Does exercise help combat teenage obesity Essay

Does exercise help combat teenage obesity - Essay Example At present there is a considerable level of media interest surrounding obesity as obesity is found to be as one of the largest health problems afflicting United Kingdom, and a growing concern, particularly among our children and teenagers (Clinton & Smith, 1999). The obesity epidemic is spreading to all the developed countries in varied degrees, with the prevalence reaching more than 25% in certain states of the United States and 20% in Australia. It is alarming news that in UK, about 46% of men and 32% of women are overweight (a body mass index of 25-30 kg/m2), and an additional 17% of men and 21% of women are obese (a body mass index of more than 30 kg/m2). Deirdre Hutton, who co-chairs the European Food Safety Authority opines that as many as 8.5% of 6 year olds and 15% of 15 year olds are clinically obese. Obesity is becoming an increasing problem all over the world, and the World Health Organisation (WHO) has termed obesity a global epidemic. The number of obese people in the UK is rising at a high rate, especially among young adults. Since 1980, the total number of obese adults in the United Kingdom has almost tripled. This has been termed as the ‘obesity epidemic’. According to Liam Donaldson, England’s chief medical officer, â€Å"The direct cost of obesity to the NHS is  £0.5bn ($0.9bn; â‚ ¬0.7bn), while the indirect cost to the UK economy is at least  £2bn†. This reporting reflects and confirms the fact that obesity is of course a threat and its medical, social and economic consequences are negative. More so, today’s reality of increasing levels of child obesity and the need to address the problem is high on the agenda of the political and medical world.

Art Forgeries Essay Example for Free

Art Forgeries Essay When one enters into an art museum, one would expect all of the pieces of art to be that of the original. However, when an art lover does not know the difference between an original from a forgery, then they may have been fooled by both the museum and by the forger. No one can really look at a painting and distinctly know whether it is a forged piece of work or an original piece of work. Art forgeries may seem like an artist copying a well-known artists work, but it depends on how one looks at a particular piece of art. There are multiple reasons as to why art forgeries can be seen as something positive in the artistic world. Crispin Sartwell discusses about Jerrold Levinson’s definition of art from Levinson’s article, â€Å"Refining Art Historically,† in the Journal of Aesthetics Art Criticism of 1990. To Levinson, art is something that is made to be intended to be â€Å"regarded† as a work of art (Sartwell). Luise Morton and Thomas Foster discuss Nelson Goodman’s definition of art from Languages of Art in Journal of Aesthetics Art Criticism of 1991. Goodman says that it is about how one looks at an original and a forged art depends on the way we look at it (Morton and Foster). Both Levinson and Goodman make good points because they are both saying that all depends on the person’s perspective. Not everyone sees the same piece of art the same way another person does, so given a choice between an original or a forged piece of art, some may be able to tell the difference and some may not. The idea of having different perspectives on what is real art or what is not depends solely on an individual. Levinson and Goodman both see art by how the person intends it to be. According to Jonathon Keats who writes in The Daily Beast, art forgery helps take us out of our comfort zone, while the real art keeps us within our comfort zone. Keats writes that forgers credit their work to the original artist. In doing so, the artist’s work is more accessible to more people and that the artist who forged an original should be appreciated (Keats). Blake Gopnik writing in the New York Times says that the forgers can make recreate art with their hands; however, great art depends on the idea of the artist. The idea of the forger comes from the original artists, like Pollock and Rothko, setting up procedures and ideas for making art (Gopnik). The forger is able to recreate a work of art because of the way a particular artist wanted their art to be seen. On the other hand, Ross Bowden writing in the Journal of Aesthetics Art Criticism of 1999 about Alfred Lessing’s essay titled, â€Å"What Is Wrong with a Forgery? † In Lessing’s essay, he disapproves of art forgery when talking culturally. Lessing believes that forgeries do not have that artistic integrity and lacks creativity. He continues to say that one can recreate an amazing artwork, but it will lack the imagination it takes to create the original piece of work (Bowden). Forgeries in the opinion of Lessing lack imagination and creativity, however, Gopnik and Keats see that an artist has the imagination and creativity to recreate a famous piece of work. If one lacks that imagination and creativity then they would not be able to get away with forgery. These forgery artists are capable of pulling off century old paintings and able to sell them to museums as originals. That takes imagination and creativity. W. E. Kennick brings up in the Journal of Aesthetics Art Criticism of 1985 that every copy of an original piece of work is a forgery. Artists make their work in the style of others, but still make it their own. One is not actually forging a real piece of art, much less than copying or imitating that person’s style (Kennick). Gopnik also says that Andy Warhol’s works were sometimes made by him or sometimes made by his assistant. Warhol even attributed some of his work to other artists. An artist by the name of Marcel Duchamp made art out of bicycle wheels, urinals, already made sculptures, and other reusable items. Duchamp encouraged others to do the same and copy his style (Gopnik). Every artist can imitate or copy someone else’s work, although that artist who made the original work may no longer be alive, their work is still living on. Art forgeries can be looked at as some sort of crime because someone is recreating masterpieces and selling them to museums. However, if one stops to think about the fact that art forgeries are actually artists bringing masterpieces back, one would not think it was a crime. These artists are creative enough to be able to recreate an artwork and give art lovers the feeling of having a masterpiece in their home or be able to look at it in a museum. Art forgeries are a lucrative past time for those who love art and want to be able to see â€Å"their art† in a museum. It is a win-win situation for both the artist and the art lovers. Works Cited Bowden, Ross. What is wrong with an art forgery? : An anthropological perspective. Journal of Aesthetics Art Criticism (1999): 333-343. Gopnik, Blake. In Praise of Art Forgeries . The New York Times 2 Novemeber 2013. Keats, Jonathon. Why Forgeries Are Great Art. The Daily Beast Kennick, W. E. Art and Inauthenticity. Journal of Aesthetics Art Criticism (1985): 1-12. Morton, Luise H. and Thomas R. Foster. Goodman, Forgery, and the Aesthetic. Journal of Aesthetics Art Criticism (1991): 155-159. Sartwell, Crispin. A Counter-Example to Levinsons Historical Theory of Art. Journal of Aesthetics Art Criticism (1990): 157-158.

David Foster Wallace’s essay Consider the Lobster -- Wallace Animal Ri

Consider the Audience The gluttonous lords of the land capture those who are unable to defend themselves, boil the captives alive, and then feast on their flesh. Could this be the plot of some new summer blockbuster? It could be, in fact, but for now we will focus on how this depiction of events compares to David Foster Wallace’s essay, â€Å"Consider the Lobster,† which starts as a review of the Maine Lobster Festival, but soon morphs into an indictment of not only the conventions of lobster preparation, but also the entire idea of having an animal killed for one’s own consumption. Wallace shows great skill in establishing ethos. In the essay, he succeeds in snaring a receptive audience by laying out a well-baited trap for an audience who was looking for something else altogether, but he ultimately fails to keep hold of much of his catch. The piece in question was written for and published in Gourmet magazine. Presumably, the readers of that publication have already made up their minds about what they like to eat. A philosophical treatise on animal rights is probably not high on their reading list. In order to suck these readers in, Wallace hides his disdain for the subject matter inside cynical and ironic language. In his opening sentence, Wallace refers to the Maine Lobster Festival as â€Å"enormous, pungent, and extremely well-marketed† (252). This is an effective turn of phrase in that each reader assigns his or her own values to those adjectives. While an optimist sees in his mind’s eye a large, aromatic party filled with revelers from all over the continent, a pessimist pictures a crowded, stinky mess which has sold out for the money. Wallace draws them both in with his careful use of language. The words â€Å"optimi... ...lace’s inability to set up enough ethos to bring the reluctant portion of his audience along on his exploration of animal-rights issues causes this to be an ineffective piece. The only readers who are interested in its points are those who already agree with them. The vast majority of readers will either tune him out once he starts using more negative and eventually desperate language, or they will get through the piece and then go have some dead animal prepared for their supper without a second thought. He skillfully guides the audience into his net through his early use of neutral language, but when he tries to draw in his catch he ends up opening a giant hole in his netting, allowing many to follow their peers back into the murky sea from whence they came. Sources Cited David Foster Wallace’s essay, â€Å"Consider the Lobster,† in Gourmet Magazine. June 2008.

A Critical Analysis of “My Kiowa Grandmother”

