Basin and Range Topography Overview

Basin and Range Topography Overview In geology, a basin is defined as a bounded area where the rock within the boundaries dips inward toward the center. By contrast, a range is a single line of mountains or hills forming a connected chain of land higher than the surrounding area. When combined, the two make up basin and range topography. A landscape comprised of basins and ranges is characterized as having a series of undulating mountain ranges sitting parallel to low, broad valleys (basins). Normally, each of these valleys is bounded on one or more sides by mountains and although the basins are relatively flat, the mountains can either rise abruptly out of them or slope upward gradually. The differences in elevations from the valley floors to the mountain peaks in most basin and range areas can range from several hundred feet to over 6,000 feet (1,828 meters). Causes of Basin and Range Topography The resulting faults are called normal faults and are characterized by rocks dropping down on one side and rising on the other. In these faults, there is a hanging wall and a footwall and the hanging wall is responsible for pushing down on the footwall. In basins and ranges, the hanging wall of the fault is what creates the range as they are the blocks of the Earths crust that are pushed upward during crustal extension. This upward movement occurs as the crust spreads apart. This portion of the rock is located on the margins of the fault line and moves up when the rock being moved in the extension gathers on the fault line. In geology, these ranges forming along fault lines are called horsts. Conversely, the rock below the fault line is down dropped because there is a space created by the divergence of lithospheric plates. As the crust continues to move, it stretches and becomes thinner, creating more faults and areas for rocks to drop into gaps. The results are the basins (also called grabens in geology) found in basin and range systems. One common feature to note in the worlds basins and ranges is the extreme amount of erosion that occurs on the peaks of the ranges. As they rise, they are immediately subject to weathering and erosion. The rocks are eroded by water, ice, and wind and particles are quickly stripped and washed down the mountainsides. This eroded material then fills the faults and collects as sediment in the valleys. The Basin and Range Province Within the Basin and Range Province, the relief is abrupt and the basins normally range from 4,000 to 5,000 feet (1,200- 1,500 m), while most of the mountain ranges climb 3,000 to 5,000 feet (900-1,500 m) above the basins. Death Valley, California is the lowest of the basins with its lowest elevation of -282 feet (-86 m). Conversely, Telescope Peak in the Panamint Range to the west of Death Valley has an elevation of 11,050 feet (3,368 m), showing the enormous topographic prominence within the province. In terms of the Basin and Range Provinces physiography, it features a dry climate with very few streams and internal drainage (a result of the basins). Although the area is arid, much of the rain that does fall accumulates in the lowest basins and forms pluvial lakes such as the Great Salt Lake in Utah and Pyramid Lake in Nevada. The valleys are mostly arid however and deserts such as the Sonoran dominate the region. This area also affected a significant portion of the United States’ history as it was a major barrier to westward migration because the combination of desert valleys, bounded by mountain ranges made any movement in the area difficult. Today, U.S. Highway 50 crosses the region and crosses five passes over 6,000 feet (1,900 m) and is considered The Loneliest Road in America. Worldwide Basin and Range Systems Western Turkey is also cut by an easterly trending basin and range landscape that extends into the Aegean Sea. It is also believed that many of the islands in that sea are portions of ranges between basins that have a high enough elevation to break the sea’s surface. Where ever basins and ranges occur, they represent an enormous amount of geologic history as it takes millions of years to form to the extent of those found in the Basin and Range Province.

