Assesing the Curriculum for Special Education - 2198 Words

CENTRAL PHILIPPINE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF GRADUATE STUDIES Jaro, Iloilo City ASSESSING THE CURRICULUM FOR SPECIAL EDUCATION A RESEARCH PAPER In Partial Fulfillment of the Course In Educ. 647 Supervision of Instruction Presented to: Dr. Lucy B. Catalogo Professor Presented by: Lori Grace A. Advincula MAED 2 -1 March 25, 2008 Table of Contents Chapter I. Introduction †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦... 2 Background of the Study†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 2 Objectives of the Study †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 2 Statement of the Problem ...†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 3 Scope and Limitation †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦ 4 Hypothesis †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 5 Chapter II. Review of Related Literature †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦.. 6 Chapter III. Methodology and Procedure †¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦. 10 CHAPTER I Introduction Background School can be†¦show more content†¦Most educators believe that children with disabilities and nondisabled children should be taught together whenever possible. Isolating children with disabilities may lower their self-esteem and may reduce their ability to deal with other people. The practice of integrating children with disabilities into regular school programs is called mainstreaming, or inclusion. Students with disabilities attend special classrooms or schools only if their need for very specialized services makes mainstreaming impossible. Many children with disabilities attend regular classes most of the school day: They work with a specially trained teacher for part of each day to improve specific skills. These sessions may be held in a classroom called a resource room, which may be equipped with such materials as Braille typewriters and relief maps for blind students. Other students with disabilities attend special classes most of the day but join the rest o f the children for certain activities. For example, students with mental retardation (MR) may join other children who do not have MR for art and physical education. Although the place where instruction occurs (the setting) is seen as important in the field of special education, the types of curricular modifications and interventions may be a more important area to focus on in the future. Hypothesis This research is important in giving helpful ideas in

Equality Is The Central Point Of Discussion - 928 Words

Equality In America Throughout the history of America, equality has always been the central point of discussion in society. Many believe that America has reached the point of equality where everyone is equal. Obviously this is not the case, but we have made great strides to reach a world where everyone is equal. However, America has made great improvements in making equality relevant in todays society. Although contemporary society has succeeded in making â€Å"equality† a reality, I claim that it has also failed in addressing this theme appropriately. America has always been associated with the theme and value of equality. America’s history is thick and rich with the major theme of equality. For instance, the abolishment of slavery, which†¦show more content†¦USAID quotes, â€Å"If we can erase these inequities and put women on equal footing with men- we know we can unlock human potential on a transformational scale†. The government agency’s pu sh towards equality for women will not just benefit women, but many other people. For instance, USAID quotes, â€Å"just by empowering women farmers with the same access to land, new technologies and capital as men, we can increase crop yields by as much as 30 percent and feed an additional 150 million people†. This agency is a work in progress, but there mindset is on equality for all, which is magnificent. Contemporary society has been able to keep the value of equality relevant throughout America. The strides made by society in order to reach equality for all genders is tremendous, yet society is still in the dark over equality in other areas. While society in America has been able to keep the value of equal germane, it has also failed in making this value a reality. Writer Joseph E. Stiglitz, author of the†Great Divide†, quotes, â€Å"the gap between aspiration and reality could hardly be wider†. Stiglitz is pessimistic about the value of equality in Am erica and how it has been addressed. Stiglitz quotes, â€Å"Today, the United States has less equality of opportunity than almost any other advanced industrial country, study after study has exposed the myth that America is the land of opportunity†. Now, Stiglitz is making a huge statement by saying that

Cambodian Sex Trade Free Essays

