Beeston Rylands Golf Course Essay Example for Free

Beeston Rylands Golf Course Essay Welcome to my GCSE ICT project. I will be basing my project around a local golf club. I have approached and asked them as to whether they required any ICT solutions. They replied saying that they already had an ITC consultant but had a few problems for which I could produce solutions. Above are some pictures of the course. It is widely regarded as one of the best golf courses in the region. It has over fifty registered members. The club is based in a suburb of west Nottingham. It is regarded as a beautiful piece of land in the middle of the modern town of Beeston. The main course is an eighteen hole Par 70 championship course that has been the host of many major amateur tournaments. It has even had the honour of playing host to the Senior Masters of Great Britain championship. It also has a nine hole par 27 junior course. Naturally the club has a restaurant, complete with licensed bar, and a shop selling all of latest equipment. There also are 4 practise putting greens. For entertainment there are two pool tables and a dartboard. The entrance to the golf club is quite secluded from the main road that runs through Beeston. The population of Beeston is around fifteen thousand. Interview I interviewed Mr Ian Smith the owner of the golf club to try to find possible tasks: RP: Hello, are there any problems in particular with the current system that requires any immediate work? IS: Nothing in particular, but we are struggling with the current system of recording members. The current system is non-computerised. It is currently very slow and subject to errors by staff. We are looking to create a database form it. RP: Anything else? IS: We currently do not have a web page or a logo. RP: What sort of content would you be looking for in a web page? IS: Not a lot really, just a simple homepage with details of our location and how to join; nothing fancy like e-commerce would be required. RP: Would you require a logo on a letterhead? IS: Not really, we already have a letterhead but it is a bit outdated. It is not a large problem however; we dont really need a logo on the letterhead more so on a web page etc RP: I understand the club has a golf store; does it need any promoting. IS: The club shop has been very successful in recent times. In the past we have had leaflets designed, printed and delivered by professionals, however this was a very expensive procedure but was effective. RP: How about tournaments, do they need promoting? IS: Well I suppose you could create posters but we dont think that they would be very successful. RP: Do you send letters to all members with the appropriate handicap notifying them about forthcoming events? IS: No, we currently leave letters at the front entrance with details of tournaments. A system such as you were talking about could prove to be very effective. RP: Have you ever advertised in local newspapers? IS: Yes we did at one time but it didnt prove very successful. RP: I also understand you have a restaurant and bar area, would you require any work in that area? IS: I dont think so but the menu may need rethinking, currently it is very difficult when prices are changed and new system in the changing of prices on the menu could be useful. RP: Thank You for your time, this should give me a good idea of what you require. IS: I hope it all helps. Analysing the Interview At present the golf club does not use a logo. They do, however, have a letterhead. They said that they would like it improving, maybe by adding a logo to it, but it would not be on top of the list of priorities. All records of members are non-computerised. This is a very large problem. They have never sent out individual letters to members concerning tournaments; they usually leave letters about the tournaments at the entrance to the club but believe a mail merge letter could work very well. The club does not have any sort of web page but does very much want to get online. The club has in the past had leaflets designed, printed and delivered by professional leaflet designers, however there is a possibility of creating a much cheaper costing solution. The menu was updated recently and needs little work, however a better system of changing prices could be of use. The club scorecard is very much out dated but more and more people seem to be using electric scoring systems. The club has never published any sort of poster to promote the club and thinks it is unlikely that it would have a great effect. The club did try a small advert in the local paper at one time but this did not seem to have much effect. The logo should be very simple. It should not use many colours. The main background should be white and any text on it should be in a greyscale colour i. e. black or grey. The reasons for this are that we would like the logo to feature prominently in our letterhead. The majority of our letters will be printed on a greyscale printer. We find that colour images may look very impressive on screen but when printed of on these types of printers the effect ends up being dramatically reduced. Letterhead As mentioned before, we would like the logo to feature prominently in the letterhead. We are looking for a modern look that has a unique effect. Space at the bottom of the page as well as the top could be used. It is imperative that it includes all contact details i. e. the clubs address, telephone and fax, website and email details should be included. The task as a whole is very open-ended. Database All we are really looking for is a system to store all of our member details on. We need a system that can filter out different types of members and players with different ranges of handicaps easily. Website Websites have become a very important part of any business. We do not want a very complicated website at this moment, we simply want to get onto the web. The site should maintain a high quality image of the club. It should contain a brief history of the club and some information about the facilities the club has. It should have all of the necessary contact details. There should be a fair amount of graphics showing off the club and the course. We believe we have a beautiful course here and we would like to show this to anybody visiting the website.

