My Best Friend Essay

She always tells you the truth. She does not lie to you and sugar coat an answer for you. She is always direct. If you do not like the answer she gives you then you are out of luck. Our time really grew together through the years, however, our bond got closer once we got to high school. When you are in the same school with people your entire life, you seem to hate them and get tired of seeing the same people every day. We found it funny that we are complete opposites of each other. She is always late for any event or even just getting to school Giglio 2 on time. However, I am always early. She likes to get all her work done early, yet I like to procrastinate and does everything last minute. When we got to high school and both were in ROTC that’s when our bound grew. We were always placed in the same ROTC class and our other subjects as well. In ROTC, you have to choose to get along with someone even if they are your worst enemy. I remember this one time this girl, Nicole, and I were arguing, probably about something ridiculous, and I called Megan in to help. She told us straight up front to grow up and solve this problem on our own. When she was dealing with her relationship problems or just needed, someone to talk to I would be there for her and vice versa. Being in the same classes in high school defiantly grew us closer. Even though we sometimes found it annoying that every year we were placed in the same class, it was fun having the teachers call Megan and us asking which one they were talking to. We would have our fights but come on. Seriously, what friends do not fights? We would fight over the stupidest things. Usually I would be the one admitting I was wrong and be breaking down in tears and letting all my emotions out. She was always able to cheer me up when I was down. To this day when I’m upset and crying she can say the words pudding, spinach and all these ridiculous sayings and she is the only one that can do that. Now that we are out of high school, she is my only friend that I still talk to and if I have a problem, she is always a phone call away or text away. I am still in touch with her and she always responds when I need her. She always knows I will be here for her as well no matter what. She has shown me what a true friend is. Someone who will be by your side always and will always hold a special place in your heart.

Factors Affecting Teaching Profession in Tanzania

ABSTRACT Currently, issues related to teaching profession have become a topic of debate. This paper describes teaching as a profession, rationale for teaching and factors affecting teaching profession in Tanzania. This paper goes further to deliberate on how teaching may be transformed into a strong and powerful profession in Tanzania. 1. 0 INTRODUCTION Background to the Study Occupational status depends on the public valuing of the competence, role and overall contribution of a particular occupation to individual and societal welfare.Regardless of development status, the teaching force in most countries has never enjoyed full professional status. However, the status of teachers as a developing-profession is more evident in developing countries like Tanzania. If it has to be traced back during colonial era and early years of independence the status of teaching professions was highly respected and valued, as during those times teachers were given fully respect and they were recognized by the societies, never the less, the introduction of Musoma resolution in 1974 and Arusha declaration in 1967 strengthened the status of teaching profession.But soon after the introduction of universal primary education (UPE) in 1977 the status of teaching profession started to decline and seems to be of very low status as most people think of it as the work of those who failed or they have no alternative of life but to be rescued by the teaching profession. DEFINITIONS OF TERMS Teaching has been defined by Wells, G. 1982) as cluster of activities that are noted about teachers such as explaining, deducing, questioning, motivating, taking attendance, keeping record of works, students’ progress and students’ background information. Profession refers to enterprises or endeavor founded up on specialized educational training, the purpose of which is to supply services to others or it is an occupation that requires extensive education or training (Babyegeya and Mushi, 2009 ) in (Ndibalema, P 2012). 2. 0 TEACHING PROFESSION . 1 teaching as a profession Teachers are more than workers. They are also members of a profession. Their occupation renders definite and essential services to society. As a profession, however, teaching has had a long and difficult history. Its social and cultural functions have never been critically challenged, but nevertheless the public has not adequately supported teaching, Compared with other learned professions such as medicine, law, engineering, and architecture teaching ranks rather low.Goodson (2003) noted that Occupations that have attained professional status share the following characteristics: a high level of education and training based on a unique and specialized body of knowledge, a strong ideal of public service with an enforced professional code of conduct and high levels of respect from the public at large, registration and regulation by the profession itself, trusted to act in the clients‘ best interests w ithin a framework of accountability, a supportive working environment, similar levels of compensation as other professions.As noted above, a profession requires a lengthy period of academic and practical training. Training and certification are essential parts of a profession. Period long training is needed to develop specialists and technicians in any profession. There must be some specification of the nature of the training through state regulations. Teaching certainly fulfils this criterion, but the teacher‘s period of training is not as long as that required for doctors and lawyers. The code of ethics indicates how members of the profession should behave.Professionalization occurs when enforcement is possible and vigorous (Ankomah, 2005). Tanzanian teachers have an ethical code of conduct. There exist however, no licensed body to enforce the codes. 2. 2 Rationale for Teaching Profession By its very nature, teaching possesses two very appealing traits. First, it deals with the young, with those whose minds and characters are forming. It is a privilege to be entrusted with the task of facilitating the growth and development of the younger generation. Second, teaching provides opportunities for intellectual development.It brings those who pursue it into intimate contact with books, experiments, and ideas. 3. 0 FACTORS AFFECTING TEACHING PROFESSION 3. 1 Education and Training In Tanzania teaching profession ranges from degree level which takes three years, diploma level which takes two years and certificate level which takes two years, but due to country policy and demand of teachers those years of training do vary. For example in 2005/6 there was clash program of three months where form six leavers were trained to be teachers in secondary schools, so this situation seems to jeopardize the teaching profession.Consequently, as an occupational group, teachers do not have the equivalent level of education and training nor the cohesiveness as well establishe d professions, such as medical doctors, engineers and lawyers, which have uniformly high academic entry qualifications (Ingvarson, 1998). 3. 2 Self-Regulation The established professions enjoy a high degree of self-regulation and are successful in maintaining high barriers to entry in terms of qualification requirements and registration.Teachers, on the other hand, tend to have weak, state-dominated professional organizations with factions (Wells, 1982). 3. 3 Public Service belief and Professional Conduct Teaching has become employment of the last source of help among university graduates and secondary school leavers in many countries. Consequently, teachers often lack a strong, long-term commitment to teaching as a vocation. On a comparative note, around one-half of (Form 4 and 6) secondary school leavers in Tanzania who finished school in 1990 were employed as teachers in 2001.Thus, in the absence of alternative employment opportunities, becoming a school teacher is the main avenu e for social and economic advancement for Tanzanian graduates (Ibid). 3. 4 The Work Environment and Remuneration Teachers rarely enjoy the same work environment as other professions. The size of the teaching force coupled with lower educational qualifications means that teachers are also paid considerably less than the mainstream professions. For example in Tanzania teachers’ live in poor houses and other lacks even those poor houses.And they also lack teaching facilities like books, teaching aids and well equipped classrooms (Goodson, 2003). 3. 5 The Social Class and Academic Background of Entrants to the Profession The standing of a profession is to some extent affected by the social class background of its recruits; the higher the social strata from which recruits generally come, the higher the status of the profession. And, of course, the higher the status of a profession, the more it will attract recruits from the higher social strata (Hoyle, 1969).Also the teaching prof ession in Tanzania is affected, since those who are recruited into the education field of study are considered to have low grades that look education as the last option (Ingvarson, 1998). 3. 6 Commitment to the Profession Another problem that is affecting teaching as a profession is how committed are the teachers to the profession. There is no doubt that membership of the major professions implies a life commitment to the task. In the case of teaching, no such a life commitment to the task of teaching is apparent as in other professions.There are a number of factors that contribute to this state of affairs. One of these factors is the general notion of teaching as a second Choice profession with many of the teachers only committing themselves to it at a late stage when they know that they cannot change their profession. Majority of the teachers at the initial stage of their teaching career did not expect to stay in teaching for more than a few years. They consider it as a stepping s tone to other occupations. This invariably affects their commitment to the profession (Hargreaves, 2001). . 7 Salary Although the economic status of the teacher has been steadily improving, teachers do not in general receive salaries comparable to those received within the major professions. As a result commitment to the growth of the profession is affected (Ibid). 3. 8 Pupil-Teacher Ratios The weak correlation between school enrolments and the numbers of teachers employed in each school is the most obvious indicator of poor deployment. Variations in pupil-teacher ratios between schools are typically very large in most countries.For example, in Tanzania the mid-late 1990s, they ranged from 50 to 70 pupils to 1 teacher. Recently, however improvements are being made to balance pupil-teacher ratio to 30-45 pupils to 1 teacher (Ankomah, 2005). 4. 0 RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION After seeing what affect the teaching profession there are various measures which can be taken into considerat ion so as to restore and revive the status of teaching profession in Tanzania, some of them are elaborated hereunder:- 4. 1 Need for Commitment to the Profession. Commitments bear no fruit until they are substantiated by action.Once they have affirmed their commitments, teachers must devote their time and energies to their professional activities. Teachers should actively join in curricular development, instructional design, and technical planning, as well as policy making. They should have certain organized ways in which they can participate in the formation of the controlling aims, methods, and materials of the school system of which they are a part. Therefore, teachers' organizations have a very important role to play in the advancement of the teaching profession. 4. Innovative pathways in recruitment and continual innovation in teacher preparation programmes are required. Teacher preparations programmes need to broaden their entry requirements to diversify the teaching corps and better represent diverse student populations. Teacher preparation programmes require innovative recruitment pathways that allow entry for non-traditional candidates. Teacher preparation programmes require continual innovation to respond to changing needs. 4. 3 Teacher education is enhanced by comprehensive teacher induction that fosters lifelong learning.Induction is most effective when seen as a comprehensive system beyond just support and assistance for beginning teachers. Effective professional development strategies seek the active involvement of teachers and are largely school-based, developmental in nature and ongoing. 5. 0 REFERENCES Ankomah, Y. A. (2005 November). Priorities in Relation to Leadership and Management for Change. A Paper Presented at National Consultative Workshop on Educational Quality Implementation at Accra Ghana. Goodson, I. (2003).Professional knowledge, professional lives: Studies in education. Maidenhead, Open University Press. Hargreaves, A. , Earl, L. , Moore, S. , and Manning, S. (2001). Learning to change: Teaching beyond subjects and standards. San Francisco, Jossey-Bass. Ingvarson, L. (1998). A professional development system fit for a profession. London: Bell Inc. Ndibalema, P (2012). Professionalism and ethics in education. Students’ compendium. University of Dodoma, Creative Prints Ltd. Wells, G. (1982). Teacher research and educational change. Toronto, OISE Press, pp. 1-35.

Argument Paper on Exercise Essay Example for Free

Argument Paper on Exercise Essay 1-The Benefits of Exercise and Sports Participation for Kids- e Diet Star This article focuses how benefitical it is for young kids to participate in sports and to exercise regularly. It talks about how exercise and sports offer social relationships, physical challenges and honest competition. Also, exercise and sports can increase a child’s self-esteem and academic performance while preventing the chances of disease or drug use. All these things can help the development of children by not only making them healthy but giving them life experience. 2-Fitness Benefits For Teens- This article list the specifics on the benefits for teens to be fit. It says that physical activity doesn’t have to be time consuming but it is necessary for everyone. Some of the facts about teen exercise given by this article are that nearly half of American children ages twelve through twenty-one are not regularly active. About fourteen percent of young people report no physical activity at all. Also, only nineteen percent of all high school students are active for twenty minutes or more, five days a week. The main focuses point of the article are the physical activity helps build healthy bones, muscles and joints. It helps control weight, build lean muscle, and reduce fat. 3-Find Mind-Blowing Benefits of Exercise- This article tries to get a point across, it starts by saying that exercise isn’t all about getting toned abs and losing weight but that it makes you feel happy. There are five main points that this article talks about. The first once talks about how exercise reverses the detrimental effects of stress. Second, it talks about how exercise can help get rid of depression. Next, it is discussed how exercise can improve learning by increasing brain chemicals called growth factors. Furthermore, exercise builds self-esteem and improves your body image. Lastly, it leaves you feeling euphoric which means that the push and intensity of a workout makes you feel happy and excited. Argument Paper on Exercise. (2017, Jan 19).

Commercial law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 4

Commercial law - Essay Example There are three specific kinds of exclusion clauses that would apply to a contract. The first is the kind of exemption clause that excludes liability completely. Another kind of exemption clause is when duties arising under a contract are partly eschewed. The last kind of exemption clause is an indemnity clause which passes on the legal liability arising out of a breach of contractual terms to a third party. The existing problems with exemption clauses have arisen mostly in relation to standardized contracts that businesses enter into with customers, because such exemption clauses are part of the fine print associated with a contract and may not always be thoroughly examined by customers. In the case of Thornton v Shoe Lane Parking Ltd2, the Court also held that in order for an exemption clause to be legally applicable, especially if it is unusual or onerous, clear notice must be provided to the customer about the existence of such a clause. Case law on exemption clauses has moved from a rule of law doctrine to a rule of construction approach where a fundamental breach of contract arises. Exemption clauses may not be valid when a fundamental breach of a contract occurs, in which case the entire contract would be invalidated. The concept of fundamental breach was first defined in the Suisse Atlantique3 case, as a â€Å"well known type of breach which entitles the innocent party to treat it as repudiatory and to rescind the contract.† Hence, in effect, if Party A has an exemption clause limiting or eliminating its liability altogether in a contract but is guilty of a fundamental breach of contract that is of such a large scale that it is essentially equivalent to invalidating the contract, then its exemption clauses will not apply. The injured party would have the option, not only to avoid performing its side of the contract but also suing Party A for damages arising

Tesco in the Chinese Food Retail Market Dissertation

Tesco in the Chinese Food Retail Market - Dissertation Example Most importantly, I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to my parents who offer me the greatest support and encouragement. Table of Contents Table of Contents 5 List of Tables 7 List of Figures 8 1.0 Introduction 9 1.2 Research Question 13 2.0 Literature Review 14 2.3.1 PEST 21 2.3.2 SWOT 26 2.3.3 The Five Forces 27 2.4 Sustainable competitive advantage 32 2.5 Factors influencing strategies for achieving a competitive advantage in China 35 3.0 Methodology 40 4.0 Result 51 4.1 Carrefour Supermarkets 54 Organisation Overview 54 Operations and Business Strategy 55 Domestic Competition 57 Competitive Advantage 58 4.2 Wal-Mart 58 Organisation Overview 58 Operations and Business Strategy 59 Domestic Competition 60 Competitive Advantage 60 5.0 Discussion 62 Organisation Overview 62 Operations and Business Strategy 63 Domestic Competition 65 Competitive Advantage 65 6.0 Conclusion 68 7.0 References 70 List of Tables Table 1. The amount of sales and the amount of chain stores of Carrefour in China Page 33 List of Figures Figure 1.0 Porter's Five Forces Model (Porter 2001). Page 20 1.0 Introduction China's admittance into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001 opened up the Chinese market to the rest of the world. From the end of 2004, the Chinese government began lifting restrictions on foreign retailers, which enabled retail operations that were 100% foreign owned to operate (LaSalle 2005, Chen 2006, Tao 2006). This opportunity was obviously seized upon by retailers like Tesco, Carrefour and Walmart who dominate the foreign-owned food retail market. The Chinese market is particularly attractive as it is not... Introduction China’s admittance into the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2001 opened up the Chinese market to the rest of the world. From the end of 2004, the Chinese government began lifting restrictions on foreign retailers, which enabled retail operations that were 100% foreign owned to operate (LaSalle 2005, Chen 2006, Tao 2006). This opportunity was obviously seized upon by retailers like Tesco, Carrefour and Walmart who dominate the foreign-owned food retail market. The Chinese market is particularly attractive as it is not homogenous and encompasses numerous target markets which represent purchasing power for retailers. This is particularly true of the markets based in the urban areas, as it is reported that there is an income disparity between rural and urban customers. The urban per capita income is three times more than that of rural areas (LaSalle 2005, Chen 2006, Tao 2006), which presents profit to the food retailers. The opening up of the markets in China has also introduced competitive advantage to the Chinese market. Prior to 2004, foreign owned companies had to form joint ventures with Chinese companies and were limited to owning a 65% stake in the business (LaSalle 2005, Chen 2006, Tao 2006). They also had restrictions on the number of stores that could be opened in a geographical region, which gave the domestic retailers a competitive advantage. Domestic retailers had access to the entire Chinese market, and as a result they also had the monopoly on the knowledge.

Essay on "The Act of Writing in the Age of Numbers"

On "The Act of Writing in the Age of Numbers" - Essay Example ces in technology like electric typewriters and social media posts make it increasingly harder because they make readers focus far more on a piece of writings numbers than on its content. While Marches argument seems a little odd, he does make a good point that readers should not get into the habit of thinking that how many words a piece of literature contain, or how many times it has been shared, are what makes it so special. One example which shows very well what Marche argues is that of a post made to Facebook or another social media website by someone who is a celebrity. This post would immediately be shared widely, and would get high numbers that might make it seem of huge importance to everybody. However, those high numbers would not necessarily mean that the article is really important. On the other hand, an post shared by a regular person might actually be very meaningful and highly relevant, despite not being widely shared. This is what Marche talks about when he says that "relevance has become nearly identical with its quantification." (Marche) Another area where words of a different sort matter is that of essays written by students in college courses. As Marche points out, the first attempts to put a word count on an essay assignment resulted in students paying too much attention to it, and not to the essays content (Marche). By making such a big point out of the number of words that an essay contains, a professor might be teaching students to make sure that the essay is the right length first, and make sure it has a good argument second. It would make more sense in this case to focus on what the essay does, rather than its length. In works of literature like poems and novels, Marche argues that far from numbers never having mattered, they are where English literature "begins." (Marche) While he is right that poetry and verse rely on numbering systems to be effective, he also discusses that a lot of poets continually struggled against these

Possible Uses of a Hammer Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 209

Possible Uses of a Hammer - Assignment Example In addition, a hammer can also be used as a tool for drilling holes into surfaces and shaping objects by hitting a chisel with it. The following experience makes it easier to identify the different options that are available for a particular scenario. The information is presented in a simplified form that is easy to understand without spending a lot of time on it. This helps an individual to make a quick decision-saving time since the desired information is easily spotted. This technique of listing the different possibilities can be used in a variety of other situations to help simplify data for the user. For example, in the banks, an individual can conduct various transactions. Each transaction has a different chargee. g when sending money to another country, the amount charged is different depending on the amount one is sending and the country of the intended transfer. To simplify this charges for customers, banks can prepare a matrix indicating the range of money that is to be sent in a specific country on the vertically and the amount charged alongside it on the horizontally. Another example is that can use a matrix to simplify information is the assessment of employees against certain set criteria for performance appraisal. The desired employee traits and achievements in the various fields such as punctuality, present ability, and achievement of organizational objectives can be written on vertically. The score of the employee can be indicated horizontally for example under the heading very good, good, average, poor or very poor. This would make the evaluation of the employees easy on the various fields with the score being easily picked at each field. The use of a matrix can help individuals summarize a lot of information into a simple table. This can help in understanding various uses of different objects that are not known.

English Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 19

English - Essay Example But both forms of these English (British and American) are accepted as the base for the international world. â€Å"There are tremendous cultural differences between the US and the UK, despite having many similarities. People talk different, and not just in the accent or the words, but the general tone and meaning. They have different ways of making friends, finding jobs, interacting at the office† (Cultural differences between the US and the UK - Retrieved on 6/11/2008 from http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Cultural_differences_between_the_US_and_England) The Americans are generally very friendly in nature having no hesitation in speaking to even strangers though the friendship may not be deep. But they are not interested in time wasting meaningless conversations. But the England people normally will not interact that much freely like the Americans. They will keep a suspected eye always while dealing with the strangers. They are always busy or pretend to be like that. Family life is considered much important in American society compared to the society in England. The travelling nature o f the British people is more compare to the Americans. Majority of the Americans don’t even see any other countries while majority of the English people has been to some foreign country at some stage of their life. Racism is more in America compared to the England. But now it has changed substantially as seen in the recently concluded American president elections. The Americans are mostly proud of their ancestry compared to the British people. The sportsman spirit is more in the Americans than in the British people as seen in the football fans. â€Å"American society is more self cantered, combatitive and for want of better words â€Å"egotistical†. An American will come in and say I know you should do it this way and fall flat on their face if they get it wrong. The English would rather show appropriate â€Å"respect† to other peoples positions as it is likely that

Review of one article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Review of one article - Essay Example onal field by offering people a chance at an affordable education regardless of age, but have also raised the bar of academic performance simply by allowing the students to make their own mistakes and learn on their own with mere â€Å"guidance† from their online educators. Indeed, education has reached a focal point where traditional educations might see the emerging educational platforms as a form of â€Å"creative Destruction† while the forward thinkers and future innovators see an avenue of education that will allow for much more development and freedom of learning for the students, at a far lower cost that normally expected. Therefore, it is not right to tag the term â€Å"Creative Destruction† on online education and its supporters. For as long as people the world over have a chance to access higher education at a cost affordable to them, which also allows them the personal growth and learning space needed to become a success in the 21st century, then the objectives of higher education are met. True there is a need for a governing body in order to standardize the online educational process,but that will not erase the fact future business leaders and innovators are fast coming from online rather than traditional educational

My Best Friend Essay Example for Free

My Best Friend Essay Believe it or not, my best friend is an elderly woman in her late 70s. Her name is Maria. She is Spanish decent, married, with no children. We couldn’t appear to be more different. Maria and I met at the gym last year. That’s about all we had in common when we met – that we were both active and healthy. Many people would question why I would develop such a close relationship with someone more than twice my age. It was our differences that actually brought us close. Maria had already been through all of the things that I had yet to face in my life, and she had a lot to teach me. I was a ready listener, as I was facing things in my life that I had never experienced before. I needed guidance and friendship, and Maria was like an angel sent to guide me. I enjoy spending time with Maria. She is pleasant all the time and very easy going. I can talk to her about anything, and she seems to know just what to say or when not to say anything at all. She is very confident and doesn’t try to impress anyone by pretending to be someone she is not; perhaps this is why I am so drawn to her. Maria is very happy with her life despite the fact that she never had children and is in the winter of her life. She has given me the opportunity to look at my life in a different perspective and to accept and be proud of all of the choices that I have made, while at the same time offering guidance for my future. Every moment I spend with Maria is a gift. I cherish it. I hope she gains as much from our friendship as I do.

Nocardia Isolation by Paraffin Baiting Technique

Nocardia Isolation by Paraffin Baiting Technique Nocardia isolation from clinical samples with paraffin baiting technique Abstract Background: The genus Nocardia is cause infection in lung, skin, brain, cerebrospinal, eyes, joints and kidneys. This bacterium is slow-growing and it is difficult to isolate of polymicrobial specimens. Several methods have been reported for Nocardia isolation from clinical samples. In current study, we used of three methods such as paraffin baiting technique, paraffin agar, and conventional media for Nocardia isolation of various clinical specimens from Iranian patients. Methods: In this study, we collected five hundred and seventeen from various clinical specimens including sputum of patients with suspected tuberculosis, bronchoalveolar lavage, sputum of patients withcystic fibrosis, trachea, cutaneous and subcutaneous abscess, cerebrospinal fluid, dental abscess, mycetoma, wound, bone marrow biopsy, and gastric lavage. Smears of all clinical specimens were investigated with Gram stain, partially acid fast and kinyoun stain. All collected specimens were cultured on to carbon free broth tube (paraffin baiting technique), paraffin agar, sabouraud dextrose agar, sabouraud dextrose agar with cycloheximide and incubated at 35 °C. Results: In direct microscopy, partially acid fast and Gram staining were seen positive for five and three clinical specimens respectively and the kinyoun stain were negative for all isolates. Seven isolates of clinical specimens were isolated with paraffin baiting technique. In our study, paraffin baiting technique is more effective than conventional media and paraffin agar for Nocardia isolation. Conclusions: In the present study, shown that use of paraffin baiting technique is more effective of other methods for Nocardia isolation of various clinical specimens. Key words: Nocardia, Paraffin baiting technique, Paraffin agar, Sabouraud dextrose agar Introduction Nocardia spp. are group aerobic actinomycetes, gram positive rods, partially acid fast, non-motile, filamentous branches, catalase positive and methenamine silver-positive [1-3]. The genus Nocardia is opportunistic pathogens [2] that are found around the natural environments. This bacterium is not part of normal microbialflora in human body and animals [1, 4, 5] as well as, there is no report of person to person transmission [5]. This microorganism first introduced by Edmond in 1888 [1, 6]. Nocardia species are cause serious infections in different parts of the body especially lung and skin [6]. Nocardial infections acquired via inhalation of aerosolsor skin damage [7]. In recent years, nocardiosis increased in immune disorder diseases such as Pemphigus disorder, Behà §et’s disease, malignancy, organ transplantation [8-10]. Todate, isolation and identification of Nocardia is improved from clinical specimens [11, 12]. Clinical diagnosis in nocardiosis is controversial and clin ical signs are not specific for this bacterium. Standard tool in Nocardia infections identification are including: isolation and pure culture, Gram stain and partially acid-fast [12, 13]. Nocardia species are slow growing bacteria and isolation this bacterium of polymicrobial specimens is difficult in clinical microbiology laboratory [14]. Decontamination of pulmonary specimens such as sputum is toxic for the genus Nocardia. Paraffin baiting technique was reported for Nocardia and mycobacteria isolation of soil [15]. Paraffin baiting technique was reported that is successfully for Nocardia isolation of various clinical specimens especially poly microbial specimens such as sputum [3,14, 16]. The aim of this study is unique for two reasons: The first aim of this study were comparison of paraffin baiting technique with other methods such as conventional media including sabouraud dextrose agar, sabouraud dextrose agar with cycloheximide and paraffin agar to isolate Nocardia from various clinical specimens such as bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL), sputum of patients with suspected tuberculosis, sputum of patients with cystic fibrosis, cutaneous abscess, cerebrospinal fluid(CSF), dental abscess, mycetoma, trachea, wound, bone marrow biopsy and gastric lavage. The second aim was to estimate the prevalence of Nocardia infection in Iranian patients. There are few numbers of case reports of Nocardia infection and there is no comprehensive database of nocardiosis, therefore, it is essential to better assess the prevalence of this bacteria. Methods Sample collection Five hundred and seventeen various clinical specimens such as sputum of patients with suspected tuberculosis, sputum of patients with cystic fibrosis, BAL, cutaneous and subcutaneous abscess, CSF, dental abscess, mycetoma, wound, bone marrow biopsy, gastric lavage and trachea were collected between February 28, 2011 through March 8, 2013 (Table 1). Direct microscopy All clinical specimens were examined with direct microscopy. The first, clinical specimens were homogenized and were centrifuged in 10000 rpm for 10 minutes and the supernatant was discarded. The smears were prepared from the sediments and were stained with Gram stain, partially acid fast and Kinyoun stain. Culture on different media Sediment of specimens were inoculated on sabouraud dextrose agar (Merck- Germany), sabouraud dextrose agar with cycloheximide(cycloheximide-Sigma-Aldrich-USA), paraffin agar (KH2PO4, K2HPO4, NH4Cl, NH4NO3, MgSO4 .7H20, ZnSO4, FeSO4, MnSO4, Bacto- Agar and Distilled water) and McClungs carbon-free broth tube (MgSO4 7H2O: 0.5 g, ZnSO4: 2 mg, FeCl3: 10 mg, MnCl2. 4H2O: 8 mg, K2HPO4: 0.8 g, NaNO3: 2 g, Distilled water: 1lit, pH 7.2) with paraffin coated glass rod placed. Tubes were incubated at 35 °C for one month with daily controlled [14, 17]. Results Examination of stained smears in direct microscopic, were detected three specimens with Gram staining and five specimens with partially acid fast staining and all smears were negative for Kinyoun stain. In McClungs carbon-free broth, colonies similar cream to white-colored appearing on the paraffin-coated glass rod (Figure 1). Colonies similar to the genus Nocardia were cultured on nutrient agar and were purified (Figure 2). Colonies were stained with Gram positive and partially acid fast and were negative for Kinyoun stain. All clinical isolates were grown in lysozyme broth medium. Seven specimens were positive for the genus Nocardia (1.3%) with paraffin baiting technique as compared with sabouraud dextrose agar and sabouraud dextrose agar with cycloheximide and paraffin agar (Table 1). In comparative to various media, paraffin baiting technique was better in the isolation Nocardia, so this technique is effective and specific for Nocardia isolation of various clinical specimens espe cially poly microbial samples (Table 1). Prevalence of nocardiosis in sputum (238 specimens), BAL (143 specimens) and cutaneous abscess (45 specimens) were 1.6%, 1.3%, 2.2%, respectively. In our study, we isolated one Nocardia spp. from cutaneous abscess of patient with Pemphigus disorder. Discussion In scientific resource, recommended the use of paraffin baiting technique for isolation Nocardia from polymicrobial flora such as sputum [18]. Nocardia spp. utilized of paraffin wax as the sole carbon source [15, 19]. It has been reported different medium containing antibiotic for isolation this organism such as chloramphenicol with sabouraud dextrose agar. Some species of the genus Nocardia are susceptible to chloramphenicol [16]. A wide range of nocardiosis occurs in Immunocompromised and immunosuppressive patients [8-10]. Mycobacterium tuberculosis mimicking pulmonary nocardiosis so isolation and identification Nocardia is very important because treatment in two organisms is difficult. In a study by Mishra and colleagues in 1969, they investigated 555 clinical specimens such as sputum, BAL and Gastric lavage and were positive respectively 10, 1 and 1 about Nocardia spp. [19]. Singh et al surveyed 1510 sputum specimens and results showed paraffin baiting method has higher efficacy of sabouraud dextrose agar [17]. Another study by Venugopal et al were examined 350 sputum, BAL, pleural fluid, pus , biopsy specimens and isolated 15 strains of Nocardia [20]. A study in 2001 from Iran, Eshraghi et al surveyed 142 sputum specimens and was positive 1 isolate (0.7%) but in our study was positive 4 isolates (1.3%) of 291 sputum of patients with suspected tuberculosis. The results show that Nocardia infection is increasing in Iranian patients. The reports showed paraffin baiting technique is more selective and effective than usual medium and paraffin agar. Conclusions We recommended that the be used of paraffin baiting technique for Nocardia isolation in clinical laboratories. due to aging and autoimmune or immune disorders in Iranian patients, isolation Nocardia spp is very necessary for treatment. Acknowledgments This study was supported by Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Deputy of Research. References 1.Eshraghi SS Molecular typing of Nocardia species. J Med Bacteriol 2012; 1(1): 38-45. 2.Budzik JM, Hosseini M, Mackinnon AC Jr, et al. Disseminated Nocardia farcinica: literature review and fatal outcome in an immunocompetent patient. Surg. Infect 2012; 13(3): 163-170. 3.Hollick GE. Nocardiosis. clinical microbiology newsletter 1988; 10(14): 105-109. 4.Eshraghi S, Amin M. Nocardia asteroides complex in patient with symptomatic pulmonary nocardiosis in a patient with bronchiectasis. Iran J Public Health 2001(3-4); 30: 99-102. 5.Stevens DA, Pier AC, Beaman BL, et al. Laboratory evaluation of an outbreak of nocardiosis in immunocompromised hosts. Am J Med 1981; 71(6): 928-934. 6.Brown-Elliott BA, Brown JM, Conville PS, et al. Clinical and laboratory features of the Nocardia spp. based on current molecular taxonomy. Clin Microbiol Rev 2006; 19(2): 259-282. 7.Patel MP, Kute VB, Gumber MR, , et al. Successful treatment of Nocardia pneumonia with cytomegalovirus retinitis coinfection in a renal transplant recipient. Int Urol Nephrol 2012; 45: 581-5. 8.Poonwan N, Kusum M, Mikami Y, , et al. Pathogenic Nocardia isolated from clinical specimens including those of AIDS patients in Thailand. Eur J Epidemiol 1995; 11(5): 507-512. 9.Srifuengfung S, Poonwan N, Tribuddharat C, et al. Prevalence of Nocardia species isolated from patients with respiratory tract infections at siriraj hospital, Thailand. J Infect Dis Antimicrob Agents 2007; 24: 1-6. 10.Sahathevan M, Harvey FA, Forbes G, et al. Epidemiology, bacteriology and control of an outbreak of Nocardia asteroides infection on a liver unit. J Hosp 1991; 18: 473-480. 11.Das D. Actinomycosis in fine needle aspiration cytology. Cytopathology 1994;5(4): 243-250. 12.Wada R., Itabashi C, Nakayama Y, et al. Chronic granulomatous pleuritis caused by Nocardia: PCR based diagnosis by nocardial 16S rDNA in pathological specimens. J Clin Pathol 2003; 56(12): 966-969. 13.Gupta N, Srinivasan R, Kumar R, et al. Two cases of nocardiosis diagnosed by fineà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ needle aspiration cytology: Role of special stains. Diagn Cytopathol 2011; 39(5): 363-364. 14.Shawar RM, Moore DG, LaRocco MT. Cultivation of Nocardia spp. on chemically defined media for selective recovery of isolates from clinical specimens. J Clin Microbio l 1990; 28(3): 508-512. 15.Narang P, Dey S, Mendiratta D. Paraffin slide culture technique for Baiting Non-Tuberculous Mycobacteria. Indian. J. Tuberc 2000; 47(4): 219-222. 16.Garrett M, Holmes H, Nolte F. Selective buffered charcoal-yeast extract medium for isolation of Nocardiae from mixed cultures. J Clin Microbiol 1992; 30(7): 1891-1892. 17.Singh M, Sandhu RS, Randhawa HS. Comparison of paraffin baiting and conventional culture techniques for isolation of Nocardia asteroides from sputum. J Clin Microbiol 1987; 25(1): 176-177. 18.  Yu C T, Chua JA. Nocardiosis. PJMID 2001; 30: 56-61. 19.Mishra S, Randhawa H. Application of paraffin bait technique to the isolation of Nocardia asteroides from clinical specimens. Appl Microbiol 1969; 18(4): 686-687. 20.Venugopal PV, Taralakshmi VV, Subramanian S, , et al. Nocardia species from bronchopulmonary infections and mycetomas. Sabouraudia 1980; 18(1): 11-18. Figure 1. Isolation and growth Nocardia on paraffin coated glass rod Figure 2. Nocardia grown on nutrient agar medium 1

Things They Carried Essay: The Living Dead :: Things They Carried Essays

The Living Dead in The Things They Carried I have done things that I am not proud of and some things that will never be mentioned in public again. In everything that I did wrong I tried to justify or make it seem to be less of a negative act. Tim O'Brien does not do this in his short story named "The Man I Killed." O'Brien instead gives the young Vietnamese man a history, a present, and a whole life. He does this by creating an elaborate story of teenage love, family conflict, and personal pride. O'Brien was a solider in the Vietnam War, fighting against the communism. He has wrote the book The Things They Carried, about his personal experiences as a solider. The environment that he was in was one of constant death and unending turmoil. Most of the death he writes about was concerning his fellow comrades. After seeing all this and the needless deaths of Vietnam civilians it should harden the heart of a fighting man. O'Brien seems to be different he is still powerfully effected by the gunning down of this young man, who belonged to the communist group. The death of the Vietnamese solider lingers in O'Brien's mind for what seemed like an eternity to him. He vividly recalls the shape of his body noticing the most minuet details. The deceased boy was considered to be a dainty young man, clean fingernails, light freckles on his forehead and a frail and fragile figure. O'Brien uses great detail in describing the body after multiple bullet wounds. He explains how the left cheek is peeled back, that the spinal cord was open through his neck, and of all things a gold ring on his right hand the third finger down. The gold ring is the point which Tim forges a young lover for the young man. From the frail image of his body, O'Brien deems the departed as a scholar who was at school when he met his young love of seventeen years old. O'Brien considers her to have an admiration for the narrow waist and cowlick that rose on the back of his head. the young scholar was a mathematician and enjoyed school. This scholar was unable to defend himself and was constantly picked on by the school yard bullies. He would pray at night with his mother for an end of the war.

Teaching Philosophy Statement Essay example -- Teacher Education Educa

Teaching Philosophy Statement Most teachers once they begin teaching rarely think about what philosophy they follow, or how they teach. It’s like second nature. A comparison can be drawn from the act of reading. One does not think about how they read, they just read. Teaching is the same. The teacher draws up lesson plans and such, being what they teach, but how to teach the lesson is usually not in the forefront of their thought, especially for experienced teachers. This just comes naturally. The underlying philosophy of how to teach is always present in the teacher’s method however transparent it may become to the teacher over years of instructing. How this process works is like spreading butter on a slice of bread. Philosophy is like the butter knife you use, it can be varied. A spoon, spatula, or even a finger could be used to spread the butter and they all get the job done, just in a different manner. However, the butter and the bread remain constant; they are the teaching materia l and students respectively. The vast majority of teachers do not choose to use one utensil exclusively, they instead use a knife sometimes, a spoon others, or even a finger at need. Most teachers follow a conglomerate of bits and pieces of all the philosophies. This is a very effective approach because all students can learn, regardless of their learning style. The teacher that combines all these methods into a single productive teaching style practices eclecticism. This is my philosophy of the classroom. I believe that all of the philosophies have distinct merits when applied correctly. Also I believe that certain students respond better to certain philosophies of teaching. Jim may disdain all material that he d... ...ehaviorism falls out of importance as the student grows. One major achievement that came from this philosophy is programmed learning. I own a CD-rom study guide for a class that follows the programmed learning study method and it has helped me tremendously on my learning. As a teacher, one must identify their own philosophy and learn how to best utilize it in the classroom. All philosophies are aimed at the best interest of the student. It is the task of the teacher to decide the method by which they wish to accomplish the education of their students. All teachers have to spread the butter on the bread; it is the choice to use the knife, spoon, spatula, or finger that determines our teaching potency. I will choose to use the tools that will spread the butter most evenly and efficiently, for the benefit of the bread, not just by mere favor of a utensil.

How I Would Direct A View From The Bridge :: Drama

How I Would Direct 'A View From The Bridge' In this essay, I will explain how Arthur Miller creates tension and suspense in 'A View From The Bridge' by explaining the dramatic devices, props, characters etc. In 'A View From The Bridge', Arthur Miller employs various techniques to generate dramatic tension and to hold the audiences' interest. The playwright uses the setting, characters, stage directions, props, lighting, language, and setting as the main sources of drama. The characters are a vital element in the play, and are the basis of the drama. Eddie is portrayed as a well respected, hard working, ordinary man. He is dedicated to his family and is presented as an amiable character. "He was as good a man as he had to be in a life that was hard and even." Alfieri explains this at the beginning of the play, and this emphasises that Eddie is an honourable, decent person. However, as soon as a catalyst (in the form of the cousins) is introduced, another side to Eddie is revealed, and his true feelings for Catherine exposed. "What are the high heels for Garbo?" Eddie says this to Catherine, in front of the cousins, to deliberately humiliate her. Eddie sees Catherine's attentiveness towards Rodolfo and becomes jealous. This sexual jealousy grows throughout the play and the audience realize that what did seem like over-protectiveness is in fact romantic obsession and unlawful love for Catherine. This disgusts the audience and so they begin to turn against Eddie. Eddie's attachment to Catherine is his flaw. His demise is the consequence of this weakness. Eddie's fate becomes inevitable and predictable when his inability to compromise and the true extent of his fixation with Catherine becomes apparent. "His eyes were like tunnels." Alfieri says this to describe Eddie. It suggests that Eddie has tunnel vision, and can only focus on one thing - Catherine. This is evident when Eddie calls Immigration to 'snitch' on Marco and Rodolfo. It highlights Eddie's desperation and loss of rational thinking as he acts on the contrary of his own strong beliefs, which he outlined at the beginning of the play with the consequences of Vinnie Banzalo's betrayal. The characters are all involved in very tangled relationships. Beatrice is jealous of Eddie's love for Catherine. "When am I gonna be a wife again Eddie?" She is very frustrated with her husband, but he will not face the reality of the situation. Eddie expects Beatrice to support him, as wives were supposed at that time. So when Beatrice defends Catherine, Eddie cannot understand why his wife is deliberately defying him as he believes he is being perfectly reasonable. Eddie insinuates that Rodolfo is homosexual due to his apparent

Walking in Someone Else’s Shoes

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee, Rabbit Proof Fence by Phillip Noyce, and Martin Luther King Jr’s speech I have a Dream, all explore the lesson that Atticus teaches Scout. The lesson of Walking in someone else’s shoes. The metaphor of walking in someone else’s shoes indicates the understanding of a person by seeing things from his or her perspective. These three texts are set in the 20th Century, during a time of great racial inequalities and discrimination in society. To Kill a Mockingbird explores the idea – walking in someone else’s shoes, through the issue of racism. Rabbit Proof Fence ponders the idea – walking in someone else’s shoes, though the subject of prejudice. I have a Dream speech by Martin Luther King Jr. examines the lesson – walking in someone else’s shoes, through the use of the themes, freedom and a thirst for change. In t the novel To Kill a Mockingbird, Atticus teaches his daughter Scout, and his son Jem, that â€Å"you can kill all the blue jays you want,†¦ but remember it’s a sin to kill a mocking bird. † The mockingbird symbolises Tom Robinson, as he has done nothing wrong, yet he is slowly being ‘destroyed’ by the racism shown towards him, by the white townspeople of Maycomb. When Tom Robinson appears in court due to Mayella Ewell’s accusation of him raping her, Tom Robinson is not giver a fair trial. The jury is display racism as they ignore the evidence which is supporting Tom Robinson, and instead jump straight to the conclusion, which is Tom Robinson is guilty. â€Å"The evil assumption – that all Negroes lie, that all negroes are basically immoral beings, that all negroes are not to be trusted around our women†. In the film Rabbit Proof Fence one main form of prejudice is demonstrated. Mr Neville’s is prejudice towards the aboriginals, as he believes they are incompetent to care for themselves and their families. Seeing as Mr Neville is the legal guardian of all â€Å"half-cast† children, he sees it as his duty to separate the children from their families and situate them at Moore River to allow the nuns working at Moore River to raise these children as Christians. Mr. Neville had a plan to breed out the â€Å"†¦ unwanted third race†¦ †- which is the aboriginals – by simply arranging for each generation of â€Å"half-caste† children to marry white Australians. â€Å"†¦ he aboriginal has simple been bred out. † The lesson of walking in someone else’s shoes is important in this film because if Mr. Neville had placed himself in the situation that all the children at Moore River were in, he would have been unmistakable to him that these children are unhappy at Moore River, as well as there not being any ma jor reason to remove the children from their family unit and habitat. In 1963, Martin Luther King Jr. delivered his speech, I Have a Dream in Washington DC. Martin Luther King Jr. understands that the American nation as a whole has a thirst for change. The urgency to change for the better. Throughout the speech there is a considerable amount of chronology used. When Martin Luther King explains how even after a long period of time after the Emancipation Proclamation the only thing that has changed is that there is no longer slavery but segregation, discrimination and racism still occurs. â€Å"One hundred years later, the life of the Negro is still sadly crippled by the manacle of segregation and the chains of discrimination. † The word freedom is repeated several times throughout the speech. The effect of this technique used, (anaphora) is that the key word contains much meaning, and repeating it emphasises and enforces the meaning and message. â€Å"Let freedom ring†¦ † When Martin Luther King Jr. refers to freedom, he does not only mean physically, but psychologically too. To Kill a Mockingbird, Rabbit Proof Fence, and I have a Dream speech all explore the need to learn the lesson – walking in someone else’s shoes. These three texts show how there was a great injustice in society in the 20th Century. It is because of this injustice in society that there is a need to see things from another person perspective.

Rape in India

Rape in India Brittany Jones As a woman in the United States, rape is the ultimate nightmare, but to women in India it’s everyday life. Many rape victims’ stories just show how the police in India fail to respond adequately to crimes, especially crimes involving children or women. On February 14th, three girls that were five, nine, and 11 were raped and murdered in the village of Lakhni, India. When the girl’s grandfather reported the girls missing to the police nothing was done about it. After two days, the girls were found dead in an old water well.The bodies were reported as â€Å"accidental† deaths. Nobody took any notice to the girl’s deaths until protestors blocked a national highway in uproar of the police inaction. When a television reporter from CNN arrived in the village on Thursday, the girl’s mother said: â€Å"The first day when we filed the complaint [about the girls disappearing], the police didn’t act on it. Had they l ooked for the girls, my girls would have been found. This is nothing but negligence. † The government offered the family about one million rupees (currency) in compensation for their losses.After the offer the mother said â€Å"No amount of money is going to bring my girls back. I appeal to the government to catch the culprits and hang them. † This case is a prime example of the corruption and negligence of the justice system and the government as a whole in India. In the Indian culture women and children are not looked upon as equals to men. This relates to authoritarian personality, the police aren’t handling the situations as abruptly as they would if the case were related to men rather than women or children.Theodor Adnoro concluded that highly prejudice people have deep respect for authority and are submissive to authority figures, especially in matters of religion or sex (Adorno et al. 1950). They concluded that are more of like possessions or something to own instead of human beings. It was only after a mob of people shut down a highway that people actually started to care about what happened to those little girls. Another example of the negligence of the Indian government is when a young girl was brutally ang raped on a bus in Delhi, the government promised better policing and faster legal action to protect women inside their homes and outside in the public. While lawmakers prepared to discuss a new law against sexual offense, they tried to keep the news of the recent rape and murder of three young girls on the down low. It was soon after that people took it into their own hands by rioting and blocking the national highway until they were promised a proper investigation. For a rape crime, capital punishment (the death penalty) is the most extreme measure the state takes.However, it’s shown that the death penalty isn’t administered evenly. Geography wise it can change your sentence just by where you are when you kill so meone. It also can affect the punishment you receive. Another death penalty dependent would be your social class. For instance, it’s very rare that someone of much wealth will be sentenced to death. They may rather receive time with just some fines that they can easily afford anyways. Gender is another big bias with the death penalty. It’s said to be unheard of for women to be sentenced to death, let alone actually be executed.Statistics show that women commit 9. 6% of the murders, but they make up 1. 8% of death row inmates (Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics 2009). On 3 February 2013, after the public made their voices heard about the brutal rape in Delhi, the Indian Government was forced to pass an ordinance which applied the death penalty in cases of rape that leads to death or leaves the victim in a â€Å"persistent vegetative state†. Although the death sentence is very rarely used in India they do believe in the death penalty because they feel it do esn’t involve torture, humiliation, or degrading of oneself.It’s usually carried out by hanging, even when upheld on appeal. In Ohio today the punishments for rape are somewhat different than they are in India. The rape of a young child 13 and under could be served a sentence of up to life. However, unlike India the term is expected to be served rather than the convicted just being executed, or in India’s views, hung. I personally feel that rape is a very serious crime and it’s something that can also affect someone for the rest of their lives. Reading about India and how lightly they take rape crimes just affles me. I can’t imagine what the mother of these three little girls was going through, especially with the police having no interest in the fact that her daughters were missing. It’s sad to think that someone could be so heartless to not care about little girls being brutally raped and murder, however I’m sure had it been the pol ice forces children it would have been a whole different story. People these days are not only bias but they tend to care only about their selves and ignore the feelings of others.I’m from a small community where everyone knows everyone and everyone is willing to lend a helping hand. When someone in our town were to die the entire community would come together to help, even if it was just giving their condolences. I realize however that India’s culture is very different than ours and not to mention the situations seem much more dangerous. Even though rape crimes seem to be a very frequent crime to them, you would think the police force would take a notice and try and stop this constant reoccurrence rather than ignore what’s happening.They are finally passing bills but why did it take a huge riot of the people for them to start taking action. Making the laws is just the first step; actually doing something to make them work is the hard part. They can make the law s but in order for things to change they’ll actually have to make it as big of a deal as it really is. Find the people, punish them, and make sure they know they’ll never harm another women or child again. This article was very interesting to read and it’s interesting to see what’s going on in other cultures today.I never would have imagined how lightly things like rape and murder can be handles, especially just because it’s children and women rather than men. It’s sad to think of all the prejudice and bias going on in our world today, and even worse to think that it will probably never end. India needs to make stricter laws and force the police field to do a better job. Reference Rahman, Maseeh â€Å"India: three girls raped and murdered, ages 5,9, and 11. † The guardian. 21 February 2013.

Business and Admin Research Information

Give Reasons for agreeing Objectives and deadlines for researching information Agreeing objectives is essential for a team or individual to know what they are focusing on to avoid wasting resources and time. Knowing the How, What, When and Why of an assignment will mean being able to complete the task in a timely manner and correctly. Deadlines strongly affect what you research e. g. World news is being update by the hour, with a well-defined deadline; we can better gather the relevant information as equired.There is no point to having a long deadline and present a report of yesterdays news; Who is interested in old news? How much will you pay for yesterday newspaper? Is it worthless? A copy of todays newspaper is worth money, but yesterdays is worthless. Therefore, objectives and deadline must go hand in hand. With the right objective and a set deadline you know what must be done and how long you have. 1. 2 Give reasons for identifying and agreeing sources of information As there ar e many different ways to find out information, for example; The internetBooks and EBooks Word of mouth etc. , Reference material Academic Journals Magazines Statistics Specialist information Interviews Past speeches Pictures Organizations It is therefore crucial that you make sure the information is correct, relevant and at the right time, with all the required information in hand. Only if data is stored in a procedural manner it can be easily retrieved. Information might be retrieved for marketing purposes, for communications, for monitoring purposes; for surveys and other research that an organisation or business might conduct.Information will also be retrieved in situations where information might have to be shared with partner companies and with the police or Tax Services. Storage of data plays a major role in improving the performance of a company and this can happen either offline or online and in various formats. Storing information is essential for many reasons; these includ e Ease of access and readability, The level of detail you are able to store The choice to have various copies of the information in case of loss and ease of transfer.Be Able To Research Information for Others 2. Agree aims, objectives and deadlines for the information search Agreeing aims and objectives regarding tasks will help you to do your work efficiently as they give a clear idea of what is needed and why. Deadlines are also very important as our customers and our reputation is negatively affected if we don't complete work in the required time, so time limits help to estimate the time you have to spend on each one, otherwise you could spend too long researching one source and then find out it was the wrong source.Having deadlines allows you to structure your own deadlines, allowing a certain mount of time on each source of research, so you do not overlook the information of another. 2. 2 Identify sources of information Question 1. 2 answers this question. 2. 3 Search for and o btain data Research comprises of; â€Å"A creative work undertaken on a systematic basis, in order to increase the stock of knowledge. This includes knowledge of man, culture and society, and the use of this stock of knowledge to devise new applications. † (OECD (2002) Frascati Manual: proposed standard practice for surveys on research and experimental development, 6th edition).It is used to establish or confirm facts, reaffirm the results of previous work, solve new or existing problems, support theorems, or develop new theories. The primary purposes of basic research (as opposed to applied research) is documentation, discovery, interpretation, or the research and development (R;D) of methods and systems for the advancement of human knowledge. There are several forms of research: Scientific Humanities Artistic, Economic Social Business Marketing Practitioner research, etc. Nothing damages someone's professional credibility as quickly as an error, even a inor one.While a simp le calculation error or typo can seem trivial in the scheme of things, it implants doubt into your audience's mind. They now think; â€Å"If this person can make these simple errors, they can also make larger errors†. Errors occur for many reasons; Ignorance Lack of time Poor planning Laziness Incorrect data Invalid source material The most common errors we see are in spreadsheets and written communications. Spreadsheets can be deceiving because they print out or display very professionally and can hide simple calculation errors.Careless manipulation of formulas can cause errors that are difficult to visually detect. that miss detection by spell checker programs due to multiple meanings and basic sentence structure. Also, if the reader finds inconsistences in the flow of the report/ information or if it sounds far-fetched, they being to wonder whether or not the information is plausible. No matter the root cause, errors suggest a lack of caring or attention. Conversely, peopl e notice attention to detail. The customer experience holds true for presentations and report slides.

Biography of Franklin Delano Roosevelt Essay

The 32nd president of the United States, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, accomplished many things during his three terms in office. Being the only president ever elected to more than two terms, it is easy to suppose that he was a well-rounded president. His leadership, success in getting programs passed, management of economic and domestic policy, foreign policy, and role as Chief Party Leader all contribute to an overall grade of an A for his presidency. First off, as the symbol of the country and the presidency, Franklin Delano Roosevelt gets an A. He showed great character and leadership with his thirty â€Å"fireside chats† on the radio. With these, he was able to soothe the thirty five million people listening. It was successful too, in that, after his first in which he assured the safety of keeping money in a reopened bank, confidence was restored and the banks began to open up. His ability to master the press contributed strongly to his overall public opinion and showed he had good character. Also, in WWII conferences such as Casablanca and Teheran, Roosevelt represented the country well in his efforts with the Allies to stop Nazi Germany. His leadership of the country and his character are the reason that he was the only president ever to be elected to four consecutive terms as the leader of the country. Particularly with the New Deal, FDR was rather successful as a policy and legislative leader. With the nation in the midst of the Great Depression, there was a lot of pressure on the president to take immediate action. Beginning with â€Å"the first hundred days,† Roosevelt shut down the banks and met with Congress. He was able to get 15 major bills approved regarding the economy in attempts to get it back on track. With such turmoil happening in the country, FDR was very efficient in getting bills passed by Congress, which is why he deserves an A. Though the actual success of each program may be questioned, his quick action and role as a policy and legislative leader was executed well. The same is true for when the United States became involved in WWII. This situation again demanded quick action and Roosevelt pulled through by passing various acts such as the Lend Lease Act and Neutrality Acts. Though again these may not have always had the best outcomes, his initiative and f air thinking are what gets him an A for this category. FDR’s most noted domestic policies while in office were those of the New Deal. With a nation pressuring the president for change, Roosevelt developed a plan called the New Deal. The principal acts were done during his first hundred days, as mentioned earlier, in attempts to achieve his goals of relief, recovery, and reform. Regarding the economy, Congressed passed the Glass-Stegall Banking Act which established the FDIC, a very important act after the crises leading up to the Great Depression. By stopping the bank runs, he was able to steer the economy in the right direction, creating a corporation that is still used today. In addition, under his presidency, the Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) was established, giving jobs to young men while at the same time conserving both human and natural resources. With the young men being able to send the money back to their families, it was a way to decrease unemployment and boost the economy. Another important issue was his repeal of t he Prohibition through the 21st amendment. This gave much needed revenue to the country and provided employment. Despite these successful acts of domestic policy, Roosevelt was not always so brilliant. The Agricultural Adjustment Administration, one of the New Deal agencies, increased unemployment, frustrated farmers, and was eventually deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court. His intentions and theories to end overproduction were good, just not executed well. Another of Roosevelt’s reforms is Social Security. This is perhaps one of the most controversial of his policies. Some loved it and some hated it. In fact, the benefits of this administration are still debated over today with people calling into question the longevity of its existence. One problem that Roosevelt seemed to face was his long-running battle with the Supreme Court. Consisting of older aged, ultraconservative men whom Roosevelt had not appointed, the Supreme Court was something the president wanted to change. To fix it, he asked Congress to permit him to add up to 15 justices to the Supreme Court. This attempt to â€Å"pack† the court cost Roosevelt severely in the eyes of the public. It was his away of going around the Constitution in order to be able to keep more of his programs and agencies from the New Deal. In total, despite also several failures, many of FDR’s domestic policies were good. They helped relieve some of the stress set on by the depression. However, that’s all they did – relieve. His policies and the New Deal did not cure the country of the Great Depression, only temporarily masked the problems with only of his agencies still existing after his presidency. For these reasons, I give Roosevelt a B for his domestic policy. In the beginnings of a second world war, Roosevelt had important foreign policies that were crucial to the United States’ welfare. With an attempt to end the Depression, Roosevelt was initially going to send a delegate to take part in the London Conference. However, upon a second look, he decided that international agreements about the value of the dollar might restrict him in domestic recovery. This begins a trend toward increased nationalism and eventually to the United States’ views on isolationism. Though we are unable to tell what might have come out of the conference, it seems like a poor decision for Roosevelt to leave America totally on its own from other countries. Along with this idea of isolationism, through the Tydings-McDuffie Act, the United States freed the Philippines (after 12 years). This act was more beneficial for the United States than the actual freed country because of less foreign competition for sugar, as well as fewer people competing for jobs. Overall, it did help the U.S.; however, it also kind of abandoned the Philippines with not-so-nice economic terms. In contrast to these inward-looking acts, Roosevelt also created the Good Neighbor Policy with Latin America. He focused on consultation and nonintervention in hopes to unite the Western Hemisphere against any powers on the other side of the world. This was a smart move after withdrawing ties from Europe and Asia. It was a good idea that ended up being very successful for him and Roosevelt ended up with the title of â€Å"traveling salesman for peace.† In such fear of war, Congress passed the Neutrality Acts so as not to be brought into the violence like had been done in WWI. However, Roosevelt later changed these Acts to mean that an arms embargo be established for both Loyalists and rebels. As far as Roosevelt’s foreign policies go, this one was really bad. So scared of war, they basically aided in Franco’s taking over of the republican government of Spain. This in turn led to the strengthening of the European dictators, leading to the second world war. For this reason, Roosevelt’s grade goes down. Then, in 1941, neutrality had its meaning changed again. Really, it was thrown out the window with passing of Lend-Lease Act. The reasoning behind it was very understandable. Arm the other fighting democracies with weapons to defend against Hitler, or allow them to fall and have the U.S. face them alone. Knowing the risk, and after many debates, it was finally approved. It also set up the United States for war production when they did fight. However, the Lend-Lease Act ultimately was what brought them into the war once they had to start using armed Destroyer ships to take them to Britain. Roosevelt’s idea was good, however the consequences were bad. Later in the war, Roosevelt met with Churchill and Stalin for the Teheran Conference. Here, the three agreed upon a plan to attack Germany from the East as well as from the West. This was an incredibly important part of Roosevelt’s foreign policy since it was the beginning of the end for Nazi Germany. The Allies were able to recover France from the Nazis and continue their fight with Germany. Though Roosevelt died a month before V-E Day, his position as Commander in Chief for the past twelve years caused the United States and the Allies to defeat Germany. Though nobody is perfect, Roosevelt was able – through all decisions, good and bad – to stop the Nazis and ultimately save Europe. For these reasons, Roosevelt gets an A as Commander in Chief. Franklin Delano Roosevelt was strong in communicating with the public was well as dictating foreign and domestic policy. For this reason, his party grew during his presidency and so he deserves an A as Chief Party Leader. He started the â€Å"FDR Coalition† for his first term to get votes. Throughout his successes in the beginning, he was able to change many Republicans into Democrats, strengthening the Democratic Party for years to come. In addition, he also aided more Democratic candidates in all areas of government into office. With Roosevelt in office, the party grew both in voters as well as representation in Congress and other branches of government. His role as Chief Party Leader was done well and that is why he gets an A. Franklin Delano Roosevelt came into office at first having to deal with the struggles of the Great Depression. He was then later faced with the challenges of World War II, attempting to protect the United States as well as all Democratic countries from Nazi takeover. Anyone faced with these difficult challenges would have their ups and downs. FDR, on balance, was a good president and gets and overall A for his role as a country symbol, legislative leader, manager of the economy, Global leader, Commander in Chief, and Chief Party Leader. Works Cited Bailey, Thomas Andrew, David M. Kennedy, and Lizabeth Cohen. The American Pageant. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Print. Hughes, L. P. â€Å"†FDR AS NATIONAL LEADER†Ã¢â‚¬  Austin Community College – Start Here. Get There. 1999. Web. 06 Apr. 2011. . Mintz, S. â€Å"The First 100 Days.† Digital History. 2007. Web. 01 Apr. 2011. . http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/database/article_display.cfm?HHID=468 (80%) http://www.austincc.edu/lpatrick/his2341/fdr.html (shrink 90%, page 4)

Land law in ksa and uk Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

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Marketing Research case study Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

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Comparative article review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Comparative article review - Essay Example omen in science, engineering and technology through a bias that sees these fields as essentially masculine by a stereotyping of the masculine image in the disciplines of science, engineering and technology. (1). On the other hand Robert Frith explores the concept of â€Å"cosmopolitan democracy† and its portents for the expansion of democracy beyond the borders of a state into transnational democracy as can be considered for Europe and the rights of women within such a democratic set up. (2). In her article Alison Phipps brings to the forefront the position of liberal-feminist politics since the 1970s encouraging women to be more conducive to going with the mainstream concept of what is suitable in science, engineering and technology. This is reflected in her words â€Å"changing women’s dispositions and perceptions in order that they might choose, and fit better into, SET†. This argument traces its origins to the position of Henwood (1998) that the equal opportunities politics for women in science, engineering and technology essentially attempted to have women participate in science, engineering and technology, without upsetting the gender bias that is against its equal participation. It is this argument that Alison Phipps tries to establish in her paper, which is replete with examples of the politics of women associated with the participation in science engineering and technology, tacitly accepts the dominance of the male gender in these disciplines and t he making of these disciplines as macho for the male gender. One of the examples she puts forth pertains the Associations for Women in Science and Engineering in the United Kingdom and the Association of Women in Science in the United sates of America and the opinion among its members that there â€Å"a lack of role models/lack of encouragement for girls in SET† and furthermore Set was given a macho image through the gendered childhood experiences, wherein there was reinforcement of the childhood concepts that

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Compensation Laws and Legislation - Research Paper Example Some laws also protect the employers by getting rid of liability of co-workers in most accidents, and by limiting the amount an injured employee can be paid. There is the Federal Employees’ Compensation Act, specific to federal employees only, and there are workers’ compensation acts established by each State. Workers’ compensation act ensures employees get their benefits through three main programs; Medical treatment, wage replacement, and vocational rehabilitation. Each of these programs is specific to each state (United States Department of Labor). These are payments made by a company’s insurance company to an injured or sick employee to cure or relieve the effects of the disease or injury. The insurance company is mandated to make payments for medical treatment. The employee, however, can get compensation benefits for a workplace related injury. There are also compensations to disabilities arising from injuries or illnesses obtained from the workplace. An employee’s dependents are also eligible for compensation benefits in case of work related deaths (Lozano v. Archer). A case illustrating worker’s medical compensation benefit is Maril Be Van, v. Liberty Northwest Insurance Corporation. Be Van worked for Blackfoot Telephone Communications. The company provided for a paid fifteen minute break in the morning, a paid fifteen minute break in the afternoon, and an unpaid one hour lunch break. Be Van got an accident one day when she took an early 15 minutes paid break, and went home. Due to this early break, her break was disputed to be within working hours; therefore, the employer and the employer’s insurer denied her compensations. It was, however, established that Be Van was to have an early afternoon meeting that day, which would take the time required for her to have her lunch break. It was also established that she went for an early fifteen minute break because of the scheduled meeting at her lunch break. She sought

ART Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 12

ART - Essay Example Zellij Panel is made from polychrome earth ware mosaic and resembles a panel of a wall covering from Bahia palace. The famous Bahia Palace in Marrakech, Morrocco incorporated polychrome mosaic with Zellij Panels on the walls of the palace. In fact, this piece originates from this palace as it was rescued during its abolishment. The name Bahia means brilliance. Bahia Palace got its name from the beautiful polychrome mosaic used to build it. Therefore, Zellij Panel is a beautiful art, which adopts a design of star shapes, squares, and triangles (El Khatib-Boujibar web). Zellij Panel comprises of blue and black lines that originate from the centre and cross each other assuming star shapes, squares, and triangles. According to Khatib-Boujibar, Zellij Panel is a Thin network of lines alternating between blue and black spread from a centrepiece. The network consists of 16-pointed stars surrounded by a black fillet to form a large cross shape delimited by black knot work. On the inside, the re is a myriad of small white twinkling stars (web). Another set of yellow lines join the network outside the centre making larger compositions and star motifs. Zellij Panel use lines that pass around an enclosed area in horizontal, vertical, diagonal, and curve shapes to create three-dimensional shapes. According to Getty Museum, â€Å"A line is an identifiable created by a point moving into space,† (web). These shapes express breadth, length, and depth. The shapes created by different lines create balance to the space, texture, and the colours used. The balance created is symmetrical since similar lines pass through every direction of the square. The central part has a radial balance and although some lines differ on the sides, a symmetrical balance is still achieved. The artist emphasized the central part by making it lighter than the other parts to depict the source of the lines flowing form it. The artist uses colour to capture

Timberland Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 1

Timberland - Essay Example It is famous for its increased development from being a Boot maker to a larger Earth keeper. Timberland has CEOS who have desirable traits; they have negotiation skills and humility. These are the success factors of timberland that made it appear on top of other companies. Timberland stakeholders are futuristic about the company’s development. It does not concentrate only on its success but also what benefits it can bring to the earth. The stakeholders of Timberland Company work to the success of the company. They do not put in their self –dealings. Timberland Company progressed well due to the presence of devoted stakeholders who generate new ideas of improving the company. This company extended its service to other companies making it unique. It goes into partnership with other company stakeholders, which will provide support to its developing issues. Example of such stakeholders includes its partnership with Boston’s City year. Timberland in partnership with this company promotes community service. Timberland ensures that whatever chosen goal in place relates to social responsibility and sensitivity to the environment. Timberland focus on Earth keeping it profitable to the company. All the processes at timberland involve the sensitivity to the environmental conservation. Unlike other companies, Timberland Company is concerned about the keeping of the environment whenever it undertakes any activity within the company. It works on the principle that one can run a profitable business and be considerate to basic human rights. During the production process, Timberland uses the recycled materials that are cost effective as compared to using new ones. It produces boots that have green soles, which are from recycled materials. By using materials, which are possible to recycle and are harmful to the environment, it promotes environment

CROWN CORK & SEAL IN 1989 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

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Analyse the attempts by the EU to allievate the inherent problems of Essay

Analyse the attempts by the EU to allievate the inherent problems of establishing a single market within the Financial Services - Essay Example As a result, the integration process had to take a more heightened effort to ensure it was fruitful. The Commission published a White Paper in 1985, whereby the enabling instrument was the Single European Act (the SEA). The aim of this Act was to remove the non-tariff barriers and to encourage free movement of capital and labor by 1993. It was also agreed that discrimination by all means should cease (House of Lords, 2008, p. 33). The non-tariff barriers Although the European Commission was hell bent on establishing a single market, not much had been achieved by 1980s. Furthermore, by the mid - 1980s, most of the aims of the Rome treaty had not been attained despite the first stage of integration having been completed. Actually, non-tariff barriers were reported to have increased between 1975 and 1985 despite all these efforts. It was thereby realized that a strategy was needed to strengthen the integration among members (Canoy, Liddle and Smith, n.d, p. 3). The Single European Act h ad, in mind, three major types of non-tariff obstacles to factor mobility and trade, which inspired its objectives. The first was the physical barriers, whose formation was as a result of controls and customs formalities (House of Lords, 2008, p. 29). Its aim included moving administrative checks away from the borders and ensuring their processes were simplified, development of a common policy on transport, as well as removal of all internal controls and frontiers on capital and people. The second type was technical barriers, which encompasses the various technical product specifications. Its purpose was to harmonize regulations or to create mutual identification of standards of each member country; to institute the correspondence of qualifications; and to dismantle exchange controls. The third type was fiscal barriers, which was characterized by a very complex process of tax rates harmonization particularly in relation to the corporation and indirect taxes. Also, the SEA placed emp hasis on the suitability of allowing free trade on each member country’s public purchasing, which encompassed incorporation of social charter and application of competition. Nevertheless, there was no reliable arrangement for tackling the differences in respect to the external trade policy and a policy on subsidies was not clearly spelt out. It was also not clear, how harmonization could lead to mutual recognition in regards to the achievement of the single market (Eichacker and Amherst, n.d., p. 4). The banking industry The banking industry, among other financial sectors, was greatly regulated and it was characterized by diversified regulatory practices. Essentially, barriers to the supply of overseas services presented more problems than location-related barriers. In some countries, financial institution and non-resident banks were restricted in their rights to do business with residents, by stringent laws and regulations (House of Lords, 2008, p. 36). The first Banking Dir ective instructed members to set up systems for supervising and authorization of banks as well as other credit institutions. This directive, also, led to the requirement that these financial institutions should get licensed to be recognized. In addition, licensing accorded the financial

