Sample Analysis of Crossing the swamp

Sample Analysis of Crossing the swamp Mary Oliver is using an extended metaphor about the swamp by defining it as being a closure and a struggle plus it’s “the center of everything.” The author of the poem grabs the reader’s attention with the phrases about knocking of the bones classifying the journey as something that doesnt relate to physical moves but to mental actions for solving lifetime problems. Mary Oliver is building up the relationship between the person and the swamp basing on the fear and then she develops this feeling into a new form that is not negative. There’s a line proving the transmission of the feelings, “I feel not wet so much as painted and glittered”. The manifestation of appearance change characterizes the change in mind and soul. It can be called a feeling of rebirth that appears after facing a new challenge with “a poor dry stick given one more chance by the whims of swamp water … make of its life a breathing palace of leaves.” The change in mind appears so clearly that the reader has to read the poem several times to notice the moment where the fear disappears. The main character is not wet anymore, so there’s no negative attitude to the swamp. Being painted and glittered means a new page of someone’s life that has suffered from problems before. A person can start a new life only after a certain dirt that will spoil everything at first. Mary Oliver uses an extended metaphor to express very complicated obstacles that every human faces sooner or later. This situation can lead someone to a success while it will kill the mind and soul of another person. The author uses the consonance “foothold, fingerhold, mindhold” to make them sound as an important message about the mental obstacle despite the fact it’s a physical one. The phrase “cosmos, the center” is placed on a separate line that represents a specific dilemma that a person faces. It’s the key phrase of the poem that is supported by the words “is struggle” and “closure.” The poem ends with the phrase “palace of leaves” that indicates the full transformation of the personality that has overcome the complicated situation in life and a new beautiful world appeared in front of him or her. Mary Oliver is using alliteration to emphasize some key ideas in her poem. For example, a repetition of sound “b” and “p” express the fear and the struggle together with the difficulty of the path that a person should go along to reach something new and positive. Thanks to this technique, a reader can experience similar feelings as the main character does throughout the whole poem. Mary Oliver is a well-known poet, her poem about the swamp is a manifestation of positive outcome of even the worst obstacles during the life of any human. She uses the phrases and the combinations of words and sounds to make the readers experience the feelings of fear at the beginning and satisfaction at the end of the pathway.

Cyberspace Hate Propaganda and Internet Censorship Essay

Cyberhate - Hate Propaganda and Internet Censorship The Internet is an ideal medium for hate groups, such as neo-Nazis, because of the mass exposure, inexpensiveness, uncensored nature and ease of publishing offered. The Internet allows hate groups to target a broad audience: impressionable children are the most vulnerable. Attempts at censorship fail because of the international nature of the Internet, and to a lesser extent, free speech contentions. Instead, the freedom of speech exercised by cyberhate groups can be applied by online anti-hate advocates to counter cyberhate. Educating youth is the most important tool against cyberhate, however. Teaching children to be critical of content on the Internet implies that children†¦show more content†¦Forceless statements such as If these numbers are correct... after describing that rising hate group numbers are difficult to discern also jeopardize credibility (2002, Kim). Kims references are suspect as well: one third are from nonacademic sources such as CNN, ABC News, and Time magazine. A dependency on such partial sources is below the quality expected of university-level writing. The evidence provided in Hate Propaganda is obviously inadequate, and is weakened further by the style of the article. Kims writing style can be unsure and depreciating. The unsubstantiated observation that Perhaps, the Internet might have been the greatest thing that ever happened to hate, [italics added] is weakly phrased, unsupported and left to be unquestioned by the reader (2002, Kim). As such, it does not reflect the soundness expected of a scholarly paper. However, the essay benefits from a linear form of argument that clearly describes the problem of hate on the Internet, how children are affected, the viability of censorship, and lastly, how free speech can effectively combat cyberhate. The paper is easily understood as a result. The tone of theShow MoreRelatedEssay on The Debate Over Internet Censorship1547 Words   |  7 PagesDebate Over Internet Censorship Many people believe the Internet has become the World’s Emancipation Proclamation. They believe that this newfound cyber-freedom will free countless generations of people. These people will be of every race, creed and color, whose lives, up until now, have been restrained by the paradigm of governments. Whether it is the United States Government, or the government of a foreign nation, the Internet will be our new Underground Railroad of cyberspace. Read More Internet Censorship Libraries Essay2768 Words   |  12 Pageswhat information is available to its visitors via the Internet? This scenario is being debated all across the United States. Many states are arguing over whether or not the library has the authority to limit what information is accessible via the Internet computers at the library. The argument is over the First Amendment right of Free Speech. There are family groups who are actually in favor of allowing unfiltered access on the Internet, not what one would think. These groups also support theRead MoreWith The Current Atmosphere Around Politics In The United1954 Words   |  8 PagesWith the current atmosphere around politics in the United States, it has been brought to nearly everyone’s attention that the power of the Internet is a strong and dangerous one. World Leaders who wish to maintain their popular sovereignty have flocked to social media sites such as Tumblr, Facebook, or in most cas es, Twitter. Specifically, President Trump has been using social media and his free speech to say anything that comes to mind, and have it reach thousands of individuals in an instant. Whether

Improving Reading Comprehension and Critical Thinking...

