Inclusive education Essays

Inclusive education Essays Inclusive education Essay Inclusive education Essay Essay Topic: Education Inclusive education describes the process by which a school attempts to respond to all pupils as individuals by reconsidering and restructuring its curricular organisation and provision and allocating resources to enhance equality of opportunity. Sebba and Sachev (1997:9) stated. Hornby (1999: 152) states that: Inclusion implies the introduction of a more radical set of changes through which schools/organisations restructure themselves so much as to be able to embraced all children/ adults regardless of disability or linguistic background. Inclusive learning therefore implies the greatest degree of match or fit between the individual learner requirements and the provision that is made for them. Zarb, G (1995) Learners with disabilities can have underdeveloped basic skills due to the barriers to learning because their learning needs are often more complex, the impact of these may be greater. The poor range and quality of provision in some areas means that many disabled students are still not given the opportunity they need to learn basic skills. As the national strategy on adult basic skills is developed and implemented, the needs of learners with learning difficulties and/ or disabilities should be taken into consideration. Therefore: good practice should centre on an inclusive approach to learning. This means making programmes of study directly relevant to the individuals needs and priorities, building on a multi- agency framework, creating programmes and curricula which are flexible, providing the necessary access to resources, ensuring that the pace of programmes meets the needs of students, placing a high priority on the development of practical skills, and teaching skills in real life situations. This is supported by Barnes, (1994) who defines disability from a more social context as: the loss of limitation of opportunity to take part in the normal life of the community on an equal level with the others (Barnes, 1994 cited by D. marks 1999:4). A focus on such a principle can also drive teacher education and professional development programmes in schools of education and for existing teachers. This means that schools of education can utilise performance-based assessments to license new teachers; as a result, these teachers will be familiar with the use of such assessments and be more prepared to implement them in their own classrooms. Therefore: continuity of high quality provision and sustained support across the society are vital. Developing a comprehensive tracking system to map an individuals progress should be of a high priority in the inclusion of all learners. The politicisation of disability has triggered plans for the inclusion of every student to be supported into their mainstream school and college. The valued support should be effective where such individuals can function within an organisation without necessarily having to write, to understand all that goes around them and without necessarily have to accept support systems which do not meet their particular requirements. In advocating for such a direction, schools and colleges then organise themselves in such a way that they ensure the smooth integration of previously excluded learners. Mainstream education must be more welcoming and offer more hospitality to all learners. However, regardless of the criticisms legitimately directed at the local and national organisation of some mainstream schools and colleges, their crucial advantage is that they have a place within a local community; such a presence can provide the scrutiny of ordinariness which can inhibit often bizarre and sometimes damage practices we have adopted in segregated settings. Such a location also allows for links to community with a potential social network, which can enable the learner to translate her/his, presence into meaningful relations within and beyond school gates- relationships which, arguably enable us to sustain and give life. Oliver (1990) suggests that if disability is defined by social oppression, then disabled people are seen as collective victims of uncaring society or unknowing society rather as individual victims of circumstance. In this reflection, disability is seen as a tragedy. It is a tragedy firstly by seeing disability as a problem, and then by devising methodological strategies to measure the extent of these problems that individual disabled people have to face in real life situations. This is supported by Jonhstone, (2001:95) participation brings personal dignity, collective support, solidarity and refusal to be silenced, ignored or marginalized. Oliver (1999:87) states that the imperative strength of the medical model is grounded in the principle of normalization, and a return to wholeness, which is impossible to achieve. I suggest that confidence builds from self-esteem and acceptance from the society. This aids the notion of broad mindedness. The acceptance of an individual by the society stimulates the desire to take part in issues affecting that particular society. Therefore: if disability is defined by public policy, the process of social interaction whereby individuals are marked out or set out aside because of some attribute they possess, negates the whole notion of inclusion and regenerates the notion of segregation and integration. In the broader community there is a wider range of issues that ignore the differences that various disabled people experience as a consequence of gender, sexuality, race, culture or other distinctive labeling features, Rights Now (1996). Childrens developing self-image can be seriously influenced by the way, in which their families, professionals, and society view a particular disability. Such attitudes affect the way in which the children accept or reject body images and are also related to their ability to cope with themselves, their limitations, and their carers in a normal society. This reflection indicates that a positive self-image encourages a committed and resourceful approach to life. Developing this further, it can be pointed out that in every aspect of life the consideration of a person with disability is characterised by need and this perpetuates the person to be having a special requirement as opposed to a normal life. The impact of such a phenomenon leaves a lot to be desired in the life of a person with disability. The implication converses the idea of impairment as abnormality in function and the limitation in performing a normal social life. Hence the need to reverse from the emphasis of medication and shift from individual and personal towards shared collective responsibility, Wolfendale (1996). Using the special format of isolation from mainstream programming, for example, the education system, the possibility exists that it in its self is a special barrier to normal life. Therefore: there are limitations and barriers to social life of that particular person. In this context it is the society that perpetuates the oppression and exclusion of people with disability. Thus, the segregation of people with disability from the mainstream of social life and economic life influenced policies that have placed disabled people in segregated establishments such as special schools and day care centers, Oliver (1990). From this point it can be argued that the mentality of having special schools and special education for people with disability serves as an indicatives dominance of the able-bodied over the disabled in policymaking and decision making. In such designed institutions, the education system is formulated towards what the society can do for their special needs. The issue of life skills in a normal society cannot be addressed by being segregated from the society rather be in it to face real life situations and the influence of peer interaction. In such an environment of oneness there are opportunities for peer relationships and friendships, environment for generalisation and enrichment of academic skills, models of appropriate social and language skills, and typical routines and rituals common to growing up in a community or society. An inclusion in the neighbourhood school/college prepares a student with or without disabilities to live, works and play together as citizens of their community. The general norm and perception is that students with severe learning difficulties are of less value than students who gain any other university entry and their achievements are no less worthy of respect. To select a student out of main stream because of disability or learning difficulty is an evaluation of their worth as a person and discrimination on the basis of circumstance for which they are not responsible. Continued segregation of disabled and non-disabled students can only help to foster stereotypes, while inclusion has the potential to get rid of stereotypes by enabling young people to learn about each others common humanity as well their uniqueness. Zarb, C. (1995) The benefits of inclusion have been well demonstrated and inclusion is widely accepted by government and local education providers in this country and overseas as the way forward. The UK Government supports the strong educational as well as social and moral grounds for students learning together in the mainstream and has declared inclusion as the keystone of its education policy. The 2001 Statutory Guidance on Inclusive Schooling from the Department for Education and skills gives a strong message to local education authorities (LEAs), schools and other bodies that the development of inclusion in schools is one of the Governments highest priorities. The implementation of inclusive programming calls for the Government to have a clearly stated policy that is understood by schools and colleges and wider community levels; they should allow for a flexible curriculum as well as additions and adaptations; and provide quality materials, on going teacher-training and support teachers. Inclusive education and community based programmes should be seen as complementary approaches to cost-effective education and training for disabled people. Communities should develop local resources to provide this education. Gooding, C (2000) The inclusive approach avoids a view point which locates difficulty or deficit within the student and focuses instead on the capacity of the educational institution to understood and respond to individual learners requirements. It moves away from labelling students towards creating an appropriate educational environment. Freedman, S (1999) Inclusive learning places a new responsibility on teachers for close individual observation and skilled assessment as a basis for learning environments which match learners requirements. The challenges for schools and colleges will be to ..pursue a corporate approach to learning and to develop their capacity to respond to different approaches to learning to identify individual learning goals, Barnes, C (1996). It is important for the education system to strengthen necessary safeguards for students with disabilities or difficulties in learning without labelling at the same time as promoting inclusive learning. Just as classical social science theories identify education as a major site for the reproduction of social inequality, so too disability commentators have argued that the exclusion of disabled students from mainstream programming and the under-representation of disabled students in higher education is a cause, not simply an effect, of disabled peoples social marginalisation (Barnes1991: Riddell and banks, 2001) The vicious cycles associated with failure to acquire basic skills continue through school life and afterwards. The result will be poor labour market opportunities of people with poor basic skills as identified by Ekinsmyth and Bynner, (1994; 74) the lack of opportunity for mainstream education and training. Women will then opt for early marriages and many man face intermittent casual unskilled work and unemployment. On the other hand the society can label someone as unable because of lack of basic skills. Hence stigmatisation or societal classification will give birth to social outcasts who in turn will be a major problem to the society. Broadly, multiple regression opens the way to the notion of a combination of characteristics early in life that predict a later outcome. Parents or family role in skills acquisition is critical especially in the early years before formal education begins. Bynner and Steedman (1998) further argue that: parents can be effective enhancers of their childrens vocabularies and can improve their visual-motor skills through reading to them and playing with them. Or they can impoverish their childrens development, by failing to provide the critical inputs at the right time Stone (1985 cited by Oliver 1990:3) showed that in the process of identification and classification, disability has always been an important category, in that it offers a legitimate social status to those who can be defined as unable to work as opposed to those who may be classified as unwilling to do so. Different individuals will face different problems and many limitations are socially created. It is argued that teachers beliefs plays a vital role in ensuring the success of inclusive practises since teachers acceptance of the policy of inclusion is likely to affect their commitment to implementing it and hence hinder its fruition. Therefore disabled people in particular would be empowered to meet their own needs within a network of mutual understanding rather than a hierarchy of dependency relationships. Conclusion If inclusion were an act of engaging oneself or participation, then it would denote the element of active participation from all concerned parties. By programming specialist coverage it can be vividly argued that active participation is still negated. It is only through a properly structured consideration of the politics of disability that disabled people would not be seen as not simply constituted by the variety of these structural forces but as active participants in the process of constituting society in its totality To exclude learners described as having Special needs, from main stream local schools and colleges, is an in justice to all learners. Such an injustice demands that we look more creatively at the way we operate within educational systems as they now exist, and begin to change our legislation and our practices. Ways of hearing each other have to be found. Our perception should change. We have to find different ways of learning together and more importantly we have to find different ways of being together. Simultaneously we must start to articulate a vision for the future which will influence the wider political structures and encourage the growth of local mainstream schools and colleges in which those contributions can be valued equally to the benefit of the whole school and the community.

