Wednesday, November 27, 2019

7 Active Reading Strategies for Students

7 Active Reading Strategies for Students Active reading techniques can help you stay focused and retain more information, but its a skill that takes time and effort to develop. Here are some strategies to help you get started right away. 1. Identify New Words Most of us develop a bad habit of glossing over words that are vaguely familiar to us, often not even realizing we are doing so. When you  read a difficult passage or book for an assignment, take a few moments to really observe challenging words. You will likely find that there are many words that you think you know- but that you can’t really define. Practice by underlining every noun or verb that you cannot replace with a synonym. Once you have a list of words, write the words and definitions in a logbook. Revisit this log several times and quiz yourself on the words. 2. Find the Main Idea or Thesis As your reading level increases, the complexity of your material will likely increase as well. The thesis or main idea may no longer be provided in the first sentence; it may instead be located in the second paragraph or even the second page. Finding the thesis is crucial to comprehension. You’ll need to practice finding the thesis of the text or article each time youre reading. 3. Create a Preliminary Outline Before you dive into reading the text of a difficult book or chapter, take some time to scan the pages for subtitles and other indications of the structure. If you don’t see subtitles or chapters, look for transition words between paragraphs. Using this information, you can craft a preliminary outline of the text. Think of this as the reverse of creating an outline for your essays and research papers. Going backward in this way helps you absorb the information you are reading. Your mind will, therefore, be better able to â€Å"plug† the information into the mental framework. 4. Read With a Pencil Highlighters can be overrated. Some students commit highlighter overkill and end up with a sloppy multi-colored mess. Sometimes it’s more effective to use a pencil and sticky notes when you write. Use the pencil to underline, circle, and define words in the margins, or (if you’re using a library book) use sticky notes to mark a page and a pencil to write specific notes to yourself. 5. Draw and Sketch No matter what type of information you’re reading, visual learners can always create a mind map, a Venn diagram, a sketch, or a timeline to represent the information. Start by taking a clean sheet of paper and creating a visual representation of the book or chapter you’re reading. Youll be amazed by the difference this will make for retaining information and remembering details. 6. Make a Shrinking Outline A shrinking outline is another useful tool for reinforcing the information that you read in a text or in your class notes. To make a shrinking outline, you need to re-write material you see in your text (or in your notes). While it is a time-consuming exercise to write out your notes, it is also a very effective one. Writing is a necessary part of active reading. Once you have written out a few paragraphs of material, read it over and think of one keyword that represents an entire paragraph’s message. Write that keyword in the margin. Once you have written several keywords for a long text, go down the line of keywords and see if each word will prompt you to remember the full concept of the paragraph it represents. If not, re-read the paragraph and choose a more accurate keyword. Once every paragraph can be recalled by a keyword, you can begin to create clumps of keywords. If necessary (e.g. if you have a lot of material to memorize) you can reduce the material again so that one word or acronym helps you remember the clumps of keywords. 7. Read Again and Again Science tells us that we all retain more when we repeat a reading. It’s good practice to read once for a basic understanding of the material, and read at least one more time to grasp the information more thoroughly.

Saturday, November 23, 2019

Secrets to a Successful Marketing Strategy by EssaySupply.com

Secrets to a Successful Marketing Strategy Secrets to a Successful Marketing Strategy Marketing has only one goal – to get customers. Years ago, someone opened a business and advertised in the newspaper and on the radio. S/he put big signs in the windows advertising sales. Not a lot of that happens anymore, except for television advertising that that the big players can afford. Now, it’s all about being found online, and being found everywhere online; it’s about driving traffic to your website; it’s about creating content that is wonderfully engaging; and it is about being all over social media. And the goal is conversions – whether that is capturing an email address for future marketing communication or, ultimately, getting someone to take a free trial or, ultimately make that purchase. There’s a Lot of Research Out There People have been at this content marketing stuff for a long time now, and there are very sophisticated tools and strategies that you can take advantage of, if you want the right plan of action to spread your brand, generate traffic, and get those conversions. Use the strategies that the experts tell you are correct, and you will achieve your goals. Three big things should drive everything you do – spreading your brand, building relationships, and using analytics to target your market. Spreading Your Brand The web-based shopper has to know you exist. You can’t just build a â€Å"killer† website and think these shoppers will come. You have to go to them, and you have to do this in smart ways. Here is what you must do at a minimum: Get a blog. Get a great blog. This means that you have absolutely great content that people want to read and share with others. It means that the content you have will be noticed by search engines, so that your SEO rankings will rise. You can’t just slap up a few posts each week. Those posts have to be engaging and compelling, written well, and give readers something they need or enjoy. If you do not have the time to maintain an absolutely extraordinary blog, then you need to contract with people to do this for you. Over time, the expense will more than pay for itself. If you don’t know where to go for experts, you can begin with an online essay writing service that has real pros for copywriting. They are pretty reasonable and will see to it that your blog posts are absolutely stellar. Get all over social media. Tell great stories about yourself and your team. Solve problems for people. Run contests; conduct surveys; offer special deals; offer free things with links to your website for them to get the great stuff you are offering. Give â€Å"teasers† to those great posts that are now on your blog to drive you targets to your site. Remember – brand spreading is a long-term, gradual process. Be patient – if you do it right, it will happen! Building Relationships Shoppers today want to know who they are buying from – particularly Millennials who were responsible for $5 billion in Internet sales last year. Customers are not walking into your store and having conversations with you. They are finding you online, and building relationships are much harder. So, here is what has to be done: Your blog and your social media pages need to tell your story and the stories of your team. Get lots of photos and videos up there that show you and your team at work and at play. Take up a cause and show how committed you are to it. Offer to donate to that cause with each purchase; publicize you and your team participating in events sponsored by that cause. You can do something as simple as sponsor a child or two in a third world nation and post photos and updates; if you are local, find a local charity with which to become involved. Millennials want to do business with companies that take social responsibility seriously. Feature your customers as much as possible – have a customer of the month. Have a contest and publicize the winners. Using Analytics Start with Google Analytics and then graduate to more sophisticated tools such as those offered by Crazy Egg. You know who your target market is. Now find out where they hang out online; find out when and from where visitors come to your site; learn about where they stay and when and where they bounce out; learn which devices they are using. All of this information should drive your site content, the CTA’s you use, and the design of content for multiple devices. You can have a great website that really rocks on a PC, but if your targets are using tablets and phones, and you have not re-designed for those devices, you have lost them. If you don’t have the time, hire this out. It’s just too important! The big takeaway if this: It takes time for a marketing strategy to work. If you are not seeing results in a week or two, do not â€Å"jump ship.† It takes months, and progress is gradual.

