Essay about American Beauty and Thirteen - 939 Words

Essay # 2: American Beauty and Thirteen In this essay, I have chose to talk about the movies, American Beauty and Thirteen from group #1. The two topics discussed in this essay from group #2 are identity and difference along with sexuality. The cinematic elements from group #3 that will be discussed are cinematography and costume use. In many ways, both these films portray similar content in terms of characters fighting battles with themselves and society in order to fit in. In American Beauty, Lester Burnham tries to free himself from his boring life and depression. On the other hand, Thirteen shows the struggles of Tracy Freeland, who tries to fit in at school. This results in her to go on a self-inflicting rampage with her supposedly†¦show more content†¦In American Beauty, Lester’s daughter Jane shows unusual sexual desires with her neighbor Ricky who is identified as a mysterious and creepy character. Sound plays a big role in the scenes that they are both present in because of Ricky’s unusual b ehavior. When sexual intimacy scenes appear between both these characters, sound is visible with quiet music and subtle movements of clothes and items. As mentioned in â€Å"Looking at Movies†, sounds create expectations, which can show the viewers that, the scene lead to signs of intimacy between characters (Monahan, 2013). In the scene where Rick is pointing the camera through the window and Jane reveals herself completely from the front, is a sign of looking past the differences that both characters face at home and showing intimacy towards each other (Ball, 1999). The camera angle steadily moves from chest level to waist level while zooming onto Jane. In Thirteen, Tracy experiences a similar moment with Evie’s friend Rafa when they are alone home at Evie’s house. In this scene, Tracy and Evie both are making out with the boys and you can feel the atmosphere getting hotter due to the quietness of the actual scene with gentle music and only a few kissing sound s being heard (Hardwicke, 2003). In this scene, the camera angle tries to capture both the girls taste in clothing from a low angle of view from the backside toShow MoreRelatedPersuasive Essay On The Standard Of Beauty1529 Words   |  7 PagesWhen thirteen-year-old Alyssa looks into the mirror, she runs through a list of everything she hates about her body, â€Å"I wish my stomach was flatter, my chest was bigger, my thighs were skinnier, my arms were more toned, and my waist was smaller.† She looks into the mirror, comparing her body to the bodies of her friends, celebrities and the images she sees in magazines. Alyssa does not look like all those girls and this makes her feel gross, insecure and out of place. 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The mass media is responsible for causing the rise in the number of people with a poor body image, eating disorders, and cosmetic surgeries. From very early childhood young boys and girlsRead MoreDid you know that in a 2013 study, 1,668,420 Americans underwent cosmetic surgery in order to alter700 Words   |  3 PagesDid you know that in a 2013 study, 1,668,420 Americans underwent cosmetic surgery in order to alter their body to fit the body image they view as the norm in society. More and more Americans are complying to undergo cosmetic procedures without understand the possible fatal risks. As medical advancements and improved procedures are being introduced, the risks seem to increase. Since society has placed significant pressure on the physical attributes of adolescents and adults, cosmetic treatments areRead MoreEssay about Do Beauty Pageants Do More Harm Than Good For Children?1115 Words   |  5 PagesDo Beauty Pageants Do More Harm Than Good For Children? The lights are all on you, the make-up, the hair, and the extravagant dresses. Your blood pumps with adrenaline; you feel nervous, yet excited. All eyes are on you; the pretty girl strutting across the stage in ostentatious costumes that flicker once caught in the light. Many people have witnessed a beauty pageant whether it is one on television or stage. Not many are in denial of the lovability of the younger aged children executing theirRead MoreThe Ethical Phenomenon Of Breast Cancer Screening And Treatments867 Words   |  4 PagesBRCA 2 gene mutations and choosing bilateral mastectomies for early-stage breast cancers (Weintraub, 2015). Oncologists saw a 50% increase for risk-reduction mastectomy surgery related to the â€Å"Jolie Effect†. The impact of an actress, known for her beauty, to willing risk her body image to increase her lifespan survival has philanthropically advanced the issues surrounding breast cancer. Racial Cultural Williams, Templin, and Hines (2013) identified that some populations groups are particularly vulnerableRead MoreReading The Signs In Public Spaces: Ulta Beauty. The Space1073 Words   |  5 PagesSigns in Public Spaces: ULTA Beauty The space I chose to observe and write about for this essay is ULTA Beauty in the Greenwood Mall. In this analysis, I will be focusing on the impact of advertisements and products within class, gender, and beauty through the study of semiotics, connotation, and denotation. ULTA sells haircare products, skin care products, perfumes and cologne, high end makeup brands, and drug store makeup brands as well. Walking into ULTA Beauty, I already had preconceived notionsRead MoreThe Game Go Is A Strategy Game1390 Words   |  6 PagesGo The game go is a strategy game. 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Many startling statistics surround the topic of plasticRead MoreAnalysis Of James Mercer Langston Hughes Essay1059 Words   |  5 Pageswas thirteen. When James turned thirteen he moved to Lincoln, Illinois, to live with his mother and her husband, before the family eventually settled in Cleveland, Ohio. It was in Lincoln that James Mercer Langston Hughes began writing poetry and soon fell in love with it. Langston Hughes is a poet that writes poems from a very different prospective. He is particularly known for his insightful, colorful portrayals of black life in America from the twenties through the sixties. Many Americans knew

Was War Communism the Main Reason Why the Bolsheviks Were...

Was war communism the main reason why the Bolsheviks were able to remain in power between 1918-1924? There were many reasons why the Bolsheviks were able to remain in power. Lenin and Trotsky teamwork and leadership gave them a great advantage because they really knew how to control their team. The red army was incredibly stronger than the whites. The red army knew what they were fighting for whereas the whites really didn’t have any idea of what their ambition was. The Bolsheviks also had the central lines, which enabled them to travel all around the country guaranteeing that the red army troops could get all the necessities that they needed. Finally, war communism was also a contributor to why the Bolsheviks were able to remain in†¦show more content†¦Another reason why they were able to remain in power was the weakness of the Whites. Their weakness gave the Reds a huge advantage, as it meant that the Reds could over power them. The whites were divided into two sections, lead by Kolchak and Denikin. They hated each other, and therefore didn’t communica te. This caused confusion in the Whites because they were telling everyone two different things. Overall, the Whites had no main ambition for fighting, but were deeply divided to communicate to one and other. The only thing keeping them united was their hatred for the Bolsheviks. The only thing that gave the Whites an advantage was that the British, French and Americans supported the Whites because they wanted Russia back in the war against Germany. Foreign support was sort of counter-production because it allowed the Reds to play the patriotic role and claim to be defending Russia. Although the Whites were weak, the reason they were able to keep hold of power was due to the Red’s success. The Whites were divided socially, by the two generals, but were also geographically divided. The Whites were dispersed all across Russia, which again caused a lot of communication issues. In comparison, the Reds were in good control by Lenin and Trotsky. The Reds had the central railway lines, which enabled Trotsky to travel across Russia to make sure he could deployShow MoreRelatedThe Rise and Rule of Single-Party States7795 Words   |  32 Pagesfactor in the Cold War * Examples of material for Detailed Study * China: Mao Zedong * Cuba: Fidel Castro * Germany: Adolf Hitler * Italy: Benito Mussolini * Russia: Vladimir Lenin and Josef Stalin The Emergence of single party states in Europe after 1917 Lenin rose to power in Russia because of four main factors: * Wittes reforms attempting to industrialize Russia disrupted society. * Both the tsarist regime and the provisional government were unstable. * WWIRead MoreMidterm Review Essay9272 Words   |  38 PagesBy 1890, the majority of Americans: Question options: | a) | worked as farmers. | | b) | worked as independent craftsmen. | | c) | worked in the mining industry. | | d) | were moving into the middle class. | | e) | worked for wages. | | | 1 / 1 point | 3.) The second industrial revolution was marked by: Question options: | a) | a return to handmade goods. | | b) | a more equalized distribution of wealth. | | c) | the rapid expansion of industry across the South.Read MoreAmerican Revolution and Study Guide Essay example5377 Words   |  22 Pagescolonial settlement areas: a. South b. Middle c. New England (30 pts) 2. Some historians have argued the Puritanism was especially suited for life in the wilderness of 17th century America. Do you agree or disagree? Explain (10pts) 3. To what extent had the Massachusetts Bay colonists endorsed the idea of the â€Å"separation of church and state?† (10pts) 4. To what extent was the New England Confederation a first step toward colonial unity? (10 pts) Chapter 4 Study Guide â€Å"American Life,Read MoreOne Significant Change That Has Occurred in the World Between 1900 and 2005. Explain the Impact This Change Has Made on Our Lives and Why It Is an Important Change.163893 Words   |  656 Pages Agricultural and Pastoral Societies in Ancient and Classical History Jack Metzgar, Striking Steel: Solidarity Remembered Janis Appier, Policing Women: The Sexual Politics of Law Enforcement and the LAPD Allen Hunter, ed., Rethinking the Cold War Eric Foner, ed., The New American History. Revised and Expanded Edition E SSAYS ON _ T WENTIETH- C ENTURY H ISTORY Edited by Michael Adas for the American Historical Association TEMPLE UNIVERSITY PRESS PHILADELPHIA Temple

