Theatre Report Essays - Creative Works, Musicals,

Edward Griggs Music 24B 5/10/19 Concert Report 1: Cabaret This past Saturday I had the wonderful opportunity to attend a local PCC musical production titled "Cabaret," from the book written by Joe Masteroff and Christopher Isherwood. Musical selections were composed by John Kandar and brilliantly conducted by our very own Dr. Shin. The performance took me by surprise as I was not prepared for what was to come. If I could use one word to describe the entire production, it would be "daring." Daring, due to the fact that it was bold and brave to take us through a love story taking place during the preliminary stages of the fascist Nazi Germany in 1931. This production set in Berlin in 1931 depicts the life of a newly arrived American named Clifford Bradshaw and his struggles with the rise of Nazism. The performance included many lengthy musical numbers which were excellently performed by a "pit" and actors including the finest from Pasadena City College. As for performing forces, these included a whole cast of singers whom were also acting, a small orchestra, often times referred as the "pit." This is a much smaller pit consisting of: 4 trumpets, 2 trombones, a drum set, 2 altos, 1 soprano saxophone, 2 tenor saxophones, 1 double bass, 1 F horn, 2 flutes, 2 clarinets, 1 pianist, and a conductor. The venue was beautifully decorated in a big New York Broadway style complete with flashing lights, fog machines, and big beautiful platforms for performers to sing on. Theme wise, and set wise the background illustrated a bed room, a cabaret club, train, and train. There were other sets, but most of the dialogue took place inside the apartment or the halls of the apartment of Clifford Bradshaw, the shows protagonist. Upon taking my seat, I noticed there was a very ethnically diverse a udience in attendance, ranging from all ages, mainly college students and adults. The principal performers included that of; Emcee played by Adam Older, Sally Bowels played by Lexie Laundy, and Clifford Bradshaw played by Jack de Lorimier. The first three performed selections included; "Wilkommen," as performed by the M.C and cabaret girls, "So What," performed by Fraulien Schnieder, and lastly "Don't Tell Mamma," performed by Sally and cabaret girls. The first number, titled "Wilkommen," was your typical loud Broadway-style musical number. Very loud fast exciting music giving the audience a preview of what was to come. The vocals as performed by the cabaret girls was exciting watch, their electrifying performances really brought the vivid world of 1931 Germany to life. Wilkommen included the reoccurring theme of the musical in which the pit utilized various fast tempos and major key signatures to illustrate a vivid world to the audience. I couldn't really make of it what the exact time signature was. Tempos felt like they shifted from a standard 4/4 feel to a faster cut time 2/2 time. The performers managed to keep the energy going by flawlessly shifting from your standard, more common time signatures, to duple meters such as 6/8, and even a cool 3/4 jazz swing. Moreover, there was not many changes in musical dynamics. This piece "Wilkommen" was performed in a forte/fortissimo dynamic to give you the sense of the typical musical Broadway sound. Topping off this introduction scene, there was a hilarious, well-choreographed dance routine like something out of an early 1930's film. Apart from everything, I really appreciated the attention to detail from the musicians in the pit. I constantly caught myself carefully staring at how they would seamlessly execute instrument changes and create different musical effects with the use of horn mutes, changes of basses (stand-up double bass to electric bass), a different array of auxiliary percussion instruments, and use of different cymbals and percussion techniques to get the right timbre of thin a nd heavy crashes when required. The second piece, titled "Fraulien Schnieder," introduced us to one of the key characters of the play. Sweet, calm-mannered, and your typical mother figure, Fraulien Schnieder, performs a very melodic and groovy paced aria. The actor portraying Ms. Schnieder did a wonderful job in utilizing melisma during musical phrases, often carefully manipulating phrases between her and the pit playing behind her. Both the

Traditional Chinese marriages.

Traditional Chinese marriages. Ember (2002, p.343) defines marriage as "a socially approved sexual and economic union, usually between a woman and a man". Because marriage customs differ widely according to culture, it is obviously of great interest to the cultural anthropologist. For example, marriage rites in some cultures may involve highly complex ceremonial rituals, whereas marriage rites in other cultures may be relatively simple. The Chinese (in this essay, meaning native inhabitants of China) seem to have an affinity for elaborate rituals; like other Chinese celebrations, a traditional Chinese marriage involves several elaborate rituals, some of which are performed before the actual wedding day. This essay will examine each part of the wedding from the perspective of a particular Chinese subculture.'Visiting girls' is a courtship ritual practiced by the Dai ethnic group that typically takes place during the agricultural slack season (An Liu, 2002). When the lights in their houses have been put out, bonfir es are built outside the village (ibid).Young Couple in Relationship ConflictYoung women sit around the fires with their spinning wheels (ibid). Young men drape themselves with red blankets and walk around the young women as they play musical instruments (ibid). When a young man sees a young woman who strikes his fancy, he approaches her slowly (ibid). If the attraction is mutual, the young woman takes out a small stool which has been concealed under her long skirt and invites him to sit beside her (ibid). The young man then seats himself and wraps his red blanket around the young woman (ibid). A heart-to-heart talk then ensues (ibid).Two weeks before the wedding takes place, the Hokkien matchmaker delivers the dowry money to the bride's parents inside a red packet (Blu Inc Media (S) Pte Ltd., 1999). This traditional practice is known as "lup chai" (ibid). It is considered good...

