Monday, September 30, 2019

The sculpture in the Temple of Zeus

Olympia is known as the first home of athletics, where many remains of Ancient Olympics are located. In addition, the masterpiece of the ancient architecture?the Temple of Zeus is also a special scenery here. The Temple of Zeus was designed by Albino. It was constructed on 470 B. C. The Temple of Zeus was built with carved mottoes and tryingly friezes. They're many sculptures in the Temple of Zeus. These sculptures were curved between 480 B. C and 450 B. C, when the severe style was popular. The pediments and mottoes on the top of the temple clearly showed the typical supreme and unparalleled creation of severe style at that age.On the west pediment of the temple, the sculptures showed a picture of chaos. It presented a battle between the Centaurs and Lappet people. The battle happened on the wedding of a Lappet hero called: Proprietors. The Centaurs was drunk and tried to abduct the bride called: Diameter, which infuriated the Lappet people. They started grappling with the Centaurs. The battle fluctuated from the center to the ends of the crowed and back again. Apollo stood in the center of the chaos. He represents the rule. We can see Apollo stand still in the middle of the west pediment, which strongly contrasts with his surroundings.This refer to that Apollo bring rule to the chaotic people. From the pediment, we can see the struggle between savagery and civilization. The Centaurs itself can show the struggle. Its upper body is the same as human being, which meaner they can think and talk. However, its lower body is the same as the horse. The Centaurs is a paradox of savagery and civilization. The west pediment of the temple also showed a struggle between savagery and civilization. Apollo strongly contrasts with his surroundings. Apollo represents the civilization, while the rest sculptures of the pediment stand for the savagery.The west pediment of the Temple of Zeus shows a picture of battle, on the contrary, the east pediment show a race between Plops an d Minoans. Plops is the grandson of Zeus. He wanted to marry Monomania's daughter. However, Minoans was given a prophecy that he would be killed by his son-in-law. In order to prevent it, he asked everyone who wanted to marry her daughter to race against him. In fact, Plops and Hippodrome have already fallen in love. With the help of Poseidon and Monomania's daughter, Plops won the race. He saved Monomania's daughter from the burning palace. Plops unified Elis and captured Olympia.They got married. Their wedding was hosted in front of the Temple of Zeus. There are many races such as wrestling and chariot. Their wedding is also regarded as the first Ancient Olympic game. Plops becomes the founder of Olympic in the classical mythology. When the Olympics began, people from different parts of Greek came to attend the event. This event shows the Pan-Hercules unity. When we talk about the Pan-Hellenic of unity, there's an important character?Hercules. Hercules is the hero of Greek. His or iginal name is Locales. Hercules is the son of Zeus and People's granddaughter?Elegance.Out of envy, Hear took advantage of Restructures, the grandson of Plops, to force Hercules to finish Twelve Labors. Eventually, Hercules finished the Twelve Labors, which also made him famous among the Greeks. After Hercules died, Zeus named him Hercules. Hercules achievements are also parts of the Pan-Hercules unity. In addition to the sculptures on the pediment of the Temple of Zeus, there is another sculpture inside. It's the Statue of Zeus. The Statue of Zeus was built with gold and ivory by Paddies. The Statue is 12 meters high. Zeus sits on the throne adorned with Sphinx, Nikkei and any other mythological characters.Zeus wears an olive crown which is made of gold. He holds a truncheon on his left hand which stands for the power and a figurine of Nikkei on his right hand. There's an eagle standing on the top of the truncheon, which is also the symbol of Athena. The surrounding of Statue of Z eus was carefully designed by Aphid's, including the light reflected from the gate of the temple can make the face of the Status more beautiful. The material used to build the Status of Zeus can tell us the Glory of Zeus. Moreover, the accessories made of gold and ivory, represent the power of Zeus.The thorn adorned with many other mythological characters can show the leading position of Zeus among the Gods and Goddesses. It took eight years to finish the Statue of Zeus. If we see the map of the sanctuary of Olympia, we can find that The Temple of Zeus was located in the center of the map, which shows the important position of Zeus. The sculptures of the Temple of Zeus show the struggle between savagery and civilization. Moreover, it shows the Pan-Hellenic unity and hope of Greeks. All of these celebrate Zeus importance in classical mythology and praise the glory of Zeus.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

Beneath and Beyond the Crisis of the Humanities Essay

Course review Introduction                   The primary focus of the humanities class was the exploration of the vast array of issues and topics, especially those related to the culture of humans. In particular, the course exposed the learners to knowledge of the world, and the ways in which the members of society have developed the knowledge and ideologies. The areas of study that were explored during the course of the class included: human history, the politics of society, the world as a whole, and the philosophies developed by different groups and communities (Hariton 178). The class also explored a variety of focal areas, including those used as social lenses for the fashioning of the phenomena studied during the course. The fields that were explored as the lenses used for studying the human world and culture include religion, the channels utilized for communication and the literatures that are used as vehicles of knowledge (Harpham 21).                   The class in humanities has demonstrated its importance for all students in many ways. Firstly, the exposure and knowledge communicated to the humanities’ class was an essential ingredient in widening the analytical abilities needed to navigate other subjects and areas of study. For example, as a scholar of the humanities, it became easier to operate efficiently, as a member of a multicultural team. The scope of the humanities course was important in expanding the skills of communication, both in the areas of written and oral exchange. Through the exposure and the dissection of different studies and phenomena, students were able to conceive the interconnectedness of various knowledge areas. Examples of the practical skills learned included the importance of communication in all other circles of society. The study of global corporations and cultures was very helpful (Harpham 32). The uses of the knowledge included that it fostered the understanding of the various perspectives and knowledge systems studied and encountered in school and society. Through the knowledge developed from other cultures and corporations, learners developed more appreciation for other cultures, their arts, and literature. These constructions are a significant aspect to develop a global understanding of society and its workings. The exposure gained from the humanities class increased the student’s abilities of engaging in value clarification, which deepens the knowledge and wisdom acquired. Examples of the skills learned included those of overcoming failures and difficulties, towards victory – from the information obtained from the lives, experiences of others, and groups. For example, many lessons came from the lives of historical people like Plato and politicians like Abraham Lincoln. More importantly, the class offered the platform needed to cultivate the exchange with great minds like Plato, among others.                   The exposure to the class changed my perspective in a variety of ways. The change of view and outlook, as we navigated through the class included that there is a unique aspect of the nature of all societies. However, the fundamentals of organizations are almost exact copies from one to another. During the beginning of the course, it was easy to reach unfounded conclusions about the Islamic world, from the nature of modernization insurgences. The unwarranted conclusions included that Islam was anti-modernization, due to the attention accorded to normative issues and religious principles. However, after learning about the plurality of societies, it became apparent that the west defined Islam using Western stereotypes and Islam also did the same. The outcomes included the radicalism expressed by people like Ayattulah Khumeini (Hariton 178). The willingness of the East to participate in the modernization has been evidenced by the development of multicultural metros, including Dubai among others. The experience and the dissection of the core of the problems and the criticism channeled against Islam made the topic in Islam a imperative revelation. The themes that appealed to my zeal for knowledge included the fundamentalism of the Islamic world, traditions, and social systems. The emergence of Islam-fashioned modernism is another area that calls for more personal study (Hariton 178). References Hariton, Leon. Humanities 101. Bloomington, IN: iUniverse LLC, 2013. Print. Harpham, Geoffrey. â€Å"Beneath and Beyond the Crisis of the Humanities.† New Literary History, 36 (2005): 21-36. Source document