Leading and Managing Organizational for Theory - MyAssignmenthelp

Question: Discuss about theLeading and Managing Organizational for Theory. Answer: Introduction of Self Hi everyone. My name is [insert ]. I am a student at the university pursing a [insert] program. I have been working in a book publishing industry for the last 3 years. My company is involved in publishing books for children, including career information resources and storybooks. The book industry in my country is very rigid, and change is static and slow moving, with publishers choosing to stick to the traditional publishing of hard copy books. In Australia, the publishing industry has remained traditional, often sticking to the standard ways of doing things and experiencing delays in the adoption and implementation of any planned changes (Arendt, 2008). However, there have been considerable strides in the book industry with a shift and focus towards adoption of digital technologies and ebooks (Cope Gollings, 2001). These represent the changing fortunes of the publishing industry in Australia including a move to digital content and online business (Cope Mason, 2001). Initially, I j oined the organization purely as a blogger, working on the organization online content, managing websites, updating the social media platforms and serving as the communications link within the organization. I have since joined a team of expert set aside to lead and implement digital platforms designed to develop and implement changes, pursue a digital strategy and effectively adopt and explore opportunities in digital publishing in my company. As I reflect on the various events that have happened in my work and job environment over the last few years, I have realized that change is indeed unavoidable and it affects every aspect of the industry. Describe Objectively what Happened Over a year ago, my company introduced a digital book product called Simulia. Simulia was a mobile application that allowed parents and teachers to access storybooks on android mobile applications and read the storybooks with their children. It was a subscription based application that allowed parents to subscribe in order to access the digital storybooks. I was tasked with the responsibility of leading the development of the digital product and recruiting parents to subscribe to the platform. It required a different set of book marketing, including creating digital plan and strategy, developing marketing materials, both online and offline, targeting high-end schools and recruiting parents with android smartphones to pilot and test the digital mobile book application. As a team leader, I experienced a lot and wore very many hats, serving from the management of the service, lending my analytics on the back end of the application, marketing the product and performing the development ta sks including checking for bugs and setting up the online payment systems for the consumers. Interpret the Events Consider why they Happened in the way they did. Reflecting on the changes, I get the feeling that they had to happen the way they did because my company was looking into tapping into the lucrative, young, yet growing digital publishing industry in Australia (Tian Martin, 2009). This was also borne from the realization that customer preferences are changing, with buyers seeking multiple was of interacting with and purchasing products from the company. Initially, customers were relying on booksellers and bookshops, but recently, customers there was a growing interest among customers to buy books online through websites and purchase digital content on tablets (Tian, 2008). Moreover, the growth in the digital and self publishing industry in Australia had created another unique subset of the market that remained untapped (Daly and Organ, 2009). Unfortunately, our Simulia pilot product did not take off as initially planned. Although we had made significant changes, including set aside a complete team of strategists and conducted several brainstorming and strategy formulation sessions, it was a great disappointment as the product failed to take up in the market. I came to learn that the failure of the change initiative and the lack of the product take up represented many other failed initiatives in implementing digital products, developing e-books and promoting the e-books to the consumers in the market (Daniels, 2006; Burke, 2013). Explain what you Saw and Heard When I was in the meeting, I saw my team struggling with coming up with the right strategy for selling digital books. Some were very vocal and categorical in saying that we were not ready for the digital uptake (Oreg, 2006). Others were of the opinion that the book publishing industry in Australia was not ready to take up on the digital platforms. Moreover, a large amount of investment was being made into the project implying that failure to implement the change successfully would cause serious losses for the company. Yet, there were those who were willing to try the new product. There was also the observed reaction of customers in the market. There were those who were enthusiastic to take on the new idea and try it out, yet there were those who avoided it completely, citing cists, challenge of access to internet and generally a lack of awareness of the utilization of digital technology and e-books in learning and reading for children (Pederit, 2000). your new Insights, Connections with other Learning and your Feeling When the product failed to take place, I was disappointed. I felt that I had failed as a team leader because I could not drove and implement the desired change strategy. Yet, I gained new insights regarding the adoption and implementation of new technology in the market. I realized that coping with the changing business environment and successfully implementing a change strategy requires a careful evaluation of capabilities and resources of the organization, designing new business strategies and re-engineering processes in the organization (Kaplan Norton, 2001). Yet, we did not put into consideration these factors. I learnt that the digital revolution, globalization and the borderless technology is applying serious pressure on the publishing industry to change and adopt the new changes (Gilley, Dixon Gilley, 2008). I learnt also about the internal forces and external forces driving the need and adoption of new changes in the industry. At the end of it all, I felt that all was not l ost because I was able to learn a lot from the implementation process. The new insights, learning and knowledge gathered has improved my confidence and belief that I can actually implement a change strategy in the organization. Week 6 reflection: your hypotheses After going through these experiences, I have come up with a number of hypothesis regarding development and implementation of change in the Australian book publishing company. there are my hypothesis: Change is a complex processes involving several interlinked factors and drivers The major trends in Australian book publishing industry, especially driven by technology requires implementation of transformational change strategies Change is an inevitable phenomenon and organizations must change or perish Conclusions Answer the question what might this mean? The implications from my experiences mean that the digital publishing industry is full of risks and challenges for the various stakeholders. I have reached the conclusion that while digital publishing represents significant opportunities; the difficulty in the adoption of the new technology and the structural challenges implies that there will be a slow adoption of change and transitioning from the traditional to digital publishing. I can also say that despite the existence of negative perspectives and the failed uptake of our digital product, digital publishing remains an opportunity. The future of digital technology and publishing will depend on a radical shift of the strategies and implementation of transformation changes while taking into consideration the changing customer preferences. Evaluate the effectiveness and usefulness of the experience, its value and why? Thos experience was very effective and useful. For the first time I was able to lead a diverse team and perform different tasks and duties around developing a digital product, enacting change strategies and implementing the same in the market. I believe that I have learnt a lot about organization change and development and trying to implement the same in a real workplace. I have also learnt about the complex nature of organization change and that it occurs either due to internal or external drivers, or a combination of both (Dooley, 1997). I have learnt that the publishing industry in Australia is experiencing immense pressure due to calls for digitization, globalization, and increasing competition, both within and outside the industry (). I have learned that while change is inevitable, implementing change without clear plan only results into reactive strategies. It would be important to plan everything and have clear objectives before commencing any organizational change initiative. Plan how this Information will be useful to you I have learnt a lot from the exercise. Although the digital product did not pick up in the market, I have learnt a lot from the experience. I gathered relevant information and insights that have guided me in performing my job well. I believe that I have learned different approaches of implementing organization change that will go a great length in propelling me in my career. I have since undertaken several projects in strategic planning and implementation of change. I have been called upon by my organization to share insights on implementing new technologies and share on the drawbacks of undertaking digital projects in the publishing industry. I see myself working on many digital products and offerings, both in the publishing sector and other sectors in the near future because of the knowledge, skills and experiences learnt while engaging in the change implementation process. I am now an enthusiasts of new technology and its adoption in the publishing industry because I have learnt t hat technology is the main driver of organization change. References Arendt, L. (2008). Barriers to ICT adoption in SMEs: how to bridge the digital divide?.Journal of Systems and Information Technology,10(2), 93-108. Burke, W. W. (2013).Organization change: Theory and practice. Sage Publications. Cope, B., Mason, D. (2001).Creator to Consumer in a Digital Age: Australian Book Production in Transition. Common Ground. Cope, B., Gollings, G. (2001).Multilingual book production. Common Ground. Daly, R., Organ, M. (2009). Research online: Digital Commons as a publishing platform at the University of Wollongong, Australia.Serials Review,35(3), 149-153. Daniels, M. (2006). Brave new world, digitization of content: the opportunities for booksellers and the booksellers association.London: Booksellers Association. Dooley, K. J. (1997). A complex adaptive systems model of organization change.Nonlinear dynamics, psychology, and life sciences,1(1), 69-97. Gilley, A., Dixon, P., Gilley, J. W. (2008). Characteristics of leadership effectiveness: Implementing change and driving innovation in organizations.Human Resource Development Quarterly,19(2), 153-169. Kaplan, R. S., Norton, D. P. (2001).The strategy-focused organization: How balanced scorecard companies thrive in the new business environment. Harvard Business Press. Oreg, S. (2006). Personality, context, and resistance to organizational change.European journal of work and organizational psychology,15(1), 73-101. Piderit, S. K. (2000). Rethinking resistance and recognizing ambivalence: A multidimensional view of attitudes toward an organizational change.Academy of management review,25(4), 783-794. Tian, X., Martin, B. (2009). Business models in digital book publishing: some insights from Australia.Publishing research quarterly,25(2), 73-88. Tian, X. (2008). Book Publishing in Australia: The potential impact of digital technologies on business models.

The Russian language is the mirror of the language game Review Essay Example

The Russian language is the mirror of the language game Review Paper Essay on The Russian language is the mirror of the language game Doctor of Philology Vladimir Z. Sannikov a very respected researcher in the field of the history of Russian and other East Slavic languages ​​ This book -. Monographic study that allows to understand the linguistic features of the language of jokes, to study the mechanism of comic effect. And it explores these characteristics and a scientist from the point of view of phonetics and morphology, and vocabulary, and syntax, and style Sannikov notes that in the field of phonetics to create a comic effect author can use alliteration ( Lanterns like a replica of the dispute magician and philosopher Florence Fountain of Fortune Phantom P. Vegin), sharp and deliberate violation of norms orthoepic ( chameleon mot - the dollar, dollar, Vladimir Nabokov), intonation and reflects her punctuation (Known anecdote: 20s: How do you live? the beginning of the 30s: How do you live? the end of the 30s: How ?! You live?) We will write a custom essay sample on The Russian language is the mirror of the language game Review specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The Russian language is the mirror of the language game Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The Russian language is the mirror of the language game Review specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer In the field of graphics and spelling researcher osboe attention is drawn to concrete poetry (she gives interesting examples from the late seventeenth. on the twenty-first century), and gives examples of removing intervals reduction (Castle in the face -. Deputy commander of maritime Affairs) I would especially like to highlight the section on morphology. The author shows how to build a comic phrase on the basis of reliance on the grammar, without the support of vocabulary (in Love Wolf invites you to the Fox Theater and promises to behave:. Not to swear and talk only about the colors Wolf kept his promise when he saw that the hare took his place. he said: Hey, rose !! well nartsis here, or Ill so on jasmine tulip that you obsirenishsya!). The author also demonstrates the role that plays in yazzykovyh jokes harping affixes and word forms. In the book a lot of interesting facts, intriguing examples what Sannikov offers readers the court so-called UFO (unidentified linguistic objects). The author lists examples which he does not dare to interpret. The reader himself must try to explain how to construct this a joke, a linguistic phenomenon in this case is used. ( Brevity the sister of talent, but the stepmother fee) The application offers the author, devoted to the pun. Naturally, the attached list of references, an index, a pointer to beat the words and forms. The book is for those who are sick language, seeks to know its intricacies, and everyone who loves language jokes.

