6 June 2016 Essays - Fiction, Humanities, Literature, Irony

6 June 2016 Essays - Fiction, Humanities, Literature, Irony 6 June 2016 Writing 2 Literary Analysis of "The Gift of the Mag" O'Henry is well known American author, who is famous for his unpredictable and unsuspected endings. He wrote a lot of intriguing short stories and a few novels. Even if you don't like reading books, you probably have heard about his magnificent stories. One of them is "The Gift of the Magi". One of the main themes of the story is the sacrifice and how sacrifice sometimes can be pointless. O'Henry supports his theme and mood by using different techniques and aspects, such as writing style and setting. The s tory starts when the author introduces the first character. There was a wo man named Della, who was counting how much money she had saved for a Christmas gift for her husband. By saving everywhere where it was possible, she saved 1 dollar and 87 cents. Della felt miserable, because the next day was a Christmas eve and she obviously didn't have enough money to buy a good present for her husband. Here O'Henry introduce second main character: Della's husband. She knew that 1.87$ was an insignificant amount of money, and the only thing she could buy was something typical, but it was her lovely Jim and she would find a way how to get more money. O'Henry mentions that the family's only treasures are her voluminous hair and Jim's watch which he got from his great-grandfather. She rapidly went outside and searched for any shop that could buy her hair. Della stopped next to the shop named: " Mme. Sofronie. Hair Goods of All Kinds". After selling her hair for 20$, she proceeded to the store where she finally found an ideal present for her dear Jim. It was an ordinary platinum fob chain, because it was perfect for Jim's watch. Della came back home with only with a 0.87$ in her pocket. When James Dillingham saw his wife with short hair, he froze while trying to say something, he wasn't angry, he looked lost and confused. Jim inquired, did she really cut her hair off, or it was a silly Christmas joke. Della cried and told him that she sold her hair to buy a good present. Mr. Dillingham spoke to Della and took a package from his pocket. He looked calm and thoughtful, he asked his wife to unwrap the package and to look what wa s inside, it would explain his confusion. When Della opened the package, she screamed hysterically, there were beautiful combs, pure tortoise shell, with jewelled rims. It was all that she dreamed about for a long time. Her hands quivered when she gave him the chain and asked him to try it on his watch. Jim made a helpless gesture and told Della to put away presents until better days. Mr Dillingham threw himself on the couch and asked his wife to cook dinner. While sitting on the couch, he told that he sold his watch to buy a set of combs for Della. However Della was happy, not because she finally got the set of the combs, but because she and Jim were together for a Christmas eve. Every story, which you have read, has one or a few main themes. Even if the plot and characters are completely different from each other, these two stories probably have the same theme. Usually writers don't change the theme cardinally, they make a few corrections in the theme and write the story. Good triumphs over evil, never give up and Evil is punished and good is rewarded are the most common themes which you may find in the modern and old books. O'Henry tried to avoid cliche themes, and came up with an interesting idea. The main theme of the story is the sacrifice for the one you love, but in this case sacrifice was pointless and worthless. Della sold her hair to buy a chain for watch, while Jim sold his watch to buy a set of combs for his lovely wife. Isn't it a good irony? The story takes place in the apartment of two main characters. It happened on a Christmas Eve, and its two main characters live in a

