and the marginalized from exploitation. â€Å"Humane† working hours and adequate leisure need to be guaranteed, along with the right to express one's own personality without sacrificing one's conscience or personal dignity. The State must try to achieve these goals in accordance with the principles of subsidiarity and solidarity. Indirectly by subsidiarity — by creating favorable conditions for the free exercise of economic activity; directly by solidarity — by defending the weakest and ensuring the necessary minimum support for the unemployed. The encyclical and the subsequent social teaching of the Church influenced numerous reforms in the years bridging the 19th and 20th centuries. Reforms were carried out partly by States and achieved through workers' movements which include Christians who established the producers', consumers', and credit cooperatives and promoted general education, professional training, and new forms of participation in the life of the workplace and society. Lack of respect for human dignity led to the tragic wars which ravaged Europe and the world between 1914 and 1945. Hatred and resentment built on injustices on the international level made these cruel wars possible. Though weapons have remained silent in Europe since 1945, true peace, which entails the removal of the causes of war and genuine reconciliation between people, has not yet been achieved. Half of Europe fell under a Communist dictatorship, while the other half is trying to defend itself. They use science and technology for creating instruments of war. Power alliances fought and caused enormous bloodshed in different places. Extremist groups got themselves armed; those in favor of peaceful solutions remained isolated or fell as victims. Following World War II, Third World countries became militarized. Terrorism spread and the whole world was threatened by an atomic war. Though new ideas about peace and war started to stir people's consciences, the threat of Communist totalitarianism distracted people's attention and provoked different responses. Some countries made a positive effort to rebuild a democratic society inspired by social justice. Others set up systems of â€Å"national security† opposing Marxism, but risked destroying the very freedom and values of the person for which they are defending. Another response came from the affluent/consumer society, which seeks to defeat Marxism by showing how a free market society can achieve a greater satisfaction of material human needs than Communism, while equally overlooking spiritual values. â€Å"Decolonization† became widespread. These countries, however remained in the hands of large foreign companies which are not committed to the development of the host country. They lack competent leadership that would be able to successfully integrate all tribal groups into genuine national communities. The horrors of the WWII and a lively sense of human rights led to the formation of the United Nations Organization. Deeper awareness on the rights of individuals and the rights of nations shifted the focus of the social question from the national to the international level. But UN has yet to establish effective means for resolving international conflicts. Chapter III – The Year 1989 In the 1980's, oppressive regimes fell in Latin America, Africa, and Asia mainly due to the violation of workers' rights — the oppressed working people recovered and rediscovered the principles of the Church's social teaching. A second factor in this crisis was due to the technical inefficiency of the economic system which spans violation in both cultural and national dimension. We can understand a human being more completely when we place him within the cultural context — through language, history, and the position he takes towards the fundamental life events. When these differences are overlooked, the culture and moral life of nations deteriorate. The main cause of this collapse was the reaction of the younger generations to the spiritual void brought by atheism. The youth did not find any sense of direction until they rediscovered the roots of their national culture and the person of Christ. Marxism promised to uproot the need for God from the human heart, throwing the heart into confusion. The struggle which led to the changes of 1989 were born of prayer. Humankind, created for freedom, bears the wound of original sin, which draws persons to evil and puts them in constant need of redemption. This shows that the human person tends towards good but is also capable of evil. We must not confuse political society with the Kingdom of God. It is only God who will do the Final Judgment. The Kingdom of God, being â€Å"in† the world without being â€Å"of† the world, throws a light on society, calling everyone, especially the laity, to infuse human reality with the Gospel. The Church encountered a workers' movement that had been partly under the dominance of Marxism for almost a century. Workers found their consciences, in their demand for justice and recognition of the dignity of work, in conformance