Causes of Texas Independence

Causes of Texas Independence Why did Texas want independence from Mexico? On October 2, 1835, rebellious Texans took shots at Mexican soldiers in the town of Gonzales. It was barely a skirmish, as the Mexicans left the battlefield without attempting to engage the Texans, but nevertheless the Battle of Gonzales is considered the first engagement of what would become Texas War of Independence from Mexico. The battle, however, was only the start of the actual fighting: tensions had been high for years between the Americans who had come to settle Texas and the Mexican authorities. Texas formally declared independence in March of 1836: there were many reasons why they did so. 1. The Settlers Were Culturally American, Not Mexican Mexico only became a nation in 1821, after winning independence from Spain. At first, Mexico encouraged Americans to settle Texas. They were given land that no Mexicans had yet laid claim to. These Americans became Mexican citizens and were supposed to learn Spanish and convert to Catholicism. They never really became Mexican, however: they kept their language and ways and culturally had more in common with the people of the USA than with Mexico. These cultural ties with the USA made the settlers identify more with the USA than Mexico and made independence (or US statehood) more attractive. 2. The Slavery Issue Most of the American settlers in Mexico were from southern states, where slavery was still legal. They even brought their slaves with them. Because slavery was illegal in Mexico, these settlers made their slaves sign agreements giving them the status of indentured servants – essentially slavery by another name. The Mexican authorities grudgingly went along with it, but the issue occasionally flared up, especially when slaves ran off. By the 1830s, many settlers were afraid that the Mexicans would take their slaves away: this made them favor independence. 3. The Abolishment of the 1824 Constitution One of Mexico’s first constitutions was written in 1824, which was about the time that the first settlers arrived in Texas. This constitution was heavily weighted in favor of states’ rights (as opposed to federal control). It allowed the Texans great freedom to rule themselves as they saw fit. This constitution was overturned in favor of another that gave the federal government more control, and many Texans were outraged (many Mexicans in other parts of Mexico were, too). Reinstatement of the 1824 constitution became a rallying cry in Texas before the fighting broke out. 4. Chaos in Mexico City Mexico suffered great growing pains as a young nation in the years after independence. In the capital, liberals and conservatives fought it out in the legislature (and occasionally in the streets) over issues such as states rights and the separation (or not) of church and state. Presidents and leaders came and went. The most powerful man in Mexico was Antonio Là ³pez de Santa Anna. He was president several times, but he was a notorious flip-flopper, generally favoring liberalism or conservatism as it fit his needs. These problems made it impossible for Texans to solve their differences with the central government in any lasting way: new governments often reversed decisions made by previous ones. 5. Economic Ties with the USA Texas was separated from most of Mexico by large swaths of desert with little in the way of roads. For those Texans who produced export crops, such as cotton, it was far easier to send their goods downstream to the coast, ship it to a nearby city like New Orleans and sell them there. Selling their goods in Mexican ports was nearly prohibitively hard. Texas produced a lot of cotton and other goods, and the resulting economic ties with the southern US hastened its departure from Mexico. 6. Texas Was Part of the State of Coahuila y Texas: Texas was not a state in the United States of Mexico,  it was half of the state of Coahuila y Texas. From the beginning, the American settlers (and many of the Mexican Tejanos as well) wanted statehood for Texas, as the state capital was far away and difficult to reach. In the 1830s, the Texans would occasionally have meetings and make demands of the Mexican government: many of these demands were met, but their petition for separate statehood was always denied. 7. The Americans Outnumbered the Tejanos In the 1820s and 1830s, Americans were desperate for land, and often settled in dangerous frontier territories if land was available. Texas has some great land for farming and ranching and when it was opened up, many went there as fast as they could. Mexicans, however, never wanted to go there. To them, Texas was a remote, undesirable region. The soldiers stationed there were usually convicts: when the Mexican government offered to relocate citizens there, no one took them up on it. The native Tejanos, or native-born Texas Mexicans, were few in number and by 1834 the Americans outnumbered them by as many as four-to-one. 8​.  Manifest Destiny Many Americans believed that Texas, as well as other parts of Mexico, should belong to the USA. They felt that the USA should extend from the Atlantic to the Pacific and that any Mexicans or Indians in between should be kicked out to make way for the rightful owners. This belief was called Manifest Destiny. By 1830, the USA had taken Florida from the Spanish and the central part of the nation from the French (via the Louisiana Purchase). Political leaders such as Andrew Jackson officially disowned rebel actions in Texas but covertly encouraged Texas settlers to rebel, giving tacit approval of their deeds. The Path to Texas Independence Mexicans were keenly aware of the possibility of Texas splitting off to become a state of the USA or an independent nation. Manuel de Mier y Tern, a respected Mexican military officer, was sent to Texas to make a report on what he saw. He gave a report in 1829 in which he reported the large number of legal and illegal immigrants into Texas. He recommended that Mexico increase its military presence in Texas, outlaw any further immigration from the USA and move large numbers of Mexican settlers into the area. In 1830, Mexico passed a measure to follow Terns suggestions, sending additional troops and cutting off further immigration. But it was too little, too late, and all the new resolution accomplished was to anger those settlers already in Texas and hasten the independence movement. There were many Americans who immigrated to Texas with the intention of being good citizens of Mexico. The best example is Stephen F. Austin. Austin managed the most ambitious of the settlement projects and insisted his colonists adhere to the laws of Mexico. In the end, however, the differences between the Texans and the Mexicans were too great. Austin himself changed sides and supported independence after years of fruitless wrangling with the Mexican bureaucracy and about a year in a Mexican prison for supporting Texas statehood a little too vigorously. Alienating men like Austin was the worst thing Mexico could have done: when even Austin picked up a rifle in 1835, there was no going back. On October 2, 1835, the first shots were fired in the town of Gonzales. After the Texans captured San Antonio, General Santa Anna marched north with a massive army. They overran the defenders at the Battle of the Alamo on March 6, 1836. The Texas legislature had officially declared independence a few days before. On April 21, 1835, the Mexicans were crushed at the Battle of San Jacinto. Santa Anna was captured, essentially sealing Texas independence. Although Mexico would try several times in the next few years to reclaim Texas, it joined the USA in 1845. Sources Brands, H.W. Lone Star Nation: the Epic Story of the Battle for Texas Independence. New York: Anchor Books, 2004. Henderson, Timothy J. A Glorious Defeat: Mexico and Its War With the United States. Hill and Wang, 2007, New York.

