Operations manager & project management tools Essay

Operations manager & project management tools - Essay Example The methodology of a project enables a project manager to finish the project as early as possible, whether the manager is a novice or an expert (MPMM). A project manager makes use of a methodology in order to keep the projects going as per the schedule and conforming to the standards of quality required by the client. Methodology also helps a project manager structure the project in a way that it becomes more manageable. Methodology applied on a particular project can be used for many projects of similar nature, thus becoming a process as more and more projects are executed. Methodologies involved in a project include but are not limited to conduction of feasibility studies, cost-benefit analysis, designing, risk assessment, cost assessment, obtainment of insurance coverage, selection of staff, space management, organization, project execution, leading and controlling. All of these are a necessary part of the management of any project. There is also a whole range of project management tools including basic project management applications, wiki-based project management, ticket and bug tracking, conferencing and collaboration, invoic ing and time tracking (Chapman). Likewise, an operations manager needs to use all these methodologies to conduct the operation. In fact, execution of a project of any nature is an operation in itself. Thus, a project manager and operations manager can be used interchangeably. A task does not necessarily have to be called a project in order for project management methods to be very useful in its planning and implementation. Even the smallest task can benefit from the use of a well-chosen project management technique or tool, especially in the planning stage. (Chapman). In order to make the operation cost effective, an operations manager needs to assess the risks involved in the work prior to the commencement of the work. Taking

Reading questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 3

Reading questions - Assignment Example Most importantly, timely data interpretation is crucial as it is not dynamic but static element that may lose its wider meaning if left unattended. When the random data is streamlined into coherent arrangement or format and adds value to the given issue or subject, it is known as information. Thus, information can be broadly described as a process of rearranging data in some specified way so as to reveal certain critical facts about particular issue or subject. The individual entities within a database constitute vital ingredients of facts or information that helps to make rational choice or facilitate decision making process based on informed choice. In research, the information provided by data helps in interpretation of situation and come to certain conclusion. Hence, data help to construct some meaning to issue and reveal new perspectives or confirm existing knowledge. Interview is my favorite data collection method. The major factor that makes it attractive is the human interaction that gives data that can generate new theories about the real life situation. More importantly, it is an art in retrieving vital information from the subject or respondent through his said/unsaid words, behavior and emotions. The interpretation of data generated through interview is also attractive for its social construction of meaning in human behavior. It is a complex process where understanding, sensitivity to the feelings and socio-cultural value system and ethical considerations play crucial role in establishing trust and confidence between the researcher and respondent or interviewee. The relationship building becomes essential part of interview schedule as it helps to get the right information and many times, confidential information that is significant to the research outcome. Another very attractive aspect of interview its format of questions that can not only help to extract vital information without alarming the respondent but tests the critical thinking

Reading Comprehension Strategies and Reading Skills

