When Will It End? :: essays research papers

You may heard of me in ancient history. I am Genghis Khan and I,would like to share a story that was not recorded in history.In 1199 near the middle of winter,on the northern borders of china. My two best men and I were left standing,after being at war with the mongolians for several weeks,filled with hunger and dressed with wounds decided to retreat to home to heal and gather more men. I yelled lets go,We lofted on our horses,and right at that moment,a loft of arrows desended,up on all three of us killing my two men,and leaving me wounded in the arm, i broke the shaft of the arrow,and pulled it out,flung it on the ground and dug my spurs into my horses flesh,and like a bolt of lighting we shot through the woods.I knew my horse was weak, not having much to eat,but some bark off the trees,because of the heavy snow, my prayers were to the effect,that i would be home soon. I could hear hoof beats off in the distance,they sounded like they were getting closer, all i had on my mind was d arkness.Once dark my chances of escape are far better,I was still bleeding and felt like my horse was about to give up,as we arrived at the top of the mountain,looking down the other side and down at the bottom was a long winding river,i knew this was my escape,my horse collapsed to its side,gave his last breath.At that moment i heard a branch break,looking over my shoulder,gettig closer was that small army,of mongolians,run,run,run was going through my mind,i was weak and could not move very fast.i could here the words of the savages,bragging about how much my head was worth,then i slipped on the hard snow hit my head

Effects of Google Translate on Vocabulary

Effects of Google Translate on Vocabulary Acquisition and Reading Comprehension BY traveler0527 Effects of Google Translate on Vocabulary Acquisition and Reading Comprehension Abstract With the rapid development of technology, more modern ways are applied to English learning. Though technology towards language learning has been extensively studied in recent years, the influences of online translation are seldom examined. This study investigates the effects of Google translate on English vocabulary acquisition and article comprehension. It was hypothesized that Google translate can improve students' performance in both aspects.The research was evaluated by an experiment which needed participants to read one article and finish some related quizzes. To make a comparison, participants were divided into two groups with only one can use Google translate. The results were unexpected. It seems that Google translate does not has a significant positive effect to help students learn English voc abulary and to improve reading comprehension. Students who learn English, teachers who want to help their students make progress and researchers in this area could benefit from this study.Introduction The rapid development of technology in recent decades benefits the education area. Besides traditional teaching methods, more approaches are employed in language learning to help learners make progress. Many studies have focused on impacts of different kinds of technology on English learning. Previous research from Kung and Chuo (2002) affirmed that college students acknowledge the Internet as a useful tool to learn English. Chun and Plass (1996) suggested that with multimedia program to assist high school students in reading articles, the rate of incidental vocabulary learning increased.However, few studies have examined the effects of online translation service on English learning. Research studies both vocabulary learning and reading comprehension is also difficult to find. Therefor e, further investigations are needed. This research is aimed at investigating the influences of Google translate on vocabulary learning and reading comprehension. Google translate is a kind of free online language translation service which can instantly translate text or web pages into numerous different languages. Vocabulary learning is an important and fundamental aspect of English study which stresses cognition and use of words.Additionally, reading comprehension is an ability to understand articles which elated to recognition of content and grasp of main ideas. The lack of previous research on this topic leads to the research question: Do students who use Google translate to help them learn English have higher efficiency than students who do not? It was hypothesized that Google translate will improve students' understanding of unfamiliar words and the content of an article. Methodology Sample The sample participating in this experiment consisted of 1 1 students from Yl- are non- native English speakers.Material Google translate, which is capable to offer translation of text immediately and can un perfectly on laptops, was used as assistance for the experiment group and defined as the independent variable. A relatively new article excerpted from Slate Magazine which is about business and trade was adopted as the test material. With an academic style and approximately 700 words, this article can be difficult to understand. A quiz related to the article consisting of 8 questions about vocabulary learning and 2 questions about reading comprehension was also used.The first 8 questions ask participants to choose the right words to fill in 8 incomplete sentences. The last 2 questions are multiple choice questions. Procedure Several meetings were held to design the experiment and the quiz. After that, the whole experiment was piloted in the researcher team to check the validity of questions and to ensure there would be sufficient time for participants to finish the reading task and the quiz. Another purpose is to make every researcher be familiar with the process. The formal experiment was conducted on 19th April in the EAP classroom.All members of the research team were required to bring laptops in order to run Google translate. First, participants were divided into two groups randomly. 