Barack Obama - Terms as President

Barack Obama - Terms as President President Barack Obama served two terms in the White House and ended up being more  popular than his predecessor, George W. Bush, at the the time he left office, according to public opinion polls. But Obamas popularity didnt mean he  could have run for a third term, as some conspiracy theorists suggested. U.S. presidents have been limited to serving only two four-year terms in the White House since 1951, when the 22nd Amendment to the Constitution was ratified.   Obamas terms as president began on Jan. 20, 2009. He served his last day  in office  Jan. 20, 2017. He served eight years in the White House and was succeeded by Republican President Donald Trump. Obama, like most ex-presidents, hit the speaking circuit after leaving office. The Third Term Conspiracy Theory Conservative critics of Obama began raising the prospect of a third term early in his tenure in the White House. Their motivation was the raise money for conservative candidates by way of scare tactics. In fact, subscribers to one of former U.S. House Speaker Newt Gingrichs email newsletters were warned of a specific scenario that must have seem rather frightening President Barack Obama running for, and winning, a third term as president in 2016. Conspiracy theorists believed the 22nd Amendment limiting presidents to two terms in office somehow would be wiped from the books by the time the 2016 campaign rolled around, after Obama had won re-election to a second term in 2012. That, of course, never happened. Trump pulled off an upset against Democrat Hillary Clinton. Spreading Rumors About a Third Term The email from Gingrich Marketplace, which is managed by the conservative group Human Events, claimed Obama would win a second term and then go on to win a third term that would begin in 2017 and last through 2020 despite a constitutional ban on such a thing. The truth is, the next election has already been decided. Obama is going to win. Its nearly impossible to beat an incumbent president. Whats actually at stake right now is whether or not he will have a third-term, wrote an advertiser to subscribers of the list. The message itself was not written by the former 2012 presidential hopeful. The email neglected to mention the 22nd Amendment, which reads in part: No person shall be elected to the office of the President more than twice ... The Notion of a Third Term in Wartime Still, even some pundits writing in the mainstream media raised the question of whether Obama could serve a third term, depending on world events at the time a second term would expire.  Faheem Younus, a clinical associate professor at the University of Maryland and founder of the website Muslimerican.com, wrote in The Washington Post that attacking Iran could give Americans reason to keep Obama as president for a third term. Wartime presidents can sell a Double Whopper to a vegetarian, Younus wrote.  As the festinate decision of bombing Iran turns into a global conflict, dont expect our constitutional law professor turned president to decline his partys suggestion: if it can be ratified; it can be repealed. Repealing the 22nd Amendment - which some argue was never vetted publicly - is not unthinkable. The notion of a third term was not unthinkable at one time. Before the ratification of the 22nd Amendment,  Franklin Delano Roosevelt  was elected to four terms in the White House - in 1932, 1936, 1940, and 1944. He is the only president to have served more than two terms. Other Obama Conspiracy Theories Obama critics spread numerous conspiracy theories during his two terms in office. At one point, nearly one in five American wrongly believed Obama is a Muslim. Numerous widely circulated emails erroneously claimed Obama  refused to recognize the National Day of Prayer. Others believed his signature accomplishment, an overhaul of health care in the United States, paid for abortions. The most nefarious of the conspiracy theories, one propagated by Trump himself, was that Obama was born in Kenya and not Hawaii, and that because he was not born here he was not eligible to serve as president. So maybe a third term for Obama wasnt such a crazy idea, all things considered.

9 Professional Lessons from Donald Trump

9 Professional Lessons from Donald Trump Hate him or love him, Donald Trump has proved to be an†¦ummm, colorful addition to the 2016 presidential race. But long before he was wearing those Make Donald Trump Again hats, he was a go-to resource for flashy business entrepreneurtainment. Now, we’re not recommending a full on Trump-ification of your professional life, but here are some things we’ve learned from him (even if it’s what not to do) that could be applied to our own careers.1. Never let them forget your name.via Richard Bravo2. How ’bout a little flash?via Wikipedia3. Try new things.4. Be ready for the unexpected.5. Don’t take your job for granted.6. Don’t hate the player, hate the game.(Unless you do hate the player- in which case don’t go on a Twitter tirade against said player.)via BoardGameGeek7. Sometimes you just need a break.8. You’re not here to make friends.9. It ain’t over ‘til it’s over.via AmazonOh, and this goes without sayin g. Don’t sell steaks at sharper image. You will fail. Period.

Conservative Muslims In Liberal Britain Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Conservative Muslims In Liberal Britain - Essay Example It emerges that despite the desire by the Muslim parents that their children embrace the liberal culture in Britain, there is still a high incidence of segregation in terms of education that is offered to the children. The parents who insist on taking their children to the Muslim schools majorly fuel the segregation. Young Muslims between the age of 16 and 24 years who are better educated as compared to their parents in Britain are more conservative. Thisgroupstronglysupports sharia laws, anti-gay activities and even dem and death penalties for the act. Itthusshowsthatdevelopment in a close-knit society with a Muslim education makes the children more conservative. It emerges that despite the desire by the Muslim parents that their children embrace the liberal culture in Britain, there is still a high incidence of segregation in terms of education that is offered to the children. The parents who insist on taking their children to the Muslim schools majorly fuel the segregation. Young Muslims between the age of 16 and 24 years who are better educated as compared to their parents in Britain are more conservative. Thisgroupstronglysupports sharia laws, anti-gay activities and even dem and death penalties for the act. Itthusshowsthatdevelopment in a close-knit society with a Muslim education makes the children more conservative. The social and the cultural way of life of the conservative Muslims are also put to question in the program with eliciting of response from the leaders of Islam.

Strategic management Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Strategic management - Case Study Example Distributors are the â€Å"intermediaries between the studios and exhibitors.† Distribution consists of marketing, logistics, and administration. Studios have traditionally desired full vertical integration through theater ownership, which enabled greater control over audiences and being able to tap into exhibition profits, such as advertising revenues. Falling ticket sales and the amplified costs connected with developing megaplexes promoted the consolidation among exhibitors. Four companies control the exhibition market: Regal, AMC, Cinemark, and Carmike. Regal focuses on mid-size markets using multiplexes and megaplexes. In 2009, Regal’s average ticket price of $8.15 is the uppermost among the leaders. AMC operates more in urban areas with megaplexes and focuses on the large population centers, such as California, Florida, and Texas. Cinemark operates in smaller markets, and is often the sole theater chain in over 80 percent of its markets. Cinemark’s average ticket price of $5.46 was the lowest of the major competitors. Carmike focuses on small to midsized markets. Carmike’s standard ticket price in 2009 was $6.56, but at $3.21, their average concession revenue per patron is the uppermost among the majors. There are three main sources of revenue for exhibitors: concessions, advertising, and box office receipts. Movie goers regularly complain about the high prices for concessions. In 2009, concessions reached an average of 30 percent of exhibitor revenues. Direct costs are a smaller amount than 15 percent of selling price, which makes concessions the principal source of exhibitor profit. These are affected by the three factors: attendance, pricing, and material costs. The most central is attendance: more attendees mean more concession sales. Exhibitors also produce revenue through pre-show advertising. Even when it makes 5 percent of revenues, it is highly lucrative. Ticket sales constitute two

