Thursday, October 31, 2019

Research proposal on network optimization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Research proposal on network optimization - Essay Example Data centers support and provide a variety of application services to the end-users such as cloud computing, grid application, video streaming, video gaming and many others services by providing platform that support all major hardware and soft ware.2 Data centers are located on different parts of a network. Thus the decisions on regulation and management of the application services and network play a big role in influencing outcomes of the application performance and state of the network. Most companies currently make application decisions with insufficient or no information regarding the underlying network that relay those services.3 Hence the maximum benefits of services and network utilization may not be reaped. This paper proposes a study program into cross stratum application with emphasis on the challenges and opportunities made available by the data center based applications and the communication networks. Based on the cross stratum optimization opportunities presented by the interactions between the data center based application services, this research project will be mainly on the following key opportunities: first, enhanced optimization of application and network resources. Additionally, rapid reaction to the fast transforming demands. Lastly, quality of application experience enhancement through proper usage of the existing resources. This project will involve qualitative research involving all essentials parties in CSO i.e. application provider, data center provider, network provider and end-user. The study will involve the following: first, the survey of the different ‘trust’ relationships that are exhibited between the various stakeholders in the application and the network stratum. Secondly, survey of the cloud based applications to compare their impact on network infrastructure. Thirdly, evaluation of the key interfaces their functionality and how they relate to the current standards and potential future standards. More

Tuesday, October 29, 2019

Marketing Plan for Breads and Bakes Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing Plan for Breads and Bakes - Essay Example The experience and the knowledge of B&B owners, product variety, and skilled workers are the strengths of the enterprise. The weakness of the firm arises from its dearth of knowledge regarding the taste and preference of the local clientele. The firm has a prospect of benefiting from the mild competitive rivalry and the large consumer base in the locality. The competition arising from the well-established and prominent cafes are a major threat.The retail industry for food and beverages in the US is swelling rapidly. The increased demand for the freshly baked products, including muffins, bread, and beverages such as coffee arises from the cool business climate of Seattle. The low competition in the locality also increases the demand for products (U.S Department of Commerce, 2008). Large coffee chains and espresso bars are the main rivals of B&B. Nonetheless, the cafes often have limited clients because of the higher outlays with which they are associated. B&B is economical in its comp etitive price, acquiring more clients (Langlois & Csontos, 1993).The firm’s products are a variety of coffee, espresso, and freshly baked products. The firm will market the products to the locals, tourists, and travelers in the town.The local residents aged between 15 and 50 years are the target market of the firm. The firm also targets the tourists and the frequent travelers in the town.B&B will be different from other firms in terms of a wide variety of provisions and competitive pricing.