ACT Score All Questions Are Analytical

The Secret to Getting a Perfect SAT / ACT Score All Questions Are Analytical SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips It seems obvious that each ACT / SAT question must have exactly one answer, and this answer must be clearly and objectively correct. However, as we’ll explain below, that simple fact alone disqualifies vast swaths of reasonable questions that you otherwise see in everyday tests at school. This obvious fact also leads to a little-known secret that, when applied correctly, guarantees the cracking of each question.You don’t have to trust me read through this guide and ask any perfect or near-perfect scorer. They’ll agree on the secret. The premise is simple. Each ACT / SAT question must have exactly one right answer. This seems obvious enough after all doesn’t every multiple choice question have one right answer? It turns out that most multiple choice questions you’ve seen in life have relatively lax standards. Suppose your science teacher, Mr. Smith, gave you a multiple-choice quiz last week. Those multiple-choice questions are the same as those of the SAT / ACT right? Absolutely not! Mr. Smith is allowed to write imperfect questions. If there are two right answers, Mr. Smith will give some credit back. In the worst case, some students will have inaccurate scores. What if choice B is only a little more correct than choice C, and you put down C? Tough luck this question only counts for 2% of your grade anyway. A few bad questions a month is part of life. In short, the multiple-choice questions you are used to in school have much wider tolerances for error and fuzziness because they matter less in your academic career. Why the SAT / ACT Can't Tolerate Any Question Mistakes The ACT / SAT is a totally different ball game, a totally different league. The writers have to make a test that contains hundreds of questions, yet they can't make a single mistake. Not a single one of their questions can have two right answers or no right answers.Each question must have one right answer that stands objectively and clearly above all the other answers. This means that, if you put each question in front of 100 experts, all of must answer it exactly the same way, without any doubt. What happens if the SAT or ACT makes a mistake? The consequences would be tremendous. Many students on the margin would lose their scholarships. Students would literally lose their deserved acceptances to their dream colleges a product that the average family pays five to six digits for. Colleges who obsess about assembling the dream class would be going off flawed data. The truth is, the stakes are super high with the SAT / ACT, so there is no margin for error. Of course, the pain isn’t just to students and colleges it gets transmitted to the test makers as well. Even a few mistakes a year results in scandals (see the June 2015 SAT blowup over â€Å"just† 5 minutes timing difference). Both students and colleges will stop using the error-prone test. And, to kick it off, these mistakes have resulted in lawsuits that have cost the ACT / SAT hundreds of thousands of dollars to battle. Therefore, neither test can tolerate any chance of two right answers, no right answer, or any other question mistake. Why Each SAT / ACT Question Must Have One Very Clear Answer The ACT / SAT is also not allowed to have unclear answers or answers that rely on fuzzy reasoning. Suppose an ACT science question asked: How many planets are there in the solar system? A) 8; B) 9 †¦ It seems that the answer is pretty clear most scientists would say A) 8. But this level of clarity is not good enough for the ACT.Very recently we had nine planets, so some educators might argue that students who put down nine are answering as they’ve been taught and should be given credit; these educators would have a good argument. Other fringe scientists may not accept the consensus and argue that nine is still right. Also, the ACT runs the risk of a new planet being discovered between publication and test date. If two answers are close to each other in how good they are, this creates headaches for the test makers.First, the test makersmight make a mistaken judgment call and claim the slightly worse answer is the right one this leads to the horror show above. Another scenario is more insidious: it affects students who put down the â€Å"less good† answer but are at the cusp of a big prize. Maybe the student is right at the cutoff of a sports recruitment or a huge scholarship. She would be hugely incentivized to get the test to accept her answer as correct. In fact, many students do cause an administrative or legal headache for the ACT / SAT by making a fuss. With that environment in mind, you hopefully have a better understanding as to why the ACT / SAT can afford zero mistakes on the test. You should also understand why their multiple-choice questions can’t have a best answer that is just 20% better than the next choice. Now we’ll discuss how we can use this information to your bestadvantage. Every SAT/ACT question has exactly one correctanswer, and, once you learn this method, that correct answer will look very different from all the other options. Three Ways to Think About Having One Very Clear Answer OK, the SAT / ACT has to have one very clear answer that’s a little theoretical. How canyou think about the degree of clarity in a way that will help you on the test? For my students, I’ve come up with three rules that illustrate what â€Å"very clear† means. These rules get at the same single, central idea from three different directions. You should make note ofthese three rules to remind yourself on the test what clarity means. Rule 1: The 10x Rule of Clarity It turns out that the clarity of the right answer is so important that the best answer is not just 20% or 2x better than the next best answer, but in fact 10x better. That’s right, you might think D and E are close answers, but, to an infinitely knowledgeable test-taker, it turns out that E is actually ten times as good as D. Rule 2: Panel of 100 Experts Agree Another way to think about how clear the right answer must be is to realize that, if there were a panel of 100 experts, all of them would have to agree on what the right answer is. If even one or two of them disagree, suddenly the question is no longer objective it’s subjective and up for debate the test maker's worst nightmare. Because questions must be objective, a panel of carefully thinking experts must agree on the correct answer. Rule 3: Provably Correct One final useful way to think about how clear the right answer needs to be is to realize that it must be provably correct.If given a long enough time, you could write almost a math-style proof on why the answer is correct and the other choices are wrong. If you couldn’t write a math-style proof, then some part of the logic process has to be based on a â€Å"hunch." Hunches are neither clear nor objective, and therefore, the ACT / SAT cannot rely on these. Again, the ACT / SAT must have questions that can be solved using precise, analytical logic. How do these rules help? When you’re stuck on a question and two answers are looking very close to each other, you’ll realize this can’t be how the question is meant to be answered by the 10x Rule of Clarity. If you ever find yourself in a situation where you have to rely on a subjective judgment, where you catch yourself saying â€Å"my opinion is this† or â€Å"it seems likely that the answer is this," then the Panel of Experts rule will tell you that you can do more to answer your question. The most powerful rule, the one rule to rule them all, is the Provably Correct rule. This rule tells you that you never need to rely on fuzzy reasoning or a feeling to answer a question. If you have enough background information, enough time, and enough logic, you can prove that every answer you choose is correct. Thinking about the Provably Correct rule in the negative is also helpful. It means that, for all the wrong answers, you must be able to identify a fatal flaw that disqualifies them. Example Problems These rules also mean that, if you are getting stuck solving the hardest problems for you, the solution is not to â€Å"get better intuition† or â€Å"get subtler at fuzzy thinking† but rather to learn how to penetrate the analytical, logical core of each question. How do you apply these rules? One of the best ways to learn is to try them on real questions. For the rest of this article, we will demonstrate the rules on a math question, a grammar question, and finally a reading question. The rule will be most obvious in math, but most insightful in reading. For each of these three example problems, we will write math-style proofs to show beyond any doubt that the answer we choose is the right one. By proofs, I just mean breaking the problem down into very small but clear steps. No background on proofs ina math class is needed. I use the word much more loosely in this article, usually to emphasize that an explanation is crystal clear instead of fuzzy. Math Example The easiest place to start demonstrating these concepts is math. Math is the subject where it is most obvious that each question has one very clear, objective, provably correct answer. Since it is so obvious to everyone that math answers are objective, the following demonstration is less subtle than in reading, but it’s still useful to go through this example to learn. One of the most difficult ACT Math questions is as follows: Consider all pairs of positive integers w and z whose sum is five. For how many values of w does there exist a positive integer x that satisfies both 2^w = x and x^z = 64. (Statement 2) 0 2 4 8 Infinitely Many You can get at the single very clear answer by completing a proof, as I'll show you: First, we'll start with the information given to us. The two integers w and z must add up to five. That gives us four options for integer pairs for (w,z): (1,4), (2,3), (3,2) and (4,1). Let’s call the second sentence of the question above statement (2). Now we can prove for all four pairs above whether statement (2) holds: In each case, since z is a positive integer 2^w = x is a positive integer, we can ignore the restriction that x is a positive integer. For (1,4), statement (2) gives that 2^1=x=2. And x^z = 2^4 = 16 =/= 64. Thus, for the first pair statement (2) is false. For (2,3), statement (2) gives that 2^2=x=4. And x^z = 4^3 = 64 indeed. Thus, for the second pair statement (2) is true. For (3,2), statement (2) gives that 2^3=x=8. And x^z = 8^2 = 64 indeed. Thus, for the third pair statement (2) is true. For (3,2), statement (2) gives that 2^4=x=16. And x^z = 16^1 =/= 64. Thus, for the fourth pair statement (2) is false. Therefore, the above is a mathematical proof in the most original sense, that there are two pairs that satisfy the answer. The answer is two. This corresponds to B. Note that, as a mathematical proof, the above explanation is watertight. (I would know I've taken dozens of courses in theoretical math and spent countless hours writing proofs.) This proof passes the 10x rule of clarity (no other answer would be even 1/10th as correct). It would pass the panel of 100 experts rule in fact, I bet every single professional mathematician in the world would agree with the proof above. Finally, the proof is fully analytical it breaks the entire solution into small but obvious pieces. Proofs in reading, science, or writing won’t be nearly as perfect, but the above serves as a guideline for later in the article. Important Notes First, all proofs depend on a set of indisputable, underlying facts (in rigorous proofs, these are called axioms). Here, the two underlying facts I cited were that:1) a positive integer taken to a positive integer power is positive, and2) there are exactly four unique pairs of positive integers (w,z) such that w+z=5. Understanding these facts is assumed to be part of being an expert in math, and if you find yourself missing these facts when constructing proofs, then you know the problem is an underlying content problem. Most of the underlying facts in math and grammar, and some in reading, need to be memorized beforehand.If you lack these facts, no amount of logic and no amount of time will let you solve the problems. Second, the proof method is best used as training wheels, as an illustrative tool. On the real test, they are too time-consuming to use on more than a few rare occasions.On a real test, proofs are most useful in reading, then grammar, and least of all in math. After all, in math, the fact that there is a single, clear, objective, right answer is usually obvious. When are proofs useful then? Proofs are useful when you are stuck on the hardest 1-3 problems in each section and have extra time.Proofs are also useful when you are practicing the SAT / ACT. Whenever you feel a question has â€Å"two right answers," you can do a proof exercise to convince yourself that’s not the case. Also, I put the math proof first because it’s the simplest to understand; in fact, it’ll be the reading proof at the end that you’ll find most helpful on SAT / ACT training. How to Use the Proof Method on Math Problems Here are some general guidelines to follow when you start to solve math problems using this method: First, read through the question and break down the information it gives you. Then, identify the axioms, or indisputable math facts, you'll need to apply in order to solve this problem. This is where having strong mathematical knowledge comes in handy. If, for example, the question is about triangles, you should be able to quickly come up with all the triangle rules and information you know. After you've done this, you can start the proof. Work through the problem, making a new line for each new statement, until you've solved it and figured out your answer. Grammar Example The following question is from an ACT English section, and it's similar to a grammar question you might find on SAT Reading. Grammaris a great area to illustrate the Provably Correct concept because it’s an area where many students use fuzzy thinking. Many students, especially native English speakers, are used to â€Å"sounding phrases out† and choosing the one that â€Å"feels best.† However, it’s also obvious that grammar follows hard, explicit logical rules like math does. And those hard logical rules, not your ear, are the only method guaranteed to get you every question right. Consider now the following question: Choose the best replacement for the underlined portion. A musician balancing a cello case, two Buddhist monks in saffron robes, and a group of stockbrokers in crisp, charcoal gray suits get on the subway at the Wall Street station. No Change. charcoal gray suits, charcoal, gray suits charcoal gray, suits Like math questions, you can follow a set of steps to solve English questions using proofs. Every question on the English section will relate to at least one grammar fact. Your first step is identifying which grammar fact they are referring to. This requires a strong knowledge of English grammar, but if you study enough, you'll be able to easily identify the particular grammar rule you need. For this example, the sentence has multiple phrases with the same grammatical structure; therefore, the grammar fact you need to use is parallel construction. Go through the answer choices, applying the grammar rule to each of them, until you have clearly identified one correct answer and three incorrect answers. This one fact is particularly important for this question: Grammar fact (parallel construction): When there are multiple phrases that have the same grammatical structure, these phrases are to be separated by a comma. Conversely, separation by a comma strongly suggests phrases are parallel. E.g. The US flag is red, white, and blue. The words â€Å"red†, â€Å"white†, â€Å"and blue† are parallel construction and separated by a comma. Now, let’s examine the answers. Note that the only difference is in the placement of the comma (if it exists at all). We will prove the right answer by deconstructing all versions and showing that all but one is nonsensical or ungrammatical. Choice A: No Change. The sentence is talking about â€Å"charcoal gray suits†. The word â€Å"charcoal† modifies gray (it’s a type of gray), and the phrase â€Å"charcoal gray† modifies suit. This makes sense. Also, the commas imply parallelism between the three nouns in the sentence: the group of stockbrokers, the Buddhist monks, and the musician. This is also correct. Choice B: â€Å"charcoal gray suits,†This option puts a comma at the end of the phrase. This separates the sentence into four suggested parallel phrases: A musician balancing a cello case, two Buddhist monks in saffron robes, and a group of stockbrokers in crisp, charcoal gray suits,get on the subway at the Wall Street station. The first three are noun phrases and contain subjects (musicians, monks, and stockbrokers, respectively). The fourth phrase, however; doesn't include a subject and is instead a verb phrase which violates suggested parallel construction This means that placing the comma after the word "suits" would not be signifying parallel construction. To be rigorous, you must be aware that, in addition to parallel construction, commas can only be used to set off nonessential clauses, along with a few other minor cases. The verb clause is an essential part of this sentence; without it the sentence would not make sense, and it wouldn't be grammatically correct. The placement of the comma for option B is therefore inappropriate. This disproves B. Choice C: â€Å"charcoal, gray suits† By our first Grammar Fact, this suggests that charcoal and gray are parallel. This means both are modifying the word â€Å"suits." The suits are both gray (makes sense) and charcoal (doesn’t make sense). The suits are not literally made of the same charcoal that you barbecuewith! This parallelism gives the sentence the wrong meaning and thus can be provably disqualified. Choice D: â€Å"charcoal gray, suits† By our first Grammar Fact again, the commas here would strongly suggest that the phrases â€Å"crisp," â€Å"charcoal gray† and â€Å"suits† are parallel. However, the first two are adjectives, and the final word is a noun, again violating parallelism and disproving this option as the correct answer. And there we have it, we have â€Å"proven† above that the right answer must be A. (To be even more rigorous, we would want to list all valid uses for commas and eliminate these cases in each of the answers above. This gets truly arduous, but it will advance this proof from â€Å"10x correct† territory to â€Å"100x correct† territory. This again is a demonstration between thetrade offsbetween full rigor and time spent.) Who Is This Proof Most Useful For? The proof is best used for a student who is stuck between two answers which both look right. In this case, many students have complained that they can’t tell whether A or C is correct after looking at the question long and hard. They both â€Å"sound† correct. A proof allows you to show that one answer must be very right while the others are very wrong. In the case above, we relied on the role of the comma in parallelism. You'll want to use this method practically, and only if youhavesubstantial time to eliminate all ambiguity. You can use it 1) on a real test if you have extra time left 2) if you are studying and want to conquer the most difficult questions 3) if you’re working on improving content and don’t mind spending extra time demonstrating to yourself why one answer is exactly right. Proofs aren’t infinitely powerful. After all, you have to know the underlying Grammatical Fact put out at the beginning. A proof doesn’t give you an answer if you don’t know the subject! Second, proofs take much too long to implement on all questions on a live test. In a live test, you absolutely want to eliminate some choices â€Å"by ear† when they sound egregious, and you absolutely want to take timing shortcuts that give you 90% of the accuracy in 10% of the time. However, even if you don’t do an actual proof on the test, just knowing that a proof must exist is incredibly empowering. Even when you are using intuition or fuzzy feelings, you then know that the intuition or feeling must be overlaying a cold, hard fact. If you are going by intuition, you know that the final word in the answer cannot possibly be just a feeling. Provably Correct is something that should totally change your perspective on an ACT / SAT questions. Reading Example ACT / SAT Reading is my favorite area to apply our rule to! This is because reading seems so touchy-feely, so subjective, that it’s tempting for students to think of the section as uncertain, subjective, and intuition-based. In fact, reading questions are exactly the opposite: they are certain, objective, and analytical. Reading is the opposite of math in that proofs are the least obvious but the most helpful tool to improve your score. Let’s get to the question: Consider the following paragraph: "We plan makers are accustomed to things turning out not quite as good as we had in mind. Our world view includes the â€Å"diminished excellence† component. Diminished excellence is a condition of the world and therefore never an occasion for sorrow, whereas flawed competence comes out of character and therefore is frequently the reason for the bowed head, the furrowed brow." In the last paragraph, a comparison is made between "diminished excellence" and "flawed competence." From the narrator's point of view, the conditions are different because the one is: A source of sorrow while the other is a source of pride. Based in the family while the other is based in the self. Inherent in the environment while the other is inherent in the individual. A sign that the individual can improve the world while the other is a sign that the individual can't. If you want to really learn the proof method, I strongly encourage you to work through this problem. Give yourself 10 or even 20 minutes if you need. Write out your logic and compare it against the rigor below. If you are confused, introspect about your confusion. In just a few moments you’ll see an explanation that will prove beyond a doubt that one of the answers is clearly 10x correct. What Not to Do First, let’s go over what a student using â€Å"fuzzy thinking† might do. Frank the fuzzy thinker might look at F and think, â€Å"The paragraph does mention one of them being sorrow, so this looks fine.† He may then go onto G and go, â€Å"Well, there was no discussion of family in this paragraph, so that’s clearly out.† For H he thinks, â€Å"Yes, one of them is about the world while the other isn’t, so let’s keep H.† Finally, he goes onto J and thinks, â€Å"Well, yes, one of them is improvable, while the other isn’t†; so he keeps J. Frank has eliminated F because it feels a bit off to him, and he eliminated G because of a "feeling" he had. However, both H and J sound good. Frank would estimate that H sounds about twice as good as F, but J sounds the best of any of the answer choices, beating H by maybe 10-20%. Frank thinks the answer really depends on how you see the question it's subjective anyway, so he chooses J. Unfortunately for Frank, he chose the wrong answer. Even worse, the way he solved the problem demonstrates the worst of fuzzy logic! Rules That Frank the Fuzzy Thinker Broke Note that his final reasoning broke every one of our three â€Å"clear answer† rules. First, he thought that the best answer was only 10-20% better than the next, and at most 2-3x better than the third best answer, violating the 10x clear rule. Second, he thought the answer was subjective and broke the â€Å"consensus of 100 experts† rule. Finally, his reasoning lacked substantial analytical rigor. He relied on how he felt about the answers and used simple â€Å"word matching," breaking the Provably Correct rule. Breaking the Provably Correct rule on reading questions invariably shows some patterns. Frank illustrates some of them: Associative thinking: Frank saw the word "sorrow" in the paragraph and thought that, since answer F contains that word, it has a high chance of being right. Likewise, he ruled out G based on only the single word â€Å"family." While it is tempting to use word-matching to choose answers, this is the lowest form of non-analytical, fuzzy thinking. Reading questions are more subtle than hunting for the right word. Drawing inferences from the outside: To Frank, whether something is â€Å"inherent in the environment† (from the source paragraph) is the same as â€Å"a sign that the individual can’t improve the world† (answer J). However, this latter statement is actually not stated in the paragraph at all! Dropping or adding words to force things to fit: Frank keeps F even though the word â€Å"pride† isn’t anywhere in the paragraph. F otherwise seems like a good answer, so Frank ignores the minor inconvenience that an entire word is out of place. How to Solve This Problem Analytically With a Proof Now, let’s see why the above question is really not a subjective, â€Å"two good answers† situation. We’ll do this by bringing out our usual tool of analytical rigor, the proof. First, read the paragraph word-by-word slowly and carefully.Think about what each sentence means after reading it. Then, re-read the entire paragraph. I will start the proof by restating a large majority of the paragraph in my own words. The following statements are logically contained within the original paragraph: We are plan makers. We are used to things turning out less than our plan. The way we see the world includes a part called â€Å"diminished excellence." Diminished excellence is a condition of the world. Because of this, â€Å"diminished excellence† is not an occasion for sorrow. However, â€Å"flawed competence† comes out of character. Because of this, â€Å"flawed competence† is often why there is the bowed head, the furrowed brow. Each statement is a rigorous transformation of the original and totally implied by the original. We will use both the original and the implied transformation to prove the answers. Choice F: A source of sorrow while the other is a source of pride. The first part of this answer is true. It's true that one is implicitly a cause for sorrow. The paragraph states that â€Å"diminished excellence† isn’t a cause for sorrow, but the conjunction â€Å"however† implies strongly that â€Å"flawed competence† indeed causes sorrow. However, for all F to be true, the second part must be true as well; we must have a source for pride. Since â€Å"flawed competence† is taken by sorrow already, if F were true, then â€Å"diminished excellence† must be a cause for pride. Intuitively, â€Å"diminished excellence† doesn’t seem like a good cause for â€Å"pride†, but let’s prove it. The paragraph just says diminished excellence is a condition of the world and not a cause for sorrow. Nowhere do we have it explicitly said or strongly implied that â€Å"diminished excellence† is a cause for pride. This means F cannot be wholly true. Therefore F is wrong. Choice G: One is based in the family while the other is based in the self. Reading all the logical statements in the original paragraph, it is easy to see that no statement says anything about a family, nor anything that would imply a family (such as a group, relative, etc). Therefore, we can deduce that â€Å"based in the family† cannot possibly be a conclusion of the paragraph. Thus G is ruled out as an answer. (If you’re looking for extra credit, it is indeed true the paragraph says that â€Å"flawed competence† is based out of character, which is strongly associated with the self, so the second half of statement G is true. However half-true is just not good enough!) Choice H: One is based in the environment while the other is inherent in the individual. The paragraph clearly does state that diminished excellence is a condition of the world and thus the environment. This proves the first part of the statement as true. Now, the paragraph says the other term, â€Å"flawed competence," comes out from the character, which almost definitionally is inherent to the individual. This proves the second part of the statement as true. As a bonus, further reinforcing this proof is the fact that the entire paragraph is a parallelism between a concept with roots in the world, versus another with roots in character. This world vs. character contrast is exactly targeted by this answer which compares environment vs. individual. Thus H has very strong support, a proof in fact. Choice J: A sign that the individual can improve the world while the other is a sign that the individual can't. With fuzzy thinking, J looks similar to H. However, let us be precise. J says that one is a sign that the individual can improve the world. This first concept J refers to cannot possibly be â€Å"diminished excellence† since the paragraph does not say anything at all about the individual with respect to â€Å"diminished excellence†. Thus, if J were true, the first part of J must refer to â€Å"flawed competence†. It is true that the paragraph says â€Å"flawed competence† comes from the character and thus the individual. However, the paragraph says nothing about flawed competence being changeable. Also, even if â€Å"flawed competence† implied any potential for change, nothing in the paragraph speaks about the ability of this change to â€Å"improve the world†. Thus, J is disproven. As a bonus, you can also point out multiple other logically-rigorous, fatal flaws in J. For example, the paragraph says nothing about ifâ€Å"diminished excellence† modulates whether an individual can impact the world. The fuzzy thinking here is that the paragraph talks about two concepts that come from the world versus the individual, while choice J is instead talking about the impact of the individual on the world. Same concepts, but totally unrelated. It would be as unrelated as if the paragraph talked about the weather of New York compared to that of Los Angeles, and the answer talked about flights between New York and Los Angeles.Thus J is rejected too. We have written relatively objective, logical, and analytical proofs that show that H must be the right answer, and all the others must be wrong answers. Hopefully, if you thought the question was vague, subtle, and subjective before, the proof shows that the question is, in fact, analytical with a very clear, objective, and logical answer. For Reading questions, you'll want to first start by reading the passage, then transforming it into your own words, while keeping its entire original meaning intact, like we did in the example. Then, go through each of the answer options and compare them to both the original passage and your rewording to see if they are true. Remember, each part of the answer must be true. If only half the answer is true, then it is not the right answer. Takeaways From the Proof I hope that the proof above gives you confidence that, with enough time and application of logic, you can clearly show only one answer is true. By transforming what seems like a fuzzy question into cold hard logic, hopefully, the above demonstrated that, on the ACT / SAT, all questions are in fact analytical and provable. But if all questions are analytical, logical, and provable, then why doesn’t the ACT / SAT just directly test these skills in straightforward ways? The reason is that most of reading / English in academia is indeed subjective and often fuzzy. Who’s a better writer, James Joyce or Vladimir Nabokov? Subjective. What social actions did Orwell want to encourage in his readers by writing his bestseller 1984? Again, subjective. Many interesting and difficult academic subjects are inherently subtle and subjective. I can tell you this from firsthand experience, from writing countless college essays on topics like film studies and the Jewish Bible. Since much of real academia has a feeling of intuition, subtlety, and subjectiveness, the ACT / SAT wants to mimic these factors. They dress their questions up to look as subtle and fuzzy as possible. But we know from the beginning of the article that the ACT / SAT cannot afford truly fuzzy or subjective questions.Therefore, the fuzziness is a ruse. It becomes a set of trap answers for the student. The core of any ACT / SAT question is a hard, analytic question, and if you only see a fuzzy question, this means you haven’t seen the core of the question yet! Conclusion Now that you know that each SAT / ACT answer is provable, you’ll no longer approach difficult questions the wrong way. It is so common for students to think that they need to develop a finer sense of intuition or better fuzzy thinking to get the hard questions. In fact, what you should be working on is a fast analytic breakdown of every question. You can definitely do this yourself, and the above steps offerpretty good guide-by-examples of how to do it. For those interested, we also should mention that PrepScholar trains you in this method as well. Our program will detect when non-rigorous thinking is the major source of your errors. We see this mostly in high-performing students trying to nail those final questions, but we also see it to some degree in all students. Our program will provide you with lessons that teach you how to be analytic and give you practice problems for you to apply your new skills. If you liked our lesson here, give our program a free try: What's Next? Ready to try this method on your own?One of the best ways to prepare for standardized exams is to take practice tests. Check out our official SAT practice tests and official ACT practice tests. Aiming for a top score?Learn how to perfect your score on the SAT or ACT! Want to take your studyingone step further?Read aboutthe pros and cons of each type of test prep and learn which method is the best for you.