Access to the Bendee Essay Example for Free

Access to the Bendee Essay The availability of relevant local culture, indigenous practices and knowledge combined with new ideas in technology and science can generate successful sustainable community development through innovation. Indigenous knowledge will not only contribute to the success of intervention, but better still its sustainability into the future. Numerous indigenous communities worldwide have always developed, operated and acted to different life challenges using indigenous methods passed on from one generation to the next. Our main focus in this paper will be to study and design a simple bridge, highlighting the use of relevant traditional and indigenous knowledge and cultural heritage amongst the Aboriginal people and technology to create a way across the Nebine Creek. Introduction Access to the Bendee Downs site requires vehicles to cross the Nebine Creek which remains impassable during the wet seasons. The site is a ten hour car trip from Brisbane, the closest city with a major airport, and can be accessed via the Murra Murra Road off the Balonne Highway or the Munda Munda Road and east via Fernlee Road. See more: Analysis of Starbucks coffee company employees essay Nebine River is approximately twenty meters wide. The bridge design would respect the Nebine Creek’s cultural importance to the Kooma People; it provides a place where they can identify with their homeland and share their culture hence should be protected (EWB Challenge, 2010). The property has become a conservation icon for the region due to its conservation values. About 40km of the Nebine Creek flow through the properties and it has a 4km permanent waterhole behind the old homestead. During the rainy seasons, the wetlands render the river impassable yet still it hosts a vast diversity of birds and fauna hence rendering it regionally, nationally and internationally valuable (EWB Challenge, 2010). Our design had to borrow much from the indigenous knowledge of the local community in conserving the site to design a technologically sound bridge. The following were considered in the design process: †¢ The maximum load it can support at the middle. †¢ The maximum load divided by the weight of the bridge (a measure of efficient use of materials) †¢ Aesthetic appeal of the final project to give the conservation efforts a boost. †¢ The materials to be used. We settled on locally available materials like wood to make it affordable and to make use of indigenous knowledge. The design process was geared towards solving the problem of impassable road by building a beam wooden bridge that would be capable to allow even small vehicles to go across. This was supposed to present a creative solution and involve teamwork in implementing the design. Background Information Indigenous knowledge, sometimes referred to as ‘local knowledge’, ‘traditional science’ or ‘folk knowledge’ is a form of knowledge that is unique to a culture or society. It is passed from generation to generation by word of mouth and cultural rituals and has been applied in almost all forms of life including cooking, health care, agriculture, conservation, education and several other facets of life that have sustained societies the world over. The indigenous way of practical learning has been interrupted by the abstract form of formal and academic way of learning witnessed presently (Fien, 2010). As the indigenous knowledge disappears, with it goes the valuable knowledge about ways of living sustainably. In order to fulfil our objective of the design project, first we sought to find how the Aborigines lived and travelled in the past. This we did to help us understand the local conditions and provide a productive context for our design to help the community. Traditionally Aboriginal people carried as little as possible in their journeys and usually chose implements which were multi-purpose. They would revisit favourite campsites of previous years where they had left that were too heavy to carry. These items would be left closer to water so that it wouldn’t need to be carried far. The women carried items on their heads and would make a ring shaped cushion of human hair, manguri, to wear when carrying heavy loads such as a big wooden dish etc. Men sometimes after hunting would carry a kangaroo on their heads. They carried their babies in a pouch in the back of a possum skin cloak (Berowra Valley Regional Park, 2010). This knowledge was very important in choosing the best type of bridge. Types of Bridges Several types of bridges are in existence today such as: Beam Bridges, Box Girder Bridges, Arch Bridges, Truss Bridges, Suspension Bridges, Cable Stayed Bridges. Examples of these bridges are included in the appendix Beam Bridges A beam bridge is very simple. The farther apart its supports are, the weaker it becomes. Although the beam needs careful design, it is cheap and easy to manufacture but this compromises on its beauty. Box Girder Bridges This is similar to the beam bridge but with a girder, box shaped, which makes it stronger. The girder needs careful design; it is cheap and easy to manufacture but not very beautiful. The performance of a beam bridge can be improved by using supports i. e. arches, trusses, cables. Arch Bridges Being one of the oldest types of bridge, they have great natural strength. Instead of pushing straight down, its weight is carried outward along the curve of the arch to the supports at each end. These supports or abutments carry the load and keep its ends from spreading out. Although they are heavy, they are strong if well designed and can be very beautiful. Truss Bridges Truss bridges are mostly empty space, but very effective. They are made of thin triangulated assemblies of metal members. They have a very good strength to weight performance and can be incorporated into any design. They are usually very beautiful. Suspension Bridges A suspension bridge as its name suggests, suspends the roadway from huge main cables extending from one end of the bridge to the other. All the highly stressed parts of a suspension bridge are in tension apart from the towers. These cables which rest on top of towers are secured at each end by anchorages. They have a high aesthetic value, are light and strong. They span greater distances, are expensive and are susceptible to wobble if designed improperly. Cable-Stayed Bridges The cables are attached to the towers which bear the load alone. They are very beautiful and require less cable. They are easier and faster to build but require stronger towers. Core Material The design process Design of an arch bridge. Initially, a suspension bridge and other options were considered but because of the sandy nature of the place and foundation limitations, we decided on an arch bridge. We set to design a timber bridge over the Nebine Creek not only capable of carrying pedestrians and animals but also motor vehicles. This bridge would be built on concrete and stone abutments for the many girder span designed. Instead of pushing straight down, the weight of the bridge (mainly made of laminated softwood) is carried outward along the curve of the arch to the supports at each end. These supports or abutments carry the load and keep its ends from spreading out. The abutments should carry a span of 22 meters. Four pairs of wooden beams, running lengthwise to the in relation to the bridge i. e. ‘longitudinal’, will rest on hammerhead bearings. The wooden beams are made of wooden pieces put in layers and glued together to form a larger beam. The layers, which are glued laminated wooden beams to make them more durable, are laid horizontally to form the main beam. Each pair measures 1 meter by 0. 5 meters, 15 centimetres thick. The span is 22 meters. The beams are to be made of softwoods like pine which are readily available in the community. To hold the pieces together firmly, metal brackets would be used to bolt the pieces together. On top of the stringers, small pieces of timber would be laid across and a coating of asphalt pavement would provide the road wearing surface. Since the stream has high banks and can hold rising waters caused by a flash flood during the rainy season, a concrete and stone arch bridge was chosen. The goal was to maintain the level of the road to allow for maximum potential stream flow. Traditionally, each family amongst the Aboriginal people would have a canoe, made from a single sheet of bark heated under low temperatures and then bent into shape. These canoes were used for fishing and crossing rivers especially during the rainy seasons. A base of clay built in the bottom of the canoe, would be used to light fire to cook some of the fish caught from the river. The remainder of the fish would be brought ashore to be shared amongst the rest of the people. Crossing rivers, they would put logs across minor streams and sometimes large rocks would be used (Berowra Valley Regional Park, 2010). Examples of these are shown in the appendix. A simple model would be made of wood to test the usability of the bridge. A bridge plan diagram was drawn to determine the amount necessary; this was done by tracing on the arch at the bottom with a pencil. On the model, an allowance of 10 inches is left from the end of the boards on the bottom cut to allow plenty of support on the stringers to carry the weight of the bridge. The amount of arch on the model was determined by using tack and string to make the arch. Wood glue is used to attach the pieces together, the cut out pieces are attached to the top of the stringer with a bead of wood glue and small screws (they are put on the underside so that they do not show. The pieces are then brought together to form the model beam.

Exploring Emotion Essay -- Psychobiology of Emotions

Emotions have developed along with the sophistication of the brain as an organ throughout the process of evolution. Instinctive feelings necessary for survival, such as thirst, hunger, and sex drive, are the oldest and most primitive â€Å"emotions†, and they are present in many non-human creatures. The monitoring systems in an animal’s body send signals to the brain when the body is in need of food or water, and this triggers the firing of neurons that in turn advise the creature to search for these necessities. Because these instinctual feelings are reflex related, they originate in the brain stem of primitive creatures (do Amaral). As animals progressed and their brains advanced from just a brain stem into the cerebellum and eventually the cerebral hemispheres, they began to experience more complex, affective emotions including love, friendship, and maternal care (Bekoff 861). Humans possess the most complex brains, and therefore it is believed that humans experience the widest range of emotions. Experimental evidence has shown that human emotions result largely from interactions between several different parts of the brain, known collectively as the limbic system (Thompson 29). The more psychological view of emotions claims an emotion is expressed in reaction to one’s individual interpretation of the surrounding environment. This explanation provides a slightly higher-level view of the issue at hand. However, how and why humans feel something during an emotional experience is still unknown and heavily debated. I believe that these feelings arise as part of the epiphenomenon of consciousness that is unique to living beings, and therefore the complete human emotional experience cannot be mechanically replicated.... ...ius of human life. Works Cited Anatomy of the Brain. American Health Assistance Foundation. 5 Dec. 2002 . Bekoff, Marc. â€Å"Animal Emotions: Exploring Passionate Natures.† Bioscience. Oct. 2000: 861-882. Boeree, Dr. C. George. Emotion. 2002 . do Amaral, Julio Rocha and Jorge Martins de Oliviera. Limbic System: The Center of Emotions. . Picard, Rosalind W. â€Å"Does HAL Cry Digital Tears? Emotions and Computers.† HAL’s Legacy: 2001’s Computer as Dream and Reality. Ed. David G. Stork. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1996. Rolls, Edmund T. The Brain and Emotion. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Thompson, Jack George. The Psychobiology of Emotions. New York: Plenum Press, 1988.

International Human Resource Managementp20-3, 4, 5

Title: Homework P20-3, 4, 5 for International human resource management Page number: 3 1, Discuss two HR activities in which a multinational firm must engage that would not be required in a domestic environment. (1) More HR activities To operate in an international environment, a human resource department must engage in a number of activities that would not be necessary in a domestic environment: international taxation; international relocation and orientation; administrative services for expatriates; host government relations; and language translation services. 2) Risk exposure The direct costs (salary, training costs and travel and relocation expenses) of failure to the parent firm may be as high as three times the domestic salary plus relocation expenses, depending on currency exchange rates and location assignments. Another aspect of rick exposure that is relevant to IHRM is terrorism. 2, why is a greater degree of involvement in employee’s personal lives inevitable in man y international HRM activities?A greater degree of involvement in employees’ personal lives is necessary for the selection, training and effective management of both PCN and TCN employees. In the international HR department must be much more involved in order to provide the level of support required and will need to know more about the employee’s personal life. The HR department or HR professional needs to ensure that the expatriate employee understands housing arrangements, health care, and all aspects of the compensation package provided for the assignment(cost-of- living allowances, premiums, taxes and so on). , Discuss at least two of the variables that moderate differences between domestic and international HR practices. (1) Attitudes of senior management to international operations. It is likely that if senior management does not have a strong international orientation, the importance of international operations may be underemphasized in terms of corporate goals and objectives. In such situations, managers may tend to focus on domestic issues and minimize differences between international and domestic environments. 2)The cultural environment The cultural environment is an important variable that moderates differences between domestic and international HRM. The new environment requires many adjustments in a relatively short period of time, challenging people’s frames of reference to such an extent that sense of self, especially in terms of nationality, comes into question. People , in effect, experience a shock reaction to new cultural experiences that cause psychological disorientation because they misunderstand or do not recognize important cues.

Cars enslave us rather than liberate us Essay

Cars have been in use since the year 1870. Since then the number of cars on the roads has increased many times over. Cars now seem to have made our live easier and more convenient. Nevertheless, in my opinion, more cars give us much more problems than their benefits.First of all, people must work much harder in order to afford a car. This also means that they have to earn a considerable amount of money. The prices of new cars are so high that they usually need to take a credit to buy one. Moreover, cars are not only expensive to buy, but also cost very much to run. In fact, the gas price gets higher and the cost of maintenance is overpriced. Therefore, you have to work more hours if you want to have a car and still be able to live a decent life. one has to work overtime if he or she wants to have a car and keep their car still useful. Second, the quality of life in our cities is made worse because of cars. There are many traffic jams every day and the number of accidents is on the in crease. Consequently, people almost are getting more stress when they drive on street and feel risky every time. Futhermore, cars have had an adverse impact on the environment, causing an alarming rise in the levels of pollution worldwide. In addition, the toxic gases that cars eliminate pollute the air we breathe and this seems to threaten our lives every day. To make the matter worse, the main reason that develops the number of lung cancer is the air pollution. There are many people who die from lung cancer every year. Thirdly, I think that people who own cars are worried about them, especially when their cars being stolen or damaged. In order to cope with this worry, they have to install expensive alarm systems and, to make matters worse, car-owners have to avoid areas of the city where cars get broken into or stolen. Finally, there are a lot of advantages of the cars. For example, you can set off to any place you want no matter what time of the day and if there is any public transport to there. Another advantage in my view that cars are very helpful in carrying things from one place to another. To conclude, it is clear that cars seem to have made our live easier and more convenient. In conclusion, cars have many advantages but enslave us even more. Cars take us much affordability, threaten our life and worry us about making the car safe.