Sunday, October 27, 2019

The Related Literature And Studies English Language Essay

The Related Literature And Studies English Language Essay Communication is an integral part of human existence and development. Engaging in it is inevitable particularly in a business setting as it is relative to promoting an idea, product, service, or organization to create value or make a sale (Khan). Successful businesses recognize the value of communication in the workplace which requires proficiency in oral and written communication skills. The latter is engineered to display information effectively on the page in order to get results, to inform, to request, to entertain, or to persuade (Holloway). In fact, 90% of all business transactions involve written communications (DePompa). Hence effective business communication demands ideas, thoughts, and concepts to be expressed and presented in an orderly, formal, and effective manner. English as Second Language (ESL) learners perceive business writing skill as far more challenging than that of oral business communication. The former requires the use of written English based on standards set by prescriptive authorities associated with publishing houses and schools (www.wikipedia.com). Teachers, like the researcher, are faced with the challenge of addressing students lack of business writing skills which emanates from their confusion and difficulty in understanding the concepts governing business writing. Business writing is a highly demanding process that necessitates an organization in the development of thoughts, ideas, and accuracy in word choices. The most common problem that confronts teachers of the writing class does not lie so much on what to ask students to write about; the difficulty is more on how to motivate the students to write interesting and effective materials. Writing for its own sake is a drag, and produces boring output (Ikeguchi). Writing only becomes an interesting activity when the teacher knows how to go about teaching it. One very important point the teacher can consider to increase motivation is to actually become a very good supporter and facilitator in the entire writing process. In this regard, the use of newspaper articles as intervention in the improvement of business writing is can be considered. The use of newspaper articles can be an effective intervention to implement in the writing-learning process because it can easily be adapted in Business Communication and Writing class. Newspaper articles offer situations that students are likely to encounter in real life. Through newspaper articles, they can use their experiences and prior knowledge to respond appropriately, and even creatively. This intervention can also help students with low English proficiency to arouse interest so they can actively participate in the class activities. The use of newspaper articles motivates students to write what they want, what they need, and what they feel. Because of the increased responsibility to participate through a variety of writing exercises, students may gain confidence in using the target language in general. Students are more responsible managers of their own learning (Larsen Freeman). This paper intends to find out whether the use of newspaper articles as intervention in the improvement of business writing skills of iACADEMY students is effective. Background of the Study Having the mindset of directly addressing the need for ready-to-hire graduates/applicants of both the information technology (IT) and business industries, Mr. Mitch Andaya, former Dean of the College of Computer Studies in DLSU and Vice-President of STI Colleges Head Office, together with the other founders, established the Information and Communications Technology Academy, now better known as iACADEMY, in March of 2002. The school acquired the first and third floors of the PhilCare Building in Ayala Avenue corner Dela Rosa Street in Makati City. At present, the school occupies the third to the fifth floor of the building that has been renamed iACADEMY. iACADEMY offers Bachelor of Science in Computer Science (BSCS) with Specialization in Software Engineering, Bachelor of Science in Information Technology (BSIT) with Specialization in Digital Arts, and Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BSBA) with Specialization in Marketing and Advertising Management, Bachelor of Science in Animation (BSA), Bachelor of Science in Game Development (BSGD), Bachelor of Arts in Multimedia Arts and Design (AB MMA), and Bachelor of Arts in Fashion Design (ABFD). iACADEMYs library houses a good selection of hard-to-find and imported books, a generous number of local text books and reference materials, and half a dozen desktop computers equipped with the internet, the latest software for IT-related courses and electronic books (e-books) encompassing a variety of subjects to address the needs of its students across all degrees. It also has been on daily subscription with two of the more prominent Philippine broadsheets, the Manila Bulletin and the Philippine Star. Several copies of the daily issues of these broadsheets are accessible to everyone who works for or studies in the institution. However, based upon the school librarians personal observation, only a handful of individuals, most of whom are faculty members, take the time to read these newspapers. Students become interested with these learning materials only when the need arises, like when assignments necessitate them to read and photocopy articles in these newspapers. This study, which aims to improve the students business writing skills, also hopes to make students become active newspaper readers after they discover the real-life learning opportunities it can offer. The advent of computer and internet technology may have invited people to forgo handwritten letters, but definitely not letter writing itself. The existence of the computer and internet in fact has revolutionized letter writing, particularly its speed in creation, transmission, and feedback. And, with the development of electronic mailing system (e-mail), people probably write more than they actually used to. The internet may have decreased the interest of people to perform the task of hand writing but it has also increased peoples preference for written communication (Bly). Two decades or so ago, most managers dictated letters which their secretaries typed. Today, more professionals personally transcribe their letters as computer literacy, including a working knowledge on MS Word and Excel has become a basic managerial requirement (Bly). This goes to show that there is an increase in the number of individuals who are actively performing the skill of writing everyday; therefore, a call for more emphasis on teaching and learning writing skills is an imperative. Majority of iACADEMYs student population comes from the upper-middle to the high-class members of the society. Most of them are graduates of private or exclusive high schools. However, this alone cannot be taken as a guarantee of their English proficiency, both in oral and written communication. Business Communication and Writing course falls under the umbrella of English for Specific Purpose (ESP) course; therefore, it requires a higher level of English proficiency. This is why the course is set as the third English course to be taken by students while the first two English courses are its prerequisites. iACADEMY English faculty are alarmed with their students poor writing performance. These students barely pass or even fail their English subjects because they exhibit below average level of competency, particularly in writing; and when asked why they performed rather poorly, they blamed their very little exposure to the language and uninteresting English subjects as the culprits. English language educators have to admit that ensuring the