Friendship in The Pact :: Personal Narrative Pact College Friends Essays

Friendship in The Pact Works Cited Missing Friendship can lift you up, strengthen and empower you, or break you down, weaken and defeat you† (32). In The Pact, George, Rameck, and Sam lifted each other through the hard times. They helped each other reach their dreams, even though they had their rough times. George, Rameck, and Sam all lived troubled lives while growing up. They all suffered with financial problems, and judicial problems. Their friendship helped them succeed and eventually gave them a more stable live style. Friendship is very powerful and can help you in so many ways. Many high school seniors are excited about going to college. Meeting new people, trying new things, and finding who they are, are all things they look forward to. But, not until a few days before the big move out, do they become nervous. To me, overcoming the transition to college was very difficult, and would have been more difficult if I did not have friends to encourage me. I was filled with excitement throughout the entire summer. I could not wait to get out of Scranton to expand my horizons. As the summer progressed, the excitement grew. When receiving the room assignments, I was shaking with nerves to see who I would be living with. I remember seeing their names and immediately forming a stereotype of them just by the looks of their name. A week before moving out, reality hit me like a gigantic rock. The feelings that were excitement were now anxiety. I was scared about leaving my safety zone. I knew many people in Scranton, and fit in well. I did not know anyone that was attending Penn State Harrisburg, I was alone for the first time in my life. I began to look at college as a fresh start of life. I had the opportunity to change anything I want about myself. However, the day before leaving, I wanted to change my mind, I no longer wanted to leave everything that I have known for my entire life. But, I refused to show my new feelings because I knew it was a common feeling among other college bound freshman. After some tears and deep breathes, I realized I always wanted to go away to school and if I backed out, I would regret my decision for the rest of my life.

