5 Types of Eponyms

5 Types of Eponyms 5 Types of Eponyms 5 Types of Eponyms By Mark Nichol Humans so frequently find proper names the names of specific people, places, or things to be so useful for describing generic objects or concepts or qualities that they co-opt the proper names, sometimes capitalized, and sometimes lowercased. Here are just some of the innumerable examples in English: 1. Product Eponyms Ubiquitous, market-defining product names often to the consternation of the companies that market them frequently enter the vernacular (in lowercase form) to describe any product in that class. Among these are aspirin, kleenex, and xerox, though other, more surprising examples include escalator, heroin, and zipper. In the United Kingdom (but not in the United States), biro and hoover are eponymous terms for pens and vacuum cleaners, respectively. 2. Historical and Geographical Eponyms Eponyms appear in the names of many geopolitical entities (Europe, Colombia, San Francisco) and geographical or nautical locations (Tasmania, the Bering Sea), either crediting a person with their discovery or otherwise associating them with a person or a personification. Historical figures lend their names to ideas associated with them: The words boycott, chauvinist, quisling, and sandwich all derive from personal names (but are lowercased). Such is also the case with draconian, epicurean, pyrrhic, and the like. However, political movements or philosophies, or historical eras, attached to personalities are uppercased: Reagonomics, Victorian. Various collections of people are associated with proper names for locations. These, generally lowercased, include bohemian, lesbian, and philistine. Likewise, some names of ethnic groups have similarly become identified with (often negative) personal qualities, leading to references, variably uppercased or lowercased, to being welshed (or welched) on or getting your Irish up, for example. (The first word in â€Å"scot-free,† by contrast, does not refer to the Scottish.) Famous people have also been associated with items or components of clothing, or material, which are lowercased: bloomer, cardigan, raglan. Likewise, slang words can be derived from real-life people, such as the verb bogart, or â€Å"Mae West,† the onetime nickname for a life vest. 3. Literary Eponyms Fictional characters often evoke such strong qualities that we assign their names to those qualities: faustian, quixotic. We also refer to people who exhibit qualities of literary characters by directly associating them, such as when we call someone a Casanova, a Romeo, or a Svengali (retaining initial capitalization), but some other such terms, such as lothario, are lowercased. Storytellers with a distinguishable quality have given their names (with initial capitalization intact) to literary criticism for the purposes of analogy, as in Dickensian (suggesting melodramatic poverty, eccentric characters, or jollity), Homeric (epic), and Proustian (evoking personal memories). Books named after the protagonist (Jane Eyre) and record albums identified by the musician’s or band’s name (David Bowie, The Beach Boys) are eponymic. 4. Mythological Eponyms Mythological characters also inspire eponyms, which generally retain initial capital letters: We refer to the Midas touch, to someone being a Hercules or a Venus, or an Achilles’ heel (traditionally, this possessive form does not include an s after the apostrophe). But we lowercase analogous terms such as chimera and gorgon, as well as atlas, erotic, and odyssey. (And don’t forget, or confuse, Tantalus and Sisyphus: Fortunately, their eponymous adjectives, tantalizing and Sisyphean note the difference in capitalization are clearly distinct.) 5. Scientific Eponyms In science, scientists and inventors are often honored for their work by having their names assigned (in lowercase form) to refer to units of scientific measurement, as in the cases of Rudolf Diesel, Alessandro Volta, and James Watt, or to processes (galvanism) or methods (algorithm). Likewise, botanists are immortalized by having their (lowercased) names grafted onto nomenclature for plants, as with dahlia, magnolia, and poinsettia. Innovations and discoveries are also often named after their discoverers or popularizers: â€Å"Avogadro’s number,† â€Å"Alzheimer’s disease.† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Vocabulary category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Great Opening Lines to Inspire the Start of Your Story80 Idioms with the Word TimeI wish I were...