string(28) " and a stroll out the door\." To the untrained eye, Cambodia is an exotic vacation destination with ancient cities, bold colors, legendary temples and remarkable beauty. What you don’t see is the horrendous crimes that are going on behind closed doors. Inside the world of Cambodian child sex trafficking, each year, by some estimates, hundreds of thousands of girls and boys are bought, sold or kidnapped and then forced to have sex with grown men. We will write a custom essay sample on Cambodian Sex Trade or any similar topic only for you Order Now MSNBC news) Human trafficking or modern-day slavery is the fastest growing criminal industry in the world; and in my opinion, least discussed and prevented. Specifically the child sex trade is an epidemic not recognized by Americans nearly enough. Unborn children in South Korea are being sold by their pregnant mothers over the internet. What happens to these children after they are sold is unknown. They can be sold to people who are looking to adopt but having a hard time being approved, or more likely circumstances, they end up in a darker place; the human sex trafficking world. The illegal sale of children makes up more than half of all the cases of human trafficking around the world, according to recent estimates. (Al-Jazeera/News Europe) Traditionally it has involved the exploitation of children in poorer nations, like Cambodia, Vietnam and India but there are findings of more and more cases amongst developed countries such as America. There are countless exploited children that are unaccounted for around the world; Argentina’s child-snatching plague, Turkey’s severely high number of missing children, which has increased annually, Sri Lanka’s children being taken from their homes to be â€Å"child soldiers†, South Korean selling of babies, Bangladesh’s child brides who are sold by their families and taken away by their dramatically elder â€Å"husbands† and never heard of again to list a few. Twenty years ago the United Nations adopted the Convention of the Rights of the Child. The CRC or UNCRC, it sets out the civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of children. As of December 2008, 193 signatories had ratified it, including every member of the UN except the U. S. and Somalia. The treaty restricts the involvement of children in military conflicts and prohibits the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. The UNCRC has been used as a blueprint for child protection legislation around the world. But, as you can see, the treaty’s promise to protect children has not always been kept. After watching an Al Jazeera News broadcasting, in an interview with a woman who would know better than anyone about exploited children around the world; Lisa Laumann from Save the Children Charity stated â€Å"Intergovernmental organizations like the United Nations provide the framework around which governments can come together to agree on what good practice is and how governments should behave legally on behalf of their citizens, but it’s up to the governments themselves to draft that legislation, develop the systems and institutions that guarantee those rights. (Lisa Laumann, from Save the Children charity, Al Jazeera Interview) Laumann also goes on to state, â€Å"There also has to be an effort made to help communities, families and children themselves, to understand what rights mean for them and how they can support them. † (Lisa Laumann) I feel so strongly more effort needs to be put forth, and that something needs to be done soon about this epidemic that is giv en a blind eye. People need to be educated about what is going on not only in the world, but right here in America. Despite what Americans bialy choose to ignore; it’s going on in Connecticut, and quite possibly New Haven as we speak. When you walk by the missing children ads and see all of those young girls’ (and boys) faces, they may not have run away from home, maybe they were forcefully taken, and being forced into child prostitution. Or, another scenario, maybe they did run away from home, got into a little trouble as a misguided young female, and are in a lifestyle they are having difficulty getting out of. These are instances more common than you would think. Sex-tourism, or travel to engage in sexual intercourse or sexual activity with prostitutes, typically undertaken internationally by tourists from wealthier countries has become a multibillion-dollar industry. But the business is not all about adult prostitution. There are some places you might have never heard about, notorious places, the kind of places a sexual predator would be willing to travel halfway around the world to reach -destinations like a dusty village in Southeast Asia, where the prey is plentiful and easy to stalk. My focus for this paper will be on Cambodia. This country has the highest amount statistically reported of children in the child sex trade, in an interview with Chris Hansen of Dateline NBC, with Mu Soc Hua, Cambodia’s minister of women’s affairs, Hua states that there is a staggering number of â€Å"†¦around 30,000 girls in the sex-trade industry, and although Cambodia has a lot of problems, I rank sexual trade, sexual exploitation of our children as top — on the top of my list. I’ve also chosen Cambodia because of a separate interview/documentary I’ve watched where an accredited news channel, Dateline NBC goes undercover with a human rights group to expose the sex trafficking in Cambodia, and they actually follow through with a dramatic operation to rescue the children, and take the measures to have the â€Å"pimps† or