Business Viability Plan Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

Business Viability Plan - Case Study Example Due to the great demand on the services provided by the organisation, it was decided that a feasibility plan is to be conducted so that it can expand in offering of new services. The services should include the market plan, management plan, operations plan, risk management plan and financial plan. The finding is to be used in decision-making. Dog's dinner incorporation is a non-profit making organisation This Company was established at the end of the year 2004 and it functioned in the provision of non-profession theatre. The organisation has a staff membership of twenty with a basis of non-professional theatre. The company has been successful in the production of several plays. These plays include the four plays and memory water which were produced in 2005 while the production of four plays 2 and Andrew Bovell's play was in 2006.The success were also contributed by the fact that the plays were written by the staff of the company. The business has grown in that it started in the year 2004 and it is currently having twenty employees. It is seen that the business has grown as seen in the accounting records. The total income as per the year 2006 on June, the income was low at 6067 while on 2007 June was 7356.15. Dog's dinner incorporation is an organisation that provides theatre entertainment services such as drama and so it is planning to expand by providing a set of new services. The organisation intends to present high quality production which may be original or non original to the local audience who have an interest in the presentations. It also intends to have a chance of working with the local secondary schools by providing live performance based on literature of the secondary set books and the drama texts. This is of great importance to the secondary school student s that will have a golden chance of viewing live performance and hence break the monotony of reading only textbooks. The company intends to have an edge in competing with other companies by offering services that are going to stimulate them to think and reflect on their lives and society and so this challenge in which it will be offering to their audience will make the organisation to be attractive to many people. Don Daya nada, Richard Irons, Steve Harrison, and John Herbon, PatricioRowland (2002). The free performance by the writers, technicians and performers will lead to their talent being given a forum in presenting quality, original and established work to the public. The free service will enable the performance to be less costly and hence it will attract more people and through this there will be promotion of the business. Dave Hall, Jones, Cano Raffo (1999). To be considered In the plan is the copyright issues in which their presentations are copyrighted and their trade name are presented to the registrar of society to ensure that it is not by any other person or groups. Their trademark should be registered to prevent other companies infringing on their rights and also prevent other groups from using their name in making their presentations. Dave Hall, Jones, Cano Raffo (1999) Planning consideration Planning is the process whereby the future activities are arranged in a chronological order so that they can be implemented. The aim of a plan is to provide a

Leisure the basis of culture by Josef Pieper Essay

Leisure the basis of culture by Josef Pieper - Essay Example According to the new scale of values, to have leisure means to have break from work or to go in a state of idleness. Although breaking from work is considered as leisure in the modern world, yet it actually is not. Values of the modern age compel people to live for working. Materialism and consumption are two of the main values of the modern society unlike the past, when spirituality was the main value. In the new scale of human values, a person is considered good, better, or best depending upon the extent to which he/she has contributed to the society. This can even mean consumption because the more an individual consumes, the more businesses flourish and the more the society benefits from consumption. For the modern mind, work means to be able to serve the society as a whole. This conception of work tends to deny the consideration of any such activities as work that do not benefit the whole society. For the modern mind, work is not necessarily that which requires physical input or labor. Mental exertion and use of intelligence is also considered work because mind is used to make plans that benefit the whole society. The modern mind has lost the fundamentals of the notion of leisure. The worker who thinks that the only way to serve the society is doing work tends to think of leisure as inactivity and idleness. The concept of obtaining something in a passive receptivity is in contrast with the concept of good that is imposed upon man by the modern mind. According to the modern mind, nothing good can be achieved unless some effort has been made for it. Work for the modern mind means a way to get compensated so that the money earned can be spent that is what modern mind thinks of as leisure. Leisure for the classical mind is engaging in activities that cause spiritual rejuvenation. These activities include pondering over the reason of fundamental existence of man on Earth, the purpose of life, and thinking about where man came from and where he has to go after de ath. Leisure for the classical mind means engaging in festivals to praise the Creator. This means using mind to develop one’s connection with God. This might even take physical labor, but the spiritual rejuvenation does help man better prepare even for such worldly activities as doing work. According to the classical mind, the heart of leisure exists in the world’s affirmation. This affirmation exists in festival and is essentially the praise of God because the entire meaning of the festival exists in the aspect of worship that it encapsulates. In the classical perspective, leisure means worship. When the definition of leisure of the classical mind is interpreted in light of the modern conception of work, leisure then also work because to find out the answers of these questions of spirituality, one needs to think and use the brain. This is the fundamental reason why thinking has become passive in the modern world because leisure in the modern world is translated is pur e idleness and break from work, meaning no thinking is involved in the modern interpretation of the term â€Å"leisure†. The emphasis placed by the classical mind on the practice of religion and developing a strong connection with God is one of the main reasons why practicing religion and opposing such notions that are condemned by religion as homosexuality are considered as passive and regressive in the modern age. The major issue in the transformation of values from the classical mind to the modern mind is that man has become increasingly materialistic, and has become so involved in the worldly activities that his relationship and connection with nature in general and God in particular is distorted. This is one

