The 7 Secrets of Magnificent Narrative Writing

Navigating your way through the various options when it comes to essay writing can feel like youre going through a minefield. Narrative, Descriptive, Expository, Persuasive †¦ they can all seem like different ways of saying the same thing. In fact, some essay styles are very similar but each one has its own quirks and style rules which can help writers communicate with their audience and, once you understand them, they can even help you to craft the best piece possible. 1. Understand What a Narrative Essay Entails Simply put, a narrative essay uses the act of story-telling in order to convey a message, teach a lesson, provide insight or educate the audience. Many times these stories are taken from a writers own personal experience, which can make starting the essay easier than writing other types of papers. Take full advantage of this when writing your rough draft. But a narrative paper also needs to involve the reader, so descriptions become especially important. 2. Let Your Rough Draft be Raw The power of any personal story lies in how raw it is. When writing the rough draft, dont hold anything back. If your story is a particularly powerful one, let yourself write the rough draft without restricting your language or descriptions. While you wont want to leave your final draft scattered with F-bombs, including them in your rough draft will give you the creative wiggle room you need to tell your story in your own way and retain its powerful message. Cleaning up the language and tightening the writing can be done in the revision stages. 3. Make it Personal, But Keep it Professional Although a narrative essay is built upon personal experience, the final result still needs to be polished and professional. A narrative essay isnt an open letter, it still needs to build towards a specific conclusion, insight or position on a topic. When needed, include research data, anecdotal evidence and other forms of outside research in order to give greater weight to your main point. This also gives you the chance to leave your own story for a moment, capitalize on outside research, and then bring the readers back to your personal story in the conclusion. 4. Craft Descriptions With the Audience in Mind Your readers wont be coming into this paper with the same background knowledge you have on the subject. Be sure your descriptions are vivid and well written. Avoid using adverbs like very, almost, nearly or quite too often. Instead swap out phrases which use these adverbs with better descriptions. A house isnt quite old, its seasoned, decrepit or ancient. Using more vivid language brings your words to life and makes the audience feel more involved. 5. Jump Into the Deep End Beginning your essay with a bit of back story ay seem like a good idea, but getting right to the action will engage your readers from the first sentence. Begin your essay with a powerful statement or by jumping into your story just as the action is happening. You can backtrack and give the background information once you begin the body of your paper. 6. Know Where Youre Going Using a personal story to write an essay makes you vulnerable to getting off track easily. Before you begin relating your own story, be sure youve hammered out the rough draft for both your introduction and conclusion ahead of time. This way youll always know what you want your final point to be. If you get lost on a tangent halfway through, you can refer back to your rough drafts to get back on track. 7. Know How to Cite A narrative essay may be built upon a personal story, but citing other works can still play a major role. In many other essay types, its normal to cite as you go, including small references to papers, books or other resources as a part of the text. For a narrative essay, however, keep all citations until the end and include them in a Works Cited page at the end as opposed to including them within the main text. This will help your audience to follow your story easily without any disruption.

Calcite and Aragonite in Earths Carbon Cycle

Calcite and Aragonite in Earth's Carbon Cycle You may think of carbon as an element that on Earth is found mainly in living things (that is, in organic matter) or in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide. Both of those geochemical reservoirs are important, of course, but the vast majority of carbon is locked up in carbonate minerals. These are led by calcium carbonate, which takes two mineral forms named calcite and aragonite. Calcium Carbonate Minerals in Rocks Aragonite and calcite have the same chemical formula, CaCO3, but their atoms are stacked in different configurations. That is, they are polymorphs. (Another example is the trio of kyanite, andalusite, and sillimanite.) Aragonite has an orthorhombic structure and calcite a trigonal structure. Our gallery of carbonate minerals covers the basics of both minerals from the rockhounds viewpoint: how to identify them, where theyre found, some of their peculiarities. Calcite is more stable in general than aragonite, although as temperatures and pressures change one of the two minerals may convert to the other. At surface conditions, aragonite spontaneously turns into calcite over geologic time, but at higher pressures aragonite, the denser of the two, is the preferred structure. High temperatures work in calcites favor. At surface pressure, aragonite cant endure temperatures above around 400Â °C for long. High-pressure, low-temperature rocks of the blueschist metamorphic facies often contain veins of aragonite instead of calcite. The process of turning back to calcite is slow enough that aragonite can persist in a metastable state, similar to diamond. Sometimes a crystal of one mineral converts to the other mineral while preserving its original shape as a pseudomorph: it may look like a typical calcite knob or aragonite needle, but the petrographic microscope shows its true nature. Many geologists, for most purposes, dont need to know the correct polymorph and just talk about carbonate. Most of the time, the carbonate in rocks is calcite. Calcium Carbonate Minerals in Water Calcium carbonate chemistry is more complicated when it comes to understanding which polymorph will crystallize out of solution. This process is common in nature, because neither mineral is highly soluble, and the presence of dissolved carbon dioxide (CO2) in water pushes them toward precipitating. In water, CO2 exists in balance with the bicarbonate ion, HCO3, and carbonic acid, H2CO3, all of which are highly soluble. Changing the level of CO2 affects the levels of these other compounds, but the CaCO3 in the middle of this chemical chain pretty much has no choice but to precipitate as a mineral that cant dissolve quickly and return to the water. This one-way process is a major driver of the geological carbon cycle. Which arrangement the calcium ions (Ca2) and carbonate ions (CO32–) will choose as they join into CaCO3 depends on conditions in the water. In clean fresh water (and in the laboratory), calcite predominates, especially in cool water. Cavestone formations are generally calcite. Mineral cements in many limestones and other sedimentary rocks are generally calcite. The ocean is the most important habitat in the geological record, and calcium carbonate mineralization is an important part of oceanic life and marine geochemistry. Calcium carbonate comes directly out of solution to form mineral layers on the tiny round particles called ooids and to form the cement of seafloor mud. Which mineral crystallizes, calcite or aragonite, depends on the water chemistry. Seawater is full of ions that compete with calcium and carbonate. Magnesium (Mg2) clings to the calcite structure, slowing down the growth of calcite and forcing itself into calcites molecular structure, but it doesnt interfere with aragonite. Sulfate ion (SO4–) also suppresses calcite growth. Warmer water and a larger supply of dissolved carbonate favor aragonite by encouraging it to grow faster than calcite can. Calcite and Aragonite Seas These things matter to the living things that build their shells and structures out of calcium carbonate. Shellfish, including bivalves and brachiopods, are familiar examples. Their shells are not pure mineral, but intricate mixtures of microscopic carbonate crystals bound together with proteins. The one-celled animals and plants classified as plankton make their shells, or tests, the same way. Another important factor appears to be that algae benefit from making carbonate by ensuring themselves a ready supply of CO2 to help with photosynthesis. All of these creatures use enzymes to construct the mineral they prefer. Aragonite makes needlelike crystals whereas calcite makes blocky ones, but many species can make use of either. Many mollusk shells use aragonite on the inside and calcite on the outside. Whatever they do uses energy, and when ocean conditions favor one carbonate or the other, the shell-building process takes extra energy to work against the dictates of pure chemistry. This means that changing the chemistry of a lake or the ocean penalizes some species and advantages others. Over geologic time the ocean has shifted between aragonite seas and calcite seas. Today were in an aragonite sea that is high in magnesium- it favors the precipitation of aragonite plus calcite thats high in magnesium. A calcite sea, lower in magnesium, favors low-magnesium calcite. The secret is fresh seafloor basalt, whose minerals react with magnesium in seawater and pull it out of circulation. When plate tectonic activity is vigorous, we get calcite seas. When its slower and spreading zones are shorter, we get aragonite seas. Theres more to it than that, of course. The important thing is that the two different regimes exist, and the boundary between them is roughly when magnesium is twice as abundant as calcium in seawater. The Earth has had an aragonite sea since roughly 40 million years ago (40 Ma). The most recent previous aragonite sea period was between late Mississippian and early Jurassic time (about 330 to 180 Ma), and next going back in time was the latest Precambrian, before 550 Ma. In between these periods, Earth had calcite seas. More aragonite and calcite periods are being mapped out farther back in time. Its thought that over geologic time, these large-scale patterns have made a difference in the mix of organisms that built reefs in the sea. The things we learn about carbonate mineralization and its response to ocean chemistry are also important to know as we try to figure out how the sea will respond to human-caused changes in the atmosphere and climate.

