The Facebook In Education English Language Essay

The Facebook In Education English Language Essay Facebook is a networking site, which connects people all over the world, making the Earth a global village. This social networking giant was launched by Mark Zuckerberg and his friends. The website mainly aims at connecting people or helps them socialise and makes its revenue out of advertising. This paper mainly tries to tell what facebook is all about, and concentrates on how it can be used for educational purposes. It also highlights few of the security problems faced by the users of facebook. This paper mainly tells about the student- teacher interaction, students council on facebook and how it will be useful to their education above and beyond portraying results of a FB opinion poll which can divulge and justify the creation of this study. INTRODUCTION: Facebook was founded by Mark Zuckerberg and his roommates at Harvard. He initially founded a website called Facemash for Harvard students. Since the website attracted many users, he was motivated to programme Facebook. Initially, the usage of this website was limited to Harvard students. Later, seeing the response that this website received, it was extended to the students of other universities as well. In 2009, the services of this website were made global to anyone above the age of 13. The users of this website have to create an account using a valid email- id. Each user has a separate profile, which bears some personal information about the user. Users can edit their profile, add pictures, post on their wall (a wall is a private space provided by this webpage. It is more or less like a personal notice board, where in, users can write, comment, add videos, pictures, etc.), send messages (the message option is more or less like the email and is a secure communication link) or even poke their friends (a partially fun and partially boring event to let other users know that you exist). Users are also allowed to customize the privacy settings for their profiles, where, the contents of their profiles will be viewed only by their friends, or a selected, customized few. Any registered user can search for and add any other member as friend, provided the other person accepts the friend request. Users can also categorise their friends as close friends, family, high school friends, etc to keep track of their close ones activities. Further, users are allowed to create or join groups of their interests. Users are also allowed to create Events and send out online invitations with the RSVP option thus providing the organizer an efficient and simple tool to make their organizing a huge success! Facebook also provides notifications, where in users are reminded about various important happenings, meetings, dates, etc. This interface also informs users if they have been tagged on someone-elses profile. Facebook provides the chart, calendar and clock applications as well. Facebook has emerged as a new dais not only for mere communication but for learning and teaching as well. With the help of breakthrough technology, facebook is supported in all mobiles, tabs and computers. This indeed has turned FB as a teaching platform where we can share materials, have a discussion, conduct contests and assessments and above all it requires no pre-training to start with [4]. Even though FB users range from school going children to elderly people, the ratio of teens and college students is substantially large. The reasons behind this are it is a new-fangled venue to utter and convey themselves, innocuous lurking, identity marking apart from acquaintances, mythoi and quixotic affairs, which are the prime facades of juvenile growth. Elaborate cram based on the time the college youth spend per day, how and why they exercise FB also portray the same end results [13]. From both the students and teachers point of view, facebook can be efficaciously practiced as a social network; Students envision FB as a course and mà ©tier for vigorous participation, to solidify self pride and poise etc whereas rendering inferential outcomes, explicating diverse didactics, adapting and updating to the scenario of expectations of students etc are some added vantages to the teachers [3]. Another angle of approach is how facebook can be made use of to dig into instructors strike of self-revelation which tops on a students reliability in addition to immediate apprehension. Studies are going on in this invited research area which analyses the essence of computer-liaised teacher disclosure. Facebook is likely happened to be a worthy asset to abide academic alliance with faculty. Findings indicate that the latters self-revealing tendency may stimulate students for efficacious learning by means of interactive sessions [6, 11]. Prior to be used for educational purposes, FB is nowadays used by the students to pre-register to engage with an educational institution, to socialize and to integrate with the other students [2]. Detailed works shed light on social networks evolution, peoples horizon, FBs entailment on executives, its prospects on campus networking in time to come and also mentionable is interface with studying environs [8]. Apart from just learning, it definitely acts as a powerful medium in spreading a social matter which draws attention of millions in just a few seconds. More theories deal with this thought and several analyses are done for the practical possibilities [1]. Apart from general studies, finical reports state that several SNSs (certainly including FB) have come under daily cum inevitable means of (academic) communication. Statistics, surveys, questionnaires etc render helping hand to know the diversified impression of SNSs. Having mentioned that, via those one can come to an idea of their grandness, innovation, requisite, uses and intention. Though SNSs have some drawbacks, their overhaul and resources have grown their usance to a phenomenal extent and, which, now have become very common. Some grounds of FB which have made it unimaginably popular are self expression, entertainment quotient, maintaining relations, visual familiarity, global updates of all forms, media drenching, following famous icons regularly etc. [7,9]. Not only meant for entertainment and educational platform, through FB, researchers across the globe are experiment the mental attitude, especially of students, depression references. There exist some strategies to approach a person who have expressed his/her personal opinion about something or somebody. Since it is now a rising issue, this topic is worth discussion [5]. A mathematical experiment on FB and its users reveal the approximate percentage of the genders, the time each race spend, various purposes like chatting, finding friends, lurking, work and event reminder, multimedia sharing, games, business and many more [12]. Thus, Through FB walls, students can keep up tight-knit links, call off one, and establish new contacts, not only generally but with other institutions as well. As far as students are concerned, they can share and exchange information about both teaching and learning and can develop themselves better practically than by being bookish. It definitely introduced an online fashion where people can get together with their near and dears and distant pals [10]. http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcSS8X54-PUsZBG3dGKIjT3eqsNpN-HERvBQ4MVw_OrCvban6QZXTw The above picture is that of a facebook profile. THE USAGE OF FACEBOOK FOR NETWORKING PURPOSES: This networking giant is the second most used website in the world and has an online traffic of about 900 million across the world. This website is not only a platform for networking but is also useful in bettering education, making news more accessible, advertising and promoting businesses, etc,. Because of the variety of applications provided by this network, it has almost become ubiquitous. THE USE OF FACEBOOK AS A GLOBAL CLASSROOM: A lot of teachers today feel that since the usage of facebook is very familiar with students across the globe, it may prove to provide an upper hand in their education, if used properly. Teachers and students may become facebook friends. That way, teachers may know a lot about their students personally. The student teacher interaction which may not be plausible in the classroom may be made possible online. Teachers and students can post study related videos and articles on their wall, for other students to view and learn. If students and teachers are facebook friends, students will be able to ask doubts any time and get clarified based on the availability of the staff online. If the topics and dates of submission for assignments are posted on facebook, it would be convenient for both the staff and the student. This networking may create a bonding between the preacher and the preached that may not be possible in todays classrooms. http://t1.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQXfXWpQFLMswGgkIzEXGEd0oNeZrPI7lcUH4wy094nMH30wiZAtAThis picture shows how networking is made easier by writing in some ones wall on facebook THE USE OF FACEBOOK AS A STUDENTS COUNSEL: An online forum or group may be created in facebook wherein students can counsel among themselves. Such groups may be very interactive and useful for students to do group activities and combined studies. A new innovative idea of any student may be shared among their fellow beings any time, and discussed. Discussion about any topic on their subject or any assignment may be done online and students may get a good participation from other fellow students. THE CRITICS ARGUEMENT: Critics however say that students and teachers should not be friends on facebook because it changes the entire relationship between the teacher and the taught. A few people also say that teachers or students may misuse or take advantage of this online friendship. A survey conducted by Kirschner and Karpinski on the students of Midwestern University, USA, states that students spending time in facebook were found to have lesser GPA, than the ones not using facebook. Though this might not be the only reason for these students reduced GPA, this might also have accounted for it. This might be true in the western part of world. But an emphatic study at universities in the eastern part of the world, show that the usage of facebook and GPA are not related. THE THREAT FOR PRIVACY ON FACEBOOK: There is always a threat for privacy in facebook. With the increasing use of pseudo identity by unlawful people, there is even more of a security threat on facebook. But, according to a study conducted on students, they did not face any real time security problems (for example, being stalked by strangers either online or in the real world) because of using facebook. Also, not a lot of students care about their identity being disclosed on facebook. THE STUDENTS USAGE OF FACEBOOK FOR DIFFERENT PURPOSES: A survey, via a questionnaire was conducted on about two hundred and fifty students of SASTRA University. The following questions were asked and the students were requested to answer them briefly. Name: Age: Gender: The time that you spend on facebook: Your marks in %: The number of hours that you spend online: The activities that you do in facebook: Can facebook be used in education: yes no If yes, please elaborate: If no, please elaborate: Does facebook in any way help you in your academics: Does the use of facebook affect your studies: Can facebook be used as a global classroom: yes/no If yes, please elaborate: If no, please elaborate: Can facebook be used as a students council: yes/no If yes, please elaborate: If no, please elaborate: The following results were obtained. About 86% of students reported that facebook can be used for education, 64% of them told that facebook helps them in their academics, 70% of them agreed that facebook does not affect their studies, 68% of them voted that this networking site could be used as a global class room, 83% of them voiced that the networking giant could be used as a students counsil. CONCLUSION: As we all know, there are two sides to a coin, to an untold story and to every other thing on earth. Everything has its pros and cons. Hence, facebook, if used properly can be made a powerful educational tool. But, the students who spent more than six hours on facebook were found to have lost interest in studies and eventually, their GPA were less. But, the advantages of facebook can be made to outweigh its disadvantages if educators start using facebook as an educational tool. In conclusion, this study is all about fore fronting the emerging phases of Facebook with special attention to education and academic purposes. Therefore, this paper triggers empiric and theoretical probe on academic activities in Facebook.

Survival In Auschwitz Essay -- essays research papers

  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã¢â‚¬Å"Imagine now a man who is deprived of everyone he loves, and at the same time of his house, his habits, his clothes, in short, of everything he possesses: he will be a hollow man, reduced to suffering and needs, forgetful of dignity and restraint, for he who loses all often easily loses himself.† This short quote is taken from Primo Levi’s â€Å"Survival in Auschwitz†. It depicts a true story of Primo Levi during the Holocaust, who was relocated to an extermination camp after beginning a great life after college. Primo was captured with a resistant group from Italy. He used his college education and degree in chemistry to stay alive.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The above quote brings a similar quote to mind. â€Å"What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and yet loses his own soul†. That quote is taken from the front wall of St. Aloysius Catholic Church in Olivia, Minnesota. It gives an idea about our savior Jesus Christ’s life. He spent his whole life teaching the word of God and humanity to all people of any race or religion. These two, Primo Levi and Jesus Christ, lived similar lives.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Primo lived growing up as a Jewish citizen during the bad economic times of Europe. Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party blamed this economic tragedy on the Jewish society. Primo tried to fight against this, but like most Jews was found guilty and taken to conservation camps. Here he was giving the chance of what he learned in life...

Charles Darwin Essay -- Essay on Charles Darwin 2014

Charles Darwin began his scientific breakthroughs and upcoming theories when he began an expedition trip to the Galapagos Islands of South America. While studying there, he discovered that each island had its own type of plant and animal species. Although these plants and animals were similar in appearance, they had other characteristics that made them differ from one another and seem to not appear as similar. Darwin questioned why these plants and animals were on these islands and why they are different in ways. Darwin’s observations from the islands made him want to come up with some explanation to why this occurred. He began to do research of each the species that had lived on these islands and observe all of the characteristics that had. He noticed that the islands h...

Halloween: Family fun or Satan’s Playground? Essay -- Halloween Argume

Okay, I admit this time of year is a guilty pleasure of mine, with the changing of the seasons. The crisp cool days and evenings let you cook hearty healthy meals that fill the home with such sumptuous, delicious smells. It’s the time of year for hot apple cider, pumpkins and families that get together. Harvest time used to be a time when all the hard work of the year was being stored up for the long cold months of winter. We recently had the pleasure of hearing: â€Å"Trick or treat, smell my feet, give me something good to eat.† Why do we say this? Where did this tradition come from? What is the reason for our dressing up, and the pumpkins that we carve? Who originally came up with this celebration and why? Let’s not forget the all-important slasher movies and TV specials. Although many people feel Halloween is not a holiday and should not be celebrated, I believe it is a holiday, because it is steeped in tradition, truly an American holiday, and a social revelry of merriment that everyone can enjoy. Murray Hope explains on Joelle's Sacred Grove Entrance website, that this ancient holiday celebration began with the Celts (people of Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England) approximately in the 5th century BCE. After the occupation of the British Isle’s many of the Roman pagan ways were added to this celebration such as their Goddess of harvest, Pomona whose sacred fruit is the apple. It is believed that this is why we celebrate the festivities with apple cider, bobbing for apples and candy apples (Wolf). This all lasted until Christianity decided to convert all pagans, and incorporated many of their holidays into the churches calendar. Pope Gregory IV was the first to try combining pagan ways within the Church so he crea... ...ngest Holidays." Suite101.com: Online Magazine and Writers' Network. 28 Sept. 2007. Web. October 8, 2010. Schaadt, Robert L. "Bats and Halloween - The Vindicator: News." The Vindicator: The Oldest Continuously Printing News Source in South Liberty County since 1887. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. "Should Christians Participate in Halloween? - ChristianAnswers.Net." Christian Answers ® Networkâ„ ¢ (ChristianAnswers.Net): Multilingual Answers, Reviews, Ministry Resources, and More! [Home]. Web. 21 Nov. 2010. Skal, David J. Death Makes a Holiday. New York: Bloomsbury, 2002. Print. "Unusual Pumpkin Facts." Pumpkin Patch - Everything You Ever Wanted To Know About Pumpkins! Web. October 8, 2010. Wolf, Spring. "The Pagan's Path ~ Witchcraft & Shamanism - The History Of Samhain / Halloween." The Pagan's Path ~ Education Network. 13 Oct. 2009. Web. October 8, 2010.

A Comparison of Bless Me Ultima and The House on Mango Street Essay

Exploring Syncretism in Bless Me Ultima and The House on Mango Street      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Syncretism is the fine line between Christianity and Native American Religions because it is the ambivalent, simultaneous attraction of choice and identification to the influences of two or more religious belief systems. Syncretism is most common among minority groups such as Hispanics. The definition applied to their unique position of culture is brought about by the Native American and Spanish ancestry. Ambivalence is shown even by the word Hispanic, which is an "umbrella" term. The novels, Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me Ultima(1972) and Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street(1984) explore syncretism and how it enhances and exemplifies the issue of ambivalent behavior in regards to the combined use of Native and Christian religions. In Bless Me Ultima and The House on Mango Street, syncretism is displayed through the actions of both novels to show that syncretism is the "bridge" of ambivalence. Syncretism in context of Anaya and Cisneros' novels, merge Christianity and Native American pagan religions to form the syncretic nature of ambivalent Hispanic Americans. There are several main points in each text that exhibit the issue of syncretism. These points or issues include the "Christ-like" comparison, the witchcraft comparison, and the comparison of pagan religions of superstition and sorcery. The concept of good and evil revealed in the two Hispanic novels through the mixture of Christianity and Native religions is a type of syncretism created by folk Catholicism. According to Ellwin Stoddard's Mexican Americans, the concept of folk Catholicism, "is driven on the idea that the formal sphere of the Catholic church is blended with the Native ... ...on, folk Catholicism. In consequence, Hispanics have in a sense walked a fine line of ambivalence in relation to syncretic religious practices. Works Cited Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me Ultima. New York: Warner Books, 2002. Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York: Random House, 2006. Dictionary of Hispanic Biography. "Rudolfo Anaya" Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Penguin Dictionary of Religions, ed. John R. Hiumells. 2004. Stoddard, Ellwin R. Mexican Americans. New York: Random House, 1973. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 3rd.ed., v.1. "The History of the Miraculous Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531.Ed. Paul Lauter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Wiget, Andrew O., "Native American Oral Narrative" in The Heath Anthology of American Literature 3rd ed., v.1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 24-27.    A Comparison of Bless Me Ultima and The House on Mango Street Essay Exploring Syncretism in Bless Me Ultima and The House on Mango Street      Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Syncretism is the fine line between Christianity and Native American Religions because it is the ambivalent, simultaneous attraction of choice and identification to the influences of two or more religious belief systems. Syncretism is most common among minority groups such as Hispanics. The definition applied to their unique position of culture is brought about by the Native American and Spanish ancestry. Ambivalence is shown even by the word Hispanic, which is an "umbrella" term. The novels, Rudolfo Anaya's Bless Me Ultima(1972) and Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street(1984) explore syncretism and how it enhances and exemplifies the issue of ambivalent behavior in regards to the combined use of Native and Christian religions. In Bless Me Ultima and The House on Mango Street, syncretism is displayed through the actions of both novels to show that syncretism is the "bridge" of ambivalence. Syncretism in context of Anaya and Cisneros' novels, merge Christianity and Native American pagan religions to form the syncretic nature of ambivalent Hispanic Americans. There are several main points in each text that exhibit the issue of syncretism. These points or issues include the "Christ-like" comparison, the witchcraft comparison, and the comparison of pagan religions of superstition and sorcery. The concept of good and evil revealed in the two Hispanic novels through the mixture of Christianity and Native religions is a type of syncretism created by folk Catholicism. According to Ellwin Stoddard's Mexican Americans, the concept of folk Catholicism, "is driven on the idea that the formal sphere of the Catholic church is blended with the Native ... ...on, folk Catholicism. In consequence, Hispanics have in a sense walked a fine line of ambivalence in relation to syncretic religious practices. Works Cited Anaya, Rudolfo. Bless Me Ultima. New York: Warner Books, 2002. Cisneros, Sandra. The House on Mango Street. New York: Random House, 2006. Dictionary of Hispanic Biography. "Rudolfo Anaya" Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1990. Penguin Dictionary of Religions, ed. John R. Hiumells. 2004. Stoddard, Ellwin R. Mexican Americans. New York: Random House, 1973. The Heath Anthology of American Literature. 3rd.ed., v.1. "The History of the Miraculous Apparition of the Virgin of Guadalupe in 1531.Ed. Paul Lauter. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. Wiget, Andrew O., "Native American Oral Narrative" in The Heath Anthology of American Literature 3rd ed., v.1. Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1998. 24-27.   