students improvement in writing performance is in their hands. Writing only becomes an interesting activity when the language educator knows how to go about teaching it and by increasing students motivation in engaging students in the writing process. In this regard, the use of newspaper articles as intervention in the improvement of business writing of iACADEMY students is recommended for consideration. In the Philippines, there are very limited studies related to the topic. The researcher would therefore attempt to make a modest contribution to this area through a different approach by the use of newspaper articles as intervention in the improvement of business writing. https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZQ1hlxPb3YneR_uz6OCXzogtKzZuEWdCRBq5tQMluZ-gOeIm0oKzfBgUF1Y3mmZYIeMMatdDjpFSELhhdaNdVuG5jxAOxa-XdN8sRpxiT6PWKIF2vjOSKX679n1Fr7fY7zrD89PUAt2Hx/s1600/iACADEMY.jpg Map of the Location of Information and Communications Technology Academy Figure 1 Theoretical Framework The framework of this research is anchored on two approaches. First is Communicative Language Teaching (CLT) or Communicative Approach (CA) or in its earlier stage, Notional Functional Approach; and second is the Craftsmanship approach in Business Communication. The CLT approach is the result of the works of educators and linguists known as the Council of Europe language experts (Bryam) in the early 1970s and was further developed by David Wilkins, a prominent linguist who used the term communicative approach in 1974 (Wilkins). It can be further traced to the work of Chomsky in the 1960s, when he advanced the two notions of competence and performance as a reaction against the prevalent audio-lingual method of the time. The central theoretical concept and goal of the CLT approach is communicative competence, a term introduced into discussions of language use and second or foreign language learning together with communicative language teaching in the early 1970s (Savignon). Communicative competence can be defined in terms of the expression, interpretation, and negotiation of meaning and looks to both psycholinguistic and socio-cultural perspectives in Second Language Acquisition (SLA) research to account for its development (Savignon). Teaching writing in the SLA context is one of the main objectives of foreign language teaching and learning. It involves a preparatory phase known as the decision-making phase. This phase entails defining the rhetorical problem: establishing a purpose for writing, determining the audience and a topic. Secondly, the ensuing writing processes are then determined and established. These processes involve the planning, transcribing, and reviewing of the composed work (Lee). The CLT approach to writing is an effective approach because it allows students to draw from their prior knowledge, actively navigate their way through the various writing processes with the appropriate scaffolding, and finally present their understanding of the content. One application of CLT approach is the use of authentic materials. Proponents of CLT have advocated the use of authentic real-life materials in the classroom which include language-based such as newspapers, magazines, advertisements, or graphic and visual sources in which communicative activities can be built (Jin, Application of Communicative Approach in College English Teaching). The range of exercise types and activities compatible with CLT is unlimited. Moreover, it is not assumed in this approach that the teacher is the center of all classroom activities (Al-Mutawa); therefore, the CLT is a learner-centered approach to language learning; and that the teachers and learners motivation and positive attitude are crucial for effective teaching and learning. Finally, as each classroom is different and is composed of different types of learners, several techniques and strategies may be used to address individual learner differences within the SLA environment (Lee). The second theory that this study will use as framework is the Rhetorical Theory in Business Communication. This theory declares that the communication process is neither a single nor a linear process; but is rather continuous making the entire communication process clear to all parties involved. One of the major approaches that the rhetorical theory offers to business communication is the Craftsmanship approach, which is based upon the well-crafted sales letter. It posits that the purpose of the letter is to convince, inform, and arouse its readers interest; therefore, it should be written with the you attitude, wherein the writer attempts to identify with the readers needs, perspective, language, and desires. This then becomes the master strategy for planning means of stimulating the readers faculties in various letter situations (Brooks). The you attitude is given due attention and emphasis by George Burton Hotchkiss. He says that what is true of sales letters is equally true of all other kinds of business letters. He further suggests that the first thing the writer must do is to form the habit of looking at the subject of his message from the readers viewpoint and language; and more importantly, he must get what is called the you attitude. The ideas and concepts in a letter should be expressed from the point of view of the reader. Whatever is said must be expressed in language directed at the reader himself (Hotchkiss and Kilduff). Aside from the you attitude, principle, Hotchkiss also adds five concepts that should always be observed when writing a business letter correctness, clearness, conciseness, courteousness, and character (Hotchkiss and Kilduff). These concepts are known as the, 5 Cs of business writing, should be evident in any type of business letter. Conceptual Framework The researcher has come up with a conceptual framework (see Fig. 1) based upon the theoretical framework of this study. Experimental (treatment) and control groups are included in the framework design. The process to be used for the experimental (treatment) group will be from a pretest to the use of newspaper articles to the posttest that will provide data for the validation of the hypotheses. The control group will undergo the process of a pretest to the conventional pedagogy to the posttest that will provide data for validation of hypotheses. The teaching methodology to be applied for this group is lecture-discussions. Experimental Group Control Group Pretest Pretest Conventional Teaching Conventional Teaching Posttest Use of Newspaper Articles as Intervention Posttest Improved Business Writing Skills Research Paradigm Figure 2 Statement of the Problem The main purpose of the study was to look into the effectiveness of using newspaper articles as intervention in the improvement of business writing performance in the Business Communication and Writing class of iACADEMY during the third trimester of school year 2011-2012. More specifically, the study aimed to answer the following sub-problems: Based on the 5 Cs of writing, what were the writing performances of the experimental and control groups in the following: Pretest Posttest Was there any significant difference between the pretest and the posttest writing performance of the two groups: Experimental group Control group Was there any significant difference in the pretest writing performance of the two groups: Experimental group Control group Was there any significant difference in the posttest writing performance of the two groups: Experimental group Control group Hypotheses: There is no significant difference between the pretest and the posttest writing performance of the experimental group. There is no significant difference between the pretest and the posttest writing performance of the control group. There is no significant difference in the pretest writing performance of the experimental