Abstract
In this article, the writer studies the act of speech. A summary of some key terms within the study of verbal conversation is presented. The writer explores the speech acts and Grice's model of maxims. In this paper, the writer discusses ideal communication and failures of communication. Further, the writer shows how messages are received.

From the Paper
"Speech allows human beings to accomplish various tasks they feel are necessary to their survival, happiness and self-actualization. Verbal speech acts are usually conducted for communicative purposes and into this category of speech acts falls the construct of verbal conversation. Ideal sustained communicative events in this case, verbal conversations require two or more participants to repeatedly alternate their roles between speaker and listener. The failure of communication is most fundamentally caused by a failure of one of the parties to accept the alternate listening role ... "

Tags:Speech, acts, Conversation, Grice, Linguistics

Abstract
This paper examines the significance of two Biblical passages, Acts:7-12 and Philippians 2:5-11. The paper places these passages in context within their Book, Section, and Chapter. Additionally, the paper looks closely at key words within each passage and discusses the authorship and intended meaning in terms of the greater book.

From the Paper
"A number of factors are important in understanding the biblical passage of Acts: Chapter 20, verses 7 through 12. In order to examine these factors, it is first necessary to summarize the key points of the passage. Then, the passage can be placed in context within Chapter 20 and in the entirety of the Book of Acts. Identifying what historical, social, testamental, and biblical context exists--both concerning the passage in question and the entire Book of Acts--is also helpful in appreciating the text. In a closer inspection of the passage, the phrases "break(ing) bread" and "fell on him" will be analyzed and the passage will be compared to other..."

Tags:acts, philippians, saint paul

Abstract
This paper describes the biblical passage of Acts: Chapter 20, verses 7 through 12 and concludes with the New American Commentary based criticism the section lacks the mention of Paul's Jerusalem collection--a collection that Paul had mentioned in his letters that would have taken place during this period but which does not appear. In addition, the paper discusses the events of Philippians 2:5-11 and a variety of commentaries pertaining to this passage.

From the Paper
"The immediate passage of Acts 20:7-12 depicts one incident during Paul's time in Troas on missionary journeys. The Book is throught to have been written around 60 C.E. Acts 13-28 recount Paul's missionary journeys to Cyprus, Asia Minor, and Greece. It is likely that the Luke traveled with Paul and may have kept a log of the events he witnessed. This accounts for the narrative and story-like quality of the information included. The interesting story of Eutychus and Paul fit well with the other stories in the Chapter and Book."

Tags:bible, Acts, Phillipians

Abstract
This paper discusses the book of Acts in the New Testament, which was written by Luke to record the spread of Christianity after Jesus' death. The writer points out that the second half of Acts, which focuses on the ministry of the Apostle Paul, contains far more information about Paul's life than his letters. The writer discusses the claim of some theologians that there are contradictions between the Paul of Acts and Paul the Epistle-writer, particularly as regards his adherence to Jewish laws, and shows that Acts, instead of contradicting the Epistles, is a work that provides an overview of the history of the early church. Further, it was written by Luke who had a close relationship with Paul and is therefore an important source of information about him.

Outline:
Introduction
The Principle Objectives of Acts and Paul's Epistles
Exploring 'Differences' Between Acts and the Epistles
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Although often recording historical facts and details, not all of the books found in the Bible were written as historical accounts, but as a demonstration of what God was doing at a particular time. As such, the Book of Acts, although recording various events which are known to be historically accurate, was primarily written to a particular audience, and, as such, is a selective history of the early Christian church. In fact, Luke's main concern is to present "God-fearers" as a means of constructing a bridge between Judaism and Christianity, rather than recording a chronological account of what took place."

Tags:Gentiles, apostle, missionary, conflict, law-free, Christ, disciple, Jerusalem, covenant

Abstract
According to Susanne K. Langer in her work, "Mind: An Essay on Human Feeling", acts function as elements in the continuum of a life. This paper analyzes Langer's views on the subject including her theory that within all acts, one can find smaller functional sub-units which, in their miniature realm, still exhibit and adhere to the typical act form. Langer claims that if we should turn our attention in the opposite direction, from microscopic acts to those of macroscopic dimensions, the same essential pattern, the same act form, will dwell there too.

Outline
The Act Concept
Individuation and Involvement
The Evolution Of Acts
The Growth of Acts

From the Paper
"Langer refers to the environment facing an organism at any given time as the environmental situation or ambient world. An organism shapes its ambient world; the stuff of the actual environment is altered through peripheral contact with that life. Not only do environmental forces impinge upon the organism, but that life, because it is a life and therefore does not exist passively, effects changes on its immediate environment. We could say that, in a sense, both creature and environment adapt. Different organisms in the same environment, because of their probable living uniqueness or individuation, may therefore exist in widely different ambient conditions. (282)"

Tags:organism, Descartes, William, Montagna

Abstract
This paper reviews and discusses speech acts and implicatures in relation to pragmatics. According to the paper, any time a person talks, they perform a speech act, for language is not just a logical system and, therefore, the context and the intention of the speaker are extremely important. This paper tries to sum up the points of view of John L. Austin, John R. Searle and Paul Grice as far as speech acts and implicatures are concerned, trying to draw parallels with the seminar as often as possible.

