Muslim Immigration

The sentiments supporting Muslim immigration into this country misses one important aspect of the Islam faith. Their Quran teaches annihilation of all kafir civilizations (that's us). Deadly anti-Christian attacks are commonplace in the Muslim world; over 2,000 in just the last three years, including church bombings and the slaughter of any who refused to convert to Islam. At a time when we need to be alerted to these dangers, political and religious leaders, as well as the media, are instead joining the Muslim Brotherhood-manufactured battle against â€Å"Islamophobia.† In the face of the Islam-inspired genocide of Christians, this strikes me as a grotesque inversion of priorities. I put â€Å"Islamophobia† in quotes because a phobia is an irrational fear. If you check history, including recent history, people should have reasonable fear of authentic Islam. These true historical facts, were all by Muslims:1968, Robert Kennedy, shot/killed.1972, Munich Olympics, Israeli athletes kidnapped/massacred.1972, Pan Am 747, Cairo. Hijacked/blown up.1973, Pan Am 707, grenade attack. Rome. 33 killed.1979, Iranian US Embassy takeover.1980's, Americans kidnapped. Lebanon.1983, Beirut. US Marine barracks blown up.1985, cruise ship Achille-Lauro hijacked, 70-year-old American passenger thrown overboard in his wheelchair.1985, TWA Flight 847, hijacked. Athens, US Navy Diver, rescuing passengers, murdered1988, Pan Am Flight 103, bombed.1993, World Trade Center, bombed (first time).1998, US Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, bombed.2001, four airliners hijacked/crashed. World Trade Center/Pentagon. Thousands killed.2002, US fought Afghanistan war against Muslims.2002, reporter Daniel Pearl, kidnapped/beheaded.2013, Boston Marathon bombing, four killed, 264 injured.2015 Chattanooga, Tennessee military center, five killed2015 Inland Regional Center, San Bern ardino, California, 14 killed2016 Orlando nightclub shooting, 49 killed, more wounded2017 — New York, eight pedestrians killed/dozen injured near World Trade CenterRegrettably, singular focus on terroristic atrocities are misleading. It feeds into the narrative that the threat of Islam is limited to a handful of extremists. But, there is a much bigger problem: widespread and unrelenting persecution of Christians and Jews is found in every Muslim society and in Europe. The attitude of Muslims toward non-Muslims is not one of hate, fear, or envy, but rather contempt. The pervasive nature of the persecution, including discrimination, intimidation, rapes, abductions, forced conversions and the destruction of homes/churches, suggests that it stems from the core texts and teachings of mainstream Islam itself, not a distortion of Islam. Muslims have not misinterpreted Islam †¦ more likely the misunderstood are those who, though well-intentioned, have no real-life experience of Islam. Islam is presented as a religion of peace and justice, not unlike Christianity. But, Muslims and Christians do not share a common faith. These misguided statements aren't based on teachings nor history of Islam, but ignorance. Read the Quran yourself. This aggressively, anti-Western culture which has a hold on Europe was enabled by immigration policies based on an uncritical view of Islam. Europeans, naively assuming Muslims would assimilate to Western values, are forced to acclimate to Islamic values— polygamy, misogyny, honor violence, female genital mutilation and anti-Semitism. Jews are fleeing Europe in numbers unseen since the Nazi era. With just 4 million Muslims in the 66 million UK population, there are over 3,000 mosques, 130 Sharia courts, 50 Sharia councils, numerous â€Å"no-go† areas, approximately 70 percent of Muslims on free benefits/housing, and Muslim mayors in leading cities. Europeans are losing their civilization, not because they are â€Å"Islamophobic,† but, because of ignorance of Islam. They obediently accepted the â€Å"peaceful† depiction of Islam, presented to them by social and governmental elites, and are paying the price. Hijrah is the takeover of a nation without going to war. Never before has our immigration policy threatened our current way of life, Republican form of government, and our moral base. It's sobering. Yet, our clergy, political leaders and media are guilty of promoting the same pleasant picture of Islam and immigration that has thrown Europe into chaos. We need to correct our course fast.

A Votre Sante Teaching Note Essay

Additionally, the case questions require both quantitative and qualitative analyses of the business issues faced by AVS. AVS has been used in a graduate-level managerial accounting class for MBAs, and would be most appropriate for an advanced undergraduate or a graduate-level accounting or MBA course. The detail in the case is rich enough to support a variety of analyses. Alternative uses could be to have the student construct a cost of goods manufactured statement or a traditional financial statement, both of which reinforce the differences between product and period costs. Additionally, alternative decision analysis questions could be developed using the variable and fixed cost structures described in the case. Case question number two is only one example of a potential decision analysis question. The contribution margin income statement (Teaching Note Exhibit 1) is fairly straightforward, with the following concepts or calculations causing the most difficulty: The inclusion of liquor taxes and sales commissions in variable costs: These are both period expenses, but are clearly based upon the number of bottles sold, and therefore are included in the variable costs. Where to include the wine master expense: Since the wine master is paid according to number of blends, not number of bottles, this expense is listed as a fixed cost. Arguably, it could be listed as a variable cost, given that the cost will be based on the number of wines produced. As part of the discussion we will examine the rationale behind listing wine master as a fixed or a variable expense. Barrel expense: The case states that the barrels produce the equivalent of 40 cases of wine. A case of wine is post-fermentation/bottling and therefore after the 10% loss has occurred. The barrels contain the wine at the start of the process. Therefore, there have to be enough barrels to hold all the wine at the beginning of the process, not at the end. This factor results in 63 (62.5) barrels being required for the harvest2. Teaching Note Exhibit 1: Contribution Margin Income Statement Part b asks, â€Å"What is the maximum amount that AVS would pay to buy an additional pound of Chardonnay grapes?† There are three parts to calculating this answer: the benefit from the additional Chardonnay wine to be sold, the relevant costs related to producing this wine and the opportunity cost of not producing as much Blanc de Blanc wine. Teaching Note: Exhibit 2 displays the calculations relevant to this decision. Chardonnay regular wine requires a 2 to 1 mixture of Chardonnay and generic white grapes. Therefore, the 18,000 pounds of Chardonnay grapes will be combined with 9,000 pounds of generic white grapes. The 27,000 pounds of grapes will result in an additional 9,000 bottles of new Chardonnay regular wine being produced. However, it will also result in a 3,000-bottle decrease in the amount of Blanc de Blanc wine produced, since some generic grapes will now be used for the Chardonnay-regular wine. Recall that only Chardonnay wine is processed in barrels.

GDP of Russia (full topic follows) Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

GDP of Russia (full topic follows) - Essay Example The paper will examine the various causes of the change in the GDP during this period. The effect of each cause on the Russian GDP will be examined both individually and collectively. The feasibility of developing a mechanism to test whether the identified factors are indeed critical will be examined in detail. The economic policy of the Russian government with special relevance to property rights, taxation, regulations regarding the entry of private players in various sectors including sectors like energy (which is a crucial aspect of the Russian national infrastructure) is also a crucial to the study of the Russian GDP level over the past decade. The establishment of a macroeconomic structure, the reform agenda of the government and its implementation by the Duma, the oil prices in the international market, the value of the Russian rouble during the period of the study is the other aspects which will have a bearing on the study (Korhonen 1998). We will cover the various sectors contributing to the Russian GDP in the next section, in this section; we will analyze the various types of expenditures which contribute to the GDP. The domestic consumption or the private consumption includes the expenditure incurred by a family on a recurring basis like food, rent, medicinal expenses etc. This is difficult to quantify (McKinsey Global Institute 1999). Next component is Capital investment, the hallmark of capital investment is that money is exchanged for either goods or services; another important hallmark is that after the exchange, there is no liability on the provider of the goods or services for repayment at a later stage (McKinsey Global Institute 1999). After having quantified the domestic and the private sector, it is essential to quantify the expenditure incurred by the government. As a rule it includes the salaries paid to the government servants and the expenses incurred by the government towards the infrastructure establ ishment. An important aspect to be borne in mind while estimating the GDP is that all expenditure which does not translate either into physical goods or services provided is not included into the GDP. This includes savings in banks, mutual funds, investments in stock markets etc (McKinsey Global Institute 1999). The final type of expenditure is the net exports. This is the net difference between the exports and imports of the country (World Bank 2002). The above model attempts to estimate GDP based on the expenditures, we can attempt to quantify the GDP based on the income generated by the economy. In this model, the various parameters of importance are the Gross Operating Surplus (GOS) calculated from the gross profits of the incorporated businesses, the Gross Mixed Income (GMI) which measures the gross profits of the various unincorporated businesses and finally the Compensation of Employees (COE) which measures the total compensation paid to all the workers in both the public and the private sectors. This sector also includes the contributions of the employers to the various social security schemes on behalf of their employees. The total of all these factors is an approximation of the total GDP quantified on the basis of the income model (World Bank 2002). Estimation of various Parameters of the Russian GDP It is important to establish the various param

Manipulation through Media Movie Review Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Manipulation through Media - Movie Review Example Both these movies are targeted to politically aware urban audience and use various media manipulation techniques like camera angles and shots, sound effects, literary elements etc. Camera angles and shots have been used effectively to bring out the desired effect. For example an extreme long shot emphasizes the background. In V for Vendetta, this shot has been used in the first scene when Guy Fawkes enters the room. To give the effect of a general view, a long shot is used where the scale of an object could be like a small human body. It has been used in this movie when V is coming from the alley. A medium shot is framed at a distance which makes an object four or five feet high to fill the screen. It is used to keep people in the longer shots. This shot has been used when the lady was going to spray on the 'finger guys'. A close up shot normally zooms in which the scale of an object is fairly large. This is done to focus on the facial expressions. This has been used on The Big Brother like character and V speaking in the alley. In another scene where chancellor is speaking to the people is an extreme close up that focuses on the mouth of the speaker to make t he words important. When Guy Fawkes is moving the gunpowder barrel, panning camera movement is used to create the mood as well as establishe the viewer's relationship with the subject. When Evey is moving the cart in the building a tracking shot is used which is a mobile framing that travels through space forward, backward, or laterally following the subject to give an authentic and spontaneous effect. When the filmmaker wants the audience to know everything that is going on, a crane shot is used, for example: girl is walking in the street after time. To make an interesting illusion of a still photograph, Freeze frame shot is used which is a shot that is taken and paused to focus on the image and facial expression for example: focusing on V's mask when he is talking to Evey. For creating tension, a tilted shot is used. This is used in this film when he is in a fight to create the desired effect of tension. High key and low key lighting is also used to create contrast between light a nd dark areas. It gives a dramatic effect. In this film low key is used when Guy Fawkes is hiding from the guards and high key is used when party leader is talking to inner party. To show the intensity of the situation a gradual transition from highlights to shadows is done to create sharp edged shadows. This is done when Guy Fawkes comes out to be hanged. To bring out the importance of two different scenes shot-reverse-shot is used in which two or more shots are edited together that alternate characters, typically in a conversation situation. This is done by dividing the screen to two when Evey and V are getting prepared while the TV is on. To bring focus to an important object deep and sharp focus is used with a blurred image. For example, while evey turned the TV off, she was blurred and the focus was on the remote. To give the illusion of past, a flash back scene with faded colors is used. Mood is created through music also like drums and marching sounds. Literary element is used in the movie 'Wag the Dog' from the title itself, which is a take off on the proverb of the dog wags the tail. It should not be the opposite - the tail should not wag the dog. In this