and control groups. There is no significant difference in the posttest writing performance of the experimental and control groups. Scopes and Limitations This study focused on determining the effects of using newspaper articles as intervention in the improvement of business writing performance of iACADEMY students. The research subjects were taken from two heterogeneous groups of students enrolled at the Information and Communications Technology Academy (iACADEMY) in Makati City during the third semester of school year 2011-2012 and who were officially enrolled in ENG103 Business Communication and Writing course. The lecture-discussions for this study were based on the ENG103 (Business Communication and Writing) syllabus designed by the researcher three weeks prior to the start of the third trimester. The institution where he teaches allows members of the faculty to modify the course syllabus provided that such modifications are geared towards better delivery of the much needed learning of the students. Both experimental and control group were provided with the same lectures but with differences in the pedagogical approach. The control group was given only the lecture presentations and practice drills while the experimental group had newspapers articles integrated in the class activities in addition to the usual lecture presentations and practice drills. The newspaper articles chosen by the researcher typified the following principles of CLT approach (Jin, Application of Communicative Approach in College English Teaching): (1) Communicative Principle; (2) Task Principle; and (3) Meaningfulness Principle. Significance of the Study The individuals, who can benefit from this study, include the students, the language and the literature instructors, the curriculum designers, and future researchers. Students. The implementation of the study will benefit college students since newspapers can help them develop not only their reading and speaking skills, grammar, and vocabulary, but also their writing skill. Newspaper articles are considered to be authentic learning materials that provide real-life learning that motivates students to utilize previous life experiences and prior knowledge of a given topic. It can also serve as a model for proper execution of the writing tasks. Language Arts Instructors. The use of newspaper articles as intervention in the improvement of the business writing skills of students gives English instructors more up-to-date teaching materials that are readily accessible to them and their students. Newspaper articles can also serve as good examples for students to improve their writing skills. Curriculum Designers. Inevitably, academicians who focus on innovating designs of the English curriculum would need to find better if not pioneering approaches to teaching English as a second language. It is in this light that such professionals might want to consider including and utilizing newspaper articles in developing curricula that would focus on both language and literature. Other researchers. This study can open new doors for researchers to investigate the effects of the use of newspaper articles in the improvement of the writing performance of students in the English classes, and probably in other disciplines as well, such as in science, history, and values education. Definition of Terms The following terms are defined operationally and conceptually in the study: Authentic Materials. These are materials which involve language naturally occurring as communication in native-speaker contexts of use, or those selected contexts where Standard English is the norm. Business Communication. This is sharing of information between people within an enterprise that is performed for the commercial benefit of the organization. In addition, business communication can also refer to how a company shares information to promote its product or services to potential consumers. Business Communication Skill. This is the ability to convey information to another effectively and efficiently. Business managers with good verbal, non-verbal and written communication skills help facilitate the sharing of information between people within a company for its commercial benefit. Character. This is both an intellectual and emotional quality of the business letter that expresses the writers unique personality in a very natural way, with due regard for his subject and his reader, making the letter a more adequate substitute for personal representative. Clearness. This is an intellectual quality of the business letter that shows its quality of impression and is therefore always to be judged from the readers viewpoint. The writer always knows what he means if he means anything at all. If the reader, however, does not know what a statement means, such a statement lacks this quality of clarity. Communication. This is the two-way process by which information is being conveyed between two individuals, a sender and a receiver, through a common system of symbols, signs, or behavior in order to reach mutual understanding and create a shared meaning. Communicative Competence. It is a situational ability to set realistic and appropriate goals and to maximize their achievement by using knowledge of self, other, context, and thereby to generate adaptive communication performances. Communicative Principle. This principle uses activities that involve real communication situations that promote learning. Conciseness. This is an intellectual quality of the business letter that demands as little as possible of the readers time and gives the kind of service that builds goodwill. Control group. This is a group of students to be used as standard comparison in a control experiment. Conventional Pedagogy. This is the standard way of providing learning to the students at iACADEMY, which incorporates PowerPoint presentations with lecture-discussions. Correctness. This is both an intellectual and emotional quality of the business letter. It is an intellectual quality because the words, spelling, grammar, and punctuation must all be in conformity with established usage. It is also an emotional quality because incorrectness distracts and irritates, and arouses contempt because it gives a bad suggestion of ignorance, carelessness, or haste on the part of the writer. Courteousness. This is an emotional quality of the business letter that is based upon consideration for the readers feelings and personality by the studious avoidance of any idea that would offend. A writer should have no difficulty in securing this quality if he has a genuine recognition of the readers equality with himself. ENG 103. This is the course code of Business Communication and Writing, which is the third English subject needed to be taken by the students after accomplishing the prerequisite English courses Communication Arts 101 and Oral Communications with Public Speaking. Experimental group. This is a group of students that will under study to determine the effects of using newspaper articles as intervention in business writing performance Learner-centered Approach. This is an approach to education focusing on the needs, abilities, interests, and learning styles of the students with the teacher as a facilitator of learning, rather than those of others involved in the educational process, such as teachers and administrators. Lecture-Discussion. This is a teaching model that uses what students already know by building their own background; presents information in a systematic manner; and uses teacher questioning to involve students actively in the learning process. Meaningfulness Principle. This involves language that is meaningful to the learner supports the learning process. Newspaper Article. This is a written work published in print for the purpose of propagating the news, research results, academic analysis, or