to the Church's social teaching. The crisis of Marxism does not rid the world of the injustices on which it thrived. To those looking for a new theory, the Church offers her teaching, as well as her concrete commitment and material assistance in the struggle against marginalization and suffering. Beyond an impossible compromise between Marxism and Christianity, the Church reaffirms integral human liberation with consequences important for the countries of the Third World, searching for their own path to development. The second consequence concerns the European people. Many individual, social, regional and national injustices were committed during the Communism years; thus there is great risk that such conflicts would re-occur. We need to unite international structures that would mediate the conflicts between nations and reach for a peaceful settlement. A patient material and moral reconstruction is necessary. The fall of Marxism and the end of the world's division highlight our interdependence. Peace and prosperity belong to the whole human race and cannot be achieved if attained at the cost of other people and nations. The real post-war period had just begun in some countries in Europe. Their predicament was brought about by the tragic situation imposed upon them. The countries responsible for that situation owe them a debt in justice. This need should not diminish the willingness to sustain and assist the countries of the Third World, which often suffer even more. Priorities have to be redefined. Enormous resources could be mobilized by disarming the huge military machines built by East and West for conflict. These resources could become even more abundant if we found a way of resolving conflicts peacefully. A change of mentality is necessary — wherein the poor is no longer seen as a burden but instead as people seeking to share the right in enjoying material goods and make good use of their capacity for work so that we can create a just and prosperous world for all. Development must be understood as something fully human, not as something merely material. Its main purpose is the enhancement of everyone's capacity to respond to God's call. Recognition of the rights of the human conscience serves as the foundation of truly free political order. We must reaffirm this principle for the following reasons: some dictatorships have not yet been overcome; in the developed countries, the promotion of and demand for instant gratification devalue respect for human rights and values; and in some countries, new forms of religious fundamentalism deny minority groups their rights to know and live the truth. Chapter IV – Private Property and the Universal Destination of Material Goods The Church teaches that the possession of material goods is not an absolute right, and that there are certain limits to that right. Man should not consider material possessions as his own but as common to all. Private property also has a social function based on the law of the common purpose of goods. Access to work and land serves as the basis of every human society. In the past, the earth was the primary factor of wealth; today, the role of human work has become an important factor for producing nonmaterial and material wealth. Work â€Å"with† and â€Å"for† others depends largely on insight into the productivity of the earth and knowledge of our human needs. Today, the possession of know-how, technology, and skill have become as important as land. The wealth of industrialized nations is based more on the ownership of technology than on possession of natural resources. Another important source of wealth is the ability to foresee the needs of others and satisfy those needs. This often requires the cooperation of many people working towards a common goal. Skills in organizing, planning, timing, and management are also sources of wealth. The role of discipline, creativity, initiative, and entrepreneurial ability, is evident. This process reaffirms the stand of Christianity: next to the earth, humanity's principal resource is the person himself. Once the decisive factor of production was land; then it was capital; now it is the human being. Many are faced with the impossibility of acquiring the needed knowledge to take their place in the working world. They are exploited or marginalized and they cannot keep up with new forms of production and organization. In their quest for wealth, they flock towards Third World cities only to find that there is no room for them. Sometimes, there are even attempts to eliminate them through population control. Many others struggle to earn a bare minimum in inhumane conditions. Those cultivating land are excluded from land ownership and are practically slaves with no land, no material goods, no knowledge, no training. Some development programs have been set up, and the countries that managed to gain access to the international market in this way have suffered less from stagnation and recession than those who isolated themselves. Those who fail to keep up with the times — such as the elderly, the