New Way To Spend A Holiday :: essays research papers

An experience in life that forces you to grow up and to take on responsibility, can only be rewarding and uplifting in the future. When you look back at all you came thru and the courage that possesed you at that most trying time. I only have one moment that really sticks out in my mind. Christmas on 1997 my family and I went to The Banquet which is a local food provider for the less fortunate in Sioux Falls. Being thrilled about this certain project my mom decided we should do was not quiet my attitude. I didn't want to spend Christmas in a dusty old high school serving food to people. Why could we just be normal and stay home with family. But despite all my protest it was set and we were going. For volunteers your day starts rather early we were to report to Thomas Jefferson Middle school by 10:00 A.M. sharp. As the thoughts ran thru my mind of what to expect when we got there. I started to make up the crazy ideas that we would get there and all around us would be these drugged out, filthy, and uncivilized people. People who choose not to try or to make a difference with there lives. People who were happy taking handouts and living on the street not wanting to change anything. We pulled up into the parking lot and the first thing i saw was 3 other guys my age. Not all that bad looking either. So I'm beginning to think maybe the day won't be so bad after all. A tall, broad, and boisterous woman walked up and introduced herself to my family and told us how happy she was to have us here. I quickly began to feel a little more at ease when i saw the rest of the volunteers. We walked into the building and into the gym. My mouth dropped there must have been 50 long cafeteria tables in their if not more. We quickly were each given a different set of jobs to do. My mom helped with the decorating of the tables. My little brother well I'm not sure exactly what he did but there was a lot of hammering. I went with two other ladies onto the stage of the gym where there were hundreds and hundreds of toys. Our job was to sort them out into gender and age groups.

Islam Essay -- essays research papers

the Islamic Congress's president, Mohamed Elmasry. Mr. Elmasry said there are bad Muslims just as there are bad Christians and Jews. "We treat them as such and so should you. But Islam is a religion of peace. Muslims have a religious duty to be tolerant of other faiths and other ideologies.'' Mr. Elmasry said journalists need to differentiate between the peaceful teachings of Islam and the claims of some Muslim extremists that their actions are justified by their interpretations of Islam. He likened the situation of Canadian Muslims today to that of Canadian Jews 50 years ago. "Jewish children were being (wrongly) called Christ-killers just as Muslim children are called terrorists today.'' In their letter to the editor in the April 27 issue of the College Hill Independent, Jumana Musa and Shadi Nahvi made some excellent points. They rightly asserted that the Western press tends to portray Arabs and Muslims according to stereotypes and these myths persist partly due to West ern popular ignorance about Arabs and Muslims. Since the Muslims students at Brown condemned the bombing of a Tel Aviv bus last year, I am learning to separate the handful of Muslim and Arab extremists who commit terrorist attacks against Israeli and Jewish civilians from the millions of Muslim believers who do not participate in this violence and sometimes express opposition to it. Since I began interacting with Muslims students through the kosher/hallal meal plan this year, I am changing my perceptions of Muslims and seeing them as people instead of abstractions. I think that many, many people in the United States and in western countries, in Europe, are afraid of a monster called Islam. And as the honorable Congressman Dana Rohrabacher said, it is an insult to consider the whole of Muslims, to take them into one side, and make them extremists. Really it is not correct. It is a little bit insulting. What is the definition of extremism? We can see in all of history: even when the f irst settlers came to the United States they were from different countries; Spain, England, France, European Countries. They were fighting on this land and fighting with the Indians. Do we call this extremism? A fight for a better living, which you understand you are doing not for a religious motive, is not extremism. Extremism in Islam, or in religion, is when you use religion to label intolerance, to... ... in the whole world. The US today as a result of the arrogant atmosphere has set a double standard, calling whoever goes against its injustice a terrorist. It wants to occupy our countries, steal our resources, impose on us agents to rule us based not on what God has revealed and wants us to agree on all these. If we refuse to do so, it will say you are terrorists. The US does not consider it a terrorist act to throw atomic bombs at nations thousands of miles away, when it would not be possible for those bombs to hit military troops only. The US does not consider it terrorism when hundreds of thousands of our sons and brothers in Iraq died for lack of food or medicine. It is known that every action has its reaction. If the American presence continues, and that is an action, then it is natural for reactions to continue against this presence. In other words, explosions and killings of the American soldiers would continue. A man with human feelings in his heart does not distinguish between a child killed in Palestine or in Lebanon, in Iraq or in Bosnia. So how can we believe your claims that you came to save our children in Somalia while you kill our children in all of those places?

Building construction for fire protection

Statistics indicate that about two hundred individuals die every year as a result of explosions and accidents in the workplace. Additionally, these same accidents injure about five thousand workers in the workplace. Businesses can spend as much as five billion dollars on fire related accidents. This shocking statistics is actually an indication of what all business in the US spent on rectifying these accidents in the year 1999. The means of egress standards are a code of practice that are designed to ensure maximum [protection in case of fire emergencies in buildings.The standards were based on the National Fire Protection Authority (NFPA 101). The means of egress can be found in the NFPA 101 in the subsection E part. 3 parts of the means of egress The means of the egress are a pathway from a building to a public area. This pathway must be continuous in nature. In encompasses three main sections that include; †¢ The route of exit access †¢ The exit itself †¢ A way of e xit discharge It should be noted that all structures and buildings designed to host human beings must have a means of egress.The main purpose and principle behind these rules is to ensure that there are fewer instances of danger to the worker or the occupant in the case of a fire. The means of egress also protect occupants from the resulting fumes or smoke that emanate from the fire and they also ensure safety as result of panic from the occurrence of the fire. It should be noted that three means of egress only apply to protection and has nothing to do with property protection. There are a total of seven requirements that buildings must conform to in relation to the latter 3 sections.First of all, buildings should be positioned such that all the exits facilitate free movement. Additionally, the means of egress must not obstructed by any materials, persons and activities for that matter. The egress must be a key component in all parts of the building and must allow occupation at all times. The second aspect about these three main components of egress is insurance of visibility. Buildings should be arranged in such a way that the routes to all exits are conspicuously located. The third aspect refers to the lighting aspect. Buildings should be such that they provide adequate illumination at all the exit areas.The fourth requirement is about fire alarms. The means of egress standards require that fire alarms be put in place in order to warn their occupants of the fire. This ought to occur in the event that the fire in itself does not provide adequate warning to the residents of the facility. The fifth requirement is in regard to how the exit routes are arranged. In the event that one means of egress is blocked by the resulting smoke or fire, then buildings ought to have two means of egress. These means of egress should not be adjacent to one another as these will beat the whole purpose of the contingency plan.The two means of egress should be located as a far way from each other or as far as the building design can allow. Additionally, constructions ought to be done in such a way that one means of egress does not block the other. This means that when fire blocks one route, then the other should be easily accessible to the building’s occupants. The sixth egress requirement refers to means of safety during building construction. Employees ought to be protected during the construction process by denying them access into the building until all the aggress means have been installed into the building and they can be utilized.In the event that a building has to be modified or reconstructed, then all the exit routes must be usable and available in case of a fire emergency. If this is not possible, then the constructors must provide resident occupants with an alternative route. The sixth requirement also protects constructors themselves; it requires that there should be no flammable substances or explosive substances introduced into the buildi ng when there are some occupants within. There should be fire permits, hot zones and fire watch precautions whenever a construction is ongoing.The last egress requirement is in relation to the maintenance practices of the occupants. Buildings should always have continuous and unobstructed egress. Structures should always have the following facilities in place in order to maintain safety. These facilities must be working well at all times and occupants should avoid giving themselves a false sense of security; †¢ Fire equipment †¢ Fire doors †¢ Exit lighting †¢ Alarm systems †¢ Fire detectors †¢ Automatic sprinklers Egress designThere are a number of unique egress components that building designs should adhere to. In this case, egress routes should be constructed using materials that are fire rated. Additionally, the egress building materials should be protected from all other parts of the building. In case a building has a one to three stories, then its egress must be made up of one hour fire resistant material. In case a building will be made up of four stories or more, then it must have two-hour-rated egress material. Additionally, the fire doors making up the egress must be self-closingAfter conforming to the material specifications, egress designs should fall within the following dimensions; the width of the egress is largely determined by the angle of inclination of the egress itself. All egress routes must have a minimum of thirty degrees elevation. This angle applies to all the sections that make up the egress system. During construction, the egress’ width should not be limited by any nearby doors. Additionally, exit doors should open in the direction of the exit direction.The means of egress should also be designed in such a way that it can accommodate occupant load where the latter term refers to the sum of persons in a particular building at any given time. Means of egress should also incorporate the Floor area to occupant load factor (OLF) ratio. For instance, if the occupant load factor within a building is ten square feet per person and if the floor area is four hundred and fifty square feet, then the occupant load is forty-five people. Means of egress should be designed such that there are two means of exist at each location.Additionally, they should be placed far away from one another. Building designs should be made in such a way that the storage rooms, lockable rooms and bathrooms are nowhere near the means of egress. The means of egress should also not be placed in an area that requires passage near a hazardous area. Exits must be made as accessible as possible this means that there should be a good arrangement on where the exit is. Additionally, there must be no mirrors or hanging drapes at the exit routes. The exterior section of the egress must be arranged in such a manner that there is a roof if it is likely to snow or rain in that area.Also, there should be no obstructions at the exterior egress. They should be made up of solid floors which are smooth in nature. The exterior egress should also have some guards on its sides; these sides should be left undisclosed. The exit discharge itself should be constructed in such a way that it gives access to a safe public area. These may include a court, yard or the street. The discharge are must be constructed in such a way that its width is adequate enough to accommodate occupants. Additionally, if there are any stairs there, they must give a direction to the streets very clearly.The egress headroom should have a minimum projection of six feet nine inches and a minimum height of seven feet six inches. A ramp or a staircase should negotiate any changes to the egress elevation. The egress must be maintained constantly through adequate checks. In this regard, the doors ramps, stairs passages must be reliable. There should be no gaps in the stairs and care must be taken to ensure that the concrete does not crumble. Occu pants should avoid placing decorations near the egress. Additionally, there should be no furniture or explosive material in the egress.Additionally, occupants must endeavor to conduct frequent inspections and tests of the sprinkler systems in the egress. All exits must be marked using colors, sizes and designs that can be easily read by observers. The ones indicating exist must contrast with existing backgrounds or interior finishes. Care must be taken to ensure that the signs have not been covered in any way or that they are no other signs near the exit sign itself. Illumination should be reliable enough in that the total level should not be less than the amount of light emanated by five candles.It is better to use internally illuminated exit signs. Exit signs must have the word ‘exit’ indicated. They must be six inches long (or more). They must not be less three quarters of an inch. Evolution of fire code history and current functions related to this In the past means of egress have been designed depending on just a few requirements. Most of the time, they used to relate to the nature of occupancy within the building. However, with time the means of egress began incorporating other aspects such as the number of persons exposed to the fire, the nature of fire protection preparations.Additionally, its design also incorporates other issues such as the nature of the building construction and how tall the specific building is. Elements of code administration, inspection practices and appeals process in code enforcement The means of egress provisions are found either in the International Building Code or the Uniform Building Code. The latter two codes are somewhat similar in nature and they provide the ways of administering these means of egress. In the Uniform Building Code the exit discharge consists of the balconies and exit staircase.However, the International Building Codes considers the exterior balconies as the exit access. On the other hand, t his code defines the exterior stairways as part of the exit. It should also be noted that both of these codes describe the means of egress in a similar format. However, the major difference comes about in the manner of arrangement. The International Building Code has more sections than the Uniform Building Code. Additionally, three is a provision for guards in the IBC. However, the same cannot be said of the UBC. ConclusionA means of egress is a pathway that facilities the safe exit of occupants from a building and does not encompass property safety. The Code gives specifications on the most appropriate material for an agrees, its dimensions and the other features that must be incorporated to make it safe and usable. Some of these features include the sign and the exit discharge. The Code also gives direction about maintenance practices of the egress. In this case, the egress must be well illuminated at all times, it must not be obstructed and fire response facilities such as alarms must be working in proper order.This goes along way in eliminating a false sense of security within the premises. References City of Seattle (2008): Means of Egress, retrieved from http://www. seattle. gov/dpd/static/1egress_LatestReleased_DPD_001932. pdf accessed on 12th July 2008 U. S. Department of Labor (2008): Occupational Safety & Health Administration, retrieved from http://www. osha. gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp. show_document? p_table=FEDERAL_REGISTER&p_id=13576 accessed on 12th July 2008 McMahon, D. (2008a): Means of Egress and Emergency Plans, retrieved from, http://www.ihs. gov/NonMedicalPrograms/IEH/documents/presentations/egress. ppt. accessed on 12th July 2008 OSHA (2007a): Means of Egress and Fire Protection, http://www. rrcc. edu/rmec/OSHAoutreach/10hr_gi/lessonplans/egressfireprotection. pdf. accessed on 12th July 2008 OSHA (2007b): How to Prepare for Workplace Emergencies, retrieved from http://www. osha-slc. gov/OshDoc/Additional. html accessed on 12th July 2008 OSHA (2008b)Fire Safety Advisor, retrieved from http://www. osha-slc. gov/dts/osta/oshasoft/softfirex. html accessed on 12th July 2008

Opinion of Christopher Columbus

Opinions of Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus has always been revered as the man who discovered America, but as people look back over time, other ideas of Columbus have formed. Did he actually discover America? Or did he just encounter it? As other Native Americans had already been living in America, who were soon colonized/conquered, it is hard to say whether or not Columbus was a legendary man. Christopher Columbus, in all respect, did change the course of history greatly, the only question is whether or not he should honored or scorned for it.In 1492, Columbus happened upon the Americas. Columbus believed these people, the Native Americans, easily conquerable, and showed that. He did a number of injustices to the Native American people, women and children included. He also believed them to have no religion of their own, and tried to force christianity upon the Native Americans. Although Columbus was the first major sailor to reach the Americas, his actions did not represen t an honorable man.Although, at this time, Columbus had made a great change affecting the course of history. The Americas had been largely cut off from the rest of the world, and Columbus' interactions with the Native Americans had opened the Americas to trade thereout. It is arguable that the Americas would have been exposed to the rest of the world at some time, but Columbus had been the first. He, essentially, was the man who had the idea to sail west and created that to be a reality.Yet his actions were not the best, he did have the first major encounter in the Americas. I believe Columbus should be respected as the man who did have the first effective encounter in the Americas, though not honored. He had committed great sins against the Native Americans, and should not be considered a hero. Heroes have ethic morals they follow before and after they had made their accomplishments. Columbus did not show this. Columbus was a navigator who had happened to, instead of Asia, come acr oss a continent unknown to the world.

Mumtaz Mahal

Arjumand Banu Begum  (also called  Mumtaz Mahal) was the third  wife  of  Shah Jahan. Mumtaz Mahal (meaning ‘Jewel  of the  palace') was the  nickname  her husband gave to her. Mumtaz Mahal was born in  April  1593  in  Agra, India. Her father was the  Persian  noble  Abdul Hasan Asaf Khan, the brother of  Nur Jahan. Mumtaz was a  Muslim  and fell in love with and married her cousin,  Shah Jahan, later to be the Mughal emperor on  May 10,  1612  at the age of 19. She was his third wife, and became his favorite. Shah Jahan and Mumtaz Mahal were married for 19 years. They had thirteen children together. Seven of the children died at birth or at a very young age. Mumtaz travelled with Shah Jahan and his army as he carried out  military campaigns. Mumtaz Mahal supported Shah Jahan and they respected each other very much. Mumtaz Mahal died on  June 17,  1631  in Burhanpur in the Deccan (now in  Madhya Pradesh) during the birth of their fourteenth child, a daughter named Gauhara Begum. She had been with her husband as he was fighting a campaign in the Deccan Plateau. Her body was kept at Burhanpur in a walled pleasure garden known as Zainabad. A popular story says that on her deathbed, her last wish to the emperor was for a  symbol  or a  monument  to their love. She also asked her husband not to marry anyone else. The emperor promised immediately. Her body was buried in the  Taj Mahal  in Agra. After she died, Shah Jahan went into  mourning  for a year. When he appeared again, his hair had turned white, his back was bent, and his face worn. Jahan's eldest daughter, Jahanara Begum, slowly brought him out of mourning and took the place of Mumtaz at court.

An Effective Classroom Teacher Essay

I believe that with being a teacher comes great responsibility. A teacher will leave a lasting impression on their pupils, they should be free from any prejudice and treat children as individuals by respecting their backgrounds, religion, disability and race. I am extremely concerned about becoming an effective teacher and many factors contribute to this. This essay will highlight my areas of concern and how my initial thoughts have developed during my placement. My areas of concern include planning and executing enjoyable lessons. They also include the strategies I observed the teacher using to mange behaviour in the classroom which is essential for the smooth flow of the day. Confidence is a factor which I feel improves every time you teach, and if lessons are well planned and subject knowledge is secure a teacher would automatically begin to feel confident. I am also concerned about classroom organisation and the implementation of routines. I observed many examples of set routines which the school follow, this is the responsibility of the teacher to enforce and then keep consistent. These are all attributes or responsibilities of an effective teacher and this essay will explore them and discuss possible ways of improving or developing them. I have also included my experience regarding assessment and the importance of identifying strengths and weaknesses to become an effective teacher. Finally, I have included some experiences of my university education which has helped me to identify my areas for concern. I feel that being an effective teacher should involve valuing, gaining and giving respect to the children. I was concerned how this could be achieved. I saw fantastic examples on my school placement which I hope to adopt myself. Every morning the teacher would give the children time to settle on the carpet and instead of talking amongst each other, they would in turn talk to the teacher and the rest of the class, often about issues which were concerning them or something exciting that happened over the weekend. The teacher made sure every child had a chance to talk no matter how trivial. She showed genuine interest in them and never let them feel insignificant. I really admired the teacher for this. I initially thought it was just a nice way to start the morning however, after thinking about it so many strategies are involved and learning taking place. The children develop confidence in talking in front of the class; they are sharing their thoughts and feelings, and learning how to express themselves. The bond of trust is being formed between pupil and teacher. Finally, it is good strategy for managing behaviour. Children learn to listen to each other and they also learn patience and turn-taking. † The most effective teachers frequently involved the whole class in discussion and were skilled at doing this, which was not necessarily whole-class teaching as such.† (Dean, J. (2001) p.39)  Therefore I feel that it is extremely important to value a child despite race, gender, religion or disability. And to truly show an interest in them and respect their thoughts and beliefs. I feel that I established a good relationship with the children and they felt comfortable around me. This is where I felt I was effective in my teaching. All this contributes to being an effective teacher. Mortimore et al. (1988) found that effective teachers gave rewards rather than punishments, as punishments had a negative effect on learning. I observed a great deal of this on my school placement which I quickly adopted. Unwanted behaviour was often ignored until absolutely necessary, whereas good behaviour was praised quickly and an example made of it to the rest of the class. This practise worked, I saw the class react quickly try and act the same way to please the teacher and me as a student teacher. I feel that an effective teacher should have implemented a classroom routine and then to keep it consistent. An arrangement of getting things out and putting away can be made with children. All the children can be given a responsibility of taking care of a small area of the classroom. Places for resources, books etc should have a permanent place and be clearly labelled to enable the children to tidy up efficiently. I also noticed that the class teacher had seated the children in rows on specific places on the carpet. Bennet and Blunder (1983) found that children got more work done when sat in rows. I found that this is an effective classroom management strategy. There are no arguments of sitting next to friends or lack of space. The children know where they sit and with one glance, the teacher can see who is missing and spot ant disruptions. The children were seated on the table in groups according to ability. Independent work was often completed on the tables, however, the child were always given the chance to discuss ideas with each other before asking the teacher for help.

George Washington Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

George Washington - Essay Example Specifically, the film portrays George Washington as an instrumental figure in the quest for independence. Conquerors in any war exercise a lot of courage in going beyond the normal expectation. In the movie ‘The Crossing’, George Washing took the lead in crossing the Delaware river on the Christmas day to fight the British soldiers. The American troops under leadership of George Washington had to employ numerous war tactics in order to defeat their opponent. Critics believe that good leadership leads to success. In the same way, in the movie, George Washington who was the commander in chief earns credit as an outstanding leader. The American troops sneaked and attacked the Hessian mercenaries that belonged to the Britons. The central theme in the movie is George Washington’s role in liberating his nations. The photograph below portrays George Washington leading his foot soldiers to cross the Delaware River. Crossing of the river was not easy because it had frozen ice. Source: http://www.flagsbay.com/flag/wp-content/uploads/2007/08/washington-crossing-the-delaware.png The movie illustrates various character traits of George Washington. For example, the crossing of the Delaware River portrays Washington as a brave leader who does not only lead his troop to the war, but also make a timely target to the opponent. The crossing of the Delaware River took place on a Christmas day. ... The motion pictures George Washington as a hero. The war in Trenton handed them a big win because the American soldiers were able to capture the Hessian mercenaries (Pencak 340). In war, soldiers protecting the arsenals mean a lot to their troop because they vital mercenaries needed in the war is under their custody. This means that an attack at the arsenal would make the opponent lose. Largely, the attacked troop will not have a means of replenishing their weapons once the enemy has ceased the arsenal. The photograph below illustrates the challenges that George Washington had to endure. Source: http://www.davidhanauer.com/buckscounty/washingtoncrossing/photos/washington_crossing1.jpg A spectacular event occurs when Washington and his troop arrived at the banks of the Delaware River; his troops lack food, boat or medicine, yet Washington believed they had to continue protecting their nation. The British troop has been lying at Trenton, equipped with best mercenary. Moreover, the troo p that Washington is about to fight is the best among the British forces. This attribute seems to worry other generals in Washington troop. These generals proposes to Washington that they risk dying if the crossed the river, but to their surprise Washington does not give an after thought about crossing the river. He made a good suggestion on how to cross the river by acquiring boats from an angler. Ideally, the situation seems to be perilous but Washington demonstrates courage in his attempt to cross the river. It is observable through motion pictures in the movie that George Washington was an exceptional leader who could not retreat once he had made a decision to fight the opponents. The success of the American Revolution largely depends on the