The Lost Symbol Chapter 26-29

CHAPTER 26 Professor Langdon?† Sato said. â€Å"You look like you've seen a ghost. Are you okay?† Langdon hoisted his daybag higher onto his shoulder and laid his hand on top of it, as if somehow this might better hide the cube-shaped package he was carrying. He could feel his face had gone ashen. â€Å"I'm . . . just worried about Peter.† Sato cocked her head, eyeing him askew. Langdon felt a sudden wariness that Sato's involvement tonight might relate to this small package that Solomon had entrusted to him. Peter had warned Langdon: Powerful people want to steal this. It would be dangerous in the wrong hands. Langdon couldn't imagine why the CIA would want a little box containing a talisman . . . or even what the talisman could be. Ordo ab chao? Sato stepped closer, her black eyes probing. â€Å"I sense you've had a revelation?† Langdon felt himself sweating now. â€Å"No, not exactly.† â€Å"What's on your mind?† â€Å"I just . . .† Langdon hesitated, having no idea what to say. He had no intention of revealing the existence of the package in his bag, and yet if Sato took him to the CIA, his bag most certainly would be searched on the way in. â€Å"Actually . . .† he fibbed, â€Å"I have another idea about the numbers on Peter's hand.† Sato's expression revealed nothing. â€Å"Yes?† She glanced over at Anderson now, who was just arriving from greeting the forensics team that had finally arrived. Langdon swallowed hard and crouched down beside the hand, wondering what he could possibly come up with to tell them. You're a teacher, Robert–improvise! He took one last look at the seven tiny symbols, hoping for some sort of inspiration. Nothing. Blank. As Langdon's eidetic memory skimmed through his mental encyclopedia of symbols, he could find only one possible point to make. It was something that had occurred to him initially, but had seemed unlikely. At the moment, however, he had to buy time to think. â€Å"Well,† he began, â€Å"a symbologist's first clue that he's on the wrong track when deciphering symbols and codes is when he starts interpreting symbols using multiple symbolic languages. For example, when I told you this text was Roman and Arabic, that was a poor analysis because I used multiple symbolic systems. The same is true for Roman and runic.† Sato crossed her arms and arched her eyebrows as if to say, â€Å"Go on.† â€Å"In general, communications are made in one language, not multiple languages, and so a symbologist's first job with any text is to find a single consistent symbolic system that applies to the entire text.† â€Å"And you see a single system now?† â€Å"Well, yes . . . and no.† Langdon's experience with the rotational symmetry of ambigrams had taught him that symbols sometimes had meanings from multiple angles. In this case, he realized there was indeed a way to view all seven symbols in a single language. â€Å"If we manipulated the hand slightly, the language will become consistent.† Eerily, the manipulation Langdon was about to perform was one that seemed to have been suggested by Peter's captor already when he spoke the ancient Hermetic adage. As above, so below. Langdon felt a chill as he reached out and grasped the wooden base on which Peter's hand was secured. Gently, he turned the base upside down so that Peter's extended fingers were now pointing straight down. The symbols on the palm instantly transformed themselves. â€Å"From this angle,† Langdon said, â€Å"X-I-I-I becomes a valid Roman numeral–thirteen. Moreover, the rest of the characters can be interpreted using the Roman alphabet–SBB.† Langdon assumed the analysis would elicit blank shrugs, but Anderson's expression immediately changed. â€Å"SBB?† the chief demanded. Sato turned to Anderson. â€Å"If I'm not mistaken, that sounds like a familiar numbering system here in the Capitol Building.† Anderson looked pale. â€Å"It is.† Sato gave a grim smile and nodded to Anderson. â€Å"Chief, follow me, please. I'd like a word in private.† As Director Sato led Chief Anderson out of earshot, Langdon stood alone in bewilderment. What the hell is going on here? And what is SBB XIII? Chief Anderson wondered how this night could possibly get any stranger. The hand says SBB13? He was amazed any outsider had even heard of SBB . . . much less SBB13. Peter Solomon's index finger, it seemed, was not directing them upward as it had appeared . . . but rather was pointing in quite the opposite direction. Director Sato led Anderson over to a quiet area near the bronze statue of Thomas Jefferson. â€Å"Chief,† she said, â€Å"I trust you know exactly where SBB Thirteen is located?† â€Å"Of course.† â€Å"Do you know what's inside?† â€Å"No, not without looking. I don't think it's been used in decades.† â€Å"Well, you're going to open it up.† Anderson did not appreciate being told what he would do in his own building. â€Å"Ma'am, that may be problematic. I'll have to check the assignment roster first. As you know, most of the lower levels are private offices or storage, and security protocol regarding private–â€Å" â€Å"You will unlock SBB Thirteen for me,† Sato said, â€Å"or I will call OS and send in a team with a battering ram.† Anderson stared at her a long moment and then pulled out his radio, raising it to his lips. â€Å"This is Anderson. I need someone to unlock the SBB. Have someone meet me there in five minutes.† The voice that replied sounded confused. â€Å"Chief, confirming you said SBB?† â€Å"Correct. SBB. Send someone immediately. And I'll need a flashlight.† He stowed his radio. Anderson's heart was pounding as Sato stepped closer, lowering her voice even further. â€Å"Chief, time is short,† she whispered, â€Å"and I want you to get us down to SBB Thirteen as quickly as possible.† â€Å"Yes, ma'am.† â€Å"I also need something else from you.† In addition to breaking and entering? Anderson was in no position to protest, and yet it had not gone unnoticed by him that Sato had arrived within minutes of Peter's hand appearing in the Rotunda, and that she now was using the situation to demand access to private sections of the U.S. Capitol. She seemed so far ahead of the curve tonight that she was practically defining it. Sato motioned across the room toward the professor. â€Å"The duffel bag on Langdon's shoulder.† Anderson glanced over. â€Å"What about it?† â€Å"I assume your staff X-rayed that bag when Langdon entered the building?† â€Å"Of course. All bags are scanned.† â€Å"I want to see that X-ray. I want to know what's in his bag.† Anderson looked over at the bag Langdon had been carrying all evening. â€Å"But . . . wouldn't it be easier just to ask him?† â€Å"What part of my request was unclear?† Anderson pulled out his radio again and called in her request. Sato gave Anderson her BlackBerry address and requested that his team e-mail her a digital copy of the X-ray as soon as they had located it. Reluctantly Anderson complied. Forensics was now collecting the severed hand for the Capitol Police, but Sato ordered them to deliver it directly to her team at Langley. Anderson was too tired to protest. He had just been run over by a tiny Japanese steamroller. â€Å"And I want that ring,† Sato called over to Forensics. The chief technician seemed ready to question her but thought better of it. He removed the gold ring from Peter's hand, placed it in a clear specimen bag, and gave it to Sato. She slipped it into her jacket pocket, and then turned to Langdon. â€Å"We're leaving, Professor. Bring your things.† â€Å"Where are we going?† Langdon replied. â€Å"Just follow Mr. Anderson.† Yes, Anderson thought, and follow me closely. The SBB was a section of the Capitol that few ever visited. To reach it, they would pass through a sprawling labyrinth of tiny chambers and tight passages buried beneath the crypt. Abraham Lincoln's youngest son, Tad, had once gotten lost down there and almost perished. Anderson was starting to suspect that if Sato had her way, Robert Langdon might suffer a similar fate. CHAPTER 27 Systems security specialist Mark Zoubianis had always prided himself on his ability to multitask. At the moment, he was seated on his futon along with a TV remote, a cordless phone, a laptop, a PDA, and a large bowl of Pirate's Booty. With one eye on the muted Redskins game and one eye on his laptop, Zoubianis was speaking on his Bluetooth headset with a woman he had not heard from in over a year. Leave it to Trish Dunne to call on the night of a play-off game. Confirming her social ineptitude yet again, his former colleague had chosen the Redskins game as a perfect moment to chat him up and request a favor. After some brief small talk about the old days and how she missed his great jokes, Trish had gotten to her point: she was trying to unmask a hidden IP address, probably that of a secure server in the D.C. area. The server contained a small text document, and she wanted access to it . . . or at the very least, some information about whose document it was. Right guy, wrong timing, he had told her. Trish then showered him with her finest geek flattery, most of which was true, and before Zoubianis knew it, he was typing a strange-looking IP address into his laptop. Zoubianis took one look at the number and immediately felt uneasy. â€Å"Trish, this IP has a funky format. It's written in a protocol that isn't even publicly available yet. It's probably gov intel or military.† â€Å"Military?† Trish laughed. â€Å"Believe me, I just pulled a redacted document off this server, and it was not military.† Zoubianis pulled up his terminal window and tried a traceroute. â€Å"You said your traceroute died?