Historical Recount: Marco Polo and His Voyage to China Essay

In 13th and 14th centuries, many people believed that Marco polo and his family have been one of the first Europeans to visit China with a famous book The Travels of Marco Polo that had been written by a writer called Rustichello. The most appealing thing about Marco Polo is that Marco and his father were not explores. Marco Polo was born in 1254 in Venice, Italy. He grew into a wealthy merchant family and had an education, which would have prepared him for a career in business. Marco learned basic literacy skills, arithmetic, book- keeping, and the basic theology of the Latin Church. He also had an intimate knowledge of French and Italian. In 1260, Marco Polo’s father and uncle, Nicolo and Maffeo Polo traded regularly with Orient. They had spent a lot of time in Constantinople, Crimea and around the Balkans. When Marco was six years old, his father and uncle set out on their trip to Far East. In 1265, they arrived at the court of Kublai Khan, the Mongol emperor who ruled over two thirds of Asia and asked them to bring 100 European priests to his court. In 1269, Nicolo and Maffeo polo returned to Venice, and they had known that Marco’s mother had died while they were on their journey. In 1271, Marco Polo joined his father and uncle’s another journey east. They passed through Armenia, Persia, Afghanistan and along the Silk Road to China. After three years, the Polos reached China. In this time, Marco’ father introduced him to Kublai Khan and certainly, the King was thoroughly engrossed in Marco’s knowledge and his behavior. So that, Marco family had got important positions at the king’s court. The Polos stayed in Kublai Khan’ court for 17 years. They had much of gold and jewels but they always worried about returning Venice. Marco Polo feared that if Kublai Khan died, he would not get his property out of the country because Kublai Khan was in late seventies. Finally, in 1292 Kublai Khan allowed Polos to come home on one condition that they accompanied Princess Kokachin whose Kublai Khanâ€⠄¢s daughter and her wedding party to Persia. After two years, the Polos arrived in Persia before continuing their journey home. In 1295, Marco Polo arrived Venice where was currently at war with Genoa. Marco was commander of a Venetian galley in the war against Genoa. After that, his ship was destroyed, so Marco was taken as a prisoner of war by the Genoese. For one year in prison, he met a writer called Rustichello of Pisa; Marco related clearly to him stories of Marco’s travels and experiences in China,  which then became a book The Travel of Marco Polo. In the summer of 1299, Marco Polo was released from prison in Genoa and returned home in Venice where he had been keeping doing business. In 1300, he married Donata Badoer and together they have three daughters. Marco Polo lived in Venice until he died of old age in 1324 at 70 of age. Although Marco Polo and his family were not the first Europeans to reach China by land, some of information in his book is a geographical reference in Asia, and it becomes useful experiences with many explorers for centuries later. The book also includes understanding about the Silk Road and Far East’s culture.

Morals and ethics essay

The topics that are going to be explained include- the abortion policy, Bursas and how society deals with rapes. It will summarized Into a short paragraph for each topic which will Include an extra paragraph for defining laws and how they fit Into society, also a paragraph to explain what morals and ethics and how they have changed through society. The law Is a dynamic thing. Let a complex mechanism evolving from hundreds of years of tradition, culture and values.In general terms, the law can be defined as a set of enforceable rules of conduct with set down guidelines for relationships between people and organisms in a society. Laws change when society does, when a certain law is changed to fit the modern day society, it is a very complicated process in which a law needs to be changed. For example, Australian politician Barry Farrell has changed the law of selling drinks in bars after a certain time. The law states that bars and puns are not allowed to sell drinks after am to reduce people from being injured or even killed.Ethics and morals both relate to â€Å"right† and â€Å"wrong† conduct. Ethics Is set by a series of rules provided to an individual by an external source, egg- their profession. Whereas, morals refer to as an Individual's own principles regarding right and wrong. Ethics do not change as a person moves from one society to the next. Morals may change as a person moves from one society to the next. Bursas are an important point towards changing the community over time. The Burk is a fully covered outer garment that Islamic traditions wear to cover up their dies, showing only their eyes.The problem regarding the Bursas is that this tradition has been brought into Australia and worn by Muslim women everywhere, and refuse to take it off. This is why a new law is trying to be enforced to make sure Muslim women take off their Bursas when asked or needed too. The legislation was drafted in response to public outcry about the case of Bur k-weaning mother-of- seven Carnet Matthews, who had a conviction of knowingly making a false statement quashed.Ms Matthews was originally given a six-month Call sentence after being mound guilty of falsely accusing a senior constable of forcibly trying to remove her Burk when she was pulled over while driving in Woodbine in Kidney's southwest in June 2010. She was later found innocent on appeal after the prosecution could not prove she was the woman who signed the statement while wearing the garment. This statement is the main reason why Bursas should be taken off when told of. Abortion is also another significant topic in relate to change in the community.The grounds on which abortion is permitted in Australia vary from state to state. In every Tate, abortion is legal to protect the life and health of the woman, though each state has a different definition. There is now law anywhere in Australia that requires the notification or consent of a woman's sexual partner. There Is also no enforced waiting period or an abortion, except In Western Australia, a minor does not require parental consent or notification. This law Is also very similar to the one about rape. They both are salary In some ways and could not be controlled at sometimes.This law has changed over the last 40 years as back in the sass's, abortions were illegal in omen being bashed and then raped and getting pregnant, they had to change the law because of this. A woman will have to have the pregnancy and live her whole life knowing how her child was brought into the world. Every time she looks at her child it could remind her of that horrible and unforgettable night. Another reason this law had been dropped was because of several gang rapes around Sydney. There was a number of attacks in a matter of weeks involving a group of guys on a girl in 2000.Eight Lebanese men kept approaching two young girls aged 17 and 18 in a car on August 10th, August 12th, a 16 year old girl was walking through a park wh en a 17 year old raped her alongside 12 other men and one had even held a gun against her head, August 30th, a woman was told she was being taken to a house to smoke some cannabis, however she was taken to three different houses where she was raped 25 times by 14 different men, two 16 year old girls were taken by attackers at a local train station, where then three older men raped then repeatedly over five hours. This just goes to show how easy it could be to get pregnant after being raped.This tenement is true, this was happening to people because of the policy. In Conclusion, given the evidence, moral and ethics have changed law in modern society for a number of different reasons. The law regarding the Burk is still being questioned and still has many different ways n how to change or stop the law. Abortion has changed due to young women being raped, because of this the government and communities want this horrible thing to stop. Also, people are generally pleased with the law reg arding abortion as people do not want to see young teens being forced to have and live with a child.

Alienation in The Revolver, Housewife, and How it Feels to Be Colored Me

When society considers the word alienation, they refer to people who are excluded by society, or those who are psychologically separated from themselves. There are several uses for this term. But both the sociological process and the mental state seem to be particularly dominant. In 'revolver', 'housewife', 'way of coloring', Bazan, Tutai and Hurston combine alienated social and psychological aspects with fear, repression and identity, respectively. Modernism: Heston and How to feel my color Zora Neil Heston's work embodies the reaffirmation of alienated modernist themes and racial and social identity. She has a subjective sentence style, but it is not external, it comes from that person's inner heart and mind. Heston will discuss racial relations, discrimination, race, social identity themes. - ... If your family goes out in a conversation, she needs to pull it hard. This is contrary to the experience I grew in the 1990s. When I was a child, I tried not to talk to strangers and told me to teach the general teaching dangers of strangers. If you are not talking directly to your parents or grandparents, you were asked why you should not accept the kidnapping of children and why someone is riding. When society considers the word alienation, they refer to people who are excluded by society, or those who are psychologically separated from themselves. There are several uses for this term. But both the sociological process and the mental state seem to be particularly dominant. - The experience of African Americans with Langston Hughes of Zora Neale Hurston is an excellent writer of Zora Neale Hurston and Langston Hughes, but the attitude towards personal experiences as African Americans varies. These differences arise from various reasons from gender to life, but even if you have different views on the experience of African-Americans, they share a common goal of achieving racial equality through art It is.

Rebecca Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Rebecca - Essay Example Sometimes, a good performance is able to give a solid ground for further reflection on some notions, the raise of awareness regarding their meanings and consequences and changes of person’s attitude. One of the most attended by celebrities show that is often criticized regarding its appropriateness and positive impact on young viewers is the extremely famous Broadway performance created by Jeff Marx and Robert Lopez that is called Avenue Q. The show represents a courageous decision of its creators to use puppets that dance and sing about the problems of unemployment, racial segregation, pornography, sexual preferences and others. It is important to stress that a profession of puppeteer is not very popular nowadays; therefore, due to the unconventional format of the performance, the show has managed to receive increased attention among critics. Despite the coverage of rather frank and piquant topics, Avenue Q is considered to be extremely realistic, educational and arresting. S tarting from 2003, the show had won numerous prestigious awards, including Drama Desk Award, Tony Award, Theatre World Award and even Grammy. The success and popularity of the show has also been supplemented and influenced by attendance of such world celebrities as Hilary Swank, Tom Hanks, Danny DeVito, Janet Jackson, Martin Lawrence, David Schimmer, Tony Shalhoub and many others. The performance resembles the scenic adaptation of childish TV series â€Å"Sesame Street†, whose main characters experience strong emotions and solve mature and serious problems. The authors made a successful attempt to create a musical first of all for grown-ups but with a clear emphasis on its instructive function ensured for young audience. The show tells a story about a guy named Princeton who has recently graduated from college and whose plans for the future are full of hopes and dreams. However, reflecting over his position displayed in the song â€Å"What Do You Do with a B.A. in Englishâ⠂¬ , the hero realizes that received education does not guarantee stability and reliable perspectives in his life. Being anticipated and inspired by positive changes, Princeton moves to New York but the only place where he can find an affordable apartment turns out to be the Avenue Q. There, he makes acquaintances with new friends who also try to get by in exhausting megalopolis. Sharing own experiences and feelings, they all strive to find a proper job, realize their life goal and most importantly find the true love. All characters are fascinating; they manage to captivate audience with their versatility and uniqueness. At the same time, the story of each hero is quite plain and trivial which also helps viewers to feel the reality of presented events. For example, moving to a new apartment, Princeton is introduced to such characters as the teaching assistant Kate Monster; the recently fired comedian Brian; his fiancee Christmas Eve, a therapists who has trouble with finding at lea st one patient; Trekkie Monster, a guy who day after day spends online watching porn videos; the house manager, Gary Coleman whose image has been created as an imitation and parody of American actor known by his roles in sitcoms; Lucy the slut and others (Avenue Q). The Avenue Q community consists of ten characters and only three of them are human beings meanwhile

