Jehan Sadat - National Press Club Speech 1982 free essay sample

How to Choose a Building Lot for Your New House

How to Choose a Building Lot for Your New House Youre building a house. Which do you do first? 1. Select a style and a plan OR 2. Select a building lot? Both approaches have merit. If your heart is set on a Spanish style adobe home, a heavily treed lot may not make sense for you. Having an idea of the architectural style you prefer will determine the size and characteristics of your building site. You may run into problems, however, if you select a specific floor plan too soon. You can always design a home to suit a landscape, but you may not be able to alter a landscape to accommodate the specifications of predetermined house plans. The configuration of rooms, the placement of windows, the location of the driveway and many other design elements will be affected by the land you build on. The land itself has long been the inspiration for truly great homes. Consider Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater. Constructed of concrete slabs, the house is anchored to a rugged stone hill in Mill Run, Pennsylvania. Compare Fallingwater with Mies van der Rohes Farnsworth House. Made almost entirely of transparent glass, this unearthly structure seems to float above a grassy plain in Plano, Illinois. Would the Farnsworth House seem as graceful and serene perched on a rocky hill? Would Fallingwater make such a powerful statement if it sat in a grass field? Probably not. Questions to Ask About Your Building Lot Once you have located a promising building site for your new home, spend some time on the building site. Walk the full length of the building site at different times of the day. If you are a follower of feng shui, you may want to think about the land in terms of its chi, or energy. If you prefer a more down-to-earth evaluation, think about ways the building site will influence the shape and style of your home. Ask yourself: What are the general characteristics of the land? Is it green and woodsy? Rocky and gray? Or, is it a vast open stretch with a golden hue? Will the prevailing colors of the landscape change with the seasons? Will the home you imagine blend with the landscape? Does the landscape suggest particular colors or materials you might include in the design of your home?Can other structures be clearly seen from the building lot? What is the prevailing architectural style? Will your proposed home fit the overall context of the neighborhood?Will the size of your proposed house be proportionate to the size of the lot? (You dont want to squeeze a mansion onto a postage stamp!)Is there a street or road? Should the house face toward or away from the road?Where should the driveway be located? Will there be enough room for cars and delivery trucks to turn around?Where are the most pleasing views? Where does the sun rise and set? Which views would you like to see from the living areas? From the kitchen ? From the bedrooms? Where should windows and doors be placed? If you are in a northern climate, how important is it to face the south? Will a southern exposure help you save on heating costs?Is the site flat? Are there hills or streams? Are there any other geological conditions that might affect the design or placement of your home?How much landscaping will be required? Will preparing the land for building and planting trees and shrubbery add to your final costs? The waterfall views at Fallingwater may look idyllic, but for most of us, building on a rocky hillside isnt practical. You want the site of your new home to be beautiful, but it must also be safe... and affordable. Before you make a final decision, youll need to consider a mind-boggling list of technical details. Check Your Building Lot For Common Problems As you narrow your search for an ideal building site, dont scrimp on getting expert advice on home building. Your builder can put you in touch with consultants with the legal and scientific expertise to offer building advice. Your consultants will investigate the characteristics of the land and explore zoning, building codes and other factors. Land Conditions Soil. Has the property been a victim of hazardous waste? Are there pollutants that may not be apparent to an untrained observer?Land Stability. Is the property is subject to land slides or sinkages?Water Drainage. Is the property located near a river? Are there hills or low spots which may make your home subject to water runoff? Err on the side of caution. Even Mies van der Rohe made a grievous mistake. He placed the Farnsworth House too close to a stream, and his masterpiece suffered serious flood damage as a result.Noise. Is there a nearby airport, highway, or railroad? How disruptive is it? Zoning, Building Codes and More Zoning. In five years, your beautiful views may be replaced by a highway or a housing development. Zoning regulations will indicate what may be legally constructed in the surrounding area.Building Codes. A variety of ordinances will affect the placement of your new home on the lot. Regulations will specify how close you can build to the property line, roads, streams, and lakes.Easements. Easements for electrical and telephone poles will limit the space you have for building your home.Public Utilities. Unless the property is in a development of suburban tract homes, there may not be easy access to electricity, gas, telephone, cable television or public water lines. Sewers. If there are no municipal sewers, youll need to know where you may legally place your septic system. Costs You may be tempted to skimp on the cost of your land so that you can spend more money on building your house. Dont. The cost of altering an unsuitable lot is likely to be more expensive than purchasing land that is meets your needs and your dreams. How much should you spend on a building lot? There are exceptions, but in most communities your land will represent 20% to 25% of your total building costs. Advice From Frank Lloyd Wright Building a house is often the easy part. Making decisions is stressful. In Wrights book The Natural House (Horizon, 1954), the master architect gives this advice on where to build: When selecting a site for your house, there is always the question of how close to the city you should be, and that depends on what kind of slave you are. The best thing to do is go as far out as you can get. Avoid the suburbs- dormitory towns- by all means. Go way out into the country- what you regard as too far- and when others follow, as they will (if procreation keeps up), move on.~p. 134

Marketing plan stage 1 Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Marketing plan stage 1 - Essay Example 1 due to increase in total revenue and operating income but in the year 2012 the net income has decreased due to significant increase in income tax expenses and decrease in earnings from operations although the total revenue and gross profit has improved than the previous year. In the year 2013, the net income has increased than the previous year due to decrease in income tax expenses and increase in the earnings from continuing operation and also due to the increment in revenue and gross profit for the year. Income growth was negative for the year 2009 and 2011 due to decrease in net income but otherwise the growth was good for the remaining years. Stock price of the company has decreased from 2009 to 2011 which indicates expectations of investors were not met but after 2011 to 2013 it has increased significantly which indicates investors are gaining confidence in the company. Microsoft has such huge variety of product offering in the market that they have product for almost every type of customer. They are spread across all the continents in the world and reach out to everyone in this century. The reason they can target all types of customers lies in their products and services. They have software, games, browser, and the list goes on. Individuals need purchase safe so purchasing from #1 would appear to be the protected decision. However Microsoft never directed this strength into a solid brand position. They drank excessively of their own cool support and accepted their answers were more focused than they truly were. Being enormous has headed them to being a huge mush of significance, being such a variety of sorts of programming, fittings, administrations, and frameworks they have no brand center. As their predominance has faded, their brand position has flattened to the disgraceful "Im a PC" fight. Microsoft Office – It is their office suite which includes accessibility features that both make it easier for people with disabilities to use it, and, for

Analysis of Generals Die In Bed through the eyes of two chosen authors Essay

Analysis of Generals Die In Bed through the eyes of two chosen authors - Essay Example ng set the tone of this Paper, one work each of the prominent French philosopher, writer, and composer of the eighteenth-century Jean Jaques Rousseau and the renowned British naturalist of the nineteenth-century, Charles Robert Darwin, is also reviewed in the same light. Those who have seen the highly acclaimed award-winning TV Series made by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Blackadder (September-November 1989), starring comedians Rowan Atkinson, et al. will understand World War I in its true perspective. Rather than the Germans, who remain unseen, Blackadders adversary comes in the form of his superior, General Melchett who rallies his troops from a French chà ¢teau 35 miles behind the front, wining and dining on Champagne, Caviar and Cigars while his troops, rotting in damp trenches and existing on one distasteful looking meal, die of lack of medical care, sepsis, diarrhea and dysentery, a dozen to the day. Blackadders final line is poignant, just before leading his men into a suicidal final push at Flanders: â€Å"Well, I am afraid its time to go. Whatever your plans to avoid certain death were, I’m sure it was better than my plan to get out of this by pretending to be mad. I mean, who would have noticed another madman around here? Good luck, everyone.† (www.imdb.com, www.express.co.uk). New Orleans, reviewed the parody in 2002 (www.eclectica.org) as follows. â€Å"Generals Die in Bed (Harrison, 1930), is almost unknown today. It was published in 1930 to rave reviews. ‘It has a sort of flat-footed straightness about it that gets down the torture of the front line about as accurately as one can ever get it’ ( John Dos Passos, 1930). The New York Evening Post called it ‘the best of the war books.’ Harrisons novel, based on his own service as a member of the Canadian Expeditionary Force, is graphic, intense, and very powerfully anti-war while not being overtly political. It is remarkable to read about a war that was plainly hell, and for the man