A Brief History of English and American Literature Essay Example for Free

A Brief History of English and American Literature Essay The Norman conquest of England, in the 11th century, made a break in the natural growth of the English language and literature. The old English or Anglo−Saxon had been a purely Germanic speech, with a complicated grammar and a full set of inflections. For three hundred years following the battle of Hastings. this native tongue was driven from the kings court and the courts of law, from parliament, school, and university. During all this time there were two languages spoken in England. Norman French was the birth−tongue of the upper classes and English of the lower. When the latter finally got the better in the struggle, and became, about the middle of the 14th century, the national speech of all England, it was no longer the English of King Alfred. It was a new language, a grammarless tongue, almost wholly {12} stripped of its inflections. It had lost a half of its old words, and had filled their places with French equivalents. The Norman lawyers had introduced legal terms; the ladies and courtiers, words of dress and courtesy. The knight had imported the vocabulary of war and of the chase. The master−builders of the Norman castles and cathedrals contributed technical expressions proper to the architect and the mason. The art of cooking was French. The naming of the living animals, ox, swine, sheep, deer, was left to the Saxon churl who had the herding of them, while the dressed meats, beef, pork, mutton, venison, received their baptism from the table−talk of his Norman master. The four orders of begging friars, and especially the Franciscans or Gray Friars, introduced into England in 1224, became intermediaries between the high and the low. They went about preaching to the poor, and in their sermons they intermingled French with English. In their hands, too, was almost all the science of the day; their medicine, botany, and astronomy displaced the old nomenclature of leechdom, wort−cunnin g, and star−craft. And, finally, the translators of French poems often found it easier to transfer a foreign word bodily than to seek out a native synonym, particularly when the former supplied them with a rhyme. But the innovation reached even to the commonest words in every−day use, so that voice drove out steven, poor drove out earm, and color, use, and place made good their footing beside hue, {13}wont, and stead. A great part of the English words that were left were so changed in spelling and pronunciation as to be practically new. Chaucer stands, in date, midway between King Alfred and Alfred Tennyson, but his English differs vastly more from the formers than from the latters. To Chaucer Anglo−Saxon was as much a dead language as it is to us. The classical Anglo−Saxon, moreover, had been the Wessex dialect, spoken and written at Alfreds capital, Winchester. When the French had displaced this as the language of culture, there was no longer a â€Å"kings English† or any literary standard. The sources of modern standard English are to be found in the East Midland, spoken in Lincoln, Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, and neighboring shires. Here the old Anglian had been corrupted by the Danish settlers, and rapidly threw off its inflections when it became a spoken and no longer a written language, after the Conquest. The West Saxon, clinging more tenaciously to ancient forms, sunk into the position of a local dialect; while the East Midland, spreading to London, Oxford, and Cambridge, became the literary English in which Chaucer wrote. The Normans brought in also new intellectual influences and new forms of literature. They were a cosmopolitan people, and they connected England with the continent. Lanfranc and Anselm, the first two Norman archbishops of Canterbury, were learned and splendid prelates of a {14} type quite unknown to the Anglo−Saxons. They introduced the scholastic philosophy taught at the University of Paris, and the reformed discipline of the Norman abbeys. They bound the English Church more closely to Rome, and officered it with Normans. English bishops were deprived of their sees for illiteracy, and French abbots were set over monasteries of Saxon monks. Down to the middle of the 14th century the learned literature of England was mostly in Latin, and the polite literature in French. English did not at any time altogether cease to be a written language, but the extant remains of the period from 1066 to 1200 are few and, with one exception, unimportant. After 1200 English came more and more into written use, but mainly in translations, paraphrases, and imitations of French works. The native genius was at school, and followed awkwardly. The Anglo−Saxon poetry, for example, had been rhythmical and alliterative. It was commonly written in lines containing four rhythmical accents and with three of the accented syllables alliterating. R_este hine thà ¢ r_à ºm−heort; r_à ©ced hlifade G_eà ¡p and g_à ³ld−fà ¢h, gà ¤st inne swà ¤f. Rested him then the great−hearted; the hall towered Roomy and gold−bright, the guest slept within. This rude energetic verse the Saxon scà ´p had sung to his harp or glee−beam, dwelling on the {15} emphatic syllables, passing swiftly over the others which were of undetermined number and position in the line. It was now displaced by the smooth metrical verse with rhymed endings, which the French introduced and which our modern poets use, a verse fitted to be recited rather than sung. The old English alliterative verse continued, indeed, in occasional use to the 16th century. But it was linked to a forgotten literature and an obsolete dialect, and was doomed to give way. Chaucer lent his great authority to the more modern verse system, and his own literary models and inspirers were all foreign, French or Italian. Literature in England began to be once more English and truly national in the hands of Chaucer and his contemporaries, but it was the literature of a nation cut off from its own past by three centuries of foreign rule. The most noteworthy English document of the 11th and 12th centuries was the continuation of the Anglo−Saxon chronicle. Copies of these annals, differing somewhat among themselves, had been kept at the monasteries in Winchester, Abingdon, Worcester, and elsewhere. The yearly entries were mostly brief, dry records of passing events, though occasionally they become full and animated. The fen country of Cambridge and Lincolnshire was a region of monasteries. Here were the great abbeys of Peterborough and Croyland and Ely minster. One of the earliest English songs tells how the savage heart of the Danish {16} king Cnut was softened by the singing of the monks in Ely. Merie sungen muneches binnen Ely Tha Cnut chyning reu ther by; Roweth, cnihtes, noer the land, And here we thes muneches sang. It was among the dikes and marshes of this fen country that the bold outlaw Hereward, â€Å"the last of the English,† held out for some years against the conqueror. And it was here, in the rich abbey of Burch or Peterborough, the ancient Medeshamstede (meadow−homestead) that the chronicle was continued for nearly a century after the Conquest, breaking off abruptly in 1154, the date of King Stephens death. Peterborough had received a new Norman abbot, Turold, â€Å"a very stern man,† and the entry in the chronicle for 1170 tells how Hereward and his gang, with his Danish backers, thereupon plundered the abbey of its treasures, which were first removed to Ely, and then carried off by the Danish fleet and sunk, lost, or squandered. The English in the later portions of this Peterborough chronicle becomes gradually more modern, and falls away more and more from the strict grammatical standards of the classical Anglo−Saxon. It is a most valuable historical monument, and some passages of it are written with great vividness, notably the sketch of William the Conqueror put down in the year of his death (1086) by one who had â€Å"looked upon him and at another time dwelt in his court.† {17} â€Å"He who was before a rich king, and lord of many a land, he had not then of all his land but a piece of seven feet. . . . Likewise he was a very stark man and a terrible, so that one durst do nothing against his will. . . . Among other things is not to be forgotten the good peace that he made in this land, so that a man might fare over his kingdom with his bosom full of gold unhurt. He set up a great deer preserve, and he laid laws therewith that whoso should slay hart or hind, he should be blinded. As greatly did he love the tall deer as if he were their father.† With the discontinuance of the Peterborough annals, English history written in English prose ceased for three hundred years. The thread of the nations story was kept up in Latin chronicles, compiled by writers partly of English and partly of Norman descent. The earliest of these, such as Ordericus Vitalis, Simeon ofDurham, Henry of Huntingdon, and William of Malmesbury, were contemporary with the later entries of the Saxon chronicle. The last of them, Matthew of Westminster, finished his work in 1273. About 1300 Robert, a monk of Gloucester, composed a chronicle in English verse, following in the main the authority of the Latin chronicles, and he was succeeded by other rhyming chroniclers in the 14th century. In the hands of these the true history of the Saxon times was overlaid with an ever−increasing mass of fable and legend. All real knowledge of the period {18} dwindled away until in Capgraves Chronicle of England, written in prose in 1463−64, hardly any thing of it is left. In history as in literature the English had forgotten their past, and had turned to foreign sources. It is noteworthy that Shakspere, who borrowed his subjects and his heroes sometimes from authentic English history, sometimes from the legendary history of ancient Britain, Denmark,and Scotland, as in Lear, Hamlet, and Macbeth, ignores the Saxon period altogether. And Spenser, who gives in his second book of the Faerie Queene, a resumà © of the reigns of fabulous British kings—the supposed ancestors of Queen Elizabeth, his royal patron—has nothing to say of the real kings of early England. So completely had the true record faded away that it made no appeal to the imaginations of our most patriotic poets. The Saxon Alfred had been dethroned by the British Arthur, and the conquered Welsh had imposed their fictitious genealogies upon the dynasty of the conquerors. In the Roman de Rou, a verse chronicle of the dukes of Normandy, written by the Norman Wace, it is related that at the battle of Hastings the French jongleur, Taillefer, spurred out before the van of Williams army, tossing his lance in the air and chanting of â€Å"Charlemagne and of Roland, of Oliver and the peers who died at Roncesvals.† This incident is prophetic of the victory which Norman song, no less than Norman arms, was to win over England. The lines which Taillefer {19} sang were from the Chanson de Roland, the oldest and best of the French hero sagas. The heathen Northmen, who had ravaged the coasts of France in the 10th century, had become in the course of one hundred and fifty years, completely identified with the French. They had accepted Christianity, intermarried with the native women, and forgotten their own Norse tongue. The race thus formed was the most brilliant in Europe. The warlike, adventurous spirit of the vikings mingled in its blood with the French nimbleness of wit and fondness for display. The Normans were a nation of knights−errant, with a passion for prowess and for courtesy. Their architecture was at once strong and graceful. Their women were skilled in embroidery, a splendid sample of which is preserved in the famous Bayeux tapestry, in which the conquerors wife, Matilda, and the ladies of her court wrought the history of the Conquest. This national taste for decoration expressed itself not only in the ceremonious pomp of feast and chase and tourney, but likewise in literature. The most characteristic contribution of the Normans to English poetry were the metrical romances or chivalry tales. These were sung or recited by the minstrels, who were among the retainers of every great feudal baron, or by the jongleurs, who wandered from court to castle. There is a whole literature of these romans d aventure in the Anglo−Norman dialect of French. Many of them are {20} very long—often thirty, forty, or fifty thousand lines—written sometimes in a strophic form, sometimes in long Alexandrines, but commonly in the short, eight−syllabled rhyming couplet. Numbers of them were turned into English verse in the 13th, 14th, and 15th centuries. The translations were usually inferior to the originals. The French trouvere (finder or poet) told his story in a straight−forward, prosaic fashion, omitting no details in the action and unrolling endless descriptions of dresses, trappings, gardens, etc. He invented plots and situations full of fine possibilities by which later poets have profited, but his own handling of them was feeble and prolix. Yet there was a simplicity about the old French language and a certain elegance and delicacy in the diction of the trouveres which the rude, unformed English failed to catch. The heroes of these romances were of various climes: Guy of Warwick, and Richard the Lion Heart of England, Havelok the Dane, Sir Troilus of Troy, Charlemagne, and Alexander. But, strangely enough, the favorite hero of English romance was that mythical Arthur of Britain, whom Welsh legend had celebrated as the most formidable enemy of the Sassenach invaders and their victor in twelve great battles. The language and literature of the ancient Cymry or Welsh had made no impression on their Anglo−Saxon conquerors. There are a few Welsh borrowings in the English speech, such as bard and druid; but in the old Anglo−Saxon literature there are {21} no more traces of British song and story than if the two races had been sundered by the ocean instead of being borderers for over six hundred years. But the Welsh had their own national traditions, and after the Norman Conquest these were set free from the isolation of their Celtic tongue and, in an indirect form, entered into the general literature of Europe. The French came into contact with the old British literature in two places: in the Welsh marches in England and in the province of Brittany in France, where the population is of Cymric race and spoke, and still to some extent speaks, a Cymric dialect akin to the Welsh. About 1140 Geoffrey of Monmouth, a Benedictine monk, seemingly of Welsh descent, who lived at the court of Henry the First and became afterward bishop of St. Asaph, produced in Latin a so−called Historia Britonum in which it was told how Brutus, the great grandson of Aeneas, came to Britain, and founded there his kingdom called after him, and his city of New Troy (Troynovant) on the site of the later London. An air of historic gravity was given to this tissue of Welsh legends by an exact chronology and the genealogy of theBritish kings, and the author referred, as his authority, to an imaginary Welsh book given him, as he said, by a certain Walter, archdeacon of Oxford. Here appeared that line of fabulous British princes which has become so familiar to modern readers in the plays of Shakspere and the poems of Tennyson: Lear and his {22} three daughters; Cymbeline, Gorboduc, the subject of the earliest regular English tragedy, composed by Sackville and acted in 1562; Locrine and his Queen Gwendolen, and his daughter Sabrina, who gave her name to the river Severn, was made immortal by an exquisite song in Miltons Comus, and became the heroine of the tragedy of Locrine, once attributed to Shakspere; and above all, Arthur, the son of Uther Pendragon, and the founder of the Table Round. In 1155 Wace, the author of the Roman de Rou, turned Geoffreys work into a French poem entitled Brut d Angleterre, â€Å"brut† being a Welsh word meaning chronicle. About the year 1200 Waces poem was Englished by Layamon, a priest of Arley Regis, on the border stream of Severn. Layamons Brut is in thirty thousand lines, partly alliterative and partly rhymed, but written in pure Saxon English with hardly any French words. The style is rude but vigorous, and, at times, highly imaginative. Wace had amplified Geoffreys chronicle somewhat, but Layamon made much larger additions, derived, no doubt, from legends current on the Welsh border. In particular the story of Arthur grew in his hands into something like fullness. He tells of the enchantments of Merlin, the wizard; of the unfaithfulness of Arthurs queen,Guenever; and the treachery of his nephew, Modred. His narration of the last great battle between Arthur and Modred; of the wounding of the king—â€Å"fifteen fiendly wounds he had, one might in the least {23} three gloves thrust—†; and of the little boat with â€Å"two women therein, wonderly dight,† which came to bear him away to Avalun and the Queen Argante, â€Å"sheenest of all elves,† whence he shall come again, according to Merlins prophecy, to rule the Britons; all this left little, in essentials, for Tennyson to add in his Death of Arthur. This new material for fiction was eagerly seized upon by the Norman romancers. The story of Arthur drew to itself other stories which were afloat.