men and women that run these brothels arrested along with an American doctor who is purchasing these girls for sex to be prosecuted. I’d like to discuss both aspects of this crime, the seller and the buyer. Many, if not most of the men buying these exploited girls in Cambodia are Americans- thinking that they’re involved in nothing more than prostitution, but by any definition it is rape. (Dateline NBC news) Prostitution in Cambodia is illegal, but finding a girlfriend for the night at a nightclub could be as simple as a few words, a few dollars, and a stroll out the door. You read "Cambodian Sex Trade" in category "Papers" The producers and investigators of NBC begin their journey inside this dark world, across from what looks like a local cafe, but really a brothel. You see many deceiving brothels that to the untrained eye, appear to be cafes, clubs or gated storefronts along the streets of the rundown village Svay Pak, on the outskirts of the Cambodian capital Phnom Penh. Svay Pak is notorious for child trafficking, and it only takes a few minutes for a pimp to approach the undercover reporters. The pimp turns out to be a fifteen-year-old boy who tells the reporters he’s grown up in the village and even introduces his mother – who knows exactly what he’s up to and takes a cut of the money he brings in. Po tells the reporters he can get them girls who are even younger than the ones they’ve seen thus far in the trip. And despite all they’ve seen, they’re stunned at just how young he says they are – 8-year-olds. It’s hard to believe, and even harder to stomach. The dimension of a fifteen-year-old boy promoting the sales of possibly his sisters or cousins is confusing. He is doing the selling of a girl who is the same age as he, and could be in his school class. Is there a connection between male and female status and does gender play a role, or hold a higher status in relation to trafficking is something I will be looking into further in this paper. ) He brings them through some alleys to a ramshackle house so they can see for themselves. The dirty faces of the girls are seen through the shadows on the documentary, and little-girls-shoes litter the house. The house is guarded by men and women, heavily armed with guns, clearly visible when the produce rs walk in. In the documentary, all of the natives, children and adults alike know a little English. When they talk about sex, they use simple child-like terms anyone can understand. â€Å"Yum-yum† means oral sex. â€Å"Boom-boom† means intercourse. They meet dozens of children at the various brothels they enter. One girl that really caught my attention throughout the documentary was a girl that said she’s nine, accompanied by another who says she’s ten. Both say they know how to perform oral sex. And they even tell the reporters how much it will cost: sixty-dollars for two girls. A pimp says,† If two girls aren’t enough, how about three? (Dateline NBC news) It is repulsive, and a grim reality the thought of what is done to these innocent, young girls when it isn’t undercover American producers doing the buying. And the sad thing is that there would’ve been no future for these girls if the producers of NBC along with Bob Mosier, the International Justice Mission’s chief investigator hadn’t stepped in. In figuring o ut as to why these girls are being sold or taken from their families in the first place, I’m taking a look at what status the male and female roles hold in a family. For example, in Japan it is preferred by parents to have a son over a daughter because of the one baby law, only allowing one child to a household. This means, it’s more desirable to have a son to carry on the family name and get an education, opposed to a daughter who marries off. In Cambodia, females tend to be talked about as being â€Å"relatively equal† to men, though with little discussion of how this equality is related to the larger picture of hierarchical social organization. Judy Ledgerwood 120) However, gender is only one of a range of factors that influences where a person is ranked in Khmer society. On the one hand daughters are suppose to be protected, on the other, a teenage daughter might bicycle daily to the city to sell vegetables to help support the family; or a young woman might move into the city to work in a garment factory. Orphans and widows must live with little or no male supervision, because there are no surviving family members. This can caus e their neighbors to â€Å"look down on them,† they lose status in society because they have no men to protect them. Women in Cambodia today must undertake all sorts of employment that involve being in office, factory or other situations alone with men. These kinds of circumstances lead to accusations regarding the virtue of individual women and to the general idea that â€Å"women just don’t have the value that they used to. † What is of critical importance to Khmer women during the interviews done by Judy Ledgerwood, was their concerns, it was not their particular concern with social status or gender ideals, but hard economic realities and the difficulties that they face trying to feed their families. An explanation of this, as to why these children are being sold into sex is because of the