Examination Of Muted Group Theory Sociology Essay

Examination Of Muted Group Theory Sociology Essay Imagine for a moment that you find yourself in an exotic and far off land. You have been forced to live in a foreign country that speaks a completely different language than yours. You struggle day after day not just to articulate yourself in this strange, foreign tongue, but to simply be heard and have your opinions appreciated by your new peers. Instead you find your new neighbors disregard every word you say and write you off as inarticulate or just plain dumb; or even worse they ignore your unique existence and experiences altogether. This is exactly the sort of phenomenon that Muted Group Theory details and why it is so incredibly fascinating. This literature review will define exactly Muted Group Theory and its basic tenets are, delve into the theorys origins, and provide a few examples of its further use before moving on to several research studies illustrating the theory in practical, scientific application. The Muted Group Theory of Communication seeks to explain and rationalize the faults inherent in language and the ways in which it fails many of its users. While most individuals would simply dismiss language merely as a tool of communication to be molded in order to fit their specific needs; in actuality, language acts as a dominant and controlling factor in establishing and shaping its users. Muted Group Theory asserts that because language was developed primarily by the dominant group of society; specifically white males of greater income and socio-economic status, that minority cultures and non-dominant groups such as women, individuals of lower economic means, and non-whites are thus muted by their own lack of influence on the formation of their language (Wood, 2008, as cited in Turner West, 2009). Because non-dominant groups have had little to no contribution towards the creation of their language they are poorly served by it. Muted Group Theory emphases a minority groups inabi lity to fully and properly articulate themselves or designate their unique experiences due to the necessity of translating their individual views and opinions into what is essentially a foreign language (Wood, 2008, as cited in Turner West, 2009). The language of a particular group does not consistently support or function for all of its members with any sense of equality due to the disparity in their involvement in their languages development (Kramarae, 1981 as cited in Orbe, 1998). Muted Group Theory posits that language acts as a representation of a societys overall ideologies. The dominant sector of a group conceptualizes a means of communication which not only maintains, but perpetuates their specified worldview and establishes it as the correct and proper language for all of said groups remaining members (S. Ardener, 1975, as cited in Orbe, 1998). As it is defined as a critical theory, the Muted Group Theory of Communication is both valuable and worth exploring because it str ives to reexamine the established status quo of a society or culture, it highlights the imbalances and unfairness within said society for its possibly unsuspecting inhabitants, and lastly; and most importantly, it proposes potential solutions to these problems plaguing said culture (Turner West, 2009). Muted Group Theory interestingly illuminates individuals to the unconscious methods through which a language and its creators dictate and manipulate interpersonal behaviors and relations as well as concepts of ones own self-identity. Muted Group Theory finds its origins within the research of social anthropologists Edwin and Shirley Ardener and their work on social hierarchy and structure. Muted Group Theory developed following the Ardeners examination of the, at the time, male dominated fields of ethnography and social anthropology (Turner West, 2009). Individuals and groups which inhabit the highest tiers of a social hierarchy define the specific communication system within a culture and the non-dominant groups are thus relegated to working within the confines of whatever communication guidelines the ruling class has consciously or unconsciously imposed upon them. Subordinate groups are thus rendered mute as the mainstream structures of communication echo the dominate groups perceptions (E. Ardener, 1978, as cited in Orbe, 1998). A further implication of Muted Group Theory founded by the Ardeners is that the silencing of women as a muted group bears a direct correlation to deafness of their male counterparts. The notion put forth here is that even if a minority group has yet to be muted, on the whole or in a specified subject, the continued obliviousness committed by the dominant group as they ignore the assessments and opinions of their subordinates results in a lack of any further articulation on said subject by the non-dominant group as they thus become muted over time (S. Ardener, 1978, as cited in Turner West, 2009). Put simply, a dominant group, by not understanding or completely ignoring the views of their subordinate counterparts, can in essence silence these views completely. The repercussions of this sort of passive thought suppression are staggering. The undesirable ideologies and wishes of a silent minority can be expunged over time simply by ignoring them. This idea is highly reminiscent in the old adage to ignore a bully into leaving one alone. Though its genesis lies with the work of Edwin and Shirley Ardener, Cheris Kramarare is commonly regarded as the true founder of Muted Group Theory. Kramarares work expanded on the ideas brought on by the Ardeners, and tailored it primarily to the study of communication. Kramarare focused Muted Group Theory into three paramount assumptions: women, and other minority groups, view the world far differently from men due to the division of labor, due to male-centric political superiority, mens views and communication systems are given priority, thus restricting the communication of women, and other subordinate cultures, and lastly, in order to effectively partake in a society, non-dominant groups are forced to shoehorn their own ideologies into the dominant groups established system of expression (Kramarare, 1981, as cited in Turner West, 2008). Kramarares work expanded the bounds of Muted Group Theory and inspires further inquiry and analysis to questions and concepts raised by the Ard eners initial research. Far more intriguing than the unfortunate in-articulation of minority groups brought on by Muted Group Theory are the stunning implications of the theory on the development of an individuals self-concept. From birth men and women are treated vastly different by society at large. From the color of the clothes they are put in to the way in which they are described, male and female infants are immediately indoctrinated by the societal views and expected gender roles of the dominant group they were born into. Muted Group Theory further invades into ideas of self-concept via the ways in which dominant groups perceive society. Female nurses, for instance, are limitedly defined by societys dominant group as either hardened battle-axes of anti-femininity, or ultra-compassionate and sensitive angels of mercy. These highly constricting labels, imposed by dominant groups, limit these women to identifying themselves as one of these two, polar descriptors (Callan, 1978, as cited in Turner West, 2 009). Because of the restricted definitions provided by dominant groups, these nurses can only potentially conceive themselves as aligning with one of these completely differing camps and are thus limited in the development of their own self-concept and individual identity. The first of the research studies examined here focuses on the muting inherent in the culture of date rape found on many college campuses. A rape culture can be defined as an environment which supports attitudes conducive to rape and increase sexual violence risk factors (Buchwald, Fletcher Roth, 1993, as cited in Burnett et all., 2009). The study in question, Communicating/Muting Date Rape: A Co-Cultural Theoretical Analysis of Communication Factors Related to Rape Culture on a College Campus was authored by Ann Burnett, Jody L. Mattern, Liliana L. Herakova, David H. Kahl, Jr., Cloy Tobola, and Susan Bornsen and was first published in the Journal of Applied Communication Research in November of 2009. Burnett et al. (2009) sought to uncover how certain attitudes and outlooks regarding the act of rape, as expressed by social, individual, and cultural perspectives, stemmed from various behaviors preceding a possible rape, during a rape itself, and as a response to a rape occurring. Th ese attitudes served to mute college students, primarily women, and possibly perpetuate the continued creation of a rape culture on college campuses. Their research primarily utilized Muted Group Theory in a co-cultural theoretical paradigm in order to define campus rape culture through communication focused on rape and sex, the negotiating of sexual consent, the potentiality of a rape to occur, a rape itself, the aftermath and repercussions of a rape, and peoples perceptions of, and reactions to, date rape (Burnett et al., 2009). Burnett et al.s (2009) study methodology chiefly utilized hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry. Hermeneutic phenomenological inquiry involves delving into the shared, lived experiences of individuals who have been involved in a specified phenomenon (Lanigan, 1979, as cited in Burnett et al., 2009). Researchers utilizing a phenomenological approach search for any central, underlying themes behind a given experience and attempt to develop general or universal implications from them (Creswell, 2007, as cited in Burnett et al., 2009). Phenomenological inquiry involves researchers gathering descriptions of lived experiences, reviewing the various capta found to uncover any essential themes of the experiences, and discovering any interrelatedness among the established themes (Nelson, 1989, as cited in Burnett et al., 2009). The capta for Burnett et al.s (2009) study were gathered through nine separate focus groups at a Midwestern university. These focus groups contained five with just wome n, two of only men, and two groups were co-ed in composition. The university in question housed an approximate population of 12,000 students, contained fifteen fraternities or sororities, and had a Division 1 athletics program on campus. The study did not specify a need for focus group members to have been rape victims to be involved. Focus group moderators utilized an open-ended conversational style in order to encourage member participation (Nelson, 1989, as cited in Burnett et al., 2009). Topics put to the focus groups included various definitions of, and motivations for, rape, alcohols role in rape, post-rape options, potential reasons why rape is not reported, how to avoid possible rape scenarios, and group members perception of the prevalence of rape on their campus (Burnett et al., 2009). Following this, the gathered capta were reduced by recognizing what given factors were essential to the experience and which were not, and then attaching meaning to the essential elements re maining by contrasting and comparing the different given experiences and how the identified themes contributed to them (Nelson, 1989, as cited in Burnett et al., 2009). Burnett et al.s (2009) results indicated an ambiguity surrounding date rape that silences potential, meaningful intercourse on the subject and mutes both possible and actual victims of date rape. Burnett et al. (2009) found that focus group members had great difficulty in pinpointing a firm definition of date rape as they felt situational factors affected any interpretation of the event. For instance, although sexual consent was suggested as an essential element, focus group members probed which non-verbal and verbal actions could be construed as consent. Because they had no firm way of defining what date rape was, both male and female participants were muted from recognizing the signs of date rape or when to report it. Students are thus forced to rationalize their notions of rape because their culture, the college campus, fails to do so (Burnett et al., 2009). On an individual, psychological level, the focus group members, even the women, utilized primarily dominant, male-driven language to characterize known date rape victims as overtly promiscuous individuals whose state of dress could almost function as a form of consent. Participants also noted how males are often praised for extreme sexual prowess and a high number of partners whereas women are cast in a negative light for the same sort of behavior. These common views reiterate the dominant position of men in society and their influence on the language and ideologies concerning date rape (Burnett et al., 2009). From a post-rape perspective, female focus group members questioned the strength and validity of their ability to communicate a lack of consent. This sort of interrogation places the responsibility for the rape on the victim (Burnett et al., 2009). Both female and male focus group members agreed that the reporting of date rape is muted due to further ambiguity regarding the cor rect steps to take following a rape and a fear of others reactions to said rape. This fear of victim blaming only serves to further isolate and mute anyone who has been the victim of date rape or knows a victim who is choosing to remain silent (Burnett et al., 2009). Additional dominant groups such as a colleges administration and staff can silence victims and perpetuate a date rape culture through a lack of backing for anti-rape preventative education and post rape support services on campus. This lack of recognition of date rape in the dominant discourse leads individuals to mute themselves via various explaining-away tactics in order to not contradict the mainstream. Following their study, Burnett et al. (2009) concluded that both male and female students participate in the inherent muting of a date rape culture and that date rape victims are actively muted before, after, and even during a rapes occurrence. The largest factor in the continued perpetuation of campus date rape culture is the failure of the student population to properly and affectively define what constitutes date rape and sexual consent. Because there is no firm classification of either of these, date rape victims, and potentially the rapists as well, have no clue they are actually involved in a date rape. The scope of this study, while thorough on the campus it took place, is in actuality quite limited. Because Burnett et al. limited their focus to one specific college campus in one specific area of the country it cannot be considered an entirely accurate representation of possible rape cultures on college campuses across the board. Along with its scope, the studys testability is extremely limited because of their research methodology. While relying on interpersonal communication allowed for a more personal and in-depth examination of various individuals experiences with date rape, these particular views are that of the individual in question and cannot be affectively measured with any sort of documentable accuracy. The parsimony and heurism of the study are both notable, however. At its core, the explanation for the continuance of date rape culture is exceedingly simple and direct and the new thinking initiated by the study is of paramount importance. Hopefully, colleges can use the data provided here to better arm their student bodies against possible date rape in the future. The second research study being examined here involves the gender specific effects of muting on outdoor ropes challenge courses. The study, authored by Phillip A. Irish III, first appeared in the Journal of Experiential Education in 2006. Irish (2006) sought to discover the myriad of effects that verbal muting, a primary means for modifying a courses objectives, has on both genders and how successfully they can accomplish the tasks set forth by the moderators of these ropes courses when thusly limited. The ultimate goal of the study was to better arm ropes course facilitators with documented research to supplement their own experience and intuition in an effort to further the communication enhancing nature inherent in these sorts of challenges. The ropes course study examine two primary hypotheses: on specifically masculine-attributed outdoor ropes courses, muted males will experience stronger goal engagement, specified by proximal distance to said objective, than their muted, female counterparts, and, conversely, the greater time spent on a particular task will result in greater disengagement of muted males, measured by increasing distance from goal, than muted females in the same given time span. The methodology of Irishs (2006) study involved adult groups being given one of three possible outdoor ropes challenges: Doughnut, Thread the Needle, and Water Wheel. These challenges were selected specifically for because they involve the team members navigating a specific, centralized piece of equipment while simultaneously not limiting participants free movement about the challenge arena. These trials were also selected due to their generally male oriented objectives, such as lifting individual members up into the air. In differing groups, either all of the men or all of the women were verbally muted though gesturing and pantomime were allowed. The average group makeup consisted of five males to three females with individuals being lined up and divided my height in an effort to spread the height advantage out to each group. Distance measurements were taken every two minutes during the planning phase of the given challenge. The results of Irishs (2006) study indicate varying shifts in involvement by both sexes in regards to factors of group composition and the handicap of verbal muting. When looking at group makeup, there was no correlation on the involvement of males or females in the task based upon the increased number of females in the group, or male involvement based on the increased number of males in the group, however, when the number of males increased, regardless of other factors involved, female involvement dropped significantly. When the influence of verbal muting is examined, again, male involvement is curiously unaffected by muting or not, but female involvement dramatically lowered when they were muted. Irish (2006) felt his research was successful in terms of providing future researchers a methodology for empirically measuring involvement and interest in a task with relation to muting and non-muting factors. While muting had little variant effect on the position and involvement of males, muted females were generally twice as far away from the specified goal as non-muted females (Irish 2006). Muted females seemed to disengage entirely from the task as the positioned themselves farther away from the goal than their male counterparts. Irishs (2006) research shows slight correlation to male disinterest and disengagement overtime, but not enough, he felt, to be entirely conclusive and supportive of his original hypothesis. Irish posits that greater effect of muting on women may be due to the verbally communicative style generally attached to women. The implications of Irishs research on future Muted Group Theory are compelling. Even though Irish was not trying to illustrate the ways in which male dominant groups subjugate female non-dominant groups, the results of his research still support that central tenet of Muted Group Theory. As discussed previously, Muted Group Theory posits that male originated language forces women to translate everything into what essentially amounts to a foreign tongue. Irishs examination demonstrates how the severity of the male language barrier places women in an ingrained mindset of near constant verbal translation in order to be heard and understood by their male counterparts. When this verbal element is removed from their repertoire, women are left with no further tools to successfully navigate the ropes course or contribute in any meaningful way; because of both an inability to fully articulate themselves in a now non-verbal, male-centric language and because their male counterparts will essent ially ignore their female-oriented non-verbal communication tactics. The scope of this study is quite narrow as it only delves into a small aspect of muting; however, the study provides a high level of testability as the data provides an easily repeatable experiment in an effort to replicate the results and has great utility as it can be used to reinforce the basic notions of Muted Group Theory. The third research study being explored delves into the realm of email communication and how the once gender neutral communication arena now exhibits gendered voices which are being muted. The study, authored by Heather Kissack and Jamie L. Callahan was first published in the Journal of European Industrial Training in 2010. Kissack and Callahan (2010) sought to critically asses the validity of newfound research indicating increased textual gender cues in regards to preferred language use in email based communications. Kissack and Callahans goal was to illustrate how the muting of feminine voices occurs even in email communications. The methodology of Kissack and Callahans (2010) study is fairly straightforward. The study utilizes a vast array of previously completed research into the foundations and implications of Muted Group Theory on subjugating the speech of women and draws logical correlations to previous research on male-female communication in a structured organization as well as studies on genders impact on email conversing. The arguments posited are logically consistent and draw understandable conclusions between already researched topics. Kissack and Callahan (2010) discovered that feminine voices are more than simply marginalized in the work place as was once believed, but are in fact muted as well. Despite lacking the visual and audio cues of verbal language, email communication has still developed unique male and female centric consistencies which allow them to be easily distinguishable to a given reader (Corney, de Vel, Anderson, Mohay , 2002, as cited in Kissack Callahan, 2010). Even if the names of sender and receiver are omitted, either sex can easily identify the gender of email senders as gender specific language cues aid in this accuracy (Savicki et al., as cited in Kissack Callahan, 2010). Kissack and Callahan (2010) successfully accomplish their studys goal of shedding light on the still prevalent issues of feminine voice muting, specifically in an arena that most thought to be gender neutral be default. What is most intriguing about the work of Kissack and Callahan is that the majority of email users would claim the format to be primarily without gender bias. After all, the anonymity presented on the internet allows a user to appear as any gender they wish. This research study shows great logical consistency and scope through the great volume of research Kissack and Callahan have done to draw successful correlations between preexisting research topics. This study also shows potential to stand the test of time because it initiates a heuristic response to a fairly modern invention and the biases that have unfortunately come along with it. These growing trends could even be reexamined in the future to further track the validity of Kissack and Callahans work and to measure if any improvements have been made in the field. Kissack and Callahan focus strongly on the critical aspects of Muted Group Theory in an effort to inform (re: warn) our modern, technology-dependent society; as forward thinking as we think we are, to the dangers of gender muteness now creeping its way into email communication. The suggestions of their work are frightening. If gender bias and muted groups can find new life thriving in technology can these relics of a bygone era ever truly be stamped out? The fourth study observed focused on the application of two primarily feminism based theories, standpoint theory and Muted Group Theory, to emphasis the resilience and fortitude of individuals living in rural America and plan more effective methods of community-based healthcare promotion to better suit their needs. The study was authored by Deborah Ballard-Reisch and was first published in Women Language in 2010. Ballard-Reisch (2010) sought to rectify the vast differences in her previous research on the lives of rural Americans with that of some of her statistician and epidemiologist peers whose own research painted a vastly different, and far less optimistic, picture of frontier life. Ballard-Reischs (2010) methodology, in a similar fashion to the previously explored work of Kissack and Callahan, utilized a veritable melting pot of formerly gathered research and theoretical ideologies in an effort to repurpose them into a grounded, community based approach to better serve the healthcare needs of diverse rural and frontier constituents. Ballard-Reisch (2010) combined aspects of Muted Group and Standpoint Theories together with engaged scholarship and a community-based participatory research approach to more effectively recognize the strengths, needs, health issues, and dynamics of these rural residents to create and exercise far more efficient health promotion interventions. Ballard-Reischs research showed that rural areas contain a higher percentage of older adults than anywhere else in America (U.S. Census Bureau, 2009, as cited in Ballard-Reisch, 2010) and that women constitute a far larger portion of this percentage than anywhere else in the country; representing 52% of individuals aged sixty to sixty-four, and representing 68% of individuals aged 85 or older (CDC, 2010; ERS/USDA, 2001, as cited in Ballard-Reisch, 2010). Ballard-Reisch also discovered that despite containing a far larger portion of elderly Americans, one of the largest groups of consumers of healthcare products and services in the country (Wright, Sparks, OHare, 2008, as cited in Ballard-Reisch, 2010), rural areas hold a far lower concentration of able, effective healthcare professionals than their urban counterparts (ERS/USDA, 2007, as cited in Ballard-Reisch, 2010). The engaged scholarship approach suggested by Ballard-Reisch emphasizes collaboration and cooperation between both r esearchers and collaborators in a learning community to cultivate a theoretical and practical knowledge base (Van de Ven, 2007; Barge Shockley-Zalaback, 2008, as cited in Ballard-Reisch, 2010) and the community based participatory approach she posits underlines the participation of community members along with scholars to more properly research and address various issues of mutual interest (Israel et al., 2005, as cited in Ballard-Reisch, 2010). Ballard-Reisch (2010) theorizes that these two approaches in tandem can be utilized to unmute the healthcare issues of the disenfranchised elderly population of rural America and more successfully serve their needs. Ballard-Reisch believes the older individuals living in rural America must un-silence themselves and take an active role in shaping the future of their health. Ballard-Reischs research highlights the ways in which rural Americans, primarily older women, have their problems muted by a mainstream that instead chooses to focus its attention on the healthcare needs of urban individuals only, leaving the frontier population to fend for themselves. Because they are members of several non-dominant groups; elderly, female, and rural-based, these individuals are triply muted and to such an extent ignored by the urbanite healthcare professionals they so desperately need. Ballard-Reischs proposed solution would seem to be the most effective approach as it plays to the community focused nature of these rural areas and allows them the forge their own path to health moving forward instead of relying on the otherwise preoccupied dominant, urban groups for a hand out that may never come. Ballard-Reischs ideologies most notably show heurism as they seek to stimulate new kinds of thinking to solve old problems. The utility is less substantial as Ballard-Reis chs ideas require a lot of additional legwork and extensive knowledge and research of individuals who are often less educated, and less willing to educate, than their urban counterparts. The ramifications of Muted Group Theory are astronomically important. Something as simple and taken for granted as ones language has astounding implications towards ones ability to not only articulate their thoughts, but also generate said thoughts in the first place. By not having a specified word for something; whether it be an object, an idea, or a feeling, that notion cannot exist. It is fascinating to explore how; hopefully unconsciously, white, heterosexual, upper-class, males have strictly dictated for muted groups exactly how they can not only think, but perceive.

