That Fateful Day

That Fateful Day I remember that day, long ago from my childhood. It was warm the night before, nearly 80 degrees, so I had left my window open. The morning winds where rushing through my school work on the desk. Black and white squiggles on seven pieces of paper, every one of them part of an accumulation of the last two weeks of homework. I needed them to get any kind of decent grade in my first weeks of the fourth grade. â€Å"It’s Tuesday today dad. † I said tentatively to my father. He just stood there in the living room, not really looking at the television. I know† he said in reply without any hesitation. â€Å"Aren’t you usually at work on Tuesdays? † For nearly a minute he just stood there, not saying a word. â€Å"Yes† he said, â€Å"I usually am at work on Tuesdays. But today is different. † Not knowing what he meant I said to him, â€Å"how? † I can’t remember much between that moment of me asking how, and him f inally stopping to try for an explanation. After what seemed an eternity, he finally un-muted the television. There in the center of the screen where two skyscrapers, one of them was burning and had smoke coming off of it.There was no one talking on the news, but they were replaying a clip of the tower before it was smoking. The exact moment when the plane hit the building, I knew what was happening. â€Å"Dad, do I still have to go to school today? † I asked in as solemnly as I could. â€Å"Yes, you still have to go to school. † The moment after my father said this the news woman began to talk again. On the screen there was an explosion of smoke and fire from the second building. I stopped hearing what the reporter said and just stared at the screen. I never thought that I would ever see anything like that in my life.This was the kind of stuff that happened in the movies, not in real life. â€Å"It’s 7:35† I remember someone saying, â€Å"the bus is lat e. † â€Å"No shit† my sister said. We were all waiting for the bus. My sister was in tenth grade, and she had a serious attitude. Normally she dressed in very tight, very revealing clothing. But not today. â€Å"I bet the bus never even comes† she said. One kid instantly said, â€Å"I hope so. † He didn’t know what happened, his family didn’t have cable. He thought everyone was being quite because we didn’t want to go to school just like him. If the bus doesn’t come by 7:45 I’m going home. † I remember all the other kids looking at him like he was the biggest idiot in the world. Some of them even had blank expressions on their face like they couldn’t understand what he was saying. Then it hit me, I remembered he didn’t get to watch the news in the morning. It took me 5 minutes before I started to talk. My throat was sore and felt like it weighed a hundred pounds. I didn’t know what to say, I ne ver did in the first place. I was only nine years old, and felt like I had lived far beyond my own self. I didn’t think the same as I use to.I didn’t want to play any games with the other kids while we waited for the bus. All I wanted was to sit and think. I wanted to think about all those people who were never going to be able to play their Nintendo’s again. About all of the people who would be crying because they lost their son, or their dad. It took all of 30 seconds to tell him what happened. The entire time everyone was looking at me wondering how I was able to talk about it at all especially the older kids. I was dreading the day already. I didn’t want to do any schoolwork while I knew that there were people dying somewhere far away.I didn’t want to go to recess like I usually do and slide down the big kid slide. I wanted to spend the day staring at the television screen just like my mom and dad were going to. I remember when the sun finally came up over the hill. The light was just right that morning. It was spilling through the oak trees onto the road, showing the hundreds of pin drops that were light on the black ground. The trees where flowing back and forth just right, making the sound that I loved so much the swish swish of leaves brushing against each other. If it were any other day I might have skipped school just to sit and read under the trees.But it wasn’t, so I didn’t. I got on the bus when it finally came just like I always should have on these nice days. We were finally at school. The teacher, not knowing what to do, turned on the television to the news. It was the same couple of minutes from the morning playing over and over. The towers had already fallen at this point, so there really wasn’t anything new to show. There was a staff meeting about an hour after school started. All of the students were sent out for recess. I was among the only students who didn’t go and play.I wal ked out of the school onto the playing field and just stood there staring at the grain elevator in the distance. From the perspective of the school the grain elevator looked almost exactly like one of the towers in the news. It was big and new, having been finished only 2 months before. It was tall and silvery, with little lines running up and down the entirety of the building. There were no windows all the way up until you got to the very top. There on top, was a huge window. It seemed to be bigger than my house way up there, but in reality it was only the size of a car, albeit a rather large car.Riiiiiiiiiiiiiiing. Recess was over. It was time to go in. All of the teachers were standing at attention near their perspective lines, waiting for something to happen. The students where chattering away like usual, waiting for the line to start moving. The principal was also outside, which was really weird. He never left his office. Mostly because he was busy, but also because he was some what afraid of talking to people. â€Å"Today, something terrible happened† the principal started. â€Å"Today, we witnessed something that none of us will ever forget. I stared straight into his eyes. They were dark brown, much like a rich wet soil after it rained. His eyes were watering, and had red lines throughout them. â€Å"I am sorry to inform you all that school today will be cut short. You will all be going home in 20 minutes. Those of you who are not able to go home will stay here at the school until the time that school regularly lets out. † The principal began to softly weep. â€Å"I, among others, will be here at the school until the regular hour of the schools letting out. If any of you wish to stay, then you are welcome to stay.But it is not required, and there will be no school lessons today. † The rest of the day seemed to go by slower and slower. I was never going to be able to know why the things that happened did happen. But I will know that I changed that day. For a long time after that I didn’t do anything for fun. I sat around a lot reading books I didn’t want to read. Eating food that I didn’t want to eat. I will never forget that day, because that day changed my life forever. After that day I was never able to look at the world again, and I was never able to think the same way. I remember 9/11.

Fiction and Australian Identity Essay

The novel Cloudstreet, by Tim Winton resonates the idea of engaging readers through its focus on optimism despite hardship throughout the narrative. The text has the ability to be appreciated and understood through its textual integrity and realism, making it an inspirationally driven text for those engaged readers. A cultural perspective of the novel highlights how the characters in the novel overcome hardships and gain that sense of optimism, which is a true acknowledgment of the sentiment of the stereotypical â€Å"Australian† character. Winton’s focus on the overcoming of segregation in the novel, thoroughly emphasizes this notion of how after hardship, comes optimism, as once the family unites, there is this strong sense of optimism felt in the text. These ideas engage the reader to an extent of realisation that this text is one full of inspiration and encouragement, despite the hardship present at times. The cultural perspective of the novel incorporates the acknowledgment of the Australian identity, making the readers engage and relate with the various characters who posses similar traits. Sam Pickle’s lifestyle, focusing on vices and addiction, causes a great deal of hardship for himself and those around him. The influence gambling has on his life is shown in the quote, â€Å"He loved to gamble, for it was another way of finding water, a divination that sent his whole body sparking. † Comparing Sam’s gambling addiction to that of water allows for realisation of the importance of gambling in his life, as water is a necessity for life. This also creates a distinct connection between Sam and Fish, as Fish’s character thrives for water, bringing happiness and satisfaction to his life, as it is a â€Å"divination†. This creates the parallel that Sam may see gambling in this necessary way. It is known throughout the novel of the importance of water, and this quote portrays Sam’s view on gambling, thoroughly reflecting on its influence on his life. The hardships depicted in the novel are a realistic truth that creates textual integrity; recognizing the Australian identity, as a way to accept the hardships and move on with life, as Sam does throughout the novel. The significance of the inclusion of the Australian identity, is key in the characterization of the various characters, each bringing their own flaws and qualities to the narrative, giving it its engaging effect. The cultural perspective give the hardships faced in the novel a sense of realism, and relatability. Rose’s character is one that signifies the overcoming of these hardships, as she arguably faces the most significant adversities throughout her life. Rose’s private feelings regarding the impact of her parents’ vices is expressed in how, â€Å"There was too much shame, too much cowering under the neighbours’ eyes, too much agonizing embarrassment going to school with a black eye †¦Ã¢â‚¬  The repetition of â€Å"too much† evokes empathy for her circumstances as she is compelled to suffer not only neglect but physical abuse from her mother as well. The obvious physical pain, as well as her lowered moral shown throughout the novel, seem to entice the idea of the negativity hardship can have on ones life. It forces Rose to want to breakaway from her family ideas and values, and explore the world, looking for that sense of optimism. Her character proves the underlying attributes in the Australian identity; attributes that focus on pursuing happiness, to gain a greater perspective of life. The narrative allows for the idea of segregation to act as an aspect of the hardship faced by the characters. It distinguishes the differences between those who are separated, identifying their different lifestyles and values as factors, which has caused this disconnection. The segregation and major personality differences between the two families are highlighted in the quote, â€Å"Sometimes they squared off at one another like opposing platoons. † The metaphor of comparing the two sets of children to â€Å"platoon†, a word commonly used in war, parallels the separation caused by the war. This emphasizes a key aspect of the contextual features of the storyline, as the war has a major impact on the lives of the characters. This also exaggerates the level of separation between the two families, suggesting they have a war-like standing against each other, caused by different views and opinions. The notion of segregation between the families is an obvious cause of hardship, as the two families share so much, whilst being completely different. There is strong symbolism throughout Cloud Street that parallels this idea of segregation. The end of the novel signifies the overcoming of these symbols, in order to unite. The divided backyard is achieved through â€Å"old signs patched together,† symbolizing the patching together’ of lives after the previous hardships faced. The families of Cloudstreet are very different, one who works hard for their own benefit and the other strongly focused on taking life in its stride, letting luck decide life’s path. Winton tends to favour the Lamb families determination, as the constant reliance on luck is not always dependable, as it causes much disruption and conflict between members of the Pickle family. Representatives of the different families work collaboratively in removing both the physical and emotional barriers. â€Å"A square little woman unpegged and folded a tent another woman stepped forward, tottering a little. She crossed the long gash where yesterday there’d been a fence, and took a corner of the tent herself. † The families are literally brought together by the folding of the tent. Corner to corner, their lives are intertwined in a fashion that shows overcoming the hardships created by segregation, allowing for a united nature to be founded in Cloudstreet due to the determination of two family representatives overcoming mutual prejudices. Tim Winton’s novel Cloudstreet is inspirational in the sense that the realism that is created through the narrative, makes the text relatable and appreciated for different contexts. This enables for the reader to be engaged with the storyline, which acknowledges key features such as the Australian identity, and the overcoming of segregation.