debate in a scheduled publication such as the broadsheets. Posttest. This is an achievement test that will be used to identify the students level of improvement in their writing skills upon attainment of learning in the given lecture-discussions and activities performed in class. Pretest. This is a diagnostic test which aims to determine the students preparedness in beginning a new course of study. The test helps in the assessment of the student needs in learning the topics to be covered in the instructional design. Proficiency. It is mastery of a specific behavior or skill demonstrated by consistently superior performance, measured against established or popular standards. Second Language Acquisition (SLA). This is the process by which people of a first language learn a second language in addition to their native language. Task principle. This principle involves activities in which language is used to carry out meaningful tasks to promote learning. Writing rubric. This is an assessment tool that attempts to communicate particular level of expected qualities in writing performance areas specifically based upon the 5 Cs of Business Writing. Chapter 2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE AND STUDIES Presented in this chapter are the foreign and local literatures and studies which are relevant to the present study because such contain written reviews or commentaries of other researchers, theorists, and professionals with regard to the use of newspaper articles as intervention in the improvement of business writing. As a result of some limitations, the researcher acknowledges the fact that there is a possibility that other relevant literatures are still unread, either due to time constraint or distance issues of the location of the resource materials. Despite this discrepancy, the researcher tries to exhaust, to its fullest capabilities, the internet that seems to augment and provide sufficient information to supplement the library materials available. Foreign Literature J.C. Richards (2006) states that the ever-growing demand for good communication skills in the English language has created a huge demand for teaching English and an enormous demand for quality language teaching materials and resources. Learners today set themselves the demanding goal of being able to master English on a high proficiency level. Even employers demand that members of the workforce exhibit good English language skills, both oral and written. The demand for an appropriate teaching methodology is therefore an imperative (J. C. Richards). According to Carol Rzadkiewicz, communication is vital in an organization because it not only connects members within a specific department but also connects them to those from other departments, from other branches, and, in todays global economy, from around the world. Moreover, communication can make the difference between success and failure for a company. Good communication helps ensure the efficient operation of all levels of an organization, from the lowest to the highest, whereas poor communication often results in inefficiency; and as successful business leaders know, inefficiency equals a loss of productivity and, consequently, a loss of profits (Rzadkiewicz). Lee believes that writing must first be given a clear definition so that a philosophy or an approach to teaching writing in SLA classroom maybe utilized. Writing as communication may be defined as how learners put thoughts down on paper and develop them into some kind of coherent text (p.245) (Lee). Writing skill is a difficult task for it requires prior knowledge of the language components such as morphology, phonology, syntax, semantics, and pragmatics. These components serve as broader aspects of language for the underlying foundation of language skills like vocabulary, capitalization, syllabification, punctuation, sentence structure, sequential order, and initiation and maintenance of thoughts (Brice). Beare (2012) revealed that for many ESL learners, learning to write fluently in English is much more challenging than learning to speak fluently. Even for advanced level learners, written communications can come much more slowly in English than spoken communications because written communication is more formal; spoken communication allows for more mistakes; less reflection goes into spoken English than written English; and expectations are much higher for formal written English. It is important when teaching written English skills especially for business English to be aware of the challenges that learners face when learning to function in a written English environment and considerations should be given to achieve this. One such consideration is that acquiring speech is an unconscious act, whereas learning to write takes a conscious effort on the part of the learner. Another is that written language must be filtered through a system, which can be phonemic, structural or representative, etc. The individual must not only learn to recognize the meaning of words orally, but also go through a process of transcribing these sounds. Lastly, the process of transcribing requires the learning of other rules and structures thereby cognizing a previously unconscious process (Beare). Widdowson ¼Ã‹â€ 1978 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °enumenrates two aspects in language; one is rules, such as grammar, that determine correctness, and the other is the performative ability that allows people to undertake meaningful communication. He labels the correctness as usage and the performance as use. Since the language functions systematically and communicatively, both spoken and written modes of language cannot leave out either the grammatical and communicative aspects (Widdowson). Communicative writing can be described as the act of corresponding. Of course, as Widdowson ¼Ã‹â€ 1978 ¼Ã¢â‚¬ °acknowledges, the socially reciprocal setting of the written mode is different from that of the spoken mode because, unlike listeners, readers are not always available for immediate responses or, even worse, for any form of interactions whatsoever. However, communicative writing entails the presence of readers as target audience. The important point is that one can write following grammatical rules, and one can compose in order to communicate with others through writing, yet, if the one does not write with the target audience in mind, composition cannot be an act of communication. According to Richards and Rodgers (1986), the theory of CLT approach is holistic rather than behavioristic. It starts with a theory of language as communication which implies knowledge of the grammatical system as well as performance (Richards and Rodgers). Widdowson (1984) stated that in other words, such competence includes both the usage and use of the language (Widdowson). Richards, J. C. (2006) explains that communicative competence embraces three fundamental dimensions: first, the ability to use linguistic means to realize a variety of language functions; second, the ability to use language appropriately with due consideration of the social context in which communication takes place; and third is the ability to develop strategies to manage the negotiation of meaning. This specification of communicative competence is the hallmark of the CLT approach because it cannot be founding the theoretical framework of any other method of or approach to language teaching (J. C. Richards). The CLT approach to teaching writing in the second language acquisition (SLA) context introduces two essential phases: first, a decision-making phase and a second phase whereby the ensuing writing processes are determined and established (Lee). The decision-making phase entails defining the rhetorical problem. It involves establishing a purpose for writing, determining an audience and a topic, ac