women, and the youth – are often marginalized. They are incapable of finding their place in society and are classified as part of the so-called Fourth World. The free market appears to be the most efficient tool for utilizing resources and responding to needs. But this holds true only for those who have the purchasing power and who those whose resources are marketable. Justice and truth demand that basic human needs should be met and that none should be left to die. The possibility of surviving and making a contribution to the common good is something which is due to the person as a person. In the Third World context, Pope Leo XIII's objectives are yet to be met. Trade unions and other worker's organizations find here a wide range of opportunities for commitment and effort for the sake of justice. It is right to speak of a struggle against an unjust economic system that does not uphold the priority of the human being over capital and land. The alternative to it is not a socialist system that leads to state capitalism, but a society with free work, enterprise, and participation that is in favor of a market which guarantees the basic needs of the whole society. Profit is a regulator of the life of a business but is not the sole indicator of a firm's condition. There are other equally important factors to be considered — such as human and moral factors. After the fall of â€Å"real socialism†, capitalism is not the only economic alternative left. Individuals and nations need the basic things to enable them to share in development. Stronger nations must assist weaker ones, weaker nations must use the opportunities offered. Foreign debts affect these efforts. The principle that debts should be paid remains, but should not be asked for at the cost of the hunger and at the price of unbearable sacrifice of the people. There is the need to lighten, defer, or even cancel the debts, to let people subsist and progress. In advanced economics, quality is more important than quantity — the quality of the goods to be produced and consumed, the quality of the services to be enjoyed, the quality of the environment and of life in general. Hence the phenomenon of consumerism arises. Appealing to human instinct only may create lifestyles and consumer attitudes that are damaging to spiritual and physical health. The educational and cultural formation of consumers and producers and of the mass media are urgently needed, as well as the intervention of public authority. An example of false consumption is drug abuse. This implies a serious malfunction in the social system, a destructive â€Å"reading† of human needs, and the idle filling of a spiritual void. Same is true with that of pornography and other exploitative consumerism. It is not wrong to want to improve our lives; it is wrong to seek a lifestyle which is presumably better when it is directed towards what one â€Å"has,† instead of what one â€Å"is.† Even the decision to invest in one way rather than another is a moral and cultural . Consumerism also raises the ecological issue. Humankind is consuming the resources of the earth and life in an excessive and disordered way, while neglecting the earth's own needs and God-given purpose. Humanity today must be conscious of its duties and obligations towards future generations. Aside from the concern on the destruction of our natural environment and the threat of extinction of our various animal species, we must also safeguard the moral conditions of our â€Å"human ecology†. We must use earth with respect to the original good purpose of which it was given by God. Urbanization and work can give rise to â€Å"structures of sin†. Courage and patience would be needed to destroy such structures and replace them with more authentic forms of community life. The first and fundamental structure for a â€Å"human ecology† is the family, founded on marriage, in which the mutual gift of self as husband and wife creates an environment in which children can be born and develop their potentialities, become aware of their dignity and prepare to face their unique and individual destiny. Too often life is considered to be a series of sensations rather than as something to be accomplished. The result is a lack of freedom to commit oneself to another person and to bring children into this world. This leads people to consider children as one of the many â€Å"things† which an individual can have or not have as they please. The family is sacred; it is the heart of the culture of life. The Church denounces the limitation, suppression or destruction of the sources life — including abortion, systematic anti-child-bearing campaigns, and chemical warfare. The State is responsible for defending and preserving the common goods such as natural and human environments. Relying on market forces alone will not suffice. Such mechanisms carry the risk of an â€Å"idolatry† of the market which ignores the existence of goods which are not just mere commodities. Marxism blamed capitalist societies for commercializing and alienating the human being. This censure is based on misconception of alienation — the remedy of which is collectivism, but this only further aggravated the situation. Alienation is still a reality in the West, because of consumerism, that does not help one appreciate one's authentic personhood and because of work, which shows interest only in profit, and none in the workers, considering them to be mere means. The way out of this deadlock is to reconsider the Christian vision of the human person and its â€Å"capacity for transcendence.