Punctuation with Parenthetical Phrasing

Punctuation with Parenthetical Phrasing Punctuation with Parenthetical Phrasing Punctuation with Parenthetical Phrasing By Mark Nichol Parenthetical phrasing is often punctuated incorrectly, as shown in the following examples, each of which is followed by a discussion and a revision. 1. That’s why they choose to live in San Francisco proper instead of say a suburb like Daly City. In this sentence, say is being used as a synonym for the parenthetical phrase â€Å"for example,† and like that phrase, it must be set off from the sentence: â€Å"That’s why they choose to live in San Francisco proper instead of, say, a suburb like Daly City.† 2. As these companies continue to evolve, a focus on organizational structure and governance framework as well as monitoring, testing, and reporting, become increasingly important. This sentence consists of three components: a subordinate clause, a main clause, and a parenthetical clause within the main clause. However, the parenthetical clause is not correctly set off from the main clause- a comma must precede â€Å"as well as† (the beginning of the parenthetical phrase) to counterbalance the one that follows reporting (the end of the parenthetical phrase): â€Å"As these companies continue to evolve, a focus on organizational structure and governance framework, as well as monitoring, testing, and reporting, become increasingly important.† 3. It’s imperative for them to have a longer-term approach to the market, and based on that, make permanent changes to their operations. The superfluous first comma in this sentence exists on the mistaken presumption that it must be placed there to separate two independent clauses. However, this sentence consists of a single main clause with the parenthetical phrase â€Å"based on that,† which should be preceded and followed by a pair of commas, so the first comma must follow, not precede, and: â€Å"It’s imperative for them to have a longer-term approach to the market and, based on that, make permanent changes to their operations.† Compare this sentence, which does consist of two independent clauses correctly separated by a comma and includes a second comma whose function is to set the introductory phrase â€Å"at times† off from the rest of the second independent clause: â€Å"Decisions have to be based on realistic considerations, and at times, that’s when a third party is helpful.† Compare it as well to â€Å"There have been dozens of bankruptcies so far, and, as Smith mentioned, some have already restructured and exited bankruptcy.† This sentence consists of two independent clauses (separated by the comma between far and and) and the parenthetical phrase â€Å"as Smith mentioned,† which is bracketed by two additional commas that have no relation to the first comma. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Punctuation category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Direct and Indirect ObjectsDo you "orient" yourself, or "orientate" yourself?40 Words Beginning with "Para-"

Fear of Islam Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Fear of Islam - Research Paper Example Islam is perhaps the most misunderstood major religion in the world today.   As a Muslim, this student has experienced this truth on numerous occasions.   Because of media propaganda and rumors circulating around the world, Muslims are seen as terrorists and a people who promote and condone violence.   Many believe, in fact, that these are central tenants contained in their holy book, the Quran.   Because of this, Muslims worldwide have spent many years trying to help the world understand their true faith and identity. It is true that there are some ‘bad apples’ that advance their terrorist causes in the name of Islam.   This student is certainly not condoning their actions.   In fact, few Muslims condone the actions of terrorism.   It must be pointed out, however, that Islam is not the only religion that has committed acts of violence on people of other faiths.   Yet, these events seem to be washed over and the Islamic faith receives much of the bad pres s in global media today.   It is out of this press coverage that people have begun to have an outright fear of Islam.    Moustafa Bayoumi recently remarked that â€Å"every group has it loonies. And yet the idea that American Muslim communities are foul nests of hatred, where dark-skinned men plot Arabic violence persists† (11).   It begs the question as to why people are so afraid of Islam.   It seems that many in the West perceive every Muslim to be a potential terrorist. The fear is so strong in some localities that the mentioning of Islam is not permitted in certain locations. The state of Texas, for example, recently decided that reading about Islam in the classroom was not permitted because it did not constitute education, but rather was indoctrination (Bayoumi 12). This kind of attitude on the part of adults will only serve to further widen the divide of children in terms of their perception of Muslim. Finally, research and common opinions about the root of the fear of Islam appears to stem from an ‘us against them’ mentality. If you do not support the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, for example, then you are a supporter or Islamic terrorists. The perception should not be that wars are fought over religion, but that is exactly what is taking place in modern society. If you support and allow a mosque to be built in your community, you are with them, not us. This kind of attitude, on both sides, has created a fear that exists in the heart of Muslim and non-Muslims alike. Farhad Dalal recently commented that â€Å"Ironically both the neo-conservatives and fundamentalist Islamists are in agreement that what is occurring in the world today is indeed a clash of civilizations, and that it is a continuation of a Holy War†