The Bullock Gold Mining and a Job at East Coast Yachts Essay

The Bullock Gold Mining and a Job at East Coast Yachts - Essay Example atio. This shows that the firm has less liquidity compared to the industry. Current ratio is greater than the lower quartile this implies that there exist other firms with less liquidity within the industry (Ehrhardt & Eugene, 91). The firm may posses more expected cash flows, or easier means to short-term debt. The turnover ratios appear to be greater compared to the industry median actually all are greater than the upper quartile. This implies that the firm utilizes its assets efficiently to generate sales. The financial leverage ratios appear to be lower than the industry median but higher than the lower quartile. ... East Coast Yachts’ has a satisfactory performance, although attention is needed in the liquidity ratios. c) Creating Inventory Ratio Inventory to current liabilities ratio East Coast Yachts is lower, the current ratio is lower, but the quick ratio is higher in comparison to the industry median. This means that East Coast Yachts has few stock to current liabilities compared to the industry median (Ehrhardt & Eugene, 92). Since the cash ratio is less compared to the industry median, East Coast Yachts has fewer stock compared to the industry median, but more accounts receivable. d)Interpretation of the Ratios Current ratio: Good (Well managed current accounts.) Bad (Liquidity issues) Quick ratio: Good (Well managed current accounts.) Bad (Liquidity issues) Total asset turnover: Good (Well utilized assets.) Bad (Old and depreciated assets) Inventory turnover: Good (Well managed inventory) Bad (Inventory shortages) Receivables turnover: Good (Well collected receivables) Bad (Strict credit terms) Total debt ratio: Good (Hard to get credit issues) Bad (Increase shareholder returns) Debt equity Ratio: Good (Hard to get credit issues) Bad (Increase shareholders equity) Equity multiplier: Good (Hard to get credit issues) Bad (Increase shareholders equity) Interest coverage: Good (Hard to get CREDIT ISSUES) Bad (Increase shareholders equity) Profit margin: Good (Good performance) (Bad: Good cost control) Question 3 a)Internal growth rate, ROE = (Net income)/(Total equity) = $12,562,200/$ 55,341,000 = 0.2270 or 22.70% b (Addition to Retained earnings)/(Net income) = $5,024,800/$12,562,200 = 0.40 or 40% Sustainable growth rate = (ROE ? b)/(1-(ROE ? b)) = (0.2270 ? 0.40)/(1-(0.2270 ? 0.40)) = 0.0999 or 9.99% Income Statement Sales

Gun Control community and police safety vs right to bear arms Research Paper

Gun Control community and police safety vs right to bear arms - Research Paper Example This research will begin with the statement that judging by the current statistics, the United States has the highest level of gun-related violence, which is not only greater than everywhere in Western Europe, but around the World. Police officers receive reports of mass shootings virtually every day, with the latest one being the San Bernardino shooting in California, which left 14 people dead and 21 wounded. According to Shootingtracker.com, the San Bernardino shooting is undeniably the deadliest since the Sandy Hook Elementary School Shooting, which took place in December 2012, and left 20 children and 6 adults dead. The website, which defines a mass shooting as an incident where four or more people are shot at the same time, equally reports that the United States has witnessed 1052 mass shootings over a span of 1066 days. The situation in the United States is a sharp contrast to that in Scotland for example, which has a population of 5.3 million people but has made great strides in managing gun-related violence. The state of affairs in Scotland is said to have changed after the Dunblane Primary School shooting in March 1996, which left 16 children and 1 teacher dead. The public outcry that resulted from the 1996 incident prompted the British government to act with speed, and ban the private ownership of automatic weapons and handguns within their mainland. The effected changes similarly gave the authorities more control over the licensing of weapons.

Report Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 4

Report - Coursework Example The use of a simple pendulum experiment in the study of motion helps to provide valuable insights into the acceleration of objects due to the gravitation force. In this experiment, a mass is suspended from one end of a piece of string and set in motion to determine the number of oscillations in a particular period. Such an oscillatory motion (to and from motion) is referred to as simple harmonic motion. The time a pendulum takes to swing forth and back is affected by factors such as the pendulum’s length and the acceleration due to the gravitation. A shorter pendulum has a shorter period to complete a single oscillation than a longer pendulum. In view of this, this simple pendulum experiment used the relation between the length applied in the pendulum and the time of oscillation to estimate the value of acceleration due to the gravitation force (Avison & Caribbean Examinations Council, 1988). The simple pendulum experiment was mainly conducted to facilitate the understanding of the relationship between different parameters in an oscillatory system. In addition, the experiment seeks to use its data analysis to facilitate the calculation of a value for the gravitational acceleration (g) and compare this value with the widely accepted value of 9.81 m/s2. If a mass of m hangs from the string in a simple pendulum experiment and sets to swing with small amplitude, the mass will oscillate back and forth in a simple harmonic motion. In this scenario, the mass of the bob becomes the inertia as the tangential component changes the direction every time the bob (mass) passes the center of its swing and hence acting to restore the mass to its midpoint. For this reason, the restoring force, F = - mg sin (á ´â€œ). However, if the angle á ´â€œ is very small, then it is assumed that sin (á ´â€œ) ≈ á ´â€œ, hence, F = - magá ´â€œÃ¢â‚¬ ¦.. Equation (1). The angle á ´â€œ of displacementá ´â€œ can be determined from the equilibrium using the arc length, x,

TBA Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 1

TBA - Essay Example In the video, Mrs. Kondo fights to reduce the increasing rudeness among Japanese youth (ABC News: Cultural Differences In Manners Between Japan And The U.S.). During the interview, we see her smiling the whole time of the interview. In addition to we also see the women in her class speak in low tones, which is an indicator of the non-verbal communication skills in the video. 2. In the McDonalds commercial, there is a young shouting, this is a clear indication of the non-verbal codes. The young man shouts while raising his hands up to show excitement. The gesture indicates that there is the use of non-verbal codes in the short video. Mrs. Kondo is shaking her head when she says that there is a decline in manners among the youths in the Japan. She argues that the American culture has a strong influence on the modern Japan culture. Deborah Tannen shakes her head when she says that modern youths are comfortable in using technology. 3. The use of non-verbal gestures and codes in the video plays a major role in the video. The non-verbal messages in the individuals in the video to sensitize their views on the impact f American culture on the Japanese culture. It helps show the emotional state of most of the individuals in the video. The state official indicates to the interviewer that he has finished speaking by nodding his head. It is an indication that regulates the flow of communication between conversations. It provides appropriate feedback to individuals during interviews. Mrs. Kondo feels that the modern youth do not have manners when holding discussions. She insists that they do not have manners. According to her, the Japanese youth does not act the way the society expects them to do. At the beginning of the video, we find Mrs. Kondo teaching the interviewer how to bow in front of people during greetings. The gestures indicate that of politeness in the

Consumer law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2500 words

Consumer law - Essay Example As per the law, shoppers have the right to return goods that they find to be faulty or do not match the samples displayed or underperform, which are the basic rights of a consumer. On the other hand, the law protects retailers against policies that the law does not cover such as when a consumer changes their mind after making purchase. 1. Introduction In many nations, there are organs charged with overseeing the compliance of consumer law meaning no universal body that governs this law. For instance the state organ charged with this responsibility is the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission1 while in Germany this responsibility falls on the Minister for Federal Cabinet. In Australia, the ACL or the Australian Consumer Law is a uniform legislative application for protecting consumers, which applies as the practiced law in the Commonwealth of Australia. In addition, goods worth more than $40,000 and were household goods and appliances fell under this protection together with vehicles that were essential in the transportation industry. Some of the other goods that the ACL offered protection included second hand goods sold, hired or leased to consumers through trade or commerce and any goods whose worth was up to $40,000 or a figure that ACL would denote in the future. With this, this essay will delve into Sarah’s case study where she bought a television set and found to be faulty after taking it home. Further, it will highlight on Sarah’s individual rights as a consumer of home appliance as provided for under the Consumer legislation in Australia and Contract law. Further, the essay will highlight Sarah’s rights under the consumer legislation and under the contract law. Focus will also be on the consumer law in Kuwait and their comparison to those of Australia in relation to Sarah’s case and the difference in handling of this case in both countries. 2. Consumer rights under the consumer legislation in Australia As of January 2 011, suppliers and manufacturer’s of products and services had to comply with the Competition and Consumer Act of 2010, which is also the Australian Consumer Law2. The benefit that law brought on consumers were relatively the same as those stated in warranties and conditions that were previously existing in states and territories of Australia. The law was also a follow up on the Trade Practices Act of 1974 that influenced fair-trading of goods and services across the Australian region3. The ACL also spread to cover goods and services received by consumers as gifts as this area emerged as a possible area of infringing on the rights of the consumer. However, goods bought before the enactment of the law in 2011 were eligible to protection under the ACL, but were under the protection of the Traders Practice Act. Goods that are on one off sales such as garage sales and those sold on auctions on behalf owners also do not have protection under the AC law. Additionally, ACL does not cover goods bought for re-supply, those costing more than forty thousand dollars but are normally for business purposes or those that a buyer makes purchase in order to assist in production or manufacture of their goods4. As per the ACL, a consumer has rights against a supplier if the goods on sale do not meet the consumer expectations through minor or major problems. In cases that a problem in a product is minimal,

The Crucible Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Crucible - Essay Example This suggests that not only does Willy Loman represent the ‘American Dream’, but the dreams and hopes of every man who wishes to do well by his family but is not quite living up to his own standards. The play won a Tony in 1999 for a revival of the work. Miller, then 84, was thrilled to be able to be at the awards show and see one of his greatest works receive such a prestigious award fifty years after it first was produced on Broadway (Moran 226). The work has lasted the test of time, the writing so poignant that the message is clear and understood even by modern audiences. It is possible that a modern audience can relate more deeply to the plight of Willy Loman. The depth to which consumerism has taken over the lives of Americans has lead to a belief that everyone is equally entitled to the luxuries of life and that it is not relevant to the socio-economic status of the individual. According to Marron, one myth of debt â€Å"presents credit as the social equalizer, of promoting higher standards of living among the masses and allowing all to enjoy the realization of the consumerist desires† (3). Willy Loman lives by reaching for that standard of living without having actually reached that standard of income and this is a familiar lifestyle to the modern American public. According to Cody and Sprinchorm â€Å"The working title of the play was â€Å"The Inside of his Head† which is where the play takes place - the immediate events, the evocations of the past, the fantasy memories† (336). The staging of the play is done in such a way that the past and the present can converge, Willy’s memories weaving in with his present experiences in order to reveal how he has arrived to this place where he feels he must make a dire sacrifice for his family. Jo Meilzner was the original set designer for the first production of Death of a Salesman. He designed the set with multiple levels so that the movement from one space to the next wa s done through lighting rather than changing the stage. He created effects that could change the time period in which the dialogue was taking place as Willy’s memories converged with his present circumstances. â€Å"When lighted from the rear, the buildings washed out to be replaced with projections of trees with leaves, suggesting Willy’s remembered past with its bright sunshine and cheerful ambiance† (Barranger 258). Influences of Memory The way in which memory is used within the play is indicative of the way in which Miller saw the act of remembering in relationship to the present circumstances of a man. While often times memory was part of a flashback or was brought up through conflict that resulted in revelation, Miller chose to place memory into the present, creating a living, palpable presence that was part of the moment. Miller stated that â€Å"There are no flashbacks in this play†¦ but only a mobile concurrency of past and present† (Cody an d Sprinchorn 336). This can be witnessed within the interchange between Willy and Charley when the memory of his brother Ben intrudes upon their conversation. Ben: Is Mother living with you? Willy: No, she died a long time ago. Charley: Who? Ben: That’s too bad. Fine specimen of a lady, Mother. Willy (to Charley): Heh? Ben: I’d hoped to see the old girl. Charley: Who died? Ben: Heard anything from Father, have you? Willy (unnerved): What do you mean, who

