Blink the Power of Thinking Without Thinking Essay Example

Blink the Power of Thinking Without Thinking Essay Victor Horn Professor Pickford English 101 5 November 2009 Free Will Really Free? In Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking, Malcolm Gladwell demonstrates the intriguing effects of priming by citing and analyzing its effects on individuals in priming experiments. One of those experiments involved two groups of undergraduate students. One group was primed with a set of words that described a disrespectful person, and the other group was primed with a set of polite or respectful words. Then, the students were asked to walk down the hallway to get their next assignment, but on the way to the next building, two persons were purposely having a conversation to block the way. The goal of the experiment was to see if the people primed with a set of words would act differently than the other group as they would encounter the obstacle of the experiment, and there surely was a change in the comportment of the two groups. The people primed to be rude eventually interrupted the conversation after a few minutes, but the majority of the people primed to be polite never interrupted. We will write a custom essay sample on Blink the Power of Thinking Without Thinking specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Blink the Power of Thinking Without Thinking specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Blink the Power of Thinking Without Thinking specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer From such experiments, Gladwell concludes that what we think of as free will is largely an illusion, and we are more susceptible to outside influences than we realize (58). I believe Gladwell’s statement is partially right. I agree that we are more susceptible to outside influence than we realize, but I don’t think of free will as an illusion. If free will was only an illusion, it would mean that the decisions we make daily are dictated by our environment, and we would have little or no control over our decisions. However, individuals do have a say in their decisions making, and their decisions are based upon past experiences which are stored in the unconscious. I’m starting to think that I’ve been primed to do well at school and I’m not who I am, because this is just who I am. By that, I mean that the person I came to be has been influenced by many influential factors that have shaped my life and my personality. When I was a child, I used to think that the reason why I was doing so well at school was because I was simply talented from birth. But as I grew up and learned more about the adaptive unconscious, I came to realize that my parents and the way they raised me, as much of the environment I was in, played a major role in shaping my academic success. During my childhood, my parents have always complimented me in a way that was almost annoying. They used to tell me things such as â€Å"you’re the best†, or â€Å"you’re very intelligent†, and other similar phrases. They did so because I’m their son and loved me unconditionally, but I believe there was an expected effect in their ways. That was part in my educational process, and I strongly believe it helped me build a strong personality and a high level of self-confidence as I’ve always ended at the top of my class throughout my educational years. That is the reason why, nowadays, people put a huge emphasis on the way people raise their children. Of course, some people will probably agree with this assertion that free will is an illusion, and while I wrote the previous paragraph, I came to realize that most children do not possess free will. Actually, I cannot be sure about anybody else, but personally, I don’t recall in my childhood memories acting upon free will. As newborns are brought up into this world, they don’t know anything, so how can they possible freely choose to be whoever they want to be? The reality is that they don’t, and based on where they live, their social class, what type of education they’re going to get, the way their parents are going to raise them, and so on, they’re going to develop certain characteristics that’s going to define their personality. However, it is also important to note that genes also play a role in personality, as I learned it from a psychology I’m currently taking. Conclusively, I could say that free will at an early merely exists, but I believe individuals acquire free will as they grow and mature through life as I will elaborate in the following paragraph. Free will refers to one’s ability to choose his or her actions without being caused to do so by external forces. I don’ t think this is possible to do at such an early age, because infants are so dependent of their parents and of what surrounds them to act on their own. However, later on in life, maybe during the teenage years or after, people do develop a sense of free will. Per example, when teenagers decide to pursue a higher education and go to college, they’re going to have to choose a major. Even though their choice is going to be based on what their skills are and their past experiences, the choices are going to be there, and they’re going to have to make that free decision. Therefore, it is agreeable to say that free will exists at some degree, but there are always going to be some external forces that are going to influence a decision made. Likewise, choosing a football team to support is suppose to be a free decision, but is it really 100% free will? I like to believe that I have decided to become a true Chargers fan, but the truth is that, since I moved to San Diego from France, I’ve probably been unconsciously primed to be a Chargers fan. I never to chose to like the Chargers, it just happen to be that way. The priming occurred when I moved to San Diego. In France, soccer is the national sport, so I didn’t know much about American football when I got here. The first time I first saw the Chargers play, was during the 2004 season, and I believe I was at my cousin’s house watching the game with my whole family. There, everyone was wearing some type of Chargers gears and were cheering happily for them. Since that day, I’ve become a true hardcore Chargers fan. Was that decision based on pure free will? I’d like to believe so, but the truth is that, if I had to move to Pittsburgh instead of San Diego, I probably would have been a Steelers fan. However from my present state of mind’s point of view, I don’t think I’d have been a Raiders fan if I had to move to Oakland, but who really knows? Therefore, a little bit of free will take part in deciding which football team a fan is going to cheer for, but most of that decision will be based on outside influences. In conclusion, free will does exists, but not in its actual definition. In every decision making, there are going to be some outside influences that’s going push a decision in a certain way, whether it comes from past experiences or an actual person telling a subject what to do. Free will occurs when an individual is able to perceive those influences and not act upon it. However people need to use their knowledge that’s built up in their unconscious to make the best decision for themselves, and therefore they’ll be able to become whoever they want to be and achieve a sense of self-satisfaction. Works Cited Gladwell, Malcolm. Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking. 1st edition. New York. Little, Brown and Company. Time Warner Group. 2005. Print.