† A human society is both alienated and alienating if its organization, production, and consumption make transcendence more difficult. A person who is concerned solely with possessing and enjoying and is no longer able to control his instincts and passions cannot be free, Obedience to the truth about God and humankind is the first condition of freedom. After the failure of Communism, should capitalism be the goal for Eastern Europe and the Third World? The answer is complex. If â€Å"capitalism† meant a market or free economy that recognizes the role of business, the market, private property, the resulting responsibility for the means of production, as well as free human creativity — then the answer is â€Å"yes.† If it meant a system in which economic, religious, and ethical freedom are denied, then the answer is â€Å"no.† Marxism failed, but marginalization and exploitation remain. The collapse of communism is not enough to change these conditions. A radically capitalist system might not even try to solve them. The Church has no models to offer as effective models only develop out of concrete situations. Instead, the Church offers its social teaching as an indispensable and ideal orientation. It insists on the right of workers to be respected and to be involved in the life of industrial enterprises so that, in a certain sense, they â€Å"work for themselves.† The relationship between private property and the universal destination of material wealth has to be reestablished. By means of his work a person commits himself, not only for his own sake but also for others and with others — their families, communities, nations, and, ultimately for all humanity. They collaborate with suppliers and customers in a continuously expanding chain of solidarity. Ownership is just if it serves a useful work; it is unjust when it is used to hinder others, or to break the solidarity among workers to gain profit. The obligation to earn one's bread presumes the right to do so. A society that denies this right cannot be justified, nor can it attain social peace. Chapter V – State and Culture Pope Leo XIII speaks of organizing a society whereby there is a balance of these three powers- legislative, executive, and judicial. Marxist-Leninism contradicted this by saying that people who have more knowledge than others should rule others in an absolute way. Totalitarianism rejected the authority of the Church and attempts to destroy her. By defending its own freedom, the Church also defended the human person. The Church values democracy and cannot encourage the formation of narrow ruling groups that would use the power of the State for their own intentions. Authentic democracy requires a State ruled by law, true education and formation, participation and shared responsibility. Democracy does not mean that there is no ultimate truth. The Church is aware of the danger of fanaticism and fundamentalism. Christian truth is not an ideology; it knows that human life is realized in history, and it always respects human freedom. Freedom attains its full development only by accepting the truth. The democratic ideal prevails today, so does the attention to human rights. That is why, we must stress the importance of these rights: the right to life, that of a child to develop in the mother's womb from the moment of conception, to live in a united family, to education, to work and support oneself and one's dependents, to establish a family freely, to have and to rear children, to live in the truth of one's faith. Not all these rights are being respected though, even in countries practicing democracy. Sometimes certain demands are not met for narrow opportunistic, electoral, or financial reasons. This leads to distrust and apathy and inability to see any issue within the framework of a coherent vision of the common good. Market economy cannot be run in an institutional, juridical, or political vacuum: the State has its role to play, guaranteeing personal freedom, a stable currency, and efficient public services. Lack of stability, corruption, improper ways of growing rich, and speculation hinder development and social order. The State has to intervene when monopolies hinder development; it can substitute its own services when certain sectors of business are too weak to render the services needed for the common good. Those interventions should only be brief so as to avoid removing from society and business tasks that belong to them. The â€Å"principle of subsidiarity† must be respected: â€Å"A community of a higher order should not interfere with the life of a community of a lower order, taking over its functions.