On Globalization and Sovereignty free essay sample

While some people may argue that the rise of modern technology brings about a global market, which subsequently compromises the necessity of sovereign states, this is not the case. Indeed, the perpetual development of superior technology facilitates international trade and communication. However, there is no evidence that the phenomenon called globalization necessarily leads to the dissolution of sovereignty. Globalization may make the state more difficult to manage, but the sovereignty nevertheless still remains. If globalization eradicated state borders, and united the world through its super effective forms of communications and electronic business transactions, then the result would be a singular body of people that has no evident leader to enforce law and order. Therefore, although globalization may create an image of borderless countries, the state still remains to prevent mass chaos and disorder. What is the actual effect of globalization? To say that the rise of technology creates an international trade system would be rather superficial. We will write a custom essay sample on On Globalization and Sovereignty or any similar topic specifically for you Do Not WasteYour Time HIRE WRITER Only 13.90 / page What globalization ultimately inclines towards is a potential market place with common technology, factor endowment, and prices (Adams 167). The result is a levelled playing field across the globe. Competition can start in one place, and have the same potential for success as a business on the other side of the world. The implications of this equilibrium of states, where all states basically provide the same opportunities to its citizens, are multifarious. For example, once the world reaches this equilibrium, do state borders really hold any value? Its as if the world comes together under the umbrella of international economy and trade, becoming a single entity, encompassing all of humanity. However, some countries will not enjoy the full benefits of globalization: the increased reliance on trade, external funds, and DFI [direct foreign investment] may constrain the ability of individual nation-states to pursue social agendas (Hadenius 273). In order to satisfy the global community, individual states face difficulty in dealing with local, national inquiries. Such extremities of international conformities become evident when countries abide to policies that must be made to ensure the stability of the global market. Influential NGOs that have active international agendas (276) will not be so kind as to consider state borders when it comes to fulfilling their goals. While these NGOs, such as the WTO, may have genuinely good intentions in creating a balanced economy and trade, some countries will be negatively affected by such changes. As Hadenius claims, politically weaker nations may find themselves unable to pursue more egalitarian agendas without serious consequences such as outflows of capital (273). When states comply to the demands of the global market, their individual strength weakens, for they must sacrifice sums of money for the sake of supporting globalization and its policies. Subsequently, with less funding to ensure power and authority in their own states, sovereignty is found to be in a dire situation of lack of control. In result, the country is simply a victim of autonomous, structural developments in the world economy (275). What power they had had to be exchanged for the satisfaction of the population, to keep up with the ever-changing trend of the world. Yet globalization does not hold any influence over the borders of a strong nation. Hadeniuss point specifies and focuses more on the weaker, poorer states. He claims so because poorer nations are much more reliant on DFI and external funds, while stronger nations are the ones that provide these funds and dictate the flow of the global market. However, the notion of rich and poor is irrelevant and trivial on the effects of globalization on sovereignty. What remains essential to understand is that in spite of the influences of globalization, states will linger and remain in existence. John Agnew proposes an idea that globalization has merely further complicated an already complex relationship between sovereignty and territory (Agnew 2). Agnews view on globalization is not solely on its economic implications; rather, globalization entails other sophisticated state affairs, such as immigration and national currency (Lentner 136). These complexities of globalization can be extended to Hadeniuss argument; although foreign aid and DFI may be a temporal solution for poorer states, these international interactions weaken states authoritative power and are complexities brought about by the rise of globalization. While complexities may weaken a states ability to govern itself, these exterior influences do not discredit the role of a state. Agnew claims states have never exercised either total political or economic-regulatory monopolies over their territories (Agnew 2). Expanding on his claim, states always have exterior powers that affect decision-making. However, the increase of these exterior influences by globalization does not imply the total loss of control of a state. Other authors, including David Smith, argue the same point: states, especially weaker states, have never been able to guarantee their control over activities within or across their borders (Smith et al. 34). Complexities, complementary with globalization, make state control difficult, but not impossible. Smith also lays out the fundamental types of sovereignty: interdependence, domestic, Westphalian, and international legal sovereignty. He argues that states may enjoy many combinations of these four types of sovereignty. The example he gives is of Taiwan: it may have Westphalian sovereignty (exclusion of external authority in governing), but lack international legal sovereignty (recognition of one state by another) (Smith et al. 35). In any case, globalization may occur, disregarding state borders, but the concept of sovereignty lives on, hardly affected by it. The existence of sovereignty is not eroded by the growth of globalization. However, is sovereignty still necessary? Can the world function solely on the concept of globalization, and without the notion of sovereign states? In addition to Smith stating that sovereignty is not being fundamentally transformed by globalization (34), the notion of sovereignty is absolutely essential in the process of maintaining order throughout the world. When globalization pushes the world into an equilibrium of egalitarian states by producing an equal opportunity for business, there is no authority structure that can definitely choose among competing normative prescriptions (34). NGOs may push states around, influencing decisions here and there, but nevertheless there remains no master organization that holds absolute authority over every state. Therefore, if by globalization a single body of people were to arise, the world would simultaneously plummet into anarchy, causing chaos and disorder ubiquitously. It is for this reason that individual state control is still necessary, even for the sake of globalization itself. Perhaps, one may propose that groups, such as the United Nation, act as a leader for globalization. However, the UN is not a singular entity that is comprised of the population of the world. Rather, the UN contains smaller segments of sovereignty, which subsequently is responsible for a smaller portion of the world population. Unless the world can come as one, under a single ruling group, the concept of sovereignty will stand firm. However, ironically, if the world does unite, and an authoritative figure holds power over the population, then globalization effectively becomes a state-instituted phenomenon. This contradiction hints at the necessity of sovereignty in order for globalization to occur. Globalization is without doubt a compelling phenomenon that allows interaction between peoples across the entire planet. Yet, it would be rash and illogical to assume that such heightened global communication and trade infers the dissolution of sovereignty. Globalization can create more complexities to state affairs and make border control more difficult, but the sovereign state nevertheless remains to maintain order. Anarchy would arise if globalization were to rise without sovereignty. However, the individual is free to utilize globalization to their own benefit. As Hadenius artistically says, Modern technology was supposed to make Big Brother omnipotent, watching you into submission; instead, it enabled us to watch Big Brother into impotence (Hadenius 263-4), we ought to manipulate the implications of globalization to better our corrupt political system. With mass communication and media, we have the option to be aware of political issues throughout the globe, and more importantly, to correct critical issues in society. It is within the individuals volition to make use of globalization as an opportunity to better their own lives, but also the lives of others throughout the world as well.

Establishing Personal Identity Through Individualism Professor Ramos Blog

Establishing Personal Identity Through Individualism The concept of identity is a person’s sense of self, including their beliefs, values, and morality as they see themselves. Identity can be shaped by many factors including genetics, personal experience, society, and other external forces. The formation of a person’s identity is explored in both Barn Burning by William Faulkner (1938) and The Sculptors Funeral by Willa Cather (1905). Both stories’ protagonists, Sarty Snopes and Harvey Merrick respectively, contend against external forces, such as the expectations their families have for them, in order to exercise their own personal beliefs and values. In the end, both protagonists choose to lead a life that their families might not have chosen for them, or even supported, but that was ultimately true to who they were internally. In Barn Burning, Sarty is being held back in his development of self and choice by his family, primarily his father, Abner. His mother is seemingly the only positive family influence on him, but she still mostly goes along with the father’s wishes. She shows concern for Sarty when he is bleeding after another boy hits him outside the general store, and is shown to be somewhat protective of him. This can be seen when she attempts to hold Sarty down when he is trying to tell Major de Spain about his father’s plan to burn the barn down. She does this so that Abner will not tie Sarty up to the bedposts as he has threatened to. As for Sarty, while he has a desire to win the approval of his family, what his father wants of him goes against his personal morality. Sarty is very different from his father. He posses â€Å"an industry†¦Ã¢â‚¬  He is a hard worker whereas his father is a thief who â€Å"had in his blood†¦own.† Abner claimed to be a war hero, howev er we learn that he did not actually fight in the war, and instead stole horses and other loot from both sides of the conflict. Also in contrast with Abner’s values, Sarty has a strong sense of justice, both legal and personal. Sarty does not like to lie for his father. This is evident when he thinks, â€Å"He aims for me to lie†¦and I will have to do hit,† with â€Å"frantic grief and despair.† He would rather tell the truth to the court, but his father tells him to â€Å"stick to [his] blood.† His father, despite demanding familial loyalty, is the reason they are in constant exile and poverty. Sarty feels guilty for the crimes his father commits but, â€Å"the old grief of blood† prevents him from telling the truth to the justice of the peace. We see that Sarty is torn between his personal morality and his father’s expectations. He feels â€Å"pulled two ways like between two teams of horses.† He wants to tell the truth because his values mirror those of townspeople, which he believes â€Å"wanted only truth, justice,† but he feels, â€Å"the old fierce pull of blood† towards his father. The townspeople do not seem to have it out for Abner; they just want peace and stability in the post-war South. Abner’s sentences for his crimes are always lighter than the victims of his crimes want them to be, but Abner is still discontented. Abner feels like he is being cheated and wrongfully punished. Eventually, Sarty does break free from his father’s â€Å"ferocious conviction in the rightness of his own actions.† He makes the decision to warn Major de Spain of his father’s plan to burn down the barn. Sarty ultimately runs away, thus gaining his independence and establishing his own identity separate from that of his family and father. In The Sculptors Funeral by Willa Cather, Harvey Merrick also establishes his own identity in contrast to that of his family and the people in his home town. While Barn Burning takes place during Sarty’s early years and initial transformation, The Sculptors Funeral begins after Harvey Merrick has died. The townspeople attend his funeral and pass various negative judgments about him. The folks still living in Merrick’s hometown say that they value hard work and business acumen. They only respect successful ranchers and farmers, and had held artistic professions and formal education in low esteem. This small town, rural ideology differed at the time, and still differs, from the value put on creativity by more urban locations. Jim Laird, one of Merrick’s boyhood friends, says that the townspeople’s cruel commentary stems from the fact that Merrick became successful while they have remained, â€Å"disappointed strugglers in a bitter, dead little western town†¦Ã¢â‚¬  We learned that throughout Merrick’s life, the town, and in particular his mother, had â€Å"made Harvey’s life a hell for him.† Merrick’s father, like Sarty’s mother in Barn Burning, seems to be the only one that even vaguely provided a positive influence on the younger Merrick’s life. His father made financial and personal sacrifices to ensure he received a good education, even though he says he never understood his son. Despite his upbringing, Merrick became a noble, kind man. Laird remarks that he, â€Å"Never could see how [Harvey] kept himself sweet† despite how the town, â€Å"drummed nothing but money and knavery into their ears from the time they were knickerbockersà ¢â‚¬ ¦Ã¢â‚¬  Laird himself was similar to Merrick in morality and work ethic, but instead of traveling away, he returned to the town of their youth and became a drunkard. Steavens, a man who only knew Merrick in his adulthood but who accompanies the body back West, summarizes what he observes and learns at the funeral. He says Merrick, â€Å"was wonderful†¦ but until tonight I have never known how wonderful.† Steavens was shocked to know that such a gentle man had grown from such harsh and criticizing conditions. Merrick’s creations and eye for beauty were a testament to the strength of his inner identity. Steavens’ statement could easily be uttered by one of Sarty’s friends at the end of his life, it his formative years were revealed later. Both men, one at the beginning of his life and the other at the very end of it, had to overcome the outside influences that would have prevented them from being true to themselves. Through it all, Sarty stayed hard working and honest and Merrick stayed gentle and kind. Stories like this are a testament to the role that human agency plays in developing individual identity. The fact that both of these characters’ stories are celebrated as triumphs of individuality, shows the emphasis that Americans put on being your own person and not sticking too rigidly to the wishes and traditions of our parents. As much as Americans seem fond of conformism, being true to oneself regardless of challenges is part of American identity. The principle of individualism is even written directly into our constitution, that all people have the God-given right to â€Å"the pursuit of happiness.† American philosophy is built upon the idea of personal advancement and self-actualization for each citizen. Cathers short story, published in 1905, was indicative of the next 40 years ideals, in which great clout was given to the idea of rugged individualism. This concept was also written about by Herbert Hoover in his 1922 book. These concepts and works likely influenced Faulkner when he was writing Barn Burning in the 1930s. Today, these the ideal of individualism stil l plays an important part in socioeconomic and political discussions. Hoover, Herbert C. American Individualism. Doubleday, Page, Company, 1922. The Norton Anthology of American Literature. 9th ed., vol. 2, W.W. Norton Company, 2017.

The 7 Deadly Workplace Mistakes

The 7 Deadly Workplace Mistakes Workplace mistakes: they happen. More importantly, they happen to everyone, from the CEO down to the most junior employee. It’s just a fact of professional life. However, some workplace mistakes are worse than others. Here are seven of them that are likely within your control, and that you should avoid at all costs. 1. LyingWhether it’s a little white lie about whether or not you responded to an email or a big honking falsehood you tell to cover up a mistake, just don’t do it. Your honesty is a huge part of your workplace reputation. If you’re caught in that lie (or worse, more than one), you’ve given your bosses and colleagues a reason not to believe anything you say.2. Throwing others under the busThe workplace can be a very competitive atmosphere, especially depending on your industry. When things go wrong, it can be tempting to shift the blame to one of your coworkers, so that they get the consequences from a mistake. But really, it’s jus t poor form, and trust me- you’re not pulling it off as subtly as you might think. It might get you out of the hot seat for now, but your boss (and possibly your colleagues) will know that you’re not someone who will take deserved blame along with credit.Just about every professional evaluation survey I’ve ever seen has a question about whether the employee owns up to mistakes and handles them productively. Like dishonesty, deflective blame is something that can really damage your reputation. So when things go wrong, own up to your piece in it, and figure out how you can either help fix it, or prevent it in the future.3. Tooting your own hornThink of it as sportsmanship in the workplace. Nobody likes a bad winner, who rubs their success in everyone’s faces- especially if it comes at the expense of other team members. Feel free to do a mini-victory dance in the privacy of your own desk, but don’t send out a company-wide email announcing your good fo rtune.4. Taking credit for things you didn’t doIf you weren’t the one who stayed up all night on this project, don’t be the one who steps up to accept the laurels when credit and applause come from above. If the idea you floated in the meeting wasn’t exactly your own creation, make sure the person who did come up with it gets the credit. Don’t be like one of those comedians who get busted stealing others’ jokes†¦it’ll just undermine your support when you do have an awesome idea. No one wants to be known as the Milli Vanilli of their office.5. Throwing a tantrumIf things aren’t going your way, don’t let it cause a scene at work. Sometimes you’ll feel like screaming. Sometimes you’ll feel like having it out with a colleague who’s treating you like crap. Always, always find a way to cool off before you handle an emotionally charged situation. You can’t take back things said in anger, and you really don’t want to get a reputation around your office as someone with an unstable temper.6. Talking about how much you hate your job/company/bossOccasionally muttering, â€Å"I hate this place† under your breath at your monitor = fine. Announcing it in a meeting or in front of colleagues = not okay. Letting everyone know how unhappy you are is only going to provoke one response: â€Å"Then why are you still here?† It will also tell your boss and your company that you don’t care anymore, which can work against you when it comes to raises, promotions, etc. If you’re truly unhappy at your job, there are ways to manage that stress- not least of which is looking for a new job. You can do that without announcing your discontent, and avoid any awkwardness that might result.7. Talking about colleagues behind their backsTalking smack about someone is just never gonna end well. I promise this is just as true in the adult workplace as it ever was in high school. Best case, you may be spreading information that might not be true, or might be damaging to someone else or the company. Worst case, it gets back to the subject of the gossip, and you’ve damaged your reputation and at least one working relationship.

Extinction of Species Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Extinction of Species - Research Paper Example The recent times have shown alarming increase in the extinction rates and the speed at which the endangered species are falling victim to the human activities. Considering this, need is felt for creating awareness, and taking solid steps in this regard to promote eco friendly activities and protect the wild life for activities as such that endanger them directly. This paper aims at highlighting the sources of problem, their consequences, and the solutions finally. Polar bears: The polar bears are characteristic feature and species of North Pole. With ever rising temperatures and melting ice glaciers, these polar bears are directly exposed to it and included in the list of extinct species. An inter related process which includes the emission of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere by human activities namely the transportation means and industries which are increasing the global temperature and directly affecting the North Pole temperatures. The rapid destruction of ozone layer is another means of extinction of animals and birds. Some animals like polar bear need severe cold temperatures and piles of glacier to survive. With increase in temperatures the toll falls directly on the sensitive creatures. As the population grows, the mankind expands its grip on different lands and areas which were once thick forests and house of wild life. As a result of all this, the wild life is getting compromised and their resorts are getting minimal every growing day. The population growth means more demand for land and apparently more forest cutting. The population of the earth is rising at a staggering rate and has surpassed a seven billion digit quite easily. With population rise arises a natural demand for space and human population utilization. Hence a direct threat and sword at the forests. With increase in population means increase in the demands, increase in the resources exploration and naturally disturbances of the natural stratosphere for fulfilling

RAIL TRACK DESIGN FOR LINE SPEED IMPROVEMENT Essay

RAIL TRACK DESIGN FOR LINE SPEED IMPROVEMENT - Essay Example The design issue under consideration includes route surveying, track component identification, designing the rail curve and other design aspects that help in improving rail transport. Suggestion indicated can be implemented by any train organization seeking to improve or optimize there services (Mundrey, 1993). Rail tracks are used for the guidance of trains, and consist of two steel rails laid in parallel. The rails guide the train in motion without the need for steering. The rails are laid on sleepers. The sleeper are also referred to as the cross ties. The sleepers are embedded in the ballast and form the rail road track. The rails are fastened to the sleeper by the use of spikes, lag screws, bolts clips and pandrol clips. The type of fastening sleepers depends on the type of sleepers. For the concrete sleepers clips are used, for the wooden sleepers' spikes are used and for steel sleepers, bolts are commonly used. Convectional rail design involved route surveying and finding the most economical route for the rail line. The engineer worked on ways of designing the rail so as to surpass the geographical obstacles (Engineering Policy Group (EPG). 2009). Currently rail design encompasses many design aspects. These design aspect results from the need for greater speeds and heavy loads. Due to these factors, the most important consideration for the rail design are: Route surveying. This involves planning the rail routes so that it passes through the most economical route (Hickerson, 1967). Long term traffic levels; if the projection shows that in the long run the traffic will increase. Design consideration for expansion of the rail as well as incorporating trains with high speed and heavy should be taken into consideration. Environmental concern: the design should focus on an environmental friendly rail that does not damage the environment. Politics: Government influences and funding greatly affect the quality of the rail and also its long term benefits. Land issues; when designing for increased speed, huge curves are required; the constraining factor to this is the limitation of land. Economic factors: this determines the type of rail constructed. Well funded projects can archive most of the design requirements. Design of The track bed The rails are laid on a bed of stones, ballast is commonly used. The bed is comprised of the following major layers; The subsoil: this is the natural ground in which the rail is to be laid. The sub grade: this comprises of compacted soil. The compaction and removal of clay from this layer prevents the expansion and compression preventing the sinking of the rail which damages this track. The soils used in this layer must not expand or compress due to water absorption. Compression of the soil also helps is preventing the infiltration of water and clay. Blanket: this is a layer of stone dust or sand, it is mixed with impervious plastic. The layer prevents the upward infiltration of clay and water which may destroy the rails. Ballast: This is a layer of stone. The type of stone used and the grade of the ballast determine its load bearing