buy custom The Education System in California essay

buy custom The Education System in California essay Introduction California is the most populous state in the United States of America. With a student population of more than six million, learning institutions especially in the public institution are feeling the burden. The education system consists of both the private and the public schools. California State is a cosmopolitan state inhabited by the people of all races. However, the highest number of the inhabitants is the immigrants especially from Africa, Asia and Latin America. The attractive nature of the California city to people from various places of the world has been contributed to the strategic nature of the town to both economic and social facilities. The rapid increase in population of the city has however had negative impact to social facilities available. The education sector was among the hardest hit with inadequate learning material and quality of education being the key problems. Education system and brief history According to Sidlow (p245), Californias education system at one time was the strongest worldwide. Public education began with state funding of pre-schools. This trend continued to the elementary, secondary education, collages and the universities. California has three public systems of higher education; the California community collage, the California state university system and the university of California system. The California community collages serves as the gateways to the four year collages and universities. Usually a student is allowed to study in the community collages for given number of years (usually two) before transferring to the collages and universities to complete for the collage certificate. The main state research university is the University of California which has ten major campuses spread all over United States. California state university is the third largest university system in the `unites states. Notable private university of equal importance is the Universit y of Stanford, Toure University and the University of Southern California (Lawrence.p37). California has several other private collages spread all over California State. The educational facilities provided a number of learning opportunities to the citizens of California and other states. The deteriorating education system The California ones formidable educational system began declining with the introduction and passage of policies that undermined education giving priorities to other sectors (Sidlow, p343). Many people mark the decline of the quality education with the passage of the proposition 13bill.The property tax measure reduced funds to most schools and provided even less to schools that needed funds most. Since then the policymakers and the schools in general have been grabbling with this limited funds. Although many efforts have been made to avert the whole staggering problem, the piecemeal reforms and the educational fads have undermined the achievement. Also the some well intentioned innervations drafted by the educationists and economists targeting reduction of the size of students per single teacher, curriculum revision and test based accountability have been too little and too late. At the same time this policies have been loaded with the unintended consequences that worsen the problem ( Mooney.p26). Mismanagement is also a major problem (McChesney, p76). Some issues regarding mismanagement are so complex that they can not be solved locally. Solving mismanagement problem requires that state officials hold all the districts accountable for the making sure that all the resourced get into the classroom and the needy students. It also requires intervention and action when local problems are detected. However the state has no mechanism to make reliable follow up and monitoring to discern such action from happening. Because of the poor policy that leads to inadequate funding, teachers and other professional in the teaching field have been inadequate. Many of the teachers were deployed forcing them to move to other states to search for jobs. Currently California has the highest number of students per single teacher. Students are congested in classes with few learning material hence raising question on the quality of education that is provided in such institution (Laspina, p45). A research carried out recently proved that highest number of Latino African American students and students from poor families have the biggest shortage of textbooks, the lowest numbers of qualified teachers (Smart, p20). In conjunction to this, the same students attend the states most overcrowded schools. California educational and accountability system has failed because lack of inadequate systems and mechanisms to put all the perpetrators into justice. The people who shold hold the management accountable have no control power. For instance teachers have no control power over overcrowded schools and the students can not insist being thought by teachers who are demoralized because of the low salaries or demotion. Teachers, students and the state government have both roles of ensuring that educational standards are raised. Access of quality education to all inhabitants of California is crucial for faster development of the state (McChesney, p81). Quality education is of high concern also because of the worrying separation and unequal system of education. The poor students, student of color and English language learners do not access to the same educational resources as their wealthier and white peers. It should be agreed that such fundamental opportunities to learn are critical for learning and for the future of California citizens all together. This unfair learning condition has contributed to the inequalities in the access to higher education and skilled jobs. Educational inequality will result to increased state insecurity as resources will only revolve around a few families leaving the rest suffering (Sproul, p69). Overhauling educational standards in California Due to dwindling of educational system, the state government of California and stakeholders in the education sectors joined together to come up with a long term solution to the problem (Kemerer, p68). Among the recommendations that were arrived at was the drafting of a master plan that was to address the whole issue of education accessibility and inequality. This plan was intended to serve as a benchmark for policy makers, educators, educational and community based agencies, business leaders in making decision that supports the quality and accessibly education. This was also intended to give clear statements and goals as well as the responding to immediate local needs. However it was agreed that quick sort term measurement was needed first to change the situation in the ground. The adoption of this positive development plan was envisioned to develop and maintain a coherent system of first rate schools, colleges and universities that is to prepare all the students for learning and for transition and successful in all aspects of education (Sonstelie,p36). Effective and accountable educational system must focus fist on the learner. Strictures, policies, and financing must be revaluated to ensure that they are supportive to the learners and their acquisition of the knowledge and skills (Johnson.p59). Good education must target the success of learner. Therefore policy that focuses on the helping all learners achieve their educational needs without bias. Students from poor background have equal opportunities of accessing quality education just like those from the rich background. Equal education for all has been broad goal in the Americas public education for many years. To achieve this goal, the government of United States and the state of California have role to ensure that all public schools are provided with the instructional material and other equipments that will ensure that children have succeeded in their educational career. Instructional materials may include the provision of adequate and relevant learning material such as textbooks. The distribution of such materials should be priorities in areas of high demand especially in schools that are overpopulated and lack crucial learning materials. Secondly, strict ,mechanism have been placed to ensure that al children will not only get to school in an already established system but ensure that the children are natured and rewarded such that they will ultimately graduate from both high school and colleges with knowledge, skills that will self initiate the life long self learning (Laspina, p79). In this spirit, it is believed that the more and more children will get access to quality education that will help them in their lives. All school going children should be granted access to free public education as outlined in the constitution of United States (Johnson, p57). This guarantee is applicable to all students attending rural, suburban and urban schools; students from low, middle and high income families. Also formidable mechanism should be put in place to ensure that the students whose home language is not English and those who have spoken English at the entire of their life have accessed quality education. Adult learners who had never had opportunity to go to school have to be factored as they form the backbone and bulky of the workforce in the industries. This means that quality education should also be granted to the adults should they choose to pursue adult or postsecondary education with California states. Every element of the California educational system is therefore informed byy the new plans and will work to ensure that appropriate learning opportunities occur resulting to considerable gains in the every students knowledge and intellectual development. The underlying policy of equipping all learning institution with modern learning equipment should be done fairly and transparently. Effective and transparent mechanism is to be employed to ensure t hat each individual in the education sector is held accountable for actions that might be demeaning the education sector. Greater academy achievement can be realized by encouraging the students to work hard and have positive attitude towards learning (Johnson, p61). Effective remuneration should be given to all teachers to boost there morale in handling the overwhelming number of children enrolment in public school (Laspina, p91). Teachers play a central role in the development of children. Quality training, behavioral changes and willingness to give the best to learners are key virtues that should be engraved in the heart of each teacher. In pursuit of quality but affordable education, the state government of California should consider retraining all those teachers whose performance are in great drought. This will aims at not only improving teachers performance but also create faith in many parents who have for long time held low opinion on the most training schools in California. Thousands of teachers redeployed due to bad economic times should be returned to work. this might not be possible as majority got jobs else ware but by offering them attractive salaries and good working conditions, they might decide to come back as many are still attached with the splendor and attractive scenery of Chicago state. However if this strategy fails, the state government has a responsibility of sourcing teaching workforce from outside the United States to fill the already vacant spaces(Sonstelie,p36). According to the educational experts, the greatest factor that caused deterioration of the educational standards California is lack of funding and poor ineffective policies(Johnson,p52).. Without funding learning institutions will not manage to handle the overwhelming number of students in public institutions, Funding also helps in the provision of facilities such as laboratories and libraries that are key requirement in any educational institution. Therefore, the state government of California together with the government of United States should work hand in hand in sourcing enough funds to cater for expenses incurred in the education sector. Billion of dollars is required to finance this expensive exercise. Appropriate mechanism to utilize spending and use of this funds should be put in place to ensure that the money is not mismanaged by the corrupt individuals with vested self interests (Sproul, p48). Education Excellency and academic success can never be achieved by single person (Kemerer, p63). The state government of California should call upon the positive minded professionals and ordinary people to give moral support to the new systems. The education professional and policy makers should borrow a leave from states such as Illinois, New York and others that have hard success in their educational system. The people California have a role of promoting learning culture among themselves and their children. The children on the other hand should see practically the benefits of quality education. Parents are great role model to their children and many of them tend to immolate what their parents do (Laspina, p42). Conclusion The dwindling educational standards in California have been largely caused by poor and unpopular policies (Mooney, p24). This is a classical example of how bad policies can destroy the future generation of a country. Although it has taken long time, more than two decades, to realize the impact of such poor policies that resulted to reduction in annual spending of the states in educational matters, California can be in the right path. It is decision to adopt new educational policies that are designed to cater for every child regardless of background origin has got backup from many people. All children especially from the poor homes should get free quality education. It is there right and not a privilege as many people may believe. However the achieving of this worthy cause of action has a number of obstacles that stand in the way. Parents should ensure that children especially the adolescent do not get access to drugs. The exorbitant amount of capital needed to finance the new recomme ndation may be a problem .This calls the state government to cooperate with other states in sourcing the funds. The members of the public are also supposed to work hand in hand with the state authorities in providing lasting solution to these problems (Laspina, p86). Buy custom The Education System in California essay

