The Effectiveness Of Poverty Alleviation - 1283 Words

Erica Evbadoloyi 4/3/15 URSP 420 Prof. Shriar The Effectiveness of Poverty Alleviation in Brazil I. Introduction For many years, poverty in Brazil has been an issue; it is a key program according to the Brazilian government as of late. The government are finding different ways to address the so-called problem. For instance, there has been poverty alleviation programs and policies that could fix the problem; poverty would continue to decrease in size due to these programs and policies. Alleviation policies and programs tend to gear towards poverty reduction. It brings on more impact when it comes to the government. Poverty alleviation can lead to more tax and asset accumulation. For example, it could supplement tax coverage and increase overall security coverage. It also tends to bring more access to health and education. Alleviation could redistribute certain income through programs. The existence of poverty has trickled down in the past fifteen years. The rate of poverty affected the urban areas as well as in the rural areas of Brazil at roughly fifty percent. (World Bank Studies 2013). This m eans that poverty problem is being addressed very thoroughly. Poverty reduction remains a challenge, especially in the rural areas. The analysis of poverty is greatly constrained because of inadequacy of the given population data as opposed to urban areas. While alleviation policies and programs emphasizes poverty reduction in Brazil, they can lead to governmental impact, tax andShow MoreRelatedPoverty Alleviation : Cash Or Non Cash Assistance? Essay1498 Words   |  6 PagesPoverty alleviation: cash or non-cash assistance? Alleviating poverty has never been an easy task for both developed and developing countries. Alongside the debate of who are considered poor, the public has never come to a conclusion whether cash or non-cash assistance should be prioritized for poverty alleviation. This essay explores the benefits and challenges of both types of approaches. Additionally, the country context is also discussed to analyze how the level of countries’ economic developmentRead MoreBenefits Of Natural Heritage Conservation For The Health Of The People, Environment And Economic Development1285 Words   |  6 Pagescontribute to poverty alleviation. This paper will examine whether or not these are realistic expectations or simply ideas written on paper. Dr Will Turner, the Vice President for Conservation International states: â€Å"conserving the world’s remaining biodiversity isn’t just a moral imperative; it is a necessary investment for lasting economic development. But in many plac es where the poor depend on these natural services, we are dangerously close to exhausting them, resulting in lasting poverty.† It is evidentRead MoreEssay about Agricultural Effects of the Drip Irrigation System1587 Words   |  7 PagesThe article evaluates the efficiency, effectiveness, social, economic and environmental impacts of the drip irrigation system. The drip irrigation system has the potential to increase the agricultural productivity and also to reduce water usage required for irrigation. It is a system of pipes and tubing located under the soil. Water is passed through these pipes which end at near the roots of the plants. This makes the water loss minimal. Initial stage is designing the system and its installationRead MoreAnnual Report Released By Conservation Legacy878 Words   |  4 Pagestitled celebrating Volunteers in Service to America on its 45th anniversary and recognizing its contribution to the fight against poverty, was presented before the 111th c ongress to demonstrate the effectiveness of the program through the eyes of legislators. In the resolution, it was stated that as of February 2010, 175,000 VISTAs have served in communities to implement poverty prevention programs (Figure 6). Additionally, VISTAs have been behind the successful implementation of programs such as CreditRead Morepantawid pamilyang pilipino program1609 Words   |  7 Pagesto alleviate their immediate needs (short term poverty alleviation); and social development- aims to break the intergenerational poverty cycle through investments in human capital. Who are qualified for Pantawid Pamilya? A household may qualify for Pantawid Pamilya as a beneficiary if it satisfies two (2) criteria: 1.)  Ã‚  Ã‚   At the time of the survey, the household must be classified as poor, based on the National Household Targeting System for Poverty Reduction (NHTS-PR) and 2.)  Ã‚  Ã‚   Have a pregnantRead MoreDeveloping A Unified Un Country Team1619 Words   |  7 Pagestogether and build a coherent association with the UN system to address various issues pertaining to the field of development assistance. With this framework, different UN organizations can associate with the government of the nations to nurture the effectiveness. â€Å"Deliver as one† focuses on the outcomes of the contribution through reforms in order to set up a unified UN country team with one programme, one leader, one budget, one office framework. Though there are constraints related to the resource constraintsRead MoreWater Service Provision And Delivery : Research Review707 Words   |  3 Pagesavailability and economic development and the link between water and poverty. The target ten of Millennium Development Goals – ‘halve by 2015 the proportion of people without sustainable access to safe drinking water and basic sanitation’– is an evidence of this growing concern. Access to safe drinking water can be a matter of life and death, depending on how it occurs and how it is managed. It can be an instrument for poverty alleviation lifting people out of the difficulties of having to live withoutRead MoreA Proposal for Sustainable Development through Microfinance2024 Words   |  9 Pagesorganizational objectives – that determine the success of microfinance initiatives. These strategic leverage points, in turn, shape the framework for developing a prudent microfinance initiative. Microfinance evolved from Muhammad Yunus’s poverty alleviation strategy of microcredit – providing small non-collateral short-term loans to the poor. In short, Yunus founded the microfinance institution Grameen Bank after a successful experiment of providing loans to poor women in Bangladesh revealed theRead MoreBenefits Of Direct Cash Transfers For Needy Recipients1790 Words   |  8 Pagesof development assistance for other countries in need. One of the two main methods by which relief was provided is through In-Kind Aid, in which benefits are given in the form of goods or services most beneficial to those in need. However, the effectiveness of this system has often been called into question next to the option of simply giving direct cash transfers to needy recipients. On one hand, in-kind aid can serve to lower the prices of commodities to to their increased supply(In kind aid study)Read MorePoverty and Hunger in India : a Socio Economic Analysis of Policies of Gove rnment4316 Words   |  18 Pagesâ€Å"Poverty and hunger in India: A socio-economic analysis of policies of the government(s)† Meril Mathew Joy 2009/BALLB/028 IIIrd Semester ____________________________________________________________ INTRODUCTION OF POVERTY AND HUNGER â€Å"Poverty†has reduced but still remains a major concern for Nation.  Poverty is not only the scarcity of resources, but is set of priorities imposed upon the rest of the world by the rich. â€Å"Hunger† and â€Å"Poverty† are powerful but familiar terms. Everyone knows what they

Should the US Government Bail Out and Subsidize the...