Bed Wetting in School Children Essay Example for Free

Bed Wetting in School Children Essay Bedwetting (also referred to as nocturnal enuresis) is the involuntary passing of urine during sleep after the age at which bladder control usually occurs. It can be an embarrassing, frustrating and distressing problem that affects millions of children. It is more common than most parents think. Many children are dry at night by the time they reach the age of 5 but others take longer to become dry. When children still wet the bed when they are 6 or older, parents usually start to become concerned that their child may have some kind of physical or emotional problem. Some decide not to stress about it and give it time; others will seek medical advice, take their child to counselling or use alternative therapies. Once children go to Primary School and become aware that other kids of their age are dry at night they become embarrassed about it. Some children avoid going to sleepovers and school camps because of the fear of other kids discovering their problem. Teenagers are usually even more distressed by the bedwetting and many worry the problem will never go away. It often has a significant impact on their self-esteem. I decided to choose Bowen Therapy for Bedwetting as the subject for my Research Project because I have always had a passion for working with children. As a mother of two daughters and having dealt with toilet training issues I have experienced how upsetting and frustrating bedwetting can be for a child and their family. As Bowen Therapy is a wonderful holistic technique to promote physical and emotional balance, it is an ideal way to help children gain control of this problem. This research task explores the different causes and methods of treatment of nocturnal enuresis. It also outlines the anatomy of the urinary system and the nerves and muscles involved in micturition to gain a better understanding of how Bowen Therapy addresses this condition. I evaluated the effectiveness of Bowen Therapy on nocturnal enuresis in combination with dietary modifications as recommended by Mr. Bowen. The therapeutic value of omega-3 fatty acids is also mentioned (which have been proven to be effective in treating nocturnal enuresis) and the benefits of Neuro-Developmental reflex integration exercises.

computers :: essays research papers

Computers In Our Lives   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the 21st century rolling right along the technology world is becoming highly advanced every year. School in America must teach the basics of computers before computers become too advanced for students to even learn the basics. Once the basics of computers are taught in school, then students will be able to complete a large percentage of assignments over the computer. There are three basic functions that computers will do to help education. Computers will help students to receive learning material in an efficient way. Computers will allow students to accomplish more work using quick research and will allow for increased learning during the students’ education. Computers will allow students to prepare for the new way of life in which computers will be used in every profession.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  The computer has an endless supply of possible education aids. Students will be able to research any topic over the computer and the Internet. With all assignments given, all work can be done over the computers. Students can take tests over the computer, they can complete math problems and, of course, students can complete writing assignments. The more students use computers, the quicker work will be completed.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Students will be able to do all the research they need without leaving their seat. Students can learn about anything they want using the computer, which will lead to for an advanced education. The more a student researches, the more the student will learn about computers. With education switching to computers, students will learn at an efficient rate and will learn more material. Computers are used for research, writing out ideas, and then typing the paper, which makes writing papers easier for the students and more assignments can be given.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  With the new way of life quickly changing, computers are going to be needed for everything. In America computers will be the basis of every profession. Computer will be used to write up information, to check background information for police officers, and will be used to even issue fishing licenses at fishing stores. If computers are not used daily in school, then the process for the future of the student will not be completed.