Early Childhood Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Early Childhood - Essay Example The essay will give examples of the culture activities in the prepared environment. The eight natural laws of development espoused by Dr. Montessori will be elaborated to show how it impacts on a child’s development. Early Childhood â€Å"The secret of good teaching is to regard the child's intelligence as a fertile field in which seeds may be sown, to grow under the heat of flaming imagination. Our aim therefore is not merely to make the child understand, and still less to force him to memorize, but so to touch his imagination as to enthuse him to his inmost core† (Montessori, 1989). The Montessori method encourages creativity and imagination. It is believed that creativity is natural and inborn in every child and that life itself is a constant act of creation. This is the reason why the Montessori environment aims to foster curiosity, independence and experimentation. The prepared environment in the Montessori classrooms offers essential elements for the child’ s optimal development which includes challenging his imagination to come up with amazing ways of resolving problems. The aim of this environment is to render the growing child independent of the adult. The six aspects or principles in the prepared environment are freedom, structure and order, beauty, nature and reality, social environment and intellectual environment. Since Dr. Montessori believes that the child processes everything through his senses, the prepared environment is designed to provide a calm, neutral, quiet background that encourages and supports independent learning and exploration. The Montessori cultural activities in the prepared environment include geography, history, general science, botany and zoology, music and art. In teaching geography, Montessori schools use the sandpaper globe and the painted globe. In the sandpaper globe, the land areas are covered with sandpaper and the water surfaces painted blue. This globe aims to give children a sensorial and tactile impression of the world. By introducing the terms â€Å"globe, â€Å"land† and â€Å"water†, the child will have a better understanding of the geographical world. A painted globe on the other hand, is a small globe identical in size as the sandpaper globe but the continents are painted in different colors and the oceans are all painted blue. The coloured globe aims to help the child become aware of the relative sizes, shapes and positions of the land masses and oceans. The purpose of both globes is for the visual recognition of continents and oceans and for the child to see the relationship of the continents and oceans of the world. After a familiarization with the two globes, the child is introduced to the jigsaw map of the world. The Montessori jigsaw map of the world is made up of two hemispheres, with each continent as a removable puzzle piece. The colours are the same as the coloured globe. It is easier for a young child to see how the world is represented on a flat map. There is a control map for the child to place the pieces on. The teacher will show the child how to place the pieces on the control map and she invites the child to do the same. The child learns the names of the continents with the jigsaw map of the world in three period lessons. After a knowledge of the continents, the child is introduced to the various animals which live on each continent. Since children are naturally attracted to nature, the Montessori environment is also prepared with natural things such as plants and animals. The cultural materials were designed to allow the child to explore an abstract concept in a concrete form. Materials such as animal puzzles and identical picture cards are used to introduce the child to the animal. The child will then move on to nomenclature cards which identify the different parts of the

Social Studies Native Amercian Group Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Social Studies Native Amercian Group - Essay Example They therefore had to migrate to regions where food was in plenty and follow migrating animals too. Climatic changes affected how communities lived and built houses in the past, and the main purpose of shelter was to get cover from harsh weather and wild animals. Winter created the need for Iroquoians to build longhouses, which were houses that had greater length than width, had no window and hosted around 30 – 60 people depending on their size. Each family had their section in the longhouse. They used wood from woodlands and elm bark to build these houses. The Algonquians also built longhouses during winter, although they also built the lighter wigwams during the warm seasons. The Iroquoians main source of food was agricultural products. They grew and ate corn and vegetables, although they also hunted animals, for example deer, and also fished in the nearby lakes and rivers. Examples of water animals they went for are the eels. Contrary to them, the Algonquians were mostly hunters and gatherers, hunting mostly the white tailed deer during winter. In summer, when the lakes were no longer frozen, they would fish for food and also kill seals for meat. They left their inland settlements during spring and built others at ocean fronts, depending on sea food and also gathering some fruits and wild vegetables (Hirschfelder, 2000). The two tribes used bows and arrows to hunt animals, although the Algonquians also used techniques such as traps and snares on small animals. Meat was eaten communally, cooked by either men or women depending on the time and occasion. Skins and fur were the main raw materials for making clothes among the Iroquoians, and these were sewn together using needles made from animal bones. Deerskin was a favorite and could be sewn into leggings and tunics. Shells and porcupine quills were dyed and used to decorate the clothes. They wove mats and baskets from tree barks and used clay for cooking

Who were the Hippies and how did they influence the culture of the Essay

Who were the Hippies and how did they influence the culture of the 1960s - Essay Example They influenced the counterculture of 1960s in that they tried to push the social and political order toward non-conventional ways. They challenged the traditional ways of living by taking over a practice of cultural dissent from the bohemians and the beatniks. Hence, their lifestyle was just opposite to the lifestyle of the contemporary Americans. 2. The gay movement is the current counterculture movement (Gallaghar & Bull, 1996). The earliest known gay rights organization is the Society for Human Rights in Chicago that was established in 1924. After that, the Mattachine Society was established in 1951, and there have been a number of other organizations and movements till then which support gay rights. The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) passed by Congress in 1996 protects the marriage rights of gays since there were many states which had banned gay marriages before 1996. Congress approved the law in 2010 and legalized gay marriages. Gay rights include ceremonial marriages, child adoption, domestic partnership registration on public record, domestic partnership affidavit given by employers to gay employees that defines the couple’s economic relationship, health care, insurance, lawsuits, property, and the like. Hence, gay movements form the current counterculture because they present a different lifestyle that is not

Assignment Literature Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Assignment Literature Review - Essay Example Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR) is a procedure that is performed on the person in cardiac arrest. Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation involves rescue breathing to enable provision of oxygen to the individual’s lungs and chest compressions to keep the individual’s blood circulating (Medline). Although the practice of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is over two and a half centuries old (CPR Stats and Facts, AHA) but still majority of the people in America are not able to perform it properly and this is the reason that the survival rate from Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is low. Peer-reviewed literature suggests that the quality of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitations performed in-hospital is also inconsistent. It is worth mentioning that American Heart Association had made recommendations for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC) in 1974, 1980, 1986 and 1992 and the European Resuscitation Council in 1992, 1996 and 1998 then in 2000 the International Guideli nes for Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation and Emergency Cardiac Care, â€Å"Guidelines 2000† were finalised and these were evidence based (American Heart Association, in collaboration with the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation, 2000). Extant published literature has listed the following major drawbacks in traditional Cardiopulomnary Resuscitation (Murthy & Hooda, 2009): 1. Bystanders are more willing to perform chest-compression-only resuscitation for a person who unexpectedly collapses an approach that all agree is dramatically better than doing nothing. 2. Interrupting chest compressions for ventilation during cardiac arrest decreases survival. 3. Positive pressure ventilation during CPR for cardiac arrest increases intra-thoracic pressures, which decreases venous return to the thorax and subsequent perfusion of the heart and the brain. One of the leading practitioners has commented that despite its long standing existence, it is a serious problem that 70– 80% of bystanders who witness cardiac arrest are unwilling or unable to do cardiopulmonary resuscitation (Ewy G , 2007). Furthermore, it has been suggested that Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation may be good for patients with respiratory arrest. In light of this it is said that a new system of Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation called Cardiocerebral Resuscitation (CCR) or Continuous-chest-compression CPR (CCR-CPR) or chest-compression-only CPR or Cardiac-only Resuscitation, specially for out of hospital cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation in adults (Ewy, 2003). The main change in Cardiocerebral Resuscitation with respect to Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation is that in the case of Cardiocerebral Resuscitation the chest compressions are administered nonstop. Numerous studies and significant peer-reviewed research has supports Cardiocerebral Resuscitation (CCR). This effort of devising Cardiocerebral Resuscitation was based on the studies carried out by other researchers in the past. Such studies were aimed at performing Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation with chest compressions alone (Hallstrom, Cobb, Johnson, & Copass, 2000). A team of researchers have posited that in the case of realistic model of out-of-hospital ventricular fibrillation cardiac arrest, continuous chest compressions without assisted ventilations resulted in significantly better 24-hour postresuscitation neurologically normal

