High Schools vs Universities Essay

Entering a university is a very important and responsible step for every teenager, and frequently it is connected with definite psychological discomfort and fears. Many high school seniors are afraid of possible difficulties and problems, which can arise in a new environment of university. This work is an attempt to examine and compare the most important differences between studying in a high school and studying in a university. The first and the most significant difference is responsibility. In high schools, teachers or parents usually remind students of their responsibilities, do the entire scheduling job and give permissions to join special activities, as well as supervise and correct students’ behaviors. However, in universities, students are supposed to be grown enough to shoulder all the responsibilities for managing own time, behaving properly and making own decisions. Another difference is organization of classes and educational process. In high schools, classes are organized for students and usually include up to 35 students. In universities, students have personal schedules and classes can include up to 100 people. In high schools, students study 30 hours a week and are provided with the textbooks, however, in universities, students study about 16 hours a week and are not provided with the textbooks. Finally, outside preparation is one more crucial difference. Typically, high school students spend less than 2 hours a week for doing their homework, which usually includes short and quite easy assignments. In universities, it is necessary to study minimum 2 hours for every 1 hour of class work, and homework includes preparing term papers and serious researches, as well as regular revising of the material. Certainly, there are a great number of other differences between universities and high schools, which include the issues of tests, grades, teaching strategies, and so on. It is unquestionable that understanding and learning more about these principal differences can be very helpful for all high school seniors for managing their fears and achieving a smoother transition.

7-Eleven Store Experiment

Has one ever pondered the possible interest in the typical bustle and commotion of a public venue or its perceivable feel left impressed upon the customers? To truly acquire a fascination of a place or gather a perception of the environment, observation and experience are vital. For a short period of approximately thirty minutes, I observed my former employer, 7-Eleven, in the town of Old Bethpage. I even experienced the point of view of the customer by purchasing a variety of beverages and hot food. Based upon my half an hour spent at the store, I recognized a diverse culture of customers, abnormal activity, and a warm, welcoming ambiance.As my friend and I approached the 7-Eleven store in my silver two-door Honda Civic, I noticed a couple of observations. For example, the retailer was in the process of receiving a vitamin water delivery from two African American males. Also, as this process was underway, the rest of the store was buzzing with business and chatter. The Plainview Wat er District employees, decked out in blue and white shirts with bright yellow safety vests draped over their clothes, had just entered briefly and all the white males exited with each his own large coffee. While realizing the environment outside the venue, I chose a parking spot nearest the corner exit on the East side. My friend Anthony and I decided to purchase some refreshments and feel out the inside of 7-Eleven before surveying for the full time allotted.Amidst entering the building, one couldn't help but feel comfortable and at home. The employees greeted us instantaneously by means of wide smiles and enthusiasm in helping others. One tall worker named Sam persuaded me to try a flavored and even discounted the beverage when I paid. The coffee smelled of flavorful aromas. The aromas that come with fresh, smoldering coffee beans. I could smell hazelnut, french vanilla, and pumpkin spice. After fixing myself a delicious, mouth-watering pumpkin spice coffee with whipped cream and caramel, I also bought tasty, delectable, greasy wings and an Arizona iced tea. Anthony purchased an Arizona iced tea as well along with a fresh pack of Newport cigarettes. We then bid farewell to the employees, manager, and the owner too, and exited the retailer to the old familiar

Compare the advertising campaigns for Benetton and Barnardos Essay

â€Å"Advertising is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service.† 1 Advertising is used to either attract an audience’s attention, an audience to a product or cause or to persuade the audience the merit or desirability of the product or cause. Advertisers do this by defining the qualities of a product, highlighting the difference to other products or by using emotional appeal, stressing peer pressure, using aspiration, fear or stressing the benefits to the consumer’s lifestyle. The main focus of this essay is to compare advertising methods and campaigns employed by Benetton and Bernardos, one for selling clothes and the other trying to help children in need. Bernardos’ campaign is trying to achieve an awareness of child abuse, giving an image of a child in the place of an adult in situations ranging from standing on top of a large building to being about to use heroin or some other form of drug. By using these emotional images of children in an adult situation it emotionally blackmails us into donating to their cause because adults are accountable for their mistakes, which children are basked in innocence, to have this ripped from under them is like defiling the greatest gift and because Bernardo’s uses children instead of adults in these situations makes us even more emotional even though they are the fake pictures, while they can be considered more shocking than images used by Benetton. Text used with each image is also emotionally moving and makes the audience want to help. The image of â€Å"Martin Ward age 29† shows a young boy standing atop a handrail on a large building looking down against a background of dull, grey and large buildings. The background is almost colourless except the very top right corner, with the Bernardos advert on top of the only sky in the image, which is a grey-blue. This represents a bleak life for the persona in the image, except one small part which seems to be being almost guarded by the Bernardos logo. Also the use of colourful clothing on the child shows us that though he is put into an adult situation and his life is bleak, childishness remains and isn’t completely destroyed. The use of yellow on the clothing can seem to represent hope due to yellow being the perceived colour of light. â€Å"Made to feel worthless as a child, it was hardly surprising that Martin could see no other way out† by using this text they highlight on how the bleak landscape may be that of his own mind and what he believes, and though a child is being used to stand on the handrail it could infact either be the last of Martin’s childhood and innocence or that Martin, aged 29 had jumped off a rooftop to his death because of his childhood and so, the child in him is the one who committed suicide. By using and giving a name to the image, it creates a link to reality. An ordinary picture could be fake, it isn’t alive and can’t affect most people yet you give that persona in the picture a name and all of a sudden it’s like it’s alive and people either shy away and ignore it, or get up and believe in a cause and by doing so, this adds even more power to the extremely power of the image and text. Benetton’s campaign is trying to sell a product by using racial stereotypes to highlight our own stereotypes and stereotypical views in their first campaign, then going on to use real extreme or violent images to ask us why we accept how violent the world in whole is and why we do nothing to stop such atrocities. Benetton’s â€Å"Rice in hand† ad is black to cause the audience to be alerted to the advertisement, while making the audience think about the poorest people in the eastern world and how little they have. The open palm can be interpreted as a hand asking for help because of so little they have. The â€Å"Rice in hand† ad is focusing on our essential needs, thus the use of a plain background, only an open palm which can symbolize friendship or peace, and the bare essential food we need, cutting out the luxuries that the west can afford. However the white background could also present the idea that white people in history have been seen as a â€Å"superior† race and so have encroached on black people’s lands and taken it from them until they are left with their own bare minimums. Both of these make people want to break the stereotype of the hoarding white man and the poor black man. Where as the â€Å"Handcuffs† ad is showing a white man and black man connected at the wrist by hand cuffs, they also appear to be wearing blue prison overalls. The handcuff around the black man’s wrist appears to be tighter because of the veins being more visible but this may be coincidence. This ad draws the audience to think about cultural stereotypes of black males as trouble makers where as white people are seen as average; normal and yet the handcuffs may be seen as a link between races, that we are both on the Earth together yet we are separated, thus the only link is the handcuffs which are forcefully put there. The purpose of this advert is to show the links between the races and how we racially or culturally stereotype each other and though we may not want to be with the other race, we have to. The target audience is everyone who is able to consider these ideas as sooner or later lots of people are subjected to racism, be it causing it or fighting it. Both these adverts are trying to raise awareness of the way different races come into contact with each other and have racial or cultural stereotypes. Benetton have exploited this to sell their products. They have no intention of giving their profits to starving people in Africa with less than the minimum needed, or to make bridges between white and black communities, instead they use these images to make the potential customer think about the advert and this causes it to become stuck in their head which is known to increase chances of buying the product. The slogan of â€Å"United colors by Benetton† also factors into this because it almost tricks the buyer into thinking that their money is going to a good cause. The images used are from real situations are intended to shock by means of style, layout, central focus or colour. They also raise awareness of issues while selling a product and I believe it is right to use real images of human suffering in this way because it brings the troubles of the world into the fuzzy pink clouds that are our norm and by interrupting that normality people complain, to which you can reply â€Å"Then why aren’t you doing anything?† If it takes a clothing company to exploit these images to make people believe in helping and becoming a self-fulfilling prophecy then images of real human suffering should definitely be used. The general style for the second campaign is much more extreme and violent than the first which originally prayed on stereotypes; the second campaign used shock to instill care into people. â€Å"We need to have images that will make people think and discuss. Ad agencies are obsolete, they’re out of touch with the times; they’re far too comfortable. When the client is happy, they stop trying. They don’t want to know what’s going on in the world. They create a false reality and want people to believe in it. We show reality and we’re criticized for it.†2 The second campaigns images forced people to examine their reactions to violent images outside of the TV where they were accepted as normal, and not realized how truly horrific they were until now. The â€Å"Death of AIDS Victim† or â€Å"La Pietà  Ã¢â‚¬  ad is extremely moving because the settings, the people in the image are like that of Jesus and yet this is an AIDS victim being compared to the son of God and yet the grief is the same, loved ones and a priest. The image of the wasted corpse, ravaged by disease is enough to burn into someone’s memory without the loved ones crying and it also gives it a sense of reality and despair and it is because of this reality that people block it because they aren’t strong enough to have their safe world penetrated by the reality of the world and it’s violent nature. â€Å"Michelangelo’s Pietà   during the Renaissance might be fake, Jesus Christ may never have existed. That was real promotion. But we know this death has happened. This is the thing. And the more real the thing is, the less people want to see it.†2 Bernardo’s uses fake images of children in the place of adults in extreme adult situations to make us more emotional and likely to donate to their cause, yet this is seen as acceptable while people should be angry they are effectively being blackmailed emotionally and yet Benetton uses real life images and is criticized. â€Å"Shocking violence in the news is normal, but when you take the same photo out of the news and put a Benetton logo on it, people pause and reflect on their position on the problem. When they can’t come to terms with it, they get mad at us.†2 and yet it is these images that we should be happier about compared to the fakes supplied by Bernardo’s. â€Å"It seems that an advertisement which misleads the consumer with deception and lies is considered more correct†2 and this is true with life, because people don’t want reality, they want their perfect worlds where bad things happen to other people far, far away with no consequences on them, yet when the bad things happen to other people far, far away and are brought to them they are outraged. â€Å"people don’t want news, they want olds†3 â€Å"It has always intrigued me how fakes have been accepted and reality is rejected.†2 After analysis, the Bernardo’s campaign seems better equipped to achieve its purpose because it uses image which though still troubling, is deemed less so than that of Benetton’s. Also because it uses fake images instead of real ones, context is added and so people are able to keep their bubbles of saneness that the world’s violence desperately wants to burst. Although Barnardos seeks to get its audience to give for a good cause, it does it through deceit, lies and emotional blackmail though the end justifies the means and it is seen as acceptable while Benetton’s campaign images gives real life at its core it does so for what is seen as the wrong reasons and so is shunned and criticized. Bibliography: 1 – http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advertising 2 – Oliviero Toscani 3 – â€Å"The Truth: A Novel of Discworld† http://www.amazon.com/review/R3LV503LWFE65Z