Positive Psychology Essay

Positive psychology is defined as a â€Å"science of positive subjective experiences, positive traits, and positive institutions† and it focuses on such topics as â€Å"hope, wisdom, creativity †¦ courage, spirituality† (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000). Although this definition seems to be broad enough, the current research on positive psychology consists of primarily quantitative studies of cognitive and affective variables within a particular experimental paradigm. It has not paid much attention to topics of humanistic concerns; such as meaning, values, courage, and spirituality. Research is beginning to accumulate around the concept of positive psychology, or moving away from a focus on psychopathology to one of building positive qualities. The popular song â€Å"Don’t Worry, Be Happy, † expressed in a nutshell a key concept in positive psychology, to develop a sense of optimism. Optimism and other human strengths, such as courage, interpersonal skill, future mindedness, faith, hope, work ethic, perseverance, honesty, and the capacity to achieve flow and insight, can act as buffers against malaise, dysfunction, and mental illness. Human strengths such as optimism are not enough, of course. A positive psychology seems to depend also on cultivating positive experiences that are associated with happiness and subjective well-being, on the capacity to adapt and organize to successfully meet changing conditions, and to interactions that occur within positive social contexts (Seligman & Csikszentmihalyi, 2000).Positive psychology is understood as â€Å"the scientific study of ordinary human strengths and virtues† (Sheldon & King, 2001, p. 216). Resilience, a very important skill, illustrates (among other things) the importance of the ordinary. For instance, Masten (2001), in discussing resilience in children, emphasized â€Å"the power of the ordinary† (p. 235). Based on a review of resilience studies involving children, Masten observed: â€Å"Resilience does not come from rare and special qualities, but from the everyday magic of ordinary, normative human resources in the minds, brains, and bodies of children, in their families and relationships, and in their communities.† (Masten, 2001, p. 235) In another look at resilience in terms of its ordinary nature, the American Psychological Association’s Practice Directorate developed a public education campaign following the September 11, 2001, attacks. Called the Road to Resilience, the campaign set out the following principles: (a) resilience is a set of learned behaviors that are not automatic, (b) it is a personal journey that is involved with others, (c) it is an ordinary, not an extraordinary, experience, and (d) it demands that improvement be accomplished through small, persistent steps (Murray, 2003). This perspective of positive psychology that focuses on ordinary and everyday circumstances leads us to think in terms of a kind of â€Å"everyday prevention† that is within the reach of people and that counselors and other practitioners can intentionally bring to their work with clients and client systems. Everyday prevention should infuse and guide the work of all preventionists. The American population has moved beyond being passive recipients of expert-provided care to assume a much more personal responsibility for their own health and mental healthcare needs. People, including children, are viewed as active decision makers, selecting from available choices and preferences and shaping their environment, with the possibility of masterful and efficacious living. Many have begun to assume greater initiative and responsibility for the direction of education and schools; the rise in home schooling, the spread of e-educational programs, and the charter school movement are just three examples. This active involvement in health care and education will become a dominant theme for the twentyfirst century. Professionals and professional training programs are beginning to respond to this significant change in personal orientation and responsibility. For instance, training programs in integrative medicine are developing (e.g., at Duke University and University of Arizona), where the primary goal is to assist people to experience optimal vitality and wellness, integrating mind, body, and spirit as well as allopathic, alternative, and complementary medical approaches. Counseling and counseling psychology programs are beginning to address prevention more directly through coursework and training experiences. Healthcare plans are being created that are comprehensive and dynamic, geared to promoting optimal well-being. But, of course, millions of Americans are not waiting for the healthcare and education establishments to alter themselves in the direction of increased integration and variety. Instead, many are experimenting with their own choices. They research, read, surf the Internet, learn from one another, and test out various combinations of exercise, diet, herbs and vitamins, spiritual practice, social support, and alternative treatments to find what works for them. Much of this experimentation is proceeding without external expert monitoring and may be risky to health, in some degree. Conversely, countless millions are organizing for themselves what they view as healthy practices that seem to be yielding improved vitality and more satisfying lifestyles. All of this activity is a virtual wellspring of prevention, occurring at all ecological levels in our society. Our â€Å"cultural blueprint† is being rewritten at the macro level and is being put into practice by individuals and groups to say, in effect: â€Å"We are empowered.† Organizations are slower to adapt because they have traditions, regulations, policies, revenue streams, and other forces and elements that require longer to turn around-sort of like turning around the Titanic. But organizations are beginning to revise and reinvent themselves, too; witness the increasing number of programs and initiatives that take a health-promoting orientation. Where does the professional practice of prevention by counselors and other helpers fit with this paradigm shift toward a more autonomous and experiencing style of health care and education? Right now a gap exists, as prevention is still tied closely to disorder-reduction, population-based models under the control of â€Å"preventionists† who work conscientiously, and often effectively, to help avert dysfunction. Within the context of positive psychology, Seligman (1999) and others wonder about the following question: â€Å"What is the ‘good life’?† He is quick to indicate that what he means by the good life is not a â€Å"Porsche, champagne, and a suntan.† Seligman suggests that what positive psychology needs is a taxonomy for the good life, the main purpose of which would be to guide the formulation and building of the â€Å"good life.† He observes that psychological science has been able to produce an exhaustive (and exhausting) compendium to describe and diagnose human dysfunction and psychopathology (the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual (DSM-IV) and its editions), but that there is no companion product to describe and prescribe human health and positive functioning. There is a concerted effort under way to develop a taxonomy of the â€Å"good life.† The positive psychology perspective is based on a particular assumption of what is the best way to promote mental health, a way that is 180 degrees different from that which has been in effect within psychology and psychiatry (Maddux, Snyder, & Feldman, 2003). This previous way is to correct dysfunction and to prevent any of the hundreds of clinical syndromes contained in the DSM. Instead, positive psychology alters the focus from the reduction and prevention of human psychological disabilities and disturbances to the enhancement of human strengths and abilities. This focus centers on authentic happiness (Seligman, 2002) from the eudaemonic approach-that is, happiness that is centered on meaning and self-realization (Ryan & Deci, 2001), as well as the choices people make about their lives and how they construe what occurs (Maddux et al. 2003). For example, authentic happiness (Seligman, 2002) is an area within positive psychology that is being intensely studied and that is addressing issues surrounding the â€Å"good life.† Interestingly, with regard to the concept of â€Å"everyday prevention, † the work related to positive psychology-and authentic happiness-appears frequently in the popular press as well as in professional/scientific outlets; â€Å"The Happiest Guy† (McCafferty, 2003), an article on Seligman’s authentic happiness, in the USA Weekend Sunday newspaper insert, is a case in point. This work is becoming part of mainstream America, increasingly available to people on an everyday basis. Of course, authentic happiness is not the same as â€Å"A little song, a little dance, a little seltzer down your pants†, although it could be said that both glee and fun are relevant. In his book on authentic happiness (Seligman, 2002), Seligman presents a â€Å"happiness formula:† H = S + C + V. That is, an enduring level of Happiness (H) is a function of one’s biological Set (S) range, plus Circumstances (C) to which people are subjected (both generally positive in relation to enduring happiness, such as marriage and sociability, and those that are generally negatively related, such as money and race), plus Voluntary control (V), the choices one makes in life, such as a range of positive emotions like optimism, hope, faith, trust, and confidence. Although a large component of authentic, enduring happiness seems to be set by biology, it is the voluntary choices over which people can exert control that serves as the bellwether test of positive psychology. People can learn how to enhance their capacity to make positive choices on a daily basis. The VIA (Values in Action) Signature Strengths seeks to assess twenty-four â€Å"signature strengths† that are associated with authentic happiness. The VIA Questionnaire was developed by the Values-In-Action (VIA) Institute, which is directed by Peterson and Seligman, and funded by the Mayerson Foundation (http://www.authentichappiness.org/)The twenty-four signature strengths are organized within the broader categories of: Wisdom and Knowledge-five cognitive strengths involving the acquisition and use of knowledge. These strengths include creativity, curiosity, open-mindedness, love of learning, and perspective taking. Courage-four emotional strengths involving the will toward goal accomplishment even when there is internal or external opposition. These strengths include bravery, industry/perseverance, authenticity, and zest. Love-three interpersonal strengths that include supporting and caring for others. These strengths include intimacy, kindness, and social intelligence Justice-three strengths that undergird healthy communities. These strengths include citizenship/teamwork, fairness, and leadership. Temperance-four strengths that moderate and protect against excessiveness. These strengths include forgiveness/mercy, modesty/ humility, prudence, and self-control/self-regulation. Transcendence-five strengths that help to connect with the universe and provide meaning. These strengths include awe/appreciation of beauty and excellence, gratitude, hope, playfulness, and spirituality. Seligman (2002) indicates that everyone possesses many signature strengths. He suggests that individuals complete and score the VIA, examine their top strengths, and apply a set of nine criteria to each one of the top strengths. As examples, three of these nine criteria are as follows: a strength engenders a sense of ownership and authenticity, a feeling of excitement while displaying it, and a rapid learning curve as it is first practiced. If a strength is matched by one or more of these criteria, he suggests that it is a signature strength and should be used frequently and across many settings and situations. Seligman provides examples in the areas of work, love, raising children, and finding general meaning and purpose in life. In sum, he (2002) holds the following with regard to the good life: Use your signature strengths every day in the main realms of your life to bring about abundant gratification and authentic happiness. (p. 161) Long before work began in positive psychology to examine the good life, Socrates (born 470 B.C.E.) had given it some thought! Gross (2002) reviewed Socrates’ seven principles, which are often thought to be associated with the good life, and how they can be used on a daily basis. These are: Know Thyself. This one, we hear most frequently. To know thyself means to be self-aware, to review and reflect on actions, and to develop and revise plans to fit personal values within the community context. Ask Great Questions. Be inquisitive. Seek to actively learn all the time, everywhere, from everyone. Think for Yourself. Monitor what you say and what you do. Ask if these actions are reflective of you and your values and thoughts. Make up your own mind after weighing evidence. Challenge Conventional Wisdom. Resist getting caught up in the currents running around you. Don’t blindly do what everyone else does. Develop the capacity to act consistent with personal conviction. Grow with Friends. Connect with others and seek appropriately to interact at genuine and deep levels. Speak the Truth. Avoid lying, shading the truth, or faking it. Spot these behaviors around you, and those where truthful behaviors occur, and allow both to guide you. Strengthen Your Soul. Build into each day opportunities and experiences that are restful, bring joy, and are kind. Socrates provided a good start on defining the good life. Subjective Well-Being (SWB) is a condition that reflects a â€Å"preponderance of positive thoughts and feelings about one’s life† (Myers & Diener, 1995, p. 11). It is defined by three distinct factors that are also correlated: (a) relative presence of positive affect, (b) absence of negative affect, and (c) life satisfaction. Associating happiness with SWB, Myers and Diener have pondered the question:Who is happy? They and others (e.g., Little, 2000; Willi, 1999) have found that happy and effective people (i.e., those with high SWB) tend to: Possess particular inner fixed or natural traits: self-esteem and acceptance, personal control/autonomy, optimism, and extraversion Exhibit free, or adaptive, traits that are culturally scripted patterns enacted within one’s goals and projects, and are independent of fixed traits Have warm, positive, trusting, and satisfying interpersonal relationships Find â€Å"flow† in work and in leisure (Csikszentmihalyi, 1990), where engagement in mindful challenge, with adequate support, is realizable Possess a religious or spiritual faith Adapt positively to change and show environmental mastery Find or create personal niches that enrich their lives Live within a cultural worldview that is generally positive Have a purpose and find meaning in life Have personal goals that guide personal growth Thus, happiness can be thought of as a side effect of other main effects and their interaction. Happiness can also be viewed as the dessert and not the main course. Positive Youth Development (PYD) is an approach to prevention that emphasizes the development of youth in context rather than attempting to prevent separate problems faced by youths (Pittman & Fleming, 1991). Many youth outcomes are affected by the same protective and risk factors, making interventions that address several personal-social and setting domains important. A set of PYD constructs has been developed in an effort to operationally define positive youth development. These constructs are relevant to our discussion of everyday prevention. Positive Youth Development programs and strategies seek generally to achieve one or more of the following objectives (Catalano, Berglund, Ryan, Lonczak, & Hawkins, 2002): Promote bonding: developing a child’s relationship with a healthy adult, positive peers, school, community, or culture Foster resilience: developing adaptive coping strategies to stress and change, and enhancing flexibility and overall capacity Promote social competence: developing appropriate interpersonal skills in such areas as communication and conflict resolution Promote emotional competence: developing skills in identifying and managing feelings and emotional reactions, such as in empathy and frustration tolerance Promote cognitive competence: developing ability to use logic, analytic thinking, abstract reasoning, problem solving, goal setting, and related skills Promote behavioral competence: developing skills in nonverbal and verbal communication and in taking prosocial action Promote moral competence: developing empathy, a sense of right and wrong, what is moral and just, and a respect for rules and standards Foster self-determination: developing the ability to think for oneself, to take action that matches the thought, to be autonomous, and to be able to chart one’s own course Foster spirituality: developing a belief in a higher power, a belief system, or a sense of spiritual identity/meaning/practice Foster self-efficacy: developing a sense that one can accomplish goals through one’s own action, involving personal goal setting, mastery skills, and ways to reverse self-defeating thoughts Foster clear and positive identity: developing a coherent sense of self, including positive identification with a supportive social or cultural subgroup Foster belief in the future: developing a belief about the future that is based on optimism about possibilities Provide recognition for positive behavior: developing ways to reward positive behaviors Provide opportunities for pro-social involvement: developing strategies for becoming actively involved in pro-social activities, making a contribution, and experiencing healthy interactions with others Foster pro-social norms: developing understanding of accurate normative behavior (e.g., the number of contemporaries who actually use drugs), mentoring to assist others (and oneself) with forward movement, creating clear expectations for minimizing health risks, and enhancing social support (pp. 15-22) These 15 PYD objectives provide a robust direction not only for professionals to pursue but also for everyday prevention efforts. Relatedly, Lopez and McKnight (2002) discussed what they termed â€Å"light-handed interventions† in PYD. Light-handed interventions are everyday occurrences that can make a difference in peoples’ lives (also known as experiences that enhance competency). These authors proposed that an efficient approach to PYD might be facilitated by what they termed â€Å"everyday luxuries† in which all youth do not have opportunities to indulge, such as attending a sporting event or a musical, relaxing, playing, and writing about life events.

Effects of discriminatory practice in Health and social care Essay

The above case study is highlighting discrimination. This is the unequal treatment between individuals and it is a negative action towards members of a certain group. The bases of discrimination include: culture, disability, age, social class, gender, sexual orientation, health status, family status and cognitive ability. The discriminatory practise used in the case of Jeta is predjudice. This is judging someone and making an assumption without having any solid evidence to support the judgement, on the basis of their appearance or what group they belong to. Jeta is experiencing this as her teacher is making a false assumption about her thinking that she is lazy and naughty as her standard of performance in school assesments is decreasing. There are many contributing factors that can lead to the predjudice that Jeta is experiencing. One of these factors is social background. Jeta comes from a â€Å"rough† background, lives alone with her mother who is a single parent and her father is in prison. Another factor leading to predjudice could be socialization. This is when the media create demeaning stereotypes about specific groups of people. The media assumes that if someone is in prison, they are associated with bad behaviour and are automatically given a negative impression on. As Jeta is related to someone in prison, the teacher is assuming that she’s equally as bad and discriminates against her. The teacher is almost â€Å"blaming† the father situation on the poor school work produced by Jeta. Another discriminatory practise that Jeta is experiencing is stereotyping. Stereotyping is a widely held but fixed oversimplified image or idea of a certain type of person. Stereotyping can have a demetrial effect on the individual involved.They involve generalizations about the most common characteristics of members of the group. There are many factors which could suggest why Jeta is being stereotyped. The first is social categorization. This is classifying people into groups based on common attributes that individuals share. In relation to Jeta she is being stereotyped as â€Å"lazy† because the standard of her school assesments are dropping. She is also being stereotyped as â€Å"naughty† and this could be due to the social aspect that her fathers in prision meaning she is being percieved as this naughty child. Another base for discrimination is age. Age discrimination occurs when someone is treated unfairly due to their age without any given justification or reasoning. The fact that the child concerned in this study is of quite a young age of 9 years old means she is more vunerable to age discrimination and this usually occurs because the child is seen to have less social power. Jeta is experiencing age discrimination because she is seen to have less of an authoritive figure compared to her teacher. Children in todays society are more likely to face discrimination due to their dependance on adults and the decisions that are made for them. Children experience discrimination on other grounds including race, gender, social class, health status, disablities and many more. Jeta is being stereotyped as this â€Å"lazy† persona and due to her age, the teacher isn’t listening to her despite being told numerous times by Jeta that she cannot see the board from the back of the classroom. Jeta’s age could be an indicator as to why she is being stereotyped as she is insignificant compared to the teacher and has little or no power so her opinions and views are simply ignored. Another discriminatory practise that Jeta is facing is inequality. This is where people are not treated the same because some individuals have more power, authority, money etc. Jeta is experiencing this as she is not being granted the same opportunities to education and rights to learn as everyone else in her class. Due to this inequality she could be left in a vunerable position as she could be at a risk of falling behind in class and doing even worse in assessments than before. The main base for discrimination is this case study is Jeta’s diability. She has po or sight and this explains her low standard of work in lessons. She is being discriminated for having this disability and this could result in her feeling vunerable and cause low self esteem. She is being segregated from the rest of the class being sent to the back of the classroom and this could knock her confidence. This is also making the situation worse as Jeta will not be able to focus on the tasks set in class as she cannot see what is is being taught. Instead of providing Jeta with the correct additional learning support she requires, the teacher has placed her right at the back of the class, segregated from her other classmates. The Disability Discrimination Act (DDA) makes it unlawful to discriminate against someone who has a disability. This act is covered by most sectors including the education sector which means it should be covered in all schools and organisations. The DDA covers eyesight problems so Jeta’s needs should be met. Initially, Jeta’s teacher is being unlawful as she isn’t adjusting to the DDA standards to suit Jeta’s needs. If no changes are made, Jeta’s eyesight could deteriate and worsen. Jeta currently has no glasses or any form of equipment to help imporve her eyesight so being at the back is not helping the situation in regard to Jeta.

SAT Writing Prep The Best Methods and Strategies

SAT Writing Prep The Best Methods and Strategies SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips I’ve spent the past decade teaching SAT prep classes and helping hundreds of students prepare for the SAT Writing section. After taking my class, many of my former students were able to improve their SAT Writing scores by more than 200 points. My experience has taught me that having a disciplined, focused approach to your SAT prep will allow you to maximize your score. In this article, I have given you the best advice I have for preparing for SAT Writing. Using these methods will enable you to use your study time wisely and master the skills you need to be an SAT Writing superstar. I tried to arrange these tips by how important they are to acing SAT Writing. However, these are all crucial tips for SAT Writing success, and you need to follow them all if you want to fully prepare yourself. #1: Learn the Grammar Rules that the SAT Tests SAT Writing is primarily a grammar test. Knowing the grammar rules that appear on the SAT isthe most important way to prepare for SAT Writing. On the PrepScholar blog, we have written articles covering all of the grammar rules and errors that repeatedly appear on the SAT Writing section. Here they are: Subject-Verb Agreement Verb Tense and Forms Pronoun Agreement Pronoun Case Wordiness and Redundancy Idioms Run-On Sentences/Sentence Fragments Parallelism Faulty Modifiers Adjective and Adverb Errors Illogical Comparisons Relative Pronouns Word Choice/Diction You should focus your studying on the rules that are more commonly tested. We have written a post on the distribution of appearance of the grammar rules on SAT Writing (coming soon). For those of you striving for a highscore, you need to have a firm grasp on all of these grammar rules. And learn them. And understand them. #2: Do Tons of Practice Problems and Understand Your Mistakes If you want to do the best you can on SAT Writing, you have to put in the time. Doing tons and tons of practice problems will make you more confident with the material. You'll be able to recognize grammar errors more quickly and avoid falling into common SAT Writing traps. Frankly, there's a lot of SAT prep material out there that isn't good and will be of minimal help to you. The practice questions you're doing should be representative of the questions you'll find on your SAT. We've identified the quality material so you won't waste your time. To spend your time wisely, you want to do practice problems that are likely to resemble those you will encounter on the SAT. Practice with official SAT tests and make sure you're using the best books to prep for SAT Writing. Check out these articles on where to find the best SAT Writing practice tests and the best SAT prep websites you should be using. Additionally, PrepScholar has over 1500 practice problems customized to each skill. However, simply doing practice problems is not enough. Why You Need to Understand Your Mistakes While doing a bunch of practice problems will help you prepare for SAT Writing, if you keep repeating the same mistakes, your score is not going to improve. You need to understand why you're getting certain questions wrong so that you can reduce your weaknesses and raise your score. One of the most common mistakes students make in their SAT preparation is that they don't take the necessary time to comprehend their mistakes and figure out how to correct them in the future. Understanding your mistakes can be more difficult than just doing practice problems, but it's essential if you want to keep improving your SAT Writing score. How to Understand Your Mistakes Fully understanding your mistakes takes diligence and organization. Here is the process that I recommend to grasp why you made each mistake and how to improve for the future; this process is somewhat rigorous, but it's also the best way to prepare for SAT Writing: On every practice test or question set that you take, mark every question that you're even 20% unsure about. When you grade your test or quiz, review every question you marked or answered incorrectly. This way you'll be reviewing all your missed questions and the questions on which you were able to guess correctly. On your computer or in a notebook, write down the gist of the question, why you missed it, and what you'll do to avoid that mistake in the future. Create different sections for each grammar skill and put the question in the appropriate section. Try to determine why you got questions wrong on your own. However, if you're having trouble figuring out your mistakes, the College Board website has an official test with explanations. Also, Khan Academy has helpful explanation videos for some of the questions on this test. Take notes on what you specifically missed and how to improve in the future. Be as specific and as thorough as possible. For example, don't just write that you missed a subject-verb agreement question and need to do more subject-verb agreement questions. Write down how the subject-verb agreement error was presented. Was the subject placed after the verb? Did you get confused by an interrupting phrase? What resources will you use to fully learn this rule and address your weakness? Don't just take notes on your content issues. Also, write down any information about your careless mistakes and what steps you'll take to prevent making them again. Do you need to read the question more carefully? Do you need to look at the answer choices more closely? You want to really dig into why you're missing questions and focus on specific ways to improve. #3: Identify Your Weaknesses and Drill Them If you do a thorough job of categorizing your missed questions and taking notes, you should be able to identify your weaknesses. When you notice patterns to the questions you miss, find extra time to practice the areas where you're struggling. Maybe there's a specific grammar rule like illogical comparisons or parallelism that is causing you problems. Do extra content review and practice problems related to those rules. The best SAT prep books and websites will have real or realistic SAT practice problems for each specific skill that is tested on SAT Writing. (We obviously believePrepScholar qualifies, and it'sdesigned to customize your SAT prep to focus on your weaknesses.) Furthermore, you should keep going over all of the questions you missed and marked. By focusing your studying on the areas where you're having the most difficulties, you'll be using your time most efficiently. Spending the majority of your time practicing stuff you already know is not an effective use of your time. Strengthen your weaknesses! The following tip relates to the approach you should use to answer SAT Writing questions. #4: Practice Relying on Grammar Rules to Answer Questions Don't rely on what sounds right to answer SAT Writing questions, except on idiom questions. Many of the SAT Writing sentences are lengthy or use uncommon phrases. The sentences might sound odd to your ear, but that doesn't necessarily mean they're wrong. Similarly, some of the sentences contain grammar errors that are so common that these sentences are likely to sound fine to you. As such, it's vital that you practice approaching the test from a logical standpoint. Every time you answer a question, you should be able to justify your choice with a specific grammar rule. Here's an example of how you would rely on grammar rules to answer SAT Writing questions. The explanation I give to the question is similar to the thought process you should use when answering SAT Writing questions. Now, take a look at this question from a real SAT: Frequently on tour, a band called the Chieftainsrevered internationally as spirited performers oftraditional Irish music. (A) revered internationally as spirited performers (B) revered internationally and they are spirited performers (C) is revered internationally for its spirited performances (D) is revered internationally as giving spirited performances (E) are revered internationally as being spirited performers Explanation: When I first read the sentence, I immediately noticed that it does not express a complete thought. It’s a sentence fragment. The word â€Å"revered† is used as a participle and not a verb. I assumed that the correct answer would add a verb to fix the sentence fragment. Immediately, I eliminated answer choices A and B because they don’t fix the sentence fragment. Then, I had to determine whether to use the singular verb â€Å"is† or the plural verb â€Å"are†. Because the subject is â€Å"band†, which is singular, the verb should be in the singular form. I eliminated E because that would be a subject-verb agreement error. Answer choice D is incorrect because â€Å"as† is the wrong word. This is an idiom error, the only type of error in which you may have to rely on your ear for what sounds right. The correct answer is C. The sentence fragment has been corrected, the subject and verb agree, and â€Å"for† is the correct preposition to use in this sentence. When you're doing practice questions, be able to explain and justify your answer choices with your knowledge of SAT grammar. #5: Determine If You Have Time Management Issues. If So, Address Them How To Determine if You Have Time Management Issues Find an official SAT practice test, and take only the Writing sections. For each section, use a timer and treat it like a real test. If time runs out for that section and you're 100% ready to move on, then move on. If you're not ready to move on, keep on working for as long as you need. For every new answer or answer that you change, mark it with a special note as "Extra Time." When you're ready, move on to the next section, and repeat the above until you finish all Writing sections. Grade your test using the answer key and score chart, but we want two scores: 1) The Realistic score you got under normal timing conditions and 2) The Extra Time score. If the difference is more than 4 raw points, then you need to address your time management issues. How To Improve Time Management Issues Generally, time management improves as you become more familiar and confident with the content. If time management is a lingering issue for you, monitor your time spent per question. You should have a target time of 45 seconds foreach improving sentences question and 30 seconds for each identify the error question. No question should take longer than 1 minute. When you're doing your practice questions, keep track of how long you're spending on each individual question. Focus on finishing each question in the target time. For my final tip, I want to remind you about the shortest subsection on SAT Writing. #6: Don't Forget Paragraph Improvement Because there are only 6 paragraph improvement questions on each SAT, you should spend the majority of your time preparing for the sentence improvement and identify the error subsections. However, make sure you practice paragraph iprovement questions as well. Some paragraph improvement questions are similar to improving sentences questions, but others are unique to this subsection. Here are the major types of questions you will find on paragraph improvement: Macro Logic: how paragraphs relate to each other and to the main idea Transitional Logic: how sentences and ideas connect to each other Redundant Sentences: whether sentences or ideas are extraneous and can be deleted Conciseness and Style: how to choose words to express ideas succinctly and clearly When you practice paragraph improvement questions, you should use the same approach as for the other two subsections. Categorize your mistakes, take notes on why you made mistakes and how to improve, identify your weaknesses, and then spend extra time improving those weaknesses. Review this article on how to approach paragraph improvement. If you make a commitment to following the six tips I just gave you, I guarantee you'll be giving yourself the best chance to succeed on SAT Writing. Whenever your motivation starts to wane, think about your goals and why you want to do well on the SAT Writing section. What's Next? Review the article on how to get an 800 on SAT Writing. It offers more depthsome of the methods I presented in this post. Also, you'll want to check out the articles on my top study strategies and test-day tips for SAT Writing success (coming soon). Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points? Check out our best-in-class online SAT prep program. We guarantee your money back if you don't improve your SAT score by 160 points or more. Our program is entirely online, and it customizes what you study to your strengths and weaknesses. If you liked this Writing and grammar lesson, you'll love our program.Along with more detailed lessons, you'll get thousands ofpractice problems organized by individual skills so you learn most effectively. We'll also give you a step-by-step program to follow so you'll never be confused about what to study next. Check out our 5-day free trial:

Best Character Analysis Jordan Baker - The Great Gatsby

Best Character Analysis Jordan Baker - The Great Gatsby SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips You know that friend of yours who loves to gossip yet always downplays any drama they get into themselves? Jordan Baker in The Great Gatsby is like that friend. A close friend of Daisy Buchanan’s, Jordandates Nick Carraway during the novel and plays a crucial role in reuniting Daisy with the titular Jay Gatsby. A couple of years younger than Daisy, Jordan is single and a professional golfer, which sets her apart from her married friend. In fact, Jordan is Daisy’s opposite in many ways, as we will explore in this guide! Read in for a complete guide to Jordan’s appearance, plot points, major quotes, and character analysis! Article Roadmap To help you easily find the information you're looking for, here's how this article is organized and the information it covers. Jordan Baker as a character Physical description Jordan'sbackground Actions in the novel Character Analysis Quotes about and byJordan Common discussion topics and essay ideas FAQ answering often-asked questionsaboutJordan Bonus: Want to improve your SAT/ACT section scores? Check out our top guides for every single section of the SAT and ACT. SAT 800 Score Guides: SAT Reading | SAT Writing | SAT Math | SAT Essay ACT 36 Score Guides: ACT English | ACT Math | ACT Reading | ACT Science | ACT Essay These are the very best guides available on boosting your SAT/ACT scores, section by section. They're written by Harvard grads and perfect SAT/ACT scorers. Don't disappoint yourself - read these guides and improve your score today. Quick Note on Our Citations Our citation format in this guide is (chapter.paragraph). We're using this system since there are many editions of Gatsby, so using page numbers would only work for students with our copy of the book. To find a quotation we cite via chapter and paragraph in your book, you can either eyeball it (Paragraph 1-50: beginning of chapter; 50-100: middle of chapter; 100-on: end of chapter), or use the search function if you're using an online or eReader version of the text. Physical Description of Jordan The younger of the two was a stranger to me. She was extended full length at her end of the divan, completely motionless and with her chin raised a little as if she were balancing something on it which was quite likely to fall. If she saw me out of the corner of her eyes she gave no hint of it- indeed, I was almost surprised into murmuring an apology for having disturbed her by coming in. (1.28) I enjoyed looking at her. She was a slender, small-breasted girl, with an erect carriage which she accentuated by throwing her body backward at the shoulders like a young cadet. Her grey sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a wan, charming discontented face. It occurred to me now that I had seen her, or a picture of her, somewhere before. (1.57) Tom and Miss Baker sat at either end of the long couch and she read aloud to him from the "Saturday Evening Post"- the words, murmurous and uninflected, running together in a soothing tune. The lamp-light, bright on his boots and dull on the autumn-leaf yellow of her hair, glinted along the paper as she turned a page with a flutter of slender muscles in her arms. (1.121) The first thing Nick notices about Jordan is her placement and posture. Only after that does he notice her appearance, which he finds attractive. Nick tells us a lot about Jordan’s appearance, in fact more than he does about Daisy’s – with Daisy he often focuses on immaterial qualities like her voice. But we clearly see Jordan’s gray eyes, her wan, charming face, the autumn-leaf yellow of her hair, her small breasts, the slender muscles in her arms. Clearly Nick spends a lot of time looking at Jordan! It’s also worth noting Jordan and Daisy have contrasting appearances. Jordan is blond andvery athletic, physical, tan, and angular, while Daisy is dark-haired and pale with a musical voice and more delicate figure. Interestingly enough most film adaptations feature a dark-haired Jordan and a blonde Daisy! Jordan's Background Jordan Baker, who is two years younger than Daisy, grew up with the other womanin Louisville. Daisy refers to this as their shared â€Å"white girlhoods† (1.100). Jordan witnesses both Daisy’s initial relationship with Gatsby and how she almost didn’t marry Tom after getting a letter from Gatsby but pulled herself together in time for the wedding. Jordan doesn’t have any major surviving relatives other than an old aunt who controls her money, so it’s implied she’s the heiress to a significant amount of money but, during the novel at least, she doesn’t have full access to it. Instead of marrying, Jordan plays golf professionally and dates around, to the point Tom comments that her family â€Å"shouldn’t let her run around the country in this way† (1.134). To see how Jordan's biography lines up with the lives of theother characters, check out our timeline. A Summary of Jordan's Actions in the Novel In Chapter 1, Jordan meets Nick through Tom and Daisy, who she is staying with. She tells Nick that Tom has â€Å"some woman in New York† and shushes him so she can listen to Tom and Daisy’s argument, revealing herself as a gossip (1.100). In Chapter 3, she runs into Nick again at Gatsby’s party. She is also called to speak with Gatsby, and he tells her about his past with Daisy and how he hopes to meet her again through Nick, Daisy’s cousin. In Chapter 4, Jordan tells Nick about Daisy and Gatsby’s history and gets him to help arrange their meeting, igniting Daisy and Gatsby’s affair. In Chapter 7, Jordan is invited to the lunch party along with Nick, Tom, Gatsby, and Daisy, when Gatsby hopes to have Daisy to confront Tom. The group ends up going to New York City. Jordan rides up with Tom and Nick in Gatsby’s yellow car. They stop at the Wilson’s garage, and Myrtle sees the trio and takes Jordan to be Tom’s wife. Later that night, Jordan drives back with Nick and Tom, but this time in Tom’s blue coupe. They come across the scene of Myrtle’s death: she has been run over by the yellow car. Despite witnessing this awful scene, she seems surprised Nick doesn’t want to come into the Buchanans’ afterward for tea. The next day, she calls Nick at work, telling him she’s moved out of the Buchanans’ house and wants to see him, but they end up arguing over the phone and breaking up. Finally, in Chapter 9, Nick seeks her out to more formally break things off, and she tells him she’s engaged. Nick doesn't appear to have liked it enough to put a ring on it. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or more? We've put our best advice into a single guide. These are the 5 strategies you MUST be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download this free SAT guide now: Key Jordan Baker Quotes â€Å"And I like large parties. They're so intimate. At small parties there isn't any privacy." (3.29) This is an early example of Jordan’s unexpectedly clever observations – throughout the novel she reveals a quick wit and keen eye for detail in social situations. This comment also sets the stage for the novel’s chief affair between Daisy and Gatsby, and how at the small party in Chapter 7 their secrets come out to disastrous effect. Compare Jordan’s comment to Daisy's general attitude of being too sucked into her own life to notice what’s going on around her. "You're a rotten driver," I protested. "Either you ought to be more careful or you oughtn't to drive at all." "I am careful." "No, you're not." "Well, other people are," she said lightly. "What's that got to do with it?" "They'll keep out of my way," she insisted. "It takes two to make an accident." "Suppose you met somebody just as careless as yourself." "I hope I never will," she answered. "I hate careless people. That's why I like you." (3.162-169) Here we get a sense of what draws Jordan and Nick together – he’s attracted to her carefree, entitled attitude while she sees his cautiousness as a plus. After all, if it really does take two to make an accident, as long as she’s with a careful person, Jordan can do whatever she wants! We also see Jordan as someone who carefully calculates risks – both in driving and in relationships. This is why she brings up her car accident analogy again at the end of the book when she and Nick break up – Nick was, in fact, a â€Å"bad driver† as well, and she was surprised that she read him wrong. â€Å"It’s a great advantage not to drink among hard-drinking people.† (4.144) Another example of Jordan’s observant wit, this quote (about Daisy) is Jordan’s way of suggesting that perhaps Daisy’s reputation is not so squeaky-clean as everyone else believes. After all, if Daisy were the only sober one in a crowd of partiers, it would be easy for her to hide less-than-flattering aspects about herself. Suddenly I wasn't thinking of Daisy and Gatsby any more but of this clean, hard, limited person who dealt in universal skepticism and who leaned back jauntily just within the circle of my arm. (4.164) In this moment, Nick reveals what he finds attractive about Jordan – not just her appearance (though again, he describes her as pleasingly â€Å"jaunty† and â€Å"hard† here), but her attitude. She’s skeptical without being fully cynical, and remains upbeat and witty despite her slightly pessimistic outlook. At this point in the story, Midwestern Nick probably still finds this exciting and attractive, though of course by the end he realizes that her attitude makes it hard for her to truly empathize with others, like Myrtle. "Life starts all over again when it gets crisp in the fall." (7.75) In contrast to Daisy (who says just before this, rather despairingly, â€Å"What will we do today, and then tomorrow, and for the next thirty years?† (7.74)), Jordan is open to and excited about the possibilities still available to her in her life. As we’ll discuss later, perhaps since she’s still unmarried her life still has a freedom Daisy’s does not, as well as the possibility to start over. While she’s not exactly a starry-eyed optimist, Jordan does show resilience and an ability to start things over and move on. This allows her to escape the tragedy at the end relatively unscathed. It also fits how Jordan doesn’t seem to let herself get too attached to people or places, which is why she’s surprised by how much she felt for Nick. "You threw me over on the telephone. I don't give a damn about you now but it was a new experience for me and I felt a little dizzy for a while." (9.130) Jordan doesn’t frequently showcase her emotions or show much vulnerability, so this moment is striking because we see that she did really care for Nick to at least some extent. Notice that she couches her confession with a pretty sassy remark (â€Å"I don’t give a damn about you now†) which feels hollow when you realize that being â€Å"thrown over† by Nick made her feel dizzy – sad, surprised, shaken – for a while. Common Essay Topics/Areas of Discussion About Jordan Jordan, like Tom, is usually roped into essay topics to be compared with Daisy (the way Tom is often contrasted with Gatsby or sometimes George), or to make a larger argument about the role of women more generally. Since Jordan isn’t as major of a character as Daisy, Gatsby, or even Tom, it’s rare to get a standalone essay just about Jordan. To read some excellentdetailed analysis of how to compare Jordan to Myrtle or Daisy, check out our article on comparing and contrasting the novel's characters. Make sure to move beyond the obvious when writing about Jordan – yes, she has a job while Daisy and Myrtle are both married, but what else makes her stand out? Pay special attention to how Jordan is described versus Daisy, Jordan’s dialogue, and Jordan’s focus – it’s clear that Jordan is often focused outward, observing other characters and their interactions, while Daisy tends to be turned inward, with her own emotions. Discuss how Jordan and Daisy illustrate changing women’s roles in the 1920s. Despite the progress in women’s rights made in the early twentieth century, including the right to vote (won in 1919), most women, especially wealthy women, were expected to marry, have children, and stay at home. Daisy sticks to this prescribed societal role by marrying and having a child. But Jordan plays golf professionally, â€Å"runs around the country† and doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to marry (1.134). In short, on the surface, it appears that Daisy is a traditionalist while Jordan is expanding the possibilities of a woman’s life. However, Daisy and Jordan aren’t exactly a straightforward housewife and career woman duo. First of all, Daisy is quite removed from her role as a mother, since her daughter Pammy is mostly raised by a maid. She also seriously contemplates leaving Tom during the novel. Meanwhile, Jordan tells Nick at the end of the novel she’s engaged. Whether or not this is true, it suggests that Jordan will certainly get married one day, and that her current golf career is just a temporary diversion, not a permanent independent lifestyle. Indeed, both Daisy and Jordan are also both at the mercy of their families: Daisy derives all of her wealth and power from Tom, while Jordan is beholden to her old aunt for money. They don’t actually have much control over their own wealth and would lose everything if they went too far out of line. So while Daisy and Jordan both typify a very showy lifestyle that looks liberated – being