John Steinbeck of Mice and Men

John Steinbeck called his novel about migratory farmhands during The Great Depression. The title Of Mice and Men is Steinbeck alluding to Robert Burns’ poem â€Å"To a Mouse â€Å". Burn states â€Å"the best laid plains of mice and mean oft go awry â€Å". Therefore there are many reasons why this quote can relate to the relationship of George and Lennie and also others of this book. Here are my three main reasons why this quote is the main idea of the story and why Steinbeck’s message is true about the real world. First of all, the simplest reason is that George and Lennie’s best laid plans went awry. Lennie and George want to work on the ranch in the hopes of making enough money to buy their own farm, where they can be independent and in charge of their own destiny and rabbits. With the certainty of payment, it seems the pair will get what they’ve hoped for all along. While this is something we can call the plan stage, it has a bit of a twist, hinted at by the way George tells Lennie and us as the reader of their dream. The story of the little farm, with the rabbits and vegetable patch and so on, is less like a plan and more like a fairy tale. The dream-like unreal quality of their dream doesn’t assure well for the hope that it will ever come true. Lennie and George learn that Candy would like to live on the farm, too; he can even offer three hundred dollars toward its purchase which is his life support money. Everyone is very excited at the possibility of the dream actually coming true. With the entrance of Candy’s money into the story, it seems like the dream could come true after all. Candy has three hundred dollars to contribute, and George even knows the couple he’d buy the land from. As Lennie smiles to himself about the possibility of the ranch, Curley is on the prowl for his wife and a fight. He thinks Lennie is laughing at him or wants to fight him and begins to punch the big guy. Lennie is horrified and does nothing until George urges him to fight back. Lennie promptly reduces Curley to a crying little man with a mangled hand. Slim makes sure Lennie and George are protected from getting in trouble, but it’s clear that working on the ranch will be a lot more complicated from now on. Lennie accidentally kills his own puppy, and then accidentally kills Curley’s wife. If Curley was waiting for Lennie to slip-up, he needs to wait no longer. Though Lennie doesn’t at all mean to kill Curley’s wife, this act pretty much decides his fate. Any promise of safety or happiness he had on the dream farm is over. Now we’re certain Lennie will have to pay for what he’s done, one way or another. George realizes that if Lennie is to go with any dignity or comfort, it’s up to George to take his friend out himself. Although this means the literal destruction of Lennie, in killing his friend, George gives Lennie the happiest ending he could have. George has to face the sarcastic loneliness of the open road. George describes to Candy the life he’ll have without Lennie: it’s a future made of whorehouses and pool halls – places where lonely men stay lonely. Worse than just losing a friend by accident, George’s act seems to kill any last hope that the loneliness of the open road could ever be beaten. Without Lennie, George has nothing that makes him different from the other sad wanderers. He’s lost his best friend, and along with losing Lennie, George has also lost his dreams. The plan become very awry obviously. Secondly, Steinbeck's characters are often powerless, due to intellectual, economic, and social circumstances. Lennie possesses the greatest physical strength of any character, which therefore establishes a sense of respect as he is employed as a ranch hand. However, his intellectual handicap undercuts this and results in his powerlessness. Economic powerlessness is established as many of the ranch hands are victims of the Great Depression. As George, Candy and Crooks are positive, action- oriented characters, they wish to purchase a homestead, but because of the Depression, they are unable to generate enough money. Lennie is the only one who is basically unable to take care of him, but the other characters would do this in the improved circumstances they seek. Since they can not do so, the real danger of Lennie's mental handicap comes to the fore. Lastly, Most of all Steinbeck clearly believes The American Dream cannot always be considered as happiness, love, peace, etc. This is his message to the true real world. In my opinion Steinbeck is saying that sometimes the things you plan don’t succeed and what you think is truly your life longing it turns out to be your worst nightmare or not the real destiny of your life. It’s the thinking man, who can look backwards and forwards, that suffers the most from the awful things he’s done. The last verse is a nice way to think of Lennie and George’s respective fate. Whatever happens to Lennie is done, but George is left to spend the rest of his future thinking of his past deeds. OF Mice and Men Essay By:

Second Foundation 15. Through the Grid

TRANTOR By the middle of the Interregnum, Trantor was a shadow. In the midst of the colossal ruins, there lived a small community of farmers†¦ Encyclopedia Galactica There is nothing, never has been anything, quite like a busy spaceport on the outskirts of a capital city of a populous planet. There are the huge machines resting mightily in their cradles. If you choose your time properly, there is the impressive sight of the sinking giant dropping to rest or, more hair-raising still, the swiftening departure of a bubble of steel. All processes involved are nearly noiseless. The motive power is the silent surge of nucleons shifting into more compact arrangements In terms of area, ninety-five percent of the port has just been referred to. Square miles are reserved for the machines, and for the men who serve them and for the calculators that serve both. Only five percent of the port is given over to the floods of humanity to whom it is the way station to all the stars of the Galaxy. It is certain that very few of the anonymous many-headed stop to consider the technological mesh that knits the spaceways. Perhaps some of them might itch occasionally at the thought of the thousands of tons represented by the sinking steel that looks so small off in the distance. One of those cyclopean cylinders could, conceivably, miss the guiding beam and crash half a mile from its expected landing point – through the glassite roof of the immense waiting room perhaps – so that only a thin organic vapor and some powdered phosphates would be left behind to mark the passing of a thousand men. It could never happen, however, with the safety devices in use; and only the badly neurotic would consider the possibility for more than a moment. Then what do they think about? It is not just a crowd, you see. It is a crowd with a purpose. That purpose hovers over the field and thickens the atmosphere. Lines queue up; parents herd their children; baggage is maneuvered in precise masses – people are going somewheres. Consider then the complete psychic isolation of a single unit of this terribly intent mob that does not know where to go; yet at the same time feels more intensely than any of the others possibly can, the necessity of going somewheres; anywhere! Or almost anywhere! Even lacking telepathy or any of the crudely definite methods of mind touching mind, there is a sufficient clash in atmosphere, in intangible mood, to suffice for despair. To suffice? To overflow, and drench, and drown. Arcadia Darell, dressed in borrowed clothes, standing on a borrowed planet in a borrowed situation of what seemed even to be a borrowed life, wanted earnestly the safety of the womb. She didn't know that was what she wanted. She only knew that the very openness of the open world was a great danger. She wanted a closed spot somewhere – somewhere far – somewhere in an unexplored nook of the universe – where no one would ever look. And there she was, age fourteen plus, weary enough for eighty plus, frightened enough for five minus. What stranger of the hundreds that brushed past her – actually brushed past her, so that she could feel their touch – was a Second Foundationer? What stranger could not help but instantly destroy her for her guilty knowledge – her unique knowledge – of knowing where the Second Foundation was? And the voice that cut in on her was a thunderclap that iced the scream in her throat into a voiceless slash. â€Å"Look, miss,† it said, irritably, â€Å"are you using the ticket machine or are you just standing there?† It was the first she realized that she was standing in front of a ticket machine. You put a high denomination bill into the clipper which sank out of sight. You pressed the button below your destination and a ticket came out together with the correct change as determined by an electronic scanning device that never made a mistake. It was a very ordinary thing and there is no cause for anyone to stand before it for five minutes. Arcadia plunged a two-hundred credit into the clipper, and was suddenly aware of the button labeled â€Å"Trantor.† Trantor, dead capital of the dead Empire – the planet on which she was born. She pressed it in a dream. Nothing happened, except that the red letters flicked on and off, reading 172.18- 172.18- 172.18- It was the amount she was short. Another two-hundred credit. The ticket was spit out towards her. It came loose when she touched it, and the change tumbled out afterward. She seized it and ran. She felt the man behind her pressing close, anxious for his own chance at the machine, but she twisted out from before him and did not look behind. Yet there was nowhere to run. They were all her enemies. Without quite realizing it, she was watching the gigantic, glowing signs that puffed into the air: Steffani, Anacreon, Fermus- There was even one that ballooned, Terminus, and she longed for it, but did not dare- For a trifling sum, she could have hired a notifier which could have been set for any destination she cared and which would, when placed in her purse, make itself heard only to her, fifteen minutes before take-off time. But such devices are for people who are reasonably secure, however; who can pause to think of them. And then, attempting to look both ways simultaneously, she ran head-on into a soft abdomen. She felt the startled outbreath and grunt, and a hand come down on her arm. She writhed desperately but lacked breath to do more than mew a bit in the back of her throat. Her captor held her firmly and waited. Slowly, he came into focus for her and she managed to look at him. He was rather plump and rather short. His hair was white and copious, being brushed back to give a pompadour effect that looked strangely incongruous above a round and ruddy face that shrieked its peasant origin. â€Å"What's the matter?† he said finally, with a frank and twinkling curiosity. â€Å"You look scared.† â€Å"Sorry,† muttered Arcadia in a frenzy. â€Å"I've got to go. Pardon me.† But he disregarded that entirely, and said, â€Å"Watch out, little girl. You'll drop your ticket.† And he lifted it from her resistless white fingers and looked at it with every evidence of satisfaction. â€Å"I thought so,† he said, and then bawled in bull-like tones, â€Å"Mommuh!† A woman was instantly at his side, somewhat more short, somewhat more round, somewhat more ruddy. She wound a finger about a stray gray lock to shove it beneath a well-outmoded hat. â€Å"Pappa,† she said, reprovingly, â€Å"why do you shout in a crowd like that? People look at you like you were crazy. Do you think you are on the farm?† And she smiled sunnily at the unresponsive Arcadia, and added, â€Å"He has manners like a bear.† Then, sharply, â€Å"Pappa, let go the little girl. What are you doing?† But Pappa simply waved the ticket at her. â€Å"Look,† he said, â€Å"she's going to Trantor.† Mamma's face was a sudden beam, â€Å"You're from Trantor? Let go her arm, I say, Pappa.† She turned the overstuffed valise she was carrying onto its side and forced Arcadia to sit down with a gentle but unrelenting pressure. â€Å"Sit down,† she said, â€Å"and rest your little feet. It will be no ship yet for an hour and the benches are crowded with sleeping loafers. You are from Trantor?† Arcadia drew a deep breath and gave in. Huskily, she said, â€Å"I was born there.† And Mamma clapped her hands gleefully, â€Å"One month we've been here and till now we met nobody from home. This is very nice. Your parents-† she looked about vaguely. â€Å"I'm not with my parents,† Arcadia said, carefully. â€Å"All alone? A little girl like you?† Mamma was at once a blend of indignation and sympathy, â€Å"How does that come to be?† â€Å"Mamma,† Pappa plucked at her sleeve, â€Å"let me tell you. There's something wrong. I think she's frightened.† His voice, though obviously intended for a whisper was quite plainly audible to Arcadia. â€Å"She was running – I was watching her – and not looking where she was going. Before I could step out of the way, she bumped into me. And you know what? I think she's in trouble.† â€Å"So shut your mouth, Pappa. Into you, anybody could bump.† But she joined Arcadia on the valise, which creaked wearily under the added weight and put an arm about the girl's trembling shoulder. â€Å"You're running away from somebody, sweetheart? Don't be afraid to tell me. III help you.† Arcadia looked across at the kind gray eyes of the woman and felt her lips quivering. One part of her brain was telling her that here were people from Trantor, with whom she could go, who could help her remain on that planet until she could decide what next to do, where next to go. And another part of her brain, much the louder, was telling her in jumbled incoherence that she did not remember her mother, that she was weary to death of fighting the universe, that she wanted only to curl into a little hall with strong, gentle arms about her, that if her mother had lived, she might†¦ she might- And for the first time that night, she was crying; crying like a little baby, and glad of it; clutching tightly at the old-fashioned dress and dampening a corner of it thoroughly, while soft arms held her closely and a gentle hand stroked her curls. Pappa stood helplessly looking at the pair, fumbling futilely for a handkerchief which, when produced, was snatched from his hand. Mamma glared an admonition of quietness at him. The crowds surged about the little group with the true indifference of disconnected crowds everywhere. They were effectively alone. Finally, the weeping trickled to a halt, and Arcadia smiled weakly as she dabbed at red eyes with the borrowed handkerchief. â€Å"Golly,† she whispered, â€Å"Shh. Shh. Don't talk,† said Mamma, fussily, â€Å"just sit and rest for a while. Catch your breath. Then tell us what's wrong, and you'll see, we'll fix it up, and everything will be all right.† Arcadia scrabbled what remained of her wits together. She could not tell them the truth. She could tell nobody the truth- And yet she was too worn to invent a useful lie. She said, whisperingly, â€Å"I'm better, now.† â€Å"Good,† said Mamma. â€Å"Now tell me why you're in trouble. You did nothing wrong? Of course, whatever you did, well help you; but tell us the truth.† â€Å"For a friend from Trantor, anything,† added Pappa, expansively, â€Å"eh, Mamma?† â€Å"Shut your mouth, Pappa,† was the response, without rancor. Arcadia was groping in her purse. That, at least, was still hers, despite the rapid clothes-changing forced upon her in Lady Callia's apartments. She found what she was looking for and handed it to Mamma. â€Å"These are my papers,† she said, diffidently. It was shiny, synthetic parchment which had been issued her by the Foundation's ambassador on the day of her arrival and which had been countersigned by the appropriate Kalganian official. It was large, florid, and impressive. Mamma looked at it helplessly, and passed it to Pappa who absorbed its contents with an impressive pursing of the lips. He said, â€Å"You're from the Foundation?† â€Å"Yes. But I was born in Trantor. See it says that-â€Å" â€Å"Ah-hah. It looks all right to me. You're named Arcadia, eh? That's a good Trantorian name. But where's your uncle? It says here you came in the company of Homir Munn, uncle.† â€Å"He's been arrested,† said Arcadia, drearily. â€Å"Arrested!† – from the two of them at once. â€Å"What for?† asked Mamma. â€Å"He did something?† She shook her head. â€Å"I don't know. We were just on a visit. Uncle Homir had business with Lord Stettin but-† She needed no effort to act a shudder. It was there. Pappa was impressed. â€Å"With Lord Stettin. Mm-m-m, your uncle must be a big man.† â€Å"I don't know what it was all about, but Lord Stettin wanted me to stay-† She was recalling the last words of Lady Callia, which had been acted out for her benefit. Since Callia, as she now knew, was an expert, the story could do for a second time. She paused, and Mamma said interestedly, â€Å"And why you?† â€Å"I'm not sure. He†¦ he wanted to have dinner with me all alone, but I said no, because I wanted Uncle Homir along. He looked at me funny and kept holding my shoulder.† Pappa's mouth was a little open, but Mamma was suddenly red and angry. â€Å"How old are you, Arcadia?† â€Å"Fourteen and a half, almost.† Mamma drew a sharp breath and said, â€Å"That such people should be let live. The dogs in the streets are better. You're running from him, dear, is not?† Arcadia nodded. Mamma said, â€Å"Pappa, go right to Information and find out exactly when the ship to Trantor comes to berth. Hurry!† But Pappa took one step and stopped. Loud metallic words were booming overhead, and five thousand pairs of eyes looked startledly upwards. â€Å"Men and women,† it said, with sharp force. â€Å"The airport is being searched for a dangerous fugitive, and it is now surrounded. No one can enter and no one can leave. The search will, however, be conducted with great speed and no ships will reach or leave berth during the interval, so you will not miss your ship. I repeat, no one will miss his ship. The grid will descend. None of you will move outside your square until the grid is removed, as otherwise we will be forced to use our neuronic whips.† During the minute or less in which the voice dominated the vast dome of the spaceport's waiting room, Arcadia could not have moved if all the evil in the Galaxy had concentrated itself into a ball and hurled itself at her. They could mean only her. It was not even necessary to formulate that idea as a specific thought. But why- Callia had engineered her escape. And Callia was of the Second Foundation. Why, then, the search now? Had Callia failed? Could Callia fail? Or was this part of the plan, the intricacies of which escaped her? For a vertiginous moment, she wanted to jump up and shout that she gave up, that she would go with them, that†¦ that- But Mamma's hand was on her wrist. â€Å"Quick! Quick! Well go to the lady's room before they start.† Arcadia did not understand. She merely followed blindly. They oozed through the crowd, frozen as it was into clumps, with the voice still booming through its last words. The grid was descending now, and Pappa, openmouthed, watched it come down. He had heard of it and read of it, but had never actually been the object of it. It glimmered in the air, simply a series of cross-hatched and tight radiation-beams that set the air aglow in a harmless network of flashing light. It always was so arranged as to descend slowly from above in order that it might represent a falling net with all the terrific psychological implications of entrapment. It was at waist-level now, ten feet between glowing lines in each direction. In his own hundred square feet, Pappa found himself alone, yet the adjoining squares were crowded. He felt himself conspicuously isolated but knew that to move into the greater anonymity of a group would have meant crossing one of those glowing lines, stirring an alarm, and bringing down the neuronic whip. He waited. He could make out over the heads of the eerily quiet and waiting mob, the far-off stir that was the line of policemen covering the vast floor area, lighted square by lighted square. It was a long time before a uniform stepped into his square and carefully noted its co-ordinates into an official notebook. â€Å"Papers!† Pappa handed them over, and they were flipped through in expert fashion. â€Å"You're Preem Palver, native of Trantor, on Kalgan for a month, returning to Trantor. Answer, yes or no.† â€Å"Yes, yes.† â€Å"What's your business on Kalgan?† â€Å"I'm trading representative of our farm co-operative. I've been negotiating terms with the Department of Agriculture on Kalgan. â€Å"Um-m-m. Your wife is with you? Where is she? She is mentioned in your papers.† â€Å"Please. My wife is in the-† He pointed. â€Å"Hanto,† roared the policeman. Another uniform joined him. The first one said, dryly, â€Å"Another dame in the can, by the Galaxy. The place must be busting with them. Write down her name.† He indicated the entry in the papers which gave it. â€Å"Anyone else with you?† â€Å"My niece.† â€Å"She's not mentioned in the papers.† â€Å"She came separately.† â€Å"Where is she? Never mind, I know. Write down the niece's name, too, Hanto. What's her name? Write down Arcadia Palver. You stay right here, Palver. We'll take care of the women before we leave.† Pappa waited interminably. And then, long, long after, Mamma was marching toward him, Arcadia's hand firmly in hers, the two policemen trailing behind her. They entered Pappa's square, and one said, â€Å"Is this noisy old woman your wife?† â€Å"Yes, sir,† said Pappa, placatingly. â€Å"Then you'd better tell her she's liable to get into trouble if she talks the way she does to the First Citizen's police.† He straightened his shoulders angrily. â€Å"Is this your niece?† â€Å"Yes, sir.† â€Å"I want her papers.† Looking straight at her husband, Mamma slightly, but no less firmly, shook her head. A short pause, and Pappa said with a weak smile, â€Å"I don't think I can do that.† â€Å"What do you mean you can't do that?† The policeman thrust out a hard palm. â€Å"Hand it over.† â€Å"Diplomatic immunity,† said Pappa, softly. â€Å"What do you mean?† â€Å"I said I was trading representative of my farm co-operative. I'm accredited to the Kalganian government as an official foreign representative and my papers prove it. I showed them to you and now I don't want to be bothered any more.† For a moment, the policeman was taken aback. â€Å"I got to see your papers. It's orders.† â€Å"You go away,† broke in Mamma, suddenly. â€Å"When we want you, we'll send for you, you†¦ you bum.† The policeman's lips tightened. â€Å"Keep your eye on them, Hanto. I'll get the lieutenant.† â€Å"Break a leg!† called Mamma after him. Someone laughed, and then choked it off suddenly. The search was approaching its end. The crowd was growing dangerously restless. Forty-five minutes had elapsed since the grid had started falling and that is too long for best effects. Lieutenant Dirige threaded his way hastily, therefore, toward the dense center of the mob. â€Å"Is this the girl?† he asked wearily. He looked at her and she obviously fitted the description. All this for a child. He said, â€Å"Her papers, if you please?† Pappa began, â€Å"I have already explained-â€Å" â€Å"I know what you have explained, and I'm sorry,† said the lieutenant, â€Å"but I have my orders, and I can't help them. If you care to make a protest later, you may. Meanwhile, if necessary, I must use force.† There was a pause, and the lieutenant waited patiently. Then Pappa said, huskily, â€Å"Give me your papers, Arcadia.† Arcadia shook her head in panic, but Pappa nodded his head. â€Å"Don't be afraid. Give them to me.† Helplessly she reached out and let the documents change hands. Pappa fumbled them open and looked carefully through them, then handed them over. The lieutenant in his turn looked through them carefully. For a long moment, he raised his eyes to rest them on Arcadia, and then he closed the booklet with a sharp snap. â€Å"All in order,† he said. â€Å"All right, men.† He left, and in two minutes, scarcely more, the grid was gone, and the voice above signified a back-to-normal. The noise of the crowd, suddenly released, rose high. Arcadia said: â€Å"How†¦ how-â€Å" Pappa said, â€Å"Sh-h. Don't say a word. Let's better go to the ship. It should be in the berth soon.† They were on the ship. They had a private stateroom and a table to themselves in the dining room. Two light-years already separated them from Kalgan, and Arcadia finally dared to broach the subject again. She said, â€Å"But they were after me, Mr. Palver, and they must have had my description and all the details. Why did he let me go?† And Pappa smiled broadly over his roast beef. â€Å"Well, Arcadia, child, it was easy. When you've been dealing with agents and buyers and competing co-operatives, you learn some of the tricks. I've had twenty years or more to learn them in. You see, child, when the lieutenant opened your papers, he found a five hundred credit bill inside, folded up small. Simple, no?† â€Å"I'll pay you back- Honest, I've got lots of money.† â€Å"Well,† Pappa's broad face broke into an embarrassed smile, as he waved it away. â€Å"For a country-woman-â€Å" Arcadia desisted. â€Å"But what if he'd taken the money and turned me in anyway. And accused me of bribery.† â€Å"And give up five hundred credits? I know these people better than you do, girl.† But Arcadia knew that he did not know people better. Not these people. In her bed that night, she considered carefully, and knew that no bribe would have stopped a police lieutenant in the matter of catching her unless that had been planned. They didn't want to catch her, yet had made every motion of doing so, nevertheless. Why? To make sure she left? And for Trantor? Were the obtuse and soft-hearted couple she was with now only a pair of tools in the hands of the Second Foundation, as helpless as she herself? They must be! Or were they? It was all so useless. How could she fight them. Whatever she did, it might only be what those terrible omnipotents wanted her to do. Yet she had to outwit them. Had to. Had to! Had to!!