Science Is a Threat to Humanity

SCIENCE IS A THREAT TO HUMANITY 1ST – OPPOSITION Thank you my dear madam speaker. Assalamualaikum and a very good day to the wise and honourable adjudicators, the alert and punctual time keeper, my fellow teammates, the misleading government team and MOTH. Before i start, i would like to refute the definition given by the government team. Now, it is my duty to define the key words of today’s motion.According to Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, science means knowledge about the world, especially based on examination and testing, and on facts that can be proved. Threat means someone or something that is regarded as a possible danger. Lastly, humanity means the state of being human and having qualities and rights that all people have.So, the full definition of today’s motion is knowledge about the world, especially based on examination and testing and on facts that can be proved is a possible danger to qualities and rights of all people. Now, please allow me to rebut the point given by the Prime Minister. He/She claims said that ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ But that is not true because ______________________________________________________________________________________________________Before i go on with my arguments, i would like to stress that my team mates and i are totally disagree with the motion today that says ‘Science is a threat to Humanity’ and would like to switch this motion to ‘Science is a bless to humanity’ which means knowledge about the world, especially based on examination and testing and on facts that can be proved makes people happy and satisfied in terms of qualities and rights of all people. Now, please allow me to introduce my team mates.I as the first speaker will talk about Science gives major health benefits while my second speaker will further strengthen our team’s stand on this motion by talking ab out Science helps in improving qualities of life and Science improve communication. Last but not least, my third speaker will rebut all misleading points raised by the government team. MOTH, In today’s world, Science is vital in ensuring we live a healthy life. It has major health benefits because as we have the knowledge about the treatments of certain illness and cures are discovered, many lives can be saved.MOTH, If we support Science, we can get the benefits from it. Our lives will be much better because we will be able to find the cures and preventions to diseases. We need to have the knowledge in medical aspect so that all fatal diseases can be cured and prevented. Not only that, by supporting science, we will be able to create better health and medical facilities. We will be able to use drugs that prevent diseases rather than merely treating symptoms and we will have body monitors that warn of impending trouble. MOTH,Can you bear the pain of suffering from diseases suc h as cancer and heart attack all your lives just because you oppose to Science? Through science, we can have modern medicine to relieve suffering even for babies. With science also we can detect diseases in early stage even during pregnancies. In genetic screening, for example, we can monitor the development of embryos to get high quality and healthy babies. If there is any disability or defects, it can be treated in early stage. As we know, embryos might have disabilities that would kill them as newborn babies. If properly treated these people may well live to enjoy healthy lives.If we oppose science, we are actually not helping the babies to be better adults in terms of their health. Not only that. Science helps in improving health condition of human beings because of any accidents or tragedy. With science, we are able to help people who are blind to see the lights and all wonderful things on earth and people who cannot walk to be able to walk again. Isn’t it a miracle? Do you think we will be able to do so without the help of science? I don’t think so my dear government team. MOTH, I am sure i have said enough to convince you that science is not a threat but is actually a bless to humanity.The health benefits that we receive from them are so great that we are able to enjoy life to the fullest and no more worries of critical diseases. So MOTH, once again i restate our stand that we totally disagree with the motion today that says â€Å"Science is a threat to humanity’ as it should be ‘Science is a bless to humanity’. With that i beg to differ. Thank you. SCIENCE IS A THREAT TO HUMANITY 2ND- OPPOSITION Thank you madam speaker. Assalamualaikum and a very good morning to the wise and honourable adjudicators, the punctual timekeeper, my fellow teammates, not forgetting the misleading government team and members of the house.As the second speaker, it is my duty to rebut the arguments given by the second minister of the governmen t team. Her/His argument was _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ But i disagree because ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Then he/she also claimed that ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Then, the Prime Minister claims that ______________________________________________________________________________________________________ Which i don’t agree because ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ MOTH, My first argument is about how science helps in improving the quality of life. As humans, we cannot deny that we need science – the knowledge to make our lives easier. You must remember, without science, you will not know how to get clothes, to build a house or to cook food. The contribution of science can be seen in our everyday lives.Can we think about a life without electricity, cars, telephone, internet, television and thousands of scientific inventions that make our life comfortable? The application of science is indeed a great help in people’s every day routine. For example, people use their refrigerator to keep their food chilled and fresh longer. People use cars, buses and other vehicles the transport themselves from one place to another. They use air conditioners and heaters to help maintain temperature. As we can see, every aspect of life is dependent on science and its application to improve the quality of life.MOTH, We cannot say no to science for all the contributions it brings. With science, we can get latest knowledge and find more discoveries to improve our quality of life. With science also we can get new technology to develop our nation and boost our economy. When our country is developed, only then we can compete with other countries or at least be equal with other countries in terms of social, politics and economy. If we are against science, of course we will be left behind. MOTH, The discoveries in genetically modified food have helped to reduce famine and hunger.In agriculture, the genetics of food are improved to produce bigger fruits which provide more nutrients to all people. This is certainly a great achievement in the field of science where it as able to help the poor countries to fight the problem of hunger among their people. MOTH, Now let’s move on to my second argument that is Science helps to improve communication. Years after years we can see advancement in the communication sector where people on opposite sides of the world are able to stay in touch where before, they would have no possible way to do so, thanks to Science and its application.Today, distance will not be an issue because we can communicate and exchange ideas with people around the wor ld in just a moment. This helps to strengthen the relationship among people. As we all know, the internet keeps us connected. We even can change our ways in solving problems easier and faster through the internet. It also makes our job run fast and more effective. Even entrepreneurs use this medium to do their transactions. The development in many industries right now also is actually because of science and the application of science.There is no barrier to market products and we can compete with other develop countries, thanks again to the miracle of science. MOTH, Do you still remember the 6th Challenge of our Vision 2020? , the challenge of establishing a scientific and progressive society, a society that is innovative and forward looking, one that is not only a consumer of technology but also a contributor to the scientific and technological civilization of the future. Our vision 2020 will not be a reality if we say no to Science. MOTH,

Reflection On Science Model Reflection - 763 Words

Science Model Lesson Reflection For our science model lesson, Sarah and I tackled the 5th grade topic of matter, and our goal was that by the end of our twenty-minute lesson, our students would understand that all matter is made up of particles that cannot be created or destroyed, that matter may change but it still exists, and that although though we cannot see the particles that make up matter, we can still see evidence of their existence. Looking back at the data we have collected from our class’s formative and summative assessments, I believe that the students in our mock classroom have mastered these three learning objectives. Throughout our lesson we had our students fill out a KWL chart to express what they already know about†¦show more content†¦While I can say that Sarah and my lesson was a success because our student’s were able to reach the set learning objectives, I know that we could have improved upon this lesson to better teach the class. While o ur explore portion of our lesson was a great way for our students to make the connection that matter does not have to be visible to exist, I feel as if we could have introduced he topic of matter better by â€Å"reviewing† what the students had previously learned in class. Apart from lacking a quality review session in the beginning of our lesson, I believe Sarah and I did a great job creating a lesson with a backwards design approach, and then executing the lesson, as all of our students now understand that matter exists everywhere and that it cannot disappear. By creating this lesson I have learned that when it comes to science experiments, students should be able to make their own observations and come to their own conclusions in order to explore science for themselves. Allowing our students to preform their own experiment allows concepts to emerge, rather than having a teacher throw the information at the students. 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Religion Of Buddhism Buddhism - 963 Words

Ever since December of 2015, I became interested in the religion of Buddhism. After I watched Oprah Winfrey’s television series, Belief Buddhism has become something I wished to look into on a deeper level. Therefore, On October 9, 2016, I visited Wesleyan college East Asian studies facilities to participate in their Sunday meeting of Practice and Talk. During this hour and a half meeting, individuals who are exploring Buddhism will learn the surface practice of Buddhism more specifically shin Buddhism. Shin Buddhism or the teachings of Shinran (1173-1262), teaches us the importance of humility, the most important universal virtue. Many people think that the ultimate goal in Buddhism as well as human life is to become good. But according to Shinran, it is to become humble. During the meeting, the instructor welcomed us into a calm, relaxing room with a view of a Zen garden as we removed our shoes before entering the room. At first the removed of my shoes was a huge culture shock because I have only removed my shoes to enter my home and never for a meeting. This instant shock in my normal religious experience opened my mind to what was to occur in the next hour and a half of the meeting. As we proceeded to sit down in the room a volunteer welcomed everyone for attending the meeting in a calm relaxing tone. He spoke about the true meaning of shin Buddhism while banging on an instrument that is called the Bell Gatha which represents the voice of Buddha. Then he proceeded toShow MoreRelatedBuddhism : Religion Of Buddhism1282 Words   |  6 PagesBuddhism Did you know that Bauddha Dharma (Buddhism) can be translated as Religion of the Buddha or Way of Buddha . Which means following the teachings of the enlightened one. Buddhism is the religion of spiritual enlightenment through the suppressing of one’s worldly desires. Buddhism takes one on the path of a spiritual journey, to become one with their soul. 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No Child Left Behind Act - 918 Words

The No Child Left Behind Act was put into place to make equilibrium of education amongst all students. When in context, its provision seems to work against the goals of students with disabilities. On January 8, 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act was signed into law by President George Bush. No Child Left Behind legislation was established to improve the educational achievement of all students, including those with disabilities (Keys others, 2008; Turnbull, Huerta, Stowe, 2009). President George Bush said â€Å"Some say it is unfair to hold disadvantage children to rigorous standards† (Wrightslaw, 2002). I say it is discrimination to require anything less. It is the soft â€Å"bigotry† of low expectations. I am one of some that believe†¦show more content†¦Those students only have speaking problem and no other kind of disabilities should be expected to be tested just as the others. I have worked with those students that are capable of learning and being tested as the other students. Those students that have learning disabilities can and sometimes retain what they have learned. They can be tested but not the way other students are tested. These students should be made an exception to this rigorous testing. There are other ways to test these students. President Barack Obama has used an executive authority to revise the No Child Left Behind education law, there are factors driving toward the use of student test scores, classroom observation and input from students among other measures how to determine (Helfing, 2011). The factors that I have seen in working with Special Education-there have to be different ways of determining what level of disabilities does each disabled student has in order to say that this disabled student can be tested with a standard test as the non-disabled student. This will be an appropriate way of determining the ability of that student. The teacher is the one that observes the students and know capabil ities of that student. 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Bag of Bones CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE Free Essays

string(54) " Mattie took my hand and pulled me back onto my feet\." For men, I think, love is a thing formed of equal parts lust and astonishment. The astonishment part women understand. The lust part they only think they understand. We will write a custom essay sample on Bag of Bones CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE or any similar topic only for you Order Now Very few perhaps one in twenty have any concept of what it really is or how deep it runs. That’s probably just as well for their sleep and peace of mind. And I’m not talking about the lust of satyrs and rapists and molesters; I’m talking about the lust of shoe-clerks and high-school principals. Not to mention writers and lawyers. We turned into Mattie’s dooryard at ten to eleven, and as I parked my Chevy beside her rusted-out Jeep, the trailer door opened and Mat-tie came out on the top step. I sucked in my breath, and beside me I could hear John sucking in his. She was very likely the most beautiful young woman I have ever seen in my life as she stood there in her rose-colored shorts and matching middy top. The shorts were not short enough to be cheap (my mother’s word) but plenty short enough to be provocative. Her top tied in floppy string bows across the shoulders and showed just enough tan to dream on. Her hair hung to her shoulders. She was smiling and waving. I thought, She’s made it take her into the country-club dining room now, dressed just as she is, and she shuts everyone else down. ‘Oh Lordy,’ John said. There was a kind of dismayed longing in his voice. ‘All that and a bag of chips.’ ‘Yeah,’ I said. ‘Put your eyes back in your head, big boy.’ He made cupping motions with his hands as if doing just that. George, meanwhile, had pulled his Altima in next to us. ‘Come on,’ I said, opening my door. ‘Time to party.’ ‘I can’t touch her, Mike,’ John said. ‘I’ll melt.’ ‘Come on, you goof.’ Mattie came down the steps and past the pot with the tomato plant in it. Ki was behind her, dressed in an outfit similar to her mother’s, only in a shade of dark green. She had the shys again, I saw; she kept one steadying hand on Mattie’s leg and one thumb in her mouth. ‘The guys are here! The guys are here!’ Mattie cried, laughing, and threw herself into my arms. She hugged me tight and kissed the corner of my mouth. I hugged her back and kissed her cheek. Then she moved on to John, read his shirt, patted her hands together in applause, and then hugged him. He hugged back pretty well for a guy who was afraid he might melt, I thought, picking her up off her feet and swinging her around in a circle while she hung onto his neck and laughed. ‘Rich lady, rich lady, rich lady!’ John chanted, then set her down on the cork soles of her white shoes. ‘Free lady, free lady, free lady!’ she chanted back. ‘The hell with rich!’ Before he could reply, she kissed him firmly on the mouth. His arms rose to slip around her, but she stepped back before they could catch hold. She turned to Rommie and George, who were standing side-by-side and looking like fellows who might want to explain all about the Mormon Church. I took a step forward, meaning to do the introductions, but John was taking care of that, and one of his arms managed to accomplish its mission after all it circled her waist as he led her forward toward the men. Meanwhile a little hand slipped into mine. I looked down and saw Ki looking up at me. Her face was grave and pale and every bit as beautiful as her mother’s. Her blonde hair, freshly washed and shining, was held back with a velvet scrunchy. ‘Guess the fridgeafator people don’t like me now,’ she said. The laughter and insouciance were gone, at least for the moment. She looked on the verge of tears. ‘My letters all went bye-bye.’ I picked her up and set her in the crook of my arm as I had on the day I’d met her walking down the middle of Route 68 in her bathing suit. I kissed her forehead and then the tip of her nose. Her skin was perfect silk. ‘I know they did,’ I said. ‘I’ll buy you some more.’ ‘Promise?’ Doubtful dark blue eyes fixed on mine. ‘Promise. And I’ll teach you special words like â€Å"zygote† and â€Å"bibulous†. I know lots of special words.’ ‘How many?’ ‘A hundred and eighty.’ Thunder rumbled in the west. It didn’t seem louder, but it was more focused, somehow. Ki’s eyes went in that direction, then came back to mine. ‘I’m scared, Mike.’ ‘Scared? Of what?’ ‘Ofi don’t know. The lady in Mattie’s dress. The men we saw.’ Then she looked over my shoulder. ‘Here comes Mommy.’ I have heard actresses deliver the line Not in front of the children in that exact same tone of voice. Kyra wiggled in the circle of my arms. ‘Land me.’ I landed her. Mattie, John, Rommie, and George came over to join us. Ki ran to Mattie, who picked her up and then eyed us like a general surveying her troops. ‘Got the beer?’ she asked me. ‘Yessum. A case of Bud and a dozen mixed sodas, as well. Plus lemonade.’ ‘Great. Mr. Kennedy ‘ ‘George, ma’am.’ ‘George, then. And if you call me ma’am again, I’ll punch you in the nose. I’m Mattie. Would you drive down to the Lakeview General’-she pointed to the store on Route 68, about half a mile from us ‘and get some ice?’ ‘You bet.’ ‘Mr. Bissonette ‘ ‘Rommie.’ ‘There’s a little garden at the north end of the trailer, Rommie. Can you find a couple of good-looking lettuces?’ ‘I think I can handle that.’ ‘John, let’s get the meat into the fridge. As for you, Michael . . . ‘ She pointed to the barbecue. ‘The briquets are the self-lighting kind just drop a match and stand back. Do your duty.’ ‘Aye, good lady,’ I said, and dropped to my knees in front of her. That finally got a giggle out of Ki. Laughing, Mattie took my hand and pulled me back onto my feet. You read "Bag of Bones CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE" in category "Essay examples" ‘Come on, Sir Galahad,’ she said. ‘It’s going to rain. I want to be safe inside and too stuffed to jump when it does.’ In the city, parties begin with greetings at the door, gathered-in coats, and those peculiar little air-kisses (when, exactly, did that social oddity begin?). In the country, they begin with chores. You fetch, you carry, you hunt for stuff like barbecue tongs and oven mitts. The hostess drafts a couple of men to move the picnic table, then decides it was actually better where it was and asks them to put it back. And at some point you discover that you’re having fun. I piled briquets until they looked approximately like the pyramid on the bag, then touched a match to them. They blazed up satisfyingly and I stood back, wiping my forearm across my forehead. Cool and clear might be coming, but it surely wasn’t in hailing distance yet. The sun had burned through and the day had gone from dull to dazzling, yet in the west black-satin thunderheads continued to stack up. It was as if night had burst a blood-vessel in the sky over there. ‘Mike?’ I looked around at Kyra. ‘What, honey?’ ‘Will you take care of me?’ ‘Yes,’ I said with no hesitation at all. For a moment something about my response perhaps only the quickness of it seemed to trouble her. Then she smiled. ‘Okay,’ she said. ‘Look, here comes the ice-man!’ George was back from the store. He parked and got out. I walked over with Kyra, she holding my hand and swinging it possessively back and forth. Rommie came with us, juggling three heads of lettuce I didn’t think he was much of a threat to the guy who had fascinated Ki on the common Saturday night. George opened the Altima’s back door and brought out two bags of ice. ‘The store was closed,’ he said. ‘Sign said WILL RE-OPEN AT 5 P.M. That seemed a little too long to wait, so I took the ice and put the money through the mail-slot.’ They’d closed for Royce Merrill’s funeral, of course. Had given up almost a full day’s custom at the height of the tourist season to see the old fellow into the ground. It was sort of touching. I thought it was also sort of creepy. ‘Can I carry some ice?’ Kyra asked. ‘I guess, but don’t frizzicate yourself,’ George said, and carefully put a five-pound bag of ice into Ki’s outstretched arms. ‘Frizzicate,’ Kyra said, giggling. She began walking toward the trailer, where Mattie was just coming out. John was behind her and regarding her with the eyes of a gutshot beagle. ‘Mommy, look! I’m frizzicating!’ I took the other bag. ‘I know the icebox is outside, but don’t they keep a padlock on it?’ ‘I am friends with most padlocks,’ George said. ‘Oh. I see.’ ‘Mike! Catch!’ John tossed a red Frisbee. It floated toward me, but high. I jumped for it, snagged it, and suddenly Devore was back in my head: What’s wrong with you, Rogette? You never used to throw like a girl Get him! I looked down and saw Ki looking up. ‘Don’t think about sad stuff,’ she said. I smiled at her, then flipped her the Frisbee. ‘Okay, no sad stuff. Go on, sweetheart. Toss it to your mom. Let’s see if you can.’ She smiled back, turned, and made a quick, accurate flip to her mother the toss was so hard that Mattie almost flubbed it. Whatever else Kyra Devore might have been, she was a Frisbee champion in the making. Mattie tossed the Frisbee to George, who turned, the tail of his absurd brown suitcoat flaring, and caught it deftly behind his back. Mattie laughed and applauded, the hem of her top flirting with her navel. ‘Showoff!’ John called from the steps. ‘Jealousy is such an ugly emotion,’ George said to Rommie Bissonette, and flipped him the Frisbee. Rommie floated it back to John, but it went wide and bonked off the side of the trailer. As John hurried down the steps to get it, Mattie turned to me. ‘My boombox is on the coffee-table in the living room, along with a stack of CDs. Most of them are pretty old, but at least it’s music. Will you bring them out?’ ‘Sure.’ I went inside, where it was hot in spite of three strategically placed fans working overtime. I looked at the grim, mass-produced furniture, and at Mattie’s rather noble effort to impart some character: the van Gogh print that should not have looked at home in a trailer kitchenette but did, Edward Hopper’s Nighthawks over the sofa, the tie-dyed curtains that would have made Jo laugh. There was a bravery here that made me sad for her and furious at Max Devore all over again. Dead or not, I wanted to kick his ass. I went into the living room and saw the new Mary Higgins Clark on the sofa end-table with a bookmark sticking out of it. Lying beside it in a heap were a couple of little-girl hair ribbons something about them looked familiar to me, although I couldn’t remember ever having seen Ki wearing them. I stood there a moment longer, frowning, then grabbed the boombox and CDs and went back outside. ‘Hey, guys,’ I said. ‘Let’s rock.’ I was okay until she danced. I don’t know if it matters to you, but it does to me. I was okay until she danced. After that I was lost. We took the Frisbee around to the rear of the house, partly so we wouldn’t piss off any funeral-bound townies with our rowdiness and good cheer, mostly because Mattie’s back yard was a good place to play level ground and low grass. After a couple of missed catches, Mattie kicked off her party-shoes, dashed barefoot into the house, and came back in her sneakers. After that she was a lot better. We threw the Frisbee, yelled insults at each other, drank beer, laughed a lot. Ki wasn’t much on the catching part, but she had a phenomenal arm for a kid of three and played with gusto. Rommie had set the boombox up on the trailer’s back step, and it spun out a haze of late-eighties and early-nineties music: U2, Tears for Fears, the Eurythmics, Crowded House, A Flock of Seagulls, Ah-Hah, the Bangles, Melissa Etheridge, Huey Lewis and the News. It seemed to me that I knew every song, every riff. We sweated and sprinted in the noon light. We watched Mattie’s long, tanned legs flash and listened to the bright runs of Kyra’s laughter. At one point Rommie Bissonette went head over heels, all the change spilling out of his pockets, and John laughed until he had to sit down. Tears rolled from his eyes. Ki ran over and plopped on his defenseless lap. John stopped laughing in a hurry. ‘Ooofl’ he cried, looking at me with shining, wounded eyes as his bruised balls no doubt tried to climb back inside his body. ‘Kyra Devore!’ Mattie cried, looking at John apprehensively. ‘I taggled my own quartermack,’ Ki said proudly. John smiled feebly at her and staggered to his feet. ‘Yes,’ he said. ‘You did. And the ref calls fifteen yards for squashing.’ ‘Are you okay, man?’ George asked. He looked concerned, but his voice was grinning. ‘I’m fine,’ John said, and spun him the Frisbee. It wobbled feebly across the yard. ‘Go on, throw. Let’s see whatcha got.’ The thunder rumbled louder, but the black clouds were all still west of us; the sky overhead remained a harmless humid blue. Birds still sang and crickets hummed in the grass. There was a heat-shimmer over the barbecue, and it would soon be time to slap on John’s New York steaks. The Frisbee still flew, red against the green of the grass and trees, the blue of the sky. I was still in lust, but everything was still all right men are in lust all over the world and damned near all of the time, and the icecaps don’t melt. But she danced, and everything changed. It was an old Don Henley song, one driven by a really nasty guitar riff. ‘Oh God, I love this one,’ Mattie cried. The Frisbee came to her. She caught it, dropped it, stepped on it as if it were a hot red spot falling on a nightclub stage, and began to shake. She put her hands first behind her neck and then on her hips and then behind her back. She danced standing with the toes of her sneakers on the Frisbee. She danced without moving. She danced as they say in that song like a wave on the ocean. ‘The government bugged the men’s room in the local disco lounge, And all she wants to do is dance, dance . . . To keep the boys from selling all the weapons they can scrounge, And all she wants to do, all she wants to do is dance.’ Women are sexy when they dance incredibly sexy but that wasn’t what I reacted to, or how I reacted. The lust I was coping with, but this was more than lust, and not copeable. It was something that sucked the wind out of me and left me feeling utterly at her mercy. In that moment she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen, not a pretty woman in shorts and a middy top dancing in place on a Frisbee, but Venus revealed. She was everything I had missed during the last four years, when I’d been so badly off I didn’t know I was missing anything. She robbed me of any last defenses I might have had. The age difference didn’t matter. If I looked to people like my tongue was hanging out even when my mouth was shut, then so be it. If I lost my dignity, my pride, my sense of self, then so be it. Four years on my own had taught me there are worse things to lose. How long did she stand there, dancing? I don’t know. Probably not long, not even a minute, and then she realized we were looking at her, rapt because to some degree they all saw what I saw and felt what I felt. For that minute or however long it was, I don’t think any of us used much oxygen. She stepped off the Frisbee, laughing and blushing at the same time, confused but not really uncomfortable. ‘I’m sorry,’ she said. ‘I just . . . I love that song.’ ‘All she wants to do is dance,’ Rommie said. ‘Yes, sometimes that’s all she wants,’ Mattie said, and blushed harder than ever. ‘Excuse me, I have to use the facility.’ She tossed me the Frisbee and then dashed for the trailer. I took a deep breath, trying to steady myself back to reality, and saw John doing the same thing. George Kennedy was wearing a mildly stunned expression, as if someone had fed him a light sedative and it was finally taking effect. Thunder rumbled. This time it did sound closer. I skimmed the Frisbee to Rommie. ‘What do you think?’ ‘I think I’m in love,’ he said, and then seemed to give himself a small mental shake it was a thing you could see in his eyes. ‘I also think it’s time we got going on those steaks if we’re going to eat outside. Want to help me?’ ‘Sure.’ ‘I will, too,’ John said. We walked back to the trailer, leaving George and Kyra to play toss. Kyra was asking George if he had ever caught any crinimals. In the kitchen, Mattie was standing beside the open fridge and stacking steaks on a platter. ‘Thank God you guys came in. I was on the point of giving up and gobbling one of these just the way it is. They’re the most beautiful things I ever saw.’ ‘You’re the most beautiful thing I ever saw,’ John said. He was being totally sincere, but the smile she gave him was distracted and a little bemused. I made a mental note to myself: never compliment a woman on her beauty when she has a couple of raw steaks in her hands. It just doesn’t turn the windmill somehow. ‘How are you at barbecuing meat?’ she asked me. ‘Tell the truth, because these are way too good to mess up.’ ‘I can hold my own.’ ‘Okay, you’re hired. John, you’re assisting. Rommie, help me do salads.’ ‘My pleasure.’ George and Ki had come around to the front of the trailer and were now sitting in lawn-chairs like a couple of old cronies at their London club. George was telling Ki how he had shot it out with Rolfe Nedeau and the Real Bad Gang on Lisbon Street in 1993. ‘George, what’s happening to your nose?’ John asked. ‘It’s getting so long.’ ‘Do you mind?’ George asked. ‘I’m having a conversation here.’ ‘Mr. Kennedy has caught lots of crooked crinimals,’ Kyra said. ‘He caught the Real Bad Gang and put them in Supermax.’ ‘Yes,’ I said. ‘Mr. Kennedy also won an Academy Award for acting in a movie called Cool Hand Luke.’ ‘That’s absolutely correct,’ George said. He raised his right hand and crossed the two fingers. ‘Me and Paul Newman. Just like that.’ ‘We have his pusgetti sauce,’ Ki said gravely, and that got John laughing again. It didn’t hit me the same way, but laughter is catching; just watching John was enough to break me up after a few seconds. We were howling like a couple of fools as we slapped the steaks on the grill. It’s a wonder we didn’t burn our hands off. ‘Why are they laughing?’ Ki asked George. ‘Because they’re foolish men with little tiny brains,’ George said. ‘Now listen, Ki I got them all except for the Human Headcase. He jumped into his car and I jumped into mine. The details of that chase are nothing for a little girl to hear ‘ George regaled her with them anyway while John and I stood grinning at each other across Mattie’s barbecue. ‘This is great, isn’t it?’ John said, and I nodded. Mattie came out with corn wrapped in aluminum foil, followed by Rommie, who had a large salad bowl clasped in his arms and negotiated the steps carefully, trying to peer over the top of the bowl as he made his way down them. We sat at the picnic table, George and Rommie on one side, John and I flanking Mattie on the other. Ki sat at the head, perched on a stack of old magazines in a lawn-chair. Mattie tied a dishtowel around her neck, an indignity Ki submitted to only because (a) she was wearing new clothes, and (b) a dishtowel wasn’t a baby-bib, at least technically speaking. We ate hugely salad, steak (and John was right, it really was the best I’d ever had), roasted corn on the cob, ‘strewberry snortcake’ for dessert. By the time we’d gotten around to the snortcake, the thunderheads were noticeably closer and there was a hot, jerky breeze blowing around the yard. ‘Mattie, if I never eat a meal as good as this one again, I won’t be surprised,’ Rommie said. ‘Thanks ever so much for having me.’ ‘Thank you,’ she said. There were tears standing in her eyes. She took my hand on one side and John’s on the other. She squeezed both. ‘Thank you all. If you knew what things were like for Ki and me before this last week . . . ‘ She shook her head, gave John and me a final squeeze, and let go. ‘But that’s over.’ ‘Look at the baby,’ George said, amused. Ki had slumped back in her lawn-chair and was looking at us with glazing eyes. Most of her hair had come out of the scrunchy and lay in clumps against her cheeks. There was a dab of whipped cream on her nose and a single yellow kernel of corn sitting in the middle of her chin. ‘I threw the Frisbee six fousan times,’ Kyra said. She spoke in a distant, declamatory tone. ‘I tired.’ Mattie started to get up. I put my hand on her arm. ‘Let me?’ She nodded, smiling. ‘If you want.’ I picked Kyra up and carried her around to the steps. Thunder rumbled again, a long, low roll that sounded like the snarl of a huge dog. I looked up at the encroaching clouds, and as I did, movement caught my eye. It was an old blue car heading west on Wasp Hill Road toward the lake. The only reason I noticed it was that it was wearing one of those stupid bumper-stickers from the Village Cafe: HORN BROKEN WATCH FOR FINGER. I carried Ki up the steps and through the door, turning her so I wouldn’t bump her head. ‘Take care of me,’ she said in her sleep. There was a sadness in her voice that chilled me. It was as if she knew she was asking the impossible. ‘Take care of me, I’m little, Mama says I’m a little guy.’ ‘I’ll take care of you,’ I said, and kissed that silky place between her eyes again. ‘Don’t worry, Ki, go to sleep.’ I carried her to her room and put her on her bed. By then she was totally conked out. I wiped the cream off her nose and picked the corn-kernel off her chin. I glanced at my watch and saw it was ten ’til two. They would be gathering at Grace Baptist by now. Bill Dean was wearing a gray tie. Buddy Jellison had a hat on. He was standing behind the church with some other men who were smoking before going inside. I turned. Mattie was in the doorway. ‘Mike,’ she said. ‘Come here, please.’ I went to her. There was no cloth between her waist and my hands this time. Her skin was warm, and as silky as her daughter’s. She looked up at me, her lips parted. Her hips pressed forward, and when she felt what was hard down there, she pressed harder against it. ‘Mike,’ she said again. I closed my eyes. I felt like someone who has just come to the doorway of a brightly lit room full of people laughing and talking. And dancing. Because sometimes that is all we want to do. I want to come in, I thought. That’s what I want to do, all I want to do. Let me do what I want. Let me I realized I was saying it aloud, whispering it rapidly into her ear as I held her with my hands going up and down her back, my fingertips ridging her spine, touching her shoulderblades, then coming around in front to cup her small breasts. ‘Yes,’ she said. ‘What we both want. Yes. That’s fine.’ Slowly, she reached up with her thumbs and wiped the wet places from under my eyes. I drew back from her. ‘The key ‘ She smiled a little. ‘You know where it is.’ ‘I’ll come tonight.’ ‘Good.’ ‘I’ve been . . . ‘ I had to clear my throat. I looked at Kyra, who was deeply asleep. ‘I’ve been lonely. I don’t think I knew it, but I have been.’ ‘Me too. And I knew it for both of us. Kiss, please.’ I kissed her. I think our tongues touched, but I’m not sure. What I remember most clearly is the liveness of her. She was like a dreidel lightly spinning in my arms. ‘Hey!’ John called from outside, and we sprang apart. ‘You guys want to give us a little help? It’s gonna rain!’ ‘Thanks for finally making up your mind,’ she said to me in a low voice. She turned and hurried back up the doublewide’s narrow corridor. The next time she spoke to me, I don’t think she knew who she was talking to, or where she was. The next time she spoke to me, she was dying. ‘Don’t wake the baby,’ I heard her tell John, and his response: ‘Oh, sorry, sorry.’ I stood where I was a moment longer, getting my breath, then slipped into the bathroom and splashed cold water on my face. I remember seeing a blue plastic whale in the bathtub as I turned to take a towel off the rack. I remember thinking that it probably blew bubbles out of its spout-hole, and I even remember having a momentary glimmer of an idea a children’s story about a spouting whale. Would you call him Willie? Nah, too obvious. Wilhelm, now that had a fine round ring to it, simultaneously grand and amusing. Wilhelm the Spouting Whale. I remember the bang of thunder from overhead. I remember how happy I was, with the decision finally made and the night to look forward to. I remember the murmur of men’s voices and the murmur of Mattie’s response as she told them where to put the stuff. Then I heard all of them going back out again. I looked down at myself and saw a certain lump was subsiding. I remember thinking there was nothing so absurd-looking as a sexually excited man and knew I’d had this same thought before, perhaps in a dream. I left the bathroom, checked on Kyra again rolled over on her side, fast asleep and then went down the hall. I had just reached the living room when gunfire erupted outside. I never confused the sound with thunder. There was a moment when my mind fumbled toward the idea of backfires some kid’s hotrod and then I knew. Part of me had been expecting something to happen . . . but it had been expecting ghosts rather than gunfire. A fatal lapse. It was the rapid pah! pah! pah! of an auto-fire weapon a Glock nine-millimeter, as it turned out. Mattie screamed a high, drilling scream that froze my blood. I heard John cry out in pain and George Kennedy bellow, ‘Down, down! For the love of Christ, get her down!’ Something hit the trailer like a hard spatter of hail a rattle of punching sounds running from west to east. Something split the air in front of my eyes I heard it. There was an almost-musical sproing sound, like a snapping guitar string. On the kitchen table, the salad bowl one of them had just brought in shattered. I ran for the door and nearly dived down the cement-block steps. I saw the barbecue overturned, with the glowing coals already setting patches of the scant front-yard grass on fire. I saw Rommie Bissonette sitting with his legs outstretched, looking stupidly down at his ankle, which was soaked with blood. Mattie was on her hands and knees by the barbecue with her hair hanging in her face it was as if she meant to sweep up the hot coals before they could cause some real trouble. John staggered toward me, holding out a hand. The arm above it was soaked with blood. And I saw the car I’d seen before the nondescript sedan with the joke sticker on it. It had gone up the road the men inside making that first pass to check us out then turned around and come back. The shooter was still leaning out the front passenger window. I could see the stubby smoking weapon in his hands. It had a wire stock. His features were a blue blank broken only by huge gaping eyesockets a ski-mask. Overhead, thunder gave a long, awakening roar. George Kennedy was walking toward the car, not hurrying, kicking hot spilled coals out of his way as he went, not bothering about the dark-red stain that was spreading on the right thigh of his pants, reaching behind himself, not hurrying even when the shooter pulled back in and shouted ‘Go go go!’ at the driver, who was also wearing a blue mask, George not hurrying, no, not hurrying a bit, and even before I saw the pistol in his hand, I knew why he had never taken off his absurd Pa Kettle suit jacket, why he had even played Frisbee in it. The blue car (it turned out to be a 1987 Ford registered to Mrs. Sonia Belliveau of Auburn and reported stolen the day before) had pulled over onto the shoulder and had never really stopped rolling. Now it accelerated, spewing dry brown dust out from under its rear tires, fishtailing, knocking Mattie’s RFD box off its post and sending it flying into the road. George still didn’t hurry. He brought his hands together, holding his gun with his right and steadying with his left. He squeezed off five deliberate shots. The first two went into the trunk I saw the holes appear. The third blew in the back window of the departing Ford, and I heard someone shout in pain. The fourth went I don’t know where. The fifth blew the left rear tire. The Ford veered to that side. The driver almost brought it back, then lost it completely. The car ploughed into the ditch thirty yards below Mattie’s trailer and rolled over on its side. There was a whumpf! and the rear end was engulfed in flames. One of George’s shots must have hit the gas-tank. The shooter began struggling to get out through the passenger window. ‘Ki . . . get Ki . . . away . . . ‘ A hoarse, whispering voice. Mattie was crawling toward me. One side of her head the right side still looked all right, but the left side was a ruin. One dazed blue eye peered out from between clumps of bloody hair. Skull-fragments littered her tanned shoulder like bits of broken crockery. How I would love to tell you I don’t remember any of this, how I would love to have someone else tell you that Michael Noonan died before he saw that, but I cannot. Alas is the word for it in the crossword puzzles, a four-letter word meaning to express great sorrow. ‘Ki . . . Mike, get Ki . . . ‘ I knelt and put my arms around her. She struggled against me. She was young and strong, and even with the gray matter of her brain bulging through the broken wall of her skull she struggled against me, crying for her daughter, wanting to reach her and protect her and get her to safety. ‘Mattie, it’s all right,’ I said. Down at the Grace Baptist Church, at the far end of the zone I was in, they were singing ‘Blessed Assurance’ . . . but most of their eyes were as blank as the eye now peering at me through the tangle of bloody hair. ‘Mattie, stop, rest, it’s all right.’ ‘Ki . . . get Ki . . . don’t let them . . . ‘ ‘They won’t hurt her, Mattie, I promise.’ She slid against me, slippery as a fish, and screamed her daughter’s name, holding out her bloody hands toward the trailer. The rose-colored shorts and top had gone bright red. Blood spattered the grass as she thrashed and pulled. From down the hill there was a guttural explosion as the Ford’s gas-tank exploded. Black smoke rose toward a black sky. Thunder roared long and loud, as if the sky were saying You want noise? Yeah? I’ll give you noise. ‘Say Mattie’s all right, Mike!’ John cried in a wavering voice. ‘Oh for God’s sake say she’s ‘ He dropped to his knees beside me, his eyes rolling up until nothing showed but the whites. He reached for me, grabbed my shoulder, then tore damned near half my shirt off as he lost his battle to stay conscious and fell on his side next to Mattie. A curd of white goo bubbled from one corner of his mouth. Twelve feet away, near the overturned barbecue, Rommie was trying to get on his feet, his teeth clenched in pain. George was standing in the middle of Wasp Hill Road, reloading his gun from a pouch he’d apparently had in his coat pocket and watching as the shooter worked to get clear of the overturned car before it was engulfed. The entire right leg of George’s pants was red now. He may live but he’ll never wear that suit again, I thought. I held Mattie. I put my face down to hers, put my mouth to the ear that was still there and said: ‘Kyra’s okay. She’s sleeping. She’s fine, I promise.’ Mattie seemed to understand. She stopped straining against me and collapsed to the grass, trembling all over. ‘Ki . . . Ki . . . ‘ This was the last of her talking on earth. One of her hands reached out blindly, groped at a tuft of grass, and yanked it out. ‘Over here,’ I heard George saying. ‘Get over here, motherfuck, don’t you even think about turning your back on me.’ ‘How bad is she?’ Rommie asked, hobbling over. His face was as white as paper. And before I could reply: ‘Oh Jesus. Holy Mary Mother of God, pray for us sinners now and at the hour of our death. Blessed be the fruit of thy womb Jesus. Oh Mary born without sin, pray for us who have recourse to Thee. Oh no, oh Mike, no.’ He began again, this time lapsing into Lewiston street-French, what the old folks call La Parle. ‘Quit it,’ I said, and he did. It was as if he had only been waiting to be told. ‘Go inside and check on Kyra. Can you?’ ‘Yes.’ He started toward the trailer, holding his leg and lurching along. With each lurch he gave a high yip of pain, but somehow he kept going. I could smell burning tufts of grass. I could smell electric rain on a rising wind. And under my hands I could feel the light spin of the dreidel slowing down as she went. I turned her over, held her in my arms, and rocked her back and forth. At Grace Baptist the minister was now reading Psalm 139 for Royce: If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light. The minister was reading and the Martians were listening. I rocked her back and forth in my arms under the black thunderheads. I was supposed to come to her that night, use the key under the pot and come to her. She had danced with the toes of her white sneakers on the red Frisbee, had danced like a wave on the ocean, and now she was dying in my arms while the grass burned in little clumps and the man who had fancied her as much as I had lay unconscious beside her, his right arm painted red from the short sleeve of his WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS tee-shirt all the way down to his bony, freckled wrist. ‘Mattie,’ I said. ‘Mattie, Mattie, Mattie.’ I rocked her and smoothed my hand across her forehead, which on the right side was miraculously unsplattered by the blood that had drenched her. Her hair fell over the ruined left side of her face. ‘Mattie,’ I said. ‘Mattie, Mattie, oh Mattie.’ Lightning flashed the first stroke I had seen. It lit the western sky in a bright blue arc. Mattie trembled strongly in my arms all the way from neck to toes she trembled. Her lips pressed together. Her brow furrowed, as if in concentration. Her hand came up and seemed to grab for the back of my neck, as a person falling from a cliff may grasp blindly at anything to hold on just a little longer. Then it fell away and lay limply on the grass, palm up. She trembled once more the whole delicate weight of her trembled in my arms and then she was still. How to cite Bag of Bones CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE, Essay examples

Measuring Top Incomes Using Tax Record Data -Myassignmenthelp.Com

Question: Discuss About The Measuring Top Incomes Using Tax Record Data? Answer: Introduction The present case study is based on the ascertainemt of the residential status of Minh relating to the income tax purpose. Additionally, the case study will be determining the residential status effecting the assessment of income derived from Malaysian and the income from investment in Australia. The case study of Minh opens with the station the situation that the Minh was born in Malaysia and carried out her business activities. In the later part of June 2016, she was granted with the Visa of working in Australia and she arrived with her family with the probable of intention of eventually migrating and starting a business. An instance was noticed where Minh bought a home in Melbourne and resided with her partner and children with her children being enrolled in the local school of Melbourne. As the general jurisdictional rule stated under section 6-5 (2), (6-10 (4) of the ITAA 1997 residents are generally assessed on based on the ordinary income and statutory income derived from all the sources (Woellner et al. 2016). Accordingly as stated under section 6-5 (3) (a) and 6-10 (5) (a) of the ITAA 1997 a foreign resident or non-resident of Australia are assessed based on their ordinary and statutory income generated from the Australian sources. According to the definition stated under the section 995-1 of the ITAA 1997 and under section 6-(1) of the ITAA 1997 a resident or Australian resident for taxation purpose represents an individual residing in Australia and comprises of the person that has the domicile in Australia (Barkoczy 2016). An Australian resident represent a resident that has been living in Australia either constantly or intermittently for more than half of the income year unless the officer of taxation is content that the persons usual place of residence is out of Australia and has no intent of taking up the residence in Australia (Vann 2016). In order to determine the domiciliary position of Minh three alternative test will be conducted as to whether Minh will be treated as Australian resident for taxation purpose; these alternatives test includes Residency test according to ordinary concepts Domicile test The 183 day test Resides Test according to ordinary concepts: The first test that is conducted in determining the residential status of an individual is whether an individual Resides in Australia (Barkoczy 2017). On satisfying, the test there is no further need of conducting any further test for assessing the domiciliary position of an individual. On satisfying the Resides test, the person will be regarded as the resident of Australia for the purpose of tax. The term Reside represent to live permanently or for a considerable period. The question relating to fact and degree is explained in the case of Federal Commissioner of Taxation v Miller (1946) where the question of fact and extent is reliant on the circumstances of case (Tan, Braithwaite and Reinhar 2016). The Reside Test takes into the consideration the quality and the character of a persons actions at the time when the person was present in Australia. Additionally taxation ruling of TR 98/17 in determining the residential status of an individual under the Resides Test takes into the acco unt; The taxpayers usual purpose and intention of presence in Australia The business and family ties of the taxpayer in Australia Looking after and location of the taxpayers assets. The taxpayers communal and physical arrangement Time until when the taxpayer was physically present in Australia also forms the relevant factor in determining the residential status however the time period cannot be regarded as the detrimental factor (Braithwaite 2017). As evident from the case study of Minh, migrated to Australia eventually with the intention of probably migrating and commencing her business activities. It was noted that she bought a home in Melbourne where she resided with her partner and children. As held in the case of Macrea v Macrea (1949) a migrant that settles with the family in Australia would be generally regarded as living in Australia from the date of the individuals arrival in Australia (Davis et al. 2015). Notwithstanding of the fact that the persons business or personal interest may need he or she to be absent from Australia for an extended period. For instance an individual migrating to Australia with his wife and children and bought a home in Australia. The individual retains the business in his nation of origin an often returns to the country of origin for carrying out the business activities for 2 or 3 months in a year (Saad 2014). Ordinarily the person would be regarded to be living in Australia in spite of the o verseas absence. Similarly, in the case of Minh she has migrated from Malaysia to Australia and has purchased a home in Melbourne where she resided with her partner and children. She returns to Kuala Lumpur for carrying out the business activities. Minh will not be treated as residence in respect of the ordinary concepts for the income year 2016-17 since she has not taken up the residence permanently. The residency status of Minh and her children is an independent and separate matter. Domicile Test: Domicile is determined in respect of the Domicile Act 1982. An individual is regarded as the Australian resident given their domicile or place of abode is Australia (Miller and Oats 2016). An individual is not considered to be an Australian resident only under the circumstances when the officer is content that the individual place of residence is out of Australia. Domicile relating to choice of country represents the circumstances where the taxpayer intends to make their home indefinitely. As evident from the current case study of Minh, she has the permanent place of abode outside of Australia in Malaysia however; she originally migrated from Malaysia to Australia with eventual intention of residing in Australia until further notice and commencing her business. She even bought a home in Melbourne and her duration or continuity of presence in overseas country was broken intermittently (Mihaylov et al. 2015). Citing the reference of FCT v Applegate (1979) Minh has not abandoned any of her home or place of dwelling in Australia and returns to Australia after carrying out her business in Malaysia. According to the decision stated by the court in the case of Henderson v Henderson (1965), an individual maintains the domicile of the country of his or her origin except an individual obtains a home in another country (Burton and Karlinsky 2016.). Taking into the considerations the instances obtained from the current case study it can be stated that Minh is not an Australian occupant for tax purpose in respect of the Domicile Act 1982. Importantly, it would appear that they are Australian resident but the residency status of Minh and her children are independent during the income year 2016-17. Because of this, she cannot be held resident for taxation purpose under the domicile test. Additionally, she has no intent of taking up the residency in Australia. The 183-day Test: An individual under the 183 days test is regarded as the Australian occupant if the individual has actually be present in Australia either continually or in breaks for more than one half of the income year (Davison, Monotti and Wiseman 2015). An exception to this rule is that a person will not be considered as the Australian resident if the individual satisfies the commissioner of taxation that if, his normal place of dwelling is out of Australia and has no purpose of taking up the residency of Australia. The 183 days test is helpful in determining whether an individual has commenced living in Australia. As evident from the current situation of Minh, it is noticed that she has only spend 120 days in Australia. An individual is regarded as the Australian resident given the person has successfully met the criteria of 183 days and meets the definition of the resident in respect to the subsection 6 (1) of the ITAA 1997. However, an important assertion can be bought forward by stating that a person under the 183 days test is only regarded to hold as resident