Eight Great Gift Ideas for Your Francophile Friends

What gifts could you give to your Francophile or France loving friends? Nowadays, with e-commerce, sending the right gift to the right person is so much easier. Yet, there are so many choices out there. Here is my top eight list: 1 – A Book about France Check out your local Amazon store, there are plenty of beautiful books about France.  First, select the â€Å"book† category. Then, you have a lot of choices. To narrow down the searches, look at the options on your left (you may need to press â€Å"see more†). Select: - â€Å"Art and photography† for beautiful books. I love The Louvre - all the paintings, The Best loved villages of France, and Spectacular Paris.- â€Å"Travel guides† to prepare a trip.- â€Å"Cookbook, food and wine also make a great idea. My husband is a great cook, and his favorite is Mastering the Art of French Cooking - You cannot go wrong with Julia Child! And My Paris Kitchen - Olivier often picks up David Lebovitzs book for inspiration, and all his recipes always turn out perfect - we highly recommend it.- â€Å"Comic book† – what about a French edition of the world-famous â€Å"Tintin† or â€Å"Astà ©rix†?   Then, you can have your book shipped wherever you like, and even have it gift-wrapped. How practical! 2 – A French CD/MP3 or DVD French music is so readily available, both in stores and on the web. Of course you have the classics: Brel, Aznavour, Piaf... but there are many young talents out there: you may have heard of â€Å"Stromae† but he is not the only one (check out â€Å"Zaz†, â€Å"M Pocora† â€Å"Tal†, â€Å"Bà ©nabar†Ã¢â‚¬ ¦) : Check out my Pinterest board â€Å"Les VIP du PAF (Screen and Audio French VIPs) for inspiration, pictures, and videos of who’s hot in France right now. For movies in French, check out Amazon Canada – you’ll pay a bit more for shipping but will have a much larger selection and you are still in the appropriate DVD zone for the US.​ Note: Unfortunately, DVDs are ‘region locked’ and so a DVD meant for the European market will not play on a standard US/CAN DVD player. If this is a DVD for a US/Canadian based friend, make sure it’s â€Å"Region 1† (or that they have a hacked and unlocked DVD player). 3 – A French Audiobook What about learning some French? There are a ton of resources out there, including pricey French learning software (If you are going this way, I recommend Fluenz) and old-fashion dictionaries. You will, of course, find plenty of textbooks on Amazon, but if you ask me, students of French absolutely need an audio support. Audiobooks are convenient; your friend can download them to their smart phone and use them on the go, during workouts or commuting time. If your friends are French or speak French fluently, check out Audible for their selection of audio novels in French. And if your friends are still learning French, then pick a  level appropriate French audio novel or French learning method  on my site, FrenchToday.com. 4 – French Gourmet Food Still on Amazon, check the category â€Å"grocery and gourmet food† and type â€Å"France† or anything special you would be looking for. There is a gift there for any budget. You can also go to your local fine grocery store, and once you look carefully, you’ll be surprised at the number of French food items.   â€Å"Fleur de sel de Guà ©rande† makes a great gift for foodies (this is actually the one Olivier loves), but there are also many French mustards (I love the brand â€Å"Maille†) and spices, cookies, and chocolate. 5 – French Wine Tasting You don’t need to be in France to taste French wines. If you live in a large city, chances are that your local wine store organizes wine tastings. Pay them a visit and ask them if and when they plan on having a French wine tasting. You could even ask them if they could organize one for you and your Francophile friends. Stores are usually very happy to do so and it would be a fun moment, and a personalized gift for your friend. 6– French Perfume and Make-Up Chanel, Dior, Lancà ´me... We dream about these brands but only few people can treat themselves to this kind of luxury. However, many of these brands do have a cosmetic department, and a Dior Lipstick for example is a gift that will most likely impress any lady. You can find them online or in any large department store. 7 – Coupon for a French Restaurant Ok, this one may be a bit on the expensive side. But it’s fun. And if your friends often go to their favorite French restaurant, you can call that restaurant and ask to buy a bottle of wine for the next time your friends go there.   8– French Magazine Subscription There are many French magazines out there, and with Amazon.com, you can get a subscription to a magazine in French right to your door: Vogue, Cuisine et vins de France, Marie-Claire Maison, Photo, Voici or Gala,  they make wonderful gifts because every month, your friend will be reminded of your thoughtful gift. Je mets tous les jours des mini-leà §ons gratuites sur Facebook, Twitter et Pinterest - venez m’y rejoindre! I also wrote many articles about Christmas in France:- 7 Must Know Noà «l Traditions- Christmas in France Dialogue - French English Bilingual Easy Story- Meet the French Santa - French English Bilingual Easy Story-8 Gift Ideas for Your Francophile Friends- Petit Papa Noà «l - The Most Famous French Christmas Song (with a link to a video of my daughter singing it!)-  My enunciated recording of the Catholic mass prayers in French Joyeuses fà ªtes de fin dannà ©e! Happy Holidays!