Determine a topic and develop specific questions At the school that I work at reading classes are only required in sixth grade. In seventh and eighth grade reading classes can be taken as an elective class. I strongly feel that all students in middle school still need guidance and continuous practice with reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. Students who are beyond a sixth grade reading class are not getting these reading skills that can be applied in all other academic classes. As a teacher I can not change the fact that the school principal has decided that students in seventh and eighth grade are not required to take a reading class. However I can find other ways to make sure that all students know the reasons and†¦show more content†¦Ã¢â‚¬Å"Position Yourself at the Center: Co-Teaching Reading Comprehension Strategies.† This article explains and shows how media specialist can incorporate co-teaching. â€Å"Research indicates that reading comprehension strategies should be explicitly taught a nd modeled at all grade levels† (Moreillon, Judi, 2008) This part of the article will be beneficial to defend my thoughts that all students in the middle school level need reading comprehension and critical thinking skills. According to this article, media specialist can position themselves to help improve learning and student achievement in reading when co-teaching is involved. This article refers to several case studies where media specialists are a part of the co-teaching experience. After taking a much closer look at the case studies, I would find ways to incorporate the lessons into my media center and school environment. The second article that I found and would be beneficial to my research is ‘Using Fan Fiction to Teach Critical Reading and Writing Skills.† This article concentrates on one engaging lesson that takes place in the library and in the classroom in a two week period. The lesson was developed when a seventh grade language arts teacher appr oached the media specialist for suggestions on a creative lesson to incorporate both reading and writing. This would support the idea that collaboration can start with the classroomShow MoreRelatedAnnotated Bibliography On Teaching And Teaching846 Words   |  4 PagesTeaching self-direction to enhance children’s thinking in physical science. Journal of Educational Research, 88(1), 15. This article focused on the constant debate concerning the conditions in which students develop the skill of thinking critically. Being able to use critical thinking requires knowledge of facts and concepts about the subject matter. I found this article interesting because I think it is important that students develop critical thinking skills. Most scholarly articles tend to haveRead MoreThe Role of Multicultural Literature Essay1213 Words   |  5 Pagesdiverse student population rising in schools all over the United States, including students who are learning English as a new language. These students are English Language Learners (ELLs); they are learning English for the first time in addition to their native language. They’ve either had little or no knowledge of English before entering the school environment. According to the National Center of Educational Statistics (2013), an estimated 4.7 million or ten percent of the public school populationRead MoreClassroom Comp rehension : Building Comprehension Skills3288 Words   |  14 PagesBuilding Comprehension Skills Brittany Cronin COE 501—Introduction to Research and Evaluation in Education Fall B 2014 Dr. Ray Ostos Building Comprehension Skills Walk into any school and you will hear the word comprehension. Comprehending text is a necessity for all students in all grade levels as well as individuals entering college and beyond. With the launch of the Common Core State Standards, students need to be able to show their comprehension of text numerous ways, and if the students do notRead MoreDo Schools Really Care About Their Students? Do Schools1456 Words   |  6 PagesDo schools really care about their students? Do schools care for Academics? Or do they just care about the physical side, due to the amount of schools in the United States who care about their teams, and how they do? At the middle/high school level many students are encouraged to join the school’s sports team, with the pictures of the football team, the basketball team, the wrestling team, the cross-country team, the baseball team, the softball team and the track team. Persuading them to join toRead MoreHow Content Area Teachers Plan And Design Instruct ion3294 Words   |  14 Pagescontent area teachers plan and design instruction so that students will actively engage in literacy- and subject-related activities? Content area teachers can implement strategies and scaffold learning when planning and designing instruction so that students will actively engage in literacy. According to Dobbs, content area reading instruction includes: the information present in the text, and the instructional plan teachers use to help students understand the content (2003, p.3). Vacca, Vacca, MrazRead MoreEssay about The No Child Left Behind Act of 20013306 Words   |  14 PagesSecondary Education Act, which was designed to help disadvantaged students achieve success in school (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011) The components of The No Child Left Behind included annual testing, academic progress, report cards, teacher qualifications, and funding changes. These measures were â€Å"designed to drive broad gains in student achievement and to hold states and schools more accountable for student progress† (Editorial Projects in Education Research Center, 2011Read MoreSchool District : A Public School1605 Words   |  7 PagesKyrene School District is one of the top performing districts in the state. Nestled in Tempe, AZ, Kyrene is a school district with 17,831 students. On average our district spends $6,552 per year per student. 28% of students in this district accept reduced price meals. The most common ethnicities in our district identify as White, non-Hispanic or Hispanic. The Kyrene School District believes the primary focus of school is to provide opportunities for each student to learn and to facilitate the acquisitionRead MorePractice Never Makes Anyone Perfect1490 Words   |  6 Pagesthat the SAT prep not only improved my scores for the test, but continued to develop my communication, reading, and writing skills for future application. The SAT prep was well worth the time and energy because it improved my verbal and non-verbal communication skills. There was a major barrier to overcome while preparing for the SATs and that was the lack of interaction with a live person. No school classroom, no video screen, but just a chat box and a microphone. Ever since I could remember, I alwaysRead MoreEffects of Socioeconomic Status and Ethnicity on a Child1542 Words   |  7 Pageschild’s development. Middle-class families can better prepare their children with opportunities for success than families with low household income. Families with low household income will be reluctant to spend money on daycare because they have other priorities. Credentialed daycare providers increase children’s cognitive and critical thinking skills (Barnett Belfield, 2006). The long-term effects of daycare centers and preschool programs include improving students’ high school graduation rates byRead MoreTeaching Reading Comprehension6449 Words   |  26 PagesIntroduction What is reading? Reading is about understanding written texts. It is a complex activity that involves both perception and thought. Reading consists of two related processes: word recognition and comprehension. Word recognition refers to the process of perceiving how written symbols correspond to one’s spoken language. Comprehension is the process of making sense of words, sentences and connected text. Readers typically make use of background knowledge, vocabulary, grammatical knowledge