A Critical Analysis of â€Å"My Kiowa Grandmother,† and â€Å"Take My Saddle from the Wall: A Valediction† A Critical Analysis of â€Å"My Kiowa Grandmother,† and â€Å"Take My Saddle from the Wall: A Valediction† The essays, â€Å"My Kiowa Grandmother,† by N. Scott Momaday and â€Å"Take My Saddle from the Wall: A Valediction,† by Larry McMurtry, both seek to understand the values and traditions of an old way of life that has been lost to the trials and tribulations of time.By reaching back into history through their families, both authors achieve the same effect, while using starkly contrasting narrative structure; they show the characteristics that have been lost to younger generations. The purpose of N. Scott Momaday’s essay, â€Å"My Kiowa Grandmother,† is personal self-expression, because he attempts to define his own values and judgments through an exploration of the memories and stories he has of his grandmother and ance stors. The title of Momaday’s essay sets the stage for the rest of his words. My Kiowa Grandmother,† becomes an exploration of who she was and the values that she lived by as part of the last generation of true Kiowa Indians. The essay that ensues is about Momaday collecting his interpretations of her life and analyzing the stories to find the values that the Kiowa honored and followed. Through his exploration, Momaday establishes a system of values that he chooses to try to follow himself. The essay’s content is divided not by a beginning, middle, and an end, but rather through a series of episodes and recollections that are slightly disconnected but belong to a larger picture.The essay is filled with descriptions of the land the Kiowa dwelled on and the manner in which they lost that land, thus forcing them onto a reservation. He discusses the journey his ancestors took as he himself travels in their footsteps a century later across North America, from Montana to Arkansas, where the Kiowa lived for many decades. He then begins to offer a more personal view of his grandmother and his memories of her when the weight of age has come upon her (290). He illustrates for the reader a very intimate moment where he watched and listened to her praying.Despite not speaking the native language, â€Å"there was something inherently sad in the sound† of her prayers (290). He ends the paragraph by revealing that he knew that he would not see her again after watching her pray that night. As Momaday tells the stories, they are completely separate of one another but all share in a relationship as a whole. His words indicate that the Kiowa Indians were a proud people who faced the cruelties of manifest destiny as the United States spread westward across the Great Plains, forcing Native Americans onto reservations.Momaday sets out on his proud journey to understand his people and to adapt their culture and values in the present day, but ultimately con cludes that those traits have died with â€Å"the last great moment of their history† (288). Similarly, Larry McMurtry also seeks to identify old values and traditions that are long lost to history in his essay, â€Å"Take My Saddle from the Wall: A Valediction. † Unlike Momaday, however, he constructs his essay with an introduction, followed by the body of his essay, and then offers a conclusion that links the entire narrative together from beginning to end.McMurtry’s approach presents a cleverly braided narrative utilizing literary devices, such as drama and humor, to reflect his main ideas. Still, both essays are expressive in nature. The authors delve deep into their thoughts in order to construct the personal essays in which each man seeks to find his values within himself. Even though McMurtry’s essay is significantly longer and â€Å"prolonged in thought† (142) compared to Momaday’s essay, he seeks to achieve an understanding of the v alues and traditions of his ancestors as well.McMurtry includes a metaphor that equates the departing of his relatives, and the other cowboys of their day, as a train that has left. In a few years, the tail end of the train will pass out of sight; a way of life has come and gone (142). McMurtry creates a story about his family, based on their accounts left to him in memoirs and letters throughout the years. McMurtry’s ultimate purpose is to narrate an expressive literary essay that uses humor and drama to attract the attention of the reader.While discussing cowboys and their straightforward wisdom, he concludes that cowboys’ observations turn into aphorisms. One such aphorism he finds particularly appealing is as follows: â€Å"A woman’s love is like the morning dew, it’s just as likely to fall on a horseturd as on a rose† (149). McMurtry also includes a great deal of drama and suspense as well. At one point, he recalls his grandfather’s tro ublesome drinking; one day his grandmother issued an ultimatum, sober up or she would leave him. â€Å"The threat was undoubtedly made in earnest, and he took it so immediately to eart that he stopped drinking then and there, with a jug half full of whiskey hanging in the saddle room of the barn† (143). Additionally, a substantial difference between the two essays is the author’s view of their ancestors. McMurtry admits that he â€Å"never considered genealogy much of an aid to recognition, and thus never pursued [his] lineage any distance at all† (143). On the other hand, Momaday is very curious of his lineage. So curious in fact that he actually sets out on a â€Å"fifteen hundred [mile]†¦ pilgrimage† (289) to see where his ancestors began their journey onto the plains.Momaday describes his ancestors as people of the Earth, whereas McMurtry’s cowboy ancestors preferred the company of minorities, such as Mexicans and Blacks, to the company of farmers. â€Å"The plow and the cotton patch [were] not only tasks [his ancestors] loathed† they were qualities of a soul that the McMurtry’s despised (146). The method of organization that authors use is important to the overall presentation of their thoughts. Momaday’s attempt at self-definition is an integral part of the pattern of his essay.Momaday achieves his goal by organizing his thoughts in a descriptive, associative pattern that allows him to tell multiple disconnected stories that are a part of a larger picture. Momaday portrays the Kiowa people and where they lived. He describes his grandmother and his memories of her, then recounts the sad and lonely home that once belonged to her, and the commotion that once filled the rooms of the house during reunions. Each of the parts of his essay comes together as pieces of a whole puzzle do when he ventures out to her grave.Ultimately, his quest to understand the values of the Kiowa, and to find himself with in their stories and traditions, is lost as are the generations of old Indian warriors. After visiting his grandmother’s grave, the weight and understanding of the loss prevails and â€Å"looking back once, [he] saw the mountain and came away† (292). His journey to understand his people, for him, ended with the death of his grandmother. As he departed the ancient burial ground at the base of Rainy Mountain, he left not only his ancestors there, but also his dream of carrying out their traditions as well.Each part of Momaday’s essay is a static representation in time, or snapshots of an event that occurred. Conversely, McMurtry’s essay follows a dynamic pattern; the details he provides change from one event to another. McMurtry excels at offering a great deal of description through his narration, and the pattern that he follows is an expressive narration of process. The events that McMurtry depicts are unique to him, and will differ from other accounts of the same stories provided by family and friends. This pattern allows him to eliminate the five stages that a narration of an event demands.All the parts of his narrative are equally important in their accounts, and the resolution is the last event the McMurtry draws from. In addition, tension does not increase throughout the events that are presented. This allows McMurtry to describe a level account of many great stories that prevents the reader from feeling as if he omitted any accounts that would provide additional insight. Although each author’s essay follows a certain format for organization, the patterns the two men use are very similar as well.In describing his essay, Momaday uses a good deal of narration to move the story along from snapshot to snapshot. McMurtry, on the other hand, uses a tremendous amount of description in each of his small stories within his essay to deliver his narration in its literary purpose. For example, when McMurtry shares one of his favorite aphorisms about dew falling on a horesturd or a rose, his description of the cowboys before and after the statement is necessary in order for the statement to make sense. In addition, McMurtry uses a fair amount of description when discussing a country club that was host for a family reunion.The details of that paragraph range from â€Å"rusty slot-machines† to the â€Å"sights and sounds which one associates with big-city country clubs† and finally â€Å"the ploop of badly hit tennis balls† (157). His description allows the reader to generate in their mind the same picture that McMurtry portrays. The two approaches that each author uses, although similar in style, are structurally different and therefore allow each man to express his thoughts using different methods. Both authors utilize an expressive tone that opens their minds to the reader in order to grasp a better understanding of the goal of each essay.Overall, despite the varying structure, both article s are successful in their attempt to find the values and traditions among their families and ancestors. Both endings are concise and manage to bridge the gap between the introduction and the conclusion. Similar to Momaday, McMurtry closes with a scene describing the departure of his Uncle Johnny from a family reunion only a few months before his passing: When he smiled at the children who were near, the pain left his face for a second, and he gave them the look that had always been his greatest appeal – the look of a man who saw life to he last as a youth see it, and who sees in any youth all that he himself had been (172). The final snapshot of McMurtry’s uncle before his death has stuck with McMurtry through the trials of time. Both authors realize that the traditions of their rugged ancestors were gone, â€Å"such as it was, such as it can never be again† (172). Works Cited McMurtry, Larry. â€Å"In a Narrow Grave. † New York: Simon & Schuster, Inc. 20 06. Kindle Edition. Electronic book. 24 May 2010. Momaday, N. Scott. â€Å"My Kiowa Grandmother. † Purpose, Pattern, and Process. United States of America: Kendall/Hunt Publishing Company, 2005. 287-92. Print.

Psychology Paper Parenting Styles

Parenting Styles, Discipline, and Behavioral Outcomes Many psychologists throughout history have indulged in studies related to parenting behavior and how children are affected from such behavior. The work of Diana Baumrind, which is considered to be one of the most influential and well-studied theories of parenting behavior, was the first to identify three styles of parenting (Sclafani 44). These styles of parenting are called authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. This paper will further explain descriptions of these styles and the typical behaviors of children as a result of each style.This paper will also provide insight on the parenting style I was raised on along with my thoughts on types of discipline I might use in the future with my own child. As discussed in the introduction, there are three different styles of parenting, authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive. Each style has different characteristics and outcomes of behavior from a child, both negative and pos itive. Authoritative parenting is considered most effective. Authoritative parents provide direction and clear rules but not for the sake of blind obedience (Kimball 44).Authoritative parents are willing to discipline the child if misbehavior occurs and rewards behavior that is considered accomplished. Authoritative parenting also provides the nurture and acceptance and enforces independence a child needs as they grow older. This parenting style is associated with high achieving children. These children are typically well-mannered, well- behaved, and goal- oriented. These children also have self- confidence and are excellent in engaging in group activities with peers.Through research it has also been found that fewest numbers of drug issues and problems when the children reach adolescence are associated with this parenting style (Sclafani 46). Another parenting style to discuss is the authoritarian parenting style. With this parenting style, parents provide little nurture and accept ance but are extremely controlling and demanding. These parents strongly believe in rule enforcement and order. Authoritarian parents normally do not interact with their children in positive ways and usually install fear into the child. Punishment is usually harsh and given without explanation.Children with authoritarian parents are often anxiety- ridden. Studies have shown that these children have lower self- esteem, show high aggressiveness and typically do less well in school. Permissive parenting consists of high nurture and acceptance, but these parents lack structure and control. These parents look at their children as â€Å"free spirits† who need space to learn and grow. Permissive parents are usually inconsistent with discipline. Children with permissive parents normally are impulsive and irresponsible. These children also lack any self- control since none was expected (Sclafani 47).What exactly causes a teenager to rebel? This question is asked by millions of parents across the nation. Adolescents are in the formal operational thought stage. Parents must realize that their teenage children will have the desire to make their own decisions and challenge any inconsistent discipline. In the broadcast video, Teens: What makes them tick, when questioned why they choose to rebel, the majority of teenagers had one main reason, they are pulling away from their parents. With authoritarian parents, teenagers feel trapped and unloved.These parents are constantly nagging, lecturing and focusing on the negative aspects along with being punitive. The teenager begins to believe the negativity and ultimately has identity foreclosure. Normally, these teenagers lack self- confidence and find ways to deal with these internal issues. Teenagers can partake in unhealthy habits such as substance abuse, becoming promiscuous, or engaging in activities outside of the room to stay away. Teenagers of permissive parents normally rebel in similar ways but have different reas oning. With permissive parents, no boundaries are set and the adolescent has total freedom to do as he or she chooses.These adolescents are normally aggressive as well, especially if parents â€Å"cave in† to the aggressiveness to avoid confrontation. When I was an adolescent, I was raised by my father since my mother did not play an active role in my life. I would classify my father’s style of parenting as authoritative. Sure, my father had his days when the other styles were apparent but for the most part he was consistent. There was plenty of love and nurture along with clear boundaries set. My father listened and sympathized with me, providing guidance as I grew older.My father’s techniques were very effective although it took a while to set in along with my character. It is because of my father, I strive to better myself every day. Discipline plays a huge role in shaping a child’s personality and behavior. In the future, I plan on taking the authorit ative approach with my child. I want my child to be involved and able to make their own decisions. I plan on giving responsibilities that is age appropriate. When my child misbehaves, I will not resort to physical and verbal punishment. I rather give â€Å"time- outs† and later explain why that behavior is not allowed and inappropriate.I want to set clear boundaries and rules and explain them not in a negative aspect, but how these boundaries and rules will benefit my child. Last but not least, I will give praise when deserved and encourage my child to continue accomplishments. As discussed in my paper, different parenting styles can make a world of difference in a child’s behavior. Authoritative, authoritarian, and permissive all have different outcomes. These styles also depend on the parent’s state of mind and past experiences. These parenting styles can shape a child’s future and create an image of how that child views itself. 914

