Golden Eagle Facts

Golden Eagle Facts The golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) is a large diurnal bird of prey whose range extends across the Holarctic region (a region that encircles the Arctic and encompasses areas within the Northern Hemisphere such as North America, Europe, northern Africa, and northern Asia). The golden eagle is among the largest birds in North America. They are among the most popular of national emblems of the world (they are the national bird of Albania, Austria, Mexico, Germany, and Kazakhstan). Fast Facts: Golden Eagle Scientific Name: Aquila chrysaetosCommon Name(s): Golden eagleBasic Animal Group:  BirdSize: 2.5 to 3 feet tall, a wingspan of 6.2 to 7.4 feet  Weight: 7.9 to 14.5 pounds  Lifespan: 30 yearsDiet:  CarnivoreHabitat:  Mexico through western North America to Alaska with occasional appearances in the east; Asia, northern Africa, and Europe.Population:  Global breeding population is 300,000Conservation  Status:  Least Concern Description Golden eagles have powerful talons and a strong, hooked bill. Their plumage is mostly dark brown. Adults have a shiny, golden swatch of feathers on their crown, ​nape, and sides of their face. They have dark brown eyes and long, broad wings, Their tail is a lighter, grayish brown as are the undersides of their wings. Young golden eagles have white patches located at the base of their tail as well as on their wings.   When viewed in profile, golden eagles heads appear  relatively small while the tail seems quite long and broad. Their legs are feathered their full length, all the way to their toes. Golden eagles either occur as solitary birds or are found in pairs. Anton Petrus/Getty Images Habitat and Distribution Golden eagles inhabit a wide range that stretches throughout the Northern Hemisphere and includes North America, Europe, northern Africa and the northern parts of Asia. In the United States, they are more common in the western half of the country and are only rarely spotted in the eastern states. Golden eagles prefer open or partially open habitats such as tundra, grasslands, sparse woodlands, scrublands and coniferous forests. They generally inhabit mountainous regions up to 12,000 feet in elevation. They also inhabit canyon lands, cliffs, and bluffs. They nest on cliffs and in rocky outcrops in grasslands, shrublands, and other similar habitats. They avoid urban and suburban areas and do not inhabit dense forests. Golden eagles migrate short to medium distances. Those that breed in the far northerly regions of their range migrate further southward during the winter than those that inhabit lower latitudes. Where climates are milder during the winter, golden eagles are year-round residents. Diet and Behavior Golden eagles feed on a variety of mammal prey such as rabbits, hares, ground squirrels, marmots, pronghorn, coyotes, foxes, deer, mountain goats, and ibex. They are capable of killing large animal prey but usually feed on relatively small mammals. They also eat reptiles, fish, birds or carrion if other prey is scarce. During the breeding season, pairs of golden eagles will hunt cooperatively when pursuing agile prey such as jackrabbits. Golden eagles are agile avian predators that can dive at impressive speeds (as much as 200 miles per hour). They dive not only to catch prey but also in territorial and courtship displays as well as regular flight patterns. Reproduction and Offspring Golden eagles construct nests out of sticks, vegetation and other materials such as bones and antlers. They line their nests with softer materials such as grasses, bark, mosses or leaves. Golden eagles often maintain and reuse their nests over the course of several years. Nests are usually positioned on cliffs but are also sometimes located in trees, on the ground or on high man-made structures (observation towers, nesting platforms, electrical towers). The nests are large and deep, sometimes as much as 6 feet wide and 2 feet high. They lay between 1 and 3 eggs per clutch and eggs incubate for about 45 days. After hatching, young remain in the next for about 81 days. W. Perry Conway/Getty Images Conservation Status There are large and stable populations of golden eagles in multiple locations around the world, and thus the species has a status of Least Concern. Much of the reason for their success is the result of conservation projects to protect both the birds and their habitats. The golden eagle has been a federally protected species since 1962, and several international groups dedicate themselves to the welfare of golden eagles and eagles in general. Bald or Golden Eagle? Juvenile bald eagles look very similar to golden eagles. They are about the same size with a similar wingspan, and, until bald eagles reach about a year of age, they have the same brown feathers covering their entire bodies. Juvenile bald eagles do have mottled underbellies, and they dont shine in the same way that golden eagles do- but its tough to spot these differences in a bird in flight. Its not until after their first year of life that bald eagles start to show their distinctive areas of white plumage. Because of this similarity, its common for birders (especially in the eastern part of the United States) to believe theyve spotted a golden eagle when theyve actually seen a juvenile (and more common) bald eagle. Sources â€Å"Golden Eagle.†Ã‚  National Geographic, 24 Sept. 2018, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/birds/g/golden-eagle/.â€Å"Golden Eagle.†Ã‚  San Diego Zoo Global Animals and Plants, animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/golden-eagle.â€Å"Golden Eagle Demographics.†Ã‚  American Eagle Foundation, www.eagles.org/what-we-do/educate/learn-about-eagles/golden-eagle-demographics/#toggle-id-2.â€Å"Is That Golden Eagle Actually a Bald Eagle?†Ã‚  Audubon, 3 July 2018, www.audubon.org/news/is-golden-eagle-actually-bald-eagle.

