The Daily Problems Of Foreign Language Learners English Language Essay

The Daily Problems Of Foreign Language Learners English Language Essay Language learning is a very complex process and foreign language learners face great number of problems daily, while they try different strategies and educational tools to master the foreign language in the best possible way. One of the areas which seems have made trouble for language learners is the pragmatic competence which has also drawn attention of those who are interested in language teaching to itself. [P]ragmatic competence . . . is understood as the knowledge of the linguistic resources available in a given language for realising particular illocutions, knowledge of the sequential aspects of speech acts, and finally, knowledge of the appropriate contextual use of the particular languages linguistic resources (Anne Barron, 2003 : 10). Pragmatic rules are essential for a successful interaction with other people for language learners and they should learn them the right way, otherwise it will lead to misunderstanding or total failure of conveying and receiving the message and the speaker will unintentionally be considered as rude or insensitive person. The research that here wants to be reviewed wants to find what are differences between kind of refusal strategies of EFL learners in situations that deals with pragmatic competence (Allami Naeimi, 2009). The Researchers found that cultural factors play great role in learners conceptualization and verbalization of the speech acts, even though the learners may have access to wide range of speech acts and realization strategies as native speakers do as well. Research Questions Three questions which were posed in the research are as follow (Allami Naeimi, 2009): 1. What are the most common semantic formulas used by Iranian learners at different pro ¬Ã‚ ciency levels with regard to the contextual variables of the status of interlocutors (higher, equal, or lower) and the eliciting acts (requests, invitations, offers, and suggestions)? 2. What are the areas of difference between Iranian EFL learners and American speakers with regard to the strategies employed to make refusals? 3. If Iranian EFL learners refusals are different from those of the American native speakers, does the L2 pro ¬Ã‚ ciency of the Iranian learners affect their possible pragmatic transfer or not? Theoretical framework Different studies have tried to show that if learners want to give appropriate speech act to a given speech event pragmatic competence has a major role in it. Fraser de ¬Ã‚ ned pragmatic competence as the knowledge of how an addressee determines what a speaker is saying and recognizes intended illocutionary force conveyed through subtle attitudes in the speakers utterance (Allami Naeimi, 2009: 2). Rintell is one of scholar who has worked deeper than the other scholars in field of speech acts and he believes that L2 learners utterances for some specific communications purposes are because of their pragmatic ability (2009: 2). In addition, L2 learners should have enough knowledge of L2 sociocultural limitations so that they would have acceptable pragmatic level. According to Wolfson choosing appropriate pragmatic strategies is crucial for speech act ability (2009: 2). Moreover, social class and culture have effect on choosing those strategies. The main theory which Allami and Naeim i have tried to focused on is that the different cultures and languages make different pragmatic competence in the minds of people and there is a good chance that learners L1 interfere with learners L2 pragmatic competence, even though their command of L2 can be very good. Methodology of Research There are three questions which were posed by researchers and they were mentioned earlier (Allami Naeimi, 2009: 2). Researchers used experimental research method in which independent variables were learners language proficiency (lower-intermediate, intermediate and upper-intermediate) status of interlocutors (lower, equal and higher) and types of eliciting acts (requests, invitations, offer and suggestions) and the dependent measures were the realization of the strategies. The researchers chose 30 participants which their native language is Persian and all of them were undergraduate males, within the age range of 16 and 29. The data used in the research was collected through a written Discourse Completion Test (DCT) which was in the form of a questionnaire presented some natural situations to which the respondents were expected to respond when making refusals. The reason why 30 participants were chose was that it has been claimed that in using the DCT for interlanguage speech act st udies, questionnaires with 30 subjects will serve as an appropriate guide (2009: 5). The participants were divided into three different groups of 10 upper-intermediate, 10 intermediate and 10 lower-intermediate students at a Language Institute in Yazd. In order to have a pertinent cross-linguistic examination of the speech act of refusal responses to the same DCT conducted by another American researcher were also analyzed. There were 37 Americans responses to the same DCT which was conducted by Kwon (2009: 5). The American participants in the research were between 18 and 22 years of age and they were all students from Boston. The DCT consisted of three requests, three invitations and three asks a favor of the other person. In each situation type were supposed to refuse a person of higher status, one to a person of equal status, and one to a person of lower status. There were a second group of participants who were asked to answer DCT which was translated into Persian and the purpose of designing this DCT was to compare semantic formulas used by Persian native speakers with those of the EFL learners. DCT was given to learners and they were asked not to think about the given situations thoroughly