Ethnography. Patrons Flock the Supermarket Research Paper

Ethnography. Patrons Flock the Supermarket - Research Paper Example Key Observations and Findings 9 6. Validation 11 Application of Ethnography: When Patrons Flock the Supermarket 1. Introduction 1.1. Research Question Through personal observation it was found that when customers walk into a supermarket, the only things they set their eyes on are products that are displayed. On the other hand product producers have their eyes set on wallets of customers that walk in, to gain as much profit as possible. But both groups of the customers and suppliers play an important role in affecting each other directly and indirectly. In addition the entire set up of the supermarket, its environment and customary changes that are brought also influence customers. With reference to the current subject matter i.e. ethnographic study of clientele in the supermarket, following are the research questions that have been framed: What specified factors influence a customer’s behaviors towards the sales process?’ ‘How the associations of culture of such a clientele modify their routine product consumption?’ ‘Whether the cultural affiliation of people affect their communicational procedures or not?’ Maguire and Ball (1994) presented alarming results regarding various ethnographical studies conducted in the United Kingdom. This study brought forth that the contemporary setting had a large amount of strain, which still continues to exist. The reasons behind these strains are numerous (2006: pp.269-285). As per my perspective, a less participant observational method application in ethnographical researches has been found to be a major contributing factor and reason behind a less number of these researches. It has also been found out that the persons involved in the researches were unable to understand the circumstances on personal experience which caused this deficiency in previous researches (Maguire, 1994). So in order for an ethnographic research to be a successful a personal involvement of the researcher is indis pensible. 1.2. Purpose and Rationale This research paper has been conducted to bring in light the various sides of the state of affairs, and the course of action when various customers congregate in the supermarket. Other than the above provided motive, this paper aims at; a) understanding and a close observation of the people from many different backgrounds, b) Understanding the effects of the environment of the shopping are on the shoppers, c) the effects of the principles of certain people surrounding a populace. Thus a guidebook or some specific guidelines can be established by the marketing companies so that they could be able to understand the need of the customers. It is obtainable from Boddy’s research that 17% of the research organizations in the United Kingdom used the ethnographic research method to gain the results for better development of customer-supplier relationship (2009: pp.49). 2. Context of Research The field work of this research procedure was carried ou t in many markets which include Tesco Supermarket, in the West End area of Central London for two weeks. This specific supermarket was selected due to the reason that it was a simple superstore with a wide range of food items, clothing and accessories, DVDs, items of technical use, home-ware accessories, bakery items, available opticians, fresh meat, fish and items for kids such as toys etc. Though this store was uncomplicated with reference to the alignment of aisles and item availability, yet, a lot of attention was given to the atmospheric set-up and development of the ambiance. In accordance to Atkinson and Hamersley’s verification, the research procedure which I carried out mainly, or at least partially, (1994: pp.248). This meant that I had to be an active participant and it was necessary for me to gain access to the insights of

IT Systems Planning and Acquisition Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

IT Systems Planning and Acquisition - Essay Example However, usually later in execution of the project, the stakeholders or beneficiary organization may require some additional or different software modules or deliverables as defined in the project scope document, this phenomenon referred as scope creep. â€Å"Scope creep refers to the change in a project's scope after the project work has started. Typically, the scope expands by the addition of new features to an already approved feature list. As a result, the project drifts away from its original purpose, timeline, and budget.† (Alexandrou, 2011). In 2011, the Baker and Greer provided guidelines and shared the top 8 best practices for minimizing and avoiding scope creep of the project. I do agree that by implementing the guidelines of the Baker and Greer, the project manager may minimize the scope creep but the guidelines should more be refined and expanded in order to avoid or eliminate the scope creep of a project. In this document I would discuss the guidelines provided by the Baker and Greer, analyze them critically and would add the best practices or guidelines provided by other great authors along with the rationale. ... There are certain reasons for the scope creep have been identified include poor requirements analysis, involving the users in the later phases of the project, ignoring the convolution of the project, change control lacking and Gold plating. Some more reasons include miscommunication with customer, insincere customer with an unwavering policy of value for free, week project management methodology and resources (Vandermilt, 2011). It is pertinent to mention here that the Baker and Greer have not taken into account some of the reasons of scope creep in their guidelines that are mentioned above. Therefore, in order to avoid or minimizing the guidelines may be expanded and enhanced by including a plan for scope creep, getting formal signoff from the customer, document change control, reviewing the similar projects and lesson learnt reports, using standards for project management and certified project management professionals (Bellanca, 2010). Scope creep rises from commencement of the pro ject due to ambiguous planning. Therefore, it would be recommended to develop a plan for scope creep in which rules for handling the scope creep would be mentioned. Scope creep should be handled from the beginning to an end of the project through prescribed change control document. Change control refers to variation to the business processes, user or the technical requirements once sign-off has been taken place on the project scope document. Scope creep happens more repeatedly when formal sign-off the stakeholders have not signed off the project scope document. A number of business cultures evades the actual signing-offs the project scope document, due to the fear of responsibility ambiguous and incomplete requirements.

Reporting Practices And Ethics Paper Essay Example for Free

Reporting Practices And Ethics Paper Essay As you visit a medical clinic or hospital you may have concerns about the medical care you will receive. You would hope that you will receive fair and ethical treatment from the staff. It is the responsibility of the staff to do the best job possible to service not only the paient but also the employer. There is a need for an ethical foundation, especially in the health care setting. According to Bringing Ethics And Integrity Into Focus (2012), â€Å"Patients and family members desire high quality care, patient safety and the latest medical technology. But, ultimately, trust in the integrity of the caregiver is the foundation for their peace of mind.† Elements of Financial Management Financial management is vital to an organizations effectiveness. Financial management consists of four elements. The financial manager takes the necessary steps to identify and organize the organizations objectives. This is the element called Planning. Controlling is when the financial manager ensures that the plans set by the organization are being followed properly and efficiently. The financial manager then makes the decision of how to use the resources of the organization to carry out the plans that have been established. This is where the organizing and directing comes in. The last step that the financial manager makes is the decision making process. This is where the financial manager will make informed choices through primary tasks of analysis and evaluation. Accounting Principles and Financial Ethics Standards It is very important that accounting and financial professionals abide by the ethical standards that regulate what kind of business is conducted, how they use their skills and who they serve. This is called Gernerally Accepted  Accounting Pricinples. Ethical standards are determined largely by professional accounting and finance organizations and the Financial Accounting Standards Board. Accountants and financial professionals must continue their education and practice the ethics that prepare them for their positions, and they must also continue that education by learning new information that can affect their practices. Accountants must be objective, avoiding conflicts of interest. They must not, for instance, perform accounting services for firms that they have a vested interest in. When working with a clients financial information, financial professionals have access to a great deal of personal information. This is not only limited to financial information but also includes the names and contact information of employees as well as the names and locations of firms with which the company does business. Financial professionals are required to keep that information private except when ordered to disclose it by a court of law. Keeping information private is an example of an ethical standard. Another example of ethical standards of conduct and financial reporting practices would be the company Enron. Enron is a company known for its ethical scandals. Enron was unethical due to the fraud that was committed by its top executives. On paper the accountants made Enron more powerful than they appeared. Subsidiaries, known as special purpose entities have a single purpose and it was not necessary that they were included on Enrons balance sheet. These subsidiaries were used to hide risky investment activities and financial losses. (Folger, 2011). It was later determied that Enron assets and profits were inflated, and even fraudulent and non-existent. Enron was one of the worst accounting scandals of all time. Conclusion With the Enron scandal, organization ethics are more important now than ever, but not only does it make a businesses practice sound, it also allows the employees of the organization to go by a higher standard of integrity in their daily functions. It is more critical in health care settings than any other environments that there is an ethical foundation. It is important that health care staff conduct themselves with integrity, honesty, and respect for others and health care organizations must adopt standards of professional practice and having ethics is critical to the care patients  receive. . References Bringing ethics and integrity into focus. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.healthcarefinancenews.com/news/bringing-ethics-and-integrity-focus Folger, J. (2011). The Enron Collapse: A Look Back. Retrieved from http://www.investopedia.com/financial-edge/1211/the-enron-collapse-a-look-back.aspx

