Intellectual Property Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Intellectual Property - Assignment Example 2. Intellectual property may include inventions, creative efforts of individuals, original works by authors or trade secrets etc. that will provide future economic benefits to the business. How we protect intellectual property depends on the type of property we deal with and the industry we’re operating in. This usually involves obtaining patents, trademarks and copyrights for the intellectual property we own. The holder of a patent can protect his product by preventing other companies to use, or take advantage, in any way, of their invention up to certain future date depending on the type of invention. The key question that arises here is does the business own the inventions or does the creative work is the result of efforts of the individuals hired by the company? Similarly copyright offers the authors and creators the protection of their original intellectual work (such as literature, art, music, photographs, video recordings, software etc.). The copyright symbol informs ot hers that the author is intending to exercise control over the production and redistribution of the work. Likewise a â€Å"trademark† offers businesses the opportunity to sell their product to the consumers under their unique name. As such it avoids confusion and deceiving. In such employment agreements, the employer restricts the employee from quitting the company and joining another competitive firm or setting up his/her own competitive business. Such employment agreements are usually enforceable only if they apply restrictions within a specific area and for a definite future time period. In some states non-compete agreements are enforceable only if they are supported by the adequate consideration for the employee otherwise they are considered as agreements in restraint on trade and hence void. The advantage of non-competitive clause is obvious that it

Not just children Essay Example for Free

Not just children Essay The essay is effective in that it provides some convincing examples of potential internet dangers that can be experienced, with emphasis on how these bad guys can get away with their deeds with no law to control their actions. I must agree that people who use the internet should not be exempt from many of the rules and regulations that govern their conduct elsewhere. Its arguments about general online business holds much merit. I do agree that there should be laws against copyright violation, fraud, child pornography, trust violation, and child-stalking. However, the essays great failing is that it does not address the issue of freedom of expression as much as I think it needed to in the context of the topic, especially concerning pornography. Internet pornography is certainly a complicated topic, considering that many children have internet access. The essay contends that pornography must be controlled, particularly because of these children. Although the welfare of children should indeed be of concern to us, I subscribe to the idea that if you dont want to see, dont look. Encountering pornographic sites (or going anywhere on the internet for that matter) generally requires an active decision by a person. I take the view that sites on the internet are public only in the sense that they are accessible when a person chooses to access them; but that these sites are not publicly displayed in the sense that a billboard on the street is. Since seeing content generally involves the decision of a person to visit, making whatever information accessible to whomever chooses to access it seems to be reasonable. There have been times when a search using a seemingly innocuous phrase turns up results with nudity or pornographic content, especially when Im using a search engine with filters turned off. It seems to me that encountering sites with offensive or objectionable content is unavoidable, even if one does not want to come across them. I feel that childrens access to pornographic sites should be restricted. I recognize that total censorship would be very difficult to impose, but still, measures should be enacted to deter or hinder young children from accessing such sites. One solution that has been proposed to solve this problem advocates a change in the domain naming system that will easily identify sites that are â€Å"for adults only† (i. e. , pornographic sites). For example, if sites with adult content ends in â€Å". xxx† rather than the usual domain identifiers, users will know that the site contains adult content, and therefore, can steer clear from it. Using this system, it will also be easier to filter out those kinds of websites. However, if there is any censorship, it will affect everyone, not just children. I still subscribe to the notion that it should be the parents/elders responsibility to protect children from the darker side of the internet. History has shown that anything that is suppressed by the government does not really disappear, but goes underground. Censorship in any form is a blow to the whole notion of the freedom of expression of the public. With this freedom comes responsibility, and it might actually be better to allow the public to take care of themselves (on the internet) in this regard.