1) Should the US government bail out and/or subsidize the American maritime industry? If not, why not? If so to what extent? There is little argument among national policymakers that the American economy was severely horsewhipped by the Great Recession of 2008, and that the country has only recently recovered sufficiently for economists to breathe a sigh of relief that the corner has been turned. Likewise, there is virtually no argument among national policymakers that a healthy maritime industry is also an essential component of the American economy. Finally, there is significant historic precedent. The U.S. government has bailed out other industries and sectors in the past that were viewed as being too large to fail because of the potential adverse impact on the American economy. For instance, in his editorial, Rebuilding America and Creating Jobs - A Jones Act Initiative, Munoz (2011) writes, After bailing out the auto industry with $25 billion in loans and guarantees, the governm ent turned around and provided another $25 billion for the industry to retool its plants to compete on world markets. The experiment succeeded, and American cars and trucks are now among the best in the world (2). Moreover, it is national policy to support the maritime industry. According to Section 1, Purpose and policy of United States, 46 App. U.S.C. 861, 2002: It is necessary for the national defense and for the proper growth of its foreign and domestic commerce that theShow MoreRelatedMarketing Mistakes and Successes175322 Words   |  702 Pageswritten permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy fee to the Copyright Clearance Center, Inc. 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, website www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030-5774, (201)748-6011, fax (201)748-6008, website http://www.wiley.com/go/permissions. To order books or for customer service please, call 1-800-CALL

Shadow of a Doubt Free Essays

Alfred Hitchcock’s Shadow of a Doubt is no less than a perfect example of film noir. Low-key lighting, dramatic shadow patterning, and camera angles are all expertly used to foreshadow and portray the emotions and psyche of the characters. Hitchcock uses sets and props to mirror scenes, creates characters that are remarkably similar but simultaneously conflicting, and emphasizes emotions that offer contradictions. We will write a custom essay sample on Shadow of a Doubt or any similar topic only for you Order Now The sense of duality and contradiction in the film demonstrates how darkness can take the form of humanity and seep into even the most innocent places and the purest hearts. The mystery of the film is not what causes the suspense, but rather the anxiety that the audience feels stems from Hitchcock’s use of duality as a means to force the audience to face the fact that human contradiction comes from the discontinuity between natural impulses and intellect. He creates parallels that underline similarities and differences that occur simultaneously in society and individuals. Uncle Charlie comes back to his hometown of Santa Rosa, California to visit his sister and her family. There’s also â€Å"Little† Charlie Wright, who loves and adores her uncle. As the movie progresses, Charlie discovers that her beloved uncle might not be what he seems to be—is he the notorious Merry Widow strangler that preys on old, rich women? Or is he an innocent man, wronged by the law? With clues such as the Merry Widow Waltz stuck in her head, the detectives that show up on her doorstep and the expensive but curious ring that her uncle presented her with, Charlie discovers that her uncle is in fact the sick man who believes that killing women is a good idea, and nothing like the man she believed him to be. With her knowledge, Charlie is a liability to her uncle and his safety so he tries to kill her off by making her death seem accidental. When Uncle Charlie is leaving Santa Rosa to head back east, he lures Charlie onto the train and attempts to suffocate her and throw her off. However, Charlie is able to fight back and she ends up pushing her uncle off the moving train to his death. Shadow of a Doubt takes place in a quiet California town: it is innocent, sweet suburbia where the biggest scandal might be a controversy at a pie-eating contest; but, cynicism penetrates the walls of the town, and evil shows its human face. Hitchcock begins by uses establishing shots of the protagonists’ homes to acclimate the audience with the safe place that will soon be violated. Film Scholar Kevin Hagopian once wrote that Hitchcock â€Å"made the home a place where exotic terror lives uneasily with domesticity† (Kevin Jack Hagopian; imagesjournal. com) referring to the introduction of Uncle Charlie, aka the Merry Widow Murderer, into a typical American family. Having the story take place in an idealistic town makes the drama that evolves all the more exciting. The more happy-go-lucky the setting is the greater kick the audience gets out of the introduction of unexpected drama. However, Hitchcock does not create a stark contrast between the setting and the plot merely for the sake of entertainment purposes; it is the way things happen in real life. Tragic events and sinister crimes are not foreshadowed by the weather. There is never the confirmation that a catastrophe is coming and so the characters in the film (namely Little Charlie) are just as taken aback at the series of events that are unfold, as any other person would be if they were put in the same situation. In this sense, the setting is chosen to create a false sense of security for the characters, because in reality, security is but a thin skin stretched over the whole world. Individual scenes also set up important comparisons and contrasts, either by foreshadowing scenes through repetition or with the use of props and staging. The opening scene of the movie foreshadows the funeral scene at the end. Uncle Charlie is reclining on his bed with his hands crossed over his chest. His spirit is dead, and later on he even suggests to his niece, Little Charlie that he had been considering suicide. The train that causes his demise parallels the funeral procession through the town of Santa Rosa. The cars in the funeral procession move in a grim, single file line the same way the train cars speed down the railway. When Uncle Charlie arrives in Santa Rosa, the train belches black funeral smoke into the sky and a dark shadow is cast over everything to symbolize the arrival of evil in a clean and bright town. The scene in which Little Charlie and Detective Graham go out to dinner and discuss the case at hand parallels the scene in which Charlie’s uncle takes her into the cocktail lounge. When Charlie is with Graham the world is untainted and safe. Graham even mentions that while at dinner they were like two normal people, having normal conversation and enjoying themselves. But when Charlie is escorted into the cocktail lounge by her once-beloved uncle, the bubble that she has lived in is popped and she is forced to accept the fact that the world is â€Å"a foul sty† and an evil place where even the most adored people are not always what they seem to be. The ring that Little Charlie accepts from her beloved uncle is not only onfirmation of his crimes, but it is also a symbolic object. Even though the film is in black and white, Hitchcock makes sure that viewers are conscious of the fact that the stone is an emerald. Emerald is a dualistic color according to Western culture. The color can either be a symbol for nature and the vibrancy of life or it can stand for the negative feelings of greed and jealousy. When Charlie receives the ring, and her uncle places it on her finger, it is representative of the strong bond between them and their almost incestuous relationship. However, towards the end, that same ring is the only evidence that Little Charlie needs to convince herself that her uncle is in fact the killer. Ironically, the beautiful gift that Charles gave his niece is that same thing that severs the tie between them and eventually causes her to want nothing to do with him anymore. Hitchcock also conveys dualism through his characters. On the other side of the country, Little Charlie lies in her bed in practically the same position as her uncle. Her pose supports the indication that she resembles him tremendously. This idea is reinforced again and again throughout the film through dialogue about Little Charlie’s telepathy and her belief that she and her uncle are like twins. When Uncle Charlie arrives at the Newton home and is standing in front of young Charlie’s photograph, his face is mirrored in the glass, and overlapped with her image. However, even though the characters resemble each other in relatively obvious ways, they do differ significantly. Uncle Charlie is a psychologically damaged and cynical killer while his niece is idealistic and pure. Even as the viewer’s become conscious of the differences between the two Charlie’s, the winds change when Little Charlie is compelled to kill her uncle. It was by her hands that he fell to his death; she is the reason he fell off the train. This plot twist forces the audience to realize that not all heroes are pure white and villains a stark black, but instead accept that there are grays everywhere and things aren’t as clear as they seem. Uncle Charlie himself is an example of dualism within a person. Hitchcock has represented him as a sort of dark angel. He believes that he is avenging the husbands of the greedy women who only care about the physical, material things in life. However, he refuses to see his own moral duplicity. When he is eating his breakfast in bed on the first morning of his stay in the Newton home, the camera shot is meant to make the headboard behind him imply black wings. As he smokes and puffs rings of smoke into the air, the smoke forms rings that rise and then disappear into thin air—his â€Å"halo† is a temporary cover up. As he descends the stairs, the shadows in the window frames form an upside-down cross, and the low-angle shot portray him as a man who has strayed so far from the right path that he has been cast down from heaven by God. Despite this, he is still given a hero’s funeral and as the residents of Santa Rosa mourn the loss of a generous man, Detective Graham tells Charlie that her uncle really was not all bad, but just like the rest of the world, â€Å"[he needed] watching, that’s all†. In the film, Hitchcock motivates the audience to acknowledge the discontinuities between their emotions and their intellect. Viewers subconsciously become anxious while watching the movie because it calls to attention the viewers’ emotional dualism. In Shadow of a Doubt, viewers are able to identify with the charismatic killer, Charles Oakley. Even though they know that what he has done/is doing is wrong, they still have a certain soft spot for him and cannot help but try to hold onto that romanticized vision of him that his niece had before she was exposed to his sinister secret. For example, when Charlie informs her uncle of the fact that she knows his secret, the action is seen from the girl’s point of view when he grips her forearm and his face clouds over with menacing glare. The once-charming uncle suddenly turns mean and Charlie’s vision of him changes from admiration to hatred at the discovery of his guilt and she lets him know. However, for the audience, just the knowledge of Uncle Charlie’s evildoings is not enough to completely tarnish their view of him. The viewer’s emotional response to Charlie is to forgive his actions because he is psychologically damaged, even though their brains are telling them that he deserves to be punished because of his heinous crimes. As film critic Vincent Canby (1980) stated, â€Å"Hitchcock transform[s] things given into things unknown, the commonplace experience into the exotic breakthrough. The world just outside the Hitchcock frame, and sometimes inside it, is dark indeed, and this awareness fuels not despair but an insatiable and amused curiosity about what else can possibly go wrong† (Vincent Canby; nytimes. om). By making the given unknown, Hitchcock invites viewers on a voyage of self-discovery. The movie stirs up aspects of them that they would rather keep buried and consequentially creates a feeling of unease and apprehension among the audience. Although Shadow of a Doubt seems very simple and straightforward on the surface; Hitchcock incites emotional discourse within it. By inc orporating duality into the film, he forces the audience to recognize how humans contradict themselves. How to cite Shadow of a Doubt, Essay examples