Corporate governance and audit Coursework Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2250 words

Corporate governance and audit - Coursework Example Therefore the government decides to reduce this theory for minimizing the problem of principal agent and also reducing the direct and indirect cost involved for ensuring that the agents behave in accordance with the principles. The report that has been established by the UK committees of corporate governance includes the stakeholder theory that not only generates the wealth of the shareholders but also takes into consideration a wide group of stakeholders. The transaction cost theory that not only emphasizes on the wealth of the shareholders but effective accomplishment of the transactions. a) The scandals of the corporate governance in the light of UK regulatory development can be explained as it facilitates innovation in which it allows the companies to implement new ideas, avoiding of box ticking in which the companies are allowed to complying with the principles and proportionality and long term learning for adopting cultural change in the companies for fulfilling the objectives and principles of corporate governance. b) The main objectives of OECD code of the corporate governance are to improve the institutional, legal and national framework required for the corporate governance. It focuses on improving the growth and development of the companies. The underlying principles of the OECD code of corporate governance are that it serves on the basis of the OECD and non OECD countries of the world. The principles mainly focus on the stock market listed companies that will contribute towards improving the corporate governance of the private companies. The principles deal with the transparent market, efficient market and also well regulated market. The main objective of the shareholder theory is maximization of wealth of the shareholders. The shareholder theory is subjected to minimum regulatory and government intervention in the business operation.

Logistics, People and Operations--Problem Solving in Connection With Essay

Logistics, People and Operations--Problem Solving in Connection With Real Organization - Essay Example Usage of machinery is inevitable in very field or sector. In the case of logistics instead of creating the system of machines, a system of people is created. This will make the system of machines work with out any obstructions. Logistics is mainly of three types. It is business logistics, production logistics and military logistics. In this paper we deal mostly about business and production logistics. Business logistics involves supply chain management. This is because the products or services start from the supplier and reach the end user. Here inventory management, purchasing, transportation, storing, organising and planning will be integrated. The knowledge about the resources about the above topics will be combined by the managers to coordinate the resources in the organisation. This coordination will streamline the flow of the material through the network and the other coordinates the sequences of resources regarding the flow of the goods and services. In production logistics the logistical process is internal, whereas in the business logistics the process is external. This involves the flow of goods and services within a industry or an organisation, which have branches located in different areas. The machines in the work places are fed with right product due to the production logistics. The streamlining of the flow of the goods and services through a process constitute the production logistics. ... This understanding is not enough for implementation of the logistics, either that of business or production.1 Transport and warehousing logistics is the fifth largest sector that is providing employment in the states like Chicago and California in USA. Career in logistics: The initial discussion is about understanding the qualifications needed for the success in logistics. The personnel in this sector need the skills in in-time inventory, management practices and the capability of recognising the demand for material movement. One significant factor to be understood in this sector is ever growing need of work force. Though the number of opportunities is growing in all the sectors, the work force needed for a particular work is being decreased. It is not the case with the transportation and warehousing logistics. Customer service satisfaction: The requirement of staff in that sector is increasing every day. The reason is that the customers are demanding more speed and quality in transportation and warehousing respectively. The qualifications and experience for the personnel in this sector will be different from other sectors. The required skills, the career opportunities were different in nature. The personnel need the skills regarding the storage of more goods in as much less space as possible and the transportation of goods in right time to right place. The goods or the products that are to be stored and transported will be different in nature. They range from fruits to vegetables, glass to crockery, and machinery to spares. Each type requires a different type of storage and mode of transportation. The transportation of the two wheelers is different from the transportation of four

Intro to ethics Essay Example for Free

Intro to ethics Essay The career field that I have chosen is public relations which also has a focus in journalism. Since journalism is often known as the 4th government branch because it watches over the actions of the other branches there are many controversial issues involved which required applied ethics to work through. Business ethics can be seen very strongly in public relations and journalism because there are often conflicts between advertisers which is here the largest amount of revenue comes from and editorial. For example, an article may be getting ready to run about how someone was killed by a person who illegally obtained a gun. The article may spark some gun control arguments and opinions. In the same issue of the paper there might be a firearm store placing a large display advertisement for a sale they are having. There is a dilemma there that will need applied business ethics to decide what to do. Do they run both anyways, or stick with the advertiser and trim down the details of the article so there is not as much focus on gun control? There are legal rights issues that required applied ethics reasoning also associated with public relations and journalism. There are certain details and name and things that can only be printed based on specific things such as a person being certain age and circumstances. Some areas consider it illegal to print in the obituaries that someone committed suicide. Sometimes though if it is a public matter that many people witnessed it is had to avoid printing that a suicide occurred without people know there is information being with held. In addition to this there is also always the possibility of sources being incorrect and the information you print being libelous to someone. Finally there is computer and information ethics in applied ethics. This category can be seen in public relations and journalism in much the same way as legal issues with being slanderous or libelous to someone or a company. Depending on what sources one use there may be false information coming from the computer and information. A professional in public relations of journalism has to take the responsibility to fact check and check the credentials of the sources they are using. The responsibility to check facts does not lay with the source, but with the journalist. If they received incorrect information that could have been spotted if fact checking was done they are negligent and can face very serious consequences. Fact checking cannot only hurt the legally, but also ethically. The people, businesses and other things that are written about are affected deeply. Sometimes there has to be a choice made as to whether a story is worthy of printing if it is going to harm someone or someone’s family members. Most of the time the ethical choices that have to be made in public relations and journalism stem from not which side of a topic to be on, but what to put out to the public on topics. For example, even if a reporter feels that abortion is completely wrong they cannot express this opinion. They have to write for both sides just giving the facts to what things each side says. They could be thinking abut writing to persuade people on why abortion is wrong, but the ethical decision is to step back and understand where both sides of the argument are coming from.

student :: essays research papers

The earliest known measurement from the earth to sun was in 200 B.C. Aristarchus of Samos, a man of astronomy and Mathematics, made this discovery. He believed the Earth revolved around the Sun. Aristarchus of Samos used what is known today as right-angle trigonometry. By connecting Earth to Moon, Moon to Sun, and Sun to Earth, one forms a right triangle as shown below. The measure of angle â€Å"a† is 90 °; an observer on Earth can then measure the angle measure of â€Å"b†. Then for one to find the distance between Earth and Sun simply find the sine of angle â€Å"c.† Aritarchus of Samos would have expressed this a little differently for the sole fact of modern Trigonometry had not yet been discovered. Although this is strong in theory, it had its downfalls. This method in was proven to be very inaccurate. The Earth to Moon ratio is very small compared to the Earth to Sun ratio, which leads one to infer that angle â€Å"a† would measure close to 90 °. With the measure of angle â€Å"b† is close to 90 °; which would leave angle â€Å"c† very small. If a small human error occurs in measuring angle â€Å"b,† one is left with an emasculate error in the ratio of Earth to Moon over Earth to Sun. In modern trigonometry, it is describe as 1/(sin c)2 , which is very large when â€Å"c† is small. Aristarchus measured angle â€Å"b† as 87 °, but in fact was 89 ° 50 minutes. Although this error seems small, it leads to a 95% error. Aristarchus believes the Earth to Moon over Earth to Sun measured 19, but in all reality is measured as 397. But all in all Aristarchus of Samos was the first to mathematically set the spatial scale of cosmos. During the time of Kepler, most people still believed the Earth was the center of the Universe. Copernicus, in 1543, published his book, De Revolutionibus, states the Sun is the center of the Universe, and the planets orbit around, yet he didn’t know how the planets did so. In 1601, Kepler became the proud owner of Tycho Brache’s, an astronomer whom Kepler was an assistant for, meticulous measurements of planets, stars and sun that Brache had gathered in his last 38 years.

