Water Rationing in Malaysia

Water Rationing in Malaysia Definition of Water Rationing Water is the most essential single element required in order for people to accomplish the universal human right to a standard of living adequate for the health as well as well-being of himself and his family. Lacking of access to fresh water, health and well-being are severely jeopardized. This is because people cannot live without basic water supplies. Water is the important need so that people continue to survive. Without water, people could only survive for a few months before they had some serious health problems or even death. Fresh water protection is a huge responsibility that involves in the individual, industrial and even the government. Every single person has a vital role in trying to protect the continuous supply of fresh water. One of the main concerns regarding water is that of there will be enough water for the request within the next 25 to 50 years later. Current rising problem today is the lack of drinking water. Once every twenty years, the consumption of water is double. The supply of fresh water is not renewing at the same speed anymore. The lack of drinking water has caused a much larger problem. The problem is that the water is polluted. Currently, about half of the hospital beds in the world are filled with patients with water borne diseases. In the Malay Mail newspaper, it shows that â€Å"The water supply from the dams is not enough to supply water to more than 7 million users in the Klang Valley.† In the Klang Valley together with Wilayah Persekutuan and Selangor states, the current water rationing program initiated in last February 2014. It consists of alternating two days with water then two days with dry taps in the areas allocated by the government. Water rationing is not always regarding water shortage. Sometimes it is related to the demand is greater than the supply. Supply may actually be sufficient in certain place but in some places with irresponsible user, the water is water at an uncontrolled level which led to nowhere to find fresh water. Thus, the government will create a solution for this problem such as water rationing to meet the requirements of every citizen. During Malaysia water crisis in 1998, 4.2 million people had to survive on 2553 million litres of water per day. This resulted in a shortage of 105 million litres per day. For year 2014, 7.1 million people need about 4900 million litres per day but with only 4367 million litres per day is available. Figure 1 shows the comparison of water needed between year 1998 and year 2014. In year 1998, there are 1.8 million people in Selangor and Kuala Lumpur that were affected by a six month long water rationing exercise which is from March to September as the result of El Nino phenomenon. The dry weather and lesser rainfall weather during year 1998 led to almost critical water levels in four dams which is Batu, Klang Gates, Langat and Semenyih. El Nino is actually a band of warm ocean water temperature that occasionally develops off the Pacific coast of South America. The Causes and Effects of Water Rationing Water shortage that resulted in water rationing does not happen in a single day. There are many causes of water shortages. Some of the examples are population growth, overuse of water by industries, pollution, global warming, drastic weather changes and others more. One of the causes that result in water rationing is the growing water shortage in the growing demand resulting from the population increase. The increase of demand of fresh water is directly proportional with the increasing population. The increase in demand arises out of a few factors which include the direct consumption demands of the increasing population and the demand from development and food production to give food to the increasing population. But then, the fresh water is not increasing but decreasing rapidly due to the over usage. Thus this will lead to the demand is more than the supply in which related to water shortage. Climate change has affected the whole water cycle, decreasing water resources and resulted in water shortage. Global warming too has speeded up the hydrological cycle and amplified evaporation will make drought conditions more rampant. One of the example of climate change is droughts occur more occasionally in some certain area while will be hit by flash floods which could destroy dams and reservoirs. Land use changes have a variation of influences on water resources. Whilst decrease of vegetation cover may result in better runoff, it decreases groundwater infiltration as well as the storage capability of dams and lakes through siltation. The significant draining of wetlands or extensive deforestation may change the microclimate of a region. This is a consequence of people cutting trees for numerous reasons including illegally felling of trees for sale. Some of the cause of water shortage is mismanagement by government officials. The government official lacked of law enforcement to stop water from being wasted. Water shortage is the whole nation as well as global problem which are happening at an alarming rate. It can be effective to increase consciousness among all people regarding age towards the seriousness of water shortage and the benefit of saving water. This is very important as it could make people realize the importance of water and not waste them uncontrollably. The government should implement laws to solve the problem like having hefty fines to those who waste water and not just a tab on the wrist. Due to rapid industrialization and a lack of wastewater treatment system, a large number of surface and ground water is contaminated and thus not safely available for human use. Water contamination can result from a numerous causes which include agricultural return flows, industry, and domestic uses. Both surface and groundwater are regularly affected. Destruction of the riverine environment decreases the ordinary ability of a river to deal with with pollution. The largest water using sector is agriculture. This is a common reality worldwide. As population increases, ever greater pressure is placed on agriculture to produce food. This in turn results in increased water demand. Water scarcity and food security are therefore directly related. In addition, using additional water than is returned in rain, people are polluting the water that they have. For example, most of the pesticides as well as fertilizers used in agriculture, sewer overflows and oil and grease from road will run off into water system. The other source of excess nutrients such as lawn fertilizers, pet and farm animal waste, decaying plant material. Industrial plants waste water treatment plants can also contribute the level of toxic substance enter the river and lake which will resulted in polluted water. Politicians and decision-makers are the people who have highest influence on the distribution of improve water shortage budgets and the adoption of policy. Unfortunately, a lot of politicians do not agree with the parameters of practical water resource management and this result in judgements are being made on the basis of short-term political feasibility. The effects of water shortages are the most noticeable to the everyday man. More than half of the worlds hospital beds are filled by people suffering from water linked diseases as well as nearly 20% of deaths to children under age five being credited to water related issues. Water related diseases include a wide variety of well-known and feared ailments such as Malaria, Lice, dengue fever, Hepatitis and other more. Water shortage will pose major nation or global challenges as it would reduce agricultural production as well as lead to an increase in food and water prices. This will greatly affect consumers disposable income, businesses profits and economic growth. Water can also become a source of conflicts among communities, states and countries. Developing countries such as Malaysia are more harshly affected by water shortages problem. Lack of clean and fresh water will caused health concerns and human loss as a result of poor hygiene. A lot of people who cannot get supply of clean water on a regular basis will end up using unclean water from streams which are usually contaminated. Those who are using contaminated water will develop health complications like cholera, diarrhea and other more in the long run. Besides that, hunger is another negative effect related with water shortage. Water shortage will link to agriculture. With lesser water, the crops produce will be lesser thus in the long run will leads to hunger and thirst. Water Rationing Survival Water rationing means the water company will limit the fresh water supply to domestic and industrial area. During water rationing period it is needed for people to save water and prevent from wasting it. There are a few survival skills during water rationing such as greywater recycling. Greywater recycling is the waste water generated from washing machine and dishwasher is used for other stuff. The greywater can be used for cleaning the house compound, flushing toilet and many more. So, never pour water down the drain when there may be additional use for it for example watering a plant or garden, or for cleaning. This can be done by while taking showers, place a bucket in the showers to catch excess water and use the water for cleaning or flushing the toilet. This can be apply when washing dishes or vegetable in the sink. Next, it would be turning off the main water valves when it is not in used. As during water shortage, water is very limited. Thus when the local officials advice on the water rationing, it is better to off the main water valves to prevent those already in the tank is contaminated. Apart from that, during water rationing, it is best to repair broken or leaking pipes. This is to prevent extra water being wasted unnecessarily. This can be done by repairing dripping faucets by replacing their washers. Another method is to check for toilet tank leaks by adding food colouring into the tank. If the toilet is leaking, colour will appear in the toilet bowl within 30 minutes to an hour. It is good to check the toilet for worn out, corroded or bent parts. Most of the replacement parts are inexpensive, readily available as well as easily installed. During shower, it is better to take shorter shower instead of long bath. Replace the showerhead with ultra-low flow version. Some of the ultra-low flow version allows users to cut off the flow without adjusting the water temperature knobs. In the shower, turn on the water to get wet and turn off after the body is wet then turn back on to rinse off. Repeat it when washing the hair too. Avoid flushing the toilet unreasonably. Throw of tissues, insects and other related waste in the dustbin rather than the toilet bowl. For the lawn, do not overwater the lawn. As a general rule, lawns only need watering every five to seven days in a week. Heavy rain will eliminate the need of watering for up to two weeks. If possible, do buy a rain gauge and use it to measure the rain that land on the lawn. Water lawns during the early morning hours when temperatures and are the lowest. This reduces water losses from evaporation. Another method is having bigger water storage. With less water used on days when the water is rationed, it is best to realigning the use of fresh water. Having extra storage in the house will be good if water rationing period is extended for a day or two. If the water storage is on the roof, it had to be big enough to store water for drinking, bathing and cooking. Recommendation to the Causes Identified There are a lot of steps that can be taken to solve water shortage issues. One of them is rainwater harvesting system. Rainwater harvesting system will cut down the usage of treated water used for car washing, toilet as well as general cleaning. This will save up on the water bills. One huge problem is finding sufficient space for the rain water harvesting system to be installed. It is not a small piece of device that one can just plug and play. Another recommendation for water shortage is desalinization. Desalinization is system which can filter the salty water through membranes and removing the salt through electro dialysis and reverse osmosis process. Desalinization process has worked for about 130 nations in North Africa and Middle East. With the use of this system, these nations are currently producing around six billion of fresh water daily. Since Malaysia is surrounded by sea, it is possible to introduce desalinization process. Besides this, another recommendation is to protect water catchment areas. Water consumption is normally divided into domestic, industry and agriculture. Most of the water consumption is for domestic sector as most of the industries and agriculture use raw water instead. Government should introduce more water catchment areas for example forest and lakes. These are the areas that must take into consideration of future need of raw water. These areas should be register as national park so no deforestation and no development could be done at that area. Thus, this would ensure the future supply of raw water. Government should improve the water supply infrastructures as a method to prevent water shortage. The government could build more service reservoirs to prevent water shortage. A service reservoir could store up to a minimum one or two days of storage of water. On top of that, government should use meters as a method to monitor how much water does people are sending down the drains, flushing in toilets and pouring over their gardens. Meter is the fairest way to charge for water and the people need to be held responsible for what they use. For example, a family of four uses as much water in a day as a sprinkler uses in an hour. If people are using sprinkle and swimming pool, they need to pay extra. Apart from that, the government should persuade and educate people to use less water. Small actions like turning off the taps during washing up could save a lot of water. For example, by turning off the tap while brushing teeth would save a lot of water. If a normal tap runs at five litres a minute, people do brush their teeth for two minutes for twice a day. It would be 20 litres that goes down the sink. Another method is by charging the water based on the water quality. A raw water quality based raw water tariff should also be in place to ensure the governments are receiving income by safe guarding the water catchment areas to secure raw water resources. Safe guarding water catchment areas will preserve the raw water quality and reduce cost of treating water which will be translated to affordable water tariff. Conclusion In conclusion, stopping water crisis from reaching tragic level needs more concern of people as well as governments. It can be an effective ways to increase consciousness among all people from all walks of life regarding the shortage of water and what people have to face in the future if the uncontrolled water usage is not stopped. Governments should implement laws to penalize uncontrollable use of water. People should be wiser and miser in using water. Everyone must think of better ways to discipline oneself so that water is not wasted. It is better to come up with precaution than solution. Finally, people should safeguard the environment and filter unwanted pollutants before it is release to the environment Reference Toltal Words: 2598 words 1

What Factors Explain the Golden Age of the Dutch Republic? :: World History

This essay will discuss Dutch excellence in trade, art and literature individually to discern the factors which explain the high standards of distinction these fields achieved during the Golden Age of the Dutch Republic. Although the smallest of the European powers in terms of territory, population, and natural resources, for 150 years the Dutch Republic dominated European trade with approximately half of the world’s total stock of seagoing ships at the zenith of its power.# How did such an insignificant state rise so rapidly, becoming according to contemporary observer Sir William Temple: â€Å"the envy of some, the fear of others and the wonder of all their neighbours†?# Shifting commercial patterns since the 16th century had seen the rise of a truly global economy. As the quality of ships improved, skippers travelled further distances with cargo, making arrival times and availability of goods unpredictable. A centrally located market where goods could be bought and sold at constant prices was needed.# Geographical factors made the Dutch Republic ideal for this role, situated at the intersection of Northern waterways connecting the Atlantic, Baltic and the Rhine. This position had g rown in significance since the Mediterranean’s function as pivot of international trade had diminished.# Within the country, the Republic’s extensive waterways, river fleets and timber depots were well suited to a boom.# The Republic had already established a leadership in bulk transportation, a firm foundation which could be built upon. Since the 1590’s, the moedernegotie or mother trade moved huge quantities of goods such as lumber, fish and grain in large volume in cheap, simple ships.# However, real wealth lay in the â€Å"rich trades† of spices, silver and other luxury goods imported from the East Indies, Africa and the Americas. This trade was previously dominated by the Hanseatic states and England, but the Dutch Republic’s ease of access to the Iberian market and colonial goods enabled it to overtake the England Muscovy trade by 1600.# In 1602, the Dutch East Indies Company or VOC was founded, followed by the Dutch West Indies Company nine teen years later. Throughout the 1630’s, training posts were established in Sri Lanka and New Guinea. Several important external factors allowed the establishment of this formidable trade empire at the dawn of the seventeenth century. The first of these was the inflow of immigrants from the Southern Netherlands and other European states in the late 16th and seventeenth centuries. Within the Dutch Republic, between 100,000 and 15,0000 refugees fled from the Spanish forces, settling mainly in Holland or Zeeland’s towns.

Decision of Allowing the Procurement of Used Items Essay

Discussing the pros on the decision of allowing the procurement of used items in public sector (PPA 2011): * It is economical; This is because of the liquidity crisis and improvements in product quality control hence some governments are opting for secondhand purchases. The current update in this regard is that, According to BBC News (Feb’2009) the Indonesian military is currently negotiating with the US Army to purchase secondhand F-16 fighter jets in a bid to modernize its air power military capability. Mark you Indonesia is the largest economy in Southeast Asia and one of the dynamic emerging markets in the world. The country is also a member of the elite G-20 major economies. Quality control especially technically aircraft never get old as such because they are meet international standards and principles that govern air transport. * It is affordable to procure at low cost of acquisition, in case of emergencies circumstances to rescue situations especially those of public interest, the * government should allow procurement of used equipment under exceptional circumstances to serve people, that are evaluated on case by case basis procurement in the need The Bank understands that the decision between the outright purchase and lease arrangements depend on the economic loss and benefits, however, given the potential risk associated with used equipment, the government should consider leasing as the preferred alternative only in emergency. * It helps and is the way to go if the government is to fulfill its obligations as far as capital intensive investments are concerned. â€Å"Purchasing secondhand machines suited Tanzania at the moment because many countries were applying the same strategy on costly machines such as planes, train engines and ships. * Equipment may be available immediately, that result to shorten procurement process of acquiring used equipment, compared to the time  required for the acquisition of new equipment because it involves ordering which took sometimes up to delivery period. Discuss the cons on the decision of allowing the procurement of used items in public sector (PPA 2011) * May lead to procure poor quality items that do not meet intended purpose that is performance requirements of the goods, and minimum standards for age, residual economic life, and quality of materials. That might result in massive economic losses this is refer to the economic life cycle of goods procured. Since they will not be expected to originate from Tanzania, it will be difficult to get authenticated record of the time they had been used and condition at the time of sale. * Failure of getting loans from world Bank at deficit circumstances, this is according to World Bank Procurement Manual Draft (2001)- Procurement of brand new Goods policy, which explain that it the Bank’s general Policy is to finance the procurement of new goods only. Borrower’s procurement should be to the new. * Procurement of used goods does not correspond to the principles of value for money, since the experience in the country has shown there were no credible personnel to undertake such kind of purchasing with evidence of quality of such used items together with its residual value, relevant to the cost of purchase/money spend on buying. * Creation of a fertile ground for rampant corruption because the government/institutions functionaries might use this loophole to buy junk equipment through underhand methods thus causes great losses to the taxpayers. * Higher running expenses, It is cost fully in case of running expenses such as maintenance and service for used item than for brand new equipment, when government institutions decides to purchase used items, will result to incur a lot of money spending on frequently buying costly spare parts and  maintenance as a result to high total cost of operation hence less productivity. Summary: The decision of allowing the procurement of used items in public sector have their respective advantages and disadvantages to the national economy and general social welfare issues as follows. The advantages of procurement of used items are; it is economical, It is affordable due to low cost of acquisition, Used equipment may be available immediately, procurement of more items for the same budget, improves transparency and integrity. The disadvantages are Lack of competitive bidding, failure of getting loans from world Bank, May lead to procure poor quality, does not correspond to the principles of value for money, Creation of a fertile ground for rampant corruption, and Higher running expenses.

Free PDF Chemistry Worksheets To Download or Print

Free PDF Chemistry Worksheets To Download or Print This is a collection of chemistry worksheets in pdf format. The answers to the questions are available on separate worksheets so you can fill them out and then check your work. Please feel free to download these to your computer, print them, and use them as hand-outs. Metals, Nonmetals, and Metalloids WorksheetMetric to English Conversions WorksheetMetric to English Conversions AnswersMetric to Metric Conversions WorksheetMetric to Metric Conversions AnswersTemperature Conversions WorksheetTemperature Conversions AnswersTemperature Conversions Worksheet #2Temperature Conversions Answers #2Moles to Grams Conversions WorksheetMoles to Grams Conversions AnswersFormula or Molar Mass WorksheetFormula or Molar Mass Worksheet AnswersPracticing Balancing Chemical Equations - WorksheetBalancing Chemical Equations - AnswersPracticing Balancing Chemical Equations - Worksheet #2Balancing Chemical Equations - Answers #2Practicing Balancing Chemical Equations - Worksheet #3Balancing Chemical Equations - Answers #3Balancing Equations - Worksheet #4Balancing Equations - Answer Key #4Common Acid Names Formulas - WorksheetAcid Names and Formulas - AnswersPractice Calculations with Moles - WorksheetMole Calculations - AnswersAcid Base pH - WorksheetAcid Base pH - Answers Gas LawsGas Laws AnswersGas Laws Answers - Shown WorkLimiting Reagent - WorksheetLimiting Reagent - AnswersCalculating Molarity - WorksheetCalculating Molarity - AnswersBalancing Redox Reactions - WorksheetBalancing Redox Reactions - AnswersPrintable Element CrosswordPrintable Element Crossword - AnswersChemical Names to Chemical Formulas - WorksheetChemical Names to Chemical Formulas - Answer KeyChemical Formulas to Chemical Names - WorksheetChemical Formulas to Chemical Names - Answer Key Printable Periodic Tables Here are some printable periodic tables to help you out, also in pdf format. Color Printable Periodic Table - Pretty much everything you need that can fit on a page and still be readable. Color table with atomic numbers, element symbols, element names, atomic weights, periods, and groups. [2013 Edition] [2012 Edition]Black/white Printable Periodic Table - Black/white table with atomic numbers, element symbols, element names, atomic weights, periods. [2013 Edition] [2012 Edition]Blank Printable Periodic Table - Fill in the boxes yourself.Electron Configuration Periodic Table - Periodic table that lists the electron configurations for each element.Color Printable Periodic Table - Color table with atomic numbers, element symbols, atomic weights, periods, and groups. (no names)Basic Printable Periodic Table - Black/white table with atomic numbers, element symbols, atomic weights, periods. (no names)Basic Periodic Table with Element Names - Black/white table with element symbols, names, atomic numbers, and periods. (no weights)Basic Periodic Table with Element Nam es (color) - Color periodic table with element symbols, names, atomic numbers, periods, and groups. (no weights) The atomic weights given on these tables are the most recent (2007) values as accepted by the IUPAC. Printable Scientific Method Flow Chart This is a flow chart of the steps of the scientific method, available as a PDF file: Scientific Method PDF Also available is a PDF of a pie chart of the elemental composition of the human body.

The Dangers of Relying on Spell Check and Grammar Check

The Dangers of Relying on Spell Check and Grammar Check Almost all word processing programs come equipped with a tool for checking both spelling and grammar. However, writers should be wary of the dangers of relying too heavily on these tools. For example:Spell check will not fined words witch are miss used butt spelled rite!An ordinary spell checker will find few or no errors in the above sentence. This is because spell checkers can only detect if words are spelled correctly, not if they are used correctly.That being said, a spell checker is a handy tool and, therefore, should not be completely abandoned. However, writers should be cautioned from relying on it to catch every error. Spell check should be your first step in editing your document, not the only step!The problems with trusting spell checkBelow are just some of the dangers of relying on spell check:Spell check cannot help you with some proper names, such as Heston or Jolie.Spell check will not detect the improper use of homonyms, such as their and there.Spell check may flag wo rds as errors which are indeed correct.Spell check does not always offer useful spelling suggestions for severely misspelled words.For example, the following are some commonly misused words that standard spellcheckers will not catch:advise/adviceloose/losepassed/pastdessert/desertweather/whetherthen/thansite/sight/citeThe limitation of traditional spell checkers is epitomized by the often quoted poem, Ode to the Spell Checker.Eye halve a spelling checkerIt came with my pea sea.It plainly marks four my revue miss steaks eye kin knot sea.Eye strike a quay and type a word and weight for it to sayWeather eye yam wrong oar write.It shows me strait a weigh as soon as a mist ache is maid.It nose bee fore two long and eye can put the error rite.Its rare lea ever wrong.Eye have run this poem threw it,I am shore your pleased to no.Its letter perfect awl the way.My checker told me sew.Jerrold H. ZarThe lawyer and the sea spongeAlong these same lines, there is an amusing story that has circulat ed in the legal community regarding the dangers of spell check. According to the story, an attorney inadvertently replaced the words sua sponte (a Latin phrase for on its motion) with the words sea sponge throughout his brief. This lead to some very embarrassing sentences, such as:An appropriate instruction limiting the judges criminal liability in such a prosecution must be given sea sponge explaining that certain acts or omissions by themselves are not sufficient to support a conviction.It is well settled that a trial court must instruct sea sponge on any defense, including a mistake of fact defense.As one would expect, the attorneys error, while certainly entertaining to the rest of us, drastically weakened his credibility in the eyes of the court and made him the butt of many of his colleagues jokes.Although spell checkers are fairly straight forward and user-friendly, they are only as good as the writers ability to use them. For example, most spell checkers include options to c ustomize the dictionary to include proper nouns and acronyms. Other features include setting the spell checker to auto correct which automatically corrects the spelling of frequently misspelled words. These features can all improve the tools effectiveness.The limitations of grammar checkersUnfortunately, grammar checkers are similarly limited. They are, in fact, more limited than spell checkers. The limitations have nothing to do with technology or software, but rather are caused by the nature of grammar itself.For example, a traditional grammar checker will detect no problems with the following passage.Marketing are bad for brand big and small. You Know What I am Saying? It is no wondering that advertisings are bad for company in America, Chicago and Germany. ... McDonalds and Coca Cola are good brand. ... Gates do good marketing job in Microsoft.This is truly frightening considering that each of the sentences in the passage contains numerous grammatical errors!Also, consider the f ollowing sentence:Thinking it was open, the door was really closed.Grammar check will alert the writer that the main clause may contain a verb in the passive voice. But there is no passive voice here, just a thinking door.Grammar check also frequently flags perfectly good grammar as bad. Type the following sentence into a document:How was your sons wedding?When you run grammar check, was your sons is flagged as incorrect and the phrase your son wass is suggested. In this case, your grammar check has turned a perfectly fine sentence into a garbled mess! Therefore, it is wise to think about the change suggested, rather than simply accept it as correct.Great grammar resourcesLooking up the correct spelling of a word is as easy as using an online dictionary; looking up proper grammar, however, can be more difficult. Most of us do not remember the finer points of grammar that we learned in the sixth grade, such as gerunds and dangling modifiers. Therefore, it is helpful to have a referen ce book on grammar handy. Strunk and Whites The Elements of Style is the classic book on the subject, but professional writers are also fond of Working with Words and When Words Collide.The bottom line is that technology, while useful and time saving, is still not advanced enough to substitute for old-fashioned human proofreading. Therefore, writers should always allow ample time for proofreading and learn tools to improve their proofreading skills. One of the best ideas I have learned is to make a list of spelling and grammar errors that you make frequently so that you can proofread every document with special attention to these problem areas. Remember, you need to pick up where your spell checker and grammar checker leave off!

TED talks Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

TED talks - Essay Example As a means of understanding the speakers approach, this particular essay will focus upon a brief summary and analysis as well as discussion of the tactics employed by Charlie Todd and seeking to analyze whether the author agrees or disagrees with such tactics and based upon what grounds. It is the hope of this author that such a level of analysis will help the reader to integrate a more solid understanding and integration with the approach that Charlie Todd takes and whether or not such an approach is applicable within society and if so – to what degree. Furthermore, the analysis will seek to determine whether or not Todd’s approach is necessarily right or wrong. Ultimately, Charlie Todd moved to New York City as a means of kick starting an acting career. Seeing that entering the entertainment industry in New York City was much harder than he had anticipated, Todd sought to begin improv performances at various locations throughout New York as a means of integrating such a level of active acting participation directly with society; who he believed were ultimately the target market for any acting that takes place. In such a way, the â€Å"Improv Everywhere† group was born. ... Accordingly, the overall level of passion that Todd brings to the performances is ultimately infectious and helps to engage fellow shareholders within the participatory nature of his improv. A fact that strikes the viewer as odd in an ear that is so typically driven by greed and the level of money that any form of leisure or entertainment can ultimately be defined by. The joining activity which Todd relates to the viewer is ultimately the very crux of the point that he is trying to make. Rather than merely exhibiting a series of funny videos and situations to elicit a few laughs, the participatory nature of the entire experience is, according to Todd, what helps it to all make sense and be funny not only to the onlookers but also to the participants. This strikes at a central issue which helps to differentiate what Todd and his group do as compared to so many comedians within the current system. Whereas the comedian is interested in making people laugh by integrating them with jokes and/or funny situations, Todd’s improv allows both the participant and the recipient of the situation to realize and appreciate the funny and/or amusing aspects of what is taking place. Whereas Todd wanted to begin his career in New York City as an actor integrating with a traditional audience, he relates to the viewer the sudden and rather unexpected means by which this dream transformed in order to reveal his true talents and interest in the improve groups he was able to establish and direct. With regards to an analysis and statement of agreement with regards to the actions undertaken by Charlie Todd, it is the belief of this author that the improv group is ultimately a highly positive idea. Firstly, it allows individuals who would otherwise be hapless bystanders to take an active and

Compostion article Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words - 2

Compostion article - Essay Example Freshman students, including those studying in AUC, also experience the same problem. In addition, since most of the students are Egyptians, English is only a second language. Thus, the present study utilized a hybrid concept/mind mapping online strategy (E-mapping) in order to enhance text comprehension and develop critical reading skills. AUC has a core curriculum course required for all students, Scientific Thinking, which emphasizes on the scientific process and scientific approach in dealing with the world. This curriculum is a basis that students do not usually read texts assigned to them, or cannot analyze the texts. With the use of E-mapping, researchers aim to explore if such strategy could enhance critical thinking and text comprehension, as well as increase student participation in the Scientific Thinking course of the school. Through this study, it will also be determined if the technique would improve the quality and quantity of interaction with text and among students a nd instructors (p. 635). Review and Analysis I. Methods Because graphic strategies are said to aid in visual approaches to reading better than the traditional linear text presentations, the researchers used concept mapping and mind mapping as strategies to help improve text comprehension and retention. ... 635). In two semesters, E-mapping was incorporated into the syllabus of three Scientific Thinking sections, introduced gradually to students due to its unfamiliar approach. Initially using a pen and paper introduction and then shifting to a free online software, the students were exposed to the mapping techniques. Assignments of increasing difficulty were given to the sample of 70 students enrolled in the course. Data gathering techniques used comprised of student E-maps, early and late semester anonymous surveys, and mid-semester small group instructional diagnosis (SGID) (p. 638). Surveys were based on students’ perceptions, the SGID on their suggestions, and the E-maps evaluated their performance. II. Results and Conclusions Outcomes of the research project show that E-mapping has several strengths. The strategy encouraged the students to read the texts assigned, and participate in class discussions. In addition, they were obliged to read the text in a critical manner in or der to come up with maps as representations of the linear text. Through the maps they construct, knowledge, perceptions, or misconceptions regarding a topic are assessed. Generally, the tool has the benefits expected from it, but student’s reaction to the approach differs. The main concern of the students regarding E-maps is the workload it demands from them. They perceive it as time-consuming, and require â€Å"too much work,† concluding that E-mapping is an active learning strategy but not a unique way of testing content or critical thinking, and presenting that such technique permits students to have improved visualization skills important in communicating ideas (p. 645). III. Strengths and limitations The goals of the research project are clearly