6 tudents in the experiment group were allowed to use Google translate during the reading time. Other 5 students were treated as the control group. Then, a 3-minute- long brief guidance including rules of the experiment was given to participants. Next, paper copies of the article were given out and 1 5 minutes were arranged for participants to read.The experiment group was allowed to use Google translate when they encounter unfamiliar words or sentences, whereas the control group should read through the paper without any assistance. For both groups, taking notes and making marks in the reading paper were forbidden. Afterwards, quiz papers were distributed to evaluate participants' learning outcomes and Google translate is banned to use. Participants were given 15 minutes to finish the quiz. Finally, all the papers were collected. The whole experiment was conducted in the EAP classroom and last for approximately 40 minutes.After the experiment, the research team gathered to mark quiz papers and the results were analyzed by using a data- recording table. Result and analysis The aim of this experiment is to define whether Google translate can help students learn English more efficiently. Without the independent variable, which is Google ranslate, all other conditions were kept the same to both groups. Therefore, it seems fair to say the experiment was conducted in a Just way. The most important finding is one that out of the researchers' expectation. The average grade of control group is nearly 1. 2 times higher than the experiment group (Figure 1).It reflects that the control group had a better performance during the test. Considering the result contraries to the hypothesis, deep analyses were given. The possible reasons are as follows. Firstly, because of the lack of a pre-test to divide subjects, there may be a hance to put students who are good at English in the control group. Secondly, participants who have the privilege to use Google translate may rely on it whenever understanding of the content and the efficient use of context. Thirdly, since participants in experiment group needed to switch between the papers and laptops, it is hard for them to concentrate on the article.Fourthly, as Google translate can only give one simple definition of the word or phrase, this could be inaccurate and sometimes could mislead those students. After data were entered in an Excel spreadsheet, the accuracy of every question was alculated. As the Figure 2 below illustrates, the overall accuracy of the control group is higher than the experiment group except for question 5 and 8. No one in the control group answered correctly to t he fifth question and one third of them gave wrong answers to the eighth question.These two questions are aimed at testing students' understanding of the meaning of new words. Google translate gives the right explanations which are consistent with the meaning in the content. This may indicate that Google translate can help students gain the meaning of some words which have clear and simplex meaning. However, the last question, which is a multiple choice question about reading comprehension, none in the experiment group gave the right answer while almost half of the students in the control group chose the correct one.The data suggests that students in the control group had a better understanding about the main ideas of the article. This may because there was no equipment to distract their attention and all they could do during the first part of the test was to read the whole content thoroughly. Another question that worth being discussed according to the Figure is the sixth question, all participants in he experiment, no matter which group they belonged to, failed to answer it. The question is: Even so, it is unclear how much the shift to inland growth really has. The correct word be chosen from the box is â€Å"momentum†.From the experiment group's perspective, it is proper to surmise that the Chinese translation given by Google translate is inapposite and not related to the content tightly. This made it tough for those who take Google translate as a helper. From the control group' viewpoints, it may perhaps be that the context is complex and the meaning is hard to guess. Another factor that needs to be concerned is the question itself because it is a compound sentence and difficult to understand. To brief summarize, Google vocabulary and improve the comprehension of reading.Conclusion One of the most important findings is that the control group performed better with higher marks on average in the experiment about whether Google translate is helpful for students to learn new words and to understand better about the content when they read an article. Another interesting finding is that Google translate can be very useful when the target word has a definite meaning and at the same time, be very imited when relate to the text comprehension. In general, the findings are unexpected and contradict the hypothesis which claims that Google translate can have positive effects to English learners.It is also contradictory to the findings of Peters (2007), which claims that the use of online dictionary can enhance vocabulary acquisition. To sum up, though Google translate is useful when readers want to find students when they read an article or encounter words with multi-meanings. The unanticipated findings may relate to some limitations of this experiment. First, the topic is limited. Since the research topic is to examine the effects of technology on English learning, it can contain many subareas. For example, reading, listening, speaking an d writing.The research group only focused on 2 English learning aspects: vocabulary and text learning. Even the vocabulary contains lots of inspection points, such as spelling, pronunciation and word meaning. Also, use Google translate to represent technology is one-sided. There are other kinds of technology like software, recorder and e-dictionary. Second, for the experiment, the sample size is too small and lack of diversity. All 11 participants are year 1 students with the same major from the same education background. In addition, the gender proportion is unbalanced.Meanwhile, a pre-test about the English level of the participants is lacked. Moreover, the function of Google translate is inadequate. In brief, the limitations are in two aspects: topic and the design of the experiment and these may lead to the unpredicted findings. The findings of this report lead to some recommendations. Firstly, students who learn English at the beginning level can use Google translate to find th e meaning of the words, phrases and sentences to help them understand the ontent. However, it is not suggested to rely on Google translate to find definitions of every words.Secondly, teachers who want to help their students make progress in English learning could use Google translate as assistance more appropriately and efficiently in the aspect of simplex-meaning word acquisition. It is also advised that teachers should encourage students to think more by themselves actively and avoid using Google translate to find the meaning of every new word. Thirdly, researchers in this area can gain useful information about the effects of online translation service n English vocabulary learning and reading comprehension.