Link between Gender Inequality and Economic Growth Free Essays

The Link between Gender Inequality and Economic Growth It is not generally seen that the economy and gender development are interconnected in terms of each other’s influence and their development process. However, this correlation is well-explained by the fact that if women’s employment rates were raised to 70 percent, which is closer to that of many developed nations, the annual Gross Domestic Product (GAP) of Asia would increase by up to 2-4 percent (United Nations in China, 2010). Indeed, economic growth has impacts on gender inequality levels both positively and negatively, whereas gender inequality hampers economic growth as a whole. We will write a custom essay sample on Link between Gender Inequality and Economic Growth or any similar topic only for you Order Now Connell (2009, 1 1) defines the term gender as â€Å"the structure of social relations that centers on the reproductive arena, and the set of practices that bring reproductive distinctions between bodies into social processes. † Gender inequality refers to the unequal rights, responsibilities and opportunities of women and men (ASSAI, 2001). Economic growth is defined by an increase in the capacity of an economy to produce goods and services, compared to one period to another (Riley, 2012). For example, gender inequality can be a barrier to the process f development by weakening the ability of household members to engage in productive activities. At the same time, structural changes that accompany the development process can significantly weaken/loosen the constraints that women and men face when they work towards new economic approaches. This paper analyses the links between gender inequality and economic growth and the complexity associated with this relationship. In order to examine the link between gender inequality and economic growth, it is important to have a clear understanding of some key concepts. Firstly, social construction is a key concept that is used to understand how people build and organize ideas, actions and thoughts around a perception through cultural and social influence (International Encyclopedia of the Social Sciences, 2008). Next, gender relation is the interaction of different masculinity and femininity to shape the power dominance of the society (March et al, 1999). Moreover, globalization â€Å"is the process of transformation of local or regional phenomena into global ones. It is the notion of a shrinking world including unequal flows of labor, capital and ideas† (Stilling, 2002). It is also crucial to understand gender accountability in analyzing the relationship between economic growth and gender inequality. Gender accountability refers to the process by which members of a society hold others accountable for transgressing or defying traditional social expectations of gender (West and Zimmerman, 1987). Gender performance is creating differences between women and men and their interaction with others which are not natural or biologically based (West and Zimmerman, 1987). Finally, gendered division of labor refers to the ways in which certain Jobs or tasks become gendered in a patriarchal society (March et al, 1999). There are positive aspects of economic growth that help to shorten the gender gap, especially in the decision- making power within households despite the certain exceptional cases that function in the reverse order. In most circumstances, economic development reduces the disadvantages faced by women. Firstly, economic development plays a huge role in women education (World Bank, 2011 b). Women work under low-wage conditions partly because of the poverty at their homes. It is not that women prefer to supply labor at a very low wage, but they are forced to do so in order to manage the financial condition at home. Once the economic stability at family level improves, the number of women who go into low-wage Jobs for their poor economic condition at home reduces and the low-wage Jobs would no longer be reserved for women. For example, the workers in garment factories in Bangladesh, a major source of export earnings, are mostly women, and as the cost of living increases, the cost of women not going to work exceeds the cost of them working in low-wage Jobs (Siberia 1995). Secondly, poor economic condition makes women less aware about hygiene, and they cannot afford to medical expenditures, especially during menstruation period and pregnancy. It creates an environment for the employers to consider women as weakness and less productive (World Bank, 2011 b). Economic growth increases women’s health care that result in improved level of women’s fitness to any career. Eventually, sexist attitudes of employers about suitable tasks for women change. For example, the enrollment of women in Engineering, which requires field work, has been increasing day by day (Unguent, 2000). Thirdly, economic growth brings up changes in decision-making power of men and women at household level. It challenges the social construction that men are the breadwinners of a household. Rising income levels at household level associated with increased household expenditures challenges the patriarchal system and creates pathways for women to enter into Job market. However, it might affect the gender relations at home that men would not accept their power to be shared. Siberia explains the use of women’s earnings in household spending: My husband likes that my income is for luxuries, for the little things that catch my fancy. Although sometimes I pay for household things, during difficult months. He tells me, it is his Job to provide for food, clothing, rent and other necessities. Siberia, 1995:) It portraits the men’s perception that they do not want their women to contribute towards the economy of the family due to the social construction of men as breadwinners. In contrast, economic growth as an outcome of globalization creates opportunities for women to become empowered and to report violence against women. Women are mostly exposed to different socia l contexts that in turn heighten awareness about gender equality and the need for alleviating gender discrimination that they were not aware of and women’s dependency on men. My experience at AY-JAW is itself a good example of how an exposure to different social context can hence a person’s attitudes towards gender discrimination and violence. Five years back from now, if I were asked if it is fine for men to have the entire power within households, I would say yes’. However, if the same question is asked now, my answer would be ‘no’. Finalization of labor migration, which refers to the trend of growing employment of women which is possible mostly because of the expansion of technological improvement, trade and capital flows (Legal terms, Definitions and Dictionary, n. ). Also gives opportunities for women to get exposed to other countries where women can learn that they should get equal rights. Having experienced the effects of gender accountability in other countries and knowing that women’s equality is important, once they get back to their home societies, there is a high possibility that they will fight against gender discrimination. Exposure to different social context might lead women to be more aware about the social norms and patriarchy of their own society that favored men (Ridgeway, 1997). They would eventually come forward to make