Changes in Architecture throughout history free essay sample

Architecture is the art and science of designing and building shelter for various human activities by enclosing space. At its best, it is a major art form that combines usefulness with beauty. When designing a building, the architect considers the structural system and materials to be used, the purpose of the building, and the size, shape, location, and contours of the site. He or she must also understand the working or living patterns of the people who will occupy or use the building.   Architecture may be religious, domestic, governmental, commercial, or industrial. It expresses the interests and ideals of a civilization, and reflects the ways of living and the construction methods of the era in which it was produced. The Christian religion became a dominant influence in medieval Europe and is expressed in the Gothic cathedrals. High-rise office buildings reflect the importance of business of 20th-century life (Squire, 2003). Architecture has been influenced not only by religious, political, social, and economic conditions, but also by the climate and available building materials of a region, and by inventions and scientific discoveries. In far northern lands of forests, heavy snow, and little sunlight, for instance, wooden structures with steeply sloping roofs and many windows became common. In southern lands where wood is scarce and there is little rain and much sunlight, buildings were often made of sun-dried brick, with flat roofs and only a few small windows. With the technological advances of the 20th century, regional differences in architecture became less obvious (Musgrove, 2000). The importance of climate and natural resources diminished with improved methods of transportation and with improved heating ventilation. Architectural styles differ in structural methods, building materials, and surface ornamentation. Three principles of building have governed architectural style—post and lintel, the arch, and the cantilever. The purposes of this paper are to understand and have an in-depth study on the changes in architecture throughout time. II. Background A. The Renaissance The Renaissance period in architecture began in Italy in the 15th century. By the end of the 16th century, Renaissance architecture had spread throughout Western Europe. Although it was inspired by Roman architectural forms, Byzantine and Gothic construction methods were used and improved on. The Renaissance movement developed in each country along national lines. There were several common characteristics, however. The Romans orders of architecture and the round arch were reintroduced and used for both structural and ornamental purposes. A major concern of renaissance architects was the external effect of a building. Horizontal lines and the symmetrical arrangement of windows and doors emphasized balance and serenity. The dome, raised on a drum, became a prominent feature. Church building continued, but there was more emphasis on the construction of houses and civic buildings (Caudill, 2001). Emphasis on the importance of the individual was a major aspect of the Renaissance period. For the first time, individual architects were recognized and honored. III. Discussion A. Prehistoric Architecture Early humans had neither time nor skill to do more than meet the basic need for shelter. Some people found shelter in caves. Others built simple windbreaks or made crude huts of woven reeds plastered with mud. As communities were established, people built large stone structures called megaliths, such as Stonehenge in England. Dolmens, megaliths thought to have served as tombs, consist of several upright stone slabs supporting a horizontal slab.   Although megaliths do not entirely enclose space, they represent beginnings of what might be called architectural thinking (Salvadori, 2002). They are the simplest examples of the earliest known principle of building—the post and lintel. B. Ancient Architecture Egypt. Post and lintel construction was widely used in ancient Egypt. The chief buildings—tombs and temples—are characterized by simplicity and solidity. The earliest form of the tomb of which examples remain is the mastaba, an oblong structure of sun-dried brick with a flat roof and sloping exterior walls. From the mastaba developed the pyramids (the tombs of the pharaohs), built during the Old Kingdom. During the Middle Kingdom, the Egyptians cut tombs and temples into rock cliffs along the Nile. The great period of temple building was the New Kingdom, or Empire period. Many temples were built at Karnak and Luxor, near Thebes. All these temples were built on basically the same plan. An avenue of sphinxes led to the pylon, a gateway consisting of two massive walls with sloping sides flanking the entrance. On both sides of the pylon stood obelisks, tall, tapering stone shafts (Munro, 2004). Inside, a roofless colonnaded court led to the covered hypostyle hall, crowded with massive columns that supported the roof. Beyond the hall was the sanctuary. The ancient Egyptians knew the principle of the arch and used it in their homes and secular buildings. Since these structures were made chiefly of sun-dried mud brick, few examples have survived. Archeological excavations show that houses were two or three stories high and often had arched ceilings. Western Asia. The valleys of the Tigris and Euphrates rivers lacked stone and timber; therefore sun-dried and kiln-baked bricks were the chief building materials of ancient Mesopotamia. When used as decorative facing on important buildings, the bricks were glazed in different colors. Ancient Mesopotamian architecture often used the arch. Thick walls were built to support arches and barrel- vaulted roofs. Fortifications, temple complexes, and palaces were built on platforms as protection against the frequent floods. Temples were the chief buildings of the Babylonians. Situated near the center of a city, groups of temples served civic and commercial as well as religious needs. Each temple complex was dominated by a ziggurat, a terraced tower. Ramps or flights of stairs connected the various levels and led to a small shrine at the top. The Biblical Tower of Babel in Babylon was a ziggurat (Squire, 2003). Although the Assyrians also built temples and ziggurats, palaces were their major architectural concern. An elaborate gateway led to the palace, consisting of groups of long, narrow rooms opening on courtyards. Both stone and timber were available in Persia, and both post and lintel and arch construction were used. Large halls with slender columns and great commercial stairways richly decorated with relief sculpture are the characteristic features of Persian architecture. Aegean Architecture. One of the early civilizations that developed around the Aegean Sea was the Minoan civilization on the island of Crete. Houses and palaces, the most important buildings, were built of various materials—wood, stone, gypsum, stucco. Post and lintel construction was used. The ruined palace at Knossos (Cnossus) shows the mazelike plan of rooms, courtyards, and staircases that probably gave rise to the legend of the labyrinth (Salvadori, 2002).   A plumbing system brought running water to the palace and the private houses around it. The architecture of the Mycenaean civilization on the mainland of southern Greece differed greatly from that on Crete. It is characterized by the use of stone and the corbelled vault. Palaces and tombs were the chief buildings of architectural interest. The palace usually crowned an acropolis, the high, fortified part of the city. In the lower city, beehive-shaped tombs were cut into the hillsides. These beehive tombs are distinguished by their corbelled domed roofs. C. Classical Architecture Greek Architecture. It was based on the post and lintel principle, and the column is one of its distinguishing features. Colonnades were often used. The Greeks never used the arch in their major buildings, but often used it in inconspicuous places on unimportant structures. Buildings were constructed of marble or coarse stone, such as limestone. The most important Greek buildings were temples that housed statues of gods. Not intended for congregational worship, temples were planned principally for external effect and are marked by dignity and grandeur. The most common type of temple was rectangular and stood on a stepped platform. In the center room, called naos or cella, stood the statue of a god (Caudill, 2001). Occasionally, there was a small room at the entrance of the naos and one at the rear. A single or double row of columns formed the temple’s portico (entrance). In large temples a colonnade, or peristyle, surrounded the naos. Three orders (styles distinguished by the details, proportions, and decoration of a column and entablature) developed in Greek architecture—the Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian. The orders were used by the Romans and influenced architecture during