John F. Kennedy Speech in Regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis Essay

John F. Kennedy Speech in Regards to the Cuban Missile Crisis - Essay Example The document begins with a very brief timeline of events that lead up to the evening in question when Kennedy decided to address the American people about his plans to deal with the crisis at hand. The two biggest players during this period in time were Kennedy and Russian President Nikita Khrushchev. The source was created as a way to give the reader an idea f the events that lead up to the speech, while also including the text of the exact speech which Kennedy gave that night. After observing the main page, the primary source was created as part of a greater source collection on July 4, 1996. After selecting the feature to learn more about the website, the reader is able to read that The History Place is in fact from the Boston area and most importantly, not a part of any political affiliation. It was created by Philip Gavin who attended both Northeastern University and Boston University. Important to note, unless otherwise mentioned, the website reports that the articles that do n ot make specific notation of another author, are in fact written by Gavin himself. The intended audience of the user would be anyone that wishes to know more about the history of the United States and taking into consideration a few of the other sources located on the site, the history of the rest of the world as well. Primary benefit from this site would undoubtedly be felt by those who are students. In looking at the information and the way in which it is arranged, it appears that the primary goal of the site creator(s) was to be first and foremost factual in the nature that the information is shown, judging by the numerous instances that speeches are included, so that the readers are able to fully grasp the material which they are reading. With the fact that the website claims to have no political connections, thus claiming a sense of political neutrality, it would have to be assumed that the presentation was made with the utmost concern for no sort of bias as it came to the material which was included. As for whether or not the document contains words which could have changed meaning over time, it would be quite doubtful that the words expressed in the 1962 speech by Kennedy would have changed meaning in the last 46 years. Other speeches provided on The History Place, in dating back to the 1500s, would most definitely have word usage that, in looking at today's modern society, would have changed meaning over time. While the dialect which President Kennedy spoke in was New England and as such does alter the manner in which words sound as they are spoken, despite this nothing which he would have said would differ in meaning now. The document has an incredible value for both teaching, as well as learning. In an era of study of times of possible serious conflict faced by world leaders, the Cuban Missile Crisis was the definitive example of a major world power on the brink of possible war with another country. The historical questions it raises about the past center on the decisions of those in power and how it can lead a country to a state of peace, or a state of war. Historians and students both can engage with the speech to find a better understanding of what one leader faced as he set out to save his people and the rest