Saturday, September 28, 2019

A Students Guide to Economics Written by Paul Heyne Essay

?Monograph Review A Students Guide to Economics Written by Paul Heyne When you first thought about Economics, what did you think of? To me it was pretty much the study of money, as simple as that. I thought it would be interesting to ask a few people what their thoughts were and I heard many different definitions from as simple as â€Å"Money† from a family member to â€Å"To me it is the state of well being – money, housing, unemployment, industry etc. † told to me by a coworker. The true definition of Economics is the study of how individuals transform natural resources into final products and services that people use. This definition is quite a bit different than what I thought it would be, so I was very interested to read the monograph A Students Guide to Economics, Paul Heyne and hopefully learn how this definition came to be. As I was reading the book I found that the changes came and were documented by many different economists and were explained in many of the publications that those economists had written. In the monograph A Students Guide to Economics, Paul Heyne describes the history of economics and how this definition evolved to what it is today. The book starts out with the â€Å"discovery† of the Economics. In 1776, Adam Smith was the first person to question economic growth with a book titled Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations. Adam Smith summed up economics as â€Å"the volume of the nation’s annual production will depend primarily on the skill, dexterity, and judgment with which people apply their labor to the natural resources available to them. I take this as, in a good economic society, people will use the natural resources personal talents wisely. Smith also states that everyone is a merchant, by this I think he means that with every transaction, you are making a trade. For example, if a shoe maker sells a pair of shoes, the money that is paid for them is not really the trade, the leather that he buy with the money so he can make more shoes is the trade for the shoes he sold. The General Theory of Employment, Interest, and Money written by John Maynard Keynes was published in 1936. This book stopped many economists from focusing on the trade cycle and started them focusing on government spending to make up the deficiency in private spending that had caused and prolonged the slump during World War II. From what I understand about this publication, Keynes was one of the first people to hold the government accountable for certain economic problems. For example after World War II certain people wanted the government to be responsible for bringing the unemployment rate up to 100% when the employment rate was extremely low at that time. Macroeconomics was brought up for the first time in 1948 in the publication Economic: an Introductory Analysis written by Paul Samuelson. A Students Guide to Economics states that Microeconomics or â€Å"the modern theory of income determination† as Samuelson called it, uses variables including total expenditures on personal consumption, total business investment, and total government purchases of goods and services. Microeconomics is not considered one of the two parts of economics, the other being Microeconomics. People have two possible responses when they start feeling that the organization has changed in a negative way (decrease in quality or benefit to the member), they can exit (leave the organization), or they can voice (try to improve the issue by communicating with the organization). This theory was written about in Exit, Voice, and Loyalty written by Albert O. Hirchman. An example of an exit response would be going into a grocery stare and finding out that they do not carry the type of salsa that you like anymore, when you find this out, you decide to switch grocery stores and go to the one that has your salsa. An example of a voice response would be going to a salon to get your hair colored, you go home and realize the color is not what you asked for, instead of leaving the salon and finding another one, you call and voice your frustration, you end up going back and they fix your hair for free. Written in 1957, The Economics of Under-Developed Countries by Peter Bauer and Basil Yamey looked into the theory of â€Å"growth economics†. At that time people had the notion that if there is an under-developed country, another country can go in and help it with a quick fix. Economists believed that with a small amount of funds and a good economic model an under-developed country would have major economic growth. With this growth they assumed that the country would not cause their country any issues. Bauer and Yamey were not buying into this theory. They wrote in their book that to help an under-developed country many other things would determine the countries outcome like the citizen’s attitude and knowledge. Risk, Uncertainty, and Profit written by Frank Knight in 1921 explains how a market-coordinated economy handles the problem of coordinating activity in the presence of uncertainty. One of the things that stands out most about Frank Knight was that he distinguished between two types of change, risk and uncertainty, defining risk as randomness with knowable probabilities and uncertainty as randomness with unknowable probabilities. Frank Knight stated that risk arises from repeated changes for which probabilities can be calculated and insured against but uncertainty arises from unpredictable changes in an economy changes that cannot be insured against. Uncertainty, he said â€Å"is one of the fundamental facts of life. † (Review by Gail Owens Hoelscher). Fire would be an example of a risk, you know what will happen if a fire occurs. A customer’s preference would be an example of an uncertainty. Deirdre McCloskey wrote that there was no such thing as a scientific method for economics in The Rhetoric of Economics written in 1985, scientists merely argue what they believe is true. McCloskey states that economics needs to get back to the science of facts or responsible rhetoric and get away from the things that economists are trying to persuade people is true. A businessman may know what his costs will be to produce a product and may be very aware of what the demand will be for that product but he may not be able to predict the competition he has from companies producing a similar product. Economics is the study of how individuals transform natural resources into final products and services that people use. A Students Guide to Economics has helped me understand why the definition â€Å"Money† doesn’t quite cut it. There are so many aspects that I never even thought of when it comes to economics like planning for risk and uncertainty and understanding exit and voice responses. Economics has evolved tremendously from the time it was first brought to peoples attention in Inquiry into the Nature and Causes of the Wealth of Nations to the current writings of Deirdre McCloskey. Looking into the future, I predict we haven’t seen the last changes.

Friday, September 27, 2019

Inequalities And Its Eeffects Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Inequalities And Its Eeffects - Essay Example a from the World Bank, the World Health Organization, the United Nations and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), and others. â€Å"To avoid being accused of picking and choosing our measures, our approach in this book has been to take measures provided by official agencies rather than calculating our own† (Wilkinson and Pickett 2009, pg. 18). However, this approach of the authors to prove their hypothesis was not accepted by all the experts. They found loopholes in this methodology, particularly the statistical analysis part, and thereby found loopholes in their arguments as well. The point put forward was, by just drawing lines or even a â€Å"line of best fit† based on a various variables and series of data points does not hold any statistical significance, unless the statistical analyses was done. They are convinced that these statistical tables do not provide the correct picture, as adequate analyses were not done. This was pointed out by Moore (2010) â€Å"Drawing a line through a series of data points signals nothing concrete†¦ The authors promise that they "have only included a best-fit line through the points"†¦But since they do not provide any statistical analyses, this can't be verified.† Kay (2009) further adds up against the methodology and thereby the argument of the authors by pointing out how regression methods may not correctly aid in analyzing the economic and importantly social statistics. As social statistics could be influenced by various variables, and is an evolving process, it cannot be easily focused. In addition, adequate data were not given in relation to the estimated equations. Thus, if one â€Å"removes the bold lines from the diagram, the pattern of points mostly looks random, and the data dominated by a few... This esssay stresses that the inequality can be measured as the one that happens between the rich and the poor in a particular country, and not inequalities between the rich countries and the poor countries. The key point or differentiation, the authors make, is that wellbeing of a country’s people, cannot be actualized or should not be judged based only on the wealth or economic status of that particular country. Instead, the focus should be far more deeper, with the economic inequalities between the rich and the poorer sections of the population mainly deciding the welfare of the people. Spatial based concentration of anything including population, industries and also income could also lead to inequalities. Authors Wilkinson and Pickett points out how more equal distribution of resources and thereby the income status â€Å"will mean fewer people will be living in shanty towns, with dirt water and food insecurity†. This paper makes a conclusion that these inequalities is prevalent for the past few centuries only because of the advancements particularly in economic, social and technology sphere, which took place mainly in the last few centuries. In the earlier centuries, human beings lived in a mostly egalitarian prehistoric hunting and gathering societies with very minimal inequalities. However, as the world advanced certain sections of the population utilizing the various advancements, progressed optimally, while leaving behind others. This inequality is now visible in various facets of human life and is leading to various repercussions for the people

Thursday, September 26, 2019

DXNs Marketing Plan Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

DXNs Marketing Plan - Case Study Example This business includes dietary food supplements, beverages, personal care products, household products and water treatment system. These products are popularly known as DXN products. "Dato Dr. Lim started the business in quest of the benefits of mushroom on human health" (Corporate Information, 2009). DXN products are based on the Chinese mushroom called ganoderma which is considered the food of the immortals in Daoism. Ganoderma has long been used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of such diseases and disorders as cancer and arthritis, and its bio medicinal value is now being established through a wealth of published literature. DXN uses Multi Level Marketing (MLM) or is commonly known as Network Marketing (DXN marketing, http://www.dxnmalaysia.com/) in promoting and advertising their products. Through network marketing, the rapid global expansion of DXN is recognized internationally by its vast growth of members worldwide and its amplification of footprint in key strategic locations. With over four million registered distributors worldwide, DXN is solidifying its position as the world leader in Ganoderma products (Corporate Information, 2009). DXNs high regard for quality earned the company many outstanding citations and recognitions from various health and business organizations. Since its inception in 1993, "DXN has upheld its concept of One Dragon, One World One Market and One Mind. With this powerful concept, DXN has sailed through continuous growth over the years" (Castillo 2009). DXN logo symbolizes success in business with a very strong marketing plan. Red represents fire to symbolize the company's fighting spirit to progress. Green represents trees to symbolize the dynamic growth and expansion of its market. Blue represents water to symbolize the company as the foundation for all the vigorous developments. The Red Oval symbolizes the rising sun to represent aggressiveness, single-mindedness and persistence in achieving DXNs vision. The Green Branches symbolizes Ganoderma to represent the company's strong commitments for growth and relentless striving to achieve excellence by focusing on health-based industry. The Blue Horizontal Line symbolizes the company as the power source for the impetus of business development (devinder 2007). The growth and life span of any company lies in the strength of its products. DXN products are superior health food products catering to the ever-increasing demands of this health-conscious world. The efficacy of these products alone is proven through many testimonies received from our 2.5 million consumers based worldwide. These products have benefited and helped many people. And on top of enjoying a healthy life because of DXN products, members are assured of lucrative bonuses. The assurance of an excellent product with growing awareness and steady demands, together with a committed company mission holds many promises for an investment that you can be proud of. Target Audiences (Distributors, Consumers) In every business big or small, we have our goal to achieve. Audiences play an important role in achieving this goal because "they are the important stakeholder" (Identify The Target Audience, 2009, par.1). Therefore we must clearly define our targeted

Private Equity Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Private Equity - Essay Example On average, private equity has produced very high returns with low correlations to public stocks and bonds and real estate. In other words, private equity offers the prospect of both high returns and increased portfolio diversification. In some cases, private equity may also provide collateral benefits, e.g., a vehicle to make economically targeted investments or to create or preserve union jobs. Finally, there is also the undeniable appeal of seeking innovative investments (Gompers, 2003). 1. Until the investments go public or are liquidated, investments are carried either at cost or at prices set by later rounds of financing. Except in this latter case, private equity is even harder to accurately value than real estate (Bray,1997). 2. Ultimate returns have varied (and are likely to continue to vary) widely by "vintage year," i.e., the year of initial investment, because of wide fluctuations in the business cycle. For example, the median 1986 private equity fund returned only 8.4% per year through 1997, whereas the median 1990 private equity fund returned more than 17% per year through 1997. 3. ... (In statistical terms, the mean return is much higher than the median.) For example, for venture funds formed in 1988, an upper quartile manager returned almost 18% more per year than a lower quartile one from 1988 through 1997 (21.6% vs. 3.9%). 4. Reputation is very important: The best deals and the largest investment flows tend to go to firms with the best track records. Consequently (and quite unlike public equity markets), success tends to persist. The result, however, is that it is often difficult, if not impossible, for new investors to get into the best partnerships or deals. Here, the services of an established fund-of-funds manager can be of real value (Gompers, 2003). AIM OF THE PAPER Private equity (PE) buy-out deals have profound influence on domestic economies. Since the beginning of this year, they have accounted for more than one third of all deals that have been done on the New York stock Exchange1, and have raised $240 billion of cash for their acquisition plans2. The purpose of this report is to discuss the consequences of this type of buy-out on public markets, jobs, and tax revenues. Nevertheless, The effects of high leverage, which is used by PE firms to finance this class of acquisition, are beyond the scope of this report. DISCUSSION Private Equity investment used to be defined as "an equity investment in a company which is not quoted on a stock exchange". However, currently this definition has many limitations because it does not include investments that are structured as convertible debt and investments in public companies that are taken private3. For the purposes of this paper, Private Equity Buy-Out deal is a subset of

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Alternative energy sourses Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Alternative energy sourses - Research Paper Example If oil remains the world's pre-eminent source of energy in the coming years, it would make the problem worse for the whole world (Stern, 2007). The best course of action to resolve or reduce the danger of human’s oil dependence is an issue of much discussion and dissention (Green, 2007). Sustainable energy sources are the best option for decreasing oil dependence and this should be encouraged or even mandated. The problem of oil dependence World energy demand has been increasing continually and is projected to increase further. Despite increases in world oil prices, hydrocarbon fuels such as oil, coal and natural gas have been used primarily thus far to supply this increasing energy demand. There are a variety of dangers that result from this dependence according to Newman (2002). Because the last known major oil reserves that haven't been depleted are in the Middle East, the oil-consuming world is dependent on the Persian Gulf for oil, Which leaves oil consuming cities and co untries with a deep-seated feeling of vulnerability. US cities are especially vulnerable as they have an average consumption of 431 gallons of gas per person as compared with European cities using an average of 133 gallons per person (Newman, 2002). There are many different views on problem with dependence on oil. One very important theoretical approach to dealing with the problem is that certain actions should be supported by Federal legislation i.e. development of more alternative energy sources. Alternative Energy Sources The Alternative Energy Institute (AEI) is a leading authority on developing alternative sources of energy and they provide extensive information about various new alternative sources of power that are being developed. The main alternative power sources being used in the U.S. are solar power, hydrogen fuel cells, wind power, hydropower, geothermal power, biomass and tidal power (Green, 2007) The Alternative Energy Institute's about solar power are very positive. They observe that in a 24-hour period the sun provides more energy than the human race can use in the next 27 years (Riley and McLaughlin, 2001). Solar power has been being developed for over one hundred years. However, most of the development has taken place in the last thirty years since the first practical solar cells were developed in the early 1970's. AEI notes that solar power has tremendous potential, but what has caused this clean and renewable energy resource to not get the highest priority has been its cost. Coal and oil have been less expensive and this cost difference has precluded solar power from growing like it could (Riley and McLaughlin, 2001). Hydrogen and Fuel Cell technology also is of interest to the alternative energy institute. Hydrogen is the most abundant element on earth and it has potential to propel planes, trains, automobiles, etc.(Elliott, 2003). It has been used in NASA manned flights since 1965. However, it will take years of research and development before this clean renewable energy source may revolutionize the transportation industry. Fuel cells have the benefits of being produced in country instead of being imported, affect the most oil-dependent transportation area and can dramatically reduce health hazards from automobile exhaust. Automakers from Japan, Europe and America are diligently working to perfect this technology. However, a limitation of hydrogen is that it requires energy to free it from water or other resources that contain it. Besides that, it also needs twice as much energy to produce

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

UNIT 6 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

UNIT 6 - Essay Example Peterson had a right of being informed of the plans to transfer his employment contract and the ownership of the station in advance. Peterson had a right to resign if he did not intend to extend his contract to Evening news but he will not have any right to claim for redundancy or unfair dismissal pay. If the working conditions in the new employer are worse, Peterson has a right to resign and claim for unfair dismissal pay. Peterson has a right to disagree with the transfer of his employment contract to a new employer. This is when the new employer wants to change the term of the contract, which had been agreed by Peterson and the previous employer. If the employers want to change the terms of contract for the benefit of Peterson, it will be allowed. If the new employer wants to dismiss or make any redundancy for technical or an economic reason, Peterson has a right to redundancy payment. The employer should not select Peterson for redundancy because he transferred from another compa ny. (Beatty & Samuelson, 2007) Peterson has a right to enforce the contract between Post-Network and evening News because he was not considered in the transfer of the Station to Evening News yet he had signed a binding agreement with Post-Network as an employer for three years. It is not ethical for Evening News to prevent Peterson from changing job to work for the competing station because Peterson had informed them early of his plan to resign. In addition, Peterson had not entered into any contract with Evening News, as the contract was not changed during the transfer of the station. The previous employer of the transfer did not inform Peterson. Post-Network had a right to transfer the station but should have informed Peterson through a letter in advance that the station is transferred such that Peterson can decide whether to work for the new employer or not. Collateral contract is whereby parties to a contract enter in to more than two

Monday, September 23, 2019

Cooperative learning groups Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words

Cooperative learning groups - Essay Example The researcher states that scholars, educators, and school officials have become more and more interested in students’ performance in mathematics. Several studies have reported that, starting from middle school, girls are prone to develop more unconstructive attitudes towards math and score low on standardized exams. Moreover, a significant relationship has been found between performance and attitudes. Certain factors that are associated with performance of students in math comprise learning experiences, sense of belongingness, racial or ethnic affiliation, gender, self-worth, stereotyping and attitudes. National Council of Teachers of Mathematics claimed that instruction, competent educators, high expectations and equity should be awarded to every learner. By doing so, performance of students in math has a better chance to progress. The topics crucial for every student are usually included in Geometry, Algebra I and Algebra II subjects. However, only 62 percent of the overall population of high school graduates in 2000 finished three years of math in a manner that successfully introduced them to this integral content. This figure implies that students are not gaining the knowledge and proficiency they should possess to perform well in the world outside schooling. In fact, of roughly 70% pupils who promptly advance to college, approximately 28% should enroll in refresher or remedial programs in math or English. Moreover, a significant number of fourth grade and eight grade students poorly performed in the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 2003. (DiMaggio, 2001, p. 5). Every state that participated in the NAEP 4th grade math assessment test in 2000 and 2003 reported improvements in mean scores. Among the states that participated in the NAEP 8th grade assessment test in 2000 and 2003, the mean scores improved in numerous states (DiMaggio, 2001, p. 5). In a nutshell, the mean scores at all grade levels improved. Such progress is inspirin g and rewarding but the scores still show the unsatisfactory outcome of collaborative attempts to greatly improve the performance of all students. To sum up, the performance of students in math is not where they should be when measured up to the nation’s standards, the achievement levels of their international counterparts and their capacity to function well beyond high school (Strebe, 2009). The nation needs individuals that is capable of performing in the contemporary world, which implies that new teaching and learning strategies are needed to achieve the desired outcomes in math and other major subjects. Cooperative Learning Groups Learning has traditionally been focused on ‘competition’, hence, the emergence of cooperative learning. Cooperative learning is a model of instruction where small groups composed of learners of distinct capability levels team up to achieve common objectives and take full advantage of their potentials. Cooperative learning facilitate s individual responsibility within the framework of cooperation or group dynamics (Williams, 2002). Teamwork is an important component of the attainment of learning objectives of the course. In the context of cooperative learning, the learning is planned and organized to ensure that learning is actually occurring (Kagan, 1994). The teacher picks the groups to think about a multitude of perspectives, capabilities, ethnic/racial affiliations, gender and other attributes. Furthermore, cooperative learning builds a classroom partnership and harmonizes individual responsibility and interdependence. Because the task of the group is incomplete until every member has accurately and clearly understood the topic, every student is contributing to the attainment of a shared objective. With every student accountable to a specific part of the