The Host Chapter 23: Confessed

The shadow was huge and misshapen. It loomed over me, top-heavy, swinging closer to my face. I think I meant to scream, but the sound got trapped in my throat, and all that came out was a breathless squeak. â€Å"Shh, it's just me,† Jamie whispered. Something bulky and roundish rolled from his shoulders and plopped softly to the floor. When it was gone I could see his true, lithe shadow against the moonlight. I caught a few gasps of air, my hand clutching at my throat. â€Å"Sorry,† he whispered, sitting down on the edge of the mattress. â€Å"I guess that was pretty stupid. I was trying not to wake Doc-I didn't even think how I would scare you. You okay?† He patted my ankle, which was the part of me closest to him. â€Å"Sure,† I huffed, still breathless. â€Å"Sorry,† he muttered again. â€Å"What are you doing here, Jamie? Shouldn't you be asleep?† â€Å"That's why I'm here. Uncle Jeb was snoring like you wouldn't believe. I couldn't stand it anymore.† His answer didn't make sense to me. â€Å"Don't you usually sleep with Jeb?† Jamie yawned and bent to untie the bulky bedroll he'd dropped to the floor. â€Å"No, I usually sleep with Jared. He doesn't snore. But you know that.† I did. â€Å"Why don't you sleep in Jared's room, then? Are you afraid to sleep alone?† I wouldn't have blamed him for that. It seemed like I was constantly terrified here. â€Å"Afraid,† he grumbled, offended. â€Å"No. This is Jared's room. And mine.† â€Å"What?† I gasped. â€Å"Jeb put me in Jared's room?† I couldn't believe it. Jared would kill me. No, he would kill Jeb first, and then he would kill me. â€Å"It's my room, too. And I told Jeb you could have it.† â€Å"Jared will be furious,† I whispered. â€Å"I can do what I want with my room,† Jamie muttered rebelliously, but then he bit his lip. â€Å"We won't tell him. He doesn't have to know.† I nodded. â€Å"Good idea.† â€Å"You don't mind if I sleep in here, do you? Uncle Jeb's really loud.† â€Å"No, I don't mind. But Jamie, I don't think you should.† He frowned, trying to be tough instead of hurt. â€Å"Why not?† â€Å"Because it's not safe. Sometimes people come looking for me at night.† His eyes went wide. â€Å"They do?† â€Å"Jared always had the gun-they went away.† â€Å"Who?† â€Å"I don't know-Kyle sometimes. But there are surely others who are still here.† He nodded. â€Å"All the more reason why I should stay. Doc might need help.† â€Å"Jamie -â€Å" â€Å"I'm not a kid, Wanda. I can take care of myself.† Obviously, arguing was only going to make him more stubborn. â€Å"At least take the bed,† I said, surrendering. â€Å"I'll sleep on the floor. It's your room.† â€Å"That's not right. You're the guest.† I snorted quietly. â€Å"Ha. No, the bed is yours.† â€Å"No way.† He lay down on the mat, folding his arms tightly across his chest. Again, I saw that arguing was the wrong approach to take with Jamie. Well, this one I could rectify as soon as he was asleep. Jamie slept so deeply it was almost a coma. Melanie could carry him anywhere once he was out. â€Å"You can use my pillow,† he told me, patting the one next to the side where he lay. â€Å"You don't need to scrunch up at the bottom there.† I sighed but crawled to the top of the bed. â€Å"That's right,† he said approvingly. â€Å"Now, could you throw me Jared's?† I hesitated, about to reach for the pillow under my head; he jumped up, leaned over me, and snatched the other pillow. I sighed again. We lay in silence for a while, listening to the low whistle of the doctor's breathing. â€Å"Doc has a nice snore, doesn't he?† Jamie whispered. â€Å"It won't keep you up,† I agreed. â€Å"You tired?† â€Å"Yeah.† â€Å"Oh.† I waited for him to say something more, but he was quiet. â€Å"Was there something you wanted?† I asked. He didn't answer right away, but I could feel him struggling, so I waited. â€Å"If I asked you something, would you tell me the truth?† It was my turn to hesitate. â€Å"I don't know everything,† I hedged. â€Å"You would know this. When we were walking†¦ me and Jeb†¦ he was telling me some things. Things he thought, but I don't know if he's right.† Melanie was suddenly very there in my head. Jamie's whisper was hard to hear, quieter than my breathing. â€Å"Uncle Jeb thinks that Melanie might still be alive. Inside there with you, I mean.† My Jamie. Melanie sighed. I said nothing to either of them. â€Å"I didn't know that could happen. Does that happen?† His voice broke, and I could hear that he was fighting tears. He was not a boy to cry, and here I'd grieved him this deeply twice in one day. A pain pierced through the general region of my chest. â€Å"Does it, Wanda?† Tell him. Please tell him that I love him. â€Å"Why won't you answer me?† Jamie was really crying now but trying to muffle the sound. I crawled off the bed, squeezing into the hard space between the mattress and the mat, and threw my arm over his shaking chest. I leaned my head against his hair and felt his tears, warm on my neck. â€Å"Is Melanie still alive, Wanda? Please?† He was probably a tool. The old man could have sent him just for this; Jeb was smart enough to see how easily Jamie broke through my defenses. It was possible that Jeb was seeking confirmation for his theory, and he wasn't against using the boy to get it. What would Jeb do when he was certain of the dangerous truth? How would he use the information? I didn't think he meant me harm, but could I trust my own judgment? Humans were deceitful, treacherous creatures. I couldn't anticipate their darker agendas when such things were unthinkable to my species. Jamie's body shook beside me. He's suffering, Melanie cried. She battered ineffectually at my control. But I couldn't blame this on Melanie if it turned out to be a huge mistake. I knew who was speaking now. â€Å"She promised she would come back, didn't she?† I murmured. â€Å"Would Melanie break a promise to you?† Jamie slid his arms around my waist and clung to me for a long time. After a few minutes, he whispered, â€Å"Love you, Mel.† â€Å"She loves you, too. She's so happy that you're here and safe.† He was silent long enough for the tears on my skin to dry, leaving a fine, salty dust behind. â€Å"Is everybody like that?