Beowulf Essay Directions

Select one of the following essay topics.  Respond to the topic in a well-organized five-paragraph essay.  Remember to use standard V introduction and conclusion format: the opening paragraph begins with a general statement and narrows down to a thesis.  The reverse order, with the thesis broadening to a more general statement, is used for your conclusion (see V Introduction). Finally, incorporate 10 words from Vocabulary List 5 in your essay (and number them!).

1. A folk epic is a long narrative poem, transmitted via the oral tradition, relating the deeds of a legendary hero of the remote past.  How does Beowulf meet this definition and fulfill the essential components of the epic form?
2. Describe the essential characteristics of the Anglo-Saxon hero king as exemplified in Beowulf.  You may consider Beowulf alone, or you may consider three different figures, such as Beowulf, Hrothgar and Wiglaf.
3. Comitatus is the mutual relationship between the Anglo-Saxon warrior king and his thanes.  Explain this relationship, its code of conduct and how it reflects the values of Anglo-Saxon society as revealed in Beowulf.
4. Despite its being a work of the Dark Ages, Beowulf continues to be a thrilling story that captures the reader’s imagination, even in today’s world of technological advances. Why is this folk epic still worthy of being studied in school and/or being read on one’s own?

Refer to The V Introduction and Conclusion for help.

The V Introduction/Conclusion

The Introduction

• starts with a general statement and gradually narrows down to a specific thesis
• includes the title of the work under consideration and its author
• looks like a V

Example:

     Throughout time, mankind has struggled to explain his world. The legends and myths of the ancient Greeks are one example of man’s attempt to create an order for his world. These stories formed a religion, a code of ethical behavior involving superhuman forces. The Anglo-Saxons who lived in Scandinavia and Britain between 450 and 1100 A.D. also attempted to explain their world through their religion. At first pagan, these people eventually converted to Christianity, and, as they did so, their myths and legends were imbued with Christian symbols, meanings and terminology. An example of this mingling of the pagan and the Christian is the epic poem Beowulf, a product of a time in which a people superimposed one view of life upon another in order to rationalize both their past history and their present world.

The Conclusion

• starts with the thesis and broadens to a general statement
• refers back to the introductory paragraph
• states the title and the author
• ideally leads the reader forward
• looks like a Λ

Example:

     The world of Beowulf reflects a world at a crossroads. Replete with monsters and men of superhuman strength as well as allusions to God, Christ, heaven and hell and redemption, the Anglo-Saxon epic presents a civilization with two, often conflicting, world views. Yet, for the audience sitting beside the fire in the mead hall, the merging of the contrary traditions actually demonstrated its efforts to cope with a changing world. People today are experiencing a similar challenge. The world as we know it is transforming every day; the world of tomorrow is both exciting and frightening. Perhaps this explains the proliferation of New Age religions such as Scientology or Eastern religions such as Zen Buddhism. In our on-going struggle to make sense of an incomprehensible world, are our modern day superhero comic books and movies really that different from the folk epics of the past?

"Review Sheet" Test

DIRECTIONS: After compiling and "checking" your Reconstruction vocabulary, construction at least 15 to 20 questions. Your questions should cover the political, economic-financial, and diplomatic events of the period 1865-1877. [These questions would/will require written responses varying from a minimum of one sentence to one well-developed paragraph. But you are not answering them as part of this test.] In terms of focus, these questions can be quite specific/detailed [but not picky] or broader/larger in scope [but not vague/overly broad].
Following each question, you are to attach the key vocabulary terms that go with and/or help answer that question. You may use a key term more than once. You may add other key terms to your questions—ones that are not on the jumbled list below. You must use all of the key terms at least once......

TERMS:

• Impeachment
• 13th, 14th, & 15th Amendments
• 10% Plan & loyalty oaths
• Mexico, France & Maximilian
• Redemption/Redeemers
• Property values
• Carpetbaggers
• Scalawags
• Industrial capitalism
• Radical Reconstruction/Congressional Reconstruction
• Thaddeus Stevens
• Election of 1868 & Grant
• Political machines
• Black Friday
• Wade-Davis Bill
• Military Reconstruction Act
• Boss Tweed & Tammany Hall
• Deflation vs. inflation
• Crime of '73
• Laissez faire economics
• Greenback Party
• Specie Resumption Act of 1875
• Andrew Johnson
• Tenure of Office Act
• Alaska & Russia
• Seward's Folly
• Black Codes
• Credit Mobilier
• Whiskey Ring
• Ku Klux Klan
• Union League
• Gold standard/gold vs. Greenbacks &/or silver
• Election of 1876 & Hayes vs. Tilden
• "waving the bloody shirt"
• Electoral Commission & Compromise of 1877
• Monroe Doctrine
• Panic of 1873
• Freedmen's Bureau

Due: Beginning of class Monday, 11/23/09

Value: 100 or more points

Beowulf Epitaph Directions

You are to write an epitaph for the warrior king Beowulf or for another literary or cultural hero.  Your epitaph will take the form of a poem written in imitation of Anglo-Saxon poetry.

The requirements of your poem are as follows:

1. A minimum of six lines
2. Caesuras breaking up each line
3. Alliteration carried throughout each half of the line
4. A minimum of three kennings
5. Use of sense imagery
6. No use of rhyme
7. Use of elevated language

Graphics component:

1. Your poem must be illustrated.  Keep appropriate to the time period of your hero and the occasion.  If you select an old-fashioned font, make sure the font is easily readable.  Also make sure your poem is not washed out by the illustration.
2. Your name should appear on the front of your work.