Sunday, September 22, 2019

Violence in the past Essay Example for Free

Violence in the past Essay Abigail has been the victim of violence in the past. In the play she tells the girls: I saw Indians smash my dear parents heads on the pillow next to mine, and I have seen some reddish work done at night. This experience influences her actions later on in the play. She seeks vengeance in everything she does and she corrupts the characters in the play because she knows their weaknesses. Her actions are significant in this scene because it shows that she seeks vengeance in order to gain more power. Abigails actions are representative of the actions of government during the 1950s. Both the government and Abigail seek to manipulate the system to gain power (through Witch trials/McCarthy trials). Miller shows what power can do in the wrong hands and the way the government perverts the course of justice. Proctor opposes Abigail during the trial; he refuses to believe her lies and knows that she is being hypocritical. Proctor has considerable influence over the common man in Salem. His reputation is important to him and his dramatic confession how do you call heaven! Whore! Whore! is completely unexpected. This provokes sympathy from the audience. Proctor is now a known lecher and he tries to explain a man will not cast away his good name. This shows that Proctors reputation is important to him and he must protect it. Miller shows his own morals and ethics in Proctors character where Proctor sacrifices his good name. The implication is that Proctor did the right thing by confessing. It is also a dramatic turning point because he has effectively committed social suicide and this becomes the main focus in the trial. Miller wants the audience to understand that John Proctor has been tackling his conscience since his affair with Abigail. After his confession in Act Three he is overwhelmed by guilt and shame because he has disappointed his friends. Miller shows the audience the hardships faced by an individual to stand up to the rest of society. This idea comes from the way Miller stood up against McCarthyism and was scrutinised for it. Elizabeth Proctor is another character in the play that faces a moral dilemma. Upon entering the courtroom she is unaware of the events that precede her arrival. She is confused and this is noticeable from the faint way in which she speaks to Danforth. Both Abigail and Proctor are made to face their backs towards her so they cannot influence her testimony. This is a very tense moment in the play because the audience arent sure how Elizabeth will react under pressure. Throughout the play Elizabeth does not speak to Abigail but it is at this moment that the audience can feel her dislike and anger. When Danforth first questions Elizabeth about Abigail, she knows that John has been accused of lechery. Elizabeth doesnt know whether to choose to save her husbands reputation or to tell the court he has committed lechery and to live with the consequence. not knowing what to say, sensing a situation she begins to stall for time. As a Christian woman, Elizabeth believes that God condemns liars and if she lies her reputation will be tainted. Abigail has corrupted Elizabeth to the extent that she is now powerless and either choice she makes she will lose. The audience expects her response to be the truth and is shocked when she lies. She felt a great importance in telling the truth but she was overcome by emotion for Proctor and didnt want to see him get hurt. She has never committed a big sin in her life so when she lies, she knows that the guilt will follow her for the rest of her life Elizabeth is put under the most pressure in this scene and she is one of the victims of Abigails corruption. Miller wanted the audience to recognise that tragedies happen to good people and that the wicked can often escape their punishment. He shows that when a person has to decide between faith and love, human instinct can often overpower belief. Although Elizabeth wrestled with her conscience before making her decision but she felt that Johns life was more important. Her behaviour is significant in this scene because it is the first time in the play she shows how much she loves John. Reverend John Hale is an outsider and his judgment is not tainted by vengeance or personal responsibilities to the other villagers, he set out to find the devil in Salem. As a priest his duty is to council Christians to stay on the right path but his role in Salem changes. When he first arrives in Salem, he believes that the devil had taken over and he was sent to save them by using his books here is all the invisible world, caught, defined and calculated. In these books the devil stands stripped of all his brute disguises. As an educated man Hale is able to quickly judge a good person from a bad person which is illustrated when Hale first meets Rebecca Nurse. By Act Three Hale sees the truth about Salem and that it is not about witches but of vengeful girls. He learns that you cannot dictate human nature and the answer to the hysteria of the town lay in the people and not in his books. When Elizabeth comes into court and commits perjury he cannot take it anymore. He tells Danforth it is a natural lie to tell because he sympathises with Elizabeth and Proctor and he feels a bond with them. He explains that the trials were about private vengeance and not the devil but the court chooses to be ignorant. In anger he leaves the court I denounce these proceedings! I quit this court because he feels that there is nothing he can do. He is referred to as Pontius Pilate (Proctor-Act Two) because he washes his hands of logic and chooses to side with the court. In Act Three Hales conscience takes control of him because he cant accept Abigails treachery and corruption which caused the deaths of innocent people. I may shut my conscience to this no more he also feels partly responsible for what happened to the villagers. On page 91 Hale has a dramatic change and he makes his intentions clear for the first time in the play. His behaviour is significant in Act Three because he recognises changes in himself and other characters. He understood that Abigail was manipulating everyone around her and he saw her thirst for power. Millers purpose for creating Reverend Hale was to show an individual standing up to society and Miller saw his own attributes in Hale as he was asked to give names of communist sympathisers he had met at meetings. Miller couldnt do tell the courts the name of any communists because his conscience wouldnt allow it. Miller stood up to the injustices created by the government as Hale stands up to Danforth. It is argued that Arthur Millers purpose for writing The Crucible was to show a person status and the impact they made on society. It teaches that an individuals voice can influence others around them. In my opinion this scene is dramatically successful because it forces the audience to contemplate their own standing in society. It is also makes people aware of other injustices that are in any society, which makes the play intellectually stimulating. In Act Three, Millers intentions become clear by his use of language. A courtroom is the appropriate setting to play out Proctors confession because of the way it heightens the drama. The courtroom is parallel to Millers trial with the American government and he stood up to them and wasnt bullied by the authorities and these beliefs and morals are echoed into Proctors character. Proctor believes that the law and the government is unjust so he disagrees with Danforth and Hathorne it is hard to give a lie to dogs because he cannot forgive them for causing the death of his friends. Miller wants the audience to consider the roles the characters played in Salem and to ask themselves whether they would do the same allowing the audience to empathise with the characters. He wants them to question whether there are people like that in todays society and to make them question the world around them. The Crucible shows an awful chapter in human history which still has an impact on the world today. It shows that witches and communists could be equated because they were both victims of the government. Miller wanted to show that society hadnt learnt anything from the events that occurred in Salem and that what is manifestly parallel was the guilt, two centuries apart, of holding illicit, suppressed feelings of alienation and hostility . The government will stop anyone who poses a threat to the state (like Abigail). Including censorship of the Arts e. g. songs by artists like Eminem, whose lyrics scrutinise the actions of government. In response the government brands this behaviour as unpatriotic. The play therefore teaches us that people will always be used as scapegoats by the government because they will always be able to find victims. It shows us the reality of alienation and the power of paranoia, particularly in the way it clouds logic. We learn that as individuals we should avoid becoming the victim and should stand up for what we believe as both Proctor and Miller have done.

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Learning Irregular Verbs In English

Learning Irregular Verbs In English INTRODUCTION The present report contains the results of the investigation carried out at Higà ¼erito Basic School. It is evident that the goal of grammar instruction is to enable students to carry out their communication, Purposes, thereby getting involved with all those difficulties students have had for years to learn and use irregular verbs is highly important for teachers of English as a foreign Language. This Research has three Different Chapters: Chapter I, Presents the historical context of the Educational Center, it shows the External or geographic aspects of Higà ¼erito Basic School, There ´s an analysis of the Socio Economic and cultural characteristics of the Educational Center, In addition the philosophy of Higà ¼erito Basic School. The second chapter of this investigation states the difficulties in Learning Irregular verbs which is the basis of this research, It is analyzed here different aspects and methods of teaching irregular verbs such as; Infinitives matching and grouping, presentation, infinitives, unfamiliarity with infinitives, infinitives matching, The present continuous tense as matter of priority, categorization of irregular verbs and some strategies to teach irregular verbs. Chapter III, Is where the result of the investigation is presented. Firstly this chapter shows the results of the interview directed to the English teachers of Higà ¼erito Basic School and the results of the survey applied to the students of this Educational Center. JUSTIFICATION Teachers are always trying to find new and easily comprehensible ways to teach different parts of grammar, especially for the challenge that teaching irregular verbs represents. It hasnt been easy to deal with irregular verbs or make students understand how to use them. We felt motivated to investigate about it, because as English students we have also had difficulties with the acquisition and usage of irregular verbs. It is highly important to have all kind of information about the process of teaching irregular verbs, because we are thoroughly sure that as future English professionals will need to use them in a current conversation or in the classroom. This research will not only be important for us, it will also be important for those readers who share the benefits of the results of this investigation. The advantages of overcoming the difficulties that most teachers and students have with irregular verbs will contribute to improve the teaching and learning process that so far has been obstructed. METHODOLOGY This investigation was documentary and it was carried out in the field too, considering these, and the best and ideal ways to obtain excellent results and to count with the correct tools to understand the target problem of this research. In this investigation were used the descriptive and analytical methods, this report starts with a problem that is affecting most of the schools of our country in order to analyze a particular situation that is happening in Higà ¼erito Basic in San Juan de la Maguana Dom. Rep. All the possible elements that concern to this research were summarized and the results of the analysis were summarized. For more credibility and trying to give a realistic out look to Different sources were analyzed: Research, Books, on line technology and surveys at Higà ¼erito Basic School; teachers and students were interviewed CHAPTER I: CHAPTER I GENERAL CHARACTERICTISC OF THE HIGUERITO BASIC SCHOOL 1.1- Historical context of the Educative center. 1.2 External or Geographic Aspects 1.2.1- Socio Economic and Cultural Characteristics of the Center. 1.3 Internal Characteristics of the School 1.3.1 Description of the infrastructure. 1.3.2 Philosophy of the Educative Center. 1.3.3- Strengths and weaknesses of Higà ¼erito Basic School. 1.3.4- Problems of the Educative Center. 1.3.5- Statistics of Higà ¼erito Basic School CHAPTER I General Characteristics of Higà ¼erito Basic school This chapter I presents important information concerning to the historical context of the Educational Center, the Geographical location of Higà ¼erito Basic School, The Socio Economic and Cultural Characteristics of the Sector; This chapter also presents the internal characteristics of the school, it focuses the infrastructure; In addition it presents the philosophy of the Educational Center, the Strengths and weaknesses of Higà ¼erito basic school whereas the problems of the Educational Center and the Statistics of Higà ¼erito basic School. I. I. Historical context of the Educational Center. The first pavilion of the school was made of wood in 1953, by this time the principal was Mrs. Batida Ruiz, later they built three more classrooms, and three more teachers were hired. In 1970 teacher Ana Isolina de la Cruz was in charge of the school, in 1970 there was a staff of 2o teachers. Under Mrs. De la Cruz administration a second pavilion was built in 1982. Finally in 2001 Higà ¼erito Basic School was managed by Lida. Francisca Mirella Rodriquez. 1.2 Geographical Location of the Higà ¼erito Basic School This Urban School Belongs to Region 02 District 02-06. It is located in the Northern part of the city at 151 Anacaona Avenue in San Juan de la Maguana Dominican Republic. In the northern part of Higà ¼erito Basic School theres a neighborhood called, project 20 of the Ensanche Anacaona. South of the school theres a belt way Better Known as Circumvallation San Juan Bautista. East of the school, its located the Fire Fighter building and to the west La Altagracia Neighborhood. 1.2.1- Socio Economic and Cultural Characteristics of the sector. To talk about the Educational preparation of the, or background of the people, who live in this area it is necessary to present this topic focusing on the different sectors that are surrounding the educational center. The people, who live in the Eastern part of the school, are teachers, some of them are working and others are retired. Those people who live north of the school have an average level of education, most of the students that attend this school belong to this area, and they come from humble homes lots of economic adversities. San Juan de la Maguana is well known as El Granero del Sur, for its grain production, there by most of these people income depends on agriculture this activity is the economic support of the citizens, all around this educational center there are, some liquor stores. Concerning to cultural aspects, it is well known that every educational center that provides any kind of service to the community has its own beliefs and culture, which is well identified in students behavior. San Juan owns a rich culture with multiple traditions such as saint patrons party, in honor of John the Baptist. These parties are celebrated from June 15th to June 24th each year. This belief is part of every child and it is part of the school and the community. The school participates in all the activities promoted by different institutions of the community. 1.3- Description of the Infrastructure of the Higà ¼erito Basic School. The infrastructure of Higà ¼erito basic school looks in good conditions, Nowadays the School is made of blocks. It has 17 classrooms, Higà ¼erito School has an area of 466, 43 Mts. And each classroom measures 5.29mts. And 6.44 mts. There are only two bathrooms for the students which are not enough for the amount of pupils. The furnitures are not in good conditions, they need to be fixed. In the inside part of the school it could be observed certain amount of garbage in the yard and in the halls. There is a bad smell that comes out of the bathrooms this situation is affecting the students health. 1.3.1 Internal Characteristics of Higà ¼erito Basic School At present this School is been managed by a principal, for a better management it also has a procedures Staff, a cooperative team and a pedagogic team pretending to guarantee the application of the contents proposed by the curriculum. 1.3.2 Philosophy of the educative Center The project of Center of Higà ¼erito Basic School States the vision and mission of this school, it pretends to guarantee the preparation of all of the students increasing the reinvestment of values, attitudes and talents, making of those teenagers competent people. With the effort of dedicated teachers and following the guidance of the curriculum the image and the prestige of the school is going up. Some important values that make part of this school priority are: dignity, love, solidarity, discipline, responsibility, respect, collaboration, empathy, partnership, faith, honesty, creativity, humbleness, hygiene and sincerity. 1.3.3 Strengths and weaknesses of Higà ¼erito Basic School. According to the information compiled from the project of center this school, it may be quoted the following strengths: The teachers who come to this school are qualified teachers, willing to work with a high spirit of compromise, responsibility and desire to improve. The school is located away from disturbing places in benefit of those who take classes in this Educative Center. This Educative center contemplates as weaknesses: Lack of Library equipment, counseling Department, equipment and adequate school supplies. 1.3.4 Problems of the educative center The problems that are quoted in the project of center of this school are : indiscipline in the classroom, the student have reading problems, The process of teaching technical areas has become one of the biggest problems of the school because those technical areas as English and French require experienced teachers and this school doesnt have these teachers yet. CHAPTER II Difficulties in Learning Irregular Verbs 2.1 Difficulties Learning Irregular verbs. 2.1.1 Infinitives Matching and grouping. 2.1.2 Presentation, practice, production. 2.1.3 Unfamiliarity with infinitives 2.1.4 Infinitives matching. 2.1.5 The present continuous tense as matter of priority. 2.1.6 Categorization of irregular verbs. 2.1.7 Database making and strategies to teach irregular verbs. THE Difficulties in Learning Irregular verbs The chapter II of This research is based on the analysis of the difficulties in learning irregular verbs, here it is presented the infinitive matching and grouping activities and some methods such as presentation, practice and production, it is also treated here the unfamiliarity with infinitives, infinitive matching, the present continuous tense as a matter of priority as well as the categorization of irregular verbs and some strategies to teach irregular verbs. 2.1 Difficulties Learning Irregular Verbs. For learner of English, irregular verbs represent one of the most difficult aspects of the language. Normally because they are presented in the form of alphabetical lists. Never take into account the actual occurrence of these verbs. Irregular verbs haunt learners of English from the beginning to the end of their studies. Teachers are always trying to find new and easily comprehensible ways to teach different parts of grammar. The past tens and the perfective aspect on the verb are two rather difficult areas for ESL Learners all over the world. ESL Learners usually try several hypotheses before they can handle the past tense confidently. Especially, the irregular past poses problems for learners. If they could be organized in a morphonemic classification, to make it easier for the learners to create file/ folders that they can easily accommodate them in their learning process, and if the learning load can be reduced thereby, learners can grasp and remember them better and faster. In English, majority of the verbs go through 4 forms, with an exception of modal auxiliary verbs. These forms are: 2 tense forms and 2 aspects for The verbs in English behave in four different ways in the past tense: I. There is a regular past tense form: 2. There is an irregular past tense form wherein it takes any shape, which is not easily predicted. 3. There is a vowel change past tense form in which on vowel in the verb changes to form the past tense, while the rest of the verb shape remains the same. 4. There is a no change past tense form wherein the verb remains as it is. The irregular verbs have hardly any resemblance with the original form of the verbs and therefore their past form is unpredictable. 2.1.1 Infinitives matching and grouping The students are encouraged to match and group infinitives in a logical way. Hence, when they star dealing with the past simple tense, they have become familiar with the infinitives, so the primary barrier is eliminated. The list of irregular verbs with all three forms is then cat into pieces and the students are asked to categorize the irregular verbs on the basis of resemblance. This proceeds from a classification of irregular verbs as stated in a comprehensive grammar of the English language. The students are encouraged to create their own positive negative compound sentences, which they can as the fourth step- develop in stories. The fifth step is fixing phase, during which the students organize and reorganize the irregular verbs depending on how familiar the students are with them having learnt the infinitive, past and past- participle forms by heart, however, the students are found unable to recognize any of the forms if written in English, there is a method elaborated by: Jeremy Harmer, consists of the following elements: Engage, Study, Activate. In the engage phase, the teacher s effort is to awake the students interest, arouse their curiosity, and engage their emotions, employing numerous means, such as games, pictures, audio or video recordings, or dramatic stories. Most of us can remember lessons at school which were uninvolving and where we, switched off from what was being taught. We may also remember lessons where we were more or less paying attention, but where we were not really hooked. We were not engaged emotionally with what was going on; we were not curious, passionate or involved. Yet things are learnt much better if both our minds and our hearts are brought into service. Engagement of this type is one of the vital ingredients for successful learning. ¨ Harmer, (200:52). Hence, instead of being passively taught the infinitives of irregular verbs, students are encourage to play with them, in the activate phase, those exercises and activities are comprised, which gave been designed to make students use the language communicatively. The students are discouraged to focus on the language construction or practice of its particular patterns. On the contrary, the activities are to help the students to use their full language knowledge in the selected situation or task. The objective in the activate phase is, to use all and any language which may be appropriate for a given situation or topic. In this way students get a chance to try out real language use with little or no restriction, a kind of rehearsal for the real life. Story making is an activity typically employed within the activate phase. The students are assigned to create a story, being allowed to use limited or unlimited group of vocabulary. 