Issues of social balance and mixed communities

Issues of social balance and mixed communities Interest in social balance and mixed communities has arisen as a response to both increased management issues in social housing and to concepts of the underclass and social exclusion. The identification of significant and persistent inequalities between areas at the ward and neighbourhood level in recent research (e.g. Meen et al., 2005) has triggered a shift in housing strategy and policy. Social balance is now entrenched within English housing and planning policy where it provides a correction to the housing markets natural tendency to segregate (Goodchild and Cole, 2001). Although this state interventionist approach has come under-fire from academics such as Cheshire (2007), who argue that spatial policy cannot correct deep-rooted social and economic forces and that the focus of policy should be to reduce income inequality in society not just treat the consequences of it, social mixing has gained popular support in urban policy. This literature review outlines the mixed community approach to urban gentrification in urban policy by discussing its latest iteration, the MCI. The MCIs place in UK policy discourse is then analysed as a way of exploring its conceptual and theoretical ideologies for area regeneration. Finally, an in depth review of the literature is conducted which reengages with Mixed Communities as an approach to area regeneration Since 2005, the mixed communities approach to gentrification and the renewal of disadvantaged neighbourhoods has become firmly embedded in the UKs housing and planning policy. The approach was first announced in January 2005 in the Mixed Communities Initiative (MCI) which formed part of New Labours five year plan for the delivery of sustainable communities. The MCI has four core components (Lupton et al., 2009); A commitment to the transformation of areas with concentrated poverty, to provide a better housing environment, higher employment, better education, less crime and higher educational achievements. To achieve these through changes in the housing stock and attraction of new populations, whilst improving opportunities for existing populations. Finance development by recognising the value of publicly owned land and other public assets. Integrate government policies to produce a holistic approach which is sustainable through mainstream funding. Initially the MCI was delivered through twelve demonstration projects situated in the most deprived neighbourhoods in the UK. However, more recently the concepts behind the mixed community approach have grown beyond these projects and are now advocated by planning authorities in a diverse range of areas. Consequently, mixed community developments are emerging without demonstration project status and as such mixed communities have become an approach to area regeneration in addition to being a government policy initiative (Silverman et al., 2006). In response to this policy development the purpose of this literature review is two-fold. Firstly, through analysis of the theories of poverty, place and gentrification in policy discourse it is possible to gain an understanding of the rationale behind the mixed communities conception of the causes place poverty. Review Secondly Theories of Poverty and Place in Urban Policy Any form of urban regeneration reflects a specific theoretical understanding of the causes of place poverty. Throughout the 20th Century UK urban policy has undergone a transformation in its understanding of the causes of place poverty and consequently the approach to urban regeneration has altered. A broad distinction can be made in the UKs approaches to regeneration; between early regeneration by the Keynesian welfare state and that advocated by conservative governments. The former looked to correct the crisis of the neighbourhood through neighbourhood improvement. This approach understands the problems of declining areas as a product of the economic structures which cause spatial and social inequality (Katz, 2004). In response they looked to improve living conditions and try to equalise life chances through redistributive social welfare programmes. In contrast to neighbourhood improvement is the neighbourhood transformation approach, a discernibly neoliberal approach advocated by conservative governments. Here the problems of disadvantaged neighbourhoods are understood as the product of market failures rather than underlying economic structures. The creation of mass social housing estates and overly generous benefit regimes are some of the market failures which reportedly trap the disadvantaged in social cultures of dependency (Goetz, 2003). In the neighbourhood improvement approach these areas are seen as a barrier to market forces; occupying inner city areas with good commercial and residential property investment potential. According to Lupton and Fuller (2009:1016) the neighbourhood improvement approach understands the solution to be: not simply the amelioration of conditions in these neighbourhoods for the benefit of their current residents, but the restoration of market functionality through the physical change and transformation of the position of the neighbourhood in the urban hierarchy Perhaps the best example of this