The Discovery of Fire in the Early Stone Age

The Discovery of Fire in the Early Stone Age The discovery of fire, or, more precisely, the controlled use of fire, was one of mankinds first great innovations. Fire allows us to produce light and heat, to cook plants and animals, to clear forests for planting, to heat-treat stone for making stone tools, to keep predator animals away, and to burn clay for ceramic objects. It has social purposes as well. Fires serve as gathering places, as beacons for those away from camp, and as spaces for special activities. The Progress of Fire Control The human control of fire likely required the cognitive ability to conceptualize the idea of fire, which itself has been recognized in chimpanzees; great apes have been known to prefer their foods cooked. The fact that experimentation with fire occurred during the early days of humanity should come as no surprise. Archaeologist J.A.J. Gowlett offers this general outline for the development of fire use:  opportunistic use of fire from natural occurrences (lightning strikes, meteor impacts, etc);  limited conservation of fires lit by natural occurrences; use of animal dung or other slow-burning substances to maintain fires in wet or cold seasons; and finally,  kindled fire. Early Evidence The controlled use of fire was likely an invention of our ancestor Homo erectus during the Early Stone Age (or Lower Paleolithic). The earliest evidence of fire associated with humans  comes from Oldowan hominid sites in the Lake Turkana region of Kenya. The site of Koobi Fora contained oxidized patches of earth to a depth of several centimeters, which some scholars interpret as evidence of fire control. The Australopithecine site of Chesowanja in central Kenya (about 1.4 million years old) also contained burned clay clasts  in small areas. Other Lower Paleolithic sites in Africa that contain possible evidence of fire include Gadeb in Ethiopia (burned rock), and Swartkrans (burned bones) and Wonderwerk Cave (burned ash and bone fragments), both in South Africa. The earliest evidence for controlled use of fire outside of Africa is at the Lower Paleolithic site of Gesher Benot Yaaqov in Israel, where charred wood and seeds were recovered from a site dated 790,000 years old. Other evidence has been found at Zhoukoudian, a Lower Paleolithic site in China, Beeches Pit in the U.K., and Qesem Cave in Israel. An Ongoing Discussion Archaeologists examined the available data for European sites and concluded that habitual use of fire wasnt part of the suite of human behaviors until about 300,000 to 400,000 years ago. They believe that the earlier sites are representative of the  opportunistic use of natural fires. Terrence Twomey published a comprehensive discussion of the early evidence for the  human control of fire at 400,000 to 800,000 years ago. Twomey believes that there is no direct evidence for domestic fires between 400,000 and 700,000 years ago, but he believes that other, indirect evidence supports the notion of the controlled use of fire. Indirect Evidence Twomeys argument is based on several lines of indirect evidence. First, he cites the metabolic demands of relatively big-brained Middle Pleistocene hunter-gatherers  and suggests that brain evolution required cooked food. Further, he argues that our distinctive sleep patterns (staying up after dark) are deeply rooted and that hominids began staying in seasonally or permanently cool places by 800,000 years ago. All of this, says Twomey, implies effective control of fire. Gowlett and Richard Wrangham argue that another piece of indirect evidence for the early use of fire is that our ancestors Homo  erectus evolved smaller mouths, teeth, and digestive systems, in striking contrast to earlier hominids. The benefits of having a smaller gut could not be realized until high-quality foods were available all year long. The adoption of cooking, which softens food and makes it easier to digest, could have led to these changes. Hearth Fire Construction A hearth is a deliberately constructed fireplace. The earliest examples were made by collecting stones to contain the fires, or simply by reusing the same location again and again and allowing the ash from previous fires to accumulate. Hearths from the Middle Paleolithic period (about 200,000 to 40,000 years ago) have been found at sites such as the Klasies River Caves in South Africa, Tabun Cave in Israel, and Bolomor Cave in Spain. Earth ovens, on the other hand, are hearths with banked and sometimes domed structures built of clay. These types of hearths were first used during the Upper Paleolithic period for cooking and heating and sometimes for burning clay figurines. The Gravettian Dolni Vestonice site in the modern Czech Republic has evidence of kiln construction, although construction details did not survive. The best information on Upper Paleolithic kilns is from the Aurignacian deposits of Klisoura Cave  in Greece. Fuels Relict wood was likely the fuel used for the earliest fires. Purposeful selection of wood came later: hardwood such as oak burns differently than softwood such as pine, since the moisture content and density of a wood all affect how hot or long it will burn. In places where wood was not available, alternative fuels such as peat, cut turf, animal dung, animal bone, seaweed, and straw were used to build fires. Animal dung was likely not consistently used until after animal domestication  led to the keeping of livestock, about 10,000 years ago. Sources Attwell L., Kovarovic K., and Kendal J.R. Fire in the Plio-Pleistocene: The Functions of Hominin Fire Use, and the Mechanistic, Developmental and Evolutionary Consequences. Journal of Anthropological Sciences, 2015.Bentsen S.E. Using Pyrotechnology: Fire-Related Features and Activities With a Focus on the African Middle Stone Age. Journal of Archaeological Research, 2014.Gowlett J.A.J. The Discovery of Fire by Humans: A Long and Convoluted Process. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 2016.Gowlett J.A.J., and Wrangham R.W. Earliest Fire in Africa: Towards the Convergence of Archaeological Evidence and the Cooking Hypothesis. Azania: Archaeological Research in Africa, 2013.Stahlschmidt M.C., Miller C.E., Ligouis B., Hambach U., Goldberg P., Berna F., Richter D., Urban B., Serangeli J., and Conard N.J. On the Evidence for Human Use and Control of Fire at Schà ¶ningen. Journal of Human Evolution, 2015.Twomey T. The Cognitive Implications of Controlled Fire Use by Early Humans. Cambridge Archaeological Journal, 2013.