Thursday, November 21, 2019

How do you view the unification of women on campus, and how would you Essay

How do you view the unification of women on campus, and how would you improve it - Essay Example Hence, it is essential for women to come together on campus and address the issues that are affecting them both in the school and the outside world. This paper will assess the issue of women coming together on campus, illustrating its benefits and ways of improving this unification. As mentioned above, the unification of women on campus is a positive event for many reasons. Firstly, it enables the preparation of young women for life after college. When women come together they should use this opportunity to teach the younger girls about their rights and empower them to stand up for themselves. Women would not have the opportunity to learn about such situations in detail and unification enables this educational procedure to occur. Unification of women is also a supporting mechanism for women as they are able to encourage each other in a world that places them at an unjustified disadvantage (Boswell, n.p). Unification on campus also trains women to be more expressive. The voice of a group of people is much louder than that of an individual; hence the women can work together towards achieving a common goal. Unification is also good in the sense that it enables the women at the college to form stronger ties with one another, and create both friendships and professi onal connections which will help them in the future. Unification of women is also good from the sense that it enables them to strategize and create new ideas that improve their lives in college and beyond. The more women that are present, the higher the chances that more problems facing women will be vocalized and therefore rectified. In addition, when working together the strategies being implemented to improve certain issues have a higher level of success (Boswell, n.p). I feel unification of women can be improved by formalizing the unions that are created by women on campus. This will give a better

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Preparation of Acetyl Salicylic Acid (Aspirin) Lab Report

Preparation of Acetyl Salicylic Acid (Aspirin) - Lab Report Example In the following experiment we embark to acquaint ourselves with a simple laboratory protocol for the synthesis of aspirin. This procedure will use acetic anhydride and sulfuric acid as the acid catalyst of the reaction. Objective: To illustrate the synthesis of the drug, aspirin and determine its purity by a chemical test Materials and methods: Synthesis of Aspirin A water- bath was prepared by filling half-way a 400mL beaker with water and the water heated to boiling point. 2.004g of salicylic acid was placed in a 125mL Erlenmeyer flask. Carefully 3mL of acetic anhydride was added to the flask and while swirling 3 drops of concentrated sulfuric acid were added. To avoid eye irritation and burns caused by acetic anhydride and sulfuric acid respectively, the chemicals were handled in the hood in gloves. The reagents were mixed and then the flask was placed in the boiling water-bath and heated for 15minutes. The setting of the practical is as shown in the diagram 1.1 below. This disso lved any solid while the solution was occasionally swirled. The Erlenmeyer flask was removed from the bath and left to cool to approximately the room temperature. The solution in the flask was then poured into a 150-mL beaker containing 20mL of ice water and mixed thoroughly before placing the beaker in an ice bath. The water destroyed any remnant of unreacted acetic anhydride and caused the insoluble aspirin to precipitate from the solution. The crystals were collected by filtering under suction with a Buchner funnel as shown in diagram 1.2 below. The side-arm of a 250mL filter flask was connected to a water aspirator with heavy wall vacuum rubber tubing. The Buchner funnel was inserted into the filter flask through a one-hole rubber stopper and a filter paper placed into the Buchner funnel making sure the paper covered all the holes. Finally the water was poured to the paper to wet it and then the water aspirator was turned on to a maximum water flow and the solution in the beaker poured into the funnel. The crystals were washed with two portions of cold water each 5mL and then followed by a one 10mL portion of cold ethanol. The suction of air was continued through the crystal for several minutes so as to dry them. The crystals were placed between several sheets of filter paper using a spatula and press-dried. A 50mL beaker was weighed before placing the crystals and reweighing the beaker. The weight and percentage yield of the crude aspirin was determined. Diagram 2: filtering using the Buchner funnel Procedure to determination of aspirin purity Three test tubes each 100 x 13 mm were labeled 1, 2, 3 and a few crystals of salicylic acid placed in the test tube-1 and in test tube-2 a small sample the newly synthesized aspirin was placed whereas for test tube-3 a small sample of crushed commercial was placed. In each of the test tubes, 5mL of distilled water was added and test tubes shaken to dissolve the crystals and a further 10 drops of 1% aqueous ferric ch loride was also added to each test tube. Observation and comparisons were made from the three test tubes and recorded. Results and Discussion Theoretical yield 2.004g salicylic acid X Weight of 50-mL beaker = 39.21 Weight of the aspirin and the beaker = 40.69 Weight of aspirin = Weight of the aspirin and the beaker - Weight of 50-mL beaker 40.69 – 39.21 = 1.48 g Weight of crude aspirin = 1.48 g Percent yield = 56.70% Chemical test with ferric chloride Presence of unreacted salicylic acid can be detected with 1% ferric chloride