Theories of Film Editing - Montage Mis-en-scene And beyond Essay

Theories of Film Editing - Montage Mis-en-scene And beyond - Essay Example Cinema is an art that developed from man’s incorrigible wish to record the movement and the moving objects because it was the moving and not static objects that interested him. The first film show, the Lumiere Show was just a shot of a train coming into the railway platform. Thus in the beginning Cinema was just only a recording medium and the movie camera only a recording machine. It functionally started as a medium to record theatre performances. The tragedy of the theatre is that every great performance by any actor goes into thin air just when the curtain is down. There is no record left. Cinema filled up this gap between the performance and the record for the posterity. As a recording machine, the camera stayed static, taking the position of a static audience in the theatre watching a play. Thus the recorded footage demanded no editing as the whole recording process was continuous. PARALLEL MONTAGE: It was the American film makers D .W Griffith, Edwin Porter who made the static camera vibrant. They invented what we call today the â€Å"close up†. A famous close-up shot of Griffith is Mae Marsh’s clasped hands in the trial episode of Intolerance, one of Griffith’s classics. The close up here adds on to the emotional tone of the film’s narrative. According to Siegfried Kracauer â€Å" It almost looks as if her huge hands with convulsively moving fingers were inserted for the sole purpose of illustrating eloquently her anguish at the most crucial moment of the trail.

Tokyo vs Bangkok Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Tokyo vs Bangkok - Essay Example Bangkok and Tokyo are about 3000 miles apart and similar yet different in many ways. They both have rivers passing through them and both lie close to bays and are both very rich as far as culture is concerned. Economically, Tokyo is superior to Thailand and had a higher cost of living too. Bangkok however, has a more metropolitan look than Tokyo since it has allowed many immigrants to live and work within the city. Tokyo has very tighter immigration laws and foreigners hold virtually no special rights in Tokyo. There is more of intercultural mixing in Bangkok. Bangkok is located in the very central part of Thailand and this makes it a natural hub between the southern and northern Thailand. Bangkok’s location around the Chao Phraya delta has earned it the title of being Asia’s Rice bowl. This is because the river creates a fertile valley in which a lot of rice is grown and mostly exported. Bangkok’s position near a bay has enabled it host Thailand’s main international port. The city lies approximately six and a half feet above sea level, and this works as a disadvantage to the city whenever the season of monsoon rains begin. The rains cause River Chao Phraya to burst its banks and massively flood the city. The city’s climate is hot and warm almost all year round and this is probably why it is so popular with tourism. It has even been labeled to be the hottest city in the world. According to Mansfield, Tokyo occupies a huge swath of sedimentary deposits of the Kanto Plain which is in Honshu, the most populo us and largest island in Japan. The city is situated on the coast of the eastern Pacific and its main features are the flatlands to its east, undulating hills to its west and the Sumida River.

Family or Art Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Family or Art - Essay Example The law and politics, human emotions, failings and desires, as well as survival and reproductive success in the biological sense all contribute to the notion of ‘family’ as we know it today. There are also fine and subtle variations determined by location (and dislocation, such as is caused by migration), race, religion, and a host of other complications devised, and brought about unwittingly, by humankind. In this family portrait the most important aspects are composition and palette. Prominence is given to the pet in the foreground. The color scheme also shows that the bespectacled boy, drawn in red, seems to have preference over the shadowy presence of sister, mom and dad. All are unsmiling: this could have a number of reasons. Is the pet being given away? Is the boy in trouble? Are boy and dog ganging up on the rest of the family? The three heads in the background could be snipped off at the corner, leaving boy and dog, who occupy most of the frame. This possibility gives this family a fault-line. All is not as happy as it looks on first look. The monotone color choice for this picture is deceptive, suggesting less happiness and unity than is visible on closer inspection. A mother and daughter are occupied in a yoga exercise that unites them in shape, concentration and harmony. They are almost one shape, so they make a family: they are dressed similarly, and only a singular purpose could keep a person in that pose. They both want to do this very much. They like to be together: are all families like this? This picture looks old-fashioned, like a woodcut, but its premise is contemporary. A single mother can bring up her daughter alone and they can enjoy harmony. The Gravenor family looks very correct, contained and harmonious, thanks to the artist’s composition and choices of color. Father, mother and two daughters? Or father, wife, daughter and grandmother? From this

Factors That Affect Streptomyces Growth Biology Essay

Factors That Affect Streptomyces Growth Biology Essay The growth of a microorganism is extremely dependent upon the surrounding environmental conditions. Every organism has a range of optimum conditions at which members of its species will grow ideally. Inoculum, temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen concentration (among other factors) within the media is often carefully controlled in industrial applications as deviations from the optimal conditions often have profound effects on the growth rate and activity of the organism (Shuler and Kargi, 1992). When directing experiments involving microbial growth, the preparation and quality of the inocula are as important as any other parameter control. In Streptomyces if mycelia are used in the inoculum, many uncontrolled variables will emerge. These variables include age, stress level and growth stage of the cells, all of which obligatory should be controlled (Kieser et al., 2000). This problem gets even worse when attempting to initiate trials over a period of several months as even small variations in the population size of the inoculum can result in large changes in the level and rate of growth. Streptomyces vegetative inocula are often prepared through the addition of several colonies sometimes from many starter plates to small amounts of media. This is afterward incubated until sufficient biomass is produced, as determined through optical density measurements of the media. This method of vegetative inoculum used by Jakeman et al. (2004) is effective in obtaining biomass; neverthele ss it does not provide the consistent inoculum required for comparative trials. The number of cells within the inoculum is hard to directly measure and the inconsistent manner of initially adding cells can result in cells at different stages of growth or stress level. Another method of preparing an inoculum is to harvest spores from the selected culture and store under conditions not satisfactory for germination. The cells within a spore suspension remain in a consistent state while still providing an instant inoculum (Kutzner and Nitsch, 1970). This technique also allows long term storage of a viable inoculum that should produce reliable results. By suspending the spores in a soft agar spore suspension, Kutzner and Nitsch (1970) have proven that a suspension of Streptomyces spores will remain viable as an inoculum over a year. Temperature The bacterial growth behavior is greatly influenced by many factors such as environmental conditions and the physiological state of the bacteria. The temperature of the environment directly affects the activity and growth of cells; every species has an ideal temperature for growth that is influenced by its physiology (Shuler and Kargi, 1992). This optimum temperature for growth may not be the same as the temperature at which metabolites are produced most efficiently. Streptomyces venezuelae ISP 5230 are mesophilic bacteria, which means that their optimal growth temperature is between 15 and 40 Â °C. For every increase of 10 Â °C closer to the optimum growth temperature, the growth rate of bacteria approximately doubles (Truelstrup-Hansen et al, 2002). If the media temperature is above optimal, the rate of growth is reduced. The temperatures used for Streptomyces venezuelae growth have been cited as 30 Â °C Â ± 2 Â °C (Wang and Vining, 2003; Jakeman et al., 2006). At 42 Â °C Str eptomyces venezuelae express heat shock genes that motivate sporulation and antibiotic production (Yang et al., 2008). pH Similarly to temperature, the pH (hydronium ion concentration) of the media affects the growth rate of bacteria by influencing the activity of cellular enzymes (Shuler and Kargi, 1992). To achieve the maximum growth rate level, current literature recommends growing Streptomyces venezuelae in a media with the maintenance of pH between 6.0 7.8 (Jakeman et al., 2006). The optimal pH levels are often different when maximizing growth rate and highest product yield (Shuler and Kargi, 1992). However, bacteria are often able to grow within a huge range of pH. Studies on the Streptomyces species by Kontro et al. (2005) have found the optimal pH ranges of growth and sporulation for this species to be between 5.5 and 11.5. The study executed by Kontro et al. (2005) has also found that the media strongly affects the acid tolerance of Streptomyces species. When grown at pH 4 in a media that contains yeast extract most species included in the studies were unable to grow, while at the pH of 7 the majority of species displayed maximum growth rate on most types of media. In order to buffer the pH of the growth medium to near neutral values, a buffer called MOPS (3-(N-morpholino) propanesulfonic acid) is normally used for this species of Streptomyces. While studying the effects of carbon sources on antibiotic production by Streptomyces venezuelae, MOPS was added to jadomycin B production media by Jakeman et al. (2006) however, no buffer was added to the Maltose yeast extract malt extract (MYM) agar that was used for the growth during the study. Glazebrook et al. (1990) studied the effect of different carbon sources on Streptomyces venezuelae sporulation in minimal LS media. In this media, enough amounts of MOPS were added to maintain the pH of the media at near neutral values for every carbon source except glucose. During growth in glucose-based LS media, a high production of oxo-acids was observed resulting in growth inhibition. Dissolved Oxygen The dissolved oxygen available to bacterial cells within the media can be a limiting factor if the rate of consumption exceeds the rate of supply (Schuler, 2000). There is a critical oxygen concentration exclusive to each bacteria species, above which the growth rate is independent of the media dissolved oxygen concentration. This value is usually 5 10 % of the maximum saturation level; however the maximum saturation is influenced through the existence of dissolved salts, organics, and the medias temperature (Shuler and Kargi, 1992). The production of secondary metabolites can also be influenced through dissolved oxygen concentration. During antibiotic production Streptomyces clavuligerus, increased oxygen saturation above the critical dissolved oxygen concentration which resulted in additional product and biomass yield (Yegneswaran et al., 1991) up to the maximum saturation limit of oxygen in the media. Substrate The substrate used in the media is an important factor that can affect growth rate of the bacteria as well as its characteristics. For instance, Kontro et al. (2005) found that Streptomyces species changed its behavior as acidophiles, neutrophiles or alkalophiles, depending on the growth media. Most species would grow optimally at pH that is near to neutral or slightly alkaline conditions on a media that included yeast extract (Kontro et al., 2005). Streptomyces venezuelae is grown using many carbon sources including glycerol, glucose, lactose, mannose, maltotriose, maltose starch and more. The effect of these carbon sources on growth and secondary metabolite production is dependent upon many factors such as pH (Kontro et al., 2005). For example, studies on the sporulation of Streptomyces venezuelae in liquid media by Glazebrook et al., (1990) found that while maltose supported the growth and sporulation of Streptomyces venezuelae, glucose significantly inhibited sporulation. Specifi cally, when grown in minimal LS media using glucose as the main carbon source, the pH of the media dropped rapidly with the production of oxo-acids by the bacteria. The increased acidity likely contributed to growth inhibition; however the glucose was reported to also have an inhibitory effect on sporulation that was un-related to the increased acidity of the media. As the jadomycin family of antibiotics is linked to the sporulation pathway (Wang and Vining, 2003), it is visible that the media has a huge effect on the growth and antibiotic production by Streptomyces venezuelae. Work by Jakeman et al. (2006) found that the carbon source supplied in to the media also has an influence on the antibiotic production by Streptomyces venezuelae. The effect of several sugars on jadomycin B production was studied and important differences in antibiotic production between sugars were found, where glucose was found to be optimal. Heat Balance The bacterial behavior is greatly influenced by the environmental temperature; however the metabolism and activity of bacteria also affects media temperature. Naturally about 50 60 % of energy produced during the metabolism of nutrients within a system is transformed into heat energy (Shuler and Kargi, 1992). The metabolism of sugar is a great source of thermal energy that must be taken into consideration in bioreactor design (Ben-Hassan et al., 1992). Streptomyces venezuelae aerobically metabolize sugars for energy and the production of metabolites. In industry, the amount of substrate used by the microorganism for growth and product synthesis determines the economic viability of the process. The heat energy produced can be determined through the utilization of a heat balance model (Ghaly et al., 1992). Once the heat of mixing is determined, the energy generated by Streptomyces venezuelae can be determined. The work by Ghaly et al. (1992) on the heat generated through mixing and me tabolism during lactose fermentation showed that the temperature of media increased from 22 to 32 Â °C with bacterial growth (Figure 3.9). This increase in temperature was due to the heat generated by the yeast (7.4 JÂ ·s-1) as well as the heat of mixing (1.01 JÂ ·s-1). The amount of heat generated by the organisms in a bioreactor can be estimated by modeling the heat flux over the boundary of the enclosed system. This mathematical model or heat balance balances the thermal energy generated within a system with the energy stored and lost from the system (Ben-Hassan et al., 1992). To develop a heat balance using this method, a trial must first be executed on the system through normal stable state operation to evaluate the heat generation during operation of the bioreactor. A heat balance can be performed on a bioreactor to determine the amount of thermal energy generated within the system during normal operation due to mixing. To model the system under different operating circumst ances the reactor can be run at several agitation speeds (e.g. 200, 400 and 600 rpm) until a state of thermal balance is reached. At thermal balance the amount of energy generated within the bioreactor is equal to the amount of energy lost; this state of stability can be used to eliminate unknown parameters within the heat balance model.

The Mexican War :: Texas Revolution Papers

Beginning in 1845 and ending in 1850 a series of events took place that would come to be known as the Mexican war and the Texas Revolution. This paper will give an overview on not only the events that occurred (battles, treaties, negotiations, ect.) But also the politics and reasoning behind it all. This was a war that involved America and Mexico fighting over Texas. That was the base for the entire ordeal. This series of events contained some of the most dramatic war strategy that has ever been implemented. What Caused This War? In 1845 the U.S attempted to Annex Texas. Basically America wanted Texas to become one of the states rather then and independent nation by itself. At this time Texas was an independent nation that was not a part of America or Mexico. Mexico wanted to keep Texas neutral if not a part of its own country. When the U.S attempted to annex Texas Mexico became outraged, " In November 1843 Mexico had warned that if the United States should commit the 'unheard-of aggression' of seizing an integral part of 'Mexican territory' Mexico would declare war " (Bound for the Rio Grande, 62). Despite the warning the U.S attempted to annex Texas. In doing so Mexico retaliated by breaking off all diplomatic relations with the U.S. Mexico felt that the U.S was insulting them by not taking them seriously when they threatened with war. So at this point America showed a very large interest in possessing Texas. America was very close to actually acquiring Texas when they made their first mistake in the war. The U.S requested the also be given the Rio Grande. The Rio Grande was south of Texas and clearly belonged to Mexico (refer to figure 1). The U.S felt that the Rio Grande was part of Texas and should be given to the U.S with Texas. Mexico would not give up the Rio Grande because they were certain that the Rio Grande belonged to them. America's greed is THE major reason this conflict occurred. The U.S also believed the Mexico should have to pay for any of the U.S's debts that were incurred during Mexico's conflicts with Spain. America was in debt 3 million dollars because of the Mexico and Spanish conflicts and America very strongly believed that these debts were Mexico's fault and they should have to pay for them.

Jericho

Jericho is a Palestinian city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank. It lies at latitude 31 52 degrees north and longitude 35 39 degrees east and is 250 metres below sea level. Jericho is one of the most ancient human habitations. Bartlett (1982) suggests the most ancient human remains were found in it, some of which go back to 5000 years B. C. Bartlett also believes some settlements date back to 9000 years B. C. The Ancient city was occupied by Jordan from 1948 to 1967 (Bartlett, 1982). Over centuries communities became abandoned and new settlements set up. Hunters were attracted to this location because of the abundant water sources nearby. Aqueducts and other irrigation systems were built early on, making the city an agricultural center. By 8000 BC, about 2,000 people had permanently settled near present-day Jericho (Metzger and Coogan, 1993). Jericho was an important city in the Old Testament. The city was overtaken and devastated several times. However, it was always reoccupied — sometimes quickly and other times very slowly. Herod the Great, Cleopatra, and Augustus are some of the mighty rulers that once took claim of some or all of Jericho. Many Galileans would travel through the Jordan valley and go by Jericho on their route to Jerusalem. By taking this course, they could avoid passing through Samaritan territory (Metzger and Coogan, 1993). Jericho later fell to the Babylonians, but was rebuilt when the Jews were allowed to return from their exile. The city continued to be a resort during the rule of the succeeding empires. For Christians, Jericho took on importance because of its association with John the Baptist, who was said to have been baptised by the banks of the Jordan on the eastern boundary of the city. The Romans destroyed the old city in the first century, but it was rebuilt in its present location by the Byzantines. The city briefly returned to glory when Caliph Hisham Ibn Abd el-Malik built his winter palace in Jericho in 743, but an earthquake destroyed virtually the entire city just four years later. The city later fell to the Crusaders and then was recaptured by Saladin. Jericho was largely ignored and deserted for centuries afterward. The economy of this time was in a transition from one of gathering food, to an economy of producing food. The earliest inhabitants are known as the An -Natifiyyun. These people relied on gathering wild seeds for food. It is unlikely that they planted these seeds, but rather harvested them using tools. These tools included scythes with flint edges and straight bone handles. They used stone mortars with handles to grind the seeds. Some of the An-Natifiyyun lived in nearby caves. Others lived in primitive villages, excelling in architecture. Over the course of time, they learned how to make sun-dried bricks, and began to build more substantial dwellings. These dwellings were round huts, constructed from flat-bottomed bricks, which curved at the higher edge. Canals were dug from ancient Jericho to the nearby Ein Al-Sultan spring. These canals provided ample supplies of water for residential use. As their economy progressed, they used these canals to irrigate their fields. They constructed walls 6. 56 feet (2m) in width to surround and enclose their villages. Within these walls they erected a massive tower, (9m) in diameter, and (10m) in height. Today Jericho is often referred to as the oldest city on earth, with a history of over ten thousand years. This ancient city is located in the region of Canaan at the lower end of the Jordan valley about eight miles north of the Dead Sea. Hunters were attracted to this location because of the abundant water sources nearby. Aqueducts and other irrigation systems were built early on, making the city an agricultural center. By 8000 BC, about 2,000 people had permanently settled near present-day Jericho Jericho was an important city in the Old Testament. The city was overtaken and devastated several times. However, it was always reoccupied — sometimes quickly and other times very slowly. The city of Jericho, now identified with Tel es-Sultan, is thought by some archaeologists to be as much as 11,000 years old, making it one of the oldest sites of human settlement in the world. The earliest evidence of human occupation is a Mesolithic shrine and there is evidence one city build overtop of another for several millennia. The most prominent features of ancient Jericho would have been the large, high walls. It is the oldest walled city in human history and walls remain a significant aspect of archaeological digs. Jericho had stonewalls by 7,000 BCE, even before the invention of pottery. The first walls at Jericho were built during the Pre-Pottery Neolithic A (PPNA) period, indicating that violence and conflict were important parts of Jericho's history for a very long time. The first permanent settlement was built near the Ein as-Sultan spring between 10,000 and 9000 BC. As the world warmed, a new culture based on agriculture and sedentary dwelling emerged, which archaeologists called â€Å"Pre-Pottery Neolithic A† which were characterized by small circular dwellings, burials of the dead within the floors of buildings, reliance on hunting wild game, the cultivation of wild or domestic cereals, and no use of pottery. At Jericho, circular dwellings were built of clay and straw bricks left to dry in the sun, which were plastered together with a mud mortar. Each house measured about 5 metres across, and was roofed with mud-smeared brush. Hearths were located within and outside the homes. During the Pre-Pottery Neolithic B, settlement-phase the architecture consisted of rectilinear buildings made of mudbricks on stone foundations. The mudbricks were loaf-shaped with deep thumb prints to facilitate bounding. No building has been excavated in its entirety. Normally, several rooms cluster around a central courtyard. There is one big room ( with internal divisions, the rest are small, presumably used for storage. The rooms have red or pinkish terrazzo-floors made of lime. Some impressions of mats made of reeds or rushes have been preserved. The courtyards have clay floors. The dead were buried under the floors or in the rubble fill of abandoned buildings. There are several collective burials. Not all the skeletons are completely articulated, which may point to a time of exposure before burial. A skull cache would contained seven skulls. The jaws were removed and the faces covered with plaster; cowries were used as eyes. As new settlements arose they began to encourage the growth of plants such as barley and lentils and the domestication of pigs, sheep and goats. People no longer looked for their favorite food sources where they occurred naturally. Now they introduced them into other locations. An agricultural revolution had begun. The ability to expand the food supply in one area allowed the development of permanent settlements of greater size and complexity. The people of the Neolithic or New Stone Age (8000-5000 B. C. ) organized fairly large villages. Jericho grew into a fortified town complete with ditches, stone walls, and towers and contained perhaps 2000 residents. Although agriculture resulted in a stable food supply for permanent communities, the revolutionary aspect of this development was that the community could bring what they needed (natural resources plus their tool kit) to make a new site inhabitable. This development made it possible to create larger communities and also helped to spread the practice of agriculture to a wider area. The presence of tools and statues made of stone not available locally indicates that there was also some trading with distant regions. Agricultural society brought changes in the organization of religious practices as well. Sanctuary rooms decorated with frescoes and sculptures of the heads of bulls and bears shows us that structured religious rites were important to the inhabitants of these early communities. At Jericho, human skulls were covered with clay in an attempt to make them look as they had in life suggesting that they practiced a form of ancestor worship. Bonds of kinship that had united hunters and gatherers were being supplemented by religious organization, which helped to regulate the social behavior of the community. Because it is one of the oldest human settlements and perhaps the oldest walled city in history, archaeological excavations at Jericho provide invaluable information about how people lived and died thousands of years ago. Numerous tombs, furniture, pottery, and beads have been discovered. Politically, Palestine was a collection of independent city states at this time, with each city under the control of one King. The presence of massive defense walls suggests that these independent city-state Kings frequently attacked each other. The walls of Jericho from this time attest to that theory. Over the course of a 600 year period, beginning around 2900 B. C. E. , the walls of Jericho were rebuilt sixteen times. Invaders are not the only cause of this, as earthquakes, water in the foundations, and other natural causes played a role in the constant maintenance of the city defense structures. Most people know about Jericho in connection with the biblical stories of how the Hebrews conquered Canaan. Under the leadership of Joshua, they marched around the city seven times and God caused the walls to collapse as stated in the bible. Jericho is a religious city that has withstood the test of invasion, destruction, and time.

Drug Use in Vietname

Drug use by the soldiers in the Vietnam War was very common. Drug use in the military has always been around, but in the Vietnam era it started to increase at an alarming rate. It is noted that there were many drugs used and abused during this time. These drugs include marijuana, cocaine, and heroine. Soldiers often used these drugs to kill the pain of many hardships such as injury during battle, loss of a fellow soldier or being away from home. Marijuana is legally considered a drug according to the federal Controlled Substances Act; however the use of it was treated differently from other drugs by American soldiers and military lawyers in Vietnam. (Brush) Marijuana was present in Vietnam long before the arrival of the Americans and the start of the war. Drug laws were poorly defined and the enforcement of these poorly defined laws had little priority in the Vietnamese criminal justice system. The Vietnamese Government had no control over marijuana and there was no central drug enforcement agency. According to a survey made in 1966 by the U. S. military command in the Saigon area showed that there were 29 fixed outlets for the purchase of marijuana. The use and culture of marijuana in Vietnam has often been considered part of the cultural regulations for use, sale, and protocol and there is no sense of illegal activity like there is in the U. S. Many American soldiers have noted that the Vietnamese people used marijuana freely and openly during the time. There are even stories of American soldiers smoking marijuana with the South Vietnamese civilians and soldiers (Brush). In 1963, soldiers started using marijuana during the advisory period of the war. This was the earliest noted time of drug use in the Vietnam War and began before the widespread use in the United States. As its popularity grew, Congressional investigations began. In 1967 an investigation by congress revealed 16 instances of marijuana use inside the Marine brig at Da Nang. The source was the Vietnamese who gave it to prisoners on working parties. It was first often distributed by the soldiers throwing it into passing vehicles in which prisoners were riding (Brush). Prisoners were not the only people eligible to get the ample drug. While driving through urban areas marines found marijuana easily from vendors selling it on the streets. Marines took the offense of marijuana more seriously than the army. While the marines were subjecting all marijuana users to Courts-Marshall, the army only subjected users and dealers of hard drugs to trial. Although the marines took a more harsh approach to the use of marijuana, it was a failure. By 1969 use of marijuana was no longer just a trend of rear area units, and a drug rehabilitation was established in Cua Viet. This quote from a senior officer shows the helplessness against the rising trend of drug use among soldiers. â€Å"I don't know what the solution is†¦. I don't know what the hell we are going to do. † (Brush) Marijuana was not the only drug problem during the Vietnam during the war. During 1970 and 1971, the media started to carry news of two new drug trends. The studies of the media showed a growing number of white, middle-class young people, in suburbs as well as inner cities, were said to be using or dealing heroin. And United States military personnel-primarily in Vietnam, but also at duty stations in the United States and throughout the world-were similarly said to be sniffing, smoking, or mainlining heroin in substantial numbers. (Brecher) The problem of drug use gained President Richard Nixon’s attention, and in 1971 he said this to Congress, â€Å"Even now, there are no precise national statistics on drug use and drug addiction in the United States, the rate at which drug use is increasing, or where and how this increase is taking place. Most of what we think we know is extrapolated from those few states and cities where the dimensions of the problem have forced closer attention, including the maintenance of statistics. † Also in 1971, anecdotal evidence revealed that heroin had become the must popular illicit drug among citizens and soldiers of the U. S. During the summer of 1971, the public was informed of the widespread heroin use and addiction among many of the United States armed forces in Vietnam. Public officials from the President of the United States announced that everything possible would be done to rehabilitate or cure addicted soldiers serving in the war. This shocking information about the drug addicted soldiers serving in the army started a massive rehabilitation plan. Richard Nixon released this plan to Congress in 1971 with this statement, â€Å"Rehabilitation: A New Priority†¦. I am asking the Congress for a total of $105 million in addition to funds already contained in my 1972 budget to be used solely for the treatment and rehabilitation of drug-addicted individuals†¦. The nature of drug addiction, and the peculiar aspects of the present problem as it involves veterans [of the Vietnam war], make it imperative that rehabilitation procedures be undertaken immediately. . . In order to expedite the rehabilitation program of Vietnam veterans, I have ordered the immediate establishment of †¦ immediate rehabilitation efforts to be taken in Vietnam†¦. The Department of Defense will provide rehabilitation programs to all servicemen being returned for discharge who want this help, and we will be requesting legislation to permit the military services to retain for treatment any individual due for discharge who is a narcotic addict. All of our servicemen must be accorded the right to rehabilitation. â€Å"

A marketing Research on mobile banking

A marketing Research on mobile banking Research plan The study plans to bridge the gap of knowledge in the acceptance and adoption of mobile banking among the consumers. The research will be an exploratory research. The reason for the choice of this methodology is due to its innovation of novel ideas that is required in the mobile banking market. Through exploratory study will provide new and clear concepts explaining the dynamics of mobile banking consumption.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on A marketing Research on mobile banking specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Research problem The realization that the technology plays a critical role in the development of banking have adverse effects on the performance of the banking institutions and has led to reorganizations of the operation process and as well as the way banking processes are conducted. The most affected process is the customer services. Technological developments have caused banks to move from the traditional queuing services to the modern day where customers can reach banks at any place and at any time. In fact technological development has revolutionized the banking industry. One of the areas that have been affected is the communication. Technology is utilized by banks to enhance connectivity and communication as well as in other business processes including customer services. Mobile technology is one of the technological developments used by banks to increase the customer services. Currently, banks utilize mobile technology to allow their clients pay bills, receive updates in, plan payments as well as other aspects of consumer services while in their private life. The major issue is whether the consumers have adopted the technological developments in banking. Banks have not established whether the consumers have adopted the new electronic payment services as in mobile banking. In addition, it has not been established what factors affect the mobile adoption. These are the p roblems and relations that will be examined in this research study. Research objective The research study has the following objectives To investigate the adoption of mobile banking by the consumers To establish specific factors affecting the mobile banking adoption by the consumers. To formulate appropriate recommendations to the banking institutions and the industry regarding strategies that may enhance the adoption of mobile banking. Research hypothesis This study will test the following hypothesisAdvertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More H1: mobile banking is effectively adopted by the consumers and not influenced by many factors Ho: mobile banking is not effectively adopted by the consumers and influenced by many factors Research plan For this research to meet its obligations, it will be an exploratory research. The reason for the choice of this methodology is due t o its innovation of novel ideas that is required in the mobile banking market. Through exploratory, the research will come up with new and clear concepts explaining the dynamics of mobile banking consumption, set up main concerns, build up on operational explanations and improve on the final research design. The study is both qualitative and quantitative. The qualitative part will be based on the literature review while the quantitative will be based on data collected through a survey. The survey will consist of a questionnaire that will be administered to the sampled population of both mobile banking users and non-users. Data collection As a field survey, the information concerning mobile adoption and the factors afecting the adoption will be collected through administering properly designed research questionnaires, observation alongside conducting well-structured in-depth interviews to the unbiased selected users and non-users of mobile banking. The well-designed research question naire will be administered to 60 users and 40 non-users. Each part of the questionnaire will constitute key items that suitably attend to the research questions. For instance, part one will constitute whether the consumer have embraced the mobile technology in banking services while part two will elicit factors that may have contributed their adoption or not of the mobile banking. Other parts will generate insights amidst offering recommendations to the organization to adopt or abandon the employees training strategy to augment success. Some items in the questionnaire will throw light on the mobile banking services and its impact on the consumers along with the consumer knowledge of existence of such services. The questionnaire will thus be made of both open and closed ended research questions and this is believed to be of great significance to the researcher since it will assist in performing data analysis. Minor research tools namely direct observations, personal in-depth intervie ws and occasional conversation will be used to collect primary data. Conversely, secondary research data will be acquired from the banking institutions, industry records, and other documents, which contain mobile banking information as well as its successes. For this particular case, the researcher intends to trace the mobile banking history and its adoption successes over the past years from the research secondary sources. Different scales will however be applied in the survey questionnaire during data collection to ensure the scales reliability and validity of some research questions.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on A marketing Research on mobile banking specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For example, ordinary scale will be applicable in various research questions given that most questions will measure knowledge, feelings and experience. In contrast, the scale reliability will be made certain via applying the repeat ability and internal consistency concepts. This implies that, the questionnaire will comprise of different questions asking about the same thing yet in a very different way. Finally, split half technique will be applied to attain internal consistency. Data analysis In order to ensure logical completeness as well as response consistency, the acquired data will be edited by the researcher each day to be able to identify the ensuing data gaps or any mistakes that needs instant rectification. When data editing is completed, the collected research information will definitely be analyzed qualitatively and quantitatively. For example, any data that will have been collected through in-depth interviews and secondary sources such as the mobile banking files and the banking organizations documents will be analyze by means of content analysis along with the logical analysis techniques. Furthermore, from the acquired independent variables values such the number of customers using the mobile bank ing services and the institutional success measured in terms of total output or general productivity, regression analysis will be applied to establish the correlation that exist between mobile banking services and the success of those institutions. To obtain the best correlation approximation values, the study quantitative data analysis will be carried out by utilizing the integrated approach. Further quantitative data analysis techniques including percentages, frequency distribution and deviations will be used to determine the research respondents’ proportions that chose various responses. The method will be applied for each group of items available in the questionnaire that ideally corresponds to the formulated research question and objectives. Line graphs, tables as well as statistical bar charts will be used to maker sure quantitative data analysis is simply comprehensible. The findings indicate mobile bank services, in delivering the services to the clients, try to elimi nate the impediments that the customers face from the conventional banking delivering of the services. The obstacles were identified to be from a diverse combination of items that are replicated from the obstacles in supply part of services. In addition, the hurdles are reflected from the obstacles associated with the purpose of cell phones as a means of conveying information from the part of the client in the delivery of services.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The study also indicated that mobile banking has achieved tremendous acceptance among consumers compared to other ways of banking such as internet banking that is still at its developing phase. Consequently, consumers have perceived mobile banking as the best way of carrying out banking transactions. According to the institutional studies, 80% agree that the mobile banking sector has made major strides in the delivery of services due to the rapid acceptance by majority of consumers. However, the approval pace of mobile banking among consumers is not equivalent to the rate at which technology advances. Therefore, many factors were found to have a strong influence on the way consumers perceive and adopt mobile banking. The impact of the increased technological advancement has compromised the proficiency of service superiority because services are initiated in the premature phases due competitiveness as well as outlay constraints. Consequently, the clients’ responses to the cons umption of services are low because they think their needs are not considered. For instance, the customers feel that the adaptability of sustaining item services is inadequate. Moreover, emphasis on expertise has an impact of overlooking basic requirements for approval in the provision of services. Technology has enabled mediums of creating new supply channels as well as communicating attributes of technology. Conversely, delivery involving technical knowledge comes with its own shortcomings. For example, there is lack of composition of service delivery and worth creation. In addition, customers have to know how to use technology-based electronics to achieve optimal usage. An additional drawback in mobile banking is the functionality of cell phones in transacting banking services. Customers feel that the mobile phones are not effective in banking because for example, the cell phones have small keyboards leading to errors while accessing the services. Further, studies show that consu mers are dissatisfied by the confusing nature of the mobile phones while transacting banking services. Moreover, increasing concerns by consumers about transacting banking through wireless ways due to safety as well as significance of the services has had negative impacts acceptance of the service. Conclusion and Recommendations Results show that service providers must recognize the importance of client requirements when devising innovative services and products. Additionally, execution of information from familiarity of wireless banking should not be directed to the clients. As a result, banks have been able to make well-versed judgments in distributing assets as well as reduction of expenses. It is evident that cell phones bear a huge ability of enabling success in accomplishing monetary operations and has led to the attainment of expansion in the financial sector with ease and less expenses. Therefore, it is essential for banks to expand their banking services to enable accessibi lity of their services. As a result, government, supervisory bodies, service providers and all the stakeholders have easy access to the banking services from all regions. Further, implementing mobile banking services will bring on board non-bankers in the financial system. In addition, through creation of the understanding of mobile banking services among the people, they are able to embrace its use for personal gains.