010 Chips and Salsa Professor Ramos Blog

010 Chips and Salsa Midterm Project Chips and Salsa Don’t you hate it when you have too much of one and not enough of the other? There has to be the appropriate amount of chips to salsa for it to work, to taste good. Or Thinking Rhetorically. Midterm Project 80 Points Possible 50 for Article Post 30 for Presentation Topic: Diversity and Challenges In groups of one to three, locate one article, video, song, TED talk, or . Get creative on the texts. You will write a summary of the article (300 to 500 words) and write a post with a link to the text. You will also come up with one to two discussion questions to get the class talking about the article. The presentation is four to five minutes in length. Explaining what the article is about. DUE 10/31/2018 Wednesday Chp 6 Skeptics May Object Chapter 6 introduces a different sort of â€Å"they say†: the naysayer. The naysayer, or counterargument, appears after the conversation and after you have made some points. Including what the objections might be helps you make a more thorough point and adds credibility to the writing. Be careful to treat the objection carefully and fairly. Do not present a weak argument or a simplification of it because that can lead to a number of fallacies including the Strawman fallacy. The book offers suggestions for including the Naysayer or Skeptic. Anticipate Objections Entertain Objections in your own writing. Name the Naysayers. Introduce objections formally or informally Represent Objections Fairly Answer Objections Make concessions and stand your ground.

DEsigning a Psychology experiment , 1000 word maximum report Essay

DEsigning a Psychology experiment , 1000 word maximum report consisting of an hypothesis and a method section - Essay Example 3. METHODOLOGY This project requires cause and effect hypothesis testing and therefore the design chosen is an experimental design (Srinagesh, 2006), with a quantitative research methodology. 3.1 Participants (Sample) The sample for this research will consist of two groups of college students. The sample will be drawn from among college students. The sample will consist of 40 college students in all. Twenty of these will be those whose parents have been divorced while twenty will be those whose parents are both alive and living together. In order to control the variable of gender, each group of participants will be composed of ten males and ten females. The students will be approached along with a briefing letter about the experiment and they will be asked to sign an informed consent form if they are willing to participate in the research. 3.2 Variables The independent variable in this study will be the divorced or not divorced status of the participants’ parents while the dep endent variable will be the scores obtained on the questionnaire titled: ‘Student readiness Inventory’ (ACT, 2011). 3.3 Research Design and Method This experiment involves hypothesis testing and is based on quantitative methods. ... oups, one will consist of children whose parents have been divorced and the other will consist of children whose parents are living together, therefore, an independent groups design fits the aim of the study. This design will also remove the threats to validity due to order effects (Brian, 2002). This methodology was chosen because the nature of the study is experimental rather than exploratory. Hypothesis was devised after some quick review of literature and theory. It is expected that the null hypothesis will be rejected. 3.4 Research tool/ Instrument After reviewing a considerable number of studies that attempted to focus the effects of divorce on academic achievement, it was decided that questionnaire be used as research tool (Anderson & Taylor, 2008). The ‘Student readiness Inventory’ was selected to be used as a research tool. Student Readiness Inventory is a questionnaire that was developed by a non-profit organization called ‘ACT’, in order to identi fy the at-risk students in the field of academics. The rationale for selecting this inventory is twofold: first, if Grade Point Average would have been used to gauge academic success, it would not have taken into account the psychosocial factors that affect academic performance in children of divorced couples. Secondly, the Student readiness inventory was preferred over Grade point average because different individuals’ parents got divorced in different years. Tracking down the Grade Point Average of the students in the year following the divorce would have been a challenging task. Therefore, it was decided to run the Student readiness inventory, which is a short inventory and is very easy to score. 3.5 Data Analysis Descriptive statistics will be used to analyze the data. According to Kazmier (2004),

Discussion Board 2-1 Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words - 4

Discussion Board 2-1 - Assignment Example There are particular advantages and disadvantages of insisting on presence of the entire family in the initial consultation. According to Nichols (2013), one of the advantages of insisting on presence of the entire family in the initial consultation relates to the fact that such meetings can provide a counselor with preliminary information and facts concerning the nature of the family relationship. Counselors can use the preliminary information gathered to understand the depth of the problem and perhaps develop hypothesis as to the likely cause(s) of the problem experienced. This is usually possible when all members find an opportunity to talk and share their views about the nature of family relationship. With such a hypothesis, a therapist is able to estimate period within which to accomplish therapy. Insisting on presence of entire family in initial consultation, can also enable a therapist learn emotions of individual members and strategize proper techniques to reinforce proper behaviors during actual therapy to ensure effective treatment process. The main disadvantage of insisting on presence of all members of a family in the initial consultation relates fact that such meetings are likely to cause anxiety (Nichols, 2013). When a family is in disagreement and conflict, sitting the members together is likely to result to escalation of emotions and quarrels especially when individual members are defensive and only values their own views. Such occurrences are likely to lead to anxiety and even withdrawal of member(s) who feel