lack of funds and resources their families are facing. In many cases, poverty is to blame for making worse the plight of the most vulnerable. Cambodia is still suffering from a traumatic past. In the 1970s and ’80s, an estimated 2 million Cambodians died because of war, famine and a brutal dictatorship. During the Khmer Rouge period, 1975-1979, people died of starvation and disease as well as from execution. More women than men survived the traumas of this period. Women are better able to survive conditions of severe malnutrition, fewer women were targeted for execution because of connections to the old regime, and fewer women were killed in battles. Many women told Ledgerwood that they survived those years of horror because they had to care for their children (Ebihara and Ledgerwood page 143). During the 1980s and early 90s, men continued to be drained off from society to go to serve as soldiers. This was particularly evident in rural areas where one could enter a village and find no men between the ages of about 15 and 50. Many men were killed or disabled; others might still have been alive but were off with their military units, with resistance factions at the border, or hiding from conscription. This may add to the bigger picture as to why men are exploiting children for money. The poverty plays a large role, all they have to offer are their children, and being disabled, there isn’t much work physically possible. Also, the return of the men reflects the extremely high birth rate during the 1980s and 90s, 2. 5 to 3 percent annually, meaning more children to sell. A child’s tragic journey into the sex trade often begins in a family struggling for survival. This is a country where the average income is less than $300 a year. (Hanlen 323) Most children are sold by their own parents. Others are lured by what they think are legitimate job offers like waitressing, but then are forced into prostitution. It’s become clear that Cambodian parents don’t have enough money to feed eight children in a family, so selling two of them could get them a (measly to us) one-hundred U. S. dollars. Or, for example, during the ocumentary broadcasted on NBC, a female pimp by the name Madam Lang tells undercover reporters (with undercover cameras, on tape) that â€Å"her† virgins go for six-hundred-dollars, as if the virgin part is an extra attraction, and for that price she says they can take a girl back to the hotel and keep her there for up to three days. When she brings out the girl, the 15-year-old native looks paralyzed with fear. It is hard to prevent the exploitation of children in this country not only because it takes a caring parent, but because it takes a caring community. The people are governed by money and it’s hard for them to turn it down and put morals before reality. Even the police of the village are in on the illegal activity occurring. In one of the videos, a police officer requests one-hundred-fifty dollars from the NBC producers posing as sex tourists, as a pay-off for insurance that the tourists wouldn’t get arrested by Cambodian officials. One-hundred-fifty dollars is the equivalent of five months pay for a Cambodian Officer. (Hanlen 325) The Cambodian Police have set up a unit to deal with sex trafficking, but have yet to be proactive in dealing with the issue. There are no guarantees in real justice because many of the cops are in the pimps’ pockets. While it’s good to prosecute the people who sell children for sex, if you want to solve the problem; you also have to go after the tourists who buy them. But who is going to confront these sex tourists? It’s difficult to say with the corrupt Cambodian legal system. As far as the documentary goes, in the end, at least seven of the suspects seen on tape, including a man who supplied little girls for a sex party, were recently found guilty by a Cambodian judge and sentenced to up to fifteen years in prison. In months following, Madam Lang, the woman who offered virgins for six-hundred-dollars, was also convicted and sentenced to 20 years behind bars. That’s believed to be the longest sentence of its kind ever in Cambodia. (NBC) There are a many people fighting for these oppressed girls, but little change has been noted because the education of human trafficking is so sparse. Efforts from people that I would like to note are the International Justice Mission, a Faith-based human rights group specializing in victims of sex trafficking and bonded labor who have been working in Cambodia for the last six years. IJM web, NBC) Also, Acting for Women in Distressing Circumstances (AFESIP), an advocacy group for children and adolescents at risk that runs a group home in Cambodia for victims of sex trafficking. (AFESIP web, NBC) The United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), â€Å"Child Protection† section discusses the problem of trafficking in children, and donates money for this cause . (UNICEF web, NBC) When you see the UNICEF boxes come around in the fall on Halloween, donate whatever change you have because now you know where that change is going and it is making a difference in someone’s life across the world. The Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Civil Rights (LICADHO) is a Cambodian group that advocates for human rights, focusing on women and children in Cambodia, who provide (limited) shelters, with limited funds for battered women and children. (LICADHO web, NBC) Not to forget ECPAT International, an international child advocacy group focusing on the problems of child prostitution, child pornography and trafficking of children for sex, and educating people on these issues. ECPAT International web) And lastly, The Protection Project, the Human rights law research institute at John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), Washington, D. C. , who conduct studies around the world in countries with high rates of human trafficking, report their findings, enact laws, educate the people in harm’s way, and people around the world on preventative measures and serve as an advocate. (The Protection Project web, NBC) Although the groups listed above are fighti ng for these girls, the reality is, is that not many get out of their oppressors’ hands. For the girls that do escape the places where they lost so much, and hopefully never to return, the road to recovery is a long one; but their darkest days are behind them. The treatment of Sexually Transmitted Diseases along with the rehabilitation physically, mentally, and emotionally of these girls has just begun. In standard procedure, girls are brought to a safe house for a few days. Then they are placed in group homes: one for the younger girls and one for teens, and in the case of the NBC Documentary, their group homes were run by the charity AFESIP (noted above). The director of AFESIP, Pierre Legros, stated, â€Å"Getting the girls out of the brothels is tough, but keeping them in the group home is even tougher. † He estimated that on average 40 percent of the rescued girls return to a life of prostitution. (AEFSIP) That is disheartening, but all hope cannot be lost, these children need help. It’ll take years to overcome the extreme poverty and widespread corruption that cause the child sex trade to flourish, but I see the current wave of prosecutions as a step forward for this country and its people. That’s why there is hope and we have to continue to fight. Prosecution is the key word, the message has to be very strong and forget about prosecuting the big fish, prosecuting everybody who is involved in it, I think, will be most effective. If we all as human beings come together internationally and take this up as a global issue, I think there could be a change not only for the children of Cambodia, but missing and exploited children around the world, even in our own country. America has been busy fighting a one-sided war in Iraq since 2001 with nothing to show but casualties on both sides. No â€Å"weapons of mass destruction† were ever found and yet our troops are still there. I think that where our funds and efforts really needed to be are on the frontlines fighting for the children of our future. Works Cited Dateline NBC News â€Å"Children For Sale† Jan 9 2005. NBC News. Al Jazeera/ News Europe â€Å"Child Sex Trade Soars in Cambodia† October 2008. Al Jazeera News. http://english. aljazeera. net/news/asia-pacific/2008/10/2008102110195471467. html Cambodia Development Resource Institute (CDRI) 2002 Economy Watch – Domestic Performance, Cambodian Development Review 6(2):14. 2001 Policy Brief, Land Ownership, Sales and Concentration in Cambodia, March. 001 The Garment Industry, Cambodia Development Review 5(3):1-4. 2000 Prospects for the Cambodian Economy, Cambodian Development Review 4(1):8-10. Judy Ledgerwood, Meaghan Ebihara 2002 Hun Sen and the Genocide Trials in Cambodia: International Impacts, Impunity and Justice. IN Cambodia Emerges from the Past. Steve Heder, ed. , DeKalb, IL: Center for Southeast Asian Studies, Northern Illi nois University, pp. 106 – 223. Hanlen, Marcus. â€Å"Police Pay of Underdeveloped countries. † Police Information and Statistics of the World (2007): 323-325. Web. 12 Dec 2009. Dateline NBC news â€Å"IJM Operation Frees Families from Slavery† Jan 2005. NBC news. How to cite Cambodian Sex Trade, Papers

Welfare Reform Essays - Federal Assistance In The United States

Welfare Reform WELFARE REFORM In the late 1920s and early 1930s, there was a crisis among American families. The crash of the Stock Market in 1929 led into the era, which would be remembered as the Great Depression. The stock market crash left many American people with nothing. With no money, no homes, and no jobs, many American families became poor and homeless. With the presidential election in 1932, of Franklin D. Roosevelt and the introduction of the ?New Deal,? the American people were acquainted with many new economic and social welfare programs. Up until this time, welfare was not a big issue, but with so many poor people it was important to find a way to help the economy. The welfare programs did help many people in the height of the depression, but the question today is, the welfare benefit levels too charitable? The answer is yes. Welfare benefit levels are so generous, that they entice people into becoming dependent upon the system. Up until the Great Depression, welfare was not really an issue. For the most part every one dealt with their problems on their own. When the stock market crashed in 1929, it