Tuesday, August 25, 2020

Centralization In The Byzantine Empire History Essay

Centralization In The Byzantine Empire History Essay In his article Osmanlã„â ± Padiã… Ã… ¸ahã„â ± distributed in 1958 Halil Äâ °nalcã„â ±k composed â€Å"It was compulsory to go along to caliph-king who had been structured by God to coordinate Muslims with shariaà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Subjects needed to demonstrate outright compliance to the king and this relationship was comparative with connection among father and son㠢â‚ ¬Ã¢ ¦ The possibility of supreme and unified position and the guidelines in the association of state to appear this thought was important.†Ã¢ [ 1 ]  Georg Ostrogorsky composes the lines beneath for Byzanine sovereigns in his book History of the Byzantine State: â€Å"The state was totally related to the Emperor and with his military and bureaucratic machine. The Emperor is picked of God, and under the security of Divine Providence. He is whole ace of the legislature of the Empire, president of the military, preeminent adjudicator and sole law-provider, defender of the Church and gatekeep er of the genuine faith㠢â‚ ¬Ã¢ ¦ his legal sentence is conclusive and irrevocableà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦As ace of the State the Emperor has practically speaking unlimited power.†Ã¢ [ 2 ]  To peruse simply these two perceptions on the Ottoman and Eastern Roman realms together gives a significant thought as of now on the changeless connection between the two domains. However, it is important to focus on the cases of â€Å"former orientalism†, with the outflow of Halil Berktay, which recommends that the single wellspring of the Ottoman foundations was Byzantine's socio-political organization.â [ 3 ]  However, an endeavor in starting up this case ought to be wary in regards to the ultra-nationalistic inclinations which totally reject the likenesses between the two realms. In this paper I try to break down the centralization, which was one of the significant regular angles between the Ottoman and the Byzantine domains, in the rule of Justinian. The centralization appro aches of Justinian, who was in the seat somewhere in the range of 527 and 565, appeared to be at the same time rose through the political fracture and decentralization forms in Europe. Accordingly, an examination on the centralization of the rule of Justinian can make open doors for correlations between the West and the Byzantium The Mainlines of Justinian Period and the Political Centralization To comprehend centralization approaches all through the time of Justinian, it will be helpful to see mainlines of his time quickly. Justinian governed the realm two centuries later Constantine who had established the capital Constantinopleâ [ 4 ]  and was the primary ruler of the Eastern Roman Empire. All through two centuries the Empire attempted to get over the emergency that had pulverized Europe with a base harm. Notwithstanding, this emergency had influenced its political and public activity and it came to the ability to recapture the western grounds after the fifth century. As per Ostrogorsky, despite the fact that the irritated organizations of the western and eastern sides of the Roman Empire, the thoughts of solidarity and all inclusiveness of the domain kept during the Germanic attacks. Inside the 6th century when the Byzantine Empire arrived at the ability to embrace a functioning approach, rather than a â€Å"passive actor†, a head went to the seat to get this thought into occurring: Justinian. It is conceivable to sum up the objective of Justinian as reproducing the legacy of Roman Empire, and building up a domain inside its previous outskirts as a Christian and Roman realm. For this point, the North Africa, Italy and South Spain were vanquished and the Mediterranean turned into a Byzantine lake. Be that as it may, those wars in the west diminished the guarded intensity of the Empire against Persia and all through the Danube fringes. Thusly, it very well may be said that while Byzantine armed forces were praising their triumphs in the far off we st, the focal point of the Empire had been ravaging.â [ 5 ]  However, these successes which were held so as to restorate the Roman Empire caused to a sensational increment in the expenses and the discontentedness of individuals caused the Nika Revolt in 532. The Greens and the Blues got joined to topple the head and the revolt was generally scattered and picked up quality inside a brief timeframe. In so much that a nephew of the previous head Anastasios was reported as the new ruler. In any case, the revolt smothered with the endeavors of Theodora, Belisarios and Narses.â [ 6 ]  It is important to make reference to that to see the money related results of the triumph strategy as the main purposes behind revolt would be incorrect. Clearly, an expansion in charges was a critical factor for the revolt. Be that as it may, the other explanation which lied behind the revolt summed up the attribute of the time of Justinian.

Saturday, August 22, 2020

The Case for Organic Agriculture Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Case for Organic Agriculture - Essay Example Humus contains natural material - living tissue that has passed on and its parts are being reused. Microorganisms like microscopic organisms and parasites chip away at natural material, separating it into its littler structure obstructs that would then be able to be reclaimed up by another plant. Humus has a structure that makes it simple for living plants to discover and take up the supplements. A portion of the salts, for instance, stick on the parts of the bargains particles that are simple for plants to get. Humus is dynamic and continually evolving. The people group of microorganisms can be differing and steady as long as increasingly more natural issue is taken care of to the dirt to keep up every one of those tiny animals (Donahue et al. , 1983). Plants likewise need heaps of water for legitimate development. Water will simply go through sand or ground rock so humus alongside the earth holds water in the soil.where it will be accessible to plant roots. Soil gives the framework where seeds are first sustained. At the point when the seed first begins to develop, it pushes out modest roots to start associating with the dirt to discover water and supplements. A green, verdant stem pushes up out of the dirt aiming high since plants get vitality from the sun to cause them to develop. The water at the highest point of that stem dissipates into the air and pulls more water and supplements up from the dirt into the plant. ... Tragically, when they eat from the plants on a homestead, they are eating our food, so any cultivating framework must think about these vermin. Customary and natural ranchers adopt various strategies to these two fundamental issues: keeping up enough supplements to take care of the plants and shielding plants from bothers. Customary agribusiness accentuates expanding yield and cultivating proficiency. These ranchers take a gander at the developing populace and state that we need all the food we can develop. Such ranches utilize substance composts to supplant the supplements that plants remove up from the dirt. These are by and large, mineral salts of nitrates, phosphates, and potassium. These are applied to the field as dried pellets that break down in water. By placing these supplements into the dirt, the ordinary rancher is sure that his plants will have enough for the quickest and most extreme development. Such plants regularly take up bunches of water with the supplements which swells them and makes them look fat and succulent and simpler to sell obviously, every time it downpours or the ranchers inundates the field, a few supplements will go with the water any place it go - now and again into close by waterways and streams, so frequently supplements are lost while applying manures. Such outside su pplements can some of the time disturb the sensitive biological system adjusts in the waters where they end up. Traditional ranchers additionally act unequivocally when vermin like bugs or weeds meddle with development of their yields. These ranchers splash uncommonly made toxic substances nearby plants to slaughter off the vermin. Numerous ranchers additionally shower 'prophylactically' before bugs show up so plants won't have any misfortunes or even markings from creepy crawly bothers. Shockingly, these toxic substances are not explicit to one specific sort of creepy crawly.

Sunday, July 26, 2020

Summertime, and the livin is easy

Summertime, and the livin’ is easy I said Id do it, no? Many of these websites wont have information about Summer 2007 programs up until around January, but the info from last summer is still comprehensive enough for you to take what you will from it. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO DO ANY SUMMER PROGRAM TO GET INTO MIT, by the way. Im putting up these links simply because theyre all interesting programs that some of you may want to look into, what with summer often involving large amounts of free time. Lets start off with the Center for Talent Development at Northwestern University, or CTD. At CTD, you spend 6-7 hours a day for three weeks taking one course for high school credit, while living in a dorm on campus. I was in this program for two summers (I took AP European History the summer after 10th grade, and AP US Government and Politics the next summer) and really enjoyed it so much so that Im considering applying to be an RTA this summer, too! Along the same lines as CTD, theres CTY at Johns Hopkins University, which Jess went to. Both CTD and CTY also offer distance learning courses during the school year, which may or may not work for you. (I took a couple of online classes and found it more difficult to learn material, but I tend to learn more from sitting in a lecture and listening. To each his own.) Duke Universitys Talent Identification Program offers the option of either taking classes for college credit or doing field studies (in marine biology or medicine, for example) both in the United States and abroad. Boston Universitys High School Honors Program for incoming high school seniors, Cornell Universitys Summer College, and Harvard Summer Schools Secondary School Program also have summer classes you can take for college credit. Also, check out Questbridge, which offers help with the costs of summer programs at Harvard, Stanford, and Yale. They also have a scholarship program for high school seniors applying to colleges, but its limited to the programs participating colleges and universities (which include Williams, Columbia, and Princeton). The Questbridge applications are closed for the year, though sorry! For the artistically inclined, we have Columbia Colleges High School Summer Institute. Also, University of Miamis Summer Scholar Programs offer a diverse range of classes in visual arts, sports medicine, and more (and come on! Miami in the summer! /shameless plug). I know what some of you are thinking, since I worried about the same thing when I was first looking into these: WHY ARE ALL OF THESE SO EXPENSIVE?! And they are some of them cost even more now than they did when I was in 10th grade (and since that was only three years ago, you can understand why I find that so discomfiting). Many of the aforementioned programs offer financial aid, which often covers anywhere from 1/4 to the full cost of the program. Others cost nothing at all, such as the Telluride Association Summer Programs for sophomores and juniors. The Telluride Association is well-renowned for its residential programs for students in high school and college; my friend Rachel did TASP at UT Austin last year and loved it. Of course, I cant forget MITs own summer programs Minority Introduction to Engineering and Science (MITES), Womens Technology Program (WTP), and the Research Science Institute (RSI). MITES and RSI are free; WTP is partially subsidized and offers some financial aid. Finally, go look at Fastweb, for anything I havent already thought of (and a few things I did). Okay. Youve gotten two posts from me in one day. Its about time I did some work.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Military Grave Markers and Tombstones

