Alternative Energy Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Alternative Energy - Essay Example Proven Alternative Energy Sources Several kinds of renewable and clean sources of energy such as wind, solar, geothermal, hydro, biomass energy are now available. Each alternative source has its own characteristic importance depending upon geographical possibilities for its production. It will be most appropriate to delve deeper into each one of these sources. Wind Energy Wind energy is available mostly at the coastal regions where wind velocity is higher. Kinetic energy of the wind is tapped using wind turbines and converted into mechanical or electrical energy. Mechanical energy can be used to produce either electricity or can be used directly to run wind mill. For an efficient use of wind turbines, wind velocity of 11 meters per second or higher is desirable. Wind velocity mapping is necessary while selecting a site for installation of a wind turbine because higher wind speeds will provide higher kilowatts of electricity (Renewable energy sources in the United States, 2011). Solar Energy Solar radiation provides continuous flow of clean and renewable energy and in that sense Sun is the most potential alternative source of energy that can always be relied upon. Earth's existence is linked with Sun. Thus, here is the source of energy that can never get exhausted at least theoretically. Though technologies are rapidly advancing to tap this source of energy yet certain impediments such as cost and space do pose certain difficulties. The state of California leads in solar power installations in the US. World over, many countries particularly those with strong solar radiations have been investing heavily in solar photovoltaic cells to harness this source of energy (Renewable energy sources in the United States, 2011). Hydropower This is a clean and renewable alternative source of energy which can be banked upon. Almost 7 percent of the total electricity produced in the US comes from hydropower sources. The Colorado River and the Tennessee Valley are the potential sources of hydropower production (Renewable energy sources in the United States, 2011). Large and small dams are the places to install turbines where the potential energy of water is used to produce electricity. As per the World Bank report, hydropower currently meets almost 18 percent of the total world electricity needs. Hydropower is considered the most affordable renewable energy source among all available energy sources (Hydropower 2012). Geothermal Energy When Earth's heat is tapped to produce electricity, it is known as geothermal source of energy. Temperature inside our earth remains more or less constant throughout the year. This energy is tapped using various technologies such as heat pumps, direct-use systems, and deep reservoirs. The heat is recovered from water or steam and converted into electricity. Many residential and commercial buildings are heated using heat pumps. Utah, Hawaii, California, Nevada are some of the places where geothermal energy plants are in operat ions (Renewable energy sources in the United States, 2011). Biomass Power or Biopower Food crops, organic municipal wastes, grassy and woody plants and farm residues are used to produce electricity and that falls in this category. Plant sources are used as major feedstock to produce Biopower and because they are available everywhere, Biomass power can be produced in any part of the world.

Marketing Concepts & Strategies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Marketing Concepts & Strategies - Essay Example This is a good start to my career, as I will learn a lot in regards to the finance function. In addition, I will have worked for small companies and increased my expertise and skills. Lastly, to become a financial controller is one of my short-term goals that I will be fulfilling. Firstly, marketing is the creative side, whereby ideas and passion drive what a person believes. In addition, marketing helps an organization acquire and keep profitable customers. On the other hand, finance focuses and evaluates the benefits and rewards that are worthy of the business (Blythe, p. 8). The marketing knowledge will help a financial controller provides the financial results of a business. This includes the marketing expenditure in the organization. It involves the budget in which the marketing team needs to carry out promotional activities, training and sales conferences. Moreover, through financial statements that are prepared by the finance department, it is possible to know how much the marketing team spends over a certain period. In addition, it will help them understand and know whether the Return on Investment is positive or not. Through the marketing programs that aid in increasing sales, the financial controller can monitor the trends of sales and expense trend s in the business. The financial controller can advise on the most important expenditures that an organization can make, especially on areas of marketing and advertising. The possession of marketing knowledge helps a financial controller together with the marketing team to prepare budgets. Such budgets entail the expenditures in marketing campaigns and promotional activities (Blythe, p. 24). The financial controller can also measure the marketing departments to adhere to the limits in budgets and the efficiency of the budgets that the marketing department has used. Some of the examples that apply are as follows. When computing marketing ratio analysis, the financial controller works closely with