Friday, October 25, 2019

Teaching Mathematics Essay -- Education Teaching Philosophy

Teaching Mathematics My interest in teaching mathematics came from the experience of helping others. I have always enjoyed learning math, and I realized that I also like helping other people learn math, especially those that struggle with it or those who have a disliking for it. As a teacher, I will be able to fulfill my aspirations; both my students and I will learn together and from one another. I feel that it is important for me, as a teacher, to stay current and deepen my understanding of mathematics and mathematics education. My learning will continue from my experiences and interactions as a teacher, helping me to become a better educator. I must always be willing to learn from the things I do and use this to better my teaching style, which will, in turn, benefit my students’ learning. To begin, I want to be able to benefit my students’ learning by aiding them in understanding math and realizing that, although they may not think so, math is practical in real life. In particular, I want to work with students at the secondary grade level because as kids get older...

Thursday, October 24, 2019

Marxism in the Grapes of Wrath bye John Steinbeck Essay

Capitalism was chosen as the best economic system when the founding fathers were trying to determine the future of America. A capitalist is someone who owns a production system and who gains money through misusing the effort of workers. Through capitalist economic relations, socialistic ideas are broken down to bias earnings of an individual. Through creating such divisions as the upper, middle, and lower class, the theory of Marxism analyzes what ways capitalism can be used against the people. In the Grapes of Wrath, John Steinbeck confronts this ideal and reveals what he believes regarding this subject. The Marxist theory of criticism examines the economic and governmental system that Steinbeck uses throughout the novel and reveals that Steinbeck does indeed believe that capitalism is naturally flawed. Steinbeck starts his grand confrontation with capitalism, by creating the feeling that there are two classes with a third stuck somewhere between. In the start of the novel, Tom Joad wants to hitch a ride with a driver who has a â€Å"No Riders† sticker on the truck. Tom make the driver become tied and twisted in his emotions and moral feelings when saying, â€Å"sometimes a guy’ll be a good guy even if some rich bastard makes him carry a sticker†¦the driver considered the parts of this answer. If he refused now, not only was he not a good guy, but he was forced to carry a sticker, was not allowed to have company† (7). The driver is forced to believe that in order to be a â€Å"good guy,† he must put aside pride and help out a fellow man. Tom tries to make the driver realize that a man does not need to work for â€Å"some rich bastard† to be a decent person. It is also interesting to note that Steinbeck sees that â€Å"power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely†. He shows that those who have higher authority tend to take advantage of others for their own selfish desires. One character of the intercalary chapters notes that the greed of the upper class dominates society and says, â€Å"You go steal a tire and you’re a thief, but he tried to steal your four dollars for a busted tire. They call it business† (81). Using â€Å"he† can come to represent the strong business owners because its shows the marketing techniques used then. Businessmen would try to take everything away from those who were just trying to make ends meet. By saying that â€Å"he tried to steal your four dollars for a busted tire,† means that they only take for their pleasure and their corrupted desires. This motif of the separation of the current society  into many classes based on greed shows how deeply ingrained it is and then shows how deeply it affects everyone. Steinbeck delegates blame of the complete and utter misfortunate of the lower class onto the upper class. While looking for a job, Uncle John and Pa start speaking to a group of men about work, and the men respond by saying, â€Å"You can’t feed your fam’ly on just twenty cents and hour, but you’ll take anything. They jes’ auction off a job†¦pretty soon they’re gonna make us pay to work† (352). The upper class promises the other fortune, food, and other physiological needs for their families and through this completely and utterly dictates every single move of the lower class by dominating their basic needs that must, absolutely must be met. He then projects a specific quality and image to represent the upper class. â€Å"The Bank-or the Company-needs–wants–insists–must have–as thought the Bank or the Company were a monster†¦they were men and slaves, while the banks and machines were masters all the same time. Some of the owner men were a little proud to be slaves to suck cold and powerful masters† (32). The reason the banks and companies are symbolized as monsters is because they consume profits and interest on money. If no provisions are given to this monster, this master, then its â€Å"slaves† would not be taken care of either, so it feeds from the weak. This is just another way in which those with the power can dominate the lower class through the basic needs that everyone has. It is through many other instances that follow the same pattern as the others that Steinbeck shows how the upper class completely dominates all aspects of society and the living of everyone else. From every corner of the novel drops the contempt that Steinbeck has for those who completely disregard the needs of others in order to profit. To this end, Steinbeck uses the camps to show how he believes that society should currently be operating. In Weedpatch, the Joads gathered at camp with everyone else and noticed something different about the atmosphere. â€Å"There grew up a government in the worlds a Man who was wise found that his wisdom was needed in every camp; a man who was a fool could not change his folly with this world† (197). This scene showed how the families united as one under their own governing. It showed that each person was equal to the next,  falling away from this class defined society. Steinbeck headed towards socialism with this quote, opposing capitalism and its errors labeling a person and their family. By uniting, it seemed as though more work was able to get done and more people enjoyed a feeling of freedom. Families were able to get away from a higher authority and be able to work and think for themselves. Finally, an answer is presented to the question and problems, which Steinbeck had been building up, through the simple connection of the many ideas that flowed through this novel. Through the suffering and misery that is faced by the farmers, Steinbeck sets the concept of separation of class based on luck and circumstance; the greed of those in command then does not allow for any change of any type to occur at all. The power that lies in the hand of the upper class has been abused and used to abuse those that it was meant to help. The greed that prevails throughout all instances of merchant dealings throughout this novel indicate that this is the basis and the only true representative of the upper class; through the struggles of the other people, Steinbeck believes that there is much more to life than simple materialism. In Weedpatch, he shows that once people can shed pettiness and greed that capitalism fosters, they are able to connect and create something much better. From the first event of the novel to the last, Steinbeck focuses on showing the flaws of capitalism and providing a better solution to the problem that plagues the majority of the nation. Socialism will work where capitalism will not, one is based off of the unanimity whereas the other focuses on the few individuals that are able to exploit their greed and disregard for civilization to the extreme.