Is AP Psychology Hard 5 Key Factors Discussed

Is AP Psychology Hard 5 Key Factors Discussed SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips Before you sign up for any AP class, it's helpful to get an idea of whether you’ll be able to handle the workload (and the exam!). AP Psychology is a popular AP class that is offered at many schools, so you might have the chance to take it at some point in your high school career. But is AP psychology hard? Or is it a walk in the AP park? I’ll tell you which factors go into judging the difficulty of an AP class and examine what they tell us about the AP Psychology class and exam specifically. What Factors Go Into Determining the Difficulty of an AP Class? There are several components that we need to consider to get a clearer picture of how hard AP Psychology is overall. Here's what I'll be looking at in this article: Factor #1: Passing Rate The number of students who score a 3 or above on the AP exam can be a good indication of how difficult the class is. If a very high percentage of students earn passing scores, it may mean that the class is less challenging. It may also mean, however, that the class attracts higher-achieving students who are extremely well-prepared and tend to do better on tests across the board. That’s why, in addition to score averages, we'll also consider the perceptions of students and the actual difficulty of the content. Factor #2: Percentage of Students Who Earn a 5 Another important piece of statistical data that is slightly different from the passing rate is the percentage of students who earn 5s (the highest possible score) on the test. A large percentage of students may pass, but if only a small group earns 5s, it may mean that true mastery of the course material is hard to achieve. Even students who get 5s haven’t always fully mastered the material considering the fact that scoring a 5 on many of these tests only means answering 60-70 percent of questions correctly. Factor #3: Content Difficulty The actual content of the class is, of course, a critical factor to consider in investigating the difficulty of an AP class. Even if many students pass the exam, the class may be challenging because of the amount of ground it covers or the complexity of the material. Factor #4: How Students Perceive the Class Another critical factor in judging the difficulty of AP classes is the way students view them. As I mentioned, classes with high pass rates and high 5 rates may simply be courses that attract extremely hard-working students. Even if they ace the class and the exam, it doesn’t necessarily mean they found the material to be easy. They’re just willing to work through subjects that are hard for them. Student feedback can give us a different perspective on the difficulty of an AP class. Factor #5: When Students Take the Class This is a factor that impacts perceptions of the class and exam. If students tend to take the class earlier in high school, they're more likely to say that it’s difficult. If they take it their junior or senior year, they're more likely to feel comfortable with the material since they’ve gotten used to the workload in high school and may have already taken other AP classes. In the next section, I’ll go through all of these factors for both the AP Psychology class and exam to give you a better idea of their overall difficulty level. Time to put all the pieces together. Eventually, if you smoosh them together hard enough, a complete puzzle will materialize. What Do Statistics Say About the AP Psychology Exam? Let’s look at the passing rate and 5 rate. The passing rate for the AP Psychology exam is 65.6 percent, which is right around average compared to other AP exams. In comparison, AP Calculus BC has an 79.8 percent passing rate (one of the highest), and AP Environmental Science has a 47.7 percent passing rate (one of the lowest). The passing rate statistics would lead you to believe that the AP Psychology exam has a medium difficulty level as compared to other AP exams. The 5 rate for the exam is 21.2 percent. This 5 rate is towards the upper range of the spectrum as compared to other AP exams. There are only 11 AP exams that have 5 rates higher than AP Psychology, compared to the 20-30 with lower 5 rates. This might make you think that the test is on the easier side. But which is it? What does this really tell us? Interpreting these statistics means striking a difficult balance. Paradoxically, sometimes AP tests with high pass rates are actually more difficult. Since the subjects themselves are challenging (and have a reputation for it), they only attract the most motivated, well-prepared students. Similarly, AP tests for easier subjects might have lower passing rates because these classes attract less motivated students who don't always prepare thoroughly. Low pass rates can also happen on extremely popular tests where the number of students taking the test has increased rapidly, but their average level of preparation has declined due to the uneven quality of AP classes. Since AP Psychology is in the middle range of score statistics, we might initially assume that it has a medium level of difficulty in comparison to other AP tests. However, because AP Psychology is also one of the more popular tests, the 5 rate and passing rate could actually indicate that it’s much less difficult than your average AP test. In most other cases, popular tests have 5 rates that are skewed lower than the 5 rate for the AP Psychology exam. Taking all of this information into account, signs point to AP Psychology being one of the easier tests. The fact that it only has two free response questions (as compared to eight on a test like AP Biology) and that most of the material can be mastered through simple memorization also support this conclusion. Only two free response questions WAHOOO Is the AP Psychology Content Difficult? AP Psychology covers many different topics, but the content itself is not that difficult. The class focuses on teaching students about terms and theories that come from a relatively short period of history. Since the breadth of the content is not as wide as it is for other AP classes (for example, a class like AP Biology), teachers have the luxury of moving the course along at a more leisurely pace. You can also rely mostly on memorization to do well in the class, as opposed to in-depth analytical skills or advanced problem-solving strategies. As long as you know what the terms mean and are familiar with major psychological theories, you'll probably know the answers to most AP Psychology questions. There's even some room for interpretation in your answers to free response questions. If a question asks you to describe how certain psychological terms could relate to a scenario, there will be many different ways to earn points. Overall, the content for AP Psychology is manageable for most students. Compared to other AP classes, it's significantly less overwhelming and complex. Do Students Think AP Psychology Is Hard? Another factor to consider is how students perceive AP Psychology. This can depend heavily on the teacher and the way the class is taught, but the nature of the material itself also plays a significant role. In general, the perception of AP Psychology leans toward the class and test being easier than most other AP classes. Speaking from personal experience, I thought the AP Psychology class and test were the easiest of any AP class I took in high school. Many students who weren’t in any other AP classes took AP Psychology, and they did just fine in the class and on the test. It’s a lot of memorization of terms and theories and psychologists, but the way you’re asked to use that knowledge on the test and in the class isn’t necessarily highly complex. You just need to have a basic understanding of the definitions of terms and be able to apply them to different situations. The breadth of the material covered also isn’t as wide as some other AP classes. My guess is that the only reason the 5 rate isn’t even higher on the AP Psychology test is because many students don't prepare adequately. They may underestimate the test because AP Psychology classes are typically easier than other AP classes. Also, students who don’t take many (or any) other AP classes frequently take AP Psychology just to get an AP their transcripts. The test is definitely on the less difficult side, but the passing rate remains about average because so many kids take it, and many of them aren't adequately prepared. AP Psychology is also commonly taken during junior or senior year when students are more prepared for college-level material. This could be part of the reason students percieve the class as being relatively easy. By junior year, many high school students have taken other AP classes and can compare their experiences in those classes to their experiences in AP Psychology. Dude, I hear you get to watch movies every day in AP Psych, and you don't have to do, like, any work. Will AP Psychology Be Hard for You? Whether AP Psychology is difficult for you depends on how the class is taught at your school and what your strengths are as a student. Here’s what you should do to figure out if you're in for a challenge: #1: Ask Previous Students, Guidance Counselors, or Teachers About the Class The best way to learn whether the AP Psychology class taught at your school will be difficult is to ask people who either know about the class or have been through it themselves. If you're friends with any older students or have siblings, ask them what they thought of the class. You might even ask your current teachers to see how they feel about AP Psychology and if they think you’d be able to handle it. Your guidance counselor will also be familiar with your school's AP Psychology class and how students similar to you have fared in the course. This is a good way to judge whether the class is disproportionately easy or disproportionately hard in comparison to the actual AP test. It’s nice to know beforehand if you’ll need to do extra preparation for the test on your own to make up for a deceptively easy course. #2: Determine Whether Psychology Is Your Kind of Subject You should also think about whether you tend to succeed in classes that require similar skills to AP Psychology. AP Psychology is memorization-heavy, so you'll probably do well in it if history or biology classes have been your strong suit in the past. You might find it more challenging if you’re not great at memorizing facts and instead gravitate towards classes where the ability to use logical reasoning takes precedence over memorization (like math). #3: Consider Your Schedule If you’re taking a bunch of other difficult classes, you might not want to add AP Psychology into the mix. Even if it’s a relatively easy class at your school, you’ll still have to devote some study time to it, and taking an additional class could stress you out too much. AP Psychology could be the straw that breaks the camel's back. And YOU'RE THE CAMEL. Conclusion: So Is AP Psychology Hard? After considering all the factors, I would say that AP Psychology is not hard in comparison to other high-level classes. There isn’t a huge amount of material to cover, students usually report that the class is easy, and the exam is less demanding and complex than many other AP exams. This doesn’t guarantee that the class won’t be challenging for you (every school is different, and so is every student), but the amount of work required will probably be less than most other APs, and the most important skill you’ll need is memorization. Make sure that you don’t under-prepare for the exam, especially if your class ends up being especially easy. As long as you don’t let your guard down too much, AP Psychology should be a manageable class for you overall! What's Next? What are some topics you might cover in AP Psychology? Get a taste with our discussion of Stockholm Syndrome and whether or not it's real. If you're curious about the difficulty levels of other AP classes, read this article for an overview of how challenging the AP program is in general. You should also check out this article that lists the average scores for all AP tests. It will give you a better idea of which classes are right for you and how you might structure your schedule going forward. One of the benefits of AP is the ability to earn college credit. Learn more about how AP credit works at colleges. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points? We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

buy custom Uniform Commercial Code essay

buy custom Uniform Commercial Code essay Introduction The Uniform Commercial Code a project initially by the American Law Institute (ALI) and the National Conference of Commissioners on Uniform State Laws (NCCUSL) is a set of statutes adopted by 49 states to govern the business processes among merchants and customers. It was first formulated in the 1952 in the effort to harmonize commercial transactions in all the 50 states of the United States of America. It is so far the longest and most homogeneous act in use by several states. The law has seven parts each recognized in accordance to the mandate it carries. Article 2 deals with sale of goods while the Article 2A deals with leases of the same. I will discuss in details the role of Article 2 in the next paragraphs (John, 1991). The general construction of Article 2 Article2 (sales) has seven parts with each providing a set of guidelines on the artifacts of sales. It deals with the selling of goods, acceptance of offers and terms and conditions of the sale itself. Moreover, it includes the warranties which form part of the sale. It allows for an experienced commercial lawyer to come in negotiating for the sales persons. The section 2102 of Article 2, effective as from the first of January 1964, states that it applies to all transactions on goods only unless the context necessitates otherwise. It therefore does not apply to the security transactions and other sales definitions. Furthermore, it doesnt apply to the sale of services with the exception of a situation where the context dictates so. It gives the definitions of the elements that form part of the sales the contract relate terms and the related concepts considering the situations in which each is to apply in the business context .Its section 2103 (1) imposes definitions to the following sales terms: a) A buyer implies one who buys or contract s goods. b) Good faith is taken to mean the observance of the fairness c) Consumer has the meaning of an individual who either purchases or contracts to purchase goods. d) A consumer contract the deal between the seller and the buyer. e) Delivery is the volunteer transportation of the goods to the buyers destination. f) Goods are all that are movable at the time of sale or contract There are other definitions given by this section and the second, third, fourth and fifth sections of this article. More important is the view of the formation and determination of a valid contract. The definitions are important aspects in the realization of the laws. Contract formation There are guidelines regarding the contract formation that must be followed to the later as directed by the statute. Before the contract can be formed, goods to be transacted must be in existence and not just a tale or future plans. The sale of a part of the identified goods is allowed for. The quantity of goods to be sold is a choice left to the buyer and an agreement with the seller is respectable. These guideline and the definitions of lots (a single entity of sale or delivery) and commercial bulk (a single whole) in section 5 govern the contract goods subject matter. The contracts and agreements according to the context of the article are considered valid and irrevocable until the time state (up to 3 months being default) and must be appended a signature. The offer to buy goods by timely shipment attracts the approval by either timely shipment or by an agreement to ship. However, S2-206(1) provides for the alternative to have it not conforming to the goods in question. The termination of the contract is observed when either of the party pursues through the existing law to put an end to the contract. And cancellation is allowed if one party breaks a law governing the contract. Failure to state the price will not hinder the contract formation and a requirement contract assignment can be made if the sated assignment is not appropriate. In order to maintain the contract, there are rules that should not be breached. These include the provision for perfect tender, nonconforming goods, reasonable requirements outputs, security grounds and good faith standards (Perry, 2010). Contract breach The elements of a good contract include: offer, acceptance, considerations and capacity to enter into a contract, intent and legality. If these are not in place, the defender breaches the contract, the plaintiff performed all the obligations before making for a lawsuit or notified the defendant on the breach (preferably in writing) and there are damages then the contract is breached. The provisions for sale by a third party are provided for by the law. It considers the sale of minerals or materials to be removed from reality as a contract of sale of good as long as the purported present of sale is in existtence as a contract to sell. The law advocates for the existence of a recording as a notice to the third party. It requires that the sale of property must be approved by a notice to the third party under the buyers rights. It ensures that the contracts integrity is maintained. In an example let us consider a purchase of roofing tile. A seller has an option to get the tiles to the buyer or not. If the seller is not willing to do so, the buyer has an option to find the tiles somewhere else. The seller agrees to send the buyer 100 tons of tiles on 3rd March at $500 per ton. If the seller calls the buyer on the 15th of February to report that he cant produce the required number of tiles on time, the buyer is left with options. If the market price has gone up (say $800 per ton) and the buyer has to find another seller, he can go on with the purchase from the new company under the new agreement and sue the first contractor for the extra money he will pay for the tile. The original seller is obliged to make for buyers the cover. In the second scenario, the new company approached delivers the tiles at the time the initial company could have. The first company has a right to as well sue the buyer for failure to mitigate the damages. In this case the statute of fraud rules that the sale of goods that cost over $500 must be in writing comes in. the exception that is obvious is the case where a merchant is selling goods to another merchant and this transaction not being the first one they have had. Hence the contract must not be in writing. The Parol Evidence Rule is meant to prevent a party from presenting evidence to contradict what the writing says. It is allowed if the writing is incomplete, not the original, ambiguous, mistake or not true. If there was a mistake in the contract between the tile buyer and seller then the rule can come in. Section 2A202 of the Uniform Commercial Code provides for such kind of obligations. It also provide for the guide on what action to take in the case of frauds. Conclusion The Uniform commercial code was put in place to provide a guide on the transactions on goods. It has seven parts that cover the questions that can arise in the commercial businesses and their set of solutions as per the agreements set. Part two of this statue (Article 2) is intended to provide guidelines on the sale of goods. It doesnt include services. It has seven sections that provide for the definitions of the elements of the transactions as well as the rules to guide the sales of goods. Buy custom Uniform Commercial Code essay