An Introduction To Dialog Telekom Ltd Business Essay

An Introduction To Dialog Telekom Ltd Business Essay Dialog Telekom PLC (The Company) operates Sri Lankas largest and fastest growing telecommunication network Dialog GSM. Dialog Telekom is one of the largest companies listed under the Colombo Stock Exchange. It is a subsidiary of the Axiata Group Berhad. Due to Dialog the Sri Lankan mobile industry has achieved new heights and has come at par with the developed world. The telecom company operates 2G, 3G and 3.5G mobile services, supporting the current trends in mobile internet and multimedia services, as well as international roaming. Dialog Telekom accounts for more than 50% of Sri Lankan mobile phone subscribers. Along with the mobile telecommunication business Dialog Telekom operates a wide portfolio of international telecommunication services including retail and wholesale international voice and data services. Dialog Broadband Networks Pvt. Ltd. (DBN) is an owned subsidiary of the Company, and is an important player in Sri Lankas ICT infrastructure sector. DBN was also the first service provider in Sri Lanka to introduce high-speed broadband internet services based on Wi MAX technology. Dialog Television Pvt. Ltd. (Dialog TV) is another subsidiary of Dialog Telekom PLC. It operates Dialog Satellite TV, a Direct-to-Home (DTH) Satellite TV service. Dialog TV supports a wide range of international and local television channels. Regarding the structure of the company, Dialog Telekom Ltd. has got a Hybrid structure which is a combination of Matrix structure as well as Modular structure. As in each Strategic Business Unit (SBU) works independently and every function of each SBU has communication linkages with one another. Top down as well as bottom up communication is available and it uses worldwide resources and technologies. MICRO ANALYSIS THROUGH SWOT Analysis Strengths 1. Dialog has the first mover advantage of GSM technology in Sri Lanka. 2. Due to its strong infrastructure it has got one of the best and far reaching mobile telecommunication coverage. 3. Relationship with a telecommunication tycoon in the same region; Telekom Malaysia Group. 4. Extension in collaborations maintaining good relations with other Telecom companies has enabled Dialog to have a global approach with services such as and Satellite Coverage high roaming. 5. Dialog Telekom has got a very aggressive marketing strategy which enables it to have a good and stable Brand Equity. 6. Companys financial analysis proved excellent stability in financial statements regarding investments. 7. Strong Public Relationship that has been built up over the years. 8. Expanded CSR initiatives increased the social value of the firm. 9. High quality technical innovations has made dialog market leader in Sri Lanka. 10. Constant rise in the share prices has gained the confidence of the investors leading to value increment. 11. Strong distribution network spread throughout the entire island.. 12. Well managed customer care support techniques has increase the level of customer satisfaction. 13. Wide variety of products. 14. Management Team is efficient and hard-working. 15. High level of corporate business knowledge retention through low employee turnover Weaknesses 1. Though the investment on advertising and value addition through technical innovation is high, there is no clear aim and idea of a broader market 2. Poor performance as on ISP. 3. Compared to its competitors Dialog lags behind in innovations related to pricing strategies. 4. The head office in Colombo is of a distributed nature due to non-expandability of the current location. 5. The level of motivation of internal employees is decreasing. 6. Due to the rapidly growing customer base the trends in Quality of Service are going down by the day. 7. In the front-office employee turn-over is high. Opportunities 1. Telecom is one of the fastest growing sectors in Sri Lankas 19.5million people 2. As per estimations 4.5million users would have mobile phones by the end of 2006 3. The communication industry is growing rapidly. 3. Fixed line penetration is low. 4. The approval and acceptability of the Value Added Services (VAS) by the users has increased the probability and success of any new VAS initiative. 5. The strategic partnership of Dialog Telekom with Vodafone UK. 6. Dialog has got the potential to gain benefits of Value Chain Convergence. 7. Technology advancements especially in mobile multimedia technologies and the advent and use of the next 3G mobile communications. Threats 1. The existence of all the other three GSM Mobile service providers pose a big threat to Dialog Telekom. 2. Indias Bharti Airtel Ltd. has got the license to be the fifth mobile operator in Sri Lanka and launch the 2G and 3G services in 2007. 3. The three existing CDMA service providers also pose a different kind of threat. 4. Strongest Competitor of Dialog, the Mobile wing of fixed line telecom giant SLT is focused on cost-cutting strategy through its low cost pre-paid products in the market. 5. Rapid changes in the political, social and economic conditions as well as the laws and regulations. 6. Changes in currency exchange rates and high inflation which is inversely affecting the global business. 7. Rapid change in customer preferences and their growing needs due to high level of customer awareness. 8. Constant changes in technology. 9. Dialog had to switch off all base station in northern-province during the last few months due to military operations by the Sri Lankan Govt. forces. Thus there is an uncertainty due to the growing counter terrorist campaigns. PESTEL Analysis Political Sri Lanka has very positive foreign investment policies. However though Sri Lanka identified importance of liberalization early as in 1977, due to political interventions bureaucratic attitudes inherited from colonial reign and poor governance, the country as a whole and specifically the industry has not grown as it was foreseen at the time of liberalization. During the past two decades, terrorist activities have remained constant as well. Economical Unstable macro-economic environment and trade policy regime has a negative impact on the industry. The fall of the exchange rate over the years happened on a gradual pace. Since the inception of liberalization policy it has undergone massive reforms in this sector. However Sri Lanka lags dynamics incorporated by India to attract foreign direct investments. The attitude towards foreign direct investments needs to be improved. Socio-Cultural Sri Lanka has better social conditions for example literacy rate is high, infant mortality rate is low and life expectancy is long. The country also has an educated and trainable work force. Nevertheless Sri Lankans inherit a bureaucratic attitude from the colonial administration that results in inefficiencies and discrimination. Technological Sri Lanka depends on technology transfers from foreign direct investments. However TRCSL encourages local research and development. The country comparatively has not performed well enough to adapt technological changes on a timely manner. For example the shift from analogue to digital and the adoption of CDMA technology materialized in a slow pace. Ecological Legal TRCSL the regulatory body takes up multidimensional roles. It ensures fair enforcement of Govt. policy, hold operators accountable for performance, address consumer issues, monitor changing industry needs and provide feedback to the policy making units. However TRCSL has been criticized over the years for information asymmetry, inefficiency and discrimination. Porters Five Forces 1. Threat of New Entrants a. Indias Bharti AIRTEL has got the fifth mobile operator license in Sri Lanka b. As per TRCSL, no more licenses would be awarded c. Thus it creates an entry barrier for all others to the market 2. Bargaining Power of Customers a. Consumer protection groups are almost non-existing b. As compared to the west, consumers are not that strong in their demands c. Quality standards and supports are comparatively not major concern if they exist at a basic level d. Low switching costs e. Customers are highly cost conscious 3. Threat from Substitutes a. Almost negligible b. Alternatives are fixed line and the more recent CDMA connectivity c. This is a much smaller market as compared to the huge total market 4. Bargaining Power of Suppliers a. Local and International suppliers for Dialog b. Depends on SLT, MTT and a few other VSAT operators to access the national backbone c. Thus these particular suppliers are extremely powerful d. Acquisition of MTT and the creation of the new subsidiary known as Dialog Broadband Network 5. Rivalry Among Competing Firms a. Very high competition with constant pricing wars b. Dialog certainly has an edge because of their Value Added Services and differentiation strategy and the huge customer base c. Value Added Services are becoming very popular among the consumers Strategic Groups Adopted by the Company Dialog strategies are visible in the companys corporate, business and functional levels. They have already diversified their business across many areas during the last few years. For instance, by acquiring MTT, Dialog managed to strengthen its transmission backbone. Also recent past it has acquired CBNSAT, a satellite TV transmission company, and DERANA TV Channel with a long term objective of a value chain convergence. In addition to reach the customer, Dialog has created many alliances with other business corporations. Cargills-Dialog alliance to allow Cargills customers to settle Dialog bills is just one such example. The business plan is formulated at the beginning of the year considering main objectives of the company. The progress of each project is monitored in a monthly basis through different strategic committee meetings. On the other hand, Dialog tries to introduce latest technologies into the market considering global mega trends through its comprehensive Research and Development wing. Services Year of Implementation Remarks 01 Introduction of GSM Technology 1995 1stin South Asia 02 Short Messaging Service (SMS) 1998 1stin South Asia 03 Automatic International Roaming (AIR) 1997 1stin South Asia 04 WAP (Mobile Internet) 2000 1stin South Asia 05 General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) 2001 1stin South Asia 06 Location Based Services (LBS) 2003 1stin Sri Lanka 07 Missed Call Alert 2003 1stin Sri Lanka 08 Multimedia Messaging Service (MMS) 2003 1stin South Asia 09 Trial 3G Service 2004 1stin South Asia 10 Call Home Service for Outbound Roamers 2004 1stin Sri Lanka 11 EDGE Service 2004 1stin Sri Lanka Among them, the Dialogs initiative to setup the Dialog Research Lab at the University of Moratuwa is of importance because it effectively enabled Dialog to provide tailor made solutions to the local market. Nokia phones with Sinhala language support and Tsunami warning system for mobiles are just to name a few such examples. These technology initiatives can be considered as a strategy used to capture the market by effectively staying ahead from the competition in the technology and innovation sphere. Structure The Companys business and operations are managed under the supervision of the Board of Directors comprising of 5 non-executive directors and 1 executive director. The Board has the power to appoint executive directors including the CEO. Divisional structure can be identified in company level but performances of the divisions are measured through different strategic committees. Systems Apart from the technical backbone, Dialog uses several systems to execute their business strategies successfully. For example- SAP ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) This was launched in 2006 January to integrate identified key process in the company. CCBS (Customer Care Billing System) Currently existing billing system is going to be migrated into a new system to provide more customer centric services. HRIS Used for Human Resource Management and all the day to day functions are carried out through this system. Style The management style always depends on targets and objectives. Strict deadlines are imposed while performance and progress are very closely monitored at all levels of the organizational structure. Rewards and benefit schemes are in line for the top performers and better achievements. All the employees will have a number of recreational opportunities such as trips, get-together, sports etc. to take some time off from busy work schedules. Staff The Company currently employs a workforce of 2500 who in turn are considered pivotal to the organizations growth and success. Annual manpower planning and recruitment is carried out in parallel with the business plan preparation. The capabilities required by potential employees are based on the requirements of the business plans applicable to respective departments of the company in any given year. Recruitment to the Company is governed by several policies. The core policy on filling vacancies spells out the Companys intention to attract the best with the aim of exploiting the individuals potential while providing career development opportunities irrespective of communal or gender differences. 7% of the total HR cost is devoted to training and development. The training needs for individuals and teams are identified from the competency requirements arising from the Companys business plan and employees annual performance review. Subordinate Goals All individuals with different backgrounds, different ethnics and nations are teamed up and driven towards a common set of goals and objectives at Dialog Telekom. The company has been successful in focusing the entire team towards a single vision by incorporating all individuals goals and personal objective together. Skills Dialog team consists of number of individuals with distinctive capabilities and competencies from top to bottom. Dialog is proud to have a very energetic and talented CEO in the caliber of Dr. Hans Wijesuriya. In addition to that Dialog is served by a team of top class individual in the Sri Lankan industry with lot of talent and exposures. Different Strategies Adopted by Dialog Telekom Corporate Strategy Considering the current performance, the key success factors and the SWOT analysis the directional strategy alternatives would be the following Growth strategy to expand the activities of Dialog Telekom further would be the first alternative. Since the current product lines have real growth potencial concentration of resources on those would be ideal. In concentration Dialog Telekom can follow the vertical growth strategy to take the benefit of the value chain convergence opportunity that is existing in Sri Lankan context. Stability strategy to continue with current activities without any changes to the direction would be the second alternative. Here Dialog Telekom can utilize pause/proceed with caution strategy to have only incremental improvements while the weaknesses stated are overcome. It can use this time to stabilize the organization due to the changes took place due to multiple strategies it adopted earlier such as acquisitions and investing on innovative developments, which will help to get back the loosing internal employee motivation. The first alternative will move Dialog Telekom further away from the competition and create a monopoly temporarily for converged industries of telecommunication, content, media and retail. However unfocused highspeed growth to capture the market without stabilizing the existing acquisitions can disassemble everything. The second alternative will give Dialog Telekom and its employees much needed breathing space. The recommendation would be to implement the second alternative initially to stabilize the organization without any other drastic change in the direction. And after some time they can adopt their long term beneficial value chain convergence option depicted in first alternative. Business Strategy The business strategy alternatives available for Dialog Telekom to improve the competitive position in the industries it operates would be The first alternative for the competitive strategy would be to improve on the current strategy of differentiation. It can improve this by having unique Value Added Services for each of its current strategic business units DBN, CBNSAT and Dialog Telekom itself. This can improve the customer loyalty and thereby can charge a reasonable premium rate than competitors. Second alternative which Dialog Telekom can try to implement is cost leadership to overcome the threat of lower rates provided by competitors, Mobitel. Since the VAS are less in Mobitel the switching from Dialog to Mobitel is not much in urban people who use these VASes. But people who are using purely as a voice/sms only are shifting as most of them are cost conscious and there is not much of a difference in coverage. Hence if Mobitel improves on its VASes it would become a serious threat at a stage at which only the rates would decide the attraction of that segment of the market. Typically the differentiation strategy is more likely to generate higher profits than low cost strategy. However differentiation strategy implementation may involve higher investment than low cost strategy. Competitive scope is an important factor when considering competitive strategies. The recommended alternative depends on the competitive scope in this situation. Considering both alternatives and the pros and cons of each most ideal would be to have culmination of both differing from the segment of the market. Dialog Telekom should have a focused differentiation strategy in the market where people are valuing the VASes and cost focus in the market where usage is purely for voice/SMS. Simultaneously Dialog Telekom should look at strategic alliances as a corporate strategy to gain competitive advantage by working with other organizations. Currently they have stated this with some banks and some supermarket chains as mentioned earlier. However this can be vastly improved to include alliances with insurance companies, stock brokers, popular food chains etc.

mauryan empire :: essays research papers fc

The Mauryan Emperor, Ashoka, is famous for his Rock and Pillar edicts. But how much can we really know about Ashoka and his empire from these edicts, particularly as almost no other evidence exists for Ashoka’s reign? It is a fair assessment that up until the early part of the twentieth century, when the definitive link between Ashoka and that of the â€Å"Devanampiya Piyadassi (Beloved of the Gods Piyadassi)† character inscribed on the edicts was established, very little was either known about Ashoka or cared for by historians. However, it must be said that the Mauryan Empire itself was an era of significant historical value not without a good deal of historical and archaeological evidence to substantiate its importance. In addressing the issue of what the edicts in particular reveal to us about Ashoka and the period of his reign one needs to acknowledge undoubtedly what is being stated, but perhaps moreover one needs to pay attention to the inherent meanings, the intended meanings and the contextual meanings of the inscriptions themselves. The ultimate thematic concern of the edicts in general is that of the principle of Dhamma. A definition of Dhamma itself is given in the 2nd Pillar Edict as: â€Å"having few faults and many good deeds, mercy, charity, truthfulness and purity†. In this context one may deduce that the notion of Dhamma is a type of ethos for social morality or ethical behaviour. Furthermore, the term is said to be a fundamental philosophy of Buddhist doctrine, the practice of which leads to one’s advancement in both a spiritual and material sense. That Ashoka was a proclaimed Buddhist is evident from the edicts, â€Å"I have been a Buddhist layman for more than two and a half years, but for a year I did not make much progress. Now for more than a year I have drawn closer to the Order and become more ardent.† There are fewer examples of a more personal self-proclamation to be found and yet one cannot help but consider the motive behind it. Surely Ashoka, had taken seriously to Buddhism, he at least says so. However, he says so, publicly. This implies that he either was a firm believer who had a need to use his position as a platform to preach a doctrine which he had come to accept as the ultimate truth and as such, to share with and enlighten his people or he was a very sensible and intuitive leader who had a tremendous amount of foresight in adopting the principles of a profound philosophy that he saw could be used to strategically unify and mould his empire both socially and politically.