The Sherlock Holmes Essay Example for Free

The Sherlock Holmes Essay The other story being The Red Headed League where Holmes and Watson were on the hunt for finding the mysterious Duncan Ross, who had formed the Red-Headed League, who disappeared a few weeks after Jabez Wilson had spent his days there writing encyclopaedias, in the end turning out that Ross was digging a tunnel from Wilsons shop and , disguised as John Clay , broke into the bank but was caught by Holmes Sherlock Holmes had sprung out and seized the intruder by the collar Its no use John Clay, said Holmes blandly; you have no chance at all. I think the Detective Fiction writers use themes like deceit or greed because it connects to everybody in the worlds life because we all lie to our friends or family, or we can relate to greed because we all use it one time or another in life. To sum up the themes that you can notice in Conan Doyles stories can be classed as nothing above what we all see and know in the Detective Genre, and Conan Doyle doesnt use the themes to make Sherlock Holmes stand out from what we read today but instead uses it to connect to the roots of detective fiction. In the Detective Genre the characters are one of the most important things, if the character is unique and stands out so will the story. But if all the characters in one story has the same attitude, intelligence or even the way they speak, the story would lose interest to the reader because their would probably be no motive for anything to happen in the story. In the stories Conan Doyle wrote the characters were always original in personality and features, and how he uses them tends to differ in the way he uses them than other detective stories, for example the villain is used differently in every story a lot more ways than any other writer does. An example of this is Dr. Roylott from The Speckled Band being a large, rough man thats almost obnoxious and talks like See that you keep yourself out of my grip. Also with a close opposite to Holmes attitude, as in this quote You are Holmes the meddler. My friend smiled. Holmes the busybody. His smile broadened. Holmes the Scotland Yard jack-in-office. From this we can tell that Holmes mocks Roylott for his opposite and aggressive behaviour. Another quote that shows Roylotts rage is He stepped swiftly forward, seized the poker, and bent it into a curve with his huge hands. This shows that Dr. Roylott results to his anger and strength to sort problems. From this we can also see the difference between his aggressive natures to Professor Moriartys more mature and relaxed nature in the way he was described in The Final Problem. I think the characteristics in the Detective Genre is vital to the plot and how it unfolds, and in the case of Sherlock Holmes and the way that the villains separate from the clients or the way the clients behave in different ways to each other, these are the way that Conan Doyle created that makes Sherlock Holmes unique and the reason why his stories are so popular today. In the Detective Genre the narrative is always important, and the best always depends on where the narrative comes from. For the story to be surprising and for the reader to keep interest, you need the narrative to come from a character in the story with a roughly close intelligence to the average reader, otherwise if the narrating character was too stupid it would be impossible to get to get the plot of the story, however if the narrator was too clever, then their ideas would be explained to us and cause confusion with the plot or spoil the end all together. Thats why in Sherlock Holmes, Watson is the perfect host for a narration because for most for the time he is with Holmes and the action, but since he is as smart as the average reader, and he doesnt give the plot away and leaves our minds and imagination to figure it out for our selves. However not all narratives have to come from a persons point-of-view, but in His Last Bow the narrative wasnt from a person but instead had a free roam of the whole scene between Von Bark and a disguised Sherlock Holmes, which I thought was a better effect than the others because unlike a story in the Detective Genre, we didnt get any clues and because we werent listening to Watsons thoughts we was able to see Holmes skills when he is in disguise. It is common for the detective to speak intelligently and have the brains to match in Detective Fiction, and is also common in this genre for the detective to pay attention to tiny detail, an example of this is when Holmes observes Helen Stoner in The Speckled Band when he says No, but I observe the second half of a return ticket in the palm of your left glove which, as any other detective, he uses in his conclusion of her journey here. You must have started early, and yet you had a good drive in a dog-cart, along heavy roads, before you arrived at the station. From this you can tell the overall intelligence Conan Doyle had whist writing his stories and the mind he had progressed onto Holmes and the stories really show how wise he is, and this, in most ways this makes him stand out even more than the other theories I have that separate him from the Detective Genre. In conclusion to the paragraphs, the Sherlock Holmes stories to typify the Detective Genre, but it is the fact that Conan Doyle had a mind far greater than the other detective writers, he dared to go beyond than any other detective writer did and disobey the commandments of a Detective Genre story, because of this the Sherlock Holmes novels were made more powerful whether due to the descriptive settings, the original but far fetched characters, even its completely powerful narrative, they all are the reasons why the stories Conan Doyle wrote are classed far beyond the average story in any genre and placed in the worlds most loved novels of all times. To what extent do the Sherlock Holmes stories youve studied typify the genre of Detective Fiction? 1 By Matthew Lomax Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Arthur Conan Doyle section.

