Is Genre a useful category for the understanding of films made in Essay

Is Genre a useful category for the understanding of films made in China and Japan - Essay Example A scholar that suggests that there is an American genre would be immediately attacked by his colleagues for oversimplifying an obviously complex, multifaceted gamut of movies. So the question of whether there is a Chinese or Japanese genre of film may be answered in the affirmative if one sees "genre" in merely the audience short-hand manner. If, that is, the audience is American or British. The definition of "genre" in this sense will be "having a preponderance of Chinese or Japanese actors, and in either Mandarin or the Japanese language". This is rather simplistic, and might be regarded as offensive or even racist, but it does reflect one of the most simple definitions of genre. China can be divided between Hong Kong, the mainland controlled by the nominally Communist government and then Taiwan, which represents a whole other development both politically and artistically. So it can be said that a "Chinese genre" is redundant beyond the audience-expectation type of definition. Turning to Japanese cinema, while more culturally homogenous, Japan also presents difficulties for the simple definition. Donald Richie, the leading Western scholar of Japanese cinema, states that many Japanese films indeed have a sense of what he calls "Japaneseness". He describes this as "the celebration of evanescence".4 This evanescence is shown by Japanese film-makers within a paradoxical desire to have their films be temporary rather than permanent. Thus Richie quotes the director Ozu, who stated, "the attractive thing about film is this transience, this mist-like vanishing quality."5 The director Naruse goes even further, suggesting that films should "always vanish a few weeks after release, perhaps this is what films should be, things that live on only in the audience's memory, or vanish into thin air."6 The wish to have their films vanish into thin air is rather ironic for two reasons. First, it counters the traditional advantage that film is said to have over theatre: its permanence as opposed to mutability. Second, in darkly humorous irony, this rather intellectual wish has been granted to the vast majority of Japanese film-makers, whether or not they desired the honor. Thus the majority of Japanese films (more than 90% of pre-WWII movies) have vanished because they did not survive the film chemistry or the war of the time. Even with film production since 1945, a majority of Japanese films now no longer exist and can only be referenced within the memories of actors, writers etc.

Sequencing Technology for Epilepsy Diagnosis

Sequencing Technology for Epilepsy Diagnosis Epilepsy: It is estimated that at many as 10% of the general populace will experience a seizure in their lifetime. (Persad et al., 2003) Epilepsy is a chronic neurological disease defined by its characteristic symptom, recurrent and spontaneous seizures. (Berg et al., 2011) (Asher Y et al., 2012) Epilepsy is a common condition with an occurrence of up to 3% in the population (Deng H et al., 2013). According to Pal D.k et al., (2010) over half of epilepsies have a genetic cause. A large body of research has gone into identifying the genetic causes and corresponding molecular mechanisms of epileptic disorders. Epilepsies have a wide variety of causes including dysfunctional ion channels (channelopathies), abnormal brain development and errors of metabolism etc. (Garofalo S et al., 2012) Research in the genetic mutations behind epilepsies is vital in further understanding the pathology of the many different conditions and developing superior treatments for the afflicted patients. Early Onset Epileptic Encephalopathy: Epileptic Encephalopathies are a large number of rare (prevalence of 1et al., 2010). The symptoms of an EE generally include severe and recurring seizures along with cognitive and developmental delay and/or deterioration. This cognitive and behavioural decline may be influenced by the seizure activity as well as the underlying mechanisms of disease (Kaiman B.A. et al., 2012). The term Epileptic Encephalopathy encompasses a wide variety of syndromes with a diverse range of genetic causes and considerable overlap with other syndromic disorders such as Autism and Mental Retardation. (Berg et al., 2011). The overlap in these syndromes and continuing progression in our understanding of EE’s has resulted in A.T. et al (2010) emphasising that the term epileptic encephalopathy should be viewed as a â€Å"concept and a description† of the wide spectrum of epileptic conditions with an encephalopathic course that are being observed in the clinic. A key diagnostic feature is that Epileptic Encephalopathies tend to occur in infancy to early childhood. While adults can suffer from epilepsy with encephalopathic features this does not tend to be as severe as the Early Onest Epileptic Encephalopathies (EOEE). Children suffering from EOEE’s rarely make it to adulthood due to their poor prognosis. Berg A.T. et al (2010). While more research is coming to light on the potential lasting damaging effects of seizures (Berg et al., 2011) what is certain is that the early onset and repetition of the severe seizures present in EOEE’s is devastating to the early development of patients and their continued growth. As the patients progress from a neonate towards childhood their symptoms will also progress. For example seizures in neonates may not be observable to a clinician as the axonal pathways are not fully myelinated yet and prevent the â€Å"surge† from reaching the motor cortex. Once the brain is fully myelinated the seizures would become observable clinically even though the onset was much earlier in the neonatal stage. This progression of the clinical presentation of epileptic seizures is mirrored in the likelihood of infants suffering from Early Infantile Epileptic Encephalopathy (Otohara syndrome) to develop into Infantile Spasms (IS) at 3-6 months in life. Patients’ suffering from IS tend to develop into Lennox-Gastaut syndrome in childhood. (Asher Y et al., 2012) Diagnosis and treatment: As seen in table 1 and table 2 there are a number of epileptic encephalopathies with a clear enough presentation to make an accurate diagnosis based on the clinical symptoms alone. However due to the rarity of these conditions and the occurrence of EOEE’s with unclear presentations (I need a %?) confirmation of a candidate mutation (gene?) is considered the gold standard when it comes to EOEE diagnosis. (Lemke J.R. et al., 2012) In Lemke J.R. (2012) it was shown that when comparing the diagnostic results of a target gene panel against a clinician’s suggested diagnosis that the gene panel results matched the suggest diagnosis in the EOEE’s with clear presentations. This accounted for 50% of the cohort. However for the remainder of the cohort with unclear EE symptoms there very few suggested diagnoses and not all of these were accurate. It has been suggested by Kay C, (2012) that the significant failure to confirm a genetic diagnosis for unclear EE’s is due to the role of de novo variants as candidates. While we may have the above lists of confirmed disease and causative gene mutations in tables 1 and 2 there are still many other EOEE’s without validated genetic causes that could be the result of de novo mutations in the patients. Considering the ever increasing list of epilepsy linked (but not validated) genes, 265 of which identified in (Lemke J.R. et al., 2012)) it is clear that the current gold standard of diagnosing EOEE’s isn’t high enough. A case study shown by Zupanc M.L., (2009) recorded the diagnostic process of a patient â€Å"Kay† that originally presented with slight head drops at 7 months old. Correlating the head drops to an epileptiform EEG (in this case a â€Å"generalised high-amplitude burst of polyspike, spike and slow wave discharges†) allowed certain conditions to be ruled out however it was highlighted that while a confident diagnosis was reached there were alternatives that cou ldn’t be ruled out. Difficulty in EOEE diagnosis can stem from the multitude of potential genetic causes available for some presentations which can lead to a clinician wandering blindly picking candidates for Sanger sequencing to identify a candidate mutation. (Lemke J.R. et al., 2012) Next generation sequencing technology: If the issue in diagnosing EOEE’s is the lack of validated genetic causes for the different presentations then the most comprehensive way to investigate the matter is to examine the EOEE genomes in comparison to controls and identify the candidate genes. Next generation sequencing technology has provided the means to do this and recent years have seen a surge of NGS based studies in EOEEs and their genetic causes. (Lemke et al., 2012) (Veeramah K.R. et al., 2012) (Veeramah K.R. et al,. 2013) The original human genome project was officially announced as completed in April 2003 (Wheeler D.A., et al. 2013). This project made use of the hierarchal shotgun sequencing method (Chial H et al., 2008). This entailed the use of bacterial artificial chromosome clones (BAC) which each housed a 100Kb fragment of DNA. Over 20,000 over these BAC clones were mapped to the human genome and the order in which these BAC clones would be aligned was the tiling path that would be followed to sequence each human chromosome. The BAC clones are further sub divided into 2 Kb fragments (appropriately sized for sequencing) and these are sub-cloned into plasmid vectors and the fragments that will undergo sequencing. The sequencing was undergone by capillary electrophoresis methods. As long as there is sufficient overlap between these sequences they can be aligned to recreate the BAC clone structure. Then using the BAC clone mapped tiling path the sequences of the BAC clones can be aligned to create a contiguous stretch of sequence that represents the human chromosome. (Mardis E.R., 2008) The advances made in this area to create the next generation sequencing technologies involve a movement away from capillary electrophoresis methods and changes in the methods of how the DNA fragments are assembled to produces the genome sequence. Whole Genome Sequencing removes the use of BAC clones and instead the genome is fragmented into different distinct size classes and placed into plasmid and fosmid subclones. By generating paired end reads and using the number of bases between these reads based on the size classes the genomes can be sequenced quicker than using BAC clones. Next generation sequencing platforms allow for massively parallel DNA sequencing and come in a variety of different set ups. As the need for BAC clones has been removed the sample preparation process is much quicker and cheaper than the method used in the original human genome project. Also while the actual run time of the next generation sequencers is longer than that of the capillary based platform the fi nal yield of reads is much higher (from 96 reads on the capillary platform to up to tens of millions on a massively parallel system). This explosion in genomic sequencing technology less than two years after the completion of the first human genome project has provided an astonishing change in the pace of genomic research. (Mardis E.R., 2008) NGS read diagrams? Next generation sequencing and epilepsy: The study of genetic diseases including the EOEE has benefitted greatly from the genome sequencing revolution. Whole genome sequencing techniques have been used to identify a de novo variant in the SCN8A gene which encodes voltage gated sodium channel pore-forming alpha-subunits. Following discovery of the variant the effects of the variant on channel function was observed and shown to implicate the gene’s involvement in EOEE and Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). (Veeramah K.R., et al., 2012). Targeted gene panels (next generation sequencing of a list of target genes coding regions only) has proven effective in diagnosing clear presenting EOEE and even providing a potential causative variant when no clinical diagnosis is possible. Most impressive of all was the use of whole exome sequencing (WES) to identify de novo candidate variants of relevance in 7 out of 10 children and potentially identifying 3 new genes that could be linked to EOEE (Veeramah K.R. et al., 2013 ) WES is the process of sequencing only the human exome rather than the whole genome. The exome consists of all the coding regions (exons) of the genome. Even though the exome only accounts for 1% of the whole genome it is estimated to contain 85% of disease causing mutations (Choi M et al., 2009). As of April 2013 U.S. National Human Genome Research Institute claims to sequence a whole genome at the price of $5826. The Howard Hughes Medical Institute claims to sequence the whole exome at the all-inclusive cost of $500. The Broad Institute of Massachusetts Institute of Technology estimates that whole exomes can be sequenced at four times the rate of the genome in their facility (Perkel J.M 2013). This rapid and ongoing reduction in cost is mirrored at the rate WES projects are being undertaken. With a date filter for the end of 2010 on Pubmed I performed the search â€Å"exome sequencing† and found a total of 44 articles. By the end of 2012 this 805 and by the end of 2013 the nu mber had more than doubled to 1,751. Whole exome sequencing projects have the advantage of not only being cheaper and faster than whole genome projects but also are a more comprehensive option than targeted gene panels for identifying EOEE candidate variants. While not as complete in whole genome sequencing in scope 85% covers a significant amount of data to be analysed and only leaves a 15% chance of not finding a candidate variant. It should also be noted that the exome is much easier to process and analyse while the whole genome includes non-coding areas which we are currently not really able to analyse in such a way to validate the relevant link between disease and non-coding variants (Perkel J.M 2013). Hypothesis: The question we are trying to answer with these projects is â€Å"Can whole exome sequencing detect candidate disease causing variations in early onset epileptic encephalopathy patients†? As this project involves isolated probands and one family trio it also raises the question of whether the inclusion of parent WES data allows for more rapid and accurate variant analysis. As such the end research goals are to identify likely and relevant disease candidate variations in the proband WES data and confirm their presence with Sanger sequencing The benefits of WES studies in EOEE candidate variants are numerous and important. Identifying a confirmed candidate mutation can allow an affect family to receive genetic counselling. If a clear mechanism of disease can be ascertained from the disease candidate then potentially alternative anti-epileptic therapy can be implemented based on the specific condition to improve patient prognosis even slightly. Along with this as EOEE have such a wide variety in causes and mechanisms some can respond poorly to some standard anti-epileptic drugs and lead to rapid deterioration of the patient. Identifying a genetic cause can prevent this from happening. (FIND REFERENCE) On a larger scale understanding the complex mechanisms of these devastating disorders is the only way to improve and develop treatments for these conditions and improve patient prognosis. Understanding how these rare forms of epilepsy manifest may in turn provide clues into the mechanisms of the more common forms of epilepsy . (FIND REFERENCE) As more research is beginning to highlight the role of earlier onset of seizures on the developing brain and the encephalopathic effects WES could become an effective screening tool in the future that would allow early intervention to control or prevent these devastating seizures and greatly improve patient standard of life and change EOEE to a more manageable condition. (Berg et al., 2011) References: (Persad V, Epilepsy and developmental disability) Berg AT ET al, epilepsy cognition and behaviour Asher Y Molecular bases and clinical spectrum of EIEE Scheffer I., Genetic testing in epilepsy what you should be doing Deng H Molecular biology of genetic based epilepsies D.K. Pal, A.W. Pong, W.K. Chung, Genetic evaluation and counseling for  epilepsy. Nature reviews, Neurology 6 (8) (2010) 445e453. Garofal S from genetics to genomics of epilepsy Hennekam, care for patients with ultra rare disorders Kaiman B.A. et al., A genetic diagnostic approach to infantile epileptic encephalopathies Berg AT et al Epilepsy, cognition and behaviour. Lemke J.R. Targeted next generation sequencing in epileptic disorders. Kay C whole genomes in the clinic (Veeramah K.R. et al de novo pathogenic SCN8A mutation identified (Veeramah K.R. et al, Exome sequencing reveals new causal mutations in children epilepsia (Chial H et al., 2008) DNA Sequencing Technologies Key to the Human Genome Project .(Mardis E.R., 2008) Next generation DNA sequencing methods. (Veeramah K.R., et al., 2012) de novo pathogenic SCN8A (Veeramah K.R., et al., 2013) WES 9/10 de novos (Choi M et al., 2009) Genetic diagnosis by whole exome capture and massively parallel DNA sequencing. (Perkel J.M 2013) ScienceMag exome sequencings towards

