THE HIDDEN LIFE OF GARBAGE

THE HIDDEN LIFE OF GARBAGE Heather Rogers Summary “The Hidden Life of Garbage” is descriptive essay. It was written by Heather Rogers. This essay describes about the waste disposal in the U.S. and how dangerous it is getting. Land dumping has been the primary disposal method for many years because of the low cost. Land dumping is when the waste is dumped into a landfill. A landfill is a carefully designed structure built into or on top on the ground in which trash is isolated from the surrounding environment. This isolation is accomplished with a bottom liner and daily covering of soil. A sanitary landfill uses a clay liner to isolate the trash from the environment. Although the methods of waste disposal have improved over time, getting rid of garbage is quickly becoming a big problem because our methods of waste disposal are only a temporary solution. The waste that cannot decay naturally, just sits there and begins to build up. Incineration (burning) is another method used in waste disposal. However, this poses another problem because it fills the air we breathe with dense smoke, which is toxic (harmful) to our environment. The essay also talks about how the major waste disposal corporations try to keep problem hidden from the general public. They keep it hidden because it would cause problems for the corporation if the people actually knew what was happening. “If people saw what happened to their waste, lived with the stench, witnessed the scale of destruction, they might start asking difficult questions.” According to Rogers, the place where the dumping takes place is called “working face”. A group of trucks, earthmovers, machines, steamrollers, and water tankers stay and work there. These machines are trying to fill the earth with garbage. The garbage buries the real surface of the earth. Many birds fly over the rotten piles of garbage. When we walk wrappers, plastic bags and old shoes poke through the dirt and the smell is sticky and sour. Waste Management INC. called GROWS landfill has covered 6,000-acre garbage treatment complex. It dumps almost forty million pounds of municipal wastes daily. It is a high-tech and high capacity power. It uses landfill compactor, which looks like a bulldozer. Landfill compactors moves back and forth and cuts fifty tons waste into the earth and pitches the waste into the surface of the earth. The place is kept tidy with the help of thirty-five-foot-tall fencing. Water-mixed chemical is sprayed around it by a small machine into the air. Rogers argues that the technique used by GROWS are less dangerous than those used by previous generations. But the fact remains that these systems are short-term solutions to the garbage problem. While they may not seem toxic now, all those underground cells packed with plastics, solvents, paints, batteries and other dangerous materials will someday create problems and they have to be treated well because the cells will not last forever. Most of the cells are expected to last somewhere between thirty and fifty years. There is an easily seen problem in waste management. The lavish resources used to destroy the used commodities look wonderful but they are not environmentally friendly and they do not provide a permanent solution to the problem.

BA Major English, Paper III

Level: BA Major English, Paper III 
Full Marks: 100 
Year: Second 
Contact hours: 150 Course 
Title: Prose: Essays and Short Stories google.com, pub-6793489967138871, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0  
Course Code: ENGL 423 

1. The General Form of Prose 

2. The Word: Vocabulary 

3. The Sentence: Grammar and Idiom 

4. The Sentence: Written and Spoken Prose 

5. The Paragraph 

6. Prose Rhythm 

7. Individual and Common Style 

8. Common Style and Cheap Style 

9. Simplicity and Ornamentation 

10. Subdivisions (Objective and Subjective & Abstract and Concrete) 

11. Subdivisions (Realism, Romance and Unreality, Some Special Conventions & Prose for Its Own Sake) 

12. The Historical Approach 

13. The Science Of Rhetoric 

14. A Word about Writing Prose 

 Unit 2: Selected Essays Contact hours: 60 

15. “Of Truth” (Sir Francis Bacon) 

16. “A Meditation upon a Broom-Stick” (Jonathan Swift) 

17. “Thoughts in Westminster Abbey” (Joseph Addison) 

18. “On Recollections of Childhood” (Sir Richard Steele) 

19. “The Conservative” (Ralph Waldo Emerson 

20. “Night and Moonlight” (Henry David Thoreau) 

21. “Thoughts of God” (Mark Twain) 

22. “On Being Modern-Minded” (Bertrand Russell) 

23. “My Own Centenary” (E.M. Forster) 

24. “The Death of the Moth” (Virginia Woolf) 

25. “Insouciance” (D.H. Lawrence) 

26. “The Sterner Sex” (Rebecca West) 

27. “On Being the Right Size” (J.B.S. Haldane) 

28. “Meditation on the Moon” (Aldous Huxley) 

29. “Reflections on Gandhi” (George Orwell) 

30. “Adams at Ease” (Lionel Trilling) 

31. “The Facts of Budhha” (Sir William Empson) 

32. “Columbus and Crusoe” (V.S. Naipaul ) 

33. “The Bankrupt Man” (John Updike ) 

34. “At the Dam” (Joan Didion) 

 Unit 3 Short Stories on Intimate Relationships Contact hours: 36 

35. “Can-can”( Arturo Vivante) 

36. “The Story of an Hour” (Kate Chopin) 

37. “Epicac” (Kurt Vonnegut) 

38. “The Legacy” (Virginia Woolf) 

39. “The Kugelmass Episode” (Woody Allen) 

40. “An Intruder” (Nadine Gordimer) 

41. “Powder” (Tobias Wolff) 

42. “Mother” (Grace Paley) 

43. “A Short Digest of a Long Novel” (Budd Schulberg) 

44. “The Rocking-Horse Winner” (D. H. Lawrence) 

45. “The Boarding House” (James Joyce) 

46. “My Oedipus Complex” (Frank O’ Connor) 

Unit 4: Short Stories on Loneliness and Alienation Contact hours: 12 

 47. “The Model” (Bernard Malamud) 

48. “Disappearing”google.com, pub-6793489967138871, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 (Monica Wood) 

49. “Miss Brill” (Katherine Mansfield) 

50. “Teenage Wasteland” (Anne Tyler) 

Unit 5: Short Stories on Social Change and Injustice Contact hours: 12 

51. “Like a Winding Sheet”(Anne Petry) 

52. “The Lily-White Boys” (William Maxwell) 

53. “The Catbird Seat” (James Thurber) 

54. “Everyday Use” (Alice Walker) 

 Evaluation Scheme Internal: 30% (Portfolio Mandatory 15%) google.com, pub-6793489967138871, DIRECT, f08c47fec0942fa0 External: 70% 

 Prescribed Books 

Boulton, Marjorie. The Anatomy of Prose. London: Routledge, 2013. 

Gross, John J. The Oxford Book of Essays. Oxford: Oxford UP, 2008. 

Marcus, Sybil. A World of Fiction: Twenty Timeless Short Stories. New York: Pearson, 2014.

 

Pokhara University

Pre-board Exam

Level: Bachelor                                               Year: Fall-2022

Program: BBA                                                Full Marks: 100

Semester: VII                                                 Pass Marks: 45

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

Section ‘A’

Very short Answer Questions

Attempt all the questions.                               10x2=20

1.      Write any four benefits of critical thinking.

2.   Write the structure of ‘a chain of reasoning’.

3.      Differentiate between a statement and an argument.

4.      Write the structure of ‘a causal explanation’

5.      What is a reasoning?

6.      In the given example, identify something which is implicitly assumed and say how making that assumption affects the inference.

A teacher is speaking to a colleague about a particular student just before an exam and says, ‘Sharan has worked hard so he will pass the exam’.

7.      What are flaws?

8.      Dictate any four types of statement.

9.      Define the word ‘fallacy’.

10.  What is error in reasoning?

 

Section ‘B’

Descriptive Answer Questions

Attempt any six questions.                                    6x10=60

11.  What is an assumption? Discuss with examples.

12.  Write an argumentative essay on ‘Animals should not be used for experimentation.’.

13.  What do you mean by argument indicators? Illustrate with examples.

14.  Briefly explain possible sources of clarification.

15.  Who is the audience? What background knowledge and beliefs can they be assumed to have?

16.  Briefly explain the importance of critical thinking.

17.  Judge which of the following arguments is deductively valid and which is not. Explain in each case why you make your decision.

a.       Tom hates everyone. Mary loves and Mary loves Tom. So Tom must hate himself.

b.      The butler was in the pantry, in that case he couldn’t have shot the master, who was in his study. So the butler couldn’t have done it!

Section ‘C’

Case Analysis                                                         20

18.  Write a critical evaluation of the argument which is presented below, introducing any further arguments you judge to be relevant.

In an increasingly complex and competitive business world, how is a company to generate the creative ideas needed for ongoing success? Many managers believe that forming teams with cross-functional diversity is the answer (Sethi et al., 2002), and this is becoming increasingly common (Mu & Gnyawali, 2003). However, while diversity in group membership may lead to the diversity of ideas needed for innovative problem solving, it is argued here that that managers need to be aware that there are many ways that diversity can in fact hinder team performance, though there are strategies that both teams and their managers can use to reduce the potential negatives and enhance the potential positives.

Aside from the cross-functional diversity, many other types of diversity can have effects on team performance and some of these types of diversity can have inherently negative effects. For example, any negative stereotyping by group members resulting from diversity in terms of gender, age or ethnicity will reduce team social cohesion and hence group performance (Fiske & Neuberg, 1990, as cited in Harrison et al., 2002) because a certain amount of social cohesion has been found to be correlated with effective group performance (Harrison et al., 2002). Other aspects of diversity, such as in attitudes towards the group’s tasks, in values, and in time management styles, can also negatively affect group social cohesion and hence group performance (Fiske & Neuberg, 1990, as cited in Harrison et al., 2002).

The sorts of diversity that are most likely to be beneficial to group performance, such as diversity in relevant knowledge, experience and skills (Harrison et al., 2002), can unfortunately also cause problems for group performance. Having too many diverse views and opinions to coordinate can, for example, cause cognitive overload amongst group members and so impede its decision making processes (Mu & Gnyawali, 2003; Sethi et al., 2002). This is especially likely to be a problem when the team has a limited amount of time to complete its tasks (Mu & Gnyawali, 2003). The cross -functional diversity mentioned above can also cause problems if group members have difficulty understanding and coordinating the differing world views and values of group members from different functional areas (Colbeck et al., 2000 and Gallos, 1989, as cited in Mu & Gnyawali, 2003).

Given all the above-mentioned problems associated with diversity, are there strategies that a team and its managers can implement to reduce the potential negatives and enhance the potential positives? Regarding cognitive overload, evidently a team needs to be given an adequate amount of time to complete its task. Scheduling frequent collaboration can also be used to build social cohesion and overcome the potential negative impacts of stereotypes (Harrison et al., 2002) provided “team psychological safety” is fostered in the group (Mu & Gnyawali, 2003). And since too much social cohesion can cause teams to avoid the robust debate needed to generate the best thinking in order to protect social relationships, management encouragement of the group to be “venturesome” in its work can also be helpful (Sethi et al., 2002).

In conclusion, it appears that if managers wish to create especially effective teams, they should seek to minimise diversity in terms of task and time management values, while looking to maximise differences in relevant knowledge and skills. They should further aim to foster as much collaboration as possible so as to develop team social cohesion, have rules about interactions which foster team psychological safety, and encourage the team to be venturesome. Unless these things are done, managers will likely find diversity more a hindrance than a help for group performance.

 

The End

 

Pokhara University

Pre-board Exam

Level: Bachelor                                               Year: Fall-2022

Program: BBA                                                Full Marks: 100

Semester: VII                                                 Pass Marks: 45

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

 

Section ‘A’

Very short Answer Questions

Attempt all the questions.                               10x2=20

1.      What is a reasoning?

2.      Dictate any four types of statement.

3.      Define the word ‘fallacy’.

4.      What is error in reasoning?

5.      Write any four benefits of critical thinking.

6.   Write the structure of ‘a chain of reasoning’.

7.      Differentiate between a statement and an argument.

8.      Write the structure of ‘a causal explanation’

9.      In the given example, identify something which is implicitly assumed and say how making that assumption affects the inference.

A teacher is speaking to a colleague about a particular student just before an exam and says, ‘Arun has worked hard so he will pass the exam’.

10.  What are flaws?

 

Section ‘B’

Descriptive Answer Questions

Attempt any six questions.                                    6x10=60

11.  Briefly explain the importance of critical thinking.

12.  Judge which of the following arguments is deductively valid and which is not. Explain in each case why you make your decision.

a.       Tom hates everyone. Mary loves and Mary loves Tom. So Tom must hate himself.

b.      The butler was in the pantry, in that case he couldn’t have shot the master, who was in his study. So the butler couldn’t have done it!

13.  What is an assumption? Discuss with examples.

14.  Write an argumentative essay on ‘Animals should not be used for experimentation.’.

15.  What do you mean by argument indicators? Illustrate with examples.

16.  Briefly explain possible sources of clarification.

17.  Who is the audience? What background knowledge and beliefs can they be assumed to have?

Section ‘C’

Case Analysis                                                         20

18.  Write a critical evaluation of the argument which is presented below, introducing any further arguments you judge to be relevant.

In an increasingly complex and competitive business world, how is a company to generate the creative ideas needed for ongoing success? Many managers believe that forming teams with cross-functional diversity is the answer (Sethi et al., 2002), and this is becoming increasingly common (Mu & Gnyawali, 2003). However, while diversity in group membership may lead to the diversity of ideas needed for innovative problem solving, it is argued here that that managers need to be aware that there are many ways that diversity can in fact hinder team performance, though there are strategies that both teams and their managers can use to reduce the potential negatives and enhance the potential positives.

Aside from the cross-functional diversity, many other types of diversity can have effects on team performance and some of these types of diversity can have inherently negative effects. For example, any negative stereotyping by group members resulting from diversity in terms of gender, age or ethnicity will reduce team social cohesion and hence group performance (Fiske & Neuberg, 1990, as cited in Harrison et al., 2002) because a certain amount of social cohesion has been found to be correlated with effective group performance (Harrison et al., 2002). Other aspects of diversity, such as in attitudes towards the group’s tasks, in values, and in time management styles, can also negatively affect group social cohesion and hence group performance (Fiske & Neuberg, 1990, as cited in Harrison et al., 2002).

The sorts of diversity that are most likely to be beneficial to group performance, such as diversity in relevant knowledge, experience and skills (Harrison et al., 2002), can unfortunately also cause problems for group performance. Having too many diverse views and opinions to coordinate can, for example, cause cognitive overload amongst group members and so impede its decision making processes (Mu & Gnyawali, 2003; Sethi et al., 2002). This is especially likely to be a problem when the team has a limited amount of time to complete its tasks (Mu & Gnyawali, 2003). The cross -functional diversity mentioned above can also cause problems if group members have difficulty understanding and coordinating the differing world views and values of group members from different functional areas (Colbeck et al., 2000 and Gallos, 1989, as cited in Mu & Gnyawali, 2003).

Given all the above-mentioned problems associated with diversity, are there strategies that a team and its managers can implement to reduce the potential negatives and enhance the potential positives? Regarding cognitive overload, evidently a team needs to be given an adequate amount of time to complete its task. Scheduling frequent collaboration can also be used to build social cohesion and overcome the potential negative impacts of stereotypes (Harrison et al., 2002) provided “team psychological safety” is fostered in the group (Mu & Gnyawali, 2003). And since too much social cohesion can cause teams to avoid the robust debate needed to generate the best thinking in order to protect social relationships, management encouragement of the group to be “venturesome” in its work can also be helpful (Sethi et al., 2002).

In conclusion, it appears that if managers wish to create especially effective teams, they should seek to minimise diversity in terms of task and time management values, while looking to maximise differences in relevant knowledge and skills. They should further aim to foster as much collaboration as possible so as to develop team social cohesion, have rules about interactions which foster team psychological safety, and encourage the team to be venturesome. Unless these things are done, managers will likely find diversity more a hindrance than a help for group performance.

 

The End

Critical Thinking Test Questions

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

BBA VII

Pokhara University

Elective I

 

Sample Critical Thinking Test Questions

Section 1 – Evaluating Arguments

Read the following question, then evaluate whether each of the responses is a ‘strong argument’ or ‘weak argument’.

Do the rich have an obligation to pay more taxes, in order to help the poor?

1. Yes – it’s immoral for them not to do so.
2. No – instead of forcibly taxing, the rich, we should encourage them to give to charity. Almost every rich person I’ve met is very generous.
3. Yes – in order for a society to function better, it’s important to lift more people out of impoverished situations so that they can contribute to the nation’s economy.
4. No – The reality of the matter is that life isn’t fair. Because it’s not fair, we shouldn’t bother trying to make it any fairer for people.

Section 2 – Assumptions

Read the following passage. Then, decide whether the statements below are assumptions made by the passage or not.

During the 2000s, the number of soldiers physically stationed in the Middle-East skyrocketed. However, in 2019, this number is continuing to decease. It’s wonderful that the western world has less of a military presence in other countries, presumably to a negligible amount on the next 5 to 10 years.

1. No soldiers physically stationed in an area means that there’s less of a military presence.
2. There won’t be another spark of conflict within the next 5 to 10 years.
3. War is a thing of the past.

Section 3 – Inferences

Read the following passage. Then, decide whether the three statements below are “True”, “Probably True”, “Insufficient Data to Say True or False”, “Probably False”, or “False” – based purely on the information in the text.

John’s company has been successful for the past 5 years. Reported profits have been rising each year, with 2018 being the strongest year yet. To celebrate, John treated his staff to a meal at a 5-star restaurant in the city.

1. John is rich.
2. John’s staff are happy.
3. John’s company performed well in 2017.

 

Answers – Critical Thinking Test Questions

Section 1 – Evaluating Arguments – Critical Thinking Test Questions

1. Weak Argument.
2. Weak Argument.
3. Strong Argument.
4. Weak Argument.

Section 2 – Assumptions – Critical Thinking Test Questions

1. Assumption Made.
2. Assumption Made.
3. Assumption Not Made.

Section 3 – Inferences – Critical Thinking Test Questions

1. Probably True.
2. Insufficient Data.
3. True.

 

 

Mid-Term Exam

Level: Bachelor                                                           Year: 2022

Program: BBA                                                Full Marks: 100

Semester: VII                                                 Pass Marks: 45

Critical Thinking and Problem Solving

 

Section ‘A’

Very short Answer Questions

Attempt all the questions.                               10x2=20

1.      What is critical thinking according to Richard Paul?

2.      Write any four benefits of critical thinking.

3.   Write the structure of ‘a chain of reasoning’.

4.      Differentiate between a statement and an argument.

5.      When you encounter information, what should be kept in mind?

a)      Is it current?

b)      Is it complete?

c)      Is it accurate?

d)      All of the above

6.      Which of these can be considered thinking critically?

a)      Thinking emotionally

b)      Thinking logically

c)      Think actively and be aware of potential problems in the information you encounter.

d)      None of the above

7.      What is the definition of critical thinking? 

a)      Higher-level thinking that aims to solve a problem.

b)      Finding faults and weaknesses in other people's arguments.

c)      Logically analyzing arguments in a critical way.

d)      Disciplined thinking and judgment.

8.      Which is not the characteristic of a critical thinker among the following? 

a.       They use logical skills in reasoning.

b.      During the football game he committed a serious foul, so he deserved to be sent off.

c.       Women’s brains are on average smaller than men’s, therefore women are less intelligent than men.

d.      The butler was in the pantry. In that case he couldn’t have shot the master, who was in his study. Hence the butler couldn’t have done it!

e.       The sovereignty of Parliament is open to abuse by any Government as power in Britain is too centralized.

f.        The Green Movement is mistaken in thinking we should recycle materials like paper and glass because paper

g.      They refuse to recognize the limitations of his mind and consistently pursue excellence.

h.      They think independently and do not always succumb to peer pressure.

i.        He upholds the standards of critical thinking.

9.      'For this entire semester, I've been playing and having fun every day. My studies are not doing well. However, I believe I can score an A for the exam next week'.  What is the mistake that the person has committed here with respect to critical thinking? 

a)      Wishful thinking

b)      Egocentrism

c)      Self-confident thinking

d)      Moral subjectivism

10.  Taking something for granted or making a logical leap to reach a conclusion without proof - resulting in a conclusion that may be true or false.

a.       Assumption

b.      Relevance

c.       Conclusion

d.      Decision making

 

Section ‘B’

Descriptive Answer Questions

Attempt any six questions.                                    6x10=60

11.   What is an assumption? Discuss with examples.

12.  Define ‘Critico-creative thinking’ with examples.

13.  Write an argumentative essay on ‘Should school require uniforms?’.

14.  Draw a ‘Thinking map’ of skillful analysis and evaluation of arguments. (pg 56)

15.  What do you mean by argument indicators? Illustrate with examples.

16.  Briefly explain possible sources of clarification.

17.  Who is the audience? What background knowledge and beliefs can they be assumed to have?

Section ‘C’

Case Analysis                                                         2x10=20

18.  In the following examples identify which words and phrases are ‘argument indicators’. Also say which sentences they indicate are reasons for which conclusions: 2.5

19.  Decide which of the following quoted remarks is an argument and which is an explanation. (3.6)

a.       A councilor speaks at a council meeting and says, ‘Because our street lights are too dim, we have more accidents and more crime than we should. Furthermore, they are so low that they are easily and often damaged by vandals. That is why we should get new, bright high-level lights.’

b.      The police have found the body of a woman lying near a footpath; after a post-mortem the pathologist reports, ‘She died because she had a heart attack and no one found her soon enough to help.’

c.       A newspaper reports, ‘Thailand and India have had to fight costly legal battles to protect Thailand’s jasmine rice and India’s basmati rice because a company in Texas, called Rice Tec, was granted patents in the United States on verities of rice it claimed to have developed, which closely resembled the Thai and Indian versions.’

d.      A government spokesperson says, ‘Though investigations are continuing, the trawler which sank suddenly in relatively calm seas last week probably went down because a submarine fouled its nets and dragged it down.’

e.       A financial journalist writes, ‘The Bank will almost certainly reduce interest rates at the next opportunity because the economy is slowing down fast, many companies are in great difficulties and demand has fallen off dramatically.’

The End