Night World : Daughters of Darkness Chapter 6

Whydidn't we just kill her?† Kestrel asked. Rowan and Jade looked at each other. There were few things they agreed on, but one of them was definitely Kestrel. . â€Å"First of all, we agreed not to do that here. Wedon't use our powers-â€Å" â€Å"And we don't feed onhumans. Or kill them,† Kestrel finished the chant. â€Å"But you already used your powers tonight; you called Jade.† â€Å"I had to let her know what story I'd just toldabout Aunt Opal. Actually, I should have planned forthis earlier. I should have realized that people are going to come and ask where Aunt Opal is.† â€Å"She's the only one who's asking. If we killed her-â€Å" â€Å"We can't just go killing people in our new home,†Rowan said tightly. â€Å"Besides, she said she had family waiting for her. Are we going to kill all of them?† Kestrel shrugged. â€Å"We arenotgoing to start a blood feud,† Rowan said even more tightly. â€Å"But what about influencing her?† Jade said. Shewas sitting with Tiggy in her arms, kissing the velvety black top of the kitten's head. â€Å"Making her forget she's suspicious-or making her think she saw Aunt Opal?† â€Å"That would be fine-if it were just her,† Rowansaid patiently. â€Å"But it's not. Are we going to influ enceeveryone who comes to the house? What aboutpeople who call on the phone? What about teachers?You two are supposed to start school in a couple of weeks.† â€Å"Maybe we'll just have to miss that,† Kestrel said without regret. Rowan was shaking her head. â€Å"We need a permanent solution. We need to find some reasonable explanation for why Aunt Opal is gone.† â€Å"We need to move Aunt Opal,† Kestrel said flatly.†We need to get rid of her.† â€Å"No, no. We might have to produce the body,†Rowan said. â€Å"Looking likethat?† They began to argue about it. Jade rested her chin on Tiggy's head and stared out the multipaned kitchen window. She was thinking about Mark Carter, who had such a gallant heart. It gave her a pleasantly forbidden thrill just to picture him. Back home there weren't any humans wandering around free. She could never have been tempted to break NightWorld law and fall in love with one. But here †¦yes, Jade could almost imagine falling in love with Mark Carter. Just as if she were a human girl. She shivered deliriously. But just as she was tryingto picture what human girls did when they were in love, Tiggy gave a sudden heave. He twisted out of her arms and hit the kitchen floor running. The fur on his back was up. Jade looked at the window again.She couldn't see anything. But †¦she felt †¦ She turned to her sisters. â€Å"Something was out there in the garden tonight,† she said. â€Å"And Icouldn't smell it.† Rowan and Kestrel were still arguing. They didn't hear her. Mary-Lynnette opened her eyes and sneezed. She'd overslept. Sun was shining around the edges of her dark blue curtains. Get up and get to work, she told herself. But instead she lay rubbing sleep out of her eyes and tryingto wake up. She was a night person, not a morningperson. The room was large and painted twilight blue. Mary-Lynnette had stuck the glow-in-the-dark starsand planets to the ceiling herself. Taped onto the dresser mirror was a bumper sticker saying I BRAKEFOR ASTEROIDS.On the walls were a giant relief map of the moon, a poster from the Sky-Gazer's Almanac, and photographic prints of the Pleiades,theHorsehead Nebula, and the total eclipse of 1995. It was Mary-Lynnette's retreat, the place to go when people didn't understand. She always felt safeinthe night. She yawned and staggered to the bathroom, grabbing a pair of jeans and a T-shirt on the way. She was brushing her hair as she walked down the stairs when she heard voices from the living room. -252Claudine's voice †¦ and a male voice. Not Mark; weekdays he usually went to his friend Ben's house.A stranger. Mary-Lynnette peeked through the kitchen. Therewas a guy sitting on the living room couch. She could see only the back of his head, which was ash blond. Mary-Lynnette shrugged and started to open the refrigerator, when she heard her own name. â€Å"Mary-Lynnette is very good friends with her,† Claudine was saying in her quick, lightly accented voice. â€Å"I remember a few years ago she helped her fix up a goat shed.† They're talking about Mrs. B.! â€Å"Why does she keep goats? I think she told Mary-Lynnette it would help since she couldn't get out that much anymore.† â€Å"How strange,† the guy said. He had a lazy, careless-sounding voice. â€Å"I wonder what she meant bythat.† Mary-Lynnette, who was now peering intently through the kitchen while keeping absolutely still,saw Claudine give one of her slight, charming shrugs. â€Å"I suppose she meant the milk-every day she has fresh milk now. She doesn't have to go to the store. But I don't know. You'll have to ask her yourself.† She laughed. -252Not going to be easy, Mary-Lynnette thought. Now, why would some strange guy be here asking questions about Mrs. B.? Of course. He had to be police or something. FBI.But his voice made her wonder. He sounded too young to be either, unless he was planning to infiltrate Dewitt High as a narc. Mary-Lynnette edgedfarther into the kitchen, getting a better view.There-she could see him in the mirror. Disappointment coursed through her. Definitely not old enough to be FBI. And much asMary-Lynnette wanted him to be a keen-eyed, quick witted, hard-driving detective, he wasn't. He was only the handsomest boy she'd ever seen in her life. He was lanky and elegant, with long legs stretched out in front of him, ankles crossed under the coffee table. He looked like a big amiable cat. He had deancut features, slightly tilted wicked eyes, and a disarming lazy grin. Not just lazy, Mary-Lynnette decided. Fatuous. Bland. Maybe even stupid. She wasn't impressed by good looks unless they were the thin, brown, and interesting kind, like-well, like Jeremy Lovett for instance. Gorgeous guys-guys who looked like bigash-blond cats-didn't have any reason to develop their minds. They were self-absorbed and vain. With IQs barely high enough to keep a seat warm. And this guy looked as if he couldn't get awake orserious to save his life. I don't care what he's here for. Ithink I'll go upstairs. it was then that the guy on the couch lifted onehand, wiggling the fingers in the air. He half-turned. Not far enough actually to look at Mary-Lynnette,but far enough to make it dear he was talking to somebody behind him. She could now see his profilein the mirror. â€Å"Hi, there.† â€Å"Mary-Lynnette, is that you?† Claudine called. â€Å"Yes.† Mary-Lynnette opened the refrigerator doorand made banging noises. â€Å"Just getting some juice. Then I'm going out.† Her heard was beating hard-with embarrassmentand annoyance. Okay, so he must have seen her in the mirror. He probably thought she was staring at him because of the way he looked. He probably had people staring at him everywhere he went. So what, big deal, go away. â€Å"Don't go yet,† Claudine called. â€Å"Come out here and talk for a few minutes.† No. Mary-Lynnette knew it was a childish and stupid reaction, but she couldn't help it. She banged a bottle of apricot juice against a bottle of Calistoga sparkling water. â€Å"Come meet Mrs. Burdock's nephew,† Claudine called. Mary-Lynnette went still. She stood in the cold air of the refrigerator, lookingsightlessly at the temperature dial in the back. Then she put the bottle of apricot juice down. She twisted a Coke out of a six-pack without seeing it. What nephew? I don't remember hearing about any nephew. But then, she'd never heard much about Mrs. B.'s nieces either, not until they were coming out. Mrs. B. just didn't talk about her familymuch. So he's her nephew. . . that's why he's askingabout her. But does he know? Ishe in on it with those girls? Or is he after them? Or .. . Thoroughly confused, she walked into the living room. â€Å"Mary-Lynnette, this is Ash. He's here to visit withhis aunt and his sisters,† Claudine said. â€Å"Ash, this isMary-Lynnette. The one who's such good friends with your aunt.† Ash gotup, all in one lovely, lazy motion. Just like a cat, including the stretch in the middle. â€Å"Hi.† He offered a hand. Mary-Lynnette touched it withfingers damp and cold from the Coke can, glanced up at his face, and said â€Å"Hi.† Except that it didn't happen that way. If happened like this: Mary-Lynnette had her eyeson the carpet as she came in, which gave her a good view of his Nike tennis shoes and the ripped kneesof his jeans. When he stood up she looked at his T-shirt, which had an obscure design-a black floweron a white background. Probably the emblem of some rock group. And then when his hand entered her field of vision, she reached for it automatically, muttering a greeting and looking up at his face justas she touched it. And This was the part that was hard to describe. Contact. Somethinghappened. Hey, don't I know you? She didn't. That was the thing. She didn't know him-but she felt that she should. She also felt as if somebody had reached inside her and touched herspine with a live electric wire. It was extremely not enjoyable. The room turned vaguely pink. Her throat swelled and she could feel her heart beating there. Also not-enjoyable. But somehow when you put it alltogether, it made a kind of trembly dizziness like †¦ Like what she felt when she looked at the Lagoon Nebula. Or imagined galaxies gathered into dusters and superclusters, bigger and bigger, until size lost any meaning and she felt herself falling. She was falling now. She couldn't see anything except his eyes. And those eyes were strange, prismlike, changing color like a star seen throughheavy atmosphere. Now blue, now gold, now violet. Oh, take this away. Please, I don't want it. â€Å"It's so good to see a new face around here, isn'tit? We're very boring out here by ourselves,† Claudine said, in completely normal and slightly flustered tones. Mary-Lynnette was snapped out of her trance, and she reacted as if Ash had just offered her a mongoose instead of his hand. She jumped backward,looking anywhere but at him. She had the feeling of being saved from falling down a mine shaft. â€Å"O-kay,† Claudine _ said in her cute accent.†Hmm.† She was twisting a strand of curly dark hair, something she only did when she was extremely ner vous. â€Å"Maybe you guys know each other already?† There was a silence. I should say something, Mary-Lynnette thoughtdazedly, staring at the fieldstone fireplace. I'm acting crazy and humiliating Claudine. But what just happened here? Doesn't matter. Worry later. She swallowed, plastered a smile on her face, and said, â€Å"So, how long are you here for?† Her mistake was that then she looked at him. Andit all happened again. Not quite as vividly as before, maybe because she wasn't touching him. But the electric shock feeling was the same. Andhelooked like a cat who's had a shock. Bristling. Unhappy. Astonished. Well, at least he wasawake, Mary-Lynnette thought. He and Mary-Lynnettestared at each other while the room spun andturned pink. â€Å"Whoare you?† Mary-Lynnette said, abandoning any vestige of politeness. â€Å"Who areyou?† he said, in just about exactly the same tone. They both glared. Claudine was making little clicking noises with her tongue and clearing away the tomato juice. Mary Lynnette felt distantly sorry for her, but couldn'tspare her any attention. Mary-Lynnette's whole consciousness was focused on the guy in front of her; on fighting him, on blocking him out. On getting rid of this bizarre feeling that she was one of two puzzle pieces that had just been snapped together. â€Å"Now, look,† she said tensely, at the precise moment that he began brusquely, â€Å"Look-â€Å" They both stopped and glared again. Then Mary-Lynnette managed to tear her eyes away. Something was tugging at her mind†¦ . â€Å"Ash,† she said, getting hold of it.†Ash. Mrs. Burdockdid say something about you †¦ about a littleboy named Ash. I didn't know she was talking abouther nephew.† â€Å"Great-nephew,† Ash said, his voice not quite steady. â€Å"What did she say?† â€Å"She said that you were a bad little boy, and that you were probably going to grow up even worse.† â€Å"Well, she had thatright,† Ash said, and his ex pression softened a bit-as if he were on more familiar ground. Mary-Lynnette's heart was slowing. She found thatif she concentrated, she could make the strange feel ings recede. It helped if she looked away from Ash. Deep breath, she told herself. And another. Okay,now let's get things straight. Let go of what just hap pened; forget all that; think about it later. What's important now? What was important nowwas that: 1) This guy was the brother of those girls; 2) He might be in on whatever had happened to Mrs. B.; and, 3) If he wasn'tin on it, he might be able to help with some informa tion. Such as whether his aunt had left a will, and if so, who got the family jewels. She glanced at Ash from the side of her eye. He definitely looked calmer. Hackles going down. Chest lifting more slowly. They were both switching gear. â€Å"So Rowan and Kestrel and Jade are your sisters,† she said, with all the polite nonchalance she could muster. â€Å"They seem nice.† â€Å"I didn't know you knew them,† Claudine said,and Mary-Lynnette realized her stepmother was hovering in the doorway, petite shoulder against thedoorjamb, arms crossed, dishtowel in hand. â€Å"I told him you hadn't met them.† â€Å"Mark and I went over there yesterday,† MaryLynnette said. And when she said it, something flashed in Ash's face–something there and gone before she could really analyze it. But it made her feelas ifshe were standing on the edge of a cliff in a cold wind. Why? What could be wrong with mentioning she'd met the girls? â€Å"You and Mark . . .and Mark would be-yourbrother?† â€Å"That's right,† Claudine said from the doorway. â€Å"Any other brothers or sisters?† Mary-Lynnette blinked. â€Å"What, you're taking a census?† Ash did a bad imitation of his former lazy smile. â€Å"I just like to keep track of my sisters' friends.† Why?†To see if you approve or something?† â€Å"Actually, yes.† He did the smile again, with moresuccess. â€Å"We're an old-fashioned family. Very old-fashioned.† Mary-Lynnette's jaw dropped. Then, all at once,she felt happy. Now she didn't need to think about murders or pink rooms or what this guy knew. All she needed to think about was what she was goingto do to him. â€Å"So you're an old-fashioned family,† she said, moving a step forward. Ash nodded. â€Å"And you're in charge,† Mary-Lynnette said. â€Å"Well, out here. Back home, my father is.† â€Å"And you're just going to tell your sisters which friends they can have. Maybe you get to decide your aunt's friends, too?† â€Å"Actually, I was just discussing that†¦.†He waved a hand toward Claudine. Yes, you were, Mary-Lynnette realized. She took another step toward Ash, who was still smiling. â€Å"Oh, no,† Claudine said. She flapped her dishtowelonce. â€Å"Don't smile.† â€Å"I like a girl with spirit,† Ash offered, as if he'dworked hard on finding the most obnoxious thing possible to say. Then, with a sort of determined bravado, he winked, reached out, and chucked Mary-Lynnette under the chin. Fzzz! Sparks. Mary-Lynnette sprang back. So didAsh, looking at his own hand as if it had betrayed him. Mary-Lynnette had an inexplicable impulse to knock Ash flat and fall down on top of him. She'd never felt that for any boy before. She ignored the impulse and kicked him in the shin. He yelped and hopped backward. Once again the sleepy smugness was gone from his face. He looked alarmed. â€Å"I think you'd better go away now,† Mary-Lynnette said pleasantly. She was amazed at herself. She'd never been the violent type. Maybe there werethings hidden deep inside her that she'd never suspected. Claudine was gasping and shaking her head. Ashwas still hopping, but not going anywhere. MaryLynnette advanced on him again. Even though he was half a head taller, he backed up. He stared at her in something like wonder. â€Å"Hey. Hey, look, you know, you really don't knowwhat you're doing,† he said. â€Å"If you knew†¦Ã¢â‚¬  AndMary-Lynnette saw it again-something in his face that made him suddenly look not fatuous or amiable at all. Like the glitter of a knife blade in the light. Something that saiddanger†¦ . â€Å"Oh, go bother someone else, † Mary-Lynnette said. She drew back her foot for another kick. He opened his mouth, then shut it. Still holding his shin, he looked at Claudine and managed a hurt and miserable flirtatious smile. â€Å"Thanks so much for all your-â€Å" â€Å"Go!† He lost the smile. â€Å"That's what I'm doingl† He limped to the front door. She followed him. â€Å"What do they call you, anyway?† he asked from the front yard, as if he'd finally found the comebackhe'd been looking for. â€Å"Mary? Marylin? M'lin? M.L.?† â€Å"They call me Mary-Lynnette,† Mary-Lynnette said flatly, and added under her breath, â€Å"That do speak of me.† She'd read The Taming of the Shrew in honors English last year. â€Å"Oh, yeah? How about M'lin the cursed?† He was still backing away. Mary-Lynnette was startled. So maybe his class hadread it, too. But he didn't look smart enough to quote Shakespeare. â€Å"Have fun with your sisters,† she said, and shutthe door. Then she leaned against it, trying to get herbreath. Her fingers and face were prickly-numb, as if she were going to faint. If those girls had only murderedhim, I'd understand, she thought. But they're all sostrange-there's something seriously weird about that whole family. Weird in a way that scared her. If she'd believed in premonitions, she'd have been even more scared. She had a bad feeling-a feeling that things weregoing to happen†¦. Claudine was staring at her from the living room. â€Å"Very fabulous,† she said. â€Å"You've just kicked a guest. Now, what was that all about?†Ã¢â‚¬ He wouldn't leave.† â€Å"You know what I mean. Do you two know eachother?† Mary-Lynnette just shrugged vaguely. The dizziness was passing, but her mind was swimming with questions. Claudine looked at her intently, then shook herhead. â€Å"I remember my little brother-when he wasfour years old he used to push a girl flat on her face in the sandbox. He did it to show he liked her.† Mary-Lynnette ignored this. â€Å"Claude-what wasAshherefor? What did you talk about?† â€Å"About nothing,† Claudine said, exasperated â€Å"Justordinary conversation. Since you hate him so much,what difference does it make?† Then, as Mary Lynnette kept looking at her, she sighed. â€Å"He was very interested in weird facts about life in the country. All the local stories.† Mary-Lynnette snorted. â€Å"Did you tell him about Sasquatch?† â€Å"I told him about Vic and Todd.† Mary-Lynnette froze. â€Å"You're jolting Why?†Ã¢â‚¬ËœBecause that's the kind of thing he asked about! People lost in time-â€Å" ?Losing time.,? â€Å"Whatever. We were just having a nice conversation. He was a nice boy. Finis. â€Å" Mary-Lynnette's heart was beating fast. She was right. She was sure of it now. Todd and Vicwereconnected to whatever had happened with the sisters and Mrs. B. But what was the connection? I'm going to go and find out, she thought.

Negligence, Psychiatric Loss, Economical Loss & Occupiers Liability

In this leaflet I will describe the law of negligence and occupier’s liability, economic loss and psychiatric loss. Negligence is when somebody has a duty of care and that duty is breached. Negligence is split into 3 parts. Duty of Care In certain situations, a duty of care is owed to another person. For example, a surgeon owes a duty of care to whoever they operate on.The existence of a duty of care is established by the Neighbour Test which was brought in by Lord Aitken after the Donoghue v Stevenson case; In the Donoghue v Stevenson case, Ms Donoghue was bought a ginger beer by a friend, and drank it, unknown to her, there was a snail in that ginger beer. She wanted to claim for damages but she did not buy the ginger beer so she couldn’t. instead, she sued the manufacturer, rightfully claiming they owed her a duty of care. This is how the neighbor test was born. The neighbor test states; The rule that you are to love your neighbour becomes m law you must not injure y our neighbour; and the lawyer's question† Who is my ‘ neighbour? † receives a restricted reply. You must take reasonable care to avoid acts or omissions which you can reasonably foresee would be likely to injure your neighbour. Who then in law is my neighbour? The answer seems to be persons who are so closely and directly affected by my act that I ought reasonably to have them in contemplation as being so affected when I am directing my mind to the acts or omissions which are called in question. * Lord Aitken, 1932 (Donoghue vs. Stevenson) Reasonable foreseeability is when it is reasonable to assume that there will be injury/harm in a certain situation. This is best explained using Jolley vs. Sutton London Borough Council. In this case, a 14 year old boy was playing on a boat which had not been moved by the Council, the boat fell on the boy and he was paralyzed. It is obvious that the Council knew that by leaving a boat there and not moving on it, children would co me and play on/near it, and it would be reasonably foreseeable that there would be injury/harm or even a fatality.Not Reasonably Foreseeable is when the likelihood of injury/harm or damage is low and cannot be foreseen. An example of this is in Bourhill vs. Young 1943, this case is when a motorcyclist (Young) was going too fast and crashed into a car and consequently died. A pregnant woman (Bourhill) was around 50 yards away when the crash happened and she heard it, she came over to see what had happened and saw the blood running down the road and suffered from shock, causing her baby to be stillborn.Although the actions of Young consequently resulted in the stillborn, the Court decided that he didn’t owe her a duty of care as it was not reasonably foreseeable that a pregnant woman would be affected by negligent driving, but the motorcyclist did owe the car driver a duty of care (along with other road users). Breach of Duty A breach of duty is when you do not uphold your duty of care that you owe towards somebody and because of that an incident happens causing harm, loss or even death is some cases.A breach is established by the Reasonable Man test, which is a test which identifies whether you have taken actions which a reasonable man would not. Other things are taken into account such as the likelihood of injury, when the likely hood of injury is high then more caution is needed, this is best represented in Bolton vs Stone 1951 where a cricketer hit a ball 100 yards over a 17 foot high fence and hit the claimant who was standing in the road. A ball had only ever been struck outside the ground 6 times over a 30 year history of the club and nets had been put up around the ground.The House of Lords held the facts and decided that there was no substantial risk of injury. Risks of serious injury is another thing which should be taken into account, where there is a substantially higher risk of serious injury, more caution is required, for example, in a worki ng environment, employers should take more care towards employees who are; inexperienced, young, or disabled. This has been seen in Paris vs Stepney BC 1951 where a man who only had one eye lost his only remaining eye due to negligence of his employer. Social value of the defendants action is took into consideration in certain cases.If the purpose of the actions took by the defendant is of value to society, abnormal risk is justified. In Watt vs Hertfordshire 1954, a victim was trapped under a vehicle at the scene of a road accident, A heavy duty jack was needed to lift the vehicle but the vehicle used to transport it was unavailable. Whilst holding the jack on place on a vehicle unsuitable for the transportation, a fireman injured his back. The fireman sued his employers for negligence but failed in his actions because the social values of the defendants’ action were valuable as lives were at risk. Last of all, Cost of avoiding harm needs to be taken into account.The argumen t that a danger was too costly to eliminate is not a legitimate argument. However courts do recognise a balance between the risk and the cost of eliminating it. If the risk is remote and the precautions needed to be taken are very expensive, the defendants lack of action by not doing anything may be justified. The greater the risk is and the more likely it is, the consideration is given towards the cost of the eliminating measures which the defendants may have taken to safeguard. The decision in these circumstances relies on whether the courts decide that the defendants had acted reasonable in the given circumstances.This is displayed in Latimer v AEC 1953, where a factory was flooded and the floor became extremely slippery, the defendants mopped out the excess and put sawdust down. They did not quite have enough sawdust to cover the whole floor and the claimant slipped on an uncovered pat and broke his leg. The claimant argued that the factory should have been closed. Despite this, the court decided that the defendants had done everything they could have done that was reasonable in the circumstances, therefore the claimant failed in his actions. Damage/CausationIf it is found that a defendant owes a duty of care, and that duty of care they owe has been breached, they still need prove that the breach caused the damage/injury/loss. There must be a link between the breach of duty and the loss occurred. This is the rule of causation, which is split into 2 sections, causations in fact, and causation in law. To decide whether the defendants’ negligence caused the claimant’s loss/injury in fact, the test is normally the ‘but for’ test, for example â€Å"but for the existence of the defendants action, would the claimant have suffered a loss?If the answer is yes then the defendants’ actions is an actual cause of the loss/injury. This is demonstrated best in the case of Barnett v