Why managers may face difficulties when managing employees in a Essay

Why managers may face difficulties when managing employees in a cross-cultural context - Essay Example factory manager who moved to Mexico in order to raise the productivity of his firm factory in the State of Mexico. He apparently was not able to understand main cultural points and his management was a complete failure which led to a 500.000 $ loss for his company. The culture in which each of us lives influences and shapes our feelings, attitudes, and responses to our experiences and interactions with others. Because of our culture, each of us has knowledge, beliefs, values, views, and behaviors that we share with others who have the same cultural heritage. These past experiences, handed down from generation to generation, influence our values of what is attractive and what is ugly, what is acceptable behavior and what is not, and what is right and what is wrong. Our culture also teaches us how to interpret the world. From our culture we learn such things as how close to stand to strangers, when to speak and when to be silent, how to greet friends and strangers, and how to display anger appropriately. Because each culture has a unique way of approaching these situations, we find great diversity in cultural behaviors throughout the world. According to this definition, culture is made of all that defines our background and this is exactly why, as it is stated, we find great diversity in cultural behaviors throughout the world and this is the exact reason why managers may face cross-cultural p... As they have different cultural i.e. different knowledge, beliefs, values, views and behaviors, they will not have the same approach regarding a work, a problem, a situation. According to DuPraw and Axner3 (1997) there are six fundamental patterns of Cultural Difference: Communication Styles, Attitude towards conflict, Approaches to completing tasks, Attitudes towards disclosure, Approaches to knowing. From a culture to another, even if they share the same language, the meaning of words change and doesn't convey the same ideas and the importance of non-verbal communication is not the same. Conflict, depending on the culture, can be seen as a bad or good thing. Western countries often consider conflicts as being undesirable and often do all that is possible to tackle the issues immediately, whereas some other cultures don't have the same considerations on conflicts and believe that it is profitable for both parts. Another aspect of the conflict is the way to tackle it. Some cultures are accustomed to settle a conflict by a written exchange, contrary to the western face-to-face confrontation which can be embarrassing for them. How to complete task also differs from a culture to another because they will consider the same approach to complete it and also the way to work in teams are not the same. The process to make a decision in the working process is also submitted to variation depe nding on the cultural background. In some countries there is only one decision maker for the entire working process whereas in others the there must be a common agreement on what to do. Expressing feelings can also be an issue because it may be considered rude in some

Managment Style Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Managment Style - Research Paper Example b. Customer Satisfaction – Bibu and Moniem (2011) contend that customer satisfaction also correlate to employee satisfaction, as well as, the latter’s sense of productivity and performance. Thus, in organizational development, the company shouldn’t be just interested in customer satisfaction but also must improve the capacity of human resource to make them competitively leverage and distinction in their services. Making them customer-focused needs a healthy interactive capacity while deployed in varying tasks to fulfill customer needs. c. Role and Responsibility—this is a general concept that relates to specific tasks, functions, and accountability of workers. d. System and Process – includes the conduct of training, improvement of communication, recognition of good and efficient workers, and the utilization of technology to advance organizational operations and to improve the services of human resources. The system is either internal or external. I nternal system relates to defined rules and procedures of the company while the external system are those regulations mandated by the government and its agencies which compel an organization to follow as a matter of policy. e. Results and Measures— in business strategic management, result and measure relate to performance management and the use of evaluative measures to ascertain that the employee has achieved, where one failed, and who needed more capacity enhancement. In many companies, this is called as quality control and could be furthered through constructive criticism or feed-backing system. f. Business Growth – Growth are based on some economic principles such as â€Å"protection of property rights, market-based competition,... This essay will explicate the comparative management styles of cited nations. American business managers also seriously practice transactional and transformation leadership with incessant interest for company growth and development. Thus, most of them are adept on change management by optimizing open communication system. To maintain the motivation of their employees, they include them in planning and in strategizing the business plan. According to the paper experts posit that entrepreneurial leadership in an organizations demand the need to quantifying leadership behaviors because of the revolution and changes in measuring the behaviors of both leaders and managers. It is but exact that human resource managers must have in-depth understanding the cognitive skills and the intellectual intelligence of its workers. This is because, as discussed earlier, leadership skills are crucial in organizational developments and in decision-making. Ward suggested that organizational performance is related leadership skills where models are suggested to be followed and appreciated for organizational stability and sustainability. It makes a conclusion considering all these, it is but essential for Saudi-based managers to restudy some excellent or best practices in HRM and OD practiced in American society. They may later identify what is practicable for effective and efficient organizational management under its Muslim culture and practices. What is significant here is that there are theories in leadership for organizational development and human resource management that can be utilized for practical ends—and hopefully influence for a more effective organization management. It’s a necessity that the company is able to reinvent and innovate for high performance and success.

The causality of hume and kant Essay Example for Free

The causality of hume and kant Essay Hume believed that mind is a collection of mental perceptions; therefore man cannot have free will. It was this particular pervasive skepticism which Hume has discussed in his book, â€Å"A Treatise of Human Nature†. Hume challenged Kant to investigate the explanation of causality, in the matter of the importance of cause and effect concept. In Hume’s perspective, human can see sequences of events but can never see the necessity that determinism requires. For him ideas are mere copies of impressions; and there is no possibility that human being can create any original ideas; unless they are derived from the senses. Hume felt that it is impossible to bring up impression that a person never felt or experienced before. Thus it is wrong for us to say that one event caused another event or that events are interrelated. The reason that human beings believe in cause and effect is due to the brought up which based on the conjunction of the events or reality. Through â€Å"Critique of Pure Reason†, Kant divined the understanding of knowledge into two; a priori and a posteriori. Knowledge can be independent from experience and all sense impressions (a priori), and can also need to have experience of impressions (a posteriori). Hume’s believed that habit makes human see causality and from constant conjunction of causes and effects, human beings learn to see it as a ‘necessary connection’. Kant agrees that causality is just ‘there’, but it is an a priori concept of understanding the knowledge. The concept of causality is accustomed, and experience derives from such pure concepts, and these concepts and intuitions shape human’s world yet tell nothing about things in them. The concept of causality cannot be performed in an empirical way. Kant declared the transcendental aesthetic is the first stage of mind’s experience. He stated that all sense experience is synthesized through the concepts of time and space. Space stands for itself and does not represent anything in it; however it is perceived in a subjective condition. Human subjectively perceive time as in the reality of time. Kant did not see space and time as world’s properties, but as a general concept given to the human mind. The next step of mind activity is the transcendental analytic, applies categories to the mind, which without the categories human would not be able to think at all. They are; quantity (unity, plurality, totality), quality (reality, negation, limitation), relation (substance and accidents, cause and effect, reciprocity between active and passive), modality (possible-impossible, existence-nonexistence, necessity-contingency). The transcendental dialectic comes last. He mentions that it is mind’s process in understanding matters that lie beyond human’s experiences such as God or super natural elements. The reason is that mind requires detailed information about an object which exists in sensory world; such information about non-material object puts mind at a limitation of understand only the physical world which it can only perceive. Kant mentions that God cannot be proved empirically. Instead faith or belief is necessary to keep the society running (the existence of good or bad, the life after death). For Hume the religion or belief were nothing more than superstitions. Reference: Barry Stroud, Hume. Routledge, 1977. Diane Morgan, Kant Trouble: The Obscurities of the Enlightened . Routledge , 2000.

Cookies Vs. Doughnuts :: essays research papers

Cookies and doughnuts are both yummy treats, but they also have their advantages and disadvantages. Cookies for instance can be produces with relative ease in any kitchen using flour, water, sugar and eggs. Doughnuts on the other hand are not usually made at home, hence all of the doughnut shops. This is one disadvantage to doughnuts; they are relatively difficult to produce. Doughnuts are made from the same ingredients as cookies, but they also have east in them to give them a more beadlike quality than unleavened cookies. Cookies are traditionally made by combining the ingredients listed and adding something like chocolate or nuts. The cookies are then baked at around 375 degrees for about eight minutes or until they are golden brown. They are then allowed to cool and then they are served. Doughnuts are not as simple as coolies. The dough must be prepared using flour, water, eggs, and then another ingredient; yeast, to add the tiny air pockets that make the dough rise and to make them so edible. After the dough has risen, it can be shaped into the familiar ring shape either by rolling it into snake-like portions or, more commonly, spreading the dough thickly over a flat surface using a device not unlike a cookie cutter. The popular doughnut shop, Krispy Kreme  ® has developed a doughnut extrusion process that results in their distinctive rosette shape with curved vertical ridges on the sides. After the dough is shaped, it is cooked using hot oil or fat. This oil is at a much higher temperature than that used to bake cookies. The dough is then cooked to produce a golden-brown crust on the outside while still maintaining a soft core. Sugar may then be applied. This consists of little more than putting sugar and flavoring on the outside of the doughnut in the form of icing, powered sugar, or a glaze which is which is a shell of sugar coating the doughnut. Cake doughnuts are also produced this way using fewer eggs to give them a less airy, more cake-like texture. Adding fruit or nuts to the dough before cooking can change this process, or jelly or custard may be added after cooking through injection.