Performance Based Pay for Teachers

Performance Based Pay for Teachers Performance-based pay for teachers, or merit pay, is a trending educational topic. Teachers pay, in general, is often highly debated. Performance-based pay ties teaching components such as standardized test scores and teacher evaluations to a salary schedule. Performance-based pay originated from a corporate model that bases a teachers salary on job performance. Higher performing teachers receive more compensation, while lower performing teachers receive less. The Denver, Colorado school district may have the most successful performance-based pay program in the nation. The program, called ProComp, is seen as a national model for performance-based pay. ProComp was designed to impact critical issues such as student achievement, teacher retention, and teacher recruitment positively. The program has been credited with boosting those areas, but it does have its critics. Performance-based pay will likely continue to increase in popularity over the next decade. Like any educational reform issue, there are two sides to the argument. Here, we examine the pros and cons of performance-based pay for teachers. Pros Motivates Teachers to Make Improvements in the Classroom Performance-based pay systems offer teachers a reward based on meeting set performance measures typically tied to student performance. These measures are based on educational research and are a set of best practices intended to boost overall student outcomes. Many of the best teachers are already doing a lot of these things in their classrooms. With performance-based pay, they may be asked to take it a little above what they normally do, or it may motivate low performing teachers to get their acts together to receive their bonus. Provides Teachers With the Opportunity to Receive a Higher Salary People typically do not become teachers because of the salary. But, it doesnt mean that they do not want or need more money. Sadly, a relatively large number of teachers across the country are picking up a second job to keep their family afloat financially. Performance-based pay not only provides teachers with an option to make more money but also motivates them to meet targeted objectives while doing so. It is a win, win situation both for the teacher and their students. The teacher makes more money, and in turn, their students get a better education. Invites Competition Thus Raising Student Performance Performance-based pay creates competition among teachers. The better their students perform, the more money theyll receive. Higher outcomes translate to higher pay. Teachers are often competitive by nature. They want their fellow teachers to be successful. But, they also want to be more successful then them. Healthy competition pushes teachers to become better, which in turn boost student learning. Everyone wins when the best teachers work hard to stay at the top, and mediocre teachers work hard to improve enough to be considered one the best. Allows Bad Teachers to Be Removed Easier Many performance-based pay systems include components which enable principals to terminate teachers who continuously fail to meet goals and objectives. Most teacher unions adamantly opposed performance-based pay because of this element. Standard teacher contracts make it difficult to terminate employment, but a performance-based pay contract makes it easier to remove a bad teacher. Teachers who are unable to get the job done are replaced by another teacher who may be able to get things on track. Aids in Teacher Recruitment and Retention Performance-based pay can be an attractive incentive especially for young teachers who have a lot to offer. The opportunity for higher pay is often too compelling to pass up. To passionate teachers, the extra work is worth the higher salary. Also, schools offering performance-based compensation typically have no problems attracting top teaching talent. The pool is usually bottomless, so they can get quality teachers from the beginning. They also keep their good teachers. The best teachers are easy to retain because they are well respected and likely will not receive a higher salary elsewhere. Cons Encourages Teachers to Teach to Standardized Tests A large part of the performance-based pay objectives rests in standardized test scores. Teachers across the nation are already feeling the pressure to abandon creativity and originality and instead to teach to the tests. Attaching an increase in pay only amplifies that situation. Standardized testing is all the rage in public education, and performance-based pay just adds fuel to the fire. Teachers skip once celebrated teachable moments. They neglect valuable life lessons and have essentially become robots all in the name of passing a single test on a single day during the school year. Can Potentially Be Costly to the District School districts across the United States are already strapped for cash. Teachers on a performance-based contract receive a base salary. They receive a â€Å"bonus† for meeting specific objectives and goals. This â€Å"bonus† money can add up quickly. The Denver Public School District in Colorado was able to start ProComp thanks to voters who approved a tax increase that allowed them to fund the incentive program. It would have been impossible to fund the program without the revenue generated from the tax increase. School districts would find it exceedingly difficult to maintain the funds necessary to run a performance-based pay program without additional funding. Dilutes a Teacher’s Overall Value Most teachers offer much more than just the ability to meet learning objectives or goals. Teaching should be about more than just a test score. Ideally, teachers should be rewarded for the size of the impact they make and for making a difference in the lives of their students. Sometimes those qualities go unrecognized and unrewarded. Teachers have a powerful influence on their students, yet theyre relegated to ensuring that their students are going to pass a test. It skews the real value of a teacher when you only base the job they are doing on meeting student performance objectives.   Fails to Consider Factors Beyond a Teacher’s Control There are many factors beyond a teacher’s control that influence student performance just as much or more than any teacher will. Factors such as lack of parental involvement, poverty, and learning disabilities offer real hindrances to learning. They are nearly impossible to overcome. The reality is that teachers who sacrifice to pour into the lives of these students are often seen as bad teachers because their students do not meet the level of proficiency that their peers do. The truth is that many of these teachers are doing a far superior job than their peers who teach at an affluent school. Sometimes they fail to receive the same rewards for their hard work. Can Potentially Harm High-Risk Areas Every school is not the same. Every student is not the same. Why would a teacher want to teach in a school surrounded by poverty and have the cards stacked against them, when they can teach in an affluent school and have immediate success? A performance-based pay system would keep many of the best teachers from pursuing jobs in those high-risk areas because of nearly impossible odds to meet the performance measures needed to make it worth the while.