Management Informational System

Answer Review questions 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 13, 16, 18, & 22 in your own words. First, write the questions, and then answer with proper explanation. 1. Define the term database. How is it different from a database management system? Database is simply a collection of data. A database helps and provides managers and decision making people with timely and relevant information that leads the company to organizational success. A database management system is totally different than regular database. A (DBMS) is a group of programs that manipulates the database. . What is the hierarchy of data in a database? The hierarchy of data in a database is bits, records, files, database, fields, and characters. 3. What is the purpose of a primary key? How is it useful in controlling data redundancy? The purpose of a primary key is identifying records and make sure they can be accessed and organized. It makes sure that each record in a file is unique; therefore, no two files can have the same informat ion. 4. What are the advantages of the database approach over the traditional approach to database management?Most companies use database approach more over the traditional approach because it allows them the ability to share data and information. It allows them to share a pool of data with multiple different types of information systems. 5. What is data modeling? What is its purpose? Briefly describe three commonly used data models. Data modeling is an approach to modeling organizational objects and associations that employ both text and graphics. To come up with a solution to a problem after the company has gathered and analyzed information. Enterprise data modeling investigate data and information needs of the organization * Entity-relationship diagrams uses graphical symbols to show the organization of and relationship between data * Data model diagram of entities and their relationships 6. What is a database schema, and what is its purpose? A database schema is a description in cluding the logical and physical structure of the data and the relationship among the data. The purpose of database schema is to define the tables and other database associated with a user. 7.What is the difference between a data definition language (DDL) and a data manipulation language (DML)? DDL is a set of instructions and commands used to define and describe data and relationships in a specific database. DML is a language that allows user to access and modify the data, to make queries, and to generate reports. 8. What is a data warehouse, and how is it different from a traditional database used to support OLTP? A data warehouse holds all of the business information such as the processes, products, and customers of a company.It was designed to help with decision making for management and also stores historical data from operational systems and external sources. Data warehouse is more advanced and complex compared to using a traditional database. 9. What is the relationship betwe en the Internet and database? The Internet transmits data from one computer to another and database is a collection of organized data. 10. What is predictive analysis, and how does it assist businesses in gaining competitive advantage?Predictive analysis is a form of data mining that combines historical data with assumptions about future conditions to predict outcomes of events. It helps them find new market segments that could be profitable for their businesses. PART II Fill in the Blanks with appropriate words: 1. A(n) Database Administrator is a skilled and trained IS professional who directs all activities related to an organization’s database, including providing security from intruders. 2. A(n) Character is a basic building block of information, consisting of uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numeric digits, or special symbols. . A(n) Entity is a generalized class of people, places, or things for which data is collected, stored, and maintained. 4. A(n) Primary Key i s a field or set of fields that uniquely identifies the record. 5. A(n) Data Model is a diagram of entities and their relationships. 6. A(n) Relational Model database model that describes data in which all data elements are placed in two-dimensional tables, called relations, which are the logical equivalent of files. 7. A(n) Flat file is a simple database program whose records have no relationship to one another. 8.A(n) Data Definition Language (DDL) is a collection of instructions and commands used to define and describe data and relationships in a specific database. 9. A(n) Data Administrator is responsible for defining and implementing consistent principles for a variety of data issues, including setting data standards and data definitions that apply across all the databases in an organization. 10. A(n) Data Warehouse is a database that holds business information from many sources in the enterprise, covering all aspects of the company’s processes, products, and customers. 1. A(n) Data Mart is a subset of a data warehouse. 12. Data Mining is an information-analysis tool that involves the automated discovery of patterns and relationships in a data warehouse. 13. Predictive Analysis is a form of data mining that combines historical data with assumptions about future conditions to predict outcomes of events, such as future product sales or the probability that a customer will default on a loan. PART III Case #1 Managing International Trades with Powerful Database Systems Discussions questions 1.What unique challenges do databases that deal with financial markets face? They use the database to fuel business intelligence tools to allow it to process data. The company maintains a data warehouse on which it runs queries. 2. How does Internaxx separate data in its database for annual reports from the data that fuels real-time analytics? Inernaxx data warehouse provides data that gives out the annual reports that are updated frequently. Whereas, the functional databases that feed into the warehouse provides it with the real-time information.Critical thinking questions 1. In what ways does Internaxx use its database to provide the company with a competitive advantage? The Internaxx database fuels both wise investment decision-making for Intenaxx customers and wise business decision-making for Internaxx executives. It uses it database to fuel business intelligence and the company maintains the data in the warehouse. This insight helps to make a competitive advantage. Their database allows consumers to watch the rise and fall stock prices and market conditions. . What unique capabilities must the Internaxx database have in order to support trading in 15 stock exchanges around the world? They must deal with a numerous amount of data and the data collected by Internaxx originates from the many trading operations carried out by its customers. The company needs to make sure they have reliable network connection to make sure the exchanges are ef ficient and happen. Internaxx must have both a e-commerce and m-commerce to accomplish all of these exchanges around the world.