Strategic Planning Essay -- essays research papers fc

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Strategic planning is defined by intestorwords.com as the process of determining a company’s long-term goals and then identifying the best approach for achieving those goals. But this definition is too broad and does not identify the true advantages of strategic planning for large to small businesses. Strategic planning provides the foundation for the policies, procedures, and strategies for obtaining and using resources to obtain the goals of the organization. Some believe that in today’s rapidly changing environment, strategic planning is becoming more difficult and therefore more obsolete because changes are occurring so fast that plans-even those set for just months into the future-may soon be obsolete. The fact is that with the fast changing environment it is even more important to have strategic planning in every business today.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  First to fully define what strategic planning involves; assessing the current business environment, defining your company’s purpose mission, deciding what you want the business to look like in three to five years, recognizing your company’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats, and lastly mapping out a course in which to take the company from its current to its desired position (Policastro). Strategic planning has historically been taken care of by top management every one to ten years.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A little history; â€Å"by the early 1980s, as U.S. companies...

Global Poverty Essay

To be born into poverty without a choice is possibly one of the greatest misfortunes that any person can be victimized with. According to Howard Hubbard author of Fighting Poverty to Build Peace, â€Å"An estimated 1.4 billion people live in extreme poverty, defined as living on less than $1.25 a day.† It leaves a person with a huge challenge of survival and an extremely difficult task of creating a better future for themselves. To understand the implications of poverty across the world, one needs to first thoroughly understand its definition. It is often difficult to establish what the definition of poverty is, because, being poor, differs dramatically across countries all around the world. According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) poverty is defined in two different ways, human poverty and income poverty.[1] The definition of poverty from a human development point of view means â€Å"the denial of choices and opportunities most basic to human development to lead a long, healthy, creative life and to enjoy a decent standard of living, freedom, self-esteem and respect of others,† Alters pg 1. According to UNDP human poverty is more than income poverty. In many of the poorest nations across the world people die everyday due to poverty. Poverty proves to be one of main problems that plague the global society. I will discuss the different kinds of poverty, the causes and solutions of poverty in the global society. In the global society, poverty makes itself prominent in a variety of categories depending on each individual economy. [2]The World Bank facts for world poverty reveals that, a higher number of people live in poverty than previously thought and this number is increasing day by day. This is the main reason why in most nations today inequality is on a high and this gap is continuously rising. It is difficult to measure national poverty lines across nations because the different classes have different percentage of income that is to be spent on food. In some of the most underdeveloped and poorest economies of the world such as Sub-Saharan Africa, Afghanistan and Haiti people live in widespread poverty and dire living conditions .[3] According to the United Nations list of least developed countries in 2009, 33 were in Africa, 15 in Asia and 1 was in Latin America.[4] In other areas such as much of Europe and the United States poverty exists, but the gap of comparison is very large in comparison to a county like Angola. Poverty creates a division among  nations. That division has been growing now for a century or more. Poor countries are most often sidelined by the richer and more developed ones. This was the case of the colonization of countries like India by the British. Rich and powerful countries have the advantage of modern technology and arms to subdue the poorer ones. Although the United Nations has started helping poor countries they often feel indebted and dependent on their charity provider. The causes of poverty are many, however some of the main reasons that contribute to poverty in the world are: unemployment, lack of education, illiteracy, natural disasters and violence. The combination of all these factors can make any nation poor. This high level of inequality certainly affects the social cohesion and leads to problems such as increasing crime and violence. It is a matter of fact that effect of poverty is being transferred from generation to generation. Poor people are often dejected and unwell, and due to that they’re unable to work.[5] The World Bank estimates that poverty has held at around 25 percent of the population since the mid-1990s. And because of population growth, the number of poor actually increased to around 128 million in the early 2000s. The countries adversely affected by poverty do not progress, as the there is a little room for the development of the population. The social and cultural factors of a nation impact the economic situation of a country. The reasons for poverty differ based on the culture and the social system within a nation. People throughout the world are subjected to poverty, whether it’s due to illiteracy, unemployment and or a family history issue. A history of poverty in the family leads to many physical as well as mental problems. Poor parents do not have the resources to get their children educated. This results in the children having to deal with a lot of obstacles when trying to get jobs. The discrimination is felt acutely by them as they do not have the required skills to cope. Most often such poverty also leads to abuse. This sometimes results in bad habits in some families, like smoking, drinking and drugs. â€Å"Improving the access of the poor to assets and services will help the m share in, and contribute to, economic growth,† says Jaime Saavedra and Omar Arias author of Stuck in a Rut. The environment in the form of natural disasters plays a significant role in the cause of  increasing poverty in less developed nations. According to Akin Mabogunje the author of Poverty and Environmental Degradation: Challenges Within the Global Economy, â€Å"In many developing countries, inadequate attention is given to environmental management in areas occupied by the poor, and therefore, they are exposed to numerous environmental hazards.† When a country is affected by many different natural disasters including earthquakes, droughts, floods, landslides, volcanic eruptions, windstorms, and forest fires it completely devastates the poor and greatly diminishes their chances of escaping poverty. [6] According to the World Bank two billion people have been affected by Natural Disasters since the mid 1990’s. [7] In addition, people in countries that are engaged in some kind of conflict or war whether the countries are developed or developing typically experience some kind of economic hardship.[8] Armed conflict often makes countries that have a high number of poor much worse. War and conflict often results in a refugee status for many of the most impoverished people in the world. This results in basic denial of human rights such as the right to seek legal employment which further diminishes impoverished condition.