Unique Gifts Writers are Guaranteed to Love

Unique Gifts Writers are Guaranteed to Love Looking for a special gift for the writer in your life? Weve scoured the web to find products and subscription services that we think are the perfect fit. From witty fashion to shot glasses featuring famous writers and their thoughts on drinking- youre sure to find something that will make the perfect gift.The Writers Toolbox: Creative Games and Exercises for Inspiring the Write Side of Your BrainThe Writers ToolboxThe Writers Toolbox kit is a thoughtful one because for many writers, the hardest part of what they do is just getting started. Designed by creative writing teacher Jamie Cat Callan, it includes a 64-page book filled with exercises intended to get a creative plot rolling. The book provides first sentences, non-sequiturs, and last straws to help get stories started, as well as spinner palettes to introduce unexpected plot twists.Writer T-shirts by independent designersWriter T-shirts by independent designersNoted for its online marketplace full of handmade and unique design s, Etsy is a great resource for looking for just the right gift for the writer in your life. Its writer t-shirt collection is an easy way to browse for a statement piece that fits into any writers wardrobe. From witty to infamous and everything in between, what better way to treat a writer than with something soft and comfortable for them to write in?Digital voice recorder with built-in USBDigital voice recorder with built-in USBA digital voice recorder is a standard tool of the trade in most writing professions. Smartphones have limited capability in capturing voices in wider ranges, so most writers turn to a digital voice recorder for interviews, which are part of the process of putting together any content- from journalism and technical manuals to marketing and creative fiction. Digital voice recorders like Sonys series with built-in USB allows for quick transfer of recorded interviews to a PC or laptop, with expandable storage (Micro SD card) for up to thousands of hours of reco rding.Cocktail Courier subscriptionCocktail CourierLord Byron, Oscar Wilde, Dorothy Parker†¦alcohol and writing have gone together like peanut butter and jelly for, well, a long time. So, what better gift to give the writer in your life than a subscription to the worlds greatest cocktails from the worlds best bartenders from Cocktail Couriers? With prices starting at $50 per month, you can choose a 3-month, 6-month, or 12-month subscription. Your favorite writer will then receive a box delivered monthly, biweekly, or weekly (your choice) full of all the necessary ingredients (including garnish and step-by-step instructions) to make between 4-12 alcoholic beverages. Oh, and of course, alcohol is included.On Writing: A Memoir of the CraftOn Writing: A Memoir of the Craft by Stephen KingFew modern writers are as prolific and successful as Stephen King, which is why his half biography/half how-to-manual, On Writing: A Memoir of the Craft, is such a great read. In it, he talks about the basic tools of his trade, including how and why a writer should always have them on hand, so its highly informative. He also has a lot of inspirational advice for writers dealing with rejection and trying to set positive and productive work habits in their daily writing practice.Phrase Books/ Writers ThesauriPhrase Books/ Writers Thesauri by Angela AckermanWhile there are hundreds of phrase books and writers thesauri on the market, this set by Angela Ackerman really breaks it all down into digestible chunks. Ackerman is a writing coach, international speaker, and co-author of six bestselling books for writers. Her books are available in six languages, are sourced by US universities, and are used by novelists, screenwriters, editors, and psychologists around the world. Ackerman is also co-founder of Writers Helping Writers as well as One Stop for Writers, an innovative online library built to help writers elevate their storytelling.Literary coffee mugsLiterary coffee mugs by the Unemployed Philosophers GuildThese 12 oz. mugs are perfect for writers looking for that extra inspiration with their first cup of coffee in the morning. From banned books to first lines of literature to Edgar Allen Poe, the selection is so good, you might want to get more than one! All mugs are microwave safe. Theyre also sold by the Unemployed Philosophers Guild, which is a small, Brooklyn-based company specializing in unique gifts for sophisticated tastes.6-piece shot glass set of famous literary lushes6-piece shot glass set of famous literary lushesAnother creation from the sophisticated minds at the Unemployed Philosophers Guild, this shot glass set celebrates six immortal literary figures who are as famous for their drinking as they are for their work. Featuring Lord Byron, Oscar Wilde, Dorothy Parker, Winston Churchill, W. B. Yeats, and Charles Baudelaire, each shot glass contains a colorful portrait of the writer along with one of their most famous quotes on drinking.

