Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems

Internet and Connectivity

• Wireless network: A network where users can access the internet without using any cables.
• To go online: To use the internet.
• Wi-Fi hotspots: A public place where you can access the internet.
• To surf the web: To look through websites, searching for something you need, or simply for entertainment.
• Download (podcasts): To save a copy of a file from the internet to your own device.
• To browse websites: To search for websites.
• To access websites/email: To visit websites or email.
• To navigate a website: To find what you need on a website.
• Social media: Media used to interact with other people.
• Send an attachment: Send an email with an added file.

Hardware and Software Basics

• Large screen: A big-sized monitor.
• Gadget: An advanced piece

Historical Context

After World War I, many countries faced economic struggles, political instability, and anger over the Treaty of Versailles. The Great Depression exacerbated these conditions and facilitated the rise of extremist leaders. During the 1930s and 1940s, aggressive nations and global conflict fundamentally reshaped the world.

Universal Thesis Formula

Although ______________________, the main causes/effects/turning points of ______________________ were ______________________, ______________________, and ______________________.

Economic and Political Instability

Main Idea

Economic hardship and political instability created significant challenges for nations following World War I.

Key Evidence

• Treaty of Versailles
• Great Depression
• Hyperinflation
• High

Thomas Aquinas: Faith and Reason

Thomas Aquinas attempts to reconcile the thought of Aristotle with Christianity, defending the uniqueness of each truth.

Thomistic Thought: Faith and Reason

Aquinas establishes a clear distinction between faith and reason, noting they are two different faculties of knowledge, each with its own field of study and methods to arrive at the truth:

• Common Truths: Certain truths can be known through both, such as the existence of God.
• Hierarchy: Faith is above reason, and above faith is divine illumination.
• Non-contradiction: There cannot be any contradiction between faith and reason because truth is unique.

Metaphysics: An Original Synthesis

Aquinas provides an original synthesis of principles and ideas from previous philosophers,... Continue reading "Thomas Aquinas: Reconciling Faith and Reason in Thomistic Philosophy" »

Drama in the Spanish Golden Age

The development of the theatrical genre stands as one of the most significant literary milestones of the Golden Age, receiving a strong boost and becoming firmly established within our literature.

1. Pre-Lopean Theater

During the early 16th century, there were few plays written in Castilian. While evidence exists of performances in streets and churches, no written texts from these productions remain. Furthermore, La Celestina was not intended for performance due to the difficulty of staging it. It was not until the 16th century that the first symptoms of theater manifested through two generations of authors:

• First half of the century: Juan de Encina, whose short pieces featured minimal decoration and limited action.

Present Tenses

Present Simple

Examples: I go to work. You don’t go to work. Does he, she, or it go to work?

Time Expressions: Always, frequently, usually, often, rarely, never, sometimes, hardly ever, once a day, at night.

Present Continuous

Examples: I am watching TV. We, you, or they are not / aren’t watching TV. Is he, she, or it watching TV?

Time Expressions: At the moment, now, next week, this weekend, this month, tonight, tomorrow.

Past Tenses

Past Simple

Examples: I or we wrote a book. You or they did not / didn’t write a book. Did he, she, or it write a book?

Time Expressions: Ago, yesterday, the day before yesterday, last week, when.

Past Continuous

Examples: I was reading. They weren’t reading. Was I reading?

Time Expressions: At 10 am

The Music of the Twentieth Century

In the late nineteenth century, nationalism—the use of regional and popular culture in music—contributed to Romanticism. Folkloric elements, which gave life to the people, replaced the traditional symphony and sonata. The ballet was born in Russia, incorporating exotic instruments, harmonies, and distant melodies. Notable composers of this era include Glinka (Russia), Bedřich Smetana (Czech Republic), Béla Bartók (Hungary), Jean Sibelius (Finland), and Edvard Grieg (Norway).

Music After World War II

A large number of composers emerged between the 1920s and 1950s, such as Falla, Prokofiev, and Ives. Opposing Romanticism and Wagnerian styles, they chose to follow post-serialism with Webern and dodecaphony... Continue reading "Evolution of 20th Century Music: From Nationalism to Pop" »

Understanding the Promotion Mix

The promotion mix is the specific blend of promotion tools that a company uses to persuasively communicate customer value and build customer relationships.

Core Promotion Tools

• Advertising: Any paid form of nonpersonal presentation and promotion of ideas, goods, or services by an identified sponsor.
• Sales Promotion: Short-term incentives to encourage the purchase or sale of a product or service.
• Personal Selling: Personal presentation by the firm’s sales force for the purpose of making sales and building customer relationships.
• Public Relations (PR): Building good relations with the company’s various publics by obtaining favorable publicity, building up a good corporate image, and handling or heading off unfavorable

Understanding Rationality and Knowledge

Rationality is the specific feature that distinguishes humans from other animals. It enables humans to know and act on appropriate reasons, remaining firm and secure.

Rationalism vs. Empiricism

• Empiricism: What is perceived by the senses is real.
• Empiricism: The mind begins as a tabula rasa.
• Rationalism: Reason discovers within itself the first principles of knowledge.
• Rationalism: The senses deceive us.

Characteristics of Sensations

• Qualitative: Each sense always reacts the same way, regardless of the nature of the stimuli.
• Selective: Of the stimuli surrounding us, only a few can produce sensations.
• Inexact: They are not an exact copy of the stimuli; everything influences the sensations.
• First Level of Knowledge:

Linguistic Exercise: Defining Corners

3.4.3. Match the definitions to the words.

Definitions:

• 1) Convex area where two edges, sides, or surfaces of something join.
• 2) Concave area where two edges, sides, or surfaces of something join.
• 3) Area where two edges, sides, or surfaces of something join.

Words:

• a) Corner (English)
• b) Esquina (Spanish)
• c) Rincón (Spanish)

Exercise Solutions:

1. Convex area: Esquina
2. Concave area: Rincón
3. General area: Corner

Figure Matching:

• Fig A: Corner / Esquina
• Fig B: Corner / Rincón

Semantic Analysis: Distinctive Features

Discuss the following issue: Is "concave" a distinctive semantic feature (seme) in English? And in Spanish?

According to structuralism, distinctive features are those which help us differentiate the units within the... Continue reading "Semantic Analysis of Corner in English and Spanish" »

Key Terms of the First World War and Russian Revolution

• Archduke: A high-ranking man in the Austrian imperial family.
• Armed peace: A period before the First World War when countries were not fighting but were preparing themselves for war.
• Bolsheviks: Members of the more radical faction resulting from the split in the Russian Social Democratic Party in 1912.
• Bourgeois Revolution: See February Revolution.
• Chancellor: The head of government (prime minister) of Prussia.
• Collectivisation: Taking into public or state ownership.
• February Revolution: The riots and strikes of February 1917 which resulted in the abdication of Tsar Nicholas II and the proclamation of a republic.
• Front: The line or area where opposing armies meet.
• Kaiser: The title given to the