Creationism And Evolution Essays - Creationism, Pseudoscience

Creationism and Evolution For a long time school administrators, teachers, parents and even students have argued for and against the teaching of either creation and/or evolution. Evolution has been taught in many public schools for generations because of the scientific methods and support it has as a scientific theory of how we as humans came to be. Many religions hold different views of how humanity as we know it was created and these people believe that students should be able to hear their side as well. There is one main problem, the separation of church and state and the limits that are set within this statement. Should creation be taught as theory just like evolution? Do other creation myths need to be told to support other religions? Where must we as parents and teachers and students draw the line? In my opinion evolution should not be taught in junior high or high schools for several reasons. First of all, there is obviously too much conflict to make it worth while. When I was taught about evolution in ninth grade it was covered in a fifteen minute period and dismissed. It wasn't something that was central to understanding the rest of the natural science that I was being taught and the teacher foresaw problems with discussions surrounding the issues of creationism versus evolution. If evolution is taught in a Christian majority classroom, the students are bound to want to discuss how they have been brought up believing things differently. These students are in a difficult part of their lives as it is; trying to establish their own personal identities, figuring out what they want to do with their lives and trying to rebel against their parents. Why should science teachers add to this with a theory that conflicts with most if not all religious beliefs. They are telling students that whatever they have been taught to have faith in is also just a theory and that the evolution theory has more scientific proof. This creates a lot of stress for the students, their families and the clergy at their church. Why do we need to this? Is it simply to introduce a theory about how Charles Darwin believed the world was created? Another problem is the fact that religion is not supposed to be discussed. This has changed over the years to some extent, but not enough to support any beliefs in the school buildings. If we teach creation alongside of evolution, we are getting away from the scientific part of the discussion and basing the proof of our theories on faith. Students and teachers are not allowed to pray in school, they are not allowed to hold Bible studies in school and they are not allowed to promote certain religions to others within the school. Why then should we start a discussion that will more than likely lead to a religious discussion and then cut it off when it does? If we teach creation alongside of evolution, what creation do we teach? Do we cover Christianity and Native American stories and leave out others? Do we try to teach a bit of all of the creation stories? No, we only bring up the Genesis accounts. This leaves out many other religions and beliefs. If we attempt to cater to all the creation stories, we find ourselves in a theology course or a social studies course rather than the science we intended to support. As far back as 1925 we see court cases that bring up this issue. In Dayton, Tennessee a man by the name of John Thomas Scopes, a high school biology teacher went against the law and taught evolution theory to his students. At this time the teaching of any creation theory had been banned in Tennessee probably for the same reason I am arguing. Many other court cases have come up since then arguing for one side or the other; creationism vs. evolution. The people who supported creationism looked at it from a scientific standpoint and called it "Creation science," but this only worked for a while until another case brought this idea to an end. The establishment clause in the constitution ruled that "Creation science" still has roots in religion and therefore violates the separation of church and state. Another group arguing on the side of creation suggested that creation could be taught simply as a theory much like evolution, as long as it received a "balanced treatment." It was no big surprise that this idea made it's way into

Free Essays on Shroud And Tomb Of Christ

There almost always has been, and most likely always will be much debate over the origin of the Tomb of Christ and the Shroud of Turin, and the authenticity of these two remnants of Christ. The church of the Hole Sepluchure, where both Golgotha and the tomb of Jesus are said to be enclosed, has been around since the days of the first Christian king, while the Shroud of Turin was not well documented until late into the 13th century. The lack of evidence in either case, and the controversy surrounding them leaves the catholic church with a bit of a conundrum, and outs Christians to a test of faith. The church of the Holy Sepluchure was first found by Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. It is located at the tomb of Jesus Christ, owned by Joseph of Arimathea. The tomb is just outside the city gates of Jerusalem, because Jews did n’t let the dead be buried inside of the city except in the case of kings. The tomb was close to the place of the crucifixion, as it is believed that the same basilica is atop both Golgotha and the tomb. There is far less debate over the authenticity of the Tomb of Christ than the Shroud because it seems more than likely that the correct location of the tomb was recorded over the time elapsed between the death of Jesus and the time when, several centuries later, Helena discovered the site and started construction of the basilica over it. This is because at any given point during the elapsed time, there was always some recorded clan of Christians living inside the city of Jerusalem to pass down the tradition of where Jesus was buried. The Shroud of Turin has a much more dubious past and is filled with more controversy than any other relic save maybe the Holy Grail itself. The Shroud dates back to approximately the thirteenth century when it first turned up in mediaeval France, on display by private owners. The church suppressed the rising popularity of the cloth by removing it from the public view. ... Free Essays on Shroud And Tomb Of Christ Free Essays on Shroud And Tomb Of Christ There almost always has been, and most likely always will be much debate over the origin of the Tomb of Christ and the Shroud of Turin, and the authenticity of these two remnants of Christ. The church of the Hole Sepluchure, where both Golgotha and the tomb of Jesus are said to be enclosed, has been around since the days of the first Christian king, while the Shroud of Turin was not well documented until late into the 13th century. The lack of evidence in either case, and the controversy surrounding them leaves the catholic church with a bit of a conundrum, and outs Christians to a test of faith. The church of the Holy Sepluchure was first found by Helena, the mother of the Emperor Constantine. It is located at the tomb of Jesus Christ, owned by Joseph of Arimathea. The tomb is just outside the city gates of Jerusalem, because Jews did n’t let the dead be buried inside of the city except in the case of kings. The tomb was close to the place of the crucifixion, as it is believed that the same basilica is atop both Golgotha and the tomb. There is far less debate over the authenticity of the Tomb of Christ than the Shroud because it seems more than likely that the correct location of the tomb was recorded over the time elapsed between the death of Jesus and the time when, several centuries later, Helena discovered the site and started construction of the basilica over it. This is because at any given point during the elapsed time, there was always some recorded clan of Christians living inside the city of Jerusalem to pass down the tradition of where Jesus was buried. The Shroud of Turin has a much more dubious past and is filled with more controversy than any other relic save maybe the Holy Grail itself. The Shroud dates back to approximately the thirteenth century when it first turned up in mediaeval France, on display by private owners. The church suppressed the rising popularity of the cloth by removing it from the public view. ...

Historical Facts from 1890's Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Historical Facts from 1890's - Research Paper Example The invention of this was seen in both male and female circles, where in its early days it was played by both males and females with a popular following in both. The game of basketball also featured in colleges after it spread from YMCA gyms in 1892 (â€Å"1890-1930 Antique Style†). After the invention of basketball, the game, and the basketball as the medium of play, the rules governing the game took shape in the 1890s, especially in 1897 when the free throw was established at 15 feet from the hoop. As a result, the 1890s saw the birth of a game that has come a long way to gain popular following in modern times. In addition to sports, the first game professional football game was held in 1895 in Latrobe Pennsylvania, where Latrobe YMCA emerged as the winners against Jeannette Athletic Club (â€Å"The 1890's - The Age of Immigration†). The result was 12-0, which was quite a thrashing by the Latrobe YMCA. The year 1895 saw the first United States Golf Open occur in Newpo rt, Rhode Island, where the event was organized by USGA in which a thirty six hole competition took place between ten professionals and one amateur. Historically, it was also the first Open golfing event to be won by a foreigner, who in this case was an Englishman. Women Suffrage In women issues, two groups or unions that were fighting for the equal rights of women merged. The two groups were American Women Suffrage Movement (AWSA) and NSWA and merged in the year 1890 to form National Woman Suffrage Movement (NAWSA) under the leadership of Elizabeth Stanton (â€Å"Women's Rights Movement†¦.†). This made the women rights movement gain popularity throughout the 1890s and into the 1900s; in 1893, Colorado became the first state to take on an amendment that approved women the right to vote while Utah and Idaho followed in adoption in 1896. In addition to Idaho and Utah ratifying the women’s voting rights in 1896, there was the formation of The National Association of Colored Women in the same year. It was formed by bringing together over 100 clubs with membership of black women and aimed at promoting equality for women, raise finances for projects benefitting women and children, and opposing segregation and racial violence. To ease women suffrage, the first safety bike was made available in the United States in 1894 to suit the needs of women. This was termed as a step towards independence as women broke the convention in riding bicycles and working outside the home, gaining physical mobility. The same 1890s, in general, saw the fashion sense for women change dramatically concerning sports. This was concerning the rethinking of the fashion sense and its practicality to the activities in which women engaged especially cycling. Cycling did not require billowing skirts and corsets, but rather rational dress forms. Political Politically, the 1890s saw plenty happen in relation to the United States, especially with the implementation of policies that affected the relations of nationals and foreign affairs. In the year 1890, congress established the Oklahoma Territory on the lands that the Indians claimed to be theirs, which broke a significant trust. This is concerning the pledge that congress had made not to invade native Indian land, but rather preserve it for them. In the year that followed, a significant landmark occurred, in which a new