Cyber Bullying

ABC News reported on a survey prepared by I-SAFE. ORG. This of 1,500 students between grades 4-8 reported: 42% OR 630 of kids have been bullied while online. One in four have had it happen more than once. 35% OR 525 of kids have been threatened online. Nearly one in five had had it happen more than once. 1% OR 315 of kids have received mean or threatening e-mails or other messages. 58% OR 870 of kids admit someone has said mean or hurtful things to them online. More than four out of ten say it has happened more than once. 58% OR 870 have not told their parents or an adult about something mean or hurtful that happened to them online. THAT WAS SOME INFORMATION ON CYBER-BULLYING WITH CHILDREN, LETS REVIEW HOW CYBER-BULLYING AFFECTS ADULTS AND THE WORKPLACE. ALTHOUGH IT IS MORE COMMON, CYBER BULLYING IS NOT LIMITED TO CHILDREN.ADULT TO ADULT CYBER-BULLYING, IS IDENTIFIED BY THE SAME BEHAVIORS AS CHILDREN BUT IS REFERRED TO AS CYBER-HARASSMENT, OR CYBER STALKING BECAUSE OR THE AGE DIFFERE NCE. WITH ADULTS THE INTENT IS TO THREATEN THE VICTIMS EARNING, EMPLOYMENT, REPUTATION, OR SAFETY, AND USUALLY TAKES PLACE IN THE WORKPLACE ACCORDING TO THE DIGNITY AND WORK PARTNERSHIP GROUP. A survey of 1,072 workers by the Dignity and Work Partnership found that one in five had been bullied at work by e-mail AND believes cyber-bullying is a problem in their workplace.Cyberstalkers use posts, forums, journals and other online means to present a victim in a false and unflattering light. Various companies provide cases of cyber-stalking (involving adults) follow the pattern of repeated actions against a target. While motives vary, whether romantic, a business conflict of interest, or personal dislike, the target is commonly someone whose life the stalker sees or senses elements lacking in his or her own life. NOW LET ME TELL YOU SOME OF THE HARMFUL EFFECTS OF CYBER BULLYING. Research had demonstrated a number of serious consequences of cyber-bullying victimization. 4][6][7][8] For e xample, victims have lower self-esteem, increased suicidal ideation, and a variety of emotional responses, cyber-bullying back, being scared, frustrated, angry, and depressed. [6]One of the most damaging effects is that a victim begins to avoid friends and activities, often the very intention of the cyber-bully. Cyber-bullying campaigns are sometimes so damaging that victims have committed suicide. There are at least four examples in the United States where cyber-bullying has been linked to the suicide of a teenager. 6] The suicide of Megan Meier is a recent example that led to the conviction of the adult perpetrator of the attacks. Intimidation, emotional damage, suicide The reluctance youth have in telling an authority figure about instances of cyber-bullying has led to fatal outcomes. At least three children between the ages of 12 and 13 have committed suicide due to depression brought on by cyber-bullying, according to reports by USA Today and the Baltimore Examiner. Never be bu llied into silence. Never allow yourself to be made a victim. Accept no one's definition of your life, but define yourself. † Cyber Bullying Is Cyber-bullying really a problem? Bullying has been around forever but cyber bullying is different because it lets a bully remain anonymous. It is easier to bully in cyberspace than it is to bully face to face. With cyber bullying a bully can pick on people with much less risk of being caught. Bullies are natural instigators and in cyberspace bullies can enlist the participation of other students who may be unwilling to bully in the real world. Cyber bullying is any harassment that occurs in the Internet.Vicious forum posts, name calling in chat rooms, posting fake profiles on web sites, and mean or cruel email messages are all ways of cyber bullying. â€Å"Around 10 percent of all adolescents in grades 7-9 are victims of internet bullying. ‘This type of bullying can be more serious than conventional bullying. At least with conventional bullying the victim is left alone on evenings and weekends. † Many people may think that cyber-bullying isn’t a problem in life , well think again it can change a victim’s life forever by just one offensive comment about them.I will make the victim want to commit suicide, drop out of school, and suffer from self-esteem issues like depression and anxiety. We must fight for what is right, sooner the better. What cyber-bullies would do in order for them to trace their victims or look for victims is most likely where they would have easy access and that would be through the internet and through cell phones. For cell phones they are able to contact with others by texting or calling but for the internet it would have websites where most kids would join now a days such as, facebook, myspace, twitter, blogspots, and e-mail.I would say that the internet is one of the best places for cyber-bullying than through cell phones because when communicating through the internet they are able to not only associate with only their victims but with other people in the world so not only that one person that they’re bullying are seeing it many people around the world are able to see it also, which in that case would make the victims situations even worse. Above all, no matter what techniques that bullies use it is a way for them to harm others. Online bullying, called cyberbullying, happens when teens use the Internet, cell phones, or other devices to send or post text or images intended to hurt or embarrass another person. † The internet is appealing to many bullies because it makes it easier for them to be cruel and vicious to their victims when there isn’t any personal contact with them and its difficult to trace the activities that they’re doing. â€Å"Victims of internet bullying — or cyberbullying — have no refuge.Victims may be harassed continuously via SMS and websites, and the information spreads very quickly and may be difficult to remove. In addition, it is often difficult to identify the perpetrator. † Hurting others is a way to call it their comfort zone because makes them feel better about themselves and when they do encounter with problems of their own the only way to makes them feel more respected or get them back on their feet is by causing trouble through the technologies because not many of their victims are able to stand up for themselves so bullies feel more superior.For them to harm others is mostly to gain friends that they always wanted to hangout with, since peer pressure has been an issue for many students bullying others is way for them to gain more respect from others especially from their victims. What cyber-bullies didn’t realize is that it can cause a whole lot of problems for their victim that it created a great nightmare not to only to the victim but even to the victims loved ones because it makes a great destruction to ones life. Cyber bullying In these days, internet has become a vital part of our life – both in working or killing time. We may even regard this invisible site as an epitome of our society in reality. Therefore, every phenomenon that takes place in the internet somehow is a projection from out real life. While, bullying, is transformed to a phenomenon in the internet that called cyber-bullying. Why is this happened? The reason's simple – people's being more and more catty. It's because, cyber bullying hurts more deeply, and these evil wounds may keep bleeding for ever†¦ Bullying in the reality mainly hurt victims physically, while it could also hurt one's self-esteem -For example, verbal insulting†¦etc. But still, victims could have chance to escape from those beliers, and it would be more easier for adults to trace for evidence hence preventing this happen again. But cyber bullying is a touchy issue to deal with. First, cyber bully are usually sly – they could delete the evidence once the victim strike by just pressing a button on the keyboard. Then, the bully would not need to be punished because the evidence disappeared suddenly. Then the victim will certainly be kept on insulted by the bully. Where you may say you could avoid having contact with the internet, but can you? As I said, nowadays, the internet had become a vital part in our daily life, can you avoid accessing to it? And once you get to the internet, could you control your curiosity? Even you can, how about your MSN, inbox, Facebook or Myspace ? Those nasty messages can't be edited by you and, they will just be right there forever if you don't take any action. It would be read by any one including yourself. And this will turnout to become a kind of bullying in the reality. People will laught at you because of the message about you in the internet. It's only a vicious cycle. Everything will turn sour and blue if you just keep on being a silent victim. And eventually, you will terminate your life to relief your suffrage, pressure, pain, anger†¦etc. While the bully may just laughing at your death, while, who love you will burst into tears for your death. Death is absolutely not a solution for a problem! The best way to deal with bullying or cyber bullying is to stand out and face the problem positively. You may keep the evidence but not just ignoring them. Talk this issue with your parents and teachers, they will give you wise advices. If the situation's really worst, you may also seek help from the police force too. Our society won't accept the existence of any kind of bullying. Everyone would try their best to help you – you are not alone! But remember, never revenage. If you did this, you will just become another bully. Remember, anger is a poison – it eats you inside. Without your support, bullying still exist as we may have a devil mind. Let's to create a harmony society in the future together. Cyber Bullying Cyber bullying has become a result of teens committing suicide. Last fall Audrie Pott was allegedly ganged raped by three boys after she had fallen asleep do to the consumption of alcohol the three boys later, tormenting her with pictures of her engaging in a sexual form with one of these boys. Pictures were shared around school as well as texting the images and posting them online. After being tormented for two years she started developing suicidal thoughts which later led to her death. In ohio two star football players were convicted of raping a drunk 16 year old girl. They gained media through lurid text messages, cell phone pictures and videos, and social media post surrounding the sexual abuse of the girl. One of the convicted felons was found guilty disseminating a nude photo of a minor. Once something has been posted on the internet it can never be erased. Imagine these young girls that don’t remember anything that happened the night before then waking up discovering they have been sexually abused. Yea, this can be a traumatizing event leaving scars and wounds that can never be healed. Some can leave these events in the past while others would just take their lives away like Audrie Pott. How can cyber bullying be prevented? Simply having more talks with young kids regarding bullying as well as bringing guest speakers to inspire kids not to bully. Also enforcing the law on young teenagers just because they’re young that doesn’t mean they cannot take care of the mess they have created. Allard the attorney for the pott family, said his clients are pushing the â€Å"Audrie’s Law,† which would stiffen penalties for cyber bullying and strengthen laws on sexual assaults by trying adolescents as adults. Cyber Bullying vCyber bullying has become a huge problem in today’s society. There was once a day where cell phones or social networking did not exist and any problem you had with anyone was handled face to face and not behind a computer screen. If you told this to kids today they would probably be surprised. We’ve all been a victim of minor cyber bullying or bullying in general and although I haven’t experienced cyber bullying to its full potential, I’ve sat on the sidelines and watched how cruel