Cold Pastoral By Marina Keegan

Cold Pastoral By Marina Keegan Throughout J.R.R. Tolkiens world renowned blockbuster novel Lord of the Rings, the word ring is mentioned multiple times, however, in Marina Keegans story Cold Pastoral, neither cold nor pastoral appears. Not even once. Pastoral can be a term used to describe the livelihood of shepherds, but in literary terms, it is a lent word to describe the mode of literature which depicts a simple life from its complex content. Similarly, cold can be used to describe the weather or feeling of people, but it can also describe a persons personality as hardhearted, cheerless and cool. The more relevant interpretation of the title together with the story would be the latter of both explanations. The story is about Claire whose boyfriend, Brian, died suddenly and the series of events that followed Brians death. Keegan, the author, through describing Claires uncertainty towards the relationship and the revelation of the reality of the relationship, revealed the cold personality of Claire and her desi re to lead a life that feels pastoral, i.e. a simple life, to highlight the importance of revelations. Commitment to a relationship does not just depend on the passion; in fact, it relies heavily on the confidence of both parties in the relationship. Apparently, Claire is not madly in love with Brian. A lot of time was spent being consciously romanticà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ we might admit à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ I like you ,' are comments made by Claire on their relationship, which hint that Claire is uncertain about her relationship with Brian (1, 2). As we observe in the real world, couples at the early stages of their relationships are, more often than not, infatuated with each other. Due to the feeling of uncertainty, Claire lacks faith in her relationship with Brian, thus she is not fully committed. This accounts for, in part, why Claire does not seem extremely depressed after learning of Brians death. It is this sense of uncertainty that lingers in Claires mind, the reason for why not a lot of people know of their relationship. One of the reasons that Claire does not seem too depressed after Brian, her boyfriend, died is that she is uncertain about the relationship, which resulted in her lack of commitment, whilst her personality, cold, also contributes much to her absence of severe depression. Humans are never emotionless beings, which is why our emotions are affected greatly by the surroundings. The only stark difference between individuals is their ability to contain emotions. People who are less capable of containing their emotions are often regarded as moody or emotive, while those who are more capable are often regarded as cool and composed. Claire is definitely one of the latter ones. After Brians death, Claire surprised [herself] that night by crying alone (2). This revealed that Claire has a composed personality and that she does not express her emotions explicitly that often. As the saying goes, The onlooker sees the best. People involved in incidents are often lost in their thoughts, and it is only through revelations that they reassess and take a clearer view at the situation. Just after Brians death, Claire was preoccupied by a certain degree of sadness and sorrow. Not only once, but many times, did Claire mention her commitment to Brian, this is revealed from her comment à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦Id underestimated how much I liked him (2). As it turns out, her emotions and view to her relationship drastically alters after reading Brians diary. Contrary to her sadness and sorrow, Claire comments that Im actually feeling great and Fuck Brian, I thought now, which reveals that she, rather than feeling upset, is on the one hand angry with Brian, and on the other hand, feeling relieved for realizing this fact sooner instead of later (8). Had Brian not died, she would not have discovered this painful reality and broke away from feeling blue. Brians death, though sorr owful and pitiful, has given Claire a chance to reveal the truth and free herself from the bondage of the relationship. Keegan successfully portrays Claires personality through her response to Brians death, which also reveals her desire for a simple relationship the direct reverse of the relationship she had with Brian. Actions such as being consciously romantic, waiting too long before responding to texts and [Brian and Claire] took a certain pride in our ambiguity are indications that the relationship involved complications (1, 1, 2). As the title Cold Pastoral suggests, Claire is eager to seek a relationship that is simply simple. Claires request is very simple she likes being liked (1). She wanted her partner to simply love her and take care of her. After the revelation through Brians death, she is crystal clear about the kind of relationship that she pursues more than anything Id ever wanted in my life, I wanted him to love me (11). Claire simply cannot resist the opportunity to begin a simple, committed love affair. Apart from the contents of the story, Keegans manipulation of prose and style conveys strong messages about the characters and the plot. When we read the story, the narration affects our judgment