Skipper Charter Airline Research Proposal Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Skipper Charter Airline - Research Proposal Example The company started a few years ago with the main of growth and expansion to international flights. Skipper airline charter is a unique air charter organization that strives to be creative and pioneering leaders in the field of airline transport. Skipper Airlines is the largest provider of fly in fly out services in Bahamas and Florida. This company operates nearly hundred flights per week. The company’s main mission is to attain customer satisfaction and seek and challenge future opportunities for the company’s prosperity. The company also aims to provide high quality services to its clients through partnerships in order to remain focused on the opportunities. All these visions, missions, and objectives can be attained through an efficient marketing plan. Skipper Charter Airline has been in the industry for almost half a decade and has never failed to achieve customer satisfaction. With the aircrafts at the clients’ disposal, customers can depart at their own wi ll and timetable even within minutes after arrival at the company’s airport. The company is conscious about the customer’s time and no more can a customer miss a flight. With Skipper Charter Airlines, the customer has the power to fly to and fro without the inconvenience of waiting flights or linking flights through a major airport. When taking into account a business trip or vacation trip, a customer should think about the benefits that Skipper Airline provides which include; cost effectiveness, comfort, and high quality services. As noted earlier, the major aim of any business to increase its growth and market share. Skipper airlines key customers are tourists and business clientele. Skipper Charter Airlines has a wide range of aircrafts that suit the different client requirements. Skipper Charter Airlines offers a single VIP passenger aircraft only an hour away for the tourists or business clientele or a 50 passenger aircraft. The corporate Skipper Charter Airlines team ensures that customers’ travel experience runs on time and budget. In order to attract more customers, Skipper Charter Airlines needs to invest more in its marketing communication. The company can employ advertising, public relations and direct marketing and offer discounts. Skipper Airlines can heighten its advertising through increasing budget for its marketing. The company needs to foster for increased frequency of both audio and visual adverts in the local radio and television stations. This will assist in increasing awareness among the target customers and lead to increased customers. The company can as well endorse a celebrity or a renowned business individual in its advertising. This will make customers want to be associated with the celebrity and in turn lead to increased market share. In addition, incorporating direct marketing will assist the company get a response from customers on their needs and devise ways on how to improve customer service. Moreover, Skipp er Charter Airlines may be involved in public relations through sponsorships or being involved in corporate social responsibilities. This will assist in creating a better reputation for the company among the customers and in turn contribute to increased sales and market share. Skipper Airlines has been providing air transport services to Bahamas and Florida for almost half a decade. The company’

The Role of Culture, Rights, and Justice Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

The Role of Culture, Rights, and Justice - Essay Example Nevertheless, it becomes clear that the requirement for the formation of government is a certain form of collective ideology or shared values, and the existence of such facilitates the formation of states in the local domain and its nonexistence prevents that same formation in the global arena. It is impossible to build a ‘world state’ if there is ‘no community willing and able to support it’ (Gienow-Hecht & Schumacher 2004, 28). Likewise, for liberal theorists, the international arena is distinguished by â€Å"competing codes, rival philosophical traditions, clashing conceptions of morality† (Gienow-Hecht & Schumacher 2004, 28), or â€Å"the absence of what might be called an international sense of community† (p. 28). At this point, culture is undoubtedly an essential part of the transformation of the international system. But for a long time, culture did not serve a clear function in international relations theories. Instead of exploring the interaction between cultures and the states of conflict, theories are rooted in another plane underneath culture, that is, the nature of human beings. The subject matter of human nature is characterised by homogeneity, not diversity as in the case of culture (Harrison 2004). In the meantime, for liberal theorists, moral codes for the behaviour of the political sphere of the international arena may be based on a theoretical state of nature; they could be described in relation to individuals’ natural rights (Brown et al. 2004). Hence, according to Wendt (1999).