International Problems in the Uk Essay Example for Free

International Problems in the Uk Essay This study aimed at investigating the academic writing problems of the Arab postgraduate students of the College of Business at Universiti Utara Malaysia and to provide solutions to these problems. For this purpose, four research questions were posed and the answers to these questions were provided and discussed. The data for the study were collected via (face-to-face) interviews. The informants of this study were postgraduate students from the College of Business at Universiti Utara Malaysia for the academic year 2008-2009. The findings of the study revealed that the students faced problems in relation to vocabulary register, organization of ideas, grammar, spelling, and referencing. Introduction Nowadays, English plays an important role in education and students are expected to communicate effectively in institutions where English is the medium of instruction. Learners face the task of mastering content area in subjects such as mathematics, social studies, science, and business which are taught in the target language (English). In such cases, teaching and learning of English can help the students to deal successfully with their academic demands and to perform successfully in their disciplines and professional contexts (Adams Keene, 2000). WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 1 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info In the academic context, Dudley-Evans St. John (1998) point out that the students are required to produce specific writing genres such as essay, summary, critical review, and research paper. However, focus on the distinguishing regularities of structure of different text types can help learners build a repertoire of the organization and the relevant language forms of different genres. It can also make learners aware of the socio-linguistic role that texts play in particular discourse communities. In postgraduate studies in Malaysia, as pointed out by Baskaran (1983), English plays a vital role in helping to initiate students into the academic community in acquiring not only the language proficiency necessary but the specific genres pertaining to these communities. Like any second language learners, Arab learners face many problems in acquiring English. Many studies (Abbad, 1988; Hisham, 2008; Rabab`ah, 2003; Zughoul and Taminian, 1984) have been conducted in the Arab world to investigate the problems of acquiring English among Arab learners. Zughoul and Taminian (1984: 4) found that â€Å"Jordanian EFL students commit serious lexical errors while communicating in English. † Rabab`ah (2003) emphasized that there were problems of acquiring English among Arab learners because of formal instruction by language teachers who are native speakers of Arabic. Another reason given by Rabab`ah (2003) was the limited opportunities Arab learners have to learn English through natural interaction in English since they only encounter native speakers of English who come to the Arab world as tourists. Hisham (2008) investigated the problems that Arab students of business might have at University WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 2 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info Utara Malaysia. He found that those students face problems in vocabulary register, grammar, and referencing. Abbad (1988: 15) admits the weakness of Yemeni learners of English, and he states that â€Å"in spite of the low proficiency level in English of most applicants (Yemeni learners), they are accepted into the English department. † In most of the Arab universities, high school graduates are still accepted to pursue a program, such as English Studies, in spite of their weaknesses in that language. Arab learners find it difficult to communicate freely in English. Abbad (1988) mentions that their problems are due to the inappropriate methods of language teaching and the learning environment which some judge are unsuitable for learning a foreign language. The students appeared to have many problems when writing in English, like not knowing how to organize their ideas, because it is a new experience for them. For students to succeed in a foreign language generally, and writing skills specifically, they need to surround themselves in a language learning environment. In the case of the Arab world, Arab learners have little opportunities to use the foreign language in their society. As a result, many problems occur when they study at a university where the medium of instruction is a foreign language like English. Literature Review English for Specific Purposes (ESP) is divided into English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) and English for Academic Purposes (EAP). It aims to prepare students, in a relatively short period of time, to communicate, read, and write better so they can work WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 3 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info appropriately and successfully in certain activities. In order to achieve this goal, ESP activities have to be presented in context because context is the central idea of ESP. The other point that has to be taken into consideration in teaching ESP is to use authentic materials; this will lead the students to acquire what they need to develop for their jobs (Hutchinson Waters 1987). According to Dudley-Evans (2001), the absolute characteristics of ESP are: †¢ †¢ ESP is designed to meet the specific needs of the learners. ESP makes use of the underlying methodology and activities of the specialization it serves. †¢ It is centered not only on the language (grammar, lexis, register), but also on the skills, discourses and genres appropriate to those activities. English for Occupational Purposes (EOP) EOP can be grouped into business English, professional English (e. g. English for doctors, lawyers) and vocational English (e. g. English for tourism, aviation, and nursing). Several studies (Flanegin and Rudd, 2000; Goffman, 1979; Pakir, 1999, Puvenesvary, 2003) have been conducted on the importance of English in the occupational fields. Flanegin and Rudd (2000) discuss the need and importance of English skills in all professions. In addition, they emphasize on the importance of communication skills in the business and management fields by suggesting some solutions to enable students to be good communicators in business majors. Goffman (1979) indicates that business negotiations are carried out and letters are usually written in English. This sometimes discomforts those whose first language is not English. WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 4 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info The use of English is even more widespread because of the business-environment revolution. In fact, Pakir (1999) points out that the spread of English is most likely to continue because of the rapid spread of telecommunication, mass communication, business, and internet links. Thousands of international non-native to non-native communication and deals are undertaken daily in a huge number of settings: trade, diplomacy, tourism, journalism, science and technology, politics etc. As a result, there is a need to ensure there are competent writers and speakers of English. Puvenesvary (2003) reveals the importance of being a competent writer of English in the banking sector in Malaysia and the consequences of poorly-written business letters to clients. Methodologies for Teaching Writing for Academic Purposes Prior to discussing the theories related to writing for academic purposes, a few studies will be highlighted in relation to writing problems (Arndt, 1987; Badger and White, 2000; Davies, 1988; Hyland, 2003; Jordan, 1997; Kambal, 1980; Myles, 2002; Paltridge, 2001; Silva, 1990; Smith, 1982; Swale, 1990; Tribble, 1996; Vygotsky, 1978; and Zughoul and Husain, 1985). Kambal (1980) analyzed errors in three types of free composition written by first year Sudanese university students. The study took into consideration the major syntactic errors made by these students in the verb phrase and the noun phrase. Also, Kambal (1980) reported that the three main types of errors made in the verb phrase are verb formation, tense, and subject-verb agreement. He discussed errors in tense within five categories: tense sequence, tense substitution, tense marker, deletion, and confusion of perfect tenses. WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 5 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info The findings of this study reveal that the third-person singular marker was used redundantly, and they also revealed the use of the incorrect form of verb to be. Zughoul and Husain (1985) point out that the lack of lexical variety, subordination, and their heavy reliance on redundancy that does not add any new information to the text are the main problems learners have in writing skills. As a result, L2 practitioners are still in search of a coherent, comprehensive theory of the teaching of writing. The major writing theories proposed in the literature are product, process, and genre. Product Approach According to Silva (1990), the product theory of writing highlights form and syntax and it emphasizes rhetorical drills. The product theory focuses on the written product rather than on how the learner should approach the process of writing. In this theory, writing concerns the knowledge about the structure of language, and writing development is the result of the imitation of input (Badger and White, 2000). In addition, Arndt (1987) argues that the importance of imitation and a model in this theory are not only for imitation but also for exploration of analysis. Similarly Myles (2002) confirms that if the students are not exposed to written model texts, their errors in writing are more likely to subsist. In fact, Jordan (1997) indicates that the students are required to focus on a model, form, and duplication. In other words, the students study model texts and attempt various exercises that enable them to draw attention to relevant features of a text, and then replicate them in their own writing. WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 6 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info Process Approach Another theory which was proposed in order to teach writing is the process theory. Hyland (2003) indicates that the process theory focuses on how a text is written instead of the final outcome. He adds, the process theory has a major influence on understanding the nature of writing and the way writing is taught. Therefore, the process theory emphasizes on the importance of certain procedures such as pre-writing, drafting, evaluating, and revising. He pointed out that the process theory would involve introducing techniques that help the students identify and engage a topic; students are required to show multiple drafts of a work. After discussion and feedback from evaluators, the students would revise the drafts. Rewriting, revision, and editing are essential parts to writing in this theory. In a similar vein, Jordan (1997) states that process writing enables the students to make clearer decisions about the direction of their writing by certain procedures such as discussion, tasks, drafting, feedback, and informed choices. The advantage in adopting the process theory is in updating the importance of the cyclical and recursive nature of writing that is employed by native writers where ‘ordinarily pre-writing, writing, and rewriting frequently seem to be going on simultaneously’ (Smith, 1982: 104). Tribble (1996) explains the process-based approach in teaching academic writing. He says that the students first brainstorm in small groups the topic to be discussed in writing; this helps them to generate ideas before starting to write. This is followed by gathering an outline of the essay and individually writing its first draft. Students revise their first drafts WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 7 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010. http://www. esp-world.info and give them to other students for peer-reviewing and commenting on. The final stage is editing the essay by the writer himself/herself to eliminate all language errors. Thus, this approach focuses on process rather than product. Genre Approach The genre theory in writing emphasizes on the social context in which writing is produced (Badger and White, 2000). Swales (1990) explains that the genre theory is a class of communicative events and that the members of the communicative events share some set of communicative purposes which are identified by the expert members. In the academic context, the experts will be the lecturers who are teaching the various subjects. As claimed by Davies (1988), students, teachers, and subject tutors are all involved in the written language for a selected field of study and the forms of expression permitted within the field. Davies (1988: 131) suggests that the students, in aiming to attain academic success ‘somehow discover the criteria by which the different genres they produce are assessed. ’ He seems to suggest that the criteria are not made explicit to students. Swales (1990) emphasizes the genre-based approach in teaching academic writing. He focuses on analyzing communicative purposes of the text read by learners and the means used by the writers of these texts to reach such purposes. In this approach, the students learn to write their own texts trying to achieve similar communicative purposes by way of choosing the most suitable and expressive language means for that. WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh. 8 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info Flowerdew (2002) views the genre approach as a dynamic approach which varies across time, across disciplines, and across instructors in the disciplines. Thus, the aim of the genre approach in writing is to help students master the conventions of a particular form of genre that is relevant to their specific situation. This approach requires collaboration with instructors from the disciplines, which may not always be possible (Flowerdew, 2002). It is important for the teachers to have cooperation with the students, with the teacher taking an authoritative role to support learners as they move towards their potential level of performance. Similarly, Paltridge (2001) proposes a framework that involves exploring the texts and contexts of students-target situation, enabling reflection on writing practices, exploiting texts from various types of genre and creating mixed genre portfolios. The Objectives of the Study The main objectives of the current study are: To investigate the types of writing carried out by Arab postgraduate students in the business programs at the College of Business at UUM. To investigate the writing problems that Arab postgraduate students face in their business programs at UUM. To find out the causes of the writing problems among Arab postgraduate students of business programs at UUM. To suggest some solutions to solve the writing problems among Arab postgraduate students in the business programs at UUM WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 9. ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info Research Questions This study aims to answer the following questions: 1. What are the types of writing carried out by Arab postgraduate students in the business programs at UUM? 2. What are the problems faced by the Arab postgraduate students of the business programs at UUM in relation to writing skills? 3. What are the causes of the writing problems among the Arab postgraduate students of the business programs at UUM? 4. How to overcome the writing problems faced by Arab postgraduate students of the business programs at UUM? Subjects The informants for this study were 10 Arab postgraduate students in the business programs of COB who are doing their master’s degree by coursework at Universiti Utara Malaysia. The informants have sat for the UUM English Language Placement Test and only three have passed this test. The informants are 5 Jordanians, 2 Iraqis, 2 Libyans, and 1 Yemeni. The age of the informants range from 25 to 40 (see table 3. 1). The original names of the students have been replaced with fictitious names in line with research ethics in keeping the identity of the informants confidential. Research Instrument This is a qualitative study and the researcher used semi-structured interviews to collect data. Gray (2004) indicates that the reasons for choosing qualitative methods for collecting data are: the need to attain highly personalized data, there are opportunities for WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 10 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info probing, a good return rate, and helps the respondents if they have difficulties with written language. Research Design This study is a qualitative study and it utilized semi-structured interviews in a face-toface interaction to explore the students’ beliefs and thoughts about certain topics, this is in line with Lynch’s (1996) view that, the use of semi-structured interviews enhances the understanding of the data and makes the data collection more systematic as compared to the informal conversational approach. Findings and Discussion The findings reported in the next section are based on the four questions posed in the students’ interviews. Writing Types in the Business Programs. It was found that the business students interviewed were required to write several types of academic texts: project papers, article reviews, summaries, reports, article critiques, proposals, comparative analyses, book reviews, essays, and case studies (see table 1). Table 1: Writing tasks in the business programs Interview Q1: what type of writing do S1 you carry out in your program? Projects 1 Total S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 (n=10) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 11. ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info Article Reviews Summaries 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 1 1 1 3 Reports 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 Article critiques 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 Proposals 1 1 Comparative Analysis Book Reviews Essays Exams for 1 1 1 1 1 2 2 1 Case Studies 1 1 1 1 4 S=student As revealed by the study, students of the business programs are required to produce various genres of academic writing such as projects, article reviews, summaries, reports, article critiques, proposals, comparative analyses, book reviews, essays, and case studies. This is because these’ tasks require students to employ their critical thinking skills, read widely, and apply what they have learnt in their courses. This list of tasks provided partially concurs with the findings of Barbara et al. (1996) who pointed out that reports, WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 12 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info proposals, and projects are the most frequently written business tasks performed by business students. The identified tasks can provide English language instructors insights into selecting and implementing tasks for the English for Business courses. Teachers and curriculum developers can create business English courses based on the results of the needs analysis carried out in the study. Thus, teachers and curriculum developers can give special attention to tasks like projects and reports in the language courses, so that students can be well versed in these tasks. This is in line with the view of St. John (1996) and Chew (2005) who claimed that frequent target tasks can offer a tentative foundation for choosing and implementing tasks for the targeted Business English Communication course. Problems with the Writing Tasks It was found that while carrying out their writing tasks, the business students face problems in vocabulary, grammar, organization of ideas, spelling, and referencing (see table 2). Table 2: Problems with writing tasks in the business programs Interview Q. 2: What are the problems you face in carrying out the writing Total tasks? S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 (n=10) Vocabulary Problems (VP) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10. Register (VR) General (VG) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 10 7 13 WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info Capacity (VC) Paraphrasing (P) Expressing Ideas (EI) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 3 8 Grammatical Problems (GP) Prepositions (GPP) Articles (GPA) Tenses (GPT) Word order Organization of ideas 1 1 1 3 Spelling Referencing APA Style (RS) Ignorant (RI) 1 1 1 1. As shown in this study, the postgraduate students of the COB programs at UUM have problems in English academic writing. The major problem that the students mentioned is vocabulary. This is because a reasonable vocabulary size is needed for students to function effectively in their programs. This concurs with Coxhead Nation (2001) who stated that approximately 2,000 words are seen in most uses of the English language. The standard list of these words is the General Service List (GSL) of English Words. The GSL is divided into two parts, the first one is GS1 which contains 1,000 words and the second part is GS2 which also contains 1,000 words. GS1 covers about 77% of academic texts and GS2 25%. The first category contains words that frequently appear in academic texts regardless of subject areas, but they are not common in non-academic materials. As WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 14 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info a result, learners have to learn the words in the GS2 so that they would have less difficulty in pursuing their postgraduate studies. In addition, Rabab`ah (2003) pointed out that the students often lack the necessary vocabulary when they are engaged in authentic communicative situations such as writing and speaking. As a result, the students will be unable to express their ideas freely and accurately because of their limited vocabulary. These difficulties can be solved by offering more discipline-specific reading courses in order to improve the students’ vocabulary size and depth to help them in their academic writing. Also, the students become aware of what to expect in their academic disciplines. This is in line with Kasper’s (2000) view that by providing materials that concentrate on content, the students can be aware of the concepts, audience, and the purpose of their academic disciplines. Moreover, the findings of the current study revealed that the students face difficulties in grammar. Grammar is extremely important in conveying accurate messages. Key grammatical forms include tenses, voices, modals, articles, nominalization, and logical connectors (Dudley-Evans St. John, 1998). Therefore, it is advisable to restrict these forms and create materials which enable the students to progress in their academic writing. This coincides with Hutchinson Waters (1987), who emphasized on identifying the grammatical forms and produced materials that took these forms as their syllabus. Allen Widdowson (1974) stated that the students’ needs could be only met by WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 15 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info a course that develops the knowledge of how sentences are combined together to make meanings. Another problem, which has been mentioned, was the problem of referencing. Writing references according to certain conventions (APA, IEEE, etc) helps the students to be scholarly writers and trains them in academic integrity. Using certain computer programs such as the End-Note program could help the students to achieve that purpose. As such, COB should conduct training sessions for students to use that kind of program which is available in the UUM library. Causes of Writing Problems It was found that the students attributed their problems in English to their weak foundation, environment, and methods of teaching English in their countries. Weak foundation is related to the status of English, the students’ motivation to learn English, and the teachers’ lack of interest. Environmental reasons include the use of the mother tongue, few opportunities to practice English, and isolated culture. On the other hand, methods of teaching English included the medium of instruction, using Arabic in English classes, writing done in Arabic, teachers’ low proficiency in English, and lack of writing practice in educational institutions (see Table 3). WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh. 16 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info Table 3: Causes of problems in writing tasks in the business programs Interview Q3: Why do you think you have S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 Total these problems in writing? (n=10) 1 1 1 1 Weak Foundation (WF) 1 1 1 1 8 Status of English Motivation Teachers’ Lack of interest Environment 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 4 8 Mother tongue Few opportunities to practice English Isolated culture Methods of teaching English 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 6 2 1 7 Medium of instruction Writing done in Arabic Teachers’ low proficiency 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 4 1 1 Using Arabic in English classes Lack of practice writing in educational institutions 1 1 1 1 17 4 WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info Suggestions to overcome Academic Writing Problems Some suggestions were provided by the informants to improve their writing skills. Most of them emphasized the role of COB, others emphasized the learners’ roles, and some concentrated on the teachers’ roles, and the writing development process (see table 4. 4). Table 4. 4: Suggestions from the informants to overcome academic writing problems Interview Q4: How do you think you can improve your Academic Writing skills? Learner Autonomy (LA) S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 S7 S8 S9 S10 Total (n=10) 5 1 1 1 1 1 Reading Extensively Extra Classes Teachers’ Role (TR) 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 3 3 5 Speak simple English Use multiple techniques Correct students’ errors Increase the number of writing tasks College Role (CR). 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 8 Discipline specific materials Discipline specific English test 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 7 1 WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh 18 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info The students pointed out that teachers play an important role in improving their academic writing skills. They suggested that teachers ought to correct the students’ grammatical errors. This coincides with Gocsik (1997) who argued that dealing with the students’ grammatical errors, as they arise in students’ writing is helpful. By doing so, it helps to build students’ awareness of the different types of grammatical errors they are making and encourage them to check their errors by using grammar handbooks. Moreover, the students proposed that teachers should employ multiple teaching techniques in order to improve students’ academic writing. Using some fun activities like games and scrambled sentences would motivate the students’ in learning English. This concurs with Ober (1992) who emphasized on including micro-writing activities that focus on the students’ problems in writing and using activities that are simple and related to the students’ academic disciplines. The students also proposed that lecturers should increase the number of writing tasks. They believe that by doing so, they would strengthen their abilities in academic writing. In this way the students will be required to write some of the academic writing tasks, if these tasks were attached with the lectures’ feedback. The students will be aware of their errors and will try to improve their academic writing after knowing their weak points. This is in line with Russell (1991) who suggested including more writing in disciplinespecific courses because each discipline has its own terminologies of language use and style that can best be taught to students in the specific contexts of courses in the disciplines. WRITING FOR ACADEMIC PURPOSES: PROBLEMS FACED BY ARAB POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS OF THE COLLEGE OF BUSINESS, UUM Fadi Maher Saleh Al-Khasawneh. 19 ESP World, Issue 2 (28), Volume 9, 2010, http://www. esp-world. info The students were aware that by providing discipline- specific English materials, they can develop their writing abilities. So, it is advisable for the college to initiate disciplinespecific English classes where materials contain discipline specific register. It is recommended that the students take intensive English courses which are related to their academic disciplines. This is to help familiarize students with the writing demands of their disciplines. This is in line with Jordan (1997) who indicated that the students are required to focus on their academic genres and duplication. In other words, the students study genre texts and attempt various exercises that enable them to draw attention to relevant features of a text, and then replicate them in their own writing. Conclusion For the purpose of exploring the problems that Arab postgraduate students at COB might face, an investigation was carried out on the writing tasks that are carried out and the causes of these problems, and suggestions to overcome these problems were provided. Semi-structured interviews were used to collect the data. The findings of the current study may help the curriculum developers to improve the current curriculum of COB and design Business English courses that could meet learners’ needs and wants. This coincides with Dudley-Evans (2001) who views ESP as a means to meet the specific needs of the learners. The ESP practitioners can utilize the findings of the study to design ESP courses which deals with the academic writing process.