Difficulties Arab Students Have Learning English English Language Essay

Difficulties Arab Students Have Learning English English Language Essay Introduction: As a teacher of English to Arabic speaking students I have encountered a number of specific difficulties Arab students have in mastering the English language. In this paper, I would like to focus on a particular grammatical problem they have in the area of verb tenses because, of all the mistakes that my students make, mistakes with verbs and verb tenses impede communication to the greatest degree. The specific problem I will attempt to look at the area of verbs is the problem that Arabic speakers have in using and confusing the present progressive. I will base the evidence for these mistakes on actual writing errors that Arabic students have made. Mistakes such as I am live in Abu Dhabi. come up frequently in my students writing. This paper is basically a contrastive analysis since I feel that the majority of my students problems in this area come from mother tongue interference. However, as will be noted below, this does not mean I rule out other sources of errors such as intralingual errors. The following is the outline of this paper: In the first section of this paper, I will describe the various aspects of the grammatical structure of the present simple and the present progressive in the English language. In the second section of the paper, I will contrast the grammatical structure of the present simple and the present progressive with its Arabic counterparts. I will show how Arabic has structures that vary significantly and radically from their English counterparts. In the third section, I will introduce a number of examples takes from students written work and give an indepth analysis of the possible sources of the errors, mainly with respect to mother tongue interference, but also looking at some possible intralingual sources for these errors as well. Finally, in the last section, I will attempt to suggest a general theoretical approach to dealing with such problems Part One: A grammatical description of the English Present Simple and the Present Progressive: The simple present tense As we already know, the simple present of every verb (with the exception of the verb BE, which I will not be dealing with as a grammatical description since it is not the specific focus of this paper) is identical in every person with the basic unmarked base form of the verb except for the third person forms he, she and it to which we generally add s or es (Quirk 1985, p.98). However, numerous irregularities arise in the spelling and pronunciation of this third person form (Leicester 1998, 12.12)(Thomson 1986, p. 150). Questions are formed by using the auxiliaries do, does, in the present, and did in the past by putting all these before the subject. Negation is formed in the same way using dont (or do not) and doesnt, (or does not) in the present, and didnt (or did not) in the past. These forms go after the subject. In addition, the verb must be changed to the basic form. The simple present is used for statements that are always true, (e.g. The earth revolves around the sun.) (Azar 1989,p.2). The simple present is also used for events, actions or situations which are true in the present period of time and which, for all we know, may continue indefinitely, (e.g. Fatima goes to school at Zayed University.) (Azar 1989, p.2) What we are saying in these expressions is that this is how things stand at the present moment (Huddleston 1984, p.81). A further use of the simple present is for actions that are habitual, things that happen repeatedly, (e.g. We study a lot.) (Alexander 1988, p.163)(Quirke 1985, p.107). Observations and declarations are another use of the present simple, as in the sentence (It says here that there is a new night club opening.)(Alexander 19988, p.163). The present simple can also be used to express the future, especially when we want to express strong certainty, (e.g. When we graduate, we will get jobs.). Swan, Huddleston, Lewis, Thomson and Quirke, et. al. also add eight other functions of the present simple which might come up in other contexts such as: Demonstrations and commentaries (e.g. First, I take a bowl and break two eggs in it, thenà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..) The structures here comes and there goes, (e.g. here comes your husband.) Promises and oaths (e.g. I promiseà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦., I swear à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Ãƒ ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦, He deniesà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..) Formal correspondence (e.g. We write to advise you.) Instructions (e.g. You go left, turn rightà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.) Stories (e.g. In act one, Hamlet meets the ghost of his father.), which Huddleston calls the historic present. In expressions of understanding such as hear, see, gather (e.g. I hear youre getting married.) Finally, the simple present can be used in newspaper headlines (e.g. RUSSIANS RAISE OBJECTIONS) Since there are so many instances of when to use the present simple, is there any way to summarize all of these? I concur with Lewis explanation that the present simple: 1-Expresses an event as a total single point in time. 2-Expresses an event as a matter of fact. 3-Expresses an event as immediate rather than remote. The present progressive tense Both the simple and progressive forms usually tell us that an action takes place. But the progressive forms also tell us that an activity is or was, or will be, etc. in progress, or thought of as being in progress. In other words, the present progressive tells us that the speaker sees an action as taking place over a period of time as opposed to a point in time. In addition researchers would add that the speaker sees the period as limited (Lewis 1986; Leech, 1975; Huddleston, 1984; Quirke, 1985). The present progressive tense is formed with the present of be (am/is/are) (which adds aspect and voice), said by Quirke to be the finite verb, plus the ing form (the non-finite form) (Quirke 1985, p. 120). There are no complications with the additional ing form; however the spelling of the ing has some irregularities and needs to be taught to students e.g. write, writing; run, running; begin, beginning; lie, lying). (Alexander 1988; Huddleston 1984; Quirke 1985). Question formation takes place by switching the place of the auxiliary be and the subject. Negation is achieved by inserting not between the subject and the auxiliary or by contracting nt with the auxiliary verb forms (with the exception of the first person singular form am) (Quirke, 1985). In the classroom, the classical reason given for why we use the present progressive is that it