Beowulf Comparison Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Beowulf Comparison - Essay Example Characterization entailed the poet’s imagination and the themes around those times with most poems having protagonists and antagonists. This is why the poems had aspects of heroes, battles, bravery, loyalty, feuds, meditations on fate and life including harsh aspects such as exile, monsters, as well as transience and treasure. ‘Beowulf’ is no different from Old English poems, one of them being ‘Battle of Maldon’. Both poems are written in Old English, which uses a different kind of grammar from the modern one. ‘Battle of Maldon’ is an old English poem written in Anglo-Saxon style (Bowman 91-115). The old English evolved to what is spoken in the present times and tended to be Germanic while exhibiting minimal French and Latin influence. In order to understand the poem in a deeper sense, students should be somehow familiar with Anglo-Saxon poetry rudiments. Anglo-Saxon poets used alliterative verse. This form of verse uses alliteration as the major stylistic device to join lines of poetry. This is the opposite of devices used in structuring rhymes. In alliteration, the a-verse or first half of a line is linked with the b-verse or second half via similar initial sounds. Additionally, a caesura divides the two halves. This is a pause usually represented in the form of a gap appearing on a page. The poems have reduced elements of internal rhyme but have repeated phrases, which they reused. Both ‘Battle of Maldon’ and ‘Beowulf’ are a series of stanzas, which narrate of heroic, mythical events from a Germanic past and end with the poet’s plight. The Anglo-Saxon style depicts a form known as accentual verse with four beats in each line meaning every half line has two beats. Alliteration is fulfilled in the poem through use of epithets, which is a formula of pronunciation different from the modern English. Another significant stylistic device in Beowulf is the

Business Law Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Business Law - Essay Example ity given, suffered or undertaken by the other." Sir Fredrick Pollock’s definition of consideration is â€Å"An act or forbearance of one party, or the promise thereof, is the price for which the promise of the other is bought, and the promise thus given for value is enforceable." This was approved by Lord Dunedin in Dunlop v Selfridge Ltd ( 1915) It therefore follows that a gift is not a contract. There is no contract if there is no consideration. However consideration is required to be expressed in monetary terms. As such any discernible detriment to one of the parties could be that party’s consideration ( Duhaime) An agreement not to take a plot of land was considered a sufficient consideration(Hubbs). The law does not insist on the adequacy of consideration as it is between the parties to decide. The consideration should be reciprocal, each party offering consideration. Motive should not be confused with consideration. Our motive for contracting may be for personal reasons but it may coincide with the consideration we are giving or receiving. If the consideration is already â€Å"spent† in a prior contract, a new contract using that same consideration would be valid. "where a contractual duty already exists, it may be possible...to vary the original agreement without necessarily establishing a whole new contract with fresh consideration on both sides." In fact, refreshing a commitment to do something for a third party is consideration under common law† (Frdman G). Further the consideration should not be something or some act which is not legal or immoral or opposed to public policy. If a certain acts punishable under law then it is illegal. For example a work given to un unlicensed contractor is illegal. If the consideration is a past one, it will not make a valid contract. The court decisions on consideration suggest English law is in need of fundamental restatement with regards to Consideration. Dr Corbin and Prof Atiyah have already dealt

