The Hobbit Overview Review Essays - Film, Fiction, Literature

The Hobbit: Overview Review The Hobbit: Overview Review CHARACTER INTRODUCTION BILBO BAGGINS: The Hobbit who led the Dwarves to the Lonely Mountain to reclaim their treasure from the dragon Smaug. He found the One Ring in Gollum's cave GANDALF: The Wizard that accompanies Bilbo and the dwarves on their quest. He is well versed in magic spells and often calls upon them to save his comrades. THORIN OAKENSHIELD: Son of the King of Dwarves who were driven from the Lonel y Mountain by Smaug. With the aid of Gandalf and Bilbo he seeks regain his trea sure and the throne. When Smaug died he truly became King under the Mountain, t hough he was killed in combat in the battle of five Armies. SMAUG: The dragon of the Lonely Mountain who hordes the treasure he stole from the dwarves of Dale. GOLLUM: He is perfect example of the evil powers of the One Ring. He was born a Hobbit but had the ring too long. It made him into a slimey little creature who only lives to possess the ring. BARD: The archer who killed Smaug. He shot the dragon in the one spot it had no protection. The towns people later considered him a hero. What the people didn't know it was Bilbo who discovered the weak spot in the dragon's iron scales. BEORN: An enemy of orcs, he becomes friends with Bilbo and Gandalf. He has th e ability to change forms from human to bear. It is he who determines the outco me of the battle of five Armies. STORY SUMMARY The book begins with Bilbo Baggins enjoying a pipe after breakfast. Th is is one of his favorite pleasures and he feels quite content in doing so. He is middle-aged, and resides in a clean warm burrow in the ground. One morning Gandalf, a wizard stops by to chat with Bilbo. He informs Bilbo that he is looking for someone to go on an adventure with him. Although Bilbo is tempted he declines, but not before inviting Gandalf for tea the next morning. The next day Bilbo hears his doorbell and he recalls inviting Gandalf for tea, but instead of the wizard at the door, there is a group of dwarves... thirteen in all. Thorin son of the dwarf king starts to outline a plan on how to regain the tr easure stolen by the dragon Smaug. Bilbo is shocked to realize these plans involve him! He then realizes that Gandalf has tricked him by inscribing on his doo r that he was a burglar seeking a job with lots of excitement. With all this talk of quests and glory Bilbo decides to join the party after all. Gandalf reveals a key and a map of their journey which ends at the Lon ely Mountain. It is there that the treasure of Thorin's ancestors are kept-guar ded by Smaug. The quest begins and the party meets at the Green Dragon Inn. From there they venture into the Lone-lands. As heavy rains begin to fall, Bilbo notice s that Gandalf is missing. When it starts to pour they stop to investigate a light. There Bilbo finds three trolls grumbling about food. Bilbo decides to live up to title of burglar and attempts to pick one of the trolls pocket. However they quickly capture him. The dwarfs see what's going on and try to save poor Bilbo... yet all of them except Thorin is caught. Thorin formulates a plan of freeing them but fails. Gandalf returns and occupies the trolls till dawn, then the turn into stone. They group take the two swords and a knife the trolls were carrying. The travelers come across the Secret Valley. There they stop at Elrond 's Last Homely House. Elrond tells them the only way to use the key that Thorin possesses is to wait where the thrush knocks and the setting sun will shine up on the keyhole. The next morning the group heads toward the Misty Mountains. A storm has caused them to seek shelter in a cave. The cave however turns out to be an entrance to the goblin kingdom. Once again the group is captured. Only Gandalf is free, and he slays the Goblin King, and once again free the party from impend ing doom. During the escape Bilbo is knocked unconscious and is left behind. He awakes to find himself power which makes it's wearer invisible - the ring which Bilbo found. Bilbo slips the ring upon his finger and disappears. He follows Gollum stealthily toward the entrance to the outside world. He then bounds over Gollu m's head to freedom.