shows an uncompleted action in progress at the time of speaking. To emphasise this, we often use adverbials like now, at the moment, just, etc. For example, Hes not home at the moment, hes working. (Quirke 1985). The present progressive can also be used to describe actions which have not been happening for long, or are thought of as being temporary situations, and which are going on around now, e.g. Abdullah is living with his aunt until he can find a place of his own.. A further use of the present progressive is to refer to activities and events planned for the future. We generally use adverbials in such sentences unless the meaning is clear from context, e.g. Were spending next Thursday in Abu Dhabi. (Azar 1989; Huddleston 1984; Quirke 1985). The present progressive can also be used to talk about developing and changing situations, e.g. That child is getting bigger all the time. (Swan 1980). Sometimes the present progressive can be used to talk about feelings, such as I am feeling fine. or My back is hurting me.. The present progressive is used to show repeated actions along with adverbs such as always, constantly, continually, forever, perpetually, and repeatedly, such as He is always helping people.. In this sense it conveys not temporariness, but continuousness. (Leech 1975; Huddleston 1984). The present progressive also is used to show repeated actions that are happening around now, e.g. He is studying a lot of English these days. Why is he going to the library? (Swan 1980). Dynamic versus Stative Verbs in the present simple and the progressive tenses Dynamic/progressive verbs refer to verbs which show actions which are deliberate or voluntary, e.g. Im building a house., or changing situations, e.g. Hes becoming fat.. Dynamic verbs can be used in both the progressive as well as the simple forms e.g. I eat at 5:00 (everyday). as opposed to Im eating now.. Stative verbs (also known as non-progressive verbs) are verbs which indicate a state, condition or experience. Specifically, stative verbs fall into categories such as feelings (like, love), thinking/believing (think, know, realize), wants and preferences (need, want), perception and the senses (smell, see), and being, seeming, having, and owning (seem, look, appear). Stative verbs are generally not used in the progressive forms (Quirke 1985). However some stative verbs can be used in both the present simple and the progressive tenses, which results in a different meaning in each form, e.g. Im thinking of a solution. as opposed to I think he is the best man for the job. or These flowers smell good. as opposed to Latifa is smelling the flowers in the garden.) (Alexander 1988; Azar 1989; Azar 1986; Quirke 1985). The present simple versus the present progressive Swan makes note of a number of areas where students might confuse the present simple with the present continuous. A. We use the simple present to talk about things that are true for the present period of time, or, as was noted above, to say this is how things stand at the present moment for the foreseeable future. However, if the event is temporary and is taking place right now, we use the present progressive. Afrah studies at the Higher Colleges. Afrah is studying her English lesson. B. We use the present progressive to talk about habitual actions if these are happening around the moment of speaking. Fayrouz and Fatima are preparing for the Eid holidays. However, if the habitual action is not closely connected to the moment of speaking, we generally use the present simple. I go to Saudi Arabia once every three years. C. Verbs that refer to physical feelings can sometimes be used in either the simple present or the present progressive. I feel great! or Im feeling great! My head hurts. or My head is hurting. (Swan 1980). PART TWO A grammatical description of the Arabic present simple and the present progressive In this part of the paper, I would like to give readers a very brief background of the Arabic verb system in regard to the simple present and the present progressive. The Arabic verb system is very complicated. However, this does not mean that a teacher has to master the Arabic language before s/he is able to pinpoint errors that may be a result of the interference of Arabic in English. One can study the Arabic language with the goal of simply understanding the structure, rather than with the goal of speaking and writing in the language. Let us first look at the present simple, then the present progressive, and finally the verb to be since all of these grammatical items are specifically relevant to the particular problem at hand. A.The Present Simple In Arabic, the formation of the present simple is radically different from English, since Arabic uses a root system made up of the three most important consonants (though two or four consonant roots do sometimes occur). In Arabic the three basic consonants (the root) stay the same but it is by changes in the vowels, the suffixes and the prefixes that tense and number are indicated. It is vastly more complicated than the way some English verbs change tense by changing vowels, e.g. give, gave. For example, the sentence, he learns could be represented phonetically by ya-droo-soo. The d-r-s is the root, ya is the part that indicates this is a third person singular masculine verb (though this is not the pronoun). The pattern of the vowels and consonants (ya + c1 + c2+ oo + c3 + oo), lets the speaker know that this is the present tense. In contrast, the past could be represented by a different pattern; hence, he learned, dar-ah-sah has the pattern (c1 + ai or ah + c2 + ai or ah + c3 + ah) (and this is just one pattern out of ten!) From a sentence point of view the verb in Arabic is not necessarily treated as the nucleus of a sentence and, in the case of the copula verb BE, can be omitted entirely (as we shall see below). The verb can also be placed at the beginning of the sentence. Like its English counterpart, the present simple tense in Arabic expresses a habitual action. There are other functions, but they are not relevant to this discussion. B.The Present Progressive In general, the present simple form is also used in Arabic to express the idea of a continuous action occurring in the present. Hence, the English sentence He is working now. in Arabic becomes He works now. (represented phonetically by huwwah yaamaloo al eyn.) What is he doing? in Arabic becomes What does he do? (represented phonetically by mehzah yafaaloo al eyn?) Hence, in almost all cases, the present simple form is used to show the idea of continuous action in the present. However, there is a single verb form in Arabic called the ism-ul-fail which is the exact parallel to the idea of continuous action. However, the difference in Arabic is that the ism-ul-fail is used very sparingly compared to English and