if an individual has been present and living in Australia for more than six months of the year of income (Grudnoff 2015). Minh in this aspect has not been presented in Australia for more one half of the income and as result of this for the year 2016-17 she cannot be regarded as resident of Australia for the purpose of tax. On a conclusive note, an assertion can be bought forward by stating that Minh residency will be considered as separate and independent matter. She cannot be considered as Australian resident for taxation purpose since she has not met the criteria of Resident in terms of the ordinary concept, domicile test and 183 days test. More importantly the residency status of Minh is independent and distinct subject. According to the judgement stated in the case of Nathan v FCT (1918) in determining the original source of income is regarded as practical and hard matter of fact (Evans, Minas and Lim 2015). Referring to the judgement of federal court in United Aircraft Corp (1943), a business income constitute where the business is transacted or the place where the goods are sold. As evident from the present situation of Minh, it is evident that she is not an Australian resident for taxation purpose during the income year of 2016-17. Minh is regarded to be foreign occupant since the behaviour relating to the time spent in Australia fails to reflect the extent of continuity, routine or habit, which is consistent with being an Australian resident. The income derived from the Malaysian business will be subjected to tax including the tax rates and the withholding amount (Burkhauser, Hahn and Wilkins 2015). Minh being a foreign a resident will be required to lodge the annual Australian income tax return for the investment income derived in Australia from the Australian source. The current case study is associated with the determination of the alternatives arising out of the proceeds from the sale of the town house that could be held for assessment in respect of the ITAA. The case study introduces the situation where the Jack has inherited a small family land that was located in Melbourne. Jack undertook the decision of retirement from the farm business. With his children, having no interest in farming business Jack decides to engage in the discussion with accountant who further provided Jack with advice of selling the farm to the property. Following the meeting with the property developer Jack was advised to cease the activities of farming and should subdivide the land. He undertook the decision of subdividing the land commence construction of houses, which could be sold. Following the completion of the Building Jack engaged with the real estate agent and sold the twenty houses and made a profit of $300,000 from each of the houses. Several instances have been noticed where the landowners have the opportunity of subdividing and selling the land that was owned by them for a very long period (Carling 2015). The usually takes place where the primary producers owns the land on the outskirts of the urban areas and the expansion in the residential represents that the proper use of land is for the purpose of residential rather than using the land for farming purpose. On certain circumstances the activities of property, development undertaken by the owners is regarded very substantial since it possess the prospect of deriving large amount of profit from the project. Important considerations must be paid to the circumstances where a small to medium subdivision might qualify as the mere realization of the land and when the project may turn out to be a profit making undertaking or business (Jacob 2016). In the circumstances where an individual owns the land, which is suitable for development, would want to make sure that, the profit that is derived from activities of development is held as capital account. The landowner under such circumstances can undertake the decision of selling the entire property to the developer. As held by the federal law court in the event of Westfield Limited v Commissioner of Taxation (1991), a lone sale of the asset that is not bought for the purpose of resale at profit or development would meet the requirements of being held as the capital receipt (Hail, Sikes and Wang 2017). As evident in the current situation of Jack subdividing the land that was used for farming and building houses for selling them holds the substantial relation of deriving large amount of profit from the project. However, there are certain alternatives where the proceeds from the sale of town houses could be assessed under ITAA (Chardon, Freudenberg and Brimble 2016). In respect to the current case study of Jack there are certain alternatives based on which the proceeds from the sale of subdivided land could be held for assessment under the Income tax assessment act are as follows; The subdivision and the sale of land might qualify as the mere realization of the capital asset. The scale of business might be in such manner that it may constitute carrying on of a business of property development by the taxpayer (Tax 2015). The development might go beyond the concept of mere realization of land but may shortfall of the requirements of carrying on of a business. In such a situation, it would be characterised as the profit making undertaking or scheme. As evident from the current case study of Jack, the three alternatives has been demonstrated above that could be put into use to determine the assessment of the sale of town house by Jack under the provision of ITAA. In context to the alternatives mere realization of capital asset is applicable on Jack since the property was subdivided and sold by the Jack in 20 lots. The judgement of federal court in Allied Pastoral Holdings v FC of T (1983) has defined the circumstances of mere realisation of asset (Coleman and Sadiq 2013). Several authorities have affirmed that the taxpayer having land constitute a capital asset and development of land in an enterprising manner could consider the profit derived from land as the mere realization of the capital asset given the development is not more than the mere realization of the capital asset. Prior to embarking on the detailed analysis of present situation of Jack in establishing that the building of house on farm land is a mere realisation it is necessary to determine whether Jack has acquired the farm land for the purpose of resale at profit or development (Kenny 2013). Therefore, the income generated from the sale of land would be held assessable as ordinary income notwithstanding of the sale of property. Therefore at the time of advising Jack relating to the above stated issue it is necessary to determine whether there are any evidences of profit making intention at the time of acquisition. The taxpayer in the instance of Reiger v Commissioner of taxation confronts the same problem of mere realisation of capital asset (Krever, 2013). An argument was bought forward by the taxpayer where the acquisition of land was for conducting the palm nursery. As the matter of fact that taxpayer planted some palm trees on the land but did not went around in the form of business manner. The declaration of intention relating to the subdivision of land was regarded fatal in the argument put forward by the taxpayer where it stated that their purpose was to establish business on the property. The taxation ruling of 92/3 states the views of the Australian taxation office where the courts have considered the issues in ascertaining whether an individual taxpayer who has undertaken the activity of land development constitute a mere realisation or have embarked on the profit making undertaking. The principle of mere realisation is stated in the Californian Cooper Syndicates v Harris (1904) (Morgan, Mortimer and Pinto 2013). A well-defined principle has been stated related to the determination of income tax where the taxpayer ordinary investment decides to realise the land and derive a higher price for land then the taxpayer has initially attained it. The higher price is not a profit based on the provision of SD of the ITAA 1982 taxable under income tax. Citing the reference of Westfield Limited v Commissioner of Taxation the court ruled that as soon as it is evident that the action of purchase and sale resulted in profit does not constituted an activity under the ordinary course of business (Sadiq et al. 2014). Alternatively, an ordinary event arising out of other business activity the profit that is in question would be a part of assessable income in respect to ordinary concept given the taxpayer has the intent of making profit at the time of acquiring the property. The law court even went on to the extent of stating that even though the profit making objective might lack depth, the means of attaining the profit by the taxpayer could be an alternative through which the profit could be realised. The taxation ruling of 92/3 determines that a taxable profits originates given that the taxpayer enters into the transaction or by act of law with the objective of making income through one specific means but generates income through other means (Woellner 2013). The issue in the present case of Jack is whether the activities of land development that the landowner has undertaken possess the character of business processes or has the character of profitable transaction. As apparent from the approach undertaken by the Australian taxation office in the taxation ruling of TR 92/3, the ATO is largely reliant on the opinions stated under Miscellaneous Taxation Ruling of MT 2006/1. In ascertaining whether the factors profits generated by the taxpayer is from the one-off subdivision of land would constitute a mere realisation or profit deriving undertaking several factors have been stated by the ATO under MT 2006/1 that are as follows; Is any alternation in the purpose for which the land was held? Whether there is any arrangement of subdivision of land. The ATO states that not a single factor is decisive given there are other factors existent. Opinions may vary that subdivision of property into a small number of plots might constitute as the mere realisation of land. However, this is not the case at the time of applying alternative of mere realisation in the case of Jack. It is vital to appreciated the decision of court in the certain cases indicating that building of houses or land development consisting of several number of lots would still constitute a mere realisation. As held in Casimaty v F.C of T (1997) where the subdivision of farmland over 80 lots was regarded as mere realisation of the farmland (Woellner 2013). The court accepted that the property was used for farming for several years and the decision of subdivision was entirely because of the increasing debt and poor health of the taxpayer. Citing the example of McCorkell v F.C of T the court stated its verdict that subdivision of land that was earlier used as orchard would constitute a mere realisation of the property. Considerably the case of Statham v F.C of T (1989) a development of 105 lots beyond four stages was held nothing less than a mere realisation of the capital asset (Sadiq et al. 2014). In the current case of Jack, the land acquired by him and sold after a longer time it is very likely the subdivision and sale of twenty townhouse would be categorised as the mere realisation. 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