Absoulutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian Struggles of Arnold Spirit Essay Example for Free

Absoulutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian Struggles of Arnold Spirit Essay In the book â€Å"The Absolutely True Diary of a Part Time Indian† by Sherman Alexie, Arnold Spirit the main character struggles with being an Indian and going to Reardan, the all-white school where he wants to find hope. He struggles with acceptance because of his disability and he is an Indian. He also struggle with losing his best friend Rowdy as a friend, and he also struggles with losing loved ones. Though he has many, he copes with them and fixes them in the end. Throughout the story Arnold struggles with his disability. He is a very smart person but because of his disability his appearance makes him look like he is stupid. To top this all off he is also an Indian attending an all-white school. This causes the white people to make fun of him as well as the Indians and he feels different and unwanted by everyone. â€Å"And once I arrived at Reardan, I became something less than less than less than Indian. Those white kids did not talk to me. They barely looked at me†(83). This shows that he was not accepted on the reservation as an Indian or at Reardan because of what he was. He had no friends at Reardan, not even a friend on the rez anymore. When Arnold decided that he wanted to go to Reardan he wanted his only and best friend, Rowdy to go with him. When he told Rowdy about going to Reardan he felt like Arnold was abandoning him. He got really upset and angry and made it clear they were no longer friends. â€Å"I stayed on the ground for a long time after Rowdy walked awayBut I had to stand eventually, and when I did, I knew my best friend had become my worst enemy†(53). This shows that Rowdy resented Arnold so much for going to Reardan he didn’t want to be friends with Arnold anymore. In addition to losing his best friend he lost many other people, only in a different way. One final struggle Arnold faced was losing many loved ones. He lost his dog, grandmother, Eugene (His dads best friend) and his sister. He not only blamed himself for the deaths but also many others blamed him because he left the rez and betrayed them in a way by going to Reardan and making friends with white people. â€Å"‘Your sister is dead because you left us. You killed her.’Rowdy was right. I had killed my sisterIt was all my fault†(211). This shows that Arnold felt like in a way it was his fault and some of the Indians on the rez felt the same. He blamed himself for every bad thing that had happened all his life. Arnold had a tough life, he struggled to fit in, to keep his best friend and with losing many loved ones. Arnold slowly made friends at Reardan by just being himself. In the end he and Rowdy made up. They put the past behind them. Arnold also forgave himself for all the loved ones he lost; he also hoped that everyone else forgave him too. Losing loved ones is a normal part of life. No one should take the blame when it was never their fault. Making friends is also hard Especially when you are in a completely new environment or you are shy. Sometimes best friends will fight. It can last for a short time or a long time. Its important to remember we can not judge someone because of who they are or where they come from. Put yourself in their shoes; how would you feel?

Scooter sales in Vietnam Essay Example for Free

Scooter sales in Vietnam Essay Hom kia ong th? y em g? i cho em 1 cai article kha hay v? th? tru? ng xe 2B VN kha hay, m? i cac bac xem. EM xin l? i vi no la ti? ng Anh nhung vi? t cung kha d? hi? u . Qua bai bao nay em gi? t minh khi bi? t con s? ban ra c? a xe AB hon 120K , kh? ng thi? t . Va cac bac th? ng? m Hon Da VN da moc tui bao nhieu ti? n c? a dan minh [pic] Em xin phep VietNamNet Bridge – Two years ago the Vietnamese media was driven into a frenzy when Hollywood stars Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie came to visit Vietnam for the first time. The image of the couple in casual clothes riding a black Yamaha Nouvo scooter in downtown HCMC was widely seen in newspapers and magazines. Scooter riders seen in downtown HCMC. Vietnamese consumers have an increasing preference for scooters. This actually gave free publicity to Yamaha. Sales of the Yamha Nouvo scooter have rocketed in Vietnam as this scooter has become a fashion for not only women but also men. Yamahas good business has led to other motorcycle makers to enter the market or boost scooter production to capitalize on the growing demand. The race starts. Italys Piaggio, the worlds fourth largest scooter and motorcycle manufacturer, started construction of its first factory in Vietnam. Honda and Yamaha from Japan will open their second Vietnam factories soon. Honda Vietnam, the largest motorcycle manufacturer in Vietnam, has shifted focus to scooters for men. It started a campaign to enter the market six months after the trip of Vietnam by Mr. and Mrs. Smith. It launched the Air Blade scooter designed with a sporty fashion. As a favorite motorcycle brand, Honda caused an instant fever on the market after launching this scooter. When placing an order for an Air Blade at a Honda authorized exclusive dealer in HCMC, customers will get a shake of the head. The dealers are flooded with a lot of orders. A Honda dealer on Nguyen Trai Street in District 1 says it still has more than 600 orders to fulfill. But those really wishing to own an Air Blade scooter can go to plenty of private retailers in the city, but the price is usually VND8-10 million higher than Hondas list price. Despite the strong demand, the company says it is unable to scale up production as its factory in the northern province of Vinh Phuc is running at full capacity. As an adaptive measure, Honda has increased shifts to fulfill the mounting orders. Koji Onishi, general director of Honda Vietnam, says that by end-April this year, more than 120,000 Air Blade units had been sold, becoming the best-seller of the scooter category on the local market. Not to miss the race, Yamaha introduced the new Yamaha Nouvo Elegance scooter that comes with an engine of 135cc in late April, which is higher than those of the previous scooter versions. With a list price of VND29. 