Distinguishing Between Sein and Haben in German

Distinguishing Between 'Sein' and 'Haben' in German If you are like most German language learners, youve probably come across the following dilemma when it comes to verbs in the perfect tense: When do I use the verb haben (to have), when do I use sein (to be)?This is a tricky question. Even though the usual answer is that most verbs use the auxiliary verb haben in the perfect tense (however watch for common exceptions stated below), sometimes both are used - depending on  what part of Germany youre from. For instance, northern Germans say Ich habe gesessen, whereas in southern Germany and Austria, they say Ich bin gesessen. The same goes for other common verbs, such as liegen and stehen. Furthermore, the German grammar bible, Der Duden, mentions that there is a growing tendency to increasingly use the auxiliary verb sein with action verbs. However, rest assured. These are other uses of haben and sein to be aware of. In general, keep the following tips and guidelines in mind when deciding between these two auxiliary verbs and youll get it right. Haben Perfect Tense In the perfect tense,  use the verb haben: With transitive verbs, that is verbs that use the accusative. For example:Sie haben das Auto gekauft?  (You (formal) bought the car?)Sometimes with intransitive verbs, that is verbs that dont use the accusative. In these cases, it will be when the intransitive verb describes an action or event over a duration of time, as opposed to an action/event that occurs in one moment of time. For example, Mein Vater ist ​angekommen, or My father has arrived. Another example:  Die Blume hat geblà ¼ht. (The flower bloomed.)With reflexive verbs. For example:  Er hat sich geduscht. (He took a shower.)With reciprocal verbs. For example:  Die Verwandten haben sich gezankt. (The relatives argued with each other.)When modal verbs are used. For example:  Das Kind hat die Tafel Schokolade kaufen wollen. (The child had wanted to buy the chocolate bar.) Please note: You see sentences expressed in this way more in written language. Sein Perfect Tense In the perfect tense, you use the verb sein: With the common verbs sein, bleiben, gehen, reisen and werden. For example:Ich bin schon in Deutschland gewesen. (Ive already been in Germany.)Meine Mutter ist lange bei uns geblieben. (My mother stayed with us for a long time.)Ich bin heute gegangen. (I went today.)Du bist nach Italien gereist.  (You traveled to Italy.)Er ist mehr schà ¼chtern geworden. (He has become shier).With action verbs that denote a change of place and not necessarily just movement. For example, compare Wir sind durch den Saal getanzt  (we danced throughout the hall) with Wir haben die ganze Nacht im Saal getanzt  (we danced the whole night in the hall).With intransitive verbs that denote a change in condition or state. For example:  Die Blume ist erblà ¼ht. (The flower has begun to bloom.)

Georges Cuvier Biography

Georges Cuvier Biography Early Life and Education: Born August 23, 1769 - Died May 13, 1832 Georges Cuvier was born on August 23, 1769 to Jean George Cuvier and Anne Clemence Chatel. He grew up in the town of Montbeliard in the Jura Mountains of France. While he was a child, his mother tutored him in addition to his formal schooling making him much more advanced than his classmates. In 1784, Georges went away to the Carolinian Academy in Stuttgart, Germany. Upon graduation in 1788, he took a position as a tutor for a noble family in Normandy. Not only did this position keep him out of the French Revolution, it also gave him the opportunity to begin studying nature and eventually become a prominent Naturalist. In 1795, Cuvier moved to Paris and became a professor of Animal Anatomy at Musà ©e National dHistoire Naturelle. He was later appointed by Napoleon Bonaparte to various government positions related to education. Personal Life: In 1804, Georges Cuvier met and married Anne Marie Coquet de Trazaille. She had been widowed during the French Revolution and had four children. Georges and Anne Marie went on to have four children of their own. Unfortunately, only one of those children, a daughter, survived past infancy. Biography: Georges Cuvier was actually a very vocal opponent to the Theory of Evolution. In his 1797 published work entitled Elementary Survey of the Natural History of Animals, Cuvier hypothesized that since all of the different animals he had studied have such specialized and different anatomy, they must not have changed at all since the creation of the Earth. Most zoologists of the time period thought an animals structure was what determined where they lived and how they behaved. Cuvier proposed the opposite. He believed that the structure and function of organs in animals was determined by how they interacted with the environment. His Correlation of Parts hypothesis emphasized that all organs worked together within the body and how they worked was directly a result of their environment. Cuvier also studied many fossils. In fact, legend has it that he would be able to reconstruct a diagram of an animal based off of a single bone that had been found. His extensive studies led him to be one of the first scientists to create a classification system for animals. Georges realized there was no possible way that all animals could be fit into a linear system from most simple in structure all the way up to humans. Georges Cuvier was the most vocal opponent to Jean Baptiste Lamarck and his ideas of evolution. Lamarck was a proponent of the linear system of classification and that there were no constant species. Cuviers main argument against Lamarcks ideas was that important organ systems, like the nervous system or cardiovascular system, did not change or lose function like other less important organs did. The presence of vestigial structures was the cornerstone of Lamarcks theory. Perhaps the most well known of Georges Cuviers ideas comes from his 1813 published work called Essay on the Theory of the Earth. In this, he hypothesized that new species came into being after catastrophic floods, such as the flood described in the Bible when Noah built the ark. This theory is now known as catastrophism. Cuvier thought that only the highest of the mountain tops were immune to the floods. These ideas were not very well received by the overall scientific community, but more religious based organizations embraced the idea. Even though Cuvier was anti-evolution during his lifetime, his work actually helped give Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace a starting point for their studies of evolution. Cuviers insistence that there was more than one lineage of animals and that organ structure and function depended on the environment helped shaped the idea of Natural Selection.

Community development nursing Written assignment Essay

Community development nursing Written assignment - Essay Example To determine the role of the community nurses, the ecological factors that foster the substance abuse problems in this age group were determined, again through the review of literature. The current approach can be based on preventive approach designed through knowledge about these factors, many of which individual, familial, and social may be effectively controlled through social modifications. Awareness about this problem would thus be most important. From the community nursing point of view, due to the scope of exposure and interaction with the individuals within the community may help deliver care to those who are affected and prevent the risk factors that may prove to serve the purpose of achieving control on this problem. Worldwide, the recent reports from mental health care and primary care facilities indicate the significant importance of community health and public health policies in care for substance abuse and mental health disorders. Despite government initiatives, it is unfortunate that research in this area is limited since there is a paucity of literature on substance abuse services or related mental health intervention approaches provided in the community care settings (Druss, et al. 2006). More pertinent may be the fact that with the changing scenarios of this problem, how the services can be adjusted or evolved over time. Therefore the question arises how the community practitioner delivers the care necessary for people with substance abuse with the dynamic care needs of these clients, or it is impossible to deliver care in the community, specially by the community nurses for this problem The Problem and its Magnitude In Hong Kong a survey conducted during the 2008-09 school year revealed increasing prevalence and problem of youth substance abuse. In comparison to the survey conducted 4 years earlier, this survey revealed an 1% point increase in prevalence of substance abuse among school students, which currently is 4.3% of the school students. It is more prevalent in the adolescent age groups, and the magnitude of the problem can be conceived from the epidemiologic data that among 12 year old school students, 4.6% declared that they had abused substances or drugs. When compared to the same data 4 years ago, which was 2.4%, there is a clear trend of lowering of the age of substance abuse. These data should be interpreted with caution since in many such cases, these surveys fail to reveal the actual prevalence due to fear of admitting abuse. Although these surveys can offer scientific data, it is important to understand the trend that may facilitate services that can combat youth drug problems, whi ch has become very serious in Hong Kong. The "2008-09 Survey of Drug Use among Students" documents also reveals some very important information that are useful from the community nursing perspectives. This clearly states that the drivers of the decision to abuse substances among the youth reside in the community. The first is availability and the second is the hidden nature of the youth substance a

European Union Law- (Problem Question) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

European Union Law- (Problem Question) - Essay Example Certainly, there has been no enforcement of the minimal redundancy directive by the ECJ. Because ‘a directive shall leave to national authorities the choice of form and methods’ and always requires national implementation which can lead to different implementation methods in different member states (UK Redundancy, 2003), Andrew, who worked for an emanation of the state, might have better positioning than Boris, who worked for a private entity. EC/EU law takes priority over the law of Member States if there is inconsistency between them. If in any respect British law is incompatible with applicable European Community law, then an individual who suffers loss as a result may be able to claim compensation from the British government due to state liability. This result is unlikely for Boris coming from the private sector both because the British government normally goes to considerable trouble to ensure that British law conforms with EC directives and because the British Courts will resolve any ambiguity in the wording of a British statute in a way which is cons istent with EC law. The courts will also interpret British law in a way which is consistent with applicable EC law unless the wording of the British provision makes this impossible. Nevertheless, there are several examples of cases in which British law has been held to be unenforceable because it is inconsistent with EC Directives (European Communities Act, 2005). Sr Francovich sued the Italian government on the grounds that he had suffered loss as a result of the governments failure to implement EC Directive 80/987 ("on the approximation of the laws of Member States relating to the protection of employees in the event of insolvency of their employer"). He was employed by a company in between January 1983 and April 1984. The employer went bankrupt owing him some 6m lire (approx  £3,000) pay. He obtained judgment