Abortion: Gathering Sources Online Essay

Read Lester pp. 39-60, â€Å"Gathering Sources Online,† and complete the answers to the questions below related to the chapter. Submit with answers written below each question: 1. What are two important things to be aware of when using online rather than print versions of an article? -The text may differ from the original printed version and may even be a digest. -Resist the desire to quote from the abstract and, instead, write a paraphrase of it or find the full text and cite from it. 2. What does .com indicate about a site? See more: Satirical elements in the adventure of Huckleberry Finn essay For-profit organizations, selling advertising space, they often charge for access, can be ISP sites 3. For research purposes, when evaluating sites, which two site suffixes should you prefer? .edu and .org 4. List 3 reasons to be careful of .com sites: -They are selling advertising space; they often charge you for access to their files; they can be ISP sites that people pay to use and to their â€Å"material.† 5. What are three ways to check for the professional affiliation of the writer of a Web article? -Opening credits or an email address – Search for the writer’s home page -Type the writer’s name in Amazon.com for a list of his or her books 6. What does the acronym URL stand for? Uniform Resource Locator 7. What does http:// in a Web address mean? Transmits data 8. What does the domain indicate? Names the organization feeding information into the server with the suffix to the label of the type of organization 9. What does html stand for and what does it name? Hypertext markup language; names the computer language used to write the file 10. What is the key difference between subject directory search engines like Yahoo! and Lycos and robot-driven search engines like Google and AltaVista? Directory search engines are human compiled and indexed to guide you to general areas that are then subdivided to specific categories. Robot-driven search engines respond to a keyword by electronically scanning millions of web sites. 11. What is a metasearch engine? List four examples of them. It examines your topic in several of the other two search engines and gives you the more relevant sites. For example: dogpile.com; mamma.com; metacrawler.com; surfwax.com 12. How can you find a specialized search engine? Go to one of the major sites, and ask â€Å"Where can I find a search engine on journalism?† The computer will name specialized search engines. 13. What is the best source on the Internet for academic journals? The library’s database collection 14. What are three ways to access an online academic journal? – First access your favorite search engine and use a keyword search for â€Å"journals† plus the name of your subject. -Second access a search engine’s subject directory. -Third, if you already know the name of a journal, go to your favorite search engine to make a keyword query, which will link you to the social science journal of that name. 15. List four directories that exist to help you discover articles in magazines: -NewsDirectory.com; Highbeam Research; Pathfinder; ZD Net 16. How can you find almost any newspaper in the United States? www.newspapers.com 17. Online books in the public domain are available through what Web address? http://digital.library.upenn.edu/books/ * Read Lester, pp. 107-131, â€Å"Evaluating Sources for Research.† Select and submit to me the title and author of a non-fiction book related to the Mississippi Delta and preferably one that relates to your broader research topic to read and critique for essay one (See the bibliography and annotated bibliography posted in this week’s folder for your choices.) Type this here: Crowe, Chris. Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case. Dial, 2003. * Read â€Å"Five Myths of the Information Age† posted here. * Read the article â€Å"Ten Simple Google Search Tricks,† posted in this folder. * Watch the video lecture on using Google Scholar posted in this folder. * Search for and locate at least five Internet sources that you may be able to use in your larger research project. Submit to me an annotated bibliographic entry for each (see Lester, Glossary, page 371). Type this information here: Locate a book using Google Books that you may be able to use in your larger research project. Submit to me an annotated bibliographic entry. Type this information here: Crowe, Chris. â€Å"Getting Away With Murder: The True Story of the Emmett Till Case.† Dial, 2003. * Locate a scholarly article using Google Scholar that you may be able to use in your larger research project. Submit to me an annotated bibliographic entry for it. Type this information here: William Bradford Huie, â€Å"What happened to Emmett Till killers?† Look Magazine 63. (1956). Print. * Write a paragraph explaining the criteria you should use to evaluate an Internet source for possible use in a research project. Type this paragraph here: You must make judgments about the validity and veracity of the materials. You should look for professional affiliation of the writer, which you will find in the opening credits or an email address. You should also look for the writer’s home page. Look for a bibliography that accompanies the article. You should try to find the timeliness of the information on the site. Check dates of publication and how often the information is updated.

Personal statement Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 8

Personal Statement Example I joined the National Academy of Public Administration in Viet Nam for a Bachelor of Public Administration in 2006 to help attain this dream. In the same year, i undertook a course in computer programs to help sharpen my computer skills. It was during this period that my communication skill, interpersonal skills and research skills were enhanced. I learned to conduct research, train new comers, solve office and technical problems as well as organize for volunteer activities. This greatly exposed me to both the internal and external environment thus helping me adapt and manage the pressure from both. Not only that, it equipped me with good interpersonal skills and helped me to integrate with people from all over the world, thus I learned to appreciate the various cultures and practices. I gained various honors and prizes that helped me to venture in various activities like in martial arts and in research. I was the class president, which equipped me with leadership skills. La ter, I joined Texas A&M University – Corpus Christi, U.S for a Master of Business Administration and Master of Accountancy to increase my knowledge. The campus is great and through it am improving greatly I now chair the organization for Viet Nam students and take part in research. My intent is to reach higher goals and attain good grades and so set an example to the rest of my peers. It is for this reason that I seek to study in your campus under the scholarship program as it will not only fulfill this dream, but it is also better equipped with the right material for my course. The scholarship will fulfill my dream of a better campus besides providing a good and conducive environment to better my career. I hope that my request will be

What is the best way to educate American children Essay - 1

What is the best way to educate American children - Essay Example The individualism in this response makes it clear that there is no one right answer to the question and that choice is a necessary component to any functional system of education. For instance, the standards applied to one student may clearly fail to apply to another student of significantly diminished abilities, and for the latter child, special attention may be required. However, there are many proposed answers to the question of the best means to educate in our society, and many of them require universalizing a single means touted as the most effective or most efficient in all cases. While not the best for all cases, home-based education does offer the best chance for the average student to succeed and thrive in a comfortable and beneficial learning environment. Other solutions to the problem of education, namely independent (or private) schools and traditional (or public) schools, do not offer the same kind of benefits as home-based education. Moreover, these alternative solution s are based on philosophically opposed assumptions and thereby forge a gulf through which home-based education passes through and asserts itself as the ideal solution. Home-based education is superior with respect to two intellectually significant criteria. The first is educational performance, which, as identified in Henslin (2005), is demonstrably better in homeschooled children than in their peers educated in a public school system. In a testing scenario, targeting 21,000 home schooled children who had much higher proficiency on these tests than that of students in public schools, home schooled children outperformed their public school counterparts in every meaningful category of evaluation. In this study, the students highlighted scored in the 70th and 80th percentiles, which is 10 to 20 percentage points higher than when these tests were administered to public school students (Henslin, 2005, pp. 512-13). The second criterion is moral and ethical in nature: how does the