â€Å"flappers,† having sex, drinking in public (which before the 1920s was seen as a highly indecent thing for a woman to do), playing golf professionally in Jordan’s case – they in fact are still thoroughly constrained by the limited options women had in the 1920s in terms of making their own lives. Jordan briefly narrates in Chapter 4. How is Jordan’s narration different fromNick’s? Why rely on her narration at all? What would the novel be like from her point of view? Jordan’s narration is definitely distinct from Nick’s. Her diction is a bit sharper and she has more blatantly judgmental asides, calling Daisy â€Å"drunk as a monkey† (4.136). She also uses more vivid imagery: the red, white, and blue banners on the houses flapping â€Å"tut-tut-tut-tut† in a â€Å"disapproving way† (4.129), Gatsby’s letter to Daisy coming apart â€Å"like snow† in the bath (4.141), etc. Her choice of words is a pretty good insight into her character and how sharply observant she is! So why is there a section narrated by Jordan at all? Perhaps Nick leans on Jordan because he feels unqualified to talk about Daisy’s past. After all, aside from their conversation in Chapter 1, Nick doesn’t have close conversations with Daisy. But since Nick gets to know Gatsby through several close conversations, he feels comfortable telling about Gatsby’s past. You also get the sense he’s washing hishands of whatever Jordan reveals about Daisy. He doesn’t fully trust in the details or really care about Daisy’s story,using it only asa means ofunderstanding Gatsby. It’s also notable that Nick uses Michealis’s point of view to talk about the aftermath of Myrtle’s death, which in a similar manner suggests he feels less connected to the Wilsons than he does to Gatsby. The novel from Jordan’s point of view would likely be much less sentimental when it comes to Gatsby. Nick obviously idealizes him by the end while Jordan doesn’t seem to see him as anything more than a source of fun and intrigue. We would also likely get a much better sense of Daisy’s motivations and thought process throughout the novel, something we barely get access to with Nick’s narration. Daisy's motto: if you don't have anything nice to say, come and sit by me. Extra Advice: Want to get into the best college you can? Read our famous guide on how to get into Harvard, the Ivy League, and your top choice college. In this guide, you'll learn: What colleges are looking for in your application How to impress your top choice colleges Why you're probably wasting your time on activities that don't matter Even if you're not actually interested in Ivy League schools, you'll still learn something fundamental about how to apply to college. Read our top college admissions guide today. Jordan Baker FAQ These are questions that many students have about Jordan after reading Gatsby for the first time. These are points that don’t come up as often in essay topics or study guides, so give them a look if you’re still wondering about Jordan’s feelings and motivations! #1: Does Jordan Actually Like Nick? Daisy professes her feelings to not one but two men in Chapter 7, and Myrtle makes her attraction to Tom Buchanan clear. Jordan, in contrast, is not one to make her feelings so plainly known, so it’s not surprising that many students wonder if she even likes Nick at all. Like Gatsby, Jordan seems drawn to Nick because he presents himself as a stable, honest, and grounded personality in the midst of many larger-than-life, overbearing types.She even says that she’s drawn to him because he’s cautious. There's also a part in the book where Nick says that Jordan tends to prefer being with people she can dominate or pull one over on, and Nick does seem to rely on her for emotional strength at some points (for example in the car when he's thinking about turning 30). Nick and Jordan break up right at the moment when she can't control his actions - can't make him go into the house, can't make him apologize for ignoring her.) By the end of the book, Jordan does admit that she was rather thrown by the break-up, suggesting she came to have somewhat deeper feelings for him. In fact, their break-up scene is worth looking at in full to really answer this question: "Nevertheless you did throw me over," said Jordan suddenly. "You threw me over on the telephone. I don't give a damn about you now but it was a new experience for me and I felt a little dizzy for a while." We shook hands. "Oh, and do you remember- " she added, "- - a conversation we had once about driving a car?" "Why- not exactly." "You said a bad driver was only safe until she met another bad driver? Well, I met another bad driver, didn't I? I mean it was careless of me to make such a wrong guess. I thought you were rather an honest, straightforward person. I thought it was your secret pride." "I'm thirty," I said. "I'm five years too old to lie to myself and call it honor." She didn't answer. Angry, and half in love with her, and tremendously sorry, I turned away. (9.130-136) â€Å"Feeling dizzy for a while† is the closest we’ve seen the proudly unflappable Jordan come to admitting an actual, personal, emotional response to a situation. She also criticizes Nick for mischaracterizing himself as honest and straightforward when he dispatched her pretty coldly over the phone. In short, we can tell she has definitely been thinking their short relationship over and was shocked and hurt by how abruptly things ended. #2: Why Does Jordan Help Gatsby Reunite With Daisy? In Chapter 3, Jordan attends one of Gatsby’s parties and is called upstairs to speak with him. We can infer that Gatsby has heard she is staying with Daisy Buchanan, and calls her up so he can find out more about Daisy. In that conversation, Gatsby confesses to Jordan that he’s in love with Daisy and wants to try and see her again. Gatsby’s motivations are clear. But why does Jordan help? Well, for one thing, Jordan’s nosy, and likes to be in the middle of things. She tells Nick about Tom’s affair in Chapter 1 and also tells him all about Daisy’s past in Chapter 4, and seems to love being a source of information and gossip. Arranging a Daisy/Gatsby reunion certainly puts her close to some drama! However, you could also argue that, as someone with knowledge of Gatsby and Daisy’s original relationship, Jordan knows how devastated Daisy was when she got a letter from Gatsby, feels compelled to help the pair reunite. Finally, Jordan might also see it as an opportunity to expose Daisy as much less virtuous as she comes off. Jordan is consistently the only character who recognizes Daisy as less-than-perfect, as evidenced in her remarks about Daisy in Chapter 4 (â€Å"Daisy was popular in Chicago, as you know. They moved with a fast crowd, all of them young and rich and wild, but she came out with an absolutely spotlessreputation. Perhaps because she doesn't drink. It's a great advantage not to drink among hard-drinking people. You can hold your tongue and, moreover, you can time any little irregularity of your own so that everybody else is so blind that they don't see or care.† (4.144)). Nudging Daisy into an affair with Gatsby could be Jordan’s way of working to expose Daisy to the scrutiny that everyone else in their circles seems to face for similar behavior. #3: What’s Jordan’s Purpose in the Story? Is She a Necessary Character? Jordan, similar to Nick, is adjacent to much of the main action and not directly involved, so many students wonder what exactly she’s doing in the book. Especially since Nick does have a crucial role as narrator, Jordan can seem a bit superfluous at times. So why include her? Well, for one thing, she does have an important role to play in the story. Purely from a plot perspective, she helps connect Nick to Gatsby in Chapter 3, and she also helps connect Gatsby and Daisy. She helps sets the wheels of the affair in motion, and, of course, the affair drives the main action of the novel. Without Jordan, Gatsby would have relied entirely on Nick to reach Daisy, which would have taken some of the suspense out of Gatsby’s motivations (even though Jordan learns Gatsby’s secret in Chapter 3, we don’t learn it until Chapter 4). But Jordan is also important in how she allows us to understand other characters. She helps us understand Daisy by being such a contrast to her, and of course offers some crucial insights about Daisy herself during her brief stint as the narrator in Chapter 4. Furthermore, Jordan also gives us some insights about Nick since we can see his reactions to her and their relationship. In fact, Jordan’s relationship with Nick is one of our main inroads into understanding Nick’s personal life and feelings. So while Jordan is not directly involved in the main drama, she is a crucial lynchpin both for the plot and our understanding of the other major characters. #4: Why Doesn’t Jordan Go to Gatsby’s Funeral? Nick attends Gatsby’s funeral along with Gatsby’s father and Owl Eyes. Tom and Daisy have skipped town due to Daisy’s role in Myrtle’s death, Meyer Wolfshiem also wants to keep his distance since he is painted as cautious and disloyal, and Myrtle and George are dead. So out of the book’s major characters, Jordan is the only one unaccounted for at Gatsby’s funeral. Some readers wonder why she doesn’t show up, given her relationship with Nick and the fact that she at least knew Gatsby, and even helped him reunite with Daisy. First of all, Nick doesn’t try to invite Jordan to the funeral (that we know of), especially since it seems their conversation late in Chapter 9 is the first they have spoken since Nick â€Å"threw her over† on the telephone the morning after Myrtle’s death. Perhaps Jordan hears about Gatsby’s death but avoids his funeral because she assumes Nick will be there. If Nick invited her would she have considered attending? Likely not. Jordan, like the other characters, is very conscious about appearances and, furthermore, she is a character who likes being involved in gossip and intrigue but manages to mostly remain out of serious trouble or scandal herself. So even were she invited, going to Gatsby’s funeral might be seen as more risky than it’s worth, especially since she wasn’t that close to Gatsby. Want to get better grades and test scores? We can help. PrepScholar Tutors is the world's best tutoring service. We combine world-class expert tutors with our proprietary teaching techniques. Our students have gotten A's on thousands of classes, perfect 5's on AP tests, and ludicrously high SAT Subject Test scores. Whether you need help with science, math, English, social science, or more, we've got you covered. Get better grades today with PrepScholar Tutors. What’s Next? Nick and Jordan’s relationship is unique in the novel – they’re not having an affair, unlike Tom/Myrtle and Daisy/Gatsby, and they’re not married, unlike Myrtle/George and Daisy/Tom. So what does Nick and Jordan's relationship add to the story? Why include it at all? Read more about love, desire, and relationships in Gatsbyto find out. Jordan is a key figure in the first half of the novel as Gatsby moves to reunite with Daisy. Read summaries of Chapter 3and Chapter 4to get some in-depth takes of her most important scenes. We mention here that Jordan is relatively independent in that she has her own career as a golfer. This connects her to one of the novel's more interesting motifs: sports. How does her golf career compare to Tom's football days? Read our article on motifs in The Great Gatsby for some insights. 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Geography Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Geography - Research Paper Example Indias climate is influenced by mainly the southwest winds. South-west monsoon brings most of the rainfall during a year in the country. In the months of summer temperature rises up to 45 degree centigrade in the day. In the winter, it falls to as low as 1 to 8 degree centigrade in the night. Intensity of the summer season causes rain in plains of the India. The rain fall varies region to region and it is found to be between 500 mm to 1500 mm except desert of Rajasthan and Kutch where precipitation usually remain less than 250 mm. (Climate) Agriculture has always been a back bone of Indian economy since independence until 1990 when agriculture contributed more than one-third in Gross Domestic Product. India has vast arable area of 170 million hectares in 2005 which is the second largest arable area after U.S. India is among the world’s leading producer of rich, wheat, milk, sugar cane. India is either the world leader or the second largest producer in eight top crops. India is the world leader in the production of bananas, mangoes, and spices which are the important part of Indian meals. (India’s Role†¦) Post reform India saw a big surge in industrial activities and the industrial output showed the growth of 8.4 percent in 1994-95 and exports increased by 27 percent. Experts opine that Indian contribution in the world GDP will rise from 6 percent to 11 percent by the year 2025 and it will become the third largest economy after U.S, and China. The contribution of Indian industry in GDP comes to about 26 percent. (India Industry) India has been in limelight due to its software industry – the sector has been a major export earner for the country. As per The National Association of Software & Services Cos (NASSCOM), Indian IT sector is likely to see exports of $59 billion in fiscal 2011, which will show strong revenue growth of 18.7 percent over previous year. The