The Whaling And Whale Watching Industry Tourism Essay

The Whaling And Whale Watching Industry Tourism Essay The ecotourism industry, once a niche market for the environmentally concerned travellers is getting more popular in the recent years and the number of tourists participating in this particular tourism segment is increasing (Wood, 2001). Ecotourism initially describe the nature-based travel to relatively undisturbed areas with education as the main purpose. Through the years, the concept of ecotourism has matured to a definition that should comprise of a few elements including nature-based, active participation, progressive education travel, interpretation of natural environments, social and cultural components, involvement and returns for the local community and also the management to be ecologically and environmentally sustainable (Parks, Parks, Allen, 2009). In ecotourism, the activities can range from a few hours of nature appreciation to a long duration tour that will take months. This includes activities such as presentation of the marine biology on a cruise (cetacean-watching), a guided tour in a national park, snorkelling and many more. The main objective of this essay is to further discuss whale-watching, a type of cetacean watching, around the world and if this activity is affecting the behaviours of the whales population near the coastal area. Whale-watching Whale-watching is a commercial activity that is carried out by the tourists to observe, swim with and/or listen to the whales in their natural habitat. These activities are normally for recreation purpose; however whale-watching can also serve scientific and educational purpose. During the past years, a phenomenal growth for whale watching as tourism activity has been observed around the world. This particular activity has involved an estimated of 9 million participants yearly in 87 countries and generates approximately US$1 billion each year (Hoyt, 2000) With the lucrative profit from obtainable from whale-watching activity, this have led to heated debates on the whale-watching and whaling industry. It has been argued that whaling is incompatible with whale-watching (Parsons Draheim, A reason not to support whaling a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009). In a survey conducted, it was found out that 91.4% of whale-watching tourists would not go to countries whereby they hunt whales for commercial purpose to engage in whale watching; and that 79% of them would even boycott visiting the country (Parsons and Rawles, 2003, cited in (Parsons Draheim, A reason not to support whaling a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009)). A few of the more popular sites for whale-watching includes: Kaikoura, New Zealand; Tofino and Telegraph Cove, in British Columbia, Canada; Ogata and Ogasawara, Japan; Friday Harbour, Washington, USA; Hervey Bay, Byron Bay, and Monkey Mia, Australia; Husavik, Iceland and many more. According to Hoyt (2000), the most common focal species for whale-watching industries are the humpback whales, gray whales, northern and southern right whales, blue whales, minke whales, sperm whales, short-finned pilot whales, orcas and bottlenose dolphin. Despite the benefits obtained from whale-watching activity, operators should take caution while carrying out these activities as the recreational activities in the inshore water can pose a major threat to the whales and dolphins. The threats can due to direct cause such as injuries due to accidental cuts by the boatà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s propeller, or an indirect stress to them from the high frequency sounds made by the vesselà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s motor. In order to prevent such harms towards the animals, the operators should follow by the marine code of conduct in order to protect the animalà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s welfare. There are different set of code of conduct that are used across the world but the common rules found in these code includes maintaining a certain distance from the animals, maintain a predictable course and speed when near the animals and also move away if signs of disturbance are displayed by the animals. However, is it sufficient to just adhere to the code of conduct and should there be more actions to be undertaken by the government to aid in the sustainability of this tourism activity. Several studies have been carried out throughout several regions to discuss more on the issues of the whale-watching activities and whether this activity is sustainable. Literature Reviews Whaling and Whale-Watching Debates have been going on worldwide on the issue on whether whaling can co-exist with whale-watching in a region. It has been stated that there is an urgent need to evaluate the cultural and the environmental values of the tourists and find out what are the factors that attracts or discourages them from participating in whale-watching activity (Higham, 2007 and Lusseau, 2008, cited in (Parsons Draheim, A reason not to support whaling a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009)). However, there are rebuttal on such claims, indicating that the fact whereby countries such as Iceland, Japan and Norway all engage in active whaling and yet have whale-watching activities within their countries and thus it is not valid to argue that whaling and whale-watching are incompatible (Corkeron, 2006, cited in (Parsons Draheim, A reason not to support whaling a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009)). According to Parson and Draheim (2009), the tourists whom participated in cetacean tourism tend to hold strong environmental values and thus may have very strong sentiments against whaling. Also, tourism receipts is the major source of economic income for the Dominican Republic, any activity that may affects the stability of this income could have major impacts within the country. The study also shows that with a highly visible national policy towards cetacean conservation, and opposition to the hunting and capture of cetaceans, it would be beneficial in attracting tourists to the country, whereas a visible pro-whaling policy might repel the tourists (Parsons Draheim, A reason not to support whaling a tourism impact case study from the Dominican Republic, 2009). Higham and Lusseau, (2008) also state that the answer to whether whaling and whale-watching activity can coexist depends largely in the perceptions, values and behaviours of the tourists themselves. Effects of whale-watching on the animals Despite the lucrative profits that can be obtained from whale-watching activity, the well-being of the animals involved in the activity, which mainly includes the cetaceans should be emphasised, which thus leads to increasing number of studies focusing on whether the whale-watching activity will cause disturbance to the animals. Disturbance in this case is defined as the negative influence that interferes with the natural behaviour of cetaceans and has a harmful outcome (Ritter, 2003, cited in (Stamation, Croft, Shaughnessy, Waples, Briggs, 2009)). One of such studies was carried out in the whale-watching site at New South Wales (NSW). The main focus of whale-watching in NSW is the humpback whales, although there are also tours to watch other marine mammals such as dolphins and seals. Most of the watching will occur during the whaleà ¢Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¡Ã‚ ¬Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â‚¬Å¾Ã‚ ¢s southern migration when the whales move much slower than on their passage northwards. Signs of disturbance in the humpback whales around the world include orientation away from the vessel, increased in swimming speeds, prolonged submergence and changes in the respiration behaviour and such avoidance behaviour are observed in this study (Stamation, Croft, Shaughnessy, Waples, Briggs, 2009). As this study is a short term study, it cannot be used to conclude that such avoidance behaviours will cause any detrimental outcome for the whales involved. However, the possibilities of inducing negative long-term effects onto the whales due to the reduction of the time spent foraging; resting, socializing or suckling should not be ignored. Conservative approach on the management of the humpback whale-watching industry should be adopted to ensure that the short term impacts that was discovered in this study does not translate to the long term impacts (Stamation, Croft, Shaughnessy, Waples, Briggs, 2009). Another study has been done on the killer whales to find out the behavioural responses of this species towards the whale-watching boats. It was stated that with the exposure of millions of the tourists to the animals in their natural environment, this may change the attitudes towards the protection of the critical habitat and threatened populations. Guidelines for whale-watching should be based on the actual impacts of the human activity on the whale behaviour instead of the perceived effects. Once again, it have being emphasised that when a whale is been disturbed, it shows sign of avoidance either by varying the duration of its dives, or by swimming faster or altering the direction of swimming. Antagonistic behaviours such as slapping flukes or fins on the surface of the water may also be displayed. Since the changes in behaviours of the whales are observed when boats are near, management of whale-watching should adopt more conservative distance guidelines to present even greater b enefit to the animals (Williams, Trites, Bain, 2002). Sustainability of whale-watching As mentioned above, whale-watching industry has enjoyed a phenomenal growth and brings in lucrative profit for the community that carries out this activity. With that, there are more participants in this industry and hence leading to an increasing number of regulations and guidelines that were developed in an attempt to ensure the sustainability of the industry. The need to develop appropriate guidelines for the commercial whale-watching activities should be attend to. Also, with the limited data available on the species and their behaviours there will be an urgent need to develop new knowledge and understanding to help guide management of the industry (Valentine, Birtles, Curnock, Arnold, Dunstan, 2004). The sustainability of the whale-watching activity and its associated benefits could be significantly affected by the changes in the occurrence of the local cetacean species in response to the global climate change. Global climate change refers to the net change in climate over time which is a consequence of either natural variability or human activity. It has been identified that both direct and indirect means by which changing of the sea surface temperature could affect the cetacean distribution. With that, it can cause the change in range of species distribution, the occurrence and abundance of individuals and the timing and lengths of migrations; the effects on reproductive success and mortality levels. The above have clearly shown the potential implications for both cetacean species and whale-watching tourism (Lambert, Hunter, Pierce, MacLeod, 2010). Findings Studies on the operations of the whale-watching activities in two different regions, New Zealand and Iceland have been done. Whale-watching in New Zealand At Kaikoura, New Zealand, the male sperm whales are the primary focus for the commercially important whale-watching industry. With the growing industry, there is an increase in the concerns over the social, educational and environmental impacts of whale-watching on both the local human and whale populations. The cetacean relies on echolocation for foraging and communication, hence these species becomes exceptionally vulnerable to changes in their acoustic environment. For example, the addition of anthropogenic sound sources via the boats presence (research boat and whale-watching boats) results in a reduction of the mean blow interval of the whales. These tendencies to shorten breath are due to the stress respond by the animals (Richter, Dawson, Slooten, 2006). On top of the decreased respiratory periods, shorter surfacing intervals and sharp directional changes have also been identified as potentially unacceptable changes in behaviour. The above are evidences that are enough to suggest that the whale-watching industry in Kaikoura is having an adverse effect on the whales (Curtin, 2003). Whale-watching in Iceland In Iceland the whale-watching industry did not begin until 1990 and the country is becoming a major player rapidly within the international whale-watching market (Parsons Rawles, 2010). As the coastal water of Iceland host a variety of cetacean species which includes the humpback whales, minke whales, blue whales and killer whales that are the target of whale-watching operations. Although the whaling activity in the Icelandic waters had ceased in 1989, but then whaling resumes during 2003 despite there is no legal process for that. The Icelandic government did little consideration on how the resume of the commercial whaling might impact on the whale-watching industry. And through the studies, it was discovered that the resumption of commercial whaling could cause a massive and critical reduction in the number of whale-watching tourist going on whale-watching trips in Iceland which in turn results in a loss of direct income (Parsons Rawles, 2010). Since whale-watching is currently the pillar of the Icelandic economy, thus care must be taken so that the Icelandic government does not destroy it. Analysis Through the reviews of the studies that have been done on the whale-watching activity in various regions, particularly New Zealand and Iceland, it can be concluded that the whale-watching industry is a growing industry that is bound to bring in high revenue for the community that is conducting such activities. However, the whale-watching activity that is being carried out can cause disturbance to the cetaceans in the regions which leads to the change in behaviours of these animals. These changes in behaviours can cause adverse effect on the animals. On top of that, the whale-watching activity might cause direct injuries to these animals through the cuts by the propeller of the boats. Another issue is that commercial whaling should not coexist with the whale-watching activity. As it has been found out that most of the whale-watchers are very environmentally motivated and they display great interest in the animal welfare issues (Parsons Rawles, 2010). Since majority of the whale-watchers have voiced out that they would boycott visiting a country that conducts hunts for cetaceans, places with whale-watching activity should consider with care regarding the implementation of whaling activity in the region since whale-watching can bring in high revenue for the destination and that introduction of whaling might bring down the benefit of whale-watching. Recommendation Voluntary approaches are being considered as an important tool for the conservation and environmental management. The voluntary approaches towards conservation can include agreements between regulatory agencies and private enterprise, agreements among the industrial firms, or code of conduct within a professional or industrial group (Wiley, Moller, Pace III, Carlson, 2008). Voluntary agreement to the operational procedures can be established for commercial whale-watching vessels that are used to view the endangered or protected species of whales. Guidelines can be created to avoid whale strikes and to prevent the whale-watching boats from disrupting the animals. This is important as in some of the areas, commercial whale-watching boats have a relatively high frequency of collisions with the whales, contributing high noise levels around the whales, disrupting whale behaviour and reducing the reproductive fitness of the whale (Wiley, Moller, Pace III, Carlson, 2008). Besides the use of voluntary approach, collaborative relationships can be established between the whale-watching companies and the related organizations and individuals that make up the organizational field. These collaborations can play an important role in structuring the relationships and understandings of members of the field (Lawrence, Phillips, Hardy, 1999). By collaboration, it refers to a cooperative, inter-organisational relationship that is negotiated in an ongoing communicative method. Science education Conclusion

Sea-Cucumbers :: Personal Narrative Writing

Sea-Cucumbers I have always found sea-cucumbers to be strange. If you have ever been snorkeling, you may or may not have noticed these elongated vegetables on the sea floor. I suppose I shouldn’t call them vegetables though, because they are slightly more ‘cognizant’ than garden-variety greenery. Instead I have dubbed them ocean-turds, because honestly, they do look the great defecation of a marine mammoth. They are also well-shaped, perfectly cylindrical turds at that! I am rambling again. Forgive me. In eighth grade, my parents and I took a trip to Japan. My dad is a baseball scout, and instead of flying over solo to give the Kyoto Carps the once-over, he decided to make the scout into a family vacation. I was skeptical. I don’t like seafood, and here we are, going to a country that eats raw fish and that names its baseball teams after blunt-nosed marine life. The city itself seemed a bouleversement of day and night. Humanity’s great invention, the lightbulb, mocked with overwhelming voltage, density, and quantity nature’s celestial fireballs. Bulbs, the imitators, the pupils of fusion, now ridiculed night with flashes from across the spectrum. As we drove into Tokyo, I couldn’t believe that its citizens were able to sleep at night, what with such lambent pollution. But I was eager to walk the streets, to run into the shops that beckoned to me with signs for Sony and with gadgetry that inhabited the display windows. The hotel room had paper walls! As an American used to a room’s noiseless seclusion, I liked the idea that here, rooms were not meant to be space with a relentless fixation on privacy. I promptly made my mark. Restless after the long plane flight, I was bouncing off the walls when I literally poked an extremity through one. You can image my surprise at discovering such fragility. I am in the holy land of ninjas and samurai, and I have just punched my way through a wall. Awesome! I felt like ‘the kid’ from â€Å"Karate Kid.† All that was missing was the exotic, ruminative twang and non-western modality of Asian music. Of course, my ninjas-and-gadgets glorification of the place was, alas, not meant to be. My fun and games had to be extinguished; a foot had to be put down and that foot was Japan’s ooey-gooey cuisine. My dad was interested in one of the Carp’s players, and as was customary, the team’s owner felt a strong sense of duty to take us out for a traditional Japanese dinner, so that the two of them could discuss arrangements for the trade.

Peirce, Virtuality, and Semiotic :: Pierce Virtual Virtuality Essays

Peirce, Virtuality, and Semiotic The adjective "virtual," practically unheard-of a few years ago, has without a doubt become the number one buzzword of the nineteen-nineties. Virtual reality has become a catch phrase for the interactive multimedia technologies that have supplanted desktop publishing at the cutting edge of personal-computer graphics technology. The virtual communities which for years have flourished in comfortable obscurity on the Internet, have recently been thrust into the glare of publicity as commercial gateways have opened up the net to the public, while virtual corporations have transformed the world of business. Yet the word "virtual" is nothing new; although its ubiquity is new, as is perhaps its current meaning or meanings. In his admirable glossary of cyberterms, the philosopher Michael Heim defines "virtual" as: "A philosophical term meaning 'not actually but just as if'," and he notes that the term in this sense goes back to the thirteenth-century philosopher John Duns Scotus. (1) The word "virtuality" may have been first used to describe interactive computer systems by Theodore Nelson (the inventor of the term "hypertext"), who proposed this definition, in 1980: (2) By the virtuality of a thing I mean the seeming of it, as distinct from its more concrete "reality," which may not be important. ... I use the term "virtual" in its traditional sense, an opposite of "real". The reality of a movie includes how the scenery was painted and where the actors were repositioned between shots, but who cares? The virtuality of a movie is what seems to be in it. While this may at first blush seem equivalent to Heim's later definition, Nelson's definition is in fact somewhat more specific and represents a significant meaning shift from the traditional sense, as becomes clear when we contrast it with the definition offered in 1991 by the media philosopher Paul Levinson. Paraphrasing Levinson slightly, we may say that he defines a "virtual" X as what you get when the information structure of X is detached from its physical structure. (3) Levinson's examples include virtual - i.e. electronic - classrooms, libraries, and books, and these certainly do not have the look and feel of actual classrooms, libraries, or books. As I have noted elsewhere, the two definitions coincide in the case of virtual reality - the information structure of reality as a whole includes its look and feel - but this is a coincidence; the two definitions represent different concepts.

The Movement for Womens Rights Inside The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlott

The Movement for Women's Rights Inside "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman Women have been mistreated, enchained and dominated by men for most part of the human history. Until the second half of the twentieth century, there was great inequality between the social and economic conditions of men and women (Pearson Education). The battle for women's emancipation, however, had started in 1848 by the first women's rights convention, which was led by some remarkable and brave women (Pearson Education). One of the most notable feminists of that period was the writer Charlotte Perkins Gilman. She was also one of the most influential feminists who felt strongly about and spoke frequently on the nineteenth-century lives for women. Her short story, "The Yellow Wallpaper" characterizes the condition of women of the nineteenth century through the main character’s life and actions in the text. It is considered to be one of the most influential pieces because of its realism and prime examples of treatment of women in that time. This essay analyzes issues the protag onist goes through while she is trying to break the element of barter from her marriage and love with her husband. This relationship status was very common between nineteenth-century women and their husbands. In â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper† Gilman presents the behavior of society of the time. The protagonist is suppressed by her husband, John, and her brother, though they both mean well. The way she is treated by her husband and her brother is not outwardly â€Å"mean† because they never deal with her in anger, but the way that they suppress her by not letting her express her feelings or do what she wants, is still abuse. Even though, the way that they are treating her is wrong, it does not seem wrong because they both act gentle and kind towards her and make her think that they really do care about her. Throughout the story, the protagonist states her intentions to herself, but then does not act upon them because of her husband. This is further shown when she speaks of her husband and her brother, who "is also of higher standing," (Gilman 317) showing the high ranking of men in society. They keep her from doing the things she wants because they believe it is best for her to rest. She disagrees. "Personally, I believe that congenial work, with excitement and change, would do me good" (Gilman 317). On p... ...ble to see that it actually incorporates themes of women’s rights. Gilman mainly used the setting to support her themes. This short story was written in 1892, at that time, there was only one women's suffrage law. Now, because of many determinant feminists, speakers, teachers, and writers, the women’s rights movement has grown increasing large and is still in progress today. This quite recent movement took over more then a century to grant women the rights they deserve to allow them to be seen as equals to men. This story was a creative and moving way to really show how life may have been as a woman in the nineteenth century. Works Cited Eichelberger, Clayton. American Literary Realism 1870-1910. Vol. 8, issue 1. University of Texas, 1975. Gilman, Charlotte Perkins. "The Yellow Wallpaper" (p.316-327). Literature: Reading and Writing With Critical Strategies. Ed. Steven Lynn. University of South Carolina, 2004 Pearson Education. Infoplease. Almanacs: â€Å"Key Events in Women’s Rights Movement† 2005 31 March 2005 Wohlpart, Jim. American Literature Research and Analysis Web Site. â€Å"Charlotte Perkins Gilman, â€Å"The Yellow Wallpaper.†Ã¢â‚¬  1997. Florida Gulf Coast University

Maltese Falcon

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett is a thrilling movie full of twists and turns and deceits. Each character wants the Maltese falcon for the rewards it will bring. Almost everyone is a villain in some way or another. I will start with Sam Spade. He is the hero of the story, but I would say he is more of an anti-hero. He plays by his own rules. He is tough and a bit hard-nosed. He doesn't seem to be upset that his partner is dead. I feel that he knew Brigid killed his partner from day one, but for some reason he didn't let on until the end.Knowing this he still put up with her lies and melodrama. He obviously isn't a man of scruples as he was having an affair with his partner's wife. At the end I wonder did he love Brigid as he claims or was he just playing with her? I'm also left wondering was he redeeming his character by turning Brigid over to the police or was he saving his own skin? I like his character but I'm not entirely sure about his motives at all points in the movie.I 'm not sure how much I would trust him. Dashiell Hammett has constructed Sam Spade in a way so the protagonist has become a feature of the book, rather than merely a medium for the transfer of clue and information in this novel. The reader is given the chance to venture in Spades mind and inner thoughts, Hammett cleverly allows Spade to expression his values, fears and opinions to the respondent and in turn allowing them to associate, trust and relate to him.In bringing the reader closer to the protagonist Hammett has subliminally lured the reader closer to the crime, the suspects and the victims and ultimately dragged them deeper into the noir world in which Sam Spade resides. Sam Spade, the detective-protagonist is aware that his best efforts are ultimately futile, to the extent that the corrupt urban environment will inevitably undercut and outlast his heroic attempts to see justice done, this sense of Spade wanting to achieve greater justice implies to the reader that Spade is e ssentially good and is resistant to the hostile world which he had devoted his life to combating.Raymond Chandler labels Hammetts character of Spade as a â€Å"cynical, tough individual who maintains his code of honour in a world tarnished by deception and betrayal at all levels of society† In â€Å"The Maltese Falcon† Spade is described as the â€Å"blond Satan. † Whilst his objective and inner good is clear to the readers, other characters struggle to see Spade in his true light, and describe him as a â€Å"wild and unpredictable†¦