How useful is the concept of semi-presidentialism for understanding Essay

How useful is the concept of semi-presidentialism for understanding the political regime of the Fifth Republic - Essay Example The first aspect worth analyzing is to what extent France meets Duverger’s first criteria: a president elected by universal suffrage. In 1962, the then French president Charles de Gaulle passed a constitutional amendment altering the presidential election from parliamentary to universal suffrage (Curtis 2004). This meant that the president of the republic would be elected by the population, and therefore had to become a strong and appealing individual leader. At the time, this benefited De Gaulle since he epitomized charismatic leadership and desired a system were the president wielded the majority of government power and responsibility. Universal suffrage gave constitutional power to the president, as he, by virtue of being elected by majority vote, now possessed similar legitimacy to that of a majority in the Assembly. Thus, 1962 marked the beginning of a shift of power from the Assembly to the President, and is even considered by Robert Elgie to be the point that establishe d the Fifth Republic as a semi-presidential regime.   The second criteria of Duverger’s definition of semi-presidential regime is that â€Å"(2) he possesses quite considerable powers† (Duverger, 1980:166 cited in Elgie:2009). Scholars such as Robert Elgie criticized Duverger for being too vague in his definition of semi-presidential regimes. For instance, Duverger underscores the fact that the president must possess considerable powers, but never expounds on this idea in order to establish what is deemed to be considerable. Reading further on Duverger’s other work such as A NEW POLITICAL SYSTEM MODEL: SEMI-PRESIDENTIAL GOVERNMENT (1980), Duverger defined the considerable powers saying that French Fifth Republic as â€Å"A country with an all-powerful presidency† (Duverger 1980:170). He justified this proposition by citing Article 16 which states

Commerce as the Transfer of Goods and Services Coursework

Commerce as the Transfer of Goods and Services - Coursework Example The arena for making agreements prior to sealing of a transaction varies. The buyer and seller may meet face to face, they can communicate through the telephone or they can do that through the web commonly known as the interment. When such agreements are reached over the internet followed by the transaction getting sealed (buyer gets commodities bought delivered to him and the seller gets paid by the buyer), then this is termed as e-commerce or e-business. Just like in any business, there have been instances of fraud in e-commerce. If one is able to commit fraud when the transaction is conducted face to face, how much more is this possible when business is conducted over the web Most businessmen have been defrauded and buyers conned. This led to the need for beefing up security as far as e-commerce is concerned. The security function in the websites belonging to buyers has been the very essence of doing business. One needs to verify the validity of the seller and the buyer needs to pay beforehand. Even though the amount of security has increased in the recent years, the hackers keep on being creative by the day thus also requiring innovation as far as the security function of e-commerce is concerned. E-commerce is picking up as a popular way of doing business not only on the retail section but also the banking section. It entails doing business over the web in which the seller and the buyer are both connected via a web browser. Since anything that deals with the computer and the web to be precise is prone to hacking, spying, sabotage etc, it is important that a security component is emphasized when using the web. This security function becomes mandatory when using the web for business. However, the security needs to be upheld to a given degree which is of dual function in that it doesn't impede on the efficiency of transactions and still it doesn't leave obvious holes to the hackers' advantage. The seller's website needs to be well protected and secure against fraudsters and hackers but at the same time, the security components should not suffocate the website to a level that the efficiency of business transactions is impeded on. The buyer has the obligation to identify his/her s ecurity objectives: there is need to know what it is that the seller needs to protect and what should be left open with considerable trust to enhance business transactions. As much as some reasonable degree of trust is necessary for conducting business but too much trust is dangerous to the wellbeing of the very business that you fight to enhance through trust. Therefore, once the seller has identified what to protect and what not to, he has successfully defined his security objectives and this help does create a security policy which must be implemented.  

Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 2

Law - Essay Example It also gets distributed through e-mails, text messages through a mobile phone and from other electronic devices. However, this law was named after a nine year old girl namely Amber Hagerman, who was kidnapped and assassinated in 1996, Texas. It all started in January 13, 1996 when Amber Hagerman got kidnapped, raped and than was killed by the kidnapper. She was riding her bicycle in Arlington, and was abducted soon afterwards. A neighbor saw and called up the police officials, presented them the description of the suspected car and also described the kidnapper. Police of Arlington, including the FBI, investigated around the neighborhood and searched for the vehicle which was suspected. However, her body was found after four days by a resident who was walking his dog. The body was laid on the bottom of the creek bed, in north Arlington. Unfortunately, she was dead as her throat had been slit. (Siegel, Larry J., 2006). The people of her community discovered that the local officials had the information about it and it might have helped to trace her after she was kidnapped, but they didn’t had any way to spread this information around the city. However, the plan was directed mainly on the radio, which was used to distribute information about the abductions. Throughout the alert, the police authorities got orders to fax the information about the kidnapping to two other radio stations. Those two radio stations than in turn verified the faxed information and then alert other radio stations through the following fax shows. It was an effective way to spread the news, but was very time consuming. Amber alert was first implemented by the Child Alert Foundation in 1998. This charity organization established an automatic Alert Notification System or ANS to spread the news in the near-by communities where the child was reported to be missing. Moreover, alerts were sent to the radio stations and were in cluded to the

Irish Revolt Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Irish Revolt - Essay Example Popularly it is known as the Irish Revolt. When this Irish revolt happened the British were at the back foot due to the war against Germany and its economy was in shambles. So it was very difficult for the British to control the insurgency in Ireland. During this period there was a great deal of political violence and upheavel. The violence used by the British to suppress the rebels led to an over-whelming support for them. To seek complete independence the Irish Republican Army waged a guerilla war against the British from 1919-1921. Though the World War I had weakened the British but still the Irish knew that it would be a Herculean task to engage Great Britain in a conventional war. So, the Irish nationalists collectively took a decision to bleed Great Britain slowly by starting an unconventional war against it through guerilla war tactics and intelligence played a very vital role in this. Michael Collins was the Director of Intelligence of the Irish Republican Army. He pinched th e British so much through his deadly tactics that he had an award of 10,000 over his head for 'dead or alive'. The IRA was particularly gruesome on those who took the bait to pass on information about Collins and immediately liquidated the person. Collins was equally vehement in acting against the British intelligence officers and played a vital role in executing a number of them. The British wanted to give a body blow to the Irish revolt by executing Collins and even raised a local force by the name of Black and Tans for the job. Despite that the local intelligence sources of the IRA were so effective that they on a number of occasions pre-empted the raids. There were a section of counterintelligence operatives in the IRA known by the name of Inner-Circle, and who were responsible for the penetration of various British installations. Their network spanned many nations and was able to penetrate deep in to various British facilities extending from Ireland to America and gathered hidd en messages that were later decoded and that in turn helped in the Irish Revolutionaries. The Inner Circle also established a central records center, known by the name of Brain Center within Dublin to effectively control and co-ordinate the counter-intelligence activities. This brain center also had detailed dossiers on many high ranking officials and the known intelligence officers and sympathizers of the British. The British intelligence service tried to penetrate the intelligence arm of the IRA and in its bid even planted a fake spy known by the name of Digby Hardy but the Irish intelligence had a inkling about his past and gathered lots of incriminating evidence against him. Eventually, hardy was expelled from Ireland. It came as a major humiliation for the British Intelligence and equally showcased the efficiency of the Irish Intelligence. In their penetration efforts IIS operatives were more consistent and successful than their British counterparts. The IIS had a number of Dub lin Castle officials on its payroll and extracted valuable information from them regarding the British military tactics and policies against the Irish Nationalists. The prominent among them were Ned Broy and James MacNamara. The IIS chief Collins also had a very valuable asset inside the British military intelligence who regularly passed information about the

Evocative Object Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Evocative Object - Essay Example ICT refers to technologies that guarantee passage of information through telecommunications. The effects of information and communication technologies reflect on how humans do things in present day life as compared to how they used to in the agrarian economy. The information and communication technologies affect various human fields including health, education, modes of transport, communication, agriculture, governance, security, entertainment, sports, industrialization, and others (Seyler 1). The advancement of information and communication technologies is a continuous process that becomes complex and more effective every day. Nevertheless, these advancements equally have negative effects on the environment where they lead to pollution and security where they promote terrorism. Moreover, they come at a price. However, in most cases the inherent benefits of information and communication technologies are more than the costs accrued. Actually, the benefits of information and communicat ion technologies depend on the mode of application, the gadget itself, government policies, and other external factors. Some of the most common and advanced information and communication technologies include cell phones and computers (Seyler 21). Indeed, there are different versions of computers and cell phones with variant applications that continue to flood the global market. Personally, I have had experiences with technology in many cases in my course of life. However, this paper will illustrate my experience with a cell phone as a form of information and communication technologies. It will equally relate my experience to the society in the context of its technological application. The use of cell phones is growing in the modern world due to the friendly, effective, and advanced applications they contain. Its use varies from different personalities including students, business personalities, doctors, service men, pilots, engineers, and the general society (Seyler 26). As a studen t, I have various uses of my cell phone both inn school and outside school. Indeed, in my very first day in college, I was new in town had a vague idea on where my school is. As such, it was physically impossible to access my school on the registration day. However, iPhone had a GPRS and could thus access Google maps application forming a trusted source of direction. There with just a click on my phones keyboard the goggle maps directed me on the shortest direction from the airport to the school free of charge. This application was so beneficial that my mother actually had to buy an iPhone on her way from work. Again, while at school I have used my cell phone in various significant roles. Indeed, I still remember the day that my friend had an accident along the highway far from town. I used my cell phone again to take pictures of the accident using the video recorder and call the police and the ambulance at the scene of the accident. This saved the life of my friend, reduced traffic snarl at the highway, and ensured timely notification to the authorities. Indeed, I equally used the cell phone to inform my friend’s parents of the accident. Back in school, I use my cell phone in different studies and research. Since my cell phone can access the internet and has a capacity to download and store online information, I frequently use it to further my education. Actually, I use my phone to access emails from my tutors, download assignments, find research materials, and forward my assignments. I do this by connecting my phone to my computer at home using a cable and subsequently use my phone as a modem through tethering. This makes my studying more effective and convenient. In addition, my phone has a calculator that is very relevant in doing calculations at school. Indeed, I use my