Kite Runner- Chapter 22 Essay Example for Free

Kite Runner- Chapter 22 Essay Chapter twenty-two represents a kind of purgatory for the main protagonist, Amir, within the novel. It can be argued that this chapter represents the cyclic nature of the novel, in the repetition of events. Hosseini manipulates Amir into nervous action; seemingly casual movements that delineate the fear, and in some respects the anticipation, that Amir experiences lying in wait for the ‘Talib’, visible within short sentences, for instance in ‘I crossed my legs. Uncrossed them;. In these lines, Amirs inner tension is evident. Amir’s isolation within the house is emphasised by his self-absorption, the way in which he studies the objects surrounding him. One such object that is described by Hosseini is the coffee table; on which are ‘walnut sized brass balls’, this depiction takes the reader back to the beginning of the novel, where in chapter 2 Hassan and Amir fired ‘mulberries and walnuts’, Hosseini uses symbolism to remind the reader of the friendship Amir once shared with Hassan in the house, which was ripped away by Assef, foreshadowing his return in chapter 22. The alliteration of ‘brass balls’ again takes the reader back to Amir’s childhood as Hosseini described Assef’s appearance as ‘stainless-steel, brass knuckles’ creating elements of fear. This fear is still there as Amir has avoided a confrontation as a child and the cause of his guilt, Amir now has the chance to redeem himself, throughout this part of the chapter Hosseini uses the sacrificial lamb imagery that he used when describing Hassan’s rape Through Amir, Hosseini explores the Talib’s appearance in comparison to the other occupants of the room. In terms of colouring, he is labelled as â€Å"much paler† than the other two men, and so different in origin. This seems to be a re-occurring theme throughout, this differences of culture and beliefs. His clothing is also depicted; by Amir in finding fascination in bloodstains left by participation in the stoning, the blood on this stark white clothing could have connotations of butchery and the rape of Hassan. The Talib’s dialogue reinforces the visibility of a vicious nature, so viewed in previous chapters (i.e. public stoning), in the recounting of achievements ‘We’d shoot them right there in front of their families’ massacring Hazaras. Upon meeting Sohrab, Amir comments on the similarities between father and son, referring to Sohrab’s facial structure as the â€Å"Chinese doll face of my childhood† in reference to Hassan. Sohrab’s features act as a physical reminder of what Hassan experienced earlier in the novel. This is reflected in the Talib’s identity; Assef. It is almost fitting that in a country broken in pieces, he has come to a position of power, Assef himself becomes a later characterisation of Hitler, ‘doing God’s work’. This helps to associate the Taliban’s ‘ethnic cleansing’ with the Holocaust, re-enforcing the Assef is an evil man that hasn’t changed since he was a child, emphasised by his paedophilia. There is symmetry in the way that Amir receives the beating, a relation to Assef in it. As Assef laughed during his own in passing a painful kidney stone, so Amir laughs in his pain. He finally collects his due, and in doing so expels his guilt and inner turmoil. The circle is completed when he is rescued from death by Sohrab, releases a slingshot containing one of the brass balls into Assefs eye, in an action that almost replicates his fathers, Hassans, decades before. In protecting Sorab, Amir also saves himself, ‘for the first time since the winter of 1975, I felt at peace’, It seems that Amir has finally found redemption which he has been looking for ever since his childhood, a turning point in the novel The last instance of irony occurs at the climax of the novel in chapter 22 in Amirs act of redemption. This act was submitting to Assefs beating when going to rescue Hassans son, Sohrab from him. A small ironic instance is that Amir is healed emotionally by being wounded and destroyed physically. This shows the supremacy of emotions and the mind over the body in finding joy, as Amir is immensely relieved in his pain. The more important example was that Amir finally is the man Baba desired him to be after Babas death, when he no longer is obsessed with pleasing his father and making him proud. By the time he finally earned Babas respect and pride, Baba couldn’t see it. This is vital because it shows that Amirs motives were pure. There was no glory as a result of his heroic actions and his father wouldnt know. Because of his pure motives, he was able to be a true hero and the man he had been seeking to become. No progress can be made or no character built and strengthened when the driving motive behind the actions is glory.. Amir is forever changed from this action he takes to save Sohrab and humbly take Assefs beating.