† In case of need it should, rather, support the smaller community and help to coordinate its activity with activities in the rest of society for the sake of the common good. Not doing this leads to a loss of human energy, an increase of bureaucratic agencies, and an increase in costs. The Church has always been present and active among the needy, offering them material assistance in ways that neither humiliate nor reduce them to mere objects of assistance. To overcome today's individualistic mentality, a concrete commitment to solidarity and charity is necessary and this should begin in the family. The State should create social policies with family as their main focus — to assist the family with adequate resources for bringing up their children and looking after the elderly, thus strengthening the relations between generations. The culture of a nation is born, generation after generation, from the open search from truth. The heritage of values have always been challenged by the young — not in order to destroy or reject it, but to make it more real, relevant, and personal. When a culture becomes inward-looking, disregarding the truth about man, it is heading for its end. The first and foremost task for the adequate formation of a culture happens within a person's heart. Building one's own future depends on the understanding a person has of himself and of his own destiny. The Church contributes at this level to true culture, promoting peace, preaching how creation is placed in human hands to make it fruitful and more perfect, preaching how the Son of God saved and united us, making us responsible for all of mankind. Pope Benedict XV and his successors recognize the negative impact of war on people's lives and repeated the cry: â€Å"War, never again!†. Just as personal revenge has given way to the rule of law within states, so has the time come for a similar step to be taken at an international level, not forgetting that at the root of war and conflict there are usually serious grievances. Another name for peace is development. Together we are responsible for avoiding war; together we are responsible for promoting development. It should be possible to organize at an international level the kind of solid economy that is possible in an individual society. The poor-whether individuals or nations- need to be provided realistic opportunities. This calls for a concerted worldwide effort to promote development which may mean important changes in established lifestyles, limiting waste of environmental and human resources. It also means utilizing the new and spiritual responses of peoples who today are at the margin of the international community, thus enriching the family of nations. Chapter VI – The Human Being Is the Way of the Church The Church is not interested in imposing her own vision. Her sole purpose has been care and responsibility for the human person who has been entrusted to her by Christ. The human sciences and philosophy are helpful in explaining how this concrete person is involved in a complex network of relationships within modern times. Faith reveals our real identity. That is why the Church concerns itself with the rights of the individual, the working class, the family and education, the duties of the State, the ordering of national and international society, economic life, culture, war and peace, and respect for human life from conception till death. The Church receives â€Å"the meaning of the person† from Divine Revelation. The theological dimension is needed both for interpreting and solving present-day problems in human society. This is in contrast with both the â€Å"atheistic† solution, which deprives humankind of one of its basic dimensions and to permissive and consumerist solutions. In the Church's viewpoint, the social message of the Gospel must not be treated as a â€Å"theory† but rather a basis for action. Through time, this message has gained more credibility because of its logic and consistency. Love for others, and especially for the poor, is made concrete by promoting justice. It is not a matter of giving from one's own surplus, but of helping the entire people. This requires a change of lifestyle, a reorientation of ourselves and our organizations toward the whole of the human family. Today we are facing â€Å"globalization† of the economy which can create unusual opportunities for greater prosperity. It asks for effective international agencies to coordinate the powerful nations and take into account the weaker ones- which even the most powerful state on earth would not be able to do on its own. The gift of grace is needed, a newness that is experience by following Jesus. Faith not only helps people to find solutions; it makes even situations of suffering humanly bearable, so that in these situations people will not become lost or forget their dignity and vocation. The Church's social teaching should begin a practical and scientific dialogue at the crossroads where it meets the world as it is. Solving serious national and international problems in the world calls for specific ethical and religious values. This encyclical, while looking at the past, is directed towards the future. The intention is to prepare us for that moment, with God's help. II. What does the Pope's message mean to me By looking back at history, we can derive lots of valuable lessons and learn from our own mistakes as well as from the mistakes of others. In this new encyclical, the Holy Father provides us with reasons to hope in a modern society which would obey the Church' s social teachings. The Pope also gives us new reasons and motivation to further evangelize the world. In Centesimus Annus, two classes of society have been identified — one of which exercises total economic freedom by appropriate laws, and the other makes use of an organized and violent form of political and social structure. Pope Leo XIII criticizes â€Å"socialism† and â€Å"liberalism.† Against socialism, he reaffirms the right to private property. As for liberalism, he states that the state should neither favor the rich nor neglect the poor. The defenseless and the poor have a claim to special consideration. The State should exercise a â€Å"preferential option for the poor†. I think the best way would be something in between socialism and liberalism. This refers to exercising political intervention in market structures. The framework is such that in a free-market economic system, competition is allowed, but state intervention should come should the control of the market be deemed necessary for the benefit of the common good, i.e. provide the greatest utility for all. I agree with Pope John Paul II that the new source of economic wealth is no longer â€Å"land† nor â€Å"capital†. It is a combination of new skills and talents. These skills include the knowledge of new technologies, entrepreneurship, foreseeing and meeting others' needs, organizing, planning, and management. Such talents need be polished through discipline, creativity, initiative, and courage. With regards to Human Work, it can only be understood from a â€Å"personalist† point of view — through the exercise of man's free will and intellect. This brings dignity to work. Pope Leo XIII writes about the condition of workers: dignity of work, dignity of workers, right to private property, right to form private associations, limit on working hours, right to legitimate rest, right of children and women to fair treatment based on their capabilities, right to a just wage, distributive justice, and the right to fulfill religious duties freely It is true that man's rights come from his dignity as a person, and not from the work he performs. Work belongs to the vocation of every person by which one can realize oneself. It doesn't matter what type of work we perform as long as we do them with pride and conviction. On Family, I agree that it is the heart of the culture of life. The family is the real sanctuary of life. It is the fundamental structure for â€Å"human ecology†. It is from our family that we first learned of ideas about truth and goodness, what it means to love and be loved, and what it means to be a person. On Solidarity, it is a moral expression of our interdependence. It reminds us that we are one family regardless of race, nationality, and economic power. Pope Leo XIII also emphasized the value of quality of quantity. I think this argument is valid. It is of no use for a person to acquire so many goods if he cannot enjoy them for long because of their poor quality. It is of no meaning for a person to live for a very long time if his life is of no quality – he doesn't use it to his fullest to enhance his personal growth and the growth of his neighbors. Indeed, this encyclical has shared to us so many insights which are worth reflecting and applying to our daily lives. We must make the most of the teachings which our Church leaders has diligently compiled through time.

Christmas in France French-English Side-by-Side Story

Test your comprehension of French with this side-by-side  French-English translation about Christmas.  It is an  easy story to help you learn French in context. Christmas Is  Noà «l  in France   Noà «l est une fà ªte importante en France. Cest une fà ªte religieuse bien sà »r, puisque traditionnellement la France est un pays catholique, mais cest aussi une fà ªte familiale  : Le 25 dà ©cembre est un jour fà ©rià © quand tout est fermà ©. Christmas in France is an important holiday. It’s a religious holiday of course, since traditionally France is a Catholic country, but its also a family holiday: December 25  is a national holiday when everything is closed. Comme dans le reste du monde, les Franà §ais se rà ©unissent en famille autour du sapin de Noà «l, et souvent dune petite crà ¨che, et les enfants attendent que le Pà ¨re Noà «l soit passà © pour ouvrir les cadeaux le 25 au matin. As in the rest of the world, the French gather around the Christmas tree, and often a little manger, and the children wait for Santa Claus to pass by so they can open presents on the morning of