Beowulf Passage Analysis

1. Select one of the following passages:
• page 11, lines 126-169
• page 105, lines 1518-1556
• page 51, lines 749-789
• page 121, lines 1758-1784
2. Take notes on the passage. Consider both life in Anglo-Saxon society and the literary form of the Anglo-Saxon epic:
• Life in Anglo-Saxon society
• heroic ideal
• comitatus (relationship between king and vassals)
• heroic paradox
• values
• traditions
• hospitality
• pagan/Christian influences
• Epic 
• hero
• supernatural/magical
• kennings, epithets, litotes, alliteration
• repetition
• themes
• motifs
• set speeches
• catalogs
• genealogy
3. After taking notes, decide on the significance of the passage. Is it one main point or three interrelated points? Develop a paragraph around your answer. 
4. Your paragraph should 
• state the actual line numbers in/near the opening sentence
• provide a contextual basis for the passage; i.e., when does it take place? 
• identify who is speaking (character or narrator)
• explain and analyze the significance of the passage 
• use a minimum of three quotations from the passage for support (follow poetry quotation format--slashes between lines and line citations)
• end smoothly

Science Auto Safety Articles

Here is the full text of all of the articles that were given in the auto safety packet for the one-page analysis on auto safety.

Article 1: HIGH-TECH AUTO SAFETY EXHIBITED

By Jewel Gopwani
source: http://www.ahboan.com/english/news/newscontent.asp?id=306

It's just past midnight. Highway traffic is sparse and you're on the road, drowsy from a long day.

Your eyelids start to droop and instead of closing for a blink they shut for almost a full second and drift open.

Zip. Your seat belt tightens against your chest. Thump, thump, thump. It taps on your left shoulder with a wake-up call.

The technology is what the auto industry calls an active safety system, which aims to prevent accidents using sensors, cameras, alerts and in some cases brakes and steering to avoid a collision.

Troy-based Delphi Corp. demonstrated the seat belt technology, fitted in a Volvo XC90 sport-utility vehicle, during Convergence 2004, an industry conference at Detroit's Cobo Center for automotive electronics.

While safety was the main draw at the three-day conference, which wraps up today, it also featured the latest in audio technology and computerized braking and steering.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said upcoming safety technology could decrease the number of crashes caused by driver distraction, lane changes and rear-end accidents by 1 million annually.

"The hope is that the occupant will pay attention and take heed," said Joseph Kanianthra, NHTSA's associate administrator for vehicle safety research.

In addition to seat belts and air bags to prevent injuries in a crash, some cars already use adaptive cruise control that automatically adjusts a car's speed to maintain its distance from the vehicle in front of it.

They are also using stability control systems, which sense when a vehicle is veering off the road and applies brakes to counter it. The technology is already prevalent in Europe and is becoming more common in the United States. A NHTSA study released last month said a stability control system could prevent rollover accidents.

"That's the sort of technology I see doubling every year," said Philip Headley, chief engineer for advanced technologies at Auburn Hills-based Continental Automotive Systems, which makes stability systems.

But technology that drivers can see will be slower to come, such as a camera in the rear bumper with a dash-mounted screen that shows what's behind the car.

For Ford Motor Co., that technology is at least three years away, said Ron Miller, technical leader at Ford's research and advanced engineering in Dearborn.

That is also the timeline for technology that detects drowsiness with a camera in the instrument panel. When the driver's eyes look away from the road or close for too long, it sends an alert, like the seat belt tap.

Delphi is talking to trucking companies about the technology and expects to see it in commercial trucks next year and available to the general public by 2008.

While automakers are interested, there are a few issues keeping the technology from catching on quickly.

Automakers want to standardize the warnings before the technology becomes more common, Miller said. That will mean the seat belt shoulder tap used to wake a driver up in a Ford Escape is the same alert used in a Chevrolet Malibu.

Automakers also need to be sure it works right.

"It must warn only in the appropriate cases and not false alarms," Kanianthra said. "If this doesn't work exactly the way it's supposed to, somebody could argue that it is what caused (a) crash rather than prevented it."

Some drivers aren't convinced that all of the new features will help.

"It's another thing to keep your mind on," said Marie Davis, 35, of Canton, about the alerts.

Also at Convergence:

• Soon, your car stereo will have a hard drive that can hold all your music, just like an MP3 player.

"It does away with you having to reload the CD changer," said Andrew Robertson, a spokesman for Philips Semiconductors.

Wireless technology allows the driver to load the songs from a home computer onto a hard drive in a car.

A Delphi system can hold at least 1,600 songs on 20 gigabytes of space. By next year, the company expects to produce systems with 30-40 gigabytes of space, said Keenan Estese, an engineer with Delphi.

MP3 stereo systems are just the start of new mobile entertainment.

Some cars already have screens for backseat passengers, but television is the goal.

It will be tricky to implement, Robertson said. Researchers are trying to find ways to maintain a signal and make the technology affordable.

• Eventually drivers will be able to brake by pushing a button instead of pressing the brake pedal.

The makers of semiconductors are developing ways to replace mechanical braking and steering systems with computerized systems.

The technology uses the sensors already making their way into vehicles and semiconductors to communicate what the driver wants to the car's computer.

"You won't need the steering wheel. You can use a joystick. You can use a mouse if you like," Robertson said.

Article 2: FEDS DELAY AUTO SAFETY DATA
By Dee-Ann Durbin
source: http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2004/09/24/national/main645520.shtml?tag=contentMain;contentBody

(AP) The government's auto safety agency is backing off a plan to make public information on vehicle-related deaths and injuries, pending a court ruling on exactly what data should be disclosed.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said this spring it would complete its early warning system by Oct. 1 and release much of the data to the public. The system, demanded by Congress following the 2000 recall of Firestone tires, requires automakers and others to submit data on deaths, injuries, consumer complaints, property damage and warranty claims.

NHTSA agreed to keep warranty claims and consumer complaints confidential after automakers said releasing that data could harm competition. The consumer group Public Citizen sued in March to get access to that information.

The Rubber Manufacturers Association, which represents tire makers, asked to intervene in the case because it wants to keep information on deaths, injuries and property damage confidential. A judge agreed and has ordered the U.S. Department of Transportation to respond to the Rubber Manufacturers' claims by Sept. 28.

NHTSA spokesman Rae Tyson said Friday the agency decided to wait until the courts decide what information should be public.

"We're caught in the middle because we've got lawsuits that are 180 degrees from each other," Tyson said.

Tyson said NHTSA is collecting the data and that the system led to a recall of 490,000 Bridgestone/Firestone tires earlier this year.

"The information is in the hands of the people it was intended for, which is this agency and the defect investigators who are responsible for identifying and seeking remedies for defects as soon as possible," Tyson said.

But Sally Greenberg, senior product safety counsel forConsumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports, said NHTSA is going too far.

"I think it's hard to understand why the government is holding back information," she said. "The spirit of the (law) was really to get information out there so that both the government and individuals can have access to safety information to keep them safer."

Article 3: U.S. KEEPING CRASH DATA SECRET

By Jeffrey McCracken
source: http://www.aftermarketnews.com/Item/24794/us_keeping_crash_data_secret_officials_backtrack_on_safety_disclosure_amid_suit_by_tire_makers.aspx

Federal auto safety officials are backtracking on a pledge to give consumers access to detailed data on which cars and trucks may be linked to deaths, injuries and property damage. The reason: Tire makers have sued to prevent its release.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) says it will hold off indefinitely on releasing the information while the lawsuit by the country's largest tire makers is argued and decided, which could take months, if not years. Consumer advocates have been clamoring for the release of such data since the 2000 Ford-Firestone rollover debacle.

Auto experts say these data on vehicle deaths, injuries, property damage and what specific parts may have caused the problem would be of great interest to car and truck shoppers, who often make their buying decisions based on a vehicle's safety records and reliability.

"If you own a car or truck and have a problem with it, or are shopping for a new car or truck, you'd want to see if there were a number of deaths or injuries with that vehicle. It's really disheartening to see NHTSA opting for secrecy in the area of vehicle safety," said Sally Greenberg, senior product safety counsel for Consumers Union, which publishes Consumer Reports magazine.

Until last week, the government said it had made or would make available to the public the new vehicle safety data, including details on the make, model and year of a vehicle in which someone died or was injured, and what vehicle part or system may have caused the accident.

But following a Freedom of Information Act request by the Free Press, NHTSA last week acknowledged this information was not available -- as it had said earlier. It also acknowledged it would not be made public until it deals with the lawsuit filed in June by the Rubber Manufacturers Association, a group that represents tire makers such as Bridgestone, Goodyear and Continental.

"We had intended to make all of that information public, the claims data on deaths and property damage, but then we got sued. Because of the lawsuits filed against us, we're holding off on disclosing any further information until we see the outcome of this," said Rae Tyson, NHTSA spokesman. "We're waiting until we get further guidance from the courts."

Consumer-interest groups and vehicle-safety advocates, many of whom already felt like NHTSA was withholding too much vehicle safety data, were outraged at NHTSA's reversal.

"I think the more the government decides to keep data under lock and key, the more they put the public at risk," said Greenberg. "The whole idea should be to provide the public with advanced warning about vehicle hazards, which is exactly what didn't happen in the Ford-Firestone situation."

NHTSA began receiving this new early-warning vehicle-safety data in December 2003 as part of the TREAD Act, a much-publicized law passed in 2000 in response to the rollovers of Ford Motor Co. Explorers equipped with certain Firestone tires. U.S. officials have linked 271 deaths to wrecks involving tread separation of Bridgestone Corp.'s Firestone tires. Most were on Explorers.

Automakers and tire makers fought to keep all of that new vehicle safety data out of the public eye, arguing as long as NHTSA saw it, that was all that mattered. Consumer-interest groups, pushed to make all the data public, saying it was valuable to auto consumers and auto-safety groups.

Often unspoken was the concern by business interests that the data would be used by trial lawyers to sue automakers or tire makers. Businesses also complained the public would be misled by the data.

NHTSA came down in the middle. In a two-paragraph ruling buried deep within the Federal Register this spring, the agency decided to make public the data on deaths, injuries and property damage -- while keeping secret data about car and truck warranty claims, customer complaints and early-warning defect reports from auto dealers.

NHTSA defended the decision to keep some information confidential by noting it was disclosing the other data on deaths, injuries and property damage -- the same data it is now keeping secret. TREAD has resulted so far in at least one small piece of new data being made public: warranty recalls in foreign countries.

The consumer-advocacy group Public Citizen sued NHTSA in April, seeking release of all the data. Public Citizen's lawyer said he was puzzled by the NHTSA reversal, while the Rubber Manufacturers Association applauded it.

"The agency knows there is broad interest in this safety data, the data on deaths and property damage. They themselves concluded that in the rule-making process," said Scott Nelson, a lawyer for Public Citizen, based in Washington, D.C. "Now the vehicle-safety information the agency said would be there for the public is being held hostage for months or years while both sides debate and argue the case."

Nelson said NHTSA caved in to the tire makers' lawsuit without requiring them to win a temporary restraining order to prevent release of the safety data.

