Methods of Social Research

Methods of Social Research Methods of Research The correct choice of research methods to use in answering researcher set questions investigating a topic is one of the most crucial and vital elements to the successful conduct of a research exercise, (McNeill, 2005). While much attention can be paid to theory within the methodology employed by the researcher it is also critical to consider the actual research tools which back up the theoretical decisions made and provide the raw data against which the hypotheses of the research can betested. For much research the research tools will be a decisive factor in thesuccess or failure of the project. In many instances the choice of research tool is not assessed correctly with the result being data is generated which is of little or no use to the researcher, (Ruane, 2005). This occurs both due to the research method not suiting the particular needs of the researcher and the improper administering of the research method itself. For many,  choice of research tool is influenced however not by the objective needs of the research but by the ability and capabilities of the researcher in terms of time, cost or other related factors such as familiarity with the processes and techniques involved within specific sets of research tools. In this essay, we examine three research methods, show how they can be constructed in a holistic manner toachieve triangulation in relation to a research question and illustrate ethical concerns and the manner in which they can be resolved in the successful deployment of these research methods, (Somekh and Lewin, 2005). We discuss these methods as a process and thus relate our discussion to the manner in which theycan be integrated and successfully deployed. In this sense then we examine howfocus groups can provide insights into theoretical observations, how theseobservations can be explored within semi-structured interviews with a selectedsample and how these observations from interviews can be developed intogeneralised into hypotheses tested against larger samples through the use of questionnaires.However it should be noted that a critical element in deciding on whichmethodologies should be used in a research project and the relative strengthsand weaknesses of using those methodologies will depend to a large extent onthe specific circumstances involved in conducting the research, (Bryman, 2004). By this it ismeant that weaknesses for example within the conduct of questionnaire may infact be a positive element for certain projects and negative for othersdepending on the contextual basis for the research. We explore this and otherfeatures of research methods subsequently. Focus Groups Focus groups are atype of qualitative based research method based loosely on the generalprinciples which apply to interviews. However while interviews are generallyone-to-one situations involving a interviewer and interviewee relationshipfocus groups employ a one to many dichotomy, (Holloway and Jefferson, 2000). Indeedfocus groups resemble semi or unstructured interviews more particularly thanstructured interviews as one of the primary objectives of the researcher withinfocus group interviews is as a facilitator or moderator of group discussionbased on sets of general themes identified as being related to the research objectivesfor which the focus groups are being used to generate data, (Bloor et al, 2001).In particular focus groups are a very useful method to consider in theexploratory stages of research to help form ideas related to theoreticalobservations upon which later research can be based. While notoriginally a tool familiar to the social sciences focus group methodologieshave been long deployed and successful elements within business andspecifically marketing research. From these origins however their utility for socialscientific research has come to be recognised within many sections for specificinstances for which they are useful, (Fern, 2001). Focus groups havea number of advantages and disadvantages when applied towards collecting datain answering sets of research questions. Let us discuss the advantages of usingthis methodology to begin with. Perhaps a fundamental strength of focus groups istheir interactive nature when designed and implemented properly. In this mannerthe researcher can set general themes and topics and also ask specificquestions of the group related to the research topic by facilitatingintra-group discussion arising out of the topics mentioned by the moderator. Subsequentlyrecording and monitoring the discussions and interactions which occur withinthe group as the issues raised by the researcher are thrashed out can provide immenselyvaluable qualitative data and also critically have the possibility of offeringtheoretical insights or considerations missed by the researcher. In terms of aspecifically action research or ethnographic research outlook focus groups areeven more element as the interactive nature of focus groups allows the groupand its participants to actively engage with the research and even when plannedfor adequately by the researcher allow them to shape the outcomes and processesof the research itself, .(Czarniawska, 2004) Some of the keydisadvantages we can associate with the use of focus groups are internal groupdynamics, participant and interviewer bias and transcription related problemsin codifying and making the data generated amenable to analysis. However the primarydrawback to this method is related to the interactive nature discussed above inthat the researcher has much less control over the type and nature of datagenerated during the course of the research. Again as mentioned planning andgood moderating skills are essential in the use of this method, (Litosseliti, 2003). Internal groupdynamics can play a vital role in determining the success or failure of using focusgroups as a means of answering research questions. The specific disadvantagesbeing spoke of here include a common feature of socials groups wherebyindividual members of that group through personality and group dynamics come tolead and dominate discussions, (Vaughn, Shay, Sinagub, 1996).An interviewer needs to be aware of such situations and develop tactics andstrategies which are inclusive in terms of encouraging all of the individualswithin a group to participate as equally as possible in the discussion as it isbeing held. With larger groupsand to some extent even smaller groups as well due to possibilities of manypeople answering at the same time, especially in more animated discussions thenecessity of effective recording allowing for accurate transcription isessential. Bias can occur both in terms of the moderator and participants inthat moderator may lead the discussion too much in their desire to gatherrelevant data or otherwise colour the responses of participants who in turn maydesire to satisfy what they perceive to be the wishes of the moderator duringthe course of the discussion. Such considerations are not isolated to focusgroups and should be a common concern for any research exercise, (Morgan, 1997). Ethically similarsafeguards that are used in other types of research methods need to be employedwithin focus groups with some specific concerns. As with other types ofresearch informed consent needs to be adequately collected from theparticipants and in particular with focus groups if the topic is sensitive orcovers material of a private nature it must be remember that other people willbe present and thus the moderator must take further care in considering theethical implications of this feature, (Gregory, 2003). Semi-structured interviews If a researcherhas used a focus group in order to identity common themes and concerns associatedwith his or her choice of questions a useful follow on from focus groups can bethe use of more in depth and detailed semi structured interviews. Theinterviewees could perhaps be drawn from a representative sample from which thefocus group was composed. Semi structured interviews are a popular form of qualitativeresearch much relied upon within social scientific as well as otherdisciplinary investigations. The general purpose of such interviews is toexplore in details specific topics relevant to the interviewees knowledge andalso relevant to the research questions and objectives forming the focus of theresearch project, (Silveman, 2004). The normalstructure for such an interview is a one to one situation with an interviewereither having a list of some predetermined questions which are then used to branchfurther questions outwards during the conduct of the interview or alternativelythe interviewer is equipped with a set of general topics from which questionsare generated during the course of the interview. While not as interactive asfocus groups good semi-structured interviews are however in some way reliant onparticipant determination for the tenor and tone of the conduct of theinterview. This can be a principal strength of using this method in that it canbe a highly fruitful manner of exploring topics with which participants arefamiliar The advantages ofsemi structured interviews can be surmised under a number of headings. Thefirst of these is the opportunity it gives to both interviewer and intervieweeto explore in depth and detail the substantive issues for research within agiven project mentioned above. Not only though do semi-structured interviewsafford the opportunity to discuss themes in detail but the semi-structurednature also gives the interviewer freedom to dynamically adapt and respond tothe flow of the discussion as it occurs. In this sense the interviewer canexplore themes not suggested by the structure of the interview which wasoriginally planned; this is an important difference from structured interviewswhich lack this interviewer flexibility and freedom. A semi-structuredinterview can thus be said to allow for frank discussion, is a flexible and adaptivemeans as the interviewer and interviewee can respond and explore topics as theyoccur during the interview and as such can be a useful source of data for anyresearch project. Disadvantages withsemi-structured interviews again like those common to focus groups are thosewhich need to be taken account of with the use of any research method. Some ofthe main disadvantages we can associate with the use of semi structuredinterviews include participant bias, interviewer bias and the reliability ofany data generated during the course of the interview. Like focus groups theinterviewer needs to be aware of their responses and comments to theinterviewee so as not to colour or bias the responses given. Similarly aninterviewer needs to display a manner which does not indicate to theinterviewee preference supposed or otherwise for a particular set of responses.Reliability is a concern with qualitative research in general and aninterviewer needs to be cognisant of the type and form of data generated duringthe conduct of the interview. Ethically again similar principles which appliedto focus groups apply to semi-structured interviews in that the participants insuch interv iews give full informed consent to the interview taking place andthat confidentiality is ensured on the part of the interviewer in terms of anydata generated from the participant. Questionnaires Perhaps the mostfamiliar of research methods both to researchers and the general publicquestionnaires as part of a survey strategy have long held a dominant role inthe conduct of research projects, (Frazer Meredith, 2000). Questionnaires come in a variety of forms from postal, totelephone administered, to interviewer administered and so on but they are all characterisedon a reliance on a predetermined set of questions with predefined answers whichmake the data amenable to later statistical analysis either by hand or throughthe use of the many statistical computer programs which now exist. Questionnairesexcel at the testing of hypothesis concretely formed and outlined as well atgathering opinion based data from large samples, (McQueen, 2002). Questionnaires area form of quantitative research and thus they involve many statistical elementsin terms of carrying out research using them. Some of the fundamental concernswith using questionnaires include the need for sampling, ensuring effectiveresponses and a high response rate. In turn these three elements are related tothe principal advantages and disadvantages of using this method, (Oppenhiem,1992). Or in other words the success or failure and the degree to these for aparticular questionnaire is determined to a large extent by the successfulsampling of a target group and having a well-designed questionnaire with clearinstructions for participants in order to ensure correct responses and a highnumber of responses from the sample. The primary advantageof using a questionnaire lies in the amount of data which can be collectingallowing for varying degrees and sophistication in statistical analyses whichcan be performed on the data, (Gillham, 2000). The primary disadvantage ofusing questionnaires is the inverse of this strength in statistical termsrelated to the rigid and inflexible way in which data must be collected in thatthe researcher is unable to benefit from any interactivity in the research andeven when the questionnaire is interviewer administered there is a rigidity tothe questionnaire format which must be adhered to, (Houtkoop-Steenstra, 2000). Questionnaires in terms of the triangulation discussed above couldusefully be deployed in order to test hypothesis generated from theexplorations and conclusions reached during the use of focus groups. Conclusion As can be gatheredfrom our discussion then all of the research methods we have discussed are possessedof both positive and negative aspects in the case of their deployment in orderto answer research questions set by the researcher. It is argued that perhapsthe best means in which to consider the use of any of these research methods isto see them as part of a cyclical process related to the triangulation ofcertain research objectives, (yen, 1990). It can be arguedthat by using a combinational method then in the approach of constructing aresearch methodology has the benefit of playing various research methodsagainst each other, by this it is meant that certain methods will be strongothers weak and that a combinational approach will allow for the strongestpossible methodology to emerge and thus have the best chance of generatinguseful data for the research questions at hand, (Gorard and Taylor, 2004). However asmentioned in some of the limitations we discussed previously with regards tothe methods each of these particular methods require certain skills of the researcherfor them to be truly effective methods. Thus projects which would seek to useall of these methods as well as possible others would need to draw upon skilledresearchers in terms of their ability to conduct quantitative and qualitativeresearch in equal measure. Similarly using a combinational method increases therange of ethical considerations for the researcher with the possibility ofthere being a complex network of ethical issues that need to be resolvedcontinuously across the range of research methods used in the project (deMarrais Lapan 2004). Similarly for acombinational method to be effective as well as the use of any of these methodssolely also a strong methodology in terms of a plan for the research and itsconduct will need to be in place in order to generate truly relevant data forthe research questions which the researcher wishes to investigate, (Andrews,2003). In conclusion the organisation of research methods in terms of their deploymentis the most critical determinant of the success of the researcher in gathering datawhich will be of use in their subsequent and later analysis based on theresearch questions they have tasked themselves with answering. Organisation it canthus be argued is one of the principal determinants of whether the selection ofany research methods will be successful in collecting relevant and valuabledata for that project, (Ragin, 1994). References Andrews, R.J.(2003) Research Questions, Continuum, London Bloor, M. et al (2001) Focus Group inSocial Research, SAGE Publications, London. Bryman, A. (2004) SocialResearch Methods, Oxford University Press, Oxford Czarniawska, B.(2004) Narratives in Social Science Research, Sage, London deMarrais,K. Lapan, S.D. (2004) Foundations for Research: Methods of Inquiry inEducation and the Social Science, Mahwah, N.J. : L. Erlbaum Associates. Fern,E.E. (2001) Advanced Focus Group Research, SAGE, US. Frazer,L. Meredith, L. (2000) Questionnaire Design Administration : aPractical Guide, John Wiley, London. Gillham,B. (2000) Developing a Questionnaire, Continuum, London. Gorard, S. andTaylor, C. (2004) Combining Methods in Educational and Social Research,Open University Press, Maidenhead Hollway,W. Jefferson, T.(2000) Doing Qualitative Research Differently: FreeAssociation, Narrative and Interview, SAGE, London. Houtkoop-Steenstra,H. (2000) Interaction and the Standardized Survey Interview: the LivingQuestionnaire, Cambridge University Press, UK. Litosseliti,L. (2003) Using Focus Groups in Research, Continuum, London. Gregory, I. (2003)Ethics in Research, Continuum, London McNeill, P. (2005)Research Methods 3rd Edition, Routledge, London McQueen, R. (2002)Research Methods for Social Science, Prentice Hall, Harlow Morgan,D. L. (1997) Focus Groups as Qualitative Research 2nd edition,Sage Publications, US. Oppenheim,A. N. (1992) Questionnaire Design, Interviewing, and Attitude Measurement,Pinter Publishers, New York. yen,E. (1990) Comparative Methodology: Theory and Practice in InternationalSocial Research, Newbury Park, London. Ragin,C.C. (1994) Constructing Social Research: the Unity and Diversity of Method,Thousand Oaks, Pine Forge Press, US. Ruane, J.M. (2005)Essentials of Research Methods, Blackwell Publications, Malden MASS Silveman,D. (2004) Qualitative Research: Theory, Method and Practice, SAGE,London. Somekh, B. andLewin, C. (2005) Research Methods in the Social Sciences, Sage,London Vaughn,S., Shay, J. Sinagub, S.J. (1996) Focus Group Interview in Educationand Psychology, SAGE, US.

Harriet Tubman : Walk to Freedom Essay examples -- slaves, antislavery,

Imagine a girl and her two little brothers, toes on the edge of the sidewalk; children trying to cross a street. As a big sister, she must go first. She takes a few steps ever so carefully, looking both ways, showing her younger brothers the way. She makes it to the other side of the street then turns to wave them over, telling them to follow exactly what she did and they too would make it across safely. The two little boys take a few steps just like their sister had done, looking both ways, but they are very scared. There are cars coming and they feel they might not make it in time, so they hurry back to the safe side of the street that they had first been on. After the first try, the boys are too frightened to try again by themselves, so their older sister crosses the street again, takes the boys by the hands and leads them to the other side. That is exactly how Harriet Tubman lived her life. During her first plan to escape slavery, she went on her way with two of her brothers. Har riet reached safety, but her brothers had turned back halfway to freedom. After that incident, Harriet Tubman devoted her life to helping slaves cross the street to freedom. THESIS With a past childhood surrounded with slavery, Harriet Tubman grew up with the need to make a difference; after years of smuggling slaves to freedom, her impact on antislavery changed the nation. Topic Sentence 1 †¢ After the combining of two plantations, two slaves had a child that would one day change the face of slavery completely. †¢ When two slave owners, Pattison Brodess and Anthony Thompson, got married, their plantations combined bringing two of their slaves together. Eventually the slaves got married as well and had a child. FIRST BODY Harriet Tubman was born in ... ...Home. Bookman, Ron. Web. 15 November 2013. . â€Å"Harriet Tubman.† 2013. n. pag. About.com Inventors. Vogel, Neil. The Library of Congress. Web. 15 November 2013. . Hickey, Claire. â€Å"Black History Month: Harriet Tubman – Champion of Freedom.† 4 February 2012. n. pag. The Washington Times. The Washington Times, LLC. Web. 20 November 2013. . Eversley, Melanie. â€Å"Harriet Tubman Changed History with Bravery.† 17 May 2011. n. pag. USA Today. Jones, Brent. Web. 18 November 2013 . â€Å"What Harriet Tubman Teaches Us Today.† 2011. n. pag. Black History Heroes. Cross, V. M. Web. 20 November 2013. . â€Å"Harriet Tubman. Biography.† 1996-2013: 1-3. Bio. Raven, Abbe. Web. 21 November 2013. .

Poe’s Devices for Heightening the Effect of Terror and Horror in Short Stories Essay

Edgar Allan Poe, an American poet, critic and writer of the XIX-th century, is a world- recognised master of the horror genre. Poe’s Tales of Arabesque clearly demonstrate his talent for cultivation of mystery, terror, and macabre. The process of this horror cultivation is very subtle and complicated. Poe, like an artist of arabesque who intertwines and interlaces flowers into an elaborate pattern, weaves a net of mystery and horror and entangles the reader in it. Poe starts any work ‘with consideration of the effect’ it would have on the reader. All other stages of story creation and literary devices used for it depend on that main effect. Thus, the genre of Poe’s works, their plot structure, type of narration, word choice, and imagery are the devices, with the help of which Poe creates and heightens the effect of terror and horror. Such works as ‘The Cask of Amontillado’, ‘MS Found in a Bottle’, and ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ serve as vivid examples of Poe’s sophisticated but very effective horror creating technique. The effect produced by the work on its reader largely depends on the genre of this work. It is no mere chance that Poe chooses the genre of a short story for his works of horror. On the one hand, a short story provides the writer with enough space to intrigue the reader, to rouse his interest in the plot. ‘MS Found in a Bottle’, for example, invites the reader to take part in a fantastic adventure in the midst of the stormy ocean. On the other hand, the plot unfolds very quickly, leaving no time for reasoning and meditation, keeping the senses heightened and sharp. Thus the perception of horror deepens and strengthens. Short forms of a short story bind the reader to pay closer attention to every word, to every comma and exclamation mark. Words used to create the atmosphere of terror and mystery become more colourful, more significant and profound: metaphors grow into symbols, symbols – to allegories. In ‘The Cask of Amontillado’, for example, the suspense of something terrible increases with every step Fortunato makes into the depth of the Montresors’ catacombs, with his every cough, with every proposal of Montresor to come back. But the effect of horror is heightened not only by length of a story, but also by its plot structure. A very short introduction or its complete absence and the disjunction placed at the very beginning of the story put the reader into the coarse of events at once. The events are mostly proleptic; being unaware of their meaning readers start experiencing nervousness and alarm, they feel that some dark, arcane mystery is about to uncover. The reversal in a short story comes to the end and it always comes unexpectedly. With the help of this device the writer shocks the reader, greatly intensifying his horror. Thus, terrified with the gloomy atmosphere of the Roderick’s castle and the constant sensation of trouble, the reader gets truly horrified at the sight of Roderick’s dead sister, lady Madeline, suddenly revived to life. The absence of a resolution prolongs the shock from the terrible mystery uncovered; or, as it is in ‘MS Found in a Bottle’, – the mystery that can never be resolved. The manner in which the story is narrated is no less important for heightening the effect of horror than its very plot. Though all the three stories proposed for this study are narrated in the first person, they are told in various types of the first person. These types differ by four main aspects. The first one is the part that the narrator plays in the story and his influence on the course of events. The narrator of the ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ is the central figure of the plot, moreover, he is its moving force. The reality of the story is revealed to us through Montresor’s eyes and is estimated by him. The reader is always with the narrator and as the narrator is a murderer the reader becomes his unwilling accomplice to murder. The horror of being a murderer is absolute. The narrator of ‘MS Found in a Bottle’ is also the central figure of the plot, all the events happen to him and are described by him. Being always together with the narrator, the reader embarks on a dangerous, perilous, hair-rising adventure, which ends as unexpectedly as it begins. Unlike the previous two stories, ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ is not a story about the narrator. It is Roderick Usher who is in the centre of the plot, it is his mind and his life that we are interested in. But as we are with the narrator, who is an observer and estimator of events, we can only feel the dark mystery of the House of Usher, but can not penetrate into. There is no greater horror than that of mystery and no greater terror than that of the unknown. The second aspect in which the three first person narrations differ is the use of tenses. Poe intentionally tells ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ in the past and presents all the events in chronological order. This device helps the writer to show the mind and actions of an insane person, who carefully plans a murder and methodically carries it out. Because of such step- by-step development of the plot the feeling of horror progressively grows higher and sensations of terror deposit. In ‘MS Found in a Bottle’ the writer builds up the narration in a way to bring the story closer to the reality and to the reader. That’s why he makes use not only of the past tense, but also of the present and even the present continuous. By describing the mysterious ship in the present the writer transports the reader on its deck, makes him feel the tossing of the ship, inhale the salty air. The use of the present continuous in the very end of the story heightens the horror and despair of being ‘amid a roaring, and bellowing, and thundering of ocean and of tempest’. The syntactic structure of the final passage – short abrupt sentences separated by dashes – creates the effect of the stream of consciousness and makes the reader not only the witness, but a participant of the final scene. The three main tenses of ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’- past perfect, past, and future – expand the borders of the events narrated. The past tense helps the writer to describe Roderick Usher as a reserved, mysterious, gloomy, melancholic, and abnormally sensitive person. The flash back made into Roderick’s childhood with the help of the past perfect shows that he has always been that kind of person and all his ancestors were like him. The future shows that though the House of Usher fell the mystery of it will never be solved. Thus the sense of ‘insufferable gloom’ and FEAR, which Roderick and his house arouse in the reader, roots in the ancient past and prolongs itself into the future. The final aspect that makes each of the three stories unique is the structure of the narration. ‘The Cask of Amontillado’ is formed of a combination of dialog, monologue, and description. These are the dialogues here that are of particular interest to the study. Dialogues of ‘The Cask’ are short and abrupt. Answers given to the questions are brief and concrete ( ‘Nitre? ‘ he asked, at length. ‘Nitre,’ I replied. ). This device makes every single word symbolic. Dialogues here are the part of the imagery that helps to draw the picture of horror and expectation of threat. Dialogues of ‘The House of Usher’ differ from those of ‘The Cask’. They are long, descriptive, and complicated. Some dialogues between the narrator and his friend grow into the monologues of Roderick. The final monologue of Roderick composed of broken and disconnected sentences shows the shock of horror Roderick experienced when he felt that Madeline was back from her tomb. This shock extends to the narrator and to the reader. ‘MS Found in a Bottle’ consists of a single monologue. The changing speech of the narrator reflects his mood and influences the mood of the reader. But the main function of this monologue is to create the hostile, tense, and gloomy atmosphere of the confusing reality. The main thing that influences the way in which the story effects the reader is the setting. Poe uses various stylistic devices to create a sinister setting and thus heighten the effect of horror and terror in his short stories. Metaphor is one of the most important stylistic devices. It enables the writer to describe implicitly the thing or notion for which there is no name in the common language, or a feeling ‘which will admit to no analysis’. Thus, for example, the supernatural wild ocean is named ‘watery hell’ or ‘chaos of water’. Simile helps to describe the indescribable in a more explicit form. Such similes as ‘waters rear heads like demons of the deep’, or ‘crew glide like the ghosts of the buried centuries’ arouse associations with death, mystery, and myth. And the comparison of the windows of the house of Usher with blind eyes inspires us to take the house as a living creature, strange and dangerous. Another device, used to animate inanimate objects is personification. Whatever Poe personifies – the wind (‘breath of wind’), silence (‘obstinate silence’), tempest (‘bellow of the tempest’), or air (‘wild air’) -it becomes brighter and more profound. Epithets carry out a chief function in creating the main images of the stories and drawing their sinister and horrifying settings. Thus, the ocean in ‘MS Found in a Bottle’ is described as unfathomable, terrible and thundering; the ship is gigantic and supernatural; the house of Usher is melancholy and ancient, it has bleak walls, dark intricate passages, Gothic archways, vaulted ceilings, and it inspires a ‘sense of insufferable gloom’ and ‘unredeemed dreariness’; the vaults of the Montresors are dark, damp and sombre. Poe frequently uses epithets that show the extreme quality, power, or size of an object described. Such epithets as intolerably hot wind, extreme fury, immense pressure, terrific breakers, and colossal supports form the fantastic reality of Poe’s works. An immense impact on our senses and feelings is made by colour and light words. Poe paints his gloomy settings with four main colours: black, red, grey, and yellow. These colours, however, never repeat those that we are used to, they are always unique and special. Poe sees every subtle hue of the colour and observes the way it ‘behaves’. Red, for example, is presented in two main hues: dusky-red and blood-red; it glares, streams down, or gleams in encrimsoned light. Red is the colour of blood and is therefore associated with pain and murder. Black, ebony black, and deep dingy black are the colours of ‘eternal night’ and ‘pitchy darkness’. They symbolise death, burial, fear, horror, and misfortune. Grey and leaden-hued arouse associations with ghosts, shadows, something elusive, mysterious, and imperceptible. Yellow or sickly yellow is traditionally regarded as the colour of disease, sickness, and insanity. The light in the stories is never bright but is always indiscrete, feeble, sluggish, faintly discernible, ghastly and mystic. And the gloomy setting created with the help of these hues of light can arouse in the reader nothing but the sensation of growing fear. In the conclusion it would be necessary to mention, that Edgar Allan Poe is an unsurpassed master of the horror creating technique. He uses such devices as genre, structure of the plot, type and structure of narration, vivid imagery, settings, colour, and light to heighten the effect of terror and horror in his short stories. The contribution he made into the development of the horror genre can not be overestimated.

South Africa essays

South Africa essays South Africa is the southernmost part of the continent of Africa. It is one of the earth's oldest and stable landmasses. This is why there are no folded mountain ranges. The only mountain ranges that are similar to that kind of range, would be those in the southern tip. This is where the north-south ranges meet an east-west range in the Paarl area. The rest of the country has been slightly pitted so that interior lakes like the Okovango Delta have no outlet to the sea. Most of the country is at an elevation of 3,000 to 6,500 feet above sea level. South Africa lies north of 35 S latitude and is surrounded on three sides by the Indian and Atlantic oceans. Two large high-pressure areas control the weather in South Africa brought over by both of the oceans, in the winter a belt of depressions moves northward to bring rains to the south. During the summer moist tropical air masses migrate southward, bringing frequent thunderstorms. There are not many rivers in South Africa, and those few are not navigable. The unpredictable rainfall makes drought in the areas a very common problem. The towns and cities cannot depend on a consistent source of water for the year. Water supplies for both the town and the country must be very well planned, so there is no drought. Wells are usually the source for irrigation and general water supply in the countryside, however the urban and industrialized areas need the use of dams. On the major rivers of South Africa it is easy to see many of the plus 360 dams that have been built. These are easily found on the Orange, Vaal, Limpopo, and the Tugela rivers. Many of the dams provide hydroelectric power to the national electricity grid. Located on the upper Orange River are two of the largest dams in South Africa. The Lesotho Highlands Water Project was developed to supply water to the Transvaal industrial area by mid 1990's. Even though there are an abundant amount of dams in the country, t...

Regional Dialect - Definition and Examples

Regional Dialect s A regional dialect is a distinct form of a language spoken in a particular geographical area. It is also known as a  regiolect or topolect. If the form of speech transmitted from a parent to a child is a distinct regional dialect, that dialect is said to be the childs vernacular. Examples and Observations As opposed to a national dialect, a regional dialect is spoken in one particular area of a country. In the USA, regional dialects include Appalachian, New Jersey and Southern English, and in Britain, Cockney, Liverpool English and Geordie (Newcastle English). . . .In contrast to a regional dialect, a social dialect is a variety of a language spoken by a particular group based on social characteristics other than geography.(Jeff Siegel, Second Dialect Acquisition. Cambridge University Press, 2010)[L]inguists refer to so-called Standard English as a dialect of English, which from a linguistic point of view, is no more correct than any other form of English. From this point of view, the monarchs of England and teenagers in Los Angeles and New York all speak dialects of English, (Adrian Akmajian, Linguistics: An Introduction to Language and Communication, 5th ed. The MIT Press, 2001) Studies of the Regional Dialects in North America The investigation of the regional dialects of American English has been a major concern for dialectologists and sociolinguists since at least the early part of the twentieth century when The Linguistic Atlas of the United States and Canada was launched and dialectologists began conducting large-scale surveys of regional dialect forms. Although the traditional focus on regional variation took a back seat to concerns for social and ethnic dialect diversity for a couple of decades, there has been a resurgent interest in the regional dimension of American dialects. This revitalization was buoyed by the publication of different volumes of the Dictionary of American Regional English (Cassidy 1985; Cassidy and Hall 1991, 1996; Hall 2002), and more recently, by the publication of The Atlas of North American English (Labov, Ash, and Boberg 2005). (Walt Wolfram and Natalie Schilling-Estes, ​American English: Dialects and Variation, 2nd ed. Blackwell, 2006) Varieties of Regional Dialects in the U.S. Some differences in U.S. regional dialects may be traced to the dialects spoken by colonial settlers from England. Those from southern England spoke one dialect and those from the north spoke another. In addition, the colonists who maintained close contact with England reflected the changes occurring in British English, while earlier forms were preserved among Americans who spread westward and broke communication with the Atlantic coast. The study of regional dialects has produced dialect atlases, with dialect maps showing the areas where specific dialect characteristics occur in the speech of the region. A boundary line called an isogloss delineates each area. (Victoria Fromkin, Robert Rodman, and Nina Hyams, An Introduction to Language, 9th ed. Wadsworth, 2011) Regional Dialects in England and Australia The fact that English has been spoken in England for 1,500 years but in Australia for only 200 explains why we have a great wealth of regional dialects in England that is more or less totally lacking in Australia. It is often possible to tell where an English person comes from to within about 15 miles or less. In Australia, where there has not been enough time for changes to bring about much regional variation, it is almost impossible to tell where someone comes from at all, although very small differences are now beginning to appear. (Peter Trudgill, The Dialects of England, 2nd ed. Blackwell, 1999) Dialect Leveling [T]he frequent complaint today that dialects are dying out reflects the fact that the basis for dialects has shifted. Nowadays, people travel hundreds of miles and think nothing of it. People commute to work in London from as far afield as Birmingham. Such mobility would explain, for example, why 150 years ago there was a traditional Kentish dialect, while today it barely survives, such is the close and regular contact with London. ... [I]nstead of small relatively isolated communities where each person mingles with more or less the same people for a lifetime, we have vast human melting-pots where people have diffuse social networks- mingling regularly with different people, adopting new speech forms and losing the old rural forms. Both developments in communication and the effects of urbanization have contributed to dialect leveling, a term referring to the loss of original traditional dialectal distinctions. (Jonathan Culpeper, History of English, 2nd ed. Routledge, 2005)

Death be not proud because I could not stop for death Essay

Death be not proud because I could not stop for death - Essay Example Donne treats death as a person in his poem and contradicts its power. He tells death not to be so proud as it is not as scary as it shows people it is. The writer tells death that it isn’t as powerful as it thinks it is and he contradicts its strength. The writer says that people don’t die when they meet death and neither will he himself. He compares death with ‘rest and sleep’ (Donne 11), the two things which are peaceful and not scary at all. He says that the good people know that death doesn’t bring pain rather pleasure. The poem further goes on to explain death as a slave and the writer accuses death of being associated with elements such as poison, sickness, and war. He says that he could just have some drugs and fall asleep which is just the same as death would be. Death is considered to be just a short sleep that humans take and then the good ones wake up again to eternity (Donne 11). Since this happens, death is not eternal and death dies whi ch means it has no power. The beginning of the poem focuses on the theme of death and the speaker addresses death as a proud person with an attitude problem who thinks himself as the most powerful. The speaker says that death considers himself as someone who can boss around and overpower the people. It is a powerful force that scares people and people wish to escape it. He is treated as the king as everyone thinks it is here to do something terrible (Donne 11). However, the speaker says that he isn’t afraid and he knows that death isn’t as scary as it shows everyone. The speaker confronts death and tells him that he isn’t scared as he knows that people think wrong. The poem then forms further elements that death is not actually death and it dies with reference to the Christian tradition that everyone will rise for eternity. This means that death is not real and it is not forever.

Problem and solution Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Problem and solution - Essay Example Another effect of junk foods is poor performance and obesity. These foods contain very huge amounts of fats. Obesity is caused by accumulation of these fats in the body resulting in abnormal weight gains. A person who consumes junk foods at least twice a week gains an extra 4.5kg of body weight. Johnson, Paul Kenny(2010). Solution: the most effective way of reducing obesity is regular physical exercises. Exercising leads to burning of excess calories since it speeds up metabolism rate in the body hence aiding in shedding away some of the weight. Excessive intake of junk food should also be avoided, instead one should increase intake of white meat such as fish instead of red meat. High levels of sodium and fats contained in junk food can lead to high blood pressure or hypertension. Disproportionate dietary sodium can also have an undesirable effect on renal function and can cause kidney ailment. Consumption of junk food during pregnancy can intensify the risk of poor mental health, anxiety and depression in the young ones. It also causes emotional and behavioral problems such as tantrums and aggression. When junk foods are frequently used, they can cause cancer. This is based on the fact that they lack all the vitamins and proteins that are essential for proper functioning of the body. The immune system is also impaired. As a result, the diseased cells can become cancerous. Furthermore, packed junk foods usually contain preservatives and coloring which have carcinogenic substance. These carcinogenic substances are harmful for the body especially for the cardiovascular