greatly. Since this story is a first person narration, we have to be critical about the emotions of the narrator. Throughout the story, the tale was narrated from the perspective of Claire, the main character, and I and We are mainly used as the pronoun for Claire as the narrator (1). In such narration, the contents of the tale are easily influenced by the emotions of the narrator. Claire, whose boyfriend has just died, is with grief and pain, which indicates that she is at times pathetic and hysterical. This suggests that the narration given by Claire may not be as reliable as regular stories due to her fluctuating moods. Keegan, by using first person narration, is trying to place readers in Claires position. By doing so, readers can easily imagine themselves as Claire, which arouses sympat hy for Claires experience. In many peoples view, literary works should be elegant and profound, but plain and raw descriptions can also be powerful in conveying messages. When one reads the story, one is bound to come across many controversial choices of words, such as fuck, shit and penis, which do not normally exist in conventional novels or essays (7, 6, 2). Furthermore, the story includes many lines of dialogue and often comes with short and incomplete sentences, such as I just need time to myself toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and I know she waits before responding which isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (6, 7). The expressions, straightforward and natural, which are intentionally deployed by Keegan, can fully reveal Claires feelings and the thoughts going through her troubled mind. Since this story is about the events that happened to Claire, this writing style allows readers to have a more in-depth understanding of Claires plight, thus arousing echoes of the idea of revelation. Keegan kept the story compact, which creates a fast pace for the story, to suit the short time-span of the occurrence of events. The events in the story happened within a very limited time-span, despite the complex nature of the story. If all the ideas were explained in details, the story would have a very slow pace, which does not match with the swift happening of events. To achieve fast pacing for the story, Keegan kept the paragraphs of the text relatively short, while ideas within these paragraphs are at times incomplete, such as I just need time to myself toà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ and I know she waits before responding which isà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (6, 7). From the examples, Keegan is providing a very vague image of Claire and a brief lead in of her thoughts. Contrary from giving the whole story, these short fragments allow readers to conceive the situation of Claire slowly but gradually. This allows Keegan to both keep the story concise yet providing sufficient vital information for readers to interpret the setting of the story and make a great impact on the minds of readers through their imagination. In the story, Keegan deliberately arranged the events in a non-chronological order, which enables readers to think in the minds of Claire. Events of stories are often in chronological order, which enables the reader to easily understand the contents of the story. However, in Cold Pastoral, the events, rather than in chronological order, are following Claires free flow of thought. In the beginning of the story, Claire mentions her relationship with Brian and Brians sudden death (2). After the breaking line, the focus turns to her interaction with her friends (2). After the second breaking line, Claire expresses her views on Lauren, Brians ex-girlfriend (2). Furthermore, after the third breaking line, the narration mentions Claires visit to Brians family (3). If the story is to be in chronological order, Claires comments on Lauren should be excluded from the context. Keegan, intentionally inserts this scene in such a way to reveal the thoughts in Claires mind. The illogical ordering of events provides readers with an in-depth understanding of Claires thoughts, and also allows readers to comprehend the mindset of Claire fragmented thoughts and troubled with disarray. Revelation is ubiquitous, but we often underestimate its effects. People need revelation, and then they need resolution, Damian Lewis once said (Lewis). Just like in Cold Pastoral, Claire, who believed that her relationship with her boyfriend Brian was perfect, realizes that she is actually not as dedicated as she believed to the relationship as well as Brian. We need not evade revelations, for revelation does more good than harm. In fact, revelation not only provides us information about the facts, but also provides a chance for us to step back and reassess our stances. The omnipresence of revelation is bound to amaze those who neglect it. Revelation can be as significant as the death of a person, as shown from the example in the story Cold Pastoral, or it can be as minute as receiving a marked quiz script at school. Events, which one may or may not notice, can often be regarded as revelations, as long as they allow one to introspect. The story, Cold Pastoral, not only successfully portrays Claire, the heroine, but also provokes the minds of readers to face revelations squarely.

Assessment of a Study of Transformational Leadership Essay -- social i

Assessment of a study of the relationship between transformational leadership, empowerment and organizational commitment Introduction and Purpose of Study The implications of transformational leadership on a firm’s employees and the success of the firm overall are areas of ongoing research according to Ismail, Mohamed, Sulaiman, Mohamad, and Yusuf (2011). The authors make the case that in a changing global environment transformational leadership styles, rather than transactional styles, are a means organizations are using to meet their strategies (p. 90). They argue previous research suggests that some aspects of transformational leadership, such as empowerment, may motivate the followers to unite, change their own goals, and even look beyond their own self-interest to achieve the organization’s interest (p. 90). Thus, the use of a transformational style may impact employee outcomes, especially organizational commitment resulting in increased organizational performance. According to Ismail et al. (2011, p. 91), despite studies showing this important relationship, there is insufficient explanation of how and why transf ormational leadership affects organizational commitment. Their study begins to address the shortfall by studying the mediating effects of empowerment on the relationship between the variables Transformational Leadership and Organizational Commitment. The assessment presented here focuses on the sampling methodologies used by the authors and argues that potential weaknesses in the methodologies limits the conclusions to something less than that which is presented by Ismail et al. (2011, pp. 100-101). This paper will have three following sections. First, there is a methods section to discuss the author... ... approaches rely on random sampling to draw inferences. As the sample drawn from the population becomes less random, the results become skewed, and conclusions become limited and should be viewed with skepticism. Thus, the results reported by Ismail et al. (2011) must be viewed with skepticism. References Burns, R. B., & Burns, R. A. (2008). Business research methods and statistics using SPSS. London: Sage Publications Ltd. Girden, E. R., & Kabacoff, R. I. (2011). Evaluating research articles: From start to finish (3rd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications. Ismail, A., Mohamed, H. A., Sulaiman, A. Z., Mohamad, M. H., & Yusuf, M. H. (2011). An empirical study of the relationship between transformational leadership, empowerment and organizational commitment. Business & Economics Research Journal, 2(1), 89-106. Retrieved from http://www.berjournal.com

A Sad Love Story

A sad Love Story.. A boy proposed his girlfriend for marriage, Girl: Tell me.. Who do you love most in this world? Boy: You, of course ! Girl: What am I to you? Boy: The boy thought for a moment and looked intently in her eyes and said â€Å"u r missing part of my heart † She smiled, and she accepted his proposal. ::  ¦ ::  ¦ : :  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦ After their wedding , the couple had a sweet and happy life for a while . However ,the youthful couple began to drift apart due to the busy schedule of life and the never-ending worries of aily problems and soon after their life became difficult . ::  ¦ ::  ¦ : :  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦::  ¦ : : All the challenges posed by the harsh realities of life began to drift away their dreams and love for each other . .. The couple began to have more quarrels and each quarrel became make their relation more worst. One day , after the quarrel , the girl ran out of the house.. ..At the opposite side of the road , she shouted,† You don' t love me †¦ !† The boy hated her childishness and out of impulse, said ,†May be, it was a mistake for us to e together ..! You were never da missing part of my  ¦ †¦ !† Suddenly, she turned quiet and stood there for a long while .. .. He regretted what he said but wordsspoken cant be taken back. With tears in her eyes, she went home to pack her things and Before leaving the house,she left a note for him: â€Å"If I ‘m really not da missing part of ur  ¦, let me go.. n search for sum 1 whu is. .. It is less painful thisway†¦ let us go on our separate ways and search for our own partners .. .