2.1.2 Presentation, practice, production. This is a widely spread approach, in terms of which the teacher present the language and then encourages the student to practice it at first by means of highly controlled activities the p.p.p model is employed efficiently when most isolated grammatical items are being dealt with. From the teachers point of view, it is highly favorable since it allows the teacher to time each stage of the lesson fairly accurately and anticipate and solve the possible problems the students may encounter. 2.1.3 Unfamiliarity with Infinitives According to the structure of a elementary English course, students are expected to acquire the principles of the past simple tense and past forms of numerous irregular verbs, one difficulty the have is that the encounter approximately one hundred verbs fewer than half of which are irregular for example. Buy, come, cost, do, draw, drink, drive, eat, fall, find, fly, get, give, go, have, hear, know, leave, make, mean, meet, put, read, ring, run, say, see, sing, sit, sleep, speak, spend, stand, swim, take, tell, think, understand, wear, write. Then the biggest problem the students have is that they are not given enough opportunities to get familiar with them. When they have managed to learn the infinitives of hardly twenty irregular verbs, the students are confronted with both a new grammatical phenomenon the principles of making the past simp0le tense, and a flood of irregular verbs. They become showered with the infinitives and past forms of so many new irregular verbs that they star t drawing, losing their motivation 2.1.4 Infinitives Matching. Its a teaching aid that consists in encouraging students to match and group infinitives in a way which they find logical. This method is of double benefit to the students. First it makes the infinitives easy to remember, and secondly, it forces the student to enrich their vocabulary by looking up synonyms to the given verbs. Vocabulary cannot be taught. It can be presented, explained, included in all kind of activities, and experienced in all manner of associations, but ultimately it is learned by the individual. Language teachers must arouse interest in words and a certain excitement in personal development in this area. Teachers must help the students by giving them ideas on how to learn, but each will finally learn a very personal selection of items, organized into relationships in a individual way (1983). Wilga Rivers. 2.1.5 The present continuous tense as a matter of priority Dealing with the present continuous tense before starting to do the past simple one is another way how to imprint on students memory as many infinitives of irregular verbs as possible, before confronting the principles of making and using of the present continuous tense is considerably easier than the past simple. Describing various pictures, a method typically applied when teaching present continuous, encourages students to look up a considerable number of verbs in a dictionary. This method. By choosing appropriate pictures, the teacher can give the students the right direction towards irregular verbs without the students realizing that they are being controlled. Successful language learning in a classroom depends on a judicious blend of subconscious language acquisition and a kind of study activities. Harmer. The inquired system is according to krashen, A product of a subconscious process very similar to the process children under goes when they acquire their first language The learned system, on the contrary, is defined by krashen as a product of formal instruction, comprising a conscious process with results in conscious knowledge about the language. In other words learning is less important than acquisition with the method of describing pictures being applied, students are able to learn the infinitives of all the eighty or ninety most commonly used irregular verbs on cards, which they are encourage to employ when describing routines or making bubble diagrams. In this way, the students are able to get familiar with a substantial number of verbs in an easy, natural manner. Other problem when teaching irregular verbs is that having instilled the infinitive forms of the most commonly used irregular verbs into the students, teacher are sometimes confronted with another problem. They have to decide whether to involve past participles and teach all three forms at once, or to postpone teaching of the past participles until the present perfecto tense is being done. 2.1.6 Categorization of irregular verbs. The students are expected to memorize all three forms of the following eighty- six irregular verbs. Be, beat, begin, break, bring, build, burn, buy, catch, choose, come, cost, cut, deal, do, draw, drink, drive, eat, fall, feel, find, fly, forget, forgive, get, give, go, have, hear, hit, hold, hurt, keep, know, leave, lend, lie, lose, make, mean, pay, put, read, ride, ring, run, say, see, sell, send, sing, sleep, speak, spell, spend, stand, swim, teach, tell, think, throw, understand, wake, wear, win, wrote etcà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Irregular ones in that either the past inflection or the ed participle inflection, or both of these, are irregular. The irregular verbs either do not have the regular -ed inflection According to a comprehensive grammar of the English language irregular verbs differ from else. Irregular verbs typically, but not invariably, have variation in their base vowel; irregular verbs have a varying number of distinct formsà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ The base form past and the ed participle. These are traditionally known as the principal parts of the verb- most irregular verbs have, like regular ones, only one common form for the past. The 250 or so irregular verbs can be, classified on the basis of criteria derived from similarities and differences. In other to make the irregular verbs easier to memorize, the students Endeavour to discover as many similarities and differences as possible. There is a method that consists in students creating positive negative questions triplets of sentences. This method is called reversing the students choose a card with the infinitive are asked to provide a triplet in the past simple tens. For example: see I saw Jane yesterday but I didnt see Bob Did you see Antonio? This method of reversing is possible to extend and apply later on when dealing with the present perfect tense. Not only do the students practice recalling the past form and past participle of the particular verb, they also learn to recognize the difference between the past simple tense and the present perfect one in terms of usage. Come: Pedro came to our house last Saturday but Jessica didnt come. Did Robert come? Pedro has come but Jessica hasnt come yet. Has Robert come? When learning irregular verbs other strategy very effective for learning them is creating story, employing the cards with the past forms of the irregular verbs on them. At the beginning, the students are preferably supposed to use verbs within a group or subgroup, in order to fix the patterns in their minds. Gradually, however, they are encouraged to introduce verbs from the other groups or subgroups. 2.1.7 Database Making and strategies to teach irregular verbs In order to conclude the process of intensive irregular verbs learning, the students are asked to create a database of the cards witch they made and used during the process itself. Such a card index is to be at the students disposal ever after while revising or when they are confronted with a new tense or grammar. There lots of useful programs teachers could use as a support for teaching irregular verbs. These programs focus on high frequency irregular verbs and train them in their base, present. Present progressive, past, and past perfect forms, some of the resource that these programs use are: Flash, multiple choice with sentences not read, spelling activity. In all activities, there are teacher choices to set interface, level of difficulty, speech and /or text options, response time, and background reinforcement animation. Games (to memorize form), there are several games that can easily be adapted to practice past tense verbs. Bingo: Students are asked to make a 33 grid on a piece of paper, look at their list of irregular verbs and to complete their grid with infinitive verbs. When they have finished, start reading student hears the past form of a verb they have on their grid, they cross it out. The first to cross out all the verbs on the grid calls Bingo and wins. Follow this up by asking students to work in pairs and to prepare a story using the verbs on their grid, in the past tense. Tennis or volleyball, this activity involves students calling out verbs to each other, as if they were passing a ball over and invisible net. Ex. Student I. Says the infinitive of the verb (Run) Student 2. Says the past form. (Ran) Student 3. Says the past participle (Run) If a student gets a word wrong (or pauses for more than 10 seconds), they lose. Students can do this in pairs, although with smaller classes you may set up two facing chairs in front of the class and have students come up and play each other in front of the others. The students who win stays (as the reigning champion) and another student come up to challenge. Permanism (or Memory), prepare a set of cars with the infinitive on them (set A), and a set of cards with the past tense on them (Set B). Put both sets face down on a table. Invite a student to pick up two cards. He / She must read the verbs aloud on the cards and decide if they match. If they match, he/she keeps them- If they dont match him /she shows them to the others and puts them back down. Another student comes up and tries to get a matching, pair in the same way. It could be done with large or small classes. With a large class put the students into groups of four and ask each group to prepare their own cards. Working with pronunciations: give students a list of irregular past tense verbs and ask them to group them according to the main vowel sound in each. If this seems too hard, you could give them verbs and find others that sound the same. For example, find the matching pairs of verbs in this list: wrote could taught read eat drank gave had waked went took bought. You could group the irregular verbs according to similar sounds and put them and a poster on the wall. Meaningful practice, Listen and recap: In this activity you give the students a list of irregular verbs in the students a list of irregular verbs in their infinitive form (on a worksheet, or written on the board). You then tell a personal story, incorporating the past tense of the verbs. Its best to prepared this ahead of time, bearing in mind what your students understands. As the students listen, they must number the verbs they hear in order. When you finish, tell the students to compare their order in pairs. They should then write the past form of all the verbs they heard. Check the answers with the whole class. Then ask the students to try and are tell the story together using the past tense verbs as cues. Finally ask students to tell a similar story based on their own experience. Monday morning conversation, one way of getting a lot of past simple verbs out of the students is to simply start an informal chat with them at the beginning of the class, The simple what did you do last weekend? On Monday morning should throw up some past simple verbs. You can also go around ask the students some questions and allow them to answer. Teaching English irregular verbs is indeed challenging. However the goal of grammar instruction is to enable students to carry out their communication purposes irregular verbs are verbs themselves. The fourth grade is when those verbs start getting hammered into kids brains so that they might not mess them up quite so much when they re older. Irregular verbs are verbs that dont follow normal conjugation rules as thy traverse temporal space. They are the source of a great deal of frustration if you let them, unfortunately the only way to learn irregular verbs is to memorize their freaky conjugation as you encounter them. The irregular verbs might be the hardest part of fourth grade grammar. Chapter III Presentation and Analysis of the datas of the investigation In this chapter are presented the results of the investigation carried out in the Educative Center Higà ¼errito basic School. The results of the interview to the principal of the School and the surveys applied to teachers and students of this Educative Center. 3.1. Interview Applied to the Principal of the Educative Center Higà ¼erito basic School. In this section are analyzed the answers obtained from the interview to the director of the school. The principal of Higà ¼erito basic School was asked if she supervises the English teachers while they are on duty and her answer was affirmative, but she specified, that is the teacher in charge of the grade who teaches English because they dont have a teacher for the area so far. She was also questioned if she has received any kind of complaints from the students for the lustration they receive, and she answer,54 not yet she was asked if the school trains the teachers in order to have better results during and after the process of teaching and learning She replied, no. She was also questioned about the resources that the teachers of English need as a complement to their teaching process and she said that is a teacher ´s responsibility because public Schools do not provide these resources, when she was asked how she evaluates the English teachers ´ work, her reply was, that she evaluates it very good, because they are not English teachers actually, and believe it or no t they have been teaching well taking in to considerations the limitations. Here ´s the key of the problems, as this Educative Center is Subsidized by the State and the fact that there arent languages teachers: The teachers in charge of the grade are obliged to mange to teach. In the project of center the principal States as an advantage the preparation of the teachers who work for this school but they dont have qualified English teachers, and this is a serious problem because either the teachers or the students might feel frustrated, the teachers feeling unable to do their job and the students getting drowned in their attempt for learning the language. 3.2 Survey elaborated for the English teachers of Higà ¼erito basic School. In this section are analyzed the answers obtained from the survey applied to teachers of English of Higà ¼erito basic School. I. Years of experience of Higà ¼erito basic school English teachers. Category Frequency % 1-5 3 60 5-10 2 40 10-15 0 0 Total 5 100 In this square it could be observed that 3 teachers have from 1-5 years of experience teaching and 2 teachers have from 5- 10 years of experience. These years of experience are a good indicator to guarantee the quality of teaching of the Educative Center Higà ¼erito. 2. Techniques used by teachers of the Educative Center Higà ¼erito to teach irregular verbs. Category Frequency % Participation in class Oral Practice 1 20 Home works Written Exams 4 80 All the previous Alternatives None of the Alternatives Total 5 100 According to what it seen in this chart, 20. % of the English teachers use as a teaching technique, the oral practice and 80 % use written ex

Friday, September 20, 2019

Anthropogenic Effects on Coral Reefs Essay -- Unprecedented Stresses t

Abstract: Humans have a very large effect on the ecosystems of coral reefs. Sensitivity of coral reefs causes them to be more susceptible to harmful anthropogenic practices. Some of these are sedimentation, global warming, recreational activities, poison fishing, blast fishing practices, water pollution, and coral mining. All of these very different practices can effectively end up with the same results; the mortality of coral reefs around the world. Coral reefs are an important ecosystem of the world, and support many different industries and millions of people. Introduction Coral Reefs are said to be the â€Å"tropical rainforest† of the sea. They are home to over 25% of all marine life (http://coralreefalliance.org.stories/storyReader$77). Over the past few decades they have been subjected to destructive anthropogenic practices. Some of the major threats to coral reefs include sedimentation, water pollution, harmful recreational activities, and global warming. All of these things cause stress on corals and can potentially cause mortality. Corals are made up of two parts, a polyp and zooxanthellae. A polyp is a calcerous body that grows from a hard part of the ocean floor. Zooxanthellae is a photosynthetic algae which lives in the polyp and provide energy for themselves and the coral. In many cases, corals undergo â€Å"bleaching,† which is a process where corals lose the zooxantheallae or chlorophyll pigment, and turn white (Wilkinson et all). After bleaching corals can survive for several months. It is possible for corals to recover by hosting more zooxantheallae, but it can take between 5 and 50 years for them to recover completely (Wilkinson et all, 1999). Sedimentation As the human p... ...h Letters, v. 27, no. 23, p. 3901-3904. Nowlis, J., Roberts, C., Smith, A., and Siirila, E., 1997, Human Enhanced Impacts of a Tropical Storm on Nearshore Coral Reefs: Ambio, v. 26, no. 8, p. 515-521. Rouphael, A.B. and Inglis, G.J., 1997, Impacts of Recreational Scuba Diving at Sites with Different Reef Topographies: Biological Conservation, vol. 82, no. 3, p. 329-336. Wilkinson, C., Linden, O., Cesar, H., Hodgson, G., Rubens, J., and Strong, A., 1999, Ecological and Socioeconomic Impacts of 1998 Coral Mortality in the Indian Ocean: An ENSO Impact and a Warning for Future Change: Ambio, v., 28, no.2, p. 188-196. Wolanski, E., Spagnol, S., 1999, Pollution by mud of Great Barrier Reef Coastal Waters: Journal of Coastal Research, V. 16, no. 4, p. 11510-1156. http://www.coralreefalliance.org/stories/storyReader$77 http://www.earthisland.org

Thursday, September 19, 2019

The Symbolic Use of Nature in Hawthornes The Scarlet Letter Essay

The Symbolic Use of Nature in The Scarlet Letter      Ã‚     In Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic The Scarlet Letter, nature plays a very important and symbolic role.   Hawthorne uses nature to convey the mood of a scene, to describe characters, and to link the natural elements with human nature.   Many of the passages that have to do with nature accomplish more than one of these ideas.   All throughout the book, nature is incorporated into the story line. The deep symbolism conveyed by certain aspects of nature helps the reader gain a deeper understanding of the plight and inner emotions of the characters in the novel.      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Hawthorne's moods or prevailing feelings during certain scenes are revealed to the reader through nature.   For example, one of the first scenes in the book demonstrates this unique writing talent that Hawthorne uses to enrich his writing.   He describes Hester Prynne and her child being released from the local prison into the light of day;    She bore in her arms a child, a baby of some three months old, who winked and turned aside its little face from the too vivid light of day; because its experience, heretofore, had brought it acquainted only with the gray twilight of a dungeon, or other darksome apartment of the prison (49).         The sunlight gives the reader a feeling of exposure and scrutiny.   This feeling is later reveled to the reader by Hawthorne,    Her prison-door was thrown open, and she came forth into the sunshine, which, falling on all alike, seemed, to her sick and morbid heart, as if meant for no other purpose than to revel the scarlet letter on her breast (71).       It is also gives the feeling of a release into a harsh environment, which Hest... ...escarletletter/fullsumm.html. February 15, 2002.    Brown, Bryan D. "Reexamining Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. http://www.usinternet.com/users/bdbournellonie.htm. March 1, 2002.    "Chuck III College Resources". http://www.chuckiii.com/reports/book_reports/scarlet_letter.shtml. March 1, 2002.    Clendenning, John. "Nathaniel Hawthorne." The World Book Encyclopedia. 2000 ed.    Griswold, Rufus Wilmot. "The Scarlet Letter." The Library of Literary Criticism of English and American Authors. Ed. Charles Wells Moulton. Gloucester, Massachusetts: Peter Smith Publishing, 1959. 341-371.    Hawthorne, Nathaniel. The Scarlet Letter. New York: Penguin Books USA Inc., 1996.    Smiles, Samuel. "The Scarlet Letter." The Critical Temper. Ed. Martin Tucker. New York City: Frederick Ungar Publishing Company, 1962. 266.   

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Man In The Moon :: essays papers

The Man In The Moon I lie on the grass, staring above me, my arms stretch high into the starlit sky, they warp and twist and elongate and they reach up and my hands grasp the moon and its mine and no-one else's and my fingers become a part of it and then I'm the moon, look at me I'm the Man in the Moon and I Can See All, I Can See You, and my arm stretches down and my giant finger uncurls and points and my voice deep and booming says ITS YOU and the person I'm pointing at looks straight up at me and his arms are reaching towards me and he's smiling and then I realise with a start that its me. I get up and shake my head. Then I lie down again and shake my head. Then I sit up and shake my head and rub my eyes and scratch my head and yawn and this seems to work and so I get up. I lie down again: it didn't work. I think I'll stay here a while and think about things until I can get up and stand and maybe walk again. I may be some time. I'm looking up into the sky. Its night but its not that dark. The moon's out and so are the stars and there are no clouds in the sky. True, its not as bright as it is, say, during the day, but nevertheless it's relatively bright. It's a damn sight brighter then the inside of a really dark cave with your head covered in a thick, thick blanket with your eyes closed. But ours is not to quibble on the brightness, or lack thereof, of this night in question. So, the state of the night cleared up, I can continue. I'm looking into the sky and I'm lying on the grass, which is a little strange because grass is not, as it were, the most abundant of materials in this place. I'm lying on a small patch of such grass that is surrounded on all sides by sand. In the distance I can hear the sea and its crashing against the beach and I worry about all the poor little creatures caught in it.

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Interpersonal Communication Application Paper

â€Å"I have never been the same person alone that I am with people. † (Phillip Roth) I can directly relate with this quote, I’m sure quite a few people can. So often, we act differently in private than we do with others. Of course, it’s all dependent upon who the ‘others’ are. For example, we may feel more comfortable being our true selves with our friends and become more reserved with colleagues. This is not necessarily how all humans behave, some folks have no problem being exactly who they are at all times no matter whose company they are in.I admire this quality when it is not coming from someone I perceive as obnoxious. Certainly, factors such as perception, culture, and the people we are communicating with will influence how we behave in public as opposed to private. Most immediately, I think how we perceive ourselves and how we think other people perceive us will influence our behavior in given situations. We’re all so different and ou r experiences tend to shape our personalities. Some of us are naturally outgoing and social, while others are more introverted and feel best without the company of others.Both scenarios present their own challenges and behaviors will be influenced by these tendencies. It’s generally very easy and preferred for the introverted personality to go through their day without the company of another, while a more extroverted individual might feel very lonely without another’s company. How these two behave in group functions will also vary. The outgoing individual will be very much in his element, and more likely to be cheerful and positive. An introverted person will be more shy and standoffish within the group.These are merely characteristics that go together, as presented in the book under the implicit personality theory. In either case, the behavior of the individual will vary whether they are alone or with people. And this scenario is a more natural occurrence. Sometimes s ituations arise where we want others to see us as something we are not and we’ll present ourselves in a certain manner that is not true to who we are, just to fit in or gain the trust of that particular group. When alone, we may let ourselves behave more naturally and feel less obliged to pretend.Cultures also influence how we behave in public and alone. Some cultures do not allow women to be in public without a headdress, while at home they are allowed to be more relaxed. In our American culture, Christianity teaches that women should be submissive to their husbands, so behaviors will exemplify this in a church setting or when out with church friends. At home, the wife may be the one who makes the final decisions, and the family will behave as such in that particular setting. Finally, the people with which we are communicating will impact what we say and how we say it.We communicate very differently when alone with our romantic partner, as opposed to being with him or her in public. The same is true for our relationships with parents, siblings, neighbors, casual friends or close friends. The words we choose and the tone that we use with any of these communications will vary from person to person and in private or amongst others. Every situation is completely unique. As a novelist, Phillip Roth presented many fine quotes with regard to communication. It was a good exercise to apply what I’ve learned from the text and be able to expand upon this particular quotation. Interpersonal Communication Application Paper â€Å"I have never been the same person alone that I am with people. † (Phillip Roth) I can directly relate with this quote, I’m sure quite a few people can. So often, we act differently in private than we do with others. Of course, it’s all dependent upon who the ‘others’ are. For example, we may feel more comfortable being our true selves with our friends and become more reserved with colleagues. This is not necessarily how all humans behave, some folks have no problem being exactly who they are at all times no matter whose company they are in.I admire this quality when it is not coming from someone I perceive as obnoxious. Certainly, factors such as perception, culture, and the people we are communicating with will influence how we behave in public as opposed to private. Most immediately, I think how we perceive ourselves and how we think other people perceive us will influence our behavior in given situations. We’re all so different and ou r experiences tend to shape our personalities. Some of us are naturally outgoing and social, while others are more introverted and feel best without the company of others.Both scenarios present their own challenges and behaviors will be influenced by these tendencies. It’s generally very easy and preferred for the introverted personality to go through their day without the company of another, while a more extroverted individual might feel very lonely without another’s company. How these two behave in group functions will also vary. The outgoing individual will be very much in his element, and more likely to be cheerful and positive. An introverted person will be more shy and standoffish within the group.These are merely characteristics that go together, as presented in the book under the implicit personality theory. In either case, the behavior of the individual will vary whether they are alone or with people. And this scenario is a more natural occurrence. Sometimes s ituations arise where we want others to see us as something we are not and we’ll present ourselves in a certain manner that is not true to who we are, just to fit in or gain the trust of that particular group. When alone, we may let ourselves behave more naturally and feel less obliged to pretend.Cultures also influence how we behave in public and alone. Some cultures do not allow women to be in public without a headdress, while at home they are allowed to be more relaxed. In our American culture, Christianity teaches that women should be submissive to their husbands, so behaviors will exemplify this in a church setting or when out with church friends. At home, the wife may be the one who makes the final decisions, and the family will behave as such in that particular setting. Finally, the people with which we are communicating will impact what we say and how we say it.We communicate very differently when alone with our romantic partner, as opposed to being with him or her in public. The same is true for our relationships with parents, siblings, neighbors, casual friends or close friends. The words we choose and the tone that we use with any of these communications will vary from person to person and in private or amongst others. Every situation is completely unique. As a novelist, Phillip Roth presented many fine quotes with regard to communication. It was a good exercise to apply what I’ve learned from the text and be able to expand upon this particular quotation.

