Monday, September 30, 2019

Summary Ben Carson Story

According to the movie, Ben Carson grew up from the poor family with his mother is non-education. She is only a maid in the rich man's house. One day during cleaning his house, Ben's mother learned that reading a book is better than spending the time in front of television. She suddenly got back home to force her children to spend their time in the library every day. They also have to summarize what they got from the books. This is the beginning of pulling Ben's intelligence out.Another one day in is science class, the teacher asked his student about how to find the solution of the Log. There is no one can get the right answer, but Ben who know how to get the result of Log. He surprised everyone with realizing he is not a stupid boy. In the university life he got a scholarship from Yale University. He became very the youngest neurosurgeon doctor. After his first successful surgeon by separating conjoined twins joined at the head he is very popular in the medias. Reflection – ( A few lessons I learnt and how I can apply them to my degree at UNC)There is no final destination for studying In our life. It Is our choice to study In anytime and anywhere from the books. The more we read the more we get knowledge from the world. Books can open your mind and pull out your Intelligence and ability. From now on, I think the best way to Improve my own life Is reading more than yesterday. During my master's life In UNC, I will spend my time In the library more than another place. Keep going and keep reading might make my life here easier.

Sunday, September 29, 2019

The Country Husband

Literally Essay The Country Husband We all make choices in our lives. We choose who we will be, what we will believe and what social norms or values will guide our everyday lives. In making these choices, particularly about our value system , we do not question whether these choices (our value system)will be tested and found faulty because of our ever changing circumstance. In the story The Country Husband, Francis Weed found himself questioning his value system as dictated by his suburban living. Francis Weed, after a traumatic life event, became temporarily dissatisfied with his superficial world of social clubs and high society (suburbia) and acted to rebel against it. However in his fight, he realized that he needed the very thing he hated and resolved this conflict with distractions, unrequited love and woodworking. We all belong in a community in which our membership should mean we agree with the values/standards of that community and our participation is a choice. In this story, Mr. Weeds participation in his community appears to be forced After an alleged emergency plane landing, Mr. Weeds returns home to his family and community where his ordeal is ignored. He attempts to share this ordeal with his wife in stating, â€Å" [I] was nearly killed in an airplane crash, and [I[ don’t like to come home every night to a battlefield. † (Cheever, pg 65) Instead of inquiring about the accident or showing some degree of sympathy about his accident, Mrs. Weeds responds by stating that â€Å"He doesn’t come home every night to a battlefield. † (Cheever, pg 65) Mr. Weeds ordeal is ignored because it does not have a place in his suburban life in the community of Shady Hill. It neither adds to nor takes away from the values of this community and therefore it has no relevance. It appears that Mr. Weeds begins to question the values his community places on him and the consequence endured if they are violated. Thus, he recalled the war in Vessey, a day in which a woman who was socially humiliated for some apparent indiscretion for which her head was shaved and she was made to walk the street naked. He believes that woman who serves him dinner is the oman â€Å"punished at the crossroads, (Cheever, pg 67) but he know it would have been â€Å"a social as well as human error† to share this story at the dinner table because talk of war and trouble of the world was â€Å"unseemly and impolite† (Cheever, pg 67) in Shady Hill. Mr. Weeds understood the tenuous nature of his standing in his community/family but he no longer wanted to be a part of it. Mr. Weeds saw how pretentious his life had become and in his first act of rebellion was to fall in love with the baby sitter, Ann, which was an awesome slap in the face to the norms and values of his community. As he stated, there was no history for Shady Hill of such â€Å"turpitude†¦they had not even been a breath of scandal. † (Cheever, pg 71). But, Mr. Weeds imagined loving the babysitter and the ruckus it would cause, if he were caught taking advantage of the baby sitter. The mere thought however filled Mr. Weeds with so much energy/life that as a result of this newfound freedom, he impulsively purchased a bracelet for the baby sitter who seems to regard him only as an employer. Further, his escape from the pressure of conforming leads him to kiss this girl in the presence of the social misfit. In this new state of mind, Mr. Weeks finds courage and is finally able to say what is on his mind. He is temporarily able to free himself from the constraint of civility and express his innermost thought to the leading member of the Shady Hill society by stating to her that she should paint her windows curtain black and shut up. The feeling of being â€Å"deliberately impolite† made Mr. Weeds feel wonderful. (Cheever, pg 70) Francis has arrived another moment of truth when his wife Julia decides she is going to leave him because she cannot stand by and watch him destroy their social position that she has worked so hard to gain within Shady Hill. He confesses to her by saying Julia, I do love you, and I would like to be as we were-sweet and bawdy and dark-but now there are so many people. (Cheever, pg77) It seems at this moment with everything he has gone through that he has accepted his life and realizes his wife needs him and he needs her. He makes an appointment to see a psychiatrist where he is advised that he should take up woodwork as a hobby. Perhaps this is an outlet where there are no boundaries and he is free to create whatever he likes without having to fit into a standard. There comes a point in everybody’s life where we reflect on the values we adopt in becoming a member of a community and sometimes we are not satisfied with the decisions we make. I am sure for that when we initially decide to become a member of a community we do so with the hope that as we grow and our needs change, our community will reflect our new needs and growth. Mr. Weed’s community did not foster change and could not allow him to grow. He found himself trapped in the values of his community and his only escape was within his imagination.

Saturday, September 28, 2019

Belonging Essay Essay

Concept, perceptions and ideas to belong or not to belong differ from person to person. This is due to experiences that shape ones personality that come through personal, cultural, social and historical context. The idea of belonging allows one to have some sort of connection and communal with people, places, groups, communities and the wider world. In contrast not belonging causes one to suffer from alienation, exclusion and marginalisation. As a result these factors can cause an individual to be at different states of depression depending on one’s personality and situation. However in society, belonging has become and essential to life. Many texts have explored the notion of belonging and not belonging; the play Rainbows End by Jane Harrison and the short film Between the Flags Produced by Jayce White explore the concept of belonging and not belonging to place and people through several forms. Rainbows End by Jane Harrison is a play that explores the concept of belonging and not belonging thorough Harrison’s choice of cultural and historical context at the time. The play is set in the 1950’s during the time Queen Elizabeth II was visiting Australia and whilst many racist policies where practiced such as the Assimilation, Paternalistic and the White Australia policy which all discriminated and alienated the Aboriginal people from the wider community. Throughout the play, it is manifest the Aboriginal people belong and do not belong to certain placed and people. This is shown through a conversation that Nan Dear his with Dolly about her birthplace, â€Å"Well, of course I’m not gunna die. Not here anyway. Gotta go back to my old place to do that. Nan Dear Act One Scene One. This quote conveys Nan Dear’s idea of belonging to place, she assertively expresses to dolly that this is not her place and she will eventually return to where she fits most, through this may not be physically but rather spiritually, which is also part of the aboriginal culture and traditions. The understanding to belong, not belong and the longing to belong alters from one individual to another, this is extensively due to one’s overall background experiences which have ultimately shaped ones thoughts and ideas on the various notions of belonging. This is very evident throughout the play, Rainbows End as different perceptions of belonging are conveyed through conversations and incidents that occurs from characters of different social and historical background. An example of such is the conversation that Errol and Dolly have about the differences in their families. Errol attempts to convince Dolly that he is willing to give her a better life, if she agrees to marry him but away from her family. Dolly does not agree with Errol Fisher’s views on a better life and continues to question his thoughts through the repetition of his words. DOLLY: You want me to leave here for ever? ERROL: I’m offering you a better life. DOLLY: A better life? ERROL: In the city there’s department stores so big that you can spend all day in them. Why in the city there’s even little restaurants you can eat spaghetti, just like Italy. DOLLY: Spaghetti? This conversation portrayed Errol and Dolly’s different perceptions of belonging. The use of the repetition is ironic as Dolly has her family and place does not understand the meaning of â€Å"better life†. The connection that dolly has with her family and place has created her to feel comfortable there regardless of all the discriminatory acts of the time. Errol and Dollydiffering opinions come through their social and cultural context which causes them to continuously clash between each other. â€Å"Your world. And you’re just assuming that your world is better. But actually, when I think about it- when I think about nasty Nancy – she has everything that opens and shuts. I’m not sure it isbetter. I wouldn’t trade placer with her for anything. And as far as you’re offering †¦ no thank you. This is my place. I’m staying right here with my Mum and Nan† despite Dolly not being a young adult who has subjected to racial incidents, that could be prevented in the future if she accepts to marryErrol The short film Between the Flags is a Tropfest film that references and represents the incident that had occurred in the year of 2005, Cronulla riots, concerning two racial groups; the Australian and the Lebanese, which caused violence and division amongst the two races. If mixing of the two diverse racial groups had occurred at the time it often resulted in a brawl and further conflict; however the filmBetween the Flags argues this conviction through a humorous way. Several forms such as: humour, irony, popular culture and themes such as the beach and â€Å"typical Australian bloke† support the idea that two or more people can intertwine together regardless of any dispute one being removed from the external society. The use of irony is used throughout the complete film, it creates humour in-between the two characters which generates harmony amongst them, this is apparent in the film. An example of this is when the Lebanese character (character are not given names instead each represents an ethnicity which is shown through their choice of costume) approaches the Australian bloke: â€Å"What’s goin on† – Lebanese boy â€Å"G’day mate† – Australian bloke â€Å"Here for the riots† – Lebanese boy â€Å"Yeah, looks like we’re the first ones here† – Australian bloke â€Å"Maybe we should wait for a more people† – Lebanese boy  The conversation between them continues the irony of the situation is the conversation that occurs, and also the use of such words such as â€Å"mate†, as both of them are at the beach to riot against each other; instead they involve themselves together in a communal conversation. Throughout give-and-take of words between the two characters they both felt a sense belonging and ease towards each other even through the beach was supposed to be a place of non-belonging and dispute. This was majorly due to them being part of the popular culture and sharing the same interest. Their reactions were shown through the use of close up camera shots, as they enable the viewer to understand the characters emotions and have a sense of empathy towards them. The short film Between the Flags uses the beach as the setting to the film, as this is also references to the Cronulla riots as they had occurred at the beach. The attitudes that the characters have towards the beach affirm that it is a place of regular social call, also part of each ones character regardless of their ethnic background. Two characters connection with the beach enables the viewers to have an immediate understanding that it is a place of belonging to one another. This is manifest in the film through the connection that the characters grow due to playing a game of cricket, nevertheless in the film the beginning of the game the Lebanese character says â€Å"umm I don’t usually do this but†¦Ã¢â‚¬  this had displayed to the audience that he is not too liking of cricket but he starts to play as it is most appropriate to do so. This was shown through a continuous full camera shot to show the characters interaction with each ther and to also display the setting of the film. Throughout exploring and analysing texts it has become most evident that people views of belonging is constructed through their perception on the place. This concept was explored in the two texts Rainbows End by Jane Harrison and the short film Between the Flags produced by Jayce White as both texts had explored belonging, not belonging or the longing to belong to a place through the perceptions and the social, historical, cultural and personal context of an individual determined their sense of belonging and not belonging.