Rise of China Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 5000 words

Rise of China - Essay Example inence is often bandied about as a goal of national development and is expressed frequently in the speeches of Chinese leaders and documents such as CCP National Congress Reports and Government Work Reports. In addition, foreigners often worry that China’s rapid economic development will present a threat to the stability of the current world order,† Adding that, â€Å"Because of this, other countries, especially a United States increasingly anxious about losing its preeminence, are often even more outspoken than Chinese pundits in proclaiming the imminent rise of a Chinese pole on the global power-map. According to the 2006 report of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs, 61 percent of US citizens believe that within the next 20 years, Chinese GDP will surpass US GDP. Yet interestingly, only 30 percent of Chinese citizens hold this view. The â€Å"China threat theory† has proliferated across the globe, while Chinese people remain bewildered as to why their country is suddenly the cause for so much international concern,† (Yiwei p.1). With a surging Chinese economic present, as well as the potential for the future, many in the international community have in fact been keeping a close eye for that each country is keenly aware that any kind of economic insurgence by China can have very real consequences for everyone else, whether good or bad is left to be determined on an individual basis after viewing the facts. As for the economic history of China, â€Å"The Peoples Republic of China has the second largest economy in the world after the US with a GDP of nearly $ 7 trillion (2007) when measured on a purchasing power parity (PPP) basis. In November 2007, it became the third largest in the world after the US and Japan with a nominal GDP of US$3.42 trillion (2007) when measured in exchange-rate terms.[5] China has been the fastest-growing major nation for the past quarter of a century with an average annual GDP growth rate above 10%.[6] Chinas per capita income has

Role Suitability and Job Performance Research

Role Suitability and Job Performance Research Introduction Role suitability and job performance are two of the key elements studied and developed by occupational psychologists, and have frequently been discussed over an extended period of time. Job performance measures an individuals ability and results in their job, taking into account their ability to use initiative, their thoroughness in completing the tasks assigned to them and the effort they put into each. (Boshoff Arnolds, 1995) Role suitability is the governing attribute looked for in interviews and recruitment and measures the individual against criteria associated with successful application in a specific job role. When considering potential employees, it is vital for companies to ensure that they employ the most effective and efficient worker for the role, whilst also ensuring that the individual will be able to shoulder the responsibilities of the work the role entails. To achieve this, occupational psychologists are employed to advise in the recruitment process. They consider the individual differences that are vital in predicting ability and behaviour within a job role. Two main factors that are considered as the main indicators in job performance are personality type and general mental ability (GMA). General mental ability tests have been used for many years as a measure of potential job performance and validated research over an 80 year period has shown that the tests correlate with job performance measures across a large variety of job roles. (Outtz, 2002) GMA is most often referred to as intelligence, though differentiates from the intelligence normally spoken about by psychologists due to its lack of genetic potential. It is more accurately portrayed as an individuals ability to learn (Hunter Schmidt, 1996) Used as a general indicator of ability, it does not measure specific aptitudes that may be involved in a job, such as numerical aptitude or verbal aptitude. Personality is the other highly regarded indicator of performance in the workplace. Early reviews into the use of personality and job performance gave negative conclusions (eg. Guion Gottier, 1965, Reilly Warech, 1993). However, more recent research has evidenced suggestions that certain job-related criteria can be predicted through the testing of personality. One advantage that it has over cognitive ability testing is that it allows an element of fairness in selection choice, due to a lack of adverse impact on employees. Method Participants The experiment was carried out by joint honours psychology and counselling students from University of Wales Trinity St David Swansea. The participants were of mixed gender, all aged 18 and over. Each participant gave full written consent before taking part in the experiment. Design The experiment was of a correlational design, set to measure whether there were any correlational effects between personality type, in particular extroversion, and their abilities at scoring on a cognitive task. The statistical analysis was carried out using IBMs SPSS program (IBM, 2013). Descriptive statistics (means and standard deviations) will be used to analyse the results. Cronbach alpha coefficients was used to assess the internal consistency of the BFI-10 test. Finally Pearson product-moment correlation coefficients was used to examine the relationships between the variables. Procedure Each participant firstly completed a consent form, giving full written consent as to their participation within the study. The BFI-10 questionnaire was then issued to the participant, completed, then received and recorded by the experimenter. The Sales ability task was then issued to the participant, its two parts described, then completed by the participant. These papers were then collated by the experimenters and the data entered into SPSS, where the statistical analysis would be carried out. Materials The personality type was measured using the 10 question shortened version of the Big Five Personality inventory test, the BFI-10 (Rammstedt John, 2007) as this allows for an efficient and effective measurement of personality. This is measurable through a likert scale, with five steps ranging from 1= Strongly disagree to 5= Strongly agree. It measures levels of extroversion, agreeableness, openness to experience, conscientiousness and emotional stability with two items (questions) linked to each personality element. The cognitive ability task was measured through an adaptation of the National Sales Aptitude Test â„ ¢ as this is a validated and trusted indicator of ability in a sales environment. The test was adapted and designed to enable us to measure the following key elements of sales ability: Communication skills, persuasive ability, resilience, customer focus, relationship building, attention to detail, problem solving ability and listening skills. These are all important elements when considering somebodys potential sales ability. The test was made up of two sections, each graded differently. Section One was graded by a number value being given to each answer provided, whereas Section Two a point was given for each correct answer. IBMs SPSS software was used to carry out all statistical analysis. A consent and debrief form were also used to gain written acceptance of participation, and to debrief the participants following the experiment. Results All participants completed both scales. The mean score on the extroversion questionnaire was 6.47 with a range from 3-10 (SD = 2.11) and the mean score on the cognitive task was 58.8 with a range from 35-78 (SD = 10.75) In order to test the hypothesis that there is a positive association between increased levels of extroversion and cognitive ability in sales, the relationship between the two was explored using a correlational analysis. The results of a Pearson product-moment correlation indicated an insignificant weak negative correlation between the two variables (r = -.079, n = 40, p = >.05) with very little association being shown between the two variables (See Figure 1). The experimental hypothesis was therefore unsupported. Figure 1. Scatter-graph showing weak negative association between variables. Reference List Rammstedt, B., John, O. P. (2007). Measuring personality in one minute or less: A 10-item short version of the Big Five Inventory in English and German. Journal of Research in Personality,41(1), 203-212. IBM Corp. Released 2013. IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, Version 22.0. Armonk, NY: IBM Corp. Boshoff, C. Arnolds, C. (1995) Some antecedents of employee commitment and their influence on job performance. South African journal of Business Management, 26(4), 125-135. Outtz, J.L., (2002) The role of cognitive ability tests in employment selection. Human Performance. 15(1/2), 161-171. Hunter, J.E., Schmidt, F.L., (1996). Intelligence and job performance: Economic and social implications. Psychology, Public Policy and Law, 2, 447-472. Guion, R.M., Gottier, R.F., (1965). Validity of personality measures in personnel selection. Personnel Psychology, 18, 135-164 Reilly, R.R., Warech, M.A., (1993). The validity and fairness of alternatives to cognitive tests. In C.C. Wing B.R. Gifford (Eds.), Policy issues in employment testing. (pp. 131-224) Norwell, MA: Kluwer Academic.