left many people to fend for themselves. Many families in America got wrapped up in the stock market, after all the returns were very plentiful. Several people had their life savings in the stock market, and others went to loan sharks and took out loans for large sums of money, to try and earn back money that they had already lost. When the stock market crashed, it left all of the people with investments in stock, as well as banks, with nothing. Many people committed suicide, or went crazy. Some of the richest people became poor. But to make matters worse, many people were fired or laid off their jobs. This was happening left and right; their employer had either lost too much money in the crash of the stock market. Or when the stock market crashed and took everyone's money, no one could afford the goods or services that they were offering and they were not making enough money to pay their employees. So they were left with no choice, with little to no cash flowing in they could not afford to keep many people on their pay roll. The Great Depression, which began in 1929, had a tremendous impact on nearly all aspects of American life. Its effects on the American political perspective was considerable indeed. The landmark election of 1932 brought Franklin D. Roosevelt to the presidency. Also, that election marked an essential shift in the public's attitude toward the proper place of government in the nation's social, and economic life (Carlson-Thies 13). ?Franklin Roosevelt and the democrats engineered their victory in 1932 with a new electoral base. It was built largely of southerners, small farmers, organized labor, and big-city political organizations. Roosevelt's revolutionary economic and social welfare programs, which formed the heart of the New Deal of the 1930s, further strengthened that coalition; and it soon brought increasing support from African Americans and other minorities to the Democrats? (Carlson-Thies 13). With the election of Franklin D. Roosevelt came many strong attributions towards the economic status and the very well being of the American people. Roosevelt's biggest push was his ?New Deal,? which was a program that he and his fellow Democrats had comprised. The New Deal was supposed to help the American people that were jobless, and living on the streets, by giving them a job and bringing them in off the streets. It was a program devised to help get people on their feet. It was a series of programs that formed a very large program that is known as welfare. Welfare consists of many programs, there are programs that are intended to help the elderly, and there are programs that focus most of their attention on children. There are also programs intended to provide housing for needy families. There were several federal rules and regulations that one must meet in order to receive benefits from welfare. Once a person qualified to receive benefits, then a certain amount of money was given to them. The amount of money that a person received was based upon how many

How to Write to Market and Improve your Income

How to Write to Market and Improve your Income If you’re an indie author, it’s possible you have heard other authors talk about writing to market. It’s not a new concept, but within the last few years indie authors have been using it to sell more books and skyrocket their income. Here’s how to do it. 1.  Ã‚     Pick a genre you love.  It does no good to write in a genre you don’t read in and enjoy, so pick one you are quite familiar with. For example, let’s pick mystery. 2.  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Drill down to a popular sub-genre.  Take some time and look at the different sub-genres. Pick one you enjoy and look at the top selling books. Let’s pick culinary cozy mystery. If you look on Amazon, the top selling book in that category is #112 in the whole Kindle store. This is good, it means this is a hot category. Now look at the top twentieth book. It’s ranked #2,771. Anything above #10,000 is going to indicate it’s a hot market. The trick is to pick one that is hot, but not so crowded that you can’t break in. 3.  Ã‚     Study the tropes, themes, and similarities.  Now that you’ve picked your sub-genre, buy the top ten books and read them. Look at the story threads that run through all the books searching for tropes and themes that are the same. Ignore the outliers, the books that sell well but don’t have similar themes or tropes. You’re looking for the commonalities. Write them down. 4.  Ã‚     Write your book.  Now you should be able to incorporate these well-loved tropes and themes in your own book. This does not mean you are copying the stories. This means you are using common storytelling devices that have been around for years. With your own unique twists, you should be able to tell a story that will be both fresh and new, yet familiar and loved. 5.  Ã‚     Rapid release.  A popular trend to raising your income is to write three novels and then publish one every 30 days. This will acquire you more visibility and raise your ranks, especially if you’re writing in a series. 6.  Ã‚     Write a reader magnet.  Write a novella or short story and give it away as incentive to join your newsletter. 7.  Ã‚     Network.  Spend some time on social media getting to know other authors who write in your genre. For this example, this would be culinary cozy mystery. See if there are any Facebook groups where these authors hang out. If not, start your own and invite authors to join. 8.  Ã‚     Trade promotion.  Offer to promote another author’s book in your newsletter if they will promote yours. 9.  Ã‚     Slow release.  Instead of scheduling all your promotion on your release day, spread it out so your book slowly rises in rank on Amazon. This will make your book stay higher in rank longer. Michelle Pennington was averaging $33 income per month in the beginning of 2017. She began writing to market in the fall of 2017 and in the beginning of 2018 was averaging $3,600 income per month. This May she topped $7,000 for the month. Amy Meyer earned $63.50 in May of 2017. She began writing to market under the pen name of Anne-Marie Meyer shortly after that. Her income for Ma, 2018 was $7,353. Bree Livingston published her first to market book in March of this year. She made $2,283 in March. April brought in $6,402. May topped $8,000. Last year her total income was $281. These three examples happen to be sweet romance writers, but this isn’t a concept that only works for this genre. Craig Martelle, founder of the Facebook group 20Booksto50K writes to market science fiction. Susan Kaye Quinn brings in six figures writing YA dystopian. This method will work with any genre as long as it is commercial, and you pick a niche that is selling well.

Common Symptoms of Eye Strain

Common Symptoms of Eye Strain Vision-intensive tasks like reading or computer work can cause the muscles in the eye severe stress, ultimately resulting in a condition known as asthenopia, or eye strain. Straining your eye muscles can produce a variety of symptoms, which means  eye strain can be a debilitating repetitive stress injury. Furthermore, you may not even recognize some of these symptoms as â€Å"eye† problems as the symptoms are typically nonspecific. However, once you understand that these issues can point to  symptoms of eye strain you are well on your way to treating eye strain or preventing eye strain entirely. Symptoms of Eye Strain Due to overwork and repetitive stress, the muscles in your eyes fatigue. The primary symptom associated with early stages of eye strain typically involve the head, neck, or backaches or dizziness and lightheadedness, and although these early symptoms may point to general work-related soreness, its best to give your body a break if you begin to feel pain near or around the eyes. Prolonged, intensive use of the eyes cause their ciliary muscles to tighten, often resulting in spasms or twitches around the eyes. This is the earliest sign directly indicative of eye strain and can intensify to include heaviness of eyelids, blurred or double vision, tired or sore eyes, or even overly watery, itchy or dry eyes.   If left untreated and exposed to continued stress, the pain can intensify resulting in a burning sensation, even with eyes closed.   Other nonspecific symptoms include car sickness, nausea, reading problems, lack of concentration, and general fatigue.   Treating Eye Strain Symptoms Although many of the above symptoms do not directly point to eye strain, if you begin experiencing more than one of these symptoms while undergoing eye-intensive tasks, it is best to take a break and assess your overall well-being. Your first response should be to cease the activity causing tension, close your eyes and relax for five to ten minutes. If you are reading, especially on a computer screen, and begin to experience these symptoms, it is best to allow your eyes and the ciliary muscles to relax by focusing away from the reading material. Focus instead on an object considerably further away. This relaxes the strained muscles of your eye and interrupts the repetitive stress of continued reading. Doing this over the course of working on eye-intensive tasks may reduce your chance of straining your eyes.   If your symptoms do not lessen as a result, you may have over-stressed your eyes. In this case, the best solution is to turn out all the lights in the room and allow your eyes to fully relax in the dark. If you are experiencing a burning sensation even with your eyes closed, covering them with a cold compress (nothing too cold, like ice) should alleviate some of the tenderness. Over time of non-use, your eyes will recover on their own. If symptoms continue to occur, even after a long rest, consult your physician as this may be indicative of a larger optical issue.   Effects of Eye Strain Chronic eye strain may also be a significant factor in learning and attention problems. Without the ability to see or read without significant discomfort, you may find yourself unable to retain information due to the distraction of pain. Chronic pain, if left untreated, may cause your vision to suffer, eventually resulting in blindness. Fortunately, diagnosing eye strain is rather easy since these symptoms typically only appear during a visually intensive task. When youre undergoing such stressful work, be sure to be aware of the fatigue of your eyes. Take breaks often and desist if eye pain continues for more than 30 minutes.

Thomas Paine on Religion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Thomas Paine on Religion - Essay Example His ideas about religion and its impact on social institutions and citizens, Thomas Paine expressed in the book The Age of Reason. The core of his teaching is deism and personal religion: â€Å"My own mind is my own church† (Paine 13). Thomas was born in Thetford on January 29, 1737. His parents lived in the small house on White Hart Street. A photograph of this cottage exists, but the building was torn down in the 1880's. In its place there stands a pretty garden and a fountain. The house had four or five rooms, one of which on the street level was used by Joseph as a shop. His father, Joseph Paine was a commonplace person (Kaye 72). He is described as placid and pious, industrious and poor (Kaye 74). In religious belief and practice he was a Quaker. He lived ten years in France, from 1792 to 1802, took part in the French Revolution and met thousands of Frenchmen, yet he never learned enough French to make a speech in that language, or to say anything at all except the few sentences that were needed in ordering food and commenting on the weather (Great Theosophists: Thomas Paine n.d.). In 1750, he was taken from school to be taught the trade of staymaking. It was a handicraft that required a fairly long apprenticeship. One had to learn the qualities of various fabrics, such as silk, linen and calico. Cutting the cloth was an operation that called for skill, for each pair of stays was an individual product. Tape measurements of the customer were made in the first place, and a pattern was laid out (Kaye 23). After nearly five years in his father's shop Tom Paine ran away. In 1756, he went away again and joined the privateer King of Prussia, commanded by a Captain Mendez. Paine would never say anything about it, but his attitude in respect to this particular exploit is not at all remarkable. He was as reticent about it as about everything that concerned his personal life. On March 26, 1771, he married Elizabeth Ollive. He was then thirty-four and she was ten years younger (Kaye 24). During 1770s, Paine played an active role in the political life of England: he joined officers in Parliament and published his first political article The Case of the Officers of Excise. In 1774, Paine came to America and devoted himself to the revolutionary cause. The most important fact is that Paine was the first author who wrote for the whole American public. During the first six months after its publication about one hundred thousand copies of Common Sense were sold (Larkin 29). His religious ideas and vision of an ideal society Paine expressed in the Agee of Reason. This work consists of three parts appeared in 1794, 1795 and 1807. The first part of the book was written when he was in good health, and without the aid of a Bible; it was meant to shock men into thinking, but compared to the second part it is a model of restraint. It was dedicated to "my Fellow Citizens of the United States," though he was evidently dubious of their enthusiasm for it" (Paine 45). Paine never overlooks an opportunity to humble aristocratic arrogance. He called men to practice the moral virtues, and the belief of one God Larkin 29). Excepting the violent Fundamentalists, no religious person would today be inflamed by reading it. It is ludicrous to suppose that a man of Paine's intense temperament would indulge in flippancy on the brink of eternity (Great Theosophists: Thomas Paine n.d.). The ink had barely dried on his work when the long-expected happened;