Your Voice is Like a Recipe

Your Voice is Like a Recipe The hardest thing for me to describe to a new writer is voice.   At a recent conference, during an informal gathering, a new writer asked how to identify voice. I gave her authors’ names and showed her how they had distinct voices. She recognized theirs, but she was still confused how to identify her own. Then I read a blog post about developing your own recipes, and how good cooks start off reading other recipes, then altering them as they deem necessary. Soon they have original dishes, after trial and error, insertions and deletions, embellishing and withdrawing. The same goes for writing. Recently, I heard a new writer say she didn’t have time to read very much. I hate that, because reading other work is the best teaching tool out there. Not conferences, not degrees, not how-to books, not that those don’t help. However, since the beginning of time, it’s been proven that the best way to learn anything is I’ve heard some writers say they are afraid they will copy who they read. Nah. Ain’t gonna happen. You are not as good as they are, and trust me, you will not pull it off like they do. They have their voice. They know what they’re doing. You may still be searching. I believe that reading the masters (i.e., successful authors who write in the genre you write) teaches you what works. You may even try writing like them. One author, then another author, then yet another. They are in your head as you fight a chapter – the action, the character development, the plot formulation. You study one   author for one aspect, then grab another for yet a different facet. Go ahead and copy them. You’re going to edit the book anyway.   Because a funny thing happens between Chapter One and Chapter Thirty. Your writing grows. You start winging it several chapters into the story. You aren’t so quick to copy, and get quicker at making up your own stuff. You reach Chapter Thirty and then†¦you go back and read the first few chapters. Wow. You write better than what you put in the opening chapters, and you learned it as you fought your way to the final chapters. That’s when you start with Chapter One and edit away, using the new voice that seems to ooze out here and there. You edit all the way through the book. Then you go back and look at Chapters One through Ten or so again. Dang it! You discover your voice grew again! You write better in the end than you did in the beginning of the story. So†¦you edit the book again. You do this over and over and over. Twenty times or more, if necessary. As long as you feel your ending sounds better than the beginning, you rewrite, until your voice is uniform  throughout. A handful of you will think your book is good after the second draft, and you would be wrong. All those edits are necessary to build that elusive voice. Aren’t sure you have your voice defined yet?   Keep reading the masters, copying the masters, writing beginning to end, and rewriting over and over. So, what does this have to do with a recipe? When you first make a dish, you use a recipe perfected