Organizational Performance Management System Essay Example for Free

Organizational Performance Management System Essay In the pursuit of developing most appropriate organizational performance management system, many organizational performance management systems have emerged, making it difficult to choose the best organizational performance management system. The paper reviews the published literature on organizational performance management, and discusses the shift from traditional to new performance management system framework. Also, Balance Scorecard, which is one of the most commonly used approaches in measuring organizational performance, is discussed. Finally, five most important factors in designing organizational performance management are addressed. Introduction In increasingly competitive market, it is imperative that organizations design and implement an effective organizational performance management system to gauge their competitive advantage in the market. An Organization Performance Management System includes multiple activities that help in establishing the goals of the organization, and monitor the progress towards the target. It is used to make adjustments to accomplish goals more efficiently and effectively. Organizational Performance Management System can be best understood through considering the definitions of the words performance and measurement according to the Baldrige Criteria (NIST, 2001): Performance refers to output results from processes, products and services that permit evaluation and comparison relative to goals, standards, past results, and other organizations. Performance might be expressed in non-financial and financial terms. Measurement refers to numerical information that quantifies input, output, and performance dimensions of processes, products, services, and the overall organization (outcomes). Performance measures might be simple (derived from one measurement) or composite. Underlying performance management at both the organizational and employee levels is a set of performance measures. Performance measures with respect to organizational performance are an instrument to assess progress against stated program and organizational objectives. With respect to individual performances it is to assess progress against stated performances objectives, or â€Å"results to be achieved† for individual employees or teams of employees (Good Carin, 2004). The objective of such system would be to increase the efficiency, effectiveness and performance at both organizational and employee level. The challenge for organizations today is how to match and align both organizational and individual performance measures with business strategy, structures and corporate culture, the type and number of measures to use and how to deploy the measures so that the results are used and acted upon. To address these challenges, organizations have been continually searching for an effective organizational performance management framework. Measuring organizational performance management has variety of uses. As per Vince Kellen (2003) those uses include monitoring and controlling activities, driving organizational improvement, maximizing the effectiveness of the improvement effort, achieving alignment with organizational goal and objectives, rewarding and disciplining. The Changing Role of Organizational Performance Measurement System How to create and measure organizational performance measurement system has been a persistent source of debate. Traditionally, organizational performance management system included measuring financial ratios, such as return on investments, cash flows, and cost of sales. Figure one below depicts traditional performance indicators, focused mostly on financial measures. Figure One Source: Frederico and Cavenaghi 2009 In the recent years the focus has been on measuring non-financial ratios, such as quality, customer satisfaction, safety and other stakeholders. Figure Two shows the new performance indicators, incorporating quality together with other financial indicators. Figure Two Source: Source: Frederico and Cavenaghi 2009 Furthermore, according to Shackleton (2007) financial measures prohibit the guidance and evaluation of an organization’s ability to create future value through investments in customers, suppliers, employees, processes, technology and innovation. Shacketon agues that the pressure for reporting on corporate performance today, has confronted the traditional managerial mindset of historical models for performance measurement, and has required them to be more innovative. Table one below illustrates the shift in the mindset and provides a comparison between traditional and more recent performance measurement systems. Table One TraditionalInnovative Based on cost/ efficiencyValue-based Performance orientedPerformance compatibility oriented Profit –orientedCustomer-oriented Short-term orientedLong-term oriented Prevalence of individual measuresPrevalence of team measures Prevalence of functional measuresPrevalence of transversal measures Comparison with standardImproving monitoring Aim at evaluatingAim at evaluating and involving Source: Shackleton, 2007 From the table it can be concluded that organizational performance management systems are moving towards relationship-oriented understanding of the whole organization progress. It is clear that financial indicators are not ignored, but treated as one piece of the puzzle in a more complex set of criteria’s in measuring organizational performance. Organizational Performance Measurement Approaches: Balance Scorecard Several approaches for measuring and managing organizational performance management system have evolved over time, including Balance Scorecard, Benchmarking, Business Process Reengineering, Continuous Improvement, ISO9000, Total Quality Management, Stakeholder Approach, and Performance Prism Approach amongst others. There is no single framework or model that will ensure success in implementing an organizational performance management system. Exploring all the approaches is beyond the scope of this review, hence Balance Scorecard is review at length since it most commonly used for measuring organizational performance. Balance Scorecard was developed by Robert S. Kaplan and David P. Norton in 1992. It was developed to remedy the weak and vague performance management strategies developed earlier that mostly concentrated on financial indicators.

