Louisa May Alcott - Author of Little Women

Louisa May Alcott - Author of Little Women Louisa May Alcott is known for writing  Little Women  and other childrens stories,  connections to other Transcendentalist thinkers and writers.   She was briefly a  tutor of Ellen Emerson, daughter of Ralph Waldo Emerson, nurse, and was a Civil War nurse.   She lived from November 29, 1832 to March 6, 1888. Early Life Louisa May Alcott was born in Germantown, Pennsylvania, but the family quickly moved to Massachusetts, a location with which Alcott and her father are usually associated. As was common at the time, she had little formal education, taught mainly by her father using his unconventional ideas about education. She read from the library of neighbor Ralph Waldo Emerson and learned botany from Henry David Thoreau. She associated with Nathaniel Hawthorne, Margaret Fuller, Elizabeth Peabody, Theodore Parker, Julia Ward Howe, Lydia Maria Child. The familys experience when her father founded a utopian community, Fruitlands, is satirized in Louisa May Alcotts later story, Transcendental Wild Oats. The descriptions of a flighty father and down-to-earth mother probably reflect well the family life of Louisa May Alcotts childhood. She early realized that her fathers flighty educational and philosophical ventures could not adequately support the family, and she sought ways to provide financial stability. She wrote short stories for magazines and published a collection of fables shed originally written as tutor for Ellen Emerson, Ralph Waldo Emersons daughter. Civil War During the Civil War, Louisa May Alcott tried her hand at nursing, going to Washington, DC, to work with Dorothea Dix and the U.S. Sanitary Commission. She wrote in her journal, I want new experiences, and am sure to get em if I go. She became ill with typhoid fever and was affected for the rest of her life with mercury poisoning, the result of the treatment for that illness. When she returned to Massachusetts, she published a memoir of her time as a nurse, Hospital Sketches, which was a commercial success. Becoming a Writer She published her first novel, Moods, in 1864, traveled to Europe in 1865, and in 1867 began editing a childrens magazine. In 1868, Louisa May Alcott wrote a book about four sisters, published in September as Little Women, based on an idealized version of her own family. The book was successful quickly, and Louisa followed it a few months later with a sequel, Good Wives, published as Little Women or, Meg, Jo, Beth and Amy, Part Second. The naturalism of the characterizations and the non-traditional marriage of Jo were unusual and reflected the Alcott and May families interest in Transcendentalism and social reform, including womens rights. Louisa May Alcotts other books never matched the lasting popularity of Little Women. Her Little Men not only continues the story of Jo and her husband, but also reflects the educational ideas of her father, which he was never able to communicate effectively in writing. Illness Louisa May Alcott nursed her mother through her final illness, while continuing to write short stories and some books. Louisas income financed the move from the Orchard House to the Thoreau house, more central in Concord. Her sister May died of complications of childbirth, and assigned guardianship of her child to Louisa. She also adopted her nephew John Sewell Pratt, who changed his name to Alcott. Louisa May Alcott had been ill since her Civil War nursing work, but she became worse. She hired assistants to care for her niece, and moved to Boston to be near her doctors. She wrote Jos Boys which neatly detailed the fates of her characters from her most popular fiction series. She also included the strongest feminist sentiments in this final book. By this time, Louisa had retired to a rest home. Visiting her fathers deathbed on March 4, she returned to die in her sleep on March 6. A joint funeral was held, and they were both buried in the family cemetery plot. While she is best known for her writings, and is sometimes a source of quotations, Louisa May Alcott was also a supporter of reform movements including antislavery, temperance, womens education, and womens suffrage. Also known as:  L. M. Alcott, Louisa M. Alcott, A. M. Barnard, Flora Fairchild, Flora Fairfield Family: Father: Amos Bronson Alcott, Transcendentalist, philosopher and educational experimenter, founder of Fruitlands, a utopian community which failedMother: Abigail May, relative of abolitionist Samuel MayLouisa was the second of four daughtersLouisa May Alcott never married. She was a guardian for her sisters daughter and adopted a nephew.