For many, the first introduction to an ancestors military service is at the cemetery when they discover a flag or military marker next to their ancestors grave, or an unknown acronym or image carved on the stone. Common Military Abbreviations United States - Military Abbreviations - Ranks, Units AwardsAustralia - Military Abbreviations TerminologyCanada - Military Abbreviations, Terms and MeaningsGermany - Glossary of Germany military terms and abbreviations Tombstone Symbols May Indicate Military Service Flag - liberty and loyalty. Often seen on military markers.Stars Stripes around an Eagle - Eternal vigilance and liberty. Often seen on U.S. military markers.Sword - often indicates military service. When found on the base of the stone might indicate infantry.Crossed swords - May indicate a military person of high rank or a life lost in battle.Horse - May indicate calvalry.Eagle - courage, faith and generosity. May indicate military service.Shield - Strength and courage. May indicate military service.Rifle - often indicates military service.Cannon - generally indicates military service. When found on the base of the stone it may indicate artillery. Acronyms for Military Groups Veterans Organizations CSA - Confederate States of AmericaDAR - Daughters of the American RevolutionGAR - Grand Army of the RepublicSAR - Sons of the American RevolutionSCV - Sons of Confederate VeteransSSAWV - Sons of Spanish American War VeteransUDC - United Daughters of the ConfederacyUSD 1812 - Daughters of the War of 1812USWV - United Spanish War VeteransVFW - Veterans of Foreign Wars

Friday, May 8, 2020

Books Are Humanity in Print Essay - 1364 Words

British Lit Final Exam May 26, 2010 Books Are Humanity in Print, The human race is known for change; it has evolved from prehistoric ‘cavemen’, ancient empires, and Vikings to aristocratic monarchies, democracies, and dictatorships. With each passing year, there are technological advancements, changing political platforms, and a progressively mobile worldwide population. Each literary era reflects the human feats, lifestyles, and changing times: Anglo-Saxon epics consist of glory battle scenes, bloodied warriors, and feuding countries; Middle English works consist of glorified knights, the chivalric code, and a greedy, materialistic court; and, modern literary classics depict worlds of which the human race is ruled by technology.†¦show more content†¦While most of the poem depicts pagan customs, such as wergild,, there are three specific ways that Christianity is seen: the title character, Beowulf, is depicted as good while Grendel, who descended from Cain, is depicted at evil; there are conflicting ideas of fate and free wil l; and the lord is seen as an almightily, singular being. Following the Norman Conquests, the French influence drastically changed the British Isles: the language of the aristocracy became French; feudalism, a social and economic hierarchy, became the caste system of choice; and, chivalry was abounded. However, The French influence quickly declined following the Crusades, the struggle between church and state, the Magna Carta, the Hundred Years War, the Bubonic Plague, and the rise of cities. The anonymously authored, Sir Gawain and the Green Knight, reflects the shifting social order. A satire of a culture in moral decline, the poem is filled with elaborate descriptions of courtly festivities, the accouterments of knighthood, and the inane codes of chivalry. The knights of both the era and the poem are dressed to the nines: fancy belts, gold plated shields, and various other garments unnecessary for warfare. The knights pledged their loyalty to their kings, their honor to women, an d their defense to the Christian faith. In the poem, ChristmasShow MoreRelatedEssay about The Study of Anthropology and the Humanities1361 Words   |  6 Pages The humanities are a broad multidisciplinary field of study where its disciplines aren’t in just one department. 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Wednesday, May 6, 2020

Everything Bad Is Good for You Free Essays

In Everything Bad Is Good For You, Steven Johnson uses many scientific methods and presents point of view stating that popular culture does not only have negative impacts on us. In the introduction of the television section, he briefly tells us the truth that the complexity of modern TV shows is rising and it also makes people more intelligent. To support his ideas, Johnson divides the content into three parts: Multiple threading, Flashing Arrows, and Social Networks. We will write a custom essay sample on Everything Bad Is Good for You or any similar topic only for you Order Now Multiple threading is very common in modern television shows but not in past shows. Johnson uses four graphs which clearly show the amount of plot content in relation to the running time of four episodes from different shows, to depict changes of complexity in TV dramas. In one drama, Dragnet, the narrative only focuses on one plotline; a few years later, the numbers of plotline have been increased in another drama called The Sopranos. The evidence strongly supports Johnson’s statement: Multiple threading becomes more complex and abundant in modern television dramas. However, it is not the only reason that makes TV shows more complicated. Flashing Arrows, which had allowed viewers to follow the plot more easily television shows of the past, disappeared and were transformed in modern soap dramas and sitcoms. TV shows stopped using flashing arrows because audiences have been learned to find the hidden answers in the shows for many years. In soap operas, flashing arrows have been transformed to â€Å"texture† and â€Å"substance† (p. 78), which are used for building up a realistic dramatic situation in the drama. In sitcoms, flashing arrows become a reward of knowing the â€Å"in-joke† by attaining extra information outside the shows. Although sitcoms become more complex, they are not the only shows that have changed. Social networks are mainly used in reality programming and political debates. When audiences watch The Apprentice or Survivor, a reality show, they will use â€Å"social intelligence† (p. 96) to judge participants’ personalities. Each facial expression and action from the participants provides clues to audiences for the judgment. In political debates, audiences will judge the politicians’ appearances, speech, skin color or actions to decide the votes. Social intelligence† is a brain activity that people will do it automatically when they try to make decisions. Johnson’s evidence has shown â€Å"social intelligence† has been improved by reality shows. However, social networks do not only represent the network among participants and audiences, but also the social relationships of characters in the TV dramas. The social mapping of 24 clearly shows the complex rel ationships among all the characters. There are four families being involved in the show, but the relationships are not obvious to the audience. Audiences need to build up the social connections by watching the show. The process is difficult and challenging, but the audience has already gotten used to it by training from the past thirty years. Social networks are also a part of making audiences become smarter. Basically, Johnson thinks television has become more complex because of multithreading, flashing arrows and social network. These three elements are also important to people’s brain activity which has made them smarter. How to cite Everything Bad Is Good for You, Essay examples

Tuesday, April 28, 2020

The setting of the play enhances the tension among the men Essay Example

The setting of the play enhances the tension among the men Essay Angry Men, Reginald Rose reveals how the confined space of the jury room is not only hot weather wise but hot because of the heated exchanges and the tension. The descriptive nature of Roses writing depicts the Immense pressure that the jurors are under and the below par conditions they are given to make a life or death decision for the boy. Rose recognizes that even though there may be tension and conflict between Jurors that as a combined group will be able to make the correct session. The setting Itself is described as being run down evident with the fan that doesnt work. Juror 7 shows his frustration to the conditions when he says Oh, thats beautiful, the fan doesnt work . As a result of the fan not working the jury room is described as being humid, and Rose also shows how the poor conditions have a toll on the Jurors, They are not only fighting against each other In order to present their own views and decision but the Jurors are described to be fighting against the humid conditions in order to maintain focus. Rose presents how the weather contributes to the tension of the other jurors. We will write a custom essay sample on The setting of the play enhances the tension among the men specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on The setting of the play enhances the tension among the men specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on The setting of the play enhances the tension among the men specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer The rundown Jury room is another reminder to Jurors that the quicker they make their decision the quicker they can leave. This is evident with Juror seven on page 50 who not only wants to go to the ball game but wants to leave the Jury room. The jury room is tale of the times as during the sasss America went through a period of modernization and therefore the jurors were somewhat not accustomed to the old way of living In a way. They were asked to perform a duty of heir country leaving the comfort of their home and put Into a room to make a decision with eleven other jurors who have very different backgrounds and have contrasting opinions. The fan and the lights turning on brings a shift in the play, the fan turning on metaphorically speaking cools down the room. This change is bought across by the comment from Juror 7 when he says Hey, lets try to get this fan going in here. Even though there is still tension as some jurors are at odds with each other, the fan brings for better decision making and calmness in conversations. The fan turning on signals a change in the mentality of some Jurors who now take in the considerations of other Jurors and do not become as heated and aggressive towards other jurors as they had been before the fan had turned on. This change enables jurors like juror 4 to no have reasonable doubt (page 58) as they begin to see past their preconceived ideas and are able to understand and take in the scrutiny by Juror eight on the evidence. At this stage the character of Juror 9 emerges as he begins to main confidence and begins to feel valued and therefore Is able to contribute with his insightful opinions and knowledge that give the other Jurors a better understanding. Rose uses the wash room as another way to relieve tension. The wash room allows Jurors to leave the main room of the jury room so that they can think to themselves and can shelter away from the correctly and tension that Is ongoing In the mall room. The wash room also calms down certain jurors who become too heated in the main room as they cannot handle the views of others or do not want to accept these ant to be there and are only let out when the problem/issue is resolved. The window is the only connection that the Jurors have with the outside world, which gives the Jurors the chance to reflect on their life and ponder on what they could do. The New York Skyline that is able to be seen shows the difference in scenery between where the Jurors are now and where they want to be. The window also reinforces that the Jurors have been isolated away from society which makes them feel like a prisoner, confined to a room. The room itself is described like a prison cell as Jurors knot want to be there and they are only let until the issue has been resolved and a decision has been made. The environment is very similar to that of the prison, as they have the bully who bosses around the smaller people into doing what he want them to do. Rose depicts this through the character of Juror 3 whose aggressive nature forces Jurors to do what he wants them to do. Some of the Jurors begin to reflect on their life and their experiences which is evident when Juror 12 says say isnt that the Woolworth building.

Thursday, March 19, 2020

Battles of the Revolutionary W essays

Battles of the Revolutionary W essays The book that I chose to review for Early U.S. History was Battles of the Revolutionary War: 1775 1781 by W. J. Wood. This book is an analysis of numerous important battles fought in America's war for independence. In theAuthor's Introduction? section of the book, Wood states his main objective in writing Battles of the Revolutionary War: 1775 1781. He explains that his purpose is to refute the common belief that battles in the American Revolutionary War areof questionable worth for military historians and their readers because they areall of a piece? too much alike.? (Wood xix) Wood disagrees with this view of the war and has attempted to give examples of battles that he has deemedunique? and that should be studied in military history. Wood does not limit his descriptions of the major battles to simple tactical analysis, however. In addition to tactical evaluation, he also seeks to paint a portrait of each battle and its respective conditions and participants. Some major points that Wood emphasizes in his writing are the effect of the rifle on Revolutionary War tactics, the hindrance that British soldiers faced due to their bulky uniforms, and the strengths and weaknesses of important military commanders such as George Washington and Benedict Arnold. In addition to painting a picture of each battle, W. J. Wood also adds a variety of visual aids to further assist the reader. The various maps and diagrams that are included within the text are enormously helpful in allowing the reader to understand the unique land features of each battle, the placement of troops, and also the overall regional theater through maps of the entire region. Wood has also added sixteen pages of artwork illustrating relevant battle scenes and portraits of various military commanders. The majority of the book Battles of the Revolutionary War: 1775 1781 is, of course, spent detailing the ten battles that Wood has chosen to describe. These ten battles...

Tuesday, March 3, 2020

What Is the PARCC Test Do You Have to Take It

What Is the PARCC Test Do You Have to Take It SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips PARCC exams are relatively new and not particularly widespread, which means that finding reliable information on what they are and what they mean can be tough. In this guide, I’ll go over everything you need to know about these exams, including where they’re administered, what they test, and how to prepare. What's the PARCC Test? If you're researching PARCC tests, you're probably a bit familiar withstate exams and how they work. Stateexams are tests that are written and managed at the state level - they're administered, often on a yearly basis, at public schools within that state to monitor student progress. They also set expectations for what students should know at each grade level. Performance is considered at a large scale (e.g. state education departments may look into school districts with particularly low scores) and at an individual level (e.g. a school may provide extra resources to an individual student who isn't at grade level). PARCC (or thePartnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers) is a group of several states that work together to develop and administer state exams. Each state that participates in PARCC uses these tests to monitor student progress in lieu of individual state tests - the ultimate goal is to standardize Common Core expectations across states. These tests are designed to better replacements for old versions of state tests because (as PARCC claims) they provide better information about students' skills and development to teachers and parents. In a nutshell, these examinations are meant to evaluate college and career readiness starting at a young age. By evaluating readiness early and often (i.e. on a yearly basis), teachers and parents should be better able to help children prepare for the future. For example, teachers may use information about exam performance to identify where students may need extra help. One of PARCC’s advisory committees is dedicated to working with college and universities to accept test results as an â€Å"indicator of readiness† for first-time freshmen, so it looks like they’re also making moves to replace the SAT and ACT. There’s no indication that any colleges accept PARCC results in lieu of SAT/ACT scores, however, so this isn’t somethingyou have to worry about at the moment. Test Logistics There are actually many tests and assessments that are administered through PARCC. Annual Year-end Tests - English/language arts and math tests are administered every year in grades 3-11. I'll be focusing primarily on these exams for the rest of the article. Instructional Tools and Tasks - These may be used throughout the school year, and are meant mostly for teachers. Like other state tests, the PARCC exam is supposed to align with what students are actually learning in the classroom for each grade level. As such, the actual content and the level of difficulty of the exams will vary depending on students’ grade level. I’ll go into more detail shortly. WhatStates Require the PARCC Test? In 2010, 24 states (plus Washington DC) belonged to PARCC, but the number of states participating in the program has dropped significantly since then. As of2015-2016 school year, there are11 states fully active in administering the PARCC tests: Colorado Washington DC Illinois Maryland Massachusetts New Jersey New Mexico Rhode Island What's on the PARCC Test? These examinations are relatively new - they’ve been updated quite often over the past several years, and will surely be updated in the future. That being said, a few important things have remained consistent: The two core content areas tested are English/language arts and math. The tests strive to be modern assessments of competency in higher-level critical thinking and problem-solving skills. The exams don't just test content - theytest the development of skills that (presumably) help students succeed. When you’re trying to gauge whether students are developing critical thinking and problem-solving skills - things that are essential for doing well in college and in the workplace - the way that questions are asked on the exam will be just as important as testcontent. I’ll address both of these important factors here. Tests are a lot less intimdating when you know what's going to be on them. Test Content PARCC test content aligns most closely with what students learn based on Common Core standards. These standards may vary slightly, but remember that the PARCC exams will be standardized across all participating states - as such, you can expect the exams to test content that’s shared by all those states. Content will also depend on grade level, of course. There are a couple of ways you can figure out what you can expect to see on the test: Check out Common Core standards by state. Talk with your teacher (or your child’s teacher) about the content he/she plans on covering for the year, and what he/she expects to see on the year-end PARCC exam. Check out PARCC practice tests. The PARCC website does provide some very basic information about what’s expected of both elementary and middle school students in both English and Math: English expectations for all grade levels (3-11): Students read one or more texts (and sometimes watch a video), write about what they read and/or viewed, and provide evidence drawn from the reading. English expectations for middle school and high school: Students are expected to read several passages and integrate ideas from all of them into their written responses. Math expectations for all grade levels (3-11): Students must reason mathematically, make sense of quantities and their relationships to solve real-world problems, and show their understanding. Math expectations for middle school and high school: Students are expected to develop procedural skills, conceptual understanding, and modeling and application skills with a focus on broadening number sense into ratios, rational numbers, and proportions while transitioning to algebraic skills (including working with expressions, equations, and graphs). Question Format This is where the PARCC tests really claim to stand out when compared to other, older state exams. Testing critical-thinking and problem-solving skills is tougher than testing just straight-up content knowledge - this modern test format reflects these efforts. Here are a couple of examples from the PARCC site to show you what I mean: EXAMPLE 1 The old English test item asks students to simply write a persuasive essay. The new test item asks students to consider the perspectives of multiple authors before responding (using textual evidence) with their own argument. This is quite similar - in concept, if not in difficulty level - to what students will see on the writing sections of the ACT and SAT. ELA/Literacy example questions: old test items versus PARCC test items EXAMPLE 2 The old math test item is a word problem - students have to use basic reading comprehension skills to work through the question - but it essentially is asking students to count days on a calendar. The new math test item requires students to utilize more sophisticated data analysis skills - namelythey'll have to interpret information instead of just performing mathematical calculations. PARCC exams also asks studentsto explain their reasoning. Math example questions: old test items vs. PARCC test items Preparing for the PARCC Much of the work that you’ll need to do to prepare for the PARCC happens in school. State tests are used to assess instructor, school, district, and state performance, so the pressure to do well isn’t really on the student - it’s on everyone who’s responsible for preparing the student for his or her future. With that being said, there’s nothing wrong with wanting to prepare for the test! Students should want to perform to the best of their ability because that will best inform teachers about their needs. If nothing else, preparing for a PARCC exam is good practice for other future standardized tests. There isn’t a ton of official prep material out there, but PARCC has released official practice tests for each grade level. You shouldapproach PARCC practice in the same way you’d approach ACT/SAT prep: by starting off with a full diagnostic test and then carefully analyzing your mistakes. If you find that you have any weak areas, you can use class notes and/or assistance from your teacher to close up any content gaps. What Your Scores Mean for You Students aren’t penalized or rewarded based on how they perform on PARCC exams. Their results are used to inform teachers, parents, and administrators whether they’re learning everything they’re supposed to be learning - particularly low or high scores should help teachers customize instruction for individual students. What these scores are: A measure of how familiar you are with the test content. To some degree, a measure of how familiar you are with the test format and general test-taking strategy. PERHAPS a measure of whether you’re on track for college and a career. The tests are still very new - we don’t have any hard evidence to suggest that high scores on the test in any way predict success in college and beyond (although there is ongoing research on this question). What these score are not: A measure of your intelligence. A measure of how successful you’ll be in the future. Now that you have a better idea of what your PARCC scores actually mean, we can talk in more detail about the test scoring system. How the PARCC Scoring System Works The tests’ scoring system is based on what they call â€Å"performance levels.† These different levels are: Level 1: Did not yet meet expectations Level 2: Partially met expectations Level 3: Approached expectations Level 4: Met expectations Level 5: Exceeded expectations If you are at level 4 or 5, you’re good to go. Level 3 indicates that you’re almost there - you might just need a little extra help. Levels 1-2 indicate that more significant help from instructors might be necessary to bring scores up to grade level standards. As with other state tests, you’ll receive a score report with your raw score and corresponding performance level after the exam. Here’s an example of what that might look like: An example of a PARCC score report At the bottom of the report, you can see that you’re given a bit more context for your scores - you have access to the school, district, state, and overall score average. If you'd like to learn more, PARCC has set up a site where parents can accessinformation about score results and improving performance. Summary To wrap up, PARCC exams shouldn’t be a source of stress for students or parents. Like most other state tests, these exams arecheck-in assessments that help instructors (and schools, and school districts) understand whether students are on the right track for college or for a career. Unlike other outdated tests, PARCC exams are moving towards assessing higher-level cognitive skills rather than just straight-up content. High school students might recognize that the questions they see on these tests are similar to the ones they might see on the ACT or SAT. It’s unclear whether PARCC tests truly measure college-readiness, but they’re certainly similar to other college entrance exams. Perhaps these year-end tests will help prepare students (starting in 3rd grade!) for future exams where more is at stake. What's Next? PARCC content is based on Common Core standards. If you want to do well on a PARCC exam, you may want to read more about the Common Core and why it matters. Looking at tests similar to the PARCC? Read more about ACT Aspireand check out available practice tests. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Sunday, February 16, 2020

Management Report - Quantitive Problem Solving Essay

Management Report - Quantitive Problem Solving - Essay Example Since customer’s time is the most precious parameter, it has also been decreased drastically in alternative 3. Each car has to wait for only 2.52 minutes in alternative 3. In addition to that, there is only a 22.86% chance that an arriving car will have to wait for the service whereas in alternative 2 there is 50% chance and in alternative 1 the number increases to 80% which is absolutely inefficient. If the company pursues the strategy of seeking the initial foundation of the venture and then have a major (almost immediate) expansion of the fledging company, the net payoff of this strategy will be  £90,000. If the company pursues the strategy of seeking the initial foundation and doing nothing in the first year and makes an expansion in the second year if the tourist attraction is built then it will result in a net payoff of  £65,000. If the number of competitors is 1 then the total number of market players will be 2 since my own company will also be operating in the market. The sales volume figure can be calculated by multiplying the total number of market players with the estimated sales. Here the assumption is that the sales of all the competitors will be equal to our sales Looking at the graph, it is reasonable to infer that the sales volume will increase at a decreasing rate as the number of competitors increase because the industry sales will exhaust at some point of

Sunday, February 2, 2020

650 questions 3 and 4 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

650 questions 3 and 4 - Assignment Example This method is the best since it considers the time value of money, incorporates all the future cash flows, and has clear criteria of how to decide whether to invest in the project. (Drake & Fabozzi, 2002) Besides, the rate used in discounting is the cost of capital which can be determined with certainty rather than being assumed. Drake & Fabozzi (2002) further underscores that in as much as the internal rate of return (IRR) is a good way of making an investment decision; it is a bit complex and sometimes results into conflicting results. IRR measures the expected rate of the investments that is made by an investor. In instances that the cash flows are both negative and positive, IRR has led to the determination of more than one rate of return thus making it difficult for an investor to make informed and profitable decisions. It should however be noted that in as much as the modified internal rate of return (MIRR) can be used where IRR is improper, MIRR is more complex and cannot be easily understood by those without financial knowledge. NPV thus remains a simple method of making investment appraisal that will certainly help maximize shareholders returns. To ensure that the limited resources are placed in the most profitable investments, the need for capital budgeting cannot be overemphasized. The use of the various investment appraisal methods have been exploited to help make capital budgeting decisions. Most importantly, NPV approach has been lauded as the best method of helping make capital decisions. Nonetheless, NPV alone is not sufficient since other important decisions affecting projects profitability cannot be easily determined by the use of this approach. Sensitivity analysis, scenario analysis, and Monte Carlo simulations have further been used to analyze the returns arising from investment portfolios. When using sensitivity analysis in making capital decisions, investors get to determine the extent to which a change in a specific cost

Saturday, January 25, 2020

Development of Play in a Museum

Development of Play in a Museum Introduction The concept of play has been regarded as a critical part of early cognitive development of a child, and there are countless studies showing the process by which play fosters learning both in formal and informal educational settings [1]. Museums are often seen as an informal learning environment, where visitors gain knowledge through engaging with the artefacts presented to them [2]. The museum has under-explored potential to be an educational playground [3] [4] that enhance and support the engagement of visitors with the museum exhibits. The research identifies with the museum as a place to learn, that is a playground, where the visitor is presented with options that support open-ended exploration and learning through play. The aim of the work is to research and define playful practices that enhance the effective design and development of playful environments within the context of the evolving museum and with the support of embedded or invisible technologies; moving the visitor from a traditional role of consuming content in a curated space to an active participant. The interest is in encouraging playful practices and cultivating engagement with the museum and its artefacts. Existing technological frameworks, and emerging technologies, including tactile, location, sensor-based, and networked technologies, such as those technologies underpinning the Internet of Things’ will be brought to bear on the visitors’ experience. The research uses creative design methods to hypothesize about and evaluate visitor engagement while simultaneously exploring the opportunities and boundaries of existing technological frameworks in novel interaction scenarios and defining design frameworks for future development. Work to Date The research has adopted a grounded approach and iterative design methods. It has been situated at Cork City Gaol Museum (CCGM), a heritage centre in Cork City that has been a test base for observations and small scale interventions thus far. The research has progressed from a literature review; which gathered research from several fields including interaction design, embodied interaction design, museum studies and play research. This led to the development of initial design guidelines. These guidelines were a reference point for initial brainstorming solutions, early prototypes and focus groups. Observations were carried out in the museum space to identify typical visitor patterns and behaviour. Insights from these observations were used to identify potential visitor patterns and develop a series of prototypes, built using off-the-shelf technologies, such as Arduino and open-source coding platforms including, the Arduino IDE and Processing. These prototypes were tested in a controlled environment initially and then also presented as interventions in the museum space. Feedback from initial testing and observations was used to refine the prototypes, the design guidelines and the proposed scenarios. A comprehensive research review document is available for further reading. Future Objectives Research Questions The research is concerned with the experience of the individuals engaging with the museum and its exhibits. It aims to use available embedded, emerging technologies, to probe the visitor experience and to creatively apply these technologies to design an engaging, social experience. To this end the research project asks the following question: How can the digital enhancement of a conventional museum space foster playfulness, co-creation between visitors and open-ended exploration and learning? To further explore this question, the research aims to investigate the following questions: How can playful practices enhance emerging exhibition design and digital enhancement of the exhibition space? What are the principle characteristics of playful practices? How can an embedded technology framework support the implementation of playful practices and what opportunities and limitations do these technologies have in supporting social interaction in complex public environments such as the museum? What design implications do the identified opportunities and limitations have for future design and development? Research Objectives The primary objective is to examine the adoption of playful practices in museum exhibit design and to investigate how ubiquitous embedded technologies, either bespoke or off-the-shelf solutions can enhance or limit playful practices, and social and collaborative experiences. The research will delineate a framework for the application of invisible embedded technologies which underlines the Internet of Things, and playful practices which augment the social and collaboratve museum experience. The research is influenced by the ideas of Hiroshi [4] and his investigations at the MIT Media lab in moving the interface â€Å"off-the-screen† and the intersection of the fields of science, art and experience design. (The explorations of Chris Speed [5] in network technology and the Internet of Things, the intersection of Art and Science and social experience are of particular interest also.) The research aims to: Identify how best to integrate playful practices within a museum that supports the existing objectives/goals of the environments while engaging visitors in a creative and collaborative way. Develop a comprehensive lexicon of terms to describe playful practices. Develop a framework for implementing technological interventions in the museum that enhance the visitor experience through encouraging sociability, collaboration and other playful practices. Evaluate existing technological frameworks in terms of supporting playful practices and social interaction within the museum. Implement a series of technological interventions across several distinct public spaces. Develop comprehensive guidelines for implementing playful practices and designing playful environments within the context of a museum Demonstrate the opportunities and limitations of existing technological frameworks, and off-the-shelf tactile, location, or sensor-based technologies when applied to open public environments such as the museum space and develop a design framework for future development. Methodological Approach To answer the research questions, this study will combine a mix of methods [7], theoretical investigation with design practice, including but not limited to design thinking and iterative design methods. The research will examine the characteristics and connections between the following elements; the visitor, the museum space, playful practices and digital technologies and frameworks. Existing methods of visitor engagement will be reviewed and existing digital frameworks will be analysed. A new framework for implementing playful practices and digital enhancements will be created that emphasises social engagement and collaboration between visitors. This model will then serve as a theoretical framework for further investigation. In-gallery observations of visitors will be used as a key method to gather comparable data before and after any design interventions. Cork City Gaol Museum has been chosen as a test environment, it is envisioned that two other open and public text environments w ill be identified and investigated also. References [1] Ginsburg, K. The Importance of Play in Promoting Healthy Child Development and Maintaining Strong Parent-Child Bonds The American Academy of Paediatrics, 2007 [2] Falk, J. The director’s cut: Toward an improved understanding of learning from museums. Science Education v88 nS1 pS83-96, 2004 [3]Frà ³es, I., Walker, K (2012)The Art of Play: Exploring the Roles of Technology and Social Play in Museums, Museums at Play, MIT Press, p486-498 [4]Semper, R. J. (1990). Science museums as environments for learning. Physics Today, 43(11), 50-56. [5] [6]http://www.chrisspeed.net/, http://www.research.ed.ac.uk/portal/en/persons/chris-speed (Creswell Plano Clark 2011, pp.71-72)