† Jamie whispered long after I thought he'd fallen asleep. â€Å"Does everybody stay?† â€Å"No,† I told him sadly. â€Å"No. Melanie is special.† â€Å"She's strong and brave.† â€Å"Very.† â€Å"Do you think†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He paused to sniff. â€Å"Do you think that maybe Dad is still there, too?† I swallowed, trying to move the lump farther down my throat. It didn't work. â€Å"No, Jamie. No, I don't think so. Not like Melanie is.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Because he brought the Seekers looking for you. Well, the soul inside him did. Your father wouldn't have let that happen if he were still there. Your sister never let me see where the cabin was-she didn't even let me know that you existed for the longest time. She didn't bring me here until she was sure that I wouldn't hurt you.† It was too much information. Only as I finished speaking did I realize that the doctor wasn't snoring anymore. I could hear no noise from his breathing. Stupid. I cursed myself internally. â€Å"Wow,† Jamie said. I whispered into his ear, so close that there was no way the doctor could possibly overhear. â€Å"Yes, she's very strong.† Jamie strained to hear me, frowning, and then glanced at the opening to the dark hall. He must have realized the same thing I had, because he turned his face to my ear and whispered back softer than before. â€Å"Why would you do that? Not hurt us? Isn't that what you want?† â€Å"No. I don't want to hurt you.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Your sister and I have†¦ spent a lot of time together. She shared you with me. And†¦ I started to†¦ to love you, too.† â€Å"And Jared, too?† I gritted my teeth for a second, chagrined that he had made the connection so easily. â€Å"Of course I don't want anything to hurt Jared, either.† â€Å"He hates you,† Jamie told me, plainly grieved by the fact. â€Å"Yes. Everyone does.† I sighed. â€Å"I can't blame them.† â€Å"Jeb doesn't. And I don't.† â€Å"You might, after you think about it more.† â€Å"But you weren't even here when they took over. You didn't pick my dad or my mom or Melanie. You were in outer space then, right?† â€Å"Yes, but I am what I am, Jamie. I did what souls do. I've had many hosts before Melanie, and nothing's stopped me from†¦ taking lives. Again and again. It's how I live.† â€Å"Does Melanie hate you?† I thought for a minute. â€Å"Not as much as she used to.† No. I don't hate you at all. Not anymore. â€Å"She says she doesn't hate me at all anymore,† I murmured almost silently. â€Å"How†¦ how is she?† â€Å"She's happy to be here. She's so happy to see you. She doesn't even care that they're going to kill us.† Jamie stiffened under my arm. â€Å"They can't! Not if Mel's still alive!† You've upset him, Melanie complained. You didn't have to say that. It won't be any easier for him if he's unprepared. â€Å"They won't believe that, Jamie,† I whispered. â€Å"They'll think I'm lying to trick you. They'll just want to kill me more if you tell them that. Only Seekers lie.† The word made him shudder. â€Å"But you're not lying. I know it,† he said after a moment. I shrugged. â€Å"I won't let them kill her.† His voice, though quiet as a breath, was fierce with determination. I was paralyzed at the thought of him becoming more involved with this situation, with me. I thought of the barbarians he lived with. Would his age protect him from them if he tried to protect me? I doubted it. My thoughts scrambled, searching for some way to dissuade him without triggering his stubbornness. Jamie spoke before I could say anything; he was suddenly calm, as if the answer was plain in front of him. â€Å"Jared will think of something. He always does.† â€Å"Jared won't believe you, either. He'll be the angriest of them all.† â€Å"Even if he doesn't believe it, he'll protect her. Just in case.† â€Å"We'll see,† I muttered. I'd find the perfect words later-the argument that would not sound like an argument. Jamie was quiet, thinking. Eventually, his breathing got slower, and his mouth fell open. I waited until I was sure he was deeply under, and then I crawled over him and very carefully shifted him from the floor to the bed. He was heavier than before, but I managed. He didn't wake. I put Jared's pillow back where it belonged, and then stretched out on the mat. Well, I thought, I just hurled myself out of the frying pan. But I was too tired to care what this would mean tomorrow. Within seconds, I was unconscious. When I woke, the crevices in the ceiling were bright with echoed sunlight, and someone was whistling. The whistling stopped. â€Å"Finally,† Jeb muttered when my eyes fluttered. I rolled onto my side so that I could look at him; as I moved, Jamie's hand slid from my arm. Sometime in the night he must have reached out to me-well, not to me, to his sister. Jeb was leaning against the natural rock door frame, his arms folded across his chest. â€Å"Morning,† he said. â€Å"Get enough sleep?† I stretched, decided that I felt acceptably rested, and then nodded. â€Å"Oh, don't give me the silent treatment again,† he complained, scowling. â€Å"Sorry,† I murmured. â€Å"I slept well, thank you.† Jamie stirred at the sound of my voice. â€Å"Wanda?† he asked. I was ridiculously touched that it was my silly nickname that he spoke on the edge of sleep. â€Å"Yes?† Jamie blinked and pulled his tangled hair out of his eyes. â€Å"Oh, hey, Uncle Jeb.† â€Å"My room not good enough for you, kid?† â€Å"You snore real loud,† Jamie said, and then yawned. â€Å"Haven't I taught you anything?† Jeb asked him. â€Å"Since when do you let a guest and a lady sleep on the floor?† Jamie sat up suddenly, staring around, disoriented. He frowned. â€Å"Don't upset him,† I told Jeb. â€Å"He insisted on taking the mat. I moved him when he was asleep.† Jamie snorted. â€Å"Mel always used to do that, too.† I widened my eyes slightly at him, trying to convey a warning. Jeb chuckled. I looked up at him, and he had that same pouncing-cat expression he'd had yesterday. The solved-puzzle expression. He walked over and kicked the edge of the mattress. â€Å"You've already missed your morning class. Sharon's bound to be testy about that, so get a move on.