Monday, September 16, 2019

Political Philosophy and Machiavelli Essay

Niccolo Machiavelli is best known for his highly controversial ideas on politics. He began writing about his political ideas after the French invasion because of his desire to reunite Italy after the fall of the republic. As a humanist, Machiavelli disagreed with the current religious based politics that were set in place at the time. His humanist ideas allowed him to focus his political ideas on human potential and achievement rather than religious themes. Even though Machiavelli had a harsh view on the nature of human beings, his unique understanding of the relationship between virtue and politics set the basics for modern political science, and many of his ideas can still be observed in American politics today. Before Machiavelli’s new ideas on political science, politics had been comprised around the ideas of the Christian church. Politics set up by the church relied heavily on good ethics and virtue. The church praised leaders that possessed qualities such as honesty, compassion, chastity, and faithfulness. Machiavelli rejected classic Christian values when thinking about politics and only considered qualities that were useful in preserving power. Machiavelli had a very different idea on the specific qualities that a good prince should possess. He assumed that people in power that possess virtuous qualities could be easily taken advantage of. He viewed these qualities most people deem as good qualities, as a weakness, which could mean the downfall of a state. He believed that the church should only practice its rights in the spiritual realm and not in politics. Since he felt that Christianity destroys the state, he believed that the church should have restricted power in politics. Thus resulting in his ideas on separating the church from state. The more Machiavelli’s ideas on government strayed from the Christian ideals, the more his ideas on politics began to reflect our current American government. This idea of the separation between church and state is only one of several similarities Machiavelli’s political ideas reflects American government. Similarities are seen in the organization of power through fear in the military. Also, his ideas can be seen in American politics when our presidents make decisions based on what is most beneficial, even if it is not always the most virtuous action. Probably one of Machiavelli’s most influential ideas on politics was his belief that it is better to be feared than to be loved. In his eyes, being feared was desirable over being loved since the circumstances of the world make it impossible to be both loved and feared in sequence. He understood it to be crucial that the people respect his authority and power in order for him to be able to maintain unity and loyalty from his people within the state. The only way he believed this to be possible, was to remove himself from compassion and build fear in the people through cruelty. As long as he was able to avoid being hated, this allowed him to rely on what he could control. This idea that it is better to be feared than to be loved can easily be seen within the American military. Powerful armies are not built under friendship and good virtue. They are built under fear and respect. As Americans, we have one of the most powerful military forces in the world. We do not achieve this power by making other countries love us. If we were simply loved to gain respect, rather than feared to gain respect, when the pressure of disagreement arose other countries would not hesitate in the decision to attack. So long as we are feared we hold more power over the decision to take rash action against conflict. Through fear our military guarantees our countries continuous security and prosperity. On the other hand, when it comes to our president’s stand on the question of being loved or feared, it would seem that they would take the opposite stance on the issue. Our American presidents don’t seem to aim at being feared over loved. They fill our minds with the characteristics we find desirable. They aim at making us love, trust, and respect them. Yet, they generally attempt to achieve this love through lies. The government wants us as citizens to love rather than fear, yet as an entire nation, the government aims at remaining a fearful and powerful force in the eyes of other nations. This leads to another difference between American politics, and Machiavellian ideas. Machiavelli stated, â€Å" it is proper to represent things as they are in real truth, rather than as they are imagined† (p. 8). He wanted to avoid creating an imaginary ideal society, as the Christian based politics had before him. In this issue, our government seems to reflect the Christian idea more than Machiavelli’s idea of truth. America’s presidential candidates create their campaigns according to the standards each separate political party would consider to be their ideal image of government. These candidates make promises of perfect ethics and virtue, however, after being elected into office, they very rarely follow through with these promises and ideas of perfection that they have convinced us to believe. They present us with these ideal characteristics in order to receive the popular vote, yet as Machiavelli has explained, as a ruler in order to maintain prosperity and security it is not ideal to follow through with fantasies of virtuous leaders. It would be nice if our presidents followed Machiavelli’s advice and were straightforward and truthful from the start. Since people do not vote for reality and would rather vote for the fairytale, it does not work out his way in our democracy. Machiavelli’s ideas on the significance of virtue in politics may be a result of the way he views human nature. Since he has little hope in the goodness of humanity, he does not hold leaders to the highly positive qualities that the church does. Machiavelli is well known for his negative views on human nature. Even today his name is still largely associated with wickedness. He believed all people to naturally be ungrateful, fickle, liars, and deceivers. He even went so far as to refer to people as wretched creatures. I feel that Machiavelli’s ideas are solid and well thought out. Although, that does not mean that I completely agree with all his ideas, especially those on the nature of humans. I refuse to confer that humankind is naturally evil willed. I like to see the good in people, and to me it seems that the good in this world greatly outweighs the bad. However, I also do not agree that Machiavelli is the tyrant that history has made him out to be. Overall, I believe that most of his ideas aimed at improving the well being of his state. Even though he came off as an evil man it seemed to me that he always had his state’s best interests in mind. The way I see it, his negative understanding of human nature forced him to look at issues from a different perspective than most people of his time, and drove his ideas behind the irrelevance of virtuous traits in a political leader. Many of Machiavelli’s ideas are reflected in American politics. Machiavelli believed in practicing the separation of church and state just as America does. He believed that with fear came power, which is apparent in the United States military. Although many of Machiavelli’s ideas reflect American government there are a few differences between the two, such as the qualities that can be viewed in presidential candidates and how our government goes about the real truth. Overall, Machiavelli’s ideas on virtue and fear, no matter how wicked in nature, seem to properly deem him the founder of the modern political science that our government has been founded off of still today.

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Dbq-Early Valley Civilizations Essay

DBQ-early valley civilizations essay Throughout history, civilizations have contributed to the cultural and intellectual life of humanity. These civilizations had developed about 5000 years ago. These civilizations had been defined as based on agriculture and urban settlements. At that period had been developed many cultural and intellectual achievements, but also stable government and a strong economy. The ancient River Valley civilizations of Egypt and Mesopotamia all made key contributions to future societies.For thousands of years, people all over the world have developed, progressed, and eventually formed civilizations. The area between the Tigris and Euphrates River was called Fertile Crescent because its rich soil and crescent shape (document 1). This region was where Mesopotamia one of the first civilization on earth grew. Sumer was an ancient civilization in Mesopotamia they created cuneiforms. Cuneiforms were the world’s first written language; Sumerians invented thi s writing system to keep track of business dealing (document 2).Mesopotamia developed between the Euphrates and Tigris River. Geographically, Mesopotamia occurred near major rivers since water was easily available and agriculture flourished. The most important invention that was created in the ancient times by Sumer in Mesopotamia was the wheel . it had a major impact in the world because it makes it easier for people to get to places faster and without the wheel the world would not have been the same. Egypt civilization was located in northeast Africa near on the border of the Nile River.Hieroglyphics was a system of writing that was based on pictures; it was created by the Egyptians to keep the records (document 6). pharaoh was the name of the king or god king of Egypt. Pharaoh built pyramids to serve as houses or tombs and specialized skill such as mathematics, geometry, engineering and architecture were need to built the pyramids (document 5). Life in ancient Egypt was centered largely on agriculture. The majority of the people were involved in farming. Wheat, fruits and vegetables were the principal crops.The Nile River helped irrigate the crops and made the soil fertile for good farming; people depended on the Nile for food and water (document 4). Egypt contributed many things in the world, such as their efforts in astronomy, medicine, writing, mathematics and architecture. In conclusion, the ancient River Valley civilizations Egypt and Mesopotamia did have many key contributions that helped expand future societies. Egypt and Mesopotamia were two civilizations that contributed to the expansion of trade, civilization, government, and political and social status.