then only for some very specific verbs of movement, or verbs that indicate changing from one state to another (going up, going in, going down, walking to a place, leaving a place, etc.). Since the ism-ul-fail is radically different in form from the English progressive it is doubtful that any interference in form occurs. C.A Few Points About The Verb BE as a Copula Although BE as a copula is not the focus of this paper, it does deserve mention here for two specific reasons. The first point is that BE in Arabic, when it is the copula in the present tense, is unwritten and unspoken (although this is not true of the copula in the past tense or the future where it is written and spoken). (Kharma, 1989, p. 89). For example, the literal translation of the sentence Ahmed is a student. is Ahmed student.. So it is conceivable that students might leave BE out as a copula OR as the helping verb in the present progressive because it does not exist in the present tense in Arabic (although there are other additional reasons why students might forget to add it to the present progressive as we shall see). The second point is that BE is used so often in English, in so many different kinds of structures, and that it is so irregular, that it might simply add to the confusion of students (Kharma 1989, p. 161). Students who keep on being corrected for leaving out the verb to be when it is necessary, may for example, hypercorrect themselves and start to write it everywhere. Again, we shall explore this issue further below. PART THREE A look at some common written errors made by Arabic speaking students when using the English present simple and present progressive Finding the exact causes of any error can be a difficult and meticulous task. This is partly because there may be multiple reasons as to why students make one particular error and these causes may also overlap at any given time. In addition, it is extremely problematic, even for a native speaker of both Arabic and English, (which I am) to know exactly what is going on linguistically in the mind of a student when s/he makes such an error. However, having said that, even with these obstacles, we can at least make some good hypotheses and lists of possibilities as to why these errors occur with our own students. As a result, we will be able to generate classroom strategies and methods in order to correct and remedy these sorts of mistakes. The following categories of errors are the most common that I have found in students written work with regards to the simple present versus the present progressive. I will look at each category in turn, and offer an analysis of the sources for these types of error. Category One Fatima studies now. Ahmed does his homework now. In these sentences, the intention of the Arabic speaking writer seems to be to convey the meaning of what in English would be a present continuous action, expressed by the present continuous tense. This is clear by the use of the adverb now or in the case of other examples not shown here, from other adverbs or the context of the sentence. In examples one and two, the Arabic speaker seems to be transferring the rules of his native language into English. The Arabic speaker usually uses only the present simple to express events that would be expressed in English by both the present simple and the present continuous. Category Two Mariam cant talk, she eating now. This kind of mistake is a bit more problematic in terms of analysis. It could be that the Arabic speaker, feeling that the full meaning of the action is expressed in the verb with the ing, has decided that the am/are/is forms are redundant and unnecessary. It could also be the case that this mistake is a direct transfer of a particular grammatical form in Arabic. In certain cases Arabic speakers do express the present continuous with a verb and prefix change (called ism-ul-fail), but without the corresponding be form. For example, the literal translation of the sentence Ahmed is running. is Ahmed running. . Category Three Are you knowing the way to Dubai? I am wanting to see my family. In this case, the student has learned the present progressive form, but is over generalizing it to all verbs (or perhaps does not remember or has not been taught the rules for exceptions such as the above). These types of errors could very well be intralingual. This over generalization could also be found in sentences that have the function of explaining, demonstrating teaching or narrating such as: Next I am pouring the oil into the cooking pan. Ali is passing the ball to the goalkeeper. Category Four I am live in Abu Dhabi. We are study English. This category is probably the most difficult to analyze. This is because it is unclear whether the Arabic speaker is making the mistake of adding the additional am/is/are form while trying to use the present tense, or making the mistake of forgetting to use the present participle while trying to use the present progressive tense. That is, did the speaker intend to say I live in Abu Dhabi. and use the extra am form by mistake, or did s/he intend to say I am living in Abu Dhabi. and forget the correct present participle form? Of course, there are other possibilities but these seem like the two most likely. We must obviously look at the context of the paragraph to see if we can get the gist of what the speaker meant. The following is a more detailed analysis of these two possibilities from the standpoint of the students reasoning. 1. If we believe from the context that the student was trying to use the present simple and added the additional am in error, then the following analyses apply: A. The student may be confused by the lack of inflectional endings in English, since Arabic is a highly inflected language, and every personal pronoun has a distinct corresponding inflected verb form. The similarity of the verb forms in I live, you live, etc. may seem very awkward to the Arabic speaker. Hence, they may want to remedy the situation by distinguishing the verb forms in some way by, for example, adding an exceedingly familiar and overused verb form like am, are, or is. B. The student may be over generalising based on what they have learned about the present continuous. That is, they may have learned how to form the present continuous quite easily since there is no mother tongue interference from Arabic, (although they may not have mastered its use). They then may go on to conclude that every verb in the present simple or present continuous in English needs to be preceded by am/is/are. C. Similarly, the student may be hypercorrecting. They may have been corrected so many times for forgetting to use the verb BE in their sentences e.g. Ahmed happy, that they may start to feel that every sentence needs the verb BE. 2. However, if we believe that the student was trying to