† ::  ¦ ::  ¦ : :  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦ ::  ¦::  ¦ : : Five years went by. .. He never remarried but he had tried to find out about her life indirectly .. †¦ . She had left the country and was living her dreams. He use to regret on what he did but never tried to bring her back. . In the dark and l onely night , he lit his cigarette and felt the lingering ache in his heart. He couldn' t bring himself to admit that he was missing her . †¦. One day , they finally met†¦ . At the airport , He was going away on a business trip . He saw her, She was standing there alone, with just the security door separating them.She smiled at him gently . Boy: How are you ? Girl: I' m fine. How about you.. . Have you found your heart ‘ s missing part.. .? Boy: No . Girl: I' ll be flying to New York in the next flight . Boy: I ‘ll be back in 2 weeks time . Give me a call when you are back †¦ You know my number †¦ . Nothing has changed . With a smile , she turned around and waved good- bye .. â€Å"Good-bye . . . † Same evening he heard of a plane crash which was headed to New York . He tried to know about her and found that,She died . Midnight. †¦ Once again , he lit his cigarette. †¦ . And like before, he felt the lingering ache in his heart. †¦ He finally knew , she was that missing part that he had carelessly broken . . . Sometimes, people say things out of moments of fury†¦ .. We take outour 99% frustrations at our loved ones. †¦ And even though we knowthat we ought to†think twice and act wisely†, we actually dont do it. Things happen each day , many of which are beyond our control . Try not to hurt ur loved once, bcz amoment of anger cud b a lifetym punishment †¦ u

The Civil War Siege of Vicksburg

The Civil War Siege of Vicksburg The siege of Vicksburg on July 4, 1863, was a significant battle of the United States Civil War, and the culmination of one of the most brilliant military campaigns of the war. Vicksburg was a fortress with a massive artillery located on a sharp bend in the Mississippi River. Known as the Gibraltar of the Confederacy, Vicksburg controlled movement and trade along the Mississippi and linked Texas and Louisiana to the rest of the Confederacy. It was the second largest city in Mississippi after Natchez, with an economy based on cotton and riverboat trade and transportation. The 1860 census reports that Vicksburg had a population of 4,591 people, including 3,158 whites, 31 free blacks, and 1,402 slaves. Failed Attempts, and a Plan The north early recognized Vicksburg as a pivotal point, and the first northern siege of the city was attempted in summer 1862 by Admiral David Farragut. General ​Ulysses S. Grant tried again in the winter of 1862-1863, and after two more unsuccessful assaults in May of 1863, Grant began to plan a long-term strategy. To take the fort, there needed to be weeks of bombardment and isolation of Vicksburg from its sources of food, ammunition, and soldiers. Federal forces held the Mississippi River, and as long as the Union forces held their position, the encircled Confederates led by Major Maurice Kavanaugh Simons and the Second Texas Infantry faced decreasing resources. Assembled Union forces began making their way south to Vicksburg during the summer of 1863, masked by occasional forays by gunboats shelling random targets and cavalry raids. By June many of Vicksburgs residents hid in underground caves, and all the people and soldiers were on short rations. The Vicksburg press reported that there would soon be forces coming to their rescue, but General John C. Pemberton who was in charge of Vicksburgs defense knew better and began to scale down expectations. Progress, and a Literary Reference Intermittent shelling from the river increased and intensified during the first week of July, and Vicksburg fell on the fourth. Troops marched in and the stronghold with 30,000 men was ceded to the Union. The battle had 19,233 casualties of which 10,142 were Union soldiers, but the control of Vicksburg meant that the Union commanded traffic on the Mississippi Rivers southern reaches. With the loss of Pemberton’s army and this vital stronghold on the Mississippi, the Confederacy was effectively split in half. Grants successes in the West boosted his reputation, leading ultimately to his appointment as General-in-Chief of the Union armies. Mark Twain and Vicksburg Twenty years later, American satirist Mark Twain used the siege of Vicksburg to craft his Battle of the Sand-Belt in A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court. According to Mark Twain aficionado and science fiction writer Scott Dalrymple, Grant is represented in the novel by its hero, Boss Hank Morgan. Like reports of the Siege of Vicksburg, the Battle of the Sand-Belt is, says Dalrymple, a relentlessly realistic portrayal of war, a clash between a chivalric, slave-owning, agrarian society and a modern, technologically advanced republic led by a general-president. Sources Braudaway DL. 2001. A Texan Records the Civil War Siege of Vicksburg, Mississippi: The Journal of Maj. Maurice Kavanaugh Simons, 1863. The Southwestern Historical Quarterly 105(1):92-131.Dalrymple S. 1996. Just War, Pure and Simple: A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthurs Court and the American Civil War. American Literary Realism, 1870-1910 29(1):1-11.Henry G, and Simms LM. 1967. A Louisiana Engineer at the Siege of Vicksburg: Letters of Henry Ginder. Louisiana History: The Journal of the Louisiana Historical Association 8(4):371-378.Osborn GC. 1955. A Tennessean at the Siege of Vicksburg: The Diary of Samuel Alexander Ramsey Swan, May-July, 1863. Tennessee Historical Quarterly 14(4):353-372.

Quotes from Dracula, Bram Stokers Horror Classic

Quotes from 'Dracula,' Bram Stoker's Horror Classic Bram Stokers Dracula is a classic vampire tale. First published in 1897, the novel was influenced by a history of vampire myths and stories, but Stoker shaped all those fragmented tales to create a literary legend (that was just the start of what we know and understand about vampires in current literature). Even though stories like Polidoris The Vampire and Le Fanus Carmilla already existed at the time when Dracula was first published, Stokers noveland his literary imaginationhelped to spawn a new dimension in horror literature. Here are a few quotes from Bram Stokers Dracula. Quotes from Dracula I read that every known superstition in the world is gathered into the horseshoe of the Carpathians, as if it were the centre of some sort of imaginative whirlpool; if so my stay may be very interesting.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 1, Dracula Notes: The novel is written in the style of a journal, written by Jonathan Harker. Already, the author is playing upon preconceptions and superstitions, and leading us to expect something interesting, although what that might mean is not immediately clear. How does superstition figure into our perception (and fear) of vampires? Was this a customary incident in the life of a solicitors clerk sent out to explain the purchase of a London estate to a foreigner?- Bram Stoker, Chapter 2, Dracula Notes: Jonathan Harker is an everyman, a simple clerk who goes out to do a job and finds himself in the midst of a very-unexpected experienceforeign to his understanding. Hes a stranger in a strange land. As the Count leaned over me and his hands touched me... a horrible feeling of nausea came over me, which, do what I would, I could not conceal.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 2, DraculaWhen the Count saw my face, his eyes blazed with a sort of demonaic fury, and he suddenly made a grab at my throat. I drew away, and his hand touched the string of beads which held the crucifix. It made an instant change in him, for the fury passed so quickly that I could hardly believe that it was ever there.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 2, DraculaThe fair girl went on her knees and bent over me, fairly gloating. There was a deliberate voluptuousness which was both thrilling and repulsive, and as she arched her neck she actually licked her lips like an animal... I could feel the soft, shivering touch of the lips on the super-sensitive skin of my throat, and the hard dents of two sharp teeth, just touching and pausing there.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 3, DraculaI bent over him, and tried to find any sign of life, but in va in.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 4, Dracula But, oh, Mina, I love him; I love him; I love him!- Bram Stoker, Chapter 5, DraculaOh Lucy, I cannot be angry with you, nor can I be angry with my friend whose happiness is yours; but I must only wait on hopeless and work. Work! work!- Bram Stoker, Chapter 6, DraculaThe man was simply fastened by his hands, tied one over the other, to a spoke of the wheel. Between the inner hand and the wood was a crucifix.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 7, Draculaa man, tall and thin, and ghastly pale... I crept behind It, and gave It my knife; but the knife went through It, empty as the air.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 7, Draculathere, on our favourite seat, the silver light of the moon struck a half-reclining figure, snowy white... something dark stood behind the seat where the white figure shone, and bent over it. What it was, whether man or beast, I could not tell.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 8, DraculaBetween me and the moonlight flitted a great bat, coming and going in great, whirling circles.- Bram Stoker, Chapte r 8, Dracula I dont want to talk to you: you dont count now; the Master is at hand.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 8, DraculaI am here to do Your bidding, Master. I am Your slave...- Bram Stoker, Chapter 8, Draculait will be for her sake, and I must not hesitate to ask, or you to act.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 9, DraculaAll over! all over! He has deserted me.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 9, DraculaThe whole bed would have been drenched to a scarlet with the blood the girl must have lost...- Bram Stoker, Chapter 10, DraculaNo man knows till he experiences it, what it is like to feel his own life-blood drawn away into the woman he loves.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 10, DraculaThe blood is the life!- Bram Stoker, Chapter 11, DraculaIf that were all, I would stop here where we are now, and let her fade away into peace...- Bram Stoker, Chapter 12, DraculaNot so! Alas! Not so. It is only the beginning!- Bram Stoker, Chapter 12, DraculaHe was very pale, and his eyes seemed bulging out as, half in terror and half in amazement, he gazed at a tall, thin man, with a beaky nose and black moustache and pointed beard...- Bram Stoker, Chapter 13, Dracula Mein Gott! Mein Gott! So soon! So soon!- Bram Stoker, Chapter 14, DraculaThey were made by Miss Lucy!- Bram Stoker, Chapter 14, DraculaIn trance she died, and in trance she is Un-Dead, too... There is no malign there, see, and so it make it hard that I must kill her in her sleep.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 15, DraculaI shall cut off her head and fill her mouth with garlic, and I shall drive a stake through her body.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 15, DraculaThe sweetness was turned to adamantine, heartless cruelty, and the purity to voluptuous wantonness.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 16, Dracula Study Guide Dracula ReviewDracula QuotesQuestions for Study and Discussion Here are a few more quotations from Bram Stokers Dracula. You will, I trust, Dr. Seward, do me the justice to bear in mind, later on, that I did what I could to convince you to-night.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 18, DraculaWith his left hand he held both Mrs Harkers hands, keeping them away with her arms at full tension; his right hand gripped her by the back of the neck, forcing her face down on his bosom. Her white nightdress was smeared with blood, and a thin stream trickled down the mans bare breast, which was shown by his torn open dress.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 21, DraculaAs he placed the Wafer on Minas forehead, it had seared it - had burned into the flesh as though it had been a piece of white hot metal.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 22, DraculaMy revenge has just begun! I spread it over centuries and time is on my side.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 23, Draculayou are but mortal woman. Time is now to be dreaded - since once he put that mark upon your throat.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 23, DraculaI on my part give up the uncertainty of eternal rest and go out i nto the dark where may be the blackest things that the world or the nether world holds!- Bram Stoker, Chapter 25, Dracula As I looked, the eyes saw the sinking sun, and the look of hate in them [the gypsies] turned to triumph. But, on the instant, came the sweep and flash of Jonathans great knife. I shrieked as I saw it shear through the throat; whilst at the same moment Mr Morriss bowie knife plunged in the heart.- Bram Stoker, Chapter 27, DraculaNow God be thanked that all has not been in vain! See! the snow is not more stainless than her forehead! The curse has passed away!- Bram Stoker, Chapter 27, Dracula Study Guide Dracula ReviewDracula QuotesDracula NovelQuestions for Study and Discussion

Proposal assignment Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Proposal assignment - Essay Example The Arctic Ocean is covered with ice and is surrounded by treeless permafrost. The sea ice in the arctic has declined very much in recent years. ` The recording of extent of ice in arctic began in 1953. Since then, the extent of the summer sea ice has been declining. The extent of ice was the lowest in 2007, the second lowest in 2008, and the third lowest in 2010. Currently, the snow cover in the Arctic is present for about 200 days per year. A decrease in the duration of the snow season results in increased warming. Between 1970 and 2000, there was a decrease in duration of the snow season by approximately 2.5 days per decade. From the commercial point of view, it is a new opportunity as exploration of the arctic has become easy now. Estimates show that Arctic can contain about 20 per cent of world's reserves of hydrocarbons. Most of these resources happen to be in the Russian part of the arctic. New trade routes linking the Atlantic and the Pacific via arctic instead of Panama Cana l has become a possibility now. So, there began a geopolitical competition in the region to gain control over transport routes and natural resources. All these have increased the strategic importance of arctic region. Countries bordering arctic are also in the process of preparing territorial claims for submission to the Commission on the Limits of Continental Shelf. Russia claims a large portion of arctic. The Arctic is highly vulnerable to the effects of global warming. There is greater warming in the Arctic than global average. Because of this, there are concerns that the melting of ice in Arctic could result in rise in sea levels. The current Arctic ice melt might also lead to Arctic methane release. Large amount of methane is stored in the permafrost. Methane is a greenhouse gas and is more dangerous than carbon dioxide. Scientists are not sure whether this is natural cycle or manmade. Apart from concerns regarding the negative impact of warming in the Arctic, some potential op portunities have come up. Since the middle ages, world’s maritime powers looked for a shorter route between Atlantic and Asia. The melting of ice opens up the possibility of two trans arctic routes- The Northern Sea route and the Northwest passage. The new routes will reduce distances between Europe and Asia. It will also provide strategic alternatives to other countries such as Japan. At present Japan is dependent on the Strait of Malacca for transporting energy. The Northern Sea route (North East Passage) is along Russia’s northern border from Murmansk to Provideniya. It is about 2600 nautical miles in length. The Northern Sea Route, the shortest shipping lane from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, links European Russia with Russia’s Far East. The Northern Sea Route over Eurasia is important since it shortens shipping routes between northern Europe and north-east Asia by 40 per cent .The Northwest Passage is through Canadian arctic islands. It consists of several potential routes. The US Geological Survey report of 2008 says that the extensive arctic continental shelf may constitute the geographically largest unexplored prospective area for petroleum remaining on earth. It estimates 90 billion barrels of oil and 1700trillion cubic feet of natural gas remain to be discovered. Such reports have led to recent international debates as to

Perception of Professional Sign Language Interpretation in Saudi Research Proposal

Perception of Professional Sign Language Interpretation in Saudi Arabia - Research Proposal Example This research will begin with the statement that sign language is true and natural language that has existed and develop it in the deaf community. It is the primary language of many individuals who are deaf, such as American Sign Language (ASL), Saudi Sign Language (ASL). The Swiss-German Sign Language (DSGS) was created to strengthen the use of sign language among the German-hearing individuals in Switzerland. In different situations, almost all of the sign language interpreters will have to deal with students or individuals who are deaf. In the process of completing the ASL program in the United States or training programs of DSGS in Switzerland, sign language interpreters can have the necessary qualifications, knowledge and skills needed to become a qualified sign language interpreter within the educational or non-educational settings. As of 2014, the total population in Saudi Arabia has reached 30.62 million. A total of 247,217 individuals within the Arab-region were reported hav ing hearing loss. In Saudi Arabia alone, approximately 100,000 individuals are deaf. Established in 2000, the Association for Hearing Impaired supports the use of sign language in Saudi Arabia. In fact, the Saudi Association of Hearing Impairment came up with a Saudi sign language dictionary to support the learning and teaching experience of students and teachers of Saudi sign language. Which it is encouraging to make a good communication between the deaf and hearing individuals, and find people interested in sign language interpretation in Saudi Arabia.