Friday, September 27, 2019

2014 Gubernatorial Campaign Plan for James Walker Research Paper

2014 Gubernatorial Campaign Plan for James Walker - Research Paper Example Big Jim is married with two children and is currently a resident of San Antonio City, the second largest city in Texas and the administrative capital of Bexar County. While in High school, Walker demonstrated good interpersonal and leadership skills and he consequently served in a number of leadership positions. These positions not only gave him the necessary leadership skills but also widened his eyes to public service. After completing his law degree at Virginia School of law in 1986, He served briefly as a Texas Ranger before he became a renowned business man in Bexar County. As a former Ranger, Jim Walker acquired the characters associated with rangers such as determination, courage, dedication, integrity and respect for others. Finally as an active Republican activist, Mr. Walker has also been elected to chair several committees and has been in the fore front campaigning for the enactment of several statues benefiting majority of the citizens in Texas. The republican candidate i s currently considered as one of the ideal gubernatorial candidates of the year 2014 many people across the political divide. James Walker (Big Jim). Regional and cultural support With regard to the regional and cultural diversity of the modern state of Texas, our campaign plan will take into account the varying needs of various regions and cultures across the vast State. The main regions of Texas such as the Big Bend County, Panhandle plains, Prairies, Gulf Coast and the Pineywoods among other regions all have significant variations with regard to their economic activities and interests. Each of the regions is distinguished by different levels of prosperity, types of monetary activity, different political cultures, racial and cultural mix. Furthermore, East Texas and West Texas both are Texan, but have differences not only with each other but also from South Texas and Urban Texas. Generally the complex interplay between the diverse cultural, economic, historical, geographic and ins titutional as well as the social forces has continued to define the politics of Texas particularly the regional and cultural support for the candidates of various political offices in the State (Drake, 2011). Mr. James Walker is likely to experience some problems in his campaigns in regions such as Urban Texas which generally have greater economic activity and are known to favor candidates who favor economic liberalism. The other regions where Mr. Walker will also have an uphill task include South Texas Plains and Big Bend Country. This is because many voters believe Republicans are unlikely to enact economic liberalization policies since Republicans are considered to be conservatives. Consequently most of the Urban Texas regions have always been known to lean towards Democrats because their policies advocate for more economic liberalization. As a politician who favors social conservatism, Walker will most likely do well in the rural regions of Texas where many people favor politici ans who advocate for the restoration of traditional moralism and values. Additionally the Republican Party has strong influence in regions like Panhandle plains and Hill Country and therefore the people of these regions are most likely to vote Big James and people who pursue Individualistic political culture such as Mr. James Walker. Demographic support Demographic variation will also play a sign9ificant role in the2014 gubernatorial campaigns of James Walker. This is particularly with regard to the fact that the vast territory with a culturally diverse population that consist of people with various ethnic and racial backgrounds (Scharrer, 2011). Texas has a diverse demographic

Thursday, September 26, 2019

PUBLIC FINANCIAL MGMT Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

PUBLIC FINANCIAL MGMT - Essay Example However, budgeting numbers are discussed frequently in the scramble for government funding (as in private funding), but the ultimate emphasis relies more on obtaining the funding rather than understanding how effectively the dollars are spent. In terms of Congress, the process of cutting costs involves: ‘producing timely and auditable financial statements, asset management, improving reporting and resource allocation, and strategic planning. In terms of financial control in the private sector, these are the primary concerns, but in the public world they typically garner less attention. (Knubel, John) In Private financial management, the key mission to be fulfilled is the increase in book value and stock prices. Excellence in financial management is regarded as a primary concern. Even in the cases of nonprofits, where stock values are not of concern, financial performance is still represented as the scorecard for success in competition. Market share, accounting, and output-orien ted statistics are carefully monitored and scrutinized. Executives will often use financial data acquired to evaluate the effectiveness of the current management team. It is management’s role to create positive momentum in stockholder wealth while minimizing costs and providing excellent customer service. (Knubel, John) It is clear to see that both the public and private sectors place a lot of emphasis on raising budget capital, yet they differ in their lack of accounting control and execution after the funding is committed. The fiscal capacity of governments is based on a multitude of factors including industrial capacity, personal incomes, population, and natural resource wealth. When governments establish their fiscal policy, understanding the fiscal capacity is a pertinent step. Identifying the fiscal capacity gives governments a better perspective of what programs and services they should offer the public. This process also helps to determine the necessary tax rates to p rovide towards certain levels and projects. The theory of fiscal capacity flows down even to the smallest levels of governments and groups, such as school districts, to determine what type of resources they will be able to provide. For about 15 years, Belgium was able to achieve a great degree of fiscal consolidation with a sizeable reduction of the debt-to GDP ratio. This fiscal consolidation was able to take place amongst the transition from a unitary state to a federal state. By utilizing annual agreements between all levels of government, the federal government substantially reduced its deficit while sub-federal governments simultaneously roughly balanced their budgets. However, in the case of Belgium the sharing of tax revenues was set up so that non-federal governments ended up with the fastest growing tax revenues. This led to all levels of government being faced with a minimal amount of budgetary pressure to rein in spending. Overall, the fiscal consolidation left the countr y with two main confronts. The first was to ensure a fair share of public spending burden between all levels of government, including upcoming ageing costs. The second was to increase the efficiency of spending at all levels by reducing economic disincentives, and by increasing co-operation and co-ordination in policy and public service provision. (OCED economic surveys: Belgium) One can see that after taxes are accumulated and appropriated, the real challenges of fiscal policy begin. It is no easy task to oversee and

Tourism in Bulgaria Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Tourism in Bulgaria - Essay Example The method of investigation The class had been divided into groups of 3-4 students with diverse languages. The groups came to an agreement that the research be conducted with respect to the international tourism in Bulgaria. As such, three different locations in the country were selected that are likely to be tourist attraction centers. These include Sofia (as the countries capital city), Burgas (one of the large coastal towns), and Sunny Beach (a beach resort at the coast that is likely to attract international tourists). The selection of the geographical locations applied the principles of judgmental sampling, as it was considered that these regions would have the highest number of international tourists. The group designed a questionnaire that was translated into different languages that are applicable in Bulgaria (English, Bulgarian, French, Russian, and German) in order to capture a wide category of the tourists. The use of questionnaire in a face-to-face interview was preferred in order to avoid/minimize cases of non-response and inaccurate data. This is because it would enable a clarification to be made in the event that something was not clear. The questionnaire sought responses like the place of origin of the individual, the reason for visit, demographic information (gender, age, nationality), the size of the visiting group (an individual, a couple, family, or larger group), the previous visits to the country, the opinions on tourism’s effect on developments in Bulgaria, and the activities of the tourists while in the country. The response to the last question in the questionnaire is of particular importance in... The research indicates that the international male tourists and their female counterparts engage/participate in almost similar activities at comparable degrees. In fact, the females appear to be engaged in more different activities than the male tourists are. There is not a single activity included in the study that had male participants and no female participants. The different in the scores that measure the individuals’ engagement in these activities also had close ranges for nearly all the activities. Besides, there is a positive relationship between the degree by which the males engage in a given activity during the vacation and the females’ engagement in those particular activities. This means that if male participants have engaged highly in a given tourist activity, then chances are high that females are also highly engaged in the activity. Thus, our hypothesis that the male international tourists in Bulgaria engage in more different activities than the females is not supported. The cheap cost of transport, different categories of accommodation facilities, and proper accessibility of most of tourist attraction sites in the country encourages more tourists (men and women) into the country. The social centers have a range of activities that loosely fit both males and females. The study was facilitated by the strategic choice of the geographical location in which it was conducted. Even though it was based on judgmental principles, it was likely to provide more relevant information since this project had nothing to do with data on the Bulgarians.