Ib Biology Hl2 – 6.1 (Digestion)

6. 1. 1 Explain why digestion of large food molecules is essential. There are two reasons why the digestion of large food molecules is vital. Firstly, the food we eat is made up of many compounds made by other organisms which are not all suitable for human tissues and therefore these have to be broken down and reassembled so that our bodies can use them. Secondly, the food molecules have to be small enough to be absorbed by the villi in the intestine through diffusion, facilitated diffusion or active transport and so large food molecules need to be broken down into smaller ones for absorption to occur.Summary: ? 1. Food needs to be broken down and reassembled. 2. Large food molecules need to be broken down into smaller ones. 6. 1. 2 Explain the need for enzymes in digestion. Enzymes are needed in the process of digestion as they are the biological catalysts which break down the large food molecules into smaller ones so that these can eventually be absorbed. Digestion can occur natura lly at body temperature, however this process takes a very long time as it happens at such a slow rate. For digestion to increase in these circumstances, body temperature would have to increase as well.However this is not possible as it would interfere with other body functions. This is why enzymes are vital as they speed up this process by lowering the activation energy required for the reaction to occur and they do so at body temperature. Summary: ? 3. Enzymes break down large food molecules into smaller ones. 4. Speed up the process of digestion by lowering the activation energy for the reaction. 5. Work at body temperature. 6. 1. 3 State the source, substrate, products and optimum pH conditions for one amylase, one protease and one lipase.AmylaseProteaseLipase EnzymeSalivary AmylasePepsinPancreatic Lipase SourceSalivary GlandsChief cells in stomach liningPancreas SubstrateStarchProteinsTriglycerides such as fats and oils ProductsMaltoseSmall polypeptidesFatty Acids and Glycerol Optimum pHpH 7 pH 1. 5 – 2pH 7 6. 1. 4 Draw and label a diagram of the digestive system. ?Figure 6. 1. 1 – The digestive system 6. 1. 5 Outline the functions of the stomach, small intestine and large intestine. The stomach is an important part of the digestive system.Firstly it secretes HCL which kills bacteria and other harmful organisms preventing food poisoning and it also provides the optimum conditions for the enzyme pepsin to work in (pH 1. 5 – 2). In addition, the stomach secretes pepsin which starts the digestion of proteins into polypeptides and amino acids. Theses can then be absorbed by the villi in the small intestine. The small intestine is where the final stages of digestion occur. The intestinal wall secretes enzymes and it also receives enzymes from the pancreas.However the main function of the small intestine is the absorption of the small food particles resulting from digestion. It contains many villi which increase the surface area for absorpt ion. The large intestine moves the material that has not been digested from the small intestine and absorbs water. This produces solid faeces which are then egested through the anus. Summary: Stomach: 6. Secretes HCL which kills bacteria. 7. HCL provides optimum pH for pepsin. 8. Secretes pepsin for protein digestion. Small intestine: 1. Intestinal wall secretes enzymes 2. Receives enzymes from the pancreas. . Has villi for absorption of food particles. Large intestine: 1. Moves material that has not been digested along. 2. Absorbes water. 3. Produces faeces. 6. 1. 6 Distinguish between absorption and assimilation. Absorption occurs when the food enters the body as the food molecules pass through a layer of cells and into the bodies tissues. This occurs in the small intestine which has many villi that are specialised for absorption. Assimilation occurs when the food molecules becomes part of the bodies tissue. Therefore, absorption is followed by assimilation. 6. 1. Explain how the structure of the villus is related to its role in absorption and transport of the products of digestion. The structure of the villus is very specific. Firstly there is a great number of them so this increases the surface area for absorption in the small intestine. In addition the villi also have their own projections which are called microvilli. The many microvilli increase the surface area for absorption further. These microvilli have protein channels and pumps in their membranes to allow the rapid absorption of food by facilitated diffusion and active transport.Also, the villi contains an epithelial layer which is only one cell layer thick so that food can pass through easily and be absorbed quickly. The blood capillaries in the villus are very closely associated with the epithelium so that the distance for the diffusion of the food molecules is small. This thin layer of cells contains mitochondria to provide the ATP needed for the active transport of certain food molecules. Final ly, there is a lacteal branch at the centre of the villus which carries away fats after absorption. ?Figure 6. 1. – Intestinal villus? Summary:? 9. Many villi increase the surface area for absorption. 10. Epithelium is only one cell layer thick and so food is quickly absorbed. 11. Microvilli on the villi increase the surface area for absorption further. 12. Protein channels and pumps are present in the microvilli for rapid absorption. 13. The mitochondria in the epithelium provide ATP needed for active transport. 14. Blood capillaries are very close to the epithelium so diffusion distance is small. 15. The lacteal takes away fats after absorption.

The Road

Why do you think McCarthy has chosen not to give his characters names? How do the generic labels of â€Å"the man† and â€Å"the boy† affect the way you /readers relate to them? While reading The Road, a novel written by Cormac McCarthy, I was jerked from the warmth, comfort, and safety of my home and thrown into a cold, dark, and desolate world, walking alongside â€Å"the man† and â€Å"the boy†. McCarthy composes his work so graphically that readers are drawn right into the story.I believe Cormac McCarthy wanted the figures in this book to be universal, so that the reader could imagine him/her self as â€Å"the boy† or â€Å"the man† at any given moment, and to be able to feel as they do. To do this McCarthy did not designate the characters in his book with names, and because of this, I was able to connect with â€Å"the man† and â€Å"the boy† on a personal level and envision myself uniting with them in their chilling journe y. As the reader, I was deeply overwhelmed with many mixed emotions such as compassion, sadness, happiness, disgust, remorse, and fear.I have pity for the characters in the book The Road, because â€Å"the man† and â€Å"the boy† have to pass day to day struggling to survive in a frigid bleak world where food is scarce â€Å"They squatted in the road and ate rice and cold beans they’d cooked days ago. † â€Å"Already beginning to ferment. †(McCarthy 29). The landscape is blackened, and mankind is almost extinct â€Å"The mummied dead everywhere. †(McCarthy 24). As I read on I noticed myself connecting more deeply with the characters.When the boy’s mother takes her own life, I was deeply saddened and my heart broke for â€Å"the boy† simply because his mom, someone he cherished and loved so much, had given up on hope and faith and deserted him. I just wanted to take hold of the child and comfort him even though at this moment he has no clue his mother has left. I also felt sorry for â€Å"the man†, one, because he has to tell his child where his mother is â€Å"For the love of God woman. What am I to tell him? † (McCarthy 58), and two, because his love and best friend was in such despair and there was nothing he could do to impel her to stay.As a mother, in some ways, I also felt sorry for the mother in this book, because most women dream of the day she will have a child of her own to love, care for, and teach, but this mother had to give birth to her son after the great catastrophe, and instead of bringing her tears of happiness, it brought tears of sorrow. She now knows that she has to raise her son in this dark and barley habitable world and that it will be a constant struggle to survive. â€Å"My heart was ripped out of me the night he was born†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (McCarthy 57).On the other hand though, I am also disgusted with the mother for the one reason that she gave up, and now her family , especially her child, has to suffer the consequences due to her actions, but again, given that I put myself in her situation, would I do the same thing? While reading I also felt deep sadness in many parts, for one instance, when â€Å"the man† dies, at this point in the book I had tears streaming down my face. â€Å"He slept close to his father that night and held him but when he woke in the morning his father was cold and stiff. † â€Å"He sat there a long time weeping†¦ (McCarthy 281). â€Å"He knelt beside his father held his cold hand and said his name over and over again. †(McCarthy 281). At one part in the book, remorse, disgust, sadness, and compassion were the stirred emotions that hit me all t once. It was the time when a thief robs â€Å"the boy† while he is asleep on the beach. When â€Å"the boy† was first robbed I was angry and disgusted with the thief who had robbed a sleeping innocent child, I could never see myself doing th is especially in a situation where food is hard to come by and staying warm is almost impossible!When they finally catch up with the thief â€Å"the man† points the gun at him and threatens to shoot him. â€Å"The boy† is pleading with his father not to kill the thief. â€Å"The man† says to the thief â€Å"Take your clothes off. †(McCarthy 256). â€Å"Take them off every goddamn stitch. † (McCarthy 256). Eventually the thief is completely naked, â€Å"the boy† and the thief are begging â€Å"the man† not to do this, but the man looks at the thief and says â€Å"You didn’t mind doing it to us. †(McCarthy 257). Now I feel that the thief is getting what he deserves.When they leave the thief standing in the road â€Å"the boy† becomes extremely upset, â€Å"And They set out along south with the boy crying and looking back at the nude and saltlike creature standing there in the road shivering and hugging himself. â⠂¬  â€Å"Oh Papa, he sobbed. †(McCarthy 258). I am now starting to feel the compassion the boy has towards the thief â€Å"He was hungry, Papa. † â€Å"He’s going to die. †(McCarthy 259). They finally take the thief’s clothes back and pile them in the middle of the road and I am glad of this.Later as they were lying down at camp I believe the man was starting to feel guilty, and he spoke â€Å"I wasnt going to kill him, he said. † â€Å"But the boy didnt answer. † â€Å"They rolled themselves in the blankets and lay there in the dark. † â€Å"He could tell the boy was awake and after a while the boy said: but we did kill him. †(McCarthy 260). When â€Å"the boy† made this comment I felt deep remorse and disgust in myself for having felt so harshly toward the thief in the beginning.I also felt happiness and relief in this story when â€Å"the man† and â€Å"the boy† found the underground shelter beh ind the house in the field, I felt as if I was there with them discovering the grand riches this den held! â€Å"Oh my God, he whispered. † â€Å"Oh my God. † â€Å"What is it Papa? † â€Å"Come down. † â€Å"Oh my God. † â€Å"Come down. † (McCarthy138). â€Å"Crate upon crate of canned goods. † â€Å"Tomatoes, peaches, beans, apricots. † â€Å"Canned hams. † â€Å"Corned beef. † â€Å"Hundreds of gallons of water in ten gallon plastic jerry jugs. †(McCarthy 138).In this underground hideaway was everything they needed to survive. I was so overwhelmed with joy and comfort that I forgot for a moment about the cruel cold world above. During many portions of this novel I experienced also many sensations of fear. The most prominent passage is where â€Å"the man† and â€Å"the boy† come across a house and both are vulnerable due to fatigue and starvation. â€Å"They’d had no food and littl e sleep in five days and in this condition on the outskirts of a small town they came upon a once grand house sited on a rise above the road†(McCarthy 105).As they start toward the house â€Å"the boy† becomes frightened and â€Å"the man† or father tries to reassure him that everything is okay and that they have to go inside. At this point I am feeling a little uneasy about the two entering the house. As they cross the porch â€Å"the boy† is trying to convince his father not to go inside, agreeing with the boy I imagine myself in his shoes and I am pleading for â€Å"the man† not to enter. â€Å"The man† is determined and tells the boy â€Å"We’ve got to find something to eat. † â€Å"We have no choice. †(McCarthy 106).When inside the home â€Å"the boy hung on to his hand. † â€Å"He was terrified. † (McCarthy 107). While investigating the house they come across a door in a room next to the kitchen that m ight have been considered a pantry at one time. â€Å"In the floor of this room was a door or hatch and it was locked with a large padlock made of stacked steel plates. †(McCarthy 108). â€Å"The boy† again tries to plead with his father to leave, and I again right along with him, but now my tension and curiosity is starting to rise a bit, wondering what is underneath this door. The man† believes there is a significant reason for this door being locked, so he makes his way to the tool shed â€Å"half dragging the child and went sorting through tools† (McCarthy 109). He retrieves a shovel, heads back into the house, and pry’s the door open. Now I am holding my breath just waiting for the outcome, good or bad, I do not know, but I am very anxious. â€Å"He started down he rough wooden steps. He ducked his head and then flicked the lighter†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (McCarthy 110).â€Å"Coldness and Damp. † â€Å"An ungodly stench. † (McCarthy 110). What came next caught me completely off guard! Huddled against the back wall were naked people, male and female, all trying to hide, shielding their faces with their hands. † â€Å"On the mattress lay a man with his legs gone to the hip and the stumps of them blackened and burnt. † â€Å"The smell was hideous. † â€Å"Jesus, he whispered. †(McCarthy 110). Now I am in a complete state of shock, fear, and disgust. Unbelievable! All at once I am feeling the fear and shock of â€Å"the man†, â€Å"the boy†, and the mangled victims that have been terrorized, probably raped, eaten or at least half dismembered and eaten by the wicked and ruthless barbarians! Then one by one they turned and blinked in the pitiful light. † â€Å"Help us, they whispered. † â€Å"Please help us. †(McCarthy 110). My heart is now beginning to race. When they finally reach the top of this grave, â€Å"He shoved the boy through the hatch and sent him sp rawling. † â€Å"He stood and got hold of the door and swung it over and let it slam down and he turned to grab the boy but the boy had gotten up and was doing his little dance of terror. †(McCarthy 111).As if this horrific and vivid image engraved in my head was not enough, McCarthy immediately throws me into a sheer state of terror and panic. â€Å"†¦ the boy was pointing out the window and when he looked he went cold all over. † â€Å"Coming across the field toward the house were four bearded men and two women. † â€Å"He grabbed the boy by the hand. † â€Å"Christ, he said. † â€Å"Run. † â€Å"Run. † I had to literally set the book aside, go outdoors, calm down, and smoke a cigarette to calm my nerves. Finally my heart rate returned to normal and I picked up the book and continued to read.After I completed this part in the story and discovered that â€Å"the man† and â€Å"the boy† had escaped I got up ch ecked on my children to reassure myself that they were asleep safe and warm in their bed, I quickly ran back through the house like a child with a sense of fear that something was going to jump out and grab me at any moment, I jumped in the bed got as close to my husband as possible and eventually drifted off to sleep. When I finished reading The Road by Cormac McCarthy, I was astonished at how deep I was able to connect with the characters and the fact that this book touched me as deeply as it did.It also made me think what if†¦? In reality if this were to happen would I have the courage and strength of â€Å"the man† and â€Å"the boy† or would I be like the mother as McCarthy states it â€Å" †¦a faithless slut†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (57), who has taken death as a new lover. Over all I personally believe that this novel was absolutely fantastic, even though I had nightmares for a few nights after I had completed the book. This just goes to show what a great writer McCarthy is, he touches his readers so deeply they even dream about his work. I would defiantly pick up this book and read it again just for fun. The Road The post-apocalyptic novel â€Å"The Road†, written by Cormac McCarthy was published in 2006. [1] It deals with the journey of a father together with his son, who try to reach the coast after America, its nature and civilisation has been destroyed by some catastrophe. Therefore some important issues are implied: travelling, fear of death, nuclear war, goodness, religion, cannibalism and of course the relationship between father and son. Maybe that is the reason why McCarthy dedicated the novel to his son: John Francis McCarthy. In 2007 McCarthy won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction for this novel. 2] In 2009 the Novel was made into a film, also called â€Å"The Road† and directed by John Hillcoat. [3] There are some interesting aspects, regarding the similarities and differences between the novel and its cinematic adaptation. The Novel Cormac McCarthy tells the story of a journey, made by father and son. They survived a nuclear catastrophe, which is not described in detail and want to go south in order to reach the coast. They have a card in order to carry their habits. They hope for a humanitarian climate, nourishments and other peaceful survivors. Due to the apocalypse, they have to deal with a lot of trouble during their trip. In order to survive despite the lack of food, a lot of people became cannibals. Cannibalism is no option for the man and his son, because they belong to the good ones. Therefore they have to be carful who they trust and their search for food is more difficult. In addition they have to take care for their clothing, especially for their shoes because it is very cold since the catastrophe. [4] â€Å"Mostly he worried about their shoes. That and food. Always food. † (McCarthy, 2006: 17) [5] The most problematic aspect is the fathers task to raise his son under such circumstances without neglecting the sense of humanness. The world he knows was completely destroyed and there is no common childhood. The son has to cope with aspects like cannibalism and suicide very early. He also has to accept the circumstance, that his father is going to die sooner or later and that he needs to be able to live on his own when the time comes. His father tries to prepare him as good as he can. McCarthy tells the story among 287 pages. He uses 3rd person narration, where the narrator is omniscient, because he knows about thoughts, dreams and fears of the father and his son. His style of writing without chapters stresses the travel motive. It highlights the fact that the protagonists have to go on and on until they reach the coast and that there are no other important stages in between. Another important technique is the avoidance of names which means that both protagonists remain anonym. This technique highlights the aspect, that in case of a nuclear catastrophe, this scenario could happen to anyone. The father and his son serve as representatives for humankind. In addition there are no concrete names of places which indicates, that this scenario could not just happen to anyone, it could also happen anywhere in the world. There are two more aspects, which remain unclear. The first one is the fate of the mother. The book does not make clear what happened to her because for them, it does not matter. She is gone and that is all they need to know. Secondly there are no details mentioned when it comes to the catastrophe which also indicates that it is not important what happened. The man and his son are alive and so they have to challenge the circumstances, indifferent what caused them. â€Å"The clocks stopped at 1:17. A long shear of light and then a series of low concussions. (†¦) A dull rose glow in the windowglas. (McCarthy, 2006: 52) McCarthy creates a very desperate imagery. His preferred chosen words are dark and sad. He uses short sentences, which guarantees that the novel is written in a minimal, but tough very closely style. [6] â€Å"No list of things to be done. The day providential to itself. The hour. There is no later. This is later. All things of grace and beauty such that one holds them to one’s heart have a common provenance in pain. Their birth in grief and ashes. † (McCarthy, 2006: 54) Even the dialogues between father and son or between them and strangers they met are very short. In addition there are a lot of details described, no matter if they are tolerable or hardly shocking. â€Å"They could smell something cooking. Let’s circle around, the man said. (†¦) They left their food cooking. (†¦) What is it? He said. What is it? The boy shook his head. Oh Papa, he said. He turned and looked again. What the bay had seen was a charred human infant headless and gutted and blackening on the spit. † (McCarthy, 2006: 198) The two unnamed Protagonists The son is about 10 years old and was born after the catastrophe. That is why he does not know the world as it was before. He has although no childhood like one would think of. He has to grow up without his mom, knowing that his father will also fade away one day. Therefore he has to learn very much important skills in a short amount of time. He has no real toys and no other kids around him. In contrast he knows how to kill himself and feels responsible for his father, who became ill. It is important to say, that the son serves as a symbol for hope. â€Å"He knew only that the child was his warrant. He said: If he is not the word of God God never spoke. † (McCarthy, 2006: 5) Not only for his father, also for other people they met. For example Ely, the second stranger they met thought that he was an angel. Within the story the young boy grows from a child with a lot of questions and fears to a boy with a big sense of humanity, who knows a lot about the world he lives in and feels responsible for other people. â€Å"The man squatted and looked at him. I’m scared, he said. Do you understand? I’m scared. (†¦) You’re not the one who has to worry about everything. The boy said something but he couldn’t understand him. What? he aid. He looked up, his wet and grimy face. Yes I am, he said. I am the one. † (McCarthy, 2006: 259) The father can be characterized as a reactor. Whenever it comes to violent actions he is just acting in self-defence. He knows the world as it has been before the catastrophe, and feels sorry for his son but he also knows that he can not hold the horror away from him. He faces the fact that his son h as to live on his own one day and that it is his job to make sure that he will be able to do so. Therefore he is distrustful when it comes to strangers. He always reminds his son to be less helpful and a bit more wary but often he does not succeed. In addition he is very ill and weak. The only reason why he is able to go on without committing suicide is his son. Everything he does is for him. â€Å"He held the boy close to him. So thin. My heart, he said. My heart. But he knew that if he were a good father still it might well be as she had said. That the boy was all that stood between him and death. † (McCarthy, 2006: 29) Ending The ending of the novel is a happy one. They manage to reach the coast and the father dies in peace. After some days other survivors appear. There is another man, a woman and two other children, a boy and a girl. The boy talks to the man and makes clear that they belong to the good guys who â€Å"carry the fire†, which means that they do not kill and eat other people. After he made that clear, it is okay for him to go with them. Therefore the ending implies a new beginning, because it could be possible that the boy and the girl create descendants one day, which would be a first step to get a new population. â€Å"The woman when he saw him put her arms around him and held him. (†¦) I am so glad to see you. She would talk to him sometimes about God. He tried to talk to God but the best thing was to talk to his father and he did talk to him and he didn’t forget. † (McCarthy, 2006: 286) The Movie The movie â€Å"The Road† was published in 2009. John Hillcoat (Director) and Joe Penhall (Screenplay) produced a cinematic adaptation of the novel with the same title and story which takes 111 minutes. The role of the father is played by Viggo Mortensen and Kodi Smit-McPhee plays the role of the son. [7] As already said, the story is almost the same. There are just a few changes within it. For example there are some flashbacks to the time before the catastrophe and shortly after it, when the mother was still alive. In addition there are some omissions because of details which would have been too shocking, like the passage with the infant corpse. [8] Despite those supplements and omissions Hillcoat and Penhall did a really good job. They managed it to copy the imagery of McCarthy’s special style of writing into the atmosphere of the film. Therefore they used a number of techniques. [9] The depressive and sad atmosphere is easily created by mostly grey and brown colours. Furthermore the film was produced in wintertime, when there automatically lies snow and the trees are without leaves. The film implies no ordinary scenery, because it is not a complex story. The contrast comes when the flashbacks to the time before the catastrophe are shown. The colours change into very intensive ones, it is summer and you always hear nice piano music. One could also argue that the piano serves as a symbol for the presence of the mother and for civilisation because it represents culture. When the father remembers his wife there is always piano music which accentuates the scenes. Later in the film he has to cut an old piano into pieces in order to get wood for a fire. This is a clear indication that he is angry with his wife because of her decision to commit suicide. Those scenes are different to the few passages about the mother in the book. She is not a big issue in the novel. Within the book the story is told by an omniscient 3rd person narrator. In the cinematic adaptation the man tells the story. This is a contrast to the book, where the actions, feelings and thoughts of the man are part of the narration. On the one hand one could argue that this contrast is problematic because in the end the father is going to die and the way of narration could be too personal. But on the other hand Hillcoat and Penhall had to choose someone who tells the story and they had no other opportunity if they want to have the option of flashbacks and omniscience. According to the protagonists there is one other existing difference. In the book the boy seems to accept his fate and tries to make the best out of it. He grows up very fast and is rather adulty than childish. In the film he collects some artefacts like a broken comb of his mother, wears her clothes and also has a few toys. He is often scared and cries when he is. All in all, the boy is played like a child and not as grown up as he is described in the book. The overlapping aspect is the importance of â€Å"to carry the fire†. He is always asking if someone carries the fire, which means not to kill other people and disregard morality and values. The biggest difference between the novel and its cinematic adaptation is the ending. In the book it is described as a happy end. The father dies, the son meets another family who also carries the fire and can go with them. In addition the family has a daughter, which means that there is a new beginning for civilisation implied. This procedure is the same at the end of the film but there are some details which change the situation. Firstly the thumbs of the veteran are missing or garbled. That was also the case when they met the thief who has stolen their cart with all their goods. Those missing fingers can lead to the suggestion that he had been a member of a cannibalism commune. This would also fit to the question why a family should voluntary incorporate another hungry child. In fact there is no food left and every additional person is a risk at the same time. One also has to remember that they have a dog in the movie, which is pure luxury according to the circumstances they live in. According to those details there are two possibilities: either they are just as friendly and careful as the boy and it is an act of charity, or they see their chance in getting extra food without killing someone of their family or group. Novel or Movie? In my opinion both works are really great. I like the novel of McCarthy very much because of his style of writing and the atmosphere within the story. The dialogues are short, concise and therefore fit totally in. In addition the characters with their actions, thoughts, feelings and dreams as well as the ending of the story are simply realistic. There are some differences when it comes to the cinematic adaptation but those are no reasons for regarding the film as inferior. As already said, I think that Hillcoat and Penhall did a great job because it must have been very hard to transport McCarthy’s style of writing into a movie. What I like most is the ending of the film. It is less clear than in the book and every viewer can decide which option seems to be more realistic. I think the interpretation of the ending refers to ones personal character traits. If the viewer is as prudent, distrusting and sometimes hopeless like the father he will maybe be more likely to see it critical. In contrast a viewer who is as optimistic as the son will probably see the details as unimportant and therefore recognize the ending as a happy end, like the one of the book. This opportunity of individual interpretation is a great aspect of the movie.Bibliography McCarthy, Comac. The Road. New York: Vintage Books, 2006 http://www.buecher.de/shop/krimi–thriller/the-road/mccarthy-cormac/products_products/detail/prod_id/22749892/session/0c16e28341622398e76f09549b0dc89c/ (23.02.2012) http://www.cormacmccarthy.com/works/theroad.htm (23.02.2012) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898367/ (23.02.2012) http://sweetcheese.files.wordpress.com/2008/01/41jilx9r0rl_ss500_.jpg (23.02.2012) http://quaterlyconversation.com/the-road-by-cormac-mccarthy-review (23.02.2012) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0898367/ (25.02.2012) Movie: â€Å"The Road†, Universum Film GmbH: 2009 http://www.beyondhollywood.com/the-road-2008-movie-images-gallery/the-road-movie/ (25.02.2012)

20 Key Writing Tips to Become a Better Writer Today

20 Key Writing Tips to Become a Better Writer Today 20 Writing Tips to Improve Your Craft â€Å"The pen is mightier than the sword.† Writer Edgar Bulwer-Lytton made this keen observation nearly 200 years ago, but it remains just as true today. Writing is one of the most powerful mediums in existence, and a seemingly simple story can change countless lives - which is why so many of us choose to be writers in the first place.But sometimes it can be difficult to find the right words, to tell the story the way you want, or to start writing in the first place. That’s why we’ve compiled these 20 essential writing tips for writers like you: artists who want to hone their craft to perfection, so they can tell their stories as effectively as possible.Some of these tips are directly narrative-related, while others are more about the mentality and setting you need to cultivate in order to write. But all have one crucial thing in common: if you take them to heart, they’ll help you become a much better writer - and maybe even pen the book of your dreams. We’ll start with the story tips, then move into more technique-related advice to help you on your writing journey.If you prefer your tips in watchable form, check out this video on great writing tips that no one else will tell you. 1. Even pantsers need to planLet’s begin with an age-old question: are you a plotter or a pantser?If you’ve never heard these terms before, allow us to explain. Pantsers are writers who â€Å"fly by the seat of their pants,† i.e. start writing without preparing too much and simply trust that everything will work out. At the other end of the spectrum are plotters, who plan and outline their story extensively before they begin to write.Which is the better way forward? Well, it’s different for everyone - what works for you may not necessarily work for another writer you know.That said, experience has taught us that a little bit of planning goes a long way. That’s why we always advise some form of preparation, even if it’s just a few nuggets of your plot, before you dive into writing. Pantsers, we know it’ll be hard, but you can do it!2. Keep your outline in mindOnce you’ve prepared an outline, it’s important to actually use it. This may seem obvious, but it's seemingly one of the hardest-to-remember writing tips out there - which is why we've put it so high on our list!Many writers find themselves led astray by subplots and secondary characters, wandering into lengthy supplementary chapters that don’t really go anywhere. Then when they try to get back to the main plot, they find they’re already too far gone.Keeping your outline in mind at all times will help you avoid these disastrous detours. Even if you stray a little, you should be able to look at your outline and articulate exactly how you’ll get back to what you planned. This is especially crucial late in the writing process, when it can be hard to remember your original vision - so if you have doubts about your ability to remember your outline, definitely write it down.3. Introduce conflict earlyOf all the core elements in your story, conflict is perhaps the most important to emphasize. Conflict lies at the heart of every good narrative, creating tension that prompts people to read until the very end. So make sure readers know what your conflict is within the first few chapters!The best way to do this is through an early inciting incident, wherein the main character has a revelation and/or becomes involved in something big. For example, in The Hunger Games, the inciting incident is Katniss volunteering for the Games. Though our heroine has always held anti-Capitol views, this incident forces her to take direct action against them, launching the conflict (Katniss vs. Capitol) that will drive the next three books.Finally, remember that there are many different types of conflict. So if you have no idea what your conflict is, don’t worry; it’s probably just unconventional. For instance, your main conflict might be one that unfolds within your narrator (character vs. self), or against some large, nebulous force (like character vs. technology). But whatever it is, try to be conscious of when you introduce it and how.4. Control the pacingNothing ruins a good story like poor pacing. Even if you’ve got the most well-rounded characters, interesting plot, and sizzling conflict in literary history, sluggish pacing can still make all of it moot. So make sure you control the pacing in your story, lest readers lose interest and put down your book in frustration!In order to combat slow pacing, you’ll need to increase the tempo by:A) Cutting down lengthy sentences and descriptions, and B) Increasing action and dialogue.The former strategy works for one simple reason: it gets rid of filler and fluff. In extreme cases, you may have to cut a great deal of exposition in order to get to the beating heart of your story. This may be painful, but trust us - your readers will appreciate not having to trudge through 50 pages of buildup before your inciting incident.As for the latter, it might seem like adding more content is counterintuitive to a quicker pace. But because action and dialogue move the story forward in a concrete manner, you can always rely on them to improve slow pacing.5. Fine-tune your dialogueSpeaking of dialogue,  it's pretty critical to most stories, especially in terms of drawing in readers. Indeed, a conversation between characters is usually much more intriguing and impactful than a narrator relaying similar information.But dialogue loses its impact if the conversation goes on for too long - so for better, sharper dialogue, be concise. Say youâ₠¬â„¢re writing a story in which two characters have an argument. You want to be clear what they’re fighting about and connect it to other events and themes in your story, so you write something like this:â€Å"I can’t believe you were late coming home again! This is so typical. Just like when you forgot to pick up the groceries last week. Sometimes I don’t think you listen to me at all. You say you care about my feelings, but you don’t.†Ã¢â‚¬Å"Well, maybe I don’t listen because you’re always yelling at me. No matter what I do, it always seems to be the wrong thing. I had a very important meeting tonight, for the record. You know I’m trying to get that promotion at work. I’m really trying my hardest here.†But this exchange is full of unnecessary details. After all, the reader should already be familiar with your characters, their relationship, and past events of the story - you don’t have to spoon-feed them the meaning of the conversation. So keep your dialogue short and pithy:â€Å"Nice of you to show up. What were you doing, if not getting groceries?† â€Å"Thanks for the warm reception. I had a meeting. Kind of an important one.†For more dialogue-specific writing tips, check out this post.You'll be back to writing in no time. (Image: Lonely Planet on Unsplash)17. Listen to feedbackNow for another one of those writing tips that we all have trouble with. Throughout the process of writing, and definitely after you’re finished, you should share your work with other people: your friends, family, writers’ groups, and your editor(s).Accepting and actioning critical feedback is, of course, one of the most difficult parts of being a writer. Yet it’s also one of the most important skills to have. Because the feedback you receive from friends and beta readers is the only window you have into other people’s views - until you publish and the reviews start flooding in, but by then it’s too late to change anything. So try not to view criticism as harsh, but as helpful. It might just save you from liter ary infamy later!On that note†¦18. Kill your darlingsSometimes you’ll pen a passage that’s so beautiful, so nuanced, so masterfully constructed that you want to frame it - but it doesn’t really contribute anything to the larger composition. It’s a tangential distraction, and you know in your heart that your work would be better off without it.What to do now? You probably know the answer, even if you don’t want to admit it: you have to kill your darlings. This most often refers to removing an irrelevant or otherwise distracting passage, but it may also be your title, an element of your narration, or even an entire character.In any case, if it doesn’t add to the narrative, consider dropping it. Of all our writing tips, this one is perhaps the most important for writers of short stories and flash fiction, since you really don’t have any room to waste! Painful as it might be, remember you can always save your â€Å"darling† t o rework for another project†¦ just not this one.19. Just keep writingHow do prolific, successful authors manage to turn out so many books? Basically, by keeping calm and carrying on. Stephen King writes 2,000 words every single day, even on holidays. Jane Austen wrote each day just after breakfast without fail. Kafka wrote in the wee hours of the morning, barely sleeping as a result.Now, as we’ve established, you don’t have to write every day, or with the same vigor as these authors. Jane Austen never had a smartphone distracting her, so that was kind of an unfair advantage. But you do need to keep writing with as much consistency and focus as possible!This is the best piece of advice we can give any writer, fiction or non-fiction, short-form or long. Remember that it’s a marathon, not a sprint, and keep your head down until you hit that final blessed page.20. Keep publishing in mindLast but certainly not least on this list of writing tips, we’ll co ver the potential of publishing your book once it’s finally finished. Many writers and writing websites advise not to think about publishing while writing, to simply write what you know/love/would want to read yourself, and worry about publishing later.But thinking about it as you write can really help move the process along! For one thing, if you go the traditional publishing route, you should consider how you might pitch your book to agents. What makes your story unique, and why would they want to represent it? If you start writing with the aim to publish, you can consciously highlight these distinctive elements in the story itself.On the other hand, if you’re thinking about self-publishing, the adventure truly does begin once you’ve finished the manuscript! After a round or two of editing, and possibly investing in a book cover, you should be set to put your book up on Amazon and start raking in readers.There are pros and cons to both these sides. Luckily, if you’ve gotten to this point, the hard part is over; you’ve managed to write the book of your dreams, and now what you do with it is up to you!And if you haven't quite gotten there yet, know that it's never too late. Writing is a lifelong struggle, but it's also one of the most rewarding things you can pursue. So go forth and tell the story you've always wanted to tell - we believe in you. âÅ" Did we miss anything? Tell us your best writing tips in the comments below!