An Interview with a homeless

After watching the film, â€Å"The Pursuit of Happyness† which starred Will Smith, one of the salient scenes that the researcher personally find strikingly disheartening is the part when Will Smith and his son struggled to joined a queue of destitute for an overnight stay on a welfare home.The number of homeless is too many for the welfare shelters to accommodate.   In the homeless population data from AHAR in 2008, 41% of white Americans, 12.3% of African Americans and 12.5% of Hispanic Americans respectively are homeless, which only proves how rampant homelessness in our nation.(US Human Rights Network Housing Caucus, 2008) It is quite ironic that homelessness is one of the pressing problems that the US faces despite being the most dominant country politically and economically in the world.While the film directly attributed homelessness to poverty i.e. Smith’s inadequate earnings, this stark reality is just a tip of the iceberg considering the vast economic opportun ities that the US provides precisely why it was dubbed the land of milk and honey.To learn more about the causes of homelessness, the researcher conducted an informal interview with a homeless woman who was randomly selected in a welfare shelter. This led to one’s discovery that homeless is not simply a result of poverty, but consequence of some socio psychological imbalances and problems that emanate from one’s family.Interview Results and AnalysisThe interviewee was an African American with two children.   She has no idea where his eldest son is at the moment.   She was not able to finish secondary school because she got pregnant early.   Her father was a drunkard who always beats them up at home.   Her mother left them for another man.She decided to leave their home by getting pregnant. Unfortunately, she also met the wrong man who only perpetuated her agony in life.   He was an ex convict who find it hard to get a real job.She stayed with her live in part ner for a year but decided to leave again as he started to get back to his monkey business.   She left her son. After seven years, she got pregnant again but has no idea who the father was because she worked as a hooker.Her 9 year old daughter stays in a foster home.   She said that there were moments in her life when she had nervous breakdowns and at one point even tried to commit suicide.   The interview was long and very emotional.   In a nutshell, the homeless woman lived a difficult and miserable life.Following a Symbolic Inter-actionist Perspective, homelessness is a symptom of a deeper problem that roots from the most basic social institution, the family.   In this short interview with a homeless woman, it must be noted that she didn’t come from a homeless family.It was homeless in the sense that it lacked the love and care needed to properly shape and guide children towards a pleasant outlook in life.   Poverty also played a critical factor in the intervie wee’s circumstances because poverty is more inclined to difficulties in relationships and family violence because it shapes circumstances that lead to the same such as lack of education and depression.ConclusionHomelessness is more than just a consequence of poverty or one’s inability to purchase a home.   It is rooted from some psychological disturbance brought about by a history of significant emotional difficulties, difficulties in relationships, and family violence, etc.This in turn inculcates the attitudes and psychological predilection to stay poor and homeless including a sense of helplessness to change one’s economic condition, psychological stability and homelessness.ReferenceUS Human Rights Network Housing Caucus (2008). Homelessness and Affordable Housing.   Response to the Periodic Report of the United States to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. Retrieved from:http://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/cerd/docs/ ngos/usa/USHRN28.doc

Homeschool vs Public School Essay

In this paper I plan on describing education and how it has shaped me. How education effects everyone depending on their situation, whether they are rich, poor, white, black, healthy , or disable . There is a type of education for everybody. In all three essays the authors taught us through the characters they used, the hardships and discrimination that they insured trying to seek an education if they were not considered in the right classification in society. They have taught us that nothing can stop us and we can reach to the stars for anything we want to do as long as we have the will power. As you read my essay you will see some of my own mothers hardships that she went through for us so we could get a good education. The essay tells you how you should go about to choose your education too. It proved in the essay â€Å"Finishing School† by Maya Angelou, how hard it was to be poor and black and get an education or be recognized in society. Even though her Mistress tried to dishonor her by changing her name and disgracing her in front of her friends Angelou had no intention on standing still for it. She might be black but she was not to be put down . She was just as smart or smarter as her mistress as far as she was concerned and no one had any right black or white , rich or poor to discriminate or change anything about her. This was a lesson Angelou taught us to do standing up for ourselves no matter how hard it may be Our education is well worth it and so are we. In the essay â€Å"Indian Education† by Sherman Alexie, he had it hard on the reservation. First he was picked on in school by his peers,,which is something a lot of us go through. As he got older he turned the tables and went through many hardships in his education. Finally to succeed and going to public school. He had to change his ways and get a proper education in order to become something in life. Alexie learned from discrimination and peer pressure. He learned what he had to do to make his life better and how to improve it . All the hardships Alexie, Angelou and Smith-Yackel went through did not stop any of them, they kept going and that is what is I think what makes our education the same Teachers have a way with teaching as told in the essay The Banking â€Å"Concept of Education â€Å"by Paulo Concept of Education (Home School vs. Public School 3 Friere. As told in the essay Friere points out how â€Å"Four times Four is Sixteen† can just be words unless put to use by the student . It is not just up to the teacher to teach us but up to us to take in what the teacher is trying to teach us. However, at the same time it goes without saying if a teacher knows only one way of teaching which may be memorization then that may be the only way a student can learn . So as student I think it is up to us to learn as much as we can. The teacher can only do so much, we have to do the rest . I think that is what Friere is also trying to point out to us. It is not only up to the teacher but up to us as the student too. The essay written by Bonnie Smith-Yackel â€Å"My Mother Never Worked†, is the one that really touched my heart the most. This is my favorite one. My mother was like Martha in many ways. Although my mother had epilepsy all of her life she volunteered to do everything for everyone. My mom was on disability but did not let that keep her down. It was society that tried to keep her, down but she refused to let them hold her back. She was a stay at home mom and did everything for us . She babysat for neighbors, friends and family. She was there at a moment’s notice if anyone had a sick child and needed her. She was a wonderful mother and wife. She went to college for child development and got her associates degree. When we started school she went to school with us every day and volunteered from eight in the morning till we got out of school each day. My moms dream was to be a teacher but because of epilepsy and disability she could not. She could still volunteer though but not get paid for her services. This did not bother my mom. To her she was still fulfilling her job as a teacher. When I was a child I went to public school. I learned a lot while in elementary school and some of middle school. As I got older I cared less about my education and more about fitting in. I grew up in Michigan and went to school there until the middle of the eighth grade. Starting in about the seventh grade school started being more about who was more popular and who likes who, or look at those cheap shoes that girl is wearing. For me I was more concerned about being cool and Concept of Education (Home School vs. Public School) 4 fitting in, than caring about my education. In the middle of eighth grade my family moved to Arkansas. This was very hard on me. I missed my friends very much and didn’t want to start a new school. My grades did improve for a while, but that was only because I didn’t have any friends to focus my attention on. I focused more on my school work. However this did not last long. I didn’t fit in because it was a very small town and I was a shy kid. I then started skipping school. When my mom found out she decided to put me in home school. Education was important to her and my dad. She always wanted to make sure I succeeded in life She got me up every morning just like as if I was going to school. I had the same hours as any other student in public school. My vacations were based around the public school. If the public school had a snow day or holiday I was allowed to have that day off. Home school was good for me because I had one on one teaching which I did not have in the public school. I needed that because of me being so shy and at times I would not raise my hand if I had questions. In home school I had my mom and dad to help me. I could focus better on my school work because I was not distracted or afraid of not getting anything done . I had hands on learning with my mom, and my dad incorporated projects to go with her lessons. I remember my dad and making a computer out of sugar cubes and Styrofoam , volcano, castles out of toilet paper rolls and a lot of other projects. I was never really good in English although believe it or not my mom was very good . My mom taught me the basics of school work, while my dad taught me about cars , how to plant a garden, and taking care of animals such as pigs, chickens, cows. We had a garden with fruits and vegetables, I learned to cook for large family. I was in FFA and I won the BBQ chicken semi- finals. I learned how to live in society. I worked and had a job too. My mom taught me much more then what you can learn in a book . She taught me lives lessons just like Martha taught her children in My Mother Never Worked. She gave me the skills I needed. I learned to use those skills and so here I am today working at Lakeland Hospital now for 10 years Concept of Education (Home School vs. Public School) 5 and finally going to college and studying for a nursing Career. Audience Analysis With education comes how we the parent, teacher and student will educate or be educated. One of the toughest decisions that you’re going to face as a parent is that you’re going to have to decide where to send your kids to school. However, most parents at least consider the choice to choose either private school, home school or public school. You as a parent can weigh the options of what you think would be better for you and your child’s education. To do this you and your child might want to weight the factors that play a part in the pros and cons of public school and home school and what is best for you and your child. As a parent you may feel that public schools have too many peer problems. Kids may argue with peers or pick up bad habits in public schools. There are so many children to one teacher it is hard to give one on one to the child that is quiet and needs help but won’t ask and they get lost in the school system. Your child may have health issues, like diabetes or other disabilities therefore when lunchtime comes it is hard for your child if he or she has diabetes or foods he or she can not have and is forced to eat what there or just take a sandwich from home and be the outsider. As a parent or student you need to weigh what is best for the both of you. Home schooling may be the answer in this case. Home schooling is a great way to bring a family closer together, but you have to make sure your kids (and you) are getting the social interaction they need. You can set a school schedule that suits your family, travel together when it’s best for all of you and enjoy more family a nd life together. You also need to make sure you have the type of relationship with your child to listen to instruction from you as a teacher instead to a parent, You as a parent have the option to teach your child anything from bible (which most public schools do not allow) to the basics school book skills to life skills. As a working parent public school is probably better . Transportation is provided, so there is no need Concept of Education (Home School vs. Public School) 6 to worry about having a car. School buses will pick up your child to and from school. For some parents the choice is easy because of the funds and the availability of the parent’s time. Public schools provide the kids with an opportunity to great activities , this is important to many of you as parents and as students . Many of you want your children in activities and think this is important. Public school gives you this option , so this you might want to take into consideration also. All around development is easier in public schools. If you are worried about feeding your child at school and you are low income, they have low cost or free breakfast and lunches for your child too. So basically it is up to you on the education of your children. There are pros and cons. In Conclusion: Some kids do best when they are able to combine different options to complete their education. In order to choose the right type of school, you need to weigh all of the options open to you. My sister Amy went and graduated from public school with honors. My sister Christal received a GED., she choose to work. School was hard for her. I have an adopted sister Janice who was in special ed , she went to public school but was in special classes and received a special diploma . Now days you can do both of two worlds my sister (Chasity) has PCOS and Diabetes which made her miss a lot of school so she is doing through Coloma High School , a Coloma Virtual Academy which is a home school but works with the public school too. . She goes to school to pick classes, participates if she wishes, can graduate with her class, but her Doctors appointment’s and her health problems will no longer prevent her from her education. So my mom is home schooling her in a different way than she did me. They made a different choice of education for her. They both were good choices but for different reasons. That is why you should look into the situation before deciding what to do. As a parent your child is not the same as anyone else so they may require a different type of education just like my sisters and I did. It is you and your child’s choice