The Best SAT Prep Websites You Should Be Using

The Best SAT Prep Websites You Should Be Using SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The SAT has been around in one form or another since 1901. Through all its changes, probably the most helpful one for you is the rise of free online practice questions and guides covering every aspect of the test. Rather than having to carry around 400-page practice books like the students of yesteryear (i.e., the 90s), you can use these online resources to prep from anywhere with the Internet. To help you discern high-quality resources from low-quality ones, this guide will break down the SAT prep websites you can use to review content, learn strategies, and find practice questions. Disclaimer: Free SAT Resources at PrepScholar This article is one of many detailed guides offered (for free!) by PrepScholar. By exploring our other articles, you'll find in-depth information and analyses of all aspects of the SAT and ACT, from suggested study schedules to how to read passages to how to choose your test dates. Plus, we like to keep on top of those high-profile cheating scandals that often result in SAT score cancellations across the globe. I personally think PrepScholar offers the most insightful, high-level guidance around every step of the testing process. Our customized online test prep program tracks your progress and does a lot of the heavy lifting for you. That's why I'll link to our various guides when appropriate in order to give you a sense of the different areas we cover and continue to add to every day. At the same time, there are several other sites with highly useful information for your SAT prep. Rather than listing them in a row, I'll organize them by the testing steps you're looking for, starting with test registration and followed by guides for scheduling, test-taking strategies, and practice questions. Official SAT Website: The College Board If you've heard of the SAT, then you've probably heard of the College Board. This group administers the SAT and sends your score reports to colleges. To register for the SAT, you must create an account on the College Board website and upload a picture of yourself. You can then use this site to register for the SAT, learn about AP tests, and research colleges across the country. But this isn't all the College Board does. For one, it breaks down the SAT's overall format and skills: you can go "inside the test" to see what concepts are tested on the Reading, Math, Writing, and Essay sections. Some descriptions are a bit wordy and confusing, so you'll have to look elsewhere if you want to learn about the test in more accessible language. This website also offers free prep material, including SAT practice questions and ten full-length practice tests. SAT questions from the test makers are the gold standard when it comes to test prep. You can access dozens of sample questions for Reading, Writing, and Math, and you'll get to see all correct answers and answer explanations. For the Essay, the College Board gives test takers two sample essay prompts, and each section of the sample essay is scored from 1 to 4. Because the full-length tests are the same as those in The Official SAT Study Guide, I advise printing them out on your own rather than buying the book. Make sure to time yourself as you take the practice tests, and spend ample time correcting your answers with the answer keys provided. Best SAT Websites for Content and Strategy What concepts are tested on the SAT? What are the different skill sets you need for Writing and Reading? What kinds of tricks can you use to keep yourself from running out of time? One key part of your SAT prep that you won't find much of on the official SAT website is strategy. The College Board doesn't want you to know that questions follow certain standardized templates, or that you'll usually find the same kinds of wrong answers on Reading questions meant to distract you from the correct one. Nor will it give you strategies for reading passages quickly and efficiently or managing your time on tricky math questions. So what resources should you use instead? The following SAT websites are the most useful for learning the content and format of the SAT and getting down critical test-taking strategies. PrepScholar Informational and Strategy SAT Guides Our SAT blog offers in-depth coverage of each section of the test. Read about what's tested on each of the four sections, learn every detail of the SAT structure, and get a comprehensive look at the most recent SAT data, including average scores and percentiles. Unlike the College Board, whose SAT-ACT comparison charts clearly favor the SAT, our breakdown of the two tests has no agenda for you to choose one college admissions test over the other! Some of our best guides to help you understand the content and format of the SAT are as follows: What's Tested on the SAT Math Section? What's Actually Tested on the SAT Reading Section? What's Tested on the SAT Writing Section? SAT Essay Prompts: The Complete List Complete Comparison Charts: SAT vs ACT I also suggest exploring our General Info articles for information on topics such as test dates; Score Choice; scoring, sending, and receiving scores; and the best books for SAT prep. Although learning about the content and format of the SAT is relatively straightforward, finding effective strategies for answering questions and saving time on it are fewer and further between. The following list contains 10 of our most useful and popular SAT strategy guides. You can find more under the SAT Strategy category as well: How Long Should I Study for the SAT? 6 Step Guide Should You Guess on the SAT? 6 Guessing Strategies The 28 Critical SAT Math Formulas You MUST Know How to Get an 800 on SAT Reading: 11 Strategies by a Perfect Scorer The Complete Guide to SAT Grammar Rules How to Write an SAT Essay, Step by Step The Best Way to Review Your Mistakes for the SAT Choose Your SAT Test Dates: When's a Good Time For You? How to Study for the New SAT in 2016 How to Get a Perfect 1600 SAT Score, by a 2400 Expert Full Score This is just a small sampling of the SAT strategy guides we offer. In addition to these, we've written tons of guides specific to Math, Reading, and Writing for students in grades 9 through 12, and for middle schoolers who are starting prep early or taking the SAT to qualify for talent competitions. Finally, we strive to keep up with trends and events in the world of the SAT, as you can see in our articles on SAT Essay length and the SAT curve. Erica Meltzer's The Critical Reader Erica Meltzer's blog is extremely useful for prepping for the SAT Reading, Writing, and Essay sections. Over the years, Meltzer's blog has evolved from covering standardized testing to addressing many issues facing students today. That means you will probably have to dig through the site's extensive archives to find SAT prep articles. Many of those posts cover general topics, like learning vocabulary in context and comma usage. Additionally, some of her SAT Reading tips have been merged with ACT Reading tips since the tests are so similar these days. That said, Meltzer offers several useful posts and will most likely continue to add to them. Here are some of her posts that are definitely worth checking out: Using the introduction to get the big picture General vs. specific in Critical Reading answer choices Finding the point The importance of transitions What parts of speech can be subjects? I suggest exploring the blog for more tips for the verbal sections. Although her posts are engaging, Meltzer ultimately leaves it up to you to seek out examples and sample questions when trying out her advice. Erik the Red While Meltzer's blog focuses on verbal skills, Erik the Red is all about SAT Math. This website lets you download PDFs containing critical math facts, formulas, strategies, and vocabulary. The resources here are useful for both the SAT Math section and the SAT Math Level I and Level II Subject Tests. However, it's important to note that this website is even less updated for the SAT than Meltzer's blog is. The math resources here have remained unchanged since the old SAT and thus don't reflect the current SAT format, question types, and skills tested. I decided to keep this website on this list because many of the math concepts explained here- especially the algebraic ones- are essential to your performance on SAT Math. The PDFs Erik the Red has are still useful review for content areas like linear equations, nonlinear equations, functions, quadratic equations, and graphs. You could use them as review, but be sure to focus on the skills that will actually appear on the SAT (and leave out the ones that are less important). For instance, you don't have to focus too much on geometry since it'll only show up in about 3-5% of SAT Math questions. Ask the Dean on College Confidential If you have general questions about the form or content of the SAT that aren't answered in the resources above, try College Confidential. This website offers several student and parent discussion threads about the SAT, which you can peruse or even comment on. The Ask the Dean forum in particular has some helpful advice about how many times to take the SAT. It suggests three- that's more than what the College Board says to do and about the same as what we recommend doing (depending on your circumstances and goals). If you have questions about the logistics of the SAT, read up on the test on College Confidential before signing up for a test date. Best Websites for Free SAT Practice Questions The College Board isn't the only website that offers an assortment of free, high-quality SAT practice questions. Below are our top three picks for the best online resources for practice questions for the Reading, Writing, Math, and Essay sections. Some of them even offer full-length tests! Khan Academy Khan Academy has designed a scaffolded SAT prep program that diagnoses your level and takes you through practice questions, step by step. It was developed in collaboration with the College Board, so all of its practice questions are official and realistic. Its combination of video and written explanations will also appeal to different learning styles. On Khan Academy's interactive site, you can set up an account and take diagnostic tests on each section of the SAT. Then, Khan Academy will suggest what level you should focus on and, much like our own customized approach, present you with targeted question types to help you improve. The site breaks down each section into subtopics and gives you helpful tips on how to structure your prep schedule. Because it keeps track of your progress, you can log in from anywhere to pick up where you left off. In addition to SAT practice questions, Khan Academy offers resources that explain the structure of the SAT. At present, there are six articles and corresponding videos that describe the format and content of each section (including the Essay) and how they're scored. The website also contains a helpful glossary of SAT terms that go over what terms like "percentile" and "raw score" mean. If you're tired of reading about the SAT and prefer to watch explanatory videos, then Khan Academy is your best source for video explanations of what's on the SAT. Though its SAT material is thorough, the limited number of practice questions and lack of test strategy mean that Khan Academy, while incredibly useful, shouldn't be your only source of practice problems. PrepScholar Collection of Old and New Official SAT Practice Tests We've compiled PDFs for all ten official SAT practice tests, which you can download, print, and take on your own. In addition, we've collected four old SAT practice tests (using the 2400 system) and four very old SAT practice tests (using the old 1600 system). While these tests use old versions of the SAT, they can still be useful for your prep as long as you focus on relevant question types and skip the ones no longer tested (such as Sentence Completion). You'll have to score these tests on your own as well as take the time to understand your mistakes and analyze your answer choices. You can also try out a 5-day free trial of PrepScholar's online test prep program. For these 5 days, you'll have access to the entire program and can try out whether this approach to test prep works for you. PrepScholar helps break down your SAT prep into manageable goals, tracks your progress, and customizes your studying so you're focusing on the practice problems where you need the most improvement. If you enjoy this approach to test prep, then you can continue on with the entire program. If not, then you can call it quits after your 5-day trial. CrackSAT.net Like PrepScholar, CrackSAT.net offers free, official, old SAT practice tests (with answer keys) that you can download for free as PDFs. While the site does have some resources for the New SAT, there aren't very many. Having said that, even old SAT practice tests are great resources for practicing test-taking strategies to maximize your time...and your score. Like some of the other resources we've mentioned, you'll have to score these practice tests yourself. Be sure to set aside time to understand and analyze any mistakes you made. Also, this website is a bit tough to navigate, but once you wind your way through it, you'll have access to plenty of SAT practice questions. Altogether, this collection of websites and blogs can give you a ton of information about the SAT, from its content and form to strategies and official practice questions. Read on to learn the steps you should take to best use these online SAT resources in your prep. How to Use SAT Websites Effectively In order to get the most out of the websites listed above, you'll need to know how to approach and use SAT websites effectively. For both the College Board and Khan Academy, you'll want to make an account and keep track of your usernames and passwords. To post on College Confidential, you'll also need to register on the site to connect with community of students and parents going through the same college application process as you. For our own SAT strategy guides and Erica Meltzer's blog, you can just read through the different articles to answer any questions you might have or to learn new tips. You can then try out the various strategies you've learned on official SAT practice tests. Although the College Board is the official site for all things SAT, I recommend against taking all of its advice as definitive. The College Board's resources don't focus on test-taking strategies, which are the key to making sure you're scoring as high as possible. In the end, your best shot is to search for high-quality strategies and insights into the SAT on these other websites, and then try them out on official practice questions or during our free, five-day SAT prep program trial. By combining strategy and content readiness with official SAT practice questions, you'll be able to improve your score a great deal across all dates you take the SAT! What's Next? I gave you links to some of our most popular SAT articles- but these aren't our only SAT strategy guides. Browse our blog to get more tips on the Math, Reading, and Writing sections of the SAT. Many of our articles cover crucial test-taking approaches like managing your time, guessing effectively, and using the process of elimination. For more information about the college admissions process, check out our complete guide to applying to college. We also have individual guides on how to get into the best colleges in the nation, including Harvard, Yale, and Princeton. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? We have the industry's leading SAT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and SAT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