Economic Reasons for Legalizing Marijuana

Economic Reasons for Legalizing Marijuana The war on drugs- no matter how you feel about it- is undoubtedly expensive. A great deal of resources go into catching those who buy and sell illegal drugs, prosecuting them in court, and housing them in jail. Critics of the war on drugs believe these costs are especially exorbitant when it comes to marijuana, a substance that is widely used and, according to numerous scientists, no more harmful than legal drugs such as tobacco and alcohol. Theres another cost to the war on drugs, too- the revenue lost by governments that cannot collect taxes on the sale of illegal drugs. In a 2010 study for the Fraser Institute, economist Stephen T. Easton attempted to calculate how much tax revenue the Canadian government could gain by legalizing marijuana. In 2018, for many of the reasons Easton outlined in his study, Canada passed the Cannabis Act, which legalized the adult use of recreational marijuana. Revenue From Marijuana Sales Eastons study estimated that the average price of 0.5 grams (a unit) of marijuana sold for $8.60 on the black market, while its cost of production was only $1.70. In a free market, a $6.90 profit for a unit of marijuana would not last for long. Entrepreneurs noticing the great profits to be made in the marijuana market would start their own grow operations, increasing the supply of marijuana, which would cause the street price of the drug to fall to a level much closer to the cost of production. Of course, this doesnt happen because the product is illegal; the prospect of jail time deters many entrepreneurs and the occasional drug bust ensures that the supply stays relatively low. We can consider much of this $6.90 per unit of marijuana profit a risk-premium for participating in the underground economy. Before Canada legalized cannabis, this risk premium was making a lot of criminals, many of whom had ties to organized crime, very wealthy. Marijuana Taxes Easton argued that if marijuana were legalized, the excess profits produced by the risk-premium could be transferred to the government: If we substitute a tax on marijuana cigarettes equal to the difference between the local production cost and the street price people currently paythat is, transfer the revenue from the current producers and marketers (many of whom work with organized crime) to the government, leaving all other marketing and transportation issues aside we would have revenue of (say) $7 per [unit]. If you could collect on every cigarette and ignore the transportation, marketing, and advertising costs, this comes to over $2 billion on Canadian sales and substantially more from an export tax, and you forego the costs of enforcement and deploy your policing assets elsewhere. Supply and Demand One interesting thing to note from such a scheme is that the street price of marijuana stays exactly the same, so the quantity demanded should remain the same as the price is unchanged. However, its quite likely, in places where cannabis use is currently criminalized, that legalization would change the demand for marijuana. We saw that there was a risk in illegally selling marijuana, but since drug laws often target both the buyer and the seller, there is also a risk (albeit smaller) to the consumer interested in buying marijuana. Legalization would eliminate this risk, causing the demand to rise. From a public policy standpoint, this is a mixed bag: Increased marijuana use can have ill effects on the health of the population, but the increased sales bring in more revenue for the government. By legalizing marijuana, governments can have some control over how much marijuana is consumed by increasing or decreasing taxes on the product. There is a limit to this, however, as setting taxes too high will cause marijuana growers to sell on the black market to avoid excessive taxation. When considering legalizing marijuana, there are many economic, health, and social issues to analyze. Although one economic study should not be the basis for a countrys public policy decisions, Eastons research does conclusively show that there are economic benefits to the legalization of marijuana. With governments scrambling to find new sources of revenue to pay for important social objectives such as health care and education, you can expect to see more leaders exploring the idea of legalization.

Market strategy, Market positioning and Marketing-Mix Assignment

Market strategy, Market positioning and Marketing-Mix - Assignment Example Furthermore, Metrao faces increasing competition from other calorie calculators being sold in the market. Generally, this means that Metrao is obliged to differentiate its products from others in the market by being innovative and unique. In addition to, the calorie calculator market is growing showing that there are likely to be diverse consumer needs and expectations. Consequently, Metrao should utilize strategic marketing tools to get an actual picture of the level of competition in the market and the customers’ needs. A marketing strategy is a process that enables a company to focus its limited resources on the strategic opportunities to attain a sustainable competitive advantage and increase their sales volumes (West, Ford, and Ibrahim 57). A marketing strategy should be based on consumer satisfaction. A marketing strategy is made up of different aspects such as pricing, product development, promotion, distribution and relationship management. Further, it establishes the choice of marketing mix, positioning, target market segments and relationship management. Some of the strategies adopted by the company include the PESTLE and the SWOT analysis. Marketing Mix This primary marketing strategy adopted in the promotion of Metrao. Generally, four aspects in the 4Ps strategy include product, place, price and promotion. The first element of the marketing strategy is product (Schroeder 11). Product refers to the product or service being offered in the market. Metrao is a calorie calculator that enables people keep track of the calorie intake on their daily basis for healthy purposes. This device includes a database approximates the protein, calorie, fat and carbohydrate intake. In addition to, the device offers a recommendation of the appropriate diet for different users. The device is also used o approximate how many calories an individual can cut down on a daily basis. Consumers buy products based on their perceived value of it. For this reason, Metrao en sures product value for its consumers by ensuring consumer satisfaction. Price is the second aspect that greatly influences customers’ decision to buy give product or service. Furthermore, it the only aspect in the Marketing Mix that generates profits. However, the company resolved not to put a selling price on Metrao but opted to get profits from the product’s promotion. In other words, the company is undertakes promotional pricing to generate profits and compete with other players in the market (Robinson 78). However, the company intends to set a reasonable price once the consumers are fully aware of the existence of the product in the market. Promotion is the way in which information about a product is brought to the attention of the consumers. The company has a brand name and intends to raise its awareness using a wide range of advertising campaigns staged on offline and online marketing channels. The company also promotes its products on its website that was recen tly established to target the online market segment. The final aspect of the marketing mix is place and it relates to where a certain product can be purchases and how the buyers can easily access it. The product will be available in the company’s stores, the company’s website and other shops that sell health related products. The product will be sold in the UK and if it performs well, it will be introduced in other parts of the world. SWOT analysis The company