Edit and Display Boolean Fields using a CheckBox in Delphi

Edit and Display Boolean Fields using a CheckBox in Delphi Tip submitted by Rene van der Heijden A series of articles titled Adding components to a DBGrid discusses placing just about any Delphi control (visual component) into a cell of a DGBrid. The idea is to create visually more attractive user interfaces for editing fields inside a DBGrid: a ComboBox for drop down lists; a DateTimePicker (calendar) for date values; a check box for boolean fields. CheckBox for Boolean Fields CheckBox inside a DBGrid As noticed by Rene van der Heijden the solution is rather lengthy, and it doesnt work, at least not when using the mouse to click on the checkboxes. Rene suggest an easier approach needing only two even handlers: OnCellClick and OnCustomDrawCell for your DBGrid control: //OnCellClik event of a DBGrid1 procedure TForm.DBGrid1CellClick(Column: TColumn) ; begin   Ã‚  if (Column.Field.DataTypeftBoolean) then   Ã‚  begin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {toggle True and False}   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Column.Grid.DataSource.DataSet.Edit;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Column.Field.Value: not Column.Field.AsBoolean;   Ã‚  Ã‚  {immediate post - see for yourself whether you want this}   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Column.Grid.DataSource.DataSet.Post;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  {you may add additional functionality here,   Ã‚  Ã‚  to be processed after the change was made}   Ã‚  end; end; //OnDrawColumnCell event of a DBGrid1 procedure TForm.DBGrid1DrawColumnCell(   Ã‚  Sender: TObject;   Ã‚  const Rect: TRect;   Ã‚  DataCol: Integer;   Ã‚  Column: TColumn;   Ã‚  State: TGridDrawState) ; const   Ã‚  CtrlState: array[Boolean] of integer (DFCS_BUTTONCHECK, DFCS_BUTTONCHECK or DFCS_CHECKED) ; begin   Ã‚  if (Column.Field.DataTypeftBoolean) then   Ã‚  begin   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DBGrid1.Canvas.FillRect(Rect) ;   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  if VarIsNull(Column.Field.Value) then   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DrawFrameControl(DBGrid1.Canvas.Handle,Rect, DFC_BUTTON, DFCS_BUTTONCHECK or DFCS_INACTIVE) {grayed}   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  else   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  DrawFrameControl(DBGrid1.Canvas.Handle,Rect, DFC_BUTTON, CtrlState[Column.Field.AsBoolean]) ; {checked or unchecked}   Ã‚  end; end; Delphi tips navigator: » Remove Duplicate Items in Delphis TStringList « 5 Facts you Did Not Know about Delphi and Classes and the VCL and Inheritance and Custom Controls and...

The Impact of Technology on Education Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

The Impact of Technology on Education - Essay Example A survey in the US high schools showed that about half of the public school teachers who had access to computers and Internet available in their schools used them for classroom instruction. About 61 percent of the teachers assigned students to use these technologies for word processing or creating spreadsheets most frequently, 51% used Internet research, 50% applied them in practicing drills, and 50% solved problems and analyzed data using the technologies available. Furthermore, many teachers used computers or the Internet to conduct lots of preparatory and administrative tasks such as creating instructional materials, gathering information for planning lessons, and communicative tasks (Smerdon, Cronen, Lanahan, Anderson, Iannotti, & Angeles, 2001). Generally, there are a lot of benefits the use of technology has brought in teaching-learning process. The impact can be assessed both on the learners' and the teachers' side. In the one hand, the National School Board Associations of the United States reported that the availability of technology often stimulates teachers to present more complex tasks and materials which could not be handled using conventional methods and processes (NSBA, 2008). Furthermore, the NSBA (2008) reported, introduction of technology will tend to support teachers in becoming coaches rather than dispensers of knowledge, increases teachers' sense of professionalism and achievement and motivates students to attempt harder tasks and to take more care in crafting their work. There are concepts in education, particularly in the areas of science and mathematics that require complex representations, which could not be done in the conventional ways. To address the difficulties in teaching these concepts educator of tentimes uses instructional technologies like film (cited in Linn, 1998, p. 269), computer models, and other systems. Garofalo, J., Drier, H., Harper, S., Timmerman, M.A., & Shockey, T. (2000) reported that a crucial component of technology application in education is enabling the teachers. Technology is useful for learning but the efficacy of the systems applied depend on the competence of those who handle them. In the other side, the benefits of technology on the learners are vast. A 1990 University of Michigan study reported that children could gain the equivalent of three months of instruction per school year when computers are available to them. Electronic drill and practice programs make children better spellers. Intensive preparation programs raise SAT scores. So-called integrated learning systems, which deliver entire curriculums to students sitting at workstations in a learning laboratory, practically guarantee that grade-point averages will go up, at least for a time (cited in Dewitt, 1991). Despite, however the vast promise of technology in advancing the learning process, there are cases reported when the application of technology did otherwise. Dewitt's (1991) article reported that the entire first-grade class in a tiny Belridge school district in McKittrick, California, along with more than a third of the 64-member student body, had scored below their grade level for both reading and math.