Wednesday, October 23, 2019

Edgar A. Poe

Informative Text/ EAP Essay Edgar Allen Poe was well known for his dark and mysterious writing, but what caused his abrupt death? How he died is very controversial, because there is little evidence to support any theory. Several people suggest that he died either of rabies, exposure, or alcohol abuse. Although Poe’s death remains in doubt, I believe that several factors led up to the writer falling ill.I have gathered from the biography excerpt renamed â€Å"Poe’s Final Days† by Kenneth Silverman, the article â€Å"Poe’s Death is Rewritten as Case of Rabies, Not Telltale Alcohol†, with the letter to the editor in response published in the New York Times, that Edgar Allen Poe died of symptoms of alcoholism, that escalated from stress. In the biography â€Å"Poe’s Final Days† by Kenneth Silverman, the author reveals accounts during the end of Edgar Allen Poe’s life that point towards the idea of alcoholism being the killer. Silver man traces back to before Poe fell ill, over his hospital stay, and during his rapid death.Over this time period, the writer faced great stress like parting from his wife. He set for Baltimore soon after, where he was found abusing alcohol. The author states â€Å"Poe seemed to Walker ‘rather the worse for wear’ and ‘in great distress. ’ Apparently flooded with drink, he may have also have been ill from exposure† (Silverman, 125). This suggests that Poe did not handle what he was going through in a healthy way. He was drinking to cope with his problems. The weather in Baltimore played a key role in Poe’s last few days as well.Silverman explains â€Å"Winds and soaking rains the day before had sent Baltimoreans prematurely hunting up overcoats and seeking charcoal fires for warmth† (Silverman, 125). This information shows that Poe’s already weak body from alcoholism was made even feebler due to the harsh conditions. His immune sys tem likely could not handle the stress, so it may have opened up his body to a sickness, or he may have just become delirious from not taking care of himself. His impaired judgment is noted within this excerpt, as he was seen wearing someone else’s clothes.Poe was reported delirious in several accounts, and he may have been too drunk to care about protecting himself during the storm. Silverman states, â€Å"According to Moran, one of his senior physicians diagnosed Poe’s condition as encephalitis, a brain inflammation, brought on by â€Å"exposure. † This explanation is consistent with the prematurely wintry weather at the time, with Snodgrass’s account of Poe’s partly clad condition, and with Elmira Shelton’s recollection that on leaving Richmond Poe already had a fever† (Silverman, 129).Kenneth Silverman is not entirely credible; he is only a secondary source that provides passages of primary sources. However, this is the most convi ncing article, because it explains why he made poor decisions and how they led up to him dying. The article â€Å"Poe’s Death is rewritten as Case of Rabies, Not Telltale Alcohol† from the New York Times, September 15, 1996, suggests that Poe did not die drunk and offers a new theory of rabies as the killer. This new study was developed during a medical conference and cardiologist Dr. Benitez believes Poe stopped drinking long before dying.It states, â€Å"In the brief period when he was calm and awake, Poe refused alcohol and could drink water only with great difficulty†¦Poe ‘had all the features of encephalitic rabies’ said Henry Wilde† (131). These ideas are supported with evidence, however they are unreliable sources. Henry Wilde and Dr. Benitez never treated Poe. Wilde has experience with rabies, but he never actually saw Poe’s symptoms. They are secondary sources and are not valid. They reviewed Poe’s case but never really t reated Poe, the article tells how the legend of Poe dying in a gutter drunk was likely made up by his doctor.The other information may also be untrustworthy that they provide about rabies. The article states, â€Å"There is no evidence that a rabid animal had bitten Poe† (131). This directly says that this theory cannot be entirely true. Poe could have been delirious and confused for several reasons, not specifically rabies. There are more accounts and reports of Poe being an alcoholic, than any sign of rabies. He may have refused alcohol a few times, but not before he was in the hospital. Mr. Jerome explains, â€Å"The writer was so sensitive to alcohol that a glass of wine would make him violently ill