The Cotton Wool Kids

Introduction In this essay the writer is going to describe a range of ideological perspectives in relation to a chosen media article. The article entitled 'The Cotton Wool Children' made the writer consider how families have changed in modern Britain. How the article was presented by the media and in relation to the assumptions and images it reflects on the context of families, the pressures upon families and family life in modern Britain. The writer read the story in the Sun newspaper on the 6th June 2007. Where did this article come from? The Children's Society did a survey and here are some of the results. Our children are not being given the opportunity to 'play out' i.e. play outside the family home. Adults are too anxious about their children's safety to let them spend time playing outside with their friends; a freedom that most parents enjoyed themselves. The survey also revealed that many parent's childhood friendships lasted a life-time. The survey was conducted by GfKNop and this is the first in a series called 'Reflections on Childhood' that is being commissioned by the Children's Society as part of its Good Childhood Enquiry. These findings came in the wake of a recent report from UNICEF in which the UK ranked at the bottom of the peer relationships table in international standing, (An Overview of Child Well Being in Rich Countries, UNICEF 2007).

  • Word count: 1845
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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Case Study of the 1925 Tri State Tornado

Tornado: Case Study of the 1925 Tri State Tornado The deadliest tornado in United States history and the fastest F5 tornado ever classified by the Fujita system struck on March 18, 1925. Originating in the central portion of the country, the state of Missouri, and the tornado quickly moved northwest in Illinois and then into southwestern Indiana, thus providing the name "Tri-State." The tornado was actually spawned from a larger tornado outbreak, which produced several deadly tornados in Tennessee, Indian and Northwestern Kentucky. One of the more interesting natural facets of this particular tornado was the tremendously powerful downburst winds that were generated throughout the full extent of the tornado's path. This burst coupled with the actual tornado winds amplified the damage zone from .75 square mile to 3 square miles at a time. Consequences This tornado alone killed a confirmed 695 individuals, twice as many as the second deadliest tornado in the nation's history. The storm destroyed over 15,000 houses and caused almost 16.5 million US Dollars at the time in damages, which amounts to the staggering figure of 1.4 billion US Dollars when adjusted now for inflation. At the time, the most surprising and awing characteristic of this tornado was how even deft and hardy farmers who had weather many other tornados were damaged by this natural phenomena. Citizen

  • Word count: 462
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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English: Creative writing piece

Moderation task : Creative Writing Piece Due: Wednesday 13th October 2010 Word Count : 897 words Washington crossing the Delaware River by Emanuel Gottlieb Leutze made in 1851 It was a week before Christmas day in the year 1776. The wind was cold and hard as it brushed past my face. I felt a chill run through my spine, but for the glowing sun, the cold would have been unbearable. "Why won't God give me a break?", I thought. I was thinking about something, how the problem we were faced with would be solved, even if only temporarily. As the wind rushed by and I stood there thinking deeply, it came to me all of a sudden. After that, I pondered over and over a plan until I had it perfected to the last detail, then I simulated the results in my head. Ninety-nine times out of hundred it failed, but that one time it didn't fail provided me with enough hope. Moreover, you don't undergo a revolution without taking some risks. I thought about how my plan would diminish British and Hessian power and cause them to take us, the Revolution and I, seriously. Just in August I remembered, my army had being exhausted, demoralized and uncertain of its future. We had been invaded by British and Hessian troops and we hadn't been ready for them. We were forced to desperately escape to the island of Manhattan. However, the British had followed us to Manhattan and compelled us to retreat again,

  • Word count: 1017
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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Discussion of the poem Astronauts by Robert Hayden.

Astronauts The poem "Astronauts" by Robert Hayden is the portrayal of an outer space mission and man's journey to the unknown. This is then contrasted with life back on our world and the expectations and awe that is placed upon the astronauts by those on Earth. Hayden challengers the reader with the thought of what we expect of ourselves and others, and what we hope to accomplish and gain from life. With man's fear of the unknown, the astronauts' journey symbolises the journey of life with all its hardships and doubts but also its discovery. The poem depicts the expedition of a group of astronauts as they travel into space. As they land on the moon, there amazement of what they discover is expressed "And Wow, they exclaim; oh boy, this is it" (Line 9). The team begin to sing (Line 11) as they investigate a whole new place that is untouched by man and is yet to be explored. The poem also introduces the theme of God "And God's radar-watching eye?" (Line 20) This explores the possibility of God and man's need to know whether he is with them throughout the journey of life. While on the moon, they "labour at gathering proof of hypothesis..." (Line 22) so that they may learn wonders that mankind has yet to discover. This is the point at which Hayden poses the question "What is it we wish them to find for us?" (Line 27) referring to those back on earth watching from their screens

  • Word count: 967
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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NYAA expedition

Expedition Report 1 The expedition was set for the 20th and 21st febuary. It was from St.Martin to Albion, where we, in between, rested at flic-en-flac. The prupose of this expedition was to introduce the NYAA to the newcomers. As preparations, we were told what should be brought in an expedition such as cooking utensils, the amount of water, etc and what should be ignored such as phones, mp3, large snacks etc. We were also given two maps, along with the coordinates of our route. We were placed in a group of four, each having a group leader and every member having an important role. The tent issued was shared between two or three people. We started at 11:45 a.m. We started walking with our heavy bag on our back at around noon. Our first checkpoint was a farm where we saw several domestic animals. Then we reached a muddy lane and with a lot of difficulty, we managed to pass through it, we continued until we reached the pipeline, where we took a good rest and I had an Alpen bar as snack. We then continued, it was very sunny and water was vital so we had to consume moderately to save for future use. We were walking in the sugarcane field until we discovered we had to pass through a bush of plants called "piquant loulou". It was the worst part of the expedition because when we reached the end of the bush, we had scratches all over our body. We then decided to take a rest and at

  • Word count: 953
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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Madame Bovary Comparison Paper (title too long)

The Parallels between the lives of Emma of Madame Bovary in 1857 and Anna Nicole Smith: An Investigation of the Relevance in Lifestyles Though the novel Madame Bovary was written about one hundred ten years before the birth of Anna Nicole Smith, there are many parallels between the infamous "gold digger" and Emma Bovary. Not only does the plot of Madame Bovary have a high correlation with Anna Nicole Smith's life in regards to lifestyle and characteristics, Flaubert wrote Madame Bovary in order to showcase adultery. Madame Bovary was written in order to prove that though sexuality, morality, and infidelity were sensitive topics in the mid nineteenth century, infidelity and temptation were still prevalent during that time period. Our modern society's attitudes toward these topics are much more liberal, even though (just as in the nineteenth century) being faithful in a relationship is still the right thing to do. Emma Bovary is main source of the novel's title (although Charles's mother and his former wife are also referred to as Madame Bovary). She has an overly romanticized view of the world and craves beauty, wealth, and the sophistication that comes along with it. It is the ideas of these romantic ideals and the realities of her country life that drive her into two extramarital love affairs, and cause her to amass an incredible amount of debt that eventually leads to her

  • Word count: 1043
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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Articles on Bolivias Turmoil

Juan Casares Mr. Grzywacz 0/13/2008 Articles on Bolivia's Turmoil Problem: Bolivia is perhaps one of the poorest nations in the world. Although it is rich in land and resources, it has endured wrong governance for too long. Its economy has been completely devastated over time because of corrupt presidencies, extortion among social classes and unhelpful neighbors. Thus, most people live under extreme poverty and hunger. There is a minority of wealthy (European descendant) people that form the powerful class. This so-called powerful class has been ruling Bolivia for the past decades. This social class makes up merely 25 % of Bolivian people whilst the other 75% is composed by indigenous and poor people. Since the gap between the wealthy and the poor is so exaggerated, the wealthy people rule over the poor people. Thus, the vast majority of Bolivians (75%) are resentful towards people who are and have historically been socially and economically powerful. These poor people believe that they have been under extortion for a prolonged period of time. Although this is true to a certain extent, it does not apply to the problems that were started because of this resentment. The problems root back to 2005 when Evo Morales became the first Aymara Indian president of Bolivia voted by over a 50% of the population. Previously, Evo had been the leader of protesting group. He became

  • Word count: 1199
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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Arrival of Bee Box

Commentary on the poem, "Arrival of Bee Box" by Sylvia Plath The following is a commentary on the poem, The Arrival of Bee Box by Sylvia Plath. The poem is about an individual who is metaphorically through the use of "bee box", explaining her emotions. Considering that the poem is written from a first person perspective it can be suggested that the poet Sylvia Plath is referring to herself when she mentions and refers to 'I" in the poem. As a result most of the poem takes the form of a monologue where the narrator, in this case Plath, emotes. The poem is essentially on the internal thoughts of suicide that she is facing hence the main theme is that of death, while the tone is sad. Imagery and metaphors are used by her to emphasize the points of her feelings. In the, "Arrival of Bee Box", the main theme is that of death. Given that the poem is about her feeling and thoughts on suicide. It is brought to the readers awareness right from the beginning of the poem in Stanza 1 itself, where the poet constantly refers to death, mainly through the use of diction, for instance when she says, "coffin of midget" or even towards the ending of the poem when she is initially developing her idea's and thoughts on suicide in Stanza seven when she refers to a "funeral veil". In all it is a constant reference that we see throughout the poem. The other theme ironically that has references to

  • Word count: 994
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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Past, Current And Emerging Technologies

Past, Current and Emerging Technologies MONITORS During the time leading to the early 1980's, most of monitors were boxy video terminals attached to a computer by a serial interface. These were known as CRTs (Cathode Ray Tube). Overtime, other companies, such as IBM improved on the computer's technology and released machine's that were called "3 pieces", this was because the monitor was separated from the keyboard and a mouse was added thus resulting in a machine which needed at least 3 components and peripherals in order to function, called a PC. A data projector is a device which projects many types multimedia onto a presentation surface. This device is used in class lectures, cinemas, conference rooms and many other occasions where a wide projection is needed to serve a bigger crowd. Data projectors have revolutionized the way presentations are shown as they are very portable, can be used on any clear surfaces and are very interactive, providing a lot of possibilities. A liquid crystal display (LCD) is a thin, flat display device made up of many pixels aligned in front of a light source. It uses a little amount of electrical power; therefore it is used in many small devices. STORAGE A floppy disk is a small, portable plastic disk coated in a magnetic substance used for storing computer data; it is readable by a computer with a floppy disk drive. The floppy disk

  • Word count: 730
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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mechanical hound in fahrenheit 451

What happens in part one of the book "Fahrenheit 451"? Why is the Mechanical Hound used? The Mechanical Hound is a robotic dog used to "sniff" out people who are insurgents. The Hound can smell books and people who are thinking too much for themselves. He is the radar detector for the fire department. Captain Beatty lets the Mechanical Hound out each night to see if it can find any fires that need starting. The Hound also has the ability to destroy books and people. Fully describe the Mechanical Hound and how it is used in "Fahrenheit 451". The Mechanical Hound is first described early in the first part of the book. The hound is a life-like piece of technology that sniffs out illegal books, hunts down criminals, and incapacitates criminals with its needle, that extends from its nose, filled with procaine or morphine. Its described as living, but not living because it is so real looking and acting that it seems like it's alive. It is made of copper, brass, and steel. It has ruby glass and capillary hairs in nylon-brushed nostrils. If strays from looking like a real dog though in that it has 8 insect-like legs. It is a malevolent creature to Montag though as it growls at him as he passes. Its eyes are green-blue neon, multi-faceted light bulbs. When it "sleeps" it makes noises like an electrical sizzle or frying sound. Its computers can be set to detect many levels

  • Word count: 599
  • Level: International Baccalaureate
  • Subject: Misc
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