Importance of Colonial Newspapers during Revolutionary War Research Paper

Importance of Colonial Newspapers during Revolutionary War - Research Paper Example John Adams, the US president during late 17th century stated that mechanism such as newspaper and pamphlets drove the willingness of Americans to revolutionize and brought together the perception of people, which eventually made America an independent nation. Colonists used the newspapers as an effective tool of communication during the 17th century in order to ensure that printed and handwritten materials were exchanged among thirteen colonies. This in turn played a huge role in creating unity among the colonies, which thereby led to its national independence. In fact, the communication tool was so effective that numerous towns and cities in the US used printed materials and newspapers to declare its nation’s independence. It will be worth mentioning that, revolution in the US would not have transpired in the 17th century if newspapers, mail and other communication were not introduced by people in the US. This is because these tools were effective for colonists in exchanging views among people in various colonies that instigated mutual cooperation and understanding. Therefore, colonists through the use of newspapers increased the extent of conversation amid colonies that led to its unification1. During the colonial American period, it was a mandate for newspaper printers to be authors so that they could indulge into printing activities. Benjamin Franklin started writing articles under James Franklin’s newspaper publishing company ‘The New England Courant’. Benjamin Franklin wrote letters during night time as an imaginary widow known as ‘Silence Dogood’2 to hide his identity from his brother. In the year 1729, Benjamin Franklin purchased the ‘Pennsylvania Gazette’ and started publishing newspapers on his own. Subsequently, Franklin’s newspaper became highly successful in various colonies, which played a huge role in initiating revolution in America. Franklin was a writer as

High School vs. College Essay Example for Free

High School vs. College Essay Stepping stones are like the baby steps into something greater, like high school and college. In high school, everyone says to focus yourself more into, because high school is the place to gain the knowledge that is nearly identical to the â€Å"actual world†. College, on the other hand, is when both the teachers and students can both relate to how the real world would function. So high school is the part of the baby steps that reach into college and as well as the real world. Although high school and college reading and writing become different, they also have some similarities, but in the end they’re both really important to everything that happens in people’s everyday lives. In my four years of being in high school English, I can say that it’s already really different from college. The reading in high school was always given and there were times that it included self-reading, but it was because we were given questions to answer. Other times, it was because we had to do journals on each chapter of the book; main idea, summaries, character changes, etc. Overall, it was really easy, because the teachers would do at least half of the work for you and then you would be given the rest as homework, as long as you don’t procrastinate. Being a freshman is college, it’s scary, because you hear stories from people saying how easy or hard it is being in college. There’s more self-reading that has to be done and during that time, you also have the process of taking notes and writing small responses when needed to on your own. It’s all about the independency and responsibility that any adult would have when entering through college. As much as I love the subject English, I was never a huge fan of writing, whether I’m in high school or college. The writing processes that happened in high school were usually the same. We would read something that the teacher had given to us, take notes, and from those notes, we would have had to write some form of paper or short response. All the information about the book and paper were given to us, made it that much easier to know what to write about and what the paper was required to have by the teacher. College is a whole new environment for those who are entering and sometimes it can take a while to get acquainted with everything. College is one of those things. The writing in college is very different, because the professors want something to be originally different form each student, rather than having to read all the class articles and they all end up sounding the same. Everything is different, because the formats that we have always stuck to throughout elementary and improved during high school is almost not needed in college. All those five paragraph essays won’t even be considered as an essay anymore, but if there are more paragraphs and as long as the topic is straight through, then that’s an essay. Reading and writing are really important things to be learned, because that’s basically what the whole world consists of; letters and words and paragraphs. You can’t learn how to write if you don’t how to read or else you wouldn’t know the meaning of those words and the sentence itself. The same concept goes for reading. Be glad that you know how to do both of these things, because some people aren’t as fortunate as we are. Where they come from, education is given differently, which doesn’t allow â€Å"everyone† to be able to have the same education as others. This is also another reason why some families travel to a country so that their children can have a better future than the parents or their families have had before them. This allows the not only the children new expectations, but also gives the families some new experiences as they travel through this journey. Writing and reading are two very important skills that are called Communication. For example, my major is Philosophy – Pre law. In pre-law it’s all about the debates and knowing how to communicate. Without these two main factors, then you wouldn’t be able to converse with others and be able to exchange ideas, because then how would you be able to learn and increase your knowledge to be able to win the debates? This is the main reason of why reading and writing are very important to all of us. Everyone has heard other people tell them that you must always prepare yourself when entering into the â€Å"real world†. Where we are at right now, whether it be high school or college, are considered as baby steps into reaching new experiences. First, there is high school, where we go to school and we gain more knowledge that is nearly identical to what we would be experiencing soon in the future. Then onto the next stepping stone, college, where it is the place that we can actually apply all those abilities that we learned before and into a place that the world would function similarly. So all in the end, it’s really important and maybe even critical that we all learn and know how to read and write since the entire world in made of mainly these two main factors.

Bram Stoker’s Dracula Essay -- English Literature

Bram Stoker’s Dracula Bram Stoker’s Dracula is a classic example of Gothic writing. Gothic writing was very popular in the 18th and 19th centuries. In the early centuries, Gothic writing would frighten the audience and it was also used as a style of architecture. Dracula, which was first published in 1897, would definitely cause a shock as there was a supernatural being, roaming around sucking people’s blood by the neck. Gothic literature usually includes vampires, monsters or some type of ancient mystical creature. It is also set in medieval castles with secret passages, dungeons and ghost places. There are various types of Gothic literature such as romance and horror. There is just usually horror used but mixing both has also become very popular. Romance on its own was very well-liked in the 19th century. The word Gothic actually comes from the Goths language. A Goth was considered one of a German tribe who invaded Eastern and Western Europe. Gothic was a type of architecture prevalent in Western Europe in the 12th - 16th centuries, it was barbarous, rude and uncouth. Dracula contains a lot Gothic conventions which incite the reader. A convention is the main point of a specific type of writing, for example in Dracula there is the use of journeys/quests, diaries, letters, journals, weird places and strange creatures. These conventions are essential in the story of Dracula and it is important to understand them. Dracula, just like any other gothic piece of writing has a villain/vampire-Dracula, a hero-Jonathan Harker and a victim-Mina. Van Helsing also plays a main role as the slayer of Dracula. Chapter 1, like a lot of the other chapters is written in journal style. This journal is of the main ... ...safe and also the plan to kill Dracula. There is more than one convention but still it will not excite the reader as much as the other chapters. Bram Stoker has created such an effective piece of Gothic Writing as the reader can feel how it would be if they were in the same predicament as some of the characters such as Mina and Jonathan. The conventions express one’s feelings out clear like all the opinions in the journals and the letters to each other. Suspense and fear are something that people express in their own way, not everyone can find the same thing frightening. Some people may just be scared of seeing Dracula and the way he kills everyone by sucking their blood, other people may fear turning into a vampire or becoming a victim. He tries to make us see how it would feel like, if there was a blood thirsty monster staring at you, ready to pounce!

Owen’s presentation of war and soldiers in ‘Dulce Et Decorum Est’ and ‘Disabled’ Essay

When World War 1 broke out in 1914, most of Britain rejoiced. There was a rush to join the army and many young men did as they decided it was their patriotic duty to fight for their ‘mother country’. Many also joined the army because they thought the war would be an adventure and because war was being glorified and made into an exciting game at that time. Being a soldier gave you a higher status and a public respect. These ideas were reflected in many early war poems such as Rupert Brooke’s ‘The Soldier’ and Jessie Pope’s ‘Who’s for the Game?’ In the poem the ‘The Soldier’ Brooke gives war a clean, sanitized and idealistic look, such as making England seem the perfect place and associating England with only good words (For example peace and friends laughter.) Brooke also makes war sound romantic as he makes it sound dashing and glorious like a cavalry charge and he then omits all the actual fighting and getting wounded, gassed, shot, maimed or injured. The poem is about being a hero and being taken to heaven. Patriotism is reflected in the poem as Brooke makes it sound as if you are English and you die for England, you are precious: England’s ‘richer dust’ is contained in you and when you die you make the land where you have fallen part of England. There is a repetition of England and whenever England is mentioned good things are said about it. There is also the implication that God is on England’s side, this is shown in the poem as Brooke makes the reader think that our soldiers are being blessed by God. For example ‘blest by suns of home.’ Brooke also suggests that it is your patriotic duty to go and fight for the country that ‘bore, shaped and made you aware’ and gave you life. You must repay ‘her’ by fighting England’s enemies. England is also personified as a mother because war was a call to man’s protective instinct and possibly to his chivalry. As the war progressed the views about the war changed as well. More people stopped thinking that the war was glorious and exciting and they began to realise just how deadly and dangerous war was. They also realised the cost of war was damaging to the country, not just economically but also through by the huge numbers of the dead and wounded. People began to wonder whether the sacrifice of these men was worth the benefits of the war and whether there was even any point to the war. The war poems written at that time began to show this contrast. The early, naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve poems of Brooke and Pope contrast with the experienced poems of Owen. The ideas that they had on war were clearly different. In the poem Dulce et Decorum Est Owen provides the reader with a realistic presentation of the war in the trenches and the soldiers fighting in the war. Owen gives the reader the perils of that the soldier faced everyday, (for example dangers of fighting and being shot or gassed,). Owen uses very physical and graphic imagery to describe what happens (For example ‘Bent double, like old beggars under sacks, knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed throughout the sludge.’ and ‘ Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots but limped on, blood shod, all went lame; all blind; drunk with fatigue.’) As you can see even from these couple of lines in the poem Owen uses physical description to help the reader visualise what is happening and what it was like to be out there. There is some very graphic imagery in the poem, (For example’Flound’ring like a man on fire or lime†¦ Dim under a green sea I saw him drowning. In all my dreams, before my helpless sight, he plunges at me guttering, choking, and drowning’). Also in the poem there is some more graphic description about how what happened to this poor soldier after he got gassed: (‘white eyes writhing in his face, his hanging face, like a devils sick of sin, at every jolt, the blood come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs’). Owen also in the poem places the reader in the actual experience (For example ‘If in some smothering dreams you too could pace behind the wagon we flung him in.’) By recreating a specific moment in the poem, the gas attack Owen lets the reader â€Å"enter† and be part of the poem. Owen does not just place the reader in the experience he also directly addresses the reader by using words like â€Å"my friends† and â€Å"you† in the poem (For example ‘If you could hear†¦. My friend, you would not†¦.’) There is also reader involvement in the â€Å"Old Lie† at the end of the poem as Owen says with certainty that if you could see what it was like here you would not tell the children the Old Lie? The tone of the poem is very bitter and angry and in some parts there is a very sarcastic and negative attitude In the lines ‘If in some smothering dream you too could pace†¦Ã¢â‚¬â„¢ the words â€Å"if† and â€Å"you† suggest that he is angry because the word ‘if’ suggests that the reader doesn’t know just how bad it was out there and the word ‘you’ separates the reader from Owen and suggests that the reader is safe at home. There are ironic moments in the poem as the title of the poem is ironic. The last lines contradict the title of the poem â€Å"Dulce et Decorum Est† which means that ‘it is sweet and right to die for your country’. This is a sarcastic comment in the poem as Owen was trying to show the reader that it was not right to die for your country. Owen also wrote another poem called Disabled which contrast with Dulce et†¦ as in Dulce et†¦ Owen is describing the realities of war while in Disabled Owen is writing about the results or aftermath of the war for one particular badly wounded soldier. The poem is not as physically or graphically descriptive as Dulce et†¦ was; Disabled is more reflective and sorrowful, (for example ‘ Now he will never feel again how girls waists are, or how warm their subtle hands;’) There is quieter language used in Disabled, for example not as ‘loud’ or shocking words were used by Owen in Disabled unlike Dulce et†¦ The poem shows how he lost his youth, future, limbs, hope and his normal life and how knows he has to live in hospitals waiting for death doing things that only the rules consider wise. The young man fought for his country and was wounded for it but he is not treated like a hero. He is shoved into a hospital like a diseased man and Owen stresse s his bitterness about how he is treated in the poem. (for example ‘All of them touch him like some queer disease’) Owen focuses on one normal young man but this man represents millions of others like him and it showed the reader that their brother, husband, father could be facing or could be soon facing the consequences of fighting for your country like this young man did. It also lets the reader understand the perils of war on a personal level. In the poem there is a question being asked to the reader although not directly, and the question asked is whether the sacrifice of millions of young men’s futures, lives, hopes and dreams was worth the countries involvement in the war, and again as in Dulce et†¦ Owens answer is no, that it is not right to throw your future away for the country or for your country to expect this from you. The poem therefore shares some of Dulce et†¦ bitterness and anger at the war. I can admire aspects of Brooke’s poem after reading Owens as Brooke was an idealistic even romantic man and he was obsessed with war and also Brooke was a patriot and I admire him as he was not hesitant to sign for the army and these character points are reflected in his poem. Brooke was however naà ¯Ã‚ ¿Ã‚ ½ve and inexperienced so he really didn’t know fully about war and this too is reflected in his poem.

Example Research Paper

The Effects of Preferred vs Standard Colors on College Students’ Short Term Memory Kristen N. Williams Emporia State University Abstract Can color help enhance students' ability to learn and better prepare for tests and with other school assignments? The participants were 15 college students at Emporia State University. I used an independent two-group design where students signed up via Blackboard. Participants had 2 min to look at the word list, either black words or color words, then another 2 min to recall what they had seen.I was expecting to find more color words recalled than black words. However, I found no significance between colors and black words. This finding is inconsistent with the findings of Camp, Pecher, Schmidt, and Zeelenber (2009) where color did in fact affect a participant's ability in remembering. Keywords: recall, colors, memory, word list The Effects of Preferred vs Standard Colors on College Students’ Short Term Memory The ability to obtain and store information in a short time is short-term memory. Factors can help increase the ability to retain more information.According to Sagi (1980) â€Å"words of colors are recalled well than and at the expense of printed colors† (p. 149). Previous research by Dreschsler (1960) has suggested that different colors have different effects on individuals and can have some connection to one’s subconscious as well. According to Tait (1912), â€Å"colors may affect multiple aspects of one’s memory† (p. 1). Past research using recall-testing (Noble, 1952; Radvansky, Gibson, & McNerney, 2011; Rockway & Duncan, 1952; Watkins & LeCompte, 1991) studied how well people can retain information.Radvansky, et al. , (2011) found that among four experiments performed, when individuals had another sense manipulated, sense of sight, the individuals were able to retain words from the word list presented to them. The best perception that increased memory retention was the aspec t of colors (Radvansky, et al. , 2011) MacKinnon, Geiselman, and Woodward (1985) found that participants’ effort and their ability to retain information when paired with an interference decreased. As one progresses with age their memory may tend to fade ut some research has found an increase in memory retention when older adults performed a recall test using colors although multiple responses does tend to decrease after multiple features (Gagnon, Soulard, Brasgold, & Kreller, 2007, p. 210). Within this research, participants were in into two groups by their ages. They underwent three different conditions, the same for each group. While one test varied on one feature, like color, the second varied with color and size, while the third varied in three different features, color, size, and font.They tested participants to see how well they were able to retain the word list, along with the other features, because of the colors, both groups had the ability to remember more from the word lists, but the older individuals were not able to remember the other features as well as the younger participants. Many have used recall tests as their form of testing in their study, whereas the others use colors within their tests to help measure how it affects the individuals memory, whether it deals with emotional ties (Tait, 1912) or to just test whether it affects one’s ability in remembering (Camp, Pecher, Schmidt, & Zeelenber, 2009).The primary goal of my research was to see if participants would memorize a higher percentage of words in color than in black. I believe that this experiment could help students better their studying, may help students remember words for a test, or quiz, and possibly use color to help transfer items from short-term memory, to long-term. Method Participants Participants in this study were 15 college students enrolled in undergraduate psychology courses in the spring of 2012 at Emporia State University. Participants possibly earned cour se credit for their participation, but their instructors will make other alternatives available.I obtained my participants via sign-up online through Black Board. Materials The following words were on a power point slide (Appendix A; Chair, Moon, Tape, Armadillo, Kitchen, Glue, Phone, Newt, Notebook, Cookie, Ring, Flower, Couch, Blanket, Fire, Sand, Lion, Bully, Window, & Hair). The recall survey (Appendix B) contained a number list for participants to fill out, along with a short demographic form (e. g. gender). Design and Procedure I obtained an ESU IRB approval (Appendix C) prior to conducting any procedures of the independent two-group design experiment.When the participants signed up for the study I assigned them to either Group Black Words (views word list in black and white) or Group Colored Words (views same word list, except in different colors). I gave and read the informed consent form (Appendix D) to the participants as they read along. They had 2 min to memorize the wor ds. After that, participants had another 2 min to recall the words onto their surveys. After time was up, I debriefed them (Appendix E). Results The independent variable was color of words (Black, Colors) and the dependent variable was participants' percentage of recalled words.I included total of all words recalled in color. I determined the mean and standard deviation for each group's recall percentage (see Figure 1). I performed a t test for independent samples to compare the group means, Black words (M = 98, SD = 3. 4) and Color words (M = 37, SD = 2. 3). However, there was not a significant difference between the means of black words and color words. Discussion The present experiment was designed to assess the effects of colored words on memory. I did not find a significant difference between words in black, and words in colors.This experiment was different from past research. For example, Sagi (1980) looked at the recall of colors and the ability to remember those colors versu s printed colors, whereas this experiment looked at how colors affect an individual’s memory in recalling a simple list of words. Also, Tait (1912) looked at how colors that are repeated can increase an individual’s ability to remember, where I searched to find if color could do the same thing except with words. The findings I had received were different from the other researches, in terms of not finding any significant effect.There were hopes in finding a connection to color, by means of memorization because Dreschsler (1960) found that individual’s were giving more emotional responses to colors rather than neutral, plain colors. That which showed it affected the individual and because of this association, I had hoped through this research I could find that aspect and show that color could also help individuals in terms of memorizing a list of words. MacKinnon, Geiselman, & Woodward (1985) found that individuals who looked over the words twice as long as the co ntrol group, they had recalled more of the word list.The reason this experiment had a different result is because they changed the length of time, whereas I changed the colors, which would explain why they found an increase in successful recall. The possible problem I could have encountered that caused an insignificant affect was that the word list could have been too simple for the college students. I had used such simple words so it could transfer to any age group, to make an easier generalization or another problem could have been the number of words, 20.Although I did not find a significant effect, I did show the great amount of words a college student can retain in their short-term memory. Just like in past research done by Gagnon, Soulard, Brasgold, & Kreller (2007), who found that as one increases in age, their memory and attention decreases, but much younger, college age, can remember and recall better, and faster. This experiment is still of worth, although there was no sig nificant affect, in terms of finding a way for individuals to better learn in school, and help with studying habits.It has opened doors to new ideas to better students, whether they are in elementary, or college. The next step to take is to increase the group sizes, and choose a greater variety of colors and more complex words, but not overly complex, because it still needs to be easily generalized to other individuals. If a significant affect is discovered then the aspects of favorite colors can be researched in hopes of finding ways for students to better themselves in school. References Camp, G. , Pecher, D. , Schmidt, H. G. , & Zeelenberg, R. (2009).Are independent probes truly independent? Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 35(4), 934-942. Drechsler, R. J. (1960). Affect-simulating effects of colors. The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 61(3), 323-328. Gagnon, S. , Soulard, K. , Brasgold, M. , & Kreller, J. (2007). Effects of normal a ging on memory for multiple contextual features. Brain and Cognition, 64(3), 208-216. MacKinnon, D. P. , Geiselman, R. E. , & Woodward, J. A. (1985). The effects of effort on stroop interference. Acta Psychologica, 58(3), 225-235. Noble, C. E. (1952).The role of stimulus meaning (r) in serial verbal learning. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 43(6), 437-446. Radvansky, G. A. , Gibson, B. S. , & McNerney, M. W. (2011). Synesthesia and memory: Color congruency, von restorff, and false memory effects. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 37(1), 219-229. Rockway, M. , & Duncan, C. P. (1952). Pre-recall warming-up in verbal retention. Journal of Experimental Psychology, 43(4), 305-312. Sagi, A. (1980). Color-word interference in a recall test. Journal of General Psychology, 103(1), 149-154.Tait, W. D. (1912). A short study in dislike. The Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 7(1), 1-4. Watkins, M. J. , & LeCompte, D. C. (1991). Inadequacy of recall as a basis for frequency knowledge. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 17(6), 1161-1176. Appendix A Word Recall PowerPoint Slide Appendix B Survey Appendix C ESU IRB Approval Letter Appendix D Informed Consent Form Appendix E Debriefing Statement [pic] Figure 1. Mean recall scores for participants who either saw black words (n = 7) or color words (n = 8). Error bars show standard deviations.

Is the ACT Getting Harder Over the Years

Is the ACT Getting Harder Over the Years SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Is the ACT of today the same test that was given years ago? According to students and test experts, the ACT has gradually been getting harder over the years, both in the level of its questions and its fast pace. So what does the ACT have to say about these claims? Is the ACT hard now more than ever before? And what exactly do people think is getting more difficult on this already challenging test? The Times: Are They A-Changin'? So ACT, Inc. hasn't said the test has gotten more difficult over the years. But students and ACTexperts beg to disagree. Jed Applerouth of Applerouth Tutoring Services, for instance, says that the changes are so pronounced as to make the ACT, and especially the Science section, a completely different test. According to Applerouth, the Science section is much more time intensive and features multi-phase questions like never before. For instance, older questions would direct youto a specific piece of data within a graph, table, or chart. Newer questions, on the other hand, have additional steps. After finding the information, youthen have to apply it to a chart and use another value to determine youranswer. Rather than quick questions that get to the point on the Science section, there are a lot of these kinds of questions with multiple steps that require youto combine skills and concepts from various fields. While these questions used to stand alone and apart from one another, now there are lotsthat are intertwined. This style has mostly shown up in the Science section, making it harder to answer all the questions before time is called, but harder questions have also been seen in Reading. Some ACT Reading sections have featured double passages, similar to the ones on the SAT. Older ACT practice tests usually don't prepare youfor these paired passage questions, where you have to compare, contrast, and interpret authors' perspectives relative to each other. In addition to these increasingly complex questions, the ACT will feature some other changes soon. The optional essay will be 40 minutes long and will ask you to analyze different perspectives and present and support your own argument. The Science section may feature more data representation questions, or at least make the numbers of each question type unpredictable. The ACT used to always ask the same number of data representation, research summary, and conflicting viewpoints questions in Science, a consistency that helped a lot of students feel prepared. Future tests will be less predictable. Finally, the Reading section will incorporate paired passages, which feature questions that may take you more time to answer. So if, as most people agree, the ACT really has been getting harder and more fast-paced in the past few years, what would be the reasons behind this change? Hint: it has to do with the ACT getting super popular. Why Would the ACT Be Getting More Difficult? The main reason the ACT may have undergone changes in the past few years is its increasing popularity among students,both in the U.S. and internationally. Historically, more students in the Midwest took the ACT, and it usually lagged behind the SAT as the admissions test of choice. But for the first time in 2011, more students took the ACT than the SAT (of course, then the SAT added another test date to up its numbers). As more highly achieving students internationally and across the US (especially on the East and West coasts where test prep is especially popular) tookthe ACT, the score distribution was affected. The curve became steeper, meaning that missing just a question or two would bring down your score a lot more than it would in the past. To smooth out the curve, it seems that the ACT made the test more difficult and harder to finish. While these changes don't necessarily affect average scorers all that much, they make it more difficult for top scorers to place at a score of 31 or above. Another possible reason for making the ACT harder, as you'll see in ACT's official statement below, is to further align the test with college courses. The ACT is an admissions test meant to measure student ability and college readiness. If college classes are getting more challenging, then the ACT wants to increase its rigor to match them and ensure students' results are predictive of their success in college level courses. Let's take a look at how ACT has responded to the general consensus that the test has, in fact, gotten harder in the past few years. Spoiler: they don't say much. What ACT Says About Changes to the Test According to Brian Eufinger, the co-owner of Edison Prep, the ACT responded to his queries about the changes in the test in the following way (emphasis mine): "ACT continues to measure college and career readiness in a way that is consistent with the past. The ACT is designed to reflect the knowledge and skills that are taught in schools and deemed necessary for success in first-year college courses and workforce training courses. When those skills and constructs become more complicated and difficult over time, the ACT reflects that. Those changes tend to occur very gradually, however, not usually within a two to three year span. So we would disagree with the statement that the ACT has been slowly and steadily changing the difficulty level of the test over the past two to three years." The ACT says that the test hasn't been changing over the past two to three years, yet they also say that it will reflect when college "skills and constructs become more complicated and difficult over time." It seems like the ACT doesn't publicize big changes, like College Board is with the new SAT for 2016, but perhaps makes subtle, gradual changes over time. Apart from revealing a possible gap between what the ACT is saying and what the ACT isdoing, what does this apparent increase in difficulty level mean for your test prep? What ACT Changes Mean For Your Test Prep Since the recent ACT tests seem to be harder than those from five or so years ago, youshould be cautious with the pre-2010 practice tests that are in the Real ACT Prep Guide, or the "Red Book." They are still useful practice, but they might not be the truest representation of what you'll get or how you'll score on the real thing. Most ACT experts agree that they are easier than what you'll seetoday. Practice tests 4 and 5 will give you a more accurate sense of the test you'll be taking. The biggest changes have been seen in the Science and Reading section, so make sure to focus a good dealof yourtest prep, and especially your practice with time management, on these sections. Be discerning about the multi-step questions types and paired passage questions, and try out strategies for saving time and improving your efficiency. If you're deciding between the SAT and ACT, it's a good idea to note how you do on these sections, whether they'll be a boost to your score or a drawbackas compared to the SAT. If you're aiming for a top score, continue to be diligent about your test prep. Try to develop an intuition for how much time you spend on various questions, and make sure you're not wasting your time and energy on questions that should be answered quicklyor that won't earn youmany points. All questions contribute equally to your raw score, so focus on answering the questions you can and dividing up your time in a way that will maximize your score. Since difficulty level of questions vary, a lot of students benefit from mixing up the order of questions rather than answering them in the same order they're given. Again, practice testing will help you try out various strategies, like mixing up the order of the Reading passages, to figure out which ones are most effective for you. To sum up, let's quickly go over the most important takeaways for current and future ACT test-takers. What Are the Takeaways? Is the ACT hard? I think so. The ACT tests given today seem to be harder and more time intensive than ones given before 2010. (Lucky you.) Most of the changes are seen in the Science and Reading sections, where the questions are getting more complex and time-consuming. The ACT is not advertising any changes, so it's up to you to keep a discerning eye when you take practice tests from various years and adjust your test prep accordingly. Since the ACT is getting harder to finish, focus on trying out different strategies for pacing yourself and managing your time. Finally, if you're still deciding between the SAT and ACT, familiarize yourself with both tests and take practice tests to determine which one will help you achieve the stronger score for your college applications.Both tests are undergoing some serious changes now and in the near future. Get ahead of the game by staying on top of these changes and knowing what you, the test-taker, should expect and how you can prepare. What's Next? Not to brag, but PrepScholar has an exceptionally thorough and helpful series of study guides for the Science section of the ACT. Check out our Ultimate Study Guide to ACT Science for content review, strategies, and the overall structure you need to know. Since the ACT Reading section is getting more fast-paced, you want to show up on test day armed with a speed reading strategy. Check out our full guide on how to read the ACT Reading passages. Are you aiming for perfection on the ACT? This full 36 scorer shares his tips and inspiration for how he studied his way to a perfect score. Want to improve your ACT score by 4 points?We have the industry's leading ACT prep program. Built by Harvard grads and ACT full scorers, the program learns your strengths and weaknesses through advanced statistics, then customizes your prep program to you so you get the most effective prep possible. Check out our 5-day free trial today:

Identify and Evaluate Key Personal Essays

Identify and Evaluate Key Personal Essays Identify and Evaluate Key Personal Essay Identify and Evaluate Key Personal Essay Samsung Electronics Company (SEC), founded In 969 as a member of the Samsung Group, Is the largest manufacturer In Korea, with a sales turnover of $23. 9 billion in 1 997, and accounting for 32. 8 percent of the total output of the electronics industry. In investment, product development, marketing, and technology development, SEC has played the leading role in expanding the frontier of Koreans electronics industry. The case study can be enlightening to many industries that struggle to strive In a highly competitive business world. SEC is one of Americas fastest growing companies and an acknowledged leader In the digital nonviolence revolution. SEC developed strategies to build the competitive advantages required to cope with the unfriendly market environment dominated by world-class U. S. And Japanese electronics corporations. Though founded in 1970, SEC commenced reinventing itself after 1993, whilst positioning itself globally. Therefore, SEC can be studied for the various strategic models used, tools and techniques developed from the inception of the company. Moreover, the case study may provide a basis to Investigate strategies In place at SEC In long, medium and short terms. Due o the enormous size of the organization, SEC can be studied for ethical values within the organization. SEC was ranked as the fastest growing brand in the world in 2006 by Interbrain. Therefore, SEC can be studied for the participation of stakeholders, the commitment of senior management and the way in which its employees are committed in implementation of its strategies. Theories and principles that underlie strategic planning The goal of strategic planning process is to organize the future. It develops a clarity of purpose of the association and allows scarce resources to be targeted for axiom results Environmental analysis: An environmental analysis identifies the internal and external parameters of the environment in which the association operates. Environmental scanning provides invaluable insights. After completion of environmental analysis, the strategic plan is to be developed using the following principles: Political, Economic, Social, Technological, Environmental, Legal Factors Develop a vision statement Develop a mission statement Set goals. Goals, which flow from the mission statement Set objectives. Identify strategies and tactics to achieve the objectives set forth under the goals. Scenario planning is a framework that Samsung can use to develop a general strategy. There are many complex ways of doing scenario planning, but a simple process is based on creating alternative visions of the future and then developing a long term marketing plan for 2-3 scenarios, using robust strategies. Scenario planning is most safely viewed as less trying to foresee alternative futures, and more challenging the validity of the current strategy from different perspectives. The framework comprises of three stages: 1. General scenarios for 10-15 years 2. Industry/topic specific scenarios for 5-10 years 3. Eng term marketing plan for 2-3 scenarios Stages 1 2 (general/specific scenarios) 1. Define the scope of the scenario: o clarify with creative problem solving techniques, such as word replacement, word diamonds etc. 2. Conduct general research: o desk o interviews o focus groups/Delphi 3. Identify current trends (almost everything to happen in the next 20 years can be identified today in embryonic form, the so-called weak signals): o use Post-it toe brainstorming o reverse key assumptions o pick out most far-fetched ideas and get people to champion them/make them more realistic 4. Apply trends too matrix of impact vs.. Likelihood: o Locus can Issue as to winter It Is Important or not, Ana winter It Is cert. happen or may happen split ideas if parts of an idea fall into different boxes be aware that those trends that are certain to happen will form the basis of any scenario; those that may happen will group into different scenarios o discard those trends that are considered unimportant 5. Work up 8-9 mini scenarios aspects of the larger alternative scenarios to follow): o identify 6-10 key drivers the major themes that underpin all the trends o get each member of the team (or sub-teams) to write up one mini scenario based on one of the 6-10 key drivers 6. Identify 3 major scenarios: o the mostly likely scenario o the scenario that offers the greatest opportunity offers the greatest threat 7. Work on each major scenario: o the scenario that o elaborate each scenario by defining the major issues o test each scenario by suggesting the sorts of events that would have to happen for the scenario to be realized write up each scenario o critique each scenario with a wider audience 8. Identify issues arising from each major scenario: o what implications does each scenario have for the business? Stage 3: long term marketing plan 1 . Summaries the scenarios 2. Identify turning points: o identify the main events/trends that will impact the organization identify issues arising from each event/trend 3. Identify the robust strategies: o identify strategies that are necessary to address the key turning points identify issues arising from each strategy 4. Compare robust strategies with current strategies: identify strategic gaps o identify issues arising from the strategic gaps 5. Identify strategic actions required: o identify specific actions o priorities actions o allocate resources o allocate timeliness Task 1 Part d. Describe and critically evaluate a small range (3 to 5)of models tools and techniques that could be used to develop a marketing plan for your chosen organization.

The Theory of Relativity and the Speed of Light

The Theory of Relativity and the Speed of Light One commonly known fact in physics is that you cannot move faster than the speed of light. While thats basically true, its also an over-simplification. Under the theory of relativity, there are actually three ways that objects can move: At the speed of lightSlower than the speed of lightFaster than the speed of light Moving at the Speed of Light One of the key insights that Albert Einstein used to develop his theory of relativity was that light in a vacuum always moves at the same speed. The particles of light, or  photons, therefore move at the speed of light. This is the only speed at which photons can move. They cant ever speed up or slow down. (Note: Photons do change speed when they pass through different materials. This is how refraction occurs, but its the photons absolute speed in a vacuum that cannot change.) In fact, all of the bosons move at the speed of light, so far as we can tell. Slower Than the Speed of Light The next major set of particles (so far as we know, all of the ones that arent bosons) move slower than the speed of light. Relativity tells us that it is physically impossible to ever accelerate these particles fast enough to reach the speed of light. Why is this? It actually amounts to some basic mathematical concepts. Since these objects contain mass, relativity tells us that the equation kinetic energy of the object, based on its velocity, is determined by the equation: Ek m0(ÃŽ ³ - 1)c2Ek m0c2 / square root of (1 - v2/c2) - m0c2 Theres a lot going on in the above equation, so lets unpack those variables: ÃŽ ³ is the Lorentz factor, which is a scale factor that shows up repeatedly in relativity. It indicates the change in different quantities, such as mass, length, and time, when objects are moving. Since ÃŽ ³ 1 / / square root of (1 - v2/c2), this is what causes the different look of the two equations shown.m0 is the rest mass of the object, obtained when it has a velocity of 0 in a given frame of reference.c is the speed of light in free space.v is the velocity at which the object is moving. The relativistic effects are only noticeably significant for very high values of v, which is why these effects could be ignored for long before Einstein came along. Notice the denominator which contains the variable v (for velocity). As the velocity gets closer and closer to the speed of light (c), that v2/c2 term will get closer and closer to 1 ... which means that the value of the denominator (the square root of 1 - v2/c2) will get closer and closer to 0. As the denominator gets smaller, the energy itself gets larger and larger, approaching infinity. Therefore, when you try to accelerate a particle nearly to the speed of light, it takes more and more energy to do it. Actually accelerating to the speed of light itself would take an infinite amount of energy, which is impossible. By this reasoning, no particle that is moving slower than the speed of light can ever reach the speed of light (or, by extension, go faster than the speed of light). Faster Than the Speed of Light So what about if we did have a particle that moves faster than the speed of light. Is that even possible? Strictly speaking, it is possible. Such particles, called tachyons, have shown up in some theoretical models, but they almost always end up being removed because they represent a fundamental instability in the model. To date, we have no experimental evidence to indicate that tachyons do exist. If a tachyon did exist, it would always move faster than the speed of light. Using the same reasoning as in the case of slower-than-light particles, you can prove that it would take an infinite amount of energy to slow a tachyon down to light speed. The difference is that, in this case, you end up with the v-term being slightly greater than one, which means the number in the square root is a negative. This results in an imaginary number, and its not even conceptually clear what having an imaginary energy would really mean. (No, this is not dark energy.) Faster Than Slow Light As I mentioned earlier, when light goes from a vacuum into another material, it slows down. It is possible that a charged particle, such as an electron, can enter a material with sufficient force to move faster than light within that material. (The speed of light within a given material is called the phase velocity of light in that medium.) In this case, the charged particle emits a form of electromagnetic radiation thats become called Cherenkov radiation. The Confirmed Exception There is one way around the speed of light restriction. This restriction only applies to objects that are moving through spacetime, but its possible for spacetime itself to expand at a rate such that objects within it are separating faster than the speed of light. As an imperfect example, think about two rafts floating down a river at a constant speed. The river forks into two branches, with one raft floating down each of the branches. Though the rafts themselves are each always moving at the same speed, they are moving faster in relation to each other because of the relative flow of the river itself. In this example, the river itself is spacetime. Under the current cosmological model, the distant reaches of the universe is expanding at speeds faster than the speed of light. In the early universe, our universe was expanding at this rate, as well. Still, within any specific region of spacetime, the speed limitations imposed by relativity do hold. One Possible Exception One final point worth mentioning is a hypothetical idea put forth called variable speed of light (VSL) cosmology, which suggests that the speed of light itself has changed over time. This is an extremely controversial theory and theres little direct experimental evidence to support it. Mostly, the theory has been put forward because it has the potential to solve certain problems in the evolution of the early universe without resorting to inflation theory.

Technology and Society Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words

Technology and Society - Essay Example The issue at hand is not the impact that the technology would have on the culture of a society that has yet to reach the evolution level of societies in the developed world, but rather the societies in the least developed world. Information technology is given high importance in the article, with the inference that the modern societies are information driven. This is true of the developed world. However, it becomes diminished in value in the least developed countries, where the culture of the society has not evolved to be in a position to accept a high technology. For instance, in such societies, being literate in terms of the developed world may be a luxury very few can afford, and so the vast majority of the society remains illiterate. For a high technology like the Internet to diffuse and be absorbed in this society would be nigh impossible , because of the complexity involved in the use of the technology. Yes, there is mention complexity of the technological product acting as a b arrier to diffusion in a society, but the complexity suggested there is much higher than the simple ability to read and write. Yet, another aspect missed out in relevance to this issue is that there should be the presence of supportive technologies for a new technology to diffuse in a society. For a technology like the Internet to diffuse in the society, there should be enough diffusion of the supportive telecommunication technologies. The again this article has a greater bearing on markets and diffusion and adoption of technologies into these markets, and the developed world is where the large markets exists, and hence the tailoring of the article to the developed world (1). Do you agree with the concepts suggested in the Nye and Ceruzzi readings? Is technology 'fixing' or is it 'harming'? Is this something we can measure? Why or why not? Technology is both fixing and harming. Looking at the development of the spread of information and technology, the biggest barrier to this was th e inability of one computer to communicate with another and thus impeding the flow of information. A technology fix occurred in the development of the Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW). The barrier of flow of information from one computer to another just vanished. The technological fix of the Internet and the World Wide Web demonstrated the potential of their being a medium through which a host of various kinds of activities ranging from information activity sites to commercial activity sites, and social interaction sites and soon the technological fix fell in place like search engines for information, e-commerce sites for commercial activity, and yahoo mail, hotmail, etc., as social ad business activity sites. So technology is fixing providing a host of benefits, but along with it comes the price in the form of the harm it can cause. The activities of hackers and pornography sites may be arguably discounted as the actions with a criminal bend of mind misusing the technology tow ards their objectives. Yet, the harm transcends this with the potential of reducing the very quality of the society we live in. Being students it is easy to see how the technology fixes of the Internet a

Discussion Questions Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 750 words - 3

Discussion Questions - Assignment Example berg (Saadi, 2010), cooperation with Threadless Company gave Dell possibility to be closer to its customers as such art fitted consumers of Dell products. The co called crowdsourcing is also known business model which such companies as Mars and Ben & Jerry used within their strategies. Thus, Mars has launched the global contest in order to choose the new color of M&Ms. Ben & Jerry lineup added Primary Berry Graham. If to consider firm performance regarding customer satisfaction, Ngobo (n.d.) considers that in service sectors, firm-specific effects are more important than the industry effects as it is more difficult to imitate in the customized service industries. Within the strategic management, firm effects capture variation in strategies and performance outcomes throughout industries and firms (Mauri & Michaels, 1998). The three levels of strategy, the corporate, business and functional should be paid equal attention by an organization as it enables the firm to determine its long-term direction within the external environment, meet the stakeholders’ expectations and take care of its operations (Barnes, 2007). The firm should understand where it is in business, what it should acquire or divest, how to compete in this business and with what mission, determine its strategic objectives and resources managed in the function. Despite the different length, content, format and specificity if a mission statement, it should be informative and clear, inspire employees and all organizational stakeholders. Academicians consider (David, et al., 2014) that effective mission statement includes components directed toward customers, products or services, markets, technology, environmental concerns, philosophy, concern about society, employees and self- concept. Within the modern business world, it is important for an organization to understand the external environment in order to align it with the strategies which lead to a firm’s ability to remain sustainable in the

Critically assess the theoretical and practical debates about Essay

Critically assess the theoretical and practical debates about stakeholding focussing either on the basic income or asset aspects. Address the issues in the context of a particular society of your choice - Essay Example The concept of stakeholding stipulates that every citizen upon attainment of an adulthood age, 21 years as proposed by Ackerman and Alstott, should receive a considerable lump sum one-time grant from the government. The amount given should be sufficient to qualify one as a significant wealth owner. Ackerman and Alstott recommended that the amount should total $80,000 in the United States (Ackerman et al, 2006). This essay is aimed at critically assessing the theoretical and practical debates concerning stakeholders grant in relation to basic income or assets. The Presented discussion will be addressed in the context of African American society in the United States. The need for contemporary public policies has been necessitated by the transformative nature of the current labour market. Sherraden (2005) argued that market risks no longer impact directly on collective intermediary, government and insurance institutions but affects individuals and consequently their families. The current framework of social welfare has proved ineffective as witnessed from the deterioration of means tested program systems and lack of will by the governing institutions. Therefore, Ackerman and Alstott noted that the introduction of stakeholding would lead to progressive redistribution of wealth among members of the society (Ackerman et al, 2006). According to Paxton and White (2005), social policy campaign by egalitarian crusaders of has been focused on the redistribution of resource ownership. Proponents of stakeholding as form of social policy argues that highly privileged individuals inherit wealth from their parents while children from poor backgrounds are like ly to continue languishing due to absence of inheritance. In such a scenario, underprivileged African Americans have been left without prerequisite resources to attend colleges and universities. Arguments by Ackerman and Alstott have been evidenced by the extent of income disparity between

Workplace Safety Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Workplace Safety - Essay Example (Gustafson, 2011). This article reflects on an issue that involves a severe attack on the employee Rich Dean by a dangerous prisoner Lehtinen. Dean is seriously distressed by the news that Oregon hospital will not have to deal with any sanctions in regard to the violent incident even after a long workplace safety inspection undertaken by Oregon’s Occupational Safety and Health Division (OSHA). This decision by OSHA led Dean to present his issues with the results of the investigation in an interview. Dean voiced facts that set in contrast to the justifications presented by OSHA. According to OSHA, Dean issued a citation against the hospital’s security administration on no grounds. This is because the hospital has always adopted satisfactory security measures and conducted safety assessments before the grave attack on Dean occurred. Also, there had been no violent attacks on any hospital employee by the jail inmates before that incident and high-profile assault prevention training is also given to the employees according to the OSHA report. Now, Dean claimed that when he was attacked by Lehtinen, the two other employees dog-piled on him and Lehtinen, which gave Lehtinen an easy access to land heavy kicks on Dean’s eyes, shoulders, and neck. Had it not been for the careless action of the two other security men, Dean would surely have saved himself from Lehtinen’s attacks. Also, the emergency alarm system was sadly out of function at the time of the assault.

Native American Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Native American - Essay Example The use of stringed instruments such as guitars and fiddles and the application of music synchronization to Indian music were initially introduced by the Europeans. With the migration of the Europeans and their African slaves to western Americas, both the European and African music started to influence Native American music traditions (Prinzing). In the American Indian humanity, music has always portrayed an important role — a medium of communication with the spiritual kingdom, and of inviting mystical force into their daily existence. It has become a fundamental expression of American Indian identity (Fields). â€Å"The importance of American Indian music is found not in its impact on modern scholarship and composition but in the traditions and values it expresses to and for the Indian people. This oral tradition has survived solely because the music was too important to be allowed to die† (1976). Indian songs are an integral component of any activity, and encompass power in and of itself (Fields). There are songs for all events. There are songs for the efficiency of labour, success in hunting and fishing, winning in betting and gambling, making of rain, safety of the home and the family, power to heal, abundant harvests, lullabies, songs of romance, worship songs, corn-grinding songs, social dance songs, game songs, and legend songs (Rhodes 6). Some Indian songs are for teaching roles in society. Lullabies not only put babies in deep slumber, but furthermore aid as guidance and preparation for a life ahead. The songs are intended to facilitate happiness, good health, and the making of a better person and a useful part of humanity. One Indian lullaby says, â€Å"My little son, you will put a sealing spear into your canoe, without knowing what use you may make of it when you are a man† (Densmore 226). Another lullaby for a little girl says, â€Å"This little girl will pick black salmon berries when the women go to get berries†

The effects of aquaculture on bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops sp.) Essay

The effects of aquaculture on bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops sp.) ranging in Shark Bay, Western Australia - Essay Example of such a large number of single species, the interruption of the food chain, the activity of humans and the interference with migration patterns and appropriate safe places in which dolphins have traditionally hidden from predators, there have not been many studies conducted regarding the exact effect these types of farms have on local dolphin populations. The study looked at the activities of 11 female dolphins that have been subjects of studies since 1988. Because the areas of the oyster farm moved periodically throughout the study, researchers were able to compare dolphin activities at each stage of operation. The study was conducted by approaching dolphins as they were seen from a small boat and determining individuals by their dorsal fins. At the same time, the location of the boat was recorded by taking bearings on GPS devices or landmarks. These location points were then charted and compared to the oyster farm areas. The dolphins studied did show a significant decrease in usage of the areas used by the oyster farm, preferring to operate around the farm rather than in it or through it. The impact of this is decreased foraging sites for female dolphins, resulting in decreased eating, reproductive success and disruption in established social

Native American Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Native American - Essay Example The use of stringed instruments such as guitars and fiddles and the application of music synchronization to Indian music were initially introduced by the Europeans. With the migration of the Europeans and their African slaves to western Americas, both the European and African music started to influence Native American music traditions (Prinzing). In the American Indian humanity, music has always portrayed an important role — a medium of communication with the spiritual kingdom, and of inviting mystical force into their daily existence. It has become a fundamental expression of American Indian identity (Fields). â€Å"The importance of American Indian music is found not in its impact on modern scholarship and composition but in the traditions and values it expresses to and for the Indian people. This oral tradition has survived solely because the music was too important to be allowed to die† (1976). Indian songs are an integral component of any activity, and encompass power in and of itself (Fields). There are songs for all events. There are songs for the efficiency of labour, success in hunting and fishing, winning in betting and gambling, making of rain, safety of the home and the family, power to heal, abundant harvests, lullabies, songs of romance, worship songs, corn-grinding songs, social dance songs, game songs, and legend songs (Rhodes 6). Some Indian songs are for teaching roles in society. Lullabies not only put babies in deep slumber, but furthermore aid as guidance and preparation for a life ahead. The songs are intended to facilitate happiness, good health, and the making of a better person and a useful part of humanity. One Indian lullaby says, â€Å"My little son, you will put a sealing spear into your canoe, without knowing what use you may make of it when you are a man† (Densmore 226). Another lullaby for a little girl says, â€Å"This little girl will pick black salmon berries when the women go to get berries†

Multi-national operation and risk management of Debenhams plc Essay

Multi-national operation and risk management of Debenhams plc - Essay Example It is in light of this that Debenhams has been brought under the spotlight for a through market analysis on how the company presents itself on the international market and seeks to better its financial performance through the engagement of various forms of globalisation strategies. Whiles initiating globalisation strategies, it is also admitted that there are risks that can easily prevent the company from growing to the level it desires. Risks management strategies within the company are therefore scrutinised to balance the discussion. Company Description Not only is Debenhams listed on the London Stock Exchange but it is also a member of the FTSE 250 index (Davidson, 2010). Currently, the company emphasises on UK, Ireland and Denmark as its major market destinations. This notwithstanding, there are number of international franchise that operate under the name of the company. As of 2012, the total number of UK, Denmark and Ireland based locations for the company were 172 and those op erating as international franchise were 68 stores across 25 countries (Alter, McLaughlin & Melniker, 2008). The company is currently engaged in retail chain departmental stores, which means that it is not a manufacturer of the products that it sells out to customers. In effect, the company does not source raw materials but depend on suppliers who deal directly with the manufacturers of the various products that the company displays on its shelves. The operational industry of the company mainly focuses on the sale of electrical and electronic products, clothes, accessories, cosmetics, gifts, toys, shoes and home furniture. The operating income with which the company went into the 2012 annual market was ?158.3 million, out which ?2,229.8 million was produced as revenue and ?125.3 million as net income (Kingdon, 2013). The operations of the company in all its local and international stores are run by a powerful 29,000 employee base that undertake all forms of duties ranging from manage rial positions to cleaning (Kloha, Weissert & Kleine, 2005). Financial Performance and Globalisation Strategies Gross transaction value Since 2008, Debenhams has focused its strength on competitive global marketing on two larger market segments, which are UK and International market segments. Together, these two form the group market for the company. To measure its profitability ratio, there is a lot of emphasis on the gross transaction value that the company creates, as this value represents the unadulterated quantum of revenue accrued by the company over given period of time (Groves, Godsey & Shulman, 2012). From the table below, it would be noted that there has been a steady rise in the physical quantum of gross transaction value for both UK and international markets. However, these increases have not come at an even interval of growth as the figure shows that there are years that the percentage rise goes down even though they do not represent negative growth trends. What is more , the margin of percentage growth has always only been minimal, indicating that the company

Are diamonds taken out of context today Essay Example for Free

Are diamonds taken out of context today Essay In todays society, we [as people] take many things out of context. For example, diamonds. A diamonds, is a naturally occurring gem that has become prized for an unknown reason. They have no absolute value, except the price man delegates them to be valued. Humans discovered diamonds over four thousand years ago. Since its discovery, the diamond has been the hardest natural substance on the earth. Along with its hardness, it is also the purest and most rare of all gems, making it both functionally and culturally valuable. With this combination of qualities, it is easy to see why it has been an object of obsession, ever since its discovery. However, I have come to believe that throughout our recent history of the gem, its cultural significance out weighs its functionality. Since, their discovery, diamonds have meant many things to many people. It has always been of the same beauty as it is today, but it started out as an evolutionary tool. The supreme hardness of the diamond makes it a fundamental industrial material that affects everyday life. According to the Museum of Natural History, It has three primary roles in industry: it is used as a cutting tool, it is imbedded in another material and used as a tool or abrasive, and it is also turned to powder or paste for grinding and polishing. It is selected for such use where its hardness and resistance to abrasion its long working life and fast cutting action outweigh its cost(AMNH). For any type of stone or masonry, as well as all types of metal that requires drilling, shaping, or polishing, diamonds may perform the task. In fact, diamonds are in such demand that, four times the amount produced naturally is grown synthetically for industry alone. That amounts to over 500 million carats or 100 metric tons (AMNH). As you can see, there are many functional uses for diamonds. They have created options, never thought possible, with previous technologies. Some of these things include; shaping eyeglasses, other gems, computer chips, and even blades used in critical surgeries. Record needles have used diamonds in for producing music for about fifty years. Unfortunately, due to ruthless marketing and advertising, the diamonds path soon changed. [As I stated above] Diamonds have always contained the same beauty. However, before 1938, the value of diamonds derived primarily from their worth as a rare stone. In 1938, the New York advertising agency of N. W. Ayers(r) was hired. Their job was to change the public attitude about diamonds. A company you might have heard of, DeBeers(r) the largest controller and harvester of diamonds in the world hired the agency. These two companies wanted to transform diamonds from a financial investment, to a symbol of committed and everlasting love. Finally, in 1947, an Ayers(r) advertising copywriter came up with the slogan a diamond is forever and the rest they say, is history (IBC). DeBeers'(r) new slogan revolutionized the diamond market. With their new symbol of love and faith, the diamond came to represent many different things from earlier days. Today the diamond symbolizes wealth, durability, status, and peerless quality. Across time and cultures, diamonds have also been associated with invulnerability, lighting, magic, healing, protection, and poisoning (AMNH). In the past, this beautiful nearly flawless gem was an extraordinary technological gain. However, today the combination of their beauty and near imperfection, makes the diamond the most sought after gem in the world. Due to advertisement and DeBeers(r) new slogan, diamonds became the cultural icon that they are. You see diamonds today in many forms: Earrings, necklaces, rings, watches and any other piece of jewelry you can imagine. I have even [personally] seen diamonds on a persons teeth. With all of these new places to put diamonds and the ever-growing demand to own them, it seems the views have changed. Besides the status symbols diamonds deliver they also represent longevity. By pairing an intimate personal commitment and a gem that lasted forever, they gave the notion that this was the only gift that can symbolize commitment. The pressure for a man to buy his new bride a symbol of their eternal love and loyalty for each other is extreme. It almost seems absurd, in this day and time, that a man would not buy a diamond to offer a woman for her hand in marriage. There is even a diamond guide: The four Cs. This guide helps a person understand these things: Cut, Color, Carat and Clarity of diamonds. This guide allows magnified inspection to prove purity of the gem. This also allows retailers to increase prices on gems that reach higher standards. Well, at least they last forever! Unfortunately, although a diamond lasts forever, after time companies suggest an upgrade to larger gems that represent stronger love. With this staggering support of logic, the diamond industry will forever boom. They have helped lead our culture, as well as many others, into almost idolizing the diamond. In my opinion, human desire for diamonds shows how advertisers have done their job. We have allowed a company to decide what we think is valuable. The ads for diamonds appeal to our inner desires to have something rare and precious. It seems to be in us all, to want nice things, but diamonds have coerced us to want more. They symbolize power and success and for some, diamonds represent quality of life. They are our cultures only remaining treasures; with the help of DeBeers(r) and other diamond retailers, it will remain that way until the end of our time.

Riot Grrrl: Empowering Women and Changing the World Essay -- Feminism

Take a moment and envision yourself accompanying your significant other at a highly anticipated punk rock concert. Upon arrival, he immediately insists that you play the role of a â€Å"good girlfriend† by holding his jacket while he and the rest of the male audience move up towards the mosh pit. You soon find yourself pushed and shoved to the back of the room, the farthest distance away from the stage as possible, along with hundreds of other â€Å"good girlfriends† as personified coat hangers. This was an issue faced by many women in the early 90’s who were interested in the punk rock scene, yet were unable to have their voices be heard, until now. Riot grrrl, a radical feminist movement that thrived in the underground punk scene has challenged the media to take a step back and recognize the women involved to be able to portray and express themselves without the need of society’s written standards of how or what the ideal woman should be. In Kevin Dunn a nd May Farnsworth’s article, â€Å"We ARE The Revolution†: Riot Grrrl Press, Girl Empowerment, and DIY Self-Publishing, the authors mention how riot grrrl members took matters into their own hands by establishing their own interpersonal sources of positive and influential media through utilization of radio shows, fanzines, television programs, and creative outlets to promote self expression and awareness. They had every good intention to carry these opportunities out since the media has long been known for deliberately distorting every ounce of truth they are given. Misconceptions of feminism have especially emerged through the deceitful tactics of the media and have managed to successfully establish a negative connotation with the movement of feminism. When questioned on the topic of feminism,... ... permanent mark on today’s world. It may be considered a man’s world for now, but with the efforts of millions who support the same values that riot grrrl enforces, it will soon it will be a world of equality where both men and women have equal opportunities to have their voices be heard. Works Cited Downes, Julia. Women Make Noise: Girl Bands from Motown to the Modern. Twickenham: Supernova, 2012. Print. Dunn, Kevin, and May Summer Farnsworth. "â€Å"We ARE The Revolution†: Riot Grrrl Press, Girl Empowerment, And DIY Self-Publishing." Women's Studies 41.2 (2012): 136-157. Academic Search Premier. Web. 5 Dec. 2015. Leonard, Marion. Gender in the Music Industry: Rock, Discourse, and Girl Power. Aldershot, Hampshire, England: Ashgate, 2007. Print. Meltzer, Marisa. Girl Power: The Nineties Revolution in Music. New York: Faber and Faber, 2010. Print.

Aversive Conditioning Essay -- essays research papers

Aversive conditioning is a manufactured negative response to certain things, much like the operant conditioning developed by Skinner. The contingent behavior is behavior that, when performed, results in the delivery of specific consequences or reinforcers. This article described the measures taken to make coyotes stop wanting to kill lambs for food. The authors’ contention is that it may be possible to reconcile the desires of both ranchers and conservationists. The latter group wishes to enable the coyote and, perhaps other predators, to survive in the open range, as they have for millions of years. Species that kill farm animals include others: mountain lions, bears, bobcats, and red wolves as well as coyotes. This paper on aversive conditioning mainly addresses whether behavior of coyotes can be altered without affecting their survival in the wild. The question Mssrs. Gustavson and Garcia attempt to address is whether coyotes can be conditioned to kill animals such as mice, rabbits, gophers, and squirrels- species of no economic value in the western United States- while leaving sheep alone. Clearly, sheep have tremendous economic value in terms of meat and wool production, and ranchers as well as the general meat-consuming public have a vested interest in the survival and success of the ranching industry. Just as clearly, environmentalist and conservationists have an interest in seeing that certain species are enabled to survive in their native habitat, and not simply confined in zoos under whatever terms humans dictate. To see if they could make coyotes stop killing lambs, the authors first took a sample population of coyotes from different regions of Montana where coyotes were notorious for killing shepherds’ flocks. They captured seven coyotes, five from the wild and two from captivity. Presumably all of them loved to eat lamb meat. They fed them tainted lamb, wrapped in fresh lamb hide. The meat itself was not toxic to the long-term health of the coyotes that devoured it. Instead, it was laced with lithium chloride, which causes vomiting. One assumption made was that the lithium did not actually affect the taste of the meat. Therefore, the coyotes actually did consume the meat, and uniformly became sick after eating the lamb. As a result of associating the meat with vomiting the coyotes didn’t want to eat lamb anymore. On the contrary, they ran awa... ... eat them again. One such coyote killed and ate a rabbit within one week, albeit cautiously. Therefore, although it may be deemed a success to be able to state that a certain coyote is well on his/her way to hating lamb, it may be that these coyotes need repeated aversion therapy towards sheep, or towards other livestock which other ranchers might raise. Finally, even if aversion therapy turns out to be effective, or whether it must be repeated to be effective, there is reason to think that this behavior will not be self-perpetuating. There is no evidence produced that a coyote will avoid sheep simply because its mother does. Aversion to lamb meat is obviously a learned habit, not a genetic one. If all coyotes need to be captured, and perhaps tagged and periodically recaptured, in order persistently avoid or hate lamb meat, the conservationists are defeating their own purpose. For their plan to work, all coyotes will have to be captured and "domesticated" in some way. It would appear that, if this turns out to be the case, truly wild coyotes will have become a thing of the past, and they will not be allowed to roam free in their feral state in any real sense after all.

Gothic horror Essay

All three stories are based on the Victorian era, they are all examples of Gothic horror. Gothic horror is shown to scare the the reader. the gothic era normally has a typical ghostley setting, it has to be mysterious and nothing is explained or even described! â€Å"Most gothic novels are tales of mystery and horror intended to chill the spines and cradle the blood. They contain a strong element of super natural†. Most gothic has alot of tension. There is an even stronger build up of tension in short stories. There three stories show elements and forces beyond an individuals control, Starting off with the ‘tell tale heart’ where here shows that the narrator is mad and signs of schizophrenia as he thinks he is hearing thing, â€Å"above all was the sense of hearing acute† narrator is also questioning the reader which makes us guess hes going mad. The narrator never pretends to be innocent, fully admitting that he has killed the old man because of the victims pale blue, film-covered eye. Then when he kills the old man dued to paranoia, he starts to hear old mans heart beats which makes him confess his wrong doing. The ‘red room’ we can infer that the narrator firstly shows eagarness and confidence â€Å"you will show me to this haunted room† his mppd starts to swing into a different emotion as he shows fear â€Å"the memory of that story gave me a suddden thinge of apprehension†. Finally he becomes a shrieking wreak and admits it was fear that haunted him. In ‘Confession found in a prison we all gather that the narrator is ill and suffering from paranoid and madness, this is shown by when killing the boy who looks at him at the same way his mother mad. This story being in first person gets the reader into the mind of the character and tells them his emotions and how he feels in the situation. The story starts with the narrator explaining, â€Å"this is the last night I have to live† This sentence draws in the reader with curiosity as to why it is his last living night. The victorians found alot of intrest in the human brain as they knew more about it dued to science, they used to lock away insane, disability and single women with children, they were never realeased, many people were tortured to be ‘cured’. The setting in the red room is set around the room, we know its old as it â€Å"creaks on its hinge†. The red room isn’t explained about much which makes the room mysterious. This settng would be frightening as paranoia would be as it would be if it was silent and dark so the slighest of sound could scare the day lights out of you. â€Å"i walked down the chilly, echoing passage†. This would frighten the reader as â€Å"chilly† shows ge is cold. â€Å"echoing† shows he is alone. He must scared as he can point out every second that happens. The writer emphasises many aspects of the place where the supernatural tale could take place. The tell-tale heart is mainlysetted in the old mans bedroom. This room is scary as the writer uses alor of suspence to get you frightened â€Å"you cannot imagine how stealthily, stealthily until at length a simply dim ray, like the thread of the spider, shot from out the creavile and fell upon like the vulture eye†. This actions are very slow and meliculous, he is worried about every tiny detail â€Å"upon the eighth night i was more usually cautious in opening the door’ and when i had waited a long time, very patiently, with out hearing him lie down†. Confession found in a prision is set in a prison but the murder was set in the house. The short story ‘Confessions found in a prison’ shows the narrator to be a paranoid and obsessive character, this is shown when the narrator watches the spot where the child is murdered for a whole day. The reader can also see his conscious playing on his mind as he dreams that he did not kill the child, but wakes in ‘dreadful agony’ realising that he had murdered the child. I Think ‘confessions found in a prison’ makes the most fear for the reader as a child is murdered by his guardian, this story is very disturbing as the murder is made by somebody who is supposed to love and care for the child. These three short stories, if modern to this day, could still create fear in many readers today. Many books with the same storylines are still popular with today’s generation and are just as spine chilling and blood curdling as they were in the Victorian

How to Achieve Sales Target

How To Achieve Sales Targets Sales personnel often ask themselves how to achieve sales targets? Prospects are more savvy now when buying products and there is a wider choice of products in the market place. What can sales people do to achieve these targets? 1. Selling Is About The Value The Customer Gets Many sales people study very well the features and functions of the products and services that they sell. What is more important is to understand what value the product or service brings to the person who buys it. For a given product, different people buy it for their own unique reasons.It is therefore necessary to know what are the kinds of needs that the product or service serves. You can then find out the needs of the prospect first and then only present your product or service in the light of their requirements. This approach will not only help you close the sale with the prospect that you are dealing with. It will help to increase referral sales that you can get. 2. Serve Before Selling Sales people can be so focused on selling that they may not realize that this approach is normally seen as very aggressive by the prospect.To understand the prospect needs and to serve the prospect with no expectation of selling is actually proving to be a much more effective way of selling. Once you know the prospect needs, be generous about tips on how the person can meet their needs. One of the options, of course, is to use the product or service that you are selling. This approach is subtle and non-threatening. Even if the prospect did not buy, the chances that they will refer you to someone else is high. In addition, they may later decide to buy your product. So, do remember to give your contact details even if you do not make a sale. 3. Strategize And Follow Your StrategyWhen you are faced with a question of how to achieve sales targets, the first step must be to strategize. Without a strategy, you will be aimlessly going through actions not really knowing if you can achieve your target. Then, of course, follow your strategy. In following your strategy, monitor the results to check if your strategy is working the way you intended it to. If it does not, then it is time to evaluate and make adjustments based on your findings. This simply means that you have mini-targets and dates against which you track your progress. While strategies are high level, they are still not cast in concrete.It will be pointless pursuing a strategy that you realize is not making headway. 4. Develop A Plan Based On Your Strategy It is important that a strategy is converted into a working plan with dates and expected results or deliverables at each of these dates. In the event that other people are involved, clearly state who is accountable for each of these actions. Identifying results or deliverables is important as these will indicate if the actions have been successfully completed. Use these results and deliverables as a basis to make any adjustments to your action pl an or even to the strategy if required. . Enjoy The Journey Make sure that the whole process of achieving sales targets is an enjoyable journey for you. If you find that it is not, you may want to find ways of creating some fun along the way. There are people who use fun stationery when planning and tracking their work. Even strategizing can be fun when using colors and pictures. Mind maps are a great way to get your creative juices flowing. Another way will be to reward yourself not just at the end of achieving your objectives, but also at milestone achievements. These do not have to burn a hole in your pocket.While you could take a holiday at the end of the project, at milestone achievements, you might want to reward yourself with watching a movie or buying that new pair of shoes. It could even be as simple as having that ice cream only when you achieve the milestone. Steps on strategizing, planning, tracking and rewarding are common thoughts on how to be successful at sales. Add to this the concepts of serving before selling and the value you bring to the customer, and you will have a winning strategy on how to achieve your sales targets.

A cream cracker under the settee

Dramatic monologue is a variation of lyric poem in which the character expresses his/her emotions, actions, feelings or motives. It is written to reveal the situation as well as the character.In dramatic monologue, a single speaker who is not the poet utters the poem at a critical situation thereby adding depth to the character. In fact, we come to know about the myriad aspects of the character by listening to the speaker. This was developed during Victorian era and Robert Browning perfected this form.In the dramatic monologue â€Å"A cream cracker under the settee†, Alan Bennett puts forth his views on the society’s treatment of the elderly and the consequences thereof. He accomplishes this by describing an elderly lady’s view of the world and her loneliness.The play starts with Doris, the elderly lady sitting on the floor of her living room. She has fallen down while cleaning the photo of her late husband Wilfred. She strongly believes that the world of her tim e is much better than the present. She feels that people of her time were cleaner and more responsible than the people of today.This shows why she disapproves her domestic help, Zulema, who had not cleaned the photo in the first place. She enjoys her old memories and the lovely time she had with her husband as can be seen by the way she talks to her dead husband’s old photographs. This also shows that she is lonely and misses company.She feels she is â€Å"left behind† by the people of her generation. This loneliness can also be attributed to the lack of self-understanding and the understanding of others. Through the entire play, Doris attempts to alienate herself from the so-called â€Å"corrupt† society of today.Doris has a compulsive obsession with cleanliness. In her younger days, she had forbidden her husband Wilfred from taking up any hobbies that could be messy. When they were younger, they had a baby that died during birth.The nurse had wrapped the baby in newspaper, which according to Doris was â€Å"dirty†. This reveals that she did not want her child, even though dead, to be associated with anything dirty. She is very concerned about what her others would say if she is not spotlessly clean.This can be seen when the leaves from the next door blow into her garden and she says â€Å"I ought to put a sign on the gate, not my leaves†. She was scared that other her neighbors may not think high of her hygiene and so she asked her husband Wilfred to concrete the garden so that it would be easier to clean.While Doris is on the floor, she looks at her wedding photo and talks to her husband about her loneliness and how she was happier in her days. Her happiness in her younger days could be due to various reasons and one of the important reasons would be the total independence and the â€Å"ruler of the roost† that she enjoyed. She also laments about the need for â€Å"home help† now. This is why she disapproves of her home help, Zulema.She cannot accept that she needs Zulema because that means she is forfeiting her independence. She feels that she is not dependent on Zulema for anything. She gets very picky when Zulema tells her â€Å"you’d be better in Stafford House†. Stafford House is the local old age people’s home.Though Zulema’s intentions were right, she said that because she wanted someone to take control of Doris’s life, Doris felt that as an intrusion into her independence. According to Doris, Stafford House represents domination by others and the acceptance of her dependence on someone. She cannot accept her own inability to support herself physically.This yearning for independence is very evident when a policeman comes to check on her. The policeman asks her, â€Å"Are you alright?† Doris replies, â€Å"No. I’m all right.† This also reflects that she has gotten herself into a mindset which makes it difficult for her to acc ept the hardships and difficulties of old age.

Is the performance appraisal enough to guarantee better employee Essay

Is the performance appraisal enough to guarantee better employee performance - Essay Example 8) What will be the impact of each alternative on employee performance? 4. Research Design 4.1 Research Method: The research is both descriptive and causal in nature. In the descriptive part, the research will identity the findings of previous researchers regarding the effectiveness of performance appraisal in guaranteeing employee performance. After the descriptive analysis, the research will establish a link between the how strongly related performance appraisal is with employee performance and what other factors might be possible causes of employee performance. Both the primary and secondary sources will be used which are detailed as follows: Secondary Sources: The purpose of the desk research portion of the study is to gain hard data on pre-existing performance appraisal templates and their known outcomes, in real-life business environments, to gain an understanding of how the process is implemented and how employees have historically responded to these methodologies. Additionall y, this secondary research effort will improve understanding of what drives motivational responses in modern worker populations, based on performance criteria laid out by real-life organisations. During the course of the research, alternative methodologies other than the performance appraisal, designed to build better human capital, will be explored. It will act as the foundational knowledge necessary to approach fulfilment of the study’s objectives and build an appropriate primary research design strategy (Nargundkar, 2003). The procedure will entail consultation with appropriate journals and textbooks that describe performance-related phenomenon in the organisational environment (Smith, 2008). Additionally, reputable website content will... The paper tells that the purpose of the desk research portion of the study is to gain hard data on pre-existing performance appraisal templates and their known outcomes, in real-life business environments, to gain an understanding of how the process is implemented and how employees have historically responded to these methodologies. Additionally, this secondary research effort will improve understanding of what drives motivational responses in modern worker populations, based on performance criteria laid out by real-life organisations. During the course of the research, alternative methodologies other than the performance appraisal, designed to build better human capital, will be explored. It will act as the foundational knowledge necessary to approach fulfilment of the study’s objectives and build an appropriate primary research design strategy. The procedure will entail consultation with appropriate journals and textbooks that describe performance-related phenomenon in the o rganisational environment. Additionally, reputable website content will be consulted as provided by university leadership across the globe and case study representations of motivational theory and the use of performance appraisals as a means of fostering improved organisational and worker efficiency. Case studies of various organizations in London shall be used for initial exploratory findings. Results from a study conducted by students of University of Cranfield regarding the IiP shall also be used.

Chivalry Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Chivalry - Research Paper Example e point of view of benevolent sexism, women may be seen as loveable, delightful pure beings that have to be looked after or cared for and whose affection is needed to fulfill a man’s life. Certain women may even embrace this idea of ‘protection’ as valuing instead of controlling (Viki, Abrams, & Hutchison, 2003). This essay discusses how benevolent sexism and hostile sexism work together to maintain and reinforce existing gender status quo. Benevolent sexism—even though similarly limiting to women as hostile sexism—works to appease women’s opposition to deeply embedded gender inequality due to its appealing principle. By portraying women in a positive way and guaranteeing benefits to women who are capable of associating themselves with a strong, influential, powerful male defender, benevolent sexism melts down women’s opposition into patriarchy. Women who rely on men for their security, happiness, and comfort are less able to question or defy men’s authority or to seek their own individuality and freedom. Generally, women who embrace and support long-established gender relations become romantic objects, mothers, and wives. As a consequence, they experience benevolent sexism outlooks, behavior, and treatment. On the contrary, women who are seen as defying or robbing men’s control become objects of hostile sexism (Viki et al., 2003). Although dividing women’s images into separate female categories, hostile and benevolent sexism integrate reward and punishment mechanisms and could work in balancing ways to sustain and perpetuate gender inequality. Classifying women into categories also directly results in seclusion among females, making them more fragile and divided rather than strong and unified (Viki et al., 2005). Glick and Fiske (2001) stated that benevolent and hostile sexism are an â€Å"interlocking set of beliefs that reflects a system of rewards (benevolent sexism) and punishment (hostile sexism)† (as cited in Becker & Wright, 2011, 63)

Managing Expectations in Business and Personal Life Essay

Managing Expectations in Business and Personal Life - Essay Example Keeping a balance between personal and professional life is extremely difficult. Both business/professional life and personal life are filled with immense stress in the current world because of the increased commitments of people towards, their family, profession and society. Managing expectations in personal professional life are extremely difficult because of these commitments. This paper briefly explains the management of expectations in personal and professional life. At the center of every influential person and organization is the effective management of expectations (Cacace MBA, PMP, p.18). A professional always have a dual life; personal and professional. In fact a profession is required by an individual for making his/her personal life enjoyable. So it is not wise for a person to concentrate heavily on professional life by neglecting the needs of personal life. For example, most of the working women try to keep their babies in daycare centers even at a much younger stage when the infant badly in need of the mothers care and love, in order to fulfill their professional commitments. Such habits will destroy the physical and mental development of the child for who they work. In other words, they are trying to provide a better life to their children at one side while destroying their life on the other side. They must try to keep a balance between these two sides by taking as much as break from the profession when their children are badly in need of their presence, love and care. When your intentions are not in perfect alignment with expectations, and expectations are not in sync with requirements and objectives; you are putting too much faith in luck and relinquishing control to chaos (Cacace MBA, PMP, p.18). Expectations should be realistic and objective based. Expectations and requirements should have synchronization. There is no point in expecting a trip to sun as it is unrealistic. Also, it is not logical for an uneducated person to expect