the Renaissance and the 19th century. Roman Architecture. It was marked by great feats of engineering. The development of the arch was Rome’s greatest contribution to architecture. With the vault, dome, and roof-truss, the Romans were able to create well-lighted vast interior spaces in their great public baths and in such temples as the Pantheon (Munro, 2004). The Romans united engineering and architectural grace in utilitarian projects, such as aqueducts, as well as in their amphitheaters, basilicas (law courts), and other public buildings. Roman architects often combined the Greek post and lintel style with arched forms, as in the Colosseum in Rome. They adapted the three Greek orders of architecture and added two more of their own—the Tuscan, a plainer version of the Doric, and the Composite, a combination of the Corinthian and Ionic. Temples were both circular and rectangular. The rectangular temple stood on a raised platform, or podium. A broad stairway led to a deep portico. The cella was the full width of the building, and much of it was surrounded by a colonnade attached to or built into the wall. In addition to palaces, domestic architecture included the private city house, or domus; the country house, or villa; and apartment houses built in long narrow blocks called insulae. Apartment houses were usually four or five stories high, and often had shops and stores on the first floor. Large windows and balconies were common (Musgrove, 2000). D. The 17th and 18th Centuries Italy. Baroque architecture began in Italy in the early 17th century. A bold, unconventional style, it is characterized by curved lines and elaborate ornamentation. Vast sweeping stairways, broken pediments, and buildings of enormous size planned for dramatic effect are notable features of the Baroque style. Curved forms used both structurally and ornamentally, give Baroque buildings a modeled or sculptured quality. The Italian Baroque movement centered in Rome, where Giovanni Bernini and Francesco Borromini were the leading architects. In his design of St. Peter’s Square, Bernini placed statues on top of the colonnade, producing the broken-silhouette skyline that became characteristics of Baroque style (Musgrove, 2000). France. The 17th century is the great age of French Renaissance architecture. The exteriors of buildings combine the regularity and geometric simplicity of the Italian Renaissance with elements of the Baroque style. The vast size of buildings, broken-silhouette skylines, luxuriant interior decoration, and the planned garden are baroque influences. The east faà §ade of the Louvre and the park faà §ade of Versailles Palace have the common low-pitched roof and balustrade. The Rococo style was popular in the 18th century but, as in Italy, was replaced late in the century by Neoclassicism. Jacques Germain Soufflot’s Pantheon in Paris is typical of late-18th-century architecture (Squire, 2003). England. The architecture of the first quarter of the 17th century, called Jacobean, remained transitional. As in France, there was a reaction against the mingling of Gothic and Renaissance elements. Inigo Jones, with his design of the Banqueting House Whitehall, London, began the movement to a more formal classicism that is termed Palladian. Sir Christopher Wren, influenced by French architecture, introduced Baroque elements. Architecture of the late 17th century is called Stuart. Balance, symmetry, and simplicity of ornament characterize 18th-century architecture. The several trends of that century, including the Baroque and Palladian, are called Georgian. Brisk became a common building material, and brick houses trimmed with white stone and woodwork are popularly called Georgian. Other European Countries. In Germany and Austria, the Baroque and Rococo styles were raised to new heights by J.B. Fischer von Erlach, Balthasar Neumann, and others. Churches and palaces built on a large scale, had profusely decorated interiors and exteriors. In the Rococo phase there was much use of white, gold, blue, and other light colors in the exuberant ornamentation. The Zwinger in Dresden and the Belvedere and Karlskirche in Vienna are characteristics buildings (Squire, 2003). E. Architecture in the 19th Century By the end of the 18th century architects had turned away from the Baroque and Rococo styles. Their desire to find new forms led them to ancient and medieval architectural styles, and the 19th century is often called the age of revivals. Classic Revival.   Neoclassicism in architecture appeared in many forms. Influences of ancient Rome are reflected in the Roman Revival style; those of ancient Greece, in the Greek Revival. In the United States Greek and Roman forms were adapted for banks, state capitols, schools, and other buildings. The Greek Revival style had the widest appeal. Among the numerous examples are Arlington House in Arlington National Cemetery and the Treasury Building in Washington, D.C. (Squire, 2003). Thomas Jefferson is considered the father of the American Classic Revival style. His State Capitol in Richmond is typical of Roman Revival. Other outstanding architects of the period include Charles Bulfinch, Benjamin Latrobe, and Robert Mills. Gothic Revival. Growing out of the Romantic Movement in literature, the Gothic revival began, and attained its greatest importance, in England. The earliest example of Gothic Revival in the United States is Richard Upjohn’s Trinity Church in New York City. Grace Church and St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York City, both designed by James Renwick, are other examples. After the Civil War the movement became popular in domestic architecture (Caudill, 2001). Gothic revival houses are marked by elaborate ornamental gables and porches. Eclecticism. In the second half of the century architects based their designs on a variety of historical styles including Egyptian, Romanesque, Gothic, Moorish, Byzantine, and Renaissance. This practice of selecting architectural forms and details from a variety of sources came to be called eclecticism. In the United States, architects often combined several styles in a single building. Eclectic architects used modern materials and construction techniques for which the old styles were quite unsuited. As a result, great Roman arches or Doric columns were combined with steel frames in such a way that the ancient detail became mere surface decoration (Caudill, 2001). An example found in many cities is the skyscraper atop a structure that looks like a Greek temple. Other Developments. The introduction of iron, steel, and reinforced concrete in building construction and the development of the elevator had a profound effect on architecture. Throughout the Revival and Eclectic periods, architects and engineers were experimenting with new building materials and construction techniques. The greatest structural advances, however, such as the Roeblings in their Brooklyn Bridge and Gustave Eiffel in his famous tower. F. Twentieth-century Architecture New building materials, new construction techniques, and the problems of an industrialized urban society led to a variety of architectural styles. Many architects continued to design Eclectic buildings. Others created highly original designs in reinforced concrete, steel, and glass.   Often emphasis was placed in functionalism, the idea that the design of a building should express and aid its use or function (Musgrove, 2000). Beginnings. Twentieth-century architecture had its roots in the closing quarter of the 19th century. In the United States the structural experiments of Jenney, Dankmar Adler, Louis Sullivan, and other Chicago architects led to the development of the skyscraper. Sullivan, especially, contributed much to skyscraper design. His aim was to let a structure’s function and building materials determine its design. He expressed this view in the phrase â€Å"form follows function† (Musgrove, 2000). IV. Conclusion In conclusion, centuries before the Americas were colonized, many Indian civilizations flourished. In central North America, people built earth mounds for religious purposes. In the southwest the Cliff Dwellers and Pueblo Indians built multi-storied terraced homes. On the other hand, the architecture produced by the followers of Islam influenced both Eastern and Western architectural styles. Although it varied from country to country, mosques and tombs were the most important buildings. Reference: Caudill, W.W., and others (2001). Architecture and You: How to Experience and Enjoy Buildings (Watson-Guptill, 1999). Munro, Roxie (2004). Architects make Zigzags: Looking at Architecture from A to Z (Preservation Press, 1995). Musgrove, John (2000). Sir Banister Fletcher’s A History of World Architecture, 22nd edition (Butterworth’s, 1997). Salvadori, Mario (2002). Structure in Architecture: the Building of Buildings (Prentice-Hall, 1999). Squire, J.C. (2003). A Practical Guide to the Understanding of Architecture (Gloucester Arts Press, 2000).