Critical Issue Paper Two Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Critical Issue Paper Two - Essay Example ted States homefront had a controlled economy wherein all aspects of the industrial and agricultural sector are managed for the interest of the national security. Production of houses, new automobiles and new appliances were stopped creating a shortage within the consumer market. Housing shortages, especially in the munitions center (industrial sections) of the country forced married couples to live with parents or any makeshift facilities. And since little housing was done during the Great Depression years prior to World War II, the home shortage problem grew worse till 1948. Incidentally, the â€Å"wartime efforts were focused on aircraft engines, army trucks and tanks.† Mass production for aircrafts, where the requirement was to build a thousand planes a day needed new methods and a larger less skilled workforce (composed of women workers), were implemented. Basic goods and commodities like meat, sugar, butter, coffee, gasoline, tires, shoes and clothing were rationed. Purchase of any desired item requires three (3) things, which are: 1) the store keeper must have the items; 2) the purchaser must have cash, and 3) the purchaser must have ration coupons. In general, the rationing activity was supported by the civilians, although black marketing activities existed. Black marketeers were usually hunted down and prosecuted for engaging in such activities that was considered illegal at that time. Rationing was necessary during the World War II at the United States homefront, because the needs of men and women who are serving abroad must be met and considered. Conservation of the aforementioned commodities and other basic items were significant factors for the overall success of the war efforts, since shipping capabilities were limited due to the conversion of public cargo ships to military use in order to aid the war efforts. Good paying jobs were available for anyone who liked to work, although salaries and wages were also controlled. Women joined the

Determinant of Supplier Power Essay Example for Free

Determinant of Supplier Power Essay Sony’s Play station 3 is slated to be a next generation computer entertainment console which will provide the facility of playing titles which are available on PlayStation and PlayStation 2. In addition it is also enabling internet connectivity for downloading a variety of games as also access to online games and services. It can support a wide range of NTSC/PAL standards on the TV including high definition TV. (Introducing Play station 3, 2006). Nintendo Nintendo has been an established leader in the interactive entertainment industry for many years. It has successfully sold one billion video games worldwide. It markets hardware and software for its popular home video systems such as the Game Cube and the Game Boy series which the company claims to be the world’s best selling video game system. (History, 2006). The company has been developing its consoles based on technology developments and the needs of the customers. Software is also built up to support the consoles in a consolidated mode. Nintendo entered the American market after the industry had virtually crashed in the 1980’s and exploited the performance play as per Kline, Dyer-Witherford and Peuter (2003) by introducing proprietary standards and denying competition for other players. It also created brand loyalty by having a magazine for its product and also created sustainment lines so that the product was effectively supported after sales, a novel concept in the entertainment industry but which is essential for experiential marketing. This company as per Kline, Dyer-Witherford and Peuter (2003) was the first to close the technology, culture and marketing loop as others followed suit to ape Nintendo. The company has also recently launched a Nintendo WiFi connection which will enable the Nintendo DS owners to connect with gamers around the World and it is reported that over 10 million connections were made available only two months from launching. Its Resident Evil 4 programme on Game Cube was adjudged by many as the best game of the year as per the company. (History, 2006). The other innovation was to develop the company’s programme of Game Play Counselors on the web to provide the gamers and developers instant connect with the company. (History, 2006). Nintendo has also sponsored Digipen program at the DigiPen Institute of Technology which is an accredited college level program for designing video gaming applications. The company has initiated this keeping in view the large number of requests it has been receiving from gamers as well as amateur developers. The company also has a Nintendo Power magazine which communicates with the gamers. Contests such as Player’s Poll care enable the company to get feedback from gamers and also rate its own games for further sponsoring and development. The company has an active forums program from which game ideas are developed (http://forums. nintendo. com/nintendo) Nintendo also has a policy for licensing a number of third party publishers to use its patenting technology, copy rights and trade marks to develop video games (Legal, 2006). Nintendo also has a very powerful community participation program called as NSider forum which provides Nintendo fans a venue for discussion through message boards, posting questions and answers, discussions and email on new activities. This acts as a powerful link between the company, the gamers and the developers. (Community Participation, 2006). Micro Soft Micro Soft has been the latest entrant in the field of console gaming. It has also depended on the resources of developers and consumers to progress its gaming strategy, despite the considerable software resources that the company has at its disposal as the worlds leading legacy software developer. It has two programs which are specifically targeted at the developers and consumers for providing it inputs for game development. Micro Soft Xbox Developer programs enable developers, publishers, tool makers and hardware vendors to support the Xbox and Xbox 360 video consoles. The Registered Developer Program in particular has been designed to allow access to external developers to the hardware and support of Xbox and Xbox 360 and take advantage of the features to develop software and support projects for the Xbox consoles. Xbox Central and Xbox 360 Central web sites permit access to those who have been accepted for this program and also for participation in technical seminars and sessions. (Xbox Developer Programs, 2006) The Xbox 360 Registered Content Creator Program is a similar program which allows freelance content creators access to Xbox 360 content creation tools to enable them to secure projects for Xbox console. These positions are offered by Microsoft Game Studios. (Xbox 360 Registered Content Creator Program. 2006)