Study on the Variable Star XX Andromeda

Study on the Variable Star XX Andromeda Abstract We present the results of a month long V-Band study on the RRab type variable star XX Andromeda. 4526 data points are used to plot a light curve, with 3 maxima observed and added to data from the GEOS database to create an O-C diagram. Three methods of estimating the pulsation period are used, including two Phase Dispersion Minimisation methods and an O-C method, resulting in a best estimate of the period of days. This value is in excellent agreement with the literature values for the period of XX And, from both the Hipparcos catalogue and the GCVS. The distance to XX And is estimated to be pc using a main sequence fitting method to estimate the absolute magnitude, and the mean radius is estimated to be . A flatfielding improvement to the â€Å"photom.py† pipeline is suggested to combat dust artefacts on the CCD. Physical reasons are discussed for the distinctive features present in the light curve, namely the â€Å"Hump† and the â€Å"Bump†. I. Introduction In 1893 Solon I Bailey started a program of globular cluster study[i]. He noticed that some clusters (e.g ω Centuri) were extremely rich in variable stars with similar properties they had periods of less than a day, and light curve amplitudes of around 1 mag. The mean value of apparent magnitude of these stars in a particular cluster was also approximately the same across the sky. Bailey named these â€Å"Cluster Type Variables†. However an increasing number of stars with these properties were being found outside of clusters indeed the brightest star of this type ever found was a field variable, RR Lyrae (after which the class is now named). Discoveries then began to come thick and fast, and it is currently estimated that over 85000 exist in the Milky Way alonei. RR Lyrae variables have also been observed in the Andromeda Galaxy, the Large Magellanic Cloud and other Local Group dwarf galaxies[ii]. Measuring the properties of these variables has become increasingly important to astronomers, as it was realised that they could be used to gauge astronomical distances through a period-luminosity (P-L) relation, in a similar way to Cepheids. Various catalogues have studied their properties, for example the General Catalogue of Variable Stars[iii] or the more recent Hipparchos Catalogue[iv]. Until recently however, no distinct P-L relation had been found, and instead astronomers had to use a relation between metallicity and visual magnitude or the Baade-Wesselink method, the drawbacks of which are discussed later. Currently there is still no P-L relation for V-band observations, although there are now relations for most of the infrared spectral bands[v]. RR Lyrae variables are also of importance for the study of the population of both the Galactic Bulge (via Baades Window for example) and the Galactic Halo. Their advanced age and low metallicity combined with distinctive pulsation properties provides an excellent â€Å"tracer† for the development of the Milky Way in its early stages, as well as current kinematic analysis[vi]. They have also been used as a means of quantifying the interstellar reddening caused by dust in the galactic plane, thanks to the fact that the colour excess is a function of minimum (V-I) colour only[vii]. Using this reddening data with other distance indicators (for example red clump stars in the bulge[viii]), a meaningful approximation of the distance to the centre of the bulge can be obtained. Clearly then the study of RR Lyrae variables is useful for the understanding of the evolution of both the Milky Way and the rest of the Local Group. The star to be observed in this study is XX Andromeda (abbr. XX And), an F2 spectral class RRab type variable, located in the constellation of Andromeda at RA: 1h 17m 27.4145s, Dec: +38 °57 02.026† (see 1). Its moderately high position in the sky at Durham means that it is circumpolar, whilst not exceeding the +65 ° limit for the telescope fork mount, resulting in minimal atmospheric interference and the maximum possible observing time. The GCVS lists a period of. It is also known to exhibit the Blazhko effect, a long-period modulation of the amplitude of an RR Lyrae star (the cause of which is currently under investigation), with a period ofiii, and has an [Fe/H] value of -1.94. II. Theory Observational Theory CCD Theory Perhaps the most important advance in astronomy in the last 20 years has been the widespread use of Charge-Coupled Devices (CCDs) to replace photographic plates. Invented in 1969 at Bell Labs by Boyle and Smith, CCDs are a thin piece of semiconductor material (e.g. silicon) upon which lies an grid-like array of metal-oxide semiconductor (MOS) capacitors[x]. During an exposure, if a photon impacts on the silicon an electron/hole pair can be produced, as an electron is pushed up into a higher energy state. The MOS capacitors act as deep potential wells (pixels), which hold the electrons until the exposure is finished. The charge is then read-out to an amplifier at one edge, in a specific order so that that the position of the original pixel can be identified, and related to the magnitude of the detected charge. The charge is converted from a raw number of electrons into ADUs (analogue to digital units), the conversion factor of which is the gain of the CCD[xi]. They are preferred to photographic plates in modern astronomical photometry for several reasons: * High quantum efficiency (QE) for each incident photon there is upwards of 90% certainty[1] that an pair will be produced. On the other hand, with photographic plates one can achieve (at best) an efficiency of 3%[xii], so using CCDs will increase the likelihood of detection of distant objects. * Large dynamic range, allowing them to detect objects with a range of magnitudes in the sky in the same exposure. * Strong linearity up to the saturation point, so that for longer exposure times the number of electrons produced is proportional to the integration time, whereas photographic plates will experience a drop in their efficiency. Their linearity will also mean that the magnitude of charge in each pixel is linearly proportional to the luminosity of the object. CCDs have also brought some inherent problems however, for example the noise associated with each image. Because photons obey Gaussian statistics for large counts, there will be a shot noise (uncertainty in the count rate) for each pixel of whereis the number of photons detected. Error in an image also stems from both the bias of the CCD, and the â€Å"dark current† present. The bias of a CCD is a systematic voltage offset across the whole CCD to prevent digital underflow during analogue to digital (A-D) conversion. It includes the read-out noise, a result of the manipulation of the pixel charge values during the A-D process and any charge-loss which occurs during the transfer[xiii]. A CCDs dark current is an unwanted flow of electrons which have been released from the surface of the semiconductor by thermal excitation, and is purely dependant on the surface temperature, rather than being a function of illumination. For this reason the CCD was cooled by both the Peltier method (electrically) and with an active assisting fan[xiv], to around 35 °C below ambient temperature, as the thermal current is approximately halved for each 7 °C reduction in CCD temperaturexii. To remove noise from an image, a set of calibration images may be taken alongside each raw exposure. These are called bias and dark frames. The bias frame is a zero-time exposure which will include both bias and read-out noise. A dark frame can be found by leaving the shutter on the camera closed and taking an exposure seconds long. It can be expressed as , [xv](2) whereis the dark current, andis the thermal noises statistical variation. Ideally one would be taken before each exposure, as temperature routinely varies slightly with time. A â€Å"master dark† frame can be found by taking the average of a large number of dark frames, and will include the equivalent of a master bias. This master dark can then be subtracted from each image to leave a final, processed image with as low a random error as possible. The Automated Photometry Process Since the experiment involved a large number of images, the photometry processes were automated using several Python scripts and FORTRAN routines. The script â€Å"all.py† was used to iterate the â€Å"photom.py† script over a range of images within a directory and print a string detailing which file was currently being processed. â€Å"photom.py† was the main script run, and was used to call several other processes which ran the photometry calculations, among other things. Firstly, it read in the file specified, and split the filename into the file and the extension, by using the find function to search for the full stop as the delimiter. i=file_name.find(.) Using the extension to determine the file type, the script then either subtracted the master_dark.sdf frame (if it was a FITS file, and hence a DRACO output file) or converted it to a FITS file (if it was an ST9 file, and hence 14-inch, which had already had the dark frame removed). The conversion is achieved using two separate routines: sbig2ndf, a routine from the SBIG python module which converts compressed output ST9 files created in CCDOPS into NDF files, and ndf2fits, which is a routine from the convert set of variables that converts the NDF files to FITS images. The subtraction of the dark frame is made using the kappa package from Starlink. â€Å"photom.py† then reads the variable star position from a user-created ‘var_sky_position† file. Using this, the script runs â€Å"find_astrom.py†. This attempts to match the stars in the image to the USNOA2 catalogue, and produce a new FITS file with the derived header solution. Firstly it takes the given star position as the centre of the image, and runs sextractor to find all the objects in the image. Next, it runs the WCS Tools routine scat at that RA and Dec to attempt to find any known objects in the region from the catalogue and prints it to a new file, usnoa_ref.cat: commands.getoutput(scat+ -d -c ua2 -n 200 -m 17 r 600 +ra+ +dec+ j2000 > usnoa_ref.cat) The pixel scale is taken from the directorys automag_driver file, and used by Andrew Pickles starfit script to match each object found by sextractor to the catalogues objects. This is achieved by the matching of triangles created between sets of objects in the sky to similar triangles created from the catalogues objects. Starlinks astrom routine is then used to correct the solution: out=commands.getoutput(/star/bin/astrom fits=asc) print astrom returns:, out Finally, â€Å"find_astrom.py† edits the header keys using pyfits to reflect the newly derived solution, and creates a new FITS image with the file ending â€Å"_ast.fits†. â€Å"photom.py† then runs sextractor again, to product a new catalogue of the objects from the image, complete with their RA and Dec. The script then performs the aperture photometry using â€Å"automag.py†. This measures the relative aperture magnitudes for the objects defined in the new object catalogue, by taking the number of counts within the specified aperture radius from the driver, and applying the formula: (3) Here is a constant offset defined in the driver, is the number of counts within the aperture (which is pixels in size) minus the background, and is the integration time. Background errors are calculated by measuring the counts within the two â€Å"sky† aperture radii to find the mean and rms sky-counts over pixels,and, and firstly deriving the signal to noise ratio for the star, by applying Equation (4) below[xvi]. (4) In the above equation, is the gain of the CCD. By using the flux based definition of the magnitude difference and manipulating the logarithm equation, the signal to noise value can be used to find the error on a measured magnitude, as shown in Equation (5). (5) These instrumental magnitudes are appended to the catalogue file, next to each object. â€Å"auto_mag2list.py† is subsequently run to pull the calibration stars from the catalogue, by matching the RA and Dec to those in the â€Å"cal_sky_positions†. The variable stars data, as well as the calibration stars data and the observation time in Modified Julian Days (MJD) are then appended to a file called â€Å"summary.obs†. Once â€Å"photom.py† completes, the raw2dif routine can then be run to perform the differential magnitude calculation. This routine takes each line from the â€Å"summary.obs† file and subtracts the average of the two comparison stars instrumental magnitudes from the variable stars instrumental magnitude, . A zero-point constant is then added to put the differential magnitude on the standard scale. This can be measured by taking images of photometric standard stars (from the Tycho catalogue for example), and comparing their instrumental magnitudes to their known apparent magnitudes, as described in the next section. (6) raw2dif outputs simply the observation time, variable stars standardised magnitude, and the error on the magnitude to a user-defined file. Magnitude Zero-point Measurement The zero-point is found by measuring the magnitudes of photometric stars with the telescopes, and comparing these to the values found for the stars in the Tycho catalogue. This catalogue uses a separate magnitude system, which can be converted into standard V-band magnitudes using the following formula: (7) The difference in these catalogue magnitudes and the observed values can then be used to show the difference that the specific equipment has made. This is the zero-point magnitude. Period Determination Two programs are used for the period determination, the routine bforce and PDM win 3.0[xvii]. bforce uses a brute force method to find the period of the variability. It attempts to fit the data onto a user generated model of the light curve (with a phase resolution of 0.1), and wrap (or â€Å"fold†) it around a suggested period. The routine then splits the data into a series of bins and estimates the variance in each, as follows; , (8) for observations in each bin. If the trial period is incorrect, there will be a large scatter of magnitudes in each bin, i.e. a large variance. This is compared to the variance of the data set as a whole using an F-test, which is achieved by finding the ratioof bin variance (the explained variance) to total variance (the unexplained variance). For an incorrect estimate of the period ≈ 1, whereas for the correct period The PDM program works in a similar, if more refined way, implementing some of the recent changes in the accepted way of calculating a phase dispersion minimisation period. While still using a variation-based method, it finds the period using a beta-distribution method (designated PDM*) rather than an F-test, as this has been shown to be the correct probability distribution to use[xviii]. It also utilises a GUI with a series of user-set options, for example variable phase resolution. RR Lyrae Theory Subclasses of RR Lyrae Variables From his observations, Bailey noticed three separate subclasses of variable, which have subsequently been compacted into two subclasses (as subclasses a b were very similar). The following is paraphrased from Baileys original description[xix]: * Subclass â€Å"ab†: Very rapid increase of magnitude, with a moderately rapid decrease in mag. Nearly constant mag for approx one half of the full period. Amplitude of roughly one mag and a period of between 12 and 20 hours. * Subclass â€Å"c†: Magnitude always changing, with moderate rapidity. Range generally half a magnitude, with a period of 8 to 10 hours. As our study concerns an RRab type variable, this class shall be primarily discussed. Typical characteristics of RRab stars RR Lyrae stars are large red stars with a low mass, occupying the area of the instability strip on the H-R Diagram (see Fig. 1) between ÃŽ ´-Scuti and Cepheid variables, where it intersects the horizontal branch. They are in the core helium burning stage of their evolution, having exhausted their core hydrogen fuel. Mean physical properties of these variables are under some contention, but a summary of current approximations is provided in Table 1. Period 0.2 1.1 days Mv 0.78  ± 0.02 Te 6404  ± 12 K [Fe/H] -1.56  ± 0.25 Mass 0.55  ± 0.01 Mà ¢Ã‚ ¨Ã¢â€š ¬ Radius 5  ± 1 Rà ¢Ã‚ ¨Ã¢â€š ¬ Table 1. Typical properties of RRab variables. All values are mean values of 335 variable stars[xxi], except period which is a typical rangei. Evolutionary theory It is thought that the progenitor of an RR Lyrae star was a typical low-mass main sequence star, with M* ≈0.8Mà ¢Ã‚ ¨Ã¢â€š ¬. For the first 15 Gyr of its life, the star burns core hydrogen, fusing it into helium. Once the hydrogen supply in the core is exhausted, the star expands to become a red giant, moving off the main sequence and up the giant branch of the Hertzprung-Russell diagram (see Fig. 1), and shell-burning of hydrogen now occurs around an inert helium core. The helium core eventually collapses, becoming electron degenerate, and increases in temperature until the helium in the core ignites using the triple -ÃŽ ± process, causing the â€Å"helium flash†. The cores degeneracy is lost and the star moves off the giant branch asymptotically, down towards the instability strip. At this point it can develop the pulsational properties of an RR Lyrae star, although this will be dependent on its mass, its chemical composition, and its temperaturei. Once the helium core is also used up after around 0.1 Gyr, the star begins to expand and cool again, fuelled only by shell burning of hydrogen and helium. The core never becomes hot enough for the fusion of heavier elements. Eventually all the usable fuel is expended and the star will jettison off its outer layers of material to leave a white dwarf star, shining only through the radiation of internal thermal energy. Pulsation theory The study of pulsation theory owes much to Arthur Eddington, who wrote a series of papers detailing a mathematical description of the properties of stars. Having realised that a radial pulsation in a static star would have a decay time of around 8000 years (much shorter than the length of time stars spend in the instability strip), he proposed that stars behaved as thermodynamic heat engines, using some â€Å"valve mechanism† to regulate energy flow[xxii]. In order to fulfil pulsation, this valve would need to make the star more thermally opaque as the star was compressed, and less opaque as it expanded. Effectively this would cause energy to build up when the star was compressed, forcing the star to swell in size until some turning point was reached and the opacity was small enough that energy could escape, leading to the star contracting again. The Rosseland mean opacity shows the overall opacity of a stellar region, and is defined as follows, (9) where is a constant, is the density of the region, and is temperature. Eddington was unable to come up with a particular material that would possess these properties in a star, particularly as during his time it was not believed that hydrogen or helium made up significant proportions of the inside of stars. It is also the case that neutral hydrogen or helium regions cannot be the â€Å"valve† region, as for these regions and i.e. as increases will decrease. This would lead to the pulsation dying out extremely quickly as all the radiative pressure was lost during contraction. However in 1953 Sergei Zhevakin found that regions of doubly ionised helium would provide an area wherebecomes small or negative, resulting in the desired properties for the gas. It was later shown by R. F. Christy[xxiii] that hydrogen ionisation can play a smaller, but still important, role in the mechanism. Ionisation zones can make another possible contribution to the â€Å"valve† in a star. If the energy from fusion processes cause ionisation in gas regions instead of raising their temperature, then the gas will absorb heat during compression stages, causing a pressure maximum near the minimum volume and thus aiding pulsation. This is known as the mechanism. Different classes of RR Lyrae variable pulsate with different modes. For instance RRab stars all vary in the fundamental mode, whilst RRc stars are pulsating in the first overtone. This is one of the reasons that types â€Å"a† and â€Å"b† can be separated from type â€Å"c† as a separate class. A third class of variables has also been observed, termed RRd type stars, which have a double-mode pulsation, pulsating in the fundamental and first overtone modes simultaneously. However, some RRab stars show a long-timescale second periodicity, known as the Blazhko effect. This is an overarching period that can be anywhere between 30 days and several years. The cause of this effect is unclear, but is believed to come from either a nonlinear resonance effect between the radial fundamental mode and some non-radial mode, or a cyclical rotating magnetic field that deforms the main radial mode of pulsation[xxiv]. Estimation of Absolute Magnitude and Distance RR Lyrae stars are useful for the determination of astronomical distances, especially to regions such as clusters in the Halo, and the Bulge. However, unlike for Cepheids, accurate parallax measurements of distance do not exist for RR Lyrae variables (with the exception of a very few the star RR Lyrae itself for example[xxv]), as the majority of stars are simply too far away for resolution currently[2]. Instead, astronomers look to alternative measurement tools, for example main sequence fitting or the Baade-Wesselink method. Main sequence fitting is the process of determining the distance to a cluster by fitting its colour-magnitude diagram to that of nearby main sequence stars which have a parallax-determined distance. This has produced a wide variety of relations over the last twenty years, but a general relation (that is within error of the majority of current estimates) is given by H. Smithi: (10) The currently favoured method of finding the metallicity is to use the relation, described by Jurcsik Kovà ¡cs in their seminal paper â€Å"Determination of [Fe/H] from the light curves of RR Lyrae stars†[xxvi]. This used a sixth order Fourier decomposition of the light curve to find multiple properties of an RR Lyrae star. When they plotted the data they found the following linear relation: (11) This allows the metallicity to be determined accurately, and then used in the main sequence fitting method to find an accurate absolute magnitude for a star. Finding the absolute magnitudeis important, because it allows for the use of the magnitude equation to determine distance to an object, taking into account the galactic extinction in the direction of the object due to dust and gas in the galactic plane, : (12) The Baade-Wesselink method, originally applied to Cepheid variables, was based on the assumption that a star will have the same surface temperature and brightness at all points of equal colour on the ascending and descending sides of the light curve. This implies that any luminosity variation between two half-phases can be said to be the result of radial differences in the star. Thus a fractional radius change can be measured as. If a radial velocity curve is also plotted for the star, the radius change over the period can be directly measured, and through the combination of these two results a value for the luminosity of the star can be found. This can be used to show the distance to an RR Lyrae star through the relation (13) whereis Stefans Constant, andis the stars effective temperature. However RR Lyrae variables do not behave exactly like Cepheids; for example during stellar expansion the surface gravity is much greater than when the star is contracting, leading to flux redistribution across the surface. This, combined with shock waves permeating through the stellar atmosphere causing distorted radial velocity curves, means that V band photometry is unfortunately useless for applying the Baade-Wesselink method to RR Lyrae stars. The procedure must instead be carried out in (V-H) or (V-K) colours for example, as infra-red wavelengths are less sensitive to the expansion phase distortions[xxvii]. Estimation of Radius Marconi et alxxv have published an equation relating the period of a fundamental mode RR Lyrae star to its average radius; (14) whereis the mean radius (in units of solar radii), is the period (in days), and is the heavier-than-iron metallicity of the star, defined as; xxi, (15) whereis the alpha-enhancement with respect to iron, and is taken to be equal to 1. This is derived from their theoretical predictions of the radial oscillations of a metal poor RR Lyrae, and applies to stars with helium abundances of between (0.24 and 0.28). III. Experimental Methods Preparing the experiment Inital sessions were spent becoming aquainted with the computers Linux-based operating systems, understanding the basics of photometry and exploring the provided software. Several rooftop sessions were attended to gain knowledge of the telescopes provided, and to learn safety procedures associated with the use of the equipment. Due to initial poor weather, previous years data was analysed in order to improve understanding of the provided scripts. A list of RRab targets from the NSVS catalogue[xxviii] was examined to find a suitable object, with a magnitude range visible on the telsecopes available, a period of less than a day, and a high position in the sky. Table 2. Properties of the Telescope and CCD combinations for each dome. Both telescopes were fitted with the same model of V-band filter. Background information on the chosen star (XX And) was found using the SIMBAD database[xxix], and examined to find previous studies, including estimates of period, metallicity, and star type, as well as dates of previously observed maxima. A plot of the field around the star was taken, and used to identify two calibration stars for the photometry ( 3): The calibration stars used were USNOA2.0 numbers 1275-00765817 (cal-star 1) and 1275-00761527 (cal-star 2). They were searched for in various catalogues to verify that they were not known to be variable. The best exposure time for our field was estimated to be 30 seconds with the 14-inch telescope, and 60 seconds with DRACO, so as not to saturate the image. By taking some sample images and viewing them in GAIA, suitable sizes for the apertures were chosen for each telescope. The sizes of the apertures were chosen to enclose the whole star, whilst giving the minimum error. These were then converted from scaled values to numbers of pixels, and entered into seperate â€Å"automag_driver† files for each telescope, along with the specific pixel scale, gain and read-out noise. Telescope Star Sky Inner Sky Outer 14-inch 4.7 14.9 21.4 DRACO 7 25.7 35.1 Table 3. The aperture radii (in pixels) used for each telescope. Firstly, the â€Å"convert† variables were set up. XX Ands RA and Dec in decimal degrees were inserted into a file called â€Å"var_sky_position†, and â€Å"photom.py† was run on the first frame (called for example â€Å"filename.fits†). This produced an output file called â€Å"amag.out† which contained the positions of all the recognised stars in the image, as well as a calibrated image â€Å"dfilename_ast.fits†. By comparing the (x,y) pixel locations in GAIA for the two calibration stars with the data in â€Å"amag.out† the RA and Dec of the calibration stars were noted, and inserted into a text file named â€Å"cal_sky_positions†. Observation of the Variable Observations of the field containing XX And were then taken over a period of 1 month, using both the 14-inch â€Å"Far East† and the 10-inch DRACO telescopes. For the 14-inch, the observing process was as follows: The object was located using the Earth Centre Universe program, the telescope synched and set to track, and the CCD programmed to take around 30 images per sequence at 30 seconds each, with an 8 second dark frame before each new image. For DRACO, the object was found using the provided G.U.I., with care taken to place the variable star and both comparison stars away from dust grains on the CCD. The telescope was set to track, and programmed to take a large number of images with a 60 second exposure. For each new observing session a seperate file was created, containing all the images and the scripts required for automated photometry. For DRACO processing, a master dark file was also copied from the archive. The file â€Å"all.py† was then amended to iterate ov er all the images in the directory, and set running. Once the photometry had completed, the raw2dif routine was run, and the results viewed by running qplot. The data were adjusted to Heliocentric Julian Days by running the cor2hjd routine, and the final tables were copied across to a main results directory to be added to the full table of data. bfplot was run on the full dataset using an estimate for the period, and the phase values from the output file â€Å"fort.30† were killed out and yanked into the dataset file using EMACS. This table was viewed in TOPCAT, and a light curve created. Any clear and accountable anomalies were removed in TOPCAT. To gain a value for the absolute magnitude of XX And, rather than simply an instrumental magnitude, a series of observations were made of photometric stars which had known magnitudes. These are shown in table 4 below: Photometric Star RA Dec Apparent V-band Magnitude 1 1h 18m 20.581s 38 ° 55 38.23 9.847 2 1h 14m 50.729s 38 ° 29 55.80 9.961 3 1h 15m 12.229s 38 ° 49 10.95 9.048 4 1h 16m 39.436s 39 ° 09 38.64 9.735 Table 4: Properties of photometric stars used in the magnitude calibration of XX And. This gave a value for the correction which had to be made to all the observed values for each telescope. The corrections were then applied to the full dataset. An O-C diagram was constructed using the data from the Hipparcos mission, the GEOS RR Lyrae Survey, and also archive data from the GEOS database[xxxi]. The period used was the Hipparcos estimate. Since the newly observed data used HJD, and the archive data was in â€Å"modified HJD†, an addition of 0.5 HJD has to be made to the new data in order to be comparable. The newly observed data was then added to the diagram, and the input period was altered to give the flattest line possible, thus providing a new estimate of the period. The error on the period is given by the slope of the line[xxxii]. Any historical period changes were searched for in the line of the O-C plot. The fast_solve routine was run on all of the summary.obs files, and the comparison stars were checked to see whether or not they were varying. The output model file from fast_solve was edited to include estimates of bin values where there was no actual observational data, and then used in the routine bforce. This was run using the period quoted in the Hipparcos catalogue as the initial period to give an estimate of the new period and its error. The period was also estimated using PDMwin, using an output table from TOPCAT. Errors in the period-finding were estimated using the Jackknife method on both the PDM and bforce programs. This was achieved by recomputing the period, but leaving out one observa

The Nature Of Kingship In Hamlet English Literature Essay

The Nature Of Kingship In Hamlet English Literature Essay You will never say that Shakespeares plays are only mundane waste of ink. The manner in which Shakespeare treats the nature of kingship in Hamlet reflects the essential tone and themes of these works. I am going to illustrate this through this paper. Shakespeares plays are always influence on people, they are fascinating and truthfully, sincere and touching. Each of his tragedies shows us pure evil or eternal love: different humans relationships that are why Shakespeares works are famous throughout the centuries. Time changes and people change with it, but main problems and questions are still the same. It can generally be said that this great author shows many-sided peoples relations and feelings, contradictory or high-minded actions. The purpose of the essay is to prove the thesis basic statement and analyze Hamlets reaction to the appearance of his fathers ghost. The paper contains such requirements as thesis, argument and content that demonstrate an awareness of complexity and co ntradiction in approach to the text; writing shows evidence of abstract, critical and careful original thought; thesis provides a strong, coherent critical argument that is developed through the course of the essay. Main question To understand the plot and context of this play Hamlet clearly we should mention the period when it was written and events, which accompanied that period. According to Atchley, Hamlet expects his audience to perceive the Ghost for what it is, a diabolical manifestation on a mission to trick Hamlet into forfeiting his soul the plays devastating/destructive conclusion supports this interpretation. In exhorting Hamlet to commit murder through an act of revenge, the Ghost plays most foully for Hamlets soul. The piteous action that the Ghost makes is directed [à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦] at Hamlet, to wring his emotions and drive him to distraction to make Gertrude think him mad. And it succeeds (2002, pg 12-14, 18). As far as I am concerned, Shakespeare is said not to be publisher of any of his plays and thus none of the original manuscripts has survived. However, during his lifetime eighteen unauthorized versions of his various plays were published in some editions by different publishers (in addi tion, during era of Elizabeth there were not any copyright norms or laws that could protect Shakespeares various works). Henry Fuseli depicted the Hamlet, who is under his fathers ghost control: In Hamlet, a play in no small part pervaded by abstractions and conscious role playing, we find that the kingship is shown in terms of abstractions, contradictions and the self-conscious playing of the king. Hamlet lost his father, who was killed by the king. Moreover, his mother was dishonored by the same man. Thus, for the reasons given above, Hamlets heart was full of revenge lust. After the king was unmasked, Hamlet was betrayed and send far away, nevertheless, he returned to find the truth. At the end many people died, unfortunately, Hamlet too. This story takes your breath and a part of your heart as Shakespeares works usually do. But in spite of all the things with which Hamlet professes dissatisfaction, it is said that Hamlet and heir apparent of Denmark should think about such problems in philosophical and personal terms. Because of his own carelessness he forgets about the problems of the country and the threats to its stability from within. Unfortunately, blindness and truth will never be divided without the eruption of chaos. This picture illustrates the Hamlets meeting his fathers ghost. According to Atchley, the religious atmosphere in Elizabethan England and how this may have affected Shakespeares audience are considered, particularly the differing Catholic and Protestant beliefs concerning ghosts and the supernatural. Instead of defining the true nature of ghosts for his audiences, Shakespeare incorporates within his play both Catholic and Protestant views of the Ghost and also presents a third perspective on the Ghost, one steeped in folkloric tradition (2002, pg 5-20). Hamlet thought and supposed that his father was killed by his uncle. Talking about the Hamlets reaction to the ghost that he met, I must mention that after Hamlet met his fathers ghost, his thought was to revenge. The most awful and terrifying thing for Hamlet was even not the treat of his uncle (when he killed Hamlets father), but the fact that mother married to his uncle. When Hamlet saw his fathers ghost he was worried, surprised and it evoked in Hamlet so many contradictory thoughts. The fathers ghost appeared in Act I Scenes I, IV, and V, and Act III Scene IV in the play. The ghost appeared always at night. Hamlet was really scared and terrified when he met his fathers ghost and he had doubts: is it his fathers ghost or devil. The fathers ghost told Hamlet that he was murdered by his uncle. Thus, Hamlet decided to revenge, because his fathers ghost asked him. However, Hamlet suspected his uncle in murder even before the fathers ghost appeared. Hamlet does not have any doubts. Hamlet and Goracio are the most reasonable and clever persons, whose words and thoughts are based on logical arguments and reasons. Goracio was really good and faithful friend, who helped Hamlet during all his life. In consequence, they paid for it, unfortunately. According to Atchleys words, the question becomes, once the Ghost has accomplished his goal by motivating Hamlet to commit revenge (and, hence, to loose his soul), why does it appear later in the closet scene and in its nightgown? The answer is to perform two functions: first, to prevent Hamlets convincing of Gertrude to repent; the Ghosts appearing only to Hamlet intensifies Hamlets apparent madness such that Gertrude attributes Hamlets accusations to his insanity. Her moment of grace has passed (2002, pg 16). The theme about the reaction of Hamlet on the meeting his fathers ghost is very specific. It is obvious that Hamlet was scared and worried when he met the ghost of his murdered father. He just evoked in Hamlet feeling of confidence in that his uncle was evil and bad person (who had to be punished evidently). In addition, Hamlet was definitely embarrassed in the reason of his mother and his uncle marriage. Definitely, it can be said that Hamlet is complicated and mysterious wor ld, which contains of pure love, evil and jealousy that makes people mad and obsessed. Does this play teach us something? Without any doubts, it does. It can definitely be said. This play is a mysterious world, it can be judged or understood, but never wiped off. Creations of their authors, plays include feelings, words, and dearest moments. Any way, each of us has to choose its own way, its own ending of the story and love. Conclusion According to Atchley, the counter argument is that the Ghost tells the truth surrounding the circumstances of old Hamlets death, as corroborated by Claudius private confession of guilt; but a devil is capable of telling the truth if it enables him to achieve his goal (2002, pg 5-20). Shakespeares plays touch human feelings and relationships, first, friendship and love. That is why people are looking for the answers for their questions in Shakespeares creations. That is why this man is known by each of us. That is why his works leave some trace in our minds and hearts. It can generally be said that this great author shows many-sided peoples relations and feelings, contradictory or high-minded actions. His plays are heart touching, overwhelming and breathtaking. People look for answers in his plays and sonnets, because he illustrates different relationships between us, and each of it shows how people face problems and difficult questions. Therefore, Shakespeare is a great writer who cr eated many masterpieces. He showed how cruel and liberal, evil and worrying can be our world. Moreover, I can claim that you will not be disappointed after reading his works. The entity struggle between love and betray, good and bad, life and death worries the brightest minds of humanity, including Shakespeare. Each of us eventually spends a good deal of time thinking about such problems, sooner or later our thoughts become older and more serious. Thus, we turn to great people words and works to be helped. Of course, thoughts can be different, but one fact is beyond doubts.

The Ramifications of Prejudice and Discrimination Essay example -- une

Introduction Classifying oneself to be the object of prejudice or discrimination has demonstrable, negative impact upon the individual (Dion, 2002). Prejudice is a mixture of preconceived beliefs and negative attitudes towards a certain group of people. Whereas discrimination involves physical action and unequal treatment towards a particular group. Research indicates prejudice and discrimination are more or less interchangeably, with altered referents and slightly different meanings (Zastrow, 2007). Minorities have been the victims of prejudice and discrimination for many years (Dion, 2002). Certain minorities such as African American’s have been targeted and treated unfairly (Zastrow, 2007). For example, a Caucasian person can go into a store to shop without being followed or harassed however, an African American may not have the same experience. Throughout America in some instances Hernstein and Murray asserts that Caucasians are more intelligent, because IQ test demonstrate Caucasians average scores of 10 to 15 points higher than African Americans. Research revealed that those IQ test were racially imbalanced (Zastrow, 2007). American culture has been ambivalent, viewing race and ethnicity both as sources of pride, meaning, and motivation as well as sources of prejudice, discrimination, and inequality. Prejudice is a combination of stereotyped beliefs and negative attitudes (Markus, 2008). Perceived prejudice and discrimination, under some circumstances, may help buffer or protect aspects of the self-concept for members of certain minority or subordinate groups, in some instances (Dion, 2002). These terms stem from ethnocentrism, which according to Zastrow, (2007) is defined as a set of beliefs that holds one’s own cul... ...tive taking ability: Developmental, theoretical, and empirical trends. In S. M. Quintana & C. McKown (Eds.), Handbook of Race, Racism, and the Developing Child. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley. Reeves, K. (2000). Racism And Projection Of The Shadow. Psychotherapy. 37, 1. Rosik, C.H., Smith, L.L, (2009). Perceptions of Religiously Based Discrimination Among Christian Students in Secular and Christian University Settings. Psychology of Religion and Spirituality. American Psychological Association. 4, 207–217 1941-1022/09 doi: 10.1037/a0017076. Schriver, J.M. (2011). Human Behavior and Social Environment: Shifting Paradigms essential knowledge for social work practice (5th Edition). Needham Heights, MA: Peason A & Bacon. Zastrow, C. H., & Krist-Ashman, K.K. (2007). Understanding Human Behavior and the Social Environment (7th Edition.) Belmont, CA: Thompson-Brooks/Cole.

Euthanasia Essay - Artificial Life or Natural Death? :: Euthanasia Physician Assisted Suicide

Artificial Life or Natural Death? Euthanasia has been a hotly debated about topic for the past couple of decades, but has recently been thrust into the limelight by many controversial court and hospital decisions. Euthanasia is defined as the "mercy killing" of a person who is brain dead, terminally ill or otherwise at death's door. This usually, but not necessarily, affects people who are are separated from death only by machines. Whether you personally believe "mercy killing" is a viable solution in a hopeless situation or not the proponents for both sides provide arguments that can be quite convincing. Supporters of euthanasia say that it is such an improbability for a miraculous recovery and a return to a normal life that it is not worth putting the patient through all the suffering and agony that prolonging their life would cause or the fortune of hospital bills that you would pay. The opposition feels that it is not right for people to abandon other members of the human race because there is always a chance, even though it is a small one, that they will regain all functons and return to a normal life. There are many cases in which euthanasia is acceptable. Brain death is one situation which merits euthanasia. It is also one of the more common cases where euthanasia is requested. Brain death is when all brain activities cease. The lines are fairly well drawn in the law about patients who are suffering but are still compotent, but when the law is asked to determine the fate of a lingering, comatose, incompotent patient the lines begin to blur. In many cases the courts turned to the patient's family, but what if there are not any or they disagree? In such cases who decides? In a controversial decision a Massachusetts court allowed that it would invoke its own "substitute judgement" on behalf of a mentally ill woman. In a second case mentioned in the January 7 issue of Newsweek, a Minnesota Surpreme court turned to three hospital ethics committees to review a dying loner's case, followed their collected wisdom and ordered him off the respirator so that he could have a dignified death. "It is

Poetry Essay - Anaylsis of 9 Poems :: Duffy Armitage Plath Milligan Hood Clarke Heaney

In this piece of coursework I am going to analysis and compare a number of poems, some written by the same authors and some by different authors. All 9 poems have one common link which is: Youth. The first poem is called â€Å"Stealing† and it was written by Carol Ann Duffy. This poem is about a troubled young man who takes away a snowman from someone’s garden and talks about other items he has stolen before such as a camera. In this poem there are certain words and phrases which you can relate to your sense of sight, hearing, smell, touch and taste. For example when he describes the snowman as â€Å"A mate with a mind as cold as the slice of ice,† which you can use your sense of hearing and hear someone cutting through the ice. Also where he says â€Å"I was standing alone amongst lumps of snow,† where you can picture this person standing there alone with a snowman crushed at his feet. I think this add enjoyment to the poem as it is getting you to see, hear, feel exactly what is happening in the poem which makes it more real. He uses a lot of metaphors. For an example he talks about the snowman being as â€Å"cold as the slice of ice within my own brain† and â€Å"a fierce chill pierced my gut,† where he is talking about the snowman on the outside but also talking about how he feels on the inside, cold and lonely. In this poem the poet has chosen to separate the events and place a stanza in the middle, so the poem starts off talking about the snowman and what it feels like but the third verse talks about the person’s life and then back to talking about the snowman. I think the poet has done this to add more effect to the poem, as it indicates that the person in the poem does not understand themselves let alone explain them self to anyone else. Also that they think about their lifestyle a lot and that they do not understand why they do what they do. In this poem there is no rhyme. I think this is because the poet wants to make the poem sound more serious and realistic than childish with loads of rhyming words.

Literacy Development in Afterschool program at Yeronga State High School Essay

Introduction Yeronga State High School was established in 1959 by Queensland Government on 60 acres of land. This school comprises of student from more than 60 cultural and linguistic back grounds, many students come from Africa, Iraq, Iran and Afghanistan. More than 90% of this population is refugees coming from war-torn countries suffering from war trauma. This study is carried out during a Volunteering for ESL (English as Second Language) program for grade 8 to12 student. As a volunteer, there was an opportunity to participate in various afterschool program run by school such as Homework club. This project report attempts to comprehend field of literacy in afterschool program with a focus on researches made in past relates to literacy practise and outcome. The core objective is to investigate how the literacy is developed among student during this process through informal oral interview and observations. This paper also investigate what problem student face in after school program and what steps needs to be taken to over come that problem as an educator. This project report endorsed the fact that after school programs with experience and activities enhance child’s literacy development which is a consistent argument as per academic literature authored by Garbarino and others (Garbarino et al., 1992; Werner, 1990).In order to have a crystal clear understanding of development of literacy occurred in afterschool program, an extensive literature review has been done. It would be really important to note that this project report covers a small body of research so as a reader one should emphasize on relevance and significance of the literature review in context of the body of this project report. This project report briefly discuss of pertinent research related to specific literacy application. These applications are selected on the base of their existence at after school program at school, their endorsement in research in the filed of afterschool program and literacy and their appropriateness. The nucleus hypothesis of this project report is a main goal of Afterschool program is to construct aptitude for rich academic content through engage student in challenging learning activities for their own academic enrichment. Afterschool program should not act as an extension of school day but should be able to provide high-interest generating activities that complement school-day learning in variety of ways. Researcher has been also suggested that afterschool program indirectly supports academic achievement in various ways such as it provides platform to enhance non academic literacy and competencies which help students to enhance their academic learning; it also ensure that students develop critical development inputs which helps them to prosper in their academic success and keep them fully prepare and engaged; creation of alternate rich learning environment; and help students to overcome the hurdle (Sheley,1984). According to Miller (2003), for a positive results and successful development of literacy, after school program should be equipped with some critical characteristics, first and foremost foundation of any successful After-school program is It has to be carried out in Physical and psychologically safe environment. In order to develop literacy they should be placed under supportive relationships, it’s also important to create the feeling of belongingness among student so they can feel important and recognized. Main goal of after school program should be opportunity for skill building through integration of school, society and family. Rationale of Project For building academic successful literacy in academic success (Broh, 2002; Cairns, 1995; Campbell, Storo & Acerbo, 1995; Childress, 1998; Cooper, Valentine,Nye, & Lindsay, 1999; Eccles & Barber, 1999; Gerber, 1996). After school programs can play a key role in engaging youth in the learning process by providing opportunities to explore interests, gain competency in real world skills, solve problems, assume leadership roles, develop a group identity with similarly engaged peers, connect to adult role models and mentors, and become involved in improving their communities. Early adolescence is a time of dramatic change in every area of a young person’s life. During this period, young people forge personal identities in a context of physical and emotional changes, the increasing importance and influence of a peer group, and growing independence. It is the confluence of change on many levels-biological and physiological growth, peer and social expectations, and the school environme nt-that can make early adolescence a particularly risky period (Lerner, 1993a; Solodow, 1999; Weissberg & Greenberg, 2000). The research sample of this project report is a grade 8 to 12 student of Yeronga state high school where ninety percent of total population comes from war torn country. These students can experience social changes that may distract them from academic pursuits; they also enter an academic environment less in tune with their developmental needs. Studies by Eccles and her colleagues (Eccles & Midgley, 1989; Eccles & Midgley, 1990; Gutman & Midgley, 2000) paint a convincing portrait of the conflict between the developmental stage of early adolescence and the environment of most middle and junior high schools. Apart from that Poverty, violence and family distress are three lethal risk factors for children grown up in war traumatized country (Garbarino, Dubrow, Kostelny, & Pardo, 1992). Poverty has a direct fatal affect on growing child as it limits the resources available for their disposal for learning and in an indirect manner negative parental behavior which is an outcome of psychological distress faced by parents due to poverty (McLoyd, 1990). Children from war-torn countries have a posttraumatic stress syndrome which generates from sleep disturbance and aggressive behavior (Bell, 1991; Osofsky, Wewers, Hann, & Fick, 1991). After school programs can also create a bridge or â€Å"border zone† between the culture of peers, families and communities on the one hand, and the school environment on the other (Heath, 1994; Jackson & Davis, 2000; Scharf & Woodlief, 2000).This report argues that after school programs can make a difference in building the â€Å"prerequisites† to learning, supporting not only school achievement, but long-term competence and success as well. Students are usually viewed as important contributors rather than passive recipients. They choose their roles, help others who are less skilled, and are critical to the success of the project. They are honored for their accomplishments as well as expected to have strong feelings and relationships. In many high quality afterschool activities, young people experience a group setting where every individual’s effort makes a difference, where they spend significant time (rather than a class period) focused on a specific skill, and where they receive a lot of individual attention from adults. Will these practices increase students’ engagement in learning? To answer this question, we must explore education literature to identify factors that motivate students to become committed to learning. Due to limited body of research available in the field of after school program, the focus of this report is mainly narrowed down to literacy practise and outcome. In the next section, an extensive literature review of specific literacy practice which helps in developing literacy in after school program has been analysed. It would be really important to note that the following literature review should be considered as summary of most relevant research done in the field of development of literacy in afterschool program. Literature Review The following literature review is a focusing specifically on three specific literacy practices: Reading aloud, dramatisation and book discussion. The selection of these three literacy practices is based on the relevant application at Yeronga state high school afterschool program. This literature review is a comprehensive summary of most relevant research and key reports carried in United States to crystallise our understanding of the three selected literacy practice. Reading Aloud â€Å"The single most important activity for †¦ reading success appears to be reading aloud to children† (Neuman, Copple, & Bredekamp, 2000) Reading aloud is a foundation stone for any literacy development. It’s really important to get children interested on daily basis throughout the primary grades. This literacy practice helps student with fluent reading and injects a passion so that they can be a good reader (Anderson, Hiebert, Scott, & Wilkinson, 1985; Calkins, 1997). This literacy practice transform less able reader to better reader by motivating students to read rich and content full book. According Armbruster et al. (2001), in primary grades children learn meaning of words via listening to their teacher when they read the text. In this scenario â€Å"Reading aloud† can really help as while reading a book or a text when student pauses at a particular word, its an opportunity for teacher to identify that he/she is facing a problem with unfamiliarity of word and to overcome this problem teacher can engage student in a conversation. This conversation can help student to understand new words, meaning, concepts as well as their correlation to their prior knowledge and experience. In terms of Vocabulary growth this â€Å"Reading Aloud† can play a major role. The base of this argument is in primary grades student learns vocabulary from two different sources first is the word it self woven in text of book and second is words spoken by teacher (Dickinson & tabors, 2001). In certain cases it also depends on a source of text i.e. choice of book which can have a positive or negative impact of vocabulary development. In other words, if a book has limited vocabulary than it would be difficult to develop vocabulary growth in student (Dickinson & Smith, 1994). Other important aspects which have to be taken into consideration while reviewing concept of â€Å"Reading Aloud† are methods, environmental influences, attitudes and interactive behaviours (Morrow, 1990). These factors can play a crucial role in literacy development. In an experiment conducted by Morrow (1990) at kindergarten students, his initial idea behind this experiment was to investigate the effect of small group story readings in different class room environment. Children were distributed among six classroom in a school based in urban area which had a children from middle to lower socioeconomic level, with over 60 percent belonging to minority group . This group of children were divided into experimental and control group on random bases. Each group has assigned one research assistant and time frame for the study was decided for 11 weeks. Research assistant in experimental group were asked to use maximum level of interactive behaviour techniques such as managing, prompting, supporting and informing. In a control group research assistant were instructed to follow teacher’s manual. As a result children under experimental group were asking more questions, making more comments and involving in discussion with fellow classmate. Interactive environment helped them to develop their literacy in terms of dealing with meaning in context of area of detail, interpretation, reflection from own experience as well as narration. Children from this group scored a high grades in reading comprehension. The conclusion of the study was, reading aloud practice increase literacy by involving student in verbal participation, comprehension and complexity of verbal interchange. Story and Literature Dramatizations It’s a well known fact that from early age children have enjoyed and used story and drama play as a connecting bridge to their literacy. According to Rowe (1998) this kind of practice is a crucial part of enhancing literacy-learning process as during process student may apply dramatization as a means of exploring content of books. Primary age students who are engaged in this kind of practice can facilitate literacy activity and can motivate cooperative learning behaviour (Stone and Christie, 1996). This literacy practice provides a plat form to student for bringing a piece of literature to life. While they are in this process, acting out character’s part helps engaged student to build memorization, fluency, and comprehension skill. According to (Berk & Winsler, 1995), develops literacy in younger children by: * Encouraging them to use language in creative way * Providing them an open platform to sort out problem and concern * Help students to understand how the transition from oral to written language can happen * Enhancing their ability to recall, imagination and story reading. In an area of text literacy development â€Å"fluency† plays a vital role, during this kind of literacy practice, students are comply to read passage repeatedly aloud with guidance so that they can improve their fluency because it’s really necessary to derive comprehension from their reading. Rose, Parks, and Androes (2000) studied an approach that used drama as a vehicle to instruct reading. The participants for the study were drawn from four Chicago-area public elementary schools that previously worked with Whirlwind, a non profit arts education organization that developed the reading program under study-Reading Comprehension Through Drama (RCD). The schools were large and served populations that were primarily African American or Hispanic, in low-income neighbourhoods. Four fourth-grade classrooms were randomly chosen and randomly assigned to either the experimental or control group. For 10 weeks, the experimental group was taught reading using the RCD program, while the control group used traditional text-based methods. Comparisons were based on pre- and post-tests using the reading comprehension score from the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills (ITBS). The treatment consisted of two, one-hour sessions each week of in-class work with a performing artist. The students’ primary work was to dramatize a piece of narrative text in short skits. The RCD program was divided into four stages: story, sequence, perception, and evaluation. Breaking stories into their various elements allowed students to better understand the different pieces, or propositional elements, of the story. The first stage of the program required the students to read a text, create symbols to illustrate the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory 24 various story elements (e.g., what, who, where) and then retell the story to another student using the symbols. In the second stage, students were asked to identify the beginning, middle, and end of the story, and then represent that in a three-panel illustration. In the third stage, students had to act out a scene using their five senses to illustrate possible sensations experienced by the story characters. Finally, students explored ideas of interpretation, critique, and opinion, and were interviewed as if they were characters from the story. After controlling for differences in pre-test ITBS scores, reading grade equivalent scores for the experimental group increased significantly more than for the control group. On the factual comprehension subscale of the ITBS, the experimental group improved significantly more than the control group. On the inferential comprehension subscale, no significant differences were found between the two groups. The researchers concluded that drama-based reading instruction can improve reading skills more than traditional. Book Discussion and literature Circle Book discussions and literature circles were among the practices found in Spielberger and Halpern’s (2002) case studies of 16 afterschool programs identified as having exemplary or innovative approaches. In afterschool programs, literature