† â€Å"Sharon is always testy,† Jamie complained, but he got to his feet quickly. â€Å"On your way, boy.† Jamie looked at me again, then he turned and disappeared into the hall. â€Å"Now,† Jeb said as soon as we were alone. â€Å"I think all this baby-sitting nonsense has gone on long enough. I'm a busy man. Everyone is busy here-too busy to sit around playin' guard. So today you're going to have to come along with me while I get my chores done.† I felt my mouth pop open. He stared at me, no smile. â€Å"Don't look so terrified,† he grumbled. â€Å"You'll be fine.† He patted his gun. â€Å"My house is no place for babies.† I couldn't argue with that. I took three quick, deep breaths, trying to steady my nerves. Blood pulsed so loudly in my ears that his voice seemed quiet in comparison when he spoke again. â€Å"C'mon, Wanda. Day's wasting.† He turned and stomped out of the room. I was frozen for a moment, and then I lurched out after him. He wasn't bluffing-he was already invisible around the first corner. I raced after him, horrified by the thought that I might run into someone else in this obviously inhabited wing. I caught up to him before he reached the big intersection of the tunnels. He didn't even look at me as I slowed beside him to match his pace. â€Å"‘Bout time that northeast field was planted. We'll have to work the soil first. Hope you don't mind getting your hands dirty. After we're done, I'll see that you get a chance to clean yourself up. You need it.† He sniffed pointedly, then laughed. I felt the back of my neck get hot, but I ignored the last part. â€Å"I don't mind getting my hands dirty,† I murmured. As I recalled, the empty northeastern field was out of the way. Perhaps we would be able to work alone. Once we got to the big plaza cave, we started passing humans. They all stared, infuriated, as usual. I was beginning to recognize most of them: the middle-aged woman with the long salt-and-pepper braid I had seen with the irrigation team yesterday. The short man with the round belly, thinning sandy hair, and ruddy cheeks had been with her. The athletic-looking woman with the caramel brown skin had been the one bent to tie her shoe the first time I'd come out here during the day. Another dark-skinned woman with thick lips and sleepy eyes had been in the kitchen, near the two black-haired children-perhaps she was their mother? Now we passed Maggie; she glowered at Jeb and turned her face away from me. We passed a pale, sick-looking man with white hair whom I was sure I'd never seen before. Then we passed Ian. â€Å"Hey, Jeb,† he said cheerfully. â€Å"Whatcha up to?† â€Å"Turning the soil in the east field,† Jeb grunted. â€Å"Want some help?† â€Å"Ought to make yourself useful,† Jeb muttered. Ian took this as an assent and fell into step behind me. It gave me goose bumps, feeling his eyes on my back. We passed a young man who couldn't have been many years older than Jamie-his dark hair stood up from his olive-toned forehead like steel wool. â€Å"Hey, Wes,† Ian greeted him. Wes watched in silence as we passed. Ian laughed at his expression. We passed Doc. â€Å"Hey, Doc,† Ian said. â€Å"Ian.† Doc nodded. In his hands was a big wad of dough. His shirt was covered with dark, coarse flour. â€Å"Morning, Jeb. Morning, Wanda.† â€Å"Morning,† Jeb answered. I nodded uneasily. â€Å"See you 'round,† Doc said, hurrying off with his burden. â€Å"Wanda, huh?† Ian asked. â€Å"My idea,† Jeb told him. â€Å"Suits her, I think.† â€Å"Interesting† was all Ian said. We finally made it to the northeastern field, where my hopes were dashed. There were more people here than there had been in the passageways-five women and nine men. They all stopped what they were doing and scowled, naturally. â€Å"Pay 'em no mind,† Jeb murmured to me. Jeb proceeded to follow his own advice; he went to a jumbled pile of tools against the closest wall, shoved his gun through the strap at his waist, and grabbed a pick and two shovels. I felt exposed, having him so far away. Ian was just a step behind me-I could hear him breathing. The others in the room continued to glower, their tools still in their hands. I didn't miss the fact that the picks and hoes that were breaking the earth could easily be used to break a body. It seemed to me, in reading a few of their expressions, that I wasn't the only one with that idea. Jeb came back and handed me a shovel. I gripped the smooth, worn wooden handle, feeling its weight. After seeing the bloodlust in the humans' eyes, it was hard not to think of it as a weapon. I didn't like the idea. I doubted I could raise it as one, even to block a blow. Jeb gave Ian the pick. The sharp, blackened metal looked deadly in his hands. It took all my willpower not to skip out of range. â€Å"Let's take the back corner.† At least Jeb took me to the least crowded spot in the long, sunny cave. He had Ian pulverize the hard-baked dirt ahead of us, while I flipped the clods over and he followed behind, crushing the chunks into usable soil with the edge of his shovel. Watching the sweat run down Ian's fair skin-he'd removed his shirt after a few seconds in the dry scorch of the mirror light-and hearing Jeb's grunted breaths behind me, I could see that I had the easiest job. I wished I had something more difficult to do, something that would keep me from being distracted by the movements of the other humans. Their every motion had me cringing and flinching. I couldn't do Ian's job-I didn't have the thick arm and back muscles needed to really chew into the hard soil. But I decided to do what I could of Jeb's, prechopping the clods into smaller bits before I moved on. It helped a little bit-kept my eyes busy and tired me out so that I had to concentrate on making myself work. Ian brought us water now and then. There was a woman-short and fair, I'd seen her in the kitchen yesterday-who seemed to have the job of bringing water to the others, but she ignored us. Ian brought enough for three every time. I found his about-face in regard to me unsettling. Was he really no longer intent on my death? Or just looking for an opportunity? The water always tasted funny here-sulfurous and stale-but now that taste seemed suspicious. I tried to ignore the paranoia as much as possible. I was working hard enough to keep my eyes busy and my mind numb; I didn't notice when we hit the end of the last row. I stopped only when Ian did. He stretched, pulling the pick overhead with two hands and popping his joints. I shied away from the raised pick, but he didn't see. I realized that everyone else had stopped, too. I looked at the fresh-turned dirt, even across the entire floor, and realized that the field was complete. â€Å"Good work,† Jeb announced in a loud voice to the group. â€Å"We'll seed and water tomorrow.† The room was filled with soft chatter and clanks as the tools were piled against the wall once more. Some of the talk was casual; some was still tense because of me. Ian held his hand out for my shovel, and I handed it to him, feeling my already low mood sink right to the floor. I had no doubt that I would be included in Jeb's â€Å"we.† Tomorrow would be just as hard as today. I looked at Jeb mournfully, and he was smiling in my direction. There was a smugness to his grin that made me believe he knew what I was thinking-not only did he guess my discomfort, but he was enjoying it. He winked at me, my crazy friend. I realized again that this was the best to be expected from human friendship. â€Å"See you tomorrow, Wanda,† Ian called from across the room, and laughed to himself. Everyone stared.

Comparing Branagh and Olivier

The two movie versions of Shakespeare's Hamlet that are directed by Laurence Olivier and Kenneth Branagh have similarities and differences. The similarities include how Hamlet feels betrayed by his mother because of her sudden marriage after the death of his father. The differences include how Hamlet is portrayed as a character. Olivier uses the Hamlet's relationship with Gertrude and his soliloquy to portray Hamlet as confused, whereas Branagh uses the same dynamics to portray Hamlet as furious.Olivier presents Hamlet's relationship with Gertrude as more physical in order to ndicate Hamlet's confusion, while Branagh presents the relationship between Hamlet and his mother as less physical to reinforce his feelings of frustration. During the scene where Claudius and Gertrude are encouraging Hamlet to stay in Denmark, Gertrude freely touches Hamlet and kisses him on the mouth to console her grieving son (Olivier, 1948). During this scene, Hamlet is sitting at the edge of the table wear ing all black and is turned away from everyone. He is upset that his mother has remarried such a short time after his father's death.His tone of voice suggests that e is full of grief, devastated about the death of his father, and feeling betrayed by his mother. Even though he feels betrayed, Hamlet passively allows his mother to embrace and kiss him. Hamlet is confused, and has no sense of how to deal with his conflicting feelings. Branagh, however, presents the relationship between Hamlet and his mother without any physical contact between the two. During the same scene in Branagh's version, the queen smiles and encourages Hamlet to stay instead of returning to Wittenberg (Branagh, 1996). In comparison to Olivier's Hamlet,Branagh's Hamlet has a different tone of voice. His tone of voice is on the edge of tears. When Gertrude consoles Hamlet and urges him to stay in Denmark, he agrees to stay, but does not engage in any physical contact with his mother. He remains distant from his mother, both emotionally and physically. Unlike Olivier's Hamlet, Branagh's Hamlet shows that he is more bitter than Olivier's Hamlet about Gertrude's quick marriage. Thus, the directors' depictions of Hamlet's interaction with Gertrude in the two films reveal differing interpretations of Hamlet's response to feeling betrayed.The two film versions also use Hamlet's first soliloquy to depict their different interpretations of Hamlet's character. Olivier's Hamlet delivers his soliloquy in his thoughts to indicate his confusion, whereas Branagh's Hamlet delivers his soliloquy in spoken words to show his frustration after he learns that his mother has married Claudius. In the Olivier version of the play, Hamlet's first soliloquy is spoken in his head (Olivier, 1948). In this speech, he emphasizes that only a little amount of time has passed after his father's death and that Gertrude has remarried too quickly.He also emphasizes his confusion about Gertrude's marriage to Claudius, when Ge rtrude used to follow his father like Niobe. In Olivier's version of the soliloquy, Hamlet is grieving over his father's death, but he is more upset about his mother's quick marriage to Claudius, his tamer's brother. During his soliloquy, Hamlet says â€Å"trail thy name is woman† (Olivier, 1948) calling his mother weak-hearted for remarrying too quickly. In contrast to Olivier's Hamlet, Branagh's Hamlet speaks and yells to emphasize points in his soliloquy.He speaks of the same issues, but the tone of voice s different. He sounds exhausted, annoyed, and speaks as if he is about to start crying. However, when he mentions the point that frustrates him the most, his voice becomes significantly louder; when he yells â€Å"yet within a month! † (Branagh, 1996), emphasizing the short amount of time between the death and marriage, he reveals his bitterness. He feels betrayed and angry at the way Gertrude has moved on so quickly, rather than confused and sad, as he does in Ol ivier's film.Thus, although both Olivier's and Branagh's versions of Hamlet stress the same conflict about his other, Hamlet is characterized differently in each film. In both film versions of Hamlet, the protagonist faces the same conflict, but Olivier and Branagh take different approaches to portraying Hamlet. In Olivier's version, Hamlet's relationship with Gertrude is portrayed in a physical manner to stress Hamlet's passivity and feeling of confusion, whereas in Branagh's depiction, Hamlet's relationship with Gertrude reveals a less physical and more distant relationship in order to indicate his anger and frustration.Their soliloquies also distinguish the directors' two different ersions of Hamlet; Olivier's Hamlet delivers his speech in his thoughts, adopting a passive style to suggest Hamlet's confusion, while Branagh's Hamlet delivers his speech out loud to indicate his anger and frustration. These two different depictions of the main character reveal how critical the direct or's input is in creating a distinct interpretation of Shakespeare's plays.