Discuss the key guiding principles which should underpin a successful Essay

Discuss the key guiding principles which should underpin a successful Destination Management Strategy, using relevant examples - Essay Example The entrance of new competing destinations has heightened competition prompting the destination marketing organizations to change their business strategies. Since each country has unique goals and objectives for tourism, it is crucial that the marketing strategies match the gaols of the specific country. For any country to position its tourism marketing strategy, it is crucial to design a visionary plan, design strategies to promote the plan, source funds and support for the program and work out a correction plan to counter the challenges that are likely to arise during the strategy implementation process. The challenges arising in the tourism require a different approach of destination management to stimulate growth and ensure that all stakeholders in tourism benefit from the investment plans. The first step towards efficiency destination marketing is to build a vision and a plan that involves all the stakeholders in the industry (Shirazi & Som, 2011). The vision of the destination marketing should be to use an integrative approach that embraces changes, flexibility and one that is customer focussed. The customer should be the main focus of the organization, as they are the source of profit for the organization. On this note, the objective should be to understand the customer needs, and develop strategies to satisfy them. Additionally, the vision of the project should be to involve all the stakeholders of the tourism industry in the implementation process. England is an example of the countries that have focussed on the customer needs to stimulate a tourism growth of over 5% per year (Prideaux & Cooper, 2002). By satisfying the customers, the locals, the employees and the government, it is possible to overcome the challenges that affect the tourism market. Destination marketing seeks to satisfy all the stakeholders by actively involving them in the

The Contemporary Challenges Of The Muslim Ummah Religion Essay

The Contemporary Challenges Of The Muslim Ummah Religion Essay Before scrutinizing those challenges, let us have a quick look to the definition of challenges and ummah, the key words throughout this study. Challenge is a simple everyday word. If one browses through several dictionaries he will find out that the definition given by those dictionaries is more or less the same, which is a demanding or stimulating situation  [1]  . Specifically, it refers to (the situation of being faced with) something needing great mental and physical effort in order to be done successfully and which therefore tests a persons ability.  [2]   No doubt that our ummah faces many challenges, both internal and external. While external challenges come from our surrounding most of them created by the West to control and destroy us, internal challenges are challenges that occurred within us, which sometimes difficult for us to identify (and admit) and much more dangerous compared to external challenges, if we fail to manage and overcome them. This study will focus first in discussing the internal challenges and will touch about the external challenges later. Internal Challenges Disunited Ummah: The No. 1 within Enemy The first and foremost internal challenge that Muslims need to overcome urgently is their disunited ummah. As we know, the mission of the prophet Muhammad was to bring peace and unity to the feuding tribes of the pre-Islamic days. However, after the prophet passed away, the Arabs returned to their feuding wars. Blindly tribal loyalties returned. Disputes over which tribe had the right to succeed the leadership of the Muslims ummah after the death of the prophet eventually led to the most serious and dangerous schism among Muslims. Certainly, the quarrel between Muslim sects and nations are obviously contrary to the teachings of Islam. Let us admit that Islam and the Muslim world today are divided and disarray. They are unable to cope with the changes that are happening in this world and are reversing further and further backwards. Therefore, we should resolve our own quarrels to present a united ummah. Most importantly, we should never be our own enemy. Disappointingly, personal quarrels and ambitions for power seem allowed in Muslim world, which eventually disrupt government administration, leaving it incapable of addressing the needs of the people  [5]  . As a result, Muslim nations remain largely underdeveloped, poor, unskilled, uneducated and incapable of contributing positively towards the well being of the Muslims, their faiths and nations. Though many of us are blessed with rich resources, we are unable to put such resources to the optimal use, to serve and defend Islam and Muslims against those who loudly confess their hatred against us and bravely proclaim their intention to frustrate us. The bad situation becomes worse when the best, skilful and knowledgeable people of us emigrate and contribute to the wealth and prosperity of other nations, to the some extent, to the nations which are hostile to us. This frustrated situation happened because we are unable to offer these talented people with facilities, plus the conditions of our nations are unsuitable for the application of the considerable attributes that they possess, simply because we are too busy with our petty quarrels  [6]  . Thus, we need the right people to rule the nations, and to get this, the one and only situation is to revert to the teaching of Islam, the really true teachings, not the teachings which are interpreted to justify the bad things we are doing as good. If we are not sure what is really meant by the true teachings, we need to ask only few questions. Does Islam advocate wars and violence amongst Muslims? Does Islam advocate oppression of the people by the government, or destabilize the government by the irresponsible acts of the people? Can we really say that it is our religious duty to be poor, without knowledge and skills, incapable of defending ourselves against our enemies? We clearly know the answers to all these questions, and yet, we do not care to follow the Islamic answers to these questions. Instead, we quibble about small issues, fight over minor differences. We divide Muslims and cause them to fight because differences created in our practices in Islam. Fundamentalists: The True Muslims or Extremists? Another internal challenge faces by Muslim in this contemporary world is fundamentalist Muslims. Realizing or not, fundamentalism is one of the most abused word. Most of the time, it is associated with extremism. Yet, if the teachings of Islam are revised, it would be obvious that the past best Muslims were fundamentalists. On the contrary, nowadays, the people who are usually described as fundamentalists are far away from following of the Islamic teachings. Most of them have seemingly reverted to the pre-Islamic jahilliyyah ways of extreme loyalty to their groups, to fanaticism or taasub  [7]  . The answer lies in correcting or abandoning the incorrect interpretations of Islam by some of the so called ulama. These interpreters, no matter how learned they may be in teachings of the religion, or how large may be their followers, or how established their teachings, are not prophets. Prophets can not be wrong, but these interpreters of Islam can be. If Islam appears rigid and doctrinaire, it is because the learned interpreters make it so. They tended to be harsh and intolerant when interpreting during the golden day of the Muslim empires. And so, long after the Muslims have lost their predominant era, and the world has changed, the Muslim were exhorted to adhere to interpretation which are no longer adequate or relevant. What Muslims must do is to go back to the teaching of Holy Quran and genuine Hadiths, study and interpret them in the context of the present day. It is Allahs will that the world has changed. It is not for man to reverse what has been willed by Him. Islam is not only meant for seventh century Arabs. The faithful must look for guidance from the teachings of Quran and Hadiths in the present context. If we Muslims understand this, then there will be fewer misunderstandings among us, and the world will be a better place if all misunderstandings are removed. External Challenges Globalization: The Modern Form of Colonization Globalization as defined by the West is the generalized expansion of international economic activity which includes increased international trade, growth of international investment (foreign investment) and international migration, and increased creation of technology among countries. Globalization is the increasing world-wide integration of markets for goods, services, labor, and capital.  [8]  Some Muslim scholars are exalted and believed that globalization will benefit and give positive impacts on Muslims, while others (including this study) take a more skeptical and critical view of this process. Realizing or not, globalization in its current manifestation is benefiting the West as their idea of a borderless would simply means the unbridled flow of capital across borders. The huge amount of wealth some of us have accumulated through the extraction of our national resources has not been invested in our own countries. We have instead taking advantage of the free flow of capital to invest in the developed countries. Effectively we have enriched them  [9]  . Unfortunately, they have used our money that we have invested, to invest back in our countries, destabilize and impoverish us by pulling out their investment suddenly. Then, they take advantage of our poverty to gain control over us. Much of our money is hold hostage abroad and is actually used against us. In fact, we are not even able to use our natural resources to enrich ourselves. We find ourselves quite helpless and unable to adjust and take advantage of these new ideas and concepts. Our own resources are the cause of our present impoverishment and weakness. But, we do not really care because we always believe that they can provide us with powerful means to assert our influence in the whole world, to strengthen and protect us from oppression. All we need is simple, the will to regulate the supply. Yet, we cannot even do this  [10]  . Nowadays, colonial control of land by military strength or physical colonialism can no longer be accepted by society worldwide, even no longer necessary. Control to currency trading that globalization has introduced holds similar effects. This form of colonialism could be achieved without sacrificing the life of soldiers. When a country becomes poor, it will be politically unstable and a power struggle will ensue. As a result, there will be successive change in leadership until a candidate who is willing to submit to the world power is found. In other words, before getting to that moment, colonization has occurred. Still, there are some of us who do not believe that what is happening now can throw us back to the early days of colonialism  [11]  . When we agreed to globalization, we thought that we would be able to share the wealth and technology of the rich countries. But, the rich countries are actually thinking about how globalization would enable them to exploit the untapped resources of the poor countries by using their huge capital and sophisticated technology. Even though exploiting the poor to enrich themselves causes more poverty and misery, so long as it is done in the name of globalization, it is still considered as fair and proper. The attack on the currencies of South East Asian countries in 1997 is the good example on how they exploit globalization  [12]  . Islam stresses a balance between materialism and spiritualism, between life in this world and hereafter. The loss of the spiritual values in the West has resulted in unbridled materialism. Money is considered as the most important thing in life. As a result, money is literally worshipped as an end in itself, not as a mean to an end. Nothing must get in the way in the acquisition of more money. And in the process of doing so, economic has to be devastated, people killed, children starved. All these are perfectly all rights as long as the objective is to make more money  [13]  . Therefore, all Muslims should work together to defend the sovereignty of our nations. What we are doing is actually defending our own independence. No less than that. Do remember, those who created the economic, political and social problems that we are facing now are just like the colonists who once colonized us. Do not ever think that their behaviors have changed. As the Malay proverb says, Tigers will always have their stripes. Globalization a world without border is a terminology introduced by the West, not by us, by Muslims. Surely, the West did not come out with this new thought to lose out. It is invented for their own interest. Let us not accept it without scrutiny, without suspicion. Let us not accept all this simply because we want them to regard us as sophisticated. Let us not be proud of being praised by them when we show how up-to-date our thinking is  [14]  . Globalization might bring many benefits to us, but this new thinking will destroy us more. The attack of our currencies is part of globalization and we only end up losing. Information Technology Another Cold War Nowadays, it is obvious that information, rather the mastery over it, will determine the course of future struggles between nations. Recent breakthroughs in the field of communication and computer technologies have made it the most valuable currency of the age. If natural resources were what represented wealth and power in the past, information now claims an equal place, and is poised to become, in the near future, the most basic source of strength  [15]  . Muslim countries have struggled so hard to catch up with advanced nations. This new technology may affect this struggle in two opposite ways. Firstly, it is possible that it may take the battle still harder. The technology might make the gap between Muslims and industrial world more difficult to bridge, increase the westernization of our culture, and further tighten the grip of those already in control of the world. However, if we take it positively, the same technology may provide wider opportunities to Muslims nations to free themselves from cultural and economic influence of the West, loosen their control over the means of knowledge, and reduce its influence over oppressed nations. Of course, these opportunities will come for us only if we know how to exploit this technology to gain our objectives. It would need vision, strategy, cooperation and solidarity. That is the only way the challenges of the next century can be met. A quick survey at the state of information in Muslim countries will show how difficult it is to speak of a joint Islamic information in the absence of strong cooperation among them. The lack of comprehensive researches and field studies reflect the true state of information in Muslim societies. Therefore, any evaluation of the state of information in the Muslim world would be no more than a general opinion based purely on personal experience and observation. To cure a disease, of course we need to be clear about what really cause it. Generally speaking, information in Muslim countries continue to suffer because of several reasons continuous dependency on foreign media, low level of cooperation and exchanges of information among Muslim nations, centralization and state control of information, and emphasize more on technical and material aspects while manpower development gets low priority. It would be unrealistic, and almost impossible to believe that individual Muslim country would be able to confront these challenges separately  [16]  . Cooperation must always be the principle guidance. Instead of complaining about foreign cultural and media invasion of our societies, we must take the initiative to stop the invasion. Appeal to Islamic government to cooperate with the private sector for the establishment of joint information, advertising projects, and supporting and encouraging information industries can be one of the valuable suggestion. To ensure the successful implementation of such projects, there must be unified policies and plans to facilitate and attract investments plus a joint Islamic fund to provide loans to finance these projects. Moreover, the infrastructure of Muslim countries should be linked together, commercial information and advertising representation unified, communication mechanism consolidated and an Islamic information bloc set up. All these promises brought about by the information revolution should make us view them with optimism and make the right investment in a way that would ensure the advancement of our societies and enable us to face the challenges facing us. They should also inspire us to plan carefully and lay down a solid ground for a coordinated effort that would free us from Western information domination. The cure lies in our ills and we know the cure. What is needed is a joint initiative to start the treatment. Conclusion Perhaps, it is too much to expect that our Muslim ummah would awake and fight all the challenges discussed above. But, still, we need to fight because it is a duty towards our religion. If we learn from the Islamic Civilization of the past, it will tell us that how a great faithful ummah can lead to greatness and establishment of one of the greatest, if not the greatest ever, civilization on earth. What has been done once by Muslims can be done again, and perhaps the second one will be everlasting. It is for us, Muslims, to decide. God willing, we will awake and we will decide, we will fight, and insha Allah, we will win.