The Rubber Manufacturers Association -- which filed its suit in June insisting none of the data should be made public --applauded the NHTSA decision, saying the data on deaths, injuries and property damage wouldn't be helpful to consumers.

"Our position is this early-warning data shouldn't be made public, even if the information is accurate. That information is just for the trained federal safety regulators to use," said association spokesman Dan Zielinski. "Our feeling is the data should remain confidential unless NHTSA forms an investigation. There's already plenty of information out there for the public."

He also expressed a typical concern of business groups -- that trial lawyers would use the safety data to file lawsuits against them.

"We wouldn't want a situation where this data was abused. The trial lawyers would find this data interesting to pore through. They are clever people and can make anything sound unsafe, even when it's not," said Zielinski.

Changing positions

The NHTSA decision is an abrupt about-face for the agency in charge of vehicle safety. In an Oct. 27, 2000, memo, NHTSA said it disagreed with the tire makers and other business groups who wanted to prohibit disclosure of all new data coming to NHTSA under the TREAD act.

NHTSA spokesman Tyson said the agency feels like it's being squeezed between one lawsuit by Public Citizen demanding more public disclosure and one from the tire makers demanding less.

"We are caught in the middle, so the courts will have to decide. In the meantime, we are not going to make public any information until we hear from the courts," he said.

The tire makers' lawsuit is not supported by automakers or their trade association, the Alliance of Auto Manufacturers. The alliance has taken the position that NHTSA's original stance -- releasing just the data on vehicle-related deaths, injuries and property damage -- is the proper way to go.

"We have not sought to expand the scope of protection of information beyond the current NHTSA rule," said Erika Jones, lawyer for the Alliance.

NHTSA has yet to officially respond to the Free Press FOIA requests of Aug. 24, which sought access to both the data that was supposed to be public as well as that which the agency had previously decided to keep confidential. On Sept. 22, NHTSA chief counsel Jacqueline Glassman sent an e-mail to the Free Press seeking a 10-day extension on the requests. She also said NHTSA was "considering issues relating to requests for confidential treatment pending the litigation."

Article 4: PLAYING GAMES WITH AUTO SAFETY: MARION TEACHERS MAY USE VIDEO GAME IN DRIVER'S EDUCATION

By Eric Chaney
source: scanned

MARION -- Most high school kids have seen a skid demonstration put on by an insurance company, local law enforcement or other group and a few lucky kids have even gotten to test their own reaction time in a real vehicle. But Country Financial wanted to take that one step farther and allow all kids to see just how tough it is to stop a moving vehicle - and let them do it as many times as they wanted.

"We're growing geographically," said Country Financial Education Specialist Rachel Schlipmann, "and we wanted a way to be able to reach more people."

So they created Auto Skid, a computer program that simulates a skid demonstration, where kids are tested with emergency stops to avoid a child playing in the road and other vehicles.

"We stuck with the same basic message that the skid demonstration teaches," said Schlipmann, "that reaction distance plus braking distance equals total stopping distance."

Students can choose between several different scenarios behind the wheel, such as driving in a residential area, the suburbs, a country highway and the interstate. The area in which students choose to drive affects their top speed, but the game offers other choices that provide a vast array of situations. Students can choose the weather, type of vehicle, the condition of the vehicle's brake and tires, whether or not the driver is intoxicated, tired, eating, chatting on a cell phone or playing with the radio.

"Auto Skid helps teens become more aware of how all of these factors impact the time and distance it takes to stop a moving vehicle," explains Schlipmann. "The tutorial lessons are designed to help new drivers become smarter drivers, and the game makes learning fun and interesting."

Auto Skid also features eight interactive lessons that drive home the importance of stopping as well as resources, such as additional classroom activities, a quiz and worksheets educators can use to supplement driver education curriculum.

"We started distributing them this month and we're hitting all the drivers ed teacher's conventions in the state of Illinois. Eventually we're hoping to hit all 14 states that we cover."

Schlipmann was at the Marion Knights of Columbus Hall on Thursday to present the program to drivers ed teachers around the region.

"I wasn't able to hear her presentation," said Marion drivers ed teacher Roger Minton, "but ifs something that we will probably use in our classrooms. We have the capability now to hook up our computer into a projector, so we'll be able to show it to the whole class."

The program is a free, self-contained CD that can be used at home or school with most PC or MAC systems. Teachers, parents or students who are interested in acquiring a free copy of the game can do so at Country Financial's Web site at www.country financial.com/autoskid.

UPDATE: You can actually play a demo of the game at http://www.countryfinancial.com/flash/financial/staticNav/toolsAndResources/autoSkid/autoSkid.html

Article 5: SMART SEAT BELT COULD MEAN SURVIVAL

TRW device pulls driver into the seat before crash occurs.

By Tim Moran
source: http://cache.zoominfo.com/CachedPage/CachedPageMain.aspx?archive_id=0&page_id=842353728&page_url=%2f%2fwww.detnews.com%2f2004%2fautosinsider%2f0409%2f28%2fb02-286533.htm&page_last_updated=9%2f29%2f2004+1%3a21%3a17+AM&firstName=Christopher&lastName=Gorton

WASHINGTON TOWNSHIP - The tiny Smart car takes off slowly from a standing start, and my hands are loosely gripping the steering wheel as the car reaches 6.5 miles per hour when - WHAM! - I stop with a tooth-jarring, chest-thumping and head-lashing crash.

TRW Automotive Systems engineers smile and wave reassuringly through the driver's side window.