Selection of Sustainable Construction Materials

The faculty of human cognition often finds it difficult in making decisions concerning systems that are extensive and complex such as in the management of organizational operations, investment portfolios, military command and control situations and control of nuclear facilities. Even though one may fully comprehend the individual interactions amongst a system’s variables, it is usually very difficult to predict how a system will react to new stimuli as a result of a decision taken.Under such circumstances, the results of many researches have indicated that the judgment and decision making capabilities of human beings could well fall short of the optimal. Stress and complexities acts negatively on the human cognition system, making it even harder to make what could be termed as the most optimal decision. The decision to be taken can nevertheless be very crucial, and a wrong decision could lead to catastrophe.It therefore becomes essential to find some way to aid and help a huma n being in taking crucial decisions on complex systems not only in atmospheres of stress and pressure but also in normal situations. Science has strived to device such decision-making aids through out history. Operations research, statistics and economics have developed various methods for making rational choices. The advent of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) and its dramatic developments in the last two-and-a-half decades has made it possible apply ICT in integrating various disciplines in aiding decision making in complex situations.As a result, information science, artificial intelligence, cognitive psychology and the neurosciences have come together to develop a variety of decision making aids. These decision-making aids are practically implemented as computer applications deployed either as stand-alone tools in individual systems or are installed to cover entire working networks. Such decision-making tools and integrated computing environments are together known as Decision Support Systems (DSSs), which is a very broad term incorporating a multitude of methodologies, tools, techniques, approaches and technologies.Druzdzel & Flynn (2002) takes all existing DSSs into consideration when they attempt to define them empirically as computer-based interactive systems that help users in making decisions. DSSs are sometimes also referred to as knowledge-based systems because they basically try to structure domain knowledge into a form on which mechanical decision making is possible. Decision Support Systems integrate information from various sources, allow intelligent access to the information sources that are relevant, and help in the process of organizing decisions to help human beings overcome their cognitive deficiencies.Decision Support Systems strengthen the conventional tasks of accessing and retrieving information with reasoning support based on a model and model building approach. Framing, modeling and problem solving are supported by DSSs. They are usually used for strategic and tactical decisions to be made by planners and senior levels in the management. Such decisions have a reasonably low frequency but their consequences have very high potential. Therefore the time and investment taken in using DSSs to aid in taking such decisions are paid off in the long run.Decision Support Systems not only define the alternative decision choices, but can help in picking out the most logical and optical choice amongst the alternatives adhering to and adopting elements from disciplines such as engineering economics, operations research, statistics and decision theory. Artificial Intelligence is used by Decision Support Systems to tackle problems in a heuristic manner in situations in which the problems are not amenable to formal conventional techniques.Decision Support Systems have grown in popularity because it has been found that when decision-making systems are used appropriately they tend to increase efficiency and output pr oviding appreciable competitive edge over rival businesses. This happens because organizations and businesses employing DSSs make sound choices in the deployment of technology, and in planning business operations, logistics and operations. Components of DSSs There are three fundamental components f Decision Support Systems are essentially made up of three basic elements: i. Data Base Management System (DBMS): The DBMS is the databank for the DSS.The DBMS is a storehouse for the huge volumes of data that the DSS has to deal with in providing solution for the type of problem for which it has been designed. Unlike in other databases which provide physical data structure, the DMBS works on logical data structures which the users can interact with. In a good DBMS, the physical database structure and the way the data is actually process remains hidden from the user. The user only knows the different types of data that are available and how best to access this data to aid in decision makin g. ii. Model-Based Management System (MBMS): The MBMS plays a similar role to that of the DBMS.The main task of an MBMS is to provide a mechanism whereby the applications that use a particular DSS are independent of the particular models that are used in the DSS. By doing so, the MBMS actually converts data available in the DBMS into information that helps in decision making. Users of a DSS usually have to handle unstructured problems. The MBMS is therefore required to help the users with building models. iii. Dialog Generation and Management system (DGMS): People use a DSS to comprehend a system in its entirety. The primary task of the DSS is therefore to provide insight.The interfaces that a DSS uses needs to be highly user friendly as many people who use them specialize in planning and managerial decision making and may not be very well acquainted or oriented towards computing systems. The interfaces not only need to assist in building the models bit also need to provide adequate interactions with the models so that the users are able to gain insight and extract recommendations from the DSS. The DGMS is therefore primarily tasked with providing easy access and meaningful access to the DSS. DSS for Selection of Construction Materials, its relevanceThis paper attempts to describe a Decision Support System to assist in making decisions to select construction materials based on a sustainability criterion. For every given construction job, there is a huge variety of construction materials to choose from. Economic factors and technology criteria have been traditionally the primary basis of selection of construction materials. Construction materials were selected against the requirements a desired life span, and a program of requirements and codes based on the characteristics of the material concerned such strength, viscosity, elasticity, bending moment, etc.Rapid depletion of natural resources required for construction materials has however forced a change in per spectives. The focus has now shifted to ecological, health and ethical considerations. Making a selection decision based only on human judgment and past experience, taking all added aspects into consideration, becomes almost an impossible task. According to (Pearce, et. al. , 2001) it was essential that some new mechanism of assessing the available construction materials for the highest utility of the specific project was required.The mechanism would have to evaluate the alternatives on the basis of their technical properties and cost parameters but also on the basis of the status of their availability in the ecosystem in the long-term context and from the perspective of natural resources. Such a holistic method could be implemented only through a Decision Support System. The DSS will have to provide all necessary information to enable the decision maker to take the most optimal decision keeping not only the technical and economical parameters under consideration, but also balancing the right degree of emphasis on the environment and sustainability aspect.To achieve such an objective in the design of a Decision Support System the following development steps will have to be undertaken: 1. Sustainability will have to be defined for the selection of construction material. 2. Based on the definition of sustainability developed, a methodology has to be developed for selection and comparison of the alternative construction materials that are available. 3. The methodology for selection will have to be automated by development of a Develop a conceptual framework for a Sustainability Decision Support System (SDSS). Defining SustainabilityThe United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development defines sustainable development as development keeping the concerns of the future in sight. Sustainable development is that development that meets the requirements of the present generation without in any way endangering or compromising the scope for development of futu re generations. (WCED, 1987). Sustainability is therefore the concept of meeting present requirements in such a manner that the resources that go to fulfill the present requirement can also be utilized to meet similar requirements in the long run.In other words, it is handling the present with an eye on the future. This concept of sustainability works on the inherent principle that human development is a going process that has to sustained at a pace at which the finite resources available in the world can easily cope with. A fine but much simplified example could be that of utilization of timber in the making of any civil construction. The decision maker will not only have to select the timber the quality of which is suitable for the construction in terms of strength, expected durability, etc.but will also have to ensure that the made is a type of timber that is not endangered or on the verge of being extinct, a type that is easily available in the area of the construction with no t hreat to its future. The next question that could face the decision maker is whether timber, considering the depletion rate of natural resources, should be used at all. And if timber is not used then what are the other available alternatives that could be used in the place of timber?The Decision Support System will have to be able to assist the decision maker in making these crucial decisions by providing structured and easy access to all relevant information. Sustainability is therefore a system with stability at its core. Changes to the system are not unrestrained but constrained so that a stable continuance of the system is maintained in the long run. Sustainability is very important for the construction industry because constructions have a very high impact on the ecology and the environment.The people who make decisions in the construction industry literally hold fate in their hands in the sense that considered and logical decisions based on sustainability go a long way in prot ecting and preserving the environment that in turn sustains human kind. Decision makers at different levels in the construction industry therefore have to make judicious selection of construction material in order fulfill the present requirements without negatively affecting the requirements of others or putting at stake the very existence of the human race on this earth.The main goals that a DSS has to meet in selecting of construction materials based on sustainability are to improve the selection process of the construction material during the conceptual stage itself and to promote the use of innovative materials which could have more sustainable properties than the traditional materials that are currently in use. Sustainability factor in Construction Materials With regards to construction materials, adoption of sustainable selection criteria would imply the following: i. Matter and energy consumption should be minimized ii.Minimum level of human satisfaction should be maintained. iii. There should be minimum negative environmental effects. Any effort to minimize the consumption of matter and energy has to target minimizing entropy gain and intergenerational of equity objectives. It has to be kept in mind that the process of consumption increases the entropy of materials and energy making them unsuaitable for use in the future (Roberts, 1994; Rees, 1990). The basic tenet of sustainability and sustainable material selection would therefore be maximizing utilization and minimizing consumption of matter and energy.In laymen’s language this translates into ‘doing more with less’. Doing more with less however has to be balanced with maximizing human satisfaction with the less of matter and energy that is being consumed in the process. Unless the satisfaction of people is achieved, sustainability would run into a dead end. People and users will not accept changes necessary to make the world a better place to live in unless they are satisfied by the results of those measures. Ensuring the satisfaction of people therefore becomes an integral part of sustainability.A part that is closely connected with economics as, in our economy-driven society, people are satisfied only when there is assurance that their economic interests will not only be safeguarded but also enhanced appreciably. Minimization of costs, maximization of comfort and safety and edification of the human spirit should be the ideal objectives in the process of selection of construction materials (Day, 1990). It all boils down to the sustainability of the human race which in turn makes it essential to ensure the sustainability and preservation of the ecosystem.The sustainability of the ecosystem is ensured when emphasis is put on maintaining biodiversity, species habitat is left undisturbed and environmental deterioration and pollution are brought under control. The design objective of any DSS for selection of construction