Culture and cultural differences Essay Example for Free

Culture and cultural differences Essay â€Å"Motivation is an incentive, inducement, or motive, especially for an act† (Morris 1970) There are many ways which influence the motivation levels of an adult person to do a particular task. One of the most important factors is Culture, which is an intrinsic part of a human being. The term culture is best understood when cross-cultural people join to due to some reason, to form a group. While interacting with such a group for motivation, the main idea is to create a sense of belonging. People, who find their niche place in a group, are much more eager to perform tasks to the best of their abilities. The second most important idea for motivation is to create an environment to do work. The reasons for working vary for people from country to country – In China the work motivation is moral obligation, while in Japan it is trust and in Western societies it is incentives. All these factors should be taken care while motivating a cross-cultural group for working. One should always remember that, in the end all these people are doing the same for albeit for different reasons. What do you believe should be your primary concern when trying to motivate across cultural boundaries? Remember to justify your response. People from various cultures take incentives in a different way. People belonging to Asian countries like Japan, lay more stress on the acknowledgement of the work done, than on any material perks they might be able to earn. In contrast, people from many of the service based western countries like US think of incentives, as something which is to be won. And finally there are some people who might be from poor countries like Vietnam, where the perks mean additional money, the more they work the more they earn. Making all these people motivated with an inspirational talk, no matter how good the perks might be, is the most important factor of all. This is because, dissatisfied people might easily think on the lines of regional bias and try to de-motivate other people. A balanced talk which is aimed to effectively motivate the set of people, by seemingly addressing to the individual cultural sects of the group, hence requires the maximum talent and guile on the part of the motivating person. References LaMonica L, â€Å"The Relationship Between Culture and Learner Motivation and Implications for Trainingâ€Å", 17th July 2001, http://www. geocities. com/llamonica/culture. html

Student Leaders Assembly Essay Example for Free

Student Leaders Assembly Essay Sunday, August 15 2010, marked the first day of the Student Leader’s Assembly of both the High School and College departments of the different Don Bosco schools who participated in the said event. They were composed of the student council and the different officers of the clubs and organizations of both levels in the different schools. It was a truly wonderful experience for them since it fostered team building and getting to know each other again after a long time. The event was held at Don Bosco Tarlac, since they were selected as the host of the said event. By the time the participants arrived at Don Bosco Tarlac, they were asked to register their names and put their bags in their assigned rooms. After the facilitators mentioned the rules, they already felt at home in the school since it brings an â€Å"aura† per se, of their school, since it the place was also a Don Bosco school. There was a time when the participants were given time to freshen up before they were ordered to go to the gym for the program to take place. The participants were asked to seat at a certain group according to the number designated on their ID’s. The program started with the raising of the Bosconian Insignias in the different Don Bosco schools while having someone who seemed to be a Bosconian â€Å"bunso† sing the song â€Å"Di Ka Nag-iisa†. It was a very breathtaking experience, because the people were astounded at what a Bosconian â€Å"bunso† could do, at such a young age. The raising of the insignias was followed by the singing of the National Anthem and the opening prayer entitled â€Å"The Prayer†, led by the two selected participants representing Don Bosco Technical College, Mandaluyong. The opening ceremonies of the different insignias ended with a basking applause from the participants. The actual program started with the game called â€Å"Blind Barthemeus†, where a leader would be in charge of asking the other participants some questions while the rest are blindfolded. After getting to know each other as a group, the next game called the â€Å"Game of Life†, was initiated shortly. The instructions were given, and a â€Å"map† of some sort was distributed to each group. They were assigned to make a 3-feet tall tower made of the materials they are going to gather at the different places that were designated in the map, from barbecue sticks and chewing gum to popsicle sticks and lumps of clay. Everything was going well, but after a short while, the rain fell down, slowly but surely. The participants didn’t stop, and so did the rain. But when the rain poured down heavily, most of them fled to the nearest building to take cover from the rain. This goes to show that Bosconians won’t be easily discouraged to abandon their duties just because of some minor distractions or disruptions. The rain still poured down heavily and the PA announced that all Bosconians should dry themselves and wash up, since most, if not all the participants, got wet during the game. The game was suspended, but they were asked to hold on to their materials for later use. It was nighttime when the participants finished perking up and eating dinner. They were requested to go to the Big Chapel for the continuation of the program, since the gym was flooded. The program resumed, and at that time, Mr. JC Delos Reyes was the speaker. He talked about the roles of a leader and what leaders should really do and symbolize. After the talk, the different Don Bosco schools presented their dance numbers and presentations. Everyone performed well. One of the performers even performed an impromptu script, because of the delayed performance of the whole group. Nevertheless, it was a â€Å"lo and behold† sight to see, since everyone gave it their best shot in the presentations. After the dance presentations, the students were asked to go outside the chapel for the fireworks display. After a while, numerous flashing and colorful displays of fireworks amazed the participants during that night. Finally, the students were asked to go to their designated rooms and sleep. It was morning when one of the songs of Don Bosco was played to wake the participants up, although some already did way before the PA played the song. Some took a bath, while others washed up to feel fresh. Breakfast was soon served, and the mass was then celebrated afterwards. The music ministry was led by the students of Don Bosco Technical College. After the mass, the principal, Fr. Jay, gave the closing remarks and then dismissed all the students. Of course, the merienda was served before they all left the school. Everyone left knowing that they learned something not only from their school but also from someone from a different setting. It is true that the best teacher that anyone could have is experience, but it really depends on the person. If the person is eager to learn, then he would strive to become successful by learning from his mistakes in the past, therefore making use of his experiences. If the person is unwilling, then his experiences would mean nothing since he did not apply what he had encountered in the past. That goes the same with the participants back then. They not only learned the true meaning of being a leader and what it takes to be one, they also learned the value of experiences through communication and camaraderie.

Modified Biogeography Based Optimization

Modified Biogeography Based Optimization Modified Biogeography Based Optimization and enhanced simulated annealing on Travelling Tournament problem. Abstract: This paper shows the implementation of Modified BBO and Extended BBO on Travelling Tournament Problem. We modified the migration step of BBO by using probabilistic measures into it. Conventional BBO is used to solve deterministic problems but when we are dealing with real world problems which are non deterministic Conventional BBO failed to achieve the desired/expected results. Modified BBO is able to handle non deterministic problems which occurs in TTP and considered it as noise. The physical significance of noise in our modified solution is any existing parameter which can affect the fitness of the habitat. We also implemented various models of Extended BBO (Linear and Non linear models) on TTP to achieve desirable results. In this paper we compare the performance of our modified BBO to conventional BBO on TTP problem and compare results with previous methodologies. Introduction BBO is Global optimization method which represents organism distribution in our biological system in terms of mathematical model .BBO is an evolutionary algorithm whose working principle is based upon migration mechanisms of species from one habitat to other depending upon the fitness of the habitat which are favorable to them .The habitat which have high HSI (high suitability index ) have high value of species count .Therefore habitat which have high value of HSI have high emigrating rate; it is ready to send its SIV to other habitat, while the habitat having low value of HSI have low value of species count and their immigrating rate is high ;that is it as ready to accept species towards itself .HSI of a habitat can be affected on the basis of SIV (suitability index variables) which are independent variables. The above diagram illustrates the basic mechanism and relation between immigration curve and emigration curve. Here I is maximum Immigration rate, E is maximum emigration rate, is equilibrium number of species, is emigration rate and is Immigration rate. Modified BBO for TTP: Firstly the question arises why there is need of Modification of BBO .We are dealing with biological issues which are dynamic in nature so we have to modified our solution which can take care all dynamic constraints of nature. Let we have two habitats and .These habitats have their fitness’s as and .Let noise involved in two habitats are and .Due to affect of noise the measured fitness is instead of .If we consider has more fitness than ,and let n1 has huge value than n2 and both high value than and .Therefore the overall fitness becomes: 1.1 1.2 Therefore HB1 accepts the SIV from HB2 as condition of BBO gets satisfied as immigrating habitat fitness is less than emigrating habitat. But population of HB1 is already high due to its high HSI because its fitness is more if don’t consider noise .this immigration should not be done .The BBO migration procedure will corrupted .That’s why we need to modify it. In order to calculate the uncertainties, we use the concept of noisy BBO[]. U= 1.4 E= +1.5 U = 1.6 Where U is the uncertainty of the state estimate, m is the estimated fitness, z is the measured fitness, is the variance of the process noise, and is the variance of the observation noise. The uncertainty and the estimated fitness are the values from the previous iteration step before the most recent fitness measurement is updated. The process noise is assumed to be zero, therefore the uncertainty U is only related and . U = 1.7 U = 1.8 Because 0, now +1 > 1. Therefore +1 .With each step in the Kalman algorithm, the uncertainty U will be reduced according to and . Small value of uncertainty leads to high accuracy of estimated fitness. If limit tends to infinity, than Kalman filter gives an estimate value of the fitness which is equal to the real value. Proposed Modified BBO algorithm: Select habitat with the Probability . If is selected For j=1 to n Select with the probability. If is selected Use rand (0, 1) to select SIV from the habitat and pass it through Modification phases. Choose the best feasible solution based on optimal selection from the output of three Modification Phases. Replace selected SIV with End of if End End of if The above Algorithm solves all the issues that is related with Deterministic Problems. We Map this approach to different variants of BBO that can be classified as its Models. Equations used : The above equation is generalization of Baye’s rule. Probability of a habitat with fitness after accepting a selected SIV greater than fitness given that. is simply equal to where P(switch) is given by : When x > y we obtain: if x The PDF of p is as follows The PDF of q is as follows. In the Modification step we talked about three ways by which we can increase the performance of BBO. These three ways can be described as: No-reevaluation phase: In this phase we have two Habitats as immigrating habitat and act as emigrating habitat. We consider two instances of as and Firstly is going to accept optimal SIV from and then accept another best suitable SIV from and after that their performance get measured on the probabilistic measures as: = Immigrating Habitat Re-evaluation: () Emigrating habitat Re-evaluation: () From the above phases we choose the best option for the immigration step. Secondly we Map this Modification approach to all the variants of Extended BBO and implement it on TTP problem. We Modified the Immigration step and apply this Modification to all the linear and non linear Models of BBO to check whether we are able to achieve the optimal results or not. We Test our algorithm to obtain various results which provide optimal solution for TTP problem. We also apply efficient simulated annealing in order to refine our solution obtained so far. We use this technique after we produced the Schedule, so that we can optimize our solution. Efficient Simulated Annealing is applied to schedule after these five moves: 1. Swap Homes(S, 2. Swap rounds(S, 3. Swap Teams(S, 4. Partial Swap Rounds(S, 5. Partial Swap Teams(S, After these Simulated algorithm is applied on the schedule which is obtained after implementation of above moves in order to obtain best feasible schedule. The cost objective function is used in order to calculate the best feasible schedules Results of implementation of our Modified algorithm for TTP Performance comparison of best feasible cost produced by linear and non linear-models