is the role of Urban Development Corporations which brought about the transformation of the London Docklands in the 1980s. Their presence instigated a fundamental change in the role of the state in urban development, from a regulator of the market to an agent within the market. The state was now responsible for fostering the economic conditions under which the economic productivity of areas and communities could be improved. In 1997 New Labours urban regeneration policy was hailed as a divorce from this transformational approach and a return to the improvement approach. The government pioneered an array of new, enhanced public services under the National Strategy for Neighbourhood Renewal. Included was the Neighbourhood Renewal Unit and the New Deal for Communities (NDC) which facilitated interaction between local agents on neighbourhood improvement. Whilst this strategy had the appearance of a strong local focus which prioritised residents, other elements of New Labours policies were characteristically neoliberal. As Fuller and Geddes (2008) remark, Labours urban interventions focus on an equality of opportunity agenda which aspires to greater social cohesion and inclusion by devolving responsibility to local citizens. However, by not matching these responsibilities with appropriate state powers within the NRU and NDC there has been little support for local citizens except to merely compensate the indiv iduals and places put at risk by market forces. As such New Labours initiatives have failed to deliver major redistributional interventions which relinquish local state agents from neoliberal targets, cultures and forms of control (Jessop, 1990). Neoliberal theories of poverty and place within the MCI Within this policy discourse the MCI exists as a more characteristically neoliberal initiative. It is clear in its understanding of the problem, concentrated poverty, and the solution, de-concentration through gentrification and neighbourhood transformation. By doing this the MCI subscribes to a policy discourse which understands concentrated poverty as a spatial metaphor (Crump, 2002). This metaphor inherently undermines complex economic, social and political processes and uses the individual failings of the poor within concentrated spaces to justify their dilution or removal. The concentrated poverty thesis originated from the US (e.g. The Hope VI Urban Revitalisation Programme) where it provides legitimacy to policies which alter cities spatial structures through market forces. Such influences have encouraged British policy makers to adopt a more radical approach to urban regeneration and advocate extensive demolition and gentrification to restore functioning housing markets, imposing a neoliberal agenda on struggling housing environments (Imbroscio, 2008). The MCIs focus on market restoration is clearly articulated: the aim is that success measures should be choice. Reputation, choice of staying and that people want to move in its about market choice (Senior CLG official in Lupton et al., 2009:36) The government realises that while public service improvements will help create this market, it is not enough alone physical change is required to enhance peoples attraction to the neighbourhood and its market. The states role is therefore not just to invest directly but improve and diversify the housing stock whilst decreasing public housing ratios with the explicit goal of stimulating market processes. However, a further consequence of this is the re-population of The mixed communities approach requires the state to fund the improvement of services, in many cases to attract better-off residents, and sell or gift land to the private sector. The removal of social housing through its gift to the private sector inherently creates a spatial fix for poverty and incentivises the development of mixed-income housing developments. In such a situation there is potential for the private sector to change social housing in co-ordinance with market dynamics and consequently complex and marginal developments will be neglected (Adair et al., 2003). CONCLUDE and develop a little mention gentrifiction Impact of Mixed Communities As long as 30 years ago, Holcomb and Beauregard (1981) were critical of the way it was assumed that benefits of urban revitalisation through social mixing would trickle down to the poor. Despite the consequential academic debate, which disputed whether gentrification leads to social exclusion, segregation and displacement, it has become increasingly popular in urban policy where it is assumed that its application leads to a more socially mixed, integrated, and sustainable urban environment. The following review will explore the literature which questions whether moving middle-income populations into low-income neighbourhoods or vice versa has a positive impact on residents urban experience. link to mixed communities Schoon (2001) identifies three rationales behind social mixing in policy debates. Firstly, there is an assumption that the middle-class are more likely to attract public resources and as such the lower-income household will fare better in socially mixed communities. Secondly, mixed income developments are in a better position to support a local economy than areas of concentrated poverty. Finally and most controversially, the networks and contacts argument advocated by Putnam (1995) poses that socially mixed neighbourhoods create an environment which improves the bridging and bonding of social capital between social classes. Consequently, lower-income residents have more opportunities to network and break out of poverty than they would in areas of concentrated deprivation. The Social Exclusion Unit (1998:53) expands on this: [socially mixed neighbourhoods] often brings people into contact with those outside their normal circle, broadening horizons and raising expectations, and can link people into informal networks through which work is more easily found. These three arguments are the cornerstone of a global policy discourse which has received very little critique in the UK. One of the reasons for this is the way it is framed. The social mixing agenda which has been prominent in western efforts to decentralise poverty is a discourse which actively avoids the word gentrification. Instead it uses terms like urban revitalisation, urban regeneration, and urban sustainability to redefine itself as a moral discourse which helps the poor (Slater, 2005; 2006). By doing this the discourse deflects from the class restructuring processes which define its implementation. Previous Studies As of yet there is little consensus around the ability of gentrification to achieve the goals asked of it, neither is it clear what type of social mix is most desirable or the outcomes of different mixes (Walks and Maaranen, 2008). For instance, Tunstall and Fenton (2006) who claim to amass the best UK research on social mix conclude that although knowledge gaps exist the founding arguments for mixed communities remains valid. Yet, in contrast, Doherty et al. (2006) undertook quantitative analysis of the UK census and Scottish Longitudinal Study and concluded that there is little evidence to support the mixing of housing tenures in developments with the premise of improving social well-being. Purpose sentence Randolph and Wood (2003) note that much of the research conducted so far has concentrated on social mixing in public housing estates (Atkinson and Kintrea, 2000; Cole and Shayer, 1998) and there has been little exploration of the social mixing occurring in new build developments. Does Gentrification bring about social mixing? Contrary to the assumptions which link gentrification to improved social mixing, most research suggests that gentrification is likely to reduce social mixing at the neighbourhood level. Interviews conducted by Butler (1997), and Butler and Robson (2001; 2003) suggest that local middle-income gentrifiers engaged in little social interaction with lower-income residents. Their research found that gentrifiers generally sought out people with similar cultural and political interests which often lead to little interaction between middle and low-income residents. Accordingly, they found that interaction was greatest in areas where gentrification had homogenised an area and pushed out other groups. In areas where this had not occurred, Butler and Robson (2001) reported that, the difference between tenants resulted in tectonic juxtapositions which polarised social groups rather than integrating them. In their later research, Butler and Robson (2003) not only reinforced their earlier findings but found that children formed a key facilitator in resident integration: there was no evidence that the children played outside these middle class networks, our fieldwork strongly suggests that the middle class preschool clubs were highly exclusionary of non-middle class children (Butler and Robson, 2003:128) Although Butler and Robsons research rightly questions the role of gentrification in a policy discourse which looks to foster a sustainable urban environment it does so primarily through the experiences of the gentrifier. Davidsons (under review) research of new build, middle income development on the River Thames, London engaged with both gentrifier and non-gentrifier to reinforce scepticism over the ability of housing type to influence class relations. Davidson found no evidence to suggest that any of the developments desired outcomes had been achieved through the introduction of a middle class population. Both the temporary nature of new build residents and the spatially segregated nature of the development itself meant the development fostered little integration between low and middle income residents who do not work in the same place, use the same transport or frequent same restaurants or pubs. In a similar study Freeman (2006) researched two black gentrifying neighbourhoods in New York City. Like Davidson, Freeman found that social networks rarely crossed and that gentrifiers and longer term residents generally moved in different spaces. Additionally, Freeman experienced that residents were hesitant to pass comment on social mixing, they rarely expressed their opinions in overly positive or negative tones. In accordance with this literature it seems unrealistic to assume that different social groups will integrate when living together. As some of the authors have highlighted, increased neighbourhood diversity does not correlate with increased social interaction and can in some cases promote social conflict as much as it does