Sunday, November 17, 2019

Romeo and Juliet Essay Example for Free

Romeo and Juliet Essay How does the opening scene of Romeo and Juliet grab the audiences attention? How does Shakespeare prepare us for what happens in the rest of the play? Romeo and Juliet is one of Shakespeares most famous romantic tragedies, which was written in 1599. This tale of romance and hatred starts with a dramatic first scene of the opposing families. These characters are shown in the first scene, focusing on the way Shakespeare captures the audiences attention and how he created this action packed, tense first scene to prepare us for the rest of the play. Shakespeares Act 1 Scene 1 sees two angry characters enter armed with swords and bucklers which are publicly seen in their possession. In the society of that time, this would have been common and the audience would not find it strange whereas the society of today would find this threatening, as well as illegal. This gives us an impression of what the people and the society was like 400 years ago. These two fiery characters are Capulet servants called Sampson and Gregory who start the first scene off with humour: Well not carry coals Sampson. No, for then we should be colliers Gregory. This would have been funny in Shakespearean times as Gregory is contradicting what Sampson has said, and is taking him literally to make light of the situation. Shakespeares audience would have understood the reference whereas a modern audience would see the implication differently and the joke wouldnt be understood, as the Shakespearean language is not commonly known these days. Shakespeare uses sexual references towards the Montague household and Sampson comments that he is a pretty piece of flesh. This sexual reference would have been amusing to the Shakespearean audience, and even though we do not fully understand the comment, we would still pick up what he is implying. We still have amusing sexual references in plays and films today which show how the society then and the society now use sexual comments in their scripts to create humour. This humour helps to capture the audiences attention. These two characters help start off the first scene as they help us to realise the anger and hatred between the two families, and prepare us for what we hope will be more fighting and excitement later on in the play. The next two characters to enter are Montague servants called Abram and Balthasar. Sampson and Gregory are clearly angered by their arrival, and comment that they will bite their thumb at them. This action was an insult in Shakespearean times, and would have been taken in an offensive way. The two Montague servants begin quarrelling with the Capulets, and they begin provoking each other: Do you bite your thumb at us sir? Abram No, sir, I do not bite my thumb at you Sampson Later on in Act 1 they continue: Do you quarrel sir? Gregory Quarrel, sir? No sir. Abram. As the provocation warms up, and the two opposing families begin to get angrier, the pace of the play quickens. Modern audiences may not have understood the insult of biting thumbs, but we would feel the tension that was building up on stage between the Montagues and the Capulets, and would see that the characters are very much alike in the fact that they detest the other family and use aggressive language to try and provoke each other. These two characters are added to make the plot more interesting, although they do not show the anger they have for the Capulets as much as the Capulets show us their hatred for the Montagues. Evidence of this is that Sampson and Gregory in Act 1 Scene 1 talk about how they will inflict pain and violence on the Monatagues if they come across one: A dog of the house of Montague moves me. The bickering between these four characters adds tension and excitement to the first scene of the play, and helps move the scene along. The next character to enter is Benvolio and he is clearly angered by the fighting that has occurred between the two families. He beats down their swords saying put up your swords; you know not what you do. We can already see a big contrast between Benvolio and the other four characters: Benvolio is a peacemaker who wishes for the family feud to end, whereas the others provoke each other into a fight, quarrel and hold hatred for each other. Tybalt then enters, angry and fired up over the Montague presence. He speaks of how he hates the word peace as he hates hell, all Montagues and thee. We begin to learn that Tybalt is a very angry and aggressive character that would love to get his own revenge on the Montague household. Although the language is still written and spoken as if in Shakespearean times, we would still feel the tension and pace quickening, and understand the personalities of the different characters. Shakespeare has given Benvolio and Tybalt different tones of language: Tybalts is strong, aggressive and angry whereas Benvolios is a little less strong and is more polite when talking. These two characters, I feel, are created by Shakespeare to add tension and excitement to the play, and prepare us for more action packed scenes with the two characters later on. The contrast between these two characters would grab the audiences attention and leave us wondering what will happen between these two later on in the play. This fighting leads to several citizens (which are split between the Monatgues and the Capulets) that next enter the scene. A big fight ensues between the two families, and the citizens get involved. This would make us (and the audience 400 years ago) very edgy and would add tension in the audience. These characters are added to show us the hatred that has built between the Capulets and Montagues, and to show us that the anger and contempt between them goes as far as the citizens. Watching this on stage would add fear and tension between the characters on stage and the audience, and Shakespeare would have added swords and angry colours to show the hatred. Capulet, Lady Capulet, Montague and Lady Montague enter and when seeing the upheaval of the fights go to join in. The Ladies of the two households try to calm them down but they are defiant; Hold me not; let me go. Montague This shows us that the women in the society of that time did not have any power or say over their husbands, and is a factual part of the play that helps us understand what society was like 400 years ago. During these fights, our next character, Prince Escalus, enters. He immediately stops the fight and issues his last warning. If ever you disturb our streets again, your lives shall pay the forfeit of the peace. In Shakespearean times, there was no government to help rule the country: it was the princes last word that everyone followed. Shakespeare uses this language as it is a clear and stern statement that easily makes the audience anticipated on what may happen further on in the play. This would add contrast to the play as we would know that we were to expect more fighting, but the Princes ultimatum would leave us wondering what was going to happen next, which would create more interest in the play and change our first thoughts of what we were to expect as we think that Shakespeare will cause more hatred and fighting between his characters to keep us interested. Shakespeare creates a very clear, polite but strong character here with an easy dialogue that audiences of today would easily understand. All the characters exit leaving Montague, Lady Montague and Benvolio talking of what happened. In this part of the scene, Shakespeare shows us that not only is Benvolio a peacemaking character, but also a truthful one that we can trust. This ensures us that whatever may happen later on in the play, we can trust Benvolio to tell the truth. The language Shakespeare uses is clear and to the point, giving as much detail as possible without giving to much away of what is to come later on in the play. They then start talking about Benvolios cousin, Romeo. This is when Shakespeare introduces his main, love struck character. We learn that Lady Montague is particularly caring about her son: O where is Romeo? Right glad I am he was not at this fray. They talk of how he shuts up his windows, locks fair daylight out, and our first impressions of Romeo is that he is a very miserable, lonely person (not the person we originally think of when we hear his name). Shakespeare leaves us again confused of what may happen later on in the play as the name Romeo is synonymous with romance, but when we hear what Romeo is like, we are left wondering if the play will be as it was first expected. Modern audiences would understand this part of the play, as the language is clear and understandable. The dialogues are introducing the contrast of hatred to love but at the same time it also stays informative and gives us our first impressions of Romeo. This part of the play is important as it helps move the scene along from the fighting earlier on, and informs us on our first of the main characters, Romeo. Our main character now enters and Shakespeares language tells us a lot of how Romeo is feeling: Is the day so long? Ay me! Sad hours seem long. We learn that Romeo is an extremely depressed character who doesnt seem to be this romantic character (that we suspected from his name) we first imagined. Shakespeare keeps us wondering about why Romeo is depressed, giving Romeo small dialogues of little information. We later learn that Romeo is out of her favour where I am in love. This now tells us more of Romeos character and instead of what our first impressions were, we now feel that he is a soppy romantic who is in love with love. Romeo later talks in riddles as he states: O heavy lightness O loving hate feather of lead This shows us how he feels confused over his feelings of love, and that he will feel no love like this. Again our impression is that he is very romantic and loves to be loved. This part of the scene from when Romeo enters prepares us for more romance and we feel that the romance and love will be the cause of the fighting later on in the play, which links to Prince Escalus warning. In conclusion, I feel that this first scene is successful in helping us predict but also wonder what will happen later on in the play. It prepares us for more fighting and for a romance that may be the cause of death, betrayal and hurt. Ive learnt of how inferior the women were 400 years ago, and how royalty ruled everything. Shakespeare has used the period that he lived in to create this play, and along with being an interesting love tale, it is in some ways factual as well. This play is very dramatic, tense and action-packed and I feel that this first scene starts the play off brilliantly.