The Link between Assertiveness and the Effective Leader

The Link between Assertiveness and the Effective Leader Free Online Research Papers Assertiveness training has been growing in popularity over the last few decades. Assertiveness training began primarily as a program used by counselors and psychologist, and has transition into a very popular management training course. Many employers are starting assertiveness training programs for their managers as they feel these skills make them more effective leaders. Assertive individuals are self confident, have strong communication and problem solving skills, and not afraid of confrontation. Effective Leaders are assertive individuals. To learn why effective leaders are assertive individuals we need to understand what assertiveness means. Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary (2006) defines assertiveness is as, â€Å"The quality or state of being assertive† (p.62). Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary goes on to define assertive as, â€Å"disposed or characterized by strong or confident assertion† (p.62). To clarify the meaning Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary defines assertion as, â€Å"A positive statement† (p.62). In other words assertive individuals have the ability to state clearly what they want or how they feel in any situation without coming across as aggressive or hostile. Assertiveness is a widely recognized leadership trait. Assertive individuals are self-confident and clear about what they want. Leaders with these traits communicate openly and honestly with those around them. Assertive leaders project confidence and encourage feedback when expressing their thoughts. Assertiveness is built on the understanding that each individual has the right to be open and express themselves honestly; even if they chose not too. Assertiveness helps leaders perform many tasks and achieve goals. Assertive leaders are able to comfortably confront subordinates about poor performance, set high goals, and even make demands on higher management when necessary for the group to meet its objectives. Assertive leaders recognize their own level of knowledge, ability, and authority in any situation. They are able to send this message of confidence and competence through their personal demeanor while showing respect for their group. Without this ability the communication would breakdown and the relationship between the leader and his team would quickly begin to deteriorate. Shaw and Rutledge (1976) wrote an article in the September 1976 Training and Development Journal citing an exciting new approach to train effective managers. Shaw and Rutledge went on to show the correlation between the traits of an assertive individual and an effective manager: The effective manager is clear about goals and purposes. He or she is willing and able to confront conflict, and to make tough decisions, to say â€Å"no† without guilt, embarrassment or shilly-shally. The effective manager is also capable of responding to and utilizing the resources of others. He or she is sufficiently confident and self-possessed so that defensive and abrasive behavior which inhibits the enthusiasm, creativity and motivation of others is minimized. (p.9) According to Shaw and Rutledge (1976) assertive training would gain in popularity among the business world since it would help produce the type of leadership they needed for productive organizations. One of the key characteristics of assertiveness training Shaw and Rutledge pointed out was the fact that leaders where not forced to learn new behaviors just build and strengthen the skills they already possessed. Shaw and Rutledge (1976) stated that, â€Å"Assertive training focuses on practicing goal-oriented and self-actualization behavior, and on learning how to identify and protect oneself against aggressive or manipulative behavior from others.† (p.8) This is a very important skill for a leader. Leaders must be able to clearly and effective communicate their needs without being manipulated by those around them. For the organization to thrive all resources must be used both efficiently and effectively. This means that leadership must be able to determine the best possible use for its resources at all times. Shaw and Rutledge (1976) stated Assertive leaders believe in themselves and in their own ability to succeed; in other words they trust them selves. Assertive leaders will take the time to determine what they want and how they will do it. Next Shaw and Rutledge explained the assertive leader must utilize the resources of others. To be effective a leader they must possess the ability to not only listen to one self but also those around them and then utilize that information in an effective manner. The third step Shaw and Rutledge (1976) explained the assertive leader must follow was to express your feelings. The assertive leader must express their feelings and at the same time provide a safe environment for others to express their feelings openly and honestly without fear of retaliation. Effective leaders teach these skills by example. Shaw and Rutledge described the forth step as be clear and goal oriented. Assertive leaders are open and direct; they are clear about their goals and intents. The final step according to Shaw and Rutledge (1976) in assertiveness training is to confront issues. Assertive leadership will also take care of issues immediately when they happen and keeps communication flowing. Learning how to be assertive will not prevent confrontations it simply provides managers with the skills to deal with the confrontations. Effective leaders realize that assertiveness is a skill that needs to be practiced and continually evaluated for each individual situation. There is no behavior that is a one size fits all perfect solution and a truly effective leader remembers this above all. An assertive individual has strong listening skills which are important for an effective leader. It is as important for leaders to listen as it is for them to be heard. An assertive individual will take the time to clue into the verbal cues as well as the non verbal cues of the conversations. This can often help the listener determine the central issue. The assertive individual will work on all areas of communication so that effective leadership can be maintained. The assertive leader has built a relationship with the team that encourages open and honest communication and fosters creativity. This is where synergy comes into play. Utilizing all the skills in the workplace they are able to get their team to perform at levels higher than the competition. The assertive leader will promote this productive environment. An effective Leader is an assertive individual. Research Papers on The Link between Assertiveness and the Effective LeaderThe Project Managment Office SystemBringing Democracy to AfricaAppeasement Policy Towards the Outbreak of World War 2Open Architechture a white paperThree Concepts of PsychodynamicEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenAnalysis of Ebay Expanding into AsiaAnalysis Of A Cosmetics AdvertisementInfluences of Socio-Economic Status of Married MalesQuebec and Canada

How to Style Numbers

How to Style Numbers How to Style Numbers How to Style Numbers By Mark Nichol When you write a number that will appear in print or online, do you use figures, or spell it out? If you want to follow an authoritative source to produce professional-looking content, the answer is both more complicated and simpler than you think (we already covered part of this topic with the article 10 Rules for Writing Numbers and Numerals). The bible of the mainstream book-publishing industry, The Chicago Manual of Style, devotes 18 pages to the topic, while The AP Stylebook, the authority of record for newspapers, is appropriately more concise. (Various magazines generally use one style or the other, but Web sites tend toward AP style.) Other style manuals abound, but unless you’re writing for scholarly journals, you can count, so to speak, on Chicago or AP. The more formal the writing, the more likely you’ll follow Chicago style, which originally evolved from guidelines developed for the University of Chicago Press but has since been adopted by most book publishers as the authority for grammar, usage, punctuation, and, yes, numbers. The basic Chicago rule is to spell out numbers from one to one hundred but use numerals for 101 and up. But if you refer to two amounts in the same category, default to numerals. (â€Å"I found 137 mistakes, compared with only 89 last time.†) Major exceptions to the basic rule include a number as the first word in a sentence, larger round numbers (â€Å"five hundred†) and orders of magnitude (â€Å"millions,† â€Å"billions,† etc.). The point is to maintain consistency as much as possible. Technical, statistically dense text, meanwhile, is better served by numerals, so in that case use digits for physical dimensions, degrees (both of temperature and angle), scores and percentages, money, time, and other references to quantity. Newspaper style and less formal writing (and much of online content) hews closer to AP style, which derived from the rules for Associated Press newspaper articles: Spell out numbers only to ten, use numbers for 11 and up, and don’t be concerned about matching style when you refer to quantities on both sides of the tipping point. (â€Å"In a classroom poll conducted recently, only seven of 29 students agreed with that statement.†) And what about those pesky hyphens? Don’t hyphenate a physical dimension to the unit name unless those two terms modify a noun (â€Å"10 feet,† but â€Å"10-foot pole†). Hyphenate double-digit numbers by themselves and within larger numbers if they aren’t multiples of ten (â€Å"sixty-four,† â€Å"one hundred twenty-eight†), but don’t hyphenate all the elements of a large number like a chain. Simple and mixed fractions should be styled, depending on your preferred policy, either like â€Å"1/2† and â€Å"1 3/4,† or like â€Å"one-half† or â€Å"one and three-fourths.† Don’t bother setting case fractions (in which the numbers are reduced in size and placed on either side of a diagonal line); if you’re writing for a publication, the fraction will be formatted during the production stage according to its style. To establish a style for your Web site or blog, keep in mind that gurus of online content advise using numerals, which are easier to scan (and most site visitors scan before they read, if they read at all), but note that the AP rule about using numerals for numbers you can count on your fingers still applies: â€Å"1 day, I’ll see with my own 2 eyes that you can beat 3 people in a row in 4-square† is going a bit far. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Style category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:When to Capitalize Animal and Plant Names5 Lessons for Mixing Past and Present TenseWords That Begin with Q

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) characteristics and uses Assignment

Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) characteristics and uses - Assignment Example DNA sequence determination of the mDNA has been from many organisms including the extinct ones, and the comparison of the sequences outlines the mainstay of phylogenetics. The researchers have therefore been able to elucidate various evolutionary relationships within species. Additionally, the analysis of the relatedness of the populations among organisms has been ascertained and has become vital in the field of anthropology. The human mitochondrion DNA as an example, is commonly present per every cell except in sex cells as elucidated by Brown, George & Wilson, 1979, and is closely related to that of metazoans. The circular double-strand molecule of mDNA has about 15000 to 17000 base pairs and the nucleotide content differentiates the two strands. In animals, the transcribed strand produces molecules of polycistronic RNA. In replication process, the mDNA is replicated by the gamma complex of the enzyme DNA polymerase that is composed of 140 kDa of the catalytic section of the enzyme encoded by the gene POLG and two accessory subunits of 55 kDa encoded by POLG2 gene. During the process of embryogenesis, the mDNA replication is down because it is regulated from the oocyte that is fertilized through the embryo that is pre-implanted. At the stage of blastocyst, Anderson et al, 1981, further exemplifies that onset of the replication of the mDNA is specific to the trophectoderm cells. In contrast, the replication of mDNA is restricted by the inner cell mass cell until they receive signals making them differentiate to specific cell types. In the susceptibility concept, the mDNA does not necessarily accumulate many oxidative base damages than the nuclear DNA. As a result, some other types of the oxidative DNA damage are more efficiently repaired in the mitochondria than in the nucleus. The presence of proteins in the organelle further offers protection just as in the nuclear chromatin. The integrity of

Mental Health Article Analysis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Mental Health Article Analysis - Essay Example ly childhood has direct bearing on development factors later in the child’s life; as a result, more research is needed to investigate the interrelationship between these variables. The study found that boys indicated more statistically significant levels of later life external mal-adaptations than girls (d = 0.35 vs d = 0.03). The reasons for this occurrence may be because of biological issues related to gender, or that girls tend towards internalization of problems instead of externalization. Other arguments were that, â€Å"the reasons were not seeing differences is that were looking in the wrong place, and that girls have other problems..such as depression and anxiety.† While the researchers also acknowledge that the studies may not adequately account for genetic factors, they contend that there is a clear environmental correlation between insecure maternal attachment and later day externalization of maladaptive behavior. The parent’s mental health is also another variable that must be investigated as it may possibly contribute to the external behaviors. It seems that future research must investigate the underlining causes of insecure parental attachment. The research seems to predominantly place the agency on the child when it seems that the emphasis should be on everything except this variable. It’s also possible that these external behaviors are not direct an aspect of insecure attachment, but merely

The implications for UK service sector firms Essay Example for Free

The implications for UK service sector firms Essay Discuss the implications for UK service sector firms that have off shed IT or administrative functions to low cost economies, such as India. The relocation of certain industries or functions from the UK to other low-cost economies abroad has raised a number of issues over the years. From a management perspective, it is seen as a great way of reducing overheads. However, customers have identified this as a drawback in most industries today. Firstly, transferring parts of a business to a low cost economy decreases overall expenses as mentioned earlier. This could be that, the value of the pound is much stronger than that of the currency in these low cost economies so businesses have to pay much lesser total overheads. As these firms receive their revenue in pounds sterling, they would rather pay out their expenses such as electricity in Indian rupee which is about 0.01% of a pound. This is an ideological tool in exploiting different economies efficiently. It helps businesses to keep their costs very low but rather increase their profit margins. This may not always be the case though, since economic factors are very much unpredictable. Such firms are likely to have a huge loss should there be any increase in the value of the Indian currency. This could create potential instability in the business thus causing them to relocate into the UK service sector. Also, firms relocating in low cost economies are able to benefit from cheap labour costs. The increase in young, well educated workers in such economies have caused these industries to enter such markets since they are rather skilled labour that have the right skills and expertise but rather tend to demand less wages. According to statistics from the work foundation in 2004, software engineers in India received about à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½5000 to à ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½15000 per annum which is a staggering 15-17% of what employees with the same position in the UK receive. This explains the use of highly skilled workforce which potentially increases productivity rate however keeping expenses such as wages at a reduced rate. Furthermore, service sectors which may have offshore are likely to gain from greater economies of scale because of the increase in the demand for the firms services. This may lead to a reduction in unit costs such as computer systems. Lower average costs should help such firms to be able to expand into different markets and to be rather competitive. However, the extent to which these firms can increase demand for their services depends whether it can meet its business objectives and attract customers since it has different departments of the business in different parts of the world. Without driving in enough customers through quality business management, the firm will certainly fall short of demand thus diseconomies of scale. Moreover, service sector firms might transfer parts of its business to places such as India to be able to benefit from cheaper land. Since in the UK, there are many restrictions to the acquisition of land, different taxes and legal permits to be able to acquire a location, it is a much wiser idea to locate in places where there are much fewer red tapes or barriers which could reduce costs. The difficulty however, could be the maintenance of quality customer services since these functions are nowhere near close to the department responsible for maintaining good customer relationships. Having mentioned all these positive implications, there may be some negatives attached to transferring a part of a business to another location. Critically, there may be some difficult ethical issues involved with this process. It may not be of good benefit to the economy if businesses were to shut down and create employment in another part of the world since employment is one of the main boosts to the economy. An increase in unemployment creates a decrease in consumer confidence which effectively means that customers would not purchase any items therefore; the government would therefore not receive huge amounts of tax. This does have a huge impact on the position of the economy and position of individuals. Another ethical issue could be; is it right to pay much lower wages abroad than in the UK? Certainly, the answer should be No. Another potential problem of off shoring is the language and cultural differences between the UK and places such as India. Communication is one of the key tools for any successful firm. Lack of understanding between colleagues might hinder the success of the firm since information will not be passed on correctly. The TalkTalk group was the most complained about provider of landline and broadband services between October 2010 and February 2011. This was majorly due to the fact that most of its customer service assistants were based outside the country which made communications between the two parties i.e. customers and customer assistants difficult. Practically all UK firms based in India have had to train their staff there, to increase their fluency in English. Certainly, this comes along with certain costs which again increase their total overheads. There might also be differences in working practices between countries, including the working hours, which can have great impact on the performance of the business. Offshoring also has an impact on the public image or reputation of a firm. A number of UK service sector companies have attracted the media over allegations of worker exploitation in low cost economies on order to reduce costs. Such media representations might reduce demand for a firms services or might also make workers feel unsafe at the workplace. These could directly have links with the mobility of demand for the firms services. Also, it is seen as a way to avoid competition in the market which then again, ruins the public image of the firm. Overall then, offshoring is a great business technique which exploits different markets but at the same time reduces costs effectively. However, it brings about some ethical issues such as the impact on the economy and also could be seen to be very costly in terms of training staff in other parts of the world because of language barrier. Also, does not take the interest of its customers who are a great asset to every firm, into concern. It is therefore with no doubt that most businesses are moving back to the UK since it has been discovered that the negatives of offshoring do outweigh the positives.

Changes in Rita and Frank in Education Rita Essay -- Education Rita Li

Changes in Rita and Frank in Education Rita Discuss the ways in which Russell portrays the changes and developments in the characters of Rita and Frank in Act 1 Scene 1 and Act 2 scene 1 Drama (post 1914) Discuss the ways in which Russell portrays the changes and developments in the characters of Rita and Frank in Act 1 Scene 1 and Act 2 scene 1 of ‘Educating Rita’. ‘Educating Rita’ is a play written by the British author Willy Russell. It is set in Liverpool around the 1980’s. It explores the themes of education, poverty and working class life. The play is based on Rita’s enthusiasm and determination to be educated. Rita undergoes her course at the Open University. Here she meets her tutor Frank and it is here their plutonic relationship blossoms. This is what occurs in Act 1 scene 1. In Act 2 scene 1 the relationship contrasts from that of the previous act. Although they have this friendly love, Frank becomes jealous of Rita. This is because when Rita returns from her summer school she is a new woman. She is more educated, has acquired new clothes and her accent has changed. The play is structured in two acts. It has eight scenes in the first act and seven scenes in the second act. The first scene of act one is set in Frank’s office at the Open University. There is a large bay window at the left of his room and a small desk positioned in front of it. In the centre of the room there is a larger desk covered with books and papers. The walls are also lined with books. On one wall hangs a nude religious scene. The way in which the scene is set gives the reader a first impression that Frank is a disorganised person. Yet when we see all the books we assume that he is an intelligent person too. ... ... what she thinks when she tells him she is disappointed that he is still drinking after the summer. This is different to Act 1 scene 1 when Rita would only agree with what Frank would say. Rita entered the play as a clumsy and uneducated woman and has come through to Act 2 scene 1 as an educated and independent woman. Willy Russell has portrayed the changes in Rita by giving her a new outlook on life and a new education. Frank was very intrigued when he first met Rita in Act one Scene one, but now he is jealous of the changes that have occurred during the summer break and brought her into his office in Act 2 Scene 1 as a fresh, self confident woman. Willy Russell has portrayed the changes in Frank in a very clever way. Although he never directly refers to the changes all you have to do is look back and compare the two acts and the changes are obvious.

Continuum of Strategies

Continuum of Strategies Sylvia Brooks, Kenya Conyers, Jennifer Williams SEI/500 Structured English Immersion October 22, 2012 Dr. Gretchen Meyer Continuum of Strategies Introduction: Mrs. Brooks is a first grade teacher in Harvard Elementary School and this year she has twenty five students in her classroom. Of the twenty five students in her classroom, five are English Language Learners. These five students are all Spanish speaking but two are from Puerto Rico and three are of Mexican descent. Mrs. Books has found that two of the five children speak English also.Today’s lesson in Social Studies is titled Community Workers. In this lesson we will begin with the teacher centered strategy. The lesson will also include the teacher assisted, peer assisted, and student centered strategies. Teacher-Centered: Mrs. Brooks began her lesson by using the teacher-centered strategy of lecture. She informed the children that they would begin a unit entitled Community Workers, and doing a pi cture walk from the book. Mrs. Brooks has everyone to put there finger on the title and repeat the title together â€Å"Community Workers†.Next she asks the students for suggestions as to who do they think is a community worker? Mrs. Brooks talks about each suggestion then tells the children to look at the pictures on the next page. The children are given thirty seconds to tell their partner the name of the person in the picture. Then the teacher tells them the correct way to say the name of person in English and proceeds to the next picture (Echevarria, Vogt, & Short, 2008). The same process continues until the end of the story and the children can verbally identify the names of the community workers.Teacher-Assisted: After the story is completed, Mrs. Brooks began using a teacher assisted strategy. Mrs. Brooks brought out several boxes and placed them on the table. The children stayed with his or her partner. Each group was given a box with the description of a community wo rker inside. Inside each box were several items that were in English along with a picture attached. Each group was able to look into their box and decide what they were going to discuss with the rest of the class. The groups were given about three minutes to have their description ready to present to the class.Once each group had finished presenting their community worker, Mrs. Brooks passed out a worksheet to be completed. Peer Assisted: Before completing the worksheets, the students swapped partners so that one student from each group could discuss their community worker with another student. The students were instructed to write down key elements about each community worker. The students were given 3 minutes and after 3 minutes were up the pairs swapped again. This continued until all students had paired up to cover all five community workers covered.After this students were given directions to complete the worksheet. Student-Centered: Students were directed to complete the works heet by using the notes taken during the â€Å"pair swap†. Students were also able to refer back to the elements used in their presentations in order to complete worksheet. After completing worksheet, students were allowed time to share and discuss answers. Conclusion: After completing each activity on community workers, the teacher began reviewing the lesson that was taught. She began asking questions about community workers.She asked the students to name several community workers, what they do, and if they wear a uniform. The workers that were left out she held up pictures of the workers and allowed the students to answer questions about them. Mrs. Brooks saw that the students retain the information that was taught and enjoyed learning about community workers. References Echevarria, J. , Vogt, M. , & Short, D. J. (2008). Making Content Comprehensible for English Learners. The SIOP ® Model, Third Edition  (3rd ed. ). Boston, MA: Allyn & Bacon, Inc. A Pearson Education Co mpany.

Does a Revolution Always Have to Include Terror Essay

The radical leader of the Committee of Public Safety, Robespierre had fanatic and opinionated ideas and beliefs that made him a passionate leader. He believes that to safely go through the stormy revolution, the people’s behavior should be regulated by stormy circumstances, and their plans should be based on the combination of the spirit of revolutionary government and democracy. Virtue, the â€Å"fundamental principle of the democratic government,† was a strong factor of his viewpoint. He thinks that if there is no virtue in the government, then the people’s virtue can be a source, but when the people are corrupted too, there is no chance of winning liberty. These ideas did no harm; they were beneficial and very true. However, he also had radical ideas that were appalling and that weren’t necessarily correct. In his opinion, the people should be lead by reason and the people’s enemies by terror. Robespierre also mentions that a popular government in revolution evolves from virtue and terror. This is his outlook on virtue and terror: â€Å"virtue, without terror is fatal; terror, without which virtue is powerless.† He says, â€Å"the characteristic of popular government is confidence in the people and severity towards itself.† In other words, the popular government has to have confidence in the people and be strict and severe with itself. According to him, terror is the principle of despotic government and he thinks that because of this, the despot may govern by terror his brutalized subjects and subdue by terror the enemies of liberty. Even though these are only his opinions, his perspectives on the use of terror and ruthlessness led him to cause the Reign of Terror and ultimately led him to his execution on July 28, 1794. A revolution doesn’t necessarily have to include terror and the popular government does not have to be ruthless to its people, because then the revolutionaries may lose their supporters (or they may even revolt) and the radicals might have to face more enemies. This was true, because Robespierre’s former followers had him arrested and executed, and the day after the execution, everyone felt relieved. The famous radical leader’s attributes and beliefs led the country into terror and himself to his end.

Shakespeare Family

Shakespeare Family Who was William Shakespeare’s immediate family? Did he have children? Are there direct descendants around today? William led two very different lives. There was his home, family life in Stratford-upon-Avon; and there was his professional life in London. Other than one account from a town clerk in 1616 that Shakespeare was in London with his son-in-law, John Hall, there is no evidence that his family had much to do with London. All of his property was in Stratford, including a large family home called New Place. When purchased in 1597, it was the biggest house in the town! Shakespeares Parents: Father: John ShakespeareMother: Mary Arden There is no exact record of when John and Mary married, but it is estimated to be in about 1557. The family business evolved over time, but it is widely recognised that John was a glove maker and leather maker.   John was very active in Stratford-upon-Avon’s civic duties and in 1567 he became mayor of the town (or High Bailiff, as he would have been titled then). Whilst there are no records, it is presumed that John’s high civic standing would have enabled the young William to study at the local grammar school. Shakespeares Siblings: Brother: Gilbert Shakespeare (born in 1566)Sister: Joan Shakespeare (born in 1569)Sister:  Anne Shakespeare (born in 1571)Brother:  Richard Shakespeare (born in 1574)Brother:  Edmund Shakespeare (born in 1580) Infant mortality was common in Elizabethan England, and John and Mary lost two children before William was born. The siblings above lived until they were adults, with the exception of Anne who died at the age of eight. Shakespeares Wife: Wife: Anne Hathaway When he was just 18 years old, William married 27-year-old Anne Hathaway in a shotgun wedding. Anne was the daughter of a farming family in the nearby village of Shottery. She fell pregnant with their first child outside of wedlock and the couple had to obtain special permission from the Bishop to marry. There is no surviving wedding certificate. Shakespeares Children: Daughter: Susanna Shakespeare (born in 1583)Daughter:  Judith Shakespeare – Twin (born in 1585)Son: Hamnet Shakespeare – Twin (born in 1585) The child conceived out of wedlock to William Shakespeare and Anne Hathaway was daughter named Susanna. A few years later, they had twins. However, in the summer of 1596, Hamnet died, aged 11. It is thought that William was grief stricken and his experience can be read in his characterisation of Hamlet, written not long after. Susanna married John Hall in 1607; Judith married Thomas Quiney in 1616.Shakespeares Grandchildren: Elizabeth Hall (born in 1608)Shakespeare Quiney (born in 1616)Richard Quiney (born in 1618)Thomas Quiney (born in 1620) William had only one grandchild from his eldest daughter, Susanna. Elizabeth married Thomas Nash in 1626, and later remarried to John Bernard in 1649. From William’s youngest daughter, Judith, there were three grandsons. The eldest was named Shakespeare because the family name had been lost when Judith married, but he died in infancy. Shakespeares Grandparents Grandfather: Richard ShakespeareGrandfather: Robert Arden Above William’s parents in the family tree, information becomes a little sparse. We can’t be sure of the names of William’s grandmothers because the â€Å"men of the house† would have taken control of legal affairs, and so only their names will have appeared on historical documents. We know that the Arden’s were wealthy fathers and the Shakespeare family held civic responsibilities in the town. It is likely that this combined power was what enabled them to obtain special permission from the Bishop for their children to marry to stop the baby being born out of wedlock; this would have brought shame on their family and their reputation at the time. Shakespeares Living Descendants: Wouldn’t it be great to discover that you are a descendant of the Bard? Well, technically, it is possible. The direct bloodline ends with William’s grandchildren who either did not marry, or did not have children to continue the line. You have to look further up the family tree to William’s sister, Joan. Joan married William Hart and had four children. This line continued and there are many of Joan’s descendants alive today. Could you be related to William Shakespeare?

Analysing data production

Analysing data production The process of research is not only about learning and discovering, but also about sharing these discoveries with others, so that society as a whole can benefit from the efforts put in by the individual. When it comes to complex academic concepts, the choice of words for how a concept is described can make a difference to how well it is understood by others , especially when moving between research domains.    Hence we make such use of metaphors and analogies when it comes to describing complex concepts. Tying a concept (for example, quantum superposition) to a real world â€Å"thing† (for example, a cat in a box ) allows people unfamiliar with the original concept to connect it with something they have experience of, and provides a foundation which can be elaborated on. If, upon further examination, it is found that the analogy gets stretched beyond all reason, then that is acceptable, as long as those using it don’t simply rely on it as an article of blind faith. Analogies and metaphors require critical thinking. Scientific concepts are formulated in human language, and as such, are intended to be processed by the human brain (even if that brain needs to be highly trained before it can properly grasp the concepts being described). Scientific data, on the other hand, is designed to be machine consumable (as well as predominantly machine produced). Measurements are often not useful without the context surrounding them. It is one thing to know that a particular river level rose by 10cm. It is only by knowing where this happened, how high the river was to begin with, and how high the rise would have to be at that location to flood the houses built there, that we are able to put the data into context, and make it useful. Yet we still need that data. If a homeowner who got flooded wished to claim on their insurance for flood repairs, having that data and context available means they’d have proof that it was river flooding that caused the damage, rather than a burst pipe. We also need to have the research data which underpins key research findings available and understandable, both for reproducibility and to prevent fraud/misuse. Making data usable by others takes effort and time and is often unrewarded by the current system for gaining academic credit. Metaphors and Analogies â€Å"No one metaphor satisfies enough key data system attributes and that multiple metaphors need to co-exist in support of a healthy data ecosystem†(Parsons Fox, 2013) Data publication as a metaphor has been addressed extensively in (Parsons Fox, 2013), leading to the quote above. But before we dive into examples of metaphor and analogy in the data domain, it is helpful to review what they mean. From (Gentner Jeziorski, 1993): ‘Analogy can he viewed as a kind of highly selective similarity. In processing analogy, people implicitly focus on certain kinds of commonalities and ignore others. Imagine a bright student reading the analogy â€Å"a cell is like a factory.† She is unlikely to decide that cells are buildings made of brick and steel. Instead she might guess that, like a factory, a cell takes in resources to keep itself operating and to generate its products. This focus on common relational abstractions is what makes analogy illuminating.’ (Gentner Jeziorski, 1993) p448 This action of focussing on some commonalities and ignoring others is crucial when using analogies to illustrate scientific concepts. We can produce an analogy that â€Å"a dataset is like a book†. Commonalities include that both contain information, in a structured and formatted way, which is consumable by a user, and both are the product of sustained effort, potentially from a wide range of actors. The differences between them make it just as easy to say â€Å"a dataset is not like a book†, in that a dataset can be constantly changing; may not be a physical, but a virtual object; mostly isn’t designed for humans to read unassisted ; and often a dataset isn’t a self-contained unit (as it requires extra information and metadata to make it understandable and usable). Obviously, it is possible to push analogies too far, and have them break. This is more likely to happen when users of the analogy don’t have a good understanding of each of the two things being compared. In the (Gentner Jeziorski, 1993) quote above, if the student didn’t have any other concept of what a cell was, she could easily imagine that they were tiny buildings made of bricks and steel, and the analogy used would do nothing to correct that misapprehension. It’s also important to remember that analogy is not causation – if two phenomena are analogous, it does not imply that one causes the other. Types of metaphor and real world scientific examples: Data Publication Data publication, as a metaphor, came about as a result of the drive for researchers to publish as many works as possible in as many high impact journals as possible, and the need for those involved in creating datasets to be given recognition for their work, and their efforts to make the data findable, accessible, interoperable and reusable. This resulted in pressure to squeeze all research outputs into shapes that resemble publications, hence the proliferation of the data journal, a place where researchers can publish a paper about their dataset, linked via permanent identifier to the dataset itself (stored in a trustworthy repository). The data paper then can be cited and used as a proxy for the dataset when reporting the importance and impact of the researcher’s work. A real-world example of a dataset that has been published in a data journal is the Global Broadcast Service (GBS) datasets (Callaghan et al., 2013), measurements from a radio propagation dataset investigating how rain and clouds impact signal levels from a geosynchronous satellite beacon at radio frequencies of 20.7 GHz. The data streams linked to the paper, and which the paper describes in detail, are the result of a definite, discrete experiment, resulting in a well-defined, discrete and fully completed dataset, which will not change in the future. The dataset has been through two levels of quality assurance: the first was performed on ingestion into CEDA , where the file formats were standardised and metadata was checked and completed. The second level of quality assurance was performed as part of the scientific peer review process carried out when the data paper and dataset were submitted to the Geoscience Data Journal for review and publication. As this dataset is complete, well-documented and quality assured, it can be considered to be a first-class, reference-able, scientific artefact. There are other peer-reviewed journal articles which use the GBS data as the basis for their results, see for example (Callaghan et al., 2008) . However, datasets can be discrete, complete, well-defined and permanently available without the need for the proxy of a data paper, or any other publication attached to them. This is of particular value when it comes to publishing negative results, or data that don’t support the hypothesis they were collected to verify, but may be useful for testing other hypotheses. These types of datasets are possibly the closest thing we have to the â€Å"dataset as a book† analogy, and therefore are the easiest to fit into the data publication mould. Unfortunately, many other datasets do not fit in with this shape. Many datasets are dynamic, and are modified or added to as time progresses. Then there are issues with granularity – some researchers may only need a subset of a larger dataset for their work, but need to accurately and permanently identify that subset. Citing at the level of every one of the subsets results in reference lists that are long and unwieldy, and can make it difficult to find the subset required in a long list of very similarly named datasets. For text based items, such as books and articles, tools exist to compare text from one instance of an article to another, allowing the reader to be sure that the contents of two instances are the same, regardless of the format they are in (for example, an article in hard copy in a journal as compared with a pdf). We currently do not have a way of evaluating the scientific equivalence of datasets regardless of their format. The ease with which it’s possible to modify datasets (and not track the changes made) also means that it can be very hard to tell which dataset is the canonical, original version, or even what the differences are. Data publication can work very well as a metaphor, but users must be aware that it really is only applicable to the subset of datasets which can be made complete, well-documented, well-defined, discrete and quality controlled. Big Iron (industrialised data production) Big Iron, as defined in (Parsons Fox, 2013) typically deals with massive volumes of data that are relatively homogenous and well defined but highly dynamic and with high throughput. It is an industrialised process, relying on large, sophisticated, well-controlled, technical infrastructures, often requiring supercomputing centres, dedicated networks, substantial budgets, and specialized interfaces. An example of this is the data from the Large Hadron Collider, CERN, but in the Earth Sciences, the Coupled Model Intercomparison Projects (CMIP) are another. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) regularly issues Assessment Reports, detailing the current state of the art of climate models, and their predictions for future climate change. These reports are supported by the data from the climate model runs performed as part of CMIP. Each CMIP is an international collaboration, where climate modelling centres around the world run the same experiments on their different climate models, collect and document the data in standard ways and make it all available for the wider community to use, via custom built web portals. CMIP5, the most recent complete CMIP, resulted in datasets totalling over 2 PB of data. As this data is the foundation for the IPCC assessment and recommendations, it is vital that the data is stored and archived properly . Dealing with these data volumes requires not only custom built infrastructure, but also standards for file and metadata formats (e.g. NetCDF, CF Conventions, CMOR, etc.). Collecting the metadata describing the experiments that were run to create the datasets alone took several weeks’ worth of effort, and several years of effort to design and build the CMIP5 questionnaire which collected the metadata (Guilyardi et al, 2013). The industrialised production of data is likely to increase over the next years, given the increased ability of researchers to create and manage big data. The opposite of this analogy is also valid in many cases, as described in the next section. Artist’s studio (small scale data production, unique and non-standard output) Similar to Big Iron, this analogy focusses on the method of production of a dataset, rather than the dataset itself. The artist studio analogy covers the long tail of data produced by small groups or even single researchers, working in relative isolation. Artist studios generally produce one-of-a-kind pieces, which may have standard shapes and forms (e.g. oil paintings) but may equally come in non-standard shapes, sizes and materials (e.g. sculptures, video and audio installations, performance art etc.) The aim is to produce something of use/interest to a consumer, even if they are part of a limited domain. Similarly, it’s often not easy, or even possible to share the outputs of the studio (it is possible to make copies/prints of paintings, and smaller models of sculptures, but other objects of art, like Damien Hirst’s famous shark in formaldehyde (Hirst, 1991) are nearly impossible to reproduce ). Datasets produced by small research groups follow this analogy. The emphasis is on the production of the finished product, sometimes with the supporting documentation and metadata being neglected, due to lack of time, effort and potentially interest on the part of the creator. If the dataset is only aimed at a small user group, then the metadata is provided as jargon, or users are simply assumed to have a sufficient level of background knowledge. Sharing the data is often not considered, as for the researchers, holding the only copy of the data makes it more valuable, and therefore more likely that they’ll receive extra funding. An example â€Å"artist studio† is the Chilbolton Facility for Atmospheric and Radio Research (CFARR) . It is a small facility, located in Hampshire, UK, with approximately 6 permanent staff, who collectively build, maintain and run a selection of meteorological and radio research instruments. In recent years, the focus of the facility has been on collaborations with other research groups in universities and other research centres. Previously the facility had been more focussed on radio research, and as such had developed its own data format for the instruments it built, rather than tying in with existing community standards. Similarly, the data was stored on a variety of servers, with a bespoke tape backup system. When CFARR’s funding structure changed, pressure was put on the staff to archive all new data and the majority of existing data in CEDA. This made it easier for the facility staff, in that they no longer needed to maintain servers or the backup system, but it made things harder in that effort was needed to convert the data files to netCDF, and to collect and agree on the metadata that should accompany them. The culture change to move from the artist studio model to a more standardised and collaborative model took effort and time, and should not be underestimated. Science Support Science support is what CEDA do on an operational, everyday basis. Even though we’re not directly (or physically) embedded in a research organisation , we interact with researchers and research centres on a regular basis to ensure that the processes for data ingestion are carried out smoothly and efficiently. For data centres embedded in a research centre, data management can be seen as a component of the broader â€Å"science support† infrastructure of the lab or the project, equivalent to facilities management, field logistics, administrative support, systems administration, equipment development, etc. In our case, CEDA concentrates on data management, and providing services to make it and use of data easier for the researcher. Different data centres will have different ways of providing science support to their core user base. For example, an institutional data repository, responsible for all the data being produced by, for example, a university, will have datasets which are non-standardised and are usually geared towards a specific set of intended uses and local reuse in conjunction with other local data. In terms of the â€Å"artist studio† analogy, an institutional repository is like an art gallery or museum, where different datasets will have different data management requirements. By contrast CEDA, which has multiple PB of data in the archives, must standardise in terms of file formats, metadata models etc., hence moving towards a more â€Å"Big Iron† metaphor. In common with institutional repositories, CEDA also focusses on managing data (and sometimes merging datasets to create more useful resources) in order to meet the needs of our user community, which is international in scope and covers a wide range of users, from schoolchildren, to policy makers, to field researchers and theoreticians. Map Making Map making as a metaphor refers to the final representation of the data, and the process of putting the data into a context, primarily geographical. Maps also help to define the boundaries of what is known, and what isn’t. Though data presented in this way tend to be fixed in time, maps are useful for showing dynamical datasets, or time slices through complex multidimensional processes, e.g. the four dimensional structures of clouds/rain changing in time. The results of map making, the maps themselves, are datasets in their own right, and so need to be treated in the same way as other datasets with regard to preservation, metadata etc. The act of plotting some parameter on a geographical map results in a well-standardised structure for intercomparison and visualisation. Linked Data The â€Å"data† in Linked Data are defined extremely broadly and are envisioned as small, independent things with specific names (URIs) interconnected through defined semantic relationships (predicates) using model and language standards (e.g. the Resource Description Framework, RDF). It has a major emphasis on Open Data, as linked data focuses on enabling the interoperability of data and capitalising on the interconnected nature of the Internet. Linked data isn’t commonly used for dealing with scientific data, but instead, is predominantly used in our metadata, where we have complete focus on preservation, curation and quality, unlike other linked datasets available elsewhere. Using linked data for metadata structures does require standardisation and agreement on the formal semantics and ontologies. Linked data is very flexible, and lends itself well to distributed and interdisciplinary connections, provided the formal semantics can be agreed to be applicable across multiple domains. Linked data as a concept unfortunately hasn’t fully permeated the research environment as yet – many scientific researchers don’t understand the semantics (and have little interest in them). Linked data is often used as a support structure for Big Iron. The Cloud: â€Å"x as a service† There is an argument that the mechanisms for data publication should be invisible, and data should be accessible and understandable without any prior knowledge. Cloud services such as Dropbox allow users to store their data, and access them from any web browser, or mobile app, provided they have an internet connection. â€Å"Data as a service† ties in with â€Å"software as a service†, in that the users only take the data they need at any given moment, and in some cases may not even download it, instead using dedicated computing resources elsewhere to perform the manipulations needed on the data. An example of this is JASMIN , a system that provides petascale storage and cloud computing for big data challenges in environmental science. JASMIN provides flexible data access to users, allowing them to collaborate in self-managing group workspaces. JASMIN brings compute and data together to enable models and algorithms to be evaluated alongside curated archive data, and for data to be shared and evaluated before being deposited in the permanent archive. Data, in this context, aren’t the fixed and complete products described in other analogies, but instead are more fluid and dynamic. Still, once the datasets are deposited in the permanent archive, they become fixed products, and are citeable and publishable. Providing significant resources for data manipulation is undoubtedly useful, but the focus with this system is on the service, not necessarily on the data. The data however, is the backbone of the system – there is no point having the service without the data and the users who want to analyse it. Conclusions It goes without saying that all analogies are wrong, but some are useful, and hence should come with a health warning – especially when following an analogy to the furthest reaches of its logic can result in sheer absurdity . When dealing with data, just like in life, there is no all-encompassing metaphor for what we do. Instead, metaphors and analogies should be used in ways to illuminate and clarify, but we should always remember that metaphors are useful tools for thinking about things, but can also limit how we think about things. (Ball, 2011). Pushing an analogy so far that it breaks can be a useful process, in that it helps determine the limits of understanding, especially as part of an ongoing conversation. Finally, for this essay, the author would like to leave the reader with some very appropriate words from (Polya, 1954, page 15): â€Å"And remember, do not neglect vague analogies. But if you wish them respectable, try to clarify them.†

How important is the media in setting gender roles Essay

How important is the media in setting gender roles - Essay Example The children, youngsters and people at large are vulnerable to the portrayal and textual messages in media because they are regularly exposed to them. Scientific research reveals that in cognitive learning, the individual learns by listening, watching, touching, reading or experiencing and then processing and remembering the information. (Think Quest, 2008). Theory of cognitive learning essentially implies that through various means of learning processes, people are able to retain the information in the memory and apply it as and when required. The theory becomes highly relevant when applied to media portrayal of gender roles. The impact of those visuals and the textual contents are reflected in the behavioural pattern of the people who consciously or unconsciously adapt the messages and images in their attitude and behaviour. Thus, role of media become a critical element in setting gender roles within defined societal paradigms. Television is most influential format of media that co nsiderably impacts people’s opinion and promotes diversity of roles that are gender based (Carter, Branston and Allan, 1998). Oprah Winfrey Talk Show is an exemplary example of empowerment of women. In the male dominated society, the rise of Oprah Winfrey, an African American woman is nothing short of a miracle. She serves as the most influential role model for millions of women across the world who has triumphed over social and racial prejudices to emerge as a symbol of woman power. Oprah Winfrey symbolizes empowerment a woman, who has risen above gender and race. Indeed, television has greatly facilitated in promoting empowerment of women as one of the most crucial issues for the wider... This essay "How important is the media in setting gender roles?" outlines how different forms of media portrays both gender and their gender roles. The general image of women has also got a great boost from the media. The news channels, showcasing the pertinent women issues of their empowerment and equal representation in national politics have had huge positive impact on the perception and opinion of general public. It plays a prominent role in the portrayal of women, especially those above fifty years of age. But it can also be said that though women may share almost equal platform on visual media as TV anchors, newsreaders, in general, they have not been given the space and the importance that they deserve. Celebrity status and glamour seem to be the important factor for projecting them in media. Looking at the increasing number of TV soaps and mainstream cinema, one discovers that the appeal for women protagonists invariably decrease with age! There are fewer films and prime time soaps with matured female artistes as main characters. Whereas their counterparts seem to have a new lease of life after fifty years of age! Sean Connery (The Rock, Finding Forester etc.), Richard Gere’ (Chicago, Flock etc.) are few actors who are able to get main lead in cinema, while in their 50s and 60s. Gender bias seems to dominate all areas of media, including news media which is highly retrogressing and demoralising for women professionals. Then again, literature has also a unique way in perpetuating new ideologies and values within the transforming societies.