for days.Poe may have had problems as a younger man†¦Ã¢â‚¬  (132) Mr. Jerome was a museum curator researching Poe, who earlier explained that most theories offered no proof. Jerome never directly met Poe and he is basing his theory off of accounts that may have been ske wed over time. I believe this article is not trustworthy, because the sources are not valid. The letter to the editor â€Å"If only Poe Had Succeeded When He Said Nevermore to Drink† by Burton Pollin from The New York Times, September 23, 1996, disputes Dr. Benitez’s previous theory on rabies killing Edgar Allen Poe.Pollin uncovers weaknesses in this theory and supports alcohol abuse as the main cause of death. Although Poe attempted to recover from alcoholism, he never succeeded. The theory for rabies has no proof to support that Poe died from it; all but Benitez believes the cause of death was alcohol. Pollin reveals, â€Å"Dr. Benitez admits the primary weakness of his theory- lack of evidence of a bite or scratch†¦rabies was well known as to causes and symptoms†¦ could affect an entire limb or side of the body. How could Moran and his staff ignore such symptoms in a patient? (Pollin, 134). No clues suggest the theory of rabies and relatives of Poe even d isagree with Dr. Benitez. Symptoms that significant are hard to ignore, so it is unlikely that rabies was the problem. Poe likely could not get away with such symptoms even if he wanted to. He was examined in the hospital, so if anything else were wrong with him it would have been reported. Another problem with this case is that most medical records and reports have been lost. Rabies cannot go unnoticed; Poe was not even around any animals that were infected.Pollin states, â€Å"Guiltless was the pet Caterina, who, uninfected and showed no sign of rabies, died of starvation when deserted by Clemm after Poe’s death† (Pollin, 134). Poe’s cat was innocent, and cannot be blamed for giving him rabies. Most accounts over Poe’s last few days were about him drunk or delirious. This is the most likely cause, because it is backed with the most evidence. Pollin states, â€Å"Poe was found outside a Baltimore saloon in an alcoholic stupor on October 3, 1849, and die d four days later. Dr. John J.Moran’s account of hid final days is given in a letter to Poe’s aunt and mother-in-law, Maria Clemm, a New York Herald article in 1875, and a book by Moran in 1885. Supplementary accounts of Poe’s alcoholic condition came from Joseph Walker†¦ Dr. Snodgrass, and editor well known to Poe; and two of Poe’s relatives. None of these confirm Dr. Bentitez’s statement that ‘Poe was not drunk’† (Pollin, 133). A great amount of evidence can support alcoholism as the true cause. Only one account suggests rabies. Alcohol was a big part of Poe’s past; it showed up through letters and was a constant obstacle for him.This article is slightly biased and comes across as persuasive in tone. It is a secondary source, but addresses many primary sources. The author is very opinionated and believed that Poe’s self-destructive behavior should not be concealed. This article is credible and I agree with it s argument. Edgar Allen Poe led a very mysterious life; even how he died is still in doubt. It is known that he was delirious, and had impaired judgment prior to staying in a hospital and suddenly dying. There are many disputed theories about how Poe specifically died.The biography excerpt â€Å"Poe’s Final Days† by Kenneth Silverman explains how weather and stress increased symptoms of alcoholism and caused Poe to die of poor decisions. He was too drunk to care, and faced stress that he could no longer handle. The New York Times article â€Å"Poe’s Death is rewritten as Case of Rabies, Not Telltale Alcohol† explains Dr. Benitez’s new theory developed during a medical conference suggesting Poe died of rabies. It reveals how he was said to avoid alcohol despite a drunk past and was wrongly accused of alcoholism.The letter to the editor response, â€Å"If Only Poe Had Succeeded When He Said Nevermore To Drink† by Burton Pollin argues the idea of Poe dying of rabies and supports the traditional theory of Poe dying from alcoholism. Pollin explains how much more evidence is present about Poe’s struggle with abusing alcohol, and no animals could have infected Poe. I believe that Edgar Allen Poe died of the stress from alcohol abuse and exposure. He made poor health decisions, and stopped caring about his well being. Poe’s death remains as dark and mysterious as his stories.