Solow Growth Model Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Solow Growth Model - Essay Example Solow Growth Model is a standard neoclassical model of economic growth developed by Robert Solow. This model holds that economic growth is linked to capital accumulation and the population growth (Zhuang and St Juliana, 2010, p. 65). Solow growth model postulates that under equilibrium, the level of per capita income is determined by prevailing technology, rates of saving, rate of population growth and technical progress all which are assumed exogenous (Barossi-Filho, 2005, p. 37). Given that the rates of population growth and levels of saving are varying across countries, the model gives testable predictions on assessing how the two can influence economic growth of countries. Solow model has been criticized by different theorists given the assumptions made by this theory. This paper will explain the impacts of both population growth and increase in the saving rates upon economic growth. Moreover, the paper will explain how Solow model accounts for technological progress and assess w hether Romer model improves on this. Impact of both population growth and an increase in the savings rate upon economic growth Increased production of goods and services leads to economic growth. In the light of this statement, any country that desires to achieve economic growth must have optimal factors of production (Song, 2009, p. 7). The factors of production include capital, labor, technology, land and entrepreneur. When these factors are optimized economic growth of the country will be positive. Solow growth model predicts that economic growth results from accumulation of capital and population growth rate (Zhuang and St Juliana, 2010, p. 65). Moreover, the model starts by making an assumption of capital accumulation is subject to diminishing returns (Stein, 2007, p. 193). Solow model argues that developing countries with low capital stock can achieve higher economic growth compared to developed countries by increasing their savings and investment rates. Solow model postulates that increased rates of savings leads to capital accumulation. The theory behind increased savings resulting in capital accumulation is that higher savings leads increased amount of funds that can be offered as credit for capital investment. Consequently, this borrowed capital will be invested in the production industry and therefore the gross domestic products will be higher (Song, 2009, p. 9). Investment is required for the development of infrastructure required for production. However, Liu and Guo (2002, p. 25) argues that economic growth of a country depends on its ability to deploy the savings to finance capital investment. In the Solow model, the second factor identified to influence economic growth of a country is its population growth. Population provides an important factor of production; labor and consequently as population grows it adds to the available labor it contributes to economic growth of any country. However, given the rule of diminishing returns on factors of pr oduction it is necessary to strike equilibrium between the labor and other factors of production (Song, 2009, p. 10). The combined effect of impact of increased rates of saving and population growth can be understood using the Solow model. This model offers testable predictions since these two factors are different across nations. Song (2009, p. 9) argues that countries having high saving levels usually have higher per capita incomes while those experiencing high population growth have lower per capita inco

Marketing plan Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1750 words

Marketing plan - Assignment Example Personal contact with the client should be coupled with the use of the ever growing and beneficial social media platforms (Benett, 2009). Moreover, the business will incorporate client promotion as a key component of its marketing channels and tactics. The span and salon sector has experienced exponential growth over the last couple of years. The services are sought after majorly for relaxation. Most of the users of the services choose the salon or spa to visit on the basis of the range of services that are offered and the proximity to their places of work and residential homes (McDonald & Keegan, 2002). The quality of the service and the prices also influence consumer decision. A lot of service providers operating in Houston have targeted the high end market. These are individuals in stable employment and are on a stable income. Most of them charge an average of $ 250 for their services. From the price analysis, it is clear that a lot of people are locked out from this vital amenity. The need for affordable quality services in a convenient location is quite evident in the Houston market, based on the available data and it is such vital market needs that Divine Divas Salon seeks to satisfy. Divine Divas Salon targets people from all social classes living in Houston. The reason why the enterprise has decided to target the entire market is to avoid locking out those who had been previously denied access to the services due to the exorbitant charges. This market is made up of several groups that have different needs and characteristics. The first group consists of customers recovering from injuries. These clients need massage therapies and in most cases the charges are paid by the insurer (McDonald, 2011). The second group consists of clients who are out to pamper themselves. Majority of the members of the second cluster are

Miss Havisham Essay Example for Free

Miss Havisham Essay Satis house, where Miss Havisham lives, is seen as gothic and strange. The house had all the windows walled up symbolising that Miss Havisham is trapping herself from reality. Dickens also highlights her frailty as if the natural light could struck her to dust suggesting that shes almost vampiric or supernatural, adding to the Victorian audiences fascination. Additionally, the repetition of the house being rustily barred can reflect the house as being a prison as Miss Havisham has imprisoned herself, Dickens could also be trying to represent her feelings of insecurity and decay. The first sight the reader gets of Miss Havisham is of her sitting in an arm chair, with an elbow resting on the table this image is one of resignation and dejection as there is a sense that Miss Havisham has given up. She was wearing a wedding dress, symbolising that she is trying to preserve the identity as an expectant bride. It was made of rich materials- satins, lace and silks emphasising her wealth, however these rich materials that were once white are now yellow The syntax shows that even though time has moved on, Miss Havisham is locked in a moment of stasis. Pips narrative voice explains her to the strangest lady I have ever seen, or shall ever see The adjective strange qualifies how odd and perverse Miss Havisham appears and the additional clause or shall ever see further qualifies how her strangeness is extraordinary. Dickens, however, denies sympathy for Miss Havisham as his gothic depiction of her, causes her to become a freakish object of ridicule. She appears as a skeleton in the ashes of a rich dress that has shrunk to skin and bone. Dickens shows that there is a physical and emotional decay that appears gothic and skeletal. She has become withered making her the complete realisation of the ghastly waxwork at the fair. Dickens purposely states her as the waxwork at the fair as these freakish displays were shown as a form of popular Victorian entertainment. His physical description of Miss Havisham is seen as monstrous and grotesque embodying the form of a gothic monster, therefore making it difficult for the reader to sympathise with her. The language, Dickens uses, is associated with death as he is implying that love humanises and offers life and hope to people, whereas Miss Havisham has locked her heart away, therefore making it seem as though she is deathly. Furthermore, the image of Miss Havisham looking at herself in the mirror shows how she is uncertain of her identity, as she tries to fix herself as an expectant bride. The way she views herself is different to how she seems, so new to him, so old to me: so strange to him, so familiar to me she has locked herself in the past and is unable to move on from a time she was happy. Pip forces Miss Havisham to think and look at herself differently. The syntaxs new-old and strange-familiar shows how she is moving in and out of different perspective. The use of the words as opposites shows how she has a completely misplaced view of herself. Alternatively, in chapter 49, Miss Havisham becomes humanised. Her appearance is acknowledged as Pip finds her sitting in a ragged chair which presents a sense of decay and lost worth. There was a new expression on her face, but her eyes pained, her face was worn by something more than age and her appearance overall is described as more haggard and withered than ever. She was staring at the ashy fire lost in contemplation, in this image Dickens appears to play on the myth of the phoenix as the ashy fire implies that Miss Havisham, like the phoenix rising form the ashes, wishes to be reborn in order to atone her malice. Miss Havishams freakish appearance at the start of the novel changes as Dickens humanises her to point where she cries. She dropped on her knees at my feet and held her hands out hung her head and wept showing the physical image of Miss Havishams repentance makes her seem vulnerable as it is the first time the reader sees her cry and showing her feelings, especially to a man. The crying humanises her as we see her real emotions, it also links to the myth of the phoenix as the tears are said to heal. In the process of Miss Havisham setting alight; Pip sees her running at me, shrieking, with a whirl of fire blazing all about her Dickens in this image presents Miss Havisham as devilish as she runs towards Pip. However, it relates to the myth of the phoenix and shows that through the burning of her dress she is forgiven and extends the idea of being cleansed as it purges all evil. As Pip tries to distinguish the flames, he drags down the great cloth from the table and with it dragged down the heap of rottenness and all the ugly things that sheltered there and wrapped it around Miss Havisham, showing his care and consideration that has grown for Miss Havisham. Whilst Pip cradles Miss Havisham on the floor, the beetles and spiders were running away over the floor whereas before the spiders were nibbling at Miss Havisham, again a sense of purging, cleansing and healing. As they lay Miss Havisham on the table with a white sheet loosely covering her suggests that she is finally at peace and furthermore gives a sense of purity and cleansing with the pure white sheet. The phantom air of something that had been and was changed Dickens shows the reader that Miss Havisham has changed during this and has become reborn. To conclude, Dickens presents Miss Havisham as a challenge to Victorian society. He also shows that love is redemptive and necessary and without it, we are nothing. Within Miss Havishams reformation Dickens shows the strength of her character. His intentions in creating Miss Havisham were to try and show the hardship that women who were rejected by the Victorian society had to go through and how cruel the society have been in marginalising them. By doing so Dickens has cleverly began to deconstruct the stereotype of a spinster and questions expectations. Show preview only The above preview is unformatted text This student written piece of work is one of many that can be found in our GCSE Great Expectations section.

American Communist Containment Policy 1945-1953 Essay -- Politics Comm

Containment Policy 1945-1953 America used a variety of methods to contain Soviet influence between 1945-1953. Methods such as Propaganda and flexing of muscle became essential as America justified its policies and actions as part of the struggle to save Capitalist Ideology from the Communist oppressors. Ideology was the main source of conflict between the USA and USSR. This difference in ideology led inevitably to distrust between the two superpowers. The USSR believed in a state controlled economy which discouraged free enterprise, antithesis of America's economic system; the encouragement of free enterprise and the privatization of industry. Thus, the divergent economic structures of the superpowers painted different perspectives, which inevitably sowed the seeds for further conflict between the USA and USSR. The conferences between the USA and USSR up until 1945 showed the various disagreements between the USA and USSR. These conferences were held in Tehran in December 1945, Yalta in February 1945 and Potsdam in July 1945. The main source of conflict between USA and USSR was the future status of Europe. The USA wanted a democratic capitalist continent that it could influence. The USSR wanted to spread Communism and prevent the disasters of World War II recurring again. While Stalin was a brutal and ruthless dictator responsible for millions of deaths, feared and resented by many eastern Europeans, he actually did not intend to conquer the world. This was the basic misunderstanding which fueled the Cold War: the U.S. government, as well as many private citizens, believed that the Russians were engaged in a world-wide con... ...e of 1954, West Germany was permitted to join NATO. In 1955 it became a member of NATO and the following year East Germny joined the Warsaw Pact. USA armed West Germany with 400 000 soldiers as a barrier against the USSR. Thus, the wars and methods of containing Soviet influence always reverted back on the focus of Germany. America had used a variety of methods to contain Soviet influence. These methods did not prove successful as each attempt to umbrella nations from Communism backfired. The Marshall Plan and the defense of South Korea were counter-reacted with the Molotov Plan and the tightening of the Soviet 'Buffer Zone'. Thus, America's containment policies only hindered the implementation of the true ideas 'containment', which concluded with the strengthening of Soviet influence around Europe and the world.

Justice Served?

In Sherman Alexie’s poem, â€Å"Capital Punishment†, a part that was very interesting, yet confusing was when the narrator was being sympathetic. The narrator was very considerate of the prisoners. In the poem, Alexie makes the narrator be a cook at a jail that had the death row. Perhaps Alexie made the narrator be a cook instead of someone else like a guard or a warden because the cook would not represent the law; the cook just works for the jail. Readers of the poem, â€Å"Capital Punishment†, might at irst be puzzled by the sympathy of the cook towards the minorities that get the death sentence, but a close reading of the poem helps us see that the cook is against capital punishment.Throughout the poem the narrator shows us the controversial commentary about how the cook is for capital punishment. When the cook mentions, â€Å"Those Indians are always gambling†, it makes it seem like it is an everyday thing. (14). Then the cook states, â€Å"What did t hey expect? All of the stories should have been simple. † (96 ­97). he/she is implying that it is not important that a person just died.It is a normal thing for people to died, so we should not care. A reader of this poem might assume that cook is just doing his job, but in reality, he/she does care for what they are serving to the Indian man. In the poem there are sections where the cook says, â€Å"(I am not a witness)† (5,22,41,64,79) though it is clear the cook is because he/she is the one telling the poem. The narrator periodically repeats that staza five times. The first time it is mention is after the cook mentions that he/she is to prepare the last meal for the a prisoner that is g

‘Away’ by Michael Gow

Michael Gow’s play Away is the story of three different Australian families who go on holiday for Christmas in the sixties. By going away each family is hoping to resolve their issues. Although Away is set some time ago the themes and issues explored in the play are still relevant to a modern day audience, even one of a non-Australian background. Shakespearean plays that were written many hundreds of years ago and are still understandable and relevant to people all over the world today. Away is the story of three Australian families who go on holiday during the Christmas of 1968. Roy and Coral (the headmaster and his wife) are becoming increasingly close to breaking up. Their son was killed in the Vietnam War and Coral is still grieving for him. Tom and Meg were in the school’s production of A Midsummer’s Nights Dream. Tom has Leukaemia, and his parents, Harry and Vic, haven’t told him that he is going to die, but Tom has worked it out already. Tom and his family immigrated to Australia form England. They are going on holiday knowing that it could be their last together as a family, and are determined to have a good time. Meg is the same age as Tom and they both like each other. Meg’s parents, Gwen and Jim are going on holiday so Gwen can have a break. Gwen is a rather uptight and stressed person and thinks that to have anything good happen you have to make sacrifices. During each of the three families holidays there is a storm and they coincidently end up on the same beach. Away by Michael Gow is set in suburban Australia in the summer of 1968. However the specific time and place do not make it any less relevant to me. I could still relate to and understand what was happening in the play, even though it is set in a time before I was born. This is very much like Shakespearean plays that were written hundreds of years ago, even today people can still connect with the characters in them. It is interesting to note that Gow begins Away with a Shakespearean play, A Midsummer’s Nights Dream, and then choses to end it with another of Shakespeare’s plays, King Lear. Away, like Shakespearean plays is non-naturalism, a feature of this being the non-changing set. Throughout the production of Away that I saw the set remains the same except for basic props such as suitcases and a table. White sand covered the floor and lights were shone on the sails to show the hanges between scenes for the play. In the play Tom is compared to Chip Rafferty, a well-known Australian actor who died at age 62 in 1971. Younger people of today probably haven’t heard of him, but from watching the play and reading the script can safely assume that he was a famous actor. What makes Away relevant to an audience of today or from a non-Au stralian background are the universal themes present in the play. As long as the audience can connect and empathise with a character or understand a theme in the play then it will be relevant to them. Some of the themes in the play include death/grief/loss, racism, class systems, and relationships. The relationship between Gwen and Meg (mother and daughter) is quite strained during the play. Gwen is portrayed as a very uptight and stressed person, while Meg is in her late teens and has her own ideas about things. During Act Three Gwen and Meg begin arguing over Jim’s missing Christmas presents for everyone. The argument ends with Gwen saying how hard she tries to make things good for Meg, and Meg apologises. I feel that I can connect to Meg, especially in the scene where she is arguing with her mother. After that argument her father, (Jim) asks her why she did it, because he’d asked her not to upset her mother and she did. Meg replies that she couldn’t help herself. I know how she feels. You don’t mean to hurt the person or upset them but you just have to have your say, no matter what the consequences of that may be. I also feel that I can relate to Gwen, Meg’s mother as she reminds me of my own mum. The near constant stressing about everything, and wanting the very best for her daughter is very familiar. The issue of death is also covered in Away. Roy and Coral lost a son in the Vietnam was and Coral is still grieving for him. While Harry and Vic know that there son Tom is going to die from leukaemia. People all over the world, no matter what language they speak, what culture they come from, or which country they live in can understand and empathise with what these families may be feeling. The sense of loss and grief that comes with death is a universal feeling that can make the play relevant to so many people.

Plasma Definition in Chemistry and Physics

Plasma Definition in Chemistry and Physics PlasmaDefinition Plasma is a state of matter where the gas phase is energized until atomic electrons are no longer associated with any particular atomic nucleus. Plasmas are made up of positively charged ions and unbound electrons. Plasma may be produced by either heating a gas until it ionized or by subjecting it to a strong electromagnetic field. The term plasma comes from a Greek word that means jelly or moldable material. The word was introduced in the 1920s by chemist Irving Langmuir. Plasma is considered one of the four fundamental states of matter, along with solids, liquids, and gases. While the other three states of matter are commonly encountered in daily life, plasma is relatively rare. Examples of Plasma The plasma ball toy is a typical example of plasma and how it behaves. Plasma is also found in neon lights, plasma displays, arc welding torches, and Tesla coils. Natural examples of plasma include lightning the aurora, the ionosphere, St. Elmos fire, and electrical sparks. While not often seen on Earth, plasma is the most abundant form of matter in the universe (excluding perhaps dark matter). The stars, interior of the Sun, solar wind, and solar corona consist of fully ionized plasma. The interstellar medium and intergalactic medium also contain plasma. Properties of Plasma In a sense, plasma is like a gas in that it assumes the shape and volume of its container. However, plasma isnt as free as gas because its particles are electrically charged. Opposite charges attract each other, often causing plasma to maintain a general shape or flow. The charged particles also mean plasma may be shaped or contained by electrical and magnetic fields. Plasma is generally at a much lower pressure than a gas. Types of Plasma Plasma is the result of ionization of atoms. Because its possible for either all or a portion of atoms to be ionized, there are different degrees of ionization. The level of ionization is mainly controlled by temperature, where increasing the temperature increases the degree of ionization. Matter in which only 1% of the particles are ionized can show characteristics of plasma, yet not be plasma. Plasma may be categorized as hot or completely ionized if nearly all the particles are ionized, or cold or incompletely ionized if a small fraction of molecules are ionized. Note the temperature of cold plasma may still be incredibly hot (thousands of degrees Celsius)! Another way to categorize plasma is as thermal or nonthermal. In thermal plasma, the electrons and heavier particles are in thermal equilibrium or at the same temperature. In nonthermal plasma, the electrons are at a much higher temperature than the ions and neutral particles (which may be at room temperature). Discovery of Plasma The first scientific description of plasma was made by Sir William Crookes in 1879, in reference to what he called radiant matter in a Crookes cathode ray tube. British physicist Sir J.J. Thomsons experiments with a cathode ray tube led him to propose an atomic model in which atoms consisted of positively (protons) and negatively charged subatomic particles.In 1928, Langmuir gave a name to the form of matter.

Learn About the History of Polyester

Learn About the History of Polyester Polyester is a synthetic fiber derived from coal, air, water and petroleum. Developed in a 20th-century laboratory, polyester fibers are formed from a chemical reaction between an acid and alcohol. In this reaction, two or more molecules combine to make a large molecule whose structure repeats throughout its length. Polyester fibers can form very long molecules that are very stable and strong. Whinfield and Dickson Patent the Basis of Polyester British  chemists John Rex Whinfield and James Tennant Dickson, employees of the Calico Printers Association of Manchester, patented polyethylene terephthalate (also called PET or PETE) in 1941, after advancing the early research of  Wallace Carothers. Whinfield and Dickson saw that Carotherss research had not investigated the polyester formed from ethylene glycol and terephthalic acid. Polyethylene terephthalate is the basis of synthetic fibers such as polyester, dacron and terylene. Whinfield and Dickson along with inventors W.K. Birtwhistle and C.G. Ritchiethey also created the first polyester fiber called Terylene in 1941 (first manufactured by Imperial Chemical Industries or ICI). The second polyester fiber was Duponts Dacron. Dupont According to  Dupont, In the late 1920s, DuPont was in direct competition with Britain’s recently formed Imperial Chemical Industries. DuPont and ICI agreed in October 1929 to share information about patents and research developments. In 1952, the companies’ alliance was dissolved... The polymer that became polyester has roots in the 1929 writings of Wallace Carothers. However, DuPont chose to concentrate on the more promising nylon research. When DuPont resumed its polyester research, ICI had patented Terylene polyester, to which DuPont purchased the U.S. rights in 1945 for further development. In 1950, a pilot plant at the Seaford, Delaware, facility produced Dacron [polyester] fiber with modified nylon technology. Duponts polyester research lead to a whole range of trademarked products, one example is Mylar (1952), an extraordinarily strong polyester (PET) film that grew out of the development of Dacron in the early 1950s. Polyesters are made from chemical substances found mainly in petroleum and are manufactured in fibers, films, and plastics. DuPont Teijin Films According to Dupont Teijin Films, Plain polyethylene terephthalate (PET) or polyester is most commonly associated with a material from which cloth and high-performance clothing are produced (e.g., DuPont Dacron ® polyester fiber). Increasingly over the last 10 years, PET has gained acceptance as a material of choice for beverage bottles. PETG, also known as glycolised polyester, is used in the production of cards. Polyester film (PETF) is a semi-crystalline film used in many applications such as videotape,   high-quality packaging, professional photographic printing, X-ray film, floppy disks, etc.    DuPont Teijin Films (founded January 1, 2000) is a leading supplier of PET and PEN polyester films whose brand names incude: Mylar  ®, Melinex  ®, and Teijin  ® Tetoron  ® PET polyester film, Teonex  ® PEN polyester film, and Cronar  ® polyester photographic base film. Naming an invention actually involves developing at least two names. One name is the generic name. The other name is the brand name or trademark. For example, Mylar  ® and Teijin  ® are brand names; polyester film or polyethylene terephthalate are the generic or product names.

Taiwanese clothing industry Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3750 words

Taiwanese clothing industry - Essay Example Many countries in the third world have closely studied the phenomenon, especially the countries' model are exported-led development. During the 1960s Taiwan experienced rapid growth with steady prices, without the fluctuations of a boom-bust cycle. Private enterprises, especially small and midsize firms, took full advantage of this environment to start up business. With the growing economic of Taiwan, the inevitability of moving into different industries is also foreseen. The emergence of a global economy where production and consumption are organized and mediated in the world scale has spread all sectors of manufacturing activity in recent decades, especially clothing. This industry has some specific features, which make clothing suitable for implementation of networking strategies by Taiwanese manufacturers. Although, clothing manufacture is a small firm sector, truly global strategies can be pursued only by large companies. That is why networking can be an essential force to unite small businesses to compete on the global market. There is little doubt that clothing trade, employment and production have taken on an increasingly international dimension since 1960s. Meanwhile smaller companies usually cannot compete on geographically remote markets. Business networks help those firms to reach distant customers by sharing expenditures on transportation, production, purchasing, etc. therefore making it possible for SMEs to participate in global trade. Additionally, small businesses usually don't have the resources to make investments into research and development. Innovation is an important part of what it takes to be competitive on a global market. Sharing technological know-how and innovative knowledge is also a strong argument for networking. The economy of Taiwan economy remains export-oriented, it primary depends on an open world trade regime. Networking strategies implemented by Taiwanese clothing manufacturers allow them to remain competitive on a worldwide scale, regardless of their size. Networking strategies help them in three ways: reaching out to distant markets, lowering production costs and sharing knowledge and innovations between members. The next part deals with more detailed description of how it is achieved. 2.2 Networking Strategy A business network can be defined as linkages among firms. It provides external sources for various type of input that complement or substitute for a given firm's inadequacies (Malecki and Tootle 1996). Surprisingly, there are few studies based on strategic linkage and networking (Chen and Tain-Jy, 1998). Business networking is about cooperative relationships between companies. Networking is an adaptation process: it is because interdependent production, logistics, development, and administrative activities and resources need to be modified and coordinated to bring about a better match between the firms in the network (Chen and Chen, 1998). Network resources are particularly useful in entering an early stage of market where institutions that facilitate internationalization are still lacking. Business networking can take a lot of different forms, each one of them with its own purpose, advantages and drawbacks. I