[9] All over the world people suffer the consequences of poverty. It is often seen the effects of poverty is not improving and is continually passed on from generation to generation. This vicious cycle results in families concentrating on what is happening in the current moment, not focusing on the future or on how to better their own lives. People around the world that suffer from poverty concentrate on the basic element of survival like the need for food and shelter. Often making future plans to change the cycle of poverty from generation to generation to become unimportant when a family doesn’t have access to food, water or a place to sleep. [10]Democracy starts at home, but the scope, and consequences, of global economic decisions often extend far beyond national borders. The consequences of poverty include lack of opportunities, physical and mental illness, drug abuse and physical abuse, homelessness and illiteracy and lack of educational development, etc. Poverty is the most prevailing problem in the world. In today’s society we see that the richer are becoming richer, while the poor continually suffer  from increasing poverty. The problem not only lies with the people, but also with the government. The government corruption is the leading problem in the most of the countries, where the funds raised for the benefit of the poor are being used in an illegal and often detrimental way. The government must manage the economic system efficiently and use the funds in appropriate way to solve the issue of poverty. Currently as the poverty has become a world problem, the countries should form a union and think for a common solution against this problem. They should take the aid of all the ways to motivate the people to come out of the poverty. The governments can seek help of volunteers to educate and provide the knowledge on health, sanitation and many other factors, where poor families can easily relate to. On a global level, organizations like the United Nations need to put in place mandatory policy regarding solutions to poverty. Some of these recommendations include: create poverty-focused foreign assistance programs that focus of poverty reduction and creating government accountability for poverty. In addition, create policies that focus on reform of trade and agricultural policies to help with sustainable development and protect small farmers and business owners. The United Nations needs to provide political and financial support that fuel peacekeeping missions to reduce violence that impoverishes many nations around the world. Lastly, governments need to promote continual peacekeeping efforts to areas that suffer from continual conflict and poverty to promote sustainable development. [11] One of the main solutions to reduce poverty is education and literacy. As illiteracy and education are highly interrelated, people must choose to overcome the illiteracy in the world. As the knowledge increases, the access to employment also increases and use of technology also makes the people more self-sufficient. [12]Education also enables the poor and disadvantaged in society to escape poverty through their own efforts, that is, to counter â€Å"irreversibility’s† and poverty traps. People who attain a higher level of education are much less likely to take part in the working poor, opposed to those who have a lower level of education. [13]†Human development† is now part of the equation, meaning that education, health, life expectancy, and other indicators of well-being are given greater attention. Focusing on immediate issues and directly on your own domestic problems will diminish poverty across the world and open up possibilities of planning for t he  future. In order for the global society to prosper we need to take notice of ideas like investments in agriculture, healthcare, and education. This idea for global development will create an effective change in the long run.[14] Poverty and population growth are very much interrelated. By reducing these two problems improvements can be made in health and the whole well being of society. A goal of the international community as a whole is to improve general health by ensuring sufficient nutrition. [15] In 2004, President Musharraf of Pakistan said that population growth was â€Å"the main factor retarding economic growth, poverty alleviation, and action on joblessness.† Since the population growth keeps increasing the demands for natural resources keeps rising beyond the means of supporting the current population. According to the article Critical links: Population, Health, and the Environment, â€Å"ninety-nine percent of world population growth is occurring in less developed countries.† This means we need reduce global population growth by creating laws that focus on social policy that will encourage smaller families for less developed impoverished nations that cannot sustain large population growth. This policy will reduce the fertility rate, and help slow the growth of the global populations. For example according to Lester Brown’s article Can We Build A Sustainable Economy, â€Å"Iran, facing both land, hunger and water scarcity, now limits public subsidies for housing, health care, and insurance to three children per family. In Peru, President Alberto Fujimori, who was elected overwhelmingly to his second five-year term in a predominantly Catholic country, said in his inaugural address in August 1995 that he wanted to provide better access to family-planning services for p oor women.† Being born into poverty is the worst disadvantage that any human can be at. Combating poverty will take a unified effort on the part of all the world’s nations, especially the ones who are at the helm of international affairs. Organizations like the United Nations will have to be at the forefront and lead the way for the others to emulate. Alongside poverty, we’ll also have to focus on the population growth and pool in efforts to stem it. Although the problem of world poverty is a one of biblical proportions, it is not insurmountable, and it too can be tackled. But it would require perhaps the greatest coordinated effort that mankind has ever witnessed in its history. Such a well organized coordinated effort would not be possible if there is a  lack of consciousness on a global level. But the basic problem with human kind is that, they restrict their concern to themselves only, without caring much for those who are the victim of a poorer luck. Even if we start taking care of poverty, then we only care about our won nations, instead of dealing it on a global level. But all of us should remember that poverty is inhuman and is not constricted to any particular nation. Therefore it would be our duty to stop such inhuman treatment of human race and become less selfish so that we can deal with a serious issue like poverty on a global level. Bibliography Hubbard, Howard J. â€Å"Fighting Poverty to Build Peace.† America. 09 Feb. 2009: 11. eLibrary. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. De Souza, Roger-Mark; Williams, John S; Meyerson, Frederick A B. â€Å"Critical links: Population, health, and the environment.† Population Bulletin. 01 Sep. 2003: 2. eLibrary. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. Kent, Mary M; Haub, Carl. â€Å"Global Demographic Divide.† Population Bulletin. 01 Dec. 2005: 3. eLibrary. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. Lester R. Brown. â€Å"We Can Build a Sustainable Economy.† Futurist 30. (1996) eLibrary. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. Mabogunje, Akin L. â€Å"Poverty and environmental degradation: Challenges within the global economy.† Environment 1(2002):8. eLibrary. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. Saavedra, Jaime; Arias, Omar S. â€Å"Stuck in a Rut.† Finance & Development. 01 Dec. 2005: 18. eLibrary. Web. 12 Dec. 2010. Alters, Sandra M. World Poverty. Detroit, MI: Gale, Cengage Learning, 2010. Print. Anderson, Judith. Ending Poverty and Hunger. Mankato, MN: Sea-To-Sea Publications, 2010. Print. Shah, Anup. â€Å"Causes of Poverty.† Global Issues, Updated: 28 Nov. 2010. Accessed: 14 Dec. 2010. 9 Hertel, Shareen. â€Å"The private side of global governance.† Journal of International Affairs. 01 Oct. 2003: 41. eLibrary. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. Shalendra D. Sharma â€Å"The Promise of Monterrey: Meeting the Millennium Development Goals.† World Policy Journal 3(2004):51. eLibrary. Web. 15 Dec. 2010. Lancaster, Carol. â€Å"The New Face of Development.† Current History. 01 Jan. 2008: 36. eLibrary. Web. 15 Dec. 2010.