2 million, including VAT, the new Nouvo scooter is going like hot cakes. Just around 10 days after the new Nouvo version came out, Honda announced the launch of two new Air Blade versions with a sportier and more fashionable design. They retail for VND28. 5 million (VAT included) and come with three colors dark blue, white and red. In addition to the new Air Blade, a sporty Air Blade Repsol version with the color of Repsol Honda racing team in MotoGP World Championship has been introduced this time at VND29. 5 million. The market is so lucrative that another Japanese motorcycle maker, Suzuki Vietnam Corp. , has also forayed into the scooter market, with the launch of  the Hayate priced between VND21. 8 million and VND22. 8 million. The 125cc Hayate has a sporty design and targets male motorcyclists and is expected to strongly compete with Hondas Air Blade and Yamahas Nouvo. The Suzuki prices are lower VND7-8 million than the other two brands, so the Hayate has a competitive advantage in pricing. The competition in design Vietnam Manufacturing and Export Processing Co. (VMEP), Sanyangs motorbike maker in Vietnam, was the first to make scooters in Vietnam with the SYM brand. Taiwans SYM is one of the successful stories. The company launched the Attila scooter in 1997, which has since gained increasing popularity among young people. SYM leaders say that the introduction of the Attila has paved the way for the company to gain a competitive edge over cheap Chinese motorcycles, which overwhelmed the local market in the late 1990s and early 2000s, as well as others. The Attila was then the best-selling locally assembled scooter model. Imported scooters like Dylan,@ and Spacy of Honda, Majesty of Yamaha, and Epicuro and Aventis of Suzuki are prohibitively expensive but the compact and fashionable design and moderate price have made the Attila more competitive. The Attila retails for about VND30 million, around one- and two-thirds of imports. Buoyed by SYMs success, other foreign companies including Yamaha, Suzuki, Honda from Japan later jumped into the market. Experts formerly showed concern that SYM would find it hard to maintain its dominance on the scooter market since more Japanese producers were aggressively increasing investment in scooter innovation and design to gain a slice of the pie. But brands like Honda Click, Yamaha Mio Classical and Suzuki Amity seem to be not the archrivals of the Attila which is particularly popular among urban females. SYMs Attila Elizabeth version has become a favorite among young women thanks to its fashionable, elegant and compact design. The demand for the Attila Elizabeth has outpaced SYMs supply, leading to its price outside the company dealers increasing by VND2-3 million per unit. The good outlook The growth prospects of the market are good as young consumers in cities have an increasing preference for scooters. Many motorcycle assemblers have switched to scooter production to capitalize on this market trend and have been expanding production to meet local demand. Taiwans biggest bike maker Kwang Yang Motor Co. Ltd. (KYMCO) is an example. It has become the majority owner of Hoa Lam Kymco Motors Corp. after acquiring a 60% stake from its local partner. Hoa Lam Automobile-Motorcycle Joint-Stock Co. transferred its 60% stake in this joint venture to the Taiwanese company, thus reducing its holding to 30% from the previous 40%. KYMCOs stake in the venture, meanwhile, is up to 90%. Nguyen Tien Sy, deputy general director of Hoa Lam Kymco Motors Corp. , says that the authorities have endorsed the stake transfer between the two partners. The acquisition, whose value is not disclosed, is part of the Taiwanese companys plan to deepen its investment in Vietnam. KYMCO will develop a new factory in HCMCs District 2 besides the joint venture factory that is mainly assembling motorcycles in Binh Chanh District. The new factory in Cat Lai Industrial Park will produce motorcycle parts for local sale and export to ASEAN markets, Sy says. KYMCO will move its production lines from a factory in Taiwan next month to the new factory, which will mainly manufacture scooters. KYMCO attributes its increased investment in Vietnam to the strong demand for motorcycles. This firm forecast the domestic scooter market will continue expanding in the next five to 10 years. KYMCO entered Vietnam in late 2004 by buying a 30% stake in the bike manufacturing plant, which was wholly owned by Vietnams Hoa Lam Automobile-Motorcycle Joint-Stock Co. The value of the factory then was set at US$15 million. The brand name KYMCO, however, is not popular in Vietnam, but the Taiwanese company has reaped success elsewhere, exporting products to 81 countries worldwide, including Europe. KYMCO has set up nine motorcycle factories in Asia. The two market leaders, Honda and Yamaha, also started work on their second factories in northern Vietnam last year. Hondas new factory worth US$65million will mainly produce scooters. The plant, which is located next to the first one in Vinh Phuc Province, is part of Hondas expansion plan after its success over the past 13 years. The new 28-hectare plant is scheduled for mass production in the third quarter of this year, with initial annual production capacity of 500,000 units, says Koji Onishi, general director of Honda Vietnam. Together with the existing plants annual capacity of one million units, this plant will help meet the increasing demand of Vietnamese customers, he says, adding state-of-the-art technology would be applied to ensure high quality. The most modern and latest technology of Honda will be applied to this new plant that may produce the perfect quality products for Vietnamese customers, he says. The income level is increasing and the infrastructure is developed. Thus, the demand for scooters becomes higher and higher. In addition, its easy operation and modern design can sharpen customers personality. Thanks to the growth of the Vietnamese economy, we realize that young people especially in big cities prefer the scooters, says Yasuhiro Imazato, director of Honda Vietnam brand in HCMC. Meanwhile, Piaggio, the worlds fourth largest scooter and motorcycle manufacturer, is building its first factory in northern Vietnam. The company will spend US$45 million on the factory which covers eight hectares in Binh Xuyen Industrial Park in Vinh Phuc Province, and will be commissioned in mid-2009, with an initial annual output capacity of 50,000 units for local sale and export. The project is part of Piaggios broader three-year plan to expand its operations in Asia by setting up shop in Vietnam and India, Piaggio chief executive Roberto Colaninno. He says the companys products are already available in Vietnam, but it still wants a factory plus a sales network in the country. Piaggio brand is generally targeted at high-end customers. The Italian firm has five local companies as distributors Sapa Trade Co. , Xuan Cau Co. , Viet Nhat Motor Co. , Y Viet Motor Co and International Friendship Co. However, Piaggios investment in Vietnam is still smaller than Japanese and Taiwan motorbike producers. Taiwans Sanyang Industry, which is known for SYM brand, looks to Vietnam as one of its major motorbike production hubs in Asia and its biggest investment markets. Under a motorcycle industry development plan recently approved by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam will become a major Asian center for motorcycle design and production. The plan envisages local motorcycle demand reaching 2-2. 2million units a year. By 2015, there will have been some 31 million motorcycles in use nationwide and some 33 million by 2020, compared to the current 20 million, according to the plan. An additional 1. 8 million motorbikes will hit the road a year. (Source: SGT).

Role of Mass Media in Earthquakes

Role of Mass Media in Earthquakes Lai Yuen Yau Choi Kiu Lok Kelly Chu Wing Yan Chu Lok Yin Law Shun Hei Introduction As we humans are living on Earth, natural disasters like earthquake are seemingly inevitable. We can only make our greatest possible effort to minimize the loss in human lives and properties brought by the disaster. According to Haddow Haddow (2008),â€Å"Communication is core to the success of disaster mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. The media remains the single most effective means for communicating timely and accurate information to the public.† It seems that the mass media has a great contribution in reducing the adverse effect of natural disasters. Therefore, it aroused our curiosity towards the roles that mass media take during disasters, and we will focus on recent earthquakes. In our report, we would like to investigate on the roles and functions of the mass media, namely newspaper, radio, television and new media during earthquake in three phrases: Mitigation Preparedness, Response and Recovery. Besides, we would like to look into the relationship between mass media and earthquake. Definition of mass media Before introducing the roles mass media took during earthquake, it is better for us to define mass media. Since mass media facilitates mass communication, Baran et al. (2004) suggested that communication refers to a reciprocal and ongoing process of creating shared meaning. People create meanings by encoding and decoding messages. The encoded message is carried to the target audience through a medium. If the medium does not only carry the messages to an individual but a large number of people, it is regarded as a mass medium. Newspapers, television broadcasting, radio and new media such as the Internet, Facebook, Weibo, and Twitter are common examples of new media. They all have their own characteristics and fulfill different roles of the mass media during earthquake. Most people’s first heard of a disaster will be through the mass media. (Harrison, 1999) Characteristics of different mass media 1) Printed Newspaper Although printed newspaper lack immediacy, according to Harrison (1999), newspaper still owns the physical advantage that people can hold it in their hands and read it over and over again. It can provide more detailed description of the incident with words and pictures. Moreover, printed newspaper can be kept as references. 2) Television Television has a several roles during an earthquake. Fry (n.d.) suggested that television is â€Å"a purveyor of information, a storyteller and sometimes an agent of change.† Before the disaster approached, television news can give out warnings or vital information of the disaster to the people. By featuring vivid images and videos in the television news, it on one hand informs the people, but on the other it draws connections with the audience. It evokes their emotions and arouses their attention towards the earthquake. (Fry, n.d.) Besides, Television is often used as a platform to raise fund for the victims. 3) Radio Radio still plays a unique role. It can immediately inform a large number of people in vehicles and at home. Unlike newspaper, one doesn’t have to listen to the radio literately. It is inexpensive to own a radio receiver. The poor can also afford owning it. Moreover, radio receivers are portable and do not rely on electric power supply. Therefore, if the earthquake cut down the electrical supply, the victims are able to obtain the newest information through radio. Radio is being regarded as a one-chance medium that audience may easily miss out the message brought by the radio. (Harrison, 1999) However, by repeating the of importance message, reinforcement effect is resulted. 4) New Media New media is often regarded as media that is related to the Internet and the interplay between technology, images and sound (Socha Eber-Schmid, n.d.). Facebook, Twitter, Weibo are common examples of the new media. They have the highest immediacy among the media. People can quickly post information or spread messages on the Internet if earthquakes suddenly occurs. Since anybody can share their views or comments and post photos to the Internet, information on the Internet may not be reliable. Some of them may be rumors. Mitigation and Preparedness In this phase, it is important to send preparedness messages to notice the public in anticipation of the coming earthquake through different forms of technologies and media, in order to reduce the maximum loss of life and property. In most countries, such as the United States and Japan, billions of money is invested in researching and developing an earthquake early warning system. It uses seismic networks to detect earthquake very quickly, so that advance announcement and warning signals can be sent before the arrival of destructive seismic waves to evacuate general public. It aims at mitigating earthquake-related damages by allowing people to have more time to take immediate protective action after the warning signs (Earthquake Early Warning System, 2012) . Also it triggers automatic responses to safeguard critical infrastructure such as providing time for moving trains to slow down and stop; opening elevator doors, stopping landings and take-offs of flight at the airport. Take the example of 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami. When earthquake occurred, Earthquake Early Warning (EEW) system (Kinkyu Jishin Sokuho) activated instantly. This is an Earthquake Early Warning. Please prepare for powerful tremors. Immediate warning alert like this was announced immediately in the affected regions. It also informed the public whether there would be a risk of a landslide or tsunami caused by the quake in the affected area. When tsunami warnings were issued, it activated an Emergency Warning Broadcast system which automatically turned on all the radios and televisions in the warned areas. Announcements are then broadcasted in different languages to reach a wide range of people including the tourists in the district. During this phase, radio broadcasting plays an effective role. The specific chime tone from FM stations is automatically detected internally and turns on the radio and sounds a chime tone and EEW message to people for careful attention and wake up people in bed by a very loud sound before any destructive shaking occurs. Radios, as a traditional media, are very common and easy to access. EEW radio waves can reach remote areas and can be received in areas where no broadband internet is available. The general public can therefore listen to the announcement even with limited electrical power, from anywhere and with groups. Mobile Networks Warning System In modern days, mobile phone networks maybe a better medium to send mass warning message to the general public, as most people will have cell phones by their sides. In Japan, in addition to media broadcasting, cell broadcasting is also another way to warn the public. With sophisticated communication technology, it allows millions of early warning text messages to be sent simultaneously to individual cell phones (Earth Systems group of companies, 2012). After 2007, it is mandatory for Japanese mobile phone manufacturers and mobile network service providers to support EEW early warning notification in their phones and services. And NTT docomo, au (KDDI and Okinawa Cellular) and SoftBank Mobile, have developed the simultaneous broadcast systems conforming Cell Broadcast to receive EEW and provided phones with this service since 2007 (NTT docomo, 2007). Response According to Haddow Haddow (2009), â€Å"the primary purpose of communications activities in a disaster response is to provide accurate and timely information to the public.† It provides notification, warning evacuation and situation reports on the ongoing disaster to the public. It also aims to describe what has happened and is happening in the aftermath of a disaster event; what impact the disaster event has had on individuals, the community, and the physical landscape and what is being done by the various organizations responding to the disaster to help the prone parties to recover. Newspaper Newspaper has a lower priority compared to television and radio, so it cannot provide live reports to the readers; instead, it gives in-depth and detailed reports from different perspectives on what has happened and is happening after the disaster. It is involved in the â€Å"response† phrase, providing first-hand detailed reports about the disaster. Reporters were sent to the disaster areas, to reveal the rescue condition after the disaster, and how is the on-going rescue progress. Take example of a news article from Reuters, dated 12 May 2008, â€Å"China quake kills nearly 10,000 in Sichuan†. It provides confirmed and official information regarding the 2008 Sichuan Earthquake, like the estimated death toll and the destruction of the facilities. Readers can get the first-hand information about the disaster and how the authority handle the case and settle the victims. Another article on 2008 Sichuan Earthquake from NBC News, dated 13 May 2008 also focuses on the number of casualties, entitled â€Å"Massive quake kills nearly 10,000 in China†. Despite reporting the seriousness of the disaster, this article also looks into the impacts from different angles, giving sub-headings ranging from â€Å"thousands of students buried†, â€Å"panda refuge threatened†, â€Å"worldwide condolences† and â€Å"advice for the trapped†. The detailed description of the disaster shows the characteristics of newspaper reporting, and gives a full impression to the readers on the quake. Opinions from different parties and victims were also reported, as well as the immediate influences brought by the quake to other cities. Likewise, in the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, similar ways of reporting appeared immediately after the quake happened. A news article from CBC News, dated 11 March 2011, entitled â€Å"Japan quake, tsunami cause ‘major damage’† reported on this most powerful earthquake in Japan’s recorded history, which struck off the country’s northeast coast.The destruction and damage caused by the quake was also revealed in the report, in which the nuclear power plant issue caught the attention from the whole world, yet, it wasn’t confirmed as nuclear leakage at that time. Even the International Atomic Energy Agency said that there was no radiation detected at that time. New Media New media’s role in the phrase of response is to provide immediate background information and latest situation of earthquake to the public. The background information mainly includes the time, the venue, the magnitude of the earthquake and the immediate effects. 1)  Social media Social media together with Internet perform vital relief functions such as safety identification, warning evacuation, displaced-persons locating and damage information. For example, the transportation arrangement due to road damage in an earthquake. Social Networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are facilitators to wide currency of news. As they are public social media platforms, which people can see what their friends followed, liked, commented or shared if the user does not intentionally set it in private. Hence, the flow of information is encouraged. People share their first-hand experience or second-hand information on those social networking sites. For example in Twitter, there are specific users who keep updating information during earthquake. Like the twitter account â€Å"à ¥Ã…“ °Ãƒ ©Ã…“†¡Ãƒ ©Ã¢â€š ¬Ã… ¸Ãƒ ¥Ã‚  Ã‚ ± ( @eew_jp)†, having more than 76.9 thousands followers, is the offical account of the Japan Meteorological Agency. For example, on March 11, the day of 2011 Tohoku Earthquake happened, more than 25 updates posting any preliminary earthquake forecast or any lastest earthquake were recorded. During the emergent situation, important informations were spreaded in the tweets to notify the public of the time, the venue and the magnitude of the earthquakes. Another example is Facebook. There were more than 4.5 million status updates from 3.8 million users in the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake. News, reports and prayers were shared on the day the 8.9-magnitude earthquake struck the coast of Japan. (Kessler, 2011) 2) Internet Internet also contributes in the phrase of response in an earthquake. In 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, different news agencies had made updates on the internet. NHK news network should be the fastest one in updating news. In addition to the photos taken by people on the scene, the website showed images of news reports on television, as well as images expressing condolences to people affected by the attack. Recovery As Haddow Haddow (2009) points out, the focus of communication efforts in the recovery phrase of a disaster is on providing timely information about the types of relief assistance available to the individuals and communities victimized by the disaster and how they can access this assistance. Therefore, reports on relief measures and after-quake work are focused in this phrase. Besides, the role of monitoring is also shown here. When more and more information are collected, reporters or audience could keep an eye on the authority during the disaster. Anything hiding or misleading could then be pointed out and exposed to the public. In short term, a fast recovery of radio system and frequent reports of earthquake situations in newspapers keep local citizens updated about the destruction and other information about the earthquake. Media can also help raise the international concerns about the earthquake hence gaining more international help for recuse work as well as immediate financial support. For example, international citizens offered financial assistance to Japan Tohoku earthquake victims and recovery work. After media reported the massive destruction during the earthquake, UNICEF responded by setting up a team called â€Å"Japan Commmittee for UNICEF; Emergency Relief and Reconstruction Support†. Next, in terms of long-term roles, media can keep people updated about reconstruction work and also point out problems during reconstruction. Newspaper and various reports can act as an alarm to remind people about the recent situation of the severely destructed areas while some people forgets about the recovery work of the earthquake. For example, Xinhua News Agency reminds the public about the Sichuan earthquake that took place in 2008. Xinhua News published an article to raise the attention of the public about the current recovery problems of an earthquake that took place six years ago. Media guides people to reflect about the problems remained after a serious earthquake, which is a prolonged problem. Another example is 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, in which Huffington Post (American online newspaper) reports about where were people’s donation gone on an anniversary of the earthquake. The newspaper article also provided alternatives of how people could still help after the earthq uake. Newspaper During the â€Å"recovery† phrase, sources of detailed information concerning relief programs and how to apply are contained in the newspaper. Besides, newspaper reporters gave in-depth reflection on the disaster. There were also reports on epidemic prevention, settling victims and analyzing the disaster. At the same time, there are more designated topics focusing on specific angle about the disaster. For example, in BBC News dated 9 May 2013, â€Å"Sichuan 2008: A disaster on an immense scale†, it summarizes the statistics of the massive destruction in the earthquake and its effect brought. Another news roundup about the earthquake was written by Sina News, featuring a set of articles on recovery work and stories of the victims. Headings like â€Å"Village old woman after 28 days of quake: Struggling between living and dying alone are reporting touching stories of the survivors. Others like â€Å"No serious epidemic broke out in the quake area† reports the after-quake cases. As time passes by, many â€Å"truths† during and after the earthquake are exposed. In 2011 Tohoku Earthquake, the Japanese government were hiding the nuclear power plant leakage accident. Radio Radio is always an important source for communication during and after earthquakes. When disastrous earthquakes occur, radio systems are very likely to be disrupted. Emergency restoration of two-way radios and radio receivers will usually be conducted in order to facilitate and speed up the recovery process. Besides from emergency restoration of radio and broadcasting systems, licenses will also be granted to temporary FM radio stations established by various local authorities. Take 2011 Tohoku Earthquake as an example, Tohoku Bureau of Telecommunications granted temporary broadcasting licenses to let local authorities help spreading information and community notices to the victims in the earthquake. Radio stations can obtain licenses within shorter period of time, and it is easier for the public to obtain information, such as the number of deaths and injuries or methods to make donations after the disastrous situations.

The Band-Aid Approach- Not the Best Solution :: essays papers

The Band-Aid Approach- Not the Best Solution The band-aid approach has been the most common solution to working with students at risk. The name for this approach comes from the purpose of a band-aid; to cover up a problem but not fix it. A problem with this resolution is only having half-day sessions focusing on one topic for these students. This is not helping in the end because for the other half of the day, when they are in their regular classroom settings, this type of attention and teaching is not practiced (Finn, 1998). Thus, this is considered a band-aid approach because it only temporarily conceals the problem without fixing it. Furthermore, children have an understanding of what they are missing by being in a large sized class. When second graders were asked what would be different if they were in smaller classes, they answered that they would be able to talk more often, ask more questions, and get to be â€Å"Star of the Week† for a longer period of time (Handley, 2002). The mere fact that these young students are realizing that they could get more attention is not only astounding but also surreal. Project STAR: One of the 1st Large-Scale Studies on the Effects of Reduced Class Size Between the years of 1985 and 1989, seventy nine elementary schools in Tennessee participated in the only large-scale, controlled study of the effects of reduced class size, Project STAR (Finn, 1998). Children that entered kindergarten were randomly assigned to either a class of thirteen to seventeen pupils, twenty two to twenty six, or twenty two to twenty six with a teacher’s assistant. The students remained in these settings for the next four years. What this study produced were results that confirmed benefits of small classes in primary grades. Smaller classes outperformed the larger classes in all instances, including word study skills, reading, basic skills reading, math, basic skills math, motivation and self concept (Finn, 1998). Since the most noteworthy occasions deal with substantial reductions, minorities seem to thrive on smaller classes. Minorities, most of which are used to extremely large class sizes, are the best example to show what a substantial reduct ion can generate, and with these particular students improving, the achievement gap is therefore reduced (Finn, 1998). The Follow Up to the Project STAR Study: Lasting Benefits Study

Essay on Flight in Song of Solomon -- Song Solomon Toni Morrison essay

Theme of Flight in Song of Solomon    Clearly, the significant silences and the stunning absences throughout Morrison's texts become profoundly political as well as stylistically crucial. Morrison describes her own work as containing "holes and spaces so the reader can come into it" (Tate 125), testament to her rejection of theories that privilege j the author over the reader. Morrison disdains such hierarchies in which the reader as participant in the text is ignored: "My writing expects, demands participatory reading, and I think that is what literature is supposed to do. It's not just about telling the story; it's about involving the reader ... we (you, the reader, and I, the author) come together to make this book, to feel this experience" (Tate 125). But Morrison also indicates in each of her novels that images of the zero, the absence, the silence that is both chosen and enforced, are ideologically and politically revelatory. Morrison's male characters ... imagine themselves in flight and are almost all in love with airplanes. ... In the tradition of black literature since Richard Wright's Native Son, however, the privilege of flight, at least in airplanes, is mostly reserved for white boys. Black males, in Morrison, fly only metaphorically, and then only with the assistance and the inspiration of black women. According to Baker, in his aptly titled "When Lindbergh Sleeps with Bessie Smith," "flight is a function of black woman's conjure and not black male industrial initiative" (105). ... Song of Solomon opens with the image of attempted flight, as Robert Smith, ironically an agent of the North Carolina Mutual Life Insurance company, promises to "take off from Mercy and fly away on my own wings" (3). Pilate (P... ... style and in an attempt to discount linearity as a value.) It would be worse than useless, for example, to talk about "plot development" in Morrison's novels; there is plot, certainly, but its revelation culminates or evolves through a process of compilation of multiple points of view, varieties of interpretation of events (and some of these contradictory), through repetition and reiteration. As there is no "climax," in the usual sense, so also there is no resolution, no series of events that can conveniently be labeled "beginning, middle, end." Works Cited: McKay, Nellie, editor, Critical Essays on Toni Morrison, G.K. Hall, 1988. Morrison, Toni. Song of Solomon. New York: Penguin Books, 1987. Rigney, Barbara Hill. The Voices of Toni Morrison, Ohio State University Press: Columbus, 1991. Tate, C., ed. Black Women Writers at Work, Continuum, 1986.

Music and Musicians in the Renaissance Essay examples -- Exploratory E

Music and Musicians in the Renaissance If music be the food of love, play on! ~ Orsino, Twelfth Night In the Elizabethan Era (1558-1603) and the Jacobean Era (1603-1625), there was a fondness for spectacle and pageantry. At court, trumpets and drums resounded to announce mealtimes; in town, these instruments were used by theatre troupes to herald upcoming performances (Renaissance & Baroque Society of Pittsburgh, 2003, and Folkerth, 2002). Music, then, is applied boldly and lavishly in everyday life and in drama, an imitation of life. Musical Instruments The major classes of musical instruments used in the High and Late Renaissance include plucked strings, bowed strings, brass, double reeds, other winds, keyboards, and percussions (McGee, 1985). Lutes, drums, and trumpets were often used, but the instruments that were especially popular during the Renaissance include the bass viol, treble viol, viola, violin, tenor sackbut, cornetto, bass sackbut, curtal, tenor shawm, bass recorder, and harpsichord (McGee, 1985). Instrumental Music From the Early Renaissance to the High Renaissance, there was a movement from vocal music to a combination of vocal and instrumental music (Brown, 1976). There are seven categories of instrumental music: 1) vocal music played by instruments, 2) settings of pre-existing melodies, 3) variation sets, 4) ricercars, fantasias, and canzonas, 5) preludes, preambles, and toccatas for solo instruments, 6) dance music, and 7) songs composed specifically for lute and solo voice (Brown, 1976). Italy dominated the stage for instrumental music at this time, and it was not until the last decades of the sixteenth century that English instrumental music became popular (Brow... ...cobean periods. Works Cited Brown, Howard M. Music in the Renaissance. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1976. Folkerth, Wes. The Sound of Shakespeare. London: Routledge, 2002. McGee, Timothy J. Medieval and Renaissance Music: A Performer’s Guide. Toronto: University of Toronto Press, 1985. Novak, Elaine Adams. Staging Shakespearean Theatre. Cincinnati, Ohio: Betterway Books, 2000. Renaissance & Baroque Society of Pittsburgh. â€Å"Shakespeare’s Top 40†. Available: http://www.rbsp.org/current_season/shakespeare.php, March 2003. Shirley, Frances Ann. Shakespeare’s Use of Off-Stage Sounds. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press, 1963. University of Victoria. â€Å"Elizabethan Court Musicians†. Available: http://web.uvic.ca/shakespeare/Library/SLTnoframes/literature/courtmusicians.html, date unavailable. Accessed : March 4, 2003.

The Voice You Hear Within

Oden 1 Jessica Oden Dr. Willis English Comp II February 20th 2013 â€Å"The Voice You Hear When You Read Silently† There are many works or art and literature that deal with one of the most intriguing and mysterious phenomenons in the world, the human mind. Like death, and the content of the heavens, it is a secret that can not be unlocked, and possibly the most personal and valuable secret. The mystery lies in the uniqueness of the individual brain with specific dreams and ideas that can not be copied or compared. This constant inconsistency makes stunning the mind basically impossible. There could be rooms filled with charts, diagrams, studies, and experiments to due with the human mind, and probably are, but there is no control group and therefore no definite answer can be reached. Even if an answer could be found, what is the question? The human mind is infinitely and simultaneously complex and simple, much like the poems of Thomas Lux (â€Å"Thomas Lux†). In Lux's poem â€Å"The Voice You Hear When You Read silently† he attempts to corner and identify one aspect of the ever mysterious mind. That voice heard only in the mind. The voice that remembers everything, that reflects integrity or lack there of, and finally that explains the world to one person only, forever. The conversation between the mind's voice and mind's eye is an intimate one that can not be overheard. Perception is the transfer of information from the senses to the brain, and that ever present inner voice is narrating the whole process. Everything seen, smelled, tasted, etc†¦ is recorded into the brain, and this information provides the basis for the connotation of everything perceived from that point on, Oden 2 so that the perception of the world changes constantly and in direct relation to how much exposure there is to new and unfamiliar things. Therefore the voice of the mind is constantly growing and expanding and developing a character all of its own. This character of the mind is what Lux is harping on in his poem, by explaining that no voices can be the same. He explains that this internal monologuer has the ability to see situations in jaded way and therefore the person will see them that way also. Chelsea Craig defined this phenomenon in a very accurate and descriptive manner: â€Å"This powerful and moving voice is enriched by my past, declares my present, and may even foretell what is to come. †(Craig 3) She gave this comment after reading Lux's work and ignoring it for some time (Craig 3). When she revisited the poem, she found that it contained an inherent truth about herself and every other human (Craig 3). Where does this voice of the mind reside? It seems to be rooted in the subconscious, which is the area of the brain that processes our perceptions and makes them real ideas that we can call upon and that sometime reveal themselves randomly to us in flashes and dreams. When these ideas cross over from the sub- to the consciene, there is a voice there to explain it all to the perceive. Lux refers to this part of the mind as a ‘dark cathedral† seeming to compare the human subconscious to a holy vessel of information that must be valued and cared for, and so out of this cathedral comes knowledge of a world that is difficult to understand even still. Reading is on of the best ways to stimulate the mind and feed your subconscious with the images and feelings revealed from the book. The feelings invoked my the writer, the images portrayed by the poet, are all decipher by a private, bias critical voice inside the mind. This voice is very selective and controlling. It will take the information provided and run it through many filters before opening it up to the rest of your mind, which is does with bias and judgment and opinion. This may seem unfair, but a person directly controls what their subconscious observes by controlling how much Oden 3 of the world they are willing to be exposed to. The example that Lux gives in his poem to illustrate the differences in the mind from over person to the next. The barn to one person could be a symbol of free time from kids running around an empty field with an abandoned building, that brings feelings of curiosity and intrigue from the children who saw it, to the parents of the children who see the barn as dangerous and ugly. The dreamers and seniors will have yet another idea of what a barn is. The expression Lux uses, â€Å"a sensory constellation is lit† explains how that voice takes in everything that is perceive by all the senses and makes since of them, like the figurative lighting of a light bulb above the head when an epiphany is reached or an idea is conceived (Lux). The sound of the voice of the mind, though a figurative idea, is also important and directly related to the person who owns that voice. In the first part of the poem, Lux repeats the word ‘say' in different forms, emphasizing with repetition that the mind can actually ‘hear' this voice and that the tone of it reflects and illustrates the connotation of the words being ‘said' (Lux). Each inner voice has its very own unique timbre, with its own unique accent derived from the experiences and actions of the person who conceived it. The poet used a noun to explain this idea, but alluded to the effect of ‘stronger' words of a sentence such as the verb or the subject. To take this part of the equations deeper, consider that the subject and verb makes the sentence. So to expand, if just the word ‘barn' can mean so many different things to different people, look at the entire sentence. Such as, for example, â€Å"She was taken into the barn. † This is a very simple sentence with neutral words, but the inner voice can interpret it as the actions of a hero or a villain. On the one hand, a farmer could be carrying a pregnant goat into the barn to be warm while she gives birth, on the other a stranger could be carrying a young girl into the barn with evil intentions. None of this is given to the reader in the sentence and so this inner voice uses Oden 4 what it knows to guess at the meaning of the sentence. The point of this poem is to uncover some of the mystery of the human mind, but seems to only illustrate that fact that it is infinitely mysterious. There is no way to ‘hear' another person's inner voice or understand the conceptions of another entirely. There are phrases such as â€Å"I know how you feel†, or â€Å"I can relate† that seem to imply otherwise, however these phrases are generalizations, and in and of themselves subject to the connotation given them by the inner voice. Does the person really understand or are they being sarcastic? Do they really have a clue what the other person is feeling? No, it is impossible to completely put their thinking cap on and hear the voice that whispers to them, interpreting the world and everything in it, individually for that person. Oden 5 1.Works Cited Lux, Thomas â€Å"the Voice you hear when you read silently†. ed. Vivian Garcia Edgar V. 2.Roberts Lehman cCollege The City University of New York Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, fifth compact edition, Longman 2012 Print. 3.â€Å"Thomas Lux†. Poetry Foundation. Chicago, IL 2012 http://www. poetryfoundation. org/bio/thomas-lux Web. Craig, Chelsea. 4.â€Å"Slow Down to Hear Your Inner Voice† University of Wisconsin. 2012 Http://liberaleducation. uswa. edu/scholarship/2ndAnnual/Chelsea_Craig. pdf Web.