Friday, November 15, 2019

Flowers and Fairytale :: Free Descriptive Observation Essay

Flowers and Fairytale By the school, there is a little garden with a water fountain and several little trees around it. Each tree is grounded in a two-foot high cement block. The tree is covered with leaves, and the leaves have scattered flowers around them. The fountain contains several little water shooters, shooting out forms of water, which resembles the flower as a dancing fairy. The flowers start at the bottom of the tree. The ring of flowers surround the tree. They are made up of many bright colors of red, pink, violet, blue and white. From a distance there appears to be a swarm of them. The flowers’ petals are soft and sweet smelling. They don’t suffocate my senses, though. The flowers are like a weak perfume. They are gentle and subtle. When I touched one of the flowers in my hand, it was as soft as silk. I realized that they were so fragile, because they sliced apart very easily. The flowers are held captive by the army of leaves. The green leaves are mixed in with the flowers. The shades of the green leaves range from light yellowish green to dark bluish green. Most of them are shaped like tiny bananas and others are wider, like pears or apples. The crashing water near by drowns out the scent of the leaves’ chlorophyll. Some of the leaves are almost as smooth as the flowers, but some are rough, similar to a rug. The leaves are grouped together like many little trees. The trees and leaves cover the soil and the bottom part of the tree—like a drooping green gown. The tree is very much like a queen, wearing its dress of leaves. I would not reach out and touch it—because it would be rude. At the shoulders of the tree—the branches fork off into three directions. The thick branches hold up more green leaves—the delicate kind—shaping the head of the tree like a mushroom. The tree resembles a green Queen Amadalia—young and bright. When I looked up at her, you see the sunlight reflect off her hair—the leaves—creating a peaceful glow. It blurs everything, however, and I had to stop looking. The wind does blow the leaves, but it is so lightly that you can barely tell. The fountain near by spurts out water in this direction. I look over there and see groups of dancing water in the wide square pool. Flowers and Fairytale :: Free Descriptive Observation Essay Flowers and Fairytale By the school, there is a little garden with a water fountain and several little trees around it. Each tree is grounded in a two-foot high cement block. The tree is covered with leaves, and the leaves have scattered flowers around them. The fountain contains several little water shooters, shooting out forms of water, which resembles the flower as a dancing fairy. The flowers start at the bottom of the tree. The ring of flowers surround the tree. They are made up of many bright colors of red, pink, violet, blue and white. From a distance there appears to be a swarm of them. The flowers’ petals are soft and sweet smelling. They don’t suffocate my senses, though. The flowers are like a weak perfume. They are gentle and subtle. When I touched one of the flowers in my hand, it was as soft as silk. I realized that they were so fragile, because they sliced apart very easily. The flowers are held captive by the army of leaves. The green leaves are mixed in with the flowers. The shades of the green leaves range from light yellowish green to dark bluish green. Most of them are shaped like tiny bananas and others are wider, like pears or apples. The crashing water near by drowns out the scent of the leaves’ chlorophyll. Some of the leaves are almost as smooth as the flowers, but some are rough, similar to a rug. The leaves are grouped together like many little trees. The trees and leaves cover the soil and the bottom part of the tree—like a drooping green gown. The tree is very much like a queen, wearing its dress of leaves. I would not reach out and touch it—because it would be rude. At the shoulders of the tree—the branches fork off into three directions. The thick branches hold up more green leaves—the delicate kind—shaping the head of the tree like a mushroom. The tree resembles a green Queen Amadalia—young and bright. When I looked up at her, you see the sunlight reflect off her hair—the leaves—creating a peaceful glow. It blurs everything, however, and I had to stop looking. The wind does blow the leaves, but it is so lightly that you can barely tell. The fountain near by spurts out water in this direction. I look over there and see groups of dancing water in the wide square pool.