History of ELL and Bilingual Trasition Education Essay

History of ELL and Bilingual Trasition Education - Essay Example However, this is not the same case for the students who are â€Å"English Learners† and they need to receive their education via a sheltered English immersion curriculum during the critical transition period. These programs provide all the necessary classroom materials and instructions in English, but also encompass the application of the pupil’s indigenous language when requirement comes. The transition period lasts for approximately a period of one year, but it does not go beyond this threshold. After the child acquires a good and working knowledge in English, the administration moves the student to the regular class to continue with the rest of the gang. This allows guardians or parents to have the ability to apply for waivers from involvement in English immersion classes if their children already have a deep sense of English, or if they have special needs. This adversely affects the way that teaching occurs in the classroom. Teachers are well aware of the challenges they have to put up with and this means that they need to improve on how they deal with their students. The teachers modify their syllabuses to cater for these children as it is important to note that children have different needs and the role of the teacher is to treat each child respectfully and mold the best for them to attain their full potential (Olivia & Bernard, 2012, p. 377). The Flores Consent Decree A consent decree is a stipulated judgment that plays the role of memorializing a charitable agreement between concerned parties to a filed case in revalidation for withdrawal of a criminal charge or in other words to end a public litigation. In the classic consent decree, the defendant agrees to the case or has already ceased the conduct suspected by the plaintiff to be illegal and also consents to a court injunction that bars a repeat conduct in the future. The Flores Consent Decree argued that the programs initiated by the government did not receive sufficient funding to car ry out their roles and the Department of Education failed immensely in ensuring that schools provided necessary and adequate programs. The five main provisions for the decree included the quality of programs, standards for English proficiency, compensatory instruction, IEPs, and monitoring exited students. These were the crucial areas the decree decided to focus much of its attention. The provisions necessary for the implementation of the decree included uniform standards vital to determining English expertise, comparable curriculums for English students, compensatory instructions for students who do not show any signs of progress and regular supervision by the ADE. In a nut shell, the Flores declaration involved mandates that referred to the identification, evaluation, reassessment, instructive services and program observation for English Language Learners educational programs in schools. However is imperative to highlight the fact that once the parties enter the agreement, it is a lmost impossible to review the terms and conditions except in cases where they establish one of the parties obtained the decree by fraud (Ariz, 2005, p.77). Excerpts from Lau v. Nichol Lau v. Nichols (414 U.S. 563 of 1974) was a civil liberties case

CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF A NURSING QUANTITATIVE STUDY Research Paper

CRITICAL APPRAISAL OF A NURSING QUANTITATIVE STUDY - Research Paper Example In the case of NSCLC patients, receipt of radiotherapy or chemotherapy at the time of interview and significant airflow obstruction was considered to be exclusion criteria (Gore et al., 2000). The participants were identified from the outpatient records and the database of the radiotherapy department. The benefits identified by the authors are not direct in nature as far the participants of the study are concerned. However, the sample population of the study is the representative sample of the larger population of COPD patients and NSCLC patients (Gore et al., 2000). The results of the study expect to identify the gaps in the nursing and social care that the sample population receives. Thus the indirect and longer term benefit addressed by the study is that it would come up research findings which would further aid as background data for advanced research in the area. The authors have clearly mentioned that the study was approved by the Hull and East Riding Research ethics committee. Thus it can be assumed that risks of participation addressed by the study. It has been mentioned in the article that the authors obtained written informed consent from all participants. The subjects were identified from the outpatient records and the database of the radiotherapy department. COPD patients were identified from the outpatient records of patients attending for follow up at Hull chest clinic. In the NSCLC group about one third were attending Hull chest clinic and the rest were identified from the database of the department of radiotherapy (Gore et al., 2000). Thus the participation does not appear to be of complete voluntary nature. However as the study has followed the ethical practices as set by Hull and East Riding Research ethics committee and as it has been mentioned that written consents were collected from the patients, possibility of forceful or uniformed inclusion is minimal. It should also be noted here that the study and its design were approved by Hull and E ast Riding Research ethics committee. The major independent variables were COPD and NSCLC. The dependent variables included parameters to measure quality of medical care and quality of social and community life. These parameters included General Health; Vitality; Mental; Pain; Role Emotional; Role Physical; Social functioning and Physical functioning. The dependent parameters on quality of social and community life included access to Counselor; Community Social Worker; Hospital Social Worker; Palliative Services; RSN; District Nurse and Home Help (Gore et al., 2000). The methodology used to collect data included semi- structured interviews, review of documentation and measurement against standardized quality of life tools. The study followed a multi-method design which includes both qualitative and quantitative approaches(Gore et al., 2000). The interdisciplinary nature of the study extending from health sciences to social sciences justifies the design. The authors claim to be of th e first of its kind to have used such a methodology. . The time period of for data collection of the study has not been specifically mentioned. Patients were interviewed in their own homes by a single interviewer (JG). At the time of interview patients performed spirometric tests The data derived from the interview were coded and, with the QoL data and was

Raymond carver's cathedral Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Raymond carver's cathedral - Essay Example Life is so mysterious he thought as the two men discussed over the issues with his boss oblivious of the relationship between the blind man and the wife. Ali sprang into action when he was ordered to get a heavy paper and a pen to draw a cathedral. Ali was fond of paintings and had even bought two or more paintings for his girlfriend during her birthdays. Ali came back carrying the piece of paper he thought would be good for drawing. At the moment, he was the only audience to the art making process. Ali watched in amazement as his boss and the blind man drew the cathedral on the paper. The wife joined a minute later and they watched together as the two men drew the cathedral with their eyes closed. By the time the two men were done with the drawing, Ali could not help realizing the true nature of humanity. According to Ali, this was the most defining moment, which defined the true meaning of sight versus

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

Legionaires Disease - Research Paper Example The laboratory tests of the patients suffering from legionnaire’s disease reveal liver dysfunction, renal dysfunction and electrolyte imbalance. Chest X-ray shows consolidation of portion of lungs. Ataxia, confusion and memory loss are also common signs of legionnaire’s disease. (Levinson 2008) Legionnaire’s disease is caused by a bacteria Legionella pneumophila. Legionella pneumophila is a gram negative, aerobic bacterium which is primarily a human attacking bacterium. Pontiac fever is also caused by legionella pneumophila in which no pneumonic symptoms are seen. Legionella pneumophila are found in aquatic bodies. Legionella pneumophila bacteria grows at temperatures between 25 ?C to 45 ?C. Legionella pneumophila takes two to ten days to cause legionnaires disease after attacking a person. Legionella pneumophila can also cause the inflammation of pericardium, haemodialysis fistula and infections of the skin. A Legionella pneumophila bacterium is usually transmit ted by inhaling aerosol or drinking water containing legionella pneumophila bacteria. Aerosol is a liquid droplet or solid particle which floats in gaseous medium. Water is evaporated in the form of small droplets which are unable to be seen by naked eye. If the water contains bacteria legionella pneumophila then the evaporated droplet will also contain the bacteria and if someone inhales the droplets then the person will get infected. When a person inhales the aerosol containing legionella pneumophila, the bacteria move towards the lungs but the cilia prevent their entry to the lungs. Smoking causes the injury to the cilia and makes this possible for the bacteria to enter the lungs. In patients who smoke it is easier for the bacteria to reach the lungs and attack the respiratory cells. The bacteria enter the cells in response to which the neutrophils and macrophages migrate towards the bacteria to destroy them. The macrophages engulf the bacteria but cannot destroy them and the bac teria start replication within the macrophages. The bacteria replicate in a quantity which makes the macrophage burst and the bacteria come out of the macrophage and attack a new macrophage. Legionella pneumophila does all this with the help of secretions. The legionella secrete different types of secretions. The chief secretions of legionella pneumophila are type IV secretion system and type II secretion system. Type IV secretion system is called icm (intracellular multiplication) or dot (defective organelle trafficking) which are required for intracellular growth of legionella in macrophages. It is for this reason that legionella pneumophila is also known as intracellular pathogen. Dot/icm secretion is the most important secretion of the legionella pneumophila which is necessary for legionella bacteria pathogenicity. Dot/icm secretion systems have different substrates like Ralf, LidA, LepA and LepB. The localization of ARF on phagosomes which contain legionella pneumophila require s the Ralf. LidA is required for the multiplication of bacteria within the macrophages; LepA and LepB cause the release of the legionella pneumophila from the macrophages after intracellular multiplication. The sources where the water contains legionella pneumophila bacteria are cooling towers, evaporative coolers, whirlpool spas, ice making machinery

