The Concept Of Discourse Community Essay Example For Students

The Concept Of Discourse Community Essay In his article The Concept of Discourse Community, John Swales reports that a certain group of people can be described as a discourse community if that group could share some characteristics. In order to figure out whether or not those characteristics apply to a certain group of people, a methodology, which is a closer study of the behaviors and activities of the group, must be conducted throughout observations and interviews with some of the members. This paper conveys a study of a group of workers in Dayton Towers Luxury Apartments, and then relates, if possible, the results to the standards of discourse community that Swales describes in his article, followed by some explanations of what was learned from this experience. When I first entered the front office in Dayton Towers, the staff were smiling and welcoming the idea of being observed for a while. The office in the reception area of the building consists of two people; the leasing manager, and the building issues manager. There is a maintenance team, whom their staffs dress up uniformly and do not stay in the office, but have another room to stay in. We will write a custom essay on The Concept Of Discourse Community specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now There are 3 people under the maintenance department. The staffs communicate with each other informally. I observed that each of them has a wireless communicating device. Amongst the responsibilities of the leasing office are to receive any complaints from the tenants, receive packages of mails on behalf of the tenants in case of their absence, and arrange monthly†¦

The Ancient History of Abortion and When it Began

The Ancient History of Abortion and When it Began Abortion is often presented as if it were new, cutting-edge, scientifica product of the modern erawhen it is, in fact, as old as recorded history. Earliest Known Description of Abortion The earliest known description of abortion comes from the Ebers Papyrus (ca. 1550 BCE), an ancient Egyptian medical text drawn, ostensibly, from records dating as far back as the third millennium BCE. The Ebers Papyrus suggests that an abortion can be induced with the use of a plant-fiber tampon coated with a compound that included honey and crushed dates. Later herbal abortifacients included the long-extinct silphium, the most prized medicinal plant of the ancient world, and pennyroyal, which is still sometimes used to induce abortions (but not safely, as it is highly toxic). In Aristophanes Lysistrata, Calonice refers to a young woman as well-cropped, and trimmed, and spruced with pennyroyal.Abortion is never explicitly mentioned in the Bible, but we know that the ancient Egyptians, Persians, and Romans, among others, would have practiced it during their respective eras. The absence of any discussion of abortion in the Bible is conspicuous, and later authorities attempted to close the gap. The Babylonian Talmud (Niddah 23a) suggests a Jewish response, by a Rabbi Meir, that would have been consistent with contemporaneous secular sources permitting abortion during early pregnancy: [A woman] can only abort something in the shape of a stone, and that can only be described as a lump. Chapter two of an early Christian text prohibits all abortion  but does so only within the context of a longer passage that also condemns theft, covetousness, perjury, hypocrisy, and pride. Abortion is never mentioned in the Quran, and later Muslim scholars hold a range of views regarding the morality of the practicesome holding that it is always unacceptable, others holding that it is acceptable up to the 16th week of pregnancy. Earliest Legal Ban on Abortion The earliest legal ban on abortion dates from the 11th-century BCE Code of Assura  and imposes the death penalty on married women who procure abortions without the permission of their husbands. We know that some regions of ancient Greece also had some sort of ban on abortion, because there are fragments of speeches from the ancient Greek lawyer-orator Lysias (445-380 BCE) in which he defends a woman accused of having an abortion. But, much like the Code of Assura, it may have only applied in cases where the husband had not granted permission for the pregnancy to be terminated. The Hippocratic Oath forbade physicians from inducing elective abortions (requiring that physicians vow not give to a woman a pessary to produce abortion), but Aristotle held that abortion was ethical if performed during the first trimester of pregnancy, writing in the Historia Animalium that there is a distinctive change that takes place early in the second trimester: About this period (the ninetieth day) the embryo begins to resolve into distinct parts, it having hitherto consisted of a fleshlike substance without distinction of parts. What is called effluxion is a destruction of the embryo within the first week, while abortion occurs up to the fortieth day; and the greater number of such embryos as perish do so within the space of these forty days. As far as we know, surgical abortion was not common until the end of the 19th century and would have been reckless prior to the invention of the Hegar dilator in 1879, which made dilation-and-curettage (DC) possible. But pharmaceutically-induced abortions, different in function and similar in effect, were extremely common in the ancient world.