Mobile Learning In Higher Education

Mobile Learning In Higher Education This essay provides the research done on various colleges and universities on the usage of mobile application in promoting Mobile Learning or mLearning within the premises of the college. It also gives a brief overview of the fundamental learning advantages and some of the challenges that occurred in adoption of the mLearning over the learning done by the use of mLearning than through traditional face to face instruction or paper based learning and the current trend which is being followed. This essay also tells us about what are the various projects or programs or models going all around the world to promote the mLearning and how many have already implemented mLearning. KEYWORDS Educational Technology, Higher Education, Mobile Applications, Mobile Learning, mLearning. INTRODUCTION The aim of this essay is to investigate the concept of m-learning and the extent to which it is being implemented in higher education and to educate the students and institutes that how technology can be helpful in learning the programmes or getting the knowledge about the subject of their interest anytime anywhere they are located with the help of devices such as Smart Phones and the applications are being used in those Smart Phones. Examples of the mobile apps: Apples iTunesU, BlackBoard Mobile, the Amazon Kindle etc. Ally (2009) stated that Mobile learning is done through the use of wireless mobile technology that allows anyone to access information and learning materials from anywhere and at anytime. As a result, learners have control of when they want to learn and from which location they want to learn. Students and trainers/teachers are empowered to communicate with each other from anywhere at any time to share thoughts or data with each other and at the same time they can access the learning resources from anywhere at any time to plan the lessons which are too delivered to the students. Bereiter and Scardamalia(1994) said that the users can upload contents such as videos, word file or photos through their smart phones directly, into the discussion threads just by logging into the thread which is ongoing or they can create a new thread at any time they want despite of their location. This will enhance the functions provided by 3rd generation mobile phones and help in making the discussion more interactive. Lonsdale et al (2004) Mobile learning is distinguished by rapid and continual changes of context, as the learner moves between locations and encounters localised resources, services, and co-learners. Informal learning covers any learning that takes place beyond the classroom and formal curriculum, including learning for hobbies, curiosity, personal development, community involvement and everyday survival. What is Mobile Learning or mLearning? Osman et al. (2010) cited learning by means of wireless technological devices that can be pocketed and utilized wherever the learners device is able to receive unbroken transmission signals. Sharples et al. (2007) argues that learning supported by mobile devices such as cellular (mobile) phones, portable computers, and personal audio players. It has been suggested by Brasher and Taylor(2004, p33-37) any sort of learning that happens when the learner is not at a fixed, predetermined location, or learning that happens when the learner takes advantage of the learning opportunities offered by mobile technologies. Rajasingham (2011) states that an activity that allows individuals to be more productive when consuming, interacting, or creating information, mediated through a compact digital portable device that the individual carries on a regular basis and has reliable connectivity and fits in a pocket or purse. With the help of Mobile learning participants are not required to sit in the classroom, just similar to distant learning. Because of increase in Mobile Learning, learning has taken a new route that can occur anywhere and at any point of time. Sharples et al (2007) states that Mobile Learning can occur wherever people, individually or collectively, have problems to solve or knowledge to share. Traxler (2007) and some others defined mobile learning as learning that is wireless and is done with the help of digital devices and technologies that are currently in trend, which is generated to help the general public, and it is being used by anyone who is trying to learn something remotely. And some of the others define mobile learning by concentrating only on the mobility of learners and the mobility of learning by the means of mobile devices used by learners such as smart phones. Osman (2010) cited in his article that Traxler (2007) writes: so, mobile learning is not about mobile or about learning as previously understood, but part of a new mobile conception of society. Mobile Learning is not only to provide learning to learners whenever they are mobile but it should overcome the outdated concepts and the assumptions that were made about learning and how what it can change in the society(also from the technological point of view). Osman (2010) notes that some of the definitions and the understandings for mobile education/learning, which put the basic focus on the technologies and hardware, and it doesnt matter that it can be a handheld device such as personal digital assistants (PDAs), and mobile device such as Smartphones or Tablets. He also states that These definitions undermine a proper understanding of the uses of mobile technology in learning by confining their explanations and descriptions to the actual physical way in which the technology operates. According to him some of the definitions puts more focus on what learners experience when they use mobile technologies in education, while others inquire how mobile learning can be used to make a unique contribution to the advancement of education and other forms of e-learning. Ally (2009) writes in his book of Mobile Learning the major benefit of using wireless mobile technology in his book which is to reach people who live in remote locations where there are no schools, teachers, or libraries. With the help of Mobile technology that can be used by anyone despite of their geographical location which will in turn benefit communities in such places as a result students and workers will stay with their families and are not suppose to move for jobs or to go to a different location to learn or to access information. He also said that At the same time, business owners, agriculture workers, and other working sectors can access information to increase productivity and improve the quality of their products by learning about agriculture and there aspects remotely using mobile devices. Finally, because remote access using wireless mobile technology reduces the need for travel, its use can reduce humanitys carbon footprint on earth to help maintain a cleaner environme nt. ECAR (2012) reported that students value anytime, anywhere access to the Internet. In the most recent ECAR study of students and IT, 78% of students considered Wi-Fi extremely valuable to their academic success. While a wireless telecommunications network is obviously preferable because it allows interaction, updates, hyperlinks, and more, it is still not ubiquitous. The ECAR research report Mobile IT in Higher Education, 2011 found that 76% of institutions report good or very good mobile communication signal coverage in the area of our institution. This is a positive trend for on-campus mobile learning; however, off-campus access to networks is important as well. Application Store for Mobile Learning in the Market According to a survey done by ECAR in 2011 it states that App Brain BlackBoard website where Stand-alone mobile learning applications are proliferating at an astonishing rate: As of September 2011, the iTunes App store offered 46,340 apps in the education category, accounting for 9.35% of all apps available; as of October 2011, the total number of education apps for the Android platform (available from the Android Market) was 12,129. Established e-learning systems have evolved to offer mobile components, fostering anytime, anywhere access to coursework. Blackboard Mobile is a mobile interface for the Blackboard learning management system that runs on iPad, iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, and WebOS mobile devices. Description about the use of BlackBoard App in Higher Education Most effective use of this use is to provide the users or learners with the benefit of accessing the information anytime irrespective of their geographical location and enhance the ways to enrich teaching learning. As a result it gives the students the benefits to stay connected to teachers the discussion forum and updated to the information regarding their studies. Everyone will have everything they need right on the mobile devices they wanted just a click away or a touch away from their variety of mobile devices including Android, BlackBerry and IPhone OS. With this application students and teachers can access and upload and download the multiple format document or information. This application also provide user to create thread or discussion forum to share their thoughts on a particular topic or they can seek help online by posting their problem in the discussion thread and get a reply as soon as possible from the ones who are in present in the thread. Benefits of using a BlackBoard application on a mobile device at just  £1.99 a year or  £5.99 for life: Drop Box Integration: it helps to stay updated on the android devices or iOS with the content on the phone and their drop box account so they can upload as well post that information on to the discussion thread. Mobile Tests: students can take online test which are available on the blackboard and can submit the test as well at the same time. Push Notification: students can receive notifications for new announcements, new graded items, a test being posted, and many other course activities Announcements: this place is where instructors will post the news that students need to know. Students can access them instantly anywhere, anytime. Grades: here students can have the access of their marks of their midterms or homework assignments. Discussion: is a communication tool which helps to post a topic and all the participants can post their comments in that discussion forum. Content: can have the access of all the information related to students course they opted for. Roster: this feature provides the access to the roster of the class i.e. class list and can create a group to study. Three basic concepts of Mobile Learning Osman(2010) showed Figure 1 in which he tried to cite the three basic concepts of Mobile Learning. Mobility of Technology: means with advancement of technology nowadays the processors of mobile phones are very fast as compared to the earlier smart phones. At present day we can say that there is a tsunami coming in respect of the technology as new mobile phones are being launched in every two or three week of time. Wi-Fi networks are moving the capability as of a home broadband with 3G and now 4G in market: Wikipedia states 4G networks promise up to 1 GB per second transfer speed for walking or stationary pedestrian usage. Wikipedia says that 4G wireless began rollouts in the United States in late 2010, and by 2015 the United States will have the largest 4G coverage in the world. The processing of mobile devices is increasing along with that of the networks: Phone CPUs, the chips that power mobile computing; have recently reached the 1 GHz speed, comparable to netbooks. Almost every smart phone has sensors for landscape portrait depending upon the comfort of the user for example Nokia N8, iPhones etc. Mobility of Learning/Learner: with the help of this it doesnt depend where the user or learner is located he or she can get the access of the information whenever they want to and from wherever they are located geographically, for example: Distant Learning. The m-learning projects WITHIN HIGHER EDUCATION SECTOR Through out the world many projects and programs are going on in development of the mLearning applications and to promote mLearning within the educational institutes among the students and educators or trainers and help them to communicate remotely to share views and data. Projects going on within US Almost all the colleges and universities are taking Mobile Learning into the account to help learners to get the benefits of Mobile Learning and according to the ECAR research report done on mobile IT, 53% of colleges and universities had mobile-enabled at least one service, application, or website in the previous year. Similarly, a 2011 U.S. survey by the Campus Computing Project showed that 55.3% of public universities, 43.6% of public colleges, and 40.9% of community colleges have activated mobile apps as of fall 2011. Projects going on within UK ECAR (2012) states in their research bulletin that Outside the United States, mobile learning is growing by leaps and bounds. The U.K. MoLeNET program, possibly the worlds largest and most diverse implementation of mobile learning, fueled by more than $25 million in funding by government and academia, involves upwards of 40,000 learners in 104 different projects involving 147 colleges and 37 schools. ECAR (2012) states in their research bulletin that mobile learning project called MyArtSpace provided children on school trips to museums and galleries with mobile phones running apps linking multimedia content with the exhibits they were attending. The students could take photos, record themselves speaking, and enter notes, which the app then relayed to a website that students could share upon returning to their classrooms. Challenges in adopting mobile learning A major challenge for educators and trainers is how to develop learning materials for delivery on mobile devices. The learning materials should be in manageable learning chunks and should make use of multimedia. One approach is to develop the learning materials in the form of learning objects and then link them to form a learning segment. There are many advantages of using learning objects in mobile delivery including: they can be re-used and changed without affecting other learning objects, and they can be stored in an electronic repository for remote access at any time. YouTube (2012) states some of the challenges in a video for adopting Mobile Learning and they are as follow: Flash player which is in every smart phone but adobe said that they will not give it for every mobile device. How many devices users should have with them to access the mobile learning? To upload the data or information onto the mobile devices as the data are of heavy size so they are more and are not as good as for a Tablet(iPads, PDAs) more than a Smartphone. INCREASE IN production of Smart phones and iPads then laptops or desktops The above figure tells the increase in the production as well as the sale of the smart phones and tablets gradually since the year 1995-2010 as compared to that of a notebook or a desktop. CONCLUSION This paper gives a brief overview of some of the challenges and benefits of mLearning within the educational society to improve the outcome for learners and teachers as well. Mobile applications are growing day by day in market to help and support the learners and the teachers which in turn affects the way to communicate and share the information regarding learning perspectives. With the development of the technology the mobile technology is also increasing and it has advanced in such a way that mobile have the same chip size of the normal computer so we can use the same device to produce same outcome but it is more portable now and smaller in size. There are various applications like Blackboard Mobile in the market using which we can study on the portable devices such as smart phones, tablets, iPods etc which are smaller in size and they do the same work as a laptop or desktop wherever and whenever it is required to submit or download a document and can meet the deadlines on time. The use of mobile learning is new in education, it is important for learners and teachers to share what works and what does not work in mobile. This is critical because mobile devices are changing constantly with increasing capabilities and there is not enough time for everyone to conduct research and complete projects to learn about the best practices in mobile learning. This book is one attempt to give educators and trainers the opportunity to learn from the research and mobile learning projects so that they can build from where others have left off rather than start from the beginning. REFRENCES Scardamalia M and Bereiter C (1994). Computer support for knowledge-building communities. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 3, 265-283. Chan T, Sharples M, Vavoula G and Lonsdale P (2004). Educational metadata for mobile learning. In J Roschelle, T Chan, Y Kinshuk and SJH Yand (eds) Proceedings of the 2nd IEEE International Workshop on Wireless and Mobile Technologies in Education (WMTE). Computer Society Press. At http://csdl2.computer.org/comp/proceedings/wmte/2004/1989/00/19890197.pdf IEEE (2002). IEEE Standard for Learning Object Metadata. IEEE Std 1484.12.1-2002. NewYork:The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Mohamed Osman M. El-Hussein and Johannes C. Cronje, Defining Mobile Learning in the Higher Education Landscape, Educational Technology Society 13, no. 3, 2010, 12-21, http://www.ifetsinfciliournals/133/3.pdf Mike Sharples, Josie Taylor, and Giasemi Vavoula, A Theory of Learning for the Mobile Age, in Sage Handbook of Elearning Research (London: Sage, 2007), 221-247 Andrew Brasher and Josie Taylor, Development of a Research Plan for Use of Ambient Technology to Test Mobile Learning Theories, in Mobile Learning Anytime Everywhere: A Book of Papers from MLEARN 2004, eds Jill Attewell and Carol Savill-Smith, 2004, 33-37. Watanabe T (2001). Knowledge management architecture of integrated educational support. In Proceedings of the Ninth International Conference on Computers in Education, Seoul, 12-15 November, 1138-1141. Ally, M. (2009) Mobile Learning Transforming the Delivery of Education and Training 1-2, Sharples, Taylor, and Vavoula, A Theory of Learning for the Mobile Age, 224. Traxler, J. (2007). Defining, Discussing and Evaluating Mobile Learning: The Moving Finger Writes and Having Writ The International Review in Open and Distance Learning, 8, 1-13. Eden Dahlstrom, Tom de Boor, Peter Grunwald, and Martha Vockley, ECAR National Study of Undergraduate Students and Information Technology, 2011 (Research Report) (Boulder, CO: EDUCAUSE Centre for Applied Research, October 2011), available from http://www.educauseedu/ecar This information comes from the website Mobile IT in Higher Education, 2011 Report, Resources for ECAR Subscribers, Data Tables, available from http://www.educauseedu/ECAR/MobiIelTinHiqherEducation20l1R1238470 This information comes from the website Mobile IT in Higher Education, 2011 Report, Resources for ECAR Subscribers, Data Tables, available from http://www.educause.edu/library/resources/future-mobile-learning Gregory Dobbin, with Eden Dahistrom, Pam Arroway, and I1ark C Sheehan, Mobile ITin Higher Education, 2011 (Research Report) (Boulder, CC: EDUCAUSE Centre for Applied Research, December 2011), 15-18. Big Gains in Going Mobile; Slow Movement Towards Cloud Computing, Campus Computing Project, http://wwwcampuscomputincjnetlitem/campus-computincj-2011-biq-qains-qoing-rnobile Mike Sharples, Dan Corlett, Susan Bull, Tony Chan, and Paul Rudman, uThe Student Learning Organiser in Mobile Learning: A Handbook for Educators and Trainers, eds. A. Kukulska-Hulme and J. Traxier (London: Routledge, 2005),139-149. Taylor, J., Sharples, M., and OMalley, C., Vavoula, G., and Waycott, J., (2005) Towards a Task Model for Mobile Learning: A Dialectical Approach, International Journal of Learning Technology, Special Issue: Interactions, objects and outcomes in learning, eds. P. McAndrew and A. Jones Passey D (1999). Anytime, anywhere learning project evaluation. Lancaster: Lancaster University/AAL. Romiszowski, Hows the e-learning baby? Factors leading to success or failure of an educational technology innovation, Educational Technology, vol. 44, no. 1, pp. 3-27, 2004. L. Rajasingham, Critical Factors for Successful E-Learning: ACase Study of the Universitat Oberta de Catalunya, E-Learn Centre, Internet Interdisciplinary Institute (IN3), Barcelona, Spain, 2010. L. Rajasingham, Will Mobile Learning Bring a Paradigm Shift in Higher Education? (Education Research International Volume 2011 (2011), Essay ID 528495, 10 pages doi:10.1155/2011/528495 R. Van Eck, Digital game-based learning, Educause Review,pp. 17-30, 2006. R. Shen, M. Wang, and X. Pan, Increasing interactivity in blended classrooms through a cutting-edge mobile learning system, British Journal of Educational Technology, vol. 39, no. 6, pp. 1073-1086, 2008. H. Ryu, Designing situated learning experiences, in Innovative Mobile Learning, H. Ryu and D. Parsons, Eds., pp. 255-272, Information Science, New York, NY, USA, 2009. C. Quinn, mLearning:Mobile, wireless, in-your-pocket learning, 2000,http://www.linezine.com/2.1/features/cqmmwiyp.htm. 4G, Wikipedia, http://enwikipediaorqwiki4g YouTube (2012). The 5 Big Challenges of Mobile Learning YouTube . July 23rd 2012. Available from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofBjtGQsfX0 [Accessed 3 November 2012].