Reading Comprehension Strategies and Reading Skills GEPT: General English Profiency Test HP: Higher proficiency LP: Lower proficiency HETC: Harvard Education Training Center Rationale Hammadon (1991) says: â€Å"Reading comprehension is not just understanding words, sentences, or even texts, but involves a complex interartion of the readers prior knowledge, language profiency and their learning strategies† (p.30). So reading strategies are very important to achieve the comprehension. Many types of reading strategies are introduced to guide students of all different levels. However, there were few researchers who investigate the relationship of reading comprehension strategies and reading comprehension of students. At HETC, reading has a key place in any English courses when students study English not only as the interest but also the demand for improving their study and promoting in their careers to achieve the long-term goals, especially some of them were assigned to live and work abroad. In their learning process, almost the students meet great challenges when dealing with the reading texts. They usually do not understand texts and cannot complete the tas ks so they feel tired in reading lessons. Therefore, what are the main causes of this current situation? In order to find out the answer, the researcher started a survey on the reading comprehension strategy use. For teachers at HETC, it is hoped that this study may offer them the ways on how to identify strategies used by the students and then they can decide what they should do to promote their students reading comprehension and in their learning as well. Literature review 2.1. Reading comprehension strategies and reading skills Oxford (1990) gives a detailed definition of language learning strategies: â€Å" Learning strategies are specific actions taken by the learner to make learning easier, faster, more enjoyable, more self-directed, more effective, and more transferable to new situations† (p.8) and described concretely how learning strategies are applied to the four language skills: listening, speaking, writing and reading. According to her, four strategies: listening strategies, †¦, or reading strategies are those learning strategies themselves that applied to each of the four skills. Of course, skills and strategies are two big words and common terms of the reading activities, as well. Nutall (1982) pointed out that reading was certainly a process of the readers, who used strategies to work with the meaning of the texts actively and then made sense from them. By the interesting interactions from the readers and texts, more and more researchers keep working to research the relationship between the use of reading strategies and reading comprehension. However, strategy and skill, are they different? Yes, it was actually apparent that they were different. Strategy meant people used the planned methods and implements to achieve their goals, but skill was known as a routine. Moreover, strategy was the result of conciously work towards goals. It helped readers to understand the meaning of contents in order to find out the answer or obtain a certain performance level in reading that they want for themselves (Gagnà ©, 1985). However, it is not always easy to make such a clear differnces between these two terms. Grabe and Stoller (2002) said that â€Å"many abilities that are commonly identified as strategies are relatively automatic in their use by fluent readers (e.g. skipping an unknown word while reading, rereading to reestabilsh text meaning† (p.15) Paris et al (1991) supposed â€Å" an emerging skill can become more efficient and developmentally advanced when they become generated and applied automatically as skills† (p.61). Sometimes this difference is not clear at all because that is part of the nature of reading. In this study, reading strategies are used to show specific actions, steps and plans that students conciously apply in their reading process to improve their comprehension. 2.2. The relationship between reading strategies and reading comprehension Reading comprehension must occur rapid in almost any purposeful context, and the more rapidly a text is read, the better reading processes are to effect. Those specific processes must be implemented effectively in combination to ensure the reading comprhension. Reading comprehension requires the reader be strategic. The reader needs to identify processing difficulties, address balances between text information and background knowledge, decide for monitoring comprhension, and shifing goals for reading. When a good reader use strategies, they can read fluently, flexible in line with changing purpose and then continue monitoring the comprehension. Similarly, reading is an process that evaluating the reader, who must decide if the reading information is coherent and finds out the purpose for reading.Alderson (2003) said reading as the interaction of four things. He claimed that the reader and the text together must be fluent reading or â€Å" the ability to reach at an appropriate rate with adequate comprehension†, or â€Å" the ability of the reader to use a wide variety of reading strategies to accomplish a purpose for reading† (p.149). So discovering the best methods and strategies are the way that a good learner apply during a reading process. 2.3. Previous research on reading comprhension strategies Grellet, F. (1981) wrote a book â€Å"Developing Reading Skills†. This book showed the important role of reading and provided some techniques which help learners improve their reading skill. Nutal, C. (1989) proved reading is â€Å" to enable students to read without help unfamiliar authentic texts at appropriate speed, silently with adequate understanding†. Ozek, O. (2006) researched â€Å" A study on the Use of Cognitive Reading Strategies by ELT Students†. This study carried out to find out which reading strategies are commonly employed by ELT students while reading a text, and which reading strategies are needed to be developed to understand the text better, and to continue academic studies successfully. San San Kung (2007) did an investigation into the relationship between reading comprehension and the use of reading strategies among EFL students in colleges in Taiwan. Through the study, the researcher knew what the reading strategies the EFL students use more or less and what the differences between different grade students. Methodology This chapter will describe research methods used to collect data to answer the research questions and then explain how and why the methods are used. 3.1. Research questions This study aims to find out reading strategy use of HETCs students. This also has objectives to discover if there are any differences in strategy use between lower and higher proficiency readers, as well. Then to suggest some recommendations to raise students awareness of using reading comprehension strategies in the classroom. It aims at answering the following questions: 1. What reading strategies are used by students at HETC? 2. What are the differences in the use of reading strategies between lower and higher proficiency readers? 3.2. Descriptions of variables 3.2.1. Independent variables In this study, the independence variables were the students at HETC. 51 students were chosen as representatives of this particular group sudents to collect needed data. These 51 students were divided into four groups in which students are the members of higher and lower proficiency groups. These 2 groups were chosen to get information to answer the second research question ( More details about these groups and about higher and lower proficiency readers will be found in 3.3.1 and 3.4.2) 3.2.2. Dependent variable: The dependent variable in this research were the strategies applied in reading comprehension, i.e. reading comprehension strategies. 3.3. The data collection instruments: This study employs a combibation of 3 data collection instruments: * General English Proficiency Test (GEPT) * Questionaire * Think-aloud interviews As one of the objectives of this study is to find out if there are any dfferences in the strategy use between higher proficiency (HP) and lower proficiency (LP) readers. The test was used to divide the subjects into difference groups in which groups of higher and lower proficiency were chosen to collect the data. Think-aloud interviews aimed at getting qualitative data and quesionaire was used to get quantiative data. The author can collect a large information of all mentioned strategies and the information from students who share their thought of strategy use in the think-aloud interviews. Of course, the think a loud interviews in this study can be one of the best ways to reaffirm the result got from the questionaire. For example, in the questionaire, the subjects report that they use life experiences to understand the meaning of texts or read the first and last paragraphs and then go back to read the paragraphs; the author will know they use these strategies or not in the interview. 3.3.1. Test A General English proficiency test is a procedure taken to collect data on students ability or the knowledge of disciplines as â€Å" Information about peoples language ability is often very useful and necessary† (Nunan, 1992). The GEPT was taken form the book â€Å"IELTS for Academic Purpose: A short insentive course† (see the appendix 3). Based on the result of the test, the subjects were classified into 4 groups. Group 1 consists students who just got from mark 1 to 2.5; group 2 has those who got mark from 3 to 5. The students in these 2 groups are LP learners. Meanwhile, the students who are in group 3 got mark from 5.5 to 6.5 – they are at medium levels. And the last group – group 4 consists of HP ones who got mark from 7 and over. After having the result of the test, the author decided to chose group 2 and 4 to collect the data to answer the second research question. So there are 51 subjects in these 2 groups. The author did not choose group 1 becaus e their proficiency were too low and they were only 1% of the subjects. Details of the test can be found in Appendix 1. 3.3.2. Questionaire: Questionaire is the second data collection instrument in this study. This is also a pretty popular means of data collection. Many researchers suppose that using questionaire in language research has many advantages. First, questionaire can be given to a great amount of students at the same time and it is self-administered. Second, to protect the privacy and keep the fairness, the subjects names might not be appeared on the questionaire. So subjects tend to share the information more naturally, even some sensitive information. Third, the data collected are more accurate because questionaire is usually given to all the subjects at the same time. This study used one survey questionaire to gather the information about reading strategies as well as the differences in strategy use between these two kinds of readers. According to the result of the questionaire (and interviews), the athor can make some recommendation to help students improve their reading abilities. The quesionaire was designed based on the questionaire of Shan Shan Kung (2007). This part consists 3 parts. Of couse, in this study, the author modified the first part personal information part. The next part – concept of reading had 3 questions to explore the perceptions of English reading. The last part had thirty – eight questions of strategy use. In the beginning of third section, thirty – four questions utilized a Liker – Scale point systems. The subjects were asked to respond to each statement by choosing among four answers: 1) usually; 2) sometimes; 3) rarely; 4) never. Each section has four to six questions (except section 1 has 10 questions because of discovering the reading process). Through the survey, the author found out which strategies actually actracted HP readers more than LP readers. 3.3.3. Think aloud interviews In addition to the quetionaire, interviews are used to obtain information by actually talking to the subject. The interviewer asks questions and the subject responds. Interviews are the good way for collecting data as Seliger, H.W. (1989) claimed â€Å" Interviews are personalized and therefore permit a level of in-depth information – gathering, free response and flexibility that cannot be obtained by other procedures† (p.166). However, it can be costly and time consuming. In this study, think – aloud interviews were used to collect the data about the students reading strategy. The Interviewer Guide for Reading Strategies developed by Honsenfeld et al. (1981). In oder to make the Guide appropriate for objectives of thi study, the researcher has made some changes in the strategies they posed ( see Appendix 3). 3.4. Participants in the study: At the time the study was carried out, the subjects had just finished an English course. Their textbook was †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ Therefore, their commonly assumed proficiency was intermidiate. They were members of three classes. One class included 25 students , 24 in the other class and 21 in the last one and they stuied the same textbook. Their ages ranged from 19 to 24. Almost all of students had at least 3 years of learning English before this class. They were delivered a reading proficiency test to be divided into higher and lower proficiency readers. In this study, gender has minimal effect on the results because the number of male students is quite small in the total of the subjects. 3.5. Procedure The data were collected by the researcher during a week in autum 2009. After contacting the English teachers of the subjects in person to get approval for asking their students to participate in the study, the researcher pre-arranged the time. The researcher went to English classes to administer the tests. The students were asked to complete the test in 60 minutes. The English teachers and the researcher supervised and marked the test papers later. The 2 days after, subjects were distributed the questionanires. The researcher gave some directions to the subjects and of then encouraged students to ask for any clarifications they might need and any other extra time when they filled out the questionaire. And of couse, the researcher wanted to protect the privacy and the students fairness, so the students names would not fill in the questionaires. In order to advoid misunderstanding the questions, the questionaire were translated into Vietnamese which were enclosed with the English version. The questionaire administration took about 30 minutes in each class. For days later, six chosen students were interviewed individually at the researcher s office in HETC. The reseacher pre-arranged the time and contacted to the students by the phone. Before the interview, the reseacher gave the instructions and explained the purpose of the study to students so they could understand what they had to do clearly. Each interview took from 10 to 15 minutes. Data analysis and findings 4.1. The result of the questionaire 4.1.1. Demographic Data Table 4.1 Demographic Information of Students (N=51) Subject Frequency Percentage Total N % Gender Male 9 17.6 51 100 Female 42 82.4 Level Lower proficiency 32 63.7 Higher proficiency 19 36.3 Years of English learning experience 2 3 5.9 51 100 4 9 17.6 5 15 29.4 6 11 21.6 7 6 11.8 8 2 3.9 9 4 7.8 10 1 2.0 Look at the table 4.1, of the 51 students participating in the study, 9 (17.6%) were males and 43 (82.4%) were females. Of the 19 HP students (36.3%) and 32 (63.7%) were LP students. When asking about years of English learning experience, just 1 students (2.0%) has been studying English for ten years. 