Examining the Use of Social Media Essay

Access the Toolwire ® Learnscape: Examining the Use of Social Media link located on the student website. Complete the Learnscape Activities. Complete the Toolwire ® Learnscape Assessment Part A and Part B. Write a 700- to 1,050–word paper answering the following questions: What are the advantages and disadvantages of easily obtainable information? What are the advantages and disadvantages of social media? How might knowing these advantages and disadvantages alter how a person might use social media? What credibility issues can arise from information found on the Internet? Support your findings with specific examples. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines. Option 2: Social Media Paper Write a 700- to 1,050-word paper answering the following questions: What are the advantages and disadvantages of easily obtainable information? What are the advantages and disadvantages of social media? How might knowing these advantages and disadvantages alter how a person might use social media? What credibility issues can arise from information found on the Internet? Support your findings with specific examples. Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.

Effects of Free Primary Education Essay

The research will investigate the effects of free primary education on learners with diverse needs in the main stream primary schools. (A case of Lilongwe Urban Schools) Identification of a sample of teachers, parents, pupils, schools. Distribution of questionnaires, conduct interviews, and observations. The Data will be conducted from four mainstream primary schools in Lilongwe district. 3. 0. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY 3. 1. A statement of search method. Many learners with special educational needs experience a number of challenges in the mainstream primary schools in which in some way or the other prevent them from receiving quality education. (Ministry of Education PIF Document on special needs, 2000) At a conference held at Salamanca in Spain 1994, it was declared that learners with special educational needs acquire education in their home schools. (World Declaration on Education For All, 1990). This meant that they were to be included in the mainstream schools and the schools were supposed to accommodate these learners by providing them with specialized resources so that the children acquire quality education. The introduction of free primary education in Malawi in 1994 posed a threat towards the education of learners with special educational needs in their home schools, because much as it increased access to educational opportunities for all Malawians, it brought many challenges towards the education of learners with special educational needs in mainstream schools and to the ordinary learners as well. (Ministry of Education PIF document 2000). One of the challenges emanating from the implementation of free primary education policy towards the education of learners with special educational needs is overcrowding in schools which lead to poor performance due to poor methods of teaching. Statistics indicates that in 1993, there were about 1. 6 million primary school students in Malawi. However, when free primary education was introduced in 1994, the number of students jumped to over three million (World Bank report 2004). This created a lot of problems, overcrowding in classes made teachers not to consider the needs of learners with special educational needs because there was too much work load. Teachers use poor methods of teaching as a result of overcrowding in classes and lack of resources. Teachers are failing to practice the individualized education plan meant for learners with special educational needs due to increased enrollment rates. (Ministry of Education PIF Document). This results in poor performance, high repetition rates for both learners with special educational needs and the ordinary pupils. It is thus of great importance to asses on how poor methods of teaching is a challenge to the education of learners with special educational needs. Some indications suggest that overcrowding in classrooms is pushing out pupils with special educational needs; an issue which the World Bank (2004) recommends that needs further research. Furthermore, due to overcrowding, survival rates for all learners (ordinary and those with special educational needs) have also been affected. The double/triple shifts are also making it hard for schools to plan for remedial programmes for learners with special educational needs and teachers complain of increased pupil teacher ratios. (Ministry of Education, PIF Document, 2004). Thus, it is the interest of the researcher to further assess the effects of overcrowding in classrooms towards the education of learners with special educational needs. The shortage of teaching resources is also another problem that is making the education of learners with special educational needs difficult. The shortages of teaching and learning aids worsened as a result of the implementation of free primary education. The number of pupils per text book was 2. 9 prior to Free Primary Education, declining to 7. 1 in 1994/5. Even more worrying is the fact that repetition rates are over 20%. (Riddel R. , 2003) What should be noted is that, learners with special educational needs require specialized resources for them to receive quality education. This is expensive and need expertise to use specialized materials. In this case, if the government is failing to provide learning materials for ordinary learners, what more to the provision of teaching and learning materials to learners with special educational needs. The shortage of teachers and recruitment of unqualified and untrained teachers who did not have any knowledge on special needs education was also another recipe for disaster because the needs of learners with special educational needs were not given a priority. (Ministry of Education PIF document 2000). Thus, it is reported by 1997, more than half the teachers were untrained, compared with 13% before the introduction of Free Primary Education. The World Bank Report on effects of free primary education (2004) states that this left learners with special educational needs to struggle to meet the needs of the school and not the schools meeting the needs of learners with special educational needs. As such it is to the interest of the researcher to assess on how this has led to low academic achievement to both learners with special educational needs and ordinary learners. Poor infrastructure is also another area of concern, according to an article by Ligomeka. B. (2000), it is stated that the ambitious plan by the Malawi government to boost its education levels by offering free primary education backfired, largely because of the terrible poor conditions of the country’s primary schools. Ligomeka adds to say that conditions at schools remain terrible; there has been a shortage of classrooms for the pupils, resource centers, teacher’s houses, and toilets for over a decade. The inaccessible physical environment makes it difficult for children with disabilities to survive. ( e. g. poor hygiene in toilets) Additionally, many of the preliminary surveys seem to show that the existing facilities make a mockery of the free education program. As a result, the situation of the teaching force in most of the districts is generally bad. On quality issues, the World Bank Report (2004) states that, the free primary education has produced unintended and unforeseen negative consequences. The reforms that Malawi has come up with have produced some consequences including quality issues which are of concern in Malawi. Whilst the enrolment expansion has been remarkable, the quality of education – and many would say, even the ‘value’ of education – has deteriorated. The question might be; if ordinary pupils are complaining of quality issues, what about the quality of education being offered to learners with special needs? This puts in question for the quality of education being delivered and if the needs of learners with special needs are being met. It is for this reason that the researcher would want to assess the quality of education being offered to learners with special educational needs in the mainstream primary schools with regards to the challenges emanating from the implementation of free primary education. Kadzamira and Rose (as cited at http//www. Introduction of free primary education in sub-Saharan Africa) point to the continued lack of access of some sub-groups (street children, out-of-school youth, those with special needs, orphans. ) who still face problems to meet some of their needs ( such as learning materials, food, accommodation, wheelchairs, hearing aids, and clothes) despite the education being free. As such, this has resulted in a lot of absenteeism, poor performance, a very high repetition rate and dropouts for learners with special educational needs, street children and orphans, because despite the education being free, they still have to meet other expenses such as stationary, uniforms, food, wheel chairs, and other specialized materials. (Ministry of Education PIF document 2000). The researcher therefore, would like to investigate if the needs of the above mentioned subgroups are taken into consideration by the schools. Through the reports, articles and journals, it has been discovered that the effects of free primary education worsened the problems learners with special educational needs were facing in mainstream primary schools. These problems do not only affect learners with special needs but also those without, and this has made/created a lot of learners to fall under special educational needs because their needs are not being met by the education system. In conclusion, there is evidence that free primary education brought challenges towards the education of learners with special educational needs, as such, it will be necessary to find out the extent to which the challenges are making the education of learners with special needs difficult in the mainstream primary schools, so that the feedback can be used to correct deficiencies in the schools. This research will be beneficial to teachers, schools even the researcher herself to diagnose barriers to inclusion hence coming up with strategies to reduce or eradicate the barriers. Definition of Key terms. Mainstream refers to the integration of learners with special educational needs in general education settings (Heward, 2000) Special educational needs refer to learners who require specialized instruction and different levels of support if they are to realize their full human potential, or to facilitate their academic, social, and emotional development. It also includes those coming from poor socio-economic backgrounds. (Heward 2000) Inclusion is the process of accommodating learners with special needs in the general education settings, with support services provided by the school. (Index for inclusion, 2002) Sub-questions What challenges do learners with special educational need face in the mainstream primary schools as a result of free primary education in Malawi? How do the challenges affect education provisions for learners with special educational needs? What support services are provided by parents towards the education of learners with special educational needs? 3. 2. RESEARCH METHODS The research shall be conducted using the survey strategy. 3. 3. Survey Studies Survey studies as pointed out by Cohen (2003) Is another way to get unique material. It is regarded as one of the best tool for collection of data by many scholars. Cohen added that surveys take one or two forms, questionnaires or interviews. During a survey, a researcher can ask people questions in person or draw a written questionnaire, but in either case, it is advised that questions must be phrased carefully so that people can respond easily and clearly. A Gay L. R. etal (2009) state that surveys requires the collection of standardized, quantifiable information from all members of a population or of a sample. It is from the above understanding that the researcher has seen it necessary to use this design, in the collection of data to examine on how the introduction of free primary education has affected the education of learners with special educational needs in terms of human resource, teaching and learning materials, and the quality of education being provided. 3. 4. SOURCES OF EVIDENCE The following instruments will be used for data collection: Questionnaires, interviews, and observations. 3. 4. 1Questionnaire. A questionnaire is a written collection of survey questions to be answered by a selected group of research participants. (Gay L. R. etal). And it is a widely used and useful instrument for collecting survey information. However, Bell (1993) warns that one needs to ensure that the questionnaire is well designed in order to give the researcher the information needed, acceptable to subjects and that will not give problems at the analysis and interpretation stage. The questionnaire will contain both open ended questions and closed questions. Among the advantages of a questionnaire is that it is cheap compared to interviews, and can be used to collect data from a large sample without the researchers presence, and one of the disadvantages is that respondents can delay information and could be difficult to make follow ups. (Cohen, 2003). To minimize errors, the researcher will make sure that questionnaires be taken for supervision before distribution to ensure that they are clear. The researcher shall follow guidelines for writing effective questions, such as avoiding complex questions, avoid irritating questions or instructions, just to mention a few. Cohen (2003). And in this study, a sample of ten teachers and Primary School Education Advisor (PEA) will be given questionnaires. See appendix,( item number 2 a,2b). 3. 4. 2Focused Interviews Interviews are an oral, in person question and answer session between a researcher and an individual respondent. (Gay L. R. etal 2009) Here, the researcher will use focused interviews. Ary D. etal (2002), describes focused interviews as those where the researcher ask questions designed to draw out subjects’ responses on a topic of interest. Subjects are free to answer in their own words rather than having to choose from pre-determined, open ended format, this permits greater flexibility and responsiveness to emerging issues for the participants. Among the advantages of interviews as pointed out by Donald etal (2002) is that, a researcher gets instant feedback, participants are able to ask for clarity, and the researcher probes participants where ever necessary. Donald adds to say that interviews enable an interviewer to get information concerning opinions, beliefs, attitudes and feelings in relation to certain questions. Hence making a researcher acquire rich information from respondents which will make the research to be standard. Nevertheless, the disadvantage of interviews is that it could be time consuming to both the researcher and the participant; it is expensive in terms of travel costs and materials, besides it is also difficult for individuals to articulate their feelings in a one to one interview. As such focused interviews will be conducted with head teachers, experienced teachers (those with over 16 years experience), parents, ordinary learners, and learners with special educational needs. The researcher shall prepare a list of standardized questions ahead of time and shall be taken for supervision to minimize errors. Furthermore, the researcher will make herself available at a time that is convenient for the respondents. The researcher shall begin by sending a letter of Identification, requesting an interview with the Primary School Education Advisor (PEA), head teachers, teachers, parents and pupils and specify the sort of information needed. See appendix ( item no. 1. a,1. b, 1. c, 1. d) 3. 4. 3Observations. Cohen (2003), states that observation data are attractive as they afford the researcher the opportunity to gather â€Å"live† data from â€Å"live† situation. The researcher will observe, teaching methods, attitude of teachers and peers, classroom organization, and availability of resources. Cohen continues to say that observation makes data to be reliable and generalization can be made. Stringer (2004) also points out that observations principle purpose is to familiarize researchers with the context in which issues and events are played out, however, Gay R.L. (2009) warns that researchers that when obtaining observations there should be objectives, unbiased and accurate in the sense that the observer has avoided influencing the behavior of respondents. The disadvantage of observation according to Alkins Encyclopedia of Education Research (1992) is that it more naturalistic and researchers are not constrained by what is in a checklist or rating scale. If an observation is well planned and carried out, it can give both qualitative and quantitative data. Observation has limitations on bias to an extent that the individual perceptions and interpretations of the observer, influenced by previous experience, affect the recording of the behavior, (ibid p. 271). However, the researcher will be aware of this problem so that learners with special educational needs be observed thoroughly in order to detect their difficulties which they face in mainstream primary schools. Observations shall be carried out in all the primary schools. See appendix (item no. 3). 3. 5. Population Sample This involves identification of a sample of schools, teachers, parents, and pupils, from the schools. Three mainstream primary schools in Lilongwe urban will be selected for the collection of data. Schools will be selected based on their experience in the education of learners with special educational needs. Teachers shall be selected according experience (those with more than 16 years experience prior to the introduction of free primary education). Pupils will be selected based on their age and class. (Will start from standard 3 up to 8 and within the age range of 9-15) the Primary School Education Advisor will also be contacted to answer a few questions and parents will be selected based on proximity (those living around the school and available). A total of six Learners with special educational needs and six ordinary learners will be interviewed from each school, will al so be interviewed, a total of eight teachers will be given questionnaires and two teachers will be interviewed, all the head teachers will be interviewed, and Observations by the researcher will also be carried out in all schools. The reason behind this sample is: To find out teacher perceptions on how free primary education has undermined the quality of education being offered to learners with special educational needs. To know how involved parents are in the education of their children. To find out from learners on the challenges they face in the classroom and how this is affecting their academic achievement. To find out from Primary school Education Advisor if the government is aware of such problems and necessary measures are taken to minimize the effects. 4. 5DATA ANALYSIS Data analysis is one of the things the prepared researcher needs to consider. It involves filing and organizing data collected (Cohen 2003). Gay etal (2009) add to say that the planning of data analysis will need to consider the organization, accounting for and explaining the data; It indicates what needs to be done with the data when they have been collected and how will the data be processed and analyzed, additionally, it shows how the results of the analysis will be verified, cross-checked and validated. (Bell 1993). In analyzing data, the researcher will re- write notes as soon as possible after making a set of observation. Full notes shall be typed and two copies of the notes shall be produced so that the other copy should act as a backup. The files shall be created in chronological order of events including notations of the dates and times they were made. Ultimately, observations shall be analyzed and interpreted to find the underlying meaning in the things observed. And the organization and filing of notes is the first step in discovering that meaning. (Donald A, etal 2002) All the results from different participants shall be analyzed and interpreted cordially, and data will be presented in the form of tables, type written text and charts. 3. 6Reliability and Validity According Kubiszyn T. etal (1996), reliability refers to an extent where similar results are obtained from different samples and after using different methods of data collection. Cohen (2003), states that validity is an important key to effective research, because if a piece of research is invalid then it is worthless. He further points out that that validity of research results refers to the extent where the research measures what it was intended to measure. The extent of triangulation is also another form of validity. To ensure reliability, the researcher, will use different tools of data collection, use standardized questions in both questionnaires and interviews and will make sure that the questions should be in line with the research question to ensure validity. 3. 7 LIMITATIONS Ethical issues, travel cost and time will be taken as some of the barriers to this study, nevertheless, ways will be found to deal with these problems. To overcome the problem of travel costs, the researcher started saving money meant for this purpose, where there will be a shortage, it will be required to ask for funds from guardians. To deal with ethical issues, the researcher will try by all means to be careful in the use of language so as not to harm participants psychologically because this might affect the outcome. The researcher will also take the interview and questionnaire questions for supervision to make sure that language used does not offend the participants. In the case of time, where the researcher will be on a short holiday and at the same time collecting data, appointments for interviews, observations and distribution of questionnaires. The researcher shall make herself available at a time convenient to the participants. Prompts/follow up shall be made in the case of questionnaires so that all the data should be ready before the holiday ends. To avoid doubts from participants, a letter of identification shall be obtained from the Special Needs Department of the Catholic University of Malawi. People will be assured of privacy and the research shall seek parental/teacher consent before interviewing learners below the age of fifteen. REFERENCE Ary Donald. Lucy Cheser Jacobs. Asghar Razaviah. (2002), Introduction to Research in Education, Thomson Learning, Belmet. Bell J (1993), Doing your Research Project. A guide for first research in Education and social science. Suffolk, st Edmunds bury press. Cohen L. etal (2003). Research Methods in Education. Prentice-hall Inc, New York. EFA Global Monitoring Report @ http:// www. EFA report @ unesco. org. Gay L. R. , Geoffrey E. Mills, Peter Airasian. (2009), Educational Research Competencies for Analysis and Applications. Pearson Education, Inc; New Jersey. Heward W. L. (2000). Exceptional Children: an introduction to special education. Prentice-hall, New York. (http://www. aft. org/research/rel-site. htm) (http: //www. World Bank report on effects of free primary education. org. ) Riddell R. (2003) The introduction of Free Primary Education in Sub-Saharan Africa Report. Ministry of Education (PIF document on Special Needs Education in Malawi, 2000) IRINA MANJOMO CALENDAR FOR DESSERTATION MONTH & YEAR DATE ACTIVITY JUNE-2010 15-20 25-30 Writing letters to institutions where data will be corrected. Distribution of questionnaires for data collection and making appointments for interviews JULY -2010 Data collection, Data analysis and data entry. AUGUST- 2010 1-17 Data analysis and entry. 18-23 Editing analysed data, & submission. 24-25 Meeting the supervisor 25-31 Literature Review SEPTEMBER-2010 3-13 Writing of chapter two (Lit. Review) begins & ends 14-15 Meeting the supervisor 16-19 corrections 22-29 Writing of chapter III & submission 29-30 Meeting the supervisor OCTOBER-2010 1-4 Corrections 7-14 Writing chapter IV & submission 15 Meeting the supervisor 15-17 Corrections 19-25 Writing Chapter V and VI & submission 26-27 Meeting the supervisor 28-30 Corrections NOVEMBER-2010 2-9 Writing Ch. 1 & submission 11-14 Meeting supervisor & corrections 16-21 22-23 Writing first Draft of Dissertation submission & corrections DECEMBER-2010 24-30 1-3 Writing 2nd Draft of Dissertation submission 5-7 Meeting supervisor JANUARY-2011 Making Corrections on the Dissertation draft FEBRUARY-2011 13-18 Defending the Dissertation 21-23 Making corrections & submission MARCH-2011 1-3 Meeting the supervisor 3-20 Making final corrections on the Dissertation Draft. APRIL- 2011 Writing the final copy of the Dissertation begins and ends. MAY-2011 16-23 submission to the supervisor

devil in devolution essays

devil in devolution essays In "The Devil in Devolution" by John D. Donahue, he tells how he feels the state governments nowadays have way too much power in our society and the power of our federal government is declining. The issue of gay marriage raises debate on whether or not to have to have same sex marriages be acknowledged in other states. By having a gay marriage in one state not be acknowledged in another creates diversity among states and Donahue believes that marriage should be settled by national deliberation. Nevada created more revenue in state by creating lenient divorce laws and had people traveling to Nevada and paying to get divorced. The problem with this is that it takes money away from other states and by doing this it creates competition amongst each other. Nevada also creates competition with other states with its gambling laws. " In 1988 Nevada and New Jersey were alone in allowing casino gambling, eight years later there were around 500 casinos operating in 27 states". What this says is that states are catching on and realizing how many jobs and benefits these casinos creates and also that these states don't want their residents money going to another states casinos. Donahue also talks about issues such as the environment that concern not only the state but also the nation as a whole. States can have very lenient or strict environmental laws but it can not only affect the state but its nearby states or maybe even the entire nation. Donahue says that a state could have very lenient pollution laws and that might not harm that state at all but if the pollution carries to another state this could create problems. The issue of slavery has already divided our nation once and showed us that having each state decide on its own whether or not to have an antislavery law brought us to war. The national abolition of slavery I believe brought our nation closer together and also brought us one step closer to a racially accepte ...

Suicide is a desperate act and in this short story yellow by Peter Carty, the main character, Jon, ends up making the decision to commit suicide Essay Example

Suicide is a desperate act and in this short story yellow by Peter Carty, the main character, Jon, ends up making the decision to commit suicide Essay Example Suicide is a desperate act and in this short story yellow by Peter Carty, the main character, Jon, ends up making the decision to commit suicide Essay Suicide is a desperate act and in this short story yellow by Peter Carty, the main character, Jon, ends up making the decision to commit suicide Essay People with problems that they cannot seem to overcome often chose the road suicide. These problems can both be emotional and physical. And when the problem, that they seem to have, gets out of hand, taking their life suddenly seems to be the best solution. Some even thinks that the people around them will be thankful when they are gone. Or the suicide could be a way of telling them that they should have helped them. Either way, suicide is a desperate act. And in this short story yellow by Peter Carty, they main character, Jon, ends up making the decision to commit suicide. Jon, the main character, is in the late thirties, he is a bit overweight, but beside that he describes himself as being in good physical condition. He has a job at a magazine, which is why he is in Egypt to scuba-dive because when his stay is over he has to write about it. In general he doesnt seem pleasant about his life; he has a girlfriend, but their relationship is substandard the silences between them had multiplied, then lengthened into an empty continuum. And his job situation doesnt seem any better, because his trip to Egypt and scuba-diving is definitely something he hates Jon hated anything active or sporty. He connects scuba-diving with death, which is why he is so scared about it. He is horrified that he will drown, and therefore he is unable to stay calm under water. I think that what he is most afraid of is not the fact that he could drown, no; it is the fact that he would find himself devoured of emptiness. You could lose yourself in that, swallowed up and gone forever, a speck vanishing in the blue without sound or ripple. Buddhist talked of opening yourself up to emptiness well, here it was next to him [..]. He is afraid that he would become nothing, a no one. That he would disappear into emptiness. The magazine would let him go soon. His writing would dwindle, disappear down to a dot and vanish, his girlfriend would have left long before and hed cast off from the last of his friends and relatives. He pushes himself to go through the diving because if he does he wont become nobody or as they in the text call yellow. I think the word yellow is in the story used in the meaning coward or fool because a coward doesnt often have the guts to face his own problems. And that is here the subject suicide comes in. Suicide is often associated with being a coward, because of the fact that a coward cant handle his own problems. But Jon on the other hand believes the opposite; he thinks that committing suicide will show people that he isnt a coward or yellow as they call it. He thinks that if he commits suicide while he is scuba-diving it would perhaps look as an accident and everyone will be affected by his death; Bertie, his diving instructor, Brian, the other diving student, his boss, who forced him to go, and last but not least his girlfriend will all see that they should have listened to him and therefore it will make him significant. It seems like in yellow nature can invoke thoughts of dying. This is the same in the poem suicide note by Langston Hughes. In this the river is personified, being the one who asks the suicide to drink its water which means to die. Nature reminds us that were just changing pieces of a puzzle and that we dont have control and power over anything and especially death. If we compare Jon to everyday life, he finds himself in an extreme situation. I would personally feel uncomfortable if I was going to scuba-dive, because I dont feel like I am in control I cant breathe like if I was above water. This feeling of no control is what the text What is Reckless Op about? is about. Some people love being in a situation where they dont have any control at all. They love practicing extreme sports and pushing themselves to their limits. It is their way to feel that they are alive, because they often find themselves very close to death. However, Jon doesnt fell a thrill by being close to death. He is very insecure about it. He doesnt like to be on the brink of life it makes him feel yellow. Jons life isnt very satisfying and therefore he chooses the easy way out which is committing suicide. But the ironic thing about it is that Jons sees his act as a not yellow thing to do.

Stippling - Art Definition

Stippling - Art Definition As a transitive verb,  the act of stippling involves covering an area with dots. What comes right to mind is a wildly time-consuming technique, done with a technical pen and ink (usually black), in which an image is drawn dot by dot by dot. (One may also stipple glass, an engraving plate, a quilt, or even an interior wall.) The resulting image contains no lines. It is a collection of dots, strategically placed to suggest forms, shapes, contrast, and depth. It is left to the viewers eye to complete the picture- a proposition which seldom fails. Stippling is also the manual forerunner of Benday dots and halftones. (For you younguns out there, these were graphic image tools employed before the advent of the computer pixel.) Similar Technique Pointillism is a close relative of stippling, in which the artist, using brushes and different colors of paints, creates an entire composition out of dots. As a noun in this instance, stippling is what one sees, and is the end result of someone using stippling as a verb.

Plan for visiting your policymaker Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Plan for visiting your policymaker - Assignment Example For instance, the â€Å"clinical guidelines on the identification, assessment and management of overweight and obesity adults† was instituted in 1998. These guidelines were aimed to be employed by health practitioners dealing with obese and overweight individuals. The government has also instituted the weight-control information network to deal with obesity (Voigt & Kristin, 2014). The government has also instituted other policies and programs that seek to educate the people on their diets and the importance of exercising. Over the past few decades, the different presidents that have been in power have encouraged people to eat healthy and exercise. Prevention of child obesity is particularly significant in nursing practise as the primary goal is to prevent diseases and promote healthy lifestyles in the society (Institute of Medicine US, 2012). This goes a long way to imply that nurses must take a leadership role in responding to the epidemic of obesity. Voigt and Kristin (2014) argue that obesity can be caused by genetic, metabolic and environmental factors or a combination of the three. Nurses can promote healthy lifestyles patterns that minimizes the risk of overweight by emphasizing on the importance of breastfeeding, physical exercises, regular meals and nutritional weight counseling. Obesity is an issue that requires the input of almost everyone including federal, state and local policy makers. The policy makers involved in childhood obesity include my congressperson, Carlos Curbelo and Commissioner Juan C Zapata. I will try to contact the policy makers through calling their offices to book appointments. Terry (2013) acknowledges that calling is an appropriate way of booking for appointments or contacting policymaker’s offices. Each of these policy makers’ offices have contact numbers that are available on their webpages. Additionally, their numbers are listed on the blue pages of my phone book.

Car Accidents in Saudi Arabia Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Car Accidents in Saudi Arabia - Assignment Example All of these factors directly or indirectly affect the behavior of human beings. If the behavior of a person is not effective or positive, his mental capacity is tormented. One such aspect of behavioral imbalance is the increasing rate of car accidents and how this disproportion can be managed through health promotion will be discussed in this paper. A traffic accident is defined as unacceptable and untenable damage done to life, money and the vehicle of a victim. It is also termed as car accident, car crash or Road Traffic Collision (RTC). It happens when two or more vehicles come in contact with one another or pedestrians. The rate of traffic accidents in the passing year has been recorded by the World Health Organization to be 1,322,905. Nowadays, the rate of car accidents is seen predominantly in young drivers. Older drivers are mature and careful. This difference can be due to a number of factors. For young drivers, car is not only the source of transportation. It is a means of reflecting his or her individual and socials aspects of life. For youth, over speeding and practicing dangerous stunts is self-expression. Also, they strive to stand out among their friends and seek to have an edge over others socially. As far as car accidents by adults are concerned, it is due to peer pressure of responsibilities. For instance, parents take the responsibility of driving their children to schools in the morning. All over the world, the mornings are saturated with office and school timings. This poses a risk to many lives. According to a research by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, children are eight times more vulnerable to dying in a car rather on a bus. In fact, bus is considered safer to travel on. Saudi Arabia is considered to have the highest toll of road accidents in the world. In the era from 1971 to 1994, the amount of car accidents and associated injuries and fatalities have escalated by 30, 6 and 7 times. There could be a number of reaso ns for this notorious and unpopular ranking. Research has shown that according to the Kingdom’s General Directorate of Traffic around 17 citizens in Saudi Arabia die every day on the roads. According to the report of WHO, the victims are adult males in between the age of 16 to 36. Furthermore, a news report by the Saudi daily Arab News the statistics reveal that 6,485 people had died while more than 36,000 were injured in 485,000 car accidents alone in 2008 and 2009. The cause of the tragedies varies accordingly. Some point out that it is because there are no other attractive spots for youth in the Kingdom so youth on a large scale especially teenager boys tend to take driving as their extra-curricular activity. (Walt 2010; WHO; Global Perspectives in Workplace Health Promotion 2010; Bener 2005) Yet another reason is that, there is a lack of situation awareness. The educational institutes don’t have any mechanism for imparting road safety rules. The young drivers out o f extreme behavior like over speeding and drifting on congested routes either run into a pedestrian, cross red lights or take unusual U-turns. There is no strict law and order and that is why the drivers feel free to breach the law. The local traffic police are even unable to control the situation because youth drivers are on a large scale. These

Sarah Bernhardt Biography Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Sarah Bernhardt Biography - Research Paper Example Her debut, which was held on September 1, 1862 at the Theatre Francois in Racine’s Iphigenie Audile, was not greeted with a lot of interest (Young student's learning library). Sarah’s formative years of upbringing were spent with a Breton nurse. Her Dutch courtesan mother would sporadically visit Sarah. The reason behind the sporadic visits was that she was constantly travelling from Spain to England, from London to Paris, from Paris to Berlin, and from there to Christiana. Her aunts also played an instrumental role in her upbringing. Sarah described her aunts as ‘pretty visitors’. They created an environment full of independent women along with her mother. However, her immediate rural habitat was dominated by hard labor and the subjugation of free will. This was incongruous with her mother’s side. The social roles primarily depended upon in survival. There was never a continuous paternal presence in Sarah’s upbringing (Cheng 2010). Sarah Bern hardt is popularly known as the first international stage star by her followers. Her productions have taken place in Europe, United States, Canada, South America, Australia and Middle East. These productions have been 125 in number out of which she has played some 70 roles. Before she rented out Theatre des Nations, she managed several theatres in Paris. The theatre, which she leased, was Theatre Des Nations. It was renamed as Theatre Sarah Bernhardt- today popularly known as Theatre de la Ville. Her own life was reflected by the tragedies and romances of her stage heroines. This is what reinvented her as a public icon (Shapira 2009) Everything from Sarah’s obscure birth to her glorious career, redefining the very nature of her art, to her amazing romantic life to her indomitable spirit- is fascinating. She was performing under bombardment for soldiers in her late seventies, after the amputation of her leg. This was during World War 1. Sarah was always proud of her Jewish her itage. She was a passionate Dreyfusard and Zolaist. She worshiped and raised her only son, Maurice as an aristocrat. He was a right wing snob (Gottlieb 2010). Sarah Bernhardt was multi talented. Apart from being involved in visual arts, she was involved in acting, painting and sculpting herself. She would also do modeling for Antonio De La Gandara. She has also been a writer, who has been publishing playa and a series of books throughout her life. Continuously she lead an active life. She date a Belgian noble man named Charles Joseph Eugene. It was with him that she had her only child. Moreover, she was one of the pioneer silent movie actresses. She debuted in Hamlet. She has been the star of 8 motion pictures and 2 biographical films in all. She was also made the member of France’s Legion of Honor in 1914. 10 years after a serious injury in 1915, she was confined to a wheel chair because her right leg was to be amputated. Despite of this she continued her career. Although sh e had to use a wood prosthetic limb. She died in the arms of her son, Maurice. She is buried in Paris, France (Sarah Bernhardt Biography). Important achievements It was in 1862 that Bernhardt had made her first appearance at the national theatre in the title role of Racine’s Iphigenie. The name of the national theatre was Comedie Francaise. However, she was dismissed a few months later because of her behavior towards an older actor. She slapped her. She escaped to Brussels because she was dissatisfied with the small parts she received in the fashionable theater

The Development of the United States Government Research Paper

The Development of the United States Government - Research Paper Example In western Massachusetts, the peasants held rallies against the injustice of high taxes and impartial justice provided by the courts to the creditors (Waldrep and Bellesiles, 104). In September 1786 Daniel Shays and other neighboring influential led numerous hundred men in compelling the Supreme Court in Springfield to postpone. Shays guided a force of nearly 1,200 men in an assail (January 1787) on the federal armory at Springfield, which was revolted. Pursued by the armed force, on February 4 he was determinedly conquered at Petersham and escaped to Vermont. Accordingly, the Massachusetts legislature ratified laws lessening the monetary condition of debtors. Though small in extent and easily subdued, Shays’s deed became, for some, an influential argument for a well-built and conventional national government, in that way causing the progress for the Constitutional Convention (Shays’ Rebellion-United States History). The states in accepting the article of amalgamation which formed a government, wherein all legislative power was entrusted in a single house, had gone away from practically all of their ethnicity from government (Stidham, 1). On September 17, 1787, 39 delegates signed the constitution in the Assembly Room of Independence hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (Jordan, 17). At that juncture the distribution of legislative power between the House of Lords and the House of Commons was judged to be a crucial element of the English structure; and, in all of the settlements excluding Pennsylvania, two houses had been expanded and were offered by the entire state constitutions excluding those of Pennsylvania and Georgia. Together Randolph’s and Pinckney’s strategies were commenced straight away after the association of the convention, offered for two houses’ and two days afterward the convention determined, exclusive of debate, Pennsylvania and no-one else voting against i t, supportive of such an allocation of legislative power. Soon after

Darwins theory of evolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Darwins theory of evolution - Essay Example versity in life comes from natural selection, essentially meaning that those organisms of a species that are best suited to their environment are more likely to succeed in reproduction. Due to this, the traits of those individuals that ensure that they are best suited to their environment become more frequent in the population and can eventually become the norm for that species. Darwin came up with this theory with no knowledge of genetics. It is interesting to see this theory be put to work, as although genetics and genome theory have altered and adapted Darwins theory, the basic principles are the same. In the recent National Geographic article, for example, an article about the domestication of the silver Siberian fox. Nine generations ago, the relatives of the silver foxes at this farm were wild, but now they crave human attention like a Labrador. The researchers here have been selectively breeding the foxes with the traits most desirable in a pet – friendliness, loyalty and companionship. The speed at which they have become similar to standard domestic dogs has shocked the researchers. This is exactly what Darwin found and expressed in his book The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, showing that Darwin recognized this capability when developing his theory of

TOURETTE SYNDROME Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

TOURETTE SYNDROME - Essay Example The purpose of the paper is to identify and describe the most typical causes and symptoms of TS, explain how it affects a patient psychologically and describe current treatment methods and medication applied to patients with TS. Speech and language difficulties have also been implicated. Recent research has focused on linguistic aspects of vocal tics, suggesting that such tics do not occur randomly but are located according to the clausal boundaries or at points of low information within sentences. Other research indicates word finding and speech volume regulation difficulties. The incidence of TS appears to be unrelated to race or socioeconomic status, although individuals of Jewish or East European heritage may be more commonly affected. People with these origins may have a greater genetic predisposition toward TS, but it seems more likely that referral bias and other cultural factors affect the expression and tolerance of the symptoms. There is no apparent relation of TS to birth weight, birth order, parental age, medical history of individuals or families, or psychiatric history. TS is understood generically to be a complex tic disorder with a lifelong course. A triad of components is necessary to make the diagnosis; the presence of generalized tics and involuntary utterances that may be obscene or suggestive, onset in childhood, and a course that involves a fluctuation of signs throughout the life span but typically is not severely disabling (Heyman and Chowdhury, 2004). The factors that influence the continuity of tic disorders from childhood to adol escence to adulthood are not well understood. Researchers (Waltz, 2001) assume that there is probably an interaction between maturation of the central nervous system and emotional distress along the maturational course. Environmental factors (e.g., toxins and infections) and genetic factors have been cited as possible etiologic factors in this group of disorders. Also, â€Å"and physical exhaustion will

Darwins theory of evolution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Darwins theory of evolution - Essay Example versity in life comes from natural selection, essentially meaning that those organisms of a species that are best suited to their environment are more likely to succeed in reproduction. Due to this, the traits of those individuals that ensure that they are best suited to their environment become more frequent in the population and can eventually become the norm for that species. Darwin came up with this theory with no knowledge of genetics. It is interesting to see this theory be put to work, as although genetics and genome theory have altered and adapted Darwins theory, the basic principles are the same. In the recent National Geographic article, for example, an article about the domestication of the silver Siberian fox. Nine generations ago, the relatives of the silver foxes at this farm were wild, but now they crave human attention like a Labrador. The researchers here have been selectively breeding the foxes with the traits most desirable in a pet – friendliness, loyalty and companionship. The speed at which they have become similar to standard domestic dogs has shocked the researchers. This is exactly what Darwin found and expressed in his book The Variation of Animals and Plants Under Domestication, showing that Darwin recognized this capability when developing his theory of

Shopping online Essay Example for Free

Shopping online Essay People need to purchase items such as clothing, and now have the choice to shop online or make purchases in the traditional manner. I. Online shopping has increased and changed the way people shop. 1) There is convince having the ability to shop from home. *With the introduction of internet shopping online has become popular. Shopping online allows access to merchandise sold world wide. It is a growing part of retail. Online shopping is time saving and convenient. There is often no cost for traveling when ordering items online. People do not have to interact. *Shopping online an individual does not have face to face transactions. There is limited person to person interaction with online shopping. People do not have to deal with crowds or unwanted socializing. Ording items online can occur around the clock without the needing another persons assistance. A person can make returns and purchases with the click of a computer mouse. 3) Security of personal information and merchandise. Reliable shopping websites offers a secure way to make transactions. PayPal is a company that offers a reliable and secure way to make shopping online purchases. Using only secure sites will help secure personal information. Tracking numbers to track packages containing purchased items are often provided or can be requested. When making online purchase a confirmation can be sent to a personal email account if one has been provided. II. Traditional shopping offers things that internet shopping does not. 1) There is the ability to interact face to face with others. *When people go outside of their homes to shop they are able to socialize and make to acquaintances. With face to face shopping you can make sure that you are charged correctly. If someone is not charged correctly or mistakes have been made, a receipt is often given at the point of sell. It is easy to haggle for deals when shopping in person. Traditional shopping offers families and friends the chance to spend time together. 2) People can physically and visually check the quality of the merchandise. *With traditional shopping items to be purchased can be examined in advance of purchase. If the quality of an item is not what it should be it can be noticed quickly and easily when shopping traditionally. Some individuals prefer to look before they buy items to ensure they receive what they want. Shopping traditionally allows people the opportunity to do so. 3) It cost money to travel for shopping to make purchases. * Traveling of some sort will happen when shopping the traditional way. The expense of gas or bus tickets should be considered. Factoring in the cost of travel with the amount intended for shopping can help those on a budget. When shopping traditionally quality products are often found various areas. Travel expense will occur. III. Peoples shopping experience varies depending on how they shop via online or traditionally. 1) Some people enjoy socializing when shopping while others do not. * People shop traditionally to spend time with family and friends. These people often enjoy socializing and are not concerned with crowds. Other people enjoy shopping online because of how convenient it is. People have different needs and desires. 2) Make sure personal information is secure and purchases are correct. *When shopping making sure personal information such as someone’s social security number is secure is important. Online shoppers and traditional shoppers should receive some proof of purchase once an item is purchased. Reviewing the receipt of any purchased item will aid with corrections if needed. Keeping record and receipts will also help if an item purchased needs to be returned or is defective. 3) The quality of merchandise, who, and how items are purchased should be considered when shopping. *Shopping online or traditionally the seller’s reputation and credibility should be a consideration. Traditional shopping and online shopping offer the choice of who someone does business with. Quality and hard to find items are found easily on the internet and when shopping the traditional way. III. Conclusion 4) With the introduction of internet shopping individual can choose to make purchases online or in person. Online shopping has a large consumer market, but people also enjoy face to face transactions when shopping. The quality of merchandise, who, and how items are purchased are things considered when shopping. How someone chooses to shop depends on personal preference. The choices is yours.

Second Language Acquisition And Classroom Interaction

Second Language Acquisition And Classroom Interaction Interaction has been central to theories of second language acquisition and pedagogy since the 1980s. Rivers explained the interactive perspective in language education: Students achieve facility in using a language when their attention is focused on conveying and receiving authentic messages (that is, messages that contain information of interest to both speaker and listener in a situation of importance to both). This is interaction (Rivers, 4). One of the first researchers to consider the importance of interaction was Hatch. She made a pivotal and indelible mark on the field of SLA through her publication of two seminal papers on language learning and interaction (Pica, 494). Hatch proposed that researchers should look towards interaction for insights into language learning development rather than the syntax of the language. In other words, she hypothesized that learners made progress as a result of real-life interaction rather than communicative competence arising out of the conti nuous practice of structures (Macaro, 172). In SLA classroom, the interactional input of the teacher is also part of the teacher talk which is considered as the main source of language input. Krashen proposed the Input Hypothesis to explain how learners interlanguage develops and grammatical features are acquired when learners are exposed to input that contains grammatical features a little beyond their current level of competence (Krashen and Terrell, 32). The Input Hypothesis is explained in detail through the i+1structure. i stands for the current level of language competence of learners while 1 stands for the item that they are going to acquire. Therefore, the i+1 structure indicates that learners are able to learn the language by being exposed to the input containing knowledge a little beyond their current level of competence. Extending Krashens Input Hypothesis, Long put forward the Interaction Hypothesis, which he held could make learners SLA development possible (Long, 420). The Interaction Hypothesis differs from the Input Hypothesis in that it puts more emphasis on how to make input comprehensible. Krashen believes that clues based on the situation and the context, extralinguistic information, and knowledge of the world make comprehension possible (Richards and Rogers, 182). He proposed the term premodification which means to make input comprehensible by simplifying or modifying the input before exposing it to learners by using common or familiar words, phrases and sentences. While admitting the role of premodification, Long lays more emphasis on the interactional modification. Through observing learners interacting with native speakers, Long concluded that what the former were doing was trying to improve the quality of the input they were receiving from the native speakers by giving them some verbal feedback or others to demonstrate that they had not understood. In this way, following Krashens earlier model, the native speakers input should become more fine-tuned to the immediate needs of learners thus allowing the latter to understand more easily. Therefore, the input will be made comprehensible as a result of interaction. Long proposed that interactionally modified input comes about as a result of the use of confirmation checks, clarification requests and comprehension checks by the two parties in a conversation (Macaro, 172). While the first two hypotheses concentrate on the teachers input, Swains Output Hypothesis advocates that learners should be provided with more opportunities of producing output. In order to acquire a new language, it is not sufficient to notice it and keep silent. In order for the acquisition to occur, learners must also use the language in verbal production. First, it increases the intensity of the noticing on the new item as input. Second, it forces learners to attend to the construction of the new language before and during output. Third, it encourages teacher confirmation that the output is correct and provides evidence for learners hypotheses about the target language. This has been known as the Output Hypothesis. To sum up, the Output Hypothesis claims that output can promote language acquisition under certain conditions by allowing learners to produce output. Moreover, Swain believed that in order for students to achieve native-like language competence, they need to be pushed more in their output by providing them with more opportunities to use the target language in the classroom (Swain, 429). In sum, the above three important theories of second language acquisition combine to reveal the effects of different types of classroom interaction on language learning from different angles. Therefore, in the field of second language acquisition, it is reasonable to state that classroom interaction plays a crucial role in promoting language learning. 2.1.2 General Classroom Interaction and Learning When students learn in a classroom setting, a primary source of knowledge comes from teacher talk and teacher-student interactions, as the processes and transactions involved in the construction of meanings are mediated through the use of verbal communication. Central to Vygotskys sociocultural theory of human learning is the idea that social interaction plays an essential role in the development of cognition. First, cultural development appears between people on an inter-psychological plane and then inside the learner on an intra-psychological plane. This applies equally to voluntary attention, logical memory and the formation of concepts. All the higher functions originate as actual relationships between individuals (Vygotsky, 57). In addition, through the role of mediation, students are able to transform skills that lie in the zone of proximal development (ZPD, a term formulated by Vygotsky to refer to the area of students potential development). Williams and Burden state that med iation is a term used by psychologists of the social interactionist school to refer to the part played by other significant people (the one usually with more knowledge, e.g. a teacher) in the learners lives, who enhance their learning by selecting and shaping the learning experiences presented to them (Williams and Burden, 67). That is to say, the notion of the teacher assisting student performance through the zone of proximal development suggests that teachers can adjust the discourse on the inter-psychological to support the students evolving understanding of knowledge or development of complex skills. Therefore, Vygotskys theory implicates that learners should be provided with socially rich environments so as to explore knowledge domains with their fellow students and teachers. 2.1.2.1 Interaction Pattern of Initiation-Response-Feedback (IRF) The three-part exchange structure known as triadic dialogue has been found to be common in classroom discourse. This discourse format typically consists of three moves, i.e. initiation (usually via a teacher question), student response and teacher evaluation. It is more commonly referred to as IRE (Mehan, 64). Accordingly, the teacher poses a closed question that is basically information-seeking, that requires a predetermined short answer, and that is aimed at the recall or lower-order cognitive level. He or she then praises or confirms correct answers and corrects those that are wrong. Sometimes, the three-part exchange structure is also known as IRFinitiation, response and feedback or follow-up as the third move may not necessarily be an explicit evaluative remark (Sinclair and Coulthard, 54). For instance, Wells has discussed various ways in which the teacher can provide feedback by encouraging students to express ideas, generate hypotheses and test them (Wells, 1986: 50). The triadic dialogue, which is typical of traditional classroom teaching, is usually considered to restrict students thinking as students responses remain somewhat short and standardized, thus minimizing their role in the co-construction of meaning. Although such conventional teacher-questioning practices have thus been criticized, some researchers have pointed out that it is consistent with educational goals. For example, Newman, Griffin, and Cole argued that the three-part exchange has a built-in repair structure in the teachers last turn so that incorrect information can be replaced with the right answers (Newman et al, 127). Such an opinion is considered appropriate in that the responsibility of teachers is viewed as ensuring that students acquire the knowledge that is normative within a particular culture (Chin, 1316). In addition, Wells has argued that, when used effectively, it is in this third step in the co-construction of meaning that the next cycle of the learning-and-teac hing spiral has its point of departure (Wells, 1993: 35). Therefore, the triadic dialogue can prove to be beneficial to classroom teaching if the teacher is willing to interact with students further. An instance of this would be when the teacher asks a question that stimulates further productive thought, based on their evaluation of students previous responses. In such a case, the teacher would be guiding the development of students ideas by successively building on their contributions in a reciprocal manner (Chin, 1315). As for patterns of discourse, Mortimer and Scott expanded the IRE or IRF structure by identifying the IRFRF chain where the elaborative feedback from the teacher is followed by a further response from a student (Mortimer and Scott, 41). This form contributes to a dialogic interaction. As part of the feedback, the teacher could encourage a student by repeating his or her comment or asking for explanation. By establishing this pattern of discourse, the teacher is able to further explore students ideas. As Wells suggested that the third step of the IRF sequence might have potential for productive discourse (Wells, 1993: 10), Chin established an analytical framework based on questioning to explore the specific forms of feedback. Four aspects of classroom discourse (namely, content, type of utterance, thinking elicited, and interaction pattern) constitute the elements of the questioning-based discourse analytical framework (Chin, 1322). She studied several science lessons from Year 7 which were observed across a variety of lesson structures. In her study, Chin identified four different types of feedback. The follow-up or feedback given by the teacher in the IRF sequence usually takes the form of a comment or statement followed by either another question, or further statements that expound more subject-related knowledge. Therefore, the feedback of the triadic dialogue could consist of a comment-question (C-Q) or statement-question (S-Q) couplet in which the question in the couplets may be considered as overlapping with the initiation of the next IRF sequence. However, Chin points out that, if there are no more questions asked, it takes the form of a comment-statement (C-S) couplet. Sometimes, feedback comprises only comments or statements. Chins findings suggest that by changing the third move of an IRF questioning sequence from an explicit evaluation to one that includes responsive questioning, teachers can make their classroom discourse more thought-provoking and stimulate more elaborate and productive student responses (Chin, 1340). 2.1.2.2 Teacher Questioning and Student Participation As a prominent part of classroom discourse, teacher questioning plays an important role in classroom teaching and has been the focus of linguistic and pedagogical studies (Nunan, 192). There are several reasons why they are so commonly used in teaching. They stimulate and maintain students interest. They encourage students to think and focus on the content of the lesson. They enable a teacher to clarify what a student has said. They enable a teacher to elicit particular structures or vocabulary items. They enable teachers to check students understanding. They encourage student participation in a lesson. (Richards and Lockhart, 185). Second language researchers have proposed that teacher questions play a crucial role in language acquisition. They can be used to allow the learner to keep participating in the discourse and even modify it so that the language used becomes more comprehensible and personally relevant (Banbrook and Skehan, 142). In addition, many previous classroom-based studies have focused on the taxonomy of teacher questions. Barnes identified the closed-ended and open-ended questions (Barnes, 12). Moreover, a display question is a question to which the questioner already knows the answer while a referential question is a question where the teacher does know the answer and is genuinely interested in hearing the answers from students (Long and Sato, 268). And there are questions that either assist or assess (Tharp and Gallimore, 52). According to Brock, referential questions can increase students language output in class and thus promote language acquisition. An increased use by teachers of referential questions, which create a flow of information from students to teachers, may generate discourse which more nearly resembles the normal conversation learners experience outside of the classroom (Brock, 49). Although at a theoretical level, referential questions are likely to trigger more immediate output than display questions, the distinction is too simplistic to offer an in-depth understanding of teacher questioning as it focuses on the types of questions rather than the abilities elicited. The nature of questioning in constructivist-based teaching environment is different. In such an environment, the teachers intent is to elicit what students think, to encourage them to elaborate on their previous answers and ideas, and to help them construct conceptual knowledge. Therefore, questioning can diagnose and extend students ideas and the teacher can engage students in higher-level thinking including analysis, application, synthesis and evaluation as those questions are open-ended and requiring one-sentence or two-sentence answers (Brookhart, 5). Teaching questioning takes another form of a reflective toss in the feedback move of the IRF sequence (van Zee and Minstrell, 1997a: 216). A reflective question is posed to a student by engaging his or her previous response to a teacher question, thus extending the teacher-student interaction and further exploring students ideas. A reflective toss usually consists of three parts, i.e. a student statement, the reflective question and additional student statements (Chin, 1319). Furthermore, the teachers use of a reflective toss serves a series of subgoals. They include using questions to help students clarify their meanings, consider a variety of views and monitor the discussion and their own thinking (van Zee and Minstrell, 1997b: 266). While most studies centered on the role of teachers in classroom, student participation is directly related with the quality of teacher-student interaction. Student participation has become a hot issue in the field of SLA research. Tsui conducted a survey among 38 teachers on the elements of reticence in middle school classrooms in Hong Kong and discovered five influential factors: students low English proficiency, students fear of making mistakes and getting laughed at by others, lack of wait time for students to think due to teachers intolerance of reticence, uneven allocation of turns to students and teachers incomprehensible input (Tsui, 148-155). Karp and Yoels carried out a one-month observation program in the 10 classes at an American private university and identified the consolidation of responsibility (Karp and Yoels, 429). On one hand, teachers would only call on some specific students to answer their questions. On the other hand, some other students would remain silent in class as they were rarely called upon. Through the observation of fifteen classroom sessions and out-of-class interviews with two female and two male students, Morgenstern discovered that there were many opportunities for student speech, but a core of five to six students seemed to monopolize these opportunities. Student actions and attitudes, recorded by observation and interview, revealed four tacit rules for class participation: (1) do not ask stupid questions; (2) do not waste the teachers time; (3) do not waste class time; and (4) try to find the answer before asking the teacher. Some students function under the assumption that only those with the most knowledge should speak, thus assuming a hierarchy of knowledge (Action and Inaction: Student and Teacher Roles in Classroom Participation).

Bret Hartes The Outcasts Of Poker Flat :: essays research papers

This can’t be happening thought Bill. Man I’m in so much trouble, there’s no way I can get out of it. I’m stuck. Bill had just wrecked his parent’s BMW in an accident, and they had no idea that the expensive car was even missing from the garage. And a terrible thing had happened as a result of the crash. A young woman lay dead in the passenger side of the vehicle, swarmed by medics. Bill had escaped injury, but as his body was still at the crash site, his mind wasn’t. He was in total shock at what had happened. If I only left the car in the garage and didn’t try to â€Å"borrow† it, Lisa might still be alive†¦.Bill tried to imagine that it wasn’t real, that he was in his bed dreaming, but no, he was responsible for the destruction of his parents’ car and his the death of his girlfriend. It was as if his mind wasn’t registering, as if it was in some far away place. He just couldn’t come to grips with what had happened. This is a classic example of severe shock. The event that took place was so strong that the mind has trouble working. While in Bill’s case where he had indeed had an accident, the realism of the situation dwarfs the mind as if a small comet hurtled towards a blazing sun. But this is just one aspect of realism. The whole of realism is made up of the fact that our lives, the world, the universe, it’s all real. And as much as our minds would want to deny it, everything will stay real, and for most people they just make the best of it. But for the rest of the people, they invent new ways to get around the feeling that a wall has been placed in their path. All this goes to say that people must be original and â€Å"keep it real† to survive the physical and mental fatigue life throws at them and also that everything will always be real and we must be in touch with our minds to harvest the realness.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Bret Harte tells of a story where a group is outcast into the world to fend for themselves during the winter season. After they have been exiled and are outside the city walls, most of the group can’t handle the situation presented before them, as quoted, â€Å"As the escort disappeared, their pent-up feelings found vent in a few hysterical tears from the Duchess, some bad language from Mother Shipton, and a Perthian volley of expletives from Uncle Billy.

Natures Gems :: essays papers

Natures Gems Desperately gripping the bend with screeching tires I accelerated down the slope toward a secluded lake, my lake. Edging the car over to the side, I wandered down to the water dampening my hand, revelling in the cool fluidity of it, feeling the burden of my conscience being lightened. I sat by its side, tossing stones into it’s willowy depths, watching the ripples slowly radiate from the epicentre. Stripping to the waste I waded out into the lake, the water was cold and refreshing it’s ice tendrils turning my skin a healthy red. I could still feel my hand throbbing from where I’d hit Mary, over and over until she had collapsed in a heap and I had fled the scene. Seeking peace of mind I had fled to the only place I could think of, this lake, this picture of tranquillity, I confessed my sins to it, felt reborn by it’s unspoken forgiveness and relaxed in it’s frosty grip. There would be loose ends to tie up now, for my future happiness I must n ot let this go unfinished. A low rumbling echoed down the hillside road, a sleek car followed by a cloud of dust traced around the bends of the cliff. God damnit he’s going to frighten any game off for miles around with that ruckus, Ruin my entire days hunting will he, well I’m not going home without something to show for it. Hefting my rifle I stalked off through the brush northwards. Pushing some branches aside I was greeted by a sight that wholly unimpressed me, once you’ve seen one, you’ve seen em all†¦ Some may consider this lake to be picturesque, a gem of nature. Not to me. This scene was totally uninspiring, the clam, slowly undulating waters were indifferent to me and me to them. The mountainous surrounds only made me feel more inadequate â€Å"in the great song† making my â€Å"verse† more insignificant. In my eye nature mocked humans and their pitiful achievements, this it the reason I loved to hunt, to kill, to extinguish this subtle mockery wherever I could. I heard a faint rustle to my left, ramming the butt of the rifle into my shoulder I pivoted and pulled the trigger†¦ Mary was down for only a few minutes, but when the stars cleared Harry was gone, the welts on her face were quickly swelling up closing her left eye.