Phrasal Verb Overview and Resources

Phrasal Verb Overview and Resources Phrasal verbs are verbs that are made up of two or more words. For example: Turn onLook forward to turn on - He turned on the TV.look forward to - I look forward to meeting you. Why are Phrasal Verbs Important? If you are unfamiliar with phrasal verbs, this guide to what are phrasal verbs explains everything. Phrasal verbs are used in everyday English by native English speakers to express a wide range of ideas. Unfortunately, phrasal verbs are often ignored because students focus on only the verb. Its important to take notice of the attached prepositions to phrasal verbs when learning new vocabulary. Phrasal verbs can be literal or figurative in meaning. For example, the phrasal verb get into can mean enter - He got in the car - or figuratively accept - He got into Harvard. Phrase verbs are made up of a verb, plus one or more particles. make up - I made up the story.get over - She got over her illness.put in - I put in three hours on the project. In two-word phrasal verbs, the particle is a preposition. In three or more word phrasal verbs the last particle is generally a preposition. look forward to - She looks forward to going on vacation.get ready for - Im getting ready for a competition.get on with - Lets get on with this job. There are four types of phrasal verbs. Phrasal verbs can be separable or inseparable and they can take an object or not. Phrasal Verb Reference Materials There are so many phrasal verbs. The Cambridge Phrasal Verb dictionary is 432 pages long! Luckily, not all of these phrasal verbs need to be committed to memory. Phrasal verbs with to get are some of the most common phrasal verbs. There are also certain common prepositions used to build phrasal verbs: Departures and arrivals with off and onIncreasing and decreasing with up and down Learning Phrasal Verbs in Context Phrasal verbs can also be learned in context by relating synonyms to the new phrasal verbs you learn. Here is a series of exercises that provides listening examples from which you match the phrasal verb to its definition or synonym. Build your phrasal verb vocabulary - 2 Phrasal Verb Quizzes Learning phrasal verbs also takes a lot of repetition. Quizzes provide some of the best practice. These quizzes provide feedback on phrasal verbs: Phrasal Verbs with BringPhrasal Verbs with LookPhrasal Verbs with PutPhrasal Verbs with TakePhrasal Verbs with TurnMixed Phrasal Verbs

Parenting and Student Success Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Parenting and Student Success - Essay Example Paul begins her analysis of Chua’s book and the furor that accompanied it by citing several excerpts from the book that she reckons may have ignited the controversy. This way, she perfectly places her piece in the correct context by identifying with the wild emotions provoked by Chua’s book. This helps her later to critique the audience on the issue of parenting. It also helps her to provide a background to Chua’s book and the specific reasons behind its controversy as well as sales. Paul establishes that the public’s outrage towards Chua is due to a section in the book where the â€Å"self-described "tiger mother,"† reigned in on Lulu, her daughter, to practice for long continuous hours â€Å"... with no breaks for water or even the bathroom.† Paul is also of the opinion that the public’s outrage towards Chua may also be due to her reference to Sophia, her other daughter as garbage when she was deemed to be disrespectful, or even her vilifying and rejection of the birthday card that Lulu made for her. These citations help Paul to set the correct tone with which to address quite a fundamental question in the American society; parenting (University of Richmond 2003). ... own for being light-hearted here appears quite disturbed with Chua, barely containing her contempt while reading viewer comments such as "She's a monster" and "The way she raised her kids is outrageous". Others have even questioned Chua’s love for the children. Paul asserts that Chua â€Å"gave as good as she got,† further airing her views that Western parents are weak. This ultimately leads their children to ruin by giving them too much free time and â€Å"how poorly they prepare them for the future," especially when â€Å"It's a tough world out there.† However, Paul argues that the intense contempt and reaction to Chua’s stance and self-declared superiority masks certain underlying concerns amongst Americans, â€Å"her invocation of what she describes as traditional "Chinese parenting" has hit hard at a national sore spot†. This is the fear that Americans seem to have about Chinese domination of global affairs. Essentially, Paul employs the confl ict â€Å"Tiger Moms† and Western parenting to discuss America’s place in the global outlook especially with the recent advances being made by the Chinese. Paul then adopts an anecdotal tone in detailing the economic plight of America, and their comparison to the rest of the world in terms of education. She indicates that the American economy is not performing as traditionally would be expected to grow at â€Å"an anemic 2.6% and many economists say unemployment will continue to hover above 9%† and further expounds that â€Å"Part of the reason? Jobs outsourced to emerging economies such as Brazil, India and China.† She contrasts the economic plight of America to that of China observing that â€Å"Meanwhile, in China, the economy is steaming along at more than 10% annual growth† and is at the moment at a surplus running into