Tuesday, November 12, 2019

Ancient Chinese Inventions

Ancient Chinese Inventions It is well known that China has an ancient and glorious history, from the feudal periods ending in 222 BC through the three Imperial and Intermediate Eras, up to the Modern era – over 4000 years of dynastic reigns. It may also be well known that China is the source of many wonderful and useful inventions from spaghetti to gunpowder. This list, however, will take a slightly different slant of the topic: Chinese inventions and developments that were not known to or adopted by the Western (European) world for many decades and sometimes centuries after they were common place in China.Some you may be familiar with, others perhaps less so. First on the list is Row Planting, which is from Feudal period through 6 century BC. The Chinese begin planting crops in rows sometime around 6 century BC. This allows the crops to grow stronger and a lot faster. It allows more efficient planting, weeding, harvesting and watering. There is also proof documented that they realized that when the wind travels over rows of plants it causes less damage to the crop. This development was not introduced in the western world for another 2200 years.A Chinese man by the name of Master Lu wrote in the â€Å"Spring and Autumn Annals†: If the crops are grown in rows they will mature rapidly because they will not interfere with each other’s growth. The vertical rows made for skill, the horizontal rows must be drawn well, for if the lines are straight the wind will pass gently through. Along with the above we have mechanical clock mechanisms. This was invented around 725 AD. This clock operated by dripping water that powered a wheel, which made one full revolution in 24 hours. A bronze and iron system of wheels and gears made the clock rotate.Accurate mechanical clocks were developed because of a belief in the form of astrology. This was based upon the moment of conception rather than the time of birth. In ancient years retainers would listen outside of royal bedrooms to record the possible times of conception of royal children. This event was important enough that considerable effort was devoted to developing accurate timing mechanisms. Next on the list would be the compass, which was developed around Feudal period through 4th cent BC. The Chinese developed a lodestone instrument to ndicate direction which is known as the compass. Upon development the compass were only south pointing and were primarily use for land as divination tools and direct finders. It was written that lodestone makes iron come or it attracts it. Spoons were used to point the direction, while mounted on plates. The spoons were made from lodestone, while the plates were of bronze. Later in year of 1040 thermo-remanence needles were produced for mariners. The common use of this was recorded around year 1119. The thermo-remanence technology is still in use today.Then we have deep drilling, the Chinese invented a tool used for deep drilling boreholes. This wa s invented around circa 202 BC through 220 AD. It is listed that some of these boreholes would reach the depths of 4800 feet. This technology would be easily recognizable to a modern engineer. The Chinese would stack rocks with center holes which were tube or doughnut shaped from the surface to the deep stone layer as a guide for their drills. In the search for salt wells the Chinese developed a technology of driving bamboo poles deep into the earth.In addition to brine this drilling also often tapped into reservoirs of natural gas. The natural gas was captured in barrels and used as fuel to evaporate the water from brine to produce salt. They used the gas to boil sea water which separated the salt allowing it to become drinkable. The Chinese also invented gun powder; this was invented around 850 AD. An enterprising alchemist mixed 75 parts saltpeter with 15 parts charcoal and 10 parts sulfur. This mixture had no discernible life-lengthening properties, but it did explode with a fla sh and a bang when it was exposed to an open flame.What is noted in text from the era is that smoke and flames result so that hand and faces have been burnt, and even the whole house where they were working burned down. Then we have something that is widely used and appreciated throughout countries, cities and societies, the commonly used paper. This was invented around 105 AD and was made from a suspension of hemp waste in water, washed, soaked and beaten with a wooden mallet. A paper mold, probably a sieve of coarsely woven cloth stretched in a four sided bamboo frame, was used to dip up the fiber slurry from the vat and hold it for drying.Initially it was used for clothing rather than writing material. It was used to make body armor for soldiers. Now we have the ancient Chinese great unique invention of porcelain, which was invented around 16 century BC. In very ancient times the Chinese discovered that with the right choice of clay and firing techniques pottery could be made so thin that is was translucent. Such porcelain became universally known as china. Last but definitely not lease we have the known Chinese invention of a fabric that is soft to the skin. This fabric is called silk, which was invented around 3000 BC.For more than two thousand years the Chinese kept the secret of silk altogether to themselves. It was the most zealously guarded secret in history. The Chinese discovered that the cocoons of silk worms could be unwound and the filaments used to weave an especially light strong and beautiful cloth. All of these inventions were invented by original everyday pioneers. The saying goes everyday people do extraordinary things. Out of all of these wonderful inventions that were discussed, the invention of silk, paper, row planting and the mechanical clock mechanism would be the choice of the most important.Let’s briefly go over the reasons why these four would be the most important inventions. The invention of silk has paved the way for cent uries of fabric wearers. In the ancient years a person could distinguish who was royalty by the silk garment that was worn. Silk is 100% natural fabric and is healthy for your breathing due to the fact that silk is naturally hypoallergenic. The invention of row planting allowed more efficient growth of produce for farming which allowed more and better food to sell and to eat.The invention of the mechanical clock mechanism has evolved in time to be a much needed daily device called the clock. A clock is an instrument use to indicate, keep and coordinate time. A clock refers to any device for measuring and displaying time. This clock mechanism invention has involved into personal time keepers like a wrist watch, pocket watch etc. The invention of paper would be one of the best great inventions due to the fact that paper is used for everything in daily life. Paper was used to spread information that was on hand written letters. Paper is also used for drawings and painting.Not to mentio n that paper is used for books, newspaper and lets not forgot paper is used for making what we all love to spend money. Of all of the inventions listed above if there were one invention that would be listed as a must have invention would be the invention of paper. The invention of paper has evolved into the making of paper money. Paper money consists of 1, 5, 10, 20 dollar bills and etc. Money is something generally accepted as a medium of exchange, a unit of account or a store of value. The first advantage to having money is that fact that stuff costs money. If you want things you have to have money to pay for them.Vary rarely do people just give their stuff away, they want something for it and money is the universal trade item. You can trade money for almost anything in the world. If you want a lot of stuff you need to have a lot of money. We now know that we owe a whole lot to the ancient Chinese for inventing so many things that are of important value to our lives. Makes you won der if they knew back then how important these inventions would become to be. References â€Å"About the Collection. † About the Collection. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www. ipst. gatech. edu/amp/collection>. CHINESEA   INVENTIONS. † Chinese Inventions. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www. vhinkle. com/china/inventions. html>. â€Å"History of Silk. † History of Silk. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www. silk-road. com/artl/silkhistory. shtml>. â€Å"Natural Gas Exploration. † Natural Gas Exploration. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www. explorations. org/natural_gas_exploration_cont. html>. â€Å"Origin of Chinese Porcelain. † Origin of Chinese Porcelain. N. p. , n. d. Web. 20 Aug. 2012. <http://www1. chinaculture. org/gb/en_artqa/2003-09/24/content_37884. htm>.