"Try not to brace yourself for the next one!" Said Survi Edgar Schlaps, manager of seat belt systems product engineering, as the test sled slowly rolls the Smart body back to its starting position. We haven't traveled any farther than a basement corridor at the auto supplier's 26 Mile Road labs in Washington Township near Stony Creek Metropark.

The test sled is demonstrating a small, simple seat belt motor that TRW engineers believe could save a lot of lives. The company calls it "Active Control Retractor," or ACR, and it's one of the first applications to use new technology to reach inside the car to protect occupants before a crash happens.

On the second run, just as the "crash" is about to happen, the seat belt snugs around me. I'm pulled into the seat firmly and in an upright position; my head doesn't whip forward, there's no chest impact against the belt and my hands stay on the wheel with ease.

"We want to show what can be done with a passive safety device that can be activated with an active safety device ahead of time?" Said Douglas P. Campbell, TRW's occupant safety systems vice president of engineering.

The systems are expensive today. Industry analysts estimate they cost from $500 to $1,000, largely because they connect with elaborate stability control and anti-rollover systems that, to date, have only been seen on luxury and high-end production vehicles.

TRW isn't the only manufacturer in the belt-tightening business. Delphi Corp. is shopping its own design around, but has not secured customers yet. Takata provides similar advanced seat belts to Nissan Motor Co., for specially-equipped Infiniti models; Honda Motor Co. Uses a similar device on Inspire models sold only in Japan; Toyota Motor Co.p. has its own system that is part of a larger vehicle stability option.

Russ Rader, spokesman for the Arlington, Va.,-based Insurance Institute for Highway Safety, said the IIHS views such seatbelt tensioning devices as a positive development for automotive safety.

"The key thing is this does not depend on the driver to do something," Rader said.

Past thinking has focused on using technology to warn the driver, and relying on the alerted driver to make the right split-second decision. Active, motorized retractors automatically compensate for a crash.

"This device is part of a number of technologies coming forward that could be very important in crash protection," Rader said. "Putting the vehicle in charge of preparing for a crash is much more important than alerting the driver."

TRW spokesman John Wilkerson said the company has been trying to lure industry executives to ride the Smart sled over the summer, including at the Traverse City Management Briefing Seminars held in August.

Air bags, seat belts and other safety systems to date are primarily engineered to take care of people after a crash has happened, Campbell says. Active systems now can be used to prevent or minimize accidents.

"Active safety is something you activate prior to the collision to try to avoid it," he said.

Since the 2003 model year, some 40,000 Mercedes S-Class vehicles have been equipped with TRW's advance seat belt.

Mercedes spokesperson Michelle Murad said the S-Class system uses sensor inputs from all over the car to detect when a crash might be about to occur; If an accident is imminent, the seatbelts tighten snugly, and the passenger seat is moved to a "more crashworthy" position. If the car detects that it's about to roll over, it will also snap the sunroof closed.

The Mercedes S-class is not the only car to have seat-belt tensioners: Many advanced cars have a pyrotechnic system that, after a crash impulse, fires a one-use charge that clutches the front seat passengers and puts them in the right position for the airbags to deploy safely. But the S-class is the only car to date to carry the TRW system, which can tighten and release the seat belts many times.

"It's reversible. If a potential crash is sensed, but either through the driver's reactions or the active control system helps avoid a crash, the seatbelt slackens up just like always and you're right back where you were before," Campbell said.

Half of all crashes happen with at least a half-second of warning. Sometimes a distracted driver will be tuning the radio, trying to find a fallen object or otherwise not looking at the road. In those cases, the active control retractor can alert them to an impending crash by giving a sharp pull that takes the slack out of their seat belt.

The active belt cannot actually yank a driver around, apply excess force on a driver or pull them away from vital car controls, TRW engineers say. A belt that could physically move an entire driver would take a massive motor of more than 5 horsepower. TRW's key development that enables the system, a powerful and small brushless electric motor about the size of a can of pop, activates at a lower level.

"It's got enough force where it tugs you that it causes you to sit up straight," says Christopher Gorton, core engineering director for TRW North America.

Delphi is in the process of developing an active retractor that it calls a "resettable seat belt," said Delphi spokesperson Milton Beach. Research on such systems has been going on for a long time, but active development has only been occurring over the last 12 months.

TRW engineer Campbell calls the active control retractor an "invisible feature" that most drivers would want if they could feel or see it demonstrated. To make his point, he shows a test track video of a normally-belted front-seat passenger in an aggressively-driven test car. The woman slips from side to side as the car wheels through sharp turns, at one point slipping under the shoulder belt entirely.

The same passenger, snugged in by an active control retractor belt that tightens and loosens as the car maneuvers, stays much more comfortably centered in the car seat as the car handles tight turns.

Tim Moran is a Detroit free-lance writer.

Bumper Sticker Tech Notes

1. Design your project using a PhotoShop file that is 10” x 7.5” in a landscape orientation. 
2. When you are ready to print, select Layer>Flatten which will reduce your file size and increase the printing speed. 
3. For large files, you should always be in a “wired” situation. The wired network speed is approximately 10 tines faster than wireless, particularly if there are several people trying to print at once. 

Printer Settings

You will need to adjust some of the printer settings to take full advantage of the photo paper. After you select File>Print:

1. Select the Best quality.

2. Select Photo Paper.

Review Sheet for Sectionalism & Civil War Test

Part 1 of the Sectionalism & Civil War Test will focus on the Civil War map and writing sections.
Part 2 will focus on true-false, multi choice, & fill-in questions, and the extra credit map.