The 9 Most Inspirational Spanish Quotes About Life

The 9 Most Inspirational Spanish Quotes About Life SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips One of the best ways to practice a language is to read it. It’s even better when you read idiomatic phrases that don’t always translate directly into English. That helps you learn more than just vocabularyit teaches you to unlock the meaning behind the words, too. It’s definitely a skill you’ll definitely need to ace your AP Spanish Language exam or your AP Spanish Literature exam! (It’s also pretty great practice for the SAT Spanish Subject Test, too.) Today, we’re going to introduce you to 9 of the best inspirational Spanish quotes about life. Reading through these will help you practice your advanced reading and comprehension skills...and it might just give you some food for thought, too. For each quote, we’re going to give you: The Spanish quote The English translation of the quote A short discussion of why the quote is inspirational  ¿Listos?  ¡Bien, empecemos! Spanish Quote 1: A Quote About Courage Nunca sers capaz de cruzar el ocà ©ano hasta que pierdas de vista la costa. In English, it translates like this: â€Å"You can never cross the ocean until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.† This quote is a great way to start learning some Spanish quotes about life...especially since you’ll need to have some courage while you’re studying. (It’s not easy, after all.) The quotation above also eases you into the process because you can translate it literally, which means that when you translate the sentence, it means exactly what it says! We love this quote because it’s a good reminder that sometimes you have to take risks to achieve your dreams. Even though it’s tempting to stick with what you’ve always known, success often means you have to sail over the horizon! Spanish Quote 2: A Quote About Money Just like in English, there are lots of great Spanish quotes about lifeand moneythat could have ended up on our list. But our favorite is this one: A los tontos no les dura el dinero. The literal translation of this line is â€Å"Money does not last for fools.† It’s the Spanish equivalent of the English saying, â€Å"A fool and his money are soon parted.† (Your parents may have told you this a time or two. Not that we’re speaking from experience or anything.) The truth of life is that money matters. This Spanish quote definitely reminds us that making money is only half the battle: being wise about our financial decisions is important, too. Spanish Quote 3: A Quote About Choosing Your Words La lengua no tiene hueso, pero corta lo ms grueso. This is an example of a Spanish quote where there’s a big difference between the literal translation and its meaning. Literally, this sentence translates to â€Å"The tongue doesn't have a bone, but it cuts the thickest thing.† What does that even mean?! But if you think about it, even idioms in English don’t make much sense. After all, if you’re not familiar with English, you’d be really confused if someone told you that you were â€Å"the pot calling the kettle black† or that you shouldn’t â€Å"throw stones at glass houses.† So in the case of this Spanish quote about life, we have to look past the literal phrasing to the meaning underneath it. Let’s break it down starting with the first part of the sentence. When you say â€Å"the tongue doesn’t have a bone,† it means that the tongue isn’t as strong as your arm or leg. You can’t physically hurt someone with your tongue! And yet, the second half of the sentence says that it’s somehow still able to cut through â€Å"the thickest thing.† In other words, our tonguewhich Merriam-Webster explains can also mean â€Å"language†has the power to do significant damage to other people. In other words, this quote is the equivalent of the English saying, â€Å"The pen is mightier than the sword.† Spanish Quote 4: A Quote About Willpower No existe gran talento sin gran voluntad. When you’re studying, you need lots of willpower to stay focused. That’s why we love this inspirational quote- in Spanish or in English! This quote translates to â€Å"There is no great talent without great will.† Sometimes we think that people are just born with talent, and if we aren’t, then there’s no way we can achieve our dreams. But this Spanish quote teaches us that’s not true. Willpower, and the drive and focus that comes with it, can help us develop our talents. Malcolm Gladwell, a Canadian journalist and author, determined that for some people, it can take 10,000 hours of practice to master a skill.That translates to 417 days of practice! Even the most talented person would need a lot of willpower to get through that amount of work. Consequently, this quotation explains that doing great things in life requires as much hard work as it does talent. Spanish Quote 5: A Quote About Going For It Lots of idioms rhyme to help it stick in our memories. (Two good English examples are â€Å"fake it ‘til you make it† and â€Å"you snooze, you lose.†) Science has shown that rhymes help our brains remember information. Given that, it makes sense that inspirational quotes in Spanish and in English use rhyming to make their messages to help us remember them. Here’s one of our favorite rhyming inspirational quotes: Despuà ©s de los aà ±os mil, torna el agua a su carril. Here, â€Å"mil† is pronounced with a long e sound. That means it sounds more like â€Å"meel† in Spanish. The same is true for â€Å"carril,† which would be pronounced â€Å"carreel.† So as you can see, the two clauses of the sentences rhyme perfectly, so people can remember it better. The literal translation of this quote is, â€Å"After one thousand years, returns the water to its track.† But more accurately, this quote translates like this: â€Å"In a hundred years we will be dead anyway.† That’s pretty morbid! But what this quote really means is that people’s memories are short, so you shouldn’t worry about what people think. Don’t let others’ judgements or a fear of embarrassment keep you from pursuing your passions! Spanish Quote 6: A Quote About Patience For many people, patience is a tricky thing. That’s why one of our favorite Spanish quotes has to do with the value of being patient. Here it is: Con el tiempo todo se consigue. This quote literally translates to, â€Å"In time, everything is acquired.† But more accurately, this quotation tells us that patience is key to getting what you want in life. Patience comes in many forms. For instance, when you’re studying Spanish vocabulary for your AP or SAT subject exam, it can be tempting to be impatient and move quickly through your flashcards. But that means that you might not have committed the definitions to memory, which can make a huge difference when you’re trying to ace the test. Being patient, however, helps you study more thoroughly. That can help you earn top test scores, which will get you into your dream school, which is a huge step on the path to achieving your dreams. In other words, patience pays off in the end! Spanish Quote 7: A Quote About Endurance This quotation is a little different. When you’re looking for Frida Kahlo quotes, Spanish versions are definitely the most accurate and authentic! Our favorite inspirational Frida Kahlo quote is this one: â€Å"Lo que no me mata, me alimenta.† In English, this means â€Å"What doesn’t kill me, nourishes me.† This is a play on Nietzche’s famous saying, â€Å"What doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.† Frida Kahlo- one of the most famous Mexican artists of all time- would definitely know a lot about surviving tragedy. Despite her talent, Kahlo’s life was a difficult one: she was disabled by polio and, later, by a terrible traffic accident that also left her infertile. As a result, she struggled with depression as well. But she channeled that into her art, which she said â€Å"completed her life.† That’s why this is one of the best inspirational quotes in Spanish. It shows us how to turn our suffering into something good, which is one of the most important life lessons we can learn. Spanish Quote 8: A Quote About Perseverance Sin prisas, pero sin pausas. This quote literally translates to â€Å"without hurry, but without stopping.† In English, we might translate this to another common aphorism: â€Å"slow and steady wins the race.† This quotation goes really well with Spanish Quote 6, which is about patience. In this case, we’re reminded that moving forwardeven if it’s slowis the key to progress. In fact, slow progress can often lead to success! Consider the story of Angus Macfadyen. In 2007, he was in an accident that left his leg in a cast. But that didn’t stop him from running the London Marathon on crutches! It took him 7 hours and 13 minutes to reach the finish line...but he still finished the race. The best quotes about life help us better understand the hurdles in our way. In this case, overcoming obstacles might take time, but we can still succeed if we persevere. Spanish Quote 9: A Quote About Love Our last Spanish quote about life tackles one of life’s best parts. After all, Spanish is a romance language...so it’s not surprising that some of its best quotes have to deal with love! Quien bien ama, tarde se olvida. This is another quote where the literal translation is a little confusing. Word for word, this quote means, â€Å"He who loves well, forgets the afternoon.† But the idiomatic translation is actually, â€Å"True love never grows old.† This quotation makes us think of one of our favorite tear-jerking scenes of any movie: the opening few minutes of Pixar’s Up. iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/F2bk_9T482g" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen/iframe In this scene, viewers watch a couple in loveCarl and Ellieas they celebrate life’s highs and lows. Unfortunately, Ellie passes away before she can achieve her lifelong dream of visiting Paradise Falls. But Carl won’t let her dream die, and he keeps his promise to Ellie by taking her scrapbook- and her house!- to Paradise Falls in one last, grand adventure. Carl may be old, but his love for Ellie never fades...which is maybe the best life lesson of all. (Who’s chopping onions in here?!) What's Next? If you’re studying Spanish, then you know conjugating verbs is half the battle. Irregular verbs can be tricky, though, since they don’t follow the rules. For those, it’s all about memorization! That’s why we’ve put together complete conjugation charts for the most common irregular verbs in Spanish. Why not start your studying off with our conjugation list for ser? And while you’re at it, you should take a look at our vocabulary lists, too. This one’s all about the parts of the body you need to know before you take an SAT or AP Spanish exam. We know you’ve heard of the Spanish Language and Spanish Literature exams, but what about the SAT Spanish Subject Test? Learn everything you need to know about the SAT Spanish Subject Test here. Additionally, this article gives you an insider’s opinion about how hard the exam really isso you might add it to your reading list, too!

Human resources management Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words

Human resources management - Assignment Example The hard HRM philosophy is based on the notion of tight strategic control and the soft model on the contrary is based on controlling through commitment. However, it must be admitted that because of the diverse nature of the two concepts their incorporation into a single model of HRM remains incomplete and improper (Truss, et al., 1997, p.53). The basic differences between the two philosophies can be elaborated using the Michigan and the Harvard models on management. Harvard and Michigan had put forth Theory X and Theory Y for explaining the difference concepts of HRM. Theory X is based on the notion where people are viewed as being lazy and who work for own interest. It considers the interests of people and management as being completely opposite nature and those organizations need to direct their behaviour to the organization’s benefit. Theory Y considers human beings as being emotional possessing feelings and motivation. They actively participate in activities which give the m pleasure and personal realization and that it is the duty of the management to motivate them and help realize their potential (Truss, et al., 1997, p.54). According to the findings of Poole and Mansfield, (1994), the hard model comprises of amore strategic approach which endorses the views of the management more than the employees. On the other hand the soft model emphasizes more on communication, team work and group activities and utilization of individual talents (Gill, 1999, p.2). Theory X which is based on the hard HRM model mainly focuses on the nature of the organization and the organizational characteristics paying very little attention to the nature of the employees while on the contrary, the soft model based on which Theory Y is derived considers nature of employees and their needs and requirements for delivering to the organization (Price, 2007, p.42). Also the soft model of HRM considers increased satisfaction as the management’s main aim against the various calc ulated methods which characterizes the hard model. Lastly it must be mentioned that the hard model was one of the very first theories which were developed when organizations were born and they do not exactly demonstrate human nature. They were regarding the ways of managing the workforce through scientific measurements. This theory considered humans as resources like the way machines were treated as resources of the organization. However, the soft model thinks that individuals can be proactive and creative and must be nurtured by the organization in order to ensure their commitment (Price, 2007, p.42). Advantages and disadvantages of each approach Hard HRM practices are extremely tough minded and calculative and communicates through tough languages of economics and business. It focuses on the calculative and quantitative business strategic aspects of managing human resource. The beneficial aspect of this model is that it provides a close integration of the HRM policies, practices, s ystems and activities with the strategic interests of the

2.4 Consumer Behaviour & Holidays Case Study Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

2.4 Consumer Behaviour & Holidays - Case Study Example The regular elements that basically impact the holiday decision-making process are levels of contribution, situational variables, expectation, sentimentality and fantasizing. Then again, this is altogether different from customary decision-making process that is generally sequenced and organized. In this model, the requirement for a particular administration or item is distinguished and data pursuit and different choices are assessed. The consumer is further headed towards acquiring an item and there in the wake of setting a buying decision (Moore & Simmons, 2010). In the conventional consumer decision-making, the technique for hunting down data is generally organized and it is either outer, interior or both of them. Data gathering process in the holiday decision-making is a continuous and nonstop process. The data is gathered throughout and after the holidays experience and it is generally memory based than outer based. Holiday decision creators are low data searchers and data is ac cumulated in a non-reason way. Then again, in conventional consumer decision-making, get-together data is exceptionally vital and the data is seen as the main impetus in the consumer decision-making process. Under this model, the consumers are sharp data searchers and they complete a genuine research before settling down on a specific item (Weiss & Wenger, 2002). The interviews conducted in the case shows the different behaviour of the two persons who were deciding on going for a trip. The first issue talks about a situation where the decision maker is confused about finally going on a holiday or not in spite of the fact that they had already decided on two destinations for their holiday. This clearly shows a confusion in the decision making process. Thus as a holiday service provider it will be very difficult to assess whether or not to consider them as a consumer. The next scenario talked about is a

Argument essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words - 9

Argument - Essay Example Nuclear power is the world’s best and first answer to the problem of the exhaustion of resources. Above that it is ecologically clean when used properly. Besides that atomic energy serves for military purposes as a nuclear weapon of mass destruction. Despite the fact of its massive ability to destroy everything living it is the political mechanism of the future which guarantees world peace and logical avoidance of any local conflicts on the theoretical basis of nuclear deterrence and mutual asserted destruction (Edwards, 2013). Opponents of the nuclear energy and its military usage ignore the benefits and fear the danger of nuclear holocaust and worldwide ecological catastrophe in the future if nuclear power will continue to exist. They say that benefits don’t exceed the harm and it is better to continue injuring nature slowly thought fossil fuel energy than put it in jeopardy of probable total annihilation with atomics energy. More than that ecological harm from the atomic accidents not only overcomes the usual pollution but bring whole generations of unproductive land, humans and animals with diseases and low immune system all because of the radioactive pollution. Above that they state that nuclear weapon in the hands of government that behave in a rough way is not a responsible way to treat such serious issue due to the political corruption and instability that so often shows itself. They state that political differences and dissidence of countries which possess nuclear weapon can lead to the nuc lear war which will annihilate and destroy the planet. Same opponents say that slow harm to the nature by the non-nuclear energy plants is better than the probability of total devastation. The also point out that disastrous events such as Chernobyl and Fukushima are the examples that prove people’s inability to treat atomic energy with responsibility and that it can lead to further even more disastrous nuclear

The presence of price-marked packaging has a normative influence in Dissertation

The presence of price-marked packaging has a normative influence in impulse purchase decision - Dissertation Example se 4.2.3 Price-Marked Packages and Brand Preference 4.2.4 Price-Marked Packages and Increased Traffic to Store 4.3 Summary Chapter 5: Conclusions 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Summary of Research Findings 5.3 Implications of the Research Findings 5.4 Research Limitations and Scope for future research List of Figures and Tables Figure 1: Maslows Needs Hierarchy Figure 2: Customer’s Intended Purchase Behaviour Figure 3: Initial Brand Preference of Customers Figure 4: Instore Brand Switch Figure 5: Reasons for Brand Switch . Figure 6: Income Group and Reasons for Brand Switch Figure 7: Buying Decision In the Absence of an Initial Brand Preference. Figure 8: : Buying Decision In the Absence of an Initial Shopping List Figure 9: Differences in Intended and Actual Purchses Figure 10: Reasons for Differences in Intended and Actual Purchses Figure 11: Reasons for Purchasing less than Intended Figure 12: Reasons for Brand Preference Figure 13: Brand Image of Price-Marked Products Figure 14: Cri teria for Brand Assessment Figure 15: Store Preference Figure 16: Store Preference for Price-Marked Products Figure 17: Reasons for Store Preference for Price-Marked Products Table 1: Willingness to Purchase higher priced price-marked products Table 2: Reasons for the Willingness to Purchase higher priced price-marked products List of Appendixes Appendix A: Survey Questionnaire Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Introduction and Background of Research Consumer behavior has been the subject of study for both academicians and marketers from time immemorial as understanding of why consumers buy products or services and how do they make their purchase behaviour is crucial to their selling efforts. Based on the knowledge of what the customers need and what are the features, attributes or contexts within which they judge the product or the organization gives the markers new insights about product development, product designing, packaging or promoting (Kotler and Keller, 2006). The literature on consumer behaviour therefore delves into the cognitive and the affective process by which the consumers make their purchase decisions and these insights are useful for the marketers for the promotion of their products and services. One such consumer behaviour – the impulsive purchase behaviour – is of great interest to the researcher, as it is intriguing to find that people make on the spot purchase decisions and often buy things that they do not need, or buy things in quantities that they do not require, simply due to in store factors like the point of sale displays, discounts, placement of the product on the shelf or the packaging of the product. The impulse behaviour is

Making lessons accessible for English language learners Essay

Making lessons accessible for English language learners - Essay Example In this case the goals consist of i) helping the non-speaking English students overcome their lack of confidence in giving proper expression to their views in response to a given topic or issue in English language ii) knowing how to begin with critical approach iii) being able to convey their views to others iv) helping them avoid summarization. The whole process of teaching this particular lesson would help in reinforcing their analytical thinking (Schneberger). The modifications I find most essential to be done for specifically the English language learners is in the topic on which they are to write in response. I would like to bank on the visual sense as I believe it is the most effective way of getting a response. Therefore I would present a descriptive picture before my students and ask them to write down a few lines on what they see in the picture. At this point I think it is important for the teacher to explain the meaning and importance of ‘Response Writing’ to the students as they are not so familiar with the English language. They are also to be made aware of the stages of ‘Response Writing’ (Schneberger). I feel that it would be needful to ask the students to share their observation with the rest of the class. They are to be asked to read aloud individually. This would not only help the teacher check upon their reading skill but also whether they have got down the points correctly or not? The teacher should then ask them to note down the similarity in the points between each other (Schneberger). After listening to the students, the teacher is to write the word ‘summary’ on the board (Schneberger) in order to point out specifically the difference between ‘critical response’ and ‘summary’. It is always better to write out than tell while teaching. By writing down the difference and definitions the students get a better understanding of the meanings. The teacher should distinctly point out to the students

The presence of price-marked packaging has a normative influence in Dissertation

The presence of price-marked packaging has a normative influence in impulse purchase decision - Dissertation Example se 4.2.3 Price-Marked Packages and Brand Preference 4.2.4 Price-Marked Packages and Increased Traffic to Store 4.3 Summary Chapter 5: Conclusions 5.1 Introduction 5.2 Summary of Research Findings 5.3 Implications of the Research Findings 5.4 Research Limitations and Scope for future research List of Figures and Tables Figure 1: Maslows Needs Hierarchy Figure 2: Customer’s Intended Purchase Behaviour Figure 3: Initial Brand Preference of Customers Figure 4: Instore Brand Switch Figure 5: Reasons for Brand Switch . Figure 6: Income Group and Reasons for Brand Switch Figure 7: Buying Decision In the Absence of an Initial Brand Preference. Figure 8: : Buying Decision In the Absence of an Initial Shopping List Figure 9: Differences in Intended and Actual Purchses Figure 10: Reasons for Differences in Intended and Actual Purchses Figure 11: Reasons for Purchasing less than Intended Figure 12: Reasons for Brand Preference Figure 13: Brand Image of Price-Marked Products Figure 14: Cri teria for Brand Assessment Figure 15: Store Preference Figure 16: Store Preference for Price-Marked Products Figure 17: Reasons for Store Preference for Price-Marked Products Table 1: Willingness to Purchase higher priced price-marked products Table 2: Reasons for the Willingness to Purchase higher priced price-marked products List of Appendixes Appendix A: Survey Questionnaire Chapter 1: Introduction 1.1 Introduction and Background of Research Consumer behavior has been the subject of study for both academicians and marketers from time immemorial as understanding of why consumers buy products or services and how do they make their purchase behaviour is crucial to their selling efforts. Based on the knowledge of what the customers need and what are the features, attributes or contexts within which they judge the product or the organization gives the markers new insights about product development, product designing, packaging or promoting (Kotler and Keller, 2006). The literature on consumer behaviour therefore delves into the cognitive and the affective process by which the consumers make their purchase decisions and these insights are useful for the marketers for the promotion of their products and services. One such consumer behaviour – the impulsive purchase behaviour – is of great interest to the researcher, as it is intriguing to find that people make on the spot purchase decisions and often buy things that they do not need, or buy things in quantities that they do not require, simply due to in store factors like the point of sale displays, discounts, placement of the product on the shelf or the packaging of the product. The impulse behaviour is

Challenges Faced by Trade Unions in Organizing Migrant Workers in UK Essay

Challenges Faced by Trade Unions in Organizing Migrant Workers in UK - Essay Example A good example of how labour unions have shaped the politics of the United Kingdom is by considering the Labour Party. The political party started off as just a trade organization but grew so much to the point that it ended up forming the government for many years. Trade unions are necessary in the United Kingdom because; the help in the selection and recruitment of workers. They do this by ensuring that the process of selection and recruitment of workers is done in an open manner and that people are hired based on their academic qualifications or merits (McGovern, 2007). This ensures that nepotism and corruption does not take place when people are being considered to be hired. Trade unions also help in settling industrial disputes in the United Kingdom in a manner which is rational. Trade unions act as mediators between workers and their employers in case here is any dispute regarding payment, benefits or working conditions. Trade unions represent the workers and allow a sitting fro m which they can negotiate the issues in question with the employers making sure that both the workers and their employers are satisfied by the decision they arrive at. In their functions, trade unions in the United Kingdom are expected to uphold social responsibilities because these unions are considered to be part and parcel of society. Making sure that there is industrial peace is one such social responsibility that is expected of trade unions not only in the United Kingdom but also in other countries (McGovern, 2007). Trade unions should ensure that there is industrial peace by ensuring that workers strikes and demonstration do not occur (Nickell and Salaheen, 2008). They should do this by making sure that all disputes between workers and their employers are settled in a civil manner which will not disrupt the country. In the United Kingdom, trade unions that are specifically meant for workers who are migrants. Such workers unions specifically cater for the needs of workers who are not citizens of the United Kingdom. Other trade unions have also started taking concern of the issues that migrant workers are facing (Mc Govern, 2007). One advantage that the United Kingdom is that it has a huge supply of labour especially from workers who come from outside the United Kingdom. According to a survey done by the by Labour Force Survey (ONS), growth in employment in the United Kingdom (CIPD, 2013). From the year 2002 to 201e number of United Kingdom workers employed remained the same for the period of the ten years. At the same time, the number of migrant workers who were employed during this time increased. This conclusion was arrived at because despite the fact that the number of United Kingdom born workers hired did not steadily increase the overall number of workers hired by 1.7 million workers (CIPD, 2013). In these ten years, the number of migrant workers grew from nine percent to 14 percent of the total workforce signifying that migrant workers play a huge function the United Kingdom's economy (CIPD). However, this workforce from migrants is comprised mostly of people from Europe. This is as a result of immigration laws that have been put in place b the United Kingdom government limiting immigration of the number of non European Union immigrants. This law was introduced in the year 2010, and it was later implemented fully in the year 2011. Employers in the United Kingdom were seriously opposed to this law. They were also supported by trade unions and business organizations because they felt that it would result in negative consequences to the country's economy. One reason why such a

Tragic Hero Macbeth Essay Example for Free

Tragic Hero Macbeth Essay 1. In the Shakespearean tragedy, â€Å"The Tragedy of Macbeth†, Macbeth himself did not come from noble stature, but instead he followed into the line of kingship, and had presented himself with outstanding qualities; such as strong abilities out on the battlefield. 2. The hamartia presented in Macbeth resulted in Macbeth’s own murder against his good king Duncan, in order to gain power, fame, and fortune for his own pleasure. Macbeth himself had a hubris or pride and passion that he allowed to take over his decisions, leading to his tragic downfall. 3. Macbeth’s downfall itself was led by his own freewill, overridden by his own arrogant confidence. Proof he had taken done this to himself is said so by Macbeth, â€Å"I am in blood stepped in so far that, should I wade no more, returning were as tedious as to go o’er.† (Act III, Scene 4, Line 136-138). 4. As the audience, pity was expressed dearly through Macbeth’s possible and yet great human potential, â€Å"I have lived long enough†¦and that which should accompany old age, as honor, love, obedience, troops of friends, I must not look to have.† (Act V, Scene 3, Line 22-26). 5. The first signs of awareness are when Macbeth puts together the real predictions granted to him by the three apparitions, â€Å"Let every soldier hew him down a bough and bear it before him.† (Act V, Scene 4, Line 4-7). He is then lead to accepting his fate or anagnorisis, right before Macbeth is slain by Macduff, â€Å"I will not yield, to kiss the ground before young Malcolm’s feet†¦I throw my warlike shield. Lay on, Macduff.† (Act V, Scene 8, Line 27-24). Part Two: By using Aristotle’s definition of a tragic hero, I would conclude that Macbeth is indeed a tragic hero. Macbeth’s tragic flaw mostly described as his passion, where he would contemplate over and over with his very own reasoning, in which passion overrules all of his humanly common senses; this causes an imbalance between human reason and passion thus leading to tragic consequences or rather the hero’s tragic death.

Intelligence failure is political and psychological organisation

Intelligence failure is political and psychological organisation Intelligence failure is political and psychological more often than organisational. Discuss in relation to at least two examples of intelligence failure. In this essay I will illustrate, through specific examples, the human condition and the psychological roots of surprise, the actions of policy-makers and an examination of organisational defects of agencies, and how they contribute to intelligence failures. However in order to understand what constitutes ‘intelligence failure, some contextual definition must be provided. The phrase intelligence failure often has highly negative connotations in terms of national security. Although it is also been used to describe situations such as the 1998 Indian nuclear weapons tests whereby U.S and Western policy-makers were surprised by the international incident that took place, even when that surprise caused minimal impact to their national security. Using the word failure to describe situations where negative consequences for national security are minimal may seem unusual however it highlights the imprecise meaning of the word. The amassing of, interpretation and eventual distribution of information to those in power is an ongoing process that can occasionally fail to depict events on the international scene accurately or adequately in-depth to provide them with either infallible information or total certainty.As a result, when surprises like Pearl Harbour and the 9/11 attacks occur, intelligence agencies bear the brunt of the scrutiny. It is interesting to no te that in a study conducted by Dr. Robert Johnston within the U.S. Intelligence Community in 2005 he interviewed several CIA officials and requested a definition of the term ‘intelligence failure from several of the interviewees. Some of the responses disavowed the existence of ‘intelligence failure while others placed the terms in the broader context of policy and decision making. It is apparent that one of the most difficult elements in intelligence analysis rests in measuring up enemy intention and removing the element of surprise. Surprise is essentially a psychological phenomenon that has its roots in human nature.This process is not made any easier if the intelligence gathered is unreliable, incomplete or just plain absent. Furthermore, knowledge about capability does not supply a perfect clue to intentionas will be demonstrated below. A common failing is to create an interpretation of the enemys intentions yet base it on the ideology or belief of the analyst and his home nation. Hindsight reveals that the element of surprise in the majority of large-scale wars fought since 1939 was unwarranted and a considerable amount of evidence of an imminent assault was available to the victims before the fact. In 1941 a number of high ranking administration officials expressed the belief that as long as the U.S maintained overall military advantage over Japan, war was unlikely to break out. All the evidence indicates that they are more afraid of war with the U.S. than anything else. U.S policy-makers remained firm in their belief that Japan would base its decision to wage war on military considerations. It has been argued that, as Japanese/U.S. relations were on a steady decline and with a large number of reports being received regarding possible Japanese aggression and aggressive intentions, U.S. officials had almost certain knowledge that war was at hand. Roberta Wohlstetter attributes the failure to anticipate the attack on Pearl Harbour on the massive number of irrelevant material being accumulated regarding Japanese intentions, euphemistically termed ‘noise. In addition, not all intercepts were decoded and the intercepts that were, did not all travel along the same communication routes and so ended up not rising the chain of command; no single person or agency ever had at any given moment all the signals existing in this vast information network. Wohlstetter also believes that intelligence officers could perhaps have foreseen the attack years before, if the U.S. had concealed spies within Japanese military circles and expanded its code-breaking capabilities. Of course, it can be further argued that success in warning can be indistinguishable from failure. If, for example, the defender acknowledges a warning and responds in time with defensive preparations then the attacker may cancel the operation. Thus the original prediction would be rendered invalid. The Japanese task force en route to Pearl Harbour had orders to abort if the element of surprise was lost. During the week preceding the Yom Kippur war, Israeli intelligence officers accumulated a substantial amount of credible information indicating unusual Egyptian activities along the Suez Canal. A memorandum was circulated to Intelligence Command which concluded that there was a high probability that Egyptian manoeuvres were only cover for an impending attack. The intelligence indicated a readiness for an offensive however on the eve of war; the intelligence material did not affect the strategic thinking of Israelis decision makers. They attributed their own line of reasoning to the adversary. Overlooking the possibility that the enemy might not follow the same line of thought the Israeli leaders displayed a fatal lack of imagination that separated them from their opponent and in this case, aided by hindsight, it is clear that when tactical facts differ from that of strategic possibilities, the former should be given increased weight in the decision making process. As established above, the cause of intelligence failure can be a result of an analysts own psychological condition influencing data, reports or opinions of others, likewise policymakers can be guilty of the same. In this next example I will demonstrate how not only the psychological condition can result in an intelligence failure. Since the 9/11 disaster public discussion has been focused strongly on the human causes of the tragedy and asking the question ‘What went wrong? And one of the failures of the intelligence community that had been overlooked in the beginning was the organisational structure of both the FBI and CIA. On closer examination, it is evident that the Bureau and CIA suffered from a litany of organisational weaknesses that can be attributed to being a major component of the 9/11 disaster. The structural problems the FBI faced were exacerbated by the fact the bureau was part of an Intelligence Community that had been be in opposition to information sharing, the CIA and FBI having a long history of poor communication added to divided responsibility geographically which invariably led to vast gaps in coverage of territory. Whilst the CIA was among the agencies charged with tracking terrorists abroad, the FBI had responsibility for monitoring terrorist suspects within U.S borders. There was however no clear distinction of responsibility for monitoring movement of terrorist suspects between the U.S and foreign countries. The bureau was considered so peripheral that previous to 9/11 the CIA neglected to put the Attorney General on its distribution list for the Presidents Daily Brief, the most important Community-wide current intelligence report. Consequently, terrorists could operate freely across borders but the U.S Intelligence Community could not. Whats more, J. Edgar Hoover had created a specific picture of FBI agents in a large publicity campaign that soon agents themselves began believing; they were glorified agents, in everything from movies to play cards with the ultimate goal for a striving ambitious agent was to work criminal cases and not sit behind a desk, and so this had an unfortunate side effect an aversion to technology and analysis. As one agents describes the ‘old-school mentality after the 9/11 attacks, ‘real men dont type. The only thing a real agent needs is a notebook, a pen and a gun, and with those three things you can conquer the world. With that perspective in mind, greater emphasis was placed on the more tangible criminal conviction, as opposed to a very absent terrorist attack. To further the argument, organisational incentives supplemented this way of thinking with opportunities for analysts promotion to senior positions highly restricted if permitted at all. Moreover, in terms of techno logy, the FBI computer system was so outmoded that it took up to 12 commands to store a single document, this coupled with an almost pathological distain for counterintelligence operations meant that billions of records were simply kept in paper files in shoe boxes and if reports did come in, they were not assigned a high priority level. The CIA also suffered from similar failings in its internal structure. When the organisation was created, it was charged with conducting missions to collect covert intelligence, engage in covert action and it also publishes National Intelligence Estimates (NIE). Thus in similar fashion to the FBI ‘bi-polarity of having duel missions law enforcement and intelligence- these tasks cannot be suitably carried out and the intelligence analysis can end up politicised. The CIA had not been particularly strong on terrorism since the late 1980s. William Casey and Robert Gates Director and deputy director respectively falsely believed that the Soviet Union was responsible for every act of international terrorism and formed the Counter-terrorism Centre (CTC). Even after the failed plot to bomb Los Angeles International Airport in December 1999, the agencies did not heighten concerns over the ability of Al-Qaeda to strike inside the U.S. Everyone has someone they want to hold responsible for 9/11 and although different people have found different culprits, their point is the same: that individual leaders are to blame for the World Trade Centre and Pentagon attacks. It is however, dangerous to place the entire burden of responsibility on single individuals, though it may be understandable, as it is a natural human response after a great tragedy. It does however suggest the wrong causes of failure and thus the wrong remedies in tackling them. For instance, well-meaning ‘intelligence reform advocates including members of Congress and families, of 9/11 victims mistakenly fixed their sights on measure recommended by the 9/11 Commission, most notably the creation of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). It would be ridiculous to say that individual leadership is irrelevant; it would merely be more prudent to examine the less noticeable aspects of organisational life. If it was the case that leadership determin ed counterterrorism success and failure, then resolution to the problems encountered by the intelligence agencies would be easy. To conclude, it seems that the enduring defects in the FBI and CIA organisational structure, culture, and incentive systems proved to be a major debilitating factor once the Cold War was over and the terrorist threat emerged. These weaknesses ultimately prevented the agencies from exploiting 12 separate opportunities that might have disrupted the 9/11 plot. These agencies may be charged with preventing surprise but not all surprises can be prevented, such as the abrupt end of the Cold War and collapse of the Soviet Union. Furthermore it seems the danger of defining ‘intelligence failure by example resembling those above is that each case is contextually unique and can be argued with no end in sight. The important recurring element through the examples illustrated is the significance of surprise, regardless of if it is intelligence surprise, military surprise in the case of Pearl Harbour and the Yom Kippur war, or political surprise. Even if the intelligence community itself was not surprised by them, it was unable to convince the military and political consumers of intelligence, these events might occur; in which case it suggests the failure is one of organisational and specifically of communication and persuasion. Marrin, S., ‘Preventing Intelligence Failure by Learning from the Past International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence 17/4 (2004) p. 657 Marrin, S., ‘Preventing p.656 Johnson, R. Analytic Culture in the US Intelligence Community: An Ethnographic Study (Centre for the Study of Intelligence 2005) ch. 1- https://www.cia.gov/library/center-for-the-study-of-intelligence/csi-publications/books-and-monographs/analytic-culture-in-the-u-s-intelligence-community/full_title_page.htm (accessed 18th March 2010). Harkabi, Y., Nuclear War and Nuclear Peace (Jerusalem: Israel Program for Scientific Translations, 1966) p. 51 Kennan, G. F., Russia, The Atom and the West (New York 1957) p. 21 Betts, R. K., ‘Surprise Despite Warning: Why Sudden Attacks Succeed Political Science Quarterly 95/4 (1980) p. 551 Letter sent by Stimson to the New York Times February 11th 1940 Ben-Zvi, A, ‘Hindsight and Foresight: A Conceptual Framework for the Analysis of Surprise Attacks World Politics 28/3 (April 1976) p. 389 Wohlstetter, R., Pearl Harbour: Warning and Decision (Stanford University Press 1962) p. 385 Wohlstetter, R., Pearl Harbour p. 193 Shlaim, A., ‘Failures in National Intelligence Estimates: The Case of the Yom Kippur War World Politics 28/3 (April 1976) p. 378 Betts, R.K., ‘Surprise Despite Warning p. 557 Ben-Zvi, A, ‘Hindsight and Foresight p. 393 Schiff, Z., October Earthquake Yom Kippur 1973 (Tel-Aviv: University Publishing Projects 1974) p. 27 Shlaim, A., ‘Failures in National Intelligence Estimates p. 363 Shlaim, A., ‘Failures in National Intelligence Estimates p. 395 Goodman, M.A., ‘9/11: The Failure of Strategic Intelligence Intelligence and National Security 18/4 (2003) p. 64 ‘Threats and Responses in 2001 9/11 Commission Staff Statement Number 10 (13th April 2004) p. 5 Zegart, A. ‘9/11 and the FBI: The Organisational Roots of Failure Intelligence and National Security 22/2 (April 2007) p. 167 Lichtblau, E. Piller, C. ‘Without a Clue: How the FBI Lost Its Way, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, (11th August 2002) p. 1 Cumming, A. Masse, T. ‘FBI Intelligence Reform Since September 11 2001: Issues and Options for Congress Congressional Research Service Report No. RL32336 (6th April 2004) http://www.fas.org/irp/crs/RL32336.html (accessed 17th March 2010) p. 13 Federal Bureau of Investigation, ‘The FBIs Counterterrorism Program Since September 2001 Report to the National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the US (14 April 2004) p.51 Goodman, M.A., ‘9/11: The Failure of Strategic Intelligence p. 62 TRACES OF TERROR: THE INTELLIGENCE AGENCIES; C.I.A.s Inquiry On Qaeda Aide Seen as Flawed New York Times 23rd September 1998 p. 11 Russell, R.L., ‘A Weak Pillar for American National Security: The CIAs Dismal Performance against WMD Threats, Intelligence and National Security 23/3 (September 2005) p. 478 Zegart, A. ‘9/11 and the FBI p. 179 Zegart, A. ‘9/11 and the FBI p. 165 Treverton, G. J., Reshaping National Intelligence for an Age of Information (New York Cambridge University Press 2003) p. 32

Ghost Story of Bloody Mary :: Ghost Stories Urban Legends

Bloody Mary I remember enacting an urban ritual with my friends back in middle school. Giggling and squealing, running in and out of the bathroom, not really believing but still terrified by the possibilities. It was less a story with a moral than it was just a sleepover prank. Needless to say I wasn’t surprised that when I asked a roommate to relate an urban legend to me over lunch one day that she chose that of â€Å"Bloody Mary." The storyteller is a 20 year old woman studying psychology at the University. She transferred to school after one semester at another college. She is of French descent and her parents speak French at home. She has conservative to moderate political beliefs and is Lutheran, although does not regularly attend religious services while she is at school. She is in a long distance relationship with her boyfriend of two years who is in the Navy and stationed at Virginia Beach. When prompted for a story she was initially hesitant but finally responded with, â€Å"‘Bloody Mary’, I guess.† You’re supposed to like, go into the bathroom in front of the mirror and turn around saying â€Å"Bloody Mary† three times. Then she’s supposed to come. I asked what happened after that and she replied with a mouthful of food, â€Å"She kills you.† This story was told; it seemed, with the assumption that I should know the story. As if it was more a matter of public knowledge than a personal story. This was an accurate assumption on her part as not only had I heard the story many times before, but I also found frequent references to it online. The narrative from my storyteller differed slightly from others I read online, be it the number of times â€Å"Bloody Mary† was chanted or supplementary actions that were or were not included, each story had slightly different elements. "Bloody Mary† is often confused with Mary I, the queen of England from 1553-1558 who restored Roman Catholicism to England, which resulted in many Protestants being burnt at the stake as heretics. While she was referred to as â€Å"Bloody Mary†, in very few variations is it the queen who appears in the bathroom mirror (Mikkelson & Mikkelson). Some stories identify Mary as a woman specific to the storyteller’s own community, such as a girl killed in a local car crash or other such tragic accident. In other cases Mary is just a woman of myth; an executed witch, a woman murdered on her wedding night, a mother who killed her children, some tragic or horrific figure that appears in a mirror upon being summoned (â€Å"Bloody Mary [person]†).

Challenges in life brings out the best in a person Essay

Challenges in life are obstacles that one has to surmount, to overcome in order to progress and to do so usually requires a display of admirable qualities such as courage and perseverance. Does challenges in life always bring out the best or the worst in a person? This is debatable as challenges can either make or break a person. Some people may not be able to hold out in a ‘test’ but succumb to the pressure. Tough times can reveal the true colours of a character, either for better or for worse, as in my personal experiences. I remember when I was younger and when faced with adversity, I would either hide or run away from it, rather than take it on. One vivid instance of this was at my first camp with my uniformed group, the National Cadet Corps. it was the first time I was faced with a daunting experience. Every time my instructors barked out an order or reprimanded us, and these ‘lecture’ sessions seemed unending, I would cower at the back of my group, too shaken to do anything else. I was at a loss because the task of survival and completing the camp seemed so challenging that rather than bring out the best in me, actually did the contrary. Every of the team challenge activity was the same – I was the ‘burden’ of my team, the ‘weak link’, who was always too frightened to do anything, always too timid to speak up and above all always too much of a coward to help my peers. If I could just run to save my skin and leave them to ‘die’ on enemy territory, I would. Hence, that is why adversity and challenges can sometime bring out the worst in a person, like they did to me, in this instance. Read more:  Challenge in Life Essay However, what doesn’t kill you make you stronger, and as I grew older, the more I found this to be true. One experience that I rose to the challenge  was during an expedition to the jungles of Brunei during my early Secondary Three days. This expedition was like nothing I had ever been through before. This was not a guided tour on an air-conditioned bus but rather it was a gruelling 48 kilometres trek through the dense, humid jungle. This is where I think challenges bring out the best in people as midway through the course one of our group members collapsed from heat exhaustion. I couldn’t blame him then as I felt like I was ready to drop, too, with the heat of the sun beating down on us relentlessly. The ‘water-parade’ exercise that we had carried out earlier seemed to have dissipated into thin air as my tongue was parched and hanging out a mile long. I knew the rest of the troupers felt the same way. But even under the scorching heat and the thick, humid air, each one of us pitched in and helped to carry our fallen comrades for the remainder of the trek. This I felt brought out exemplary traits in the team. It was due to the challenge placed upon us that we demonstrated resilience, perseverance and empathy for our fellowmen. Anyone of these traits would make a person better. Hence, that is why I think challenges do bring out the best in a person as we would not have expressed these traits if we were not place in tough spots. In closing, whether challenges bring out the best or the worst in a person depends on whether the person succumbs to the test of is able to step up to the challenge. Different people react differently when placed in difficult situations. Some may shine in the darkness which brings out the beauty in them; some may get snuffed out by the darkness and express their worst form. From personal experiences, I have the honour of ‘achieving’ both, hence, I feel that the statement, ‘challenges in life bring out the best in a person’ is true if they bring out positive traits in that person, but if all the wrong reasons emerge, then it is only partially true.