The Assessment for Nursing Potential: Nursing Quality Scale

The study integrated the qualities of nursing students (N=227) with their aptitude and academic achievement in a tripartite model. A battery of tests called in the Assessment for Nursing Potential (ANP) composed of the (a) Nursing Quality Scale (NQS) with factors on caring, compassion, commitment and connectedness; (b) Achievement test; and (c) Aptitude test was used in the study. Using a three-wave longitudinal design, the NQS was first administered followed by the aptitude, then the achievement tests.The effects of the nursing qualities on achievement and aptitude were analyzed using Structural Equation Modeling (SEM). The first model indicates that nursing quality as a latent factor has no significant effects on both achievement and aptitude, obtaining a moderate goodness of fit (RMSEA=. 09). However, when the same model was tested including the effect of aptitude on achievement, it resulted to a better fit (RMSEA=. 06). In the second model, aptitude has a significant effect on ac hievement, p

How Can Civic Education Enhances Civil Society Essay

Civic education is very essential to each and every citizen in a civil society. Therefore it must be noticeable. Civic education contributes to the well-being of society. This presentation is aimed at discussing how civic education can enhance civil society. The key concepts in this presentation are civic education and civil society. Therefore it is important to know the meaning of these two terms. Civic education is the field of study dealing with rights and responsibilities of citizenship as well as the responsibilities of the government. It deals with the commitment, assumptions, values and challenges of the national and civil society at large (Mwaipaya 1980). A Civil society is a public place between the states the market and the ordinary household, in which people debate and tackles action. Civic education enhances civil society in many ways, as one of the components is civic knowledge which it imparts in the citizen of the civil society. If the civil society are aware of their rights and if they know what to do it is very easy for them to participate in various activities of the civil society. Civic education imparts knowledge on democracy among the citizen of the civil society; democracy simply means a dialogue, a discussion, and a deliberative process in which citizen engage themselves in question about civic knowledge like what are the foundation of that particular civil society, and if the civil society will have knowledge on democracy issues it will improve. Hence this knowledge about democracy can only be imparted to the civil society through civic education and by doing so it is enhancing the needs of a civil society (Brookers etal 1980). Civic education also enhances civil society in terms of democracy because it is through civic education that we know and explain to others on how democracy acts and depends on certain basic values like respect for individual, the right to participate in the implementation of politics and development programmes, therefore if people in a civil society have knowledge about these rights and responsibilities, the civil society will be improved. Civic education can enhance the civil society because of its civic skills, if citizens are able to exercise their rights and discharge their responsibilities as members of self-governing communities, they are only need to acquire relevant intellectual and participatory skills, when we say intellectual skills these are essential for informed, effective and inseparable citizen from content, to be able to think critically about contemporary relevance as well as command of a set of an intellectual tools or considerations useful in dealing with such an issue. Hence if the society will have civic skills it will automatically be enhanced and there will be quick development in that particular civil society (Z.C.E.A, 2004). Another intellectual skill which good civic education fosters is that of describing. The ability to describe functions and processes such as legislative checks and balances or judicial review is indicative of understanding, describing trends like participation in civil lif e, immigration or employment helps the citizens fit current events into longer term pattern (Patterson, 2001). Civic education seeks to develop competence in explaining and analyzing issues, if citizen can explain how something should work, they will be able to analyze things as the components and consequences of ideals, social, political or economic processes and institutions. The ability to analyze enables one to distinguish between facts and opinion or between means and ends. It also helps the citizen to clarify responsibilities such as those between personal and public responsibilities or those between elected or appointed officials and citizens, therefore this can only happens if people in a civil society have civil skills and by having these skills in a civil society means that civic education is doing its job of enhancing the civil society (African Development Bank Achieving Millennium Development Goals in Global poverty, 2002). Furthermore, civic education enhances civil society through the component of civic skills, in such a way that education for citizenship in a democratic society focuses on civic skills that are required for informed, effective and responsible participation in the political process and in civil society, those skills can be categorized as interacting, monitoring and influencing. Interacting pertains to the skills citizen need to communicate and to work cooperatively with others. To interact is to be responsive to one’s fellow citizens, to interact is to question, to answer and to deliberate with civility, therefore if people