Jerome Seymour Bruner Essay - 1350 Words

Jerome Seymour Bruner is an American psychologist who made signification contributions to educational, cognitive and developmental psychology. This paper will focus on who Bruner is, his main theories explained, plus a comparison between Bruner and Piaget and the effectiveness of Bruners theories in the classroom. Bruner was born and raised in New York City, Bruner graduated high school in 1933 and went on to major in psychology at Duke University; earning an AB degree in 1937. Subsequently, Bruner pursued a graduate study at Harvard University receiving the MA in 1939 and a Ph.D. in 1941. Gardner (2001) noted; â€Å"Jerome Bruner has served a vital role in the educational discourse of our time: bringing to bear the latest thinking in†¦show more content†¦The third theme is intuitive thinking, a neglected but important feature of productive thinking. Careful examinations of the nature of intuitive thinking is a great aid to those in teaching and effective thinking is supported by the development of self-confidence and courage. The fourth theme is motivation for learning; an interest in the learning material is the best stimulus for learning and must be kept broad and different in expression. It is important for students to feel motivated whilst learning, the motives for learning must be based upon as much as possible on interests. Bruners work had a profound effect on education, researchers and the students he has worked with. Bruner (1964) clearly states that his theory is â€Å"the development of human intellectual functioning†. A lot of Bruners work was powered by earlier theoretical research of Vygotsky and Piaget. My main focus is on the similarities and differences of Bruner and Piaget, as LaFrancois (2000) states that â€Å"much of Bruners work is linked to Piaget.† The best theory for this is the theory of Constructivism. According to Bruning et al. (1999) constructivism is â€Å"a psychological and philosophical perspective contending that individuals form or construct much of what they learn and understand.† Constructivism is the philosophy of learning; aShow MoreRelatedLev Vygotsky, A Russian Developmental Psychologist1223 Words   |  5 PagesDewey who hypothesized that learning is centered on the human experience. As humans encounter change, they are forced to think creatively to regain control of their environment. Dewey believed that learning had to be an active process.10 †¢ Jerome Seymour Bruner stated that learners utilize information from past experiences and current knowledge when confronting new data. The learner interacts through exploration and experimentation. This encourages active engagement, motivation to learn, creativityRead MoreLearning Theories Essay6222 Words   |  25 Pagesteaching practice it is associated with different degrees of non-directed learning. The term constructivsm is linked to Cognitive and Social Constructivsm.    Theorists associated with Constuctivism: John Dewey Lev Vygotsky Jean Piaget Jerome Bruner Seymour Papert Mitchell Resnick    A Description of Constructivism: The merits of Behaviorist learning theory and of their teaching practices are well documented. They have served well in teaching a growing North American population over the past

