Religious Artifact Analysis Essay

The artifact that we intend to examine is the hit song â€Å"King Without a Crown† by the reggae music artist, Matisyahu. This music artist interests us because he is a popular performer who we have listened to voluntarily, with the particular song â€Å"King Without a Crown† ranking in the top 40 songs in America at one point in his career. Additionally, choosing a Matisyahu song is of interest to us as students at the University of Maryland because of Matisyahu’s live performance at UMD last year. Music is a particular form of rhetoric for artists to communicate ideas and inspire their listeners to adopt or understand belief systems. In the case of Matisyahu, the artist sings about his relationship to God and his religion, Judaism while making various references to religious and cultural aspects of his religion. As an Orthodox Jew, Matisyahu provides his audience with music specifically tied to religious belief. However, Matisyahu’s music may be universally enjoyed by people of any religion, as demonstrated by his various appearances on MTV during the time that his single, â€Å"King Without a Crown†, was popularly played on the radio and bought on iTunes. Matisyahu is known for being a Jewish figure in the music industry who is able to incorporate his religious passion to musical talent in a quite unique manner, through the production of reggae songs. Although music is a central part of the Jewish religion, especially in the practice of Orthodox Judaism, reggae music sung in English is an unconventional means of musical expression compared to other types of Jewish music, which include klezmer or traditional singing of psalms in Hebrew. At first glance, we noticed the symbols that Matisyahu uses in his song to represent different experiences in life. For example, Matisyahu incorporates a juxtaposition of darkness and light to demonstrate emotions and situations that are both positive (light) and negative (dark). Additionally, the artist uses much religious jargon, referring to God by the different names that Jewish people use to address a higher being. There is also an element of religion and/or God as a type of source that may protect and help people if they reach out and ask for such assistance, which is a fundamental Jewish belief. Matisyahu alludes to ideas of prayer, belief, and the Messiah, bringing important Jewish concepts to his song in an inspirational way of expressing his love for God. In studying this artifact, we will look at the lyrics of the song, â€Å"King Without a Crown† primarily to analyze the language that Matisyahu uses to communicate his  ideas. Additionally, we will draw upon the images used in this particular song’s music video to complement the lyrics that we study. In order to have a complete understanding of our text, we will research the biography of Matisyahu, including a focus on recent events, such as the scandal that occurred within the religious Jewish community when he shaved off his beard in the fall. Finally, to understand all of the Jewish references that Matisyahu makes in his song, we will research specific Jewish concepts, beliefs, and approaches to religious topics, such as the waiting for the Messiah to come from a Jewish lens. Studying a Matisyahu song is worthwhile because this particular artist is one of the most visible and popular Jewish representatives and role models in the secular world of music production. It is important to note that Jewish people do not exclusively enjoy Matisyahu music. Rather, his songs have been popular throughout America, especially among reggae fans. Especially as Jews are a minority religion in nearly all countries in the world, Matisyahu is a positive representation of Judaism and the Jewish people to the world, working to deconstruct religious stereotypes and serve as an example for devout people of all religions to embrace both their passions and their religious beliefs. Descriptive Analysis Purpose- It’s about the power of trusting G-d in everyday life. also from a Jewish standpoint, it refers to the wait for a Messiah that will come; communicating his dedication to g-d. He is trying to convince his audience to follow that lifestyle Audience- His fans; mostly Jewish listeners now that he is not as famous anymore Controversial- Religious, some people do not share the same beliefs, minority religion, he is Orthodox and was affiliated with Chabbad at the time. He speaks about G-d and there are people who do not believe in G-d. Rhetor’s (Matisyahu) Purpose: â€Å"King Without a Crown† Following listening to Matisyahu’s â€Å"King Without a Crown† and reading its lyrics it seems as though he is referring to someone, use as a model representative of people in general that his targeted audience can relate to, who is lost spiritually and more specifically neglecting/ignoring the Torah. His identity with Chasidism is evident from even first glance at his  everyday attire consisting of a dark hat, matching long dark suit and coupled with the Chasidism orthodox braided hair hanging down from either temple and long beard. When analyzing Matisyahu’s lyrics and his passionate performance of â€Å"King Without a Crown,† it is feasible to argue his ultimate purpose from a rhetorical standpoint is to advocate a more Chasidic expression of faith and encouraging more attention and adherence toward prayer and the Torah. By calling his targeted audience (his fans) to reflect upon their daily lifestyle in contrast with the teachings of the Torah, he brings our attention toward our personal daily conduct and instills his audience members with feelings of personal accountability for each of our actions and the lives we choose to live. Ultimately the song, â€Å"King Without a Crown† is aimed at the nature of altering people’s perception of living a faith-bound righteous life in the eyes of G_d and calls for change in social action, more specifically, our everyday lifestyles and behaviors so that it emulates the Torah’s teachings. s exemplified by his lyrics such as: You’re all that I have and you’re all that I need Each and every day I pray to get to know your peace Wanna be close to you, yes I’m so hungry You’re like water for my soul when it gets thirsty If you’re drowning in the waters and you can’t stay afloat Ask Hasheem for mercy {and} he’ll throw you a rope Encouragement to trust and turn to G_d, not only when we desire something or are in need, but ydaily and it should be reflected by our actions. asking for G_d to help you do so. Apparently Matisyahu was a heavy drug user earlier in his life, and the video and song are obviously an autobiographical depiction of someone who overcame their demons. I have heard a lot of Christians say they like his music. I agree that his music is good†¦ but if someone is looking to Matisyahu as a prophet proclaiming God’s Word, I’m afraid he is very far from it. The title of the song is â€Å"King Without a Crown.† Such a title may sound familiar to Christians. Jesus is often described in such a way. However, this is not at all what Matisyahu is referring to in his song. He continues: If you’re drowning in the waters and you can’t stay afloat Ask Hasheem for mercy {and} he’ll throw you a rope (You’re) lookin’ for help from God; you say he couldn’t be found Searching up to the sky and looking beneath the ground Like a King without his Crown You keep fallin’ down You really want to live but can’t get rid of your frown You(‘re) try(in’) to reach unto the heights and wound bound down on the ground Matisyahu’s King without his Crown is not Christ, it is himself. The chorus of the song reveals more: What’s this feeling? My love will rip a hole in the ceiling (I give/Givin’} myself to you {now} from the essence of my being and I sing to my God, songs of love and healing †¦..I want Moshiach now so it’s time we start revealing Here he depicts the afflicting emotional torment of a spiritually lost and broken soul , and finally comes to recognition that he is powerless without G_d. He’s at the lowest breaking point in his life and surrenders his will to seeking out Moshiach for hope of healing. Matisyahu uses this experience to exemplify the saving strength and power of loving G_d, reinforcing once again, the significance of faith in our lives. Slavery is also a major theme of Matisyahu’s music, and is emphasized in the live version of â€Å"King Without a Crown.† Matisyahu sings of the slavery in which human beings sometimes bring upon themselves through materialism and hubris: â€Å"You’re a slave to yourself and you don’t even know/You want to live the fast life but your brain moves slow/If you’re trying to stay high then you’re bound to stay low/You want G-d but you can’t deflate your ego/If you’re already there then there’s nowhere to go/If you’re cup’s already full then it’s bound to overflow.† â€Å"King Without a Crown† is †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Its widespread popularity is illustrated by the fact â€Å"song has been the band’s biggest commercial success, breaking into the Modern Rock Top 10 and peaking at #7 (citation needed).† When critically analyzing the rhetor’s (Matisyahu’s) purpose and underling significance of his song â€Å"King Without a Crown,† from a theoretical/conceptual perspective; 3 primary inferences can be made. 1.) Observe/abide by the Torah 2.) G_d is all you need 3.) Only lust for salvation; avoid materialism Conclusion Statement: Consider the rhetor’s purpose: 1.) What is the nature – call to action, altering perception, maintain social action? 2.) What was the cost the audience was faced with in terms of the rhetor’s appeals? Reevaluate their faith and lifestyles from a critical standpoint and evaluate the impact faith has to the contribution of our beliefs and actions and recognize what changes must be made for us to fulfill a life in accordance with the teachings of the Torah and walk a path that will lead to heaven and fill the with void/ provide direction in our livees felt by each of us exemplified by â€Å"a King Without a Crown† or in other words without a spiritual beacon to guide/ inspire leadership. The cost at critically in-depth analysis of our life is the resulting uneasines/weariness/ relucantce/ dislike/ unfavorable/ flaws/causes uncomfotableness associated with identifying and accepting our flaws.

The Cause and Effects of Global Issue

The cause and effects of global issue Because of the development of technology, which people use to treat diseases, the deaths caused by communicable disease are decreasing all over the world. However, the deaths of Non-communicable diseases increase. Non-communicable diseases such as Diabetes, Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and cancer, which are caused mainly by the bad lifestyle result in the burden to the global economy and caused many deaths in the whole world. In this essay, firstly, the causes and effects of Diabetes will be introduced.Secondly, those things of CVD will be demonstrated. Finally, the Cancer’s cause and effect will be discussed. Diabetes is a quite widespread disease, which is caused by the lack of an important hormone called insulin. However, researches show that people who exercise less, insobriety and smoke more possibly get this disease and these factors are the primary causes of this disease (Colditz 1990, Helmrich 1991, Lynch 1996, Manson 2000, Ajani 2000). Because of the spread of this disease, people all over the world were greatly affected and it mainly includes three aspects.Above all, diabetes widely affects our health and daily life. Up to now, it’s still hard to cure diabetes. Diabetes has an excessive morbidity. DIABETES UK (2010) estimates that in 2009, 2. 6 million people in the UK were found to have diabetes and it predicted that the number would increase to 4 million people by 2025. Not only, in the UK, diabetes is also a big problem in the US. In a research (2011) shows that 25. 8 million people in the United States suffered diabetes, which represents 8. 3 percent of the total population. In other developing countries, the situation is even more difficult.In addition to the extremely high rate, diabetes always leads to other diseases like heart disease, High blood pressure, blindness, kidney disease, nervous system disease. In 2004, 68 percent of people older than 65 who were died from heart disease turned ou t to have relationship with diabetes (2011). From the year 2005 to 2008, 67 percent of people who suffered diabetes have greater blood pressure than the equal level (2011). Besides, diabetes is the leading factor of factors of blindness. In 2008, a total of 20290 people were living on kidney disease in the United States.Most of them have the history of diabetes. What’s more, about 60% to 70% of people with diabetes have a tendency of developing into nervous system disease (2011). Finally, it is also an economic issue to both governments and individual. ‘The Cost of Diabetes in Europe-Type 2 study’ is the first coordinated attempt to measure total healthcare costs of Type 2 diabetes mellitus in Europe. It evaluated more than 7000 patients with Diabetes in eight countries which shows that the total costs of diabetes were estimated at the EUR 29 billion a year(Jonsson,2004).It has the same situation in other countries all over the world. In Canada for 1998, the econ omic burden of diabetes was likely to between $4. 76 and $5. 23 billion(Keith, 1998). In Sweden, the prevalence of diabetes mellitus is about 3%-4% of the population. The economic burden of diabetes is estimated at 5746 MSEK in1994. (Jonsson, 1983) CVD are the most common complication of diabetes: diabetes causes the microscopic blood vessels of the heart which brings myocardial necrosis. In addition, it also causes atherosclerotic which contributes to coronary heart disease.Myocardial necrosis and heart disease both are a kind of CVD (Goldberg, 2000). Not only are CVD caused by diabetes, but also both of them have something in common. It shows clearly the connection between CVD and unhealthy lifestyle as diabetes does (Wright, Douglas, Rahman, 2004). In other words, unhealthy lifestyle is the main factor of CVD. Unhealthy lifestyle is reflected in using of tobacco, unhealthy diet, lack of exercise and staying up late. On the one hand, with the development of social economy and the living standard improving, people have sufficient money to purchase tobacco.Consequently, tobacco is introduced into people’s life. It has an enormous negative effect on human’s health and is also one of incentives of CVD (Millett, Gray, Saxena, Netuveli, 2007). As another effect of society progress, diet style has changed a lot: people’s staple bread has changed into the high adipose and high protein instead of grain and vegetables (W. H. O. , 2005). Fat intake more than reasonable limit intake, which was the main factors of nutrition superfluous. Over nutrition causes overweight and obese people greatly increases.Overweight and obesity are the common risk factors of CVD (W. H. O. , 2005). On the other hand, the quick pace of city life produces lack of exercise and staying up late. Lack of exercise causes the obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension and hyperglycemia ( Furberg and Thune, 2003). It has been reported by Furberg and Thune (2003) the main risk factors of CVD are hyperglycemia, hypertension, hyperglycemia and obesity. As a result of staying up late, people usually feel ill next day. Phillips (2005) explained the reason why people feel sick. It is because staying up late engenders endocrine disorders.In addition, endocrine disorders will cause atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, which is one of CVD (Phillips, 2005). Although the decrease of the death rates from CVD appears in some part of western countries (Slattery, Jacobs, Nichaman, 1989), it is still one of the most serious threats to humans, especially among the seniors, in developed countries where medical equipment and technology is comparatively advanced(W. H. O. ,1993). That means the current state of CVD is not that positive as it seems to be. CVD is still one of the deadliest diseases in most parts of western world.Statistics demonstrate that More than 30% of deaths in the United States were caused by CVD (Pakenham, 2010). To make matters worse, the disease, which con sidered to be solely happening in the western world, now spread to the developing countries and is becoming a worldwide leading cause of death (W. H. O. , 2005). Take China as an example, the number of patients with CVD reached 230 million in 2008, which means that 2 in 10 adults are suffering from cardiovascular disease (The Ministry of Health, 2010). As a whole, this kind of problem still remains a challenge for human beings (Pakenham, 2010).CVD not only causes large quantities of death, but also increases the enormous economic burden. People who have contracted this kind of diseases suffered unbearable cost pressure including expensive cost of drugs, of undertaking body examinations regularly and of surgery. In 2010 in China, as far as cardiovascular disease is concerned, the acute myocardial infarction costs Chinese society 1. 946 billion Yuan, while 6. 587 billion Yuan in intracranial bleeding and 9. 817 billion Yuan in cerebral infarction. (The Ministry of Health, 2010).Accord ing to China cardiovascular disease report(2010) despite of the fact of price changes, a respectively average annual growth rate of acute myocardial infarction, intracranial bleeding and cerebral infarction respect attained 34. 46%, 26. 85% and 31. 05% since 2004. China cardiovascular disease report (2010) stated that such a rapid growth of cost of CVD have a close connection with the rapid growth of the number of people and increases personal and national economic burden. Be similar to diabetes and CVD, the cancer spread very wide and quick and influence seriously. There are many factors, which can cause the increasing of Cancer.The main factor is the unhealthy lifestyle, such as alcohol abuse, inadequate diet, physical inactivity and tobacco’s use. Tobacco’s use, which has the biggest influence on human causes highest rate of cancer. The more and more use of tobacco causes the increasing of lung cancer, which has a high fatality rate. According to the J Natl Cancer I nst (1981), by far, the largest reliably known percentage is the 30% of current U. S. cancer deaths that are due to tobacco. On the other hand, the physical inactivity also causes the increasing of cancer, because the cancer is from the genic mutation.If people do fewer exercises, the more rate of genic mutation will be. So people will have a higher rate of getting cancer. Moreover, the pollution of environment causes the increasing of cancer too. It even can cause 37 forms of cancer (core-reading. No date) Because of the increasing of the cancer described above, it costs much money and influences the economy. This phenomenon not only occurs in developing countries but also in developed countries. According to the Boyle (2008), this is going to present an amazing problem at every level in every society worldwide. However, the influences in different countries are different.For example, the cost of cancer in the United States is less than 1. 73% of GDP but in the Hungary, which has a smaller population and domestic economy it is more than 3. 05% of GDP. (Global Health, 2010) This kind of difference between developing and developed countries is the result of the different degree of attention in the countries. In developing countries, the government pay more attention to the development of economy thus the control of cancer was ignored. Only when cancer becomes an evident disaster, the government will turn to treat it. However, it will cost more money, because the treatment costs more money than the prevention.The truth is that both developing and developed countries spend much money on cancer. The total economic impact of premature death and disability from cancer worldwide was $895 billion in 2008. This cost represents 1. 5 percent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP). This economic toll from cancer is nearly 19 percent higher than heart disease, the second-leading cause of economic loss ($895 billion and $753 billion, respectively). (Global healt h, 2010) The high cost of cancer happened because the cancer has direct and indirect influences on the economy.The direct influences include the cost of treatment and prevention of cancer and the funds which be used in research of cancer. The indirectly influences is the decrease of the productivity, because there are no longer enough healthy adults who can work for the industry. Moreover, the death of cancer is more than any other disease, especially in the developing countries. People in Butler County are more likely to die from cancer than heart disease, counter to the trend seen nationally and across the region, according to Journal News’s examination.In some developing countries, the cancer death can equal or larger than 60% of the total death in there per year(Boyle,Levin,2008). In 2008, there were 12. 4 million new case of cancer diagnosed and 7. 6 million deaths from disease (Boyle,Levin,2008). There are a number of factors, which account for the increasing of Non-com municable diseases. However, the main factor is the bad lifestyle of people. On the other hand, the Non-communicable diseases cause many deaths and loss of global economy. It has been argued that there are three kinds of Non-communicable diseases, including Diabetes, CVD and Cancer, which play the important role in NCD.These three diseases caused by the bad lifestyle such as the lack of the exercise and the superfluous or unhealthy diet. Because of the increasing of the NCD, it cost a lot of government’s money to treat it and becomes a heavy burden to the global economy. All in all, the Non-communicable diseases as a global issue result in the burden with the global economy and cause many deaths in the whole world. References Colditz GA, Willett WC, Stampfer MJ,(1990)Weight as a risk factor for clinical diabetes in women. Am J Epidemiol Helmrich SP, Ragland DR, Leung RW, Paffenbarger RS Jr.Physical activity and reduced occurrence of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus. N Engl J Med 1991 Lynch J, Helmrich SP, Lakka TA, et al. Moderately intense physical activities and high levels of cardiorespiratory fitness reduce risk of non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus in middle-aged men. Arch Intern Med 1996 Manson JE, Ajani UA, Liu S, Nathan DM, Hennekens CH. A prospective study of cigarette smoking and the incidence of diabetes mellitus among US male physicians. Am J Med 2000 Ajani UA, Hennekens CH, Spelsberg A, Manson JE. Alcohol consumption and risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus among US male physicians.Arch Intern Med 2000 Data from the 2011 National Diabetes Fact Sheet (released Jan. 26, 2011) http://www. diabetes. org/diabetes-basics/diabetes-statistics/ Revealing the cost of Type II diabetes in Europe(B Jonsson – Diabetologia, 2002 – Springer) Goldberg, K. B. (2000) Risk factor CVD in diabetic patients modification for cardiac disease. New York: The McGraw-Hill Companies JT Wright Jr, JG Douglas, M Rahman(1998)Prevention of cardiovascul ar disease in hypertensive patients with normal renal function, [online]Available at <http://www. ciencedirect. com/science/article/pii/S0272638698003357 >(13/12/2011 15:27) Gerald B. Phillips(2005)Is Atherosclerotic Cardiovascular Disease an Endocrinological Disorder? The Estrogen-Androgen Paradox, [online]Available at <http://jcem. endojournals. org/content/90/5/2708. short> (13/12/2011 15:38) ML Slattery, DR Jacobs Jr and MZ Nichaman (1989)Leisure time physical activity and coronary heart disease death. The US Railroad Study [online]Available at http://circ. ahajournals. org/content/79/2/304. short (13/12/2011 15:38)The Ministry of Health. (2010) China cardiovascular disease report, 21th Oct [online]Available at http://www. moh. gov. cn/publicfiles/business/htmlfiles/mohbgt/s6717/201109/52995. htm(13/12/2011 15:39) world health organization report(2005) Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs)not date [online]Available at http://www. who. int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs317/en/ind ex. html (13/12/2011 15:41) Making connection Unit 1 reading 2 J Natl Cancer Inst, (1981) . The causes of cancer: quantitative estimates of avoidable risks of cancer in the United States today. online]Available at<http://www. ncbi. nlm. nih. gov/sites/entrez/7017215? dopt=Abstract&holding=f1000,f1000m,isrctn> (13/12/2011 10:25) <<Core reading book>> Cancer In Developing World(2010). [online]Available at<http://www. globalhealth. org/view_top. php3? id=1056>(13/12/2011 10:26) American Cancer Society,lnc. (2010),The Global Economic [online]Available at<http://www. globalhealth. org/images/pdf/2010_cancer_report. pdf> (13/12/2011 10:34) Boyle/ P, and Levin, B. World Cancer Report (2008),

Aung Sang Suu Kyi †Freedom from Fear Essay

It is simply not debatable that Aung Sang Suu Kyi speech, â€Å"Freedom from Fear† should be included in the category of â€Å"Communities and contexts: how ideas are generated through words†. I will show you why this is. Aung Sang Suu Kyi uses a substantial amount of pathos in her speech. When she combines pathos, antithesis and a lack of fear, she forms a speech that reaches out to people not only in her own country of Burma but also the whole UK Government and its allied nations. This is evident through her quote, â€Å"It is not power that corrupts but fear. Fear of losing power corrupts those who wield it and fear of the scourge of power corrupts those who are subject to it. † Through this we can see that she is calling the audience to think and therefore engaging the listeners to hear more about what she has to say. Also in the title of the speech in its self it portrays antithesis, showing that â€Å"Freedom from Fear† implies that there is always another way to go. In the Buddhist teachings on which Aung San Suu Kyi draws there are four ways in which we can forget our principles and be corrupted. We may be led by our selfish desires, by ill will and a desire to harm our enemies, by ignorance or by fear. She shows us that fear is most ominous and it’s certainly the greatest weapon of any cruelties. Aung Sang Suu Kyi tells us how the Burmese government subdue people by instilling fear of arrest, torture and death, aiming to foster the apathy and subservience that add up to a kind of moral corruption. In saying this Pathos is employed in a way, which Aung Sang Suu Kyi connects with her audience, for example, â€Å"If ideas and beliefs are to be denied validity outside the geographical and cultural bounds of their origin, Buddhism would be confined to north India, Christianity to a narrow tract in the Middle East and Islam to Arabia. † By mentioning different countries Aung Sang Suu Kyi helps to personify the worlds sorrow, and also shows the fear of Xenophobes.

Comparing paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Comparing paper - Essay Example As per Sikhism, there is one God and they believe in the teachings of Sikh Gurus. God is linked or merged with the Gurus and Gurus represent ‘The Creator’ and Sikhs emphasize the need to keep harmonious balance between temporal and spiritual obligations. Furthermore, in sync with the beliefs of Sikhism, Judaism and Christianity also believe in one God and that God is eternal and immutable. It is said that Judaism calls for highest sense of self-discipline and it is considered to be one of the strict religion. As per Christianity God is supreme, powerful and besides being the creator of all things. Christians believe that it is possible to reach God only through Jesus, who is His only Son. As far as human life is concerned, Sikhs consider human life as precious because the soul has to goes through several births and deaths before it is blessed with human form. In tune with this belief, in Judaism everything is connected to God as God created the world and controls the all activities in the universe. As per Judaism, God has no physical form and he is not male nor female. The substance of Jewish faith is in Rambam’s principles of faith which makes defense about the existence of God. For Christians, God is the preserver of the world and it is God that created life and made humankind in His image. While Sikhs believe that human beings face problems because of their wrongdoings, they consider remembering God’s name as the prime solution. Judaism believes that every good and bad actions will be treated suitably. Like Christianity, Judaism also believes in confession of past sins and seeking atonement. The Father in Church listens for the sins committed by the people and he prays to God and Jesus to condone their sins. In Christianity it is believed that sin and evil arrived in the world through Adam and Eve. It is because of the negativities that man has become an evil force but it is God that makes final judgment on the man. Judaism and Sik hism profess that every person can approach God individually but in Christianity a mediator is necessary between God and man. Gurudwara is the place of worship for Sikhs, Jews offer prayers and worship in Synagogues and Christians worship in Churches. Sikhs do not believe in icons based prayers hence there are no icons visible in the Gurudwara, Sikhs consider their Holy Book of Guru Grantha Saheb Ji as their ultimate teacher. The Holy book contains a collection of teachings and writings by Guru Nanak and other Gurus, it is hailed by Sikhs as the living word of God. The Holy Book has ample references about Hindu and Muslim Saints. Sikhs place their Holy book on a raised platform decorated with flowers. Like Gurudwaras, there are no icons in Synagogues, but in Church we normally get to see the statue of Jesus Christ and sometimes there are drawings on the wall of the Church those depict angels. Judaism has numerous religious texts but the most important of all is Torah. God gave writt en and oral Torah to Moses and it contains 613 commandments of God. There would be not going to be another Torah. Similarly Christians also have a Holy Book called Bible. The foundation of the beliefs in Christianity are based on the teaching from the Bible. Besides the Holy book, Christians believe in Trinity, the Father and Son. In Judaism there are many sects, their daily prayers are a part of their life, these prayers are said in the morning and at the bedtime. Sikhs and Christians visit Gurudwaras once a

Nursing EBP Clinical Protocol & Pilot Study Essay

Nursing EBP Clinical Protocol & Pilot Study - Essay Example 2002). All but one study did show a reduction in length of stay and increased range of motion for patients that used CPM short term. A pilot study will be initiated to test the following protocol which is written based on the evidence from literature review. These results will be reported and that report will help initiate and evidence based protocol for full time use. Permission will be sought from those involved as well as senior staff and physicians. The goal of the protocol would be to use CPM for initial knee flexion but to increase PT rapidly, decreasing use of CPM as research shows that CMP only has a short term advantage and PT has a long term advantage. The aim of the pilot study is to test the protocol that is recommended at this time to assure that it works well and produces good quality results for the patient as well as a reduction in the patients length of stay. At the same time, documentation recommendations as well as pain tolerance and post op bleeding will be analyzed. The pilot study will be carried out on the orthopedic floor. This will be discussed first with the orthopedic surgeons and then with the nursing management at the hospital that is responsible for this floor (Vincent & Chapman et.al. 2000).. Once the evidence base is explained and it is cleared, patients will be permitted as needed for the pilot, assuring that they understand the new protocol. Nurses on the floor will be educated and ten patients will be chosen for the pilot. Those patients will need to be post operative knee with the need for CPM use and as few other co-morbidities as possible. For example, we do not want to include someone that is prone to infection because the likelihood is that the infection would skew the data collected. The results of the pilot will be studied to assure that there is improvement in cost, quality and length of stay. The evaluation of the pilot will include physicians, nurses, and nurse administrator. A positive result will mean permanent change of the protocol. Resources Bruun-Olsen, V., Heiberg, K. & Mengshoel, A. (2009). Continuous passive motion as an adjunct to active exercises in early rehabilitation following total knee arthroplasty. Disability and Rehabilitation. 31(4). 277-283. Retrieved from Academic Search Primer. Accession # 35702360. Davies, D., Johnston, W., Beupre, L. (2003). Effect of adjunctive range of motion therapy after primary total knee arthroplasty on the use of health services after hospital discharge.

Tuna again In Fault-Finding England, It's a Cause for Divorce Essay

Tuna again In Fault-Finding England, It's a Cause for Divorce - Essay Example Because of this, complaints include the mundane, absurd and occasionally the bizarre. However, I argue that Lyall takes a serious subject much too lightly and that her implied ‘solution’, does nothing to fix the problem, instead it is an attempt to hold the rest of the world to a particular standard, which does not appear to be working very well anyway. Lyall is adamant about criticizing the United Kingdom system of divorce, implying that the most effective solution for the problem of divorces in the United Kingdom would be to move to the American model, and allow for no-fault divorce. However, how much of a problem is there in the United Kingdom? In the United Kingdom, the divorce rate for 2010 is 11.1 divorces per 1,000 individuals in the married population. If one takes into account the fact that a married couple consists of two individuals, this is a rate of a little over 20% of marriages fail (Rogers 2011). Furthermore, it is estimated that around 70% of these divor ces occur for first marriages (Divorce Rate 2009), suggesting that either people learn from their mistakes, or that few remarry. These statistics are different in the United States, where the divorce rate is approximately 50% (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2012), that is, half of all marriages end in divorce. The relationship of divorce to number of marriage is also different, with second marriages having a higher rate of divorce than first, and third marriages having an even higher rate (Divorce Rate 1999). These figures suggest that marriages fare significantly better in the United Kingdom than in the United States. This might be a result of the United Kingdom system of divorce being more difficult, but the article by Lyall implies this is not the case. She suggests that results are not more complicated in the United Kingdom, just that they focus on more trivial matters. Therefore, if this trend is not caused by a difficultly in divorcing, the next logical answer is t hat marriages in the United Kingdom fare better than their United States counterparts. This raises some important questions. For example, does the United Kingdom system of divorce help to keep couples together? This argument is not as unreasonable as it sounds as thinking and writing out reasons for the divorce may help couples to confront their problems, and to realize how trivial many of these actually are. This allows room for much more reflection than the American process, where couples may not even be certain between themselves why they are divorcing. Lyall argues that creating a no-fault divorce would remove the requirement for judges and lawyers to determine fault in the divorce. As she explains, currently under the United Kingdom law a divorce must fall into one of five categories before it can be granted. The most common category is unreasonable behavior, which as Lyall shows, can cover a wide range of different types of behavior. However, Lyall appears to believe that movi ng to a no-fault divorce system would not increase the rates of divorce. This argument is heavily flawed, as by its very nature, making divorce easier would increase how often it occurs. For example, in the United Kingdom the practice of extended separation is common, and this is often used to provide evidence for a future divorce claim (National Family Mediation 2010). This practice can help couples to understand what they lose

Economic Policy and the Environment Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Economic Policy and the Environment - Assignment Example To curb, environmental externalities, many laws have been enacted to remedy or deter environmental pollution. One of these laws is the A Pigovian tax. This is a tax that is applied to someone who is causing negative externalities in the environment. The tax law is intended to correct inefficiencies resulting from market activities. It operates by setting equal the social costs of the negative externalities resulting from economic production. In a normal economic production, the presence of negative externalities is not compensated for by the benefit accruing from the production processes (Burrows, 2009). This makes the market inefficient and may lead to overconsumption of the product. Besides, this may result in an equal distribution of resources in the society as the producer benefit to the detrimental of the environment. Through applying such taxes, negative externalities would be reduced to have an equal distribution of benefits resulting from the resources. This reduces cases of environmental pollution which has resulted in extreme catastrophic environmental destruction. This law was instituted by an economist Arthur Pigou in collaboration of William Baumol. Since its inception, the tax law has proven efficient in reducing environmental externalities (Sandmo,

Reflection Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 15

Reflection - Assignment Example These results are provided by empirical researchers that are based on set hypothesis. Additionally, 51 percent is the result that is found in the study that involves only two sexes. Tossing a coin can give the very near result of 50-50 hence the result is random and not consistent. Secondly, the issue of homosexual marriage provides another basis of Buller argument. If the results of empirical research show that, men are more, hurt by physical cheating. Innately according to Buller men are different from women. Basing on Buss argument, the homosexual men are like women who will be hurt by emotional infidelity. On culture, the research show that there is a lower prevalence of sexual infidelity in Germany and the Dutch hence culture diversity can play a role. The Buller counter argument is not convincing. Firstly, his arguments are based on wrong correlations that amount to fallacious reasoning. The use of homosexual marriage presents a wrong correlation because Buss argued that men are concerned with the question of not being the parent of their children. In homosexual marriage, there is not parenthood hence cannot be a valid argument. Tossing a coin is another wrong correlation as basis of the argument to refute the argument of

Deregulation of Airline Industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Deregulation of Airline Industry - Essay Example This turned away many potential investors’ as well international airlines to the restrictive measures that this body had put in place. This led to policy makers to rethink the operation in this industry and the contribution that the regulation imposed by the CBA affected the growth of this industry (Sinha, 2004). Therefore, in 1978 the Airline Deregulation Act was enacted in an effort to reverse the slow growth that this industry experienced. The main aims of this paper is critical analyze and evaluate the effects of deregulation to the major stake holders in this industry as well consider how it affected various micro economic variables (Smith & Cox, 2011). Before deregulation airline on competed on the basis of the quality of the cabin crew, the frequency in which the airline offered its services and other auxiliary services such food they offered to their client, price were fixed since they were regulated by the CBA (Smith & Cox, 2011). ... This increased completion among the existing airlines and the new airlines that were joining the market. Therefore, competition basis shifted from food and the frequency to the fares that airlines charged (Sinha, 2004). The increased competition which was being experienced in the market, led to establishment of low cost airlines such as the Ryanair in Europe after the European Union deregulated the airline industry. Low cost airlines charges lower prices so to facilitate their establishment in the market. The low cost airlines assumed that consumers of airlines service were rational that is there price responsive, therefore if the charged lower price they would be to capture a considerable proportion of the market (Krugman & Wells, 2009). Deregulation was advantages to the consumers of services from this industry since increases in supply caused the prices charged in this to decline as illustrated below by graph entitled average domestic airfares. Decline in the fares charged by the airlines was beneficial to consumers, since this increased consumer surplus (Krugman & Wells, 2009). In addition to this consumers had a wide variety to choose from; that is due to the increase in the number of airlines the consumers now had wide service provider to choose from. The quality of services offered in this industry also improved as compared to the time before deregulation. When the number of airline service provider increased in the market every airline had to brand its services as best in the market. This was beneficial to the customer as he obtained more quality services at cheaper prices (Sinha, 2004). The decrease in prices and improvement in quality fostered increased

Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Entrepreneurship and Social Enterprise - Essay Example This theory pertains relates to financial investment made in the company. Therefore, this theory seeks to ensure that the investments made in are growing constantly. The Frieze scenario also brings to focus investment theories. These theories elaborate the why people invest well aware of the possible consequences. The theories also elaborate the perception of individuals towards risks. The risk bearing theory introduces risk as a vital aspect of investment. In the above scenario, the three partners risked their finances by investing in such a firm. The partner could have lost the funds invested in the entity if it failed to succeed. The theory outlines risk taking as a vital factor, which triggers investment (Carrillo 2007. P. 100). This write up will evaluate major happenings in this entity. The major happenings include launch of the magazine, introduction of art fairs and the expansion strategies available to the entity at 2008. The analysis of the major happenings will evaluate th e factors, which triggered the entity’s success at each stage. This write will culminate with a detailed examination of the entity’s possible expansion strategies and the possible implications of their adopting any of the strategies. The three individuals had a clear strategy of what they wanted to undertake. A magazine targeted art lovers in England. The founders had identified a specific field, which their magazine would target. The magazine targeted the arts lovers. Clear identification of their segment enabled the company to focus on their customers’ needs. This also enabled the team identify their competition easily. Consequently, they had to provide the clientele in the art world with more value than their rivals. The managerial team had identified the name that their magazine was to assume. This helped the magazine to maintain its values. Therefore, the magazine

Improving service productivity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Improving service productivity - Essay Example So, a higher ratio indicates higher productivity. Compared to manufacturing industries, it is much difficult to measure productivity in services industries, especially those that are enabled by Information Technology. (Saari, 2006) Yet, management gurus have identified a few proven techniques for improving service productivity, which are discussed below. One way of improving service productivity is by applying operations-driven strategies. This entails reducing costs and wastage of resources, setting production capacities to meet demands, computerizing mechanical or routine tasks, upgrading systems to latest standards, re-training employees to adapt to upgraded systems, expanding the range of tasks that an employee can perform, redesigning service process where applicable, etc. All of these improvements in operations will lead to overall improvement in service productivity. (www.slideshare.net, 2011) There is another approach to increasing service productivity, which is via Customer- driven strategies. The first component of these strategie is to â€Å"change the timing of customer demand†. The rationale is that â€Å"by shifting demand away from peaks, managers can make better use of firm's productive assets and provide better service†. (www.slideshare.net, 2011) Similarly, involving customers in the production process is also helpful.

Religion Essay Example for Free

Religion Essay He was the Lord of Hosts and the god of battle. B) He was believed to inspire battle ecstasy in some warriors; called Berserks who would fight welcomed into the Paradise of Valhalla those who died in battle. 9. Odin was often depicted as a Middle aged man with long curly hair and a beard. He was attended by two ravens, Hug in (though) and man in (memory). Which he sent out into the world every day to gather information for him. 10. Odin crucified himself on the world tree in a mysterious ritual of sacrificing himself to himself to advance his quest for sacred knowledge. For nine days and nights he hung, pierced by a spear, until magical ‘runes’ (mystical symbols) appeared before him. 11. Thor the god of thunder, lightning and storms, was Odin’s eldest brother, his mother was the earth. 12. This hammer was made for him by the Dwarves, and would magically he turn to his hand whenever he needed it. 13. Thor the of thunder, lighting and storms was Odin eldest brother and his mother was the earth. Thor was supernaturally strong and renowned for his huge appertite. He drove about the heavens in cart pulled by his two fierce billy gods. Tooth Cnasher and tooth Grinder. 14. Loki helped the giants trick the thunder god. * Loki the trickster god was notorious among the deities. * He was the foster- brother of Odin, and the one who gave the fishing net to the Nordic people. * He was actually a giant who had been adopted into the Aesir because of his lively wit. 15. Capable of both good and evil Loki was an ambiguous figure who later came to be linked with Christian images of the devil. 16. Bader, a son of Odin and Frigg was the god of light. Balder was the most beautiful and gracious of the Aesir in Asgard. His mother extracted oaths from all things in nature not a harm her son. Horde and aimed it for him at balder who was killed by it. The gods grieved inconsolably over his death. 17. Freyr ( twin brother of Freya, and originally once of the vanir) * Njord was the god of the sea and father of the twins Freyr and Freya. * Tyr (aka Tiwaz) was the sword god, the hideous Fenris wolf bit Try’s arm off as Fenris was bound for the third time. * Helmdall, the god of the rising down, stood guard at the Asgard end the Bifrost Bridge and carried Gjallar, the mighty war horn. 18. Female deities featured quite strongly in Nordic religion and were seen to be as sashed and powerful as the male gods. 19. Frijj, Odin’s wife and Queen of the deities, was goddess of lone and death. 20. Freya the most renowned of the god desses ‘was twin sister of Freyr, she lame to be worshipped in a variety of fields, from warfare to lone of fairs, beauty, soothsaying (prophecy or truth telling). Freya lived (ever greedy for knowledge); she taught him the shamanistic (spiritual) magic known as seider. In return, she received half of all the warriors slain in battle and brought to Asgard. 21. The Valkyries, foster- daughters of Odin, were supernatural women who lived in Valhalla where they were cupbearers to the shades (spirits) of dead warriors. Valkyries were copse goddesses, unromantically represented by the raven. Contrary to popular depiction they did not ride winged horses. Often in a troop of nine, they rode fierce wolves into battle and allocated victory and defeat to the combatants. 22. The rode fierce wolves into battle and allocated victory and defeat to the combat ants. Those who died in battle were taken by the Valkyries to Valhalla, the golden feasting hall of the gods in Asgard. 3. The Norns were the three Fates, three terrible sisters named. Urd (Fate), verdanda (Being), and skuld (Necessity) originally from the land of the giants the norns spun the threads of life that allocated each individual’s destiny. 24. They wore the threads that shaped the lives not only of numars but also of the gods themselves. For that reason, the norns were often regarde d as more powerful than the deities, some traditions say that the two eldest Norns (Urd, the Fate of the past, and verdanda, the Fate of the present). 25. The Norns also tended to Yggdrasil, the word tree, and kept it healthy. Every day they drew pure water from the spring of Fate, whitened it with clay and poured the mixture over the tree so that the water fell down to earth as fresh life giving dew. In this way, they preserved the always nibbling at Yggdrasil buds and new leaf shoots, the Norns kept the tree green and growing. 26. Hela was the Queen of the dead. She lived in the underworld of Niflheim, the northern land of ice and darkness, all who died from sickness or old age passed into Hela’s world. The giants were older than the gods, and know so much more about the past that the gods had to go to them for wisdom. The Norns of underlying implication that even the gods themselves would come to an end in time is a continual haunting theme throughout the stories of Nordic mythology. 28. Mimir (memory) a very old and very wise giant who was keeper of the spring of wisdom. * Vafthrudner was called the all wise among the giants in Jotunheim. * Hrimthurs, was the rock giant who but Asgard fortifications sart, was the southern land of prim evil fine which devoured all the world all the world at the end of time. 9. The Nordic mythology is threads that shaped the lives not only of numans but also of the gods themselves. The Norns after regarded as more powerful than the deities. The gods were not permitted to see their life threads, suggested that they were subject to a fate beyond their divine control. The Norn who fixed the length of the thread of life by some accounts, unravelled what he sister had made. The Norns also tended to Yggdrasil, the world tree, and kept it healthy.

Jindal Steel Power Limited

Jindal Steel Power Limited Jindal Steel Power Limited Company Profile Jindal Steel Power Limited, part of the Jindal Organization, is one of the important steel producers of the country. Founded at Hisar, Haryana by industrialist O P Jindal, it is currently the third largest producer in India in terms of tonnage. It manufactures sponge iron, iron ore etc. as well as active in power generation. With revenue of about $1363.5 million last year, the company employs more than 15000 people throughout the world. The company has its headquarters in New Delhi and is presently headed and managed by Naveen Jindal, son of late O P Jindal. (www.datamonitor.com) Decision making and analysis In the contemporary scenario, the success or breakdown of the business is closely associated with the class of decision making. Decision making at Jindal steel and power takes place at three levels * Corporate level: The decisions here generally concentrate on companys core competence, backward and forward integration, competitive advantages and manpower retention by employee empowerment. * Middle management: The decisions concern realization of goals set by the top management and to monitor the progress and make any mid course correction. * Operational management: Decisions related to product quality, delivery and after sales service to ensure customer satisfaction at all levels (internal as well as external). Strategic decision Cyclic industries like iron ore, steel or power are very susceptible to changes in government policies or in terms of availing new opportunities. Jindal management is in tune with such highly efficient strategic decision making. One such strategic decision taken by Jindal Steel and Power ltd. is discussed herein- â€Å"Jindal Steel and Power Limited has entered into a strategic alliance with Hydro Power development corporation of Arunachal Pradesh and the state government, to set up Subansiri Middle, a 1600 MW hydro electric power plant there (Asia Pulse, November 25,2009)†. The decision is considered strategic because- * This project will make them big enough in hydro electric power generation to eliminate any competition * There is a tremendous gap between supply and demand of power in India; this project will ensure returns which will never be affected adversely by any downturn in economy or political changes in the country. * Involves high degree of uncertainty and risk * Involves huge capital investment in the form of fixed assets and infrastructure Thus such decision is taken after undertaking extensive research and information analysis. Some of the important areas of research or information required before taking the decision are- * Information on the available alternatives to the decision; a critical and thorough analysis of the alternatives is required as huge investments are involved * Facts and information about the benefits or services being provided by the concerned state government like tax holidays, subsidies, land etc. (Arunachal Pradesh state government provides various incentives like Sales tax/VAT exemption up to 99% or low predetermined lease rents of land, (www.arunachalpradesh.nic.in). * Local and national competitors in Arunachal Pradesh, as well as analysis of the target areas * Information on availability of raw materials, labor supply and transportation facilities in the state of Arunachal Pradesh; as well as the legal and operational costs involved in the setting up of the plant Tactical Decision A tactical decision taken by Jindal steel and power management is â€Å"declaring a dividend of 550% for the shareholders†. The decision was taken after the company reported more than two-fold growth in consolidated net profits (www.jindalsteelpower.com). The decision taken here is tactical as- * It is medium term; dividends for one fiscal year * the decision is not very frequent or repetitive * the company will build brand loyalty and retain loyal stakeholders * Quantitative information is available about companys financials Although these decisions are less risk prone and have medium term effects, still they need to be taken after thoroughly analyzing the available information. Information required by the Jindal management before declaring dividends is discussed below * Complete information about the companys financial performance and reports * Understanding of the companys financial ratios to maintain a balanced financial leverage and favorable debt-equity ratio * Information on the other viable alternatives where the profits could be invested, if dividends are not to be declared * Competitor dividend policies whether dividends are declared by rival companies in that particular quarter Operational decision The bottom line of Jindal group depends on the decisions taken at operational levels. The guiding principles of decision making are waste management, quality management, delivery management in the most cost effective way. Jindal steel and power decided to hire another local transport company for the purpose of delivery of their raw materials from the market to logistics/ factory unit or goods from factory to market. The decision here is regarded as operational due to the reasons mentioned below- * The decision involved here is immediate and involves lower costs * Is for a short period of time * Has limited scope for decision * The decision is repetitive and susceptible to frequent changes Such decisions are often based on computerized data, experience of the managers or locally available information. Some information requirements are * Information about the cost and time benefits/losses associated with the decision * Comparative analysis of the available options (transport companies in this case) Competitive Intelligence Information on strategic and tactical moves of competitors plays crucial role in survival or death of an organization. Jindal Steel and Power limited is no exception to this. At Jindal, management is aware of its competition and does whatever it takes to keep ahead of the competitors. The main competitors of Jindal Steel and Power limited are * Steel Authority Of India Limited * Tata Steel * Tata Power * MSP Steel and Power limited Some cases or situations where information on competitors decisions and policies may prove or proved quite useful are discussed below Recently, when Steel Authority of India Limited entered into an exclusive agreement with the Indian Railways for supplying products, Jindal Steel and Power aware of the decision and the consequences, filed a case with the Competition Commission of India against Indian Railways on the basis that the exclusive agreement would threaten the likelihood of competitors contending for the projects through competitive bids (Business Standard, November 9, 2009). In another instance, Jindal steel and power ltd. being aware of the fact that the demand for galvanized iron and steel is quite high in many areas of north India, have themselves planned to launch something on the lines of galvanized steel launched by Tata steel in July 2009 (India Business Insight, November 2009). Having information about the decision of Tata steel to launch a new form of galvanized steel will prove quite beneficial to Jindal steel as they can launch a better product than the competitors and thus ensure that there is no loss or damage to their market share for the product in North India. In a similar situation, information on MSP steel and powers expansion plans in Chhattisgarh (www.myiris.com) is of utmost relevance to Jindal Steel and Power as it has a considerable market share in Chhattisgarh and MSP steel and powers expansion there might affect Jindals business and market share. Thus JSPL can take certain decisions and change/develop plans for their own expansion to make sure that there is no effect on their market share and they have a competitive edge over their competitors. Another instance where knowledge about competitors decisions and information proved quite beneficial to JSPL is regarding the setting up of a power plant in Arunachal Pradesh. Jindal Steel and Power, knowing about the plan of Reliance power to set up 1000 MW hydro electric power plant in Arunachal Pradesh (India Business Insight, 2009), formulated its own strategies and decisions accordingly, and decided to set up a hydro electric power plant with more power generation capacity before the establishment of Reliance Powers plant there. B2B Commerce Jindal Steel and Power Whatever the size of the business may be, B2B e-commerce undoubtedly adds value to its operations. Jindal group has kept itself abreast with the latest technology and launched a B2B portal Steelmart.com for the steel sector. It has formed alliances with various service providers like Indiaport.com and many others to provide a perfect environment for choosing and selecting new business associates for carrying out the transactions, not only for the companies under the Jindal group but the other firms in the steel sector as well. However in context of Jindal Steel and power, through this initiative, Jindal group intends to provide Jindal steel and power with an easy access to market functionaries: producers, distributors, suppliers etc and an electronic marketplace solution (Business Line, September 2000). This enables JSPL to ensure a continuous availability of raw materials whenever required to improve the efficiency level of operations and supply/distribution channels. B2B without any question offers variety of information on products, suppliers, product time and lead time, competitors, market share etc. and therefore besides the portal, Jindal management has developed an extensive system of B2B commerce or in other words, an online system providing suppliers all over the country the facility to register with the Jindal group and supply raw materials and other resources as and when required by the company. Jindal group already has a well established Enterprise Resource Planning and SAP mechanism, and B2B is just another leap forward to become more cost effective and competitive. Looking at the pace with which Jindal Steel and Power has rose to a position of eminence in the steel and energy industry, B2B holds even more importance for the company in the future and has very high future potential. Conclusion Jindal Steel and Power limited can be thus seen as a highly efficient and competitive company, in tune with the latest aspects of the technology and development, possessing at the same time, the wide experience and knowledge of an equally effective and efficient management team. The company is a live example of excellence and perfectionism involving highly competent decision making, planning and execution of the strategies. References * Indias Jindal to setup 1600 MW power plant in Arunachal (2009). Asia Pulse (Internet), 25 November. Available from Accessed 24th November 2009 * Arunachal Pradesh State Industrial Policy (2008), Department of Industries, Government of Arunachal Pradesh (Internet). Available from Accessed 24th November 2009 * Jindal Steel net up 2 fold; announces 550% dividend (2009) Press Trust of India (Internet) 27 May. Available from Accessed 24th November 2009 * Press Trust of India (2009) JSPL files complaint against railways with CCI. Business Standard (Internet) 9 November. Available from Accessed 25th November 2009 * Tata launches Galvanized Steel brand (2009). India Business Insight (Internet) 13 July. Available from Accessed 25th November 2009 * Company Profile ‘Jindal Steel and Power limited (2008). Available from Accessed 24th November 2009 * IRIS Business Service (2008) MSP Steel announces expansion plans (Internet) 13 August. Available from Accessed 25th November 2009 * Reliance Power to set up a hydroelectric power plant in Arunachal Pradesh (2009). India Business Insight (Internet) 30 September. Available from Accessed 25th November 2009 * The Hindu Bureau (2000) O P Jindal group launches portal for steel sector (Internet) 30 September. Available from Accessed 26th November 2009

Case Study Writing A Personal Statement Personal Development Essay

Case Study Writing A Personal Statement Personal Development Essay Why I want to follow this course. (Try not to be too woolly or make motherhood and apple pie statements) Why I chose my HL subjects This must be linked very strongly to the choice of course you intend to follow What my SL choices -either contribute to my chosen course -or contribute to a more rounded education. What is my extended essay about? Why did I choose this topic? (CAREFUL: use only if it enhances your application in some way) Positions of responsibility held. Outside interests, hobbies, CAS activities undertaken, memberships of clubs, etc., or any other activities you are involved in. Any qualifications obtained (e.g. Certificates for music.) (These should either enhance your course choice , or show a broad range of interests, or both) Conclusion This should in some way refer back to your introduction, and look forward as well. What do you see yourself doing in 5 to 10 years time? And how do you think your course choice will enhance the opportunities available to you? Look at how the sample statements provided achieve this aim Qualities an Admissions Tutor looks for in prospective Undergraduate students: GCSE results. Interest from pupil Known ability to show commitment and motivation Technical ability in subject Evidence of general intellectual / subject specific curiosity and passion Evidence of being able to be an independent learner Intellectual flexibility and suppleness A good match between the candidate and the course applied for Willingness and ability to argue lucidly Strength of character, self-discipline, maturity, perseverance, stamina Interest vigorously pursued beyond the syllabus LAW: A career in Law would give me the opportunity to pursue an intellectually challenging field of study which holds utmost importance to upholding the core values of our current society. I believe that law will provide me with a continuous and stimulating learning experience due to its progressive, ever evolving nature in the context of globalization. The appreciation of other cultures and society will assist me immensely in the study of law. As an international student having lived in many countries before and currently pursuing the International Baccalaureate; accepting different cultures and their perspectives has become a day to day way of life. I have been inspired to believe that I am an international citizen with a unique cultural identity. Studying the Theory of Knowledge has helped me gain greater awareness of our world and to conduct rational and logical approaches to complex questions and their uncertainties. Additionally, in History, analyzing a variety of biased sources and striving to substantiate points with historiography, I believe would help me in the study of law. My passion for History in reading into the significance of past events and its effect on society will be further supported by my participation in the Model United Nations.Recently, I was pleased to accept the vote of most Diplomatic delegate, achieving my goal to develop my skills in public speaking and debate. I was challenged with the issue of international property rights, passionately arguing and often siding for countries whose views differ from my own. My participation in the Global Young Leaders Conference in America and seeing first hand the significance of Washington and New Yorks worldwide economic importance was truly inspiring. I was challenged to engage in passionate discussions on matters such as human rights, and the justification of current wars directly affecting politics. This experience has inspired me greatly and consolidated my interest in global affairs, giving me the opportunity to hone diplomatic skills through thought-provoking simulations. Representing the student population in formal functions, my role as Student Delegate has allowed me to take on leadership qualities, encouraging maturity and I believe that now I am more confident and self assured, because of the obligation to set a positive example to other students. I have undertaken community services which have shown me firsthand the social challenges in Bangkok. Looking into the pleading eyes of homeless children selling religious garlands has made me realize the discrepancy between the poor and the rich making me determined to try and make a difference with the skills acquired in the study of Law. I teach English to Thai students on a voluntary basis. Through these rewarding experiences, Ive learned that language barriers can be overcome by non-verbal communication and that human connections can still be achieved. Striving to improve my ability in piano, a hobby which I have pursued since young, I am determined to complete my Grade 7 exam. Another activity I have highly enjoyed and persevered is undertaking the Duke of Edinburgh Award. I am a highly self-motivated student and I have taken the initiative to research into law cases such as the Donahue vs. Stevenson case concerning torts law in practise and a corporate litigation concerning business conflicts such as an accusation of forgery and fraud. The juxtaposition of the ethical boundaries and corporate legality shows me how complex the judicial system is- further inspiring me to study and explore more. A vacation internship in a law firm will help me to understand and gain deeper knowledge on the daily workings of Law. My choice to study Law in the UK is because of my international lifestyle as the well-established British law system can be adapted allowing me to practise even in my home country Malaysia. I hope that my passionate desire to study law will convince you to accept me into your University. BUSINESS: The book Rich Dad, Poor Dad written by personal-finance author Robert T. Kiyosaki and Sharon L. Lechter was the initial stimulus that led me to discover the realm of business management and finance. Additionally, it ignited my ambition to become a successful investor. Having had a long term influence from members within my family who are associated with finance and investment careers, I confidently believe that Im more sensitive in the business field as well as being more critical minded and analytical towards current business affairs. I also understand that these qualities are considered to be essential for a substantial investor, who should possess additionally a considerable amount of determination. I am armed with these qualities; moreover, Business Studies and Mathematics have always been my academic strengths which would allow me to enjoy the course. The economic collapse in 1997 in the Republic of Korea caused numerous prominent companies to suffer cash flow crisis. It was the first time I had the opportunity to witness a major economical and political transformation first hand. This has made me recognize the importance of business management and the commitment it requires to comprehend the basic management principles. These principles such as investment, management, marketing, human resource management, asset management, and organizations are the foundation for creating a good business. On the other hand, I sincerely believe that by studying finance, it will benefit my family businesses and furthermore my ability would then profit society by helping those people who needs support, which is one of my objectives that I wish to fulfill later on in my life. Studying in an international school has enabled me to socialize and mix with students from different cultures. I am also an active person participating in many extra-curricular activities. One large project involved being in the Royal Barge. This involves traditional Thai dancing to show respect to different cultures and additionally celebrated the 60th birthday of the Royal King of Thailand in front of more than two thousand people.. I am currently running an activity myself which invites my peers within Year 13 to experience a different culture via traditional food. The activity is solely managed by me and this has developed my proactive, leadership, organization, and recruitment skills. Im also involved in charity activity; for instance, I joined the 4Kali going to Khao Lak in Phuket where I visited schools to support them rebuild damage from the Tsunami. I helped to organize various activities and programs for the schools and the children. This charity activity was a big stimulus that enhanced my interest to help people who need support for the better future of the world. Living in Bangkok for 5 years of my life, I can speak Korean, English, Mandarin and Thai, which will be invaluable in helping me operate successfully in todays globalized society. Having lived overseas for my whole secondary school life has expanded my appreciation of different cultures, especially as I had the chance to interact with people from a variety of backgrounds in International Schools. Learning TOK as a part of my IB course has enabled me to be very open minded never limiting my views in many different matters to just one perspective. Because of the insight and background which a British education can provide me with, choosing the UK to further my education was a certain and easy decision. I aim to study MBA after my Bachelors Degree to extend my knowledge and study finance to a higher level.

The Significance of Anti-visual Imagery in Story of the Eye and Un Chien Andalou. :: Movie Film Essays

The Significance of Anti-visual Imagery in Story of the Eye and Un Chien Andalou  Ã‚      The faithful alliance between the eye and the body came under severe attack with the oncoming of the first world war. The effects of trench warfare on peoples' perceptions caused them to question and reevaluate the confidence they had once put into their sense of vision. The experience of trench warfare was characterized by confusion due to not being able to see the enemy, indistinguishable shadows, gas-induced haze, and sudden spurts of blinding light (Jay 174). As a result of this lack of visual clarity, a nationalistic movement in interwar France emerged towards visual lucidity that was evident in the declining interest in Cubism and the subsequent appraisal of Purism (Silver 79). The directive of this movement was to restore a unified sense of vision that would coincide with what was desired for the reemerging postwar society. This attempt to reorganize the shattered sense of perspective, however, encountered dissonance in many of those that were involved in the war. Many of the Surrealists, including Breton, were forced to participate in the war, and their experiences in it left them disenchanted (Jay 182). The war helped to contribute to their overall feelings of nihilism and to what Breton described as their "campaign of systematic refusal". Breton elaborated on this "systematic refusal" in his essay "What Is Surrealism?" by discussing "the incredible stupidity of the arguments which attempted to legitimize our participation in such an enterprise as the war, whose issue left us completely indifferent", and defined their refusal as "against the whole series of intellectual, moral and social obligations that continually and from all sides weigh down on man and crush him." The eye was not, it seems, impervious to the scope of this "systematic refusal". Breton and his group of Surrealists perpetuated their ideas beyond the text and into the eye through the use of painting and photography, while at the same time redefining the roles of these forms of media. "Painting the impossible" is what Magritte liked to call giving "precedence to poetry over painting (Mathews 34)" In his and other Surrealist paintings there was a strong urge to challenge the integrity of the optical experience. For example, the Rumanian-born Victor Brauner had decided to paint with his eyes closed, and Magritte directly challenged speech and thought with the incorporation of his betraying titles.

Helen Stoner :: English Literature Helen Stoner Essays

Helen Stoner Helen Stoner is instantly stereotyped by readers as a judicious and unpretentious lady of high society England. Conan Doyle pulls the strings of the Victorian males desires and creates a 'damsel in distress', who comes to a man for aid that she does not have the resources to conclude herself. He portrays her as a woman who is wronged and in great danger therefore adding to the suspense of the story. Analysing the assortment of clothes that she is wearing the reader can conclude that she is of sufficient 'breeding' and discreet. 'A woman dressed in black, and heavily veiled' tells us that she is unaccustomed to travelling around the conurbation solitary. She is dressed in black as not to attract attention. It was uncommon for women of a high-class family to travel around the metropolis alone, she may think this shameful, which is interesting considering that it contrasts to modern day westernised civilisation where it could be interpreted as independent. Manners were of paramount importance in Victorian society, and Helen Stoner is represented as a woman who is capable of being able to display the correct 'society manners'. Victorians were very pedantic about how a woman was allowed to greet any males in her presence. The fact that she is 'heavily veiled' specifies that she does not wish for Dr Watson or Mr Holmes to direct any attention to her looks but instead to her story. This suggests to the reader that no improper conduct was to be entertained. Helen Stoner also clearly has a methodical mind. She has natural intelligence yet is prohibited to show any real deduction that may question a mans views. This is why she visits Mr Holmes. She has no power over her stepfather, her views, as a woman would be thought totally irrational by other males, so she seeks professional (male) help in the form of Sherlock Holmes. It is comprehensible to me that she has been pushed beyond her mental limitations as a human being long ago, 'She raised her veil as she spoke, and we could clearly see that she was indeed in a pitiable state of agitation, her face all drawn and grey, with restless, frightened eyes, like those of some hunted animal. Her features and figure was those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was shot with premature grey, and her expression was weary and haggard' yet she has put up with what she has been reduced to simply because it was seen as improper for a woman to question what a man was doing or for a woman to draw attention to her home life.