Outline:
Austin's Contribution to the Study of Speech Acts
Searle's Classification of Speech Acts
Grice's Work on Implicatures: The Cooperative Principle

From the Paper
"In this perspective, implicatures (that is to say, the implied meaning that is based on the assumption that the speaker follows the cooperative principle and the four maxims) are made possible by the cooperative behaviour of both the speaker and the listener. Those implicatures are first implied by the speaker, and then inferred by the listener: we may call them "invited inferences". Even if it is very important for the listener to assume the speaker is being cooperative (that is to say, that he follows the conversational maxims), this may not be the case every time: when one or more conversational maxims are apparently broken, this may give rise to implicatures as well. One can classify implicatures into two categories: conversational and conventional implicatures. Conversational implicatures rise out of the breaking of the conversational maxims, whereas conventional ones do not interact with those maxims. "

Tags:principles, conversation, conversational, comprehension, speaker, pragmatics

Abstract
This paper examines how for centuries, the historicity of the "Book of Acts" has been questioned and criticized, prompting historians to label it "the storm center of modern New Testament study." It discusses how many scholars have suggested that the Acts were written as a means of religious propaganda, rendering the work historically unreliable and how others view the "Acts" as a blend of historical facts and unhistorical traditions. It also shows that while the argument continues in present time, the "Book of Acts" has withstood the test of time, holding its ground as an accurate and reliable historical work, particularly as a result of many recent archaeological findings.

From the Paper
"In Acts, the Ascension takes place in Jerusalem, while in Matthew and Mark it is in Galilee. All the accounts, however, agree that it did take place on a mountain. In Acts the Ascension happens 40 days after the Resurrection, when Jesus appears repeatedly to his followers. In Matthew and Mark, there is no indication of this time period between the Resurrection and the Ascension. Some Gospel writers were not aiming at historical accuracy; they were more concerned with getting the message across. However, Luke took great care to make that his facts were accurate."

Tags:matthew, mark, luke, jerusalem

Abstract
This paper describes the Book of Acts, its importance, and the significant role it plays in Christianity. The paper looks at the book's importance from a historical perspective, taking into account the events going on in the world during the time this book was written, the author of the book and the importance of one's belief in God.

From the paper:

"The Book of Acts is one of the most significant books in the New Testament. It describes the origin of the church and the lives of the apostles who were responsible for carrying out the great commission. Acts presents a great example of the Christian mission, as well as providing the inspiration to complete that mission. Christians are called by God to spread the good news of Jesus Christ to all nations of the earth. The apostles were devoted to this mission, and would give their lives for it. This is the mission we as Christians are called to: To devote ourselves to the Lord and to bring his lost sheep into the fold."

Tags:bible, ceasar, centurion, christ, christian, church, commission, evangelism, evangelizing, gentile, gospel, great, holy, jesus, jewish, jews, lord, luke, miracle, new, paul, pharisees, philip, rome, saul, savior, sharing, silas, spir, spread, stephen, temple, testament, timothy, word

Abstract
This paper discusses the unconstitutionality of the Alien and Sedition Acts and their implementation during World War I. The paper goes on to compare these acts with the McCarythist school of thought during the post-Word War II era.

From the Paper
"In retrospect, America has done many things of which it should be ashamed. In times of crisis the government has forgotten the very principles on which the nation was built, and executed laws and programs that were clearly unconstitutional and in violation of axiomatic human rights. One of America's most shameful moments can be found in the institution of the Espionage and Sedition Acts. Created from the desire to unify the nation, these acts, drafted in 1917 and 1918 respectively, made criticism of the government, Constitution, or flag illegal; furthermore, interfering with the draft or encouraging disloyalty was also unlawful. During the "outbreak of public hysteria early in World War I" (History Channel OL), these outrageous laws caused more than 2,000 prosecutions. The Espionage and Sedition Acts served to curtail freedom of the press, suppress liberty to political affiliation, and foster hostility towards innocent foreigners."

Tags:fear, communism, political, power, russia, red, scare, socialists, president, wilson

Abstract
This paper explores the motivations behind acts of terror. It is written in the light of the September 11th attack on the USA in 2001 and it studies recent acts of terrorists both in the United States and elsewhere in the world. It focuses on the personality of Osama Bin Laden and what he symbolizes for the American people.

From the Paper
"A great deal has been written about terrorism since 11 September 2001, but this should not blind us to the fact that terrorism is hardly a new phenomenon. Although it is hard to believe that there is anyone in the world who is not now more aware of the possible reach and effects of terrorism than they were six months ago, if we are to come to a better understanding of the ways in which terrorists operate and the basic human psychology of terrorism than we must take a longer view of the phenomenon (McDermott 2002). Only if we do so " if we look at terrorism over a period of centuries and include an analysis of both religiously motivated and other forms of terrorism " can we come to any clear understanding of what happened in the United States in September as well as what has happened since then (Miller 2002)."

Tags:motivations, reasons, USA, Osama, Bin, Laden, Sptember, 11