Analysis of Kurt Vonneguts Slaughterhouse-Five :: Slaughterhouse-Five Essays

Analysis of Kurt Vonnegut's Slaughterhouse-Five Section One- Introduction Slaughterhouse-Five, written by Kurt Vonnegut Junior, was published in 1968 after twenty-three years of internal anguish. The novel was a "progressive work" after Vonnegut returned from World War II. Why did it take twenty-three years for Kurt Vonnegut to write this novel? The answer lies within the book and within the man himself. Kurt Vonnegut served in the Armed Forces during World War II and was captured during The Battle of the Bulge. He and a group of American Prisoners of War were taken to Dresden to take part in a prisoner work camp. Vonnegut and his fellow soldiers were housed in an underground facility when Dresden became history as the most loss of human life at one time. On the night of February 13, 1945, when the Americans were underground, Dresden was firebombed by the Allied Air Force. The entire city was annihilated while 135,000 people were killed. The number of casualties is greater than those of Hiroshima and Nagasaki combined. The bombing of Dresden, Germany is why it took Kurt Vonnegut so long to write this book. The human pain and suffering is still fresh in the mind of the author twenty-three years later. One can only imagine the intense emotional scarring that one would suffer after exiting an underground shelter with a dozen other men to find a city destroyed and its people dead, corpses laying all around. These feelings are what prompted Kurt Vonnegut to write Slaughterhouse-Five as he did. The main character of this novel mirrors the author in many ways, but the striking similarity is their inability to deal with the events of Dresden on the night of February 13, 1945. Section Two- Critical Commentaries Kurt Vonnegut's work is nothing new to critics, but Slaughterhouse-Five is considered to be his best work.