Film Adaptation of Sophocles’ Oedipus Rex Essay -- blind by ignorance,

â€Å"You are your own enemy† (Guthrie, Oedipus Rex, 22:43). In the film adaptation of Sophocles’ â€Å"Oedipus Rex† (1957), Sir Tyrone Guthrie portrays the characters as truth seekers that are ignorant when trying to find King Laius’ murderer. On the other hand, Sigmund Freud’s hypothesis of Sophocles’ work introduces us to â€Å"The Oedipus Complex† (1899) which states that as we’re young we grow infatuated with our opposite sex parent and feel resentment towards our same-sex parent. These two pieces have adapted mirror like meanings of Sophocles’ tragic play. Sir Tyrone Guthrie and Sigmund Freud explore this through the use of ethos, irony, social distance, and the visualization of state of mind in order to show the manifestation Oedipus undergoes living with his â€Å"mix of killing and unimagined shame† (Guthrie, Oedipus Rex, 21:19). Though the answer is in front of Oedipus, he wears a mask that protects him from the answers he does not want to believe is true. To begin with, Oedipus is his own tragedy since his actions and decisions are the reasons why he was not able to thoroughly see his mistakes. Sir Tyrone Guthrie places Oedipus in the middle of the town to begin the interrogation of finding the murderer of King Laius so the city can be unwind of its plague. Sir Tyrone Guthrie does this on purpose so the audience and the servants around him can see the foolish mistakes their great King achieves. Tiresias, the blind prophet who can see the past, present, and future, speaks to Oedipus, since Tiresias has the ability to only see the truth. Even though the audience can see that Oedipus is not taking any consideration of the prophet’s words when Tiresias directly yells to him that Oedipus is the â€Å"murderer [he] [seeks],† the ignorant side of Oe... ...now where he was â€Å"†¦in calamity,† seeking the truth to stop the plague was in his good intentions but his unconscious mask would not let him see the answers (Sophocles, Oedipus the King, 425). It is the reason why â€Å"most young people outgrow the compulsion† for their parent â€Å"and thereafter repress it† which is why Oedipus was unknowingly his own disaster (Jacobus 476). Works Cited Freud, Sigmund. "The Oedipus Complex." A World of Ideas: Essential Readings for College Writers. By Lee A. Jacobus. 8th ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin's, 2010. 475-85. Print. Oedipus Rex. Dir. Tyrone Guthrie. By Sophocles and William B. Yeats. Perf. Douglas Campbell and Eleanor Stuart. YouTube. YouTube, 01 Feb. 2013. Web. 07 Feb. 2014. . Sophocles. Oedipus the King. Trans. David Grene. 1st ed. Chicago & London: University of Chicago, 2010. Print.

Newlywed Communication

Newlywed Communication Ashley Metz COM 200 Interpersonal Communication Instructor Tremika Pinckney December 10, 2012 Newlywed Communication Being married, like being a parent, is one of the most rewarding relationships that you can have in life. However, while being married to your best friend can be pure bliss, learning how to communicate and keep lines of communication open throughout your relationship can be tough. Something about having the same last name takes your once perfect dating relationship to a sea of misunderstandings and disagreements.As a newlywed myself, I can relate on these difficult times that occur during the first few months and even the first few years of marriage. There are certain principles you can follow to have effective communication, listening skills that you can learn, have an understanding of non-verbal communication, and realize how self-concept, and self-disclosure, can all play a vital role in your communication within your marriage.While communicat ion has occurred since the dawn of time, becoming an effective communicator really does take some skill and understanding of how interpersonal communication works. Understanding these concepts and skills, will help tremendously in those not so blissful points of marriage. â€Å"To become a more effective communicator, scholars would most likely agree that five specific aspects of interpersonal communication are crucial areas of focus† (Sole, 2011). These 5 skills are listening skills, people skills, emotional intelligence, appropriate skill selection, and communicating ethically.I am sure looking at this list you can pick out which of these skills you think you possess over another, but the key to interpersonal communication is honing in all of these skills and using them together and at the appropriate times. Now let us break each of these skills down and concentrate on the key concepts of each skill. Listening, this is more than just sound waves bouncing through our ear can al, to be in affective listener â€Å"requires focus and attention† (Sole, 2011). A lot of people hear without actually listening.I know that there have been many times that my husband and I were having a discussion and I could hear what he was saying, meaning I knew he was talking and I could hear the words that were coming out of his mouth, but I was not listening to what he was actually saying. Once I stopped and actually listened to what he had to say, we were able to resolve the conflict we were having. People skills, also plays a role in communication, however people skills is a collaborative use of many different skills like problem solving and appropriate self-disclosure.Emotional intelligence is probably the easiest to understand but the hardest to apply in interpersonal communication, for me at least. To be emotionally intelligent is to understand how and when to express certain emotions in given situations. For me, I am very passionate about most things in my life, and when I have an idea or thought, or even problem, I want to get it out in the open as fast as possible. When someone does not agree with me, is upset with me, or even does agree with me, you can see my emotions in my face, hear them in my voice, and can tell by my overall attitude.While in my working relationships this sometimes has posed a problem, I believe in a marriage it is very important to share your emotions with each other, and keeping in mind of the emotions of one another. In a marriage I believe to be emotionally intelligent means to have the ability to express how you feel about something to your spouse, as well as being able to relate to the emotions of your spouse. Appropriate skill selection means that you can recognize a problem in communication and then affectively solving the problem.Finally, communicating ethically, varies in meaning from person to person, as one person’s set of ethics may not be the same as another person’s, however in general to communicate ethically means to keep your own ethics, morals, values, and beliefs in mind while communicating. Speak with a purpose, and let your ethics guide you in not only what you convey when you speak but how you convey it as well. In a relationship it is easy to point out what the other person is doing wrong and how he or she fails to communicate.It is important to take a look inward and realize how you can grow and realize what you can work on too, in order to increase effective communication in your relationship. This may be a hard pill to swallow, but you are not perfect, and realizing that, accepting it, and admitting to imperfection will strongly help any relationship. I think that everyone could agree that listening is equally important, if not more important, as talking. Realizing when we are hearing conversation rather than listening to a conversation will help make the messenger feel like you the receiver not only understands what they are saying, but cares about wh at is being said. I know as a woman, when I feel like my husband is tuning me out, it hurts and I take it much more personal, than if he were listening to me and then not saying anything. â€Å"Listening involves hearing, but it is much more than just the physiological act of your ears perceiving a sound and transmitting the auditory sensation to your brain.Listening is a complex psychological process that can be defined as the process of physically hearing, interpreting that sound, and understanding the significance of it† (Sole, 2011). There are many aspects of being a good listener which we all start to learn in the early years of education, but as adults we tend to tune out, those that boar us or that we feel is unimportant. The first of the many characteristics of being a good listener is a motivation or willingness to listen. You have to make a conscious decision that you are going to listen to the speaker, with an open mind and an eagerness to hear what he has to say.I know this sounds completely cliche but you need to make a â€Å"safe† environment for your spouse so they not only want to talk to you but they feel that they can talk to you and be heard. This was a big concept that both my husband and I had to learn in the first few months of our marriage, and quite frankly, it is something that we are still working on. My husband is a quiet person, and he does not let a lot of things get under his skin. When something does start to bother him he tends to hold it in, and then all at once, it is like a bomb went off and he explodes.For me, it made it hard to talk to him about anything, because he did not want to talk about it or did not have much of an opinion on the subject. When I would ask if something was bugging him, he would say nothing until that bomb went off. Because of this ticking time bomb that I felt would go off at any moment it made it very hard for me to come to my husband when I had something I wanted to talk about. So whil e he was not making a safe environment for me to come and talk to him, I in turn, was not making a safe environment for him either. He felt like when we did talk, I was not actually listening to him, and only wanted things my way.I was not allowing him to feel like he could come and talk to me, so he did not do so. Once we got this out on the table, it made our communication much more effective. Crossing your arms, rolling your eyes, tapping your foot, these are all ways that we can communicate with other people without words even coming out of our mouths. We send off a vibe through our body language that can let a person know how we are feeling without saying anything, or a person can misunderstand a vibe that you may not be giving off, but because you are unaware of your body language you do not realize it. Research shows that 55% of communication is conveyed by the body language we use, that is use of eye contact, gestures, and facial expressions. 