use the present continuous tense and used the present simple live (instead of the present participle living), then the following analyses apply: A. The student may not have correctly understood how to form the present participle by adding ing to the end of the verb. B. Perhaps students have simply forgotten to add the ing prefix because the structure is so different in their language. This is by no means an exhaustive analysis. However, these are, from my experience and collaboration with other colleagues, both native and non-native speakers, some of the major possibilities. PART FOUR Pedogogical implications of the above research for teaching the present simple and the present progressive to Arabic speaking students From the evidence I have presented here, I believe it is clear that many of the mistakes in using the present simple and the present progressive in form (such as omission of the verb to be in the simple present for Arabic speakers, e.g. I studying), as well as other mistakes in usage (e.g. using the simple present when the present progressive is required) seem to be traceable directly to Arabic mother tongue interference. Based on my analyses, reading and discussion with colleagues, I do feel that in this particular area, teachers of EFL to Arabic speakers must consider mother tongue interference as a major impediment to learning the present tense versus the present progressive. If we know that mother tongue interference is the cause of many errors, what should this imply for our teaching? One thing which I think it does not imply is that we teach English from the point of view of the mother tongue. For example, trying to get students to understand English grammar through word for word translations or using the grammatical structure of Arabic to help students to understand the grammatical structure of English are only useful in certain cases, and then only by someone who is a master of both languages. My experience in reading the research, being bilingual and talking to Arabic speaking students who are at the final stages of their English studies leads me to believe that, at least in the case of Arabic and English, that the two languages are sufficiently different that they are both best looked at in their own respective grammars. Students must be made, not only to think in English, but to understand English grammar in terms of English grammar without constantly switching back and forth to compare it with Arabic. Such practices are ineffective and will cause confusion among students. As Lewis says students should never expect the foreign language to be like their ownà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦..the fact that English has verb forms that contain [be] as an auxiliary does not suggest that other languages ought to have a corresponding formà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦.students should be positively encouraged to explore the foreign language within itself rather than through the expectations they bring from their own. (Lewis, 1986, pp. 164-165). In addition, I should add that intralingual factors can also be at work when students make such errors (in addition to context specific factors like student motivation, teaching style and competence, etc.). For example, on the intralingual side, we know that students of ESL from many different language groups and even children make common mistakes with the verb to be. Therefore, many such mistakes might be intralingual. (Mattar 1989). Hence, when we try to analyse our students errors we should not be prejudiced to any one theory and we should try to be open to looking at all possible sources of errors. What we as teachers should be doing in the classroom is continually collecting research on student errors and student learning styles in order to form hypotheses about why such errors occur and why such one approach worked and another didnt. We should then be trying to test these hypotheses to see if they are true or not, and afterwards share this information w ith other teachers in similar situations. Only then will we be able to understand why students make errors and what is the most effective way to correct them. Word count: 4,161 words

The Search for Identity in This Side of Paradise :: This Side of Paradise Essays

The Search for Identity in This Side of Paradise  Ã‚   In F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel This Side of Paradise, Amory Blaine searches for his identity by "mirroring" people he admires.   However, these "mirrors" actually block him from finding his true self.   He falls in love with women whose personalities intrigue him; he mimics the actions of men he looks up to.   Eleanor Savage and Burne Holiday serve as prime examples of this.   Until Amory loses his pivotal "mirror," Monsignor Darcy, he searches for his soul in all the wrong places.   When Monsignor Darcy dies, Amory has the spiritual epiphany he needs to reach his "paradise" - the knowledge of who Amory Blaine truly is.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Amory appears to be a rather vacuous choice for a protagonist.   He relies mainly on his breathtaking handsomeness and wealth in order to get by in life.   He has been endowed with brains, but it takes him years to learn how and when to use them.   Amory spends his late high school and college years frolicking with his peers and debutantes.   By constantly associating with others Amory creates an image of himself that he maintains until he becomes bored or finds a new personality to imitate.   Amory does not know who he really is, what he truly feels, or what he thinks.   He merely cultivates his personality du jour depending on how he believes he would like to be.   Essentially, Amory is shopping at a personality store, trying each one on until he can find one that fits.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   This personality imitation began when Amory spent his adolescent years in the presence of his flamboyant mother, Beatrice.   Beatrice raised Amory to be what she wanted him to be, as long as it was stylish and acceptable to coeval virtues.   When he goes to Princeton, the separation from his mother, who essentially thought for him, leads Amory to search for himself.   However, his idea of searching for his identity entails merely simulating the personalities of those he admires.   This trend becomes obvious in the pattern of Amory's love interests.   His first conquest, Isabelle, is a strong-willed girl who knows what she wants.   Amory falls in love with her because of her distinct personality; perhaps subconsciously he feels that by being in her presence he makes up for not having a personality of his own.   Amory's next love, Rosalind, represents Amory's latent desire for the riches and luxuries that he lost with the death of his parents.

