Caracal by Disclosure free essay sample

You turn off the radio, tired of all the boring, cliche, mainstream songs. Annoyed, you search Google for better pop music. The results have one group in common: Disclosure. This UK group of brothers, Howard and Guy Lawrence, have smooth rhythms that are leading this artist to fame. With songs featuring Lorde, Sam Smith, and The Weeknd, their new album is different from other electronic pop. It has more meaning in its lyrics. Disclosure has topped the charts with Caracal. The album begins with Nocturnal, a song reminiscent of Michael Jackson, which has a beat perfect for clubbing. This song by The Weeknd has an electric piano vibe that takes even the youngest listeners back to the 80s. The next song is called Omen featuring Sam Smith with notes of his signature gospel sound and a slithering rhythm in between. Featured as the song for the commercial of the album, the video is set in a night club with it playing in the background, the most intriguing way to attract listeners. We will write a custom essay sample on Caracal by Disclosure or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page Lordes vocals are in Magnets, with beautiful tribal drums and story-like lyrics. The song is about doing what you know is wrong and accepting the consequences as well as the fun. For example, the chorus states dancin past the point of no return/Let go we can free ourselves of all weve learned. We have all given up trust for the sake of desire. These most popular songs of the album show who Disclosure wants to be: a mash up between pop and electronic poetry. Not only can Disclosure make amazing melodies, their lyrics are deep and meaningful.Unlike most DJ duos, members of the group Disclosure actually sing. Howard Lawrence sings a powerful song called Jaded. Jaded, in urban terms, means cynical as a result of a negative experience. The lyrics state, â€Å"Why, oh why do you have to lie? What are you afraid of? We know what youre made of.† Negative experiences lead people to be so afraid of human interaction that they lie about everything. Another song with meaning to its words is â€Å"Hourglass† featuring Lion Babe. The song is about finding someone who is right for you, not who looks good with you. An example of the lyrics are, â€Å"There’s someone out there waiting for me/High, mini, fat, skinny, just wait and see† This shows how Disclosure and Lion Babe want to send a message that it doesn’t matter who you love. All that matters is love. Disclosure is a dynamic duo with groovy melodies and poetic lyrics. Caracal is an electronic pop album, but that doesn’t mean that it is the same as their last album, Settle. Their last album was filled with slower and less uplifting music. This one has tracks that make even the laziest people want to dance! Even though the lyrics are a little repetitive, it doesn’t get tiring when they tell an interesting story. This album has also done something different from any other album in America. Every one of their songs has a video that tells a story. When you put the videos toget her, it becomes a mini movie. Caracal has pushed the envelope. What happens when two talented British brothers make an album? A head-bopping, hip shaking, lip-syncing combination of songs called Caracal. Disclosure is a Grammy-nominated duo for a reason: unique music that is pleasant to the ears. Although they are fairly new, they are moving fast. Soon, it will be their pop music you’ll up on the radio.

Australian Government essays

Australian Government essays The most important objective for Australia is that we must generate wealth, but also to share it equally. If we become a society which is wealthy but very unfair, the gap between the rich and poor will grow to mammoth proportions. It is well established that an economic imbalance in society leads to social consequences which are economically and socially draining on society. In the 21st century its wise to devise economic and social policies which ensure a productive society is fair, this is what the labour party hopes to achieve. Governments, as the elected economic and social representatives of the people, are responsible for determining and pursuing the economic and social objectives of the nation. To effectively accomplish this, governments rely on macroeconomic policies such as fiscal policies, monetary policies and prices and income policies which all aim to achieve a state of internal and external balance within the nations economy. This internal balance can be defined as a rate of economic growth which is compatible with full employment and minimal inflation.# Whilst its counterpart, external balance, can be defined as a situation where a nation can meet its financial obligations to the rest of the world at the same time as maintaining its currency with a stable international value which reflects the economic performance of the economy.# Based on these tactics for dictating the economy, the upcoming election can be taken into view. Whilst at this stage, the popularity polls dictate that it is to early and to close to call as to who will win, it is the firm belief of this correspondent that the Labour party is by far the superior candidate and will take victory in the next election. When looking at fiscal and monetary policies of both Liberal and Labour parties, the primary difference can be seen in their stance on Health, Education, Industrial relations, Privatization and foreign affairs (to an extent) and general ...

The Democratic Party will take control of the House of Representatives Essay

The Democratic Party will take control of the House of Representatives in the 2014 election - Essay Example eelection of the Democrats four years ago came with the infamous Obamacare which was introduced by president Obama during his campaign and later made it a policy and a health care law. Through this, the government has kept the hope on its re-election come 2014 election. In a recent speech given by President Obama, it was evident that he was willing to continue supporting Americans who wanted to keep their health plans. Conversely, the recent debate pertaining to healthcare has narrowed the perceived advantages that Democratic candidates have always held over their opponents (Bernstein Para 1). In fact, some Americans have argued that the health-care law’s flubs have collaborated with the government shut down to render harsh verdict to the concerned individuals and cities in the United States. Similarly, a number of people have rubbished the current House of Representatives arguing that they do not do anything much except sending bills to the Senate and watching them as they st ruggle to keep the government stable (Bernstein Para 6). According to a representative of the Republicans, the Obamacare is argued to be the defining issue in determining whether the Democrats will take control of the House of Representatives in the elections due to be held in one year from now or not. In fact, the main controversy revolves around the president’s signature legislative in relation to administrative fumbles. Of importance to note is that, the midterm elections scheduled to be held one year from now are meant to shape how ambitious his legislative agenda can realistically be worked upon for the remaining time the Democrat might continue holding the office, the congressional investigations he might have faced and more so the changes that his presidency will have taken (O’Keefe and Kane Para 10). In this regard, it has been argued that the Democrats must require an average of I7 seats in order to retain control of the House of Representatives. Currently, the

A study of why Norway did so much better than UK and Greece in the Dissertation

A study of why Norway did so much better than UK and Greece in the financial crisis - Dissertation Example It is obvious though that government economic policy does shape the quantitative results as can be determined from the GNP and GDP. Because of this, the global financial crisis also highlighted the different approaches that governments employ in managing the economies of their respective countries. The experiences of Norway and Greece expose the fundamental differences in government’s type of leadership in the economic sphere, particularly in finance. While many countries, including the economic powers reeled in the midst of recession, Norway’s economy grew stronger by almost 3 percent while its government enjoyed an 11 percent surplus budget (Thomas 2009). Greece’s economy, on the other hand, started to plummet at the onset of global financial crisis. While Norway, despite its relatively robust economic policies, managed to institute reforms to cushion the impact of the recession, Greece continues to experience worsening social turmoil brought about by the crisi s. The Greek government gets a huge part of the blame as it failed in the area of financial management. According to the Global Financial Integrity analyst Dev Kar, â€Å"over the past decade ending 2009, Greece lost an estimated US$160 billion in unrecorded transfers through its balance of payments† (2010). This extremely blatant example of economic mismanagement is just one of the major factors that have caused the current financial crisis in the Mediterranean country. Further explications of the reasons why Norway fared much better than Greece during the global financial crisis would be presented in this literature review. The development of Norway’s economy took a long and tedious process before it achieved its current healthy conditions. While the uncertainties plagued the country in the decades and centuries before, it has been able to sustain its growth since the 1970s. There were times since the mid-1970s when the growth rate slowed but, compared to the respect ive economies of its European neighbours, Norway’s steady development has been considered as unprecedented. Ola Honningdal Grytten of the Norwegian School of Economics and Business Administration points out that there are three major factors that contributed to the economic growth of the country, particularly in the 19th and 20th centuries. Grytten identifies these as the country’s richness when it comes to natural resources, its skilled labour force, and its willingness to make use of the latest technology for productive endeavours (2010). In his article, Grytten acknowledges that government policies play a very important role in the maximisation of the said assets. For a long time, since the years of the economy’s rapid development, Norway was led by the Labour party. The Labour-dominated government initiated countercyclical policies which resulted in deindustrialization in the 1970s, a process which many economists, was regressive in essence. Countercyclical policies include the imposition of heavy taxes on business to generate funds for the government, particularly for its welfare programmes. During those times, the country was on the path of becoming one of the most advanced welfare states in Europe. Grytten’