Friday, January 17, 2020

The Blue Sword CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Sungold turned and ran up the valley to the Gate, and leaped lightly through the cleft, and Harry was aware of Narknon shooting past her as she slid or fell out of the saddle and into Jack's arms. Gonturan clattered to the ground. â€Å"Brandy,† said Jack, and put something between her teeth; she drank a mouthful, gagged, and shoved the thing away. â€Å"Good for you,† said Jack, but the lightness of his tone was forced, and they both knew it. â€Å"Are you hurt?† Harry shook her head dizzily. â€Å"No. You?† â€Å"No.† â€Å"But – ?† Harry looked around. Narknon was beside her, covered with blood, but little of it seemed to be her own. Her flanks heaved and her green eyes were glassy, but she sat in her usual precise manner and, as Harry watched, slowly, stiffly, began to try to lick herself clean. The archers stood with empty quivers on their backs, cleaning their long daggers. There were fewer of them than there had been when she sent them into the valley's forested sides less than an hour before; and more than half of their cats were gone. She saw Kentarre, who had a rag wrapped around one forearm, but was on her feet. She saw Senay and Terim. Terim's horse was bleeding from a tear on its side, and Senay stood at its head, a hand on its crest, whispering to it, and Terim spread some pale ointment on the wound. The only wounds she saw were minor ones; none who were worse hurt had returned to the Gate. â€Å"Is this all of us now?† Jack nodded. â€Å"I'm afraid so.† There was barely half the tally of the defending southerners that had stood at the Madamer Gate in the morning; and there was an ashen cast to the faces that remained, for the northwest wind was not good to breathe. Unwounded limbs were numb and slow, and brains were clouded with a nagging dread that had little to do with the mortal risk of battle. Kentarre said, as she bound up another archer's arm, â€Å"Thurra is known to love slow bloodshed, and he can afford not to hurry, for nothing can stand against him. But you have done him a blow he did not expect, for you tore down his standard.† â€Å"Thurra?† Harry said in disbelief. Kentarre nodded, and Terim and Senay both stopped what they were doing and looked at her. Kentarre said: â€Å"I recognized him at once. He laughs during battle, and he always rides a white stallion who loves bloodshed as much as he does. â€Å"Why do you think there are so few of us left after so brief a meeting? We are strong fighters, and we fight with the strength of despair besides, for we are terribly outnumbered. But anyone who is struck by the white rider dies on the first blow.† â€Å"Not everybody,† said Terim. â€Å"Not Harimad-sol.† Kentarre nodded solemnly. â€Å"Why do you think we follow her?† Harry said, with her left arm across Sungold's saddle to help hold herself up, â€Å"I did not die only because he chose not to kill me. I cannot match him, even for one blow.† Sungold turned his head, and Harry reached stiffly out to put her fingers on his soft muzzle. She rested them there for a moment, and a little warmth crept into her nerveless hand. â€Å"And, perhaps, a little because I ride a better horse than his.† There was a commotion then, somewhere behind them, near the mouth of the trail; and then one of Jack's men laughed, and the commotion subsided. Harry looked inquiringly in the direction of the laugh, and saw a tall slim figure stride forcefully into the clearing, leading a tired horse. â€Å"Dickie!† she said; and blushed uncomfortably, because she knew how he hated the old childhood name. â€Å"Richard – † she began, humbly, but he had reached her by then and threw his arms around her. She hugged him back, although her right arm was still not functioning very well and the left was weaker than it should be. He let her go at last, and her eyes blurred, and she couldn't tell if the brightness in his eyes was her own tears, or his. He said to Jack, although he was staring at his sister, and his hands were closed on her arms as if she might disappear if he let her go, â€Å"I returned two days after you had left, sir. I had gotten no satisfaction on my mission, as you anticipated.† Jack grunted. â€Å"They told me what had happened, and where you were going – and who was with you – and I took a fresh horse and followed you.† He smiled at last. â€Å"Harry, damn you, we all thought you were dead.† She shook her head. â€Å"I'm not, you see.† She smiled back. â€Å"Not yet, at least.† Richard let his hands drop. The shadowed army lay spread below them, and the north wind, which had quieted a little after Tsornin beat back the wizard's stallion and Narknon pulled down the red-and-white standard, began to howl around them again, and sting their eyes and throats. â€Å"Took another horse?† said Jack musingly. Richard had dropped his reins when he reached for Harry, and the animal stood, weary and patient, where it had halted. â€Å"This looks like Bill Stubbs' horse.† Richard turned back to his commander and grinned. â€Å"It is. It always was too good for him; and I needed something fast, to catch up with you before it was all over.† â€Å"You've just blighted a spotless career with horse-stealing?† Jack said mildly. Richard sobered. â€Å"If you like. You know that all of us who have come here – thrown in our lot with the old Damarians – are finished as far as Her Majesty's Government is concerned. You knew that when you decided to come.† Harry stared at Jack, although in the back of her mind she had known this all along. â€Å"Is this true?† Jack shrugged. â€Å"Yes, it's true. That's why the two dozen of us who came are all grizzled old veterans – we don't have much to lose. But Richard, you – â€Å" Richard made an abrupt gesture with one arm. â€Å"I knew what I was doing. Blood calls to blood, I suppose – for all that I've resisted it the last few years.† He glanced at his sister. â€Å"It was your coming out here to Daria – Damar – and loving it, loving the desert, even though you knew nothing of it – I could see it. You were as bad as Colonel Dedham – begging your pardon, sir – by the end of the first month. It made me ashamed. I – I couldn't talk about it †¦ â€Å" Harry realized she was being offered an apology, and nodded. It didn't matter any more. He was here, and that was what mattered. â€Å"Then, after you disappeared,† Richard went on slowly, â€Å"these last long months, I've thought a lot – I even thought that you weren't dead – and the thought felt like betrayal †¦ You know, I came here, to the Gap, without ever having to think about it. I knew which way to turn, all those mad little trails on the way up here. I always knew.† â€Å"Blood calls to blood,† Harry said. â€Å"Why didn't you ever tell me there was Hill blood in us?† Richard looked surprised. â€Å"Father told me. I – I assumed he'd told you. I didn't want to talk about it. There was a lot I didn't want to talk about.† Harry said, â€Å"I found out a week ago, when Jack told me.† There was a silence, and Richard began to laugh. â€Å"My God. Then becoming a king's Rider must really have been a shock to you. It was shock enough to me, when Tom Lloyd told me.† He took her right hand and turned it over to look at the palm. â€Å"I was proud of you. That's when I knew I had to follow you – not only to see my sister again. To – reclaim something. Or admit to owning it all along.† The north wind snapped at their hair and eyelashes, listening to their conversation. Harry wondered idly if it understood Homelander speech. Kentarre had left them; she returned now and said, â€Å"My lady. The North prepares to move against us again.† Richard turned to face his sister; he put his shoulders back as if bracing himself for a blow. â€Å"Command me, sol,† he said awkwardly, in Hill-speech. Then in Homelander he went on: â€Å"As I came late, perhaps you'd like me to commit a daring single-handed raid.† Jack snorted. Harry smiled in spite of herself. â€Å"No; that won't be necessary. We'll arrange ourselves across the Gap, here, and on the plateau.† She paused. â€Å"I can't risk what's left of us going into the valley again †¦ â€Å" She raised her voice: â€Å"We're here to slow the Northerners down. We'll do the best we can. But we're overmatched – vastly more overmatched than I expected. I don't expect any of you to fight to the †¦ last. The day is half over; if we can hold them till this evening, they'll have to wait till morning to try again.† Harry closed her eyes and thought, I hope. Even demons see better by the light of day – or do they? Swimming through the mist behind her eyes then, she saw Corlath and his army; they were beating back a horde of Northerners that outnumbered them by no more than three to one. The black mass that filled the valley below the Madamer Gate was twice the size of the army that sought to pass the Bledfi Gap. Corlath's stallion ran red from its nose as it leaped and struck; Corlath's sword was dull with blood. She recognized Fireheart first; it took her a moment to recognize his rider, for Corlath's sash was the wrong color. She saw Mathin, who grinned fiercely as he fought at Corlath's heels. â€Å"If we have gained a day, we have gained †¦ something. Tonight, those of you that remain †¦ may scatter. Fade into these Hills; make your way back to Corlath if you can.† Senay said: â€Å"Why do you say those of you, lady? Do you not come with us? Are you so certain of death?† Terim, very low, said, â€Å"Do you seek it?† Harry sighed. â€Å"I can't leave. This defense, here, was my great idea. I can't leave. But what's-his-name, out there, will take care of that, when next we meet.† She tried to speak lightly. â€Å"Very noble of you, my dear,† said Jack, â€Å"but we will, I think, stand with Harimad-sol. We can hold here †¦ perhaps three days, if Thurra is so fond of slow death. Three days might give your Corlath a breathing-space; and it's always remotely within the realm of possibility that Sir Charles will believe the letter I wrote him, and the Northerners will find the Outlanders a little more troublesome than they expected for a few more days of preparation. We will stay.† The last three words he said in Hill-speech, and Senay and Terim and Kentarre repeated, â€Å"We will stay.† Terim said, with his usual buoyancy, â€Å"Harimad-sol, you cannot ask us to give up so easily, after we have come so far.† Harry blinked. She looked out over the valley; the Northern mass was beginning to shift forward again. â€Å"Very well,† she said gruffly. â€Å"I suggest everyone eat something and take a few minutes' rest; for Thurra is moving. And †¦ thank you.† She smiled. â€Å"Perhaps we will hold out three days.† â€Å"And think of the songs they'll sing about us,† said Jack. He handed her a bit of meat in a hard roll, and she began absently to chew it. Her right arm was still nearly useless, but her left hand closed and opened when she told it to, the elbow bent, and the shoulder swung. She squinted up at the mountains around her. The peaks that surrounded the Gate were perhaps four times a man's height from the shallow plateau where she stood; then beyond them the mountains sloped up again, and a little distance from the stony Gate some small trees covered the steep ground and spilled out toward the valley below them. She looked around, toward the forested arm where the archers had stood. She found she had finished her roll. â€Å"I'll be back in a moment,† she said. Jack and Richard looked at her questioningly. â€Å"In plenty of time to stand against our friends.† She picked up Gonturan and awkwardly wiped and resheathed her, and began to clamber slowly up the western side of the Gate. She could only use her left hand, and even its grasp was not strong. Jack said sharply, â€Å"Harry, what have you done to your arm?† She waited till she was standing on the low crest to answer: â€Å"Strained a muscle, I think,† she said. â€Å"Don't worry.† She turned away as Jack opened his mouth; and from where her little band stood, disappeared around a spur of rock. Richard started after her, but Terim moved in front him as Jack said, â€Å"No. If she wants to be left alone, we'll leave her alone. I don't like it either, but she – or the thing that's riding her – still knows a little more about this than the rest of us. Or so I believe.† Richard shrugged, but his eyes stayed on the spot where his sister had disappeared. â€Å"She did promise that we could die together,† Terim said cheerfully. Jack rubbed his face wearily. â€Å"I'm not thinking about dying yet.† He looked out into the valley, and slowly he brought his glass to his eye. More figures, some riding on strangely jointed steeds and some lumbering along on their own heavy feet, were pouring into the valley; there was no end of them. They roiled up the slope toward the Gate, the slope Harimad-sol had so laboriously pushed them down less than an hour before. He could no longer see the lower half of the rocky bowl at his feet for the creatures that walked upon it. He dropped the glass. â€Å"However foolish that may be.† Richard took the glass from Jack's hand and gazed through it. He saw Thurra's white stallion near the front; but there was no standard-bearer. Harry stumbled up, and up farther; and then her feet found something like a path or a deer track, and she gratefully followed it. She came above the trees again, and looked down. Below her was the valley, full of tiny crawling things; nearer her, but still far away – I hadn't realized I'd come so far, she thought, startled – was a small flat space behind a cleft in the rock, where her people waited. She looked down dispassionately; the thought flickered through her mind that she was too far, and should return at once; but there seemed to be something she should do first. Her numb right hand crept its way up the scabbard of Gonturan till it felt over the hilt to rest on the stone at her peak; Harry found that she was panting for breath. â€Å"Lady Aerin,† she murmured; and the scene before her wavered, and she blinked, and suddenly she could see as an eagle sees: she recognized the white stallion that Thurra rode, with the red ribbons in its mane and the red blood dried on its neck and flank, and saw the red- and green- and black-eyed faces of those who followed him, and the queer beasts many rode instead of horses, that had clawed feet and forked tongues. She saw the north wind pluck at her brother's hair and realized abruptly she felt no wind on her bare mountain top; and with that there was a stab of pain from the base of her neck down her right arm, and her hand grasped the hilt of the sword and drew her. She raised her slowly above her head, point upward, as if to cut the clouds that Thurra had brought, and throw them down on his head in knife-edged fragments. The pain in her neck rose and flooded her brain; â€Å"Corlath, help me,† she said to the air. The small knot of people on the plateau behind the Gate looked up suddenly as a blaze of light fell over them and splattered like water; and they saw Harimad-sol on a peak behind them, where no peak had stood before; and around her head and shoulders was blue-and-white fire. She r aised her right arm, and Gonturan sparkled so fiercely they could not look at her; and Harimad-sol stabbed skyward once and again and shouted words that each felt they heard distinctly but could not repeat or