Jane Eyre And Fahrenheit 451 - 1381 Words

Jane Eyre and Fahrenheit 451 are two pieces of literature destined to stand the test of time. They both possess various traits which distinguish themselves as ‘classics,’ thereby allowing them to be relevant novels regardless of the time period. These aforementioned traits are derived from the facts that both of these novels are timelessly relatable in the sense of possessing the universal ‘coming of age’ theme regarding overcoming disillusionment, give a glimpse into history by acting as symbols of societal norms in their respective time periods, and demonstrate elevated writing largely through the use of symbolism. A critical part of growing up seems to always entail the overcoming of some form of disillusionment. Jane Eyre and Fahrenheit 451 both illustrate this theme so often demonstrated in classic ‘coming of age’ novels. In Fahrenheit 451, Montag becomes disillusioned with his role in society as a fireman: his job is to burn books. Montag goes his entire life blindly following the notion that books are not only superfluous objects but objects which incite chaos. However, after observing a woman who chooses to burn alongside her books rather than be without them (Spencer 65), Montag begins to reflect on all that he has been doing as a fireman and the mindlessness with which he has been doing so (Bradbury 49). The fact that this woman was willing to die for the exact cause Montag was trying to eradicate opens his eyes to the fact that his job may not be as honorable

The Frivolity of Evil by Theodore Dalrymple Essay - 886 Words

The article The Frivolity of Evil by Theodore Dalrymple analyzes the causes of human misery. His work as a psychiatrist in Great Britains slums afforded him a great vantage point to analyze this topic nearer to the fundamental of human existence. He concluded that the citizens of Great Britian willingly participated in precipitating their own misery. Their are three recurring theme in his article the lack of moral responsibility, extreme individualism and lack of cultural expectations. Dalrymple begins his article by showing the mind frame of a prisoner released from prison, who had the idea that he had paid his debt to society. In order to get his point across Dalrymple compares the prisoners situation to his very own, the 14†¦show more content†¦He believed that this shift in thinking leads people to imply that dissatisfaction with life is itself pathological. The idea that this is an illness that can be cured by a doctor. Dalrymple believed that this form of thinki ng stands in the way of people understanding their situation and impedes moral change. The lack of moral responsibility was a recurring theme he observed in his patients. The patient who claimed unhappiness had three different children by three different men. The fathers of the three children lived a life of criminality and violence. Knowing this she still choose to enter into a relationship with them regardless of the consequences. What is confounding is the lack of moral responsibility the patients exhibit towards her children. Their is no punishment from the government or society for the actions she makes. The idea of self interest is prominent is this articles. These individuals base their decisions on their on self interest. They only have a responsibility to their own happiness. Her actions are due to the fact that she did not want to remain alone. He mother based her decisions to turn her daughter out based on the thought that her own sexual liaisons were more imp ortant than caring for her child. The mother of the patient created a cycle of misery for her daughter that, the daughter in turn will create for her own children.Show MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Theodore Dalrymple And The Frivolity Of Evil1044 Words   |  5 PagesTheodore Dalrymple and The Frivolity of Evil ‘The Frivolity of Evil’ is an article written by retired psychiatrist, Theodore Dalrymple. Dalrymple has spent 14 years of his life working in the lower-class slum and prison hospitals in Birmingham, England. His exposure to the lower class in his work has given rise to his unique interested in ‘evil’ or as his title suggest, the lack of seriousness that is taken in regard to evil actions and its recent growth. Dalrymple has traveled all over the world

Critical analysis of apples marketing strategies free essay sample

Wiki invest (2012) Technology states, the technology industry provides foundation for activities such as, chip production, information and communication systems, and computer systems. The companies belonging to this industry serves as developers and manufacturers of the products which increase efficiency and production of cell phones, computers, televisions, and other communication and information systems. It is a huge industry with a high growth potential, but it is sometimes go through volatile cycles, like the semiconductor industry. As chips are getting smaller and globalization is increasing, demand for faster and efficient technology, demand for technological industry in increasing. 1. 2 Introduction to Apple Incorporation Wikipedia (2012) Apple store states, that, Apple Incorporation is a multinational company that creates and sells consumer electronics, computer software, and personal computers, selling in 363 stores worldwide, withnglobal sales of about US$16 billion in merchandise. The company was first founded on April 1, 1976 in Cupertino, California by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne and then incorporated on January 3, 1977. We will write a custom essay sample on Critical analysis of apples marketing strategies or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page The company was named as Apple Computer, Inc before for the first 30 years. The word Computer was then removed from its name on January 9, 2007. The companys traditional focus was on personal computers shifted towards consumer electronics. Now the companys best-known products are the Macintosh line of computers, iPod, iPhone and the iPad, along with their other line of products including, Mac OS X (operating system), iTunes media browser, iLife suite of multimedia/creativity software, iWork (suite of productivity software), Aperture (professional photography package), Final Cut Studio (suite of professional audio and film-industry), Logic Studio, a suite of music production tools; Safari web browser and iOS (mobile operating system). 1. 2. 1 Mission statement of Apple Inc According to Apple Inc (2012), Apple designs Macs, the best personal computers in the world, along with OS X, iLife, iWork, and professional software. Apple leads the digital music revolution with its iPods and iTunes online store. Apple reinvented the mobile phone with its revolutionary iPhone and App Store, and has recently introduced its magical iPad which is defining the future of mobile media and computing devices. Another mission statement is:Apple is committed to bringing the best personal computing experience to students, educators, creative professionals and consumers around the world through its innovative hardware, software and internet offerings. 1 . 1. 2. 2 Vision Statement of Apple Inc According to Apple Inc (2012), We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products and thats not changing. We are constantly focusing on innovating. We believe in the simple not the complex. We believe that we need to own and control the primary technologies behind the products that we make, and participate only in markets where we can make a significant contribution. We believe in saying no to thousands of projects, so that we can really focus on the few that are truly important and meaningful to us. We believe in deep collaboration and cross-pollination of our groups, which allow us to innovate in a way that others cannot. And frankly, we dont settle for anything less than excellence in every group in the company, and we have the self-honesty to admit when were wrong and the courage to change. And I think regardless of who is in what job those values are so embedded in this company that Apple will do extremely well. 1. 2. 3 Objectives of Apple Inc As stated on the website Apple Inc (2012) are: ?To obtain products and services within tight timeframe, at a cost providing the best value to the customers and shareholders. ?To keep creating and releasing computers and consumer electronics those are user-friendly. ?To open more stores even on international locations to increase sales and dominate world market. ?To innovate on a regular basis. 1. 2. 4 Major competitors of Apple Inc Samsung, Microsoft, Dell, HP, Blackberry, Nokia 1. 3 Motivations of research: As the competition in the technology industry has increased, it has become mandatory to make a study on the importance of using a marketing strategies of branding for Apple, to stay at the top of consumers mind, to cope up with the changing environment, to gain competitive edge, to make improvements in future and to attain goals set by the company. 1. 4 Research Objectives: ? To analyze the importance of using a marketing strategies of branding for Apple Inc and to find out how STP strategies helps Apples brand.  ? To find out about the benefits of branding for the company and to find out how branding helps to gain a competitive edge by differentiating themselves and how it increases customer loyalty and increases brand awareness. ? To find out about the branded product and its related price, promotion and placement and to find out the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats the company may be fa cing. 2 1. 5 Research question: 1. 5. 1 Leading question: What benefits will Apple and its customers benefit from after using branding marketing strategy? 1. 5. 2 Subsidiary questions: Does branding allow Apple Inc to communicate companys objectives, mission and vision clearly to their customers? ?Does branding helps Apple to differentiate its products from its competitors, by gaining competitive edge? ?Does branding allow Apples customer to easily recognize and recall the company and its products? ?Does branding allow Apple Inc to charge premium for its products and yet maintain customer loyalty? ?How will using STP strategies, 4 Ps of marketing mix and SWOT Analysis help to enhance Apples brand? ?Does branding really contribute in making a difference in Apple Incs success? 1. 6 Organization of Study: Chapter 1: Introduction Chapter 2: Literature Review Chapter 3: Methodology Chapter 4: Research findings, data presentation and data analysis Chapter 5: Conclusion and Recommendations 3 . CHAPTER 2: Literature Review 2. 1 Introduction This section will provide the details about the qualitative data, providing a foundation for all the details to follow. 2. 2 What is branding? According to Kotler (1999), branding is a name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of all these that identifies the goods and services of one seller or group of sellers and to differentiate them from those of competitors. Branding does not only allow your target market to choose your company over the competitors, but it helps in getting your prospects to see you as the only company that provides a solution to the consumers problems. It provides a companys with a recognizable and trustworthy badge of originality, an intangible guarantee, i. e. a promise of performance that the product will meet with desired consumers expectations. 2. 2. 1 Apples Branding Strategy According to Marketing minds (2012), Apple Inc.  uses the Apple brand to compete across several highly competitive markets, including the personal computer industry with its Macintosh line of computers/laptops and related software, the consumer electronics industry with products such as the iPod, digital music distribution through iTunes Music Store, the smart phone market with the Apple iPhone, magazine, book, games and applications publishing via the AppsStore for iPhone and the iPad tablet computing device, and movie and TV content distr ibution with Apple TV. The company is also establishing a very strong marketing presence relative to the rival (Google) in the advertising market, via its business Apps and iAd network. Steve Jobs, the co-Founder of Apple, described the company as being a mobile devices company, largest in the world as their revenues are bigger than Nokia, Samsung, or Sonys mobile devices business. 2. 2. 2 Brand Awareness It is when the consumers are familiar about the life or availability of the product. It is the degree to which consumers associate your brand with a specific product/service. As indicated by Management study guide (2012) in their article What is brand awareness? , Brand awareness may include of: ?Brand recognition- is when the consumers have good knowledge of brand when they are asked questions related to a specific brand and they are able to differentiate a brand on the basis of having noticed or heard about earlier. E. g. Is I-phone related to Apple or Samsung? 4 . ?Brand recall- It allows a customer to recover a brand from his memory when given the product class/category, needs satisfied by that category or buying scenario as a signal, i. e. if they are able to recall the brand from their memory. E. g. Showing a logo of Apples brand, and asking which brand does this logo belongs to. 2. 2. 3 Apples brand personality As stated by About. com (2012), What is branding and how important is it to your marketing strategy? , a good brand helps a company to achieve these objectives: ?Helps to deliver the message clearly ?It confirms your companys credibility ?It connects your target prospects emotionally ?It motivates the buyer ?It strengthens user loyalty Apple has a branding strategy that focuses on the emotions. Apple brands personality is about lifestyle, imagination, liberty regained, innovation, passion, hopes, dreams and aspirations, and power-to-the-people through technology. The Apple brand personality is also about simplicity, making life easier for people as they have people-driven product design, and is a humanistic company with a heartfelt connection with its customers. 2. 2. 4 Apples Brand equity According to Investopedia, it is the premium value that the company realizes from a product with a recognizable name as compared to its generic equivalent firm. Companies can create brand equity for their products by making them memorable, easily recognizable and superior in quality and reliability. Also, mass marketing campaigns may help to create brand equity. Brand equity is said to be positive if the consumers are willing to pay more for a branded product than for a generic one. Brand awareness plays a key role in building brand equity. Create reliable brand image, slogans and taglines, helps to strengthen brand awareness which therefore improves brand equity. Marketing minds (2012) also states, Since Apple has strong brand awareness, it has high sales and high market share, and the consumers are well acquainted and familiar with the brand and its products. They are also willing to pay premium price for their products, relative to the competitors brand due to Apples positive brand equity. Apple is not just intimate with their consumers but there is a real sense of community among users of its main product lines. Therefore, this also helps to create consumers brand loyalty (where brand loyalty is when the consumers become committed to your brand, choosing it over competitors and making repeat purchases over time. ) 5 . 2. 3 Benefits of branding a company (Apple) 2. 3. 1 Emotional Appeal As stated by Clarity marketing LTD (2005), emotional appeal helps a great deal in targeting customers emotions with product names. A strong, recognizable brand will acts like a short cut in decision making process, as the customers dont dither over alternatives or compare options where there is no clear point of difference, and instantly chooses your brand as they know what it stands for. For instance, as Apple manufactures technological items, the name of each product clearly reflects technological aspects like iPod touch, which indicates that it is a product that allows you to play and choose music through touch properties. It therefore, helps in creating an integrated appeal to specific emotions promoting the product recognition and sales. 2. 3. 2 Memorability and Familiarity According to Marcia Yudkin (2012), brand helps to create a reputation and good will for a company. It is very hard for customers to refer to a company as that whatsitsname store or to refer business as the shop from the Yellow Pages. In addition to the company name, it gives people to give constant reminders reinforcing the identity of companies they will want to buy from. Memorability can come from the logo, its design, color, style etc which helps to nail your companys name in the minds of the public. Similarly, after your brand is nailed in the minds of your customers, thats when your customers have become familiar and aware of your companys existence in the market. Branding allows having huge effects on non-customers too. Psychologists studies have proved that familiarity develops liking for it. Also, the customers who have never bought from your company, may many tomes be willing to recommend your company to others even without having any personal knowledge of your products or services. Therefore, the half bitten Apple logo and the brand name Apple help a great deal to help customers remember, be familiar and recommend the brand to others. 2. 3. 3 Premium image and Premium price Branding allows a company to differentiate themselves from competitors existing in the market, because of which instead of dealing with price-shoppers the customers become eager to pay a higher price for your companys goods and services. A strong brand let the customers associate themselves as being a company that offers premium quality, trendy products and is offering unique products that other companies are not offering. 2. 3. 4 Extensions When your companys brand is well-established, you can spread the respect youve earned to a related new product, service or location and win acceptance easily of the newcomer. For instance, when Apple introduced a new product extension line of Ipad, the customers trusted the brand so they didnt feel reluctant and bought Ipads anyway, making these tablets quite popular of its kind in the market. 2. 3. 5 Loyalty When customers have a positive experience with your companys brand, they are more likely to buy your products and services again in future rather than the competitors. Customers that are closely bonded with your brands identity may not only repurchase what they bought earlier, but may also buy related items of the same brand, and recommend your brand to others and resist the lure of a competitors price cut. The brand identity helps to create and anchor such loyalty. 6 . Apples loyal customers wait every year to buy a new version of iphone every year, regarding the high price and numerous other phones existing of competitors brand in the market. 2. 3. 6 Lower marketing expenses Branding helps a company to invest less in marketing (promotion) expenses, though you need to invest money in order to create a brand, but its more like a one off investment as once its created you can maintain it and do not need to tell the whole story about the brand every time you market it. For instance, Apple promoting for iphone by Apple, everyone knows that iphone is a touch phone produced by the brand Apple. 2. 3. 7 Greater company equity- Branding your company allows you to get more money when you decide to sell it. Also, it allows the company to borrow loan even if the companys facilities and inventory vanished, just because of their brand name. Similarly if Apple Inc founder ever decides to sell the company he will get more money. 2. 3. 8 Less Risk and Quality Assurance -Lynne Haley Rose (2012) states, when you market a product/service with a strong, positive brand association, you communicate an assurance of quality to the potential customers, which makes the consumers more likely to buy from your branded company rather than a no name company.

Smart Cities Masdar and New Babylon

Table of Contents An overview of Masdar City An overview of the New Babylon City Masdar as ecology vs. function The Masdar city and the Protocol of Program New Babylon as Control vs. Chaos Conclusion Works Cited An overview of Masdar City Masdar City is one of the budding smart cities that use environmentally friendly technologies to stir novelty and empower business. The city is located in Abu Dhabi and covers a total area of 7kilometers square (Jaber 2).Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Smart Cities: Masdar and New Babylon specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Since it is powered by renewable energy, it offers an environment that promotes creativity, provides investment opportunities, offers avenues for testing novel technologies and promotes informal sharing of ideas amongst like-minded experts and serves as a an attraction hub and genesis of world class talent. The unique environment of the city is dra wing regional and global companies to establish sales, promotions, servicing and exhibition hubs to demonstrate their renewable energy and sustainable technologies. In addition, Masdar City offers these companies to set up research and development infrastructures and regional head offices in their respective fields (Masdar City 1). An overview of the New Babylon City The concept of New Babylon City is epitomized by the politicization of urban space which has emerged as a major aspect in the social and political plans of most Urban Social Movements (USMS). This includes the famous Reclaim the Street (RTS), a worldwide lobby group that begun in London in 1990 as a response to the automobile culture and highway extension projects (Smith157). The modern urban social movements-including RTS- have emerged as direct reaction to the ever-rising aggressive politicization of urban space by a number of proponents of global capitalism in the post-modern cityscape (Lefebvre 148 Bauman 70). Sinc e its launch, the politicization of RTS agenda has expanded and transformed to embrace nearly all facets of urban space (Smith 158). The concept of New Babylon City is well articulated by Constant. He states that, â€Å"without public space no culture is possible because, ‘the forum in classical times, the market square of the middle ages, and, more recently, the boulevard†¦ were the places where cultural life developed† (Heynen, 159). In his New Babylon project, Constant gives priority to an open, public space for residents to use in their social interactions. Constant explains further that the main aim of mutiny against conventional standards and conditions is to regain social space (the street) needed for play (Smith 161).Advertising Looking for research paper on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Masdar as ecology vs. function The Masdar project is an initiative of the Abu Dhabi government t hat aims to use it enormous resources in the world energy markets so as to promote the rising technologies of the future. The project will also commercialize and adopt these technologies to mange energy use, carbon emissions and conserve water to enable Abu Dhabi shift from consumer technology to producer technology. The Masdar City project has a Carbon Management Unit (CMU) that aims at developing strategies to reduce carbon emissions. The unit produces value by commercializing carbon emissions via the provisions of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) structure of the Kyoto Protocol. The CMU also creates sustainable technologies for major projects that result in significant reduction of carbon emissions. For instance, Mustang Engineering Company was contracted in 2008 to design the Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) plant. The aim of this project is to promote sustainable development by providing clean energy and reducing carbon emissions (Awad 10). According to Rashmi De Roy, Masdar C ity will be the first city in the world to achieve a zero carbon emission environment by 2015. The city aims to attain the ten principles of sustainability of One Planet Living, a worldwide program started by BioRegional, an environmental organization based in the UK (2). The power for Masdar City will be created via photovoltaic panels. Water will be presented via a desalination plant, controlled by solar energy. Masdar City aims to achieve the ten principles of sustainability in the following ways. On zero carbon emission, the city aims to produce renewable energy via photovoltaic solar panels and wind energy technologies. On zero waste programs, the city intends to adopt measures that reduce waste and recycling waste where possible. On transport, the city aims to attain zero carbon emission by promoting automobile sharing and the use of public transport system (Roy 2). The city will promote the use of sustainable materials for example bamboo and timber that are certified by the F orest Steward Council for construction. On sustainable food, all the retail shops will be required to supply organic foodstuff and other sustainable consumable products.Advertising We will write a custom research paper sample on Smart Cities: Masdar and New Babylon specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More On fauna and flora, the city management will focus on efforts to protect all valuable species. The culture and heritage of the city’s residents will be synchronized with the construction plans of the city. On equity, the city will aim to provide better working conditions and fair wages for all employees as elucidated by international labor laws. On health issues, the city will aim to provide adequate and easily accessible healthcare facilities and recreational centers for all residents (Roy 2). The Masdar city and the Protocol of Program The evolution of human species in the last hundred thousand years has almost been negligible. Our senses and hereditary innate media are identical to those that enabled us to endure the predatory pace of the primeval savannah. Moreover, the city’s very genuine landscape of information creation and reception, those same rhythms continues, in contact with our new media and enhanced cognition. The modernists demand for strong use of technology in merging urban and cybernetic programs. Any efforts in this direction cast the digital city as a communal nervous system. Currently, the rupture of digital information network via the casing of the city into the open view of residents and their mobile screens depends on the ability of the body to map its own dislodgment in real and imagined topography (Bratton 5). The incarnation of historical image of environment-an irreducible, automatic circuit of habit and habitat- relates to the ambient informational fields that blur the city and which enables us to gain knowledge on how to steer spheres both near and distant. However, such spaces must be learned, and whilst it takes time to understand remote controls, we are fast at learning how to do it. For example, there is a monkey at Duke University who controls a robotic arm miles away via interfacial electronics linked to his brain. The temporal desires of the monkey are converted into informational pulses which when correctly steered, activates a remote prosthesis to respond to his needs. Just like the monkey, human bodies are instilled and intersected by the protracted networks of the living city, both directing its machinery from a remote area and triangulated psychologically and socially by that machinery in the course of human movements.Advertising Looking for research paper on social sciences? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Humans are thus able to operate the city as a meta-interface, one made up of numerous tiny strategic interfaces (Bratton 6) Just like children acquiring new skills, we learn via gaming how to plan and adapt bodily signals with environmental spaces, to direct nearness and remoteness at the same time, both as individual commuters of the city and as collective groups in emergence. We learn how to touch and pinch, point and click, and poke and wave. As automation turns into an invasive element in the structure of the habitat, the dawn of locative media implies the need for urban operating systems that are able to interlace into one unit the multitudinous computational incidents into an elegant, programmable prototype (Bratton 7). The Masdar City, viewed via the media of that face trickles with live data to be touched and rewritten all over again. Interface with this information is recursive. In this recursion, the existence of information, whether good or bad, can be openly disruptive o f social behavior as individuals alter paths and choices in the image of the actions and veers of others that they see indexed in their personal interface. As the channels of the Masdar city are condensed and disclosed by the handset’s interfaces, the contiguity and gravity of architectural programs melts. The Masdar city demands a logic program that is similar to OMA sectional map and iphone desk itself. The sectional clustering of diverse zones of behavior into a solitary unit give away to interior and exterior sites that can be triggered in urban scale (Bratton 9). New Babylon as Control vs. Chaos According to Gilles Deleuze, the concept of control within the New Babylon framework that describes the position of any aspect in an open environment at any moment does not constitute science fiction (7). Deleuze considers a city where an individual is able to move around with his electronic card that controls his movements. The study of social technology mechanisms of control at their beginning would have to be systematic and define the current process of changeover for the disciplinary areas of enclosure. According to Deleuze, a new dawn has emerged where control measures are used within the society (7). For example, in the education system, there are a number of control measures that have affected training programs for students (Stadler 16). In the healthcare institutions, the new medication without patients or physicians identify ailing people does not demonstrate individuation but introduces a code that controls dividable material. Within the business sector, there are novel ways for managing humans, profits and money that do not use outdated factory form. Within the penitentiary system, electronic devises are fitted on prisoners to monitor their movement. These examples reveal the movement towards setting up of new mechanism of controls in the society (Deleuze 7) Ever since it emerged in 1990s, the Reclaim the Space (RTS) movement has constantly used carnivalesque tactics in its program of reclaiming urban spaces that have been privatized, sanitized and colonized by the aggressive forces of global capitalism (Tafuri 176). Jordan contrasts the notion of institutionalized festivals that are endorsed by the state with the carnivalesque attribute of the sporadic street parties that are common during RTS activities. He argues that whilst formal festivals are organized in a linear and an orderly manner, the RTS reclaiming actions are â€Å"vortexed, whirling†¦involving an uncontrollable state of creative chaos†¦ that breaks a cultural obsession with linearity, order and tidiness, epitomized by roads and cars† (Jordan 355). Jordan emphasizes on the collective facet of the carnivalesque RTS street actions by stating that when â€Å"thousands of people have reclaimed a major road and declared it a ‘street now open,’† replacing â€Å"the roar of [automobile] engines† with â€Å"music, laughter and song,† and transforming â€Å"road rage† into â€Å"road rave,† then â€Å"Lautreamont’s desire that ‘Poetry must be made by all†¦not by one’† is realized (Jordan 354). Thus, Jordan uses this poem to trace the current RTS actions from the 20th century European activists such as Dada to the current Situationist International (Smith 163). According to McCreery, the Situationists believed that the only way to reduce the overwhelming influence of capitalism was by living a less alienated, richer and more inclusive culture. This way, individuals would be in a position to control their own lives by integrating art into day to day life (239). The active criticism by the Situationist on the dissimilarities between politics, art and day to day life was considerably pursued by the proponents of the movements itself, where politics, art, activism and ingenuity were combined into a distinct unit. The main aim of the Situationists to blur t he distinctions between these elements was to speed up an instant mutiny which would be carried out on all levels of the social order, including everyday life experiences (Smith 164). Therefore, the RTS is a perfect reincarnation of the Situationists movements that seeks to question the conservative divisions between politics and art in day to day life. Thus, by seeking to reclaim public space from forces of capitalism, it becomes manifest that the movement aims to dissolve the margins that separate social praxis, art and theoretical reflection (Heynen 151). Thus, the RTS efforts to combine these aspects is mirrored through their actions of reclaiming public space, which is taken as a model of political exploits where the protest is personified as living and spreading political message (Ferrell 132). According to Constant, the culture of New Babylon does not emerge from differentiated activities or unique situations. On the contrary, it results from worldwide activities that involve the entire humanity where each person is engaged in an active relation with his environment. The regularity of each person’s movements relies on the choices he makes and renounce on impulse. Under these conditions, communal mobility mirrors the picture of kaleidoscopic whole, resulting in sporadic changes. This picture is different from the models of a community life governed by the tenets of utility where the structures of behaviors are identical. In the New Babylon city, the urban must react to communal mobility which means a more precise and elastic organization in macro and micro level. Autonomy of creation requires that individuals limit their dependence on material contingency. It assumes an enormous system of communal services needed for social mobility. The automation thus facilitates the creation of colossal centers, located far from public space (Nieuwenhuys 11). The construction of New Babylon project can only start when the economy is fully aimed at the satisfyin g the requirements of the society. Such an economy will allow the mechanization of non-innovative activities hence facilitating the development of creativity. However, the execution of New Babylon project is a sluggish process that gradually substitutes the existing urban structures (Baurnan 58). At first, isolated sectors emerge among the multinational companies and become centers of attraction for the previous structures to the level that, as more time used in work diminishes, the settlement turn out to be chaotic. As the number of these sectors increase and the ties that bind them swell, the activity within them become highly independent and specialized with respect to the residential areas (Nieuwenhuys 15). A new way of life thus emerges within the New Babylon when these sectors are reordered to form a network- a structure that is able to rival the residential structures whereby its importance is gradually reduced as the role of man in the production process ceases to exist. Dur ing the initial stage, the distance between group of sectors and sectors raises the demand for swift means of transport because crossing settlement areas from one sector to another must take the shortest time possible. Afterward, when the various sectors are united and variations increases, the need for swift mobility between sectors is rendered irrelevant. The elasticity of internal space within these sectors allows for several fluctuations in the ambiance and environment. With respect to transport means, these sectors will not be affected by social mobility. A new role thus appears to enhance the role of these sectors where they shift from being tools for work and become tools for play (Nieuwenhuys 17). The New Babylonian way of life is traverse through a sluggish and uninterrupted fluctuation where dislocation is among the different types of activity in the sectors (Nieuwenhuys 18). Thus, in general, the New Babylon city is a system of enormous links, the greater part of which is elevated above the surface. The links are typically free from building, although with the exemption of production centers and other systems that lack space within the sector’s social space. Examples include: drilling rigs; transmission antennae; observatories; historic monuments; and other scientific research facilities. A segment of these free spaces is allocated to different activities on the surface. Another section is allocated to wooded park, nature reserves. The network structures enables access to these areas, where the time spend to move from one area to another is greatly reduced (Nieuwenhuys 19). The topographic survey of New Babylon is a complex activity that cannot be done by employing the usual methods of cartography. This is due to the existence of a time- fourth dimension. The 3-D representation would thus be ineffective since the model of every sector is made up of numerous sections and planes of diverse levels. Thus, it would be necessary to use a computer t o capture all the complex topographical aspects of the city in details (Nieuwenhuys 20). The sector is the smallest unit in New Babylon network. The dimensions of the unit are greater than those of the elements (buildings) that create the city. The extent of these elements is determined by the social interactions system. In most cities, the human relations are formed and strengthened at workplaces, school or leisure places and other meeting places. This translates to every single member of the family letting go private ties outside the manufacture places. As a result, bigger residential units, equipped with communal services, emerge (Stalder 44). The element of control is manifested within the New Babylon city where the movement of an individual within a social space is constrained by the obligations to resume to a fixed abode. The social space of an individual (such as workplace, home, family members) is defined by his social interactions. These constraints are absent within the Ne w Babylon framework. The social space of an individual in the New Babylon City is infinite as he is not controlled anymore. The mobility and chaos generated as a result of constant transformation of space promotes interactions between individuals (Nieuwenhuys 27). Conclusion Following the discourse presented above, it’s quite obvious that the development of both cities-Masdar and New Babylon- will heavily rely on technology in merging urban and cybernetic programs. As already explained, Masdar City aims to integrate a number of renewable and sustainable technologies to reduce carbon emissions. For instance, the CMU is an integral segment of the Masdar City project that will guide the development of new strategies that reduce carbon emission. On the other hand, the concept of control is envisioned within the Babylon City where individuals will be able to carry out their daily tasks via an automated system. Such control measures will be adopted in virtually all sectors of the c ity, such as education, healthcare sector, and business sector. The protracted networks of the living city will be instilled in the bodies of individuals living in Masdar and New Babylon cities. They will thus be able to operate-from remote areas-both cities as a meta-interface, comprising of countless small strategic interfaces. Social mobility within all sectors in the city will thus be rendered obsolete. Works Cited Awad, Khaled. â€Å"Al Masdar†. The International Resource Journal.  2011. Web. Baurnan, Zygmunt. Liquid Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press, 2000. Print Bratton, Benjamin. â€Å"iPhone city†. 2008. Web. Deleuze, Gilles. Postscript on Societies of Control. 1995. Web. Ferrell, Jeff. Reclaim the Streets, Tearing Down the Streets: Adventures in Urban Anarchy. New York: Palgrave, 2001. Print Heynen, Hilde. Architecture as Critique of Modernity: New Babylon and the Antinomies of Utopia. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 1999. Print Jaber, Sultan. Etihad Airways adds Masdar City as Essential Abu Dhabi destination. 2011. Web. Jordan, John. The Art of Necessity: the Subversive Imagination of Anti-Road Protests and Reclaim the Streets: The Cultural Resistance Reader. London: Verso, 2002. Print Lefebvre, Henri. Right to the City, Writings on the City. Oxford: Blackwell Publishing, 1996. Print Masdar City. Exploring the Masdar Institute campus. Nov, 2010. Web. McCreery, Sandy. The Claremont Road Situation. The Unknown City: Contesting  Architecture and Social Space. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2001. Print Nieuwenhuys, Constant. New Babylon: A nomadic Town. Hague: Haags, 1974. Print Roy, Rashmi. Taking Action Today for a Living Planet Tomorrow. Abu Dhabi: WWF, 2008. Print Smith, Christopher. Urban Social Movements and the Politicization of Space.2004. Web. Stalder, Felix. The Stuff of Culture in Open Cultures and the Nature of Networks Revolver. Cambridge: The MIT Press, 2005. Print Tafuri, Manfredo. The Sphere and the Labyrinth. London: The MIT Pres s, 1987. Print This research paper on Smart Cities: Masdar and New Babylon was written and submitted by user Alana Craft to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Jim Crow Law Essay

Jim Crow Law Essay Free Online Research Papers Discrimination and prejudice were very common acts during the time that To Kill A Mockingbird took place. Prejudice in this book is displayed by the acts of hate and misunderstanding because of someones color. For example when Tom Robinson was on trial for rape that everyone knew he didn’t commit, but because of the color they still want to put him in jail. During this time in the southern states, black people had to use separate bathrooms, drinking fountains, sections in restaurants, churches, sit in separate places, and even go to separate schools. An example in this book that shows that they sat in different places was in the court room the colored sections had to sit up in the balconies. Even though a lot of the discrimination was towards blacks, there was also discrimination towards families that did not have money, such as the Ewell family. One of the Jim Crow laws stated that a black male could not shake hands with a white male because that would show that the two races are socially equal. Also if a black male offered a hand or any other part of his body to a white woman, he would be accused of rape. This law is similar to Tom Robinson’s rape case. Tom Robinson is being accused of rape because when he was called in the Ewells’ house by Mayella to break a bureau for her, but as he was doing that she grabbed his leg, wrapped her arm around his waist, and then kissed him. As the only witness was Mayella’s father Bob Tom Robinson had no chance of winning because even though the jury knew he was innocent in their heart they would have to show him guilty because they had to give the public what they wanted. Another Jim Crow law states that black people cannot sit near each other, because it would show that they are socially equal, which is not true. One place that this law comes up is when the colored people had to sit in the balcony during when the trail was going on. Blacks and Whites were always separated everywhere. For example, on the bus blacks at in the back and whites in the front and when a black person is riding in a car with a white person, the colored person has to sit in the back of the car to show that they are not socially equal. The Jim Crow laws did not only apply to black people but to any family that was very poor, such as the Ewell family. When the Ewell family was first introduces in the book, everyone was judging them because their mother died, the father was a drunk, the family was full of young children, they were dirty and poor, and their social statues was like a hair above all colored people. In To Kill A Mockingbird, we see a black man put on trial for a crime he clearly did not commit. The jury was so afraid of what everyone else would have thought if they made Tom Robinson innocent so, they chose the verdict that the public wanted, even though that was not what they felt in their hearts. Research Papers on Jim Crow Law EssayRacism and InjusticeEmmett Till BiographyThe Colour PurpleThe Obama Presidency EssayBooker T. Washington, W.E.B. Du Bois, Ida B. Wells-BarnettLegalization of Same Sex MarriagesEssay on â€Å"I have a Dream† Dr KingThe Legal ProcessThe Broken FamilyHistory of Rap Music Essay

Sample Example Paragraph - Junk Food Junkie

Sample Example Paragraph - Junk Food Junkie One way to make our writing more vivid and interesting is to add examples that support a main point. The following student  paragraph is clearly organized and effectively developed with specific examples. The one thing the paragraph lacks is a satisfactory concluding sentence. Respond to the questions that follow Junk Food Junkie, and see if you can come up with a good ending for the paragraph. Junk Food Junkie I confess: I am the worst junk food junkie in this great gluttonous galaxy of sugar, salt, and fat. You can keep your lentils, granola, and prunes. I want calories and carbohydrates, burgers and fries. Within minutes after waking up grouchy and puffy eyed in the morning, I stumble to the kitchen and pour myself a tall glass of ice cold Pepsi. Ahh! My tongue tingles and my eyes pop open. I then have the energy to eat. I rummage through the refrigerator, push aside the yogurt and apples, and there it is: a slice of congealed pepperoni pizza. Thats enough to get me off to school and through my first class. Of course, I then head to the store on my first break for a Snickers bar and a Diet Mountain Dew. The lite soft drink, you see, compensates for the calories in the candy. An hour or two later, for lunch, I gobble down a row of Golden Double Stuf Oreos and a peanut butter sandwich, all sloshed down with a pint of chocolate milk. Later in the afternoon I stop at Five Guys to devour a do uble bacon cheeseburger and a monster order of sodium-loaded fries. Finally, before going to bed, I knock off a bag of Philly Cheese Steak Rippled Potato Chipsdripping with onion dip. Study Questions The writer uses chronological order to organize her examples. List the time transitions that you find in the paragraph.  (See  Cohesion Strategies: Transitional Words and Phrases.)Identify the short sentences used by the writer to guide us from the Pepsi example to the pizza example.What sentence does the writer use to guide us from the pizza example to the next example?Create a sentence that you think would conclude this sentence effectively. For sample responses to these study questions, go to page two. Here are sample responses to the study questions that accompany the student paragraph developed with examplesJunk Food Junkieon page one. (1) The time transitions in this paragraph include Within minutes after waking, then, An hour or two later, Later, and Finally.(2) and (3) These sentences should be easy to spot:- Ahh! My tongue tingles and my eyes pop open. I then have the energy to eat.- Thats enough to get me off to school and through my first class.Note that complete sentencesas well as individual words and phrasescan be used to make smooth transitions in a paragraph.(4) Various answers are possible. Heres the concluding sentence that appeared in the students original paragraph: Only then do I drift off to sleep, counting onion rings in the deep fry and hot dogs on the grill. See also: Sample Example Paragraph: Confessions of a Slob.

International marketing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 5

International marketing - Essay Example companies, in particular, are increasingly going global to ease competition pressure in the domestic market and to explore new market opportunities for growth. Pig meat is one of the agricultural products that are produced in large quantities in the U.K. Statistics show that the production of pig meat has been increasing every year in the country. Unfortunately, the production appears to outweigh the demand available considering that a section of the U.K. citizens does not eat pork because of cultural issues. Accordingly, the low demand for pig meat has been affecting most farmers negatively because it results in losses for farmers as they are forced to lower their prices because of the low demand. In March 2015, the U.K pig meat production totaled 69,300 tons, accounting for about 5% increase compared to the same March 2014 (Pig World 2015). The high production of pig meat experienced in recent months has resulted in a huge drop in prices. Therefore, the best way to save the U.K. pig farmers is perhaps to look for new market opportunities in the global market where the demand for pig meat is high. China will be the right target market for the U.K. surplus pig meat. This is because of the high demand for pork in China. Studies show that China is the worlds leading consumer of pork, which accounts for more than three-quarter of the meat consumed in the country. Currently, each Chinese consume an average of 84 pounds of pork every year (Hoffman 2014). The high consumption of pork is attributed to the fact that pork is the meat of choice among Chinese people. In fact, pork consumption in China is projected to reach more than 70 million tons by 2017(Larsen 2012). Accordingly, this makes China a lucrative market for expansion for U.K. pig farmers. Considering that China is also the most populous county in the world with more than 1.3 billion people, who eat pork, this is certainly a lucrative pork market that must be exploited by the U.K. pig meat producers who

Three-river-source ecological environment protection strategy Essay

Three-river-source ecological environment protection strategy - Essay Example To achieve ecological and environmental protection in this region, an innovative environmental protection strategy is required. New developments in environmental policy, coupled with a new global awareness are sure to help the environmental cause. The establishment of a permanent ecological conservation zone will serve as a model for the region. The establishment of the Three-River source region’s ecological protection foundation is crucial, and so is building a long-term ecological environment compensation policy. The compensation policy serves for relocating people, who depend on the region, to towns and cities, in order to restore its rivers’ ecological environment. The establishment of an ecological conservation zone has become an important protection activity in natural areas around the world. The establishment of an ecological conservation zone is not only beneficial for conserving the flora and fauna, but it also generates economic benefits for communities living in rural and remote areas. Generally speaking, conservation strives to practice the sensible use of natural resources and maintains the biological diversity. It limits the adverse effects of human activities by establishing an ecological conservation zone. It serves to restore timber, improve water quality and provide an area to graze livestock. Conservation practice concerns all kinds of disciplines. It is relevant for subjects- such as philosophy, economics, and sociology - that are concerned with the social environment.

Exploring How State of Matter Affects the Rate of Diffusion Essay Example for Free

Exploring How State of Matter Affects the Rate of Diffusion Essay Introduction Diffusion is the random process by which particles distribute themselves within a container or medium. There are two factors that distinguish how substances move passively through membranes. The first factor is hydrophobic , a nonpolar molecule that can dissolve in a lipid bilayer and freely move through the membrane. However a hydrophillic molecule consisting of ions and polar molecules inhibit in their movement through the membrane making it a slower diffusion process. Selectively permeable, moreover, are charged atoms and molecules that are mostly blocked from traveling through the membrane due to the hydrophobic center. The purpose of this experiment was to test how the state of matter affects the rate of diffusion in a semi-solid vs. a liquid state. If the Potassium Permanganate crystals are placed in Petri dishes filled with water and 2% agar, then the crystals will diffuse at a faster rate in water than in the agar. The addition of the Potassium Permanganate crystals to the water and agar, there will be a result of more diffusion and more obvious color change in water compared to agar which will result in a slower less obvious diffusion. Materials The materials needed for this experiment are: One Petri dish with 2% agar and one Petri dish of water filled half way up to test the rate of diffusion. Also, two small crystals of potassium permanganate and one pair of forceps will be needed to place in the Petri dishes. One metric ruler will be need as well to measure the change of color in diameter and one 8 x 11 piece of white paper will also be used for safety precautions. Methods First, a member of the group will gather all the materials including the Petri dishes filled with tap water and 2% agar, forceps, ruler, 8X11 piece of white paper and the jar that contains the potassium permanganate crystals, and bring the materials back to the designated area. Then the experimenter will start to conduct the experiment. Then the experiment will consist of placing the empty Petri dish and the agar Petri dish on top of the white paper side by side. Second, Tap water will be added to a half way point in the empty Petri dish until it is approximately the same level as agar in the other Petri dish. Before continuing, wait for the water to stop moving to get an accurate measure of the diffusion. After that, have lab partner assist with placing potassium permanganate crystals into the agar Petri dish, while at the same time, the primary experimenter places the other two potassium permanganate crystals into the tap water. Be sure not to splash water in the aqueous dish. The moment that each crystal has been lowered is Time Zero. A purple color will be obvious immediately. Next have the experiment observe the diffusion rate for every 3 minutes for the next 15 minutes. For every 3 minutes, measure the diameter of the diffusion circle in millimeters (mm) and write down the measurement on the chart given. Be careful not to disturb the aqueous Petri dish. Discussion The results show that there a major difference in the rate of diffusion between 2% agar and tap water. Immediately, when the potassium permanganate crystals were dropped at 0, there was already an instant diffusion of 2 mm, compared to agar which was 1mm. Because water is a polar molecule, diffusion across membranes travel quicker compared to a nonpolar substance like agar that diffuse though the lipid part of a membrane. At the first 3 minute mark, it shows that the crystals have diffused relatively fast at 15 mm, compared to the diameter in agar which has slowly diffused to 5 mm. for the next 12 minutes, results have show that the diameter in water has increase about 8 10 mm every 3 minutes and agar has stayed the same throughout. Due to passive transport, the movement of molecules from the potassium permanganate have a higher concentration, and are then added to water which diffuses from that high concentration to a lower concentration. This was the expected result. Since water is polar, the crystals can easily diffuse through the gradient. Furthermore, with agar being a nonpolar molecule, it maintained a state of dynamic equilibrium because it diffused slower but was diffused evenly. However since other factors do play a role in the rate of diffusion, maybe temperature could have changed the rate of diffusion for the two Petri dishes. Also had the allotted time been different there may have also been a change in the results. There were no negative results or errors made during this experiment. Based on the results it can be concluded that dropping potassium permanganate crystals into water, diffuses across the gradient faster compared to 2% agar. This does support the initial hypothesis and the predictions were accurate.

Essay on Camus’ The Stranger (The Outsider): Conformity

Conformity in Camus' The Stranger (The Outsider) Camus' novel The Stranger presents the character of Meursault who, after killing an Arab, is sentenced to death. This conflict portrays the stark contrast between the morals of society and Meursault's evident lack of them; he is condemned to death, less for the Arab's murder, than for refusing to conform to society's standards. Meursault is an anomaly in society; he cannot relate directly to others because he does not live as they do. Meursault is simplistic, even detached; he speaks of his mother's death without regret for her loss, merely stating: "Maman died today." He goes on to mention that perhaps it was yesterday - he is not sure which. He cannot abide by the same moral confines as the rest of the world because he does not grasp them; he is largely indifferent to events occurring around him. Meursault's entire being is sensuous, yet unemotional. He derives a certain level of pleasure from eating and drinking, smoking cigarettes, sitting on his balcony to watch passersby. He likes to wash his hands, especially at work in the morning, when the roller towel is dry. He likes sex. When Marie leaves, he lies in bed and tries to get the salty smell of her hair from the pillow. Yet all these things are tactile; Meursault derives physical satisfaction from them, but there is no emotion attached. This is in direct contrast to society, whose strict guidelines focusing on right and wrong depend on the individual's sense of these concepts. Meursault is perfectly capable of analyzing the situation, but not of responding to it as society wishes him to. Life or death, and anything in between, makes no difference to him. The nurse at his mother's funeral had warned him that if h... ...re is no inherent meaning in life - its entire value lies in living itself. Meursault feels he has been happy, and longs to live. When he must die, he wants a crowd to greet him "with cries of hate"; they are screaming because they want life and the world to have meaning; they need this because that is what their entire existence is built upon. As the magistrate asked of Meursault, "Do you want my life to be meaningless?" Meursault understands how estranged the individual truly is from society. Until the conclusion, he was a stranger to himself as well as to the rest of the world. In the end, he opens himself "to the gentle indifference of the world," and "finding it so much like myself, - like a brother really," feels he has been happy, and is again. Society finds this unacceptable, and by refusing to conform to its face-value standards, Meursault must die.

Bag of Bones CHAPTER FOURTEEN

The ringing of the phone or, more accurately, the way I received the ringing of the phone was as familiar as the creaks of my chair or the hum of the old IBM Selectric. It seemed to come from far away at first, then to approach like a whistling train coming down on a crossing. There was no extension in my office or Jo's; the upstairs phone, an old-fashioned rotary-dial, was on a table in the hall between them in what Jo used to call ‘no-man's-land.' The temperature out there must have been at least ninety degrees, but the air still felt cool on my skin after the office. I was so oiled with sweat that I looked like a slightly pot-bellied version of the muscle-boys I sometimes saw when I was working out. ‘Hello?' ‘Mike? Did I wake you? Were you sleeping?' It was Mattie, but a different one from last night. This one wasn't afraid or even tentative; this one sounded so happy she was almost bubbling over. It was almost certainly the Mattie who had attracted Lance Devore. ‘Not sleeping,' I said. ‘Writing a little.' ‘Get out! I thought you were retired.' ‘I thought so, too,' I said, ‘but maybe I was a little hasty. What's going on? You sound over the moon.' ‘I just got off the phone with John Storrow ‘ Really? How long had I been on the second floor, anyway? I looked at my wrist and saw nothing but a pale circle. It was half-past freckles and skin o'clock, as we used to say when we were kids; my watch was downstairs in the north bedroom, probably lying in a puddle of water from my overturned night-glass. ‘ his age, and that he can subpoena the other son!' ‘Whoa,' I said. ‘You lost me. Go back and slow down.' She did. Telling the hard news didn't take long (it rarely does): Storrow was coming up tomorrow. He would land at County Airport and stay at the Lookout Rock Hotel in Castle View. The two of them would spend most of Friday discussing the case. ‘Oh, and he found a lawyer for you,' she said. ‘To go with you to your deposition. I think he's from Lewiston.' It all sounded good, but what mattered a lot more than the bare facts was that Mattie had recovered her will to fight. Until this morning (if it was still morning; the light coming in the window above the broken air conditioner suggested that if it was, it wouldn't be much longer) I hadn't realized how gloomy the young woman in the red sundress and tidy white sneakers had been. How far down the road to believing she would lose her child. ‘This is great. I'm so glad, Mattie.' ‘And you did it. If you were here, I'd give you the biggest kiss you ever had.' ‘He told you you could win, didn't he?' ‘Yes.' ‘And you believe him.' ‘Yes!' Then her voice dropped a little. ‘He wasn't exactly thrilled when I told him I'd had you over to dinner last night, though.' ‘No,' I said. ‘I didn't think he would be.' ‘I told him we ate in the yard and he said we only had to be inside together for sixty seconds to start the gossip.' ‘I'd say he's got an insultingly low opinion of Yankee lovin,' I said, ‘but of course he's from New York.' She laughed harder than my little joke warranted, I thought. Out of semi-hysterical relief that she now had a couple of protectors? Because the whole subject of sex was a tender one for her just now? Best not to speculate. ‘He didn't paddle me too hard about it, but he made it clear that he would if we did it again. When this is over, though, I'm having you for a real meal. We'll have everything you like, just the way you like it.' Everything you like, just the way you like it. And she was, by God and Sonny Jesus, completely unaware that what she was saying might have another meaning I would have bet on it. I closed my eyes for a moment, smiling. Why not smile? Everything she was saying sounded absolutely great, especially once you cleared the confines of Michael Noonan's dirty mind. It sounded like we might have the expected fairy-tale ending, if we could keep our courage and hold our course. And if I could restrain myself from making a pass at a girl young enough to be my daughter . . . outside of my dreams, that was. If I couldn't, I probably deserved whatever I got. But Kyra wouldn't. She was the hood ornament in all this, doomed to go wherever the car took her. If I got any of the wrong ideas, I'd do well to remember that. ‘If the judge sends Devore home empty-handed, I'll take you out to Renoir Nights in Portland and buy you nine courses of French chow,' I said. ‘Storrow, too. I'll even spring for the legal beagle I'm dating on Friday. So who's better than me, huh?' ‘No one I know,' she said, sounding serious. ‘I'll pay you back for this, Mike. I'm down now, but I won't always be down. If it takes me the rest of my life, I'll pay you back.' ‘Mattie, you don't have to ‘ ‘I do,' she said with quiet vehemence. ‘I do. And I have to do something else today, too.' ‘What's that?' I loved hearing her sound the way she did this morning so happy and free, like a prisoner who has just been pardoned and let out of jail but already I was looking longingly at the door to my office. I couldn't do much more today, I'd end up baked like an apple if I tried, but I wanted another page or two, at least. Do what you want, both women had said in my dreams. Do what you want. ‘I have to buy Kyra the big teddybear they have at the Castle Rock Wal-Mart,' she said. ‘I'll tell her it's for being a good girl because I can't tell her it's for walking in the middle of the road when you were coming the other way.' ‘Just not a black one,' I said. The words were out of my mouth before I knew they were even in my head. ‘Huh?' Sounding startled and doubtful. ‘I said bring me back one,' I said, the words once again out and down the wire before I even knew they were there. ‘Maybe I will,' she said, sounding amused. Then her tone grew serious again. ‘And if I said anything last night that made you unhappy, even for a minute, I'm sorry. I never for the world ‘ ‘Don't worry,' I said. ‘I'm not unhappy. A little confused, that's all. In fact I'd pretty much forgotten about Jo's mystery date.' A lie, but in what seemed to me to be a good cause. ‘That's probably for the best. I won't keep you go on back to work. It's what you want to do, isn't it?' I was startled. ‘What makes you say that?' ‘I don't know, I just . . . ‘ She stopped. And I suddenly knew two things: What she had been about to say, and that she wouldn't say it. I dreamed about you last night. I dreamed about us together. were going to make love and one of us said ‘Do what you want.' Or maybe, I don't know, maybe we both said it. Perhaps sometimes ghosts were alive minds and desires divorced from their bodies, unlocked impulses floating unseen. Ghosts from the id, spooks from low places. ‘Mattie? Still there?' ‘Sure, you bet. Do you want me to stay in touch? Or will you hear all you need from John Storrow?' ‘If you don't stay in touch, I'll be pissed at you. Royally.' She laughed. ‘I will, then. But not when you're working. Goodbye, Mike. And thanks again. So much.' I told her goodbye, then stood there for a moment looking at the old fashioned Bakelite phone handset after she had hung up. She'd call and keep me updated, but not when I was working. How would she know when that was? She just would. As I'd known last night that she was lying when she said Jo and the man with the elbow patches on the sleeves of his sportcoat had walked off toward the parking lot. Mattie had been wearing a pair of white shorts and a halter top when she called me, no dress or skirt required today because it was Wednesday and the library was closed on Wednesday. You don't know any of that. You're just making it up. But I wasn't. If I'd been making it up, I probably would have put her in something a little more suggestive a Merry Widow from Victoria's Secret, perhaps. That thought called up another. Do what you want, they had said. Both of them. Do what you want. And that was a line I knew. While on Key Largo I'd read an Atlantic Monthly essay on pornography by some feminist. I wasn't sure which one, only that it hadn't been Naomi Wolf or Camille Paglia. This woman had been of the conservative stripe, and she had used that phrase. Sally Tisdale, maybe? Or was my mind just hearing echo-distortions of Sara Tidwell? Whoever it had been, she'd claimed that ‘do what I want' was the basis of erotica which appealed to women and ‘do what you want' was the basis of pornography which appealed to men. Women imagine speaking the former line in sexual situations; men imagine having the latter line spoken to them. And, the writer went on, when real-world sex goes bad sometimes turning violent, sometimes shaming, sometimes just unsuccessful from the female partner's point of view porn is often the unindicted co-conspirator. The man is apt to round on the woman angrily and cry, ‘You wanted me to! Quit lying and admit it! You wanted me to!' The writer claimed it was what every man hoped to hear in the bedroom: Do what you want. Bite me, sodomize me, lick between my toes, drink wine out of my navel, give me a hairbrush and raise your ass for me to paddle, it doesn't matter. Do what you want. The door is closed and we are here, but really only you are here, I am just a willing extension of your fantasies and only you are here. I have no wants of my own, no needs of my own, no taboos. Do what you want to this shadow, this fantasy, this ghost. I'd thought the essayist at least fifty per cent full of shit; the assumption that a man can find real sexual pleasure only by turning a woman into a kind of jackoff accessory says more about the observer than the participants. This lady had had a lot of jargon and a fair amount of wit, but underneath she was only saying what Somerset Maugham, Jo's old favorite, had had Sadie Thompson say in ‘Rain,' a story written eighty years before: men are pigs, filthy, dirty pigs, all of them. But we are not pigs, as a rule, not beasts, or at least not unless we are pushed to the final extremity. And if we are pushed to it, the issue is rarely sex; it's usually territory. I've heard feminists argue that to men sex and territory are interchangeable, and that is very far from the truth. I padded back to the office, opened the door, and behind me the telephone rang again. And here was another familiar sensation, back for a return visit after four years: that anger at the telephone, the urge to simply rip it out of the wall and fire it across the room. Why did the whole world have to call while I was writing? Why couldn't they just . . . well. . let me do what I wanted? I gave a doubtful laugh and returned to the phone, seeing the wet handprint on it from my last call. ‘Hello?' ‘I said to stay visible while you were with her.' ‘Good morning to you, too, Lawyer Storrow.' ‘You must be in another time-zone up there, chum. I've got one-fifteen down here in New York.' ‘I had dinner with her,' I said. ‘Outside. It's true that I read the little kid a story and helped put her to bed, but ‘ ‘I imagine half the town thinks you're bopping each other's brains out by now, and the other half will think it if I have to show up for her in court.' But he didn't sound really angry; I thought he sounded as though he was having a happy-face day. ‘Can they make you tell who's paying for your services?' I asked. ‘At the custody hearing, I mean?' ‘Nope.' ‘At my deposition on Friday?' ‘Christ, no. Durgin would lose all credibility as guardian ad litem if he went in that direction. Also, they have reasons to steer clear of the sex angle. Their focus is on Mattie as neglectful and perhaps abusive. Proving that Mom isn't a nun quit working around the time Kramer vs. Kramer came out in the movie theaters. Nor is that the only problem they have with the issue.' He now sounded positively gleeful. ‘Tell me.' ‘Max Devore is eighty-five and divorced. Twice divorced, in point of fact. Before awarding custody to a single man of his age, secondary custody has to be taken into consideration. It is, in fact, the single most important issue, other than the allegations of abuse and neglect levelled at the mother.' ‘What are those allegations? Do you know?' ‘No. Mattie doesn't either, because they're fabrications. She's a sweetie, by the way ‘ ‘Yeah, she is.' ‘ and I think she's going to make a great witness. I can't wait to meet her in person. Meantime, don't sidetrack me. We're talking about secondary custody, right?' ‘Right.' ‘Devore has a daughter who has been declared mentally incompetent and lives in an institution somewhere in California Modesto, I think. Not a good bet for custody.' ‘It wouldn't seem so.' ‘The son, Roger, is . . . ‘ I heard a faint fluttering of notebook pages. ‘ . . . fifty-four. So he's not exactly a spring chicken, either. Still, there are lots of guys who become daddies at that age nowadays; it's a brave new world. But Roger is a homosexual.' I thought of Bill Dean saying, Rump-wrangler. Understand there's a lot of that going around out them in California. ‘I thought you said sex doesn't matter.' ‘Maybe I should have said hetero sex doesn't matter. In certain states California is one of them homo sex doesn't matter, either . . . or not as much. But this case isn't going to be adjudicated in California. It's going to be adjudicated in Maine, where folks are less enlightened about how well two married men married to each other, I mean can raise a little girl.' ‘Roger Devore is married?' Okay. I admit it. I now felt a certain horrified glee myself. I was ashamed of it Roger Devore was just a guy living his life, and he might not have had much or anything to do with his elderly dad's current enterprise but I felt it just the same. ‘He and a software designer named Morris Ridding tied the knot in 1996,' John said. ‘I found that on the first computer sweep. And if this does wind up in court, I intend to make as much of it as I possibly can. I don't know how much that will be at this point it's impossible to predict but if I get a chance to paint a picture of that bright-eyed, cheerful little girl growing up with two elderly gays who probably spend most of their lives in computer chat-rooms speculating about what Captain Kirk and Mr. Spock might have done after the lights were out in officers' country . . . well, if I get that chance, I'll take it.' ‘It seems a little mean,' I said. I heard myself speaking in the tone of a man who wants to be dissuaded, perhaps even laughed at, but that didn't happen. ‘Of course it's mean. It feels like swerving up onto the sidewalk to knock over a couple of innocent bystanders. Roger Devore and Morris Ridding don't deal drugs, traffic in little boys, or rob old ladies. But this is custody, and custody does an even better job than divorce of turning human beings into insects. This one isn't as bad as it could be, but it's bad enough because it's so naked. Max Devore came up there to his old hometown for one reason and one reason only: to buy a kid. That makes me mad.' I grinned, imagining a lawyer who looked like Elmer Fudd standing outside of a rabbit-hole marked DEVORE with a shotgun. ‘My message to Devore is going to be very simple: the price of the kid just went up. Probably to a figure higher than even he can afford.' ‘If it goes to court you've said that a couple of times now. Do you think there's a chance Devore might just drop it and go away?' ‘A pretty good one, yeah. I'd say an excellent one if he wasn't old and used to getting his own way. There's also the question of whether or not he's still sharp enough to know where his best interest lies. I'll try for a meeting with him and his lawyer while I'm up there, but so far I haven't managed to get past his secretary.' ‘Rogette Whitmore?' ‘No, I think she's a step further up the ladder. I haven't talked to her yet, either. But I will.' ‘Try either Richard Osgood or George Footman,' I said. ‘Either of them may be able to put you in touch with Devore or Devore's chief counsel.' ‘I'll want to talk to the Whitmore woman in any case. Men like Devore tend to grow more and more dependent on their close advisors as they grow older, and she could be a key to getting him to let this go. She could also be a headache for us. She might urge him to fight, possibly because she really thinks he can win and possibly because she wants to watch the fur fly. Also, she might marry him.' ‘Marry him?' ‘Why not? He could have her sign a pre-nup I could no more' introduce that in court than his lawyers could go fishing for who hired Mattie's lawyer and it would strengthen his chances.' ‘John, I've seen the woman. She's got to be seventy herself.' ‘But she's a potential female player in a custody case involving a little girl, and she's a layer between old man Devore and the married gay couple. We just need to keep it in mind.' ‘Okay.' I looked at the office door again, but not so longingly. There comes a point when you're done for the day whether you want to be or not, and I thought I had reached that point. Perhaps in the evening . . . ‘The lawyer I got for you is named Romeo Bissonette.' He paused. ‘Can that be a real name?' ‘Is he from Lewiston?' ‘Yes, how did you know?' ‘Because in Maine, especially around Lewiston, that can be a real name. Am I supposed to go see him?' I didn't want to go see him. It was fifty miles to Lewiston over two-lane roads which would now be crawling with campers and Winnebagos. What I wanted was to go swimming and then take a long nap. A long dreamless nap. ‘You don't need to. Call him and talk to him a little. He's only a safety net, really he'll object if the questioning leaves the incident on the morning of July Fourth. About that incident you tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Got it?' ‘Yes.' ‘Talk to him before, then meet him on Friday at . . . wait . . . it's right here . . . ‘ The notebook pages fluttered again. ‘Meet him at the Route 120 Diner at nine-fifteen. Coffee. Talk a little, get to know each other, maybe flip for the check. I'll be with Mattie, getting as much as I can. We may want to hire a private dick.' ‘I love it when you talk dirty.' ‘Uh-huh. I'm going to see that bills go to your guy Goldacre. He'll send them to your agent, and your agent can ‘ ‘No,' I said. ‘Instruct Goldacre to send them directly here. Harold's a Jewish mother. How much is this going to cost me?' ‘Seventy-five thousand dollars, minimum,' he said with no hesitation at all. With no apology in his voice, either. ‘Don't tell Mattie.' ‘All right. Are you having any fun yet, Mike?' ‘You know, I sort of am,' I said thoughtfully. ‘For seventy-five grand, you should.' We said our goodbyes and John hung up. As I put my own phone back into its cradle, it occurred to me that I had lived more in the last five days than I had in the last four years. This time the phone didn't ring and I made it all the way back into the office, but I knew I was definitely done for the day. I sat down at the IBM, hit the RETURN key a couple of times, and was beginning to write myself a next-note at the bottom of the page I'd been working on when the phone interrupted me. What a sour little doodad the telephone is, and what little good news we get from it! Today had been an exception, though, and I thought I could sign off with a grin. I was working, after all working. Part of me still marvelled that I was sitting here at all, breathing easily, my heart beating steadily in my chest, and not even a glimmer of an anxiety attack on my personal event horizon. I wrote: [NEXT: Drake to Raiford. Stops on the way at vegetable stand to talk to the guy who runs it, old source, needs a good & colorful name. Straw hat. Disneyworld tee-shirt. They talk about Shackleford.] I turned the roller until the IBM spat this page out, stuck it on top of the manuscript, and jotted a final note to myself: ‘Call Ted Rosencrief about Raiford.' Rosencrief was a retired Navy man who lived in Derry. I had employed him as a research assistant on several books, using him on one project to find out how paper was made, what the migratory habits of certain common birds were for another, a little bit about the architecture of pyramid burial rooms for a third. And it's always ‘a little bit' I want, never ‘the whole damn thing.' As a writer, my motto has always been don't confuse me with the facts. The Arthur Hailey type of fiction is beyond me I can't read it, let alone write it. I want to know just enough so I can lie colorfully. Rosie knew that, and we had always worked well together. This time I needed to know a little bit about Florida's Raiford Prison, and what the deathhouse down there is really like. I also needed a little bit on the psychology of serial killers. I thought Rosie would probably be glad to hear from me . . . almost as glad as I was to finally have something to call him about. I picked up the eight double-spaced pages I had written and fanned through them, still amazed at their existence. Had an old IBM typewriter and a Courier type-ball been the secret all along? That was certainly how it seemed. What had come out was also amazing. I'd had ideas during my four-year sabbatical; there had been no writer's block in that regard. One had been really great, the sort of thing which certainly would have become a novel if I'd still been able to write novels. Half a dozen to a dozen were of the sort I'd classify ‘pretty good,' meaning they'd do in a pinch . . . or if they happened to unexpectedly grow tall and mysterious overnight, like Jack's beanstalk. Sometimes they do. Most were glimmers, little ‘what-ifs' that came and went like shooting stars while I was driving or walking or just lying in bed at night and waiting to go to sleep. The Red-Shirt Man was a what-if. One day I saw a man in a bright red shirt washing the show windows of the JC Penney store in Derry this was not long before Penney's moved out to the mall. A young man and woman walked under his ladder . . . very bad luck, according to the old superstition. These two didn't know where they were walking, though they were holding hands, drinking deeply of each other's eyes, as completely in love as any two twenty-year-olds in the history of the world. The man was tall, and as I watched, the top of his head came within an ace of clipping the window-washer's feet. If that had happened, the whole works might have gone over. The entire incident was history in five seconds. Writing The Red-Shirt Man took five months. Except in truth, the entire book was done in a what-if second. I imagined a collision instead of a near-miss. Everything else followed from there. The writing was just secretarial. The idea I was currently working on wasn't one of Mike's Really Great Ideas (Jo's voice carefully made the capitals), but it wasn't a what-if, either. Nor was it much like my old gothic suspense yarns; V. C. Andrews with a prick was nowhere in sight this time. But it felt solid, like the real thing, and this morning it had come out as naturally as a breath. Andy Drake was a private investigator in Key Largo. He was forty years old, divorced, the father of a three-year-old girl. At the open he was in the Key West home of a woman named Regina Whiting. Mrs. Whiting also had a little girl, hers five years old. Mrs. Whiting was married to an extremely rich developer who did not know what Andy Drake knew: that until 1992, Regina Taylor Whiting had been Tiffany Taylor, a high-priced Miami call-girl. That much I had written before the phone started ringing. Here is what I knew beyond that point, the secretarial work I'd do over the next several weeks, assuming that my marvellously recovered ability to work held up: One day when Karen Whiting was three, the phone had rung while she and her mother were sitting in the patio hot tub. Regina thought of asking the yard-guy to answer it, then decided to get it herself-their regular man was out with the flu, and she didn't feel comfortable about asking a stranger for a favor. Cautioning her daughter to sit still, Regina hopped out to answer the phone. When Karen put up a hand to keep from being splashed as her mother left the tub, she dropped the doll she had been bathing. When she bent to pick it up, her hair became caught in one of the hot tub's powerful intakes. (It was reading of a fatal accident like this that had originally kicked the story off in my mind two or three years before.) The yard-man, some no-name in a khaki shirt sent over by a day-labor outfit, saw what was happening. He raced across the lawn, dove headfirst into the tub, and yanked the child from the bottom, leaving hair and a good chunk of scalp clogging the jet when he did. He'd give her artificial respiration until she began to breathe again. (This would be a wonderful, suspenseful scene, and I couldn't wait to write it.) He would refuse all of the hysterical, relieved mother's offers of recompense, although he'd finally give her an address so that her husband could talk to him. Only both the address and his name, John Sanborn, would turn out to be a fake. Two years later the ex-hooker with the respectable second life sees the man who saved her child on the front page of the Miami paper. His name is given as John Shackleford and he has been arrested for the rape-murder of a nine-year-old girl. And, the article goes on, he is suspected in over forty other murders, many of the victims children. ‘Have you caught Baseball Cap?' one of the reporters would yell at the press conference. ‘Is John Shackleford Baseball Cap?' ‘Well,' I said, going downstairs, ‘they sure think he is.' I could hear too many boats out on the lake this afternoon to make nude bathing an option. I pulled on my suit, slung a towel over my shoulders, and started down the path the one which had been lined with glowing paper lanterns in my dream to wash off the sweat of my nightmares and my unexpected morning's labors. There are twenty-three railroad-tie steps between Sara and the lake. I had gone down only four or five before the enormity of what had just happened hit me. My mouth began to tremble. The colors of the trees and the sky mixed together as my eyes teared up. A sound began to come out of me a kind of muffled groaning. The strength ran out of my legs and I sat down hard on a railroad tie. For a moment I thought it was over, mostly just a false alarm, and then I began to cry. I stuffed one end of the towel in my mouth during the worst of it, afraid that if the boaters on the lake heard the sounds coming out of me, they'd think someone up here was being murdered. I cried in grief for the empty years I had spent without Jo, without friends, and without my work. I cried in gratitude because those work-less years seemed to be over. It was too early to tell for sure one swallow doesn't make a summer and eight pages of hard copy don't make a career resuscitation but I thought it really might be so. And I cried out of fear, as well, as we do when some awful experience is finally over or when some terrible accident has been narrowly averted. I cried because I suddenly realized that I had been walking a white line ever since Jo died, walking straight down the middle of the road. By some miracle, I had been carried out of harm's way. I had no idea who had done the carrying, but that was all right it was a question that could wait for another day. I cried it all out of me. Then I went on down to the lake and waded in. The cool water felt more than good on my overheated body; it felt like a resurrection.

Bush Negroes

Columbus’ discovery of the New World in the late 15th century led to the establishment of colonies by European powers in that area. Eventually, the introduction of sugar in the Mid-17th Century gave rise to what would be known as the Sugar Revolution. A massive influx of slaves from Africa was seen during this period, as sugar required a substantial labour force.However, with hundreds and thousands of slaves being imported and only a few thousand whites to match them, the use of repressive measures through legal, psychological, cultural and physical means to control the slaves’ movement and to keep them on the plantation was of utmost importance in order to make up for this deficit. The horrors of slavery were so great that, even though they risked severe punishment, some slaves attempted to flee from their plantations. In fact, entire communities were established by runaway slaves in British Guiana and Jamaica.Moreover, these slaves, known as the Bush Negroes of Surina m and the Maroons of Jamaica, were able to survive despite the efforts of the Europeans to bring them back under their control. These two groups shared many similarities as well as differences, whether it both communities fighting with and making treaties with the Europeans or the fact that they defended their settlements differently. Also, they were differences between the social and political structure of these two settlements.To start with, both settlements fought with and made treaties with the Europeans. Also, both of these treaties were broken at some point in time. With the Maroons, two wars took place, the first after which the British Government in Jamaica came to an agreement with them. This treaty gave the Maroons freedom and possession of all the lands lying between Trelawney Town and Cockpit Country. In return, the Maroons’ promised not to attack white planters, help return all runaway slaves and assist the Government against external enemies or internal revolt.T he second war came about in 1795 as the Maroons felt they were being mistreated under the treaty that ended the first war. Eventually, the Maroons surrendered to end the war. The Maroon  leaders and Major-General George Walpole established that the  Maroons  would beg on their knees for the King's forgiveness, return all runaway slaves, and be relocated elsewhere in Jamaica. On the other hand, The Bush Negroes of Surinam made a treaty with the Dutch that granted them reedom and the right to occupy the interior, in exchange for them not stirring up slave revolts or raiding plantations. The Bush Negroes complied for thirty years, but eventually they resumed their raids on the European plantations. Despite their similarities, however, the settlements of the Bush Negroes of Surinam and the Maroons of Jamaica were different in many aspects, especially in terms of how they were defended. The Bush Negroes lived in circular clearings, with their dwellings being in the centre and their crops surrounding them.Their settlements were built in such a way that the lowest growing crops were closest to their dwellings and their highest being at the circle’s exterior. This was done for cover as well as food. More permanent settlements were surrounded by a â€Å"moat† (a deep, wide ditch surrounding a castle, fort or ton that is usually filled with water). The thick forest of the interior was perhaps the greatest protection that the Bush Negroes had, as it could only be penetrated by the use of rivers which, further into the interior, had rapids.The Maroon Settlements, like those of the Bush Negroes, were constructed with security foremost. The Maroons lived in the mountains, with the lower levels being more easily accessible and the upper levels more inaccessible. Few, if any British soldiers reached the upper levels of Maroon settlements. However, the Maroons also developed camouflage and ambush techniques in order to defend their settlements. For example, â€Å"bushing up† was a commonly used method of camouflage, as it would make them impossible to spot against the trees and plants that surrounded them.The Maroons would also bathe in a mountain stream, scrubbing their bodies with the leaves of a certain plant that gave them a fresh lemon scent. Then they would lie in wait in the brush that emitted the same odour, which would camouflage their scent. Additionally, there were differences in the political structures of these two settlements, as exemplified by the fact that the Bush Negro settlements were more politically and socially structured than those of the Maroons. The Bush Negroes were organised under leaders in a quasi-military (i. e. aving some resemblance to the military) life, with the lowest ranks performing the jobs that required little or no skill, such as subsistence (i. e. to maintain or support with provisions) and plundering the plantations on a nightly basis. On Maroon settlements, however, political and socia l structures such as these were non-existent. In conclusion, The Bush Negroes of Surinam and The Maroons of Jamaica were communities that consisted of slaves who, after enduring the horrors of slavery, took the risk of fleeing their plantations and established free communities.These two groups shared many similarities and differences, whether it was in their battles and treaties with the Europeans or the way in which they protected their settlements The focus of this extract was to show the similarities and differences between two settlements that consisted of slaves from who fled their plantations to escape the horrors of slavery, even though they risked severe punishment while doing so. From their battles and treaties with the Europeans to the way in which they protected their settlements and their political and social structures, these two groups were very similar, and at the same time, different.

A Comparative Study on High School Students Between the United States and China Essay Example

A Comparative Study on High School Students Between the United States and China Essay Example A Comparative Study on High School Students Between the United States and China Essay A Comparative Study on High School Students Between the United States and China Essay Essay Topic: High School With the development of planetary economic system, the competition in instruction is going an of import portion of the international competitions. Students all over the universe are viing with non merely the pupils in their state but the pupils in the universe. To some grades, the future fight of a state relies on how great their pupils are. As for pupils, their high school clip is the critical period in their life, when they form their mentality on life and happen out what they want to make in the hereafter. High school pupils in both the United States and China have immense differences in their school life. First, course of study. Students in American high school are required to take Science, Mathematics, English, Social scientific disciplines, Physical instruction and other electives such as Computers, Foreign linguistic communication etc. About 40 per centum of U.S. high school pupils do non take any scientific discipline category more ambitious than general biological science. A nd 55 per centum of pupils do non take any math classs beyond two old ages of algebra and one twelvemonth of geometry. While in China, the academic course of study consists of Chinese, Mathematics, English, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, Geography, History, etc. The demand to Chinese pupils in Mathematics A ; Science is considered to be rather high. Second, clip on analyzing. Harmonizing to the research conveyed by BPP production squad, American pupils spend 302,400 proceedingss in school during their high school clip for 4 old ages while Chinese pupils spend 583,200 proceedingss. If adding that to the clip spent making prep and perusal after school, by the terminal of the high school, Chinese pupils have spent twice every bit many hours analyzing as American pupils. But even though Chinese pupils spend more clip perusal, it seems that their prep can neer be finished. Therefore, Chinese pupils try their best to heighten their learning efficiency in order to squash more clip. However, it doesn’t mean that American kids don’t work hard. The nucleus of the difference is the distribution of clip. American pupils devote their clip to playing athleticss, making parttime occupations, and even dating with others, which make them energetic and societal. From this facet, the instruction system of American high school is more flexible than Chinese sinc e it encourages pupils to develop comprehensively and acquire near to the society. Third, outlook of parents. In China, parents think extremely of the instruction for their kids. They tend to take roads for their kids to follow and do critical determinations for them, like which college to come in, or which major to larn. Particularly for the top pupils, parents normally pay for several sorts of lessons as portion of their investing in their instruction in order to open up a lead in the competition for their kids. But American parents seem more relaxed. The per centum of parents who think their child’s high school is learning the right sum of Math and Science is 70 % . American parents have thoughts about the hereafter of their kids but rarely make determinations for them. So Chinese pupils face with more force per unit area from parents. Different instruction manners result in different pupils. American pupils score extremely in one country relation to their international equals: assurance. They worship freedom and balance work and relaxation good, taking t hem be optimistic about the hereafter. On the contrary, Chinese pupils in high school ain much academic cognition so that they do better in scrutinies. But it can non do a decision hurriedly that whether high school in both China and U.S, A is good or non because the instruction system is based on the economic state of affairs of China and America. To do an terminal, to better the fight of a state, it is necessary to compare the instruction system to that in other states, find out advantages and disadvantages and do some alterations to cultivate endowments. Mentions: Net 1 BPP production squad. ? . [ DB/OL ] hypertext transfer protocol: //video.sina.com.cn/v/b/83732476-2036021381.html, 2012-08-17 Net 2 Wikipedia. Education in the People’s Republic of China. [ EB/OL ] hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_People’s_Republic_of_China # Secondary_education, 2013-06-13 Net 3 Wikipedia. Education in the United States. [ EB/OL ] hypertext transfer protocol: //en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Education_in_the_United_States # Secondary_education, 2013-06-13

What is Line Editing 4 Ways It Can TRANSFORM Your Book

What is Line Editing 4 Ways It Can TRANSFORM Your Book What is Line Editing, and What Can It Do For Your Book? (With Examples!) Whether you're dashing off a note to a colleague or listing your bike for sale on Craigslist, your writing could always use a second pair of eyes. But what is line editing specifically? A tool for occasions when the language itself really matters, it's not something you need every time you sit down to finish a work email. But a book - that's another story.For an author, a line edit can be the secret sauce that takes a manuscript from good to great - turning a solid story into a bestseller-in-waiting that's impossible to put down. This post takes a look at how exactly it can transform your book project. Find out what line editing involves right here. What is line editing?Line editing is the act of examining a piece of writing on the level of craft - making sure the language is creative and concise, while the content is consistent and compelling.Also known as stylistic editing, it fine tunes your manuscript's, well, style, making sure it's written in a way that complements what you're trying to say.Your goal as an author is to make sure you’re carrying off the premise behind your book as well as possible. Have you ever been disappointed by a book you were excited to read, because it fumbled a cool concept with a so-so execution? If so, you've read something that could have benefited from this type of editing.Did you know the definition of â€Å"line editing† changes depending on the country? This posts covers its US definition. But in Canada it refers to a type of editing between developmental and copy editing, and in the UK it's basically interchangeable with "proofreading".Because of this regional variability, we' ve chosen not to use "line editing" in our editing service definitions. But never fear- if you'd like someone to edit your book for style, look no further than a Reedsy copy editor! They'll take care of  both creative and mechanical issues in one pass. 4 things line editors will do for your bookHear the words "line editing," and you might picture sharp-eyed readers wielding pens, filling pages with red marks as they go through. And you’d be right: This type of editor really does approach manuscripts in this fine-grained way. Instead of working in broad strokes - say, by rejigging the relationships between chapters and arcs or playing with the overall worldbuilding in a book - they operate, like their name suggests, on the level of lines.Overall, line editors examine manuscripts for word choice, economy of language, and consistency of content while making sure they evoke the appropriate reader response. You won't have to worry about the process making your book soulless or generic - the point isn't to turn out robotically "good" style that reads like everybody else; it's to help you sound like the best version of your writerly self.Let's take a closer look at what this looks like in practice. Say you've just finished writi ng an 18th-century paranormal romance called State of Blood. The action-packed story seems destined for the big screen, and the star-crossed lovers feel so vivid we hear them talking to us when we dream. The grammar is flawless, and spell check has been working overtime. However, the prose could use some... finessing. So you hand your manuscript over to a line editor. Here are four of the main ways they’ll review your book.1. Polish the prose 💎The editor will ensure you're using strong, precise word choice - and no clichà ©s."As star-crossed lovers, Clothilde and Janus felt like the whole world was against them. It felt bad. Thinking about her fellow vampires' negative response to the Janus' meaty fragrance in her underground chamber, Clothilde couldn't help but weep tears of freshly consumed blood.""Star-crossed lovers" and "the whole world was against them" might accurately describe the state of your characters' relationships, but these are clichà ©s you’l l likely want to avoid.   Try to use stronger, more specific language that brings their situation to life. Instead of telling us how they feel, can you show us in detail?"bad" - weak word choice, too generalIs "fragrance" in "meaty fragrance" really what you want here? Why not "scent"? If the response is negative, do the vampires find it repugnant? Then try "odor." Maybe they don't like the smell because it's distractingly appetizing and makes them want to drink Janus’ blood. If that’s the case, make sure that comes across clearly.2. Trim the fat 🔠ªThe editor will ensure the syntax is clean and that there are no wasted words."Janus was on his way to a meeting of the wizard's council when he saw the broadsheets being passed out on the street that clearly had something to do with the embezzlement case Clothilde was investigating, even if he couldn't see the lettering very clearly. Clothilde's investigation of the embezzlement was not going well. His trip to the council meeting was also now going to be similarly derailed."The first sentence is really long and unwieldy. To make it easier for readers to navigate, try breaking it up and condensing the language. Maybe something like: "On his way to a meeting of the wizard's council, Janus saw broadsheets being passed out on the street. He couldn't make out the lettering, but they clearly had something to do with Clothilde’s embezzlement case."Unnecessary repetition. You don't need to write about "Clothilde's investigation of the embezzlement case" right after talking about "the embezzlement case Clothilde was investigating." (Repetition does have a place in your prose, however! To learn more, check out our guide to repetition.)In the last sentence, you don't need "also" and "similarly".3. Fill in the holes 🕠³The editor will look for plot and character consistency. "Clothilde gagged at the smell of blood. Janus regarded her, now clearly in pain, with mild disinterest."Isn't Clothilde a vampire? Her gagging at the smell of blood seems to be inconsistent with that.Why is Janus responding to her pain with "mild disinterest"? Aren't they supposed to be deeply in love?4. Mood and tone 🎠­The editor will ensure your writing is not  making readers laugh when you want to make them cry. "'Clothilde!' Janus screeched, as her eyes dimmed and dulled. The stake stuck out of her shapely chest at an angle that made it look like a light switch in the off position. The embezzler giggled. Janus glared at him indignantly and pulled the stake out with a squelching sound."This is meant to be the book's tragic climax, but the tone is off, making it come across as unintentionally funny. Try retooling your diction to convey the gravity of the moment. Take an especially hard look at things like "screeched," "giggled," "glared at him indignantly," and "squelching sound," which read a bit slapstick and make the stakes feel low.Is her death scene really an appropriate time to comment on Clothilde's "shapely" chest?The light switch simile is out of place because of the novel's historical setting - as an 18th century wizard, Janus wouldn't know what a light switch is!Why hire a professional line editor?Maybe your manuscript isn't in as rough a shape as State of Blood. But you still wan t some help tightening it up and making sure there aren't any gaffes that slipped past your notice. Do you have to shell out for a professional editor, or is this something you can DIY? How to Edit a Book: a 3-Step Guide to a Bestselling Novel Read post Do:âÅ"ӕ ¸  Set your manuscript aside for a couple of days- at least- before you go over it. Let your own language, likely as familiar to you as your heartbeat by now, to become new to you again. Only then should you approach it as an editor.âÅ"ӕ ¸  Read everything out loud to yourself. Do your sentences flow well? Does their order make sense? Does the dialogue sound natural coming out of a human (or vampiric) mouth? If you find yourself gasping for breath before the end of a sentence, consider slicing it up. If you stumble over a certain word, rework or cut it.âÅ"ӕ ¸  Do a style audit for your own, personal clichà ©s. Of course you want to avoid actual clichà ©s - expressions like â€Å"in the nick of time† and â€Å"raining cats and dogs† can make any piece of writing feel boilerplate. But writers should pay attention to their own stylistic quirks as well. These idiosyncrasies are a good thing, up to a certain point: they are the hallmarks of per sonal style. Just make sure you're not overusing them to the extent of irritating your readers. Do you use more em dashes more than full stops? Are your characters addressing each other by name so much your dialogue feels stilted? Do they constantly "chortle" instead of laugh or "declaim" their words instead of saying them? Maybe you have a good reason for making these choices. But maybe it’s time to consider making some changes.Don't:⠝Å' Become a thesaurus junkie. When it comes to precise and varied word choice, a writer's favorite reference tome can be extraordinarily useful. But signs of egregious thesaurus use are obvious and damning - transforming blue eyes into "ultramarine orbs" and bad feelings into "substandard affections." The resulting, tortured constructions read more freshman composition than Pulitzer Prize.⠝Å' Insult your reader. In editing your manuscript for clarity, you may be tempted to make some insertions in order to, well, clarify your prose. But d on’t go too far and end up unnecessarily spelling things out. Your readers are smart. They should be guided through the text by a similarly discerning author - not stuck with interpretive training wheels.⠝Å' Avoid asking for any help, ever. You've decided not to hire a professional, but that doesn't mean you're doomed to edit alone like a hermit in a tiny cell. Consider seeking out beta readers, sensitivity readers if necessary, or even running your writing questions by a friend, on- or off-line. Learn everything you need to know about line editing your own book here! Now that you’ve learned about this crucial type of editing, you can use that knowledge to turn out a book as polished as your ideas deserved! Whether you end up scouring the marketplace for professional assistance or engaging your inner editor, your manuscript will thank you for it.Have you ever worked with a line editor? Leave your experiences or questions in the comments below!