One area that I have difficulty with is in making and writing compositions

I am writing this letter to share with you my learning experiences in your class and how much I have enjoyed being in your class. I have had difficulty with my previous language subjects and somehow, I was skeptical about having to take another English class. However, I was terribly wrong; I did learn so much from all the coursework, all the activities and all the interaction in class.One area that I have difficulty with is in making and writing compositions, I do not know how to express my ideas and opinions convincingly before this class. I also was ignorant of the rules and standards of using sources and how cite materials that I researched. I would say that the greatest skill I have gained from this class in terms of writing is how to correctly paraphrase and summarize my ideas as well as to give credit to works that I have used in my essay.All throughout this semester and from the activities that we had, I found that I am good at analyzing statements and ideas of other people. I probably would say that my greatest strength as a writer is to be able to critically analyze arguments to support my opinions and assumptions.As such, the skill that I have used to my advantage is integrating the words of famous personalities into my essay which also gives my essay a distinct quality. Despite the immense number of skills and knowledge I have gained in this class, I also know that I still need to improve on my writing ability and to specifically be able to decide and write the necessary components of my research portfolio. I know that I really have to work on it and I am more confident now that I can attain my goals in this aspect.When I evaluate my performance in your class, I know that I have done well and that I deserve to have an A. I know you might think that I am too brazen to say that but I know that I have done all of my homework, I never missed a quiz; I even did the extra credit tasks. I also participated actively in the writing lab; I interacted with my c lassmates and during discussions. Moreover, I listened attentively to the lectures and discussions, I asked questions when I did not understand something and I always came to class early.I know that you would be evaluating our performance and behavior in your class, but I would like to tell you that even if you feel that I don’t deserve the A I am aspiring for, then I would gladly respect your judgment. I know that the amount of learning I have gained in your class will be something that will stay with me and will be very helpful in my future courses, of which I am already very thankful to you.Sincerely yours,Your name