A Clean, Well-Lighted Place Essay example -- Literary Analysis, Ernest

â€Å" A Clean, Well-Lighted Place† by Ernest Hemingway is a simplistic short story in which he narrates a scene in a Cafe, where the main characters are two waiters and an old man. In the story, Hemingway hardly created a background for his characters, but this was part of his minimalist writing style. He wanted to create a story that was straightforward to the reader, and in which the reader could easily understand his attitude. His purpose for writing the story was to expose his feelings on society, politics, and the individual at the time. These feelings could be characterized by three main words: desperation, disillusionment, and loneliness. Through all of the characters in his story, the reader was able to obtain one of these feelings. However, when I read the story I wanted to know more about the characters to be able to establish a connection with them. I wanted to know how and why did each of them acquired those feelings? Therefore, I decided to change the point of vi ew of the story from third- person- limited to first- person. Unlike Hemingway, I included more personal details about one of the main characters, in this case the old man, whom I consider to be the most mysterious character of the three. This way, I could make the reader relate more to the emotions conveyed by the story. Consequently, by showing the reader the old man's background, I made Hemingway's attitude of his original story stronger, and also establish a connection between the reader and the character(s). However, I also had to modify some of the plot, and language to make my scene coherent and relevant to my point of view. The most drastic change I made to Hemingway’s short story was the change of point of view from third- person- limited to first -per... ... When I first read â€Å"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place† by Ernest Hemingway, I thought that I lacked a connection to the story. I did not feel like I knew the characters, which left me with no connection to them and intrigued me as well, especially the old man. Why did Hemingway leave out backgrounds to his characters? This motivated me to write my scene through the old man's point of view. I felt that with the change of point of view to first- person, the reader would feel more attracted to the story, and at the same time I could keep Hemingway’s attitude of despair and disillusionment intact, maybe even make it stronger. With my part of the puzzle, I felt more at peace with his original story, and I was able to establish a relationship between Hemingway (as a writer) and me (as a reader). I was able to experience his motivation for writing â€Å"A Clean, Well-Lighted Place†.

The Lust Lizard of Melancholy Cove Chapter 26~27

Twenty-six Val and Gabe entered the bar, then stepped out of the doorway and stood by the blinking pinball machine while their eyes adjusted to the darkness. Val wrinkled her nose at the hangover smell of stale beer and cigarettes; Gabe squinted at the sticky floor, looking for signs of interesting wild life. Morning was the darkest part of a day at the Head of the Slug Saloon. It was so dark that the dingy confines of the bar seemed to suck light in from the street every time someone opened the door, causing the daytime regu-lars to cringe and hiss as if a touch of sunshine might vaporize them on their stools. Mavis moved behind the bar with a grim, if wobbly, determin-ation, drinking coffee from a gar-goyle-green mug while a Tarryton extra long dangled from her lips, dropping long ashes down the front of her sweater like the smoking turds of tiny ghost poodles. She went about setting up shots of cheap bourbon at the empty curve of the bar, lining them up like soldiers before a firing squad. Every two or three minutes an old man would enter the bar, bent over and wearing baggy pants – leaning on a four-point cane or the last hope of a painless death – and climb onto one of the empty stools to wrap an arthritic claw around a shot glass and raise it to his lips. The shots wer e nursed, not tossed back, and by the time Mavis had finished her first cup of coffee, the curve of the bar looked like the queue to hell: crooked, wheezing geezers all in a row. Refreshments while you wait? The Reaper will see you now. Occasionally, one of the shots would sit untouched, the stool empty, and Mavis would let an hour pass before sliding the shot down to the next daytime regular and calling Theo to track down her truant. Most often, the ambulance would slide in and out of town as quiet as a vulture riding a thermal, and Mavis would get the news when Theo cracked the door, shook his head, and moved on. â€Å"Hey, cheer up,† Mavis would say. â€Å"You got a free drink out of it, didn't you? That stool won't be empty for long.† There had always been daytime regulars, there always would be. Her new crop started coming in around 9 A.M., younger men who bathed and shaved every third day and spent their days around her snooker table, drinking cheap drafts and keeping a laser focus on the green felt lest they get a glimpse of their lives. Where once were wives and jobs, now were dreams of glorious shots and clever strategies. When their dreams and eyesight faded, they filled the stools at the end of the bar with the day-time regulars. Ironically, the aura of despair that hung over the day-time regulars gave Mavis the closest thing to a thrill she'd felt since she last whacked a cop with her Louisville Slugger. As she pulled the bottle of Old Tennis Shoes from the well and poured it down the bar to refill their shot glasses, a bolt of electric loathing would shoot up her spine and she would scamper back to the other end of the bar and stand there breathless until her stereo pacemakers brought her heartbeat back down from redline. It was like tweaking death's nose, sticking a KICK ME sign on the head of a cobra and getting away with it. Gabe and Val watched this ritual without moving from their spot by the pinball machine. Val was cautious, just waiting for the right moment to move to the bar and ask if Theo had called. Gabe was, as usual, just being socially awkward. Mavis retreated to her spot by the coffeepot, presumably out of death's reach, and called down to the couple. â€Å"You two want something to drink, or you just window-shopping?† Gabe led them down the bar. â€Å"Two coffees please.† He looked quickly to Val for her approval, but she was fixated on Catfish, who was seated across from Mavis near the end of the bar. Just beyond him was another man, an incredibly gaunt gentleman whose skin was so white it appeared translucent under the haze of Mavis's cigarette smoke. â€Å"Hello, uh, Mr. Fish,† Val said. Catfish, who was staring at the bottom of a shot glass, looked up and forced a smile through a face betraying hangdog sorrow. â€Å"It's Jefferson,† he said. â€Å"Catfish is my first name.† â€Å"Sorry,† Val said. Mavis made a mental note of the new couple. She recognized Gabe, he'd been in with Theophilus Crowe a number of times, but the woman was a new face to her. She put the two coffees in front of Gabe and Val. â€Å"Mavis Sand,† Mavis said, but she didn't offer her hand. For years she'd avoided shaking hands because the grip often hurt her arthritis. Now, with her new titanium joints and levers, she had to be careful not to crush the delicate phalanges of her customers. â€Å"I'm sorry,† Gabe said. â€Å"Mavis, this is Dr. Valerie Riordan. She has a psychiatric practice here in town.† Mavis stepped back and Val could see the apparatus in the woman's eye focusing – when the light from over the snooker table caught it right, the eye appeared to glow red. â€Å"Pleased,† Mavis said. â€Å"You know Howard Phillips?† Mavis nodded to the gaunt man at the end of the bar. â€Å"H.P.,† Gabe added, nodding to Howard. â€Å"Of H.P.'s Cafe.† Howard Phillips might have been forty, or sixty, or seventy, or he might have died young for all the animation in his face. He wore a black suit out of the nineteenth century, right down to the button shoes, and he was nursing a glass of Guinness Stout, although he didn't look as if he'd had any caloric intake for months. Val said, â€Å"We just came from your restaurant. Lovely place.† Without changing expression, Howard said, â€Å"As a psychiatrist, does it bother you that Jung was a Nazi sympathizer?† He had a flat, upper-class British accent, and Val felt vaguely as if she'd just been spat upon. â€Å"Ray of sunshine, Howard is,† Mavis said. â€Å"Looks like death, don't he?† Howard cleared his throat and said, â€Å"Mavis has come to mock death, since most of her mortal parts have been replaced with machinery.† Mavis leaned into Gabe and Val as if guarding a secret, even as she raised her voice to make sure Howard could hear. â€Å"He's been cranky for some ten years now – and drunk most of that time.† â€Å"I had hoped to develop a laudanum habit in the tradition of Byron and Shelley,† Howard said, â€Å"but procurement of the substance is, to say the least, difficult.† â€Å"Yeah, that month you drank Nyquil on the rocks didn't help either. He'd drop off at the bar stool sittin' straight up, sit there asleep sometimes for four hours, then wake up and finish his drink. I have to say, though, Howard, you never coughed once.† Again Mavis leaned into the bar. â€Å"He pretends to have consumption sometimes.† â€Å"I'm sure the good doctor is not interested in the particulars of my substance abuse, Mavis.† â€Å"Actually,† Gabe said, â€Å"we're just waiting for a call from Theo.† â€Å"And I think I'd prefer a Bloody Mary to coffee,† Val said. â€Å"Ya'll ain't goin to talk me into chasin no monster, so don't even try,† Catfish said. â€Å"I got the Blues on me and I got some drinkin to do.† â€Å"Don't be a wuss, Catfish,† Mavis said as she mixed Val's cocktail. â€Å"Monsters are no big deal. Howard and me got one, huh, Howard?† â€Å"Walk in the proverbial park,† Howard said. Catfish, Val, and Gabe just stared at Howard, waiting. Mavis said, â€Å"Course your drinking started right after the last one, didn't it?† â€Å"Nonstop,† Howard said. Theo It occurred to Theo, as he tried to keep a safe distance from the sheriff's Caddy turning into the ranch, that he had never been trained in the proper procedure for tailing someone. He'd never really followed anyone. Well, there was a sixth-month period in the seventies when he had followed the Grateful Dead around the country but with them, you just followed the trail of tie-dye and didn't have to worry about them killing you if they found out you were behind them. He also realized that he had no idea why, exactly, he was following Burton, except that it seemed more aggressive than curling into a ball and dying of worry. The black Caddy turned through a cattle gate onto the section of the ranch adjacent the ocean. Theo slowed to a stop under a line of eucalyptus trees beside the ranch road, keeping the sheriff in sight between the tree trunks. The grassy marine terrace that dropped to the shoreline was too open to go onto without Burton noticing. He would have to let the Caddy pass over the next hill, nearly half a mile off the road, before he dared follow. Theo watched the Caddy bump over the deep ruts in the road, the front wheels throwing up mud as it climbed the hill, and suddenly he regretted not having driven the red four-wheel-drive truck. The rear-wheel-drive Mercedes might not be able to follow much farther. When the Caddy topped the hill, Theo pulled out and gunned the Mer-cedes through the cattle gate and into the field. Tall grass thrashed at the underside of the big German car as rocks and holes jarred Theo and threw Skinner around like a toy. Momentum carried them up the side of the first hill. As they approached the crest, Theo let off the gas. The Mercedes settled to a stop. When he applied the gas again, the back wheels of the Mercedes dug into the mud, stuck. Theo left Skinner and the keys in the car and ran to the top of the hill. He could see more than a mile in every direction, east to some rock outcrop-pings by the tree line, west to the ocean, and across the marine terrace to the north, which curved around the coastline and out of sight. South, well, he'd come from the south. Nothing there but his cabin and beyond that the crank lab. What he could not see was the black Cadillac. He checked the battery in his cell phone and both pistols to see that they were loaded, then he set out on foot toward the rocks. It was the only place the Caddy could have gotten out of sight. Burton had to be there. Twenty minutes later he stood at the base of the rock outcroppings, sweating and trying to catch his breath. At least maybe he'd get some lung capacity