Communism in Chinese Education

China has a long and rich cultural tradition in which education has played a major role. In 124 BC the first university was established for training prospective bureaucrats in Confucian learning and the Chinese classics. Only members of the upper class could attend school. Peasants and factory workers did not have the time to attend school; therefore as of 1949 only 20% of China was literate. The Communists who controlled China considered illiteracy a major stumbling block in their promotion of political programs. They then combined political propaganda with educational development. During the first few years (1949-51) of this push on education, over 60 million peasants enrolled in winter schools, or sessions, established to take advantage of the slack season for agricultural workers. Mao, the Communist leader of China, felt that the ultimate goal of education was to eliminate class distinction. After Mao†s death in 1976 a review of government policies concerning education was started. Out of this review came standardized testing and the reinstitution of entrance exams to get into schools and these exams were also used to get in the civil service. Chinese children entered school at age six and stayed for six years. They would study the Chinese language, math and other basic subjects. After going to an elementary school children would enter a middle school. The subjects the Chinese taught were particularly important for the advancement of the country. During the Ming dynasty Chinese novels became very popular. There were many poems and collections of short stories. The Ming also established free schools for the public hoping to expand education in china. Gifted students were selected for studying abroad especially in the United States. As these students finished their education and returned to China some of them teaching at Chinese Universities a major political unrest began to place. The recently educated youth of China challenged the Communist policies of their country. Many protest and rallies took place led by university students. This protest was because students did not want the government to have total power. Many of these protestors were killed or jailed and still are in jail today. The more educated the Chinese people became they realized that their present way of life was not as good as it should be.