changes in the society that results in reducing gender gap in the society. However, economic development does not always help to narrow down the gender AP; rather, in certain cases, it increases the socio-economic vulnerability of women. Despite the economic development and the increasing women’s participation in the labor force, the incidence of sex-selective abortions and the absolute number of ‘missing women’, coined by Mammary Seen (2003) refers to the terrible deficit of women in substantial parts of Asian and north Africa, which arises from sex bias in relative care, are growing. The critical condition is further explained by the fact that â€Å"China and India together account for more than 85 million of the nearly 100 million missing† women estimated to have died from discriminatory treatment in health care, nutrition and nutrition access or pure neglect, or because they were never born in the first place† (United Nations in China, 2010). In rural areas of Asia, the social construction of femininity that all girls/women should get married is strongly followed. The societies develop a gendered centralization that parents take the responsibility of marrying women off once girl children are born itself (Slakes at el, 2003). Women do not get enough gains from the new paid-employment opportunities. They are given opportunities to paid workforce, at the same time they re employed in insecure environment that does not make any changes in the level of gender inequality. For example, even though women are given permission by their husbands or families to work in garment industries, they are often abused by their employers, not allowed to go to toilets even when they are urgent (Siberia, 1995). Violence against women is high even when they work for longer hours than men do (Ridgeway, 1997). After understanding how economic growth affects gender inequality, it is crucial to understand how gender inequality hampers economic growth. Most importantly, economic growth is hampered by the constraints that keep omen involved in unpaid work, and the unequal opportunities that favor men over women (Beerier et al 2004). Women’s Jobs in export industries such as textiles and garments have been important in generating foreign currency earnings. Dependence on women workers in labor-intensive, export-oriented manufacturing has become a common pattern across Asia as women’s share of manufacturing employment rose during their export drives. Therefore, gender inequality has negative impacts on economic growth. Furthermore, gender inequality in education and employment hampers economic growth. The low level of access to education for women is linked with higher rates of fertility and lower savings rates. Rising fertility can reduce investment in children’s education and health. (Ridgeway, 1997). Moreover, inequality in education can contribute to women’s unequal household bargaining power, affecting the distribution of household resources. The unequal decision-making power at household level might affect the overall household management, and thus prohibits the development process of households given the resources. For instance, a sole member making all the decisions would not be as effective as the incidence here both husband and wife together make decisions, with a mutual understanding of the benefit-cost analysis (Unguent, 2000). However, it is the social construction in Asian societies that a woman in a household being more educated would be considered as a threat to the men’s masculinity. Men make sure that the income brought to home by women would not be spent to main household spending, but on luxuries (Siberia, 1995). Indeed, men preserve the socially constructed norm that men have the control over the income and transgressing would affect the gender relations. Additionally, systematic differences in investments in girls’ and boys’ education can lead to Job sector inefficiency due to distortion in skill levels (Bosnian, 2003). Investing too much in less-talented men and investing too little in competent women reduces the total productivity in the economy (Bosnian, 2003). In other words, gendered division of labor arises where the labor queues become gender queues because employers rank males as more valuable workers than females (Resin and Ross, 1990). When employers hire workers, they take into consideration about the loss of their institutions’ productivity level, especially the maternity leave that women take (Timekeepers, 2012). Employers make an assumption that all women will get pregnant and have children. The assumption is basically developed from the socially constructed idea of femininity that all women will have children. Against the assumption, the enforcement of maternity leave legislation in Taipei, China led to a 2. 5-percentage-point increase in women’s employment (Civilize and Rodgers, 2003). In some patriarchal societies, certain Jobs are allocated only for men. For example, in northern part of Sir Lankan, CNN (three wheeler) drivers were usually male, and the government introduced a plan that allows female to be CNN drivers. After some time, an accident occurred in which the fault was found to be on the side of CNN driver who is a female. Based on the incident, there were some controversies regarding whether to allow the women do be CNN drivers further. However, the point to be noted here is that there were so many accidents held earlier to the particular event, and they were committed by male CNN drivers. No inquiries were done to the male drivers, but when the same incidence is caused by women, they held up to scrutiny. It again shows the gender discrimination in societies, and people being more critical when gender norms are transgressed. In addition, sexist unequal expectations of gender performance are other constraints that affect economic growth at the household levels. Men and women are sometimes pressured to perform gender according to what is acceptable in their particular society, rather than thinking about rational choices about family income. For example, Sir Lankan male cleaners go to Middle Eastern countries to financially support their families (Near, 2010). Although they are involved in feminizes Jobs’ abroad, when they return to their societies, they do not keep involving in feminizes activities because they think this would be a wreath to their masculinity (Near, 2010). As a result, men, who strongly support the patriarchal system of men as breadwinners of a family, fail minimize the costs within households by not accounting the female labor force participation. In order to address the barriers to the development of economy and gender, a strong foundation for policy implementations that alleviate the constraints that women face should be considered. These will include remedying heavy time burdens devoted to unpaid work, regulations that favor men, inadequate public infrastructure, insufficient access to agricultural inputs, discriminatory practices in the labor market, and social constructions. Asian governments have also paid relatively limited attention to gendered vulnerabilities in their social protection policies (ILL and ADS, 2011). By decreasing gender inequality, from the household level to major indexes, a country’s overall economy can be developed at a faster pace (Ridgeway, 1997) Likewise, as economic development occurs, we have to make sure that it will not lead to a path in which gender inequality grows even more. Works Cited Beerier, G. , Y. Rodgers, and J. Civilize. 004. International Trade and Gender Wage Discrimination: Evidence from East Asia. How to cite Link between Gender Inequality and Economic Growth, Papers

Product Manager in Mexico and the U.S.