In The Heat Of The Night Essay

Choose a character from To Kill a Mockingbird, to write about. Here are some suggestions: *Scout Finch *Boo Radley *Atticus Finch *Jem Finch *Tom Robinson *Mayella Ewell *Dill Harris **Note†¦. All examples from In the Heat of the Night. Step 1 – Pre-Writing/Outline Brainstorm for several character traits, using the sheet(s) provided. Then, try to narrow down your search to THREE good traits. How do you pick the best three? Ask yourself the following questions: **Do the traits explain the character’s round personality overall? **Do the traits show the character’s dynamic personality (how they were at the beginning versus the end, for example)? In your outline, explain, reference, and analyze each of the traits from your brainstorming. You must use direct references from the text (quotations). Step 2 – Thesis Paragraph Grab the reader’s attention with a solid opening: †¢Ask a question †¢Use a good historical or literary quote †¢Make a bold statement Discuss what the story is about and give a bit of the plot. Introduces the character (write as if the reader has not read the novel): †¢Position in the story †¢Related to whom or friends with whom or enemy of whom †¢Protagonist/antagonist †¢Importance/significance Include a thesis statement which states the 3 traits you chose for you character. Albert Einstein once said, â€Å"You have to learn the rules of the game. And then you have to play better than anyone else.† Virgil Tibbs, the protagonist in the novel, In the Heat of the Night, by John Ball, must learn the rules of a small town in order to be heard and survive. The plot of In the Heat of the Night revolves around the murder of a well-known maestro in a small southern town, and also includes the many underlying human conflicts between the two main characters. Tibbs, a black investigator from California, and his relationship with the small town’s residents, including Sherriff Bill Gillespie and police office Sam Wood, create a subplot that becomes essential to the development of the story. The clash of ethnicity, personality and method of investigation becomes the essence of the story and creates an intense level of interest that compels the reader from beginning to end. It is through this intensity that Tibbs’s personality as a determined, intel ligent, and compassionate person shines through. Step 3 – Body Paragraphs For EACH Body Paragraph, you are going to carefully describe how each trait suits the character. Be aware that the order of the traits is critical. All of your traits should be strong, but you want to end your essay with the strongest. In addition, you may find that your traits seem to follow the  story chronologically. If so, then, you want to discuss the traits chronologically. Each body paragraph should looks like a SERAERAC paragraph. That means you will have two reasons to support each trait. S – States the character trait. E – Explains the character trait and how it relates to the character. R – Explicit reference supporting your explanation effectively integrated. A – Analysis of how the reference supports your statement. T – Transition E – â€Å"† R – â€Å"† A – â€Å"† C – Profound statement and/or transition to next body paragraph. Don’t forget to introduce new characters. Don’t just mention a character and expect the reader to know who you are talking about. Don’t forget to use good transitional devices at the beginning of the paragraph AND within the paragraph. Use the sheet provided to help you with this. Use a good transitional word or phrase to begin the subsequent paragraphs (body paragraphs 2, 3). From the moment Virgil Tibbs sets foot on soil of Wells, South Carolina, he shows his determined personality. After Bill Gillespie discovers the murder of Maestro Mantoli, he happens to stumble across Tibbs who is sitting at a train station waiting to catch a train and return home to California. At this point, both Sam Wood and the reader are unaware of Tibbs’s occupation as a police investigator. All we know is he is a â€Å"negro† and completely out of place in the predominantly white, racist town of Wells. But that does not stop him from being determined to prove his innocence to Gillespie back at the police department: â€Å"Where did you get all this dough?† [Gillespie] demanded, and rose just enough from the seat of his chair so that the prisoner could see his size. â€Å"I earned it,† [Tibbs] replied. â€Å"And what do you do in Pasadena, California, that makes you money like that?† The prisoner took the barest moment before he replied. â€Å"I’m a police officer,† he said. (19) In this particular scene, Tibbs does not show Gillespie or Sam any insincerity. He cuts right to the chase. A little later in the novel, he shows just how determined he is when he is resolved to find out who killed Maestro Mantoli. When Harvey Oberst, a 19-year-old man initially jailed for the murder because an officer found him with Mantoli’s wallet, is brought in, Tibbs is determined to convince Gillespie he has the wrong man because he analyzed the murder scene in detail and can decisively draw a conclusion: â€Å"How much more do you want?† Gillespie asked, his voice somewhat closer to a normal level for a change. â€Å"It eliminates the superficial motive,† Tibbs replied, â€Å"it means digging a little deeper. I expected it, but it is an advantage to see it confirmed.† â€Å"†¦Don’t tell me you bought [Oberst’s] story. I thought you were supposed to be a hotshot cop†¦Ã¢â‚¬  â€Å"He’s innocent of the murder†¦Ã¢â‚¬ . (34) Unlike the officers around him, Tibbs digs deep to find the true meaning. Even when Tibbs is scrutinized by men like Gillespie, he refuses to back down, showing the importance of having a determined personality. Step 4 – Concluding Paragraph Sum up your ideas and say something poignant! Explain how the character traits benefitted or hindered the character (or both). Ultimately, how did the trait impact the character? Explain how the traits make the character admirable or detestable. Should we strive to be like him/her? Double space your work. Use 12 point, Times New Roman. Indent each paragraph. Do not leave an extra space between paragraphs. Have someone edit your work.