Curtis Keim's Mistaking Africa Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Curtis Keim's Mistaking Africa - Essay Example The west has propagated many myths and misconceptions about Africa over the years. Though some of these myths are negative and untrue, they have been strongly held and believed as true. These misconceptions are passed tot eh kinds from their young age. The media has not helped put things in perspective as they often portray an exaggerated dark side (Curtis 57). Many students and graduates as well have no idea that Africa is a continent consisting of 54 independent nations and not a single country. In fact, all countries in Africa consist of many ethnic groups, use different currencies, and have unique national flags and varying political systems among many other differences. Social economic circumstances are different in each country, with different regions having different economic activities and social processes. The difference is so huge that English and French are the major languages through which people from different regions can communicate to one another. News on leading telev ision channels often portrays Africa as chaotic, violent and dangerous. Scenes of child soldiers, pirates and kidnappers in the Indian Ocean, civil wars and massacres strongly reinforce the myth that Africa is indeed a dangerous place. What the media denies its audience is the calm and peaceful side of Africa. Rarely will countries like Ghana, Tanzania or Malawi, which are peaceful, feature on television. Whenever there is coverage on the continent, it will most likely be about civil war in Sudan, Somali pirates, the famous Rwanda genocide, post election violence in Kenya and Ivory Coast, revolution in North Africa and severe droughts in the horn of Africa. All these paint a picture of violence and great danger in the continent, a factor that contributes to entrenching of this myth from generation to generation. For a long time, nongovernmental organizations, faith based organizations and government agencies have engaged in mobilising resources to fund development projects, respond to emergencies and fight diseases and ignorance in Africa. This translates to a misconception that Africa is poor and diseases ridden. Whereas poverty is commonplace in Africa, the continent is not all poor. A closer look reveals that wealth distribution is the key problem. For instance, South Africa has a bigger GDP than some western countries, with many natural resources, good education and health care systems, organised business districts and ultramodern infrastructure. Unfortunately, poor sections of the society cannot access these facilities and are condemned to deplorable conditions in slum areas. In respect to diseases, poor sections across the continent bear the blunt of serious diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, polio and malaria, since they cannot access primary health care. Similarly, many poor children only attain primary education, which is cheap, often lacking finances to proceed to high school and collages. Election periods are very chaotic in many countries across Africa. Corruption across many African countries is responsible for keeping some old guards in power for as long as they wish. However, many countries including South Africa, Zambia and Ghana among others have exercised democracy to the latter. Western and Asian countries with economic interests in countries with weak constitutions have in the past championed for status quo in order to retain tyrants who protect their interest. Audit reports indicate that high-level corruption in international agencies and nongovernmental organizations in Africa has deep involvement of the administrators of such funds, who are mostly western. This indicates that corruption is not just an African affair, but has a back up from many western societies. Both high school and

What teachers need in order to deal with Ethical Dilemmas

What teachers need in order to deal with Ethical Dilemmas Ethics are defined as a set of principles of right conducts; the rules or standards governing the conduct of a person or the members of a profession ( Dictionary of the Human Language, 2000).   Teachers are often put in situations that require more than just knowing the basic school rules. It is within these situations, that the ethical dilemmas occur. There is not always a right way to deal with many daily problems that face educators, but there are ways to handle situations that are better then others.   Teachers should follow and refer to a code of ethics to help teach in the most appropriate and ethical way; as well as a guide to help deal with dilemmas. It is important that teachers give children a fair chance to show their knowledge when assessing.   The purpose of assessment is to provide feedback that can be used to improve student performance ( Orange 2000).   Teachers assess children to ensure that they are understanding the material, and to make sure they are learning.   For young children especially tests should never be the only criteria of assessment.   Instructors should always make sure that their assessment is fair.   When testing a child, make sure that the testing method used is appropriate for that child.   For example, if giving a test that relies on visual aids to administer the test it is important that the teacher is certain that all the children have good enough vision to clearly see the aids.   When assessing young children in particular it is important to look for more then simply right or wrong.   An in depth look is necessary to see what the children really know before giving them a poor grade.   Childrens work needs to critiqued in more then one way to be sure that they really do or dont understand. Varied assessment   methods developed and evaluated by teachers make a significant contribution   to knowledge about what children know, can do, and still need to learn. (Isenberg Jalongo, 2000) Children have the right to confidentiality.   It is inappropriate for a teacher to discuss a childs results with fellow colleagues or other students.   A childs grades should be private, and should not be posted.   Students might be ashamed of their grades, or some people might take poor grades as a bad reflection upon the students character.   Public pronouncements (of grades) are likely to taint everyones opinion of that childs ability (Isenberg Jalongo, 2000 ).   It is important not to share professional confidential information in any other way but a professional way.   There are appropriate and inappropriate times to share a childs information, part of becoming a professional is knowing when to keep quiet and protect confidentiality (Isenberg Jalongo, 2000).  Ã‚  Ã‚   Just as braking confidentiality is inappropriate so is teacher bias and discrimination.   It is suppose to be that school is the only institution that can counter the accidents of birth, guarantee of opportunity and provide objective and fair ways to select and train talented individuals (Goodlad, Sirotnik Sober,1990).   However, discrimination towards students takes place all the time.   Teachers often discriminate against males and females, expecting different things from both.   Research over the last decade has shown that males and females have different classroom experiences because they approach learning differently and because teachers tend to treat them differently.   There is an expectation that for females in some subjects are usually lower, as they are for members of certain racial and ethnic groups and for poor students. (Hanson Shwartz, 1992). Boys are usually associated with doing better in math then girls, while girls are thought of as to excel in English.   It seems as though teacher are aware of this bias and instead of helping to stop it they make it worse by treating the children differently.   Teachers continue the bias by picking teachers pets.   Teachers are not suppose to pick favorites.   If they do they are certainly not suppose to treat them any differently from the rest of the class.   If teachers favor and esteem certain members of a peer group, the remaining children will understandably have a diminished sense of self worth (Orange, 2000).   Teachers should take the time to evaluate their own behavior, evaluating whether or not they treat children differently.   This could also help teachers overcome racial, social or gender biases as well as favoritism.   According to the survey, 82 percent of students say they have had a teacher who has favored one student over others and 52 percent of teachers admit to having done so (Argarwal, 2001). Teachers are inevitably going to have certain children they enjoy more, its human nature. Its when teachers begin to give special brakes, or give better grades to certain students solely because they like the students character better, that is when favoritism gets out of hand.   It is very easy to cross the line or use inappropriate punishment as a teacher.   Teachers must choose their punishment techniques carefully.   Corporal punishment is no longer allowed in a vast majority of states.   A school discipline policy is a good guide for teachers to follow to make sure they are using an appropriate discipline method. On the other hand, even the best policy is only a document, and how it is carried out is at least as important as what it says (Gushee, 1984).   When a child misbehaves it is important to consider what is causing this behavior.   Childrens motivation for bad behavior usually has to do with love, power, freedom or fun- or some combination. (Isenberg Jalongo, 2000).   When deciding appropriate discipline it is important for the educator to keep in mind whether or not the discipline is necessary, productive, fair, or age appropriate.   The basic minimum requirement for understanding any young childs behavior begins by building a relationship with them and depends upon effective communication ( Isenberg Jalongo, 2000).   Rather then constant discipline teachers should remember to look for the good as well.   To avoid dealing with problems unethically, and to guide educators in the right way there are a set of principles.   The principles are intended to guide, conduct and assist practitioners in resolving ethical dilemmas encountered in the field (The National Association for the Education of Young Children Code of Ethical Conduct, 2000, as cited in Isenberg Jalongo, 2000).   There are answers to some specific questions, but not all dilemmas are addressed on the Code of Ethics.   They can not tell a teacher how to teach but they can lead them in the right way. Most problems will require the use of the Code as well as professional judgment (The National Association for the Education of Young Children Code of Ethical Conduct, 2000, as cited in Isenberg Jalongo, 2000). The National Association for the Education of Young Children Code of Ethical Conduct believes that there are certain values that teachers should always keep in mind while educating.   The Association states that Standards of ethical behavior are based on commitment to core values that are deeply rooted in the history of our field.   The core values include ideas such as: appreciating childhood as a unique stage, basing work on the knowledge of child development, appreciating and supporting the close ties between family and child, knowing that children are best understood in the context of their family and culture, respecting the dignity and uniqueness of each individual (child, family member, and colleague), and to try to help children and adults achieve their full potential in the context in relationships that are based on trust, respect, and positive regard. There is no perfect way to teach, and it is hard to find the perfect solution to every problem.   The best way for a teacher to deal with ethical situations is to try to avoid the problem to begin with.   Teachers should always think about their actions and evaluate their behavior on a regular basis.   Problems that deal with concepts such as bias, or favoritism can be avoided by a teacher simply evaluating himself and his behavior.   Problems with assessment and confidentiality just take a little consideration, and thinking through.   If teacher would refer to the Code of Ethics it might help lead them in the most appropriate and ethical actions and solutions. The National Association for the Education for Young Children Code of Ethical Behavior states that; Above all, we shall not harm children.   We shall not participate in practices that are disrespectful, degrading, dangerous, exploitive, intimidating, emotionally damaging, or physically harmful to children.   They say that, that principle has precedence over all others.

The Relevancy of the Heartland :: essays research papers fc

The Relevancy of the Heartland - Hinterland Distinction in Canada's Economic Geography Until the early 20th century, Canada was primarily an agricultural nation. Since then it has become one of the most highly industrialized countries in the world as a direct result of the development of the ‘heartland'. To a large extent the manufacturing industries present in the heartland are supplied with raw materials produced by the agricultural, mining, forestry, and fishing sectors of the Canadian economy, a region known as the ‘hinterland'. The ‘ heartland-hinterland' concept in Canada describes patterns of economic power, namely, where economic power and control resides within the nation. Thus, the heartland-hinterland concept distinguishes raw-material and staple-producing hinterlands from the capital service industrial heartland and reveals the metropolis or dominating city of the system. At a national scale, the Canadian metropolis is Toronto, and the region with the most influence is the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands. But while immense influence radiates outward from the metropolis located in the heartland, the relationship between hinterland and heartland is one of intimate mutual dependency. In modern Canadian economics, neither region can exist without each other, and the well-being of one directly affects the other. These two regions show remarkable contrasts, yet they are to a large extent interdependent on each other, clearly suggesting that the heartland-hinterland distinction is quite relevant in terms of Canada's economic geography. Upon discussing the importance of the heartland-hinterland in Canada, it is necessary to discuss what each term refers to. According to McCann the heartland is an area "†¦ which possesses favourable physical qualities and grant food accessibility to markets; they display a diversified profile of secondary, tertiary, and quaternary industries; they are characterized by a highly urbanized and concentrated population which participates in a well-integrated urban system; they are well advanced along the development path and possess the capacity for innovative change." Literally, hinterland means ‘the land behind', the area from which a heartland draws its raw materials and which, in turn, serves as a market for the heartland's manufactured goods. The demographic and economic characteristics of Canada's heartland are that it contains over 50% of the nation's population and 70% of its manufacturing industries in only 14% of the nation's area. Canada's heartland is southern Ontario and Quebec stretching from Quebec City to Windsor. This heartland, occupying the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence Lowlands, coincides with several favourable physical characteristics such as fertile Class 1 and 2 soils in addition to humid continental climate for optimal agricultural conditions. However, the "hinterland regions display harsher or more limiting physical characteristics. The Cordillera, Interior Plains, Canadian Shield, and Appalachian regions yield tremendous resource wealth, but their soils,