and they are just supposed to respond quickly. All of the respondents returned their papers within 20-30 minutes and the researcher were there all the time while the subjects were writing the answers. The Reponses were compared in terms of language forms with the 31 native speakers responses in Persian, and with 37 native speakers responses in English. Researchers in order to be analytically honest analyzed components of each speech act present in the responses; the produced refusals were parsed into strategies (2009: 6). Data Analysis Taxonomy of refusal developed by Beebe was the basis of coding all data in the research. Units used in analysis were semantic formulas. According to Cohen definition of semantic formula is a word, phrase, or sentence that meets a particular semantic criterion or strategy; any one or more of these can be used to perform the act in questions (Allami Naeimi, 2009: 6). Through this study new categories of semantic formulas were identified. Number of strategies in each refusal indicated complexity of speech act of refusal. The average number of semantic formulas used by the American respondents, Iranian Persian speakers and EFL learners were 4.00, 3.10 and 3.30 respectively. Regarding numbers which were gained it was shown that Americans use more semantic formulas, but variety of Iranians strategies were significantly more. Analyzing each of the semantic formulas in detail is a big task so researchers focused on similarities and differences among three groups of American native speakers, Iranian EFL learners and Persian native speakers answering the translated DCT. Another factor which was taken into consideration was the shift of frequencies of semantic formulas regarding the status of interlocutors. For higher status a boss, lower status an employee, a salesman, a student and a cleaning lady and for equal status a classmate and a friend were used. Arguments One of the things that researchers of this article are looking for is whether L1 might influence the L2 or not (Allami Naeimi, 2009: 15). Majority of EFL learners cannot have interaction with native speakers therefore they do not have good knowledge of semantic formulas or the way they should be used in different situations. Linguistic and cultural differences affect the way language is used by the language learners because the way people provide a speech act regarding a speech event is culture bound. Iranian learners are more sensitive about the status level of interlocutor and used different strategies, whereas Americans used a same pattern regardless of the status level. In other words, Iranians are more concerned with the face saving act rather than Americans. Americans are more specific and clear in their responses rather than Iranians. The researchers work result was along with positive correlation hypothesis which was suggested by Takahashi and Beebe, in which language profic iency has effect on pragmatic transfer (2009: 16). Article Results Some of interesting findings in the research were as follow: Iranian English learners were depending on their native culture-specific refusal strategies was the direct refusal Americans subjects were more concrete and specific when it came to refusing a high status person in comparison with Iranian participants in the study. The main goal of doing this research among Iranian EFL learners was because of lack attention to sociocultural and sociolinguistic factors. If EFL learners are not aware these factors it will lead to their misunderstanding of the concept in real-life situations when they are communicating with native speakers. The outcomes of this research supported that there is great difference between using speech acts in different cultures and languages. Teachers of second language should increase students knowledge level of target language pragmatic competence and how they should deal with different speech events in proper way. Conclusion The researchers have tried to go deep and find why EFL learners do not interact in the same way as native speakers do especially when it comes to speech acts which in this research refusal was the case. One of good points about this research is that in the procedure of it researchers tried to be as honest as possible by considering all the aspects in their data analysis. Another good point about this research was previous studies which were done in the same field by different researchers, therefore the researchers made a laid a good background and comparison in their task. However, there are some downsides in this research as well. One of the shortcomings in the research is lack elaboration for status of a person in the cultures of Iran and America. According to Foley à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ understanding of what kind of person they are vis-à  -vis the other interlocutor is embodied in their habitus. To the extent they rate of higher rank, the habitus will enact that proper demeanor in bodi ly and linguistic practices à ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ (Foley, 1997: 260). If someone does not know exact definition of person within a culture and society then certainly he or she will not interact properly in that culture or society the person is a social concept made up of local notions of the ones rights and obligations, and hence varies crossculturally (Foley, 1997 : 263). Another problem was choosing only males as participant in this research. Woods believed that gender has a great role in conversations especially at work place the gender was the most significant factor determining speech behavior, more important than status. With respect to patterns of interruption, higher status people were more likely to interrupt successfully than lower status conversational partners, but men of lower status were still usually successful in interrupting a higher status female speaker (Foley, 1997 : 294).