38% is conveyed through voice, i ts quality, use of tone, and inflections. Only 7% is conveyed in the words we use† (Makodia, 2009, p. 6). When the first few issues arose in my marriage, we would try and have a conversation to work these issues out. My husband is not one to convey his feelings very well verbally. To be honest, it is much easier to talk about things with him via email or even text message.When we would talk with each other he was the king of just blankly staring at me with his arms crossed, while I was speaking. This infuriated me. It made it impossible to talk to him and I would end the conversation and nothing would get solved. As you can see, sometimes it is not even what you say, not how you say it, but the way you use your hands, your face, your entire body to convey a message. A simple smile can take a conversation from stagnant and cold, to warm and understanding.When talking out a disagreement, try smiling and talking about it, that alone can turn the entire vibe of the relationship an d you may get further than using cold gestures, like crossed hands or a mean scowl. Going back to what I stated before about creating a â€Å"safe† environment for your spouse is key to having effective communication. When you have a harsh body language, you can make yourself come across unapproachable where as if you keep your body language carefree, it can make it easier for your significant other to bring up a situation.In understanding communication, and how your spouse communicates with you, you must understand yourself and why you are the way you are. For example, growing up I was always getting in trouble for my siblings mistakes. As the oldest child I picked up the heat for almost everything. Now as an adult, I can come off very offensive if someone accuses me of something I felt that I did not do. When I could understand there was a reason for me getting on the defense it helped my husband understand how to approach topics that I might react in a negative way about. Self-concept is comprised of relatively permanent self-assessments, such as personality attributes, knowledge of one’s skills and abilities, one’s occupation and hobbies, and awareness of one’s physical attributes. † (Sinha, 2009, p. 2) Being aware of one’s self not only will help in learning and grasping the concepts of interpersonal communication, it will also help you understand why it is that you communicate the way you do and allow you to let your spouse know why you are the way you are.As I stated before, once the title of your relationship changes from engaged to married, it seems that things may change drastically. Living together creates a whole different slew of problems. Having children creates another chapter of problems. Life happens, and it is only natural that you and your spouse are going to disagree on these subjects, but knowing how to overcome disagreements, and how to convey your point in an effective way, makes all the differenc e. As humans we grow, change, evolve every day.Our interests change, our hobbies vary, and if you are anything like me, you have a new favorite color every season. When a couple first starts dating the best ways they start to understand and get to know each other is by self-disclosure. Self-disclosure is asking and answering questions like â€Å" What is your favorite movie? †, â€Å"Where do you see yourself in 2 years, 5 years, 10 years? †. Questions like this help one another learn, understand, and is a big part of communication in a relationship no matter how new or how old. Quality communication is defined somewhat differently from study to study, but research consistently has shown a link between happy marriages and â€Å"self-disclosure,† or sharing your private feelings, fears, doubts and perceptions with your partner† (Schoenberg, 2011). I have a running list of questions that I keep in the notes section of my phone. Every so often I go through th e list and ask my husband a few questions. This is either face to face, via text or email, or sometimes I ask in a letter that I write to him which I will slip into his lunch. It is not once a week or even once a month.Just when I think about it, or once a year, we talk about our goals that we would like to accomplish for the year and how we can reach these goals. This year or goals are to put at least $5000 into savings, and pay off all of our credit card debt. Keeping in mind that we are ever-changing as humans, setting up a time where we ask our spouse these self-disclosure, types of questions, can greatly impact the quality of communication in your relationship as a whole. Focusing on quality rather than quantity of communication can aid in each other’s understanding of one another and how to effectively communicate.My husband is a Recruit Division Commander, which in not so many words means he is a Navy boot camp drill sergeant. This means that he is working from anywher e from 4am to 10pm, 7 days a week, for at least 13 weeks at a time. I have a full time job working 8am until 5pm and then come home to take care of our 1 year old. By the time 1030 rolls around and he walks through the front door we are both tired and ready for bed, but we make it a point to take 15 minutes, and unload about our days. These 15 minutes gives us enough time to connect with each other and get the important stuff out in the open.Now 15 minutes a day does not seem like a lot of time but it is the quality of our conversation that keeps us strong. This is what I mean about quality over quantity. The elements that create effective communication, listening, non-verbal communication, self-concept, and self-disclosure are all part of becoming an effective communicator in any interpersonal relationship, but especially with your spouse. Understanding these concepts will help you not only know yourself and how to improve your own communication skills but also understand your spou se and how they communicate.It will not always be a cake walk, but when applying the skills I have outlined, it can get better. Communication is key, when life starts getting in the way, just 15 minutes of quality communication every day can go a long way. References: Makodia, V. V. (2009). Role of Body Language in Communication. Jaipur, IND: Paradise Publishers. Sinha, D. S. (2009). Personal Growth and Training and Development. Lucknow, IND: Word-press. Sole, K. (2011). Making connections: Understanding interpersonal communication. San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education, Inc.