† â€Å"Yeah. Twice. Same hop.† â€Å"Mine, too.† He pulled up a diagnostic probe and launched it. â€Å"And what's so interesting about this IP?† â€Å"I ran a delegator that tapped a search engine at this IP and pulled a redacted document. I need to see the rest of the document. I'm happy to pay them for it, but I can't figure out who owns the IP or how to access it.† Zoubianis frowned at his screen. â€Å"Are you sure about this? I'm running a diagnostic, and this firewall coding looks . . . pretty serious.† â€Å"That's why you get the big bucks.† Zoubianis considered it. They'd offered him a fortune for a job this easy. â€Å"One question, Trish. Why are you so hot on this?† Trish paused. â€Å"I'm doing a favor for a friend.† â€Å"Must be a special friend.† â€Å"She is.† Zoubianis chuckled and held his tongue. I knew it. â€Å"Look,† Trish said, sounding impatient. â€Å"Are you good enough to unmask this IP? Yes or no?† â€Å"Yes, I'm good enough. And yes, I know you're playing me like a fiddle.† â€Å"How long will it take you?† â€Å"Not long,† he said, typing as he spoke. â€Å"I should be able to get into a machine on their network within ten minutes or so. Once I'm in and know what I'm looking at, I'll call you back.† â€Å"I appreciate it. So, are you doing well?† Now she asks? â€Å"Trish, for God's sake, you called me on the night of a play-off game and now you want to chat? Do you want me to hack this IP or not?† â€Å"Thanks, Mark. I appreciate it. I'll be waiting for your call.† â€Å"Fifteen minutes.† Zoubianis hung up, grabbed his bowl of Pirate's Booty, and unmuted the game. Women. CHAPTER 28 Where are they taking me? As Langdon hurried with Anderson and Sato into the depths of the Capitol, he felt his heart rate increasing with each downward step. They had begun their journey through the west portico of the Rotunda, descending a marble staircase and then doubling back through a wide doorway into the famous chamber directly beneath the Rotunda floor. The Capitol Crypt. The air was heavier here, and Langdon was already feeling claustrophobic. The crypt's low ceiling and soft uplighting accentuated the robust girth of the forty Doric columns required to support the vast stone floor directly overhead. Relax, Robert. â€Å"This way,† Anderson said, moving quickly as he angled to the left across the wide circular space. Thankfully, this particular crypt contained no bodies. Instead it contained several statues, a model of the Capitol, and a low storage area for the wooden catafalque on which coffins were laid for state funerals. The entourage hurried through, without even a glance at the four-pointed marble compass in the center of the floor where the Eternal Flame had once burned. Anderson seemed to be in a hurry, and Sato once again had her head buried in her BlackBerry. Cellular service, Langdon had heard, was boosted and broadcast to all corners of the Capitol Building to support the hundreds of government phone calls that took place here every day. After diagonally crossing the crypt, the group entered a dimly lit foyer and began winding through a convoluted series of hallways and dead ends. The warren of passages contained numbered doorways, each of which bore an identification number. Langdon read the doors as they snaked their way around. S154 . . . S153 . . . S152 . . . He had no idea what lay behind these doors, but at least one thing now seemed clear–the meaning of the tattoo on Peter Solomon's palm. SBB13 appeared to be a numbered doorway somewhere in the bowels of the U.S. Capitol Building. â€Å"What are all these doorways?† Langdon asked, clutching his daybag tightly to his ribs and wondering what Solomon's tiny package could possibly have to do with a door marked SBB13. â€Å"Offices and storage,† Anderson said. â€Å"Private offices and storage,† he added, glancing back at Sato. Sato did not even glance up from her BlackBerry. â€Å"They look tiny,† Langdon said. â€Å"Glorified closets, most of them, but they're still some of the most sought-after real estate in D.C. This is the heart of the original Capitol, and the old Senate chamber is two stories above us.† â€Å"And SBB Thirteen?† Langdon asked. â€Å"Whose office is that?† â€Å"Nobody's. The SBB is a private storage area, and I must say, I'm puzzled how–â€Å" â€Å"Chief Anderson,† Sato interrupted without looking up from her BlackBerry. â€Å"Just take us there, please.† Anderson clenched his jaw and guided them on in silence through what was now feeling like a hybrid self-storage facility and epic labyrinth. On almost every wall, directional signs pointed back and forth, apparently attempting to locate specific office blocks in this network of hallways. S142 to S152 . . . ST1 to ST70 . . . H1 to H166 & HT1 to HT67 . . . Langdon doubted he could ever find his way out of here alone. This place is a maze. From all he could gather, office numbers began with either an S or an H depending on whether they were on the Senate side of the building or the House side. Areas designated ST and HT were apparently on a level that Anderson called Terrace Level. Still no signs for SBB. Finally they arrived at a heavy steel security door with a key-card entry box. SB Level Langdon sensed they were getting closer. Anderson reached for his key card but hesitated, looking uncomfortable with Sato's demands. â€Å"Chief,† Sato prompted. â€Å"We don't have all night.† Anderson reluctantly inserted his key card. The steel door released. He pushed it open, and they stepped through into the foyer beyond. The heavy door clicked shut behind them. Langdon wasn't sure what he had hoped to see in this foyer, but the sight in front of him was definitely not it. He was staring at a descending stairway. â€Å"Down again?† he said, stopping short. â€Å"There's a level under the crypt?† â€Å"Yes,† Anderson said. â€Å"SB stands for `Senate Basement.' â€Å" Langdon groaned. Terrific. CHAPTER 29 The headlights winding up the SMSC's wooded access road were the first the guard had seen in the last hour. Dutifully, he turned down the volume on his portable TV set and stashed his snacks beneath the counter. Lousy timing. The Redskins were completing their opening drive, and he didn't want to miss it. As the car drew closer, the guard checked the name on the notepad in front of him. Dr. Christopher Abaddon. Katherine Solomon had just called to alert Security of this guest's imminent arrival. The guard had no idea who this doctor might be, but he was apparently very good at doctoring; he was arriving in a black stretch limousine. The long, sleek vehicle rolled to a stop beside the guardhouse, and the driver's tinted window lowered silently. â€Å"Good evening,† the chauffeur said, doffing his cap. He was a powerfully built man with a shaved head. He was listening to the football game on his radio. â€Å"I have Dr. Christopher Abaddon for Ms. Katherine Solomon?† The guard nodded. â€Å"Identification, please.† The chauffeur looked surprised. â€Å"I'm sorry, didn't Ms. Solomon call ahead?† The guard nodded, stealing a glance at the television. â€Å"I'm still required to scan and log visitor identification. Sorry, regulations. I'll need to see the doctor's ID.† â€Å"Not a problem.† The chauffeur turned backward in his seat and spoke in hushed tones through the privacy screen. As he did, the guard stole another peek at the game. The Redskins were breaking from the huddle now, and he hoped to get this limo through before the next play. The chauffeur turned forward again and held out the ID that he'd apparently just received through the privacy screen. The guard took the card and quickly scanned it into his system. The D.C. driver's license showed one Christopher Abaddon from Kalorama Heights. The photo depicted a handsome blond gentleman wearing a blue blazer, a necktie, and a satin pocket square. Who the hell wears a pocket square to the DMV? A muffled cheer went up from the television set, and the guard wheeled just in time to see a Redskins player dancing in the end zone, his finger pointed skyward. â€Å"I missed it,† the guard grumbled, returning to the window. â€Å"Okay,† he said, returning the license to the chauffeur. â€Å"You're all set.† As the limo pulled through, the guard returned to his TV, hoping for a replay. As Mal'akh drove his limo up the winding access road, he couldn't help but smile. Peter Solomon's secret museum had been simple to breach. Sweeter still, tonight was the second time in twenty-four hours that Mal'akh had broken into one of Solomon's private spaces. Last night, a similar visit had been made to Solomon's home. Although Peter Solomon had a magnificent country estate in Potomac, he spent much of his time in the city at his penthouse apartment at the exclusive Dorchester Arms. His building, like most that catered to the super-rich, was a veritable fortress. High walls. Guard gates. Guest lists. Secured underground parking. Mal'akh had driven this very limousine up to the building's guardhouse, doffed his chauffeur's cap from his shaved head, and proclaimed, â€Å"I have Dr. Christopher Abaddon. He is an invited guest of Mr. Peter Solomon.† Mal'akh spoke the words as if he were announcing the Duke of York. The guard checked a log and then Abaddon's ID. â€Å"Yes, I see Mr. Solomon is expecting Dr. Abaddon.† He pressed a button and the gate opened. â€Å"Mr. Solomon is in the penthouse apartment. Have your guest use the last elevator on the right. It goes all the way up.† â€Å"Thank you.