Americas Involvement in the Vietnam War Essay -- Vietnam War American

America's Involvement in the Vietnam War Vietnam is a time in American history that most of us would like to forget, but really, we must learn from it. Vietnam is a time where we didn't look at the whole picture, it was 'perceived through the lens of Cold War politics.' (MP:420) With the new ?domino theory,? Americans feared for their safety and the safety of the 'free world.' If they didn't step in, they would inevitably lose the world to communism. Many Americans believed our involvement in Vietnam began around 1965?the beginning of combat with American boys. In reality, engagement began much earlier, around 1945. The US supported France and rejected to recognize the Vietnamese nationalists as an actually body. The leader of the Vietnamese nationalists was Ho Chi Mihn and he was known as a communist. Our reasons for supporting France, more or less, reflected our foreign policy: containment. Post-WWII, our main focus was to contain Communism, as seen through the Truman. Doctrine. ?Truman and his advisors, who saw Communism as a monolithic force, assumed wrongly that Ho took orders from Moscow.? (AP:897) Because they believed that Ho had a connection with Communist Russia, the US wanted to support the more democratic side. American showed its support in aiding over 3/4 of the cost of France?s war. In 1954, France?s fortress at Dien Bien Phu finally fell to Ho?s forces and France asked America to step in. An international conference in ...

Legal Abortion

The topic of abortion is one of the most controversial of our times. It has caused countless deaths and several violent confrontations between the two separate parties of opinion. The fight between pro-life and pro-choice supporters has been long and brutal. This is because, despite what several people may believe, abortion is neither right nor wrong. It is a matter of personal opinion. In this way, each side can say with certainty that the other is wrong. However, the question still remains; should abortion be legal?Though some may disagree on this point, the fact is that legalized abortion is the only option that will protect the lives of American citizens. Therefore, present abortion laws according to Roe v. Wade should be upheld and maintained in the United States (Brown 2). Roe v. Wade was a landmark decision that legalized abortions in the United States. It was about a poor, pregnant woman who filed a lawsuit against the state law of Texas, which stated that abortions were ille gal. The case went all the way to the U. S. Supreme Court, which meant that the decision made affected the nation as a whole.On January 22, 1973, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of Jane Roe and stated that â€Å"the 14th amendment guarantees an adult woman the right to seek a termination of her pregnancy until viability† (Guernsey 63). From this day on, abortions in the United States were legal. The definitions of the opinions taken on abortion are somewhat unclear to many people. Hopefully, the definitions stated below will be of some help in choosing an opinion. Pro-life supporters believe that a fetus's right to live comes first, before the rights of a pregnant woman.Pro-choice supporters believe that it is a woman's fundamental human right to decide when and whether or not to have the child (Lowenstein19). Nevertheless, while the pro-choice side fights the right to have an abortion, they make a distinction between â€Å"pro-choice† and â€Å"pro-abortion,† These groups want women to be able to choose an abortion if it is right for them. However, they do not necessarily believe abortion is the solution for everyone (Lowenstein 52). There are many reasons why abortion should be legal. The single most important effect of legalization has been the substitution of safe, legal procedures for abortions that formerly were obtained illegally† ( Jaffe, Lindheim, and Lee 147). One only needs to look into American history to see the results of prohibiting abortions to women. The violence which occurs today because of the pro-choice/pro-life conflicts is minimal in comparison to the thousands of hopeless women who turned to illegal abortions. Women, seeing no other solution to their problems, turned to â€Å"back room† clinics. These clinics were located in poverty-ridden sections of the city and their conditions were deplorable.The places themselves were layered in filth and disease. Inexperienced butchers using dirty and crude equip ment treated the women. As if these backroom clinics were not bad enough, there was an even more appalling decision a woman might face. If she were unable to pay the exorbitant price for the illegal surgery, she would often perform the act herself. â€Å"Knitting needles, coat hangers, antiseptic douches, and poisons were used most often† (Welton123). It is better now that women have a place to go where abortions can be performed cleanly with minimal risk.Legalization of abortion is the only choice no matter what side on takes in the debate. Women will try to do what they think is necessary to live as they wish, no matter what the risk. Each year 84,000 women die worldwide from failed abortion attempts (Lunneborg67) . Because of anti-abortion legislation, women avoid going to the hospital, often until it is too late, to avoid prosecution from police. In the cases of rape and incest, the very idea of being forced to have the child of the woman's abuser is repulsive. There are also cases when a woman's health is put in jeopardy by having a child at all.Forcing a woman to bring the child to term would be no less than attempted murder (Steffen 49). If a woman is forced to give birth to a child she does not want, if left in that woman's custody, the child could potentially face hatred and resentment from the mother for the rest of its life. In countries all over the world, children are found dead and abandoned in places as degrading as garbage dumps. The only effective method of preventing unwanted births is abstinence, and this is just not a realistic objective. There is no 100% effective form of birth control, and even men and women using birth control have unwanted pregnancies.Some women for financial, occupational, social, and maturity reasons, see pregnancy as cessation of their lives. There are no accurate statistics on how many women attempt or succeed in committing suicide each year rather than live with their pregnancies. Women will continue to gave abortions with or without government legislation, but with legislation, the conditions under which they have their abortions can be sanctioned and observed. If abortion is the right choice for a woman, she shouldn't have to worry about its safety. The procedure is perfectly safe. The earlier an abortion is done, the safer it is.Most abortions, about 95%, are done during the first trimester (Lowenstein 52). Less than one percent are done after the twentieth week, and usually only for medical reasons (Safety 1). According to the National Abortion Federation, having an abortion in the first three months of pregnancy is safer than giving birth to a child. Women hardly ever die from legal abortions-only one in two hundred thousand (Lowenstein 52). Women are seven times likely to die from childbirth than from a legal abortion (Maguire 1). Many pro-life supporters believe that abortion should be banned because life begins at conception and taking a life is unlawful.The individual sex cell consists of 23 chromosomes. It is only through combination, through merger, that the sex cells attain the full complement of heredity units that defines a human being (Shettles 17). The merger of the two sex cells is complete within twelve hours, at which time the egg is fertilized and becomes known technically as the â€Å"‘zygote. † The inherited characteristics of a unique human being has been established, and in no circumstances will it change (Shettles 17). At eighteen days, the heart is pumping through a closed circulatory system, with blood whose type is different from that of the mother's.The brain starts working at forty days. and all of the fetus's body systems are in place by the time it is two months old (Every child 1). Pro-lifers believe this evidence shows a fetus is alive. For these reasons, they feel the fetus has a soul and is a person worthy of respect. They conclude that aborting a fetus is the same as murdering a person (Abortion 3). Most pro-choic e supporters agree that taking a human life is unlawful, however, they argue that unborn fetuses do not constitute fully developed human life. The possession of forty-six chromosomes does not make a cell a person.Most of the cells in a person's body contain these 46 chromosomes, but that does not make a white corpuscle a person. As for the significance of uniqueness, identical quintuplets are genetically identical, yet they have personal identities apart from their genetic endowment. Even though a fetus might have a heartbeat and brain waves, this does not make a fetus a person. To be a person, there must be evidence of a personality. Dogs, frogs, and earthworms have all characteristics listed, but that is insufficient to make them persons Zindler 25). Another major pro-life concern is the medical hazards of an abortion. Pro-lifers believe that abortions have many negative physical and psychological effects. They say that even though abortion has been legalized, it remains a complic ated procedure that can potentially harm a woman's ability to bear normal, healthy babies in the future (Hilgers 152). The most common early complications of legally induced abortion are infection, hemorrhage, perforation of the uterus, and laceration of the cervix (Hilgers 153).There is also a pelvic inflammatory disease which can follow abortion, and happens up to 30 percent of the time (Lowenstein 44). Although the complications are physical, many pro-lifers say that the psychological effects are far more dangerous. They believe abortion has a particularly harmful effects on teenagers (Everyone's Biography 1). The Medical College of Ohio studied how teenagers were able to cope with abortions as compared to adult women. They studied thirty-five women who had abortions as teenagers and thirty-six women who had abortions after age twenty.They found there were two factors present in teenage abortions. First, people other than the teenager had control of the abortion decision. Second, teenagers are less knowledgeable about the procedure and may have false ideas about it. Also, teenagers were less likely to consult a professional before making their decision. The study showed teenagers experienced greater stress during the abortion (Lowenstein 45). Pro-choicers strongly disagree on this matter. It is a proven fact that legal abortions are now medically safe and simple.Teenagers, for example, are 24 times more likely to die from childbirth than from a first-trimester abortion (Carlson 25). Death resulting from legal abortion is a very rare occurrence and easy to measure. In the first trimester, less that half of one percent of all abortion patients experience major complications (Jaffe, Lindheim, and Lee 150). Of course abortion involves some risk, but so do all medical procedures. According to the American Psychiatric Association report published in Science magazine in 1990, there are no significant psychological aftereffects of legal abortion.Legal abortion requ ested by the woman does not cause emotional problems or depression. Some women may feel sad or guilty at first, but not any more or less than any other personal crisis (Lowenstein 53). In particular, teenagers who had abortions seem to behave more normally than others who gave birth to a baby. Teenagers who have abortions are more likely to graduate high school, go to college, and get good jobs (Lowenstein 54). The third most controversial topic on abortions involves so-called hard cases such as rape and incest.The first point pro-lifers make is that the law allowing raped women to get abortions would only affect a few women, less than 1 percent of all abortions each year (Guernsey 68). Pro-life supporters believe the damage has already happened-that of the rape. An abortion will simply cause more psychological and physical harm. Even though half of the fetus if part of the rapist, half of the fetus is part of the woman, too. They believe it is unfair to kill a being who was not res ponsible for the rape (Lowenstein 47). Their feeling is the same for incest.In cases where abortion is chosen, pro-life activists believe an innocent baby is killed for a crime its father commits. The father, instead, should suffer. Pro-lifers believe if abortion is chosen, it helps to hide the fact that incest took place and it might continue(Lowenstein 48). Should abortion be allowed in cases of rape and incest? Absolutely yes, say pro-choicers. There may be serious psychological effects from having a child that was a result of a horrible experience like incest or rape. Pro-choice supporters believe if the woman decides to raise the child, they say, she will have a constant reminder of the incident (Lowenstein 55).Surveys have shown many people would accept abortion in cases of rape or incest (Women 2). Medical research has not determined whether there are genetic tendencies toward sexual crimes. The child may carry some of those genes (Lowenstein55). In summary, abortion is a per sonal choice. No should be able to tell a women whether or not to have a child. Therefore, keeping abortion legal will ensure that situations that involve crisis or health risks to the mother or the fetus can be handled safely and legally.

