Low Phonemic Awareness Skills Among Disadvantaged Families Dissertation

Low Phonemic Awareness Skills Among Disadvantaged Families - Dissertation Example Empirical research into language use shows that there exists a wide gap between language use among children from well up families and those from economically disadvantaged families. Most children from disadvantaged families have low phonemic skill awareness compared to those from well up families. The purpose of this research is to identify ways in which the problem of phonemic awareness among children from poor background. The research will use a sample of 50 students from whom phonemic awareness skills will be evaluated. To provide credible conclusions and recommendations, this research will take a quantitative approach. Previous Research Phonemic awareness is a topic that has garnered a lot of attention among researchers in the recent past, owing to the persistent language problem that has indicated phonemic awareness weakness among many students in institutions. Dickinson and McCabe (2004) researched on the existence of phonological problems among children with a bilingual orient ation. The deduction of this statistical survey is that there indeed exist numerous factors that contribute to weakness in language among these students. Among these factors, Dickinson and McCabe (2004) identified that the standards of living played a key role in determining the success of language learning among children. Although this research was not directly designed on measurement of poverty levels, it was possible to outline the link between educated parents and a better economic social status (Koutsoftas, Harmon & Gray, 2009). The major conclusion of this research was that children who were fostered by learned parents had a better phonemic expression. Nichols et al (2004) found that Latino children and children from low socioeconomic backgrounds are more likely to fail to develop phonemic awareness and concepts in print owing to the fact that they lack preschool experience, causing them to lag behind when compared to children from different ethnicities and better socioeconomi c backgrounds. Latino children are at risk because English is not their first language meaning that they will categorize phonemes in their primary language as that is how their linguistic minds are programmed. Children from these categories are seen to either lack the prior knowledge or misunderstand the instructional discourse, along with the language of the text and teacher, resulting in delayed acquisition of crucial concepts that are in print (McGee & Ukrainetz, 2009). Notably also, findings from this study indicated that gender was not linked to development of phonemic awareness. These students require instructional intervention that looks into their needs and in a broader perspective. McDowell et al (2007) found that children, who undergo early reading challenges, receive less practice than other children, miss opportunities to develop reading comprehension strategies and are likely to have a negative attitude towards reading. Callaghan and Madeleine (2012) attributed the diff erence in phonemic awareness between children from low socio-economic backgrounds and their peers from high or middle socio-economic backgrounds to varying levels of emergent literacy. This variability is in turn explained by previous home environments, level of oral language and provision of good early intervention programs. In contrast, Neuman and Dickinson (2011) suggest that genetic predispositions

Win Some Lose Some Essay Example for Free

Win Some Lose Some Essay Casinos are more and more common in small communities. With this being said small communities are changing into a gambling economy. There are both negative as well as positive impacts of casino gambling on the economy. In some cases the positive aspects outweigh the negative. Casinos are good sources of economic development, creating jobs and providing resources needed to build a better economy. A casino is a good choice as to help with economic development. This is a great way to attract people who bring in revenue. Take the Northern Quest Resort Casino as an example; it is located in Airway Heights which is a small city. A once small town is now popular with the excitement of a casino. Before the casino there was just an airport, and an Air force base. Now that there is a casino there are a lot more stores, housing, and people. The growth of the economy is slowly increasing with Wal Mart, Village Center Cinemas, Spokane County Raceway, and of course the casino. When the casino was created many new jobs and opportunities were made for local people. There were many jobs before the actual casino was open which was construction and after it was built there were numerous jobs inside of the casino. The construction jobs declined once the casino was complete but there were still jobs inside of the building. The Kalispel’s HR department preferred to hire Indians only. The Kalispel Tribe and Northern Quest Resort Casino created approximately 1,600 jobs and about $1.1 million each month in local or locally affiliated goods and services. (Northern) However, the downside of a casino is that the community turns into a gambling economy and there can be negative consequences. State governments continue to have concerns surrounding organized crime’s attraction to Indian gaming. (Native) Residence in the area gets addicted to gambling, to the thought of winning big. Gamblers have the belief that if they keep playing then they will win. Addiction makes people do irresponsible things. Debt is major problem when it comes to gambling. People will go as far as theft, embezzlement, or even suicide. These actions make for a broken family. Counseling is the best way to go for a gambler’s addiction. In the end it all comes down to the people in the community and their own choices they make. Choosing whether to gamble or not is entirely up to them. They have the right to do whatever they please and do whatever is best for them. It also presents problems in neighboring communities. In the result of the casino local industries had lost business due to the competition. For example The Davenport hotel had lost numerous guests to the Northern Quest Casino after they added the hotel. (Kamstra) Local businesses are losing revenue due to the casino but in a way the casino is actually bringing in more people than before. The revenue has grown rapidly and the combined revenues of all gaming enterprises in the United States are reported to be on the order of $75 billion per year. (Henson) The casino has a tremendous profit and where is the money going? The Northern Quest Casino is owned by the Kalispel tribe of Indians, money then goes back to the tribe. A wellness center was built not too long ago with the funds. If Kalispel tribal members wish to go to college then the tuition is fully paid for through the tribe. The Kalispel tribe also provides financial support to regional nonprofit organizations; they have donated over $5 million so far. The Kalispel Charitable Fund focuses on education, health care, arts culture, social services and environment conservation in the Spokane and Pend Oreille counties. The Northern Quest Resort Casino partners with the Harvest food bank to help fight hunger in Eastern Washington and North Idaho. The revenue from the casino also goes into the local community, schools, police, and produces tax revenue to keep the casino there. The casino mainly brings money into the government, charities, and workers. (Charitable) Luckily the Northern Quest Casino is not far from the Spokane International Airport, this means that many traveling people can stop by during a layover and try their luck. Along with all of the gamblers there are people who would want to see the scenes or come for events taken place at the casino. The Northern Quest Casino has a hotel, a club, sporting events. They put on concerts and pow wows as well. Events like these bring in many crazed fans and many Native Americans. During European colonization Native Americans’ lives were changed. Native Americans lost their land, caught diseases, and were forced to do many things. They were forced to assimilate and were forced to convert to Christianity. They basically lost everything, including their freedom. In a way people owe it to Native Americans to let them evolve as a sovereign nation and improve their economies. For once Native Americans are at their best. Gaming is giving Native Americans their tribal economic independence. Native American tribes have come a long way with becoming a sovereign nation compared to the past, they get to set their own gambling regulations and have their own casinos. As of mid-2006, 224 of the 561 federally recognized tribes operated gaming operated gaming enterprises. (Henson) The Spokane tribe of Indians located in Wellpinit is one tribe that is trying to get their economy going. They currently have two casinos, three gas stations, camping grounds, an amphitheater, and a marina where boat houses can be rented out. One casino is located on the reservation and the other is located in Chewelah. Their goal is to have a successful casino in Airway height just like the Northern Quest casino sometime soon. The Spokane Indians put on many events throughout the year such as Jam Fest, Native American Heritage Day, Poker Run, art auctions, many pow wows, and they put on concerts every weekend during the summer at the amphitheater. The growth in the number of Indian nations having gaming enterprises is increasing. This industry keeps evolving as tribes with services expand. Casinos have definitely brought in many rewards and benefits to the tribes and surrounding areas. Works Cited Charitable Fund. Kalispel Tribe. 2009. Web. 10 Nov. 2012. . Davis, Mary B. Native America in the Twentieth Century: An Encyclopedia. New York: Garland Pub., 1994. Print. Henson, Eric C. The State of the Native Nations: Conditions under U.S. Policies of Self-determination : The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development. New York: Oxford UP, 2008. Print. The Kalispel Tribe of Indians ‘ website gives a great example of the good of having a casino which is they give to a charity. Kamstra, Brooke. Personal interview. 17 Feb. 2012. I felt it was suitable to put that the casino has been a competition ever since it added a hotel. The personal interview was from an employee at The Davenport hotel. Northern Quest Resort Casino. Kalispel Tribe. 2009. Web. 15 Nov. 2012. .

Characteristics Of Globalisation Economics Essay

Characteristics Of Globalisation Economics Essay Since the early 1960s a large number of theories on foreign direct investment(FDI) have emerged. This proliferation was to a large extent, due to Hymer (1976),and the subsequent recognition that FDI is a manifestation of market imperfection and firm specific advantages. This is the implicit and explicit assumption in most modern theories. The multiplicity of factors involved in production,combined with barriers to the free movement of goods and services, together with the differences in production environment, are all reasons for also been an increasing number of studies regarding other modes of foreign investment. These new forms of FI activities such as join venture , licensing, franchising, etc seem to have taken on an increasingly important role in recent years everywhere, including developing countries (Oman,1984). Foreign direct investment (FDI ) is the vehicle by which firms achieve their strategic objectives. Accompany must posses some asset such as product and process technology or management and marketing skills that can be used beneficially in the foreign affiliate in order to invest in production in foreign markets. According to Kindleberger(1969) , For direct investment to thrive there must be some imperfection in markets for goods or factors, including among the latter technology. Or some interference in competition by government or by firms, which separates markets. The industrialized nations have remained the major contributor as well as the major recipient of FDI though FDI flows to the developing world have more than doubled between 1990 and 1999 . According to Chakrabarti (2002) in 1999 , nearly 58percent of 30 global FDI flows went to the industrial countries ,37 per cent to developing countries , and just 5 per cent to the transition economies of eastern Europe. FDI embodies two typical assets : first ,capital and second ,technology or a number of intangible advantages. So, FDI is more likely to be important in industries with significant firm-specific ,intangible ,knowledge-based assets. Foreign direct investment contributes most to the development process whn affiliate is wholly owned and fully integrated into the global operations of the parent company. Once the parent investors commit themselves to incorporate the output from host country into a larger strategy to meet global or regional competition-there is evidence of a dynamic integration effect, which provides newer technology , more rapid technological upgrading ,and closer positioning along the frontier of best management practises and highest industry standards , than any other methods for the host economy to acquire such benefits. There is evidence of more intensive coaching for supplier in quality control, managerial efficiency , and marketing than any other means for firms in the local econom y to gain these skills (Nunuez,1990). FDI will improve competitiveness and, thus, create employment and increase the welfare of the host nation (Dunning, 1994). This is a result of inward investment increasing the number of entrants in the indigenous industry which forces all competitor firms in the industry to become more competitive by reducing costs and improving efficiency and quality. Much FDI activity is achieved by way of a joint venture between a foreign company and an indigenous company and this may bring advantages such as risk diversification, capital requirement reductions and lower start-up costs (Perlmutter and Heenan, 1986). Indirect impact will manifest itself in the creation of spillovers and linkages typically in suppliers and customers whereas the dynamic impact will affect the competitive environment. Inward investment is likely to stimulate the production of global competitors in the recipient country (UN,1995). Market size and growth, barriers to trade, wages, production, transportation and other costs, political stability, psychic distance and host governments trade and taxation regulations, performance requirements, cultural distance, GDP per capita and infrastructure are factors affecting FDI location (Dunning, 1993). While economic growth, and technology transfer to the host country are important consequences of FDI, development of technological infrastructure and human capital are critical prerequisites, and so antecedents for FDI (Noorbakhsh and Paloni, 2001). Moreover, while psychic distance has been pertinent so far in FDI decisions (UNCTAD, 1997; UN, 1998), its importance might gradually reduce with increasing globalization and development of new/digital economy. According to Sethi et al. (2002 p. 701), institutional and strategic factors into theory . . . need to be considered in tandem to explain the change in trend of FDI flows. The inflow of FDI includes a raise in the production base, the introduction of new skills and technologies and the creation of employment. Foreign investors increase productivity in host countries and FDI is often a catalyst for domestic investment and technological progress. Increased competition associated with the entry of an MNE upgrades the competence and product quality in national companies, and opens up possibilities for export (Ahn and Hemmings, 2000).

Anton Chekhovs Selected Stories :: Selected Stories Essays

Anton Chekhov is a master at showing aspects of real life; how fed up people are, how it really is without the everyday pleasantries, and how exploitable people are by one another. Chekhov uses these three aspects with great mastery to show his form of real life in his "Selected Stories." Chekhov shows how fed up people are with one another in his short story the "Jailer Jailed." This story is about a man, who is a prosecuting attorney, is actually living in his own jail; being married to his wife who lets him do nothing but wait on her hand and foot. "I understand what it means to be in jail!" This quote explains just how the man feels living his life the way he is. The above is a direct example in life as how fed up people are. It just makes weird sense that a man with so much power with people doesn't have a prayer with his wife. "Milksop" is another one of Chekhov's stories showing how real life is, but this particular one depicts life without its pleasantries. This story is about a reporter who wants to be invited to this prestigious party but can't go because he works for the press. This shows real life without its pleasantries. Because the man couldn't get into the party because he was a reporter, his public power failed him. "A Nincompoop" also shows real life as Chekhov sees it, but this particular one depicts how exploitable people are by one another. This story begins with a women's payday. But, to her surprise her employer starts to deduct for things she has broken and for other dumb reasons. When he gets all done all she is left with is eleven out of sixty rubles. But she takes them gladly anyway. Then her employer asks if she thinks this is fair, and she agrees. Then her employer says that she is stupid and gives her the

A Memory For All Seasonings Essay

Memory is one of the most important functions of the mind. Without our memories, we would have no identity, no individuality. The following article is about a mnemonist, a person with an extraordinary power of remembering. The title includes a pun, a form of humor based on a play on words. The usual phrase to describe something constant and dependable is â€Å"for all seasons†; here the phrase is changed to â€Å"for all seasonings.† (Seasonings is another word for spices, such as salt, pepper, and curry.) What hint does this give you about the mnemonist? (Early in the article you will find out.) One evening two years ago, Peter Poison, a member of the psychology department at the University of Colorado, took his son and daughter to dinner at Bananas, a fashionable restaurant in Boulder. When the waiter took their orders, Poison noticed that the young man didn’t write anything down. He just listened, made small talk, told them that his name was John Conrad, and left. Poison didn’t think this was exceptional: There were, after all, only three of them at the table. Yet he found himself watching Conrad closely when he returned to take the orders at a nearby table of eight. Again the waiter listened, chatted, and wrote nothing down. When he brought Poison and his children their dinners, the professor couldn’t resist introducing himself and telling Conrad that he’d been observing him. The young man was pleased. He wanted customers to notice that, unlike other waiters, he didn’t use a pen and paper. Sometimes, when they did notice, they left him q uite a large tip. He had once handled a table of nineteen complete dinner orders without a single error. At Bananas, a party of nineteen (a bill of roughly $200) would normally leave the waiter a $35 tip. They had left Conrad $85. Poison was impressed enough to ask the waiter whether he would like to come to the university’s psychology lab and let them run some tests on him. Anders Ericsson, a young Swedish psychologist recently involved in memory research, would be joining the university faculty soon, and Poison thought that he would be interested in exploring memory methods with the waiter. Conrad said he would be glad to cooperate. He was always on the lookout for ways to increase his income, and Poison  told him he would receive $5 an hour to be a guinea pig. Conrad, of course, was not the first person with an extraordinary memory to attract attention from researchers. Alexander R. Luria, the distinguished Soviet psychologist, studied a Russian newspaper reporter named Shereshevskii for many years and wrote about him in The Mind of a Mnemonist (Basic Books, 1968). Luria says that Shereshevskii was able to hear a series of fifty words spoken once and recite them back in perfect order fifteen years later. Another famous example of extraordinary memory, the conductor Arturo Toscanini, was known to have memorized every note for every instrument in 250 symphonies and 100 operas. For decades the common belief among psychologists was that memory was a fixed quantity; an exceptional memory, or a poor one, was something with which a person was born. This point of view has come under attack in recent years; expert memory is no longer universally considered the exclusive gift of the genius, or the abnormal. â€Å"People with astonishing memory for pictures, musical scores, chess positions, business transactions, dramatic scripts, or faces are by no means unique,† wrote Cornell psychologist Ulric Neisser in Memory Observed (1981). â€Å"They may not even be very rare.† Some university researchers, including Poison and Ericsson, go a step further than Neisser. They believe that there are no physiological differences at all between the memory of a Shereshevskii or a Toscanini and that of the average person. The only real difference, they believe, is that Toscanini trained his memory, exercised it regularly, and wanted to improve it. Like many people with his capacity to remember, Toscanini may also have used memory tricks called mnemonics. Shereshevskii, for example, employed a technique known as loci. As soon as he heard a series of words, he mentally â€Å"distributed† them along Gorky Street in Moscow. If one of the words was â€Å"orange,† he might visualize a man stepping on an orange at a precise location on the familiar street. Later, in order to retrieve â€Å"orange,† he would take an imaginary walk down Gorky Street and see the image from which it could easily be recalled. Did the waiter at Bananas have such a system? What was his secret? John Conrad would be the subject of Anders Ericsson’s second in-depth study of the machinations of memory. As a research associate at Carnegie-Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Ericsson had spent the previous three years working with William Chase on an extensive study of Steve Faloon, an undergraduate whose memory and intellectual skills were  considered average. When Ericsson and Chase began testing Faloon, he could remember no more than seven random digits after hearing them spoken once. According to generally accepted research, almost everyone is capable of storing five to nine random digits in short-term memory. After twenty months of working with Chase and Ericsson, Faloon could memorize and retrieve eighty digits. â€Å"The important thing about our testing Faloon is that researchers usually study experts,† Chase says. â€Å"We studied a novice and watched him grow into an expert. Initially, we were just running tests to see whether his digit span could be expanded. For four days he could not go beyond seven digits. On the fifth day he discovered his mnemonic system and then began to improve rapidly.† Faloon’s intellectual abilities didn’t change, the researchers say. Nor did the storage capacity of his short-term memory. Chase and Ericsson believe that short-term memory is a more or less fixed quantity. It reaches saturation quickly, and to overcome its limitations one must learn to link new data with material that is permanently stored in long-term memory. Once the associations have been made, the short-term memory is free to absorb new information. Shereshevskii transferred material from short-term to long-term memory by placing words along Gorky Street in Moscow. Faloon’s hobby was long-distance running, and he discovered that he could break down a spoken list of eighty digits into units of three or four and associate most of these with running times. To Faloon, a series like 4 , 0 , 1 ,2 would translate as four mi nutes, one and two-tenths seconds, or â€Å"near a four-minute mile†; 2, 1, 4, 7 would be encoded as two hours fourteen minutes seven seconds, or â€Å"an excellent marathon time.† When running didn’t provide the link to his long-term memory, ages and dates did; 1, 9, 4, 4 is not relevant to running, but it is â€Å"near the end of World War II.† Chase and Ericsson see individual differences in memory performance as resulting from previous experience and mental training. â€Å"In sum,† they write, â€Å"adult memory performance can be adequately described by a single model of memory.† Not every student of psychology agrees with Chase and Ericsson, of course. â€Å"I’m very suspicious of saying that everyone has the same kind of memory,† says Matthew Erdelyi, a psychologist at Brooklyn College. â€Å"In my research,† he says, â€Å"I find that people have very different memory levels. They can all improve, but some levels remain high and some remain low. There are dramatic individual  differences.† It is unlikely that there will be any agreement among psychologists on the conclusions that they have thus f ar drawn from their research. The debate about exceptional memory will continue. But in the meantime it is interesting to look deeper into the mind of a contemporary mnemonist. Ericsson and Poison, both of whom have tested Conrad over the past two years, believe that there is nothing intellectually outstanding about him. When they began testing Conrad’s memory, his digit span was normal: about seven numbers. His grades in college were average. Conrad himself says that he is unexceptional mentally, but he has compared his earliest memories with others’ and has found that he can recall things that many people can’t. His first distinct memory is of lying on his back and raising his legs so that his mother could change his diapers. As a high-school student he didn’t take notes in class—he says he preferred watching the girls take notes—and he has never made a list in his life. â€Å"By never writing down a list of things to do, and letting it think for me,† he says, â€Å"I’ve forced my memory to improve.† Conrad does believe that his powers of observation, including his ability to listen, are keener than most people’s. Memory, he says, is just one part of the whole process of observation. â€Å"I’m not extraordinary, but sometimes people make me feel that way. I watch them and realize how many of them have disorganized minds and memories and that makes me feel unusual. A good memory is nothing more than an organized one.’ One of the first things Conrad observed at Bananas was that the headwaiter, his boss, was â€Å"a very unpleasant woman.† He disliked being her subordinate, and he wanted her job. The only way he could get it was by being a superior waiter. He stayed up nights trying to figure out how to do this; the idea of memorizing orders eventually came to him. Within a year he was the headwaiter. â€Å"One of the most interesting things we’ve found,† says Ericsson, â€Å"is that just trying to memorize things does not insure that your memory will improve. It’s the active decision to get better and the number of hours you push yourself to improve that make the difference. Motivation is much more important than innate ability.† Conrad began his memory training by trying to memorize the orders for a table of two, then progressed to memorizing larger orders. He starts by associating the entree with the customer’s face. He might see a large, heavy-set man and hear â€Å"I’d like a big Boulder Steak.† Sometimes, Peter Poison says, â€Å"John  thinks a person looks like a turkey and that customer orders a turkey sandwich. Then it’s easy.† In memorizing how long meat should be cooked, the different salad dressings, and starches, Conrad relies on patterns of repetition and variation. â€Å"John breaks things up into chunks of four,† Ericsson says. â€Å"If he hears ‘rare, rare, medium, well-done,’ he instantly sees a pattern in their relationship. Sometimes he makes a mental graph. An easy progression—rare, medium-rare, medium, well-done—would take the shape of a steadily ascending line on his graph. A more difficult order—medium, well-done, rare, medium—would resemble a mountain range.† The simplest part of Conrad’s system is his encoding of salad dressings. He uses letters: B for blue cheese; /-/for the house dressing; 0 for oil and vinegar; F for French; T for Thousand Island. A series of orders, always arranged according to entree, might spell a word, like B-O-O-T, or a near-word, like B-O-O-F, or make a phonetic pattern: F-O-F-O. As Ericsson says, Conrad remembers orders, regardless of their size, in chunks of four, This is similar to the way Faloon stores digits, and it seems to support Chase and Ericsson’s contention that short-term memory is limited and that people are most comfortable working with small units of information. One of the most intriguing things about Conrad is the number of ways he can associate material. Another is the speed with which he is able to call it up from memory. Ericsson and Poison have also tested him with animals, units of time, flowers, and metals. At first, his recall was slow and uncertain. But with relatively little practice, he could retrieve these â€Å"orders† almost as quickly as he could food. â€Å"The difference between someone like John, who has a trained memory, and the average person,† says Ericsson, â€Å"is that he can encode material in his memory fast and effortlessly. It’s similar to the way you can understand English when you hear it spoken. In our tests in the lab, he just gets better and faster.† â€Å"What John Conrad has,† says Poison, â€Å"is not unlike an athletic skiil. With two or three hundred hours of practice, you can develop these skills in the same way you can learn to play tennis.† (1945 words) I Comprehension Quiz Choose the best way of finishing each statement, based on what you have just  read. 1. The psychology professor discovered John Conrad’s incredible ability to memorize: a. in school b. on a test c. in a restaurant 2. Conrad agreed to let the professor study his memory because: a. Conrad was interested in psychology b. Conrad wanted to increase his income c. Conrad needed to improve his memory 3. The famous Russian mnemonist Shereshevskii used a memory trick called loci to remember objects by: a. associating them with events in Russian history b. imagining them placed along a street in Moscow c. picturing each one in his mind in a different color 4. The memory trick used by Steve Faloon was the association of certain numbers with: a. running times b. important dates c. both the above d. none of the above 5. Conrad had been: a. a gifted student b. a below-average student c. an average student 6. Part of Conrad’s motivation for developing memory tricks to aid him as a waiter was: a. his desire to get his boss’s job b. his great admiration for the headwaiter c. his fear of not finding any work 7. Imagine that four customers have requested that their steaks be cooked in the following way: well-done, medium, medium-rare, rare. According to John Conrad’s â€Å"mental graph† technique, this order would be remembered as: a. a steadily ascending line b. a steadily descending line c. a mountain range 8. From this article a careful reader should infer that: a. everyone has about the same memory capacity and can develop a superior memory through practice and motivation b. a good or bad memory is an ability that a person is born with and cannot change to any great degree c. there is still no conclusive evidence as to whether outstanding memories are inborn or developed II Finding Support For or Against a Hypothesis As the article points out, some psychologists today believe that extraordinary memories are simply the result of development through hard work and the application of a system. According to them, an average person could achieve a superior memory if he or she tried hard enough. Find evidence from the article to support this hypothesis. Then find evidence from the article that goes against this hypothesis. What is your opinion of this controversial question?

The Forgotten Chinese Holocaust essays

The Forgotten Chinese Holocaust essays Can you imagine your body being an object for experimentation while youre still alive? Thats one of the things the Japanese did to the Chinese during the forgotten holocaust, the Chinese holocaust. Among the universal disputes between many countries, Japanese aggression on the Chinese was one of the worst events in history to ever take place. The Japanese also destroyed many cities of China. Specifically, they destroyed the city of NanJing by conducting mass bombings and remorseless killings. Other examples of Japanese horrific actions against the Chinese happened in a place called Unit 731. During the 1920s, NanJing only had a population of 250,000. However, during the 1930s, the city was highly populated with over one million residents. This increase was a result of the Japanese occupation and countless refugees fleeing to the city from Manchuria and other Chinese areas to the east of NanJing. The city of NanJing was a safe city for the Chinese until Japanese forces advanced towards it from Shanghai on November 11th, 1937. The Japanese planes bombed the wealthy and more populated areas of the city. The most devastating bombing occurred on September 25th, 1937. Its targets were focused upon hospitals with a red cross on the roof, refugee camps, power plants, water works, and radio stations. About 500 bombs were dropped from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and as a result, there were over 600 civilian casualties. Â ¹ On November 25th, Japanese forces attacked NanJing from three different directions. The Chinese city soon fell to the Japanese Imperial Army. As the Japanese entered the city, a massacre began which lasted six weeks. During that time, the Chinese were not simply murdered, but were humiliated, and tortured. The Japanese used unthinkable methods of murder. They chased the Chinese into the Yangtze River with machine guns, drowning them. They poured gasoline on people, shot them, and wa...

Free eBook †100 Writing Mistakes To Avoid

Free eBook – 100 Writing Mistakes To Avoid Free eBook 100 Writing Mistakes To Avoid Free eBook 100 Writing Mistakes To Avoid By Daniel Scocco One of the fastest ways to improve your writing skills is to free yourself from the most common English mistakes: things like exchanging less with fewer, misspelling its as its, or placing commas where they are not supposed to be. Thinking about this, a couple of months ago I had an idea: what if we could write an ebook with a compilation of the 100 most common writing mistakes of the English language? An ebook containing spelling, grammar, usage and punctuation mistakes, which would work as a quick guide for writers in a hurry who want to avoid such mistakes. I asked Maeve (our editor) what she thought about the idea, and whether or not she would be interested in writing such an ebook. She liked it and started working on the manuscript immediately. After many rounds of revisions and formatting, we are finally glad to announce that our first ebook is available! The title is: 100 Writing Mistakes to Avoid: A practical guide to 100 common mistakes of spelling, usage, grammar, and punctuation. Subscribe below to receive a download link via email What Is Inside The eBook The ebook has 45 pages and four main sections: Spelling, Grammar, Usage and Punctuation Mistakes. Each mistake comes with correct/incorrect examples, as well as with a brief explanation. Here is a sample page from the book: About The Author Born in Chicago, Maeve has lived, studied, and taught English in the United States, France, and the U.K. Her educational qualifications include a B.A. (Hons) in English from the University of London, and a Ph.D. in Comparative Literature from the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville. She is also a published author of both fiction and non-fiction. Here Is What People Are Saying About It Thirty minutes after I got this book I looked up from my screen, a smile of intense satisfaction playing around my lips. It is not every day that one encounters gold nuggets, something this book truly is. (Fredrick Nwonwu) When you’ve been writing for as long as I have (my first piece was published in 1958 when I won a national Sunday school magazine short story contest), there is a dangerous tendency to think you know all you need to know, and it’s only necessary to come up with brilliant ideas. Well, just when you think you know it all someone comes along to pull you back jerkily to reality. 100 Writing Mistakes to Avoid, by Maeve Maddox, is only 45 pages long, but like the proverbial ant in the elephant’s ear, it can have a disproportionate impact on the quality of your writing. (Charles Ray) Unlike other English grammar books, which are lengthy, complex, and boring, â€Å"100 Writing Mistakes To Avoid† is simple, straightforward, and it focus on the 100 mistakes that are probably already hurting your writing pieces. (Satish G.) This book will make it easier to identify and avoid mistakes which might make our clients think less of us. As a British writer who often writes for an American audience, it’s useful to have guidance on a few stylistic points that may feel wrong to me but may be right for my readers. (Sharon Hurley) Where I think the guide comes in really handy is for writers who are committing these mistakes and may not even realize it. These aren’t the kind of things that are picked up in a spell check and unless we know what to look for, in all probability, we will continue oblivious to these types of errors. (Travis King) 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 General category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:20 Types and Forms of Humor40 Fish IdiomsGrammatical Case in English