Average ACT Score - which one matters to you

Average ACT Score - which one matters to you SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You're probably curious about how you stack up against average ACT scores. But how many types of averages are there, and which averages are important for you? How about the national average ACT score? Or ACT score averages by gender and by ethnicity? We'll discuss official results for all these questions and tell you which ACT average actually matters for your future. What is the ACT average score? That depends on which group of students you're looking at.We'll look at national averages, averages by gender, and averages by ethnicity. Then we'll discuss which average ACT scores actually matter to you. National Average ACT Score The national average for the ACT stays roughly the same from year to year. For the graduating class of 2014, the ACT reported 1,845,787 total test takers. These were the average scores by section, and as a composite score: Composite: 20 English: 19-20 Math: 19-20 Reading: 20-21 Science: 20-21 All scores reported are the 50th-percentile score, meaning half the students scored above this number, and half scored below. If you scored the national average of 20 composite, you have a decent selection of schools that you have a great chance of getting into. If you raise your score by just a few points, this can make a huge difference in the schools that you're likely to get into. Now a few more ACT average scores for curiosity: Average ACT Scores by Gender Students Percent English Mathematics Reading Science Composite Males 856,651 46 20.0 21.4 21.1 21.2 21.1 Females 977,127 53 20.7 20.5 21.5 20.5 20.9 Interestingly, just like the SAT, boys tend to score higher in mathematics and science, while girls score higher in English and reading. Of course, these are national averages - just because you're a particular gender has little influence on the score you'll receive. It's much more up to the individual - if you stay motivated and prep for the ACT, you can earn a high score. Average ACT Scores by Ethnicity When registering for the ACT, the College Board allows students the option to specify their ethnicity. Most students do share their ethnicity, and the ACT has reported average scores across ethnicity: Ethnicity Students Percent English Mathematics Reading Science Composite All Students 1,845,787 20.3 20.9 21.3 20.8 21.0 Black/African American 241,678 13% 15.8 17.2 17.3 17.0 17.0 American Indian/Alaska Native 14,263 0.8% 16.6 18.1 18.4 18.3 18.0 White 1,038,435 56% 22.0 22.0 22.8 22.1 22.3 Hispanic/Latino 281,216 15% 17.7 19.2 19.1 18.8 18.8 Asian 80,370 4% 22.8 24.9 22.8 23.2 23.5 Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 5,676 0.3% 17.5 19.2 18.7 18.6 18.6 Two or more races 70,013 4% 20.6 20.9 21.7 21.0 21.2 No response 4,136 6% 20.0 20.7 21.1 20.5 20.7 Once again, take this information with a huge grain of salt. While there are score differences by ethnicity, these are very rough metrics that may not apply to you. Because these are national averages, it ignores the ability of you as an individual to exceeds the average. Just by searching for this information, you're already outperforming doing more than what most students do to learn about the ACT. Now we get to the real question - which average ACT scores actually matter for you? The answer is: Average ACT Scores for Your Target Colleges The average ACT score that you should care about is the average ACT score at the colleges you're planning to apply to. If you're applying to selective colleges like those in the Ivy League, you'll need to score much higher than the national ACT score average of 20. Likewise, if you're applying to local community colleges, you may not need to score as high as 20 on the ACT. Your score target is unique to you, based on the schools you're interested in. We're going to take you through an easy process to figure out what ACT score you need to aim for, based on just 10 minutes of work. Step 1: Download this Worksheet To work through the following steps, we'll be filling out a worksheet for all the schools you're planning to apply to. Click here to download it, or click the image below. I recommend you print it out so that you can write on paper and keep it next to your work space. Step 2: Fill in the schools you want to get into in the first column. Include your reach schools (or schools that you have a smaller chance of getting into). Don't include your "safety schools," or schools that you're 90% sure you'll get into (because you're likely already scoring well enough to get into those schools). If you don't know what schools you're aiming for yet, feel free to use ones that have been suggested to you, or schools that your friends are interested in. I recommend that you take the time to research schools first, though, so that we have a realistic target score. Step 3: For each school, Google for "[name of school] average ACT". For example, if I'm interested in U Alabama, I'll do the following search: Most schools will have an about.com link or the school website, as shown here. Either page will usually list the25th/75th percentile scoresfor current U Alabama students. As a reminder of what this means: 25th percentile means that 25% of the students attending have a score at or below that number (this is below average). 75th percentile means that 75% of students have a score at or below that number. In essence, this covers the middle 50% of all students admitted to U Alabama. If you score at the 75th percentile for any school,you have a great chance at getting in. If you're at the 25th percentile, you'll need to have a strong application to boost your odds of getting in. Fill out the worksheet this way for all the schools on your list. Step 4: Calculate your Final ACT Target Score Finally, take the average of both columns - 25th percentile, and 75th percentile. I recommend that youuse the 75th percentile average as your target score.If you achieve this score through hard work, you'll have a very strong shot at getting into many of the schools on your list. For you, this is what your "Average ACT score" should be. It's unique to you - not the nation at large, and not your state or gender average score. Finally, you should set a target for your score for each section. My suggestion would be to use the composite score for each section. If you're applying to engineering schools or as a science major, your math and science scores can be higher than your other sections. Similarly, if you're applying to liberal arts programs or as a humanities major, your English and Reading scores can be higher. Step 5: Share Your Target Score As a last step, I suggest that you do two things with your score target: Share it with your parents. This will be a helpful conversation around your personal goals and how you want to achieve your target ACT score. Tape it to your wall. This will keep your goal in mind so that you can guide your studying powerfully. What to Do Next: Is the ACT easier than the SAT? Read to learn the details. Get a free guide to improving 4+ ACT points. Find out the best ACT test dates and build your personal testing schedule. Check out our online ACT prep program.We have a 4 point improvement guarantee - if you don't improve your score by 4 points, you get every penny of your money back. Plus, you get a 5-day free trial, so if you don't feel that it's helping you, you can cancel at any time.

In light of ever-expanding network activity, what should be the role Essay

In light of ever-expanding network activity, what should be the role of supra-national organizations in crises like the Arab Spring and Libya in 2011 Why - Essay Example The mistreatment of the people in Libya and victims of the Arab Spring should have been a concern for the supra-national organizations. The political leaders in Africa for example in Libya use their power to oppress the minority. These leaders deny their subjects their human rights and make their lives miserable under their rule. The success of NATO depended on the chance of Libya emerging as a stable democratic nation.2 The success of supra-national organizations is dependent on their objectives. Doubts have been casted over the responsibility of networks to protect vulnerable populations. Supra-national organizations have the ability to protect the vulnerable through ensuring there are fair elections among less democratic state. Such states are exposed to unfair elections and election violence, as well as oppressive rules. However, the supra-national organizations have legal authority only over member states. This means that cases of Libya and the Arab Spring can be handled by the African Union or the United Nation among others.3 This is legal right of membership is the reason why Falk questions NATO’s involvement with Libyan issues. Conclusively, networks may be a threat to governments; however, confronting them is not a simple task. This is because interaction of individuals through the internet is the cause of the expansion of networks. Supra-national organizations must ensure every person around the globe practices his or her human rights. NATO intervention in Libya might be question, but despite going against the UN, NATO’s move might have saved lives of many individuals in Libya. Jie Tang, Irwin King, and Ling Chen, Advanced Data Mining and Applications: 7th International Conference, ADMA 2011, Beijing, China, December 17-19, 2011, Proceedings, Volume 1. New York: Springer,