Sunday, November 10, 2019

Important Choice in of Mice and Men

Choices are made by everyone at some point in life. Choices can be complicated or as simple as yes or no. Decisions can be difficult or easy to make. Some choices are impulsive while some require a lot of premeditation to make. In the novella, Of Mice and Men, written by George Steinbeck, George chose to kill his best friend Lennie. Lennie and George were friends for a long time. They both worked at a farm together. Lennie was retarded and George took care of him and watched over him. Throughout the book Lennie displays blind loyalty to George and their hope of a better life.George is a very dynamic character through the book while Lennie is constant displaying incredible amounts of physical strength and being dim witted. Killing Lennie was no easy task for George. This important choice was a choice that affected others, affected George, and had to be motivated to be made. George was motivated to kill his friend, Lennie. Lennie had always loved to pet soft things. He would often kill mice just by petting them. Lennie had also killed a puppy on accident. These incidents occurred out of his innocence.He was unaware of his own strength and killed animals because of it. Lennie killed Curley’s wife in an effort to simply pet her soft hair. A mob of people from the farm chased Lennie and George from the farm in an effort to kill Lennie. Curley said he wanted to kill Lennie in the most painful way possible. George and Lennie effectively escaped their pursuit for a brief minute. In this moment George tried to calm Lennie down by reminding him of their shared dream of a better life. This involved them owning their own farm and tending rabbits for Lennie to pet.This undoubtedly brought Lennie to a calm place. In that moment when people began to close in, George killed Lennie by shooting him in the back of the head. This act was influenced by the impending doom Lennie had coming. The other men from the farm that had chased Lennie would have killed him much less pea cefully. If George did not do it, Curley would have done it much less humanely. While this reason for killing Lennie may seem to be merciful, what if George had killed him for selfish gain? George was held back by Lennie as long as he had been accompanying him.This was not the first time they had gotten in trouble with the law. Lennie also kept George from getting any type of romantic relationship or even a stable job. Is it possible George was motivated by his own selfish inclinations? Several factors influenced George to kill Lennie. George’s choice to kill Lennie was motivated by others but also affected him. It is reasonable to believe that George looked out for both Lennie and his own interest in deciding what how he must confront the situation mentioned earlier. Killing Lennie affected George’s life in depth.In the entire book George and Lennie are depicted as being together. George would have to adjust to being slightly more lonesome for the time being. Lennie w as a companion to George but he was also a hindrance. George had said how Lennie keeps him from doing many things. George was upset at this and said â€Å"If I was alone I could live so easy. I could go get a job an’ work, an’ no trouble. No mess at all, and when the end of the month come I could take my fifty bucks and go into town and get whatever I want. Why, I could stay in a cathouse all night.I could eat any place I want, hotel or any place, and order any damn thing I could think of. An’ I could do all that every damn month. Get a gallon of whisky, or set in a pool room and play cards or shoot pool. † Lennie knelt and looked over the fire at the angry George. And Lennie’s face was drawn in with terror. â€Å"An’ whatta I got,† George went on furiously. â€Å"I got you! You can’t keep a job and you lose me ever’ job I get. Jus’ keep me shovin’ all over the country all the time. † Here George act s as if he doesn’t want Lennie so it would be natural to assume that with Lennie dead George would be happy.On the contrary George is disappointed at the loss of his friend as he does not want to live an isolationist life like the other members of the ranch. The choice George made affected him negatively from his own viewpoint but also allowed him to live a less tethered lifestyle. The adverse effects of this choice affected George the most. In addition to having affected George, this choice also affected others in the ranch. Lennie was the one most affected. Obviously Lennie died because of George's decision to kill him. What could have happened had an alternate ending taken place?Instead of killing Lennie, George could have escaped and found other work. This scenario was spelled out in the beginning of the book when it says how the duo had left a ranch in Weed for undisclosed reasons. There is no reason why Lennie could have been spared in this fashion. Perhaps George reali zed the cycle that could have proceeded where they escape to another ranch only to find Lennie falls into the same pattern where they end up repeating the same steps over and over. In that case George's decision was still the right one. Lennie did not understand what death was in its full sense.When he killed animals he did not care they were dead but wanted them for comfort. In the same way George killed Lennie while he was in a comforted state. Lennie most likely wanted it that way. When Lennie was killed, their dream of the ranch was also killed. This deeply hurt those like Candy and Crooks who emotionally invested in this dream that had become theirs as well. Candy insisted that George goes ahead and buys a farm anyway. The represented freedom and lack of prejudice for Candy and Crooks. When the idea was gone, they were very upset as their dreams of a better life did the same.George's decision to kill Lennie affected others as well as him. The important choice to kill Lennie was a choice that was motivated by others, affected George and affected others. The decision was motivated by Curley’s desire for revenge. George will be forced to live an isolationist life just like the other members of the ranch in the Great Depression. Crooks and Candy’s dream of an improved life was crushed with George’s choice. Everyone has to make important choices in their life and they will usually be for the better and the worse.