Moral rights are incompatible with the new digital environment in Essay

Moral rights are incompatible with the new digital environment in which copyright operates. Discuss in the light of(a) the technicaland (b)the practicalan - Essay Example One has to consider what moral rights are because morality is a very hard area to regulate, because one could argue that it is immoral for those with the digital technology to abuse the ownership rights of the copyright owner by making it available to all those who access the website for free1. Yet, on the other hand, one could argue that it is immoral for the copyright holder not to freely disclose information over the internet for free, especially if it benefits society on either educational or health and safety ground2. One could argue that the confidentiality and copyright afforded to Prince Charles over his diaries was immoral because is it right that the next King of England harbors such overtly biased political views Therefore this discussion will have to consider what is moral and not moral, which is a very difficult endeavor because morality one could argue is a subjective view. This exploration will also focus on the WIPO treaty because it is the latest in the international legal framework to balance the rights of society (Utilitarian Rights) and the rights of the individual (Personality Theory Rights) in the new digital age. ... Intellectual Property, Copyright & Rights: Intellectual property rights like property rights have been protected in UK, US and Canadian law as individual and not the realm of the government to encroach into them. This is different from the approach being suggested in global copyright harmonization which considers a different approach, a utilitarian approach which weighs up the interests of society against the individual where the rights of the many outweigh the rights of the few. Copyright in Intellectual Property law usually refers to the protection of ideas in intellectual property prior to their public release; therefore in respect to copyright it can also refer to artistic designs of goods and jingles prior to completion, but the most important factor is that it portrays the traditional approach of UK law, which is similar to the US and Canada, i.e. individual property rights should not be invaded against by government, i.e. they can not be treated in a utilitarian manner, rather the personal and public concerns need to weighed and balanced. The most interesting area of intellectual property law and copyright law is personal rights v's the general welfare of society, i.e. the public nature of artistic and literary works v's protection a persons private property rights in respect to copyright items. The International Copyright Treaty is the latest in a long line of international copyright harmonization. Copyright protection is afforded to literary and artistic works that are in substantial form, i.e. sheet music, recording or written book. The work must be original and not copied.3 There also has to be labor and skill performed by the author/artist4 and

Compare and contrast Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 13

Compare and contrast - Essay Example The two writers Dillard and Wolf have given their different essays the theme of how death is approached or embraced. Since death is an ultimate circumstance, which is unavoidable, the question raised is on how to face it (Iowa Council of Teachers of English 49). Death is the antagonist in the two essays. Answers on how to face death vary since having a conflict against death or embracing and accepting peaceful death can be options. The climax of the essay comes when the two moths face their death. Dillard in her essay has portrayed an approach to death, which involves struggling and running away. Contrarily, Woolf has given death an acceptable approach in that death is experienced calmly (Woolf 7). The two essays by Annie Dillard and Virginia Wolf compare superficially in that they have a similar title â€Å"death of a moth†, which go on to exemplify the theme of conflict with death. In the two essays, the writers have focused on depicting how the moths face their death. The moths are the characters of the essays propelling the theme being addressed (Woolf 8). The essays also compare in that the moths seem to be conscious of the fate waiting, which in this case is death. The two essays are also similar because they show that it does not matter the form of death or approach of dying, death is definitive (Iowa Council of Teachers of English 51). Woolf’s moth rotates around the window; its life has been limited around the window pane, which happens to be the same spot where it meets its death. Dillard’s moth meets its death after being burnt by a candle flame while flying around it. In the two essays, the approaches to death are different taking into consideration the description from Woolf and Dillard (Iowa Council of Teachers of English 52). In wolf’s essay, she portrays the moth in a way that it accepts death the moth is brave enough to embrace death in a dignified manner. Contrarily, in