social harmony. Mention how its all based on a class representation of society The mixed communities policy agenda has been used to help improve inequality in social housing (estates managed by local authorities, housing associations, and other non-profit housing agencies) and more controversially to regenerate social housing. This concentration on social housing comes out of a Since its conception social housing in the UK has experienced slow residualisation a tendency to house only certain types of household; the poor, unemployed, those in debt, with a history of mental illness and experiencing a relationship breakdown (Cole and Furbey, 1994). For much of social housings history this process has been ignored and consequently has been accompanied by a sorting process forcing the most vulnerable households into the most unattractive housing (Willmott and Murie, 1988). MIXED COMMUNITIES DEFINE EVERYDAY EXPERIENCE what is encapsulated within this? Social interactionà ¢Ã¢â€š ¬Ã‚ ¦ Previous Studies There are three studies which are relevant to this research. They examine the impact of mixed community housing on social interaction: Atkinson and Kintrea (2000) conducted an exploratory study which analysed diaries made by 38 households. The research suggested that patterns of social life vary by tenure and as such little interaction occurred between residents of owner occupied housing and social housing tenants. The neighbourhood was seen as a focus of interaction for social housing residents only. Cole and Shavers (1998b) survey of 52 residents in a new build, mixed-tenure redevelopment in Sheffield again found only weakly developed social networks. Jupps (1999:10-11) analysis of interviews with over 1,000 residents living in ten-mixed-tenure estates in England, concluded that the street is a more significant social unit than the estate. The case studies analysed often had social and private housing located on different streets and consequently there was little mixing reported between the two groups. Jupp reported that fostering social interaction would extremely difficult because of the overwhelming belief between residents: they do not think that they share many common interests with their neighbours. Individually these studies offer little scope, but taken together they provide a consistent view that mixed tenure developments foster little social interaction between residents of different social backgrounds. However, it must be realised that these studies only examine the grass-roots neighbourhood, that is to say that they often ignore the way external perceptions have defining role in the developments success. Atkinson and Kintrea (2000) identify it as a key area for future research when they report that residents welcomed the influx of higher income residents because they improve the reputation and appearance of the area. There is one fundamental understanding that underpins urban policy in the UK; as stated in the foreword of the Urban White Paper: How we live our lives is shaped by where we live our lives

Essay on the Artist as Hero in A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man

The Artist as Hero in A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man  Ã‚        Ã‚   A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce is a partly autobiographical account of the author's life growing up.   The novel chronicles the process through which the main character, Stephen, struggles against authority and religious doctrine to develop his own philosophies on life.   Stephen is not necessarily rebelling against God and his father as much as he is finding his own person, creating his own life.   He is an artist, not because of the outcome of his life, but because of the process he goes through to achieve that outcome.   The artist is a hero because of the sacrifices he makes, the persecution he endures, and the risks he undertakes merely to set foot towards his vision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Joyce demonstrates that whether or not Stephen achieved his vision is insignificant to the actual journey itself.   First of all, the novel concludes not with the outcome of Stephen's life but with the beginning stages of his journey.   "Old father, old artificer, stand me now and ever in good stead," he writes in the last sentence of the novel.   Joyce purposefully ends the book before Stephen's sets off, to emphasize that the process he undergoes to reach that point where he can reject the very foundation upon what his life was based is where the importance lies.   The infamous hell scene spans over twenty pages not to frighten the reader as much as to show how difficult it is to even become an artist and fight conformity.   All process towards breaking away is lost after the preacher's sermon on hell, as shown in the following passage: He beat his breast with his fist humbly, secretly under cover of the wooden armrest.   He would be at one with others... ...d for his art, seeing that his religion is no good for his heart, he forges a new life and religion for his own, fulfilling his destiny as an artist.    Works Cited Beebe, Maurice.   "The Artist as Hero." James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a   Young Man:   Text, Criticism, and Notes.   Ed.   Chester G. Anderson.   