1. Know the Civil War Map; Compromise of 1850 map is Extra Credit 
2. Key questions & terms: 

FROM THE ESSENTIALS CARTOON HISTORY, & HANDOUTS:
1850s: Sectional crisis

A. Key Questions:

What was the sequence of events/incidents that occurred from the Compromise of 1850 to the Election of 1860 that steadily weakened the Union/destroyed compromise and increased the polarization of the country? [BIG QUESTION—MULTIPLE PARTS—use both book and handouts for this Qn.]

B. KEY TERMS:

Compromise of 1850, popular sovereignty, Uncle Tom's Cabin, Kansas-Nebraska Act, Free Soilers, Border Ruffians, Bleeding Kansas, Beecher's Bibles, Lecompton Constitution, Brooks vs. Sumner, Dred Scott Decision, Lincoln-Douglas debates, Raid on Harpers Ferry, John Brown, treason, Election of 1860, escalation/acceleration of disintegration, compromise, Democrats, Whigs, Republicans, Abolitionists, Fire-eaters

The Civil War

A. Key Questions:

1. What were the two sides fighting for—their respective causes? (potential essay)
2. Strengths & weaknesses of Confederacy? Union? (potential essay)
3. How many theaters of operation were there?
4. Goals/strategies of each side?
5. Turning points—key engagements/moments? How did the North win?
6. Aside from the military impact, what changes—political, social, & economic—were wrought by the War?
7. What was Lincoln's postwar plan for the South? The Radical Republicans? (Will not be on the test)

B. KEY TERMS:

Secession, Confederacy, Union, Abraham Lincoln, Jefferson Davis, Rebels vs. Yankees, offensive vs. defensive warfare, volunteers, draftees, paid substitutes, Anaconda Plan, blockade vs. blockade running, total war, guerrilla war, new technology...

Southerners: Lee, Jackson, Longstreet, Johnson [2], Forrest....; Northerners: McClellan, Grant, Sherman, Reynolds, Thomas...

Bull Run/Manassas, Antietam, Vicksburg, Gettysburg, Sherman's March to the Sea, Appomattox, other major engagements...&... confusion of names[-ing]

Foreign Affairs— King Cotton, Britain, France, Trent Affair, Mexico & Maximilian;

Domestic Affairs: home front, draft riots [esp. NYC in summer of '631, war profiteers, greenbacks, taxes, Emancipation Proclamation, contraband, Gettysburg Address, 2" Inaugural Address, Radical Republicans, War Democrats, Peace Democrats, Copperheads, conspiracies, suspension of civil rights, assassination, John Wilkes Booth

Science One-Page Analysis

Articles that were included in the packet can be viewed here:
http://us4hw.blogspot.com/2009/10/science-auto-safety-articles.html

Below are some guidelines to consider when writing about your analysis.

Theme - the general idea that you plan to write about. The theme is developed from the packet of articles that have been chosen. Once you highlight the packet, it’s time to narrow the information into a single theme.

In order to narrow your theme from the larger pool of highlighted material, a few questions might help you pick a theme:
Who? Who did something about the subject that made an impact on you? Who else is involved? Who agrees or disagrees with your position?
What? What happened? What has been said on the subject? What new information has come to light? What have you learned about the subject?
When? When did it happen? When was the last debate on the subject? When will the subject have the greatest effect?
Where? Where does the subject affect the most people? Where was it successful? Where was it a failure?
Why? Why did it take place? Why does it matter? Why do people need to be involved?
How? How did it happen? How did it succeed or fail? How can it be repeated?

Once you have narrowed the packet down to your theme, start to form your paragraph around this idea.

Be clear - your reader should have no doubt about where you stand on the issue.
Keep the essay heading toward a definite conclusion.

Include 2 or 3 quotes from the packet of articles - Cite the quote by the author’s last name

Find a recent article in the news to attach to your essay.

Essay can be single-spaced and must fit on one page

Guidelines to the Survival Essay

• Root your essay in the text of Man's Search for Meaning
• Understand that your identification of a "survival" depends on your interpretation of events and/or circumstances in the text from a more "figurative" point of view than a concrete one.
• Before you can establish the significance of any one survival that you choose in a book, you have to do the preliminary work of defining concentration camp both denotatively and connotatively.
• Read the composition hand-out on the theme and try to parallel or develop this first major essay along the lines of either the directives in the hand-out or the example provided.

Due Tuesday, October 27.

Art Photography Projects

Be sure to remember:
In Photoshop

• Make copy of photo 
• Image size to: no larger than 10 inches x 7.5 inches and 300 dpi 
• Always save as: JPEG (located in the format selection) 

When saving to Due Date Folder Example:

• macrooriginal 
• macrofinal 
• macrorevised (when needed)

Here is a list of photography projects that are required for art:

1. MACRO PROJECT- The macro setting magnifies forms close up, allowing you to capture small worlds in amazing details. The camera will only work in macro when it is within a certain range of the subject, approximately 2-8 inches. DUE Tuesday, 10/13/09

Negative Print Project due Tuesday, 10/13/09


2. BUILDING PROJECT- Every building has its own character or feeling that it gives you as you enter it or look at it. Like a real person, you need to look at it closely to capture the interesting details. Find a building and photograph PART of it so that you express that character. This part might be a door, stair, window, or a crack in a wall. Try to use an unusual camera angle for this. You will need to watch your composition on this one, be sure to only put important things in the frame. DUE Friday, 10/16/09

3. REFLECTION PROJECT – Make a photograph where reflection of light is a main composition or interest point. Look at how things reflect light and how a reflection point in a photo can add major interest. Be creative. DUE Friday, 10/16/09