Living and Dying by the Sword (or) The Autonomy and Responsibility of P

Living and Dying by the Sword (or) The Autonomy and Responsibility of Paranoia Introduction The question is a common one. "Does an individual have the right to yell, ‘Fire!’ in a crowded theater?" The implications are not as simple. If one answers, "no," then one is, in effect saying that the constitutional right to free speech is not entirely correct. If one answers, "yes," then one is saying that is perfectly O.K. to an individual to be delegated the power to create mass hysteria. However, there is another side to this question. If an individual is permitted to yell fire, as perhaps one would be in a Lockian state of nature, one is as likely to be trampled in the ensuing hysteria as everyone else is. This situation, while quaint and hypothetical, does have its counterparts in history. The question of how much power ought an individual be allowed has been one that has been addressed by governments throughout the ages. The result of this power being abused has also been addressed throughout history, but not by governments, by the fates of those individuals who have abused that power. One result of power being abused is the creation of a kind of hysteria in a society that revolves around that individual who has created it. That hysteria also has the potential to turn on its progenitor and crush him in the ensuing stampede. Historically, this is the case of Maximilien Robespierre and Joseph McCarthy. Both men, in their own rights, created a sort of social hysteria, a hysteria that for each resulted in a social stampede. These stampedes ended up crushing these men who created them in the chaos and confusion that ensued. The question of these two men faced ... ...s, The Life and Times of Joe McCarthy 6. Buckley, et al., McCarthy and His Enemies 7. Eagan, Maximilien Robespierre: Nationalist Dictator 8. Buckley, et al., McCarthy and His Enemies 9. Feuerlicht, Joe McCarthy and McCarthyism, The Hate That Haunts America Bibliography - Belloc, Hilaire. Robespierre, A Study. G.P. Putnam and Sons. New York. 1927. - Buckley, William F. and Bozell, L. Brent. McCarthy and His Enemies: The Record and its Meaning. Henry Regnery Company. Chicago. 1954. - Eagan, James Michael. Maximilien Robespierre, Nationalist Dictator. AMS Press. New York. 1983. - Feuerlicht, Roberta Strauss. McCarthy and McCarthism, The Hate that Haunts America. McGraw-Hill Book Company. New York. 1972. - Reeves, Thomas C. The Life and Times of Joe McCarthy. Stein and Day Publishers. New York. 1982.