19th Century Architecture :: Art Buildings Essays

19th Century Architecture 19th Century architecture is a wide subject only because there were so many beautiful and magnificent buildings built. The Houses of Parliament were built between 1840 to 1865. It was built by Sir Charles Barry in a Gothic Revival style. The buildings cover an area of more than 8 acres and contain 1100 apartments, 100 staircases, and 11 courts. The exterior, in it’s Revived Gothic style, s impressive with its three large towers: Victoria Tower spanning 336ft in the air, Middle tower 300ft, and Saint Stephen’s better known as the Clock Tower spans 320ft to the sky. The latter contains a clock with four dials, each 23ft long, and a great bell, Big Ben, weighing 13.5 tons. Among the house are the House of Peers; House of Commons; Saint Stephen’s Hall on the site of Saint Stephen’s Chapel; the residence of the speaker, the libraries, committee rooms, and lobbies connected with the House of Commons and the House of Peers; and offices. A very well known structure was also built LA TOUR EIFFEL The Eiffel Tower, or as the French call it, La tour Eiffel, is the last metal construction from the 1887 exhibition. From top to bottom the Eiffel tower is a naked construction showing its rivets and seams proudly. Work on the Eiffel Tower began on January 28, 1887. With new techniques for metal construction the Eiffel Tower was completed in 26 months. With little cost and little labor the only complaints about it were directed at its starkness. The Parisian skyline is forever changed by this tower of steel. Three hundred meters tall when finished, it dominated the landscape of Paris. Later a telecommunications antenna was added to raise the tower's height to almost 350 meters. The Eiffel Tower was the tallest building in the world until 1930 when the Chrysler building was built. The Eiffel Tower was built to commemorate the French Revolution. A competition was held for designs for a suitable monument. More than 100 plans were sent in, only three were picked. Of the three the only one standing today is the Eiffel Tower. Conceived by Gustave Alexandre Eiffel, who was an accomplished bridge engineer, the towers' designs were sent in to the Centennial Committee. The reply came not more than a month later, they were to build the tower. Work on the actual tower began more than five months after the designs were accepted.

The ?Way? As Seen In Taoism And Confucianism Essay -- essays research

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Taoism and Confucianism are both very complex and important religions of their time. Both mainly Asian religions, these creeds were more prominent in the times they were developed then they are today. Each of these religions had a certain belief that there was a â€Å"Way† that things should happen and should work so that goodness and peace will regulate in the world. Confucius was the founder of Confucianism. His works were taught in the Confucian Analects. His sense of mission to be â€Å"a human among other humans.† He was said to have fortune cookie knowledge and was admired by many people, including his many followers. Lao Tzu is the founder of Taoism. His teachings are found from the Te-tao-ching. Lao Tzu beliefs were nature based around nature. Each of these teachers taught a great deal to their followers about their beliefs and we see that through the works they left behind. Confucius was willing to teach and learn with anyone who came to him; once he even accepted an uncapped youth though he stated that he was not responsible for what the youth did when he left. He once struck a man who was waiting for him in a sprawling position in the shins with his staff, declaring that youths that show no respect for their elders achieve nothing, and those who merely get older are useless pests. He observed that one youth seemed to be more interested in growing up quickly than in improving himself....

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee :: To Kill a Mockingbird Essays

A summary: When Scout was six, Dill (Charles Baker Harris) comes to visit his aunt and becomes good friends with the Finches. The children in Maycomb spend all their free time of summer trying to get Boo (Arthur) Radley come out of his house. None of the children have ever seen the mysterious man that lives next door, but they never find out that he is actually shut up in this house. After the summer is over, Scout enters school and gets into trouble because she already knows how to read and to write. She is always constantly getting into fights with boys like Walter Cunningham, the son of a poor farmer. During that year, Scout and her older brother Jem begin to find things in a hole in a tree on the Radley property as they pass it going to and from school. The next summer, Dill returns and the three continue their plans to make Boo Radley emerge from his house. They try to use a fishing pole to stick a note onto one of the windows of the Radleys. One night they decided to sneak up t o one of the windows to have a peek inside. Jem reaches the porch when a shadow appears and the three of them run for their lives just as a shotgun blast is heard. Jem gets caught on the fence by his pants so he has to slip out of them in order to escape. Later he tries to go get the pants that he lost and is afraid. A little bit later Scout hears that the pants were mended very strangely and lying on the fence. The next fall, the children make their first snowman. During this cold spell, Miss Maudie's house burns down and Scout and Jem have to stand outside for fear that their house might also burn down. While they are shivering in the cold, someone wraps a blanket around scout without their knowing it. All indications point to Boo Radley putting the blanket around her. About this time, the children begin to hear in the town that their father is a "nigger- lover." Atticus warns his children never to fight about this, but at Christmas time when one of Scout's cousins makes the same statement, she bloodies his nose. That Christmas, both children receive air rifles but they are given instructions that they must never kill a

My Pawnshop

Course Project Introduction to Business (GEB 1011) Think of a small company you would like to start. Using this company, include the following components in your finalized submittal and use them as Section Headings for formatting your submittal. Put the Section Headings in BOLD. Then your responses in normal 12 point size type and write in complete sentences. 1) Provide an Introduction of your company. Include your main product and/or service. In what country and part of the world is your company located? Explain why your company is located there.With the economy struggling and more and more people loosing their jobs as a major source of income I believe that providing the service of small collateral loans would be a great idea for a business. In this economy the pawn industry is a business that is growing and taking a powerful jump in the economy. I believe that opening and place where people can get short-term loans against a collateral would be a very successful business. I would strategically pick locations in United States that really need this service the most. For example, low-income regions in Orlando such as Pine Hills, would be a good place to open a location.Last and more important,   Make sure to set up shop where the local population is interested in buying your goods Choosing a location with a population that has supply and demand for the specific products I am selling. 2) Describe the form of business ownership you would choose for this company and explain why. Give at least three advantages and three disadvantages of your chosen form of business ownership. The form of business ownership I would choose for my company would be Sole Proprietorship. A business owned and operated by a single individual — and the most common form of business structure in the U.S. The advantages with a sole proprietorship: 1. Ease and cost of formation: simply announcing you are in business and requesting any licenses and permits you may need; use of profits à ¢â‚¬â€ since all profits from the business belong exclusively to you, the owner. 2. Flexibility and control: you make all the decisions and direct the entire business operations; very little government regulations; secrecy; and ease of ending the business. 3. Sale or transfer can take place at the discretion of the sole proprietor. There are disadvantages, however, including unlimited liability: . All business debts are personal debts, meaning you could lose everything you own if the business fails or loses a major lawsuit. 2. Limited sources of financing: based on your creditworthiness. 3. Limited skills: the sole proprietor really must be a â€Å"jack-of-all-trades,† part manager, marketer, accountant, etc. ; and limited lifespan meaning that the business ends when the owner dies. 3) Describe how you would use Supply and Demand to determine the products/services your company would provide. Include how this affects the pricing of your company’s product/service. When supplies of goods and services become plentiful, prices tend to drop. When supplies become scarcer, prices tend to rise. †Ã‚  (Understanding Business, Nickels,McHugh and McHuhg P. 37. ) There are many factors that play a role in using Supply and Demand for the items that my company would be working with. The age of the item, current condition, market value, and ability to re-sell, are all taken into consideration. The market value of precious metals changes daily so this will give more flexibility to play with the loaning, buying or pricing of it.Furthermore, I would have to contemplate the supply and demand or desirability of your item. Perhaps a new product ahs made it obsolete or even decrease its value. For example, a video game system that was worth $300. 00 two years ago may be practically worthless today. With new technology in the market and depreciation of electronics an outdated platform is not going to be in high demand. Another example would be the Blue-ray player, since they have become increasingly popular and they have a high demand in the market the DVD player has depreciated in value.Therefore if a client brings a DVD player in the store the appraisal value would be lower hence the selling price. Taking these factor into consideration, the use of supply and demand would affect the pricing of my company and it would play a very big role because I am the one investing money on the collateral that the customer is bringing to the store, hence my responsibility is to have the knowledge to take smart decisions and to properly train the people that would be working for me to be capable to make smart pricing by using tools such, internet, blue book, catalogs and their experience.One advantage that my company would have is that because I am targeting low income communities the $300. 00 game system they could not afford would be selling for a much lower price at my store. The demand would be there still for the system but this time the used system would be price one third of the original price and there would be an option for that customer to put it on layaway and pay for it slowly something that is becoming popular on big retail stores now days. As the Chief Executive Officer of your company: ) Describe your company’s Strategic Plan. Include a SWOT, Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats, analysis ((list at least three, (3) items per section)). 5) Describe how you would implement the Management Functions in your company. 6) Describe the process you would use to recruit, hire, and train your employees. 7) Describe how you would approach the marketing mix for your company (Product, Price, Place, Promotions, the 4 Ps,). 8) Describe how you would develop and use the basic accounting statements in your company.