4. TEXTURE PROJECT –Shoot an object with an interesting texture (look for good contrast) it means that the object should be in open sunlight. DUE Tuesday, 10/20/09

5. SHAPES PROJECT – Look at the shapes of things around you and look for interesting patterns and lighting contrasts. Look for subject matter that is part of our every day life but so close we forget it is there. For this assignment you are to look for GEOMETRIC SHAPES like circles, squares, triangles, etc. as they appear in the world around you. DUE Tuesday, 10/20/09

Black and White Photo due Friday, 10/23/09

6. WATER PROJECT- Photograph of water of any kind from a puddle to a pond to the ocean. DUE Tuesday, 10/27/09

Panoramic and Edges Projects due Friday, 10/30/09

7. FOOD AD PROJECT – Studio Still Life – This is a commercial photography type assignment. Here you will photograph some object, as you would see it for sale in an advertisement. You may set up this “Still Life” using any props you need. Use a background. Get close on this and be creative in your camera angle. Try different types of lighting. DUE Tuesday, 11/3/09

Solarization Project due Friday, 11/6/09

8. EMOTION PROJECT – Photograph an emotion. Think of a few: anger, happy, sad, scared, lonely, shy, etc… NO PEOPLE in the shot. It can be done. Example: Photo of a snake FEAR. DUE Tuesday, 11/10/09

Juxtaposition and Mirroring Projects due Friday, 11/13/09

9. POSED PHOTO PROJECT- In this assignment you are to find a subject to pose. Be sure to get subject permission. Note- When the photographer takes control of the subject and directs their attention toward the camera the result is a posed photo. This causes the action to change and makes the photo stiff. Most snap shots are like this, they don’t really tell us much about the subject. Just direct the subject to do something with action. This will make the shot more interesting than just standing stiff. DUE Tuesday, 11/17/09

Printing on Hand-Painted Rice Paper Project due Friday, 11/20/09

10. STUDIO PORTRAIT PROJECT- Using studio lighting produce a formal portrait of head and shoulders style. This is supposed to be a FORMAL portrait, you will need a background and will use lights to get the effect you want. You MAY use a prop. DUE Tuesday, 11/24/09

Pushing Pixels Project due Thursday, 12/3/09

11. LEADING LINES – Leading lines draw the viewer’s eye to the point of interest or help create the illusion of depth and/or distance. DUE Friday, 12/4/09

12. SUNSET PROJECT – Shoot a series of photos that show a good use of light at this time of day. DUE Friday, 12/4/09

Color Stylization Project due Tuesday, 12/8/09

Photo T-Shirt Design Project due Friday, 12/11/09

Kaleidoscope Project due Tuesday, 12/15/09

Montage with Transparency Project due Thursday, 12/17/09

THEME PROJECT (10-15 PHOTOS) -- DUE WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 6, 2010

Personal Anecdote Essay

Write a lesson or fact of life you learned, as does Isaac Asimov in "Intelligence," p.49, and James Lincoln Collier in "Anxiety: Challenge by Another Name," p. 82. Your essay must meet the following requirements:

1. Relate to the average person.
2. State the thesis in the conclusion (though you may allude to it in the body).
3. Include at least one well-developed personal anecdote or several short ones.
4. Feature a logical and consistent order, such as chronological or at least familiar to most people.
5. Begin with an engaging title (this time it counts) and a thoughtful introduction.
6. Italicize the thesis in the conclusion.
7. 1-2 pages, double spaced.

Due Wednesday, September 30, 2009 at the end of class. If time is used well, however, the due date may be extended to Friday, October 2, 2009 at the end of class.

2-Day Lab Quiz: Galileo's Inclined Plane

All materials are at your lab station - Use 2 yard sticks to create an inclined plane and 2 more yard sticks to create a level plane.
Use a computer stopwatch as a timer.
The purpose of this activity is to determine the effect of gravity on the acceleration of a marble rolling down the incline.

There are six (6) legs on this incline from which to gather data, each measuring 12 inches in length.

Collect ten (10) trials for each leg and record your data. Once you have completed the data collection, you are no longer working in a group - the remainder of your work must be completed individually.

You are to complete the following sections:

Hypothesis - which area of the setup do you predict to have the fastest and slowest times?

Data Analysis - Create graphs of your data to illustrate your findings. Each graph should also include a written explanation.

Possible Sources of Error - as many as encountered.

Concluding Statement - Summarize your findings. Accept/reject hypothesis and explain why. How would/could you retry the experiment to remove possible sources of error?

Due Thursday, 9/24/09.

Summer Reading Poem

In a direct address or poetic apostrophe, the poet speaks to a subject that is unable to respond, as does Robert Burns in “To a Mouse,” where he uses the mouse as a symbol of the forces beyond man’s control.

In a panegyric, or ‘anthem’ if you will, the poet commemorates or celebrates something of significance, be it a national event, figure or value.

You will be composing one of the two types of poem. First, you must decide if you want to write about your philosophy of life or if you want to pay tribute to something. If you are writing about your philosophy, you will compose an apostrophe. If you are celebrating something, you will compose a panegyric. In the case of the apostrophe, you will need to carefully consider the entity to which your poem directly speaks. Make sure that the subject you are addressing works smoothly into your theme and is not forced; it may be animate or inanimate. Both poems must be thoughtful and serious.