Since The Evolution Of Man, Infants Have Been Born With Severe Illness

Since the evolution of man, infants have been born with severe illnesses. These infants may be able to survive due to advancing technologies, but are left with possible and probable defects. Many infants will die even though they are being treated because they are not equipped to sustain life. These circumstances have led to the debatable issue of infant euthanasia, or mercy killing, to allow these babies an end to their suffering, and die peacefully. While many people feel that euthanasia is murder, infant euthanasia should be legalized to spare terminally ill newborns of long, painful deaths, and to spare them of possible life-long disabilities. Euthanasia is said to be morally wrong by pro-life groups. They point out that infant's may not be suffering while they are dying. They also emphasize that advances in pain management make it possible to relieve all or almost all pain. These people say that children should be saved at all costs, no matter how great the disability may be. They accentuate that the infants may be saved due to advancing technology, and that there are also therapy treatments for their possible disabilities. However, in considering whether or not to treat a newborn, the main goal should be to spare infants of long, painful deaths. Most experts believe that the primary answer to this issue is to follow what's in the child's best interests. If his mental and physical handicaps are overwhelming and it would be inhumane to prolong his life, then treatment should be withheld or withdrawn. After all, saving an infant for a life of suffering is hardly a humane and loving act. An infant was born with a skin condition similar to third-degree burns over almost all of its body for which there was no cure. The baby's mother was young, unwed, and indigent. Providing basic nursing care caused tearing away of the skin. The infant could not be fed orally because of blistering in the mouth and throat. Any movement of the infant seemed to cause it pain. Even with intensive care its life expectancy, at most, was believed to be days. It would have been reasonable, merciful, and justifiable to have short ened the baby's dying by an intended direct action chosen by the parent and the neonatologists. In cases relevantly like this, it is not immoral or morally wrong to intend and effect a merciful end to a life that, all things considered, will be meaningless to the one who lives it and an unwarranted burden for others to support. Among the women who work in the Stanford intensive care nursery, several said that if they were to have an extremely premature baby, they would not want it to be treated aggressively. One woman said that if she knew what was about to happen she would stay away from a hospital with a sophisticated intensive care unit. Others say they would make sure they were under the care of a doctor who would not press the extremes on survival. Many parents would make a similar choice but are not given the opportunity. It has been called a violation of God's commandment not to kill. "...in effect, the demand that physicians fight death at all costs is a demand that they pl ay God. It is a demand that they conquer nature, thereby declaring themselves more powerful than God's order." Perhaps the ideal of conquest will be replaced by the ideal of living in agreement with nature. The most benign technology works in harmony with natural causes rather than intruding on them. The "Baby Doe" rule is a list of guidelines stating that a baby should be treated aggressively with very few exceptions. These exceptions to the rule are when "the infant is chronically and irreversibly comatose", when the treatment would merely prolong dying, not be effective in ameliorating or correcting all of the infant's life-threatening conditions, or otherwise be futile in terms of the survival of the infant", and when "treatment would be virtually futile in terms of the survival of the infant and the treatment itself under such circumstances would be inhumane..." This policy rather loudly states that parents and professionals may not consider the salvageable infant's life prospe cts no matter