What Is Knowledge According To Plato Philosophy Essay

What Is Knowledge According To Plato Philosophy Essay Plato had a strong belief that what we know in this life is recollected knowledge that was obtained in a former life, and that our soul has all the knowledge in this world, and we learn new things by recollecting what the soul already knew in the first place. Plato offers three observations of knowledge and he puts Socrates to reject all three of them. Platos first observation is that true belief is knowledge. Socrates rejects this by stating that when a jury believes the accused to be guilty by just hearing the prosecuting attorneys argument, rather than of any concrete evidence, it cannot be known if a defendant is guilty even if he is guilty. The jurys true belief is therefore not knowledge. The second observation is that knowledge and perception are the same. Socrates rejects this by saying that we can perceive without knowing and we can know without perceiving. For example, we can see and hear a sound without us knowing what or where it is coming from. If we can perceive without knowing, then knowledge cannot be the same as perception. Platos third observation is that true belief along with a logical account is knowledge, but true belief without a logical account is different from knowledge. The only problem with this observation is the word account. All the definitions of the word account are not valid for this argument. These observations are a great example of attacking the insufficient theories of knowledge, but Plato never gives a complete answer on what is the definition of knowledge. Plato preferred truth as the highest value, stating that it could be found through reason and logic in discussion. He called this dialectic. Plato preferred rationality rather than emotional appeal, for the purpose of persuasion, discovery of truth, and as the determinant of action. To Plato, truth was the higher good, and every person should find the truth to guide his or her life. Platos doctrine of recollection says that rather than learning in the common sense, what is actually happening when people are thinking about a problem, and find a solution to that problem, is that they are recollecting things that they already knew. The reason that Plato came up with this theory was because of the learners paradox. The learners paradox is that how can someone learn something if they dont even know what it is. As Meno points out if we dont know what something is then how will we know when we have it? When, for example, we say that we dont know what 946308 divided by 22 is, how can it be that we can find the answer to be 43014? If we dont already know that 946308 / 22 = 43014 then when someone tells us this we should not be able to know that answer is right. Aristotle also believes that knowledge is a form of recollection. He believes that there are universal causes and particular causes, however, unlike Plato; he believes that particulars carry an essence of the form. The four causes, or what makes an object what it is, are its efficient, material, formal, and final causes. The efficient cause is the primary source of the change. The material cause is the material of which it consists. The formal cause is its form. The final cause is its aim or purpose. Using the example of a skyscraper, the efficient cause is the act of building the skyscraper, the material cause is the material used to build it, the formal cause is the blueprint, and the final cause is using the skyscraper as a skyscraper. Everything has these four causes, but substantially changing any of them will cause the skyscraper to lose its skyscraperness. If you know all of a particulars causes, you know its essence. Everything has to have a cause. To truly understand something, we must know its explanation and that it cannot be otherwise. Demonstration must be from things that are true because deducing something from a falsehood would not give understanding of it. Things that are less general and closer to perception are prior relative to us. Things that are more general and further from perception are prior by nature. Demonstrations must be from things that are prior by nature. The premises of demonstrations must give the reason why the conclusion is true. Aristotle defines syllogism as a discourse in which, certain things having been supposed, something different from the things supposed results of necessity because these things are so. One syllogism that he used was: Socrates is a man, All men are mortal, therefore Socrates is mortal. Plato and Aristotles understanding of knowledge are complimentary in that they both believe knowledge is obtained by recollection. Also, they both value truth as the best way to obtain knowledge. What makes it contradictory is that Aristotle goes deeper into the subject of knowledge by stating that particulars have to carry an essence of the form and gives four causes that aid in finding the essence. Therefore, their understanding of knowledge is both complimentary and contradictory. I think we have abandoned the dialectical and demonstrative methods to a certain extent, but not completely. Most classes teach in the way that sophists teach, by just giving us the facts. An example could be my college algebra class, that teaches me how to do a problem but it doesnt tell me why it is like that. But then we have other classes, for example Mr. Hindmans classes, that do use those 2 methods. I think we need to incorporate these valuable methods more into our public school systems and it might help in raising grades up.

Comparing T.S. Eliot and Charles Dickins :: essays papers

Comparing TS Eliot and Charles Dickins The poetry written by Thomas Stearns Eliot, Portrait of a Lady has a strong connection with the novel by Henry James. Both deal with almost the same issues. In the poem Eliot talks about how a person will live his or her life during the 19th century. How they would always do exactly what was considered right during that era in society. Eliot mention how rare and strange it is to find true friends. In the novel everyone pretend to be your best friend and was only using the person to benefit something for his or her own convections (Lozano, 2). You do not know how much they mean to me, My friends, and how, How rare and strange it is, to find In a life composed so much, So much of odds and ends (Eliot 19-21). Many people during the 19th century really made friends so that they can have more people coming to their tea parties, one of the things that are mention in the poem as well as in the novel (Lozano, 3). Isabel Archer was considered to be a very innocent lady; she was being taken advantage so that others can get what they wanted when all she wanted was a real friend. Madame Merle was a clever woman who used her to get money for her daughter (Henry, 181). Repeatedly saying in this poem that he will serve tea to his â€Å"friends†. He is saying that in this era there was no such thing as a real friend even though everyone wanted one of his or her own. For everybody said so, all our friends, They all were sure our feelings would relate So closely! I myself can hardly understand. We must leave it now to fate.