Being a Product Manager Basically, being a product manager entails developing a particular product in such a way that it appeals to a specific target demographic. What must be understood is that consumer demographics each have their own unique â€Å"tastes† when it comes to specific products. As a result, it is necessary to develop products in such a way that they appeal to specific consumers by way of taste, smell, appearance, functionality etc.Advertising We will write a custom report sample on Product Manager in Mexico and the U.S. specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More For example, a product manager of a soft drink company would attempt to market different classes of soft drinks to suit differing consumer tastes. Examples of this can be seen in the differences between Mexico and the U.S. when it comes to the overall flavor of a soft drink that is being sold in each country. Consumers from Mexico prefer a certain degree of tar tness when it comes to their soft drinks while Americans prefer a greater deal of sweetness. As such, it is the responsibility of the product manager to ensure that the type of product that is being sold in each individual location conforms to the flavors that local consumers enjoy. Influencing Factors in Getting into this Field The most influential factor in getting into this kind of work comes in the form of the desire to develop a product as if it was your very own child. From conceiving the idea of the product on a drawing board to eventually manufacturing it and having it on store shelves creates a certain amount of pride in a product manager since the idea they initially conceived of is now being bought by consumers. Should the product become a considerable success this would of course create a feeling of happiness comparable to witnessing your very own child graduate from college. What type of education is necessary for this job? Should someone wish to enter into this particu lar type of career it is generally advised that they focus on becoming a product manager within a specific field. For example, the requirements for a product manager in the food services sector are drastically different to that of a product manager within electronics or social media services. As such, it is advisable that students combine a business degree in management with a secondary degree in whatever field they wish to specialize in.Advertising Looking for report on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More Advice to College Students The best advice I can give to students in becoming a product manager is to gain as much experience in the field as possible. Academic literature can only get you so far, it is important to develop a sufficient understanding of various consumer demographics in order to understand how to best develop a product that they will buy. It is due to this that experience will be your best te acher rather than theories and literature which may or may not be able to give you the necessary information you need. What difficulties can students expect when entering into this particular career? The main problem that students can expect when entering into this field is that they will be unable to rise quickly without sufficient experience. While in other career fields employees can rise quickly given enough hard work and diligence, the world of product management often will not promote an employee unless they have accumulated a certain number of years within the company. The reason behind this is due to the span of time it takes to understand a consumer demographic and know what does and does not appeal to them. This report on Product Manager in Mexico and the U.S. was written and submitted by user Barbara Berry to help you with your own studies. You are free to use it for research and reference purposes in order to write your own paper; however, you must cite it accordingly. You can donate your paper here.