Isb dis Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 250 words

Isb dis - Essay Example I think both coal plants and nuclear power plants are equally dangerous. The contaminants leaked from either can pollute the air and water bodies and even underground water sources for miles around. I would however feel that the coal plant would be the more dangerous choice. Coal plants regularly disgorge carbon dioxide and toxins like nitrous oxide and sulfur dioxide. Coal fly ash that pours into slurry pits contains toxic heavy metals. Coal pollution exposes people to low doses of radiation. Statistics show that these emissions kill 24,000 Americans every year. The cumulative effects of these on humans promise to be catastrophic. In normal circumstances Nuclear power plants produce cleaner energy. Since there is no burning, there are no emissions either which makes it the safer choice. Of course if there should be an accident like Fukushima or Chernobyl or a terrorist attack, the results could be unimaginable. The choice of living near either a coal plant or nuclear power plant is like choosing between the devil and the deep sea. I think living near a nuclear plant would pose a lesser risk, although I would prefer not to live near

Sales function for a company with foreign sales operation Assignment

Sales function for a company with foreign sales operation - Assignment Example For some time some women thought that by using tampon they will lose their virginity that led them to prefer pads over tampon (James, &Anthony, 2004). The new aggressive advertisements measures are part of high competitive campaigns to help penetrate the overseas market where religious and cultural issues prove to be a barrier. The risk associated with rolling out a single product in global market proved to be too high hence it was acquired by PROCTOR & GAMBLE. Tambrands has become part of P&G which has wide marketing and distribution capabilities. P&G Company has expanded over the recent years by procuring products and marketing the products globally. P&G had a good market reach which includes even third world countries. P&G has always spearheaded the use new media both radio and television as way advertising, in continuation P&G has stepped up its internet activities in the web to promote their products and they have launched a website that provides teenage girls with information about relationship and puberty(James, &Anthony,2004). In areas where the internet is not readily available i.e. sub Saharan Africa a personal approach has been applied by P&G. Working jointly with others like Always, P&G drives fundraiser for the united nations association for the campaign of ‘protecting future’ .a program designed to improve the African girl child

Marketing and its importance in Britain society Essay - 1

Marketing and its importance in Britain society - Essay Example Marketing is a very vast term, a simple definition can be a place where the buyers buy and the sellers sell, now one can imagine that the place in the world where the buyers and sellers are doing all the desired work is in fact the entire world, so the term marketing is not just limited to the buying and selling but so many other things are also included in the same, although marketing is there in the world right from the beginning of this world though it was not actually known that it is known as marketing but it was still there, however the modern marketing which was quite familiar to the people of different societies came in view in the period of 1900 to 1940, particularly in the years of 1910 to 1925, the notable reason for the existence of true marketing was perhaps the saturation in the industrial sector of this world, the products were increasing and now people had gained the sense of what is right and what is wrong, what is more beneficial and what is less, where to invest an d where not to, so these small growing facts gained the attention of many businessmen and related people and they started finding the ways through which they could have gained an edge over the others in terms of selling there items or units. â€Å"The majority of this development took place in the United States, although there were notable contributions also from Britain, especially in specialist sub-disciplines such as advertising†. According to another definition on marketing â€Å"marketing meets the needs of markets by producing economic values which, while not so tangible, are qualitatively just as real and quantitatively more significant than those produced in agriculture, mining, and manufacturing†.

Google wallet Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Google wallet - Research Paper Example With the help of Google Wallet, people can successfully make secure payments by simply tapping the mobile phone and then entering the security code on PayPass enabled terminal checkout. The overall process of making transaction is simple and convenient for the users. Despite of the fact that Google Wallet technology has recently been introduced and it is still in its early stages, however it has been predicted in next few years and it would grow and increase its users. Google do not be charging any amount from users and merchants for having access to wallet. Debit or credit card if stolen can be used in some situations without signature or personal identification number however Google wallet has an extra layer of security as additional security is required to complete transactions (Google Wallet). Google has claimed that it is just the starting of a new era and in future Google Wallet would become a necessity for everyone (Google Wallet). Also it is expected that with the passage of time, compatibility of Google Wallet would extend to all Google Android smartphones. Google aims to support all the cards that an individual would keep in his wallet so that Google Wallet can take place of these cards (Google Wallet). According to Drew Sievers, CEO of mFoundry, sales volume of Google wallet would grow as the number of merchant increases, more banks sign agreement with the company and new phones are made compatible. He further added that merchants would be able to have an increase in the number of qualified customers as Google Wallet grows (Tode. 2011). Google has to face different challenges in order to ensure growth of Google Wallet and make it a success and the most important hurdles or challenges that it has to face are providing different variety of cellular phones compatible with the software, making the software easy to use and interested cardholders and merchants ready for the software. However, considering the

Comparison between the “Incident” and the “Travel” Poems Essay Example for Free

Comparison between the â€Å"Incident† and the â€Å"Travel† Poems Essay Comparison between the â€Å"Incident† and the â€Å"Travel† Poems Introduction First poem: Incident Keep looking straight at me. Now I was eight and very small, And he was no whit bigger, And so I smiled, but he poked out His tongue, and called me, â€Å"Nigger.† I saw the whole of Baltimore From May until December; Of all the things that happened there That’s all that I remember. Second poem: Travel By Edna St. Vincent Millay The railroad track is miles away, And the day is loud with voices speaking, Yet there isnt a train goes by all day But I hear its whistle shrieking. All night there isnt a train goes by, Though the night is still for sleep and dreaming, But I see its cinders red on the sky, And hear its engine steaming. My heart is warm with friends I make, And better friends Ill not be knowing; Yet there isnt a train I wouldnt take, No matter where its going. Comparison between the two poems above   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first aspect to compare between the two poems above is the themes portrayed. In the first poem, â€Å"Incident† highlights the theme of racial discrimination. The speaker in the poem tells the audience how he was travelling in a bus when he encountered an event that he says that he is unlikely to forget. He says that while in the bus travelling to Baltimore, his happiness suddenly turned to sadness when a young boy of his age called him a Niger. In stanza three, the speaker says, â€Å"†¦Ã¢â‚¬ ¦but he poked out His tongue, and called me, â€Å"Niger†. Niger is a word that is used to sarcastically insult African-Americans living in America. The speaker felt so sad and in the next eight months (from May to December) that he spent in Baltimore; he cannot remember anything else but that annoying incident. In stanza four of the poem, the speaker confirms that he can never forget. He says, â€Å"†¦.From May to Decem ber; of all the things that happened there, That’s all that I remember†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   On the other hand, the theme in the second poem, â€Å"Travel†, is that of discontentment. The speaker describes her feelings to the audience. She says in stanza threeâ€Å"My heart is warm with the friends I make, And better friends I’ll not be knowing†. In these lines, the speaker says that although she is presently happy with the friends that she has; she thinks the friends that she has not met already may be better. This is a clear indication of dissatisfaction that the speaker expresses.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is also important to analyze the choice of the titles of the poems that the authors use and find out how relevant they are to the poem. The title that the author chooses carries too much weight in the understanding of the poem. The theme of the poem is highlighted in the title, albeit hidden and, therefore, identified after reading the whole poem. In the first poem, the title is â€Å"Incident†. The literal meaning of this word is a happening that is unusual. In this poem, the speaker describes an unusual happening that apparently happened to him. In his context, the speaker experienced an incident. Therefore, the title is very relevant to the poem. In the second poem, the title is â€Å"Travel†. The word travel means movement from one location to another. In the poem, the speaker is discontented by her present state. She longs to move to the next level. She uses train metaphorically to indicate that she wants to cease the next opportunity available and move to the next level. Therefore, the title captures this desire of the speaker so vividly and, therefore, in the context of the theme in this poem, it is very relevant.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The other aspect that needs comparison in these two poems is the choice of the language. The language that the author uses is aimed at making the poem interesting to the reader while bringing out the desired message. In the first poem, â€Å"Incident†, the author chooses to use the first person â€Å"I† in the poem. He allows the speaker to tell the audience about this incident in a direct manner. The reader, who is the audience, is able to connect with the speaker when the speaker talks about himself. For instance, in stanza two, the speaker says, â€Å"Now I was eight and very young,†¦..†. The speaker informs the audience that, at the time of the incident that happened to him, he was eight years old and was very small. Incidentally, the second poem also uses the first person â€Å"I†. The speaker tells the audience about her feelings. This style improves the connection between the audience and the speaker because the poem is about the speaker.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   In addition, the two poems have used contracted language in several instances. In the first poem, there is the use of â€Å"That’s† instead of â€Å"That is† in the last stanza line four. This makes the poem informal and makes the readers connect with the speaker easily, especially in the modern times. In the second poem, instances of contractions are numerous. For example, there is the use of â€Å"I’ll† instead of â€Å"I will†, â€Å"isn’t† instead of â€Å"is not† and â€Å"it’s† instead of â€Å"it is† in the last stanza. Again, this contraction makes the poem informal. In the modern times, the poem becomes understandable. The choice of contractions is deliberate. The contractions make the number of syllables in the lines where they are equal to the rest of the lines.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   Another aspect of the poems that is worth comparison is the use of the rhyme technique in the poems. Both poems have a regular rhyme pattern that serve to make them more interesting to read. The rhyme pattern in the first poem is ABCB. To illustrate this rhyming pattern, it is necessary to pick the last words in one stanza. In this case, the last stanza has last words as â€Å"†¦Baltimore, †¦December, †¦there and †¦remember†. In the case of the second poem, the rhyme pattern is ABAB. The last stanza has the last words as â€Å"†¦make, †¦knowing, †¦..take and †¦.knowing†. The words illustrate the regular rhyme pattern. The same patterns are repeated throughout the poems. The regular rhyme pattern help make the poem rhythmical and lyrical.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   It is important to compare the mood in each, and the tone used in either poem. In the first poem, the mood is jovial initially as depicted in the first and the second stanza. The speaker expresses his joy when he smiles at the stranger boy. However, the mood changes to sadness after the speaker is insulted by the boy when he calls him Nigger. As the mood changes, so does the tone. It starts as joyfully to a somber one. In the second poem, the tone is optimistic. The speaker is optimistic and hopeful of a better future. However, there is some tinge of negativity in the tone in the first two stanzas. This negative tone expresses speaker’s dissatisfaction about her current status.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The first poem uses imagery when the speaker tells the audience how he saw a boy staring straight at him. He smiled at him. The reader can vividly see the mental image of the speaker smiling at the stranger. In the second poem, the author employs metaphor by using a train to signify different paths in life. The speaker says that â€Å"†¦..Yet there isnt a train I wouldnt take, No matter where its going† in the last stanza. It means that the speaker is willing to take any path in life although there is no opportunity that is presenting itself. In addition, the second poem has employed personification in the first stanza when the speaker implies that the Train â€Å"whistling† and â€Å"shrieking†.   Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚  Ã‚   The two poems have so much in common. The similarities emanate from the choice of the language and the styles employed. Therefore, it is clear that poets have one thing in common as far as their writing skills are concerned. They have a rich background of poetry techniques. They always employ them appropriately to suit the message intended to be delivered. References St, John R. A. Explorations in Literature. Greenville, S.C: BJU Press,  2013. Print. Source document

Organizational Change Management Theory

Organizational Change Management Theory People and Organization Management in the Built Environment Organizational Change Management Theory Introduction- To understand change in an organization, it is important to study an organization and its culture. This is because, changing an organization is nothing but changing its culture which ultimately causes change in performance. An Organization can be defined as â€Å"social arrangement of consciously coordinated activities for achieving controlled performances in the pursuit of common goals†. (Price and Chahal, 2006, p. 238) Organizational culture can be defined as â€Å"characteristic, spirit and belief of an organization [†¦] generally held about how people should behave and treat each other in an organization [†¦] and attitudes to change.† (Price and Chahal, 2006, p. 238) Depending on the market requirements, an organization is setup according to- resource allocation, production capacity, technological requirement etc. This is why organizations have to constantly change to adapt to the ever-changing market while securing the organizations perspectives. Depending on the market situation, it can be a crisis change or chosen change. Organizational change can be developmental (doing better than current situation), transitional (implementation of new desired state) or transformational (evolutionary new state). (Price and Chahal, 2006) But whether it is intended or forced, the company needs to change in order to remain competent. Change management helps resist the effect that change in the market has on an organization, increasing the importance of change management over the years. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) Changing an organizational culture affects the people involved in it in various ways like change in job profile, learning new techniques, job cut, etc. So, it becomes necessary to manage all the people involved, to successfully implement change while not disturbing the companys goal. This makes change management a complex process. Considering different orientations like planning, stake-holder management etc. change management can be defined as- A continuous aggregation of processes, instruments and techniques, to improve the efficiency of the organization in problem solving and target attainment, achieved by eliminating the causes of resistance to change, working in an organized and systematic way, from both company and employee perspectives. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) Change process: Since the whole change process is very complex, let us consider a case-study to understand it better. We will analyze it using three models of change management, after which we will attempt to draw a strategic change management framework which can be used in any organization. Our case-study will also be critically analyzed against this framework. Case-study Aluminium Company of America (ALCOA) (1990) plant at Swansea is the company under review. (Price and Chahal, 2006) Senior managers of this company realized the need to review their plant culture and processes. They presented their case to the ALCOA board at Pittsburg, USA emphasizing on the companys present and desired state. The board was convinced about the need to change. Senior managers then established a taskforce to take the responsibility of the change program. It had 12 members ranging from employees, production managers, engineers, personnel, operators and craftsman. The task force drew the following Vision Statement- ‘To help establish ALCOA, Swansea, as a model company by developing a plant that contributes to the long-term prosperity and security of the company and its employees. (Price and Chahal, 2006, p. 245) In 1991, the taskforce drafted the internal document comprising of some important elements and strategies including vision, need to change, benefits, critical factors, resistance, etc. The ‘plan to overcome resistance was: â€Å"[] we must go forward and improve or cease to do business†. (Price and Chahal, 2006, p. 245) The taskforce reviewed and changed their manufacturing processes and procedures by benchmarking with other companies like ALCOA Tennessee, Cadburys etc. They observed no initial resistance while implementing new processes and procedures. But, later they noticed some symptoms like reduced productivity and they observed the reasons, as employee aspects like working practices, multi-tasking, pay, arising because of the old structure of organization having seniority and unionized systems. To overcome this, the workforce appointed a new team, which developed a system by analyzing the organizations present and desired state. They changed the working philosophy of the plant workforce and the basis for remuneration. They conducted a series of workshop trainings for the entire workforce. Though this entire process was difficult, they observed improved performance at the start of 2000. They were very close to their targets. The new reduced workforce was highly committed and motivated. But afte r all this success, ALCOA Swansea unexpectedly closed down in 2003. The senior management blamed overcapacity and slow market growth for failure. (Price and Chahal, 2006) Analysis: Although the senior management blamed overcapacity and slow market growth, it clearly indicates that they failed to analyze the market and adjust to it by aggressive marketing, necessary lay-offs etc. To understand the reasons for the failure, we will analyze the case-study using three models viz. The Leavitts Model (1965), Weisbords six-boxes (1976), McKinsey 7S Framework (1981-82). Leavitts Model: Leavitt focused on four variables in the organization, their interdependence and their influence on the change process. The variables considered are- * Task and subtasks- Those which are involved in achieving the target. * People- Who carry out the task. * Technology- Which is adapted to achieve the task. * Structure of the organization- In terms of authority, communication, workflow etc. Interlinking of the variables suggests that this is an interactive and continuous process. He did not take external factors into account. (Falletta, 2005) In our case-study, the first factor to vary was ‘Task. Change managers decided to change the companys plant culture and processes. Then they appointed a workforce, so the second variable changed was ‘People. Then ‘Technology and ‘Structure changed as a result of the changed plant processes and procedures that is change in the working philosophy and remuneration. But later on, an outbreak of resistance demanded a change in the human variable as well as the Structure. This resulted in the creation of a new highly motivated workforce. This increased the companys productivity and changed the sub-task, which was to win enough projects for the workforce to keep them motivated and achieve the ‘vision. But, the senior management was not a part of the task force and became an external factor leading to ignorance of vital marketing function. Considering the slow market growth, the change managers could have changed either ‘Technology or ‘People variabl e; that is they could have sold some machinery or reduced the workforce to achieve the desired productivity. Ignorance of all these resulted in failure of the change process and ultimately company closure. Weisbords six-boxes: Weisbord considered six broad categories as shown above. When compared with Leavitts model, there are three different factors considered- * Relationship- The way in which people interact with each other and with the technology. * Rewards- Given to workforce for performance. * Leadership- Common leadership tasks including the equilibrium between the other factors. External environment is also considered in this model unlike Levitts model. It also tells us about the importance of input and output in relation to the external and internal environments. It does not highlight much on interconnectivity of all the internal factors (Falletta, 2005). In our case study, Relationship between the team was maintained well, making it highly motivated. Relationship between people and technology was also maintained which was achieved through training. Provision for rewards was made by changing the basis for remuneration. But, the Leadership failed. This is because of the failure to analyze the balance between external and internal inputs and outputs like reduced market growth, less productivity and profitability. This may be the result of lack of co-ordination between senior and junior management and non inclusion of senior management in the task force. When the junior managers observed lesser productivity than expected, senior managers should have made an attempt to get more jobs by aggressive marketing or should have reduced the manpower. The ‘vision was partially achieved. Though they tried to achieve employee security by retaining them, the companys perspective of long term prosperity and security was not achieved and the proc ess failed. McKinsey 7S Framework: This model was drawn by the employees at McKinsey, who did corresponding research in business and industry. It considers seven variables which are- * Strategy- The plan in allocating resources to achieve the target. * Systems- Existing processes followed in the organization. * Staff-Different categories of personnel. * Skills- Different capabilities. * Style- How key managers behave to achieve the goal. * Shared value- The significant guiding concepts common among the organization. The interconnectivity between these is shown by the shape of the model. The author advises that the company cannot just change one or two variables to change the whole organization. In order to achieve long term benefit, variables should be changed to become more congruent as a system, suggesting that change is a continuous process. It does not consider external environment. The concept of the performance or effectiveness is not clear in the model. (Falletta, 2005) In our case-study, Shared values are the ‘vision statement as this is the common goal of all the employees. Skills were as per the requirement of the change process which was achieved through training. Production Systems were as per requirements, but Financial Systems needed more check on productivity and profitability. Staff and Style failed because of lack of coordination between senior and junior managers due to non-inclusion of the senior management in the task force, making them an external factor. As a result, they were unable to establish system to take care of shared values. Strategy failed as the company did not allocate more staff in marketing team, while production team needed lay-off. Hence, the vision was not achieved and company closed down. Strategic framework of Change management We will draw a six step strategic framework to help implement change in any organization. We will also analyze our case study using this framework. The main distinguishing characteristic of this framework is, that it considers the detailed role of all those involved in the change management process. 1. Preparing the organization This initiates the thought process. The first step is to study the organizations present state to determine its change capacity to have a realistic vision. Studying the organizations present routines gives an understanding of how the organization operates which guides about its performance in a specific routine. This will again strengthen the understanding of organizational operations and will guide about relevant performance. (Feldman, 2003, p. 729) Change managers then interact with different stakeholders to understand the need to change to achieve the right purpose and agree on the organizations desired state, considering internal and external drivers of change. This helps managers list out broad types of cultural and technological changes required. This is then conveyed to the entire workforce along with the benefits the company and employees would get through the change. This helps win their confidence and make them feel secured and involved. Care is taken not to convey informat ion about a specific group or individual to avoid the feeling of mistrust amongst the whole organization. (Price and Chahal, 2006) In our case study, this step was implemented effectively. Organizational analysis for present and future state was done perfectly and it was conveyed to people in such a way that everybody was convinced about the need to change. 2. Developing the process Vision is the guiding statement of the change process which relates the companys ultimate goal, making it the most important step of the change management process. The vision and objectives should be realistic and clear. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) Change managers first decide three groups viz. implementation team, range of stakeholders and workforce. Feedback from step one is analyzed and used as the basis to find out different change strategies. All these strategies are then evaluated against certain questions which are * Does the option have a clear perspective and a systematic approach? * Does the option support organizational or personal goals? * Were all the working environments and source perspectives considered? (Price and Chahal, 2006) Different change strategies analyzed above are again brainstormed and evaluated within the group and a final strategic process is decided which can even be the combination of some of the options evaluated. Finally a working document is drafted. Different sections in the draft include- Background, Vision, Goal, Objectives, Design, Implementation plan, Timescales, etc. (Price and Chahal, 2006) Implementation plan should include important aspects like cultural development, employee mobilization, knowledge management, incentive systems, transformation map, and stakeholder management. It is observed that 10% to 30% of companies fail to plan for this. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) Cost-benefit analysis is a very important aspect of change. Every change costs something which can be categorized as economic and psychological. Economic cost is related to expenditure incurred, while psychological cost is the strain caused when people try to adjust to the change. (Newstrom and Davis, 2000) So this cost-benefit analysis is required to determine the worthiness of change. Only 40% of the companies think that cost-benefit analysis is a must because all activities are investments that must pay off in the end. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) In our case study, the vision statement was well written and the implementation plan was fairly drawn. But they failed to apply the Cost-benefit analysis at the right time and could not recognize that their resources were over assigned. Also, they failed to plan for the changing market situation, therefore could not adjust to the market growth. 3. Test support This is the phase before the final planning stage. Once the strategic process is decided, management ensures that the team is still enthusiastic about the plan. This is the last opportunity to review all the documentation and accommodate any last minute developments before the actual implementation. This stage confirms the decision about the strategic process. (Newstrom and Davis, 2000) In our case study, this step was either not taken or not mentioned in the article. But, it ultimately did not affect the process. 4. Communication Successful communication of vision and objectives at the right time, to the stakeholders and the people affected by the change is the key to success. In order to link strategic and operational change, it is necessary to communicate it ending on a warning. (Whipp and Pettigrew, 1992) Implementation team should identify the effect change has on the groups as well as on the individuals. While assigning new jobs, they should try to cooperate with the employees to the highest degree possible and make them feel involved. â€Å"When people think about what actions they are to take in an organizational routine, they are not confined to thinking about performances of the routine they are enacting but may think broadly about a wide variety of organizational performances†. (Feldman, 2003, p. 729) Change managers need to be proactive in reducing the amount of resistance by having the ‘plan to overcome resistance ready. (Price and Chahal, 2006) Personal communication, conflict management, leadership development and team building are the most important aspects of effective communication. Retention management is the most overlooked aspect observed in nearly 50% of the companies. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) In our case study, communication with employees ended on a warning note as given in the plan to overcome resistance. Change was communicated successfully and the managers cooperated with the workforce resulting in successful restructuring of the organization; correcting all the defects. 5. Implementation This is a crucial phase of the process. Change managers follow the implementation plan and continue to do so till the end. If not done properly, there is a great risk of encountering resistance which can be recognized through symptoms like reduced productivity, gossips/rumors, etc. When recognized, its source needs to be identified and treated according to the ‘plan to overcome resistance drawn at step 4. (Price and Chahal, 2006) There are some common implementation barriers observed, such as- too many activities without prioritization, no sustained monitoring of activities (observed in more than 40% of the companies). Other barriers are- constant reorganizations of the company, inadequate support from line management, inadequate readiness to take responsibility etc. (Cap Gemini Ernst Young, 2004) In our case study, implementation of the plan was successful in the beginning. When they observed resistance, they took necessary action against it. But it was not followed till the end. The plan was to increase the productivity. When the market slowed down, necessary action should have been taken like workforce reduction or aggressive marketing to bring sufficient jobs for the highly motivated workforce. 6. Evaluation Change managers can evaluate the effectiveness of the process using Key Performance Indicators, at any stage of implementation. Generally, planning engineer or implementation team is not involved because of the obvious vested interests. Middle management can do it better, with unbiased views. This can be done with process inspections and audits. New processes can be reviewed and compared with the chosen process. After doing so, if any problem is identified, necessary adjustments need to be made to the process; this can be repeated several times. This continues and the process becomes a driver for the next change. (Price and Chahal, 2006) In our case study, this step was almost neglected by the change managers. They either failed to analyze the less productivity resulting from the slow market growth or failed to incorporate necessary changes in the process to achieve the vision. Conclusion: Change management is a very complex process because of the different factors involved in it. Though there is no globally accepted model, we can use different models in the same situation. Some models are easier to use, while others need more critical analysis according to the situation. It depends on the change manager to adapt a certain process. If all the steps are followed through, keeping the vision in mind, we can successfully implement change. Otherwise it can be as disastrous as company closure.

Forrest Gump Book Vs Movie English Literature Essay

Forrest Gump Book Vs Movie English Literature Essay Forrest Gump: Book vs. Movie Written in 1986 by Winston Groom, Forrest Gump was eventually made into a movie in 1994 and won an Academy Award. Both the book and its film concern the title character, a man who goes through many obstacles and a number of historical events around the world. Although both works explore the character of Forrest Gump and his lifelong journeys, the original book differs in many ways from its film version. The film portrays Forrest as a charming, mentally challenged man who brightens not only the people around him, but the world itself through his numerous encounters with celebrities, his brushes with key historical events, and more important through his down to earth attitude. The overall tone of the book is much darker than that of the easy going family film. In the book, Forrest does drugs while visiting Harvard, uses profanity, explores a career as a professional wrestler, and even gambles. Although the character in the book seems to mean well, he makes many bad decisions and is sometimes has angry outbursts, unlike the character in the film. Forrest Gumps character in the novel is much different than that of the man portrayed by actor Tom Hanks. Grooms depiction of Gump is rougher, with Gump remaining very much a idiot throughout the entirety of the book, whereas by the end of the movie the character matures into a more thoughtful, wiser, and smarter person. Grooms Gump regularly enjoys marijuana, and although he does make his living from the shrimp business, his gives this business over to his crew deciding at the end of the novel to leave them to be a street performer. Gump is much more of an idiot in the book, rather than Hanks lovable, mentally challenged portrayal. In the book Forrest can solve complex mathematical equations and is a musical prodigy and a gifted chess player. A number of important characters die throughout the course of the movie. Although this develops Forrest Gump as a character and shows his growing maturity in the wake of tragedy, these characters do not die in the novel. Forrests love interests, Jenny, as well as his mother, both live on at the close of the novel. Forrests father is a dock worker rather than a white supremacist, and his mother never resorts to sexual favors in order to keep Forrest in school. In addition, important characters were left out of the film, including Forrests college roommate Curtis and a gorilla named Sue, whom Forrest befriends on his mission into space. Although Forrest takes part in historical events in both the movie and the book, a number of these events were altered, cancelled out completely, or invented for the movie. The book spans 26 chapters, while the film concerns itself with the first 11 chapters and certain events from the books final chapters, cancelling out a bunch of material. Forrest is a football star early in the book; however, he is later described as overweight and not the movie versions avid runner. Forrests run across the United States does not happen in the book, doesnt wear leg braces, doesnt marry Jenny, or even graduate college. The book also describes Forrests participation in a NASA mission into space, his time as an actor, his time spent amongst cannibals, and a scene in which he saves the life of Chairman Mao Zedong during a trip to China. These are some of the parts of the book that were cut from the film to keep it close to two hours. Now on to Forrest and Jenny relationship, we perceive that on the movie, they were actually friends. Their ups and downs show how Forrest loved Jenny, however she feels much sadness and compassion for him. She did not dream about marrying him or living with him. She had other intentions. In the book, she really loved Forrest, although being afraid of this feeling. She began one serious relationship with him and then finishes it when she sees him kissing another girl. Then, she decides to live far from Forrest, although being pregnant with his child. At last, we see one more time that the ideas of the director of the movie and the author of the book are very different. In the movie, after Jennys death, Forrest looks after his son, what reveals that one more time he is figured out as being more independent on the movie. In the book, Jenny marries another man and makes a family with little Forrest and her husband. She feels that Forrest would not be right raising the child. Compared towards books, movies loosely tend to focus more on gathering more people and earning more profit. In order for the movie to be profitable, it has to satisfy peoples desires by including love story, the success of an ordinary person, and a happy ending. The director of the movie would probably have taken the risk of changing much of the original story, because he knew that such components of the movie could more effectively bring the moviegoers and drive him to success.