Moon as a character Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Moon as a character - Essay Example The centrifugal elements of the story have served to also deliver a sense of shock value to those who hear it. These main elements are Salome herself, so beautiful and enchanting that her own stepfather Herod the king, is smitten by her. This is an incestual element which is certainly edgy enough to gain attention. Secondly, a man of God who claims to be a prophet, is so hated that he is murdered in a brutal way in order to please a beautiful woman. These elements are just the surface of a thicket of metaphorical allegory. The moon is of course something of a constant. Certainly, we assume that in any story taking place on this planet, the moon is automatically thought to be lurking overhead in the night. This however, is not the only place for the moon in this particular tale. Salome uses numerous references to ‘white’ which is thought to in essence, represent the moon. Additionally, the story has two human voyeurs, the page and the Syrian. It is the page who is smitten or hypnotized by the moon but really, the moon is serving as a metaphor for princess Salome. This gives a circular quality to the story and reminds the reader that on one layer, there are these people of royalty who are in fact subject to voyeurs. Princess Salome is the object of her stepfather Herod’s voyeurism as well as the voyeurism of the page and the Syrian. Beyond this layer, the voyeurs are subject to the moon itself as it looms overhead as a distant but present voyeur. The moon in fact, is the voyeur watch ing this entire story unfold. Getting back to the nature of the story’s conflicts, it is both an incestual situation materializing which leads to the brutal murder and sadistic handling of a man of God. The piece is entirely fashioned around an emphasis on the dark side of human beings with the additional almost cautionary sense that someone is always watching. This is perhaps the heaviest and most impressive metaphor used in the piece between the moon and

Venice Biennale 2011 Giardini Review Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Venice Biennale 2011 Giardini Review - Essay Example The exhibitions themselves are featured at Gardini Park and currently contain thirty national countries; this figure is regularly growing (for instance, 2005 was the first year China was featured). The 2011 Venice Biennale featured selections from numerous countries and genres of cutting-edge art selections. While a comprehensive review of all the countries would be lengthy, it is possible to consider some of the most prominent exhibitions. This essay reviews the Egyptian, German, French, British, Korean, and Japanese pavilions. Egypt While the Egyptian Pavilion is one of the more sporadic of the national pavilions at the 2011 Venice Biennale, it is also one of the more intriguing. The pavilion is noted as being, â€Å"honored to present a project in the name of friend and brother, Ahmed Basiony (1978-2011)† ("Universes in Universe"). Basiony was a professor that was recently killed by a sniper during the Egyptian political upheaval. As such, the works contained at the pavilio n are a broad ranging selection of Basiony’s work. While a number of Basiony’s work is featured, perhaps the most prominent at the exhibition is his project 30 Days of Running in the Space. This exhibition is a highly abstract concept that is very visually appealing. The piece features an enclosed structure that is constructed with plastic sheets. The artist would then wear a sensory-based suit that would calculate levels of sweat he produced while inside of the enclosed structure that would then be transferred to the walls of the structure and produce a varying degree of corresponding colors. Considered alone, one can view a number of transcendental themes about the nature of the human and the universe and the singularity of existence. However, the Egyptian pavilion is noted to occur as an interaction with the other of Basiony’s pieces. In these regards, 30 Days of Running in the Space is juxtaposed against a number of other screens of material. One of the most prominent such juxtapositions are unedited film footage of individuals running during the revolts on the streets of Cairo. Within the context of the pavilion, Basiony’s original 30 Days of Running in the Space piece takes on newfound political connotations. For instance, the different colors produced by the individual running now represent fear and energy and the revolutionary spirit. In addition to these exhibits, a number of Basiony’s short film work is featured. The work was curated by Aida Eltoire and captures the recent tumultuous political and cultural occurrences of the region. German The German Pavilion at the 2011 Venice Biennale was also of the most outstanding of the world participating cultures. Indeed, the country won the festival’s Golden Lion award for Best National Participation ("Christoph schlingensief. german," 2011). Among the exhibits that were featured at the German exhibition include Christoph Schliengensief’s theatrical production s and films. In briefly viewing these works one is struck by their intense power and focus. Curated by Susanne Gaensheimer, the selection of Schliengenseif’s work varies in nature from experimental video work, photographic stills, and abstract art constructions. Among these works include the Fluxus oratorio A Church of Fear vs. the Alien Within; while highly abstract in nature, it’