Red Means Stop! Professor Ramos Blog

Red Means Stop! From the time I was a little kid, I wanted to drive. Growing up I remember wanting to drive my Barbie dolls car, and later I would dream of driving a Lamborghini. I even went through a phase where I wanted to drive a Volkswagon Beetle. Now that I am driving, I really enjoy it, and my usual vehicle is a great big, blue, 2001 Ford Excursion that my family has dubbed â€Å"Bubbie.† I should probably add that Bubbie, with her giant size and blue color, is a whale of a car, so we named her after a whale from the cartoon, The Marvelous Misadventures of  Flapjack. The day I decided that driving was an achievable goal occurred when I was six years old. My little brother was just born, and in between visiting times with my mom, my dad would let my older brother and I take turns steering our car around the hospital parking lot. At the time I thought I was actually driving; I hadn’t yet realized that steering is a very small part of being a driver. By the end of that day I had made up my mind, I was going to learn to drive one day. As I got older, I became more eager to start driving. I was about fourteen when I started to practice driving my parents’ green 2006 Dodge Grand Caravan. We live on a Native American Reservation and the rules aren’t the same as a regular neighborhood, so I could drive without a license quite legally. While the reservation allowed me to practice to a certain extent, I was still not prepared to even have a driver’s permit. I had to wait because I was too young to have one. When I was old enough, I had to consider the fact that to get the driver’s permit, not only would I have to reach the age requirement of fifteen and a half, but I also had to take the test. In order to qualify for the test, I had to study the driver’s manual as if it were a sacred manuscript. For a few weeks, I read that tiny book over and over. Then, when I had practically memorized the entire book, I was finally ready to take that test and get that permit. The test was a piece of cake, and by the end of the day, I had earned my driving permit. I had taken my first step toward getting my driver’s license. I was now allowed to drive outside of the reservation, which was a scary thought for me and for my parents as well. In all honesty, I was an awful driver. I often practiced driving with my parents, but it took me a long time to progress. This was the most difficult time of my training as a driver. Every time I made a mistake, I felt terrible. I felt I was putting whoever I was driving with in danger. I would drive too slow and hesitate when it wasn’t necessary, or I would make a decision hastily and end up doing something reckless. I was simply a beginner, and I’m sure now that it is normal to make mistakes while just starting to drive. At the time, though, I was discouraged. Every time I drove, I would make a mistake. This made me want to give up. I told my parents, â€Å"Maybe I will just be someone who doesn’t drive.† They wouldn’t let me give up though, so I learned to make less mistakes. There was a whole other area that I had to cover as well to get my driver’s license, driver’s training classes. â€Å"You just ran a red light, remember red means stop,† I recall my driving teacher, a blonde woman who liked to talk about The Walking Dead, telling me after I carelessly drove across an intersection. It was early in my driver’s training, and I had never run a red light in my life. I was surprised at myself and disappointed that I had done that simply because I was nervous.   This basically sums up my driver’s training, being nervous while driving with a new person and making really stupid mistakes. My teacher wasn’t angry when I ran the red light, only flustered. She told me this, â€Å"If you were taking the driving test, that dangerous maneuver would have been an automatic fail.† As aforementioned my main obstacle in learning to drive was my annoying tendency to either be too cautious or to be just downright careless. On this occasion, I was guilty of doing both. I looked both ways while crossing the intersection, but I didn’t care to check whether the light was green or not. Something else happened on this occasion though; I decided that day that I would never be so careless while driving again, and that I would work harder to become a safe driver. I can’t go around saying that getting my driver’s license was my doing only. Had it not been for my parents, I would have given up on driving shortly after I got my permit. I don’t like doing things wrong, and every mistake I made was like a punch to the face. My parents went about this in different ways, of course. My mom, who looks like an Irish princess but curses like an Irish sailor, is the positive reinforcement type and would say, â€Å"You are just a beginner,† and that my older brother was â€Å"just as bad† when he first started driving. My dad, a long haired Native American man who is always wearing 49ers football shirts, had a more honest approach. I recall an occasion in which I didn’t move out of the way in time when there were debris on the freeway. He told me, â€Å"That is just bad driving.† He was right, I had run over a part of a bicycle on the freeway. When he told me that, I felt bad, but it also made me want to co nduct myself better behind the wheel so that I wouldn’t feel so sheepish while driving. I eventually finished my driver’s training and was able to take my driving test. I remember the anticipation of the week before the test, I was so scared. I was too close to give up now though, and the worst that could have happened was failing and just trying again another day. I did not want to fail though, so I did what I do best; study. I read the driver’s manual again and I drove around the reservation a lot by myself, being sure to stop at every stop sign and to use my turn signals. I memorized where every little button was in the Excursion (Bubbie) in case I was asked to point them out at the beginning of the test. I practiced pulling up to the curb with my tires perfectly aligned with the sidewalk. I practiced, and when I was done practicing one thing, I practiced doing a completely different thing. I wasn’t going to fail that test, I was going to try to pass it with the best score a person could get driving an Excursion. After taking the test, I found ou t that the only checks the test giver had to make on his sheet were that I turned too wide and too narrow at times. I was fine with that because I passed the test and I was officially a licensed driver. Though I finally have my driver’s license, my driving still isn’t perfect, and my parents continue to help me try harder to become a good driver. I wouldn’t be the driver I am today without them.   My parents taught me the real lesson in learning to drive which is that it isn’t easy, and that you can’t just give up when it gets frustrating. I started my journey to becoming a driver thinking it was going to be piece of cake, but it was one of the most difficult things that I have ever learned to do. As I mentioned before, I often felt like giving up while learning to drive, but I kept practicing, and now I get to enjoy being a licensed driver.