Learning Theorists

Learning Theories People have been trying to understand the learning process for over 2000 years. It was discussed and debated at great length by the Greek philosophers such as Socrates (469 – 399 SC), Plato (427 – 347 BC) and Unsettle (384 – 322 BC) (Hammond et al, 2001 This debate has carried on through the ages and still goes on today with a multitude of viewpoints on the purpose of education and how best to encourage learning to eventuate.Plato and his disciple Aristotle were Inaugural In this debate and asked if truth and knowledge were to be found inside of us, or whether they could be learned from outside by using our senses. Plato believed the truth would be found from within through reasoning, deduction and self-reflection and so brought about rationalism. On the other hand Aristotle believed the truth would be found through experience and founded the idea of empiricism and so these antithetical views were born.Aristotle approach was far more scientific compared to Socrates' dialectic method of discovery through conversations with fellow citizens. An approach that calls for discussion and reflection, as tools for developing thinking, owe such to Socrates and Plato (Hammond et al, 2001 Learning theory Is about learning as a process and how it may take place. It is about how information can be absorbed, processed and retained and the influence that emotions, environment and mental processes can have on acquiring, augmenting and modifying knowledge and skills.Having knowledge of learning theory equips teachers to better understand the multitudinous categories of learners they will encounter and the numerous strategies they can employ to create an effective learning environment. Although the Greek philosophers are considered to be some of the earliest thinkers on learning, it as not until the mid 1 ass's when psychology emerged as a separate discipline that any new learning theories emerged.The first of these was behaviorism, which was brought to prominence by Ivan Pavlov (1849 – 1936) who won the Nobel Prize in 1904 for his experiments on digestive glands for which he experimented with dogs. Behaviorism are of the opinion that learners are passive and respond to stimuli and do not take in to account internal mental states or consciousness. Gestalts came to prominence In Germany in 1910 when there was social turmoil in Europe but had moved to the US by the sass's to avoid persecution.The lead figures In this movement were Worthwhile, Kafka and Koehler who utilities a holistic approach that sought to reject the mechanistic perspectives of the behaviorist's. Considered to be the first educational psychologist, Edward Thornier continued with the behaviorism theory believing learning was incremental and achieved through a trial and error approach with B. F. Skinner, considered by many to be the father of modern behaviorism, developing this theory further with programmed learning (Seaworthy et al, 2004).Behavio rism learning theory had a substantial influence in education but here was a growing body of evidence that more complex tasks requiring a higher level of thinking were not well learned this way with Jean Pigged (1 896 ? 1 980) being the first to state that learning was a developmental cognitive process. Russian teacher Level Boycotts expanded Piglet's developmental theory of cognitive abilities to were both leaders in the cognitive approach that sees the mind as a â€Å"black box† and this box should be opened and understood.This paradigm did not really come to prominence until the early sass's when it replaced behaviorism as the dominant force (Anon ND). In the sass's we also saw the emergence of Humanist learning theory. Some of the preeminent advocates of this field were Abraham Moscow (1908 – 1970) and Carl Rogers (1902 – 1987) who believed that learning was viewed as a personal act to fulfill one's potential and that it is also necessary to study the person as a whole. Humanists were the first to promote learning as being student-centered and personalized and that you should not teach, but facilitate, the learner (Anon ND).The sass's saw the emergence of social learning theory with its key progenitor being Albert Bandeau (1925 – Present). It posits that we learn through observation, imitation and modeling and this theory is often seen as the bridge between behaviorism and cosmogonist. Although the work that edifies it spans the twentieth century, Constructivism was only mainstreamed through practice in the latter part of the century. Many of the theorists that are drawn upon are linked with other learning ideologies; these theorists include Weights, Lave and Winger, Burner and Pigged.This theory posits that learning is an active constructive process where the learner creates his or her own subjective representations of objective reality. They do not come along as a blank slate (Seaworthy, 2004) but rather bring along their past experiences and cultural perspective. The first theorist I am going to look at is Abraham Moscow who was a prominent Humanist. Early in his career he worked with rhesus monkeys and one of the interesting things he noticed was the way that some needs took precedence over others.For example, if you were hungry and thirsty you would tend to deal with the thirst first, as you can go without food for weeks but thirst will kill you after Just days. Moscow felt that the conditioning theories did not, to is satisfaction, capture the complexities of human behavior and was of the opinion that human actions were driven toward goal attainment. He stated that human motivation is based on people seeking fulfillment and change through personal growth (Anon ND). In 1943 Moscow wrote a paper entitled â€Å"A Theory of Human Motivation† which talked about self-actualization.Moscow described a person who was fulfilled and doing all they were capable of as being self-actualities. Before a perso n can achieve this state however, there are other needs that first need to be met. These needs can be seen in Mascots hierarchy, this is often depicted as a pyramid as shown (Moscow,1943). This hierarchy shows that the basic physiological needs have to be met before the higher needs can be addressed. If the physiological needs are relatively well gratified then there emerges a new set of needs, in this case safety.When a persons physiological and safety needs are satisfied the need for love and belongingness emerges. This process continues until all the needs are fulfilled and the person can achieve self-actualization. It is important to note that Mascots original five stage del has been adapted by other researchers to create both seven and eight stage hierarchies but I am dealing with Moscow so will not go any further in to them. His needs – air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep etc. Safety needs – protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stabil ity, etc. : belongingness and love needs – work group, family, affection, relationships, etc. : esteem needs – self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc. : self-actualization needs – realizing personal potential, self- fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences. Through knowledge of Mascots hierarchy I can better understand the needs of the individual and the impact this has on their motivation and learning.To be truly effective in its implementation I would have to appreciate the needs of every learner, which could be at different stages for each individual in the class. These individuals could also be in a state of flux from one week to another. It is unrealistic to expect to comprehend all their requirements, even with a deep understanding of this theory. I believe the best use of this theory is to inform me of their possible state so that I might be more homeopathic towards the m and understand the issues they may have. The best way to help them work towards self-actualization is for them to be self-aware and understand their own needs.When they arrive at class they will already have had a long day at work, often without enough time to eat. They will also be tired; although my class is at least theory, so is less physically demanding than their practical lessons in the workshop. I do try to take some of these things in to account and will allow them to bring food and drink in to the class if they so desire. I am able to meet heir safety needs such as protection from the elements, security, order, limits and stability. These needs are part of the College safeguarding policy so should always be in place.If I can manage to help them feel belongingness, which I feel they do achieve, then I am also creating a more inclusive environment for them. I feel it is important to be aware of these needs to create a better learning situation for my students. A criticism I have is that Moscow made an assumption that the needs must be satisfied in order, so that the basic physiological need must be satisfied before hey can achieve safety and only once safety is achieved can they go to concern themselves with belongingness and so on through the hierarchy.This is shown to be false, for example, if you were to study large cultures where large numbers of the population live in poverty, like India or Brazil then you see that these people can still achieve higher order needs such as love and belongingness (McLeod, 2007). According to Moscow this should not occur. If we were also to look at many creative people, such as artists like Rembrandt or Van Gogh, it could be argued that they achieved self-actualization yet lived their lives in poverty (McLeod, 2007). I will still apply this theory even with its flaws because it is not abjectly wrong and still believe it holds a lot of truth.Another humanist that I feel bears great relevance to my current teaching p ost is Malcolm Knowles (1913 – 1997). He was a champion for androgyny, self-direction in learning and informal adult education (Smith, 2002). I will not talk about informal adult education, as it does not apply to my situation. The concept of androgyny had been in sporadic use since the sass's but it was popularized for usage in English language by Malcolm Knowles. He believed that adults learned differently from children, which caused him to enquire further. His work on informal adult education and his charting of adult education in the United education.He used androgyny to bring these elements together, which was premised on at least four critical presuppositions about the characteristics of adult learners that differed from child learners, on which traditional pedagogy is based. Later a fifth assumption was added. These were as follows: self concept: As a person matures his self concept moves from one of being a dependent personality toward one of being a self directed hum an being. Experience: As a person matures they accumulate a growing reservoir of experience that becomes an increasing resource for learning. Readiness to learn: As a person matures their readiness to learn becomes increasingly orientated to the developmental tasks of their social roles. : orientation to learning: As a person matures their time perspective changes from one of postponed application of knowledge to immediacy of application, and accordingly their orientation toward learning shifts from of subject centeredness to one of problem centeredness. : motivation to learn: As a person matures the motivation to learn is internal (Knowles 1984:12).Knowles has caused considerable debate with his assertions and claims of difference between androgyny and pedagogy with useful critiques of the notion being found in Davenport (1993), Jarvis (1987) and Tenant (1996). He has taken ideas from psychologists working in two quite different and opposing traditions, that of the humanist and the behaviorism. From the one side he has extensively used a model of relationship derived from humanistic clinical psychology, in particular drawing on the work of Carl Rogers who argued the qualities of good facilitation.He has also drawn on other elements that owe a great deal to scientific curriculum making and behavior modification. It has been suggested that because he has used ideas from two opposing traditions that there is a lack of evidence around this model. Knowles is not clear whether he has provided us with a theory or a set of guidelines for practice (Heartier, 1984). The assumptions could be read as descriptions or as prescriptive statements about what the adult learner should be. Tenant (1988) made a point that there was a lack of interrogation within a coherent and consistent conceptual framework.It seems that Knowles did not temper his insights with enough analysis and interrogation of the literature of the arena. Malcolm Knowles also introduced us to self-directed l earning, which is where the individual takes the initiative to realize their needs, resources and goals for learning and to evaluate the outcomes. There are three immediate reasons identified for self-directed learning. First those who take the initiative in learning are pro-active learners and will learn better than those who wait to be taught, reactive learners.Second is that it is far more natural that as we mature we take more responsibility for our own lives and become far more self-directed. Finally the third reason is that developments in education are putting a greater emphasis on students to take the initiative for their own learning. This can also be seen as a long-term reason as the purpose of education is evolving, it is moving away from merely transmitting what is known to now developing the skills of enquiry. Knowles then put the idea of self- direction in to packaged forms of activity and created his five step model. This involved: diagnosing learning needs. Formulati ng learning needs. : identifying human material resources for learning. Choosing and implementing appropriate learning strategies. : evaluating learning outcomes. There is research that indicates that adults circumstance (Smith, 2002) and I feel that this is certainly true of many of my learners. The opportunity arose within their current life circumstances to participate in the course and if there were places available they took them. If all the places had gone they may not bother to take up a learning opportunity again, unless of course the circumstances were again in their favor.I feel that the ideas' of Malcolm Knowles are useful to guide what I ought to term my ontological approach to my earners. They are no longer children and should not be treated as such. His approach can inform me of what characteristics my learners may exhibit so that I may better facilitate their learning and create a more inclusive environment. It could certainly be said that my students need to be self- directed as the qualification they are taking is equivalent to a full time course but only has part time contact hours.It requires them to do a lot a reading around the subject, being self-directed in their approach. Overall I must be critical of Knowles for his own lack of a sharp critical edge with much of his writings being more descriptive and his lack of analysis of the literature within his field. Finally, I shall examine Jean Lave and Tontine Winger (1991) who developed the theory of situated learning, sometimes referred to as situated activity. This has a central defining characteristic known as legitimate peripheral participation which is not itself an educational form, much less a pedagogical strategy or a teaching technique.It is an analytical viewpoint on learning that makes a fundamental distinction between learning and intentional instruction. Rather the process of legitimate peripheral participation is usually unintentional. Situated learning contrasts with traditiona l classroom learning activities where abstract knowledge is learnt out of context with intentional instruction. This approach lends itself very well to vocational courses and especially apprenticeships where much of the learning takes place in the situation where the learning will be applied. It is not dissimilar to cognitive apprenticeship.Lave and Winger (1991) with their model of situated learning proposed that learning involved a process known as â€Å"communities of practice†. These communities are everywhere and we are often involved in a number of them. People with a shared domain of human endeavourer can engage in a process of learning by forming communities of practice. To put it more simplistically, learning takes place through social interaction. To this end, learning in these situations does not have a beginning and an end to the process, rather we are constantly learning through experience of everyday life.Their theory can be illustrated by observation of differe nt apprenticeships. When people initially Join the community they learn at the periphery, then as they become more competent they an become more involved in the processes in that particular community. Understanding this theory is very useful in my sector as when we get the students it is their initial training and they are not always involved in the industry they are training to enter. The situated learning will probably not play a big part in this initial training, but once they have gained the qualification and go out to work then they will be Joining their community of practice.Over time, through interaction with more experienced others within the industry, they will learn and become more proficient ND play a bigger role in their community. In this respect it could be argued that this is an important theory for all educators as ultimately we are educating our learners strong links between this and embedded learning that also takes place on vocational qualifications. I would strug gle to see how this theory could be applied to more formal qualifications where much of the knowledge will often remain abstract because that is its nature.Mathematics would be an example of this; it can be conceptualizes, as engineering math's for example, but is not really a subject matter o be situated. In conclusion learning theories can inform us on our learners and guide us through our teaching practice. They can be used to develop activities to bring otherwise dull subject matter to life and to create a more inclusive learning environment by applying different teaching methods based on these theories. The trouble is that the modern teacher is struggling for time, most of the time and these theories and their practice will involve some dedication for them to be implemented effectively.