circles provide a chance for students to engage in extended discussion about the books they read. Students can also reflect on and respond to the connections between those books and others they have read, their own personal experiences, and the world around them. However, the authors comment that book discussion groups and literature circles may be difficult for afterschool staff to implement without experience and skills in leading discussions. This kind of literacy practice helps students to extend their reading skills, learn to analyze different kind of literature as well as how to develop opinion on the same and find evidence from text. According to Gambrell (1996), this kind of literacy practice promotes deeper understanding of text, higher level thinking and improved communication skill among students. Indicating the effectiveness of discussion in promoting readers’ deeper understanding of text, Palinscar (1987) and Palinscar and Brown (1984) have found that students in reciprocal teaching groups outperform comparison groups on reading comprehension. Morrow and Smith (1990) also found that kindergartners who engaged in small- group discussions of stories that were read aloud had superior story recall compared to students who discussed the story one-to-one with the teacher or who worked in larger groups. In study done by Hudgins and Edelman (1986), found that 60 fourth- and fifth-graders in 10 classrooms who participated in small-group discussions in which they were encouraged to take responsibility for thinking and talking provided more supporting evidence for conclusions than did a control group. Studies by Almasi (1995), Villaume and Hopkins (1995), and Green and Wallet (1981) (all cited in Gambrell, 1996) show further evidence that student led discussions encourage higher level thinking and problem solving. Research by Almasi (1995, cited in Gambrell, 1996) indicates that students’ communication skills improve as they become more experienced in small-group discussions. In addition, Eeds and Wells’s (1989) findings support the belief that through book study groups, students can participate in enriching conversations that foster their understanding of literature, even when discussion groups only meet twice a week for 30 minutes and where the teacher-leader is a novice with no teaching experience. In their non-experimental study, Eeds and Wells investigated four literature study groups of fifth- and sixth-grade students. Of particular interest is that the study groups were led by undergraduate education students who had no prior experience working with children. The study group leaders were encouraged to participate â€Å"as group members working with the children to construct meaning rather than acting as all-knowing interpreters of the text.† Teacher-leaders were discouraged from preparing a set of explicit comprehension questions, letting the meaning emerge from group discussion; however, they were encouraged to capitalize on a teachable moment if they noticed one. Dickinson and Smith (1994) suggest that book discussions can affect vocabulary development. They followed 25 children who met the income requirements of Head Start and who were either enrolled in Head Start or a similar subsidized program for low income children. The children were four years old at the beginning of the study and took a battery of language/literacy development tests at the age of five. Based on classroom observations, the researchers found that teachers’ oral book reading styles could be grouped into three approaches: co-constructive, didactic-interactional, and performance-oriented. Each approach is characterized by different types and amounts of talk before, during, and after the book reading session.Several of these studies comment on the influence of text type. Dickinson and Smith (1994) found that a book with limited vocabulary and plot, which was observed in use with the didactic-interactional approach, did not show the same strong correlation to vocabulary development as the other two approaches. They note that â€Å"a steady diet of books with predictable text may not be optimal.† Eeds and Wells (1989) also wonder if the exceptional quality of a text may lead students to higher levels of dialogue and richer insights and generalizations. A study by Leal (1992, cited in Gambrell, 1996) found that informational storybooks enhanced discussion more than narrative or expository texts. Methodology > First and foremost step in direction of this project report was to conduct a search of literature and research studies that concentrated on afterschool program. It has been found that very little research has been done on Afterschool Program, though this is an area that is beginning to receive more attention. > The primary goal of the search process was to secure a nonbiased, representative sample of studies obtained through a systematic search for published and unpublished reports sources as web article, journal article, books and electronic database such as Proquest, Emerald and Jstor for search using the keywords â€Å"read aloud’ and â€Å"afterschool,† â€Å"dramatization† and â€Å"afterschool,† and â€Å"bookdiscussion† and â€Å"afterschool,† and associated terms as well as Manual searches of the contents of several journals that published afterschool outcome studies. > Reports based on some methodological and content grounds were excluded. Such as After School Programs that focused on academic performance or school attendance and only reported such outcomes, adventure education and Outward Bound programs, extracurricular school activities and summer camps. This also includes extracurricular school activities, academic and recreational programs conducted during the summer, and educational and social events offered by local libraries, museums, parks and faith-based institutions. These types of activities were not included in our review. > Study sample of this project was a student of Yeronga state high school selected in random order for an informal oral interview during their afterschool program activities. > No standard format was followed informal interview however, question asked during the interview process and times for each interview were kept same in order to maintain uniformity in process. > The research on these literacy practices-reading aloud, dramatization, and book discussion-provides strong support for their inclusion in afterschool programs. Although the available research on literacy practices in the afterschool context does not provide obvious results regarding their benefit in that context, their general benefits are well established Analysis According to D’Amico (2001) and Soto (1990), Race, class and ethnicity remain powerful predictors of school achievement. Despite 40 years of education reform (Alexander, Entwisle & Bedinger, 1994), the achievement gap-the differences in school performance between rich and poor children, between children in affluent communities and those living in poor communities, and between white children and Asian on one hand, and African American and Latino children on the other-persists. Students who are engaged in learning take interest in their schoolwork, make an effort to earn good grades, and attempt to master the subject matter on their own before requesting assistance (Connell, Halpern-Felsher et al., 1995). Students who are alienated from school, on the other hand, score lower on psychological assessments of adjustment, are more likely to act out aggressively, are far more likely than their peers to use alcohol and drugs, become sexually active at an early age, and commit acts of juvenile delinquency and crime (Hawkins & Weis, 1985; Resnick et al., 1997). Poor children, especially those from non-dominant cultures, do not enter school with the same â€Å"soft skills† (understanding of the behaviour, social, communication, and work styles expected in school) due to their different cultural backgrounds. They have developed different interaction styles, expectations, social norms, and assumptions than those they face in the mainstream school culture (Allison & Takei, 1993; Comer, 1988; Delpit, 1988; Heath, 1982, 1994). Time span after school hours adds its own challenges in literacy development. Several studies, all somewhat outdated, suggest that about 60 percent of adolescents’ time is invested in school and other productive activities, while about 40 percent is discretionary (Csikszentmihalyi & Larson, 1984;Timmer et al., 1985). Of this â€Å"leisure† time, 40 percent is spent socializing; 20 percent is spent watching television; and very little time is spent readingor in other constructive activities like the arts and sports (Medrich et al., 1982;Timmer et al.,1985; Zill et al., 1995). An estimated eight million children between the ages of 6 and 14 regularly spend their discretionary time without adult supervision (National Institute on Out-of-School Time,2001). National data suggests that middle school-age children are much more likely to be in self-care and less likely to be in supervised arrangements than younger school-age children. While only 10 percent of 10 to 12 year-olds attend afterschool programs as a â€Å"primary† arrangement (the one in which they spend most of their after school time), 24 percent spend more of their time home alone than in any other setting (Capizzano, Tout & Adams, 2000). More than one third of children in this age group spend some time caring for themselves each week as either a primary or secondary arrangement. This proportion increases with age: 23 percent of 10-year-olds spend some time caring for themselves compared to 44 percent of 12-year-olds (Capizzano et al., 2000). Research admits that there is a great risk involved in spending lots of time with peers without adult supervision or monitoring. Students who â€Å"hang out† without supervision or engagement in constructive activities are likely to develop negative attitudes towards school and other anti-social or risky attitudes and behaviors (Dryfoos,1990). While Jordan and Nettles’ research was conducted with a sample of high school age students, research on younger children suggests the findings would probably also apply to middle school students (e.g., Pierce, Hamm & Vandell, 1999). Cooper’s (1999) investigation of the relationship between five afterschool activities and academic achievement included nearly 500 students in grades 6-12 from urban,suburban and rural school districts. Controlling for the effects of student background characteristics like ethnicity, income, gender, and grade level, the researchers found that time spent in structured groups, doing homework and extracurricular activities was positively associated with higher grades and test scores. Time spent working after school was negatively associated with academic achievement. Research indicates that most young people who are home alone or on the streets for long periods of time don’t do well. Formal afterschool programs provide adult supervision for more hours in addition to offering a wider range of activities. literature analysis of this report shows that Afterschool program has a positive effects on overall literacy development for student in following manner : Increases in Attitudes and Behaviors Linked to School Success: ? Increased sense of efficacy, competence and leadership (Campbell et al., 1995;Fleming-McCormick & Tushnet, 1996; Heath & Soep, 1998) ? Better behavior in school (Baker & Gribbons,1998;Johnson et al.,1999;Posner & Vandell, 1994) ? Better emotional adjustment (Baker & Gribbons, 1998; Kahne, Nagaoka,O’Brien, Quinn, & Thandiede, 1999; Marshall et al., 1997) ? Better use of time (e.g., less time watching television,more time in enrichment and academic activities) (Johnson et al., 1999; Posner & Vandell, 1994) ? Better work habits (Schinke et al., 1992;Vandell & Pierce, 1999) ? Better conflict resolution skills ( Posner & Vandell, 1994) Improved Academic Performance: ? Improved skills in data analysis and writing (Schlegel, 2003) ? Improved homework completion or quality (Johnson et al., 1999) ? Improved grades (Baker & Witt, 1996; Brooks, 1995; Cardenas, 1992; Hamilton & Klein, 1998) ? Higher scores on achievement tests (Hamilton & Klein, 1998; Hamilton et al.,1999; Huang, 2001; Huang et al., 2000; Johnson et al., 1999) ? Reductions in grade retention (Hamilton et al., 1999) ? Decreased dropping out of school (Jones & Offord, 1989) Conclusion To support literacy teaching and learning in the after school programs following steps should be taken in consideration: firs of all focus should be set on encouraging student to have high expectations. Secondly, motivate staff involved in afterschool program in order to cultivate a shared commitment to help every student develop strong literacy skills; afterschool program should provide regular opportunities for teachers who teach the same students to discuss and collaboratively plan literacy programs for their students (e.g., the special education teacher and the classroom teacher, the librarian and the classroom teacher); analyse how the school’s timetable supports effective literacy learning, allocate reasonable blocks of instructional time for literacy; support inquiry-based learning, where students explore issues, big ideas, and questions, including those of particular interest to them, and where they understand what and why they are learning (Routman, 2000); after schoo l program should promote models of classroom management and instructional approaches that facilitate literacy learning, such as small-group instruction designed to meet a variety of needs and flexible student groupings; it should demonstrate a commitment to critical literacy and higher-order thinking by asking students questions about the texts they are using; After school program should also value the cultural literacy that exists in the school community and across the province by displaying family stories written in languages other than English, multilingual signs, and books (including dual-language books) that inspire pride in the community and its languages; afterschool program should work in collaboration with parents, community members, students, and teachers to create school-wide literacy celebrations and traditions (e.g., e-mail exchanges with â€Å"e-pals† from across the province, letter-writing campaigns, poetry festivals, literature â€Å"graffiti† boards) (Harwayne, 2000; Booth, 2002); last but not the least it should provide a framework outlining the responsibilities of volunteers and educational assistants to ensure that reading and writing instruction and remediation remain the central responsibility of classroom teachers, and ensure that struggling readers and writers have opportunities to learn through susta ined interaction with teachers (Allington & Cunningham, 2002); In addition to helping students to acquire literacy skills, these practices are also transferable to the afterschool context. As discussed in the introduction of this document, when designing academic enrichment programs in afterschool, other factors must be considered in addition to the academic element. For example, activities in afterschool programs must be engaging for students and not duplicate what is happening during the school day. After school activities must also address the needs of youth and expand on their learning in ways that are relevant to them. These literacy practices offer the opportunity to accomplish all these tasks, while simultaneously strengthening students’ literacy skills. As research continues in the field of academic enrichment in afterschool, it is necessary to continue to consider the nature of the afterschool context. Literacy instruction and skill development in afterschool programs can not truly be understood without considering other critical factors such as engagement, relevancy, and not duplicating the experience of the school day for participating students. 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