back, now that he wasn't smoking pot anymore. He bent over with his hands on his knees and scanned the rocks for any movement. These were no gentle sedimentary rocks formed over centuries of settling seas. These craggy bastards looked like gray teeth that had been thrust up through the earth's crust by the violent burp of a volcano and the rasping shift of a fault line. Lichen and seagull crap covered their surfaces and here and there a creosote bush or cypress tried to gain a foothold in the cracks. There was supposed to be a cave around here somewhere, but Theo had never seen it, and he doubted that it was big enough to park a Cadillac in. He stayed low, moving around the edge of the rocks, expecting to see the flash of a black fender at every turn. He drew his service revolver and led around each turn with the barrel of the gun, then changed his strategy. That was like broadcasting a warning. He bent over double before peeking around the next corner, figuring that if Burton heard him or was waiting, he would be aiming high. The vastness of what Theo didn't know about surveillance and combat techniques seemed to be expanding with every step. He just wasn't a sneaky guy. He skirted a narrow path between two fanglike towers of rock. As he prepared to take a quick peek around the next turn, his foot slipped, sending a pile of rocks skittering down the hill like broken glass. He stopped and held his breath, listening for the sound of a reaction somewhere in the rocks. There was only the crashing surf in the distance and a low whistle of coastal wind. He ventured a quick glance around the rock and before he could pull back, the metallic click of a gun cocking behind his head sounded like icicles being driven into his spine. Molly Molly was sorting through the piles of clothing the pilgrims had left by the cave entrance. She had come up with two hundred and fifty-eight dollars in cash, a stack of Gold Cards, and more than a dozen vials of antidepressants. A voice in her head said, â€Å"You haven't seen this many meds since you were on the lock-down ward. They have a lot of gall calling you crazy.† The narrator was back, and Molly wasn't at all happy about it. For the last few days, her thinking had been incredibly clear. â€Å"Yeah, you're helping a lot with my mental health self-image,† she said to the narrator. â€Å"I liked it better when it was just me and Steve.† None of the pilgrims seemed to notice that Molly was talking to herself. They were all in some trancelike state, stark naked, seated in a semicircle around Steve, who lay in the back of the cave, where it was dark, with his head tucked under his forelegs, flashing sullen colors across his flanks: olive drab, rust, and blue so dark that it appeared more like an afterimage on the back of the eyelid than an actual color. â€Å"Oh yeah, you and Steve,† the narrator said snidely. â€Å"There's a healthy couple – the two greatest has-beens of all time. He's sulking, and you're robbing people who are even nuttier than you are. Now you're going to feed them to old lizard lick over there.† â€Å"Am not.† â€Å"Looks like none of these people has had any sun or exercise since high school gym class. Except for that guy who came in Birkenstocks, and he has that Gandhi-tan vegetarian starvation stare that looks like he'd slaughter a whole kindergarten for a Pink's foot-long with sauer-kraut. You feel okay about making them strip and prostrate themselves before the big guy?† â€Å"I thought it would make them go away.† â€Å"The lizard is using you.† â€Å"We care about each other. Now just shut up. I'm trying to think.† â€Å"Oh, like you've been thinking so far.† Molly shook her head violently to try and dislodge the narrator from her mind. Her hair whipped about her face and shoulders and stood out in a wild mess. The narrator was quiet. Molly pulled a compact out of one of the pilgrims' purses and looked at herself in the mirror. She certainly couldn't have looked much crazier. She braced for the narrator's comment, but it didn't come. She tried to get in touch with the warm feeling that had been running through her since Steve had appeared, but it just wasn't there. Maybe the pilgrims were using up his energy. Maybe the magic had just passed. She remembered sitting on a deck in Malibu, waiting for a producer who had just made love to her, only to have his Hispanic maid show up with a glass of wine and an apology that â€Å"The mister had to go to the studio, he very sorry, you call him next week please.† Molly had really liked the guy. She'd broken her foot kicking his spare Ferrari as she left and had to eat painkillers through the filming of her next movie, which eventually put her in detox. She never heard from the producer again. That was being used. This was different. â€Å"Right,† said the narrator sarcastically. â€Å"Shhhhh,† Molly said. She heard someone scuffling on the rocks outside the cave. She snatched up the assault rifle and waited just inside the cave mouth. Twenty-seven Val Val was wishing she had a video recorder to preserve the gargantuan lie that Mavis Sand and Howard Phillips had been telling over the last hour. According to them, ten years ago the village of Pine Cove had been visited by a demon from hell, and only through the combined effort of a handful of drunks were they able to banish the demon whence it came. It was a magnificent delusion, and Val thought that she could at least get an aca-demic paper on shared psychosis out of it. Being around Gabe had ignited her enthusiasm for research. When Mavis and Howard wrapped up their story, Catfish started in with his tale of being pursued through the bayou by a sea monster. Soon Gabe and Val were spouting the details of Gabe's theory that the monster had evolved the ability to affect the brain chemistry of its prey. Tipsy after a few Bloody Marys and taken by the momentum of the tale, Val confessed her replacement of Pine Cove's supply of antidepressants with placebos. Even as she unburdened herself, Val realized that her and Gabe's stories were no more credible than the fairy tale Mavis and Howard had just told. â€Å"That Winston Krauss is a weasel,† Mavis said. â€Å"Comes in here every day acting like his shit don't stink, then overcharges the whole town for something they ain't even gettin. Should'a known he was a fish-fucker.† â€Å"That's in strictest confidence,† Val said. â€Å"I shouldn't have mentioned it.† Mavis cackled. â€Å"Well, it ain't like I'm gonna run tell Sheriff Burton on you. He's weasel with a capital Weas. Besides, girl, you increased my business by eighty percent when you took the wackos off their drugs. And I thought it was old Mopey down there.† Mavis shot a bionic thumb toward Catfish. The Bluesman put down his drink. â€Å"Hey!† Gabe said, â€Å"So you believe that there really is a sea monster on that ranch?† â€Å"What reason would you have to lie?† said Howard. â€Å"It would seem that Mr. Fish is an eyewitness as well.† â€Å"Jefferson,† Catfish said. â€Å"Catfish Jefferson.† â€Å"Shut up, you chickenshit,† Mavis spat. â€Å"You could have helped Theo when he asked you. What's that boy think he's doing following that sheriff out to the ranch anyway? It's not like he can do anything.† Gabe said, â€Å"We don't know. He just left and told us to come here and wait for his call.† â€Å"Ya'll some heartless souls,† Catfish said. â€Å"I lost me a good woman because of all this.† â€Å"She's smarter than she looks,† Mavis said. â€Å"Theo has my Mercedes,† Val added, feeling out of place even as she said it. Suddenly she felt more ashamed of looking down on these people than she did about all of her professional indiscretions. â€Å"I'm getting worried,† said Gabe. â€Å"It's been over an hour.† â€Å"I don't suppose you thought about calling him?† Mavis asked. â€Å"You have his cell phone number?† Gabe asked. â€Å"He's the constable. It's not like he's unlisted.† â€Å"I suppose I should have thought of that,† said Howard. Mavis shook her head and one of her false eyelashes sprung up like a snare trap. â€Å"What, you three got thirty years of college between you and not enough smarts to dial a phone without a blueprint?† â€Å"Astute observation,† Howard said. â€Å"I ain't got no college,† Catfish said. â€Å"Well, cheers to you for being just naturally stupid,† Mavis said, picking up the phone. The daytime regulars at the end of the bar had snapped out of their malaise to have a laugh at Catfish. There's nothing quite so satisfying to the desperate as having someone to look down on. Theo The gun barrel was pushed so hard into the spot behind Theo's ear that he thought he could hear bone cracking. Burton reached around and took the .357 and tossed it aside, then he took the automatic from Theo's waistband and did the same. â€Å"On the ground, facedown.† Burton kicked Theo's feet out from under him, then put his knee in the constable's back and handcuffed him. Theo could taste blood where his lip had split hitting the rock. He turned his head to the side, raking his cheek on some lichen. He was terrified. Every muscle in his body ached with the need to run. Burton smacked him across the back of the head with his pistol, not hard enough to knock him out, but when the white-hot light of the blow faded, Theo could feel blood oozing into his right ear. â€Å"You fucking stoner. How dare you fuck with my business?† â€Å"What business?† Theo said, hoping ignorance might buy his life. â€Å"I saw your car at the lab, Crowe. The last time I talked to Leander he was on his way to see you. Now where is he?† â€Å"I don't know.† The pistol smacked Theo on the other side of the head. â€Å"I don't fucking know!† Theo shrieked. â€Å"He was at the lab, then he was gone. I didn't see him leave.† â€Å"I don't care if he's alive or dead, Crowe. And it doesn't make any difference to you either. But I need to know. Did you kill him? Did he run? What?† â€Å"I think he's dead.† â€Å"You think?† Theo could feel Burton rearing back to hit him again. â€Å"No! He's dead. He's dead. I know it.