Selfe refelaction paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Selfe refelaction paper - Essay Example Based on the discussions undertaken in this course, students learned that child counseling is a way of giving children the kind of assistance they need to develop in a holistic and healthy approach. It provides them guidance in properly adapting to the various life circumstances. It allows them to grow properly within a complex environment. Child counseling is no easy task because it certainly needs a special kind of knowledge and skill in attending to the needs of the kids, entering their delicate world, and connecting to them. It has been learned as well that as a child counselor, it is vital that the counselor recognizes and understands the importance of the children, and respects this importance to further comprehend the child situation of every child. The very nature of counseling—providing guidance and advices for future decision making process—makes it usually confused with psychotherapy, but counseling and psychotherapy are actually different. Psychotherapy pert ains to a wider range of providing treatment and is usually concerned in emotional issues and complexities. As the name implies, psychotherapy involves psychological methods of ascertaining the root cause of the problem and deeper understanding of the child’s emotional problems (Henderson & Thompson, 2010). Counseling, on the other hand, is the more specialized kind of treatment and assistance as it centers on a more specific circumstances. Counseling is sometimes provided as an additional assistance to patients who undergo the psychotherapy process. Unlike the psychotherapy process, counseling focuses more on the behavior pattern of the patient and is usually a short treatment. Psychotherapy, on the contrary, is a longer treatment with the client. Counseling can help children in many ways, especially in treating impacts of any abuse in the past. Through proper counseling, the sufferings of the children who have had endured an abuse—emotional, physical, sexual—i n the past can be healed. The point of counseling is definitely not to remove all the sufferings of a child, but to help that child understand and accept his or her sufferings. It is quite not possible to remove all the sufferings of a child because suffering itself is deeply rooted in a child’s system that it has already become part of the child’s life. The various circumstances that make a child suffer would always be part of his or her past and the child’s definition of who he or she really is. If counseling means removing all the sufferings, then it is like removing those parts of a child’s life that define him or her further. Hence, the pain remains in the suffering child while the suffering child is becoming a stranger to him or herself. Real counseling must not aim to remove these sufferings. Instead, real counseling must help suffering people to become aware and sensitive of their miseries to learn their own stories and rediscover themselves. In t his course, the students learned that it is very essential for a counselor to have a compassionate heart to listen to the stories of the patient. Listening is very important in the process of healing because it is not only the counselor who learns about the sufferings of people, but people themselves learn about their very own sufferings that eventually helps them understand their circumstances and accepts their present, and only then, I can effectively suggest directions to go. This course also assisted in realizing that the concept of defense

Is Capitalism a Driving Force of Consumerism Globally Essay

Is Capitalism a Driving Force of Consumerism Globally - Essay Example As the discussion outlines mostly related to the free market economy, it encourages the profit motive and investment by the private sector. This allows those with the necessary capital to gain profits and does not allow a high degree of government interference. The investors in the business sector are known as capitalists as they are the ones who own the means of production. Therefore, in the capitalist system it is the forces of demand and profit motive that dictate the use of the resources. The government has little or no say in the allocation or rationing of resources. The closest we can see to the purely capitalist system is in United States of America. From this paper it is clear that sudies have indicated that mercantilism seems the most primitive appearances of capitalism that existed in the city of Rome and various Middle Eastern regions. In such a system, distribution of goods was the major mode for the realization of profit. Goods were bought at one site for a certain price, moved to another site, and sold at a higher price. As the Romans looked to expand their empires, the mercantilism expanded, and these ideas set in the history of humankind. Similar developments can be compared with the expansion of the Islamic empire spreading their influence in Africa, Asia and even in Europe. Experts believe that Muslims were the inspiration of medieval Europeans who were able to acquire the skills of mercantilism from them. One of the major reasons of such a hypothesis is due to a number of terms in European languages, such as tariff, traffic, etc indicate the touch of Arabic language. Thus, how is capitalism and mercantilism related? I n this regard, analysis has indicated that mercantilism went through a process of evolution in the European region that resulted in its evolution in the form of economic activities, which now exist as Capitalism. The sources of production in modern times: land, materials, tools etc are all capital for the people and its owners are called capitalists.  

In considering your personal, educational, and employment background, Essay

In considering your personal, educational, and employment background, in what ways do you hope or expect to contribute to the academic and professional community at USC Rossier - Essay Example I have also done a lot of volunteer in community churches and schools. Evidently, this has instilled values of care and open-mindedness. My passion for education has made me traversed different professional and career paths. I have completed Bachelor’s Degree in Management as well as Masters Degrees in Science of Management and Elementary education. My main aspiration now is to acquire an EdD in Educational Change Leadership. With this, I hope to solidify my long learning goals in school administration. Additionally, I am looking forward to share the knowledge and educational background to influence positively the professional community of USC Rossier. Finally, I have spent my employment background as an elementary teacher and school administrator. Most importantly, it has given me positive experience to be a better mentor in the education field. The most significant project I would like to work on is to assist an innovative and visionary group of teachers with learning strategies, which are relevant to their individual needs. Additionally, I would like to properly train educators to create initiatives that will improve the quality of education. This will be done through collaborative engagements geared towards improving students’