Sparta: Uncultured Discipline Essay -- essays research papers

Sparta: Uncultured Discipline The Spartans were the most formidable warriors in all of history. They dedicated their entire lives to warfare. They were taught to endure cold, hunger, pain, their courage on the battlefield was second to none. The Spartan code was to fight hard, follow orders without question and to die rather then retreat or surrender. To achieve all this, Sparta sacrificed everything; the arts, culture, and other things that make life worth while. I believe the price was to high they went to far and shut off all that was creative and human in Sparta. A culture that can't change or adapt doesn't survive. This is exactly what happened , after a single major defeat in 360 B.C Sparta was no longer a significant factor in the region (Isaac Asimov, 1965, p. 178). The original founders of "modern" Sparta were the Dorians. At around 1100 B.C these savages came from the north into what is today Greece. They attacked the Mycenean civilization thriving there and quickly defeated them. The secret behind the remarkable victories against the Myceneans was iron, the Dorians knew how to forge iron weapons which completely outclassed the bronze weaponry of the Myceneans (Carl Roebuck, 1966, p. 119). In Mycenean times Sparta had been a important city, but after Dorian conquest it sank to insignificance. Over the next three hundred years it recovered and began to prosper. By 800 B.C it ruled over the region called Lacedonia. Up to about 650 B.C Sparta was pretty much like every other Greek state. They had music, art and poetry. During the seventh century, a musician named Terpander came to Sparta and established himself their. He is called the "father of Greek music," he's also supposed to off improved the lyre (a harp like instrument). The most widely known Spartan musician was Tyrtaeus. He lived during the Second Messenian War and his music inspired many Spartan soldiers to new heights of bravery (Isaac Asimov, 1965, p. 53). But then something happened, a war with the Messinians. The First Messenian War broke out in 730 B.C, when the Spartans marched into Messenia eager for more land. After 20 long years of war the Messenians were forced to surrender. They were made into helots (slave... ...sp; In order to achieve military glory the Spartans gave up nearly everything. Later on Greeks from other city states admired the Spartan way of life because it seemed so noble. They were wrong to think this way, to art, music, literature and other such pursuits they donated nothing. She only had a cruel, inhuman way of life to offer, dependent on a barbaric slavery of most of her population, with only a kind of blind animal courage as a virtue. Before long the Spartan way of life was more show then substance, Sparta seemed strong as long she was victorious, but other states could survive defeat and rise again. After a single major defeat (against Thebes) Sparta lost her domination of Greece. This catastrophic loss exposed the Spartan fraud and disposed of her. Reference List - Asimov, Issac. (1965). The Greeks A Great Adventure. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company - Hillyer V.M, E.G Huey. (1966). Ancient World 500 BC - 500 AD. New York: Meredith Press - National Georgraphic Society. (1968). Greece and Rome Builders of Our World. Washington D.C: Author - Roebuck, Carl. (1966). The World of Ancient Times. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons

To His Coy Mistress Essay: Imagery, Symbolism, and Descriptions

Imagery, Symbolism, and Descriptions in To His Coy Mistress Andrew Marvell in his poem describes a young man convincing his fair mistress to release herself to living in the here and now.   He does this by splitting the poem up into three radically different stanzas.   The first takes ample time to describe great feelings of love for a young lady, and how he wishes he could show it.   The idea of time is developed early but not fully.   The second stanza is then used to show how time is rapidly progressing in ways such as the fading of beauty and death.   The third stanza presses the question to the young mistress; will she give herself to the young man and to life?   Although each stanza uses different images, they all convey the same theme of living life to the fullest and not letting time pass is seen throughout. Marvell uses imagery, symbolism, and wonderful descriptions throughout the poem.   Each stanza is effective and flows easily.   Rhyming couplets are seen at the ends of every line, which helps the poem r ead smoothly.     Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Marvell uses many images that work as tools to express how he wishes to love his mistress in the first stanza of the poem.   From line 1 to 20 Marvell tells his mistress how he wishes he had all the time in the world to love her.   In the very first line Marvell brings up the focus of time, â€Å"Had we but world enough and time/This coyness, lady, were no crime†.   The second line shows the conflict that the author is facing in the poem, her coyness.   Marvell continues from these initial lines to tell his mistress what he would do if he had enough time.   In lines, three and four Marvell talks of â€Å"sitting down† to â€Å"think† where they will walk on their â€Å"long love’s day†.   All of these word... ... before their â€Å"quaint honor turns to dust†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Andrew Marvell successfully writes about a delicate subject without coming off as dirty or disrespectful to the subject of sexuality.   Each stanza carries a different way of looking at the same subject.   The way Marvell speaks in the first stanza shows that he is not being impetuous, that he does love his mistress.   He creates a sense of timelessness and then in the second stanza he sweeps that away and introduces death as frightening but unavoidable.   He realizes how precious time is and is very effective in convincing his mistress of this fact as well.   The last lines leave the reader with the image of this couple conquering and taking advantage of time by making the sun run.   This poem would not be what it is without the detailed imagery, symbolism, and metaphors that Marvell applied to each stanza.  Ã‚  Ã‚  