† â€Å"What happened?† Theo tried to think of a plausible explanation, something that would buy him a minute, a few more seconds even, but he couldn't clear his head. â€Å"I'm not sure,† he said. â€Å"I?CI heard gunfire. I was in the shed. When I came out, he was gone.† â€Å"Then how do you know he's dead?† Theo couldn't see any advantage to telling Burton that Molly had told him. Burton would track her down and put her in the same shallow grave that he was going to end up in. â€Å"Fuck you,† Theo said. â€Å"Figure it out.† The pistol whipped across the back of Theo's head and he nearly passed out this time. He heard a ringing in his ears, but a second later he realized that it wasn't in his ears at all. His cell phone was ringing in his shirt pocket. Burton rolled him over and put the barrel of the gun on Theo's right eyelid. â€Å"We're going to answer this, Crowe. And if you fuck up, the calling party is going to hear a very loud disconnect.† The sheriff bent down until his face was almost touching Theo's and reached for the phone. Suddenly a series of deafening explosions went off a few feet away and bullets whined off the rocks like angry wasps. Burton rolled off Theo and into a shallow crevice just below them. Theo felt someone grab his collar and pull him to his feet. Before he could see who it was, a dozen hands closed on him and dragged him out of the sun. He fell hard on his back and the gunfire stopped. His phone was still ringing. A cloud of bats was swirling above him. He looked up to see Molly Michon standing over him with a smoking assault rifle, and in that second, she looked like what he had always ima-gined an avenging angel might look like, except for the six naked white guys standing behind her. â€Å"Hi, Theo,† she said. â€Å"Hi, Molly.† Molly pointed to the phone in his shirt pocket with the barrel of her rifle. â€Å"You want me to get that?† â€Å"Yeah, it might be important,† Theo said. There was a gunshot and a bullet whined off the edge of the cave entrance and ricocheted into the darkness. Theo could feel the roar that rose up out of the back of the cave vibrating in his ribs. The Sheriff Burton reached over the edge of the crevice and fired a shot in the general direction of the cave, then braced himself for return fire from the AK-47, but instead he heard a roaring that sounded like someone had dropped the entire cast of The Lion King in a deep fryer. Burton was not a coward, not by any means, but a man would have to be insane not to be frightened by that noise. Too much weirdness, too fast. A woman in a leather bikini and thigh-high boots firing an AK-47 while six naked guys dragged Crowe into a cave. He needed time to regroup, call in backup, drink a fifth of Glenlivet. It seemed safe here for the time being. As long as he didn't move, no one could get a firing angle on him without making a target of himself. He pulled his cell phone from his jacket pocket, then paused, trying to figure out who to call. A general officer-in-trouble call could bring anyone, and the last thing he needed was television helicopters hovering around. Besides, his goal wasn't to arrest the suspects, he needed them silenced for good. He could call in the guys from the crank lab, if he could get hold of them, but the vision of a bunch of untrained illegal immigrants running around on this hill with automatic weapons didn't seem like the best strategy either. He had to call SWAT, but only his guys. Eight of the twenty men on the SWAT team were in his pocket. Again, he couldn't go through dispatch. They'd have to be called in on private lines. He dialed the number that rang into the information center deep in the basement of the county justice building. The Spider picked up on the first ring. â€Å"Nailsworth.† â€Å"It's Burton. Listen, don't talk. Call Lopez, Sheridan, Miller, Morales, O'Hara, Crumb, Connelly, and LeMay. Tell them to come in full SWAT to the Beer Bar Ranch north of Pine Cove, the northern access road. There's a cave here. Pull up whatever maps you need and give them directions. Do not use open channels. They are not to log in or report to anyone where they are going. There are at least two suspects in the cave with automatic weapons. I'm pinned down about ten yards from the west-facing entrance. Have them meet south of the rocks, they'll see them, then have Sheridan call me. No aircraft. Find out if there's another entrance to this cave. I need everyone in place ASAP. Can you do it?† â€Å"Of course,† the Spider said. â€Å"It's going to take them a minimum of forty minutes, maybe more if I can't find them all.† Burton could hear the Spider's fat fingers blazing on his keyboard already. â€Å"Send whoever you can find. Tell them to come in separate cars. Tell them to avoid sirens if possible on the way up, definitely once they hit the ranch.† â€Å"Do you have descriptions of the suspects?† â€Å"It's Theophilus Crowe and a woman, five-eight, one twenty, twenty-five to forty years old, gray hair, wearing a leather bikini.† â€Å"Twenty-five to forty? Pretty specific,† the Spider said sarcastically. â€Å"Fuck you, Nailsworth. How many women do you think are running around these hills wearing a leather bikini and shooting an AK? Call me when they are on the way.† Burton disconnected and checked the battery on the phone. It would last. Since the roaring sound had come from the cave, it had been quiet, but he didn't dare peek over the edge of the crevice. â€Å"Crowe!† he shouted. â€Å"It's not too late to work this out!† Theo The naked guys were standing over Theo, wearing dazed smiles, as if they'd all just shared a big pipe of opium. â€Å"Jesus, was that it?† Theo asked, Steve's roar still ringing in his ears. â€Å"Him,† Molly corrected, holding up a finger to shush Theo as she pressed the answer button on his phone. â€Å"Hello,† she said into the phone. â€Å"None of your business. Who is this?† She covered the mouthpiece and said, â€Å"It's Gabe.† â€Å"Tell him I'm okay. Ask him where he is.† â€Å"Theo says he's okay. Where are you?† She listened for a second, then covered the mouthpiece again. â€Å"He's at the Slug.† â€Å"Tell him I'll call him right back.† â€Å"He'll call you back.† She disconnected and tossed the phone in the pile of clothing by the door. Theo looked up at the naked guys. He thought he recognized a couple of them, but didn't want to acknowledge that he did. â€Å"Would you guys back off a little?† Theo said. They didn't move. Theo looked at Molly. â€Å"Can you tell them to go somewhere? They're making me nervous.† â€Å"Why?† â€Å"Molly, I don't know if you've notice, but all these guys are in a – a state of arousal.† â€Å"Maybe they're just glad to see you.† â€Å"Would you tell them to back off, please?† Molly motioned for the naked guys to move away. â€Å"Go. Go. Back to the back of the cave, guys. Go. Go. Go.† She poked at a couple of them with the assault rifle. Slowly they turned and ambled farther back into the cave. â€Å"What in the hell is wrong with them?† â€Å"What do you mean, wrong? They're acting like all guys do, they're just being more honest about it.† â€Å"Molly, seriously, what did you do to them?† â€Å"I didn't do anything. That's how they've been acting since they saw Steve back there.† Theo looked to the back of the cave, but could only see the partially lit backs of a group of people sitting on the cave floor. â€Å"It's like they're in a trance or something.† â€Å"Yeah, isn't it cool? They came to help me get you when I asked, though. So they're not total zombies. I'm, like, in charge.† Blood was dripping out of Theo's scalp, matting his hair and leaving spots on his shirt. â€Å"That's great, Molly. Could you get these handcuffs off me?† â€Å"I was going to ask you about those. Every time I see you, you're in handcuffs. Do you have a fetish or something?† â€Å"Please, Molly, there's a key in my front pocket.† â€Å"He gave you the key?† â€Å"It's my key.† â€Å"I see,† Molly said with a knowing smile. â€Å"Handcuffs all use the same key, Molly. Please help me get out of these.† She knelt and reached into his pocket, keeping her eyes locked on his through the process. His head throbbed when he rolled over so she could get to the cuffs. As she pulled them off, they heard Burton call from outside. â€Å"Crowe! It's not too late to work this out!† Once his hands were free, Theo threw his arms around Molly and pulled her close. She dropped her rifle and returned his embrace. Another roar emanated from the back of the cave. A couple of the pilgrims shrieked and Molly let go of Theo and stood up, gazing back into the darkness. â€Å"It's okay, Steve,† she said. â€Å"What in the hell was that?† Burton shouted from outside. â€Å"That was Steve,† Molly shouted back. â€Å"You were asking what happened to Joseph Leander. Well, that was it. Steve ate him.† â€Å"How many of you are in there?† Burton asked. Molly looked around. â€Å"A bunch.† â€Å"Who in the hell are you?† â€Å"I am Kendra, Warrior Babe of the Outland.† She shot a silly grin at Theo, who was trying to follow what was going on up here, while listening to some disturbing stirring noises going on in the back of the cave. â€Å"What do you want?† Burton asked. Without a beat, Molly said, â€Å"Ten percent of the gross on all my films, retroactive fifteen years, an industrial-strength weed-whacker with gas, and world peace.† â€Å"Seriously. We can work this out.† â€Å"Okay. I want sixty peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, a couple of gallons of Diet Coke, and†¦Ã¢â‚¬  She turned to Theo, â€Å"You want anything?† Theo shrugged. Hell, as long as they were stalling. â€Å"A new Volvo station wagon.† â€Å"And a new Volvo station wagon,† Molly shouted. â€Å"And we want it with two cup holders, you bastard, or the deal's off.† She turned and beamed at Theo. â€Å"Nice touch.† â€Å"You deserve it,† Molly said. Suddenly her eyes went wide as she looked past Theo. â€Å"No, Steve!† she screamed. Theo rolled over to see a huge pair of jaws descending over him.

PA Constitutional Convention essays

PA Constitutional Convention essays The drafting of a constitution was not an easy task to accomplish, especially for a newly founded and independent nation. This task was then given to a few representatives from the colonies in order for them to draft a constitution that would serve the best interests of the people it was to govern over. This was not an easy task because of the differences faced by many of the citizens, the differing issues that faced individual colonies, as well as the colonies as a whole nation. Pennsylvania played its own key role with its seven representatives sent to aid in the drafting of the constitution. Benjamin Franklin, Pennsylvanias most prominent political figure was there to give his assistance in developing the new government. Dr. Franklin was one of the few American colonists that held any kind of international political sway because of his duties as ambassador for the American people. Probably the most influential person to the continental convention from Pennsylvania was the Scottish born James Wilson. Wilson thought that the appointment of a president was just as dangerous as having a monarch. He strongly believed that the government served the people, that all power was derived from the people, and rejected the social contract theory that people allowed themselves to be ruled in exchange for certain guaranteed rights. Wilson felt that the executive should be one person that is elected to office by representatives that are elected by the people; this syste m was known as the Electoral College. Wilson served in congress from 1775-1777, 1783, and 1785-1787, he would also eventually serve on the Supreme Court as well. Another figure from Pennsylvania was Thomas Mifflin who served in congress from 1774-1775 and again in 1783-1784. Mifflin was a general and one of the first officers commissioned in the newly founded continental army. Robert Morris also served in congress from 1776-1778 ...

Implementing QuickSort Sorting Algorithm in Delphi

Implementing QuickSort Sorting Algorithm in Delphi One of the common problems in programming is to sort an array of values in some order (ascending or descending). While there are many standard sorting algorithms, QuickSort is one of the fastest. Quicksort sorts by employing a divide and conquer strategy to divide a list into two sub-lists. QuickSort Algorithm The basic concept is to pick one of the elements in the array, called a pivot. Around the pivot, other elements will be rearranged. Everything less than the pivot is moved left of the pivot - into the left partition. Everything greater than the pivot goes into the right partition. At this point, each partition is recursive quick sorted. Heres QuickSort algorithm implemented in Delphi: procedure QuickSort(var A: array of Integer; iLo, iHi: Integer) ; var   Ã‚  Lo, Hi, Pivot, T: Integer; begin   Ã‚  Lo : iLo;   Ã‚  Hi : iHi;   Ã‚  Pivot : A[(Lo Hi) div 2];   Ã‚  repeat   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  while A[Lo] Pivot do Inc(Lo) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  while A[Hi] Pivot do Dec(Hi) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  if Lo Hi then   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  begin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  T : A[Lo];   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A[Lo] : A[Hi];   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  A[Hi] : T;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Inc(Lo) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Dec(Hi) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  end;   Ã‚  until Lo Hi;   Ã‚  if Hi iLo then QuickSort(A, iLo, Hi) ;   Ã‚  if Lo iHi then QuickSort(A, Lo, iHi) ; end; Usage: var   Ã‚  intArray : array of integer; begin   Ã‚  SetLength(intArray,10) ;   Ã‚  //Add values to intArray   Ã‚  intArray[0] : 2007;   Ã‚  ...   Ã‚  intArray[9] : 1973;   Ã‚  //sort   Ã‚  QuickSort(intArray, Low(intArray), High(intArray)) ; Note: in practice, the QuickSort becomes very slow when the array passed to it is already close to being sorted. Theres a demo program that ships with Delphi, called thrddemo in the Threads folder which shows additional two sorting algorithms: Bubble sort and Selection Sort.

Draft of your File-Sharing Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Draft of your File-Sharing - Essay Example Ultimately this hurts the musical artist because the artist does not receive the profit they deserve from this exchange. This downloading is illegal and should be banned. However, no solid action has been taken thus far. Moral dilemmas in addition to monetary issues develop over these infractions of copyright laws. If law enforcement as well as the general public does not do something, the artists will continue to not profit by the P2P software. Something concrete must be done to protect these artists and stop people from downloading music illegally. It is apparent that album sales have been reduced drastically because of P2P software. This action only hurts the artists and destroys their ability to earn their livelihood. It is time to stop this menace. Strict actions must be taken to ensure that no illegal copies of any music album are made. It seems like nothing has been done to eliminate P2P websites and software in the past, but necessary steps must be taken now in order to protect the artists. Examples of peer-to-peer software include, but are not limited to: music-oasis, bearshare, frostwire, and ez-tracks. The idea behind the software is that users contribute their own songs to other users while downloading new music in the process. It is based on the concept of sharing: you give me your Elton John song and I will give you my Cher song. In these circumstances, there is no exchange of money involved. The artist does not benefit from this software in any way. Consumers have always shared music- when cd’s were popular, it was common to borrow a cd from a friend and put the songs on the computer. The concept of mass communal sharing via the Internet is clever, and it must be nice to not have to pay for music. However, in the end the consumer is only hurting himself. For instance, an artist distributes a single. The song becomes popular. The radio plays it all the time, people hum it absentmindedly while they are at

Important Change management in Abu Dhabi police department Essay

Important Change management in Abu Dhabi police department - Essay Example This model was developed through cooperation between the police, city departments and the community. The community policing structure contains police officers, community relations officers, neighborhood watches and other parties. Over the fifty-three years since its establishment, the Abu Dhabi Police Department has seen expansion in both structure and scope. A major motivation to modernize and re-structure the ADP has come from the rapid growth in the population of UAE, especially that of Abu Dhabi. According to 2006 statistics, the UAE population was estimated at 2.94 million, with a growth rate of 6.5%, while the Abu Dhabi population was estimated at 1.5 million (Abu Dhabi Department of Planning and Economy, 2009). This high growth rate has been due to rapid economic growth, which has attracted large-scale immigration from neighbouring Arab countries, the Indian sub-continent, and the Far East. Economic development led to the adoption of advanced technologies even by criminals, who have undertaken ever more sophisticated crimes related to trade, drugs and money laundering. In addition, changes in lifestyles led to weakening of family ties and resulting in many people living alone and isolated. As a result of these changes, the ADP realized that it would have to change its traditional approach in order to improve its performance in preventing crime. More specifically, ADP has made an effort to initiate a Community Policing Program that will engage the mutual participation of the police and the public in crime prevention. To initiate a closer and more casual relationship between the ADP and the local public. Police work does not begin only after theft or other crimes have occurred but should be preventive in nature and include the involvement of the community. More interaction between the local public and the