† Mal'akh tipped his hat and drove through. As he wound deep into the garage, he scanned for security cameras. Nothing. Apparently, those who lived here were neither the kind of people who broke into cars nor the kind of people who appreciated being watched. Mal'akh parked in a dark corner near the elevators, lowered the divider between the driver's compartment and the passenger compartment, and slithered through the opening into the back of the limo. Once in back, he got rid of his chauffeur's cap and donned his blond wig. Straightening his jacket and tie, he checked the mirror to make sure he had not smeared his makeup. Mal'akh was not about to take any chances. Not tonight. I have waited too long for this. Seconds later, Mal'akh was stepping into the private elevator. The ride to the top was silent and smooth. When the door opened, he found himself in an elegant, private foyer. His host was already waiting. â€Å"Dr. Abaddon, welcome.† Mal'akh looked into the man's famous gray eyes and felt his heart begin to race. â€Å"Mr. Solomon, I appreciate your seeing me.† â€Å"Please, call me Peter.† The two men shook hands. As Mal'akh gripped the older man's palm, he saw the gold Masonic ring on Solomon's hand . . . the same hand that had once aimed a gun at Mal'akh. A voice whispered from Mal'akh's distant past. If you pull that trigger, I will haunt you forever. â€Å"Please come in,† Solomon said, ushering Mal'akh into an elegant living room whose expansive windows offered an astonishing view of the Washington skyline. â€Å"Do I smell tea steeping?† Mal'akh asked as he entered. Solomon looked impressed. â€Å"My parents always greeted guests with tea. I've carried on that tradition.† He led Mal'akh into the living room, where a tea service was waiting in front of the fire. â€Å"Cream and sugar?† â€Å"Black, thank you.† Again Solomon looked impressed. â€Å"A purist.† He poured them both a cup of black tea. â€Å"You said you needed to discuss something with me that was sensitive in nature and could be discussed only in private.† â€Å"Thank you. I appreciate your time.† â€Å"You and I are Masonic brothers now. We have a bond. Tell me how I can help you.† â€Å"First, I would like to thank you for the honor of the thirty-third degree a few months ago. This is deeply meaningful to me.† â€Å"I'm glad, but please know that those decisions are not mine alone. They are by vote of the Supreme Council.† â€Å"Of course.† Mal'akh suspected Peter Solomon had probably voted against him, but within the Masons, as with all things, money was power. Mal'akh, after achieving the thirty-second degree in his own lodge, had waited only a month before making a multimillion-dollar donation to charity in the name of the Masonic Grand Lodge. The unsolicited act of selflessness, as Mal'akh anticipated, was enough to earn him a quick invitation into the elite thirty-third degree. And yet I have learned no secrets. Despite the age-old whispers–â€Å"All is revealed at the thirty-third degree†Ã¢â‚¬â€œMal'akh had been told nothing new, nothing of relevance to his quest. But he had never expected to be told. The inner circle of Freemasonry contained smaller circles still . . . circles Mal'akh would not see for years, if ever. He didn't care. His initiation had served its purpose. Something unique had happened within that Temple Room, and it had given Mal'akh power over all of them. I no longer play by your rules. â€Å"You do realize,† Mal'akh said, sipping his tea, â€Å"that you and I met many years ago.† Solomon looked surprised. â€Å"Really? I don't recall.† â€Å"It was quite a long time ago.† And Christopher Abaddon is not my real name. â€Å"I'm so sorry. My mind must be getting old. Remind me how I know you?† Mal'akh smiled one last time at the man he hated more than any other man on earth. â€Å"It's unfortunate that you don't recall.† In one fluid motion, Mal'akh pulled a small device from his pocket and extended it outward, driving it hard into the man's chest. There was a flash of blue light, the sharp sizzle of the stun- gun discharge, and a gasp of pain as one million volts of electricity coursed through Peter Solomon's body. His eyes went wide, and he slumped motionless in his chair. Mal'akh stood up now, towering over the man, salivating like a lion about to consume his injured prey. Solomon was gasping, straining to breathe. Mal'akh saw fear in his victim's eyes and wondered how many people had ever seen the great Peter Solomon cower. Mal'akh savored the scene for several long seconds. He took a sip of tea, waiting for the man to catch his breath. Solomon was twitching, attempting to speak. â€Å"Wh-why?† he finally managed. â€Å"Why do you think?† Mal'akh demanded. Solomon looked truly bewildered. â€Å"You want . . . money?† Money? Mal'akh laughed and took another sip of tea. â€Å"I gave the Masons millions of dollars; I have no need of wealth.† I come for wisdom, and he offers me wealth. â€Å"Then what . . . do you want?† â€Å"You possess a secret. You will share it with me tonight.† Solomon struggled to lift his chin so he could look Mal'akh in the eye. â€Å"I don't . . . understand.† â€Å"No more lies!† Mal'akh shouted, advancing to within inches of the paralyzed man. â€Å"I know what is hidden here in Washington.† Solomon's gray eyes were defiant. â€Å"I have no idea what you're talking about!† Mal'akh took another sip of tea and set the cup on a coaster. â€Å"You spoke those same words to me ten years ago, on the night of your mother's death.† Solomon's eyes shot wide open. â€Å"You . . . ?† â€Å"She didn't have to die. If you had given me what I demanded . . .† The older man's face contorted in a mask of horrified recognition . . . and disbelief. â€Å"I warned you,† Mal'akh said, â€Å"if you pulled the trigger, I would haunt you forever.† â€Å"But you're–â€Å" Mal'akh lunged, driving the Taser hard into Solomon's chest again. There was another flash of blue light, and Solomon went completely limp. Mal'akh put the Taser back in his pocket and calmly finished his tea. When he was done, he dabbed his lips with a monogrammed linen napkin and peered down at his victim. â€Å"Shall we go?† Solomon's body was motionless, but his eyes were wide and engaged. Mal'akh got down close and whispered in the man's ear. â€Å"I'm taking you to a place where only truth remains.† Without another word, Mal'akh wadded up the monogrammed napkin and stuffed it into Solomon's mouth. Then he hoisted the limp man onto his broad shoulders and headed for the private elevator. On his way out, he picked up Solomon's iPhone and keys from the hall table. Tonight you will tell me all your secrets, Mal'akh thought. Including why you left me for dead all those years ago.

Poisonwood Bible: Analysis of Ruth May

Point/Purpose: The classic novel The Poisonwood Bible, by Barbara Kingsolver, features, among her three other sisters and mother, Ruth May Price, who is the 5 year old daughter of Reverend Nathan Price, who has been stationed in the Congo for a mission trip in the name of the Baptist Church in the year 1959, a time when many of the racial biases and attitudes toward Africans and women are still prevalent in the US, especially the Prices home state of Georgia.These biases and views have rubbed off on Ruth May, who as a young child absorbs and regurgitates all that she hears and experiences, which is why Ruth May represents the ignorance of some Western views towards the customs and general bias towards anyone with an African background. However, as she is integrated into her new society, Ruth May is able to befriend the entirety of the children in the settlement.Quotation/question: The biased way that Ruth May has been taught to see her future, along with how young and uneducated she is shown when she says, â€Å"Father says a girls can’t go to college because they’ll pour water in your shoes,† (pg 117). The way that Ruth May talks about her own gender and the Africans is very ignorant. Commentary: Ruth May has been affected by her surroundings very dramatically.The way that she thinks about Africans and women in a lesser manner than American men shows makes her situation a perfect example of nature vs.nurture. In this case, Ruth May is a product of her past, and her biased outlook on life is due to the way that she was brought up in the southern United States, which was a hotbed for racism in the early to mid-20th century. This state of mind is not permanent, however. Ruth May is just a child, and it is believed that children’s minds are the most moldable, so even though she had a prejudiced mind Ruth May has changed by hanging around the African kids.Ruth May is not only a character, as she could very well be an attempt by the autho r to show the biased nature of the south in 1959. Ruth May is an innocent result of her father and other men’s prejudice towards women and Africans. Technique: Barbara Kingsolver’s method to defining Ruth May’s character is based on her limited vocabulary and grammar knowledge, along with showing how she is a sponge for information.The way that Ruth May is allowed to be within the vicinity of conversations that the other girls would normally be unable to listen into shows how it is believed that, since she is just a young child, she is unable of making sense of the more mature topics that may be discussed. And this is true for the most part, as Ruth May mostly just simply files away the information that she may have been privy to. The author shows clearly Ruth May’s age along with her innocence and ability to accept information easily by writing from her point of view in the way that it would be expected a 5-year-old would think and act.