Moss and Mcadams

Moss and McAdams Accounting Firm In the Moss and McAdams Accounting Firm also know as M and M, Bruce Palmer has just been promoted to account manager. He has been assigned to lead and manage the Jacksonville Audit. Zeke Olds has been assigned as one of the five accountants on the Jacksonville Audit and is known as an innovator in regards to problem solving. The firm operates under a matrix organizational structure which requires Palmer to share his valuable resource, Zeke Olds, with a team that is being managed by Ken Crosby. Crosby is responsible for managing special consulting projects and has requested that Olds also be assigned to his Springfield project. Over the course of about two months, there were several issues between Palmer’s and Crosby’s teams with having to share Olds. Ultimately, it resulted in Olds being reassigned to work on the Springfield project full time instead of be shared between the two teams. This paper will examine what response a project manager should provide if faced with the same issues Palmer faced within the case. Secondly, this paper will examine what Palmer could have done to avoid losing Olds. In addition, this paper will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of operating under a matrix organizational structure. Finally, this paper will examine what the management of Moss and McAdams can do to more effectively manage situations like what occurred in case. Doing Things Differently Over the course of six weeks of having to share Olds between the Jacksonville Audit and the Springfield project, Palmer experienced several issues with Crosby. At the initial phase of the project, both Crosby and Palmer agreed that Olds would dedicate his mornings working on the Springfield project and his afternoons would be dedicated to working on the Jacksonville project. From the onset, Crosby continually continue to disregard the agreed upon terms of the work schedule. If I were Palmer there are several things I would have done differently in an effort to not lose Olds, but more importantly, decreasing the impact upon my projects schedule. I would have definitely added having to share Olds as a risk factor in regards to meeting my projects baseline deadline and cost. In addition, additional time would have been added into my baseline schedule to reflect having to share Olds. All of these risks would have been communicated to upper management and to Sands to ensure that they were aware of the cost and time impact with having to share Olds. If management insisted on moving forward, I would have negotiated with Sands and Crosby that Olds be assigned to the Springfield project in exchange for adding two accountants onto the Jacksonville Audit. Basically, the Jacksonville audit appears to require accountant auditing skills. Olds has a reputation for being an innovative problem solver and his skill set seemed to be better suited for the Springfield project. The requirement for my project is to conduct and audit which accounting skills is key and should be able to be performed by other accountants at the firm. By adding 2 additional resources to my team to replace the one resource, I may be able to complete the project in less time and save money. Escape the Inevitable Palmer possibly could have possibly done several things to avoid losing Olds. However, given Olds skill set and his apparent ability to come up with innovative solutions, it is possible that the Olds would still have lost interest in conducting an audit as opposed to working on the special consulting project team. However, if it Olds was a vital resource for the Jacksonville Audit, Palmer could have possibly reduced the impact to his schedule and budget by seeking out a solution sooner than he did. Initially, he could have requested a meeting with both Crosby and Sands after the first week of experiencing issues. This would have brought to light the potential negative impact to the Jacksonville audit which still would ultimately impact Moss and McAdams. Palmer could have gotten greater commitment from Crosby and ask for some type of penalty or consequence each time there is no adherence to the agreed upon work schedule. Living in a Matrix According to Gray and Larson (2008), a matrix type of organization is one in which a hybrid organization form of a project management structure is placed directly over the functional order of the normal business operations. Typically, this type of organizational structure has two chains of command and the project participants have to report to two separate chains of command. This type of structure is designed to use resources efficiently. It is also intended to provide an optimal solution while being able to accomplish multiple projects at the same time. According to Gray and Larson (2008), there are several advantages and disadvantages to this type of organizational structure. The advantages of this type of structure are that it allows multiple projects to go on at the same time by sharing resources. It also allows the project managers to focus on coordinating and integrating different units or resources that can be integrated into several functions within the organization. Also, at the completion of a project, it is easier for project participants to transition from one team to another. Lastly, it allows greater flexibility by allowing the sharing of resources. According to Gray and Larson (2008), there are several disadvantages to operating under a matrix organization. One of the disadvantages of a matrix organization are infighting between project teams because of having to share resources. Another disadvantage is that is it can be stressful for team members with having to report to more than one chain of command. In addition, it can slow projects down as a result of having the