What to Do if Youre in Love With a Fictional Character

What to Do if You're in Love With a Fictional Character We love to read, and when were immersed in literature, the characters come to life for us! We know them- all their most secret and intimate details. Sometimes, we become too involved in a characters life (and situation). We know what they want, who they are, and sometimes, we may even imagine ourselves into the world of the novel. What do you do if youre in love with a fictional character? Step Back   Ask yourself: Why do I love the character? Perhaps one of the things you love the most about him/her is the fact that the character is without substance (he/she is not real, at least not in a corporeal, sit-down-and-have-a-conversation-with-you kind of way). How does the character (and the episodes in the novel that compelled you to love the character) compare with your real life experiences? Pros vs. Cons Consider the characters other qualities... For every perfect character trait, the author likely included a few undesirable personality characteristics. Make a list of the pros and cons (what you love about the character in one column, and what you dislike about the hero/heroine in the other column). At the top of the con list, you can write: _____ is not real. Hes a figment of my (and every other readers) imagination! Familiarity How many times have you read the book? Have you memorized all the characters main lines? If you have memorized all the scenes, and youve imagined yourself sitting beside your fictional love, it may be time to read other books. Get critical! Use your intense fascination with the book to conduct a full study of all works by the author, as well as an exhaustive study of the novel itself. (Beyond a simple reading and re-reading, track the characters, look at the critical reception, and learn more about the historical context of the work. Think of it as your way to get to know more about the character you love. Book vs. Movie? Ask yourself: Am I really in love with the actor who plays the character in the   film version? Im not suggesting that you suddenly become a stalker, or fall violently in unrequited love with all the actors as a  stand in for literary characters. But, its a bit easier to have a crush on an actor than it is to be in love with a character in a novel. Fan-dom vs. Real Love Sometimes its easy to confuse the feelings of real love with the enthusiasm you feel when you are an ultimate fan. That giddy-obsessive feeling that you get when you find a character that represents so many romantic qualities can be can sometimes be confused with the enigmatic (often confusing) feeling of love. Support Group or Book Club After talking with a great many readers over the years, Im convinced that there are many more of you who are in love with their favorite characters than you would imagine. Of course, part of the problem is that being in love with a character from a book is sometimes not accepted by our society. But, if you are really in love with a character, I urge you to seek out others to share your passion. Start a support group. You can even start a   book club- to share the favorite books with others who love their hero/heroine just as much as you do!   Read more about Fictional Heroes We Love... In The Secret Life of Prince Charming, Deb Caletti writes: It starts so young, and Im angry about that. The garbage were taught. About love, about whats romantic. Look at so many of the so-called romantic figures in books and movies. Do we ever stop and think how many of them would cause serious and drastic unhappiness after The End? Why are sick and dangerous personality types so often shown a passionate and tragic and something to be longed for when those are the very ones you should run for your life from? Think about it. Heathcliff. Romeo. Don Juan. Jay Gatsby. Rochester. Mr. Darcy. From the rigid control freak in The Sound of Music to all the bad boys some woman goes running to the airport to catch in the last minute of every romantic comedy. She should let him leave. Your time is so valuable  and look at these guysdepressive and moody and violent and immature and self-centered. And what about the big daddy of them all, Prince Charmi ng? What was his secret life? We dont know anything about him, other then he looks good and comes to the rescue.