Vocabulary

3 Developing Vocabulary in Second Language Acquisition: From Theories to the Classroom Jeff G. Mehring Abstract This paper examines the theories behind vocabulary acquisition in second language learning in order to put these theories into practice in a class. Learning vocabulary is an ongoing process which requires systematic repetition to help students learn, especially low context vocabulary. Students can retain the vocabulary they find useful and relevant to their subject matter by learning vocabulary through context, cooperative learning, and using technology.Results from an action research project will be reported. Introduction Until recently vocabulary had been widely overlooked in the ESL/EFL classroom. Maiguashca (1993) stated that teaching or studying grammar is based on a set of rules with a coherent structure which students follow or remember, but the same is not true of vocabulary (p. 91). Within the last few years, vocabulary has become viewed as an important aspect in s econd language learning, in fact, many believe just as important as the main skills of reading, writing, listening, and speaking.Nation (as cited in Nation and Waring, 1997) explained, â€Å"Vocabulary knowledge enables language use, language use enables the increase of vocabulary knowledge, knowledge of the world enables the increase of vocabulary knowledge and language use and so on† (p. 6). This contextualized approach to learning vocabulary will help students increase their vocabulary though authentic interaction. In this paper, I will examine the theories behind vocabulary acquisition and some results when they were put into practice during my student teaching. Theoretical ConceptsBuilding vocabulary is extremely important for success in undergraduate or graduate studies. Nation and Waring (1997) reported that 5-year-old native English speakers beginning school will have a vocabulary of around 4,000 to 5,000 word families, adding roughly 1,000 word families a year until graduating from university with a vocabulary of around 20,000 word families (p. 7). Bauer and Nation (as cited in Nation and Waring) defined a word family as the base word, its inflected forms, and a small number of regular derived forms (p. 7).This means that students such as those in the English Foundations Program (EFP) at Hawai‘i Pacific University (HPU) have an enormous challenge ahead of them, considering that their previous schooling was in their L1, not English. If one uses Nation and Waring’s statement that native speakers have a vocabulary of around 20,000 word families at the time of university graduation, non-native speakers, before finishing EFP 1310, an advanced-level class in the EFP, and entering the undergraduate program, would have to increase their vocabulary from between 5,000 to 15,000 word families, depending on their previous English language studies.The good news is that according to Jamieson (as cited in Nation and Waring), once ESL students ent er a school where English is the primary language, their vocabulary grows at the same rate as native speakers, around 1,000 word families a year; however, the initial gap never closes (p. 7). Understanding where ESL students are starting from will help in providing the vocabulary needed in order for them to improve and catch up. Learning vocabulary is an ongoing process that takes time and practice. Nakata (2006) acknowledged that vocabulary acquisition requires continual repetition in order for effective vocabulary learning (p. 9). Vocabulary acquisition is not something a student can spend time learning or memorizing, like grammar, and be successful. Acquisition requires the learner to be disciplined, spending time each day working on words he/she does not know in order for 4 learners to remember high frequency words and put them into their long term memory, Nation and Waring stated that learners need to encounter the word multiple times in authentic speaking, reading, and writing context at the student’s appropriate level (p. 8).Developing lessons which allow the student to encounter new words multiple times, allowing them to put the new words into his/her long term memory can be time consuming. Developing word lists from the context of the lesson can reduce the work load, enabling the student to encounter the word multiple times through reading, listening, and speaking. Learning new vocabulary through context also helps the student understand the word’s correct usage and prevents students from making sentences from dictionary definition such as, There is a large cleavage between the rich and poor in America.Learning new words from a word list is much different from learning them in the context of a sentence or story. Yongqi Gu (2003) stated that learning new words through context is only one step students may use, and that students should think meta-cognitively and learn new words within the context of where they appear. (p. 14). To help the student learn the important words from the context of a lesson a teacher needs to focus on low context words, which necessitates a second distinction: high frequency and low frequency words.Nation (2005) defined high frequency words as words that occur quite frequently in the language, such as the, a, man, and woman. High frequency words occur so regularly in daily conversation that if students understand these words, they are able to write and speak in comprehensible English. Low frequency words, as described by Nation, are words that deal more with academic studies, words that appear throughout all academic texts and courses, but not very often in day to day speech, such as formulate, index, and modify (p. 48).This helps ease the burden a teacher has when trying to understand what words students understand; however, low frequency words are the more difficult aspect for teachers to teach and learners to understand. Creating vocabulary lists from the students’ textbooks and p resenting these words through context in the lesson should help them to retain and use the new vocabulary. It will also carry through that students learn vocabulary better when they find the items to be useful and are able to put the new words into use more often while they study.Vocabulary, like other aspects of language learning, can be facilitated when done through cooperative learning. Yongqi Gu (2003) pointed out that vocabulary acquisition is a very learner-centered activity with the effectiveness of the learner’s strategies depending on his/her attitude and motivation towards new vocabulary acquisition (p. 2). This is true because the main motivational learning factor must come from the student, but when learning vocabulary in a cooperative learning environment it allows students to learn from peers closest to them.Murphey and Arao (2001) pointed out that students felt more relaxed and learned more from peers since they saw that making mistakes is acceptable, having go als is good, and learning English can be fun (p. 2). So, even though vocabulary acquisition is a learner-centered activity in regards to studying and being disciplined to set goals, when done in collaboration with peers students may enjoy the activity more, learning more vocabulary in the end.Understanding that vocabulary learning is an ongoing process, that learning new vocabulary through context, and learning new vocabulary can be done cooperatively are what guided the classroom practices below. Vocabulary Development in Classroom Practices Context The course in which vocabulary development in line with the above theoretical concepts was implemented was EFP 1310 College Listening Skills, an advanced course in listening and note-taking. It stressed comprehension of classroom discussions and lectures, as well as a variety of other media presentations.The class was taught by two instructors: Dr. Hanh Nguyen as the lead teacher and myself as a student teacher. Together we worked to de velop the students’ vocabulary in class. In this class there were 5 eighteen students, eleven females and seven males. Of the eleven females, seven were Taiwanese, one Belarusian, one Japanese, one Chinese, and one Indonesian. Of the seven males, three were Korean, two Japanese, one Taiwanese, and one Serbian. One male student was repeating this class for the second time.For two of the males and three of the females, this was their first English language class at a university. The average number of years spent studying English in the student’s home country was 6. 2 years and in the US, just over one month. explained that Test Your Word Level is adapted for the web from Paul Nation and Batia Laufer's word levels tests, developed for learners with vocabularies of different sizes and types, with the 1,000 to 10,000 most frequent English words (p. 2). At the 1,000 word level, the items are multiplechoice and based on either pictures or short sentences.Learners check their answers and move on to a second test at a higher level, (80% or higher to move up), or moved down to a lower level, depending on their score. Assessing the student’s vocabulary level in the beginning of the semester was needed to set a starting point. It also helped students understand where they were and where they needed to go in order to do well in undergraduate studies. All of the students assessed in the EFP 1310 class scored in the 2,000 level except three students who were assessed at the 3,000 level.This means that their vocabulary level was between 2,000 and 5,000 word families, whereas their native-speaking counterparts would have around 15,000 word families. The second activity required students to learn three new words each week. The first time this class was taught each week students were required to write three new words in a journal along with a definition for each word and three example sentences using the word in context. They could pick these words from thre e sources: the next level up from the website where they had their level assessed, words from their textbook, and words from the AWL provided by the teacher.The website informed the students at what level they were assessed; then the students picked words from the level above that, studied them, and hopefully did better on the exam at the end of the semester. For example, students who were assessed at the 2,000 level would then study words from the 3,000 level to improve their vocabulary. If they did not want to do this, they could choose vocabulary words from the new vocabulary section listed at the beginning of each chapter of the textbook.Their last choice, if they did not wish to do the other two, was the AWL provided by the teachers. This list was prepared by examining the lectures in the text- Vocabulary Development Activities As mentioned earlier, Nation and Waring stated that learners need to encounter a word numerous times in order to use it properly. Building vocabulary is an ongoing process, and I believe good progress was made during the semester. The biggest obstacles encountered were the limited time and the number of words students had to learn in order to be well-prepared for undergraduate studies.Students now understood the importance of a large vocabulary and the amount of work they needed to put forth in obtaining it. In order to build the students’ vocabulary, and help close the vocabulary gap as much as possible, we carried out the following steps: (a) Students assessed their present vocabulary level, a starting point had to be determined so progresses could be assessed, (b) students learned three new words each week, getting the students motivated and changing their attitude on learning vocabulary, (c) the teachers created an academic word list (AWL) xtracted from the lectures and the textbook, developing vocabulary that the students would learn in the context of the lectures and use in the class discussions that followed, and (d) the students assessed their vocabulary at the end of the semester to see if they made any progress. To see their progress would motivate the students to continue the learning process. To begin with, the students needed to assess their present vocabulary level. To do this, students visited http://www. lextutor. a and took a vocabulary test to determine their present level. Sevier (2004) 6 book, pulling out the academic words, and putting them on a piece of paper to be given to the students. Some of the words on this list were the same as the words from the new vocabulary section of the textbook. Getting the students to learn three new words each week posed the most difficult task. Students did not have these lists checked every week, but at the mid-term and final exams, so a few students quickly created these books just before this time period.At first it was planned to have each student post his/her three new words on WebCT so they could be checked more regularly and other classmate s could learn from other student’s words. After this plan was put to a vote in class, the students decided to place their vocabulary words in a notebook and turn the notebook in before the mid-term and final exams. Learning from mistakes, we feel that it would have been better to check their vocabulary notebooks weekly, or have students post their new words on WebCT to help them acquire more low-context vocabulary, thus creating an even better activity for the class.To overcome these weaknesses, when I had the opportunity to teach the class again in the following semester (now as the sole teacher), students were required to post their three new words on WebCT instead of in a journal. They could choose the words from the same areas described above, but each week instead of writing them in a journal they needed to post them on WebCT for the teacher and classmates to see. The first reason was because the previous semester some students did not keep their journal regularly, only making the journal the day before it was due.The second reason was so classmates could learn from each other, near peer role modeling, and the teacher could use the words students were posting as part of the vocabulary section of the test. Students seemed to have taken a stronger interest in learning new vocabulary by transferring words they need to learn into a vocabulary journal or flash cards to help them study. Whether this process is successful or not will be seen at the end of the semester when the students take the vocabulary exam again to see their progress. The third activity was to provide lists of words for the AWL that appeared in the lectures in the textbook.Since EFP 1310 is an advanced course in the EFP program, and after this course most students enter undergraduate studies, the AWL is the appropriate list for this class. If it were a lower level class, lower levels of vocabulary would have been used. By pulling out the contextualized vocabulary from each lesson, we were hoping not only to increase the student’s vocabulary but also make the lectures more comprehensible. I helped with scanning and running each lecture through â€Å"RANGE† a software program developed by Nation (2005).This program allowed me to create a contextualized AWL specifically for our class, focusing on the vocabulary from the given lectures. Nation and Waring (1997) developed three levels of vocabulary lists: level 1 is the first 1,000 word families, level 2 is the second 1,000 word families, and level 3 is the university word list (UWL) or AWL (p. 14). RANGE is used to create word lists based on frequency and is useful for seeing what low frequency words are contained in a paper, technical information note, or a text aimed at foreign readers.It creates three ready-made base lists. Figure 1 shows an example of a lecture that was run through RANGE. The first includes the most frequent 1,000 words of English. The second includes the next 1,000 most frequent w ords, and the third includes words not in the first 2,000 words of English but which are frequent in upper secondary school and university texts from a wide range of subjects. All three base lists include the base forms of words and derived forms; thus, the first 1,000 words consist of around 4,000 forms or types. 7 Figure 1.An example of RANGE analysis output (see the Appendix for the sample text of this analysis) Tables Table 1 Three Base Lists Created from RANGE Software Program Types found in base list one Type a all also and bank business employees Range 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Freq 9 2 1 3 2 13 2 F1 9 2 1 3 2 13 2 Types found in base list two Type competition critical hurt lot rush Range 1 1 1 1 1 Freq 1 1 1 3 1 F1 1 1 1 3 1 Types found in base list three Type affect community factors financing investigate obtain project range require Range 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 Freq 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 F1 3 2 2 1 1 1 1 1 11 After scanning each lecture and running it through the program, we pulled out only th e level 3 words, the AWL, and put them into a word document. Before each lecture, the teacher printed out the appropriate AWL and gave it to the students to prepare them for the lecture. This practice was inspired by the notion that new words are best learned in context, or as Sternberg claimed, â€Å"Vocabulary using context is the most effective, or even a relatively effective, way of teaching that vocabulary† (p. 89).Since students had the chance to study and understand the vocabulary before listening to the lecture, we aimed to help them to concentrate on the content of the lecture and hear the vocabulary being used in context. Extracting the high context vocabulary from the lectures was a great way to focus on the content words from the lessons so students would be using them regularly in class, hopefully committing them to long term memory. It also saved the teachers a lot of time by not having to read the lectures and pull the vocabulary out. This allowed more time to focus on presentation of the lessons and vocabulary.The final activity took place at the end of the semester when students revisited the website, http://www. lextutor. ca, and had their vocabulary assessed a second time to see if it had grown. All of the students scored at the same level from the beginning of the semester, except one student who scored higher. The use of the same exam at the end of the semester gave validity to their scores since the level of the test did not change. Even though most students scored at the same level in the end, I do not believe that the vocabulary learning activities done in class failed.One level contains roughly 4,000 word forms and types, so a student may have tested into the lower end of level 2,000 at the beginning of the semester, and tested at the same level but toward the higher end at the completion of the semester. Since the test does not show this in more detail, it is difficult to know if the students have or have not made some progress . Conclusion Vocabulary acquisition has become an extremely important part of second language acquisition, and teachers cannot rely on students acquiring the needed vocabulary just through interaction with the language.I always understood that vocabulary was important in second language learning, but understanding what words to teach and in what manner have helped me to better plan my lessons so students can acquire the necessary vocabulary. Students need to be taught vocabulary in context so that they can retain the words and use them more frequently. Learning how the computer can help to develop word lists from the student’s textbooks has enabled me to focus on the words that were necessary in each lesson. Allowing the students to use the new vocabulary during the course of the lesson should help them retain it in their long term memories.Using a computer program to assess the student’s present vocabulary level also helped me to see what words needed to be taught to help students progress or catch up. In the end, however vocabulary is presented to the students, like all materials, it must be in appropriate situations, giving them the chance to use the vocabulary and build upon their language repertoire. 9 References Cobb, T. (1999). The compleat lexical tutor (Version 4. 5) [Computer software]. University of Quebec at Montreal. Maiguashca, R. U. (1993). Teaching and learning vocabulary in a second language: Past, present and future directions.The Canadian Modern Language Review, 50(1), 83-100. Murphey, T. , & Arao, H. (2001). Reported belief changes through near peer role modeling. TESL-EJ, 5(3). Retrieved June 1, 2006, from http://wwwwriting. berkeley. edu/TESLEJ/ej19/a1. html Nakata, T. (2006). Implementing optimal spaced learning for English vocabulary learning: Towards improvement of the low-first method derived from the reactivation theory. The JALT CALL Journal, 2(2), 3-18. Nation, P. , & Waring, R. (1997). Vocabulary size, text coverage and word lists. In N. Schmitt & M. McCarthy (Eds. , Vocabulary: Description, acquisition and pedagogy (pp. 6-19). Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved March 3, 2006, from http:// www1. harenet. ne. jp/~waring/papers/ cup. html Nation, P. (2005). Range and frequency instructions [Computer software]. Retrieved March 3, 2006, from http://www. vuw. ac. nz/lals/staff/paul -nation/nation. aspx Nation, P. (2005). Teaching vocabulary. Asian EFL Journal, 7(3), 47-54. Sevier, M. (2004). The compleat lexical tutor, v. 4. TESL-EJ, 8(3). Retrieved May 26, 2006, from http://wwwwriting. berkeley. edu/TESLEJ/ej31/m2. tml Sternberg, R. J. (1987). Most vocabulary is learned from content. In M. G. McKeown & M. E. Curtis (Eds. ), The nature of vocabulary acquisition (pp. 89105). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum. Yongqi Gu, P. (2003). Vocabulary learning in second language: Person, task, context and strategies. TESL-EJ, 7(2). Retrieved October 3, 2006, from http://www-writing. berkeley. e du/ TESL-EJ/ej26/a4. html 10 Appendix Sample text for RANGE analysis example Starting Your Own Business When starting your own business, it is important that you put a lot of thought into what you are going to do. 0-85% of all business will fail, so the first point is to start with something you know well. Study what the kind of store you want to open. If it is a retail store, then look around. Do you see someone else selling what you plan to sell? How many possible competitors do you see? The next step to plan: There are two reasons for business planning. One is that it makes the entrepreneur investigate where he will open his business and what factors could affect his business. Second, a business plan will also help the entrepreneur obtain financing from a bank.All banks will require a business to make sure enough thought and planning have gone into the project before the banks gives any money. Looking at the first point: By looking at your possible market from a business personâ €™s point of view, you may look with a more critical eye. You don’t want to rush into something where you could lose a lot of money. Possible factors that could affect your business range from employees, to possible growth of the community, to your competition.If there are not a lot of people living around your business, where will your employees come from? Is the community going to grow where you plan to open your business or is it shrinking? If it is shrinking will that hurt your business? The second point is more for the bank. They like to see that you have thought through many of the possibilities that could affect your business. They want to see that you know what your expenses will be, how well you know your product, and how much money you think you can make selling your product. (Prepared by Jeff G. Mehring, 2005)