Wednesday, September 25, 2019

Morality and Ethics Essay Topic Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Morality and Ethics Topic - Essay Example A person can be classified as a good or bad on the basis of his ethical and moral values. Generally ethics and morality can be interchanged as they are almost identical on the basis of the concept that they hold. Ethics and morality is that important of life without which the life would be all messed up and confused; as it boldly demarcates between the good and evil conducts. A person cannot spend his entire life without being able to differentiate between what is right and wrong. For a person to spend a life that is balanced and complete and such that others can be benefitted from it and he himself can feel satisfied and contended with his doings and ultimately his entire life it is necessary that he must be able to differentiate and recognize the right and wrong or evil in his life and he must be able to distinguish between the practices and conducts that must be followed and adopted and which must be avoided or abstained from (Pojman, 56). In this world there are many goods and ev ils present and we are surrounded by them at all times and it all depends on us that which practices attract and appeal us and how we would prefer to spend our life. Usually the goods are difficult to adopt and follow but once we adopt them it does not remain difficult on the contrary the evils that are present in the society and all around us are no doubt very attractive and appealing, in fact they are like magnetic forces which attract the people towards them and the people who get attracted are doomed for their entire life (Hauser, 102-105). In the beginning it all seems good and composed but slowly and gradually the person realizes that he has destroyed the peace, calm, serenity in his life by opting for the wrong deeds. A person who chooses to adopt the bad will not be able to come out of the world of bad deeds and his entire life gets destroyed; however a person who has a very strong will to get rid of all bad deeds and doings can manage to get out of this mess after a very lo ng and tiring struggle. This means it is not impossible to get out of the darkness (Pojman, 89). An important fact is that people get confused in understanding and distinguishing between the good and bad. The evil has so gained so much strength that the most obvious things around us that have become a routine for us are bad but owing to our routine observation we do not consider it bad or evil and feel no harm in adopting them. The goods and evils of the society have been defined by the people themselves. The acts and conducts that bring about peace and calm in one’s life and also the acts that are beneficial in some way or the other for the people or the society are considered as good deeds or good conducts and those acts which snatch away all the happiness in the life of a person, resulting in darkness in one’s life and the acts that bring harm or damage to the society or the people are considered as evils. There is no rule book or book of code of conducts for the pe ople to follow. The people learn and get to know about these conducts as they move on in their lives. The elderly and experienced people can serve as a guide for all the people and guide the people to what is good and what is evil. As a person grows and enters the age of maturity he himself becomes capable of sorting out matters and classifying them as good and evil. The ability of

Tuesday, September 24, 2019

Ethics Article Analysis Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Ethics Article Analysis - Research Paper Example These code of ethics help to ensure that the individuals who control the company’s infrastructure are recognizing their duties when it comes to financial decision making. Moreover these ethics greatly help in helping these individuals to take proper financial decisions in the business. Within a company a code of ethics is developed to which every individual of the company has to abide. However in some situations the code of ethics is not followed by the newer employees and they tend to break the codes. This in turn violates the code of ethics and the financial decisions become distorted. An example can be cited here about the senior financial officers who are already working in the company. These financial officers know that the information of the company should be kept confidential whereas if a new financial officer comes and he is unaware of the fact he might the leak the information out. And because of this leakage the financial decisions now taken would be not that effecti ve. Similarly the code of ethics also mandates it on the employees that they do not use the resources of the company inefficiently. However the company cannot measure all the minute activities of these employees and in order to abide by the code of ethics a company would be forced to involve more finances towards the check and balance of employees. While making financial decisions in compliance with the ethics it is necessary to see that the individuals who are involved do not have any personal or professional relationship with the issue. This can affect the financial decision making as the individuals who would have personal gains would tend to distort important information about the company. Financial Executives International is a company which abides by the code of ethics. `The company involves these ethics in all the financial processes that it implements. The company strictly follows these code of ethics and makes sure that all the positive cash flow is achieved after

Monday, September 23, 2019

Marketing Ethics at Apple Inc Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Marketing Ethics at Apple Inc - Essay Example Both of them left college without graduating in order to launch their dream company. Owing to the fact that they did not have enough capital to buy offices, they started by working out in a garage. The idea that there were two young people who so believed in what they were able to create that they even left university to do it is what inspires so many people about Apple. Steve Jobs is still viewed by many as the genius who literally inspired many people to begin to love computers. Jobs was behind Apple’s first technological marvels such as Macintosh, Apple brand, and Power Mac computers (Lashinsky 2012). Apple Computer’s iconic advertisement that ran during the 1984 Super Bowl so inspired people that they actually snatched fliers from Apple’s representatives at the end of the games (Lashinsky 2012). Apple’s profile suffered a momentary lapse shortly after the success of Macintosh when Steve Jobs left the company after a power struggle (O'Grady 2009). His return, more than 10 years later, marked another period of prosperity for Apple. People began to associate Apple’s success with Steve Jobs. In 2001, Apple launched the Apple iPod. The ingenuity of this device had other electronics companies scrambling and trying to produce duplicates of it that had more operations than Apple’s model. None, though, was considered by the public to be as good as the original. Many attribute Apple’s success to the extraordinary crea tivity of its late CEO Steve Jobs. When he succumbed to cancer in 2011, many technology experts were convinced that Apple would never be able to find another like him. Good Marketing Ethics at Apple Inc. Throughout its existence, Apple has tried to make sure that its workers always exhibit the appropriate conduct in all circumstances. It believes that it owes its success to the creation of high-quality and innovative products as well as the demonstration of uprightness in every business transaction (Shaw 2003). Apple holds that respect, honesty, compliance and confidentiality are the qualities that denote business integrity (Linzmayer 2004). To include these values into its workforce, Apple has outlined a code of conduct that is observed in all its branches worldwide. It has also availed more detailed policies that concern conflict of interest, corporate governance, and rules on how to report any instances of questionable conduct (Lashinsky 2012). Furthermore, Apple offers its worke rs a Business Conduct Helpline through which they can testify on any misconduct to the corporation’s Audit and Finance team. To stress on its pledge to ensure dependable supplier conduct, Apple issues a yearly Apple Supplier Responsibility statement that clarifies its audit conclusions, supplier expectations and the remedial actions the corporation will take against foreign branches where violations have taken place (Lashinsky 2012). Apple commodities are intended to have a lengthier lifespan as the hardware is created from sturdy materials such as aluminum and recyclable glass. The operating system is created to be useful even after years of being in the market (Alas, Ennulo and Turnpuu 2006). Owing to this fact, Apple’s commodities do not have to be replaced as often as those of other electronics corporations. This leads to fewer products being consumed, and less demand put on the large-scale workforce. If demand as well as world population were to decrease, Apple ma nufactured goods would be the primary products to be ethically sustainable due to the fact that they can be created by workers who are not overburdened with work or live in cramped quarters (Lashinsky 2012).

Sunday, September 22, 2019

The current issue of junk food consumption Essay Example for Free

The current issue of junk food consumption Essay The current issue of junk food consumption and the overall obesity battle worldwide continues to expand rapidly. The suggestion to counteract this problem is the implementation of a â€Å"junk tax†. ProQuest states that, â€Å"’junk food tax’ refers to a tax placed upon fattening foods or beverages† (Par. 1). The intention of the tax is to minimize the consumption of unhealthy foods, which would expectantly lead to a healthier population. A junk food tax would also generate revenue for causes such as: improving diet, preventing obesity, and educating Americans about nutrition. The main purpose is to maximize health benefits. However, the tax has sparked controversy about interfering with freedom of choice and personal liberties. Fighting obesity and its various related illnesses does not require cholesterol lowering medicine, workout videos, or diet books. It starts with rethinking our setting and the world we are living in. Addressing the issue of over-weight and the lack of health in our modern life is no easy assignment, â€Å"despite some individual efforts by some states to tax soda pop, require healthier school lunches of mandate calorie information in chain restaurants, obesity rates worldwide are growing† (Cummins, Nd). Even though these efforts have continued to grow with parents and health advocates the problem needs to be acknowledged nation wide because, â€Å"60 percent of Americans of either overweight or obese† (Cummins Par. 5). With many restaurants offering super sized meals for such low prices, people consume well over the recommended calorie and food intake. Fast food restaurants being open twenty-four hours a day located on every corner causes temptation to be all around consumers. According to Rheuban.J (2007). Opponents claim that impressing such a law would be a violation to ones rights and freedom. I strongly disagree with that. To support their stance that the tax certainly will have no â€Å"actual affect on†¦public health† they site a bunch of studies,one : The Mercatus Center at George Mason University that Americans Against Food Taxes claims â€Å"that any impact of a soft drink tax would be trivial because soft drink consumption is a relatively small part of the diet for overweight people.† They suggest that financial affect of the tax could be extremely burdensome, especially on the poor. The cost is literally killing us. The low budget costs of junk food attracts in low budget customers. They stuff their carts with white bread, frozen packages, already packed desserts, and extremely processed  meats. The low cost is satisfying for people living in the moment, However the long term effects can be dangerous. Poor diet choices is eating foods that were previously mentioned will lead to obesity. Obesity causes heart disease, type 2 diabetes, cancer, high blood pressure, strokes, and respiratory problems, all of these cost substantial amounts to treat and if left untreated they can lead to death. The low cost that pull in customers may in the end cost them their lives. Arguments in favor of junk food taxes, Reduce the costs of treating medical issues to which junk food contributes. Generate additional revenue, part of which could be used to offset costs of treating medical issues that arise from over consumption of junk foods. Could shift consumer spending to healthier foods, bolstering the industries that produce those foods. Not enough people are aware of the adverse effects of chemicals in foods (doctors included) so their purchases are based on affordability and addiction. They cannot put together why it is that they cannot eat just one chip, fail on restrictive calorie diets, binge, and/or continue to put on weight throughout their lives. The assumption is that these people lack the will to be healthy. The reality is that, in many cases, is that their subconscious mind is doing everything in its power to survive. According to Fiora.K(2010). Patients gained significantly less of the calories from soda or pizza when it was a 10% increase in both prices, Penny Gordon-Larsen of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and colleagues reported in the March 8 issue of Archives of Internal Medicine.Policies aimed at altering the price of soda or pizza could be very effective mechanisms to steer adults towards a healthier diet and reduce long-term weight gain or insulin levels over time, the researchers wrote. They calculated that an 18 percent tax on junk food would result in a 56-calorie decline in total daily energy intake. At the population level, that would translate to about five pounds per patient per year, along with significant reductions in the risks of most obesity-related chronic diseases, they said. Since their study looked at only a small number of foods, they called upon researchers to assess more in future studies. In an accompanying editorial, Dr. Mitchell H. Katz and Dr. Rajiv Bhatia of the San Francisco Department of Public Health wrote that taxing is an appropriate method of correcting for health and other social costs not accounted for in the private market cost. However, they added, in addition to   unhealthy foods, policymakers should consider ways to reward healthy behaviors. A typical recommendation to an obese person is to restrict calories. The typical notion of calories in calories out. In doing so, the motivated dieter goes to the supermarket and buy items labeled diet which are conveniently labeled with caloric amounts. What they dont see is the chemicals added in and/or understand what the short and long term effects of those chemicals are. During this caloric restriction time, he/she is foregoing adequate nutrients while ingesting chemical laden foods which promotes hunger (part of the marketing process), and training the body to prepare for starvation. There is a simple solution to a very complex issue. Taxation of junk food is necessary for the future population. As of late, rates of chronic health diseases have skyrocketed, but are now beginning to level off with the improved education system increasing awareness of the side effects of junk food. This leveling off rate could experience a significant drop if excise taxation were implemented. As multiple studies, research, and projects suggest, an increase in prices of junk food would lead to a decrease in purchasing and consumption of such foods, and would lead to decrease in diet-related diseases. Although junk food producers and business selling these products may find that the tax is unfair, the overall scheme of taxation is improving the health of our nation, for today and in the future. The benefit outweighs the cost, and taxation ultimately motivates producers and sellers of junk food to improve their product and provide healthier options to consumers. There are many issues discussed in current media surrounding the need to protect our planet through recycling and better fuel sources. The media does not realize that there will not be a need for our planet if no one is able to occupy it. There needs to be less consumption of junk food and taxation is the best plan to implement change for a happy, healthier, and existing future. Ù  Sources: http://jacobrheuban.com/2009/12/27/arguments-for-and-against-junk-food-and-soda-taxes/ http://abcnews.go.com/Health/w_DietAndFitness/junk-food-tax-improve-health/story?id=10056236 (2013, 02). Junk Food Tax. StudyMode.com. Retrieved 02, 2013,

Saturday, September 21, 2019

Mary C. Breckinridge and the Frontier Nursing Service

Mary C. Breckinridge and the Frontier Nursing Service Laura J. Roberson Abstract This paper explores the life and legacy of Mary C. Breckinridge, the creative force behind the Frontier Nursing Service. Despite great hardship and heartache, Mary never faltered in her desire to improve the health care of every child. Instead of seeing the daunting task as an insurmountable obstacle, Mary continually looked for ways to make positive change. Statistics show the incredible contribution that Mary and the Frontier Nursing Service made to the health and well-being of the children and families of eastern Kentucky. In addition, Breckinridge was instrumental in bringing nurse midwifery to the United States. This paper provides a snapshot of the contributions that Mary C. Breckinridge made to the profession of nursing and health care for rural women and children. Building A Legacy: Mary C. Breckinridge and the Frontier Nursing Service While no one will live forever, a person can continue to exist through the legacy they leave and the impact that it has made and will continue to make in the world. Mary C. Breckinridge, the founder of The Frontier Nursing Service, left a legacy that is still influencing lives and nursing practice almost 50 years beyond her death. Events Leading To Development of the Frontier Nursing Service Born into a famous family, the Breckinridge name provided many opportunities and open-doors for Mary. However, Clifton and Katherine, Mary’s parents, were not as monetarily affluent as the rest of the Breckinridges. They taught their children that â€Å"personal qualities such as honesty, integrity, and service to others, rather than a large financial fortune, determined their worth† (Goan, 2008, p. 22). In addition, southern culture encouraged young females to be â€Å"demure and self-sacrificing, focusing on the needs of others† (Goan, 2008, p. 23). Mary’s adventurous and ambitious personality, combined with the influence of her family and society left her determined to use her giftedness to help others. After the untimely death of her first husband, Mary spent the summer of 1907 at the Elisabeth McRae Institute, a home for girls in North Carolina. Experiences there prompted Mary to enter nursing school at St. Luke Hospital in New York City. She graduated with honors and passed her state boards in 1910. Mary married her second husband in October of 1911. She became a traveling lecturer with the United States Children’s Bureau which allowed her to see the predicament of rural mother’s first hand. At the end of her term with the bureau, Mary went to France to help with reconstruction after the end of World War I. With the financial backing of her mother, Mary helped improve the health of malnourished children. During this time, Mary developed the administrative skills that would assist her with successfully running the Frontier Nursing Service. She developed a visiting service in France that provided healthcare to men, women, and children in her territory. In one year, she increased her area of responsibility from one village to 72. Mary returned to the United States, divorced her second husband, and one month later, her mother died. Once again she was faced with the decision of what to do with her life. Her experience in France and her contact with British nurse-midwives, prompted her to think of the possibilities of a similar need in the United States, especially with rural mothers and children. Access to physicians in rural areas was virtually nonexistent. Typically the closest doctor could be 100 miles away. Pregnant women were assisted by untrained family members or neighbors when they were ready to deliver or gave birth alone. These conditions greatly concerned Mary, inspiring her to develop a plan to offer low-cost care to rural mothers and babies. She submitted a proposal to the American Child Health Association, which included free health care for every child within her organization’s territory. Mothers would also receive health care. Central to her plan was a new direction for nursing, the profe ssional nurse-midwife. These caregivers were trained in both nursing practice and specialized obstetric care. They could handle normal deliveries but would have access to a physician for difficult births (Hostutler, Kennedy, Mason, Schorr, 2000). The Frontier Nursing Service When making the decision of where to locate her proposed health service, she was drawn to the plight of the people of Appalachia, specifically eastern Kentucky. After training and receiving certification through the British Central Midwives, Mary returned to Kentucky in 1925. She hired her first two employees, promising them $150 per month plus living expenses. The first clinic opened in Hyden, Kentucky in September 1925, followed by six additional outpost-nursing centers. The nurse-midwives that staffed these centers held clinics and made house calls via horseback to provide home care. Each center served an average of 250 families. Besides tending to the administration of the organization and seeing patients, much of Mary’s time in the early years was spent raising funds. In 1927, Breckinridge changed the name of her organization to the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS). Breckinridge raised money for a twelve-bed hospital that was dedicated on June 26, 1928. It became the center of the FNS medical system. In November 1939, Mary established the Frontier Graduate School of Midwifery to supply the need for trained midwifes. The school has been open since that time and has continued to add additional degrees including a nurse practitioner program. Despite drought, famine, the great depression and wars, Breckinridge championed the cause of the Appalachian people and through effort and patience she developed a deeper understanding of the region’s problems. By her death in May of 1965, Mary raised almost ten million dollars for the FNS and left an endowment of more than two million dollars. During her time of leadership, the FNS provided service to almost 58,000 patients, provided 248,000 inoculations, delivered 14,500 babies, and lowered the maternal death rate in eastern Kentucky, from the highest in the country to well below the national average (Frontier Nursing Service, 2014). When a mid-wife in Nashville, Tennessee was asked if she knew of Mary Breckinridge and if Mary’s work had affected her in any way, she said, â€Å"Mary was an eternal optimist operating within the accepted social norms of her time, but determined to make her world a better place. She paved the way for all of us that would follow her exam ple. Thanks to her leadership, I have had the opportunity to pursue a very rewarding career in midwifery† (T. Bruce, personal communication, October 4, 2014). Mary Breckinridge created a legacy whose ripple effects will continue to affect eastern Kentucky, the United States and the world for a long time to come. References Frontier Nursing Service (2014) History of Mary Breckinridge. Retrieved from https://www.frontiernursing.org Goan, M. (2008). Mary breckinridge: The frontier nursing service and rural health in appalachia. Chapel Hill: The University of North Carolina Press. Hostutler, J., Kennedy, M.S., Mason, D., Schorr, T.M. (2000). Nurses and models of practice. American Journal of Nursing, 100(2), 82-83. Retrieved from http://ovidsp.tx.ovid.com.ezproxy.mtsu.edu/sp-3.13.0b/ovidweb.cgi?

Friday, September 20, 2019

Comparing Bill Gates And Steve Jobs

Comparing Bill Gates And Steve Jobs William (Bill) H. Gates: The chairman and chief executive officer of Microsoft Corporation, the worlds leading software firm. Born on Oct. 28, 1955, he grew up in Seattle with his two sisters, his father, William H, Gates II, is a Seattle lawyer and his mother, Mary Gates was a school teacher in University of Washington regent and she was also the Chair women of United Way International. At the age of 13, Bill Gates wrote his first program to play farmer-chess. The computer he used was big, heavy and very slow, he was very obsessed with this computer as it did not have a screen, so to view who had won they had to run over to the big printer and they used to look at the score. It would have taken only 30secs if they have done it on paper, where as it would take almost the whole lunch time if they had done it on computer. Bill handled to set up an arrangement with the computer owners, that he would get free computer-time which has been designed for parents. Using this is simple, with few steps of instructions you can set up limits for children. At this time Bill met Paul Allen, who became his business partner for rest of his life. They both started a small company called Traf-o-Data, they sold small computer equipment with their program which can count traffic for the city. Even though this company wasnt a big success but they earned some money and good business skills. In 1973, Bill entered Harvard university as a freshman, where now he became the Microsofts chief executive officer, he developed a vision of the programming language BASIC for the first computer. In his junior he left Harvard and in 1975, he started his new company along with his childhood friend Paul Allen, his main belief was that the computer would be the valuable tool on every desktop and in every home, they started to began new software and he started to improve those software technology by making it easier, cheaper and more fun for the people to use computers. Gates foresight and his vision for personal computing have been the success in Microsoft and the software industry. Later Bill started to search for business opportunities in programming, so he left Harvard which turned him into a multibillionaire. Even becoming very rich, he drives himself in a normal family car to work and he also flies a coach. Figure 2: Microsoft Windows roadmap Bill Gates made an operative system called MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operative System), which he sold to IBM. Gates then convinced IBM to give up the specifications of the secret design in an open system for its personal computer, so that the other software makers can easily build this software, to understand how actually this operating system functions. More than 100 companies where eagerly to be IBM-compatible, which obtained licenses for MS-DOS quickly making operating system a major tool for personal computers. Conclusion: One of the reason why Bill Gates is so successful is that he did not underestimate himself, he always believed on himself. Its very interesting to know that even with all that money, he drives himself in a normal family car to work and he also flies a coach. Bill Gates said to his teacher that before he reach thirty he would become a millionaire which he made it. His family when he was born, his family found a million-dollar trust fund for him. Without his fund i guess he would not have gone to Harvard. Steve Jobs: Technology Entrepreneur, Co-founder, Chairman and CEO of Apple Inc. Born on February 24, 1955, in San Francisco, California. As an infant, Steven was adopted by Clara and Paul Jobs and named Steven Paul Jobs. Paul was a Coast Guard veteran and machinist and Clara worked as an accountant. Steven and his father used to work in their garage on electronics. In 1972 Jobs was graduated from high school and registered in Reed college in Portland, Oregon. After six months Jobs was dropped out from the Reed and he spent one year roaming around the campus attending the classes in Philosophy and engaged himself with values and lifestyles in opposition to those of the established culture. In 1974, Jobs worked as a video game designer in Atari, Inc., a pioneer in electronic arcade recreation. He was not interested in creating electronics, he was interested in marketing electronic products. So he started to plan and he convinced Wozniak to work along with him to build a personal computer. So firstly they planned to get money to start their own company. So Jobs sold his Volkswagen bus and Wozniak sold his scientific calculator, overall they got  £1300 and also got some credit from the local suppliers, with this bit they started their fist production line. Steven convinced Wozniak to quit his job in Hewlett-Packard and made him to join him as a vice president in charge of research and development of his new company. He named his new company as Apple in memory of happy summer in Oregon jobs, where he spent his time as a worker. Jobs and Wozniak have earned a lot with their revolutionized technology, by making the machines to cheaper, intuitive, smaller and accessible to everyday consumers. Figure 3: Steve Jobs and Wozniak They have conceived a series of personal computers which are user -friendly, which they marketed each for $666.66. Apple I was there first model, which earned them $774,000. After three years, Apple II was their second model, which increased their sales to 700 percent to $139 million. Apple Computer became a publically traded company with $1.2 billion of market value that too on the first day of trading. John Scully of Pepsi-Cola who is marketing expert, helped to fill the job role for Apples. However, there were significant design defects in several next launched Apple products, which made the consumers disappointment and resulting in recalls. John Scully thought that this might be Jobs was hurting Apple and also the executives started to phase him out. Jobs resigned as Apples CEO in 1985 and he started a new software and hardware company called NeXT, Inc. In the same year Jobs purchased an animation company from George Lucas, which was later named as Pixar Animation Studios. Jobs invested $50 million from his own money by believing in Pixars future. Pixar Studios started producing wildli popular animation films such as Finding Nemo, The Incredibles and Toy Story. Pixars films have netted $4 billion. In 2006, the studio merged with Walt Disney, making Steve Jobs Disneys largest shareholder. Despite the success of Pixars, NeXT, Inc. struggled to sell their specialized operating system to the mainstream America. In 1997, Apple brought the company for $429 millions. Jobs returned in the same year as Apple CEO after several years outside the company. Jobs understood that Apple needed to focus on its core competency, like designing easy-to-use and engaging hardware and software products. He immediately revamped the product line by modernizing the Mac operating system and providing Apple computers with new internet capabilities. In addition he started to outsource manufacturing operations to specialized high tech manufacturing companies, primarily located in Asia. In order to get close to the customers Jobs next initiative was to launch the Apple Online store to sell products directly to customers over the Internet. Jobs revolutionary products such as iMac, stylish designs and effective branding campaigns again caught the thoughts of consumers and which attracted the people to go for it. Recently Apple has launched some of the ingenious products such as iPhone, Macbook Air and iPod, which have charged the evolution of modern technology. All the competitors were scramble to produce comparable technologies, when every time Apple releases a new one. Apples quarterly report in 2007, were the most impressive statistics to date. A record breaking stocks worth  £199.99 a share, and the company profit of $1.58 billion surplus in the bank with zero debt. Figure 4: Apple Roadmap iTunes has become the 2nd biggest retailer in America. With six billion songs downloaded and 200 million iPods sold, Apples half of the revenue comes from iTunes and iPods sales. Americas most admired companies has been given No. 1 to Apple and also No. 1 amongst Fortune 500 companies for returns to shareholders. Conclusion: The PC industry has evolved in the past decades. They are proprietary, open structure and internet PC. The interaction of Politic, Economic, Social and Technology forces create a turbulent and complex environment. In addition, the interaction between 5 competitive forces, create environment for Apple very competitive and hard to survive. Apple past ignorance of environmental change made Apple losing market share. Now, as environmental change dynamically, Apple responded by adapting its business model and strategy in order to struggle for survive. Comparison between Steve Jobs of Apple and Bill Gates of Microsoft: On 24th of February 1955, Steve Jobs born in Green Bay, Wisconsin, he is best know as the co-founder CEO of Apple Computer and somewhat less so for his leadership of Pixar which is a computer animation studio. On the other hand, on the 28th of October 1955, Bill Gates born in Seattle, Washington, he is married to Melinda French Gates and has three children. Bill Gates is the co-founder and current Chairman and Chief Software Architect of Microsoft. Both started their careers almost at the same time and within the same industry. They are no doubt two of the most wealthy and successful men in the PC industry. Steve Jobs is a technological leader and true creative thinker while Bill Gates is the opportunity seeker. The rivalry and competition between Gates and Jobs has become one of the most fascinating and brave in the American business industry. In the end both men are well-known and admire by many. Although each company has its own philosophy, there is a slight difference between Apples and Microsofts philosophies because each philosophy has a different aim. Microsofts philosophy is A computer on every disk in every house, running Microsoft software which is more focused and concerned about running their own software in every computer. As for Apples philosophy, it is Make computers accessible to everyone and make it very easy to use and that is more concerned about making their computers being easy to access and making it as easy as they can for everyone else to use. Figure 5: Steve Jobs and Bill Gates at the fifth D: All Things Digital conference (D5) in 2007 They both co-founded and their established companies along with another person. Apple, it was co-founded by Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak who is credited with begin the entry of computers into private homes and he also wrote most of the software that Apple ran. As for Microsoft it was co-founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen who dropped out of Washington State University to pursue his and Bill Gates dream of writing software commercially for the new personal computers. However, In November 2000 Paul Allen resigned from his position on the Microsoft board. Bill Gates first achievement was the development of a programming language called BASIC for the Altair computer which is the first commercially successful personal computer. As for Steve Jobs, his first big achievement was Apple II which was the most popular and best selling personal computer of its time. There is a difference between their first achievements because Microsoft first development was software whereas Apples first product was hardware. Both Bill Gates and Steve jobs are extremely good at taking in good ideas, and developing them and making them into a successful product. This mostly because they are not at all afraid of taking any risks and try very hard even if they do not always get it right the first time. An example for this would be MS-DOS for Microsoft and an example for apple would be The Lisa and the Page Maker. Bill Gates has two books written by him, these books called Business At The Speed of Thought and The Road Ahead. In addition to that, he also has books written about him like Bill Gates and the Making of the Microsoft Empire. On the other hand, Steve Jobs does not have any books written by him but there were books written about him like The Second Coming of Steve Jobs and Steve Jobs and The NeXT Big Thing. No matter how much conflict or competition, both Bill Gates and Steve jobs achieved a huge amount of success in their own way. They had similarities between them such as co-founding their companies along with another person, Steve Jobs co-founded Apple with Steve Wozniak and Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen. They were also similar at taking in idea and developing them without being afraid of facing any risks. Aside from these similarities, Bill Gates and Steve Jobs also had some differences between them, these differences include the fact that both of their companies Microsoft and Apple have their own different and unique philosophy with different aim. Also their first achievements differ because Microsofts first achievement BASIC was software whereas Apples first achievement Apple II was hardware. Bill Gate also had 2 books written by him in addition to books written about him but Steve Jobs didnt have the skills to write any books, there were only books written ab out him by other people.

Thursday, September 19, 2019

Physical Therapy :: Cheathouse Essays

Physical Therapy â€Å"Where am I? How did I get here?† is what many stroke patients say after recovering from an acute or severe stroke. A stroke is also known as a cerebrovascular accident, a life-threatening event where the brain is deprived of adequate oxygen. A physical therapist’s duty is to provide assistance and education that will help patients rehabilitate and return to a normal routine. As of today, there is a new treatment called treadmill training with partial body weight support that facilitates recovery of a patient’s ability to walk sooner after a surgery. Is the expense for treadmill training with partial body weight support which includes expensive equipment and constant physical therapy supervision worth it if it decrease the amount of time it takes a person to get better? Is it ultimately more efficient than traditional physical therapy? My argument will state that treadmill training with partial body weight support is worth the expense and provides better tec hniques than traditional physical therapy. After a stroke, patients are usually referred to physical therapy to begin the recovery process. There are many types of physiotherapy treatments for different types of strokes and injuries. The two kinds of strokes are ischemic stroke which occurs when the blood supply to the brain is interrupted by blood clots. The blood clots are caused when the arteries harden and a cluster forms which then limits blood and oxygen supply to the brain. The second kind of stroke is a hemorrhagic stroke, which occurs when there is bleeding into or around the brain. If one of the two strokes were ever to occur, getting oxygen and blood to your brain immediately is very important because permanent tissue damage and death could even occur. Physical therapists help not only stroke patients but a large variety of people who have physical limitations. A new treatment approach that is being studied involves â€Å"treadmill training† with partial body weight support. In this approach a physical thera pist patterns the movement of the involved or weak leg while the patient is supported in a sling type apparel while walking on a treadmill. This is a new technique that is showing good results. However, there are no long term studies as of yet. I believe that treadmill training is very beneficial to stroke patients because it helps them regain speed and strength in a short amount of time. Treadmill training is very costly, but increases your chances in walking by about three to four weeks faster than regular physical therapy.

Wednesday, September 18, 2019

The Debate Over Birds and Feathered Dinosaurs Essay -- Anthropology Es

The Debate Over Birds and Feathered Dinosaurs Because dinosaurs are animals that lived millions of years ago, we are entirely dependent on the fossils that they have left behind for any understanding that we hope to gain. As any paleontologist will tell you, fossil hunting is difficult. There are no certainties, no guarantees. A certain amount of luck is as valuable as any scientific knowledge. Every so often a discovery is made that attempts to shake up pre-conceived notions of how the dinosaurs actually lived or how they came to be. On June 22, 2000, in Oregon, scientists announced the discovery of the oldest known animal to have feathers. Though no records indicate how the age of the animal was determined, the fossil was dated at 220 million years old. It lived at the time of the very earliest dinosaurs, and about 75 million years before the first known bird.1[1] The scientists assert that Longisquama insignis is not a dinosaur, and may be one of the earliest bird ancestors. The animal was a small lizard-sized glider, with four legs and feathers on its body. It is believed that the feathers were used for gliding, as the ancient creature lacks the necessary structures for flying.1 Before the announcement of Longisquama, the earliest known animal with feathers was Archaeopteryx, a bird capable of flight that lived roughly 145 million years ago.1 It has been proposed that Archaeopteryx is the intermediary between birds and predatory theropods, such as Deinonychus.2 The discovery that Longisquama had feathers strongly questions the evolutionary origins of Archaeopteryx, and additionally may discredit the belief that it is the link between birds and dinosaurs. However, th... ...cgi-taf/DynaPage.taf?file=/nature/journal/v408/n6811/full/408428a0_fs.html 5 The Field Museum. (2002). New Species Clarifies Bird-Dinosaur Link. Science Daily [online], 14 Feb 2002. Available at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2002/02/020214080242.htm 6 Monastersky, R. (1998). Feathered Dinosaurs Found in China. Science News Online [online], 27 June 1998. Available at http://www.sciencenews.org/pages/sn_arc98/6_27_98/fob1.htm 7 H, J R. (1995). Are Birds Really Dinosaurs? [online] Available at http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/diapsids/avians.html 8 Rusatte, B. (1997). Controversial Fossil Claimed to Sink Dinosaur-Bird Link. [online] Available at http://www.geocities.com/CapeCanaveral/Galaxy/8152/longisquama.html 9 Brett-Surman, M K, et al. Top 10 Misconceptions about Dinosaurs. [online] Available at http://www.nmnh.si.edu/paleo/faq.html

Tuesday, September 17, 2019

Study Guide Bnc1

Chapter 13, Power and Politics – Learning Objectives 1. Define power and contrast leadership and power. 2. Contrast the five bases of power. 3. Explain the role of dependence in power relationships. 4. Identify nine power or influence tactics and their contingencies. 5. Show the connection between sexual harassment and the abuse of power. 6. Identify the causes and consequences of political behavior. 7. Apply impression management techniques. 8. Determine whether a political action is ethical. Chapter 13, Power and Politics – Section Outlines I.Power is the capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B, so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes. A. Definition of power the ability to influence the behavior of others. 1. Potential 2. Dependency – B ’s relationship to A when A possesses something that B requires. B. Contrasting leadership and power. 1. Leaders use power as a means of attaining group goals. 2. Power does not require goal compati bility, but relies on dependency. 3. While leadership focuses on the downward influence of one's followers, power also deals with lateral and upward influence. II. Bases of powerA. Formal power = based on an individual’s position in an organization. 1. Coercive power: A power base that is dependent on fear of the negative results from failing to comply such as controlling by force of basic physiological or safety needs. 2. Reward power: Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that others view as valuable. 3. Legitimate (formal authority) power: The power a person receives as a result of his or her position in the formal hierarchy of an organization. B. Personal power = Influence derived from an individual’s characteristics. 1.Expert power: Influence based on special skills or knowledge. 2. Referent power: Influence based on identification with a person who has desirable resources or personal traits. C. Dependency: The Key to Power 1. General depe ndency postulate: The greater B ’s dependence on A, the more power A has over B. 2. Factors creating dependency a. Importance – think of technology engineers of Gettyimages b. Scarcity – think of Ferruccio Lamborghini; he memorized the manual and destroyed it. c. Nonsubstitutability – the fewer viable substitutes for a resource, the more power control over that resource provides. III.Power Tactics: Ways in which individuals translate power bases into specific actions. Rational persuasion, inspirational appeals, and consultation tend to be the most effective, especially when the audience is highly interested in the outcomes of a decision process. A. Legitimacy: Relying on your authority position or saying a request accords with organizational policies or rules. B. Rational persuasion: Presenting logical arguments and factual evidence to demonstrate a request is reasonable. C. Inspirational appeals: Developing emotional commitment by appealing to a targetâ €™s values, needs, hopes, and aspirations.D. Consultation: Increasing the target’s support by involving him or her in deciding how you will accomplish your plan. E. Exchange: Rewarding the target with benefits or favors in exchange for following a request. F. Personal appeals: Asking for compliance based on friendship or loyalty. G. Ingratiation: Using flattery, praise, or friendly behavior prior to making a request. H. Pressure: Using warnings, repeated demands, and threats. I. Coalitions: Enlisting the aid or support of others to persuade the target to agree. J. Political Skill: The ability to influence others in such a way as to enhance one’s objective.IV. Sexual Harassment: Unequal Power in the Workplace A. Any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an individual’s employment and creates a hostile work environment. B. Sexual harassment negatively affects job attitudes and leads those who feel harassed to withdraw from the organization. C. Some ways managers can protect themselves and their employees from sexual harassment: 1. Make sure an active policy defines what constitutes sexual harassment, informs employees they can be fired for sexually harassing another employee, and establishes procedures for making complaints. 2.Reassure employees they will not encounter retaliation if they file a complaint. 3. Investigate every complaint, and inform the legal and human resource departments. 4. Make sure offenders are disciplined or terminated. 5. Set up in-house seminars to raise employee awareness of sexual harassment issues. V. Politics: Power in Action A. Definition of Organizational Politics 1. Political behavior, in organization, consists of activities that are not required as part of an individual’s formal role but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization. . Legitimate political power b. Illegitimate political power VI. Causes and Consequence s of Political Behavior A. Factors contributing to political behavior 1. Individual factors 2. Organizational factors B. How do people respond to organizational politics? 1. Decreased job satisfaction 2. Increased anxiety and stress 3. Increased turnover 4. Reduced performance VII. Impression management VIII. The Ethics of Behaving Politically Chapter 13, Power and Politics – Key Terms †¢Power- A capacity that A has to influence the behavior of B so that B acts in accordance with A’s wishes. Dependence – B ’s relationship to A when A possesses something that B requires. †¢Coercive Power – A power base that is dependent on fear of the negative results from failing to comply. †¢Reward power – Compliance achieved based on the ability to distribute rewards that others view as valuable. †¢Legitimate power – The power a person receives as a result of his or her position in the formal hierarchy of an organization. †¢ Personal power – Influence derived from an individual’s characteristics. †¢Expert power – Influence based on special skills or knowledge. †¢Referent power – Influence based on identification with a person who has desirable esources or personal traits. †¢Power tactics – Ways in which individuals translate power bases into specifics actions. †¢Political skill – The ability to influence others in such a way as to enhance one’s objectives. †¢Sexual Harassment – Any unwanted activity of a sexual nature that affects an individual’s employment and creates a hostile work environment. †¢Political behavior – Activities that are not required as part of a person’s formal role in the organization but that influence, or attempt to influence, the distribution of advantages and disadvantages within the organization. Impression Management (IM) – The process by which individuals attempt t o control the impression others form of them. †¢Defensive behaviors – Reactive and proactive behaviors to avoid action, blame, or change Chapter 17, Human Resources Policies and Procedures – Learning Objectives 1. Define initial selection, and identify the most useful methods. 2. Define substantive selection, and identify the most useful methods. 3. Define contingent selection, and contrast the arguments for and against drug testing. 4. Compare the four main types of training. 5. Contrast formal and informal training methods. 6.Contrast on-the-job and off-the-job training. 7. Describe the purposes of performance evaluation and list the methods by which it can be done. 8. Show how managers can improve performance evaluations. 9. Describe how organizations can manage work-family conflicts. Chapter 17, Human Resources Policies and Procedures – Section Outlines I. Selection Process A. Initial selection are the first information applicants submit and are used fo r preliminary rough cuts to decide whether the applicant meets the basic qualifications for a job. 1. Application forms including letters of recommendation 2. Background checks B. Substantive selection 1.Written tests 2. Performance-simulations tests a. Work sample tests: Hands-on simulations of part or all of the work that applicants for routine jobs must perform. b. Assessment centers: A set of performance-simulation tests designed to evaluate a candidate’s managerial potential. 3. Interviews have a disproportionate amount of influence on employee selection decisions. a. In addition to evaluating specific, job-related skills, managers are looking at personality characteristics and personal values to find individuals who fit the organization’s culture and image. C. Contingent selection 1. Drug test is a common contingent selection method. . Argument against drug testing: Drug is a private matter. II. Training and Development Programs A. Types of training 1. Basic lite racy skills 2. Technical skills has become increasingly important in organizations. 3. Interpersonal skills 4. Problem-solving skills 5. Ethics training B. Training methods 1. Formal training a. Types of formal training 1. On-the-job training (i)job rotation (ii)apprenticeship (iii)understudy assignments (iv)formal mentoring programs 2. Off-the-job training (i)classroom lectures (ii)internet courses is most likely to be the fastest growing training. (iii)public seminars (iv)videotapes 3.E-training b. Individualizing formal training to fit the employee’s learning style c. Evaluating effectiveness 2. Informal training III. Performance Appraisal A. Purposes of performance evaluation 1. Helps managers make human resource decisions 2. Assists in identifying training and development needs 3. Provides a criterion against which management validates selection and development programs 4. Provides feedback on employees 5. Basis for reward allocations – determine promotions, B. Wh at do we evaluate? 1. Individual task outcomes 2. Behaviors 3. Traits – least predictive set of criteria used to evaluate employees. C.Who should do the evaluating? 1. Immediate superior 2. Peers 3. Self-evaluation a. Lead to employees rating themselves highly b. Make excellent vehicles for stimulating job performance discussions between employees and their superiors c. Often low in agreement with superiors’ rating d. Tend to be biased estimates 4. Immediate subordinates 5. 360-degree evaluation is to pool feedback from all the employee’s customers or provide performances feedback from the full circle of daily contacts that an employee might have, ranging from mailroom personnel to customers to bosses to peers. D. Methods of performance evaluation 1.Written essays – does not require no complex forms or extensive training to complete. 2. Critical incidents – the evaluation method that focuses the evaluator’s attention on those behaviors that are key to executing a job effectively. 3. Graphic rating scales consider their usability in quantitative analysis 4. Behaviorally anchored rating scales (BARS) – When an appraiser rates employees based on items on a continuum with the points reflecting actual behaviors on a given job 5. Forced comparisons a. Group order ranking requires the evaluator to place employees into a particular classification, such as top one-fifth or second one-fifth. . Individual ranking is an approach to performance evaluation rank-orders employees from best to worst. E. Suggestions for improving performance evaluations 1. Use multiple evaluators 2. Evaluate selectively 3. Train evaluators 4. Provide employees with due process F. Providing performance feedback 1. The human resources department is not supportive of the feedback process. IV. Managing Diversity in Organizations A. Work-life conflicts B. Diversity training V. Global Issues A. Selection B. Performance evaluations

Monday, September 16, 2019

Distortion and Literary Realism in Brave New World Essay

In the dystopian novel, Brave New World, Aldous Huxley presents a horrifying view of a future in which society has become imprisoned by the very technology it believed would bring freedom. Huxley’s distortion of technology, religion, and family values in Brave New World is far more persuading than his use of literary realism in depicting the savage reservation. Through distortion, Huxley is able to make his arguments more effectively, and cause speculation over whether or not what a person wishes for is actually what they truly desire. Huxley effectively uses distortion in Brave New World through his depiction of social values of the future. When Barnard Marx hears somebody talking about Lenina â€Å"as though she were a bit of meat,† he becomes upset (45). Leaving the building, both the Assistant Predestinator and Henry Foster recommend soma for his bad mood. Their reaction shows that drug use is becoming an increasingly acceptable way out for a weak society. The depiction of drug use shows that society is becoming emotionally incapable of dealing with pain and hurt. Furthermore, while speaking with the director of the London Hatchery, the students are disgusted and outraged when told that at one time people were viviparous. Huxley is trying to warn society that its lack of commitment and endurance will eventually be its downfall. The emotional ties between parents and children are severed due to the non-existence of mothers and fathers. An emotionless society feels no guilt, and if one feels no personal guilt, society as a whole will feel no guilt if it lets itself be destroyed. In addition, Lenina, when accused of lack of promiscuity by Fanny, fervently denies it. Lenina denies this because Monogamy requires commitment, pain, and work, all of which oppose the stability of her society. Huxley is distorting the problems of his time to create a prediction in which humans have progressed to a society of people who are unable to focus on anything but pleasure; unable to handle the work of a commitment or the pain of emotion. Huxley also uses distortion to bring attention to the importance of religion. Bernard Marx hurries and frets about being late to his orgy-porgy session not because he cares that he is running behind, but because he must keep up his appearance (79). The orgy-porgy session depicts a religion in which only  physical desires are fulfilled, leaving any emotional or intellectual needs to feed upon the individual. Huxley’s prediction of the church moving away from God and towards man is shockingly correct 70 years after his book was published. Church figures have appeared numerous times on the news for using the church for money, perversion, and sex. Furthermore, when Bernard and Lenina visit the reservation they are appalled at the religion of those on the Savage Reservation. Their reaction is a warning that lack of religious tolerance could be one of the greatest downfalls of our time. Thousands of men, women and children die in Middle Eastern Holy Wars, over nothing more than lack of religious tolerance. In addition, Lenina wears the sign of the T instead of a cross. While the cross represents faith, intangible, yet real if one believes in it, the T stands for technology, something that even the weak can believe in because it can always be seen. The presence of faith is a sign of a strong society; lack of faith a sign that a society is becoming weak. The most powerful distortion in -Brave New World is found in Huxley’s use of technology. The Director of the London Hatchery is very proud they have produced ninety-six buds from one egg. The joys and intimacy of motherhood have been replaced by the â€Å"benefits† of technology. The new society finds delight in being able to reproduce ninety-six identical people. There is no ambition, no individuality, no creativity; it is truly a bleak society. Furthermore, while the students are being given a tour of the hatchery, they are extremely impressed that children are not only decanted, but they are predestined also. Children grow up and know one job and no other, they are taught nothing but that one job. They aren’t allowed to dream and aren’t allowed to hope.   Due to the conditioning they are put through, they never even have the ability to think of how life might be better. In addition, Mustapha Mond, one of the seven world leaders, is referred to as His Fordness. Henry Ford is the god of the Brave New World. Society has replaced what is associated with beauty, nature, and creativity, with a man who invented the assembly line, a process designed to stamp out thousands of identical, interchangeable parts. Huxley’s distortion forces people to seriously consider the future of society. Are we going to become the exact same replaceable person? Creativity brought the technology, but will the  technology destroy creativity?

Sunday, September 15, 2019

Japan In The Wake Of World War Ii History Essay

Embracing Defeat represents the really best of historical scholarship of Japan ‘s experience of licking and business at the terminal of the Second World War. Written by MIT Professor John W. Dower, this book shows the loanblend and contested character of the Occupation of Japan by the United States of America. More than merely sing the Occupation through the lens of the vanquisher ‘s strength, the greatest part of Embracing Defeat lies in the alternate position it offers of a complex post-war Nipponese society and the Nipponese people. As Dower competently puts, the period â€Å" through the eyes of the defeatedaˆÂ ¦ wretchedness, freak out cynicism and bitterness ‘ but besides ‘hope resiliency, vision and dreams ‘ ( pp. 24-25 ) in the embracing of licking. He delves into a scope of subjects from General Douglas MacArthur ‘s disposal, the Tokyo ‘s War Trial, Emperor Hirohito controversial function to the common people on the land such a s cocottes, rise of Mafias running black markets, workers, administrative officials, political party members, detailing the mind from the most powerful elite to the common man at grassroots. Underliing these subjects, the book is written in a proseful postmodern narrative albeit critical structural analysis. The book can be divided into three chief parts. The first trades with the popular and subculture of the Japanese. Second portion trades with the political alteration enacted by the occupational elites, in controversy with the grassroots. Last the book trades with the Reconstruction of Japan ‘s economic system. Dower thoughtful and thorough inside informations of each portion means that each portion can be read on its ain. However, the weaving of the intercultural interactions between the vanquisher and conquered across the three parts makes the book Embracing Defeat greater the amount of its parts. The book starts against the background of societal and economic desperation. Embedded in the heads of many Nipponese is the ‘subcultures of licking ‘ . During the war, ordinary Nipponese people were prepared to give their lives for the emperor and for their fatherland. With the earth-shattering dropping of the atomic bomb, Nipponese society had been shaken to its foundations, and people had to reinvent their lives to believe of acquiring adequate nutrient to remain alive. This psychic prostration formed the societal cloth. Then, assorted subcultures sprang up from illegal trades of the cocottes and black sellers ‘ detonations of entrepreneurial energy and condemnable packs. Likewise, disillusioned authors and intellectuals embraced a civilization of hedonism. Together, they posed forceful challenges to the traditional societal and sexual order against the cavities of desperation and detecting new aspirations with unsure future individuality in front. However, a sens e of hope and release was what made it possible for most ordinary Nipponese to 'embrace licking ‘ . The 2nd portion of the book brings us to the more familiar terrains of business policies enacted by GHQ ( General Headquarters ) command held under SCAP ( Supreme Commander of Allied Powers ) General MacArthur and the receptiveness of the Nipponese people. Here, Dower presents a critical position of MacArthur and the American swayers ‘ cultural haughtiness against the locals. Much to the reverse of making a more classless society, the Americans ruled as masters and the relationship between them and the Japanese was one of hierarchal. They themselves constructed an ‘inviolate privileged caste ‘ ( p. 211 ) and MacArthur business projected a white supremacist ‘imbued with a sense of manifest fate ‘ ( pp. 211-212 ) with MacArthur governing with absolute authorization of a military absolutism and the Nipponese people its ‘subjects ‘ . While loaded with the liquors of democratisation and demilitarization, the Americans made contradictory picks from start, lending to the intrenchment of conservative powers such as the imperial establishment, one of the many paradoxes which run throughout the book. ‘The Occupation governments chose non to simply detach the emperor from this holy war, but to resituate him as the Centre of their new democracy ‘ ( p. 278 ) . MacArthur sees the Showa Emperor as a ‘force for good ‘ in continuing stableness and easing the undertaking of the occupying forces. Hirohito was protected from any unfavorable judgment and was absolved of any duty for the war in order to make a new ‘imperial democracy ‘ in Japan. However as Dower reveals, there was being of popular and even official sentiment in favour of force outing Hirohito, trialing him as a war felon and in some instances, of get rid ofing the monarchy. He was after all the manifestation of continuity of the war that the soldiers take orders from. It was the SCAP who stepped in to stamp down this climb force per unit area. In add-on, Dower points out that the war offenses tribunal was a travesty. The suspects were coached to remain off from any mention to the Emperor even though he held the de facto capacity of influence during the war and he was the chief adult male whom the suspects took orders from. Dower believes that this hindered the possibility of Japan ‘s future democratic development and this symbol continues to be a stumbling block in Japan ‘s dealingss with the remainder of Asia more than half a century after the terminal of the war. In screening the monarchy from prosecution and shriving Hirohito of duty for aggression, whilst keeping the bastion of peace and Jesus of the state, the US played a polar function in enshrining imperial democracy. Japan ‘s democratic fundamental law was crafted in secret within a hebdomad without audience with Nipponese governments. The footing as underlined by Dower was that MacArthur held the emperor as the caput of the province while war as a crowned head right was abolished and the feudal system will discontinue. Together with the no-war clause under Article 9, the US created the universe ‘s lone univocal peace fundamental law. Against the background of the Cold War events such as the triumph of the Chinese Communist Party in China and the eruption of the Korean War, the Nipponese people however in response to their ain agony during the Pacific war by and big embraced the dovish rules enshrined in the fundamental laws, contending the determination of the US to do Japa n as a subsidiary spouse when the former decided to rearm and reindustrialize Japan. On the other manus, there were right-wingers elements assailing on Article 9. Here, Dower adds rich inside informations to that reading about the diverseness of positions among the Japanese, an issue still in argument boulder clay today. For all the purposes and intents of the broad fundamental law with its enlargement of single freedoms, Dower agues â€Å" the vanquishers worked difficult to engineer consensus, and on many critical issues, they made it clear that the better portion of political wisdom was silence and conformity ‘ ( p. 440 ) . The bureaucratic-authoritarian nature of the authorities maintained rigorous censoring. Subjects refering the business itself could non be criticized. Nor could the atomic bombardment and even unfavorable judgment of the Soviet Union was banned. Labour work stoppages as mobilized by the Communist Party foremost gained strengths and shortly afterwards were banned by MacArthur in the name of economic recovery. Soon, the SCAP compiled a list of suspected Communists and began to collar the development, paralleling MacCarthyism ‘Red Scare ‘ dorsum in USA. However, the pretense continues between the workers and the bureaucratism. Dower therefore highlights the amen tia of democracy when freedom of look, a construct so cardinal to a working democracy is being curtailed. A minor to observe of the book ‘s failing is the deficiency of reference of the land reform plan even though it helped to make the political base for the Liberal Democratic Party for the coming 50 old ages. Land reform relied on the support and cooperation of 1000s of Nipponese and would suit into Dower larger strategy of things of 'embracing licking ‘ . This farther points to the book focuses mostly on urban metropoliss with small reference of the countryside Nipponese people. Still, it is apprehensible given the SCAP radiates its policies from Tokyo GHQ. In footings of methodological attack, Dower uses an array of English and Nipponese beginnings which includes kids ‘s games, sketchs, movies, constabulary records, letters, newspapers, popular vocals. His research into them is thorough and punctilious. In peculiar, he has made important usage of single testimony such as interviews at multiple societal and political degrees to convey out the pluralistic facet of history. Adding to his heartfelt composing manner, the ten-year-in-making has reached audience outside academic domain, winning the 1999 National Book Award, and the 2000 Pulitzer Prize for General Non-Fiction. Dower wise and examining summing up of certification and archival beginnings in Japan and the USA with his graphical authorship in highly traveling manner describes in elaborate history what it was like for an ordinary individual populating in Japan between 1945 and 1952. The book includes many redolent exposure and the screen of the first edition shows a group of Nipponese listening to their ‘divine sovereign ‘ for the first clip over the wireless on the resignation conveying forth the thought of desperation on the land. Dower aims to show the citizens ‘ mundane life and he has done so successfully. At the same clip, he does non pretermit to depict the institutionalization procedure led by the SCAP and bureaucratic elites in the Nipponese authorities. This well balanced building of history at higher and lower degrees of the society encapsulates the complex relationship between masters and vanquished, filled with contradictions, ambiguities and incompatibilities.

Saturday, September 14, 2019

Five paragraph essay Essay

Essays begin with the prompt. Make sure students understand what the prompts are asking them to do. Students may be asked to analyze, assess, evaluate, compare, contrast, describe, discuss, and explain. Know the difference between these words. Additionally, prompts can be multi-tasking in that they ask the writer to perform several actions. Make sure students answer all parts of the prompt, or they may fail. All essays should have five paragraphs. The first should be a thesis paragraph. It need consist of only one sentence – a thesis statement. If students have any other sentence, an attention grabber similar to the headlines of a newspaper called a hook should precede their thesis. Students should not waste time and effort on long theses’ paragraphs. Students should come to the point – their thesis – immediately, and go on to prove their argument. All theses should include their argument with three methods or points they will use to prove their argument. For example, if the prompt asks about the Mongols, a superior thesis would be â€Å"The Mongols were efficient governors because of their political, economic, and social policies.† The first portion of the thesis, â€Å"The Mongols were efficient governors,† is a simple, acceptable thesis. At the bare minimum, all essays should include this type of thesis. The second part, â€Å"because of their political, economic, and social policies† turns a simple thesis into a clear, analytical, and comprehensive thesis. Better essays follow this second format. Read more:  How much sentences in a paragraph. The conclusion paragraph need only consist of one sentence. While a conclusion resembles a thesis, students should not copy or paraphrase the thesis. They should write a sentence that sums up what they have learned or proven in their essay. The other paragraphs form the body of the essay and are critical. Within three of the paragraphs, students prove their argument. Set up body paragraphs in an order parallel to the structure within the thesis sentence. Students should organize points from the strongest point to weakest point. Strength is based on the amount of evidence presented and the thoroughness of the argument. The weakest point should be last. Based on the above thesis, this means â€Å"political policies† should be the topic of the first body paragraph, while the second point will be â€Å"economic policies† and the last paragraph will cover â€Å"social policies.† The first sentence in the body paragraphs should expand upon the sub-point from the thesis. An example about the Mongols could be â€Å"Politically, the Mongols were tolerant governors, who insisted upon honesty, efficiency, and equality in their policies.† Within each paragraph, there should be two or three facts or pieces of historical support material. While grammar is important, the essay is a rough draft. It does not have to be perfect. Graders know that 50 minutes does not allow students much time to perfect grammar, syntax, and diction. While it is imperative that the essay be readable and intelligible, national graders will not deduct for grammatical mistakes. The Document-Based Question (DBQ) Document based essays are designed to test a student’s ability to use documents to support a historical argument. It corresponds roughly to writing a research paper and duplicates the work of historians, where the student is given the evidence and asked to write a paper – in one hour. And a DBQ essay may include compare and contrast, and/or change over time. The Document-Based Question consists of a prompt with between five and nine primary source documents. The question is not designed to test a student’s knowledge about world history, so much as the student’s ability to use documentary evidence to make and to support a written argument. Critical to this process are the concepts of bias (reliability) and use of all documents to support a thesis. The graders will grade by the following criteria. An acceptable thesis requires a simple thesis stating the point of argument, or what you will prove. An expanded thesis, which earns an additional point, requires a comprehensive thesis statement with point of argument and three ways you will prove it. Students need to use all or all but one of the documents in the essay. Use is defined as citing, quoting, paraphrasing, listing, summarizing, mentioning, analyzing, interpreting, or critiquing the documents in any way. Students must support the thesis with appropriate evidence from the documents. Students must analyze, interpret, and critique the documents. Quoting, listing, summarizing, citing, or mentioning a document does not qualify for this criterion! Students should support their thesis through the use of outside material not mentioned in their documents. If students know of facts and information relevant to the topic, which were not mentioned in the documents, they should include them. Students must understand the basic meaning of the documents cited in the essay. Students may misinterpret one document but two or more will cost one criterion point. Mistakes involving dates and names are not critical but misrepresenting a document can be fatal. Placing a document in a wrong group that leads to a wrong conclusion also counts as a misunderstanding. Analyze point of view or bias in three documents. The rubric says students need to analyze only two documents but this is too few. Students should do three or more. In order to earn this point, students should attribute and analyze point of view, bias, purpose or intent, tone, or audience in an attempt to determine reliability. Analysis of point of view also constitutes supporting the thesis with appropriate evidence from the documents and using the documents, too! One method of analysis (and use) is based on the acronym, S.O.A.P.P.S. Students must analyze documents by grouping them depending on the DBQ prompt. If the DBQ identifies groups in the prompt, students must use the mentioned groups. Students must have three groups. If the prompt only specifies two, students should create a third category. Once again, students must organize the evidence and arguments into three groups. These groups could be mentioned in the thesis statement. The better writers will create their own groups or categories based on the documents. Nevertheless, students might use the acronym P.E.R.S.I.A.N. or S.C.R.I.P.T.E.D. to help structure their thoughts. Evidence should fit into three of these categories. Other methods of grouping include organizing by gender, time, social class, occupation, geography, nationality, similar points of view, or religion. When grouping a document, each group must contain at least two documents. If possible, use three because it prevents a failed group if you misinterpret one document. Students will be asked to identify one additional type of document they could have used to support the essay prompt. One useful way to accomplish this is to identify a point of view or group missing from the discussion. For example, an essay on gender rights that does not include a woman’s point of view is weak. You should mention this failing. At the same time, if all of the documents in the same essay are by women, a man’s point of view might help balance the essay. Students should decide what is missing and mention what specific type of document or point of view might improve the essay. And they should ideally state how it would help the essay. They should place this sentence in whichever body paragraph will be most effective. This could also include bringing in outside information relevant to the topic. Other typically missing documents include charts, maps, or statistical information, social classes, and opposite points of view. Students will have 50 minutes to write their essays. They should use 10 minutes to read the documents and to structure or outline their essay. They should spend 30 minutes writing and 10 minutes reviewing what they have written. Student should make sure they have used all the documents, have three groups, and performed all activities they are required to do. They should especially check their prompt to see that they have addressed all parts required.