Interlanguage Theory Essay

It is a well-attested fact that learners commit errors when learning a second language. Errors are in fact considered inevitable in any learning process. For a very long time different authors (Corder, 1967; Richards, 1971; Dulay and Burt, 1972, as cited in Taylor, 1975;) see those errors not only as deviations of the rules but also as important sources for studying the process of learning a target language. The learner’s mental process and rules adopted by them at different stages are evidenced by those errors. (Fauziati, 2011). It is, therefore, the language of the learner that Larry Selinker (1972) would study and name interlanguage. He would consider interlanguage as follows: L2 learners construct a linguistic system that draws, in part, on the learner’s L1 but is also different from it and also from the target language. A learner’s interlanguage is, therefore, a unique linguistic system (as cited in Ellis, 1997, pag. 33). This system of the language is evolutional and dynamic, and its grammar is under construction and in constant development. It may have inconsistency errors but it will be changing and developing all the time. Selinker (1972, as cited in Taylor, 1975) claims that interlanguage is not merely the learner target language grammar that is filled with errors due to the learner’s L1 interference but, instead, it is a linguistic system that reflects the learner’s dealing with the deviations of the target language itself. Selinker also states that the perspective of Interlanguage considers the learning strategies which the learner employs in a task despite of their mother tongue or kind of training they receive. According to Selinker (1972), there are a number of processes or strategies that the learner adopts in order to help them acquire the target language. The first one is L1 Transfer, which is a learning strategy where the learner uses their own L1 as a resource. â€Å"[T]he learner transfers their knowledge of their native language into their target language attempts† (Taylor, 1975, p. 393). The second process is L2 Transfer, in which the learner works out the rules of L2 and challenges them. The third process is Overgeneralization; the learner uses an L2 rule in situations in which a native speaker would not use them. This can occur at different levels, namely, at the phonetic level, at the grammatical level, at the lexical level and at the level of discourse. Taylor (1975) defines overgeneralization as â€Å"a process in which a language learner uses a syntactic rule of the target language inappropriately when he attempts to generate a novel target language utterance†. The fourth process or strategy is General Learning Principles; the learner acquires strategies for learning the language, such as association or grouping. However, these strategies are not exclusive to language learning; they can be applied to any other kind of knowledge. Finally, the fifth process is Communication Strategies, which are actions that the learner carries out in order to compensate their lack of knowledge and also to reinforce or optimize communication. Among these strategies are body language, circumlocution, using a general term, resorting to L1, asking for help (the teacher or the dictionary), coining (making up a word) and avoidance. All of these five processes contribute to the development of the L2. Another important characteristic of Interlanguage is Fossilization, which is a term introduced also by Selinker in 1972. It refers to â€Å"the persistence of plateaus of non-target-like competence in the IL† (as cited in Fauziati, 2011, p. 25). Selinker (1972) provides a precise definition for fossilization: [A] mechanism that underlies surface linguistic material which speakers will tend to keep in their IL productive performance, no matter what the age of the learner or the amount of instruction he receives in the TL. (Selinker, 1972: 229, cited in Han, 2002) In other words, fossilization can be described as the interruption of the process of development of interlanguage. Learners are usually expected to achieve progress as their competence advances towards the target language system, and thus it contains fewer errors. However, some errors continue to occur and never disappear completely, and are, therefore, considered as fossilized. That is to say, such errors are permanent and defining characteristics of the learner’s language system (Fauziati, 2011). Among the factors that influence fossilization in the learner’s learning process, there are both external and internal reasons that are worth mentioning. Environment is an external reason that can influence the student’s performance and it can be due to the lack of exposure to the language or probably the level of the course the student is taking is either higher or lower than their level of the language. As regards internal reasons, the learner himself is considered to be a significant influence on their performance. His personality (insecurity, family background, uncertainty), motivation, demotivation and backsliding (the student unlearns things he already knows and goes back to previous stages) contribute to the mechanism of fossilization. Another important point to consider is that of interlanguage pragmatics, which has been defined by some authors, namely, Kasper and Dahl (1991), Kasper (1998) and Kasper and Rose (1999). However, in this paper, the concept of interlanguage pragmatics will be considered as follows: [T]he investigation of non-native speakers’ comprehension and production of speech acts, and the acquisition of L2-related speech act knowledge. (Kasper and Dahl, 1991:215, cited in Barron, 2001) Interlanguage pragmatics deals with use of the language as action and its research focuses on the learner’s use and acquisition of pragmatic knowledge. Although many studies on interlanguage have been based on spontaneous speech data, there is considerable difficulty in processing such data in order to tackle with problems persisting in the L2 learner’s initial state. One possible reason for this is that the speech utterances are gathered so early and may not exactly mirror the L2 initial state. Another perplexing problem is that the collection may be scarce and useless. (Lakshmanan and Selinker, 2001) A further problem is that language learners, especially young L2 learners, have been thought to undergo a ‘silent period’, during which they do not produce any utterance (Lakshmanan and Selinker, 2001). Although students may differ significantly with respect to the duration of their silent period since some of them undergo longer periods than others, it is not proven what is exactly happening in this stage. Moreover, it cannot be proved whether there is passive acquisition of some of the elements of the target language while undergoing the silent period. Consequently, an accurate account of the development of the language of the learner is difficult to provide. Another main argument concerning interlanguage is that of comparative fallacy. As Lakshmanan and Selinker (2001) state, criticizing the language learner’s speech utterances as ungrammatical without drawing first a comparison between the interlanguage speech utterances with the related speech utterances of the native speaker is not advisable since it leads to either underestimation and/or overestimation of the student’s linguistic performance. The interlanguage competence’s information should be obtained by examining the data of the interlanguage performance. Lakshmanan and Selinker (2001) suggest that in order to achieve this and not belittle or overvalue the student’s performance, it is necessary to compare consistently the interlanguage performance data with the native speaker’s performance. Taking everything into account, interlanguage is a theory that has been supported by a number of scholars because it helps educators know what their learner’s language is like. However, it is worth mentioning that it has some weaknesses that need to be addressed. As for teachers, it is not only important that they support this theory but they also should identify its flaws as well so as not to misjudge our language learner’s performance on the language. References * Barron, A. (2003). Acquisition in Interlanguage Pragmatics: Learning How To Do Things With Words In A Study Abroad Context. Amsterdam/Philadelphia: John Benjamins. * Ellis, R. (1997) Second Language Acquisition. New York: Oxford University Press. * Fauziati, E. (2011) Interlanguage and Error Fossilization: A Study Of Indonesian Students Learning English As A Foreign Language. (Vol. I No. 1, pp. 23-38). Indonesia: Indonesian Journal of Applied Linguistics. * Han, Z. (2002). Fossilization: Five Central Issues. Toronto, Canada: The Second Language Research Forum (SLRF), Teachers College, Columbia University. * Lakshmanan, U. and Selinker, L. (2001). Analysing Interlanguage: How Do We Know What Learners Know? (Volume: 17, Issue: 4, Pages: 393-420). Southern Illinois University at Carbondale and Birkbeck College, University of London: Second Language Research. * Taylor, B. (1975) Adult Language Learning Strategies and Their Pedagogical Implications. (Vol. 9. No. 4, pp. 391-399). USA: TESOL Quarterly.