understand; but Ken-tarre and Jack recognized the Old Tongue of the Hills, the Language of the Gods. Blue fire began to run down from the stone on the hilt of the sword and splash to the ground, where it seemed to eddy around Harry's feet, and bits of it flaked off and floated into the air, and the bits spun and glittered like prisms, and tossed tiny rainbows down the sides of the mountains, although the rainbows had more blue in them than most rainbows. In the valley they heard hoarse cries, but the voices did not seem to reach the Blue Sword or the woman who held it, but fell back into the valley like fish who had leaped too high, gasping for their lives. They heard the white stallion scream, and heard an awful voice they knew to be Thurra's, but no one turned to look; everyone stared upward. Even the horses stood with raised heads and pricked ears, facing as their riders faced; and Narknon, who had not followed Harry although she could have, stood stone still but for her lashing tail; Sungold pranced, looking up the rocks he could not climb. The blue light fell into his eyes and mouth and nostrils till he looked like a ghost horse. The hillside began to move. Pebbles, then larger pebbles, then rocks and boulders began to tumble into the valley. The woman's clear voice went on, and the incomprehensible words poured over the Hillfolk and the Outlanders with the brilliant blue light; then the noise of the mountains falling grew louder, and many fell to their knees and bellies because they could not keep their feet. They could no longer see with their eyes, though the light burned into their brains, and they no longer heard with their ears, for the roaring of falling earth blocked them, yet they heard in their minds the blue-lit words going on and on. And then it was over. The horses shook themselves; some had to haul themselves, sweating, to their feet. The human beings turned over where they lay, and looked up at the sky, which was blue and cloudless; and shivered, and cautiously stood up. Jack looked up first; there was no sign of Harry. At first he thought it was because his eyes were still blind from the light, but he could pick out the shape of the mountain peaks around him, and he could work out where Harry had been standing; but where Harry had been was there no longer. He was sure he was looking in the right direction. Puzzled, then, he looked around for confirmation; his eyes crossed Richard's; he was going through the same bewilderment. They turned together to look out over the valley. But there was no valley. There was a smoking rubble of broken stones and uprooted trees; the cliff face beyond the Gate itself had sheared clean away, and the Gate would be a pass through the mountains no more. They stood at the edge, looking down, and then out and across; there was no sign of life anywhere. The only things that moved were clouds of dust. The dust was curiously blue-edged, and twinkled in the sunlight. A little breeze began. It came through a wide breach in the mountain that had not been there before; surprised, it began to investigate the new landscape. The weary anxious people and beasts on the ridge that was once a Gate turned a little to face it. It smelled good, of young green things. â€Å"The north wind is gone,† said Jack. â€Å"Yes,† said Richard. â€Å"This wind blows from the south and east.† They stood for a moment, collecting their thoughts. â€Å"We should look for Harry,† said Richard. â€Å"Shouldn't we?† He sounded very young. â€Å"Yes,† said Jack. â€Å"That was Harry, wasn't it?† Harry's brother said, a little uncertainly. Jack smiled a small smile. â€Å"Yes. Or it was Harry as much as it was anyone. Terim,† he went on in Hill-speech, â€Å"we would like to look for Harimad-sol. She might be too †¦ exhausted to return to us. Will you come?† Terim said, â€Å"Yes,† and Senay joined them, while the rest would wait for word. Sungold followed them to the foot of the rock wall Harry had disappeared beyond, and whinnied anxiously after them, and reared and pawed the rock behind them as they climbed away from him. â€Å"We'll bring her back,† Jack said to him. â€Å"Be patient.† Narknon came with them. The four of them seemed to move very slowly; or perhaps their feet moved at a reasonable pace, but their minds could not keep up. Narknon, instead of ranging around them as she usually did, trotted at their heels and paused when they paused. Jack felt that he was grinding out thoughts that moved as grudgingly as centuries, and when he shook his head, his brain seemed to turn over uneasily, like a bad swimmer in deep water. His eyes hurt in their sockets, and he still saw Harry with her sword raised and the blue fire around her, although the picture was memory now, and his eyes focused on scrub and dirt and rock and blue dust. They all stopped as they came to a slope with trees growing above them. â€Å"This can't be right,† said Richard; â€Å"we saw her on bare rock.† Jack peered up at the sun. â€Å"It is right, though; or at least this is the right direction. If the sun hasn't moved, which I don't guarantee †¦ perhaps these trees grew while the mountains were falling.† Jack began to climb again as if he were sure he knew the way; Terim and Senay followed, for they were less shocked by Harimad-sol's performance than Jack or Richard, and did not expect the landscape near such a piece of sorcery and kelar to conform to the usual physical rules. They had looked at the sun too, and knew they were heading in the right direction. Richard was last. He felt old, and his bones creaked, and Narknon made him uncomfortable. He knew of the Damarian hunting-cats, but he had never before met one. There was a tiny path, as if made by small hoofed animals, up the slope, and Jack followed it hopefully; and after only a few minutes they broke through the trees and into a small glade, with fresh green grass in it, the first good grass they had seen since they left Senay's village. Harry lay crumpled near one edge of the glade, with Gonturan, dull as pewter, the blue stone of her hilt opaque, lying on the grass beside her. Harry lay on her side, curled up, and both her hands touched the sword; the left awkwardly fell over the hilt, the right grasped the blade just below the guard. Jack came into the clearing first, and he was the only one who saw – or thought he saw – a figure in the trees just behind Harry; he thought he saw a glint of red hair. But he blinked, so he could stare again harder, feeling for his saber; and when he looked again, the figure was gone. He was never sure afterward if he had seen anything but an odd fall of leaf shadow, although he knew the Hi ll legends, and knew who had carried Gonturan before his young friend. â€Å"Harry,† said Richard, and ran forward, and dropped to his knees beside her. The others, who had a little more faith in Hill magic – or who understood a bit better that whatever had happened was finished now, for good or ill – followed more slowly. Jack looked around. There was nothing like the stone knoll where Harry had stood anywhere near them; the trees – real trees, not the grey and stunted things they had seen around the Gate, and in the valley that was no more – stood high overhead, rustling softly in the green breeze from the east; and beyond the little glen there was nothing but more trees, more sweet greenness, for however far the eye could reach, no sunlight-glint of a clear space anywhere. Harry was dreaming something, but Dickie was calling her. Aerin was leaning over her, smiling the wry smile Harry knew well by now; it was a smile of affection, but more of understanding. Aerin spoke to her, for the second time; she had a low rough kind voice. â€Å"This is what one mad Outlander on a Hill horse would have done; rather like something I once did. But it's not fair that the heroes get all the adventures and all the glory alone; your band will be sung of for centuries to come, and Jack's great-great-grandchildren, and Richard's and yours, and Senay's, and Terim's will remember the Madamer Gate and how the mountains fell and crushed Thurra's army. I found out that those at home don't like having no part in adventures – I didn't learn very much, but I did learn that; and it's as well if someone can learn by my mistakes †¦ â€Å" â€Å"Corlath,† said Harry miserably; and Aerin answered her gently: â€Å"Corlath is waiting for you.† Harry wanted to say, That's what I'm afraid of. But Dickie was calling her. It couldn't be Dickie, she hadn't seen him since †¦ She opened her eyes. Her memory of the immediate past was not good, but she knew she had called on Aerin, and asked Corlath for help in whatever Gonturan's past, master might send her, and that something had happened; and that Aerin had spoken to her about it †¦ and Corlath †¦ Her head hurt. â€Å"Richard,† she said. The other three sat down with a sigh beside her, and there was a silence that no one seemed to know how to break. Narknon put a paw on Harry's chest and began licking her face; a hunting-cat's tongue is much harsher than a housecat's. Harry thought her skin would crumble and peel off, but she didn't have the strength to push her away. At last Harry said, and her voice sounded low and hollow, â€Å"Not that I feel much like moving just now, but don't we have some fairly urgent business in the valley? Or have three days gone by while I †¦ and †¦ â€Å" Richard said, â€Å"There is no valley.† Jack said, â€Å"The Northerners are now lying under a very large pile of rock, which used to be a mountain range. You appear to have pulled it down around their ears, and, Harimad-sol, I salute you.† He touched his forehead and flicked the fingers out in the particular curl that is the Hillman's gesture of respect to his king. Harry smiled weakly. â€Å"That's blasphemous, you know. I'll have you court-martialed.† â€Å"By Homelanders or Hillfolk?† Jack inquired blandly. â€Å"Can you stand?† â€Å"I am gathering my courage to find out,† replied Harry. She had flopped over onto her back – Narknon was now nibbling lovingly on her hair – and then hauled herself up on one elbow; now Senay and Richard propped her up on both sides, and she reeled to her feet. Her leather vest seemed as stiff as iron. â€Å"I feel like a potato that's recently been mashed,† she said. Narknon leaned against her knee and purred madly. â€Å"Shall we carry you?† Terim said, hovering anxiously, torn between respect and caution. â€Å"Not yet, thank you,† said Harry. â€Å"But you could hand me Gonturan. I don't quite feel like bending over just now.† This was said in Hill-speech, so it is possible that Richard did not understand. But of the other three there was a brief but obvious moment when no one moved, and everyone thought of the blue fire on the mountaintop, and everyone's palms prickled. Then Jack took a step forward and bent and picked up Harimad-sol's blade, flat silver now, glinting faintly in the sunlight, and offered the hilt to her. One narrow gleam of white fire ran up the edge of the blue sword, and outlined Jack's fingers. Jack's and Harry's eyes met, for it was only when it was too late to stop her words that she realized what she was – or might be – asking. â€Å"Thank you,† she said. â€Å"I probably should have bent over myself, to find out if I could.† She resheathed the sword. Jack looked at his glowing white hand, and rubbed his palm along his thigh. There was a tingle in that hand that buzzed up his arm and fluttered for a moment in his brain. It was not an unpleasant sensation. As her fingers closed on Gonturan, Harry realized that her body was functioning; that she would be able to walk. She kept her hand on the hilt of Gonturan and took a step forward. â€Å"We'll stop where we are tonight,† she said. â€Å"Tomorrow we ride back to find Corlath.† She shut her eyes a moment; the world spun, then steadied. â€Å"They're farther west than they expected to be. Six days, if we hurry. If we can hurry.† She frowned, her eyes still closed. â€Å"They are beating the Northerners back; they are winning.† She opened her eyes again. â€Å"They're winning,† she repeated, and the color rose in her cheeks, and her three friends smiled at her. Harry concentrated on walking, and by the time they came to the rockface at the Gate she had gotten pretty good at it; she still kept her eyes on her feet, but she slid and scrambled down by herself, while Jack and Richard, who had gone before her, tried very hard not to reach up and help her. When she got to the bottom, and her people were standing around her, and Tsornin was bumping her shoulder angrily, asking her why she had gone anywhere he couldn't come too, and her Hillfolk were flicking their finger salute at her, Kentarre very deliberately touched her forehead too and flicked the fingers out, and all the archers followed suit. And Jack's Outlanders stared and bowed and pointed saber hilts at her, and she realized how quiet they were. Too quiet. She turned to look at the valley. She turned white, and then Jack and Richard did put out hands to steady her. â€Å"My God,† she said. â€Å"That was a bit of †¦ something, wasn't it?† The dust still swirled in clouds over the desert of rubble they looked at, and it hung thickly enough that they could not see beyond it. There were threads of blue woven through and over it, as if there were a webbing holding it in place. The sun burned brightly over the blue-shot fog, and hurt the eyes. The dust got into eyes and noses and throats as they breathed, and mouths as they talked, and their voices grew hoarse with it. â€Å"Kentarre,† said Harry. â€Å"Will a lot of rock simply falling on him stop someone like Thurra?† Kentarre shrugged. â€Å"My sol, I don't believe it has been tried before.† Harry smiled wanly. â€Å"It will at least have stopped his army,† said Terim; â€Å"few of them have any kelar of their own.† â€Å"They have never needed it,† said Senay, â€Å"for Thurra has always been stronger.† Jack said, â€Å"There's more than rock out there. There's something holding the rock down.† He stared out, the flecks of blue teasing the corners of his eyes. Kentarre and Senay and Terim, who knew the legends of the Northern mage, were silent. â€Å"It is possible that he will rest here,† said Kentarre at last. â€Å"But we can say that today is ours.† â€Å"Today is Harimad-sol's,† said Terim firmly, and Senay's face lit up, and she cried, â€Å"Harimad-sol!† Kentarre drew her dagger and tapped herself on the chest with the hilt and then shook the point over her head. â€Å"Harimad-sol!† she called, and â€Å"Harimad-sol!† the other archers echoed, drawing their daggers in the same gesture; and Senay's people picked up the shout next. Jack's men, shaken out of their half-fearful amazement, began to applaud and stamp, as if they didn't know what else to do; and it was Richard who yelled, â€Å"Angharad!† whereupon the Outlanders shouted â€Å"Angharad!† too, and a few whistled, as though Harry had just sung an aria at the opera. When at last they stopped, everyone was smiling and easy again, as if individually inspired landslides and earthquakes were quite a normal feat of warfare, or at least of leadership. Then everyone heaved a sigh and settled down, and supper fires were lit; and Narkno n appeared, dragging a brown deer larger than herself, and looking terribly pleased with herself. The sunset that evening over the mountains was violet-blue.

Thursday, January 9, 2020

Examples of How Not to Begin an Essay

When was the last time you ran across a really good hooker? Thats Stephen Kings term for a particularly enticing opening sentence in a story or essay—a knock-you-dead first line that compels you to keep reading. In Great Hookers I Have Known, King says that an effective hooker-sentence offers readers the pleasure of instant gratification (Secret Windows, 2000). The opposite of a hooker might be called a chaser—a bore-you-to-death introduction that drives readers away. At best, a chaser may hint at delayed gratification. More often it provides little more than an excuse to stop reading. Examples of the Worst Kinds of Essay Opening Lines Here are 10 examples of such boring or baffling opening lines—chasers that youll want to avoid when composing your own essays. The examples are in italics, and the explanations are in bold. According to my dictionary . . . Avoid leads [or ledes] that quote Websters—the Jim Belushi of openings, according to Annie Edison in Community. It accomplishes nothing, but everyone keeps on using it.When you gave us this assignment to describe in detail a place you know well, my first thought was to write about my bedroom closet. . . .As a general rule, avoid openings that comment on the writing assignment itself.One dark and stormy night, the ghost of General Oglethorpe grabbed me by the goolies and hurled me down the castle stairs. . . .Dont strain too hard to shock or amaze, especially if you cant maintain that level of excitement.Sometimes youve got to stick your neck out on a limb and keep your nose to the grindstone. . . .Avoid clichà ©s and mixed metaphors.In this essay, after giving the subject a lot of thought, I am going to write about . . ..Skip the announcements.Life is like a box of chocolates, my Mama used to say, quoting Forrest Gump. . . .Dont get too cute.Y our mama has terrible opinions on essay writing . . .Dont get belligerent.Framed fantastically against the expansive cerulean sky was a soaring wedge of gossiping, gabbling geese, a shimmering cocaine-colored V haloed in sunlight and dusted with the durable dreams of earthbound warriors . . ..Avoid excessive alliteration, needless modifiers, and Rogets Thesaurus.Wikipedia says . . . Challenge questionable facts and steer clear of dubious sources.It is a melancholy object to those who walk through this great town or travel in the country, when they see the streets, the roads, and cabin doors, crowded with beggars of the female sex, followed by three, four, or six children, all in rags and importuning every passenger for an alms.* . . .No matter what else you do, never plagiarize. * This is the opening sentence of Jonathan Swifts satirical essay A Modest Proposal.Now its time to take a more positive approach. For examples of fresh and compelling opening lines—that is, some truly good hookers—see these two articles: How to Begin an Essay: 13 Engaging Strategies With ExamplesWhack at Your Reader at Once: Eight Great Opening Lines

Wednesday, January 1, 2020

Culture in Hajid Murat Essay - 957 Words

Imagine coming upon a land that you have never before visited, and encountering not one but two completely different cultures. Looking at these two cultures one would not expect them to have any similarities. Leo Tolstoy did something to this affect. He took two cultures, the Russian as well as the Chechen, and was able to show their similarities as well as differences, in his book Hajid Murad. In Hajid Murad, the main characters name is Hajid Murad. He has become a fugitive in the Chechen culture, and is now struggling to contain the conflict that is going on between the Russian and Chechen cultures. He keeps on switching sides during the conflict. Hajid Murad becomes a unique individual during this time period. Murad is a†¦show more content†¦In contrast to Hajid Murad, Tolstoy creates a character named Peter, who is a Russian who left his family in order to fight in the Russian army for his brother, who had a bigger family and therefore couldnt leave. Peter decides to risk his life and go fight rather then live the safe life within his own home. In the end he like Hajid Murad, Peter made the final sacrifice for what they believed in was right and died. Later in the book, Tolstoy wants to show us how these two cultures differ, so he writes how Hajid Murad is welcomed to the palace of Prince Voronstov. There is a celebration and many women dancers are dancing in front of Hajid Murad, with exposed breasts. During and after the celebration most of the men walk up to Hajid Murad and ask him how he enjoyed it, he replies to them by saying, We have a proverb; the dog gave meat to an ass, and the ass gave hay to the dog, and both went hungry. (pg 117 paragraph 7). This shows us the difference between the two cultures. The quote states that what one culture, in this case the Russian, views as necessary the other does not need and does not fair any better then it would with out it. Now for the leaders of these two cultures. The Russians were under the control of Nicholas I and the Chechens were under their Imam, Shamil. These two leaders spoke different languages and practiced different religions, one was a Muslim the other an Orthodox Christian, that is almost where their