John Gradys Journey in All the Pretty Horses :: essays research papers

John Grady's journey is one that leads him from innocence to experience and lets him find the 'paradise' for which he is looking. Grady is an outcast. At beginning of the novel he feels out of place in the world in which he is living. On top of that he neither understands why it is changing nor is he willing to accept it. As he is sitting in the theatre watching his mother's play, the narrator tells us his thoughts: 'He'd the notion that there would be something in the story itself to tell him about the way the world was or was becoming but there was not.' The times are changing and he's unwilling to give up the past. The world is becoming modernized and people like him, cowboys and ranchers, are slowly disappearing. He runs away from home because he desires to find peace within himself as well as a place where he can feel he belongs. Here begins the adventure of John Grady and his best friend Lacey Rawlins. It is important to note here the means of travel. The story is taking place after World War II, a time when cars are fairly common, yet these boys decide to go on horseback, like in the fading old days. This is just another concept of how they are unwilling to give up a fading past. When they first begin their journey, the boys are having a good time. In a sense they?re two buddies on a road trip with no real motive. Rawlins even mentions, ?You know what?I could get used to this life.? Then they meet Blevins, the foil in the plot that veers the two boys of their course and also has plays a role in the lasting change of their person ality. Their meeting with him gives an insight into Grady?s character. Rawlins is against letting Blevins come along with them, but because of John?s kind nature he ends up allowing Blevins to come. It?s because of this kindness and sense of morality, he gets into trouble later on. The crossing of the Rio Grande into Mexico is an important structural device and symbol in the novel. This is when they enter the ?frame? of the novel in which all the conflicts take place. The crossing of the river naked is symbolic for the cleansing of their souls as well as a new beginning. In only a short time after arriving in Mexico, conflicts start.

Roxana’s Search for Identity in Daniel Defoe’s Roxana Essay -- Roxana

Roxana’s Search for Identity in Daniel Defoe’s Roxana In all of Daniel Defoe's major works, his characters always feel a need to narrate their history, specifically through the adventures they had rather than any description of who they were. Some people would suggest that this compulsion to give such an account reveals a burden of guilt the narrator is trying to free him or herself from, and an attempt to feel more secure in terms of identity. In the article, "Why Roxana Can Never Find Herself," Peter New offers his theory to explain why Defoe's characters, and Roxana in specific, are unable to obtain any real security of identity, even though they employ this method to achieve it. In New's definition, a secure identity can only be achieved through a full acknowledgment and sense of pride in ones history. Roxana does try to define herself in terms of what she has done rather than who she is, which is an acknowledgment of her past. However, she tells her story because she wants to gain a sense of both freedom and security, but the two are mutually exclusive. If Roxana writes as a penitent, she is choosing to be free from her past, or to "disown" it, thereby losing her security of identity. However, if she chooses security and owns up to all that she has been, then she can never be freed from her burden of guilt. Thus she is both trying to "embrace and to reject [her] own history" (318). We see this tendency towards confusio n and contradiction in Roxana all throughout the novel. She is constantly rationalizing her actions in the past, but immediately following that with a description of her feelings of guilt and regret. In New's interpretation, it is this tendency which proves that Roxana can never really find herself becaus... ...this theory to show that although Roxana is desperately trying to define herself and discover her true identity, ironically, her selves will never be able to be integrated. His final conclusion about Roxana's character is that She is condemned to search for an identity in the story of her selves and be unable ever to find it, because she both wants and does not want to be legion (329). This article presents an interesting, and valid argument about the character of Roxana in all her complexities. However, I think other arguments could be as plausible, depending on your viewpoint of Roxana. Are we to see her as insecure in her identity and confused as to what she wants? And if so, can we ever really know her true character if she cannot ever know her self? Work Cited New, Peter. "Why Roxana Can Never Find Herself." The Modern Language Review 91 (1996): 317-329.

Team Sports Economis Assignment

Name: James Sumner Student ID: 33255189 Question: Critically evaluate the approaches and policies to achieve competitive balance in North American Sports and European sports through an examination of competitive balance philosophy and policy in North American and European professional sports organisations. Illustrate your analysis with examples from both the European and North American professional sports leagues. Tutor: John Embery Statement of Authenticity: I confirm that this submission is all my own work. Any quotations are properly referenced using the Harvard referencing method.All errors and omission are my responsibility alone. Word Count: 1744 There is a lot of distinction today between the North American and the European model for sport in order to achieve what each seems to perceive as the right competitive balance. This can be defined as ‘the actual performance of a league to the performance that would have occurred if the league had the maximum degree of competitiv e balance in the sense that all teams were equal in playing strengths. The less the deviation of actual league performance from that ideal league, the greater is the degree of competitive balance’ (1).This essay will outline what policies and approaches both the American and European sports models have in order to achieve competitive balance by looking at each continents system of competition, the extensive system of team and player restraints in America such as salary caps compared to the relaxed system Europe has and also amateur and professional sports in both models. It is important to note that not all sports adhere to their so called ‘model’. Sports in America such as football, baseball, hockey and basketball are very diversified in terms of rules, scheduling, commercialization etc.The European model is largely based on one sport, football/soccer which we know is not what other sports follow. In North America there is a closed system of competition meaning no promotion or relegation from a league. This means that the same teams compete in the same league every year. From this we can conclude that the North American model supports equality and fairness not competitiveness, which could then be perceived as good for achieving competitive balance in the sense that teams do not have to worry about being relegated to a lower division.This would also mean that teams get to know their counterparts very well which would also add to the competitive balance aspect of sport. However no promotion or relegation may also be deemed as uncompetitive and unbalanced because teams know each year they will still be competing in the same league the season after. This could lead to clubs getting complacent and happy to be in mid-table of their respective leagues as the amount of money all teams earn is astronomical. In NFL the Dallas Cowboys were valued in 2012 at $2. billion (2. ) yet didn’t even finish in the top 6 of their respected league (3). In Europe teams can fluctuate up and down divisions therefore making our sports more based on competitiveness and the will to win which could also be interpreted as competitively balanced or unbalanced. It could achieve higher competitive balance because it allows better teams to move up and play against other better teams but it could also be unbalanced because teams moving up may not have the same resources as other teams in that league.For example Barnsley does not have the same amount of resources Manchester United has if they were promoted. An extensive system of team and player restraints in America certainly improves the goal of competitive balance. There is a salary cap on not just players but also clubs as well. Since most leagues compute their caps on the basis of revenues for the preceding season, the cap is actually a fixed sum. In North America the NBA, NFL, NHL and Canadian football league have all installed salary caps (4).For example in 2006 the NFL had a salary cap of approximately $102 million. If a team breaches the league’s salary cap for the season then the fines and penalties incurred are then shared between the rest of the teams in that league (5). These salary caps were put into place to achieve two main objectives: increasing competitive balance and for clubs to be financially stable. To say this has been a success is an understatement as many clubs not just in the NFL but also the NHL and NBA are now worth more than half a billion dollars.Competitive balance is also extremely high as 13 different clubs have won the NFL in the last 21 years compared to that of only 5 in the English Premier League (6). Salary caps have prevented large clubs becoming too dominant in America which is exactly what has occurred in Europe, in Spain there is only Barcelona or Real Madrid, in England there is Manchester United, Manchester City and Chelsea competing for the titles. This is partly due to player’s demands for wage rises and bonuses. M ost clubs simply cannot offer a player ? 80,000 per week.To give an example in terms the amount big clubs spend on wages to compared to smaller ones in 2009 Manchester United spent ? 123. 1 million while West Bromwich Albion spent ? 30. 0 million (7). This is the main reason why competitive balance in the EFL has drifted further apart in recent years. The media, other big organisations from different industries and even governments have heavily criticised the way European football clubs are run because of this and also because clubs can then not afford to pay off their debts. There is one sport that is an exception in Europe and that is rugby union.They have imposed salary caps on players since 1999 and it has been largely successful for them as well. No clubs have fallen into financial meltdown since the measure was introduced and players have been happy to comply with the cap (8). As previously outlined there are also lots of player restraints that come with playing sport in Ameri ca. For example clubs have the power not the players. The players are owned by the league not the clubs and must go as a group/union to the league if an issue arises. The ‘draft’ is a system where players are chosen from the colleges/universities by the clubs.The picking order for this is determined by the clubs previous season’s finish in the league with the clubs occupying the lower league positions getting the first pick. This hugely increases competitive balance as obviously they will pick the best players which in theory would bring the teams closer together in terms of quality for the next season. Therefore before the start of each season each team has just as good a chance of winning the league as the others. With the NFL having 13 different champions in 21 years it shows that that the system works and is a lot more competitive than football in Europe. 9) The policy or approach that ties these team and player restraints together in North America is called ‘the collective bargaining system’. These are largely labour agreements between the league, clubs and players where issues such as minimum and maximum salary caps are agreed. This system has been described as the ‘very essential difference compared with Europe, where the sports industry concept and player unions have been relatively weaker and not equipped with the necessary bargaining powers’ (10).According to Fort there are also 3 other major differences between the American and European models that affect competitive balance. The fans, sports organisations and team objectives are all different. There is evidence to support this assumption as studies have shown that both sets of fans want different things. America does have better policies to keep the competitive balance fair but in terms of the rules of the games the balance is a lot closer in Europe. For example in Europe we have draws in football making the balance higher, Americans have overtime in th e NFL until one of the teams score.Also in Europe we have lower scoring games such as 1-0 or 1-1, in America this is considered boring and teams regularly score over 30 points in a game. Therefore some aspects of European sports do have a higher competitive balance than some American sports. There are also major differences between amateur and professional sports. In America there is a sharp distinction between the two levels each with its own integrated structures. Athletes that compete in Amateur sports in America are unpaid whereas quite a lot of amateur players in Europe are.These athletes are also governed by more than one organisation. The National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Amateur Sports Alliance of North America (ASANA) are just two of these. This is a more horizontal system rather than the vertically integrated system Europe has which means that professionals and amateurs do not compete against each other. This could be seen as a good approach to achiev e competitive balance as there are amateur and professional levels for a reason, mainly because the level of skill required in professional sports is a lot higher.Therefore by keeping them separate each athlete knows where they stand. You are either a professional and get paid or you’re an amateur, not a mixture of both like we have in Europe. The pyramid structure of European sports organisations such as UEFA and the FA for example brings together amateur and professional sports into a vertical system governed for the common good by integrated associations and federations. In this vertical system there is not such a sharp distinction between amateur and professional sports.For example Bath City, an amateur team, beat Grimsby Town, a professional team in the 2009 FA Cup first round (12). Therefore the two different levels of sport in Europe can compete against each other. This approach to achieving competitive balance could be seen as both positive and negative in terms of ac hieving competitive balance. The positive side is the fact that with our promotion and relegation system amateur teams can develop into professional ones. AFC Wimbledon set up after Wimbledon FC was liquidated by the supporters and had amateurs playing.They had five promotions in nine years propelling them into the football league making them a professional club (13). The negative side to having little distinction between the two levels is that big professional teams can play small amateur teams which would not be good in terms of achieving competitive balance as the gap in skill level would be too much for the smaller teams. It has been shown therefore that the North American and European sports models are very different in their policies and approaches to achieving competitive balance.Salary caps for players and limiting the amount sports teams can spend in America has proved positive for achieving competitive balance. Thirteen different champions in 21years proves it has been a s uccess. The closed system and promotion and relegation system both have aspects that bring competitive balance closer but also aspects which take it further away. References/Bibliography 1) Noll 1991 2) Mike Ozanian. (2012). Dallas Cowboys Lead NFL With $2. 1 Billion Valuation. Available: http://www. forbes. com/sites/mikeozanian/2012/09/05/dallas-cowboys-lead-nfl-with-2-1-billion-valuation/. 3)

Implications of Aging in Contemporary Society Essay

A Census is a study of individuals and families to supply necessary information from national to the neighbourhood level. The United Kingdom first took a census of its population in 1801 and every 10 years thereafter. Census is an important measure to impart a good number of remarkable information about the structure of the country. The results are often used to estimate resource distribution to regional and local service providers, by governments in the United Kingdom and European Union levels. A survey conducted by Kevin Kinsella and Victoria A. Velkoff (2001) showed that global population is aging at an unprecedented rate. This means that there are more elderly citizens across the globe, not just in the United Kingdom. Implications of Aging in Contemporary Society The 2001 UK census revealed that there are now more people in the United Kingdom over the age of 60 than people under the age of 16. This shows that there are more older people in the UK than younger people. Economically, this has implications in today’s contemporary society. The valuable history of a society is sustained, communicated and improved in grand showcase through the participation and contributions of older persons. These elder persons will likely to get low-wage jobs which mean less income from which to put aside for retirement and are less likely to be covered by private pension plans. Low paying employment form the least secure fraction of the labour market, leaving these workers jobs more susceptible to unemployment. The so-called age dependency ratios or the ratio of retirees to workers, will be higher than we look at it today. The implications of this development are simple. The collective effects of less workers, more retirees and longer retirement periods endanger not just the continuity of pension systems but also the larger fiscal prospects of countries such as the United Kingdom. A summary report conducted by Schwab, K and Samans (2004) stated that the most effective solution to this is quite complex. That is to have more workers, longer careers, higher productivity and more global exchange and cooperation. With a diminishing supply of young workers, the older workforce will have to put more years in the labour market. This is one of the many consequences of the growing financial problems of retirement systems. The ageing trend will also have to be attended by a modification of stance towards the older workforce and practical guidelines for boosting training, efficiency and integrity of work for the older workforce. Working longer and retiring later while paying higher pension payments for reduced pensions can be viewed as a venture from a reorganized regime, bringing portions of the fruits of progress to early retirement with occasionally high wage replacement rates. A phenomenon has come up with the aging of our societies through the advent of organized retirement programs. These programs basically owe their subsistence to the rising worker efficiency and principles of living and the idea that these developments or improvements should be shared among workers and older members of society. The older members of the society have become mostly dispensable in the fabrication of economic goods in developed economies. Conclusion Since the survey is aimed at coming up with figures to help in determining the distribution of resources, the United Kingdom governments will have to allocate its revenues to both the young and the old. What the 2001 survey showed is that the government will carry out programs that will help the elderly population of the Kingdom. The aging phenomenon goes past the composition and funding of government programs to bigger concerns about falling productivity and standards of living. Everyone is a consumer and all consumers jointly rely on people to produce the goods and services they consume. Retirement schemes let older people to continue to consume without openly giving to the useful ability of the economy. The survey by Kevin Kinsella and Victoria A. Velkoff (2001) further said that there are now about 420 million elderly citizens worldwide as of 2001. These individuals have actually paved a better way for this generation. Sources Kinsella, K. and Velkoff, V. An Aging International Population Reports International. U. S. Government Printing Office, Washington, DC, 2001. Living Happily Ever After: Schwab, K and Samans, R. The Economic Implications of Aging Societies. Executive Summary of a Report to the World Economic Forum Pension Readiness Initiative developed in partnership with Watson Wyatt Worldwide 2004

Lucy and Ardi: Beginning of Human Origins Essay

Many people often consider our first milestone in life to be our first step. It is the beginning of many important developments as an individual. It was also the beginning of our development as a species. Dr. Donald Johanson and Dr. Tim White discovered two of the most amazing specimens that would be the stepping-stones to the beginning of evolutionary development. Australopithecus Afarensis (Lucy) and Ardipithecus Ramidus (Ardi) were the first fossils found in Africa that showed signs of early evolutionary development that is connected to Homo sapiens in the evolutionary tree. Lucy and Ardi are important to our evolutionary development because they were the first fossils to show upright walking as their primary locomotion. American paleoanthropologist, Dr. Donald Johanson, led the team that discovered Australopithecus Afarensis in 1974 at Hadar in the Awash Valley in Ethiopia. The discovery of Lucy was very significant, which was because the skeleton showed evidence of a small skull that resembled that of an ape and of bipedal upright walking that is akin to that of humans. Lucy is dated back to about 3. 2 million years ago. Lucy’s species survived for over 900,000 years, which is over four times as long as our own species has been around. A. Afarensis, which are similar to chimpanzees, grew rapidly after birth and reached adulthood earlier than modern day humans. Lucy was about the age of 11-12 years old but the formation of all of her teeth showed that he was fully matured for her species unlike modern day humans were that isn’t reach till later years (Johanson The Quest for Human Origins). This meant Lucy’s species had a shorter period of growing up than modern humans have today. A. Afarensis had both ape-like and human characteristics such as ape-like faces, which is described as flat nosed and sloping lower jaw that juts out underneath the braincase. Also Lucy had a small brain that was about 13 fluid ounces and 400 cubic centimeters, which is about one third the size of a modern human brain. They also had long, strong arms with curves fingers most likely adapted for climbing trees to hide the land animals that would attack them and also picking fruit from up in the trees. They also had small canine teeth that resembled early humans and most importantly had a body that stood on two legs and regularly walked upright. This was one of the most important features of A. afarensis because their adaptations for living both in the trees and on the ground helped them survive for almost a million years as the climate and environment changed (Johanson The Quest for Human Origins). Twenty years after the discovery of Lucy, Dr. Timothy White led a team into Middle Awash area of the Ethiopia where he discovered the first fossils of the second biggest discovery since Lucy. Ardipithecus Ramidus was uncovered in over 100 fossil specimens in the Awash area. At the time of the discovery, the genus Australopithecus was scientifically well established, so White devised the genus name Ardipithecus to distinguish this new genus from Lucy’s species. In 2009, scientists formally announce and published the findings of a partial skeleton nicknamed â€Å"Ardi†. Ardi is estimated to be about 4. 4 millions years old. Tim White and his team found bits and pieces of Ardi’s skeleton, which were heavily damaged due to erosion, and the pressure of geology. Ardi’s skull was flat with loping lower jaw that juts out underneath the braincase similar to Lucy. The pelvis of Ardi after being reconstructed from a crushed specimen, suggested that even though it was not as tall as the apes it showed similarities. Also it showed adaptations that combined tree climbing and bipedal activity. White and his colleagues that worked on Ardi suggested that Ardi was a female that was a bit large. She was about 1. 2 meters tall and about 50 kilos, which was a bit large since that was the size of a male afarensis (Johanson The Quest for Human Origins). Lastly a partial skeleton of Ardi combines human and other primate traits. Ardi moved in the trees using a grasping big toe, yet her pelvis was shorter and broader than an ape’s, indicating that she could walk bipedally. There were many pieces of evidence that proved Australopithecus afarensis to have been walking upright for thousands of years. Dr. Don Johanson brought up human like characteristics in Lucy’s bones that indicated she walked upright. One of Lucy’s most striking characteristics was her knee joint, which indicated that she normally moved by walking upright. Her greater trochanter, however, was clearly derived, being short and human-like rather taller than the femoral head (Lovejoy). Another piece of evidence that proves Lucy walked upright was the formation of her pelvis. Her pelvis and leg bones were almost identical in function to those of modern humans, showing with certainty that these hominids had walked bipedally. The third piece of evidence that made it undoubtedly that Australopithecus afarensis walked upright was the footprints found at Laetoli in northern Tanzania. In 1976, Mary Leakey discovered hominid footprints that was preserved in volcanic ash and unearthed 1978. â€Å"The Laetoli Footprints† and skeletal structure excavated showed clear evidence of bipedalism. Many believe the three individuals who made these footprints belonged to the species Australopithecus afarensis. The footprints demonstrated that Australopithecus afarensis walked upright habitually, as there were no knuckle or hand impressions found near the footprints. The footprints didn’t have the mobile big toe as the apes do; instead, they had an arch, which the typical modern humans have (Leakey 81-86). After the discovery of Ardipithecus Ramidus, Tim White and Owen Lovejoy came up with many pieces of evidence that would place Ardi on the Human Evolutionary Tree. The femur and pelvis of Ardipithecus have characters that indicate both upright bipedal walking and movement in trees. Ardi’s pelvis was more primitive than Lucy’s but still contained characteristics to walk upright bipedally. Researchers say Ardi was a facultative biped (Lovejoy). That means Ardi was able to walk on two legs but only for a short period of time. Donald Johanson said in â€Å"The Quest for Human Origins† that when moving on the ground Ardi would move bipedally, but when in the trees she was quadrupedal. Lastly Ardi had very large divergent great toe, which was probably used to climb trees. Using those feet to grasp on to the branches helped them stay out of the reach of the attackers on the ground and also climb to get fruit in the trees. Lucy and Ardi are two important specimens in history that helped us learn more about the past human origins. There were many differences and similarities between Ardi and Lucy. The main and probably most obvious similarity was the ability to walk upright. This was probably the most important characteristic that connected Homo sapiens, Australopithecus Afarensis and Ardipithecus Ramidus together. Also another similarity was the formation of both pelvises. Lucy’s was more distinctively similar to the modern human but Ardi’s still contained characteristics that made it more human than ape. Something that Ardi and Lucy also had in common was that both walked bipedally on the ground, but when in the trees they were quadrupedal. Being over a million years apart Lucy and Ardi also had some differences. Ardi was more primitive than Lucy in that she looked more like apes and had more characteristics of them. On the other hand Lucy was more developed than Ardi such as having a slightly bigger brain, having more human like anatomy when it came to the bones, and Australopithecus afarensis spent more of their days walking bipedally than in the trees. The discoveries of Australopithecus Afarensis and Ardipithecus Ramidus have changed the way we connect our human origins to the past. Dr. Donald Johanson and Dr. Timothy White have brought to us these wonders that help us understand not exactly where our species come from but where some of our human origins and characteristics started. With the evidence presented, I can agree with the interpretations of Ardi and Lucy because through science and reasoning there isn’t any doubts and anyone can bring up. There may be many subtopic arguments about the theory of evolution but they all end up with the same conclusions that Lucy and Ardi is the first stepping-stone to connect our human origins to the evolutionary tree. After Dr. Donald Johanson and Dr. Tim White discovered the two most amazing specimens that would happen to be the beginning of evolutionary development. Lucy and Ardi are important to our evolutionary development because they were the first fossils to show upright walking as their primary locomotion. After all the evidence that many anthropologist, archeologist, and paleoanthropologist discovered and examined to prove that Lucy and Ardi’s ability to walk upright is clear that they are ancestors in our human evolutionary tree.