John Marshall essays

John Marshall essays In early American history, the powers of the executive and legislative branches of the government were already well defined. However, the judicial branch needed to establish its position as an equal of the other two branches. John Marshall was crucial in making this happen. His many controversial decisions helped to shape the government of today. When Marshall was called a stumbling block and impediment in the way of democratic principles the writer was reacting to the decisions that Marshall made while Chief Justice that he obviously didnt agree with. The Supreme Court under John Marshall made many contentious decisions that were unpopular with many Republicans and people from the South and West. Marshall was an advocate of a strong national government; most of his decisions favored this. In Fletcher v. Peck, one of Marshalls first decisions, the Supreme Court defined their ability to define a state law unconstitutional. Marshalls most important case, Gibbons v. Ogden, Marshall set travel as a type of interstate commerce; this allowed The Court to permit Thomas Gibbons to compete with Aaron Ogden for passage of the Hudson River. This made the state granted monopoly there void. In a case that allowed for the development of the American economy Marshall established the constitutionality of the Bank of the United States. The Supreme Court answered two questions in that ruling. They said that Congress did have the right to charter a bank, and that states did not have to ability to tax them. Marshall was a strong leader of the Supreme Court. His leadership brought belated prosperity to the United States. His many crucial decisions paved the way for the advance of the American economy, at the price of the power of the state governments. ...

Selden Colvins M A

Selden Colvins M A Many people have a divided opinion when it comes to mergers and acquisitions. It is common knowledge that the most appropriate way to save a business that is on its way to collapsing is to allow acquisition or enter into a merger with a stable one.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Selden Colvin’s M A specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More Acquisition may end up being a destruction of wealth if the acquired business does not succeed as expected. Investors should be extremely careful when entering into deals so that they do not end up suffering huge loses. The damage caused by stupid acquisitions and mergers can be so severe that some investors end up losing trillions of dollars. Despite the many challenges associated with acquisitions and mergers, the two practices are here to stay. The activities associated with mergers and acquisitions have slowed down in recent times but some investors are always keen on entering into mergers and acquisition of struggling businesses. The irony of the situation is that the most successful companies are the ones that experience failure when it comes to mergers and acquisitions. There are certain factors that investors should consider before acquiring any particular business. Companies should be very careful when making certain investments so that shareholders are not hurt in the process. The first thing that companies should look out for before acquiring a business is the balance sheet to ensure that the wealth of shareholders is protected. The balance sheet reflects the actual capital of a business. The income statements are very reliable when it comes to determining the viability of an acquisition.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More The amount of profits and sales displayed on the income statement can give a false impression about the actual state of a business. Managers should also ensure that their company cuts its costs after acquisition. Mergers are very advantageous because the merged company can be able to negotiate for larger discounts because the quantity of its supplies becomes large. The acquirers might get excited with a promising deal and in the process end up not reaching the expected target when it comes to savings. There are some new costs that come up after the integration of two companies. Merging systems that are not compatible comes with a lot of new costs. Managers with the responsibility of facilitating acquisitions and mergers have limited time to carefully analyze the processes and come up with substantial cost cuts. These kinds of complications may slow down the growth of a merged company during the initial stages. The reason why it is difficult to cut costs in a merger is that most of the anticipated savings are normally factored in the selling price. Careful negotiators ensure that the value of savings is shared between the two parties. Acquirers always aim at improving their revenues through the creation of numerous opportunities that can give them value for their investment. Customer profitability is another aspect that acquirers should pay attention to before striking any deal. Customer profitability should be measured in the shortest time possible to determine whether the acquirer goes on with the deal or not. There are four major steps that are normally used to measure customer profitability. The first step is to determine the profitability of all the services and products. All the possible costs should be determined for an acquirer to come up with net profitability of a particular business.Advertising We will write a custom essay sample on Selden Colvin’s M A specifically for you for only $16.05 $11/page Learn More The second step is to determine all the market segments and customer preferences. Customer profitability is normally c alculated in the third step by deducting all the customer related costs from customer profitability. The fourth and final step involves accounting for all the unassigned costs such as the overhead costs. The main reason why acquisitions are done is to actually gain customers. Although there are reasons that might motivate a company to buy another company, everything finally goes back to customers. The acquirer aims at maintaining the existing customers and at the same time use the acquired capabilities to attract new ones. It is important for company executives to understand that the level of profitability of acquired customers is not necessarily the same. Companies can decide to shut down those customers who are not very profitable and use the resources to provide better services to the most profitable customers. This kind of move can turn around the fortunes of an acquired business. Some of the ways that companies use to discourage less profitable customers include changing custom er service and marketing strategies. In another scenario, companies can decide to come up with new strategies that might change their unprofitable customers into profitable ones. An acquirer who is creative enough has the ability to increase the share-owner value through turning the company disasters into profits. It is important for an acquirer to get the real facts about the company to be acquired for them to be aware of what they are going to get from the deal. It is therefore advisable to be very wise when it comes to mergers and acquisitions. Company executives should understand that mergers and acquisitions are not the only ways through which a company can grow. Acquirers should only enter into deals that create economic value.Advertising Looking for essay on business economics? Let's see if we can help you! Get your first paper with 15% OFF Learn More

Understanding Mystery from the Perspectives of the Bermuda Triangle Research Paper

Understanding Mystery from the Perspectives of the Bermuda Triangle - Research Paper Example The mystery surrounding this busy sea-route derives from the fact that many ships, as well as airplanes, passing through this, have been reported to have disappeared without a trace. Thus, it becomes an intriguing proposition to evaluate the mystery that surrounds the Bermuda Triangle to understand the term mystery. The subject of the mystery is not the Triangle as such, which is naturally formed and is a physical place, not a figment of the imagination. Due to the mysterious incidents of disappearances that occurred in the area, some people also call it the Devil’s Triangle. No US government file has identified the location of Bermuda Triangle or for that matter, the Board of Geographic Names. However, the name continues to serve as a synonym for mystery, due to various instances of reported missing of ships entering the area of airplanes flying over the triangle. It adds to the element of mystery that no probable logical cause can be assigned to such disappearances. Thus, from the episodes of disappearances attributed to the Bermuda Triangle, which are beyond any reasonable explanation, it can be construed that a mystery is something that is beyond the scope of logical explanations. The geographical positioning of the Bermuda Triangle, as per existing interpretations, is off the Southeastern coast of the United States in the Atlantic Ocean, with its vertices touching Bermuda, Miami, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, roughly grounded in 500,000 square miles (Obringer, 2012). The name â€Å"Devil’s Triangle† is associated with Bermuda because once it has been known as â€Å"the Isle of Devils.† The reefs surrounding the area are quite tricky to the sailing ships, resulting in the wreckage of many and, thus, the place acquired the notoriety associated with its name.  

Women's Clubs as Vehicles for Reform Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Women's Clubs as Vehicles for Reform - Assignment Example Betty Chapman an author, a historian, teacher and librarian, clearly shouts out the above mentioned issues in her easy women’s clubs as vehicles for reforms in Houston (Chapman 1885-1918). Women clubs in Houston have done a great deal in turning things around in Houston no matter the race or religion background. She stipulates how laws in Texas had prevented married women from the use of public property earnings in running their businesses. They were not allowed to sign contracts in their own name. Therefore, the Houston women’s clubs were obligated to fight for their rights and be allowed to earn from public property and conduct their businesses. These women’s grievances led to the Houston law reforms to allow women to have access to own their own businesses despite from being married (Chapman 1885-1918). Women’s clubs have led to tremendous reforms in Houston as Betty Chapman depicts and thus she calls them as vehicles for reforms because they have revolutionized how things are done. They have advocated for leadership as well as alimony payments to mention just a few. In conclusion, I do agree with Betty Chapman’s opinion of women’s clubs as vehicles for reforms because of the commitment they have to promote women in development. Without a doubt, women clubs should be advocated in all major states to help fight for the marginalized women and pave a better life for