Describe a Place using Soapmaps

Several places exist in all over the world and probably you must have heard of many famous places within London itself like Tower Bridge or Buckingham Palace. However, I would not waste time explaining these places, which you might be already aware of. What I can usually describe well and might be to your interest is my lovely ‘House' – my home. Everyone possesses a home and what makes it special are the people who live in there. Impression of a house is developed from how much you care about it and how well you maintain or look after it. So, let us have a look on how does my house look like and what might be special about it. My house is situated in the South East of London. You might better know my place by the town, Edgware. The bright sunshine in the morning, from east sets my house on fire. The glittering windows from outside reflect my image to make me feel great about myself. The entrance of my house gives a heart welcome to all my guests and bestows good wishes to all my family members each time we trespass there. As you enter the main door, you will find a small lobby in which at the side, you will see a shoe rack lying in the corner and waiting for our footwears to go in there. You would probably consider this as strange but believe me, it is very useful especially in my house where you will find a polite notice reading â€Å"Please take off your shoes† in the lobby. I would myself regard this as ridiculous if I saw this notice at anyone's house but since I moved to this wooden floor house, I understand the importance of doing so. The big drawback of wooden flooring is that it gets dirty very quickly and this is the major factor enforcing us to put off our shoes at the entrance. Moving a few steps forward from the lobby, you will find the narrow stairs running upstairs to the bedrooms. I am not taking you to see my bedroom so early, so let us go a few steps forward instead of running in the stairs on the left. Continuing forward, you will find a glass door, which glistens and sparkles light from the beautiful chandelier inside. As you open the door, a nice room freshener smell fills your nose and you imagine yourself being in heaven. But when you open your eyes, you find yourself in my living room. As you move your eyes around, you see three posh black sofas lie on the corner of the three walls. They appear large enough and above that, they give you the superb comfort, as you would like to have after a hard working day. The centre table in the room displays several magazines and newspapers to read. My dad usually likes reading the newspapers and so do I but if talking about me, it would be sometimes only or you can simply call it occasionally. If you look around the walls, you will find my TV hung around on the corner of the fourth wall, which I would personally describe as the perfect place to put your TV. Firstly, it looks nice, saves space and lastly, it stands in level to your eyes. What else would you expect from this fantabulous TV? And this not the end to the ground floor of my house. There is also a two in one kitchen, which simply means kitchen to cook as well as dining room to eat your meal. The fitted kitchen with cupboards and shelves sometimes make me confuse as almost all shelves open in different direction and some are very strange to your normal expectations. But never mind; living in this house for a year has made me habitual to this everyday use of kitchen and its applications. This is the place I love the most in my house as my mum cooks me some really good food, which I would enjoy eating for days. You can smell this tasty food from the entrance of the house like me when I come to home from school and quickly rush to eat that nice food. Now, let us return back to the stairs, which I showed you at the beginning and I guess you probably wanted to climb up quickly at that time to look what is over there. So let me show you but be careful while climbing up the stairs. I would especially warn you, as the stairs are really narrow and you will probably end up slipping down if you have big feets. I have been through this experience several times and even my younger brother who likes to hang around has been a victim of this funny but painful thing. So, as you climb up those deep ocean blue stairs, you will find my parents' bedroom on the right that stays really neat and clean. You will find each and everything at its place, as my mum is really neat and organised and takes good care of the house as well as of myself. If you look over the red wall at front, you will find a big wallpaper of the ship sailing in the sea. My mum says that this is usually good to put in the house as it generates positive feelings and also represents and inspires your life as you imagine yourself being the ship and you are moving ahead in the world to gain those great heights and destinations. Well, I like my mum's understanding of things and admire her those precious thoughts, which you cannot just think of. So at last, I will show you my bedroom but do not be stunned and may be shocked to see it. As soon as you open the door, you will see large posters hung around on blue coloured walls. There are cartoon pictures and teddy bears, which will appear as sweet as me. On my bed you will find all clothes spread around and the room will appear totally diverse as compared to my parents' neat and clean bedroom. I have also got a computer system placed on the table at the corner of the room on which you will usually find me working. The big shiny mirror on the door of the cupboard reflects my image to appear as a shining star. The bright sunrays penetrate through three large windows just after my bed to reach my eyes and wake me up in the morning for school. I cover my face with my blanket to avoid the bright light but then the clock alarm goes off to wake me up. At last, I give up sleeping and get up to get ready for school in the morning. This is what my bedroom is like where you will find things different and alike. This is what my house offers and this is how my house is like. A great experience with a thrilling chill environment will fill you with freshness and make you cheerful to have a great day out. I hope you enjoyed this adventurous journey of my home and had a good idea of how a good home should be, like my one. Don't you think so?

Psychology Essay on Dreaming and Sleeping

Psychology Essay on Dreaming and Sleeping Free Online Research Papers Recurring dreams and nightmares may seem like a bad thing, however, if understood correctly can be one of our biggest problem solvers yet. Nobody likes to experience a bad dream and most of the time we wake up, calm down and just wish to forget about them. We neglect to question as to why we had to go through such a terrible dream when, ironically, is the opposite of what we want to do and exactly what we should do. Sometimes dreams can just be a correlation of things we’ve gone through that day, things we’ve seen and our confined thoughts but most times they’re much more than that and can actually become quite useful. The first step is remembering the dream and everything you can about it, especially if it is a bad one. Just about everything in a dream is symbolic in some way, big or small, but we tend to notice certain things over others. These things that stand out are our mind’s way of trying to communicate with us about our more important problems. This is also sort of a pressure release therapy for the psyche or a way to vent and cope for your mind. If you continue to ignore the dream it might cause your mind to throw current events, people or things in the dream to show you that you still need to solve the problem. Ignorance results in the recurring of the dream or nightmare. For instance, sometimes we can’t accept aspects of ourselves that we need to grow out of or confront so our minds will turn them into monsters, demons, shadows or things of this nature and usually send them after us. Now if you always wake up and try to forget this dream and keep living your life, don’t be surprised if you keep experiencing this dream. The only way to stop it is if you think about yourself and your life to find what you need to change. Dreams can also predict things that your sub-conscience is thinking of doing but you just don’t know yet; like if you were to turn around in that dream while being chased and confront the thing chasing you, this would foretell of your overcoming that problem. Normal things we experience in everyday life result in deep inner thoughts held within our brain until we go to sleep, if those thoughts result from a problem that day you’re most likely going to dream about it, subliminally or clearly. It’s your mind’s way of letting you know â€Å"you need to change this†, â€Å"this isn’t good†, â€Å"watch out for this† or â€Å"hey, wake up and realize this†. If we learn to examine and analyze our own dreams we can not only stop those nasty nightmares from coming back but understand ourselves better and solve our own problems easier! Research Papers on Psychology Essay on Dreaming and SleepingMind TravelThe Effects of Illegal ImmigrationThe Spring and AutumnEffects of Television Violence on ChildrenLifes What IfsThree Concepts of PsychodynamicCapital PunishmentThe Masque of the Red Death Room meaningsPersonal Experience with Teen PregnancyResearch Process Part One

What Does It Mean to Be Partisan

What Does It Mean to Be Partisan If youre a  partisan, it means you  adhere firmly to a political party, faction, idea or cause. You  likely live in a bright red or dark blue district or state. You  exhibit blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance and never speak ill of another member of your tribe, according to the standard Merriam-Webster definition. Being a partisan is  the opposite of being a swing voter or independent in politics. To put it bluntly, being a partisan isnt a good thing. So. How can you tell if youre a partisan? Here are five traits. 1. You Cant Talk Politics Without Getting Angry If you cant talk politics with people and still stay friends, youre a partisan. There are no two ways about it. If you cant talk politics without the conversation ending in bruised egos and hurt feelings, youre a partisan. If you cant see the other side of an issue and storm off abruptly from the dinner table, youre a partisan. Seek your inner peace. And understand this: Youre not right about everything. No one is. A synonym of partisan is ideologue. If youre an ideologue, it means youre an adherent to a rigid ideology. You dont like compromise.  And youre probably difficult to talk to.   2. You Vote the Straight Party Line If you show up to the voting booth without doing your homework and pull the lever for the straight-party ticket every time, youre a partisan. In fact, you match the definition of a partisan to the T: someone who exhibits blind, prejudiced, and unreasoning allegiance to a political party. If you dont want to be a partisan, heres a handy guide to everything you need to know to prepare for Election Day. Hint: Vote for the best candidate, not the party. 3. You Watch MSNBC or FOX News Theres nothing wrong with watching MSNBC or FOX News. But lets call it what it is: Youre choosing a source of news and information that supports your world view. If you lean lift, youre probably watching Rachel Maddow on MSNBC. And only MSNBC. If you tilt to the right, youre tuning in to Sean Hannity and FOX, and tuned out the rest. And, yes, if you do this youre a partisan. 4. You Chair a Political Party OK. To be fair, it is some peoples job to be partisan. And those people happen to be working in the political arena. That is, the parties themselves. If youre the chairman of the Republican National Committee or the GOP organization in your hometown, it is function to be a partisan. Thats why you have the job: to support your partys candidates and get them elected. Stated President Harry Truman: There was never a non-partisan in politics. A man cannot be a non-partisan and be effective in a political party. When hes in any party hes partisan. Hes got to be.   5. You Violate the Hatch Act Lets hope things dont get this bad. But if youre a government employee and youre found to have violated the federal Hatch Act, youre behaving as a partisan would behave. The Hatch Act of 1939  placed limits on the political activity of executive branch employees of the federal government, District of Columbia government, and some state and local employees who work in connection with federally funded programs. The law is intended to prohibit taxpayer-supported resources from being used in partisan campaigns; it is also intended to protect civil service employees from partisan pressures from political appointee managers. What does that mean? Well, lets say you work for an agency that is funding at least in part by the federal government. Under the Hatch Act you cant campaign for office or engage in any similar political behavior. Youve got to quit your job first. The federal government doesnt like allocating taxpayer money to agencies whose workers are behaving as partisans. In Defense of Parties and Partisanship Partisanship is the fundamental behavior that allows the two-party system to remain in place in the U.S. And the existence of parties, according to some astute political philosophers, are vital.   The philosopher and political economic John Stuart Mill, writing in On Liberty,  defended partisanship: A party of order or stability, and a party of progress or reform, are both necessary elements of a healthy state of political life.† The economist Graham Wallas also described parties favorably. Something is required simpler and more permanent, something which can be loved and trusted, and which can be recognized at successive elections as being the same thing that was loved and trusted before; and a party is such a thing. And  Moisà ©s Naà ­m, a distinguished fellow at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, has written about the need for permanent organizations that earn political power and govern, that are forced to articulate disparate interests and viewpoints, that can recruit and develop future government leaders and that monitor those already in power. Nonpartisan, Bi-Partisan and Post-Partisan Definitions There are a couple of antonyms to the word partisan, and a relatively new term - post-partisan. What do they all mean? Nonpartisan: This  term describes the behavior of political figures who may belong to disparate factions and parties when they work together on nonpolitical issues, such as raising money for charity or helping with some civic issue in their home state. Bipartisan: This term describes the behavior of elected officials or citizens who otherwise disagree on policy issues and belong to disparate factions or parties when they work together toward a common political goal. Bipartisanship is rare on major issues in modern American politics.  Ã‚   Postpartisan: This term, which has come into wide use since President Barack Obamas election in 2008, describes the work of Republicans and Democrats to reach compromise on policy issue without abandoning ties to party or principals. Post-partisanship has its roots in President Thomas Jeffersons inaugural speech: Every difference of opinion is not a difference of principle. We have called by different names brethren of the same principle. We are all Republicans, we are all Federalists, he said. Obama, a Democrat running for president in 2008, promised to deliver such a postpartisan presidency by embracing Republicans and independents. His remarks resonated among the electorate. I think that there are a whole host of Republicans, and certainly independents, who have lost trust in their government, who dont believe anybody is listening to them, who are staggering under rising costs of health care, college education, dont believe what politicians say. And we can draw those independents and some Republicans into a working coalition, a working majority for change, Obama said. [Edited by Tom Murse]

Phonemic inventories Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Phonemic inventories - Assignment Example or instance, you have to begin with closed lips, build up some air pressure behind that closure, and then release it in a small burst (Bischoff and Fountain 2011:4). According to Bischoff and Fountain (2011), a vowel is a sound in an oral language made by opening the vocal tract such that, no air build up occurs above the glottis. For this reason, ‘vowel sounds are typically much darker (louder) than the consonant sounds’ (Bischoff and Fountain 2011: 6). Bischoff and Fountain (2011:42) defines phonetic inventory as the set of phones that are distinctive in a given language. Phonetic inventory is not simply a collection of sounds; rather it is more of a set of phonemic distinctions (Bischoff and Fountain 2011:11). Understanding of phonemic inventory of a language helps learners of the language make complex combinations of features with ease (Bischoff and Fountain 2011:11). According to Bischoff and Fountain (2011:41), a minimal pair is a pair of words that have distinct meanings, but that differ only with respect to a single phone. (Bischoff and Fountain 2011:41) further says that the existence of a minimal pair is proof that the phonetic distinction between the differing phones is phonemic in the relevant language. Minimal pairs help us to discover which phonetic properties are distinctive, or phonemic, in a language (Bischoff and Fountain 2011:6). My illustration of the IPA article is about Bardi, a language spoken in Western Kimberly Region in Northwestern Australia (Claire et al. 2012: 334). Bardi consists of 17 consonant phonemes, twelve (12) of which are sonorant, and has no fricatives (Claire et al. 2012: 337). Bardi is important as I investigate my field language, because, itself also being in the Austronesia family, it helps me understand the corresponding use of speech sounds in Mocinese. Noticeable similarities and differences between Mocinese and Bardi exist, with regards to their consonantal arrangement. A major similarity is that, all Bardi

Benjamin Franklin's inventions Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Benjamin Franklin's inventions - Essay Example Out of this situation, he had two pairs of spectacles cut into half and each half put lens in one frame. This invention is today known as bifocals. Commonly, bifocals are prescribed to persons with a condition called presbyopia (Barretta and Matthew 37). This paper will discuss some of the most prominent inventions of Benjamin Franklin. Although Franklin did not event electricity, he discovered many things regarding it that had previously not been understood. He showed that electricity comprised of a common element that he named â€Å"electric fire. Prior to his experimentation, people thought that electricity comprised two opposing forces (Randolph 58). He further showed that electricity was fluid like a liquid that passed from one body to another but never destroyed. His work about this experimentation became the foundation of the single fluid theory. Additionally, he coined important terms during his experiments, which are presently used in electrical engineering. These terms inc lude charge, minus, plus, armature, positively, conductor, negatively, and condenser. In relation to electricity, he invented lightning rod (Barretta and Matthew 44). ... Franklin also invented stove that came to be known as Franklin stove. It was invented in 1742; it is a metal-lined fireplace that is placed in the middle of the room. Prior to this invention, fireplaces warmed homes in America. This stove has rear baffles designed to improve airflow (Barretta and Matthew 47). Unlike a fireplace, it uses less heat and provides heat with less smoke. It has cast-iron furnace that radiates heat in all directions from the middle of the room, and the iron walls that absorb heat evenly (Randolph 96). This design ensures that it provides warmth to the room even after the fire has gone out. Besides, Franklin invented glass armonica that enhanced harmony in music. This mechanized instrument premiered in early 1762 when Marianne Davies played it. It was foot-treadle-operated instrument holding 37 glass bowls. The player of the instrument touched the bowls’ rims with fingered moistened from water trough (Barretta and Matthew 65). In addition to the above inventions, Franklin made other inventions that either are used today or formed basis for future inventions. He invented flexible urinary catheter. During his day, catheters were quite painful and rigid; tubes were inserted into the bladder through the urethra in order to drain urine from the body. He devised a catheter that had flexible tube thus making it less painful (Barretta and Matthew 83). It is important to note that this invention was inspired by Franklin’s desire to ease some discomfort for his brother who was suffering from kidney stones. Moreover, he invented odometer; he was curious as to the distance he was traveling by carriage as a postmaster, particularly for his travels between Boston and Philadelphia. Although the odometer

Contracting with the Federal Government Term Paper

Contracting with the Federal Government - Term Paper Example Contracting by Simplified Acquisition Procedures, FAR 13 This rule involves the government purchase of tools that are less than the value of $150,000. The government purchase of this equipment is considered micro purchases. The involved procedures do not require competitive bids or quotes and the involved agencies can buy through credit cards or the Government Purchase Card. In addition, it is not necessary to involve the procurement officer. However, most of the government purchases are in this category since most of the products purchased do not involve a lot of money. An example is the government purchase of office equipment such as chairs, tables, and computers. This category comprises of more than 70 per cent of all government purchase dealings. According to government statistics, this category involved a total sum of $19 billion dollars. The increase in government transaction in this category is because the Federal Acquisition Streamlining Act made several amendments to the act thus eliminating limitations on government purchases under $150,000. This means that agencies can be allowed to use abridged processes for soliciting and assessing bids worth up to $150,000. However, it is mandatory for the government agencies to publicize all deliberate procurements over $25,000 according to Federal Business Opportunities or on the government website, which enlists all the available procurement opportunities. One main advantage of this easy purchase processes is that they require fewer governmental details, less endorsement levels, and fewer documentation. However, these procedures require all the government procurements above $3,000, but under $150,000, to be kept back for small companies. in addition, the small businesses has to apply for the purchases except if the assigned agent cannot get proposals from two or more minor businesses who are competitive on price, quality and distribution (Government Contracting 101; Worthington & Goldsman, 1998). Contracting by Negotiation, FAR 15 This government rule requires that the government agencies to use negotiation as a contracting method. In order to do this, the federal agencies have to issue a request for proposal (RFP) or Request for Information (RFI) or Invitation for Bid (IFB).  Unlike the previous rule, this rule allows for, communications, Clarifications, and discussions  in the selection procedure and the government might permit for last proposal amendments.  In order for a company to be selected, some factors such as best value and trade-off processes are evaluated. This occurs depending with the interest of the government to contemplate issues other than the lowermost price or utmost technical rating, or the lowermost price that is technically appropriate source for selection, where the solicitation highlights the marginally suitable standards and the selection is founded on a price assessment amongst all suitable bids.  This rule applies mostly to contracts above $150,000, and extremely technical products and services are being pursued (Worthington & Goldsman, 1998). Contracting by Sealed Bidding, FAR 14 The Contracting by Sealed Bidding as described by the rule consist of making and advertising an invitation for bids (IFB). It also involves receiving the proposals, opening them openly, assessing them without negotiations with the bidders, and giving the agreement to the accountable and responsive bidder founded on price and

Recent Scientific and Technological Innovations Essay Example for Free

Recent Scientific and Technological Innovations Essay The quality of life is normally taken to mean the general well being of people and the environment in which they live in. it is undeniable that recent scientific and technological innovations have enhanced the quality of life for many. However, the developments of today that promise us a better quality of life are also the ones that can worsen the quality of life. Science and technology give their creators and inventors ever-greater supremacy and control, for good or otherwise, over the physical universe. Indeed, the possible dire consequences and impact of misused and misapplied innovations can affect the quality of life drastically. Technological innovations have resulted in an improved and well-established system of telecommunications and satellites. This leads to ease in access of communication system globally. International calls can now be made so readily that two people at separate ends of the world can now stay instantly in contact with a touch of the dial. But, with the onslaught of the worldwide web and wireless communication devices, technology has in fact, drawn people away from each other. The presence of electronic email and short-text messages, gave busy people of this high-tech society yet another excuse to dismiss the need for face-to-face meetings and interactions. Humans have become overly dependent upon such gadgets and devices to carry out the basic task such as to communicate. What will result from the above phenomenon is that the generations to come will be lacking in inter-personal and interactive skills. Medical scientific and technological innovations have been largely beneficial. Death rates, infant mortality rates as well as diseases of the past that used to lead to alarming numbers of deaths, have been eradicated greatly. Modern drugs and vaccines have eased much physically suffering. But, the discovery of Euthanasia and Genetic Engineering have sparked off a series of moral questioning concerning the supposed death with dignity as well as issues that include abortion as the latter opens up possibilities of misuse. It is true that abortion practices ena ble pregnant women who are at health risk to remove the baby in the course of pregnancy but many have taken advantage of this procedure to rid themselves of the product of irresponsible actions on their part. Also, Euthanasia, despite being said to be death in dignity, nevertheless, opposes many religious and conservative views. Advanced military technological innovations have provided a higher degree of security for citizens in countries. This does actually contribute to enhancing the quality of life as cyber warfare, biological warfare and nuclear warfare help to create a new form of defence mechanism to protect the people. Conversely, advance military technological innovations have also empowered modern armies a great level of destructive potential and selective aiming targets. This results in civilians and innocent people ending up as the greater victims in wars. In addition, the use of chemical and biological weapons has diffused effects that make the clear-cut drawing of battle lines more complex and difficult. Hence, instead of enhancing the quality of life, humans’ vulnerability increases and security decreases in times of war. Another political and legal aspect in which scientific and technological innovations have helped to improve the quality of life for humans is the availability of knowledge. Indeed, the access to information enhances democracy that provides citizens with a more liberal political system. However, it should be noted that technology, though allowing easy access to the supply of knowledge, actually devalues the worth of information and knowledge. Today, knowledge can easily turn obsolete as focus is placed on the survival of the most info and techno-savvy society. Also, what is accessible from the wide pool of resources on the worldwide web does not always provide the correct and morally upright information. For instance, the wide pool of pornography corrupts one’s mind and worsens the quality of life as it presents an improper, inaccurate and unrealistic view towards sex. Next, computers and high-tech machinery have aided in improving many economies, especially those of the developing countries. For example, South Korea went from being a developing country to becoming a newly industrialized country because they have become more capital-intensive and technologically oriented in their industries. Areas ranging from manufacturing processes to the service sector have been made easy by the use of both the computer and machinery. Nevertheless, such gadgets have become such an indispensable and essential tool in modern life that the need for labour-intensive employment has greatly declined. This puts lowly educated and lowly skilled workers out of jobs. Such an over reliance branches into almost every type of human activity and the importance of human resources will eventually be lost with time. How can quality of life be enhanced when the technology is deemed more valuable and useful than human resource? Another area to ponder about is the environmental asp ect of life. Pollution and deforestation have both worsened the quality of life in today’s society. Health problems have resulted from air, water, soil and hazardous waste pollution. Governments of less developed nations, in their eagerness to improve their economies by employing technology in their commerce, are willing to forsake the importance of the environment in maintaining the quality of life of their people. Poor air quality in twenty megacities in the world, with population of more than ten million results in an increase in lung, heart and brain cancer. This is the effect of traffic fumes; industrial processes, new sewage systems and even open refuse burning. Water quality is greatly diminished by the pollution caused by petrochemical complex, pesticide and factories. The issue of deforestation is also linked to the worsening of the quality of life as basic needs of recreation, culture and leisure are greatly affected. Thus, it is evident that though busy industries can be an indication of a healthy economy that can increase the monetary aspect of standard of living, actually denies humans their basic right to drink clean water and breathe clean, uncontaminated air. In conclusion, the issues of the quality of life that are affected by scientific and technological innovations are urgent and require much reconsideration. The nuclear power that promised virtually limitless, cheap and non-polluting energy for future generations proved otherwise in the disastrous accidents such as those that took place at Three Mile Island and Chernoblyl. Furthermore, the down sides to the supposed enhancement of the quality of life as depicted by the double-edged sword qualities of science and technology like those presented in this argument have clearly shown that recent scientific and technological innovations can increase the quality of life as well as degenerate it.