Chelsea & Kensington Hospital 1969. One morning, three night watchmen called into a hospital on their way home from work. They told the nurse that they had been vomiting violently after drinking tea. She contacted the duty doctor, and he told them to go see their own doctors. A few hours later on, one of the 3 men died. It was discovered that the tea had been spiked with arsenic and had caused the three men to vomit.The main point is that the death would have still occurred even if the doctor had admitted him into the hospital. So the doctors actions was not the cause of death as nothing could have been done to save the man as the arsenic had already been ingested. it cannot be said that ‘but for the doctor’s action the man would have died. ’ In cases where there are multiple causes which have contributed to the loss, applying the ‘but for’ test is very difficult to prove. For example, in McGhee vs National Coal Board 1973, the claimant worked in brick kilns, in hot and filthy conditions.Because there we re no washing facilities available, he had to cycle home in dirty clothes. When he contracted dermatitis, he sued his employers. The medical evidence could not prove that washing facilities would prevent his catching dermatitis. The House of Lords held that he was entitled to recover damages on the grounds that his employers had significantly increased the risk of the claimant contracting the disease. Once it is established that the defendant is liable in fact; it should then be decided whether it is recognised in law.This will be decided on one of the following elements: Remoteness of damage, the defendants act may have caused damage, but he will not be found liable if the damage caused is too remote. Therefore, if the damage caused is not of the; kind, type or class foreseeable, then the defendant will not be liable for damage. This is seen in ‘The Wagonmound 1961’. In this case, the defendants negligently allowed oil to spill from their ship into the Sydney harbour. The defendants did not realise that oil can burn on water. 00 yards away, the claimants were doing some welding repair on their wharf, they asked whether it would be safe to continue with their work and they was given the go ahead. Two days later, some molten metal fell into the oil and it set alight, destroying the claimants wharf. It was held at the fact that the defendants were not liable for the damage as a reasonable man could not have reasonably foreseen that the wharf would be damaged by the negligent act. Occupiers Liability Act 1957 is an act which states the duty of care which is owed by an occupier. Section 2 (1) of the act reads; â€Å"The common duty of care is defined in . 2(2) as: â€Å"a duty to take such care as in all circumstances of the case is reasonable to see that the visitor will be reasonably safe in using the premises for the purposes for which he is invited or permitted to be there†. This means that an occupier must take reasonable steps to ensure the safety of everyone who is using their premises for the purpose they have been invited or permitted to be there. Section 2 (3) (a) makes specific provisions for children, stating that a high degree of care must be displayed when child visitors are on the premises. An example of this is Glasgow Corp vs Taylor 1992.In this case a child died after eating some poisonous berries from a bush in a public park. The defendant was aware that the berries were poisonous but did not put up a fence or anything to stop the berrier from being picked. Section 2 (3 (b) makes specific provisions for professionals. This section allows occupiers to show a lower degree of care towards professionals who are on the premises regarding to risk/hazards related to their profession. In Roles v Nathan 1963, 2 chimney sweeps were killed by carbon monoxide poisoning when sealing up a flue in a persons chimney. D was not liable as the risk was related/connected with their profession.If the risk was not related t o their profession, for example if they fell through a rotting floorboard (Woolin vs British Celanese Ltd 1966), the outcome would have been very different. The act protects lawful visitors, which include: invitees, licensees, contractual visitors and statutory visitors. An occupier is anyone who is control of the premises. There is no requirement for the occupier to have any legal/equitable interest in the premises. Premises do not just include, land and buildings, but also includes any fixed or moveable structure, heavy vehicle, vessel or aircraft.Psychiatric loss ‘Nervous shock’ is a term used by lawyers to signify a medically recognised psychiatric illness/disorder. ‘Psychiatric damage' covers all appropriate types of mental illness, neurosis and personality change. It is distinguished from emotional grief/distress which individuals may suffer when someone is injured/killed, although separating the two is quite difficult. Claims for emotional distress/grief ar e invalid unless it leads to a positive psychiatric illness such as anxiety neurosis, reactive depression or a physical illness such as a heart attack.Three categories of Claimants (C) were established in White v Chief Constable of South Yorkshire 1999; * (a) C who suffers psychiatric illness as a result of having been physically injured by the D’s (defendants) negligence; * (b) C who are put in physical danger, but who in fact suffer only psychiatric illness – known as primary victims. * (c) C who suffer psychiatric illness as a result of witnessing death or injury of immediate victim with whom they have a close relationship of love and affection- known as secondary victims. Economic lossEconomic loss is financial loss to an individual which has resulted from death, injury, disability, damage to property or destruction caused by a third party. An economic loss represents money lost in wages or profits lost in regards to business. The old law for economic loss stated t hat there must be a CONTRACTUAL relationship between two parties for one to be held liable, the new law was amended to ensure that they just need a relationship somewhere down the lines for them to be held liable. If an individual relies on someones skill in doing something, then they are liable for economic loss if they do not uphold their duty of care.In Chaudhry v Prabhakar [1988], C asked the D, a friend, to find them a car, they brought back a car which was apparently roadworthy and had not been in any accidents, the car was later found to be unroadworty and had been in an accident. This is known as assumption of care, where a duty/responsibility is assumed between two individuals/organisations. In this task I have discovered the main aspects of negligence and what they entail, examples of what I have discovered include the reasonable man test, the neighbour test rule, assumption of responsibility, and finally the three categories of psychiatric loss.