New   York:   Penguin, 1968.   340-57. Ellmann, Richard.   "The Limits of Joyce's Naturalism." Sewanee Review 63   (1955):  Ã‚   567-75. Givens, Seon, ed.   James Joyce:   Two Decades of Criticism. New York:   1948. 2nd ed.   1963. Joyce, James.   A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.   The Portable James Joyce.   Ed.  Ã‚   Harry   Levin.   New   York:   Penguin, 1976. Power, Arthur.   Conversations with James Joyce.   Ed. Clive Hart.   London:  Ã‚   Millington, 1974. Wright, David G.   Characters of Joyce.   Dublin:   Gill and Macmillan, 1983.       Essay on the Artist as Hero in A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man The Artist as Hero in A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man  Ã‚        Ã‚   A Portrait of the Artist As a Young Man by James Joyce is a partly autobiographical account of the author's life growing up.   The novel chronicles the process through which the main character, Stephen, struggles against authority and religious doctrine to develop his own philosophies on life.   Stephen is not necessarily rebelling against God and his father as much as he is finding his own person, creating his own life.   He is an artist, not because of the outcome of his life, but because of the process he goes through to achieve that outcome.   The artist is a hero because of the sacrifices he makes, the persecution he endures, and the risks he undertakes merely to set foot towards his vision.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Joyce demonstrates that whether or not Stephen achieved his vision is insignificant to the actual journey itself.   First of all, the novel concludes not with the outcome of Stephen's life but with the beginning stages of his journey.   "Old father, old artificer, stand me now and ever in good stead," he writes in the last sentence of the novel.   Joyce purposefully ends the book before Stephen's sets off, to emphasize that the process he undergoes to reach that point where he can reject the very foundation upon what his life was based is where the importance lies.   The infamous hell scene spans over twenty pages not to frighten the reader as much as to show how difficult it is to even become an artist and fight conformity.   All process towards breaking away is lost after the preacher's sermon on hell, as shown in the following passage: He beat his breast with his fist humbly, secretly under cover of the wooden armrest.   He would be at one with others... ...d for his art, seeing that his religion is no good for his heart, he forges a new life and religion for his own, fulfilling his destiny as an artist.    Works Cited Beebe, Maurice.   "The Artist as Hero." James Joyce, A Portrait of the Artist as a   Young Man:   Text, Criticism, and Notes.   Ed.   Chester G. Anderson.   New   York:   Penguin, 1968.   340-57. Ellmann, Richard.   "The Limits of Joyce's Naturalism." Sewanee Review 63   (1955):  Ã‚   567-75. Givens, Seon, ed.   James Joyce:   Two Decades of Criticism. New York:   1948. 2nd ed.   1963. Joyce, James.   A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man.   The Portable James Joyce.   Ed.  Ã‚   Harry   Levin.   New   York:   Penguin, 1976. Power, Arthur.   Conversations with James Joyce.   Ed. Clive Hart.   London:  Ã‚   Millington, 1974. Wright, David G.   Characters of Joyce.   Dublin:   Gill and Macmillan, 1983.      

Conduct a Stakeholder Analysis for a Planned Upgrade

As you know, my company is planning to construct a nuclear power plant in Oregon. Indeed, the conduct stakeholder analysis is important as a prerequisite of the decision approving the plan because stakeholders play an important role for the projects such as project stakeholders are involved in or affected by the project activity. The project manager must take the time to identify, understand, and manage the relationships between all stakeholders of the project. The use of four framework can help organizations meet the needs and expectations of stakeholders. And the senior member of the Board is the key stakeholders.Accordingly, to conduct stakeholder analysis for a plan to upgrade the software product successfully. We need to analyze the stakeholders are and what is its impact on the success of the project. Sets of project stakeholders include: Internal Stakeholders †¢Top management †¢Accountant †¢Other functional managers †¢Project team members External Stakehold ers †¢Clients †¢Competitors †¢Suppliers †¢Environmental, political, consumer and other intervener groups. Important tasks of the project leader are to have good relationships with stakeholders, understand correctly and meet their expectations.In addition, to the success of software projects, we should analyze the following points in order of importance: Support of leadership, The participation of users, The project management experience The explicit goal The range is reduced Standard software platform The basic requirements do not change Methodology form Reliable estimate In addition to hard skills and soft skills, more and more as the project leader of more work such as planning, organizing, budgeting, adjust the plan. etc. This work not only the project leader to implement but also to have analytical logic must have the foresight to identify the future steps of the project.

Reading Comprehension Essay

Reading comprehension is a valuable and necessary tool in the learning process. It allows the reader to expand his vocabulary, understand the text he is reading, and use various strategies as he might need them in order to improve learning. It is necessary because it shapes the reader’s understanding of ideas and words. It assists his ability to make sense of ideas and concepts. It can even affect various parts of public life, such as the political arena. In assessing the reader’s state of reading comprehension, there are three levels: literal, interpretive, and applied. If the reader is not satisfied with his own level of reading comprehension, all is not lost. There are means by which to improve it. These include growing one’s vocabulary, utilizing multiple senses, and changing one’s reading speed. All of these tools serve to advance the learning process. In order for one to understand the value reading comprehension possesses, one must first understand what it is. Reading comprehension is â€Å"the process of understanding or making meaning when reading† (Elish-Piper, 2010). The reader can use what he knows to get a grasp of the material he is reading. For example, a large vocabulary—understanding the meanings of many words—can help someone understand a wide variety of texts. The text can usually be placed into a specific category. For example, a novel about an unsolved crime would be in the category of a mystery. The reader can then place the text into a proper context. For the purposes of our mystery novel, it could be for the reader’s own enjoyment, or perhaps an assignment for a college course. Elish-Piper asserts that â€Å"when the reader is able to connect these three key components,† it is much easier for that person to comprehend what he is reading. If the reader needs to, he can use strategies to help comprehend the text better. Elish-Piper also gives ideas for those strategies. With our mystery novel example, the reader could identify the â€Å"basic elements† of the story, which are present with any novel. These include plot, setting, and the main characters. Putting one’s self in the position of characters in the text could also help. Asking questions periodically is also a positive way of self-checking for knowledge and comprehension of the text. One might ask why this comprehension is so important. The very definition of reading comprehension serves to help answer that question. If the reader does not understand what he is reading, he probably is not gaining anything from it. It would be tantamount to staring at a book written in a foreign language. Learning does not happen by osmosis; it happens through understanding. It also allows us to make sense of ideas and concepts. The wider the variety of texts one has read and comprehended, the more knowledge that person has gained. A person with increased knowledge, therefore, understands more ideas and concepts than he did before. This can impact a wide variety of areas. It can even effect areas of public policy. Politicians pass laws, and these laws are (obviously) comprised of words. In order for these leaders to understand how their legislation will affect their intended group, they have to understand what they are writing and reading. Beyond this, policy itself is sometimes designed to shape the practice of education—and thus reading comprehension itself. Over the past years, policy makers have utilized â€Å"assessment data† in the various field of education, including reading comprehension, for â€Å"education purposes† (Moskowitz & Stephens, 2004). In supplement to policy makers, educators have their own views on reading comprehension. There are three levels of reading comprehension (Gambrell, Morrow, & Pressley, 2007). The first level is â€Å"literal. † Literal reading comprehension is the understanding of the base of what is in the text. It is the most basic level and includes items that are generally not left up to interpretation. These can include names, dates, places, and the like. The second level of reading comprehension is â€Å"interpretive. † This type of reading comprehension is not concerned so much with what is actually present, but rather, what one can gather. Reading between the lines and drawing from the reader’s own knowledge, and answering subjective questions, helps. Finally, the third and most advanced level of reading comprehension is â€Å"applied. † Bluntly, this level allows the reader to utilize what is present in the text, make sense of it using context clues, and then using the knowledge gained to learn and understand concepts and ideas outside the scope of the text at hand. Perhaps the reader is not satisfied with his level of reading comprehension. All is not lost; there are means to improve. The most obvious way to improve reading comprehension is to grow one’s vocabulary. It is never too late to learn new words. However, there is more that one can do than the obvious. Using multiple senses is an out-of-the-box way to understand new material. Combining visual and auditory senses is a helpful way to increase comprehension (Woolley, 2010). The reader can use his imagination to set the scene in the text and then read the text aloud or listen to an audio book. Making an outline of the crucial points of the text and then reading that aloud is another way to reiterate key points. Moreover, reading slowly with a purpose as opposed to reading for speed is another way to be sure the reader understands details (Newkirk, 2010). â€Å"Slowing down,† â€Å"memorizing,† and â€Å"savoring passages† are steps in this beneficial process. No matter one’s level of education, reading comprehension is an invaluable tool for success in life. Once a reader understands what reading comprehension is, he can assess his level of comprehension, and then take one or more of a large number of steps to increase his ability. This, in turn, will help him be able to make sense of the world around him, and thus, put himself in a better position to succeed with whatever he does. References Elish-Piper, L. (2010). Understanding reading comprehension: Information and ideas for parents about reading comprehension. Illinois Reading Council Journal, 38 (3). 49-52. Gambrell, L. B. , Morrow, L. M. , & Pressley, M. (2007). Best practices in literacy instruction. New York, NY: Guilford Press. Moskowitz, J. H. & Stephens, M. (2004). Comparing learning outcomes: International assessments and education policy. London: RoutledgeFalmer. Newkirk, T. (2010, March). The case for slow reading. Educational Leadership, 67 (6). 6. Woolley, G. (2010, June). Developing reading comprehension: Combining visual and verbal cognitive processes. Australian Journal of Language & Literacy, 33 (2). 108-125.