materials on the basis of sustainabilit y will thus have to make these three global presumptions – less consumption of energy and matter, high human satisfaction and minimal negative effect on the environment.A set of metrics of sustainability based on the definition of sustainability has to be developed for the construction materials. The metrics would then have to be adapted into an approach for comparing alternative materials to help in the selection process. Classification of Sustainability Attributes The next step in designing a Decision Support System for sustainable selection of construction materials would be take the attributes of sustainability and develop a system or taxonomy for classifying them into the categories of technology, ecology, economics and ethics.Since technology is utilized to build construction facilities, it is imperative that sustainable technologies are applied. Carpenter (1994) defines sustainable technologies as technologies that do not harm the environment in any way and are based o n the concept of renewing, reusing and recycling materials. Materials have to contribute to sustainability by building up suitable technologies. For a specific use, the measure of a material’s adaptability to sustainable technology is obtained by the extent to which the material is able to meet the required technical performance.Span, reliability, ability to recycle and resistance to decay and damage are other technology-related indicators. Ecological sustainability can be achieved through material selection if the objective of material selection is to minimize environmental damage and degradation over the entire lifecycle of the material right from the stage in which the raw material is extracted to the final stage of either disposing the material or adopting it for reuse through the process of recycling.Of particular importance in the consideration of sustainability is the way the material will affect the ecology. The domain of all human activities comprises the natural eco logical systems which provide all the raw materials to meet the varied requirements of human beings (Norton 1994). Thus, integrity of the systems has to be maintained in order to ensure the continues availability of raw materials in the form of ecological resources. The search of feasible alternatives for limited natural resources leads us to the realm of economic sustainability.Alternative resources that can be developed at minimal cost to the society have to be maintained and identified by the Decision Support System. The total life cycle cost of a project depends on the life cycle costs of the constituent construction materials. Selection of construction materials based on the lowest life cycle cost ultimately brings down the life cycle cost of the entire construction project. Manufacturing, transportation, assembly, maintenance and disposal or recycling costs determine the lifecycle cost of a construction material.These lifecycle costs in turn determine the economic sustainabili ty of a construction material. The moot point of sustainability is adopting a futuristic view. The concern is not only with meeting the needs of the present generation but at the same time ensuring that resource utilization is done in such a way that it is possible to retain, invest and convert them in such a way that there is no scarcity to meet the requirements of the future generations (Daly & Cobb 1994). This is the principle behind the ethics of sustainability.The attributes of ethical sustainability are the extent of depletion of natural resources that utilization of the material could represent, extent to use the material can be reused and to which nonrenewable resources the material can be used as a substitute (Norton, 1994). The Decision Support System therefore has to base its classification of sustainability attributes on the taxonomy of technology utilized, maintenance of ecological balance, economic feasibility and ethical concerns for the future of human kind.The vast scope and complexity of such a DSS can be appreciated when we take all these factors into consideration. Determining the Indicators of Sustainability The DSS for construction materials selection has to consider indicators of sustainability of construction materials with respect to the three global objectives of sustainable development – resource consumption, human satisfaction and environmental impact. The more exhaustive the list of indicators, the more the DSS will tend towards perfection.Indicators could be as varied and wide ranging as the scale on which the harvesting is done, whether infrastructure for harvesting is available, how accessible the raw materials are, the extent of processing the material has to be out through, how renewable the materials, maintainability, toxicity, market pricing of comparable resources, etc. Each indicator has to be correlated with the sustainability of the material, and the correlation determined through sensitivity analysis and indexed and rated so that comparison of the materials is possible to the minutest details.Selection of indicators of sustainability of the materials therefore assumes great importance in any DSS. Database or knowledge base development in this respect has to systematic and incremental throughout the development cycle. Consideration of the context of use also holds equal importance in the determination of sustainability of any construction material. Contextual indicators could be as apparent as the availability and use of ice blocks in the poles and sand in the deserts. But these indicators could also be user specific, condition specific or site characteristic specific.Context modifiers therefore have to be built into any DSS. It is the context modifiers that make the sustainability ratings of construction materials for each project unique. Decision makers set threshold values in heuristics databases which enable them to specify the values that they want to be calculated. Edwards et al. (1994 ) and Greene (1994) give examples of techniques in transportation systems in which the energy required to transport a particular material from one place to another for various modes of transport can be calculated for different modes or types of transport. Materials Selection adopting the Rational Actor ApproachThe Rational Actor Approach is centered on the principal assumption that if human decision makers are provided with complete information on the possible results and options in the choices that they have to make, they would choose the optimal alternative, or the option with the maximum possibility of turning out to be the outcome that is most wanted or desired. This being true, the goal of the DSS is to enable the decision maker to select construction materials as per their sustainability so that the vast majority of the materials selected for construction are sustainable materials.The rational actor model has three phases (Simon, 1983): Phase 1: Determining all choices that ar e possible. Phase 2: Analyzing every choice for the consequences that it they may lead to. Phase 3: Finally choosing an alternative that is rated as the best based on considerations of utility and the most probable consequence or output.. In the DSS, the Rational Actor Model can be further fine tuned by the adoption of a few modifications. First, the material alternatives that are obviously not suitable for the project element could be pruned off the database based on classification of materials according to some given standards.The software will therefore prune materials such as ceramic tiles when considering the construction of a foundation footing column. This eliminates the possibility of users ignoring feasible but unfamiliar materials. A second modification could be the introduction of user weightings for each sustainability attribute. The weightings are a way of personalizing or customizing the system. Input of the weightings accord the methodology adopted in the system highe r acceptability for the user who provides the weightings. The weightings also enable customization of the sustainability of the final design product.(Pearce, et. al. , 2001). The ordered stages of the methodology adopted with modifications can now be defined for the Decision Support System. In its first step, the methodology generates the alternatives that would be available for making the selection. This is a comprehensive set of alternatives that could include all the materials available in the market. In its second stage, the clearly infeasible alternatives are pruned from the list of available alternatives through the application of some technical performance thresholds or other heuristics.This would result in a set of alternations that are all feasible for the application under consideration. The crucial third step consists of the Decision Support System ranking the alternatives based on the sustainability and utility of the material for the use that it is intended for. At this juncture, the decision maker feeds in his weights for each attribute of sustainability as per the priority that particular attribute holds for the decision maker.Manufacturer information and other sources determine the values for the sustainability attributes of each material, and a normalized value is worked out for each value of the attributes. The weights and normalized values for the sustainability attributes of each material are then multiplied and added together to produce the index of subjective utility for that material. A ranking of the alternatives is developed by sorting their utility values. The Decision Support System then outputs the alternative with the highest utility value to the user.The decision maker is at liberty to choose the highest ranked alternative for the particular application or any other alternative as he or she may deem suitable from the point of view of cognitive abilities and professional experience. The DSS then moves on to take up other design ele ments for consideration. From the Decision Maker’s Point of View From the decision maker’s or user’s point of view, the decision maker has to first feed in a list of the design components that have been conceptualized for the construction.Values for relevant parameters that describe the conceptual design and the decision making have to be fed in. The DSS uses these values to generate a list of feasible materials for each design element from the materials database of the DSS utilizing heuristics for material selection from the internal logic or knowledge base of the DSS. After the DSS generates a list of feasible materials for each element, it queries the decision maker for the personalized weightings for the sustainability attributes.The Sustainability Index Calculator calculates the values of the sustainability attributes for each feasible material. An Amalgamator Module of the DSS amalgamates the weightings of the decision maker with the sustainability attribu te values for each material that could be utilized and sorts the materials according to their individual rankings. The DSS recommends the material with the highest rating to the decision maker who is free to either accept the recommendation of the Decision Support System or to opt for an alternative from the list of alternatives provided by the DSS.Conclusions The Decision Support System for the selection of construction materials on the basis of sustainability therefore analyzes the feasible materials for each element of a construction from a wide range of perspectives. The factors that influence the ultimate output of the Decision Support System incorporate the technologies and economies of construction processes, the characteristics of the applicable materials, ecological and environmental concerns, sustainability aspects, and most important of all, the professional and personal preferences of the user or the decision maker.Each of these factors by themselves could constitute ind ividual expert systems. The complexity and sophistication of such decision support systems can thus be appreciated along with their great utility in helping decision makers to make crucial decisions. References -01 Carpenter, S. , 1994, Sustainable Communities. School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. Daly, H. , E. , and Cobb, J. , B. , Jr. , 1994, For the Common Good, 2nd ed. Beacon Press, Boston.Day, C. , 1990, Places of the Soul. Aquarian Press, San Francisco, CA. Druzdzel, Marek, J. , & Flynn, Roger, R. , 2002, Decision Support Systems, Decision Systems Laboratory, School of Information Sciences and Intelligent Systems Program, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh. Edwards, P. ,J. , Stewart, P. ,J, Eilenberg, I. , M. , and Anton, S. , 1994, Evaluating Embodied Energy Impacts in Buildings: Some Research Outcomes and Issues, in Kibert, C. , ed. Sustainable Construction. CIB TG 16, Tampa, FL, Nov. 6-9, pp. 173-182. Greene, D. , L. , 1994, Transportation an d Energy, Transportation Quarterly, v. 48, n. 1, Norton, B, G. , 1994, Sustainability: Two Competing Paradigms.Texas A&M Conference. School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta. Pearce, Annie, R. , Hastak, M. , Vanegas, Jorge, A. , 2001, A Decision Support System for Construction Materials Selection using Sustainability as a Criterion, School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta.Rees, W. , E. , 1990, The Ecology of Sustainable Development, The Ecologist, v. 20, n. 1. Roberts, D. V. , 1994, Sustainable Development – A Challenge for the Engineering Profession, in Ellis, M. , D. , ed. The Role of Engineering in Sustainable Development. American Association of Engineering Societies, Washington, DC. Sage, Andrew, P. , 1991, Decision Support Systems Engineering. John Wiley & Sons, Inc. , New York. WCED – United Nations World Commission on Environment and Development. ,1987, Our Common Future. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK.

How does the military lifestyle affect the social development and Research Paper

How does the military lifestyle affect the social development and academic motivation of adolescents in high school raised in military families during a time of war - Research Paper Example orted on their nature of adapting new places or rather new environment, control exertions, and how fast they adjust to new environment through institutionalized report toward oneself measures. For the ones who were deaf, there was a questionnaire with the same questions as those asked verbally.The results shows that adolescents living in military families reported hoisted levels of behavior issues as indicated by settled clinical standards. Be that as it may, ponder findings likewise show that control endeavors and maternal help act as critical defensive elements against the improvement of behavior issues and enthusiastic symptoms, whereas to abstain from adapting is related to more prominent enthusiastic symptoms (Marting, et al. 2000). It also shows that, those who are affected directly during the times of war are depressed and they are performing poorly in school. Descriptive statistics are utilized to portray the fundamental gimmicks of the data in a study. They give straightforward rundowns about the specimen and the measures. Together with straightforward graphics investigation, they structure the premise of essentially every quantitative examination of data. They are typically extracted from inferential statistic. It is the idea of one number that summarizes the whole measurement. Taking the gender and age as our demographic variable of the adolescents, let X denote the number of boys who were in the sample of adolescents and Y denote the number of girls in that sample. X +Y equals to the whole sample which was taken randomly as per the rules of random sampling. In central tendency, the median is the number that is at the middle of all the measurements or rather is the number at which half the measurement are exceeding that number and the other half are less than that number. The sample has to be arranged in ascending or descending order, then the number at the middle is the median. The descriptive statistics brings out the behavior of the variables

Gun Control in U.S Article Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Gun Control in U.S - Article Example The topic about gun control is facing massive controversy in the United States. However, a solution have to be found since people should not fear going to the public places including schools, malls, movies and the likes. The safety of the nation has to be resurrected. An important reason for the control of the guns is due to the number of healthy lives that are lost due to violence using guns. In the United States, over 8000 murders with guns are recorded every year (Doeden 234). The other survivors of gun violence would then be added into the list of individuals with health problems further adding up on the government’s expenditure in the health sector. In addition, easy access to guns make suicide attempts to be more successful. Suicide is another problem that claims the lives of the healthy generation in the United States and the globe at large. The suicide rate in the US is tragically high at 12 per 100,000 individuals. Firearms are used for half of these suicides. Guns are weapons of war and a whole way of life of an individual is ended abruptly or altered adversely by just squeezing a trigger. Most of the murders that are completed using guns are often crimes of passion. These crimes happen among people who knew each other well enough. When an intense argument arises, the presence of a gun makes murder or maiming far much possible. There are also other numerous cases of kids gaining access to guns. They have no idea that the gins are loaded and they start playing the typical kids shooting game where they pretend to shoot another. However, they end up shooting and killing the other sibling since they did not realize that the gun is loaded. It is also evident that most of the guns that het into the hands of criminals are stolen from homes, or from cars. When burglars break into private homes, the first thing they look for is guns. Thus, it is important for the government to exercise the policy of gun control in

Finance 1750 3day Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Finance 1750 3day - Essay Example Close follow up shows that China’s economy has slightly outdone Japan’s, in terms of the GDP. This achievement suggests that in a few years to come China will only be a step behind the United States in terms of the largest economy. According to Lai and Yang’s (2009) report, after the two main stock exchanges Shenzhen Stock Exchange and Shanghai Stock Exchange that were launched in 1990, the state owned enterprises have been developed and supported by this two markets financially to a great extent. Taking a closer look at China’s stock markets and real estate it is not clear whether this two components are correlated or not. In this paper, we use volatility models to compare results between the two markets and finally establish whether the two are correlated as we further establish their potential variation effects. In this case we monthly data sets ranging from the year 2005 to 2010. From the data, several statistical test is applied to measure the rate of return on the correlation between the two markets, stock markets, and real estate. Stock Investment In general, investors purchase common stock from the stock market in terms of stock investments, which generate dividends that earn those profits or capital gain because of positive shift in the stocks’, selling price. ... The second advantage is that it is possible to minimize the risk on a portfolio greatly by having diversification where several types of stocks are held (Bodie, et al., 2009). The third important advantage is that it is now very possible to sell common stock on secondary markets with minimum transaction costs. This is possible due to the high liquidity of stocks. The other important advantage is that, when compared to other investments, the pricing of common stock is not only affected by shifts in interest rates but is also affected by performance of the firm and earning prospects. Stock Market Stock markets are also referred to as equity markets. They normally provide a platform where shares can be issued, and many investors can come and trade their shares and securities. The markets are divided into two depending on how they carry out transactions. The first is exchange market, and it is usually physical where investors can come and freely trade with their securities. The second on e is referred to as over the counter market. In this case, transactions are normally carried out over the phone or through the internet on the computer. The markets are also divided into two main parts, and these are primary and secondary. The primary market issues new securities such as initial public offering (IPO) while secondary markets offer securities that were previously offered and are being presented subsequently for trade. Returns and Risks of Stock Investment The first thing we need to understand is as an investor, there are two ways in which one can gain from their investment, and this is through dividends and capital gains. A capital gain is achieved because of an increase in the value of a capital asset such as stocks

Develop Creative Listening and Linguistic Communication Skills of the Dissertation

Develop Creative Listening and Linguistic Communication Skills of the Second Language Learners - Dissertation Example This dissertation attempts to take the concept of creative listening to task as a development method to assist Second Language Learners in developing creative listening and linguistic communication skills. Second Language Learners are a language minority in such English speaking countries as the United States and the United Kingdom. Inculcating literacy among these learners is a present-day critical challenge since English literacy is essential to their academic achievement, and to educational and economic opportunities beyond schooling. Given the phenomenon that minority learners are increasing owing to immigration and birth rate conditions, there is the added fact that without English literacy, this language minority group will not fare well in school achievement.. Already, statistics show that 51 percent of minority learners do not finish high school compared with only 10 percent of English speaking learners who do not complete secondary education. (National Center for Educational Statistics). Meanwhile, listening skills belong to the unattended self-improvement skills being developed in schools. While much training is given to reading, writing, arithmetic and science, the listening part of the communication process is bypassed or presumed to be virtually learned. Research studies, however, makes a revelation, namely that untrained listeners are very low— lower than 50 percent—on proficiency in learning. ... While much training is given to reading, writing, arithmetic and science, the listening part of the communication process is bypassed or presumed to be virtually learned. Research studies, however, makes a revelation, namely that untrained listeners are very low— lower than 50 percent—on proficiency in learning. This should not be surprising since various studies also state that people, including school learners, may spend 45 to over 50 percent of their communication time in the listening act. It appears most timely and important therefore that the educational system should give adequate attention to the improvement of listening skills among learners. This dissertation makes two assumptions: 1. Creative listening and linguistic communication skills can be developed along the new paradigm of multiple intelligence learning, and 2. A program patterned along multi-intelligence activities can be devised to respond to the need to develop creative listening and linguistic comm unication skills. Creative Listening Skills To focus on the listening act itself, it is necessary to remove the misconception that hearing and listening are the same. At times, we may have heard someone complaining, â€Å"I hear you, please don’t shout at me.† This is to recognize the physiological process that occurs when sound is received by man’s hearing apparatus. People may hear, however, but they may not be listening in the sense of recognizing the meaning of those sounds, such as the internal anger or anguish expressed by the speaker. Developing listening for meaning is therefore a must. Developing listening to create constructive ideas and action, such as behavioral change, can therefore be very beneficial to society, inclusive of social relationships

Children's Defense Fund Cradle to Prison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Children's Defense Fund Cradle to Prison - Essay Example 2). The â€Å"Cradle to Prison† pipeline was revealed to be hosted by The University of Houston Law School to address crucial issues affecting American children, particularly to achieve the goal of showing â€Å"leaders on all levels the growing need for a partnership with America's children ensuring that they have, safe housing, adequate education, mentorship-cultural programs, and universal healthcare† (Keeton, 2008, par. 2). The alarming numbers of children of going to prison have instigated immediate measures to inform the public of the dilemma, which, according to Edelman: "Adult's are what's wrong with children" (Keeton, 2008, par. 5). The importance of what you learned (So What?) As the program aimed to challenge American adults to address the alarming neglect for children, the message would be ineffective if no positive action is rendered upon the call. The importance of the message therefore is seen and determined in terms of the number and extent of assistance that is accorded by people who were made aware of the advocacies of the program.

Obesity literature review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Obesity - Literature review Example The following databases were searched for literature for this review: Pubmed, Cochrane library, Wiley, Cinhal Randomized Controlled Trial (RCT), Ovid, NHS Evidence, World Health Organisation Website and Medline. Keywords searched were obesity, obese, risks, co-morbidities, surgery, bariatric, anaesthesia, perioperative, prevention and airway. Obesity Measurement and Definition Obesity can be measured using total body weight, body mass index, body fat composition, fat mass index, and fat free mass index, and is specifically defined as having a body mass index greater than 30 kg/m2(Zhang & Wang, n.p.; Hjartaker, Langseth & Weiderpass, p 72). Risk for co-morbidities seems to be better indicated by measures of fat distribution, such as height-weight comparison or waist circumference, than by total weight (Zhang & Wang, n.p.; Hadaegh et al., p 310). Body mass index is not as accurate at determining true levels of overweight and obese nor at estimating risk factors, but it is a faster meth od at screening a larger population (Zhang et al., p 244). Overweight and obese adolescents tend to have poorer overall health than their normal weight peers, but they do not report more health issues requiring medical care. Those that do have other health issues tend to be overweight or obese currently, rather than having a history of weight problems. Weight loss can therefore help reduce many of the of the health risks associated with childhood obesity (Wake et al., p 162). However, those adolescents who have co-morbid type II diabetes and obesity are also more likely to have higher arterial stiffness than their peers (Urbina et al., p 1692). This is a concern due to the fact that paediatric type II diabetes is quickly becoming a public health crisis (Dea, p 42). Also, obese children with asthma have a much higher rate of nighttime desaturation, or lack of oxygen. They were also more prone to snoring and other respiratory issues that could lead to hypoxia (Ross et al., p 877). The presence of overweight and obesity in young children seems to be primarily a result of their home environment, and is especially related to the parental attitude toward food and exercise (Weker, p 3). We can extrapolate that a patient's attitude toward food and health in childhood will have a profound effect on their weight as an adult. Many children with congenital or acquired heart disease become overweight or obese as a result of restrictions imposed on their activity level. Healthy levels of exercise and healthy life style choices are often forgotten in patient education, as the focus is often solely on preventing the worsening of the existing heart condition and fail to protect the young patient's overall health (Pinto et al., p 1157). The best method for preventing obesity is to change the eating habits of children before they become overweight or obese. This can be done by increasing the attractiveness of healthy lifestyle choices and healthy foods, especially in schools, wh ere most children spend the majority of their time away from home. Schools should offer and encourage sports and other after-school activities, and offer remedial physical education courses for any student in poor physical shape (Della Torre, Akre, & Suris, p 233). Co-morbidities Eighteen major co-morbidities have been identified that show statistically significant connections with obesity or overweight. The conditions and diseases

Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Why the Revolution Will Not Be Tweeted - Essay Example The article ‘Small Change: Why the revolution will not be tweeted?’ by Malcolm Gladwell broadly conforms to the belief that change movements need to be backed by the disciplined hierarchical authority with centralized control. It helps in running the movement for a sustained period of time to achieve desired goals and objectives. The people need to be involved physically and emotionally with the cause so that they can relate to it. ‘Strong ties’ connects people. He says the success of the Civil Rights Movement was because people were also emotionally connected with the issue and were guided by Martin Luther King Jr. and the Church. There was no ambiguity in the way it was to be carried out which made it more focused and easily sustainable for a long time if required. Author denigrates the importance of social networking media in ushering social changes within society. His main contention is that it has a short span of memory for important issues and it is no t backed by a personal commitment to the cause.The article has used comparative secondary resources to understand and emphasize the paradigms of social change. He especially discusses the role of social networking media as against personal and more traditional means of social activism which directly juxtaposes political authority and popular will. The case of Greensboro, North Carolina has been used to showcase the power of people. The movement was started by just four college students as a sit-in Woolworth’s but within a week, spread like wildfire to encompass hundreds of students across wider geographical areas. The Civil Rights Movement had also huge participation of people, dragging on for years with the same zeal and culminating in the Civil Rights Act.

Pollution Summary Essay Example for Free

Pollution Summary Essay What is Air Pollution? The air we breathe supplies the oxygen that sustains life. Humans need oxygen to survive, and plants and animals need oxygen to survive. Our air supply has become contaminated by human activity. We have created machinery that has produced smog and acid rain. We have created a green house effect and have made holes in our ozone layer. Each of these acts can cause serious health problems for humans and animals, and can cause grave harm to our vegetation and ecosystems. There are seven main types of air pollutants. Raven (2008) describes them as particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, hydrocarbons, ozone, air toxics, and carbon oxides. Particulate matter can come from dust, soil, soot, and asbestos Nitrogen oxides come from gasses that are produced by chemical interactions between atmospheric nitrogen and oxygen. Sulfur oxides come from chemical interactions between sulfur and oxygen. Hydrocarbons come from chemical interactions between hydrogen and carbon. Ozone comes in two forms; (1) oxygen’s reaction with UV radiation in the stratosphere and, (2) oxygen reaction in the troposphere what creates smog. Air toxics can be radioactive substances, fluorides, and hydrochloric acid, and carbon oxides are carbon monoxide and dioxide. Causes of Air Pollution Chemicals, human sources, and natural sources contribute to air pollution. Air pollution can be traced all the way back to Ancient Roman times. â€Å"Every day, the average person inhales about 20,000 liters of air. Every time we breathe, we risk inhaling dangerous chemicals that have found their way into the air. † (Caroline, David, Michael, Mindy, Neil, and Vikas, 1999, The Environment: A Global Challenge. Air Pollution). Air pollution occurs in the atmosphere and can move easily from one location to another, it is a global concern. Air pollution is a problem both outdoors and inside homes. Chemicals There are seven main types of air pollutants according to a regulatory perspective. These are: particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, sulfur oxides, carbon oxides, hydrocarbons, ozone, and air toxics. Particulate matter is made of thousands of solid and liquid particles hanging in the atmosphere. Solid particulate matter is commonly known as dust; whereas as liquid articulate matter is known as mist. Particulate matter includes the following pollutants: soot, lead, asbestos, soil particles, sea salt, and sulfuric acid droplets. Nitrogen oxides are gases produced as a result of interaction between nitrogen and oxygen involves a supply of energy such as combustion of fuels resulting in high temperatures. Sulfur oxides are gases. These gases are a result of a chemical interaction between sulfur and oxygen. When combined with water, the result is sulfuric acid. Carbon oxides consist of carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide. Carbon monoxide has no color, smell, or taste and is second as an air pollutant only to carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is also does not have color, smell, or taste and is a greenhouse gas. Hydrocarbons consist are a varied collection of organic compounds including hydrogen and carbon. Small hydrogen molecules are gaseous at room temperature. Hydrocarbons include methane (colorless and odorless gas principally included in natural gas), benzene (which is a liquid at room temperature), and paraffin (which is a solid at room temperature). Ozone is a form of oxygen that is a pollutant in one area of the atmosphere but essential in another area of the atmosphere. Hazardous air pollutants (HAPS) consist of hundreds of other air pollutants such as chlorine, lead, hydrochloric acid, formaldehyde, radioactive substances, and fluorides. Humans Many chemicals that cause air pollution exist naturally in our world. These chemicals are harmful in both their natural form; however, become even more harmful when burned by humans for fuel, heat, or electricity. The two main causes of air pollutants in urban areas are transportation and fuel combustion from stationary sources. The stationary sources are heating and cooling for buildings and coal-burning power plants. Vehicles such as cars, trains, heavy-duty trucks, and airplanes, produce high amounts of carbon dioxide while fuel combustion produces high amounts of sulfur dioxide. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) â€Å"are man-made compounds that were originally developed in 1930 as a safer alternative to the refrigerants then in use such as sulfur dioxide and ammonia.

Employee Performance Evaluation Essay Example for Free

Employee Performance Evaluation Essay Do you have any questions about what is expected of you on the job? Are there any areas that are unclear for you? Being in the practice for more than 13 years, I believe I am performing well as a Clinical Coordinator at _________________. I know well my primary duties not only to the doctors but to the patients as well. Patient flow is one of my main tasks. Therefore, doing it for more than a decade has really helped me learn by heart the task that I am supposed and not supposed to do. Extended duties, in addition, provide me with more skills development. Nonetheless, I still believe that committing to my work as a clinician, to the doctors, and to the patients is my key to being able to perform what is expected of me for this particular job. And I know I have worked hard for that. For me, the most unclear, and also lacking, is the salary increase. I have been in this job for more than 13 years and my salary has been pretty much the same. I love my job, that is why I always work hard for it, but taking into consideration practicality, the standard of living has been constantly increasing and I know I have to keep up with that.   It is quite disappointing that my co-employees and I are not getting fairly regular higher compensation grants. What do you consider to be your most important accomplishment in this review period? Being on the job itself and being able to practice what I love doing is one of the accomplishments that I have gained working here. Being able to be trained by professionals and get me going to my long-term goal of getting into Dental Hygiene program at this community college is a privileged appreciated for me. In addition, higher salary, maybe inasmuch as what I have received last year 2005, provides recognition for me as an employee for the decade or more that I have worked as a Clinical Coordinator. What areas would you like to improve on your performance and how do you plan to do it? What can the doctors or other team members do to help you improve? I have realized the joy and hardship of working as a clinician. At the same time, I get firsthand impressions of the satisfaction of the patients when they know that they are cured or will get better soon. This is one of the pleasures I get working here. That is why I want to be even more productive. However, of course, I, as well as my co-employees, want to be recognized and get rightfully compensative for the dedication we tender as clinical workers. It has always been known that additional compensation always boosts employee morale and encourages them to work better and become more productive and useful. Please tell us about any special accomplishments or projects that you have involved into to improve any aspect of the practice. As mentioned, I have been in the practice for over 13 years. More so I believe I have performed well enough indicated by being able to serve the same industry for more than a decade. As far as I know, I have accomplished what is expected of my performance. Otherwise, I would not have lasted long. In addition, to be able to improve my skills, I practice well at work and really put my heart into what I am doing.   The doctors are continuously training me. And eventually, if given more recognition to pay costs for my schooling, I am planning to delve into a Dental Hygiene program sponsored by this community college to be able to enhance more my skills and become a more productive clinician. Other comments? When an employee violates the rules in the practice repetitively in every category, what action do you take to make sure that the doctors get the respect they want out of the employees? I believe one of my strengths is that I know well what I am doing and that I am confident of what I do as a clinical coordinator. As I have said, being on this job for a lot of years has put me in a position where I am assured of my capabilities, and my potentials. With regards to respect, I believe in the clichà © â€Å"give respect to earn it†. Doctors and employees alike, no matter who is the boss of whom, deserves to be respected and properly treated. This involves complying with the proper and professional orders of the doctors, for the sake of their professional work. And the doctors in turn, give to the employees also high regard for the dedication they put on their works and give them rightful recognition. What are the areas that need improvement? I think, training the new employees, especially the new ones must be given proper attention. It has always been good to start working with much needed meaningful experience. This will definitely improve the clinical employees’ skills and practice them even more making them knowledgeable and more experience when it comes to first hand practice and on the job training. Where do you see yourself in the next year and what steps would you like to take to get there? Probably a year from now, I would be taking one or two classes a quarter, hopefully halfway done with pre-requisites. I will still be working fulltime and hopefully be a super treatment coordinator and become more trained and knowledgeable in diagnosing treatments. Two to three years from now, I hope to finish my pre-requisites and be able to prepare for dental hygiene examinations. But of course, I would not want to leave my work so I will still be working fulltime, probably 38 to 40 hours per week. And about five years from now, I may have completed by dental hygiene program having passed the examination. All these plans will help me not just boost my knowledge and skills, but also gain a higher degree of expertise about my chosen profession or career.

Types of Traditional Chinese Dance

Types of Traditional Chinese Dance Dance is one of the oldest art of humankind, and expresses the feelings and thought of art through rhythmic, refined and organized human movements. China has one of the oldest and continuous cultures in the world, with over 5,000 years of recorded history. Dance is an inseparable part of the Chinese history. With traditional dancing in China dating back to the Zhou Dynasty, numerous transformations have befallen the practice both positively and negatively. After several dynasties, the Tang Dynasty has marked the peak of the practice with thousands of singers and artist coming up with more than sixty compositions outdoing the recorded figure at the time. However, with the onset of the foot binding custom, women dancers were restricted in their movements, and this led to the downfall of the dancing traditions. Also, at the time, social values and morals that limited the dancing of women were put in place further worsening the tradition. The Song Dynasty as the name suggests revived the tradition and to date has been through multiple evolutionary stages (Van Zile 54-55). Due to the long history of China and many minorities, there exist many different kinds of traditional dances in China, and have been grouped into three: classical dance, folk dance, and opera dance. Classical Dance Chinese classical dance has a very long history. Originated in ancient China, broad and profound, it combines a lot of martial arts, opera in the action and shape, with particular emphasis on the role of the eyes in the show. It emphasizes the coordination of breathing, full of rhythm and sense of style, unique oriental Hardness, and beauty of the dance, intoxicated. Chinese classical dance mainly includes body rhyme, shenfa, and skill. The rhyme is the connotation of Chinese classical dance, the charm of each dance is different, two people jump the same action, and the appeal is different. Shenfa is the dance and action. Rooted in the traditional Chinese culture fertile soil classical dance is much stressed that both shape and spirit, physical and mental integration, internal and external unity, the body rhyme. Charm is the soul of Chinese classical dance. God in the shape of the outside, to God collar shape, to form the gods, the feelings of the mood made the actual meaning of the body rhyme. In ancient times, classical dance belonged to court dance. The court had a dedicated dance team for the emperor. Most of the classical Chinese dance music using Chinese different folk musical instruments, such as guzheng, erhu, pipa and so on. Chinese classical dance clothing antique, according to the specific requirements of the dance also have their characteristics, most of the Han and Tang Dynasties dance traditional Chinese dress. The classical dance is characterized by the unique body movements, the intimate relationship between the body motion and the inner feelings of the dancer, and its utilization of only natural body strength and muscles. The body movements associated with the classical dancing combined with different facial expressions express different inner feelings articulately without confusion to the audience. These feelings could be love, peace, joy, anger, and disappointment among others. Also, it is the internalization of these feeling that guides the motions and movements of the dancer who in turn does not require greater than the standard muscle power obtained through various daily activities to perform the dance. Unlike in many other dances, the classical dance does not require the dancers to have built their muscles. The flip move obtained from martial arts is the most common classical dance move with almost all performers incorporating it in their dance regularly. Folk Dance Folk dance is probably the oldest of the Chinese dancing culture having been created by the fathers of long gone days in line with the different belief of the day then. Folk songs were mainly ritualistic and geared towards receiving favors from the supernatural which would have included successful hunting expeditions, good farm harvests, and are dated to as early as the fourth millennium BC from archaeological evidence recorded of hunting art scribbled on a pot. Folk dances differ in the different ethnic groups and often depict the groups religious, social and cultural customs. Performers are clothed in colorful, choreographed costumes, and the dances though different from ethnic group to the other also show some similarities. Jealousy, forgiveness, love and communal unity are some of the shared themes and play a significant role in strengthening the bond between the community members. Today, folk dances still exist and have paved its way to the Chinese formal theater. However, the j ourney has been long and has seen the transition of the dance. War and struggle for survival nearly saw its end but was revived soon after. There are three popular folk dances that have stood the test of time; lion dance, the court dance, and the dragon dance. Lion Dance The lion dance is accredited the most popular of all the folk dances. It is based on the perception of the male lion among the Chinese. In the North, the dance is performed in red and orange costumes and is full of the ferocity and agility showed by the animal. Its mostly done by acrobats. In the south, on the contrary, the dance is performed in no particular color and does not involve acrobats. Its meant to show the role of the animal which is to guard (Hays). The Court Dance This dance involves several dances all falling under the same. The common are the Prince Qins Cavalry dance performed to celebrate the imperial army.It passed a call to courage and preparedness for battle and involved a huge number of actors. Nichang Yuyi was another court dance inspired by the Tang Dynastys emperor from visions encountered in a dream he had and turned out to be an excellent piece (Jung-rock 17-55). Dragon Dance The dragon and lion dance to date are still the primary performances in any festivity among the Chinese. The Dragon symbolizes wisdom, dignity, and power. The dancers animate the huge long creature, and their number is dependent on the size of the mock dragon. Fire might also be incorporate in the dance to bring out the animals fierce breath effect on the audience (Hays). Opera Dance Just like the other dances, the opera dance can be traced to have begun long ago in China. It attained its maturity later in the Song dynasty and is characterized by the incorporation of various styles including martial arts, songs, literary art, and acrobatics all in one. The performers of the dance have their faces painted in different colors bearing different meanings to show the characters emotions, fate, and role. For example, the color white is painted on villain characters depicting their credulity, evil and craftiness. Green and red represent impulsiveness and bravery respectively. Chinese opera is categorized into several branches with the main difference being due to location variation. They include Cantonese opera, Beijing opera, kunqu Opera, Shaoxing opera and Lvju opera. Today, this dance is not as common as other dances and is only staged on the formal opera house and in some festivities but not a primary dance. The Chinese dances are a very broad form of representing, conveying and preserving their culture. Within the three most important categories of the dance, there exist several subcategories, and they differ within different ethnic groups. Performances of the dances follow different styles including acrobats and martial arts with the characters dressed in costumes to match the dance. Over the past, these dances have played a significant role not only preserving the culture but also preaching peace and unity among the communities. With time, the dances have transformed and may not portray the rich culture that was passed through generations but still hold meaning to the people. However, the communities should strive to ensure the continuity band originality of the dances.

Home sweet home Essay -- essays research papers

â€Å"Home Sweet Home†   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  There are hundreds of people, young and old that live in my apartment complex and each of them have a different and unique story to share. My story is that I come from the typical middle-of -nowhere suburbia, where the grass is always green, and all of the houses look the same. In that community it is easy to become too comfortable, and forget that things aren’t so â€Å"perfect† in the rest of the world. When my step-dad past away, we sold the house and moved into town changing the way I lived my life. The city feels like a different community and it seems to have a different atmosphere than the one where I came from. While writing this paper, it is my objective to become comfortable with my surroundings, and accept this community as mine.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The typical stereotype for apartment complexes is the children are constantly running around causing trouble and the walls are so paper thin that everyone knows every aspect your life. Here at Village at Van Mall, that couldn’t be any further from the truth. The children are confined to one area and the only time you hear from your neighbors is if you happen to run into them on your way out. The quiet community is tucked away in a hollowed out forest just off of Van Mall Drive. The towering evergreen trees provide a pleasing shade and from time to time a () rejuvenating breeze sweeps through the complex. The individual apartments are stacked two high and two across...

Derivates in Market Essay example -- essays research papers fc

INTRODUCTION “A derivative is like a razor, you can use it to shave and make yourself attractive for your girlfriend, you can slit your throat with it or you can use it to commit suicide.’(Anon.) This statement describes to us the problems, and on the other hand rewards, that the proper use of derivatives can bring. The derivatives market has developed responding to the uncertainty about prices, and therefore provided a means of separating out this price volatility. The tendency of the market to move up or down in what appears to be a random manner has brought about the need for financial products which will protect or hedge the investor against the ill effects of market volatility. Certain types of derivatives called Futures and Options might do just that if used properly. In this essay we look at certain types of derivatives called Futures and Options, and how hedgers / investors make use of them to their advantage as well as where the threats seem to lie when dealing with them in g eneral. These derivative markets allow hedgers to avoid risk by transferring it to speculators who seek it. We have all heard the phrase “keep your options open'; and it is along these lines that the Options derivative has arisen. As we know options are contractual arrangements giving the owner the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell something at a given price, at some time in the future. It is these Options in general that we want to address as they offer the investor the ability to create a wide variety of risk and return alternatives from the same underlying security. Futures, being exchanged-traded forward contracts, have also provided another choice to suit the needs of the holder and the advantages for and against these will also be looked at. After looking at the Futures and Options we will turn our attention to discussing the cases for and against the needs of further regulating this market. This issue has been strongly reinforced since many big bets have gone wrong, such as the collapse of Barings and many others. Where do the faults lie which have led to these disasters and who if anybody is to blame? These are matters that will need to be looked at. To begin with lets focus our attention on Futures contracts . Advantages / Disadvantages from the use of Future Contracts - As the market for future contracts is standardised ... ...ld result in the avoidance of future disasters but more self-regulation could be encouraged and set in play also. The bottom line is that anyone in the derivative business really needs to be more careful and have more control over what they are doing. Again Partnoy in his book FIASCO says, “ Most of us enter the investment business for the same sanity- destroying reasons a woman becomes a prostitute.’ So if you do decide to invest you should take the advice of the Office of Kansas Securities Commission which is “Investigate before you invest.’ BIBLIOGRAPHY - Edwards, W.H.W, Key Financial Instruments; Understanding motivation in the World of Derivatives - Lewis, M, (1989), Liar’s Poker, Coronet Books. - Office of Kansas Securities Commission website. - Partnoy, F, (1997), FIASCO Blood in the water on Wall Street, Profile Books. - Piesse, J, Piesnell, K, and Ward, C, (1995), British Financial Markets and Institutions, Prentice Hall. - Pike, R, and Neale, W, (1996), Corporate Finance Investment, Prentice Hall. - Rutterford, J, (1993), Introduction to the Stock Exchange Investment, Macmillan. - Specimen handouts given out in Lectures Derivates in Market Essay example -- essays research papers fc INTRODUCTION “A derivative is like a razor, you can use it to shave and make yourself attractive for your girlfriend, you can slit your throat with it or you can use it to commit suicide.’(Anon.) This statement describes to us the problems, and on the other hand rewards, that the proper use of derivatives can bring. The derivatives market has developed responding to the uncertainty about prices, and therefore provided a means of separating out this price volatility. The tendency of the market to move up or down in what appears to be a random manner has brought about the need for financial products which will protect or hedge the investor against the ill effects of market volatility. Certain types of derivatives called Futures and Options might do just that if used properly. In this essay we look at certain types of derivatives called Futures and Options, and how hedgers / investors make use of them to their advantage as well as where the threats seem to lie when dealing with them in g eneral. These derivative markets allow hedgers to avoid risk by transferring it to speculators who seek it. We have all heard the phrase “keep your options open'; and it is along these lines that the Options derivative has arisen. As we know options are contractual arrangements giving the owner the right, but not the obligation, to buy or sell something at a given price, at some time in the future. It is these Options in general that we want to address as they offer the investor the ability to create a wide variety of risk and return alternatives from the same underlying security. Futures, being exchanged-traded forward contracts, have also provided another choice to suit the needs of the holder and the advantages for and against these will also be looked at. After looking at the Futures and Options we will turn our attention to discussing the cases for and against the needs of further regulating this market. This issue has been strongly reinforced since many big bets have gone wrong, such as the collapse of Barings and many others. Where do the faults lie which have led to these disasters and who if anybody is to blame? These are matters that will need to be looked at. To begin with lets focus our attention on Futures contracts . Advantages / Disadvantages from the use of Future Contracts - As the market for future contracts is standardised ... ...ld result in the avoidance of future disasters but more self-regulation could be encouraged and set in play also. The bottom line is that anyone in the derivative business really needs to be more careful and have more control over what they are doing. Again Partnoy in his book FIASCO says, “ Most of us enter the investment business for the same sanity- destroying reasons a woman becomes a prostitute.’ So if you do decide to invest you should take the advice of the Office of Kansas Securities Commission which is “Investigate before you invest.’ BIBLIOGRAPHY - Edwards, W.H.W, Key Financial Instruments; Understanding motivation in the World of Derivatives - Lewis, M, (1989), Liar’s Poker, Coronet Books. - Office of Kansas Securities Commission website. - Partnoy, F, (1997), FIASCO Blood in the water on Wall Street, Profile Books. - Piesse, J, Piesnell, K, and Ward, C, (1995), British Financial Markets and Institutions, Prentice Hall. - Pike, R, and Neale, W, (1996), Corporate Finance Investment, Prentice Hall. - Rutterford, J, (1993), Introduction to the Stock Exchange Investment, Macmillan. - Specimen handouts given out in Lectures

Is Science to Blame Essay -- Science Scientific Essays

Is Science to Blame Science has played an important role in the American culture. One way or another it has transformed our way of living and our way of thinking towards human beings and nature. Science has been blamed for its new science inventions due to causing harm to individuals or the environment. As we are aware, science can have many benefits towards the health and environment, but at the same time there are consequences if new science ideas are not properly handled under the hands of the scientist or us, the individual. No doubt, science has provided many solutions to our unanswered questions and has removed our fears. J.Michael Bishop explains in his essay â€Å"Enemies of Promise† â€Å"science is the art of the possible, of the soluble† (239). For example, without scientist having the abundant knowledge that they do, the people and animals would not have survived infection’s diseases. People would not be aware of a habit they consume as being listed as a dangerous one nor would they know the facts on how to take care of their animal (s) or the environment. The solution to the diseases is that science has evolved with the proper vaccination though some are still in the process and others are about to be discovered. Also, nature has resulted to provide benefits to the human skin and even to cure some illnesses, has been discovered by scientist. There has been many other science solutions provided to Americans but many scientists are not appreciated for their development, rather people seek to find more answers to their health or environmental problems. If individuals are not meet with their needs they begin to criticize the science technology. Many Americans do not understand the concept of science. They imagine a... ...nswer can vary, depending on your beliefs, but it’s logical to say that science should be blamed when scientist introduce a new scientific idea just for selfishness, who don’t take into consideration the consequences of their product. Also, individuals who take advantage of any science development are the ones responsible for their failure not science. Science provides a different perspective on how to view others our natural environment. Works Cited Bishop, Michael J. â€Å"Enemies of Promise†. The Presence of Others. Ed. Moller. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. 237-242. Rifkin, Jeremy. â€Å"Biotech Century: Playing Ecological Roulette with Mother Nature’s Designs†. The Presence of Others. Ed. Moller. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. 244-253. Shelley, Mary. â€Å"Frankenstein†. The Presence of Others. Ed. Moller. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2000. 231-235.

Visual Argumentation: Gary McCoy’s Political Cartoon

The election fever has once again struck the land. Now more than ever, nationwide attention has started to zero in – quite lopsidedly in fact – on key political figures such as Barack Obama and John McCain. The two have been landing in major news headlines, as well as figuring in major media outfits as they try hard to convey their respective political programs to the public. As expected, they too – as indeed their proposed policies – have been subjected to a numberless of analyses, if not criticisms from all fronts; from television to radio shows, news magazines to dailies, as well as in various rallies and party conventions. One potent example of such analyses or criticisms is an editorial cartoon. Despite being just a single drawing about certain persons or issues, it nevertheless conveys powerful statements. For this paper, it would be wise to take Gary McCoy’s political cartoon, specifically depicting Barack Obama, as a specific example to concretely cite the case in point. Gary McCoy’s Caricature of Barack Obama It has to be firstly mentioned that the strength of an editorial cartoon lies in its ability to both convey the message hidden in the scene it portrays and engender â€Å"an opinion about someone or something prominent in the news† (Cartoon 217). But any evaluation of a political cartoon would also have to make a factual description of the piece as it is drawn – i. e. , a description of the cartoon as it appears. This entails suspending inherent biases, immediate judgments or initial impressions that one may already develop at the first sight of the cartoon. Gary McCoy’s caricature of Barack Obama portrays the politician while giving a speech. Therein, Obama’s face is visibly elongated; his forehead and chin thinly protruding. His right hand holds a microphone while his left hand is raised and points – that is, using his point finger – on to his supposed audience. Atop Obama is a speech-balloon which reads: â€Å"Random noun, miscellaneous verbs, blah, blah, Hope, Change†. Two creatures that appear to be kangaroos donned in coat and tie are portrayed talking to each other down the left corner. The creature to the right talks to his companion with the words: â€Å"This is getting easier by the minute†. While another balloon referenced to Barack’s supposed audience reads: â€Å"Cheer! Applause!! Yeaa!! Cheer!! Applause!! † The audience is depicted nowhere in the cartoon. It seems needless to argue that the cartoon is effective in conveying its message to its audience. This is because at first sight, one can already glean from the cartoon the central argument which it carries: that it is a criticism of Barack Obama in the first place, and the entire political system of the United States along the same vein. First, it is evident that McCoy makes a statement against Barack Obama. It can be specifically against his political strategy or the direction into which his campaign particularly treads. As indeed, the criticism can very well be against his innate giftedness to rouse a political audience, him being a gifted orator to say the least. â€Å"Random nouns and miscellaneous verbs† represents McCoy’s perception that Obama either has run out of new ideas to offer or does not have anything substantial to say in the very first place. In fact, the two kangaroos bolster the criticism being leveled. This is getting easier by the minute† appears to say that many people have in fact become used to, or have gotten tired of hearing Obama talk about his hope and change messages. The cartoon may very well be a statement against Obama’s credibility; for to imply that Obama’s hope and change messages – read: his main benchmarks – barely say anything is tantamount to saying that the heart and soul of his political agenda is ber eft of sense and direction altogether. Second, the cartoon is likewise effective in drawing related reactions beyond the intended Obama criticism. On the one hand, the cartoon is also a criticism of the people’s implied gullibility or perceived lack of critical thought in receiving Barack Obama. Obama, as mentioned, is a gifted speaker. And many people, it needs to be argued, are drawn to persons who can comport themselves authoritatively in public conventions and rallies. The cartoon therefore takes on how people appear unable to go beyond Obama’s charisma as a speaker. This is most notably seen in how the cartoon depicts the crowd applauding Obama’s speech, despite its implied lack of reasonable substance. McCoy therefore implies that, on account of this tendency, the general public is not able to give Obama’s message much needed second thoughts. On the other hand, it would be wise to cite that the cartoon can also be interpreted as a statement against the manner by which politics is exercised in this country. The conversation of the two kangaroos is telling – â€Å"this is getting easier by the minute† may be taken as a an unfortunate resignation over a political exercise marked by lack of substance on the part of politicians and lack of depth on the part of the voting public. If taken into this context, the cartoon may not specifically be against Barack Obama as the whole political system of the United States. Far from being offensive, the cartoon can in fact be ultimately taken as McCoy’s call to reform the exercise of politics in this country. Conclusion This paper now concludes that Gary McCoy’s political cartoon is effective in conveying its message to its audience. At the very least, the cartoon is clear in that it depicts its message without much ambiguity. In the discussions which were developed, it was learned that the cartoon is firstly a criticism against Barack Obama. As it depicts the politician’s speech as something that consists in nothing but the recurrent rhetoric on hope and change, the cartoon therefore implies that Obama either has nothing new to say or his message has no substance. But far from being offensive, it is also argued that the cartoon may be taken as McCoy’s call to reform the political practice of this country.

Management Education in India, Opportunities and Challenges Essay

Management education in India is a new concept as because the preferred careers in the 1940s and the 50s were medicine and engineering and in the 1960s and 70s the IAS and the Central services, the craze since the 1980s has been for management and IT Jobs. As a result, there has been an explosion in the number of business schools in India. Management study is very popular for imbibing versatility and multi-tasking abilities As the demand for management education grows so do the challenge and opportunities too. Today business schools in India face the challenge of creating an indigenous model of management curriculum. Although the area of action to implement management education is a global one but it is also necessary for the curriculum to reflect local aspirations. For eg: curriculum should focus on local case studies where the management principles are broadly examined, questioned and streamlined to meet the challenges of the local/national business environment optimistically. Unfortunately, Indian Business schools vary widely in terms of the caliber of the faculty, quality of curriculum, infrastructure, and placement record. Apart from the premier list of B Schools in India the academic standards of most of he B Schools are not upto the mark. In fact at the low end of the spectrum we find institutes charge exorbitant fee from gullible students but provide negligible academic value addition. The other challenges facing management education in India is to promote research and establish a global quality assurance and accreditation system and above all to continue working upon to improve against the competitors to enhance its ranking is a challenging task for every institute.

Know Rhymesâ€Know Reasons

My parents are nerds.   I don’t mean they were nerds as kids and grew out of it; I mean my parents were nerds from the moment each was born, though their adolescence, and right into adulthood.   Today, my parents remain true to their heritage: they are full-fledged, adult nerds. As most people are aware, nerd hood requires a few supplies and traits: along with the requisite pocket protectors, the over-exuberance for all things academic, and thick glasses, both of my parents are bookworms.   Luckily, certain genetic traits skip a generation, and I can honestly say that I am not a nerd; however, I am a bookworm, and I am not ashamed to admit it because much of my life has been influenced by the things I have read. I grew up with Dr. Seuss.   My father used to spend time every week reading the latest Dr. Seuss book with me.   He’d tuck me into bed, and then I read to him aloud as the story unfolded one rhyme and one intriguing illustration at a time.   My goal was not so much to get to the end, but to learn new words, and each new word I learned was marked by my father with a bright, yellow highlighter. In this way, the progress I made became more tangible, and for all I know, that habit of my father’s allowed me the freedom to read all of my books with a dictionary and a highlighter by my side and never to feel as if doing so was a waste of time or a burden: new word were an adventure, and I loved learning them.   I don’t recall developing a particular favorite Dr. Seuss book as a child, but as I got older, I began to get the urge to unpack the box of my highlighted books and relive a little of my youth. The box of Dr. Seuss books had been stored in the family shed, and the years had taken their toll.   The change in temperature had caused the books to warp and mold, but they had not gone completely to waste: at least one family of rodents had nested in the box, shredding the pages of my early education for their own progeny’s needs.   One lone book remained untouched: Horton Hears a Who, and as I opened this last book of my childhood and began to read, I was struck by the power of the story.   Hidden in the text was one of the most important lessons I’ve ever learned: a single voice of the tiniest girl was strong enough to make a difference.   As hokey as it may sound, I leaned the degree to which an individual can impact the world that day as I read that book.   Perhaps I am a nerd. I won’t waste time by detailing the degree to which I read during grade school, junior high school, and high school; I will only clarify that while I admit to being bookish, I was also an athlete, participated in student body, and had a social life.   I was, however, not done with Dr. Seuss. I hit a wall with Shakespeare, and I felt the burden of reading for the first time in my life.   While many students had grown accustomed to that wall, I had never dealt with it, so by the time it happened to me, the stakes were high: I was in college, and I wasn’t getting it.   I had never skipped a reading—never worried about my English or literature courses. Suddenly, I was ready for a slug of the stuff Romeo had taken.   I did the only thing I could think of: looking for commiseration, I complained to my parents about how stupid Shakespeare was, pointed out that no one could really be sure he’d written his plays, and wondered out loud why anyone needed to read stuff that’s written like that anyway. My father would have none of it, but he suggested to me that anyone who had grown up on Dr. Seuss and Shel Silverstein had no business complaining about or being confused by Shakespeare.   Like many messages delivered when one isn’t ready to receive them, the point my father had tried to make was lost on me for awhile—buried by the frustration of not having been appeased.   Several days later, I tried to give in to the notion that there might be something familiar in the rhythm and rhyme of Shakespeare if only I’d do what my father had suggested: read it out loud and listen—really listen. I struggled at first trying to work through the colloquial terms.   I fought to remember that the ends of a line of text didn’t necessarily equal the end of a sentence.   I battled with Shakespeare’s sentence structure trying to remember that it was rarely subject-verb-object.   It was like running through sand that was waist deep.   Until it wasn’t.   Suddenly, everything fell into place: it was like I had learned a foreign language.   The words made sense; the story began to unfold around me; I got it; I liked it.   The only thing I can compare it to is sitting in a theater watching a sub-titled movie: there is a point at which the reading becomes so automatic that it is no longer a conscious effort but automatic.   It was just like that. Later, I met the wall that was Henry James.   I was reading Portrait of a Lady, and I had spent far too much time trying to decipher the first scene of the text.   When I realized that James had spent over a page beating around the bush to say that three men were at tea, I wanted to scream.   I wanted to ask the guy why he’d wasted so much ink and so many words simply to point out to the audience that it was tea time, but instead of there being women there, there were men—but I had a book to wade through, and Mr. James was long dead, so I moved on. Having figured out the context of the opening if the book, I went back and started anew, and I realized that I wanted to sit and talk to the man who had chosen such wonderfully descriptive words—a man who had taken such great care to spend the time to so completely describe the fact that three men were at tea.   I remember thinking to myself that if he were a painter, and he painted the way he wrote, that I would love his work like I loved Claude Monet’s Impression Sunrise.   Years later, when I began to read everything I could by and about Henry James, I had a private laugh over his affinity for painters—Monet in particular. Having cracked Shakespeare and James, I was never again afraid of a book’s language or  length.   I picked up Middlemarch and Tom Jones and Vanity Fair and loved each of them for  different reasons, but one day, I picked up Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio, and like  Horton Hears a Who, I found a story that changed the way I viewed the world.   â€Å"The Book of the  Grotesque† made me think about truth, and the way in which each individual forms his or her  own truth and twists it to suite personal needs.   It made me consider that each person’s  quest for and claiming of truth can send ripples into the world, and these ideas changed me. Recently, I have discovered Flannery O’Connor, and while I struggle with the racial issues that threaten to ruin her works for me, I feel the now-familiar tingle beginning that I have grown to recognize as the discovery and excitement that only a well-written book can bring me.   I may have to break down and buy a pocket protector just to use as a book mark. What about writing?   Well, if one day all of the things I have jotted down in hopes of emulating the people previously mentioned ever manages to make its way to a publisher, I will blame that on the books I have read and the people who wrote them.   I will speak of the fact that when I walk into a bookstore, I marvel at all of the people who have managed to get published and allow myself an instant to believe it might someday happen for me as well. As I pick my words and paint my own pictures, I wonder if I have it in me to write the thing that for the right person will make a difference—the thing that might one day be highlighted in bright yellow—the page marked with a sticky note.   Maybe this year I’ll try my hand at NaNoWriMo.