Bankruptcy and Reorganization Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Bankruptcy and Reorganization - Essay Example If the remaining disposable monthly income is more than $166.66 then the person won't the means test and he is not eligible for Chapter 7. A person cannot file for Chapter 7 if a previous Chapter 7 or Chapter 13 was dismissed within the last 180 days. The reason for this is the person might have violated the court, the court ruled his filing is fraud or constituted an abuse of the bankruptcy system. From the above reasons there are high chances Beren might be granted his petition for involuntary bankruptcy. The other reasons that ruling go in his favor are the partnership debts, which is $380,000 and had $550 in the partnership bank account. Chapter 7 or chapter 11 is filed when a troubled business decides that it is unable to service its debt or pay its creditors. With a federal bankruptcy court it can file bankruptcy protection under either Chapter 7 or chapter 11. Chapter 11 is an attempt to stay in business under the supervision of a bankruptcy court for reorganization. A complete or partial relief is granted by court from most of the company's debts and its contracts and company can make a fresh start.

Comparing the Tragic Hero in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness Es

The Tragic Hero in Things Fall Apart and Heart of Darkness A tragic hero could be considered a "noble person with a fatal flaw" or "an opponent of society who is willing to take action that 'sensible people' might applaud but never perform themselves". In Chinua Achebe's Things Fall Apart and Joseph Conrads's Heart of Darkness, two characters, Okonkwo and Kurtz, have some qualities which could categorize them as tragic heroes. However, only the reader's interpretation of the characters' actions will determine if they are tragic heroes or not. In his Ibo society, Okonkwo would certainly be considered a "noble person". Not only has he worked his way up from poverty to become one of the leading men of Umuofia, but he has also been deemed one of the greatest warriors and wrestlers in the land. "Okonkwo was well known throughout the nine villages and even beyond. His fame rested on solid personal achievements", (Achebe 3). Due to the exemplary actions, Okonkwo has gained respect from his fellow tribesmen. Okonkwo has also taken two titles in his clan and he is a member of the egwugwu, which demonstrates his leadership capabilities and the power and "nobility" he holds in Umuofia. Despite his skills in those areas, Okonkwo does have a "fatal flaw". "His whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness", (Achebe 13). Unoka, Okonkwo's father, was considered an "agbala", or a woman, because he was soft and not masculine enough. Okonkwo had also hated his father because he was em- barrassed by him, so his life's passion is to be the polar opposite of him. Due to this fear, Okonkwo held in his emotions and acted hard, which ultimately made him weak, because a s... ...o appears to have more qualities of a tragic hero than Kurtz. Achebe had created Okonkwo with some nobility, and he definitely had a fatal flaw; his fear of weakness ultimately culminated into his death. Also, Okonkwo had opposed the white society and some of his fellow tribesmen. However, his clan did not approve of his final action: suicide. Due to this fact, Okonkwo can never be a true tragic he- ro. Now, Kurtz never was considered to be a noble man by society's standards and he didn't really have a flaw; instead, he had the ability to persuade and manipulate people to his advantage, which would not be a flaw for his sake. Kurtz was a mixed man of society; he opposed some parts while accepting others. Despite this, both characters have exhibited some characteristics of a tragic hero and only the reader's response can determine their roles. Â  

Jane Austen’s Use of Irony in Pride and Prejudice Essay

Irony is the art of expressing two meanings simultaneously; the obvious surface meaning the majority will regard as the only meaning and on a deeper profounder meaning which lies behind the obvious. The tension created by this ambivalence can be and has been put to a variety of uses. Ironies abound in Shakespeare, so do they in Dryden and Poe.Shakespeare employs them to underscore the tragic plight of a man, while Dryden and Pope use them to mock at human follies and foibles.among the forty eight writings, Fanny urney’s ‘Cecilia’,’Comilla’ and other novels are based on quiet but incisive irony. Thomas Love Peacocks â€Å"Headlong Hall†, â€Å"Nightmare Abbey’,†Maid Marian† and so on are the vehicles of attacks on the cranks and the fads of his day.but very few writers have exploited all possible resources of irony as Jane Austen.It may not be an exaggeration to say that Jane Austen is nothing if not ironical.Irony is her very forte;it is in fact the very soul of her art. Pride and Prejudice, for instance, is steeped in irony.To put it in other words, it is an artistic blend of ironic  and dramatic design.almost everything in this novel, be it related to the context or to the style, points to an  ironic contrast between ‘appearance’ and ‘reality’.it is the complex handling of â€Å"First Impressions† that  lends to Austen’s irony. Perhaps the opening sentence of the book offers the aptest illustration of irony.It states that â€Å"‘a single man  in possesion of a good fortune, must be in want of a wife† and claims that â€Å"it is truth universally acknowledged.† But as the story unfolds itself we learn that â€Å"universal truth lies† in the opposite direction.Mrs Bennet’s concern for getting her daughters gainfully husbanded constitutes the basic theme of Pride and Prejudice. In an essay Reuben Brower writes: † In analysing the ironies and assumptions, we shall see how intensely the dialogue is, dramatic in the sense of defining the characters through the way they speak and are spoken about.† The confusion that even very intelligent people are capable of making between the apparent and the inherent is initially drawn towards Wickham mainly because of his external graces and Darcy’s first reaction to Elizabeth is that of repulsion simply because to quote Darcy, she is â€Å"not handsome enough to tempt† him. The situations——at least a good number of them —–in Pride and Prejudice. are also very ironical. Darcy’s first proposal to Elizabeth is made exactly at the moment when Elizabeth hates him most.When Darcy proposes to her she simply rejects him and blames him for separating Jane from Bingley;She further accuses him of his abominable treatment of Wickham.She tells harshly—-‘..my opinion of you was decided.Your character is unfolded in the recital which I received from Mr.Wickham†¦can you defend yourself?’ Later on Darcy changes,and happily, the changes are mostly for the better. The changed Darcy does not feel shy of confessing : † I have been a selfish being all my life, in practice, though not in principle.†Once Darcy has been humbled,Austen turns her irony on Elizabeth.She shows that Elizabeth in resentment of Darcy’s conscious superiority, has exaggerated his faults and failed to see that there is much goodness in him.then again. Lydia’s elopement with Wickham, which Elizabeth fears shall spoil her prospects of marriage with Dercy, strangely enough brightens the same.similarly, Lady Catherine’s attempts to prevent this  marriage succeeds in only hastening it. All these clearly spells out Austen’s attitude towards life.She knows that human nature and human situations are often too incongruous and contradictory.But she does not deride this aberrations with the cruelty of a Dryden or a Pope,her irony is always gentle and sympathetic.she uses it mainly in order to raise a hearty laughter.This, however is not to suggest that her comic is not rooted in any sense of responsibility. She has very certainly a distinct moral purpose of her own. She will not only expose the antithesis between sense and nonsense,she will at the same time state her preferences in unmistakable terms.needless to say she casts her vote in favour of sense.there is pride in life as also there is prjudice; but life, in order to be ideally lived needs to be a combination of both..Darcy has to stoop to conquer his pride before he becomes worthy to be happy and Elizabeth has to get over her prejudice in order to enter into a life of bliss. It is this moral vision that spells itself out in course of the novel â€Å"Pride and Prejudice†, though Austen’s irony plays the all pervasive; yet it never allows this vision to attain the abominable portions of any kind of didactism.indeed, it may be said that one of the greatest charms of this novel is derived from the gentle â€Å"tongue in the cheek† way of describing people and situations.For this Jane Austen’s tales offer a rippling sense of pleasure to her readers.