Research Spotlight on Homework Essay Example for Free

Research Spotlight on Homework Essay Some researchers are urging schools to take a fresh look at homework and its potential for engaging students and improving student performance. The key, they say, is to take into account grade-specific and developmental factors when determining the amount and kind of homework. So, whats appropriate? What benefits can be expected? What makes for good homework policies? Research doesnt have all the answers, but a review of some existing data yields some helpful observations and guidance. How Much Homework Do Students Do? Survey data and anecdotal evidence show that some students spend hours nightly doing homework. Homework overload is the exception rather than the norm; however, according to research from the Brookings Institution and the Rand Corporation (see the Brown Center 2003 below). Their researchers analyzed data from a variety of sources and concluded that the majority of U.S. students spend less than an hour a day on homework, regardless of grade level, and this has held true for most of the past 50 years. In the last 20 years, homework has increased only in the lower grade levels, and this increase is associated with neutral (and sometimes negative) effects on student achievement. How Much Is Appropriate? The National PTA recommendations fall in line with general guidelines suggested by researcher Harris Cooper: 10-20 minutes per night in the first grade, and an additional 10 minutes per grade level thereafter (e.g., 20 minutes for second grade, 120 minutes for twelfth). High school students may sometimes do more, depending on what classes they take (see Review of Educational Research, 2006). What are the benefits? Homework usually falls into one of three categories: practice, preparation, or extension. The purpose usually varies by grade. Individualized assignments that tap into students existing skills or interests can be motivating. At the elementary school level, homework can help students develop study skills and habits and can keep families informed about their childs learning. At the secondary school level, student homework is associated with greater academic achievement. (Review of Educational Research, 2006) What’s good policy? Experts advise schools or districts to include teachers, parents, and students in any effort to set homework policies. Policies should address the purposes of homework; amount and frequency; school and teacher responsibilities; student responsibilities; and, the role of parents or others who assist students with homework. Reference: Cooper, H. (2003). A synthesis of research. Review of Educational Reseach, volume 76, Retrieved January 09, 2013, from http://www.nea.org/tools/16938.htm Reasons why students should not have homework Homework is supposed to ensure that all students retain the material covered in the classroom, but for many children it is an unnecessary chore and actually hinders their learning. Children learn best when they are interested in the subject. Positive mental attitude makes learning even challenging things much easier. Negative mental attitude, however, makes retaining knowledge harder and creates stress in a learner. It also takes much longer periods of time to complete. As a result children hardly have any time to develop their talents through extracurricular activities, or to spend adequate time with family and friends. Instead of being burdened with much resented huge loads of homework, children should have the opportunity for more self-directed and interactive learning at school to generate their interest and build in them positive attitude towards learning. Teachers should be more creative and use multimedia like computers and video presentations to make covered subjects more engaging involving childrens input more. Students should be allowed to suggest activities and projects they would like to do. In the present school system it is usually the teacher who decides what and how children should learn in class and at home. This promotes passivity and a sense that learning is a necessary evil rather than exiting opportunity to learn about the world we live in. This is very ineffective, making kids bored, stressed, and frustrated. Not to mention that it is often parents who do the reluctant kids homework therefore homework doesnt help them to learn at all. They get their grades, but end up having learning gaps that will come out later on and hinder their success. Children who are struggling themselves with loads of homework lack the time to develop other than academic passions and experience very unhealty stress that cen result even in a depression. The numbers of children who take antidepressants is rapidly growing. Students who are defiant about their homework often have very strained relationship with their parents. It is a source of contention in too many families and contributes to deep emotional problems in these children and also inevitably may cause depression and substance abuse. The age of kids taking street drugs is getting lower and lower. Children as young as ten in some countries have a drinking problem and homework overload can be an indirect cause of that. That is why I think students should not have homework, but be able to have enjoyable learning experience at school and freedom to be encouraged by the teacher to expand their knowledge on their own terms at home, and to be rewarded for the extra effort instead of being forced to do homework they dont like. Reference: Tehrani, E. (2009). Reasons why students should not have homework. Retrieved January 09, 2013, from http://www.helium.com/items/1309973-why-students-shoul-not-have-homework The Truth About Homework In high school, some studies do find a correlation between homework and test scores (or grades), but it’s usually fairly small, and it has a tendency to disappear when more sophisticated statistical controls are applied. Moreover, there’s no evidence that higher achievement is due to the homework even when an association does appear. It isn’t hard to think of other explanations for why successful students might be in classrooms where more homework is assigned—or why they might spend more time on it than their peers do. The results of national and international exams raise further doubts. One of many examples is an analysis of 1994 and 1999 Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, or TIMSS, data from 50 countries. Researchers David P. Baker and Gerald K. LeTendre were scarcely able to conceal their surprise when they published their results last year: â€Å"Not only did we fail to find any positive relationships,† they wrote, but â€Å"the overall correlations between national average student achievement and national averages in [amount of homework assigned] are all negative.† Consider the assumption that homework should be beneficial just because it gives students more time to master a topic or skill. (Plenty of pundits rely on this premise when they call for extending the school day or year. Indeed, homework can be seen as a way of prolonging the school day on the cheap.) Unfortunately, this reasoning turns out to be woefully simplistic. Back â€Å"when experimental psychologists mainly studied words and nonsense syllables, it was thought that learning inevitably depended upon time,† the reading researcher Richard C. Anderson and his colleagues explain. But â€Å"subsequent research suggests that this belief is false.† The statement â€Å"People need time to learn things† is true, of course, but it doesn’t tell us much of practical value. On the other hand, the assertion â€Å"More time usually leads to better learning† is considerably more interesting. It’s also demonstrably untrue, however, because there are enough cases where more time doesn’t lead to better learning. In fact, more hours are least likely to produce better outcomes when understanding or creativity is involved. Anderson and his associates found that when children are taught to read by focusing on the meaning of the text (rather than primarily on phonetic skills), their learning does â€Å"not depend on amount of instructional time.† In math, too, as another group of researchers discovered, time on task is directly correlated to achievement only if both the activity and the outcome measure are focused on rote recall as opposed to problem-solving. Carole Ames of Michigan State University points out that it isn’t â€Å"quantitative changes in behavior†Ã¢â‚¬â€such as requiring students to spend more hours in front of books or worksheets—that help children learn better. Rather, it’s â€Å"qualitative changes in the ways students view themselves in relation to the task, engage in the process of learning, and then respond to the learning activities and situation.† In turn, these attitudes and responses emerge from the way teachers think about learning and, as a result, how they organize their classrooms. Assigning homework is unlikely to have a positive effect on any of these variables. We might say that education is less about how much the teacher covers than about what students can be helped to discover—and more time won’t help to bring about that shift. Regardless of ones criteria, there is no reason to think that most students would be at any sort of disadvantage if homework were sharply reduced or even eliminated. But even if practice is sometimes useful, we’re not entitled to conclude that homework of this type works for most students. It isn’t of any use for those who don’t understand what they’re doing. Such homework makes them feel stupid; gets them accustomed to doing things the wrong way (because what’s really â€Å"reinforced† are mistaken assumptions); and teaches them to conceal what they don’t know. At the same time, other students in the same class already have the skill down cold, so further practice for them is a waste of time. You’ve got some kids, then, who don’t need the practice, and others who can’t use it. Furthermore, even if practice were helpful for most students, that wouldn’t mean they needed to do it at home. In my research, I found a number of superb teachers (at different grade levels and with diverse instructional styles) who rarely, if ever, found it necessary to assign homework. Some not only didn’t feel a need to make students read, write, or do math at home; they preferred to have students do these things during class, where it was possible to observe, guide, and discuss. Finally, any theoretical benefit of practice homework must be weighed against the effect it has on students’ interest in learning. If slogging through worksheets dampens one’s desire to read or think, surely that wouldn’t be worth an incremental improvement in skills. And when an activity feels like drudgery, the quality of learning tends to suffer, too. That so many children regard homework as something to finish as quickly as possible—or even as a significant source of stress—helps explain why it appears not to offer any academic advantage even for those who obediently sit down and complete the tasks they’ve been assigned. All that research showing little value to homework may not be so surprising after all. Reference: Kohn, A. (2006). The truth about homework. Retrieved January 09, 2013, from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2006/09/06/02kohn.h26.html?tkn=RVRFTkNGGXy32nbQpdGsSFt01V8aHU5cZ3wG

Cannery Row By John Steinbeck- Short Summary :: Cannery Row by John Steinbeck

Cannery Row by John Steinbeck   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  In Cannery Row, John Steinbeck describes the unholy community of 1920s Monterey, California. Cannery Row is a street that depends on canning sardines. It is where all the outcasts of society reside. Steinbeck himself, in the first sentence of the book, describes Cannery Row as "a poem, a stink, a grating noise, a quality of light, a tone, a habit, a nostalgia, a dream." Lee Chong, the owner of the local grocery, Dora, the owner of the Bear Flag Restaurant, (a cover for a whorehouse) and her girls, and an old Chinaman who nobody knows all inhabit Cannery Row. However, the story focuses on the lives of Doc, a local marine biologist, and Mack and the boys, a group of not-quite-homeless, rather philosophical bums. Mack and the boys freelance, picking up money and short-term jobs where they can. Early in the story, they acquire an empty fishmeal storage building from Lee Chong. Mack and the boys transform it into their home, the Palace Flophouse. Doc ran Western Biological, a company that supplied animals for educational purposes, like dissection. He would go down to the tidepools and collect all sorts of critters like squid, octopus, and sea cucumbers.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   When Doc had to leave for La Jolla on a collecting trip, Mack and the boys decided to give him a surprise party. They bought beer, plenty of Old Tennis Shoes (Old Tennessee, a blended whiskey). The whole town was going to be there, and in the minds of Mack and the boys, it was going to be a grand party. However, the party started before Doc even got there. The guests arrived at Western Biological (which doubled as Doc's house and laboratory) and soon became drunk. Windows, doors, expensive equipment, books, plates, and Doc's prized phonograph were all victims to the raucous crowd before Doc arrived. The place was trashed, and everyone left before Doc even got there. By the time Doc pulled up to Western Biological, Mack was the only one left.

Impacts Of Poverty On Student’s Achievement Essay

Poverty is an issue faced by more children in our nation. Children face problems related to poverty during their schooling. The price that children pay out of poverty is incredibly high than anyone can imagine. Each year, schools admit large numbers of children with needs brought about by poverty which is an issue that the school is usually not prepared to deal with. Poverty is a risk factor in the process of student’s education. This paper examines the impacts of poverty on teaching and learning which determines the student’s academic achievement. The concept of being at risk This term refers to students who are faced by life’s social circumstances such as poverty that puts them at risk of underachieving in school. There are many risk factors which increases the chances of a student to failure. However poverty is regarded a major risk factor due to its compound effect. Some of the factors that are related to poverty and put a student at greater risk of failing include, very young parents, unemployment, low educational level parents, substance abuse, exposure to inadequate or improper educational experiences, dangerous neighborhood, mobility, abuse and neglect as well as homelessness. (Gromard, 2003) These factors affect the physical status of the children as in dressing, the type of food they eat, their personal effects are usually of low quality or cheap. The physical disparities in among the students cause a wide gap between the poor students and their peers from middle or upper class families. Sometimes the isolation of this group of students is automatic in that they themselves assume that others do not want to associate with them. Teachers may also contribute in perceiving students in accordance to their social classes. This is however a rare case because teachers are professionals. Nevertheless, there are some instances that the teacher may talk about an issue in the process of teaching and unintentionally touch the students from poverty stricken families. For example in studying population, the teacher may teach about demographics of poverty which is inevitable. This students may change their attitude towards the teacher and hence the subject. (Knapps, Shields, & Clementina, 2001) High mobility is a symptom associated with poverty in connection to other surrounding factors. Students who come from poor families may live in daily or monthly rent houses. This is makes them to move day in day out as their parents look for jobs or runs away from problems like abusive spouses, financial responsibilities or criminal records. This kind of situation may also put the poor family homeless. The conditions they live in affect their education achievement. This result from the emotional impact that moving impacts on children. The children also are forced to join new schools occasionally where they may find it very difficult to adapt. When this factor combines with other issues related to poverty, overwhelming effects on the students’ social, emotional and cognitive development are experienced. Students from poor families attend school irregularly. Transfers to new schools are a routine which brings about difficulty in socialization with new friends in the new school. This may make the student to become either withdrawn or hostile due to their experiences in their past attempts to make friends. The student may therefore develop an attitude of ‘why bother’ with regard to both social and academic aspect schooling as they will after all be moving soon. Due to the various reasons of moving, which are often abrupt, the student come to the new school without records from their previous school which makes it difficult for the school to track the records. As a result, teachers lack the slightest idea of what the student have or haven’t leant. It is a big challenge for the school to place the new students in a class and provide them with the additional services they may require. Even when the school succeeds in placing the new students in class and providing these services, these students will likely move within the school year. It is also difficult for teachers to teach these kinds of students something valuable as they rarely concentrate. Children from poor families become aware of the social economic classes that exist in the society at a very tender age. They grow being aware of their own class and that of their peers which make them to develop a class related attitude as early as in their elementary schooling years. This attitude id carried on throughout their lives in school. Inferiority complex or aggressiveness may be the end result of this effect of poverty in the student’s life. However teachers can help children build up caring and sensitivity towards various cultures including social classes. Lessons and activities in the school should be designed on how children perceive the world and themselves during the different stages of development. For example at the age of eleven, children can comfortably reflect on the causes and solutions to poverty. Achievement gap Achievement gap is the difference in academic achievement between children from various groups or classes in relation to ethnic, income or race. The achievement of students is generally lower than that of middle and upper classes. However at lower levels, children of poverty achieve more than their peers from well to do families. Children from low income families have more in their minds than quizzes, homework or extracurricular activities. As pointed out earlier in this work some may have spent their nights in the streets due to homelessness, at camps or compounds of their friends or relatives. Therefore they are often engaged in thinking about where they will spend that night as well as caring about their parents who go through hardships trying to look for a living for the family. This affects their concentration in class and other school activities hence affect their performance academically as well as socially. (Brown, 2000) The reason for variation in achievement of students is determined by the social environment the students come from and the education that they receive in school. Poverty influences the quality of student’s learning behaviors, their past experiences with education, home environment and sometimes the teacher’s attitude which greatly affect the individual student performance. Students from poor or low income families are generally worried too much about themselves. They usually feel out of place when interacting with children in other social classes. They may feel that the society is unfair by placing them in poverty. The students may decline from participating in class activities and this affects their learning in school. As proposed by Salvin 2001, schools impact on students’ academic achievements are powerful and the success of all the students regardless of their social economic class depend on the teachers’ perception of these students as at promise rather than at risk and at the same time preparing them to get to their full potentials in life. A good education that is focused is usually the only means of breaking the vicious cycle of poverty for the poor children. These children require an education founded in high standards with high expectation for all. The curriculum should be aligned to ensure that a meticulous and assessment go hand in hand with the standards. The curriculum should avoid a decrease in opportunities for the students from the poor background. What usually takes place in the classroom has influence on the achievement of the students and hence teachers should be careful when passing information to students. (Plumber, 2004) The teacher should avoid at all costs any activity that may discriminate students from poor backgrounds. The content of education should be of value and cultural relevant. Teachers should be aware that the instructional and classroom management methods do not necessarily work well for poor students. The teachers can help in closing the achievement gap.