teams to agree on items that impact multiple functional areas. Effective Management The management at M&M definitely has their hands full with operating under a matrix umbrella. Palmer experienced several issues with attempting to manage his project. The Moss and McAdams firm could have done a few things to help out in his situation. My first recommendation is that they implement a project management office instead of having Sands to operate within this capacity. Her role is that of office manager and I don’t believe with her other duties that she can effectively manage assigning personnel to different teams. In addition, the project management office would ultimately see the percentage that resources are actually being allocated to a project. Overseeing cost and time is something that the project management office can oversee and provide insight to each project team. According to CIO. com out of four hundred and fifty people were surveyed about the benefits of the formation of a project management office (PMO). Thirty seven percent of those surveyed reported a sixty five percent success rate increase with the usage of a PMO. It is my belief that this firm would greatly benefit from the implementation of a project management office. In addition, they could implement some type of policy in regards to team members that are not being team players. Management should step in to help out in these types of situations. Ultimately each project team is combined together to make up one firm which is Moss and McAdams. Conclusion Overall this was a great case to review. It provided a lot of insight into possible things a project manger may be faced with. It was pretty obvious that Palmer definitely reacted later rather than sooner. In doing so, his delayed reaction impacted his project timeline and cost while Crosby continued trucking right along. It appears that identifying a problem quickly and working to resolve it quickly can be a key that either makes a project success or failure. References Gray, C. , and Larson, E. (2008). Bus517: Project management: The managerial process: 2009 custom edition (4th ed. ). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill. Why You Need a Project Management Office. (2003). Retrieved from CIO. com: http://www. cio. com/article/29887/Why_You_Need_a_Project_Management_Office_PMO

It210 Final

IT 210-Final Currency Conversion Program Florence Sanders IT/210 Fundamentals of Programming with Algorithms and Logic September 16, 2012 Ed Addison Application-Level Requirements List 1. User screen that prompts user 2. Display prompts main user title screen 3. Main user screen provides short description explaining use of program 4. Calculations of currency is executed with valid inputs 5. Provides option to clear input fields Input| Process| Output|Currency TypeCurrency AmountExchange Rate| Get user input| Currency Type Currency Amount| Currency Type| Foreign Exchange Currency | Currency Type| Enter currency amount| Calculate total| Currency Amount| Foreign Currency amount | Convert to US dollar| US currency amount| Currency TypeCurrency AmountExchange Rate| Display results| Conversion of foreign currency into US Dollars| Main Module Main Module Display_Resluts Module Display_Resluts Module Get_Int_Value Module Get_Int_Value Module Display_Menu Module Display_Menu Module Convert_Cu rrency Module Convert_Currency Module Control Flow Diagram—Main Control ———————————————— Begin Display Menu Quit ? Provide exit message Display Menu Yes No Convert Currency Display results End Begin Display Menu Quit ? Provide exit message Display Menu Yes No Convert Currency Display results End ————————————————- Control Flow Diagram—Display Menu Begin Selection menu Valid selection ? Error 4 : Invalid menu selection No Yes End Quit ? Yes Provide exit menu Quit Verified ? Yes Take selection from user Get_Int_Value No Conversion Verified ? No Yes No Begin Selection menu Valid selection ? Error 4 : Invalid enu selection No Yes End Quit ? Yes Provide exit menu Quit Verified ? Yes Take selection from user Get_Int_Value No Conversion Verified ? No Yes No | Control Flow Diagram—Get_Int_Value Tell user to enter number Tell user to enter number Take input from user Take input from user Error message Error message Error message Error message | Control Flow Diagram—Convert Currency French ? French ? Japanese? ? Japanese? ? Mexican? Mexican? Begin Canadian ? Rate=Canadian Rate English ? No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Rate =Mexican rate Rate=pound rate Rate=Japanese rate Rate = French Rate Rate = 0 . 0 US Value =Rate*Int_Value End Begin Canadian ? Rate=Canadian Rate English ? No No No No No Yes Yes Yes Yes Yes Rate =Mexican rate Rate=pound rate Rate=Japanese rate Rate = French Rate Rate = 0 . 0 US Value = Rate*Int_Value End | Control Flow Diagram—Display_Results Nation=French Currency=Francs Nation=French Currency=Francs Nation=Japanese Currency=Yen Nation=Japanese Currency=Yen Nation=English Currency=Pound Nation=English Currency=Pound Nation=Mexican Currency=Pesos Nation=Mexican Currency=Pesos Japanese ? Japanes e ? English ? ? English ? ? Mexican ? Mexican ? Canadian ? Canadian ? Invalid Selection Invalid Selection |Final Project Currency Conversion Psuedocode Main Module Declare selection as integer Declare currency Type as Integer Declare international Value as real Declare US Value as real Do while user wants to continue Display Menu Get International Value Convert Currency Display Results End Loop Print exit message End Main Module Display Menu Declare continue as Boolean Set continue = true While continue = true Display â€Å"Welcome to the international currency conversion program† Display â€Å"Please make a selection† Display â€Å"international Currency Types:† Display â€Å"1: Canadian Dollars†Display â€Å"2: Mexican Pesos† Display†3: English Pounds† Display â€Å"4: Japanese Yen† Display â€Å"5: French Francs† Display â€Å"6: Quit: Display â€Å"Enter a selection:†; Input Currency Type If Currency Type >= 1 AND currency Type 0 AND international Value