How to Get Good Grades in High School

How to Get Good Grades in High School SAT / ACT Prep Online Guides and Tips The transition to high school causes academic whiplash for many students. It’s hard to adapt to a new environment and get good grades when you’re given more independence in your assignments and are expected to learn more challenging materials. In this guide, I’ll go through the most important strategies that will help you to get good grades in high school and beyond. Basic Academic Survival Strategies Let's start with the most fundamental strategies for getting good grades. A strong foundation is the key to success! Strategy #1: Read Directions and Rubrics Carefully Read the directions thoroughly on every assignment you get.If you don’t follow the directions, you won’t get a good grade even if what you do would be considered solid work on a slightly different project.If your teacher tells you to write a seven-page essay, and you only write five, you'll get points taken off even if you do a good job. Don't sacrifice your grade just because you were careless or chose to ignore the instructions! Sometimes when students misinterpret directions, they blame the teacher for giving them a bad grade.Even if you disagree with the structure of an assignment, being stubborn about it probably won’t get you anywhere.You should re-educate yourself on the expectations for the class so that you don’t give the teacher another chance to deduct points from your assignments.In these cases, you’re probably just dealing with a strict teacher who likes to stick to very specific guidelines.Once you know what the his or her standards are, you will be able to reliably earn high grades. Strategy #2: Listen and Participate in Class A trait that is consistent in people who get good grades is that they pay attention in class.You may think that you can just space out in class, study hard later, and ace the test. If school has always been a breeze for you, this might be true up to a point, but it will catch up with you when you run into something that isn’t as easy to understand. If you pay attention in class, you’ll spend less time studying in the long run.Why is this? It’s because you’ve already absorbed a lot of the information you need to know just by being engaged while your teacher is talking. You can even go a step farther and take notes in class to reinforce what you’re learning in a different way. It's smart to get into this habit before college so that you don’t struggle with note taking in lecture classes. If you learn how to summarize the main points of a lesson now, it will be easier for you to take notes at times when they’re even more critical. Class participation is another big part of this.Participation is important for a couple of reasons.First and foremost, it might be a part of your grade! In some cases, class participation accounts for ten percent or more of your final grade.Even if it isn't a part of your grade, participating in class will help you understand the material more thoroughly and let the teacher know that you care about the subject. For me, class participation was always very difficult because I was shy and afraid that I would say the wrong thing. If you have this issue, I would recommend sitting as close to the front of the classroom as possible so that it feels like you’re just talking to the teacher and not addressing the whole class. Also, try not to overthink it! I can’t tell you how many times I had an answer in my head that I decided was dumb only to hear someone else say it thirty seconds later. Even if your answer is incorrect, you should view it as a learning opportunity that may help you to understand the material better. This is what your face should look like in class. If you're extra creepy, your teacher will be afraid to give you bad grades. Strategy #3: Ask for Help Sooner Rather Than Later Often, the key to success is knowing when to ask for help, and high school classes are no exception.If you don’t understand a concept, don’t wait until you’ve already bombed a test to get help.Approach your teacher as soon as possible, and ask if he or she would be willing to meet you after school to go over the material.By doing this, you can avoid bad grades before they happen and build a positive relationship with your teacher. Of course, all of this is easier said than done. It's hard to ask for help if your teacher is less friendly or you’re a super independent person.If you’re worried about approaching your teacher, stick to a script. You can just say â€Å"Teacher’s Name, I’m having some difficulty understanding this unit. I was wondering if you might be able to talk through the main concepts with me after school at some point. I’ll come up with a list of my questions.† If you prepare a list of questions for your teacher, it will be easier for you to get the information you need and for your teacher to explain things in a way that is helpful to you.You should also remember that there’s absolutely no shame in asking for help.It’s really the smartest thing you can do if you’re struggling, and it will only lead to better grades in the future. Strategy #4: Don’t Rely on Your Family and Friends Too Much Another way of saying this is â€Å"don’t cheat,† but sometimes the definition of cheating can be nebulous.If you and your friends help each other on a homework assignment, that’s probably fine depending on the distribution of work.However, if you directly copy a friend’s homework (even if they say it’s ok), it’s definitely a form of cheating whether or not the homework counts toward your grade. Avoid doing this, especially if you want to get good grades in the long term.If you copy your friends’ homework assignments, you’re committing self-sabotage.I know it’s a cliche that you only hurt yourself by cheating, but in this case it's true.If you rely too heavily on the knowledge of others for small assignments, larger assignments like tests and papers will be even more difficult since you never learned the material for yourself. Also, don't let your parents edit your papers extensively or do the bulk of the work in figuring out homework problems.They probably mean well, but it will do you more harm than good if you’re not learning on your own terms.Eventually, you’ll have to write an essay or solve math problems on a test, and you may fall short of your potential if you don't have experience doing these things independently. Matching jackets? Kind of cute and kind of lame. Matching homework? Unambiguously lame. Expert Study Strategies Many students have trouble getting good grades in high school because they don't know how to study effectively. Here are a few of the best ways to improve your test scores through the use of smart study strategies. Strategy #5: Always Do the Homework (Even If It Doesn’t Count!) Most teachers in high school assign regular homework, although some may not check it or incorporate it directly into your grade.Some students view this as a free pass to ignore homework assignments, which can is a very bad idea.In subjects like math and science in particular, homework assignments are critical if you want to gain full comprehension of the material.In math, your understanding of one unit of study is often a necessary foundation for your understanding of the next unit.Knowledge builds on itself. If you start skipping homework assignments, you may get confused when the teacher moves on to a new unit.Ultimately, you could become completely lost and perform poorly on assignments that do count towards your grade. Doing homework assignments will also help you psychologically. If you’re staying on top of things in a class, you'll be more confident in your knowledge.Homework assignments are a way of studying consistently over time. If you do the homework, you may not have to study as much for tests because you’ll already have a solid understanding of what you need to know. This is what will happen on tests if you don't have a strong homework-based foundation of knowledge. Strategy #6: Know the Difference Between Reading It Over and â€Å"Getting It† Just reading over the material before a test won't cut it unless you have a photographic memory. You need toactively absorb the information, not just skim over it and hope it will stick in your brain. Surface-level knowledge won't help you, especially when you're dealing with open-ended questions on a test. You should be able to recall the facts without any hints or prompting. If you have review sheets to study before a test, I would recommend reading them in small, manageable sections.After you read each section carefully, look away from it and see if you can repeat the facts back to yourself.Don’t move on from a section until you’re able to do this. One thing that I’ve found very helpful in cases like this is to make up some sort of weird mnemonic. It can be an acronym or just something memorable that has a random association with the information you need to know.The more bizarre the memory device you come up with, the more likely you are to remember the facts. After you’ve read everything over yourself and feel relatively confident, you can have someone else step in and quiz you on the information.To be sure that you have a full understanding of what you need to know, you should be able to answer questions about how different facts connect to each other rather than just regurgitating the facts themselves.For example, if you’re studying for a history test, you might have someone ask you a question like â€Å"what were the main factors that led to the French Revolution† that requires you to draw from a few distinct facts to reach a separate conclusion. Strategy #7: Study Between Tests, Don’t Cram There is a certain glamour for some students in the late-night pre-test cram session.However, sacrificing your sleep and sanity will not get you a better grade on the test (no matter how much cooler it might be than planning ahead). The best way to ensure that you don’t panic before a test (or on the test itself) is to make a habit of going over the material that you’ve learned regularly and not just when it gets down to the wire.You’ll retain it better, and you’ll get a good night’s sleep to recharge your brain. In the week before a big test, you can study for an hour or so every night rather than studying for five hours the night before.As you build up your knowledge, you’ll feel more and more confident.On the night before the test, instead of trying to study every little detail that you need to know, you can do a quick review of the main concepts to reassure yourself that you’re in good shape. If studying responsibly is too uncool for you, try getting a good night's sleep while wearing sunglasses to keep up the illusion of detached nonchalance. Strategies for Structuring Your Work Strategy #8: Make Project Timelines (Don’t Procrastinate!) If you hope to earn high grades without suffering from excessive amounts of stress, you must overcome your procrastination habits.It's especially hard to manage your time responsibly on long-term projects. It may seem like you have forever to complete the assignment, but time will always catch up with you. If you're a procrastinator, I highly recommend making a timeline whenever you get a long-term assignment. If you have a project that’s due in a month, set aside the first week for brainstorming, make a rough outline of the project in the second week, flesh it out as much as possible in the third week, and spend the rest of your time perfecting it.This is a vague timeline because it depends on the type of project you’re doing and what it involves, but you get the idea. If you save the last week for polishing your work and fixing mistakes, you’ll end up with a final product that’s a much better representation of your abilities.Sticking to a schedule like this can be tough, so you might want to ask your teacher to help monitor your progress by checking in with you periodically.Some teachers already set up checkpoints for longer term projects because they know students have trouble avoiding procrastination.If this is the case, stick to the schedule and avoid falling behind! Strategy #9: Stay Organized Many of these tips will be useless if you don’t keep track of all the materials for your classes.Cultivating good organizational habits will not only help you succeed in high school; it will pay off in spades when you get to college as well. Always mark the beginning of each new unit in your notebook, and keep a binder or folder for each class.This way, when you study for tests, you won’t be freaking out about where a certain review sheet went or why there seems to be nothing relevant in your notebook.Avoid just throwing papers into your backpack. I’ve made the mistake of doing this many times in the past, and you WILL forget where you put them when you need them most. It's also a good idea to write down your homework assignments in an agenda book so that you don’t miss anything.It’s easy to forget about smaller assignments if your brain is focused on a big project or test that’s coming up.Even if you don’t have a concrete homework assignment in every class, you should make note ofany potential work you might do that night. If you have light assignments in your other classes, this will remind you to catch up on a long term project or start studying a bit for a test that’s coming up in a week. Planners/Google calendars/whatever you kids are using to manage your time these days are your friends! What's Next? Worried about your GPA? Here are four strategies for raising your GPA in high school fast. If you're not sure whether your GPA is high enough for your goals, read this article on what a good GPA means for college. Still trying to figure out your courses? Check out our expert guide on which classes you should take in high school. Want to improve your SAT score by 160 points or your ACT score by 4 points?We've written a guide for each test about the top 5 strategies you must be using to have a shot at improving your score. Download it for free now:

Community South Medical Center Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

Community South Medical Center - Essay Example Currently, the issues confronting the Community South Medical Center are shortage of clinical staff, non-interfacing information technology, antiquated facilities and infrastructure, decline in T.J.C. compliance, and a shift in financial mix. These issues correlate either directly or indirectly with the need we have identified. The shortage of staffs is what makes the organization to improve its technology so that it can improve the efficiency of the existing staffs. Non-interfacing information technology and antiquated facilities and infrastructure are what make addressing of this need to be more difficult. Decline in T.J.C compliance is because of failure of the organization to change according to the changes experience in the medical sector. Advancement in technology is one of the most recent changes in this sector in which the organization has not been able to comply fully. Shift in financial mix is what makes the organization to have a challenge of financing programs to address the identified need. Strategic mission and plan have not been revised in the past three years. This might be the reason why the organization has not been able to advance its information technology in the past three years. Therefore, this is the most appropriate time for revising the strategic mission and plan. If this is done, then the process of addressing issues confronting Community South Medical Center will be much easier. The CEO should address these issues now since the magnitude is likely to increase if the issues are left for another year before they are solved

Honesty Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Honesty - Research Paper Example In developing the concept of honesty, one finds that by going from the initial definition of the word honest to the cultural differences expressed in one different language, the true concept, of honesty requires the existence of human relations. The purpose of this paper is to prove the thesis that Honesty in the dictionary sense is not the best policy. The online dictionary definition of honesty implies "fairness and straightforwardness of conduct". The second definition is keeping to the facts: sincere. (Merriam-Webster) Fairness and sincerity are a contradiction. If an older child beat up his brother because his brother broke one of his games, the parent would admonish the violent reaction of the older brother over the younger brother's breaking the toy. Our society does not adhere to violence. The broken toy could have been an accident or a deliberate act. If his parents were sincere, they would ascertain as to why he broke the toy. If both boys were at fault, fairness would dictate that both would be punished. It is rarely the case as the punishment is different for each child and culturally given to the older of the twoIn reality, honesty is governed by a set of rules which go beyond our comprehension of the word. Most of us think that honesty exist. It exist if the rules are followed. In the second source, Mr Dougherty analys es Cringe comedians. He entitles his article Honesty is the best policy. (Dougherty ) People no longer want to spend time thinking through the significance of thought provoking jokes. We are in the "now" society. If it is not attained within 30 seconds, it is not worth it. Cringe comedians come up with one line jokes attacking the truths of life. They twitter their way thru the commentary of life's problems. Life can be split into two twits: alleviating the fears of life by throwing freezing water to chill the problem. A comedian who basis all his one line cringes on self deprecation makes at least one person in the audience feel that there is one person who is better off than the comedian . or the comedian has mastered the art of persona and gives members of the audience what they want to hear as each one has a different concept of honesty. The first comedian uses self deprecation to alleviate fear and the second comedian uses self deprecation to share honest aspects of the "person a". There are people in the audience who can relate to both sorts of tweets. The word tweet is used in a derogatory fashion to show the rapidity in which cringe comedians respond to humor. The concept of honesty is used as the dictionary describes as "straightforwardness" . This limits the point that there is a set of rules to the concept of honesty. As the previous source is somewhat weak, the following source is from a journal. The concept of honesty can be broken down into mathematical equations. A fundamental principal of man is that all human relations are based on the concept of honesty. As this is a rather grandiose principal, the writer has broken it down into equations. The concept of Honesty: