Deception Point Page 88 Free Essays

Tolland considered it. The Mariana Trench was seven miles down, one of the last truly unexplored regions on the planet. Only a handful of robotic probes had ever ventured that deep, and most had collapsed well before they reached the bottom. We will write a custom essay sample on Deception Point Page 88 or any similar topic only for you Order Now The water pressure in the trench was enormous-an astounding eighteen thousand pounds per square inch, as opposed to a mere twenty-four pounds on the ocean’s surface. Oceanographers still had very little understanding of the geologic forces at the deepest ocean floor. â€Å"So, this guy Pollock thinks the Mariana Trench can make rocks with chondrulelike features?† â€Å"It’s an extremely obscure theory,† Xavia said. â€Å"In fact, it’s never even been formally published. I only happened to stumble across Pollock’s personal notes on the Web by chance last month when I was doing research on fluid-rock interactions for our upcoming megaplume show. Otherwise, I never would have heard of it.† â€Å"The theory has never been published,† Corky said, â€Å"because it’s ridiculous. You need heat to form chondrules. There’s no way water pressure could rearrange the crystalline structure of a rock.† â€Å"Pressure,† Xavia fired back, â€Å"happens to be the single biggest contributor to geologic change on our planet. A little something called a metamorphic rock? Geology 101?† Corky scowled. Tolland realized Xavia had a point. Although heat did play a role in some of earth’s metamorphic geology, most metamorphic rocks were formed by extreme pressure. Incredibly, rocks deep in the earth’s crust were under so much pressure that they acted more like thick molasses than solid rock, becoming elastic and undergoing chemical changes as they did. Nonetheless, Dr. Pollock’s theory still seemed like a stretch. â€Å"Xavia,† Tolland said. â€Å"I’ve never heard of water pressure alone chemically altering a rock. You’re the geologist, what’s your take?† â€Å"Well,† she said, flipping through her notes, â€Å"it sounds like water pressure isn’t the only factor.† Xavia found a passage and read Pollock’s notes verbatim. â€Å"‘Oceanic crust in the Mariana Trench, already under enormous hydrostatic pressurization, can find itself further compressed by tectonic forces from the region’s subduction zones.'† Of course, Tolland thought. The Mariana Trench, in addition to being crushed under seven miles of water, was a subduction zone-the compression line where the Pacific and Indian plates moved toward one another and collided. Combined pressures in the trench could be enormous, and because the area was so remote and dangerous to study, if there were chondrules down there, chances of anyone knowing about it were very slim. Xavia kept reading. â€Å"‘Combined hydrostatic and tectonic pressures could potentially force crust into an elastic or semiliquid state, allowing lighter elements to fuse into chondrulelike structures thought to occur only in space.'† Corky rolled his eyes. â€Å"Impossible.† Tolland glanced at Corky. â€Å"Is there any alternative explanation for the chondrules in the rock Dr. Pollock found?† â€Å"Easy,† Corky said. â€Å"Pollock found an actual meteorite. Meteorites fall into the ocean all the time. Pollock would not have suspected it was a meteorite because the fusion crust would have eroded away from years under the water, making it look like a normal rock.† Corky turned to Xavia. â€Å"I don’t suppose Pollock had the brains to measure the nickel content, did he?† â€Å"Actually, yes,† Xavia fired back, flipping through the notes again. â€Å"Pollock writes: ‘I was surprised to find the nickel content of the specimen falling within a midrange value not usually associated with terrestrial rocks.'† Tolland and Rachel exchanged startled looks. Xavia continued reading. â€Å"‘Although the quantity of nickel does not fall within the normally acceptable midrange window for meteoritic origin, it is surprisingly close.'† Rachel looked troubled. â€Å"How close? Is there any way this ocean rock could be mistaken for a meteorite?† Xavia shook her head. â€Å"I’m not a chemical petrologist, but as I understand it, there are numerous chemical differences between the rock Pollock found and actual meteorites.† â€Å"What are those differences?† Tolland pressed. Xavia turned her attention to a graph in her notes. â€Å"According to this, one difference is in the chemical structure of the chondrules themselves. It looks like the titanium/zirconium ratios differ. The titanium/ zirconium ratio in the chondrules of the ocean sample showed ultradepleted zirconium.† She looked up. â€Å"Only two parts per million.† â€Å"Two ppm?† Corky blurted. â€Å"Meteorites have thousands of times that!† â€Å"Exactly,† Xavia replied. â€Å"Which is why Pollock thinks his sample’s chondrules are not from space.† Tolland leaned over and whispered to Corky, â€Å"Did NASA happen to measure the titanium/zirconium ratio in the Milne rock?† â€Å"Of course not,† Corky sputtered. â€Å"Nobody would ever measure that. It’s like looking at a car and measuring the tires’ rubber content to confirm you’re looking at a car!† Tolland heaved a sigh and looked back at Xavia. â€Å"If we give you a rock sample with chondrules in it, can you run a test to determine whether these inclusions are meteoric chondrules or†¦ one of Pollock’s deep ocean compression things?† Xavia shrugged. â€Å"I suppose. The electron microprobe’s accuracy should be close enough. What’s this all about, anyway?† Tolland turned to Corky. â€Å"Give it to her.† Corky reluctantly pulled the meteorite sample from his pocket and held it out for Xavia. Xavia’s brow furrowed as she took the stone disk. She eyed the fusion crust and then the fossil embedded in the rock. â€Å"My God!† she said, her head rocketing upward. â€Å"This isn’t part of†¦?† â€Å"Yeah,† Tolland said. â€Å"Unfortunately it is.† 106 Alone in her office, Gabrielle Ashe stood at the window, wondering what to do next. Less than an hour ago, she had left NASA feeling full of excitement to share Chris Harper’s PODS fraud with the senator. Now, she wasn’t so sure. According to Yolanda, two independent ABC reporters suspected Sexton of taking SFF bribes. Furthermore, Gabrielle had just learned that Sexton actually knew she had snuck into his apartment during the SFF meeting, and yet he had said nothing to her about it? Gabrielle sighed. Her taxi had long since departed, and although she would call another in a few minutes, she knew there was something she had to do first. Am I really going to try this? Gabrielle frowned, knowing she didn’t have a choice. She no longer knew whom to trust. Stepping out of her office, she made her way back into the secretarial lobby and into a wide hallway on the opposite side. At the far end she could see the massive oak doors of Sexton’s office flanked by two flags-Old Glory on the right and the Delaware flag on the left. His doors, like those of most senate offices in the building, were steel reinforced and secured by conventional keys, an electronic key pad entry, and an alarm system. She knew if she could get inside, even if for only a few minutes, all the answers would be revealed. Moving now toward the heavily secured doors, Gabrielle had no illusions of getting through them. She had other plans. Ten feet from Sexton’s office, Gabrielle turned sharply to the right and entered the ladies’ room. The fluorescents came on automatically, reflecting harshly off the white tile. As her eyes adjusted, Gabrielle paused, seeing herself in the mirror. As usual, her features looked softer than she’d hoped. Delicate almost. She always felt stronger than she looked. Are you sure you are ready to do this? How to cite Deception Point Page 88, Essay examples

Deception Point Page 88 Free Essays

Tolland considered it. The Mariana Trench was seven miles down, one of the last truly unexplored regions on the planet. Only a handful of robotic probes had ever ventured that deep, and most had collapsed well before they reached the bottom. We will write a custom essay sample on Deception Point Page 88 or any similar topic only for you Order Now The water pressure in the trench was enormous-an astounding eighteen thousand pounds per square inch, as opposed to a mere twenty-four pounds on the ocean’s surface. Oceanographers still had very little understanding of the geologic forces at the deepest ocean floor. â€Å"So, this guy Pollock thinks the Mariana Trench can make rocks with chondrulelike features?† â€Å"It’s an extremely obscure theory,† Xavia said. â€Å"In fact, it’s never even been formally published. I only happened to stumble across Pollock’s personal notes on the Web by chance last month when I was doing research on fluid-rock interactions for our upcoming megaplume show. Otherwise, I never would have heard of it.† â€Å"The theory has never been published,† Corky said, â€Å"because it’s ridiculous. You need heat to form chondrules. There’s no way water pressure could rearrange the crystalline structure of a rock.† â€Å"Pressure,† Xavia fired back, â€Å"happens to be the single biggest contributor to geologic change on our planet. A little something called a metamorphic rock? Geology 101?† Corky scowled. Tolland realized Xavia had a point. Although heat did play a role in some of earth’s metamorphic geology, most metamorphic rocks were formed by extreme pressure. Incredibly, rocks deep in the earth’s crust were under so much pressure that they acted more like thick molasses than solid rock, becoming elastic and undergoing chemical changes as they did. Nonetheless, Dr. Pollock’s theory still seemed like a stretch. â€Å"Xavia,† Tolland said. â€Å"I’ve never heard of water pressure alone chemically altering a rock. You’re the geologist, what’s your take?† â€Å"Well,† she said, flipping through her notes, â€Å"it sounds like water pressure isn’t the only factor.† Xavia found a passage and read Pollock’s notes verbatim. â€Å"‘Oceanic crust in the Mariana Trench, already under enormous hydrostatic pressurization, can find itself further compressed by tectonic forces from the region’s subduction zones.'† Of course, Tolland thought. The Mariana Trench, in addition to being crushed under seven miles of water, was a subduction zone-the compression line where the Pacific and Indian plates moved toward one another and collided. Combined pressures in the trench could be enormous, and because the area was so remote and dangerous to study, if there were chondrules down there, chances of anyone knowing about it were very slim. Xavia kept reading. â€Å"‘Combined hydrostatic and tectonic pressures could potentially force crust into an elastic or semiliquid state, allowing lighter elements to fuse into chondrulelike structures thought to occur only in space.'† Corky rolled his eyes. â€Å"Impossible.† Tolland glanced at Corky. â€Å"Is there any alternative explanation for the chondrules in the rock Dr. Pollock found?† â€Å"Easy,† Corky said. â€Å"Pollock found an actual meteorite. Meteorites fall into the ocean all the time. Pollock would not have suspected it was a meteorite because the fusion crust would have eroded away from years under the water, making it look like a normal rock.† Corky turned to Xavia. â€Å"I don’t suppose Pollock had the brains to measure the nickel content, did he?† â€Å"Actually, yes,† Xavia fired back, flipping through the notes again. â€Å"Pollock writes: ‘I was surprised to find the nickel content of the specimen falling within a midrange value not usually associated with terrestrial rocks.'† Tolland and Rachel exchanged startled looks. Xavia continued reading. â€Å"‘Although the quantity of nickel does not fall within the normally acceptable midrange window for meteoritic origin, it is surprisingly close.'† Rachel looked troubled. â€Å"How close? Is there any way this ocean rock could be mistaken for a meteorite?† Xavia shook her head. â€Å"I’m not a chemical petrologist, but as I understand it, there are numerous chemical differences between the rock Pollock found and actual meteorites.† â€Å"What are those differences?† Tolland pressed. Xavia turned her attention to a graph in her notes. â€Å"According to this, one difference is in the chemical structure of the chondrules themselves. It looks like the titanium/zirconium ratios differ. The titanium/ zirconium ratio in the chondrules of the ocean sample showed ultradepleted zirconium.† She looked up. â€Å"Only two parts per million.† â€Å"Two ppm?† Corky blurted. â€Å"Meteorites have thousands of times that!† â€Å"Exactly,† Xavia replied. â€Å"Which is why Pollock thinks his sample’s chondrules are not from space.† Tolland leaned over and whispered to Corky, â€Å"Did NASA happen to measure the titanium/zirconium ratio in the Milne rock?† â€Å"Of course not,† Corky sputtered. â€Å"Nobody would ever measure that. It’s like looking at a car and measuring the tires’ rubber content to confirm you’re looking at a car!† Tolland heaved a sigh and looked back at Xavia. â€Å"If we give you a rock sample with chondrules in it, can you run a test to determine whether these inclusions are meteoric chondrules or†¦ one of Pollock’s deep ocean compression things?† Xavia shrugged. â€Å"I suppose. The electron microprobe’s accuracy should be close enough. What’s this all about, anyway?† Tolland turned to Corky. â€Å"Give it to her.† Corky reluctantly pulled the meteorite sample from his pocket and held it out for Xavia. Xavia’s brow furrowed as she took the stone disk. She eyed the fusion crust and then the fossil embedded in the rock. â€Å"My God!† she said, her head rocketing upward. â€Å"This isn’t part of†¦?† â€Å"Yeah,† Tolland said. â€Å"Unfortunately it is.† 106 Alone in her office, Gabrielle Ashe stood at the window, wondering what to do next. Less than an hour ago, she had left NASA feeling full of excitement to share Chris Harper’s PODS fraud with the senator. Now, she wasn’t so sure. According to Yolanda, two independent ABC reporters suspected Sexton of taking SFF bribes. Furthermore, Gabrielle had just learned that Sexton actually knew she had snuck into his apartment during the SFF meeting, and yet he had said nothing to her about it? Gabrielle sighed. Her taxi had long since departed, and although she would call another in a few minutes, she knew there was something she had to do first. Am I really going to try this? Gabrielle frowned, knowing she didn’t have a choice. She no longer knew whom to trust. Stepping out of her office, she made her way back into the secretarial lobby and into a wide hallway on the opposite side. At the far end she could see the massive oak doors of Sexton’s office flanked by two flags-Old Glory on the right and the Delaware flag on the left. His doors, like those of most senate offices in the building, were steel reinforced and secured by conventional keys, an electronic key pad entry, and an alarm system. She knew if she could get inside, even if for only a few minutes, all the answers would be revealed. Moving now toward the heavily secured doors, Gabrielle had no illusions of getting through them. She had other plans. Ten feet from Sexton’s office, Gabrielle turned sharply to the right and entered the ladies’ room. The fluorescents came on automatically, reflecting harshly off the white tile. As her eyes adjusted, Gabrielle paused, seeing herself in the mirror. As usual, her features looked softer than she’d hoped. Delicate almost. She always felt stronger than she looked. Are you sure you are ready to do this? How to cite Deception Point Page 88, Essay examples

Three Reasons Why Im Attending College Essays -

Three Reasons Why I'm Attending College Three Reasons Why I'm Attending Frontier Community College There are many reasons for my decision to attend Frontier Community College. For example, I wanted to create a positive atmosphere for my family so I would become a better role model for my children. While in the mean time, preparing a solid foundation for my career, and furthering my education to improve my own self-esteem. Creating a positive atmosphere, and being a good role model for my family, I feel is the most important reason for my decision to attend Frontier Community College. Hopefully, with experiencing my struggles, my children will realize it is easier to further their education earlier in life. I found by returning to college at age 35, it's twice the struggle to relearn the basic concepts of learning and preparing yourself for an exciting career. By creating this scholastic atmosphere, I feel my children have a better chance of furthering their education and provide the security they will need later in life. Subsequently, by building a solid foundation for my career, I am able to enhance my financial support for my children to achieve a solid foundation for their careers. Also by establishing a new and exciting career I will be able to earn and receive the benefits of a good job, and better pay, to provide my family with the security that I feel my family needs and deserves. My final, but none less important reason for my decision to attend Frontier Community College, is to further my own education, and to improve myself within the knowledge of a new career. Furthering my education will fulfill my need to learn and achieve the knowledge about the things that interest me most. Also, it will supply me with the feeling to be more comfortable with future situations, and gives me the knowledge and confidence to work under demanding pressures of everyday life. In conclusion to my decision to attend Frontier Community College, I believe it will create a positive atmosphere to help me become a better role model for my children, build a solid foundation for my career, and to further my education to improve myself. These three reasons are only a few of the many reasons why I decided to attend Frontier Community College at this point in my life. Bibliography freshman student/ first year Comp 1 Biographies

Standard English Definitions and Controversies

Standard English Definitions and Controversies In the entry for Standard English in  The Oxford Companion to the English Language (1992), Tom McArthur observes that this widely used term...resists easy definition but is used as if most educated people nonetheless know precisely what it refers to. For some of those people, Standard English (SE) is a synonym for good or correct English usage. Others use the term to refer to a specific geographical dialect of English or a dialect favored by the most powerful and prestigious social group. Some linguists argue that there really is no single standard of English. It may be revealing to examine some of the presumptions that lie behind these various interpretations. The following commentsfrom linguists, lexicographers, grammarians, and journalistsare offered in the spirit of fostering discussion rather than resolving all the many complex issues that surround the term Standard English. Controversies and Observations About Standard English A Highly Elastic and Variable Term [W]hat counts as Standard English will depend on both the locality and the particular varieties that Standard English is being contrasted with. A form that is considered standard in one region may be nonstandard in another, and a form that is standard by contrast with one variety (for example the language of inner-city African Americans) may be considered nonstandard by contrast with the usage of middle-class professionals. No matter how it is interpreted, however, Standard English in this sense shouldnt be regarded as being necessarily correct or unexceptionable, since it will include many kinds of language that could be faulted on various grounds, like the language of corporate memos and television advertisements or the conversations of middle-class high-school students. Thus while the term can serve a useful descriptive purpose providing the context makes its meaning clear, it shouldnt be construed as conferring any absolute positive evaluation. (The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 4th edition, 2000) What Standard English Is Not (i) It is not an arbitrary, a priori description of English, or of a form of English, devised by reference to standards of moral value, or literary merit, or supposed linguistic purity, or any other metaphysical yardstickin short, Standard English cannot be defined or described in terms such as the best English, or literary English, or Oxford English, or BBC English.(ii) It is not defined by reference to the usage of any particular group of English-users, and especially not by reference to a social classStandard English is not upper class English and it is encountered across the whole social spectrum, though not necessarily in equivalent use by all members of all classes.(iii) It is not statistically the most frequently occurring form of English, so that standard here does not mean most often heard.(iv) It is not imposed upon those who use it. True, its use by an individual may be largely the result of a long process of education; but Standard English is neither the product of lingui stic planning or philosophy (for example as exists for French in the deliberations of the Academie Francaise, or policies devised in similar terms for Hebrew, Irish, Welsh, Bahasa Malaysia, etc); nor is it a closely-defined norm whose use and maintenance is monitored by some quasi-official body, with penalties imposed for non-use or mis-use. Standard English evolved: it was not produced by conscious design. (Peter Strevens, What Is Standard English? RELC Journal, Singapore, 1981) Written English and Spoken English There are many grammar books, dictionaries and guides to English usage which describe and give advice on the standard English that appears in writing...[T]hese books are widely used for guidance on what constitutes standard English. However, there is often also a tendency to apply these judgments, which are about written English, to spoken English. But the norms of spoken and written language are not the same; people dont talk like books even in the most formal of situations or contexts. If you cant refer to a written norm to describe spoken language, then, as we have seen, you base your judgments on the speech of the best people, the educated or higher social classes. But basing your judgments on the usage of the educated is not without its difficulties. Speakers, even educated ones, use a variety of different forms... (Linda Thomas, Ishtla Singh, Jean Stilwell Peccei, and Jason Jones, Language, Society and Power: An Introduction. Routledge, 2004) Although Standard English is the kind of English in which all native speakers learn to read and write, most people do not actually speak it. (Peter Trudgill and Jean Hannah,  International English: A Guide to the Varieties of Standard English, 5th ed. Routledge, 2013) Standard English Is a Dialect If Standard English is not therefore a language, an accent, a style or a register, then of course we are obliged to say what it actually is. The answer is, as at least most British sociolinguists are agreed, that Standard English is a dialect...Standard English is simply one variety of English among many. It is a sub-variety of English... Historically, we can say that Standard English was selected (though of course, unlike many other languages, not by any overt or conscious decision) as the variety to become the standard variety precisely because it was the variety associated with the social group with the highest degree of power, wealth and prestige. Subsequent developments have reinforced its social character: the fact that it has been employed as the dialect of an education to which pupils, especially in earlier centuries, have had differential access depending on their social class background. (Peter Trudgill, Standard English: What It Isn’t, in Standard English: The Widening Debate, edited by Tony Bex and Richard J. Watts. Routledge, 1999) The Official Dialect In countries where the majority speak English as their first language one dialect is used nationally for official purposes. It is called Standard English. Standard English is the national dialect that generally appears in print. It is taught in schools, and students are expected to use it in their essays. It is the norm for dictionaries and grammars. We expect to find it in official typed communications, such as letters from government officials, solicitors, and accountants. We expect to hear it in national news broadcasts and documentary programmes on radio or television. Within each national variety the standard dialect is relatively homogeneous in grammar, vocabulary, spelling, and punctuation (Sidney Greenbaum, An Introduction to English Grammar. Longman, 1991) The Grammar of Standard English The grammar of Standard English is much more stable and uniform than its pronunciation or word stock: there is remarkably little dispute about what is grammatical (in compliance with the rules of grammar) and what isnt. Of course, the small number of controversial points that there aretrouble spots like who versus whomget all the public discussion in language columns and letters to the editor, so it may seem as if there is much turmoil; but the passions evinced over such problematic points should not obscure the fact that for the vast majority of questions about whats allowed in Standard English, the answers are clear. (Rodney Huddleston and Geoffrey K. Pullum, A Students Introduction to English Grammar. Cambridge University Press, 2006) The Guardians of Standard English The so-called native speakers of standard Englishes are those people who have somehow espoused a particular set of conventions that loosely have to do with the way English has been codified and prescribed in dictionaries, grammar books and guides to good speaking and writing. This group of people includes a large number of those who, having espoused the conventions, nevertheless do not consider themselves to be excellent users of those conventions. For many of these so-called native speakers the English language is a unique entity that exists outside or beyond its users. Rather than considering themselves owners of English, users often think of themselves as guardians of something precious: they wince when they hear or read uses of English that they consider to be sub-standard, and they worry, in their letters to newspapers, that the language is becoming degraded... Those who do feel they have rights and privileges, who have a sense of ownership of the English language and who can make pronouncements about what is or is not acceptable, as well as those to whom these attributes are accorded by others, do not necessarily belong to a speech community whose members learned English in infancy. Native speakers of non-standard varieties of English, in other words, the majority of native speakers of English, have never had any real authority over Standard English and have never owned it. The actual proprietors may, after all, simply be those who have learned thoroughly how to use a standard English to enjoy the sense of empowerment that comes with it. So those who make authoritative pronouncements about a standard English are simply those who, irrespective of accidents of birth, have elevated themselves, or been elevated, to positions of authority in academe or publishing or in other public areas. Whether or not their pronouncements will continue to be accepted is another matter. (Paul Roberts, Set Us Free From Standard English. The Guardian, January 24, 2002) Toward a Definition of SE From the dozens of definitions [of Standard English] available in the literature on English, we may extract five essential characteristics. On this basis, we may define the Standard English of an English-speaking country as a minority variety (identified chiefly by its vocabulary, grammar, and orthography) which carries most prestige and is most widely understood. (David Crystal, The Cambridge Encyclopedia of the English Language. Cambridge University Press, 2003) SE is a variety of Englisha distinctive combination of linguistic features with a particular role to play...The linguistic features of SE are chiefly matters of grammar, vocabulary, and orthography (spelling and punctuation). It is important to note that SE is not a matter of pronunciation. . . .SE is the variety of English which carries most prestige within a country... In the words of one US linguist, SE is the English used by the powerful.The prestige attached to SE is recognized by adult members of the community, and this motivates them to recommend SE as a desirable educational target...Although SE is widely understood, it is not widely produced. Only a minority of people within a country...actually use it when they talk...Similarly, when they writeitself a minority activitythe consistent use of SE is required only in certain tasks (such as a letter to a newspaper, but not necessarily to a close friend). More than anywhere else, SE is to be found in print. The Ongoing Debate It is in fact a great pity that the standard English debate is marred by the sort of conceptual confusions and political posturings (no matter how poorly expressed) ...For  I think there are genuine questions to be asked about what we might mean by standards in relation to speech and writing. There is a great deal to be done in this respect and proper arguments to be made, but one thing is clear for sure. The answer does not lie in some simple-minded recourse to the practice of the best authors or the admired literature of the past, valuable though that writing is. Nor does the answer reside in rules for speech laid down by either the educated of any official body held to be able to guarantee spoken correctness. The answers to the real questions will be found to be much more complex, difficult and challenging than those currently on offer. For these reasons they might be more successful. (Tony Crowley, Curiouser and Curiouser: Falling Standards in the Standard English Debate, in Standard English: The Widening Debate, edited by Tony Bex and Richard J. Watts. Routledge, 1999)

7 Sentences Energized by Elegant Variation

7 Sentences Energized by Elegant Variation 7 Sentences Energized by Elegant Variation 7 Sentences Energized by Elegant Variation By Mark Nichol In one of the most recent tugs-of-war between qualitative practice and quantitative practicality, search engine optimization has been eroding the exalted status of time-honored elegant variation, the convention of avoiding wearying repetition of words throughout a sentence or a passage. One of the principles of SEO, the suite of strategies for shaping online content to enhance its searchability, is that keywords, when repeated, strengthen the likelihood that a search will call up a particular piece of content. But let’s not allow that admittedly valid goal to be so scrupulously employed as to deaden the language. Here are some repetition-riddled sentences followed by elegant fixes: 1. â€Å"Finding a job at 55 is much harder than finding a job in your 40s.† Sentences like this aren’t wrong; they’re just a bit flat, and it doesn’t take much to pep them up a bit: â€Å"Finding a job at 55 is much harder than landing one in your 40s.† 2. â€Å"There’s a preponderance of knowledge workers working as contract workers.† Save some work with synonyms: â€Å"There’s a preponderance of knowledge workers employed as contractors.† 3. â€Å"The company is launching a new shelter magazine aimed at women in their 30s, while American Media is developing a shelter magazine for women in their 20s and 30s.† Two pairs of duplicate usage spiff up this sentence: â€Å"The company is launching a new shelter magazine aimed at thirtysomething women, while American Media is developing a home-themed title for those in their 20s and 30s.† 4. â€Å"New Jersey’s cops stopped doing consent searches, in which a cop asks a driver for permission to search the driver’s vehicle.† That sentence sports a tired trifecta. Not only is repetition of cop a cop-out, but it doesn’t take much effort to search for another word for search and summon the drive to replace a repeat of drive: â€Å"New Jersey’s cops stopped doing consent searches, in which a police officer asks a driver for permission to look around in the motorist’s vehicle.† 5. â€Å"He said he was afraid to listen to President Bush’s speech because he was â€Å"afraid Bush would announce he was going to repeal the Fourteenth Amendment.† I’m afraid that the reappearance of afraid is diminished by its previous use: â€Å"He said he was reluctant to listen to President Bush’s speech because he was â€Å"afraid Bush would announce he was going to repeal the Fourteenth Amendment.† 6. â€Å"Administrators requested waivers for regular students, special-education students, adult students, and students in continuation schools.† Send this writer back to school to come up with some other words for students: â€Å"Administrators requested waivers for regular students, special-education pupils, adult learners, and kids in continuation schools. 7. â€Å"When Brubeck chauffeured Milhaud, who didn’t drive, to the 1947 premiere, the composer drove the young musician to, as he said, ‘be true to your instincts’ and ‘sound like who you really are.’† Oh, my. The writer deftly employed chauffeured to achieve elegant variation in the literal sense of operating a car but then crashed farther down the road. Using two meanings of the same word (or even separate tense inflections) is a collision of comprehension: â€Å"When Brubeck chauffeured Milhaud, who didn’t drive, to the 1947 premiere, the composer pushed the young musician to, as he said, ‘be true to your instincts’ and ‘sound like who you really are.’† Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Writing Basics category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Inquire vs EnquirePrecedent vs. PrecedencePunctuation Is Powerful

Leadership and Change Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Leadership and Change - Essay Example This study outlines that Paul Hersey and Ken Blanchard developed a model known as the Situational Leadership theory. This theory states that there is not only one best way to perform leadership. Leadership style depends upon the situation which arises in the company. A particular leadership style is not applicable in all organizational situations, as different situation demand different leadership style. Effective leadership depends upon the task given, and the most appropriate leaders are the ones who react to the leadership style in accordance with the maturity of the group. Yes, the video was impressive as it acknowledged me with the situational leadership concept. It helped me to understand the reason behind Hersey-Blanchard success. They focused on four leadership behaviors, they are telling, selling, participating and delegating. They even focused on four maturity behaviors. They are competence, willingness, motivation and group competence.

Tourism Operation Management Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Tourism Operation Management - Essay Example An attempt has been made in this paper to investigate two key challenges relating to management and operations - capacity building, and quality of services - and to make suitable recommendations concerning the possible measures to overcome these challenges. Tourism has emerged as a major business activity world wide. The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) reported that tourism operations generated revenues totalling US$4421 billion in the year 2002. According to the Council's estimated projections, tourism business will grow to over US$8614 billion by the year 2012, registered an annual growth rate of 4.5% in global demand (Page, 2003, p. 2). The Council also reported that tourism accounted for almost 8% of employment worldwide, which translates to one in 13 jobs. In the year 2002, tourism-related jobs totalled a whopping 198 098 000 jobs, and according to Page (2003), this is expected to touch the magical figure of 249 486 000 by the year 2012. Stephen Page (2003) noted: "The late twentieth century and the new millennium have witnessed the continued growth of interest in how people spend their leisure and non-work time." Leisure pursuits and holiday tours are increasingly becoming a major non-work activity for millions of people across the globe. This growing interest to travel and holiday has now come to be recognised as a truly international phenomenon, or 'tourism' that motivates people to use their leisure time to visit different localities, landmarks, places and destinations across the globe. Added to this is the growing demand for tours and travels relating to specialized events, such as seasonal pilgrimages to holy sites and shrines. Among the latter, Mecca stands out as perhaps the single biggest spot the world over in terms of the number of tourists and pilgrims that flock to this holy city. Growing Profile of Global Tourism There has been a phenomenal growth in the demand for air travel since the 1960s. According to Page (2003, p. 144), the global airline industry carried 1600 million passengers (many of them tourists) to and from 10,000 airports, with 18,000 aircraft in the skies in the year 1998. Air traffic demand in Europe alone stood at 541 million passengers, and is expected to touch the 1101 million figure by the year 2015. With steadily increasing demand, several carriers and tour operators have even commissioned their own charter planes to woo tourists and to boost their tourism business. Boeing even evolved a hub-and-spokes services facility with point-to-point flight services. According to estimates, Hajj pilgrims to Mecca alone totalled the one million mark every year (2003). Among several reasons for this stupendous growth in tourism operations, the Air Transport Action Group (ATAG), a lobby group in the aviation sector, cited mainly five factors (2003, p. 3): A major downslide in the real cost of a travel Increasing activities in international trade and economic deals that call for frequent