my peers can be. About two weeks ago a fight broke out on Instagram between and friend of mine and her ex-boyfriends best friend.The breakup was bitter and his friends were trying to protect him and fight his battles. The ex-boyfriends friend commented on my friends Instagram picture and called the boys in it â€Å"doofy† not too harsh, but they came back at him ten times worse. I’ve witnessed a lot of people get bullied throughout high school and I myself have ha d some pretty cruel things said to me and I’ve said some things to people that I shouldn’t have said, but what these kids were saying to this boy was worse than any type of bullying I’ve ever witnessed.They told him that the world would be a better place without him and that he should just go hang himself. They told him to go hang out with Amanda Todd, a young teen who recently within the past few months made the news for committing suicide. They told him to that he should go kill himself to rid one more retard of the world and make the world better. Lastly, they told him to go drink bleach. I don’t even know the boys name that they bullied, yet I felt so sorry for him and felt that I had to stick up for him.Fortunately the boy did not take the advice of the cruel teenagers and he fought back until the Instagram feud was over. The problem doesn’t only exist in situations that I explained about but in many more ways where maybe the person that was b eing bullied did nothing wrong to deserve the treatment that they got. Not everyone is cyberbullied because of something they did wrong or because of a fight that they instigated. Some cases of cyber bullying had the cause of just plain jealousy. Approximately seventy-five percent of teenagers today have and are using cell phones.And the ones with cell phones send around three thousand text messages a month. With these cell phones do their parents really know what they are doing? Are they suffering from immense amounts of bullying? Or are they on the other side? The problem is that no one really knows and by the time a teenager takes their own life or starts to self harm, it’s too late because the parents had no clue. Thirty percent of children who are online whether it be Facebook or Twitter has admitted to being harassed.In the past few years, cyber bullying has gotten much more serious because not only are kids calling each other names, they’re starting to blackmail . If a young girl sends a nude picture through text message to a boy, and that picture gets in the hands of one of his friends or even another girl, the girl that sent the picture has the risk of having her picture sent around the school or even uploaded to social networking sites. Some might wonder how does a parent stop their children from sending or receiving these harsh texts.It is recommended that the parent sets a time period where the child can and cannot send or receive text messages. There is also an app that can stop sexts, and cyber bullying texts from send to a cell phone. Add your child on Facebook, follow them on Twitter. They may not like it at first but if you can prevent them from being bullied or from facing charges from cyber bullying, they will thank you in the long run. â€Å"Keep kids safe from cyberbullies – CNN. †Ã‚  Featured Articles from CNN. N. p. , n. d. Web. 6  Feb. 2013. â€Å"Keep kids safe from cyberbullies – Page 2 – CN N. †Ã‚  Featured Articles from CNN. N. p. , n. d. Web. 6  Feb. 2013. Cyber Bullying Cyber bullying has become a result of teens committing suicide. Last fall Audrie Pott was allegedly ganged raped by three boys after she had fallen asleep do to the consumption of alcohol the three boys later, tormenting her with pictures of her engaging in a sexual form with one of these boys. Pictures were shared around school as well as texting the images and posting them online. After being tormented for two years she started developing suicidal thoughts which later led to her death. In ohio two star football players were convicted of raping a drunk 16 year old girl. They gained media through lurid text messages, cell phone pictures and videos, and social media post surrounding the sexual abuse of the girl. One of the convicted felons was found guilty disseminating a nude photo of a minor. Once something has been posted on the internet it can never be erased. Imagine these young girls that don’t remember anything that happened the night before then waking up discovering they have been sexually abused. Yea, this can be a traumatizing event leaving scars and wounds that can never be healed. Some can leave these events in the past while others would just take their lives away like Audrie Pott. How can cyber bullying be prevented? Simply having more talks with young kids regarding bullying as well as bringing guest speakers to inspire kids not to bully. Also enforcing the law on young teenagers just because they’re young that doesn’t mean they cannot take care of the mess they have created. Allard the attorney for the pott family, said his clients are pushing the â€Å"Audrie’s Law,† which would stiffen penalties for cyber bullying and strengthen laws on sexual assaults by trying adolescents as adults. Cyber bullying In these days, internet has become a vital part of our life – both in working or killing time. We may even regard this invisible site as an epitome of our society in reality. Therefore, every phenomenon that takes place in the internet somehow is a projection from out real life. While, bullying, is transformed to a phenomenon in the internet that called cyber-bullying. Why is this happened? The reason's simple – people's being more and more catty. It's because, cyber bullying hurts more deeply, and these evil wounds may keep bleeding for ever†¦ Bullying in the reality mainly hurt victims physically, while it could also hurt one's self-esteem -For example, verbal insulting†¦etc. But still, victims could have chance to escape from those beliers, and it would be more easier for adults to trace for evidence hence preventing this happen again. But cyber bullying is a touchy issue to deal with. First, cyber bully are usually sly – they could delete the evidence once the victim strike by just pressing a button on the keyboard. Then, the bully would not need to be punished because the evidence disappeared suddenly. Then the victim will certainly be kept on insulted by the bully. Where you may say you could avoid having contact with the internet, but can you? As I said, nowadays, the internet had become a vital part in our daily life, can you avoid accessing to it? And once you get to the internet, could you control your curiosity? Even you can, how about your MSN, inbox, Facebook or Myspace ? Those nasty messages can't be edited by you and, they will just be right there forever if you don't take any action. It would be read by any one including yourself. And this will turnout to become a kind of bullying in the reality. People will laught at you because of the message about you in the internet. It's only a vicious cycle. Everything will turn sour and blue if you just keep on being a silent victim. And eventually, you will terminate your life to relief your suffrage, pressure, pain, anger†¦etc. While the bully may just laughing at your death, while, who love you will burst into tears for your death. Death is absolutely not a solution for a problem! The best way to deal with bullying or cyber bullying is to stand out and face the problem positively. You may keep the evidence but not just ignoring them. Talk this issue with your parents and teachers, they will give you wise advices. If the situation's really worst, you may also seek help from the police force too. Our society won't accept the existence of any kind of bullying. Everyone would try their best to help you – you are not alone! But remember, never revenage. If you did this, you will just become another bully. Remember, anger is a poison – it eats you inside. Without your support, bullying still exist as we may have a devil mind. Let's to create a harmony society in the future together. Cyber Bullying vCyber bullying has become a huge problem in today’s society. There was once a day where cell phones or social networking did not exist and any problem you had with anyone was handled face to face and not behind a computer screen. If you told this to kids today they would probably be surprised. We’ve all been a victim of minor cyber bullying or bullying in general and although I haven’t experienced cyber bullying to its full potential, I’ve sat on the sidelines and watched how cruel my peers can be. About two weeks ago a fight broke out on Instagram between and friend of mine and her ex-boyfriends best friend.The breakup was bitter and his friends were trying to protect him and fight his battles. The ex-boyfriends friend commented on my friends Instagram picture and called the boys in it â€Å"doofy† not too harsh, but they came back at him ten times worse. I’ve witnessed a lot of people get bullied throughout high school and I myself have ha d some pretty cruel things said to me and I’ve said some things to people that I shouldn’t have said, but what these kids were saying to this boy was worse than any type of bullying I’ve ever witnessed.They told him that the world would be a better place without him and that he should just go hang himself. They told him to go hang out with Amanda Todd, a young teen who recently within the past few months made the news for committing suicide. They told him to that he should go kill himself to rid one more retard of the world and make the world better. Lastly, they told him to go drink bleach. I don’t even know the boys name that they bullied, yet I felt so sorry for him and felt that I had to stick up for him.Fortunately the boy did not take the advice of the cruel teenagers and he fought back until the Instagram feud was over. The problem doesn’t only exist in situations that I explained about but in many more ways where maybe the person that was b eing bullied did nothing wrong to deserve the treatment that they got. Not everyone is cyberbullied because of something they did wrong or because of a fight that they instigated. Some cases of cyber bullying had the cause of just plain jealousy. Approximately seventy-five percent of teenagers today have and are using cell phones.And the ones with cell phones send around three thousand text messages a month. With these cell phones do their parents really know what they are doing? Are they suffering from immense amounts of bullying? Or are they on the other side? The problem is that no one really knows and by the time a teenager takes their own life or starts to self harm, it’s too late because the parents had no clue. Thirty percent of children who are online whether it be Facebook or Twitter has admitted to being harassed.In the past few years, cyber bullying has gotten much more serious because not only are kids calling each other names, they’re starting to blackmail . If a young girl sends a nude picture through text message to a boy, and that picture gets in the hands of one of his friends or even another girl, the girl that sent the picture has the risk of having her picture sent around the school or even uploaded to social networking sites. Some might wonder how does a parent stop their children from sending or receiving these harsh texts.It is recommended that the parent sets a time period where the child can and cannot send or receive text messages. There is also an app that can stop sexts, and cyber bullying texts from send to a cell phone. Add your child on Facebook, follow them on Twitter. They may not like it at first but if you can prevent them from being bullied or from facing charges from cyber bullying, they will thank you in the long run. â€Å"Keep kids safe from cyberbullies – CNN. †Ã‚  Featured Articles from CNN. N. p. , n. d. Web. 6  Feb. 2013. â€Å"Keep kids safe from cyberbullies – Page 2 – CN N. †Ã‚  Featured Articles from CNN. N. p. , n. d. Web. 6  Feb. 2013.