ECOM20001 Information System Management (information system of master) Essay

ECOM20001 Information System Management (information system of master) - Essay Example They are very mandatory and essential for the business development as it helps in the components of wise business decision making as well as prudent. It also helps in providing transparent information flow of business policies, guidelines, practices, standards, and certain procedures for reasonable business operations. Information Management System is used by the management in different managerial corporate levels. Safe and sound Information Management System also assists the company in attaining proper and well planned internal controls, audit coverage, safeguards, and operating procedures. There are four groups of Information Management System in which the entire system is divided; these groups are related to Human Resources, Financial Department, Accounting, and Marketing (Allen & Hamilton & Baker 14). This assessment research assignment is correlated with the Information System Management Course and is designed in such a way through which the stimulated thinking of the classroom students would be analyzed and evaluated with the help of a case study. The company chosen for case study assessment is the Information Technology giant company Dell Corporation. In this case study, Dell's customer-centric business model will be analyzed. Apart from that, an overall analysis and evaluation will be carried out regarding Dell's customer-centric business scope, which would help in knowing that how Dell Corporation makes use of its Information System in order to develop and organize a demand-pull value chain, and how does it affect the relationship of Dell Corporation with its suppliers and customers. Section #2 (Covey & Merrill 103) The modern world of today is all about modernization and innovations in the technology field which is growing and grabbing a competitive edge in the global marketplace. Every technology oriented organization is trying their best to make their unique and strong position among their competitors in the technology sector so that they could flourish and market their products with unique and different features which cannot be overcome by any other competitor. For this objective, many multinational organizations and well known reputable companies are developing their research and development department, so that they could stand differently from others. Dell Inc. is one of the most leading and successful multinational technology oriented organization which has accomplish and conquer a very reputable position in the technology world market. Dell Inc. is basically involved in the designing, development, manufacturing, marketing, technical supporting and selling of personal computers and several other computer related products. The main headquarters of Dell Inc. is situated Round Rock, Texas and engages more than 88,000 employees around the globe. This technology oriented organization started grabbing the business growth since during 1980s and 1990s and since then, Dell Inc. has attained the position of being one of the largest technology corporations in the world. Originally, Dell Inc. was founded in the year 1984 by named Michael Dell who was the

Reflection paper Essay Example for Free

Reflection paper Essay â€Å"Mabuhay ang Pilipinas! †, after watching Jose Rizal the Movie, these are the words that wanted to find its way out into my mouth. Words that wanted to travel beyond distance and beyond boundaries that would defy ages to finally find a resonating voice that sent earthquake to the stoned floor of the holy temple of God that sheltered fiends who clothed themselves in white and who spoke His words with fluency but undoubtedly knew nothing of His language. I could not say it better, as a realization hit me, but I admire my Motherland. I could not help but think how did she, after everything that was done to her, have found it in her heart to forgive? The film did not only depict the life of Jose Rizal during the gripping of the Spaniards’ iron hands but also the Filipinos during those darkest times before the crack of dawn. The movie did not also just settled for only Rizal and the Filipino people during the Spanish colonization, but it made a sort of movie adaptation of the two notable masterpieces of Rizal; the Noli Me Tangere and the El Filibusterismo. The movie itself was faithful to accuracy that you could see what it wants people to see and that is to see. The movie suggested us to see what had really happened to our motherland. It is to see what she had been through to keep her standing in her place in the map of the world. It is to see how many times our country had lost her identity, her dignity, her freedom, her voice, her rights, and her name. It is to see how many lives she had to remorsefully sacrifice just to keep standing. Watching the movie, I saw her. She took all pain and suffering and given up almost everything she has because she loves her children. She love the Filipinos that she kept standing and resisted the embrace of the god of the sea for us to have our feet on earth to land on. Realizing all she had borne made me proud to be molded from the earth of the Land of the Morning. Jose Rizal the Movie made it crystal cleared to everyone who would watch it how the Filipino people loved our country that they had given up their lives to free her from her iron cage. The movie showed that during the time of Rizal, Filipinos had started stirring from their seemed to be forever slumbering, although the Spaniards oppression continued to darken the skies. During those times, as portrayed, there was social unrest that resulted revolts. Most prominent movements were initiated by the Katipuneros led by Andres Bonifacio. A lot of native eyes had started to see the real faces inside the holy veil worn by the Spaniards that led them to the realization of their own scraped image. Spaniards had continued to use religion, specifically the teachings of the Catholic Church and the words of God to frightened majority of the Filipinos to conform and manipulate them. The film portrayed the Spaniards abuse of power and authority over the Filipinos. Friars shrouded their corruption in the cloak of church contributions and tributes. They collected high imposed taxes from the farmers who till their own soil. They acquired lands by authority and force. Worst of it, Spaniards did not content themselves in getting hold of our country but also our dignity. Filipinos had been treated unfairly. The Spaniards made sure that we had no equal human rights, no parity before the law, no seat for the government, no mercy from the church, and no place for morality. Filipinos became slaves. Our native women were victimized. There was racial discrimination. Only elites were granted to have a formal education and even in school, Filipinos were slandered, mocked and belittled. Even the justice system was in favor of the State. Filipinos who have committed crime in the eyes of their justice were subjected to persecution and death. Spaniards would then scheme any person who go against their regime; that would include the conspiracy they had done to Rizal as he was sentenced by prejudiced to death before his trial was even performed. They stripped our nation’s identity and clothed us in ballooned dresses to conform but even so denied our right-I believe-to baptize our country a name. Those lowest times, people who had finally perceived the truth tried to raise their voices but mostly failed to do so because there was no firmed foundation. Their flares were not enough. When Rizal gave light, flickers were rekindled to a raging fire. Jose Rizal became their source of strength though he did not purposely want to ignite insurgency. Though his writings were double edged sword, he wanted to address his appeal for freedom and equality in a diplomatic manner. Unfortunately, it did not go as planned because not only the Spaniards wanted to bind him for the trouble he had cause to the name of the Spanish government. I really liked the portrayal of those people close to Rizal after he was shot and had fallen on the ground; none of them even shed a tear. They held their ground, Rizal was not a traitor. They were the ones who held his pride when he was deprived to die with dignity. He doesn’t deserve a cry of sympathy because he had done nothing but to love and to be faithful to his country. Because he was not married to a woman; he was married to our country, faithfully. Watching that scene, I felt dignified. He was not a traitor and so were those lives that fought to free our country. They were Filipinos who desired to regain our freedom and identity from the Spaniards. As the movie concluded, I realized I have never been so proud of my country, and never did I really give proper acknowledgement to the many lives that, especially those nameless faces that did not have the chance to have a space in paper. â€Å"Give credit to who is due†, as the saying goes. All of us, we walk in different paths of life. We see strangers every day but I never really consider looking at their faces in a different way. After watching the film, I learned to see the faces of past through the faces of the present. We are all carrying fragments of souls of the people of the past. How we are giving shape to those fragments of souls is the real challenge in us. I have learned from watching the film how embarrassing we have become to cater these fragments in us because we failed and ignored to recognize them and the way we savor the liberty they struggled to regain but tragically did not had the chance to hold. These souls had once fought for freedom. We have to see them in us to fix how we abused our freedom. I still see our motherland in her situation back then because we failed to get the lessons from our past. How many more times does she have to be in same situation she thought she had been freed from? One lesson I clearly got from the movie, we have to carry the past in us like it is our own experience for us to never want to be in that situation again. We should never forget our own history and the importance of it, for the sake of those souls who only had the chance to experience true freedom in us.

Development During Adolescence :: Human Development Teenagers Essays

Adolescence is the developmental stage between childhood and adulthood; it generally refers to a period ranging from age 12 or 13 through age 19 or 21. Although its beginning is often balanced with the beginning of puberty, adolescence is characterized by psychological and social stages as well as by biological changes. Adolescence can be prolonged, brief, or virtually nonexistent, depending on the type of culture in which it occurs. In societies that are simple, for example, the transition from childhood to adulthood tends to occur rather rapidly, and is marked by traditionally prescribed passage rites. to contrast this, American and European societies the transition period for young people has been steadily lengthening over the past 100 years, giving rise to an adolescent subculture. As a result of this prolonged transitional stage a variety of problems and concerns specifically associated with this age group have developed. Psychologists single out four areas that especially touch upon adolescent behavior and development: physiological change and growth; cognitive, or mental development; identity, or personality formation; and parent-adolescent relations. Physiological Change: Between the ages of 9 and 15, almost all young people undergo a rapid series of physiological changes, known as the adolescent growth spurt. These hormonal changes include an acceleration in the body's growth rate; the development of pubic hair; the appearance of axillary, or armpit, hair about two years later. There are changes in the structure and functioning of the reproductive organs; the mammary glands in girls; and development of the sweat glands, which often leads to an outbreak of acne. In both sexes, these physiological changes occur at different times. This period of change can prove to be very stressful for a pre-teen. For during this stage of life appearance is very important. An adolescent child who develops very early or extremely late can take a lot of ridicule from his or her peers. However, the time at which a girl goes through this stage and a male goes through it are different. Girls typically begin their growth spurt shortly after age 10. They tend to reach their peak around the age 12, and tend to finish by age 14. This spurt occurs almost two years later in boys. Therefore boys go through a troubling period where girls are taller and heavier than them. This awkward period occurs from ages ten and one-half to thirteen. Time is not the only difference in the pubescent period for boys and girls. In girls, the enlargement of the breasts is usually the first physical

The Relationship of Childhood Sexual Abuse to Teenage Pregnancy

Running Head: RESEARCH ARTICLE REVIEW Research Article Review The Relationship of Childhood Sexual Abuse to Teenage Pregnancy Ashlee L. Glover Lindenwood University The Relationship of Childhood Sexual Abuse to Teenage Pregnancy I. Questions and Answers 1. â€Å"The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and teenage pregnancy† (Roosa, Tein, Reinholtz, & Angelini, 1997). 2. â€Å"Three research questions guided this effort. First, do women who were sexually abused as children and women who had teenage pregnancy have similar developmental backgrounds (sociodemographic and risk factor profiles)? Second, does the risk for teenage pregnancy differ, based on whether a woman was sexually abused as a child, sexually precocious, or both? Third, does childhood sexual abuse contribute to an increased risk of having a teenage pregnancy after the influence of other factors related to teenage pregnancy (e. g. , social class) have been accounted for† (Roosa et al. 1997)? 3. â€Å"We expect victims of sexual abuse to have first voluntary coitus earlier, to be less likely to use contraception, to be more likely to participate in high-risk sexual behaviors (e. g. , sex with strangers), and to have a higher number of sexual partners than their peers who were not sexually abused† (Roosa et al. , 1997). 4. The variables being studied is sexual history, High-risk sexual behavior, Sexual abuse, Sexual history pa thways, childhood physical abuse, and High-risk behaviors. Roosa et al. , 1997). 5. The participants were 2,003 women, 18 to 22 years old, living in Arizona. (Roosa et al. , 1997). 6. â€Å"Participants completed the questionnaire alone or in groups. They recorded their responses on computer-scored answer sheets to ease data entry and minimize errors. After completing the questionnaire, a participant placed her answer sheet in an envelope, sealed the envelope, and gave it to either the project manager or agency representative† (Roosa et al. , 1997). 7. We used chi-square and analysis of variance to compare sociodemographic and risk factor profiles of (a) women who were sexually abused as children with their non-abused peers and (b) women who had teenage pregnancy with those who did not. Next, we compared the incidence of teenage pregnancy for five sexual history pathways using chi-square. Finally, we used logistic regression to determine whether experiences of childhood sexua l abuse contributed to risk for teenage pregnancy after the influences of other variables had been accounted for† (Roosa et al. 1997). 8. â€Å"The results of our study do not support arguments that sexual abuse is a major contributor to the risk for teenage pregnancy† (Roosa et al. , 1997). 9. The importance of the findings is that childhood sexual abuse contributed little to the likelihood of teenage pregnancy. The severity of sexual abuse was not significantly related to teenage pregnancy. Sexual abuse followed by sexual precocity was related to a higher risk of teenage pregnancy for some. (Roosa et al. , 1997). 10. The results were limited by two methodological factors. First, the sample, although large, was a sample of convenience from a single state, and participants were slightly more educated than the average for this cohort. Second, this was a cross-sectional study that relied on the recall of events that occurred several necessary years prior to the surveyâ₠¬  (Roosa et al. , 1997). 11. â€Å"It may be important for future studies to identify factors that explain the risk associated with sexual abuse for these subgroups† (Roosa et al. , 1997). It was also stated that in the future longitudinal studies are necessary to establish causality. Roosa et al. , 1997). II. Summary The United States has the highest rate of teenage pregnancy with about 25 percent of all U. S. women having a pregnancy by the age of 18 (Roosa et al. , 1997). The purpose of this study was to determine if childhood sexual abuse is a factor associated with an increased risk for teenage pregnancies (Roosa et al. , 1997). Recent studies have reported that sexual abuse is more common among pregnant teenagers than in general population and therefore could possibly be a major contributor to teenage pregnancy. Many mechanisms have been proposed to explain the linkage between childhood sexual abuse and teenage pregnancy. Roosa et al. , (1997) outlined several mechanisms including (a) some teenage pregnancies may be the direct result of sexual abuse, (b) childhood sexual abuse may socialize female victims to believe that their purpose in life is to fulfill the sexual needs of others, (c) the lowered self-esteem of sexual abuse victims may make them more vulnerable to males’ sexual advances, and (d) victims of incest may plan pregnancies as a means of escaping from their victimization. Three research questions guided this effort: First, do women who were sexually abused as children and women who had teenage pregnancy have similar developmental backgrounds (sociodemographic and risk factor profiles)? Second, does the risk for teenage pregnancy differ, based on whether a woman was sexually abused as a child, sexually precocious, or both? And for those who experienced both abuse and precocity, does the relative timing of these events make a difference in risk for teenage pregnancy? Third, does childhood sexual abuse contribute to an increased risk of having a teenage pregnancy after the influence of other factors related to teenage pregnancy (e. g. , social class) have been accounted for? (Roosa et al. , 1997) The variables being studied are sexual history, high-risk sexual behavior, sexual abuse, sexual history pathways, childhood physical abuse, and high-risk behaviors. Sexual history was assessed by asking about the respondent’s age of menarche, first coital experience, use of birth control, and pregnancy (Roosa et al. 1997). Any pregnancy occurring before age 18 was labeled a teenage pregnancy. High risk sexual behavior was described as anyone who had sex for alcohol, drugs, or money; having sex with strangers, having multiple sex partners, and not using birth control (Roosa et al. , 1997). Roosa et al. , (1997) used five mutually sexual history pathways to examine the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and teenage pregnancy: One pathway rep resented those who reported no precocious sexual activity and no sexual abuse before the age of 18. A second pathway represented women who were sexually abused before age 18 with no precocious sexual activity. A third pathway represented those who had been abused before their first precocious sexual experience. A fourth pathway represented those who had been abused before age 18 but after their first precocious sexual experience. A fifth pathway represented participants who had not experienced any sexual abuse before the age of 18 but who were sexually precocious. The last measures used were childhood physical abuse. Eight questions dealing with spanking and hitting adapted from the Conflict Tactics Scale (Roosa et al. , 1997). Participants were 2,003 women, 18 to 22 years old, living in Arizona (Roosa et al. , 1997). Participation was limited to this age range to reduce reporting bias due to widely varying time intervals since sexual history events occurred (Roosa et al. , 1997). The women were recruited at 44 sites in urban and rural areas throughout Arizona (Roosa eta l. , 1997). Participants completed the questionnaire alone or in groups, with assistance from the project manager (Roosa et al. 1997). They recorded their responses on computer-scored answer sheets to ease data entry and minimize error (Roosa et al. , 1997). To analyze the results chi-square and analysis of variance were used to compare sociodemographic and risk factor profiles of (a) women who were sexually abused as children with their non-abused peers and (b) women who had a teenage pregnancy with those who did not (Roosa et a l. , 1997). Next, they compared the incidence of teenage pregnancy for five sexual history pathways using chi-square (Roosa et al. , 1997). Finally, they used logistic regression to determine whether experiences of childhood sexual abuse contributed to the risk for teenage pregnancy after the influences of other variables had been accounted for (Roosa et al. , 1997). Using data from 2,003 women this study took three approaches to examine the relationship between childhood sexual abuse and the likelihood of teenage pregnancy. The results of the study did not support the argument that sexual abuse is a major contributor to the risk for teenage pregnancy (Roosa et al. , 1997). Childhood sexual abuse contributed little to the likelihood of teenage pregnancy in this sample (Roosa et al. , 1997). According to Roosa et al. , (1997), it may be important for future studies to identify factors that explain the risk associated with sexual abuse of different subgroups. Regardless of the strengths of associations found or the number of factors statically controlled, it cannot be determined which relationships may be casual and which may be spurious (Roosa et al. , 1997). Longitudinal studies are necessary to establish causality.

How to Write a Reader Essay

Good writing is never merely about following a set of directions. Like all artists of any form, essay writers occasionally find themselves breaking away from tradition or common practice in search of a fresh approach. Rules, as they say, are meant to be broken. But even groundbreakers learn by observing what has worked before. If you are not already in the habit of reading other writers with an analytical eye, start forming that habit now. When you run across a moment in someone else’s writing that seems somehow electric on the page, stop, go back, reread the section more slowly, and ask yourself, â€Å"What did she do here, put into this, or leave out, that makes it so successful?† Similarly and often just as important, if you are reading a piece of writing and find yourself confused, bored, or frustrated, stop again, back up, squint closely at the writing, and form a theory as to how, when, or where the prose went bad. Identifying the specific successful moves made by others increases the number of arrows in your quiver, ready for use when you sit down to start your own writing. Likewise, identifying the missteps in other writers’ work makes you better at identifying the missteps in your own. Remember the Streetcar Tennessee Williams’ wonderful play, A Streetcar Named Desire, comes from a real streetcar in New Orleans and an actual neighborhood named Desire. In Williams’ day, you could see the streetcar downtown with a lighted sign at the front telling folks where the vehicle was headed. The playwright saw this streetcar regularly—and also saw, of course, the metaphorical possibilities of the name. Though this streetcar no longer runs, there is still a bus called Desire in New Orleans, and you’ve certainly seen streetcars or buses in other cities with similar, if less evocative, destination indicators: Uptown, Downtown, Shadyside, West End, Prospect Park. People need to know what streetcar they are getting onto, you see, because they want to know where they will be when the streetcar stops and lets them off. Excuse the rather basic transportation lesson, but it explains my first suggestion. An essay needs a lighted sign right up front telling the reader where they are going. Otherwise, the reader will be distracted and nervous at each stop along the way, unsure of the destination, not at all able to enjoy the ride. Now there are dull ways of putting up your lighted sign: This essay is about the death of my beloved dog. Or: Let me tell you about what happened to me last week. And there are more artful ways. Readers tend to appreciate the more artful ways. For instance, let us look at how Richard Rodriguez opens his startling essay â€Å"Mr. Secrets†: Shortly after I published my first autobiographical essay seven years ago, my mother wrote me a letter pleading with me never again to write about our family life. â€Å"Write about something else in the future. Our family life is private.† And besides: â€Å"Why do you need to tell the gringos about how ‘divided’ you feel from the family?† I sit at my desk now, surrounded by versions of paragraphs and pages of this book, considering that question. Where is the lighted streetcar sign in that paragraph? Well, consider that Rodriguez has introduced the key characters who will inhabit his essay: himself and his mother, informed us that writing is central to his life, clued us in that this is also a story of immigration and assimilation (gringos), and provided us with the central question he will be considering throughout the piece: Why does he feel compelled to tell strangers the ins and outs of his conflicted feelings? These four elements—generational conflict between author and parent, the isolation of a writer, cultural norms and difference, and the question of what is public and what is private—pretty much describe the heart of Rodriguez’s essay. Or to put it another way, at every stop along the way—each paragraph, each transition—we are on a streetcar passing through these four thematic neighborhoods, and Rodriguez has given us a map so we can follow along. Find a Healthy Distance Another important step in making your personal essay public and not private is finding a measure of distance from your experience, learning to stand back, narrow your eyes, and scrutinize your own life with a dose of hale and hearty skepticism. Why is finding a distance important? Because the private essay hides the author. The personal essay reveals. And to reveal means to let us see what is truly there, warts and all. The truth about human nature is that we are all imperfect, sometimes messy, usually uneven individuals, and the moment you try to present yourself as a cardboard character—always right, always upstanding (or always wrong, a total mess)—the reader begins to doubt everything you say. Even if the reader cannot articulate his discomfort, he knows on a gut level that your perfect (or perfectly awful) portrait of yourself has to be false. And then you’ve lost the reader. Pursue the Deeper Truth The best writers never settle for the insight they find on the surface of whatever subject they are exploring. They are constantly trying to lift the surface layer, to see what interesting ideas or questions might lie beneath. To illustrate, let’s look at another exemplary essay, â€Å"Silence the Pianos,† by Floyd Skloot. Here is his opening: A year ago today, my mother stopped eating. She was ninety-six, and so deep in her dementia that she no longer knew where she was, who I was, who she herself was. All but the last few seconds had vanished from the vast scroll of her past. Essays exploring a loved one’s decline into dementia or the painful loneliness of a parent’s death are among the most commonly seen by editors of magazines and judges of essay contests. There is a good reason for this: These events can truly shake us to our core. But too often, when writing about such a significant loss, the writer focuses on the idea that what has happened is not fair and that the loved one who is no longer around is so deeply missed. Are these emotions true? Yes, they are. Are they interesting for a reader? Often, they simply are not. The problem is that there are certain things readers already know, and that would include the idea that the loss of a loved one to death or dementia is a deep wound, that it seems not fair when such heartbreak occurs, and that we oftentimes find ourselves regretting not having spent more time with the lost loved one. These reactions seem truly significant when they occur in our own lives, and revisiting them in our writing allows us to experience those powerful feelings once again. For this reason it is hard to grasp that the account of our loss might have little or no impact on a reader who did not know this loved one, or does not know you, and who does not have the emotional reaction already in the gut. In other words, there are certain â€Å"private† moments that feel exhilarating to revisit, and â€Å"private† sentences that seem stirring to write and to reread as we edit our early drafts, but they are not going to have the same effect in the public arena of publishable prose. Final Thoughts In the last twenty years of teaching writing, the most valuable lesson that I have found myself able to share is the need for us as writers to step outside of our own thoughts, to imagine an audience made up of real people on the other side of the page. This audience does not know us, they are not by default eager to read what we have written, and though thoughtful literate readers are by and large good people with large hearts, they have no intrinsic stake in whatever problems (or joys) we have in our lives. This is the public, the readers you want to invite into your work. Self-expression may be the beginning of writing, but it should never be the endpoint. Only by focusing on these anonymous readers, by acknowledging that you are creating something for them, something that has value, something that will enrich their existence and make them glad to have read what you have written, will you find a way to truly reach your audience. And that—truly reaching your audience and offering them something of value—is perhaps as good a definition of successful writing as I’ve ever heard.

Using the Preterite Perfect Tense in Spanish

Using the Preterite Perfect Tense in Spanish The preterite perfect tense is unusual in Spanish, and you  are unlikely to hear it in everyday speech nor have a need, in most situations, to use it. But you should be aware of how it is used in case you come across it in literature or historical accounts. Except when a writer is seeking a literary effect or providing a bad translation from English, the preterite perfect is seldom used in modern writing. Key Takeaways: Preterite Perfect Tense The preterite perfect tense is formed by using the preterite form of haber followed by a past participle.The preterite perfect is not common in modern Spanish, being mainly used for literary effect.In its historical use, the preterite perfect was often used to provide a sense of immediacy of action. How To Use the Preterite Perfect The preterite perfect, also known as the anterior perfect or the  pretà ©rito anterior  in Spanish, is formed by using the  preterite  of  haber  followed by the  past participle. It is used to refer to an event that was completed immediately prior to another event in the past, and thus it is usually used in sentences that also include use of another verb past tense. In other words, a verb in the preterite perfect is almost never the only verb in a sentence. Here is an excerpt from  Cervantes Don Quijote to illustrate:  Apenas  hubo dicho  esto el cristiano cautivo, cuando el jinete se arrojà ³ del caballo y vino a abrazar al mozo.  (The Christian captive had barely said this when the horseman leaped off his horse and came to hug the lad.) Note that the act of saying something (hubo dicho) immediately preceded a past action of hugging the lad. As in the examples below, use of the preterite perfect follows a phrase or word with a time element. Regardless of the specific words used, the word or phrase can be translated as something that means as soon as or immediately after, as that sense of immediacy is conveyed by the verb tense. And while the preterite perfect frequently is translated using an English perfect tense (one using had and the participle), it is often fine to translate using the simple preterite. There seems to be little difference, for example, in meaning between as soon as I saw it and as soon as I had seen it, so feel free to use whichever sounds better. Examples of the Preterite Perfect in Use Y luego que yo la  hube visto, caà ­ sobre mi rostro.  (And as soon as I saw it, I fell upon my face.)Cuando  hubo comprendido  esto no pudo evitar echar un vistazo al chico.  (Once he understood this he could not avoid glancing at the boy.)Una vez que  hubimos encontrado  un rbol que daba sombra, me ayudà ³ a sentarme en el pasto.  (Once we found a tree that provided shade, he helped me get seated in the grass.)Una vez  hube conocido  varios pueblos de la provincia, decidà ­ escaparme al Sur.  (Once I had met some peoples from the province, I decided to flee to the South.)Cuando todos los dioses  hubieron muerto, Tonatiuh, el sol, comenzà ³ su interminable camino por el firmamento.  (When all the gods died, Tonatiuh, the sun, began his eternal journey through the firmament.()Cuando  hube sabido  del budismo sabà ­a bien lo que era el dharma.  (As soon as I knew about Buddhism, I knew what the dharma was.)

Site, Sight, and the Spell Check Syndrome

Site, Sight, and the Spell Check Syndrome Site, Sight, and the Spell Check Syndrome Site, Sight, and the Spell Check Syndrome By Maeve Maddox Today I found a plastic bag on my front door. A yellow sticker identified it as a bag for the Scouting Food Drive. Being a writer and a grammar nazi, I never just glance at things like this. It is my curse to read labels in their entirety. In small print I was instructed to leave the bag, with food inside, in plain site on my porch. My first surge of censure was for the Scout leaders who had submitted incorrect copy to the printer. The second surge was for the printer who hadnt bothered to read the copy for errors before printing it. Then, at the very bottom of the sticker, I saw that the printing had been donated by a local corporate entity, a very large company with international sales. Im sure it must employ educated people to see to such things as printing and advertising. So why in plain site and not, as the context called for, in plain sight? Id bet that the person responsible knows the difference between site and sight and would redden in embarrassment if called on it. I think the error is a symptom of Spell Check Syndrome. Spell check catches only those misspellings that do not represent any word at all. It will catch such howlers as recieve, seperate, and dalmation, but not homonyms like site/sight, and rite/right. Computers are great, but they are no substitute for the human brain. Run spell check by all means. But then run your own eyes over your writing before submitting it. In its usual use, site (noun) is an area, a piece of ground, a place: This is the site of a prehistoric village. As a noun, sight is the sense of vision, or something seen: Louis Braille lost his sight at the age of three. A favorite tourist sight is the Tower of London. Sight can also refer to the device on a gun that helps one to aim: The sight on this rifle is slightly bent. Sight can be a verb: Tell me when you sight the buffalo herd. Sight occurs in several idioms: Keep the enemy in sight. Youre a sight for sore eyes (i.e., a welcome sight). His newest book is out of sight (beyond comparison)! (slang) Dear me, you look a sight (have a bedraggled or disreputable appearance)! Theyve got a sight of grandchildren (a great many). (dialect) Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Spelling category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:What is the Difference Between "These" and "Those"?"Latter," not "Ladder"List of 50 Compliments and Nice Things to Say!

Close reading assignment Term Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Close reading assignment - Term Paper Example To begin with, let us look into the impressions created by the use of vocabulary and diction in the stanza. From the very first word one is likely to notice is Death. It is particularly vivid due to its capitalization and unexpectedness – indeed, few poems start immediately with death. Another grasping thing is that Death is humanized in the poem: it is He. This creates an impression that there is a woman (the speaker herself) and a gentleman who in a courteous manner â€Å"stops for her† and invites her to have a pleasant ride in a carriage. The pleasantry of the ride is evident given a particularly desirable element in the trip: Death and the speaker are accompanied by Immortality. This sounds as if there were one more pleasant and gallant companion – someone named Immortality. Thus, the two most striking things about this stanza is Death and He naturally complement each other. Death is a name of a gentleman and He is used to refer to him. The third striking th ing – Immortality – by its denotation contradicts Death. It means â€Å"no death†, in fact. Unlike death, immortality has a positive connotation and may be associated with such notions as paradise, eternal life, and blissfulness. The fact that it befriends Death and accompanies him enhances the positive feeling about the latter and gives it a positive connotation. On a deeper level, the vocabulary is fairly simple and even somewhat plain. Despite the fact that the poem was written in the 19th century, the words used in the poem’s first stanza would be familiar virtually to anyone today. At the same time, the choice of vocabulary in the first stanza is not accidental: it immediately introduces the reader to the rest of the poem. Namely, in Line 1: Because I could not stop for Death – Dickinson immediately introduces death and lets us know that the poem will be about death. While the use of â€Å"because† is not a typical way to begin a poem, or start a sentence in fiction/literary prose or colloquial conversation, the choice of this word is deliberate here. Use of â€Å"because† creates a feeling that a speaker provides a kind of explanation to the question that has been asked or to the future argument that will be discussed in the poem. The use of â€Å"because† suggests that the speaker engages the audience into accompanying him in an active and lively manner. The use of the expression â€Å"could not stop for death† expresses the idea that the poem’s speaker actually did not have a chance to choose when she would die. At its simplest, this phrase may mean that no one can ever know when he or she will die. Death capitalized means attribution of human nature to a non-human and abstract phenomenon – death. Further, the choice of words in Line 2 implies the following important things: death is he (in other words, a man or a gentleman), and what he does he does â€Å"kindly† (this is important for creating the overall mood of the poem, since it actually prevents fear in those who are reading the poem). Next, Lines 3-4 introduce one more actor in the poem – Immortality. Capitalization of â€Å"Immortality† may mean that Immortality is someone third that accompanies the speaker and Death. It may also mean that this word is particularly important, so not necessarily a humanized object.