Reading skills Essay

Q1: Explain 5 strategies that a teaching assistant might use to support literacy development. The teaching assistant could read to the pupils on a daily basis, this will help pupils learn how fluent reading sounds and this will help them understand how sentences and text can make sense, and will learn when to pause for full stops, question marks etc, and they will also learn how using expression in reading can make a story more exciting and understandable. The teaching assistant can have one to one sessions with a pupil, getting them to read certain passages aloud from a story and then getting them to repeat the passage, this will help with word recognition, and their speed and accuracy will improve the more they are asked to do this. Games or structured computer games where there is some reading can also be used to help with literacy skills, the teaching assistant can play games with a group of pupils, appropriate age related games with simple instructions can be a good learning resource. Building a child’s vocabulary is very important to a pupil learning to read, write and being able to express themselves, a pupils vocabulary will grow if they are in a rich language environment, this will help them when they try more challenging text, so they teaching assistant can help by talking to the pupil and asking if they understand the words and if not explaining what they mean, which will help them learn more words. The teaching assistant could in a group have a reading session, where each pupil could try to guess what will happen next from the line they have just read, this will help to see if any of the pupils do not understand any of the text, the teaching assistant can then help explain any parts that are not understood which will then help the pupil in the future to understand that type of text. Q2: outline the stages of reading development skills. Early emergent readers: these readers are just beginning to understand the concepts of books, they are learning the alphabet and maybe recognise upper and lowercase letters. They are also learning high frequency words and sound words, books in this level include: repeated words, picture support and content that will be very familiar. Emergent readers: these readers understand the alphabet, they also know a lot of high frequency words and they are also grasping how to attack words they don’t know better, books in this level include: more lines per page, harder words in the sentences and less picture support. Early fluent readers: these readers are reading harder text and have more of an understanding of the text, they read more automatically rather than trying to attack the word, they are able to recognise different styles and genres of books and understand what is being read, they are becoming independent in their reading and require a lot less help, books in this level include: books with a lot more pages and much longer sentences, and a lot less pictures to help with their reading and understanding. Fluent readers: these readers rarely need help with any text, they can pause at the correct time, they can also have expression when reading out loud, they are able to read many genres of books and understand what they are reading, and they are able to keep learning reading skills if they read a harder book, they are no longer learning to read, they are reading to learn, books in this stage include: more varied topics, a lot more text and pages, books with no pictures as they are capable of understanding the text without visual references and a lot more challenging vocabulary. Q3: describe the main methods used to teach reading skills There are three main methods that can be combined to teach reading skills, they are: Auditory training, this is where an adult talks, sings and reads to their child, this will put language and sound into the child’s brain, the more they hear the bigger their vocabulary will be, which will help them to learn to read when they are ready to, playing and singing rhyming games will all help the child with learning to read. Phonics: this is the most known and used method to teach reading skills, phonics teaches children the relationship between letters of the written language and the sounds of the spoken language, it teaches children to use these relationships to read and write. This will teach them the alphabet and how these words are written and spoken which will be predictable, this will help them recognise familiar words and help them with harder ones. They are taught to sound out words by learning certain rules that they will memorise, some of these are: blending sounds such as br, fr, wr and bl among others, digraph sounds such as sh, th these letters combine to make a different sound, double vowel sounds. Phonics will start to be taught in nursery or reception and a child will not be able to learn to read without proper understanding of phonics. Whole language: this is a whole-part method of teaching children to read, children are taught to memorise words as one whole word not as parts or broken down, they can do different activities like writing in journals and using pictures to help memorise the words. Children can begin to write early using this method and it can make reading more interesting, but the only problem with this method is that some children may not be able to use phonics and may find it harder to learn new words without the understanding of phonics. Q4: give 5 examples of how a teaching assistant could support and demonstrate writing and spelling skills 1. Get children to discover how different sounds can be written, this can be done by reading books or rhymes that they know and asking the children to listen out for words with a particular sound, for example words with a T sound, words like bite, height, light. They can then be helped to find these letters that make that sound by finding them and circling or underlining them in any book. 2. Choosing words that the children know from a song, poem or book they can learn how a word they know can help them to write new words just by changing the beginning letter, for example the teaching assistant can write words that sound the same but have different beginning letters and then ask the children if they can think of any other words with the same sound that can be added, the examples could be: hat, cat, mat. This can help with phonic awareness which is vital in writing and spelling skills. 3. Correct letter formation is the start of learning to write and develop writing skills, there are many ways a teaching assistant can support a child in this, a couple of examples are: get the child to say out loud how they are writing the letter like a ’round , up and down’, p’ down, up and around’ . The teaching assistant can make some dot to dots of the correct letter formation. 4. Teaching children about different spelling patterns, the teaching assistant and child could look through a book they know and look for spelling patterns, looking for ones that have been chosen like ea, words like: break, treat, bread and lead, the child could then mark the words they find and say them out loud as they find them. 5. The teaching assistant can help children learn how to use a dictionary to help them spell a word they are unsure of, they need to teach them that words in a dictionary are in alphabetical order, so if they know the first letter then they can try to find the word they are looking for, the teaching assistant or teacher can make an individualised dictionary with words that are aimed at a particular level of writing and spelling stage, they could also leave spaces for children to write any words they have learned that are not in the dictionary they have got. Q5: How can a teaching assistant encourage learners to use speaking and listening skills correctly. The teaching assistant can encourage these skills by asking the child to write down what has just been said to them, this is a good way to make sure they are listening properly. Or to ask them to repeat something that is being said, for example another child could be telling a story or event that has happened and if the teaching assistant thinks that someone is not listening then they can ask them to repeat it. If a child does not understand anything that is being said then they should be encouraged to ask questions to help explain, this will show that they are listening to what is being said. Children can show they have listened when they can follow instructions properly and this can seen by asking them what they have to do, or when they make responses or comments to anything they are listening to. If they have watched a film or other type of programme they should be able to recount some or all of the story if they have listened, a group talk on certain subjects would be a good way to encourage speaking and listening skills, letting everyone have a say while all others listen but have some input or comment if they didn’t understand anything. Having a weekly time for any children to stand in front of the class and tell the class of anything they have done or somewhere they have been would be very good for speaking skills, the rest of the class should be encouraged to listen and to ask any questions at the end, if there are any children that are reluctant to speak in front of people, then trying to to encourage them in group discussions will hopefully help them to be more confident and eventually want to speak in front of everyone. Allowing children to have time to chat amongst themselves can also help develop these skills as they will learn to listen and speak at different times, and they should be encouraged not to ignore people because if they do no-one will want to talk to them.