Thomas Hardys Philosophy Influences His Writing Essay -- Biography Bi

Thomas Hardy's Philosophy Influences His Writing In a letter written in 1920, Thomas Hardy comments, "it is my misfortune that people will treat my mood-dictated writing as a single scientific theory" (Hicks 111). Hardy did not write under the pretenses of a single belief system, but was "so often misunderstood that he had to try and give some clear and precise statement of his beliefs" (Hicks, 110). Although he did not fulfill the role of philosopher, often these statements were read as Hardy's "philosophy." According to Jacobson, the task of a philosopher is to "develop articulate, settled systems of thought about the nature of the world, about the moral constitution of mankind, and about the grounds and modalities of knowledge itself." He continues to explain that these ideas must be "coherent, not just within themselves . . . but also with those put forward in the other two[systems of thought]" (115). While Hardy explores the ideas of nature, morality, and knowledge in his writings, he focuses on the multi-faceted aspects of ea ch idea, not on any general conclusions about each idea. Although Hardy did not support an individual or personal "philosophy," echoes of the late nineteenth century philosophers, including Nietzche, Comte, and Schopenhauer, are found in his works. Nietzche comments on the nature of human drives, arguing that one could understand culture by studying the conflict between the Apollonian and Dionysian drives. The Apollonian drive, according to Nietzche, strives to find order in a confused, chaotic, and cruel world. The Dionysian drive, on the other hand, desires to break down that artificial order. An example of these opposing drives is found in Hardy's short story "The Fiddler of the Reels." Ned, ... ...eas represent a powerful combination of the philosophies introduced by contemporary thinkers. Bibliography Bailey, J. O. Thomas Hardy and the Cosmic Mind: A New Reading of The Dynasts. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press, 1956. Baybrook, Patrick. Thomas Hardy and His Philosophy. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippencott, Co., 1927. Drabble, Margaret, ed. The Genius of Thomas Hardy. NY: Alfred A. Knopf, 1976. Hicks, Granville. Figures in Transition: A Study of British Literature at the end of the Nineteenth Century. New York: McMillan, Co., 1939. Jacobson, Dan. "Thomas Hardy: The Poet as Philosopher." American Scholar, vol. 65, no. 1, Winter 1996, pp. 114-19. Millgate, Michael. Thomas Hardy: A Biography. New York: Random House, 1982. Orel, Harold, ed. Thomas Hardy: Personal Writings. Lawrence: The University of Kansas Press, 1966.

Music Study Guide Essay

Music is an art based on the organization of sounds in time. Also the universal language of man or something who knows Pitch is the relative highness or lowness that we hear in a sound Tone is a sound that has a definite pitch Interval is the distance in a pitch between any two tones Tones are separated by an interval called the octave Tones have a specific frequency in music Pitch range is the distance between the lowest and highest tones that a voice or instrument can produce Range of an untrained voice is between 1 and 2 octaves Dynamics are degrees of loudness or softness in music Loudness is related to the amplitude of the vibration that produces the sound Accent is an emphasis of a note Instrument may be defined as any mechanism that produces musical sound Register is the part of the tonal range of an instrument or voice Pizzicato- plucked string Double stop- two notes at once Vibrato- rocking the left hand while pressing down with the other. Throbbing expressive tone that causes small pitch fluctuations that make the tone warmer Mute- a clamp that veils or muffles that tone Tremolo- rapidly repeats tones by quick up-and-down strokes of the bow Harmonics- Very high pitched tones are produced when the musician lightly touches certain points on a string Woodwinds have little holes along their length that are opened and closed by the fingers or pads controlled by a key mechanism Flutes and piccolos are played by blowing across the edge of a mouth hole Recorders are played by blowing through a whistle mouthpiece Single-reed woodwinds are played by fastening a reed over a hole in the mouthpiece that vibrates when the player blows over it (ex- clarinet, bass clarinet, saxophone) Double-reed woodwinds use two narrow pieces of cane that are held between the musician’s lips (ex- English horn, contrabassoon, bassoon) Bass instruments are played by the musician blowing into a cup- or funnel-shaped mouthpiece (vibrations of bass instruments come from their lips) Pitch of brass instrument is regulated by varying lip tension and by using slides and valves Mutes alter the tone color of bass instruments When a pianist’s finger strikes a key, a felt-covered hammer swings up against a string (greater the force on the key, more powerful the hammer’s blow, louder the tone produced) Damper comes down on the string to stop the vibrations when the pianist lets go of the key Damper pedal is the most important pedal, allows a pianist to sustain tones Una corda pedal, on the left, veils the sound Sostenuto pedal, in the middle, allows the pianist to sustain some tones without sustaining others Harpsichord has strings that are plucked. Controlled by one or two keyboards. Pipe organ has many sets of pipes controlled by several keyboards, including a pedal keyboard played the organist’s feet Tape studio was the main tool of composers of electronic music during the 1950s Synthesizers are systems of electronic components that generate, modify, and control sound Analog Synthesis is based on representing data in terms of measurable physical quantities Digital frequency modulation synthesis is based on representing physical quantities as numbers Sampling involves placing brief digital recordings of live sounds under the control of a synthesizer keyboard Instrument Digital interface (MIDI) is a standard adopted by manufacturers for interfacing synthesizer equipment Consonance is a tone combination that is stable. They are points of arrival, rest, and resolution. Dissonance is a tone combination that is unstable. Its tension demands an onward motion to a stable chord Dissonance has its resolution when it moves to a consonance The Middle Ages The Middle Ages spanned from 450-1450 Most important musicians were priests Church officials required monks to sing with proper pronunciation, concentration, and tone quality Church frowned upon instruments because of their earlier role in pagan rites Gregorian chant is a melody set to sacred Latin texts and sung w/o accompaniment Gregorian chant is monophonic in texture, its rhythm is flexible, w/o met.er, and has little sense of beat. The melodies tended to move by step within a narrow range of pitches. Used church modes as a scale. The Renaissance The Renaissance spanned from 1450-1600 The Renaissance mass is a polyphonic choral composition made up of the Kyrie, Gloria, Sanctus, and Agnus Dei Baroque Baroque era spanned from 1600-1750 Baroque era used violins a lot. Organ and harpsichord where the main keyboard instruments Baroque suite is a set of dance-inspired movements. It is made up of movements that are all written in the same key but differ in tempo, meter, and character. Usually in A A B B French overture is a common Baroque suite opening. Short Answer Middle Ages (450-1450) Renaissance (1450-1600) Baroque (1600-1750) Classical (1750-1820) Romantic (1820-1900) Contemporary (1900-now) 3 Composers per period: Middle Ages- Hildegard of Bingen, Perotin, Francesco Landini Renaissance- Josquin Desprez, Thomas Morley, Giovanni Gabrieli Baroque- Johann Sebastian Bach, George Fredric Handel, Henry Purcell Italian dynamic markings: Pianissimoppvery soft Piano psoft Mezzo Pianompmoderately soft Mezzo fortemfmoderately loud Fortefloud Fortissimoffvery loud Orchestras contain string, woodwind, brass, and percussion instruments. Symphonic bands contain brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Duple Meter- measure has two beats Triple Meter- measure has 3 beats Quadruple Meter- measure has 4 beats Gregorian chant is monophonic in texture, its rhythm is flexible, w/o met.er, and has little sense of beat. The melodies tended to move by step within a narrow range of pitches. Used church modes as a scale. Polychoral Motet- motet for two or more choirs, often including groups of instruments Brandenburg Concerto No.5 in D Major (1721), by Johann Sebastian Bach. Ritornello form, duple meter. Used a string orchestra and a group of soloists consisting of a flute, violin, and a harpsichord. Essays Compare and contrast two periods of music that we’ve learned Middle Ages and Renaissance Compare: Musicians worked in churches. The church remained an important patron of music. Vocal music was more important the instrumental music. Both had sacred music(Gregorian chant, Renaissance mass). Both used church modes as their basic scale of music. The cantus firmus (Melody used as the basis of a polyphonic choral) was used in both periods. Contrast: Musical activity gradually shifted to the courts in the Ren. Musicians had higher statuses in the Ren. Ren music sounds fuller than MA music. Bass register was used for the first time in the Ren, expanding the pitch range to more than 4 octaves. Invention of the printing press widened the circulation of music, and the number of composers and performers increased in the Ren. Ren music was more about men rather than God. Instruments were used more often in the Ren. Composers were no longer content to remain unknown; in the Ren they wanted fame and recognition for their works. Bach’s contributions to the Baroque period Bach was the mack daddy of Baroque music. His works show an astounding mastery of harmony and counterpoint, and they are used as models by music students today. With his set of six Brandenburg Concerto’s, Bach brought immortality to a German aristocrat, the margrave of Brandenburg. In Concerto No.5, Bach uses a string orchestra and a group of soloists consisting of a flute, violin, and harpsichord. This was the first time a harpsichord was given a solo in a concerto grosso. The harpsichord’s solo at the end of the first movement is spectacular. His audience marveled at this brilliant harpsichord solo within a concerto grosso, and audiences today are still blown away by it. Bach wrote fugues that were the peak among works in the form. In his collections of preludes and fugues, The Well-Tempered Clavier, Back explored with unprecedented thoroughness systems of tuning instruments that enabled a composer to write in all 24 keys, even keys with many sharps and flats. Bach also composed what is probably the most monumental setting of the Roman Catholic mass (Mass in B Minor). It was too long to be performed in a mass, so Bach was just probably being a show-off. Bach wrote about 295 church cantatas. Cantata No. 140 is his most famous.

How To Buy A Home Essays - Real Estate, Mortgage Loan, Free Essays

How To Buy A Home Essays - Real Estate, Mortgage Loan, Free Essays How To Buy A Home Buying Real Estate Prepare Like so many things in life, when it comes to buying Real Estate, proper preparation is one of the keys to success. Don't want to find yourself in a neighborhood you don't like? Don't want to be making mortgage payments on a house in which you are uncomfortable? Don't want to waste your time falling in love with houses you can't afford? In a word, prepare! One of your most important tasks will be determining your needs. It can help to avoid either a nasty disappointment or the pain of buying more house than you need (or can afford). Distinguishing needs from wants will go a long way in preventing expensive mistakes in the house buying process. Establish some basic parameters and stick to them. When house hunting, it is easy to get swayed by the emotion of the momentand end up with more house than will be financially comfortable. Do your mortgage investigation early. Odds are strong that you will be working with Real Estate Agents when you buy a house. Before you go on a house search, familiarize yourself with how Agents work and most importantly, who they represent. Thousands of buyers have made the huge mistake of assuming that the Agent with whom they were working represented them in the transaction, when, in reality, the Agent represented the seller. Determining Needs Want to save a lot of aggravation and possibly a great deal of money when you buy a house? Spend a few hours determining precisely what your needs are before you begin your house search. Examples of NEEDS Examples of WANTS Enough square footage for comfortable living Carpeting color, paint color, exterior color, roof color, etc. Enough bedrooms to accommodate your family Pool or Jacuzzi (unless for medical reasons) Adequate number of bathrooms Wood floors Eat-in kitchen Bay windows Garage or basement for storage needs Built-in entertainment center Lot size to accommodate children's play area Brass lighting fixtures Adaptation for Handicapped Skylights Proximity to a specific school A pretty view Gameplan If you haven't already done so, investigate your housing needs and wants to determine what types of houses you should be considering. Learn who The Players are in a Real Estate transaction so that you will know who is responsible for what. Get your financial picture in focus as soon as possible. Get a copy of your Credit Report to see if there are problems or disrepencies that you need to deal with. Familiarize yourself with the mortgage process. Get Pre-Qualified from a Mortgage Lender. Do this first. Your Agent will need your mortgage qualification, and it will significantly strengthen your offer when you find a home. At LendingTree, you can submit a quick application, and within 2 business days get up to 4 offers from lenders so that you can compare terms and rates. Find an Agent that you trust. It is important to do this before you go rushing off looking for homes or you may end up with no representation. See the Agent Representation section for an important discussion regarding who represents whom. When you find an acceptable house, write a contract. Negotiate your best deal. Make a formal loan application. Arrange for home inspection. Arrange for closing agent or attorney. Make moving plansfor an innovative and money-saving approach to moving, click here. Secure final loan approval and commitment from the lending institution. Do a final walk through of the house. Final closing and settlement. Move to your new home and begin enjoying it!! The Players Real Estate is never bought and sold on your own The vast majority of home buyers enlist the services of a Real Estate Agent, a Lender, a Professional Home Inspector, and a Closing Attorney or Escrow Agent. Knowing what each is responsible for will help your understanding of the process and eliminate confusion as you proceed. Sellers: Familiarize yourself with seller motivations and psychology. Real Estate Agents: An Agent may or may not be your representative. an Agent will arrange to show you houses that are available through a Multiple Listing Service. Without the use of an Agent, you will be limited only to those houses that are For Sale By Owner. The Agent will coordinate the offer, negotiations and the contract of sale. Lenders: A broad term that refers to the person originating the loan to

The amulet by Hal Borland (book report)

The amulet by Hal Borland (book report) The Amulet is a realistic fiction book. I think it has an interesting title because you don't know what to expect before you read it. I don't think it has an appropriate title because it has almost nothing to do with an amulet.The author of The Amulet is Hal Borland. Hal Borland was born in Nebraska and spent most of his boyhood on a ranch in eastern Colorado. He graduated from the Columbia School of Journalism. Some other works by this author include When the Legends Die, The Seventh Winter, and King of Squaw Mountain. I would not read another book by this author because in this book there's not enough action and the story is really boring.The setting of this book mostly takes place in the western United States.Quincy Scott - A brave young man.Jake - An older man who is very brave.Columbia University School of JournalismQuincy Scott had been living a good life in Colorado working for a man named Dave Rowley and was planning to buy a farm and get married to his fiancÂÆ'Â ©. One day while he was working he saw a band of southerners that were on their way to reach confederate forces. Though he didn't know why he felt like he needed to go with them and help. Quincy joined a couple of others and started out. After many hours of riding their mules day after day, stopping many times to ask for blankets and extra food they made it. Quincy and the others waited for days until the battle started. After a day of the battle the Union forces started to retreat and the Confederates followed. Since Jack and Quincy were only volunteers they decided to go home since they both missed their families.What I think the author might...

Stepfamilies Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3250 words

Stepfamilies - Essay Example Wilkes and Fromme (2002) investigated the stability over time of themes in the experiences of biological parents, stepparents, and adolescents in stepfamilies. Twelve adolescents, ten stepparents, and nine biological parents from ten stepfamilies that participated, completed follow-up questionnaires that sought to determine if the themes found in the earlier study were still present in their stepfamilies four years later. The results indicated areas that remained stable over time and areas of positive change and adjustment. The results also suggested the need for further research about the specific factors that shape adjustment to stepfamilies. The initial study consisted of 37 participants from 12 families. Of those 37 participants involved in the initial study, 31 completed follow-up questionnaires. Of the 12 families involved in the follow-up study, the adolescents consisted of six females and six males. All of the adolescents were Caucasian. The average age was 16.6 years. All of the children were the biological child of one of the parents living in the home. Four were from stepfather families, two were from stepmother families and six were from blended families. Of the stepparents involved in the present study, there was one Hispanic stepfather and the rest were Caucasian, three of the stepparents had never been married before, and six of the stepparents were male and four were female, with an average age of 41.2 years. Among the biological parents, four were female and five were male. All of the biological parents were Caucasian, with an average age of 43.6 years. Prior to the current marriages, eight of the biological parents had been married in the past. Assessment procedures included three questionnaires: one for the adolescents, one for the stepparents, and one for the biological parents, plus second versions with modifications made to render the wording appropriate for members of the stepfamilies that had been separated. The statements related to the core themes identified in the initial study. The questionnaires in Wilkes and Fromme's (2002) follow-up study asked each participant to rate their level of agreement with 32 to 34 statements on a five-point Likert scale. Based on the ratings participants gave to statements, averages were calculated to determine the level of agreement or disagreement with each statement. One of the major overarching themes found in the initial and follow-up studies was that adolescents were continuing to find ways to cope with the losses in the stepfamily formation process. These losses included undergoing changes in relationships, adapting to different family traditions, experiencing less power in the stepfamily, and having a sense that their family had changed very quickly. 'Therapists' perceptions of bioparent-child relationships in stepfamilies: What hurts What helps'- Cartwright, C. (2003). Stepfamily relationship research has focused on step relationships with particular emphasis on stepparent-stepchild relationships, despite increasing evidence that residential bioparent-child relationships can be negatively impacted through remarriage and stepfamily living. In a project by Cartwright (2003), nine stepfamily therapists were

Three major causes of soil erosion Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Three major causes of soil erosion - Essay Example Sheet erosion is caused by the effect of rainfall on the surface soil. The force of water running downhill caused by adequate rainfall could remove the soil particles on the surface and carry it towards the lower areas. The heavier the rainfall is or the longer the rain occurs, the more soil particles are taken from its original position. Sheet erosion is definitely a natural phenomenon. However, the degree of erosion can be determined also by natural and artificial factors. The most effective natural means of preventing sheet erosion is vegetation. This is because â€Å"sheet erosion mainly occurs under conditions where the soil surface is insufficiently protected by vegetation cover† (Govers, 2004, p.947). The roots of plants and trees on slopes contribute in reducing the effects of erosion by holding on to the surface soil. Aside from this, the roots also tend to siphon certain amount of the rainwater that seeps into the soil. The foliage also prevents portions of the total rainfall from hitting ground. Human intervention may be necessary in order to prevent soil erosion. Such interventions would include actual planting of trees on slopes that are most vulnerable to erosion due to rainfall.