Saturday, January 25, 2020

Scarlet Letter :: essays research papers

Love, affair, disowning! One may think that this is a soap opera, but one is fairly mistaken. In the novel, The Scarlet Letter written by, Nathaniel Hawthorne, love, lies, mistrust are a few of the many situations that confront his characters. In Boston Hester Prynne commits a sin of adultery landing her the punishment of wearing the scarlet letter â€Å"A† for the rest of her life. The man whom with she has an affair with is Reverend Arthur Dimmesdale. Roger Chillingworth is Hester’s husband, and he will do anything in his power to make Dimmesdale repay for what he has done. The physical and metal guiltiness that Dimmesdale undergoes for not confessing the truth of being Pearls father leads him to death. The theme of the novel is sin, isolation, and reunion. Through out the novel Nathaniel Hawthorne uses setting, plot, and the characters to develop these themes. Hawthorne uses the setting to develop the theme of sin, isolation and reunion. In the market place one of the guards opens the jail cell and announces to all the spectators and to Hester shouting, â€Å"Open a passage; and I promise ye Mistress Prynne shall be set where man, woman, and child may have a fair sight of her†¦ Come along! Madam Hester and show your scarlet letter in the marker place† (Hawthorne 52). Hester is being displayed on the scaffold, which Hawthorne uses to show sin. While Hester is walking out of the jail a woman murmurs to one of the other women, â€Å" This woman has brought shame upon us all, and ought to die!† (Hawthorne 49) This scene clearly shows isolation between Hester and the community. The setting of the scaffold scene also illustrates the reunion between Dimmesdale, Hester and Pearl. When Dimmesdale admits on being the father of Pearl to all the townspeople, this scene reunites Pearl with herself by making her normal. The forest is as well as a major setting that instigates sin. Isolation in the forest occurs when Hester meets Dimmesdale to achieve some reunion, but instead drives them selves further into isolation. The use of the settings greatly structures how the theme of sin, isolation and reunion came about. The plot is utilized to support the three themes. There are five basic parts to the plot: conflict, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. On top of the scaffold Dimmesdale interrogates Hester’s in revealing the identity of Pearl’s father.

Thursday, January 16, 2020

How is ICT Used in Schools and What are the Effects? Essay

Introduction I have chosen to do a report on the effect on schools and colleges. I chose this topic because I attend school every day and I can find out a lot about schools. I can also find out about the use of ICT in colleges because my mother works at a college. I will be able to find out information to include from many sources. I think finding out about the development of ICT is very interesting and I can compare the ICT facilities. I will also be able to find out information about how ICT is used in schools. To do this I am going to use a range of sources, for example, books, the Internet and people. How has ICT changed over the last 30 years? Computers can be changed for interactive learning, unlike 30 years ago. The only disadvantage to this is the pupils will not be as motivated as they would with a teacher. Computers have changed dramatically over the last few decades. Computers started appearing in schools in 1983. At this time there were very few, they were called Caltext Word Processors. They were larger, slower, had less memory, the programs were not advanced. Now there are hundreds of machines, printers, scanners etc. Modern computers have more processing power than the larger, room-sized computers, which were around in the 60’s and early 70’s. How has ICT changed in schools? ICT is used in schools for many purposes, for example, recording grades and attendance. All the information for attendance is input into the computer and a spreadsheet is made. The percentage is calculated by the computer and a new monitoring system phones parents at regular intervals during the day to enquire about absences. It keeps phoning until there is a reply. School libraries use ICT for bar code readers and the librarian can access data about who has which book, the book on loan and the return date. It can also be an efficient form of identification. For example Hillcrest, our card system is an efficient way to but dinner. The cards can also be used for library cards because they have a photo on them. This is taken from a digital camera and was input into a computer and put on to a card. This is useful because they can be used as identity, because the coloured stripe shows which year each pupil is in. The black stripe along the back of the card stores information about the name, year and the amount of money on the card. An advantage to this system is it doesn’t show who has free meal, the information is not available to other pupils. As well as ICT being available to other pupils, it is also useful for teachers, because a database can be kept of all the details of the pupil such as the date of birth, emergency contact numbers, and progress in lessons and behaviour. With ICT help can be given in other subjects. Programs such as Encarta, The Way Things Work, and especially the Internet. The Internet is helpful because pupils can access any educational site and web page filters such as The Birmingham Grid For Learning, stop offensive pages being shown. The Internet also has a useful site for teachers, where they can input students work into the site and it tells them how much has been copied of the Internet. This helps to prevent Plagiarism. Teachers can also access prepared lesson plans and schemes of work. Students can also save their work on the network, in their own area. Which can be accessed from any network computer and it is also secure because each persons account is password protected. Schools can use Digital Cameras to put a photograph into the computer to put photographs on to the website, art students can include graphics into their work and the photographs can be used for swipe cards or identification cards. What are the historical aspects of the changes in ICT in schools? Years ago, computers may only have been used in computing, but now they are used in many other subjects, for example, Maths software, Science software, homework and revision programs, and business forecasting tools. Computers have become more developed, e.g. when computers were first put into the education system there may not have been printers in schools, but now there are many in each classroom. Computers are also much more advanced, the old dot matrix printers have been replaced by Ink Jet and Laser Jet printers which give a much better quality, are better value for money because printing off large amounts of paper is cheaper. It also has a higher resolution, which means the print out is better. What are the technological breakthroughs, which have helped in schools? Breakthroughs in ICT are helpful in schools for a number of ways. Bar Code Readers are useful in the school library to check out books; Voice Recognition could be useful for teachers who do not want to type a worksheet/handout. This is an advantage for disabled people who find it difficult to use a keyboard. They could dictate a worksheet into a program called Voicepad. Scanners are a breakthrough and any picture that is input into a computer can be edited, changes in colours, change the size etc. Also, Smart Cards are a breakthrough and are used in schools as identity cards as well as library cards. What technology is used and what is available for use? What is available to buy? Is it available in schools/ colleges? Who uses it? Scanners Available Might not be available to students Printers (laser and colour) Available to teachers and students, although some schools may have to restrict printing to save on resources which is an environmental issue Students and teachers, because they need to print their work. Photocopiers Available Students may have to ask a teacher to photocopy for them Computers Always available, though the ratio between schools may vary Teachers and students will need to use them for work A school network Available to every computer in the school Teachers and students will need to have an account Internet Available to most computers Will be limited for students because of the web page filters put in place by teachers Joystick May not be available in schools, but may be available in colleges May only be available for older pupils or teachers use Touch Screen May only be available in schools for children with disabilities. Would only be used with children who can not use a keyboard Light Pen May not be available at all May be available for teachers only What effect has ICT had in schools, and how would this be done without the use of ICT? ICT has had a big effect in schools and colleges for example e-mail is sent through the phone lines and is very quick. In my mothers’ work the students e-mail their work to the lecturers and have a reply with answers and their mark. The students with an e-mail account can contact the teachers and other students even when they are on study leave. In universities, worksheets, course details/notices and other important notices are e-mailed to group e-mail addresses, for example, all first year business students or all of first year computing rather than addressing it to each individual student. Tutors set up group e-mail accounts. All university e-mail addresses can be forwarded to home e-mail accounts. If ICT were not available pupils would have to go into college to find the teachers when they could be using that time to study. They would have to keep checking noticeboards for important information. The Intranet is useful because anyone who has a username and password within the school or college can find announcements, messages and company documents. Most universities have a program called â€Å"Blackboard† where the students can find notes assignments, web page links, and past exam papers. They can also find information from off-campus. This is very important for 2nd and final year, and also placement year students. How has ICT improved facilities in the area? Interactive whiteboards enable teachers to demonstrate and not have their backs to pupils. Touch screens can be used in education centres, not necessarily just in schools. Tests should be completed on touch screen computers because they will also tell you how much time you have left and they allow you to change an answer as many times as you like. It will record the answers you give. They use these on driving theory tests. How has ICT affected the way people work? ICT can affect the place where you work because with e-mail and Intranets you can work from home. The pupils could use distance learning. This is also available for adults who enrol on Learn Direct courses. Also, working from home is convenient because you can change the hours you work, and where you work to what is more comfortable for you. This benefits you because your stress load will decrease because you can e-mail work to the person in charge. This would be useful for someone who is unable to attend school/college and needed to make up the work with homework assignments because they can e-mail the completed work to the teacher. Although, working from home would cut off contact with people you see everyday at work. Learning in school means people have advantages when they go into work, e.g. having word processing skills means people need less training in basic skills. Teachers can carry around mobile phones and laptops to keep in contact with other colleagues when they are not a t work because they are on courses. Students can type up homework, coursework and revision notes. They can research on the Internet. They can also back up pieces of work, and if the first version was lost, they could retrieve the backup copy and continue to work from that. They can also carry between home and school, this dramatically reduce the amount of paperwork the pupils have to carry to and from school. Although, they must remember to take care of the disk and not subject it to extreme heat (by putting it near radiators) or magnets because they could destroy the disk. What rules and regulations need to be put into place to use ICT? Teachers will need to restrict Internet usage and put filters on offensive pages. This prevents them from being shown to students. The Internet can be useful for students work and revision, e.g. finding past exam papers. Although using copyright material is illegal, security is not always good on the Internet because people can hack into the Internet and find anything. Using computers for a long period of time can have a health risk: radiation, backache, wrist pain and eyesight.

Wednesday, January 8, 2020

Affirmative Action Is It Really Necessary Today

Javier Santana March 23, 2017 English 103 Affirmative Action, Affirmative action, it remains present today but is it really necessary in today’s society? Affirmative action is an action favoring those who have suffered from discrimination either past or presently. It was put in place at a time when it was absolutely necessary in society and it was to give people of color the same opportunities as the white majority, the intention was to become more open-minded as a country and inclusive of all races, but it has served its purpose. The truth is that affirmative action has now become detrimental to this country as a whole because it has formed a sort of â€Å"reverse discrimination† where people who might be better qualified to fit a position†¦show more content†¦Why are we setting our children up to fail? Shouldn’t we give the best candidates the position if they’ve proven themselves capable of effectively operating at the next level? The truth is that with affirmative action, some of thes e kids are given an unfair advantage compared to others based on their skin color. When affirmative action was put into place, the United States was undoubtedly an unfair place and wasn’t providing equal opportunities to people of color or just anyone that wasn’t a part of the white majority. Since then there have been numerous movements and laws that have changed that, one of them being affirmative action. But whatever it was put into place for is irrelevant now because of the state of our country now. We’re not a perfect country in terms of being fair to all, but it is not as extreme as it once was and it is not to the point where we need an actual law passed in order to create a more equal and fair society. Yes, there are some close-minded people but for the most part the entire united states has taken great steps in the right way. In our universities, Affirmative action has given people of color a â€Å"plus† when it comes to getting accepted. Where t here might be a child who is slightly better qualified and has definitely proven an understanding and ability to do well in class, they might be rejected because of this affirmative action. Affirmative action is only restricting the best possible people for the best possible positions. And by doingShow MoreRelatedAffirmative Action Should Not Be A Program1540 Words   |  7 Pagesmodern American government and yet is still very active today. Affirmative action is defined as â€Å"the practice of improving the educational and job opportunities of members of groups that have not been treated fairly in the past because of their race, sex, etc† (Merriam-Webster). Affirmative action creates a blatantly unfair advantage in college and job applications to non-minority races and is ultimately a racist law. Affirmative action is most prominent in the College admission process, whereRead More The Importance of Affirmative Action in America Essay867 Words   |  4 PagesThe Import ance of Affirmative Action in America Affirmative action is a much debated topic based on the efforts of our government to overcome prejudicial treatment through inclusion. Affirmative action is a way of helping minorities in our country get jobs and avoid racial injustice. Many large companies have increased their employment of minorities after adopting these policies (Plous). Despite the efforts of affirmative action today, women still only earn 76 cents for every dollar earnedRead MoreEssay on History and Opinions on the Policy of Affirmative Action1725 Words   |  7 Pages is Affirmative Action. The basic goal of these policies is to increase opportunities for minorities in the United States job market and educational system. Yet one might also question if these policies actually decrease discrimination or increase the inequality gap between the dominate white group and the minority African American group? What benefits do we really gain from Affirmative Action? In order to answer these and other questions, we must first fully understand what Affirmative ActionRead More The Affirmative Action Debate Essay1642 Words   |  7 PagesFor the sake of this essay, affirmative action in education is defined as: â€Å"policies and programs designed to advance equality of educationalopportunity for individuals from groups that have suffered systematic historical discrimination† (Mickelson 29). What is being referred to here is race-based affirmative action, or the act of taking into consideration an applicant’s race in the college admissions process. This is a hot topic all over the United States and has been for quite a while, the debateRead MoreAffirmative Action and Capital Punishment1164 Words   |  5 Pages I believe that as of right now, we should have affirmative action. I take the liberal perspective because I believe affirmative action is essential to society. Affirmative action is important because students with a disadv antaged background need the help, American society still gives priority to one racial group over another, and because we owe it to minorities to make up for discrimination against them in the past. A minority student is generally classified as belonging to a lower-incomeRead More Two Views of Affirmative Action Essay1498 Words   |  6 PagesTwo Views of Affirmative Action We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal†¦. Even before it became a nation, America was heralded as a land of equality. 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In its original form, Affirmative Action was designed toRead MoreEssay on Doublethink In 19841706 Words   |  7 Pagesway they think about something else. Self-deception would be the closet to doublethink then the other two examples given before. However it still is different from doublethink. With self-deception you are fooling yourself to believe something that really is not true. It is like your not accepting a fact or idea and replacing it with one that you believe, either if it is right or wrong. As said before doublethink is the belief of two contradictory things at once and believing both, and self-deceptionRead MorePros and Cons of Affirmative Action Essay1185 Words   |  5 PagesAnalytical Paper 3 – Affirmative Action Introduction According to Raymond A. Noe, affirmative action is an organization’s active effort to find opportunities to hire or promote people in a particular group (Fundamentals of Human Resource Management 68). 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