Is European Union undermining the sovereignty of its individual member Essay

Is European Union undermining the sovereignty of its individual member states - Essay Example The next case that further emphasized upon the sovereignty principle was Case 11/70 Internanationale Handelsgesellschaft GmbH3, whereby it was stated that even where the case was in respect of fundamental rules that had been established by way of the German Constitution, Community law would prevail over such national laws and rules. Another important case which can be cited in respect of the powers of the courts of the member states to respect the sovereignty of Community Law is Case 106/77 Simmenthal SpA (No.2)4 whereby it was stated that even a court of first instance were under a duty to set aside provisions of national law which were incompatible with Community law. Furthermore, there was no need to wait for the national law to be amended in accordance with the EC law and so the national law could be set aside where it was in conflict with a directly applicable or effective provision of the EC law. The duty to respect sovereignty of EC law was extended to administrative agency wh ich was dealing with a national insurance scheme who were said to have powers to set aside conflicting provision. (Case C-118/00 Larsy v. INASTI)5. It is important to mention here that even thought by virtue of the powers being given to courts and administrative agencies the national measure is held to be inapplicable, the Member State is still held to be under a continuing obligation to repeal the conflicting provisions. The Courts in Case 167/73 Commission v. France (French Merchant Seamen)6 for the sake of legal certainty expressly stated the Member States are under an obligation to repeal the offending or contradicting national provision or rule. A step forward in respect of this can be seen from the fact that even if there is not sufficient certainty as to whether a person has a Community law claim, the supremacy doctrine specifies that the national court should set aside the provisions that may prevent anyone from acquiring the full benefit of Community law, even if this is es tablished later in time. The concept can be seen to have been applied in Case C-213/89 R v. Secretary of State for Transport, ex parte Factortame Ltd and others7 which was a case on Spanish fishermen who claimed that the UK Act prevented them from fishing in British water and therefore was in contradiction and breach of EC Treaty Articles. The fishermen sought interim relief in this respect; however, the problem that arose in this respect was that the courts in UK were not empowered to grant an injunction against the State, thereby suspending an Act of Parliament. The problem in this case was the if interim relief was not provided the Spanish fishermen would have been driven out of business and might have suffered huge losses and therefore a subsequent judgment would not in any way serve their purpose. The ECJ held that the act of Parliament must be set aside and subsequently the House of Lords granted an injunction. There has been a strong reaction by the national courts in respect of the concept of direct effect and supremacy which has been developed by the Court of Justice. The important point that needs to be looked into when determining the way how the EC law enters the Member State is dependent on the fact as to whether the member state is monist or a

Cultural baggage and Cultural tourism by Dr Jim Butcher, an evaluation Essay Example for Free

Cultural baggage and Cultural tourism by Dr Jim Butcher, an evaluation Essay Dr Jim Butcher, the author of the article above, has researched on its various facets of tourism such as its moralization, innovations, and cultural, ethical, ecological and anthropological aspects and also as a tool for sustainable development. He has several publications to his credit (www. canterbury. ac. uk). The article under review authored by Dr Butcher appears as a book chapter in the Book â€Å"Innovations in Cultural Tourism†(2001) edited by him. Key issues of the article are the positive and potential aspects of cultural tourism which some critiques discount it as antidevelopment and prone to cause conflicts between the host and the tourist. The author is of the view that cultural tourism has its roots to the man’s craving for alien cultures and the need for relief from monotony of modernity and as such it has naturally come as a blessing to the economically backward regions. He has found three aspects of culture as a function, as a past and as a difference overshadowing the goodness of cultural tourism. The main aim of the author is to dispel the negative impression created by these aspects in the minds of the critics. The book chapter under evaluation is not in layman’s language. Even a discernible student of tourism would find it difficult to distinguish between cultural baggage and cultural tourism or relationship between the two terms. Whatever Dr Butcher says about cultural tourism has been in one aspect or another touched upon by his peers. That the cultural tourism has come of age and is capable of benefiting the economically weaker nations or places within nations and that it promotes cultural exchanges, fusion of culture, that it simply promotes or creates awareness of host’s culture and that it has been gradually making countries sans boundaries with only natural barriers by creating a feeling of oneness, have all been also discussed by other authors on the subject if one happens to visit the website of the UNESCO on cultural tourism. (unesco. org) and many others. His unique findings are that the ‘over functional culture’, its ‘past’ character and its â€Å" difference† outlook overshadow the real creative character of cultural tourism. He has taken pains to explain all the three in almost four pages out of hardly six, which is an indicator of his serious concern towards Cultural Tourism. His conclusion that cultural tourism results in economic development is indeed true. Man is basically gregarious and therefore cultural tourism with its benefits is unstoppable. The cultural tourists and the hosts are the actors and we are the audience. It means differently to each one of them. If the actors are allowed to have their own way, the inevitable result will be what the author Dr Jim concludes with, that is development. There is no doubt cultural tourism is growing segment of the travel market â€Å"Mass marketing is giving way to one-to-one marketing with travel being tailored to the interests of the individual consumer. A growing number of visitors are becoming special interest travellers who rank the arts, heritage and/or other cultural activities as one of the top five reasons for travelling†(nasaa-arts. org). It has been said that mass tourism has had its detrimental effects but there are advocates for mass tourism for its own benefits. Certain undesirable conflicts of cultures are just harmless side effects and are not to be taken seriously for the sake of larger benefits cultural tourism. On the whole Dr Jim’s contribution in this chapter leaves the reader more informed and makes him act responsibly as an audience whether as a policy maker or whoever, in order to preserve and promote the goodness of cultural tourism markedly different from mass tourism. REFERENCES Butcher, J. (ed) (2001), Innovations in Cultural Tourism, ATLAS, Tilburg http://www. canterbury. ac. uk/business-sciences/sport-science-tourism-and-leisure/staff/dr-jim-butcher. asp accessed on July 12, 2006 http://www. nasaa-arts. org accessed on July 13, 2006 http://portal. unesco. org/culture/en/ev. php-accessed on July 13, 2006

Computer Crime: A Increasing Problem :: essays research papers fc

Computer Crime: A Increasing Problem ABSTRACT Computer crimes seem to be an increasing problem in today's society. The main aspect concerning these offenses is information gained or lost. As our government tries to take control of the information that travels through the digital world, and across networks such as the InterNet, they also seem to be taking away certain rights and privileges that come with these technological advancements. These services open a whole new doorway to communications as we know it. They offer freedom of expression, and at the same time, freedom of privacy in the highest possible form. Can the government reduce computer crimes, and still allow people the right to freedom of expression and privacy? INFORMATION CONTROL IN THE DIGITIZED WORLD In the past decade, computer technology has expanded at an incredibly fast rate, and the information stored on these computers has been increasing even faster. The amount of money, military intelligence, and personal information stored on computers has increased far beyond expectations. Governments, the military, and the economy could not operate without the use of computers. Banks transfer trillions of dollars every day over inter-linking networks, and more than one billion pieces of electronic mail are passed through the world's networks daily. It is the age of the computer network, the largest of which is known as the InterNet. A complex web of communications inter-linking millions of computers together -- and this number is at least doubling every year. The computer was originally designed as a scientific and mathematical tool, to aid in performing intense and precise calculations. However, from the large, sixty square foot ENIAC (Electronical Numerical Integrator and Calculator) of 1946, to the three square foot IBM PC of today, their uses have mutated and expanded far beyond this boundary. Their almost infinite capacity and lightning speed, which is increasing annually, and their low cost, which is decreasing annually, has allowed computers to stabilize at a more personal level, yet retain their position in mathematical and scientific research1 . They are now being used in almost every aspect of life, as we know it, today. The greatest effect of computers on life at this present time seems to be the InterNet. What we know now as the InterNet began in 1969 as a network then named ArpaNet. ArpaNet, under control by the pentagon's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, was first introduced as an answer to a problem concerning the government question of how they would communicate during war. They needed a network with no central authority, unlike those subsequent to this project. A main computer controlling the network would definitely be an immediate target for enemies.

Educating Essex Essay

Dear editor, I am writing to you because I find it impossible to understand why ‘Educating Essex’ represents teenagers in this such way to society today, it only makes an impression of them, that â€Å"all Britain’s teenagers are goby, impolite, spoilt and lacking enough self-discipline to interact with anyone. † This supports stereotypes of modern reckless teens, when in reality â€Å"the majority of Britain’s teenagers are interesting, polite and simply brilliant young people quietly going about the business of creating a bright future for themselves. On ‘Educating Essex’ I have witnessed many negative things that show teenagers in a bad way, such as students walking across a table, pupils on mobile phones, swearing at each other and teachers, cyber-bullying, teenage pregnancy and young girls caked with make-up, even the introduction is very negative towards teenagers. This shows that all teenagers don’t behave in school and do not care about their education and future, but majority of students are not like that, most of them are fun-loving, active and mature for their age. I think the reason for their behaviour are the cameras, as most of them want to show off and think it’s a good idea to play up to them. ‘Educating Essex’ has only focused on the students that badly behave and cause the trouble all the time, but they haven’t showed the good side of teenagers, where they work hard in class, and behave because they are working to achieve the equivalent of five or more GCSE’s at grade A* to C. The programme only creates a fake image of a typical teenager, but certainly they do not act like that, and I know that because I am a student myself, and I’ve never seen this kind of behaviour in my school. I think that the Daily Mail article only focuses on the teachers in ‘Educating Essex’ and mostly points out the bad things teachers say and do. Also how they carry out the lesson, it shows how immature they are when they burst into a class and disturb the lesson just to sing happy birthday. Another teacher is shown; as the students are leaving his class he tells them â€Å"Clear off, scumbags†. In a different scene it shows when Mr Goddard hides behind his door as Mr Drew enters the room, he reaches out his arm around the door to welcome his deputy with a two-fingered gesture, and Mr Drew’s respond is â€Å" You are such a ****er†. In episode two, there is a scene shown of a girl called Carmelita, who accuses the deputy of assaulting her. At first she tells him to â€Å"get lost† and â€Å"shut up†, but in the end she gets excluded when he tells him to â€Å"**** off†. The deputy is cleared after the headtecher watches the CCTVcameras footage. Also the article mentions that â€Å"this sort of behaviour by pupils shouldn’t be allowed and there is extremely childish behaviour by the teachers, who are setting a very bad example for the pupils as they are likely to see the programme† in results of this the teenagers are influenced by what they see on the TV, and think it’s right to behave in this practical way, another influence are the teachers, as they set an example for the students. One more significant reason for child’s behaviour are the parents, because of the way they are bough up, if they have problems at home they will release their anger in school, on students and teachers. But essentially that article did not mention any positive things about teenagers. There were few positive things that I’ve witnessed on ‘Educating Essex’ but not many as I expected to be. I think one of them was when, they showed the students reflecting on what they have done wrong and teachers, because it’s great to hear both sides of the story, also the relationship between the teachers and students which doesn’t happen very often. Additionally how the teachers refused to give up on challenging the pupils, so they have a chance to achieve. But I think the programme should’ve showed more of the satisfactory students who are interesting, polite and clearly brilliant young people trying to achieve, to have a better future. The ‘Observer’ article has also only highlighted the bad points about teenagers, much the same as the ‘Daily Mail’ article. But it makes the reader hate teens, as they call them â€Å"gobby, spaced- out, bizarre† this only shows how selfish they are, and do not care about others. Also they point out how they dress and refer to girls as â€Å"spoiled brats†, and in my opinion they are allowed to do what they want, because it’s their own choice to look like that. I think that the programme doesn’t give a real image of teenagers today because, in my opinion everyone is different, and also because it only concentrated on the bad behaved student where on the other hand there is more students that work really hard on everything, and also contribute in society.