Analytical Essay Sample on the Impact of Human Activities on Natural Hazards

Analytical Essay Sample on the Impact of Human Activities on Natural Hazards Natural hazards are naturally occurring phenomena that have disastrous impact on humanity. These phenomena had been in existence even before the advent of humanity. The hazardous dimension of these natural phenomena are in the context of the impact that such a phenomenon would have on human population in the area affected by that phenomenon. In this essay, the effect that human activity has on these natural hazards would be analyzed. Some human activities may be exacerbating the factors that cause the natural hazard, like the impact of excessive and unplanned logging on floods and droughts. In certain other cases the human activities may cause subsequent or supplementary hazards to a primary hazard event, like building dams in earthquake prone zones may lead to flash floods and landslides in the event of a rupture. A hazard can be defined as an event that has the potential to cause harm. This potential may be on account of its unexpected timing of occurrence or the actual intensity of the event itself. Human societies can withstand these events within a normal scale of occurrence. However, human societies become vulnerable when these events occur unexpectedly or are of an intensity or duration that falls beyond that normal scale (O’Hare and Rivas, 2005). Natural hazards can be broadly classified under the heads of geological, hydrological, climatic and diseases. This essay would limit its scope to analyzing causal relationships, if any, of human activities on landslides, floods and drought and the secondary hazards triggered by those activities in the event of an earthquake. Of all human activities that have a direct or indirect impact on natural hazards, deforestation is by far the most significant. Deforestation is the removal or destruction of forest cover of an area. It may occur due to unscientific logging practices without regeneration and may be accompanied by subsequent conversion to non-forest usage like agriculture, pasture, urban, mining or industrial development, fallow or wetland. At a very broad level, it has been argued that deforestation is a major cause of global climatic changes. It has been predicted that removal of forest cover will lead to violent and unpredictable environmental fluctuations. At a smaller landscape, deforestation has a direct bearing upon the climatic, hydrological, edaphic and biological aspects of that area. Deforestation is associated with higher levels of soil erosion and landslides, sedimentation in river beds and changes in fluvial geomorphology (Haigh, 1984). Quite a few of these effects of deforestation have a direct bearing on the natural hazards that will be covered in this essay. One of the major functions of a forest is to maintain the humidity level in the atmosphere. Trees withdraw groundwater through their roots and transpire the excess water through their leaves. Forests return a major part of the rainfall received by them through evapotranspiration. Annual evapotranspiration in tropical moist lowland forests ranges up to 1500 mm per year, with transpiration accounting for a maximum of 1045 mm per year (Bruijnzeel, 1990). This process of evapotranspiration in the leaves of trees takes the latent heat of evaporation from the surrounding atmosphere. Thus evapotranspiration has a cooling effect on the atmosphere that aids precipitation. Deforestation denies the atmosphere of this cooling effect and is thus a contributing factor to lowering of annual rainfall in an area. Further, the effects of deforestation generally compound the severity of drought. Lack of trees translates to the lack of root fibers that hold the topsoil. In the event of a drought, the topsoil flakes and gets blown by the wind, leading to severe dust storms. This phenomenon had devastated the American Great Plains for close to a decade in 1930s. The dust bowl covered farming areas in Colorado, Kansas, north west Oklahoma, north Texas and north east New Mexico. The fertile soil of the plains was exposed due to lack of vegetation cover and actions of the plow. These farming techniques that led to severe soil erosion, coupled with prolonged periods of extremely low rainfall, led to a series of severe dust storms that ranged up to the Atlantic coast. Much of the fertile topsoil was lost in the Atlantic (Cartensen et al., 1999). Direct causal relationship between human activity and drought is yet to be conclusively established. However, there are studies available that point to a positive correlation between the two. For example, climate-modeling studies have indicated that the 20th century Sahel drought was caused by changing sea surface temperatures. These changes were due to a combination of natural variability and human induced atmospheric changes. The anthropogenic factors in this case were rise in greenhouse gas levels and aerosols (GFDL Climate Modeling Research Highlights, 2007). The effect of human activities like deforestation is rather more direct and pronounced in case of hydrological hazards like fluvial floods. Fluvial floods occur when the discharge of a river exceeds its bankfull capacity. Forests create deep, open textured soils that can hold large quantities of water. When the forest cover is removed through logging, the soil becomes compacted. More rainwater is converted to runoff or near surface flow and less proportion percolates as groundwater. Research has shown significant increase in monthly runoff following logging activities (Rahim and Harding, 1993). The runoff rainwater carries with it considerable amounts of loose soil particles. Removal of vegetation cover through excessive logging activities or overgrazing leaves the soil bare. In such a situation, the upper layer of the soils becomes susceptible to erosion by surface runoff. These suspended soil particles are deposited on the riverbeds. The effect of this type of soil erosion by surface runoff is even more pronounced when the deforestation happens in the riparian zones as well. With time, this sedimentation decreases the depth of the riverbed and, thereby, the water carrying capacity of that river. When the flow of water in the river increases due to a variety of reasons like rainfall, seasonal melting of ice etc, that river can no longer contain the flow within its channel due to reduced drainage efficiency. This excess water inundates adjoining areas causing floods. The effect of soil erosion and subsequent sedimentation of the riverbeds enhances both the occurrences of floods and the area affected by floods. The impact of deforestation driven soil erosion is particularly severe in mountainous terrain. In the western Himalayas, comparison of bedload sediments trapped from parallel streams found that the sediment loads from undisturbed forest were five-seven times smaller than from deforested areas covered by grass and scrub. Deforested areas had a much smaller depth of soil and in many places large patches of underlying bedrock had become exposed ( Haigh et al., 1998). The result of this type of soil erosion on floods is amply demonstrated in the river systems in peninsular Malaysia. Malaysia is located in the equatorial belt and receives very heavy rainfall