Issues in Second Language Learning Essay

People today live in a â€Å"global village† – people correspond with each other from around the globe regularly through the Internet, modern transportation enables a person to travel from Africa to Europe in a matter of hours, products are bought and sold with increasing ease from all over the word, services are provided anytime, anywhere in the world, and real time coverage of major international news events is taken for granted. Thus, it seems that learning second language is a requirement in today’s highly globalised environment. However, second language learning (SLL) is a long and difficult process, and is a big task for anyone. After all, learning a first language is a process that involves much of a young child’s day, and ESL students in universities must work even harder in order to learn and acquire a second language. The learning process can be emotionally difficult for university students to take the step into a new language and culture. Adult learners, perhaps even more than children and adolescents, can be shy and embarrassed around others when trying out beginning language skills. Learners acquire a second language in many different ways. There are many similarities in how a second language is learned, but there are also differences based on individual student characteristics and language background. For example, outgoing students may begin to imitate phrases and expressions very early and try them without worrying about making mistakes. Conversely, other learners may not use their new language for some time. Usually, at the outset, learners may experience cultural shock as they are exposed to a new language, therefore, a whole new culture. This common experience, described as uprooting, is the abrupt transition from a familiar cultural milieu to an alien one. In the beginning of every SLL program, many learners experience a so-called honeymoon period, during which students are enchanted with the alien language without a true understanding of them. As time progresses, it is common for students to become almost hostile toward learning new language. Second language learners often suffer greater rates of anxiety, depression, and psychosomatic complaints. Furthermore, given the stresses SLL students face, a student struggling with language issues may lack the physical, emotional, or financial resources to tend to basic needs. After this stage, the learners are transitioned to so-called improved adjustment. In the last stage, the stage of bilingualism, the learners incorporate the norms of the language and culture that they have acquired and learned into their own lifestyle and their own value set. Cultural Issues Many students of SLL are struggling with learning a new language. These struggles stem above all from linguistic and cultural differences. Often, they experience the â€Å"language shock† phenomenon wherein learners confront anxiety when first entering a community in which they do not speak, or are not proficient in, the dominant language. It is a common occurrence in schools, where, despite their desire to speak the dominant language fluently, students must struggle for months or several years before they understand everything that is being said. This feeling of anxiety is aggravated by the ignorance of others. Consider the following example reported by Li (1999): When a Chinese mother went to pick up her daughter from school, she began to ask her some questions about her day, but in Chinese. The girl became upset with her mother and later explained that her classmates would laugh at her in those situations. Moreover, whenever the teacher in her school inquired as to who had made a particular mistake, one of her classmates would point to her and say, â€Å"The Chinese girl,† when it was usually not so. In addition to the language shock that occurs on entering a new environment, many students experience another kind of struggle. Because of the types of ordeal described above, second language learners have negative associations with speaking their native language. Yet when they go home, that is the language in which their parents communicate. Moreover, their parents insist that they too maintain the use of the native language as a connection to their homeland and heritage. But many second language learners, especially those who immigrated to English-speaking countries, associate proficiency and fluency in English with becoming American and so they want to give up their native language. These learners are caught in a battle: while at home, they are expected by their parents to speak their first language; at school they are pressured to speak the second language. Another important challenge that many second language learners face is understanding the curriculum and pedagogy used in the classroom. Western classrooms are largely Euro-centric and America-centric. Carger (1996) recounts the story of a Mexican American boy, who was a student in a predominantly Latino Catholic middle school in Chicago. While the teachers and administrators never openly stated that they believed their students were inferior, they treated them as if they were. The boy’s homeroom teacher often used a demeaning tone when she spoke to her students. She did not allow them to ask questions, nor did she encourage them to think on their own. Most of her assignments included content to which her students could not relate. For example, one task that the students were asked to complete was to describe the experience of going to the dentist. However, many of the students had never been to a dentist. Pedagogical Issues A major problem confronting learners is the failure of the teachers to appreciate different learning strategies and styles among SLL students. Increased interest in student-centred learning approaches amongst language educators has led to numerous studies investigating individual language learning strategies and their relationship to achievement in learning second/foreign languages. Studies have indicated support for appropriately applied language learning strategies on second/foreign language achievement (e. g. , Griffiths and Parr, 2001). The consensus of the research is that although all learners, regardless of success with language learning, consciously or unconsciously employ a variety of learning strategies; successful language learners engage in more purposeful language learning and use more language-learning strategies than do less successful ones. Overall, findings indicate that both the frequency with which learners apply language learning strategies and the strategies they choose are distinguishing characteristics between more successful and less successful learners. Learning strategies are strategies that contribute to the development of the language system which the learner constructs and which affect learning directly. They are steps taken to facilitate the acquisition, storage, retrieval, and use of information. In addition learning strategies are the special behaviours or thoughts that individuals use to help them learn, comprehend, or retain new information. Furthermore, it can be argued that learning strategies can foster learners’ autonomy in language learning. Strategies can also assist second language learners in promoting their own achievement in language proficiency. Learning strategies, therefore, not only help learners become efficient in learning and using a language, but also contribute to increasing learners’ self-directed learning. Whether as a result of heredity, educational background, situational requirements, age, or other factors, Sudanese learners of the English language understand and process information differently. While one individual prefers a particular learning style over another, such a preference reflects a personal inclination for how to learn in a particular situation. As personalities change, so too may their learning style preferences after exposure to different learning/teaching situations. Early research into language learning strategies was mostly concerned with investigating what language learning strategies learners used, without attempting to address the links between strategy use and success. Recent research has focused on determining the connections between strategy use and language proficiency. Such studies have shown that proficient language learners employed more strategies in language learning than less proficient language learners. Other findings have exposed a relationship between students’ perceptions of their language proficiency and strategy use. Oxford and Nyikos (1989) affirmed that greater strategy use accompanied perceptions of higher proficiency, while Wharton (2000) demonstrated a significant correlation between the two factors, indicating the higher a student’s language proficiency self-rating, the more frequent strategy use was. Long lists of learning strategies have been identified by a number of studies over the past thirty years Oxford (1993) reported that there were at least two dozen different classifications. Generally, these learning strategies fall under four broad categories, i. e. strategies that enable learners to: (1) comprehend, store, retrieve and use information; (2) manage and direct their learning through reflection and planning; (3) control their emotions; and (4) create opportunities to practice the target language with other people. Learning strategy system can be direct or indirect. Basically, direct learning strategies require mental processing of the target language. There are three major groups of direct strategies, each processes the language differently and for different purposes: memory, cognitive, and compensation. Memory learning strategies, also called mnemonics, involve mental processes used in arranging information in order, making associations, and reviewing. Cognitive learning strategies involve the processing of the target language so that meaning becomes clear through processes like reasoning and analyzing. Lastly, compensation learning strategies enable second language learners to make up for gaps in their knowledge and skills, by, for example, guessing meanings and using gestures. On the other hand, indirect strategies support and manage language learning often without involving the target language directly. The metacognitive, affective, and social learning strategies belong to the groups of indirect learning strategies. In essence, metacognitive learning strategies enable second language learners to plan, coordinate, evaluate, and direct their own learning as well as to monitor errors. Affective learning strategies, on the other hand, help learners gain control over their emotions, attitudes, and motivation through self-encouragement, self-reward, and reduction of anxieties. Finally, social learning strategies are ways of involving other people in enhancing learning through questions, cooperation and increased cultural awareness. Another pedagogical issue is that many SLL teachers do not generate environment that will foster learners’ understanding of making the essential mental construction. The current research proposes that students need to construct their own understanding of their learning. Constructivism provides a way of understanding teaching and learning and offers information for developing various ways of teaching, because the challenge in teaching is not to lecture, explain, or otherwise to attempt to transfer knowledge, but to create circumstances and experiences that engage the students and support their own explanation and application of language models needed to make sense of these experiences. The focus of constructivism is not unique to psychology; it also has roots in several areas, such as linguistics. Constructivism is primarily a theory of human development that in recent years has been applied to learning. The learning or meaning-making theory proposes that people create their own meaning and understanding, combining what they already know and believe to be true with new experiences with which they are confronted. The theory views knowledge as temporary, developmental, social and cultural. Lambert et al. (1995) described constructivism as the primary basis of learning where â€Å"individuals bring past experiences and beliefs, as well as their cultural histories and world views, into the process of learning; all of these influence how we interact with and interpret our encounters with new ideas and events† (p.xii). Guided by theories of constructivism, teachers must recognize that: learning is a search for meaning; meaning requires an understanding of the whole as well as its parts; in seeking meaning, they must understand the mental representations that students use to interpret the world and the assumptions they make to strengthen those representations; and the goal of learning is for the SLL student to develop his or her own understanding. Hence the students’ cultural-social and historical contexts are of importance in their learning. Social constructivist concepts have important implications in teaching strategies. Social constructivists believe that reality is constructed through human interactivity. Members of a society together construct the properties of the world. For them, reality does not exist prior to its social invention, thus it cannot be discovered. Also, social constructivism holds that knowledge is also a human product and is socially and culturally constructed, which suggests that individuals establish meaning by interacting with each other and with their environment. Additionally, social constructivism proposes that learning does not occur only within an individual, but is a social process; meaningful learning among SLL students happens when they are involved in social activities. Teachers can design instructional models based on the social constructivist perspective. These models promote collaboration among learners and with practitioners in the society. According to Lave and Wenger (1991) a society’s practical knowledge is positioned in relations among practitioners, their practice and the social organization and political economy of communities of practice. This suggests that learning should involve such knowledge and practice.

Battle of Resaca de la Palma - Mexican-American War

Battle of Resaca de la Palma - Mexican-American War Battle of Resaca de la Palma - Dates Conflict: The Battle of Resaca de la Palma was fought May 9, 1846, during the Mexican-American War (1846-1848). Armies Commanders Americans Brigadier General Zachary Taylor2,222 menMexicansGeneral Mariano Aristaapprox. 4,000-6,000 men Battle of Resaca de la Palma - Background: Having been defeated at the Battle of Palo Alto on May 8, 1846, Mexican General Mariano Arista elected to withdraw from the battlefield early the next morning. Retreating down the Point Isabel-Matamoras road, he sought to prevent Brigadier General Zachary Taylor from advancing to relieve Fort Texas on the Rio Grande. In looking for a position to make a stand, Arista sought terrain which would negate Taylors advantage in light, mobile artillery which had played a critical role in the previous days fighting. Falling back five miles, he formed a new line at Resaca de la Palma (Resaca de la Guerrero) (Map). Here the road was hemmed in by thick chaparral and trees on either side which would negate the American artillery while providing cover for his infantry. In addition, where the road cut through the Mexican lines, it passed through a ten-foot deep, 200-foot wide ravine (the resaca). Deploying his infantry into the chaparral on either side of the resaca, Arista placed a four-gun artillery battery across the road, while holding his cavalry in reserve. Confident in the disposition of his men, he retired to his headquarters in the rear leaving Brigadier General RÃ ³mulo DÃ ­az de la Vega to oversee the line. Battle of Resaca del Palma - The Americans Advance: As the Mexicans departed Palo Alto, Taylor made no immediate effort to pursue them. Still recovering from the May 8 fight, he also hoped that additional reinforcements would join him. Later in the day, he elected to push forward but decided to leave his wagon train and heavy artillery at Palo Alto to facilitate more rapid movement. Advancing along the road, the lead elements of Taylors column encountered the Mexicans at Resaca de la Palma around 3:00 PM. Surveying the enemy line, Taylor immediately ordered his men forward to storm the Mexican position (Map). Battle of Resaca de la Palma - The Armies Meet: In an attempt to repeat the success of Palo Alto, Taylor ordered Captain Randolph Ridgely to move forward with the artillery. Advancing with skirmishers in support, Ridgelys gunners found it slow going due to the terrain. Opening fire, they had difficulty spotting targets in the heavy brush and were nearly overrun by a column of Mexican cavalry. Seeing the threat, they switched to canister and drove off the enemy lancers. As the infantry advanced through the chaparral in support, command and control became difficult and the fighting quickly degenerated into a series of close-quarter, squad-sized actions. Frustrated by the lack of progress, Taylor ordered Captain Charles A. May to charge the Mexican battery with a squadron from the 2nd US Dragoons. As Mays horsemen moved forward, the 4th US Infantry began probing Aristas left flank. Surging down the road, Mays men succeeded in overrunning the Mexican guns and inflicted losses among their crews. Unfortunately, the momentum of the charge carried the Americans a quarter mile further south allowing the supporting Mexican infantry to recover. Charging back north, Mays men were able to return to their own lines, but failed to retrieve the guns. Though the guns had not been seized, Mays troopers succeeded capturing Vega and several of his officers. With the Mexican line leaderless, Taylor promptly ordered the 5th and 8th US Infantry to complete the task. Advancing towards the resaca, they launched into a determined fight to take the battery. As they began to drive back the Mexicans, the 4th Infantry succeeded in finding a path around Aristas left. Lacking leadership, under heavy pressure on their front, and with American troops pouring into their rear, the Mexicans began to collapse and retreat. Not believing that Taylor would attack so soon, Arista spent most of the battle in his headquarters. When learning of the 4th Infantrys approach, he raced north and personally led counterattacks to halt their advance. These were repulsed and the Arista was forced to join the general retreat south. Fleeing the battle, many Mexicans were captured while the remainder re-crossed the Rio Grande. Battle of Resaca de la Palma - Aftermath: The fighting for the resaca cost Taylor 45 killed and 98 wounded, while Mexican losses totaled around 160 killed, 228 wounded, and 8 guns lost. Following the defeat, Mexican forces re-crossed the Rio Grande, ending the siege of Fort Texas. Advancing to the river, Taylor paused until crossing to capture Matamoras on May 18. Having secured the disputed territory between the Nueces and Rio Grande, Taylor halted to await further reinforcements before invading Mexico. He would resume his campaign that September when he moved against the city of Monterrey. Selected Sources Palo Alto Battlefield National Historical Park: Resaca de la PalmaHandbook of Texas: Battle of Resaca de la PalmaUS Army Center for Military History: Guns Along the Rio GrandeTrudeau, Noah Andre. A Band of Demons Fights for Texas. Military History Quarterly Spring 2010: 84-93.

Community Oriented Policing

Community Oriented Policing Community Oriented Policing PAGE 11Community Oriented Policing (Week Four)CJA/333: Policing Theory and PracticeOctober 16, 2006Community Oriented PolicingA revolution is taking place in policing and it has important implications for those in city government tasked with planning. This revolution is called community policing and it brings police work into a domain traditionally inhabited by community planners. This report will be the basis for the recommendation of a community oriented policing program. It will include a definition of what community policing is, as well as some core elements that are involved in a community oriented policing program.Community policing is really a policing philosophy. Community policing should promote and support organizational strategies to address the causes and reduce the fear of crime and social disorder (Dantzker, 2003). This is done through the use of problem solving tactics and police community partnerships (COPS, n.d.). The community policing m odel should balance reactive responses to calls for service with proactive problem solving centered on the causes of crime.English: THe Avondale community policing centre in...The goals and the methods of community policing are similar to those of community development planning. Both activities are designed to create stable, healthy neighborhoods. Both seek to involve community residents in improvement efforts. Thus, planners and community police officers need to work together to maximize their impacts and to take advantage of the perspectives and skills that each profession brings to the task of improving living conditions in the neighborhoods. Community oriented policing can be distinguished from traditional policing by recognizing three philosophical principles. These three principles are shared responsibility, prevention, and increased officer discretion (Rohe, n.d.)Both the police and members of the community share responsibility for the maintenance of order. Shared responsibil ity entails frequent and sustained communication between community residents and police personnel. Communication is essential in building...

Conflict in Sierra Leone -Research Paper- Research Paper

Conflict in Sierra Leone - - - Research Paper Example The role of MNC’s and FDI in both developing and developed countries cannot be disputed; however, they have a participatory and perpetuating role in the conflicts within mineral rich regions of the world, such as Sierra Leone. The Role of Multinational Corporations in the Sierra Leone Conflict Introduction Natural resources have been a very critical source of national wealth and pride since the beginning of regionalization and the pre-colonization era. Nations and civilizations alike have gone to war – both internally and externally – for the sole occupation over and exploitation of natural resources. Under the modern globalized trading environment, countries endowed with natural resources ranging from minerals, oil, wildlife, gas and so forth have been able to accrue revenues from exploration and trade of said minerals with other countries of the world. Foreign exchange earned from the legitimate trade in the resources has been a critical drive for economic deve lopment providing employment and revenues to governments for the provision of essential public services including education, infrastructure and national security. Another significant impact of the globalization of trade and production, as well as the relative ease of mobility of capital compared to labor, is the emergence of business entities that are operated across borders, regions and continents but have a central office in the homeland from where all its global management is conducted. Such entities are often referred to as multinational or transnational corporations or enterprises (Garry & Litan, 1998). A more direct definition of multinational corporations (MNCs) would perhaps best be obtained by linking the business organization to the type of trade that it is involved in. Therefore, this being the case, a multinational corporation is a firm that has created a global presence by participating in direct foreign investments, in specific or several industries. Such global â€⠀œ often private – firms and international institutions are presently observed to be primary actors and vital agents for the transformation of the state, region and international political, social and economic environment. The question, therefore, is: How do MNCs develop ties with government, if such ties even exist? In an ever increasing competitive landscape, countries of all levels of development –particularly through their governments – are emphasizing policies and channeling resources into new ways of attracting foreign direct investments into their countries. This is in line with the high prioritization of both micro and macroeconomic goals including sustained high levels of economic growth, stability of inflation and foreign exchange, increased employment and improved standards of living for the total population. Multinational corporations play a significant role in the efficiency and growth of the economy by contributing to the availability of capital re sources for global investment purposes (Held & McGrew, 2007). Sierra Leone is located at the south-western part of West Africa between the seventh and tenth latitudinal parallels north of the Equator. It has a land mass measuring approximately 71,740 square kilometers and a total coastline of 402 kilometers (www.nationsencyclopedia.com, 2012). It is most difficult to measure the exact population in Sierra Leone due to the long and deadly civil war that mushroomed since 1991, stretching to the early

Andrew Peller Limited Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Andrew Peller Limited - Essay Example The costs of goods sold, excluding amortization includes the costs of finished goods inventory sold during the year, inventory write-downs and revaluations of agricultural produce at fair value less costs to sell at the point of harvest. In this regards, the costs of goods sold excluding amortization are classified as variable costs. The company carries property, plant and equipment at cost less accumulated amortization with the costs including the borrowing costs for the assets requiring a substantial period of time to become ready for use which are calculated on a straight-line basis in amounts sufficient to amortize the cost of building, vineyard infrastructure and machinery and equipment over their estimated useful lives. The fact that they vary with the useful life of the property, plant and equipment implies that they are classified as variable costs. The company classifies financial instruments into different categories with the company choosing not to apply hedge accounting for any of its derivative financial instruments. Consequently, the company nets transactional costs relating to long-term debt against the carrying value of the liability which is then amortized over the expected life of the instrument using the effective interest method. These costs are classified as fixed

Last poem Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Last poem - Term Paper Example This poem displays many of the attitudes that are found in a Confucian approach to life, and it can be read on a literal level, as a lament on the trials of life for a person who is poor, or on a figurative level, as a lament on the lack of success he has had in his professional life. One of his translator’s Burton Watson simply calls Tu Fu â€Å"the eliciter of superlatives!† (p. xi) and explains that Tu Fu came from an illustrious family which included the famous Du Yu (222-284) who was a commentator on the works of Confucius, and Tu Fu’s grandfather Du Shenyan (died in 708) who was â€Å"an official in the Tang bureaucracy and one of the outstanding poets of hi time. (p. xii). It seems that being in the Tang civil service and having an interest in Confucian thought and poetry writing was a family tradition,then, because this is the same path that Tu Fu followed in his own life. Over the years Tu Fu has been recognized as one of China’s greatest poets, and Young explains that this view is â€Å"partly based on admiration for his technical brilliance, a fluent mastery of traditional forms combined with an originality that gives rise to an apparently effortless innovation† (p. 77). ... The innovation, however, is that the elements are merged with the very realistic description of actual events. In stylistic terms, critics note that he was able to use a large range of different styles and techniques, and one consistent feature is often mentioned: â€Å"One other characteristic of Du Fu’s poetry merits particular notice, since in helps to explain the perennial appeal of his work -; his realism.† (Watson, p. xix) The description of the pieces of thatch is very realistic, so that the reader can visualize how they form â€Å"whirls† (line 4) in the swirling gusts of wind, and how they get caught in the trees, (line 9) which is a strange place for thatch to be, showing how disruptive the wind is on this occasion. The thatch is caught up high, or down low in the puddles, (line 11) and this vivid description causes the reader to reflect on the damaged house and its inhabitants which are caught in the middle. Tu Fu uses the qualities of objects in the w orld to illuminate and make real the images of the poem for example the clouds are compared to ink, (line 23) and the cotton quilts, which are supposed to be soft and warm, are compared to iron (line 27). These images make the reader vividly feel the emotions and sensations that the writer feels. Tu Fu appears not to have been a very accomplished bureaucrat, and his many travels indicate that he fell out with important people and was forced to end his life in relative poverty. The poem shows that old age and poverty make the poet powerless against the forces of the wind, but also when he tries to shout at the children who take away the escaped portions of thatch, he finds he has no voice. The poem shows