Kurt Vonnegut :: Writers Authors Literature Essays

Kurt Vonnegut Coming from a German background, the first thing I thought of was the name of a writer that had written one of my favorite books. I went onto the internet to try to find out if he had in fact come from the same origin as my family. This was tough at first because the only thing it revealed was that Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indiana on November 11, 1922 (Grolier Incorporated). After looking to find out where his great-grandfather came from, it revealed that Clemens Vonnegut Sr. emigrated from Germany in 1848 (Shaping the Circle). I picked writing about this writer because he has written one of the most interesting books in my mind, Slaughterhouse-Five which I will use as my topic. In the book many different adventures take place that makes this novel have a different feel. The adventures that take place happen for a multitude of reasons. It gives this book a twist in a way that you seem to have an outside view of what is going on in the plot. Billy's memories and his stream of consciousness are used to give sensory impressions of his actions and thoughts by his time travel, as well as also provide other details in his life and World War II (Schatt 89). Billy encounters a sleep-like state when he becomes â€Å"unstuck in time (Vonnegut 29)† and this occurs for different reasons. One of the major reasons for Billy to become â€Å"unstuck in time† is the atrocities of the Holocaust, together with the firebombing of Dresden, make for such painful memories. â€Å"Because of the shock of this event, Billy becomes a perpetual prisoner of war, returning again and again in his mind to this scene (â€Å"Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade†).† Within the book, Dresden seems to be the center of all the major action taking place. It is no wonder almost all Billy's thoughts is his remembrance of his wartime encounters during his captivation as a prisoner. Kurt Vonnegut then has Billy put into the sleep-like state in which he only remembers pieces at a time to put his mind more at ease. This method makes the story rather confusing, but puts what is going on more into perspective. It shows how a man th at experienced such a catastrophe might have to deal with what he went through by his thoughts (Schatt 88-89). Kurt Vonnegut :: Writers Authors Literature Essays Kurt Vonnegut Coming from a German background, the first thing I thought of was the name of a writer that had written one of my favorite books. I went onto the internet to try to find out if he had in fact come from the same origin as my family. This was tough at first because the only thing it revealed was that Kurt Vonnegut was born in Indiana on November 11, 1922 (Grolier Incorporated). After looking to find out where his great-grandfather came from, it revealed that Clemens Vonnegut Sr. emigrated from Germany in 1848 (Shaping the Circle). I picked writing about this writer because he has written one of the most interesting books in my mind, Slaughterhouse-Five which I will use as my topic. In the book many different adventures take place that makes this novel have a different feel. The adventures that take place happen for a multitude of reasons. It gives this book a twist in a way that you seem to have an outside view of what is going on in the plot. Billy's memories and his stream of consciousness are used to give sensory impressions of his actions and thoughts by his time travel, as well as also provide other details in his life and World War II (Schatt 89). Billy encounters a sleep-like state when he becomes â€Å"unstuck in time (Vonnegut 29)† and this occurs for different reasons. One of the major reasons for Billy to become â€Å"unstuck in time† is the atrocities of the Holocaust, together with the firebombing of Dresden, make for such painful memories. â€Å"Because of the shock of this event, Billy becomes a perpetual prisoner of war, returning again and again in his mind to this scene (â€Å"Slaughterhouse-Five, or the Children's Crusade†).† Within the book, Dresden seems to be the center of all the major action taking place. It is no wonder almost all Billy's thoughts is his remembrance of his wartime encounters during his captivation as a prisoner. Kurt Vonnegut then has Billy put into the sleep-like state in which he only remembers pieces at a time to put his mind more at ease. This method makes the story rather confusing, but puts what is going on more into perspective. It shows how a man th at experienced such a catastrophe might have to deal with what he went through by his thoughts (Schatt 88-89).