throughout the year. Peninsular Malaysia has a dense river network. The largest of around one hundred river systems is the Pahang. The runoff along exposed hillsides on the upper courses of the rivers lead to heavy soil erosion and major silting in the lower courses. Peninsular Malaysia has a major tin mining industry and disposal of unwanted tin mining tailings in watercourses has greatly accentuated the silting process. This has majorly worsened the flood situation, both in terms of inundation area and duration of flooding. The effect is particularly severe in Perak and Selangor (Chan and Parker, 1996). The type of natural hazard that is most closely linked to human activity is the landslide. A landslide can be defined as the movement of a mass of rock, soil or debris downward a slope. These occur on steep slopes of hilly terrains that demonstrate certain inherent factors like susceptible rock structure, weak material or slope form. The preparatory factors actively produce the changes that make slopes more vulnerable to a slide, without actually causing it. Some preparatory factor may ultimately become the triggering factor and start the landslide. In some other cases, geological or climatic events like earthquakes or rainstorms initiate the movement. Human activities cause some of the more widespread preparatory factors. Removal of forest cover from mountain slopes deprives the soil of the binding force of the roots of vegetation, thereby making it more vulnerable. Removal of the toe of the slope renders the mass above, unstable. This is because the lateral buttressing support for the bulk of the slope that lies on top of the excavated area is removed. Human activities like building of roads or quarrying of minerals are responsible for this type of preparatory factor. In many cases, human settlement on the slopes alters the original surface drainage of that area, eventually rendering it hydrologically unstable. The effects of human activity in the preparatory factors of a landslide were demonstrated in the landslide at Abbotsford, South Island, New Zealand on 8th August 1979. Deforestation, quarrying and modification of surface drainage further endangered the geologically unstable slope. Heavy rainfall and leakage from city water supply pipeline finally triggered the massive landslide (Pacione, 1999). Human activity like construction of roads can have a major impact on the vulnerability of a mountain slope. For example, the Indian Central Himalayas have seen major increase in road construction activities after the war with China in 1962. Many of these roads are poorly designed and constructed. This has dramatically increased in the occurrences of landslides in the region (Ives, 2004). Human intervention on the natural drainage of a slope as a major contributing factor to a landslide is amply demonstrated in the multiple occurrences of landslides on the hill slopes of La Paz city in Bolivia. La Paz region has considerable human settlements that are on unconsolidated slopes. These slopes are frequently wetted to saturation and forced to move. Some of these factors are natural, like seasonal convective showers of high intensity, flooding of lowers slopes by the rivers and streams draining that rainfall and water seepage from fluctuating water tables of adjoining lake Titicaca basin. However, the water saturation of the slopes is exacerbated by the human settlement on the slopes. Much of such settlements are unplanned, self-help housing that have no access to public sanitation and drainage systems. Waste water from such houses are drained directly on to the slopes. These factors have led to repeated landslides in the La Paz region in the past (O’Hare and Rivas, 2005). Another type of mass movement that is seen in plain areas is subsidence. Subsidence is vertical sinking of materials. In many unplanned cities, the city has sprawled into areas not covered by municipal water distribution network and indiscriminate ground water usage through bore wells have severely depleted water tables. In some cities like Mexico and Bangkok, the drained soil has compacted, leading to subsidence. In some other regions like the Raniganj – Jharia coal belt in India, improper mining excavations and inappropriate filling of excavated tunnels have led to widespread subsidence. In certain cases, though human activity does not cause a natural hazard, it may lead to secondary hazard events subsequent to the occurrence of a primary hazard. A case in point is the building of a very high multipurpose dam at Tehri in the Himalayan region in India that may be susceptible to seismic activity. In the eventuality of an earthquake and subsequent rupture of such a high dam, a tremendous flash flood is inevitable on the lower courses of the river, accompanied by major landslides as well (Ives, 2004). Thus, it can be concluded that human activities have some impact on occurrence of natural hazards. For some hazards like landslides and subsidence, there is direct, causal relationship between human activity and hazard occurrence. In some other cases like drought and floods, unscientific and unplanned exploitation of natural resources exacerbate natural hazards. In yet other cases, human activity compounds the effect of a natural hazard by triggering other hazard events that follow.

Most Common Answer on the ACT Guess C

Most Common Answer on the ACT Guess C SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Everyone knows that, when guessing on a multiple-choice test, the best answer to choose is C...right? A friend of a friend swears by it, it’s served you well in the past (maybe?), and it’s become such a commonly known â€Å"fact,† such an undisputed strategy, that you may feel as if you were born knowing it- †when in doubt, pick C and move on.† But does this time-honored tradition of picking C when in doubt actually work on the ACT? And if not, what can you do to improve your odds when guessing? Let’s look at the facts. Why You Should Answer Every Question on the ACT First of all, there is no penalty for choosing a wrong answer on the ACT, so make sure tonever leave a question blank. You'll earn one point for every correct answer you choose and zero points for any blank or wrong answers, so it doesn'thurt you to make a guess. If you don't knowan answer and guessit wrong, you'll earn the same number of points that you would have had you left it blank (zero). And if you guessthe question right, you'll earn yourself one point! Now when you're forced to guess on a question for whatever reason, you'll have to decide between thetwo main types of guessing: educated guessing and blindguessing. So let's break down how and when to go about making each type of guess. Educated Guessing You can make an educated guess when you: understand the gist of a question, butdon't have the timeto workthrough it completely, don't quite know how to work through a question completely, or you're torn between a few answer options. But if you've got some idea of what the answer can (and- just as important- what it can't) be, it's time to eliminate some answer choices and make an educated guess. For example, let's look at an ACT math problem: Even if you don't have enough time to completely work through the problem or don't know all the steps, just a little knowledge of lines and