Requirements are as follows:

1. approximately 24 lines
2. use of elevated language
3. consistent stanza form, rhythm and rhyme
4. use of sense imagery in every stanza
5. use of at least one of the following in every stanza: simile, metaphor, personification, hyperbole (over-exaggeration), understatement, or onomatopoeia 
6. alliteration in every stanza

Due Tuesday, September 22nd, 2009

Egg Drop Project

These sections need to be completed individually:

1. Data Analysis
• Graph showing the distance traveled in meters for everyone in your group and a group average
• Graph showing the velocity at impact in m/second for everyone in your group and a group average
• Short paragraph explaining the graphs
2. Possible Sources of Error
3. Summary of Findings

Due: Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Current Event Assignment

Reading for Information

A current event in the area of science will be due two times per month. The due dates for these papers will be the 1st and 15th of each month. (If either of these days falls on a weekend or LEAP, your paper will be due the following Monday or Thursday, respectively.) Articles for review may come from newspapers, magazines, journals, and the like.

Directions:
Complete/answer each section. Each section must be completed. Once you have answered each question, use these to write 3 to 4 paragraphs about your article. Use 1.5 or double line spacing and attach the article to this essay. If you do not wish to remove the article from a magazine or journal, I will photocopy the article for you to include. Referring to the text and using specific details will help ensure that you meet all requirements for this assignment.

1. Summarize what you have read by restating specific main ideas from the text.




2. What did the author have to know prior to and during the writing of the selection?




3. What is the general topic of the article, and how useful is the reading selection for learning about the topic?




4. What additional information do you want to know about the topic?




5. What is your opinion about the article/topic? Would you recommend this article to someone else to read? Why or why not?

In-Class Summer Reading Paragraph

Of Mice and Men, John Steinbeck
Anthem, Ayn Rand
Cyrano de Bergerac, Edmond Rostand

While each of the summer reading texts is quite different in content, style, and historical period, all three concern themselves with man in conflict with himself as well as with the world in which he lives. Ironically, each work also portrays its protagonist’s conflicts in such a way that the protagonist can be considered a hero, though clearly not always a conventional one.

Select one of the three works. In your essay, explore this concept of the hero. How does the main character struggle to assert his own identity and to maintain his values in life as he also struggles to live in a world very much opposed or even antithetical to his own mindset?

Remember standard essay conventions:

1. present tense
2. third person
3. three concrete examples (quotations if possible)
4. analysis of the examples 
5. plot details provided for support
6. basic paragraph format: TS, transitions, CS
7. double-spaced, 12 pt.Times New Roman
8. engaging title

Cover Letter and Resume Directions

When you apply for a job, you frequently send a cover letter and a resume to your potential employer. The cover letter introduces you and your purpose. It summarizes your strengths and experience. Your resume is a detailed, usually reverse chronological, outline of your background and work experience. Of course, the object of both the cover letter and the resume is to stimulate interest in you. Because the employer often receives many cover letters and resumes, yours should stand out. Accordingly, the stronger cover letters and resumes not only contain no errors but are also succinct and interesting to read.

Having just read Of Mice and Men, a work that deals with each man's search for the American dream, and moving on from Mirman in just a short time, you should be thinking about your future. With that said, you will be composing your own cover letter and resume. This will require you to imagine the type of employment you might seek upon graduation from college or after. Use the models provided but follow the requirements below.

Cover Letter

1. One page
2. Single spaced
3. Standard business letter format
4. State your objective
5. Indicate why the organization appeals to you
6. State why you are right for the organization
7. Briefly summarize related experience
8. Indicate your resume is attached
9. Request an interview or follow-up

Resume (remember reverse chronological order)

1.  Name, address, phone number and email address
2. Career objective
3. Previous work experience (minimum of two), including dates, places of employment, titles, responsibilities
4. Educational background
5. Achievements
6. Relevant interests and hobbies
7. Single-spaced
8. One page

Keep in mind, your cover letter and resume are supposed to make you stand out from the crowd. Be inventive, creative, original. Use a graphic, a border, colored paper. Consider using different size type, different fonts, different effects.

The rough draft of your cover letter and resume will be due on Tuesday, September 8, 2009.

For the final, you are to add graphics and anything else to make it creative. Do not staple the final copy because Mrs. Zinman may want to put it on the board side by side.

The final draft of your cover letter and resume will be due on Friday, September 25, 2009.

Our Senior Year is Almost Here!

It's September again, and we are making a few changes to how the calendar works this year:

First of all, we will have two administrators, Andrew and I. We will each add blog entries and together make sure that each and every assignment gets added to the calendar.

Also, we will be scanning and digitizing all of the worksheets (where copyright permits) that we are given during the year and posting them here for download.

We will still need an editor for Algebra 1B/2A and Latin, so if you would like this position, and you are in both of these classes, please comment below to sign up.

Also, I am taking any suggestions for changes to the color scheme. (it is not really that good right now)

Again, the calendar and this blog will become active on the first day of school, August 31, 2009. Have a great year!

IMPORTANT INFORMATION REGARDING THE US3 AND US4 HOMEWORK CALENDARS

On Friday, June 5th, 2009, the Mirman US3 Homework Calendar and its Blog will change hands, and will become inactive until September 2009.

The new administrators for the US3 Homework Calendar are Nicole, Carly, Maisie, Veronica, and Kim.

You may continue to use this calendar until school is out, but please note that no new assignments will be added to it after Friday, June 5th, 2009.

The Mirman US4 Homework Calendar and this blog will become active on Friday, June 5th, 2009 as well, with Andrew and I as administrators (In September 2009, we will choose additional editors). You may start using this calendar on Friday, June 5th, 2009.

Also, on that date, my calendar email address will belong to the new administrators. You may contact me at my new email address, which is the same as the previous one except that you should substitute the "3" for a "4."

Thank you for a great year. I am looking forward to our senior year at Mirman, with another calendar that is just as good as last year's was.

--JB