Factor Models and Structural Vector

Question: Discuss about the Factor Models and Structural Vector. Answer: Introduction: In the short run production, it is assumed that there is at least one-factor input which is fixed. In the short run, the marginal cost curve is upward sloping. However, it is not true that the marginal cost curve is upward slopping since the firms have to pay higher wage rate to the workers because of higher output. The law of diminishing returns mentions that in order to produce additional units, more labors are required. Thus, the marginal product of labor is low while marginal cost is high. In the short run, if the labor is kept on increasing, there will be diminishing marginal return (Mankiw, 2014). Moreover, labors are variable in the short run. The firms operating in the short run are constraint by fixed factors of production that leads to diminishing marginal products. In addition, each additional input will cause lesser output. Hence, if the labor cost for each unit is same while the production is less, then the cost of each unit increases (Stock Watson, 2015). Assuming acorn farmer with one acre of land. Increasing the amount of fertilizer would increase the amount of output. However, at a point the yield will decrease with the increase in fertilizer as it becomes poisonous. Units of fertilizer Total ears of corn Marginal ears of corn 1 100 100 2 250 150 3 425 175 4 550 125 5 600 50 6 525 -75 As the farmer increases from one to two units of fertilizer, total output increases from 100 to 250 ears of corn. Therefore the marginal ears of corn gained from one more unit of fertilizer is 150 (250 - 100). From two to three units of fertilizer, the total output increases from 250 to 425 ears of corn, a 175 marginal increase. At three units, the marginal output in ears of corn is 175, but when the fourth unit is added, the marginal output drops to 125. As the marginal product decreases, the marginal cost increases. It can be thus inferred that the marginal cost curve will be upward slopping since the marginal product curve will always be downward sloping. This is because the diminishing return will always occur for all the firms in short run. References Mankiw, N. G. (2014).Principles of macroeconomics. Cengage Learning. Stock, J. H., Watson, M. W. (2015). Factor models and structural vector autoregressions in macroeconomics.forthcoming Handbook of Macroeconomics, eds. John B. Taylor and Harald Uhlig.

Metropolitan Museum of Art Primary Source Analysis free essay sample

Avalokiteshvara is important for religious practices. It is an idol for Buddhists to worship. Besides the philosophical and religious values of the statue, more importantly, this artifact shows the differences of values and beliefs that people have according to the change in forms of Avalokiteshvara. The exact time period when Buddhism was introduced to China is a question that remains unknown. It is generally believed that Buddhism was spread from India to China in 67 AD through the silk road during the Han Dynasty. Chinese people did not accept Buddhism in the beginning, but it soon became popular during Northern and Southern Dynasties around 5th century, when Buddhism adopted some ideas and beliefs from Daoism and Confucianism and transformed them to its own doctrines. It is extremely rare to see a male form of Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara in China today. Generally, Bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, or GuanYin in Chinese, is interpreted in an all-female form. We will write a custom essay sample on Metropolitan Museum of Art Primary Source Analysis or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page That means this artifact had to be made before the revolutionary change of Buddhism. Many Buddha statues had been changed slowly through out time under the influences of Chinese culture. In the Song dynasty, Avalokiteshvara was still in male form with the lion and the relaxing gestures as the result of the weak military of the Song dynasty. As the resl This form gives people a sense of security because the lion and the male symbolize the power. And people were seeking for the strong protection Buddhism came to its heyday during the Ming dynasty around 12th century. During this period, Guanyin(Avalokiteshvara) was interpreted in an all-female form and Guan Yim is usually shown in a white flowing robe white being the symbol of purity -, and usually wearing necklaces of Indian/Chinese royalty. In the right hand is a water jar (as the Sacred Vase the water jar also one of the Eight Buddhist Symbols of good Fortune) containing pure water, the divine nectar of life, compassion and wisdom, and in the left, a willow branch to sprinkle the divine nectar of life upon the devotees as to bless them with physical and spiritual peace. The image of Avalokiteshvara was no longer a male with a lion and relax gestures as the result of strong military power of the Ming Dynasty. People put more emphasis on spiritual aspects and inner peace than seeking protection or chasing material things in the world.