How to write a rationale? Essay

In 200-300 words, answer the following questions in paragraph form: †¢How is the context of the task linked to the particular course? †¢How is the task intended to explore particular aspects of the course? Consider the changing historical, cultural and social context in which particular texts are written and revised. Students are asked to understands the context of the production of a given text, and compare that context to the way the text is understood today, or at another time. I believe I fulfilled one/various learning outcomes for part 3: literature in context. For example I considered the changing historical, cultural, and social context in which dahls short stories were written and received by exploring ideas of postmodernism, such as dark humor †¢The nature of the task chosen – what is it about? How is it written? What is the text type? What is about; how did you write it? Style? Formality? Images? †¢ Information about audience, purpose and the social, cultural or historical context in which the task is set. This sample written task is written by Michael Michell, who teaches at the International School of Amsterdam. The task is the product of a greater unit on the portrayal of women and sex in advertising. It takes its inspiration from Jean Kilbourne’s ‘Killing Us Softly’. Students watched this polemic presentation and discussed many of the ads that it features. Students explored the defining characteristics of opinion columns and more specifically the columns of Maureen Dowd. You can see that he imitates her writing style or ‘voice’ very well. After you view Kilbourne’s presentation and read the written task, assess his work according to the assessment criteria. Then compare your marks to the examiner’s marks offered below. How do your marks differ from the examiner’s? Sample Rationale: For Part 2 of my English course we studied how women are portrayed by the media. We began by viewing Jean Kilbourne’s Killing Us Softly 3 and reading Kilbourne’s book The More You Subtract, The More You Add. I refer to statistics and facts from this sources in the written task. The Calvin Klein ad pictured here, the one that I refer to in my written task, is one I also used for an â€Å"ad critique presentation† (IB further oral activity). We spent time in class asking ourselves who was responsible for several problems, including the social construction of gender, beauty and sexuality to the often dangerous behaviors advertisements seem to promote (eating disorders, objectification of women, violence against women, hyper-masculinity, and others). We also discussed ways in which individuals and groups can resist these problems and promote social change. An opinion column seemed to be the ideal forum for me to write. I wanted to move from the specific problems I saw in this ad and speak to the larger issues it points to. I read many writers of Op-Eds and decided to model mine after New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd because her voice combines comic elements with biting commentary. Her columns, like many other Op-Ed writers, are grounded in the writer’s personal life. It contains not only her opinion, but many newsworthy statistics and a call to action. I believe that have met several of the learning outcomes for Part 2. I have examined different forms of communication within the media, by looking at a range of texts, from ads and opinion columns to documentaries and counter ads. I have also shown an awareness of the potential for ideological influence of the media, by looking at both sexist ads and counter-propaganda, such as Kilbourne’s speech. Written Task 1: My child walked into the study last night while I was hammering away on a column about W.’s inability to use the English language in a speech he delivered to the National Education Association conference this past weekend. â€Å"Mommy, look at me. I’m beautiful.† I turned around, reading glasses perched on the end of my nose, peering over the top to see my eight-year-old posing, nearly naked, hips jutting provocatively forward and gently sucking a thumb, in one of her father’s dress shirts from the laundry basket and CK written in my red lipstick on the pocket, only one lower button closing the shirt so my baby’s privates were just covered like the proverbial fig leaf. I was horrified. Horrified at what she was communicating – already – without awareness. I shook my head, dismayed, â€Å"Daniela, let’s get you into your jammies and off to bed.† As I walked into her room, I told her how I feel about the advertisement she was mimicking. I told her about women’s strength and real â€Å"girl power.† And then I helped her change, and read her several pages of Stargirl until she drifted off to sleep. It is no surprise that Daniela and so many others, especially children and young people, are influenced by the images they see – everywhere and all the time – telling the same stories of beauty: expose yourself, be thin, be childlike and vulnerable, be sexually available, be like the image you see. As Daniela gets older she will be socialized to know that girls and women are to be available, to be sexy, to be vulnerable and that boys and men are different: they are to be hard, powerful, in control, and forceful. If we believe the statistics, and I do, the consequences for the health, happiness, and welfare for our society are dire: the average American sees 3,000 advertisements a day, computer retouching of images is so pervasive that no images of human models escape â€Å"reworking,† only 5% of American women have body types seen in most advertising, 4 of 5 American women are dissatisfied with their bodies, 5-10 million women struggle with a serious eating disorder, and on and on and on. The list of consequences is legion. Who is responsible? The ad agencies? They own a share, but we are all responsible. We buy the magazines. We watch the television. We purchase the products. But we have choices. We don’t have to buy products that exploit and manipulate. More importantly, we can and should communicate to companies directly about what we think and feel in response to their advertisements, and how they will affect our choices as consumers. For many readers this may seem daunting. It does take commitment and effort, but there are resources that can help. For guidance on writing such letters, as well as a rich body of information about media issues, visit the Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting website (http://www.fair.org). For a superb archive of actual letters praising and condemning specific advertisements and ad campaigns, visit the About-Face website (http://www.about-face.org). In many cases, response letters are included, and in a few of these we see how the consumer has affected change. In his 1950 Nobel acceptance speech, American writer William Faulkner said, â€Å"Never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty, and truth, and compassion against injustice, and lying, and greed. If people all over the world†¦would do this it would change the Earth.† Faulkner’s right. We can change the world. But we must â€Å"Be the change we seek in the world,† as Gandhi said. We must act. We must educate ourselves and each other. We must educate our children about the images they see. We must never let a teachable moment pass. We must never let those images rule our children and us. We must act – with our voices, with our wallets, with our pens and computers. Criteria| Possible| Awarded| Comments| A: Rationale| 2| | | B: Task and Content| 8| | | C: Organization | 5| | | D: Language and Style| 5| | | Feedback: Criterion A – Rationale – 2 marks * 1 out of 2 – The rationale explains how the task is connected to the coursework. However, Criterion B – Task and content – 8 marks The content of a task should lend itself well to the type of text that one chooses. The task should demonstrate an understanding of the course work and topics studied. Finally, there should be evidence that the student has understood the conventions of writing a particular text type. * 7 out of 8 – This task is very appropriate for the content. The voice of Maureen Dowd has been carefully studied and replicated. You can see the student demonstrating his understanding of the coursework and Jean Killbourne’s film. Having said this, the Calvin Klein text is only analyzed in passing. This could have received a little more attention. Criterion C – Organization – 5 marks The task is organized effectively and appropriately with a regard for the text type. There must be a sense of coherence. * 4 out of 5 – The task moves nicely from an anecdote to a social commentary. It is illustrated effectively with statistics and interesting quotes. It has the structural conventions of an opinion column. Unfortunately, the task falls short of the minimum word count requirement of 800. Criterion D – Language – 5 marks The language of the task must be appropriate to the nature of the task. This means that students use an appropriate and effective register and style. Whatever the nature of the task, ideas must be communicated effectively. * 5 out of 5 – The choice of vocabulary and the use of syntax are superb! The narrative voice is characteristic of Maureen Dowd. Here is a draft of a Written Task 1 that a student wrote. It has multiple problems and requires help. Answer the following questions before reading the feedback. 1. Which pitfalls has the student fallen into? 2. How could the ‘three right ingredients’ be used to steer this student in the right direction? 3. Look at the page on opinion columns in the reference section of this Subject Site. According to this definition, there are six defining characteristics of opinion columns: voice, newsworthiness, call to action, humor, hard facts and logos. Where do you see evidence of these in the column below? How could these characteristics be added to the task to make it more successful? Column on the advantages of being fat ‘Don’t you want to lose weight some day’? Is the question I was asked about weekly. And then I replied with my happiest voice; No! The they gave me this kind of look like, okay, you must be crazy. And yes I am. There are so many advantages of being fat. Lets start by shopping. Sale. The thing I like best, and so handy when you’re fat, because almost 70% of all the woman are skinny, at least skinny to fit in the most common sizes. So all the big sizes are left over. How nice. So there I was, standing at the H&M, at the sale-corner. Nothing but big sizes. So as a child in a toy shop I started grabbing the things I liked and made my way to the fitting room. It was rather crowdie over there so I accepted the fact that I had to wait for some minutes. I heard the sound of an opening door and saw a skinny girl coming outside, at a glance she saw me and then continued looking in the mirror. Her friend, waiting for her, said she looked pretty and the girl asked her friend ‘don’t I look fat in this dress?’ No it’s lovely’ she replied. I laughed. I never had those kind of problems. For I already accepted the fact that I was fat, and it would never disappoint me when shopping. When the girls left I went in to the fitting room and started to change. This dress was lovely, I took another look in the mirror, turned around and smiled. Shopping is great, after like half an hour I was ready, with about 9 dresses hanging over my arm I made my way to the pay desk. Only50 pounds for 9 dresses. Good job, I thought. As happy as I was I walked to the bus stop I realized I was just in time because the bus was about to leave. I hastened myself to get inside the bus, and lucky as I was, there was one seat left over, a seat for 2, just for me. The whole trip no one came to sit next to me, for they probably thought they wouldn’t have enough space, sitting next to 1.5 person. Life is great, and so you see, being fat is too! (: Criteria| Possible| Awarded| Comments| A: Rationale| 2| | | B: Task and Content| 8| | | C: Organization | 5| | | D: Language and Style| 5| | | ————————————————- Feedback First of all, this written task falls into is the pitfall of not reflecting course content. It is not clear what was studied in class from this piece. If the student studied obesity, its causes and effects, then this needs to be made clear. Where does the statistic on the percentage of skinny women (70%) come from? Are overweight people really happy for the reasons suggested in this column? If so, explain where this is supported. Secondly, this opinion column sounds very informal, using words such as ‘like’ and the emoticon ‘(:’. Columns often contain something that is newsworthy and relevant to the target audience. The context of this text is not self evident. ————————————————- Finally, this text must refer to another text or texts. If the student read an article about obesity, then she could explain its significance. It is suggested that this student start all over again with a completely new idea and set of texts. She may want to see the lesson on anorexia and the sample written task on the portrayal of women in the media. Sample Rationale: My diary entry, written in Ekwefi’s point of view, contains 2 different entries that intend to show her thoughts and emotions regarding her romantic life. Set it Nigeria in the late 1880s, she compares the days in which she fell in love with Okonkwo and ran away from her husband to the present situation she finds herself in. Being a diary, the audience is the writer herself, and for each entry I used a different tone: lightheartedness can be seen in the sentence â€Å"Okonkwo and I should elope, as he is the man I have always longed for† while melancholy is present in the following one: â€Å"And it all seems so different from back then.