Friday, November 8, 2019

Daniel Keyes essays

Daniel Keyes essays Daniel Keyes was born in Brooklyn in 1927. Once an editor, he married a fashion photographer and had 2 daughters. Keyes was once an English teacher at Midwood High School for 6 years after getting his Bachelors and Masters Degree at Brooklyn College. He was also the junior commissioner for Wayne State University in Michigan. Keyes won the Hugo award in Science Fiction for his short story, Flowers for Algernon. After winning that, Flowers for Algernon was bought and made into a made for TV movie. Since people loved this story so much, Keyes decided to write a full novel with the same name in 1966, and the same people who bought the book and made the made for TV movie bought the full novel in 1966 and made it into a major motion picture entitled Charly with Cliff Robertson as Charlie in 1968. ...

Tuesday, November 5, 2019

Honor Killings or Shame Killings in Asia

Honor Killings or Shame Killings in Asia In many of the countries of South Asia and the Middle East, women can be targeted by their own families for death in what is known as â€Å"honor killings.† Often the victim has acted in a way that seems unremarkable to observers from other cultures; she has sought a divorce, refused to go through with an arranged marriage, or had an affair. In the most horrifying cases, a woman who suffers a rape then gets murdered by her own relatives. Yet, in highly patriarchal cultures, these actions – even being the victim of a sexual assault – are often seen as a blot on the honor and the reputation of the woman’s entire family, and her family may decide to maim or kill her. A woman (or rarely, a man) does not have to actually break any cultural taboos in order to become an honor killing victim. Just the suggestion that she has behaved inappropriately may be enough to seal her fate, and her relatives will not give her a chance to defend herself before carrying out the execution. In fact, women have been killed when their families knew they were completely innocent; just the fact that rumors had started going around was enough to dishonor the family, so the accused woman had to be killed. Writing for the United Nations, Dr. Aisha Gill defines an honor killing or honor violence as: ...any form of violence perpetrated against females within the framework of patriarchal family structures, communities, and/or societies, where the main justification for the perpetration of violence is the protection of a social construction of ‘honour’ as a value-system, norm, or tradition. In some cases, however, men may also be victims of honor killing, particularly if they are suspected of being homosexual, or if they refuse to marry the bride selected for them by their family. Honor killings take many different forms, including shooting, strangling, drowning, acid attacks, burning, stoning, or burying the victim alive. What is the justification for this horrific intrafamilial violence?   A report published by Canada’s Department of Justice quotes Dr. Sharif Kanaana of Birzeit University, who notes that honor killing in Arab cultures is not solely or even primarily about controlling a woman’s sexuality, per se.  Rather, Dr. Kanaana states: What the men of the family, clan, or tribe seek control of in a patrilineal society is reproductive power.  Women for the tribe were considered a factory for making men. The honor killing is not a means to control sexual power or behavior. What’s behind it is the issue of fertility, or reproductive power. Interestingly, honor murders are usually carried out by the fathers, brothers, or uncles of the victims – not by husbands. Although in a patriarchal society, wives are seen as the property of their husbands, any alleged misbehavior reflects dishonor on their birth families rather than their husbands’ families. Thus, a married woman who is accused of transgressing cultural norms is usually killed by her blood relatives. How did this tradition begin? Honor killing today is often associated in western minds and media with Islam, or less commonly with Hinduism, because it happens most often in Muslim or Hindu countries.  In fact, it is a cultural phenomenon separate from religion. First, let’s consider the sexual mores embedded in Hinduism. Unlike the major monotheistic religions, Hinduism does not consider sexual desire to be unclean or evil in any way, although sex just for the sake of lust is frowned upon. However, as with all other issues in Hinduism, questions such as the appropriateness of extramarital sex depend in large part upon the caste of the persons involved. It was never appropriate for a Brahmin to have sexual relations with a low caste person, for example. Indeed, in the Hindu context, most honor killings have been of couples from very different castes who fell in love. They might be killed for refusing to marry a different partner chosen by their families, or for secretly marrying the partner of their own choice. Premarital sex was also a taboo for Hindu women, in particular, as shown by the fact that brides are always referred to as â€Å"maidens† in the Vedas. In addition, boys from the Brahmin caste were strictly forbidden from breaking their celibacy, usually until around the age of 30. They were required to devote their time and energy to priestly studies, and avoid distractions such as young women. We could find no historical record of young Brahmin men being killed by their families if they strayed from their studies and sought the pleasures of the flesh. Honor Killing and Islam In the pre-Islamic cultures of the Arabian Peninsula and also of what is now Pakistan and Afghanistan, society was highly patriarchal. A woman’s reproductive potential belonged to her birth family and could be â€Å"spent† any way they chose – preferably through a marriage that would strengthen the family or clan financially or militarily. However, if a woman brought so-called dishonor on that family or clan, by allegedly engaging in premarital or extramarital sex (whether consensual or not), her family had the right to â€Å"spend† her future reproductive capacity by killing her. When Islam developed and spread throughout this region, it actually brought a different perspective on this question. Neither the Koran itself nor the hadiths make any mention of honor killing, good or bad. Extra-judicial killings, in general, are forbidden by sharia law; this includes honor killings because they are carried out by the victim’s family, rather than by a court of law. This is not to say that the Koran and sharia condone premarital or extramarital relationships. Under the most common interpretations of sharia, premarital sex is punishable by up to 100 lashes for both men and women, while adulterers of either gender can be stoned to death. Nonetheless, today many men in Arab nations such as ​Saudi Arabia, ​Iraq, and Jordan, as well as in Pashtun areas of Pakistan and Afghanistan, adhere to the tradition of honor killing rather than taking the accused persons to court. It is notable that in other predominantly Islamic nations, such as Indonesia, Senegal, Bangladesh, Niger, and Mali, honor killing is a practically unknown phenomenon.  This strongly supports the idea that honor killing is a cultural tradition, rather than a religious one. Impact of Honor Killing Culture The honor killing cultures that were born in pre-Islamic Arabia and South Asia have a world-wide impact today. Estimates of the number of women murdered each year in honor killings range from the United Nations’ 2000 estimate of about 5,000 dead to a BBC report’s estimate based on humanitarian organizations’ counts of more than 20,000. Growing communities of Arab, Pakistani, and Afghan people in western countries also means that the issue of honor killings is making itself felt across Europe, the US, Canada, Australia, and elsewhere. High-profile cases, such as the 2009 murder of an Iraqi-American woman named Noor Almaleki, have horrified western observers. According to a CBS News report on the incident, Almaleki was raised in Arizona from the age of four and was highly westernized. She was independent-minded, liked to wear blue jeans, and, at age 20, had moved out of her parents’ home and was living with her boyfriend and his mother. Her father, enraged that she had rejected an arranged marriage and moved in with her boyfriend, ran her over with his minivan and killed her. Incidents like Noor Almaleki’s murder, and similar killings in Britain, Canada, and elsewhere, highlight an additional danger for the female children of immigrants from honor killing cultures.  Girls who acculturate to their new countries – and most children do – are extremely vulnerable to honor attacks. They absorb the ideas, attitudes, fashions, and social mores of the western world. As a result, their fathers, uncles, and other male relatives feel that they are losing the family honor because they no longer have control over the girls’ reproductive potential. The outcome, in too many cases, is murder. Sources Julia Dahl. â€Å"Honor killing under growing scrutiny in the U.S.,† CBS News, April 5, 2012. Department of Justice, Canada. â€Å"Historical Context – Origins of Honour Killing,† Preliminary Examination of so-called â€Å"Honour Killings† in Canada, Sept. 4, 2015. Dr. Aisha Gill. â€Å"Honour Killings and the Quest for Justice in Black and Minority Ethnic Communities in the UK,† United Nations Division for the Advancement of Women. June 12, 2009. â€Å"Honor Violence Factsheet,† Honor Diaries. Accessed May 25, 2016. Jayaram V. â€Å"Hinduism and Premarital Relationships,† Hinduwebsite.com. Accessed May 25, 2016. Ahmed Maher. â€Å"Many Jordan teenagers ‘support honour killings,† BBC News. June 20, 2013.

Sunday, November 3, 2019

In France, appropriate conduct, trust and understanding of social Essay

In France, appropriate conduct, trust and understanding of social status are vital factors for success - Essay Example International business management comprises learning different cultures of the nations where a company intends to enter. Cross-cultural management helps to gain understanding about business tactics, human personality and leadership/management style that are significant for possessing effective business relationships with people in foreign countries (Bowie, 2008). The paper describes the business environment and culture of France and China for conducting business of a retail fashion organisation in the United Kingdom named River Island. The objective of the paper is to recognise the cross-cultural aspects of China and France with respect to leadership style and business practices which need to be considered by River Island in order to conduct business in foreign nations. Furthermore, the paper analyses the business environment and legal structure of both nations for assessing the suitability of conducting business. Business Environment of France France is regarded as the international cultural capital. It is one of the biggest and most diverse nations in Europe. France is also recognised as a modern nation among the European countries with respect to technology and business. France has always been the core of international business and trade. France is an extremely consolidated nation. Among many larger cities in France, Paris plays a significant part with respect to governmental regulations and business opportunities. France has advanced rail network and structured road transport system that offer smooth access to major capitals and metropolises (Nouel, 2005). Economic Environment France is known as the world’s fifth biggest economy with respect to gross domestic product (GDP). In the year 2007, the GDP of France was almost â‚ ¬1892 billion and inflation rate was about 1.5%. In the year 2002, France had accepted Euro as its domestic currency (Moore Stephens International Limited, 2009). France is also considered as one of the biggest exporters of the world. In the year 2008, France had exported US$767 billion worth of goods (MGI World, 2009). France not only has progressive industrial economy, but also is advanced in automobile industry, aerospace, information technology, electronics, chemicals and fashion industry. France is one of the significant members of G8 leading industrialised nations (MGI World, 2009). Fashion Retail Industry of France France plays a vital role in catalysing enthusiasm about fashion all through the nation. The fashion industry of France has acquired its acceptability from high-end and high creative sector. The brand management capability, affluence and commercial aptitude of France gradually dribbled over the mass fashion retail market segment by motivating the appearance of international brands (Girod, 2012). In the year 2009, the total income of French apparel retail industry was worth US$48,956.4 million which accounted for compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 0.6% (Datamonitor, 2009). In order to

Friday, November 1, 2019

School History Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 18

School History - Essay Example   I am a member of Biology Society, which has consisted of those who have the deep interest in biology and medical science. As a part of the society, I have organized and participated in meetings with health organizations to learn more about human anatomy and other biological issues. My strong interest in economics led me to become a member of Economics and Finance Society of Rutgers, which is an organization, offers many seminars with executives from recognizable corporations such as JP Morgan. The American Student Dental Association for pre-dental and dental students has helped me immensely to prepare for the dental school. I am also a part of the Pre Health Society which works closely with Biology Society and arrange meetings among medical and dental students to help us excel in our careers. Being a member of Student Doctors Society, which consists of medical and pre-medical students, I was able to participate in programmes in which we could exchange information about experiences within medical field. I worked as a sales representative in a telecommunication industry and learned to interact with various kinds of people. I worked as a floor director at Korean Broadcasting System. My job was to support PD. It is one of the most important positions to keep productions flow. I have also worked for Japan Camera Repair, which required me to have highly skilled hand-eye coordination as it dealt with many minute components of cameras. I will wake as a tutor to teach biology students at Rutgers University and hope to get chances to interact more with professors and students through learning and teaching.