Intelligence Testing Article Analysis Essay

No other topic in psychology has ever generated as much interest as the study of human intelligence. Numerous tests and strategies have been designed to explore the quality of human intelligence in depth and to analyze the basic factors and processes which take place within the structure of human cognitive functioning. From the viewpoint of psychology, intelligence testing may provide professionals with a wide range of effective instruments of research and analysis. Simultaneously, not all professionals and scholars in the field of psychology agree that intelligence testing is an effective and a relevant tool of psychological analysis. In this context, a number of theories have been designed to explain the essence of intelligence testing as such and the factors which may impede or enhance one’s successes in the process of testing intelligence. Intelligence Testing Article Analysis Introduction No other topic in psychology has ever generated as much interest as the study of human intelligence. Numerous tests and strategies have been designed to explore the quality of human intelligence in depth and to analyze the basic factors and processes which take place within the structure of human cognitive functioning. From the viewpoint of psychology, intelligence testing may provide professionals with a wide range of effective instruments of research and analysis. Simultaneously, not all professionals and scholars in the field of psychology agree that intelligence testing is an effective and a relevant tool of psychological analysis. In this context, a number of theories have been designed to explain the essence of intelligence testing as such and the factors which may impede or enhance one’s successes in the process of testing intelligence. It is difficult not to agree to Gottfredson (2006): â€Å"the debate over intelligence and intelligence testing focuses on the question of whether it is useful or meaningful to evaluate people according to a single major dimension of cognitive competence†. Nevertheless, researchers keep to believe that intelligence testing may be of extreme value, when measuring specific aspects of human cognitive activity and seeking to expand the boundaries of human cognitive functioning. Gottfredson (2006) develops a whole set of theoretical assumptions, trying to remain objective in her evaluation of intelligence testing relevance as a tool of psychological analysis. In Gottfredson’s view, intelligence testing is usually designed to measure one specific aspect of one’s cognitive ability (e. g. , mathematical skills), but where psychologists seek to evaluate one specific cognitive function, they tend to forget that intelligence tests cannot be fully released and clarified of other mental skills. These are usually referred to as â€Å"mental impurities†; they do not have any significant effects on cognitive testing results, but should be taken into account to guarantee the objectivity of testing procedures. Interestingly, Gottfredson (2006) links the effectiveness of intelligence testing to biological factors. In her view, the effectiveness of one’s cognitive functioning depends on age; moreover, researchers tend to believe into existence of a human gene responsible for IQ. Finally, it is at least incorrect to assume that social and psychological environments produce marked effects on one’s IQ. As a result, it is unclear whether measuring one’s intelligence may produce any significant changes on the quality of one’s wellbeing (Gottfredson, 2006); nevertheless, professional psychologists are still committed to the idea of using intelligence testing to define one’s learning disabilities. O’Brien (2001) develops a set of theoretical assumptions which place intelligence testing as the outstanding means to define one’s learning disabilities and the means of resolving them, and while intelligence testing has been widely used to analyze and determine one’s learning disabilities, it would be fair to say that to some extent intelligence testing had been devised for this purpose. In his theory, O’Brien (2001) refers to the cut-off scores which may prevent professionals from investigating the cognitive implications of low-IQ groups, but which cannot also serve a serious obstacle on professionals’ way to developing more effective intelligence testing forms. It appears that on the basis of IQ alone it is possible to predict the pathways children will follow in their cognitive development, and develop a set of social adjustments low-scored children will need to improve the quality of their well-being. In this context, intelligence testing is expected to produce long-term impacts on one’s life and one’s prospects for individual and professional self-realization. Given that intelligence testing involves information processing mechanisms and relevant nerve centers which require activation, the speed of this activation and the quality of information processing shapes the cognitive image of a person and turns intelligence testing into a relevant tool of psychological analysis (Schweizer, 2000). However, how is effective intelligence testing? And what factors professionals need to consider in order to promote objectivity of testing results? Despite the wide application of intelligence testing in psychological practice, its effectiveness remains the topic of hot debate. On the one hand, there is no single definition of what intelligence is. On the other hand, it is not clear, how appropriate it is to measure the social usefulness of a person based on a single cognitive criterion (Gottfredson, 2006). It appears that the effectiveness of intelligence testing also depends on one’s mood, fatigue, or motivation. From the cultural viewpoint, the majority of intelligence tests are designed to fit to Westernized cultural criteria, and are thus of limited use in mixed populations (O’Brien, 2001). Finally, Schweizer (2000) suggests that due to the limited access of human consciousness to information, the processes of information processing involved into intelligence testing may not always reveal the true state of cognitive functioning in children and adults. Certainly, intelligence testing remains one of the most reliable and widely used methods of investigating cognitive mechanisms in humans; but the problem is that we have not yet gone beyond the boundaries of traditional cognitive knowledge. For psychology professionals, intelligence testing remains the only available tool of research, the reliability of which is usually taken for granted. As a result, whether professionals are able to look deeper into the essence of human cognition and to develop sound analytical strategies depends on their preparedness to cross the boundaries of traditional research, and to investigate the effectiveness of traditional intelligence testing procedures. Conclusion Intelligence testing remains one of the central instruments psychology professionals use to test human cognitive abilities. Despite the stable popularity of intelligence testing, its effectiveness remains the topic of hot debate. Numerous factors have to be reconsidered and reevaluated to guarantee objectivity of testing procedures. To a large extent, the reliability of intelligence testing is taken for granted, and whether this type of analytical research works to promote individuals’ social wellbeing depends on the psychology professionals’ ability to look deeper into the essence of intelligence testing and cognitive mechanisms, which are involved into the process of testing one’s cognitive features. References Gottfredson, L. S. (2006). The general intelligence factor. Scientific American. Retrieved April 28, 2009 from http://www. psych. utoronto. ca/users/reingold/courses/intelligence/cache/1198gottfred. html O’Brien, G. (2001). Defining learning disability: What place does intelligence testing have now? Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology, 43 (8): 570-573. Schweizer, K. (2000). Cognitive mechanisms at the core of success and failure in intelligence testing. Psychologische Beitrage, 42 (2): 190-200.