An Acting Critique of Legally Blonde the Musical Essay

An Acting Critique of Legally Blonde the Musical On Friday night, May 3rd at & p.m., my mother and I attended the opening night of Legally Blonde in the Buena P.A.C. I must begin by saying that I am slightly biased towards one of the actors who just so happens to be my sister, so the roles of Chutney, the girl who accidentally murdered her father, and a Delta Nu sister have never been played more perfectly in my eyes. While I found the play both amusing and enjoyable, there were some big issues as far as opening night goes. Things like lack of projection (on top of some serious microphone issues, which I cannot blame the actors for), actors forgetting lines, and sloppy blocking, especially in many of the dances during the musical numbers, all took away from the overall experience of the show. However, there were definitely some things I absolutely loved, which were mostly specific characters. Also, the quality of the singing in all the musical numbers was very high, which is something you don’t see often in a high school mus ical production. That being said, I thought it was worth my five dollars, and a great way for Buena to end its 2012-13 season. Like I said before, technical aspects such as microphone malfunctions cannot be blamed on the actors. It is the job of the technicians to ensure all of the equipment functions properly. However, I believe that actors should not rely on such technical aspects alone to ensure that they are effectively heard by every member of the audience. Call me old fashioned, but I am a firm believer in projection; making your voice bounce off the walls of the theater. After all, theaters are geometrically designed to do just that. But I guess not everyone feels that way, and it was apparent Friday night when every time an actor’s microphone went out, it was as if they were whispering. This is often detrimental to the plot because if actors cannot be heard, vital pieces of information are lost upon the audience. This issue could have been non-existent if the actors had practiced their projection. Luckily, I saw the movie first, so I knew the plot before I even watched the play. Along with not always being able to hear the actors, line memorization seemed to cause a few problems on stage Friday night as well. I will admit, it was not as apparent of a problem as was the lack of audibility at times, but I did notice it quite a few times. The example that stood out to me most was the character of Paulette, the owner of Elle’s favorite salon and close friend to Elle. She was in the middle of a solo on stage and completely dropped almost an entire verse of her song. I will not judge her too harshly because I fully understand the pressures of opening night, and I am sure the pressure of a solo is equally as heavy. I am simply using it as an example. Any other line slips I noticed were fairly minor, and when they happened, the actors did a pretty good job of covering it up and going with the flow. The last big problem I had with Legally Blonde the Musical was the blocking. Call me crazy, but it seemed to me towards the end of the play that either the actors got extremely lazy with their blocking during the dances, or they simply did not rehearse the scenes enough. Either way, it was very obvious. Actors were off tempo, bumping into one another, and were also completely out of sync when they should not have been. The actors most guilty of that were the Delta Nu sorority sisters (except my sister, of course). I also noticed that it was not only the dance scenes that lacked blocking, but so did many of the conversational scenes. I love watching actors’ faces more than anything because I believe that’s where most acting is done. I wanted so badly to do that Friday night, but I spent the whole time craning my neck to try and get glimpses. Quite irritating, considering the fact that my mother and I showed up almost a half hour early to get seats in the center of the ho use. Acting is all about action, and action cannot be understood if it cannot be seen. Now that I have ranted and raved about what I really did not enjoy about the Friday night showing of Legally Blonde the Musical, I should probably talk about the things that I really enjoyed, which definitely outweighed the bad. My absolute favorite character (besides the ones played by my sister) was Enid Hoopes, played by senior Aubrie Bouchard. She was a women’s rights activist, as well as a full-blooded lesbian, your average tough girl with a lot to prove to the world. She was absolutely hilarious; her timing was great, her character development was awesome, and her projection was wonderful. She had me rolling with all of her perfectly timed quips, especially when her inner lesbian showed. My other favorite group of  characters was Elle’s three best friends from Malibu: Pilar, Margot, and Serena, who also came to be known as the Greek chorus. This was an extremely appropriate nickname because they served the same purpose as the original Greek choruses in the first plays. They always showed up in Elle’s times of need to provide her with support, and to provide the audience with information. They also happened to be hilarious and bubbly, as Delta Nu sisters should be. They also had wonderful projection, especially Serena, played by Jansen Morgen. I also enjoyed Professor Callahan’s character, played by Braxton Olgetree. He was not a very likable character as far as the plot of the play went, but I could tell the actor put a lot of work into his character, especially on the voice. He was drab and monotone, just like a law professor at Harvard should be, and his character work really shone through. I also must mention the most adorable and well-behav ed character of the entire show, the part of Rufus, Paulette’s dog, played by an American bulldog named Sarge. He was both cute and flawless. The other thing I loved about this play was the overall quality of the singing. I was very pleased with all the musical numbers; all the songs were cute and catchy, no one made my ears bleed, and I could hear everyone fairly well even with all of the microphone issues. Usually, from my personal experience, most high school musicals consist of two groups of people: choir kids and theater kids. Not all choir kids can act, and not all theater kids can sing, but I am pleased to say that this musical was not that way. Everyone was able to sing and act quite effectively. My favorite musical number was the song â€Å"Gay or European†, which was performed in the courtroom scene when they were trying to figure out whether or not the pool boy, who claimed to be Brooke Windam’s lover, was gay. It was very light-humored and entertaining. I also enjoyed the opening number, â€Å"Ohmigod†, which was performed by Elle and her Delta Nu sisters in the very beginning. Like I said from the start, I was a little biased towards this play from the beginning simply because my little sister was in it. However, even when I put my bias aside, I can honestly say I was thoroughly pleased with my experience as an audience member as a whole. While I must admit there were various issues with things like actor projection, lack of proper blocking,  and lack of line memorization, the overall quality of acting was quite enjoyable. The character work done by most of the actors was very apparent and applaudable. I loved all of the main characters, as well as the minor ones. The singing was also fantastic; I did not find myself cringing at any of the musical numbers. Instead, I actually found myself tapping my feet and sometimes even singing along with the catchy songs. I know the showings of Legally Blonde the Musical are all over now, but I would recommend it to anyone to go and see that show. It was definitely an â€Å"A† performance.

“Hills Like White Elephants” Response Research Paper Example

â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† Response Research Paper Example â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† Response Paper â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† Response Paper The setting in Ernest Hemingway’s â€Å"Hills Like White Elephants† is as significant to the story as the dialogue between the two characters. It is clear that the man and his girlfriend, whom he refers to as â€Å"Jig,† are speaking about her having an abortion. The man is certain about his decision and he is trying to convince Jig as gently as possible to get an abortion; Jig has her concerns about it, especially because she doesn’t seem to agree that a child would be such an obstruction in their lives and she seems to be tiring of their lifestyle anyway, seeking something of more substance. She is conflicted about the decision mainly because it could possibly mean losing her man. Jig makes a comment about the hills in the distance looking like white elephants. This visual in itself is not the significant part as much as Jig’s description of it. A white elephant is an essentially useless possession, and one that is excessively expensive to upkeep, that serves no purpose aside from its sentimental value to the owner. The origin of the phrase â€Å"white elephant† in English is derived from the history of the giving of white elephants as gifts in Thailand- these gifts were sometimes used as a kind of Trojan horse, since the white elephant was sacred it could not be used for work but was, however, incredibly expensive to care for. A white elephant given to a nobleman who was not very rich would lead him to financial ruin- and since the animal was sacred, it was an honor to receive one and one was forced to keep it and care for it, no matter what the cost. In English the term came to refer to something that was more trouble than its worth, something that might be seen as being of value to others but that the owner is happy to be rid of. From this common usage of the term came the idea of a â€Å"white elephant sale,† which became synonymous with being able to buy something of apparent value for very little money. Jig referring to the hills as â€Å"white elephants† speaks a great deal about her emotional state and how she feels about the topic they are discussing. She could have described the hills in any number of other ways, so her (perhaps subconsciously) purposeful use of the term â€Å"white elephant† is perhaps also her way of describing her unborn child- or, at least, how her boyfriend feels about her unborn child. This is made even more clear when he fails to laugh at her little tongue-in-cheek observation and she questions him about it, and whether he would laugh again when she said clever things like that if she did what he wanted her to do. This little â€Å"joke† of hers was made for his benefit, though he failed to see her dark humor. Obviously this child of theirs is something he considers to be a burden, and she a blessing: one person’s value is another’s expense. Thus it is their white elephant. The train station is also significant to their story because it is the literal representation of them being figuratively at a crossroads. The express train can continue to whisk them away from one location to the next to the next, as they have been doing for some time (as seen by the number of stickers on their luggage), or they can (figuratively) stay off of the train, or take another path, and enjoy the beauty of what is around them, ceasing the endless running from one place to another. The opposing train tracks are the choices they have to make: one leads them down the same path they’ve been screaming down all along, and the other leads them down an entirely different path, with an entirely different pace and different priorities, but which has a beauty all its own- a beauty that Jig sees but her man does not.

Police Targeting African Americans Professor Ramos Blog

Police Targeting African Americans In America today, we face many problems such as Police Brutality. Police brutality  is one of several forms of  police  misconduct which involves undue violence  by  police  members. Although illegal, it can be performed under the color of law. Police are to be trained to protect and serve for all the days of their life, instead they are using the term â€Å"they were afraid for their life† and had to take another life. In many of these cases officer are killing unarmed African Americans, but why, we may never know. Do we say that officers are doing their job, or is there a clear target for who the officers are going after? As an African American in today society instead of calling for police, WE are who are afraid of the police and for our life. I do not believe that officers are just doing their job, there has been too many cases so similar ending in an unarmed death of an African Americans. There must be better training, there must be background checks, they sho uld undergo more stressful scenarios to be able to handle high pressure situations. They should shoot blanks or aim for their legs not to take their life. African Americans are humans too like any other race just the color of the skin is different. That does not automatically make them dangerous or criminals. There are too many ways to prevent police brutality that it is frustrating that it is not being done. It all starts with the police. If officers are not being held accountable it will continue to happen. So, would you say that the Police Officers all around America are targeting African Americans more than any other race? I definitely am. I have witnessed firsthand officers doing that, and so has the rest of the world. It’s called DWB (driving while black) and it is a real thing. My brother was pulled over for that same reason, and the officer told him what are you doing in this area doesn’t look like you belong. Since when was that appropriate, and how is that considered protocol.   My brother was parked in front of our house and was targeted for not looking like he fit in the area. Things escalated quickly and luckily for my brother he was not shot, instead he was choked out and arrested for resisting arrest.   He had no warrant, no record and he was not doing any reckless driving. As he was detained in the police car, police cars continued to show up in total there was nine cars. For what? The officer claims it was for crowd control, but there was no crowd outsid e, just a black man in the back of a police car with no weapon and treated as an armed criminal. Of course, the officer was considered doing his job, and my brother was the one in the wrong and ended up being fined for taking it to court. He lost the case of course, and is now on three years’ probation. He did no wrong and was treated as a murderer. Here are some cases involving police brutality and innocent African Americans lives being taken. â€Å"St. Louis police officer Jason Stockley shot and killed  Smith in December 2011, after Stockley and his partner, Brian Bianchi, witnessed a suspected drug transaction and Smith allegedly fled the scene. After the police chase ended, Stockley exited the SUV with his department-issued handgun and a personal AK-47 pistol, a violation of department policy, according to a criminal complaint. Stockley fired five times into Smiths vehicle. Stockley was acquitted after St. Louis Circuit Judge Timothy Wilson said the state failed to prove that Stockley did not act in self-defense. (Park 1) Philando Castile 32-year-old Minnesota man was fatally shot during a traffic stop by police officer, Jeronimo Yanez, in July 2016. Jury found Yanez not guilty. (Park 1) Terence Crutcher a 40-year-old man was shot in September 2016 by Tulsa Police Officer Betty Shelby after Crutchers SUV was found stalle d in the middle of the street. Shelby testified that she opened fire because she feared for her life. Videos of the shooting showed Crutcher walking on the road with his arms in the air before being shot. (Park 1) The 43-year-old Samuel DuBose who was pulled over for a missing front license plate was shot in the head in a July 2015 incident captured on body-camera video. The officer, Ray Tensing, was charged with murder and voluntary manslaughter. Tensing testified that he was being dragged by the left arm when he reached up and shot DuBose, while prosecutors said he wasnt being pulled by the car and didnt need to fire at DuBose.  A mistrial was declared in 2016. A second mistrial was declared in 2017 after juries deadlocked over a verdict.† (Park 1). In all these cases none of the victims were holding a weapon, none appeared to be dangerous yet all of them lost their life based on the color of their skin. There are many people affected by police brutality towards African Americans, not only African Americans but nationwide. Black Lives Matter is an international activist movement originating in the African American community that campaigns against violence and systemic racism towards black people. It was founded on July 13th, 2013. Many peaceful marches have been held after the Black Lives Matter was founded, but some riots ended up taking place as well. Martin Luther King JR said, â€Å"Riots do not develop out of thin air.† â€Å"Riots occur because these police killings just keep happening, no matter how many peaceful marches happen. It is, in every sense, maddening.† (Joseph). Many famous people are using their platform to try and bring light to the situation. Beyoncà © Knowles singer, actor paid tribute to Black Lives Matter in her halftime Super Bowl performance in 2017 to show she will stand up against police brutality. Colin Kaepernick former quarterback of 49er s started kneeling during the national anthem. When asked why, he told the press: â€Å"I am not going to stand up to show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of color.† (Smith). Kaepernick will not stand for the national anthem until he sees justice for his people and police brutality to end. These celebrities and many more have made a stand to stand by the people to hope to help end police brutality. They are trying to let the world know police brutality is real and racism is still happening and there has to be a way to make ends meet and let justice be served worldwide. While the officers are here to protect and serve, they created a Blue Lives Matter. Blue Lives Matter is a counter movement in the United States advocating that those who are prosecuted and convicted of killing law enforcement officers should be sentenced under hate crime statutes. It was founded on December 20, 2014. â€Å"Blue Lives Matter, a pro-police movement  formed in 2014 as a reaction to Black Lives Matter following the Ferguson protests, aims to â€Å"contradict the anti-police philosophy and hatred that Black Lives Matter pushes out,† spokesperson and retired Las Vegas police lieutenant Randy Sutton told Rewire News (Corcione). Some would say that officers are just doing their job.   The  duties  of a  police officer, also known as a  law enforcement officer, focus on protecting people and property. They patrol the areas they are assigned, which sometimes include entire jurisdictions, respond to calls, enforce laws, make arrests, issue citations, and occasionally testify in court cases. Patrol officers are taught six ways to reduce and manage biases. As part of the curriculum, there is also a test that has officers ask themselves: â€Å"Would I be requesting consent to search, but for the fact that this person is black? That this is a teenager?† Dr. Fridell explained. â€Å"You picture the person with a different demographic, and would I still be asking this way?† (Baker). Another exercise encourages officers to recognize biased behavior in others and to be on guard for profiling by proxy. Greg Meyer, a retired Los Angeles Police Department captain, responds to a Los Angeles Times ed itorial by stating, â€Å"Since January 2015, there have been about 170 American peace officers killed in the line of duty by gunfire. This happens when the officers do not recognize and react to the deadly threat soon enough. We would all be better off if people did not run, resist or attack officers who are doing their jobs, or hold shiny objects in their hands that they suddenly pull out when resisting arrest.† (Thornton 1). It may seem that Meyer is okay with the police killing unarmed victims because they did not follow proper procedure while being pulled over or arrested. Mike Post former chief of police talks about officers in the heat of the moment. He states, â€Å"Hindsight is a great thing, but what gets left out of the discussion is how often a police department might be sued if it had done nothing to intervene and, say, some knife-wielder went on to stab someone. This is not a conservative-versus-liberal debate, just one of common sense about well-intentioned co ps who are presented with only bad options to pick in the heat of the moment. Whats alarming is the number of people who feel they have more insight than the men and women on the street who risk their lives daily† (Thornton 1). He suggests that at the heat of the moment they only have bad choices to make and if they don’t make those bad choices they could face being sued. One case where they have been sued is when an officer on duty at a high school refused to go into the school while he knew there was a shooter on campus. Meadow Pollack was a senior who attended the high school who died during the shooting, her father Andrew Pollack is not only suing for a wrongful death lawsuit against the shooter but the security officer as well. â€Å"I’m not interested in any money,† Pollack told the Sun Sentinel â€Å"I just want to expose what a coward [Peterson] was and that he could’ve saved everybody on the third floor. I don’t want him to go anywh ere in the country and not have people recognize what a coward he is.† (Flynn). I am African American, and I fear for my life as a Black person that even though I have no warrants, no tickets, nothing wrong with my background, but if I get pulled over, I may have a horrible officer who can just take my life and get away with it. Not all officers are like this, but we need to end this police brutality. We need equality throughout the world. We as a nation must find the best way to get our police properly trained so they can aide all ethnicity. We must have a system where black people or people of color are not targeted because of their skin. Imagine being a mother you don’t want to raise your child and tell them because of your skin you must watch your every move even with the people who are here to protect you. All lives matter, and we shouldn’t have to protest to get that point across. Baker, Al https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/15/nyregion/bias-training-police.html  Ã‚   July 15, 2018 Corcione, Danielle https://rewire.news/article/2018/08/30/blue-lives-matter-supporters-marched-in-philadelphia-while-police-brutalized-counter-protesters/   August 30, 2018 Flynn, Meagan https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2018/05/01/father-of-parkland-shooting-victim-sues-coward-school-resource-officer-among-others/?utm_term=.dd62d20331e1 May 1, 2018 Joseph, George https://www.citylab.com/equity/2016/09/from-ferguson-to-charlotte-why-police-protests-turn-into-riots/500981/  Ã‚   September 22, 2016 Park, Madison https://www.cnn.com/2017/05/18/us/police-involved-shooting-cases/index.html   October 3,2018 Smith, Mychal https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/sep/12/colin-kaepernicks-protest-unpatriotic-justice  Ã‚   September 12, 2018 Thornton, Paul latimes.com/opinion/readersreact/la-ol-le-stephon-clark-police-shootings-race-20180407-story.html   April 7, 2018

How Many AP Classes Do You Need for Ivy League Schools

How Many AP Classes Do You Need for Ivy League Schools SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips At many high schools, AP courses are the toughest classes you can take. Extremely competitive colleges are looking for students who are willing to challenge themselves, so they're more likely to admit students who have taken at least a few APs. In this article, I'll go over how many AP classes Ivy League schools expect you to take and how these expectations can change based on the conditions at your high school. How Many AP Courses Do Ivy League Schools Expect Students to Take? There’s no concrete answer to this question because itdepends on how many APs your school offers and how many of them your classmates are taking.Ivy League schools want to admit the best students in the country while also maintaining diversity in their student bodies. They will only consider students who are performing at the top of their high school classes, but they also make an effort to admit applicants from a wide range of different environments and types of schools. You might only take two AP classes your senior year because those are the only ones available to you.In this case, you will compare favorably to other students at your high school since you’re making the most of your opportunities (and no one else will be taking more APs than you). A student at another high school who elects to take three AP classes senior year might not look as goodifother students at the same school are taking five. When admissions officers look at applicants from a certain secondary school, they may use the fact that one student took fewer AP classes than others in the group as an excuse to demote that student to the waitlist.This isn't always the case, though. If you take three AP classes in core subject areas, and someone else takes five but two of them were irrelevant to that student's interests, schools probably won't make much of a distinction between you.Top colleges are looking for students who have taken advantage of their opportunities, which means taking the most difficult courses available that fit with their interests. If you’re looking for a specific number of APs that you should take, it will depend on your school’s offerings, but a safe number for admission at Ivy League schools is usually between 7 and 12 AP classes throughout high school. It's best tospread out these classes over four years with the majority of them clustered in your junior and senior years.Freshman year you might take one or two AP classes if they’re available.Sophomore year you can ramp it up to two or three.Junior year, if you’re hoping to attend an Ivy League school, you should consider taking three to five AP classes in core subject areas. Avoid overloading yourself too much during your senior year because you’ll be applying to college. Still, many students who apply to Ivy League schools take five or six AP courses senior year. It's up to you todecide how much you can handle without feeling overwhelmed or dropping the ball in any of your classes. Why? Why did I do this to myself? The binders. So many binders. (Don't let this be you.) Here are some quotes from Ivy League admissions websites to give you a better sense of what these schools are looking for: Princeton Says... â€Å"We consider it a promising sign when students challenge themselves with advanced courses in high school. We understand that not all secondary schools offer the same range of advanced courses, but our strongest candidates have taken full advantage of the academic opportunities available to them in their high schools.† â€Å"Whenever you can, challenge yourself with the most rigorous courses possible, such as honors, Advanced Placement (AP) and dual-enrollment courses.† Columbia Says... â€Å"We look at a variety of factors to help us inform our decision on a candidate including: The student’s curriculum and grades - we hope to see that a student is challenging herself or himself with a rigorous course load. The context of a particular candidate, including family circumstances, secondary school, community, interests and access to resources.† Brown Says... â€Å"To assess preparedness, we review the depth and breadth of the academic learning you have undertaken thus far. We want to know whether you have taken advantage of the courses available to you in your school, and whether you have challenged yourself in advanced classes, and whether you have stretched yourself with outside-of-school educational opportunities.† â€Å"We know that curricular offerings vary from school to school. Our strongest candidates have taken full advantage of what is available to them in their own schools.† The gist of these statements is that you need to challenge yourself as much as possible in the context of the opportunities your high school provides for you. With that in mind, don't just take any and all AP courses that your school offers.Think critically about which courses are most relevant to your interests and goals. Also, make sure you’re not sabotaging your GPA by taking more classes than you can handle. I’ll gointo more detail on this in the next section. Brown University: Once you get in, you can take whatever classes you want! Are Some AP Courses Better Than Others in the Eyes of Ivy League Schools? Don't take an additional AP class on top of your regular course load if the subject doesn't interest you. Iwould advise you to take AP courses primarily in core subject areas to avoid stretching yourself too thin. Taking AP classes just for the sake of adding another AP to your course record may be damaging to your GPA as a whole. It also won't add much to your college application.Ivy League schools want you to take the most challenging classes in math, science, social studies, English, and foreign language.If you take all APs in those subject areas but skip AP Music Theory, admissions committees won’t fault you for it. Some people mistakenly believe that you should take as many AP classes as possible at all costs. You should take full advantage of your opportunities in areas thatinterest you, but you shouldn’t devote time and energy to classes that are unrelated to your goals and academic interests.Colleges want to see students who prioritize worthwhile learning experiences over hollow achievements. They're also looking for students with very high GPAs. Stay balanced: You don’t want to overload your schedule with too many hard classes and end up with lower grades overall. The eyes of the Eye-vy League are watching youuuuu. What If Your High School Doesn’t Have AP Courses? Some students worry about their chances at top colleges because their school doesn’t offer AP classes.In this situation, just take the hardest classes that are available to you.You shouldn't be concerned about the lack of APs. Colleges will understand that you didn’t have the opportunity to take them, and they can’t fault you for that. Your school may offer IB courses instead, which colleges view as being essentially equal to AP courses.As I’ve said before, Ivy League schools will compare you to other students from your high school to see how you measure up.If you’re pushing yourself as much as you can within the academic constraints of your environment, you'll still have a good chance of being accepted. A student who doesn’t have access to APs but takes high level classes throughout high school and is ranked in the top five percent of his or her class will have a better chance of attending an Ivy League school than a student who takes a few AP classes here and there and has a less impressive class ranking. If your school doesn't have APs, it's ok. Shhhh. Listen to this rock. Conclusion Ivy League schools and other competitive colleges are looking for students at the top of their high school classes who have taken the most rigorous courses.These often include AP classes. Most students who attend extremely selective schools have taken anywhere from 7 to 12 AP courses in high school, although there are exceptions to this rule.If a high school offers only a limited number of AP courses or none at all, colleges will not fault students for taking fewer of these classes.Above all, they want to see students who have challenged themselves as much as possible within the constraints of their high school curriculum. The bottom line is, if you want to attend one of the most competitive schools in the country, you should strive to take as many difficult courses as possible without overwhelming yourself and sabotaging your GPA.For some students this means taking all three of the AP classes their school offers, and for others it means choosing to take twelve AP classes out of the twenty their school offers.As long as you do the best you can to challenge yourself academically, there’s no absolute number of AP classes you need to take to be admitted to a top college. What's Next? Still trying to figure out how to structure your schedule? Learn what a rigorous course load in high school should look like. If you're hoping to be admitted to competitive colleges, it's helpful to join an honors society. Find out more about honors classes and societies that you can be a part of in high school. Your GPA is critical in the college admissions process. Read this article for more information on whether colleges consider weighted or unweighted GPAs and how this might affect you. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Euthanasia in Terminal Illness Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Euthanasia in Terminal Illness - Essay Example Included in the topics to be covered are the different approaches that present the reasons for undertaking or employing euthanasia. Historical Roots of Euthanasia The history of euthanasia can be traced back to the reign of the Greeks and Romans when the term originated. Though it is meant to imply a good death, euthanasia is often deemed with negativity since it can be translated as physician-assisted suicide and compared to other ethical and moral social issues such as abortion, capital punishment, and issues related to beginning or ending of human life (McDougall, Gorman and Roberts, 2008, p.2). During the first to firth century, Greeks and Romans are allowed to access poison and choose death. The rise of the influence of Christianity during the Roman Empire had a great impact on the view on euthanasia. Death regardless of what reason was prohibited. During the middle ages, 5th to 15th century, the Catholic Church stressed the religious condemnation of euthanasia and that sufferin g is a sign of spiritual virtues of martyrdom. Then the Renaissance (14th to 17th century) came and changed the view on euthanasia through the discovery of modern scientific knowledge that are still influential in the present era. Thus, there is diversification of view on euthanasia since the church is still against the issue (McDougall, Gorman and Roberts, 2008, p.3-4). The view on euthanasia continuously changed as the Age of Reason came in during the 18th century. Scientific prowess opened the mind of the people regarding the need of every person to have a choice regarding death. In 1798, six colonies ceased the legal penalties for attempted suicide. The open mindedness of the authorities though made a frightening turn during the pre-WW II and Nazi Germany (1920-45) when the secretly approved government program that killed handicapped, mentally ill and people un asylums became the onset of Hitler’s Euthanasia Programme that even included people of least capability to defen d themselves regardless of being healthy such as women and children (p.5). With the foundations of views and beliefs from the previous eras, the perspective toward euthanasia in the present era became divided. This is the main reason why it became a personal issue to decide on whether or not euthanasia should be applied. Law and medical ethics mandate the guidelines for euthanasia while the person himself and the relatives hold the decision to apply it. Philosophical Roots of Euthanasia Euthanasia is one of the main concerns in the field of medicine based on the fact that it is a controversial issue in ethics. The ethical question lies in the death of a person. If the person himself/herself consented for the act, there is a question the person’s right to take his/her own life. If the act is the decision of the relatives or the medical professionals since it may be the only solution left for the patient, there is a question on their right to decide the time when a person shoul d die (Andersen and Taylor, 2007, p.552).

COPING STRATEGIES Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

COPING STRATEGIES - Essay Example A woman in a violent relationship may engage in active measures to cope with violent attacks from the husband. For instance, the woman may engage in provocative behavior with the aim of controlling the time and location of violence (Schewe, 2002). A woman in a violent relationship may also be involved in passive acts of coping with violence to protect herself, her children and the marriage. Individuals in gender-based violent relationships may also cope with the violence in their relationships by applying a number of cognitive coping strategies. In this case, the victim in the relationship constantly reassures themselves that they are â€Å"okay† by focusing on more unfortunate individuals encountering worse situations (Oleary & Maiuro, 2001). Through cognitive responses, the victim may also be compelled to cope with the violent situations by focusing on the rewards of the relationship as opposed to the costs. Women may also remain in violent relationship with hope and belief that the will â€Å"save† their man and change them to be better persons. Women who cope in violent situations with such beliefs are often those who perceive themselves as competent in many areas of life (Cory & Mcandless-Davis, 2001). They opt to cope with violent and abusive partners as they perceive leaving would be abandonment of the helpless, needy and dependent partner/husband. Individuals cope with violence due to a number of reasons. Studies by scholars on gender-based violence highlight a number of reasons why women in violent relationships choose to stay and cope with the violence. Women in violent relationships may experience learned helplessness and opt to stay with their violent partners. Such victims over time learn to perceive themselves as powerless and functionally helpless in the violent situations. Women who cope with violence due to such reasons never have the hope of stopping the abuse and improving the relationship but rather conform to the violent

Edgar Allen Poe Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Edgar Allen Poe - Research Paper Example Edgar Allan Poe was born in Boston, Massachusetts on January 19, 1809 (Kennedy, 2001, 19). Personal misfortunes were, sadly, a persistent episode during his lifetime. He never met his father who abandoned his mother. His mother died from tuberculosis. After his parents’ death Edgar was adopted by Frances and John Allan, a rich trader in Richmond, Virginia (Kennedy, 2001). From the very beginning of Poe’s authorial vocation, he adored creating verses for the most important persons in his life. Soon after, when he reached maturity and understood life’s unpleasant realities, his narratives became more disquieting and darker, possibly because of his overindulgence in alcohol and drugs (Magistrale, 2001). His horror tales are still regarded as one of the most chilling and frightening tales ever written, and, due to this, several literary scholars contemplated on the possible sources of these dark themes. Numerous literature activists and historians have assumed that h is problematic love life was the root whereas others have pointed to his drug and alcohol addiction (Magistrale, 2001). ... Poe implanted this in his famed masterpiece Alone (Hoffman, 1998, 38): â€Å"From childhood’s hour, I have not been as others were; I have not seen as others saw; I could not bring my passions from a common spring.† As mentioned above, several of the most significant persons in his life were a vast source of influence because of their deaths. His reaction to death consistently included more heightened addiction to alcohol and drugs (Kennedy, 2001); hence, it is difficult to make a decisive difference between the influences of Poe’s individual loved ones. Nevertheless, since the deaths happened prior to the drugs and alcohol addiction, it was only death which occupied the utmost position in his life, bringing about series of self-destruction that sooner or later put an end on his own existence (Kennedy, 2001). In spite of his personal misfortunes, nevertheless, he stays as one of the most treasured and broadly celebrated of all American authors. His disturbing and frightening tales and poems will survive through ages and be read by innumerable people from various societies and different eras, a reality which would have certainly given some spring of calm for this agonized, gifted, and disturbed individual. Almost every well-known author that came after Poe, embodying practically all national literatures, was familiar with him, and writers who were not personally influenced by his idea were compelled somehow to recognize it, if simply in a feat of denial (Kennedy, 2001). The reputation and significance of Poe as an author were at first freed from the nasty rumors of Rufus Griswold, his literary architect, by the determined attempts of Charles Baudelaire, a French writer (Magistrale, 2001). The influence of Poe on 19th century French literature

U07d1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

U07d1 - Essay Example This paper highlights that when a person is in condition as bad as this, they tend to be more trusting and willing to take up any help that they are provided. Also with the old age, people tend to trust what others say and take the time out to listen to others. Imagine if the same thing were to happen to a younger person, firstly, they would not let the strangers inside the house secondly, the doubt would always be present and a youngster would prefer to call in to home repair stores than to trust two men who just walk in. From this study it is clear that the level of trusting and the patience to listen to strangers; increases in several people as they grow old. In the case of Mrs. White, she has been alone for nine years knowing that she needs to get something done about the home repairs however has not had the courage to call some to assist here. In this state, she might feel the helplessness and would prefer to go with anything that is easily available. Hence she was easily persuaded into paying them $12,000 and trusting to strangers without any form of verification. Organisations like the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), assist individuals with many things which include, health, money, leisure, family and even social lifestyle and issues like the one faced by Mrs. White. The organisation provides the people with support and care. AARP assists the elderly with several different aspects of life to avoid them feeling low and being dependent on others. Financially, the organisation provi des the elderly with advice and also how to safeguard their money. In the case of Mrs. White, if she had opted to take the assistance of the organisation, she would not have lost the $12,000 and would not go through the trauma of having her house ripped out the way it had been.  

In what ways does the internet expand contemporary mediated public Essay

In what ways does the internet expand contemporary mediated public life with what consequences - Essay Example rticular platform is distinct from the state, because it plays the role of fostering the creation, exchange and communication of discussions, which can in some cases, be critical and attacking to the state and its authority (Washbourne, 2010, p. 122). Due to the distinctive nature of the sphere, it is believed that a new public outlook is needed, to secure the critical role of this new arena, and to help with the institutionalization of democracy (Emden and Midgley, 2013). The supporters of the new field of discourse maintain that the internet is a means that can be used for the expansion of citizen discourse in improving the rationality of public opinion; the arena allows citizens to participate in the politics of their societies. However, the internet is viewed in a more critical manner, as compared to the internet, as it is considered a platform for radical democracy, which can help marginalized groups. The internet is considered particularly important to the groups that are marginalised in mainstream public sphere, as a platform that allows them the opportunity to start forums, connect with one another, and challenge the practices and the meanings propagated by mainstream groups (Emden and Midgley, 2013). Through this paper, the author will explore the relationship between contemporary politics and social media, through the critical analysis of theories, concepts, and ideas, shading more light using theoretical models. Before the emergence of the innovative media, the traditional mass media platforms used for broadcasting and press communication were considered sufficient and beneficial to the society, helping it to guarantee the administration of democratic politics (Emden and Midgley, 2013). Traditional media platforms were also considered sufficient enough to communicate and sustain public opinion across the public sphere. Their sufficiency was evident from the fact that traditional media could transmit information to politicians and citizens, and it

Terrorism. What is it and can it be stopped Essay

Terrorism. What is it and can it be stopped - Essay Example She states that every day experiences and particularly the role of the post modern media has a large role to play here." Gray and Ropeik(2002) have stated that "Fear itself is a risk and must be part of risk-management policy making." In this vein they have stated that the post September the 11th fear has come to involve serious public health connotations and lessened peoples faith in aviation security. The threat of anthrax caused many thousands of people to take "broad-spectrum antibiotics to prevent possible anthrax infections, thereby accelerating antimicrobial resistance"(Gray and Ropeik2002). This was all a result of fear and they propose that this could have been avoided by effective risk communication.The general public should not have to rely upon media awareness but personal experience and conversation should form the pivotal concern for communication here.Gray and Ropeik(2002) further note that this uncertainty caused an even greater uncertainty amongst the victim base whi ch was the query that " .Who were the attackers What will they do next When Where How does anthrax work Just how hard is it to "weaponize" biological agents Is our water supply safe _ Is the risk personal as in "it might happen to me," Jackson(2006) has lent some interesting insights into the fear of crime to risk research, in line with the concept of fear of crime and the politics of fear, emotion and cognition of the victim base and the prospective/feared victim base. He concludes that "the fear of crime may be an individual response to community social order and a generalized attitude toward the moral trajectory of society." It is interesting as Linda et al (2004) note that there has been an increased willingness to sacrifice civil liberties for control of terrorism.Raymond Monsour Scurfield (2002) as a personal victim of the events of September the 11th saga has shown the psychological repercussions of the post 9/11 attacks upon the range of normal and expectable reactions by those present on and distant from the terror site particularly in the form of PTSD ( post-traumatic stress disorder) She has shown that the impact of September the 11th had an overall bearing upon the country's workplace and had psychological impacts even upon the people not at the ground zero site.She has also noted that " for the one-month period following the September 2001 attack, there was a 16 percent increase nationwide in the prescription of antidepressants as compared to the previous year." It is worth learning from yester year's horror bibles like the discovery of the 180 pages long Al Qaeda manual which was seized from the Manchester ,England home of a bin Laden disciple, was a shocking moment for Britain and new dilemma for the counterterrorism forces and anti terrorism think tanks of Britain and the US. The Arabic manual literally translated was about "Military Studies in the Jihad Against the Tyrants," which was basically a complete guide believed to be the "terrorism textbook" with guidance for jihad members on subjects such as assassination ,forgery and preparing poisons in its 18 chapters for the followers of Osama bin Laden. The manual was subsequently placed into evidence during a federal trial of four terrorists who

In what ways does the internet expand contemporary mediated public Essay

In what ways does the internet expand contemporary mediated public life with what consequences - Essay Example rticular platform is distinct from the state, because it plays the role of fostering the creation, exchange and communication of discussions, which can in some cases, be critical and attacking to the state and its authority (Washbourne, 2010, p. 122). Due to the distinctive nature of the sphere, it is believed that a new public outlook is needed, to secure the critical role of this new arena, and to help with the institutionalization of democracy (Emden and Midgley, 2013). The supporters of the new field of discourse maintain that the internet is a means that can be used for the expansion of citizen discourse in improving the rationality of public opinion; the arena allows citizens to participate in the politics of their societies. However, the internet is viewed in a more critical manner, as compared to the internet, as it is considered a platform for radical democracy, which can help marginalized groups. The internet is considered particularly important to the groups that are marginalised in mainstream public sphere, as a platform that allows them the opportunity to start forums, connect with one another, and challenge the practices and the meanings propagated by mainstream groups (Emden and Midgley, 2013). Through this paper, the author will explore the relationship between contemporary politics and social media, through the critical analysis of theories, concepts, and ideas, shading more light using theoretical models. Before the emergence of the innovative media, the traditional mass media platforms used for broadcasting and press communication were considered sufficient and beneficial to the society, helping it to guarantee the administration of democratic politics (Emden and Midgley, 2013). Traditional media platforms were also considered sufficient enough to communicate and sustain public opinion across the public sphere. Their sufficiency was evident from the fact that traditional media could transmit information to politicians and citizens, and it

Marketing Challenges Faced by Gillette Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Marketing Challenges Faced by Gillette - Essay Example As the discussion outlines the engineers in the company went on incorporating further elements of innovation to the Mach3 razor through enhancing the quality dimension of the blades used. It is found that the innovation team at Gillette enhanced the quality of the blades in making them stronger by around three times in regards to stainless steel. Again the alignment of the three blades in the Mach3 razor was done in a fashion as to help the consumers in suffering less of irritation. These quality factors incorporated in the Mach3 razors helped Gillette in gaining enhanced penetration in the new generation male consumer sphere. Amount of irritability in regards to the use of razors was considerably reduced through the incorporation of a separate coating known as ‘Diamond-like Carbon’ coat. This type of coating helped in enhancing the innovative nature of producing blades that would be thinner in nature and yet too stronger. Moreover the key element of innovation studied i n regards to Mach3 razors also reflects testifying the product in regards to a target market based on consumers pertaining to different social and national backgrounds. These people were asked to use both Mach3 and SensorExcel and thereby rate the two types based on certain parameters. Mach3 owing to its innovative capability ranked more to its predecessor SensorExcel thereby reflecting a truly different replacement. Gillette is found to counter a number of marketing challenges both in regards to its advertising and promotional campaign and also in regards to its pricing efforts in relation to the launching of Mach3 in the international market. The advertising campaign taken by the company to launch Mach3 in the international market had to work on a global tone where potential investment of around $200 million was rendered.  

Spotify The Way Forward Information Technology Essay

Spotify The Way Forward Information Technology Essay Peer-to-peer file swapping websites are becoming increasingly popular across the world as the next generation of the music sharing industry is developed. Peer-to-peer networking allows users to connect with each other to search for and share information. This information is decentralized, it does not require a central database server to search for locations of music files, it requires the use of peer-to-peer client software. The client software needs to be installed on users local machines (nodes), which then gather information on media files available for sharing and stores the information into a catalogue. When the user searches for media files the client software connects to other nodes across the networks (called hops) which search their catalogues, and this process continues. If a positive result occurs the client software connects directly with the peer that has the file and the media will be transferred. Users of the network can be both a supplier (information provider) and a consumer (information requester), the user can connect with multiple users all with the required resource, as the files transfer they can also be forwarded onto further users requesting the same files, saving time. Advantages of peer-to-peer include the ease of setting up, the speed of transfer of information, large numbers of peers can be contacted quickly, the network is not vulnerable to failure as there is such a wide spread of data not reliant on one centralized source. However disadvantages can include the potential for bugs and viruss during installation of client software, data is less secure, the provider may not be reliable and you may be breaching copyright and licensing laws. Peer-to-peer can be inefficient as its unknown which peers have the required information, a large number of hops can occur in a short space of time, potentially clogging the networks, but they will not be indefinite as a time to live countdown is in place which decreases with each hop until reaching zero at which point the search will end. A new internet music website is taking the industry by storm called Spotify, the site differs to normal peer-to-peer sites, you cant buy (or download) free music, but you can create a playlist or collection of your favourite songs to listen to just as you would on a radio station. Also there is an option to create or join collaborative playlists that are independent from the site and shared via websites, these can be added to by individual users. The tracks come with some advertisements between songs. A daily advert free listening package is an option for a small fee, or by subscribing monthly it can be entirely free of advertisements. Because there is no downloading of files Spotify is fast to use. It has a vast collection of songs, artists and albums. This is makes it very popular, however it has recently been forced to remove thousands of songs by the record labels who maintain control of what can be played where. Spotify argue that because tracks are only being listened to this could reduce the desire to illegally download and limit piracy. Spotify has recently released an Application Programing Interface (API) which it hopes will spread through other media devices such as gaming consoles, mobile phones and other media devices. An API is a way for website or service to talk to another website or service. APIs let you mix information and media from other services into your own site or application. (Wibbels 2009) The API is a set of predefined programming behaviour that Spotify have developed, which they can release to programmers to enable them to develop their own products to incorporate Spotify. This enables the company to reach out to many new users with a broad range of devices, for example an Apple iphone user may discover an application for Spotify to download to his device, having not previously heard of the service. In recent months a mobile device HTC Hero has become available with Spotify included. The Spotify subscription is paid in with the device contract, effectively seeming that the mobile device is giving free access to songs. With around 40,000 new users a day signing up to Spotify, there is no doubting its popularity, however does this imply that if free music is available then users will not need to make a music purchase again? There are mixed reviews, some alleged music pirates say they dont need to download illegally now, Spotify meets all their needs, other users are saying they will never buy music again. On the other hand some people are using Spotify to listen to music before going to purchase, on a try before you buy basis. It seems that Spotify is proving very useful for a wide spread of users. I think the release of the API will, as in the case of the HTC Hero device, spread the word of Spotify even further, however because of the ongoing problems with the music industry and copyright and licensing issues potential manufacturers of new devices need to move with caution, if licensing laws were favourable to the music industry and caused the demise of Spotify, with no API a lot of devices could potentially be useless. To conclude, I think that Spotify could be very successful in the future, the main barrier being its lack of support from the music industry. If more support, trust and guidance was provided by record and marketing companies then perhaps we would see developments of a more secure data transfer system, removing the chances of bugs and viruss for the users. The programing and network system on which it is based could prove to be the future of all online music sharing. I believe that this approach to the industry is a way forward, however I believe the software developers have a responsibility to behave ethically and responsibly so not to infringe the rights of all involved in the music industry. [989 words] Bibliography Spotify Ltd (2007 2010) About Spotify Available from http://www.spotify.com/uk/about/what/ Accessed 7th May 2010 Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia (9th May 2010) Peer-to-Peer Available from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peer-to-peer Accessed 12th May 2010 Kayne (2010) What is P2P? Available from http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-p2p.htm Accessed 12th May 2010 uCertify (2008) What are the advantages and disadvantages of a peer-to-peer network? Available from http://www.ucertify.com/article/what-are-the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-a-peer-to-peer-network.html Accessed 17th May 2010 Johnson B and Arthur C (2009) Spotify opens doors to UK as record industry slams them shut. Available from http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2009/feb/11/digitalmusic-downloads Accessed 23rd May 2010 Johnson (2009) Spotify plots launch of new API. Available from http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/blog/2009/apr/06/spotify-to-launch-api Accessed 23rd May 2010

Free Essays - Southern Black Vernacular in Their Eyes Were Watching God :: Their Eyes Were Watching God Essays

Use of the Southern Black Vernacular in Their Eyes Were Watching God "The monstropolous beast had left his bed. The two hundred miles an hour wind had loosed his chains. He seized hold of his dikes and ran forward until he met the quarters; uprooted them like grass and rushed on after his supposed-to-be conquerors, rolling the dikes, rolling the houses, rolling the people in the houses along with other timbers. The sea was walking the earth with a heavy heel. ‘De’ lake is comin’!’ Tea Cake gasped."J This excerpt from Zora Neale Hurston’s book, Their Eyes Were watching God, is an example of her amazing writing. She makes us feel as if we are actually in her book, through her use of the Southern Black vernacular and admirable description. Her characters are realistic and she places special, well thought out sentences to keep us interested. Zora Neale Hurston’s art enables her to write this engaging story about a Southern black woman’s life. Mrs. Hurston uses Southern Black dialect through out the book. This is appropriate because all of the dialog is between Blacks who grew up in the deep South. Some authors that write in a dialect totally confuse their readers. However, Mrs. Hurston’s writing does not confuse us at all. One particular example of this is on page 102. Tea Cake starts off saying, "‘Hello, Mis’ Janie, Ah hope Ah woke you up.’ ‘Yo sho did, Tea Cake. Come in and rest yo’ hat. Whut you doin’ out so soon dis mornin’?’" Janie replied. This dialog is easily to understand. The reader really gets the feeling of the speech because reading it is just like listening to it. Mrs. Neale also knows where to stop writing in dialect. All of the narration and description in the book are in plain English: she does not confuse us by putting narration in dialect, only the speech of characters is in dialect. This part of Zora Neale Hurston’s art adds to the sto ry without confusing the reader. Mrs. Hurston not only uses the vernacular of the Deep South she also uses Southern traditional legends. One example of this is how the book refers to death. Death is called the, "Square-toed one," that comes from the West. Even if the reader is not familiar with referring to death as the, "Square-toed one," the use of traditional legends helps to make us feel like we are where the book took place.