the 25th. What Are the Traditions of Christmas in France? Il y a beaucoup de traditions de Noà «l en France, qui sont plus ou moins respectà ©es selon les rà ©gions et les prà ©fà ©rences personnelles. La Provence en particulier a beaucoup de traditions comme les treize desserts, le gros souper, etcetera. En Alsace, beaucoup de maisons sont richement dà ©corà ©es pour Noà «l, et il y a beaucoup de marchà ©s de Noà «l. Cependant, dans la plupart de la France, les traditions sont comparables à   celles des Etats-Unis. There are many Christmas traditions in France, which are more or less respected according to region  and personal preference. Provence (the South of France),  in particular, has many traditions like the 13 desserts, the fat super, etcetera. In Alsace (the northeast), many houses are richly decorated for Christmas, and there are many Christmas markets. But in most of France, traditions are similar to the ones in the United States. Un Dialogue   Un dialogue pour utiliser le vocabulaire de Noà «l en contexte:A conversation using Christmas vocabulary in context:Camille et son amie Anne parlent de leurs projets pour Noà «l.Camille and her friend Anne are talking about their Christmas projects.Camille:  Et alors, vous faà ®tes quoi pour Noà «l cette annà ©e ?So, what are you doing for Christmas this year?Anne:  Comme d’habitude, on va à   Paris pour cà ©là ©brer Noà «l avec la famille de Christian. Et vous?As usual, we’re going to Paris to celebrate Christmas with Christian’s family. And you? CamilleNous, on reste ici avec la famille d’Olivier. C’est une fà ªte familiale importante pour eux;  ma belle-mà ¨re a toujours un joli sapin avec des guirlandes de Noà «l, des boules et des autres dà ©corations de Noà «l. Il y a une belle couronne en sapin sur la porte, et l’annà ©e dernià ¨re, mon beau-pà ¨re avait mà ªme accrochà © une guirlande lumineuse clignotante autour de la maison ! We stay here with Olivier’s family. It’s an important family holiday for them; my mother-in-law always has a beautiful Christmas tree with Christmas garlands, balls and other Christmas ornaments. There is a gorgeous pine wreath on the door, and last year, my father-in-law even put up a blinking garland around the house! Le Rà ©veillon Is Christmas Eve in France AnneOui, j’ai remarquà © que de plus en plus de gens faisait à §a. À cà ´tà © de chez moi, il y a une maison toute illuminà ©e... C’est amusant. Et qu’est-ce que vous faà ®tes pour le Rà ©veillon? Yes, I noticed that more and more people were doing this. Next to my house, there is a house thats all lit up. It’s fun. And what are you doing on Christmas Eve? CamilleEn fait, nous faisons un Rà ©veillon plus simple le 24 au soir : On fait plutà ´t un gros apà ©ritif dà ®natoire, avec des toasts de foie-gras et de saumon fumà © et du champagne, et  nous ouvrons les cadeaux  ce soir-là  . Ce n’est pas trà ¨s traditionnel, mais plus pratique avec les enfants. In fact, we are having a simple Christmas Eve on the evening of the 24th; we have more like a large cocktail party which is abundant enough to be a meal, with foie-gras patà © toasts, smoked salmon and champagne, and we open the presents that evening. It’s not very traditional, but it’s more practical with the kids. AnneAh bon ? Les enfants n’attendent pas que le Pà ¨re-Noà «l soit passà © ? Really? The children don’t wait until Santa has passed by? CamilleNon, enfin je suppose que le Pà ¨re-Noà «l passe plus tà ´t chez nous... comme il est magique, ce n’est pas difficile pour lui ! Et puis de toutes les faà §ons, chez nous il n’y a pas de cheminà ©e, alors il doit forcà ©ment faire preuve d’imagination. No, well I suppose Santa comes early in our house. Since hes magic, it’s not difficult for him! Anyway, in our house there is no fireplace, so he has undoubtedly has to use his imagination. AnneEt pas de messe de minuit non plus j’imagine. And no midnight mass I suppose. CamilleNon, notre famille n’est pas trà ¨s pratiquante. Le 25, on fait un gros repas de Noà «l. Là  , on cuisine quelque chose de plus traditionnel : une dinde ou un jambon, ou bien un repas hautement gastronomique. Et bien sà »r, en dessert, on dà ©guste une traditionnelle  bà »che de Noà «l.  Et chez vous ? No, our family is not very religious. On the 25th, we have a big Christmas meal. Then, we cook something more traditional:  a turkey or a ham, or a fancy gastronomic meal. And of course, for dessert we enjoy a traditional Christmas yule log (dessert). What about at your house? AnneChez nous aussi bien sà »r. Bon, et bien on a intà ©rà ªt à   se mettre au rà ©gime dà ¨s maintenant ! We do too, of course. Well, we better start dieting right away! CamilleTu l’as dit ! Allez, joyeux Noà «l, Anne, et une excellente annà ©e 2015. You said it! OK, Merry Christmas, Anne, and a wonderful 2015. AnneToi aussi Camille, un trà ¨s joyeux Noà «l à   toi et à   ta famille, et tous mes meilleurs voeux pour 2015. You too, Camille, a merry Christmas to you and your family, and my best wishes for 2015. Joyeuses fà ªtes de fin dannà ©e ! Happy Holidays!