slopes will tell usthat the answer will be B, C, or D. Why? Because our given slope is $-{2/3}$and a negative slope will fall down towards the right when drawn through our given point (2, 5). This means we can eliminate answer choices A and E immediately. (Spoiler alert: D is the right answer.) BlindGuessing But let's say you've come up against a question and you have absolutely no clue where to begin. Or maybeyou've got ten seconds left on the clock and fifteen questions still left unanswered. You know that leaving a question blank is tantamount to throwing your points out the window, so now it's time to make a blindguess. There's no time for educated guessing or eliminating answer choices- you just have to fill in a bubble. Butwhen you have to make a blindguess like this (or multiple blind guesses), are you better off choosing C than any other answer choice? Let's see. Don't let their cheerful smiles fool you- three of them are hiding the wrong answer, dun dun DUN. Fact or Fiction: Is C the Most Common Answer on the ACT? The idea that C is the best answer to choose when guess-answering a question on a multiple choice test rests on the premise that ACT answer choices are not truly randomized.In other words, the implication is that answer choice C is correct more often than any other answer choice.After all, if the answer key were truly randomized, then why should C be any more likely to be the right answer than any other option? [Note: the ACT switches between using A, B, C, D (andE on the math section) and F, G, H, J (and K on the math). H is the equivalentto C.] Some (or even many) of your high school teachers likely still design their tests by hand, which means that their answer keys will not be statistically random.No matter how much your teachers try to randomize their choices, human beings are NOT random and cannot properly randomize a series.For instance, a truly random sampling will actually produce bizarre strings of patterns- e.g., five AB’s in a row, or twenty questions without a D- and most people do not (or cannot) create these patterns when they try their best to be â€Å"random.† Fortunately or unfortunately, this is NOT the case on the ACT. Unlike many of the tests you take in high school, ACT answer keys are completely computer generated. And computers are very good at being random. This means that the answer choices will have a statistically even distribution of 1 in 4 for each answer choice letter (or1 in 5 on the math section): there is no most common answer on the ACT. So, ultimately, guessing C (or any letter!) will give you the correct answer only a statistical 25% of the time(20% on the math section). Which meansit's NOT true that choosing C will give you a better rate of success than choosing any other letter for your blind guessing. What to do, then? So How Should You Guess? If C isn't the most common answer on the ACT, then which letter should you guess? The truth is that it doesn't matter which letter you pick, only that you stick to the one you choose. The best strategy,and the one that will maximize your overall point gain,is to pick your favorite letter and fill it infor every blind guess. Maybe that letter is A/F or B/G - it doesn't matter. Just be sure to stick with it every single time. So definitelygo ahead and choose C/H to be your designated letter if you like it best! (Just don't expect C to be any betteran answer choice than A, B, or D.) But maybe you're thinking that sounds completely illogical. Why should you fill in the same letter over and over? Why Does Sticking to One Letter Increase Your Odds of Guessing the Right Answer? Your overall score will improve if you stick to choosing the same letter again and again when making blind guesses. This isbecause people are never truly random. If you’re making "random" blind guesses in a spread, you will almost certainly reduce your overall guesses odds, because your best attempt at random guessing cannot replicate computer-generated randomness. But by sticking to your designated letter when making blind guesses, you are re-introducing an element of randomness. Let’s see this in action to better demonstrate why this works. Scenario: It’s crunch time and you’ve run out of minuteson the clock. You have 15 questions left to goand only a few seconds to bubble in your answers. This means you don’t have time to even look at the questions, so you must try to make the best blind guesses you can and maximize your point-gain. You are left with two options: make a random guess spread, or fill in every letter with the same answer choice. Let’s see how each option does when compared to a real ACT answer guide (in this case, we are using the first 15 answers of the 2015/2016 ACT reading section answers, with all F, G, H, J's converted to A, B, C, D's.) (Note: for our random spread, we tried to guess as randomly as we could without looking at the answer key, and for our consistent letter, we simply went with C.) â€Å"Random† Spread Consistent Guess (C) Correct Answers A C A C C D B C C A C C A C B B C D D C A B C C D C B B C D C C A A C D C C C C C D D C B By choosing a random spread, we earned 2 points out of a possible 15.But by sticking with one answer choice, we earned 4 points. Ultimately, sticking to the sameletter won't work better for each individual question, but on average and over a spread, the strategywill let you maximize your overall point-gain. Oh, statistics, you strange creature. The Take-Aways So is C the most common answer on the ACT? No! But is it the best letter to choose when you're in a bind and don't know what the right answer choice is? Well, that's more complicated. Always remember that it'sin your best bet to eliminate answer choiceswhenever possible. But if you can't, and you must make a blind guess, then stick to one letter and run with it every time. If you want this letter to be C (and it's equivalent, H), then go right ahead! Just make sure you stick with it every single time. C isn't any better or worse than any other letter, or any more likely to be the correct answer, but if you decide to stick with it for every blind guess you make, you'll be better off than trying to be "random." What's Next? Blind guessing strategy is great in a pinch, but elimination is always better! Check out our guides on how to make your best guesses on the ACT, how to eliminate answer choices on the ACT math section, and how to avoid the top elimination pitfalls that many students make. Want to get more ACT practice? Check out all the free ACT tests available online and gauge how you're scoring by checking out what falls into a "good" and "bad" ACT score. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points or more? Check out PrepScholar's test-prep programour five day free trial. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points? Check out our best-in-class online ACT prep classes. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your ACT score by 4 points or more. Our classes are entirely online, and they're taught by ACT experts. If you liked this article, you'll love our classes. Along with expert-led classes, you'll get personalized homework with thousands of practice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step, custom program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Try it risk-free today: