Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Why Quit Smoking Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Why Quit Smoking - Essay Example Recent studies about tobacco smoking have revealed that it is a leading cause of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases. For the record, these lung cancer and other respiratory diseases were virtually unknown up until the surge of cigarette sales during World War II. Now lung cancer is considered as one of the leading killer diseases of the 21st century, killing an estimate of 3 million people around the world annually. Millions of people still continue to smoke tobacco despite its harmful effects to their health. But there are some smokers who want to quit their ugly habit, these are those smokers who have suddenly realized the negative effects of smoking and have decided to lead on a healthier nicotine free life through the help of various quitting methods. These individuals themselves have decided not just to quit smoking for themselves but also for the welfare of other smokers who wishes to kick the bad habit out of their system. Discussed herein are the dangers of tobacco smoking along with the various ways in which a smoker can quit this ugly habit in exchange for a healthier and happier life. Cigars and cigarettes are the primary sources of carcinogenic (cancer-causing) smoke. What distinguishes the two is that cigars are typically made from a single tobacco leaf without any wrappings or filter added to it while cigarettes are smaller versions of cigars. A typical cigarette is made up of tobacco leaf shreds wrapped in a special paper attached to a filter on one end. While cigarettes are widely available, cigars are usually sold in specialty stores equipped with humidors to preserve those. Differences aside both are still major sources of carcinogens and other substances that pose major health threats for humans Smokers have given various reasons on why they smoke. Many smoke for the sake of smoking. Some smoke to alleviate their self-destructive while others smoke because they are addicted to nicotine. Other smokers are bit more casual, saying that they smoke because they want to lessen the stress they experience in their daily lives. Whatever the reason is, most smokers will stick on the habit for the rest of their lives while developing various smoking related symptoms and diseases. A significant number of smokers on the other hand, have realized the various negative health and environmental effects of smoking and thus decided to quit smoking. Cigarette smoke inhaled by the smokers themselves is called mainstream smoke and it is reported to increase the risk of many types of cancer, which includes lip cancer, oral cancer, cancer of the esophagus, cancer of the pancreas, cancer of the larynx , cancer of the lungs; uterine and cervix cancers, cancer of the urinary bladder; and kidney cancer. On the other hand, smoke inhaled by non-smokers is called second-hand smoke. The effects of second-hand smoke seems to be much worse than mainstream smoke, the U.S. Surgeon General has updated some evidences showing that second-hand smoke causes heart disease and lung cancer in adults while it also causes sudden infant death syndrome and respiratory problems in infants and children respectively. It also found out that there is no "risk-free" level of second hand that exists; even the briefest exposure to secondhand smoke is enough to increase that risk of acquiring cardiovascular and respiratory diseases in adults. The only solution to this

Sunday, October 27, 2019

How modernity arises through various theories

How modernity arises through various theories Charles Taylor two theories of modernity Modernization is a term that is usually used to distinguish the present from the traditional or earlier aspects. While there are many ways of distinguishing the present from the old, we might wonder how modernity arises. Many scholars have tried to explain how modernity arises through various theories. This paper will focus on Charles Taylor two theories of modernity. Charles Taylor postulated that modernity is not a form of life but a movement from one constellation to another. He appreciated that there are two perspectives from which modernity arises; cultural and acultural. In the cultural model, each human group has its own identity, language, virtues, vices, specific understanding of humanity and social relations. These aspects may undergo transformations with time and this influences the culture of that particular group. At this point, we have to admit that there is a difference before and after transformation, the culture will have changed by the time these transformations are manifested (Charles,). In the acultural model, Charles tries to distinguish the present from the past as a whole. In this case, he does not look at transformation from a single culture perspective but the changes that occur to all cultures within a stipulated period of time. In this model, modernity is conceived by growth of reason for instance growth of scientific consciousness or though differentiating between fact finding and evaluation. In this case, the modernity is accounted for by intellectual and social changes. An example of this was during the ages of reason and enlightenment, industrialization and urbanization. There were imminent transformations in all cultures. While each culture has to go through these transformations, some are forced to undergo these transformations (Charles,). Acultural modernity is such that each culture plays a principle role and is not defined by an end point in understanding these transformations from either a personal or societal perspective. Though this kind of modernity is culture neutral, it affects all cultures either positively or negatively. Sometimes, some culture may suffer from the impact of a transformation in modernity. Transformations usually arise in one culture or civilization and spread to the rest. The culture from which transformation starts is powered by its own positive visions for good. However, some cultures undergo though these transformations easily while others have a hard time. This is characterized by the difference the transformation will serve in that particular culture and not when the idea of the transformation arrived in this culture. Charles appreciated the fact that transformations are facilitated by having certain values and understanding of things. Each culture has different perspectives on different transformations depending on their values and understanding of that transformation. In fact many developments and transformations in the last few centuries were based on culture neutral developments. Acultural theory is dominant over cultural because it shows transition from traditional beliefs to modern way of life. This may be described in scenarios such as those of urbanization and industrialization. Transformation of this type may influence cultures positively or negatively. Those cultures that valued traditional beliefs and have narrow scientific reason have difficulties in appreciating transformation. At this point, we might wonder which theory is good and which is bad. However, there is no good or bad theory as they explain transition to modernity and show how traditional beliefs are lost. Though cultural theory is of the point of view in which we visualize one culture among others, we cannot overemphasize the fact that the first accounts of modernization and development were acultural. As most scholars believe, Charles denotes that cultural theories make value judgements impossible, acultural theories are believed to be materialistic. Despite these negative attitudes towards these theories, Charles emphasizes that they play an important role in the concept of modernization. All in all, we cannot disregard that modernization is as a result of social and intellectual change. Charles notes that after the seventeenth century, there was imminent transformation arising from the western modernity and after these transformations, natural science was valid and the technology that accompanied this had efficacy. These transformations were embraced in some cultures while others were forced to appreciate them. Different cultures have different beliefs and through acultural theory, these civilizations are bound to come together. All civilizations will lose their traditional beliefs even those that resisted the challenge. The road to modernity eventually ends when all civilizations look alike. Different civilizations will understand these transformations differently and have different perspectives on them. There are several levels of understanding transformations; the divine, cosmos and embodied understanding. Charles acknowledges that these different levels of understanding bring about changes in belief and shift in views of the possibilities. In this case, there are people for certain transformations while are others are against. Charles gave the example that people believed there is God but when their views changed, there was conception of atheist. This purely based on ones view and horizon or what they believe in depending on their understanding towards a certain concept. Although acultural theory is dominant over cultural theory of modernity, there are some limitations. This theory does not clearly show the originality of the western modernity and the fact that we tend to underestimate the nature of this transformation. Charles disregards that though modernity started in the west, it is not western specifically but a form of life where all cultures converge. It is unfortunate that some civilizations lose whatever they believe in just to hold on other transformations. This pattern lacks what Charles called rational justification. Acultural theory puts all civilizations in the same package of transformation. Charles Taylor argues that if a civilization fails to note its contrast with other civilizations, it will have a distorted understanding of forthcoming transformations and people in that civilization will have self misunderstanding which can be very costly to the civilization. In this case, the civilizations knowledge and background is suppressed. In other words, this may be termed as a form of colonization. It may seem that this civilization does not know itself and the relation it has to other civilizations. Despite the truths of acultural theory on evolution of modernity, it is worth noting that a change only moves us from constellation to another which throws up its values and traditions to move to the other. This is in support of the cultural theory of modernization. There are varied views on the cultural and acultural theories of modernity. While some support one theory and disregard the other, others have negative and positive attributes of both cultures. However, we have to appreciate that though some of these facts may be true, both theories have played a significant role in explaining modernity. According to Charles, modernity has presented numerous problems in social science. Modernity is combination new practices, way of life and single forms neutral phenomenon. Charles acknowledges that there are multiple modernities which are products of depending on the self understanding and practices of different civilizations. References Charles Taylor. Two theories of modernity.

Friday, October 25, 2019

Palm Essay -- essays research papers

Hawkins is an inventor, and he walked away from PDA’s because he saw cell phones were everywhere and wanted to invent the best voice based application. He new there was a need for an application that could combine all the features of the mobile communication and organization tools in the market today. I believe he was not only creative, but very smart about the market place, because, he foresaw that PDA’s were becoming commodities. The price, at which PDA’s were being sold, would severely cramped margins of any company expecting large returns from these devices. Every person on the block could now knock off a version of a Palm Handheld, Hawkins found a complimentary market, and handspring was nimble enough to beat all the big players to that market. The Treo is the hottest device on the market because it was first to market, and has very little competition. It appears that the advance features of the Treo blows away the competition when it comes to providing a small convenient tool that replaces all the other gadgets. I believe the main competitive advantage is that the Treo wasn’t tied to one specific carrier by contract, so they were able to build a network of sales through their affiliation with different cellular carriers. Another competitive advantage of the Treo is the fact that it’s not a phone masquerading as a PDA or even a PDA trying to be a cell phone. The Treo was designed from the ground up to be more than a phone, while I believe the phone makers are trying to... Palm Essay -- essays research papers Hawkins is an inventor, and he walked away from PDA’s because he saw cell phones were everywhere and wanted to invent the best voice based application. He new there was a need for an application that could combine all the features of the mobile communication and organization tools in the market today. I believe he was not only creative, but very smart about the market place, because, he foresaw that PDA’s were becoming commodities. The price, at which PDA’s were being sold, would severely cramped margins of any company expecting large returns from these devices. Every person on the block could now knock off a version of a Palm Handheld, Hawkins found a complimentary market, and handspring was nimble enough to beat all the big players to that market. The Treo is the hottest device on the market because it was first to market, and has very little competition. It appears that the advance features of the Treo blows away the competition when it comes to providing a small convenient tool that replaces all the other gadgets. I believe the main competitive advantage is that the Treo wasn’t tied to one specific carrier by contract, so they were able to build a network of sales through their affiliation with different cellular carriers. Another competitive advantage of the Treo is the fact that it’s not a phone masquerading as a PDA or even a PDA trying to be a cell phone. The Treo was designed from the ground up to be more than a phone, while I believe the phone makers are trying to...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Milk and Snack Fresh Fruit

Explain how to prepare and store food, formula and breast milk safely according to health and safety guidelines. Babies between the ages of birth to 24 months have immune systems that are still developing, leaving them more susceptible to germs and bacteria. Bacteria that comes in contact with an older child or adult may not have the same impact that it will have on a baby, which is why it is extremely important that food safety be managed diligently.In my setting, food is prepared, stored and cooked hygienically. Kitchen area is clean all the time and anyone handling foods have â€Å"Food & Safety Certificate† and good personal hygiene. Anyone handling food washes her/his hands with hot water and soap before touching any foods. We have colour codes for chopping boards, knives cleaning up equipments such as mops etc. Aprons ad hats are essential to wear in food area.We provide food for babies in our setting so parents are not allowed to bring any food because of allergies We s tore the baby food on room temperature only till one hour and there is no direct physical contact with food(aprons and gloves are used ). We sterilise cutlery on daily basis.Storing food at right temperatureWe store food in refrigerator at right temperature which is 0 degree centigrade to 5 degree centigrade. We store food in deep freezer at -18 degree centigrade or below.Preparing formula feedWe make sure all the bottles are sterilised before use.Then we boil the kettle and fill the bottle up to required amount, for example I need to make 5 ounces milk, I will fill the bottle up to 5 ounces, add 5 scoops of milk powder, shake it well, let it cool down and check the temperature on the back of my wrist. Formula milk is ready to use if the temperature is right for child to use.Storing formula milkAccording to the latest recommendation from the Department of Health, formula milk is made fresh rather than being made up in advance and stored. For outings, we take boiled water (at least 7 0 degree centigrade) and formula milk powder with us Storing breast milkIf any parent brings breast milk for her child, we store this milk properly in fridge at 4 degree centigrade according to recommended guideline. Expressed breast milk is stored in sterile bottles or containers to prevent bacteria growth and is always handled with clean hands. We store breast milk only for one day. We shake bottle properly before using.Identify balanced meals, snacks and drinks for children in their early years, following current government guidance on nutritional needs. The term ‘balanced’ diet is often used in connection with healthy eating. A balanced diet is one in which there are sufficient nutrients in the right quantities for children and adults (Penny Tassoni). Within the welfare requirements of the Early Years Foundation Stage there is a requirement that, where children are provided with meals, snacks and drinks, they must be healthy, balanced and nutritious.However, even wi th proper guidance it is clear that there is a need for training on infant and toddler nutrition for all practitioners in childcare settings, to help them to interpret guidelines for the production of nutritionally balanced meals and snacks. Healthy eating for under-fives differs significantly from that for school-age children and adults. For growth, young children need a plentiful source of energy from carbohydrates and fats, alongside protein, vitamins and minerals.This can be achieved by ensuring that, every day, children eat from the four main food groups: bread, cereals and potatoes fruit and vegetables milk and dairy foods meat, fish, eggs and vegetarian proteins (e.g beans, pulses, soya). Children normaly do not get enough calcium, potassium, fiber, magnesium, and vitamin D & E. Sources of these nutrients are listed below: †¢ Fiber- whole grains, fruits and vegetables†¢ Vitamin E – nuts, seeds, wheat germ oil and vegetable oils †¢ Calcium- low fat and fa t free dairy products, rhubarb, spinach, collard greens, and sardines †¢ Magnesium- whole grains, nuts, pumpkin seeds, and white, black, navy beans †¢ Potassium- legumes, potatoes, dried apricots, beet greens, prune juice and dairy products †¢ Vitamin D- sunshine, fortified dairy and juice, cod liver oil, salmon, tuna and mackerel Menu is planned very carefully in my setting considering children’s age and food requirements.Here is the sample menu for a week.Mon Mid Morning Snack Fresh Fruit Lunch Our Popular Fruity Chicken Curry served with RiceFruity Vegetable Curry served with Rice (V) Dessert Fruity Jam Tarts Afternoon Snack Banana Slices Tea Tuna Pasta Salad served with Tomatoes and Cucumber Dessert Chocolate Chip Biscuit Tue Mid Morning Snack Cheesy Crackers Lunch Creamy Salmon Fish Pie served with seasonal VegetablesCreamy Vegetable Pie served with seasonal Vegetables (V) Dessert Moorish Chocolate Brownies Afternoon Snack Fresh Fruit Tea Asian Tomato Soup served with fresh Bread Dessert Fresh Scones served with Strawberry Jam and Fresh Cream Wed Mid Morning Snack Fresh Fruit Lunch Polish Kabanos Sausage Casserole, served with BreadQuorn and Vegetable Sausage Casserole, served with Bread (V) Dessert Swirly Cheesecake Afternoon Snack Tortilla Chips Tea Chicken or Quorn Bites served with a seasonal Salad Dessert Juicy Pineapple upside down Cake Thur Mid Morning Snack Variety of Maize Snacks Lunch Chilli Con Carne served with RiceVegetable Chilli Con Carne served with Rice (V) Dessert Sweet Bread Pudding Afternoon Snack Fresh Fruit Tea Selection of soft filled rolls, served with crispy lettuce and Cucumber Dessert Mini Banana Muffins Fri Mid Morning Snack Fresh Fruit Lunch Cheesey Courgette and Polenta Bake served with Cauliflower Florets(V) Dessert Fruit Crumble and low sugar Custard Afternoon Snack Healthy Baked Bites Tea Mini Jacket Potatoes filled with Cheesy Baked Beans DessertSmooth Fruit YogurtIf you see the menu ,you will know t hat children are getting correct amount of required nutrients everyday. Milk and water is essential for snack time to make sure children are getting correct amount of Calcium and Vitamin D.Babies have organic carrot sticks (very soft crisps) and cracker bread for snack. Some babies don’t have snack. They have their milk bottles. Rest of the food, they have same but we make sure that everything is mashed up properly.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Coffee Bean Essay

The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf was founded by Mona and Herbert Hyman and it is established in Los Angeles, California in the year 1963. The first Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf were established here in Malaysia in 1997. The company offers a wide variety of its own signature beverages that ranges from coffee to non-coffee drinks and launched their very own signature drink; â€Å"The Original Ice Blended† in 1989 and has been the main highlight of its company ever since. We will take a look into the possibility of bringing in a new product that could be a mainstay for the Ice Blended range that is already available here in Malaysia. Currently, the range of its Ice Blended drinks is limited to several coffee and non-coffee drinks. Although from time to time Coffee Bean has been introducing promotional and seasonal Ice Blended drinks, none of these drinks will be served in the main menu after that the promotion is over. With this. Although a majority of Malaysians like to drink coffee oriented drinks, With the introduction of the Honeydew Ice Blended to the market, it will help boost the challenge of bringing in new flavors for the market. Situation Analysis The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is entering its fifteenth year of operation in Malaysia with many of its products ranging from its well known â€Å"The Original Ice Blended† beverages which carries coffee and non-coffee drinks have been well received by the public. However. 2.2 SWOT Analysis The following SWOT analysis captures the key strengths and weaknesses for the proposed product and describes the opportunities and threats that it will face. 2.2.1 Strength The Honeydew Ice Blended drink is offered during the summer seasons and it is well known as the refreshing summer drink in United States. With summer all year long in the South East Asia region, this product has also been proven as a main-stay in the Philippines and Singapore’s The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. This product carries a cool, chilling and refreshing sweet taste which suits the pallets of the South East Asian region. 2.2.2 Weaknesses This product may not be suitable for coffee drinkers as the drink does not offer any coffee taste and it’s a fruit oriented drink. It’s also not suitable for those who are watching their calories and diet as the drink carries a high calorie range due to the sweetness and the cream that the drink offers. As this product targets the youth which comprises of teens and working adults in their twenties, some may be price sensitive to this beverage offer as it may be expensive compared to the local. 2.2.3 Opportunities Younger generations, whom fell under the legal drinking age, are known as one of the fastest-growing segments of the beverages market. These generations prefer fresh and upcoming products rather than stagnant products that they have consumed daily. With a brand new product being introduced, it will trigger the targeted younger generation with the enthusiasm to go. The lifestyle factors converger. 2.2.4 Threats Global coffee and tea market have been increasingly growing and it has since been an extremely competitive sector. Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf goes up against its closest rivals such as Starbucks, Dome, Cha Time and Old Town Cafà © here in Malaysia. Competition The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has been a powerhouse brand in providing its ice blended beverages. However, there are companies that do make similar ice blended beverages such as Starbucks and Cha Time. The Coffee Bean & Tea Lead has the upper hand because of the creation of the â€Å"The Original Ice Blended† line which gives the company the extra edge. Although the mentioned competitors have been making ice blended beverages, The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf has its own signature way of making these beverages special and cannot be matched with its competitors.   

Tuesday, October 22, 2019

Literature Term Paper Topics

Literature Term Paper Topics Most professors, occupied in literature learning, and teaching literature classes are sure, that there is nothing more exciting than writing a literature term paper. There are various literature term paper topics, all ready to be covered by students and there is a whole new world just underneath the surface. Most professors, are sure that literature is a very exciting topic, and whenever you are given an opportunity to write a literature term paper – you have to seize the moment to dig the real meaning of every aspect of the literature you are researching on. You have to love what you do, so whenever you are given a literature term paper assignment – you have to learn to appreciate the literature, learn to love it, etc. But not everyone is capable to learn to love something. There is a theory that appreciation of a certain literature masterpiece comes from the character of every person, and that there are certain literature novels, that a person is simply not capable to appreciate, due o his own character issues, etc. In most cases of every literature course – when asked to write a literature term paper   you basically need to write a term paper on the material you have covered in class. From one point of view – it can be easier for you, you don’t have to invent a bicycle, and search for something new in your literature term paper, but on the other hand, your imagination is limited, and you are forced to write on something that can be less interesting for you, than some other poetry, prose, etc. that may be more appealing to you, but which was unfortunately not covered in class. The format of writing a literature term paper, is only one, which is an expository term paper style. This style is basically an explanatory term paper style, which means that you will have to explain something from the literature that has been discussed in school. This is more specific for poetry type of literature, but also can be referred to prose Though you are very limited in your literature term paper, it still leaves you with plenty of things to think about and explain, and basically depends on what you have been studying in school. If you were discussing Shakespeare’s â€Å"Much ado about nothing†, you might want to explain the whole feminist issue in the play, and how early ideas of feminism influenced the feminism we see right now, the whole idea of equality, et cetera. Your basic objective, when writing a literature term paper, is to be able to cover the whole material you have discussed in class, prove that you have successfully understood it, as well as ass some new ideas, that are also interesting and relevant. In most cases – the best way to write a term paper on literature is the five paragraph term paper style. This particular style gives you a great opportunity to explain and address everything you want to be addressed without going further in to details, but a five paragraph term paper style is not a universal solution, so in some cases you might want to consider something more relevant. For instance if you are taking a Shakespeare class – you won’t be able to depict Hamlet in 5 paragraphs as it is simply not enough, and you will have to exceed it. It doesn’t matter whether you are writing a literature term paper on Hamlet with his madness, or addressing the feministic issues in Much ado about nothing – you still have to be extremely imaginative, bright, original and extraordinary. The whole point of writing a literature term paper is to show your ability to perceive something that is not on the surface and make sure you understood the correct sense. Whenever you are given an assignment to write a literature term paper, you have to think what would make your literature term paper dazzling and intriguing. There are many ways you can achieve that, either by finding something no one else has ever discussed, or simply depicting something of your own vision. But you must not forget, that whenever you write a literature term paper, you need to pay the dues to the author, composer, playwright, poet and writer. If you really want the best grade for your literature term paper, you need to set in your mind that you have to write the best literature term paper, or you won’t be noticed at all, and your paper will be graded as an average paper, which is never good. If you feel, that your thoughts and ideas are not that inventive and you feel that you require assistance in writing the literature term paper, you might want to consider a quality custom writing service, which will help you achieve that.

Monday, October 21, 2019

New School Essays

New School Essays New School Essay New School Essay I didnt think I would ever fall in love, come to think of it I never thought I would fall for Romeo, my best friend. Lets just say that love gets people in ways which you wouldnt expect.It was a Tuesday morning. It had finally come; the day when I was moving schools. I can still remember what was going through my head that morning. Thank god Im out of that shit hole I sighed, I was so nervous, what if I dont make any friends what if everyone hates me I sighed again. All those negative thoughts where rushing through my head, I was very sure I was gonna punk out but I kept my cool. I had just finished having a bath and I was going to find something to wear.Dont get me wrong I have so many clothes, but trust me its all about the mood the weathers in and the mood Im in. As soon as I opened my wardrobe, clothes came piling out DAMN! I thought I need to do some spring cleaning! I usually take a long time to get ready but seeing as this was my first day at a new scho ol I HAD to take my time. The sun was hitting in through my window so I decided to go ghetto and wear my denim dungarees, white tank top with top gurl written on it, and my dark blue converses.I put on some lip gloss, popped sum chewing gum in my mouth, grabbed my dark blue and light blue Nike Just do it bag and then I ran down the stairs to the kitchen, to find a note on the counter, it was from mum; Honey I have gone to work. Well duh I thought. Ten pounds is in the draw. P.s/make sure youre not late.I scrunched up the note and threw it in the bin. I then headed to the draw, pulled it open and took out the ten pounds that my mum had left for me.Mum works at a bank, I am considering studying law when I go to university. I know it seems like a long time away but youve got to be prepared. I love History and it just seems like a well paying job.My dad died of a liver cancer when I was two. So I guess it wasnt really painful for me at that time seeing as I was still very young and I di dnt understand what was happening. When I was in primary school nearly everyone had a dad I was really confused, it must have been hard for my mum because I kept on asking her where my dad was and shed always tell me that he was in a lovely place. Well Im hurt now because I didnt get to know him, and all I have is a picture of me in his arms when I was a newborn. Mum does date but they just come and go.I took my keys, my ipod, and my phone from the counter, and opened my front door. I realised that I had forgotten something and descended back to my kitchen counter to get my sunglasses. I got out of my house then I locked the door. I then unlocked my garage, and then I unlocked the chains from my electric scooter.The only reason I use an electric scooter is to get around because Im too young to drive a car and Im too young to ride a moped, its all good though. I had to save up and buy it with my own money (no fair) because my mum said she wasnt going to waste good money on an electri c scooter when she could spend it on something else and I said well then what Im I going to do?, she was like take public transport, I was like the bus? OH HELL NAH!!I walked my scooter out of the garage then I locked the garage door. Then I was finally off, I knew the location of the school because I had been there twice to take tests, and might I add that all of the tests I had taken I had passed. It took about fifteen minutes to get there on the scooter.It was the beginning of July, summer; my favourite part of the year, the sun was shining directly into my eyes so I put on my sunglasses. I also turned my ipod on, and it started playing so what by Field Mob ft. Ciara, that was the jam back then, and everyone was playing it.Im 5ft5 1/2; I like to think that thats an average height but people say Im short. I have shoulder length hair. Im a black girl with green eyes, Im 15 years old and Im a Scorpio, I think that zodiac is sick. I might get a tattoo of a Scorpion on my lower back w hen Im a bit older, my mum would kill me I ever got a tattoo done while living under her roof.2Different SceneryWhen I finally got to my new school my nerves returned. WELCOME TO ST. JOHNS where written in big bold black letters on the gate. I turned my ipod off and got off my scooter to chain it, I learnt that nearly half of the school owned electric scooters. Students were entering the school gates. I was told to go to the reception when I arrived. I walked on a long path to get to actual building. Once I got into the building I turned to my first right. There it was the reception just how it was the previous time I had been there to visit. I took off my sunglasses. Students were making their way to their form rooms.May I help you? asked the lady behind the deskShe was a stubby lady, probably over 40 and she looked like she had been working at St. Johns for a long time.Erm. Hi Im Khia Williams I replied in a low voiceNice to meet you Khia, you are the new student starting 10a, rig ht? she askedErm. Yea I answeredWell do not be nervous you will be just fine. You walk through the door just there she said pointing to a green door, she handed me a key with 301 on it that is for your locker, your class is on the second door to the right and you will see 10a written on the door. She explainedOk thanks I said walking off.All those negative thoughts that were rushing through my head earlier that morning were rushing through my head at that precise moment.I finally got to the door which had 10a written on it, it wasnt hard to find, and next to the classrooms were the lockers that the receptionist had given me a key for. I took a deep breath in and a deep breath out. I turned the knob of the door.Ah Khia Williams, I remembered the guy, Mr. Ross; I met him at the meeting with the head teacher the other time. He was so tall and he wore round glasses and his trousers were pulled up so they looked like ankle swingers, I tried not to laugh. Nice to see you again, as you kno w I will be your teacher for the rest of the year and this will be your form for the rest of the yearEverybody was staring at me, some smiling and some looking at me blankly until I heard a voice say:Girl even in dungarees you look sexyBy now all the boys were laughing. I looked to the back of the classroom, where I thought I had heard the voice come from. A boy was rocking on his chair smirking at me, I was sure it was him. He was a black boy with coolly hair; he had it tied up in a pony tail. He was wearing a white t-shirt, denim jeans and white air forces.Ok thats enough said Mr. Ross Khia take a seatBaby you can come and sit on daddys lap if you wantAaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!! all the boys started laughing again.I took no notice of them; I thought to myself he must have been the stupidest boy in the class.I SAID THATS ENOUGH! Said Mr. RossEvery teacher has a strict side, everyone got quite.I started looking around for a seat then I saw him, Romeo, dark brown eyes with tight cornr ows all back but complicated and he had on a white head band, wore baggy denim jeans, white air force ones with a green tick and a white t-shirt, on top of that he had on a green and white Magic jersey. He wore diamond studded earrings on each ear and a sliver chain with a capital R on it. It was right then that I knew his name had to start with the letter R, I can still remember how he looked at me; he just smiled acknowledging me. I smiled back at him.You can sit here if you want he offered, his voice was so deep.For sure I said, eyes still on himSorry on behalf of my boy T hes crazy, dont mind him he apologisedHow sweet I thought, he apologised on behalf of his friend, who mind you was being incredibly obnoxious.I assured him Its all rightI sat next to him and might I add how he smelled mmmmmm cologne I thought he was the cutest boy in the class, and I also thought that we would set it off.Can everyone turn their text books to page 62 now said Mr. RossEveryone did as they were to ld; I and Romeo were sharing a text book. Even though we were told to settle down the room was still noisy, I thought to myself I am gonna fit in this class. I put my head down, and sat in silence.At the end of the math lesson, Mr. Ross handed me a diary and showed me the page were my schedule was. I checked for my next lesson and was disappointed to see that it was German. I had been learning German at my old school and I hated it. It was so boring but it wasnt optional. I put my diary into my bag, got up from my seat and was heading out of the door when I heard Romeo say; So what lesson you got now?I signed I got German from that sigh he could tell that I wasnt happy about it.Dont worry, I got German too and I hate it, but it aint optional, if it was up to me nobody would learning languages trust meI smiled at him. Those words made me feel a little bit better.Do you mind if I walk with you? he askedI answered SureIm Romeo he told me.I liked that name, the letter R I smiled to myse lfIm Khia I told him forgetting that he already knew my nameI know he said, I blushed and with that he smiled. I smiled back at him but that was a smile of embarrassment. So what school did you go to before coming here? he askedDouglas High I answeredCool cool I know people from there, from what Ive heard that schools alrightYea thats what I thought when I first started the schoolSo why did you leave? he askedI thought to myself, isnt this boy nosy. I didnt reply. Sorry for being so inner. We are here now he told meOh dont worry about it I saidHe smiled at that, I didnt really wanna tell anyone why I changed schools and I had my reasons. We were standing outside the class, Romeo decided to change the subject.I like your style he said smilingI like yours too, I said back, I really did like his style, in fact I loved his style.ThanksYour welcomeWe went into the classroom and sat down. We were sat next to each other. We were in complete silence simply because we had nothing to talk abo ut, until he asked me a question about German because he needed help.B-a-c-k-e-r-e-i I answeredFinally the bell went. In Douglas High we had six lessons but in St. Johns we have five lessons so I was quite happy about that. I started packing my books away into my bag.Im gonna meet up with my boys, Ill see you in the cafeteria soon. He said to meAll right see you later I answered backLater he saidThen he winked at me. He was off like a shot.3New FriendsI didnt know where the cafeteria was so I just followed the crowd. When I entered the cafeteria I went to get my food then started to look around for a table.I heard a female voice say; Khia! Right?I turned around to the direction of where the voice had come from. When I saw who it was I answered. The table was half full and everyone was munching.Yea, thats me I said politelyIm Chenelle, and this is Kerisha, Kelly, Shandrea and Chantay She said pointing to each girl We are the girls from 10a, you can jam with us if you want? she asked giving me a friendly smile.

Sunday, October 20, 2019

Understanding Scaled Scores on Standardized Tests

Understanding Scaled Scores on Standardized Tests Scaled scores are a type of exam score. They are commonly used by testing companies that administer high stakes exams, such as admissions, certification and licensure exams. Scaled scores are also used for K-12 Common Core testing and other exams that assess student skills and evaluate learning progress. Raw Scores vs. Scaled Scores The first step to understanding scaled scores is to learn how they differ from raw scores. A raw score represents the number of exam questions you answer correctly. For example, if an exam has 100 questions, and you get 80 of them correct, your raw score is 80. Your percent-correct score, which is a type of raw score, is 80%, and your grade is a B-. A scaled score is a raw score that has been adjusted and converted to a standardized scale. If your raw score is 80 (because you got 80 out of 100 questions correct), that score is adjusted and converted into a scaled score. Raw scores can be converted linearly or nonlinearly. Scaled Score Example The ACT is an example of an exam that uses linear transformation to convert raw scores to scaled scores. The following conversation chart shows how raw scores from each section of the ACT are transformed into scaled scores.   Raw Score English Raw Score Math Raw Score Reading Raw Score Science Scaled Score 75 60 40 40 36 72-74 58-59 39 39 35 71 57 38 38 34 70 55-56 37 37 33 68-69 54 35-36 - 32 67 52-53 34 36 31 66 50-51 33 35 30 65 48-49 32 34 29 63-64 45-47 31 33 28 62 43-44 30 32 27 60-61 40-42 29 30-31 26 58-59 38-39 28 28-29 25 56-57 36-37 27 26-27 24 53-55 34-35 25-26 24-25 23 51-52 32-33 24 22-23 22 48-50 30-31 22-23 21 21 45-47 29 21 19-20 20 43-44 27-28 19-20 17-18 19 41-42 24-26 18 16 18 39-40 21-23 17 14-15 17 36-38 17-20 15-16 13 16 32-35 13-16 14 12 15 29-31 11-12 12-13 11 14 27-28 8-10 11 10 13 25-26 7 9-10 9 12 23-24 5-6 8 8 11 20-22 4 6-7 7 10 18-19 - - 5-6 9 15-17 3 5 - 8 12-14 - 4 4 7 10-11 2 3 3 6 8-9 - - 2 5 6-7 1 2 - 4 4-5 - - 1 3 2-3 - 1 - 2 0-1 0 0 0 1 Source: ACT.org The Equating Process The scaling process creates a base scale that serves as a reference for another process known as equating. The equating process is necessary to account for differences between multiple versions of the same test. Although test makers try to keep the difficulty level of a test the same from one version to the next, differences are inevitable. Equating allows the test maker to statistically adjust scores so that the average performance on version one of the test is equal to average performance on version two of the test, version three of the test and so on. After undergoing both scaling and equating, scaled scores should be interchangeable and easily comparable no matter which version of the test was taken.   Equating Example Lets look at an example to see how the equating process can impact scaled scores on standardized tests.  Imagine that say you and a friend are taking the SAT. You will both be taking the exam at the same test center, but you will be taking the test in January, and your friend will be taking the test in February. You have different testing dates, and there is no guarantee that you will both take the same version of the SAT. You may see one form of the test, while your friend sees another. Although both tests have similar content, the questions are not exactly the same. After taking the SAT, you and your friend get together and compare your results. You both got a raw score of 50 on the math section, but your scaled score is 710 and your friends scaled score is 700. Your pal wonders what happened since both of you got the same number of questions correct. But the explanation is pretty simple; you each took a different version of the test, and your version was more difficult than his. To get the same scaled score on the SAT, he would have needed to answer more questions correctly than you. Test makers that use an equating process use a different formula to create a unique scale for each version of the exam. This means that there is no one raw-to-scale-score conversion chart that can be used for every version of the exam. That is why, in our previous example, a raw score of 50 was converted into 710 on one day and 700 on another day. Keep this in mind as you are taking practice tests and using conversion charts to transform your raw score into a scaled score. Purpose of Scaled Scores Raw scores are definitely easier to calculate than scaled scores. But testing companies want to make sure that test scores can be fairly and accurately compared even if test takers take different versions, or forms, of the test on different dates. Scaled scores allow for accurate comparisons and ensure that people who took a more difficult test are not penalized, and people who took a less difficult test are not given an unfair advantage.

Saturday, October 19, 2019

Bus 617-week 10 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Bus 617-week 10 - Essay Example Evaluation of the program’s effectiveness within my organization would be through ensuring it is not duplicative and regularly monitoring the shelf life of the courseware. This practice would support workplace happiness by bringing in a true worldwide buy in of training programs among the participants and significantly reducing the cost of training. The practice is also flexible. What is happening now in my organization is lack of excellent content that can be applied globally and it is affecting the entire learning industry. Going by the potential of this practice, the future looks great and promising. The reason as to why I am saying that the future looks great is because using the practice well together with the program would just have the best effect on any given organization apart from mine. This information I acquired through real-time research and everything taught can be built on oneself. Most of the information came from a pdf called best practices of high functioning learning organizations. The rest of the information came from comparing notes over the internet and library. As I complete this exercise, I feel comfortable with the information that I acquired because it is self-explanatory and I can easily feel it transforming my organization and the entire industry. I have five goals namely extending my organization by going global, creating satisfaction to my customers, getting better learning programs for my organization, reducing the cost of learning and engaging my customers in the best way possible. One year from now, I will have done a lot considering the use of global practice. The organization at this time looks great, as I have gone global. The priority is however going global and the starting point is using the global practice. The advantages are that it could place the organization better competitively and at the same time, the disadvantage being that it would take more time to fully be implemented

Friday, October 18, 2019

Non Profit Taxes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Non Profit Taxes - Essay Example Non-profit organizations do not operate to bring about profit, a characteristic widely deemed to be the crucial aspect of such organizations. Still, a non-profit organization can accept, hold and pay out money and other items of value. Non-profit organizations may also legally and morally trade at a profit. The degree to which it can produce income may be constrained, and the use of those profits is doubtless restricted. Therefore, nonprofits are characteristically funded by donations from the public or private sector, and generally have tax exempt status. Private donations are sometimes tax deductible. In several countries, non-profit organizations may apply for tax exempt status. This allows financial donors to claim back any income tax paid on donations and, furthermore, the organization itself can be exempt from income tax. In the United States, Tacoma Washington included, following a recognized legal entity that has been created at the state level, it is traditional for the non-profit organizations to ask for tax exempt status with respect to income tax. That is achieved by applying to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). The IRS reviews the application to ensure the purpose of the organization. If certain conditions are met then the organization is given the status of a tax exempt organization (example: a charity).

Rudolf Steiners ideas for the care and education of young children Essay

Rudolf Steiners ideas for the care and education of young children - Essay Example If the olds are facing this hardship trying to deal with the new things in this world how much more the young ones who will be raced up in this kind of world There is a saying that "the young's are the hope of the land". As they took step on the developmental period specific behaviors represent qualitative changes in the structure or function of these organisms that appear over a given stage following progressive sequences. And so they undergo physical developments until they become adults like us. Childhood phase is the said to be the molding ground for individuals. It serves as the foundation of a human being. The Head of the German Theosophical Society, Rudolf Steiner believed that children passes through three seven-year stages and that education should be appropriate to the spirit for each stage. Birth to age 7, which he said is a period for the spirit to adjust to being in the material world. At this stage, children best learn through imitation. Academic content is held to a minimum during these years. Children are told fairy tales, but do no reading until about the second grade. They learn about the alphabet and writing in first grade. According to Steiner, the second stage of growth is characterized by imagination and fantasy. Children learn best from ages 7 to 14 by acceptance and emulation of authority. The children have a single teacher during this period and the school becomes a "family" with the teacher as the authoritative "parent". The third stage, from 14 to 21, is when the astral body is drawn into the physical body, causing puberty. These beliefs are acceptable but let us examine carefully the curriculum he is trying to imply. As he built his Goetheanum; the school of spiritual science of Waldorf school for the children of workers at the Waldorf-Astoria cigarette factory in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1919 and currently operating in North America. Steiner designed the curriculum of his schools around notions that he apparently got by special spiritual insight into the nature of Nature and the nature of children. The education here focuses on myths and other non-Christian thing. Aside from that they are encouraging Satanism which is not morally upright for a Christian Society. Children must learn how to be love and appreciate love and affections the gain from others. They should learn things about them and answer their questions related to where they came from. Why not teach some about the Creator. His views pertaining to caring to children are appropriate, he value the stages that an individual is in. He considered the stages where the child is in need. He said that children at the 0 to 7 years old are adjusting him in the material world. Yes that's true. Aside from living in a material world of course the child must have the material support too, coming from the parents who are the guardians. As from the Abraham Maslow's Hierarch of Needs that before an individual reach the point or level that he is a self - actualized person, a person must first take his step in having the Basic needs, including clothes, foods and any material supports before he

Scope, potential and benefits of urban farming and its importance to Research Paper

Scope, potential and benefits of urban farming and its importance to local communities in US - Research Paper Example The food production has been declining; earth has been becoming a hotter place without adequate green cover; the quality of food available for people in general has been decreasing; and as more leisure got created, more and more human beings have been detached from physical labour resulting in lack of exercise and the emergence of new kinds of life style related diseases. These are only a few of the many problems faced by humans as they got distanced from nature and agriculture. The detachment from nature has thus kickstarted a process of decline in quality of life caused by its impact on food security, employment, carbon fixation, oxygen availability, mental happiness, relaxation, physical exercise, peace of mind received from nature, aesthetic appeal, fresh food, food traceability, pollution control, waste utilization, waste water utilization, waste-to-energy conversion, space availability and optimal utilization of available space. Pearson has categorised the benefits of urban far ming into three, namely, â€Å"social, economic, and environmental goods and services† (3). ... It can be said, the north and south represent two growth stages in human civilization but it is more important to note that in Southern cities, urban agriculture â€Å"plays a significant role in providing a measure of food security and income for a rapidly increasing urban population† (2). It has to be remembered that urban farming is not a newly introduced concept to cities but has been existing in all cities as vestiges of rural life until the development bandwagon erased it completely at least from the mega-cities. In this context, this paper envisages finding out the scope, potential and benefits of urban farming for the world in general and the US in particular. This investigation is carried out keeping in mind, urban agriculture is not a monolithic concept but include: Residual, often peri-urban broadacre farmland, small ‘community gardens’, personally managed allotments, home gardens, portions of parks that were previously planted entirely with amenity spe cies, fruit trees along roadside reserves, greenhouses, green roofs and green walls (Pearson, 3). In the backdrop of the huge â€Å"knowledge gap† that exists regarding the potential, methods and benefits of urban farming, this study envisages preparing a knowledge database on different aspects of the same (Pearson, Pearson, and Pearson, 9). Review of Literature The early ideas on urban farming as we know it was initiated during the era of New Deal, when â€Å"homesteads were organized as examples of how the country could benefit from a proliferation of semirural neighborhoods, where part-time farming on inexpensive but desirable land would encourage uplifting social functions and help establish a

Thursday, October 17, 2019

Christian Responses to Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Christian Responses to Islam - Essay Example The spirit of human brotherhood under the all-encompassing divine fatherhood is much stressed in Islam and not hampered by the concepts of racialism or sectarianism, be it of linguistic, historic, and traditionalistic, to even dogmatic nature. The broadminded tolerance of Islam for Christianity recommends it to all lovers of liberty. Surely this is generous and fair in advance of the attitude of Christianity. A history of the Bible written by Fred Gladstone Bratton, published in the United States acknowledges the textual unreliability of the Bible. The writer also admits the possibility of changes and alterations that have been steadily introduced into the body of its text. He says: â€Å"There is a necessary and inevitable uncertainty about biblical studies owing to the very nature of the task. If the Bible had been written in English or if we had the original autographs of the Scripture, there would be no problem at all in the text. But this is unfortunately not the case† (p. 2) The history of the biblical text is shrouded in mystery and it has really flummoxed the Christian theologians and scholars: Then he refers to the frequency of changes made in the text. The changes are both capricious and consciously engineered: â€Å"The idea that the Bible is a book is comparatively modern. It is not one book but a library of sixty-six books, written by almost many authors during a period of one thousand years and on three continents† (p. 3).

TESCO PLC AND THE NATURE OF MARKETS IN WHICH IT OPERATES Essay

TESCO PLC AND THE NATURE OF MARKETS IN WHICH IT OPERATES - Essay Example As one of the biggest players within the UK retail grocery industry, Tesco’s market share was 30.5% back in December 2009. In line with this, Tesco’s close competitor includes: Asda (16.9%), Sainsbury (16.9%), and Morrisons (12.3%). Having only four major players in the market, the market structure of retail grocery industry in UK is oligopoly. Within an oligopolistic market that targets many buyers, the industry is commonly dominated by only a very few numbers of sellers that offer homogenous products to its target consumers (Arnold 2008, p. 512). One of the very few factors that can trigger the development of oligopoly is the fact that a lot of companies are entering into merger and acquisitions as a result of tight market competition caused by globalization. The problem with oligopoly is that a very few number of competitors within the industry can enter into collusion making them able to dictate the market price of heterogenous products they are selling in the market (Gans 2005). Considering that market consequences of a few-firm concentration ration, a lot of economists believe that a market that is characterized by oligopoly is almost similar to the market consequences associated with anti-competitive domestic or international market activity. Although it is possible for players within an oligopoly market to dictate the market price of goods, this is not true in the case of Tesco and its competitors. Since grocery and merchandise retailers are selling homogenous products, its target customers will always have the opportunity to decide where to regularly purchase their weekly consumption of grocery items. In line with this, Tesco’s existing customers can anytime decide to purchase their grocery items from Asda, Sainsbury, Morrison, Waitrose, M&S, Somerfield, Aldi, Lidl, and Netto among other small-scale supermarket throughout the United Kingdom (Tesco 2010 b). There is a strong price competition within the grocery

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Christian Responses to Islam Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Christian Responses to Islam - Essay Example The spirit of human brotherhood under the all-encompassing divine fatherhood is much stressed in Islam and not hampered by the concepts of racialism or sectarianism, be it of linguistic, historic, and traditionalistic, to even dogmatic nature. The broadminded tolerance of Islam for Christianity recommends it to all lovers of liberty. Surely this is generous and fair in advance of the attitude of Christianity. A history of the Bible written by Fred Gladstone Bratton, published in the United States acknowledges the textual unreliability of the Bible. The writer also admits the possibility of changes and alterations that have been steadily introduced into the body of its text. He says: â€Å"There is a necessary and inevitable uncertainty about biblical studies owing to the very nature of the task. If the Bible had been written in English or if we had the original autographs of the Scripture, there would be no problem at all in the text. But this is unfortunately not the case† (p. 2) The history of the biblical text is shrouded in mystery and it has really flummoxed the Christian theologians and scholars: Then he refers to the frequency of changes made in the text. The changes are both capricious and consciously engineered: â€Å"The idea that the Bible is a book is comparatively modern. It is not one book but a library of sixty-six books, written by almost many authors during a period of one thousand years and on three continents† (p. 3).

Tuesday, October 15, 2019

CBRN Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear weapons Essay

CBRN Chemical Biological Radiological Nuclear weapons - Essay Example In the modern context, political instability is a serious problem because one cannot expect an unstable state to be responsible towards humanity. Comparing with nuclear weapons, radiological weapons are with less capacity to create severe damage. To be specific, this sort of weapons is generally used to create chaos among the mass. Within this scenario, world nations suspect that notorious terrorist organizations may make use of this weapon to intimidate humanity. For instance, the Padilla case (2002) proves that terrorist groups have worldwide network and are strong enough to use radiological weapons. To be specific, the government suspected that Padilla may involve in jihad because he is trained to handle radiological weapons. Besides, this person is closely related to the leadership within Al-Qaeda. So, the Padilla case proves that terrorist groups may make use of civilians to handle radioactive weapons. In my opinion, Al-Qaeda possesses economic capability to plot and conduct a severe attack using radiological weapon. Shane (2010) states that, â€Å"Al Qaeda is on the march again, targeting the country from within and without, and your hapless government cannot protect you† (p. A1). To be specific, the revenue from oil trade in the Middle East supports Al-Qaeda. So, one can see that economic capability is not a serious problem for the terrorist organizations. On the other side, the former satellite nations related to Russia (USSR) may have weapons (say, nuclear) and the terrorist organizations can easily influence these nations. Besides, the terrorist organizations make use of religious ideology to attract individuals who live in U.S. and other western nations. Mendelsohn (2009) states that, â€Å"Al Qaeda has never disguised its desire to acquire weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear capabilities† (p.77). So, I rate the threat of radiological weapons as high risk because

Monday, October 14, 2019

Sms Based Home Appliance Control Information Technology Essay

Sms Based Home Appliance Control Information Technology Essay Security for homes and offices is an important aspect in the modern world; engineers are continuously developing unique security systems that take advantage of todays technology. GSM based zone security system is one of those unique systems that provides security. This system basically works by sending a SMS to a predetermined mobile unit within a GSM network when the security is breached. It can also be logged through a pc or laptop in order to monitor the status of the security. In todays world various types of security systems are being used in homes, offices, cars etc. All of these systems particularly the ones used at homes mainly consist of a motion detector, a siren that triggers when it receives a signal from the motion detector, a battery, a control device and an electronic card. If there is a breach in security the motion detector sends a signal to the electronic card which in turn triggers the siren to provide the warning. This is a disadvantage as these type of warnings can only be heard if there are people present close to the source of the siren and even though some of the security systems provide a warning call to a pre-determined phone (police/security company) using the fixed land line, thieves usually disrupt the phone lines leading to the failure of such security systems. Therefore it is important to remove the afore-mentioned shortcoming and provide a security system that is efficient, affordable and user friendly which can be achieved by taking advantage of the present technological infrastructure and hardware. Project Aim and Objectives The main aim of this project is to design and develop an efficient GSM based zone security system which takes advantage of the existing GSM infrastructure and hardware components that can be used at homes and offices. The project will focus on the following specific objectives:- To develop and enhance a security system that sends the user a SMS when the security is breached. To test the GSM based security system on a simulator. To build a security system that can be logged through a PC or laptop in order to monitor the status of the security. To put forward a security system that will make it difficult to be breached by burglars. To tell the benefits of the GSM based Zone security system compared to the other normal security system. 1.3 2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW 2.1Conceptual Literature According to Phillips (2006) security systems provide important protection against burglary and robbery. They are being relied more and more in the world to prevent theft especially with the current high crime rate. Norman (2007) stated that there are several types of security systems but the one that users today prefer to install at homes and businesses are wireless systems as they do not have the hassle of installing a lot of wires. They are also considered to be one of the easiest of all security alarm systems to operate. Norman (2007) highlighted that the wireless security systems use radio waves to send signals from the sensors to the control panel in order to monitor the activity within the property. The latest wireless security systems also have the ability to send data to outside sources wirelessly by using GSM. According to Fares (2003) GSM which stands for Global systems for mobile communications is basically a cellular network in which mobile phones connect to it by searching cell in the immediate vicinity. In todays world GSM has become one of the most essential items to us as it provides us with a communication channel that enables us to communicate with the world freely. With GSM came the implementation of SMS or text messaging as stated by Poole (2006). Gast (2005) stated that the security systems that work with GSM infrastructure using GSM modem are known as GSM security system. In this system when there is an occurrence of security breach the user is sent a SMS notifying him/her of the security breach. It is a reliable security system but recently Nohl (2009) stated that there are fears that the GSM itself can be breached by cracking the algorithm that is responsible for the protection of the security of the GSM. This has been denied by the GSM association that represents the interests of the worldwide mobile communications industry. They have affirmed that the GSM cannot be breached and that it is not currently possible to crack the algorithm protecting the GSM. According to Norman (2007) GSM security system consists of many other main components such as electromagnetic sensors, PIC microcontrollers, keypad etc. These components make together with the GSM modem make a very effective and reliable security system. 2.2 Related Projects 2.2.1 SMS based Home Appliance Control. This project which was done by Anand kumar 2007 is a GSM based project in which SMS is used to control home appliances. This is done by sending the instruction through SMS which would be received by the microcontroller which then decodes the instruction and after that executes the instruction by switching on the relays attached to its port to control the appliances. In this project 8051 microcontroller was used and for software Keil u-Vision 3.0 and PRO51 programmer software was used. 2.2.2 GSM based Voting Machine This project was done by John Seymour (2009). It is a GSM based project in which registered voters can send their vote through SMS. This achieved by first registering the mobile number of the voter and during that registration they are given a password. So when the user is sending a SMS vote the microcontroller will read the instruction and will first run a check whether it is a registered voter or not, if it is a registered voter then it will ask for the password and verify it. If the password is correct it will accept the vote and send back an SMS acknowledgement to the voter. The microcontroller used is an 89S52 microcontroller. 2.2.3 GSM based Remote Energy Monitoring Meter This project is a GSM based project which was done by Hussain Said (2009). This project uses GSM infrastructure to do remote monitoring and control of the energy meter located at domestic houses. This project is very useful to the Electricity Department as it would enable them to read the meter readings regularly without the need of personnel visiting each house. It basically works by using a microcontroller unit that always monitors and records the meter readings in its memory location.  Ã‚  Then these reading are sent to optimum location set by the Electricity Department. In this project 8051 microcontroller was used and for software Kiel u-Vision 3.0 and PRO51 programmer software was used 3. MATERIALS AND METHODS 3.1 Technical Proposal This project is a combination of hardware and software development. The circuit is first designed and then optimum components are selected and used for the construction of the circuit. A program is developed for the PIC microcontroller. This is done by first writing the program in C programming and then compiling it in MikroC. Several tests are done to make sure that they are all working successfully. After that the hardware development and the software development are combined. Then Visual Basic program is written for interfacing. Then an overall test is done to see if the whole project is working successfully. Block Diagram of the Methodology used in this Project. Start Project Design Circuit Design Develop Program for PIC Test program on PIC Simulator Construct Circuit Troubleshoot Develop VB for Interfacing Combination of Hardware and Software Final Testing Troubleshooting END 3.2 Equipment/ Facilities/ Programs Hardware: Breadboard is used before a prototype is built. It is used for troubleshooting and testing. PCB: The circuit is finally built on the Printed Circuit Board (PCB). Multimeter was used for measuring voltage, current etc and also for fault finding. GSM modem Software: EAGLE (Easily Applicable Graphical Layout Editor) software: For Printed Circuit Board drawing MikroC: PIC Simulator Software: To test the program for the PIC microcontroller Visual Basic 3.3 Technical Description 3.3.1 PIC Microcontroller PIC microcontroller stands for Peripheral Interface Controller according to Wilmshurt (2006). The PIC is a popular microcontroller because of several advantages such as: Power consumption PICs have much lower power consumption at 5V. Clock It has more accurate calibrated oscillators which help it have precise timing thus making the design more stable and efficient. Availability It is widely available. Programming The PIC microcontroller can be easily reprogrammed. Pin direction Most of the PIC microcontroller pins are flexible as they can be set as an input or and output thus making the design of the circuit easier. 3.3.2 Electromagnetic sensors C:UsersKHALEDPicturesPhoto0289.jpg Figure 2.17: Electromagnetic sensor: The magnetic sensor on the left and the magnet on the right Electromagnetic sensors are usually used on doors and in a security system they are an integral part as stated by Norman (2007). They work by sensing the movement of the doors and windows magnetically. The magnetic sensors are small in size and consist of 1 magnet and 1 magnetic sensor. Phillips (2006) stated that the magnet is placed so that the magnet and magnetic sensor are in a position to be parallel to each other. So that when the signal that is between them is interrupted the magnetic the switch is tripped and immediately it sounds the alarm . 3.3.3 Keypad Figure 2.14: 4ÃÆ'-4 matrix keypad modules A matrix keypad is used to provide a simple data entry device for microcontroller systems. Their design is that the keys are connected in rows and columns, so that when a button is pressed a row and a column are connected. In order to read the keypad, each row is set low in turn and the state of the inputs is tested. If no button is pressed, all the inputs remain high. During the operation the rows and the columns of the keypad will be scan continuously by the microcontroller. When a key is being operated, a low on that row is detected on the column input for that key, which allows a corresponding code to be generated. 3.3.4 RS 232 RS 232 is an electrical signaling specification which is also known as signal port is used as the gateway for data transmissions 232 comes in 9 pins which have its own specific pin assignments. There are two types of RS 232 which is male (DB9M) and female (DB9F). Figure 2.11: The serial port overview Table 2.12: The definition of each serial port pins In this project only three pins are used. Pin 2 and PIN 3 is used to receive and transmit signal with the circuit. So Pin 5 will be uses as ground. 3.3.5 GSM modem A GSM modem is a wireless modem that works within a GSM wireless network according to Fares (2003) and he also states that the behavior of dial up modem is the same as a wireless modem. The only difference is that a dial up modem uses a fixed telephone line to transmit and receive data while a wireless modem transmits and receives data through radio waves. A GSM modem needs a SIM card in order to operate. The GSM modem available in 2 types External wireless modem It is connected to the computer or a laptop a serial cable or USB cable. PC card/PCMCIA card Its designed for laptops as it is slotted in a particular card slot built in the laptop. Figure 2.19 shown the main blocks and communication principle of a wireless system using the SIEMEINS C35i GSM modem. Figure 2.19: Main blocks in communication modem and the microcontroller. 3.3.6 AT command An AT command is simply a set of instructions used to control a modem it the short form for Attention. Each command line starts with AT or at. A common set of standard AT commands are supported by GSM and dial up modems but the GSM modems support a more extended set of AT commands. In order to send, read, write and delete SMS message. We can use For example AT+CMGS (send command), AT+CMGR (read command), AT+CMGW (write command) and AT+CMGD (delete command) . Using the above mentioned commands the modem can do :-: Reading, writing and deleting SMS message. Sending SMS message Monitoring the signal strength 3.3.7 SMS SMS which is a short form for Short Message Service is used to receiving and sending message in between the mobile phone. Fares (2003) stated that since the development of SMS it has become a very successful wireless carrier because SMS message can be sent and ready at any time. SMS message are supported 100% GSM mobile phones and they can be exchanged between different wireless carriers. SMS is a suitable technology for wireless application. The application of SMS is virtually limitless today as they are always being associated with embedded system to increase its utilization. Examples of SMS application are:- Person-person text message Delivery and notification message Used in remote system monitoring application. 3.3.8 MikroC Software MikroC is a software programming program which used by the people in order to program and compile microcontroller. Figure 3.3: MikroC with C programming After created the program compile it by click the BUILD icon from the project toolbar. Figure 3.5: After compilation successful 3.3.9 EAGLE EAGLE also known as Easily Applicable Graphical Layout Editor is draw schematic for PCB layout. One of the main reason that EAGLE is better in drawing schematic than any other software is that it has a comprehensive component library so this helps save time as there is less need to draw up the components. The auto route function of EAGLE is also good. Figure 3.6: Schematic drawing window Figure 3.7: Placing components net Figure 3.9: Wire up components Figure 3.10: Switch from schematic to board Route toolbar Figure 3.11: Routing toolbar 4 PROJECT DEVELOPMENT 4.1 Overall Circuit Schematic Diagram Figure 3.01: The Full Circuit Diagram of the GSM Zone based Security System Figure 3.01 shows the overall schematic diagram of GSM Zone based intruder system. The system hardware is divided into few parts for a better explanation. They are Microcontroller (PIC16F877A) Power Supply module, Serial port communications and LCD. 4.1.1 PIC 16F877P Figure 3.02: The microcontroller and LCD implementation As shown in Figure 3.02 the PIC Microcontroller 16F877P was chosen because of its software support availability, low cost and high feature count. For a reset button a push button is connected to MCLR# pin anything happens during the operation. When the PIC is ON and the MCLR# pin is connected to ground RESET occurs. A 4MHz oscillator is used which is widely popular in PIC circuits due to the importance of timing and clocking. Capacitor C3 and C4 is used to filter the oscillator signal. The resistor R11 is used for current limiting. The complete pin allocation shown in table 3.03. PIN NUM. PIN NAME CONNECTION 1 MCLR Connected to reset switch and Vcc (+5V) 2 RA0 ZONE 1 3 RA1 ZONE 2 4 RA2 ZONE 3 5 RA3 ZONE 4 6 RA4 7 RA5 8 RE0 Connected to Buzzer 9 RE1 Connected to Buzzer 10 RE2 11 VDD Vcc (+5V) 12 GND Ground 13 OSC1 Connected to 4MHz Oscillator 14 OSC2 Connected to 4MHz Oscillator 15 RC0 ZONE 5 16 RC1 ZONE 2 17 RC2 ZONE 7 18 RC3 ZONE 8 19 RD0 Connected to LCD pin 11 20 RD1 Connected to LCD pin 12 21 RD2 Connected to LCD pin 13 22 RD3 Connected to LCD pin 14 23 RC4 24 RC5 25 RC6 Connected to MAX 232 26 RC7 Connected to MAX 232 27 RD4 Connected to LCD pin 4 28 RD5 Connected to LCD pin 6 29 RD6 30 RD7 Connected to output 31 VSS Connected to ground 32 VDD Connected to VCC (+5V) 33 RB0 Connected to Keypad pin 1 34 RB1 Connected to Keypad pin 2 35 RB2 Connected to Keypad pin 3 36 RB3 Connected to Keypad pin 4 37 RB4 Connected to Keypad pin 5 38 RB5 Connected to Keypad pin 6 39 RB6 Connected to Keypad pin 7 40 RB7 Connected to Keypad pin 8 Table 3.03: The PIC16F877P pin allocation 4.1.2 Power supply module Figure 3.04: Voltage regulator used in system Designing a power supply module will be more complex and heavy as it consist of a step down transformer. By considering the fact, the required input voltage is supplied directly from a 9V battery. The figure 3.04 is the voltage regulator LM 7805 used to regulate the 9V input voltage from the battery. The 9V voltage will be step down and regulate to 5V.The output obtain from this power supply circuit are 9V (V+) and 5V (Vcc) DC voltage. These voltages value are based on the requirement of each module especially PIC 16F877P.The capacitor 220 µF is a bypass capacitor used for filtering the regulated voltage. The output voltage of this module will be supplied to PIC 16F877P, Liquid Crystal Display (LCD) and MAX 232. 4.1.3 Serial Port communication Figure 3.05: The serial port communication component In the serial port communication shown above, MAX 232 is connected in between modem and the circuit to work as buffer .It works by shifting the signal voltage level according to the requirement. The connection is figure above are based on the datasheet. The serial port pin 3(Tx) in RS 232 is connected with MAX 232 T1 OUTPUT which is pin 14.This connection is used to transmit data from modem to microcontroller. Hence the serial port pin 2(Rx) in RS 232 is connected with MAX 232 R1 IN input pin 13.The purpose of connection is for receiving data from microcontroller to modem. The capacitors are chosen as 10 µF and not 1 µF as stated in datasheet because the value worked well when testing was done. 4.1.4 LCD Figure 3.06: The LCD used in the system The LCD is used to display the status of the GSM Zone based Security System. The type of LCD used is a 16 character line length in two line version JHD162A series LCD, which conform to a standard interface specification. Pins 1 and 2 are the power supply lines, whereby pin 1 is connected to ground and pin 2 to Vcc (+5V). Pin 3 is a control pin, which is used to alter the contrast of the display. This pin is connected to a variable resistor to alter the contrast by altering the resistance value. Pin 4 is the register select (RS line) connected to pin 27 of PIC 16F877P .Pin5 which will be the Read/Write line is connected with pin 3 of LCD itself. Where else the pin 6 which function as enable line connected to pin 28 of PIC 16F877P.The data line pin 11 to 14 of LCD is connected with pin 19,pin20,pin21 and pin 22 of PIC 16F877P. 4.1.5 Relay Figure 3.07: Relay used in the system Relay are devices which allow low power circuits to control the high circuits or instruments. Figure 3.07 shows the basic relay driver circuits used in GSM Zone based Security System. A 9V DC voltage been feed through the coil. A NPN BC547 transistor is being used to control the relay. The transistor is turn ON when the signal is feed through the pin 30 of the PIC. Once the transistor turns ON it will turn ON the relay. A diode IN4148 is connected across the relay coil to protect the transistor. 4.1.6 Software Architecture The PIC used in the system is programmed by using the C language. C language is one of the several programmer language commonly used to create a list of instruction to control the system. Figure 3.08 shows the flow of the constructed program in this project. As what has been discussed in chapter 2.3 the C language need to go through the compiling stage before being stored in the PIC. The MIKRO C compiler is used to compile the program of the system. Hence, the compiled program will be stored in PIC by using the PIC KIT 2 programmer. The compiling and storing process will be show in detail in appendices. Figure 3.08: Flow of the program in the intruder system 4.1.6 PCB Schematic Layout Fig 4.3.1 PCB Schematic Layout

Sunday, October 13, 2019

Animal Influences in Paleolithic, Egyptian and Greek Art Essay

Animal Influences in Paleolithic, Egyptian and Greek Art There are numerous ways in which animals have resonated within the human mind. Throughout history there have been representations ranging from the realistic, to myths, legends, symbols, and even horrific murderous beasts; at the same time providing fascinating perspectives of our own humanity. Various forms of art have conveyed ideas and concepts of animal’s intelligence, as well as behavior, from generation to generation. Animal art is used as a tool to make the connection between different cultures at different time periods and it relates historical and symbolic meanings. In most cultures animals have been linked with the supernatural forces which were believed to control the natural world and the destiny of humans. They were often revered as the agents. or associates, of gods, and goddesses, and were even the focus of worship as deities. Following the tracks of historical animal art, through the human imagination introduces a trail of creativity and unsurpassed beauty. Paleolithic art: Cave paintings are the earliest known example of human art dating 40,000 to 8,000 BCE. The paintings mainly feature various animals running, sleeping, and eating. Some also contain a few humans, geometrical shapes, and even hand prints. The artist used permanent features like ceilings, floors, and walls of rock shelters and caves as their canvas. Pigments of black, yellow, red, and brown were utilized to display the observations of animals. The painters gathered a great deal of information about finding food, and which foods were safe to eat or to hunt, by closely observing animals. The valuable information was passed to others through the detailes in the... ... Avery, Catherine B. The New Century Classical Handbook. New York, 1962 Beckett, Sister Wendy. The Story of Painting. New York, 1994 Boardman, John, Greek Art. London, 1964 Durant, Will. Our Oriental Heritage. New York, 1935 Fleming, William. Arts & Ideas. New York Gombrich, E. H. The Story of Art. London, 1967 Hall, James. Dictionary of Subjects & Symbolism in Art. New York, 1974 Kirk, G. S. The Nature of Greek Myths. New York, 1975 Janson, H. W. History of Art. New York, 1969 Leroi-Gourhan, Andre. Treasures of Prehistoric Art. New York MacClintock, Dorcas. Animals Observed. New York, 1993 Metropolitan Museum of Art. Treasures of Tutankhamun. New York, 1976 Richter, Gisela M. A. A Handbook of Greek Art. New York, 1987 Scranton, Robert L. Aesthetic Aspects of Ancient Art. Chicago, 1964 Stockstad, Marilyn. Art History. New York, 1995

Saturday, October 12, 2019

How WW1 Changed British Literature Essay -- essays research papers

World War One began on July 28, 1914 and ended with the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918. The war cost a total of one hundred eighty-six billion dollars. The total casualties of the war were thirty-seven million, with another eleven million civilian casualties. The British Empire alone lost over three million people in the war. (English) World War One effected the whole world- the heartache and bloodshed changed politics, economics, and public opinion. This war changed people's lives, but it also changes their way of thinking and their way of writing. After World War One British literature was changed from simple stories to a more realistic and meaningful approach to life. Nineteenth century England is what most historians call the Victorian age, which is how British literature got started. It was during the Victorian age that people began to learn how to read and write. â€Å"In 1837 about half of the adult male population could read and write; by the end of the century, literacy was almost universal.† (Abrams) The novel became the most popular form of literature during this time period in England. â€Å"Victorian novels seek to represent a large and comprehensive social world, with the variety of classes and social settings that constitute a community.† (Abrams) The authors of these novels tried to make the reader feel like the characters and the events that take place in the novel seem so realistic that they could see it happening in real life. The novels were written about concerns, or issues, that the everyday person went through. The novels usually dealt with experiences with the relationship in the middle-class or inter-class relationships. Life during the Victorian age is explained in The Norton Anthology as, â€Å"a society where the material conditions of life indicate social position, where money defines opportunity, where social class enforces a powerful sense of stratification, yet where chances for class mobility exist.† (Abrams) Victorian novels usually were focused on a persons struggle to find his or herself in the cruel world of social classes. These types of novels were often written during the Victorian age, in fact Charles Dickens wrote a novel called Great Expectations in 1861, which dealt with a boy named Pip and how he finds his place in the world.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There were many good writers during that time period. Charles Dickens, Thomas H... ...uesome poetry came from Owen and Sassoon, who were actually, interestingly enough, bedmates at a hospital during the war. The reason their poetry was so unbelievably moving was the fact that both of them were in the war and they saw the mayhem firsthand. (Wilfred) â€Å"An officer in World War One, he [Sassoon] expressed his conviction of the brutality and waste of war in grim, forceful, realistic verse.† (Siegfred) These two poets alone changed British literature, but they couldn’t have done that without World War One and the pain and suffering, which all people felt. A world war and a depression can put any one down, but what the writer of the twentieth century did was turn that anger, that hate around into realistic, hard-hitting writing. No one likes to remember World War One and the killing that went on, however people always want to talk about the writings of Virginia Woolf, D. H. Lawrence and H. G. Wells. These writers were so successful at what they did because they wrote down on paper what everyone was feeling in the world, whether it was anger or sorrow. Even though World War One was a gruesome event it caused people to question their opinions and made for great literature.

Friday, October 11, 2019

How do the poems ‘The Choosing’ and ‘As I Grew Older’ explore different lives? Essay

Two different poems explore various aspects in life such as different paths and dreams taken by different individuals. In the poem ‘As I Grew Older’ punctuation causes the poem to flow at a slower paste. This is done by separating each idea into individual lines, causing readers to stop at the end of each line before continuing into the next. â€Å"And then the wall rose,† â€Å"Rose slowly,† â€Å"Slowly,† In the first stanza, the poet seems to have lost hope, feeling hopeless as his dream is forgotten. Then suddenly, his dream seemed to have moved closer â€Å"in front of me† and the ability to reach out to his dreams, once again. In the second stanza, the poet uses and repeats words more than once creating a dream like atmosphere, as the last word at the end of the first two lines are carried and used again in the beginning of the next. â€Å"Wall rose† â€Å"rose slowly† â€Å"slowly† By repeating and having very short lines, it suggests that these words are being echoed again and again almost allowing readers to see an image of this wall rising. Although it does not state whether the wall is visible or not, it tells us that time is passing since the wall is rising higher and higher, slowly. Higher and higher the wall becomes as time passes, it slowly blocks and damages his dream â€Å"Dimming,† â€Å"The light of my dream.† He eventually becomes frustrated as this wall rose so high it touched the sky, again showing the passing of time. The third stanza only contains two short lines, which is able to communicate a lot to the readers. A single word â€Å"shadow† may lead us to think of darkness, which may then link back into the second stanza, where the wall have rose so high that it is causing this â€Å"shadow†. This may further suggest and add to the imagery that the wall is visible. The poet then goes on and describes himself as being â€Å"black† which might put forward the idea of him being racially black, informing readers that he could have been discriminated and therefore, have lost hope or could also imply that the shadow have caused this blackness over him. In the next stanza, the speaker seemed to have given up as he realized that no matter how hard he tries, his dream is out of reach. â€Å"No longer the light of my dream before me† â€Å"above me.† Followed by the most depressed moment in the poem, where the poet uses the word â€Å"only† implying that he could no longer see his future, as all he sees is the wall and the shadow. In the last stanza, there is a change in both the tone and the speed. The lines seem to flow quicker as each line is longer and extended. Exclamation marks are constantly used while there are less full stops, â€Å"my hands!† showing force and motivation. Then the speaker changes his tone demonstrating hope and excitement. â€Å"Break through the wall!† indicating success, having the potential to achieve his dream. â€Å"The Choosing† explores and compares two individuals and the path they have chosen. The eye is the narrator (participant poet) that creates a stream of consciousness effect. The first stanza stronger enforces the idea to readers that the two individuals are â€Å"equal† and â€Å"alike†, by using words such as â€Å"we† â€Å"same† and â€Å"equal† over and over again. This stanza is written in past tense; with the continuous use of the word â€Å"first† indicating that the two individuals have started with the same ability and chances. This stanza informs readers about the similarities and feelings they shared inside school. The second stanza occurs outside school, showing readers that as well as being alike, they are also best friends who have a â€Å"common bond† being the cleverest. The poet has used brackets â€Å"(equal)† reinforcing to the readers that they are still equal. Readers is also told that they do not have many opportunities, as everything is â€Å"small†, â€Å"small town†, â€Å"a small school†. Despite the fact that they are equally bright, the poet also admits that â€Å"fear† is present between them as one individual excels more at a subject whilst they both fear that the other would be able to achieve more. In the third stanza, things begin to change. Since things are no longer â€Å"equal†, they start becoming â€Å"different† in the separate homes but same houses. The idea of alikeness is still present although the word â€Å"home† extends further suggesting different cultural and traditional ideas inside the families. Readers start to become aware that things begin to change as it states, â€Å"Where the choices were made.† This shows how similar two individuals may be physically, with the same coloured ribbons and hair and yet, they are so different. In the fourth stanza, a decision was made as Mary have moved away from their little town, while there is a change in status â€Å"cheaper rent†, â€Å"high school bus.† Readers hear the decision being made as Mary’s father â€Å"didn’t believe in high school education† â€Å"especially for girls† and so we learn that Mary’s father has very traditional and old-fashioned ideas. Informal languages are used to describe how Mary’s father feels such as â€Å"forking.† Then there is a jump in time as it states â€Å"ten years later† where the two individuals meet up again, no longer alike. It has shorter lines that again, would make the flow slower taking in each idea separately. These seem like memories, where Mary is seated on the same bus, but with something extra. Her husband and the newborn baby (suggesting a happy family) since the poet describes how loving they seem. Then the speaker says â€Å"not that I envy her, really† giving an impression to the readers that somewhere deep inside her, she would too like someone who loves her. Finally in the last stanza, there is a comparison between the speaker and Mary. Mary’s arm wraps around her newborn baby, where the speaker’s arm are full of books. The speaker â€Å"wonders† what path would have been taken if the individuals were able to make their own choices, wondering if they would have chosen different paths, as the speaker finishes with â€Å"we do not remember making them.† In conclusion, the two poems explore different lives through the use of punctuation and repetition of words, which helps to create imagery as well as assisting the indication of the passing of time.

Thursday, October 10, 2019

My Grandma’s House

When I was younger, I lived in my Grandmother’s house in a small village. The house is over 130 years old now and is still standing although my Grandmother doesn’t live there anymore. As I drive by I’m reminded of all the memories in that house. The house is white with a tan coloured trim and 2 stories high with a wrap-around, screened in porch. The parking is at the right side of the house and you walk around to the front, on a walkway that is lined with pretty yellow flowers. Entering the house through a light wooden door with a large window, you will first see the porch, with a fainting couch to the left of the door and a coat rack to the right. There is an aluminum screen door and a French door that you have to go through to get to the main living area, which is the dining room. It has a nice large wooden table and matching chairs that one of my uncle’s made in the centre of the room and a wood stove to the left, which is used as a second source of heat during the winter. The dining room has a living room off to the right with well-worn, but comfortable furniture in it and a television unit with a small TV, there is a large piano to the right of the door which no one learned to play and many plants placed around the room. Going back out into the dining room right next to the living room is a narrow hallway leading to a bathroom. Next to the bathroom is the stairs leading to the second floor where the 3 bedrooms are located. When you walk into the dining room, you can also keep walking straight into a large open kitchen, which was also used to place another table end to end with the wooden one, for when we had company. There was a pantry to the right and another door to lead out to the back of the house and the basement. Then moving to the left, there was the refrigerator, a large counter with a huge sink, more counters and cupboards going around to the far wall, and finally the stove. Moving to the door to go outside you will see a huge back yard with a shed in the back for storage of a lawnmower and summertime furniture. The yard has a fence at the back leading down to a creek, which I used to climb over and catch frogs, crayfish and salamanders with my friends.

Wednesday, October 9, 2019

Poetic Reflections on Mortality and Ephemerality Essay

Have you ever hypothetically pondered the details of your own fatality? Everyone covets a bit of certainty that not many realities allow, but mortality -while a glum concept- is a definite fate we will all ultimately encounter in our respective lifetimes. â€Å"Nothing is more predictable than death. Each of us will die without any need to take adventuresome risks. † (Kelly, 1986). This is likely the reason prolific poets Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost have created quite similar themed poems using dissimilar imaginative slants in which they optimistically convey the topic of human transience. Death is a disheartening, tragic matter that not very many individuals readily wish to discuss. Because ephemerality is, however, an extremely ordinary notion to countless expressive artists, it is vital to notice the literary elements these renowned authors applied which set such works apart from less potent pieces. The symbolism, tone, assonance, rhythm, and other literary techniques behind the elegies â€Å"Nothing Gold Can Stay† (Frost, 1969) and â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death† (Dickinson, 1893) fervently beg for further exploration. No matter which approach authors apply to such deviations, one truth remains; the amount of life contained in the works by Frost and Dickinson is somewhat ironic to say the least. If you envision the scenery described in literary pieces you read as if you are a participating, fictional character, you exceptionally possess â€Å"The human power that shapes artistic expression†¦ † (Clugston, 2010 a). Put in simpler terms, you clearly have a vivid imagination! Prodigious writers can and will effortlessly incorporate such imagery into their work by imploring the implicit values of society and culture(s). Nothing Gold Can Stay† by Robert Frost (1969) is unquestionably far from the exception as he connects the way leaves grow, change, and die to our eventual demise with ease. Frost wrote, â€Å"Nature’s first green is gold, Her hardest hue to hold. † (Frost, 1969). With the introduction of this allusive writing technique, he develops a clear yet slightly ambiguous mental picture for his readers to envisage. Of course, we know nature is not a person nor does have hands in which it could literally grasp a color. Hence, the meaning of Robert’s words is symbolic and figurative. Sure, Mr. Frost could very well have written something resembling â€Å"Beings age like leaves change colors. † Instead, this brilliant poet was aware of the fact that generating embodiment versus the aforementioned simile delivers the most enticing reading experience to the audience. In â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death† (Dickinson, 1893), the author similarly dishes out a full serving of powerful metaphors making this another comparable aspect to personification found in Frosts’ poem. At the very beginning, Emily Dickinson refers to unescapable, human cessation as a chivalrous gentleman when she states, â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death, He kindly stopped for me;† (Dickinson, 1893). The author is actually being extremely facetious as a deliberate, artistic maneuver in order to give life to the darkest of subjects. She selects to represent passing away in a more graceful process. It is a steady flowing motif continuing throughout the body of this work to form a concise, elucidating theme. From centuries beyond the grave, the narrator describes the peaceful process of her passing, in which Death is personified and escorts her in his carriage. During the leisurely ride, she passes many ordinary sights: a school house, fields–but finally realizes that the ride will last for all eternity. † (Chen & Aull, 1993). Dickinson’s apparent intention in this poem is depiction via exemplification. Her language is a quintessential representation of an allegory with more thought provocation than verity. Again, readers should prepare themselves to observe a nonliteral or rhetorical scenario and focus on ascertaining the seriousness hidden behind a much more abstract meaning. Symbolism is another conceptualized, literary element featured in both stories despite being more prevalent in â€Å"Nothing Gold Can Stay† (Frost, 1969). Frost used the typical colors of nature (green and gold) imply symbols of spring, that progress as the remaining cycles of nature seasonally occur. Furthermore, he hints at a deeper meaning behind death— a period of transformational change. In order to appreciate this impression, â€Å"Recall Socrates’s argument: ‘the state of death is one of two things: either the dead man wholly ceases to be and loses all consciousness or, as we are told, it is change and a migration of the soul to another place’. † (Deppman, 2000). He picked the color gold to symbolize the fragility and eventual insignificance of even our most valuable physical and emotional possessions. By his statement, â€Å"Then leaf subsides to leaf, So, Eden sank to grief. † (Frost, 1969), Frost selects to demonstrate the sorrow felt after loss of life as well as depicting an analogous allusion to the biblical Creation story. Whereas in â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death† (1893), Emily Dickinson poses a more unconventional attitude toward her own demise. In lines five through eight, she writes, â€Å"We slowly drove, he knew no haste, And I had put away, My labor, and my leisure too, For his civility. † (Dickinson, 1893). When the speaker refers to ‘his’ â€Å"kindness† and â€Å"civility†, she is articulating death as a slow, patient, and compassionate. â€Å"She progresses from childhood, maturity (the â€Å"gazing grain† is ripe) and the setting (dying) sun to her grave. The children are presented as active in their leisure (â€Å"strove†). The images of children and grain suggest futurity, that is, they have a future; they also depict the progress of human life. † (Unknown Author, 2009). Thus, the carriage ride actually symbolizes the act of abandoning her life and the memories it contained. She humbly revers death as the calm, quiet finally of incarnation. Dickinson even insinuated the harsh reality of visiting of her own grave when she wrote, â€Å"We paused before a house that seemed, A swelling of the ground; The roof was scarcely visible, The cornice but a mound. (Dickinson, 1893). Aging to the point of loss of life does remain the central theme inside both poems, but representations are a tad more distinct in Frosts’ than in Dickinson’s symbolic approach. Have you ever witnessed one’s mood shift completely? Authors generally try to maintain the same theme throughout one work. It is equally as important to dis cern the how the author’s tones contribute to the clarity of each piece. Sometimes, whether done by the author accidentally or with intent, we observe a change in the mood(s) of a motif. While Emily Dickinson and Robert Frost mutually demonstrate the qualities of human temporariness, their tones are also diverse. By writing, â€Å"Nothing Gold Can Stay† (Frost, 1969), the permanent state of leaving this world is denoted in a matter of fact way. Frost does not truly elude to his personal outlook on an afterlife, but focuses more on the cycle of life itself. Dickinson not only utilizes the same facet, but also takes it a step further when she states, â€Å"Since then ’tis centuries, and yet each, Feels shorter than the day I first surmised the horses’ heads, Were toward eternity. (Dickinson, 1893). She began her countenance with succinct tenor that later becomes a bit clouded. Dickinson’s audience receives a definite resolve rather than experiencing the need to imply ideals she holds about her faith. Each of these poems is incredibly whimsical, but Frost concisely manipulates the setting of nature giving his work the currency of application to any period in time. Sound patterns are another inspired technique both composers have exposed us to in the intricacy of their work. We automatically follow the rhythm these superb authors display. For instance, Frost uses alliteration in â€Å"Nothing Gold Can Stay† when he writes, â€Å"So dawn goes down to day. † (Frost, 1969). The repetition of words that begin with a â€Å"d† is a strategy meant to make the thought stronger and more emphatic for readers. His rhyme scheme is comprised of modest, consonant couplets (non-alternating). Dickinson actually used the complete opposite effect. In her poem â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death† (Dickinson, 1893), she integrated the repetition of vowel sounds by presenting an alternating pattern of words known as assonance. Again, an example is unmistakable in the lines, â€Å"We slowly drove, he knew no haste, And I had put away, My labor, and my leisure too, For his civility. † (Dickinson, 1893) and more specifically the poetic harmony of the words â€Å"away† and â€Å"civility. † With the rhythm in this poem, there is rhyme, but it has a much greater reliance on pronunciation. She may have started a trend in literature as, â€Å"Assonance is frequently substituted for end rhymes in modern poetry. † (Clugston, 2010 b). The authoring style Frost exercised was extra simplistic, yet multidimensional as well. Is it not an astounding conception to think of the distinguished artistry that must have went into two ostensibly austere compositions about the matching theme of impermanence? The fact that we cannot artlessly disregard the scholarly adeptness and literate gifts of Dickinson and Frost is surpasses distinction. Even more significant than the expiry themes both versifiers applied is the presence of underlying secondary themes. Frost hints life as being â€Å"golden,† leading one to surmise he is ‘saying’ to â€Å"Carpe Diem† or â€Å"Enjoy the day. (Online Etymology Dictionary, 2010). Therein, he selects to show life has precious intrinsic worth. Even though there are purity and a biblical reference in Frost’s â€Å"Nothing Gold Can Stay† (1969), his nature theme additionally highlights environmental/scientific characteristics. Syntax expended by Dickinson in â€Å"Because I could not stop for death† (Dickinson, 1893), in fact, alludes to a compassion and sympathy being felt for the persona. A prime example is her statement, â€Å"The carriage held but just ourselves, And Immortality. † (Dickinson, 1893). If the dramatic concentration of this author was to deliver a graceful reflection on her evolution, she was unequivocally efficacious. Some find it helpful to get an outsider’s opinion of the depressing conversational topic of human immortality. While our passing lingers as a fully common subject for individuals to contemplate spiritual principles, authors have written pieces that include a plethora of other beneficial notions worth uncovering. â€Å"Because I could not stop for Death† (Dickinson, 1893) is exquisitely illustrated by Emily Dickinson and venerated as an allegoric requiem with assonance that produced solid imagery. Likewise, Robert Frost impeccably regulated â€Å"Nothing Gold Can Stay† (Frost, 1969) to communicate symbolism with a classic form of consonance that is painless to identify. Both literature icons fine-tuned those components with figures of speech, personification, and tone and themes, rhyme schemes, and other literary techniques all requiring immense, prior critical thought in â€Å"Nothing Gold Can Stay† (Frost, 1969) and â€Å"Because I Could Not Stop for Death† (Dickinson, 1893). They expel an aura of chirpiness that renders as a refreshing and unique outlook encompassed in positivity. These poetic mavens wanted their audience(s) to derive a deeper message about making the most of our lives. Two notorious, inspirational pieces of literature are calling upon us to take some risks and make an impression before we take our last breathe.