Task Based Approach to Language Learning

Task Based Approach to Language Learning The past decade has witnessed the advent of task-based instructional approaches in different names including problem-based learning, situated learning and case-based learning. Though varied in names, they all seem to have one thing in common; they get learners involved with tasks or problems as contrasted with more traditional topic-centered curriculum approaches. (Merrill, 2007). Proponents of task-based learning believe that learners involved with real-world problems form appropriate schema and mental models as they collaboratively solve problems and reflect on their experience. Task-based instructional approaches have been widely adopted across a wide variety of discipline areas including medical training, social work, design, and language learning. This paper will discuss the implication of the task-based approach to second language learning where the method has been increasingly adopted and tried in many language classrooms across the world in the recent past. In this paper, the impact of task-based language learning will be explored with special regard to adult learners whose distinctive characteristics make task-based approaches more plausible and beneficial. Task-based instruction is a small, yet fast growing, trend in contemporary second language teaching. To give an example, the ERIC database shows over 120 articles on this issue since the beginning of this millennium. In order to discuss task-based learning properly, it is important to understand what the term task means. Task has been defined by various researchers including Nunan (2004) who wrote that a task is a piece of classroom work that involves learners in comprehending, manipulating, producing or interacting in the target language (p.9). Earlier than Nunan, Jane Willis (1996) defined task as an activity where the target language is used by the learner for a communicative purpose (goal) in order to achieve an outcome (p.23). While definitions vary somewhat among scholars, they all emphasize that pedagogical task involves communicative language use where users attention is focused on meaning rather than grammatical form (Nunan, 2006, p.17). Stemming from the constructivist theory of learning, task-based instruction has emerged in response to the limitations of the traditional PPP (presentation, practice and performance) paradigm (Ellis, 2003). While the PPP approach is relatively straightforward and well-structured to be easily understood by both students and beginner teachers, it has also been criticized considerably for the characteristic that it is far too teacher-oriented and over controlled. Furthermore, the trend of globalization has urged educators and governments to improve communicative competence among second language learners, and the PPP approach has not been effective in fulfilling the mission. Short, Harste Burke argued that the behaviorist PPP approach in language instruction has been to set up desired goals independently of the learners or the situation, present language in a structured and linear fashion, then attempt to reinforce the content through non-contextualized practices. As a result, learners end up knowing about the language but not how to use it (as cited in Abdullah, 1998). As an alternative to the PPP paradigm, task-based lesson is designed around authentic and meaningful real-world tasks, which learners are asked to complete collaboratively as they interact among each other making use of all available language resources they own. The approach is based on the fundamental assumption that, as Jeon (2006) noted, language learning is a developmental process promoting communication and social interaction rather than a product acquired by practicing language items, and that learners learn the target language more effectively when they are naturally exposed to meaningful task-based activities.(p.193) Task-based approach is recognized as an effective means of developing students language output and interaction. More student-centered learning environment helps learners exercise greater flexibility in using language, develop linguistic fluency, and allows for meaningful communication. Authentic tasks carefully drawn from real-world situations will keep learners engaged and motivated more easily, which will result in better learning. As Harrington, Oliver and Reeves (2003) have pointed out, more contextualized exercises, as contrasted with academic and decontextualized vacuum, will create a learning environment which will have learners immersed in problem solving within realistic situations. The approach ultimately help teachers bridge the gap between language practically used in real world and unnatural language used within the world of school. In spite of growing evidence of success, task-based instruction shows some limitations as well. One of the most significant and frequently voiced criticisms is that the method is not as effective or appropriate to lower level language learners with limited prior linguistic knowledge as it is to higher level students. Due to the significant amount of cognitive burden it poses on learners, beginning language learners who are asked to complete a challenging task in the target language often find the situation frustrating and, as a result, develop resistance to the learning method. When asked to use all the language they can muster to express themselves, beginning language learners who are unfamiliar with the learning context may not feel comfortable or productive as if they are thrown to a deep sea when they cannot swim (Willis, 1996). In task-based learning classrooms, frustration is not only with learners but with teachers as well. In his survey conducted among English as Second Langu age (ESL) teachers in East Asian countries, Littlewood (2007) found out that key obstacles to adopting task-based instructional approach in their classrooms were; 1) difficulties getting unmotivated students participate in tasks that usually require a higher level of motivation and enthusiasm from learners, and 2) inability to manage classroom as students get easily distracted and become noisy as they engage in group interaction to complete tasks collaboratively. While these difficulties tend to arise more conspicuously in classrooms involving younger students, adult learners may benefit more from task-based instruction. In general, adult learners demonstrate distinctive characteristics that set them apart from younger learners, and some of these learning characteristics make task-based approach more plausible and appropriate for adult learners. Knowles (1990) developed adult learning theory of Andragogy based on the following assumptions: (1) Adults need to know why they need to learn something, (2) Adults need to learn experientially, (3) Adults are life-centered (or task- or problem-centered) in their orientation to learning, (4) Adults become ready to learn when their life situation create a need to learn, (5) Adults have a self-concept of being responsible for their own decisions, and (6) Adults are motivated to learn by internal factors rather than external ones. According to these assumptions, adult learners are more motivated and more eager to learn than younger learners, have clearer goals and needs than younger learners who often might be learning a language only because it is required, and take control of their own learning. They are also oriented towards problem-solving learning and they learn best when knowledge is presented in real-life context. Obviously, constructivist task-based instructional approach and Andragogy share many aspects in common as they both emphasize ownership of the learning process by learners, experiential learning and a problem-solving approach to learning (Huang, 2002). Therefore, task-based approach can be seen as an ideal match for adult learners who in general are less likely to pose above mentioned concerns voiced by teachers. As compared to traditional pedagogy, task-based instructional method demands increased competencies from teachers who will play a key role in making task-centered language learning successful. As a facilitator, teachers need to infuse the spirit of adventurism in the class to turn students into active learners who are willing to take a risk. It is also important that teachers allow learners time to make gradual adjustment to the unfamiliar learning method, provide necessary encouragement in the process, and build confidence (Curran, Deguent, Lund, Miletto, Straeten, 2000). Effective teachers in the task-based learning environment should also be able to vary the level of tasks to accommodate the needs of beginner or lower level learners in their classrooms. Effective language classroom instruction strategies require more than a simple understanding of the significance of communication skills. To help learners become active communicators, teachers should be able to employ instructional strategies that allow and support sufficient practicing of the language they have learned. Task-based instructional approach creates a learning environment where learners take control of their own learning and freely explore communicative skills focusing on tasks that are drawn from authentic real-world situations. Despite some limitations, task-based approach is still an attractive method in the field of language learning. The approach can be particularly useful in classrooms involving adult learners since their distinctive learning characteristics well match the constructivist elements of the task-based learning. With a wide variety of learning options such as distance learning readily available to todays adult learners, the number of classrooms involvin g adult learners has increased significantly in recent years. Although no single method fits all classrooms and learners in all contexts, task-based approach seems to be a highly viable option especially for adult language learners. Amidst more language classrooms moving away from traditional teacher-centered learning activities to student-centered learning environments, the responsibilities of instructors have become even greater in the instructional design process to devise adequate strategies to guide learners towards successful learning.

Lysistrata Essay -- essays research papers

Lysistrata A play about making war – and not making love†¦ The Talbot Theatre production of Lysistrata both entertained and delighted this member of the audience, who was there partly because of an English assignment requirement, but mainly because of the opportunity to enjoy a live theatre production. The theatre company employed many different components to bring this antiwar play to life that evening on the stage. These components can be broken into three categories, which visually enhanced the text of the play. The first of these categories is the setting, the stage lighting, and the props. The second component is the symbolism of some of those props, and the third component is the character portrayals by the actors on the stage. To take us back to ancient Greece, the props master employed a very simple interpretation using columns on a raised set of steps, with a backdrop of blue. To add to the feel of the era, a statue stands in the middle of the platform. This platform serves double duty as the Akropolis and as the Citadel, both of which the women have occupied. When the men light a fire below the walls of the Akropolis, smoke pours out of the bundle of sticks, making it appear as if a fire has really been ignited. Fortunately the women are ready and the fire is extinguished and the men all doused with water, which is portrayed well with buckets and actions that look as if the men are being driven away by the water. When Kinesias comes to see Myrrhine, and they he...