Teaching a Specialist Subject Essays

Teaching a Specialist Subject Essays Teaching a Specialist Subject Essay Teaching a Specialist Subject Essay Wider Professional Practice Assignment 1 How Recent Changes to UK Immigration Legislation Affect ESOL Provision in the Further Education Sector (Level 6) BryAnne Conley 7 January 2011 Introduction In recent years the English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) sector has been dramatically affected by top-level UK immigration legislation. Immigration changes emanating from the Home Office, as well as corresponding funding changes for ESOL through Skills for Life, have significantly impacted public-sector Further Education (FE) teaching of ESOL. This essay will outline the recent history of national legislative changes affecting English-language teaching and identify the current operating policy and include a description of my education sector and learners. Following this description will be a detailed analysis of how the policy has been implemented in the public FE sector and especially within my own organisation. The analysis will begin by examining funding issues that affect the implementation, followed by a point-by-point discussion of positive benefits as well as negative impacts of each aspect. Both pre-existing and pending funding changes which impact ESOL provision will also be briefly mentioned. Historical Overview Hamilton and Hillier (forthcoming, p 1) could not have been more accurate when they stated It is clear from the historical record that ESOL has received uneven and often unhelpful attention from government. In the early 2000s the UK began significantly tightening immigration controls in an effort to reduce the number of immigrants to this country, and many amendments were added to the main law controlling immigration to the UK: the Immigration Act 1971. Prior to this time, the law specified only that any immigrant desiring British citizenship should have a sufficient knowledge of English (British Nationality Act 1948). In the last decade, however, an astounding 267 Statutory Instruments and 5 Acts dealing with immigration have been approved. These changes began with the Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002 and eventually led to the complete restructuring of the UK immigration system. A new Five-Tier Points-Based System (HC 439) was introduced and phased in during 2008 and 2009. This system tightened language regulations considerably, requiring different levels of English for different types of immigrants. HC 439 is the pertinent policy which this report will analyse, and one which significantly affects the FE ESOL sector, as it further restricts specifications regarding proof of English language progress and proficiency: A person is deemed to have sufficient knowledge of English and of life in the UK if he has attended a course using teaching materials derived from ‘Citizenship Materials for ESOL Learners’ and has thereby obtained a relevant accredited qualification in ESOL (or if he has passed the test known as the Life in the UK Test). [that] evidenced progress from one [ESOL] level to the next is required and that qualifications can only be obtained through attendance at a college that is subject to inspection by [approved agencies are listed]. This means that immigrants seeking to settle in the UK must now submit formal proof of their initial level of English in addition to proof of their final level, thus confirming an improvement of one whole ESOL level. In addition, instruction must now be provided by an approved, inspected college a change that could leave many private English language colleges without enough students to survive. (Tahir, 2010) Sector and Learners However, I teach in the public (approved) sector of Further Education: specifically in Adult and Community Education. ESOL provision in our sector is divided into several types of courses; the two areas I currently teach in are Skills for Life and Family Learning. Skills for Life ESOL, at the lower levels, has experienced significant cuts, whereas Family Learning ESOL is the only type of course for which funding has remained relatively stable. (NIACE, 2007) Our students are a mix of those who are settled, or wish to settle, permanently in the UK, and those who arrive from EU or EEA countries and want to improve their English for work purposes. As the Home Office has no power to regulate EU/EEA citizens in this country, this report will deal with the former group of students and how we help them achieve the required levels of proof of language proficiency and cultural knowledge for settlement (Indefinite Leave to Remain or ILR) and ultimately British citizenship. Implementation of Home Office Policy Backdrop: Funding Cuts An analysis of the implementation of Home Office policy in the Further Education sector would not be complete without mention of the effects of recent FE-wide funding cuts, for they have dramatically increased the negative impact of changes in immigration legislation. In 2007, the UK government introduced a major restructuring of the funding for the FE sector which included monetary cuts, reworking of fee remission structures, an increased emphasis on certain areas of Skills for Life, as well as workforce reforms requiring the upskilling of teachers in the FE sector (Learning and Skills Council, 2007). According to the 2007 NIACE report, all providers of FE and Adult Education experienced a reduction in LSC funding, which was their major source of revenue. The institutions surveyed by NIACE cited a few positive changes, such as becoming more focused and efficient, and learners benefiting from a sharper focus on quality. However, most of the changes cited were negative: reduction in learner numbers increased course fees and other supplementary charges (eg exam fees) significant barriers raised for low-income learners including ESOL learners staff reductions including teachers, support staff and managers reduction in administrative capacity cuts in the range and locations of provision reduction of course lengths shorter planning horizons need to invest in additional staff training In my own organisation, I have seen the following impacts of these funding changes: Job losses have caused demoralisation and increased stress for tutors, and especially for managers, as an increas ed workload is shared among fewer people. The target-driven climate has resulted in more paper shuffling by tutors and learners. Much time has been wasted by tutors and managers tracking targets on computer programs that dont work, trying to force the reality of students learning and progress into pre-determined aims, and the necessity of managing the numbers to satisfy funding requirements. Fewer locations of provision have meant that learners and tutors must travel further to classes, resources such as libraries have been considered luxuries and closed, and there has been a constant reshuffling of offices resulting in cramped, or a complete lack of, office space for many staff. Cuts in administrative staff and services have meant extra planning and workload for tutors, and learners are short-changed by receiving reduced resources and support. Selection of students is now often based on factors such as motivation or ability to complete exams rather than the need to learn the language. Our funding is now inconsistent, erratic and short-term, leading to general confusion, lack of continuity and increased spin -up time for everyone involved. As early as 2003, Lea noted problems with this approach to funding, stating that an environment in which FE is considered a profitable business †¦ could affect which ESOL students we take in or not. Requirement One: Life in the UK HC 439 requires proof that our courses include materials from the approved Citizenship Curriculum. These must be used in our planning, and we must specify what we have covered on each students Individual Learning Plan. This specification has an overall positive impact in that learners gain greater cultural knowledge of the UK; the negative impact is a small amount of extra paperwork for tutors. Requirement Two: Increase English One Full ESOL Level This requirement of the law is significantly more involved in its implementation, and has several aspects which will be discussed in turn. Aspect 1: Initial proof of English level is now required in addition to final level proof. Before, a quick initial assessment of learners’ skills levels sufficed, but now we must perform a more-thorough and well-documented diagnostic assessment. This assessment forms critical evidence that may be inspected by agencies such as Ofsted. The impact of this is significant: nearly all of the first one or two class sessions are now devoured by extensive assessments. These are stressful for the students and require huge amounts of time for tutors to prepare, mark, record and file. Additionally, because this is the public sector, Ofsted monitoring and funding concerns have led to creating a new electronic Data Return to track this assessment data. It has taken phenomenal amounts of time over two years to implement this system and train staff to use it. An unintended positive impact of these assessments has been a more detailed knowledge of students’ strengths and weaknesses, which targets the delivery of learning more precisely. Aspect 2: Students must pass exams to show an increase of one complete ESOL level from their initial assessment. This requirement has led to more teaching to the test which puts pressure on students and tutors alike to have exam success. Areas of vocabulary, grammar or knowledge which fall outside the scope of the exam are less likely to be covered in class. In the short term, this can be frustrating to learners and does not positively contribute to the quality of educational provision; in the long term, it may negatively impact other areas of students lives such as their job or family where they may need this extra information to function well and enhance their quality of life. This can lead to negative consequences for learners’ equality of opportunity in society. A further negative impact is the pressure on tutors to under-assess students levels initially, so that they can achieve an increase of one complete level in one year. It is essential for funding that students pass a minimum of one exam annually. ) Some students may not be accepted to learning programmes if it is not felt that they can achieve the required exam results; this can potentially lead to a lowering of the diversity in the class. One positive benefit, however, has been greater motivation by students to attend classes, focus on their studies and do well. Aspect 3: The Home Office is only interested in increased proficiency in speaking skills; reading and writing skills are not a priority. As a result of this, reading and writing skills can tend to fall by the wayside, and this can impact on students employability, especially for higher-skilled or higher-paid jobs. Students may be quite qualified in their own country, but unable to obtain jobs in the UK in the fields in which they were trained. A possibly-unintended consequence of this is keeping immigrants job prospects low, thus preserving higher-skilled jobs for British nationals; this is in direct contradiction to the points-based immigration scheme and the stated intentions of government policies! Future and Wider Issues At the time of this writing (Nov 2010) another change to the point-based immigration system is about to be implemented (Command Paper Cm 7944, 2010). The rule change will require spouses of UK settled individuals to have level A-1 level English before they can even enter the country. This pre-entry spouse language requirement has the potential to impact our sector significantly by reducing the number of students and making it more difficult to reach our target group of priority ESOL learners under the governments ‘New Approach to ESOL’ scheme. (DIUS, 2009), thus leading to further reductions in the diversity of our classes. It may even violate human rights and race relations laws. (Travis, 2010). Although this policy does not emanate from the Home Office and is therefore not considered directly in this report, it will nevertheless impact our sector with perhaps even greater intensity. The New Approach to ESOL was introduced by the UK government in the summer of 2009 as a joined up approach for handling ESOL provision (ibid. , p 23). A New Approach does indeed echo many of the aims of the Home Office legislation such as a refocus on ESOL priority learners, ESOL as part of preparing for work, and English to gain citizenship and integrate into communities. However, no new funding is provided to accomplish these additional tasks, and this will be intensely problematic. The Union of Colleges and Universities (2008) has stated categorically: Laudable government aims to lift migrant workers out of poverty and to deliver its community cohesion strategy [will] not happen unless appropriate funding is found. Conclusion The research done for this report suggests that ESOL provision in the Further Education sector is reaching a crisis point. More requirements are being piled on by government legislation emanating from a variety of agencies, while at the same time crippling funding cuts are being made across the sector. Staff in the sector are being stretched and stressed to the maximum. Barriers are being raised for learners that will keep immigrants in an economically-disadvantaged position in direct opposition to touted government ideals. It appears to be mainly funding policies, rather than requirement policies, which drive improvements or lack thereof in educational provision. In my opinion, the current situation is untenable, and prospects for the near future of ESOL provision are bleak. word count = 2164 Bibliography Ainley, B. (2007). Guide to Race Equality in FE. London: Continuum. Avis, J. (2007). Education, Policy and Social Justice. London: Continuum. Borders, Citizenship and Immigration Act 2009. (20 January 2010). [Electronic version. ] The Guardian. Retrieved October 2010 from: guardian. co. uk/commentisfree/libertycentral/2009/feb/13/civil-liberties-immigration. British Nationality Act 1948 (11 12 Geo. VI. c. 56) British Nationality Act 1981 (1981 c. 1). Command Papers. (2010). Statement of Changes in Immigration Rules, presented to Parliament by Command of Her Majesty October 2010. (Cm 7944). London: HMSO. Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills (DIUS). (n. d. ) Skills for Life: ESOL for Work - A new suite of qualifications. 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