† The language I employed is intended to be similar to the one on â€Å"Things Fall Apart† and the Ibo language, including the months â€Å"Onwa Agwu† meaning June and â€Å"Onwa Okike† meaning November, as well how they popularly use the word â€Å"shall.† I wrote this this because I wish we had seen m ore of the personal sides of the characters in the novel, especially of a woman, since they allow us to connect to them and feel with them more deeply. The nature of the chosen task comes from the fact that the concept of love is a very delicate, complex, and even clichà © idea, yet it is the one common factor that has been present in th world despite the different cultures that exist. Therefore its purpose is to prove that even in a novel of postcolonial origin and focus, the role romance pays in a character’s life is a subject that can be regarded. 1. What’s good about this rationale? 2. What’s missing? 3. What could be done better? ————————————————- Sample Written Task 1 ‘Language issues’ A MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIRMAN AND CEO ZOULIKHA VAN KLAVEREN The discussion about Ebonics or African American English (AAE) has recently started again, due to the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) seeking Ebonics translators. The commotion around our language is about the DEA putting Ebonics on their list of languages they translate, among official languages like Spanish or Vietnamese. Many white Americans have put a somewhat radical opinion out there; in general they think that Ebonics should not be seen as a distinct language and thus should not be on a list among official and distinct languages. Personally I was shocked to see so many aggressive comments towards the language we speak in our daily lives – and expressing yourself so hostile against Ebonics is not the right thing to do in my opinion. The characterizations of Ebonics as ‘slang’, ‘lazy’ or ‘broken English’ are incorrect, demeaning and could offend a great amount of people. Ebonics is a form of communication that deserves recognition and study. In this months’ special edition we are taking a closer look at the events that are going on right now. There will be different views on this issue; the topics that are named here are all coming back and will be assessed throughout an in-depth article written by Aleecia Dewiz, Marcus Reganus, Tanya Leeso and Sean Comsin. The last debate about the Ebonics language was almost fourteen years ago. On December 18th, 1996, the Oakland, California, Unified School District proposed using Ebonics for teaching English. This caused a national discussion and drew an awful lot of media attention. Due to this unwanted attention, the school board to alter their plans and teach it as a second language. My dear friend Jesse Jackson expressed his opinion on this matter saying that it was unacceptable for it may damage the children’s Standard English skills. Later he reversed his position towards the case by saying that he misunderstood the schools’ wish to teach Ebonics as a standard language – which was eventually not the case. Although I personally deeply care for the Ebonics language, English is a global lingua franca, so it is obvious that Standard English is the most important language that has to be spoken and taught in school. It has an instrumental motivation, while Ebonics is somehow rega rded as more of a language that people use or learn with a intergrative motivation. However, there are so many other versions of English spoken over the world: almost each country that has English as their official or second official language, speaks a slightly different dialect. Just to name a few: Hong Kong English, Singapore English, Cameroon English, New Zealand English and Jamaican English. These are languages that can be learned because of the integrative and instrumental motivation. Ebonics could be one of these languages and this will be discussed in the article â€Å"Ebonics: language or idiolect?† The question that came up to me was why there is such a fuss about this specific variety of English. In the Anglophone world – which is an immense part of the world we live in – there are many different varieties of English. The one that is quite comparable to Ebonics is Chicano English, since it is also a cultural variety of English in the United States. There is less (media) commotion about this language, though. Is this because it is not considered a distinct language, as it is not on the DEA list or has not been tried to teach in schools? Or does it have something to do with people being intimidated by the Black American society? The thing that worries me is that this renewed issue might trigger polarization between the radical-thinking white Americans and us Black Americans. There is a large group of Black Americans that speaks Ebonics and is not against it being a distinct or even an official language, while the large group of non-African Americans thinks the othe r way around. If this is going to be a national debate again, a divide of ethnic groups might occur. Like mentioned above, in this issue there will be different views on this topic, including the negative point of view, explained by both a Black American and white American. This is why I am kindly stressing to stand up for the Ebonics language, but to not forget about Standard English. I have written a feature on this as well, together with great help provided by Stephanie Reed and Tyrese Lutchin. Some might not like our language because they don’t understand it – hence the searching for translators, which definitely points out that not everyone can simply understand us. So speak the Ebonics language with pride, but think about the people around you and about your best interests – because Standard English is the most important language to know and to master. At least, for now. Criteria| Possible| Awarded| Comments| A: Rationale| 2| | | B: Task and Content| 8| | | C: Organization | 5| | | D: Language and Style| 5| | | Examiner’s Feedback: The written task is a missed opportunity. The student has an excellent topic with no examples of language in use. The task reminds us that, besides exploring various attitudes towards varieties of English language, we must look at concrete examples of English in use. Criteria| Possible| Awarded| Comments| A: Rationale| 2| 0| The student fails to include a rationale.| B: Task and Content| 8| 4| The task is generally appropriate, though it lacks examples. It shows some understanding of letters from the editor, as a type of text, though it slips into essay form sometimes.| C: Organization | 5| 4| The task is well organized and generally well structured.| D: Language and Style| 5| 4| The student’s use of English is inaccurate and inappropriate.| Sample Written Task 1 Rationale: In class we explored several texts by African Americans, analyzing their use of English as an expression of a social identity. In particular we look looked at several song lyrics by rappers. I was intrigued by 2Pac Shakur’s lyrics. I wanted to create a context in which I could explore the effects of his lyrics on the African American community. Therefore, I decided to invent a column in Rolling Stone magazine called ‘Lyrics Up Close’, in which I interview several young African Americans on their response to 2Pac’s lyrics. The year is 1998 and 2Pac is still climbing the pop charts even though he has been killed in a shooting. I ask how 2Pac has earned respect among his target audience, and how they identify with him. I give several reasons, including his personal history and his use of English to account for his success. What’s more I define the main message of the song as one that encourages troubled youth to get off the streets, stop selling drugs and cease violent activity. I look at this within the context of 2Pac’s own violent life, which exposes his hypocrisy. All in all, the task made me think critically about language and culture. Task: A ‘Brotha’ Who Understands ‘Brotha’s’ From ‘Lyrics Up Close’ a column in Rolling Stone magazine 2Pac Shakur landed in the top ten again this week with ‘Changes’, and so it appears that he is enjoying more success posthumously than when he lived. Has his iconic status increased because of his death, or could it be that this song has struck a chord with African-Americans across the nation. Rolling Stone hit the streets of 2Pac’s old neighborhood in Marin City, asking young African-Americans how the lyrics of ‘Changes’ made them feel. â€Å"Here’s a brotha’ who understands brotha’s,† answered one high school student, who seemed to capture the sentiments of many in the area. Where, though, in the lyrics do young African Americans identify with 2Pac’s message? At first glance, ‘Changes’ sounds quite pessimistic. It opens with the lines, â€Å"I’m tired of bein’ poor & even worse I’m black.† This defeatist attitude seems strange when compared to 2Pac’s tough image, an image that many young gang members have imitated. One young man we spoke to, who wore a gangster-style bandana, explained that the opening lines are not so much pessimistic as realistic. The lyrics explain why young African Americans deal drugs and commit crime: â€Å"First ship ’em dope & let ’em deal the brothers / give ’em guns step back watch ’em kill each other.† While this may sound like the tone of a victim, 2Pac is not encouraging young African Americans to give up or lose hope. It is important that we keep the target audience of the song in mind. It does not intend to create sympathy among white Americans for poor African Americans. Rather, the song targets African Americans. In fact many young black men of Marin City feel spoken to by 2Pac’s song. He seems to call on them to change: â€Å"But now I’m back with the facts givin’ it back to you Don’t let ’em jack you up, back you up, crack you up and pimp smack you up You gotta learn to hold ya own.† In these lines, â€Å"you† is directed to troubled black youth. When asked what â€Å"hold ya own† means, many young African Americans explained: they must refuse to become victims of the hardships that 2Pac so poignantly describes in his lyrics. This call to social responsibility might just be the main theme of the song, which he suggest in the lines, â€Å"I got love for my brother but we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other.† He calls on African Americans to stop dealing drugs to each other and stealing from each other. How, though, does 2Pac deliver this message without sounding patronizing? First of all, as the saying goes, ‘it takes one to know one.’ 2Pac’s criminal past and time in prison have earned him respect among troubled, black youth. But what’s more, he speaks to them in their language, a lyrical, almost sophisticated form of Ebonics or African American Vernacular English (AAVE). The rhythm and rhyme of the lyrics is engaging and compelling, which we see in the afore mentioned lines, â€Å"jack you up, back you up / crack you up and pimp smack you up.† The verb, ‘to pimp smack one up’ exemplifies the poetic style of street speech. Finally he addresses his audience as his â€Å"brothers†, he uses the word â€Å"nigga† in a permissible context and alludes casually to â€Å"Huey†, a.k.a. Huey P. Lewis, co-founder ofthe Black Panthers. These are all ‘in-group’ markers, which help establish his credit and rapport among African Americans in general and black gangsters specifically. It is for these reasons that he has earned the right to speak to them about these complex issues. In the midst of the many depressing scenarios that 2Pac sketches from children dying of drug abuse to the constant fear of being killed by an old enemy (â€Å"I never get to lay back / ‘Cause I always got to worry ’bout the pay backs†), his spoken words cast a ray of light and call for reasoning. â€Å"We gotta make a change†¦ It’s time for us as a people to start makin’ some changes. Let’s change the way we eat, let’s change the way we live and let’s change the way we treat each other. You see the old way wasn’t working so it’s on us to do what we gotta do, to survive.† The final question that remains is: ‘How are troubled, young African Americans supposed to change the way they live?’ Unfortunately 2Pac left us with few answers and, even worse, a poor example. He lived his life like the lyrics of ‘Changes’: a series of violent, depressing acts interspersed with a few moments of clarity. At least his song helps create understanding the complex issues that poor, young African Americans face every day. From this kind of understanding and the realization that ‘it’s on us to do what we gotta do’, change can arise. Criteria| Possible| Awarded| Comments| A: Rationale| 2| | | B: Task and Content| 8| | | C: Organization | 5| | | D: Language and Style| 5| | |