Types of Verb Forms and Functions in English

Types of Verb Forms and Functions in English A book by the A verb is customarily defined as a part of speech (or word class) that describes an action or occurrence or indicates a state of being. But just when is a word a verb? Generally, it makes more sense to define a verb by what it does than by what it is. Just as the same word (rain or snow, for example) can serve as either a noun or a verb, the same verb can play various roles depending on how its used. Put simply, verbs move our sentences along in many different ways. Here, by identifying 10 types of verbs, well briefly consider some of their more common functions.   Auxiliary Verbs and Lexical Verbs An auxiliary verb (also known as a helping verb) determines the mood or tense of another verb in a phrase. In the sentence It will rain tonight, for example, the verb will helps the verb rain by pointing to the future. The primary auxiliaries are  the various forms of be, have, and do. The modal auxiliaries include can, could, may, must, should, will, and would. A lexical verb (also known as a full or main verb) is any verb in English that isnt an auxiliary verb: it conveys a real meaning and doesnt depend on another verb: It rained all night. Dynamic Verbs and Stative Verbs A dynamic verb indicates an action, process, or sensation: I bought a new guitar. A stative verb (such as be, have, know, like, own, and seem) describes a state, situation, or condition: Now I own a Gibson Explorer. Finite Verbs and Nonfinite Verbs A finite verb expresses tense and can occur on its own in a main clause: She walked to school. A nonfinite verb (an infinitive or participle) doesnt show a distinction in tense and can occur on its own only in a dependent phrase or clause: While walking to school, she spotted a bluejay. Regular Verbs and Irregular Verbs A regular verb (also known as a weak verb) forms its past tense and past participle by adding -d or -ed (or in some cases -t) to the base form: We finished the project.   An irregular verb (also known as a strong verb) doesnt form the past tense by adding -d or -ed: Gus ate the wrapper on his candy bar.   Transitive Verbs and Intransitive Verbs A transitive verb is followed by a direct object: She sells seashells. An intransitive verb doesnt take a direct object: She sat there quietly. (This distinction is especially tricky because many verbs have both transitive and intransitive functions.) Does that cover everything verbs can do? Far from it. Causative verbs, for example, show that some person or thing helps to make something happen. Catenative verbs join with other verbs to form a chain or series. Copular verbs link the subject of a sentence to its complement. Then there are performative verbs, mental-state verbs,  prepositional verbs, iteratives, and reporting verbs. And we havent even touched on the passive or the subjunctive. But you get the idea. Though they can get tense and moody, verbs are hard-working parts of speech, and we can count on them to make things happen in many different ways. * Stephen Pinker, The Stuff of Thought. Viking, 2007​

10 Facts About the Periodic Table of Elements

10 Facts About the Periodic Table of Elements The periodic table is a chart that arranges the chemical elements in a useful, logical manner. Elements are listed in order of increasing atomic number, lined up so elements that exhibit similar properties are arranged in the same row or column as one another. The periodic table is one of the most useful tools of chemistry and the other sciences. Here are 10 fun facts to boost your knowledge: Although Dmitri Mendeleev is most often cited as the inventor of the modern periodic table, his table was just the first to gain scientific credibility. ​It wasnt the first table that organized the elements according to periodic properties.There are  about  90 elements on the periodic table that occur in nature. All of the other elements are strictly human-made. Some sources state more elements occur naturally because heavy elements may transition between elements as they undergo radioactive decay.Technetium was the first element to be made artificially. It is the lightest element that has only radioactive isotopes (none are stable.)The International Union of Pure Applied Chemistry, IUPAC, revises the periodic table as new data becomes available. At the time of this writing, the most recent version of the periodic table was approved in November 2016.The rows of the periodic table are called periods. An elements period number is the highest unexcited energy level for an ele ctron of that element. Columns of elements help to distinguish groups in the periodic table. Elements within a group share several common properties and often have the same outer electron arrangement.Most of the elements on the periodic table are metals. The alkali metals, alkaline earths, basic metals, transition metals, lanthanides, and actinides all are groups of metals.The present periodic table has room for 118 elements. Elements arent discovered or created in order of atomic number. Scientists are working on creating and verifying elements 119 and 120, which will change the appearance of the table, though they were working on element 120 before element 119. Most likely, element 119 will be positioned directly below francium and element 120 directly below radium. Chemists may create much heavier elements that may be more stable because of special properties of certain combinations of proton and neutron numbers.Although you might expect atoms of an element to get larger as their atomic number increases , this does not always occur because the size of an atom is determined by the diameter of its electron shell. In fact, element atoms usually decrease in size as you move from left to right across a row. The main difference between the modern periodic table and Mendeleevs periodic table is that Mendeleevs table arranged the elements in order of increasing atomic weight, while the modern table orders the elements by increasing atomic number. For the most part, the order of the elements is the same between both tables, though there are exceptions.

Global Financing and Exchange Rate Mechanisms Paper Essay

Global Financing and Exchange Rate Mechanisms Paper - Essay Example The most prominent international financial institutions are the IMF, the World Bank, ADB and the WTO. International Monetary Fund (IMF) plays a major role while rebuilding and stabilizing the monetary and pecuniary conditions of its member states. IMF achieves this objective by offering supportive loans while working out counteractive strategies. Apart of it, IMF also supports its defaulter member countries and their funding partners to ease out methodical development for liability streamlining by implementing and taking necessary measures1 (IMF Fact sheet, 2006). Thus, IMF plans to offer financial and monetary services while providing its member states with sufficient opportunities so as to employ regulatory guiding principles and transformation for reinstating environment while guaranteeing to strap and protract economic augmentation and societal venture. These courses of actions show a discrepancy while craving on member's state of affairs together with the source of the monetary related tribulations. Apart from above stated functions of IMF, this monetary institution also supports to develop the obligatory liability r