9 students (17.6%) have been studying English for four years, 15 students (29.4%) have been studying English for five years, 11 students (21.6%) have been studying English for six years, 6 students (11.8%) have been studying English for seven years, 2 students (3.9%) have been studying English for eight years, 4 students (7.8%) have been studying English for nine years. Because foreign language in general and English in particular were given into school from sixth grade in secondary school, and from tenth grade in high school ( in some remote areas), the most students years of English learning experience were between four and seven years. To answer the second section of the questionnaire about concepts of reading, the results were presented in Table 4.2. Table 4.2 The Relationship between the Important of Reading for Language Learning and Reading Hours per Week by higher and lower proficiency students Reading hours per week 2 3 4 Over 4 N % N % N % N % Higher proficiency students (N =19) Very important 2 10.5 5 26.3 6 31.6 3 15.8 important 1 5.3 2 10.5 Not important Lower proficiency students (N =32) Very important 6 18.8 7 21.9 5 15.6 important 4 12.5 5 15.6 4 12.5 Not important 1 3.1 According to the illustration of Table 4.2, HP students who thought reading was very important for language learning were 2 (10.5%) spent two hours per week on reading, 5(26.3%) for three hours per week, 6 (31.6%), for four hours per week and 3 (15.8%) for over four hours per week. HP students who thought reading was important for language learning were 1 (5.3%) spent two hours per week on reading, 2 (10.5%) for four hours per week. There were not any students who thought reading was not important for language learning. In the LP group, 6 (18.8%) students thought reading was very important for language learning and spent two hours per week for it, 7 (21.9%) spent three hours for reading, 5 (15.6%) spent four hours for reading. These LP students supposed reading was important for language learning were 4 (12.5%) spent two hours per week on reading, 5 (15.6%) for three hours per week. There was 1 (3.1%) students said reading was not important for language learning but still spent two hours per week on it. 4.1.2. Findings for Research Question One The research question one was â€Å"What reading comprehension strategies are used by students at HETC ?† After collecting data, it showed what the same or different strategies were used more or less by HP or LP students for helping them understand the contents of the reading materials in different reading situations and were ranked from low to high to represent which strategy would be used more or less by the students during their reading process in different situations. The results were listed in the following by all of students reading ability levels when they used reading strategies in different reading situations. The total results came from the 51 students in Table 4.3, 4.4, 4.5 and 4.6. Table 4.3 Means, Ranks, and Standard Deviations of the Uses of Reading Strategies in First Section by students at HETC When I read English materials, Mean Mean SD Rank 1. I read a table of contents, and then read the contents 1.82 1 .90 2. I focus on the first sentence of each paragraph for helping me understand the main points of the whole paragraph 2.51 7 .12 3. I underline the main points when I am reading 2.03 4 .97 4. I write Vietnamese on the margin for vocabulary words I dont understand during reading 1.86 2 .90 5 I skim over the full text, and then read details 1.88 3 .92 6 I use life experiences helping me understand the meaning of texts 1.86 2 .90 7 I use the background knowledge of the English culture to understand the contents 2.57 8 1.03 8 I use key words or sentences to guess the main idea of the articles 1.88 3 1.08 9 After reading each paragraph, I ask myself if I understand what I read before, and paraphrase the main idea, then keep reading the next paragraph 2.25 5 1.09 10 I discuss what I read with classmates 2.45 6 1.05 In Table 4.3, the result indicated which strategies the 51 students used more or less when they read English materials. The table showed the data with mean, mean rank, and standard deviation. As illustration of Table 4.3, the mean was from 1.82 to 2.51 and the rank was S1 (1.82) Table 4.4 Means, Ranks, and Standard Deviations of the Uses of Reading Strategies in First Section by students at HETC When I do not understand a vocabulary, Mean Mean SD Rank 11 I check the dictionary immediately 2.37 3 1.1 12 I mark and pass it, keep reading and then go back 2.33 2 1.08 13 I use other words in the sentence to infer the meaning of vocabulary 2.09 1 .87 14 I analyze its suffix and prefix to get its meaning 3.00 4 1.21 Through Table 4.4, strategy 13 â€Å"I use other words in the sentence to infer the meaning of vocabulary† was most used by the students when they did not understand a vocabulary during the reading process. On contrary, strategy 14 â€Å"I analyze its suffix and prefix to get its meaning† was the strategy which most students used least in this reading situation. Table 4.5 Means, Ranks, and Standard Deviations of the Uses of Reading Strategies in First Section by students at HETC When I do not understand a sentence, Mean Mean SD Rank 15 I use the context (topic, subject) to derive the meaning of each sentence 1.86 1 .91 16 I translate word for word into Vietnamese to better understand the meaning of the sentences 2.35 4 1.12 17 I take grammar analysis (ex: finding subject and verb etc.) to understand the meaning of the sentences 2.33 3 1.02 18 I analyze the structure of sentences (ex: sample sentence, adjective clause, or adverb clause, etc.)to derive the meaning of sentence 2.37 5 .97 19 I will analyze the verb tense (ex: past tense or future tense) or verb mood (ex: subjunctive mood or imperative mood) for better understanding 2.27 2 .95 In Table 4.5, those strategies had close mean scores between each other, but it also pointed out the differences from 2.27 to 2.37, except the strategy 15 had the mean score less 1.86. It described that strategy 15 â€Å"I use the context (topic, subject) to derive the meaning of each sentence† were the most used by the students when they did not understand a sentence during reading process. Vice versa, the means of the strategy 16 and strategy 18 to derive the meaning of sentence† meant that they were used least than other strategies in this section. Table 4.6 Means, Ranks, and Standard Deviations of the Uses of Reading Strategies in First Section by students When I dont understand (including vocabulary and sentences,) except above reading strategies, Mean Mean SD Rank 20 I check books (ex: grammar books or encyclopedia) for references 2.16 2 1.14 21 I go on the Internet to find related information 1.98 1 .92 22 I ask teachers or classmates for clarification 2.27 3 1.03 23 I read the difficult parts several times 2.63 5 1.12 24 I read the contents orally several times 2.47 4 .94 25 I will memorize the vocabulary pertaining to the contents before reading 2.16 2 .99 According to the data, it presented that strategy 21 â€Å" I go on Internet to find related information† was used by almost students. The information technology nowaday becomes quite popular to students so they would like to search information on the Internet. The S20 = S25 (2.16) both stood the second position. The strategy that students used least was strategy 23 â€Å" I read difficult parts several times†. 4.1.3. Findings for Research Question Two Research question two was â€Å"What are the differences in the use of reading strategies of the higher and lower proficiency students at HETC?† Through mean, standard deviation, t-tests and p value, the data analysis depicted detailed information about the differences of reading strategy performance between these two groups of students. The comparative groups focused on higher and lower proficiency student. Table 4.7 Means, Standard Deviations, t-Tests and p Value between higher and lower proficiency students at HETC when I read English materials, Lower proficiency students Higher proficiency students T p (N=19) (N=32) Mean SD Mean SD 1. I read a table of contents, and then read the contents 2.00 1.054 1.72 .813 .999 .322 2. I focus on the first sentence of each paragraph for helping me understand the main points of the whole paragraph 2.16 1.118 1.78 .792 1.288 .20 3. I underline the main points when I am reading 2.00 1.105 2.06 .914 -.208 .84 4. I write Vietnamese on the margin for vocabulary words I dont understand during reading 2.79 1.084 2.78 1.069 .026 .98 5. I skim over the full text, and then read details 2.05 1.026 1.78 .870 .965 .34 6. I use life experiences helping me understand the meaning of texts 1.89 .937 1.84 .917 .189 .85 7. I use the background knowledge of the English culture to understand the contents 2.05 1.129 2.86 .871 -2.729 .00** 8. I use key words or sentences to guess the main idea of the articles 2.37 1.261 1.59 .911 2.412 .02* 9. After reading each paragraph, I ask myself if I understand what I read before, and paraphase the main idea, then keep reading the next paragraph 2.00 1.202 2.53 .983 -1.630 .11 10. I discuss what I read with classmates 2.53 1.264 2.41 .946 .359 .72 p As indicated in Table 4.7, strategy 7 and strategy 8 attended to the significant difference level (p Table 4.8 Means, Standard Deviations, t-Tests and p Value between higher and lower proficiency students at HETC When I do not understand a vocabulary, Higher proficiency students Lower proficiency students t p (N=19) (N=32) Mean SD Mean SD 11. I check the dictionary immediately 3.32 .749 1.81 .896 6.432 .00** 12. I mark and pass it, keep reading and then go back 2.89 1.1 2.06 .878 2.809 .00** 13. I use other words in the sentence to infer the meaning of vocabulary 2.05 .911 2.13 .871 -.279 .78 14. I analyze its suffix and prefix to get its meaning 2.84 1.344 3.13 1.07 -.782 .44 p In table 4.8, strategy 11 and strategy 12 attended to the significant different level (p Table 4.9 Means, Standard Deviations, t-Tests and p Value between higher and lower proficiency students When I do not understand a sentence, Higher proficiency students Lower proficiency students t p (N=19) (N=32) Mean SD Mean SD 15. I use the context (topic, subject) to derive the meaning of each sentence 1.89 1.1 1.84 .808 .176 .86 16. I translate word for word into Vietnamese to better understand the meaning of the sentences 3.21 0.976 1.84 0.884 5.005 .00** 17. I take grammar analysis (ex: finding subject and verb etc.) to understand the meaning of the sentences 2.16 1.167 2.44 .948 -.885 .38 18. I analyze the structure of sentences (ex: sample sentence, adjective clause, or adverb clause, etc.)to derive the meaning of sentence 1.84 .898 2.69 .896 -3.253 .00* 19. I will analyze the verb tense (ex: past tense or future tense) or verb mood (ex: subjunctive mood or imperative mood) for better understanding 1.84 .898

De Tocquevilles democracy In America Essay -- essays research papers

Alexis De Tocqueville’s Democracy in America delves deep into how the American States and the federal government would grow politically and socially under the umbrella of democracy. He sees the United States as a unique entity because of how and why it started as well as its geographical location. De Tocqueville explains that the foundations of the democratic process in America are completely different from anywhere else on the globe. The land was virginal and the colonies had almost complete sovereignty from England from the very beginning because they were separated by an ocean and financial troubles. The people who came to America were the oppressed and unhappy in England and all were trying to find a place where they could start anew and create a political structure that would facilitate an individual freedom unlike anything that they had previously experienced in Europe. De Tocqueville believed that the nature of democracy in the New World rested within the fact that all of the emigrants were basically from the same social strata, resulting in the first new country where there was no preliminary basis for an aristocracy. "Land is the basis of an aristocracy†¦and†¦ [in America] when the ground was prepared, its produce was found to be insufficient to enrich a proprietor and a farmer at the same t ime(41)." He saw that even the soil of America was opposed to the structure of an aristocracy. There were also outside influences lending unvoiced support for the creation of this new democracy. Being an ocean apart from its mother country, who at this time did not have the financial reserves to oversee its colonies, let the Americans govern themselves. If they had not had this sovereignty at the beginning America might have become something completely different than it is today, but that was not the case, so these emigrants now had a fertile place to plant their ideas of a country founded upon the many ideas of the Enlightenment. Another large influence was the lack of neighbors. America had no ... ...man responsible for herself. De Tocqueville has left no aspect of American society out of his publication. He rips the American body open and examines all the things that are inside right down to the bare bones. It is a little scary to read of ones’ own nation and its culture. To realize that one’s own life is not how he made it, but of how his ancestors have created society. Whether it be as to how Americans view their politics, or their social afflictions, de Tocqueville voices his opinions as to what is commendable, are conversely, what is wrong with every aspect of America. He sees America through the eyes of intelligent outsider who has no reason to make America sound anything other than it is. He has done a very thorough job, and his vision of nineteenth century America will surely help lead America into the twenty-first century with a better definition of itself.

Written Abstract on Sea Turtles

The article, entitled â€Å"Relationship of Blood Mercury Levels to Health Parameters in the Loggerhead Sea Turtle† by Day et al. , (2007) aimed at investigating the threat of mercury as one of the pervasive environmental pollutants in loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta). The rationale behind this study is that there was a need for a study that focuses on the presence of mercury in sea turtles and its toxic effects since immunosuppression is evident in diseased populations. Total Hg analysis, clinical chemistry and complete blood counts,lymphocyte proliferation: ex vivo THg exposure, incubation, lymphocyte proliferation: in vitro MeHg exposure, lysozyme activity, corticosterone and testosterone, statistical analysis, THg concentrations, the use of clinical blood parameters, and ex vivo lymphocyte were implemented to obtain results. Randomly selected free-ranging subadult and adult turtles that served as the research sample were examined from May 2001 to July 2003. To assess proliferative responses, lymphocytes were exposed in vitro to methylmercury. The authors found a positive correlation between blood mercury concentrations and hematocrit and creatine phosphokinase activity, but they also found a negative correlation between blood mercury concentrations and lymphocyte cell counts and aspartate aminotransferase. The positive correlation result implied that there is higher affinity of mercury species for erythrocytes than plasma. It also showed that it is important to measure hematocrit when analyzing whole blood for mercury. On the other hand, in vitro immunosuppression occurred at methylmercury concentrations that correspond to approximately 5% of the research sample which were captured in the wild. In addition, the negative correlation result found ex vivo between mercury and lymphocyte numbers and mercury and B-cell proliferative responses. This implies that there is a possibility that it is possible that mercury negatively impacts on the immune function of sea turtle in the wild.

Huck Finn Censorship Synthesis

In this modern day and age, everything offends someone. Eating at Chick-fil-A hurts the LGBT community, going to see the latest Adam Sandler movie gets the Jewish mad at you- so why is it surprising that Mark Twain’s The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn is being changed to please people? Whether they be teachers, students, black or white, there need be no change in Huck Finn. And if any change were to be made- that would be censorship. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn portrays a message that cannot be missed about the racist ideals of society at that time.Using demeaning words like â€Å"nigger† and â€Å"injun† serve purpose in Twain’s work. His repetition of ugly phrases like those show just how ugly community values were back then. In Source B, Gribben admits to changing those words to more family friendly terms, specifically â€Å"slave† and â€Å"Indian†. Those are not always correct, though. Often times, â€Å"nigger† is used fro m one African American to the other, to show an acceptance of brotherhood and a communal understanding of struggle. The replacement of â€Å"slave† is not correct in this case, or in others.â€Å"Slave† is defined as a person who is property of another. This is not accurate either, considering Jim, the main African American character in the book, ran away from his owner and no longer held that specific job. Even if he were still a slave, the correction would not be correct at all. African Americans were never kindly titled â€Å"slave†. They were spit at, and the harsh use of the word â€Å"nigger† slapped them across the face like it does to students across the country who read it now (Source D).Taking away Twain’s most purposefully placed word completely takes away from his message. Without the original vocabulary, society cannot learn the important message that Twain is trying to teach. Twain’s use of â€Å"nigger† is like a whole new form of imagery. Many students shift uncomfortably in their desks when they hear it out loud, some will even go as far as claiming to hate the book because of the tense and demeaning language (Source A). This is what Twain wanted.The use of â€Å"nigger† has not changed at all over the years, and ignoring it would be equivalent to ignoring an entire chapter of our history books, one that very much defined our country. The poster-word for the discrimination of African Americans is â€Å"nigger†, therefore Huck Finn would be ripped of its historical accuracy if the word were removed. Twain wants reders to empathize with the book’s victims, because only then would his readers be able to understand the harsh pain of the word. Twain’s message is simple: â€Å"nigger† is not okay.But there is no other way to prove this than to force it upon the reader. Twain was and continues to be a literary genius. His willingness to take a chance and make a reader empathize and feel something is what makes his book such a learning experience. Stripping the book of its most infamous word, â€Å"nigger†, cowards away from its most obvious message. If everything mildly offensive was censored, there would be nothing left to read. So instead of complaining about history, enjoy the beauty of Twain’s book, buy some Chick-fil-A, and the rent the newest Adam Sandler movie- before it’s too late.