be able to interact and question others toward certain common good the civil society will be enhanced. Monitoring politics and government simply refers to the skills citizens need to track the handling of issues by the political process and by the government. Monitoring also means the exercising of over sight functions on the part of citizens. Finally the participatory skill of influencing refers to the capacity to affect the process of politics and governance, both the formal processes of governance in the community (Mwaipaya, 1986). Civic education can improve and enhance our civil society through the component of civic dispositions essential traits of private and public character. This is important to the maintenance and improvement of constitutional democracy. Civic dispositions, like civic skills, develop slowly overtime and as a result of what one learns and experience in the home, school and organizations of civil society. These experiences should engender understanding that democracy requires the responsible self -governance of each individual worth and their dignity. One cannot exist without the other. Traits of private character such as moral responsibility, self -discipline and respect for the worth and human dignity of every individuals are no less consequential. Such traits as public spiritedness, civility, and respect for the rule of law, critical mindedness to listen, negotiate and compromise are indispensible to democracy success (Patterson, 2001). Civic education can enhance civil society due to civic dispositions that contribute to the political efficiency of the individual, the healthy functioning of the political system, a sense of dignity and worthy as well as the common good were identified in national standards for civics and government. In the interest of brevity, these dispositions are private and public character might be described as becoming an independent member of the society, assuming the personal, political and economic responsibilities of a citizen, respecting individual worth and human dignity (respecting others and listen to their opinions). Also participating in civil affairs in a thoughtful and effective manner as well as promoting the healthy functioning of constitutional democracy (Todaro etal 2009) Therefore, it can be noted that civic dispositions as a component or the habits of the heart , the traits of the public and private character that under-greed democracy are in the long run, probably of more consequence than the knowledge or skills a citizen may command (Z.C.E.A, 2004). In conclusion, civil society can be enhanced by civic education through its components (civic knowledge, civic skills and civic dispositions). Civic education is therefore very important to the lives of citizens in a civil society and it must be noticeable.

Assignment 2 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words - 2

Assignment 2 - Essay Example It is important for nurses to learn of the ethical principle of autonomy and how to implement it in the nursing situation (Midgley 2006). The right to autonomy is one of any patient’s ethical rights in a situation where they are under the care of medical personnel (Somerville and Keeling 2004). In this case, the registered nurses had the responsibility of overseeing or supervising the work of their mentees while also ensuring that their professional responsibilities were fulfilled. Another ethically based nursing principle, beneficence, holds that nurses should act with kindness, charity, and mercy towards their patients (Myrick and Yonge 2005). This basically means that nurses should not bring additional harm to their patients. A third ethical principle, nonmaleficence, has to do with avoiding a situation where a patient is caused unintentional harm (Curtin 2005). Another ethical principle in nursing practice is veracity (Dalton 2005). Veracity basically refers to truth telli ng in all situations. As far as the ethical principle of advocacy is concerned, it would appear that not all student nurses were satisfied with the skills and relations given to them by their mentors. The principle of confidentiality basically has to do with respecting a patient's right to privacy. This is particularly important for patients who have illnesses that carry social stigma such as A.I.D.S (Cuevas 2008). WERE THERE ANY ETHICAL CONFLICTS? Autonomy According to Brammer, there are different ways in which the student nurses and mentors may interpret what it means to function in a supervisory role (Brammer, 2008). This may bring different problems in cases where nursing students are expected to ease the burden of the mentor by indicating that the mentor was present during the examination of a patient or in writing notes on the physical conditions of patients that they might not have personally examined as a favor to their overworked mentors. This also breaches the ethical prin cipal of autonomy. Another situation that brings into focus issues concerning with autonomy has to do with the ministrations of student nurses towards their patients (Jansson, Pilhammar, and Forsberg 2009). Beneficence From the reactions of some of the student nurses in this case study, not all the mentors were diligent in practicing the ethical principle of beneficence in their dealings with their mentees. It is not uncommon for training nurses to claim that they do not feel respected by their supervisors or seniors. This does not merely have to do with being ignored, but also the allocation of extra work with little supervision. Given that the registered nurses function as ‘gate keepers’ who wield enormous power over the future careers of their mentees, it can become quite disheartening for their mentees when they are not treated with the charity and kindness that are part of the ethical principal of beneficience (Yildirim, Ozkahraman, and Karabudak 2011). Nonmalefice nce For student nurses, it is very important for them to have enough time with their mentors when looking after patients. Moreover, it would appear from this case that the student nurses recognized that their mentors could perform important tasks faster than they