Sfl Genre Literature Review

CHAPTER II Travelling Uncharted Waters? REVIEWING THE LITERATURE 2. 1 Introduction: Storm in a teacup This part of my research journey was fraught with anxiety, distress and a sense of being lost. Reviewing the literature became my own storm in a teacup, as I found myself dizzily spiralling, being flung between not knowing on the one side, on the verge of knowing at the other, yet continuously feeling out of control, not being here nor there †¦ caught somewhere between locating, analysing, synthesising and reviewing the expert knowledge.Searching for literature and locating the literature, even with support, was a lonely road. Never have I felt that the more I began to read and know, the less I felt I knew, lost and alone amid so many theories, expert knowledge, data and findings. And so this genre journey became a rumbling of thoughts, ideas and theories to be summarised, referenced and sometimes even violently tossed aside. Reviewing the literature and writing up summaries was a cup of tea, yet I was slowly dissolving, losing my own voice and experiencing a sense of losing of my own identity.In robot-like fashion I found myself speaking and quoting studies done by experts in the field and then became aware of another storm brewing in my teacup: what miniscule contribution could I make? Would I be able to negotiate meaning for an expert audience in this genre field? Would I successfully structure the information according to issues pertinent to my research, and would I be able to identify themes that are linked to my research question?As I attempt to write, my teacup torments and reminds me again that I have become the echoing voice of experts. So during this process I am riding a storm of emotions, wondering whether I will remain a voiceless, writing wanderer, I wonder †¦ Yet, strangely losing my own voice, reminds me of our learners and teachers at school who face so many challenges with this process called writing. Reflecting on my literature, I p ondered putting to practice my knowledge of genre theory and this became one of my storm lanterns. Surely, esearching the merits of such a theory should provide me with tools to deconstruct and conquer this silly storm brewing in my tea cup? And so finally, as I begin to let go, embracing this brewing cup of storm, I am steadfastly sensing that many storm lanterns have and will guide me in finding a way to indicate to an expert audience my ability to identify, search, locate and present a coherent review of the literature. At this point the storm is still brewing, at times even raging, never fully abating but it is becoming lesser in intensity.And so, I am realising that this willy-nilly writing storm brewing in my teacup is someone else’s tornado and maybe both of these could be another writer’s cup of tea. This chapter attempts to draw on literature from genre theory, specifically genre theory based on Systemic Functional Linguistics. Hyland (2002) refers to a genre- based approach to teaching writing as being concerned with what learners do when they write. This includes a focus on language and discourse features of the texts as well as the context in which the text is produced.My primary intention is to explore the literature on different approaches to teaching writing and more specifically in what ways a genre-based approach to teaching writing could facilitate the development of writing skills at a multilingual primary school. 2. 1. 2 Framing the problem Success after school, whether it is at a tertiary institution or in the world of work, is largely dependent on effective literacy skills. To succeed one has to display a range of communicative skills, for example, listening, speaking, reading and writing tasks.But, most importantly, the quality of one’s writing determines access to higher education and well paid jobs in the world of work. In these scenarios, success or entry is dependent on either passing an English writing proficienc y test or on the skill of writing effective reports. However, writing skills are even essential in the most general forms of employment, for example, waitressing necessitates writing down customer orders and working at a switchboard implies taking messages, writing down memos or notes.Therefore, learning to write at school should be synonymous with learning and acquiring the formats and demands of different types of texts necessary in broader society. On this point, Kress (1994) argues that language, social structures and writing are closely linked. The written language taught at school reflects the more affluent social structures and thus the standard written variants are deemed more acceptable by society.However, the kind of writing taught and valued at school , that is, poetry, literature and essays is mastered by a very few learners and the control of written language is in the hands of a relatively few people. As a result of this uneven access to the types of writing valued in society, the ability to use and control the different forms of writing brings about exclusion from the social, economic and political advantages connected with writing proficiency. Consequently, in the push for greater equity and access, writing instruction globally has become a field of increasing interest in recent years.There have been numerous approaches to the teaching of writing in the history of language teaching for English as a first and second language, where first language refers to English mother tongue speakers and second language to learners who have English as a second or an additional language (see Kumaravadivelu, 2006; Hinkel, 2006; Canagarajah, 2006; Celce-Murcia, 1997) Not surprisingly, this magnitude of approaches has resulted in many paradigm shifts in the field of language teaching and in developing countries like South Africa, these international trends, approaches and paradigms shifts impact on local educational trends, as encapsulated in educational policy d ocuments. Ivanic (2004) argues that historically from the 19th and 20th century formal discourses have influenced a great deal of policy and practice in literacy education. Such discourses focused primarily on teaching of formal grammar, patterns and rules for sentence construction (pg 227). As a result, these discourses viewed language as a set of skills to be taught, learnt and mastered, and valued writing that demonstrated knowledge about language such as rules of syntax, sound-symbol relationships and sentence construction.Therefore, those writers that conformed to the correctness of grammar, letter, word, and sentence and text formation were viewed as competent writers. Furthermore, Dullay, Burt and Krashen (1982) state that the earliest work in the teaching of writing was based on the concept of controlled or guided composition and that language was seen as something that could be meaningfully visualised in taxonomies and rationalised into tables arranged across the two-dimens ional space of the textbook page. This focus on the conscious acquisition of rules and forms meant that teachers were focusing on parts of speech, demanding standards of correctness, and being prescriptive about what were ostensibly language facts.However, such an approach was found to be extremely limited because it did not necessarily produce speakers who were able to communicate successfully. Therefore, although learners might master the lists, structures and rules, this might not lead to the development of language fluency or to the ability to transfer such knowledge into coherent, cohesive and extended pieces of writing in school or beyond it. During the late 1970s more functional approaches developed. These were more concerned with what students can do with language, for example, meeting the practical demands in different contexts such as the workplace and other domains. Examples of writing tasks included filling out job applications, preparing for interviews, and writing appl ications.However, these involved minimal writing other than completing short tasks ‘designed to reinforce particular grammar points or language functions’ (Auerbach, 1999: 1). Moreover, such tasks were taught in classrooms and out of context of issues that could emerge in real contexts. As the limitations of a formalist approach to language teaching became increasingly obvious, teachers and researchers turned to a more process-oriented methodology. This focused more on the writing process than on the product and advocated expressive self-discovery from the learner/writer through a process approach to writing. Such a writing approach ‘focus[ed] on meaningful communication for learner-defined purposes’ (Auerbach, 1999:2).As a result, the learner is taken as the point of departure, and goes through a process of drafting, editing and redrafting; the teacher’s role is less prescriptive, allowing learners to be self-expressive and explore how to write. As such, the process approach won favour with those who were of the opinion that controlled composition was restrictive, viewing a liberal-progressive approach as more suited for first language classrooms (Paltridge, 2004). This approach was taken up by researchers interested in Second Language Acquisition (see Krashen, 1981; Ellis, 1984; Nunan, 1988), and in second language classes learners were also encouraged to develop ideas, draft, review and then write final drafts.On the other hand, Caudery (1995) argues that little seems to have been done to develop a process approach specifically for second language classes. Therefore, it appeared that the same principles should apply as for first language learners, for example, the use of peer and teacher commentary along with individual teacher-learner conferences, with minimal direction given by the teacher who allows learners to discover their voices as they continue through the writing process. This lack of direction was highlighted by re search in different contexts carried out by Caudery (1995) with practising teachers of second language writing. Based on questionnaires, findings showed that teachers in second language classes had differing perceptions and methods of implementing a process approach.This could however be ascribed to the different contexts that these second language teachers found themselves in, for example, large classes and different ways of assessing writing. One finding of the study was that teachers could easily dilute the process of writing into disconnected stages where both L2 learners and teachers could perceive it as steps to be followed towards an end product. As a result, the writing process became viewed as a means to an end. In addition, learners understood the process but did not explicitly learn the language features associated with different types of writing. A third approach that has gained prominence in recent decades is the socio-cultural practices approach which seeks to affirm t he culturally specific literacy practices that learners bring with them to school.Social practice advocates argue that literacy is not a universal, solely cognitive process but that literacy varies from context to context and culture to culture (Street, 1984, Barton, Hamilton & Ivanic, 2000). As a result, if literacy varies from context to context and culture to culture, then it follows that learners would bring to school different ways of writing. Accordingly, educators in multilingual classrooms should value learners’ cultural knowledge and ways of writing or use them as a bridge to new learning (Auerbach, 1999). Furthermore, the manner in which writing is taught transmits profound ideas to learners about who they are, what is entailed in the process of writing, and what they can do with writing.Therefore, the way in which writing is taught and learnt is a powerful tool for shaping the identities of learners and teachers in schools (ibid, 1999). Proponents of a fourth appro ach, the genre-based approach, have argued that both the socio-cultural and the process approaches to teaching writing result in learners being excluded from opportunities and that these approaches are in fact disempowering them (Delpit, 1998, Martin & Rose, 2005). They contend that certain domains, contexts and cultures yield more power than others and that if learners tell their stories, find their voices and celebrate their cultures; this is not enough for them to gain access to these more powerful domains.Therefore they suggest that learners should be empowered through access to writing the discourses of power, focusing on culture, context and text. Such approaches also enable an analysis of how identities, cultures, gender and power relations in society are portrayed in texts. Genre research done in Australia (see Disadvantaged Schools Project Research, 1973) where the additional language is the medium of instruction for aboriginal learners had major educational rewards for tea chers and learners participating in the project. Singapore too moved towards a text-based approach with the introduction of their 2001 English Language Syllabus (Kramer-Dhal, 2008).This approach has paid dividends for the Singapore education system, for example, continuous improvement in examination scores and achievements in international league tables, compared to the learners’ past underachievement in literacy tests (see PIRLS 2001, Singapore results) and this is maintained in the 2006 PIRLS testing of literacy and reading. The next section will draw on literature from genre theory, providing a brief overview of the notion of genre and how it has evolved as a concept. Then, literature on three different scholarly genre traditions New Rhetoric Studies, English for Academic Purposes and Systemic Functional Linguistics and their different educational contexts, purposes and research paradigms is explored and discussed. However this chapter mainly investigates literature relati ng to the Systemic FunctionalLinguistic perspective on genre, the history of genre theory and research done in Australia, the implications for schools and classrooms and how genre theory has impacted on the pedagogy of teaching literacy in disadvantaged multilingual settings. A brief overview focusing on critiques of Systemic Functional Linguistics is also provided. 2. 2 Defining Genre Johns (2002) argues that the term ‘genre’ is not new and cites Flowerdew and Medway (1994) who state that for more than a century genre has been defined as written texts that are primarily literary, that are recognised by textual regularities in form and content, are fixed and permanent and can be classified into exclusive categories and sub-categories. However, a major paradigm shift has occurred in relation to notions and definitions of genre, and texts are now viewed as purposeful, situated and ‘repeated’ (Miller, 1984).These characteristics mean that genres have a specifi c purpose in our social world, that they are situated in a specific cultural context and that they are the result of repeated actions reflected in texts. Similarly, Hyland (2004) defines genre as grouping texts that display similar characteristics, representing how writers use language to respond to similar contexts. Martin and Rose (2002) place more emphasis on the structure of genre, seeing it as a ‘staged, goal oriented social process. Social because we participate in genres with other people; goal oriented because we use genres to get things done; staged because it usually takes us a few steps to reach our goals’ (pg 7). 2. 2. 1 An Old Concept revisitedAs stated above, traditionally the concept of ‘genre’ has been used to define and classify literary texts such as drama, poetry and novels in the fields of arts, literature and the media Breure (2001). For example, a detective story, a novel or a diary are each regarded as belonging to a different genre. In recent years interest in the concept of genre as a tool for developing first language and second language instruction has increased tremendously (Paltridge, 2004; Hyon, 1996; Johns, 2002). In second language writing pedagogy in particular much interest has been focused on raising language students’ schematic awareness of genres as the route to genre and writing development (Hyon 1996; Cope & Kalantzis, 1993; Johns, 2002; Paltridge 2004).However there are various theoretical camps and their different understanding of genre reveals the intellectual tensions that are inherently part of the concept (Johns, 2002). These intellectual tensions arise from the divergent theoretical understandings of whether genre theory is grounded in language and text structure or whether it stems fundamentally from social theories of context and community. Hyon (1996) argues for three schools of thought: Systemic Functional Linguistics, New Rhetoric Studies and English for Academic Purposes where as Flowerdew (2002) divides theoretical camps into two groups: linguistic and non-linguistic approaches to genre theory. Genre, in short, continues to be ‘a controversial topic, though never a dull one’ (Kay & Dudley-Evans, 1998:308).I have chosen to follow Hyon’s (1996) classification for reviewing the genre literature because this classification makes it easier to highlight the similarities and differences in definitions, purposes and contexts, and allows for a greater understanding of various approaches to genre in three research traditions. As a result, three schools of thought New Rhetoric Studies, English for Academic Purposes and Systemic Functional Linguistics and their approaches to genre will be discussed. 2. 3 The Three Schools of Thought During the last two decades, a number of researchers who were disillusioned with process approaches to teaching writing saw genre as a tool to develop both first language and second language instruction (Hyon, 1996; J ohns, 2002; Feez, 2002).Hyon (1996) in her analysis of ‘Genre in Three Traditions and the implications for ESL’ argues that three dominant schools of thought, English for Specific Purposes, North American New Rhetoric Studies and Australian Systemic Linguistics have resulted in different approaches, definitions and classroom pedagogies of genre (see also Hyland 1996, 2002, & 2004). As Cope and Kalantzis (1993: 2) put it, ‘†¦ genre has the potential to mean many things to many people’. Paltridge (2002) calls it a ‘murky issue’. An understanding of the theoretical roots, analytical approaches and educational contexts of the different schools of thought is thus essential. 2. 3. 1 New Rhetoric Studies Genre Theories The first school of thought is the New Rhetoric approach to genre (Dias & Pare, 2000; Dias, Freedman, Medway, & Pare, 1999) which recognises the importance of contexts and the social nature of genres but it is rooted in Bakhtinâ₠¬â„¢s notion of dialogism.This notion of dialogism means that language is realised through utterances and these utterances exist in response to things that have been said before and in anticipation of things that will be said in response, and thus language does not occur in a vacuum (Adams & Artemeva, 2002). As a result, genre is a social phenomenon born by the specific goals and circumstances of interaction between people. Therefore, advocates of New Rhetoric Studies argue that genres are dynamic, relational and engaged in a process of endless utterances and re-utterances (Johns, 2002). As such, the focus of this theoretical camp is on the communicative function of language. Consequently, their perspective on genre is not primarily informed by a linguistic framework but draws on post-modern social literary theories.Accordingly, for these proponents, understanding genres involves not only a description of their lexico-grammatical format and rhetorical patterns but that also that gen re is ‘embedded in the communicative activities of the members of a discipline’ (Berkenkotter & Hucklin, 1995:2). This view of genre as a flexible instrument in the hands of participants within a community of practice has meant that the use of text in the classroom situation has not been a major focus (Johns, 2002). Theorists concentrate on how ‘expert’ users manipulate genres for social purposes and how such genres can promote the interest and values of a particular social group in a historical and/or institutional context. ContextHyon (1996:698) states that, as with English for Specific Purposes (ESP), genre teaching within this framework is predominantly concerned with first language university students and novice professionals. It is concerned with helping first language students become more successful readers and writers of academic and workplace texts. Unlike, ESP and SFL, therefore the New Rhetoric Studies refers to first language development. One co nsequence of this is that their focus is much less concerned with formal classroom instruction. Purpose The focus of writing in this framework is thus on making students aware of the contexts and social functions of the genres in which they engage (Bazerman, 1988) and not on their formal trimmings.Proponents view genres as complex, dynamic, ever changing, and therefore not amenable to explicit teaching (Johns, 2002; Coe, 2004; Cope & Kalantzis, 1993). They argue that it is through understanding of context that students can become more successful readers and writers of genres. 2. 3. 2 English for Specific Purposes Genre Theories The second major school of thought in relation to genre is English for Specific Purposes (ESP). The potential to perform competently in a variety of diverse genres is frequently a pivotal concern for English second language learners since it can be a determining factor in admission to higher paid career opportunities, higher educational studies, positive iden tities and life choices.As a result, ESP theorists ‘scrutinise the organisation and meaning of texts, the demands placed by the workplace or academic contexts on communicative behaviours and the pedagogic practices by which these behaviours can be developed’ (Hyon, 1996). Advocates of this paradigm are concerned with genre as a device for understanding and teaching the types of texts required of second language English speakers in scholarly and specialized contexts (Bhatia, 1993; Flowerdew, 1993; Gosden, 1992; Hopkins & Dudley-Evans, 1988; Swales, 1990). They propose that genre pedagogy could assist non-native speakers of English to master the functions and linguistic conventions that they need to read and write in disciplines at higher institutions and in related professions.According to Paltridge (2004), ESP genre studies are predominantly based on John Swales’s (1981, 1990) work on the discourse structure and linguistic features of scientific reports. Swalesâ €™s work had a strong influence in the teaching of ESP and more so on the teaching of academic writing to non-native English graduate students at higher institutions. Swales (1990) defines genre as ‘a class of communicative events with some shared set of communicative purposes and a range of patterns concerning structure’ (pg 68) Furthermore, Swales argues that the communicative purpose of a particular genre is recognised by members of the discourse community, who in ‘turn establish the constraints on what is generally acceptable in terms of content, positioning and format’ (Paltridge, 2004:11). ContextGiven the focus on scientific and other kinds of academic writing within this framework, genre teaching occurs mostly at universities teaching English for academic purposes and in English classes for specific writing needs, such as professional communication, business writing, and other workplace-related writing needs. However, Hyon (1996) argued that, at the time of writing, many ESP researchers had managed to present their descriptions of genres as useful discourse models but had failed to propose how this content could be used in classroom models. For example, Dudley-Evans and Hopkins presented their analysis of cyclical move patterns in scientific master’s dissertations as a teaching and learning resource but did not describe how this model could be converted into materials, tasks and activities in the classroom (Johns, 2002). Purpose As the focus of this theoretical camp is on international students atEnglish-medium universities in Britain and abroad, their focus is on demystifying rather than on social or political empowerment (Paltridge, 2004). Due to the concern in this paradigm with English for academic and professional purposes, they focus on the formal aspects of text analysis. In fact, many ESP researchers particularly emphasise the teaching of genre structures and grammatical features (Hyon, 1996) or ‘moves ’ in texts as to referred by Swales (1990). The purpose of genre teaching in this framework is therefore on teaching students the formal staged, qualities of genres so that they can recognise these features in the texts they read and then use them in the texts they write, thus providing access to ‘English language academic discourse communities’ (Paltridge, 2004:16).As a result, in their approach to textual analysis ESP theorist have paid specific attention to formal elements of genres and focused less on the specialised functions of texts and their social contexts (Hyon, 1996). 2. 3. 3 Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) Genre Theories This underplaying of the social context is taken up by the third school of thought, Systemic Functional Linguistics, which analyses the formal features of text in relation to language function in social context. SFL, referred to as ‘the Australian school’ in the United States of America, is rooted in the theoretical work of Halliday (Halliday, 1985; Halliday & Hasan, 1989; Johns, 2002). As a result, this theoretical camp is based on systemic functional linguistics and semiotics from which emerged the register-theory (Breure, 2001).Halliday developed his linguistic theory in order to give an account of the ways in which the English language functions as social practice (Halliday, 1985; Hasan & Halliday, 1989). As a result, this theoretical paradigm focuses on the systemic function of language from which choices are made to convey meaning within a specific context and with a specific purpose. Therefore, proponents within this framework propose that when a series of texts have similar purposes, they will probably have similar structures and language features. They are thus grouped as the same genre. Building on the work of Halliday, the idea of Systemic Functional Linguistics as a basis for language teaching emerged from the work of theorists such as Martin (1989, 1992).Christie (1991) and Rother y (1996) made attempts to take genre and grammar analysis a step further by providing and expanding scaffolds which bridge systemically between grammar and genre. They argue that texts need to be analysed as more than just mere sequences of clauses and that text analysis should focus on how language reveals or obscures social reality. Such an analysis can illuminate the ways in which language is used to construct social reality. Educational Context Cope and Kalantzis (1993) state that genre-based teaching started in Sydney as an ‘educational experiment’. The reason is, because by 1980, it seemed clear that the newly introduced progressive curriculum did not achieve the educational outcomes that it professed to (pg 1).As a result, researchers became interested in the types of writing and texts that learners in primary schools were expected to write as part of the process approach (Martin, 1989, 1991). These researchers were concerned that learners were not being prepared to write a wide enough range of texts needed for schooling, for example, findings showed that teachers mostly favoured narratives and recounts. So, genre-based research has predominantly been conducted at primary and secondary schools although it has also begun to include adult migrant English education as well as workplace training programmes (Adult Migrant Education service, 1992). As a result, in the Australian framework, the efforts of research are mostly centred on child and adolescent contexts unlike their ESP and New Rhetoric counterparts (Drury & Webb, 1991).A group of researchers in the late 1980’s started the Literacy in Education Research Network (LERN) (Cope, Kalantzis, Kress & Martin, 1993:239). Their aim was to develop an instructional approach to address the inadequacies of the process approach for teaching writing. For researchers in this paradigm, learners at school need explicit induction into the genres of power if they want to participate in mainstream te xtual and social processes both within and beyond the school (Macken-Horarik, 1996). Those learners who are at risk of failing fare better within a visible curriculum and this applies particularly to learners for whom the medium of instruction in not a home language. PurposeSystemic genre analysts contend that genre pedagogy should focus on language at the level of whole texts and should also take into account the social and cultural contexts in which texts are used (Martin, 1985, Rose & Martin, 2005). Furthermore, genres are viewed as social processes because ‘†¦ texts are patterned in reasonably predictable ways according to patterns of social interaction in a particular culture’ (Cope and Kalantzis, 1993:6). Consequently, SFL genre approaches see social purpose, language and context as interrelated in texts. Textual patterns reflect social conventions and interactions and these are executed through language.Therefore, genre teaching should move from linguistic d escription to an explanation and an understanding of why texts are shaped the way they are and how they achieve their particular goals (Paltridge, 2004). As a result, the basic principle underlying all such language approaches is that learners must learn not only to make grammatically correct statements about their world, but also develop the ability to use the language to get things done. The purpose of the Australian framework is to assist learners at school become more successful readers and writers of academic, school and workplace texts (Hyon,1996). Their goal is to help primary and secondary school learners ‘participate effectively in the school curriculum and the broader community’ (Callaghan 1991:72).Their focus is on learners learning to write in English as a second language and the challenges these learners might experience when writing and learning in a language that is not their mother tongue. Therefore they argue for explicit teaching through a cycle that à ¢â‚¬Ëœmodels and makes explicit the dominant forms of writing or text types valued in schools’ (Gibbons, 2002:52). Writing in an American context of disadvantaged students, Delpit (1998) strongly argues for the teaching of the genres of power, stating that if a learner is not already part of the culture of power, explicitly teaching the rules of this culture through genre makes access easier.Consequently, research on genre theory has been both politically and pedagogically motivated: a pedagogical project motivated by the political project of allowing equal access to social, economic and political benefits of Australian society through an explicit and visible literacy curriculum (Kress, 1993). As a result, Australia is often referred to as the place in which practitioners have been most successful in applying genre theory and research to pedagogy (Johns, 2002). My intention is to explore the use of SFL genre-based teaching as an alternative approach to teaching writing in gra de six at a multilingual primary school. However, approaches to research and pedagogy of SFL have not been accepted without critiques.These critiques originate from advocates of progressive literacy approaches (Lankshear & Knobel, 2000) and also from within genre camps practicing genre theory from different theoretical understandings. In the next section, I provide details of these critiques and a personal response to each critique. 2. 4 Critiques of genre of SFL There have been many critiques of SFL genre-based approaches, as mentioned in the previous section. Here I discuss three of the most telling: liberal progressive critiques, socio-cultural practice theorist critiques, and critical discourse analysts’ critiques about teaching the genres of power. The liberal progressivists claim that genre literacy entails a revival of transmission pedagogy.It seems to mean learning formal ‘language facts’ again. It is sometimes claimed that genre literacy teaching is foun ded on a pedagogy that will lead us back to the bad old days of authoritarian classrooms where some students found the authority congenial and succeeded, while others found the authority uncongenial and failed (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993). However, in contrast to transmission approaches which often treated texts in isolation and grammar as separate and external from the text, a genre-based approach views texts as closely linked to social context and uses linguistic analysis to unpack the choices that are made for social purposes. Rather than unthinkingly replicating rules, learners are ssisted towards conscious control and can be encouraged to exercise creativity and flexibility on an informed basis. The ‘authority’ provided acts as a scaffold and is gradually withdrawn, thus shifting responsibility towards the learner. A second major critique has been raised by social practice theorists such as Lave and Wenger (1991) whose research focus is from a situated learning perspec tive. These advocates of situated learning view genres as too complex and diverse to be detached from their original contexts and taught in a non-natural milieu such as the classroom context. Also, they argue that learning occurs through engaging with authentic real world tasks and that learning to write genres arises from a need in a specific context.Therefore, in authentic settings, writing involves the attainment of larger objectives, which often involve non-linguistic features, and thus the disjuncture between situations of use and situations of learning is unbridgeable. However, although this theory offers a persuasive account of how learning takes place through apprenticeship and mastery roles, especially how an apprentice becomes a fully literate member of a disciplinary work group, it does not propose a clear role for writing teachers in the language classroom (Hyland, 2004). In a SFL genre approach by contrast, the selection of topics and texts can highlight how cultures ar e portrayed as either negative or positive.It can help learners become aware of how language choices in texts are bound up with social purposes (Lankshear & Knobel, 2000). This awareness is necessary for entry into intellectual communities or social discourses and practices, and can help make learning relevant, appropriate and applicable to the context in and outside of the classroom. It can also include a critical element as it provides learners with a linguistic framework to analyse and critique texts. A final important critique is that teaching of the genres of power will not automatically lead to social and economic access in a fundamentally unequal society (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993).While this may be true, the consequences of not teaching these genres could lead to English second language speakers’ from poor working class backgrounds being disadvantaged in perpetuity. The discourses of scientists, doctors and lawyers, for example, are often incomprehensible and obscure, de nying access to many, particularly second English language speakers and those not familiar with the conventions of their associated genres. These social exclusions are marked linguistically (Cope and Kalantzis, 1993). Therefore, SFL genre theorists’ notion of genres as textual interventions could provide access and equity to those not familiar with a particular discourse in society.Consequently, genre teaching in this framework has the intention of empowering disadvantaged and underprivileged students by providing them with the linguistic resources to critically analyse and become more proficient writers of different text types, thus potentially providing access to the socio-economic and political domains currently denied to many learners at schools. A related point is that a genre-based approach runs the risk of reproducing the status quo (Luke, 1996). However, a genre approach should be able to include issues of inequality and power relations in the teaching context by adop ting a critical education theoretical perspective, which strives to unveil existing deep-rooted ideologies within society with the intention of empowering students to question and change the status quo.If teachers are made aware of such aspects in texts, how meaning is constructed and negotiated in texts, and how this shapes our thinking about the world, they might be able to raise awareness and consciousness about power inequalities through the development of effective critical literacy skills in English additional language classes. At the same time, ‘functional ways of talking and thinking about language facilitate critical analysis’ (Hyland, 2004: 42). As a result, it may assist learners to distinguish texts as constructs that can be debated in relatively accurate and explicit ways, thus becoming aware that texts could be analysed, evaluated, critiqued, deconstructed and reconstructed. Such awareness is crucial for further education or academic studies at higher inst itutions of learning. Thus a genre-based approach to teaching writing might bridge the gap between writing required at school and the academic writing skills essential for undergraduate studies.Having sketched the broad parameters of the three main approaches to genre and how genre approaches have developed in different ways and with different underlying goals, I now focus in greater detail on the Australian Framework. This approach appears to offer the greatest scope for South African contexts given its intention to provide equity and access to social and economic spheres in society, which is also a central principle of the South African Constitution (1994) and C2005. Furthermore, the focus on English second language learning contexts and aboriginal learners from disadvantaged, poor working class communities is similar to learners from disadvantaged communities who learn mostly through a medium of instruction which is not their home language.Another important reason for focusing on this approach is that this genre-based approach could inform the teaching of writing and future teacher training frameworks that aim to improve the literacy outcomes of learners in the intermediate phase in South African contexts. 2. 5 A Closer look at The Australian Framework It was Michael Halliday (1975) a professor of Linguistics at the University of Sydney, who was the founding father of systemic functional linguistics (SFL) and provided the catalyst for the development of genre theory in Australia (Cope and Kalantzis, 1993). Halliday and his theory of systemic functional linguistics introduced the theme of ‘learning language, learning through language, learning about language’ (Cope and Kalantzis, 1993:231).As discussed above, SFL focuses on language and how it functions or is used in cultural and situational contexts and argues that language can be described or realised by means of a framework comprising cultural context, situational context and linguistic featu res. The Australian framework is therefore rooted in a text-context model of language (Lankshear &Knobel, 2000; Gibbons 2002; Derewianka 2003). Furthermore, SFL interprets the context of situation and the context of culture as two interrelated domains (Christie & Unsworth 2000). The context of situation is the immediate context in which language is used. However this context of situation can vary in different cultures and as such it is culture-specific.This situational context is described in three main categories of semantic resources, field, mode and tenor, and collectively this is referred to as the register of a text (Lankshear & Knobel, 2000) The field describes the subject-matter of the social activity, its content or topic; tenor focuses on the nature of the relationships among the people involved; mode refers to ‘medium and role of language in the situation’ (Martin, 1997: 10) Therefore, it is the register (field, tenor and mode) which influences how language is used because it provides the social purpose of the text through answering ‘what is going on, who is taking part, the role language is playing’ (Martin & Rothery, 1993: 144). Hence, SFL explores the relationship between language and its social functions.The earliest work on applying this framework to education was carried out by Martin and two of his students Rothery and Christie who started a research project in 1978 using the field, tenor and mode framework to analyse writing produced in schools (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993; Kress, 1993). In 1980 Martin and Rothery examined student writing that had been collected over numerous years (Cope and Kalantzis, 1993). Their findings indicated that most school valued texts were short and limited to a few genres for example, labelling, observation, reports, recounts and narratives, with observations and recounts being the dominant genres (pg 233). Furthermore, they found that the texts produced in textbooks lacked development, even within story genres, were extremely gendered, and irrelevant to the needs of the community or secondary schools.They then developed the hypothesis that genres at schools should be explicitly taught by teachers. This research resulted in the development of a curriculum cycle providing scaffolding and explicit teaching through setting the field, deconstructing a text, modelling writing, jointly constructing a new text and culminating with individual writing (Macken-Horarik, 1998; Feez; 2002; Paltridge, 2004; Cope & Kalantzis, 1993; Martin& Francis, 1984). Building field and setting context is critical to each phase of the cycle and this refers to a range of activities which build up content for the genre and knowledge about the contexts in which it is deployed (Martin & Rose, 2000).In this way, learners move from everyday, common sense knowledge towards technical, specialist subject knowledge, and are gradually inducted into the discourse and field knowledge of school subjects. As a r esult, this approach can strengthen and promote learning language and about language across the curriculum. The logic of the curriculum cycle is based on the notion of ‘scaffolding’. Hammond (2000) and Gibbons (2002) refer to this as ‘scaffolding language’ based on Vygotsky’s (1976) zone of proximal development (Derewianka, 2003). In this process the teacher takes a more direct role in the initial phase, with the learner in the role of apprentice. As the learner develops greater control of the genre, the teacher gradually withdraws support and encourages learner independence (Derewianka, 2003).Therefore, genre literacy has the intention to reinstate the teacher as professional, as expert on language, whose role in the classroom should be authoritative but not authoritarian as opposed to the teacher as facilitator in more progressive teaching models (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993). As a result, the curriculum cycle and its scaffolding approach could be valua ble in activating the schemata of English second language learners as opposed to a context where English teaching approaches are traditional and narrow. Such approaches could have negative educational impacts on disadvantaged learners. 2. 6 The Disadvantaged Schools Programme Luke and Kale (1989:127) argue that monolingual and monocultural practices permeated official language and education planning in Australia prior 1970. Similar to South African apartheid policies, Australia practiced a ‘White Australian Policy’ (Luke & Kale, 1989:127).However, in the early 1970s the Australian government recognised that aboriginals and islander learners should be integrated into mainstream schools (Luke & Kale, 1989). As a result, the need to acknowledge Aboriginal and migrant languages became a priority in educational policies. Furthermore, Diane Russell (2002) states that up to 1967 very few Aboriginal students in South Australia entered secondary school unless they were wards of the state and, given this history of disadvantage, much of the literature about the education of Aboriginal students since then refers to the poor retention and attainment rate of Aboriginal students compared to their non-Aboriginal peers.As a result, the Disadvantaged Schools Programme (DSP), an initiative of the Interim Committee of the Schools Commission (1973), was initiated to reduce the effects of poverty on learners at school (McKenzie, 1990) and participation was based on the social and economic conditions of the community from which the school draws its learners. Thus the intention of the DSP was to improve the learning outcomes of learners from educationally disadvantaged backgrounds in Australia to increase their life choices (Randell, 1979). Therefore, a fundamental aim of the DSP was to equip disadvantaged learners with power, through education, to enter and share fully in the benefits of society as a matter of social justice.Furthermore, a majority of Aboriginal people grow up in homes where Standard Australian English is at most a second dialect, sometimes first encountered on the first day of school. Accordingly, accepting the language children bring to school and using that to build competence in Standard Australian English is the ‘key to improving the performance of Aboriginal students’ (www. daretolead. edu. au). Genre theorists have been concerned with equitable outcomes, thus discourses of generation, ethnicity and class have been a preoccupation. These theorists argued that progressive pedagogies were marginalising working-class Aborigine and other disadvantaged learners (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993).For Burns (1990) progressive curriculum approaches led to a confusing array of approaches and methodologies and failed to provide a well-formulated theory of language. Further, Cope (1989) argued that an ‘authoritative’ pedagogy for the 1990s was needed to replace the progressive curriculum of the mid-1970s as this had ne glected to make explicit to learners the knowledge they need to gain to access socially powerful forms of language. Due to the above kinds of debates in the SFL genre theory camp, a literacy consultant, Mike Callaghan, working with the DSP in Sydney, decided that SFL might be a viable theory and this resulted in the Language and Social Power Project.Teachers who were disillusioned with progressive teaching methods became eagerly involved in this project (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993). Additionally, Cope and Kalantzis (1993) report that teachers discovered that genre theory did not dismantle all the progressive language approaches; in fact, it enhanced progressive language teaching and highlighted that there is a social purpose in writing. This, however, meant teachers’ knowledge and skills about language in social contexts had to be developed through extensive in-service training and in-class support 2. 7 Research originating from the Disadvantaged Schools Programme Scholars like M artin and Rothery (1986) began to analyse texts using SFL theory.This took the form of linguistic analysis with each text being deconstructed into its structural features, or schematic phases, and then being analysed for its typical language features. Most of these projects aimed to link theory and practice (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993). As a result, teachers gained knowledge and an ability to critically analyse the texts that they used in practice. Research identified factual genres such as reports, expositions, discussions, recounts, explanations, and procedures, which could be used in classrooms. Furthermore, as this project progressed, the data were translated into classroom practice using a pedagogical model developed by project members that resulted in a major breakthrough for the classroom, that is, the curriculum cycle or the teaching and learning cycle (Callaghan & Rothery, 1988).The National Centre for English Language Teaching and Research was commissioned in 1990 to evaluate the effectiveness of projects like the Language and Social Power Project and was asked to report on improvements in learner writing as well as on the impact of genre pedagogy on teachers’ knowledge of the social function of language and their ability to assess the effectiveness of learners’ writing (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993). The findings of the report highlighted an ‘overwhelmingly’ positive response from participating teachers (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993). Teachers praised the in-service and the in-class support of the demonstration lessons as well as the backup support material, both printed and audio-visual. Furthermore, in terms of evaluating the learners’ written texts, it was found that learners from participating schools wrote a broader range of genres, that these included more factual texts, and that these learners had a higher success rate than learners from non-participating schools (Cope & Kalantzis, 1993). 2. 9 SFL and the School Writing Curr iculumKress (1994) states that until recently ‘writing has been regarded as an alternative medium of language, giving permanence to utterances’ (pg 7) and attention on writing was thus focussed on mechanical aspects. However, increasing evidence indicates that speech and writing have distinct grammatical and syntactic organisation, and further that writing and speaking occur in distinct social settings which have significant effects on the syntactic and textual structures of speech and writing (Kress, 1993). Literacy in many Western schools presupposes that learners have developed spoken language skills in the relevant language but this may not be the case for second language learners (Gibbons, 2004).As a result, these learners would have even more to learn about writing because learners initially use their knowledge about spoken language to bridge the divide between speaking and writing (Kress 1994). The school writing curriculum and its teachers are then powerful in d eveloping or hindering the writing development of learners in primary school. As discussed above, writing curricula drawing from progressive theories which stress the process of writing over content, see the teacher as a facilitator of writing, and no focus on linguistic rules for speaking or writing could result in English second language learners being denied access to development as writers. Therefore, writing curricula which focus on the teaching of genre are potentially powerful in that they could provide ‘generic power’ to learners. Power to use, interpret, exploit and innovate generic forms is the function of generic knowledge which is accessible only to members of disciplinary communities’ (Bhatia, 2003:67). Accordingly, the teaching of SFL genre approaches and their linguistic frameworks could provide a scaffold for English second language learners to be inducted into social contexts, purposes and linguistic features of both spoken and written dominant d iscourses. Such approaches might lead towards opportunities for equity and access for non-native speakers of English. A writing curriculum rooted in genre theory would have implications for the classroom and the next section discusses some of these implications for pedagogy. 2. 9. 1 SFL Genre in the classroomThe teaching of genre in the classroom requires explicit teaching of language at text level and of the interdependence of language use and context (Paltridge, 2004). Halliday and Hasan (1985) state that SFL deals with language in context: ‘The context of situation, the context in which the text unfolds, is encapsulated in the text, not in a kind of piecemeal fashion, not in the other extreme in a mechanical way, but through a systemic relationship between the social environment on the hand, and the functional organisation of language on the other. If we treat both text and context as semiotic phenomena, as modes of meaning, so to speak, we can get from one to the other in a revealing way. ’ (Pgs 11-12)Such an approach implies that language teachers in primary and secondary schools should not only have English subject knowledge but also understand and have knowledge of linguistically informed genre-based literacy pedagogy. 2. 10 Conclusion This chapter has provided an overview of the three main schools of thought in relation to genre and then focused in more detail on the theoretical perspective which seems to offer the most productive insights for the South African context, Systemic Functional Linguistics. The next chapter describes the methodology I used to investigate the potential of such an approach in one primary school. Bibliography Adams, C. & Artemeva. N. (2002).Writing Instruction in English for Academic (EAP) classes: Introducing second language learners to the Academic Community. In M. 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The Total Patient Care Model of Nursing Delivery Research Paper

The Total Patient Care Model of Nursing Delivery - Research Paper Example The paper tells that models of nursing care constitute the procedures and structural representations that illustrate the flow of the health care operations. Models of nursing care support high-quality services that patients receive in the healthcare centers. Models of patient care provide nurses with theories about people, health, patients’ environment, and the role of the nurse in the treatment process. The availability of various models allows nurses to select the care model that best reflects the area of their work and the group in which the client is suited. According to Mueller & Savik, the models of patient care are necessary because they help nurses to plan patient-care services; proper planning is the critical element of ensuring quality and efficiency in the care process. Models of patient care enhance the way in which nurses assess and deliver treatment services to patients. The patient-care models may involve costs and time; despite this, novice nurses to develop th eir own patient-care models to enhance the quality of their services. Total patient care is a method of delivering nursing care to patients, which involves a registered nurse being held totally accountable and responsible for providing all care received by the patient during their eight-hour shift. The model of total patient care was developed to enhance the cost, convenience, personal qualities and professional competency of the of care providers.... nt care is a method of delivering nursing care to patients, which involves a registered nurse being held totally accountable and responsible for providing all care received by the patient during their eight-hour shift (Fairbrother, Jones & Rivas, 2010). The model of total patient care was developed to enhance the cost, convenience, personnel qualities and professional competency of the of care providers. Care is the nursing attention that nurses provide to patients, including medication administration, meeting the biological needs of patients, and satisfying the psychological needs of the patients. The system of total patient care was developed as an alternative to primary care after the achievement of registering enough nurses to implement primary nursing. The model was developed through team nursing to combat fragmentation of the nursing care. Description of the Total Patient Care Model The model of total patient care is commonly used in Intensive Care Units (ICU) and Postanestheti c Care Units (PACU). Under the model of total patient care, licensed practical or registered nurses replace the nursing team who give total care to a group of patients. The nurse providing care is held accountable and responsible for the health care progress of one patient (Dubois, D'Amour, Tchouaket, Rivard, Clarke & Blais, 2012). The nurse is also responsible for planning, organizing, coordinating, and performing total care to the patients. Total patient care is one of the oldest models; the students of nursing typically performed this model in their vocational training. The registered nurse is responsible for all the care provided to a patient during a specific shift. The standard time for any shift is eight hours. The shifts are organized in such a way that there are three nurses

Behaviour therapy is an effective but not sufficient factor in CBT Essay

Behaviour therapy is an effective but not sufficient factor in CBT - Essay Example Some instances of such models can be cited as theories of normal and abnormal development, and theories of emotion and psychopathology. In fact Fenton (2007) gives out a very understandable description of the entire concept of CBT by breaking it into member components of cognitive and behavioural therapies as follows," Quite simply, cognitive-behavioral therapy or CBT is a combination of two kinds of therapy: cognitive and behavioral. In behavioral therapy, people learn how to change behavior. You may have already heard of the most common behavioral techniques used in the treatment of anxiety disorders: desensitization, relaxation and breathing exercises. Cognitive therapy focuses on thoughts, assumptions and beliefs. With cognitive therapy, people may learn to recognize and change faulty or maladaptive thinking patterns. Cognitive therapy is not about "positive thinking" in the sense that you must always think happy thoughts. It's a way to gain control over racing, repetitive though ts which often feed or trigger anxiety. The two therapies often are used together because they are beneficial to each other. For example, in the midst of extreme anxiety, it may feel impossible to gain control over your thoughts and apply cognitive therapy techniques. Therefore, a behavioral technique such as deep breathing may help you calm down and focus on your thinking". It is the latter argument of Fenton which is the focus of this paper. This paper essentially looks into exploring the argument that behaviour therapy is an effective approach with in the CBT but it is not the only and sufficient approach. The paper looks into the concepts of cognitive and behaviour therapies in depth and the possible and more effective applications of the CBT,when the two are combined. The paper also discusses some other approaches which are finding application under the umbrella of the CBT.Cognitive Concepts and Therapy The initial questions that arise in cognitive approach are conceptual. They relate to what are the various levels of cognition that is accorded importance in literature. In the 1960's, Aaron Beck, developed his approach called Cognitive Therapy. Beck's cognitive therapy was particularly found very useful in the effective treatment of depression and related symptoms. Beck and his associates reckon three identifiable levels of cognition that are pertinent as treatment milestones as cognitive approaches are applied to within the overall approach of f CBT.These three levels of cognition are : full consciousness, automatic thoughts, and schemas (Clark et al,1999). Within these three levels the highest level is consciousness and it is defined to include the mental state in which rational decisions are made with full awareness of the decision maker. Decision maker is rationally opting to choose the way he finally did and he has rational arguments to justify his acts.

George H.W. Bush Presidency Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3000 words

George H.W. Bush Presidency - Essay Example ("Like") On the other hand, President Bush had his own shares of defeat. In the 1980 Republican presidential nominations, he was unsuccessful in winning the bid. But in 1981, he served as the country's vice president for eight years under the Reagan administration. And it was only in 1988 when he had finally won the Republican nomination for President, for which he took Dan Quayle as his running mate during the election. ("Bush") Unlike his predecessor, Bush arrived at the presidency with considerable knowledge about the ways of Washington and experience with leading a staff closely similar to the president's own. (Relyea, 1997) On the other hand, there have been several criticisms regarding his governance when people had thought he learned from his predecessors. The book written by Hess clearly shows the abilities of the presidents who assumes the office and their unique personalities towards their responsibilities. Presidents are assumed to have very little knowledge and understanding, as well as very limited skills in running a government. The actual responsibilities of the office are but unclear to them on the onset of the term. However, these abilities, skills and understanding of the responsibilities are often learned in the long run yet they could not escape the part where they will have to undergo a transition of imitation of the previous presidents. Their transition stage is crucial such that this is where the presidents will have to develop their own skills according to their traits and priorities which are vital in the development, performance, and course of the administration. (Borrelli, 2003) In congruence to this statement, Farrar-Myers at the same time notes that "Presidents often are tied to the legacy of the office holders who came before them. Sometimes a president assumes the office upon the death of his predecessor and, therefore, is expected at the start of his presidency to follow the predecessor's agenda until he is able to establish his own course." (Farrar-Myers, 2001) History could not deny this fact such that there had been several vice-presidents who had continued the agenda of their predecessors when they died or take their turns as president. Some of these are John Tyler; Chester Arthur; Harry Truman; and Lyndon Johnson, for example. (Farrar-Myers, 2001) There are also times though wherein presidents purposefully follow the agenda of their predecessors. They come to base their presidency according to an assumption that they will have to continue the same policy since the president before them at the same time followed the policies that the previous president has had before them. It is a choice that some of the presidents like James Madison following Jefferson; Martin Van Buren and James Polk as Jacksonian Democrats; William Taft's campaign (if not actual presidency) to follow in Theodore Roosevelt's progressivism; and, most recently, George Bush's election to carry on the Reagan Revolution. (Farrar-Myers, 2001) Based from Hess's suggestion, it could be derived that President Bush could have at one point imitated the administrative styles of his predecessors before he had gained his own unique style in running his