Changing Self Essay Essay

How do composers use texts to explore concepts of Changing Self? Discuss ideas and techniques. In Gwen Harwood’s poems Prize-Giving and The Glass Jar, the prescribed text Sky-High, and the novel White Teeth by Zadie Smith, the composer have used many varying ideas and techniques to investigate and illustrate concepts of Changing Self effectively. The ideas looked at in Gwen Harwood’s poetry include imagery, retrospect, metaphor, and inversion of the connotation of adjectives. Ideas conveyed in Sky-High include imagery, retrospect, and comparison. The techniques and ideas in White Teeth, to name the most important, are long and erratic chronology, removing characters for a period and the exposing of the least important change are evident in the texts that are compared. In Gwen Harwood’s poem Prize-Giving, the composer has adeptly used imagery to examine and represent the Changing Self evident in this poem. This striking imagery at first portrays an egotistical middle aged man, such as his inurbane behaviour when he â€Å"scowled with violent distaste†. This works in revealing the major change of Eisenbart, in comparing the self-righteous man at the start of the poem, to the awkward and confused man at the end. The imagery used to describe the titian haired girl is also evocative, especially when comparing her supposed insignificance in contrast to Eisenbart, and the affect she has on him. She seems to be nothing but a cheeky, though attractive, schoolgirl: â€Å"one girl sat grinning.† This thought of her insignificance is reinforced when she â€Å"winked at nearby friends†, possibly reinforcing to Eisenbart her immaturity that was earlier established through her audacious behaviour during the opening prayer. However, Eisenbart was flung from his â€Å"calm age and power† merely by a touch of this ‘immature schoolgirl’, indicating a change. This change in the girl’s attitude is reinforced when she changed â€Å"her casual schoolgirl’s for a master’s air†, indicating the power that she has that Eisenbart has not detected thus far. In the text Sky-High by Hannah Robert, the concept of Changing Self is analysed and emphasized through retrospect, apt imagery, and change of language. â€Å"The best climbing tree† indicates the experiences of a child and their joy in everything no matter how small. However, the responsibility in the statement â€Å"it is unlikely the washing line could support me† divulges that the persona is now more responsible, and, it is discovered, also older, revealing a physical change of self. The comparisons in the final stanza show the insight that the persona now has; as seen in â€Å"I was once the curious onlooker, I now write my own semaphore secrets in colourful t-shirts†. It also shows, however, that no matter how much a person changes, that he or she is still the same person, and that they still retain what they were before. The metaphors used in The Glass Jar, and the way in which they are developed and often exaggerated, shows and typifies the change of self that is experienced by the persona, so that greater audiences may understand the experiences of a small child. Only a small child could imagine an ordinary glass jar as a â€Å"monstrance† in which the sun could be caught for the night. This vision of the â€Å"holy commonplace of field and flower† coming to save the boy is lost when he awakes from his nightmares. The religious metaphor is now lost except for the mocking image of the â€Å"resurrected sun† in the final stanza. The inversion of the usual use of adjectives shows the confusion associated with the change of self for the persona, such as the â€Å"malignant ballet†. The novel White Teeth, by Zadie Smith, develops the concept of Changing Self with a long and somewhat inconsistent chronology. All the characters in this novel, which reaches from World War Two to the end of the century, obviously change physically due to this long chronology. However, the retrospect as to how much the characters have changed in other ways is far more potent because of the extensive chronology. The comparison, for example, Josh Chalfen turning away from his family and becoming less of a nerd: he was the kind of guy â€Å"who could measure an eighth with his eyes closed (so fuck you, Millat)†. The original focus of the book on Archie Jones beguiles the reader into thinking that he is the main focus for the book. However, Archie serves  merely as a connection between all the original characters. From these characters the Jones, Iqbal, Chalfen and Bowden families and their stories emerge, and all the adults, in the end, only accentuate the changes that the children (Irie, Millat, Magid, and Josh) undergo, that is, comparing where the children have ended up to what their parents expected of them. The later and extended focus of the novel on Millat Iqbal, who changes in the most radical way out of all the characters, hides the slow and, in the sense that Millat changes, insignificant changes of Irie Jones, but her changes are more symbolic and emotional. The removal of Magid from the story means that his change of self seems sudden, because the persona is taken away at the age of nine years and only returned at the age of seventeen. In the texts Prize-Giving and The Glass Jar by Gwen Harwood, Sky-High by Hannah Robert, and White Teeth by Zadie Smith, ideas and techniques are flaunted in terms of how they are used to display the change of self in the personas. The numerous ideas used in each of the texts, often overlapping to be used in more than one text show the skill of the composers and their flexibility in applying various techniques.